Plantar Fasciitis to Metric Century Cyclist: The 9 Epic Training Rides That Prepared Me for the Ride 2 End Alzheimer's

The Journey

• Started with plantar fasciitis.
• Trained on a $250 used bike.
• Completed 9 major training rides.
• Climbed to the Peak to Peak Highway.
• Raised over $1,300 from 30+ donors.
• Finished the Ride 2 End Alzheimer's metric century.

In February, I attended a bass music concert in Denver with my friends Lynn and Sam.

Partway through the night, my left foot began to hurt. I left the loud music and went outside to sit down.

Lynn came to check on me.

"I'm good," I said. "My feet just really hurt."

I've lost 50 pounds over the past year, and I try to be kind to myself when thinking about health, body image and the progress I've made.

Still, science and common sense suggest extra weight doesn't do your feet any favors.

Over the next few weeks, the pain got worse.

The whole thing seemed especially cruel. I had lost dozens of pounds, and now I was going to lose my transportation, my exercise and my primary way of regulating my mood.

It just didn't seem right.

As March brought warmer weather, I began to see cycling as the answer—a way to stay active and get around without putting as much pressure on my foot.

I had rode 42-miles, from Longmont to Denver Union Station in Fall 2025. I had proof of concept I could work back up to long rides.

In late March, I saw an Instagram ad for a charity bike ride with routes up to 75 miles.

It was called the Colorado Ride 2 End Alzheimer's.

The route looked difficult, but doable: a lot of distance with manageable elevation gain as it looped through Larimer County.

I signed up and donated $50 to my own fundraiser. I still needed to raise another $450 to participate.

I texted my mom and asked whether that was realistic.

"You don't know unless you try," she replied.

So I decided to try.

Between late March and the charity ride, I logged nearly 500 miles and climbed about 20,000 feet.

These are the nine rides that prepared me for the effort.

1. Boulder County Lookout Cruise

April 4 • 26.1 miles • 1,079 feet

I rode to the Davidson Mesa overlook, where the Flatirons rose above Boulder with the snow-covered Continental Divide perched behind them in the early spring.

That's one of the best views in Colorado, and the ride downhill from Davidson Mesa into Boulder allows you to pick up a lot of speed.

At 26 miles, this was one of the shorter rides in the buildup, but it gave me an early reminder of why cycling had become such an important part of my life in Colorado. After weeks of foot pain, I could still get outside, cover real distance and reach places that felt spectacular. There was only one steep spot in a subdivision where I had to get off and walk.

The Ride 2 End ALZ was still more than two months away. But from that overlook, the path forward began to feel possible. This ride integrated transit, as I bused home from downtown Boulder.

2. Larimer County Loop

April 5 • 44.8 miles • 1,416 feet

The next day, I headed north into Larimer County and climbed County Road 29.

That hill would become one of the most important landmarks of the entire training block. It featured the biggest elevation gain on the Ride 2 End ALZ course, so riding it ahead of time gave me an early look at the hardest part of race day.

The climb was difficult, but manageable. More importantly, it made the route feel less mysterious. When I returned on race day, I already knew what was waiting for me.

I spent some time in downtown Loveland at a coffee shop on this day, enjoying some nice drip refills.

3. El Dorado Canyon

April 6 • 26.0 miles • 1,248 feet

The next ride took me into Eldorado Canyon State Park, one of the most gorgeous places I visited during the entire training period.

The canyon walls, rushing water and narrow road made the ride feel much bigger than its recorded distance.

Strava stopped tracking before I rode from the state park back to Downtown Boulder Station, where I caught the bus home. So the map doesn't show every mile I covered that day.

Even so, the ride marked another step forward. I was learning that training for a long-distance event could also become a way to explore Colorado from my front door.

4. Tour De L Towns

April 10 • 42.0 miles • 1,361 feet

This ride connected Longmont, Louisville, Lafayette and neighboring communities.

One of my favorite things about living along the Front Range is how easy it is to string together town after town almost entirely by bike.

