Category Archives: We Run and Ride Every Day

These are the main posts. The big, thought-provoking, original ideas about running and riding.

Summer engagements and the drivetrain of love

Yet, it tends to be a greasy chain of love and trust upon which we depend to drive our relationships. We wish it could always stay shiny and clean and working like new, but it doesn’t. Like all collaborative relationships, the drivetrain of love accumulates a little dirt and history along the way. Unresolved feelings tug and pull. A collection of hurts or neglect gets jammed in the links. A gritty conversation or two creates noise and wears down the components. The drag of past relationships gets in the way. All need to be maintained and cleaned up with regular purpose and practice, lest we break a chain and have to start all over again. Continue reading

Posted in Christopher Cudworth, cycling, cycling the midwest, doing pulls in cycling, triathlon, We Run and Ride Every Day | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

How to survive the Tour de France (and its commercials) without guilt

A part of me feels very guilty right now. I’ve been watching the Tour de France at high speed on DVR. In the past, there was a certain commitment to following the Tour. You had to choose the morning or … Continue reading

Posted in bike crash, Christopher Cudworth, climbing, competition, cycling, doing pulls in cycling, it never gets easier you just go faster, We Run and Ride Every Day | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Making good on a promise to keep a cleaner bike

My Felt 4C road bike was valued at $2300 new when it was named Bike of the Year by Bicycling Magazine back in 2006. I purchased the Felt from a local bike shop that let me try a few different … Continue reading

Posted in bike crash, bike wobble, Christopher Cudworth, cycling, We Run and Ride Every Day | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Not on your life should you ever get caught, but hang on…

Top athletes use such motivation in their training. They know that no matter how fast they might be going in a workout, someone, somewhere else must be going faster. Such notions haunt the dreams of athletes at every level. We don’t like to get beat, but we really don’t like to get caught. That means someone is so much better than you…they are not only going faster, they also made up tons of time and are actually passing you by. Continue reading

Posted in Christopher Cudworth, competition, cycling, doing pulls in cycling, running, the rules velominati, We Run and Ride Every Day | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Oh look! It’s time for the Tour de France, and Lance is back

Well we nailed June to the wall, didn’t we? For me it meant riding up and down and all around Wisconsin and Illinois. Horribly Hilly was like a stage of the Tour de France. 72 miles and 6000 feet of … Continue reading

Posted in Christopher Cudworth, climbing, competition, cycling, cycling the midwest, We Run and Ride Every Day | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

10 honest-to-goodness tips on how to get better as a runner and rider

Several times in life some kind-hearted person has pulled me aside to dispense a piece or two of good advice. This has happened at church. At work. And on the athletic field. So while I am not a certified coach, … Continue reading

Posted in Christopher Cudworth, competition, cycling, marathon, running, triathlon, We Run and Ride Every Day | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A different look at state of Wisconsin

Since 1975 when I enrolled at Luther College, I have traveled through the State of Wisconsin on so many occasions it is impossible to count. Our route to Luther always involved a shot up I-90 to Madison, then a rolling … Continue reading

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10 bikes you’ll never see on the market

At We Run and Ride, we confess to a certain lust for new bikes. When the annual Bike Porn issues from Bicycling or Velo magazines, we pore through the reviews wondering what it would really be like to own one of … Continue reading

Posted in Christopher Cudworth, cycling, Tarsnakes, tri-bikes, triathlon, We Run and Ride Every Day | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Mulberry streets forever

It’s the mulberry season here in Illinois. Mulberries are the seed fruit that no one notices until they run through a pile or streak of them on the sidewalk. Then you worry about the stain on your shoes. In fact … Continue reading

Posted in cycling, cycling the midwest, running, We Run and Ride Every Day | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Three Bitches and Twenty Bastards meet at the Horribly Hilly 100

“Isn’t this pretty?” I asked my companion Sue at the 30-mile point of the Horribly Hilly 100 ride. “It’s a valley,” she responded. “So it’s not that pretty. It means we have to go back up again.” And that, my … Continue reading

Posted in bike crash, bike wobble, Christopher Cudworth, climbing, competition, cycling, cycling the midwest, Tarsnakes, tri-bikes, We Run and Ride Every Day | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment