I havn't been riding much lately. The last few months have been really busy and that combined with the short days and cold weather has keep me off the bike. I only managed a few hundred miles after October and ended up with around 3800 total for the year. Thats about 700 fewer than my goal.
For 2007 I'm motivated to get back out and ride so I'm going for the same goal as last year, 4500 total miles. I'm off to a bit of a slow start, but January is rarely a high mileage month anyway.
I've also been spending a lot of time in my newest hobby, photography. My second goal for 2007 is to take and post one decent photo every day of the year. You can keep up with my progress at my other blog, bikejohnsdailyphoto.
BikeJohn
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"It never gets any easier, you just go faster"
- Greg Lemond
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
A Great Ride for a Great Cause
On September 9th and 10th I completed the MS 150 Waves to Wine bike ride which toured some beautiful back roads through Napa, Sonoma and Marin counties here in the wine country of Northern California. The ride was beautiful and the weather was nearly perfect. Saturday we rode from Napa through Calistoga and on to Santa Rosa. On Sunday we rode from Santa Rosa out to the coast, through Bodega Bay and finished in Petaluma. We rode a total of 153 miles over the two days.
But more important than the ride was the fact that we were doing this for a purpose. The more than 1100 cyclists who participated in this event raised more than $700,000 for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
It was exciting to talk to several people who are suffering from MS and to learn how much they are being helped by various treatments made possible through research supported by fund raising efforts like this one.
The NMSS conducts MS 150 bike rides all across the country. I highly encourage you to participate in one of these excellent events and make a difference in someone's life.
BikeJohn
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"It never gets any easier, you just go faster"
- Greg Lemond
But more important than the ride was the fact that we were doing this for a purpose. The more than 1100 cyclists who participated in this event raised more than $700,000 for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
It was exciting to talk to several people who are suffering from MS and to learn how much they are being helped by various treatments made possible through research supported by fund raising efforts like this one.
The NMSS conducts MS 150 bike rides all across the country. I highly encourage you to participate in one of these excellent events and make a difference in someone's life.
BikeJohn
----------------------------------------------------------
"It never gets any easier, you just go faster"
- Greg Lemond
Saturday, June 10, 2006
Monday, June 05, 2006
Leaves of 3, Let it be...
We got out for a great BOMB ride at Skyline Park in Napa, CA a couple weeks back. Some of you may remember that the UCI held the opening round of the World Cup races there several times a few years back.
The trails were in great shape and the weather wasn't too hot. One of the guys brought out his brand new Specialized Big Hit. 8" of travel is an amazing thing when flying down a twisty, rocky descent and he quickly left the rest of us behind. Of course I had no trouble leaving him behind on the climbs seeing as my SWorks Epic is over 15 lbs lighter! We ended up climbing up to Lake Marie twice and descended a different route each time.
The only bad thing from the ride didn't become apparent until a few days later when my left leg started to itch and turn red. I'm sportin' a big rash from brushing against a poison oak bush somewhere along the trail.
BikeJohn
----------------------------------------------------------
"It never gets any easier, you just go faster"
- Greg Lemond
We got out for a great BOMB ride at Skyline Park in Napa, CA a couple weeks back. Some of you may remember that the UCI held the opening round of the World Cup races there several times a few years back.
The trails were in great shape and the weather wasn't too hot. One of the guys brought out his brand new Specialized Big Hit. 8" of travel is an amazing thing when flying down a twisty, rocky descent and he quickly left the rest of us behind. Of course I had no trouble leaving him behind on the climbs seeing as my SWorks Epic is over 15 lbs lighter! We ended up climbing up to Lake Marie twice and descended a different route each time.
The only bad thing from the ride didn't become apparent until a few days later when my left leg started to itch and turn red. I'm sportin' a big rash from brushing against a poison oak bush somewhere along the trail.
BikeJohn
----------------------------------------------------------
"It never gets any easier, you just go faster"
- Greg Lemond
Friday, May 12, 2006
Moab Road Trip
Last week I spent a few days in Moab, UT and Fruita CO doing some serious mountain biking. I met up with a bunch of riders from around the country that all ride with BOMB, Believers on Mountain Bikes.
In Fruita we rode Joe's Ridge, Kessel Run, Prime Cut, Mary's Loop and Horse Theif Bench. Kessel Run is pretty short (2.12 miles to be exact) but it is one of the most fun trails I've ridden.
