Bike Riding Update

Here is the latest update on my bike riding. Last year I rode 1038 miles, down considerably from the 1800 miles I rode in 2006. My overall total miles ridden now stands at 22,838. About nine years ago I started bike riding again for the first time since I was in grade school. Six years ago Skip Olson challenged me to ride around the world–24,000 miles. At this moment I’m 1162 miles from reaching that goal. If you read this entry from last January, you’ll see that I was fairly confident that I would hit 24,000 miles in 2007. That didn’t happen. Besides my hectic travel schedule, I’ve had recurring problems with my back wheel. I started throwing spokes a few months ago. Experienced riders will tell you that when the spokes start to go, they all tend to go at once, which means you’re going to need a new wheel sooner or later. I’ve had broken spokes about four times in the last two months, most recently last weekend in Gulf Shores. After having the spokes repeatedly replaced, I’m going to bite the bullet and get new wheels for my bike. That should keep me rolling with more regularity in 2008. For those who are interested, I have a Specialized Sequoia Elite that I bought 2 1/2 years ago. It really zips along.