2015, New Year, New Goals

         I feel like this is always the way I start all my posts but it has been awhile since I have been on here. One goal for this year is to write a few more times than last year. Maybe I should start with a little recap of last year's highlights...........that's it!

2014 Trek Superfly 9

First Podium

 It wasn't that bad but I have to say it wasn't a whole lot better. I did get to take one MTBing trip this past year. A few close friends and I drove down to Bryce Resort and ripped a day of downhill. Some of my riding buddies know that downhill is in no way an area of cycling I enjoy or excel at but I have to admit it was a good time! I borrowed a Scott Genius 650B from EPBC for the trip. I guess I did better then some, stayed on the right side of the bars and was never holding anyone up, even cleared a few of the jumps! Other than Bryce I also raced in the 9hrs OF Crank Monkey at Rocky Gap SP again this past year but in a different class then before; I raced solo Clydesdale. This class is set up for the heavies to ride as many of the 9 mile laps in a 3hr period. This race was my first podium ever! I placed 3rd amongst the big guys! my buddy Ralph beat me out for 2nd, I won't lie, I wasn't even close to beating him for 2nd. I guess looking back at those two events and all the good rides I did with friends as well as solo rides, even taco'd a wheel but it wasn't a bad year...Oh and I bought a new BIKE!

Out on the maiden voyage...got a flat!

A few goal I have set out for this year are:

• 2000 miles
• 3-5 races
• 1 podium 
• 1 Destination MTB trip (Bikation)
• A century (100 mile road ride)
• A canal century (100 mile gravel ride)
• Ride at Fountainhead SP (commute past it most days)
• Get at least one more person on a bike!

Well there was a little recap from last year and some aspirations for this year on the bike!

WVPedalers 2013 Year in Review...

Hello everyone, I think we all find time to look back on our past year, the decisions we made, good or bad and the life lessons that were learned from those experiences. 2013 was a good year for me. I had a great time with my family as well as on the saddle.

 This past year I got to bike a decent bit considering we had our second child months before 2013. Having two little ones at home makes it hard to get out there and ride but I have a wonderful wife. This past year our family also encountered a new obstacle, I was sent on a deployment with the military. I had a 120 day trip to Turkey. This trip has nothing on those poor soldiers that deploy for up to a year in the box but the distance would be hard for us. My wife is a trooper and I am so proud of the job she did in my absence. That all being said I was able to get a bike over there with me and I cycled close to 800 miles on my deployment. Riding a bike was a great way to get out and see the country side. There is so much history in Turkey. I encourage anyone that can to get two wheel down in a foreign country. The experience is so much better then riding in the states. Plus it is neat riding through the small villages and having children run along with you like your a Tour De France rider. There were some miles that didn't get logged when I first got to Turkey but this year I logged around 1600 miles all together. This number may not be that big to some but for me it isn't that bad and a number for me to try to beat in 2014! I hope 2014 will bring more fun on the bike, a new bike that is...A post about my bike search is on the way.

Welcome Back...To Me!

Wow it has been too long since I have sat down to write out a little bit about biking. I have running my new buddies ears off with my knowledge and amazing them with my..."Saddle Time" but something was off. Then I was looking at my bookmarks and realized I haven't visited my own blog let alone written anything in ages! That is a problem. I am currently in a situation right now that affords me the privilege to log miles on another continent.

I am currently on a business trip to the country of Turkey. There are a lot of really neat things I have seen in this country as well as many horrid smells in the air, but I am told, "that is just Turkey." On my trip I was lucky enough to borrow a slightly used cyclocross bike from Brian down at EP/BC. I was struggling with the decision of what bike to bring over here with me. I was initially thinking road bike for sure but I was unsure of the road conditions, which was the end reason for bringing a cross bike. I also thought about bringing a mountain bike. I was doing some research and there is some decent mountain biking in the area I am located. The cross bike was the correct choice although on group rides I wish I was rolling on a 25-28c instead of a 36c with knobs.

My riding frequency has increased while I am here. I am averaging 35 miles when I head out. Most group rides I go on are 45+ miles. My longest ride here so far was a 55 mile day. I am aiming to do at least a 65 mile day at the least and maybe even a century before I leave. If I take on the 100 miles I may have to borrow a set of road tires from a buddy I met here. Also besides the smells like I had mentioned before there are also a ton of stray animals here. The stray dogs have formed packs and they take their territory along the roads very serious. I have already had a run in with a dog that left one spoke bent bad and many others really loose and messed up. I took the bike down to the LBS here and Ibo re-laced both wheels with new nipples, spokes, and rebuilt the hubs for $60...can't beat that! He did a quality good too!





















There will be more posts to come, biking doesn't take up all my free time so I will fill some of it by writing to you guys, whoever you may be. Thanks for reading, someone is cause my visit numbers keep climbing...Thanks Again!

Garmin Edge 200 (Final Review)

Well this post has been a long time in the making. I wanted to give this product a fair amount of time before I wrote what I thought about it, but I didn't anticipate it being this long. I have noticed that's initial review of the Edge has been one of the most viewed posts on my blog and thanks to those of you that are returning to read my final review. ( the Garmin I used for my review was purchased by me.)

In my initial review I spoke on the mounting and functionality of the Edge 200. I want to dive a little deeper now. This was also my first GPS enabled device I had used for cycling. I have used standard cycling computers on the past and they just left me wanting more information about my rides and a better look at my accomplishments in the saddle, I.e elevation, calories burned. I found these things in the Garmin Edge 200. This device is perfect for the guy that goes out on the bike to have a good time and collect data to upload on strava or track their fitness with different trackers. Strava is good to compare your riding to a friends or just random folks that ride where you ride.

I thought I was completely content with just knowing my elevation, average speed, calories burned, but after riding with the Edge 200 for a season I wanted more information. I have become a little more curious about my fitness these days. That being said I now want to track my heart rate to get a better picture of how the rides are benefitting my body. I also want to track my cadence which brings me to the cons of the Edge 200 in my eyes. The Edge 200 does not have ant+ capability. There are many different sensors out there from gain to track your riding and they communicate with different devices through ant+. Another con to some could be the data cable. Many Garmin devices now can upload to your computer wirelessly. This model does not do that. It never really bothered me too much because it must be plugged up to charge. Now there are some pros as well. I really like the style and ease of use of this unit. It is very easy to scroll through your information during your ride. Another pro would have to be the price. It is a fairly inexpensive unit. I believe it still retails for around $150. Some of the more advanced cycling computers out there are close to that minus the GPS capability.

With all that being said the Garmin Edge 200 is perfect for the average cyclist. It is all enough to through in your pocket too for the occasional runner as well. I used mine for runs many times. The Edge 200
Would be a great gift for any cyclist that is not concerned with tracking heart rate and cadence. Although I will end by saying that I didn't have any care to track those things either until I bought this product and started using it. The Edge 200 gives you just enough information but it left me wanting to know more.





I want to take this opportunity to say that I have a slightly used Garmin Edge 200 for sale. I have used it for a season but it is in great condition. I comes with all the original packing that I can find as well as two mounting brackets for the bars. Also the data cable too, can't forget that. I am wanting to get $85 obo for it. You can email me or just leave a comment if interested. Thanks for checking this out! Will consider shipping the product within the continental US. Free shipping on full price offer.