Coasting

We had dinner with some friends on Friday night. It was nice to get out and do something different. Their daughters had just learned to bike, and were showing off all around the neighborhood. It was fun to watch them, and see how exciting riding was for someone who had only been doing it for a day or two. To keep up with the kids, our friend had bought a new Trek Lime, which uses Shimano's Coasting Concept. I was skeptical the first time I read about these, but after seeing her new Trek I'm sold. For the recreational rider these things are genius. There's almost nothing to learn, and they make riding less about the bike and more about the ride.

Other random facts, stats and crap:

Saturday Mileage: 35
Sunday Mileage 21

Not sure how fast I rode either of these off hand, but I know that Saturday was a slower than normal ride. Oh well, it was good to get out and about and I learned Sunday that my body won't freak out if I get out of bed and immediately go for a ride. For some reason I had it in my head that I had trouble warming up when I rode early in the morning. Live and learn, right?

Again and again and again...

This is a great read, and can apply to so much more than just cycling.

Pour one out

Last night I went out for my normal 20 mile loop. As I was heading down the river, I came up on a car that was parked in the bike lane, and appeared to just be waiting for someone. I got a little closer and realized that no one was in the car, but the door was open towards the curb. Then I realized that the owner and passenger of the car were outside of the car standing next to a rock, "dancing" to the rap that was blarring out of the car. There were flowers spread out over the rock, and it appeared they were "pouring one out for their homey". I don't know what happened here, or if there was even any accident. Maybe their friend just liked this place? Despite what should have been a somber moment, I couldn't help but laugh at the car that sounded like it would shake loose from the over-blown bass, and the two kids giving their last respects.

The rest of the ride was uneventful, but I kept thinking about some lines from one of Lance Armstrong's book... something about pushing through, and denying the pain that inevitably comes with riding. My next thought was how not like Lance I am. I have compiled a list:

1. Lance can win the tour, multiple times. I can't win anything, although I did win the "slowest rider" contest once at a church fair thing.

2. Lance has an extremely fine-tuned vascular system, and lower-than-normal lactic acid levels. My legs get "the burn" about 2 minutes out of the driveway and don't stop burning for several days.

3. Lance assumes an aerodynamic, wind-cheating position. My position would work most effectively if I were riding backwards, as my upright position is more akin to a space sail than a sliver-thin dagger.

4. Lance can climb mountains. I can sometimes climb the small hill on the river road by St. Thomas at a speed over 12 mph. Sometimes.

5. And finally, Lance fakes poor form to fool the peleton into making stupid mistakes. My poor form is 100% natural, and there aint no peleton to fool, I'd be that far off the back.

Donuts

Oh man, I swear they're trying to fatten us up here in the office. It's like every day warrants some new, super-sweet temptation. I cracked this morning. CRACKED!!

All up in my grill

For better or worse, I got to head out of work early today. The timing couldn't have been better, since I felt a weird combination of tired, and just kind of crappy (from being tired). I had to get a crown put on one of my molars, so, given that I worked 3 hours last night, I figured it was ok to roll out 30 minutes earlier than I absolutely had to.

An hour later I was choosing the appropriate style of bling that would be embedded in my mouth. I decided against the diamond-tipped carbide tooth for a more, how does one say, classy look. I'm getsin' me a gold tooth! My net worth just went up a few bucks. Awesome.

I figured the best way to ward off any jaw pain would be to get a ride in. I saw/passed/chatted with a crap-ton of Birchwood riders. Hello random Birchwood girl that I didn't say hi to. Sorry about that, I'm not real good talking and riding at the same time.

All in all, not too shabby for a quick loop up the river. 19 miles. 1 hour and 5 minutes. Damn all the lights on Summit tryin' to keep me down. I feel like I'm slowly getting better, but I still can't climb to save my life. Next week I call hill repeats :\

Cold, Evil Drivers, and Icons Galore

Went out for a 25 mile ride tonight. I'm realizing, since I've been riding earlier this year than most, that my lungs really don't do well in cool, dry air. It sounds weird, especially since those conditions are great to be in otherwise, but my legs and lungs really like hot, muggy days. I felt weak through most of the ride, and my legs are paying for it now. Gotta put in more miles? Maybe?

On my way up the river a woman decided not to move over AT ALL and passed within a few inches of my handle bar. I got her plates, but I'm not sure how much good that will do. Anyone know of any reasonable (and legal) thing to do?

