The Adventures of Mike and His Bike

My Favorite Mistake

2012-01-05T07:46:00.000-08:00

Have you ever done something by mistake then thought to yourself “that was so cool there’s no way I’m going to admit that was a mistake”? Through history some awesome things have been invented by accident. Oh yeah there’s the microwave oven and penicillin but I’m talking about really cool stuff like chocolate chip cookies.

A while ago while getting a haircut I was treated to one of these wonderful mistakes when I heard the words “OH NO!” said with a fearful pause. When your hair stylist says the words “OH NO!” you would also like to the rest of the sentence to follow immediately such as:

OH NO!, you are such a great guy there will no charge for the hair cut today
OH NO, I read your blog the other day and forgot to leave a comment
OH NO, there’s no need to tip me

Those would all be very acceptable closures to the OH NO sentence but this time it was just ended by a long…….. pause then a look of panic.

To make matters worse this was said after taking the first swipe off of the top of my head with a pair of electric clippers.

I normally get my hair cut on top with a good old number 3 electric clipper attachment which is around ¼ of an inch then some tapering on the sides. Well, this time instead of a number 3 on top it was a number 1. Yep, the shortest of the short attachments. This attachment is so small it almost doesn’t qualify as an attachment. That was the reason for the OH NO!!! At this point there was no turning back so it was the number 1 all the way. This experience reminded me of when I was 5 and got my head shaved in the summer. If my memory is correct I cried after that hair cut but this time I was brave and didn’t even outwardly shed any tears.

The first couple of days after my new hair cut I wore a hat around. Not because I was embarrassed but because my head was freezing. It took a couple of days to get used to but I’m very happy to report that I really like the new and improved super short hair length. Here are some reasons why super short hair is the way to go.

Short hair is way more aerodynamic – in fact it might allow me to average an additional .01 mph on the bike.
No more helmet hair
Gives me a good excuse to wear a cycling hat when I ride
My hair brush budget got slashed down to 0
Good hair day, bad hair day….. it’s all the same
It hides the stray ~~grey~~ blonde hairs that seem to be coming from nowhere

So to date, short hair is my most favorite mistake. I’m sticking with it.

Three Bears Ride

2011-12-17T10:25:00.001-08:00

Went for a ride this morning. I obviously don't have the cold weather riding down yet this year. I was too cold, too warm, and just right, repeat....

Even though I couldn't get the my temperature right it still put a smile on my face.

Autumn Riding

2011-11-04T09:14:00.000-07:00

Last week I went for a ride with Jenny and my oldest son. Rides in the fall rock because these is nothing to train for and the leafs crunching under your tires are a great sensation. We rode to the town next to ours and had some pie. Yum....

2011 Seattle to Portland (STP) Ride Report

2011-08-30T09:54:00.000-07:00

In keeping with tradition below is my ride report for the 2011 version of the Seattle to Portland bike ride. This year I made the 204 mile journey in one day again but I rode it with some friends which was a great experience. This post is broken into short bullet points to aid those of us who have short attention spans.

July 9^th 2011

Woke up at 2:15am
Wondered what the heck I was doing up this early
Put on all my cycling battle gear
Gave my pedals one last clean out with wd40 then lubed them up really good in hopes that they wouldn’t creek for 200 miles – didn’t work
Rode half a mile down the road to blockbuster where I would be picked up at 2:55am
Stood around in the parking lot next to my bike putting on sunscreen while the street sweeper guy stared at me. Hmmm….. 3am, standing in the dark putting on sunscreen standing next to a bike. Why was he staring at me?
Ride showed up and loaded up my bike. Street sweeper still staring at us
Finished applying sunscreen, ate a pre-ride PB&J, and took some precautionary vitamin I while we drove to Husky Stadium
Stood around in the parking lot nervously stretching while waiting for Mark and Brad to show up
Brad and Mark show up a couple of minutes later and we are ready to roll.
Since we go to the same church we decided to have a prayer before we took off. (Couldn’t hurt – Could help) Looking at each other we were all wearing our helmets but decided since they had holes in them we didn’t need to remove them.
Looked for lightning bolts after finishing prayer but none struck.
Took our first pedal strokes at 4am - ahhh
Almost took a wrong turn half a mile down the road but someone yelled out to us in the dark correcting our route. Thanks who ever you are.
Rode along Lake Washington and watched the sun come up. Could tell it was going to be a great day.
Once on the sun came up we established some groundrules for our paceline (5 minute pulls and try to keep it around 18 mph - That one didn’t last for long but it was a nice thought)
Pacelined until the first rest stop in Kent at REI headquarters
Just like last year the REI rest stop was stacked with tons of food, toilets, and pumping loud music but this year there was a disco Elvis there to greet you as you arrived. Nothing gets me more pumped to ride 200 miles than a disco Elvis with sideburns. Thank you, thank you very much.
While I was at the rest stop I posted to my facebook where we were and how things were going. My post was sent to Jenny’s phone and woke her up. Oops, sorry about that. She was in a hotel room in Chehalis getting ready to finish up the STP with some of her friends.
Regrouped into a paceline and rode to Puyallup feeling really good. Ray hit a pothole so big and it bounced his water bottle right out of its cage. We all went back to get it then talked to someone who just broke his collar bone hitting the same pothole. Not a good way to end your STP
Started climbing the Puyallup hill and spotted someone on a time trial bike equipped with a rear disc wheel and sporting a aero helmet riding along too. Brad slowed down to take a picture of him. 200 miles on a time trial bike? Ouch.
At the top of the hill I threw my STP Tyvek jacket in the garbage because it had done its job and I didn’t want to carry it for another 150 miles. (Don’t worry I chose the ugliest one I own. Orange, yellow and brown from 2009 but reminded me of the 70s a lot. In fact, I should have just given it to Elvis 20 miles back. He probably would have liked it.
Started following Brad in the paceline and notice that his back wheel was not straight. After a couple of minutes his back wheel started to click. He pulled over noticed that he had broken a spoke. To go with this he also broke a cleat about 2 miles earlier. Now that’s some bad luck. Arrg.
Got to the next rest stop and Brad asked to borrow a spoke wrench and bought a new cleat at the aid station. After 5 minutes he had attached his new cleat and trued up his wheel minus one spoke. I decided that Brad wasn’t just another cyclist but a super hero at that point.
Everyone put their heads down and pacelined it for the next 40 miles until we got to Centralia (Mile 100). The 18mph ground rule had been thrown out the window long ago and we were steadily averaging 20.
Got to the halfway point rest stop and was greeted with a congratulatory Creamcycle ice cream bar. That was like heaven on a stick after drinking luke warm Gatorade all morning.
Everyone didn’t make just one trip to the bathroom while at this rest stop but two. Very productive.
On the way out of town we stopped for a light next to an overly lifted 4X4 truck equipped with a BBQ in the back. The driver started “asking” us at the top of his lungs if we thought we didn’t have to stop for red lights and if we thought it was OK to run stop signs. I was the only one in the group who made eye contact because I was staring at him wondering if he really wanted an answer from us or if he was just venting because he was in a hurry to get home to watch NASCAR and we were slowing him down. I pointed at the red light that we were ALL stopped at and told him that he was preaching to the choir and it was all of the other cyclist he should be mad at. While I was saying this I was also simultaneously counting in my head how many stop signs that I had already run that morning. It must have been at least 40 but hey I yelled “clear” while I ran each of those stop signs so all 10,000 of my STP buddies could also run the same stop sign safely too. My preaching to the choir comment obviously ticked Mr 4 X 4 off because hit the gas and sped off leaving a huge cloud of fumes behind.
Started into the 40 mile rolling hill section and quickly realized that I was riding with a group of mountain goats. Ouch. 20+ mph uphill in a paceline? Ouch. Not being much of a climber I knew I was in trouble. I did hang on but my pulls were very anemic. Sorry guys.
Pulled into the next rest stop with two high school age kids playing some CCR on a guitar and drums. As we walked out of the bathroom and made our way to our bikes saw a guy sprinting for the bathrooms with fear in his eyes. Little did he realize that there were at least 10 people in front of him trying to get into the same bathroom. I really hoped the people in line had some mercy and let him go to the front.
Headed up and over the Longview bridge in a huge line of cyclist with logging trucks passing close by us. With no way to pass it was kind of nice to climb without hammering it up the hill. Screamed down the other side of the bridge and flew past the Welcome to Oregon sign. That felt good.
Started thinking about the ice cold Coke I was going to drink when I got to the last rest stop. It’s amazing how a coke can motivate you for miles of riding
Finally pulled into the last official rest stop and bought my celebratory Coke. It was awesome. Sat on the lawn for a bit resting and enjoying my coke. Talked to Jenny on the phone and it sounded like they were going to beat us to the finish line. Way to go.
With about 15 miles to go I was cooked. The last couple of hills that we encountered I just couldn’t keep up with my mountain goat friends so I let them go. I now know what if feels like to get dropped on the alpe d'huez with nothing left in the tank. It’s both humiliating and a huge relief at the same time. I was kind of hoping that I could just soft pedal it into Portland enjoying the sights but alas my buddies sat up and waited for me.
I put my head down once again and told my legs to shut up and caught back up to my riding buddies.
As we crossed a bridge into Portland I could see Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Rainier and Mt. Hood all at the same time. It was quite a sight.
The next 6 miles or so were a parade through downtown Portland. It really is amazing how many miles of bike lanes there are in Portland. They rock.
As we pulled into the finish line I was greeted by Jenny who had finished 30 minutes ahead of me and the kids. They presented me with a Lion again but this time is was even bigger.
Got a huge hug from Jenny but when I tried to give the kids a big sweaty hug they declined for some reason.

Final thoughts:

It was awesome to ride with 4 other guys

I made some really good fiends during the ride (thanks Dan, Mark, Brad, and Ray)

I’m still really ticked at myself for letting up with 15 miles to go. I know I could have ridden harder but my mind got the best of me. Arg… that makes me mad.

I think I’m finished with double centuries. They are lot of fun but the time commitment for training it out of control. I’m sticking with centuries from now on.

The STP still continues to be the best organized ride I’ve been on. It’s a ton of fun and amazing how they can get 10,000 people on bikes safely to Portland.

The New Cycling Business Casual?

2011-07-07T11:50:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went to REI for the STP packet pickup. I actually really look forward to standing in line to pick up bib numbers as it gets me excited for the BIG ride of the year. Anyway, as I was standing there this guy walked in wearing a white shirt and tie looking pretty business like. BUT, he was also wearing cycling shorts! Arrg.... Is this the new cycling business casual?

So, I pretended to send a text from my phone and took a picture so you could enjoy the visual as well. Probably a good thing the picture is fuzzy or you might need to wash your eyes out.

In the words of Happy Gilmore "If I dressed like that I'd have to kick my own rear end"

Have a good weekend!

The Art of Preparation

2011-06-12T18:18:00.000-07:00

There’s nothing like going for a bike ride but in my mind a close second is planning for a ride with a route that I’ve never been on before and staging all of my gear in preparation for the journey.

Training season is in full force now for the Seattle to Portland double century so my training rides are starting to get ridiculously long. Being that they are so long every second of the wee hours of the morning are critical. So, I took a page out of the firefighters play book and started meticulously staging my cycle gear so I could throw it all on in a matter of seconds to get out the door. It kind of makes me feel like I should slide down a fire pole before I slip into my cycling gear in the mornings. A NASCAR pit crew would be jealous of my clothing application efficiency.

Here’s the drill for a Saturday morning ride.

Alarm goes off a 4:30 am

Have a full fledged argument with myself…

Self: What was I thinking….

Self: Why am I awake this early on a Saturday….

Self: Maybe the rain is coming down in biblical proportions in which case I would be forced to sleep in…..

Self: OK Mike, roll your rear end out of bed. You’ll be glad you got up in a couple of hours

Finally stumble out of bed and look for a monsoon out the window
No luck
Stumble to the bathroom where my cycling gear is staged
Jump into my cycling gear in 9.2 seconds and apply all applicable lotions and creams. (if you ride you know what I’m talking about, if not you don’t want to know)
Eat a bowl of granola while checking my fantasy baseball team – grumble because my team sucks.
Brush teeth
Kiss Jenny goodbye
Push off for another great training ride/adventure

I love this time of year.

What you missed this morning

2011-05-21T18:55:00.000-07:00

This morning I rolled out at 5:30am for a training ride to some light rain which persisted throughout the ride. Not perfect conditions but it was a good ride anyway.

Is That the Sun?

2011-04-24T15:53:00.000-07:00

I love living in the Seattle area. There are trees everywhere you look, awesome places to ride right outside your door, and in most people's opinion there's no such thing as clothes that don't match. This place rocks! The other thing I love is it rains so much here that when there is a rare sunny day in the spring no one wastes a minute staying inside.

So, last Saturday morning I took full advantage of the sun and went for a ride. I was greeted as I wandered out our front door with the sun peaking through the tulips.

As I started out, I was clad in plenty of layers of warm clothes but as the day wore on my jersey pockets got stuffed full with rolled up clothes. By the end, I was down to cycling shorts, a short sleeve jersey and one very large smile. It was nice to ride outside in the warm weather again.

Just what the doctor ordered. 73 miles of sun exposure Vitamin D.

Sun, I hope we meet again very soon!

Mauled by a Grizzly

2011-01-09T16:45:00.001-08:00

They say if you’re out in the wilderness with a group of people and a grizzly bear suddenly charges at you showing its huge claws and nasty teeth you don’t have to be the fastest runner in the group to survive. You just have to be faster than the slowest runner.

As it has rained day after day this winter I’ve found myself hitting the trainer for rides a lot more than I would like to. Trainer rides are decent for keeping your fitness level up but what you may not know is they are really great for giving you an incredible sense of determination. Trainer rides are mind numbingly boring to say the least so in order to keep going you’ve got to talk yourself into not quitting. That’s where the determination comes in.

If you were to see word bubbles by people while doing trainer rides I’m sure you would see statements such as:

“Don’t quit, don’t quit”
“What the heck was I thinking?”
“I’m the man, I’m the man, I can do this, never mind”

Trainer rides are tough mentally.

Lately, my training motivation has been to avoid getting mauled by the grizzly. I know it sounds kind of strange so let me explain.

This summer I’m planning on riding the Seattle to Portland (STP) ride in one day again but this time I’m going to be riding with a bunch of buddies. We are planning on doing a lot of training rides all over the northwest this spring leading up to the big day in July. I think about these upcoming training rides a lot while I’m sitting on the trainer grinding away at the miles. Sometimes I visualize being at the back of a pace line with my buddies and watching them slowly pull away from me. This visualization gives me an extra boost of energy and motivation as I struggle to virtually hang on because there is NO WAY that I’m ever going to let that happen. I will not be the slowest and thus will not get attacked by the looming grizzly.

I don’t have a need to be the fastest rider in our group putting the hurt on the rest of my buddies but when it comes to being the slowest rider in a lot of pain just trying to hang on the back that’s just not going to happen if I can help it. My goal is to be one of the riders in the middle of the pack laughing it up with the rest of the goof balls and enjoying the ride. Of course I’ll take my pulls in the front when it’s my turn but my training this year will be all about the enjoyment to be had in the middle of the pack.

The funny thing is it takes a lot of hard work and determination to get to the point fitness wise where you can be that guy in the middle having so much fun. So during the wet winter month trainer rides there may be a lot of virtual grizzlies trying to chase me down but trust me, none of them are going to catch me because I’ll be safely tucked in the middle of the pack right where I want to be.

Confessions of a Cookie-aholic

2011-01-03T15:58:00.000-08:00

Hello, my name is Mike and I’m a cookie-aholic.

(This is where you say Hi Mike, it’s OK to say it out loud, I’ll wait)

Let me tell you a little about my story. It all started at the beginning of Christmas break from work with a simple plate of chocolate chip cookies. As I toiled and slaved around the house, every time I would walk by that lonely plate of cookies I would free one of them its isolation by eating it. I did this with full knowledge that I could quit eating those incredibly delicious and warm chocolate chip cookies any time I wanted because I have unbelievable willpower; but I just didn’t want to. As I finished up my chores I noticed that the plate of cookies was empty. Hmmmm….. the kids must have snuck in and polished them off when I wasn’t looking. It couldn’t have been me!

Well, lucky for me Jenny went on a cookie making binge after my first cookie encounter of the Christmas break. The next batch that she made were peanut butter cookies rolled in sugar with a Hersey kiss on top of them for an extra boost of energy. Remember when I said that I had unbelievable willpower? That might have been a little bit of an over exaggeration because while I cleaned up the kitchen one day I polished off at least 25 of those bad boys. I probably could have eaten more had there been more to eat but alas I ate every last Hersey kiss cookie in the house. I may have over done it a little bit but my mom would have been proud of me because I was a good little eater and finished everything on my plate and everyone else’s too.

The next batch that Jenny made were peanut butter cookies rolled in sugar with a peanut butter cup in the middle of them. These cookies are the mother of all cookies and make chocolate chip cookies look like a bat boy in the minor leagues. They are the Super Bowl and World Series of cookies all rolled into one. They are that good. Willpower? Who needs willpower when there are peanut butter, peanut butter cup cookies in the house? Not to be out done I polished off all of those too. At this point my cookie eating episodes had gone from a social event to an individual endurance sport.

Finally, I had to ask Jenny to quit making cookies because I was starting to even impress myself with how many cookies I could eat in one sitting.

As of today I have been cookie free for 4 days! It’s a challenge but I’m succeeding.

So maybe I have a little bit of a cookie eating problem but I did do a lot of trainer rides for at least an hour during the break so I’m sure it evens out. Don't do the math for me. It evens out! Now I just need to figure out why the dryer has shrunk my pants to the point where they are really tight.

Carrot stick anyone?

MTB Bikes and Wicker Baskets

2010-09-03T15:02:00.000-07:00

I love the process of buying a bike. I call it a process because you can’t just pop on over to your local bike shop and pick yourself up a bike on a whim like you would buy a pack of gum while standing in a check out line at the grocery store. That just wouldn’t be right. If you did this you would miss out on all of the wonderful agonizing over every minute detail that makes this decision so fun. Here are a few examples that just scratch the surface in a bike buying decision.

What gearing is just right for you, and is it time to step up to the manly mans table and drop the granny gear?
Should your components come from Italy or Japan?
Should the pedals have an acronym like SPD or be named after an amphibious animal such as a frog?
Then there’s the whole cost – weight – benefit analysis that must be done. Is it worth an extra $200 to shave off 155 grams or should you just replace a few double bacon extra deluxe cheeseburgers with single bacon cheeseburgers in your training diet instead.

Oh the agony and the ecstasy all at the same time.

Apparently, this exquisite process doesn’t apply to a girl that is about to turn 11. I know… hard to believe. A couple of weeks ago I took my almost 11 year old daughter bike shopping for her birthday and on the way there I asked her what she had in mind. Of course I was thinking that would start a spontaneous conversation about her decision to be become a mountain biker or a roadie and what her future cycling goals would be. But to my surprise her answer about her cycling aspiration was a pink bike that would be able to fit a cute wicker basket on the front. Oh, the pain!!!! Where have I gone wrong as a parent? I get the whole pink bike thing but a wicker basket? How is that aerodynamic?

After enduring a couple private moments of cycling parent grief we went into the store to find her dream bike. To her horror the bikes that sported the pink motif just didn’t work for her so she settled on a nice mountain bike in a very girly baby blue. Just what she wanted.

On the way home she was super excited to take it out so I took advantage of her excitement to teach her a little about her new steed. By the time we got home she could recite that in addition to being a very pleasing baby blue bike that could sport a front wicker basket it was also a hard tail mountain bike with a triple. I guess we’ll have to take the cycling geek thing in small steps. We did take it out for some sweet mountain biking a couple of days later. I predict some night mountain biking in our future (with a wicker bike basket).

The Pains of Anticipation

2010-07-28T19:53:00.000-07:00

Think of waterfalls
Think of waterfalls
Think of waterfalls
Think of waterfalls

That is how the song goes that my kids sing to each other over and over again. This song is only sung when one of the kids mentions that they might need to stop at the next rest stop to use the restroom when we are on the road. “No hurry really just when we see one” is usually the tone of the conversation. Then the waterfalls song begins from all of the other kids which usually insights an immediate fit of bladder rage and panic and the emergency search for a bathroom is on by the driver. Of course all of the kids in the car think this is hilarious except for the bladder victim.

It really is amazing how the thought of running water or actual running water has such power over someone’s bladder. Luckily, this song has never been able to employ its super power over me and honestly I’m hoping that it stays that way. Recently though I’ve discovered a distant relative to the waterfalls song that has total power and control over me.

