BikeMS Inside Out

This years MS Ride would not be like the rides of the past. Due to social distancing we would not be riding on the Trail of the Couer d'Alenes or staying in Kellogg like we have in the past. This time we would be staying close to home and doing our own style of ride. 

Ready to head out.

The ride took place on the 26th of September. Rachel, Wendy, Michelle (friend of Rachel's), several ducks, and I headed to the Chipman Trail to ride to Pullman and back to Moscow. The weather was nice and cool and there was quite a bit of sunshine. We all had enough water and snacks to get us there and back.

Usually at the normal MS Rides there are rest stops every 15 or so miles but we decided to stop sooner and more times along the way. 

We are really looking forward to next years ride when we can be together with all the other BikeMS riders. 

Made it to Pullman!

MS Ride 2019

Late as usual in getting this up.

First Day

It was a great ride this year. Wendy and Rachel both rode and they enjoyed it. Rachel was not feeling well but she was able to ride to Cataldo with Wendy on the first day. I rode with them for a little ways and then took off since I was riding to Harrison and back. It was a cool morning but it warmed up as the day went along. There were a few Herons and fuzzy caterpillars along the way.

Made it to Harrison just before lunchtime and found that there was a car show going on. Ate lunch in the park while listening to a band. Did not get a chance to go check out any of the cars that were there. After eating I got back on the trail to head to Kellogg. Ended up seeing a moose lying in the brush alongside the trail.

Wendy and Rachel met me when I got back to Kellogg and we put the bikes away. Rachel took a nap and Wendy and I soaked in the hot tub for a bit.

Being silly at the rest stop in Wallace

Second Day

We all had a nice leisurely ride to Wallace and back.

Summary of the ride

It was an enjoyable time and Wendy and Rachel want to do it again. Rachel is even thinking about doing the 50 mile option. We really want to thank everyone that donated to the MS Society.

Wendy along the trail heading to Wallace

Rachel along the trail heading to Wallace

Spring MS Ride Training

Wendy and Rachel getting some miles on.

It has been a pretty good Spring so far. Getting in a bit of riding with Wendy and Rachel. Went for separate rides to Pullman with them this last weekend and they did really good. They are going to crush the first day of the MS Ride in September. We have setup a team called the "Little MS's and MR" for the ride and a donation can be made to a one of us individually or to the team. Here is the link to the team page.

Wendy and Rachel are both riding for Mike and Faith. I will be riding for them along with my usual list of people.

Year in Review - 2018

January – On the first of January I rode from Locomotive Park in Lewsiton using the levee to Hells Gate Park and then back over the Southway Bridge into Clarkston. 

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.

MS Ride 2018

Day before

Wendy and I arrived at Silver Mountain Resort, got checked in to our room, and hauled luggage up. I then went down and checked in for the MS Ride. After getting settled we decided to go ahead and take a short little ride on the trail. Rode four miles towards Osburn and stopped at a grocery store to pick up a bottle of orange juice on the way back. We ate dinner in the room and relaxed a bit before going to bed.

Day one – 107 miles – 5:53 ride time

Got up and had scrambled eggs and toast. Went down to get the bike out of the storage area and hit the trail at a quarter to 8. Had a little bit of a head wind on the way to Cataldo and the wind was a lot stronger when I got to the lake at Harrison. Saw quite a few ducks in different place and about 20 herons in a field between Medimont and Harrison. I had never seen that many herons in one place.

Pickle Juice in a Box

Pickle Juice in a Box is a thing and they had it at some of the rest areas for the ride.

    

Stopped in Harrison for lunch. Rode from Harrison to Cataldo with two other riders,  Chris from Spokane whose mom was diagnosed with MS 15 years ago and Scott from Silverdale who was diagnosed with MS several years ago. Both of these guys were moving pretty quickly and we averaged close to 20mph in that section of the trail. Chris decided to get to Kellogg quicker after the stop at Cataldo since he was wearing out. Scott and I rode at a slower pace and had a really good conversation.

Texted Wendy when I got back to the resort to see if she wanted to go for a short ride before dinner. She came down and we went about 2 miles towards Osburn and then back to Kellogg.

We ate dinner with the other riders and volunteers that evening and then went up to the hot tub on the roof of the building we were staying in to relax for a while before going back to the room.

Day two – 40 miles – 2:30 ride time

STRIKE!

Rained during the night and it was raining a little bit when I went to get breakfast with the other riders and volunteers. Rain stopped before setting out on the trail to Mullan. I decided to skip the Burke turnoff in Wallace since we needed to check out before noon. Rode all the way through Mullan past the Lucky Friday Mine on Friday Avenue towards Shoshone Park. Saw a lot of signs for a strike at the Lucky Friday Mine. Turned around at the first fork in the road and headed back to the rest stop. Got a few snacks and headed back down towards Wallace and Kellogg.

Thanks

I want to really thank all of the people that donated to the MS Society. Your donations will go a long way in helping those affected by MS.

Little Post - Almost There

Next Saturday is the MS Ride on the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes. Getting excited to get back out on that trail and ride for a great cause. Haven't been doing very many long rides since the last update. Have ridden a bit more gravel in preparation for Cyclocross season which starts the end of September in Sandpoint.

Did go for another ride up on Moscow Mountain last weekend. Stayed mostly on Foothill Road and came down Moscow Mountain Road. There were quite a bit of washboard areas heading down and it was hard to see them.

My next update will be a little write up about the MS Ride. To donate you can click this link.

July update

I guess it is time to do an update after letting this blog sit for a while. Been a busy Spring so far. Not getting a lot of miles in but having some fun on and with the bikes.

I am now in the midst of working on the Vandalbike to get it back into riding shape. The seat tube was stuck so it took some time to get that free. Now it is just a matter of cleaning up or replacing some parts. Not bad for a bike with over 10,000 miles on it.

I replaced the bottom bracket on the GT a couple of weeks ago. The old bottom bracket had over 14,000 miles on it. This bike has been my go to ride for the past 6 years and it has been a great bike for all sorts of riding.

The Snake has been pretty fun to ride since I got it. I am glad I got it so that I could do a bit more off road riding and have a good bike for Cross season. I have ridden it a couple of time up Foot Hill Road to the back side of Moscow Mountain. Even made it down to Tamarack Road to ride to Troy. Used it last Thursday to ride from Council to Cambridge on the Weiser Trail. That was a nice trail to ride and I hope to be able to ride more of it at some point.

On Friday I participated in the first ever Chrono Kristin Armstrong. This was a 14 mile time trial race from Star , ID to Firebird Raceway outside Emmett, ID. My goal for the race was to make it in 45 minutes. I ended up finishing in 45 minutes and 57 seconds. Not bad for my first ever sanctioned time trial. I am looking forward to doing it again next year. We ended up sticking around after the amateur race to watch the pro-women come in to the finish and they sure were flying. A lot of them bettered my 45 minutes by 11 to 13 minutes.

Saturday was spent near the Capital building in Boise watching the Twilight Criterium. Nothing like watching people on bikes racing around in circles.

Next ride that I have planned is the Fondo on the Palouse this Saturday. I will then start planning for the MS Ride in September. Here is the link to my donation page at the National MS Society if you would like to go ahead and donate right now.

Keep the shiny side up.