Cycling was once again one of the cornerstones of my year. I had some unforgettable experiences and achieved things I didn't think I was able to do a year ago. I leaned hard into randonneuring this year, completing distances from 125km all the way up to 400km. I also succumbed to the N+1 bug and got a second bike. Some of the year's highlights were:
I rode more than 4000 miles this year, doubling last year's distance.
I joined 5 populaires/brevets with the Chicago Randonneurs. The 400K to Eagle, WI and back was the longest and fastest ride I've ever done, being finished in just 18.5 hours.
I joined an OOFD bike camping trip up in Wisconsin's Door County, which was some of the most enjoyable riding I've done. One of the nights, we were lucky enough to see the northern lights at camp quite clearly thanks to the dark skies on Washington Island.
I completed the "Festive 500" challenge, riding at least 500km between Christmas and new years. This necessitated getting set up to ride long distances in proper cold weather!
The new bike is a custom built Otso Warakin stainless steel all-road bike. It's much lighter than my heavy touring bike, and subjectively I think it looks better too. It's been a joy to ride this past summer, despite a couple small mechanical issues. If I want to rebuild it into a proper gravel bike in the future, the adjustable chainstay length will allow for wider tires. For now, I have it built up for the long distance road riding I'm doing for randonneuring. It's in the shop at the moment, getting set up with a dynamo hub, lights, and device charging.
I have some goals for the coming year:
Complete the full "Super Randonneur" series - 200km, 300km, 400km, and 600km. This will pre-qualify me for registration for Paris-Brest-Paris in 2027.
Start incorporating more structured training so that I can be more efficient with my time on the bike and enjoy big rides more.
