ARTCRANK's Best Bike Stories of 2013

In mid-January I saw a tweet saying, "Wanted: Your Best Bike Story From 2013." Intrigued, I did a little looking around and discovered that the bike-art poster show company, ARTCRANK, was gathering bike stories for their end of year best bike stories lineup. The requirements were simple, "Write ±100 words about your best bike story from the past year." That seems easy enough, I thought. But then I noticed the deadline was less than a week away. I must have been in a "can't do it" mode because I almost immediately told myself I didn't have many super rides in 2013 and didn't have time to write a story in the few days before the deadline anyway.

But the best bike story idea stuck with me and I mentioned it to my writer friend Leslie (check out her Winona Media blog ) over coffee one morning.  Leslie basically told me I needed to write something and submit it. I told her I had no clue of what to write. She suggested I look at my blog posts from 2013 to see if I could use one as a starting point.

Hmmm, I thought. I could at least check out my past blog posts and see if there was anything I could work with. I left my coffee meeting that morning with a promise to Leslie that I would submit a story to ARTCRANK.

So I looked through my 2013 bicycling blog posts and found one titled "Funnest Bike Ride Ever!" Oh yes! That was a great ride! I thought. The blog entry was long, though, at about 1,400 words but I got into an "I can do it" mode and got to work to make the story much, much shorter and suitable for ARTCRANK.
As a writer, I found it an interesting exercise to take a long blog entry and rework it for a non-blog market AND cut it down to something much shorter. It was hard work but in the end I was happy with my story and submitted it to ARTCRANK by the deadline. They published my story and a bunch of others at: http://artcrank.com/features/best-bike-stories-2013

I've read all of the stories and enjoyed them all. I have a few favorites, like the story by Brianna Prahl and her 4 year old daughter's first bike race, but I think they are well worth reading so please check them out! Mine is near the end of the lineup of stories. Or, you can just look below the picture of me riding my Salsa Beargrease fatbike, Bear, and read my story right here!

If you are interested in comparing my ARTCRANK version of my best bike ride story with the original, click here to read the original post.
Best Bike Story of 2013 by Myrna CG Mibus - as published on ARTCRANK
Seldom would a ride with mosquitos, mud and a flat tire be considered a best ride. Yet, a laughter-filled trail ride last June was just that.
From a guy who just bought a mountain bike to one who raced the Tour Divide, a spread of riders took off for the trails from our gathering point at Milltown Cycles in Faribault, MN that night. We soon hit single track more challenging than any I’d ever ridden. Early on a steep uphill stopped me in my tracks. One rider, too close, decided to pass and rode ahead.
Talking, riding, laughing, we twisted through the woods on single and double track. Had I known the ride would be so challenging I would have stayed home. But at the back of the pack we had a blast, and I forgot to be scared.
At a stop to regroup I noticed a hiss. A flat. Dozens of mosquitos slapped, lots of help changing my tire and we were riding again.
As we neared the end of our ride, I realized that with all of the challenges, this ride could have been one of my worst. Yet, because of the laughter and fun people, it was my best.
Almost back, mud puddles begged me to ride through them. Smiling at the prospect of finishing off the ride in mud-splattered style, I obliged.

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