Bruce's bike ride reports

Cool & Breezy

2012-01-16T19:14:00.002-06:00

We had plenty of sun this weekend, but the temps stayed on the low side and the breezes made it feel cooler than it was. Most of the regular Saturday crew was slated to be otherwise engaged (it's both hunting and grand baby season, apparently) so I adjusted the the start time back to 10:00 for a more temperate experience. I picked a 44 mile local ride that I've done a few times with about 1,800' of total climb. This ride skirts 2 more difficult hills, in the hope of attracting some folks not quite on their hill legs yet. It does include 1 stiff climb about 3/4 of the way through.

I pedaled over to the start, the first outing on the newly re-assembled Rivendell Road Standard. I got the frame and fork, well used, from someone in the PNW, over on the 650B list. Jon intended to build this bike up for his wife but the project didn't happen. It's a 54.5 CM frame, normally too large for me, but I know Riv geometry is such that you can usually sit on a large frame than you would otherwise. After building the bike up in Jan 2009 as a 650B, I put several thousand happy miles on it before deciding it deserved fresh paint. The paint job was done by Hill Clarke over at Airglow in Washington, GA. It took longer than expected, but came out nicely. Some of the painting touches were Hill's idea, some my son Alex's, and the basic scheme was mine. Sharon suggested the green saddle and bar tape to pick up the dark green lines in the decals, which are hard to see in pictures. Design by committee and it came out great! Judge for yourself:

I wanted this first ride to be close enough to home that I could bail if something did not go according to plan on the rebuild.

When I got to the meeting area, I met Rick Mims, on his freshly repainted '74 Raleigh, new rider Jody, and my friends from church, Rick and Joan Clark. Rick and Joan have ridden the Sunday relaxers before but this was their first real road ride "out in the world." Jody knows Mark over at Chain Reaction Cycles, and bought the Specialized Roubaix that Mark had and never used, other than as a display in hopes of generating some sales. Jody will make sure it does not just hang in a window, gathering dust.

There was a stiffer than forecast breeze and it was still cool at 10 AM when we started. Heading out into the wind, we looked for an assist coming back in. Pace was a comfortable 13 - 14 average most of the way. Rick Mims was hindered on hills with a 1/2 step double and no granny. He made it up all of them anyway. Joan didn't want to mess with that shifting thing so she was stomping some very tall gears up hills. Good thing she goes to the gym every day and has capable legs. By her 3rd or 4th hill, I think she found the brifter lever that engaged the smaller chain ring though :) Here she and husband Rick are, motoring on Doster Rd after climbing the hill.

Rick seemed to have no trouble with any of it. We turned out of the wind when we reached the SW limit of travel on Wadsworth loop and enjoyed a bit of a push on Golson Rd through Indian Hills. I got to know Jody a little better as he and I spent most of the time riding together. At one point, just because it felt good, I wound it up on the flat of Powell Rd and pulled at 25 mph. Not for long, but it was a joy to be able to motor again. It seems like forever since I've had any gas in the tank. Most of the time though, we were just enjoying the day. After the first little climb, we were certainly warm enough. I wore merino skin tights under MUSA pants and was almost too warm below. A Riv merino Tee under a Joneswares Robinson L/S jersey was perfect up top. I took everyone's pulse at the Prattville store store (mile 28) to see who wanted to tackle our only rated climb of the day, or go around it. We'd have to go up a more gradual 2 mile climb to get to it of course. It was pretty unanimous that going around was just fine. So we did the gradual up and then forked right instead of left. That gave us a total of 35 miles instead of 44, but we still climbed about 1,450'. Since I pedaled to and from my house, I had 40 miles and 1,750' if the Garmin is to be believed.

The bike behaved basically okay, but I did a little adjusting back at home. My seat was a little sore (no padding) from the initial ride on a new Brooks, but that's not unusual and will get better as soon as it breaks in a tad.

On Sunday afternoon (warmer than Saturday but still cool and with a breeze), there was the club relaxer ride, which was posted as family friendly. I am a fan of kid accessible rides. Start them out safely, riding properly from a young age and you develop good cyclists for a lifetime. We had 2 boys and a girl, and 11 adults along. 2 were first timers, one was a 2d timer and one is an avid runner and almost never cycles. One of the new cyclists spilled while standing in the parking lot. She reached with her foot for her pedal to click in and missed. To be honest, I did not cover clip in during the pre ride safety check. Fortunately she did not spill later while on the roll. Another rider had a flat front tire, which I changed quickly. I took her tube home to check for leaks and found none. She actually emptied the tube of air when she tried to add air to it, and didn't realize what was happening. I suggested that she learn to change a tube though. When everyone was good to go, we headed out on our 8 mile flat (mostly) route to the store in the next town. There we took a break and headed back. Our youngest rider, at 8, was a bit leisurely so the last riders took their time getting back. It was all good. Lots of conversation and getting to meet new people. Some of similar interest and capability will pair off and find rides to do that suit. I told a couple of the riders that Club Lite or some of our Prattville group rides are certainly in their reach. This day we traveled 16 miles at about 10 mph avg. Typical for a beginner outing.

It was an encouraging turn out and a delight to get so many people riding. As the weather gets milder, they will find plenty of opportunities to continue to stretch their legs and limits.

Tailwinds!

Keep it Down, will ya?

2012-01-07T19:46:00.002-06:00

One of my resolutions that was coincidental to the New Year, was to address dental problem. Although it has never ached, an abscessed molar has been quietly leaching infection and causing lymph node swelling, low grade fever and general lack of zip. I wanted to give my immune system a chance to beat it, then I hoped some anti-biotics would subdue it, but in a pre-holidays visit to the dentist, I was told that only attacking the problem head on would fix it, and was sent off for a root canal. The endodontist viewed xrays and said, "That tooth needs to come out." He marked my tooth's prognosis as "poor" following any root canal on his records and pointed out areas of infected jawbone and cracked tooth root visible on the film. Ah. lovely. So some anti-biotics to tamp down the nasties until after the holidays and then on Thursday afternoon, the infected impactor came out. My 1st ever tooth extraction, so I had no idea of what to expect. After getting the pre-printed list of dos and don't and some extra gauze pads, I asked, "What about my Saturday club ride?" Wouldn't that be first on YOUR mind? "Don't go too far and don't strain too hard," was the reply. There is a healing clot of blood in the space formerly occupied by tooth parts and high blood pressure, heavy breathing, or sucking through a camelbak straw can dislodge that helpful natural item and cause a very un healthy and painful condition called "dry socket." After seeing pictures on Google of dry socket, I knew I did not want one in my mouth.

That leads to today's controlled pace ride. 30 ish miles at a slow pace. I was thinking 11 - 13 avg, tops. I brought the Saluki and carried water bottles (can squirt into the mouth) instead of the hydration pack. Surprisingly, the Club Lite gang opted in for this outing and so it was nice to see the Roeders and Jim Rickards up Millbrook way for a change. New guy Rick Mims came out on his just re painted to new colors '74 Raleigh. He's had it since new. Now it looks new again too. Red beauty with chromed accents. Here he is obviously enjoying it.

This was one of three new bikes on the trip today. Glen Weldon just put together a Windsor Tourist, bought online. Almost the same green as the first run of Sam Hillbornes, or maybe the Redwoods, if you remember them from a half dozen years or so back. Glen spent a fair bit of time along the side of the road re-adjusting as the comfort demands of actual riding registered their complaints with the initial set up. I did wonder, at our mid way store stop, why his right pedal was mounted on the INSIDE of the crankarm though. Another rider explained, "See, the pedal went on cross threaded, and no he's running it through from the back to chase the threads." That's a new one for me, and I'd have never thought of doing it. Glen was still mumbling about tweaks he needed to get weight off his wrists, etc. I know it will be dialed in soon. And at least he got that required first forgot to unclip fall out of the way too. Speaking of falls, everyone was getting comfy with the Earth today it seemed. We had a another new bike and this time a new rider along, 14 yr old Shelby on her MTB. She handled herself well on the bike 99% of the time. Here she is with Frank and Glen:

Notice Glen's skyward pointing brifters. He was trying all sorts of new things for wrist relief. I suggested raising the handlebars and rotating them back to normal. Anyway, for 1% of the time, Shelby caught the edge of the pavement and it surprised her and she went plop. She bounced up as only the young can and after a red spots check (none) and some water and a rest, we were off again, with no further dirt interactions. She did the entire 34 miles in blue denim jeans. That's extra credit right there.

We saw hawks at very close range today. Temps were PERFECT. Usual store stops and people chit chatted and I think generally had a nice time. I was able to catch up with John and Kathy Roeder a little. They shared info on a new campsite along the Chief Ladiga trail. It would be great to pedal to near Atlanta GA and back and be able to tent camp along the way.

I got purple bike envy and swapped bikes with Shelby at the 22 mile mark. I was surprised that it did not feel too bad for me, although she immediately could tell the difference when she rode the Saluki. Here I am trying to look cool. Something I will never quite manage, but hope springs eternal.

We had a good time, despite some headwinds coming back in. I felt well today, for the first time in months and had the sense of unlimited energy in the tank. I guess without an active infection site to fight against, you just have more energy to do other things. We'll see on the next outing, for sure!

Tailwinds1

Tailwinds, 2011

2011-12-31T16:52:00.002-06:00

It's far from an original idea to remark on the year coming to a close each December 31, but it's something that feels right to do this year. Despite my whining that I haven't ridden at all this Fall, the truth is that even before today's 2011 Swan Song Ride, I had logged more miles than in any prior year. The average ride length is about the same as last year, and my snail like pace of late is pretty much on average for me this time of each year. As is the extra 15 lbs I seem to have discovered around the mid section. I joined RUSA this year, #7107. If I get my legs back, I'll be doing Alabama Randonneurs events several times in 2012.

Like any year, this one has had its ups and downs. I still find myself missing cycling buddy Tom, who died in August. I expect him to crank past me on the uphills in the big ring as he was wont to do, black leather Harley-biker streamers sailing in the air wash behind his saddle. I miss penpal and fellow pen collector-friend Mike, who passed away in March, but whose excellent biographical fiction work "Hunting With Teddy about the wilder West days of the 1st president Roosevelt was published posthumously.

Work was hard this year. The 4th consecutive year of a weak economy making it tough to sell products and even tougher to make any margin on them. Wages have stayed pretty much fixed and no bonuses the past 3 years. Too many people sitting around wanting to cut the same sliver of pie. I'll avoid politics completely here and say only that our failings as humans are at the root of it. Some of the people that I have been praying for in terms of recovery from serious illness are not doing well.

There are plenty of ups too. We continue to enjoy the garden that Sharon had installed back in July. There are still pink camellia blooms on the bush, and the scent of Tea Olives greets me every morning. I've met some new friends in both the bicycle and fountain pen worlds, and feel closer to the several guys I ride regularly with than in years before. Other people on the prayer list are doing well and providentially good circumstances have happened to a number of those I know and care about. I'm thankful to have a job that I usually enjoy doing, and knowing that we start 2012 with a couple months of work in hand, with strong prospects for additional contracts to come in. If December ends up okay, we'll end the year in black ink for a change. A nice change. We welcomed Alisha and Kael in our family when Alex and Alisha were married in August. They have quickly won our hearts and are truly our daughter and grandson by every measure that matters. Need to get Kael (5 yrs) on the bike I bought him though!

I entered the technological era this year. First Sharon gave me her old iPod and I discovered making playlists and downloading songs from my youth that I was sure I'd never hear again. "Break Song," "Soul Sacrifice," and 'Travellin' Shoes" all made the playlist. (Can you tell me the artists without Google?) Then Sharon got me a Kindle Fire and I couldn't believe how much I like reading on it. Books, social sites and email, as well as mobile based versions of news sites and papers. It streams TV and movies too. Wow. What a great gadget that thing is. It prodded my interest in reading books again and I am plowing through them after doing little more than crosswords for the past few years.

Just today, I finally figured out how to put a course map on my Garmin Edge and ride the course on a bicycle. Sharon has become very understanding, even I might say supportive of my desire to pedal a self-moving-vehicle across the highways and byways. And buddy Jeff gave me a GREAT Kanji character decal for a bike that says in Japanese, "self moving vehicle" or in other words, "bicycle." Way too cool for a bike, it will be framed and hung. There are of course numerous other good things that came about for me in 2011.

Yesterday, I got my Rivendell frame set back from the painter. I used Airglow, in Washington, GA. The compliments on the paint job are already rolling in. The rebuild will be done some time in the next couple of days, with a new green saddle and bar tape to pick up the green lines in the decals. I thought about changing brake levers from Shimano to Tektro, but if it ain't broke...
Here is a frame only pic.

I went for night rides last week and this. An IXON-IQ headlight is working really well, and a deal for a used set of Dinotte 400L rear lights should work out in the next week. Night riding is pretty neat. Beats doing laps around the block which is my usual Winter routine.

This morning was clear and cool (39F) and with my usual pals busy, I hoped for some others to come out and ride. No one did, and so I ended the year with a solo ride of 44 miles. It was pretty out and I ignored the Garmin and just pedaled for enjoyment. The result was about 1,750' of climb (iirc) and a typical average pace for me. No dog issues. I peeled off the Rivendell Merino Skin tights and a long sleeve Woolistic jersey 1/2 way through, continuing on in a wool tee and shorts. I had wool socks on and Keen shoes which were fine even when it warmed up. The Giro wool blend gloves came off though. It all packed in the Kelty Hydration back pack just fine. The handlebar tube held food, cell phone, wallet. A tool wrap was under the saddle.

Wherever our rides take us in 2012, I hope that we remember that the world is much bigger than just us and what WE want (whatever that is at any point in time) that we ride safely, and get to list all the important doings of 2012 a year from now.

Boldin Dam Solo Ride

2011-12-03T16:36:00.001-06:00

I posted a 45 mile local ride for this morning. 4 of my usual buds checked in to say that other things stirring and would not be riding. A couple of maybes from the club Face Book page were no shows, perhaps due to the 36F displayed on the thermometer. I pedaled from home to the start point and when no one else came, I decided this might actually be an okay thing. I changed the route along the way on a whim, which I couldn't have assumed possible in a group, adding a few miles, and a detour to Boldin Dam. It's at the south end of Lake Jordan and has a small hydro-electric generating station. The warm water and turbulence from the turbines is apparently good for fishing, as I saw several line casters taking advantage of the public area provided by Alabama Power.

I started out the ride with an un natural fear that I couldn't ride that far. It's mental of course. My legs still work. That was a good enough reason to go and ride, if only to prove to myself that riding is no different than it ever was. I was on my most comfortable bike, and had no faster riders that I would have to strain to stay up with. Despite being cold, it was sunny out and an inviting morning to spend time in the saddle. I wound my way out of Prattville through the old community of Rocky Mount. Not much there besides an no longer used cemetery and a bed & breakfast, which looked cute in the early light.

I packed 72 oz of Propel Zero and a couple of grain/nut/fruit bars so no store stops were needed. I did pause a few minutes when I was hungry, but since I wasn't pushing the pace, I had more fluid than I would need. I got serious about low fat vegan eating this past week, and I have to say I do feel better, innards wise. Sharon keeps track of timing on these things, but I seem to recall that a significant cholesterol drop should be measurable in a couple of weeks.

I wound my way through Elmore, and the huge swath cut through the farms and woods for a new gas pipeline is now rich green with winter rye grass. Here is my Saluki with some organic methane gas producers visible in the field behind. As it happens, neither the piped gas or the puffed gas is suitable to power the hound dog.

The wind was in my face most of the way out, coming from the NE at about 8 - 12, with gusts of maybe 15 coming off the open fields. This was okay as it would make a nice tail wind coming home. Right. Wishful thinking. Anyway, I made my way up towards the Slap out store along the original route posted and saw a sign for the Boldin Dam. I'd never been to it, so I took the road.
The dam parking lot provided the 1st rest stop where a Clif bar fueled me up and a tree in the adjacent woods (this is out in the middle of nowhere) was also useful.

I mentally calculated that if I returned by the normal Sunday relaxer route, I'd finish at about 50 miles, and so I went back that way. Lots of dogs today on Hogan Rd. I yelled at 3 sets of two as I made my way. No real problems, but annoying, and would have been trouble had I been daydreaming instead of paying attention. It was disappointing to turn South on Hogan from 111 and discover the wind shifting so that it was now blowing from the SE to S and harder than before. Good practice for staying in a manageable cadence and gear though. No one to draft behind so I settled in and just pulled steadily. It felt good. The Garmin says I ended up with 81 rpm avg (I've been working on getting my avg up for most of this year, instead of pumping in the low 70s) but I looked down and saw 85 - 95 a LOT. I was noticeably less tired than when I've tried higher RPMs before too.

I ran into some friends in a church parking lot, as they were getting ready to watch a local parade and we stopped to chat for a few minutes. Donna told me that her son Daniel loves to ride and at nearly 8 yrs old will soon be ready to come out on one of our kids rides. His little sister Emma Grace told me all about her bike too, which she said is green like mine. :)

The second snack stop was in beautiful downtown Elmore at the city park. You can just about see all of it in this picture. Really.

While my moving average was only 13.2 (1 to 1.5 mph might have been lost to the headwinds) my total avg (for rando calcs) was a decent enough 12 mph as I needed only very brief stops to eat and stretch. I'll keep that in mind when I plan my next RUSA effort.

All in all, a good day. The bike worked well. I cruised along Rucker Rd and chatted with God about the things on my mind and the folks whose situations are concern for me. That was time very well spent. All wool all the time was the order of the day. Swobo tee under an Ibex L/S jersey above, wool boxers, Jonesware shorts and wooly warm tights below. Fox River sox and a Riv cap, along with Giro wool blend gloves. Addidas Samba leather soccer shoes kept the feet cozy.

Proof I was out there today:

And a Saluki level view of the typical scenery we went by.

Tailwinds!

12th Month already?

2011-12-01T20:00:00.001-06:00

December 1 has made its sneaky way onto the calendar. Where did the days go? In like manner, where did my enthusiasm for riding and exercise go? I'm not sure if this is just a stouter dose of my frequent November blues (I felt it coming on stronger this year than in several recent ones) or the effects of a persistent infection I now know is related to a tooth which is soon to be extracted, or if I'm just too close to 60 years old to be as sprightly as I once was, or if that "plant-strong" diet that Rip Esselstyn extols ( http://engine2diet.com/ ) lacks what my body needs to run on. In other words, MEAT and MILK :).

I'm still riding some, but no longer have any hope of being able to keep pace with my friends. I like to be on a bike though and that's good. I rode Last week both on Thursday and Friday. Thursday was a solo run with some measured pace but steep hill climbing. I enjoyed it very much. Even when my rear derailler started jumping into taller gears as I was straining up a 12% grade! I pulled off and whipped out a tool kit to restore some "gription" to the friction shifter, and all was well. I did a 40 ish mile ride with the pals in Friday and while they loafed along, I was really straining. No core engine power there right now. A pretty day to be out, but less enjoyable from the sense of trying to stay afloat, if you know what I mean.

I was blessed with the opportunity to preach a sermon last Sunday. (email me if you want the video link) I got as much or more from the prep as the congregation did, I'm pretty sure. I was emotionally spent afterwards, and the weather was wet, so no ride. It was good to force myself to remember who is in control of events and that things happen either by His active will or by His consent. It can be very sobering to consider all the needs in teh world today, or even just some of the ones closer by. I've been praying for some friends of late and some people I don't really even know well, but whose lives have become important to me. Praying for others has a way of making them and what they face important. We shouldn't be afraid to feel hurt for the pain of others. It's better by far than nameless, faceless statistics. My current prayer partners include a woman recovering from breast cancer chemo/surgery, a woman striving to get well two full years after a leukemia diagnosis, a wonderful penpal who has just written me to say his wife has stage 4 cancer, a couple from back home in FL who are trying to adopt children, a CO cyclist friend who spilled on a mountain side downhill ride and nearly died, and still faces lots of recovery work, a local cycling friend I've just learned has cancer, and there are several others. I'm missing my friend Tom who died the same weekend that my son was married, from a lung infection that I still don't know the details of. I hadn't thought of him for a few weeks and then bam. There he was again.

Work has been stressful. 3 years of lean times will do that. Hopefully, that will improve, and we'll all dig into new challenges and feel reinvigorated. For now, some folks there are really getting under my skin. The reverse is probably true as well.

Hope to enjoy some rides this weekend. Will bring the camera and at least post some new pictures.

Tailwinds!

Prattville 129

2011-11-06T17:34:00.002-06:00

The Alabama Randonneurs had their 300K brevet yesterday, andit started and ended at Prattville High School (Go Lions!). Much of the route came fromsuggestions of Jeff Feet and myself, based on our many Saturday morning ridesover the years. Organizer Steve Phillips tweaked things to get the controlspacing right and conform to RUSA guidelines. The counter clockwise directionresulted from the lack of a decent shoulder on the northbound span of thebridge over the Alabama River. Clockwise would be abetter direction for this ride. We had 4 out of area riders come over and Joe,Frank, Max, Ron and me from the local environs. Counting Steve (who did notride due to recent surgery) there were (4) PBP finishers and (4) 1st time brevetriders. Frank has prior RUSA ride experience, up to 400K

We met in the dark at the high school and briefly shookhands. We spent more time checking out the other bikes.

Here are Maile & Gary fromWash DC area.

I packed it all, including the kitchen sink. Next time, Ipack less. Here's the Saluki ready to go:

Joe got a call during the pre-ride briefing. His daughterwent into labor with his 1st grand child. He headed back home to get Grandmaand take her to the hospital for the happy event. I know Joe was lookingforward to BOTH events, the baby and the brevet. I can understand why thebrevet did not win out. Max and Ron were late arrivals. Max says that no matterhow early he starts, he just can't seem to get his stuff together and get outof the house on time. He didn't get all his stuff together this time either.Water bottles were left at the house. He arranged with his wife Debbie to bringthem to our 1st control, and he had his Camelbak pack which would be plentyuntil then. Ron pedaled up andsigned in close to the start time, got his card and was off before the rest ofus. We went by him a short time later, but that's typical. Ron rides at a verysteady pace and tarries almost not at all at rest stops. We often leap frogeach other on rides, as we ride more quickly, but stop longer to rest.

The ride to Hope Hull was very pleasant. The winds were notstrong at 1st and were from the side. The Cat 5 climb up Wetumpka St got uswarmed up (46F at the start) nicely, and there were only highway overpassesafter that for quite a while. The early sun made crossing the Alabama River very pretty.

The leaves are starting to show nice color as you can see.We made good time to the 1st control. Everyone was able to get there under thetime limit, including Max who picked up a safety pin and punctured hisGatorskin tire. He SAYS he yelled at us to stop, but neither Frank nor I heardhim. We waited for him at the control and re connected. Here I am getting mycard signed. "My name is Armstrong, Lance Armstrong.." She wasn'tbuying it though.

Here are some riders snacking before leaving.

I was the 1st to ditch my jacket. I was also the only one (Ithink) wearing wool. The clothing all worked out really well for me today. Uptop was a short sleeve wool tee under a long sleeve wool jersey. Below werewicking briefs (non padded) an unpadded pair of wool shorts and a wooly warmunpadded tights. Cap was a Synaptic Cycles woolie. Gloves were wool blend Girosand thick wool socks inside (and here was a wow discovery for the day) Keenshoes (Kelona model, a street shoe) on Grip King platform pedals. The shoes arelight weight, ergonomic with a big toe box and airspace for good circulation.No wet socks, hotspots, etc. Loved it. At the start, a Showers Pass yellow jacket was on top, butit went in the saddle bag at this 1st stop.

At Hope Hull, a few miles south of the control, we turnedeast, and into the wind. It blew harder than we were expecting. Some of theblasts coming off cleared farm fields were like climbing tough hills. Frankseparated out ahead of Max and I, and eventually there was some space betweenme and Max as well. Both of them were were good riding company and it was justmy weaker legs at work. Here you can see Max close by, and Frank acceleratingaway. Below that, a picture proving I was at least enjoying the ride. It alsoshows another great find of the day. For $6, I got a DOT spec reflective vestat the local industrial supply store. Light, comfy and VERY visible. They alsohad good over-glasses sunshade/safety glasses there.

We slogged into the wind for about 34 miles. There were somebreaks when we ran north or south and only had it as a side wind. On one ofthese cross wind legs, we passed a huge arts and crafts show in the village of Pike Road.

Eventually, we reached our lunchstop at the John Hall Store in Cecil, 70 miles out. It was crowded inside asthey run a smoker all morning in order to have BBQ to sell at lunch.

The localsare mostly farmers and I was behind a father and son, wearing real spurs, whoobviously did that kind of work for a living, and were not just still inHalloween costume.

Frank had a BBQ sandwich for lunch followed by a slice ofpizza for dessert. He wonders why with this purple Under Armor shirt and hisyellow Sam Allen belt on people were honking and yelling at him today.

I tanked up on Powerade Zero and we waited for Max. Seemsthat they forgot his order. Of course that was after he was sure he forgot hiswallet, until Frank said "Look in your Camelbak. " Sure enough, thereit was. He ate something, I don't remember what, got a refund for the unfilledorder, got some fluids and we got a talk from Ride Organizer Steve that we wereneeding to be careful about time in controls. We were on time, but not allowingenough margin. That made me realize that I needed to let Frank and Max go onahead of me. My total avg. pace was 10.2 mph (including stops) which is overthe 9.5 mph min, but I knew with cold and hills ahead, I would probably slowdown even more. My moving average was the same 13.4 mph I do on almost all mylonger rides, but I needed the time off the saddle. It's just how my engineruns. Frank took off for Tallassee and I floated my plan to Max. He suggested wetry for Tallassee too. We loaded up and moved on out as I did feel a littlebetter after eating. It was into the wind again, but the wind seemed to beshifting. After 5 miles when we turned north, and INTO more wind, I told Max Iwas going to turn around and get a ride home. I was just going to be too slowand did not want to miss a cut off later in the evening.

I texted Sharon, and she came to get me at the store. It's a30 minute drive from home and I was 20 mins away by bike so when I got back tothe store I only waited 10 minutes for the car to show up. The 5 miles WITH thewind were sweet though. Sharondidn't mind coming to get me, which I very much appreciated.

So, I ended just under 80 miles at 13.4 moving and 10.2total pace. 2,100' +/- of climb. Max finished his first Brevet, and I am veryproud of him. He & Frank had just 20 minutes to spare, which tells me thatI would have missed it for sure. Ron missed the cut off time at control #6, butdecided to finish the ride anyway, and then pedal home. I'm proud of him too.Frank was expected to do fine, and he did. Way to go big guy. Congrats toGrandpa Joe and thanks to Steve for putting it together. I did not need thenight stuff for the ride but the portable lithium recharger did work fine onthe Garmin and also does cell phones. Well worth having and very light.

Tailwinds

I wonder if I can do this

2011-10-29T20:52:00.001-05:00

The "this" is a 300 Km brevet next Saturday. This will be my 1st ever attempt at anything over a century, and I am both excited and experiencing a healthy dose of reservation. The keys will be pace, pace, pace. And, nutrition, hydration, and comfort. And a fully charged cell phone in case I need to call for a bail out. :) We test rode the hilliest section of the route today as an out and back. That is, we ended up with about 4,235' of climb in just 48 miles. The 300 will have 6,900' total in 187 miles. I was slow, to be sure, but finished ahead of where I would need to on that section of the brevet. I also was not dead tired, or out of gas at the end. I could have just kept plodding along, which is fine by me.

The ride today saw 7 riders meet at Stuckey's, but 1 just pedaled up from Prattville to see us off, and then turned around and returned. 6 of us continued on. Ray also pedaled up from town (about 23 miles), did the ride, and pedaled back. Strong ride, pal. Here we are getting ready to go: Left to right, it's Frank, Max, Larry, Ron and Joel. Ray is trying get his frozen plumbing out of the bib shorts and use the stores non frozen plumbing. Yes, it was cold. My solution was wool boxers under wool shorts, under wooly warm wool tights. No freeze ups, if you get my drift..

Here I am a little later. By 10:30, it warmed enough to ditch the jackets. Below is Max's very cool adaptation of a solar battery charger to run his Garmin. I'll be using either an Energi pak, or plug mine in when we stop to eat.

Here is a typical view for most of the ride. Fall foliage starting to be very pretty and steep rollers. Most were 6% - 9% grades, a few were 10% - 13%. The ride had 3 cat 5 climbs.

As we crossed the Coosa River, I caught the sunlight glinting off the water, which was rippled from the very brisk breeze we rode in today.

Here is about as ramshackle a store as I've ridden by. The fuel pumps are long gone and the proprietor lives in a small trailer next to the store. They did have working plumbing (always a consideration for a group of 50+ year old riders) and Propel Zero, and a decent little grocery inside. This was in Kellys Crossroads, which is literally a description of the place. This is ALL there is to it.

The country NE of the river is quite hilly and some of the rock was blasted away to make the road grades more manageable. It makes for a very scenic drive or pedal.

We got back to the cars around noon, and headed on home. Frank has loaned me a higher power headlamp than the one I have. If the rando bug bites, I'll get my own.

We're talking about a pre-ride dinner on Friday. The couple coming down from DC says they won't arrive in time. They are stopping in Atlanta to do a 200K the day before. Oh geez. Real rando types, you know? Don't know about the guy coming in from SC. So we locals will go have a hearty meal somewhere, and encourage one another. The ride starts at 7 AM on Saturday with 3:00 AM the following morning as the limit. LynneF, if you're reading, any advice/encouragement/offers to fly out and pull for me will be appreciated...

At least no snow is forecast...

Tailwinds!

