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Recent Rides

19 rides since last blog

569.4 miles

29.96 miles per ride average

Some riding since last blog entry (March 6), but no writing. Not a good trend.

I am hopeful of increasing my riding and writing frequency.

The highlight of the last 19 rides came on April 10 when a friend and I rode in the Tour de Phoenix -- a 73 mile race on a loop course going through Mesa, Tempe and Scottsdale then back to Mesa. It was a weather perfect day with the desert clothed in her spring best. Beautiful.

And the riding was also good although there was one long ascent toward the end of the race (when it was warmest) that took a lot out of me. My friend, Russ Reynolds, and I finished together in about 4 hours and 15 minutes.

There are a lot of reasons -- or excuses -- for why I haven't been writing much but, in retrospect, none of them is really very valid. It just wasn't a priority, at least the writing half of the equation. I at least got the 19 rides (including this morning's ride) done.

My bike's odometer passed the 15,000 mile mark on today's ride. That may seem like a lot of miles on a bicycle and I guess it is. In the interest of full disclosure, however, I must add that those 15,000 miles have been ridden over the course of 10 years. That's only about 1,500 miles per year if averaged out -- not all that impressive, actually.

I think last year's total was the largest single year total at just over 2,800 miles. I've had years with fewer than 1,000 miles so my commitment to the saddle varies widely over time.

I am off to a good start this year with almost 1,000 miles accumulated so far with my most productive riding months still ahead of me.

Happy riding.