tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383565212024-03-13T10:02:46.751-05:00Munsoned in the Middle of Nowheremunsonedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00878330049549526023noreply@blogger.comBlogger491125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38356521.post-83703000741749386502017-06-07T12:12:00.002-05:002017-06-07T12:12:54.157-05:00Yearly Post, or, Hey, Fred posted, so will ILife updates: Got a dog - he's annoying and lovable all at once. I'm not working at the bike shop this summer, so I should have free time, but seems like I never do. I'm also doing just a few of the bike race chip timing events. Yay more free weekends. Otherwise, things are same ol same ol, as they say.<br />
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One thing that's been true for a while now but still a hard to stomach - I'M SSSLLLLOOOOWWW on the bike. I thought I rode fairly hard on my commute to work this morning, but Strava says my average was a beastly 10 mph rather than my normal 8 mph. My normal 8 mph commutes are very nice. I never work hard enough to breath fast or break a sweat. And it only takes me 15 minutes rather than the speedy 13 minutes this morning with all the extra effort.<br />
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Maybe if I rode my 18 lb road bike rather than my 28 lb Smooth Groove machine, I'd be blazing fast at 13 mph for a commute time of 11 minutes? But then I'd have to pay attention to cracks in the road and get sweaty every morning now that it's the humid times. Nah, think I'll just keep putzin along on my comfy bike. <br />
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So there you have it. Yearly update complete.munsonedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00878330049549526023noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38356521.post-18763414488492664422016-07-02T09:34:00.000-05:002016-07-02T09:34:32.965-05:00Messin AroundYesterday afternoon, at the end of my normal work day, I had a decision to make. I could either ride to the bike shop and fight for space to attempt to build bikes while hordes of customers came in dropping off more bikes in the back of the shop, or I could just go on a ride. It was nice out - 80° with a little Southish breeze and not much humidity. I figured it would probably do me and my soft belly some good to actually go out on a ride for a change.<br />
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The other thing that convinced me to take a ride was reminiscing on the past. There was an earlier conversation with a co-worker who lamented that there were no more true bakeries left in town who made their own stuff on site. My mind immediately flipped to Orsi's Bakery on 7th and Pacific. That bakery was one of many memorable sights on my commonly used South O/Bellevue bike route I would ride for training during my race days. After letting him know about the bakery and finding that it was still open from the google maps, I decided that was course I would ride after work. The route has a few variations depending on if you want to just mess around, put in some distance, or do seriously intense training intervals. The route has everything you could want and not much traffic. So I took the middle ground easy route and ended up with 27 miles mostly riding too fast because I didn't have sun screen on and didn't have water bottles. I know, I know. It doesn't make sense to ride faster when you have no water because you're body will crave water more. Well, my thought was get the ride over with sooner to get to the water rather than drag it out. Plus I was having a lot of fun and that usually entails riding fast. I was parched and only slightly sun burnt after the ride, but I had a ton of fun, so I think I made the right call.<br />
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I stole Brady's subject line because I remember needing to switch things up too. (Warning: obligatory Randell mention) After getting tired of that South O/Bellevue route for the millionth time, and coinciding with Randell moving out West, our mini-group rides changed drastically. This was about the time that we were both done with racing, but still wanted to stay in shape by having fun, messin around on bikes. So our group rides turned into games, rather than anything remotely serious or constructive training wise. I don't remember if we officially came up with a name for the game, but basically, the rules are this:<br />
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1. no big chain ring<br />
2. cruise around aimlessly as a group in a subdivision<br />
3. if you see a "for sale" sign in front of a house in the distance, there is a small ring only sprint for it<br />
4. if you win the sprint, you pick up the flyer for the house<br />
5. the person with the most expensive house wins, with an honorable mention also going to the cheapest nicest house.<br />
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There were tactics to this game because we would pretty much sprint to every house for sale. If you saw that the house was not worth it, you could sprint less hard. If you saw that there was no flyer, you sprint less hard and hoped the next one had a flyer. Of course, when I say sprint, I mean the goofiest sprint imaginable since only small chainrings were allowed. But hey, it helped with high cadence pedaling.<br />
