Whew, long mileage week is over! Every day my average speed has been dropping, and my legs haven't stopped hurting since Sunday night. If I were in better shape this would be no big deal, but I think I definitely need to take the weekend off the bike so the legs can rebuild the muscle. Too bad, as that means I have to put a few miles on the truck--need to return a pump to Performance and buy some cat litter. The litter would have gone in the Burley trailer, but it's a 10 mile round trip to the pet store, and I really do need to rest the legs. ...of course, there aren't many climbs on the way there.....hmmmmmmm.
On another note, one of our programmers walked into the break room at work, looked at me, and proclaimed "I knew you would ride today." He concluded this when he saw that it was supposed to storm. Apparently according to his observations, I am more likely to ride when it rains than during fiar weather. Make of that what you will.
And one more item--looks like I crossed the $100 mark for gas savings this year. Go me!
Friday, June 13, 2008
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Rough day--half over!
Well, this morning's commute was on the rough side.
Took my TCR for a faster ride since I'm being slowly beaten down by the increased distance this week. Of course, the rear tire went flat at mile 14. I was already using the spare tube and had no patch kit with me. Normally I carry a patch kit and a spare tube, but alas.... I got to walk the three and a half remaining miles to work, though I did ride a bit on the flat tire because I really didn't want to be that late for work.
Luckily once I got to work I found someone to drive me to Performance over lunch to get a new tube--I bought four, one of which is now keeping air in the tire. I also bought aTopeak Road Morph pump in case I have problems on the way home, due to using both of my CO2 cartridges in an attempt to make it a short distance on my punctured tire. If I don't need to use it today, I will return it this weekend, since I can just start carrying CO2 again if I need to inflate something.
Yesterday the ride home was killer, pulling the laundry-filled trailer home. I put it on the bathroom scale upon arrival, and it was just over 40lbs, so that gives a workout on the 9% grade on Kemp road. I used my lowest granny gear for the first time yesterday.
I got a few pictures, a couple of them came out OK, so here's where I rode yesterday:
The view out my front door. Yay, pool.
I love that there's a 10 ton limit on the bridge on the bike path. Are they hinting that I really need to lose weight?
My bike in its customary parking spot. Not super secure I admit, but this area has a very low probability of theft. That's also where everyone goes to smoke. Ugh.
I just love this view. It might be better if there were no houses, true, but it's a nice little slice of seemingly happy suburbia.
The same spot, but looking ahead. I have a crappy bike path!
Wait, I don't have a crappy bike path any more.
I couldn't shake this guy until nightfall. He was tenacious
Oh how I love going up this hill pulling a 40 pound trailer on a 30 pound bike with a 6 pound pannier. Really, I do.
Many miles later, a father and son on the bike path. Sun soon to set. Legs tired.
I'm just hoping to make it home today without any mechanical issues. That would make me very happy.
Took my TCR for a faster ride since I'm being slowly beaten down by the increased distance this week. Of course, the rear tire went flat at mile 14. I was already using the spare tube and had no patch kit with me. Normally I carry a patch kit and a spare tube, but alas.... I got to walk the three and a half remaining miles to work, though I did ride a bit on the flat tire because I really didn't want to be that late for work.
Luckily once I got to work I found someone to drive me to Performance over lunch to get a new tube--I bought four, one of which is now keeping air in the tire. I also bought aTopeak Road Morph pump in case I have problems on the way home, due to using both of my CO2 cartridges in an attempt to make it a short distance on my punctured tire. If I don't need to use it today, I will return it this weekend, since I can just start carrying CO2 again if I need to inflate something.
Yesterday the ride home was killer, pulling the laundry-filled trailer home. I put it on the bathroom scale upon arrival, and it was just over 40lbs, so that gives a workout on the 9% grade on Kemp road. I used my lowest granny gear for the first time yesterday.
I got a few pictures, a couple of them came out OK, so here's where I rode yesterday:
The view out my front door. Yay, pool.
