It seems like personal blogs like this have a half life. When I started blogging 5 or 6 years ago, I learned from some friends who were active bloggers. Some of them are no longer in the blog game. I started this blog to document my 50th birthday and the rides I did that year. In the past year or two, however, I’ve posted less. Blame covid or the state of the world, or apathy or burnout or whatever. I’m still cycling and I’m still getting some visitors, so I don’t plan on discontinuing.
Now that it’s summer, I thought it would be a good idea to blog about my current headspace with regards to cycling. I’ll include some highlights from the last six months and some more philosophical thoughts about life on (and off) the bicycle.
- To date, I have cycled about 1000 km outdoors in 2022. This includes a single ride on my road bike (more on that to come), and multiple rides on both my adventure bike and my fat bike. Here’s my local heatmap for 2022!
- While I enjoyed my winter rides on my fat bike, winter riding is hard on bicycles. Chains, cassettes and derailleurs all get wet and salty and the bikes take a beating. My fat bike is due for an overhaul before next winter!
- My single road ride was this month. I’m always amazed at how light and fast my road bike is. But I set up the geometry on that bike 10 years ago, when I was fitter and more flexible. That geometry is very different from my adventure bike, with a lower handlebar setup and longer reach. As a result, my neck and back were very sore after about a half hour on this road machine, to the point where I had to leave the group and limp home. I’ll need to adjust the geometry on my road bike if I decide to ride it more on the roads.
- With the world slowly opening up, I’ve been able to get a few more group rides in. This includes a weekend of gravel riding near Collingwood earlier this month. I was in a group of 8 who did a two-day lite version of the “No Winter Maintenance” (NWM) route. We basically did the north loop of the the NWM route over two days, or about 70 km each day.
- Rides like our NWM ride have made me realize that my experience on a ride isn’t just about the route and scenery; it’s about the people. I’ve written previously about how covid forced me into more solo rides, which I have grown to enjoy. However, riding with the right group has renewed my passion for group rides. I tend to be pretty picky about with whom I ride, and it’s all about the group mindset. I like a more relaxed pace, social, with snack breaks. There can be times when fit folks want to ride faster, but we always regroup at a stop sign or the top of a hill. If you’ve ridden with me, you know what I mean, and I thank you for the company!
- I’ve got some products to write reviews about in forthcoming blogs
- As I’ve mentioned, I’ve been doing a lot of city riding as I explore trails and paths in Kitchener-Waterloo. I’ll blog about that too and I’ll publish a route I’m working on that is close to 100 km in KW!
- Here are some 2022 cycling photos. The first three are from NWM weekend. The next two are from solo rides!
RideCycleSpin 
Keep posting Steve! And re-jig the road bike: when I got into my 50s I changed the stem on one bike, and got away with raising the bars on another, and made bikes that had become uncomfortable great again. Wider tires helped comfort levels as well.
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Thanks for the update Steve. Hope to see you ‘out there’ one of these days!
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Thank you for you blog, I have so missed it. Like you I much more prefer solo rides along rail paths or MUPs in different areas near where I live mainly due to gas prices right now. I also like to ride near housing subdivisions and just admire what people have done to there homes. I no longer ride in the winter too cold for my old bones so I sold my fat bike and bought a used hybrid. My cycling now would be classified as smoking a brisket of beef, go low and slow. All the cycling magazine seem to care about are top end bikes, racing or mountain biking. I haven’t read one in the last few years that even mentions recreational or commuter cycling and in my area there are no magazines that cover those topics, so your blog is coming back at a time when most of use would need it the most. Have you ever thought of putting your blog on Facebook and starting a group dedicated to the recreational/commuter cyclist. I am sure there would be a lot of us here in Ontario that would join. Thanks again
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Steve, have a look at Jones handlebars, especially look at the photo section to see what type of bikes customers have put his bars on and for what use. I put a set on my fat bike and they were awesome. They allowed me to sit more upright while allowing me to change to a number of different hand and body positions effortlessly. When I sold my fat bike I took the bars off and I am seriously thinking of putting them onto my Trek hybrid to bring me to a more upright position give my back a break when it needs it.
https://www.jonesbikes.com/store/
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Hi Jim, thanks for the tip! I’ve since flipped the stem and rotated my handlebar on my road bike. I’ve tried it on the trainer and it sure helps. I also had a spacer above the stem, which I moved to beneath the stem. My Fargo has a much more relaxed set up, so I hope the new setup on my road bike is closer to the Fargo now!
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