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So I would highly recommend this game as a form of messin around while still getting some beneficial exercise on the bike.munsonedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00878330049549526023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38356521.post-73271985976653452952016-06-03T11:52:00.001-05:002016-06-03T11:52:36.802-05:00Yearly update, or "Holy Crapsauce! Munson Posted Something!"I visit this blog nearly everyday because it has a list of other blogs which updates when new postings have been, uh, posted. I like to read race reports, funny stories (Hi Fred!) and updates on pain and misery (Hi Bryan!).<br />
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In the time that it takes to read a few posts, I could probably post something myself. But that would require something new and exciting to write about. The only thing new and exciting for me is my strawberry patch, which came with the house, is producing a bowl of deliciousness each day now. So if anyone wants strawberries, let me know.<br />
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I guess a couple other somewhat eventful things have happened. We bought a newish car. Our trusty 2005 CRV became not so trusty any more. After there was an $800 fix needed to keep it going, we decided to trade it in and downsize to a 2013 Honda Fit. It's a nice teal/blue color that gets a lot of compliments. I'd like to say our monthly gas bill dramatically improved, but so has everyone else's. Didn't think we'd ever see >$2 gas again after 2008. It was nice while it lasted, but $2.20's not bad either. <br />
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Another interesting event was our dishwasher broke. It also came with the house and was probably made in the 90's being that it played Ace of Base after every load. JUST KIDDING. That would be the worst thing ever. Well no. Playing Nickelback after every load would be the worst thing ever. So anywho, I learned how to replace a dishwasher by watching the youtubes and reading books and websites and stuff. It was a weekend project and I've found out, within that process, that our entire house is wired very weirdly and the circuit breaker's labels are almost all wrong. So that will take another weekend of work sometime down the line. <br />
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So remember how I quit racing because I was in a deep well of debt? Yeah. It's coming along, but definitely at a snail's pace. My wife should be getting into a full time job soon now that her schooling is very nearly over. So that will help immensely. Planning for that, I've already told all the leaders in Nebraska Cycling Association that I will not be back to do chip timing next year. I want my damn weekends back. But this means 2 things. One, someone will need to take on this task. So to all my 2-3 (4?) readers; if you know anyone that wants to make some extra dough while watching races, let me know so we can start training them. Secondly, I don't know if I'll see any races after this year. That makes me kinda sad, but like I said, I want to be able to go on bike rides, bike camping, hang out with my wife, or do anything besides work. And I could always visit the races, just as a spectator. <br />
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I guess I could train my butt off from now till next season and possibly get in Cat 3 shape to race again. I'd love to use the excuse, "I'm too old for that," but most of the Omaha peloton put's that notion to shame (Hi Fred, Brady, Mark, Shim, Kent, etc). What I have found is that as time has crept by, the wear and tear on my body has made things harder. Past injuries like my wrist and getting hit by a car, plus overuse from years of playing the bass and bike building all make my joints, muscles, and tendons ache. I know, I know. More excuses. I could just as easily buckle down, commit to a training regiment that included weight lifting and stretching, which would be a huge benefit. I'm just so tired all the time. Or is it laziness? Is that a thing that comes with age? munsonedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00878330049549526023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38356521.post-49693710160548982552015-06-05T07:42:00.000-05:002015-06-05T07:42:32.435-05:00GASP! I'm posting more than once a season!So let's recap.<br />
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Or don't, if you don't want to. I usually don't update this thing very often so there'll probably be plenty of time to come back and read my bitching and complaining.<br />
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March - Wife and I bought a house. Holy crap that's a crazy experience and continues to be, based on all the crap that needs to get done. We unpacked, mostly, the weather started to get nice and our 2 trees out front attempted to procreate with everything around our establishment, which required many sessions of cleanups. Ew..Tree spooge. One major thing that didn't get unpacked is our garage. I threw all my bike stuff in there during the move and of course added a few things - lawnmower, leftover items from the previous owners, etc. So my bike workshop is not up and running. It feels very wrong, but I can't do anything about it, being busy with all the other crap I do - 3 jobs, cleaning the yard, etc.<br />
