This week didn't go so well for biking. There were a lot of things going on and homework took up a bulk of my time. Good thing though, I think I have completed my last real project well ahead of time. Coming from someone who usually does things the night before this feels pretty good to have out of the way. There is nothing major left and it should be smooth sailing from here. The B.S. is going to be nice and one day it may even help me find a job. I remember 3 years ago it seemed so far away, but it is finally within my grasp.
Enough about that. My plan for this week is to ride Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday. This should be no less than 200 miles. I gotta do it. Time to go HAM.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Round Down
While out for a ride today I got to thinking about how others judge their rides. I hear things like "I did about 40 miles" or "I got in almost 70 miles this weekend." Really? Those are very even figures. I think often times we give ourselves more credit than we really should. 67 miles is not 70 nor is 39.67 miles 40. So that's that.
I got in a 47 mile ride today. I wanted to do more but the weather looked so shitty out I didn't want to take a chance of getting rained on. I will get in something longer next week.
I got in a 47 mile ride today. I wanted to do more but the weather looked so shitty out I didn't want to take a chance of getting rained on. I will get in something longer next week.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
What Color is Yours?
This has been a great week of riding. I got in 144 training miles and about 8 on a family ride pulling the Burley. The weather has been exceptional. I would almost dare to say that it warmed up way too quickly and it is hard for the body to adjust. I have been making sure to drink as much water as possible because I am always feeling on the verge of dehydration. I found this chart to help me out:
I printed out a few of these and hung them above the toilets in my house, I recommend you do the same.
Today was a good ride with Troy, Curt, Tom, Bob, and Mike. I ended up getting in 59 miles and had a good time. Tom blew the shit out of his tubeless tire. I thought a gun had gone off. That was the first time that I had seen a tubeless tire do that. We finished off at Roma in Willernie and I had a Italian Beef sandwich that was delicious. I thought about a beer but there was really nothing that sparked my interest so I just got a coke. Actually, they had Moretti, but I remember paying 1.25 Euro for a liter of that stuff, there is no way I'm paying $5 for a pint.
I am hoping to get something in this week in the 70-80 mile range. I don't know where I'll go, maybe into Prescott again.
How's your bracket doing? Mine sucks. Enough on that.
I printed out a few of these and hung them above the toilets in my house, I recommend you do the same.
Today was a good ride with Troy, Curt, Tom, Bob, and Mike. I ended up getting in 59 miles and had a good time. Tom blew the shit out of his tubeless tire. I thought a gun had gone off. That was the first time that I had seen a tubeless tire do that. We finished off at Roma in Willernie and I had a Italian Beef sandwich that was delicious. I thought about a beer but there was really nothing that sparked my interest so I just got a coke. Actually, they had Moretti, but I remember paying 1.25 Euro for a liter of that stuff, there is no way I'm paying $5 for a pint.
I am hoping to get something in this week in the 70-80 mile range. I don't know where I'll go, maybe into Prescott again.
How's your bracket doing? Mine sucks. Enough on that.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Finally the 1st real day of spring
Saturday I managed to get out of the house and enjoy some great weather. I was a little difficult to figure out what I was going to wear with the higher temps. I finally decided on just wearing shorts, a long sleeve thermal shirt and a jersey. I also used my new Sidi shoes that I got for Christmas. This turned out to be a good decision. There were a few times that I was a little warm, but with the strong winds blowing across the fields there were times where I was a little cold as well.
Curt and I headed out to the LifeTime Hillfest short course from Cottage Grove. There wasn't as many hills as I was expecting, but there was plenty of climbing and we kept a pretty good pace throughout.
Here's a picture of Curt at about the 30 mile mark eating a carboom! and asking me for advice.
Then I told Curt to take a picture of me.
Nice camera work Curt!
Shortly after this stop was the highlight of the day that I wish I would have got a picture of. (I thought about just leaving it at that sentence, but I'll continue.) We came up on a bald eagle ripping away at a dead deer carcass. We probably got within 20 feet of it before it noticed us and flew off into a nearby tree. It is amazing how big that bird is.
I've been riding the San Jose Pro for the past few rides and have changed the gearing each time. I started at 42x16, then went to 42x18, and now I think I am going to go with 42x20 and stick with it. The other gearings are good for 50 miles of mostly paved roads, but I'm about to get in a lot more gravel and more distance so I think the 42x20 will be ideal for that. I just have to keep telling myself to not try and keep up with people in the flats or on downhills and that I will catch them on the climbs and get ahead.