I love that there's a 10 ton limit on the bridge on the bike path. Are they hinting that I really need to lose weight?
My bike in its customary parking spot. Not super secure I admit, but this area has a very low probability of theft. That's also where everyone goes to smoke. Ugh.
I just love this view. It might be better if there were no houses, true, but it's a nice little slice of seemingly happy suburbia.
The same spot, but looking ahead. I have a crappy bike path!
Wait, I don't have a crappy bike path any more.
I couldn't shake this guy until nightfall. He was tenacious
Oh how I love going up this hill pulling a 40 pound trailer on a 30 pound bike with a 6 pound pannier. Really, I do.
Many miles later, a father and son on the bike path. Sun soon to set. Legs tired.
I'm just hoping to make it home today without any mechanical issues. That would make me very happy.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Miles and savings adding up
Well, the first full day of extra long commutes was a success. I was pretty worn out by the end of the day though....but I was carrying a lot of extra stuff with me. I had my Burley trailer pretty much completely filled with laundry (and basket). Figured I'd take advantage of my brother's absence by using his free washer and dryer. That was surprisingly heavy--I'd guess at least 40lbs.
I also had a my single pannier stuffed almost to overflowing....I had three days of lunch, a change of clothes, a pair of shoes, and a large hardback novel. Also a can of Cherry Coke Zero in my middle jersey pocket.
It's very slow going when carrying a load like this over long distance, but I always find it helps to keep the name of the bike in mind--"Long Haul Trucker". A cement truck might climb a hill slowly, but it gets to the top. With the gearing on my bike, I can carry over a hundred pounds in addition to myself and just spin at a relaxed pace up a hill--as long as I remember not to hurry. Sprints are inviting, but very much the natural enemy of the loaded bicycle rider.
I miscalculated on my savings, though--I actually saved $7 yesterday instead of $6. I can go with that.
Pictures from today's commute coming tonight.
I also had a my single pannier stuffed almost to overflowing....I had three days of lunch, a change of clothes, a pair of shoes, and a large hardback novel. Also a can of Cherry Coke Zero in my middle jersey pocket.
It's very slow going when carrying a load like this over long distance, but I always find it helps to keep the name of the bike in mind--"Long Haul Trucker". A cement truck might climb a hill slowly, but it gets to the top. With the gearing on my bike, I can carry over a hundred pounds in addition to myself and just spin at a relaxed pace up a hill--as long as I remember not to hurry. Sprints are inviting, but very much the natural enemy of the loaded bicycle rider.
I miscalculated on my savings, though--I actually saved $7 yesterday instead of $6. I can go with that.
Pictures from today's commute coming tonight.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Argh
Well, I made this a little bit less glaringly orange.
Now, does anyone know why my blog shows up in GoogleReader as "(title unknown)" instead of "The Lazy Bike Commuter"? I can't seem to find anywhere to set the title.
I know someone's out there, there are two people who read this thing. Or at least me and one person who accidentally added this to his feeds.
Now, does anyone know why my blog shows up in GoogleReader as "(title unknown)" instead of "The Lazy Bike Commuter"? I can't seem to find anywhere to set the title.
I know someone's out there, there are two people who read this thing. Or at least me and one person who accidentally added this to his feeds.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Longer rides coming
This week my brother and his wife are out of town, so I am taking care of their zoo. They are about a 10 mile ride from my apartment and an 8 mile ride from work, so my 16 mile commute has turned to 36 (their dog needs to be fed twice a day. Spoiled little mutt).
I only went there this afternoon since they left this morning, but it's a nice change. I don't know if I can keep up the high mileage every day though. My legs are staying sore, and I never learned enough abotu training to know if it is the kind of soreness that is good to ride with or the kid of soreness that is muscles breaking. Probably the former, but I like to whine.
