For a long time, before thinking about a ride, I’d ask myself, “What do you want to ride today?”
For the last several months, the answer has been: “The mountain bike.”
Yesterday, for the first time since mid-August, I found myself answering, “The bent.”
And so, once I got the tires aired [...]
No recumbent rides in September. But other than that it was a good month!
Sometime early in the month, I surpassed my yearly goal of 4500 miles, and I’ve now rolled past the 5000 mile mark.
The big ride of the month was the R&R Century that took place on September [...]
August, as predicted, was my lowest-mileage month in awhile — 466 miles. For the year, that puts me at 4356 miles, within shouting distance of my 4500 goal.
Recumbent-wise, it was again a pitiful showing, with only one ride of 21 miles, with everything else coming on the mountain bike.
Guess [...]
Just got back from ten days or so in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and as the title indicates, I didn’t get much riding in.
It was a family vacation, after all (and in this case, extended family plus friends — eleven people in total), and I was the only [...]
This Sunday is the annual Cider Mill Century, rolling out of the Louisburg Cider Mill onto the roads of Miami County, Kansas.
Last year, the Cider Mill Century was my first 100-mile ride, and what a glorious day it was.
This year, I’m trying to decide whether to ride [...]
I have a confession to make. I’ve been unfaithful. Many times over.
The last month or so, largely since I got back from BAK, I’ve been riding the mountain bike almost exclusively. It’s not that I’ve given up on the recumbent — far from it — but my interests [...]
Wow, what a month!
My goal for the month was 500 miles. I ended up with over 1000. Good grief.
Actually, the total was 1056 miles, with 638 of those on the Django, and 418 on the mountain bike. Year-to-date, I’m at 3346 miles, well over my target goal of 2050 miles.
Highlights:
[...]Now that the 2008 edition of Biking Across Kansas (BAK) is in the books, here’s a quick summation of the trip.
I’d rate this as a “good” tour. Not great, certainly not bad.
The distance (a total of 503 miles, including the ride to the Colorado border) was just fine. The [...]
Friday, June 13, 2008 - 51.30 miles, 03:56:13, 13.03 MPH average
There was a bit of rain again just before morning, and tents were packed up wet. Anticipating a short day, we were nearly the last riders to leave camp, rolling out around 8:00am and taking breakfast in the cafe downtown, [...]
Thursday, June 12, 2008 - 73.27 miles, 05:09:52, 14.19 MPH average
Last night was a bit rough, but we got through it.
At the nightly meeting, we learned that there was a tornado warning for the area, and BAK officials were recommending that tenters pack up their gear and come inside. By [...]
Wednesday, June 11, 2008 - 85.63 miles, 05:59:01, 14.31 MPH average
Wow, what a great day!
It was windy as the dickens (at least 25 MPH sustained, with 35-40 MPH gusts) and hot at times, but there was an awesome route and wonderful scenery. This is my favorite day of the trip [...]
Tuesday, June 10, 2008 - 58.03 miles, 04:19:17, 13.43 MPH average
It was another calm night, but with the weather forecast calling for stiff winds from the south — the direction we were heading — we got an early start in an attempt to get in some miles before the wind [...]
Monday, June 9, 2008 - 62.67 miles, 04:02:15, 15.52 MPH average
After a few sprinkles of rain just after we turned in, the wind died down and it turned cool, and for the first time on the trip, it was easy to get a good night’s sleep. With a somewhat short [...]
Sunday, June 8, 2008 - 63.65 miles, 04:29:11, 14.19 MPH average
During the night, the strong and gusty wind never let up, flapping the tent fly and making it difficult to sleep. But eventually I managed, and work up around 6am. After packing up and getting some breakfast, we hit the [...]
Saturday, June 7, 2008 - 43.67 miles, 03:07:25, 13.98 MPH average
Knowing it was going to be a short day, we deliberately dilly-dallied around and got a late start, leaving Saint Francis at around 8:30am. There was a mild north-easterly wind, greeting us with a moderate headwind for a few [...]
Friday, June 6, 2008 - 29.26 miles, 2:09:27, 13.56 MPH average
Biking Across Kansas started, as it did for many participants, with a long bus ride across Kansas.
My wife dropped us (myself and a friend, Reed) off in Lenexa at 6:00am on Friday morning. The night had been stormy, but by [...]
Biking Across Kansas (BAK) is an annual bicycle tour across the state of Kansas. The ride takes place each June, starting at the Colorado border and traveling east to the Missouri border. Each year uses a different route, this time across the norther tier of the state, starting [...]
Another month, another high-water mark. This time, it’s 722 miles in the books, split between the Django (444) and the mountain bike (278).
