Ride Report
I finally did some climbing, and boy do I feel out of shape. I definitely do not have my climbing legs right now, and on top of that I put on a little extra upper body muscle in preparation for some bikepacking, so I felt very slow. Hopefully I can keep on climbing and get back in the groove again.
Nevertheless, it felt great to be out there today. I can't wait to explore more of the roads around Cloudcroft as the weather gets warmer.
Ride Report
As mentioned in the video, I have bad news for my yearly goals already. I decided to take a new job in Alamogordo, mainly because I'll be working 3 12-hour shifts per week. It may sound crazy, but that's been a big goal of mine for a while now because I love the idea of having 4 days off every week. I can take a lot of random trips and ride in new places more often.
The downside is that I will not be doing the Trans Am this year as planned. It sucks to miss out on such a big goal, but I think it's the right thing to do in the long run. I'll be able to have more fun all year long as opposed to just cramming most of my fun into one month.
I'm going to need some new goals, and I have some ideas. I'm thinking of trying a non-stop ride across NM, which would be just under 400 miles. I also want to do some point-to-point rides. The first one that comes to mind is to ride from Tucson to Alamogordo. That's about 450 miles and I could do it in 3 days. I already have a route planned out. Things will be a little busy for a while, but hopefully I can do something in April.
Also, even though I don't live right next door, I do plan on heading out to California in May to watch at least 1 stage of the Tour of California.
Ride Report
I broke 5 hours again on a solo century. That's only the 3rd time I've ever done so but the 2nd time this year. This one was mainly about good timing, though. I managed to leave early enough to beat the wind when I was riding south and then the wind picked up quite a bit not too long before I hit the halfway point and turned around to ride north. Last time I was very tired after the ride. Today's ride just felt like a normal weekly ride. I've timed the wind poorly enough times in the past that I don't feel guilty about today's ride.
Ride Report
I did something I've only done once before: I rode a solo century in less than 5 hours. Like the last one, this wasn't a planned attempt. I hit my turnaround point at 50 miles, was close to 2.5 hours, and knew that I usually have a tailwind on the 2nd half of the ride, so I went for it. I was fortunate enough to make it.
You never know what's going to happen when you get out there and ride. Sometimes you have big plans and your legs aren't worth a damn. Sometimes you feel super strong when you haven't been training hard or anything. I suppose there's a metaphor for life in there somewhere. Sometimes bad things happen unexpectedly and you just have to keep pushing. The next good day could come at any moment.
Ride Report
It was cold and windy today, so I headed south towards El Paso for an otherwise easy ride. You may be looking at the weather graph and asking yourself, "What do you mean, 'cold'?" That's the beauty of living in Alamogordo this year.
Ride Report
I'm back from Hawaii and did an easy ride today.
Today is the 4-year anniversary of breaking my hip. If you go back in my archives to 2014 (here) you'll find lots of information on the recovery process. It sounds strange, but breaking my hip was one of the best things that ever happened to me. It made me realize just how lucky I am to have my health and inspired me to take better advantage of it. Ever since I was able to ride my bike again I made it my top priority to make the most out of my health while I still have it.
Ride Report
I spent a week in Hawaii towards the end of January and just so happened to ride my weekly century on my 35th birthday. Getting old isn't fun, but this ride was.
I went to Maui mainly to ride the Haleakala climb. You can learn more about the ups and downs of that adventure here. However, I was surprised at how good the riding is on the island as a whole. This week's video is from a modified version of the West Maui Loop, which is the 2nd most popular ride to do. As you can see, the scenery is spectacular and the traffic was pretty low on the northwest shore there. Most of the main highways have plenty of shoulder and are good to ride on. You could ride the road to Hana, but I wouldn't recommend it if you're not fearless in traffic. The road is narrow and there are tons of sightseeing tourists out there. It is an awesome road, though. It all depends on your tolerance levels.
Maui may have topped Tenerife as my favorite island for cycling. Haleakala vs. Teide is a tossup. Haleakala is longer, but Teide is steeper and has some very difficult sections. Both will wear you out and have awesome volcanic scenery, which I absolutely love. When it comes to riding on the rest of the island, I would have to give that victory to Maui. I feel like there was a wider variety of scenery on Maui and I love how the main roads have shoulders. However, Maui is way more expensive than Tenerife as far as lodging and food are concerned. Both islands have tons of bike rental options and great winter weather. You can't really go wrong either way.
I had a great trip. I climbed Haleakala, which is the longest paved climb and is a must-do for all road cyclists. I did a century in my 31st state. I got to ride in just shorts and a jersey, which is always a treat in January. Hopefully this is a sign of good things to come in 2018.
