It's cold. I don't do very well with the cold. Not that I can't handle it, I just can't motivate myself to get out of bed in the morning. I like being warm under my blanket. I dare say it's one of my favourite things in life. It has killed my riding though. At first I didn't really miss it. I had gone out a few times after completing the MS ride, but as the mornings dropped into the 30's, I felt less and less compelled to wake up and ride my bike.
My work schedule has aided the cold. They've teamed up to become my bike's axis of evil. My boss has me working anywhere from noon until midnight during the day and I never feel settled enough to figure out a steady eating pattern, let alone when I'm going to ride my bike.
I didn't miss it. I was happy just being lazy. I had put three pounds back on. I was eating like crap. I was reveling in it. I even brought my bike up stairs because it was "cluttering" our hall way.
I miss it. Thursday, I had come home from work, watched some TV, polished of a pint of ice cream. I came to bed, tired from a long day and a slight food coma. I crawled into bed, wrapped myself up in a blanket and put my head down. The second my head hit the pillow I couldn't stop thinking about riding my bike. It kept me up for three hours. I was jonesing for it.
I have off on Fridays, but the day after my longing to ride my bike, Jen and I were going to Jim Thorpe PA. We drove up there, and on the way we were talking about how good the surrounding land looked for riding. When we got off the Turn Pike my fears were confirmed. The roads were not only as good as we had though, they were better.
We got into town and got out of the car. I couldn't get over how cold it was. It was easily ten degrees cooler than when we had left. We started walking up Hill Rd. Very direct naming. It was a nice, long hill that went on further than we cared to walk. It was very cold and I couldn't help but think about how warm I would be if I were killing myself riding up this hill. I was craving it. I had talked to Jen about bringing our bikes a week earlier, but she shot down the idea a day before.
We walked back down to the town and stated up another street. Off of that street was the most disturbing thing I've ever seen. Another street, much like Hill Rd only it must have been a 20% grade for further than I could see. I wanted to see how far I could make it up on my bike before I threw up.
As we headed down the Street towards the bottom of town we came to an out door store. They carried mountain bikes so we had a look around. I saw the craziest cassette; the largest cog was the size of a pie plate. I thought it was ridiculous until I remembered about the hill I had just seen. It made total sense to me then.
I've wanted to ride my bike all day today. I can't, because it's raining something fierce. I thought about just tossing a rain jacket on and going out any way, but it's really raining. And very gusty. I knew it was going to rain, but I also know that tomorrow will be in the 60's and dry. "Awesome!" I think. "I'll ride before I go to work tomorrow!" Nope. My boss called to let me know that the morning guy called out and that he needs me to work. I wont be home until seven and it's dark at that point. Damn it.
Now I'm desperate enough to use my trainer. It's not right riding a bike inside while watching TV or looking out your window.
I'm moving as soon as I can convince Jen.
25 October, 2008
03 October, 2008
Oh yeah, I did it
Thanks to work, I haven't gotten around to actually writing the post that was the main point of most of the other posts. But I finally have a day off and gosh darn it, I'm going to write me a post about my MS ride.
We ended up doing 45miles instead of 75miles for a few reasons.
1) Jen and Niko didn't want to do 75miles/wake up that early. They both have backs worse than mine and they didn't think they would make it the whole way.
2) Maria C. and her friend Erica were riding with us, and Erica was very green. Like barely knew how to shift green.
3) Jen never booked our hotel room because she thought it was going to rain and we wouldn't do the ride. That did work out in the end for us.
Here comes the lengthy, descriptive part.
Jen and I woke up at 6am and started making plans about how we were all going to get down there/meet up. Niko, Maria C. and Erica all wanted to go out to breakfast. I love me some going out for breakfast, but one thing I've learned is that it's really not a good idea to ride after eating something you've never ate before riding before. If it makes you sick, you're kind of fucked for the rest of the ride. So Jen and I decided to eat at home, or in her case, bring her breakfast with her and drink it before we start (she drinks a shake that she makes every-single-morning, without fail). I had a heaping bowl of oatmeal with walnuts, raisins and honey and washed it down with a protein shake.
Two weeks before the ride we took back the bike rack we had for Jen's car and exchanged it for one for my car. It's a Thule and I can safely say that Swedish engineers should all be put down. Between Ikea furniture and this bike rack, they've proven their ability to cause frustration like no other. I think it's their way of getting back at everyone who ever made fun of them and then some. But it did its job and got our bikes down there without anything falling off. That, and I now have a proper looking Subaru. They just look better with a bike rack.
The starting point for the ride was a parking lot in Hamonton NJ. The start time was between 10am and 10:30am and after everyone had registered we were just kind of sitting there and waiting for the start. Once Jen realized what we were waiting for she kindly told us there is no start; you just leave before 10:30a. Jen and I hopped on our bikes and rode up to the start. I looked back to make sure we had everyone and sure enough, we didn't. A few minutes later Niko and Maria C. ride up and Erica is walking her bike. Erica looks very uncomfortable. She struggles to get clipped in, but once she does we're off. Half way down the street I look back again and she and Maria C. are nowhere to be seen. We wait. We make our first turn and Head down to join with the people who have been riding since the early morning. I hang back to make sure Erica is doing okay. She's in her little ring up from and her small cog in the back. I tried explaining what was going to happen, but I think it was lost on her. I rode up to Niko and Jen and explain the situation. Niko drops back and Jen and I ride on. Maria C. has worked her way up in the mass of riders and we slowly catch up with her. We were keeping an awkward pace trying to not drop Niko and Erica, but Not go 10mph. We finally caught up with Maria C. who was waiting up and explained how much Erica was struggling. Maria said she would drop back and they would all catch up with us. Famous last words.
The ground was still wet in a lot of spots at the beginning of the ride. That, in combination with the mixture of people who were comfortable on bikes and people who were not, made for a messy situation. One woman fell when we started moving from a light. She was kind of to my left and started trying to move before the people in front of us had started to move. She went down and just took the four people around her down with her. At the next light, a guy in front of us almost dumped it coming to a stop at a light. I don't know how he saved it, but he did. I had never been in a group that large before, and I was starting to get nervous. Jen was starting to get annoyed. She had enough of riding slow trying not to drop our friends and tired of the people around us. She also was worried her back wouldn't hold up to the five hours it would take us to finish the ride at that pace. She took off. I followed.
After weaving in and out of people doing 10mph in the middle of the road, we finally got an open stretch of road. Jen was pulling me and these three guys started drafting us. They, like any guy who rides with Jen, started busting her balls about being a girl and the pace she was making. They tried to pass us. After a mile, they shut up and just drafted off us. They eventually offered to pull us and we rode with them to the first rest stop.
Pulling up to the rest stop, Jen and I talked it over and decided not to stop. We wanted to wait for Niko and crew but we knew if we did that we would end up doing the exact same thing and decided to just keep riding. We were also just getting warmed up and it seemed like a silly time to stop. We kept riding with our newly formed group. As we were pulling away we heard the most awful noise you can hear on a bike, someone going down. I caught the last seconds of the fall, and it did not look good. The sound was of metal breaking and that terrible body slapping the ground noise that I know all too well. The rider was a few hundred feet back, but the sound was so loud that Jen thought that I had gone down behind her. She was visibly shaken for about a half hour after the crash. It's scary stuff and I hope the guy is alright.
We continued pushing hard with our group. We riding around 18-20mph and It was a blast. They did a lot of leading and I finally got my shot at the front. I'm not sure if it was adrenaline, or I was determined, but I really cranked the pace. I would look back periodically and see a gap, look down and see I was doing 23mph, then back off a little. I loved every minute of it.
While enjoying my lead, we ran into some traffic. Once we got close enough we saw a bunch of cops and a ambulance. We knew it wasn't going to be good. There was a biker on a stretcher surrounded by medics and there was freshly wiped up blood all around. The cop actually made us stop not three feet from the guy. I couldn't look and just kept looking straight, waiting for the cop to give us the okay to go. The whole thing took me out of my riders high.
Shortly after the other guys wanted to take the lead. Maybe they wanted me to slow down. We followed them to the second rest stop and we all went in to take a breather. There was water for refills, mini cliff bars and fruit abound. We rested and text Niko to see where they were. We probably waited a little too long, but we left with two of the three guys we were riding with. The other guy left a few minutes before all of us.
