2020 was a great year thanks to a bike, a goal, a pandemic and a sauna

by Vince Wuebker

I came into 2020 with a goal to ride 10,000 miles on my bicycle. I also came into the year with 4 broken ribs thanks to a patch of ice in early December. Coupled with the Fargo weather made it difficult to ride any miles in the 1st quarter of 2020. Even though during that time I compiled over 1,300 miles compared to 600 in 2019.

And then the ‘pandemic’ hit shutting down life as we know it. Included in the shutdown were the TV’s in my home and the news that came with it. I officially unplugged in March. The first time since my college days was television irrelevant. Not only did this open the door to much more time spent on the bike, but an opportunity in my daily sauna ritual, going from once a day to twice.

I needed the bike for mental therapy. And I believed the sauna to be the VERY BEST way to stay healthy and avoid COVID. I went all in on both.

I use the sauna every day in the morning for 20 to 30 minutes whether I go for a ride or not. I always use the sauna after a ride or working out, which means many days include two-a-day sauna sessions. In other words, I use the sauna on a daily basis because it is a habit. A daily ritual. A fabric of my daily life, and without it I am not whole.

For travel being limited in 2020, I still took the opportunity to bike in Houston. Cabo. Orlando. Austin. Charleston. Las Vegas. The Hoover Dam. Phoenix and Tuscan. My home base of the Fargo/Moorhead area is where most of the miles were logged. Other highlights included 3 days of the Maah Daah Hey in the badlands of Western North Dakota. A very tough terrain for logging miles, and the state forests around northern Minnesota.

In June, I left my garage in south Fargo at 6:30 am on a Thursday morning and a dark drizzle of rain and 291 miles later landing in the harbor of Duluth at 9:36 pm on Friday night.

It was on November 18, 2020 at 4:39 pm on a gravel road in Western Minnesota that I crossed the 10,000-mile mark, coming in a month and half ahead of schedule. I took a few quick pictures to highlight the moment. Then I biked home and sat in the sauna. Sauna helps in the physically recovery and is a big part of why I can ride every day and most days twice a day without having to take a recovery day off by not getting on the bike.

I exceeded my goal and hit the 11,000-mile mark before the end of the year logging an average of 211 miles per week. My daily sauna sessions improved my endurance and is a huge part of why I was able to achieve 11,000 miles on a bicycle in the Fargo, North Dakota climate. With a lot of sauna, and a little luck, I stayed 100% healthy for the year. 2020 was a great year and a great opportunity to open new doors and live a different lifestyle. Thanks to no tv, a bike and a sauna.

About the Author:
Vince Wuebker is a long time Finnleo dealer—passionate about sauna and consistently one of the top sauna retailers in the US. Vince is the current owner of HotSpring Spas & Pool Tables 2 located in Fargo, North Dakota.