Why I Ride

Morning Monclova, Mexico Meander

A break from cycling posts for something important! Jenna’s .schweikert Master’s degree graduation!

Indy area trails are making big strides in connections and destinations! Great to see the new(ish) bridges across the White River and 96th Street!

Big Bike Milestone! (Pic #1)

Oh the places my Cento 10NDR has carried me in the last 9 years- with so many great people! It has a few blemishes and survived carbon surgery (pic 2) thanks to Dr. (wouldn’t have attempted that without you!) but scars add character, right?

3- Bike to Work Day 2018 with friends
4- Cape Hatteras, NC during an Outer Banks century
5- Rollfast 8x8 in Brown County State Park (8 laps of 900 ft of climbing and 20% grades). 3 sufferfests with Dave, , and Jason, but I still relish planning the perfect line through the curves and 40+mph on every lap.
6- remember pulling me into Chicago on a stormy Friday evening headed to Mackinaw in 2018? I tried to match “around the world” record pace (240 miles/day), but after 680 miles in 66 hours, I could barely walk.
7- on the same ride, Lake Michigan scenery taking my mind off the fatigue
8- the most epic ride of my life- 24 hours in a roundabout in 2019. 3065 laps and 376 miles- raising $10,000 for featured on .
9- 2020 Tour de Roundabouts (249 in 21 hours) for Covid relief, photo by ? (also featured on GCN)
10&11- amazing pano photo by .vond during Tour de Roundabouts (Jackson Circle in Carmel).
12- finish of Tour de Roundabouts with support crew &
13- Blue Ridge Parkway 2020. Magnificent scenery with 469 miles and 50,000 feet of climbing.
14- Exhilaration after riding through the night to reach the Gulf of Mexico at dawn to finish “the Parkway Tour” and complete a lifetime north-south crossing of the US
15- Rock ‘N Roll Hall of Fame starting “How far can you go when there is no finish line?”- 353 miles across Ohio in a single ride
16- Michigan Tour 2021 with Eric, Dave, and Pete (and other great guys!)
17- Cherohala Skyway between NC and Tennessee in 2021- a little known but immensely beautiful road I had driven but not ridden.
18- just last year

What- and who- will the next 50,000 see???

Recent ride sights in surprisingly scenic southern Indiana

Tagged along with my budding journalist daughter .schweikert to the NoKings rally in Springfield and the AP picked up one of her photos! Very cool!

Ever have a ride that you anticipated for a long time and still exceeded all expectations? Sunday was one…
That hole in my map has been bugging me. Headed out of town west made for a perfect opportunity to fill it in. But the sights riding public roads around the Indianapolis Airport felt like a behind the scenes tour! So cool!
Pic 3- aptly named
Pic 4- ever wonder where your plane food comes from?!

As a bonus- have now ridden 20% of Indiana roads 😁🤯 .earth .earth

What happened here?

A couple of years ago, I realized that I’d ridden in most of Indiana’s counties. But not all. So naturally to ride in all 92 became a goal. With my incredible wife .dirck out of the country doing good deeds, the time came this weekend to finish it off.

But why?

As long as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated by places I’ve never visited. I can remember car trips growing up, looking out the window and thinking “I wonder what’s down that road” only to pass another road and think again “I wonder what’s down that road”. I’m grateful (because I had nothing to do with it, it’s just how I am) that I’ve never outgrown that childhood wonder of
earth is the best cycling site/app I’ve ever come across. It feeds the data nerd in me and provides limitless goals. But it really is all about seeing new places. My favorite part of travel is wandering the narrow streets of an old foreign city. Cycling isn’t much different. I could fill pages with what I’ve seen on rides motivated only by going somewhere I’ve never been before. Just on this weekend’s ride, I visited for the first time (after 30+ years in Indiana), Kendallville, the Amish country including Shipshewana and Elkhart, Middlebury, Goshen, and Mishawaka. All because there was a big hole in my map that needed filling in!

Sure I’m proud of setting and accomplishing big goals (375 miles in 3 days with little training was hard!) I hope that you find some motivation to explore someplace new. my friends.