46km / 2 hours 35 min / 101m gain

(For my reference: Komoot estimated 3 hours 11 min and 100m gain)

It was an easy ride today; I got an early start, so it was much cooler. The route was as fantastic as yesterday. I did have one spot where the path disappeared, but I found a detour a few blocks away.

I stayed in Tordesillas, Spain, last night! I wandered around a bit, ran into a few history signs, and realized that the Treaty of Tordesillas was signed here. I remember learning about this in high school, where Spain and Portugal divided the rest of the world between them.

70km / 3 hours 45 min / 408m gain

(For my reference: Komoot estimated 4 hours 33 min and 330m gain)

Lindsey and Calico drove me to the start of my route this morning. It was weird to have an audience, as I usually start my rides solo!

We got a late start with breakfast and checkout, so I didn’t get going until 1130am. It was a beautiful sunny day, although a bit hot (UV of 7).

The route was 90% gravel and FANTASTIC!

The perfect trail for adventure. There were tons of fast, smooth gravel, random sand pits, double track with overgrown bushes blocking the way, large chunky routes where I had to go very slow, and everything in between. A lot of very careful lines so that I didn’t fishtail out of control as parts of the path went from gravel to sand.

Spain is such a beautiful country… I wish we could live here!!! I have to come back to more of Spain for gravel routes, as the roads are amazing (just look at the pictures below).

I went past plenty of wine today, fields of different veggies and wheat, and lots of scrubland. I didn’t see any snakes today, but I did see 3 huge fish in the river that were probably 2.5 to 3 feet long.

My route today ended near Valladolid.

I am staying above a bar in a small town (only 25 euros a night).

For my end-of-ride lunch at said bar, I had Havana Club 7 (thanks to Laura for introducing me to my favorite rum!), a coke, morcilla (I love blood sausage), tortilla, and some bread (picture below). Life is good!

For Mother’s Day (and a weekend adventure), we stayed in an amazing 12th-century castle near Salamanca (here is more info on the castle on Wikipedia).

It was quiet, peaceful, and just a really lovely weekend. Calico stayed in a room with me, so Lindsey got some alone time. And Calico and I got some together time. He showed me how he styles his hair and helped me with mine. I also learned he is terrified of lightning, so I tried to explain how that works (not sure if that helped).

I randomly found it as Lindsey had offered to drive me closer to my Spain-to-France bike route to help make it possible in the limited time I had for the ride. I am always looking for unique places to stay!

Before I left, I had to fix a few things on my bike…

• My rear hub was broken, so I replaced that before I left (huge thank you to the local store for that work). The new hub feels so much better and there is a very long story there. Hopefully the spokes are all good, he checked the tension on Friday and fixed a few.
• My rear tire was worn out, so I replaced it. I also swapped the front tire just to have some extra grip, given the high amount of gravel I am doing. I will swap the front tire back when I get home until it wears out.

How did I train for the ride?

Because I decided to do this last minute, I didn’t get as much training time as I would like. Even worse, I got sick twice in this period (which didn’t help).

• Week 1 – 9 hours and 40 minutes of riding.
• Week 2 – 5 hours and 8 minutes.
• Week 3 – 2 hours and 27 minutes. Only one ride in Bordeaux over Spring Break as things got crazy.
• Week 4 – Then zero rides… I got a cold the last week in Bordeaux.
• Week 5 – 6 hours 39 minutes.
• Week 6 – 9 hours 21 minutes (2x 3+ hour rides)
• Week 7 – 10 hours 48 minutes (3x 3+ hour rides)
• Week 8 – 5 hours 36 minutes. I got sick after a 4.5-hour ride on Monday. I think Calico gave me his chest infection, but luckily, we are both well now.
• Week 9 – Around 6 hours of training. I kept it light as I was exhausted. I started my bike tour on Sunday.

What did I pack? 

Read the rest of this entry »

This was on my list to do before we moved, and I finally finished the full thing today! Woohoo!

What is it? It is a 49km long rail-to-trail conversion between Viseu and Santa Comba Dão. This trail is my daily ride, and I am pretty spoiled.

I did 101km in 4 hours and 36 minutes with 619m of elevation gain (there and back). I took it nice and slow as I have been training and just trying to get a lot of hours in my bike seat.

