Cycling Goals are Trivial; Try Setting One Anyway

In school it seemed like I couldn't go for a month without being asked to complete some kind of worksheet about goal-setting. I always hated it. What are your goals for this course? What are your goals for this semester? Are you happy being you? What kind of person would you like to be? My impulse was to fill in the blanks with answers like, "In 100 years we'll all be dead."

These days I like to pretend I'm not quite so fatalistic, and in many ways setting goals has been helpful for me as an adult. I tend to make poor decisions in the moment. If I didn't set goals, I'd be at the mercy of my impulses.

For instance, while I do own a car, I've set a goal to not drive it unless I'm driving to a trailhead. If it weren't for that goal, I'd drive everywhere because I'm lazy and because it's cold outside. However, because I've set that goal I almost always ride my bike around town, and am happier and likely healthier for it.

Part of the reason I remain resistant to cycling goals is that most everyday riders don't have them. Riders who enjoy racing seriously have them, and because I am not fast and never will be I am outside of the cycling subculture most congruent with goal setting. Know what, though? I'm going to set one anyway, and you should think about setting one yourself.

Yawp! is therefore going to offer a goal completion program. All you have to do to sign up is fill in the brief form below. Share your riding goal for 2017. Your goal could be to ride 10,000 miles. It could be to bikepack for a week, or to race the Iditarod. It could be to commute by bike 250 days this year, or 200, or even 12. Maybe you want to learn how to wheelie for 100 yards.

Anyway, at the end of the year, we'll have a prize for anyone who's reached their goal. You might not like setting goals, but I'll bet you like prizes.

You may be thinking that trying to ride 10,000 miles in a year is just silly. It is silly. It's a meaningless number (no matter how many miles you ride in a year almost no one will be impressed). However, if you're like me you spend a good portion of your free time seeing things on teevee that don't really need seeing and fretting about dumb things that don't deserve your attention. Maybe setting goals will remind us to go outside and enjoy ourselves instead of queueing up yet another compilation video of cats falling into fish tanks. While I think riding 10,000 miles is a pretty fine goal, it won't be mine. I have no idea how many miles I ride in a year because I've previously taken an ethical stance against buying a bike computer (I went so far as to buy a tiny abacus that I zip-tied to my handlebars in order to make fun of bike computers, but it rattled so obnoxiously that even I, with my appetite for all things obnoxious, tired of it). I've changed my stance, and this year I'll be using Blackriver to track all of my stats. Not because stats matter or because I care, but simply out of curiosity. (Blackriver isn't competitive, like other popular cycling apps, and it focuses on the dissemination of quality rides, which is why I like it).

Here are some of our goals (thanks for asking):

Levi: Finish the Land Run 100 and then conditionally, maybe, the Dirty Kanza.

Scott: Commute by bike 200 days this year. Bikecamp for a weekend.

Brian: Gain over 500,000 feet of elevation (and also get faster than Cullen).

Some Fine Print

Challenge yourself. If commuting 12 days this year will not be a challenge, set a different goal.

Buying a new bike, getting your touring rig all situated, or finally getting your brakes dialed are all good goals, but they don't count toward this program. Your goal must have to do with riding.

Set as many goals as you like; only one prize per participant.

Ideally, we'll have a party at the end of the year and distribute prizes at that time. However, if you want to get in on this and don't live nearby, we'll ship your prize to you if you're willing to cover the shipping. 

You have until January 31st to submit your goal.

To sign up, just fill out the form below. If you want to share your goal publicly, you can additionally make a comment in the comments section below. 

Yawp! Cyclery's 2016 Gift Guide

Yup, gift guides are often pretty useless, but they're fun to make and fun to look at. Here's ours! Some of this stuff we sell and some of it we don't, but we like all of it. If one silly gift guide isn't enough, you can see last year's guide here.

TIMBER BELL

Front range trails are getting insanely crowded, especially on weekends. I have yet to use this bell without being thanked by hikers. It eliminates surprises, and helps you communicate your presence far in advance. I had to wrap the inside of the bell with tape to mute it a little, but it's brilliant for keeping all trail users safe and happy.

B is for bicycles

It's an alphabet book that's all about bikes, and there's an owl on every page! We here at the shop have now learned our alphabet up to R.

Singletrack maps

At Buffalo Creek this past season I saw six dudes all crowding around a single tiny GPS screen. Someone who was not lost was trying to explain to five people who were lost where to go, and it didn't seem to be going well. Also, paper maps never run out of batteries. Not only that, but Singletrack Maps is a Colorado company.

Frame bags by J. paks and oveja negra

 Tired of carrying a heavy pack? Yeah, there's no reason to. With a billion frame bag options out there, you can put the weight on the bike where it's more comfortable, and where it lowers your center of gravity. Both J. Paks and Oveja Negra are here in Colorado, and their bags are of a higher quality than "off the shelf" bags.

