Why ride a bike for 24 hours?
I like to ride bikes and teach young people about science. I have a great job. Everyday is different and I get to interact with so many people that occasionally it makes me a bit dizzy. Cycling helps me find my center. Think of it like yoga on wheels. Well, not exactly.... Cycling has been a passion of mine since I was a boy growing up in Scottsdale, Arizona. Cycling keeps me young at heart (quite literally), of course healthy and in my wife's eyes out of trouble. Outside of my family and teaching, two wheels are my life. I have two motorcycles and twelve bikes hanging in my garage. I embrace and follow a particular brand of cycling coined "Gonzo-cycling”: a type of adrenaline fueled, fast and erratic style of riding where you (try) pass anything in front of you. Is it hard to do? Yes! That's why racing is so much fun. The front of the pack features mostly gonzo-cyclists. When I race/raced motorcycles it seemed like they were all followers of this gonzo religion. Most typically,
In the late 80’s on my mountain bike I passed a 6 point buck (male deer with six pointy antlers) in a full blown gallop on railroad grade on the side of Mt. Tam. Wow. I remember that like it was yesterday. I have overtaken flying bat’s on the Matt Davis trail on night rides. I have even forced rabbits and coyotes to run for cover while rambling around the woods late in the night in the county of Marin. I think the seeds of wanting to ride “gonzo-style” was sown early on in my brief stint as a bike messenger working for Arrow messenger services here in San Francisco. Some people think of “gonzo-cycling” as a cross between Hunter S. Thompson and Lance Armstrong. They might not be too far off. Twenty four hours is longer than I have ever ridden before and it just might tame the gonzo inside of me. Thanks for your support.
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