30 Days of Biking 2018 Mileage Total: 668*
On Saturday, I rode 6 miles and passed 600 miles for the month. On Sunday, some friends and I rode 60 miles in celebration of my friend Todd's 60th birthday:
It's a tradition I've participated in for the last 3 years, and even though we take roughly the same route every year, it's always a little bit different each time. This year, I decided to take my "new" bike, My Therapist, instead of my trusty Bike With No Name, which I'd used the last two years. I made some new additions to the bike in preparation:
The main thing was wanting to add a rear rack to hold my bag. I don't really like wearing a bookbag for long rides. I've done it, but if I have the option to do otherwise, I find it makes a big difference comfort-wise. I also bought some much needed replacement grips for my other bike, and some toe clips which I still have yet to install. The rack worked out pretty well, even though I was a little adverse to a seatpost mounted rack, but I really didn't have any other options:
As for the ride itself, we spent the majority of it on the Schuylkill River Trail. Our "destination" would be Valley Forge, where we'd turn around and head back towards Philly. The day began with some clouds, but things mostly cleared out once we got on trail:
And for the first time since I can remember riding this trail, we actually encountered a headwind on the way out, meaning the ride back would be a little easier. It really wasn't all that windy regardless of direction, and before I knew it, we were at the halfway point. We stopped for snacks and/or lunch:
We do keep a very loose schedule, and when we arrived, we were well ahead of it. One of the reasons I think this happened is that a lengthy stretch of the trail between Norristown and Valley Forge was re-paved. It was some of the best riding I've ever had:
Seriously, the miles just flew by on that stretch. I really didn't feel any ill effects or fatigue by the time we stopped for more refreshments and celebration at Manayunk Brewing Company, nearly 45 miles into the ride:
Those are tiny samples, not full beers, in case you're wondering. Steve and myself (the two on the left of this picture below) had to leave early, but I think it's safe to say we had a great time:
I'm always so glad I participate in this. I tell people all the time that I hope I have Todd's enthusiasm for biking when I turn 60. That's part of the reason I really like this tradition, because it reminds me that biking spans all generations and walks of life and so on. It truly can be for everyone.
As for the mileage total, I'm still working on figuring it out. Somewhere around the Conshohocken curve, my Strava app stopped working, so it would lead you to believe we rode 90 miles. I'm estimating my ride to and from South Philly was somewhere near 55:
I'll figure it out later. For now, I'll work with my assumption that I came up 5 miles short of 60 on that particular ride. I made up for it by riding to dinner in Old City, in celebration of another friend's birthday. There must have been something in the air yesterday.
And with that, we've reached day 30 of 30 Days of Biking. Time truly does fly. It's a work day. Maybe I can hit 700? We'll see... Happy Monday!
#30daysofbiking
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