Bikes, bikes, bikes

For the past few years I've been getting back into cycling in a big way. Though I've spent all my life riding bikes, after college I rarely had time or a place to ride. Now that's all changed as I live in a relatively flat small town with plenty of roads and a healthy cycling scene.

A couple summers ago I got my first road bike and went on a few 15 mile rides with the local bike shop group. Last year I raced in a couple cyclocross races and got my ass thoroughly kicked, but had a blast. Thanks to the MetaFilter cycling challenges over at We Endure, this year I decided to stop hanging my bike up every winter and just power through it.

This year, I'm aiming to do quite a bit more. This fall I'll do the whole cyclocross series. I'm also doing the 500 miles in one week of Cycle Oregon. I'll do a century or two (or 3) during the summer as well as the Portland Short Track series on my new mountain bike. Today I had fun doing the Worst Day Ride as well as hitting the North American Handmade Bike Show. Though I've only ridden 600-800 miles a year for the past three years, I'm hoping to put down about 2,000 in 2008. My three favorite blogs right now are Bike Portland, Bike Design, and Bike Hacks.

I mention all this because you might see a few more bike-related posts here and I'm actively trying to lose another 25lbs this year by watching what I eat and exercising more. It also adds some motivation to meet my goals, so if you see me in six months on the street or at a conference, go ahead and ask me how many miles I've ridden and how much weight I've lost.