Today was the perfect day to get out on the bike and just enjoy the ride. With just a couple of days left before Christmas I spent the majority of my ride taking in the decorations. I was flying high with the spirit of Christmas. Somewhere about 35 miles or so into the ride I came up behind another rider. We were heading the same way so now I company for the next 10 miles or so.
People ask me all the time about run ins with cars but I cannot honestly remember the last time I was honked or yelled at. Today that changed. We stopped for a red light and once the light changed and we started back up, we were passed by two cars with no problem. The driver of the third car came by with the horn blowing and window down. He let up on the horn to yell to us "Get off the ******* road!" I usually just let stuff like this go without response but I replied "Merry Christmas!" He then gave me the early present of the finger. I know one guy who's stocking is going to be full of coal.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Friday, September 2, 2011
Island therapy
This past week was supposed to be a relaxing getaway full of sun, sand and saddle time. I keep telling myself, two out of three isn't bad. Looking back to recent history, I cannot remember the last time I had been so relaxed. Not a worry in the world once I stop worrying about my level of fitness and health.
The first day down here, I did some running on the beach. This wasn't your typical "let's go for a run" type of run. You all know I wouldn't say or do such a thing. Instead, it was just a few short pain free minutes (maybe 20) of throwing the frisbee with Todd. The following morning was a different story. My right hip flexor started to yell obscenities with my every attempt to move it. I tried to reason with it, explaining this was a family beach and those kind of words would not be tolerated. I even tried smacking it around a bit. That didn't work either.
With this slated to be a heavy mileage week in preparation of the upcoming ADK 540, I got on my bike and headed out for the better part of the morning. I wish I could report the ride was a success but it was anything but. I quickly became frustrated as I attempted to break the world record of completing the most missed turns in the first half of a ride. At the same time, the hip pain had now stretched all the way down the outside of my leg.
At one point it was bad enough to bring me 79.9% of the way to mentally breaking. Instead of crawling into a ditch to cry, I turned the wheel towards home and bagged the rest of the ride. The ride ended up, being less than 5 miles shorter in that direction. The original route would have been more scenic but without the mental fortitude it certainly wouldn't have been more enjoyable.
Fast forward through two days of extreme hip therapy consisting of hours upon hours of sitting on the beach perfecting all my amazing tan lines. What most people try to avoid, I usually excel. My crisp, sharp lines of differing color on my skin would make any cyclist proud.
Yesterday, I awoke and my hip had stopped yelling at me so I decided to take a few laps around the island. The plan was to ride for as long as I could go without feeling any pain in my hip. That lasted close to 4 miles. Frustrated, I finished up 2 laps of the island which are similar to extended loops of Westcreek but without any sort of change in elevation just flat, mind numbing miles. And yes, I do realize Westcreek doesn't have any real elevation change but it does require me to use the rear shifter twice every 6 miles. So I went back to the self-prescribed beach therapy.
It looks as if I will be giving it one more crack this morning when the other 8 members of the house take to the road for a few laps of back and forth action. If only the superpowers of the flat, straight roads could be used for good (hip numbing) instead of evil (mind numbing) my world would be perfect.
The first day down here, I did some running on the beach. This wasn't your typical "let's go for a run" type of run. You all know I wouldn't say or do such a thing. Instead, it was just a few short pain free minutes (maybe 20) of throwing the frisbee with Todd. The following morning was a different story. My right hip flexor started to yell obscenities with my every attempt to move it. I tried to reason with it, explaining this was a family beach and those kind of words would not be tolerated. I even tried smacking it around a bit. That didn't work either.
With this slated to be a heavy mileage week in preparation of the upcoming ADK 540, I got on my bike and headed out for the better part of the morning. I wish I could report the ride was a success but it was anything but. I quickly became frustrated as I attempted to break the world record of completing the most missed turns in the first half of a ride. At the same time, the hip pain had now stretched all the way down the outside of my leg.