(Also, please enjoy our "prom" backdrop).

torque wrench

For folks who enjoy working on their own bikes, a torque wrench is a necessity. Both under- and over-torquing can lead to disaster, so this little tool will prolong the life of your bike as well as your body.

adventure knowledge

Salsa has been into bikepacking for a long time, and they have lots of helpful tips to offer. This is a great resource for people who are looking to get into riding with their stuff. 

tool roll 

North St. Bags are handmade in Portland, Oregon. They're lightweight and very tough. 

North st. bags backpack

Many of the cycling bags I've used are tough but don't offer options for organizing the little stuff. I've been using this bag for a few months now, and I love it. It's lightweight, exactly the right size, and holds everything I need exactly where I want it so I never have to fish around in one giant compartment for a pen or my headlight. 

ibex wool cap

Do you like cold ears? Nobody does. This merino wool hat fits under a helmet and will make your ears happy.

socks

Do you like cold feet? Nobody does. These will keep your feet warm so that maybe you won't have to put your cold feet on your poor husband when he is trying to sleep. Ahem.

Sweet Bloom makes some of the best coffee anywhere, and they roast it just down the street from us. 

handmade Cards and prints

My July is here in Denver, and makes some great greeting cards. Link to her Etsy page to get you some.

Ratchet Rocket multi-tool

This is the most versatile and efficient multi-tool I've ever carried. It's not awkward or bulky to use like other tools can be, and with the extender you can easily access any bolt on the bike. If it included a chain tool, it would be perfect.

Surly junk strap and loop strap

These straps are infinitely useful. I keep one in just about every bag I own. Here are just a few of the ways I've used them over the years: pet leash, belt, attaching stuff to bikes, attaching bikes to vehicles, bathroom stall lock, shoelace, lasso. The ingenious Loop Strap is fairly new, and you can read about it here.

The Things Pete Carried

You may or may not know that this blog occasionally features a series called "What's in Your Bag" (by occasionally I mean one other time). From this point forward, the name of the series is changed to "The Things They Carried." Anyway, the idea is that maybe you'll see something in someone else's bag that you should be carrying yourself. Before we get into Pete's description of his bike and gear, here's something you should know about Pete. There are some things I've seen him carry that he excluded from his photo. He once brought on a group ride a five-gallon ziplock bag full of dried crabapples, which were like healthy Jolly Ranchers. I ate hundreds of apples, and the next day my jaw and my digestive system wouldn't let me forget. Also, I've never seen Pete's bags without about forty beers in them, which he generously shares. Now, without further ado, allow me to introduce Pete. Everybody, this is Pete:

"Glitter Dreams Surly Straggler turned sinister commuter with Gevenalle shifters, Velo Orange fenders, Schwalbe 700c Marathons, Surly front rack, squishy Serfas saddle, flat pedals, Cygolite tail- and Niterider head-light, and some cages for water cups from Illegal Pete's. Plus a saddlebag with repair/spare items and a U-lock mounted to the seat tube...about that U-lock.

A lapse in judgment turned the violet-plague into a unicycle when some Space Monkey's homework assignment required them to remind me that humanity is inherently evil. The Knights at YAWP! are cooking up a replacement wheel and I'm a firm believer that you always upgrade when replacing a bicycle part. Silver linings. 

I commute daily, around 1500 miles/year plus additional for transportation needs. Here I showcase my maximum payload--the Denver winter assault kit. Any fairer weather and I start sloughing pieces into a cardboard box where it waxes and wanes with response to the forecast.
 

Two Swift Industries Mini Short Stack Panniers rated at 46L

Surly Junk straps, essential grocery run survival

Oakley sunnies and nameless clears

Buff, headband, hat, and Smartwool watch cap

Patagonia R1 fleece and a Rab pull-over

Arc' hardshell and REI rain pants

OR gloves and hardshell glove covers

GORETEX over-the-ankle and toe-tip shoe covers

Lunch, complete with spork

Work uniform

Stethoscope and a gypsy camp of pens, shears, and forceps

Wallet, keys, phone, and phone charging equipment

Water bottle and reusable shopping bags

Give me Chapstick, or give me Death

Once the machine has returned to the stable to stand side-by-side with the other two-wheelers that have been pulling its duty, I have security plans and stainless steal zip ties.  Rest assured, the greatest improvement is time and wear."

The Highline Canal - Denver's Best Boring Ride

Hello, and welcome to this blog post. This post is going to ramble on for too long about a ride that itself rambled on for too long. A large part of what made this ride enjoyable was what I listened to along the way, so here's a sample. It makes as apt a soundtrack for this post as anything. 