Pintlala 75

2011-10-16T05:25:00.001-05:00

I've been getting psyched up over the 300Km Prattville Brevet coming on 11/5. As a "where are my legs these days?" check, 4 of us rode 75 rolling miles yesterday morning. The idea was to stay at a steady pace and not go too fast. I was the slowest of the group and turned in a 13.5 avg which is faster than I need to be to finish on time. Counting breaks, I used 85% of the allowed time for this distance. Biggest issue was leg cramps for me on hills. At about mile 50, I found myself in too tall a gear for a 13% grade but hammered it anyway, which caused true pain in both quads. Then, there was that vibrating feeling in my lower legs that says, "you need to drink more!" I blame Joe of course. This steep hill was NOT on the route, but when he sailed past a turn, we had to go this way to get back to where we needed to be. Joe rode with a bent derailler hanger and only had this outer 2 or 3 cogs available. That seemed to make no difference to him. He had, but never used, his granny up front. Like me, he did the entire ride on the middle ring. His is a 36 and mine is a 42. You know, since I never use the 30 on this bike, I may as well put a 53/39 back on in place of the 52/42/30. Nahhh..

It was a beautiful day, sunny, cool, and light breeze. All of this conspired to keep my jersey dry, so I never felt that I was using much water. When I got home, the fluid tally was 78oz in 75 mi. I need 1.5 oz per mile in this kind of weather, so I was almost 1/3 under. Hence the issues 2/3 of the way out on the route! This is not the first time I have failed to drink enough. I will have to chart it and make sure I drink certain quantities by certain mileages on any longer ride if I want to avoid cramps. It made me slow up the hills, but didn't do too much on the flats until the very end. I actually had to pull over and take a brief rest just a mile and half from the finish.

Max and I carpooled down, and we met Joe and Frank at the start. Ron pedaled from Prattville, but just to see us off before he turned around to pedal back. He still had a nice distance himself, about a metric I guess. It was about 51F and wool arm warmers and long finger wool blend gloves were appreciated. Once the Sun rose, temps began to climb, and at about mile 18 when we made our 1st store stop, the warmers came off and the gloves were swapped for short fingered ones. I didn't need a base layer under the Swobo jersey. Un-padded Joneswares shorts today too. They generally were fine, although the edges of the saddle center slot were annoying after 40 or 50 miles. For the long ride, a non slotted saddle will be used. No padding though.

It was a delightful morning for a ride. Recent rains have most growing things looking good. Either still green or starting to show Fall colors. Plenty of livestock out in the grazing fields and all the local canines came out to bark for us. None were a problem, but you never know. The route included some pretty stretches that we rarely get to ride on, as there is a section of about 30 miles with no store stops available. We made one slight route deviation because Joe, fresh from his assault on the 12,000' of climb at 6 Gap, was floating way out ahead of us and sailed past a turn. We ended up back on the route, and the mileage ended up being about the same so all was good. Made my annual mileage goal with this ride and there is a chance that some more miles will be added yet this year! This was also the 20th metric or longer outing for 2011. 4 more are needed to make goal. We climbed about 3,000' and except for the one steep up, it was all rollers. An endless series of rollers...

Grandson's birthday party here next Saturday. I am advised that I should plan on attending. Maybe an early Am ride to test the light kit out is in order....

No Rides

2011-10-11T18:37:00.001-05:00

This past Saturday was SUPPOSED to be the 200K brevet up Chandler Mtn to Horse Pens 40, with Steve Phillips and the Alabama Randonneurs. THEY had a great ride.

Then I was reminded that I had previously committed to wrangle mountain bikes at the Coosa River Challenge the same day! This was my 3rd year helping at the event, where 250 - 300 lunatics do a trail run, mountain bike course and kayak to complete a very different sort of tri. There are "skills" along the way, like rappelling and compass based land navigation along with some action through mud. It's sort of "Basic Training for Marines Meets Sports." Anyway, our 3 man squad (sometimes with much appreciated helpers, othertimes without) moved all the bikes to and from the cycling venue for that leg of the event. 6 UHaul van loads or maybe it was 6 1/2. I forget. We worked from 4:45 AM to about 3:00 PM. We rested while the bike race was in progress. Here's a video from last year's race to give a bit of the flavor: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_V5oV1BJKaA&feature=related I had a great time doing this as it turned out. I enjoyed the company of my Van driver, Steve Sievers. A quiet, unassuming guy, this is the 3rd year we've worked together on the ride but the 1st we really spent any time talking. He always says he wishes he had time to ride more, etc etc. So after a while, I noticed a little tattoo over his ankle, a dot over an M. What's that? I asked. Oh that's from when I did an Ironman. The first one. (He's done it twice, both after he turned 50). You know, a full marathon run, a 112 mi cycle and a 2 1/2 mile swim. What everyone does....

So of course I mentioned RANDO to him. He was also open to the idea of a steel bike for long riding comfort! My kind of guy. Well I enjoyed other stuff we spoke of too. Like his son is a missionary in China, and he was interested in what reformed theology was all about. Then his mom shows up with PB&J sandwiches and a sweet elderly lady I know from church appears with a boatload of cookies! It was really over too soon, if you ask me.

Now with a month until the Alabama Randonneurs 300K brevet, I need to ride regularly. I'm planning on 75 miles or so on Saturday morning, and we'll see how that goes. I had been wanting to ride the Rivendell Road Standard for the long ride, but the painter (Airglow) is waaaayyyyy behind. I finally heard from him saying that he hopes to start my frame next week or so along with a Falcon, but the chances of getting it back and re building the bike in time are slim. I sent it off in mid June with the promise of a 6 - 7 week turn around. I will probably ride the Saluki over the Rambouillet then instead of the Road. The fenders and fatter tires on the Hound Dog may come in handy. Not to mention that 26 little ring. Speed is not needed on a rando ride, just steady as she goes.

No ride this Sunday; it's the weekend I spend a little time visiting at a prison nearby. I dislike going intensely and I certainly would not go if I didn't know it was a command and not a suggestion (to remember those who are sick and in prison). Prison is a place you just don't want to be at. Which means that it is good for me to go, to have my comfort zone shaken up and so on.

Tailwinds..

Autumn Equinox

2011-09-27T05:45:00.002-05:00

It's official. Fall is here. The fact that mornings are much darker than they were just a few weeks ago makes that point clearly. The Prattville rides ended for me a month ago, although a few others who have sufficient flexibility in their schedules are still getting in a ride here and there. Lately, I am thinking in terms of riding longer distances at slower paces. Two Saturdays past, Max and I added a 20 mile loop of town to a hilly 45 mile club ride to make it a metric or more. Then Sunday, without beginners along, Frank and I pushed the pace and distance on the Sunday ride instead of doing a relaxer.

In a couple of weeks (10/8), the Alabama Randonneurs will have a 200K ride from Birmingham up Chandler Mtn in Steele, and back. The climb is about 2 miles at 7% avg grade, iirc. I'm bring a triple with a 26 granny, that's for sure. It will be my longest ride yet, but I am motivated reading about others doing long distance with seemingly no real trouble - as long as pace, nutrition and hydration are carefully managed. If the 200K goes okay, then in November I plan on a 300K which starts right here in Prattville. I helped design the route, along with Jeff and Steve (who test rode it this past weekend).

As it happened, another friend, Bill, and I drove to Opeika this past Saturday and rode the Johnny Ray Century to benefit Parkinson's Disease care and cure research. A new ride for me, but Bill has ridden it before. Nice roads for the most part and nice people all through. Here are some pictures, all taken by Bill Felky the event photographer.

Before the ride, we ran into fellow Montgomery area riders Phil & Anita Jones. They have the right jerseys for a ride 20 miles from Jordan Hare Stadium. Then a picture of the coolest SAG wagon ever. Yes, the Boxster.

Clockwise from the left: Double checking the route on the maps, Bill cruising along, an enjoyable not-quite-a-paceline.

We had 1 recumbent and 1 trike in the field. Where's that trike rider's helmet? The nest to last rest stop in Lafayette, Al at a fire station. One of the volunteers noticed the Rambouillet because he has a Riv custom. I invited him to try the Rando rides coming up. Also a few nice remarks about the wool jersey. It was very comfy all day. Warm enough early on and not too hot later.

September 11th Weekend

2011-09-12T05:41:00.004-05:00

Events came together so that riding happened both days this weekend. Buddy Jeff was wanting to get off the sidelines and put in some more miles (he SAGS, photographs and otherwise helps out when he is not up to the ride itself) so we picked a route that was doable with just enough challenge that he could feel himself reaching to attain it. We test rode a 45 mile section of the upcoming November 300K and when I posted the ride, was pleased to have several other throw in with us. Newish cyclists Ashley M and Glen W, long time - no see due to surgeries Dennis R, Rob A and Frank M all came out to join us. Club Lite was scheduled to leave a half hour before us from the same venue, but when I pulled up at 15 past, they were all still milling around the parking lot. We decided to pull out together and ride the first 12 miles together before they split off for a shorter and flatter balance of the ride. Of course, the LAST rider to show up was the one I set this up for. See if you can figure out which rider it is in this picture.

Hint: His Berthoud randonneuse is still on top of Jeff's car.. In the interest of full disclosure, let me say that it was not QUITE 7:30 (the appointed hour) just yet.

The ride itself was gorgeous. 57F when we started, warming to the low 80s by the end. Sunny all though. I remembered the Coppertone so no sunburns! This was a controlled pace exercise for me. I deliberately set up planning to stay as close to 13 mph as I could and then just my energy level afterward to see how I might attempt the 200K and 300K rides in the next two months. As it turned out, actual average pace was 13.2, and I felt barely winded at all. The ride was finished, all stops included, by 11:30, and that takes in a few pauses to wait for others to catch up at hills and a store stop. At that pace plenty of time on the clock to make the controls. The roads were rural and quiet. Here, Jeff shows us he's still "got" it.

The store stop was interesting. As the only action in the area, the variety of services offered was, err, interesting. For example, right by the BBQ sign, was this advertisement:

What conclusion would YOU draw about the provenance of the pulled pork plates? And, where some places keep a dog on duty for guard work, this place went a different route.

All in all, a nice outing. Later in the afternoon, Sharon & I took a spin around the block as well. She expressed an interest in riding again, so I pumped her tires back up and hope she gets in some laps during the week.

Sunday was just a good all around day. I enjoyed bringing the lesson from Jeremiah 2, the sermon was outstanding (on repentance) and had some 9/11 themed notes connected to it. We had a lunch following in the Fellowship Hall and had some interest in our vegan goodies. Sharon brought hummus (made with garlic and cayenne - yum) to spread on seasoned flat bread and a rice/craisin/stuff salad. I changed into casual riding clothes once we got home and drove over to the park. Just not enough time to get there by pedaling. Barbara-Ann and Larry were there (beginners who asked for the ride) as well as neighbor Russ and his delightful 8 yr old daughter Jenna. Russ is re-deploying to Afghanistan soon so this was a good opportunity for them to get in a ride together. Both of them are competing tri athletes, but they race in different classes. :) Surprise visitors Phil and Shirley H from church came by and joined us (delightful company!) and Ron and Ray pedaled by and rode the outbound leg with us. When we turned to come back, they continued ahead to points further on.

Originally planned for 10 miles, at the 5 mile turn around, Jenna opted for 16 total when I asked for a show of interest. The adults immediately agreed and so we went to the Elmore store before taking a break and turning back.

Just a GREAT day with nice folks and lovely weather. Jenna decided on 9/11 that since 9 + 11 = 20, she wanted to get in 4 more miles, so she and Russ added that on at the end of the ride. I like her logic...

Tailwinds!

Helena Populaire

2011-09-04T08:06:00.001-05:00

When Bill R opted out of this ride (I am very familiar with the notion of "discretion is the better part of valor"), that left Joe, Frank and me to represent the Montgomery area at the Alabama Randonneurs Helena 145K (90 miles) Populaire. The weather report showing temps in the 90s, and 13 mph winds with gusts to 33 did give me some pause too, I confess, but Joe shamed me into going. "Just get behind Frank," he said. That's easier said than done, Joe. We packed up the bikes and high tailed it out of Prattville at 5:30, making it to Helena by 7:00. The ride start was 7:30, and only 11 riders registered. I think only 9 showed up. The morning was pretty and the air was calm. We actually got about 20 miles into the windward leg before it started gusting. The plentiful hills did a good job of providing some relief, although we had to climb the stupid things of course.

The first control was 31 miles out, but I needed a bathroom stop before that, so Frank and I peeled off the train at 16 miles and used the facilities at a C-store. We still made it to the control with plenty of time to spare. We grabbed a snack and re-filled our water supplies and then headed off on the middle (hilliest) third of the course. As we came into Jemison, we saw the lead group heading out. Joe was with them. As it turned out, Joe was the first finisher back on the day. Too bad the last finisher had the car keys. :)

Coming out of Jemison, we picked up a tail wind for a while which would have been really useful on a flat surface. It didn't help much on the hills. Nothing as steep as we ride here, but plenty of them and some very long ones. One in particular seemed to go on forever at 7% - 9% and about 1/2 way up, I called back to Frank that I was pulling off in some shade for a little break. The Sun was baking and my HR was getting too high. The G-rated version of his reply was that he was in complete agreement with my plan. Of course, I was even more toasted having left the sunblock in the kit bag in the car and having none on my skin. We did get some overcast later which helped tremendously. Unfortunately, the overcast was from tropical storm Lee which also brought some "PITA" head and quartering head winds.

More of an issue was the atrocious road surfaces we encountered in two or three places for many miles. Bone and teeth rattling, and bike damaging. Coming down a steep hill on a warped and patched road is the pits. The coup de grace was the un marked rumble warning strips before a stop sign that could easily cause a wreck. I assured Steve, the ride organizer, that the 300K in November that I am mapping (with Jeff Feet) here in Montgomery will have no such pavement. It was on one these stretches that Franks rear wheel had a pinch flat and we stopped to change it. After getting the wheel off, he set out to beat Mike Munk's record of 30 seconds for a tube change. A couple of minutes later, and the tire still on the rim, I offered to get my pry bars. They did the trick. (Steel beads are a pain to get off bare handed). Frank changed tubes and borrowed my seatstay mounted Topeak pump to pre inflate the tube before using his CO2 infaltor. Pump, pump, pump. Nada. "You sure this thing works?" he asked. He then just put the CO2 inflator on and let it seep in, and then full blasted it. Aha! The problem was the spare tube had a leak! No probelmo, Frank carries two spare tubes. Rinse, lather, repeat. And as it happened, the same result. Another leaky tube. Oh oh. Also 2 CO2 carts gone. We used the Topeak to pump up the original tire and were able to see the pinhole. I sanded it, Frank applied glue and then a patch. Voila! The pump pre inflated it, and the last mini CO2 cart got it up to high pressure. Then he fought with the brake that wouldn't open up and admit the wheel replacement. And a bungie cord that almost ensnared the spokes. 45 mins later, Munk's record was still safe. I looked at my watch. "I hope we finish on time, but if we don't I'm still glad we came to ride. "Why wouldn't we finish on time?" Frank asked me. Well, we missed two turns and added 6 more miles and we lost 45 mins here, and now we have a headwind. And since Steve likes to add hills for "interest" to his routes, I knew the final 12 miles would not be flat.

Steve likes to throw in funny little quirks. For example the second control was "Whitney's" store. Only there is no Whitney's. We stopped at McWright's because it was at the right mileage (and as far as we knew where we were supposed to be) and got the clerk to sign our cards. And called it good. To be honest, the last section was not super hilly, it just seemed so because I was low on salt and my muscles needed babying to avoid cramps (which I did successfully)

Frank was great company as always and I was pleased overall with the ride. I averaged 13.7 for 95.4 miles and 5,818' of climb. I'd keep that average and slow down early so I could go stronger later next time, and add electrolyte to the water. I drank 250 oz which is fine. Also, I did not eat enough. 3 "Trio" bars (date/seed/nuts) and two small packs of cookies was all I had. The Saluki behaved very well, and I had no saddle soreness at all. My sides hurt from the pounding on rough roads, but lacking a suspension frame and fork, there was no cure for that.

Yes, I AM looking forward to my first 200K next month up in Birmingham.

Ride Pictures

Closing Season 6

2011-08-31T05:52:00.002-05:00

Last night was the final ride of this year's Prattville ride series. This is the 6th year (iirc) that I've been posting these, but I did them solo for a couple of years before that. Hard to believe that I've worked here in Alabama for over 9 years total now. Been in Prattville for 8 of those, and spent a year and some up in the Gadsden area working for the same guy. We had a very nice turn out. Russ, Joel, Frank, Chris, Steve, Chuck, (new guy) Larry, Jeff, and Joe all motored up and down the hills at about 18 mph. I was just under 15, which is quick for me on this course. I felt good and was steady on the climbs and that was what I came out to accomplish. I know the Bike Club had its Summer party last night too, but I'd rather ride. I do attend the Christmas party to stay in touch with people I never see on the roads up here, but wasting a perfectly good ride opportunity? Nah.

It was a great season overall. Lots of new riding friends came along, while others dropped out of the group. Mostly that was due to class changeovers at Maxwell, but sometimes people just moved away, and in one case, we lost a friend who passed away. Very few rain outs, no crashes, and lots of good training. I can't wait for April to come around again. In the meanwhile, my bike needs a good cleaning and some new cables along with bar tape. Probably time to try a different saddle on it, just because. I may go from brown back to black. Or stay with brown but change the bar tape to match. Oh, the possibilities!

I'm a little anxious about this Saturday's Populaire. It's a moderately hilly 90 miles over roads
that I have never ridden. I'll take the Saluki. It is a French (650B) rando style bike, but tweaked to the Rivendell (English influence) design philosophy. It's comfy and has a 26/34 combo avail if my legs get too tired going up those hills! I'm sure it will be fun though, and if I survive, there is a 200K next month and a 300K the month after. I might become a real Randonneur. For now all I have is an RUSA member # and a 108K Populaire to show for it.

An Up & Down Week

2011-08-25T06:18:00.002-05:00

By "up & down" I don't refer to the rolling hills we so often ride here in central Alabama. The reference is to the emotional highs and lows that have been coming along, and as I write this continue to do so. It's been just over a week since I last rode, which seems like forever to me. Silly of course, to sit here wondering if i can even make it through the usual Thursday route planned for tonight after work. I skipped the ride last Thursday to lend a hand with Alex's wedding preparations. Sharon had been pulling hardest on the oars and was getting frazzled. Staying home and helping her was the obvious best thing to do. Friday, I took a day off from work and drove to Birmingham to pick up 2 out of town wedding guests, then came back to see what else could be done. Saturday started early. I met the wedding planner and her helper at the reception venue at 6:30 AM and we started to set that place up. I hauled a lot of supplies and materials around, making numerous trips to get and relocate needed items. Wedding pictures started at 2PM and the wedding itself at 5:00. The reception followed, and at 11:00 PM, Sharon and I loaded the last of the stuff to be put away into my car and took it home. Alex and Alisha and some friends had left to continue their celebration in a cozier venue. Somewhere in all that, there was time to jump out and mow the yard too.

Sunday morning, I picked up 3 guests at 6:00 AM to drive them back up to the Birmingham airport. I also collected various tuxedos to return that afternoon back in Montgomery, and I stopped at the state prison for a ministry visit with someone I have been going to see for about a year now. While the focus was on getting everything done that needed doing to make the wedding a happy time for the bride, groom and guests, I was keenly aware of the sense of loss I felt. My little boy was a man now, with his own wife and a little boy (hers) that he took in his heart as his own. My job as a dad had passed a milestone. Now, I am "Poppy," and I recede as a parent, while Alex steps into his new and larger role. It is how the world works, and I have always pointed towards this day, but I am saddened none the less, while at the very same time joyful that my child has found the love of his life and has nothing but potential in front of him.

It was Sunday morning while I was on the road that I received a message from Frank that our good friend Tom Wright passed away at 6:00 AM. Tom thought he had the flu a few weeks earlier and saw a doctor. A few days later he felt much worse and went to the hospital where he was admitted. Originally diagnosed with bilateral viral pneumonia, he seems to have succumbed to acute respiratory distress, cause unknown. Needing an oxygen mask at first to get his blood oxygen levels up, he moved to sedation and a ventilator for, I guess, about 2 weeks before giving up his grip on earthly life. Joe & I saw him about a week after his 1st admittance and he was alert, wearing a mask, and happy to see us. That was the last time I saw Tom. Tom first started riding with us (with his pal John) last winter. He became a regular on our rides (2 or 3 times a week) and progressed as a rider very quickly. The bike bug bit him hard and he loved our time in the saddle. He was a guy you just liked right away. Genuine to the core, and his loss is really affecting me. Here he is in colorful tattoos and jersey, with Frank and Pete at Fat Girl's BBQ:

The visitation is tomorrow evening and I'll be there. There is a memorial service as well on Saturday, but I may ride instead. I had already comitted to a volunteer cycling event in conjunction with the DOT and I know that Tom would say "Go and ride!" if I could ask him.

Tom wasn't the only loss in my sphere of connections last week. A dear little girl who I learned of through a cycling friend passed away from a childhood brain cancer after a batlle of more than a year. i had been praying for her and following her ups and downs through the regular updates her mom left on the Caringbridge web site. In like manner, an acquaintence from our Plant City Fl days also succumbed to cancer. I still get prayer list emails from our former church back there and I followed and prayed for this gal as well.

Work is less fun these days but harder if you don't get there to do it, so I'll sign off for now.

Tailwinds.

A Week To Go

2011-08-15T04:43:00.003-05:00

Our (only child) son Alex will marry the love of his life next Saturday, and immediately make us grandparents, as bride Alisha comes with 4 yr old Kael. We are delighted and excited to have them joining our family, but it will be a BUSY week in the run up to the big day. Even so, Sharon posted on FB that she will try to let me get out for the Tues/Thurs rides. Only 2 more weeks of those before we end them for the season, so that will be nice, if it happens.

Saturday was a shorter (41 miles) but hilly route that one of the frequent riders requested. I last was on this one in March, so it was a good choice for a change of pace. Speaking of pace, mine was pretty slow. Just under 14 mph, but even that was 1/2 mph faster than back in March. Did I say there were some hills? AND a broiling hot Sun and drenching humidity. 160 oz of fluid sweated out, as soon as I drank it, or so it seemed. One the other guys along said he needed a 3 hr nap afterwards. That would have been nice, I tell you. I did some quiet things for a bit when I got home, but then took hedge clippers out and gave the profusion of Star Jasmine along our entire back fence line a haircut. I think picking up all the trimmings was hotter work than the cutting. Good thing I waited till after that was done before getting a shower. I would have needed another one as I sweated almost as much as on the ride.

Here are 3 fully lugged steel bikes on the ride. My Rambouillet ("Louise") with her pals Peter Mooney and Serotta. This was a mid ride rest stop in Tallassee, AL. Who'd a thunk you'd see this trio in the boonies of the deep South?

Here are Gabe (on the Mooney) and I cruising after coming up over the 1st big climb on Rifle Range Rd. Yes, that's merino wool you see. :)

Sunday was a version of the no stress relaxer ride that we often do. Ten showed up for the ride (Max, Deb, Amanda - fashionably late, Jeff, Rick, Joan, Rob, Jim, Holly, and Rob) plus Phil who came by looking just as he did in his 1960's college days on a Schwinn Varsity, but who opted to go pick up some items at the store instead of coming along on our outing. Most of us did 20 miles, although 2 cut it shorter. Not as hot as Saturday, and a lot more sociable. I passed out some MS Bike Ride flyers and a couple of folks showed some interest. Hopefully, they'll have fun if they go down to the beach ride next month. As you may recall, I did the north Alabama version this year, but I have been to the beach edition several times before.

I'm not planning on riding next weekend, but you may see some ruminations on how having your only child leave the nest makes you think about lots of things in life. I pray that God blesses Alex, Alisha and Kael richly and that they learn to lean on Him. It would be nice if 1 or more them decided to ride a bike too.

Tailwinds

In Between

2011-08-09T05:52:00.003-05:00

I'm in between rides at the moment. After all those July road miles, Max and I hit the rocky, rooty, gnarly ribbons of dirt running through the woods at the Swayback trail in Wetumpka last Saturday. I have never been so thoroughly sweat soaked in all my life. Yes, it was hot and humid, but what a workout it was hauling that old B-stone MTB (no shocks, but triple butted fully lugged steel frame) up and down the steeps. We only did 7 miles +/-, but we sure felt well exercised. Max tried out his new "Stealth" bike and I tried out some aerial acrobatics. Well, not intentionally anyway. Going up a steep slope, I was silently congratulating myself on how much leg I was getting into the pedals when the front tire bounced up off a root. As the rear wheel continued on its path, the front circled up overhead and I found myself with a clear view of the open sky. Then THUD, on my back and the bike fell too of course.

Max asked if I was okay, and I had to take inventory 1st, before I could answer. Both wrists were sore, but didn't seem broken. A thumb tip was bruised up pretty good. Yeah, I was okay. After a minute of rest, I decided it was time to end my day on the trail. My wrists would not stand more hammering from the profusion of bumps these paths offered. We made it back and I nursed my hurt right hand in my lap on the way home. There was some swelling, but by the next day, both wrists were fine and my thumb, while still not better, is improving each day.

Max was correct in his parking lot observation, "You know, we're not spring chickens anymore." He meant, I am sure, that we take longer to heal and that we need to be more careful in the 1st place. Yeah, yeah. This was my 2d outing on an MTB, ever and it was way better for me than the 1st was. I'll be back :)

So, no road miles on Saturday, but there was a good relaxer ride on Sunday afternoon. 34 miles. With no beginners aboard, we moved at a Club Lite pace, and I really enjoyed it. I pulled almost the whole way, but it was good exercise without straining. Good cadence the whole time.

Last night I mapped out a route idea for a 300K brevet in November, which will start here in Prattville. The Alabama Randonneurs have a 145 populaire in Sept , a 200k in October and then this one. I won't believe in my legs to do it until I do it. Than, I'll know I can do it. Do 20 hrs (or less. That's the time limit including food/rest stops) all told on a bike ride. You know? I'm already telling myself to slow down on this ride!

With our son's wedding coming up on the 20th, my riding will fall off over the week leading up to it, as I tend to other duties, but will pick back up again afterwards. August is sort of teh in between month. In between how I have been riding lately, and how it looks like I may be riding in the months ahead.

I'm also about 2 months into eating only veggies. So far, pretty good.

Tailwinds

503 in July

2011-07-31T21:04:00.006-05:00

That's miles and it's the most I've logged for the 7th month, ever. Not Herculean by a real rider's standards, but I'm pretty pleased with it. The YTD total is also my max ever, as well. While my moving average is just a bit slower than last year, it is faster than 2008 or 2009 were, so what movement there is, is in the positive direction.

Yesterday (Saturday) Frank and Max joined me for a randonee style ride to Clanton for a stop at the Dari-Delite. We did this ride last July and it was just as enjoyable this year. Ron put in cameo appearances at Bubba's PitStop in Marbury and again at the Dari-Delite, but generally he followed his own travel plan for the day. A new to the area rider named Charlie showed up at the start, based on the ride post. When I emphasized the nature of the ride and expected pace (which I did after one look at him and his ride) he thanked me but opted to hop back in the car and head off to other possibilities.

The ride was really uneventful. Very humid, and hot so I sweated a LOT. The Joneswares merino jersey and Ibex wool shorts handle being wet very well. No issues there. I got a little overheated towards the end of the way back as the sun came out and broiled us, but a passing shower providentially provided cool refreshment just when needed, and did not develop into a true downpour until well after I made it home and had showered and changed. Total was 72 miles, 3,355' of climb and a 14.7 avg pace. I rode the Rambouillet and it behaved very well all day. It is running a SRAM 8 speed rear these days. They were on closeout at Bluesky for $9.98. How can you go wrong? I got 11-32 and it works just fine in place of the original equipment Ultegra 12-27 9 speed. With 8,000 mi or so on the bike, this is the 1st replacement cassette needed.

Today after church, I met Max & Deb, Rob and Nicholas and we picked up Rick along the way. Glen came out with his bike, but forgot his shoes so he was just there to say hello before heading back home. Here they all are:

Although clouds were in the area most of the time, the rain cells moved around us and never hit us. Our destination was the Boy's Store in Slapout, but we stopped along the way in both directions as needed. The only excitement of the day was when a large spaniel-retriever looking mix ran out at Rob and sideswiped his bike, nearly knocking him over. As soon as I rang the bell however and yelled at him, he made a beeline back to his own yard and huddled in the doorway. Rob was only slightly rattled, more than anything because it caught him by surprise. He was unhurt and after a moment was ready to carry on. It was the longest ride to date for Rick, Rob and Deb, the longest in a while for Nicholas and a good relaxer for Chris (who rode the Blazing Saddles Century in West Georgia yesterday) and Max & I after our own hot and hilly outing yesterday. Max did the ride on his new mountain bike which tended to equalize his pace to Deb's more closely. 33.7 miles at 13.4 with only 583' of climb. I resisted the urge to loaf at low cadence, and geared to maintain a good HR. Avg was 78 RPM.