I realized that if I want to do a bike tour, I need to do it now, so I will take a trip across Spain in mid-May (we are moving this summer, plus we are visiting family in the USA).

I will start in Salamanca and bike across Spain, through Zaragoza, up around the corner of the Pyrenees to a small town called Ille sur Têt (in France). The weather should be cooler, which will help, given Spain’s intense summer heat.

What are the stats?

• ~1,050km
• ~8,500 meters up and 9,310 down.
• The route I’ve mapped should be 70% gravel and 30% pavement. Hopefully, the gravel is a little more defined than in France, as I found myself hiking through random forests with no path a few times in France (not to mention the field routes that didn’t always work out). But that is also part of the adventure!
• I will do it over ~17 days of riding. I will try something new this year where every 5th day is a rest day and see if that balances me out. I get so excited that I overdo it in the first 7 to 10 days.

Training?

Because of the late start and dates I was confined within, I didn’t get as much training as I would like. It would have been better if I had not gotten a cold over our Bordeaux spring break. It won’t be as bad as my Portugal Camino tour in 2021. And I’ve got two more weeks to train, so hopefully, I can get to a good spot.

Why Ille sur Têt?

There is a fantastic French bike company that is based there. I will do a bike fitting with them for a custom frame for a new bike (gravel)! Then I will take the train with my bike to Bordeaux, finish signing on our new house, park my bike there, and fly back to Porto to organize the move. Huzzah!

Almost one year ago, we did our first father/son bike adventure weekend! We decided to do that same ride as it was so beautiful (and I hoped to do more).

Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t as good this year, and we had more cold, rain, and trail flooding. The river was high compared to last year. And since Calico has been sick and has a nasty cough, we kept it easy with a lot of rest. I was also pretty exhausted as I was training for a bike tour and physically exhausted.

We had fun and spent a good chunk of time just relaxing/exploring.

What did we get up to?

Thursday

We woke up early and drove 2 hours later to our little Airbnb.

We hopped on our bikes and did a 20km ride over 1 hour and 35 minutes.

This was our warm/sunny day, so we didn’t want to lose it. We went to my favorite ice cream place in Portugal and then crashed. We were both pretty exhausted.

Friday

It was supposed to rain all day, so we drove North and explored the Minho River and coast. We stopped at Jeni’s dinner for some onion rings, a milkshake for Calico, and delicious burgers. Randomly, we ran into some visitors from Arkansas at the dinner :)

Saturday

We waited for the rain to clear and did a 26km ride over 2 hours and 26 minutes. We had fun even if the trails were somewhat flooded! The sun came out by the end :)

Sunday

We thought about biking as it was sunny, but Calico’s cough didn’t improve, and we were both tired. So we played a bit of soccer and drove home.

Good times! I am looking forward to some new trails this summer :)

We are moving to Bordeaux after Calico’s school term ends… so we drove there to check out neighborhoods and have some fun. We toured the school he is going to be at next year, ate a lot of delicious food, and walked around a lot of neighborhoods! It is a really cool city!

The only bummer is I got a head cold the day after taking Calico to the beach (we dug a fun hole in the ground). So, I only got one bike ride in for the entire two weeks. Oh well, I am looking forward to more rides once we get settled.

We went to an illusion museum, which Calico loved!

And somewhat crazily, we are buying a house…

I had arranged for us to see some houses and apartments to get a feel for the market. We knew that in a year, we were likely going to be looking to buy but had planned on renting (a really tough rental market, though). We walked into the 3rd house we were looking at and just loved it. It is close to Calico’s school, a giant park, and the perfect distance from the city center. We made an offer on Easter Saturday weekend, and now we are doing the paperwork. Hopefully, we can pick up the keys in early June! Fun!!

It is HUGE compared to the very small apartment we are renting right now. It has a wonderful outdoor area (although small), and the kitchen is well done. And we are excited as it has a huge 3rd floor bedroom for guests when they visit. I can’t wait to move in, especially as I am going to buy a record player we’ve been saving for!!!

As it warms up, I am trying to do more weekend adventures with Calico (and I am trying to do a better job in Winter to get us both excited about suiting up and going outside). We went on a nearby trail ride I found on All Trails, did some climbing, saw a snake, and talked. It was fantastic!

I love this bike!

I’ve put over 22,000km on this bike in the last 4 years, and it has been rock solid.

What tours have I done with it?