I see from my sidebar that fuel savings have hit $76 today...another good reason to ride to their house: My truck is almost out of gas and I just spent enough having work done on it that I can't afford to fill the tank up until I get paid again. There's an irony hiding somewhere in there, I'm sure. Ah well, if I can concvince myself that I have no choice I'm much more likely to follow through. Snapped a couple pictures of my commute home the other day, so I will post those.
Wednesday I'll try to get some of this long ride, there's some very nice scenery along the way, but tomorrow is supposed to be constant rain, so I won't risk the camera.
Here's a view from the parking lot at work as I'm about to leave
Here's a view of the only traffic light on my ride. Nothing of the ride in between because I'm not about to snap pictures while going 36mph down a twisty road
And here is one of the handlebar POV shots that other people are so much better at than me:
That rail trail is super awesome, because I ride it for 6 miles. Only two traffic crossings, and it connects to my apartment complex. It's like a little slice of heaven for the trip to work.
I only went there this afternoon since they left this morning, but it's a nice change. I don't know if I can keep up the high mileage every day though. My legs are staying sore, and I never learned enough abotu training to know if it is the kind of soreness that is good to ride with or the kid of soreness that is muscles breaking. Probably the former, but I like to whine.
I see from my sidebar that fuel savings have hit $76 today...another good reason to ride to their house: My truck is almost out of gas and I just spent enough having work done on it that I can't afford to fill the tank up until I get paid again. There's an irony hiding somewhere in there, I'm sure. Ah well, if I can concvince myself that I have no choice I'm much more likely to follow through. Snapped a couple pictures of my commute home the other day, so I will post those.
Wednesday I'll try to get some of this long ride, there's some very nice scenery along the way, but tomorrow is supposed to be constant rain, so I won't risk the camera.
Here's a view from the parking lot at work as I'm about to leave
Here's a view of the only traffic light on my ride. Nothing of the ride in between because I'm not about to snap pictures while going 36mph down a twisty road
And here is one of the handlebar POV shots that other people are so much better at than me:
That rail trail is super awesome, because I ride it for 6 miles. Only two traffic crossings, and it connects to my apartment complex. It's like a little slice of heaven for the trip to work.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Running out of steam?
So far this week I have biked to work on Monday, Tuesday , and today (Thursday).
Monday was probably my fastest overall commute and I felt great the whole time. It probably didn't hurt that I was listening to a Nightwish album I just got, "Dark Passion Play". Seems like every time I needed to up my speed, the tempo would pick up and I would be flying.
Tuesday's ride was a lower average speed, but there was some pretty hard rain in the morning, and in the afternoon it was very nice out so I just felt like cruising slowly. It was a good ride, didn't strain or stress, had a great time.
Wednesday I awoke to near-constant barrages of lightning in addition to the wind and rain. I decided to drive that day.
At work on Wednesday, my office bought us lunch at a pretty nice Italian restaurant. I had a big plate of pasta that still had me full when I got home.
Today I made good time going in in the morning, though I was still a bit late because after a little under a mile I realized that I hadn't locked my front door--oops! Time to go back and fix that. Anyway, the rest of the ride in was pretty nice, and I saw way more cyclists than usual.
The ride home is where the tragedy was, though. I started off feeling a bit weak going up the hill leaving work, but on the downhill that followed I hit a new top speed for the route--35.9. Not my best ever, but I think I could hit 40 on my road bike if I were pushing a bit.
At the traffic light soon after, I ended up jumping in front of all the cars and having to take the lane to get where I needed to be. I don't usually get in front of a line of cars just to slow them down, but they were going entirely too slowly through the light for my tastes.
Once I got on the very slight uphill that makes up most of my commute, I started feeling...run down, though. Like I was on the final stretch of a century. My legs felt like lead weights, and it was hard to push at anything above 12-13mph. There was a pretty decent headwind, but even spinning easily my legs didn't feel great.
Surely I am not overtraining, I'm only riding about 3 times a week. I wonder if the huge pasta lunch yesterday was to blame. I know I feel like complete and utter crap if I eat too much right before a ride, and I imagine it's entirely possible that the load of pasta wasn't quite done digesting yet.