Back on the road we were trying to get our legs back in us. We finally got back in it and we were coming up on the impossible: tiny hills... in south Jersey! I didn't know they had hills of any kind in south Jersey. I wouldn't really call them hills, more like a false flat, but it was slowing people drastically. Both guys took a turn at the front, then Jen before I got another run at it. I must have really been turning the screws on these guys because we dropped them. I don't know when, and I feel kind of bad about it, but I knew the end was close and I got a second wind. That second wind was quickly followed by a first crash a few miles later, and Jen's back was bothering her so we pulled into the next rest stop.
Jen decided to try Niko and Maria again and she got a hold of them. They were at the second rest stop and they hadn't seen Erica since before the first. They were even waiting a half hour at each one for her, but never saw her. As Jen hung up, it started to spritz. I was happy we had made it as far as we did without rain. I was also a little nervous because I had never rode in the rain before. There was only 13miles left, I wasn't about to stop.
Shortly after the rest stop we got stuck in traffic again. I don't even remember why, But it was okay because it gave me a chance to get myself together and recover. The sun had come back out as we started to turn into residential streets just outside of Ocean City. I remember one guy saying "You're almost done, it's all downhill from here!" I remember that because to get into Ocean City, there are two bridges. Arch shaped bridges. Coming up on them, they seemed like they were going to work me a little, especially after riding 40miles to get to them. As we got to the base there were just masses of people struggling. I remember seeing once guy walking his bike up and everyone else head down, breathing heavily and looking awful. There was a guy further up wearing a full kit, standing and tacking his way up the bridge. He looked like a sprinter in a mountain stage, just completely spent. The whole thing looked like some kind of death ride.
Jen and I motored up the first bridge at like 15mph spitting out "on your left" the whole time without sounding out of breath. When we got to the guy standing the whole way, he was still tacking and I remember his face as I charged by effortlessly. It was pure disgust. The second hill was for of the same. Lots of slow moving, suffering people with Jen and I breezing by and them hating us for it. I guess I'm not as bad at hills as I thought I was. I'm also glad I make an effort to ride them on a regular basis, those people looked miserable.
After the bridges it's just an easy ride into town and towards the boardwalk. I was so psyched to be at the end that I was still doing 20mph and passing people like crazy. A few turns from the finish I see a girl that looks like Erica. I shot by her and slammed on the breaks because it was Erica. I was flabbergasted. Jen and I were passing people the whole time. We were only passed by four guys the entire time and we didn't stop for more than a half hour total. We were drenched from the rain and sweat and we looked like we had just rode 45miles. Erica was completely dry, make-up still perfect, hair not messed up at all, and was doing 13mph when I "caught up" to her. She had even dropped her chain at one point, and couldn't shift out of her big ring up front because she didn't know how. She claimed to have not stopped the entire time and that's how she made it so far without anyone seeing her. I smell SAG wagon, but who am I to say?
The last turn has a bunch of people lined up from there to the finish line, and they're all cheering you on and shaking cowbells and such. It was weird having all these people cheer for me as I crossed the line. I was so focused on riding that It was almost like they weren't there. As I crossed the line I kept looking back for Jen who was about a hundred yards back. In all my excitement I just kept riding hard until they told me to slow down at the line. I really wanted to cross the line with her. She was the reason I wanted to do the ride in the first place. She was the person I trained almost every time I went out this summer. She and I had worked together for 45miles and I, like an ass, was more concerned with me finishing. She wasn't upset about it, and I'm not sure if she even noticed. But in retrospect, I wish I would have crossed the line with her. Oh well, there's always next ride for that.
So there you have it. It wasn't 75miles, but I'm kind of glad about that. My back hurt. I don't know if I would have been able to move the next day had I done 75. I'm also not sure if I would want to. 50miles on a bike is about my limit at the moment. I'm okay with that. Maybe in the future I'll want to do longer rides, but at the moment, I think I'll be alright with where I'm at.
It's getting cool here now. In the morning it's 45* or lower. I want to keep riding, but it's hard to motive myself. I haven't been on my bike all week because of time, rain and cold. I miss it. I'm actually going for a ride as soon as I'm done typing. I can't wait. Really. I'm going to stop typing right now.
We ended up doing 45miles instead of 75miles for a few reasons.
1) Jen and Niko didn't want to do 75miles/wake up that early. They both have backs worse than mine and they didn't think they would make it the whole way.
2) Maria C. and her friend Erica were riding with us, and Erica was very green. Like barely knew how to shift green.
3) Jen never booked our hotel room because she thought it was going to rain and we wouldn't do the ride. That did work out in the end for us.
Here comes the lengthy, descriptive part.
Jen and I woke up at 6am and started making plans about how we were all going to get down there/meet up. Niko, Maria C. and Erica all wanted to go out to breakfast. I love me some going out for breakfast, but one thing I've learned is that it's really not a good idea to ride after eating something you've never ate before riding before. If it makes you sick, you're kind of fucked for the rest of the ride. So Jen and I decided to eat at home, or in her case, bring her breakfast with her and drink it before we start (she drinks a shake that she makes every-single-morning, without fail). I had a heaping bowl of oatmeal with walnuts, raisins and honey and washed it down with a protein shake.
Two weeks before the ride we took back the bike rack we had for Jen's car and exchanged it for one for my car. It's a Thule and I can safely say that Swedish engineers should all be put down. Between Ikea furniture and this bike rack, they've proven their ability to cause frustration like no other. I think it's their way of getting back at everyone who ever made fun of them and then some. But it did its job and got our bikes down there without anything falling off. That, and I now have a proper looking Subaru. They just look better with a bike rack.
The starting point for the ride was a parking lot in Hamonton NJ. The start time was between 10am and 10:30am and after everyone had registered we were just kind of sitting there and waiting for the start. Once Jen realized what we were waiting for she kindly told us there is no start; you just leave before 10:30a. Jen and I hopped on our bikes and rode up to the start. I looked back to make sure we had everyone and sure enough, we didn't. A few minutes later Niko and Maria C. ride up and Erica is walking her bike. Erica looks very uncomfortable. She struggles to get clipped in, but once she does we're off. Half way down the street I look back again and she and Maria C. are nowhere to be seen. We wait. We make our first turn and Head down to join with the people who have been riding since the early morning. I hang back to make sure Erica is doing okay. She's in her little ring up from and her small cog in the back. I tried explaining what was going to happen, but I think it was lost on her. I rode up to Niko and Jen and explain the situation. Niko drops back and Jen and I ride on. Maria C. has worked her way up in the mass of riders and we slowly catch up with her. We were keeping an awkward pace trying to not drop Niko and Erica, but Not go 10mph. We finally caught up with Maria C. who was waiting up and explained how much Erica was struggling. Maria said she would drop back and they would all catch up with us. Famous last words.
The ground was still wet in a lot of spots at the beginning of the ride. That, in combination with the mixture of people who were comfortable on bikes and people who were not, made for a messy situation. One woman fell when we started moving from a light. She was kind of to my left and started trying to move before the people in front of us had started to move. She went down and just took the four people around her down with her. At the next light, a guy in front of us almost dumped it coming to a stop at a light. I don't know how he saved it, but he did. I had never been in a group that large before, and I was starting to get nervous. Jen was starting to get annoyed. She had enough of riding slow trying not to drop our friends and tired of the people around us. She also was worried her back wouldn't hold up to the five hours it would take us to finish the ride at that pace. She took off. I followed.
After weaving in and out of people doing 10mph in the middle of the road, we finally got an open stretch of road. Jen was pulling me and these three guys started drafting us. They, like any guy who rides with Jen, started busting her balls about being a girl and the pace she was making. They tried to pass us. After a mile, they shut up and just drafted off us. They eventually offered to pull us and we rode with them to the first rest stop.
Pulling up to the rest stop, Jen and I talked it over and decided not to stop. We wanted to wait for Niko and crew but we knew if we did that we would end up doing the exact same thing and decided to just keep riding. We were also just getting warmed up and it seemed like a silly time to stop. We kept riding with our newly formed group. As we were pulling away we heard the most awful noise you can hear on a bike, someone going down. I caught the last seconds of the fall, and it did not look good. The sound was of metal breaking and that terrible body slapping the ground noise that I know all too well. The rider was a few hundred feet back, but the sound was so loud that Jen thought that I had gone down behind her. She was visibly shaken for about a half hour after the crash. It's scary stuff and I hope the guy is alright.
