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.

Sun, Sweat, and Wind.

Today started out dark and cloudy with a chance of scattered thunderstorms - some possibly severe. Not wanting to be caught in any storms, I decided not to ride. I worked a little in the garden, then went to Lowes to pick up some more garden stuff, then Walmart to do a little grocery shopping. It was around noon when I got back home, the sun was out and the sky just about void of clouds. I changed my mind about riding. It was also 91°, according to the bank thermometer in town, and 80% humidity, according to Weather.com. The wind speed was - well, I didn't look, but it was strong. On a hill that I normally hit 31 mph, the best I could do was 19. Definitely the hottest day so far, but a good ride. There really aren't many cars on the roads now.

It's just the end of May and I'm more than halfway to my goal of 4000 miles.

Don't Pay Taxes?

I went to Greensboro today to get my allergy shot. Since it's such a beautiful day and gas costs so much (well, that's just a bonus) I rode the motorcycle. The nurse that gave me my shot asked me what kind of bike I had. I told her it was an old '83 Yamaha. Then she said she had heard something about there being a ride your bike to work day. I gave her a brief explanation of of national bike month, told her ride our bike to work day had been a couple of weeks ago. She then said the "weather guy" had told people that bikes (bicycles) had the same rights as cars and to give them room when you passed them.

"I'll do that for motorcycles," she said, " not a bicycle. They don't pay taxes or have to get license plates." Pretty common theme. Of course, bicycles don't do the damage to the road (or environment) that larger vehicles do. Plus, most people have a car too and are paying taxes. Me? I have two cars and a motorcycle. If I choose to ride my bike and leae them parked, well, I have paid the taxes for the road use, haven't I?

I didn't say anything to her, though, she DID have a needle she was going to stick me with.

Adjustments

It's amazing how much tiny adjustments can make such big differences.

Since getting my new bike I have had some pain running along the outside of my right knee. It was always pretty minor, so I didn't think about it very much. Until last Saturday. By the end of the 75 mile ride the pain wasn't minor, although it wasn't excruciating, either. It wasn't any better on Sunday, in fact, it was probably a little worse, and that, combined with the weather (more rain and thunderstorms) convinced me not to ride. I started doing the RICE thing and taking plenty of Advil. I figured I'd ride Tuesday, but the weather intervened again, this time with severe storms, complete with hail (which didn't do much for the 45 tomato plants I stuck in the ground Monday night). I went Wednesday, 33 miles, and there was some pain, but not too bad. I rode again on Friday, the same 33 miles, with about the same level of pain.

Saturday morning I decided to move the cleats on my shoes to see if it made any difference. I pushed them forward about 3/16 of an inch (that is a little less than 5mm for you metric people out there). I rode 41 miles, and NO PAIN. Not only that, but since getting the bike I have consistently had trouble locking my left foot into the pedal. With that small change that problem went away too. Who'd a thought.... not me, anyway.

It looks like a beautiful day today, but I don't think I'll ride. Got to watch the Monaco Formula One race, Indy, sleep through some of the NASCAR race from Charlotte this evening, and of course check out Versus week late coverage of the Giro.

Finished.

Some of the 383 participants before the start.

I don't think you could have asked for a better day for a ride. Temperature starting in the mid 50's and rising to about 70 by the end, low humidity, air quality in the green, and not a cloud in they sky. The organizers told me that they were a little worried that 500 people might show up because the weather was so nice. They didn't get that, but it was still a record turn out by about 20 riders.

I started about in the middle of the group and started moving up. After maybe 10 miles, and passing what seemed like 70 or 80 riders, I had made it into a group of 10 or so that was going at a comfortable pace. Then, my chain came off. When I stopped to put it back on, everyone passed me again. I never made it back into a group, so I spent the rest of the ride by myself - I caught and passed a lot of other riders, but never found anyone going close to what I wanted to go.

At about mile 57 there was a point where, if you were on the 75 mile ride you could turn onto the end of the 40 mile loop and finish with a 60 mile ride instead. I felt OK, so I continued with the 75 miles. As I was deciding that, I somehow managed to turn my left foot so one of the rear wheel spokes caught the back of my shoe. Of course, this locked the rear wheel, and I slid to a stop. It also bent the spoke. I spun the wheel, and, sure enough, it was now out of true and rubbing the brake. Bending the spoke back a little gave the wheel enough clearance to stop rubbing, and off I went.

About 5 miles later I was starting to struggle. It didn't help that this last 17 miles included hills steeper than anything I had ridden in the past 4 years, and it was all into a headwind. It was really hard to keep going, and I figured I'd really screwed up my pace and didn't have enough left to finish. I did make it, though, although the last 10 miles were all in the small chainring. Total miles: 76.82 @ 16.7. My average up to when I bent the wheel was 17.7.

When I got home I discovered that the rear wheel had actually deformed even more and was making hard contact with the brake in two places. I wish had known that on the ride! That is probably the reason those last 17 miles were so tough to complete.