Hard to believe that August is already here. In 3 weeks, my daughter-in-law to be will lose the "to be" part, and she'll join our family. She brings with her a darling 4 year old who has already endeared himself to us. I wondered how I would do as a grandfather. Am I old enough for the part? Judge for yourself. We're watching (for at least the 20th time) "Mickey and the Beanstalk"

Tailwinds

Leeds Populaire - Alabama Randonneurs

2011-07-24T05:49:00.001-05:00

Our little Prattville detachment of the Montgomery Bicycle Club has been flirting with the edges of randonneuring for some time now. When Joe asked me what the difference would be between this Populaire and our normal Saturday rides, I answered, "Not very much." For those less acquainted with the term, it's an open road, land navigational style of riding that has as its purpose covering long distances within certain time limits (not too fast, nor too slow) and managing all aspects of the ride yourself. There are no organized rest stops or SAG vehicles and the routes are not marked. As you might tell from the name, it has its origins in France and it is slowly growing in popularity here in the USA. The shortest normal distance is 200Km, but as an introduction to the style for potential new members, a 100Km "Populaire" is often conducted. Many of us ride "metric centuries" at least a time or two during the year, so the distance is not too tough. It's a chance to see how this style of riding works and if we want to pursue it at greater distances.

I first heard of this ride in an email that organizer Steve Phillips sent to the club. Alabama and Randonneur were not normally used in the same sentence, so it was a surprise to see that Steve was trying to get some momentum going for the idea. He also posted it to our club Face Book page and while there were 5 maybes, in the end 3 of us made the drive 90 minutes north to set out from Leeds, Al on this new adventure. Unlike organized metrics such as the Marble City ride we did the week prior, this would have no T-shirt, prizes, or ice cream giveaway (which I passed on anyway) at the finish. It was also only $2, and that to pay for the "control card" or travel record we would each be using.

We (Frank, Joe and I) met at our usual rendezvous in Prattville at 5:15. All the bikes and gear fit in my car, so we took it up, stopping only just outside Leeds to hit the bathroom and purchase anything else we needed. Joe likes to travel in street clothes so he used the bathroom not only for its intended purpose but to switch into riding attire. It was during this part of the day that his ride cost multiplied by a factor of 10. He confided to us in a whisper later at lunch that he inadvertently dropped a $20 bill into the bowl and was actually willing to try to fish it out, however the the motion of his hand set off the automatic flush cycle and it was sucked down instantly. (note to self: have any money from Joe checked by a dog with a sensitive nose before touching) Of course, we told Joe that his secret was safe with us. Right.

We arrived in Leeds on time and got our control cards. I also signed up to be a randonneur with the umbrella group RUSA. Frank is already a member. Looking around, we had the only 3 true classic randonneur style bikes there. Plenty of racer style stuff in carbon and titanium, a sprinkling of rolling Barcaloungers (recumbents) and a pair of tandems. Organizer Steve was on a steel Masi single speed (which he is taking on PBP this year I understand. Paris-Brest-Paris is the ultimate randonneur event, and has to be qualified for in order to enter. It's 1200Km. Here are some of the riders getting ready.

And here we get our pre ride briefing from Steve.

There were about 2 dozen riders and we set off promptly at 8:00 AM. The roads were wet from recent rain, and the air was wet from near total humidity, but a cloud cover kept temps to bearable levels, and my fenders kept road spray off my feet. They didn't help much with the rooster tails coming up from other bikes though and I chose carefully who to ride behind and at what distance. The group stayed together for only a few miles, with the racer types rushing off to be the 1st ones back. By the time we arrived at the 1st "control," a store, they were about ready to depart.

The store clerks at each stop were gracious about signing our cards with the time of our arrival. The cue sheets were noted with the open and close times, and the stops were around 15 miles apart, so we knew we had plenty of time. We also generally made a purchase/used the facilities so these controls were just a formalized version of our weekend store stops at about the same spacing. Here are the speedy people at the control.

The ride was generally very scenic, and while there were plenty of rollers (adding up to about 2,800' of climb) none of the hills were individually as tough as what we ride here at home. I recall 9% as the steepest incline. We rode up a 20% er just this past Tuesday and get 12% to 15% most of the time we ride.

Steve pulled up at the 2d control and we asked him to take a picture of us:

Here are a few on the road shots.

Joe behind a local area rider:

Here I am coming up an interstate overpass and a sneaky side shot that Steve snapped while I was apparently working harder than he was.

Anyway, the Sun came out which made the air drier, but also made the air HOTTER. I ended up drinking 2 1/2 oz per mile which is a LOT for me. About 10 miles from the finish, I really lagged and it hit me that I still had a pretty full hydration pack. Pulling off the road at a stop sign and then again under a tree, I quickly had 25 oz and felt immediately better. No cramps or muscle strains, just fatigue, which was certainly manageable. Frank had other problems though. He has been a little off his racehorse pace the past couple of rides (good news for me, as it means I don't have to ride solo so much) unlike Joe who was way out ahead of us (and has been since he's shed 54 lbs and has the legs of one who rides everyday - which he does) Well, Frank dropped his chain (not in between his cogs this week, thankfully) and while replacing roadside, was stung by a wasp. You can see the red area on his leg here:

We pedaled through a number of small communities and on a mix of smoother and less smoother less smooth roads. Here's a house I liked and it's even for sale (tough commute to work though from here). Ashville, Al

And the old County courthouse. The county styles itself as "older than Alabama."

The route was a lollipop style, so that we went out, made a loop and then returned the last stretch the way we went out. A headwind had picked up, naturally, which as Frank noted was nice to help dry us off, but it did slow us down a hair. Except for Joe of course. He had was changed showered and reading the newspaper in his lawn chair when Frank & I made it back to the cars.

Perhaps I exaggerate a hair. He had his shoes off and was sitting on the car bumper. We were in fact not even the last finishers! Close, but not last. We had plenty of time left anyway, and it was not a race. The figures for the day are not dead accurate as our Garmins did not behave well. I'm logging it as 67.76 miles, 2,890' of climb, and a 15.4 moving average with 4:24 ride time and 5:29 total time (7:12 was the limit iirc) Having signed on as a randonneur at the start of the day, this ride will "count," whatever that means. It was $20. I would have given them Joe's $20, but wrote a check instead. :)

After we got back we toweled off and pulled on T-shirts and headed for some food! Frank had the number 246 in his head and couldn't get it out. Like when you lose 4 toothpicks from a 250 box... We pulled off in Pelham at the Cahaba Vallet Rd exit (# 246!!) and found a Ruby Tuesday, which served up some lunch. Plenty of cars with mountain bikes on the back were in the area as nearby Oak Mountain was seeing plenty of activity. Tons of traffic on I-65 too, and not sure why, but we made it back in fine fashion. A great day, and I'm sort of eager for the next outing. Speed is NOT my thing, and to a degree, speed does not matter for this version of the sport. I guess I need to find a 200Km Brevet and see if my legs will do it! Maybe when it's a hair cooler though.

The Marble City Metric - Sylacauga, Al

2011-07-17T06:38:00.002-05:00

An information notice for this ride was posted our bike club FaceBook page and it seemed like something I might want to try. Sylacauga is less than 90 minutes north of here, and I like to ride in some new venues each year, to get out of doing the same old thing. As it turned out, 5 Montgomery area riders went up to attend. We saw some folks from Birmingham and Auburn as well. That left very few locals on the ride, as total show up was less than 60, according to the event staff. Since 2010 saw only 37 riders, this was seen as a step forward. Threatening weather probably dissuaded others from coming, which is too bad, as the people there did a nice job of organizing and supporting the ride.

We drove through rain to get to the start. Joe and I carpooled with Max and our bikes got plenty of water in the back of Max's truck. No rain at the parking lot though, and as I often do, I carried my no-rain talisman on the ride: a rain jacket. It worked. We never had a drop fall on us, despite riding over still wet roads where showers had recently passed by, but prior to our getting to those particular points on the route. I left the camera in the truck, not wanting to risk getting it wet. The route was clearly marked and the cue sheets were thorough, but I never needed to look at mine.

The toughest climb was about 3 1/2 miles out from the start, and it was not very difficult. Beyond that point, there were plenty of rollers. I never used the small chain-ring, unlike some of our local rides around here. Rest stops were spaced 17 -- 20 miles apart and had friendly volunteers and enough stuff to satisfy most tastes. I packed Sharon's Blueberry Oat bars, but also had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and some pecan sandies along the way. The weather was a mixed bag. Temps were in the 70s all day (very cold for July in Alabama) but humidity was near 100% which drenched us in sweat. A stiff headwind the last 10 miles back was bothersome as well. The clouds kept the Sun from broiling, but the overcast took some of what was probably a pretty ride away.

I skipped the mid week rides this week to allow a saddle sore to heal. Last Summer, I had to see the doctor when lymph glands upstream from the swollen area were getting tender, and he provided both injected and tablet form antibiotics. This year, I was able to lance the thing open and drained it twice a day, changing the bandage and applying more Neosporin each time. After Monday, the swelling went down every day. By yesterday, I was willing to try it out on a ride. It was fine for a while, but began to get a little sore by the 2d rest stop (33 miles) so I opted to cut the ride short to 43 miles, rather than take the other fork in the road for 65. Max looked at the sky and opted to join me. What turned out to be really sore was not that saddle issue, but something new for me. The muscles right under the sit bones were really aching. These could be the gracilis and/or hamstrings. Whichever they are, they were very sore yesterday from being sat on and while better today, are still tender. The saddle sore is fine this morning. It continues to shrink and did not swell at all from use yesterday.

The roads from Sylacauga to Weogufka were really nice. I would like to ride them again sometime. The roads after Weogufka (between rest stops 1 and 2) were very rough and it was more tiring keeping control of the bike on bouncy descents than it was to pedal more slowly uphills. The jack hammering at times was just awful. After rest stop 2, the roads were much better once again.

I tried a new hydration pack insert in the Kelty backpack for this ride. I really like it. Easier to fill than unscrewing a cap, and you can attach/detach the drink tube while the pouch is full of water. Also, it reverses for cleaning. Very nice. I got mine on sale at BlueSky Cycling.

http://www.hydrapak.com/store-2/#ecwid:category=632580&mode=product&product=2479660

It does hold the stated 70 oz (or other size you may buy) but no more. The screw cap styles can be overfilled. I regularly get about 80 oz into the 70 oz bladder that came with the Kelty.

Joe showed up on the custom Ti Seven Axiom, but with a 12 - 29 rear cluster, a Selle Anatomica leather saddle and rocking a Zimbale canvas bar tube! Just paint some lugs on the frame, will ya Joe? :) He's only about 1/2 the man he used to be, so he can add a few grams to the bike set up and still fly! Max was pulling strong as ever. He likes to think when he rides. In other words, his mind wanders. We'll be trundling along nicely at 17 or 18, and woosh! He's gone at 20 - 22 where I cannot follow. Uphill a couple of times like that. Generally, we noticed that while we were often passed on the flats, we kept passing the same people on just about every climb. We would have gotten further in front of them, had the climbs been longer or steeper. Our mid week hill rides certainly help us to climb better. Joe was way out ahead with the fast boys and Bill R rode with Chris W of the Comp-Velo squad. Joe said he dropped off that lead pack after the 1st rest stop, and one of the pack leaders (3rd fastest on the day, resplendent in a Mellow Mushroom team kit) said the group dissolved when 9 dogs converged on them from both sides of the street. Some guys sprinted, some stopped, some reached for spray cans. It was mayhem. We never had any dog issues ourselves. Maybe 3 or 4 dogs showed interest in us the whole day and they all stopped at the ringing of our bells.

So for the say, Louise (the Rambouillet) and I did 43 miles at 14.7 mph and climbed 1,897'. Cadence was 79, a little slower than I would like. I'm still working on that. Good times with the guys. None of us won the prices raffled off, and I passed on a Tee shirt (only 2010 and only XXL) but we would probably do that ride again especially on a nice day.

Tailwinds!

Autaugaville Loop

2011-07-10T19:59:00.001-05:00

Max mentioned last week that it has been a while since we rode the western portion of our county, or words to that effect, so today we revisited a lovely route that we see all too infrequently, mostly because the start/finish point is a little out of the way. I've done this ride at least annually since first mapping in in 2007 (based on Mike Munk's Bamacyclist web page directions).

Usually I am by myself. One year, Bill R came along, another year, Roger B rode with me, but only to the 1/2 way point. From there he took a more direct route back. Imagine my surprise then when 8 other riders showed up today to do the ride! Frank, Joe, Tom, Steve, Chris, Gabriel, Russ, and Max all opted in for the outing.Max was not quite ready when I came by to get him, so we ran just a few minutes late to the start point, a BP station. We ran even later as I was 4th in line at the single hole bathroom, and had to wait for 3 old men to get themselves, err, ready. You might ask, why I was in that line, and yes, I'm an old slow guy too. The group gathered, and you can see Frank already has his fists held high like Rocky on the steps in Philadelphia.

Left to right, the others are: Tom, Chris, Russ, Gabriel, and Joe

I stayed with the group for just a little bit. I pulled for most of the first few miles, which helped :). I was doing 16 - 17, and Russ pulled up alongside and asked if this was "the pace." I said yes, and he pulled in front of me to take a turn at the pull. Of course, within 300 yds, he was cranking 20 mph, and I pulled out of the line and dropped off the back, allowing Max to close up the gap. Everyone was quite happy to trundle along at a quicker step. For me, the ride is better if I don't get too tired early on, and I just stayed at the same 16 - 17 pace all the way up the steady 1% grade to Independence. Thanks to the bright Dinotte tail light on Frank's Bilenky, I could keep the peloton in sight most of the time. The same thing happened after the store stop. Here, in time lapse photography is how the 1st 1/2 mile went:

Actually, I wasn't ALWAYS the last rider. Most rides are like that, with riders slowing to rest and then speeding up when hey have legs again, so all of us moved around in the ride order at various times. Generally though, some riders like Steve & Tom ('Hammer Time") and now Chris & Russ were up front, with Max and Frank more in the center and Joe and I more toward the back. But, like I said, it varies during the ride. And no one really cares, either.

Gabriel was with us for the 1st time, and expressed pleasure at the route, if not the roasting heat and drenching humidity. It really was hot today, and adequate hydration and electrolytes for cramp prevention were a must. Gabe hasn't found his rhythm with us yet, but he will. He certainly fit right in with us. Lugged steel frame too. The 1st Peter Mooney I've seen and it was a clean looking layout. (http://www.peter-mooney.com/) Speaking of lugged rides, Joe was astride his Sam Hillborne and I on Louise, the Rambouillet (both from Rivendell http://www.rivbike.com/) Frank's bike was welded steel, and the other guys were on aluminum or carbon.

Everyone made it to the Statesville Store, which was our only scheduled stop with available water and food resupply. Leaving there, we navigated the flat-lands long the long lazy bend in the Alabama River, turning back on the hilly CR 15 and then the even hillier CR 9, which features the toughest climb of the ride, in my estimation. I mentioned to the others that it was a "nice little pitch" and was being tongue in cheek. I hope no one took me too seriously and then was surprised by a long 9% - 10% climb!

After we cleared that hilly section, it was fairly level, but very coarse chip seal all the way to AL 14. Gabriel was feeling the "burn" as in Sun and heat along with the hills and, here's news: Fishhook was roadside removing his rear wheel to fix a flat tire. Shades of Thursday night in Prattville and a couple of other rides we'd been on. He's certainly been racking up the miles, but it still seems like too many flats. I'd change tires, check the air pressure, check my rims, SOMETHING. His tread was showing strands of fiber so that tire was toast. Joe & I told him to boot it with a dollar bill. Joe stayed with him, while I went on ahead to the stop sign at AL 14 to alert the others. All the good bike parking there was already taken, so they made me rest Louise under this:

Ha ha. Very cute fellas. Fortunately, all the hornets were at an away game today and none bothered me or the bike. While we waited, a local in a pick up came past, tail gate down and truck bed low to the ground from the heavy load of fence posts and lumber in back. He asked if we were okay and we said we were, and just waiting for a friend to fix a flat. Not long after, he drove back by, with Chris's bike in the back with the lumber, and Chris in the passenger seat. Very nice of this kind stranger to help us out!

At this point, Gabriel had started to feel cramps and opted to take Al 14 directly back, cutting about 10 miles off the ride, and most of the remaining hills. Not all though. The rest of us went back on the route and navigated the rollers north of the main road in pretty steady fashion. Frank lagged a little on the hills and we waited for him in what sparse shade we could find at the corner of CRs 9 and 45. When asked how he was, he replied that he has been better. It was getting VERY hot, and baking in the sun while trying to help Chris may have dampened his drive for the day. It would mine, I know. Just a little way further and Max, who was about out of water, stopped at a hole in the wall church from a denomination we were not familiar with. Some sort of holiness church. Max tried to get a hose spigot going, but to no avail. Just as we were about to give up and head on, some people came out of the church and greeted us warmly. Frank asked if they had any water we could get and they went and brought us out a bottle each of COLD water! Talk about your basic Divine Providence for sure!

Not long after we left there, I took a swing from my hydration pack and discovered it was empty! Good thing we got some water. The rest of the way back was uneventful. Mostly downhill from there and when we hit the BP station, Tom, Russ, and Steve were relaxing and reliving the points of interest on the day. We said our goodbyes and packed up, and headed home.

Despite, heat and Sun, humidity and hills, a bit of headwind, and coarse roads, this goes down as a good ride. 53.31 miles, 2,432' of climb, and 14.6 mph avg pace. Russ and the other quicker riders averaged in the 17s.

Couple of away rides the next two weeks. The Marble City Metric next Saturday in Sylacauga, AL and then the initial EVER Alabama Randonneurs Populaire. Yes, Alabama and Randonneur now both can be used in the same sentance. Who'd a thunk it? Which bike will I take? What wool will I wear? Where are all my savvy Oregon biking pals when I need them for advice?

Whatever rides you do, whenever you do them, Tailwinds!

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2011-07-10T07:26:00.001-05:00

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How Does it Feel?

2011-07-04T19:02:00.002-05:00

Like many others, I keep records of my rides, and sometimes look to see how I did over a given route from one ride to another. Harder to quantify is how a ride feels to me. Today's ride was no special outing performance-wise (which only became apparent after coming home and downloading the Garmin) but it felt really good. Instead of mashing up the hills, today I spun. In 95F heat and strong Sun, I spun in low gears, but I spun. I often looked down and saw #'s between 16 and 20 on the cyclometer MPH readout. At the end of the ride, I was coming in at 17.5. I was not all spent energy-wise after the ride. No cramps, and when I tired along the way, recovery came fairly quickly once I slowed down a bit. I drank 180 oz of fluids on the ride of 70 miles (and just after when I drained the balance of the Kelty hydration pack in the parking lot).

Just 4 of us today. Frank, Tom, Joe and me. Joe looks like a shadow of his former self, having dropped 50+ lbs, but looks very fit. He brought his Rivendell Sam Hillborne again today and I was on my Rambouillet. They look good together. Frank said he wasn't feeling super perky, but managed to pull away at 20+ mph on several occasions. Tom was fast, like always, but he would double back a time or two and rejoin us. Calm air early, but a stiff breeze later, first from the West and then the South, so we had it in our faces in two directions. Un fun. Plenty of climbing and some of the hills have not seen us and our bikes in some time. I first rode this route in May 2008, but only rarely since then. It's a great workout if you are in shape, not a fun one if you're not.

We had fun with ice today. Frank, as usual, bought a jug of water and a bag of ice at Bubba's Pit Stop in Marbury. After some cajoling, we got Joe to (shades of another rider on the Selma ride last year) dump some down his shorts. That lasted less than 5 seconds. He found it less comfy than the other guy did, I guess. Frank got Tom to put a few pounds of it down the back of his (Frank's) shirt, and Frank found that very comfy. Picked up his pace on the bike immediately.

We also got into a discussion of whether we should wave cars around us when the road looks clear ahead. Being courteous vs. being open to lawsuit in case all does not go as planned. No definitive answer on that one yet.

I wore an old US Postal red/white/blue jersey to mark Independence Day, and the later dark blue/yellow team shorts to note the current TdF underway.

Hope you enjoyed your ride wherever it was. Did it feel good? Regardless of fast or far you rode.

Tailwinds

Bruce

Town & Country Ride

2011-07-03T07:34:00.001-05:00

When you ride the same roads all the time, it can get boring. For this holiday weekend, I chose one route we haven't done in a while, and put together a new one which was a different mash up of roads we have been on before at one time or another. The Long North Hills ride, which we'll do on the 4th will be a great work out and fill the entire morning. The Town & Country ride we did yesterday was shorter, and featured a fair amount of flats, where higher pace could be maintained. High pace doesn't really matter for me. It seems my engine has a speed governor of about 19 mph. Anything over that really tuckers me out. Under that and I am Okay for long periods of pedal turning.

We started near my house, and rode over to the next town, Millbrook. Passing through the Main Street area and city hall, we headed on towards Elmore, then Deatsville, Posey Crossroad, and south to Prattville, where we finished the bulk of the ride with a stiff cat 5 climb (our 2d of the ride) up a lovely street in the historical district of downtown. Hopefully, everyone wasn't so intent on the climbing effort that they missed the pretty architecture and lawns. 50 miles, and about 15 mph avg for me.

I stayed with the other riders for about 1/2 the time. When we neared the Elmore prison complex, I had to drop off the back and slow down a little. I rejoined the group at a store stop, but again fell back to a slower pace after a while. Hopefully, these intervals with the stronger riders will help me to get faster too, for those times that I choose to motor along more smartly. I was pleased to note that muscle and lung recovery was more rapid upon slowing that I used to experience. Makes sense given what I'm eating these days.

It's now two full weeks on a vegetable diet, and I feel pretty good. I like the food, and I get to eat enough that I'm not still hungry after meals. My weight which initially jumped up a few lbs, has dropped back to where it was when I started it. We took our son and his fiancee to dinner at Ruby Tuesday last night and I stuffed myself silly. A full bowl of spaghetti Squash, zucchini and marinara (272 cal) grilled zucchini (45 cal) grilled green beans (41 cal) and a plate from the salad bar with spinach, butter-head lettuce, edamame, sliced mushrooms, slivered carrots, broccoli fleurets and fat free balsamic vinaigrette dressing (low cal, lots of nutrient). I've cut coffee consumption by 1/2 or more and may take a stab at lowering the diet soda intake. Am I healthier? I think so, but don't really know. While most of what I've read supports the work of Campbell (The China Study) there are those who dispute his methods, analysis and conclusions from statistical (not philosophical) grounds.

For example this: http://rawfoodsos.com/2010/08/03/the-china-study-a-formal-analysis-and-response/

Campbell exposes himself to this sort of critique by failing to present a dispassionate scientific position. Instead, he calls Robert Atkins "an obese..snake oil salesman." which is not true either. He was a cardiologist who died after a fall on an icy sidewalk. Campbell fails the serious scientist test in his reporting in other cases as well. A pity, as what he presents IS worthy of our consideration.

Well, time to get ready for church and whatever the rest of the day has in store. Looking forward to wearing my old red white and blue US Postal jersey tomorrow. Reminiscent of the pre-doping scandal days of the TdF and Independence Day.

Tailwinds..

To The Dog House

2011-06-25T19:56:00.001-05:00

I think I may be in the dog house for a while with Steve & Tom. I suckered, err, invited them both on today's ramble from East Montgomery through Tuskegee, up to Notasulga, and back via some rural Macon County Podunk towns with the promise of low traffic roads and generally good scenery. "No dirt roads, right?" asked Steve. "Nope" I replied. I last rode this route in July of 2010, and FORGOT that yes, there is an awful section in the middle of CR 56 where it goes from paved to dirt and back to paved again. The road was washboard rough and wore us out just trying to maintain a grip on the bikes. I had it easier on a steel frame and with 36 mm tires at only 65 psi. They were on skinny tire Crabon racer bikes and I'm sure felt it more severely. Neither is talking to me at this point, despite my abject apology for the lapse in memory.

And that was just the first section of dirt. CR 9 runs out of pavement too. We never rode it last year because one of the riders needed to divert to a store and get cooled down and re hydrated. We cut south before we reached that point. I will say the 2d road was mostly a lot smoother than the 1st, but they still weren't talking much to me.

But there was so much more to this ride than even all that!

In addition to the afore named, Frank and Max came out for the ride. I was first there, and used the time to recon up Barganier Rd, which MapMyRide said we could use on the way back from US 80. WRONG. It's a private road for about 1/2 its length, so I knew we would have to take CR 9 back in (the paved portion of it). We pulled out on time. No signs of rain, so I left the rain gear in the car. Turns out, it was never needed, although in the heat of the later portion of the ride, a rain would have been a good thing. Tom has his Subaru running again, now WITH an oil filter. Thursday saw him carting the TREK around in the back of a Chevy and he said the OutBack had died. Glad it was only a loosely applied filter wrench by some un named mechanic. I've done that with a drain bolt before, so I know how it feels.

While we were getting our stuff together, a group of unfamiliar riders pulled in to the John Hall Store parking lot. I walked over to say hello, and Chad introduced himself, as well as Sara and John and a few others. They all ride out of Montgomery Multi Sports and I know them on Dailymile.com but have never met them. It was a pleasure. Sleek and fast, they are largely tri-athletes and not a crowd I could hang on the pace-line with. Chad asked if food was involved in our ride today. Of course Chad :). Less speed, but lots of climbing too.

After we left the parking lot and headed up towards US 80 by CR 9, we met oncoming riders from the bike club. Dan, Bill, Frank, David Richard and some others all flew by at speed, but we shouted out greetings, and it was great to see them all.

We made it to Tuskegee in good order and at a quick pace. Despite being on the Saluki, the slowest riding off my bikes, I was able to hang on to the pace-line. Not fast enough to pull it, but I stayed with them. They were running 18 - 20 avg, which is way above my 14 - 16 flat terrain pace. (Generally a 13 - 15 overall avg for me). Max, who had not ridden all week, nonchalantly cruised along at 20 - 22.

I had a plain biscuit with Jam and OJ at the golden arches and after breakfast, we shoved off.

Leaving Tuskegee, I realized I needed to back off the pace and slow down. I continued along at about 16 and keep Frank's Dinotte tail light in sight. Max pulled over at I-85 and waited under the overpass for me and we rode more or less together for a while. It was lovely calm 71 F when we started but warmed fairly quickly, and while a breeze came up, it was never a problem. By the time we reached our signature attraction for the ride, The Dog House, in Notasulga, the Sun was hot! We pulled in the parking lot only to find that they were not yet open. Workers were there however, and the owner said he could grill hamburgers and dispense ice cream and sodas. Everyone was able to get something and Tom pronounced the hamburgers as "good." tasting like "Friday night football game concession stand food."

We filled our water bottles/packs up and headed off through rural Macon County. It was along this stretch that we encountered the hardscrabble roads, along with an aggressive dachshund that ran out and nearly got under someone's wheel. Not too long after the awful section of CR 56, Frank's drive train locked up as he began up a steep grade. The chain was wedged in between two of his cogs. Max and I stopped with him and Max held the bike while Frank applied Herculean force to the stuck parts, eventually freeing them. His whole cassette was actually loose. The lock ring had spun off the free hub and was loose. Naturally, this allowed the cogs to migrate and open up a space for the chain to fall in. Frank put it back on hand tight and then was able to secure it using the folding electrician's pliers in his tool kit. Next time Frank, carry one of these, will ya? http://www.parktool.com/product/cassette-lockring-tool-fr-5 (or, a Stein tool works too. Franks says he has one of these, in fact).

Frank asked me if I would venture a guess as to how his cassette lock ring shook loose. "Insufficient torque when you built the wheel?" I asked, with a straight face.

While we were roadside, admiring Frank's field expedient fix with a Leatherman, a dented and faded pick up truck of unknown vintage stopped to ask about our situation. Two guys and a gal between them. After we told them we had things under control, they said we'd probably be okay, but watch out for "the n****rs." I could NOT believe my ears. Strains of 'Dueling Banjos" ran through my mind. I have not encountered such overt prejudice in more years than I can recall, and it was very unsettling to see it again. People like that present the greater danger, I suspect.

Not long after the repair was completed and we got under way again, my left leg locked up from thigh cramps. Steve graciously hung back with me a minute, and I pulled off and consumed a Power Bar electrolyte gel, washing it down with some Propel. The relief was instantaneous. I was able to remount and ride normally for almost another 20 miles. As it happens, after that, cramps came back and I was out of gel. So I drank all I could and geared down to an easy spin for the final few miles of the ride. That and the dirt sections played havoc with average speed, but it was fine for me anyway, overall. And quite the riding adventure.

We used the Gamins to map out an alternate course when we ran into the 2d run of dirt roads. That worked out okay and the mileage ended up being just a little over plan. 71 instead of 68.

And, in the divine Providence department. When I got home and took the bike out of the car, the front tire was so flat it was coming off the rim. 71 rough miles today and no problems. I picked up something in the parking lot that totally flatted me. If you are going to flat, in the back of your car sure beats out with the hillbillies who pick their teeth with a case knife.

It was a good ride other than the rough dirt sections, and I believe that Tom and Steve will someday ride with me again. Maybe with fatter tires though. I had plenty of energy, and am liking how the vegetable diet works on long duration exercise. I drank my usual 1 1/2 oz per mile, but need to up that if I am going to try to ride faster as I did for a portion of today's outing. I've dropped 1/2 lb a couple days in a row now and am enjoying the new way of eating pretty well. I appreciate Sharon's help with all of this.

If you rode today, hope you enjoyed it.

Tailwinds!

