Adding it up

Today was the Valentine's Day Ride that the GVC puts on every year. Notoriously, it's crazytown. Everyone stays together until a long climb, at which point multiple explosions (mostly testosterone and a few coronary) occur, breaking things down into smaller groups. I was going to treat this ride as a litmus test of my condition, hoping to go with one of the front groups and average around 20/21 mph, which for the time of year, would have been very very good.

Unfortunately, I misplaced myself in the pack and couldn't catch up to the group I wanted to ride with after said explosions. To try and bridge it would have been futile, especially only 20 miles into a 55 mile ride, so I decided to create my own group instead. I averaged 18.5 with what felt like plenty in the tank to spare, and went home feeling slightly let down.

When I dumped my Garmin Connect (shameless Garmin plug ::here::) info into my computer, though, I was curious to see just how far I'd come since I started "getting serious" all the way back last August. Literally. I got out my dusty calculator, lonely in the drawer since my stats class ended, and started to add up my mileage. All of it.

All of it, that is, that I've recorded. So not counting all of the stuff since I first started riding Vincent. And not counting the brief period of time where I was Garminless.

So, since August, and not counting the garminless few weeks. Where have I gone?

To Vancouver, BC.

3,056 miles.

Now I'm not saying this to brag.

Ok, I'm not saying this just to brag. I'm sure that in the grand cycling scheme of things, this number is status quo to the serious Cat 6 wanna be amateur poseur extraordinaire. Perhaps even less than status quo.

But to me, it put things WAY in perspective.

I've ridden to Canada!! Should things go completely bonkers here in the States, I mean even more bonkers than they already are, I could, in theory, hop on my bike and ride to say, Niagra Falls, easily! I couldn't do it fully loaded like a good tourer could, but hey! I could pedal in circles until I reached the land of "Eh"!

So do your worst in 2012, Palin. I can't ride across your bridge to nowhere, but I can at least ride away from you.