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Along with all of this I became Calamity Mike. I've had a bout of bad luck which started with severe gastroenteritis, sprinkled with being hit by a car and the after effects of that. Then most recently, I attempted to take off my thumb when changing the blade on my razor.<br />
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The razor is great, and the blades are super cheap, but just make sure when changing the blade, you hold the head with a folded over towel, rather than you bare hand when it's early in the morning and you're barely awake. Otherwise you'll have a gusher on your hands - literally.<br />
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All of these are, again, excuses as to why I haven't been riding much. I have flickering moments when I feel like I really want to be out riding, but that's usually right when I've slated the day to do raking, mowing, gutter cleaning, grocery shopping, etc.munsonedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00878330049549526023noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38356521.post-26823999338990155772015-05-15T07:59:00.001-05:002015-05-15T08:02:18.623-05:00GASP! Fred didn't post!I don't know if Fred is on hiatus or what, but he was usually the first to post Thursday evening. What's going on, Fred?!?!<br />
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As for me, it's been over a month since I had an impromptu gymnastic session with a car - cartwheeled over the side of it's hood very ungracefully - and I'm still not all that great. My neck has limited range of motion, so I'm going to a Physical Therapist soon. Hopefully I'll get the kinks worked out so I can possibly get back on the road bike soon. I commuted on it the other day and the more aggressive position, compared to my daily commuter, was not very comfortable. Plus the fact that I have to contort my whole body just to take a look behind me when attempting lane changes. <br />
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In other news: Man, adulting is hard. We've been in our new house for a couple months and finding the time to care for it is difficult. I can't even imagine fitting in kids and/or training. Much respect, people with big families. We have 2 trees in our front yard - a Tulip tree, as my dad calls it, and a Silver maple leaf tree. The tulip tree had this amazing blooming session right when the warmer days started. Those lovely blooms wilted and fell all over the front lawn, driveway, and front sidewalk. Then the Silver Maple leaf started up. It has those wonderful helicopter seeds - the ones you can throw in the air and they spin around like the blades of a helicopter. We have thousands of them all over the yard, on our roof, in our gutters, in the neighbors yard (sorry!), IN OUR BACK YARD. They are relentless. So working 3 jobs is not helping the amount of work needed in and around our house. There's some major things I want to do, but don't have the time and definitely not the money to do so. But hey, the debt is getting eked away, and my wife will be starting an internship soon in medical billing and coding as part of her program at Metro Community College. Hopefully that will lead to a good job when she graduates in August. I'm so happy and proud that she's bettering herself and hopefully getting into a career she can enjoy.<br />
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Happy Friday, everyone!munsonedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00878330049549526023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38356521.post-54908556438125982342015-04-13T10:53:00.000-05:002015-04-13T10:54:48.423-05:00Putting my Pants on, (Opposite) One Leg at a TimeHave you ever noticed that when you put on pants/shorts or even socks/shoes, that every single time you start with one specific side? I've always been a left foot/leg starter. It must be just like intertwining your fingers. Quickly, clasp your hands together and intertwine your fingers. Let go. Do it again. Notice how one hand always is the top pointer finger (usually your dominant hand)? Now clasp your hands together, but focus on switching so the opposite hand is the top finger. It feels really weird.<br />
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That's what changing the leg/foot order feels like when putting on pants. I've had to do this since, well, I got hit by a car. All my bikes are fine, don't worry.<br />
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It was Friday before last and I was tired from my WNW solo slog, so I drove to work at UNMC. I park (for free) in the neighborhood and walk a few blocks in. I was crossing Leavenworth on 42nd as I had the walk light. I almost made it all the way across, but heard something and turned around just in time to see a car making a left turn into me. I did a little cartwheel over the hood and landed on my hands and knees, mostly on my right side. I lost some skin on my right hand and banged up my right knee pretty well. <br />
