February through April was spent doing the usual riding back and forth to work with bits of longer rides mixed in here and there.
In March, Rachel and I went to Reno to watch the Idaho women play in the Big Sky Basketball Tournament. We got out and explored a little bit of Reno during the off days.
May started out with longer rides back and forth to work. There was also some fun kid’s clinic time at the city bike course. Two interesting rides happened during this month: The Ronde Von Palouse road race outside Spangle, WA, and a ride to Troy via Foothill road over Moscow Mountain.
Got to ride up to Schweitzer Mountain Ski Resort in June. It was a little rainy but I got to see a lot of mountain bikers riding down the trails alongside the main road. I even rode to the eye doctor to get my eyes checked. Had to wear the cheap old sunglass inserts on the way back to work after getting the eyes dilated during the appointment.
July was a fun month for riding and watching others ride. Wendy and I went to Nampa the first part of the month and I rode from Council to Cambridge via the Weiser Trail. The trail is just a packed dirt and gravel rail trail with gates every so often. The reason for the trip to Nampa was to compete in the Chrono Kristin Armstrong Time Trial, my first ever sanctioned time trial. I finished the 14+ mile course in under my goal of 45 minutes. The next day was spent in downtown Boise watching the ASWB Twilight Criterium. It was awesome watching all of the different levels of racers race. The following Saturday was spent riding the Fondo on the Palouse which was a 100+ mile ride on roads and trails near Moscow and surrounding towns. It was a good way to see different areas of the Palouse with some other cyclists. July was the month that Wendy and Rachel really started riding their bikes around the area. Rachel had gotten her bike several years ago and it just stayed in the garage all the time. We got Wendy a bike at a school auction and it gave Rachel the incentive to start riding her bike again.
In August I rode the Snake with a trailer to the recycling center quite a few times over two days to get rid of yard waste. Went to Wenatchee, WA and was able to ride several times on the trails that are there, once with Wendy. We even had another four days of kid’s cycling clinics spread out over four weeks.
September was the month of cyclocross practice, the MS Ride on the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes, and the first cyclocross race of the season. The city bike course became the site of many a practice even when there was not any other rider around. I think it really helped me this year spending a bit of time riding the course plus putting in some miles on single track trails with the cross bike. The MS Ride went really well and I was able to go for a couple of short rides with Wendy on the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes. The last weekend of September was spent in Sandpoint competing at Crosstober Fest. It was a fun time and I finished mid pack both days.
Sundays in October where mostly spent racing cyclocross in different places. I did get out and ride with Wendy and Rachel. I also got in a couple of good rides in McCall with a ride in Ponderosa Park and another one around Payette Lake.
The first part of November saw the last of the cyclocross races for the season. I finished 11th in the series and will move up to Cat 4 in 2019.
December was spent mostly riding back and forth to work. I also borrowed a trainer to get more miles in for the winter.
In 2019 I am looking forward to: Ronda Von Palouse, Just for the Hill of It climb at Whitebird, Chrono Kristin Armstrong TT, Fondo on the Palouse, MS Ride, cyclocross season, and more riding with Wendy and Rachel. One thing that I am excited about in the coming year is that Wendy and Rachel will be riding in the MS Ride this September with me.
