#5000MilesIn2022 and #10Everestsin2022

I started a little slow this year.

By the 10th of February last year, I had cycled 541 miles with 34,687 feet climbed.

Here it is the 10th of February ... and this year I've only cycled 370 miles with 20,279 feet climbed. Not even 1 Everest.

There are various reasons for my slow start this year. I won't go into them. Honestly, 370 miles with 20,279 feet elevation gain in a Colorado winter isn't really all that bad for an old couch potato such as myself.

I'm sure at some point I'll catch up. If not, I'll still ride more than most people.

#Strava #YearInSport

Well, 2021 is over. 

If you followed this blog over the year, you know I accomplished my #10EverestsIn2021 goal. As of mid-November, I passed 300,000 feet in 2021.

And ... since that time, I've ridden more, and passed my 11th Everest of 2021. 11 x 29,032 = 319,352.

According to Strava, I climbed over 324,000 feet on my bicycles over the year.

300,000 feet in 2021

According to Strava, over the weekend, I passed 300,000 feet climbed on my bikes this year.

#10EverestsIn2021

300,000 feet was my yearly goal for 2021. I still have over a month of cycling to go before the end of the year, but with the cold weather, I probably won't do a whole lot of climbing in the next month.

As I mentioned when I first mentioned the goal, to get to 300,000 feet in the year, I was going to have to average 822 feet climbed every day. 

That is quite a bit. As of today, I've averaged 928 feet per day, which is even more. This is certainly the most climbing I've done in my life.

For what it is worth, I've also cycled more miles this year than last year, which makes this the highest number of miles I've ever ridden in a year. 

Not bad for an old couch potato.

I'm not sure what cycling goals I'll have for next year. We'll see what I come up with.

Stay tuned and you can find out ... Sheppy's Blog: Biking

10th Everest of 2021

According to Strava, I've climbed 291,913 feet on my bikes this year. This means I passed up my 10th Everest in my #10Everestsin2021 goal.

Mission accomplished. Sort of.

For my official Strava climbing goal, I rounded up to 300,000 feet. (see #10Everestsin2021), so I still have some climbing to do over the next couple months.

With shorter days, especially with the end of daylight savings time, I'll have less time to bike outside, so I'll probably slow down.

Even so, another 8,000 feet should be easy to accomplish.

I'll probably let you know when I pass up 300,000 feet. Follow Sheppy's Blog: #10Everestsin2021 to see.

Go Bears!

9th Everest of 2021

I finished up my 1000 miles of the Great Cycle Challenge. I'm blown away by the generosity of everyone who donated. I blew away previous years' totals of donations.

And ... the page will remain open through the end of October. So ... if you wanted to donate, but have not had a chance yet, feel free to visit the page between now and November 1st ...

https://greatcyclechallenge.com/Riders/EricShepard

Along with the 1000 miles, I climbed around 42000 feet of elevation during the month. 

This also means I passed up my 8th and 9th Everest in my #10Everestsin2021 goal.

8th Everest of 2021

Well ... my Great Cycle Challenge continues. I've passed my 8th Everest of 2021.

As I type this, I've climbed a little over 234,346 feet of elevation on my bikes.

At this point, Strava says I'm 24,600 feet ahead of plan to hit my #10Everestsin2021 goal. By the end of this month, I wouldn't be surprised if I'm a whole Everest (29,032 feet) ahead of schedule.

Another #GCCUSA Century Ride

To be honest, when I wrote "I might attempt Century Ride # 4 this Labor Day Weekend" on 3rd Century Ride #GCCUSA, I was mostly kidding.

Century Rides are hard. They take a lot out of me. I didn't think there was any way my legs would be ready for another long ride before the end of the long weekend.

But ... honestly, I was feeling pretty good after a rest day, and I had Friday off work.

I got up early for a bike ride. 1000 miles were not going to ride themselves. I had to keep up with my commitment to the Great Cycle Challenge.

I knew I would do a long one. I didn't really plan for 100, but I thought I'd see how it went.

After 10 or 20 miles, I was fairly sure I wouldn't be riding more than 50 miles. My legs didn't feel like they had much in them.

3rd Century Ride #GCCUSA

It is September, so I've begun my Great Cycle Challenge. 

I've committed to cycling 1000 miles in September to help raise awareness and money for Childhood Cancer Research.

If you'd like to help out with a donation my "Rider Page" is at:

https://greatcyclechallenge.com/Riders/EricShepard

I'm extremely pleased with the support I've gotten so far. I've actually far exceeded my expectations for the amount of money I would be able to raise.