We continued pushing hard with our group. We riding around 18-20mph and It was a blast. They did a lot of leading and I finally got my shot at the front. I'm not sure if it was adrenaline, or I was determined, but I really cranked the pace. I would look back periodically and see a gap, look down and see I was doing 23mph, then back off a little. I loved every minute of it.
While enjoying my lead, we ran into some traffic. Once we got close enough we saw a bunch of cops and a ambulance. We knew it wasn't going to be good. There was a biker on a stretcher surrounded by medics and there was freshly wiped up blood all around. The cop actually made us stop not three feet from the guy. I couldn't look and just kept looking straight, waiting for the cop to give us the okay to go. The whole thing took me out of my riders high.
Shortly after the other guys wanted to take the lead. Maybe they wanted me to slow down. We followed them to the second rest stop and we all went in to take a breather. There was water for refills, mini cliff bars and fruit abound. We rested and text Niko to see where they were. We probably waited a little too long, but we left with two of the three guys we were riding with. The other guy left a few minutes before all of us.
Back on the road we were trying to get our legs back in us. We finally got back in it and we were coming up on the impossible: tiny hills... in south Jersey! I didn't know they had hills of any kind in south Jersey. I wouldn't really call them hills, more like a false flat, but it was slowing people drastically. Both guys took a turn at the front, then Jen before I got another run at it. I must have really been turning the screws on these guys because we dropped them. I don't know when, and I feel kind of bad about it, but I knew the end was close and I got a second wind. That second wind was quickly followed by a first crash a few miles later, and Jen's back was bothering her so we pulled into the next rest stop.
Jen decided to try Niko and Maria again and she got a hold of them. They were at the second rest stop and they hadn't seen Erica since before the first. They were even waiting a half hour at each one for her, but never saw her. As Jen hung up, it started to spritz. I was happy we had made it as far as we did without rain. I was also a little nervous because I had never rode in the rain before. There was only 13miles left, I wasn't about to stop.
Shortly after the rest stop we got stuck in traffic again. I don't even remember why, But it was okay because it gave me a chance to get myself together and recover. The sun had come back out as we started to turn into residential streets just outside of Ocean City. I remember one guy saying "You're almost done, it's all downhill from here!" I remember that because to get into Ocean City, there are two bridges. Arch shaped bridges. Coming up on them, they seemed like they were going to work me a little, especially after riding 40miles to get to them. As we got to the base there were just masses of people struggling. I remember seeing once guy walking his bike up and everyone else head down, breathing heavily and looking awful. There was a guy further up wearing a full kit, standing and tacking his way up the bridge. He looked like a sprinter in a mountain stage, just completely spent. The whole thing looked like some kind of death ride.
Jen and I motored up the first bridge at like 15mph spitting out "on your left" the whole time without sounding out of breath. When we got to the guy standing the whole way, he was still tacking and I remember his face as I charged by effortlessly. It was pure disgust. The second hill was for of the same. Lots of slow moving, suffering people with Jen and I breezing by and them hating us for it. I guess I'm not as bad at hills as I thought I was. I'm also glad I make an effort to ride them on a regular basis, those people looked miserable.
After the bridges it's just an easy ride into town and towards the boardwalk. I was so psyched to be at the end that I was still doing 20mph and passing people like crazy. A few turns from the finish I see a girl that looks like Erica. I shot by her and slammed on the breaks because it was Erica. I was flabbergasted. Jen and I were passing people the whole time. We were only passed by four guys the entire time and we didn't stop for more than a half hour total. We were drenched from the rain and sweat and we looked like we had just rode 45miles. Erica was completely dry, make-up still perfect, hair not messed up at all, and was doing 13mph when I "caught up" to her. She had even dropped her chain at one point, and couldn't shift out of her big ring up front because she didn't know how. She claimed to have not stopped the entire time and that's how she made it so far without anyone seeing her. I smell SAG wagon, but who am I to say?
The last turn has a bunch of people lined up from there to the finish line, and they're all cheering you on and shaking cowbells and such. It was weird having all these people cheer for me as I crossed the line. I was so focused on riding that It was almost like they weren't there. As I crossed the line I kept looking back for Jen who was about a hundred yards back. In all my excitement I just kept riding hard until they told me to slow down at the line. I really wanted to cross the line with her. She was the reason I wanted to do the ride in the first place. She was the person I trained almost every time I went out this summer. She and I had worked together for 45miles and I, like an ass, was more concerned with me finishing. She wasn't upset about it, and I'm not sure if she even noticed. But in retrospect, I wish I would have crossed the line with her. Oh well, there's always next ride for that.
So there you have it. It wasn't 75miles, but I'm kind of glad about that. My back hurt. I don't know if I would have been able to move the next day had I done 75. I'm also not sure if I would want to. 50miles on a bike is about my limit at the moment. I'm okay with that. Maybe in the future I'll want to do longer rides, but at the moment, I think I'll be alright with where I'm at.
It's getting cool here now. In the morning it's 45* or lower. I want to keep riding, but it's hard to motive myself. I haven't been on my bike all week because of time, rain and cold. I miss it. I'm actually going for a ride as soon as I'm done typing. I can't wait. Really. I'm going to stop typing right now.
24 September, 2008
WTF Serpico?
I've been just a little busy as of late, so I apologize for the lack of updates. So let’s pick up where we left off.
My Back
Since I threw out my back, I've been seeing a chiropractor at least once a week. It started off as twice a week and because of my progress my visits have been cut back to once a week. I feel fine now. From a mobility stand point, I feel better than I have in years. I've done a lot of work on my posture, and my neck/shoulders are not nearly as stressed as they used to be. That means they're not pulling on my back muscles which cuts down on my throwing my back out significantly. From a muscular stand point, I've been doing a bunch of resistance work to help strengthen the pathetically weak muscles in my back. I basically have to build up my upper back and shoulders, chest, and strengthen my "core" (I hate that term) further to prevent this lame injury from happening again. It will take a long time, so I just have to keep working at it and constantly improve.
My Fitness
When I hurt my back, I was the strongest I had been all summer. The first ride after I hurt it I barely made it sixteen miles. The muscle relaxers made the act of holding my head up while riding a chore and I felt worse than I had when I first started in May. Needless to say, I was not happy. I'm now back to the point where I feel comfortable on my bike again and I'm riding at the same pace I was before, but I'm weaker on hills and I can't ride as long as I could before. It has made me question how this ride is going to go for me.
Wheels and Tires
My custom wheels were made a week or two ago. Daddy likes. The wheels spin up a little easier than the Shimano set and they're stiffer which really allows me to accelerate when I stand on it. The hubs are gorgeous, have instant response when I pedal and the free hub sound like a swarm of angry bees. The black rim and black spokes work well with the bike, and the blue hubs are just about a perfect match for the blue in the frame. I ended up getting a heavier/stronger tire with a little bit of tread because there are a ton of sticks and leaves on the ground now and I wanted something I could roll around on without worrying too much about getting a flat. I also wanted something that I could ride in slightly wet conditions without fear of death. Or a really badly skinned knees. That's arguably worse than death.
The Ride
This Saturday is the MS ride. What's even awesomer is that the weather at the moment says rain with a bunch of wind and cold and a little more rain thrown in for good measure. That's awesome. I've never ridden in the rain before. This will be fun. Niko already said if it's raining, he wont be doing the ride. Jen is not happy about the prospect at all. She's thought about not doing it, and I think the only reason she would do the ride in the rain is because she would feel like she was abandoning me. I'm going to do it rain or shine. While I would love a beautiful day, something tells me that in some kind of sick, twisted way, I would appreciate the ride more if I had to really work through
My Back
Since I threw out my back, I've been seeing a chiropractor at least once a week. It started off as twice a week and because of my progress my visits have been cut back to once a week. I feel fine now. From a mobility stand point, I feel better than I have in years. I've done a lot of work on my posture, and my neck/shoulders are not nearly as stressed as they used to be. That means they're not pulling on my back muscles which cuts down on my throwing my back out significantly. From a muscular stand point, I've been doing a bunch of resistance work to help strengthen the pathetically weak muscles in my back. I basically have to build up my upper back and shoulders, chest, and strengthen my "core" (I hate that term) further to prevent this lame injury from happening again. It will take a long time, so I just have to keep working at it and constantly improve.