The China Study Diet

2011-06-24T04:48:00.002-05:00

Not really the name of it, but the title of a book by T. Colin Campbell which inspired Sharon to go pseudo-vegan (all unprocessed vegetables all the time, but not the politics, and avoidance of leather, etc). It's plant based eating and purports to provide better defense against cancer and heart disease than eating animal products does. It's also the 1st diet given to us in Gen 2 (before animals were killed following the "fall" in Gen 3) and the one that Daniel and his 3 pals did so well on, when they eschewed the non kosher stuff pushed at them by the Babylonians (The original "10 days to Better Health!" plan). I've done Atkins from 2002 - 2006 and again from 2009 until last Thursday. Generally speaking, I lost 42 lbs on it and maintained good blood sugar and cholesterol #s (with statin medicine help). The vegetable diet also promises good health, and weight control, but with the added benefit of better circulatory system health and anti-cancer effects from the macro and micro nutrients found in natural foods. Sharon is taking online classes via Cornell Univ on the diet and is far better read on it than I care to ever be. And she said she'd cook for me :)

Like Atkins, Campbell says processed carbs, sugary sweets and salty fatty foods are bad for you. You don't eat french fries or white bread on either plan. It's taking me some getting used to but I am starting to get a sense of what, when, and how much I need to eat. My weight jumped up 5 lbs in the 1st 3 days. This was water absorption, since Atkins which is a ketogenic diet, causes you to lose water, and my body just refilled. I'm down 1/2 lb today, the first day of a loss since eating this way. Sharon has lost close to 40 lbs so far in about 6 months herself. I find that I really like the food. Vegetarian chili on brown rice last night was wonderful. Bruschetta on toasted baguettes the day before was also yummy (3 types: mushroom, tomato, and cannelli beans.) I'm getting more confident in tweaking my orders at lunch places too. "Give me the fat free dressing and HOLD the cheese, please."

On the ride last night, I had plenty of energy, which was something I was concerned about. Would low fat plants be able to fuel my legs? Last night at least, the answer was yes. Do I miss meat? Not so far. Earth Fare has a salad bar and lost of fake meat dishes. I tried some curried soy chicken salad and it was exquisite. But the Tabouli was great too. It hit me the other day that I don't need to kill something in order to get a meal now, and I really liked that. Not that I felt any guilt before, because I absolutely did not. Nor do I now. But I like not having to.

Okay, time to go plank and lift some weights. Good ride planned for tomorrow. Bagel thins with hummus, Newman's cereal and almond milk for breakfast. Yum

Father's Day Weekend

2011-06-18T19:01:00.002-05:00

It's been kind of a very full week on a number of fronts. On Tuesday, FedEx came and took the '95 ("pre-production!") Rivendell Road Standard frame and fork to be painted at Airglow Bicycle Painting. I've exchanged a couple of emails with THE painter (as he describes himself) Hill Clarke, and settled on the color scheme and details. It's an expensive proposition of course, but less than 1/3 of what this frame would cost new today, and it will have a better than new finish on it when it comes back. I spent a good bit of time with de-greaser and a scrubber to clean up the parts group which was taken off the bike prior to shipment. The chain was ready to be replaced, so a new one is ordered. I'll have to see if the cables can be re used. I think the bar tape will stay despite being faded and somewhat worn, but the inside ends will be properly finished. No more black electrician's tape. Tuesday evening, we had a big turn out and a hard ride on the hill training drill. Oh, in between, was work. Busy at the office. One of our projects was damaged by a microburst while it was under construction and we have been scrambling to help the buyer get his insurance claim filed and get the project back on track. I got an email last night in fact, giving the go ahead to replace the wind damaged materials (something like 75 tons of it!). And make it Fast! Right. http://www.crestviewbulletin.com/sections/article/gallery/?pic=1&id=14365&db=crestview

The economic non-recovery means that each project has lots of bidders and getting them is tough. Margins remain thin, but somehow we've had enough to get by on. I worked with our sales team this week on proposals for FL, TX, and GA. Maybe we'll hit one or more of them.

We rode again on Thursday, and while my average was a little under 15 mph (on the quick side for me for a hilly course) I was a good mile behind the pack. I'm delighted that enough greyhounds come out that they can challenge each other to a good workout. My own effort level was not lacking and suited me just fine.

I posted today's ride and pedaled from the house to the 7:00 AM rendezvous point where Tom, Joe (got in from Ft. Worth at midnight the night before. Very impressed to see him show up today. And ride well) and Chris "Fish Hook" (the name he got due to the method of flatting he ran into TWICE on group rides with us. He just attracts them.) Fish Hook assured us that Ray was out of town, and I knew Frank was not coming. Someone else spoke up for Steve's plans, and so with all known heads accounted for we shoved off at 5 mins till. As we left the parking lot, I picked up Ron in my rear view mirror. I was going slow enough for him to catch up if he wanted to, and we wended our way. I was leading at 13 - 15 (the advertised range) when they all sailed past me. That's pretty much how it went all day (they sailed past me) but that was okay. We picked up Jeff as we closed in on the second store stop, coming from his house. For the 1st 20 miles, I hung on to the line and we moved along smartly. After the 2d store stop though, I decided to ride my own ride. Jeff asked me a NUMBER of times if I wanted to get on his wheel and catch the others. No thanks. I told him that I ride 4,000 mi a year, have done multi state solo self supported rides into unending headwinds, and just know how to listen to my body and take what the road gives me. And NO Jeff, I don't want a push in the back climbing the hills. We're not Coppi and Bartali or Gaul and Bahamontes. Well, I'm not, anyway. I see nothing wrong with climbing a steady 5% grade at 10 mph. Go faster all you like. Once Jeff and the rest pulled on ahead to really test their wings, I relaxed and just rode my ride.

The Rambouillet was just perfect today. I couldn't order a custom frame that would fit me any better than this bike does. Last night I adjusted the seat a hair, and serviced the front hub. It was as smooth as glass today. I ran the factory recommended 32 mm Pasela TGs tires and at only 75 psi. Very sure footed and smooth over rough stuff. The weather was less perfect. It was overcast, calm and humid early, and blazing sun, hot and head windy late. Neither was optimal, but both were ride-able. Jeff had an explosive flat when a spoke came loose and punctured his tube, but other than that, no one seemed to have any mechanical issues. He was able to ride on the wheel so no bail out phone call was needed.

Today was the first try riding on my new diet. I'm following Sharon's lead on this, and am a babe in the woods on the details, but I went from Atkins to vegetarian. Not a small shift in menu, to be sure. I had no idea how energy levels would work, etc. All, in all, I think it went okay. I still avoid sugary sweets, but just about everything else is different. I'll have to home in on when and how much of what I need to eat pre, during, and post rides.

The metrics for the day: 66.2 mi at 14.8 avg. (1 mph slower than the last outing over this course in April, but certainly right on my average for the 12 metric or longer rides this year) 2,402' of climb. HR was only 129 avg so I wasn't working too hard (plan was to stay in fat burn zone) by design.

Looking forward to Father's Day tomorrow. It's usually the ONE day a year, my son says, "hey Dad, let's get the ball and gloves out and play catch." Maybe this year, he and I and his stepson-to-be can all pedal instead.

From a FaceBook friend's wall : "Remember your son will follow your example, not your advice."
Great observation.

Off the bike this weekend

2011-06-13T04:36:00.002-05:00

Despite perfectly good riding weather, my schedule was completely booked Saturday and Sunday, so no riding. That doesn't mean no calories were expended, or that I missed out on the chance to broil in the Sun. Our son Alex wanted very badly to put a storage shed in his back yard, and we found a kit for one 10' x 12' that suits the slab prior owners put down. The thing has a slew of pieces and a zillion screws, as well as less than perfectly clear instructions, so the going was at times slow. Day one had the sub-assemblies done and the base and mid-wall frames together with wall sheets in at the corners. I went home after a long sweaty day, while he continued on. It wasn't long before he called to tell me that the sheets on the back wall would not overlap correctly at the middle. I gave him what ideas I had, but finally said, "I'll look at it tomorrow after church."

Alex , fiancee Alisha, and her son (4) Kael joined me at church, which was very nice. Kael was very good, and as well behaved as you might expect a 4 yr old to be. Afterwards, I went home, grabbed lunch, changed, mowed our yard and then headed back over to the shed project. Kael has rapidly made himself dear to me, just by being himself. He calls me "Poppy," which is what I called my own favorite grandfather, who is also who we named Alex after. I was also able to talk more with Alisha and am happy to get to know her a little better. Kael generally entertained himself with a train set and cartoons, while Alex and I worked on getting the back wall right. We had to remove 1/2 of the screws which had been installed, and after about 30 minutes of checking dimensions, I was pretty sure the thing had gotten out of square. We adjusted a few things and then it all went back together like it was supposed to, so we proceeded from there.

By the time I left yesterday (about 6 PM), all the walls were up, the gables were on, rafter and roof beams in place and the 1st roof sheet was installed. It's starting to look like a real project, instead of a pile of parts. Alex and I worked well together, swapping off on tasks and sunshine exposure. He didn't seem to mind when my old bones needed a rest or a sip of water. He was also much better able to get down on the ground to install the floor level fasteners. My knees sure don't take to that very well anymore. From here out, Alisha can lend a hand when Alex needs it to finish up, but I can swing by if needed at some point during the week.

The week is not totally devoid of bike news though. My 1995 Rivendell Road Standard frame set is boxed up with a deposit check and will ship off today via FedEx ground to Airglow Painting (http://www.airglowpainting.com/) for a freshening up. Pictures of course, when it's done. I've settled on repainting it the same minty blue it came from the Waterford factory with, but with the lugs and fork crown arrow heads and windows done in cream for contrast. Meanwhile, I've been cleaning the drive train which came off it, and will be using a new chain and cables when it goes back together. I'm keeping the scuffed up Brooks bar tape, but will replace the black electrical tape I finished the ends with. Maybe not twine, but perhaps the stuff you see on tennis racquets. The cloth that comes in a Brooks set is useless. It peels off immediately (hence the electricians vinyl tape).

Weather permitting, I'll be pedaling the hills Tuesday and Thursday. See you then!

Tailwinds

MS Bike - 2011

2011-06-05T02:12:00.004-05:00

Some readers may recall that it was the 2003 MS150 from Detroit to Lansing and back that got me started cycling. That 1st effort was on a Trek Navigator 100 - a rail trail bike, and training for the ride was how I came to become a cyclist. This year was the 9th consecutive year of fund raising for this charity and I was delightedly surprised at the nice show of support from many quarters. The North Alabama ride is a one day affair, so it's not an MS 150, but rather a 75 mile ride. The course chosen this year is the NOAH trail, which is an exceptionally well marked network of roads in Limestone County. No bike lanes or shoulders to ride on, but with so much signage, the cars are LOOKING for cyclists and treat them well. A very scenic layout, it is a challenging one as well. Steep 16% drops to and from the several stream crossings as well as long grinds, err grades, and very coarse chip-seal (felt more like going downhill on a mountain bike trail) all demanded effort and attention. It was hot with a heat index of 103 and in the afternoon, windy.

The planning and ride support by the MS Bike staff was outstanding. Routes were well marked, rest stops very convenient and well stocked. I especially loved the bagels with Nutella. After the ride, showers were available across the street and a BBQ served up burgers and hotdogs or subs from Quiznos, or snack type foods.

I drove up on Friday and used frequent traveler points for a free night at a hotel. Made the 7:30 start easier, as it's a 3 hr drive from my house to Athens. I met another Rivendell for the 1st time on one of these rides. Here is Tom, from Mississippi, and his early production Atlantis. We tried to ride together but it just was a bad match. He was way faster than me downhill but the reverse uphill. I ended up quite a bit ahead and just poked along at my own pace. Tom did ride up all the hills, unlike a number of folks who just thought a long 16% uphill on a hot day was more than they cared to struggle with. I can't say I blame them either. There is no shame in walking when you need to.

I took Louise up for the ride, and let some air out of the Contis for comfort: down to 85 psi. I should have brought fatter tires. 28 mm was just too skinny on the rough stuff. Pari-Motos would have been a better choice. Here's Louise, all dressed up and ready to go!

The route was almost entirely rural. When we did go through towns, they were the tiny, charming type that made you think, "I'd like to come back here and just look around someday."

A co worker gave me another name to ride for this year, so Sarah was added to the list. Before the ride, we heard from two young men who have MS and both confirmed that recent improvements to treatment - discovered as a result of research funded in part by these rides - have given them much more normal lives, and for which they were very appreciative. As it happens, I made "top banana" this year and here is the rider #.

AMBA - 2011- Continued

2011-05-30T17:35:00.005-05:00

Thursday night, the rain started after we headed into town for dinner at our sponsors of the day, Mike and Ed's BBQ. True to our regular calling, we missed no gastronomical opportunities on this trip.

While we dined, the storms blew through, and while limbs back at the park fell close to our humble abode, none fell ON it. Came close to Max's truck though

Friday and Saturday, we drove to a remote start location for each day's routes. On Friday, we drove to the Opelika Sportsplex and headed off to West Point Lake and dam. It was an enjoyable, mostly level and not too windy ride. The Dam itself has a roadway and we pedaled it. For a change of pace today, and because he had mentioned some saddle discomfort with his Koobie saddle, I offered to let Max try my spare Selle Anatomica. Yes, Since the SUV was along, I packed EVERYTHING in my garage "just in case." The extra tires and bike tools were not used, but you know how that works. Anyway, I welcomed Max to the land of leather. Looks pretty good, I think.

He said something about ordering himself one after we got back home... Here are some assorted pictures.

The first one is the rest stop at the entrance way to the West Point Dam. The next is the road on the dam. Then me on the road.

Lunch was at the "Irish Bred" pub in Lanett. We met two of the other touring cyclists there, Mike and Marjorie. She is the president of Alabike, a state cycling advocacy group. What caught my eye first of course, is that they were on his and hers Rivendell Romulus bikes. So we parked them all together and took a few pictures, none of which are that good.

From there we just pedaled on back to the car and made our way to "home."

Our last day was Saturday and we drove to the Lake Oliver Marina in Columbus and biked through town, along the RiverWalk and through Ft Benning. The flattest route of the 4 days, it still was a challenge, as our legs cooled off after point of interest stop. The stops today were the most interesting. The Confederate Naval Museum, The US Army Infantry Museum, and of course cruising through very bike-friendly Columbus. Although there were plenty of eateries there, we opted to stop on base at a Subway, because it was there and we were hungry. Some pictures:

It was emotional for me to revisit Ft Benning and the Infantry exhibits. I wore the OD get up in one of the pictures, and did OCS here in '73. I exchanged a few comments about how some things never change with soldiers and the military with a female OCS candidate who was also there touring, and was totally caught off guard when she said, "Thank you for your service." No one ever did that before. It's not something I ever wanted thanks for, but it was very moving. I wished her a successful OCS and ensuing career.

Today was "Armadillo" day for road signs. We tried not to confuse the yellow painted ones for these others which we quite plentiful;

On the way back, we had a bit of adventure. I noticed Max's wheel wobbling and he stopped to check it. Turns out a broken spoke was at fault and Max did a field expedient zip tie fix!

On the way through town, we found a bike shop, and they had a new spoke in there in 30 mins and under $20!

All in all, it was a good trip. Tour director Peter Wolf did a superb job on a modest budget, with ample help from his family and friends. Mama Ralphel's catering was something to look forward to every morning. The rides were all good and shorter options available for those who wanted them. The time of year was great for sleeping weather in a tent and generally for riding. Thanks to Max for asking if we should do this. Yes, Max, it was a good idea.

AMBA - 2011

2011-05-30T16:16:00.008-05:00

A couple of months ago, Max asked if I might be interested in doing a multi day tour with him and he suggested the AMBA (Alabama's Magnificent Biking Adventure) as an option. I agreed on both accounts and we signed up for 4 of the 7 days the tour runs. Based in a static location, you set up camp once and go on daily routes to points of interest. When you get back, your vehicle is available if needed. We could have stayed at a hotel, or a park cabin (air conditioned!) but we roughed it in Max's Columbia tent.

We're at Chewacla State Park, near Auburn, Alabama. This was a large site, with a pair of plumbed bathrooms on site and a shower facility available not too far away. We parked by the tent and pedaled from here both Wednesday and Thursday. On Friday and Saturday, the routes required us to drive to a remote start point. We arrived Tuesday night and not knowing any of the lay of the land, we got back in the car after making camp and drove to Provencini's in Opelika, which Max knew of and which was very good.

Each day, we started out with a good breakfast provided by Mama Ralphael. This couple caters bike rides in many places, including Ragbrai. They were pleasant people and have lived on a boat, cycled all over, and obtained their mobile kitchen via Ebay. Here it is:

Coffee was always ready by 5:30, although the official serving time was 6:00. It was very stout bodied stiff too and available with real 1/2 and 1/2, and flavored syrups. Unexpected comfort out in the woods!

All the routes for the week were provided when we checked in, along with the requisite Tee shirt, local promo items and some samples of peanuts. The ditty bag they all came in was pretty useful. It saw service as a shower stuff tote all week.

Each day, the route was marked with a different color and symbol, usually related to a food theme. Overall maps and turn by turn directions were provided. The maps were not useful, so we went by the turn by turns and markings. The mileage on the turn points was sometimes off, but the roads themselves were not, so we were able to check the Garmin maps and be more sure of our path, when questions arose, as they did several times.

Our 1st day, we looked for blue snakes and arrows. Leaving the campsite, we pedaled across a grassy field, then a dirt road, then coarse pavement and then finally a bike trail. Here I am ready to adventure!

Not knowing what I'd need, I ended up with a Kelty 70 oz hydration pack and just 1 of the water bottles. The pack alone proved sufficient and from then on, the bottles stayed home. Max and I started off together, but my Garmin kept confusing his cadence sensor and mine, so I asked him to let me drop back some (50' or so) in order to re-scan for it. While I was thus focused, Max turned left down Mill Creek Rd, while I pedaled ahead on the bike path. I came to US 29, no Max. He does get bursts of happy legs and accelerates out of view at times so I figured I'd find him at the next turn. Meanwhile, he was waiting at the bottom of a hill waiting for ME to show up. I turned on to Lee CR 10 as instructed, but no Max. It was very foggy and my glasses were near useless, so I took them off and just pedaled. I could see better without them, truthfully. Max finally took off as well, and as it turned out, I should have gone left as he did, but not before calling my phone 15 times and leaving 3 voice mails. Fact, a phone in a backpack, in traffic, is hard to hear. When I got the 1st rest stop, the fog had lifted, and when I checked my phone, I saw he had called and got a hold of him. Turns out we were only a few miles apart and I waited there for him to re connect. Nothing fancy at the rest stops, but always enough to eat and drink and always nice friendly volunteers.

This one was at a volunteer fire station in Reeltown, AL. Riders from NC and OH are in the picture. In fact, locals were in the minority here. We met riders from MI, WI, GA and MO in addition to some from Huntsville. We were the only Montgomery area folks along.

Our Weds route took us to the Lake Martin Dam, where we had a neat tour of the inner workings of the hydro-electric generation unit by Alabama Power Company staff. To get there, we had to climb some long 13% grades on a hot day! We did get to a scenic overlook though and it was nice. Here's Max, the hill climb conqueror!

Some pictures of the Lake Martin, the dam and power station.

Yes, the place is FULL of purple martins. You could almost reach out and grab one. The crane on tracks below is used to lift open the floodgates when the lake level is lowered. The lake is about 160' deep by the dam.
These generators have been in continuous service since 1926. If it ain't broke...

After the tour, we pedaled on to Niffers on lake Martin for lunch. It was a pasta casserole buffet and came with the ride. Not scrumptious, but satisfying, and the staff was very attentive. Then we climbed some more and headed to the final rest stop of the day. It was noted as mile 59, but at 59 miles, no rest stop. Another pair of riders coming towards us advised us to reverse course because we had all missed a turn. Max and I consulted the Garmin maps and decided to push on another 1 1/2 miles from where we were, and sure enough, at mile 64, we found the rest stop. The other folks gave up a little too soon. Eventually they figured it out and came up while we were still eating our snacks. The final pull back to the campsite was all dead into the wind. Just what you want after 5,000' of climb... By the end of the day, Max still looked pretty fresh, me not so much..

Dinner was a hamburger cookout at the campsite which was tasty (doesn't EVERYthing taste better when you are tired and hungry?) Following dinner, we were regaled by an excellent musical ensemble made up of current and former Auburn U faculty and staff. They did mostly folk-rock and indie tunes under the pavilion and I sat until my eyes grew heavy listening contentedly, before heading off to bed.

Thursday was an easier ride but had more to stop and see. We headed to Tuskegee and saw the George Washington Carver museum which has good displays of his work with peanuts, fabric dyes, paints, and many other indigenous materials that poor locals could make use of to improve their lives on meager budgets. He was a very creative and energetic man.

We also rode through the pleasant Tuskegee University campus and toured the Booker T Washington home. This was a class project for his industrial students and is very impressive. Before going in, I needed to do a repair to my right brake which had slid down the handlebars. Having tools at hand, it was a simple matter to find some shade, unwrap the 1/2 bar and relocate the brake, then re wrap the bar.

Here is an outside view of the house

Some interesting inside features: A very short stair rail, as his wife was under 5' tall, and an ornate desk set he received as a gift from the Chinese. The 1st black man invited by a US president for a White House dinner, Teddy Roosevelt (his host) memorabilia is also preserved the office.

Following our time around the college, we went over to Moton field for a rest stop and a tour 0f the Tuskegee Airmen Museum. While stopping for an unscheduled gas station break, I noticed this novel approach to outreach ministry:

The Airman Museum was small, but well done. An old wooden hangar with a smattering of all the aspects of the training that went on there as well as some history of the unit's performance in battle (which was valorous).

We headed back towards Auburn via Notasulga and were delighted to see that the ice cream stand which was under construction when we last passed by this way in the late summer was now open for business! A couple of riders were already there, and we pulled in at the "Dog House" for some ice cream. It was just the thing on a hot day to give a rider a good break. The afternoon wore increasingly windier and cloudier and we knew there was a rain chance in the forecast but we made it all the way back to camp again, dry except for our own sweat. To be continued

Riding back to Red's

2011-05-15T06:54:00.001-05:00

With a biking vacation coming up in just two weeks, I'm wanting to be confident in my legs. A century ride sounded good to me for this weekend's outing, and so I mapped a ride to Red's Schoolhouse Restaurant from home. Almost exactly 100 miles round trip. Not everyone was as eager to spend that much time in the saddle yesterday, so we moved the start location down to Pintlala and made a 70 miler out it instead. I toyed with the idea of pedaling to Pintlala from home, and then doing the ride, and would have if Max had made the trip down with his truck. That way, if I was too tired after the main ride to pedal another 32 miles home (134 total +/-) I could have just tossed my bike in his truck. He was otherwise engaged however, so 70 miles it was to be. After spending most of the way back from Red's into a stiff headwind, 70 worked out for the best anyway.

There were two rides leaving at the same time from Pintlala. In addition to our food finding excursion, the skinny people on carbon bikes were doing the same distance, over a flatter route, at higher speed and with only 1 store stop. Most are old friends, and it was good to shake hands and say hi in the parking lot. Ron rode down from Prattville to greet everyone, but then turned around and headed back, having a morning commitment to get back to. Walter and daughter(?) took off just as I was pulling into the parking lot. We passed them coming from the opposite direction out on the road later, so I am guessing those two did about 20 miles. Joel ("King Tut") came by and I hooked him up with the other group. I haven't heard from him yet, but I'm sure that was a good fit for his riding style.

So, the Red's ride turned out to be just 3: Frank, Tom and I. The rains moved on through before dawn, leaving damp roads, cool calm air and some partial overcast. Pretty good riding conditions actually. The ride out was uneventful. Lots of vultures and a loud chorus of cicadas everywhere we rode. There must have been a successful mating season 17 years ago, because there is quite a buggy bounty now!

Our pace heading to Red's was reasonably quick, maybe 16.5 - 17.5 average, although we paused once or twice at a stop sign for saddle area relief. I stopped at the high point of the trip, Mt. Pisgah Baptist church to snap a few pictures. Here is the church with its old stone fence and the view out over the valley we just came up out of.

I had just put everything back in my backpack and started to pedal again, when my cell phone rang. The ring was the unique one assigned to my son Alex, so I stopped, tore off the hydro-pack and grabbed the phone out of the pocket. He had gone into work to get ahead on a project and set the alarm off. His memory of the alarm code was faulty, and could I help? We got that taken care of, and I started off again!

Next stop was Red's. My last visit there was in the Fall, and I remembered the place as opening at 10:30. We got there at 10:50 and it was still closed. There were others waiting too, so I didn't fret much over it. They opened at 11:00 and we enjoyed our buffet lunch. I didn't think the food was as good as on prior visits, but it was still good. While we were there, we refilled our water as well. A highlight of the meal was when Tom noticed that a table condiment label read "Bruce's Hot Peppers". The picture is fuzzy, but you get the idea.

I was pleased to find that my jersey was completely dry by the time lunch was done (30 minutes). Can't say enough good stuff about wool. I was comfortable early when it was in the 60s and overcast, and again later when the Sun came out and it was in the 70s. This jersey is a Joneswares and a favorite. The shorts were Smartwool Rambition, and I think they are the best for fit and comfort of any I have tried. (Joneswares, Ibex, Kucharik, Swobo are others I have tried). The cap is NOT wool, but the socks were!

After lunch we set out for home, and found that the wind had kicked up. It was either in our faces, or quartering into us just about the whole 31 miles back. Good work out! It slowed us down some however. There's nothing like cresting a hill and meeting a 20 mph gust face to face, I'll tell you.

All in all, it was a good ride. We generally rode together, but at times each of us was ahead or behind, as we adjusted our own pace to how we felt at the moment. I was pleased to end the ride with no cramps, good hydration and feeling like I could continue on, as long as I stayed at a maintainable pace. I was careful about what and how much I ate for lunch and had no stomach issues on the way home, while feeling sufficiently fueled. The small piece of chocolate pie was a quick sugary boost, to be sure.

No ride on tap for next weekend, as I'll be helping my son move most of his stuff into the house he expects to close on this Tuesday. Mixed feelings there for sure. Proud of him, happy to see him start off on his own life (isn't that a parent's job? to nurture him to the point that he can successfully leave the nest?) delighted to get my space back here, but already missing him. Then in a another week, he goes to get his fiancee Alisha and move her and her 4 yr old son Kael into the house. Alex will actually still live at home until their August wedding, but he'll be over there, a LOT.

There will be plenty of miles when Max & I do AMBA. More on that to come. ( http://amba1.com/ )

Metric # 7

2011-05-07T20:32:00.001-05:00

Knowing that there will be plenty of opportunity for the next several months, if not longer, to volunteer to do storm clean up and rebuilding work, I opted to ride today. The early morning start left time in the afternoon to finish some meeting minutes that needed doing, as well as to prepare tomorrow's lesson. Also, with a cycling vacation coming up in 2 weeks with longish rides every day, I need to keep my legs in shape. There was no mid week riding as Tuesday was a rain out, and Thursday was church. We gathered for the National Day of Prayer and did just that. It was pretty good too. A systematic listing of things and people to pray for. Prayer is one of those things that we find ourselves saying, "I don't know why I don't do that more often." Especially when you read or hear about God's providential care, or some miraculous happening. Like this one from Tuscaloosa.( http://www.facebook.com/notes/randy-robbins/there-and-back-again-a-hobbits-tale-4272011-please-take-this-with-a-sense-of-hum/10150291433407524 )

Anyway, one the oldest routes I have mapped on MapMyRide from 2007 is a 50 miler with some hills that starts/finishes downtown. By riding to/from my house, it becomes a metric. With a goal of 24 this year, I need these lengthened rides.Joe came by and parked at my place, and together we departed at 6:30 to find Max. Weaving through the throng of early garage sale treasure hunters on his block, we found him 1/2 way through a banana breakfast. He was concerned about the 51F air, but I assured him that he'd warm up on the 1st climb. With 85F forecast for later in the day, it had to warm up quickly.

The 3 of us took the near deserted Main St to downtown where we found the central shopping district cordoned off for CityFest day. Detouring around, we found Frank parked at the Pasta Mill. Like Max, he was thinking about the cool air and set out with his jacket on. I knew it would be off by the 1st store stop. I was cool on some of the descents, but breaking a sweat on the climbs, so I just left the house in the usual wool jersey and shorts.

We left town and headed up towards Posey Crossroad. Good roads, easy riding traffic wise and some hills. After the break we turned West towards Old Kingston. By this time, I was leading from the back.

Basically, I was running about 2 mph slower than these guys today, but not fretting it. I just didn't like pulling the line and feeling I was holding them up. I rode much if not most of the day solo, about 1/2 to 1 mile behind the group. We'd stay together a little while upon leaving store stops, etc, which is how I got this picture.

I rode the Rivendell Rambouillet today. With 85 psi in the tires, it felt quicker, but it really wasn't. Looking back over the year to date, the Ram averages about 14 mph, the Saluki 13. The Mark III and the Riv Road both average 15. So a total spread of only 2 mph on average. I think it's the rider :) Today, I averaged 14.3 mph. No surprise there.

There were a few frisky dogs today, but no biters. One ran out at my bike, and thought better of it, skidding to a stop. These two came out to show me how fierce they were, but the gray beard on the lead dog and his belly showing frequent attendance at the chow dish said other wise.

The dog who punctured my Saluki saddle bag made an appearance today too, but his owner was out and immediately retrieved him. No harm, no foul. I think Frank and Joe who were out ahead of me had a different experience.

Autauga County has a lot of farm land. Some of the farmers have lovely large farmhouses. I like this one with the porches quite well.

Our 2d store stop of the day was Bubba's in Marbury. The customers there were very friendly and we chatted about bikes they used to have and so forth. I asked Mrs. Bubba if she was a mom, and wished her a happy Mother's Day, which made her smile. This guy was also there and we asked him what smelled so good. He was smoking butts and ribs and going to Millbrook to sell. He left before we did but we caught up with him at the RR Xing. It was tough to sit there while my mouth was watering from the aroma of BBQ! You can see a bit of smoke coming out.

