Group Ride

Today is Thursday April 16 2026 and yesterday i did the Wednesday group ride.

It was pretty sweet.

The weather leading up to the ride was bizarre (quick storm, sun, hail, sun, rain) but it cleared up and i headed out with 5 minutest to spare and made it just in time.

I've decided that the ideal group ride is one you can get to by pedaling from your house no more than 5 minutes and all down hill. Not that i'm opposed to pedaling longer to reach a group ride, but the current situation is idea.

The roads were still wet which had me slightly on edge. i don't ride a road bike much plus this new bike feels extra foreign and i was worried about sliding out on a wet corner. Those worries were probably overblown, but never the less.

i managed to hang on to the group a bit longer than last week, including survived the main hill, but after that there is a long section with no stopping and i just couldn't hold the pace. And by "long section with no stopping" i mean 5-10 minutes, keep in mind almost all of my riding is in the city so i have to stop a lot.

But i didn't blow up, i disengaged right on the edge and kept pushing and linked up with a gal who was also dropped. We rode together until she got a flat at which point i waited with her while she scheduled an uber and then headed home.

Upon arriving home the conclusion was made that the new road bike is completely bad a*s.

What a time to be alive!

Weekend Bike Rides

Today is Monday April 13 2026 and i rode my bike last Saturday and Sunday.

On Saturday i was up fairly early for 36 miles on the single speed.

On Sunday i was up fairly early for 15 miles on the Mountain Bike.

I went pretty hard on the Saturday ride so it was nice to spin the legs on the Mountain Bike and go much easier on the Sunday ride.

Having multiple bikes that can lead to temporary infatuations is pretty sweet. Currently the single speed is my A number 1 but once i get the flat fixed on the new road bike i expect it to take over.

Saturday Ride...

Sunday Ride...

Group Ride (Flat Tire)

Today is Thursday April 9 2026 and last night i did the Wednesday group ride.

I got dropped on the big hill, hooked up with a small second group of fellow dropped riders, then got a flat and had my lovely wife come and pick me up. But the weather was primo and the sun was setting so waiting around for a ride wasn't terrible.

It's also not terrible that this was the first group ride on my new road bike (which i haven't actually paid for yet, for the record.) The new bike is amazing but apparently its not enough to instantly turn me into Lance Armstrong. 

The flat was partially my fault, i spent a lot of time riding near the gutter where all the road debris accumulates. Lesson learned. Or not.

Anyway, i think i'll be able to do a lot of these Wednesday rides which has me really psyched. Last year i didn't start doing this ride until late June so i'm ahead of schedule by 2 + months.   

And i have a new bad a*s road bike.

2026!

  

Weekend Bike Rides

Today is Monday April 6 2026 and i did three bike rides in the last three days.

i'm pretty tired.

We had Friday off for Good Friday so i rode the single speed bike for about 41 miles. Including a stop at One Star Bicycles. By the end of the ride i was pretty cooked. i'm strong enough to ride a single speed 41 miles on a windy day and old enough that an effort like that seemingly takes 5 days to recover from.

On Saturday i rode my new Road Bike (more on that later) for about 20 miles.

On Sunday i did a casual mountain bike spin with my Niece.

After riding three different bikes in three different days i think i need to be doing more Yoga because it was hard to feel comfortable on all of them.

That said, my single speed bike fits like a glove. i plan to keep riding it regularly but the rides need to be under 2 hrs because i'm getting too old for this sh*t.

Bicycles!

 

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...