Some dates just have a personality. June 28th, looking back across the years, has always been the one that shoves you out the door whether you are ready or not.
It started in 2003 with a scramble. Laundry, dog drop-off, airport, Alaska. The first real vacation was happening whether the bags were packed or not. A year later, June 28th delivered a masterclass in stubbornness, with a punishing backcountry bike ride that ended in hail, lightning, caked mud, and a summit that never happened. Failing Gold Creek Peak is one of those stories that hurts to read and is somehow impossible to stop reading. The next day brought sore muscles and the stubborn itch to go right back out, as captured in this and that adventures.
By 2007 the chaos had found a groove. Epic Soldier Mountain race photos landed on a June 28th that included a race win, a growler pickup, and a seed spitting contest, which is honestly the ideal Thursday. Then came Rapelje, twice. The shadow in 2011 is maybe the most vivid thing ever written here, a 24-hour race descent into something primal, riding through lightning storms and dark prairies until something took over and refused to quit. The 2015 version brought a partner, Mo, who quietly put down a hundred miles and made winning feel easy.
In 2012, 75th choice made the case that destination barely matters when the company and the bike are right. A few years later, The Hidden Gem of Trout Creek pointed toward Lolo National Forest with genuine enthusiasm for campfires and cold rivers. And then 2024 arrived with a long, honest look inward, My Unique Traits, cataloguing the wiring that has quietly driven every single one of these adventures.
There are also a few quieter stops along the way: A moment in time, I Want To Break Free, and Maze, each a marker on the map even without the words to explain them.
June 28th, across twenty-plus years, keeps asking the same question in different weather. Are you going or not? The answer, almost every time, has been yes.