Off the Back Again.....: Bigly Miles.....& More

Hey Cycling Fans! There's been lots going through my head lately, as retirement has given me time to ponder. As well as ride, of course! Let's start with the riding highlights, since it's been awhile. Big news is that in 2017, I reached my all time annual high and cool milestone of 10,000 miles ridden! I always thought that number was for the truly obsessed, but I guess I'm now part of that club. I always thought it would be cool to say I'd attained that goal, but didn't really start out the year thinking I'd get there. But lo and behold, a couple of hours per day and maybe one big ride on the weekend gets you 200 miles/week. Add to that an ability to choose ride times and avoid any bad weather (and the apparent return of our California drought in the fall), and there you have it. 10,105 miles for 2017!

10,000 miles for the year!

You know, as I get older, I seem to be happily losing any need for competition. Speed can be fun once in awhile. But I think I mentioned earlier that those Tuesday night killer rides are no longer much fun, since I'm usually living up to my blog name (off the back again). And shit, what do I have to prove?? This is supposed to be about enjoying oneself on he bike, not feeling nauseous. So, I go out there and get to ride 15-20 hours/week and also have fun! Why make every ride a race?? Another reality check is the recent stories from friends and the press about fit people still being prone to heart issues (specifically, A-Fib. This makes me think twice about pushing it too hard. I don't need to go there. Sure, I'll push on occasion. But racing, watching the clock every ride, pushing for strava segment PRs, trying to catch guys 30 years younger....Who needs it? One would think this new goal of 10,000 miles was part of that obsession. But it really wasn't....it just sort of fell into place with my schedule of riding. Kinda cool.

So now, a few words about recent and future fun rides, as well as some random thoughts!

- I'm thinking of some overnight "bike-packing" rides (I bought a tube pack and rack). I need to mix it up a bit, and this just might be the answer.
- I'm still enjoying the retirement bike, the "Moots" CX bike (bought used in Oct 2016) and even took it on its first plane trip to CT/NH last summer, exploring some dirt with friends.
- We visited friends in Boulder this past July and got to see what everyone says is some great riding. They were right. And the hiking was great too! But we are pretty lucky where we live in the Bay Area too. With less elevation and no real winter. That's ok with me!
- Washed out roads from the Winter 2017 storms forced me to explore more local dirt. That included local parks (Briones, Redwood, Chabot, Tilden), and also the Marin Headlands and the American River Trail out of Sacramento. They aren't all easy, but they are quiet and a nice change from the road. Maybe the desire to hit the trails is another old guy thing?? That's ok....mixing it up with cars can suck. As for the debate about whether the app "Waze" is sending more cars to cycling favorite roads is something for another entry: is it happening? Or am I just getting more fed up and intolerant of cars?
- My "bigly" recent ride was a 5-day car assisted ride from Half Moon Bay to Morro Bay with 2 friends. We shared driving to make it work. The weather was impeccable for February (unfortunately, we're in for another drought). We had scenic and very quiet back roads with low key riding of about 50-60 mile days. Santa Cruz. Carmel. King City. Paso Robles. Morrow Bay. I could do this again!
- I mentioned at the top of this post that retirement has given me plenty of time to ponder and think about things. I can't believe it's been almost two years for me (WoW!). And there's no going back, as I do love it. But since settling into this new mode of living, I'm starting to realize how much time I actually do piss away. I can honestly say I "have all the time in the world" to do things, to procrastinate, or to just surf the web. But maybe my old ways haven't changed that much, in that I think I've got to spend it more judiciously. I do have fun riding my bike 15-20 hours a week. I've succeeded in getting myself back into radio station KALX's mainstream. And I do my small part to volunteer at a soup kitchen once a week. But I do piss away a lot of time. Many projects I wrote down haven't been touched since retirement. I need to read more books. I could go to some museums or join a speaker series. I need to clean out old "stuff", like what I brought home from the office, but haven't looked at in those 2 years. And perhaps I could help more around the house!?! Maybe I'm being too hard on myself. But there are things I want to accomplish. In any case, there is one thing we can agree on. There is no time for work anymore!
- "Bigly"? Yep, a word associated with our 45th president. He is one "bigly" a-hole, terrible in almost all ways that I can think. An unmitigated disaster with no moral compass. If all that matters to you is slightly less taxes, you're part of the problem. One year since inauguration and everything I find socially or politically important seems to be on his list to overturn. Disgusting is all I'll say. Now back to cycling.
- SO....I'd like to try and fulfill a new year's resolution to take at least one "special ride" each month of 2017. We've got a short trip to Solvang planned in March and I've got my eye on a two day ride out of Washington, DC on the C&O Canal Towpath trail for the end of April. If that happens, I'll definitely report back! It's about 185 miles of dirt from downtown DC out to Cumberland, MD, with a return trip to DC via train or rental car. I've just got to detach from a family visit for two days. We'll see!
- I've been checking out longer, supported trips, but can't really settle on anything. Maybe the Route 66 trip? Or someday, cross-country?? But they are all so damn expensive! If we could only get a driver for one of those trips like down to Morro Bay. Also, my friend Jeff is always tempting me with his fabulous cycling trips to "must-go" places....Tuscany and Mallorca from this past year. Then there is a dream to cross France from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean through the Pyrenees (the "RAID"). Hmmm....so many trips, so little time.
- Repeating what I did last year, there will be a trip to visit family in FL in April that will include some local Central Florida riding with the local club and the 4-day Memorial Day ride to Santa Barbara. I also want to take the Moots back to CT and NH in July. So, the year is shaping up pretty good!

Check back for more reports on those future rides. But for now, here are some favorite pics from the past 6 months of riding. If you got this far, thanks for reading. Please, feel free to send any comments. And get out there and ride!