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The lady admitted fault to the police, so the subsequent ER visit along with CT scan for a possible kinked neck and X-ray for possible wrist damage should be taken care of just fine. I got the all clear from the doc so I'm just healing now with my neck being a tad sore and my knee not having full range of motion.<br />
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But like I said, I now need to put my pants on starting with my right leg as starting with my left requires lifting my right leg more than it can go at the moment. I'm going to start a regiment of bending my leg fully slowly and work my way back to regular complete motion. I don't think I'll be on any WNWs rides for a while till I get back to full motion and strength. Today was actually the first day I've ridden since the injury and it was ok, but I know I have some work to do. My right leg has always been my weaker side in cycling, but now it's too weak to really contribute and that needs to change.<br />
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To top off the great luck, I got a bad cold right afterward and have this lingering cough that can keep me up most of the night. So that's just peachy for healing purposes.munsonedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00878330049549526023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38356521.post-77775606265130270512015-04-01T22:22:00.004-05:002015-04-01T22:22:58.813-05:00WNW Solo SlogBeing that the forecast probably scared most people, not to mention the 20-30mph South Wind, the group was pretty slim at WNW. This, of course, meant that I was soloing it after the first hill, which I'm ok with. The plan was, as the only B group rider, to turn on Northern Hills Road for a very shortened route. I could break out the MapMyRide web page to figure out exactly how much shorter the route was, but I was just fine with not heading all the way up to Ft. Calhoun and then suffering against the wind around Boyer's Chute. I made it back to the shop before it closed and picked up the stuff I left after I built one bike after I left my regular job. So I count that as a full day. I was thinking really hard about taking it easy tomorrow and driving to work, but I signed that pesky 30 days of biking thing. I will ride to both jobs tomorrow and probably be veeerrrry tired tomorrow night.<br />
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Hopefully this will finally kick start my training. So far, all I've done are the 3 WNW rides. No weekend rides, no easy rides after my 2 jobs during the week. So I need to change that if I want to ever get past solo slogging it. It would've happened this past weekend, but Friday morning I had an involuntary "cleanse." As in, I lost everything in me from both ends. It was not a good Friday or weekend. I'm still a tad weak and dehydrated, but I'm trying to drink tons of water and eat healthier. That's one thing I noticed after the "cleanse." Unhealthy food does not make my body feel good. Beef and starch (burger and fries) makes my body feel heavy and slow. If I eat a salad for lunch, I'm light and agile. Well, I had to eat an energy bar before the ride tonight, but I hopped on the scale for the hey of it and found I'm down to 185 lbs from my all time high a week ago of 195 lbs. I'm sure some of that is still dehydration from the "cleanse" and the difficult solo slog. But it's the correct direction of the scale meter. I raced at 155-160 lbs. I don't think I'll ever get that slim, and I don't even need to as I won't be racing. But it would be nice to get down to mid 160s. That is probably my ideal weight. <br />
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So this weekend, even though I have 2 Easter things planned with families, I will eat light and ride some. Not sure where/when, but most likely morning for a couple hours each. Let me know if anyone would like a super mellow ride either of the 2 days. I'm up for it.munsonedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00878330049549526023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38356521.post-63079378438823159122015-03-26T09:31:00.000-05:002015-03-26T09:31:08.569-05:00WNW Day 3, I mean, Day 2 report.I achieved my first goal from 2 weeks ago, but I don't think it had anything to do with me. We went up the same evil hill to 96th St and the group stayed together due to a blustery North Wind and almost double the group size. I hung out with them for the first 2 hills, then went way too far into oxygen debt by the 3rd. I haven't had the feeling of almost throwing up from going so hard in quite a long time. Other lessons learned on the ride: I need to find which of my old cycling sunglasses work best to shield my eyes from the wind, and if it's ever below 50°, I need to do something about my feet - booties, chem toe warmers - something. My tootsies were really hurting by the end of the ride.<br />
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The reason I didn't make last week's ride was this:<br />
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Bike boxes everywhere. The shop was in need of some help, so I passed on the ride. There's a bit of a dent in those mountains of bike boxes, but I sure hope the other builders step up and put in work.<br />