My Fitness
When I hurt my back, I was the strongest I had been all summer. The first ride after I hurt it I barely made it sixteen miles. The muscle relaxers made the act of holding my head up while riding a chore and I felt worse than I had when I first started in May. Needless to say, I was not happy. I'm now back to the point where I feel comfortable on my bike again and I'm riding at the same pace I was before, but I'm weaker on hills and I can't ride as long as I could before. It has made me question how this ride is going to go for me.
Wheels and Tires
My custom wheels were made a week or two ago. Daddy likes. The wheels spin up a little easier than the Shimano set and they're stiffer which really allows me to accelerate when I stand on it. The hubs are gorgeous, have instant response when I pedal and the free hub sound like a swarm of angry bees. The black rim and black spokes work well with the bike, and the blue hubs are just about a perfect match for the blue in the frame. I ended up getting a heavier/stronger tire with a little bit of tread because there are a ton of sticks and leaves on the ground now and I wanted something I could roll around on without worrying too much about getting a flat. I also wanted something that I could ride in slightly wet conditions without fear of death. Or a really badly skinned knees. That's arguably worse than death.
The Ride
This Saturday is the MS ride. What's even awesomer is that the weather at the moment says rain with a bunch of wind and cold and a little more rain thrown in for good measure. That's awesome. I've never ridden in the rain before. This will be fun. Niko already said if it's raining, he wont be doing the ride. Jen is not happy about the prospect at all. She's thought about not doing it, and I think the only reason she would do the ride in the rain is because she would feel like she was abandoning me. I'm going to do it rain or shine. While I would love a beautiful day, something tells me that in some kind of sick, twisted way, I would appreciate the ride more if I had to really work through
20 August, 2008
I welcome Cyborgs
Until about a week ago, I was really starting to get good at doing hills. Not great, but what used to make me hurt became almost pleasant. I even made it 9/10ths of the way up the wall before I fell apart. It was the first time I tried to ride up it, so I'm very pleased with the result. What I'm not pleased with is that my back went out again last Wednesday.
Unlike most cyclists, or even everyone else I know with back pain, mine is not in the lower back. I lift with my knees and do whatever I can to avoid lower back pain. My pain is muscular and right in the middle of my back and in my neck. Years of terrible posture and leaning over to hear shorter people talk has made my back and shoulders a disaster area. I'm now unable to ride the Lake Nockamixon Ride I had planned to in two weeks time. I'm really disappointed.
The only good to come from this is that when I was at the Doc getting checked out, they weighed me. When I started riding back in May, I was 176lbs. By June I had dropped down to 170 and I was happy. I didn't think that I had lost any more weight until I stepped on the scales and I came in at 164 with my clothes on. That explains why hills were becoming easier.
So here's my game plan. My Doc wants me to see a Chiropractor to get my back realigned (it is trash) and he thinks that will solve the problem. I know that my muscles are dead weak and need to be built up to hold my newly realigned back in place. My plan is to get my back cracked a few times and then switch to physical therapy for a month or so to build everything up and hopefully I will be set and I'll only have to maintain my back and not have to worry about it being a little bitch again. Until then, I'm off my bike for at least another week and hopefully that's it.
04 August, 2008
Wheels of Fury
About a month ago I talked to my mechanic (because I own him) about wanting to buy new wheels. The wheels that came with my bike (Shimano RS-10) are good, but they flex a little when I sprint, feel loose when I ride above 30mph for extended periods (fun on downhills!) and are a little heavier than I would like. So out with the imperfect and in with the most perfect I can afford.
I headed down to Highroad around 12p and John actually had the time to set me up with four different wheels to test. He was even kind enough to blow out both of my tubes and sent me home with brand new ones. I only paid one damaged ear drum.
I explained to John that I wanted a lighter wheel that spun up quickly to help my pansy-ass on the hills, but something that was also stiff enough that I couldn't feel a ton of flex when sprinting. All for less than a grand.
John doesn't even blink. He just starts pulling wheels off the wall and we get started.
But first, a basic lesson in no-shit physics. A light weight wheel is easier to turn and a heavier wheel will spin longer once it's up to speed. More important is where the weight is placed in relation to the center of the wheel. The further from the center the weight is, the harder it is to spin the wheel, and the closer the weight, the easier. So some wheels that have a heavier weight than others can be easier to spin because of where the weight is in relation to the center. So a lighter wheel isn't always better if that makes any kind of sense.
The first set of wheels he had me try were the Roval Fusse SL's. They're a a light weight wheel (1450g according to Specialized's site) but their engineers spent most of their time making the rim of the wheel lighter so a lot of the weight is kept near the center of the wheel. They spin up quickly and, on the little hill on my test ride, they felt noticeably easier to accelerate up hill. Plus they looked good on my bike. I liked them. The $1050 price tag was doable, but not optimal.
Next up was the Bontrager Race X Lite wheelset. At 1535g (again, according to their website) they're a lightish wheel. The apparently use the same hubs as the Fusse SL's, but the rim is heavier and it feels it. With the weight further out from the center I didn't notice any increase in spin up from my Shimanos, but they were much stiffer when I sprinted. They felt nice but they didn't "WOW" me. The $900 price tag wasn't terrible.
To give me an Idea of what a stiff wheel really feels like, John suggested I next try Roval's Fusse Star wheels. They have a unique hub that's, you guessed it, star shaped. At 1750g they're heavy, but they don't feel heavier than the Race X Lite's do because, again, most of the weight is close to the center. The ride is just silly. The bike respondes instantly to any aplication of the pedals. It felt like the bike couldn't wait to get out from underneath me. I liked them a lot and at $930 they were within budget.
A while back I had tried Niko's wheels to see if I liked them. They're Mavic ES wheels and they're damn stylish. When I rode them I liked them because of how stiff they felt. Today I had John Put them on my bike and I went out confidant that I would be leaving the store with them. Nope. Of all the wheels I rode today they felt the worst. At 1485g they were the second lightest wheel but they felt the heaviest. All of the weight savings went to the hubs (wheel center) and the rim (furthest point from the center) are pretty heavy. So they're light weight wheels that felt harder to spin up than my Shimano wheels. And they were $990. They're not the wheels for me.
So, after three hours of testing wheels I liked the Roval Fusse SL's the best, but they were the priciest of the bunch, and I honestly felt like they weren't stiff enough for me. So John and I started talking about custom made wheel sets.
Like anything I consider buying, I did a crap-ton of research on the topic of wheels before I showed up. I even researched making my own wheels just in case I couldn't find the "perfect" wheel set off the shelf. The one thing I definitely knew was that I wanted Chris King hubs. They're light, strong and beautiful pieces. Apparently, most hubs have 24 toothed cogs and King uses 72 teeth. They have a 5 year warranty and they're even manufactured in the most environmentally friendly way they can be. They're also pricey, but we'll get to that in a moment. 112g front, 264g rear and $160 and $340.
For Rims, John suggested I go with IRD rims. They're a Niobium/Aluminum alloy and at 390g each they're pretty light. $70.
For spokes John said he was going to use DT Revolution's. I don't have any weight or price numbers for you. But total, after tax, everything will run me $816. The hubs and rims weigh in at 1156g and I can't see the spokes and nipples weighing too much, so I think I might have a sub 1500g wheel set that's stiff enough for me for less than a grand. Just like I wanted. I'll keep you posted.
03 August, 2008
Unitard
So I bought myself a pair of Giordana bibs because everyone I talk to about bibs keeps telling me they're the second coming of sweet baby Jesus for your ass. They're weird. Not bad weird, but I'm not used to having built in suspenders for my shorts. Or looking like a 1920's German wrestler/weight lifter. The padding isn't as comfortable as my Pearl Izumi's, but it is comfortable, and the fit is unbelievable. It's like their leg skin with a goofy pad under my junk area. I dig'm.
As for my riding this weekend, It was good and bad. Friday and Saturday were "eh" days. I think I did 20 miles each day. On Friday Jen gave me her "I have to work" excuse. I think from now on I'm just going to part ways with her once she's done, and get more miles in. I figure if I can get 25-30 miles in twice a week and 30-50 miles in on Saturday and Sunday, I will be happy for the moment.