Since my ride, aside from a few minutes chilling with Kerry, I've been working on these God-forsaken icons that have been the bane of my existence for the last week. We decided to present a "3d" direction, which is interesting since none of us really have any heavy 3d capabilities. I resorted to the tried and true Illustrator to Photoshop trace/shade direction. To my surprise they came out really well, and I'm kind of hoping the client buys into these.

For some reason whenever I stay up late and work on projects I inevitably end up listening to Africa by Toto. I don't even know how I ever got it. Definitely a hold-over from mass downloading in college when Napster was still free, and we had phat ethernet lines. I definitely don't get this song, but it's pretty funny. Is Toto from South Africa? That would make this song make sense.

There's one good line though, that seems fitting right about now ... "hurry boy, she's waiting there for you". Good call. I'm out.

Soooo.... Tiirrrreeeedddd....

I think I woke up straight out of some sort of weird, super-deep sleep today. I almost fell over when I got out of bed, and have been in some sort of weird, half-asleep, half-dizzy haze all morning. Kind of weirding me out. I'm really hoping the coffee kicks in soon.

Thoughts on Riding

Lately I've been struggling with how involved I really feel like being with cycling. I don't mean this in the "how much do I really want to ride" way, I mean it in the "how much do I want to devote to training, possibly racing and 'taking it seriously'" sort of way. I'm not sure if there's a good answer.

What I've been realizing is that I love riding simply because it's riding. I love being on a bike, moving forward through the landscape with nothing between me and the elements. I went out today, hoping to beat the rain that was painting the radar all sorts of greens and oranges. I made it about 5 miles and then the bottom started to drop out. It poured, then drizzled, then poured some more. I eventually decided not to even try and cut the ride short—I was already completely drenched, and it was plenty warm. In those moments though, when by all accounts I should have been miserable, I was as happy as could be. My legs felt good. My lungs felt good. I could bolt up hills that normally leave me winded.

The thing is, it doesn't matter if it's raining, or if it's the sweltering, sticky, endless heat that summer brings. It doesn't matter if it's cold, and I can't feel my toes. Riding is still riding, and despite it all, it's still fun. As the spring grows into summer, I'm going to focus on that, and not worry quite so much about reporting all the (not so interesting) nuances of each ride. The point is to get out there and love being out, whether you're riding a $7,000 NASA-pet-project or a $100 fixie, it's still the same feeling.

Humans

We are strange creatures. We devote our lives, in one form or another, to a pursuit of happiness. We strive for simplicity and ease as we move through our days, yet over and over and over again, we launch ourselves headlong into episodes of great violence.

The New York Times has a good slideshow of images from Iraq. The final image is the most striking. It is also the most tragic. There is a man laying face down, body bloated, near a pile of garbage on the side of the road. A lone dog looks over the scene.

Is this it? Is this why we fight? Where is the democratic glory? I can only imagine that the real cost, and the real benefit, of any struggle at this scale, is felt purely at a personal level. Forget complex policy equations, the real world is known by a much more simple one: dust to dust. It's a shame we can't spare one another in the mean time.

Recovery ... sorta

Short post.

20.8 miles just to get the legs moving and enjoy the nice weather. Lots of peeps out in the warmth,and the highlight was a woman wearing her helmet backwards, with the little back-of-the-head-stabilizer-thingies stuck on her forehead.

Not sure how fast though... my computer is still on the fritz. Got a new one, but realized it has the same bracket that the last one had and doesn't fit my handlebars very well. This, I think, is what broke the last one, so I guess it's time to get a model other than the cheapest one.

In the process of taking off the old magnetic pickup I dinged the fork a weeee little bit, and I'm really hoping I didn't do too much damage. It seems cosmetic, but I'm always a little nervous when it's carbon fiber and not a form of metal. Metal just seems like it can take a little more abuse... it's the same feeling I had canoing in a kevlar canoe versus an aluminum one.

Finally, my route. Time for bed.

And so...

...it seems spring is finally upon us. With the great weather came several rides over the weekend. Most were squeezed in between family time, since Kerry's mom and stepdad came up to visit. But, all things considered I managed to get in two decent rides. Certainly not the longest ever, but not too shabby.

I would post specific figures about speed, etc, but my computer crapped out on me Friday night, so I can only report mileage. Saturday was a 19 miler, and included a trip up the Grand Ave hill (admittedly not the biggest thing ever, but it took a lot of will power to add that in at the end of the ride). Sunday was 23 miles, and included the High Bridge and a trip back up the river to the U of M and back down to Summit. Saw lots of other riders, got stuck beind a driver smoking berry-scented tobacco, which almost made me puke a couple times, and had a nice little sprint at the end. Not too shabby.