At one point it was bad enough to bring me 79.9% of the way to mentally breaking. Instead of crawling into a ditch to cry, I turned the wheel towards home and bagged the rest of the ride. The ride ended up, being less than 5 miles shorter in that direction. The original route would have been more scenic but without the mental fortitude it certainly wouldn't have been more enjoyable.
Fast forward through two days of extreme hip therapy consisting of hours upon hours of sitting on the beach perfecting all my amazing tan lines. What most people try to avoid, I usually excel. My crisp, sharp lines of differing color on my skin would make any cyclist proud.
Like my new do?
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Getting Hitched
Last week while Jenn was out of town, I had ordered a hitch to be mounted on the back of the Highlander. It arrived but was too heavy and awkward for my little man arms to lift, hold and bolt into place all by my lonesome it had to wait. Yesterday, the weather was extremely nice for a Saturday afternoon in August and it was decided today was the day to get hitched once again.
Now the reason I decided to have one delivered to the house and not "professionally" installed by a local dealer was the labor rates. More than one company quoted me ~$150 to have it installed. I stopped calling after that and watched a Youtube video. How hard could it, I just watched it on youtube.
The instructions provided with the hitch stated a professional install would take approximately 20 minutes while a novice install would take 40 minutes. After crawling up and under the rear of the car to make sure I knew which were the appropriate holes to be filling with my bolts, I decided 20 minutes was certainly achievable. I laid out the toolbox to find I had misplaced one of my ratchets. Of course it was the one I needed to install this hitch in 20 minutes or less.
A quick run to the local Home Depot store was now necessary. I entered the store with a very short list of needs and a long list of "needs." Some of you may call those "needs" "wants" and I could get go on to explain to you the differences between "needs" and "wants" but its a losing battle. You just wouldn't understand if you don't already get it. Somehow, I left the store with only those needs and nothing from the "needs" list. This was a first for me. One that must mark a new level of maturity or just an extreme amount of focus on the task at hand; install in less than 20 minutes.
Once back at home with all the appropriate tools in hand, Jenn was summoned to come out to help and the timer was started. From there, the job went by in a flash. We crawled under the car, lifted it into place, started the bolts in the holes and tightened those bad boys down. 12 minutes and we were done.
We didn't even have to use a 2x4 like the "professional" in the youtube video. Jenn's joking reply was that we obviously did something wrong if we didn't have to use one. With the utmost confidence in my ability to do simple tasks, I offered to go out and hit the hitch with a 2x4 if it would make her feel better. Having seen my mad pinata striking skills and not wanting her vehicle dented, Jenn asked that I not swing a 2x4 in the vicinity of the hitch or car. I can't say that I blame her.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Ramping it up
With the ADK 540 quickly approaching, almost one month away, the miles and saddle time are really starting to add up. Well they should be increasing if I were following anything that may resemble the slightest bit of a training plan. But I'm not and neither are the miles.
With Jenn in Washington (the state not the district) until Tuesday with her mom, I have been on pup sitting duty. Wednesday Sage, Petra and I were joined by our good friend Dusty aka Doodle aka Dustball aka ... I'll just stop there. Just like all of our beloved pets he has a million nicknames and answers to only one of them.
Dusty has been having some issues with the strength in his hips and cannot walk up stairs very well. This didn't bode well with me because I have been having some issues with the strength in my back. I woke up Thursday morning with a very tight lower back from trying to pick up Dusty's massive 100+ pound Husky self and carrying him down the stairs so he could relieve himself in the lawn and not on the carpet. Knowing my back would not hold up to 5 more days of that, I built a ramp leading off the front porch.
Thursday afternoon, I got in a short ride across town. I had to ride over and provide a lift to the airport. My lower back had tightened up to the point where everything in the back of my legs were also quite tight which is why I decided to not take a ride yesterday. At this point in the game it's also probably best that I rest any injuries so they do not become long drawn out nagging ones. They say with age comes wisdom, could this be the start of it?
