After what felt like a long week of having my brother-in-law stay with us for a few days. And then my cousin for a night, I enjoyed a couple of very nice days.
Saturday morning Carrie and I had a nice breakfast at Keys Cafe. We talked about how the day was to play out and my eating habits. Off to Linders for some plants for the backyard. That place really is something. I am not a gardener at all. I am the grunt of the household when it comes to that. Tell me exactly what to do, and that is all I have the talent for. We then swung around and stopped at Sibley Bike Depot. It is amazing that they have a replica of my basement on a larger scale. It is a wonderful place and I am trying to arrange my schedule so I can volunteer there on a regular basis. We then spent most of the afternoon preparing some of our yard for the plants we purchased.
Saturday evening we went to a graduation party for one of our broomball players. It was quite enjoyable as I met a couple of people who partake in events of similar interest as myself. I am usually not much of a socializer in the party environment, but I felt good about my interaction with people.
Sunday Ken and I went down to Lebenon Hills for some early morning riding. It felt really good to be back riding off road. I didn't have time to put my 1X1 together so I ended up riding my old Bridgestone XO-2 that I converted into a mountainish type ride. As I haven't been mtn biking for a while, I was thinking early on about the notion that if you don't crash, you're not riding hard enough. Sometimes I shouldn't listen to myself. I caught my shoulder on a tree during a descent and tore a little off my shoulder. I have a good knot on my knee also. This is what I miss about mtn biking?
We had dinner with some of my family Sunday night and tried out Dave's hookah that I gave him for Christmas. It was exquisite. It took us a while to make sure everything worked properly, but once going, is very smooth and tasty. We built a fire and sat around passing the pipe in their back yard. A great way to finish off the weekend.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Monday, May 12, 2008
Officially Old
There are several reasons why I call myself old. Most of them have to do with my general day-to-day activities. My wife and I had spent Sunday afternoon in the back yard trying to prepare it for the spring planting. We cleaned up, ate a little dinner and I sat down to call my mom. She chatted with me for a minute and then mentioned the party she was having. That ended the conversation right there. I was dissed by my mom. I am putting up clothes lines and pulling weeds. She's playing. I am old.
I am building up a bike for a friend. I really like doing this kind of stuff as it makes me think about my fleet and all the repairs and upgrades I should be doing. I have started a written list to make sure that things get done this year. I am very close on a number of bike projects. I unfortunately have the habit of being distracted quite easily. I am hoping if I have the list, start in on one bike and go all the way through it to the finish before moving on to the next, that I will have all the bikes ready by July.
The bike shop folk have made a pledge that during the month of July, we have to make sure to ride each bike we own to the shop once, and we cannot ride the same bike to work two days in a row. I am out of town for a week during July so it makes it difficult to have enough days to ride all my bikes. I may have to ride up there on a day off or two.
We have some company coming into town this weekend. Just to make sure I don't feel as if I have everything under control, I add extra house cleaning to the list. Maybe I will shave the cats to keep things a little nicer.
Would an old person consider shaving his cats?
This one is.
I am building up a bike for a friend. I really like doing this kind of stuff as it makes me think about my fleet and all the repairs and upgrades I should be doing. I have started a written list to make sure that things get done this year. I am very close on a number of bike projects. I unfortunately have the habit of being distracted quite easily. I am hoping if I have the list, start in on one bike and go all the way through it to the finish before moving on to the next, that I will have all the bikes ready by July.
The bike shop folk have made a pledge that during the month of July, we have to make sure to ride each bike we own to the shop once, and we cannot ride the same bike to work two days in a row. I am out of town for a week during July so it makes it difficult to have enough days to ride all my bikes. I may have to ride up there on a day off or two.
We have some company coming into town this weekend. Just to make sure I don't feel as if I have everything under control, I add extra house cleaning to the list. Maybe I will shave the cats to keep things a little nicer.
Would an old person consider shaving his cats?
This one is.
Friday, May 9, 2008
A Day Off
I have been working a little extra this week. Roseville High School has started a bike section of their Physical Education class and I have been volunteering to keep their bikes working safely. It means a few extra hours during the week, which this time of year, makes for some long days.
Being so busy, I have been neglecting my home life. Chores around the house don't get finished, my pets don't get the attention they are used to, my personal bikes feel neglected, and I become distant from my wife. None of these things are acceptable. Getting wrapped up, "in the moment" can be a very bad thing. Time to take a step back. Make sure I am concentrating on what is important. That's what today is all about.
