Road Cycling 101: Live and Learn
But I managed. Within a couple weeks, I had conquered the clipless pedals and had committed to some bike tours, Chicago's Bike the Drive and the L.A.T.E. Ride, and the really big event came in June when I embarked on the two-day, 100-mile Le Tour de Shore with three friends. The Le Tour de Shore was an amazing experience, and probably the one event that cemented my love for road riding and fueled my desire for longer cycling adventures. Riding 66 miles the first day of the tour was the farthest I had ever ridden in one day, and I was beyond ecstatic. But later in the summer, I topped that with an 82-mile ride at the Two Rivers Century, now my longest one-day ride ever.

New Year's Eve 2011 with Julie, Rick and Matthew
Yes, looking back 1,500 miles later, there were cold moments, wet moments, fearful moments -- but so many more amazing moments that could never have happened had I continued to limit my riding experience to one solitary trail. And, so, just as my friend Julie and I were saying to each other yesterday as we were guessing our way to Aroma Park on a 35-mile ride, we live and learn.
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