The rest of the ride was fine. Just a great morning to be out with friends on bikes! The metrics: 63.01 mi, 14.3 mph. Cadence still slow at 77. Climbed 3,274' Some talk of doing the century ride from Prattville to Red's for lunch and back. The route needs tweaking though.

Tailwinds!

The Cause Against Cancer this weekend

2011-04-30T17:06:00.002-05:00

Last night was (the American Cancer Society) "Relay For Life," and our family captained the church team again this year. Sharon is the honcho, but with her work schedule this year, I did more than was needed last year. Alex filled in ably hauling tables and chairs and other sundries to and from the site we were given along the walking track at Village Green Park. We were a little concerned about our fund raising levels, but enough came in over the course of the evening to get us over our goal. We applauded the survivors as they took the first lap and fellowshipped with other visitors who came and went while we were there. The cookies we had to give away were a no go. No one would take them as they were offered. Too bad! They were very tasty and contained a neat little gospel tract as well. I appreciate all the effort that our several volunteer team members put out. I hear a new and different plan is afoot for next year.

The theme of fighting cancer continued today as Prattville was the venue for the Tour Autauga. Profits from the event go to the Livestrong anti cancer effort. I usually ride the metric option and this year was no different as far as that goes. What was different is that I rode to the ride from home and returned the same way. This added 14.5 miles, and more climbing. Max wanted in on the action, so I pedaled the two miles from our house to his to pick him up at 6:15. Max has a large garage, which has no cars in it. You can see I agree with his priorities though. The red/white number is Debbie's and the purple one is a grand kid's.

We headed off into the still cold air, and took Main St, as the early hour = low traffic. The 1st hill warmed us up a little too. We passed out of towners with bikes on racks and a couple followed us to Spinner's Park for the ride start. It can be a pain to locate if you have never been there before. Frank and Joe showed up and took off early on their century ride. Chris attempted his FIRST century but left with the main body. Hopefully, when they get down near the Alabama river by the boat launch ramp off CR 1, he will watch for fish hooks. He punctured two tubes that way a few weeks ago. Joel and Tom were there, and set to do the metric. At the first rest stop, as Joel was saying how good the ride felt, I told him to go the 100. "Do you think I can do it?" Refer to the picture in last week's entry and judge for yourself, dear reader. In any event, The two of them were long gone by the time we returned to the rest stop.

Turn out seemed light, especially given that a number of other rides were cancelled today due to storm damage, but we did get some out of town visiting riders. One, a distinguished older gentleman looked very familiar. From Muscle Shoals, and we had indeed pedaled together in prior years. Good to see him again. On a new bike too. Max and I rode together and left with the main body. I was asked to lead an opening prayer of invocation and was blessed to do so. I avoided calling down fire and brimstone, as the weather was sunny and nice all day. Other than a bit more wind that was needed.

I rode the Saluki today, and it performed fine. This was more or less a test ride for the set up to be used next month on AMBRA (http://amba1.com/) Here it is, ready to go. No water bottles because I wore the Kelty Hydro-Pack. Loved it. Grand Bois Ourson tires at 65 psi. Friction shifting lets the bike use Campy Chorus up front and Shimano XT in back.

The ride was fine, and parts were very scenic. Here is Max taking in the vista from the highest point of the ride. All the rain a few week sago has really greened everything up. We actually could use more now.

We spotted the elusive Roger Burnett, otherwise known as the bike club president, at rest stop # 1, 20 miles into the course. This is like finding an Ivory Billed Woodpecker in your back yard. To say that there seems to be a lull in club activity is like saying that the Sun becoming a red giant star might be bad for property values on Earth.

Roger actually stayed with us from this point on. In 20 miles we returned here and called it Rest stop 2. By then the wind had kicked up from morning calm to flags straight out and in our face for 20 miles. Roger took a turn pulling in to the wind on the return to Autaugaville and acquitted himself well. I pulled a couple of times too, but Max did the yeoman's job. We need to start calling him Frank. He just motors on, regardless of hills or wind and is generally unflappable. Kinda like Frank! While riding caboose on that train after I rotated off the front, I snapped a pic as proof of my attendance.

I really did not need to do this, as Bill Duke (the event organizer) once again had a neat surprise in store for me. When we reached the 1/2 point, there was this in the road:

I rode the route in the first year of the Tour and was dead last pack to the cars. Bill knows that I get excited about bikes and rides, even though I do not have the engine needed to go fast. I used to have race bikes and was not appreciably quicker then than now. I am now appreciably more comfortable on my bikes however. The next year, Bill had this painted in the road, and has been doing it ever since. This is only the second time I've taken a picture of it, and it caught me be surprise today. Made my day, of course. With Max and Roger to share the pulls with, we even passed some riders and were not close to last in, even tough we were towards the back setting out. You may notice between the two pictures another reason for better performance today. I'm carrying the equivalent of one less touring bike up all the hills.

The metrics; 75.6 miles, 14.4 avg pace, 3533' (per Garmin. Ride with GPS has it at 3750') of climb with 17% being the stiffest grade. 77 rpm cadence avg, which is slower than I want to be at (84) but better than where I was (72). No speed records attempted or broken today. I dropped a chain inside on a shift down going up Mt Autauga, had to dismount to replace it. There was just no way to get momentum and re-chain it while riding as I have done before.

So remember to hate cancer, care for those dealing with it and do your part to help with advances in medicine. (or diet, as Sharon is getting me to study up on. If her new vegetable products diet-The China Study- which I am reading, could get me 3 mph more in avg pace, I'd be on it in a flash)

Tailwinds!

Autauga-Elmore Metric

2011-04-23T15:40:00.001-05:00

With the Tour Autauga (a cancer fund raiser) coming up next Saturday, I figured a somewhat hilly ride would be a good tune up this week. Frank suggested and early start, and that worked out perfectly.

On the way to the meeting point, I passed this guy down my street. I suppose he got in a little too late last night. You think? Some cars ARE hard to park though.

Nice turn out for the ride. Frank, Joe, Chris, Max, Steve, Long-time-no-see Bill and new guy Joel all came out. Joel emailed me this week and asked about local rides. When I suggested this one, he was a little concerned about doing a metric. Here's Joel at a rest stop doing a Steve Martin impression.

How do you THINK he did? Nickname suggestion for Joel: "Sandbagger." We were Waaay too slow for this tri-athlete, but he's welcome aboard our train any time. Steve, in the picture with him, and Ray who, always says "hi" in the parking lot and then jumps off the front never to be seen again, are good riding partner choices for Joel.

The ride pulled out of the parking lot at 7:00 AM, and the first 40 miles were mostly flat and in calm air. Cloud cover kept the Sun off our backs and the scent of honeysuckle was very enjoyable. Here we are heading north on Coosada Parkway.

I really liked Joe's jersey. Sharon had a black lab named Mollie who she loved dearly, and who died a few years ago. If Sharon ever starts to ride, I'll get her one of these. Even the collar is the right color.

Everyone seemed to like the route, and this was one of my faster metric outings. I rode the Rivendell Road and it is just a good riding bike. The Pascenti Pari-Motos are a year old now and have been flat free. They are 38s and at 65psi provide a fast smooth ride over a variety of surface conditions. I'll definitely want another pair when these wear out. I tried a hydration pack for the 1st time on a long ride and really liked it as well. Plenty of liquid when you need it, keeps my back a little cooler, and provides some added storage space. I'm joining Max and Frank in the backpack brigade, at least for longer outings.

We stopped several times for indoor plumbing and to refill our water bottles/back packs. At Poseys, Chris on the left here said a guy had just driven up, told the cashier he'd cut off a finger, and jumped back in his car. Max, on the right, is saying you can't believe everything Chris tells you.

We all took turns riding with various other riders, occasionally re grouping and sometimes riding solo. If you do longer rides, you know how it is. The metrics of this metric: 66.16 miles, 2330' of climb, 15.9 moving avg (which is fast for me). Back in time for lunch and a trip with the family to Home Depot. Gotta love it.

Happy Easter everyone!

Chief Ladiga Trail

2011-04-17T14:00:00.001-05:00

It's been a few years since I've been on a rail trail. Two years ago, I rode the Tammany Trace with Sharon's cousins Becky & Vince. The year before that, I rode the Pinellas and Suncoast Trails with Irene and some by myself. I did most of the Chief Ladiga in 2004, when hurricane activity forced the MS150 to relcoate northward from its Gulf beaches venue to Anniston, so I was glad to have a reason to ride it again 7 years later. Riding buddy and FB pal, Dave had set this ride up a long time ago and a number of his friends responded to it. One, Kym, I had exchanged emails with and waved to on the road, (she runs, I ride) but never actually met. Another, Russ, turned out to live ON MY STREET and I never knew this. He-llo! Craig and Carrie who also came were friends of Dave who I never met,although it turns out we have a number of shared friends, and rounding out the field was Dave's wife, who I also had never met. Here is the gang at the start, just north of Anniston.

It was sunny, but cool when we started and very windy. Blowing from the viewer's right to left in this picture. We had some severe weather the day prior, caused by the cold front. I wore all wool, myself, and was happy to have arm warmers on. I was pleased that I got to spend some time with everyone during the day, except Dave, oddly enough. We never rode together, while I was with each of the others for enough time at some point to get to know them a little. Being a social rider, that was the best part of the trip! The trail is what you see here, although not all in such smooth shape, and not on the campus of Jacksonville State, where it runs on the SIDEWALK, believe it or not. Given the winds, I decided to ride up to Piedmont and head back down. At Piedmont, the trail turns east to Georgia, and I didn't fancy coming back into the very stiff headwinds. As it was, we had plenty of exercise pulling into it. Craig, Russ, and Carrie all have aero bars, so I rode behind one or another at times, but mostly just tooled along at what was comfortable for the conditions or the conversations. We were not racing.

I thought about my son's friend, Brennan, who died from cancer last April and wore a wristband with her name on it. Our family is helping with the church Relay For Life team in Millbrook on the 29th of this month, so cancer is something getting a lot of think time from me these days. I rode in a charity event organized by Oncology Supply in Dothan just a weeks ago as well. here's the "We Love you Brennan" wristband:

With several hours of pedaling, there was enough "alone" time for this, as well as the chit chat and camaraderie with the others.

I got to explain why I do not pedal clipped in to Kym and Lisa, and Kym got to feel how merino is really NOT scratchy. (Psst, they make merino RUNNERS clothes too Kym. My riding (and also a runner pal Dove) has recently seen that light go on.) Kym also got to try drafting into the aforementioned wind. She did not dig into it with the exuberance of Danica Patrick at Indy, but she gave it a try. Kym btw did an excellent ride write up of her own. You can read it here: http://www.runkymklass.com/2011/04/40-miles-through-chief-ladiga.html

I really enjoyed meeting rock wall climbing-running-riding-steer roping-pretzel bending yoga limber Carrie. Here she is looking back as she rocketed by me at warp factor 3.

Here are Russ and Kym as well. Both seemed to enjoy their respective rides.

And you know, if I'm on a ride, there has to be food. Dave suggested BBQ and his Garmin said "Dad's" was close by. So we caravan-ed on in and had some good lunch. About 40 miles and only 13.4 mph avg. It was a relaxer ride, and very much appreciated. Hope we do it again sometime.

Taiwlinds!

The Ides of April

2011-04-16T05:21:00.001-05:00

It was worth being wary of, as a strong squall line moved through last night. Several tornadoes touched down in a swath that ran SW to NE from the Mississippi line towards Atlanta. One that touched down north of Prattville killed a person in sparsely populated Boone's Chapel. It's on the northern portion of CR 59 that we do not ride on (dirt road) regularly, although I have taken a country bike on it before. The skies are clearing now, so our planned excursion to the Chief Ladiga Trail is still a go. Some people that I don't normally ride with but know from FaceBook or DailyMile are going and I am looking forward to it. A rail trail, the challenge will come from 14 mph crosswinds with gusts to 34. I will NOT be turning east towards GA past Piedmont, AL, as I do not care to have to return west into the aforementioned winds. So it will only be 38 - 40 miles. I'm hoping for company and conversation, mostly.

Our Tuesday/Thursday evening rides are officially running at 6:00 PM now and 8 riders attended the other day. Although they leave me in the dust on the flats, I do catch many of them on the climbs. My average was 15.7 which is very good for me. One new rider had a flat on Tuesday, a remnant of a fish hook poked a hole in his tube. We were delayed changing it. The same fellow was with us last Saturday, and got a flat on that ride from the original, main section of the same fish hook. Apparently, he did not check carefully to get it all out of his Specialized Armadillos. You can guess what his club nickname is now, right? Also on Tuesday, a rider tipped over and fell trying to shift gears while ascending a 20% grade. I think he may have inadvertently gone to his big ring instead of the little one. He couldn't un-clip and went plop on the pavement. A little skinned up, but otherwise okay. When you are struggling at max power up a hill, and you have to get your shoes out of the cleat clips, it can be really tough. Speedplays are supposed to be better at this than Looks or Shimanos. I don't know, as I do not clip in. So, I just put my foot down, and don't fall :)

Last Saturday, we had a great ride in our alter-egos as the Tri-county Gastronomical Cyclists. Franks' idea was to pedal from Prattville to east Montgomery and grab lunch at Red Robin, a burger joint with a wide menu and sporty feel. It was new and different to all of us except him, and fun to pedal where we have always driven before. Back roads all the way, and no tolls for bikes required on the bridge over the Alabama River either. Bill and Max showed up early and attended our church men's breakfast first and we all rode to the bike shop from there to pick up any other riders. A nice gas-free day.

I've been threatening Sharon that I want to start repainting the frames on my road bikes. The newest one (a 2007 Rivendell Rambouillet) has over 7,000 miles on it and the other 3 are all older. I'm not sure where to send them though, or what colors I want. I've seen some stunning colors on bikes in the Cyclofiend albums ( http://www.cyclofiend.com/cc/2006/cc081-johnprice0206.html for example). I think when I get back from riding on Memorial Day Weekend, I'll take one bike apart and send it off, then when it comes back, do another, etc. Since it takes months usually to get your frame back, this process will span a year, at least. While the parts are off the bike being re-painted, they can be thoroughly inspected, serviced, and replaced if worn. I can make any running gear changes I've wanted to get around to as well. I suppose the 1995 Road Standard will be up first. Or maybe my own '05 Saluki. Max and I are riding AMBA (Alabama's Magnificent Biking Adventure http://www.amba1.com/ for several days in the week prior to Memorial Day. We intend to tent camp and ride each day)

In the miscellaneous notes category, some cheapo, discontinued color, Patagonia Boaris shoes from RueLaLa.com continue to be outstanding for riding use. Firm sole provides foot arch protection if stomping the pedals, while being compliant enough to walk in off the bike very comfortably. You can find these discounted at various other online venues too. (Here, for example: http://www.ems.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4092474)

Have a great week, everyone, and enjoy the clean smell in the air after the storms!

Tailwinds

Out Like a Lion

2011-04-03T19:50:00.001-05:00

March this year was a reverse of the adage. It was warm and lovely early on, and cold, rainy and wet at the end. April however, started off with a very pleasant weekend, albeit a windy one. After some good hill drills in Prattville this week, Several of us did a sort of relaxer cruise from the Ryan's Restaurant (following a buffet breakfast / mens devotional time) to Slapout and back. Along the way, we picked up 2 riders outside Chain Reaction Cycles in the High Point shopping center. This was Beverly's 1st time out with us, but she fit in just fine. We liked her playlist for sure (heard through her phone)

Here she is with Steve. They have a carboniferous affinity...

Bill is rocking a new Rivendell lugged steel fork on his Salsa. It looks great (cream paint in the fork crown windows) and he says rides that way too. He traded in his old carbon fork to get it. I think it's an instant collector's item. Knowing Rivendell, they'll stop making them quickly, if they haven't already. Also in the picture; Max, who is back in fine fettle after a rouge croix period.

After finishing up the 40 miler, I showered, changed and hopped into Frank's car. We motored down to Dothan for today's TriStates charity ride, which supports the Alabama Children's Hospital. I intended to do the century, but my legs were saying "metric" this morning, so I rode that course instead. It's 68 miles in fact, and it's prbably best that I chose it. Prattville pal Curtis was also there, and rode a spanking fast 102 miles at almost 19 mph avg. His sister came down and did the 25 at a more sedate 10 - 12 mph. It was good to meet her. Frank did the century and appeared none the worse for wear. My 68 was at 15.2 avg, which is good for little old me. No cramps at any time was a plus too. From past rides there, I knew the roads were very coarse in long stretches, so I took Pari-Moto 38 mm tires at 65 psi and was pretty glad I did. First ride on a new saddle, but that was okay. Selle Anatomicas are comfy from the get go, but after 50 miles, I was ready to get off the thing.

We started early, registering at 6:00 AM.

We were riding at 7:00. I'll post some pics when I get them. I finished up at noon (used up 1/2 an hour watching a know-it-all try to change a tube. He went through 3!) and then hung around for Frank. Music set up was good, free Moe's Southwest Grill food, and the wind which was a pain pulling into on a bike was lovely as it blew by as I lay in the shade under an oak tree on the grass. After Frank came back, he grabbed a bite and we hit the road. I got to drive his 5 speed for a while too. But that's another story....

Hey, Hey, Goodbye to Pete.

2011-03-26T15:21:00.003-05:00

Just like the "Steam" song from 1969, Pete is saying "na na na na, etc" as he and Ann pack it up and go home to Tennessee. Pete started to ride with us last year and when asked what ride he might want for his swan song, he asked that we re visit the Emerald Mountain Toll Bridge Ride from last November. Back then, he had to walk up one of the last hills, but today he was dancing on his pedals. " I didn't remember it being that easy a climb," he said. Well no, Pete, back then it wasn't. Proof again that the improvement curve for cyclists is rapid. You can get quite a bit more proficient in a brief span of time. To get really good, takes longer of course.

I, on the other hand, was draggy today. My pace was a mph off that November ride, but it felt far more sluggish while I was doing it. A cylcometer is useful at these times, providing just the facts. You climbed this much, it took this long, etc. The weather was not great. It smelled of pending rain in the early morning air, and was overcast. We began the ride in calm air, but came back into an awful headwind. I packed a rain jacket though. This virtually insured that we would not get wet. The reverse is also usually true. I dressed for comfort in wet conditions, and so had on a little too much for non rain. It wasn't unmanageable though. As always, Frank, Steve and Pete were good company. Joe was missing, due to work schedules. Tom is nursing a wrist from his Billingsly ride. We hope they both come back soon.

The route has scenic roads, and plenty of fragrant wisteria, but much of the paving is coarse and climbs range from 9% - 16% with regularity. Topped 40 mph going down, slowed to a crawl going up. I did lean over to Frank at one point and confess that I was happy to have brought a triple today instead of the compact double (what I ride on Tues & Thurs on the hill drills) No dog or rude driver issues today and not much traffic.

I can say I enjoyed the ride today, but I did it, and I did enjoy giving Pete a proper pedaling send off.

Tailwinds!

Back to Billingsly for Barbeque

2011-03-19T21:09:00.001-05:00

One of the TGC (Tri-County Gastronomical Cyclists) rides last year was to Fat Girls Cafe in Billingsly, AL. We left at 6:30 back then, so we got there in time for a hearty breakfast. Today's ride departed at 8:00 AM and so we had our lunch meal there instead. They make a great BBQ. The route to the cafe is the same this year as last, but based on our experience with US 82 traffic on our initial journey, the return portion was re routed onto far quieter country roads. Far hiller too, I might add. 6 of us gathered at the high school: Frank, Joe, Steve, Pete, Tom, and me. 3 steel bikes and 3 carbon. 3 riders okay with some dirt road routing, 3 riders not at all ready to leave the tarmac. I'll leave it to you, dear Reader, to discern which is which.

The ride out had just a little excitment. Some young whippersnapper with a cheek full of snuff and a diesel dually pick-em-up truck got way too close to us in the lane on CR 40. Frank took a swing at the truck, and the driver told him that he was Franks #1 fan. Or, Frank gesterured for him to get over and give us space, and the little s+*% flipped our man the bird. I hoped we might meet up with him at the store, but no such luck. Without 5,000 lbs of Ford Truck under them, these guys are not very brave. (I speculate on snuff and toughness)

The INTENDED 1st store stop was Coach's in Old Kingston. When you have 6 older men though, it's a sure bet someone needs a bathroom just about any time one is at hand, so we pulled in at Poseys for two of our crew to tap kidneys. We did stop at Coach's and make sure we had water in our bottles for the long pull to Billingsly. I ate my breakfast bar on schedule and felt pretty good, energy level wise. It was all uphill from the school, and the stretch between the store and CR 24 would be as flat as this ride would get. At that, it was 1% to 2% average up grade for 8 miles. Pretty day and I snapped a few pics. Trying to use Picasa today and we'll see how I do.

Here is my typical view of the other riders for most of the day:

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Jn86ZxTOTWwHqv_OBPu2XQ?feat=directlink

Proof that I participated and enjoyed it!

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/-llt1KiPbL0-VPkyrV8T3w?feat=directlink

A special treat when we turned West on to CR 24 towards Billingsly: Fresh Asphalt!!!!

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/xlGu0LXLqDx-X1GVRuVj9Q?feat=directlink

The shoulders are still dirt and that's all Steve could see as he neared the turn off. I am sure he muttered something under his breath about me and my attraction of difficult road conditions. He was far happier when he got there and saw no dirt on the trafic lanes.

We made it to the restaurant and ordered our meals. The food and the service were both great as before. We had the sisters of the 2 gals that waited on us last year, in the "It's a Small World" dept.

Here we are in the close quarters of the small cafe. Restrooms are outide on the side of the building, and the doors are not exactly solid.

Steve and Joe: https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/2nhpAgQVWaJkK6Yp4W6bgg?feat=directlink

Frank, Pete and Tom: https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/INjhV5UJtaFG9dh8urGk6Q?feat=directlink

Leaving the Cafe, we started climbing in earnest. 3 cat 5 climbs, according to MapMyRide, and the Sun was now quite warm. Fortunately, no cramps at all today, though that was becuase I backed off anytime one seemed just around the corner. I had no dog issues, but apparantly Tom did. He was out far in front and somehow he spilled. I am not sure of the details, but a dog was involved. Here is his knee with the red badge of courage proudly displayed.

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/gbh_fhfBcjoO1Tf-nASMXQ?feat=directlink

As smooth as CR 24 was, the 1st Cat 5 climb was rough, and at 15% grade, it wore on us as we climbed. From the top, I shot a picture back over my shoulder.

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/c5zFhOElwj79qDOfaFtU8w?feat=directlink

We often re grouped and I did ride WITH the others once in a while. Here we are in a tighter bunch, yes, going up a grade.

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/1fOlt1JIcoFGo_nSlbJm8Q?feat=directlink

Most of the hills are due to the ride going back and forth up and down some ridge lines. Here I am near the top of one, looking back at another we were topping an hour before.

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/qSp2Y1scuFPalMyc043TWQ?feat=directlink

These are great guys and I truly appreciate riding with them, depsite the whines about hills and heat, dogs and dirt. No one has threatened to un-friend me on FaceBook yet. At least not in this group. :)

Oh, and here is a panda of the Patagonia shoes. What do you think, were they made for this bike?

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/bzLe7Pxy6OWKnmFaVfCaKQ?feat=directlink

70.15 miles (per Frank's Garmin). 4,320' of climb (per mine). Avg moving speed was 13.4. No flats, but Joe and I both dumped chains on the big hill. We probably just needed the excuse to rest a minute.

It's Unanimous

2011-03-12T16:32:00.001-06:00

My muscles have voted, and it's official: I'm not in riding shape yet. Since a century in Dothan is a few weeks away, I'd better get it in gear! DST begins tonight so look for me to be prowling the hills Tuesday and Thursday nights after work!. It's a few weeks before sundown will be 7:15 or later and we can start the official Prattville series, but I can slip out and get in some good work before then. The ride today actually started out pretty well. I had plenty of pep and felt good for the entire 1st half of the planned 62 miler. As it happens, it takes 2 halves to make a whole. Even with the "New Math." It was 40F when I left the house, and the clothes layers were just about perfect. Knee warmers today under wool shorts, and a wool Tee under a long sleeve jersey. Wool cap and light wool Giro gloves. Some new shoes that Sharon found for me on some site called "Rue LaLa" (Sounds Mardi Gras, oui?). These are a last year's color of Patagonia Boaris shoes. (They are pigskin based. "Boar-is" How much do they pay those marketing types anyway?). The shoes had a good roomy toe box, narrow heel (avoids crank arm strike) and firm Vibram sole. Very excellent choice for non clip-in cycling.I think my pair was about 70% off retail.

We were running about 17 - 18 mph for most of the first half of the ride. No winds, mostly flat, and good roads. Roger B joined us and was a welcome addition. He peeled off in Millbrook to visit a grandchild, but looked like he was not having any trouble after the long time off the bike. He roller blades, so the legs are fine, I am sure. Frank motored like the diesel he is on that Bilenky, and Steve cut a dashing, Rapha-clad figure on his Orbea. (another one who has discovered Competitive Cyclist's after season sales. My hat came the same way) Pete had the looker of the day though. His NOS 1988 Trek 520 is a gorgeous Imron blue, and he has set it up very nicely. Here is the gang at a store stop:

Along the way, we did find a few discouraging notes. The nice shoulders on Hwy 143 have been "rumble-ized" which renders them useless for cyclists. Marion Spillway Rd behind the prisons is AWFUL. It was less an issue for Pete, Frank & I (steel bikes, 30mm and up tires) but Steve was dying on his crabon bike with 15mm tires. Here is Steve letting out some steam on my route planning today:

As it turned out, the section I recalled as awful was actually a little better. Plenty of dogs today too. None were vicious but Frank scored the 2 best encounters. The first was in Elmore with a great Dane who loped over to check us out. Frank could have gotten off the bike and ridden than dog. He went back home immediately when his owner called, and also apologized to us. Very courteous. The second was a Millbrook mixed-breed pooch who just wanted to race. He ran alongside Frank for a long way. I was sure the dog was a loser when Frank reached a down hill, but the dog found another gear and stayed with him, until he ran out of room on the roadside at a bridge crossing.

Store stop #2 was Frank's house! Sandra (Mrs. Frank) was icing the second tier of a large chocolate cake and applying strawberries to strategic locations. She loves to bake, it turns out, and a coworker had a wedding in the family. What more reason did she need? We said "Hi," refilled our water bottles and hit the road. About the time we turned on to Old Prattville Highway, I started cramping. 1st it was the sartorious muscle that wraps the inside of your thighs. Then it was the leg biceps (hamstrings). I wasn't thirsty, but drank anyway. It was manageable just by slowing down a little. Most of the climbing was ahead of us, the wind had picked up a lot and was in our faces (of course). The wind and the hills and the cramps made it harder to enjoy the gorgeous day, but I managed.

By the time we had traveled 40 miles, I begged the others, who were waiting for me a stop sign, to continue on, while I detoured. It only shaved 6 miles off, and none of the climbing, but I wouldn't feel like I was slowing them (which bothers me a lot). I also could stop any time I needed to and rest/drink/stretch. I picked the most direct route home, but all roads led UP. Mine had a long pull with a couple of 9% and 10% sections, but that's why there's a granny gear on my crank. My moving average fell from 16.3 to 13.8, but hey, I was "in the advertised range." :)

Cramps and wind did nothing to hamper enjoyment of a lovely day. The recent rain is greening the countryside right up.

Tomorrow's Beginner Ride is shaping up nicely. Max is coming back of Rouge Croix, and bringing his wife AND daughter. Frank's wife may come, and Pete's too. Should be fun times!!

Tailwinds.

A New Class

2011-03-07T18:29:00.002-06:00

Last Sunday, we graduated some beginners and this week, we had some brand spanking new road riders. Not a skinny tire among them yet, but maybe someday soon. Nathan is one of the 3rd and 4th graders I teach on Wednesday nights at church. (We're doing a program called "Heart's Desire" from John Piper's group, about becoming wise in the choices we make through life. The old testament book of Proverbs provides most of our jumping off points for discussion). Last week, he leaned over while we were all listening to Sharon's riveting account of Joseph choosing wisely when presented with some bad ideas by Mrs. Potiphar. "How old to I have to be to go for a bike ride with you, Mr. Bruce?" he asked. "You're old enough now, Nathan. It;s just a question of how far your legs can take you." Checking with his folks, we set up a 3:00 PM meet-up time at the usual Veterans Park venue. At church Sunday, I was peppered with questions from other excited would be adventurers, and later with phone calls from concerned parents of said adventurers. Where would we be going? (on roads) Would there be cars? (Yes, but not many and not going very fast). Who would be supervising? (Me, unless they wanted in on the fun). After all was debated and decided, 4 new riders assembled at the appointed time and place. Mary Frances, Ainslie, Nathan, and Andrew. Here they all are. Braving the frosty 40s in various states of embundlement.

I pumped up tires, made sure at least one brake was working and held a pre ride safety briefing. We reviewed hand and arm signals, road hazards, lane position, and communication along the line of riders. When it appeared everyone had it down pat, we headed off to the great unknown.

I used 5 miles of the club beginner layout with just one hill. One of the kids really labored going uphill, and said he wished he'd remembered his inhaler. One thought our pace was perfect, one thought it was too slow and one too fast. One said next to nothing at any time, but smiled a lot. This was very new for them and they all seemed to really enjoy it. Here is our "pace" line out on the open road. 1st time ever for any of them as far as I know.

We made it back in good order taking in views of streams, farms, dogs and goats. Even the one who worked the hardest asked when could we do this again? Hmm, what's the weather supposed to be like next weekend?