So ... with all those generous folks donating money to my "ride", presumingly expecting me to meet my 1000 mile goal, I certainly want to make sure I do my best to get all my miles in for the month.

My 2nd Century Ride

 I did my second Century Ride last Saturday. 100 miles on my gravel bike.

Yep, 100 miles.

That's right ... On my bicycle.
Yep, in one day.
No, my butt is fine.
Nope, I'm not crazy.
Yes, I know you don't like to drive that far.

If you've been following me, on this blog, you know I'm "training" for September. 

In September, I'm riding 1,000 miles to help raise awareness and money for the Children's Cancer Research Fund with the Great Cycle Challenge.

If you can afford it and are against childhood cancer, you should donate some money to help with the cause. If you want to help my fundraising effort ... you can donate at

https://greatcyclechallenge.com/Riders/EricShepard

6th Everest of 2021

According to Strava ... I'm up to 174,890 feet of elevation gained on my bicycles so far this year, putting me just over 6 Everests in 2021.

It's true. 29,032 x 6 = 174,192.

I'm still ahead of schedule to hit my 300,000 goal by the end of the year.

5th Everest of 2021

I've done another Everest since 4th Everest of 2021.  Another 29,032 feet climbed. My 5th Everest ... over 145,160 feet.

According to Strava, I've climbed 147,350 feet while cycling, putting me just over my 5th Everest of 2021. Strava says I'm ahead by over 10,000 feet to reach 300,000 by the end of the year.

I've also cycled just over 2,500 miles, putting my ahead of schedule to reach 5,000 miles by the end of the year.

4th Everest of 2021

Since 3rd Everest of 2021, I've climbed another 29,032 feet on my bikes. Another Everest. 

According to Strava, I've cycled 1,896 miles so far in 2021 with 116,175 feet climbed. This puts me on track for 5,000 miles with 300,000 feet by the end of the year.

3rd Everest of 2021

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen that I have climbed over 87,700 feet on my bike this year.

This means, I've passed my 3rd Everest for the year. Everest is 29,032 feet high. 3 x 29,032 = 87,096.

Due to a broken spoke on my wheel and a snowy April, I've fallen slightly behind my Strava goal of climbing 300,000 feet in 2021.

I'm sure I'll catch up once the weather starts cooperating, so I'm not worried about missing the goal.

If you'd like to follow along and see how I'm doing throughout the year ... bookmark Sheppy's Blog: #10Everestsin2021

Metric Century and Beef Flanken Short Ribs

March has been fairly snowy in Denver. 

It is nice to get the snow, but snowy weather makes getting in bike rides a little challenging.

I can always ride in the gym on a stationary bike, but that isn't nearly as fun. Plus that doesn't do me any good on my #10Everestsin2021 goal.

This past weekend, the weather was great for cycling, and Saturday I started out early with the intention of gaining a lot of elevation.

My legs were not "feeling it", so I changed my route to move away from the big climbs fairly early in the ride.

I decided that this ride would not be much more than a "recovery" ride.

2nd Everest of 2021

As I mentioned in  #10Everestsin2021 - February Progress Report, I am on track to climb the elevation of Mt. Everest 10 times in 2021.

On Monday, March 8, I went on a ride that brought my total for the year up over 59,803 feet.

As I'm sure you know, Mt Everest is 29,032 feet high. 2 x 29,032 = 58,064. 

So, I've climbed Everest a little more than twice so far this year. (2.06 Everests)

#10Everestsin2021 - February Progress Report

Don't forget ... I'm raising money to help fight Childhood Cancer by signing up for the Great Cycle Challenge again this year.

My plan is to ride 1000 miles in September. Between now and then, I'll beg for people to donate money on my GCC Rider Page:

https://greatcyclechallenge.com/Riders/EricShepard

If you can afford it ... head over there and make a donation. I'd really appreciate the support. If you don't want to do it now ... don't worry ... I'll be reminding you at least once a month until at least the end of October.

If you're my facebook friend or follow the SheppyBrew Facebook Page, I'll nag you even more often. Sorry. (not really that sorry)

#10Everestsin2021 - January Progress Report

So ... I mentioned in #10Everestsin2021 that one of my goals for 2021 is to log 300,000 feet of climbing over the year.

That's basically climbing Mt. Everest 10 times over the year.

#10Everestsin2021

If you followed Sheppy's Blog: #5000MilesIn2020, you know that I cycled over 5000 miles in 2020.

In fact, by the end of September .. I logged almost 5,600 miles between my bikes and stationary bikes at the gym. 

Most of those miles were outside on my gravel bike.

I've never cycled nearly that much in a year. In fact, I totaled around 2500 miles in 2019, and that was my second highest year.