2010 in Biking Review - less gears, more beers

How did 2010 fly by so quickly?  The older I get the quicker the time motors by and the more and more I realize I am no longer a spring chicken!  Harsh reality, but it is what it is.

2010 was a good year for us.  I hit the big 4-OHHH and insisted on believing I did not feel that old until the little nagging injuries woke me back up to reality when they just would not go away as quickly as in yesteryear....weaaahhhh

With the danger of getting too verbose in this entry, I am going to just look back on the 2 wheeled exploits for the year....

The main cycling objective was to enter the Cascade Cream Puff and do it on the singlespeed.  I somehow survived the 100 miles of dirt, the sweltering heat (in the 90's), the 17,000 + of elevation gain, the pain of singlespeeding, & the agony of riding a rigid bike with no suspension for 13+ hrs...but I finished!

The other 'events' of note were the Pierre's Hole and the 8 hrs of Boise.  All events were on the singlespeed and it gave me a whole new perspective of the big boys who are able to hammer their single geared bikes at almost the same pace as the gearies.

Towards the end of the year, I moved to the geared bike because my knee started to act up a little.  When I finally got back on the singlespeed later in the year again, I fell in love all over again - the simplicity, the beauty, the pain, the attitude...all GOOD!  less gears, more beers...

I was fortunate enough to also squeeze in some great training rides and some awesome recreation rides.  The two rides that come to mind are the Curly Lake ride in the Tobacco Roots and the Lionshead/W Yellowstone area rides.  Both were super enjoyable, unbelievably scenic high alpine rides.

The wifer also achieved her main athletic goal of the year which was to train and finish her first 1/2 iron man triathlon.  She survived the crazy headwinds on the bike and gutted it out to finish.  She also managed to include a X Terra tri and had a lot more fun doing that race than the ones she had survived prior.  She enjoyed so much she is talking about signing up for a few next year.

I am not sure what 2011 holds in store from a biking perpective but it will probably involve some form of suffering, training, and then forgetting just enough about the pain to look forward to the next event.