Saturday's ride was cut short because the sky looked like the "Nothing" from The Never Ending Story. No luck Dragons though. We did ride around Bridgeport a little bit on the way back home and did a few of the long, low grade hills. They'll come in handy in the coming month.
Todays ride wasn't what I thought it was going to be. We were going to ride up to Betzwood to meet other Team Tania riders to do the BAM-B (Betzwood to the Art Museum and Back. Yeah, it's the worst name for a ride anyone could come up with) ride. When we got there, it was so unorganized and sad that I couldn't really deal with it. A group of riders left and Jen and I just tagged on to the back of them to get going somewhere. That was fine for about... oh, two minutes before their 12mph pace got annoying. Jen and I passed them and never looked back.
Around Norristown we were passed by the Junk Brothers. Who are the Junk Brothers? Why they're two guys that have a hard time hiding their manhood in bike shorts. As hard as it is to hide one's banana boat in spandex, most gentlemen over 25 seem to have no problem. A bulge is inevitable, but acceptable. Seeing one's circular scar is too much. Most guys under 25 haven't figured that out. I don't think the Junk Brothers will ever figure that out.
Jen and I rode well together and passed the Junk Brothers at the end of the bike path. They had stopped, and we didn't. But seeing that we had passed them, they shot off after us. They're stronger riders than I am, but I have noticed that they just sprint at the start and drop everyone, then slow down to the same pace as everyone else. So I decided to not let them run from us and see how long I could hang with them. I knew that if I could hang with them, then Jen could keep up with them because she's physically a freak. If i decide to ride 25mph for lengths of time, she'll destroy her legs and keep up. I love it.
So the Junk brothers saw me behind them (you can't see Jen behind me because she's the size of a large child) and tried to take off. I just kept with them and sure enough they slowed to a pace where I could have passed them if I felt like it. I basically had them pull us though Manayunk and down to West River Drive before I slowed pace and let them ride off.
Funny thing about West river today. We got on (it's closed to cars on sundays) and no one said anything to us. That part wasn't weird because no one ever says anything to us when we get on it. Today there were cones set up everywhere. I thought it was from the time trials they hold in the early mornings down there. As we got further down we realize that there are people swimming in the water. Then I remembered the Philly Womans Tri was going on and we thought nothing of it. Further down the course nazi yells at us for being on the course. Completely flips out from inside her SUV. It got us thinking "why didn't someone stop us from getting on in the first place?" Philly sucks at organizing anything.
We found our way off the course and continued riding down to the Art Museum. We stopped for a bar and a piss and then headed down Kelly drive instead of heading back down W. River. The Kelly drive path is a nightmare on the weekends because everyone is out on it. We had to avoid runners and careless bikers for a few miles before it was clear. While heading back into Manayunk (I'm just going to refer to it as "the 'Yunk" from now on) we stopped at a light with another group who were heading back through the 'Yunk as well. Half of them were blocking traffic going the other way and even when Jen audibly called out when the opposing light changed to yellow, then red, they just stood there. The light turns green and we hear one of them ask if they had everyone, and they all just stood there. Knowing a bad situation when we see it, Jen and I hauled ass out of that intersection and just flew into the 'Yunk. We stopped at the new coffee shop Jen likes and had some food. We also stopped for way too long and when we got back on our bikes our legs were crap salad.
As you leave the 'Yunk to get back to the bike path, the road turns upward. Nothing too bad, but there are rolling hills that can be challenging when you don't have your legs. There's one hill in particular that is really tough if your legs are done and I really beat myself up getting over it. Some random guy started chatting with Jen on the way up and we rode with him all the way to Spring Mill. It turns out he's the general manager at Cadence (local high end bike store/training location). Nice guy. A little weird. Kind of like my bibs.
As soon as Cadence guy turns off, Eric passes us. Eric always wears a Columbia jersey. I've never seen him ride in anything else. It makes him really easy to spot when we're riding. He wasn't wearing his Columbia jersey today and I had no idea who he was until he caught us and said what's up. So we rode together until Norristown. And by rode together, I mean he was nice enough to pull us up there so we had enough energy to make it home. Big ups Eric.
So I officially rode the furthest I've ever gone today. 43.something miles in two and a half hours. I'm also only twenty-some miles away from reaching 1,000 miles total. I've only been riding since late May so we'll round that to two and a half months of riding. Not too shabby.
My work schedule is also completely changing starting tomorrow. I'll be working 4p-Midnight until September 7th. That just means I'll be waking up later, but I'll be able to go on morning rides just about every day. So I'm hoping to really kick my ass in the next month. I'm really excited about it.
30 July, 2008
Chicken Fresco
I finally got a high mileage (for me) weekend in. I rode 23 miles Friday, 38 miles Saturday and then 35 miles on Sunday. My legs felt like a turd sandwich on Monday but I felt accomplished.
Friday's ride was different. Jen and I rode up to Valley Forge and after the first third of the ride she just looked at me and asked if I wanted to go down the road on our left. I was bored too so I was more than happy to try something new.
Good road. rolling hills for about a mile and it dropped us right where we started. It'll make a nice addition to our normal route.
Saturday's ride was down to the Art Museum and back. We rode down with Eric and even though I didn't want to do any hills, sure enough he added two miles of them onto our ride. Whatever, they weren't bad and it only makes me stronger.
Jen was sick on Sunday and Niko made his long awaited return to riding. He had a chest cold and hadn't been on a bike in three weeks but he still made it out (*cough*Jen*cough*).
I was late leaving to meet him so I sped down to Betzwood in a little under 18 minutes (the fastest I had ever done it before was 24 minutes). After that I just wanted to do a recovery ride, but cap'n chest cold decided to do 20+ mph until his lungs were ready to rip out of his chest. So much for recovery.
We rode towards Audubon and then went down to Conshohocken, then back to Betzwood. I was going to ride back home, but we were in a time crunch to leave for Maryland (Jen's parents have an amazing house that hangs 20 feet over a river that leads into the Chesapeake Bay) so I caught a ride back with him. My legs were beat.
Tuesday Jen and I went out and just rode down to the end of the path and back (it's a little over 17 miles). We picked up the pace on the way home and halfway between Conshy and Norristown we hear a nice "PSSSSSSST!" Yup, I got me first flat. It was in the rear and Jen kept fucking up my flow by doing things like taking the tire from me and trying to do it herself (BOO!), but I got it changed and inflated in about five minutes so I felt pretty good about it. I'm glad I practiced doing it a bunch at home before it ever really happened to me. I was a lot less flustered than I could have been. It also felt like I knew what I was doing. So yeah, if you don't know how to change a flat, learn. It's stupid easy. Just make sure you practice with the rear wheel. It's the "hard" one.
Friday's ride was different. Jen and I rode up to Valley Forge and after the first third of the ride she just looked at me and asked if I wanted to go down the road on our left. I was bored too so I was more than happy to try something new.
Good road. rolling hills for about a mile and it dropped us right where we started. It'll make a nice addition to our normal route.
Saturday's ride was down to the Art Museum and back. We rode down with Eric and even though I didn't want to do any hills, sure enough he added two miles of them onto our ride. Whatever, they weren't bad and it only makes me stronger.
Jen was sick on Sunday and Niko made his long awaited return to riding. He had a chest cold and hadn't been on a bike in three weeks but he still made it out (*cough*Jen*cough*).
I was late leaving to meet him so I sped down to Betzwood in a little under 18 minutes (the fastest I had ever done it before was 24 minutes). After that I just wanted to do a recovery ride, but cap'n chest cold decided to do 20+ mph until his lungs were ready to rip out of his chest. So much for recovery.
We rode towards Audubon and then went down to Conshohocken, then back to Betzwood. I was going to ride back home, but we were in a time crunch to leave for Maryland (Jen's parents have an amazing house that hangs 20 feet over a river that leads into the Chesapeake Bay) so I caught a ride back with him. My legs were beat.
Tuesday Jen and I went out and just rode down to the end of the path and back (it's a little over 17 miles). We picked up the pace on the way home and halfway between Conshy and Norristown we hear a nice "PSSSSSSST!" Yup, I got me first flat. It was in the rear and Jen kept fucking up my flow by doing things like taking the tire from me and trying to do it herself (BOO!), but I got it changed and inflated in about five minutes so I felt pretty good about it. I'm glad I practiced doing it a bunch at home before it ever really happened to me. I was a lot less flustered than I could have been. It also felt like I knew what I was doing. So yeah, if you don't know how to change a flat, learn. It's stupid easy. Just make sure you practice with the rear wheel. It's the "hard" one.