Now a tale in stupidity.
I had to bring the SUV in for some repairs so I was driving the truck today. I had to drop Baxter off at the Vet to get his nuts chopped off and then stopped at the grocery store for some milk. While getting the kids back in the truck I set the milk (1%) on the bed cover. Well, I forgot that I put it there and hopped in the truck and drove off. I didn't realize that I had forgotten it until I arrived at my next destination, got out of the truck, went inside, came out and saw a gallon of milk (1%) laying in the parking lot next to the truck. I put 2 and 2 together pretty quickly and picked it up. The container was a little dirty, but in alright shape. So I did what any rational person would do and brought it home and poured it into the almost empty container milk container. I hope no one gets sick. hahahaha.
Curt and I headed out to the LifeTime Hillfest short course from Cottage Grove. There wasn't as many hills as I was expecting, but there was plenty of climbing and we kept a pretty good pace throughout.
Here's a picture of Curt at about the 30 mile mark eating a carboom! and asking me for advice.
Then I told Curt to take a picture of me.
Nice camera work Curt!
Shortly after this stop was the highlight of the day that I wish I would have got a picture of. (I thought about just leaving it at that sentence, but I'll continue.) We came up on a bald eagle ripping away at a dead deer carcass. We probably got within 20 feet of it before it noticed us and flew off into a nearby tree. It is amazing how big that bird is.
I've been riding the San Jose Pro for the past few rides and have changed the gearing each time. I started at 42x16, then went to 42x18, and now I think I am going to go with 42x20 and stick with it. The other gearings are good for 50 miles of mostly paved roads, but I'm about to get in a lot more gravel and more distance so I think the 42x20 will be ideal for that. I just have to keep telling myself to not try and keep up with people in the flats or on downhills and that I will catch them on the climbs and get ahead.
Now a tale in stupidity.
I had to bring the SUV in for some repairs so I was driving the truck today. I had to drop Baxter off at the Vet to get his nuts chopped off and then stopped at the grocery store for some milk. While getting the kids back in the truck I set the milk (1%) on the bed cover. Well, I forgot that I put it there and hopped in the truck and drove off. I didn't realize that I had forgotten it until I arrived at my next destination, got out of the truck, went inside, came out and saw a gallon of milk (1%) laying in the parking lot next to the truck. I put 2 and 2 together pretty quickly and picked it up. The container was a little dirty, but in alright shape. So I did what any rational person would do and brought it home and poured it into the almost empty container milk container. I hope no one gets sick. hahahaha.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
More Pavement
I am writing this from a recently updated iPhone for the first time. The GF doesn't like all the clacking of the keys late at night so we'll see if this is an alright way to write or if I'm going to have to get the new iPad so solve this one problem of mine.
Yesterday I got out for what is hopefully going to be the last real cold day of the winter. It was about 29 degrees for the entire ride. I managed to get in 47 miles with just over 2,500 feet of climbing. I think that's right. I'm not going to bother to fact check it. It was a good ride with some wind and even a few miles of gravel.
Sorry I didn't use any of the instagram photo enhancements, but I rarely stop to take pictures, I'm not going to be bothered to see if it looks better in Walden or Sutro.
I also took the King of the Mountain (KOM) for 2 hills on Strava. One I don't really care about, but the other is right outside my house so it is only fitting that I took that one. There is one that I really want, but I suspect I might have to ride the road bike to get that one.
I have another ride tomorrow planned that will be about 50 miles. Starts in Cottage Grove, goes into Prescott through the LifeTime Hillfest short course and back to the starting point. I never bothered to check how much climbing there will be, but I suspect a little.
The Ragnarok is coming up quick and I just found out that Easter us the weekend before. That could really screw up my training. It seems like a good day to have a nice, slow 30 mile ride. I'm sure I'll figure something out.
Ok, time for a product review. The last time I sort of reviewed a product it was about water bottles. Today's is on their partner, the water bottle cage. More specifically, a carbon water bottle caged ordered on eBay direct from Hong Kong. Well; I have no idea about this product. I ordered it on the 11th of February and it is still not here.
