2013 in review

        The 2014 riding season is quickly approaching (I hope), so I thought I should close last year before starting a new one.

I put over 3,500 miles on the Musashi in 2013. That pushes me over 12,000 miles for the three years I've owned the bike. 

Last year I joined the UMCA  , riding in three of their events:
Calvin's Challenge for 188.5 miles.
The National 24 hour Challenge for 226.2 miles
The Ohio Cycling Challenge 200 - Columbus for 212 miles

I also rode in a couple of other events:
RAIN for 161 miles
The Tree City Rolling Tour for 103 miles.

Last year wasn't my highest mileage year,  but it did have the highest number of rides over 125 miles.

2014:
In 2014 I'd like to ride at least a 300 mile ride, 400 miles would be even better.

I really enjoyed the UMCA races last year, here is their 2014 calendar of events.
I'm interested in some of their events that are close to home:
CtoC Cincinnati to Cleveland, 500K (new ride)
Patriotic race over 500 miles (new ride)
Calvin's Challenge 12 hours
RAAM Ohio Cycling Challenge 200 miles
24h National Challenge 24 hours

The two new rides look like great challenges for both riding endurance and the wallet. I would need a sponsor to ride all these events. In light of that, I have been considering skipping the UMCA events altogether this year and simply plan my own long distance rides.


I'm starting to wonder if the 2014 season will ever start, It's been a rough winter here in Indiana with record lows and lots of snow. Here it is, the first day of March and they're predicting up to 12 inches of snow! Will it ever end?


The Musashi is a great bike, but is it time for a new ride? I'm keeping all options open,