When I got back from the cross-country bike ride, one of my co-workers, Kurt,  who works at our Illinois location sent me an email saying how he read my blog every day and that my ride had inspired him to re-commit to his own riding.  He set a goal of riding 2,000 miles this year and as the year draws to a close, I think he’s closer to 3,000 than 2,000.

Kurt sent me a few photos of his rides this fall. He and his daughter rode together one weekend while she was home from college — nothing like sweating together to help father and daugher bonding, eh?

and… another photo taken over the Thanksgivings Day weekend. Nice bike path —  or at least it would be if that tree hadn’t fallen across it!

Kurt and I have been exchanging emails and visiting when he comes to Denver on business. We are now pushing and supporting each other and Kurt is inspiring ME! Who will ride latest into the year? Who will ride even when it is wicked nasty out? I’m wondering about next year already and which one of us will rack up the most miles….the most feet of climbing…. the longest ride….. etc. etc.

Kurt currently holds the “Who will ride even when it is wicked nasty out?” award.  Here’s a photo and the email  he sent of his recent snowy ride.

Hi Sandy,
  I was bound and determined to try to get an outdoor ride in this weekend. Only problem is that we had 4 inches of heavy wet snow overnight… I drove my bike down to the bike trail along the river and made an attempt to ride today. For winter riding, I’m using my Specialized Tricross with knobby tires so I thought that might be able to handle it. When I could ride in snow that hadn’t been trampled by runners and people walking their dogs I was doing ok but most of the time it was a bit of a challenge as the tires were pretty squirreley on any of the packed down snow. In the end, I only rode about 4 miles and at one point I was actually passed by a jogger! It was fun but not a real bike ride by any means. Looks like I’m going to have to go back to riding on the roads (when they are dry/clear) until the bike trails are clear again. I’ve attached a picture of how nice things looked on the ride.

   Kurt

I’m not sure I can compete with this! Scooter and I may tackle the cold days, but I’m not sure we’re up for skiing!