50,000 Words

I didn't do a year-end post for 2019. Considering how bizarre 2020 was, I felt I had to do one this time around (side note: I realize it's January 1st, 2021 by the time this is posted). Rather than try to string together a bunch of words, I decided to do what I feel I do best: share the story with photos. Besides, pictures are worth a thousand words, right? You've probably read all you need to about 2020 by now anyway. So without further ado, here are some of my favourite photos from the past 12 months, and occasional commentary if I feel it's necessary.

January

First ride of 2020 on January 1st, Philadelphia, PA

Bike share in Cincinnati, OH

February

March

A short ride to the gas station on March 22nd that started

a consecutive days of riding streak that still continues to this day

April - 30 Days of Biking

May

I found myself helping our company in Indianapolis for a couple days.

I brought my old folding bike out of retirement to tag along with me.

Our family was forced to visit NYC to see our daughter's surgeon.
Not ideal during a global pandemic, but it was quite eye opening.
Thanks to CitiBike for helping me keep the streak alive.

Biking is a great way to spend time with friends while

also maintaining social distance!

June

My girlfriend and I found ourselves in Amish Country for a weekend.

There was no better time to explore the trails - they were mostly empty.

We found ourselves back in NYC for a lengthier visit and surgery for Faith.
This picture is from my 100th consecutive day of riding.

July

There's no real significance to this picture of Yankee Stadium.

I literally rode up there just to say I did it.

In the process, I was able to ride in 4 of the 5 boroughs

during the week we were in NYC in July.

Before 60 miles on the last Saturday in July

After 60 miles. Endorphins, man...

August

The folding bike came along for another trip, this time

when my girlfriend and I went camping - another great

socially-distanced activity.

September

After more than 6 months away, we were finally able

to return to my hometown for Labor Day weekend.

October

After a very positive experience on my long July ride,

I decided to make a lengthy ride a monthly thing

for positive mental health. Needed in 2020.

November

Another brief visit home, which unbeknownst to me

would be my last trip home of the year

Before leaving PA, I stopped down to Philly

for a quick 11-mile ride

I finally got around to organizing the garage!

Maintenance is an important part of being a cyclist, ya know...

Thanksgiving was day 250 of my streak, and Rachel's sister

helped keep it alive by letting me borrow her bike while

we were visiting them in Cleveland.

December - Bike Your Birth Month

One final brief jaunt to NYC to visit Faith's surgeon

for a follow up before the end of the year

I like to dress for the seasons.

On day 285 and the very last day of the year

So, wow. That's a lot, right? 50 photos, to be exact. The benefit of having smartphones at the ready is that we can document all the small activities we do on a daily basis. I know it could seem like a depressing exercise, but if you haven't already, take a look back and see what you've done over the previous year. You might surprise yourself. Case in point...

I rarely set mileage goals for myself, but I do like to check in from time to time to keep up to date with my progress and see if there's anything within reach that I can obtain. I ended up with just over 2,000 miles of overall activity in 2020 (including hikes, walks, kayaking, and so on). On a bike, I totaled 1,891 miles, which is far more than the 1,523 I had logged in 2019. That was only possible by making a concerted effort to do just a little bit every day, and that's the biggest takeaway I will have from 2020. Small efforts can add up to make a big difference.

I'm not much for resolutions, but I will make one of sorts, and that is to keep doing the things that make me happy. Spending time with family, and riding a bike are tops on that list. Oh, and I'd like to get to 365 days of biking, if I can. ;)

Happy 2021 to you, and I hope you're also able to do the things that make YOU happy this year.

Finding a Way; No Excuses

There's an old saying, "If you really want to do something, you will find a way. If you don't, you will find an excuse." Who among us can't admit this as truth? I know it's true for me.

I'm sure I've made my fair share of excuses in 2020, but one thing I've yet to say (at least since March 22nd) is "I can't ride a bike today." I've already gone into detail several times on this blog about why I've felt compelled to ride every day for 256 consecutive days - even if just for 5 minutes - so I feel there's no need to re-hash that discussion any more. What I'd like to start emphasizing a little more is that I've found a way to do this, but I haven't found it alone...

