HOW'S YOUR WINTER GOING? ? ?

Well, we are a few weeks past the Winter Solstice so the days are getting slightly longer and longer and there is a rumor of a Spring coming up soon so I figured it is about time to update the blog with what has been happening over the last few months.

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Well, that’s about it J

Nah.... in all honesty I have managed to ride a few times during some of the warmer days and those rides felt ok despite the windiness of the days. There’s a new sheriff in charge of the local bike club and he is intent upon having more group rides and getting more people involved in riding in the area. I hope that works out as it is always fun to have new people to ride with and learn from! Their first ride used a local ‘bottle shop’ as the start/stop spot and they had pizza brought in for the after ride lunch…that was quite fun and I hope that they can keep up those kinds of activities as the summer starts.

A few of us rode on Saturday AND Sunday this last weekend and it was quite fun despite the wind and chilliness. And if I thought my butt hurt after the first day it was really a surprise when I first sat on my bike seat on Sunday – O U C H! But (pun intended) that’s just the price I have to pay in order to get back in shape for summer riding J

I have still yet to put my old bike onto my trainer but I’m confident that will happen ‘soon’. Once I do I’ll be able to ride in the comfort of my house versus out in the cold, dark, windy winter days and hopefully that will help me get ready for the summer rides sooner.

PLANNING FOR SUMMER RIDES

I have been looking at rides for this summer and have signed up for the three day CycleNC Coastal ride which will be a fun time. It will be in the town of Edenton, NC in mid-April and have 2 ½ days of rides. Check it out if you live near Eastern NC. I am on the wait list for a week long ride from Nashville, TN down thru Mississippi on the Natchez Trail and am seriously looking at a three day Bike Virginia ride and the “Assault on Mt Mitchell” ride. The Mt Mitchell ride will be the most challenging and I am hoping that a little training in the hills over the next couple of months will help me accomplish that ride. One of my cousins has challenged me to ride it with him and we are actively trying to loop in another cousin to make it a ‘family ride’ day… should be a fun 100 mile ride from Spartanburg up to the Blue Ridge Parkway and then up the summit of Mt Mitchell, the highest point on the East Coast ! ? ! ? !

I am still working on a plan to become a ‘touring’ rider and if I get on the Natchez Trail ride that will be my first taste of touring versus day riding and not really going anywhere. Generally speaking a touring rider will carry their clothes and gear with them but I doubt I can jump right into carrying that much stuff plus my road bike is not really designed to carry stuff. So I am going to start riding my old hybrid bike more and more so that I get used to a heavier and slower bike. I plan to add some weight to it as I get more experience on it. Unfortunately the slower riding will be a challenge in that the scenery will be going by slower but I’m hoping to get stronger as I ride the heavier bike and slowly get back up to a reasonable speed. If all goes as planned I hope to meet up with a couple of friends who are riding across the country and ride a few days with them as they pass thru Virginia on their way to the NC Outer Banks. They’ll be old hats at touring by the time they reach here so hopefully I will be able to learn a great deal from them too!!!

SPONSORSHIPS

I am very happy to report that I was asked to be a Ride Hincapie Ambassador again this year and am really looking forward to working with the great people at Hincapie Sportswear and the other ambassadors as the season rolls on. If you are interested in getting some super great cycling gear you should check out www.hincapiesports.com and see what they have for you. Use my discount code and you will get 20% off of you whole purchase! ! !  (The code is: James16, please feel free to share it with your friends and clubs. You can also get 20% off of your registration for the 2016 Hincapie Gran Fondo ride. Keep your eyes out for their race team as they had a great deal of success last year.

The Hincapie people introduced us to the Michelin people and as a result I will soon get some of Michelin’s finest road bike tires. I am really looking forward to seeing how well the Michelin people do with bike tires, I already am a big fan of their car tires so I am sure that I will like their bike tires too. Check them out at http://bike.michelinman.com/ and keep your eyes open for me positng lots of pics with me and these super cool tires!

I also managed to get a sponsorship from F1 Ceramic and will be trying out their ceramic bearings on my wheels soon. They make some super nice ceramic bearings right here in the USofA that are heads and shoulders above the standard steel bearings and should give me miles and miles of enjoyable and smooth riding. They just arrived today and here's a photo of them...

F1 Ceramic Wheel Bearings

I am considering using their bearings for my bottom bracket too but will need to find a willing bike mechanic to install them as I do not have that skillset yet. If you are interested in some 'go faster' bearings be sure to check out their website at www.f1ceramic.com.

That's about it for now...

Look for me on the road every now and then and in the meantime:
"Ever Forward" (stolen from a friend :) )