A planned cycling rest break.

I know what you’re saying, “Mike, how could this be”? I know it’s kind of weird but here’s how it works.

I’m a planner, I love to plan out cycling routes and when I’m in the planning mode I also try to factor in stops for natural breaks along the way. It's all part of the plan.

Last month I was on a training ride which included a stop at Marymoor park in Redmond WA. I chose this as the half way point for my training ride because it’s a really nice park and more importantly it has the nicest restrooms that I’ve ever seen in a park. That’s how good of a planner I am. These restrooms are very clean and most importantly they are designed in such a manner that each patron gets an entire restroom to themselves equipped with a fully locking door. It’s like the Holy Grail of park restrooms. Anyway, I think you get my point. They are nice.

As I got about 5 miles from this rest stop I started thinking about how many snickers bars I was going to eat and how much Gatorade powder I was going to add to my bike bottles. You know cycling geek stuff. I also took a mental note of how my hands and feet were feeling since they had been giving me trouble on earlier rides. Finally, I took a mental note of my need for a natural break which luckily was very low.

As I started thinking about the blessed Marymoor park restrooms and what a great route I had devised it was like my kids had started singing “Think of Waterfalls, Think of Waterfalls” only this time it was working! With each pedal stroke the virtual waterfalls song was getting louder and louder until I was considering if I was going to make it to the Holy Grail of park restrooms at all. I was in some urgent pain.

As I entered the park I spotted a blue port-a-potty over by the remote control airplane field and I did my best impersonation of Mark Cavendish sprinting for a stage win only there would be no talking on the phone at the end of this race. As I neared the blue structure I threw my bike in the grass and entered the port-a-potty as fast as I could. I was both relieved and saddened at the same time because I hadn't made it to my planned destination. Dejected I rode my bike another tenth of a mile to my beloved Marymoor Park restroom equipped with a fully locking door and ate my snickers bar just outside of it in shame.

At that point I decided that I would no longer tell myself (my bladder to be specific) of any upcoming rest stops or include grand rest stops in my route planning ever again. Obviously, my bladder just can’t take the anticipation.

It's the element of surprise from now on!

2010 STP Ride Report

2010-07-20T16:27:00.000-07:00

Rather than bore everyone with a lot of flowery words, excessive adjectives and the overuse of the word pain, I’m going to follow the tradition that I started last year by doing my Seattle to Portland (STP) ride report in short attention span bullet points. If you’re into twitter just think of this post as an over abundance of twitter posts. So here we go.

Pre Ride

As I wrote a parting blog post the night before the STP I quoted the mantra that riders recite at the Leadville 100 before the race. “I will commit, I will not quit” This is a great quote but I mistyped it originally as “I will commit, I will NOW quit”. This made me a little nervous.
Went out with the family to Pizza Hut for some pre ride guilt free eats. Ahhhhhh
Started feeling a little nauseated
Started getting a slight headache
Started getting a toothache
Decided that I had become a mental case and went to bed

Ride

Woke up at 3am
Got riding gear on
Took some precautionary measures by taking some Vitamin I and applying liberal amounts of chamois cream
Prayed mightily that I would survive the day
Jenny got out of bed so she could drive me to Husky Stadium
Got to Husky Stadium at 4am and by 4:05 I was on my bike and riding
The official ride didn’t start until 4:45am but there were plenty of other riders just like me who decided to start a little early.
Noticed that another rider was following close behind me then he asked me how I was following the route in the dark. I told him that I had the route downloaded to my garmin and he looked at ease.
10 seconds later my Garmin beeped at me because I had gone off of the course.
My new buddy and I made a U turn and got back on course
Spotted a lot of flashing blinkies up in the distance and eventually caught up to a pack of other riders who had started early too.
Felt a lot like a Sooner for taking off 45 minutes early and then riding through the dark with another pack of rebels.
Noticed that my head light was by far the brightest in the bunch. Thanks Kanyon Kris
Rode along Lake Washington and watched the sun come up
Rode through Renton and various over cities with Police stopping traffic at all of the major intersections for us. Kind of felt like a rock star. Kind of.
Stopped at the first rest stop at mile 25 and listened to really loud techno music while consuming a clif bar and chocolate milk. I just can’t pass up free food.
Felt kind of like throwing up after eating that clif bar.
Got passed by a peloton of at least 40 riders taking up an entire lane of traffic.
Decided this was my chance to experience what it’s like to cruise along with a peloton so I leaped on the back and worked my way through to the middle of the pack.
Hung with the peloton for 30 minutes and all I could hear was the constant whir of tires. It was pretty exhilarating.
All of the sudden most of the peloton pulled over to the side of the road and proceeded to engage in a natural break. Some while still straddling their bikes. That’s what I call dedication. Don’t worry Jenny, I just kept riding but couldn’t keep the smirk off of my face.
Discovered that my legs were cooked from attempting to hang with the peloton too long. Would pay for that adventure for several more hours.
Stopped at rest stop mile 44 and had another Cif bar because it was free.
Walked across a huge football field to get to the bank of porta-poties. Had a long discussion with everyone else making the hike about their placement. Still kind confused on that one.
Pulled out of the rest stop feeling like I was about to throw up again. Did I eat another Clif bar? Decided that I’m a slow learner.
Followed someone with a Mellow Johnny’s jersey on for miles as crazed pacelines passed me filled with tree trunk thigh riders.
Pulled into the 100 mile rest stop at 10:45am and declined riding through the misting station and free offers of an ice cream bar because it was still only 55 degrees outside. I could have sworn it was July.
Made a mad dash for the porta-potty line and upon finishing up my business had another free chocolate milk given to me by none other than Miss Centrailia Washington. Hard to turn something down like that.
Decided to stick with Gatorade, Snickers, and an occasional gel for the rest of the ride. Lucky for me I run a lot better on cheap fuel.
At mile 120 got detoured onto a sidewalk because we had ridden up to a small town parade.
Finally met up with Jenny on the side of the road. It was really nice to see her.
Dumped off my headlight, rain pants, coat and some Clif bars that I had packed in the car and filled up my seat wedge with enough snickers bars to make it to Portland.
Put my head down and rode, then rode some more.
Was riding in a really long paceline and when a car drove by and honked at us in anger. The first 10 cyclists in line gave the driver the finger. It was a prefect example of a cycling mob mentality. I laughed about that one for at least 10 minutes. (Jenny don’t worry, I didn’t participate in the gesture)
Stopped at a convenience store at mile 160 for some Gatorade and stood behind some guy trying to buy a hunting and fishing license. The lady behind the counter wouldn’t sell him one because the computer had him blocked. He finally confessed that he was way behind on his child support and that was why the state of Washington had blocked him. Way to go Washington State.
Got an incredible case of “Are we there yet” syndrome for the next 40 miles.
Pulled into mile 180 rest stop, bought a 12oz Coke and drank it while sitting in the shade. It tasted great and normally this gives me a huge boost to make it the rest of the way but realized that no amount of sugar was going to do the trick at this point.
At mile 189 my Garmin 305 batteries gave up the ghost. This didn’t keep me from looking down at it every minute or so to check my speed though. Some habits are tough to break.
At mile 190 I decided that I was done drinking because I was sick of searching for porta-potties.
Pulled into Portland and climbed the steepest hill of the entire ride without passing out. At this point I decided that I was really going to make it.
Got detoured through the heart of downtown Portland because a bridge was under construction.
Rode with 10 or so other riders through at least 20 stop lights. Laughed as most of them were so fatigued that they were having a hard time clipping into their pedals every time we started.
Ran a couple of red lights just to keep up with the rest of the pack. There was no way I was going to get lost in downtown Portland after riding 200 miles and add additional miles.
Pulled into Holiday Park to a huge finish line celebration where my whole family greeted me equipped with a sign and a stuffed lion. Nice touch.
Gave Jenny a big kiss.
To their horror I gave both of my daughters a big sweaty hug just for fun. They didn’t think it was so funny.
Double Century done!
208 miles, 12.5 hours of riding time, 15 hours total, 4am – 7pm.

Thoughts

That was the most focused ride that I’ve ever done.
At some point during the ride every muscle hurt in my body but never at the same time. They would each take turns hurting then feel better. I’m really glad that they decided to take turns and not all revolt at the same time.
That was the fastest century, followed by another century that I have ever ridden. Pacelines Rock!
I thought that I would never want to do another double century after this one but I’m actually considering it if I can talk other people into doing it with me next time.

Special Thanks To

First and foremost, I need to thank Jenny for putting up with all of my early morning and late night training and constant talk about cycling. I’d also like to thank her for showing a mean streak when I would call her out in the middle of nowhere standing in the rain. Toward the end I just knew she wouldn’t pick me up. That’s exactly what I needed
A big thank you to my kids for suffering through the fact that their father is a cycling geek. Get used to it, it’s not going away.
I’d also like to thank the inventors of chamois cream
Thanks to my mother in law for virtually riding along with me on her wii fit. I’m not sure how that works but my guess is it doesn’t involve chamois cream, snot rockets, Lycra, or rude drivers.
Thanks to Jack Bauer for being tortured and torturing so many people during the 7 seasons of 24 that we watched during the winter months on a trainer. You made trainer rides “almost” enjoyable.
Finally, thanks to the Cascade Bike club for putting on the most organized bike ride that I’ve ever been on. I’m not sure how they logistically deal with 10,000 cyclist over 200 miles but year in and year out they do a great job.

Will I be back next year? I’m not sure but I don’t think it would take much persuading if others wanted to join me. Any takers?

2010 STP Predictions and Game Plan

2010-07-16T12:26:00.000-07:00

Everything is packed, I'm super hydrated and my STP bib number has been placed on my jersey of choice.

My predictions for tomorrow:
Ride
Suffer
Eat
Drink
Ride
Frantically search for a port-a-potties
Wonder what the heck I'm doing
Ride some more
Repeat until I ride 204 miles.

I'm planning on starting at 4am and finishing sometime before the sun goes down.

My game plan:
Pray for strong tailwinds and do some major wheel sucking

Unless I have a major mechanical problem they are going to have to pry my hands off of the handle bars before I quit.

"I will commit, I will not quit"

Ride report coming next week.

Dress Rehearsals

2010-07-07T12:15:00.000-07:00

Wikipedia states that a dress rehearsal is used by professional performers to ensure that all the details of a performance are adequately prepared for and coordinated.

Let’s get things clear here I’m not a professional or performer but I have been on a lot of training rides lately in preparation for my double century and they are starting to feel a lot like dress rehearsals.

My last dress rehearsal was a 140 mile affair where I ended up learning a lot of things that you may or may not find interesting. Here’s what I discovered. .

Sunglasses somehow get crud on the inside of them
After riding 80 miles I noticed that either my eyes were starting to rapidly degenerate or there was a film of crud on my sunglasses. Either way I really couldn’t see much. When I took them off to wipe them down (while riding with no hands – that’s for you LizzyLou) I noticed that the problem wasn’t on the outside of the lenses but the inside. What? On the inside? Honestly, I had no idea that I had the ability to shoot tiny sweat pellets from my face to the inside of my sunglasses. What a skill. After giving them a good wipe down and putting them back on I discovered that all I did was smear a lot of tiny sweat beads around thus making my sunglasses unwearable. Not a good situation. Next time I’m going to pack something small to clean off the inside of my glasses so I can see the road. It’s just healthier that way.

I have an enemy in Snohomish
A month ago as I rode through the hills of Snohomish a rather large gentleman wearing some kind of lumberjack suspenders in a small pickup honked and yelled out his window as he passed me. Well, last Friday the exact same guy passed me again honking his horn and yelling but this time he threw an additional enhancement by giving me the finger as he drove by. What at the chances that of the three times that I’ve ridden through that area in the last month he would be out on the road twice? Somehow and someway I have made a cycling enemy in the hills of Snohomish. Lucky for me I didn’t see any NRA, country music, or NASCAR stickers on his little pickup so I’m probably in the clear for a random firearm showing up in our next encounter.

Plastic bags
On the last two rides over 100 miles that I’ve done it has rained for at least an hour during each of these rides. On both of these rides I haven’t prepared properly for rain which forced me to waddle dripping wet into a convenience store and beg for a small plastic bag so I could put my phone and camera in it. I know what you’re saying right now. Why carry around all of that extra weight of a small zip lock baggie if you don’t need it. I agree but in this case I’m going to throw caution to the wind and carry around a zip lock baggie just in case it rains from now on. My prediction is if I carry around this baggie it won’t ever rain again when I’m riding.

A 12oz can of Coke could be considered as rocket fuel
When I was at mile 110 last week I stopped and bought a can of Coke. In addition to being the one of the best tasting things on the planet after riding a significant number of miles, a can of flat coke in your system could be considered rocket fuel. It’s amazing how a huge blast of sugar in your system completely changes your countenance. After that refreshing beverage was in my system I felt like I could ride another 100 miles. I’m going to use this as my secret weapon in the future. Sort of like Batman’s grappling hook that he occasionally pulls out of his Bat Utility Belt®.

I could really do this thing
After all of these training rides I think that I have actually convinced myself that I can do the double century. Ah, the sweet feeling of denial.

Well, the 17th is the big day. Either way, it will be a long but spectacular ride. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Training for Misery

2010-06-15T11:56:00.000-07:00

In the month of June the weather man in Seattle has predicted rain 10 out of the first 13 days and he’s been right. Honestly, I don’t always like what the weather man predicts but when he predicted a day of overcast but DRY skies for last Friday and I had the day off I started planning out a training route with a lot of miles and some great scenery. My plan was to ride from our house up to the Canadian border along the Puget Sound and end up at the new LDS temple in Langley British Columbia. Sometimes I think planning is half of the fun.

On Friday morning I got up a little after 4am and started getting everything ready to roll. At 5am I stepped out the door with my bike in hand only to be greeted by wet roads and that familiar Pacific Northwest consistent drizzle.

That’s when the internal negotiating started between Mike the slacker and Mike the fit cyclist. It was a fierce battle with a lot of passionate pleas, power plays, bargaining, jumping up and down, and whining. In the end the arguments were for:

Crawling back into our warm bed and spending the balance of the day eating assorted deep fried food.
Going on the ride anyway because I really need the training miles.

Amazingly enough I decided to head out in the rain with the hopes that it would stop after a couple of minutes and follow the forecast of overcast but dry skies. It's amazing what denial can do for you sometimes if you use it in your favor.

After 30 minutes of riding I was soaked to the bone but I also had either warmed up or become completely numb because I was finally comfortable. This being the case I decided then and there I was going to just keep going until I couldn’t take it anymore.

Occasionally, the rain would stop and I would somewhat dry out but then the showers would start again then I would think to myself “I hate that weather man”. This is how the entire ride went. I rode through drizzle, rain, downpours, and occasional dry spells.

The overall ride was very beautiful from what I could see through my wet sunglasses. This ride served two purposes. I was able to pound out 113 miles but I was also able to endure some miserable conditions. I think I’ll be able to use both of these things when shooting for the double century. In my own little way by finishing this ride I was giving the rain the finger without actually making an inappropriate gesture. It felt kind of good.

Next time I think I’ll opt to stay in bed and eat the deep fried food.
P.S. Hi Dayleen!

Riding Chuckanut Drive in the Rain (Still fun even with wet roads)

Cows out in the rain. I wonder if they worry about their leather coats shrinking if they get wet.
The Border between the US and Canada (Peace Arch)
Crossing the Boarder. I got in line with all the cars. It was kind of fun.

My wet welcome to Canada

My final destination in Langley, British Columbia

The Monday Cafe

2010-06-06T19:17:00.000-07:00

Today I have the privilege of hosting The Blog Café. If you’re not familiar with The Blog Café basically it’s a virtual get together at a favorite cafe of the host’s choice where we sit around and discuss a topic that I throw out to you. Food, fun and conversation even though it’s virtual is kind of a nice place to be for at least a couple of minutes during your Monday

Before we head over to the café I first need to take you on a journey with me. I’m currently training for a one day 204 mile bike ride on July 17th so before we do lunch we need to get some training in first. Seriously, it won’t be as bad as you think. Our day is going to start at 5:00am as we all ride away from my house on our bikes. I know what you’re thinking. Mike, that’s way too early to ride a bike. I know it’s early but if you leave this early there are some benefits.

1. The dogs aren’t awake this early and if they are they are way too tired to chase you down the street.
2. You get to ride into the sunrise and enjoy amazing views like this.

Here are a couple of roads that we’ll be riding through on our tour of the Pacific Northwest.

By noon we’ll be finished up with our required 100 miles of training for the day and even though you and I have already consumed our weight in Cliff bars, Snickers bars, and Gatorade we will still be running a huge calorie deficit which of course we’ll need to take care of.

So for lunch we’ll be heading over to Everett Washington to hang out at Barney’s Pastrami Dip.

Barney’s Pastrami Dip is a one man show run by the owner Dave Barney that basically offers one item on the menu which is of course The Pastrami Dip.

Dave will make your sandwich on the spot after you place your order so you can watch him pile heaps of pastrami that he seasons himself on a crusty, split baguette with spicy mustard and pickles. I know it doesn’t sound like much but to quote a food critic “Barney’s is the best pastrami I have ever had on either coast.” You just can't go wrong with a Pastrami Dip. Sorry I don't have any pictures of these creations. I went on Friday to partake of this yummy goodness and also take some pictures for you but he wasn't open. Honestly, I almost cried on his door step. So for today you'll just have to use your imagination.

Barney’s isn’t exactly heath food but since you have ridden 100 miles with me today there’s really no need to be a nutritional role model. All you have to do is sit right down and enjoy a great sandwich with me. In fact, you might want to order a second round before we leave without any guilt at all.

While we’re enjoying our Pastrami Dips I’m sure we’ll do some typical cycling chatting about super important things like pedals and saddles of choice. We also might swap some embellished stories about some epic rides of the past. Finally, we’ll get down to the topic of my choice for the day.

“If you could have any super power what would it be and why”?

I love this question and honestly my answer constantly changes.

So for today if I could have any super power it would be to have the ability to time travel and to take others with me. Think of it, wouldn’t it be nice to travel back in time to witness major historical events like the signing of the declaration of independence or more importantly the 2001 Tour de France. I could also travel into the future to figure just how old I’m going to be when I go completely bald. OK, maybe I'll skip that one.

Super heroes only use their powers for good so I would promise to only use this power with good intentions with one exception. Occasionally, I've been known to say things that I wish I could take back. If you’re married you know what I’m talking about. So I would also use this super power to travel back in time by 5 minutes to correct any unlikable statements that I make and replace them with incredibly sensitive lovable statements. Better yet, maybe I'll replace it with nothing at all. So if we're talking to each other and I suddenly don't say anything at all when I should be don't worry it could be that I just used my super power on you.

So, now it’s your turn to chime in. If you could have any super power what would it be and why?

I'm looking forward to your responses. Have a great Monday.

Traveling By Bike vs. Flying

2010-05-23T20:20:00.000-07:00

I traveled to Washington DC last week on business and Jenny was able to come along. While we were there we talked a lot about taking some long distance bike trips in the future instead of flying or driving to a destination.

While we were sitting in the airport waiting out a 2+ hour flight delay I came up with the following list of advantages of traveling by bike vs. flying.

No extra charges for bags.
Wearing lycra is acceptable if you're riding a bike
Delays are never caused by weather in a city a 1000 miles away
Fresh air vs. Recycled air. Tough choice
By bike I can eat Snicker bars and drink Gatorade all day long and still lose weight
It's tough to get a tan when you're flying
You never have to remove your shoes, walk through a metal detector or get swabbed for bombs before you depart on a bike trip
They don't sell Velonews in any of the airport book stores
Water bottles aren't prohibited on a bike
Launching snot rockets is NEVER acceptable on an airplane

In flying's defense there were a couple of advantages that I could think for flying

Your bike seat doesn't make a very good flotation device in the case of a water landing
Barf bags are typically not available on a bike ride.

I'm not totally ruling out flying but I'm seriously considering some bike touring in the future.

What To Do When You're Sick

2010-05-03T16:57:00.000-07:00

This morning I woke up with a scratchy throat, my ears were hurting and I was starting to lose my voice. By the way when I start to lose my voice I sound a lot like Barry White which isn’t a great thing but it’s a skill none the less.

As I stood in the shower I actually contemplated going to work for at least 5 minutes then called it off and decided to stay home. I sent the “I’m out sick email” to my boss and went back to bed.