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I might attempt to join the GSV ride this Saturday, but I'm concerned I'll end up getting lost in Iowa since I know nothing about that area and will probably get dropped again. Or I may just go on a longer solo ride at my own pace. Maybe (re)starting out with competitive group rides after not riding at all for the past 2 years is a bad idea?munsonedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00878330049549526023noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38356521.post-53510890895574219642015-03-11T21:15:00.000-05:002015-03-11T21:21:52.075-05:00WNW day 1 report: Goal #1 - don't get dropped on the first hillThe plan was to head out to the Omaha Trace, then return on the same route. We took the shortened route out by climbing the evil hill up to 96th St. (Here you go Fred) Randell and I used to do hill repeats on that thing before joining the WNW group. That was when we were in uber shape. Do hill repeats, THEN go as hard as possible in the group. Those were the days.<br />
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On tonight's ride, I kept up for about half of that hill, then everyone just rode on away from me. Brady was kind enough to stay behind and pulled me back up to the group on the next down hill, but as soon as the road turned up again, I was off the back. Damn gravity. I didn't get a chance to ride with anyone else after that. Oh well, it was still a great evening for a bike ride.<br />
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So I have some work to do. I almost wanted to join the GSV ride on Saturday, but I'm sure it'd be another repeat of my WNW lameness. So I'll just go on a solo ride for a couple hours. I gotta get my body used to riding for a couple hours at a time. <br />
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I'll keep showing up to the WNWs and keep getting my butt handed to me. That's the way it was when I first started out 13 years ago. I'd show up to the only Wednesday night ride in town - the Bike Masters ride. I'd keep up with the lead group for about half the ride, then fall off. Each week, I'd come back and get a little bit further, until I was one of the fast people. I've hit the restart button, and that's what I'm going to do again.<br />
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<br />munsonedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00878330049549526023noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38356521.post-62100485360343903602015-03-10T21:26:00.000-05:002015-03-10T21:26:32.273-05:00I'm more than a little concerned.I've ridden my road bike to and from work the past couple of days. Last summer I thought about going on a small, easy group ride that Brady posted about. So I looked at my road bike, which was in pieces, and decided to spend that weekend putting it together instead of riding it, just in case I decided to join some future weekend ride. It got built up, then hung up for the rest of the year. <br />
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I'm going to join the Wednesday night rides this year in hopes of dropping some weight and forcing myself to ride more. I will try to post up as the leader of the B group, but most likely, at first, I'll be sweeping the course. The results from the last 2 days of commuting on the roadie does not bode well for the intensity and hills of WNWs.<br />
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So here's to hoping I don't make too much of a fool out of myself at tomorrow's ride, aside from the hairy legs and testing the tensile strength of the same jersey and shorts I used to wear as a cat 2 racer, 8 years and 40 pounds ago.munsonedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00878330049549526023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38356521.post-76179605362608586362015-03-05T23:18:00.004-06:002015-03-05T23:18:30.608-06:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Flintstone R Cubehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09534736994621915569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38356521.post-61783867353320244792015-02-26T20:35:00.002-06:002015-02-26T20:35:49.837-06:00Steak Night!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Flintstone R Cubehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09534736994621915569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38356521.post-66611886185653568492015-02-19T19:55:00.000-06:002015-02-19T19:55:54.157-06:00Surprise Winter Post<i>"It had to be done. I was so tired of looking at that Summer Random Post title" -- fredcube</i><br />
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Hey gang how's they going? Absolutely jiggly, I hope! Well it's been a long time since my last post. I know, but I've been busy. Let me tell you about it ...<br />
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I used to be a bike racer. They called me "The Munsonator." Actually, they just called me "Munson," then I'd say "ator" under my breath. That's my favourite joke. I always tell it with a British acceyent.<br />
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I member this one race back then, it was called the "Shiver Me Timbers" and boy howdy was that one a doozy.<br />
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So then there were all these things that happened and details, etc. and Jon Randell won! <br />