Tomorrow I plan to take my TCR out for the commute. Only a 10% chance of rain so the lack of fenders shouldn't hurt, and maybe a quicker, livelier, faster ride will get me back in the groove.
Today the number of cyclists was about 6-7x higher than what I usually see. Most of them were of the "spandex-clad roadie" variety, but aa couple were commuters. It seems odd to me that they stayed indoors on all the wonderful 70 degree days, but they decide that 90 degrees is more pleasant riding weather.
Weight update: It's been kinda varying between 258 and 260. I know that if I learned to control my diet I would do much better, but I am weak willed. Plus I'm just bored all the time and there's nothing to do if I'm not riding or working.
Reminder to self: Buy a tube tomorrow
Monday was probably my fastest overall commute and I felt great the whole time. It probably didn't hurt that I was listening to a Nightwish album I just got, "Dark Passion Play". Seems like every time I needed to up my speed, the tempo would pick up and I would be flying.
Tuesday's ride was a lower average speed, but there was some pretty hard rain in the morning, and in the afternoon it was very nice out so I just felt like cruising slowly. It was a good ride, didn't strain or stress, had a great time.
Wednesday I awoke to near-constant barrages of lightning in addition to the wind and rain. I decided to drive that day.
At work on Wednesday, my office bought us lunch at a pretty nice Italian restaurant. I had a big plate of pasta that still had me full when I got home.
Today I made good time going in in the morning, though I was still a bit late because after a little under a mile I realized that I hadn't locked my front door--oops! Time to go back and fix that. Anyway, the rest of the ride in was pretty nice, and I saw way more cyclists than usual.
The ride home is where the tragedy was, though. I started off feeling a bit weak going up the hill leaving work, but on the downhill that followed I hit a new top speed for the route--35.9. Not my best ever, but I think I could hit 40 on my road bike if I were pushing a bit.
At the traffic light soon after, I ended up jumping in front of all the cars and having to take the lane to get where I needed to be. I don't usually get in front of a line of cars just to slow them down, but they were going entirely too slowly through the light for my tastes.
Once I got on the very slight uphill that makes up most of my commute, I started feeling...run down, though. Like I was on the final stretch of a century. My legs felt like lead weights, and it was hard to push at anything above 12-13mph. There was a pretty decent headwind, but even spinning easily my legs didn't feel great.
Surely I am not overtraining, I'm only riding about 3 times a week. I wonder if the huge pasta lunch yesterday was to blame. I know I feel like complete and utter crap if I eat too much right before a ride, and I imagine it's entirely possible that the load of pasta wasn't quite done digesting yet.
Tomorrow I plan to take my TCR out for the commute. Only a 10% chance of rain so the lack of fenders shouldn't hurt, and maybe a quicker, livelier, faster ride will get me back in the groove.
Today the number of cyclists was about 6-7x higher than what I usually see. Most of them were of the "spandex-clad roadie" variety, but aa couple were commuters. It seems odd to me that they stayed indoors on all the wonderful 70 degree days, but they decide that 90 degrees is more pleasant riding weather.
Weight update: It's been kinda varying between 258 and 260. I know that if I learned to control my diet I would do much better, but I am weak willed. Plus I'm just bored all the time and there's nothing to do if I'm not riding or working.
Reminder to self: Buy a tube tomorrow
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Weird attitudes
Some of the attitudes I get from fellow cyclists are weirder than the ones I get from people who don't own bikes.
A woman at work who is a triathlete (which I guess is almost like a cyclist) generally drives to work. I asked her last week where her bike was, as a way of saying she should ride to work, and the response was "In my garage, where it belongs!"
She didn't think it made sense when I told her the bike should be inside the air-conditioned portion of her house at the very least...though mine was locked up out front at the time.
Friday she rode to work (I did not, as I had a mountain bike group ride half an hour after work), and some bike stuff was discussed.