Yesterday I got out for what is hopefully going to be the last real cold day of the winter. It was about 29 degrees for the entire ride. I managed to get in 47 miles with just over 2,500 feet of climbing. I think that's right. I'm not going to bother to fact check it. It was a good ride with some wind and even a few miles of gravel.
Sorry I didn't use any of the instagram photo enhancements, but I rarely stop to take pictures, I'm not going to be bothered to see if it looks better in Walden or Sutro.
I also took the King of the Mountain (KOM) for 2 hills on Strava. One I don't really care about, but the other is right outside my house so it is only fitting that I took that one. There is one that I really want, but I suspect I might have to ride the road bike to get that one.
I have another ride tomorrow planned that will be about 50 miles. Starts in Cottage Grove, goes into Prescott through the LifeTime Hillfest short course and back to the starting point. I never bothered to check how much climbing there will be, but I suspect a little.
The Ragnarok is coming up quick and I just found out that Easter us the weekend before. That could really screw up my training. It seems like a good day to have a nice, slow 30 mile ride. I'm sure I'll figure something out.
Ok, time for a product review. The last time I sort of reviewed a product it was about water bottles. Today's is on their partner, the water bottle cage. More specifically, a carbon water bottle caged ordered on eBay direct from Hong Kong. Well; I have no idea about this product. I ordered it on the 11th of February and it is still not here.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Fixing
On Saturday afternoon Curt and I went out for a 25 mile ride. We tried to hit as many hills as we could in a short period of time. Our plan was to sprint up the hills and then casually pedal to the next hill. I found a hill that, so far, takes me 4m33s from bottom to top, that may be the longest hill in MN. We got in 1,035 feet of climbing, so that's not too bad for this time of year. I am hoping to get out for a long ride this Thursday by myself and then another long ride on Sunday.
My plan to combat boredom on these 4-6 hour rides is to get as far away from the house as possible. Once far, I have no choice but to ride back, there are no shortcuts to use. I'll still be bored, but I'll get in the workout.
I have been trying to do my own bike repairs as of late and it is working out pretty well. There are some lessons learned along the way, but once you get to know your bikes and have the right tools around it goes pretty quickly. If I get good, this will save me a lot of money in the long run.
The Pugsley was running really crappy last week. The chain was all rusty from riding through too much slop and being put up wet and the rear derailleur wheels were giving some resistance to spinning. I took off the rear wheel and the cassette and cleaned them both up well and put it all back together. Then I took the chain off the "race" bike and put it on. After I lubed everything back up it was running like new again. I also switched out the aluminum seat post that was way too long for a carbon one I had sitting around.
Then I switched out the brakes on the GF's bike. She had BB7's on there and I want them for a future project, so she got the old Juicy Three's that I took off a different bike in the fall.
I ordered a new chain for the race bike today, but noticed that the cranks are not spinning too well. I am going to have to take the BB apart and try and figure out what is causing the friction.
Lastly, to trim a little more weight off the gravel bike I took the bashguard off that came with it and am now waiting for some SS specific bolts to arrive.
My plan to combat boredom on these 4-6 hour rides is to get as far away from the house as possible. Once far, I have no choice but to ride back, there are no shortcuts to use. I'll still be bored, but I'll get in the workout.
I have been trying to do my own bike repairs as of late and it is working out pretty well. There are some lessons learned along the way, but once you get to know your bikes and have the right tools around it goes pretty quickly. If I get good, this will save me a lot of money in the long run.
The Pugsley was running really crappy last week. The chain was all rusty from riding through too much slop and being put up wet and the rear derailleur wheels were giving some resistance to spinning. I took off the rear wheel and the cassette and cleaned them both up well and put it all back together. Then I took the chain off the "race" bike and put it on. After I lubed everything back up it was running like new again. I also switched out the aluminum seat post that was way too long for a carbon one I had sitting around.
Then I switched out the brakes on the GF's bike. She had BB7's on there and I want them for a future project, so she got the old Juicy Three's that I took off a different bike in the fall.
I ordered a new chain for the race bike today, but noticed that the cranks are not spinning too well. I am going to have to take the BB apart and try and figure out what is causing the friction.
Lastly, to trim a little more weight off the gravel bike I took the bashguard off that came with it and am now waiting for some SS specific bolts to arrive.
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