When I woke up 3 hours later I still felt pretty bad so I did what all slightly crazy cyclists do when they are feeling a little under the weather. I rode on my trainer for an hour of course! The first time I tried riding while nursing a head cold I thought I’d last for 10 minutes before lapsing into a coma but to my surprise I actually rode strong and felt a lot better after my ride.

So after my ride today I’m feeling a lot better but I still sound like Barry White.

I’m thinking the Barry White thing is kind of a bonus to my sickness.

Paris-Roubaix

2010-04-24T20:42:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago the 108th edition of the Paris-Roubaix bike race was held. This is one of the best bike races of the year because of the extreme conditions that the riders have to race through. If you’re into watching bike racers suffer (which I am) this is the race for you. This race is an amazing sight to see.

In the days leading up to this race I was in despair because I knew I was tied up for most the day so I wouldn’t be able to watch it. As I ate breakfast before heading out for the day the thought occurred to me that I might be able to watch 15 minutes of the race on the internet. I quickly sat down at our computer and searched for a live feed of the race. Magically, I found a live feed and I was in business. I could almost hear the hallelujah chorus as I watched Fabian Cancellara punish the rest of the field. After a couple of minutes of sheer joy I noticed something strange. The feed that I was watching was in Italian. The funny thing is it didn’t bother me at all. Was I losing it? Was I the only weird American watching an Italian feed of Paris-Roubaix? No way, in addition to the video feed there was also a chat window to the side of it and everyone who was chatting was speaking English. I joined in on the chat to figure out where big George Hincapie was and sadly he wasn’t in contention.

After my 15 minutes of cycling joy I had to shut the computer down to head out for the day. As I drove down the road heading to my destination I realized I had just added another item to my list of You Know You’re A Cyclist If list.

You know you’re a cyclist if you watch the Paris-Roubaix at 6:45am on a Sunday morning in Italian AND LIKE IT.

Energy Gel Recipe

2010-04-06T20:42:00.000-07:00

Have you ever built a huge camp fire while you’re out camping with friends or family and stepped back with an admiring look on your face and exclaimed “Now that’s a fire”? Or upon building what you deem is the world’s best sandwich you say out loud for all to envy “That’s what I call a sandwich”.

Why are we so proud of ourselves when we build, create, develop, or even destroy something? I believe it’s because we did it with our own hands. There’s a sense of pride and satisfaction that we get when we make something on our own as opposed to going down to the store and merely buying it. And as an added bonus 9 times out of 10 it’s a lot cheaper to make something than buy it.

A couple of weeks ago I was thinking about all of the training rides that I have planned in preparation for doing the STP and how I’m going to have to figure out how to eat on the bike if I’m going to do a double century in a reasonable amount of time. In my case if I’m going to eat on the bike it’s going to be in the form of a gel.

If you haven’t had a gel before you don’t know what you’re missing. Gel comes in a little packet and depending on the flavor that you buy tastes like a couple bites of really delicious pudding. Mmmmmm pudding……… The amazing thing about gel is that it provides immediate energy to your legs. There have been a number of times that I’ve been out for a ride and feel like I’ve completely run out of gas and upon eating a gel I feel like I could ride another 100 miles. They are the cycling equivalent to the illusive elixir of life.

The only downside to gel is the expense. A tiny packet of gel generally cost $1.25 and on a long ride I could consume 4 or more of these life savors. That’s not bad for one ride but it adds up over time and it’s kind of a hassle to have sticky gel packets stuck in your seat bag or other places such as the side of your jersey (without you knowing it).

So, the other day I thought to myself “Mike, you should do some research and start making your own gel”. On this occasion I agreed with myself and decided to do just that. Of course I went straight to the authority on this subject, the internet (Thanks Al Gore). The first couple of searches that I did turned up a mountain of strange recipes that ranged from straight honey to mashed up berries. None of these things sounded anything like the ingredients that I see on the side of a gel packet but then I came across a great article written by someone named Travis. This article talks about some of the science behind what is in gel but in an understandable way and also offers a simple recipe. Here’s a link to this article if you’re interested in further reading which I’m sure you are.

I didn’t follow Travis’s recipe exactly because I wanted to customize it a bit so here is what I came up with.

Ingredients
Brown Rice Syrup (75%)
Agave Nectar (a little less than 25% of the total quantity desired)
Sea Salt (very small amount)
Fruit puree (just enough to add some flavor and color)

I really like this recipe because all of the ingredients are easy to find at the health food section of most grocery stores. Here is how I put it together.

I started by determining how much gel I wanted to make. In my case I own a gel flask which is basically a mini water bottle used to store gel. My gel flask holds ½ of a cup of gel so this is the amount that I wanted to end up with.

Then using the percentages above I filled up a 1 cup measuring cup half way. I know that’s not very technical or exact but for me it was easier just to eyeball a 1 cup measuring cup half way. For the puree I took some frozen blackberries that I picked in the park across the street from our house and put them in a food processor (fake magic bullet) and ground them up.

Since everything in this recipe is fairly thick once I had it all in my measuring cup I put it in the microwave oven for 45 seconds to heat it up. This thinned out the ingredients enough to be able to mix them up with a spoon.

Once everything was mixed up I poured the gel into my flask and put it in the refrigerator for my ride the next morning. That’s all there was too it. The total process took 20 minutes or so and that included the cleanup.

The final test
The next day I completed a 73 mile ride on some Gatorade and my flask of gel and felt great the whole ride. For a source of energy this gel worked most excellent. The only downside was since I used blackberries for flavor there was a high concentration of seeds in it. These seeds loved the nozzle of my flask and clogged it the first time I attempted to consume some gel. I finally I just took the top off of the flask. The flavor was great but I did end up spitting a lot of seeds every time I ate some.

Next time I’m going to definitely to strain the seeds out before I add the blackberries. Better yet I'd like to come up with a chocolate flavored gel. Got any ideas on how to do that? If anyone else tries to make their own gel I’d like to hear how it works for you.

Signs of Spring

2010-04-02T17:24:00.001-07:00

Even though the rain is coming down sideways today, yesterday we made it to the tulip festival to check out the signs of spring. Yes, there is still hope!

Flat Tire Grief

2010-03-18T06:18:00.000-07:00

The other day while I was out for a ride I was thinking to myself that it had been a long time since I had a flat. What a joyful thought, 3 years without a flat tire. Then as a rode along I felt like I was slowing down which believe it or not happens to me a lot. Normally, when this happens I think to myself “there’s no way I’m dogging it, I must have a flat”. The last 150 times that I’ve looking down to check to see if I indeed had a flat I didn’t. It’s just a case of my whimpiness, but this day as I looked down I noticed that my back tire was looking rather spongy. As I pulled over and felt my back tire my worst fears were confirmed. Arrrrrg, I had a flat.

Not to worry, just the other day I had repacked my seat wedge for the upcoming season with everything I would need to change a flat including one handy dandy latex glove so I could handle the chain/derailleur without getting grease all over the left side of my body. As I dug through my seat wedge I noticed that I had everything that I needed except for one item.

Tire levers!

For the next 30 minutes unbeknownst to myself I systematically made my way through the 5 stages of grief I’m sure this would have been hilarious to someone watching from a distance but to me. Well, not so much. Here’s how it played out.

Stage 1 – Denial
“What? No tire levers? That can’t be, I just repacked this bag. They must be in here somewhere.” Honestly, my bag is really small but you wouldn’t know it by the amount of times that I searched through it for those levers. It was like I was searching for a secret compartment to pop out like it was a Bat Utility Belt® but alas my levers had vanished into thin air.

At this point another cyclist approached me heading in the opposite direction and asked if I needed any help. Being in full denial mode I reassured him that I didn’t need any help and he went on his way. I didn’t need his help because I had talked myself into being strong and nimble enough to manhandle that skinny little tire off of the rim with my bare hands just a like a super hero would. I was wearing spandex shorts after all, so this should qualify me as an super hero able to fix flats with the greatest of ease in a single bound of course.

Stage 2 – Anger
Now that I had convinced myself that I could fix my flat with my bare hands it was time to get into action. I was able to wiggle one of the sidewalls up and off of the rim but the only way I could do this was to turn the tire inside out. Not really how I had planned my super powers to manifest themselves but the tire was off one of the sides of the rim. Then I realized that there was no way possible that I was going to get the tube inserted into my inside out tire and back on the rim. Enter the full blown anger stage. I wasn’t mad enough to jump up and down and hold my breath but I was angry enough to go through my seat bag once again and in the process chuck all of its contents on the ground one by one. Not a pretty sight but I was out in the middle of nowhere so no one else was around to witness my temporary cycling insanity.

Stage 3 – Bargaining
Now that I had to come to the realization that my super power flat fixing skills weren’t what I thought they were I had to do some bargaining with myself. I could wait for another cyclist to come by and beg to use their tire levers or I could make the dreaded phone call to Jenny and have her drive out to Timbuktu to get me with my tail between my legs. I didn’t like either of these options but I decided to hang around for a little while and wait for a fellow cyclist before calling Jenny.

Stage 4 – Depression
So there I stood on the side of the road with my bike turned upside down and the back tire turned completely inside out “lookin like a fool”. I stood there like a cipher in the snow waiting for a kind cyclist with tire levers to ride past. I was deep in cycling depression. Out for a ride on a great day, in nice weather, on one of my favorite routes standing on the side of the road with a flat. It could have been worse though, I could be at home mowing the lawn.

Stage 5 – Acceptance
I stood on the side of the road wallowing in my cycling depression for what seemed like an eternity when another cyclist came up the road and magically asked if I needed any help. Like Napoleon Dynamite I thought to myself “Heck yes I do”. I explained all I needed was to borrow his tire levers for a couple of minutes. He dug them out of his bag (because he was smart enough to pack them) and before he knew it I popped my tire completely on my rim so I could start over again mounting everything. I set a speed record getting that tire off of the rim while distracting him with cycling conversation so he wouldn’t notice what I mess I had made in my attempt to fix my flat. I was like a one man cycling master of illusion. Before he knew it I had completely put everything together and handed his levers back. I thanked him profusely for his help and he was on his way while I pumped my tire up.

As I rode home I decided a couple of things.

1. I would never go for a ride without tire levers
2. Cycling shorts do not qualify you as a super hero with bare hand flat fixing skills.

Two Great Videos

2010-03-13T19:23:00.000-08:00

I came across a couple of great videos.

It looks like this one was filmed in Portland. One of my favorite places to ride.

This one is of Jens Voigt and someone is asking him what he says to his legs when they are hurting. I think I'll be saying this to my legs a lot this year.

It's All Relative

2010-03-04T07:10:00.000-08:00

When I was in college I had a roommate who was a philosophy major. I don’t remember too many things about him but I do remember that he had two favorite sayings. The first one was “When I graduate I’m going to get paid to think”. On a good day he would utter this over-confident phrase 6 or 7 times in an attempt to convince himself that his major was legitimate. I’m not saying that majoring in philosophy isn’t legitimate but honestly he was pretty darn annoying about his major selection.

The other thing he used to say was “It’s all relative”. This is a very normal thing to say when it’s used in the right context but he used to drop this line as a “I have something profound to say” statement whether it made sense or not.

Here are some examples:
Me: I think I’ll make some Raman for dinner before I go to study.
Philosophy Man: It’s all relative.
Me: What?

Me: I’m going on a date with Jenny this Friday night.
Philosophy Man: It’s all relative.
Me: Huh?

Me: Did you know that you can get 32 oz of Diet Coke for .25?
Philosophy Man: It’s all relative.
Me: You keep using that line. I do not think it means what you think it means.

As you can see this phrase would immediately kill any conversation dead in its tracks because everyone would stare at him like a dog watches TV. You know, your dog knows there’s something there but he can’t quite make it out so he stares for a while then walks away.

Jenny knew this roommate so sometimes I will randomly drop this line into a conversation when she’s around and she will start to laugh. It’s like the inside joke that never gets old.

The other day I was in the car with my 14 year old son and we were listening to a pop station that he loves. Trying to get teenagers to talk to you can be a challenge sometimes so I was asking him about different songs that I knew nothing about. We were having a great conversation when out the blue a song came on the radio and he blurted out “This song is soooooo old”!!!! When I asked him how old the song was he said “it’s like 3 or 4 months old”. Really? 3 or 4 MONTHS?

To me an old song came out in the late 1960’s which would make it 40 years old not 4 months. I guess our concepts of what old is are totally different.

I was kind of embarrassed but all I could think was “It’s all relative” and in this case it actually made sense for once.

Philosophy Man I hope you’re getting paid to think somewhere in the world.

What's Tough For You?

2010-02-18T12:26:00.000-08:00

Have you ever done anything that is excruciating hard for you? I’m not talking about things that are tough for everyone but things that are your own personal challenges that could possibly be incredibly easy for someone else. For example, most of the time I don’t mind doing the dishes if of course I get to choose the music that is playing. For others doing the dishes is possibly one of the most mundane excruciatingly hard things to get yourself to do.

There are a lot of items that make my personal list of things that I find tough to do. In college it was any class on economics. I could pass the class but there’s absolutely no fun to be had in an economics class. Changing diapers and doing yard work are other items at the top of my list. Some people find it therapeutic to work out in the yard. Me? Well, not so much.

The other day I found something that could possibly be at the top of my list of hard things to do for the rest of my life. Seriously, it was that bad.

Riding on a bike trainer for an hour while watching Men's Figure Skating!

For the past week I’ve really enjoyed watching the winter Olympics. I love the strange sports that you only see once every 4 years. I also love the intensity that ALL of the competitors have for their sport. On Monday night I rode my trainer while watching a smorgasbord of different sports and they were distracting enough that my hour ride went by fairly quick.

Then on Tuesday night I got everything set up, started riding and turned the TV on to find that Men’s Figure Skating was on. I’ve got to be honest I’m not a fan of the sport AT ALL. I tried to remain positive, thinking that the network would cut away to another sport and eventually bounce between multiple sports like they had every other night. After every skater I would chant in my head “Go to another sport, Go to another sport, Go to another sport” but miraculously this did not work. NBC stayed with Men’s Figure Skating for an entire hour in all of its flamboyant sequined glory.

Looking back on the evening I should have flipped my bike off of the trainer and “accidentally” run into the wall putting myself on the disabled list for the rest of the evening. That would have been a lot easier than riding for the entire hour. Honestly, completing the 100 miles of nowhere ride on my trainer was a lot easier than this ride. Is it possible that time could have stood still during Men’s Figure Skating? I believe it did for at least 4 or 5 hours.

There might be someone out there that would have found this to be an easy thing to do but riding a bike trainer for an hour while watching Men’s Figure Skating has topped my list of tough things.

This single event could possibly be at the top of my tough things to do for the rest of my life.

Confessions of a Data-aholic

2010-02-17T07:58:00.001-08:00

Shortly after I started training for my first long distance bike ride I read somewhere that it’s a good thing to keep a training journal. Not that I do everything that I read but on this occasion I built a spreadsheet to track how many miles I rode each day. Over the years this spreadsheet has morphed into quite the prodigious work of bike nerd art. This spreadsheet has got sections for weekly goals, notes on how each ride went, drop down menus for each type of workout and it even turns different colors when I achieve a goal all on its own. In some strange way it gives me a sense of satisfaction to fill out my training spreadsheet the morning after I ride. It’s like a nice pat on the back if I’m doing well or a kick in the rear if I’m slacking off.

Occasionally I’ve also tracked my weight on this spreadsheet when I’ve gone on one too many donut benders to give myself a little accountability. You would think that this would be simple since all you have to do is weigh yourself once a week and enter a number but it’s not so easy at our house. You see, until a couple of weeks ago we had an ultra low tech scale that we got on sale at a grocery store. You know, the kind that you had as a kid with the spinning dial. This scale was great. If you weighed yourself first thing in the morning and you didn’t like your weight all you had to do was get back on again. Chances are your weight would be different every time you weighed yourself. If you have weight integrity (which I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone like this) you would average your weight over 5 or 6 weighings before claming your weight for the week. On the other hand if you didn’t like your weight, all you had to do is keep weighing yourself until you get to the number that you like. Of course there was only about 3 pounds of variation but hey, 3 pounds is 3 pounds.

The other day Jenny came home from the store and she had a new weight scale in her possession. I’m pretty sure this is the same scale that Bill Gates uses because the amount of data that it spits back to you is out of control. Not only does it give you a consistent weight reading (every time) but it also tells you how many pounds of fat your carting around, your body fat %, your BMI (I think this stands for Bike Muscle Index), and your hydration %. Aside from not being able to get the scale to lie anymore this scale is super cool.

This has left me wondering what the heck I’m going to do with all of this data. Do I really need to keep track of all of this data? I’m really trying hard to not add all of it to my training spreadsheet but this is like putting a beer in front of an alcoholic. As of right now it’s not on my spreadsheet but I don’t know how long that will last. Someone talk me off of the ledge.

Sore, But in a Good Way

2010-01-28T07:39:00.000-08:00

When I was younger I don’t remember the sensation of having sore muscles unless I did something out of control and kind of dangerous. I would ask myself “why is my leg sore” then I would remember that the previous day I had played tackle football in the mud with my buddies for hours and got repeatedly slammed into the ground by a much larger “friend” of mine. So in essence to be sore when I was younger I really had to earn it.

Now that I’m a couple of years older I can be sore for no reason at all. Absolutely none! I’ll crawl out of bed and on my way to the shower wonder why my shoulder or some other random muscle is killing me. I’ll replay the events of the past couple days in my head and find no evidence of where the pain is coming from. Then, I’ll chalk the pain up to sleeping in a weird position. Sore from sleeping in a weird position? That would have never happened when I was a kid. When did this spontaneous indiscriminate sore (place your favorite body part here) transformation occur? Beats me but I really wish it would go away.

Lately I’ve been pushing myself pretty hard in my cycling training. In fact, I don’t ever remember training like this in January but to be honest I’m happy with my fitness level for this time of the year. Sometimes at work when I get up from desk my legs will be a sore from the ride the night before. This kind of sore I really like. In fact, it puts a smile on my face. Not because I’m into pain but because I know exactly where it came from and to quote a old Smith Barney commercial “I earrrrrrrrrned it”

I’ll take self inflicted sore muscles over random old guy aches and pains any day. So here’s to another day of soreness. Sore but in a good way.

The Ultimate Be Prepared Tip

2010-01-25T10:21:00.000-08:00

The Boy Scout Motto is “Be Prepared”. A long time ago when I was a Boy Scout I could have sworn that the motto was “Burn Stuff”. Believe me, as a 12 year old boy on a camp out with a bunch of other 12 year olds there’s nothing better than sitting around a camp fire and throwing things in to see if they would burn. Ahhhh, good times.

Now that I’m older and more “Mature” (Jenny might disagree with that statement) I see the wisdom in the Scout motto of “Be Prepared”. Although I still like to burn things now and then too.

So today I’ve got a handy dandy “Be Prepared” tip that is the best of both worlds.

I present to you Mike’s Ultimate Be Prepared Tip…..

On your next hiking or mountain biking adventure along with some emergency matches pack a small bag of Fritos corn chips. That’s not a typo! Pack a bag of Fritos. So here’s the thing, along with being amazingly tasty Fritos are the ultimate kindling when trying to start a fire in an emergency situation.

What’s that? You say I’m full if it? Here’s a video that we shot the other night lighting a bag of Fritos on fire. As you can see it produces a pretty good flame for a long time. In fact, the Fritos were flaming long after we stopped shooting the video and the family had gone back in the house due to boredom. I ended up picking up the pile of flaming Fritos and throwing them in the BBQ before our dog tried to eat some of them. All in all I think they stayed lit for 10 minutes. Who knew Fritos would be so flammable?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YFyXx3EDEw

So even though your cardiologist will disagree with you a bag of Fritos could one day save your life. And as an added benefit if you don’t end up needing them while you’re out in the wilderness you can eat them on the way home. Yummmmm……… You can’t do that with other fire starters.

Finally, a word of caution. If you choose to amaze your friends by lighting a bag of Fritos on fire which I’m sure you’re secretly contemplating right now make sure it’s in the street or somewhere discrete because it left a large burned grease mark on our back step.

Sorry Jenny!

Be Prepared, that's what I always say..... or was it Burn Stuff....

Signs That The Training Season has Started

2010-01-24T09:47:00.000-08:00

This morning as our family sat down to eat some of my famous whole wheat pancakes there were some obvious signs that Jenny and I have entered the training season.

Here's a picture of my breakfast. Whole wheat pancakes topped with apple sauce. A prefect training breakfast.

Here's a picture of my daughters breakfast. Whole wheat pancake smothered in hot fudge sauce. As you can see there's almost more hot fudge than pancake.