19 July, 2008
I don't waste anytime, do I?
Yesterday (ignore the June date, I wrote it yesterday) I stated that I needed to climb more because I suck at it. Today I did something about it. Jen's friend Eric, who helped her last year become a much stronger rider, took us up and down some roads that I didn't even know were around here.
We started off heading up towards Audubon, but instead of breaking off and doing the Loop, we went down the Perkiomen Trail until it turns into a gravel path. We then headed up some road then turned onto another that had a nice tiny hill that brought us back to where we began. I, obviously hating myself, suggested we do the Audubon hill. And we did, some faster than others (Eric is a freak). Jen had gone to the gym and worked out her legs yesterday so she wasn't too happy with the idea.
As we were making our way back to the path, Eric suggests we go do a few hills. It was exactly what I wanted. Jen, knowing Eric better than I do, suggests we not. So of course I say yes and we're off. It started off with a few rolling hills, nothing big. I was stuck to Eric’s wheel and feeling really good about myself. Each hill is causing my legs to burn, but not so badly that I even think about stopping. I'm riding right in the middle, dropped by Eric, but closer to him than Jen is to me. I feel strong and accomplished and want to do nothing but these hills for the rest of the day.
While my head is fooling me into thinking that climbing is fun and exhilarating I'm forgetting two very important things. One, it's eight in the morning and the temperature is already around 90*s out. Two, I didn't bring anything to eat with me because I thought we were just doing the Audubon Loop.
So we swoop downhill and turned on to the road I've been dreaming of. It's narrow, pavement slightly broken, but smooth enough to ride on, there's little traffic and it has a nice grade that seems to go on for miles. I was delighted. I chugged water until I felt it slosh around a little and I start heading up.
Minutes go by and I'm still on cloud nine. I found what I wanted a day after realizing it's what I wanted. It was the most instant, instant gratification I had ever received. "It was too good to be true." I thought. As I finished that thought, the road turned and went upward at a rate I knew would do a little more than push me. "No worries!" I thought, "I've still got three gears left before I'm geared out." Within 100 yards I'm geared out and starting to feel it. It wasn't the slight burn I was gleefully feeling before, but a deep, agonizing burn. A burn that makes me hate my new-found hill of destiny I had wished upon myself. It made me hate my bike. It made me hate and curse the person who plotted out the road and the people who paved it. I had found the ever talked about "suffering."
Writers who ride have spent years beautifully romanticizing suffering. Fuck them. There's nothing romantic about it. It's agony. It's horrible. At one point, I started laughing out loud while riding. It was actually half laughter because I could only let out a momentary "HA!" before I had to suck in as much air as possible to turn the pedals. I wanted to throw my bike down the side of this hellacious mother fucker and walk home.
As all of those wonderful thoughts were running through my head, and my eyes were routinely deceived by false peaks, I heard Jen yell up to me "You're in trouble when we get home!" I laugh louder, but only for a moment before I can't take anymore. My back hurt more than my legs and that's enough to scare me into hopping right off my bike. Jen wastes absolutely no time joining me. I think she even dismounted faster than I did. Eric comes down to join us.
After sitting there for a few minutes another group of guys punishing themselves rides up and asks if we're alright. "I'm fine, thanks." sends them on their way with looks of anger. I imagine them thinking "why can't he be hurt so we can stop?" and start laughing again. Jen tells me to drink more, probably thinking I'm delirious.
A few minutes later I climbed back on my bike. My legs felt fine. I pedaled around the corner to see the elusive top less than two hundred yards away. It becomes abundantly clear to me that I bonked. I had nothing left in the tank. My legs were fine after a brief recovery, but I didn't have the energy to make them pedal. I needed a samich.
To pour more salt in the wound, Eric isn't 100% sure where we are. "We're in the right township" is supposed to somehow make me feel better. Whatever. It looks to be mostly downhill in either direction and that's all that matters to me. So we head in the direction he thinks we should go. On the way down, it occurred to me that another plus from climbing more was learning how to descend. I'm not so big on the turning while doing 40mph down a hill on tires no wider than my thumb. Eric makes it look stupid easy and I try to follow him into a turn at speed. I spend the next few moments hoping I can slow enough to not die and pray there isn't shit running down my leg. I slow enough and do a quick look down and a wiggle to make sure there's no dook.
Jen and her super aerodynamic frame fall way behind us due to her 115lbs weight. I'm pretty sure if she geared out on a hill and I just coasted, I'd beat her down every time. At one point Eric and I were so far ahead that she almost made a wrong turn. We tried to slow it down, but it was so much fun. I started tucking and gaining speed on each hill, becoming more and more comfortable with descending. By the time it turned back uphill I was disappointed, not because the hills were too hard, but because I couldn't continue to fly downhill.
We made our way to the backside of Valley Forge and I insisted we stop. The downhill was great but after the few hills to get back, it becomes clear again that I had no energy. We stop and Eric gave me a Cliff bar. I had never been so happy to see a Cliff bar. I took my time eating it so I didn’t puke. I've at least learned that lesson. We headed back through the park and made it back to the bike path. Back on the flat I was amazed at how easy it was to do 18-20mph. Jen kept checking on me to see if I was okay, but after the greatest Cliff bar of my life I felt ready to start the ride again. I was almost sad the ride was almost over. I was back to wanting to ride all day. Cycling, you fickle bitch you.
We started off heading up towards Audubon, but instead of breaking off and doing the Loop, we went down the Perkiomen Trail until it turns into a gravel path. We then headed up some road then turned onto another that had a nice tiny hill that brought us back to where we began. I, obviously hating myself, suggested we do the Audubon hill. And we did, some faster than others (Eric is a freak). Jen had gone to the gym and worked out her legs yesterday so she wasn't too happy with the idea.
As we were making our way back to the path, Eric suggests we go do a few hills. It was exactly what I wanted. Jen, knowing Eric better than I do, suggests we not. So of course I say yes and we're off. It started off with a few rolling hills, nothing big. I was stuck to Eric’s wheel and feeling really good about myself. Each hill is causing my legs to burn, but not so badly that I even think about stopping. I'm riding right in the middle, dropped by Eric, but closer to him than Jen is to me. I feel strong and accomplished and want to do nothing but these hills for the rest of the day.
While my head is fooling me into thinking that climbing is fun and exhilarating I'm forgetting two very important things. One, it's eight in the morning and the temperature is already around 90*s out. Two, I didn't bring anything to eat with me because I thought we were just doing the Audubon Loop.
So we swoop downhill and turned on to the road I've been dreaming of. It's narrow, pavement slightly broken, but smooth enough to ride on, there's little traffic and it has a nice grade that seems to go on for miles. I was delighted. I chugged water until I felt it slosh around a little and I start heading up.
Minutes go by and I'm still on cloud nine. I found what I wanted a day after realizing it's what I wanted. It was the most instant, instant gratification I had ever received. "It was too good to be true." I thought. As I finished that thought, the road turned and went upward at a rate I knew would do a little more than push me. "No worries!" I thought, "I've still got three gears left before I'm geared out." Within 100 yards I'm geared out and starting to feel it. It wasn't the slight burn I was gleefully feeling before, but a deep, agonizing burn. A burn that makes me hate my new-found hill of destiny I had wished upon myself. It made me hate my bike. It made me hate and curse the person who plotted out the road and the people who paved it. I had found the ever talked about "suffering."
Writers who ride have spent years beautifully romanticizing suffering. Fuck them. There's nothing romantic about it. It's agony. It's horrible. At one point, I started laughing out loud while riding. It was actually half laughter because I could only let out a momentary "HA!" before I had to suck in as much air as possible to turn the pedals. I wanted to throw my bike down the side of this hellacious mother fucker and walk home.
As all of those wonderful thoughts were running through my head, and my eyes were routinely deceived by false peaks, I heard Jen yell up to me "You're in trouble when we get home!" I laugh louder, but only for a moment before I can't take anymore. My back hurt more than my legs and that's enough to scare me into hopping right off my bike. Jen wastes absolutely no time joining me. I think she even dismounted faster than I did. Eric comes down to join us.