In an ironic happenstance, American Thanksgiving Day was day 250 of this journey. I like when round numbered milestones happen on important dates, but that's besides the point. This one presented a small challenge: we were going to be away from home visiting Rachel's sister and brother-in-law for the long weekend. Her sister graciously allowed me to borrow her bike so as not to break my streak:

An aside, Rachel's sister Jackie is a talented crafter and decorator who regularly writes about her creations on jackandbax.com. I highly recommend you check it out if you are into either of those subjects. One more aside, the website title is partially inspired by this lovable pooch named Baxter:

I enjoyed spending time with her too last weekend. Don't tell my cats. Anyway...I wasn't just able to keep riding, but I also had the opportunity to explore a new area, and new adventures are the best part of riding a bike, of course. Thanksgiving Day was less than stellar from a weather perspective, but I did manage to get in a solid 7+ miles on the Shaker Median Trail before heavier rains moved in:

It's a trail that weaves through the median of Shaker Boulevard in Shaker Heights (a suburb of Cleveland). As you can see above, the trail parallels the road in some spots before diverging in and out of several wooded areas, some of which are quite dense:

It's not a very lengthy trail either, which made it perfect for a morning ride before we converged on the kitchen to prepare dinner. It made me not feel so bad about stuffing my face a few hours later. 😄

The overcast weather held over into Friday, but of course, I still ventured out for a ride. I originally entertained some lofty goals:

The Lake-to-Lakes Trail in the map above from start to finish is about 8 miles, plus a mile from the house. If the weather had been more cooperative, and if I'd woken up earlier, I might have gone the whole length. In any case, I did get about halfway there, on terrain that was largely similar to the Shaker Median Trail:

I did make it far enough to cross over the border into Cleveland for about a mile before heading back:

I rounded out the weekend with a few shorter rides, one of them being to Cleveland Heights for the most random of destinations:

Why would I take a picture of a random doorway, you ask? Well, my Dad got me into a monthly satire publication called Funny Times, whose office happens to be a 3 mile bike ride from where we were staying:

Of course I happened upon this information and location on days when they were closed, so I couldn't actually stop in, but I still got a kick out of it. On another note, downtown Cleveland Heights seems to have a pretty crunchy vibe to it that I'd like us to explore more on a future visit:

I was also able to incorporate a little bit of history into my riding, as a historic site of a former Shaker residence happened to be about midway between the two trails I'd visited earlier in the weekend:

I know what you're thinking: did I spend any time with the family? Of course I did! We spent the majority of Thanksgiving Day cooking together, Friday was game night, and on Saturday, we decorated holiday cookies:

It was a great weekend that I would have enjoyed even if I hadn't made the effort to ride every day. I'm more than grateful I had the support of family to make it happen. You could say that biking was the icing on the cookies. Yikes what a terrible joke. Anyway, I'm very much looking forward to doing it again.

Our lives returned to normal on Monday, and as the calendar flipped to December yesterday, not much has changed, even after our first snow since March:

The lights on the bike are new, actually. I figured I needed to spice things up a bit in the spirit of the season.

I'm planning to finish out the year strong as I usually do, by riding every day. If you're unaware, I have a tradition that I started a few years ago called Bike Your Birth Month. The story goes like this:

Back in 2016, I was inspired by my friend Todd's tradition of riding his age in miles on his birthday, a tradition I was able to join in that year, and also in '17 and '18. This led me to attempt an annual birthday ride of my own starting in 2016 as well.

Even though that ride went off mostly without a hitch, it was difficult to plan around weather in late December. The next year, I decided instead to attempt to ride every day for the whole month, and my new favorite birthday tradition was born. I realize that riding every day sounds more difficult than riding just one long ride, but if you think about it in terms of daily routine, it's actually much easier to tackle 31 short rides as opposed to planning out one big ride.

I think it's an especially fitting tradition this year in the spirit of always finding a way, no matter what. Starting the month off with 2 days of snow seems quite typical of 2020. There are for sure going to be a few challenges thrown into this month, but I'm looking forward to it. Quick math tells me that if I'm able to finish it out, I'll reach 285 consecutive days of daily riding by New Year's. I've got ideas for a much lengthier "thank you" end of year blog entry for all of you who have helped me keep going this year. 

So hey, folks...only 29 days left in 2020! We're almost there. A calendar change doesn't mean that everything is going to automatically get better, but remember back in April, a lot of us weren't sure we'd ever make it this far. Let's keep finding a way.

With Love, From Your Past

I've hit a bit of a writer's block of late. Last time I checked in here, I mentioned that I've been riding every day, but nothing about these rides have really been that spectacular, nothing really to write home about. The best news I have to report is that the streak is still alive, and well past 200 days at this point. I'm not stopping as long as I can help it.

On or about day 235 of the streak, I took a solo weekend trip back home to PA for a couple days to visit my Mom, Dad, and some friends along the way. I made it a point to detour south to Philly to stop in for a ride before I headed back to Ohio. It was only about an hour, about 11 miles or so, and I didn't do anything but ride. Still, it felt like a noteworthy ride even though I didn't have a grandiose destination or goal in mind. I honestly struggle for words to describe it:

With all due gratitude to my loving family, and with all appreciation for all the things I do have in this life, I still miss Philly so much some days it hurts, and I can't get past it. I don't know that I ever will. I suppose I need to keep on riding until I do, or until we can get back there...