Memories

This brought back some memories tonight. I recall spending my summers in Vermont when I was about twelve working on dairy farms - either Locke Goss's or Paul Nelson's (if you ever bought a calendar with photos of Vermont, The Nelson's farm was probably on it. I loved all of it, but the best part was being turned loose on a field of hay with either tedder or a rake and a 1948 John Deer. Just pure joy, driving in ever decreasing (or increasing) circles. Really, what could be better than that? Ok, the eighth grade dances were kind of fun, but in a different way...

If you want to see some more gorgous photos of Vermont, especailly the Barnet - Peacham area where I lived, go here Richard Brown knows how to take pictures.

So, where am I in the riding department? Well, after a week with my highest mileage ever, the weather changed and we had a week of thunderstorms and tornado watches. All week. I don't mind riding in the rain, in fact, I sort of enjoy it if the visibility isn't too bad so that I spend too much time worrying about getting run down. But lightning scares me, and I don't want to be chasing Dorthy through the sky in a twister while riding my bike - you know the scene. From 171.71 miles one week to 79.6 miles the next. This wasn't the plan. This Saturday is the annual Tour de Lions charity ride, and, since I don't really know any better, I do the longest ride. Last year it was increased from 60 miles to 75. I made it, but barely, although a dragging rear brake for the last 15 miles may have had a lot to do with the "just barely". My longest ride so far this year is 53 miles. Making the jump from 53 to 75 might be asking just a little too much from these tired old legs. I don't know. Last year, though there was a spot where the 75 mile route and the 40 mile route crossed. At that point, a 75 miler could join the 40 milers and end up with 60. If this year is the same, I won't have to make a decision 'til then. I can do 60, no problem. We'll see how I feel at 50 and go from there.

So far this weeks rides were about 30 on Sunday, 33 on Tuesday, and 22 tonight. A little short tonight, I know, but I just wanted to keep the legs limbered up for Saturday. Average speed for all of them was above 17, so the speed is coming back, nicely.

I'll let you know how Saturday goes.

Open House

We went to the open houses that I mentioned yesterday. This is the front of the Goat Lady Dairy / restaurant. We stopped there first because we had never been there before, a large crowd was already there. We were about to find out why. The first thing we noticed was the gardens.
This was the first one. I now know how inadequate my gardening skills are. The contents of this little patch were beets, lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard, and broccoli. I planted most of those things too, but you are not going to see a picture of how mine are doing. I have a lot of work to do.


Of course. it helps not only to have goats for organic material, but having one of these

certainly would help. I experimented with a little cold frame - green house this spring and it made a big difference with the plants I started. I am already planning a small green house for next year.

We sampled all the goat cheeses, my favorite was the chive and dill, CJ liked the orange.

There was even an interesting sculpture in front of the restaurant. I was impressed with the place, and would love to eat there someday. Seems you have to make reservations more than a year in advance, though.

Then we went over to Rising Meadow. We have been there several times before, for the annual Farm Fest and fiber festival. It is another small, sustainable farm, as well as a Bed and Breakfast. We wandered around looking at the sheep and llamas, and gardens. It is another beautiful place. I was taken with the herb garden. We are working on one, and it may well succeed.

I have a lot of the same stuff, and, believe it or not, it is doing well.

There are some really cool things around here. Small farms and wineries abound. The decline in tobacco necessitated it. Maybe there should be some sort of bike ride to explore them. Especially the wineries. Anyone want to go?

I did get out on my bike this morning. Just did a nice, easy 30 mile recovery ride and averaged about 16.4 mph. It was cloudy and windy and oh, so humid.

I leave you with a picture of a guard llama at Rising Meadow. I would not cross him.

.

Garden Party

With Colin having to go to Asheboro first thing in the morning to take the SAT, and then be picked up around 1:00, it seemed like a good morning to work in the yard and plant some things in the garden. the weather for the afternoon looked a little iffy for a bike ride; 50% chance of scattered thunderstorms, some of them possibly severe, but, if they happened, I always had the trainer. I invited everyone I could find to help with the planting, but, well, there weren't any takers. Not much of a planting party after all. I got a lot done, though, but I still have a lot to do.



When I finally left for a ride the skies looked a bit ominous, but I figured I'd go and see how far I got before the storms came. I didn't expect to go very far. I was wrong. The storms never came, and there was a lot more sun than clouds. I got to work on my "wacky" cyclist tan (as Sam calls it). Every time it looked like it might be time to think about stopping, the sky would suddenly clear and the sun break through. So, I ended up riding 53.36 miles, the most since 7/5/2008. I also averaged 17.2 mph, not too bad, given that it was a little windy and I wasn't really trying very hard.

Well, I say "not too bad", but I'm not sure. I finally figured out how to put the data from the Garmin on here, like Sarah does. That's the elevation profile from today's ride. Not much flat around here, is there?

The week: It looks like my highest mileage week, ever. 171.71 miles. That surprised me. Hope I can keep it up.

Tomorrow's weather is supposed to be a lot like today's. We are also going to go to the open houses at Rising Meadow Farm and The Goat Lady Dairy. Hope they have plenty of free samples and CJ doesn't try to buy too much yarn. I also just found out that it is strawberry picking season. I'll be doing that soon.

WOW

For those of you in New England, I have been wanting to mention, and keep forgetting to, that it gets dark almost an hour later here than up there. Makes after work rides wonderful.

How many days do we get like this? It was 76 degrees with not much humidity, and bright sunshine at 5:15 when I left for my ride. There was a fair amount of wind coming from the south, and to be honest, if it was ten degrees colder I'd be whining about the wind, but for some reason, the warmer it gets, the less I mind it. Sure, I was riding straight into it when I was doing my intervals, so there was no speed to go with the effort, but I really didn't mind. I was smart enough to just run the intervals up to my lactate threshold instead of going full anaerobic like the last time, so it wasn't so bad. I did five one minute drills with one minute recovery in between. It felt pretty good, so maybe it's time to increase the time.

I rode 33.22 miles in at 17.3 mph. Not bad, and pretty close to what I was doing last year. Thirty three miles after work seems like about the right distance since it leaves some time for supper and maybe doing something in the garden.

I finally updated the yearly mileage over there on the right.

I could use more days like this.

The Pollen Forecast...

That is the roof of my car. Believe it or not, I washed it yesterday. That gives you some idea of what the Weather Channel means when they say the pollen level in your area is high. Ya think? No wonder I have to keep stocked up on allergy medicine. Even had to use my inhaler today.

Even with a head start on the weekend's chores by mowing the lawn Friday evening, Saturday's ride ended up being a short one crammed between lots of other stuff. By the time I had gotten a haircut, washed the car, changed the tire from the mismatched spare to the repaired flat of last Sunday morning, and spent all my money (and the kid's inheritance) on food at Walmart and Sam's Club, it was after 12:00. I also had to be home by 3:00 because it was prom night. There were pictures to be taken, and Colin had to be with his friends by 4:00 to go out to eat (The Black Pearl in Greensboro - looks like a neat place, but he said I couldn't go. Go figure....). I got out about 12:30. It was a gorgeous day, about 90 degrees, some wind, full sun. Traffic around Liberty wasn't too bad for the Antique Festival, and bazillion yard sales and flea markets that take place on the two Festival weekends every year. It looked like the turnout was huge, given the number of cars I saw parked in the fields at the Festival site.

I rode 36.2 miles at 16.5 mph.

Today was a little warmer, about 92, and I got out a little earlier, about 10:30. The plan was to go for a longer ride, but not really push too hard. It was a success on both those counts. 50.93 miles @ 16.4 mph, with fairly low heart rates throughout. You know, sometimes it is nice to just slow down, putter along, and enjoy the ride and scenery. But it also helps to be in something resembling good shape, so you can.

I managed to stay reasonably hydrated, losing about four pounds on each ride. That is about the max I can lose and still feel ok, and it seems to be taking a bit more to stay at that level. Is that an age thing, I wonder?

Next ride - Interval Tuesday.