In Moab we rode Porcupine Rim and Slick Rock. The Porc Rim day was really awesome. There were a number of places I didn't even try to ride but I also rode a lot of stuff that I normally wouldn't even have tried. So it made me push my skills to the limit and I really improved my confidence on the technical stuff.
A great trip, though I won't be anxious to drive all the way out there again anytime soon.
In Fruita we rode Joe's Ridge, Kessel Run, Prime Cut, Mary's Loop and Horse Theif Bench. Kessel Run is pretty short (2.12 miles to be exact) but it is one of the most fun trails I've ridden.
In Moab we rode Porcupine Rim and Slick Rock. The Porc Rim day was really awesome. There were a number of places I didn't even try to ride but I also rode a lot of stuff that I normally wouldn't even have tried. So it made me push my skills to the limit and I really improved my confidence on the technical stuff.
A great trip, though I won't be anxious to drive all the way out there again anytime soon.
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Back from vacation and tired.
Last weekend I returned home from a family vacation to the east coast. We hit 4 states plus DC in 10 days. That combined with no riding and I really felt off when I got back on the bike this week.
So yesterday I did my longest ride of the year, the MS Top Hat Classic. I did the 75 mile route which included over 5,000 feet of climbing. My lack of preparation made the ride extremely hard. But I raised over $100 for the National MS Society to help the fight against Multiple Sclerosis. Today my legs are tired but not as sore as I had thought they would be.
Over the next week I'll put in some easy miles and rest up for my trip to Moab. I'm leaving a week from Tuesday for the 3rd Annual BOMB International Gathering. I've never been to Moab before and I'm really looking forward to it.
BikeJohn
----------------------------------------------------------
"It never gets any easier, you just go faster"
- Greg Lemond
Last weekend I returned home from a family vacation to the east coast. We hit 4 states plus DC in 10 days. That combined with no riding and I really felt off when I got back on the bike this week.
So yesterday I did my longest ride of the year, the MS Top Hat Classic. I did the 75 mile route which included over 5,000 feet of climbing. My lack of preparation made the ride extremely hard. But I raised over $100 for the National MS Society to help the fight against Multiple Sclerosis. Today my legs are tired but not as sore as I had thought they would be.
Over the next week I'll put in some easy miles and rest up for my trip to Moab. I'm leaving a week from Tuesday for the 3rd Annual BOMB International Gathering. I've never been to Moab before and I'm really looking forward to it.
BikeJohn
----------------------------------------------------------
"It never gets any easier, you just go faster"
- Greg Lemond
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
5 for 5 in April
Today is another rainy day in "sunny" California. The Bay Area had 25 days of measurable rainfall in March, which is a new record. And now we're 5 for 5 in April. It's as if the earth has tilted on it's axis and SF is now where Seattle used to be.
I went out for the usual Tuesday lunch ride yesterday and I was the only one tough (crazy?) enough to brave the weather. It rained pretty steadily but I manged to get in about 14 miles. With the weather we've been having the past month, I've decided that if I'm not willing to ride in the rain I won't be riding at all. Besides, I bought a new GoreTex jacket this winter and I'm really getting my money's worth out of it.
We're now a quarter of the way through the year and I've ridden over 1,000 miles. That's just a bit short of the pace I need to maintain to acheive my goal of 4500 miles this year. But considering the weather we've had and that Dalight Saving Time just started this past weekend, I think I'm right on track.
BikeJohn
----------------------------------------------------------
"It never gets any easier, you just go faster"
- Greg Lemond
Today is another rainy day in "sunny" California. The Bay Area had 25 days of measurable rainfall in March, which is a new record. And now we're 5 for 5 in April. It's as if the earth has tilted on it's axis and SF is now where Seattle used to be.
I went out for the usual Tuesday lunch ride yesterday and I was the only one tough (crazy?) enough to brave the weather. It rained pretty steadily but I manged to get in about 14 miles. With the weather we've been having the past month, I've decided that if I'm not willing to ride in the rain I won't be riding at all. Besides, I bought a new GoreTex jacket this winter and I'm really getting my money's worth out of it.
We're now a quarter of the way through the year and I've ridden over 1,000 miles. That's just a bit short of the pace I need to maintain to acheive my goal of 4500 miles this year. But considering the weather we've had and that Dalight Saving Time just started this past weekend, I think I'm right on track.
BikeJohn
----------------------------------------------------------
"It never gets any easier, you just go faster"
- Greg Lemond
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