Weekend Bike Rides... the eagles are coming!

Today is Monday May 11 2026 and i rode my bike outside yesterday and the day before. 

Saturday was a no stopping road ride.

Sunday was a mountain bike single track day, with a fair amount of stopping.

Saturday i decided to do my typical road loop but this time do it as fast as possible. Mid-route i remembered the old 'no foot down' game so i might bust that out for future rides. Feet did go down this time, and i did stop (red lights and what not) but i didn't stop for coffee or to pee or to adjust my saddle. With maybe 45 minutes to go i started running out of steam but now i have a posted time to key off of.

Maybe i'll try to better that time next week, under 2 hours is in play and that's a tempting carrot. The exact route isn't set in stone but the broad strokes are there, and anyway the whole point of games like this is to make riding (and riding fast) fun and i don't really care about anything other than finishing my ride in a way that has me excited for the next ride.

Sunday (mothers day, somehow the stars aligned and i was able to get in a 3 hour bike ride on mother's day, thanks honey! However full disclosure, i left before she woke up so she didn't have a say, sorry honey! But she also was cool with it) i road my mountain bike on some singletrack and was quickly reminded how hard that is. 

It's probably been 6 weeks since i last rode single track and i though the considerable fitness i've recently built on the road would carry over and i would slide right back into the singletrack and crush it all, and i did crush for a bit but then the culminative efforts unique to single track added up and i was cooked. But prior to getting cooked i was easily turning over a gear one harder than i typically ride and i was reasonably turning over a gear 2 harder than i typically ride. At one point i looked down and was shocked at the gear i was in.

i'm pretty bad a*s.

Also at one point i spooked a giant bird (Eagle i think, maybe vulture) hidden in some thick plants right next to the trail and it almost gave me a heart attack as it flew off very nosily.

It was a quality weekend for bike riding.

Now if i can just figure out how to eek out a bit more quality riding during the week i'll really be cooking with gas.

Saturday Ride...

Sunday Ride...

Bike Rides... we're ready to believe you.

Today is Friday May 8 2026 and i rode my bike outside yesterday and the day before.

On Wednesday i did the group ride.

On Thursday (yesterday) i took the day off to attend the Royals baseball game and got in a 2 hr ride beforehand.

The group ride was good, got dropped, kind of bonked, pushed as hard as i could all the way but didn't set a new fastest 40k time per my Garmin. i did see a vulture eating road kill during the ride so that was cool (no pics of that unfortunately).

Yesterday after getting the little man off to school i hopped back on the road bike and made my way down to the coffee shop and then back home for the quick turnaround to the Royals game. 

Life is moving pretty fast lately but i'm trying to find some time to stop and look around...

Weekend Bike Rides... prepare to make the jump to lightspeed

Today is Monday May 4th (May the forth be with you) 2026 and i rode my bike last Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday was cold and i felt pretty shi*ty and i did about 2:45 on the road bike.

Sunday was hot and i felt pretty great and i did about 2 hours on the road bike.

In Between (on Saturday night) we went camping, it was awesome.

Saturday was around 40 degrees upon bike ride departure so i threw on the jeans and other warm clothes and headed out. By the end of the ride i was hot. Not much else to tell about this one.

Sunday, after getting home around Noon from camping, i found a short ride window and headed out for what i figured would be a good day. It was. Being able to ride in shorts, short sleeves, and no gloves was a win right off the bat. i rode down to my new fav coffee spot (Cafe Ca Phe), had a quick espresso, then hammered home. 

i came home on main st, aka the Kessel Run , and absolutely crushed it. Every light was green. Every patch of debris was expertly avoided. Every narrow gap between the street car trench of death and the curb was threaded with upmost precision.

And to be clear, the Kessel Run heads South on Main Street from 31st to 49th st, at which point you disengage with a sketchy fast sweeping uphill over 90 degree right turn.

The road bike is feeling good, it wants to go fast and i'm getting better at allowing it to do so.

Saturday Ride...

Camping...

Sunday Ride...

Wednesday Group Ride

Today is Thursday April 30 2026 and yesterday i did the Wednesday group ride.

It was pretty great.

i was late and had to chase so that was exciting. I left my house at 6:30 for a ride that starts at 6:30 but the route backtracks a bit on the path i take from my house so i have a buffer. i spotted the group heading up Roe and with the help of some cooperative street lights i caught up after 5-10 minutes. 

But i was breathing hard. 

Luckily the pace this week seemed slower and i hung on longer than i ever have, but i did get dropped. 

As of now i've decided to eschew my heart rate monitor (partly because i cant find it) and i don't have a power meter (unless i'm on the indoor trainer) which means i'm riding with the force only. And i think its exactly what i need. Less bells and whistles.

And by being mindful of the living force i was able to back off the pace at the right time and avoid blowing up, which meant i could chase hard the rest of the ride. i almost caught back up but underestimated how quickly the group would accelerate out of a red light. 

i have no power. i've done a tiny bit of weight work this year but not enough to move the needle. But i'll keep at it.

So i got dropped, chased hard all the way, and when the ride was over my computer said i had a new fastest 40k. 

Which is nice.

Weekend Bike Rides - I Wanna Be a Cowboy, Baby!

Today is Monday April 27 2026 and i did two bike rides over the weekend.

Saturday i was up early for about 2 hours on the single speed. 

i felt pretty crappy.

Sunday i was not up early because the night before we saw a concert in Lawrence, KS. The band was CMAT and it was awesome. 

So around Noon on Sunday i found a ride window and did about two and a half hours on the road bike. 

i felt pretty great.

That bike i rad.

Saturday Ride...

Sunday Ride...