Sunday, January 11, 2009

Another Post about General Things


Again I do not have much to post. I got both of my bikes tuned up at the Peddler. Since the weather has not been good for riding I figured I would get both bikes pointed up so that when the weather did turn in the positive direction I would be ready to go. I really should learn to do my own work but I am afraid that I will have to deal with my inferior wrench skills while stuck on the side of the road.


My Facebook account as well as the weekly bike ride email that I send out has taken away some of the cycles I would otherwise use to create blog posts. I have had several ideas for posts but I just have not had the time to do them right. Maybe over the next couple of weeks.


Since I cannot ride I have been spending lots of time in the gym. I have just lifting and not doing any cardio. I can see the results in that I am building my fast twitch muscle fibers and not really building up the slow twitch muscle fibers. I figure that I spent most of the summer riding and very little time lifting that it might be good to do the opposite now. While I might be carrying a little extra weight it should be all muscle so I am hoping that I will appreciate the extra strength when the nicer bike riding weather shows up.


It might be a good year to get some cross country skiing in. The picture above was taken in 2003 in Sundance, Utah.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Happy New Year 2009 (If the sun is shining you should be out riding)

Like last year I started out the new year with a bike ride. This year's ride was a little bit more challenging. The WeatherBug application on my laptop forcasted a low of 20 degrees and a high of 32 degrees for the day. When I got out of bed this morning it was on 14 degrees out. There was a pickup ride scheduled for 10 AM at Dorbrook Park. It was my goal to make the ride.

I decided that I would ride to the start which meant that I had to be on the road by 9:15 AM at the latest. It is about 10 miles from my house to Dorbrook but I figured that I wanted to be able to start and stop my ride at my house. The last thing I wanted to do was have to break my bike down in a parking lot and then drive home. I also figured that if no one showed up at least I had already put in 10 miles and I could then just ride on my own.

I figured that it was going to be cold and the tempuratures where not going to rise by much. I ended up raiding my ski bag. Long thermal underwear went on under the bib shorts. A pair of thermal tights went over the bibs. The upper body had to layers of thermal shirts, a base layer and a black cotten t-shirt with a design on it for style. I then put on my new Gore Tool jacket. A thermal helmet liner was used to insultate the attic. I put chemical toe warmers underneath my booties and chemical hand warmers. After all this I realised that I had failed to protect the my face below my glasses. At first I was going to turn back but I figured it was just like starting out the morning skiing and I would soon get used to it.

I figured I was going to need to take the most direct route to the start if I was going to get there in time. So I went through Middletown and then out to RT 537 to get to Dorbrook. I was starting to warm up and I was really glad that I had made the decision to get out. However, the wind was blowing east to west and when I was facing the wind I quickly realised that there might be some challenging moments.

Due to the cold I expected the turnout to be light. I was disappointed to see the back parking lot empty. I expected that a couple of the more adventurous would show. I checked the time and it was just 10 AM. I made a couple of laps around the parking lot. I noticed another rider waving to me in the other parking lot. I did not see his bike at first but when I got over to the parking lot I saw his Serrotta leaning against the tree. He had rode to the start and had discovered a slow leak. He had already called his wife to come and pick him up. It was much to cold to be changing a tire and I could not fault his decision.

I chatted with rider for a few minutes giving some others the opportunity to show up. After about 15 minutes I decided to leave my new friend and had out on a solo ride. I was not sure where I was going to go. When I came out of the park I could make a left and head toward the shore of a right and stay closer to home. I elected to stay closer to home and made a right.

I had convinced myself that it was enough just to show up. I had planned a more direct ride home. When I got to a light I decided to make the turn that would lengthen my ride. I ended up riding 32 miles with some good climbs.

It had snowed on December 31 so the roads were covered with road salt. I had decided to ride my Single Speed since it had less moving parts. When I was done riding the bike was covered with a light coating of white powder.

The ride was not as bad as I expected. The extra layer of insultation made pedalling a little harder. Like a polar bear swim the New Years day ride should have some challenges. I was glad to get out and I rewarded myself with a late breakfast at The Turning Point Restaurant.

I hope everyone has a good new year!!