I am working the Twin Cities Ride this weekend. I am fortunate enough that Carrie is coming with me to help. We are one of those twisted couples that can work and play together. Often times it's hard to tell if it is work or play. She can turn a wrench pretty well, definitely knows her way around a bike tyre, and is great with people. We should have a great time in the rain.
Being so busy, I have been neglecting my home life. Chores around the house don't get finished, my pets don't get the attention they are used to, my personal bikes feel neglected, and I become distant from my wife. None of these things are acceptable. Getting wrapped up, "in the moment" can be a very bad thing. Time to take a step back. Make sure I am concentrating on what is important. That's what today is all about.
I am working the Twin Cities Ride this weekend. I am fortunate enough that Carrie is coming with me to help. We are one of those twisted couples that can work and play together. Often times it's hard to tell if it is work or play. She can turn a wrench pretty well, definitely knows her way around a bike tyre, and is great with people. We should have a great time in the rain.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Rain, sun and FUN
Friday, a couple of guys from the shop and I were set to go on a sub 24 hour camping ride. This had been planned for a while as there was an anomaly in our schedule and 4 of us had Saturday off. We couldn't let this go to waste.
I think, at one point, had 6 people interested in going. By Friday afternoon, it was down to 3. And all of us had our reservations. With it raining all day, raining when we departed, and forecast of snow and gusty winds, we set off after the shop closed. We decided to make it a shorter ride, just around 25 miles. By the time we stopped for food, we were miserable. Shivering around the table, it took a good 45 minutes for people to start warming up. None of us were really prepared to ride in those conditions.
Camp was just a 5 minute ride from the food. We set up the tents as fast as we could. I need a little practice with my new tent. I climbed in my tent, changed clothes, and started to go through the list of things I forgot to bring in with me. Too late. I wasn't going back out in that. The socializing was kept to a minimum as well.
Turns out no snow that night. The rain stopped around 2 or 3 in the morning. And by the time we found breakfast, the sun had come out. We had a great ride home. A little windy, but the sun shined all day. The perfect thing to erase a wretched evening.
We went on our normal Sunday Slow Ride with 9 riders starting out. We rode to Sean's house for a bar-b-que and wow! He put on a great spread! The food was fantastic, we met up with a few more people on the way, so it totaled about 16 people total. I think it ranks #1 for slow rides. It was wonderful to line up the bikes that our normal slow ride participants were riding and see swept back cruiser bars on all of them. The slow ride is finally coming together.
I think, at one point, had 6 people interested in going. By Friday afternoon, it was down to 3. And all of us had our reservations. With it raining all day, raining when we departed, and forecast of snow and gusty winds, we set off after the shop closed. We decided to make it a shorter ride, just around 25 miles. By the time we stopped for food, we were miserable. Shivering around the table, it took a good 45 minutes for people to start warming up. None of us were really prepared to ride in those conditions.
Camp was just a 5 minute ride from the food. We set up the tents as fast as we could. I need a little practice with my new tent. I climbed in my tent, changed clothes, and started to go through the list of things I forgot to bring in with me. Too late. I wasn't going back out in that. The socializing was kept to a minimum as well.
Turns out no snow that night. The rain stopped around 2 or 3 in the morning. And by the time we found breakfast, the sun had come out. We had a great ride home. A little windy, but the sun shined all day. The perfect thing to erase a wretched evening.
We went on our normal Sunday Slow Ride with 9 riders starting out. We rode to Sean's house for a bar-b-que and wow! He put on a great spread! The food was fantastic, we met up with a few more people on the way, so it totaled about 16 people total. I think it ranks #1 for slow rides. It was wonderful to line up the bikes that our normal slow ride participants were riding and see swept back cruiser bars on all of them. The slow ride is finally coming together.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Never enough time
I often feel, especially this time of year, that I am always a step behind. I went back to work yesterday after taking a day off for what was supposed to be recovery. It turns out that I didn't need to recover from my riding. Back to work yesterday, and it took hours to recover from being gone for a few days. By the time I was into work for Tuesday, it was the middle of the afternoon.
Springtime in a bike shop can be tough. Everyone wants stuff right away. What gets me the most, are the people who take care of things when they should. Inevitably, something goes wrong, so we scramble to try to get them going as quickly as possible. Which then puts us a little further behind with the regular business for the day. There are times when this quickly spirals into a large, out-of-control mess.