Graduation Ride

2011-02-27T21:12:00.000-06:00

Two of our recent beginnners were ready to spread their wings and fly, even if they didn't know it yet. Toward that end, I posted a relaxer/beginner ride using a well known club Lite route over at the John Hall store. Deb and Susan came, as did Tim and Ron. Jeff showed up briefly to say he was landscaping manager in his yard for the day, but all is forgiven as he handed me a bag of handlebar tape he had tried and disliked. It will not go to waste. He also pedaled a few turns on my bike and pronounced the mustache bars "good." Tim was just getting back on the bike after a Winter layoff, but has been running so his cardio is in good order. A half-marathon awaits next weekend, so he has been really RUNNING. Ron pedaled over from Prattville, so his total miles for the day tallied up around 150. Quite a feat considering he rocks a 100 lb behemoth of a toally gadgetized and tricked out bike. He says it's all in the gears, but I think it's something else. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8rbyDsRPf4

We were slightly delayed as Susan had a flat tire caused when she tore off the valve insert of the front tube. No tools, no pump, but she did have a spare tube. Wasn't sure she knew how to change it, so I did a "demo." At least it was the front. The ride was very good. A stiff headwind going out, and of course a dandy of a spanker breeze coming back. Deb's take on the return was "This is SWEET." Yes ma'am, I agree. Here she is in fact.

Both Susan (who had to peel off and get to another place) and Deb did great and are fully fledged from beginner rides, unless they just want to come and ride. Tim and Ron just enjoyed the ride. Not a single dog! Great. I rode the '79 Nashbar (by Maruishi) with a new Selle Anatomica saddle on. The former owner tried to make it wife-friendly by drilling lace holes and drawing the sides close together to make a narrower seat. That had the unintended effect of turning the center slot up which cuts into you very badly. No wonder she hated it! I tossed the laces and let the saddle go back to natural shape. It was great.

In other news, I've been exercising pretty much on schedule (which you DM people are bored to death with reading about, I know) and am at goal for chin ups (50 total), sit ups (300 total), push ups (300 total), and pull ups (50 total.) I still lack on planks where I have hit 9:30, but am now back at 8:15. Goal is 10:00. And I could still use to lose a bit of winter waist. The mountain bike picture confirms that for me.

While I was whining about lack of miles so far in 2011, a tally of Jan + Feb shows more miles this year than EVER before for the beginning of a year. Maybe it will be a good riding year after all.

Have a great week one and all.

Biking Both Ways

2011-02-26T18:21:00.001-06:00

Before today, I had only been a road riding cyclist. From my very first days on a '99 Trek Navigator 100, which as you can see is a comfort or rail trail style ride, through all the bikes I've gotten and gotten rid of, trying to figure out just what sort of bike is really "me," (Trek Pro 560, Fuji Touring, Univega Activa, Waterford 1100, KHS 800) they have all shared the common denominator of being made to ride on pavement. That changed this week, when UPS delivered a nearly new old stock 1988 Bridgestone MB-2 MOUNTAIN BIKE. I put it together and fit a Brooks saddle to it which,already broken in and comfortable, was on my spares shelf. Triple butted chrome-moly steel with fully lugged frame construction. Today was the maiden voyage for both of us. Bill R was kind enough to lead me through the paces at Swayback Bridge Trail after lunch. Other than the fact that you pedal the bike to make it go for both road and mountainbikes, not much is the same bewteen them. I had to get used to the upper body workout, shifting my weight around on the bike, learn when and when NOT to shift gears, and let 1/2 the air out of my tires. I had them in a good range for a road ride. That made themn very tough to do singletrack on. Here I am at a rest pause in the woods, and then at the end with Bill and his Ellsworth.

The ride followed an excellent BBQ lunch at Champs in Wetumpka. Frank and Joe joined us for the good eats, as we had all just ridden 35 road miles together as well. Only Bill and I came prepared to bike both ways though. Also at the ride, but missing at lunch were Pete and Tom. Here we are as we coordinated last minute details at Thelma Bapist Church on Weoka Rd.

You can see more cars than we count up as riders. That's becuase the Com-Velo folks were also meeting there before going off on a training ride. Great to meet up with and preride chat with Keith and Darren again, as well as shake hands with Scott. They invited us to join them but we travel at a different pace, and just wished them well.

The early signs of Spring are out. Pear trees are showing snowy white and the redbuds are in bloom. Buds of all kinds are showing and there are now green swaths of grass along much of the roadway.

The route offered almost all rolling hills and very little if any flat stretches. The lead dogs on the sled (Frank, Pete and Joe) passed the trn on Antioch Rd by 4 miles before I caught them at a stop sign, and Pete had a relative's birthday party to get to, so we altered teh route soem and ended up a few miles less than advertised, but enjoyed it just as much. Here are shots of the leaders from behind, Bill alongside, and Tom coming up from the rear of the pack.

All in all, a great day. Just lovely with temps starting in the low 40s and rising to the 70s, plenty of sunshine and a light wind that never gave much trouble. Plenty of dogs, especially on Bradley Rd, but none caused problems.

Spring Preview

2011-02-20T03:59:00.003-06:00

(Came home this evening and found some pictures in my email that Tom took on the ride yesterday.Added below.)

What a difference a week can make in the weather. Two weeks ago, I gave up midway on a ride because my feet were getting dangerously cold. Last week, it was 24F degrees when we set out (but not as bone chilling due to drier and less windy conditions). Yesterday, we pulled out in 50F temperature, and it warmed to 75F while we were out. It would surprise me if Winter is over, but this weekend is a nice foretaste of better weather to come.

It seemed good to avail ourselves of the nice forecast to get in a February metric. I hadn't done the John Hall Metric for a year (exactly a year, as I found later when I compared notes from this ride) so I posted it to the list after no one in the regular crown expressed a strong preference for anything else. John Hall is on the east side of Montgomery county, about 10 miles outside of town. It features gently rolling terrain; mostly farms and large wooded tracts. The central section of the route has 4 climbs that aren't too tough for people who climb regularly, like we do here in Autauga and Elmore counties. Pete and I carpooled the 35 minutes over there. Tom, Joe and Steve met us at the parking lot. It was almost 10 deg cooler there than here at home, and fog was still stubbornly clinging to the trees as we approached the gathering point.

When we arrived, there was enough time for a group of aging athletes to visit the rest room one more time before shoving off, always helpful. When you sail past the shores of 50 years of age, there are just a few more things you have to factor into your plans :) I noticed that the smoker outside the store had fired up, and mentioned my hope that some BBQ ham would be available upon our return. They don't cook up a whole lot and sometimes it sells out. Frank & I enjoyed it as an after ride meal once before and I recalled it being very tasty. I shared the hope of post ride repast with the proprietor and the early morning regulars. They engaged me in conversation while I was there - expressing concern that we cyclists don't always insure that we are visible to drivers, and noting that the flashing red tail lights some of us use go a long way, even in daylight towards making us easier to see. Point taken. I wore my super-flash on my helmet. Steve has one on his seatpost and Joe uses the brightest Dinotte set up. Tom and Pete still need some lighting gear.

When 8:00 came, I asked if everyone was ready to go, and we were. There was some banter about how they'd better be ready or I would ride off and leave them, or some such nonsense. Actually, I think I took some poking about everything at different points and from different people on this ride. Wearing wool, not wearing cleats, riding on fat (38mm) tires, not riding on carbon. You name it. It really warmed my heart to be honest. It's what friends do. Some riding groups are all about the exercise and/or competition. Ours is not that way. We love what we do, and the exercise is a side bennie. The competition? It's subdued so much as to almost be subliminal. Any time there is a space between 2 riders though, instinct compels you to try to reel them in. Right?

Tom's wool jersey finally made it past Homeland Security from ProBike in the U.K. A black merino jersey with world champion stripes and a Bianchi logo. Very nice looking and he said it kept him comfortable throughout the temperature range of the day.

I wore a Joneswares Eddy short sleeve jersey, with Ibex arm warmers. The arm warmers came off at the first store stop around mile 18. The Smartwool Rambition shorts have become my new favorite for long hours of comfort in the saddle. No knee warmers today, none were needed. There was just the slightest chill as we set off into a 2 - 3 mph headwind breeze, but we warmed immediately as we crested the first gradual rise along the way.

Joe was bundled up like a tourist going to see polar bears in the Arctic, while Pete was dressed for a summer's day. Steve was somewhere in the middle. Joe did have about 1/2 his gear off by the 2d store stop. Tom snapped some pictures. If he sends them my way, I'll append them to this entry so you can see what I mean :) - done see below-

The ride itself was wonderful. The breeze picked up in the early afternoon, and shifted so it was a headwind in more than one leg of the trip. What else is new, right? Other than close up views of red tailed hawks and black headed vultures, wildlife was scarce. Traffic was generally light and there were no mechanicals all day. The rougher sections of paving were no worse than usual, and the fat tires/leather saddle/steel frame combo soaked up most of that buzz. Well for Joe (lugged steel Rivendell Hillborne) and me that is. The skinny tire/carbon crowd was a little more eager to be done with those sections. I seemed to have legs this day, always a nice surprise. When Steve or Pete pulled and sneaked up past 20 mph, I was diligent to fall off in time and stay at what I can sustain rather than exhaust my reserves and struggle the rest of the day. When I led (and I did that a lot, or rode solo on this ride) I stayed generally around 16 mph. No one complained. Here we are trying to decide if we turn left or right early on:

We ended up with 64.93 miles and 1,978' of climb. I averaged 15.5, which is 1.4 mph quicker than that same ride a year ago. (About 10% quicker). Hope THAT holds true the rest of the season! It's 2 mph faster on average than the metric I rode in January. That ride had lots more climbing so it's not a fair comparison. My cadence was around 84, which is where I'd like it to be. I've been working up from 75 for a while, trying to spin more and pump less. Here we are at the last store stop, 12 miles from the finish looking somewhat more exercised than before:

And here I am feeling pretty fit and rested, in contrast to the prior month's worth of rides.

After the ride, Joe and Pete joined me for BBQ at the John Hall Store. They had enough left and it was mighty tasty. We ran into a few other cyclists in the parking lot. Dan and Vanessa were just heading out, and another couple were just coming in. We had met Bilee and Frank B along the way earlier.

I didn't recognize Frank with his new-to-me Andrew Weil facial hair.

Pete came by my house after the ride to look at some parts he could use: a saddle, a stem, a tool kit pouch. When we were about to leave, we saw a rider doing laps around my block in full kit. I stopped the car and jumped out to flag him down. Turns out his name is Terry, he lives a few houses from me, and IS interested in doing some rides with us. Pete invited him to join the Sunday relaxer ride as a start. Hope it works out.

Tailwinds!

Crossing the Rubicon

2011-02-13T17:31:00.001-06:00

Or "the mercury rose past 60F today!" Which means I rode the Sunday Beginner-Relaxer ride in shorts. How nice and how different from Saturday morning, when Pete and Tom joind me in 24F chill for a 50 mile-ish hill climbing extravaganza. But first a word or two on today's outing. It was perfect weather, dry and pleasant, and the MUSA brand seersucker bike shirt over a wool tee was just the ticket. MUSA shorts over some merino boxers and I was good to go. I deliberately add no carbs today and kept my pace in the fat-burn range all afternoon. It felt fine. In fact early AM blood sugar this morning was under 100 for the first time in maybe 3 years! Yay me. I rode the Saluki which has stopped mystery shifting now that the bar ends are good and secure once more. The Rambouillet came along too for another rider to try out, Donna. She liked it and looked good on it. I took a picture but chopped her head off and so you'll just have to take my word for it. There were 10 of us today, including Pete on his NOS Trek 520. Beautiful blue factory paint still fresh. He added a Brooks B17 and it looks sharp and rides right. Steve joined us and was good company, likewise Curtis. Ron put in an appearance and then flew a different flight plan, as is his wont, but we saw him a few times along the way, before he, like Mike, peeled off to find more miles elsewhere.

Here is Jacob, looking like a racer already.

Jacob likes to be near the front. Everyone else was pretty content to just idle along and chat. Here are Deb and Susan, with Steve pulling rear guard duty.

I could have snapped another picture of Deb, had I been on top of my game. She reached down with her right hand to replace her water bottle while pedaling and squeezed her front brake lever accidentally with her left. Oops! Endo-rama folks. Fortunately, she and the bike were both okay. We paused anyway to catch a breather before moving on. Her helmet and gloves did what they were supposed to do, and she was none the worse for wear.

20 miles +/- and this crowd averaged 12.9, which is almost Club LIte territory! and we came back into a headwind even..

Yesterday, I wore wool socks inside sealskinz and wool gloves along with double layer wool everywhere else, and had no cold problems. I made sure to eat and drink sensibly along the way and stay at a sustainable pace. We got just shy of 50 miles and almost 2,800' inlcuding a couple of short steep ups. Much nicer than last week. Sunny and less wind. Never felt "in extremis" either. very much hoping next weekend's weather supports a two wheeled outing again!

Tailwinds.

Ride - Fail

2011-02-06T04:23:00.003-06:00

Some days are just great to be out on the bike and some days are not. A biking friend has as his motto, "Your worst day on a bike is better than your best day in an office." His full-time job is leading bike tours across America (http://www.abbike.com/ ) though and he may be somewhat prejudiced. Yesterday might have been a day to stay in the office. I planned to ride 50 hilly miles with a few friends hardy enough to get out in the cold and wet. Putting the cleaned up fenders back on my Saluki was excellent foresight, eh? The mercury was barely above freezing and roads wet from several days of rain. The humidity was close to 100% and a brisk west wind whistled through the double layer wool I put on. Fortunately, this was during the pre ride trial run. I went back in the house and added an ear warmer band and a rain jacket. My hands were a little cold but I stayed with the Giro gloves and my feet were comfy in double layer wool socks, in Keen sandals. This was sort of a sandal homage to Sheldon Brown, famously photographed in just such a get up against a snowy backdrop. Sheldon passed away 3 years ago this past week. I was reminded of the sandals when leafing through a Bicycle Quarterly and decided to give it a try. So far this winter, it's been wool socks inside Sealskinz, which has been problem free.

Pete came by at 8:00 and we pedaled off together to pick up Joe about a mile and a half away. When we got there, Joe got his bike down and we took off. After making the turn onto ridge road, I realized that they did not follow me, so I pulled off and waited. A few minutes later Pete came and said Joe was a no-go due to a seat problem. We went uphill and into the wind to meet Tom and Frank at the high school. Tom drove there but Frank had pedaled from the next town over. It worked out well, as they stayed warm while waiting for us in Tom's car. By now my hands were warming up and feeling good, but my feet were cooling down and feeling less good. I just figured that once we reached the 1/2 way mark and turned out of the wind, they would warm back up. More of an issue was my chain jumping off the larger cogs and down shifting to smaller gears, while under load as I climbed. It certainly made it more of a pain to haul up the hills!

At the high school, I got out the tool kit and attempted to tighten the bar end shifter, which was not gripping tight enough to maintain the cable tension in the rear derailleur. My blade screwdriver was too fat and wouldn't work. Pete loaned me his smaller one, which made some improvement, but didn't prevent more skips between the school and the 1st store stop. There, I tried Frank's multi-tool which allowed some torque and got it properly secured. No further chain skips! I was pretty cold by the time we got there, especially my feet. The off bike rest allowed for walking around in the store where it was warmer, so I did some of that.

Here are Pete and I as I was working on the shifter. Don't let the smile fool you. I'm cold.

By this time we had done most of the climbing we would face on the outbound portion and it was just about 7 miles until we made the turn out of the wind. Uhh, not exactly. I had to GET there 1st and my forward speed was steadily declining. Generally, my theoretical max HR is around 165

and I looked down to see that I was running 154 at just 7.5 mph into the wind! (About 12 mph with gusts to 19. Windy but not as bad as I have ridden in many times before) I couldn't figure it out. Yes, the wind was really icing down my feet by now and I was starting to think that I was getting too cold in the core as well. My hands were still good however! Thank God for small favors, as my dad used to say. I did notice that the new Giro gloves from my son last November (birthday) were separating at the seams already. They will go back for a replacement! Pete was kind enough to slow down to fat-burn range and keep me company. And we do not stay at 7.5 all the time of course. While Tom and Frank were ahead, they paused at strategic points along the way to regroup, and were uniformly good natured about my issues today, much appreciated.

At White City we turned south which I had assumed would be out of the wind, but it wasn't really. We were pushed sideways by a crisp cross wind except when it swirled and came from the front some as well. About 4 miles into the southward leg, I realized that the winds blowing hard over the open fields were chilling my right foot down to seriously cold levels, and I told Pete that I was going to call Alex to come and get me when we made the second store stop in Old Kingston. He said he also was not having any fun in this weather and asked if there was room in the car for two. Catching up to Tom and Frank at the store, we filled them in and wished them well on the final leg of their ride. I called home and fortunately Alex was both awake and available to come and get us. Then I sent Sharon a text so she wouldn't worry if she happened to find out Alex was coming. The last time I needed any help at all was in 2006, after I crashed following a run in with a pit bull. Then, I needed help getting out of the car when I arrived home. While we waited at the Old Kingston store, we chit chatted with the shop owner, who we learned was a retired school teacher and coach. Newspaper clippings mounted on the wall attested to his excellent career with hundreds of victories at two area schools. There were pictures of his students who had gone on to successful activities after high school. Locals who came in while we waited all addressed him as "Coach" and he wore a high school team ball cap. He and I shared blood sugar strategies as well. We appreciated the store's warmth, but to be honest, my feet were still not in good shape.

Alex arrived and we loaded up the bikes and headed home. Pete took his leave of us, and I gingerly undressed and took a warm, but not hot shower. That right foot had 3 toes which were white for the outer 1/2 length and a big toe that was purple. The soles of both feet were white with purple borders. Gee, I was hoping they would warm up okay. The thing I dreaded most was having to tell Sharon (who is in FL mid way through a 2 week teaching stint) that Alex was running me over to the ER "just to check on things." The shower followed by warm dry socks and roomy shoes did the trick. After taking him to lunch as a picking me up thank you, I commented to Alex that my feet felt normal again. phew!

So, 31 miles, 11.5 avg moving pace, 1,763' climb, very cold feet, split seams in gloves and sluggish all afternoon from being too tired. Back up and try again next week, eh?

Tailwinds

Spring Teaser

2011-01-30T06:09:00.001-06:00

After weeks of mornings with lows in the 20's, yesterday (Saturday) started at 38F and the forecast called for a meteoric mercury climb to 70! I had comitted already to help our son relocate some of his bulkier possessions from our house/garage to a storage unit (that we made him rent!) in preparation for his move out and marriage later this year. Also to make room for some things we want to do with the inside of the house. So, a mission style entertainment set, a dryer, a work bench, and assorted smaller items joined his torch kit and tools, already moved over by car. For today, he rented a U-Haul and bewteen 8:00 and 10:30 AM, we got it done.

That left plenty of time for lunch and getting a ride together. I sent out an email, and then had some delicious Hamburger-Broccoli Alfredo casserole that Sharon left for me before heading off to labor in Fl for 2 weeks. ( http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/hamburger_broccoli_alfredo_casserole.html ) This stuff is de-lish! In fact all the recipes tried out from this site have been excellent. (For those who don't know, I've been on Atkins Maint Phase for about a year now. It helps with weight control and also blood sugar and cholesterol #s. As Atkins writes in "DANDR" - Dr Atkins New Diet Revolution - I do add carbs when engaging in prolonged cardio activities like a spirited bike ride. Usually something like a granola or breakfast bar with up to 1/2 the carbs in sugar and the rest in grains about once an hour. It's far fewer calories than are being burned by the ride, which uses up about 50 per mile. I would bonk without them. Not needed though for easier rides or any of the muscle building exercises I do during the week. Anything in HR zones 1 or 2 in other words, while zones 3 & up require some added carb boost.)

After lunch I went out to the garage to put the fenders back on the Saluki, which I intended to ride today. They were removed to better clean them up. Salty sweat drips over the several summers that the bike has been here had oxidized the aluminum and formed "white rust." Maguiars aluminum rim paste seemed to help, but did not do a perfect job.

In any event, there was some delay while I located all the clips and the special "Daruma" nut required to install these fancy Japanese hammered Honjos. Back when I disassembled it all, I put everything away carefully, where I would be SURE to find it. Right. Anyway, while I was at it, the time seemed right to change the tires just to have a different feel. Grand Bois Oursons have been on since the Fall of 2009 when the bike went from KY to the MS-TN border on the MS River trail, and since buddy Joe had put Maxy Fastys on HIS bike, I had to keep up. There happened to be a pair in the garage stock so I put them on. Well, FIRST I put on a Speedblend, but the wire bead was all mucked up and it was too much trouble to get it to seat on the rim. I decided to leave fixing that to a rainy day. I installed the folding Maxys (no tools needed. Gotta love a folding 650B!) and quickly pumped them up. 55 - 75 is the range, and 65 works well for me. Went inside to change and check emails. When I came back out and jumped on the bike to pedal it out the Yukon parked along the curb, it went "squish." Uh oh. Rear tire was flat. Poked a hole in it when changing the tire, I guess!

The good news is that there were 3 other bikes in the garage to choose from. Since I was pressed for time, instead of putting in a tube (why is it ALWAYS the back tire? Is it just ME?) I took Louise the Rambouillet down off her hook and put her in the car. Chad, Donna, Jacob and Jean were all no shows at the meeting point, but Clarence, Pete and Autumn were there and Frank soon joined us. Autumn rode with us about a year ago, maybe more, and is just back on the bike following her return from deployment in Iraq. She's Air Force. The temperature was up around 70F and the weather was perfect for a ride, other than a brisk breeze blowing from the WNW. While we were still getting ready, a rider on a Harley-Davidson came to a stop at the corner light and the bike promptly fell over on its side. He braked suddenly and the handlebars turned to the right, causing the bike to fall on its left side. He remained sort of astraddle, trying to pull the bike up while sitting on it. Having ridden a number of cyles in my younger years, I figured this guy was NOT an experienced rider. He had paid $$$ for a big bike, had a leather vest, and the 1/2 way down your head style cap helmet, and thought he could ride. Anyway, I shouted, "Do you need help?" and he nodded emphatically yes. I ran out from the lot across the street and told him we needed to get some leverage on his bike. (When I was just starting to ride many years ago, I had a friend help me lay my own bike on its side when I got it and made sure I knew how and could pick it back up again. It was smaller, but the idea is the same) We got it upright while cars slowed down and thankfully did not hit us. He said he was okay when asked and (motor still running all the while) he drove off. The gas tank took a dent from the smack down, but he can get that fixed/replaced. The handlebar seemed true, which is helpful for steering!

Following the minor excitement, and always glad of blog material, we set off for 33 miles to the Slapout Boys Store. Clarence quickly decided he wasn't feeling quite as perky as he thought, and called me to say he opted for a turnaround at about mile 7. He still got some miles in and fresh air. Not bad at all. Here are Pete, Autumn and Frank all as we headed north on Rucker Rd.

I also wanted a shot to show Sharon that I wore my birthday short sleeve Vittadella jersey. This was the 1st day warm enough since she gave it to me in November to wear it again. It was perfect. Not too hot when the temp crested at 74F and not too cool as it rapidly dropped following the Slapout store stop. I packed arm warmers, but did not need them. The sky really was as blue as the picture shows. It won't last however. Rain is scheduled to set in for a few days and then colder temps again.

The ride was fine. WIth only about 645' total elevation, only the wind held down our pace. We ended with a bit over 15 as an average, nice for so early in the year, and more than that, I felt really good. Except for the foot cramps. I didn't add salt to the Propel today and should have. With the warmer air and perkier pace, sweat and salt loss was higher than it has been on the recent cold days. As usual, riding free (no cleats or clips) meant that I could move my foot around and press out the cramps, never needing to stop and only slowing a mph or two for a few minutes. If the weather permits, we'll get in a beginner ride today at 2. If not, there's a tube in the garage that needs a patch....

Tailwinds.

2011-01-23T06:30:00.001-06:00

Just like Dean Martin, the desire to stay indoors was strong Saturday morning. ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crFQpOCDfEc ). Each time an email arrived from a prospective rider (Bill R, Joe M, Bill W) bowing out for one reason or another (instead of fessing up to cold weather aversion) my own thoughts ran along the same lines. Fortunately, Tom, Frank, and Birmingham visitor, Will Hill all were still on for the ride, so I HAD to show up. It was 28F and calm as the Sun rose, but winds were forecast for the day. The damp air persuaded me to dress warmer than last week. I went with a substantial Spot (Canadian brand) jersey over a turtle neck Joneswares base layer up top, unpadded wool Joneswares shorts under heavy vintage Italian wool tights below, wool socks inside Sealskinz on my feet and Ibex wool gloves. Keeping my head warm was a Rivendell wool cap and a merino ear band. I went for a test ride at 6:30 and was still too cold, especially on any sort of downhill run, so I went back and added a lightweight ("Randonneurs of China" design from www.BikeJournal.com ) wind jacket.

At 7:40 I rolled out the door and pedaled up to our meeting location where Will Hill was getting ready, Tom was standing in the Sun, arms outstretched, like a cormorant, warming itself with wide open wings.

As it happens, I did not get a picture of Tom doing a bird pose...

As it turned out, I was possibly the most lightly clad of the group, other than Ron, who wore just his shorts today. Since he pedals at 125 rpm, his knees generate their own warm air zone, and he apparently needs no added protection. Or that's what he'd like us to believe. Here are the others at a 4-way stop in Coosada, as we waited for Ron to reconnect with us.

My suggestion of heading north into the hills from the start while the air was calm did not meet with general agreement, so we started off in the other direction. By the time we turned north on Coosada Parkway, the NW wind had already picked up, and there were no hills to block it. The wind served to slow us down, but it was great training, if cold. Like hills, the more headwind you ride into, the less it bothers you to do it.

Today's ride was pretty uneventful. Frank and I trundled along at our usual pace, although at times I lagged back some distance. Tom and Will Hill ran on ahead and then waited at some convenient point for us to catch them. Will Hill is a lawyer in Birmingham and was on his "rat bike" today (Titanium-Carbon Ritchey Breakaway) He lolled most of the day in 53/11 I think, even up the rollers we encountered. WIll Hill LOOKS like a real rider. Everything is correct about his bike and gear and fits properly. After about 2/3 of the ride though (but only 500' of the 2,600' of climb on the route!) he announced that he needed to tear back down to his car to get to another committment with his wife. Too bad he missed the fun part! We pointed him in the direction he needed to go, and he probably still got in about 50 miles, even if it was just easy rollers down US 31.

By the way, I was on my "rat bike" too. A '95 Rivendell that could use a paint job, and with a saddle that I hack-fixed, but whose leather top occaisionally pops off the nose and needs to be replaced on a ride. It's so comfortable though! (I bought it used and the 1st guy over stretched it. I bought a longer bolt and got it back in servce, but my Home Depot bolt lacks the retainer pin on the bolt head needed to secure the nose piece. It does a decent enough job)

Temps were just a little warmer at Posey's (our 3rd and last store stop) so we took off some layers. Frank took his mid layer off but replaced his jacket. I took my jacket off and was cold until the moisture in my clothes had dried out (about 5 mins on the road) and was fine from then on)

You can see that I tried the Sealskinz OVER my tights today and that worked out very nicely. No shoe covers are needed. I think on my next shorter outing, I'll try Sheldon Brown's idea of double wool socks in just sandals. Leafing through an old Bicyle Quarterly, I see a picture of him on a snowy day looking happy with just that set up. Although we saw Ron some in the 1st 1/4 of the ride, he took some alternate roads and we did not cross paths again. A later email assured that he enjoyed his outing and made it home safely.

A bit over 64 miles for this ride, at 13.5 average (more than 1/2 the way into a stiff breeze). 2,600' of total climb. HR avg around 146 and I was over 160 a lot more than I'm accustomed, but did not feel exhausted by it. Maybe my cardio capacity is improving? It was my legs that hurt today on the climbs, but gearing down and just easing on up the inclines was the solution. The more I ride, the better that situation will be. I am happy to have the 1st Metric Century of 2011 done. Tom is happy to have his 1st Metric Century ever done. Way to go, good buddy! We'll get you to a full century this year for sure. We'll have to pick the cuisine we want to ride to first, though. Frank was happy to have an easy ride after his 200 Km brevet last week down in Jacksonville.

Got a beginner ride Sunday afternoon, so a recovery ride for me, and an introduction to cycling for some new people. Good stuff!

Half Century Ride

2011-01-15T19:35:00.003-06:00

After a long series of rides up in hilly Autauga and Elmore counties, it was time to revisit our old riding grounds in south Montgomery county. I looked over my stored routes on MapMyRide and noticed that a ride mapped in 2009 had not been ridden since. Largely based on the club metric century, it's trimmed to 50 miles and included 2 possible store stops and a church that is sometimes open on Saturdays and when not, has a spigot behind a hedge that we know how to get water from. 29F degrees this morning did not dissuade us, but I was careful to do a better job dressing than last week. The wind jacket (it was VERY windy) also served to make my clothes soaking wet, and I did not want a repeat of that. The air was calm, and I went with double layer wool. Wooly Warm L/S base layer under a heavy Pearl Izumi wool jersey (It's too scratchy to wear without one anyway) up top and Pearl Izumi tights over Ibex shorts down below. Feet had wool socks inside Sealskinz inside larger-than-usual shoes and hands had Ibex wool gloves. A wool Riv cap and a merino ear band completed preparations. The ear band came off at the 1st stop, but everything else stayed on, and was needed, all day. It worked out great, I stayed dry and warm.