• Our 2020 European road trip
• My 2021 Camino Portuguese tour
• My 2022 Via Francigena Italy tour.
• My 2023 Bordeaux to Paris to Mont St. Michel tour

Plus, all my day-to-day rides. I’ve taken it on gravel as much as possible and done some pretty insane routes through fields and forests on tours.

The back hub did crack slightly last year. The Tout Terrain guys said there was a structural problem with the design, and I bought a much stronger replacement from them. Otherwise, it has been problem-free.

I got it equipped with a Pinion P1.18 (internal gearing), and I hope never to use a chain again. Internal gearing is the best! I just have to swap the oil once a year, and it is such an easy setup. I’ve used the same Kevlar belt for 4 years, and it might have another 4 years in it.

The only thing I’ve changed is added a Thudbuster ST seat post, swapped in new puncture-resistant tires, removed the front rack, and switched the seat a few times.

I highly recommend their bikes; pretty amazing touring bikes.

Calico and I had a fun weekend!

We drove over to Nazare and stayed in an old windmill from the 1870s. We hiked, grilled, started fires, cooked, played with knives, and watched some movies. We had a blast! And we ended it on Sunday at the beach playing on the sand dunes in front of some beautiful waves. The 3rd floor of the windmill was the bedroom with a big window overlooking a beautiful view.

The only bummer was somehow I screwed up navigation and went 2.5 hours north, then almost 3 hours South on Friday. It should have only been a 2-hour drive…

I am excited for 2024! We’ve got some big changes coming…

We plan to move to Bordeaux (France) once Calico finishes the 2nd grade (in late June). We will be sad to leave Viseu. It is a beautiful place full of amazing people and nature. It will be tough for Calico since this is the only home he knows, and all his friends are here. We are ready for a bigger city, and we know more about what we want from a long-term home.

My big 3 for the year?

1. Build a home in Bordeaux. This is a big move with a lot of moving parts.
2. Live a life full of adventure! I am hoping to do another big bike tour this year, but I am waiting to see if that is possible while doing this move. I am planning some smaller long rides in Portugal. I am also planning some weekend camping, biking, and weekend trips for Calico and I. I’d also like to plan a biking trip with my dad, see my brother and his family in July, plan a trip to Ireland with my mom/tony that we keep delaying… but until we get the move done I am not sure if that is feasible in 2024.
3. Keep working to keep my energy, stress levels, and overall health in a good place (some specifics in this post).

Bonjour 2024!

2023 was a great year!

Calico started school, and we started easing into the new “school” routine. That was a big change for us, especially for Lindsey, as she has a lot more time open up and is thinking about what she wants to do next.

Lindsey’s health was a big focus of the year, and we are still working to get that to 100%. We thought it was good, but then it went a bit squirrelly, and we are working to figure that out again.

We spent the year waiting to see if anything would change in Spain. Unfortunately, nothing has changed, and we can’t move there due to the broken tax system 😞.

The Amazing

Lindsey and I have been married for nine fantastic years! We both feel that things are smoother in day-to-day operations (which is a good feeling to have). I want to do something extraordinary for our 10th anniversary 😁.

Calico turned seven this year, which slightly blows my mind. Unfortunately, he is sick for his birthday, but hopefully better by the following weekend as we have a 25+ kid party planned at a jump park. We were up all last night as his fever was hitting above 104, poor guy.

I did my longest bike tour yet… over 1,200km in France. I went from Bordeaux to Paris along some wild trails, and then up to Mont St. Michael on the Veloscenic cycle route. I look forward to these long rides all year; they are incredibly therapeutic.

What fun stuff did we do this year?

