Nothing yet
The first card lands on the first ride
Each ride in October gets one of these — the route as drawn by the GPS, the distance, the time, and which bicycle carried it.
Pawtucket, Rhode Island · Begins 1 October
I love cycling, but I suffer from the inertia that shackles me to my computer every day. I’m so grateful after every ride, and I still struggle to get up, pull on the shorts, and set out. So this October I am riding three hundred miles for the American Cancer Society, and putting every one of them on this page as I go.
The standing · not yet started
The clock starts on 1 October and runs to the thirty-first. That is 9.7 miles a day if I ride every day, or a shade under 70 miles a week. Everything on this page fills itself in from Strava as the month goes.
Each box inked in to the height of that day's ride.
Nothing inked in yet. The Ride Against Cancer falls on the twenty-fifth; the rest is up to me.
Nothing yet
Each ride in October gets one of these — the route as drawn by the GPS, the distance, the time, and which bicycle carried it.
The climb
The dashed line runs from nothing on the first to three hundred miles on the thirty-first. My own line starts drawing itself on day one, and the gap between the two is the whole story of the month.
Writing starts when the riding does. Expect notes on how the bikes are holding up, what the roads are like in October light, and whatever I find at the far end of a long Saturday.
The nostalgia bike
Quill-to-threadless conversion, adapter sanded a millimetre for the French steerer. Next: 700c wheels, seven-speed, wider rubber.
The fast one
Tiagra dual-pivot brakes fitted. Stem cut to 70 mm at 17°, saddle reset — the reach was never mine.
The one that goes to campgrounds
Bought as found, ridden as found. Next: alt bars and a threadless front end, after the month is over.
Three machines, and only one of them will do all four things.
| Machine | Road | Path | Dirt | Loaded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peugeot Grand Sport | ||||
| Orbea Asphalt | ||||
| Giant Iguana |
Open circle: possible, but you would not enjoy it.
Why I am doing it
I love cycling, but I suffer from the inertia that shackles me to my computer every day. I’m so grateful after every ride, but I still struggle to get up, pull on riding shorts or a bib, and set out.
I love big ambitious goals, and when this cause came to my attention I knew I had to do it. Like everyone, my life has been impacted by cancer — so many loved ones have battled it, and raising some money while riding is literally the least I could possibly do to honour their fights.