Wow... today was an adventure. Left the house at 5:30 this morning and it was snowing HARD. Snowed on me the whole way to work. Slight breeze out of the east which, sadly, changed to a steady wind out of the West for my trip home. Thus, I had the privilege of riding in to the wind in both directions. Yikes.
Anyway, this morning the road were in rough shape. I left before any plows had made any real effort to clear the roads. So, even the busy roads were covered in a couple inches of fresh snow. Unfortunately, enough people had driven on the roads to create ruts, but not enough to effectively pack down the snow. So, it was a bit dicey...lots of trying to keep the bike in a rut, only to have the edge of a tire catch the edge of the rut and yank the front tire out from under me. About every 15 feet I had one of those scary moments where either/both of the wheels get squirely and it feels like the bike is heading for the ground. After a while, it didn't even feel scary. I had accepted my fate...I figured the fall was innevitable so why worry about it?
Luckily the afternoon ride home was a bit more tame, though wet. Sadly, it was in to a reasonable headwind. I always find that to be a real bummer when I'm riding by myself...fighting a headwind with a group is unpleasant. Fighting a headwind by myself makes me want to hit the quit life button. Anyway...I made it home. I'm exhausted for some reason. Need a good night of sleep...then back on the bike tomorrow morning. Wow...hope the roads are better tomorrow morning than they were this morning.
29 February 2008
26 February 2008
Driving Weather
I must be transitioning in to a slightly jaded version of a cyclist. I know this because I find myself rolling my eyes when people talk to me about how bad it is to drive in the cold/snow/rain/wind/ice/etc.
It's not that I find them to be lesser citizens of this world...if they don't like driving in the snow, that is their business. Not everyone needs to ride all winter long. Maybe it is just a topic of chit-chat... I don't know. I don't expect everyone to catch a case of the crazies and start cycling to work in February.
But...with all that said. When someone like my mom calls me to tell me how bad the rain was between Michigan and Florida as they make their journey south...I'm slightly less sympathetic than I would have been in years past. Rather than thinking; "that sounds rough". I am thinking; "It's just rain. What's the big deal?"
I didn't say that to her, of course. I'm not interested in hurting her feelings, starting an argument, or just generally being a pain in the ass. But, nonetheless, I'm lacking a certain sense of sympathy. After doing a 30' slider down 32nd st on ice/snow, while fighting a head wind and trying to find my way through limited visibility due to snow...a car trip through a rain storm just doesn't seem like a big deal. So it rained? In a car that doesn't sound unpleasant. In fact, it doesn't sound like it would effect the trip one way or the other...you are so isolated in your car that it seems unlikely that some rain/snow will significantly effect the trip.
Anyway... as I said...maybe I'm just getting a bit jaded. Maybe I'm just feeling short tempered. But, after spending time on a bike in foul weather it is difficult to appreciate how someone might find being warm, dry, and comfortable in their car could be viewed as an obstacle.
It's not that I find them to be lesser citizens of this world...if they don't like driving in the snow, that is their business. Not everyone needs to ride all winter long. Maybe it is just a topic of chit-chat... I don't know. I don't expect everyone to catch a case of the crazies and start cycling to work in February.
But...with all that said. When someone like my mom calls me to tell me how bad the rain was between Michigan and Florida as they make their journey south...I'm slightly less sympathetic than I would have been in years past. Rather than thinking; "that sounds rough". I am thinking; "It's just rain. What's the big deal?"
I didn't say that to her, of course. I'm not interested in hurting her feelings, starting an argument, or just generally being a pain in the ass. But, nonetheless, I'm lacking a certain sense of sympathy. After doing a 30' slider down 32nd st on ice/snow, while fighting a head wind and trying to find my way through limited visibility due to snow...a car trip through a rain storm just doesn't seem like a big deal. So it rained? In a car that doesn't sound unpleasant. In fact, it doesn't sound like it would effect the trip one way or the other...you are so isolated in your car that it seems unlikely that some rain/snow will significantly effect the trip.
Anyway... as I said...maybe I'm just getting a bit jaded. Maybe I'm just feeling short tempered. But, after spending time on a bike in foul weather it is difficult to appreciate how someone might find being warm, dry, and comfortable in their car could be viewed as an obstacle.
24 February 2008
Impromptu Ride!
What a spectacular day...in rare fashion, Michigan managed to produce a lovely Sunday afternoon in February. And, what better way to enjoy it than a bike ride with some friends!
MC...my personal hero, and resident mayor of Velo City...decided to call an impromptu ride based on the weather forecast. Rather than 3 hours of indoor suffering on a trainer ride, we were treated to a rare day of clear roads (mostly) and sunny skies! What a great day.
Group was pretty big and included a variety of riders...most of whom were MUCH faster than me. So, naturally, the group split shortly after we got started. I managed to stay with the fast group (averaged around 18mph) for the first 3/4 of the ride, but eventually got dropped. Luckily, Berger took mercy on me and stuck around to keep me company for the rest of the ride home. In any case...it was a thoroughly enjoyable ride.
After the ride MC put together some impromptu hospitality...chips and salsa, hot cider, frosty cold soft drinks, and some fancy schmancy chocolate. It was good to be out, good to see the sun, and good to spend some time spinning on a road instead of on a trainer.
Now, it's time to hunker down for another month of winter. I'd love to be optimistic and believe that this weekends weather was an indicator of the start of spring. But, I know better. We're already under a winter storm watch for Tuesday. So, this was a short respite...but, a well deserved one.