Fastest / Not Fastest

Riding, if nothing else, is a decent stress reliever. Another round of "cost cutting" today, unemploying 5 people and gutting our infrastructure doesn't make for a very pleasant day. We still have to get through tomorrow. I feel sorry for those who are gone, and, of course, worried about what my fate is to be. With that kind of day, getting on the bike was badly needed. The fact that it was sunny, about 80 degrees with light breezes made it even better. I just put my head down and rode. Not really pushing, but not taking it easy, either. It was mindless, relaxing and stress relieving. It ended up being 32.86 miles with an average of 18 mph. Or, maybe, 33.17 miles at 18.2 mph, which would make it equal to my fastest ride, ever. You see, the thing is, there is this little discrepancy between the Garmin and the Cateye I had used up until last Christmas. The Cateye reads .2 mph higher all the time, and it is getting it's readings off a meticulously measured rear wheel. The Garmin gets its readings from satellites several thousand miles away. Which is right? It only matters for consistency, I guess.

In the end, it was a good ride, and plenty fast enough, either way, and I got to forget about things for a while.

Anyone need an Engineer/It manager/ welder / draftsman/etc?

Sunday Ride

Sunday didn't start the way I thought it would. This was the day the kids from Eastern Randolph and Providence Grove left on their trip to Washington DC, Gettysburg, and Philadelphia. My son ("the boy" according to his sister") was going. That meant we had to get up at 3:30 so he could get ready and make it to the school in time to make the bus, it was leaving at 5:00. We left about 4:40 for the ten minute ride to E.R. About 100 yards into the trip I decided the car did not feel right, so I stopped, got out and looked at the tires. The left rear was flat. Back to the house and a quick swap to Sam's car. We made it in time.

My legs still hurt from yesterday, but I wanted to ride, so I resolved to actually do what made sense - a nice slow recovery ride. My normal Sunday route sort of lends itself to that kind of ride - it is the most flat of all the routes. It actually worked out, for once. I rode 35.5 miles and averaged 16.7 mph. Best, though, my heart rate never got above 159 and mostly hovered around 140 to 145. I think that counts as a real recovery ride.

I am tired, though. I still have not recovered from last week's 2,000 miles in a Toyota Camry, and today's escapades didn't help. I did not take a nap, but I should have.





Isn't that a neat house? I have ridden past it several times, and never seen it until today. You can't accuse me of being observant. I only noticed it because I stopped to take that new picture up there in the header, and I only noticed that because I switched my normal direction on that road. I was going downhill instead of concentrating on getting up the hill. Maybe I need to look around?

I should have napped....

Now, THAT Hurt

Since there was only one ride in the past week, and my legs felt a little achy and tired I figured today would be a good day to add more miles and more hills. That probably was not the smartest choice, but smart choices are not what I am known for. The first 18 miles went well, so I took the left turn off the Julian - Ramsuer road onto Old Liberty Road and headed for Gray's Chapel. There is a lot of uphill involved, but the only way to get better climbing is to climb. At some point my heart rate went way over max, to 180 bpm, and never really went down to "taking it easy" zone again. I was determined, though to get the most out of the ride, and I was comfortable with the higher than anticipated heart rates - I ended up with a162 average for the ride - but my legs were not happy at all. In true biker fashion, I pressed on regardless.

So, how did I fare? Well, 49.13 miles at an average of 16.8 mph. Not too bad if you consider that a lot of the last 20 miles was spent not only battling tired legs, but also attempting and failing, to bring the HR down to a reasonable number. I am SO out of shape.

Since I am planning on doing the annual Tour De Lions charity ride about mid May, and, of course, I want to do the 75 mile route, which just happens to have some steep climbs right at the end, so, there is a lot of work to do. Maybe I can get there.

Today's weather? Absolutely perfect NC spring. Eighty one degrees, full sun, not much wind. Does it get any better than that?

Tomorrow probably should be a recovery ride, but....

Poor Pitiful Me

Well, I didn't forget how to ride during my week off. When I left for my ride it was a sunny, slightly breezy 68 degrees. I dressed in my summer stuff, left, and after about half a mile thought maybe I should go back and put on the tights and long sleeve jersey. That is pitiful for a transplanted New Englander. I didn't go back, though, and I warmed up nicely. I ended up with 33.16 miles and my highest average speed of the year - 17.8. I intended to just take it easy, and mostly I did, but towards the end when it looked like I might get an 18 mph average, I pushed a bit. Didn't quite make it, this time.

The weekend is supposed to be warmer, and we have now gone a whole day without rain. Hope I can get some miles in.

That GPS Thing

Let me begin by assuring you that, since I am a male, I am my own GPS unit. I always know where I am going, never need to ask directions, and, of course, have never been lost. Just ask CJ.

Sam has a Garmin Nuvi she got for Christmas, though, and since I had never used one and already knew where I was going, I thought we'd use it on the trip, you know, see how the machine compared to me. I was shocked when Sam plugged in our destination address and a pleasant female voice (from this point on she will be known as Betty) informed me that our destination was 640 miles away. Six hundred and forty. That's two hundred less MY ROUTE. Now, saving the time it takes to drive 200 miles seemed like it might be a good idea, given that we were starting kind of late and it was going to be a quick trip. So lead on, Betty.

Within the first mile it was obvious that she intended to take us up Interstate 95. I had never gone that way since it goes through all the major east coast cities, Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, but that 200 miles was so tempting. Things went well until we got to the north side of Richmond, where the speed of traffic varied from stopped to 45 mph. This was the pattern from Richmond all the way to the north side of Baltimore. That wasn't Betty's fault though. As we went through Washington, however, I had the first little pang of doubt. It was when we saw the Washington Monument and the Jefferson Memorial and the Capitol Dome. Then , when she told me to exit onto Pennsylvania Ave., I lost faith. I was also stopped in traffic. Now, I am sure that may have been the shortest distance, and maybe under some circumstances it might be the fastest, but not that day. Not having a map, though, left me with no choice but to follow Betty's directions, vowing that if she ever got me back on 95, I would stay there. Eventually we did get back on 95 and there I stayed. It was fun to ignore the "reconfiguring" and "go .2 miles and make a u-turn" she kept insisting on at each missed exit.

At 2:00 AM, 15 hours into the trip, we were in Rock Hill CT so we stopped there. The next morning we drove another hour and a half and Betty proudly announced that we had arrived at our destination. Oh, it turned out to be 840 miles. Exactly the same as the route I always take. Just to top it off, there are no tolls on my normal route, but we paid $27 to come up 95. Thanks, Betty.

The return trip on Monday was down Interstate 81. Betty was silenced, and relegated to map only mode. It took 13. 5 hours to get home. Same 840 miles, included stops for lunch, and a couple of side trips to Walmart (OK, we let Betty find those for us, and she did a good job). Best of all, not much traffic.

I will admit, though, that seeing those monuments in DC, and seeing all those cities lit up at night was kind of cool, and I never would have without Betty's optimistic mileage calculation, and it all worked out. But I won't go that way again.

I almost took my bike, but there wasn't time to ride it, and the weather wasn't really all that great, temps in the 30's and lots of wind, but maybe next time. I'd kind of like to ride up Mt. Wachusett just to see if I can.

It was nice to see New England again.

You Might Think

You might think that someone who can get on a bike and ride fifty miles or so without ever once stopping would be in pretty good shape. Well, maybe you wouldn't, but, I did. Tonight I found I wasn't. It was time to do a little speed work. You know, start getting the average speed up. That requires, uh, intervals! I don't dislike intervals, but, they can be rough, especially at first, and tonight was definitely "at first". I did five of them, maximum effort, one minute each, with a minute recovery in between. My legs were willing, but my lungs objected in no uncertain terms - burning and hurting, which I ignored. I am stubborn that way. Ok, I'm just stubborn, as some people will attest. When I really am in shape I can maintain that effort for about twenty minutes, so one minute may seem short, and is, but ya gotta start someplace, and I have.

But, did it work, you ask? As in did I go faster? Well, yeah, I did. At the end of the five intervals, about ten miles in, my average was 18.3 mph. At the end of the ride, 32.72 miles, the average was 17.7. That's the fastest since August 21 of last year. Not bad, and it can only get better, right?

I hope to ride tomorrow, I have the day off, but intervals two days in a row are not a good idea.

Last Week and...

