Cycling to Work: Day 0 – Prologue

The 2023 cycling season is shaping up nicely. My personal goal for this year has been to get back into great shape. I had rotator cuff surgery in the fall and set my fitness level back quite a bit since I wasn’t allowed to do much cardio or leg exercise until late February. The older I get, the faster the fitness goes away. The forced time off from my surgery recovery took its toll. I hit the Peloton bike hard in February and March. Once the weather warmed up, I started adding on road miles and endurance length rides. I’m finally in reasonably good shape again and I’ve dropped the weight I’d gained over the winter. Getting (back) in shape sucks – no two ways about it, but it was worth the hard work.

My riding buddy Joe and I haven’t done much touring together the last few years. Family and job responsibilities have made it hard to plan much together. We decided to plot out a short/medium length tour that kicks off tomorrow. I’m going to head to work. The catch is that I work about 220 miles away by car, roughly 250 miles away by bike. It’s going to take about 4.5 days at a touring pace. Joe will join me for the first 4 days, then we’ll split off as we each head to different destinations.

We will be starting from my house in Lexington, KY and I’ll be cycling to my office at the Pontifical College Josephinum north of Columbus, Ohio. Joe will split off from me in Xenia, OH and head west to Dayton. We will be following the same route I used a few years ago when I rode to Cleveland, using country roads through Kentucky to get to the Ohio River valley, then following the Ohio River to Cincinnati. Once we arrive in Cincinnati, we’ll be following the Ohio To Erie (#OH2ERIE) route.

We’re going to take a somewhat relaxed pace for the first couple of days and increase the milage as we go north. This is a shorter tour, but I’m really excited about getting started. The weather looks like good temps and we might get a chance to avoid the rain.

People often ask me why I like to do self-supported bike touring, or specifically why am I cycling to the Josephinum? Seeing the world at the speed of bike travel is much nicer than seeing it at automobile speed. The country roads I take are often very picturesque and not heavily traveled by cars. The people I meet are friendly. The hours on the bike are a great opportunity to take in the views, pray, talk with friends, and slow down the pace of life. Some people like the beach for the views and relaxation. I like the pace of bike travel for many of the same reasons. As for the “Why bike to work?” question: Just because. It’s a nice goal and the route is good.

For those who have been following my cycling adventures, you may recall that I had a few broken spokes on the last two bike tours. I learned from the local bike shop that the wheels the manufacturer used on my bike are prone to that issue. So instead of getting them re-laced with new spokes, I purchased some new DT Swiss wheels. Let’s hope these wheels are more reliable.

So now that I’ve tested out my blogging setup and my gear is packed, I’m ready to go!

Peace!
— Dcn. Matt