How It All Adds Up: Notes from the 2025 MS Ride
“What made it meaningful wasn’t the distance we covered. It was the way people kept showing up for each other.”
Topic
Soft Pedal
Cycling essays about endurance, solitude, and the rhythm of attention.
Much Ado About Chafing
“That’s the thing about comfort. You chase it, obsess over it, maybe even achieve it for a stretch, but it’s the discomfort you remember.”
Designing in the Dark
"Designing in the dark is not a metaphor. It’s what we do every time we set out with only partial knowledge, hoping the road we’ve planned will carry us through."
We Regret Nothing
"I’ll be working through a headwind or climbing a hill, lost in the blur of greens, browns, and greys: trees, ditches, shoulders. It all blends into one long smear of effort. Then I remember to look."
Ride Your Own Ride and Other Lies
“The truth is, no one rides their own ride. Not all the way through.”
Nassagaweya, and Other Minor Calamities
"Randonneuring has this odd way of asking everything from you, and then, almost sheepishly, giving something back. Not a prize. Not a medal. Just a vague but persistent sense that you’re a little more human than you were yesterday. A little more tired. A little more grateful."
A Siege in Huron County
"People asked how I could possibly ride that much distance in a week. The answer is: I don’t. No one does. You ride one pedal stroke at a time."