Fortunately, I work with a very talented crew. People that work hard (can slack off, when the moment calls for it). For very little reward (as defined by general work practices). Yesterday, we blasted away work throughout the afternoon and actually were able to work a small bit ahead.
Now if I could get to that point at home. Trying to get everything buttoned up before heading out for a sub 24 camping trip this weekend. I wonder if I could hire a talented crew for my regular household duties? On a bike shop salary.
Springtime in a bike shop can be tough. Everyone wants stuff right away. What gets me the most, are the people who take care of things when they should. Inevitably, something goes wrong, so we scramble to try to get them going as quickly as possible. Which then puts us a little further behind with the regular business for the day. There are times when this quickly spirals into a large, out-of-control mess.
Fortunately, I work with a very talented crew. People that work hard (can slack off, when the moment calls for it). For very little reward (as defined by general work practices). Yesterday, we blasted away work throughout the afternoon and actually were able to work a small bit ahead.
Now if I could get to that point at home. Trying to get everything buttoned up before heading out for a sub 24 camping trip this weekend. I wonder if I could hire a talented crew for my regular household duties? On a bike shop salary.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Wild Windy Weekend
I rode Trans Iowa this weekend. Of the 350 miles scheduled, I rode about 85. Throw in some backtracking and the ride back to the car and I ended up around 120 miles. It took about 12 hours. I am thoroughly proud of that.
If you read some of the reports either here or here, you will have a tiny idea of how rough it was out there. If you have ridden it before, I understand why you came back. That was some of the most difficult times I have ever experienced on a bike. And I am hoping I am able to go again next year.
My good friend Ken mentioned doing this race last year while we were out on a really nice leisurely ride. I don't know why, but the idea of signing up stuck with me all the way until I was actually on the list. At a 100 rider cap, I knew I could not back out. On Friday, it took about everything I had not to do so. Bundle of nerves isn't enough. Bound in knots, not even close. As people were packing, repacking, and repacking, I sat in a chair thinking of all the riding I should have done, all the clothes and food I should have packed. People seemed to be concerned that I didn't have anything to do. The chaps from Tennessee were gracious enough to let us crash on their hotel floor. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I managed to catch a couple minutes of sleep.
4 AM is a tough start time. Having to deal with that wind, and those temps, for that long is insane. Thankfully, once we started riding, the nerves melted away. It was slow going, but very nice to be doing something. I was riding with some extremely talented athletes. Everyone looked like it was no big deal. This is how TI is. There was nothing we could do about it. Just ride a pace that we thought we could hold for 30+ hours. It's one of the things I really like about riding with Ken, and why I thought this would be a fun event. We have a very similar pace and even though he is a much stronger rider than I, we can ride together for quite a while. (I was going to be happy to keep up with him for about 6 or 8 hours)
We stopped for breakfast around 40 miles and 3 hours after the start. It was a great little cafe where we explained to some locals about why all the bikes were cruising by. One woman came up behind me, put her hand on my forehead and announced "he doesn't have a fever". Sometimes it is hard to explain why you do something. I am so thankful Ken suggested sitting down for breakfast. I have a tendency to not listen to what my body is telling me. My toes were starting to get frostbite and warming them up was vital. I am not sure what would have happened if I hadn't done that and donned shoe covers there.
Back on the route (after lubing my chain) I started to feel better (I forget how much lube can help). Even when we missed a turn, missed the reroute, and ended up with about 10 extra miles, I still had a great mental attitude. I can't explain it. I am usually depressed and frustrated when battling wind. And I have never battled wind that strong and for as long as that. As we rode, Ken was expressing some frustration that I thought should have been coming from me. That got me worried. I know him as solid, and to see a seam in that armor... was unsettling. I didn't have to worry about that too long as we did some calculations mid morning and started the acceptance that making the first checkpoint was not going to happen. We had 25 miles to make in a little over 2 hours and we knew we couldn't do it. That is a humbling experience. OK, we could have pushed our bodies beyond and made it, and then what. We would have been further from our car, and not had the energy to make it to the next checkpoint in time, in which case could have had us even further from the car. Often times the right decisions are the hardest to make.
We ate lunch and decided to head straight back. 30 miles to the car. The wind was mostly from the other side now which has helped the soreness in my muscles be even. It was a struggle to hold the bike upright. We were laughing many times at how far over I leaned especially to keep on the road. We didn't laugh too much when we were headed directly into the wind, pedaling as hard as we could to make a blistering 6 mph. That had to have been the hardest 5 miles of my life. It took us around 45 minutes.
