Goals

This Summer is about shot, and well.....you wouldn't guess it from what's happening this week, but Fall is just around the corner. Here I am with no big rides in 2023, and this year is looking a lot like 2022, which, quite frankly, I was not pleased with at all. 

My schedule, weather, and circumstances in Life have been roadblocks to a degree, but I am responsible, ultimately, for the lack of big rides. I get that. But I've made decisions that have prioritized family and other things, so I am somewhat at peace with how things have gone. That said, opportunities have arisen that I am pressing to take advantage of now. You have to take your shots when you get the chance, right?

The first chance I've been aware of for about a month now. It involves a rare instance where the Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective will be closed on a Saturday. Due to a festival downtown in Waterloo where they close off the streets to traffic, essentially cutting off any businesses within the designated festival area from the outside world, the Board of Directors gave us the green light to shut down for that day. While I miss out on getting paid for those hours, I get a free pass to ride all day in return. 

Some of you may have noted that this coincides with the day Gravel Worlds takes place, and yes, I considered it briefly. However; I did not plan on that chance financially, nor did I register on time for the event, so.... Nope! That's not a real possibility for me. 

Instead, I have a long solo ride in mind, and we'll see how that goes. Stay tuned on that.....

Then there is the Fox Ridge Filth Ride. It just so happens that the organizer, Ben Petty, decided to run this on a date that I have open. Mainly, it isn't a Saturday! 

Sunday October 1st, and that's a perfect time for me to prepare for a 100 mile ride. Ben has shorter distances on tap too, but hey! I need to get in big rides and this is an opportunity. I am going to take a shot. 

So, there you go. I will say that if these two rides come out successfully, I will be pretty dang happy about 2023. If they don't? Well, at least I will have taken the opportunities. That's a big deal. And to be sure, there may be other opportunities as well, but I don't know about those just yet. There also may not be anything other than these two chances. 

Meanwhile we are in for triple digit, dangerous temperatures for a few days this week. If that covers you as well, be careful! I doubt I'll get out much, if at all this week, but there is this "tapering" thing people do before big rides. I guess I'll just chalk it up to that then.