I got in all four rides last week, finally. Weather cooperated, as did the motivation, and I ended up with 136.51 miles. I think that's the most for a week this year. I got in Sunday too, so this week has a good start, but that won't last (more on that later). Saturday's ride turned out to be 44.68 miles at 16.7 mph. The wind wasn't in my favor and I set out thinking it would be a short ride and I'd just take it easy. Taking it easy worked well, and the ride ended up longer and faster than it should have. Funny how that works. When I don't push, I go just as fast as when I do, but I feel better at the end.

The rest of Saturday was spent on long neglected yard work. I cut down several trees near the house that I didn't want to get any bigger. The 20 mph wind was blowing directly toward the house, so, things got really interesting. The trees were just big enough to hit the house, and. well, they tried, but I got it figured out and they all missed. It was close, though.

Sunday, another great, bright, sunny, windy and warm day (77 degrees) was great for another easy ride. About 10 miles in I saw another biker coming toward me. As we passed, I waved, and also noticed that the bike was loaded. I mean really, loaded. It had four saddle bags on the back that were the size of the biggest suitcases I had ever seen, another one on top of the luggage rack, and a big stick with a red flag fluttering behind it. I turned around and caught up to him. When I asked him where he was headed, he told me he had just left Carboro that morning and was going to the west coast. Pretty cool. His name is John, and He looked to be about 22 or 23 years old. Hopes he makes it. I chatted with him a while then turned back around and finished my ride. 36.62 miles at, you guessed it, 16.7 mph.

As for the rest of the week, well tomorrow's high is supposed to be 50 with 30 mph winds, so I doubt I will go out. It improves a bit as the week goes on, so we shall see.

Spring is really here.

Lots of flowers are blooming and everything is turning green. We've had plenty of rain so far, and today was no exception. Since I have taken vacation days today and tomorrow, and today was a "scheduled ride" day (I use that term very loosely), I decided to get my ride in early. Most of the reason for that was that, although it was dreary and raining in the morning, the forecast for the afternoon was for thunderstorms. Ride in a thunderstorm? Thanks, but, no thanks. They still haven't come, though, and it's 4:00 in the afternoon.

Given the visibility out there I finally relented and attached my five LED Cateye tail light to the left side seat stay. It is not aesthetically pleasing, but, there are times when it might make a difference. Besides, it unclips and goes in the seat bag when it isn't needed. Since it had been stored in the seat bag of the other, old Fuji for the past year, the batteries weren't up for much, and went dead within the first three miles. Since I go through town in the first three miles I stopped at Family Dollar and got some more. Wow, that thing is bright when it has a fresh power source.

With the temp at 58 and the rain, I wasn't sure what to wear, so I overdressed and was a bit too warm, but that is always better than being too cold. I got in 32.87 miles and averaged 16.7 mph and got very wet.

Tomorrow we are supposed to have more thunderstorms and winds up to 40 mph, so I don't anticipate a ride.

This afternoon I got to take CJ to Greensboro to shop for yarn. She shopped, I sat in the car with a laptop and tried to find a wireless network I could connect to in the downtown. I found two that were open but I couldn't get on the Internet with them.

I might have to wash the bike tomorrow, though. I am always amazed at how dirty it gets on a wet road.

I Confess

I didn't ride yesterday. All that talk of motivation and, blah, blah, wilted in the face of winds a bit stronger than predicted. To ride in 25 mph winds takes about all the perseverance I can muster. Yesterday they ended up being 35 mph. Some sort of sanity prevailed. I mean, really, I ride for fitness and fun. I don't get paid to do it. While riding yesterday was certain to help my fitness level, it sure wouldn't have been much fun. I stayed on the couch. Watched TV.

Today, though, I got in a rare Monday after work ride. Sixty eight degrees, 3 to 5 mph winds and partly cloudy. It made up for yesterday. A nice 29 mile ride with an average speed of 17.2. An hour and forty minutes, non stop, on the bike. If I can get rid of the extra ten pounds of winter blubber, there might be some real speed in these old legs.

If I ride tomorrow, I'll be back on "schedule"

Riding Again

So much for my ambition last weekend of finally getting back on my four day a week riding schedule. I went out on Tuesday and about 10 miles into the ride I started having problems shifting the rear derailleur. It was sort of random, but frequent. Some shifts would take two clicks of the lever, some just one. On top of that, I'd do a down shift and the derailleur would do an upshift, then a down shift. To top it off, it would sometimes simply shift itself. Up. Down. Whatever, and usually the opposite of what I needed right then. It had a mind of its own. Needless to say, this made the ride a bit difficult, and I almost stopped, but, being stubborn, and not knowing any better, I persevered. It turned out pretty well. I did 22.04 miles with an average of 17.6 mph. At 18 miles I had an average speed of 18.5, but the last 4 miles of that loop climbs 150 feet (I know that thanks to my Garmin!) and was into a light headwind, so there wasn't much hope of maintaining that average. Given the bike problems, I was sort of happy with the final result.

Once home I checked the bike over, but couldn't find the problem. I'd adjust the cable, but nothing made any difference. It was late, and I gave up. Next night I brought the bike in the house and set it up in the trainer so I could adjust things and watch tings and maybe find out what was wrong. Watching it shift was kind of entertaining. I'd shift it one way, and the bike would go the other, first, then do what I'd commanded. Like it was rebelling. "You can't tell me what to do" I get that from the kids, too. So, finally, I pulled the the housing away from the shift lever, and "Well, there's your problem!". All but two strands of the cable had failed. Easy fix, but no spare. The worst part was, I'd been working in High Point, a half mile from a bike shop, all day. If I'd known what the problem was, a spare would have come back to Liberty with me. Thursday's ride was now cancelled. Friday night I went to Performance Bike in Greensboro and spent $6.00 on new shifter cables ( proud of myself, that was ALL I bought), came home and replaced the failed one. Truth is, I haven't even looked at the other one, but, since it gets shifted, like, once on a ride, when I am out of shape, and never when I am not, it isn't a pressing matter. I suppose I should at least give it a token look. Maybe. Later.

Today's ride went much better. The bike shifts like it did when it was new (note to self: replace cable before 4,000 miles). It was supposed to rain all day with thunder storms in the afternoon. I got out around 11:00, rode 42 miles, averaged 17 mph, and stayed dry, it was just starting to spit a little rain as I got home.

Tomorrow is supposed to be partly cloudy with 25 mph winds. It'll take some motivation to go out and fight that, but I'll probably go. Uh, maybe....

Key Lime cake is sitting on the table, waiting to replenish the calories I burned today, and tomorrow and... I added some lime zest to the recipe thinking it might make it more tangy. We'll see, soon.

Spoiled?

That's in my front yard. It's getting to that time in North Carolina that is just amazing. Everything blooms and flowers in the next few weeks and the temps are moderate. Freezing cold in the morning and in the 70's by lunch, usually with intense warm sunshine. I think the only thing that might compare to the beauty of nature in the spring here is the beauty of the fall in Vermont.

I managed to ride four of the last six days. As noted earlier, I got two weekday rides in after work on Tuesday and Wednesday. Yesterday I felt like I might be just a bit spoiled. I left for my ride about 12:40 and the temp was (supposedly) 53 degrees. I dressed in my cold weather stuff figuring it would get warmer as it got later. I went about a quarter mile and turned around. I was freezing! I went home and in my only concession to the weather, got my full finger gloves. That helped a lot, and although the temp did climb to 57 or so by the end of the ride, I was never quite warm. I got in 42.44 miles at 16.7 mph. not a bad ride.

Today was quite a bit warmer. I dressed the same as yesterday, except for the full finger gloves. It was about 62 when I started and 65 when I finished, so I was borderline over dressed. Today was just an easy recovery ride because my legs were just a little tired from yesterday, but in true cyclist fashion, I ended up going a lot faster than I planned. At least I shortened the mileage, 29.8 at 17.2. Legs are still tired, but I am not riding tomorrow. I hope I can get back on my schedule of four days a week.

I got the garden tilled yesterday and today I got in two rows of beets. I can't wait to get the rest of the plants going. There isn't anything better than food you can walk out, pick and eat.

