Heywood…..Heywind!
The Heywood Ride 2025 - I think my number plate represented my cycling IQ!
Three years ago the Heywood Ride was mild and no wind. Last year hot and windy. This year cold and super windy. Ouch…..that hurt. It was tough. This year’s Heywood Ride, I mean Heywind Ride, really tested me. At times I wondered if my cycling IQ was zero?! Let explore that and share some pics!
Let me start with some reality. My spring training and riding has stunk. My physical health is lower than it’s been the last two years. Is it smart or stupid that I essentially came off the couch and rode the Heywood?! That’s a real question. Is my IQ zero for being stupid, or was I smart to just do it anyway and suffer? Let me know what you think in comments. For the record, I am going with smart. I am just getting a late start to the season and it’s time to get going! But damn, that was hard. Pretty much the hardest 60 miles I’ve ridden in years. But I did it and I mostly had fun.
OK…Let’s get to the ride. I had been looking forward to it as I had AJ and Errin flying in to stay with me and ride the event. I took Friday off and we had planned a whole day of riding and hanging out followed by a great ride on my favorite roads. While the weather didn’t work out on Friday, we did get some riding in along with LOTS of hanging out. Bikes. Coffee. Pastries. Bikes. Hanging out. Tacos. Hanging out. Beers. Bicycles. Dinner at the Farm. Good peoples. Yeah, it was a day.
We woke up Saturday to cooler temps than expected along with really high winds. I knew I’d be out on the bike a long, long time so I rode my most comfortable steed, my Tumbleweed Bicycle Company Stargazer Ti. Jeepers I love this bike. It was perfect.
I just rode my own pace and my own event. Unlike last year, I wasn’t trying to go fast. I wasn’t caught up in catching or passing. I just rode my bike and enjoyed my time. I rode the pace I knew would get me to the finish line. That last 10+ miles into the wind was absolutely brutal. But I made it. So did Errin and so did AJ. I call that a win! I already can’t wait for next year.
I already shared a bunch of bicycles from the Friday festivities. Beyond that, I didn’t take too many pictures. Here are a few from both Friday and Saturday.
Click on any image to go to slide show mode!
Lastly, let me share a video by my friend Errin that came out from LA. So good to see him. We’ve been friends a long time. Loved having him here and showing him around! Thanks Errin and well done on the vid!
Hope to see you all next year!!
For the photo nerds, images shot with a Ricoh GRIII and a Leica M262.
