Outside, anyway...

The wind is as strong today as the Weather Channel claimed it would be. Being blown all over the road was not on my list of things I wanted today so I pulled out the trainer and was getting ready to set it up in the bedroom. Then I noticed the temperature was about 58° outside, so I thought, "why not ride on the deck?". So I did. With the wind blowing over me, and Emerson, Lake , and Palmer on my mp3 player, it was pretty comfortable. Whenever possible, I think I'll put the trainer on the deck. If I could figure out how to put the Spinerval dvd on my mp3 player, I could do that on the deck too.

I rode 25.6 miles and averaged 17.1 mph. It seems to me, though that riding at, say, 19 mph on the trainer takes a lot more effort than riding 25 mph on a level road. Is that my imagination or is that the way the trainers work?

I was fooling around with my heartrate monitor and discovered that, since February 17, 2006 I have ridden 260 times, for 468 hours and burned 345581 calories. I didn't know it was keeping everything.

Bike-Jacking?

Ignoring the fact that this article is even more poorly written than my posts (I think, maybe), the thought of that happening is a little scary. I got stopped in the middle of nowhere, once, and asked for money by two guys in a car. Since I had just made it to the top of a long, steep hill, I had to stop. I convinced them that if I'd had any money, I'd be driving, not riding a bike. At least they didn't want the bike. The roads I ride are rural and mostly deserted, so, you never know what might be out there.

Mo' Miles

I bumped up the mileage today. Not many more, just six, but ya gotta start somewhere. Up to 41.34 from the 35.9 I've been doing on Saturdays.

Went out earlier today, left about 9:20 because there was this list of other things I wanted to do today, so I figured if I got the ride out of the way I'd be able to; take the sixteen year old out for a driving lesson (I don't want to talk about it); take CJ shopping; work in the yard; other stuff that I don't remember right now, and, if I am lucky, never will, so I don't have to do them, oh, and start the income tax thing. I only got in the ride and the driving lesson before the 19 year old took the car. I'm going to go LOOK at the yard and hope for some motivation. Or inspiration

Temperature at the start was a very un-February 50°, and about 60° when I finished, not a cloud in the sky, and very little wind, even though the Weather Channel says it's blowing at 10 to 20 mph. Tomorrow the wind is supposed to be 20 to 30 with gusts to 40, so think I'll drag out the trainer and maybe just do a recovery day on it.

I saw two other cyclists today, but they were going the opposite way, so didn't speak to them. Still, there are a lot of them around here, so getting a group together shouldn't be impossible. It would be nice to ride with others once in a while.

On the advice of CJ, who, like most people, is much smarter than me, I am going to move the work stuff here, and try to keep this blog for bikes and fun stuff. So, now I have two blogs to babble about things on.

NASCAR season starts, so there's some races to watch again. Can't wait for Indy cars (and it looks like both series could finally merge this year), and F1.

50/15

The time trial Spinerval that I endured tonight calls for seven 90 second intervals in the big chain ring, and the 15 on the back. For me, that's 50/15. I could never do it, having to stay in the 50/18 instead. Until tonight. I didn't do the whole thing in the 50/15, but I got through first interval, then about 60 seconds in each of the next four before shifting down to the 18 for the last 30 seconds. The last two intervals call for the 50/13, and I tried those , but ended up finishing in the 18. So, I guess that means even old guys like me can get stronger. Heart rate topped out at 176, again, not bad for someone 54 years old. But man, those intervals are tough. It won't be long until it's light enough after work to ride, then the trainer can go in the closet.

Phil

Ok, I'm a little behind. You'd think I'd be right on top of this one seeing how Groundhog Day is my favorite movie. I just found out that Phil saw his shadow. Well, to be perfectly honest, six more weeks of this winter won't be too hard to take. Maybe there is an upside to this global warming thing, especially with propane costing what it does.