My legs are beat today, but I did enjoy the ride. Now, I have to go true my wheel.

Goal

Well, it didn't really matter if the last ride fulfilled the 18 mph goal; Tuesday's did. 33.17 miles @ 18.0, and it was on one of my harder routes. So, now I have to set a new one. Tuesday's ride even met the ride to work criteria, as I stopped off at CK and checked on a job that was running.

Tomorrow is the 75 mile ride. I think I'm ready, although Tuesdays ride was the only one since last Saturday. The weathers been uncooperative. I guess as a rest week, this qualifies pretty well. It's supposed to be 78° and sunny tomorrow, although it's going to start out around 50° so I'll probably freeze at the start.

Does It Count?

One of my "why not, might as well try" goals for the year was to ride 30 miles and average 18 mph. Well, yesterday. at 36 miles I had exactly an 18 mph average. But.... I was 2 miles from the end of my ride. Those last 2 miles were mostly uphill into a 15 mph headwind, so the ride ended with a 17.8 average. That's what gets recorded into the training log. Does it count as an accomplished goal, anyway? Does it matter? Maybe the goal gets changed now to get one of that distance - or longer that I can record.

Next Saturday is the Tour De Lions 75 mile ride. I think I'm ready, I rode 65 miles on the 3rd and felt pretty good after. I skipped last Thursday's ride because of the impending storms, we ended up in the path of a Doppler indicated tornado, but the storm fell apart before it got to Liberty. Greensboro wasn't so lucky. We've been under another tornado watch most of today, so I didn't go out- the storms pop up so fast. I did drive into town this morning, it was raining and the wind was probably 25 mph, and I saw a group of about 15 cyclists battling it to get a ride in. I almost felt a little guilty - almost.

I watched the Giro on Versus today - now I have to wait until next Sunday to see what happens this week. Too bad about Dave Zabriskie, hope for a quick recovery. His loss will hurt Slipstream a lot.

Hope everyone had a great Mother's Day.

To ride or not to...

Twice a year one of the biggest antique festivals on the east coast takes place right here in Liberty. The spring version is today and tomorrow. It has expanded so much that there are mini festivals and flea markets all along the surrounding roads and almost everyone has a yard sale (except me - I threaten to , but I'm too lazy to drag the stuff out of the house). This leads to much traffic with not much attention being paid to anything on the road. Even last night when I went for my ride the traffic was heavy - mostly with incoming vendors, I guess, and they sure were not shy about seeing how close they could get to someone on a bike. I may skip tomorrow - I hate to miss a Saturday, but it's not the kind of traffic I feel comfortable playing in.

I had to work in High Point again yesterday, this time doing more fun IT stuff instead of just running cable. I didn't get out for my ride until almost 6:30. It was about 78 degrees with no wind, the most perfect conditions yet this year. I got in 20 miles at 18 mph. Oh, Tuesday's ride was 27.5 @ 17.3, and I got rained on again, but Wednesday I WASHED MY BIKE - that is a first, for any bike I've ever owned.

Different Stuff

For those of us that believe that real race cars don't have FENDERS, the past month has been one good thing after another. First, the two competing U.S. open wheel series finally unite. Then they make headlines when Graham Rahal becomes the youngest driver to win a major open wheel race in the U.S., in his very first start, followed, of course, by Danica Patrick becoming the first woman to win a major open wheel race - anywhere. I hope they get some mileage out of this and open wheel racing can become relevant again. You can't by positive publicity like this.

Now, if only there were some decent bike racing coverage...

3 Quarts Low

Being a good bike trainee, I consistently weigh myself before and after each ride to see how the hydration thing is going. I think I stared it because in the summer a lot of my rides are in the evening with temps above 90, and high humidity. Today's ride started with the temp at 57, and ended at 77. Not exactly hot. I rode 60.79 miles and averaged 17.3, and when I got home, I found I'd lost 4 pounds - that's 2 quarts. During the ride I drank 40 ounces of Gatorade, and 20 ounces of water. Not enough. I mowed the lawn after the ride (push mower), and decided to weigh myself after that, and discovered I was down another 2 pounds.

That 60 mile ride was the longest I've been on since the beginning of September, 2006. Since I'm hoping to do the 75 mile ride on May 19, I need to get the miles up. I am not sure I could have done another 15 today. I've still got some time to get better, though. Tomorrow, though will just be an easy 30 or 40 miles.

The jury is no longer out on the seat that came on the new bike. It's not great, but its light years better than the one I was using on the other bike.

4.5 Short.

A perfect day for an after work ride. 76 degrees, sunshine, and almost no wind. I had to work in High Point today(at least I got to take the motorcycle), so I didn't get out until exactly 6:00, which is about 40 minutes later than if I work in Liberty. That was too bad, since one of my goals for the year is to do 30 miles at an average of 18 mph. Tonight's ride ended up being 25.5 miles with an average of 18.2. If I'd gone for the last 4.5 miles it would have been getting dark by the time I got home, so I stopped. Maybe next time. It's fun to go fast.