Lethargically Energetic

"I'm in a hurry to get things done, I rush and rush until life's no fun, all I really gotta do is live and die but I'm in a hurry and don't know why.”

I've never been a racer, I've tried it a time or twelve and probably will again but it's never really called to me like it does to some. I prefer to think of myself more as lethargically energetic, I enjoy getting out and being active but more at a pace that doesn't induce vomiting, lightheadedness or the strong urge to just lie down and die afterwards. This was one of the main reasons that the How To Train For A Century or Multi-day Ride clinic held by Cycle Works on Monday appealed to me. From the great turn out I can only deduce that I am not the only one who wanted to learn more about piling on the miles.


Of course a few adult sodas never hurt either. 

First up was Susan Rodenburg, Susan and her husband Rich have been putting on the Tour de Nebraska for almost 30 years now so she is quite familiar with multi-day rides but she was there more to talk about the ride than how to prepare for one. This has always been one of those rides that have sounded interesting and after listening to her talk about it I think I might have to make plans to ride it one of the next few years.


Next up was Jana Vavra, an endurance athelete and the first woman to ever finish the Trans Iowa race so she knows her poop.


She had a lot of good information to share about tools, clothing, bicycles and nutrition.


Probably the best piece of advice of the whole even is right here. If it's not fun or if you aren't having fun doing it, why do it?


Batting cleanup was Cornbread talking about all of the great trails in and around Lincoln, it really is one of the gems of the city even if you are more of a walker/runner than a cyclist.


Corey also shared a bit about how he sets up his bike and what things he carries with him on multi-hour or multi-day rides. I don't know about you but I have never seen that much titanium on one bicycle either, makes those tires look like 24" tires.

Lots of good info and insight were shared and just in time, I have some big rides on the calendar this year (122 miles on Good Friday, Tour of Dirt Roads is 87 miles, Odin's Revenge is 60 miles and Gravel Worlds is a solid buck fiddy) and could use all the help I can get so I definitely appreciate Cycle Works organizing this clinic. Maybe next year it's time to plan a few multi-day rides on a long weekend, your rides are only limited by desire, motivation and time... although people can always find time for things they really want to do.

Getting There By Bike

I always thought it would be cool to tour Europe or even the US of A via bike but I probably should have done something like that right after I graduated high school as it is now I'll probably have to wait until I retire and hope the old faculties still all work well enough to remain rubber side down and remember who I am and where I was going... or win the Powerball, that's always an option. More realistic though is the short one to two day mini-tour so I was pretty excited when I saw that Cycle Works was going to have a Self Supported Touring/Sub24 Clinic.


There was this guy, a ton of knowledge on bike packing and self supported touring... not to mention one of the sweetest bike grease chain ring tattoos I've ever seen.


Salsa Vaya setup with front and rear commuter type panniers, it looks like you could carry a ton of stuff in those bags.


Damon's personal bike setup mostly with handmade bags from Relevate Designs, they make some long lasting quality equipment.


One of the things discussed in the class that I really liked was that you didn't need to necessarily buy any sort of specific type of bike to get out and do a self supported sub 24 hour tour, you just needed to figure out how to adapt what you have and make it work.


No braze-ons, no problem, this little trailer will hold all the gear you'd need and even let your valuables ride in cushy comfort via it's own shock.


This is the part of the night where I kinda forgot all about the "you don't need a specific bike" part of the clinic, that ECR from Surly had me day dreaming and drooling all at the same time. It's a look you really have to be careful with, people tend to see someone drooling and staring off into space and they like to call the police about the escaped mental patient so you have to be aware of your surroundings to pull off such a look effectively. Learned more than a few things at the clinic and think I might just have to see about giving this bike packing thing a try, to me it really does seem like it might be a good time. Bikes, beer, fire... lots of nylon and polyester, what could possibly go wrong?!?