Jeff rides a bike

Man, I have been MIA for a while! Turns out working two jobs can get pretty insane. I’m up in Maine right now for a conference but will be headed back to Orlando this weekend. I’m sure you’re starving for a legit update so it’ll come soon.

Happy cycling!

I have recently taken on a second job. The summers at Rollins are very quiet in our office and since they hardly pay us, they make up for that with a ton of paid time off. With my wedding coming up next spring, I decided I would take a lot of my time off and get a second job. I’m now working at the bike shop I have frequented since getting into cycling! 

While this isn’t my ideal vacation, everyone needs to make sacrifices throughout life and this is one of them. I have to say, though, that working at the shop will likely be a very rewarding experience. So far it seems everyone there is great which will definitely make the working environment a happy one. 

Another bonus is the start time - 10:00 am! Technically we have to clock in at 9:45 am, but that means I can ride for 2 hours in the morning and then shower at the shop and go to work. I wanted to do that this morning but didn’t get into bed until 11:30 pm. I figured 5-6 hours of sleep, then a tough 2 hour workout followed by a day on my feet that will end at 7:00 pm might be a little tough for a second day on the job (don’t want to be dragging)! So, tonight I’ll hopefully get to sleep earlier and be able to ride tomorrow morning.

Any tips for working in a bike shop?

Every time I travel for work I bounce around hotels, sleep weird hours, am in planes as cars a whole lot, and succumb to restaurant food. This last trip was a week of the above.

My first ride after a trip is THE worst. I feel like absolute shit. It’s usually my stomach that knots up. Typically it’s just that one ride to straighten me out and then I’m good. Today was my detox ride - 24 miles of fun. I felt good for most of it but about 14 miles in I had to pull off under some shade - detox rides are always better when it’s 98 degrees out.

Tomorrow I graduate with my Masters. The weekend will be spent celebrating on 2 wheels!

Day 1

The forecast predicted hell-ish conditions all weekend. Saturday tuned out to be a perfect day to ride a bike. It was a little cloudy and windy, but over all it was great riding weather. I spent most of the day with a guy named Tim. We were both keeping the pace between 19-21 mph and didn’t want to stop too often or for too long. We cruised into the last stop and Tim tapped out - he was starting to cramp and couldn’t hold the pace. He decided he was going to ride with a different group for the last 15 or so miles. I latched on to a fast pace line and spent the last 15 miles or so turning out about 23 mph. I ended the day at 78 miles total with an average pace of 19.2 mph. I was happy!

Day 2

I got as much rest as I could after Saturdays ride and felt pretty good Sunday morning. It stormed bad enough over night that it woke me up at home so I was a little worried I’d be riding in the rain all day. It turned out to be a mostly dry day but windy as all hell. Winds were around 25-30 mph and we had a headwind for about the first 60 miles. The field really split. Groups were either at 18 mph pace or about 23 mph - not really anything in between. I found two guys that wanted to work together and spent most of the day with them and we had a blast. The last 10 miles absolutely drenched us - lots of rain! But I was at least happy to have been dry for the vast majority of the day so I couldn’t complain. I finished day 2 about 10 minutes behind day 1, which I was very happy with considering the rain and wind.

I’ve passed the $1,700 mark for fundraising. I am so proud and grateful of all my friends and family for stepping up to make a difference. This is such a fun and well-organized event and I absolutely love doing it. Can’t wait to do it again!