I'm going to have one of those next August!

New Level of Cycling Insanity

2010-01-17T20:13:00.001-08:00

The first time I completed a century the last 30 miles were excruciating. It felt like I was dragging a 1000 pound weight behind my bike and someone had lit my shorts on fire. It wasn’t a pleasant experience. I remember estimating down to the second how much time I had left in the saddle. My rear end was killing me, my hands and feet hurt, and my legs were just plain sick of spinning around in circles. Would I ever subject myself to doing that again?

Heck yeah!

I’ve completed 4 since then and I believe I’m ready to step up the insanity to an entirely new level. Why, I’m not really sure. Maybe it’s to sweep the last vestige of cycling sanity out of my mind, or it’s to see if I can really do it, or it’s because secretly I love all of the training and planning that goes into the preparation. OK, it’s all of the above.

On July 17th (exactly 7 months from toady) I’m going to ride the Seattle to Portland (STP) in one day. For those of you scoring at home that’s a total of 204 miles. When I completed the 2007 STP in 2 days I wondered to myself “how could someone ever do this ride in a day”? In 2009 I also completed it in two days but this time I thought to myself that a double century could really be doable. Of course that would be after I acquired a heck of a lot of training miles, a severe dose of insanity, one tough rear end, and Energizer Bunny legs. I guess I’ve got some work to do.

The other day I was putting together a training plan and the harsh reality of all of the weekly miles really hit me. ¡Ay, caramba! that’s a lot of miles! My plan is do 3 shorter training rides during the week with one very long ride on the weekend. This weekend ride will increase in distance by 10% a week until I get to a 150 mile ride. This ride will be two weeks before the STP then I will either taper for the next two weeks or rent a wheel chair for the balance of the summer. I haven’t scheduled any off weeks because I’m sure my schedule will cancel rides all on their own.

I’m pulling this 150 mile training ride out of the air as a good training max but I’m really not sure if it’s too much or too little. I guess we’ll see come July. Either way the end result will either be a spectacular failure or a spectacular success. I’m pulling for a spectacular success.

I’ve asked someone if they want to do this ride with me and he is seriously thinking about it. That doesn't mean there can't be more coming along. There are 10,000 spots available. Anyone out there interested?

Now that I’ve told you about my goal I’m hoping that you’ll keep me honest here. Feel free to hassle me if I start to slack off in my training or call the whole thing off. Think of it as your assignment.

Survival Guide to the 2010 Winter Olympics

2010-01-11T12:37:00.001-08:00

On Friday Jenny and I went to Canada (Vancouver BC Area) for the day while the kids were in school. While we were there it occurred to me that the 2010 Winter Olympics are only a month away and it may be helpful for others if they had a quick survival guide for the Vancouver BC Canada area from a visiting American’s perspective.

Speeding on Highway 99
Before entering Canada you drive on I-5 with a speed limit of 70mph. Once you cross the boarder into Canada the road changes to Highway 99 and the speed limit also changes to 100kpm (62mph). Not wanting to cause an international incident I kept my speed just a smidge above that. Holy Cow, it felt like I was driving 5mph with the speeds that people were passing me at. I can only think of two possible explanations for this.
1. Canada’s speed limits aren’t really laws but merely guidelines sort of like the code of the pirates in Pirates of the Caribbean.
2. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), still ride horses and therefore can’t catch speeders.

Shopping carts
We stopped at a grocery store and since we had a lot of items on our list we started looking for carts once we got into the store. To our surprise there wasn’t a stack of carts inside the front door. We peeked outside the front door to see of there were any stray carts in the parking lot but didn’t see any there either. Do Canadians use shopping carts? We were wondering. Well, after we carried our bags of catsup potato chips, dill pickle potato chips, and caffeine free Mountain Dew to the check out stand and made our purchase we spotted a safely secured line of shopping carts all equipped with locks and they were locked to each other. We looked at them further and found that they charge 25 cents to use a cart. Once you’re finished with your cart you can return it to the shopping cart quarantine area and after you have safely locked it to the other carts you get your quarter back. So, if you’re traveling to Canada keep a quarter in your pocket for shopping locking and unlocking.

Chinese food
It’s been said that the best Chinese food in Seattle is in Richmond BC which is a suburb of Vancouver and I agree. While we were in Canada we stopped at a Chinese restaurant and were the only people of non Asian decent there. It was quite the weird but fun experience and the food was excellent. There wasn’t a single fork in the entire place either. There’s so much to say about our experience that I’m planning on writing a separate post about it. I’m still laughing about it. So, if you get to Richmond you’ve got to try out some Chinese food. You won’t regret it. That is unless you have a history of poking your eyes out with chop sticks.

AC&C
In Canada it is legal to sell Codeine over the counter in pharmacies if it’s combined with two other ingredients. So, they sell it with Aspirin or Acetaminophen and Caffeine. It’s like the perfect trifecta of headache killers. It’s sold in low doses but it really does the trick on just about any headache. So if you’re in Canada go to a pharmacist and ask if you can get some AC&Cs or 222’s (Those are the secret code words). They will then pull out a couple of bottles and ask you if you would like 100 or 200 in a bottle. It’s like magic.

Grocery Store Doors
Normally in the US if there are in and out doors heading inside and outside of a store side by side the in door is on the right and the out door is on the left. This makes perfect sense because this is how are roads are routed. In Canada not so much. For some reason they are located on opposite sides. To get into a store the in door is located on the left side. I must be a really slow learner because I always headed for the out door when attempting to enter a grocery store. I’m not quite sure why they have their doors this way but I’m pretty sure it has something to do with the metric system.

Bathrooms are called washrooms

If you ever see this sign trust me don’t bring your laundry into this room. You won't be doing any clothes washing in there. That’s right washrooms are to Canadians what bathrooms are to Americans. I think both of these terms are quite misleading but it’s what we are used to.

So there you have it. Canada isn’t very different from the US but there are subtle differences. You just can’t find a friendlier group of people either. I’m really looking forward to the winter Olympics next month. If it were the summer Olympics you can bet that I would be camping out for all of the road races.

Fastest of Them All

2010-01-06T08:23:00.001-08:00

For Christmas my youngest daughter got a card making paper embossing machine thingy. Being the articulate guy that I am, I’m sure there’s an actual name for this contraption but the long and short of it is she can emboss paper and make greeting cards with it. Because she is an Über crafty person she loved this gift. In the days following Christmas she made cards of every shape, size and color. She got so good at making cards that she even started making pop up cards. This is way beyond any skill I would ever hope to have.

I really loved one of the cards that she made for me so I had to share.

Here is the front of the card.

As you can see she cut holes in the front of the card to expose some words. Pretty darn cool.

Here’s the inside of the card in all of its spectacular embossed splendor.

There you go, this card vouches for my veracity in three categories.

Coolest – Notice the argyle to the left. I currently don’t own anything with an argyle on it except for a Garmin water bottle. Maybe that’s a hint that if I get some Argyle I will be the style king.

Nicest – Obviously my smile is a lot larger than anything else on my face. I’ll take that.

Fastest – I loved this one the most including a bike equipped with aero bars.

I’m honored to be the coolest, nicest, and fastest Dad of them all. I know there are a lot of fast cyclists out there that are fathers but according to this card I’m the FASTEST. I'm relieved Mark Cavendish isn't a father. Sorry Lance! Better luck next time.

Christmas Vacation Report

2010-01-04T12:41:00.000-08:00

When I was in grade school every time we returned from a major vacation I had to write a paper detailing something that I did during my time off. Well, here’s my “What I Did on Christmas Vacation” report but this time I promise not to include a hand drawn crayon picture at the bottom just to take up space. Come on, you can admit you used that trick too.

This year I took two weeks off during the holidays and since the company I work for shuts down between Christmas Eve and New Years day it only required burning up 3 days of vacation. Not a tough decision.

In the past when I’ve taken this time off I end up sleeping in every day and eating massive quantities of food with the thought that come January I’d start riding again.

This year was different! OK, not about the food or sleeping in part but I did manage to ride A LOT. Here was my typical schedule for the break.

Wake up (no alarm clocks)
Have a bowl of cereal which usually started with the word frosted and if I was lucky it also included the word cocoa.
Ride like a madman on the bike trainer for at least an hour. A couple of times we lengthened our rides to an hour and a half.
Check on the kids who were now awake and hanging out.
Take a shower
Play cards, eat, watch movies, eat, take a nap, eat, repeat…..

Even though I was not a nutritional role model during my vacation I ended up losing a pound over the break. I know, kind of weird. Must have been all of the riding.

Some things I learned while on vacation:

It’s easy to make cheese cake and even easier to eat mass quantities of it.
I can make decent bagels (raisin cinnamon, cheese, and jalapeño)
Jalapeno bagels make great sandwiches
Avatar was a great movie
Trainer rides while watching 24 are almost addictive

I’m really happy with my fitness level going into the month of January. I think I’ve talked myself into doing a one day double century (321 km) this summer. I think!

Post Challenge Results

2009-12-18T11:12:00.000-08:00

Well the post challenge is finished and we had two entries. Both of them are excellent.

First of all is Jeff from the Road blog. Jeff wrote about day 6 of the 2009 Colorado Rocky Mountain Bike Tour. On this day he rode 70 miles and climbed over 7000 feet on a journey from Durango to Ouray Colorado. He’s got some really nice photos of this ride as always. Sounded like a great day on the bike with some crusher climbing followed by some incredible descending. His post can be found at:

http://jeff-road.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-favorite-ride-of-2009-interdigitate.html

By the way, Jeff rides a sweet looking Madone. You take a look at it if you scroll down to the very bottom of his blog. It’s a work of art. Can you tell I’m a little biased with Madones? Finally, Jeff gets extra credit for working the word interdigitate into his post. He put it into the title which is somewhat cheating but I’ll give him the credit anyhow.

The other post was from Groover. She has a great blog that I love reading called Competitive Cycling – Goals and Dreams and Hard Work.

Her post was about the Tour of Bright race that she recently participated in. She trained really hard for this race so I was happy to see that she had bettered her time by 11 minutes this year. Her description of taking some sprint points on the first day cracked me up because she doesn’t see herself as a sprinter. She said “I guess the one-eyed is king amongst the blind so I can be a sprinter amongst climbers”. What a great saying.

Her post is located at: http://competitivecycling.blogspot.com/2009/12/metamorphosis.html

She also included a video at the bottom of her post which is fantastic. If I ever get to Australia I’d like to take a crack at climbing Mt. Hotham. It looks like a great climb.

So that’s it for the post challenge. It was kind of fun throwing out a post topic and seeing what others came up with. If you’re interested in throwing out a topic for others let me know. I’d love to participate.

My Favorite Ride/Adventure of 2009

2009-12-16T13:28:00.000-08:00

Last week I threw down a challenge to write a post on “Your favorite ride/adventure of 2009”. Since I’ve taken up this challenge as well I’ve had to mentally sort through the all of the rides of 2009 and determine which adventure survives while the rest get voted off of the cycling adventure island. The three rides that made the final cut were.

The Alpine Loop. This ride included a leg busting 8 mile ascent at 10% grade and a screaming 10 mile descent.
Tuesday Night Group Ride. This ride included the fastest pacelining I’ve ever experienced while accidentally running over road kill. One for the books.
Day 2 of the STP. This ride didn’t include any incredible descents or major road kill but I was able to celebrate with Jenny and my oldest son their first and second centuries on successive days.

I know that the suspense is building so without any further delay the winner is Day 2 of the STP.

If you’re not familiar with the STP it’s an organized ride from Seattle to Portland which spans 204 miles. We split the ride in half with 102 miles the first day and another 102 miles on the second day. Day one of the trip went amazing well. For my wife and sons first century they had perfect conditions. The weather was warm and as an added bonus we had a tail wind for the last 50 miles. It just couldn’t get much better than that.

Day 2 wasn’t as easy but proved to be more rewarding. Two or three miles into the ride we had to stop because my son was having some knee pain. We offered to let him call his buddies who were driving a support vehicle for us but he decided to stick it out and continue on. A little while latter Jenny started having knee pains as well. We were having a full blown bad knee fest-o-rama. At this point I was seriously wondering if they were going to make it to Portland but they kept on.

At times during the day we would keep a really good pace but at others we slowed down to a crawl but at no time did either one of them quit. Both Jenny and my son showed some true guts.

It was a really long day for both of them but and as they crossed the finish line and enjoyed the celebration in a park in the middle of Portland I could tell they both felt like they had just done something special. I think if the journey had been easy that day they wouldn’t have felt such a sense of accomplishment.

As Jenny and I held hands in an interdigitated manner after the ride I was happy that I was able to share this experience with both of them. I believe you can learn a lot about yourself when you push yourself beyond what you think you can accomplish. Both Jenny and my son did just that. I’m sure we will talk about the 2009 STP for years to come.

The Post Challenge

2009-12-11T07:18:00.000-08:00

For the past week I’ve wracked my brain for something interesting to write about and the only thing I could come up with was my hatred of little green balls of poison. My lack of writing isn’t due to a lack of riding but I’m guessing that not many people are really interested in my trainer ride monotony. Unless you’ve been out riding in the latest arctic blast you probably don’t have much to write about either.

So here’s my idea. I’m going to throw out a writing topic and ask everyone that is interested to write a post on it sometime in the next week. I’m sure you’re really busy at this time of year but hopefully you’ll be able to find some time in the next week for a post. I will also write a post on the same topic and post it next Friday.

If you choose to participate in this assignment your efforts will not go unnoticed. Nosiree! If you paste a link to your awesome post in a comment to me I will consolidate all of them into one post with a short synopsis and link of your post. That way the 1000’s of people (OK, maybe a little less than that) who read my blog will check out your post and take note of the incredible writer and rider that you are. Also, if you don’t have a blog (I’m not sure how could that be) and still want to participate just email me your post and I’ll post it on my site for all others to check out. My email address is mikeonhisbike1 at gmail dot com.

So without further delay here is your post challenge.

Your favorite ride/adventure of 2009

I added adventure to the topic in case you don’t ride and still want to participate. This topic could be on just about anything you want from a great race, excruciating mountain climb, incredible wreck, interesting tour, brush with fame, trip to the dentist and the list goes on.

I went on a lot of rides in 2009 so I’m not really sure which one I’m going to write about but I’ll have a good post up by next Friday. Don’t be shy about taking up this challenge, I’m excited to hear of your greatest adventure moments of 2009.

As with any good assignment here’s a stretch goal for you. If you work the word interdigitate into your post somewhere I will give you extra credit. So start thinking about what you can write about and get your creativity going on that extra credit word.

Have a great weekend and be sure to make some time for writing.

Little Green Balls of Poison

2009-12-06T17:28:00.000-08:00

Kids love sugar! I believe this is pretty much an absolute. They love it in just about any form. Cookies, cake, candy bars, soda, ice cream and the list goes on. How could you not like a food with a name like everlasting gobstopper or super double chocolate chunk fudge? I think if we let them our kids would eat some form of sugar based food for every meal. Of course being the health conscious people that they are I’m sure they would eat ice cream and cake for at least one meal of the day because after all there are flour, eggs, and milk in this meal. That would be their form of kid health food.

The love of sugar is one of the things that make you a kid. There is no way that I could as an “adult” eat like my kids do. It would make me sicker than a dog. So, when does this love of sugar go away? I remember as a kid when the vegetables would show up on my plate the gag reflex would initiate. For the most part gag reflexes are good. After all that is what prevents you from eating or drinking dangerous things like motor oil, paint thinner (I drank that once but that’s another story), battery acid, and poison.

My theory is little by little as kids are forced to eat vegetables their gag reflexes are dulled with the likes of broccoli, spinach, turnips, green beans, and peas. In fact, if forced to eat enough of these foods over time they actually acquire a taste for them.

Lately, I’ve been trying to eat healthier in addition to my training in hopes to get to an optimal riding weight. I’ve been eating green beans, salad, carrots, corn, and I even tried brussel sprouts for the first time in my life. To be honest they weren’t too bad. Not great but not bad either. I guess you can say that I’ve been eating like an adult. After all of this healthy eating there is one vegetable that I still can’t get myself to eat because the gag reflex still exists. This vegetable is like my form of kryptonite. I can’t conquer it and frankly I don’t really want to. So I’m following the example of Superman and just staying as far away from it as possible.

Today product review is on my vegetable nemesis “Peas”!

In my opinion Peas are little green balls of poison! They are just plain nasty. They top the chart on the gag reflex quotient in the three categories. Texture, smell and taste.

Once you have bitten into them peas have the texture of a nice warm inviting MUD. Right now I’m betting some of you are saying, but Mike, what about fresh peas right out of the garden? They don’t have that texture at all. That’s true fresh peas have escaped the membrane coated mud texture but they still don’t pass the rotten taste test. I think paint thinner might just taste better than peas. I’ve tried them both.

I’ve often said that everything tastes better with bacon. Bacon wrapped shrimp? Better! Bacon wrapped green beans? Better! Macaroni and cheese with bacon? Better. Bacon with peas? Not better.

So, from one friend to another my recommendation to you is to stay as far away from peas as possible.

They are little green balls of poison.

Finally, in the spirit of full disclosure, I have not received compensation from either the peas growers of America or the National Pea Haters Association (NPHA) although I’d like to become a member some day.

My name is Mike J and I approve this message.

Book Review: A Dog in a Hat

2009-12-01T09:06:00.000-08:00

Over the Thanksgiving break I read the book A Dog in a Hat: An American Bike Racer's Story of Mud, Drugs, Blood, Betrayal, and Beauty in Belgium by Joe Parkin. If you’re not familiar with Joe Parkin he also has a very entertaining blog where he answers questions that he receives from people on a whole host of subjects related to cycling.

Anyway, back to the book. When Joe was 18 he was living in California and doing a lot of amateur racing when he met up with Bob Roll. Bob in his wisdom convinced Joe that if he really wanted to go where there was some serious bike racing that he should move to Belgium and learn the ropes. With that Joe got multiple jobs and saved up $3000 for his grand adventure. Joe also wrote a letter to Albert Claeys who had taken in some racers in the past and asked for some assistance. He never heard back from Albert but with $3000 in to his name he headed off for Belgium with a goal to make in onto a pro team and support himself.

When Joe arrives he ends up hooking up with Albert who gives him a place to stay and starts entering races. After racing a season as an amateur he lands a contract with a team at which time his eyes are opened to a whole new world of the pro ranks.

I’ve read books before of pro bike racing but never from the perspective of what it’s like to be a pro at the bottom of the ranks. Joe describes season after season of bike crashes, contract negotiations, dealing with the language barrier, training, drug use, and throwing races in the late 80’s and early 90’s.

Years ago Charles Barkley published an autobiography in which he ended up refuting some of the things that were said in “his” book. I wasn’t surprised when this happened because most autobiographies are written by a ghost writer after a series of interviews between the subject and writer.

What I really liked about this book is that is was actually written by Joe himself. This book is all Joe which means it’s a little rough in sections but you know it’s in Joe’s words and what he wanted to say.

For me there are two kinds of books. The ones that I breathe a sign of relief because I finally finished them and the ones that I’m really sad when they are over.

This book fit into the last category for me. It was a really interesting look at the inner workings of European bike racing.

This book gets a thumbs up from Mike J.

The Freedom to Roam

2009-11-25T09:47:00.000-08:00

The other night Jenny and I watched “The Hunt for Red October” while we were doing some trainer riding. The last time I saw this movie was in a theater in the early 90’s so I didn’t remember much. Loss of memory was good in this case because it was like watching a whole new movie again. Anyway, there is a great scene in the movie after Captain Ramius (Sean Connery) has told his immediate crew that he plans to defect to the United States and he is going to take them with him. After some thought one of his crew explains his plans once he gets to the US. Here’s how it goes.

Capt. Vasili Borodin: I will live in Montana. And I will marry a round American woman and raise rabbits, and she will cook them for me. And I will have a pickup truck... maybe even a "recreational vehicle." And drive from state to state. Do they let you do that?
Captain Ramius: I suppose.
Capt. Vasili Borodin: No papers?
Captain Ramius: No papers, state to state.
Capt. Vasili Borodin: Well then, in winter I will live in... Arizona. Actually, I think I will need two wives.
Captain Ramius: Oh, at least.

This scene reminded me of something that I am very thankful for. I am thankful for the freedom to roam. I have the freedom to go just about where ever I want and no one asks me for papers. What a great thing. I could get on my bike tomorrow and ride all the way across the country and no one would care because I have the freedom to do just that. Granted they might think I’m a little nuts because it is November but I could do it just the same. Don’t worry Jenny, I’m not planning on any cross country trips.

