The best rides of 2010: Part 1

One of the best parts of my job is that I get to ride my bike around the world. I have had some great rides in 2010, so here are the first 5 of my 10 most memorable rides of 2010.

10. Levi’s Gran Fondo. This was an awesome, well-organized event in Santa Rosa and Levi was a great host. Tania and I had a great ride on the 100k route through the redwood forests, down along the Pacific Ocean for a few miles of killer views, and then a great climb up into the mountains with a ride along King Ridge. It was a beautiful day and a spectacular ride. At the end, we sat around, talked big and drank very cold Fat Tire Ales.

9. The Trek 100. This year was the 21st annual Trek 100 to benefit the MACC fund, which is a fantastic organization dedicated to fighting childhood cancer. Since the start of this event, Trek has helped raise over $12 million. The ride starts and finishes at Trek HQ in Waterloo and winds riders through small towns throughout south central Wisconsin. This year I counted only 3 cars that passed us throughout the entire 100K ride. The highlight of the ride for me was powering up a short climb with my head down and running into a very nice girl who happened to have just started at Trek. I was very apologetic and brought a box of cupcakes to work on Monday as a peace offering.

8. Jim’s Trails. At Trek we have 15 miles of the BEST mountain bike trails in the world. When I am in the office, I always try to get a ride in either at lunch or at the end of the day. Churchill once said that “a day away from Chartwell is a day wasted.” I’ll alter that to fit my life and go with a day not riding Jim’s Trails is a day wasted.

7. Santa Barbara. One of the most memorable rides of the year was with Tania, at the end of March, up Gibraltar road in Santa Barbara, California. Tania had major surgery at the start of February and rallied to climb up Gibraltar. It was a spectacular day, with beautiful company and a great ride.

6. Tuscany in May. I had a great trip to Italy with Trek’s International Managers in May. While the riding was great, the weather was not. Two great memories stick out from the trip—the first is my 77 year old mother passing me and Gary Fisher on her electric assist bike during a ride. The second great memory happened on day two—it was pouring rain and we went sightseeing in Sienna. Sienna is an awesome city. I really wanted to ride so I was trying to get someone to go out in the afternoon in the cold, pouring rain. Luckily, my wife, Tania, and Harald and Petra Schmiedel came along and we had a great time despite the weather.

Jb.

Comments

[Dan O]

Sweet - they all sound like great rides and memories.

[George Anderson]

That video is priceless!! I have to look into getting my 82 year old father an electric assist bike. Less time on the electric golf cart and more time on the electric bike.