Two In a Row - Really

Every week day since March 9 has included at least one trip to High Point to work on a broken server. A couple of days required two trips. All of them included a missed lunch and a late return to Liberty, and home. That deflated any motivation I may have had to ride after work, and last weekend was a complete cold washout. But yesterday I did manage to get in time and I did today as well, although today I didn't even get a piece of Barb's Key Lime cake for lunch because it was gone. I have to get that recipe. So, even though I was running on a half bowl of Frosted Mini Wheats from 6:45 AM, I couldn't NOT go, given the perfect weather. Sixty eight degrees and almost no wind. It felt good to get out there and I got in another 22 miles @ 17 mph. That's pretty good since last night I rode a mostly flat 21 miles and averaged 16.8, while tonight's was one of the more hilly (?) rides. So, an improvement. Can't go tomorrow, though. My son is in a play at the high school, so I think I'd better go to that

I have noticed a couple of riders out in places I don't normally see anyone. Maybe I can find someone to ride with. Hope so.

Wearin' Green

Happy St. Patrick's Day. Although no one in this family has any Irish, we all managed to wearing green today. Ok, for me, I take green with me every day. No, not money, I have none. But my eyes are green, which, according to the internets (so it must be true)is the rarest eye color - 2% of the world's population, for whatever that is worth. Anyway, for today, we did the green thing, had the traditional corned beef and cabbage boiled dinner, without beets, because Food Lion didn't have any, and beer (for me). I also had some green cake at work (Barbara's concoction) that turned out to be a key lime cake and was an interesting flavor, sweet and tangy, it was really good, and it was my lunch since I was tied up on a conference call with our corporate help desk and Dell enterprise tech support for 3 hours.

Until today, I had been unable to take advantage of Daylight Savings Time since I have spent every day in High Point trying to resolve some computer issues. Today, though, I made it back early enough and the weather was nice enough so I finally got out there. Just 21 miles, but it was a great ride. I am hoping to get another one in tomorrow.

And Now DST, and Riding in the Peloton?

Now with Daylight Saving Time the after work rides can commence. With the cooperation of weather and motivation, of course.

Today's weather was, indeed, a carbon copy of yesterday's with the exception of the wind. A bit breezy with a pretty much steady 20 to 25 mph wind out of the southwest. I decided that today's ride would just be a slow recovery ride and that I would not battle the wind for any kind of speed. My heart rate stats reflect that. Yesterday my average HR was 161 with a max of 175. Today,it was 145 and 165. Not working very hard, even though when I turned into the wind I had to use the small chainring going downhill. I think, though maybe I discovered what it's like to ride in the peloton when I had a tailwind. Level ground, 33 mph, and no effort. None. Heartrate at about 140. That felt so cool, and so fast. Granted, in an actual peloton there would have been a lot of stress because of all the riders around, but still, to go that fast without having to work is amazing. I paid for that when I turned into the wind, but it was worth it.

So, today's ride was 29.5 miles @ at a sedate 16.1, but it was fun, mostly because, when it got rough, as in into the wind, I just went slow and enjoyed the ride. Sometimes maybe that's the best thing.

SPF 30

This was my front yard Monday morning as I left for work. We got about 6 inches of snow, at least on the elevated surfaces. The ground was warm, though, and the roads, snow covered as they were, were passable. Even for southerners. The temperature barely got above freezing, but with the ground warmth and bright sunshine the roads were completely clear by , oh, noon. Perfect storm. Pretty white snow on the ground and no complications. It was all gone by Wednesday night.

Ok, I am not exactly sure where I left off in the ride record department, and am too lazy to go back and figure it out, so, as far as last weekend went, 17 miles on the trainer on Saturday and the same on Sunday. Both took an hour. Nothing too exciting there. I had every intention of riding during the week, but well, ya know?

So we segue to today.



It is 6:15 as I write this. I am sitting on my deck enjoying a PBR, watching the sun go down - the deck faces SW, and waiting for a BBQ sandwich.

In order to not feel guilty about a ride today I started out with changing the oil in my Camry, then did some long overdue yard work. About 12:00 I'd had enough of that, or at least I'd made it look good, and slathered on the sunscreen for the first time since - well, since sometime back in maybe October, put on the short sleeve jersey, and the cycling shorts and went for a ride. It was just an amazing day, weather wise. I got in 40.7 miles and averaged 16.7. At about 20 miles I had an average of 17.8, so maybe I am not so slow. The wind picked up and changed direction, though, so I couldn't maintain it. In fact, the last 5 miles went from an average of 17. 2 to the 16.7. That same 5 miles is ridden at the start of my ride, and it went from 16.3 to 17.5 then. So much for the wind.

Still, a great day, and tomorrow is supposed to be just like it.

HEY, I just got bitten by a mosquito. Going in and getting another PBR out of the fridge.

Watts Up?

According to the chart Kenetic puts out with their fluid trainer, the one I have, I would average about 175 watts while averaging 17 mph on the trainer. At my peak speed of 23.7, it would have been about 350 watts, not for very long, though. Don't know if this is good or bad, but nice to know.

Adjustments

Rule one of adjusting anything (not just bikes, but anything ) is go little. Having been told once that "there are no rules" and not playing by them anyway, AND being discouraged by this numb toe thing, tonight I went big. Since I was riding in my bedroom and making more adjustments wasn't going to be a big deal, there wasn't much of a downside. I loosened up the cleats and slid them as far forward as I could. Did it work? I don't know. Sure didn't make it worse. I did 10 miles, averaged 17 mph and the last mile or so there was a little numbness in the toes of both feet. Better than last Sunday, I think. I am going to leave things where they are and try a long road ride on Saturday. Hope I am on the right track.

Toes

Since we have 30mph winds today I set up the trainer and spent 55 minutes on it, just 15 miles. I was going to ride further, but stopped because of some pain in the bottom of my left foot, right over the cleat. From the start of my serious riding, my toes always got slightly numb, but it didn't bother me very much. The past couple of months have been a lot worse, though, and I don't know why. Nothing has changed. Same shoes, pedals, cleats. A few weeks ago I moved the cleats back a couple of millimeters, but that didn't help. It can take as much as 45 minutes after a 2 hour ride for my toes and the bottoms of my feet to feel normal again. Today was the first time there was any pain while I was pedaling, and rather than risk any sort of injury that would keep me from riding, I stopped. So, does anyone have any suggestions? A cure maybe? I am not giving up my bike.

First Flat of 09

After a full week on non riding, it was time to brave the 65 degree February weather, the blustery 5 mph winds and glaring sunshine and get out there, anyway. How could I not? I hadn't been feeling especially well since last Saturday's 50 miler - still struggling with asthma meds and side effects. Once again I have decided that the benefits of the medicine are not worth enduring the things that come with it. I stopped them after last week's ride, so I was interested in seeing just how well I'd do yesterday. No problem.

Last week when I rode with Dave we followed his route, which took me over roads I'd not been on before. This week I added his route to my usual Saturday loop. It connects nicely and adds 10 miles of pretty, mostly flat, back roads. I need to explore some more of the roads around here.

About a mile and a half from home the front tire started making some noise. I wondered if it might be going flat, but the bike felt ok, so I thought it might just be the pavement. About three quarters of a mile further, a lot of vibration started coming through the bars and the handling got sketchy - the front wheel was trying to slide out from under me. Flat tire. I was still three quarters of a mile from home, but since the next half mile or so was uphill and straight I slowed and kept riding. I hate walking in cycling shoes and I was too close to stop and patch the tube. Riding up the hill went perfectly, but the last 1/4 mile to my house is downhill and through a couple of corners, a pretty good recipe for a crash with a flat front. I walked the last little bit.

So, I got in about 42 miles and averaged 16.5 mph. The Garmin tells me there was 1363 feet of climbing, and even a couple of eight percent grades - glad they are short. I really like the Garmin, but wish the heart rate was visible instead of having to rely solely on the alarm. I'd prefer being able to adjust my effort before reaching my maximum. Still, a minor complaint, though.

Going out to patch my tube, now. Today's weather is the same as yesterday's. Goin' for a ride soon.

This Week

I thought about taking another picture of the thermometer in downtown Liberty today, but decided against it. I thought it might be a little discouraging to those battling snow and ice. But, it was 74 with bright sunshine and winds at 5 to 10 mph. Not a bad day to ride, and tomorrow is supposed to be identical. It's a little hard to believe that we had two days of no school due to a dusting of snow and days that didn't get out of the 30's.