• We started the year with a January trip to Granada and Malaga. We liked Malaga and wish it was an option to move there (although we prefer Valencia if that is ever possible). Unfortunately, the elections in Spain didn’t go how we wanted for purely selfish reasons (we were hoping they would fix the tax system so we could live there… the current broken tax system would tax us at 70% to 100%+).
• We entered a new world of routine as Calico started 1st grade in February! It was a bit brutal at times as he had to deal with bullying and the realities of the education system. But he is doing fantastic and is fairly fluent in Portuguese (just missing vocabulary).
• Calico and I surprised Lindsey with a birthday weekend on the Portuguese coast. We rented a cute traditional fishing house with a fireplace overlooking the ocean. It was still cold and rainy, but we had fun.
• Calico and I did our first bike weekend together! We went up to Ponte De Lima and did two days of riding. He crushed it and rode 22km on day one, followed by another 25km on day two. Plus, we played in the water, explored, and enjoyed our father-son weekend.
• We met Rose, Steve, and Evie for spring break in Valencia!!! It was a joy to hang out with them and one of the highlights of my year. I hope we can see them again soon. Evie is so adorable! I miss them. I wish Ireland were about 10 degrees warmer and 70% sunnier.
• In May, I met up with my brother in Cannes, France. I hadn’t seen him in almost 5 years with Covid (he lives in China). It was so much fun to hang out with just the two of us, catch up, and enjoy his success with his short film (which was amazing!). I had a great time, and I hope we can do it again next year. I miss him. I wish we lived in the same city together.
• I took Calico camping in Spain in June (while Lindsey stayed in a villa). I am trying to make sure we get a lot of adventures together. We had a fair bit of rain but did a lot of exploring, hiking, and grilling. I am not very good at grilling but hope to improve when I take him on a special guys’ weekend in January. This trip reminded us how much we miss Spain and wish we could live there. Lindsey and I had fun on Friday night as we ended up drenched but all eating and drinking at a local bar in town. It was an excellent way to reconnect.
• I took Calico on his first overnight bike tour in France! We followed a converted rail trail outside of Sarlat, one of the most beautiful trails I’ve ever been on. He covered 36km on day one, and we stayed in a beautiful guest room in the countryside (it even had a pool). Then, on day 2, we rode 21km and met up with Lindsey.
• With Calico in school, we are more limited on when we can travel. This year, we spent all of July in Issigeac, France, in the Dordogne region. It was very relaxing and just what we needed. My mom and stepdad visited for two weeks, which made it extra special. I hope we can do more of that as I enjoyed us all staying in the same place. We ate delicious food, went on a canoe trip, visited all kinds of markets and history, and otherwise just enjoyed each other’s company. Plus, they helped us try to lighten Calico’s contrarian streak. I also celebrated my 42nd birthday with them, which hasn’t happened in quite some time.
• Over August, I did my bike tour for the year (while Lindsey and Calico were visiting family in the USA). I went from Bordeaux to Paris along some wild trails and then up to Mont St. Michael on the Veloscenic cycle route. It was fun and my longest yet. I am excited about what I can do in 2024 and 2025. When I picked up Calico and Lindsey from the airport, we spent a few days on the beach before returning home.
• In August, I became an Uncle!!! Nick and Isidora have a beautiful boy who I hope to meet in person soon.
• Calico started 2nd grade in September! Mind-blowing! He had a weird brain leap in the middle of the year when he suddenly started reading! That was cool to see.
• In October, Lindsey organized a Halloween in the park for Calico’s class. That was fun to do, and the Portuguese families loved it!
• My dad and stepmom are visiting us in Portugal for Christmas, Calico’s birthday, and New Year’s! That has been relaxed and fun. We still have more day trips to do, and I love showing them all the amazing places around us. It has been a good reason to see parts of Portugal I haven’t had a chance to yet.

The Challenges!

My Health
My health is good after some cholesterol concerns toward the start of the year. I changed my diet to eat less meat and add more fish/beans. I am working to improve my eating habits as I tend to overeat. I’ve lost some weight and am doing better about hitting daily protein goals, so my energy stays steady. I need to keep working on my portion sizes and eating speed.

Lindsey’s Health
Lindsey has had a rough year with some of the same post-miscarriage health issues from 2022. We thought we had it fixed, but then some issues came back. She is a bit stressed, and we are working through it.

Shepherd
Shepherd had a pretty tough year. Traffic was entirely flat, and Google knocked us down several times. This is incredibly frustrating. Without more traffic, we don’t have more money, so we can’t build new features as fast (and doing new stuff is what I enjoy). I’ve been working really hard on Shepherd since December 2020, and I plan to take my foot off the gas pedal a bit in 2024. I need to slow down (you can only sprint for so long).

How did I do on my goals for 2023?

I did great on two out of three!