With Jenn in Washington (the state not the district) until Tuesday with her mom, I have been on pup sitting duty. Wednesday Sage, Petra and I were joined by our good friend Dusty aka Doodle aka Dustball aka ... I'll just stop there. Just like all of our beloved pets he has a million nicknames and answers to only one of them.
Dusty and Raven staring at each other through the gate
Yep, its our old front door. Works like a charm
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Like a leaf in the wind
Two weeks ago, Jenn and I ordered a new bike TT bike for her. It arrived last week which meant she would most likely be spending a lot of time on "him". Yep you guessed it, it's a boy. Nope, I'm not jealous.
If you remember, 23 months ago (you can tell there is a baby in the house because all ages are communicated in months) I drove off after a ride leaving my front wheel in the parking lot. Despite my attempts of having an Amber alert dispatched, it was never seen again. The arrival of Jenn's new bike (name still TBD) meant there would be a set of matching wheels going unused inside the house. I decided to switch them over to Le Antique for a ride or two.
The first ride on them was pretty rough. Wind blowing me all over the place had me feeling like a new rider all over again. I was a bit impatient when I mounted them up and didn't switch the cassettes over from my wheels to the new ones which lead to some chain skippage not only at the misopportune times but all the time. Her used cassette didn't mate well with my worn chain. Sad really but that's the reality sometimes. Once home, I made the ole switch-a-roo and prepared for a ride the next day.
I now have three or four decent rides on them and I have to say, the new gear has me excited to not only get on the bike but once I am on it, the ride hasn't been long enough. I just don't want to stop riding. Like a leaf in the wind, I just want to cruise thru the air.
If you remember, 23 months ago (you can tell there is a baby in the house because all ages are communicated in months) I drove off after a ride leaving my front wheel in the parking lot. Despite my attempts of having an Amber alert dispatched, it was never seen again. The arrival of Jenn's new bike (name still TBD) meant there would be a set of matching wheels going unused inside the house. I decided to switch them over to Le Antique for a ride or two.
The first ride on them was pretty rough. Wind blowing me all over the place had me feeling like a new rider all over again. I was a bit impatient when I mounted them up and didn't switch the cassettes over from my wheels to the new ones which lead to some chain skippage not only at the misopportune times but all the time. Her used cassette didn't mate well with my worn chain. Sad really but that's the reality sometimes. Once home, I made the ole switch-a-roo and prepared for a ride the next day.
I now have three or four decent rides on them and I have to say, the new gear has me excited to not only get on the bike but once I am on it, the ride hasn't been long enough. I just don't want to stop riding. Like a leaf in the wind, I just want to cruise thru the air.
Monday, August 1, 2011
My Wish
As you all know, Jenn and I have been working alongside with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society for the past couple of years. Over that time, we have both gotten to know many fortunate people who have benefited from the research and treatment opportunities provided to cancer patients and their families by the LLS. With all things in life, with the good comes the bad. Thankfully, today I have no bad news.
I recently watched a series on ESPN called My Wish. They featured a story of a young man named Brendan who just like all of us had a sports hero growing up. That is one of the two things he and I have in common. The second is how we both pretended to be Landon Donovan while playing soccer in the backyard.
After watching the video, please help Jenn and I in our quest to help find the cure for Leukemia. We are hoping to raise another $1300 by Sept 11th. You can help save another young boys dream by clicking this link and following it to the "Donate Now" button on the right.
I recently watched a series on ESPN called My Wish. They featured a story of a young man named Brendan who just like all of us had a sports hero growing up. That is one of the two things he and I have in common. The second is how we both pretended to be Landon Donovan while playing soccer in the backyard.
After watching the video, please help Jenn and I in our quest to help find the cure for Leukemia. We are hoping to raise another $1300 by Sept 11th. You can help save another young boys dream by clicking this link and following it to the "Donate Now" button on the right.
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