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After 477 days of trail riding every day, "The Streak" finally ended on Christmas Eve, 2009. Let me explain...
As of mid 2008 I was already riding very regularly, usually 5-6 times a week, and I remembered an older Bike column in which Mike Ferrentino attempted to ride every day for 50 days straight. Like Ferrentino, I fell short of this original goal, in my case pooping out at 34 days due to traveling to Indonesia (I did take a bike with me, but I found it pretty difficult to ride while in a plane or airport for 35 hours straight). Anyway, once I got back from Asia, it was game on.
Starting Sept. 3, 2008, my original goal was 50 rides, in homage to the Ferrentino column that inspired me. It then became 100, then 122 (roughly a third of a year), then 183 (half a year), then 244, then 365. After a year, my goals became less specific beyond keeping it going for as long as I could. More on that later.
I used certain requirements for a ride to "count." It had to be at least 40 minutes long and contain at least some singletrack.
Several factors made it possible for me to pull off the streak. For one, I'm a graduate student, which means that while I'm quite busy (or at least should be), my schedule has been rather flexible--it's not a 9 to 5 job. Also contributing to this flexibility is the fact that until last Thurs, I did not have any kids. Another important factor is that I was living in southern CA for the vast majority of the Streak, which meant that the weather usually made riding possible. There were also two (smallish) trail systems that I could do from my garage in socal, which meant that it was usually easy to squeeze in a ride. Lastly, I'm married to a supremely supportive woman who was extremely patient in her approach to my near obsession.
Nonetheless, the streak wasn't effortless. While I lived in socal most of the time, I took three trips to NC over the course of the streak, as well as one road trip to the Pacific NW with my wife. I also moved back to Western NC just before the end of the streak. The weather on the east coast, especially in the winter, can be more limiting when it comes to trying to ride every day. Even in ridiculously sunny socal, it does actually rain (though it's often quite welcome since it means the return of traction and landscape colors other than brown). Rainy weather typically required more effort since it limited me to trails that drain well. Even then, I almost always carried a trowel so that I could do tread maintenance while the ground was softer, digging knicks, etc. There were several rides in which I did more maintenance than actual riding. The alternative, at least in NC, was to simple ride while it was below freezing (usually at night or early morning) so that wet trail surface was frozen rather than muddy. There are still conditions in which it would not have been possible or desirable for me to ride (lots of snow, serious injury, flooding, locusts, melting snow on the ground but above freezing temperatures, plague, etc...). Thus I lucked out to some degree in avoiding these conditions.
Aside from some degree of obsessive determination, much of what kept me going was the simple fact that every day was a better day if it contained a ride. Regardless of conditions, nagging equipment issues, or sub-par riding ability, I always felt better after even the most perfunctory rides. This relief has been essential for me as I've navigated a doctoral program and started a family.
The Streak finally ended last thursday, Christmas Eve, when my daughter was born. My wife woke up with contractions around 3 am. Given that this was more than week earlier than we were expecting (she was due today, actually) and that we had just moved into a new place, there was a lot to do to prepare the house and support my wife for the birth. Combined with pretty horrible trail conditions in WNC, the Streak was no more. Of course, a healthy baby girl is not a bad consolation prize...
I'll follow up shortly with some ride stats (where I rode, what I rode, with whom I rode, etc.) and some pics.
As of mid 2008 I was already riding very regularly, usually 5-6 times a week, and I remembered an older Bike column in which Mike Ferrentino attempted to ride every day for 50 days straight. Like Ferrentino, I fell short of this original goal, in my case pooping out at 34 days due to traveling to Indonesia (I did take a bike with me, but I found it pretty difficult to ride while in a plane or airport for 35 hours straight). Anyway, once I got back from Asia, it was game on.
Starting Sept. 3, 2008, my original goal was 50 rides, in homage to the Ferrentino column that inspired me. It then became 100, then 122 (roughly a third of a year), then 183 (half a year), then 244, then 365. After a year, my goals became less specific beyond keeping it going for as long as I could. More on that later.
I used certain requirements for a ride to "count." It had to be at least 40 minutes long and contain at least some singletrack.
Several factors made it possible for me to pull off the streak. For one, I'm a graduate student, which means that while I'm quite busy (or at least should be), my schedule has been rather flexible--it's not a 9 to 5 job. Also contributing to this flexibility is the fact that until last Thurs, I did not have any kids. Another important factor is that I was living in southern CA for the vast majority of the Streak, which meant that the weather usually made riding possible. There were also two (smallish) trail systems that I could do from my garage in socal, which meant that it was usually easy to squeeze in a ride. Lastly, I'm married to a supremely supportive woman who was extremely patient in her approach to my near obsession.
Nonetheless, the streak wasn't effortless. While I lived in socal most of the time, I took three trips to NC over the course of the streak, as well as one road trip to the Pacific NW with my wife. I also moved back to Western NC just before the end of the streak. The weather on the east coast, especially in the winter, can be more limiting when it comes to trying to ride every day. Even in ridiculously sunny socal, it does actually rain (though it's often quite welcome since it means the return of traction and landscape colors other than brown). Rainy weather typically required more effort since it limited me to trails that drain well. Even then, I almost always carried a trowel so that I could do tread maintenance while the ground was softer, digging knicks, etc. There were several rides in which I did more maintenance than actual riding. The alternative, at least in NC, was to simple ride while it was below freezing (usually at night or early morning) so that wet trail surface was frozen rather than muddy. There are still conditions in which it would not have been possible or desirable for me to ride (lots of snow, serious injury, flooding, locusts, melting snow on the ground but above freezing temperatures, plague, etc...). Thus I lucked out to some degree in avoiding these conditions.
Aside from some degree of obsessive determination, much of what kept me going was the simple fact that every day was a better day if it contained a ride. Regardless of conditions, nagging equipment issues, or sub-par riding ability, I always felt better after even the most perfunctory rides. This relief has been essential for me as I've navigated a doctoral program and started a family.
The Streak finally ended last thursday, Christmas Eve, when my daughter was born. My wife woke up with contractions around 3 am. Given that this was more than week earlier than we were expecting (she was due today, actually) and that we had just moved into a new place, there was a lot to do to prepare the house and support my wife for the birth. Combined with pretty horrible trail conditions in WNC, the Streak was no more. Of course, a healthy baby girl is not a bad consolation prize...
I'll follow up shortly with some ride stats (where I rode, what I rode, with whom I rode, etc.) and some pics.
