Today's ride was awesome. I went to Valley Forge planning on doing the entire loop (I usually only do about three fourths of it) and maybe even riding up into Audubon. I've been really attacking hills lately and trying to incorporate at least one hard hill into each ride I do. If I go on flat rides, I ride through Bridgeport in my big ring to make up for it. Good pain kind of stuff.
Today, on the way back, I ran into a man in his late 50's riding an old, black Trek 950 with fenders and pulling a Bob carrier. He was stopped in the middle of the park looking at a map, so I rode up to him to see if i could help him out. He was looking for the Schuylkill River Path, so I gave him directions and was on my way.
Once I got to the bridge to cross back to the path, it occurred to me that the path can be slightly confusing to figure out which way to go for people who have never been on it before. I decided I would wait and further explain my directions. The guy was very appreciative. We walked across the bridge, talking, and once we were on the other side I decided that instead of riding up to Audubon, I would help this guy get to Norristown.
His name is Allan, and he is doing a four corners ride of the U.S. He left San Diego a few months ago and rode to Key West. He is now on his way to Maine and will be heading to Seattle after that, then back to San Diego. He's been living in southeast Asia for the past God knows how long, just trying to live a simple life. He has no base of operations there, he just rides his bike everywhere.
On the ride back we just talked about the different microcosms that make up this country, and a little about politics and gun control. I got him pretty close to where he needed to be and we said our good byes. It was really cool to meet a guy living almost completely off the grid, living life the way he wanted to, when he wanted to. It was inspiring, and for that, I thank you Allan. Good luck on your journey.
28 May, 2009
26 May, 2009
Good God Man!
I realize I haven't been too strict about updating this thing every time I ride, but I'm okay with that. I've been riding two to three times a week (weather permitting) and I've even started riding to work some days. When I do ride to work, I've been riding in with my boss, John. I meet him in Conshohocken, which isn't the most direct route for me, but it's only a few miles out of my way, and most of those miles are on the bike path. From Conshy to the shop is up hill, but it's only three or four hills with some flat thrown in, so I can keep up with him. Kind of.
The ride home I take the "direct" route home. The roads are a little busier and there are harder hills with one bitchin' descent. I'm getting more comfortable with traffic, and today I bought lights and a commuter bag to make life easier.
I also bought the Garmin 705 today. Finally. I opened it up and read every manual in there. I pulled out the heart-rate monitor, power cord, USB cable, cadence and speed meter, and then the computer itself. I was stoked. Then I realized that there wasn't anything to mount the unit to the bike and that the speed sensor magnet and cadence meter magnet weren't in there either. Fucking awesome. It was a special order item that was returned, and returned useless. Tomorrow I will be going back to work to return it and special order a new and complete one. So, in two weeks I should finally have the damn thing and I can start posting up maps and elevation of my rides so you can laugh at how challenged I am by simple rides.
Fit. I hate bike fit. Last year I started getting taint numbness (yeah, that's a technical term) on longer rides. So, like any uneducated jack-ass, I turned to the internet instead of going to my local bike shop with a guy qualified to fit me. Obviously, I made the situation worse, and this year, I've been getting the numbness much sooner. If I ride in the drops for five or so minutes, my manhood doesn't even feel like it's mine anymore.
Last year I also suffered from "hot spots" in my right foot. I still get them now, but at least I haven't made them worse. To cure all of my stupid discomfort, I'm going to get a "Pro Fit" from John. The only small hang up is that now that I work at my local bike shop, I'm not exactly a priority. I'm hoping he can fit me in within the next month or so. The hot spots don't usually show up on rides shorter than thirty miles (most of my rides) and I've been getting out of the saddle more, as well as readjusted my saddle to help quell my dingle tingle.
If any of you are Bicycling Magazine subscribers, take a look in the July 2009 issue at page 16 of the Woman's Summer Issue (which starts after page 48 in the mag, because that's not confusing or anything) to get fit tips from my boss John. He's taken out of context in just about every paragraph, but that's the nature of magazine interviews. Either way, it's pretty good advice.
The ride home I take the "direct" route home. The roads are a little busier and there are harder hills with one bitchin' descent. I'm getting more comfortable with traffic, and today I bought lights and a commuter bag to make life easier.
I also bought the Garmin 705 today. Finally. I opened it up and read every manual in there. I pulled out the heart-rate monitor, power cord, USB cable, cadence and speed meter, and then the computer itself. I was stoked. Then I realized that there wasn't anything to mount the unit to the bike and that the speed sensor magnet and cadence meter magnet weren't in there either. Fucking awesome. It was a special order item that was returned, and returned useless. Tomorrow I will be going back to work to return it and special order a new and complete one. So, in two weeks I should finally have the damn thing and I can start posting up maps and elevation of my rides so you can laugh at how challenged I am by simple rides.
Fit. I hate bike fit. Last year I started getting taint numbness (yeah, that's a technical term) on longer rides. So, like any uneducated jack-ass, I turned to the internet instead of going to my local bike shop with a guy qualified to fit me. Obviously, I made the situation worse, and this year, I've been getting the numbness much sooner. If I ride in the drops for five or so minutes, my manhood doesn't even feel like it's mine anymore.
Last year I also suffered from "hot spots" in my right foot. I still get them now, but at least I haven't made them worse. To cure all of my stupid discomfort, I'm going to get a "Pro Fit" from John. The only small hang up is that now that I work at my local bike shop, I'm not exactly a priority. I'm hoping he can fit me in within the next month or so. The hot spots don't usually show up on rides shorter than thirty miles (most of my rides) and I've been getting out of the saddle more, as well as readjusted my saddle to help quell my dingle tingle.
If any of you are Bicycling Magazine subscribers, take a look in the July 2009 issue at page 16 of the Woman's Summer Issue (which starts after page 48 in the mag, because that's not confusing or anything) to get fit tips from my boss John. He's taken out of context in just about every paragraph, but that's the nature of magazine interviews. Either way, it's pretty good advice.
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