2017 in Review

It has been a very good year for my cycling passion. I have some nice personal records and even better, memories of several adventures. I rode on three Hall of Fame Trails including an end to end ride of the Mickelson Trail in South Dakota. While in SD I visited Mount Rushmore and the even more impressive Crazy Horse Memorial. I also saw a mammoth dig, Wind Cave, the city of Deadwood and did a spectacular hike up Black Elk Peak. I even did a ride in the Badlands National Park where I saw big horn sheep from about 20 yards away from the seat of my bike! I also saw prong horn, prairie dogs and buffalo.

I made a stop in Wisconsin to ride another Hall of Fame trail, the Elroy – Sparta Trail. This trail is the oldest rail-trail in the country. I did the entire trail from Sparta to Elroy including 3 tunnels then had lunch in Elroy. After lunch, I turned around and headed back to Sparta. The town of Sparta was a neat little town that embraced cycling in so many ways down to the bike logos on all the street signs. I also rode on a couple of other trails near Sparta.

A third Hall of Fame trail I rode was the Katy Trail in Missouri. I only had a chance to ride a small portion of this trail. The ride was very memorable since it was during the solar eclipse. Not only that, but the trail was in the path of totality. I viewed my first total eclipse of the Sun!...from my bike!!!!

In October, I rode in my first bike race. It was a time trail around Harveys Lake. I made it around in 27:35. My average speed was around 17 mph over 8 miles. I was happy with that result considering I am an old, fat guy.


I also had several personal records this year. Just a few short days ago I experienced my coldest ride ever at 10 degrees. My previous coldest was 15 degrees a few years ago. I also had my longest single day ride at 113 miles. My total mileage for the year was another record for me at 4459 miles. As if that was not enough, I treated myself to a new ride, a Giant Fast Road CoMax carbon flat bar road bike mounted with 35 mm tires for trails.


Elroy - Sparta Trail

Time trail start

Sparta, WI

Crazy Horse Memorial

View from Black Elk Peak, SD

Badlands National Park, SD

Fun on the Katy Trail

Viewing the solar eclipse along the Katy Trail

Frozen Susquehanna River on my coldest ride

Mickelson Trail, SD


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