Last Sunday was in the 40's and I got in a 38 mile ride. I felt good, but it was Super Bowl Sunday and there was a lot of non-nutritious food to prep and cook, so the ride was a little shorter than I wanted. In case anyone is interested, Alton Brown's (Good Eats - FoodTV) chicken wings were well worth the effort. I made a double batch of them and coated one of them with a Ranch Dressing concoction that was good, but needs a little work. Alton's coating was right on. I was rooting for the Cardinals, simply because they beat the Panthers, and the Cardinal is the state bird of NC. It was a good game, anyway.

Tuesday I set up the trainer and did 11 miles. I thought about pulling out the Spinerval dvd, but common sense prevailed. I found that The Who's Live At Leeds is not a bad choice for pedaling music.

That brings us to today. What can I say? How much better can February weather get? I was going to wash my bike before I left, and it would have had a wonderful cherry odor (see twitter update) but, I just went for a ride, instead. About 20 miles in I met up with Dave, another Liberty rider. He hasn't been riding a lot lately, and is starting to get back in shape. We were going in opposite directions, but I decided to turn around and ride with him. He was a little concerned that he would slow me down, but, I think it's fun sometimes to just slow down and ride and chat with someone. By myself there is a tendency to go as fast as I can until I blow up. We rode together for about 10 miles. It was nice. I finished up with 49.8 miles at 16 mph. Not a bad day.

I totaled my January miles and was surprised to see I'd gone about 40 mile further than last January. I was feeling a bit discouraged because I thought I was riding less. I am not.

January Returned

After 64 degrees on Saturday, Sunday dawned cloudy and cold. My plan (I had one - really) was to watch the live coverage of the last 8 1/2 hours of the Daytona 24 Hours, which came on at 7:00 and stayed on until the finish at 3:30, try my hand at baking The Best Lemon Bars, Cook's Illustrated named them that, and they are right, and, as soon as the temp got close to 40, go for a long ride. The day went pretty much as planned, but the temp never got above 35. That turned out not to be such a bad thing. I pulled out the trainer and set it up in front of the tv and rode there while watching the race. What was fun was when they showed the view from the cameras on top of the cars - it actually made me feel like I was going down a road. Cool. Is that what the computrainer is like? I rode 20 miles, averaged 16.2mph, and discovered the rear brake was dragging when I finished . That made for a more intense workout. I was wondering why I felt like I was working so hard, and relieved to find out that it "wasn't me".

The Lemon bars were great. I had not made them for a couple of years and was pleased to find out I can still cook. I made them before my ride, so I had something to replace all those calories with.

Congratulations to Brumos Porsche for the win. The race was amazing for a 24 hour event: two teams fighting for the win with the cars nose to tail after that long is rare.

Hope the mild winter returns soon.

It is January, isn't it?

I hadn't been on my bike since last Sunday, not even on the trainer. I wasn't feeling much motivation. Something to do with trying to not take my asthma meds - I'm stubborn that way, but I gave in Saturday morning. Even though I wasn't feeling very good and it was raining and 52 degrees, I thought I'd try a short ride. Within five minutes of leaving the rain stopped and the sun came out. On top of that I found the exercise was just what I needed to feel a bit better. I was wearing a little more than I needed, but I'd rather be too warm than too cold. What started out as a " just get on the bike" ride turned into a nice 46.37 mile ride with an average speed of 16.5.

Today winter is supposed to return with a high of 41 degrees. I hope to get out there again.

It Did

Well, it did snow, and it was pretty. Accumulation was a lot less than predicted, I doubt we got an inch, but snow is snow. This picture was on the drive into work. It was slick. Packed down polished ice always is. It was all gone from the roads by noon, but the rest of the ground is still covered.

Will it, REALLY?

SNOW?

The prediction for tonight is 2 to 4 inches. I hope it happens. Real snow, on the ground. It's been a long time. Those of you that live in places where it snows every winter may not understand, but it's exciting. We keep going to the window, hoping to see those first snowflakes. I may stay up late, just to see it. You know, I used to do the same thing, even when I lived in Vermont. What is it about that first snowfall that touches something in us? I want to see everything pristine and white.

As for riding, Saturday, because of the cold I set up the trainer and went exactly one hour, 16.3 miles. I did 5 one minute intervals at max heart rate, but mostly just rode. I chose Guns N' Roses Greatest Hits on the mp3 player to help me through, it seemed to be a good choice. One thing is certain, without the ceiling fan it would be torture. Pretty good workout.

Sunday turned out to be colder than forecast, but I really wanted a ride on the road. About 10:30 it was up to about 37 degrees, so off I went, in hopes that it might warm up. Except for my toes, I was a lot warmer than expected. I rode 44.84 miles at 16.2 mph. The ponds I by had a sheet of ice on them. It's been years since that has happened. I even ran into some sleet, another surprise, it wasn't forecast. At 20 mph it stings on your face. It was a nice ride, and, the mileage is going up. After all, the only way to ride further, is to ride further. Same with going faster. Ya just got to do it.

I'm going to the window now and waiting for the snow. Pics, if it does.

Pepper

She chose us.

Sam talked us into getting a puppy from her first grade teacher, so we went to just look at them. The teacher lived on a farm, and the puppies were kept outside in a shed. When we got there these six week old black balls of fur came out to greet us. I think there were six of them. They were running around, mostly playing with each other, except for one. This one, the smallest, fattest one came over to CJ and Sam, and stayed with them. She payed no attention to what her siblings were up to. I guess she knew who she wanted to go home with. I kept trying to look at the other puppies, but there wasn't any way we were going home without her

I was going to say more. maybe some other time.

We are glad she chose us. I'd like to think she was too.

Brass Monkey Weather?

Well, maybe. It is supposed to be nine degrees(that's right, 9 little degrees, in the key of F) here tonight. I can't remember the last time we were into the single digits. Tomorrow's high is supposed to be 35, so it looks like if I want to ride it'll have to be inside. My clothes simply aren't made for those temps. Sunday is supposed to be up to 48, so the weekend might not be a total loss.

A Little Short

Today's plan was to attempt a 100K ride. Although I haven't committed to the Century Challenge, I haven't ruled it out yet, either. If I made it today, I'd be in. Much like the Panthers last night, I came up a little short. Ok, they came up a lot short, but we won't speak of them again. I should have watched Dr. Who, instead. I found that not only am I slow, I have no endurance, either. Well, the speed may be coming back, but I still have a ways to go. As for distance, I only made 45.47 miles, average speed - 16.9. That was all the fun my legs wanted. But my training log reveals that was my longest ride since July 5 of last year, when I went 54.6 miles. Almost everything since then has been in the 30 to 35 mile range. For me, a feeble old man (really, I am, ok, just old), an increase in mileage has to be gradual. That does not bode well for the Century Challenge, but I still have two weeks to get there, so we shall see.

While looking at my training log I also discovered that I am about 30 miles ahead of where I was this time last year, so I have gotten off to a pretty good start.

Back to the trainer until next weekend. I still haven't figured out how to put my Spinervals DVD onto my Zen Vision, but that may be a good thing.

I will post a picture of Pepper, soon. We have an extensive collection - she was Sam's favorite subject.

Last Week

I only rode twice last week, 10 miles on the trainer Tuesday evening, and yesterday, 39.57, on the road. Riding wasn't much of a priority because of Pepper's failing health. She was very much a member of this family in ways I have never experienced with any other pet, and she is missed.
As for yesterday's ride, it was a nice day, 57 degrees, but very windy. I put a new chain on and was surprised at how much quieter and smoother it was, as well as the improved shifting. I did have to stop a few times and tweak the rear derailleur adjustment a bit, but once it was dialed in the shifts were quick and crisp. Looks like the 3,400 miles on the old chain might have been a little too much.