Pete came by to pick me up and we met Joe, Steve and Tom down at the church parking lot in Pintlala. Bilee and Patty were there, getting ready to launch on a training ride. They planned the same mileage as us, but in 1/2 the time. They were long gone when we got back to the cars. We old slow guys took off and any chill I felt was gone within the first mile as we warmed to the task of pedaling our bikes. Here are Joe and I at the 1st stop, about 16 miles out, Mt. Carmel Church, which was open today for people doing things inside.

You can see my Rambouillet in front and Joe's Hillborne behind. we LOVE our bikes. Tom's Madone lies between us, and he was the picture taker. Hard to see in this picture, but Joe has blue cable housings and blue bar tape on his orange Hillborne. Tough to figure, because his jacket shows his true colors, Georgia Bulldogs! Look at his bike though and it's "Go Gators!" Oh, is there another team with the same colors? Here we are coming up to stop sign regroup. I'm not saying Rivs are slow bikes, but the two riders were generally bringing up the rear today.

It's a good thing that I ate a Nutri-Grain bar here, because when we made our store stop 6 miles later, we found out it was closed. Whether for the winter or due to the economy, we did not know. But we figured we could make the water on board last another 22 miles to the next store opportunity. On our way there, a small herd of deer ran alongside us for a while including some nicely racked bucks, does and fawns. Much faster than we were, and disappeared into the trees rapidly. I also came up on a young red tailed hawk and got a close up look before it flew off. Dogs were no problem today.

There was plenty of climbing today, around 2,500' and the calm air gave way to a good headwind for 12 of the last 16 miles, so we all had a good workout, and appreciated our breathers when they came. Here are Steve and Pete. No pics of Tom today, sorry fella!

We had plenty of coarse roads, but traffic was generally light, and at only 85 psi in 28 mm tires, the road buzz was tolerable. Better for Joe on his 34s. Can't speak for the skinny tire riders.

So, 51 miles at 14 mph avg and about 2,500' of climb. I really feel the absence of mid week rides and HAVE to get that going again, to make Saturdays more enjoyable. I jumped on the wagon train going up Hobbie Rd for a brief spell and it depleted me so rapidly, I was shocked. I spent the next 5 miles slowly pulling myself into the wind, before regrouping and getting some zip back upon eating granola bars at the last stop. That's twice now in the past two weeks that I've felt better late in the ride than at the start.

And I'm missing the Sunday relaxer rides too. Maybe I can fix that next Sunday!

Tailwinds

When does this get easier?

2011-01-09T15:38:00.002-06:00

I found myself asking Joe that as the sounds of our deeply drawn breaths paced our pedal cadence on one of the many steep ups on yesterday's ride. After 4,000 miles +/- last year, shouldn't this be EASY by now? The answer is, it never gets easy. But you find yourself doing rides that you would not have considered before, and yesterday, I actually found myself getting stronger as the day wore on. Go figure. I should have let some other hardy soul take the first pull into the very stiff breeze and done my heavy lifting once the leg muscles had loosened and limbered.

It was sunny and cool, but not cold and very windy. I'd ridden all of the roads before, but not in this particular combination. We would have flat into the wind, 2,000+ ft of climbing with 14% grades, and even a short section of dirt road to navigate. It was a super workout. Before the ride, I attended this month's men's breakfast at Ryan's. That's one of those all you can eat buffet places, but with the quality of the food, you don't want to eat all that much. I ate a slice of toast along with bacon and eggs for pre ride carbs, in lieu of the usual NutriGrain bar. I only needed one trip to the buffet. Even the coffee was pretty bad. The men, on the other hand, were great. Alex came and we all heard a good talk on self control. Counsel that works in so many situations in life. Here we are paying close attention as Steve delivers the message. Sharp eyes will note the Rapha gents cap on the table.

I wore my bike stuff under some track pants and it was easy to reconfigure after eating and meet up with the other guys. They were all bundled up pretty well, but I didn't dress all that heavily, and from the sweat soaked stuff I peeled off later, I could have gone lighter. The route started off with a tailwind for 2 miles but then we turned into it for what seemed like an eternity. 15 steady and gusts to maybe 20. Flags out straight and when it hit you coming unobstructed off a barren winter crop field, you felt it. I stayed on the middle ring and tried to maintain cadence. After a much appreciated store stop, we continued on for an easier part of the ride before climbing Indian Hills. Zach was easily the cool looking one of the group. And the only one not close to retirement age either.

Familiar to our legs, it was just work. Instead of the cut off, this time we climbed the steeper pitch near the end of the road and then rolled around to downtown Prattville to take break # 2.

Tom snapped this picture of Joe, me, Pete, and Zach (L - R)

Leaving Dismukes store, we again had wind AND an uphill climb. By the time we reached our turn, CR 85, Tom had sprinted on ahead. None of us was up to chasing him down, so we rested while waiting for Tom to notice he was doing a solo and come back to look for us. By 5 minutes time he breezed on back and we all headed up the hard pan dirt on CR 85. About 3/4 of mile in, it turned to coarse old paving. Both surfaces were best ridden by Joe and I on our fat rubber than the crabon/skinny tires folks, but everyone made it. Then the road got steep with a long climb including 2 stretches at 14% and a steady 9% - 10%. I think all of our legs were talking to us. I know mine were. Crossing Upper Kingston, we were on a familiar section of CR 85 but still uphill when we came upon about 4 dogs at once, from both sides of the street. 3 got out my way, but 1 pain in the butt got a hold of my Baggins saddlebag and yanked the bike sideways. He was a big 'un, I'm guessing a Lab and Pit bull mix. I was thoroughly irritated at him and he finally ran off when we yelled at him. He left two tooth holes in my bag, but did not rip it. I'm sure Grant at Rivdendell will be pleased to know his wares passed this field trial. My companions found the whole episode to be entertaining. Glad to be useful, I always say.

No other excitement on the ride. Avg pace was under 13 (when you can only make 11 into a headwind and 6 uphills, it slows you down!) 2,452' of climb, and here's good news, 2,244 calories were toast! I think if I could get back into the mid week hill ride routine, my weekend rides would sure go easier. My Theoretical max HR is 163, so I guess doing 166 and surviving is good, right? Right?

Tailwinds..

Take The Long Way Home

2010-12-31T17:00:00.001-06:00

Davies & Hodgson ask the question, “Does it feel that your life’s a catastrophe when you look through the years and see what you could have been, oh what might have been, if you’d had more time?”

I won’t quarrel that the tune by Supertramp is a catchy one, but sometimes the long way home is the one that lets you see and learn lots of new things about yourself and about the world around you. Like, you can gear down and find a steady pace into a headwind, or that if you stay within yourself, the extra miles and climbing are a reward, not a punishment.

The year ended on a high note with a gathering of cycling friends for today's morning ride. The day started out warm for a 12/31. 52F when I left the house, deciding to pedal to the start to add the miles and the climb. It was still cool enough for long sleeves (the Woolistic Visconti birthday present from last month), with a short sleeve wool (Swobo Tee) base layer under it. A light wool cap (sort of hound’s-tooth check in colors that go well in AL) Fox River wool socks and Ibex knee warmers under Smartwool shorts. The Wool – Microfiber Giro long finger gloves which also came last month were prefect for the weather.

Left to right, it's Jeff, John, Pete, and Tom

Here we are heading out of Millbrook. Jeff is resplendent in a wool Rapha jersey and Steve (not in this picture, but see below) is rocking a Wooly Warm by Rivendell jersey as well. Wool, it’s spreading! There was sunshine and a light tailwind outbound. We stopped at the usual store stops and had more than the usual # of dogs come out at us. None were super serious, all were irritating. I snapped a picture of this lab barking from the safety of the roadside. He retreated after hearing Max’s bell.

We spent a little time at each stop, something that Pete’s son Zach was not thrilled by when he rode with us on Tuesday. I don’t like to stay too long, but with a bunch of 50+ year old men, it’s a good bet that someone needs a bathroom. And we all like to give that saddle region a break. I suppose I’ll never be a training racer, more a tourer. The roads have room for both. I like to get a banana at the “The Boys Store” to go along with the grain breakfast bars I eat at the other stops. And some sugar free Fuze Tropical Punch. Frank introduced me to that drink and I like it as a change up from the Propel that is usually found in my water bottles. In between, we tried to get some pictures. Tom is trying to get his to work. Steve offers assistance.

Heading north from the store, we crossed Lake Jordan and then turned west on Possum Trot before turning south into the breeze. While we were at the store, you could see the clouds coming in to herald the 100% of rain for tomorrow, and the wind both shifted and strengthened. Before we got it full on, we had to climb a 12% grade because, well you know, it was there. One rider was a little rusty having been out all of 3 times this year and he was laboring up the grade on his compact double. For the 1^st time I can remember, I thought to myself, “no big deal,” I’ll just go back down and ride up again with him. I think that’s a way to measure one’s progress. Can ride what you once walked up? Does the prospect of giving back hard work in elevation gain sound like an opportunity to stretch your legs instead of a prison labor camp sentence? I’ve always preferred hills to wind, but have come to actually enjoy climbing. Can’t say the same for wind though. That’ll be another mile marker on the way, I suppose. We pulled back some 20 miles into a very stiff wind. Mostly at 13 – 14 mph. It was tiring. We got a bit strung out in this phase and somehow John got separated from us. He was between Max and Jeff, and when Jeff showed up, there was no John. We assumed he chose to return home by the way he came, and we went on. John emailed later to say he had been dropped on a “no drop” ride. I feel bad about that but still don’t know how it happened.

Steve asked to bypass the Marion Spillway with its “Rough Riders” pavement (http://www.xo-1.org/) so we went a different way. With 38mm tires and a steel frame, I didn’t mind it, but others might find it very abusive to bikes and bodies. My highlight of the day was finding myself in the lead on Ceasarville Road and cranking along for a brief spell at 29.7 mph on level ground. I switched the Garmin to heart rate monitor and when it started to rocket skyward, I dialed it back and got behind Steve for a spell. It was heady while it lasted though!

So, over 100 rides this year, almost 4,000 miles. 163,000’ of climbing, and lots of great memories. Here’s wishing you and yours a happy, healthy, and blessed 2011. May all your winds be tailwinds.

It's Christmas Eve

2010-12-24T19:56:00.001-06:00

An early Christmas present arrived today. Instead of the very windy weather forecast earlier in the week, we were blessed with calm air, abundant sunshine and reasonable temperatures for this time of year. 30s at the start and about 50F at the end. 7 of us gathered at a convenient corner and shoved off a little past 9:00 AM. We didn't have to wait to connect to Tom this week. He was there before I was. JOHN was the latest arrival, but was welcome when he made it to the parking lot. Steve is now fully persuaded in the power of wool, so slowly but steadily, the movement of merino through the ranks of club riders continues. He had a baselayer and Wooly Warm jersey on, and expected Santa to bring Wooly Warm tights to go along with them. I have them too, and love them, although I decided they were TOO warm for today and wore a lighter pair of Pearl Izumis over my Smartwool shorts.

We did the relatively flat 1/3 of the route 1st, which was fine. I prefer to tackle hills on warmed up legs. I say "relatively flat" because that section included two 9% climbs. But it was flat in between them. Just before we started to climb for real, we grabbed a rest and regroup stop at a stop sign.

As you can see, the leaves are gone from these trees, although surprisingly, many still have their very dead and no longer pretty leaves attached to branches. At this point, we had gone up a total of about 300' in 16 miles. Since we finished with 2,100' we had a LOT more ahead of us. I have not been climbing as much as I need to since our Cheaha trip, and Joe and Michelle both said they too were not climb-ready, so it was a good workout for us. Tom, Steve and Frank are all strong, while John hurt a little going up, although he was plenty fast on the flatter sections. John in fact had a spoke break soon after this rest and had to SAG it back to the cars. A good Samaritan gave him a lift, although he had someone to call had that not happened. Steve wore our colorful tights today. It seems someone always does. I'm glad that we rode, these folks are always good to be around. Joe and I keep trying new bike tweaks. His Sam Hillborne now sports Paul Canti brakes and Maxy Fasty Tires. I tried to talk him out his now out of use Pari-Motos but no dice. He had a new handlebar bag and bar tape as well. Joe does bar tape well, including the twining of the ends. I do bar tape sloppy, but it works. I had an Ebay crankset on which I liked a LOT. An Ultegra 52/42/30 triple, it is smoother and quieter than the stock Sugino XD was, and I like that 42 a lot better than the Sugino 36 middle ring. Yes, I'm limited to about 30 mph in a 52/12 as far as pedal ration goes, but I can barely turn that, downhill! I don't see where I need a 53/11, ever.

I'm off most of next week, and will try to get a few more rides in. I'm about 140 mi shy of 4,000 for the year. It COULD happen!

Tailwinds and Merry Christmas to you all.

B

BBQ at #22

2010-12-12T03:50:00.003-06:00

This weekend was not shaping up for anything exciting in the way of a bike ride. Joe, Max, Ray, Pete and Ron all for one reason or another had to be elsewhere. I saw Frank's note on my FaceBook wall saying he would be "in available" for a ride, and B's translation services rendered that to say he would also be personna absentia for a ride. There were a couple of rides posted for eastern Montgomery County, leaving from the John Hall Store (an old country store, refurbished and reopened a year or two ago. Now cyclists can go INSIDE to use the bathroom pre-ride!) both a 30 mile light ride and a 40 mile "150 max HR" ride. I had to ask Bill T to tell me what 150 meant to him in the way of MPH. For me, 150 is what I get when climbing a 15% grade. I can't hold it all that long. 135 is more like my avg HR. But then, I'm more than a few years older than he is. In the end, I purposed to do a core exercise routine early and then catch the light ride, and maybe add another loop at whatever pace felt good. It was a pleasant surprise to hear from Frank late Friday and find out that he meant to say he was "in" town and "available" to ride. As always, he wanted "at least" a metric and whatever option had more hills. Beyond that, it was up to me to map a route. "See you at 9:00 AM Saturday."

I threw up a club email invite to the hastily conceived plan, but did not expect much response. Jean got a particular encouragement to attend, but was not heard from. When I arrived at the store, only Frank was there. It was just Bill and Sam for the 150 HR ride as well. By 9:00, the air was 44F, but humidity was high. I put on a wind jacket over double layer wool, assuming that the jacket would come off at the 1st rest stop. It did, but only to let some sweat dry out. Then it went back on and stayed that way. It never felt warm all day, and with a brisk east wind, it was downright cold when pedaling into it. An old country boy was firing up a BBQ smoker along the side of the store. I saw Boston Butts and sausage links laying out on the grill. The chef said they'd be for sale come lunch time. Since we figured to be back around 1:00 PM, that sounded like a great idea to me.

The trees were largely still holding their leaves, but are well past their color prime. Still, there was a niceness to the scenery. Recent cold weather has taken the green out of the grass, and a definite feel of winter is creeping into the landscape. We saw a number of hawks up close today, low flying, and hunting for a meal in the scrub. We rode at decent pace most of the day. Store stops were at 18, 41, and 52 miles. Total stopped time including momentary snack bar pauses at corners was less than an hour. The pavement in Bullock County was atrocious. The idea crossed my mind that I should take a fat tired bike on this ride, but I really wanted to pedal Louise today. Here she is:

She's wearing 37mm tires in this picture, but actually only has 28mm rubber on presently. They're Conti Ultra Gatorskins, and have given about 3,900 flat free miles so far, but I should have changed the tires, or ridden the Saluki or Road Standard bikes, which have much more supple tires on. So, my dental fillings felt well rattled for two sections of 6 - 8 miles each, but otherwise, it was a great ride. The Sun didn't stay out long enough to make us feel warm, but it came out often enough to make it enjoyable scenery-wise. We saw Bill and Sam out on the roads twice, heading in opposite directions as we were, and while at the 3rd store stop, a long line of club racers went zooming past us on US 80. None looked familiar to me, but they were at a speed and distance that made recognition difficult. They greeted us enthusiastically, and we returned likewise. Patty was rumored to be tearing up and down the hills in our area, but like Nessie, she's tough to actually verify a sighting of. Speaking of hills, we climbed 2,062' of them on our way to completing 64.93 miles in 4:17 for a 15.1 average. As I like to say, "Within the advertised Range." Frank was a tad faster, as usual. We met a solo cyclist back at the cars, but he had no real interest in a club ride. Nice enough, but heavily scheduled already. What was even better was that we found the BBQ ready to eat! We each got some fresh pulled pork, Frank with bread and sauce, and yours truly without, and it was excellent. Despite my posting that this ride did not include a food stop, sure enough it did have some great food!

The early morning exercise went well. My usual exercises of chin ups, sit ups and push ups. Pull ups have migrated to alternate days along with planks. So all in all, a pretty kick butt kind of day exercise-wise. It was also the 22nd ride this year of 100 KM or longer. Pretty neat!

Tailwinds

Getting My Legs Back Under Me

2010-12-05T08:38:00.002-06:00

Although I rarely get sick, I was saddled with some malady making the rounds for about a week, two weeks ago. Feeling better for the 1st time last Saturday, I tried to ride but had to cut it short and only did 16 miles. Sometimes it just does take longer to get back to 100% I suppose. Our Saturday ride this week was a hilly 38 mile route that Frank and I have done a few times and enjoyed each time. I figured I could ride to the start from home and add 14 more miles and some more hills, and that's what happened. Joe emailed to say he was out of town, and no word from Frank, so his attendance was not expected either. Ray may have been away too. Ron keeps his whereabouts a secret that even Wiki-Leaks cannot expose.

Pete and Max pedaled over to our house early, and the 3 of us headed from here over to Prattville High School to meet Steve. As far as I knew, he was the only other rider coming. as it happens, that was a bad assumption. Max was wanted elsewhere, so his ride was strictly to the school and back home. Pete and I met Steve and we headed out on the 38 mile route. On our way to the school, we came upon 2 runners heading towards us on Powell Rd, a man and a woman. We were moving along smartly, and I was just about to pass them when my brain registered, "Derek & Kym!" I've never met either, but they sure looked like their pictures on DailyMile.com! When Kym yelled, "Bruce!" that sort of solidified my thinking on the subject. One of these days, we'll actually shake hands, but in the meanwhile, we all encourage one another through postings on our workout reports.

After considering the wind, which was light, I decided to do the hills first, since we would be heading home into a slight headwind. That is the reverse direction from the way the it's marked on MapMyRide, but I knew where I was going. Always like to tackle the tougher stuff on fresher legs, so that was the plan. With most of the climbing behind us, we paused at the Old Kingston store and noticed 2 riders coming from where we were headed. We waved as they turned north on CR 21, not recognizing them. A minute later they turned around to come and say hello. "Is this the Saturday morning club ride from the High School?" they asked. Oops. It was Tom and Joe. Tom rode with us once a few weeks ago on a beginner ride, but Joe was unfamiliar to me. Not so with him however. "Hi Bruce, we rode together about 3 or 4 years ago on the Tour Autauga. You were on a Riven-dale bike or something. It was very cool looking." Wow. I pointed to the bike, 'There it is," embarrassed not have an equally good memory, but pleased Joe remembered. They had been at the high school, but at the other end of the parking lot and we did not notice them. Oh well :( Maybe we'll get another chance to try something together.

The ride from there was supposed to be relatively downhill, but a very stiff headwind came up and made it seem like a lot of work. I will say that at mile 37 (of my 54) I had a distinct awareness of everything feeling "right" again. Breathing, metabolic rate, leg muscles, cadence, were all in sync for the first time in maybe 3 weeks. It felt GOOD. I actually picked up my pace as we went and climbed stronger at the end than at the beginning. Steve was riding well steadily throughout, while Pete did well for longer than before on the hills before easing back a tad. For a guy who worked hard to get just 12 miles about a month and a half ago (returning to riding after being off a long while due to illness), Pete is really coming on strong.

The Giro long finger gloves that Alex presented me with for a BD gift work very well. Wool blend shell with light fleece lining. The 37 F temp was handled by a Joneswares base layer under a Spot brand jersey. Ibex duo wool shorts and Wooly Warm tights below. Due to damp air, I started the ride with a buff on my neck, but pulled it off at the 1st store stop. It actually warmed to 60 by ride end, and I unzipped the jersey, but left everything on, including a Rivendell wool cycling cap.

Stats: 54 mi, 2,861' feet of climb, 14.6 avg. I needed this ride, and was glad to have had it.

Tailwinds!

Thanksgiving Weekend Rides

2010-11-28T20:03:00.000-06:00

I have much to be thankful for this year, and that includes all the riding that weather and schedule have cooperated on to provide. This was a year of 100s. My first honest century ride of over 100 miles, believe it or not. I also did 100 pushups in a single set, the most I have ever done. (I do 3 sets of these, along with sets of chin ups, pull ups and sit ups several mornings each week). 20 rides of 100KM or more so far, and my goal this year was only 12 to start with. Of course, the things for which I am thankful extend well beyong fitness and recreation. My family, my church family, all my great freinds, job, health, the freedoms that come with living in this country and yes, the duties as well. Thanksgiving was also our 34th anniversary, and I got one year closer to collecting Social Security. Unless the age limit changes once again. In recognition of

the event, Sharon gave me these two great woolistic jerseys. Alex provided a pair of Giro long finger gloves (permeable wool weave shell and fleece lined) while Judy sent a package of 4 Clean Bottles. These are high quality water bottles with ends that remove to allow for thorough cleaning. No black gunk will grow in these! I wore the short sleeve one on Thanksgiving morning. A small detachment of riders charged ambitiously up one of our regular hill drill routes. It was a brisk 35 miles and a good work out. I rode the Nashbar, which now sports a Madonna del Ghisallo medallion on the seat tube. I like that location as we can see one another there. The headtube was not a good option, due to the pump peg in the way. This was a very thoughtful gift from buddy Jeff.

Saturday, we planned to do a 70 miler, but after 30 minutes of pedaling, I wasn't feeling any energy in my legs. I decided to turn back rather than fret over dragging the pace of the other riders.I ended up with just 16 miles, but did get to wear the black jersey. I tried some yard work, but felt an overwhelming sense of fatigue. Turning in early that night, I stayed in bed a few hours longer this morning and when I rode today, it was pure joy once again. Only 20 miles, but who cares.

A few noteworthy items from the weekend: Joe was struggling with his front brake. He asked me to look at it as he could not adjust it to pull properly and provide even pressure. The problem was that his wheel was off center in the dropouts. Once correctly placed, the brake problem disappeared. I encourage readers to eyeball their own wheels from time to time The rear in particular is subject to drifting in position due to chain pull. Also, Deb B got her longest ride ever today. A recent beginner rider, she did today's at just about Club Lite pace and almost the distance. She mentioned not being winded at all afterwards, so I know she can handle the slight added distance with no trouble. Max is mentioning the word "Rivendell" lately. As in, "I can see one of those in my future." That would be a good choice for sure, Max. Pete picked up a nice condition Giant TCR for a reasonable price and looked very comfortable on it today. He sure can tell the difference between the carbon and his former aluminum framed ride. Pete's even wearing a little wool lately. :) Speaking of wool, two of the wool jerseys I put up for sale are gone, as are all of the microfiber units. Act now, supplies are limited!
Tailwinds. And Thanks.

Red's Schoolhouse For Lunch!

2010-11-20T19:35:00.001-06:00

Grady, Al is little more than a back country 4 corners slice of life as it once was in much of central Alabama, but it does feature fine country style home cooking at a converted one room schoolhouse which dates from a long time ago. Frank asked only that today's ride be about a metric century in length (62 miles) and left the rest up to me. I borrowed from a number of club routes and mashed them up to get a 63.3 mile jaunt with mostly rolling hills. Less climbing than last weekend, and spread over 50% more distance. The easier work out was a good idea for me, as I have been off all forms of exercise this week with an annoying malady that we'll call a "cold" although I suspect it was more some kind of bacterial thing than a virus. The weather was fine. Cloudy and cool to start (53F) but warming to about 72F and sunny by the time we were done. 4 of of us met at Pintlala Baptist Church and would have rolled out of the parking lot at 8:30. At 8:30, Ray called to say he was 5 minutes out and behind some people traveling well under the speed limit. We looked at each other and no words were necessary, just smiles. I'm glad he came, and always glad for blog material. Ray is going back to climb Cheaha again tomorrow with Ron, who actually pedaled the 100 miles there today and is camping overnight (hopefully at the BASE and not the summit). With all 5 us ready, we rode 23 miles to the Ramer store for a stop, and then another 16 to the restaurant for lunch. From there, it was 24 more miles back to the start. It was also the 1st day of gun deer season and I don't recall hearing any rifles going off. We saw a lot of folks dressed out of the Mossy Oak Catalog though.(http://www.mossyoak.com/) The few that we spoke with gave positive replies to questions on their success. I've never hunted (and no fish will bite a lure that I am holding the rod to) but I know it's a big deal to many people.

As usual, I wore multiple woolen layers today. An Ibex l/s baselayer under a Joneswares s/s jersey and Joneswares shorts as well. Wool socks too. It all worked well. I was never too hot or too cold. A wool cap that Jackie Walz made to try and match the blue of my Rambouillet kept my noggin in good order. As it warmed up, we removed what we didn't need. Here, Bill has taken off his jacket and stands in stark black & white contrast to that colorful tree behind him.

Most of the roads today were coarse pavement or worse. Here is a shot I took while pedaling as steadily as I could on a logging road we traveled on. It was very cool, and 36 mm semi-knobby tires at 50 psi made it very secure feeling, but you get the idea:

About 10 miles after this shot, we pulled up to Red's. Never one to miss a meal, Max was there in his Mossy Oak outfit and pick up truck. Frank, Joe, Bill, Ray and I decided he could join us, if he was paying. I don't think that plan worked out, but it was still good company and great food.

There's a large blackboard in the picture because Red's really was a schoolhouse. Maybe in the late 1800s to early 1900s, I'm guessing. Presidential portraits ring the main dining area - the kind they have in schools - and a signed picture taken in the restaurant with George H.W. Bush (#41) sits behind the register. He has been in the area to fish with Ray Scott (who may be familiar to any bass catching readers). We've run into Ray at Pintlala Baptist Church which is where (I believe) he attends, and where we park our cars for bike rides. Our menu today included BBQ, fried chicken, various cold salads, corn cakes (I had two of these, they were wonderful), various veggies, beans, and home made pies. I went for some pecan pie myself. Ray ordered pie too, and then was too full to eat it. Agonized to learn that it was NOT included with the buffet price, he handed it to Frank who pronounced it "good." Max had chocolate pie, and I don't know what the others chose.

The ride from the restaurant was perhaps my second favorite part, after the "Roughriders Adventure Corps" logging roads (
http://www.xo-1.org/) as it featured some long winding climbs and descents. More descents than climbs and some tailwinds as well. Ray looked pretty comfortable today, trying out un clipped shoes on platform pedals. I'm not sure about those tights though.

I am a loss with any newfangled equipment. I know, I have become my grand mother. But anyway, just as I cannot operate a VCR or DVD player or work the channel guide on our cable box, I have yet to successfully download a GPX file to my Garmin. So, I go by memory. I've been on all these roads before, but in today's case, it was maybe 4 years ago. Hopefully the gang will forgive me for leading us down ONE wrong fork in the road, especially since Frank who CAN figure the Garmin magic out, quickly informed us that we needed to circle back and take the other tine.

So stats: 63.33 miles, 2,758' climbed, 14.8 moving average, and 1 1/2 hrs of off bike time including all breaks and a sit down lunch. Lots of calories eaten but lots expended too. Joe says his Rivendell Hillborne is a keeper, Bill has a Carbonamas fork on order and maybe we'll get him to trade his Surly Pacer in on something from Walnut Creek yet. It was a good time, and good to share it with friends.

Emerald Mountain Toll Bridge Ride

2010-11-13T16:38:00.001-06:00

Frank suggested that we depart from the retail parking lot by the north end of this toll bridge. I think I last rode over that way 4 years ago, so it sounded like a nice change of pace. The weather forecast was good, and there is more color in the leaves. Four of us shoved off at 8:00 AM, in 43F degrees, but ready to peel off layers as the mercury climbed during the day. I looked at the elevation profile on MapMyRide and thought our worst climb was in the first 5 miles. I was wrong. That climb was tough, but the toughest climb was at about mile 35. What made the 1st climb tougher was following Frank as he bolted from the parking lot at 18 - 20 mph. That's fast for me anytime, but tough on cold legs. He pulled off the lead at 2 1/2 miles and let me pull the next section, which I did at a more normal-to-me 16 - 17 mph. I was tired though and when that 1st hill came, I got off the front and let the speed wagons go by. Pete asked me at the top if I was doing okay, and I replied I just needed a moment to catch my breath. The engines did finally fire up and there were no further problems during the day. We stopped in Tallassee for water bottle refills and then looped on back. Steve and Frank both did well today and Pete is getting his legs back under him after some years off the bike. He does have some new gearing on order to handle the hills better. The route was almost all bucolic countryside. All the cotton is now harvested and the hay for winter silage is baled up.

Some of the lovely foliage we pedaled past:

I waited for Pete at a horse farm. Here I'm wearing an Ebay score; Jonewares Eddy jersey. Very comfortable!

And of course, the farm:

We were surprisingly spunky at the end of the ride. A line of Club riders zipped on past while we took a rest at a corner, and I'm proud to say that Frank, Steve, and I ran them down. Frank in fact passed them all and led most of them all the way back in. They on crabon frames, and he on his Bilenky steel ride, loaded down with auxillary battery packs for the Dinotte rear flasher. My steel bike could only catch up and pass the last 2 riders. Maybe I need some battery packs and a Dinotte? Nah, more leg would help though! In the name of full disclosure, Steve rides a carbon frame too and speaks well of it. This ride put me over my original annual mileage goal, so everything else is just gravy! Stats: 41.2 mi at 14.2 mph, climbed 2,395'. Steepest grade was 16%. About 2,100 cals burned. (I notice a little paunch returning. Gotta get on that pronto...)

