Hills for Brunch: The Day After the Mulholland Challenge

On Saturday, April 9th, I completed the Mulholland Challenge, which is Stage #1 of Planet Ultra’s “King of the Mountains Century Challenge.” However, I am not writing about that. Instead, I am writing about the next day, April 10th. Because the official results of the event have not yet been posted, I have decided to […]

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March Recap

March was a great month, all things considered: It was a month of recovery and progress. At the beginning of the month, I was struggling with recovery from Achilles tendonitis, although I was hopeful that I would be able to return to training. I was unable to ride in the Solvang Spring Double Century, on […]

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What Is My “Why”?

I was recently invited to provide my thoughts regarding the 500km ride that I attempted at the end of last year for a short documentary film, 500km, which will be released on YouTube in the near future. In preparation for the interview, I spent some time thinking about why I enjoy riding long distances, and […]

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Return to Camp 9

From my living room window, I can see the radio towers at the top of Mt. Pinetos, where the Camp 9 Fire Suppression Camp is located. Mt. Pinetos sits on the southern edge of the Santa Clarita Valley, along the Bear Divide, and it is part of the San Gabriel Mountain Range. The mountain beckons […]

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Turning the Corner?

It’s time for another update regarding my progress in physical therapy. As mentioned in my last post, my recovery from Achilles tendonitis and knee pain has been frustrating. Sometimes it seemed I was taking two steps forward and one step back. Sometimes, I wondered if I would ever fully recover. So, when I say that […]

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Assessing the Damage, Picking Up the Pieces, and Making a Plan

Physical therapy is going well, but it has been a rough week. Along the way, I felt like I had taken two steps forward and one step back. On Presidents’ Day weekend, I was able to ride two days. On Saturday, February 19, I rode 87km (as previously reported), and on Monday, February 21, I […]

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Little Progress, But I’ll Take What I Can Get!

I am still in the process of healing and recovering from the Achilles tendonitis that I have been dealing with in my left leg. After my second week of physical therapy, I believe that I am making some progress—Not a lot of it, but I’ll take what I can get! This week, I had physical […]

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Taking Baby Steps on the Road to Recovery

I got back on the bike today for the first time since January 23, when I was forced to make the difficult decision to take some time off due to achilles tendonitis and some knee issues. As previously reported, my physical therapy is going well, and the therapist told me I could get back on […]

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First Week of Physical Therapy Completed

I completed my first week of physical therapy, and I am doing well. Although it seems that I will be unable to resume training at full capacity for some time, I will at least be able to ride my bike this weekend… with some limitations. I’ve been instructed to ride no more than about 30 […]

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Injury Puts an End to Training (for Now)

I finally have accepted that I need to pause my training in order to recover from an injury I developed last month. Prior to Christmas, I had experienced a slight niggling in my achilles tendon, and then on Christmas, I attempted a 500km ride, but had to stop due to knee and achilles pain at […]

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