I didn't get to use my Garmin yesterday, I went outside, turned it on and found the battery was low. I guess someone left it on (that person will remain nameless, but I think I caught a glimpse of him in the mirror). I have been following some things coming out of this year's Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas, and one thing that looks like it might finally be emerging is "wireless power". The best of the products looks like surfaces that will charge your phone, camera, etc. by simply setting it down, and will do several at once. Until yesterday, I wasn't all that convinced. Besides the dead Garmin, though, I noticed when I emptied my pockets after my ride that there were two mp3 players, two cell phones, and a digital camera on the kitchen table, plus my Garmin on the counter being recharged. The stuff being shown at CES would charge all of them at the same time just by putting them on the table - where they were anyway. It's a ways off, but it may just make it. As a disclaimer, I am employed by one of the companies involved, although it is a different division, I have nothing to do with the product, and didn't even know they were involved in this until after I started looking into it. Here's a link to with a little more, for anyone interested.

Today is supposed to be around 50 degrees, I am leaving soon for a ride.

Fresh Page

The first ride of 2009 has been ridden. It didn't look too likely this morning, we had some real winter weather. Just a little freezing rain, and the temp got above freezing almost immediately. But it kept raining and the temp stayed right at 36, so I wasn't going anywhere. That is, until about 2:30 when the sky cleared, the sun came out and the thermometer went up to 44. I got in 20 miles. The bike is in dire need of some attention, though. Besides being filthy, everything needs adjusted and lubricated, and it certainly is time for a new chain. I did take the time to clean the front derailleur with some 409 and a tooth brush, then lubed and adjusted it. That should help.

Year In Review

Well, 2008 is gone so it's time to tally the score. I rode a total of 4135.03 miles. Those miles were spread out over 141 rides, the shortest was 3.49 and the longest was 76.82. A little bit of a surprise was the average speed for the 4135 miles was 16.7. That speed was faster that all but a handful of my fastest rides in previous years. I also burned 215,143 calories. Only riding once in September may have kept me from getting close to 5,000, but who knows, maybe this year. At this point I still haven't set any goals for '09 other than to keep riding. I miss it when I don't.

Hope everyone had a great New Year's and has a great new year.

And It Rained

Between 2004, when I really started riding, and this fall, rain was something I had never really encountered. That's because it simply wasn't raining - we have been in a drought here for most of that time. Now it seems like it rains almost everytime I go out. Like yesterday. It did wait until about mile 26 of my 33 mile ride, so I wasn't out in it too long. It was about 45 degrees, and I stayed warm. I don't mind riding in the rain at all, and we sure can use the water.

I like the Garmin, so far, it's pretty cool. Right now I am leaving the Cateye Astrale on the bike for comparison - plus it gives me a cadance readout, although I probably don't need that anymore. The elevation function is nice - some of the hills are a little steeper than I thought. More on it later...

Supposed to be about 60 today, and no rain. We'll see.

Christmas RIde

I had no intention of going for a bike ride on Christmas Day, but, it turned out sunny and warm - 67 degree warm, all the windows open and ceiling fan on warm, and there was this one present under the tree; a Garmin 305 Edge, complete with both heart rate monitor and cadence. It had to be tried out, didn't it? I only went about six miles, just enough to check it out, I think I'll like it, but I'll need to get used to not actually seeing my cadence or heart rate, just setting the alarms. The set up before was a Cateye with cadence on the left handlebar and a polar HRM on the right. Lots to see.

My daughter ended up with a Garmin Nuvi for her new car, plus a beautiful hand knitted lace scarf from her mother (I got some nice wool socks, too). We all went for rides in her car to check out how the GPS works, plus she got to show it the car and her driving to her grandfather. Son got a Zune, so he's happy too, and CJ got some knitting stuff. Plenty of CD's, including Jackson Browne's new one.

Oh, I got Ground Hog Day on DVD. I haven't seen it since our tape machine broke.

Tomorrow is a little cooler, but I think the Garmin needs further testing.

Merry Christmas

Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas Eve and Christmas.
Take care, all.

Today's Ride

Never happened. For various reasons. But. I didn't go to work. I played Wii bowling with my children. And lost. I played Guitar Hero with them, too. I still suck. Don't care.

I may or not ride tomorrow, the weather is supposed to be nice, but it depends on what they want to do.

Puzzling

After yesterday's soaking I went ahead and lubed the chain - it actually had rust on some of the rollers - and the cables where they pass under the bottom bracket. I also wiped down the braking surfaces of the wheels as they were coated with a layer of very fine grit. When I spun the back wheel, it made a strange clunking noise, vibrated and seemed to bind a little at the same time. I thought something must have gotten flushed into one of the bearings. Rather than risk any further damage (and hoping there wasn't anything seriously damaged already) I took the wheel off and took out the bearings to clean and re grease. The bike has 3200 miles on it, so it was past time, anyway. I carefully counted the balls as I removed them - 12 small ones from the left, 9 larger ones from the right. A few of the small ones fell into the hub as I removed them, so I just pushed them through. I couldn't see any reason for the noise I heard, so I cleaned everything, put fresh Teflon grease in the races and put the balls back in. Nine on the

right and, ummm, 11 on the left. No place for number 12. I usually drop and lose a couple of balls when I do this, now I have too many! Try to put it in, and another one pushes out. So, all I can figure is number 12 had been in the hub since the wheels were made and it had finally migrated to a spot where it was interfering with something. The rear wheel's ready for another 3,000 miles, guess I need to do the front now too.

The rain did stop, but the wind picked up, 20 mph with gusts to 30. It seemed like one of those winds that was always a headwind. I actually was using the small chainring going downhill. I got in another 30 miles at 16.4. Tomorrow - vacation day and Christmas shopping. No ride planned.

Timing is everything

Which, of course, is why I got it wrong.

Saturday morning's fog was some of the thickest I'd seen in a long time, but the forecast said it would clear and get up to about 62 degrees with rain showers late in the day. Sure enough, by 11:00 it was clear, the sun was coming out, and the temp was going up. Figuring it would get better before the showers moved in, I decided to go shopping in Asheboro for Christmas dinner groceries and ride when we got back. Leaving Asheboro to come home, about two hours later, the temp was 67 degrees, and the sun was still peeking through the clouds, by the time we got home it was just starting to rain and the temp was dropping. Perfect.

I went anyway. The temperature dropped to about 58 and stayed there, not much wind, and, once soaked, you can't get any wetter. I was surprised how comfortable I was. I rode 33 miles and pushed a little harder up the hills. It helped my average speed come up a little, to 17.2, so maybe there is some hope.

Any remaining "cleanness" left on my bike after Wednesday's wet ride got washed off, it is filthy, and the shifting was getting a little inconsistent, probably from wet grit getting on the cables.

It is raining now, but it's supposed to clear mid morning and be around 51. Maybe I'll get a dry ride in, although my shoes will still be wet. Maybe oil a few things on the bike before I go, too.

Not 70

Funny how the weather forecast of almost 70 degrees and partly cloudy actually turned out. Foggy. light rain, and a high of 52. I was a little apprehensive about riding in the reduced visibility, but, I had the day off, so I went anyway. It turned out that there wasn't much traffic out there. I got pretty well soaked, but was comfortable, and my clean bike sure isn't clean anymore, but I got in 33.12 miles at 16.7. That puts me at 4003.85 for the year. So both my goals got made (the other was averaging 18 mph), and I still have almost two weeks to go.

I guess it's time to think about next years goals. That Century challenge Sarah is doing sounds like it might be a fun thing to do. I am definitely thinking about it.

Weekend Update

Busy weekend, what with Christmas shopping and car shopping with my daughter. She bought her first car on Saturday, so she's happy, and now I can have my "good" car back, so that's nice too. I did manage to squeeze a ride in Saturday, 33 miles at 16.9, and another on Sunday of 35 miles at 16.8. Since I'm not looking so much for speed I made a point of not checking my average speed during the ride. That was actually kind of nice not thinking I needed to pick up the pace or push harder.

It's supposed to warm up this week, I have Wednesday off and it's supposed to be almost 70, so maybe I can get a nice warm ride in.

Christmas Wish List

Ok, I know it's not a bike. I can't get it anyway. I can wish, can't I? I can explain. Maybe. Later....

Santa????????????????????

GTI MKV, 2008, 4 door -

Did I mention I don't like wind?

