Dogs, Blogs, and Bike Cogs

I started biking a lot more in college. I hated taking the transit system, and the best way to navigate the city was to take a bike that I shared with my six roommates (not at the same time).

Bike races are hard. Fun, but hard. 

So hard it took me almost a whole month to write this post – but hey, we’re here now so better late than never.

In the red corner, weighing in at a lengthy 40-miles long, the "Gruesome Gravel Grinder," the "Annihilator at Arrowhead," it's the Black Fly Challenge (TV audience "booo"). 

“Were you ever scared?” 

I get asked this question a lot when I talk about the Great Divide. The answer is absolutely. I was scared every day on that trip.

I thought my bike trip was impressive – until I learned what the Tour Divide was.

It’s funny. If you complete the Great Divide, people start to think, “You must be a pretty big bike guy.”

Spoiler alert: I’m not.

There are some real gearheads out there and I definitely recommend going to your local bike shop if you want any advice on how to fix your bike. If you’ve read my exploits, you know bike repair isn’t my forte.

The Great Divide is the longest mountain bike trail in the world -- which is exactly why I picked it for my first-ever bikepacking adventure. Go big or go home, right?

Drum roll, please! 

Introducing the new and improved Pedaling4Pups! 

It's been a while since I shared my exploits trekking down the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. We climbed mountains together, fought off bears together, and even shared our deepest darkest secrets, well, I did at least -- but you get the point.

We made it!

And I don’t just mean me and Apollo. I mean everyone. You, me, even Spunk.

Almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades (well that escalated quickly).

This is a commonly used expression in the Fontanella household accredited mostly to the matriarch of the family — not a big surprise if you’re familiar with her brand of humor.