1. My goal was to get Shepherd to break even on costs and exit beta. We exited beta, but we didn’t get to break even on costs. Mostly because traffic was almost entirely flat year-over-year. That said… I had a lot of fun, and we built some great features for readers/authors. I am considering what I want to do in 2024 with limited financial resources.
2. My goal is to live a life of adventure and plan fun adventures for Calico. That went great! I took him on his biking weekend and his first overnight biking trip. And we did two camping trips. I also did a month-long bike tour that fed my adventure.
3. My goal was to keep my energy and health in a good place after the disaster in 2022. That I did well on. I still skated on thin ice and need to keep working on this. The October/November madness with the launch of the fav-3-reads format almost broke me. I’ll need to figure out how to do that better next year.

2024…

We have big changes coming in 2024! We will move to Bordeaux, France (after Calico finishes 2nd grade).

We are ready for a bigger city. We will be sad to leave Viseu as it is a beautiful place full of amazing people and nature. It will be tough for Calico since this is the only place he knows, and all his friends are here.

A longer 2024 post is coming soon…

For 2023:

• I did 453+ hours of tracked workouts (a new record 🥳!).
• I worked out on 274 days in some form.

How do I feel about this year?

On the health front, this year was lightyears better than 2022.

I started 2023 with some health worries, and I was recovering from a long bought of sickness and other weirdness in December. I shifted my diet heavily, and after a few months, everything looks good (and I’ve felt good).

Even better, I haven’t gotten sick much in 2023. I have done better at keeping my stress levels healthy, which helps my immune system. When Calico first started school I got a few bad bugs through him, but nothing major since then (knock on wood).

Biking

• I rode 277+ hours on my bike (just barely a new record 🥳!).
• I biked 137 days of the year (tied for 3rd highest on record).
• I covered 5,491km (the 2nd-highest year on record).

I did my longest bike tour this year in France. I rode 1,269km, and it was a fun route. I did a good job training for this tour (as good or better than 2022). I still have room for improvement with training and the tour pace. I struggled to take a day off in that initial 10-day tour because I was so excited. Given how busy Shepherd was this year, I did an excellent job fitting this into my life.

Strength Training

• I did 95+ hours of strength training over 106 days this year (shy of my goal of 3 a week). I averaged ~53 minutes per workout (I sometimes cut them short if I am not feeling the energy or something is off).
• I did 25+ hours of yoga over 67 days (my new goal is twice a week). I do a simple 22-minute yoga session on YouTube with a guy I like.

I haven’t broken this out before, but I’ve started doing strength training ever since I injured my back. This is due to Jeff in Boulder; he is an awesome dude and my trainer (one of the best decisions I’ve ever made, and I wish I had done it 10 years earlier). As Jeff taught me more and more, I realized how much fun it is to move your body in different ways. I find it relaxing, and I’ve been pretty good at doing three ST sessions a week, each about 60 to 90 minutes (mix of stretching, lifting, etc). I need to keep my core strong so my back stays happy.

What else?

Sick / Not 100%
I was sick for 4% of the year. That is much better than 2022, where I was sick for 11% of the year (and 2021 was 13%). The worst month was April, when I marked myself sick for 30% of the month. And I haven’t been sick since then, which is excellent.

For 2023, I was “not 100%” 13% of the year. I just started marking this in 2023. I wanted to know how often I am sick, if my energy is off, or if I am super tired. This is a vague metric, but I was curious if I could learn anything from it (for example, I marked myself “not 100%” after staying up with Calico all night because he had a high fever).

Sleep
This year, 76% of my sleep was rated as good sleep versus 75% last year. And I got “enough sleep” 67% as “enough” sleep versus 60% last year (7.5+ hours). I want to get both in the 80% range.

Back
My back felt great 92% of the time this year. That is solid; it mostly hurts if I work too long in my office chair.

What are my health/workout goals for 2024?

1. Continue to improve energy/stress management so that I don’t red line.
2. Maintain a good base on my bike so I can do long bike tours.
3. Do ST 3x a week for 60+ minutes (keeps back happy + its fun).
4. Do Yoga 2x a week (keeps back happy + its fun).
5. Aim for at least 30 min indoor bike ever day I don’t do a longer ride.
6. I want to shift some food habits by about 20 degrees. Specifically, I want to hit a 160g daily protein goal, shed some extra fat I am carrying, and change some bad habits around portion size & speed.
7. And a fun goal of being able to do 20 dips in a row by EOY (and if that is easy, go for 30).

Past years: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 workout summary.