2018 In Review - bikes, commutes, centuries, new places

2018 is almost over.  It has been a great year For cycling.  3,750 miles, longest ride so far (213 miles), new places, lots of personal records, and many new bikes.


MY FIRST (AND SECOND) DOUBLE CENTURY

Double century has been an elusive target for a few years.  I tried one a few years back to just DNF at mile 57.  That left my longest ride at 130 miles.

My cycling time went down in subsequent years.

Completing a double century became my main cycling goal this year.  So, I started training.  I kept increasing the distance of my weekend rides.  Then, I completed A metric century (64 miles).  Then, the Sea Otter Carmel Valley Gran Fondo (93 miles), then Strawberry Fields Forever Century (100 miles).

Sea Otter was the hardest one at that point.  It was on a new bike.  It had several hard and long climbs, but I was not in the shape I wanted to be in.

The next one Grand Tour Double Metric (130 miles), followed by STP (Seattle to Portland) Double Century.


2018 LA WHEELMEN DOUBLE CENTURY

The day before the Grand Tour I discovered that double metric was not an option anymore, so I decided to go with the 100-mile option and see how far I can push.

I started when it was still dark.  First 40-50 miles were nice and easy.  I met a guy from Central California and we rode together until the mile 60 or 70.  Then I was going solo.

At mile 100, I stopped at a convenience store and grabbed a bottle of Mexican Coca-Cola.  At that point, I knew I had it in me to go another 30-40 miles.  At mile 140, I met a really cool group from San Jose, called Pedal Addicts.

They invited me to join and we rode together until the finish line.  It got really hard past the mile 160 -- mostly mentally.  But having a group of amazing people made a huge difference.

2019 STP (SEATTLE TO PORTLAND) IN ONE DAY

3 weeks later, I rode from Seattle to Portland in one day.  That was 213 miles and was much easier since I was prepared much better mentally.  I broke the ride into 4 big chunks -- 50 miles each, except the last one.  It was a fantastic ride, except my mind was dealing with some issues at work until mile 70.  Then it was just awesome!  I finished strong.  And the best part was that my family was greeting me there, at the finish line!  

So two double century rides.  3,750 miles instead of the originally planned 2,000.  Got to ride in CA, OR, WA, and ID (at 25F) .


BOISE AND IDAHO

Idaho has been one of the highlights of this cycling year.  First ride came as the hotel I was staying in caught on fire.  I grabbed my bike and went for an hour ride at 11:30pm.

I rode the Green Belt, Dump Loop, and several other routes there.  Boise has a great cycling community and great places to ride.

BIKES... LOTS OF THEM 

2018 has been a crazy awesome year for bikes.  I started the year with:
- Colnago CLX 2.0
- Specialized Crux
- Bianchi Infinito CV
- Bianchi Vertigo

I got rid of the the first 3 on that list.  AL Crux was a little too heavy and was not being used.  Bianchi Infinito CV had a bit too much flex for my size of a rider.  Colnago was fantastic, but after starting to ride with 28mm tires and disc brakes on other bikes, it felt jarring.

I am finishing 2018 with 5 bikes:
- Pinarello Gan K Disc - my go to bike that I completed two double centuries with
- Specialized Roubaix Disc  - my commute and semi-long distance bike.  It lives in my Boise office
- Bianchi Vertigo - after 7,000 miles, I use it mostly for the trainer
- 1997 Bianchi Campione Italia - my semi-vintage bike
- Santa Cruz Tallboy C S - first mountain bike

Here is the gallery of my 2018 bikes.

 

A GREAT YEAR 

But most of all, it has been a great year for cycling, exploring, achieving, making friends, thinking, and exercising.

I commuted, rode with kids, enjoyed weekend rides, did centuries, lunch rides, indoor cycling studios, and greenbelts.

I look forward to 2019!  MTB will be the new thing for me in the new year.  Probably no new bikes.  Just enjoy, exercise and discover!