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.

Traffic Stop

It seems that even though the roads I ride are almost empty of cars these days, more of the ones that are out there leave less space when they pass me. Today was no exception, I probably had five cars pass within six inches. One of them, a brown van, passed and, since the windows were down, I mentioned to the passenger that they were a little close. No response, but the next vehicle to go by, less than a car length behind the van, was a Liberty police cruiser. About a quarter mile further I saw the blue lights come on and the van pull over. Since I didn't see the van driver do anything other than get too close to me, I can only hope that was why he was stopped. So many more people are turning to bikes to get around town now because no one can afford gas, maybe there will be a little more effort to keep us all safe.

I know bicycle sales are up, so are motorcycles. I had to get the Yamaha inspected Saturday, and while I was at the (Honda) dealer I asked about their sales. It seems they're great, except they've sold out of everything new and won't be getting any more until October.

Only got in a short ride today - 33 miles @17 mph. I now have 2001 miles on the no longer new bike. No complaints.

Happy Fourth

OK - that was yesterday, but...
Being Independence Day and not wanting to spend any money on gas, we elected to stay home, do a traditional southern barbecue, and, basically do nothing. In the spirit of the day, I purchased some Samuel Adams Boston Lager - as the guy who founded the brewery says on Modern Marvels on the History Channel, the founding fathers weren't drinking tea in the pubs in Boston when they were plotting against the king. Anyway, it's great beer. Tastes nothing like Miller or Bud. Good thing, for the price. We had big thunderstorms blow through, so nature provided the fireworks.

UPS finally found my package from Pearl Izumi. Turns out they delivered it to the house next door, and it was still on the front porch when they went looking for it - a full week after I called to tell them I didn't have it. I'm glad I got the stuff, it is nice, (I've always liked argyle - glad it's made a comeback) but come on, I had to wait a week to find out it was sitting 100 feet away? Not much sense of urgency or worries about customer satisfaction from UPS.

I watched the first stage of the TDF this morning - pretty good stage, and I see we can get live streaming video from Versus before they go on the air - cool.

Got in 54 and a half miles today - 17.6 mph, so the week was 165 miles. With the 2740.99 miles I've logged so far this year it seems like that goal of 4000 may have been too low.

More Bikes

Over the past couple of weeks I've noticed a lot more bikes around Liberty. A lot of them look like antiques that have been put back in use after years of languishing in a shed or garage. Gas prices are having an effect on how people get around. Too many of these riders are either riding on the sidewalk or the wrong side of the road. Part of me wants to say something to them, but I don't. I don't think it would do any good, and maybe they'll figure it out if they become more comfortable.

Yesterday after work it was 97 degrees and the air quality was orange, so I went for a 30 mile ride. Didn't seem too bad to me.

I saw Pearl Izumi's new argyle shorts last week so I ordered a pair along with the socks and a black argyle jersey (already had the white one). UPS said they delivered the package today at 9:15. Not to my house, they didn't. CJ and both kids were home at that time, too, so we would have known. UPS is putting a trace on the package, hope they find it, but I wanted to wear the stuff this weekend.

Still Flat

Since Monday wasn't a ride day I took the flat tire off, found the hole in the tube and patched it. I looked at the hole in the tire and it didn't look too bad, so I remounted everything and inflated the tire and looked at it again. This time a little piece of glass was protruding from the little cut in the tire. I pried it out and put the wheel back on the bike, thinking all was well. I shouldn't think.

Tuesday I went for my ride. I noticed about halfway through that the back felt like the tire was soft. That couldn't be, so I didn't bother to check it, just kept going. Towards the end of the ride I seemed to be using more energy than normal, but I ended up with 35 miles with an average of 17.5. Not too bad. When I got off I felt the rear tire. It was soft. About 40 psi. Still leaking. I took the tire off, and sure enough, that little piece of glass had put a tiny puncture in the tube. I also noticed a spot on the tire sidewall where all the cords had been cut through, probably from hitting something with the tire soft, so the tire was scrap too. But... my door prize from the first Tour De Lions in '05 had been a Vittoria folding race tire - size 25-622. Didn't fit the old bike, but it sure fits the new one. I'm glad I kept it.

I had to work in High Point today, so on the way back to Liberty I stopped off at Performance bike and picked up a little patch kit and an Innovations Second Wind CO2/hand pump to put in my seat bag. Now I won't have to call CJ to come get me if I get a flat.

NC State Games

We went to the bike races, and I took my bike along, just in case - although my mind was pretty well made up to do it.

These are the CAT 1,2, & 3's

Into the first turn.

