Plans! Plans! Plans

 

 It's 2014. It finally feels like 2014. January was a hectic month of staggered holiday traveling for me. Now I'm back in the Bay and back into my normal regiment of riding and waiting for phone calls from a job, which is always questionable if I even have. With 2013 kindly in the bag, my second best year in riding (sorry riding cross country knocked 2012 over 2013, oh well), I'm pumped for a 2014 I hope to make even better. Here are my plans.

I'll be crossing my 2012 route in Yellowstone, if I manage to make it on the TransAm.

First and foremost there is the most obvious and the most stupid. The Trans Am bike race. Starting June 7th in Astoria, OR the race ends in Yorktown, VA, completely, totally, and moronically, unsupported. If you are wondering, yes, I think this maybe the dumbest thing I have ever signed myself up for in my brief quarter century on this planet, but something about it lures me to it. After finishing in 2012 in 80 days, what some people called a fast pace, I had mixed feelings. My first thought was that I went too fast and missed a lot, but the other thing, was that I was curious to see how fast I could get from coast to coast, fully aware of the RAAM solo record of just under 8 days. I want to say I have a chance to compete at a high level of this thing, but most of me is just curious to see how fast I can go from coast to coast. This will most likely take over the blog in training, gear, and what not in the course of the next six months (and of course the writing on the road).

(Not my photo) Old Cazadero Road part of the SFR Adventure Series.

One of the early unsupported attempts for time across the country was Canadian Wayne Phillips, who competed in the 1985 Race Across America, who was tragically struck by a truck early on in his race. Wayne Phillips was a highly accomplished randonneur before racing in RAAM. Randonneuring is another way in which I can challenge myself in 2014, that being said I am hoping to complete my first full series, which is a 200k, 300k, 400k, and the daddy of em all the 600k. Living in the Bay Area I have plenty of opportunities to ride randos with four clubs in the area. I am already looking forward to trying these.

Nestled within those goals are some more loose goals, my first double century, my first twenty four hour ride. I'm sure if I do join the aforementioned events I will most certainly get some of those out of the way. Some maybes, are racing in cyclocross in the fall (I'm usually too broke to say no to work) and maybe some gravel grinders this year, but that might be even harder to do.

Here's to a killer 2014.