The Highline Canal winds for almost seventy miles through Denver's suburbia. For some unknown reason, I recently decided to take the lightrail down to the Mineral station and follow the Canal until it intersected the Sand Creek trail. The trails are still dry and this is the best time of year to ride a mountain bike, and it's rare that I have the opportunity to do whatever I want for an entire day. Did I make a mistake? On paper, the answer is yes, but in reality it was actually a pretty good day (though you can see on the map where I became too bored to continue, just east of I-225).

There are some positive things to say about the Canal. For a city trail, it far surpasses the South Platte and Cherry Creek trails. It's prettier, less traveled, and feels fairly remote despite winding through a city of 650,000 people.

There were other trail users, but it wasn't crowded like the Cherry Creek path. It wasn't littered and industrial like the Platte path. However, both of those paths are slightly more interesting. The Highline looked almost exactly the same for fifty miles. Another small perturbation about this trail is that you have to cross a road every few miles, which you don't have to do on the other paths in town. It's a small matter, but waiting at stoplights does interrupt one's rhythm.

About half was paved and half was not. I was on 2.0 knobby tires, but a road bike would've sufficed.

It's not a ride I'm in a hurry to repeat, but there may be a sunny winter day when I want to put in some headphones and enter a trance state. However, there are so many amazing dirt roads within an hour's drive that I may spend sunny winter days elsewhere.

Once I got on the Sand Creek Greenway, I didn't get far before the trail was inexplicably closed with no detour. Martin Luther King Blvd., despite a bike lane, was less than ideal. In retrospect, I should've hopped back on the lightrail. All in all, though, it was a pleasant day.

Here are a few other things that made this ride a delight:

Bikepacking Against the Machine

In late September some of our pals from Surly spent a weekend riding bikes with us. (We did something similar last year, which you can read about here). On Friday, some folks bikepacked. Some folks biked. Others still simply packed. It was a broad event best enjoyed by open minds.

If there's something finer than getting a leisurely start and riding bikes all day in the fall, I don't know what it might be. 

Thirteen hearty folks set out from the east end of Section Two of the Colorado Trail. Of those thirteen, two had never really ridden singletrack before. That's incredible.

If you've not ridden this trail before, you should know that the first 3/4 of a mile is very steep. There are no pictures of this section because letting go of the rock face to take a picture means certain death. Remember the movie Cliffhanger? (I hope you don't). It's just like that.

Finally, at the top of that heinous section, you break out of the trees and the grade relaxes and you can more or less continue about your day. The word "top" in this case is misleading, because you aren't at the top of anything. You've gained about 1/1,000,000th of your total elevation for the day. A navigator should be careful about using the word "top" in a group, especially repeatedly, as others will begin to look at that navigator fist with distrust, and later, hostility.

Here we came upon a fantastic resting place near a large, pink rock. The view was fantastic, but upon review I didn't get a single picture of this rest spot that didn't feature someone peeing, so you'll just have to imagine a Rocky Mountain valley. Trees, river, rocks, aspens, pee, etc.

In fact, one could probably best describe this entire trip by listing things I did not photograph. Our pal Ryan from Totem Cyclery was there, but you'd never know it from looking at these photos. Our friend Kevin from Huckleberry Roasters sent some coffee with us, but based on this photolog you might think we had to wake ourselves up by clacking pots together. 

Karate Monkey yellow.

Then it was time for: climbing! About five miles worth. It was steep and loose in a couple of places, but not technical. According to me, we were continually "almost there" and "just about at the end of the bad part." According to several sources, this information was wrong.

Finally, yes, right here, I was correct. This was the top of the climb. Except for just one tiny little bit of climbing that came after this.

Krampus!

We stopped at Chair Rocks because it's one of the best views in Buffalo Creek.

Here's a little slideshow about how to sneak up on Trevor. Step #1: Make him ride bikes until he is tired. Step #2: Sneak up on him. Fun!

The trail between Chair Rocks and the end of Section Two are about as pleasant as can be. It's a bit like being adrift at sea. Most of us were low on water, which was also a bit like being adrift at sea.

Fortunately, we were soon able to rehydrate: 

Some beer from our pals at Call to Arms, Trve Brewing, and Prost.

There's something to be said about riding hard all day and finally sitting down for a beer. It's a rare opportunity to be completely unwound. Even better if there are stars and fires involved. 

On Saturday we rode bikes n' stuff. We road road, we crushed gravel, we schralped berms, we sent jumps. We bombed, enduroed, downhilled, uphilled, crossed country, and styled freely. We lunch rode. I didn't get pictures of any of that. Instead, here's a good one of everybody standing around:

Is the new Karate Monkey rad? Nate thinks so.

On Sunday, a few of us rode back down Section Two to where our vehicles were parked. Bogie impressed us all with his trials skills:

There were actually several people on this ride, but I sure didn't take pictures of any of them. 

View fullsize

Finally, many thanks to Trevor and Aaron and Surly Bikes for helping us make this weekend happen. Y'all are the black hoodies we wear around our hearts.