After sitting there for a few minutes another group of guys punishing themselves rides up and asks if we're alright. "I'm fine, thanks." sends them on their way with looks of anger. I imagine them thinking "why can't he be hurt so we can stop?" and start laughing again. Jen tells me to drink more, probably thinking I'm delirious.
A few minutes later I climbed back on my bike. My legs felt fine. I pedaled around the corner to see the elusive top less than two hundred yards away. It becomes abundantly clear to me that I bonked. I had nothing left in the tank. My legs were fine after a brief recovery, but I didn't have the energy to make them pedal. I needed a samich.
To pour more salt in the wound, Eric isn't 100% sure where we are. "We're in the right township" is supposed to somehow make me feel better. Whatever. It looks to be mostly downhill in either direction and that's all that matters to me. So we head in the direction he thinks we should go. On the way down, it occurred to me that another plus from climbing more was learning how to descend. I'm not so big on the turning while doing 40mph down a hill on tires no wider than my thumb. Eric makes it look stupid easy and I try to follow him into a turn at speed. I spend the next few moments hoping I can slow enough to not die and pray there isn't shit running down my leg. I slow enough and do a quick look down and a wiggle to make sure there's no dook.
Jen and her super aerodynamic frame fall way behind us due to her 115lbs weight. I'm pretty sure if she geared out on a hill and I just coasted, I'd beat her down every time. At one point Eric and I were so far ahead that she almost made a wrong turn. We tried to slow it down, but it was so much fun. I started tucking and gaining speed on each hill, becoming more and more comfortable with descending. By the time it turned back uphill I was disappointed, not because the hills were too hard, but because I couldn't continue to fly downhill.
We made our way to the backside of Valley Forge and I insisted we stop. The downhill was great but after the few hills to get back, it becomes clear again that I had no energy. We stop and Eric gave me a Cliff bar. I had never been so happy to see a Cliff bar. I took my time eating it so I didn’t puke. I've at least learned that lesson. We headed back through the park and made it back to the bike path. Back on the flat I was amazed at how easy it was to do 18-20mph. Jen kept checking on me to see if I was okay, but after the greatest Cliff bar of my life I felt ready to start the ride again. I was almost sad the ride was almost over. I was back to wanting to ride all day. Cycling, you fickle bitch you.
18 June, 2008
Progress
It's amazing to me that I spent the better part of two months working my way to a certain point, only to take a ten day vacation and be back to, what feels like, square one. Given I did get a little sick on my trip to Costa Rica and Panama, but I thought I would be better off than I am. C'est la vie.
The good to come out of this is that I now feel like I have to push myself. Before, I was stalled at doing a 20-35 mile flat rides at an average speed of 15mph (18-22mph until you have to slow down for other riders). Now I feel like I have to push myself to be comfortable doing a 50 mile ride in a month. So to prepare for a 75 mile ride, I'm going to do a 50 mile ride a month before hand. It's added a nice dose of urgency that I didn't have before, and it's one hell of a motivator.
I also decided that I'm terrible at climbs.
My normal rides are Bridgeport to either the Art Museum (35 miles, 45 if we ride from Betzwood), Audubon (20 miles) or Valley Forge (19 Miles). The Art Museum ride has a few hills, but nothing long enough to count as a climb. The Audubon Loop has a hill that reaches 9% at the top, and is a quarter mile long, but is otherwise flat. Valley Forge has three hills that when done one after the other are challenging, but only wouldn't be any worse than the Audubon hill. So the main thing that started to stand out to me is that I don't really have any climbs on the rides I go on. So my goal for the next few weeks is to go out and find roads that go up and last longer than a quarter mile. They don't need to be destroyers, but I want a challenge. As it stands, I hate climbing more than I love anything else, so if I can find a twisty road with a 5-8% grade that goes on for two or three miles in over developed, suburban Philadelphia, I'll be stoked.
I'm also in the market for a a small point and shoot camera so I can take snap shots while riding and have some fancy pictures to go along with all these silly words. Something tells me I wouldn't enjoy lugging around my SLR on rides.
One last note...
BOO RICARDO RICCO! BOOOOOOO!
The good to come out of this is that I now feel like I have to push myself. Before, I was stalled at doing a 20-35 mile flat rides at an average speed of 15mph (18-22mph until you have to slow down for other riders). Now I feel like I have to push myself to be comfortable doing a 50 mile ride in a month. So to prepare for a 75 mile ride, I'm going to do a 50 mile ride a month before hand. It's added a nice dose of urgency that I didn't have before, and it's one hell of a motivator.
I also decided that I'm terrible at climbs.
My normal rides are Bridgeport to either the Art Museum (35 miles, 45 if we ride from Betzwood), Audubon (20 miles) or Valley Forge (19 Miles). The Art Museum ride has a few hills, but nothing long enough to count as a climb. The Audubon Loop has a hill that reaches 9% at the top, and is a quarter mile long, but is otherwise flat. Valley Forge has three hills that when done one after the other are challenging, but only wouldn't be any worse than the Audubon hill. So the main thing that started to stand out to me is that I don't really have any climbs on the rides I go on. So my goal for the next few weeks is to go out and find roads that go up and last longer than a quarter mile. They don't need to be destroyers, but I want a challenge. As it stands, I hate climbing more than I love anything else, so if I can find a twisty road with a 5-8% grade that goes on for two or three miles in over developed, suburban Philadelphia, I'll be stoked.
I'm also in the market for a a small point and shoot camera so I can take snap shots while riding and have some fancy pictures to go along with all these silly words. Something tells me I wouldn't enjoy lugging around my SLR on rides.
One last note...
BOO RICARDO RICCO! BOOOOOOO!
11 June, 2008
A Few Things I've Picked up
There are a few things I've picked up in the two months I've been riding that have given me some insight into cycling. I figured I'd share them. Any of this info can be found online or in magazines, so I’m not exactly reinventing the wheel here, but feel free to list any thing you (the reader) have picked up along your way.
"Cyclists" Are Assholes
To be fair, I've met so many more nice people than douche bonnets while riding, but as a whole, I would classify cyclists as assholes. From the guy with the $10,000 bike who looks down on everyone else who doesn't at least have a carbon frame to the guy who was riding two abreast and called me a "fucking asshole" because I got to close to him, to the amateur and pro racers who don't say a thing as they pass you then cut you off... they're just pricks. Judgmental, classless pricks. If I had a choice between riding with a group a guys who think that every ride is a qualifier for the Giro, or a group of guys with mountain pedals and a seat bag on their road bike, I'm taking the "uncool" seat bag/Mt. pedal group. At least I know that they wont have their front tire two feet up my ass when they're drafting me. Speaking of which...
Drafting
The sooner you try to get used to doing twenty miles per hour a foot behind the rider in front of you the better. It's uncomfortable and down right nerve wracking to a person who's not even comfortable on their own bike, but it's a must for riding with a group. Just remember to look as far ahead as possible (sometimes that's only the jersey in front of you) and not at the tire in front of you.
Climbing
Why people want to climb is beyond me. The rational part of me what's to go "Fuck this shit, I'm walking." about three rotations into a climb, but there's some part of me that needs to prove to myself that I can do it. So much so that I crave it some times. Like cold Pizza, only I'm probably more likely to throw up from the climbing. In my attempts at climbing, I've found a few things that make it so much easier.
1) Breathe with your stomach. I didn't even know what that meant until Jen started her Yoga Teacher Training course, but it's something I used to do on long runs that I was completely forgetting to do when climbing. Now I breathe like a fat guy taking the stairs. It's okay though. I'd rather sound like I'm about to give birth, and make it up the hill than breathe silently and have to get off my bike.
2) Pedal all the way around. When I first started riding, I would only push down on the pedals. But part of the reason you shelled out so much money for them fancy shoes and pedals is so you can take advantage of the upstroke as well. This makes a huge difference is how long you can climb.
3) Calm down. I found I was so tense climbing that I would forget to do things. Like breathing. I would also Tense up my back and have a death-grip on my handlebars. So I started a check-list in my head for when I start a climb. Breathe, sit up a little and relax. Relax is relative because my legs are screaming at me, and no matter how deep I breathe, I never seem to get enough air, but my back no longer hurts half way up and I get enough air to make it to the top.
