Most Memorable Ride: 2021

[majorpat]

I spent 6 months on duty in Germany from January to June in 2021. On Memorial Day I took the train from Wiesbaden to Koblenz and then rode back upstream on the West Bank of the Rhine. Absolutely superb ride and stunning scenery.
Pat
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[jamesdak]

Originally Posted by majorpat

I spent 6 months on duty in Germany from January to June in 2021. On Memorial Day I took the train from Wiesbaden to Koblenz and then rode back upstream on the West Bank of the Rhine. Absolutely superb ride and stunning scenery.
Pat

Ah, the memories. Stationed in Neuruet in the mid 80's. Would ride my Peugeot along the Rhine for miles and miles. Never could get a second tour over there.

[XXtwindad]

Originally Posted by cgolvin

I had a great year, rode and climbed more than ever and even at 40 (hex) I'm probably in the best cycling fitness of my life.

My most memorable ride of the year was the Rapha Prestige Santa Barbara, despite missing the cutoff time for the full course and doing "only" 70 miles and 10k feet. Great time with good friends, lots of other people just really enjoying themselves, and a really well-run event. Pics and related thoughts here.

Edit/P.S.: also enjoyed getting to ride for the first time with some Paceliners @Waldo62 and @Xxtwindad

A toast: "Next year in .... the Santa Monica Mountains!" Or, this year, maybe

[Steve in SLO]

Mine with actually nothing too sexy, just my first ride on my new-to-me De Rosa Primato. Beautiful sunny day, it seemed like I had tailwinds all four directions, and the bike was smooth as butter. Campy 8V running and shifting flawlessly.
I got back home and just sat on my doorstep for a few minutes reflecting how nice it had been.

[desertoracle]

Originally Posted by rccardr

A 300-mile tour through central Virginia with four old friends. Well, all much younger than me but long-time friends, anyway.

Would love to hear some details about this trip! I'm from Richmond

[tv_vt]

I think the most special rides for me this year were two related to the Prouty cancer fundraising activities at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Hanover, NH.

First one, pictured, was doing the 'original' Prouty 100 mile route through the White Mountains, done on a super hot day in June with this fine group of folks.

A week or two later, joined another group, with some of the same riders, doing the 'Ultimate' 100 mile route through Vermont.

The camaraderie and riding for a cause we all believed in, with many cancer survivors among the riders, was what made the rides so special.

[NHAero]

Pretty awesome Thom! I didn't know the Prouty branched out from the original CT River Valley route with the side loop over Cube and back through Oliverian Notch. Cool to get to ride the Kanc!

Originally Posted by tv_vt

I think the most special rides for me this year were two related to the Prouty cancer fundraising activities at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Hanover, NH.

First one, pictured, was doing the 'original' Prouty 100 mile route through the White Mountains, done on a super hot day in June with this fine group of folks.

A week or two later, joined another group, with some of the same riders, doing the 'Ultimate' 100 mile route through Vermont.

The camaraderie and riding for a cause we all believed in, with many cancer survivors among the riders, was what made the rides so special.

[AngryScientist]

Originally Posted by tv_vt

I think the most special rides for me this year were two related to the Prouty cancer fundraising activities at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Hanover, NH.

First one, pictured, was doing the 'original' Prouty 100 mile route through the White Mountains, done on a super hot day in June with this fine group of folks.

A week or two later, joined another group, with some of the same riders, doing the 'Ultimate' 100 mile route through Vermont.

The camaraderie and riding for a cause we all believed in, with many cancer survivors among the riders, was what made the rides so special.

Originally Posted by NHAero

Pretty awesome Thom! I didn't know the Prouty branched out from the original CT River Valley route with the side loop over Cube and back through Oliverian Notch. Cool to get to ride the Kanc!

Very cool!

Are these road or gravel rides we're talking about here. One of my goals is to do some more exploring in NH this year.

[tv_vt]

These were road/paved rides, and were organized somewhat by word of mouth. If you look at the photo, you'll see a banner saying Virtual Prouty or something like that. Due to Covid, the big early July weekend rides of 4000+ people were canceled the last 2 years and people were asked to do 'virtual' rides on their own over a week or two period and send in photos or whatever about their rides, and use those for their fundraising. So these two rides were mostly local or nearly local (nearly loco?) folks who put out the word to do such and such a ride on such and such a day, etc. On both of these rides, at least one of the rider's partners drove along and sagged, saving stops at stores and reducing the Covid concerns.

If you want to do a gravel ride related to the Prouty, check out The Dirty Prouty, aka The Dirty Project, since it's not officially connected to the Prouty organization and is run by a separate entity, but still supporting local cancer research working in conjunction with official Prouty activities. Clear as mud, right?

[ducati2]

I went for a ride with el cheapos neighbor. He was a lot slower but we still had a blast.

[jamesdak]

Originally Posted by retropean

Zion Canyon for sure! It snowed that day but it just added to the memory. At one point I rode up on a 'traffic jam' that was caused by turkeys attacking cars.

The best part is the climb and fun descent to and from the tunnel entering the valley. I did not ride through the tunnel to the other side - it is not allowed due to the narrowness and lack of lighting, and besides, I later read the book "Death in Zion" which has at least one tale of a cyclist ignoring the ban and dying in that tunnel. But anyway... a fun descent with an unbeatable view.

I really need to go down there and explore. I've been back in N. Utah since 2005 but always seem to go north when I have time off. I've never seen Zions, Bryce, Arches, or any of the wonders down there in southern UT.

[Nickt]

Without a doubt the 140(ish) mile ride from NYC to Montauk was the ride of the year for me. I was looking at it last season and made it target ride for the year with a few friends. We had planned it a few weeks in advance but when the date came, there was a big a storm set to arrive the that night. Needless to say, the winds arrived before the storm and on the last 20-30 miles were a little rough. When we got off the train when we arrived back in Manhattan, the rain had arrived and it was torrentially coming down.

Didn't matter one bit. I had a sh*t eating grin and still thinking about riding over the BK bridge many hours earlier and touching down at the lighthouse in MTK.

[Geemalar]

I went for a ride for the first time with my uncle, who’s overweight and rides a crappy bike (but could afford any bike out there for sale)………I rode his wife’s crappy bike that was a few sizes too small for me.

Maybe not the most memorable, but definitely the one that had the most meaning to me…….especially now knowing that he’s lost a good 30 pounds and is more motivated than ever to continue cycling on a regular basis.

[B4_Ford]

45 mile Banks-Vernonia Trail out and back with a friend on my recently assembled Meivici. I’d spent most of the year recovering from a hip injury, so this was about the longest I’d done. It was also my only non-solo ride. It’s nice to occasionally share a coffee break with others, even for an introvert like me.

[William]

First trail ride after surgery...warm, light breeze, low humidity, birds singing, squirrels staying off the trail, and the hum of my tires gliding along the gravel, and the sun shining on my face.

Had been off the bike for a while before, then recovery time after. Nothing special as far as rides go... but the warm air, light breeze, low humidity, birds singing, squirrels staying off the trail, and the hum of my tires gliding along the gravel, and the sun shining on my face was wonderful.





W.