Seventh Heaven

Hello and happy 2021, everyone. It may seem odd to be reading a happy new year wish on January 27th, but believe it or not, this is my first check-in on this blog since November of last year. Consider this an attempt to "catch up," if you will.

So, what have I been up to? In a nutshell, the holiday season was quite busy, and it began shortly after my most recent post. The family and I went on a memorial cruise over the Thanksgiving holiday. The travel and lack of available outdoor cycling options for parts of the trip resulted in my decision to end my consecutive days of biking streak on day 608:

And so just as the streak began unceremoniously, so it ended in the same fashion. No big celebration, just a normal ride around the neighborhood. Forgive the pun, but it was quite a ride. I do not desire to pore over the thousands of photos I took during those 20 months, so here's an abridged list of some of the random places I've visited on 2 wheels since March of 2020, in no particular order (and associated blog posts):

• New York
• Cleveland
• Philadelphia
• Toledo
• Chicago
• Detroit
• Harrisburg
• Pittsburgh

Of course, there were many more in between (including Columbus, of course). When I first posted on Instagram about the streak potentially ending, I received quite a few messages telling me to keep it going, but I gotta be totally honest with you, I was ready for it to be over. I was actually thinking those thoughts once I passed 500 days, and yet I somehow kept going for another 108. Simply put: by the end of it, a daily ride had started to feel more like a chore than an achievement, and that ruined the spirit of why I started the streak in the first place.

That said, I still had an appreciation for willing myself to get outside every single day, even if only for a couple minutes. I also accomplished the only real goal I had at the start of the streak: riding a bike every single day for 365 consecutive days. I'd wanted to do that for years, and I totally smashed it. I did a much more in-depth write-up of the first 365 days back in March of last year, if you are interested in reading more about the experience.

I began another streak as soon as we returned from Thanksgiving. I mean, would you expect anything else? If you're new to this space, I have a tradition of riding my bike every day in December to celebrate my birthday, and I kept it going this year. Some photos for your enjoyment:

You may have spied a 63-mile route in those photos. I noticed that I was close enough to hitting 2,500 miles for the year entering December that I decided to push the envelope in hopes of reaching it. I'm happy to report that I did indeed get to 2,500 miles, which was 500 miles more than I'd set to achieve on January 1st, 2021. Go me!

As we headed into early 2022, I took an extended holiday break to recoup, relax, and spend some more time with family back in Pennsylvania before returning to my full-time life back in Ohio. Oh, and I've continued riding. In full disclosure, I have taken a day off here and there, but I've been on a bike more days than I haven't. You all know by now that single digit temperatures don't frighten me:

I probably won't ever attempt another 600-plus day biking streak again (at least not on purpose), but you can believe I will keep riding. One thing I would like to be better about in 2022 is writing about my adventures on my two-wheelers. Consider this my pledge. I fully expect you to hold my feet to the fire on it. As I type that, I'm realizing that we are about to go on a long-anticipated Disney vacation on Saturday, so I will be absent from this space once again for a brief time, but after that...I'd like to return to the spirit of why I began this blog way back in 2015 - seven years ago today, if you can believe it.

So, happy new year once again. I hope your holidays and your January have been stellar, and here's to a healthier and happier 2022!

Capital City Cycling

Continuing with my recent trend of biking in as many different locales as possible, I happened to be on another brief jaunt to PA which took me through Harrisburg. For those of you who are unaware, Harrisburg is the PA state capital:

It was a crisp, cold 32˚F when I arrived around 7:30AM, which actually made for some gorgeous riding conditions due to the relative lack of wind over the Susquehanna River:

Of course, I had no real destination in mind, so once I rode across the river, I returned and looked for something "neat" to ride towards. I saw a baseball stadium off in the distance where the Harrisburg Senators play, so that seemed like a good place to venture to:

It actually sits on an island, and the bridge to get there has a pretty neat history as you can read on this historical marker:

And speaking of history, apparently the architectural achievements in its construction were the first of their kind. It's been designated as such:

And finally, one last view of the Susquehanna before I headed back to my car:

As is the case with just about all of these brief adventures, I truly wish I had more time to explore more. The positive in that is, it leaves me feeling like I need to return. It was an absolutely beautiful morning to be on a bike, no matter how quickly the time passed.

As I sit here typing this, I have just returned from a quick morning ride that takes my consecutive days of riding streak to 598. I have no huge plans for my 600th day (it's a Monday), but it's on the horizon and I still can't believe I've kept it up this long. This week may be the end of this streak, but I will keep you posted for sure. Enjoy your weekend!

Motor City Cycling

On Halloween, I found myself in Detroit for a quick day trip (more on that later). When going on an adventure, no matter how brief, you know the drill:

That view is actually of Windsor, ON, Canada from across the Detroit River. I briefly entertained the idea of crossing the bridge on a bike, but going through the COVID/customs procedure just to say I did it didn't seem worth the time (especially because I also had some time constraints). Nonetheless, it was a beautiful mid-Autumn morning to bike around a different city, especially the waterfront:

I happened upon a group of cyclists enjoying a Sunday morning ride:

I would have joined if I were properly dressed, and also if I didn't have the aforementioned time constraints. Anyway, the Detroit riverfront is quite beautiful, but the city is still showing many signs of post-industrial fallout and the recovery process is still very much ongoing, as you can see briefly here:

Still, as I said above, the riverfront does offer some beautiful views of the downtown area and the Detroit River:

Oh, and of course, there's a bike share. Good to know in case I visit again some day and I don't have the ability to bring my own bike:

As for why I was in Detroit in the first place, well you see, the Philadelphia Eagles were in town to play the Lions, and even with a 3 hour drive as part of the experience, I didn't want to miss another opportunity to see my favourite American football team for the first time in three years:

Ford Field is a beautiful stadium. It's a shame the Lions have been such a bad team for such a long time. It really puts things in perspective as a long-suffering Philly sports fan. At least I've been able to enjoy occasional moments of glory.

