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Happy new year, everybody--here's a new folding bike adventures calendar for ya! Just like the 2009 edition I made last year, this 2010 version documents some of the most interesting rides from our RV travels around the country the previous year. According to my cycling log, I rode in 12 states in 2009 (CO, UT, AZ, TX, AL, GA, TN, WI, MI, MN, IL, OK). Surprisingly, that is the same number as in 2008, although many of the states are different.

The year started out with some snowy road riding in Colorado, but we then got lucky with a couple weeks of warm weather in early February and squeezed in some amazing rides in Moab, Utah on our way south to Arizona for the spring riding season. I took full advantage the warmth and ample mountain biking opportunities around Phoenix and Tucson, and racked up some 500 miles of gnarly trails in 5 weeks before we had to head back to our home base of Austin, Texas for a short stay.

Sneaked in a day-ride at Oak Mountain State Park in Alabama on our way east to Georgia, where I spent almost six months working on several new driving simulation projects. Happily, that work was located in the northern part of Georgia, so I got out for several long, challenging days in the mountains around Dahlonega and Ellijay. (Man, is Georgia sweltering in the summer!) We were there so long I joined the local Gainesville chapter of SORBA / IMBA, tagged along on a group ride, and entered my first mountain bike racing event, a time trial at their excellent local MTB spot Chicopee Woods. Not surprisingly given my 20-inch wheels, I was not exactly fast over the rather technical loop, but I did finish less than a minute off the podium in the "40+ male novice racer" class (and I didn't crash!) so that was a pretty satisfying experience.

As fall arrived and temperatures in Georgia finally started to moderate, we (naturally) packed up and headed north. Waaaay north, straight into wintertime it seemed, with snow falling in early October. We spent a month or so exploring the towns and forests of Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula, and even tossed in a day trip over to Duluth, Minnesota to sample the lumpy trails of Piedmont Park and to catch the fantastic Race Across the Sky mountain biking movie on the big screen.

Finished out the year with a couple of chilly months working the Chicago area, where weather and terrain combined to favor urban riding over mountain biking, although I did manage to find a little dirt in the form of the southern segment of the Des Plaines River Trail and the respectable singletrack of Palos Park. We headed south to Texas just in time for Christmas, and I got in an excellent day of riding rocks at Turkey Mountain Park in Tulsa, Oklahoma on the way down.

So, it's been a busy year (too busy to post much, sorry!) but that's the quick recap. Hope y'all enjoy the calendar and have a fine 2010!

Cheers,
Carey