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Do you want to know how good Jon Randell was? Well, I'll tell you anyway. Very. That's right, I said it. Randell was "Very" good. On the bike. Need I say more? No? Well guess hwat? That's right, I spelt 'what' wrong. that's because I want you to pronounce it that way (with the 'h' first).<br />
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So - guess hwat? I'm going to say more even though I needn't.<br />
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I member this one time cube was riding with Jon and I. Yeah - I know it should read "Jon and me" but I just think it sounds fancier the incorrect way.<br />
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So cube comes up and says, "Uh, you guys. You want to slow down or something. My breath hurts from all your crazy fast riding shenanigans. So I'm all sincere and crap and I tell cube what he can do with his request. I look right at him (I slow down enough to do this) and I goes, "Oh dude. Sorry man. Jon. Let's slow down for the cubester."<br />
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Then Jon's all "screw that guy, h'huh!" Well that makes cube laugh so you know what he does? He attacks! That's right. He couldn't even keep up with us. So then Jon quickly dispatched the cubester to his eternal home at Cat 4 Avenue. It was horkelley! I mean totally horkelley!<br />
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Ah but alas, those good times are over now and do you want to know why? No? Well I'll tell you why (with a capitol 'Y').<br />
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Fact one. My wrist hurts. I'm not saying what it's from, but let's just call it a injury and leave it there.<br />
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Secondishesly: I am saving up to pay for stuff I already bought. Your mom doesn't grow on trees, you know! That's my second favorite joke. I always tell it with a Irish acceyent.<br />
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Oh face!<br />
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In the third corner: I'm a plaid flannel camping campfire coffee making bike rider now. I know what your thinking. Your thinking "It's you're, ya dumb butternut."<br />
Your also thinking "Camping sucks."<br />
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In the words of the great Samuel Jackman, allow me to retort - "You suck."<br />
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Hey, this has been nice. We'll have to do it again some time. Not.<br />
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P.S. Munson. Please don't revoke my writing privilege to this blog. If you had any idea how much fun the last 10 minutes of writing mindless crap was for me ... Also - was that so hard? Let's go. Start <strike>blogging</strike> riding again. We're getting the band back together. Good Job!Flintstone R Cubehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09534736994621915569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38356521.post-30921990347315931862014-08-07T10:07:00.000-05:002014-08-07T10:07:25.574-05:00Summer Random PostI've done 2 "rides" this year. By "ride," I mean pedaling a bike, not just to get from point A to B, but to have fun and ride with other people. One of those rides was the OWL ride. It was a good time and a welcome break from the monotony of the 2-3 mile daily commutes. Same roads. 2-3 times a day.<br />
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So since I haven't been "riding," I can't really comment on that. But what I can comment on is an interesting trend in bikes I've noticed and fully support, along with another trend I see as a severe detriment to bikes in general. <br />
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I've been building bikes at the local Trek Midtown store, which has taken place of pretty much any social life. The biggest benefit of this is I'm paying my car off early with the extra cash(which also seems wrong in some way). The secondary benefit is I like wrenching on bikes - it's like meditation to me. Usual builds include lower end comfort bikes, lower end mountain bikes, and kids bikes. Pretty banal stuff. I'll build up a fancy mountain bike sometimes, but since the inner workings of suspension and hydraulic brakes are a mystery to me, I just make sure the normal stuff works - shifting, no brake rubbing, etc. <br />
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Sometimes, however, a nicer road bike will come through. I used to LOVE working on those. It was like the cinnamon sugar sprinkled on my bread and butter. I would build the bike exactly how I would personally like it setup - tight brakes, crisp shifting, and aesthetically - the handlebars angled to have a nice flat bar top and shifter profile.<br />