Perfect Bike

I was whining to Stan about how much my Fuji weighs. He sent me this

All bikes weigh 30 pounds.
If you have a 30 pound bike that’s all you need.
If you have a 25 pound bike you need a 5 pound ‘U’ lock to keep it.
If you have a 20 pound bike you need a 10 pound lock and chain

So, my bike is perfect. Don't have to add a thing.

Still want that Roubaix, anyway. I'll buy the chain.

The Week Ends.

Got a late start today. Had to go to the big city and spend a small fortune on groceries. Good thing food and energy costs don't count toward inflation. If they did we'd all be in big trouble. Economies just fine. Ask King George. Maybe he'll give me a job, too, ya think?

Another 75.6 miles this week. I only rode 3 times, once on the trainer, twice on the road (yeah!). I skipped the time trial Spinerval this weekend only did the technique one. Sixty degree February days, like today, are terrific, and there wasn't much wind, either. I did the 35.9 mile loop today, and averaged 16.3. Not bad for this time of year. Stayed in the 50, too, up ALL the hills. It should get even better. I need to start making the rides a little longer.

I noticed that all the farm ponds are full again, and the creeks are upto the top of their banks. Maybe the water table is coming back up.

Tomorrow is supposed to be sixty six. I'll be out there.

In The Dark

I am not sure what to think of this. On one hand, really, what's the point of making a big deal of someone riding without bright enough lights, but on the other, well, on the other.... I just don't know. Chasing down and tasering someone for dim lights? 'course he had to be dim to get off the bike and run. I have a big taillight in case I get caught out too late, no headlight, and no reflectors. I'm stayin' on the bike if the situation ever comes up.

Riding under the influence, too. Oh, my.

Economic Stimulus Package

Let me see, with this stimulus package congress wants to give all of us, I could get one of these. I probably won't but I could. Or I could just pay down credit cards. Nah, that's not the American way. We'll see how the job hunt goes.

As for the job, I think the really sad part may well be the fact that in merging a couple of companies one of the most respected names in the industry for over 107 years will be replaced with a bland, generic, unimaginative acronym. No sense of history. Why not merge the companies and retain the name?

Recovery Week

That's what I'm calling this past week instead of the "too lazy to put the bike on the trainer and ride" week. And veg out watching tv, and eat lots of junk food week. I've recoverd now, though. I only rode the 9.5 miles last Sunday, then 35.91 today. My legs felt pretty good, so maybe the rest did some good. I was able to stay on the big chainring (50) except on the two steepest climbs, both of which will fall to my immense power later in the year as I become more fit, I am sure. Ok. one of them, maybe, when the wind is behind me, although I did make it up the worst one once in the 50. Temperature today wasn't bad, 44 when I started, 47 when I finished, but I still prefer 90 degree days.

No football this weekend, but the Rolex 24 is on. I missed the start since I went for a ride, but it's on for a long, long time.

33°

In a tactical move to avoid the trainer today in spite of the temperature (high of 33), I decided to ride into town to get a Sunday paper. Since it's only 3 miles to the store, I figured I could tough it out. I put on all my warm stuff, plus a down ski vest. I was surprised that I was comfortable. The only thing that got cold was my fingers, and they got REALLY cold. I need heavier gloves. If not for that, I probably would have done my usual 30 to 35 miles. I only rode 9.5, but it counts, so no riding inside today. I think that, except for when I was about 12 or 13 and living in Vermont, this is the first time I've ridden when the ground is covered with snow.

Time to go watch some football.

Check This Out

This site is cool. Wish I could think up stuff like this - The Church Of The Big Ring

LET IT SNOW!!!

It's snowing! This is the first real snow this winter, or last, and maybe even the one before that, I can't remember for sure. It's pretty. It's more exciting when it's so rare. I went out and wandered around with the kids for a little while taking pictures. It's nice to see it, enjoy it, and know it'll all be gone in a couple of days, and I won't have to shovel any.

