Looking Ahead At 2018

Heading toward my 14th complete year of blogging in 2018.

Well, another stellar year of posting ends today for this blog. I am amazed that anyone still cares enough to actually read this blog at all, but you do. To all of you, a hearty "thank you!" and may you all have a Happy and Joyous New Year!

As for me, I have plans! (Insert evil laugh) Many of you will be surprised by at least one of the plans I have in store. Some of you will be nodding in agreement and understanding. Some of you won't give a rip. Some will deride me and say derogatory things. Nothing new about any of that!

Things concerning the blog will stay stable as long as I am around to punch keyboards out here. So, don't expect any big changes there. The blog should live on. That's my intention for now, at any rate.

Personally I am taking a different approach to my events. In the past I had a mix of competitive and "fun" riding. This coming year I am going to cut back on the competitive bits. I will be doing the Renegade Gent's race, but for all intents and purposes that is a fun ride. So, I am not counting that event as competition. There may be an excursion in Minnesota I will be on. That isn't set in stone just yet. Trans Iowa will take up the rest of my Spring's efforts along with just riding around here for fun.

June will be left completely wide open. There was some talk about riding three days in Odin's territory, but that is not solid as of now. It could happen though. Then the GTDRI will happen again probably the last weekend in July. Somewhere in the Spring I may still do a Geezer Ride. That will happen as part of a local, "get folks out on gravel" thing.

Summer won't have any other scheduled riding other than the Gravel Worlds, which is one I won't miss. Then that's it. Nothing else competitive at all is on my radar. Everything else I am leaving wide open to interpretation. I may want to go ride in Jackson County, Iowa, as an example, or along the Mississippi River somewhere, or out in the Loess Hills. I probably will go to the Northfield area, Des Moines area, and maybe some other places where I have friends to ride next year.

So yeah, the Renegade Gent's Race, GTDRI, and Gravel Worlds. That's all I am planning on for sure. The rest will be filled in with riding for fun, with friends, hopefully, and in some different places. I hope to get my 100 mile rides in on my single speed, gravel bikes, and maybe even a fat bike century too.

I look forward to this coming year. Less stress, less "big deals", and more fun with friends. That's my outlook right now.

Goodbye 2017......