Max's Mt. Cheaha Ride

2010-11-06T20:41:00.001-05:00

It seems so long ago now, that Max started riding with our Tues/Thurs hill ride group. I say that because we have already been on so many rides together. In fact, it has only been since this past Spring that Max showed up on a knobby tire mountain bike and did a fairly good job at keeping pace with us roadies up and down the Autauga and Elmore hills. Now he rides a trek road bike and has several centuries under his belt. Pretty great progress! Starting a couple of weeks ago, Max began to plan for an away ride to see if all our hill drills would be helpful on some bigger heights. He mapped out a route up Mt Cheaha, our highest elevation here in Alabama, and organized his dad to ride SAG for us, planned the drive and the breakfast stop. Great job! 7 of us gathered here in Prattville at o'dark-thirty to organize a carpool for the two hour drive north to Oxford. Ray and Ron are out of the frame, but here, L_R are Michael (apparently still in his PJs), Jean, Max and Frank.

We packed all the gear, left the surplus vehicles in the parking lot, and headed north to Alabaster for breakfast at Cracker Barrel.

I had the low carb breakfast, but did put 1/2 a jam packet on the toast (It's low carb bread).

I was supposed to call Joe when we left the restaurant. He was coming from Birmingham to meet us. I remembered after we were already 30 mins on the road, but as it happened, his timing and ours worked very close together. We met at the Wal-Mart in Oxford and used their facilities, getting ready for the ride. Some of us older people took more time, but it wasn't long before everyone was suited up with what they wanted to wear and ready to go. I packed a jacket for the downhill return and wind proof gloves, but wore open weave wool gloves and no jacket on the way up. It was all wool, of course. Max's SAG driving dad took the picture.

The initial approach was about 6 smooth and fairly level miles. We pulled over to get a shot of our goal. It's the one with the tower on top. The middle one if you don't have Super-Vision.

Soon we left the level lands and were climbing. The grades on the way up seemed to max out at about 14%, but they were fairly lengthy. Ray regretted not having a triple crank. Michael wasn't keen about the 39 small ring, but it didn't slow him much. He was just out for an enjoyable scenic ride. He has good company, but not tested the way the rest of us were by the conditions. Here Joe & I are working up one of those grades. Max was ahead of us and took the shot.

We paused a few times on the way up as a group, and I paused a few times when my chest felt like it would explode if I didn't. Just a minute or two pause to let my heart rate percolate back down did wonders for enhancing the climbing experience. We had an official stop at the scenic overlook.

From here it was a tough slog uphill, but everyone made it and we sat down to lunch in the state park's scenic restaurant.
Floor to ceiling windows offer a great view

and the food was okay, if not spectacular. We look pretty tame after our meal.

This is the view out of the windows. I went outside to take the picture, as shooting through the glass was not working well.

After lunch we climbed some more to get to the actual TOP of the mountain. There is an observation tower there you can CLIMB up into, but I passed on that opportunity to rest while others used up the last few ergs of energy they had. We did pose by the sign tho..

It was colder now, and I put my jacket on and switched to wind proof gloves. Ray & Ron wanted to explore some more park roads, but I was ready to head down. Joe, Jean, and Frank were quick to cast in with me, and Max decided to as well. Since Ray & Ron were carpoolers, that worked out neatly. There were some uphills on the down trip as well. In fact, they were steeper than the uphills coming up! A couple of LONG 17% ers! Here is Jean, who by the way was only on her 1st BEGINNER ride last Sunday, and today climbed Mt Cheaha on an ancient and stone dead heavy Mongoose mountain bike, smiling as she uses ALL the gears to climb. Ray and Ron are at the bottom, catching a breather and adjusting clothes.

The final "insult" was the common cyclists woe. The wind stiffened in our faces at the end, when we were already most tired, and the last 6 miles in was quite the slog. We made it though, all of us, and while our pace was somewhat beginner-ish at 11 mph avg, we had somewhat more climb at a total of 4,472' (most of it at 9% and greater as well) in just 39 miles. we had just one injury today, and Ron has no idea of how or when he got it. Chain ring probably.

We were happy to get back to the cars and finish the trip. Max is already working on a drive to Anniston to ride the Chief Ladiga-Silver Comet combo for the Spring. I think I have Joe interested in doing an S240, or longer. That's where we pedal to somewhere, pitch tents and camp, and then pedal home the next day. Something to work on for the spring.
Tailwinds!

No Tricks, Just Treats

2010-11-01T05:43:00.001-05:00

It's the last weekend of October and the "official" door-to-door candy collection was Saturday evening from 5:30 to 8:00 PM. Didn't anyone realize that the #1 BCS team, AUBURN, was playing Ole Miss then? Fortunately, I could occasionally hear score updates shouted by various driveway tenders and door openers up and down the street. Alex kept me company on our porch and texted an information service called, I think, "Cha Cha" and got some score info that way as well. Sharon left us with enough bagged candy to keep the juvenile population of Prattville on a sugar high for months. We dispensed the sweets from a 5 gal pail and were able to get rid of 75% of it, but no more. It was much nicer out this year than last, so sitting outside to wait for the wanderers was really not a bad gig. No football though.

My usual riding friends were downstate doing a charity century in Fairhope, so I posted a Club Lite ride in Pintlala. These are 13 - 15 mph avg pace affairs, over easy to medium courses, and with frequent rests to catch breath and re group. 6 riders in all came out and after some discussion in the parking lot of our options, the 33 mile seemed most popular. All the routes leaving from Pintlala Baptist Church are low traffic and rural. Mostly farms and woods to pass by. A new rider to the area, Pete, joined us today and provided the only real excitement to the ride. 6 miles from the start, his bike started to make all sorts of noise. Turns out that his rear spokes were coming loose. He had to stop. After not seeing him and Phil we called and Phil reported on the situation. As it happened, I had a spoke wrench in my tool wrap, so we pedaled back to where they were and Phil (who was the proprietor of Cycle Escape Bike Shop prior to retirement) did a field expedient true and tension job on the wheel. The repair took about 10 minutes and lasted the entire rest of the way. Here are Phil and Pete, back on the roll.

My down the street neighbor Bill came out for the ride, but left after 7 miles. His legs started to give him some cramp trouble. He thinks he under dressed and the cold (41F) was the problem. Fortunately, he was at a good point to shortcut back to his car.

The other Bill and Tommy came out for the ride and as you can see from all their get ups, it was a chilly early morning. Here they are:

To his credit, Bill is wearing a WOOL jersey under that jacket, and wool leg warmers too. I did not need a jacket. A thin wool base layer under a Pearl Izumi jersey (both long sleeve) worked just fine. I used knee warmers today. I use 1 size larger than normal and pull them all the way up, and they stay on very well. They act like a knicker really. Speaking of wool, Bob made my day Sunday evening when he messaged me on Facebook to ask about wool items for the winter :)

We turned in 33 ish miles at 15.2 mph and climbed about 1,300' It was 70F at the end and just delightful.

Sunday's ride (which is always envisioned as a relaxer, but oftentimes turns out not to be) was dedicated to help Sarah from church work on an activity merit badge for her scouting. (American Heritage Girls). She needed a 20 miler and I invited the club at large to attend if interested. Max and Kathy were maybes, but did not show. Robert and Bonnie did show. It was Bonnie's 40th BD, and she rode 1/2 mile/year = her longest outing ever.

Here is Sarah, along with Pete. She's on a heavy tire Rail Trail bike and we adjusted her saddle upwards twice on the ride. It still may be a tad low.

And Bonnie:

It was a lovely day to be out, and we went at Sara's pace, about 9 mph. The adults all enjoyed chit chat, and were reminded that all rides do not have to be training ones. Just taking in the scenery from a saddle is great once in a while. With the pedal to and from my house to the start (which I rode at my usual pace), I had 33 total miles again, and 1,017' of climb. The relaxers did 20 miles and about 300'. Regardless, the Garmin still said I used up over 1,500 cals, which was great.

Well, the end of the year approaches, but hopefully not the end of rides for the year. November and December offer fewer opportunities to get out, but there should be some. Next weekend, we are carpooling to Oxford, to climb Mt. Cheaha. Should be a good time!

Getting ready for Mt. Cheaha

2010-10-24T19:59:00.003-05:00

In two weeks, the "usual suspects" (to quote Claude Rains) will try their pedals at climbing the tallest point in the state. Our goal is the burger shop at the top. Our longer weekend rides haven't been as hilly lately, so we rode a route with some elevation this afternoon. Trying to get our minds used to climbs again, as much as our quads and leg biceps. Today's route was a mashup of roads we've been on before, some not frequently or recently, but all in a new configuration. I think it went pretty well, all in all. A stiff steady wind was blowing out of the SSW in advance of a frontal system due to bring rain this way by tomorrow. We got plenty of work trying to maintain our pace in the face of 15 - 20 mph blows. I hoped for some fall foliage to admire as well. I think the most colorful tree seen all day was on our front lawn. Here's the Autumn blaze that Alex and I planted 3 years ago. (Click on a picture to see a larger version)

From Drop Box

Posing with the tree is the Saluki, in CX (Cyclocross) mode. the racks and fenders are off to enable some serious cleaning action. 2 summers of salty sweat have left their mark. So far, some automobile wheel cleaner is helping, but it's not perfect.

I pedaled to the meeting point and then the three of us took off into the wind, on the mostly flat and rolling 1st half of the ride.

As you can see, everything here is pretty green still.

From Drop Box

We paused just shy of 28 miles at Heritage Park downtown, and refilled our water containers from the always-on artesian fountain. I mixed some Nuun electrolyte tablets into mine and had a Quaker Oats grain bar for some energy (I eat one of these an hour on average during a ride). Frank caught me in the middle of all that.

From Drop Box

Joe is looking much more in the Rivendell riding style philosophy now. Here he is by the still new Sam Hillborne.

From Drop Box

And Frank too at the same rest stop. Looks fresh and hardly exercised at all.

From Drop Box

We finally come across some more colorful trees out on Golson Rd.

From Drop Box

But still nothing to write home about.

Between the wind and the hills, we got plenty of work out. Mr. Garmin says we climbed 2,200', spent the same # of calories (or at least I did) and our moving average was 14.2, right about center of the posted range (13 - 15) for this outing. I think that with less headwind, we might have been 1 0r 1.5 mph faster, but the climbing would still be there to slow us down.

I was glad to get out, and and re determined to get out and do hill laps during the week after work. We'll see how that goes.

Tailwinds for now

It's Been a Very Nice Riding Season

2010-10-16T18:21:00.001-05:00

Today was my 20th ride of 100KM (a "metric century" for you non-riders. About 62 miles and a bicyclist's benchmark.) this year. I hoped for 12 which is more than I did last year. 20 is more than I have ever done. Max, Doug and I also all got Century rides in as well (100 miles or more), with Max doing about 3 of them so far this year. In a couple of weeks, we're driving up to Mt. Cheaha, the highest spot in Alabama, to climb it on our bikes and eat lunch (of course!) at the top. Our cycling horizons have certainly expanded. I reflect on those rides, and the out of state trips as well, VA and D.C. and the new cycling friends made this year, and am overtaken with thankfulness for being able to have experienced all of it. Not every mile has been effortless, but every mile has helped me be a better cyclist. To put it in the context of the Apostle James, headwinds and hills, and rough pavement and unexpected detours all work to perfect me (in the quaint King James style of speech, for I am not perfect in anything, especially cycling) as a rider, and as a person too. I've learned to listen better to my body, and to the conversation and mannerisms of others. I'm more patient and I enjoy the good stuff and savor it.

In that last vein, I did not want this morning to end. The sky was so blue, the light so golden, the trees so vivid green with just a touch of Autumn color it took my sense of time away. The winds were light and the pedaling easy, and I could have stayed in that moment along CR 21 heading to Marbury for far longer than it actually took to get there. My skill with a camera is poor, but here is a picture to give some idea of the day.

Frank is looking natty in his Rivendell MUSA knickers. The day was cold to start (44F according to Accuweather) and we shed some clothes by the time we got to our 1st rest stop at Poseys. For me that meant only removing my arm warmers. Later, I opened my jersey zipper, but that's all I could do. Fortunately, the wool base layer and jersey combo handled the increase in temperature during the day with aplomb. I came home to 80F, and was sweating more, but nothing serious.

We went to visit the Confederate war dead at the memorial park in Chilton County. Lots of picnics setting up as we rode in. The soldiers there died years later in in old age homes, and from the headstone dates, looks like many fell during the flu epidemics of the early 20th century.

We paused enough to get a pic of the BIKES of course;

My Rivendell Road Standard is on the left, Frank's custom Bilenky is on the right. My saddle was overstretched by the previous owner (It came from the RBW owners list) so I did a hack-fix that seems to be working out well. I bought a longer bolt at Home Depot and it has so far worked. The saddle is 1" longer than it should be now.

And here I am in a Brooks jersey. Overpriced of course, but not when on closeout at Ben's Cyclery. This is a model from a few years ago, but it was new in the bag. I like it! Now if I could keep my helmet on straight, that would be nice...

It's all wool today. Baselayer, jersey, Kucharik (lightly padded) shorts and defeet wooleater socks. All good stuff. Those are 38mm tires on the blue bike as well. At 65 psi, fast and very smooth over rough roads. We hit plenty of coarse pavement today too.

Frank and I split up in Millbrook, as he turned toward home and I took a quick break under the drive through canopy at Millbrook Presbyterian. A friend, Kathleen drove up and she had a key to get in, which was good since I needed to find a rest room pretty soon anyway. From there it was just 6 more miles back to the house. All in all, 70.1 miles at 14.7 avg with 3,047' of climb. About 1 mph faster than when I rode the shorter version of this rout back in May. Which is to say, about 8%. I'm happy about that and not feeling dead to the world as well.

Until next time, tailwinds!

Champ's BBQ Ride

2010-10-09T20:15:00.000-05:00

What a gorgeous day today! 58F at our 8:00 AM start here in Prattville, and climbing during the day to about 84F by the time we got back around 1:00 PM. We did a 70.5 mile trip to Wetumpka, including the Weoka Loop area and stopped for lunch at, anyone? anyone? Buehler? Yes, Ben Stein, Champ's BBQ. It was just Frank and Ray and I for the whole trip. Joe was at the parking lot, but had "issues." Compare this picture with the one from last week's post, and see if you can find all the items that Joe did not bring to the ride today.

Despite offers to replace the items, he decided his mood was ruined and he headed back home. Probably to cheer himself up by watching the Alabama - South Carolina game. How did that go, Joe?

The ride was generally excellent with a mix of flat and hilly terrain, low humidity and abundant sunshine. I took Louise, the Rambouillet today. I also rode in un-padded wool shorts today and liked it much better on a comfy leather Selle Anatomica saddle. My legs were sore from an attempt at running last night. I say attempt because I didn't get far. It's funny how running and riding use different muscles. So, I'll probably sneak out early tomorrow and try again to make it all the way around the block at a trot. MapMyRide and Google Maps both had an error on the route. They showed a side road crossing of the Coosa River, but such a pathway does not exist, clearly marked "Dead End" by the D.O.T. Instead, we dropped down to AL 14 for a mile, crossed and returned to quiet side roads. Some of the roads we encountered in the 20 ish mile Weoka loop area were very coarse. Although I let air out of my 28 mm Contis (from 116 down to 85 psi) the ride was still harsher than say, Pari-Motos would be. We got past those sections and the rest of the time the tires were good. No one had a flat today, despite the time we spent on the shoulder and along the lane edges. No camera today, as I traveled light. Avg pace was just under 16 today which is decent for me and why I needed two Advils upon returning home.

We all agreed that Champ's is recommended eating. On US 231 in Wetumpka, about 3 miles north of the AL 14 Bypass.

Tailwinds!

Prattville iROBs

2010-10-03T21:12:00.001-05:00

That's Internet Rivendell Owner's Bunch, to everyone else.

Just a short post today. Frank (Bilenky) Ron (Blackhawk classified two wheeled apparatus) and Curtis (Still repping for the largest bike maker in the USA) met Joe's newest best pal, Sam Hillborne, today for a 33 miler in a brisk wind, but bright sunshine. Gorgeous bike, and the paint looks way better in person than in pictures. It is deeper and redder than it shows. Joe has also made the leap from spandex to comfortable shorts too.

So far, he likes the bike a lot. We both are running Pari-Moto tires, his at 70 psi and mine at 60. That must be why, as I was cranking along at 22 mph, he PASSED me doing at least 25. I take solace knowing that my tires were more "supple" over the bumps. NOT. I should add that this was in the tailwind portion of the ride. So the population of RBW owners in our little neck of the woods has just doubled, as far as we know.

"Keep them dogies movin'"

2010-10-02T18:34:00.000-05:00

No ride today. I was a bike wrangler. It's not that different than herding/driving cattle in large groups from one place to the next. Therese casually asked if I'd like to help at the Coosa River Challenge this year. ( http://www.attackonswayback.com/sub_domains/crc/index.htm ) It's a sort of triathlon. Running (through woods), mountain biking, and canoe/kayaking are the 3 disciplines, and there are some special challenges along the way. A compass course in the woods, a mud pit to be navigated, a rock wall to climb, etc. The finishers I spoke with LOVED it. About 270 pre registered, and 100 volunteers helped at the various venues.

I pulled a shift as a general laborer last year from about 6:30 AM to Noon. I figured I was in for the same until Steve emailed me to say, "Meet me at the rental trucks at 4:40 A.M." (that's ante meridian, O-dark forty, in other words) When I got there (30 mins away from my house) I was a fw minutes early, and the only activity was the burglar light in the yard tripping on and off as possums and raccoons scurried around looking for tasty scraps to steal. There were 2 U-hauls loaded to the gills with mountain bikes dropped off by early registrants. We gulped our coffee and hauled them up to the staging area. Then the trucks went back to the registration area and picked up the bikes which came today, as they arrived. Having laid 100 bikes out on the ground, some of which were $6,000 a pop, we wondered, "shouldn't one of us stay and WATCH these?" It was 50F out, and cold, and only I had a jacket on. I offered to take the pull on sentry duty.

All in all, 5 trucks worth of bikes had to be loaded, hauled and unloaded. After announcements by the race director and a welcome from the mayor, and an invocation by I know not who, the racers all were bused up to the staging area. They were divided by gender, individuals and teams, etc. Here is what the mayhem looked like prior to the start.

we had just two celebrity riders:

They ran first, then transitioned to bikes, then to a street run down to the boat launch and then to the boats. As they came in from the bike portion, we loaded the bikes, and now also the gear bags, BACK on the trucks and hauled them back down to the park where the boat portion would end and laid them out again:

I seem to have gained a reputation as the truck packer of choice. Rumor has it that we would need 1 less truck overall if I packed them all. Rowdy Yates would have been proud, I am sure. I wonder what job I'll draw next year?

Kudos to my around the corner neighbor and sometimes riding buddy Rich B. Rich and his team placed well, and he rode the tough MTB route on his single speed. He rides a single speed (Colnago) road bike too, but that's no so unusual. Kudos also to the race organizers who clearly juggled a lot of variables and rounded up plenty of help to make this a great event. My co-laborers in the wheel wrangling world were great. Steve, Johan and Cedric mainly, but also the Maxwell AFB students who showed up and pitched in. My favorite part of the day? On our way back for the third load of bikes in the afternoon, when Cedric turned to me and said, "I think we can stop at Champ's BBQ for some lunch to go. What do you think?" The pulled pork was mighty tasty, that's what I think. Could a destination for a long ride out of Prattville, in fact.

Hope to persuade my resistant brain to get into enjoying mid week hill repeats (did them this week, did NOT like them, especially in the stiff headwinds) and of course, get in a ride next Saturday. Starting to think in terms of a tweed ride this month too. I posted to our club email list to see if anyone would come if I organized one. You know, casual ride (tweed wear of course) refined demeanor, haute cuisine and spirits. That sort of ride. No replies as yet. I may have to travel to ride in fine Harris wool.

See You in September...

2010-09-25T19:01:00.001-05:00

Remember that hit by The Happenings? The part that applies to this blog entry is "When the Summer's through." Sadly, my favorite time of the year has once again conceded its place to Fall, with shorter hours of daylight, and a more crowded calendar.
September went out in good order however. Last Saturday, I joined my old gang at the Club Lite ride, and we did 32 miles together. Along this stretch, I got the first flat I've had in 2 years. Everyone stopped to ask if I needed help. Some were happy to have a reason to take a break! As it happened, I was probably the best prepared person there to do a field repair of any kind, let alone quick change a tube. There seemed to be no puncture of the tire, and nothing sticking into the tube, so I put the new one in and got home just fine. When we got to the cars, we used it as a rest stop and several of us did another 23 miles. The sneaky thermometer inched up from the delightful 70s of the first part of the day to 99F mid way into that second loop, and a couple of riders were not happy about it! It was still great to see familiar faces and enjoy the camaraderie and Ann's soprano foghorn err, I mean singing.... :) I got home, patched the tube and it's still holding air a week later.

Today we did a "destination ride." Joe was supposed to introduce us to his new Rivendell Hillborne, but he had to cover for a sick co worker and passed on the ride. 5 of us went from Pintlala to Luverne for lunch, except that 1 of us, Ray pedaled to Pintlala from Prattville, adding 23 miles each way to his total. Way to go Ray! I carpooled with Max. Here we are while the weather is still sunny, although the humidity and heat were both higher than forecast. Front to back: Ray, Tim, Max, Angela.

We stopped at the 1/2 way point to our destination (at 18 miles) and tried to get salt out of our eyes.

It was a Shell station, and the young Indian girl behind the register was studying wold history. Her father said, "We hope she will be a big winner on Jeopardy!" That's a new retirement plan idea. I should look into that with our son. My original thought that he might go on the pro golf tour and I could caddy for him doesn't look too promising, since he has never played golf.
Angela pronounced the restroom "uninhabitable" and we found another venue to stop at on the return leg of the trip.

The traffic on the way there along US 97 and US 331 was not bad. US 331 has a narrow shoulder sufficient for bikes and which kept us out of the traffic lane, which we liked. While US 97 had a lot of elevation, US 331 was more gradual in inclines.
There were some things to see along the way. Here, The Clampett family gets a quick trip to the store in:

We got to Luverne (1st time for me) and discovered that they don't shoot strangers.

The building in the background is Smart AL LLC, a tier 1 or 2 supplier to Hyundai. I didn't know this was the location, but we shipped a project here from work back in June. It's a Korean company, just like the automaker is.

Soon, we made it to lunch destination:

I'd heard nothing but rave reviews of this place, and it did not disappoint. For $5, I got a home made 1/2 fried chicken (not greasy, dipped in flour, not batter) and choice of 3 veggies. I only took two, some really good green beans and delicious roasted seasoned potatoes. Lots more carbs than my usual, but fine for fuel, and I cooked off 3,600 of them today anyway. About double what I ate in total of all meals. No where to lock up our bikes, but they were all there when we were finished. Angela observed that the generally senior crowd, many using canes and walkers, was not likely to want our bikes. Everyone was, as the sign says, friendly.

You'll note the blue color in the picture above. Rain. Lots of it. We were still in Sun for a little while though. We pulled in at a store in Luverne to top off our water bottles, and a ribs skinny old pit bull wandered into the area. Tail wagging, he did not look like a threat. Ray wondered, "Will he leave us alone if I feed him?" and ran inside to buy a dog snack. I kid you not. Here is Ray offering "Bowwowser" some peanut butter crackers.

Another good Samaritan came out with a sack of dry dog food and poured some out. Guess which option the dog (now overcome with amazement at his new friend's unexpected largess no doubt) chose? If you picked Peanut butter, you are a winner. When last seen, the dog was trotting behind Ray back towards Prattville... No, actually, he stayed in the store parking lot.

We encountered some brisk headwinds generated by local storm cells, and of course, it was 14 mile upgrade on US 331 to Highland Home from Luverne. It was a steady 1% - 3% and very doable in a rhythm. Wet patches of road started to appear under our wheels and Max wisely chose the mid leg stop point. Just as we tucked in under the shed:

It eased a little, then poured some more, then eased a little, Finally, I said, "Let's go. I think we'll ride out of it in less than 3 miles." Which is what happened. Before we left I asked our restroom critic for a review of this place, but she said she was done checking out the facilities in dumpy looking places. It was a mob scene anyway. $2.39 a gallon for gas, against $2.59 everywhere else.

The rest of the way back was almost uneventful. A truck came up behind Max and Angela om US 97 and hit his horn needlessly which gave them a startle. I think the rest of the ride was actually very good. Angela's previous long ride was about 50 miles I think she told us. So in addition to being the 1st distaff member of the Prattville Randonneurs, she blasted through her own record for a new personal best. Way to go! And she was plenty spunky at the end too:

Spunky, but her legs were tired :)

Well, that's a wrap for the pictures. A few others will go on FaceBook. The stats: Rode the Saluki on Grand Bois Oursons. Li'l Loafer and Kevens bags, filled to the brim. Bike was great. Comfortable, sure footed on wet stuff. Fenders came in handy :) No trouble staying up with the others despite about a 18 lb weight penalty. We all took turns moving up and down the line. 74 miles +/-, 15.4 avg. 3,070' climbed. 78 avg cadence.

Sweet (Hot!) Home, Alabama

2010-09-11T17:20:00.001-05:00

We rolled up the driveway this afternoon, following a stop at "Whole Foods Market" in Birmingham. Despite having been on the road for the better part of two days, when Sharon mentioned casually, that we would be passing close by it, I realized that this organic and fresh foods mecca was for her, what Rivendell World Hqs in Walnut Creek CA would be for me, were we passing "close by" on a trip to somewhere else. (For the non cyclist who may chance upon this blog, Rivendell is the brand of bike that i have 3 examples of, as well as all sorts of "lifestyle" items. In other words, excuses to shop their catalog/website) The Whole Foods concept probably would go over well in Walnut Creek anyway, and there was at least a good selection of tasty cheeses to sample.

The last ride of the vacation was on Wednesday. "Long lost" cousin Alan, with who I'd corresponded by email over the past year plus, offered to show me a local route and catch up on old family times. We met outside the hotel and headed to the Key Bridge, and then around Arlington on bike paths. Alan was a serious rider some time back, and still gets out several times a week. Here he is along a path on his Carbon (perish the thought!) Colnago. The ride was fun, but the heavy traffic and rooted bumps in the paths required a close eye on where I was going. Alan graciously commented on my bike handling skills later. Flattery will get you everywhere, Cuz :)

Later that evening, Sharon and I met him and his loevly wife kelly for a rooftop dinner at Perry's in the Kalorama area of the city. It being a nice night, we walked to the meeting place since it was only 6/10 of a mile away. I think he sort of looks like my Uncle Arthur, back when he was slimmer. Here is Arthur, on a bike of course, but in ETO WWII. Arthur is on the left.

We enjoyed the visit. For me, being unhurried was the key. A day at Monticello, another at Mt. Vernon. A full afternoon at the Holocaust Museum. Using the Metro, but not running to make a train. Leisurely meals at the Open City Diner, which we loved. We got along great separately and together. I know it went well for Sharon too, because she told me to start looking for a 2011 bike ride we could tag a vacation onto. Just, maybe October when it's cooler. :)

Tuesday in DC

2010-09-07T18:34:00.000-05:00

Today's ride was a meet up with a local DC area group, the Oxon Hill Bike Club. 2 members are also on the Rivendell Owners Bunch list, which is how we all connected for this ride. I pedaled from our hotel near the zoo to Arlington Cemetery. I left early being 100% unsure of where I was going and what it might be like along the way. Switching the Garmin to map mode, I found the Rock Creek Bike Parkway Path and took it south. Realizing I would be early, I ambled along so I could take in all the sights and sounds. Even so, I was faster than most of the cars stacked bumper-to-bumper in the late morning rush hour. There are bike paths EVERYwhere around here it seems, and you get where you're going faster on them than by car, and they are FREE to park, while cars are usually not. End of discussion. When I saw something cool, I stopped to snap a pic. (Higher res versions at Flickr. Fullylugged, of course.)

The Lincoln Memorial

The entry to the bridge to Arlington:

The Potomac River:

The headstones at Arlington and the Marine Memorial

Finally, I waited at the Metro stop for Joan and she came by to get me and drive down to Bryans Rd for the club ride. We all signed in at the ride start

And then pedaled off on a great route that was scenic, relaxing and fun.

Joan and Steve were great company. Some pics of us:

All of us have 650B bikes. Steve and I both rode Pascenti Pari-Motos today (38mm) while Joan had Nifty-Swifties (34 mm) on her Bleriot. Steve's Kogswell is nicely decked out with Phil hub wheels, Tubus and V-O racks and other goodies. Nice Berthoud boxy bag too.

We share a taste for hammered honjo fenders (mine are on the Saluki) and other bits here and there.

The ride had a few ups, only one that makes you breathe hard (or downshift, or in my case, both) but was mostly flat. 1/3 of it was on a brand new rail trail that has been nicely executed and well maintained. It would be great to have one like that in Prattville, let me tell you. With the ride to and from the meeting point, I had just over 41 miles today. Sightseeing and riding too!

We topped it all off with a fine brunch at a working diner in Bryans Road. Randall says this place is like "Happy Days" (Arnold's, I assume) where people come in to gather, chat, read the paper, etc.

Here are Joan, Rabbi (and Tai Chi instructor!) Randall, and Jim. We rehashed the ride, talked about their upcoming club century (they expect up to 600 riders) and so forth. Fun people, hope to see them again.