Of course I’m thankful for a lot of other things, but right now I’m thankful for the freedom to roam.

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving. Remember, you’re going to need those extra calories that you’ll consume tomorrow come springtime when you’re out on an epic ride.

Photos of the Week

2009-11-20T07:52:00.001-08:00

Sometimes a series of pictures say it all.

Tomorrow night is our family's 7th annual pie night. Last year we had well over 70 people attend. I'm really looking forward to some serious carbo loading. Have a great weekend!

Interval Training Part 2

2009-11-19T12:22:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I wrote about the love/hate relationship that I have with intervals and promised that I would share with you some of the more scientific information that I found on the subject. I know that you would be really disappointed if I didn’t follow through so here goes.

A majority of the useful information that found was taken from the Cycling Performance Tips website at the following URL http://www.cptips.com/intervl.htm. This is a great website. There’s nothing flashy about it at all. Just a bunch of information about cycling and the science behind it. If you’ve got a minute you should check it out.

Anyway, back to intervals.

So, why the heck would anyone in their right mind subject themselves to intervals.

Here’s the reason.
When you train to your maximum by doing intervals changes occur which will allow you to push even farther into your anaerobic zone the next time out. This is because:

Your muscle metabolism changes to extract more oxygen from every milliliter of blood flowing through the muscle capillaries
More capillaries develop in the muscles
Your heart adapts to pump more blood for any specific time interval
You learn to mentally deal with the pain and exercise through it

How often should you do intervals?

Intervals are most effective when:

They are limited to twice a week during the peak training season
The interval sessions are separated by at least 48 hours to allow adequate recovery.

What’s more important the intensity of the interval or the duration?
The answer is the intensity not the frequency or duration of interval training.
A study of interval training for 10 weeks found the following in a group of cyclists (all groups started off with a base of 40 minutes of intervals 6 times a week):
One group maintained exercise intensity, but decreased the duration of each session by 66%. The second group maintained exercise intensity, but decreased the frequency to 2 times a week. And the third maintained the frequency and duration, but decreased the intensity of the sessions.

The conclusion was the VO2max of the first two groups held constant, while that of the third decreased. So, intensity is more important than either the duration of the intervals or the frequency per week in maximizing the benefit of intervals on performance.

So I think it’s pretty clear that intervals are important but not the only type of training you should do during these horrible winter months.

As I stare out the window while I’m typing I’m really glad that I’m not out in the rain that has been coming down for days. I think I’ll just ride my trainer tonight while watching 24.

Interval Training

2009-11-18T09:22:00.000-08:00

A number of years ago we purchased a returned trainer from the basement of REI. When we got it home we noticed that there was a Chris Carmichael DVD included in the box. Well, being the good cyclists that we are after a month or so we pulled the DVD out and watched it while we did a trainer ride.

This was our first introduction to the world of intervals and it wasn’t pretty. Honestly, this was probably the closest I’ve ever come to throwing up while riding but the funny thing is we kept riding to this DVD. Why? Beats me. My dad tells a story of a guy who was hitting himself in the head with a hammer over and over again and when someone approached him to ask why he replied because it feels so good when I quit. I’m thinking we used this same logic for riding to this DVD over and over again.

The thing is once we got used to doing intervals I noticed that I could climb better and ride faster. At that point I realized that the pain and torture of intervals was worth every second.

In my self prescribed training plan I’m planning on incorporating intervals into my rides beginning next month. I have mixed emotions about this. I’m not looking forward to the pain of adapting to them but on the other hand I’m looking forward to riding stronger.

If you’re not familiar with intervals here’s the how my typical interval session works.

20 minutes of warm up riding
5 minutes of the hardest riding I can stand without throwing up
5 minutes of light recovery riding
5 minutes of the hardest riding I can stand without my head exploding
5 minutes of light recovery riding
5 minutes of the hardest riding I can stand without my legs cramping into a giant knot
5 minutes of light recovery riding
5 minutes of the hardest riding I can stand without crying like a little school girl
5 minutes of cool down riding
30 minutes of pass out on the couch and reflection time to wonder what the heck I just did to myself.

Every time I do intervals there is a strange break in the space time continuum that occurs. While I’m doing my 5 minutes of interval torture, time actually slows down to what feels like one hour per 5 minutes. I know this because when I look down at my watch after what feels like 5 minutes only a couple of seconds have expired. Then, when I’m riding my 5 minutes of heavenly light recovery riding, time miraculously speeds up to warp speed of 10 seconds per every 5 minutes. I guess this is one of the benefits of interval training that not everyone gets to experience. This is quite the strange phenomenon.

I did a little research about the scientific benefits of interval training but this post is getting kind of long for my short attention span so I’ll save that for tomorrow.

In the mean time, happy interval training.

Increasing Pedal Cadence without the Heart Rate

2009-11-17T08:06:00.000-08:00

This winter I’ve been trying to smooth out my pedal stroke to gain more efficiency and I’m also trying to increase my pedal cadence. Smoothing out my pedal stroke is going really well in fact by spring I may not be pedaling squares anymore. They may be squares with rounded off corners but they won’t be squares. I’m well on my way there.

Increasing my cadence isn’t going so well. Here’s the rub. I can increase my cadence in an easy gear no problem but when I do this my heart rate climbs at least 10 bpm or more. In my mind this seems strange. If I pedal in a tougher gear with lower cadence thus using a lot more leg muscles my heart rate remains fairly low but once I shift into an easier gear taking the load off of my legs my heart rate shoots up. Is my heart confused or something? Come on figure things out heart. Low resistance = beat slow. More resistance = beat faster. Got it?

Since my heart isn’t listening to my logic I did a little research and found:

A lot of people have a lack of neuromuscular coordination when it comes to increasing pedal cadence. So basically my nerves aren’t firing the correct muscles in the correct order to make my legs go around quickly and effortlessly without an increase of heart rate.

Could this be what is happening to me? Am I really that big of a spaz? Really? I’m uncoordinated? I’ve ridden thousands of miles so I’m thinking my legs know what to do by now.

Well, I also found out that if I continue with the high cadence training that my heart rate will eventually come down to a reasonable level.

We’ll see if it works but I’m still a little ticked that my heart isn’t listening to my logic. More to come.

New Trainer Material

2009-11-16T13:06:00.000-08:00

The following takes place between X:00 A.M. and X:00 A.M. on the day of the California presidential primary. Events occur in real time.

Do you recognize this opening line?

It’s the opening line for the TV series 24. I’m not much of a TV watcher so the most I knew about it was that it was on Fox. That was until last May. Last May when I rode the 100 miles of Nowhere trainer century I watched the first 6 episodes of the first season in a row. This show is so captivating that it really helped to get my mind off of the fact that I was riding 100 miles on a trainer in my family room at 5am on a Saturday morning.

I ended up never watching the rest of the series that we borrowed because Jenny didn’t like the show. That was until this winter. Over the weekend we found ourselves in Half Price Books and I spotted a used copy of the first season of 24 at a very reasonable price. Well, I own the DVDs now so I’m going to watch the rest of the series but only while doing trainer rides.

Here’s the plan, on the nights that Jenny doesn’t join me for a trainer session I’m planning on watching an episode or two. On the nights where she does join me we’ll watch some of the movies that we picked on VHS tape for .25 a piece.

I’m actually pretty darn excited to get up there and ride which is a good thing because my plan is to integrate intervals into my trainer rides again by the end of the month. Intervals certainly aren’t my favorites but they pay off in the long run.

The following takes place between 8:00PM and 10:00PM in our bike room with multiple fans going in the dead of winter. Events occur in real time (but don’t really feel like it).

Duct Tape Nerd Pack

2009-11-15T18:44:00.000-08:00

Our family has a tradition of making one Christmas present for each other in addition to ones that we buy each other. Since we needed to get a package in the mail to our son in Uruguay right away so it would be there in time for Christmas we all sat down and created for him some Duct tape masterpieces. The kids and Jenny made him a glasses case, tie, notebook cover and wallet. All of these items were made entirely out of duct tape. I made him a duct tape pocket protector. I really don't think he'll ever use it unless he's invited to a nerd rodeo. If so he'll be a hit. Here's a picture of my creation. It's amazing what you can make with duct tape.

6WS - Painting The House Isn't Cross Training

2009-11-14T03:29:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was my day off of work. When I get a day off I normally go for a really tough bike ride in celebration but yesterday's weather was horrendous to say the least. It was rainy and the wind was howling so I decided to work on one of my goals for the year.

I know that 95% of my goals are cycling related but the one that isn't is to be a better husband by working on home improvement projects. Yesterday the project was to paint the living room with Jenny. I'd like to think that it was some good cross training but after 10 hours of painting the only thing that got worked out were my shoulders and arms. Not really cycling related muscles but they are killing me nonetheless.

Anyhow, the room looks great and in the long run if I get a bunch of home improvement projects finished during the horrible weather when the sun decides to come out I'll be out on the bike tearing things up.

So painting didn't turn out to be very good cross training but it is a very good investment for cycling in the future.

Although if I don't get to training I'm going to end up looking like this.

To see other Six Word Saturday submissions go to www.showmyface.com

Photo of the Week

2009-11-13T20:30:00.000-08:00

A while ago I was out riding and passed this street sign. I would never want to live on Skid Rd but it was nice riding past it.

They Came, They Came!!!

2009-11-12T13:28:00.000-08:00

Do you remember in the Movie "The Jerk" when Steve Martin meets the mail delivery guy and realizes that the phone books had just arrived. He dances around the parking lot and sings at the top of his lungs "The phone books are here, the phone books are here". Well, I just had one of those moments.

When I went out to get the mail there was a package addressed to me and I knew what was in it. I refrained from dancing around and singing out loud but in my head all the way to the house I was singing "The Fat Cyclist Jerseys are here, The Fat Cyclist Jerseys are here"!!!!!!

This year Jenny and I are giving each other Fat Cyclist Jerseys for Christmas. I know that my mother is reading this right now and shaking her head in disgust that I even opened the package before Christmas but in this case it's imperative that we check to see if they fit or not. And, of course I needed to check them out. Hey, I'm an adult I'm allowed to peak at Christmas presents aren't I? Here are a couple of shots for your viewing pleasure.

Dang, it looks fast

Here's the saying inside of the collar

Finally, here's the secret "inspirational" inscription inside the middle rear pocket. Since its a secret don't tell anyone else. It will just be our secret.

It's going to be hard to wrap these babies up for the next month and a half but I can do it. After all I wouldn't want to disappoint my mother any more than I already have.

From what I remember of "The Jerk" right after Steve Martin got his beloved phone book someone started shooting at him. In this case I hope no shooting occurs at our house.

Cycling Terminology Quiz

2009-11-10T21:17:00.001-08:00

For today's post I need for you to do something for me. Please put all of your books under your desk and take out a number two pencil. Does that last statement simultaneously take you back to high school and strike fear in your heart? Pop quizzes were never my favorite but if you're a cyclist I'm thinking that you'll like this quiz. Most cyclists have adopted a vocabulary which allows them to communicate efficiently with other cyclists and baffle eavesdroppers all at the same time. They do this by using strange terms related to their beloved sport which are familiar to other cyclists but mean absolutely nothing to others. So today I've got a quiz to test your cycling speech impediment. Feel free to take your time but please do not look on your neighbors computer during the test. That would be cheating! Ready Begin.

1. Granny Gear

a. Clothes that compliment hair which has a blue tint.

b. The third cog on a front chain ring.

c. A designer cycling clothing line designed for the active retired women.

2. Presta

a. A valve stem designed to fit a narrow wheel.

b. Brand name for bottled spaghetti sauce.

c. A shirt that has recently been ironed.

d. An Italian term meaning to race like your hair is on fire coined by Mario Cipollini.

3. Lactate Threshold

a. The amount of Chocolate milk a cyclist can drink after a tough ride without throwing up.

b. The point at which lactic acid starts to accumulate in the blood stream.

c. The proximity a cyclist can maintain to a cow without being chased.

4. Bonk (American Version)

a. The act of running into another cyclist while gawking at their bike.

b. A condition where depletion of glycogen stores results in sudden and severe fatigue.

c. The sound made by a cyclist falling over while stopped at an intersection and still connected to both pedals.

5. Cadence

a. The number of revolutions of the crankset per minute.

b. A chant sung by cyclists while riding together in a paceline.

c. The invisible zipper found in most cycling jerseys.

6. Blinky

a. The name of a famous cycling clown who frequents mountain stages in the Tour de France.

b. The act of getting a bug out of your eye at high speeds.

c. A small red flashing light attached to the back of a bike to attract the attention of passing cars.

7. Bobke

a. A Dutch term which means to ride in rain storms of biblical proportions.

b. Nickname of cycling and hand talking legend Bob Roll

c. A person who has the latest cycling gear but no cycling skills.

8. Clipless

a. A pedal which connects to a cleat on the sole of a shoe thus holding the shoe firmly to the pedal.

b. The act of wearing a bike helmet without buckling the chin strap.

c. A cyclist with long hair not put into a pony tail

9. VO2Max

a. The maximum amount of money a cyclist is able to spend on cycling equipment without the threat of divorce.

b. The number of days a cyclist can ride in a row without doing yard work.

c. The maximum capacity of an cyclist to transport and utilize oxygen during intense exercise.

10. Chamois Cream

a. A cream used by cyclists to reduce friction in sensitive areas.

b. A favorite cream used to top lattes after a tough ride.

c. Hair gel worn by many flamboyant cyclists.

OK, please put your number 2 pencils down. This test will be self scored so you're on the cyclists honor system. If there is such a thing.

Answers

1. B, 2. A, 3. B, 4. A, 5. A, 6. C, 7. B, 8. A, 9. C, 10. A

Here's the grading scale

10 - 9 correct, Excellent work, you've earned yourself an extra ride this week.

8 - 7 correct, You're getting there, spend a couple of hours at your local bike shop to sharpen your skills this week.

6 and below, if you own a bike please return it to the nearest bike shop immediately.

Thanks for taking the quiz. Feel free to report your score in the comments section and forward this test to fellow cyclists to test their knowledge.

New Economic Indicator

2009-11-10T05:49:00.000-08:00

When I was in college I had to write a term paper in an Economics class which analyzed all of the current economic indicators. For those of you who aren’t familiar with economic indicators they are things like unemployment rate, housing starts, and the Consumer Price Index. With the stacks of analysis that I typed up I was then required to predict what would happen to the economy in the next year. I remember looking through all of my data that I had assembled and then basically making a wild guess and hoping my professor would buy it. I think I got a B on the paper.

Now that I’m a year or two older I realize the reason I had a hard time making sense of the economic indicators was because I was missing the most critical indicator of all. So, today I’d like to introduce you to the newest economic indicator which will surely be at the top of Timothy Geithner list the next time he briefs the president on the state of the economy.

*** The Mecca Price Index ***

A little under a year ago I wrote a post about the making trips to Mecca in our town. For those of you who haven’t been to Marysville, WA Mecca is the nickname of the local Coke bottling plant. In the parking lot there are 4 coke machines and last December a 12oz can of coke could be purchased for 25 cents. Times were good back then and everyone enjoyed social trips to Mecca for a refreshing beverage. Then in August of this year the Coke bottling plant placed signs on the Mecca machines stating that the price of soda would be increasing to 40 cents. I remember at the time thinking that the economy had really taken a turn for the worst and it would be a while before we bounced back. Since then the unemployment rate has gone above 10% for the first time since 1983. Coincidence? I don’t think so.

Last night we heard a rumor that the price of a Mecca soda had dropped back down to 25 cents again. Could it be true? Could the economy be on it’s way up again? We made a family outing out of the rumor and confirmed that indeed the price of a 12 oz Coke is once again a mere 25 cents. Halleluiah!!!

So my report to Timothy Geithner is that the Mecca Price Index is down. Thus, by year end the economy will start its grand recovery.

I think I’ll enjoy a Coke right now in celebration. Now, if I just had an opportunity to do that term paper again maybe I would get an A this time.

Cycling in the Rain

2009-11-09T03:42:00.000-08:00

On Saturday morning I got up early and decided to go for a ride. After all it was early November in the Pacific Northwest so it should be a great day for riding. The one thing I forgot was that most of the rides in November where I live contain plenty of "Liquid Sunshine". I still wanted to ride so I gathered up my rain gear and headed out. Normally, the Centennial trail is incredibly crowded when the weather is good but on a rainy early Saturday morning this is what the trail looked like.

I had the trail pretty much all to myself. I only saw 2 other cyclists out and they were really pounding away and looking like they were having a great time sprinting for fictitious sprint points.

Once I got used to the rain and my body acclimated to the colder weather the ride was great. I'm looking forward to some more early morning liquid sunshine rides in the future.

No Shave November Update

2009-11-08T06:00:00.000-08:00

Last week I divulged that I was going to participate in the No Shave November ritual by growing a soul patch. Well after a week of not shaving below my bottom lip not a soul has even asked me if I quit shaving there. How's that for not being able to grow facial hair? Lets face it, I'm just not much of a facial hair growing person. That's OK with me. I also noticed there are a few whiskers that aren't brown. No way they could be grey, I'm making a judgement call and calling them "blonde". I'll update you next week on the growth. I'm looking for some big progress next week.

6WS - Going Riding In the Rain Today

2009-11-07T06:55:00.003-08:00

I've had enough inside bike riding for the week. I think I'll do some riding in the rain today. Not too bad if you wear the right gear and don't think about it too much.

To see more six word Saturday's click here. http://www.showmyface.com/search/label/6WS

How to Buy a Bike Trainer (Part 2)

2009-11-06T05:58:00.000-08:00

Part 2 of How to Buy a Bike Trainer

Once you have made your decision on what type of trainer to buy here are some other things to look for in a trainer

Make sure it’s sturdy and stable. The last thing in the world you want to do is lean over while riding and fall to the ground causing untold injury. You would never want to tell your cycling buddies that the gnarly gash on your leg was caused while riding on a bike trainer. That’s where unforgiving nicknames come from.

Make sure it’s easy to install and remove your bike on the trainer. Since no one is ever motivated to ride on their trainer if it’s a long or tough process to put your bike on your trainer there’s a good chance you’ll find a lame excuse not to ride. Most trainers are designed to quickly install your bike. If it takes longer than a minute to install your bike flunk the trainer.

Where to buy your trainer

Most bike shops carry really nice bike trainers and they will help you find one that will work for you. New trainers also come with a warranty. The only downside to this is you’re going to pay full price for a trainer. Unless you’ve got piles of extra cash laying around that you are dieing to get rid of this isn’t the best place to go.

There are literally thousands of bike trainers that have been ridden only a couple of times if at all and then tucked away in a closet for a couple of years that are on the market at incredibly reduced prices. These are the ones to look for

www.Craigslist.org is a great resource of people who want to get rid of their trainers. I just looked at Craigslist in our area and in under a minute I found a great trainer. http://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/bik/1449198823.html

You can also find trainers on huge sales that have been returned. We picked one up at REI in Seattle that someone returned because they couldn’t figure out how to assemble it. We assembled it at the store, made sure it worked then bought it before someone else picked it up. We got it for half price.

So there you have it. Now you have no excuse for sitting around this winter. And if you get started training now you’ll be ready for the 3rd annual 100 Miles of Nowhere. Happy training.

How to Buy a Bike Trainer

2009-11-05T11:01:00.000-08:00

Every now and then I come across someone on a forum asking about bike trainers and what they should buy. This can be a daunting purchase so I thought I’d give you my two cents worth of advice about what I know about trainers and how to purchase them. First of all let me say that I’m not totally fond of trainer rides but were I live they are a necessary evil in the winter if you want to do some serious riding in the spring and summer. I look at each trainer ride as an investment toward some epic summer adventures.

Wind Trainer
This was the first trainer that I ever owned and I completely wore it out after a couple of seasons. The advantages of a wind trainer are they are the cheapest of all trainers and the faster you ride the more resistance you get so I guess you could say it replicates real riding situations. Now for the disadvantages. Wind trainers are incredibly NOISEY! If you plan on riding while you watch TV don’t plan on listening to any sound unless you have a huge surround sound system and your neighbors don’t mind 120 decibels of Phil Liggett pumping out of your house. When I had a wind trainer I would turn on the closed caption while I rode. It wasn’t an optimal solution but it increased my speed reading skills. My advice: if you can afford a more expensive trainer bypass a wind trainer because of the sound and they normally aren’t built very well.