Well, that was confirmed today. It was supposed to be 10 to 20 mph today, but I think it was only 20 - no 10 involved. I was using the small chainring in the middle cogs on level ground when I was headed into the wind. I also have figured out that 40 degrees is about the lower limit of my gloves and wool socks. My fingers are cold, but ok; they could be warmer. My toes, however, go very numb. Some sort of booties might be in order. I hate to spend money on cold weather stuff, though, because the cold doesn't last very long.

I went 29. 74 miles and averaged 16.2. Now it's back to the trainer until next weekend.

Parade Season

It's that time of year again - Christmas parades. One of the neat things that come out for them is all the old cars and tractors. Saturday was Liberty's turn, among others, as the owner of this car told me. He had already been in Pleasant Garden's in the morning and was going to be in Ramseur's today (Sunday). He was trying to find out when Staley was having theirs so he could be in that one too. I rode through about an hour and a half before the start, so the participants were just starting to arrive. Watchers, however, were already lining the road, so I had spectators when I rode through. No one cheered, oh. well.

It was a pretty nice day too. It was 39 degrees when I started and about 43 when I finished, not a lot of sun and very little wind. I got in 40.32 miles and averaged 16.8. I am not really trying for speed so much right now, so I go at a somewhat more sedate (old mannish?) speed. Although I do remind myself that a year ago 16.8 would have been fast.

Today is bright and sunny, but it's supposed to be a little colder with 10 to 20 mph winds (have i mentioned I don't like wind?). I have about 138 miles left for my 4000 mile goal, and while meeting it isn't really a priority anymore, getting this close with 3 more weeks of riding makes it look like it'll happen.

I think I'll wait at least until it gets above freezing to go ride.

Spinning

The weather never let up, so I set the trainer up in front of the TV so I could watch the Panthers play while spinning away. I lasted 53 minutes for 15 miles. It just isn't the same as riding outside, it's hard to stay motivated enough to keep going. Still, though, it's riding, sort of. And the Panthers are winning, at the moment.

Five days away from work. Can't say I'm really looking forward to going back. It was so nice to be home.

Rain

It looks unlikely for an outside ride today unless the rain stops. It's only 38 degrees, and that's just a bit too cold for the clothes I have if I'm going to get soaked too.

I was playing around on mapmyride.com this morning, just sort of checking it out and I put one of my longer rides here. It's a little confusing because some of the loop gets ridden more than once. Anyway, it was kind of neat to see the elevation changes.

Beat the rain

I got out around 10:30 this morning, figuring I'd try to beat the rain. It wasn't a problem; it's 5:00 now, and it still hasn't rained. It only got up to 46 today, and there wasn't any sun, so it felt kind of cold. Tomorrows temp is supposed to be the same, so if it does end up raining I may ride the trainer. I really don't have the right stuff to ride in cold rain and be comfortable. We'll see, though.

I ran into Dave, another Liberty cyclist. He was out walking his dog. He told me he had been bitten by a dog last week out on Starmount. He's been riding in Liberty for 30 years and this was the first time he'd been bitten. I rode up Starmount yesterday and had noticed several dogs sleeping in the front yard of one of the houses. Turns out those were the dogs. I am glad they didn't wake up, but I doubt I'll change that route to avoid them.

It was also the first day of firearm deer hunting season. Some people in this house complained about not getting to sleep in late because the gun fire woke them. I was fine, I was up before it started. There is a tiny bit of concern riding through the countryside this time of year, but I think the chances of getting hit by a stray bullet is less than being run over by some teenager texting.

33 and a half mile, 16.3 mph. My 4000 mile goal isn't out of reach, yet.

Day After..

We had a nice Thanksgiving - hope all of you did too. Yesterday's feast supplied a lot of calories that had to be used up, and today's weather made the choices pretty easy. I started out with a couple of hours of leaf removal. Since I couldn't find the rake I was reduced to using the leaf blower. Who invented these things, anyway? They are useless for anything more than a few leaves, for an acre of 3 inch deep leaves, all they are is too much work. On top of that you come away covered with a thin film of foul smelling two stroke oil. Eventually the rake was uncovered (it was propped up against a tree and had fallen over, I had nothing to do with that - honest). I moved more leaves with the rake and a plastic tarp in 15 minutes than I had in the previous hour and a half with the blower.

Once I got bored with the yard work I took off on a bike ride. It's the end of November and the temp was in the mid 60's, so I had to. I got in 36 miles and averaged 16.7. Maybe my fitness can come back. Tomorrow and Sunday are suppose to have highs of 48 with rain, but I am planning on riding, anyway. And there are still plenty of leaves, so I have something else to do, too.

Oh, I washed the bike today. That makes two times in 2,955 miles It needed it.

Vacation Day

Finally took my first vacation day of 2008. This will make for a nice long weekend. Five days away from, well, stuff. It's another one of those typical North Carolina fall days - bright sunshine, and the temp right now at 3:00 is 52. Not bad. I went for my ride at 11:00, it's an early release day from school, and I wanted to be finished before the High School kids hit the roads. Narrow two lane county roads with no shoulder, 16 and 17 year old drivers and bicycles may not be a good traffic mix. I know, because I've been out on early release days before, and it can be scary. I got in 33 miles and got home right at 1:00, right when the schools were letting out, so it worked out perfectly.

Last night I rode the trainer for 10 miles, too. I did a mixture of things I remember from the Spinerval DVD, some one leg workouts and some high intensity intervals (not very many). If I could figure out how to put the DVD on my Mp3 player I wouldn't have to rely on my memory, but then, listening to music is nice too.

Deer

The only excitement on today's ride was supplied by a pair of deer that decided to cross the road just as I arrived where they were, which happened to be at the spot I almost always hit my maximum speed on every ride. Today that was 33.4. I had to brake pretty hard but it wasn't that hard to avoid them. It was a little bit of a surprise to see them out moving around in the middle of the day.

Temperature was 45 at the start and 49 when I finished my 36.31 miles. I'm a little slow, only averaging 16.3. I think I lost a lot of fitness by not riding in September, plus I'm being careful not to push too hard until I'm sure the breathing problems are under control.

The hottest part of the day

That's when I went for my ride. That would have been when the mercury hit 43. Since that was about 2:30, and the sun was already starting it's descent, the temperature sort of went the same way while I was riding. Still, I managed to stay mostly warm, maybe borderline too warm, since my two inner jerseys were somewhat damp when I finished. I even went for the ear warmers today. The only things that got cold were my toes. Kinda numb by the end of my ride. Managed 27.66 miles @16.4. Tomorrow is supposed to be in the lower 50's with no wind. Should be good.

To the guy who pulled out of Quik Chek as I passed, went 25 feet to the next cross street and turned right while I was still along side, be thankful I switched asthma meds yesterday from the one with "aggression" as a side effect (that's the reason for the change, 'cause, it works. Hope this other one does). You only got a yell as I braked to save myself, and not chased down. I'm glad I was taking it easy and only going about 16, usually I'm about 21 or 22 through there. I'd not have missed the car at that speed.

F1 driver Mark Webber hit by car while riding...

Here

To The Dark Side

Ok, I wanted to ride. What was I supposed to do? It's too dark by the time I get out of work, so I really don't have a choice. I pulled out the torture - I mean TRAINER machine. I didn't go see coach Troy for Spinervals, because the TV is gone from my bedroom, it's someplace else, and will never be mentioned again because, well, I'll get in trouble if I say anything about it. The ride wasn't that bad, but if I didn't have the ceiling fan right over me, it might have been. I spent about 45 minutes on it, went about 12 miles, and felt pretty good. Compared to riding on the road, though, it sucked. I dialed up The Killers "Sam's Town" on my mp3 player and spun away.

As far as work goes, who knows. I've managed to avoid going to High Point for over a month now and I don't seem to be missed. Saves on gas, anyway. I have a reason for not going.

Take It Easy

Today's theme. Take it easy. See how it goes. So, alternating The Eagle's version with Jackson Browne's in my head to remind me, I did just that. Starting out was a little rough, but it got better. I even went so far as to force myself to use the small chain ring (gasp) in places that I NEVER use it, but it made a difference. I managed to keep my average heart rate to 146 - low, for me. My intent was to just go for a short ride, but I ended up going 33.5 miles and averaged 16.1. I was pleasantly surprised, after last week's short ride.