I rode the trainer today. My clothes are only good down to the mid 40's, and the temp was in the high 30's. That plus the snow made me stay in. I kind of wanted to go out and ride in it, but I don't have anything that would keep me dry enough and still be comfortable. I wasn't feeling all that great, either, a little bit of a cold or something, so I only did 20 miles. Still, my mileage for the week is 69.75. Not bad, considering in previous years it would have been 0.

'merican's to love work.

The more jobs, the better. At least that's what this Republican thinks. Me, I'd settle for one that wasn't going away. There are going to be a lot fewer jobs on Liberty soon. Maybe I can get two or three low paying ones instead.

Weights

Both books that I build my bike fitness programs around, Cycling Past 50 by Joe Friel, and The Lance Armstrong Performance Program by Lance and Chris Carmichael, contain sections on weight training. I've tried. I found my old and unused weights out in the shed, brought them in the house and cleaned them up. My intent was to use the programs in the books as a guide to build some upper body strength. I figured Monday's and Wednesday would be good, mixed with riding Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday. The rides seem to be working out, but I hate those weights. They're worse than those dreaded Spinervals, but at least with the Spinervals I can actually see the improvement in my rides. I managed to work out with the weights for about five weeks, but now I always have an excuse not to. Maybe next week. It's Wednesday, and it's too late.

First 08 Crash

Not much of a crash, more of a fall over thing. When I shifted to my small chainring while climbing a hill the chain came off. Not really a problem, I stopped and put it back on. Or so I thought. I got back on the bike, clipped my right foot into the pedal, pulled it up to the three o'clock position, then stood up on it to get rolling. Big mistake. The chain promptly came off again, and since I was stationary, I went over. The only damage is a small bruise on my left calf and a hole in the knee of my only pair of tights. Oh, and feeling like an idiot for not making sure the chain was actually on. Hopefully it'll be the last crash of 08.

Today was the coldest ride so far of this winter. It was 43 degrees when I started, but had warmed up to 47 by the time I got home.

Light and Variable

Well, at least that's what the Weather Channel web site said the wind would be. This time of year there always seems to be a 10 or 15 mph wind, which when it is at my back is a lot of fun. But then, since all my rides are loops, I pay for it at some point. I was so looking forward to a ride with little wind to get a better idea of where my fitness level is and perhaps take a shot at the 18 mph goal since that'll have to come on a windless day. The light and variable yesterday sure felt like 10 to 15 to me, though. Maybe even more because I was having trouble holding a straight line when it was blowing across the road. It also was a headwind on the longest and steepest hills on my ride. That makes for a good workout, I guess. Still, I got in 37.81 miles at 16.2 mph. My total for the year is now in triple digits, so that looks a little better.

Envy

On my Saturday ride I crossed paths with Jimmy - he was going in the opposite direction so I turned around and caught up with him. When I rode with him before he had a Trek Madone. Saturday he was riding a "new" bike he had picked up on Ebay. It's a 2005 Trek time trial bike. He built it with new wheels, seat, drive train and handle bars. It's a beautiful bike He wanted it to weigh 15 pounds, but it's a little overweight at 17. I'm standing there straddling my 30 pound Fuji, and I'm jealous. Sometimes when I go into a bike shop I pick up a new bike with one finger, and wish. I wonder just how much faster I might be on a bike that light. But then the times we rode together, with him on his Madone, I was faster. We'll have to get together and ride again sometime. Saturday we just chatted for a little bit then took off in different directions.

Not so fast.

Well, 2008 has gotten off to a slow start, only 10 miles so far, and that's been on the torture, ummm, I mean trainer with the spinerval time trial dvd. I'm too old for this, right? It looks like the weekend should be good for riding outside, though. Goals for '08? How about 4,000 miles, and completing one of my 35 mile loops with an average speed of 18mph. My best average so far has been 17.4, so it ought to be attainable.

With gas prices what they are, I wouldn't mind commuting to work. Its only 3 miles, but having to take a child to school kind of makes it impossible. Maybe over the summer.

Happy New Year

Hope the new year is all you wish for.

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