I started by riding mountain bikes by taking whatever two wheels I had at the time to the motocross trails at the end of my parents' street in Iowa. There was a creek crossing in the beginning of it all, so a couple years into it a friend and I built a bridge across. It floated away the next year. At fourteen I started working for a bike shop with the same friend and started racing the same year. The next year I learned the beauty of getting rid of all but one gear. Too much knee pain made me put them back on and then upgrade classes. I raced all through college and this is the first year, at age 24, since age 13 I have yet to toe the line. This weighs on me but is also a relief, mostly the latter.
I moved to Colorado at the age of 22 and look forward to the time of melting snow. Though I have come to love skiing, biking still sits on top as my favorite past-time, stress relief, and lifestyle. Racing gave me goals and amazing fitness but it did not allow me the amazing rides and experiences I now have.
My weekends start with a big pot of coffee, unfolding the Summit County map, and checking the weather. It isn't a matter of time, mileage, or zones. Where haven't I been? What haven't I ridden this year? This is how rides should be decided, based around the concept of the adventure.
Though the unknown seems to lure us in there is also fun to be had in the familiar. In Des Moines there were two trails in town totaling around 25 miles while I was growing up. While each one holds special memories for me, I sometimes found myself wanting more. There are a few trails around Keystone that I tread on a regular basis to seek out the familiarity I now find myself wanting.
The familiar trail yields differing challenges for each ride taken upon it. Weather it is a new line through the tricky rocks, weaving between the pines that seem to yield just enough to allow a handlebar to pass, or pushing the speed through that tempting turn.
Whether it is the familiar or unknown I choose to seek out on a ride - I will find the challenge. I have set aside the goals of racing and have been able to find challenges that don't come with medals or payouts. The rides that aren't judged based upon others but on a sense of self satisfaction seen on the sweaty, dirt caked legs of the writer.
I moved to Colorado at the age of 22 and look forward to the time of melting snow. Though I have come to love skiing, biking still sits on top as my favorite past-time, stress relief, and lifestyle. Racing gave me goals and amazing fitness but it did not allow me the amazing rides and experiences I now have.
My weekends start with a big pot of coffee, unfolding the Summit County map, and checking the weather. It isn't a matter of time, mileage, or zones. Where haven't I been? What haven't I ridden this year? This is how rides should be decided, based around the concept of the adventure.
Though the unknown seems to lure us in there is also fun to be had in the familiar. In Des Moines there were two trails in town totaling around 25 miles while I was growing up. While each one holds special memories for me, I sometimes found myself wanting more. There are a few trails around Keystone that I tread on a regular basis to seek out the familiarity I now find myself wanting.
The familiar trail yields differing challenges for each ride taken upon it. Weather it is a new line through the tricky rocks, weaving between the pines that seem to yield just enough to allow a handlebar to pass, or pushing the speed through that tempting turn.
Whether it is the familiar or unknown I choose to seek out on a ride - I will find the challenge. I have set aside the goals of racing and have been able to find challenges that don't come with medals or payouts. The rides that aren't judged based upon others but on a sense of self satisfaction seen on the sweaty, dirt caked legs of the writer.
West Aqueduct from Andy Lueck on Vimeo.
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