I had my Chrome Ranchero on the floor next to my desk, and she commented that that was more than she could ever conceive of wanting to carry on a bike. I had it with me so I could change into my biking clothes after work. I don't think it represents an unreasonable amount of stuff, though.
I mentioned biking to the grocery store with the Burley trailer...and her comments led one to believe that people who would own a bike trailer are mentally defective.
I mentioned that the fenders on my touring bike are nice when it rains, and she rolled her eyes and made a similar comment regarding fenders... Maybe I should have brought up my barend shifters next, eh?
I understand the desire to want to go fast and use bikes as a fitness tool, but they are so much more than that. Having the lightest parts or the newest tech doesn't do you a bit of good if it breaks while you're on the way to work.
Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge nerd...I love the idea of new and better stuff. I just don't like the idea of new and flimsier stuff. I have a Garmin GPS on my handlebars. I ride clipless pedals instead of toe straps. But I ride a leather Brooks saddle. I have a rear rack. I have lights all over the bike, including one with a 3 pound battery. I wear baggy shorts. I prefer wool. Oh yes, the bike is steel.
I guess I just think it's weird that "real" cyclists seem to frown on utility cycling, as if it's somehow below them. To me, that would really be the ultimate goal of cycling...screw racing, bikes should be about usefulness. It seems like the industry finally stopped being dominated entirely by racing in the past couple years. Now we have cargo bikes, commuting bikes are making an appearance...these are all good things. One can even spot the change in mountain bikes...long travel "all mountain" rigs are the biggest sellers, but those aren't generally used in racing.
Somehow I won't be surprised if in a very few years I am spotted riding a recumbent trike around town while wearing a big bushy beard (those are required for proper recumbent riding, I believe).
Here are my two on-road bikes, guess which one gets the most mileage?
A woman at work who is a triathlete (which I guess is almost like a cyclist) generally drives to work. I asked her last week where her bike was, as a way of saying she should ride to work, and the response was "In my garage, where it belongs!"
She didn't think it made sense when I told her the bike should be inside the air-conditioned portion of her house at the very least...though mine was locked up out front at the time.
Friday she rode to work (I did not, as I had a mountain bike group ride half an hour after work), and some bike stuff was discussed.
I had my Chrome Ranchero on the floor next to my desk, and she commented that that was more than she could ever conceive of wanting to carry on a bike. I had it with me so I could change into my biking clothes after work. I don't think it represents an unreasonable amount of stuff, though.
I mentioned biking to the grocery store with the Burley trailer...and her comments led one to believe that people who would own a bike trailer are mentally defective.
I mentioned that the fenders on my touring bike are nice when it rains, and she rolled her eyes and made a similar comment regarding fenders... Maybe I should have brought up my barend shifters next, eh?
I understand the desire to want to go fast and use bikes as a fitness tool, but they are so much more than that. Having the lightest parts or the newest tech doesn't do you a bit of good if it breaks while you're on the way to work.
Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge nerd...I love the idea of new and better stuff. I just don't like the idea of new and flimsier stuff. I have a Garmin GPS on my handlebars. I ride clipless pedals instead of toe straps. But I ride a leather Brooks saddle. I have a rear rack. I have lights all over the bike, including one with a 3 pound battery. I wear baggy shorts. I prefer wool. Oh yes, the bike is steel.
I guess I just think it's weird that "real" cyclists seem to frown on utility cycling, as if it's somehow below them. To me, that would really be the ultimate goal of cycling...screw racing, bikes should be about usefulness. It seems like the industry finally stopped being dominated entirely by racing in the past couple years. Now we have cargo bikes, commuting bikes are making an appearance...these are all good things. One can even spot the change in mountain bikes...long travel "all mountain" rigs are the biggest sellers, but those aren't generally used in racing.
Somehow I won't be surprised if in a very few years I am spotted riding a recumbent trike around town while wearing a big bushy beard (those are required for proper recumbent riding, I believe).
Here are my two on-road bikes, guess which one gets the most mileage?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