Just to make sure we didn't think we were getting off too easy, there were a couple final hills leading into Decorah. At that point, my stomach was starting to come undone and if I didn't know we were so close, they might have gotten the better of me. Fortunately, it was only a couple of miles to the van where we packed up and headed straight home. I did feel a little bad about taking off so quickly, but at that point we had no idea there were only 5 riders left racing and they were going to cut the race short.
When I arrived home, I was telling my wife about what I experienced. My wife and I are totally suited for each other. She questions what I do, but only from a "are you going to be safe?" point of view. When I described what happened she immediately said, "I think you should do it again next year". Totally unprompted. I am the luckiest.
If you read some of the reports either here or here, you will have a tiny idea of how rough it was out there. If you have ridden it before, I understand why you came back. That was some of the most difficult times I have ever experienced on a bike. And I am hoping I am able to go again next year.
My good friend Ken mentioned doing this race last year while we were out on a really nice leisurely ride. I don't know why, but the idea of signing up stuck with me all the way until I was actually on the list. At a 100 rider cap, I knew I could not back out. On Friday, it took about everything I had not to do so. Bundle of nerves isn't enough. Bound in knots, not even close. As people were packing, repacking, and repacking, I sat in a chair thinking of all the riding I should have done, all the clothes and food I should have packed. People seemed to be concerned that I didn't have anything to do. The chaps from Tennessee were gracious enough to let us crash on their hotel floor. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I managed to catch a couple minutes of sleep.
4 AM is a tough start time. Having to deal with that wind, and those temps, for that long is insane. Thankfully, once we started riding, the nerves melted away. It was slow going, but very nice to be doing something. I was riding with some extremely talented athletes. Everyone looked like it was no big deal. This is how TI is. There was nothing we could do about it. Just ride a pace that we thought we could hold for 30+ hours. It's one of the things I really like about riding with Ken, and why I thought this would be a fun event. We have a very similar pace and even though he is a much stronger rider than I, we can ride together for quite a while. (I was going to be happy to keep up with him for about 6 or 8 hours)
We stopped for breakfast around 40 miles and 3 hours after the start. It was a great little cafe where we explained to some locals about why all the bikes were cruising by. One woman came up behind me, put her hand on my forehead and announced "he doesn't have a fever". Sometimes it is hard to explain why you do something. I am so thankful Ken suggested sitting down for breakfast. I have a tendency to not listen to what my body is telling me. My toes were starting to get frostbite and warming them up was vital. I am not sure what would have happened if I hadn't done that and donned shoe covers there.
Back on the route (after lubing my chain) I started to feel better (I forget how much lube can help). Even when we missed a turn, missed the reroute, and ended up with about 10 extra miles, I still had a great mental attitude. I can't explain it. I am usually depressed and frustrated when battling wind. And I have never battled wind that strong and for as long as that. As we rode, Ken was expressing some frustration that I thought should have been coming from me. That got me worried. I know him as solid, and to see a seam in that armor... was unsettling. I didn't have to worry about that too long as we did some calculations mid morning and started the acceptance that making the first checkpoint was not going to happen. We had 25 miles to make in a little over 2 hours and we knew we couldn't do it. That is a humbling experience. OK, we could have pushed our bodies beyond and made it, and then what. We would have been further from our car, and not had the energy to make it to the next checkpoint in time, in which case could have had us even further from the car. Often times the right decisions are the hardest to make.
We ate lunch and decided to head straight back. 30 miles to the car. The wind was mostly from the other side now which has helped the soreness in my muscles be even. It was a struggle to hold the bike upright. We were laughing many times at how far over I leaned especially to keep on the road. We didn't laugh too much when we were headed directly into the wind, pedaling as hard as we could to make a blistering 6 mph. That had to have been the hardest 5 miles of my life. It took us around 45 minutes.
Just to make sure we didn't think we were getting off too easy, there were a couple final hills leading into Decorah. At that point, my stomach was starting to come undone and if I didn't know we were so close, they might have gotten the better of me. Fortunately, it was only a couple of miles to the van where we packed up and headed straight home. I did feel a little bad about taking off so quickly, but at that point we had no idea there were only 5 riders left racing and they were going to cut the race short.
When I arrived home, I was telling my wife about what I experienced. My wife and I are totally suited for each other. She questions what I do, but only from a "are you going to be safe?" point of view. When I described what happened she immediately said, "I think you should do it again next year". Totally unprompted. I am the luckiest.
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