Big Riding Weekend

Today is Monday March 30 2026 and this weekend i did two big rides.

Bow howdy do i feel pretty fit right now!

On Saturday i was up early for some cold single track on my mountain bike. 3 hours and 48 minutes later i was back home.

Sunday i found a giant ride window in the afternoon so i headed out on my single speed road bike, 4 hours and 8 minutes later i was back home.

Both rides were excellent. 

i kept the Saturday ride relatively each and had plenty of time to enjoy the beauty of the Blue River area. 

For the Sunday ride i knew the single speed would require some effort so i ate my Wheaties and headed out. It was a strong tail wind to start which was good for warming up. i had a dropped chain issue which was easily fixable but when i tried to adjust the real wheel to give it a more permanent fix i discovered that the crescent wrench i brought was rusted so i couldn't adjust it to the correct size. Meaning i had to baby the bike a bit when the going got bumpy. But i like a challenge.

The headwind sections were pretty brutal but i was surprised at my ability to keep turning the pedals. 

As i neared home i realized i still had time to spare to i tacked on a run of the Old Leawood North loop and put up a 35:13. According to my records the only other time i did this route on my single speed was back in December of 24 and i put up a 35:07.

After that i quickly stopped at Meadowbrook Park to say hi to the not so little man, and he talked me into taking some of his stuff home.

Then i went home and destroyed a BRBR burger and fries.

what a weekend of bike riding!

i still cant believe i did over 4 hours (although that includes stoppage time, which probably added up to 30 minutes) on my single speed. My endurance seems pretty good at the moment so if i can start to work in some consistent intensity i could be on to something.

Or not. 

Time will tell! 

Saturday Ride...

Sunday Ride...

Group Ride... on a Single Speed

Today is Thursday March 26 2026 and yesterday i did the Wednesday group ride.

It was pretty awesome.

My road bike situation is currently complicated so i went on the single speed. Not the ideal bike choice but i like to keep things interesting, plus it would be a good excuse to bail once the ride got to hard.

And the ride did get too hard and i did bail, but that was all part of the plan and i had a great time. Including the near vomiting.

The group was big, maybe 25, and i hung on for about 25 minutes. The single speed forces you to ride smarter and that was a nice experience. i didn't always execute, but it was fun trying to ride as smooth as possible. 

After getting dropped i turned off and stopped by the ice cream spot where X and the not so little man were getting a treat.

Then i got home and took the dog for a walk. She's a good girl.

Then this morning i was up bright and early for a casual morning spin on a 70 degree March morning.

i need to stop doing these night ride / morning ride back to back's. 

i'm getting too old for this sh*t.

48 Miles (Again!)

Today is Monday March 23 2026 and yesterday i rode 48 miles on my mountain bike.

It was totally awesome.

It was all pavement.

That's a little weird (considering the trails were good to go), but hey i make the rules around here.

i was a little tired from my ride the night before so that partially explains my avoidance of the single track. This weekend, just like last weekend, i did a hard(ish) ride Saturday evening followed by a long ride early Sunday morning. 

The Saturday ride was kind of magical. The sun was setting, the weather was warm, the legs were firing on all cylinders. I've been cautions since getting sick on Monday but i seem to have made a quick recovery so despite wanting to ride easy i felt so good that i couldn't help but hammer some sections. My strength surprised me.

i need to do a group ride asap to squelch these delusions of grandeur.

Back to yesterdays Sunday ride... i knew i had a big ride window to work with so i was up early to maximize it. i was on the road around 6:50 am and got home 11:15.

First i headed to the loose park area to retrieve the saddle bag i left on the curb the night before as i was fiddling with my saddle position. Then i headed to the East Bottoms to do the full Rocky route. Then i stopped at my new favorite coffee spot, Cafe Ca Phe in Columbus Park. Then i headed towards home but decided to get crazy and tack on a loop of the Old Leawood North bike route.

For the Old Leawood North loop i timed myself and pushed myself and put up a 39:07. Not great but by this point i already had about 3.5 hours in my legs, and they wanted to cramp. But they didn't.

Then i got home, chugged a ton of coconut water, and got some Whataburger.

2026 is shaping up to be a great bike year.

Honestly the biggest challenge may be learning how to not let my promising cycling fitness distract me from what's most important, and that's being a husband and father and a contributing member of our family.

Will i cause a mini fracture within my family unit as i purse my goal of being an amazing mediocre local cyclist?

Tune in to find out!

48 Miles on my (Almost) 46th Birthday

Today is Tuesday March 17 2026 and last Saturday i rode 48 miles on my Mountain bike. 

It was great.

Then immediately after finishing that ride X and i went out to celebrate my birthday then Sunday i got up early to beat the cold front and did about 2 hours on my single speed. In hindsight that single speed ride was not a wise move because on Monday (my birthday) i woke up with a wicked cold. 

I tried to do too much.

But you only live once!

Glass half full... due to this cold i'm now getting the forced rest i need after back to back hard days on my bicycle.

Winning!

The Saturday ride was amazing. The single-track was too wet but the roads were perfect. And so was the weather. Shorts, short sleeves, no gloves. Yeah baby.

i even rode by a parade.

What a day!

Big Monday Ride

Today is Tuesday March 10 2026 and yesterday i took the day off work and did a big bike ride.

It was hot and windy and awesome and i was completely spent by the time i got home.

I had done about 2 hours on Saturday and then a hard hour on Sunday on the single speed so this being my third ride in a row, after two pretty hard days, i intended to start slow. But i had a tail wind to start, plus it was sunny and warm and for the first time in a while it felt like winter was over... so i punched it from the get go. 

Which explains why my legs were shaky from exhausting half way thru.

Thankfully i brought a lot of food because i ate it all.