About author

My name is Ron, also known as TKDTutor around the internet because of my martial arts website TKDTutor.com. I am a 70-something retired United States Navy E-9 Master-at-Arms Master Chief Petty Officer (Surface Warfare).

I ride the Salem Creek Greenway and the Salem Lake Trail 3 to 5 times a week during the warm months and on warmer winter days. You may see me there around 11:00 am on about any day. I'm the old white guy with a gray van dyke beard riding a charcoal gray hybrid bike, wearing a black helmet, light gray shirt, black shorts, gray socks, black shoes, and a black Camelback water pack, and I drive a dark gray SUV. If you haven't guessed, I like the colors white and black, and all the shades of gray between the two.

For decades, my passions were martial arts, motorcycling, and fitness running, then degenerative disk disease caused me to have to give up each of my passions as the disks in my spine degenerated. I tried other activities but lost interest in each after a short time.

Then, during a Saturday night card game in April 2013, friends suggested we start having weekly group bicycle rides. I did not have a bike and had not ridden one since I was a child but I decided to join them. I researched bikes on the internet on Sunday, bought a 2013 Raleigh 26” Venture 4.0 comfort hybrid on Monday, and went for a 10-mile ride that afternoon on the Salem Creek Greenway. I loved it and have not stopped riding since then.

I still do leisure group rides with friends but I ride solo mostly. I am the type of person who always pushes myself to the limits; therefore, on each ride, I try to increase my distance and/or speed. After 2500 miles on the Venture and a few nasty falls, I decided I was exceeding the capabilities of the bike so, in September 2014, I switched to a 2014 Diamondback 29” Trace XT hybrid. It is a much safer bike at higher speeds on unpaved surfaces.

I average about 50 miles of riding per week, an average speed of 12 mph, with a total mileage of 8,317 miles as of 03/25/2019. I only ride trails, mostly on the Salem Creek Greenway and Salem Lake Trail in Winston-Salem, NC, with other rides on the Atlantic & Yadkin Greenway in Greensboro, NC, the Bicentennial Greenway in Jamestown, NC, and the New River Trail from Galax, VA to Fries, VA. I sometimes ride single tracks.

Biking is my new passion. With all the adjustments available on a bike, I can keep adjusting it to minimize pain, so I foresee bike riding for many years to come. It is an excellent way to stay fit, relax, relieve stress, get outside, add adventure, push your limits, and enjoy life.