4) The only way to get better is to do more hills. Jen likes to tell me that I should go to the gym more and lift weighs to help my climbing. I've found that the more I do hills, the easier they become. There's a hill by us that is a quarter mile long and is a nine percent grade until the top when it only gets steeper. The first time I did it I had to stand up at the end, and I could barely move after that. The second time I made it up just as fast, but I got there sitting the whole time and I was able to ride like normal afterwards. I was tired and a little out of breath, but I could ride.
Learn/use call signals
If you're riding in a group, this is a must. The first time I heard someone yell "Rider up!" I had no clue what was going on. I learned what they meant, and then never used them. This caused a lot of confusion to the other people I was riding with. Since I'm very soft spoken and It's impossible to hear me while riding, I just use the hand signs when I'm leading. I even use them when I'm riding by myself. Mostly to keep myself in the habit, but also because some times I never know when someone has snuck up on me. It helps the strangers know what I'm doing. And maybe they just think I'm nuts and back off. That's fine too, as long as no one runs into me.
Practice the easy stuff
I had the hardest time clipping in and out of my SPD pedals. Mostly getting in, but I've had at least one spill where I just forgot my feet were locked in and I fell right over. I started practicing clipping in and out on the trainer, just to get used to it. It helped a lot. I also would ride to a parking lot and practice things like riding in a figure 8, or riding with one hand. The more you do it, the better you'll be at having to do it when you need to.
Ride with one hand/ Learn to drink while on the bike
I didn't used to drink unless we stopped when I first started riding. That's very bad. I knew I should drink more, but I was never comfortable enough in a group to take my hand off the bars. Dumb. Add "drink while riding" to the practice section above. Once I was comfortable, I had a hard time figuring out when I should be drinking. I was so excited and scared to be in a group that I would forget to drink. To cure this, I would just drink when the person in front of me did. They're slowing down, so It's an opportune time for me to grab a quick sip too.
My History With Bicycles
The question I get asked the most lately is "Why a bike?" For people who know me, it's a valid question. Bicycles and I have had a weird relationship over the years. Most kids get a bike around 5 or so, but I didn't get my first bike until I was 7. My dad finally got around to teaching me how to ride it when I was 8.
All of the neighborhood kids I played with had bikes. For two years I would just run behind them while they rode around. I was a natural runner so it didn't bother me at first, but as my friends got older, and we could explore farther, running began to get old. So I made my dad teach me how to ride that two-wheeled thing in the garage. I don't remember who made the bike, but it was black and gold with the word "piranha" on the down tube. It didn't have hand brakes and pedaling backwards was so foreign to me that I almost rode into traffic on more than one lesson. I would ride with my friends, even though I had absolutely no control over what I was doing. Most of the time I would pedal with my left, and push off the ground with my right in a half riding/half running manner that made my piranha an awkward shaped scooter more than a bicycle. I was a laughing stock to my friends, but I didn't care. I was going to get it. Eventually, it clicked, and when it did I was addicted.
I lived at the bottom of a steep, long hill, which had a sharp right turn at the end. The hill owned me. It became my life mission to make it up the hill without having to get off my bike. I used to fly up the hill in a fit of fixed gear fury, only to have to stop half way and walk up the rest. All so I could bomb down the hill at stupid speeds and take the sharp right hand turn as fast as I could, followed by slamming on the brakes to make the longest skid mark possible... and not ride into traffic.
By the time I was 9 I could not only make it up the hill, I could sprint up it without thinking. I would ride my bike for miles. My dad one day asked me if I wanted to go for a bike ride. I said "sure!" and he threw my bike and I into the back seat and we were off. Little did I know that by "bike ride" my dad meant "you want to do a 30+ mile ride down to the Philadelphia Art Museum and back?"
It was hot, I was less than 10, which meant I had the attention span of a gnat, and neither of us were prepared for how long it was going to take. When I said above that I would ride for miles, I didn't mean these kind of miles. To this day I still wonder what the hell my dad was thinking.
Valley Green (also known as Forbidden Drive) is a gravel path that follows a stream that eventually dumps you in Fairmount, which is a section of Philadelphia. From there, we would have to make it to Kelly Drive (East River drive then) and ride down to the Art Museum, circle around and come back up West River Drive and go back through Fairmount, find Valley Green's path, and make it back to the car.
It was so hot that I went swimming in the stream for a little while. My dad allowed this, probably knowing the ridiculous amount of chafing I was about to endure on the rest of the ride. When we made it close to the Art Museum, I was so hungry we had to stop. My dad bought me the worst tasting hamburger I have ever had. A homeless man asked if he could have a piece and I handed him the whole thing. He said "you know I'm not going to give this back, right?" I responded "Good, It taste terrible." Somehow, we made it back. My dad and I never did that ride again.
After that, things went back to normal. As we grew, my friends all got larger bikes. Most of them were mountain bikes, so I naturally wanted a mountain bike. Not just any mountain bike. I wanted Huffy's White Heat. For those of you who don't remember, White Heat was probably the ugliest bike ever created. It was white with black and neon yellow highlights and had motocross style hand protectors on the handle bars. It also had hand brakes which was a huge plus for me. My parents got me White Heat. A few months later I got into skateboarding and bikes were no longer cool. So at age 12, I stopped riding, and wanted nothing to do with riding a bike. Because of how obnoxious BMX bikers were when I was skating, I grew to hate bikes. When I got a car, this feeling only grew because now bikes were traffic obstacles that slowed me down. I could never again see myself on one.
Fast-forward 10 years. At 26 years young I was working all of the time, eating like crap and couldn't run anymore because of stress fractures in my ankle. I was getting fat and was so out of shape that the first time I tried doing anything athletic I threw up. A lot. In a gym full of people and my girlfriend. It was embarrassing. I wanted to do something I could ease into and was low impact. I was going to buy a bike. I had a friend who worked at a bike shop, and I only knew two things going in: I wanted to ride at Valley Green, and I wanted a Trek. Why a Trek? I think it was the only manufacturer that I knew. He pointed me towards a hybrid. My test ride consisted of three circles in a parking lot big enough for 5 cars. I took it. I regretted it. The hybrid had a triple crank up front and shifted like crap. I could barely make it up small inclines because my legs were so weak and I had no idea what gear to be in when, and the few times I did have an idea, my bike wouldn't shift. The deal breaker was when my girlfriend (Jen) got a bike. She had been doing spinning classes and decided to get a bike. She bought the cheapest road bike REI had and we went down to the Schuylkill path. At a blazing 12mph she would get so far ahead of me that I couldn't see her anymore. I was agonizingly slow and weak, not to mention embarrassed and pissed. I hated my bike again.
Jen went on to ride all summer. She found out her cousin Niko was riding too, and they became riding buddies. They signed up to do 75miles of the MS 150 in September of last year and they did it. I was there as they crossed the finish line and I couldn't have been more proud of Jen. I also couldn't have been more jealous. She had been having so much fun on her bike all summer, and it made me think of how happy I was as a kid riding my bike and I wanted that back. So then and there, at the finish line in Ocean City NJ I decided I was going to get a bike I loved.
After the MS ride, Jen got fitted for a custom frame. She got herself a carbon fibre frame made by Guru called the Geneo. Weighing in at less than 4lbs for the frame, and aerodynamically shaped, the bike is a looker and a performer. It evokes the same kind of response from cyclists that a Ferrari does from car enthusiasts. It made me even more resolved to get a bike I loved.
In late January, I finally found it. I had decided through research that I was going to get an aluminum frame with a carbon fork and rear stays. I wanted comfort, speed and a price tag around a grand. Something that I could keep up with Jen and Niko with. I went to Highroad Cycles in Wayne and talked to Lauren and John about what I wanted. After a few test rides, I walked out with a $2,400 Specialized Tarmac Comp. It's a carbon frame with Shimano 105 components. The second I got on the bike it took me back to being 10 again. At one point on the test ride I had passed a car I was moving so fast. I was hooked again.
That brings you up to date. I now ride about 2-4 days a week, and anywhere from 50-100 miles a week depending on weather. I signed up for the City to Shore MS 150 (donations can be made here:http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Bike/PAEBikeEvents?px=4568102&pg=personal&fr_id=8150) to ride with Jen and Niko in September. My goals for the summer are to be riding 150-200 miles a week, climb the wall in Manayunk and do the Art Museum ride, and the Audubon Loop in one day (approx. 55miles or so).
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