Fluid Trainer
We own one of these trainers and it works really well. The advantages are they are really quiet so you’ll be able to watch TV or talk to others without the being required to know sign language. Fluid trainers also give you a smooth ride that is the most comparable to real live outside riding. One the downside, fluid trainers are incredibly expensive ranging into the $300 arena. They are also prone to spring leaks which could make a huge permanent mess all over your carpet. If your significant other isn’t a cyclist this could get you a lifetime banishment to the garage for trainer rides. Not a good thing.

Rollers
I don’t have much experience with rollers because I’m just not coordinated enough to stay up on them. I borrowed a set once and after a couple of attempts that was all for me. Every time I got on I envisioned myself sliding off of the rollers while still on my bike and hurling helplessly into the wall. Not my cup of tea but a lot of people say once you get the hang of rollers they are great for increasing your balancing skills. I also hear that rollers don’t provide much resistance so if you’re looking for some good resistance training rollers probably aren’t for you.

Mag Trainer
This is what I currently use and I like it a lot. Mag trainers are quiet and are in the mid range of the price spectrum. Most of them have a control which allows you to adjust the resistance which comes in really handy if you want to do some really hard interval type training. The only disadvantage of the mag trainer is that the resistance is constant no matter what speed you’re riding at. Personally, this isn’t a big deal to me so for my training purposes and budget a mag trainer suits me just fine.

In tomorrows post I’ll share some thoughts that I have about what to look for in a trainer once you’ve made up your mind on what type to buy.

Tour de Flu

2009-11-04T03:25:00.000-08:00

For the last week the kids have been battling the flu off and on at our house. They all looked like they were finally getting over it but last night they took a turn for the worst. When I got home from work all of the kids were still looking pretty miserable and Jenny wasn’t looking very good either. Needless to say, things were grim at our house. I'm really hoping everyone will snap out of it soon. It's just no fun being sick. While I was in the kitchen I heard a comedian on the radio who told the most fitting joke I’ve heard in a long time.

When is the only time it’s appropriate to yell "I’ve got diarrhea" in public?
.
.
.
When you’re playing scrabble!

That joke really cracked me up but only got courtesy laughs from the rest of the family. I wonder why? By 6:30 pm I was the only one who was still awake in the house. For some reason I didn’t get the flu like the rest of the family. So, in celebration I brought my bike downstairs and rode on my trainer for an hour. It was like my own private Tour de Flu stage.

I recently checked out the documentary on the Civil War by Ken Burns from the library. I watched one of these DVDs while I rode. It was fascinating. I wish someone would do an in depth documentary on the Tour de France like Ken Burns has done on the Civil War or Baseball. I would buy that in a second.

I’m continuing to wash my hands whenever I think about it in an attempt to bypass this bug. Wish me luck. If I’m lucky stage 2 of the Tour de Flu could be tomorrow night.

Counting Calories

2009-11-03T05:10:00.000-08:00

When I was a kid I wasn’t much of an eater. In fact, my parents tell me that they used to routinely find candy bars in the back seat of our car with a single bite taken out of them that I had left behind.

Well, all of that has changed these days because now I really, really, really like food. I’m not quite sure when the transformation happened but it probably had something to do with marrying a great cook. I’ve been a “Good Eater” ever since.

My eating habits aren’t a problem when I’m in full out cycle training mode but we I hit the off season the “reserves” start to build up. Out of curiosity I decided to document what I ate yesterday and I’ve made a couple of conclusions about it. First of all here is my consumption list.

5 am
1 cup of homemade Granola
1 cup of skim milk
Eating pretty darn healthy so far – this could be a great eating day.

9:30am – really hungry but I don’t want to break into my lunch yet so I dig through my wallet to look for money to feed the candy machine. No money in my wallet so I dig through my pockets only to find one penny, seriously, ONE PENNY! I go back to work and count down the minutes until lunch time. I can feel the good eating habits slipping away.

10:45am – I can’t stand it anymore and head to the break room early to heat up my meatloaf sandwich in the microwave. Oh yeah, it was good. That hit the spot but I also remember that my coworkers have a cabinet full of chips that are free for the taking so I grab a bag of Fritos.

3pm - Leave work and drive home. Grab a hand full of Smarties on the way out the door to keep me awake on the way home. That works and I survive the drive.

4pm – walk in the door and have a couple fun size candy bars from the left over Halloween candy jar. Then I eat two pieces of cream cheese frosting covered pumpkin bars. I told you it was dangerous to have a good cook for a wife.

5:30pm – eat two Navajo tacos which if you haven’t had them before they are deep fried yummy goodness. I’m done eating for the day and feeling very satisfied.

I originally started counting calories for the day but by the time I got to the bag of Fritos I decided ignorance was bliss and stopped the counting madness.

Now there are a couple alternatives I could take here to stop the eating madness.

1. If you notice, my vegetable intake was next to nothing unless you count corn chips, pumpkin bars and salsa as a healthy dose of vegetables. Maybe I should replace some of the garbage that I eat with low calorie vegetables. Not really an option unless someone were to stage some kind of vegetable intervention on me.

2. I could eat smaller portions of sensible food more often during the day so I don’t get as hungry. Probably a good idea but I just don’t see that happening.

3. I could kick my cycling training back into gear and burn up most of the junk calories that I eat.

Looks like I’m going to hit the cycling training again real soon. But first I think I’ll have some pie.

The Bike Room

2009-11-02T05:00:00.000-08:00

A couple of days after my son moved out of the house the vultures (our kids) swept in to scavenge through his remaining movie posters (he used to work at a movie theater) and clothes that he didn't pack away. My youngest daughter also moved into his room. I have to say that everyone was pretty sad to see him go but the kids loved the additions to their rooms and wardrobes. He is doing really well by the way.

Once the dust had settled we ended up with an empty bedroom right next to ours. It was empty for at least 15 minutes before all of the bikes moved in and made themselves comfortable. We also moved in a drum set, couch and a 13 inch TV/VCR combo. This is now one of my favorite rooms in the whole house.

Cable isn't connected to that room so we've been watching old movies that we have on VHS while we do trainer rides. Since it's been raining enough lately for us to consider building an ark we've had a lot of opportunities to do trainer rides. I love this room and have been enjoying watching movies that we haven't seen in years. Here is a list of some we've recently watched.

Return to me
The Italian Job
Tommy Boy
Finding Forester (My favorite so far, I love that movie)

I'm thinking about hitting the local thrift store to look for some cheap VHS movies. I bet I'll be able to pick up some classics for next to nothing.

We are calling our new room "The Bike Room" but I think we could do better. Got any ideas for a room name? I'm open for suggestions.

Plans for November

2009-11-01T13:25:00.000-08:00

I came downstairs this afternoon to the sounds of Mmmmmmm....... and Ohhhhhhhhhh......

This is the sight of a very successful Halloween. My son went trick or treating last night dressed up as an M&M and carried a pillowcase. This afternoon he celebrated his successful evening by almost suffocating himself with his pillowcase over his head while eating as much candy as possible at one time. Good Times!!!

Now that we have made it to November it's time to unveil my plans for the month.

1. I'm going to participate in the NaBloWriMo. In a nutshell it's a challenge to write a blog post every day of the month. This could be a rough challenge because my blog posts haven't been very frequent lately. That will change this month!

2. I'm going to participate in No Shave November. Last year my kids heard that the Oregon State Football team held a No Shave November challenge. Ever since then they have asked me if I was going to participate this year. Well, I'm going to give this a try but I'm only going to "attempt" to grow a soul patch. Jenny isn't very excited with this idea so we'll so how it goes. As for day one it's going strong.

3. I'm going to eat massive quantities of Pie culminating in the 7th Annual Pie Night toward the end of the month. In years past we've hosted this event at our house but it's grown so large that this year we rented a hall for the event. If you live in the area come on down because we've got room.

This is going to be a great month. Let the writing, growing, eating and occasional bike riding begin!

Burke-Gilman Hall of Fame

2009-10-30T06:42:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I rode with a group of local Boy Scouts to finish up their Cycling merit badge. The final step of their merit badge was to complete a 50 mile ride. This group of 12 and 13 year old kids did a great job of sticking it out and made a great day of the trip. Surprisingly enough I never heard any complaining from any of them even though I know the last 15 miles were pretty tough on them.

We rode along the Sammamish River trail and then connected into the Burke-Gilman trail. The fall colors were out and at some points there were so many damp multi colored leaves on the ground that it was tough to keep your bike upright. I was cursing the fact that I couldn't find my camera all day because the picture opportunities were out of control. Turns out my camera was stuck between one of the kids beds and their wall. Why was it there? Some things I just don't want to know.

Anyway, as I was riding along I spotted a number of signs that said that the Burke-Gilman trail had been inducted into the Rails to Trails Hall of Fame. Rails to Trails Hall of Fame? Really? How does a trail get inducted into such a hall? Does a trail have to have a career that spans at least 10 years and then 5 years after retirement if it gets 75% of the votes from the Rails to Trails writers association it get this coveted election? What happens if the trail pulls a Brett Favre and decides to come out of retirement (over and over again)? How do you count the 5 years of retirement? Hmmmm..... Makes me wonder.

Well, I did a little research on the rails to trails website and found that:

"Beginning 2007, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy began nationally recognizing exemplary rail-trails around the country for induction into the Rail-Trail Hall of Fame.

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy is selecting inductees on merits such as scenic value, high use, trail and trailside amenities, historical significance, excellence in management and maintenance of facility, community connections and geographic distribution."

After riding the Burke-Gilman I can truly say that it passes all of these stringent qualifications so I guess they earned their hall of fame signs.

Congratulations Burke-Gilman on your Hall of Fame induction. I hope to see you soon.

Race Across The Sky

2009-10-27T20:01:00.000-07:00

Two of the things that I really enjoy are cycling and movies so when both of these are mixed together I just can’t stay away. I even liked Breaking Away with all of its cheesiness. Last Thursday Jenny and I attended a one night showing of Race Across the Sky which is a documentary of the Leadville 100 Mountain Bike race which was held last August.

If you’ve never heard of the Leadville 100 it’s a mountain bike race starting in Leadville Colorado. It’s a 100 mile race with an out and back format boasting elevations of over 12,000 feet. If that isn’t lung busting enough there are 14,000 feet of climbing in this race.

The movie starts out with a brief background on the history of the race then immediately takes you to the pre race meeting held at the local high school gym. There are so many people packed into this gym I’m sure they were breaking every fire code in the county but all of the racers seem to be enjoying themselves. The race organizer was dressed in full spandex racing gear and was also wearing a huge cowboy belt buckle. It was certainly a look all his own but he actually had some really good words of wisdom for the racers. He told them that they were tougher than they thought they were. He also told them that no one had ever died racing the Leadville 100 so they should give it more than they think they could give.

During this meeting they also introduced some of the pro riders who would also be racing. When they introduced 6 time winner Dave Weins the entire crowd gave him a standing ovation. It was pretty obvious they he had gained the respect of most of the other racers through the years. Oh yeah, there was also another well known rider that you’ve probably heard of but he didn’t come to the meeting. Lance Armstrong.

As the race started it was obvious that Lance Armstrong had someone setting the pace for him because the lead group was riding at a blistering speed. Later Dave Weins would say that the pace was so fast that after the first mountain climb his legs were cooked. Tactically, Lance had sized up his competition very well and exploited Dave Weins weaknesses.

By the 50 mile turn around point Lance had a solid 10 minute lead on Dave and had the Lance Armstrong stare of concentration going on. The 50 mile turn around point is at the top of a huge climb that most riders walk up. Watching Dave Weins pound up this ascent it was evident that he was riding to his limits trying to catch up with Lance. When he got to the turn around point he proved why he got the huge ovation at the pre race meeting. Even though he was riding to his limit and losing the race that he had owned for the past 6 years he paused for a brief second as he rode past a group of volunteers at the top of the mountain and thanked them for coming out and supporting the riders. That was really a classy move.

Lance held the lead for the rest of the race and easily beat Dave even after a scare where Lance got a flat. It was kind of funny, Lance looked around like “Hey, where’s the team car, who’s going to fix this flat?” Eventually, he pulled out a CO2 cartridge and filled his tire up and rode a mushy tire across the finish line.

Take aways from the Movie:

In cycling it’s always important to remember that you’re a lot tougher than you think you are. Those are some words to live by.
No matter how tired or in a hurry you are it’s important to take the time to thank people for their efforts
I am now a huge fan of Dave Weins. He’s the man!
I never want to race the Leadville 100. Hike-a-bike just isn't my thing.

Night Mountain Biking

2009-10-18T21:29:00.000-07:00

Is it possible to do something on a bike that rivals the thrill and terror of a riding a roller coaster or gives you the feeling of putting yourself right in the middle of a really intense video game? Normally I would answer no but I think I’ve found the one thing bike related that could possibly top both of these feelings.

Night Mountain Biking.

In the last year I’ve read a couple of blog posts about how fun night mountain biking is so I decided that this was one cycling adventure that I needed to add to my cycling bucket list. In order make this a reality I had to do two things.

1. Make my Costco mountain bike dirt worthy again by putting the knobbies back on.
2. Convince Jenny that this wasn’t a totally insane idea and that she should try it with me.

Changing the tires on my mountain bike turned out to be fairly easy but when I approached Jenny with the idea of night mountain biking I was initially met with some crunched up eye brows. Over time she came around and was willing to give it a try but I could tell she still had some reservations.

A couple of weeks ago we waited for it to get dark, strapped some headlamps on to our helmets and headed across the street to the trail that circles our neighborhood. Based upon Jenny’s general lack of excitement about this outing I was thinking we would make it once around the half mile trail and call it a night. Boy was I wrong. After at least 20 feet of riding I felt a smile come across my face that I just couldn’t get off which was quickly followed by uncontrollable giggling. Jenny was following close behind me and I could hear the same uncontrollable giggling coming from her as well.

When we completed the loop I looked at Jenny and she said “That was a blast, let’s do it again”. That, was the sound of success!!!!

Night Mountain Biking is a really interesting sensation, you can’t ride as fast as you could in daylight but by having a light strapped to your helmet and only being able to see 10 feet in front of you I felt like I was absolutely flying down the twisted single track trail around our neighborhood. At one point I almost rode into a small ditch but at the last second I was able to stay on the trail.

Jenny and I took turns switching bikes as hers was a full suspension bike she borrowed from one of our kids and mine was fully ridged. We rode a bunch of laps around our neighborhood until our brakes were so wet that they were useless.

Since then we had dragged our kids out to try our latest adventure and they loved it too. I still prefer a nice long ride on a deserted road on a road bike but this winter I plan on doing a lot of Night Mountain Biking for cross training and the sheer entertainment of it. I’m hooked.

. . . . .

Photo of the Week

2009-10-16T14:27:00.001-07:00

You have probably noticed that I haven't posted anything for a couple of weeks. I really have been meaning to but my attention has been turned to other things lately. You see this week my oldest son left to serve a 2 year Mormon mission in Uruguay where he will among other things be getting a very large dose of Spanish. I'm sure when he gets back we will have no problem ordering tacos at the local taco truck I frequent.

Now I have a favor to ask. If you ever see some missionaries out riding their bikes or they knock on your door will you be nice to them for a least a minute or two? You could even offer them a glass of water. You don't have to agree with their beliefs but I'm sure you could strike up a good conversation with them about bikes because most of them have been chased by dogs while riding at some point.

It won't be my son you're talking to unless you live in Uruguay but maybe someone will in turn offer him a glass of water on a hot day where he's at. You'll know what they look like because they will be wearing a name tag that looks like this. OK, this one is in spanish so the one you might see will look a little different. Anyway, thanks for helping me out.

On another note, I've recently given night mountain biking a try and it's a total blast. I'll do a write up about it next week. Stay tuned.

Photo of the Week

2009-10-02T08:10:00.000-07:00

This photo was taken by Jenny on Orcas Island while I was riding up Mt. Constitution. By far this is one of my favorite photos of the year and has been a productivity killer at work. Now how that be you say, well when I got to work on Monday I made this my wallpaper picture on the desktop of my computer. I can't tell you how many times I've found myself staring at this picture and riding up this road in my mind. It's been a great little escape from the grind of work.

By the way, this bridge was constructed by the CCC in the 1930's as part of an economic stimulas program. Back then the CCC workers made $30 a month of which $25 when back home to their families. I'd say they did a great job with this bridge.

Looking at this picture I wish I was there right now on my bike.

The forecast is calling for rain this weekend. Hopefully, the weather will be better where you live and you'll be able to get out for a ride.

Have a great weekend.

Stay Puff Marshmallow Man

2009-09-27T21:06:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite places to ride are deserted farm roads. If you can get past the aromatic smell of the farm animals these roads are a treat because they rarely have any car traffic on them. If you are riding with someone else farm roads are also fair game to ride next to each other because of the lack of traffic. When I ride these roads I usually have a very consistent idea running through my head which reminds me of the movie Ghost Busters. You know the 80’s classic staring Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, and my personal favorite Rick Moranis.

What does Ghost Busters have to do with riding on farm roads? Well, here goes, as I rode along these roads I usually come across fields that have bales of hay laying in them. These aren’t your normal rectangular bales of hay though but rather they are of the gynormous round plastic covered variety. Here’s of shot of what I’m talking about.

As soon as I spot one of these fields I can’t help but to think about the scene in Ghost Busters where the evil Gozer threatens to turn into whatever the stars of the movie think about and then destroy the rest of New York City. All of the stars clear their heads of any thoughts except for Dan Aykroyd who thinks of none other than the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man. So the evil Gozer transforms himself into the lovable Stay Puff Marshmallow Man and start trashing the city.

After running through this scene in my head I can’t help but to wonder if the pile of oversized marshmallows on the farm fields are the remains of the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man after the Ghost Busters took care of him.

Probably not but you never know.

Tandem Review

2009-09-27T20:42:00.001-07:00

One of Jenny’s cycling dreams has always been to rent a tandem and go for a ride. So after we rode Mt. Constitution we stopped by a bike shop on Orcas Island and rented a tandem to ride around for awhile.

Having never ridden a tandem before I must say it was quite the interesting experience. The following are my thoughts on tandems. In case you’re curious Jenny also wrote a post on her tandem thoughts. I haven’t read her post yet but I’m guessing she has a completely different slant on our tandem experience.

No spitting or any other bodily functions allowed

About 30 seconds after we took off Jenny leaned up and laid down the law regarding bodily functions. I think it went a little like this “hey buddy, no spitting or rockets while I’m back here.” I’m really not much for these things anyway but having my spitting rights revoked felt a little like having an itch and not being able to scratch it.

No standing and mashing

Orcas Island goes in two directions, up or down. The descents were in a word “awesome”. I always love descents no matter what but when it came to hill climbing the tandem was a challenge. Jenny and I were both huffing and puffing on any hill of substance and being total novices there was no way that we could have successfully orchestrated a stand and pedal mash session. It would have been more like a stand, pedal half a revolution and fall over session. I really missed the standing aspect of hill climbing.

Had to think about someone else when making gear selections

Since I was in the front I was the one making the gear selections. Normally, this is just an automatic thing that I don’t give much thought to when I’m riding alone. When your soul mate is also affected by your gear selection you have to think twice before shifting gears. This wasn’t a bad thing it was just a little weird.

Easy to talk to each other

Jenny and I always talk to each other when we ride but sometimes we end up doing some screaming just so we can hear each other. On a tandem there is no need to scream because you’re really close. That part was really nice. On another note, at one point Jenny needed to give her hands a rest from the bars so she grabbed a hold of my ever growing “love handles”. For those of you taking notes at home, this isn’t a good idea. Just don’t try it. Love handles aren’t a good substitute for handlebars.

Handled like a truck

I had never thought about this before but the wheel base of a tandem is super long. That being the case the handling capabilities of a tandem are very similar to a school bus (no, not a short bus). So, as we descended down some pretty steep winding roads I really had to concentrate as to not weave into the other lane. I think I’d rather keep the epic crashes to myself.

Could cruise on the flats

When we did find some flat sections riding the tandem was a blast. We could really cruise without a ton of effort. I could see how people could really get into tandem riding on flat surfaces.

I was done after an hour

I’ve heard tandems called Divorcycles before and I can see why. All in all our tandem ride was really fun but after an hour I was done. Just the simple act of deciding to coast was a chore. We ended up settling on the voice command of “coasting in 3, 2, 1”. I just can’t imagine how couples can ride tandems for 100 miles while pedaling, coasting, stopping, and starting all in sync. Jenny and I are decent at communicating but this takes communication to a whole new level.

In conclusion, it was fun to ride a tandem together and I think I’d rent one again if the terrain were flatter. I’m not ready to do a tandem century any time soon though.