The picture shows what kind of day it was. About 47 degrees with a 10 to 20 mph wind. I got out the full finger gloves for the first time.

Industrial Disease (Money for Nuthin')

Not riding much gives me time to think about other things. Too much time. Like most people I am a little concerned with the economy and what our transforming government is doing about it. I was thinking, though, about the auto industry and their claimed "dire straits". They want 25 BILLION dollars. WELL, at an average of $25,000 each, that's one million cars. Why not just buy those cars and keep the auto workers working? Give the cars away, or raffle them off, whatever. Might be a better plan than just handing over the taxpayers money to failed CEO's and bean counters. Whatever people may say about the U.S. auto industry, they do have some pretty decent cars - not great, but good.

Just a thought...

I hope I get to ride tomorrow so I don't have so much to think about. Weather is supposed to be nice. Cool, but nice. My bike looks unhappy hanging in the shed.

Fathead

I saw an ad on TV about these gigantic sports posters you can stick on your wall. They said to check it out - they had one for YOUR sport. I listened. I checked. They lied. Not a bicycle to be found. Not that I'd buy one if they did, although, I looked, so, who knows.

It was fathead.com if ya wanna look.

Don't Know

Well, I did get out today. It was a pretty nice day, around 70 with a 10 to 15 mph wind, partly cloudy. Great, except my body didn't cooperate. I actually ended up calling CJ to come get me after about 8 miles. Pathetic. My breathing wouldn't cooperate, I started my ride on a different route that has a long climb right at the start (it ALSO has a short steep descent on which I hit 40 mph - cool). I got out of breath on the climb and never recovered. It just hurt so much to breathe. I seem to do better with about an hour of moderate riding before tackling anything hard. When I stopped at 8 miles and used my Albuterol inhaler, it was too late. Sucks.

I have a Dr. appointment on Monday - maybe we can figure this out.

I WILL TRY AGAIN TOMORROW! I WANNA RIDE!!

Another Perfect Day

About 80, sunny, no wind, a perfect day, and I was stuck at work. No ride. I should have taken the afternoon off. Tomorrow.....

Perfect Days

November 1 and 2. I don't think days come any nicer than these two, this year. Saturday was perfect, about 70 degrees, no humidity to speak of, no wind, not a cloud in the sky. I rode 40 miles at 17.2, and, really, didn't want to stop, but with the loss of fitness since taking the month of September off, it was about all my legs wanted. Sunday was exactly the same, weather wise, except for a little bit of wind. 30 miles at 16.8, and I felt pretty good. With the time change now, there isn't any hope of riding after work anymore, not that I'd been doing it, but I'd been thinking about it. I've been looking at the trainer and thinking I need to maybe set it up. But it's no fun....

Saturday I noticed the long line of early voters at the Liberty Twon Hall. With all this early voting going on I an hoping that there won't be any lines come Tuesday, when I vote. I doubt if I'll be that lucky, though.

Saturday's Ride, Brought To You By

Saturday was a day fit more for ducks than bikes. I had never seen these ducks on my ride before, so they must have thought the same thing. All Friday night and Saturday morning, it rained, but the forecast for Saturday afternoon was "partly cloudy", and , sure enough, around noon it stopped raining and the sky brightened. I changed and got ready for my ride, and as I was about to leave, CJ pointed out that it looked like it was raining, again. She was right, of course it was. Every one's advice was to wait a while and go for a ride later. Since this was good advice from people smarter than me, I did what I always do - I ignored it (that explains a lot about where I am, now). I think it was the most rain and wettest roads I had ever ridden in (on). At least it was about 70 degrees and almost no wind. Aside from getting really wet, it was a nice ride. About an hour in. it stopped raining and the r0ad dried out a bit, and a tiny patch of blue sky appeared for a moment, so partly cloudy, it was. I got in 36 miles @ 17.2, so it was a good ride.

Today was a perfect day. About 65 degrees, not a cloud in the sky and light winds. My shoes were still soaked from yesterday, but still, they were comfortable. I got in 30 miles @ 16.7. I still have about 550 miles to reach my goal of 4000 for the year. Not impossible.

Before I left for my ride I did a little maintenance on my bike, lubed the chain, adjusted the headset, which came from the factory much too tight, bit I have been to lazy to do anything about it, and adjusted the shifting. The headset actually made a big difference. It improved the handling tremendously and made it more relaxing to ride. Shifting was improved too. Maybe I should check this stuff more often? My bike is filthy from the ride in the rain, so i suppose I'll have to wash it. That'll make twice. That's two more times this year than my motorcycle, and once more than the cars. I'll get to it.

Endorphinated

It seems that I am a much happier person when I get to ride. Even though I still have some annoying breathing problems when I ride, My mood after is so much better. Must be that endorphin thing.

Both Saturday and Sunday were long sleeve jersey and tights days. It turned cool in a hurry. Thursday was 85. Saturday was 57, and today it was only 52 when I left for my ride. On top of that, the wind was bout 20 mph. You have to work so hard to go so slow battling headwinds like that. I almost stopped after the first 45 minutes on Saturday because I didn't seem to be breathing very well, and it sort of hurt to breathe, but I kept going, and it got better. Not great, but better. I ended up with 33 miles at 16.5. Today was better than yesterday, and I went 30 miles at 16.4.

Maybe I can get a couple of after work rides in this week. The days are getting shorter, so there won't be many more chances.

Saturday

Saturday turned out to be a nice day for a ride, although the wind was 15 to 20 mph. I got in 33 miles. About halfway through I heard an airplane that didn't really sound like anything I'd ever heard before. I finally looked up, and saw it was a B1 bomber - I'd never seen one, either. I was surprised how HUGE it was. I stopped and got out my camera, and even managed to take a couple of pictures, but it was too far away to show anything but a little black smudge. I suspect it was headed to Lowe's Motor Speedway for a flyover before the race.

The leaves are beginning to change, but so far most of them seem to be just varying hues of brown, except for the pretty reddish leaves of whatever this tree is. I think it stood out for me because of the rusted roof on the shed behind it.

Still Here

Ok, so, I haven't been posting much - well, anything, for awhile. Truth is, I haven't been riding, either. I rode once in September, and now, tonight, once so far in October. Been struggling with some sort of breathing problems and experimenting with asthma medicines so I haven't really felt like riding. Tonight wasn't too bad - 20 miles at 16.8, and I felt pretty good. Maybe I'll try again on Thursday.

I'm sorry, but....

What a response! Thursday I was riding through town, nice straight section of road, great visibility, speed limit 35, and I was going about 22 when this black Nissan Altima went by me going about 50, not more than one inch from me. I wasn't happy, and i noticed that the driver made a turn on the next side street up ahead. I followed, figuring there wasn't much chance of actually catching him. I was wrong. He stopped at the elementary school to let out his kid for football practice. I'm pretty observant - the kid had a Liberty Elementary School uniform on so I figured it out. After the kid had waddled off to practice I asked the driver what he was thinking when he nearly hit me. His response - "I'm sorry, there was a car coming the other way. What was I supposed to do?" I mentioned that perhaps he might want to stay behind me until it was safe to pass. He didn't agree, so I left it at that and rode off. I wish I'd thought of taking a picture of his license plate so I could post it. Next time.

He must have saved all of 15 seconds by nearly hitting me.

Breaking Away

I'm still here - still riding, just not having a lot to say. I'll update the mileage counter over there soon, it's over 3,000, now. I only rode 3 times between July 17 and August 10, though. Had some trouble with asthma and the medicine I was using for it. It's just no fun riding when you can't breath properly. I switched medicines, and it seems a little better now.

Anyway, last weekend I was flipping through the channels and came across Breaking Away on Fox Movie Channel. It was just starting. I told CJ it was on, and she said what's that. I explained that it was a movie about bicycling from 1979, and didn't she remember it? I mean we actually went to the movies and saw it when it came out. But no, she didn't. Angelmonkey came out of her room and watched it for a few minutes, laughed at me, or it, or both, and disappeared back into her room. So I watched it by myself, but at least FMC showed it uncut and without commercials. I still thought it was a pretty good movie. Hard to believe it's 29 years old. I think it was after I saw that movie I went out and bought my Ross 10 speed and started riding a little.