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!

Riding For A Bulldog...

For those of you that do hop on here and read my blog it has been a while since my last entry. I believe I have had one post this year so far. The truth is that I haven't really had too much cycling related to talk about. So far this year I have logged less than 500 miles on the bikes. I did complete another Tough Mudder event this April so I am pretty pumped about that. I am also pumped for what I have coming up this weekend. This weekend I am riding as many laps as I can in support of a fellow mountain biker with cancer. I cannot think of a better subject to write my season opening post about. I will be honest, I have never met the fellow cyclist but I am really anxious to meet him Saturday.

Brian Fults is an inspiration for me in the short time I have followed his story. I have recently become friends with a few of his close friends that told me about him. Everyone speaks very highly of him and his accomplishments. I recently watched a speech that he gave at a benefit dinner that honestly had me shed a few tears. Brian is terminal now after beating cancer many times before. I think the most touching thing for me is his positive attitude and his care for others. Racing in this event is the least I could do to show some support for Brian and his family! Oh and its another excuse to throw a leg over the bike and ride! 

I will be there Saturday riding 4 hours for the Bulldog. If anyone that is reading this has some time on Saturday and could make it out for a few laps I would urge you to do so. I know a lot of the guys that are gonna be there and they are great guys. More details are on the BikeReg page which is below. There will be food and other goodies I have read but overall this is going to be a great way to get out and show support for a fellow mountain biker!

 GO TO THIS AND SIGN UP!

         https://www.bikereg.com/Net/19217