MC...my personal hero, and resident mayor of Velo City...decided to call an impromptu ride based on the weather forecast. Rather than 3 hours of indoor suffering on a trainer ride, we were treated to a rare day of clear roads (mostly) and sunny skies! What a great day.
Group was pretty big and included a variety of riders...most of whom were MUCH faster than me. So, naturally, the group split shortly after we got started. I managed to stay with the fast group (averaged around 18mph) for the first 3/4 of the ride, but eventually got dropped. Luckily, Berger took mercy on me and stuck around to keep me company for the rest of the ride home. In any case...it was a thoroughly enjoyable ride.
After the ride MC put together some impromptu hospitality...chips and salsa, hot cider, frosty cold soft drinks, and some fancy schmancy chocolate. It was good to be out, good to see the sun, and good to spend some time spinning on a road instead of on a trainer.
Now, it's time to hunker down for another month of winter. I'd love to be optimistic and believe that this weekends weather was an indicator of the start of spring. But, I know better. We're already under a winter storm watch for Tuesday. So, this was a short respite...but, a well deserved one.
18 February 2008
Ultimate Cycling Challenge
Well, on Friday night (prior to the fever setting in!), I participated in the Ultimate Cycling Challenge in Holland. I participated for two different teams; Velo City Cycles and JDRF Ride. I did two hours for each team, giving me 4 straight hours on the trainer.
Now, there is no mileage requirement...so, I could have just about coasted for the 4 hours. But, I figured that so long as I was going to be on the bike anyway I might as well try to get a long-ish workout from the deal. So, the sweating began shortly after we started (at 8PM), and I managed to keep a pretty solid sweat going for the 4 hours. I managed to pedal just shy of 60 miles during those 4 hours...so, I was pretty happy with that effort. That is the longest single bike trip (indoor or outdoor) I have made to date.
Anyway...as for the experience of UCC. It was a blast. I had the chance to do a series of fun things...
1. Spend 4 hours on my bike sweating and making my butt hurt.
2. Spend a 4 hours hanging out with MC...always a fun experience.
3. Spend an hour with Carmen...again, always a fun experience.
4. Listen to a live band. They were pretty good...John Wang and the Test Pilots (I think).
5. Raise some loot to benefit the Lance Armstrong foundation (Livestrong)
6. Spend 2 hours staring at Edward's (read, Skip) backside. Thanks Skip!
7. Win some swag...I got one of those big ol' bottles of HEED (valued at $30ish I think)
8. Watch the Livestrong Manifesto...which was motivating to put it mildly. Nothing helps ease the pain of exercise like hearing testimonials from cancer survivors. Makes a some sweat ans sore muscles seem pretty lame.
9. Spend an hour with Jeff...always a fun experience.
10. Watch a whole bunch of other people sweat...some of which were actually in worse physical condition than me (hard to believe? I know! It's true though).
Anyway...it was a ton of fun and I'm really glad I did it. The last 45 minutes or so were pretty rough. I was trying to keep the pace up, but things were definitely starting to slip at that point. This tells me how far I have to go before I am going to be able to finish that JDRF ride in Death Valley. I've definitely got some work to do.
Now, there is no mileage requirement...so, I could have just about coasted for the 4 hours. But, I figured that so long as I was going to be on the bike anyway I might as well try to get a long-ish workout from the deal. So, the sweating began shortly after we started (at 8PM), and I managed to keep a pretty solid sweat going for the 4 hours. I managed to pedal just shy of 60 miles during those 4 hours...so, I was pretty happy with that effort. That is the longest single bike trip (indoor or outdoor) I have made to date.
Anyway...as for the experience of UCC. It was a blast. I had the chance to do a series of fun things...
1. Spend 4 hours on my bike sweating and making my butt hurt.
2. Spend a 4 hours hanging out with MC...always a fun experience.
3. Spend an hour with Carmen...again, always a fun experience.
4. Listen to a live band. They were pretty good...John Wang and the Test Pilots (I think).
5. Raise some loot to benefit the Lance Armstrong foundation (Livestrong)
6. Spend 2 hours staring at Edward's (read, Skip) backside. Thanks Skip!
7. Win some swag...I got one of those big ol' bottles of HEED (valued at $30ish I think)
8. Watch the Livestrong Manifesto...which was motivating to put it mildly. Nothing helps ease the pain of exercise like hearing testimonials from cancer survivors. Makes a some sweat ans sore muscles seem pretty lame.
9. Spend an hour with Jeff...always a fun experience.
10. Watch a whole bunch of other people sweat...some of which were actually in worse physical condition than me (hard to believe? I know! It's true though).
Anyway...it was a ton of fun and I'm really glad I did it. The last 45 minutes or so were pretty rough. I was trying to keep the pace up, but things were definitely starting to slip at that point. This tells me how far I have to go before I am going to be able to finish that JDRF ride in Death Valley. I've definitely got some work to do.
Fever? Yes, please!
I don't mean to keep expounding on the topic of being sick. But, it seems to have been a central feature of my life for the past couple weeks. Whatever I have right now...YOU DON'T WANT IT!!!
A couple days worth of a fever and I was pretty much ready to end it all. Cold sweats, sleepless nights...the whole cold/flu fun-pack.
Luckily, as of this afternoon, it appears that I am starting to move out of whatever I have. Feels like my energy level is returning a little bit...if I can get my voice to return, life will be good!
A couple days worth of a fever and I was pretty much ready to end it all. Cold sweats, sleepless nights...the whole cold/flu fun-pack.
Luckily, as of this afternoon, it appears that I am starting to move out of whatever I have. Feels like my energy level is returning a little bit...if I can get my voice to return, life will be good!
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