Year-to-date, I’m at 2290 miles, well over my target goal of 1550 miles.
Highlights from the month:
Google Maps is a great online mapping site, providing road maps of the entire US (and much of the rest of the world), as well as satellite views and the innovative “Street View” for selected cities.
But you can’t always trust [...]
It’s been a pretty solid week of riding, with a few really tough excursions.
The week started with two take-it-easy type of days, Sunday and Monday, totaling about 55 miles at a very moderate pace on gravel roads on the mountain bike.
Tuesday, a friend and I did a 70-miler, with me [...]
I’m a bit slow on the draw with this, but I’d like to introduce you to the newest steed in my stable:
No, your eyes aren’t deceiving you — it’s not a recumbent.
And no, I’m not planning to give up [...]
Well, April turned out to be a heckuva month for me, cycling-wise, with 650 miles in the saddle, bringing me to over 1500 for the year, way ahead of goal.
In fact, April was my biggest month ever, which I find incredible, since the weather was intermittently crappy, with wind, rain, [...]
I don’t care what the calendar says, yesterday was the first day I really felt that Spring had arrived.
Oh, there have been days that have hinted at Spring, days that have teased and flirted with Spring, and days that have promised but not quite delivered.
Yesterday delivered. Sure, with temperatures topping [...]
The day started out very cool, with temperatures in the upper 30s with a brisk easterly wind. I had a group ride scheduled for 10am, and briefly considered bailing on it, but instead doubled up with two pairs of socks and two shirts, as well as the normal selection of [...]
March is known for its winds, and this year it ran true to form. For me, March began with a terribly windy ride on the first, and ended with an only slightly-less-windy ride on the 31st, with plenty of gusty days in between.
I ended up with 388 miles for the [...]
For the first time this year, I’ve been able to ride the bike four days in a row. The weather wasn’t great, but it was good enough. We had one really nice day, two decent days, and one iffy day. I ended up getting rained on a bit on the [...]
February was an odd month. The first half was pretty decent (with one perfect day), but the second half was just a big black hole of bleariness, with about ten days of simply cruddy weather - snow, sleet, rain, clouds, and wind.
Finally, this week the weather broke a bit, [...]
Monday was an incredible day, hitting a record high of 69 degrees, mostly sunny, with manageable winds most of the day. Naturally, I was on the bike.
In fact, I put in a half-century. Granted, it was a s-l-o-w half-century (13.1 MPH average speed), but that wasn’t the point. The mileage [...]
When I purchased my Burley Django recumbent, it didn’t come with a kickstand. For an all-purpose bike, I think that’s just silly. Why lay a bike on the ground or have to hunt around for something to lean it against? [...]
January turned out to be a pretty good month for me, with 237 miles. Compared to last January (0 miles), it’s infinitely better!
It does beat my goal for the month of 200 miles, so I’m happy about that. Weight-wise, the news is not so good. I’ve gained about 3 pounds [...]
It’s been cold here lately, with nearly two weeks of colder-then-normal temperatures. But at long last the cold snap has broken, with a 40+ degree day on Saturday, and a 50+ degree day today. A warm day in winter is a sin to waste, and although I’d gotten out for [...]
Riding a recumbent, I don’t need to wear padded (diaper) cycling shorts. Instead, I wear a simple unpadded compression short (available from many sources; mine are Champions) with wicking underwear (no, I don’t go commando).
I came across the Champion C9 “Active Performance” seamless series on [...]
Since the first of the year I’ve been riding irregularly - mostly short rides every few days. Except for two glorious days the first weekend fo the month, when the temperature got into the lower sixties, it’s been mostly right around freezing. Three days ago, it snowed, then it turned [...]
The first ride of the new year was short, but at least I got it in. Temperatures had warmed into the lower forties by the time I hit the road, but with a strong and gusty wind under a gray and cloudy sky, it felt much cooler. I did my [...]
The end of the year is the traditional time for looking back, reflecting, and taking stock, so that’s what I’ll try to do here: a succinct summary of the ‘07 season.
My cycling year really didn’t get started until February. January was cold and snowy, and I didn’t get out on [...]
Last week the Kansas City area was covered in ice after a day of freezing rain. Most roads were fine, but everything else was coated with about 1/4″ of the stuff. But with sunny skies and warmer temperatures forecast, I knew the ice wouldn’t last long, so I headed over [...]
I know very little about cyclocross, but with the National Cyclocross Championships taking place in Kansas City, KS this weekend, I figured this was a good chance to learn. I arrived at Wyandotte County Park a little after 1pm, and found the the [...]