Novices (me too)

The start of the novice group. There were only four of us. Right before the start the rider second from the right rode over a piece of glass and flatted his rear tire. He managed to get it fixed in time. I had been warming up in the same area and figured I was lucky not to have the same thing happen. When we got to the first turn and the back of the bike tried to slide out from under me I knew I had not been so lucky. My tire wasn't flat, but it was well on it's way. I finished the first lap, pulled into the pits, grabbed a tire pump and re inflated the tire. I spun it, and found the hole by feeling the air escaping. The referee said it was a long way to go to do just one lap, but I was thinking that the tire had to have been leaking for several minutes before the start, it had gotten me around once, so why not try another lap? I mean, maybe I'd have to stop at the end of each lap and pump it up, but I could at least try. So, off I went. That lap the tire felt pretty good, so I kept going. I didn't want to get lapped, if at all possible. The next lap the bike started feeling a little unstable through the corners, but not too bad, so I kept going for the last lap. The tire was really low, and I had to be slow through the corners, but I made it to the end, and almost caught the next rider. Anyway, I finished. I don't think there was 15 psi left in the tire at the end. I want to do it again, with air in my tires.

OK, I was the only one in my age group, so I "won" a medal. I'm not sure how I feel about that - I only beat the people that didn't show up. Next time, though....

Race

The only bike races I've ever seen have been on TV, and I've never even seen a criterium, but Sunday there is one in Greensboro - the NC State Games. I've been thinking about it. Do I race or not? I almost think maybe I should just go and watch, but then, I think, if I'm going to be there, why not enter? I have raced cars, so I do have some idea what is involved, and it's a 20 minute race with other novices, so....

I've got another day to make up my mind, but a race might be fun.
Any advice?

Temperature Thing

I don't understand this temperature thing. The ride Sunday morning was awful. Last night I got out at about 5:50. The thermometer in town said 100, and the one in the car on the way home said 101. You would think it was pretty hot, but the ride was nice. I mean, there was a lot of sweat, and about 70 ounces of liquid got consumed, but it did not feel too hot at all. I definitely have to rethink the early morning, beat the heat weekend rides. It was almost 8:00 by the time I got home after another 33.16 miles. It is nice to have it light so late.

Numbers

122 - The number of dollars I spent on gas Friday (filled the motorcycle and Taurus) and Saturday (filled the Camry). I can't afford this. Friday I had to make the 35 mile trek to the High Point office just to get my paycheck since they "forgot" to send it over to Liberty. I took the motorcycle, so it only cost me about six bucks.

Big number - use your imagination - amount spent on groceries Saturday morning at Sam's club. I don't want to put it in writing, that will make it too real. Wow, have prices gone up.

101 - I didn't bother with the picture of the thermometer. It said 101 when I rode Saturday evening. It dropped to 96 by the end of my ride. Hot.

33.26 - miles ridden Saturday.

86 - Temperature Sunday morning at the start of my ride. At 7:50. I thought I'd get out early and beat the heat. Even though the temperature was lower, it felt much hotter. I don't know if it was the humidity or the intensity of the sun as it came up, but it took everything out of me. I need to get used to this heat!

29.83 - Sunday's miles, 17.4 mph. I cut the ride short.

One thing both CJ and I noticed Saturday morning on our trip to Sam's club was the lack of traffic on the interstate in Greensboro. It's usually very heavy on Saturday morning, and Sam's Club is always packed. Sam's club was almost deserted. It looks like no one can afford anything except gas.

Warming Up

I think summer is here. This was during Thursday's ride at 5:50 in the evening on my first trip through Liberty. My second time through, 24 miles later, it had dropped to 96. I finished up with 27.5 @17.1. It really doesn't feel that hot as long as I keep moving.

Indecisive

I can be a little indecisive, but so can the weather. Yesterday there was a 50% chance of thunderstorms, some severe, and sure enough, around 4:30 they started popping up all around, along with the warnings. I looked at the weather map and figured riding was out. It was spitting a little rain on the ride home, so that seemed to seal it. But... a few minutes after getting home the sky started to lighten, so, on with the TV to check out the local weather. The storms had all dissipated and the weather guy was saying it looked like we might see a few showers, but that was it. So I changed my mind and went for a ride. I didn't get started until 6, but I got in 20 miles at 17.5. I also got rained on while the sun was shining on me - that's pretty indecisive too, I guess. I hope I can get back on my schedule of Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday now.

I found this on my ride. Now I can take a break and watch the traffic roll by.

Ok,

Sunday

Sunday's ride - same temp and same humidity as Saturday's, but less wind, plus it was a bit longer at 49.45 miles (why didn't I go that other .55 and get 50?). Looks like summer has arrived.

5 MM

Since the 5mm adjustment of my cleats worked out so well, I thought I'd try some other adjustments. I started with my seat height. I raised the seat that 5 little millimeters. It didn't feel too high, and my knees were still slightly bent at the bottom of the pedal stroke. I rode 33 miles, and the results of that adjustment was a lot of lower back pain and the saddle exerting pressure in places I don't want more pressure. This was all last Thursday, by the way. Before yesterdays ride I lowered the seat that 5mm and then rode 36 miles. No back pain, no pressure. I think I'm through adjusting.