TCI Friday works best when you participate. Read. Think. Respond. Stir the pot. Taste the stew.
This is the first summer in a long time that I had no real goals other than ‘ride my bike lots.’ No events. No big solo distances. I’ll be in Wales next week, visiting my family, and I definitely want to fit some mountain bike rides in, but that’s not what I’d call a goal. It’s more of a calling.
Last summer I did a lot of trail running. I know. I know. That’s another site. But my goals were all around the two ultra-marathons I attempted (and finished). The events themselves were one thing. The real goals were just to do the training, I think, to have the experience of piling all that endurance up in a big pile and see what it would buy me.
In other summers I’ve taken on local events, like the Honey 100 or the Ronde Rosey (an off the books kinda thing). I’ve ridden four or five flavors of D2R2. I’ve done long mountain bike weekends at Kingdom Trails.
All that running last summer made me long for the bike though. And all the planning and grinding and epic nonsense made me long for less structure, less struggle, and less injury. So this summer I bought myself a new full-suspension mountain bike and got back to the simple pleasure of riding every day, if only for a little while. Once I was back to riding regularly, I found inspiration for the gravel and hardtail bikes too.
It’s been all the things, in all the ways, with a lot of people, and a lot on my own, and that’s been good. In some ways, just getting back to that root fun was my goal. To be up for a ride all the time, and to be down for the fun all the time.
Boss level unlocked.
This week’s TCI Friday asks, what were your summer plans or goals? Did you do them, or are they still out in front of you? What are you trying to get done before the season ends, if it ever really does?
Summer in the south is when you go inside to plant your face in front of the AC. July and August are especially cruel in the heat and humidity department so I don’t schedule anything AFA targeted rides. This year is the first year I decided to go into the gym for another two months of picking things up and putting them down. Apparently, I’m old now and people with the smarts say that it’s better for me to do more of this than usual so here I am. That’s not to say I hang up the wheels or subscribe to some virtual flogging platform, but instead move the rides to (some comments may be offensive, there I did the disclaimer/looking at you Stevil) butt ass early. It’s actually not that bad and pretty enjoyable once my wife gets past me bitching and slamming things around in the morning. Now my squirrel brain has engaged, I do have one gravelle ride targeted to try out. It’s one of those I drew up on the map, have zero clue if any of the roads actually exist, will be pulling water from the streams, and finally will be inviting friends along once I confirm all of it is contiguous without man eating southern dogs.
Goal for summer of ’22, is to ride when I can. I’m still getting the hang of a new, very busy job and shared custody of two amazing kids.
I did think I wanted to load up the RADAR and try a bikepack night out. Maybe a CX race. I dunno. Just use the bike to blow off steam and/or amuse myself.
So far so good!
My name is Brian and I used to race bikes.
The pandemic was the final blow to my addiction. I’m focusing on commuting to work(7mi), and underbiking in my local area. I do one or two events a year- purely recreational. The CompEdge gravel ride is only one on the calendar this year. I still want to ride all day every day but I’m happier now that it’s not all so intense.
Goals.
Another thing that Covid had an effect on. I usually do a bike trip every other year or three. 2021 was supposed be one of those years, but, Covid. So here we are in 2022 and I have a set plan to go back to the French Alps. I have been to the mountains in Europe many times and this trip, although it will be in some areas of the most famous climbs, will be centered on the much lesser known back roads. These trips require advance planning so we put off the departure until late in the season, the end of August.
Goal #1- Flights to book, van to rent, hotels to secure all took time and effort.
Goal #2- Get fit. This is about my 12th trip so I know what it takes. Lots of vertical ascent rides and with very successive trip, setting up easier gears than the trip before. I started going to Europe in 1998 when I was 44 years old and thought I was old.
I’m now very thankful to be able to put on a Shimano GRX crankset with a 48/31 double setup.
I race for almost 40 years and the next race was always the goal that kept me going.
Now these mountain trips are my goals and what keep me going
All event goals achieved thus far:
1. Jun 18: VT Monster from/to Stratton Mountain in VT (I’m counting Jun 18 as summer) – DONE
2. Jul 8-11: Kingdom Trails MTB (okay, not quite an event, but 10 of us) – DONE
3. Jul 16: Guilford Gravel Grinder in VT (40 mile race my team puts on) – DONE
4. Jul 23: JAM Fund Grand Fundo in central/western MA (Jeremy Powers’ ride) – DONE
5. Jul 31: Rooted VT (Ted King’s race)
6. Aug 20: D2R2 (central/western MA)
7. Aug 27: VT Overland
#cxiscomingseasoniscoming