Anyway, this day capped off a pretty impressive month that saw me ride a bike in four different states (with the aid of a car, yes, but still). November hasn't been quite as rewarding thus far, but my consecutive streak of riding is now approaching 600 days. I'll keep you posted...

Windy City Cycling

Last week, I found myself in the greater Chicago area for a work trip as a "hired gun" of sorts. I had a trip similar to this last year, when we needed some assistance in our Indy location. Mayhaps I have a future in this type of role. Anyway, the most recent trip proved to be momentous for several reasons.

For starters, I'd never been to Chicago proper, except for a couple layovers in the airports and one pass-thru on a high school youth group trip. Even knowing that I had some pretty full work days ahead of me, I was pretty excited to spend some time in a new city, no matter how brief it might be. And of course, I was excited to ride a bike in a different locale. You didn't think I'd travel without one, did you?

I arrived on Sunday around 4PM Central Time (the trip there was much more exciting knowing I was "gaining" time). After checking in to the hotel and a brief stop at the shop to get my bearings, I pulled the bike out of the back of my work truck and headed out to explore, but mostly to find some dinner. My hotel was conveniently located about a mile from the Great Western Trail, which easily connects several of the western suburbs for those who prefer alternative transportation methods:

I'll have more info on the trail later. As for my destination for the evening, after a 4.5 mile ride I ended up at a very typical destination for me: a microbrewery! I've had a longstanding joke with my cousin when sipping our first sip of a beer, where we'd say "That tastes like...more." I finally found the literal representation of this little quip:

I did also eat some food, not pictured. At the end of the night, I had another quirky sight of my bike in a hotel room. I didn't get quite as many weird looks from the front desk this time, but you can tell they don't see this very often:

The shop was only a mile from the hotel, so I was more than capable of riding to and from there every day. Monday was mostly gray with some heavy rains mixed in, so I didn't do much riding other than those short commutes. On Tuesday, things were a little more cooperative and I was able to get in a good ride into the city with some assistance. I headed back to the trail after finishing up my work day:

The Great Western Trail is your pretty typical rail trail, composed mostly of packed gravel, which makes for some leisurely riding for a cyclist of just about any experience level. It was a short 2 mile ride from my hotel into the town center of Lombard, where I picked up the train from there:

The commuter trains in Chicago are no joke. I didn't get a pic of the whole train, but it was at least 8 cars deep, and they're double-decked to boot. I'm told that these are routinely packed on weekday mornings and afternoons. As such, they don't allow bikes on board during these times. During non-peak hours, bikes are totally fine. I've done this before, but it's still a low-level thrill that I truly appreciate, especially now that I live in a place where this isn't commonplace:

I stowed my bike safely and decided to ride on the upper level just because, ya know...I could:

After a smooth 40-minute ride, I found myself in Downtown Chicago. Immediately, I noticed one of their bikeshare stations to my left upon exiting the station:

As much as I have enjoyed and appreciated using various bike share systems throughout the US, I was kinda glad I didn't have to use one for a change. There's just something about riding your own bike in a different place. But in any case, I'll probably find myself using Divvy at some point during a future visit.

Anywho, I planned to meet up with friends for dinner later in the evening, but I was lucky enough to have caught the earlier train into the city with about an hour or so to explore. I felt a strange feeling of familiarity riding through these streets, even though I'd never been here before:

It almost felt like NYC, or Philly, if I'm being totally honest. It was eerily comfortable, and I really can't explain why.

I had looked ahead and made exactly one planned stop at one of the most cliché places in the city, Millennium Park:

I had a bit of an ulterior motive for this destination other than the touristy picture. You see, as luck would have it, this particular ride put me over 2,000 miles of riding on the year 2021, on my 570th consecutive day of riding. By the way, my goal for this year was to hit 2,000 for the first time since 2018. You might say I'm ahead of my pace.

Continuing on, I headed as far east as Lake Shore Drive, where the trail continues between the roadway and Lake Michigan:

I also made it far enough south on the trail to catch a glimpse of Soldier Field before heading west to meet up with my friends for dinner. I didn't have much time for more exploration after that. My final day in the area on Wednesday was also tame by comparison, but I did get one more nice view of the Great Western Trail at sunset, and I spotted the dedication plaque with lots of interesting historical tidbits:

I told you I'd have more info on the trail later in the post, didn't I? I'm a tad disappointed I didn't notice this until my last day in the area, because I would have loved to explore a little more of the trail and its surroundings. I guess I'll have to come back, no?

My adventurous week didn't end in Chicago. After a brief commute in on Thursday, I was headed back to Columbus. By Friday night, I'd picked up my family and found myself in my home town for another quick visit:

Thanks again to Mom for letting me borrow her bike for a couple weekend rides to keep my streak alive. I'd only traverse this ridiculous amount of miles in such a short time for a momentous occasion. In this case, my niece's 2nd birthday. After a year away due to COVID, I'm keeping true to my promise not to miss another birthday. It's a nice bonus when my Sister buys her a balance bike to mark the occasion:

And of course, when I get to see my niece enjoying it. This was the best pic I could get. It's tough to keep an excited child sitting still for more than a half second:

Biking in three different states in one week was definitely not on my radar as recently as a month ago, but when life hands you an opportunity, take advantage. I'm sure I could have squeezed in a little more, but I got a lot out of this one, and I'm eagerly looking forward to the next time, should the next time arise.