Because It's There

2009-09-27T20:19:00.001-07:00

George Mallory (1886 – 1924) was an English mountaineer who took part in the first three British expeditions to Mount Everest in the early 1920s. On the third expedition, in June 1924, Mallory and his climbing partner Andrew Irvine both disappeared somewhere high on the North-East ridge during their attempt to make the first ascent of the world's highest mountain. The pair's last known sighting was only a few hundred metres from the summit. Mallory's ultimate fate was unknown for 75 years, until his body was finally discovered in 1999. Whether or not they reached the summit before they died remains a subject of speculation and continuing research.

Mallory is famously quoted as having replied to the question "why do you want to climb Mt. Everest?" with the retort: "because it's there", which has been called "the most famous three words in mountaineering".

On our trip to the San Juan Islands last weekend I had the chance to climb Mt. Constitution again on my bike and for some reason I actually wanted to. I really had no other reason than “because it’s there” and I was there. Mt. Constitution isn’t the tallest mountain I’ve ever ridden up but it is by far the steepest beast I’ve ever conquered. From bottom to top it’s 1,800 feet of elevation gain in just over 4 miles and most of that gain is in the first half of the climb.

Jenny wasn’t really interested in the climbfest so she dropped me off at the bottom of the hill then drove to the top and patiently waited for me.

As I battled the first half of the climb a lot of thoughts went through my mind as I struggled with the sometimes 18 percent grade. Here were some of my thoughts:

Why did I want to do this again?
I really miss the triple on my other bike
I wonder if anyone’s head has ever exploded from hill climbing
Why on earth do I have an 11-26 cassette
If I laid down by the side of the road do you think Jenny would come back down and find me?
This speedometer can’t be right
Finally, Why did I want to do this again?

As I pulled into the parking lot at the summit and struggled to catch my breath I was finally glad that I had made the climb. Honestly, I don’t think I would have been able to live with myself if I had been on Orcas Island with my bike and not climbed Mt. Constitution. It’s just one of those epic rides you have to do “because it’s there”

Trying to catch my breath at the summit

The views at the top of Mt. Constitution are amazing. You can see all of the San Juan islands including some in Canada.

Jenny's reward for waiting for me at the top was that she got to descend the mountain while I drove our car down. Here's a blur of her flying down the mountain.
If you ever get the chance to visit the San Juan Islands bring your bike and climb Mt. Constitution "because it's there". You won't regret it.

No More Race Radios

2009-09-24T10:15:00.000-07:00

This morning I read on Velo News I read that the UCI has voted to ban race radios in Pro racing. This is pretty interesting in light of the stink that the riders made during the TdF last year on the day race radios weren’t used.

This got me to thinking of the potential conversations that won’t happen if race radios are no longer used. Here are a couple that could have happened this year that we weren’t privy to.

Mark Cavendish: Are we there yet? How many more minutes till I get to sprint?
Director: For the fifth time no we aren’t there yet and if you ask again I’m going to pull this car over.

Lance: Johan, I am no longer talking to Alberto, will you tell him I could beat him in the mountains if I really wanted to, I just don’t want to.
Johan: Alberto, Lance says you’re a great climber and he’ll be right behind you.
Alberto: Thanks Johan, I’m not speaking to Lance either so will you tell him that I’ve got my fake pistol out and I’m ready to use it at the finish line on anyone who dares to challenge me?
Johan: Lance, just try to keep up with Alberto, you’re doing great.

Thor: Mark Cavendish is looking at me.
Director: Just ignore Mark and try to keep your eyes on the rider in front of you.
Thor: But he keeps looking at me.
Director: I swear if I have to come up there you’ll curse the day that you worried about Mark looking at you.
Thor: OK, I’m sorry.

I’m not sure how they will ever survive without race radios but they’ll make it somehow. This should be interesting.

Back on the Juice

2009-09-17T15:35:00.000-07:00

For the last couple of decades cycling has been plagued with evidence and allegations of riders using performance enhancing drugs to help them conquer their foes. These allegations are mainly in the pro cycling arenas but it has also filtered down to the amateur levels as well.

“Come on, do it, everyone is doing it!” “If you don’t everyone else will be faster than you!” I’m sure this is the justification for most people’s actions. In the past, we’ve also seen riders get caught and then confess. We’ve also seen riders get caught and not confess (can you say Floyd Landis) but not to worry there are also former TdF winners who will confess for them (can you say Greg LeMond).

Well, before I get caught and Greg has to go public with my confession I thought I’d spill the beans first. I have used performance enhancing drugs for years and it pains me to quit them. OK, really at my age they are performance enabling drugs.

Here’s the scoop, back in 2003 I started taking Glucosamine Chondroitin after a dislocated knee incident. Actually, a doctor advised me to start taking it because I could get it over the counter and it’s great for knee joints. I’ve taken Glucosamine Chondroitin for the last 6 years and for me it works like a champ. I can basically cycle as much as I want and my knees don’t bother me at all. It’s like the fountain of youth for geezers with bad knees.

So, since you can get my performance enabling drug of choice at any drug or grocery store in the country I guess the UCI or Greg LeMond aren’t really going to come after me but here’s the thing. About a month ago I ran out of my supply and I just haven’t gotten around to buying any more. Well, last week I started wondering why my knees and back were killing me so much. Duh!!!! Honestly, it took me a couple of days to put two and two together to figure out that it was my lack of Glucosamine Chondroitin that was affecting my knees and back.

Studies have shown that Glucosamine Chondroitin doesn’t work for everyone but if Steve Martin can get high off of a really cool new drug called “Pla-cee-bo” I’m staying with my performance enabling drug of choice.

As of this afternoon I’m back on the “Juice”.

Gooey Butter Cake

2009-09-13T17:27:00.001-07:00

Note: this post isn't really cycling related unless you count it as building up cycling fuel reserves for next year. Anyhow, I still think you'll like it.

Gooey Butter Cake

by Mike J and Dr. J

Today my youngest daughter (Dr. J) and I had a craving for something sweet so we made one of our family’s favorite recipes, Gooey Butter Cake. This cake is simple enough that you could train monkeys to make it which good news for me. It's also so good my son said “It’s the best thing since elastic waist bands”. I’m pretty sure that means that it’s the best cake ever and quite obviously a cake you need to try.

Here’s the recipe

Crust:
1 box of chocolate cake mix (or yellow but chocolate is way better)
1 stick of butter – Not margarine
1 egg

Combine cake mix, butter and egg. Mix well. Press into a 9X13 inch cake pan

Filling:
1 8-oz package of cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3 ¾ cup Powdered Sugar

Cream the cream cheese. Add the eggs and vanilla. Slowly add powered sugar. Beat well, scraping sides. Pour over top of crust. Bake at 350 for ~30 minutes or until light brown. Let cool for 15 minutes then scarf down until it is all gone.
===================================================

Now that you’ve got the official recipe here’s how you really make it

Gather up an egg, a stick of butter and a chocolate cake mix and stack them neatly so they look cool just like this.

Then throw them all into a mixer bowl and start mixing.

Start on a low speed and increase your speed as your ingredients start mixing together. Mix until they are the consistency of playdoh (but tastier).

Next, take the playdoh like crust and moosh it into the bottom of your pan until it coats the bottom. We mooshed it with a large serving spoon but were careful enough not to bend it. A bent spoon would have brought the wrath of Jenny which neither of us wanted.

Now you’re ready to make the gooey part.

Behold, the gooey ingredients

Put the cream cheese in a mixer bowl and mix it up until smooth.

Next add the two eggs and vanilla to the cream cheese.
Word of caution – remember that eggs are round and if they are placed by the edge of the counter they could roll off and make a mess.

Next, add the powdered sugar and mix the whole thing up. Remember to scrape the sides and bottom occasionally to make sure everything gets mixed up. Also, remember to wear safety glasses when using a mixer in case of flying objects.

When it’s all mixed up and creamy pour it on the crust. Make sure it evenly covers the top.

Now put it into the oven and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until the top is light brown.

While it’s in the oven make sure to lick the out the bowl and spatula. Dr J took care of this for me.

Once it’s done make sure to wait for at least 15 minutes before you attempt to eat it because the top layer is hotter than napalm right out of the oven.

After 15 minutes eat it ALL gone. Please remember to be polite and not eat the entire cake from the pan before anyone else gets some.

Enjoy!

Scout Motto: Be Prepared!

2009-09-12T15:21:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I went on a ride with a group of 12 & 13 year old Boy Scouts. They were working on their cycling merit badge and needed to complete a 25 mile ride. I was very impressed with them. They would have rode circles around the 16 & 17 year scouts that I went on a ride with a couple of months. We didn't take very many breaks and when we did they were only a couple of minutes long. When a scout had a mechanical problem they would stop and fix it themselves and there was absolutely no complaining!

The Scout Motto is "Be Prepared" and this bunch of Scouts lived it. When we were in the parking lot before the ride I saw one of the boys open up his backpack and pull out a huge foot pump to top off his tires. That thing must have weighed at least 5 pounds if not more. When he was done he put it back in his backpack and away we went. He carried that baby the entire 25 miles and never whined about it. I'm not sure what else he had in his backpack but it was completely full. I'd say that was some good training. Imagine how fast they would be on a lighter bike not toting all of that weight.

Group Rides – Tips and Tricks, How to guide

2009-09-09T21:12:00.000-07:00

This last spring and summer I went on a lot of group rides which were nerve wracking at first but pretty darn fun once I got the hang of them. Group rides have a lot of written and unwritten rules that I mostly learned on the fly while simultaneously trying not to look like a newbie cycling dork. Because I don’t want you to feel like a newbie cycling dork on your next new group ride here is a list of survival tips that you might find helpful.

Know the hand signals
No matter what group you ride with they will use hand signals and most of them are universal. Here are a few common ones.

Pointing at the ground – This means that there is an obstacle in the road that you should watch out for. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you will be able to avoid the obstacle especially if you’re drafting closely behind someone but at least you’ll know something is coming before you run over or into it.
Hand down waving at the road – contrary to what it may look like this doesn’t mean that the person in front of you is happy to see the road and is greeting it, it means there is some loose gravel or debris ahead of you on the road.
Hand down palm facing you – this is telling you that the rider in front of you is slowing down or plans to slow down. If you’re drafting, as soon as that hand goes down it’s time for you to slow down as well unless you want to experience a full blown peleton pile up which could be fun but trust me you won’t be invited to the next group ride if this occurs.
Left arm stuck out – this one is pretty self explanatory it means that the group is turning left.
Right arm stuck out – just like 44 is the new 29 the right arm stuck out is the new sign for turning right. It took me a while to figure this one out but it does makes sense because if someone 3 or 4 positions in front of you sticks their right arm out everyone can see it and knows to turn right. This works a lot better than the left arm at a 90 degree angle unless you’ve got a death grip on your handle bars with your right hand and refuse to let go until the ride is over. If this is the case just use the old signal for a left hand turn and work on that right hand issue that you have on your trainer at home.

Know the verbal signals
If you aren’t familiar with the verbal signals of a group ride you might wonder to yourself if you’re riding with a group of people with a mild case of Tourette syndrome. Rest assured that you aren’t. Each of these verbal signals are vital to your safety so listen up.

Car back – This has nothing to do with what your backside looks like so don’t take offense. This means that there’s a car behind you that will be passing shortly. If you’re in the lane a little or a lot now would be a good time to get over and out of the car’s way.
Car front – This means that there is a parked car in front of you that the group will be passing shortly. If the car has a driver in it pay close attention any movements toward opening their door. Although this is always funny in the movies it’s probably not as funny in real life and more importantly it could wreck your bike.
Slowing – once again this means that the rider in front of you is slowing down. When you hear this slow down at the same pace. Slamming on your brakes usually isn’t healthy in this case.
Rockets – this means that the rider in front of you is preparing to launch snot rockets and you should get out of the way at all costs. OK, this isn’t a verbal command that I’ve ever heard but I’ve followed a couple of individuals that I wish had used this command.

Pacelining
If you find yourself toward the front of a paceline pay attention to the speed that you’re maintaining. You’ll need to know this because when you get to the front you’ll want to maintain this speed and not go any faster or slower. You’ll probably want to show off just how fast you can ride when you get a chance at the front but trust me, the rest of the paceline won’t appreciate your awesomeness. Maintain a reasonable average pace for a couple of minutes then pull over to your left (in the US and right in Australia) and let the next person in line take their turn at the front. If you’re riding with a friendly paceline at least one person will congratulate you on taking a good pull. Give them a nod of appreciation and take your place at the back of the pack.

Also, if someone is in your pace line with aero bars and is consistently using them remember that their hands aren't even close to their brakes. I would avoid them like the plague. Just my personal preference.

Questions to Ask
Most group rides start in the parking lot of some establishment with riders milling around gathering up their gear and getting in some last minute tire pumping. If you’re new to the group you’ll have to go talk to someone to get the scoop on the ride. For me this is a necessary but painful step. Here is a list of good questions to ask.

How many groups are going out on this ride? If there are a lot of riders going out usually a number of smaller groups will go out at separate times based upon their speed and abilities. This will allow you to pick the group that works best for you.

What’s the average speed of this group? This will allow you to gauge if you’ll be able to hang with this group or not. I’ve found if someone tells you that the average speed is X MPH they really mean a couple of miles an hour more. I’m not really sure why but people always underestimate what pace their group will maintain. Also, if your group is ever passed by another group of riders expect your group to make an attempt to catch them no matter how fast they are going. Chalk it up to testosterone, competitiveness or some other reason but your group will not tolerate being overtaken by another. If you see someone trying to pass just get ready for some suffering, but in a good way.

Are there any regroups along the way? Usually, most groups will regroup at specified points along their chosen route for the riders who couldn’t keep up the average pace. This is really nice if you aren’t familiar with the route because at least there will be someone along the way to confirm that you are at least on the right road.

Do you do anything after the ride? This is the most important question of all. Most of the time the group will go out somewhere after their ride to get a bite to eat or something. If you’ve got the time and means this is a great way to meet new cycling buddies because really who doesn’t need more cycling buddies.

Well, there’s my survival guide for group rides. I’m sure I’m leaving out some really important points. Feel free to add your two cents worth and hopefully, I’ll see you on a group ride someday.

I Want To Be Like That

2009-09-06T18:00:00.000-07:00

The other day while I was out on a ride I saw one of the most incredible sights I think I’ve ever seen. I was on an out and back route and when I get to the end before turning back I stopped for a minute to drink a little and catch my breath. While I was standing there I noticed an older couple sitting at a park bench just finishing up a snack and heading back over to their bikes.

Of course at this point I started checking out their bikes because that’s just what I do. In fact, Jenny always plays a game with me while we are driving. If we pass a car that is carrying a bike she will quiz me after a couple of minutes about what kind of bike was on the back of the car. About 90% of the time I can tell her the make and color without even thinking much about it. I guess it’s one of those useless gifts that I have. All right, that was a tangent. Now back to the story.

Once I finished checking out their bikes I asked them where they were headed. They told me they were out for a day tour and they had started very early in the morning so they had brought along all of their panniers so they could shed clothes as the weather got warmer. They were out doing some bird watching for the day so the husband was also carrying a huge tripod and a telescope. Honestly, they looked like they were having the time of their lives. They then told me that last year they had ridden the Grand Illinois Trail which is a 535 mile loop ride. When I asked them how long it took them they said “well, it took us 2 weeks but we think that was pretty good for a couple of people in their mid 80s”

MID 80s? No way! I asked them how they managed to ride for so long and they said they starting riding in their late 30s and had been riding ever since. The wife told me that cycling all of those years has done wonders for their health.

I didn’t get their names or where they were from but when I grow up I want to be just like them. An 80 something cyclist going on adventures with Jenny.

By the way, they were both riding custom made Rodriguez bikes that were navy blue. Just in case you were wondering

That's a Lot of Calories!

2009-09-02T16:00:00.000-07:00

You know how some cycling computers do a rough calculation of how many calories you burn on a ride? Occasionally, I look at this data point after a ride and wonder what they have factored into the equation to get such high numbers. On the last attempt at my personal time trial I noticed that my cycling computer estimated that I burned a little over 1,000 calories and that was in the space of just a hair over an hour. This route climbs almost 1,000 feet but there’s no way you could burn up that many calories unless you were to ride it on a 70 lbs mountain bike through the snow. I’m thinking the calorie calculations may be just a little high.

Anyway this got me curious so I looked up how many calories I’ve burned up in the last year. Here’s what I saw.

Yep you read that right, 166,650! Wow, I guess it was a REALLY good cycling year. If you estimate that a pound is roughly 3,300 calories that means I burned up 50 lbs cycling in the last year.

Here are my theories of what happened to all of that weight.

- My scales are off by 50 lbs.

- I ate 50 lbs worth of ice cream and peanut M&Ms this year.

- We have a super hot clothes dryer which shrunk all of my clothes without me realizing it.

- I replaced 50 lbs of body fat with 50 lbs of mountain conquering leg muscles.

- I’m currently retaining a lot of water

- My cycling computer is a really bad estimator.

I’m not sure which theory is accurate but I think we need new scales.

Cycling Playlist

2009-09-01T12:36:00.001-07:00

When I only have an hour or so to ride and I want to get some good training in I have a route that provides some honest to goodness punishment in a short period of time. Over the years this route has become my own personal time trial course. Last weekend as I was sitting at the computer looking at some ride data I noticed that no matter how hard I pushed myself on this route I just couldn't seem to break the hour barrier for this ride. The last two attempts have netted out at 1:03:41 and 1:03:17 finish times. 3 minutes, that's it. I've got to be honest here, I'm really bugged that I can't finish this ride in under an hour.

But you know me, I've got a plan…

The other thing about this route is since I ride it alone I always listen to my iPod while I grind away. I know, I know, it's dangerous and believe me Jenny has done plenty of lecturing on this subject to no avail. So over the weekend I built myself a Cycling Playlist in iTunes for this route that is exactly 1 hour long which includes music that I deem as fast cycling tunes. So in theory if I can finish my route before the playlist is over I have destroyed the route in less than an hour. That's the goal.

Here's a copy of my cycling playlist.

Pedal Power – Michael and Tennessee Ward (This could be the best cycling song ever)

La Villa Strangiato – Rush

I Want to Ride - Michael and Tennessee Ward

Red Barchetta – Rush

The Main Monkey Business – Rush

Malignant Narcissism – Rush

Treetop Flyer – Stephen Stills

YYZ – Rush

Tamacun – Rodrigo y Gabriela

It's the End of the World As We Know It - REM

Blitzkrieg Bop - Ramones

Evenflow – Pearl Jam

Smells Like Teen Spirit – Nirvana

Rock and Roll – Led Zeppelin

China Grove – The Doobie Bros.

As you can see from my choice of cycling tunes I've got a thing for Rush which probably gives away my age. This got me to thinking that my cycling playlist is probably a lot different than how others would have constructed it.

Here is how I envision the play lists of some others:

My Mother In Law – The 4 Lads with some Guy and Ralna (of Lawrence Welk fame) thrown in for good measure. If I were to listen to this it could take me 8 hours to finish the course because of repeated napping on the side of the road.

My Father – Glen Miller and Les Brown, certainly some toe tapping music but not my era.

My Mother – Engelbert Humperdink and Tom Jones, this music requires too much hip gyration to ride safely.

My Brother – Crosby, Still, Nash & Young, I don't have a comment here.

Lance Armstrong – Not really sure what he would be listening to but I'm thinking it wouldn't include Sheryl Crow

Bob Roll – The Hand Jive, I'm not sure how he ever rode a bike without any hand waving.

I'm looking forward to future attempts at riding a sub hour of my time trial route. I'll let you know how it goes.

The Cycling Psychologist

2009-08-28T09:16:00.000-07:00

Last night I just wasn't in a very good mood. I'm not really sure why, it could have been:

Work

Kids

Too many blackberries consumed

Lack of sleep

The alignment of the moon in relation to the earth

Some Dr Phil reason I've never heard of

Anyway, since the weather was nice last night I talked Jenny into going on a ride with me. I'm sure you won't be surprised by this because you've felt it before but after a couple of miles I could feel the Oscar the grouch cloud breaking up over my head and the sun starting to shine again. Oh yeah, I was back to my normal self. In fact, I was feeling so good by the time we were finished I would have let Jenny drag me into a fabric store for at least (no more than) 20 minutes. Since fabric stores are the litmus test of my patience that's saying a lot.

I'm thinking 20 miles of riding on a warm summer night and getting back

right before it gets dark could solve just about any problem.

That's my personal prescription for the day.

