Kelly over on Dailymile posted the question:
What are your top 5 workout / racing moments of 2008?Well, given that I don't work out, nor do I race, I opted to go for my five favorite rides of '08. How's that sound?
5. Back in January, I had a beautiful snowy ride home, where the snow on Turkey Creek Trail hadn't been touched recently and my tires seemed to float on cottony, flocculent snow. It was awesome.
4. That last Dark-Side Ride. What an adventure, and so much participation! It's kinda tied for 4th with the June Moon Ride. I just love night rides.
3. My failed 200k attempt earlier this month. It got me a lot of miles, and even more smarts. I'll take away a whole bunch of knowledge and experience from that ride that will help me in the future.
2. My personal coldest full commute a week ago. Although it was less than 15 miles, it taught me a lot, including the fact that it really is easy to stay warm (perhaps too warm) on a bicycle in Kansas City. That, and it was cool to see another cyclist out in it.
1. The successful 200k in June. When I started riding in September 2006, if you would have asked what I thought about the prospects of a ride of this distance, I would have told you that you're nuts. Getting a Century ride out of the way was actually a legitimate concern of mine going into 2008. It was a goal I had to work very, very hard for.
What are some of your favorite rides from '08?
4 comments:
1. My 12/15 Frozen Chosen commute. It started off a warm morning ride and then by evening it was a running retreat due to a lack of cold weather clothing. It was a challenge, but it was a refreshing ride.
2. The 12/19 "Pure Gravy" ride for pure overall speed. Although the conditions were different due to time and traffic levels it was fun to see an 1 and 15 minutes on the Cyclocomputer which is the typical average for a car commute.
3. Any of the summer rides where on the morning leg I could smell the night blooming jasmine, lugustrums, and the wet earthy smell of running sprinkler systems.
1. My Emigration Canyon to East Canyon to the Summit of Big Mountain and then back up Emigration day. Something like 8,000 feet climbed in 60 miles (one of the benefits of my move to Utah).
2. My commute to give the final exam, a couple weeks ago, in what can only be called a blizzard. Two students missed because they couldn't get there in their cars. 32 of the scariest, coldest, yet strangely enjoyable miles of my life.
3. Solo century (in November) that I timed perfectly so that I got to watch the sun rise over the lake. Wasn't even tired at the end. Rode 45 the next day.
4. Trek Breast Cancer awareness ride - great people, including the Fat Cyclist, difficult conditions, and it meant a lot since my mother had just won her battle with the disease.
5. Some time in the middle of the summer, I took a night ride south to Bluffdale, and it was a very enchanting experience. I saw about a dozen deer and even a moose. My legs felt perfect. The night was still. Just perfect.
Great set of rides! I'll do my own ride roundup post soon.
Dude! I'm honored that I was a part of probably three of those rides you listed. Dang, man... :) An Honor!
My fave-five:
5. Italy Texas 200K, Feb 2008. Totally new roads, new scenery, good pie at a small cafe, and finishing before dark... in February!
4. The June Moon Ride. Epic. some of the best riding, period. Tied very closely with the Dark Side Ride in Ocboter. Shooting star.... Awesome.
3. Really, two rides: The Super-Big Gulp 200K followed immediately by the 2008 MS-150 weekend. Not since RTR in 2002 has a weekend on the bike been co awesome! And tiring.
2. The Lenexa Midnite Ride - a BLAST, best 12-miles of the year, probably. Slow and fun, then ridiculously fast and dangerous. Freaking nuts!
1. The WMGM 200K on 12/06 with Noah. It was an epic struggle against really nasty winds and endless hills, and I was happy to find I still had barely enough fitness to squeeze into a control with only a couple minutes to spare. Noah said he learned a lot about himself on this ride, but he wasn't alone. It's setting the tone for my entire 2009 plan.
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