By this point, rides over 40 miles were starting to feel normal instead of intimidating.

I used transit again on this one, riding home to Longmont from Boulder.

5. Putzing Down the Platte

April 13 • 52.2 miles • 1,764 feet

This was my first ride to cross the 50-mile mark.

I followed the Platte River south toward Littleton, putzing along the trail and gradually stacking up miles. By the time I reached downtown Littleton, I had ridden more than 52 miles.

Instead of turning around and riding the entire distance back, I took the train and bus home from downtown Littleton.

Crossing 50 miles felt like a breakthrough. The Ride 2 End ALZ no longer seemed like an abstract challenge. I had ridden most of the distance already.

6. Union Station via Sloan's Lake

April 16 • 39.4 miles • 1,590 feet

I had already ridden into Denver before, but this time I wanted to take a different route.

Instead of my usual path, I looped through Sloan's Lake before ending at Union Station.

One of the best parts of training wasn't simply getting stronger—it was finding new destinations and new ways to experience Colorado without getting behind the wheel of a car.

7. Chompin' to Chatfield

April 18 • 53.5 recorded miles • 1,775 feet

This ride was actually closer to 60 miles.

Strava failed to track the section along the Platte River through Commerce City, from Clear Creek to downtown Denver, so the recorded total understates the full distance.

I continued south to Chatfield and eventually reached Mineral Station in Littleton, where I took the bus home.

The incomplete recording was frustrating, but the ride itself was another major confidence boost. A nearly 60-mile day made the Ride 2 End ALZ distance feel increasingly realistic.

8. It's The Climb

May 9 • 28.4 miles • 2,841 feet

The goal was to reach the Peak to Peak Highway by climbing Highway 7.

This ride was not about distance. It was about finding out how far up the canyon I could get.

Nearly 2,900 feet of climbing in less than 30 miles forced me to slow down and manage my effort. Near the top, my legs finally gave out. I had to get off my bike and walk the final mile or so to reach the Peak to Peak Highway.

I had made it, but not entirely on the bike.

That left me with unfinished business.

9. Canyon Climb 2.0

May 22 • 48.2 miles • 3,933 feet

Two weeks later, I returned to Highway 7 determined to finish what I had started.

This time, I made it to the Peak to Peak Highway and continued north to Allenspark.

I began the day looking at Longs Peak and Mount Meeker from the horizon. Hours later, their snowy, foggy massifs suddenly emerged above the pines.

The mountains that had seemed so distant that morning were now towering over me.

After weeks of foot pain, hundreds of training miles and the failure to ride the entire climb on my first attempt, the moment felt cathartic.

I had not just reached the Peak to Peak Highway.

I had ridden beyond it.

The descent on a canyon ride is unreal. It takes hours to grind out the miles of climbing, but only 45 minutes or so to ride down the mountain at speeds of 25-40 mph.

Ride 2 End ALZ

June 6 • 68.1 miles • 2,234 feet

When ride day arrived, I stood out from many of the other cyclists.

I didn't have clipless pedals, cycling shoes or a carbon bike. I had never used any of them.

I showed up in gym shorts and tennis shoes on the same $250 Facebook Marketplace bike that had carried me through nearly 500 miles of training.

I wasn't chasing a fast time. I was simply trying to finish.

As the miles wore on, I realized I had fallen to the back of the field. Near the end of the ride, I asked one of the SAG cyclists riding behind me if I was bringing up the rear.

"I wouldn't think of it that way," he said.

And I don't.

A few months earlier, plantar fasciitis had me wondering whether I'd even be able to stay active. Before signing up, I wasn't sure I could raise the extra $450 needed to participate.

Instead, I raised nearly $1,300 from more than 30 donors, logged nearly 500 miles and 20,000 feet of climbing in training, and completed the Ride 2 End ALZ.

I was the last finisher across all of the event's courses.

But I finished.

Crossing that finish line remains one of my greatest achievements and one of the greatest days of my life.