OK, not a huge smile but feeling great

There's the huge smile

Next Years Success Starts Today!

2009-08-26T11:00:00.001-07:00

Next years success starts today! Don't worry, I'm not turning into a motivational speaker or anything I've just learned my lesson over the years. Here's the lesson, if I don't make some grand cycling plans for next year in August I end up sitting on the couch eating my weight in ice cream, cookies, and M&Ms with an occasional Diet Coke thrown in for weight control purposes of course. So rather than going on a year long sweets bender, it's time to dream up an out of control cycling goal to train for next year and get my act in gear.

This year I would like do something beyond a century. My first thought was to do a 1 day STP which is 204 miles but I've got a conflict on that day next year. So I've been kicking around the thought of doing the RAMROD (Ride Around Mt. Rainier in One Day). This is a 160 mile ride with 10,000 feet of climbing. Since this ride is a lottery there's a chance I won't get it but for now I think this is going to be the BIG ride of 2010 for me.

The other ride I'd like to do is a two day self supported journey with Jenny. For a while now we've talked about taking the train to Vancouver BC Canada and riding home from there. I'm thinking 2010 would be a great year for that trek as well.

For every large goal I've also learned that you have to a plan to get there. Here are some of the things I plan on working on this year in order to make my goal.

Work on Pedal Stroke

First of all I'd like to increase my pedal cadence. For years I've had an average cadence of 70 but in order to ride beyond a century I'm thinking a higher cadence will help me. My previous attempts at cadence increases have resulted in me bouncing around in my seat like I was riding a bucking bronco. I'm thinking with some training I can smooth this out a bit.

I also have a tendency to ride with my right knee hanging out. Why, I really have no idea. I don't notice it while riding but when I look at pictures of myself I look like the cycling equivalent of Daffy Duck. I'm sure I can correct this with some concentration and harassment from Jenny when she's riding behind me.

Increase My Core Strength

I hate sit ups so I watched the ads and when they went on sale I bought one of those exercise balls to do stomach and back exercise on. The second I got my exercise ball home all of my kids started quoting the office scene where Dwight is sitting on an exercise ball.

Here's how it goes:

Jim: What's that you're sitting on?

Dwight: It is a fitness orb and it has completely changed my life. Forget everything you thought you knew about ab workouts.

Jim: Done, how much was that?

Dwight: $25

Jim walks over and stabs it with a pair of scissors.

I've heard this scene reenacted at least 10 times from different kids. No one has gone through with using the scissors on it though. If the fitness orb stays intact I'm hoping it will help to strengthen my core. More to come on that.

Increase My Leg Strength

I've always had puny legs. In fact, I've always thought they resembled Michael Rasmussen's legs minus the doping of course. If I think I'm going to be able to climb 10,000 ft on the RAMROD I'm going to have to increase my leg strength. Since I don't know anything else to do I'm going to resort to squats, leg curls and riding every hill in the area over and over again. I might even take the stairs at work but that might be pushing it a little too far.

Fit In Home Improvement Projects

Of all of my plans for the year this will by far be the hardest. This year I'm going to be a better husband and try to fit in some home improvement projects. Last weekend we painted our bedroom and let me tell you it was grueling. Taping, painting, making trips to the store, taping, painting, etc. It was like riding a century on an old mountain bike with flat tires. I'm hoping with time I'll learn to like it or at least get some things done that have been neglected for a long time.

Log a lot of Miles

This goes without saying but I plan on riding as much as possible. This means during the winter I'll be stuck on the trainer but after years of winter trainer rides I'm getting to the point that I actually like them. If ESPN gets dropped by our cable company I'll be in trouble.

So there's the plan so far. If you're interested in doing the RAMROD with me next year let me know. I'd love to keep in touch and train with someone else attempting the insanity.

Next Years Success Starts Today!

The Best Recovery Drinks and Pie

2009-08-23T22:10:00.001-07:00

When it comes to recovery drinks I have an all time favorite which is chocolate milk. There’s just not much better than finishing a tough ride and downing a tall glass of chocolate milk. It’s like being a kid again and for some reason it’s also good for you. I’m all for both of those things. The only thing that is even in the same league with chocolate milk is a blackberry smoothie. Personally, I don’t like making them but if beg and bargain hard enough either Jenny or my youngest daughter will make the best blackberry smoothie known to man. That is except for when they try to sneak spinach in on me under the illusion that it's good for you but that’s a subject for another post. Honestly, these blackberry smoothies will replace your glycogen reserves and have you running around the house like a candy crazed hyper kid in no time flat.

There are three things that grow uncontrollably in the Pacific Northwest without any help from anyone. Trees, moss, and blackberries. I like the trees, the moss I’ve learned to tolerate but I absolutely love the blackberries. Lucky for us there is a park across the street from our house that has tons of blackberry bushes just waiting for us to pick them.

Last year we made multiple trips to the park and filled up ~10 large zip lock bags with blackberries which we ended up freezing so we could have smoothies all year long. Last year was a great smoothie year. I plan on freezing more this year so we can have another smoothie filled year.

Today we started our daily ventures over to the park for blackberries but the inaugural blackberry trip was for the purpose of making a pie. Here are some shots of the process from beginning to end. By the way, the pie rocked! This week I plan on doing less riding a more picking. I’m thinking 2010 will be a great smoothie year.

No matter how hot it is you have to wear a long sleeve shirt because blackberries have outrageous thorns.

In the words of Homer Simpson "mmmmmmmmmm Pie"

Photo of the Week

2009-08-21T08:23:00.000-07:00

On the drive to Idaho our GPS sent us on a wild goose chase down 5 miles of gravel roads to get to our final destination. I didn't think much of it until we got there and I took a look at our bikes on the back of the car. I'm thinking my chain as dirt magnet properties. I've never cleaned so much dirt off of a chain in my life. My chain and I were both very happy to get them clean again.

Have a great weekend.

The Alpine Loop

2009-08-19T20:52:00.001-07:00

Last Tuesday while we were in Utah I woke up and my legs and lungs were feeling good so I decided to conquer the Alpine Loop ride. The Alpine Loop was the reason I brought my bike to Utah because The Fat Cyclist called it a little slice of heaven. With a description like that there was just no way I could pass this ride up. Besides that, when I researched the route I found that it passed a couple of blocks away from where we were staying.

If you ever get to Utah you’ve got to do this ride. It won’t disappoint.

Before I got to the actual Alpine Loop road I had to ride down Provo Canyon. From my ride the previous day I knew there would be a huge headwind I’d have to ride into but I only had to endure it for 5 miles or so. Headwinds and I really don’t get along. As I made my way down Provo Canyon I rode up to a tunnel which worried me a little until I saw a large bike lane which encouraged me to give it a shot.

About half way through the tunnel I started hearing a horrendous sound barreling down on me. As the adrenaline shot through my veins I kicked it into gear for fear I was going to get hit by whatever it was that was making all of the noise. A second or two latter a semi passed me. Although I didn’t need to change my shorts after this fright the sound of a semi in a tunnel heading right at me sure scared the heck out of me. As I exited the tunnel I noticed that there was a road that went around the side as an alternate route. Of course I didn’t notice that until the semi-truck version of Steven King’s “Christine” chased me through the tunnel. Next time I’m taking the alternative route.

I was relieved to pull off of the Provo Canyon highway and onto the Alpine Loop. Even though I knew the road was going to shoot straight up for 8 grueling miles it was a lot better than battling a headwind and semi trucks. As I started up the hill I found a comfortable pace that I could sustain for hours if needed. Since I didn’t know what to expect I chose the conservative mountain turtle speed because I really wanted to make it to the summit without blowing up. As it turned out the ascent wasn’t as steep as I thought it would be. For the most part the grade was just in between being able to sit and peddle and needing to stand which was fine with me. I sat and pedaled for a majority of the ride but did my fair share of standing to give my back muscles a break.

The scenery was incredible on the ascent starting with being surrounded by pine trees and mountains peaking out in between them. After I had ridden 5 miles of the ascent I rode into an incredible grove of aspen trees and I felt like I was the only one around for miles. This was probably because I was the only one around on a great one lane road.

Honestly, for a one lane mountain pass road it was the most well maintained road I’ve ever seen. Kind of weird but very nice. There were absolutely no signs or indications on the loop that you were nearing the summit so when I reached the top I breathed a sigh of relief.

As I started the descent I spotted some signs on the road that I had heard about. I rode this ride the day after Susan’s funeral so seeing these signs brought a lot of emotions for me. I know it’s only some paint on the road but for a cyclist this is an incredibly thoughtful gesture. The Fat Cyclist has some good friends!

The descent was just about the most incredible 10 miles of riding I’ve ever done. I don’t think I’ve ever had so much fun flying down the side of a mountain before. I do wish someone had been at the top of the mountain to hand me a newspaper to put in my jersey though because the air was freezing cold on my sweat covered skin. For a good 10 minutes I didn’t pedal much at all as I negotiated all of the high speed turns so when I started pedaling again my legs were amazingly knotted up. After a couple of pedal revolutions they loosened back up and I was in business again.

The ride back to the start took me through multiple cities but the roads were mostly down hill. As I walked into my in-laws house I was really glad I had got up early and done the Alpine Loop. Next time I visit Utah I’m definitely doing this ride again.

Stats

Mileage: 39 miles

Elevation Gain: 4000 Ft

Photo Ops: Countless

Provo Canyon with a Superhero

2009-08-16T19:31:00.000-07:00

Last Monday I went on an early morning ride while I was in Utah with my Nephew-In-Law Ryan (I'm not sure if that's a real term but it seems to fit). First of all I need to divulge some classified information about Ryan but I need you to promise you won’t tell anyone. Ryan is a super hero. I’m not sure what his super hero name is because I was too scared to ask him but I do know that by day he is just a normal guy who has a day job and on Saturdays he works at a bike shop. But…… when he gets on his bike he transforms into a superhero who can ascend tall mountains with the greatest of ease. Lucky for me he only dawned part of his supersuit when we rode because it was brisk outside so he wore a jacket but from what I saw his supersuit had something to do with red argyles.

I love riding new routes because I always learn things. Here are a few things that I learned on my early morning ride.

Elevation makes a difference
I normally ride at an elevation of 150 feet so I was a little worried about how my lungs would do at 5000 feet. My question was answered about a mile into the ride as we were riding through town on level ground and I was breathing like I was ascending the Alpe d'Huez. I was quite embarrassed to be wheezing like a 20 year chain smoker but superhero Ryan was patient with me and my wimpy sea level lungs.

It’s not light at 6 in the morning in Utah
We decided to head out at 6 in the morning because I assumed that it got light at 5:30 like it does in Washington. To my surprise it wasn’t light at 6 but by 6:15 there was enough light to head out. I guess Washington is far enough north to make a 45 minute light difference. Who knew?

It gets really windy in Provo Canyon in the morning
Our route for the morning headed up Provo Canyon which was beautiful but holy cow it was incredibly windy. At one point I looked over at a road construction sign and noticed that it was bent over to the ground from the wind. The sign was sitting on a spring to handle the wind but man it was windy. This didn’t seem to bother Ryan much because he’s a superhero but I was thankful to be able to ride in the drops.

Even though Utah is in the desert it’s cold in the morning
When I packed for our trip I didn’t think to bring a jacket to ride in because it’s usually smoking hot in Utah. I didn’t think about what the temperature would be at 6 in the morning. Even though it was brisk outside as we rode up Provo Canyon the ascent kept me warm enough and I was feeling pretty good until we got to the top of the hill and turned around to head back. We descended the hill really fast which was a blast but my uncovered arms immediately went numb from the cold. Thank heavens for post ride showers.

View from Provo Canyon

The ride back home was great because it was the perfect storm for cycling. Down hill with a tail wind. Although my lungs were incredibly irritated for the rest of the day it was a great morning ride and a great warm up to ride the Alpine Loop the next day. It was also nice to ride with a superhero. Chances like that don’t come along very often.

Your Own Private Idaho

2009-08-13T18:42:00.000-07:00

Every year our family travels to Clifton Idaho for a family reunion on Jenny’s side of the family. While we are there we spend a couple of days in a cabin up in the mountains above Clifton. What? You say you’ve never heard of Clifton before? Well, neither had I before I married Jenny.
I did a little research about Clifton and found that in 1930 the population was 217 and when the last census was taken in 2000 the population had been dramatically reduced to 213. I’m not sure where those 4 people went but I’m sure they are missed. My father in law grew up on Clifton on a farm in the 30’s and 40’s and back then Clifton had a small store and a post office. Now in 2009 you guessed it Clifton has a small convenience store and a post office. No more, no less.

This really blows my mind, my father in law grew up in a house that was ordered through the Sears catalog and was delivered in pieces to be assembled. I’m sure that you could order a pre fab house on Amazon.com these days but I’m thinking the housing market of Clifton is saturated now except for those 4 people who have moved away over the years. My father in law could very well be one of the missing 4 because he moved away to the big city of Orem Utah.

Since I grew up in a large city, the small town thing is very foreign to me but I have to admit I like it for a couple of days. We brought our road bikes on the trip but being in Clifton makes me wish I had brought my mountain bike. Maybe next year.

I love Technology

2009-08-03T07:57:00.000-07:00

Remember in the movie Napoleon Dynamite after the credits when Kip sings the “I Love Technology” song to Lafawndah?

Well, I just ended my usual Monday morning Instant Message (IM) conversation with a cycling buddy at work where we talk about where we rode over the weekend. Here’s how the conversation basically went.

Buddy: Dude, have you ever ridden on Camano Island?

Mike: No, did you ride there this weekend?

Buddy: Yeah, it was awesome, Check this out. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/10419839

(Mike quickly looks at route so he can comment)

Mike: that looks like a great route, top speed of 48mph bet that was scary.

Buddy: yeah I started to get speed wobbles

Mike: whoa, I might have been hitting the brakes. I did the Snohomish group ride. Check out this route. You’d like it http://connect.garmin.com/activity/10318940

Buddy: Yeah, that looks like a nice route. I’ll have to check out the group ride

Mike: If I can get my bike to Utah while on vacation I’m going to check out this route. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/8703877

Buddy: Man, that’s a high elevation. Wonder if you’ll feel the difference.

On most Monday mornings that’s how the IM’s go. It’s 5 minutes of cycling geekdom that I totally enjoy. By the end of the conversation for some reason I’ve got Kip’s version of “I Love Technology” running through my head. I Love Technology!

Runaway Inflation

2009-07-31T09:40:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things to do when I'm not out riding my bike is make a trip to Mecca for an ultra cheap Coke. I stop by for a ice cold refreshing beverage a couple of times a week and usually take at least one member of the family. It's become a father and kid bonding event all for the low low price of 50 cents. Well, the other day as we approached our favorite Coke machines I saw a sign that rocked my world.

That's right, the price of a Coke is going up from .25 to .40. For those of you scoring at home that's a 60% increase. Could this be an early indicator of run away inflation? Probably not but gone are the days of searching through the car or couch for a simple quarter. Now I've got to also look for a dime and a nickel in addition to the quarter. What's the world coming to? Well, the price change doesn't take effect until Monday so you can bet I'm planning on making a couple of last minute trips to Mecca this weekend.

Oh the humanity!

Cycling in Hot Weather?

2009-07-28T06:51:00.001-07:00

This week a heat wave has landed in the Seattle area. Probably not a heat wave in terms of where you live but it's a heat wave for Seattle. The weather forecast is calling for highs in the mid to upper 90's which is fairly comfortable unless you don't have air conditioning then it's just downright unbearable. Where we live NO ONE has air conditioning including me. As I write this post it's almost 10 at night and it's still 88 degrees in our house. Well, enough whining I'm sure it's hotter where you live unless you're in Australia.

This heat wave has thrown me out of my cycling comfort zone. I've got the temperate cycling adventure down to a science where you start with a light jacket then shed it half way through your ride tucking it neatly in your middle jersey pocket. I've actually employed this technique in the month of July already. I'm also equipped for rainy bike rides in all seasons because that could happen any day of the year here. My problem stems from the hot weather cycling. I think I'm in need of a hot weather remedial cycling class or something.

So here's the dilemma. Tomorrow night I'm planning on going on a great group ride that I'm really excited about but the temperature will be hovering around 90 when the ride starts. My fear is as I ride I could actually melt like the wicked witch in the Wizard of Oz. Of course, I would call out "I'm melting, I'm melting" before I expire and drop off the back of the pace line. Being that I don't have much hot weather cycling experience I've hatched a pretty lame plan to deal with the heat but it's a plan none the less. Here's how it goes:

Frozen Water Bottles - Last night I put two water bottles in the freezer with the hopes that this would provide me with some cold water to drink on my ride.
Dump Ice On My Head - Once while I was volunteering on the Tour de Cure I saw Greg LeMond pull into the rest stop and dump a huge pile of ice over his head with his helmet on. If I we stop anywhere where there is ice I plan on trying this technique out. I don't plan on accusing anyone in our group of doping like Greg has been prone to do though.
Wear my Canada Jersey – although I'm not Canadian I do own a Canada Jersey (I like Canada). Surely a jersey from the great white north would be cooler on a hot day. I might even hum "Oh Canada" as I ride if I determine that would help as well.
Drink like a Fish – I also plan on doing a lot of hydrating while I ride.

So there's my hot weather cycling plan. People from Seattle have always been accused of being water logged from the incredibly long rainy season's they have to endure but maybe I'll be completely dried out by the end of the ride. We'll see……

Cycling Air Freshener

2009-07-26T20:53:00.000-07:00

Have you ever seen something when you’re out for a ride that causes you to slip deep into cycling thought for the rest of your journey? The other day when I went for a ride with my youngest daughter I glanced over at her bike and I noticed something dangling from her headset that I couldn’t make out at first. Here’s a shot of what I saw.

As I stared at it a little longer I figured out that she had attached a vanilla air freshener to her bike. At this point I slipped into some momentary cycling thought.

Why would she attach an air freshener to her bike?
Did her bike smell?
Does she have an aversion to the smell of chain oil?
Did "I" smell and she couldn’t face me with the honest truth so she resorted to an air freshener?
Do air fresheners secretly increase the aerodynamic qualities of cycling?
Would having an air freshener attached to your bike make pace lining a pleasant smelling and refreshing experience?

After a couple of seconds I snapped out of my cycling thought enough to simply ask her about her air freshener cycling accessory.

She told me in a very matter of fact tone “Dad I have it on my bike because my friend gave it to me”

Duh, why didn’t I think of that?

I guess I should just go back to my usual deep cycling thought topics such as:
Why isn’t funner a word?
If I could choose one super power what would it be?

These topics are a lot safer.

Merit Badge Ride

2009-07-21T17:02:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday I went on a ride with a local scout troop as they finished up their cycling merit badge. The epic ride of the cycling merit badge is to complete a 50 mile ride within 8 hours. As we started the ride I had my doubts that we would be make it within the 8 hour window because the first 10 miles included 4 rest breaks for both mechanical and non-mechanical issues. By the time that we stopped for lunch our actual ride time was equal to the time we were off of the bike.

Luckily, after lunch the mechanical issues were solved and we kicked it in gear to have some longer ride times in between rest stops. As we rode past the University of Washington we came across one of the stranger works of art that I've seen before. Below is a picture of our group by the "Wall of Death" art exhibit. A good title for how most of the boys were feeling at the time.

The last 15 miles of the ride were slow but steady and as everyone funneled into the finish area there was a lot of exhaustion but joy that the ride had been accomplished. 4 out of the 5 boys who rode surpassed their personal records for distance by more than 100%.

Even though the ride took 7 hours to complete it was a huge accomplishment for the boys and all of them finished. My congratulations go out to them.

As Heard on the STP

2009-07-20T13:59:00.001-07:00

When you spend the better part of a weekend hanging out with cyclists riding the STP you're bound to hear some funny things. Here are some gems that I heard in my STP travels.

- Guy coming out of shower truck passing sweaty cyclists standing in line – "clean guy coming through don't touch me"

- Climbing really steep hill into Portland with 2 miles left after riding 200 miles – "Is this some kind of sick joke?"

- After Mike accidentally ran a red light – "Honest I didn't see it until I was half way through the intersection. I was deep in cycling thought thinking about things like why isn't funner a word and why does chocolate taste so good".

- Two guys talking to each other at finish line party – "last year I got a huge cheer from hundreds of people when I crossed the finish line. I thought I was pretty special until I got my finish line photo back and noticed that I had a huge snot bubble hanging out of my nose at the time."

- Guy pouring red bull into water bottles after crossing over into Oregon with 40 miles left to go – "The next fill up it could be beer. You never know."