Spring City Spinners

When I tore the meniscus in my right knee, I knew I needed to make a change to my activity. The constant pounding on my knees from hiking more than 3,000 miles the past three years was taking its toll. I needed an option to stay active, but with less stress and impact on my knees.

Cathy’s love of cycling made the transition to riding a natural option for me. I reached out to my neighbor Dana, who made a similar transition from running several years ago, for recommendations on the purchase of a road bike. Dana started a mobile bike repair business (www.cycle-logix.com) out of his garage and I am an honorary member of his staff with the title of Warehouse Manager. My responsibilities are limited to storing bikes in my garage when he runs out of space in his own garage during the peak cycling season.

He provided me with three options within my budget, and I chose to purchase a Trek Domane 5 Gen 4. I figured you can’t go wrong with a Trek and it is more than adequate for my needs. It is surprisingly light, weighing roughly 22 pounds.

Road cyclists also typically use clip-in pedals to secure their feet to the bike and are sold separately. This rigid connection improves pedaling efficiency and prevents your feet from slipping during high cadences. It allows riders to utilize their full muscle group to pull up on the pedals during sprints or steep climbs.

Cathy encouraged me to join the Spring City Spinners bike club. The club organizes rides each week and weekend, plans various routes, and allows for the improved safety of biking as a group. Membership includes a subscription to the Ride with GPS cycling application to track your distances and performance. The social aspects of club membership are an added benefit offering the opportunity to meet fellow cyclists from a variety of skill sets. The club even includes individuals who prefer to ride e-bikes.

On the first nice day of spring, I geared up and took a trial run to test out the bike as well as attempt to get used to the new clip system. I quickly learned to unclip from the pedals well in advance of any potential stops. If you come to a stop with your feet still clipped in, you inevitably face plant unceremoniously on the pavement. Fortunately, my trial run was an uneventful 20-mile ride with no mishaps.

After a few moderate rides with Cathy, we joined the Spring City Spinners for rides on consecutive weekends. The first ride was a 27-mile ride through the southern Kettle Moraine area titled, the Seven Lakes Ride followed by a 31-mile ride from Oconomowoc to Watertown and back. As I felt stronger on the bike, we opted for a 42-mile ride from Mukwonago to Waterford and back and a 34-mile ride entitled the Hills of Rome from Wales to Rome and back. Both rides involved significant elevation (at least for me).

The rides with the club always emphasize safety, but this past weekend I had my first minor mishap. The group had stopped at the intersection of a busy crossroads to cross together safely. As I was coming to a stop, I unclipped both my shoes from my pedals. Unfortunately, one of my shoes became reclipped as I came to a stop. Without the ability to put my foot down to the ground, I began to tip over into Cathy and we both went down to the ground. No one else was brought down by my clumsiness and Cathy was unhurt. Later, I discovered that my back stainless steel brake (hot from the sun) had contacted my leg and left a perfect burn pattern on my skin. It has branded my leg with the shape of the disc brake.

There is always a learning curve when taking on a new hobby. I believe I have taken to cycling well and have enjoyed my rides more as I get into better shape. Genetics have blessed me with the Youngquist thunder thighs famous in our family and have made the transition to cycling rather seamless.

Soon, I will leave on my adventure to cycle, hike, and kayak across the Peloponnese Peninsula of Greece. Over the past several years, I have lost both of my parents and Amy. I am humbled by the support and encouragement I have received from family, friends, and even complete strangers on this journey. I never could have imagined my path through these tragedies leading me last year to walk the Camino Portugues in Portugal and Spain and this year to my multi-sport adventure in Greece.

Amy’s philosophy of joy still resonates with me. Every day I think of my love for her and her dedication to joy despite everything she endured. Given the tumult in the world today, I think it is appropriate to remind everyone of her wisdom summed up by the Catholic priest, theologian, and psychologist, Henri J.M. Nouwen.

“Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it everyday.”

Keep choosing joy my friends.