100,000 Lifetime Miles

On today’s ride I reached 100,000 lifetime outdoor miles. It’s a goal I chased for a long time. Here is the year-by-year breakdown:

That’s 3,500 rides. At an average of 28.57 miles per ride, getting to 100,000 miles was an exercise in consistency rather than a series of heroic efforts. Those 3,500 rides included not just training rides, but also races. Every mile counted, whether on road or off.

Today’s miles will not be the last outdoor miles of 2026. There might be a few more here at home as October begins, and my Scott Addict will go to Pennsylvania with me for what I hope will be one final block of good riding in mid-October. In any case, strength training now will be my athletic focus through the end of April 2027, and cycling will play only a complementary role. I haven’t done any proper strength training since May 31, which is inexcusable. It’s the last thing that should have an offseason. In 2027 and beyond, I need to keep working on strength even during the fair weather months when I’m putting in a lot of time on the bike.

It remains to be seen whether I will set future mileage targets for myself. I have a 22-year streak of 3,000-mile seasons. Maybe I will simply keep that going.

Brandon McNulty!

Congratulations to Brandon McNulty, who won the 2026 UCI World Championship road race today in Montreal! McNulty is the first American to win the rainbow jersey since 1993.

The Pause That Depresses

The fall equinox occurred yesterday evening, so Autumn 2026 is officially here. There should be a word to describe the end of summer in Wisconsin, but we’ll have to invent one because all of the obscenities are busy with other things. When the sun went down on Saturday the 12th, summer shot out of here like it wanted to make a point about being unappreciated. We’ve had almost nothing but low temperatures, high winds, and rain ever since. Predictably, these conditions have been bad for my cycling ambitions.

I got back on the bike today for the first time since last Wednesday. Sad, but true: I had six consecutive days off the bike at a time when I had expected to be nearing my mileage goal for the year. With 35 miles today, I am still 155 miles away from that goal. I will be disappointed if I do not reach my goal by the end of September. If I still have work to do in October, then the self-imposed deadline shifts to Wednesday the 7th. Early on the following morning, I will leave for another two- to three-week stay in Pennsylvania, where I intend to worry about nothing.

I used my time off the bike to address some things I had been neglecting, so the news isn’t all bad. In the last week, I finally pruned some overgrown trees and rebuilt a downspout that had been depositing rain into my basement instead of my yard. I also started reading books again. It was stupid of me to have stopped after beginning the year so ambitiously: 18 novels before the end of April. Finally, I replaced the original tires on my Scott Addict (3,995 miles!) with a new set of Continental Gatorskins, which performed perfectly today and should last right through the end of the next cycling season.

Pilgrimage

Used Trainer Derangement Syndrome

Supply without demand: there's never a shortage of indoor trainers on Facebook Marketplace.

As an enthusiastic proponent of free market capitalism, I am all for sellers getting the highest price that buyers are willing to pay. At the same time, I hate to see sellers failing to realize that their goods or services are ridiculously overpriced. This happens sometimes in retail markets and sellers eventually lower their prices until sales volume increases to levels that approach or even exceed original expectations. A lot of research goes into pricing before a product ever hits the shelves at a fine retailer near you. A high initial price may be designed to create an aura of exclusivity, setting the stage for a sale price that intersects with demand from bargain hunting consumers.

Then there’s Facebook Marketplace, an online “yard sale” used by millions of people to extract a tiny bit of residual value from secondhand items that probably never lived up to the promises of retail marketing. And there may be no greater example of this disappointment than indoor bicycle trainers. Thought you would use yours more, didn’t you? Didn’t really like it. Kind of boring. Or maybe you’re the exception: loved it, upgraded to a smart trainer, spend all your time riding through virtual worlds now, and don’t need the old magnetic or fluid trainer anymore.

Whatever the case, that used trainer is worth far less than its original retail price. On Facebook Marketplace, you’ll be lucky to find someone willing to take it off your hands for free. (I scored a free magnetic trainer placed at the end of a driveway in July 2020 and still have never used it! Last December, I snagged a free smart trainer listed on Facebook Marketplace, and it has become my go-to trainer.) Anyone thinking about getting an indoor trainer likely knows that smart trainers are superior, which more-or-less fully devalues magnetic and fluid trainers. But don’t take my word for it. Watch as prices fall on Facebook Marketplace. You can see a couple of local examples in the screenshot above. I don’t expect individual sellers to price their items with the same accuracy that is characteristic of most professional listings, but get real! Prospective buyers don’t care what you paid years ago. It’s easy enough to look at similar listings from other sellers, price your item competitively, and then hope for the best.

Expectations For September 2026

I need a good September, not a great September, to reach my mileage goal.

As September begins, I am 535 miles away from 100,000 lifetime miles. I mean to reach my goal before the end of the month, and history suggests that I will. In the last decade, I always surpassed 500 miles in September, and in 2020 I set a personal record:

Of course, past performance doesn’t guarantee future results–just ask me about the value of my Walmart stock this year–but in this situation it inspires confidence.

I also expect to get comfortable with my new sleep schedule this month. I made the transition from an early morning bedtime to a late afternoon bedtime on August 24, and the results have been mixed. As the days continue to get shorter, more of my sleep will take place when it’s dark outside. That should help.