Virtual Turkey Burn Reaction 2024

Thanksgiving Day 2024

 Well, this year's Turkey Burn has come to a close with ten reports, including my own, which has been the most out of any year I've run the challenge. (I had to edit that total thrice after writing this post the first time to reflect late additions!) And this is just for those who actually made the mileage, reported it, and sent it all in to me. It does not count for those who tried, failed, or did the challenge and kept it to themselves. (Somebody out there did this without sending in a report, I just know it)

And yes - The Turkey Burn Ride Challenge is not an event with a huge amount of people nor does this register on the radar of social media or by any metrics that "big time" media would consider. But that was not the point of the Virtual Turkey Burn Challenge at all. 

To be perfectly honest, the VTBC is more about getting myself out there to do some riding. Secondly, seeing as how I need that proverbial "kick in the pants", I figured perhaps someone else might be like myself as well. Maybe a challenge to take on would get them riding when maybe they would not consider doing that due to weather, time, or other mitigating circumstances. 

Judging from the reports, I think this was the case for some of the folks. Tom, Muddy Matt, Mike, Scott, Warren, Shiggy, and Ari come to mind, all who were battling weather, poor roads, or time crunches to get the challenge in. I know for myself it was weather related. This near-zero wind chill stuff is for the birds, but I managed to overcome my distaste for riding in such weather. Hey, I guess we all were pretty much in the same boat, come to think of it!

I also got the sense that some of you do this challenge as a way to show your appreciation for the blog and what I do. If that is near the mark, I am truly humbled and honored by this. Thank you!! 

I also wanted to say that I ran the reports as I received them. I also ran a couple as stand-alone posts for that particular day due to their length and imagery content. Other reports were combined as they were brief and had few images. If anyone that submitted reports is offended by my editorial decisions, just let me know and I can explain myself further.

From the first Virtual Turkey Burn Ride Challenge in 2021

This ride has a bit of a history now. The first one was in 2021, and I received four reports! I was not able to participate in 2022 due to a severe head cold, but I ran the challenge anyway and a few folks chimed in with reports, and one came in from overseas, which was nice. In 2023 I received a few as well, but this year's response was by far the best. The weather was the worst here since I started the Challenge which has had typically warmer than usual days to get the miles in. I guess we are back to a more typical pattern for Winter this time around.

The overall results are positive. Some folks were motivated which equals a win in my estimation. Yes, it created content for the blog, but let's be real folks - I am not wanting for content in late November or early December. That is not the reason I put out the VTBRC at all. 

Thanks again to all who participated in any way, whether or not we know it. Thanks for reading the reports, if you did, and I hope that you enjoyed them. But more importantly, I hope that these reports have motivated you to choose to ride a bicycle and keep the car parked one more time. 

Cheers until next year.....