I'm debating if today should be a rest day or not. My legs are still sore from yesterday’s climbs, but I really want to get out and enjoy the day. We'll see I guess.

Total mileage for the weekend (Including Friday night): 56 :\

Short and Sweet

Went on a really brief ride yesterday. Just 40 minutes on basically the same loop as Thursday. I felt better ... not as good as I could, but faster than I've been for the past few weeks. It's nice to finally feel some progress and feel like the weather is finally making a turn for the better.

The likely inacurate breakdown (because my computer stopped working for about a quarter mile):

Distance: 14 miles
Time: About 40 minutes
Average Speed: 17.7mph
Top Speed: 30.7mph

And now it's off to break the spirits of some up and coming designers ;) Ahhh, gotta love 1-on-1.

Spring Returns

I was lucky enough last night to get home in time for a ride. I love that daylight savings was moved, although I suppose at this point in the year it wouldn't have mattered much anyway.

It was relatively cool last night, but not as bad as the other day, even though the relative temperature difference was a measly 4 degrees. Go figure. What did kind of suck was the wind, which was steady at about 15 mph out of the west. I remember reading a quote somewhere, from someone, who if I remember correctly was a pro. They noted that the key to doing well in the wind was pretty simple—build leg strength. Knowing this is a bit of a double-edged sword. It's great when you have leg strength and can feel awesome about how you're crushing the will of nature and moving ahead without impedence. It sucks though when it's your will that's the one being crushed, and all you can do is try and spin along in a 39x21 or something equally weak, all the while, your flimsy-ass legs feeling like they're going to fall off.

Thankfully, as with good things, bad things usually end, and the tide turned mid-way through the ride. I headed away from the U of M campus and up out of the river bottoms. I thought the hill going up the west river road would kill me, but oddly I was able to hold some decent speed (about 20mph). I love tailwinds so very, very much.

I made it home in one piece, with no digits lost to numbness, and feeling pretty good about the ride. Not the fastest day ever, but slowly getting better.

As an addition to this, since it's supposed to be in part a “training” log, I figured I'd add in my ride stats just for fun (and no laughing, I know some of you train all winter and can kick the crap out of me). You can check out the route here.

Distance: 17.2 miles
Time: 1:02
Average Speed: 17mph

And one more thing

Some days it's nice to know that there are other places in the world, some of them in your back yard...

Hopping trains...

This shot in particular is great. I love the light, the shot angle and the tangents created with the tracks and road.

Asides

I keep having the urge to create a new site, that would combine all my other sites, my portfolio site, my photo site, and of course this site, into one brain dump. The problem arises when trying to figure out how to group content into meaningful ways, and what content takes precedent—photos, text, new projects? Add into the mix the strong notion that any new site should surpass the functionality of any of the current sites, should contain some “branded” quality, and be beautifully emotive, and you've got a doozy of an assignment. I have moments of inspiration, but never anything that seems to functionally make sense. Any ideas?

Completely random, but this is funny. At church the other day, there was a kid's mini-service. The woman talking asked the kids, "what's brown and sticky?". The answer? A yet-to-bloom branch (or stick, rather). Then she asked the kids, "what's brown, sticky and a miracle?".

The answer?

A shark in peanut butter!

I love kids.

Cold

Simple math would tell one that the difference between 42° and 32° is only 10°. Likewise, a simple understanding of elementary science would inform one that at 32° things such as water turn from beautiful, fluid, dynamic substances to beautiful, frozen, solid substances. If one were intelligent, one would realize that the difference of only 10° really isn't that much, and as a result, should wear appropriate clothing.

Unfortunately, yours truly isn't all that intelligent, and in what can only be described as an overzealousness to try out some new gear, went out in 40° temps with only leg warmers, arm warmers, and light-weight gloves. I realized after I couldn't feel my fingers, and my toes were starting to feel pretty tingly that this really wasn't a bright idea. To add insult to injury, I sported a solid stream of snot running down my upper lip for most of the ride. Whoever said there was any glory in cold weather riding was either 1) wrong, or 2) just not me.

