Epic Bicycle Trip

Well, I haven't been as faithful or as forward thinking as I had hoped. I have worked out a few times while traveling, but I don't yet have a routine at home. I'm still holding out for a new bike, but right now the financial situation at home would not justify the investment. Still, I am not giving up. I believe this can happen, and I'm going to hold onto the dream - although, as with all things in my life, I hold it "loosely."

I had an interesting experience this week. I was at a customer site and went to the hotel fitness center to work out for a bit. I was on an elliptical in front of a TV, and was all by myself in the fitness center. I started to flip through the TV channels and came upon the AMGEN California Tour on NBCSport. Long story short, I found myself enthralled with the bike race; I was paying attention to details the way some guys pay attention to football. I was noticing who had good "form" on their bike, noticing how efficient the support team was, marvelling at how they could change out tires, etc. "on the fly" - not to mention the scenery was beautiful. I've always liked to bike, but this experience seemed to cause something in me to "gel"; I realized that this is on my bucket list - somewhere near the top. I'll never be in the Tour de France, obviously, but I want to ride more, and better, than I do. So now I have a new goal, and I'm going to...

I never ended up making the Epic Bicycle trip.   I took a traveling job and have been driving around the country.  Check out http://travelingtek.com for more updates.

Found think today and thought you all would enjoy it. :) http://www.autoblog.com/2009/09/05/recession-vacation-bike-pulled-camper-built-from-salvage/

The 2010 epic bicycle trip will take place Wednesday, June 23 to Wednesday, June 30. We will either go NORTH to Presque Isle State Park , NORTHEAST to the Allegheny National Forest , SOUTHWEST to Morraine State Park , or WEST to Pymatuning State Park . We'll camp in whichever area we decide to ride to, spend some time, then ride back home. Distances are very close; to Erie is about 60 miles, to Allegheny Nat'l Forest is about 60 miles, to Morraine State Park is about 42 miles, Pymatuning is about 40 miles. All of these distances are easily do-able in a day. Each of these places has trails that we can ride or hike, so we can spend a day or so, camp for a couple nights, then ride back home. If we are only doing a three day trip the dates within the range above can be flexed; we can take the whole time if that's what we decide. Whichever direction we go, I'm going to plan a "back roads" route that will require a GPS. I don't know how much interest ther...

Speed is not traditionally something I work hard at when I'm riding. I'm just not that into it. My rides are more for pleasure, and I enjoy taking in the scenery etc. My wife will tell you that my rides are also about endurance - the further I can go the better I like it, and I can pretty much stay on a bike all day if the opportunity presents itself. I know that I will never compete in the Tour De France or the Olympics , and I'm OK with that. There are times, however, as I mentioned in the previous post on endurance, when I actually need to reach a destination and be "on time". Therefore, though speed may be relative it also has it's place in your training. If you've got the right bicycle, seat, and pedals, and if you've got the right clothing, then the only thing you need to do to improve your speed is (duh) ride faster. Most of the time this means pushing yourself beyond what's comfortable. If you're going to try to improve your spe...