They always say to pair up bad commentary with something good, so in the name of appeasing “them”, I can safely glow about my new bike. I bought an Orbea Orca frame from one of the Birchwood Bike Team members. I had my old Specialized Allez stripped down and all the parts rebuilt on the Orca. I loved my old Allez, but for the same reasons I loved it, I had to get something new. The whole saying “steel is real” is for a reason, and when you'd get up on the pedals you could feel the bottom bracket start to sway. It felt lively, so that was good, but it also felt a little like riding a noodle at times. The Orca couldn't be more different. The ride quality is amazing, and I don't think I lost any of the suppleness that came with my old steel frame. What it does have though is an amazing ability to straight up go! It takes little more than the width of an intersection to go from a dead stop to 25. When cruising along on the flats you can almost literally feel each pedal stroke push you forward, not unlike the feeling you get when you're canoeing and dip the paddle in for a good push.

In a nutshell, I love the new Orca, and can't wait to get some legs that do her justice. Hopefully that will come soon with some more riding. It's supposed to be in the 40s for several days this week. With a few more intelligent clothing decisions I'll hopefully be out several days this week. Finally.

Oh, and if you're Mickelson, and you're reading this, I think I passed you on the Ford Pkwy bridge. Holla. We should go riding sometime (or anyone else that reads this that rides, because riding alone is getting old).

Spring?

I know everyone and their brother is writing about how crappy this spring is turning out to be, but that's no reason I can't as well. The cold itself, although mentally painful (and on occasion physically painful too), isn't too bad, it's the wind! There's been a steady 15-20 mph wind blowing for the last 4 days. Combine that with my lack of any sort of serious winter riding gear, and I'm stuck here at home watching Law and Order and wondering if the immigrant Kenyan did it or not.

Yesterday the office closed early since so many people were out for “spring” break (yes, I'm not afraid to bust out the quotes on this one). Rather than heading home right away, I decided to drive the route that I had been plotting out on gmap-pedometer, that was based in part on Steven's route. Most of the route looked like it'd be a nice ride, with the exception of a few areas along Highway 13 that weren't impassible, simply ugly. The best part is that I realized I could have a nice 40 mile loop with a stop at my parent's and a good stretch of riding that would take me back into my old Rosemount haunts. Yusssss! Not that I don't like MSP, but there's a part of me that's been itching to get out of the city for a while now.

Now, if it would only get a little warmer with a little less rain/ice/snow, I'd be golden. I guess there's a reason they say patience is a virtue :\

Rain, Glass and Flying Pens

So, the big question is, when do my legs start to feel like something other than two by fours connected to my torso? I've been slowly trying to get back into riding after a winter of running, and turns out those two activities use vastly different muscle groups. So much for cross training.

In my attempt to prove my devotion to the sport, and get at least one ride in this week, I headed out Monday evening for a quick loop. Rain was moving in on the radar, but I figured I could get an hour ride in. I made it down to the East River Road without incident, and was cruising along trying to warm up in the freezing headwind. Sometimes you just get a gut feeling about a particular car, and a teal Ford Tempo set off the internal "look out" alarm. They hadn't done anything, but I had this sinking feeling if anyone was going to mess with me it was them. We leap-frogged through several stop signs. No biggie, it's all good I thought. Then they passed for the last time and leaned out of the window and threw a pen at me.

A pen? Really? I almost chased them down, but decided against it. My frustration quickly turned to laughter, and my mantra for the ride became KBD-766, KBD-766. That's right sucker, I know your plates :P

I continued down to Ford Parkway, and crossed the river, waving at the woman I see running almost every day while I'm out on a ride. I heard a weird pop noise, but I hear a lot of weird pop noises, especially on the bridges where gravel and debris collect. I didn't think much of it, but then there was another weird, less pop, more pop-squish noise. I kept an eye on my back tire, but nothing seemed to happen, so I figured I was in the clear.

Looped up to the Franklin bridge, and then headed back to Summit. Got to Summit, and started to feel really slow. At best I could only hold 16 or 17 mph. Then it started to rain. And be cold. And rain. And damnit, why can't I go any faster?!? Oh, right, because I actually DO have a flat. And now I'm wet, and cold, and pissed at everyone that's ever thrown a bottle in the road.

The weather took a turn for the worst after this, and we got an inch of snow that night, so I guess I shouldn't complain about a little rain. Moral of the story? I need to ride more, get a new back tire, and in lieu of getting warmer gear, it needs to get warmer than 24° out.

Ahhh, the first one...

Well, after becoming somewhat obsessed with other people's sites, I figured I'd succumb to the self-imposed pressure and make one of these myself. What the hell, right?

So the point in doing this, since there should be a point after all, is to try and document my riding this summer. Because of some nifty new tools like gmap-pedometer and my cell-phone cam, I can record more of what I'm up to. You know, for posterity, 'cause God knows that most people could give two shits. We'll see I suppose, but worth a shot.