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I tried to run my road bike that same way last fall, when I made sort of a comeback to riding and <a href="http://mitmon.blogspot.com/2013/09/do-you-even-stava-bro.html">joined Strava</a>, thanks to Fred. This led to a pretty bad <a href="http://mitmon.blogspot.com/2013/09/trying-something-new.html">wrist issue</a>. I put the road bike up for the winter, then dismantled it for random parts this summer. I decided to put it back together again recently, but wanted to try something different to avoid wrist pain. I angled my shifters way up. I first noticed this bullhorn shifter setup from CX and road cycling Pro Tim Johnson in the following video at about the 20 second mark:</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="" src="//player.vimeo.com/video/23170803?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0&color=ffffff" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe> <a href="http://vimeo.com/23170803">2011 Tour of California — Intro</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/raphafilms">RAPHA</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</div>
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Notice the stark difference in angle of shifters. I thought this was just a random CX thing that only Tim Johnson had come up with, but then, after watching some of the Tour de Frank this year, noticed that about half the peleton is doing it now. The look of this setup is kinda weird, but it's SOOOO comfortable. I would highly recommend it. </div>
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So that's the trend I'm liking in newer road bike setups.</div>
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The trend that really has me worried is the newest high end groupsets. Mostly, I'm referring to Shimano's 4 bolt proprietary crankset, and both Sram/Shimano's new front derailleurs. </div>
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Setting up a front derailleur, although sometimes difficult to tweak and make perfect, was a pretty straight forward affair. With Shimano's new front derailleur, you have to go through all sorts of steps to make it function relatively well. I guess I could try to explain it, but I'll just link another video:</div>
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I haven't even touched the new SRAM Yaw front derailleur, but after a quick view of some videos, it's also fairly wonky in it's setup. </div>
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But by far, the biggest issue I have is Shimano's new cranksets. Both on the road and mountain side, they are becoming increasingly proprietary. The standard road 5 bolt 130 mm bolt circle diameter (BCD) has been around for more than, I think, half a century. Now Shimano puts out a weird 4 bolt X-men inspired crankset on which only their VERY expensive chainrings can be replaced. This may change in the future if all other manufacturers hop on board, but obsolete-ifying decades of standardization seems like a bad idea to me. </div>
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So that's what's been on my mind recently. Oh, and I just found out the bike I've been commuting on weighs in at 34 pounds. Ooofdah. No wonder my quads are staying fairly strong even though I'm barely riding.</div>
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<br />munsonedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00878330049549526023noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38356521.post-42288798742762980782014-04-04T12:47:00.000-05:002014-04-04T12:47:05.057-05:00Spring ExtraSeeing as the <a href="http://fredcube.blogspot.com/">Normal</a> <a href="http://steel-cut.blogspot.com/">Weekly</a> <a href="http://algomaha.blogspot.com/">Posting</a> guys sometimes do mid week or same-day extras and I usually post (but sometimes not) once a season, I figured I'd give it a try also. <br />
<br />
Although my last post was not technically Spring, today wasn't technically Spring-like weather with a "Winter Storm Event" as the local news meteorologists liked to call a simple snow shower. It snowed. Whoopty fricken doo. Stop trying to make weather extreme. Unless, somehow, there's a crazy tornado filled with sharks, weather is never going to be extreme. It is what it is.<br />
<br />
With all the hoopla over bike race sanctioning on the mountain biking side of things, and my need to clean out my Google drive, I decided to take a trip down memory lane and look at my old training regiments and race results. That was nearly 10 years ago, so my memory is pretty vague. This, I'm sure, wasn't helped by the hundreds of times I rode around that damned Branched Oak Lake boiling my brain cells going as hard as I possibly could. Seriously. I remember one race where we had to share water bottles just to make it to the finish line since it was 90-some degrees with 1000% heat index or something. I was on the Lincoln Industries Team and Spence was (and still is) on team Kaos and we were mortal enemies. But I handed him a bottle on the last lap just so our finish line sprint could be fair. However, it was more of a finish line squirm as we were all at some stage of cramping.<br />
<br />
But anywho...Looking at some of the race results had me shaking my head. In '05 and '06, there were multi-stage races(as in, more than 2 stages) where the cat 1/2 race had 40-50 people and the cat 3s had just about the same. A few large teams of riders would come from all over the midwest to race our Nebraska events. Now we're lucky to get more than 5 out-of-town people within a combined cat 1/2/3 race of 20-30 riders.<br />
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I'm guessing the big economic collapse of '08 is the cause of this downturn, but I remember it getting pretty bad even '07. That was my last serious year of racing, and I think I was a cat 2? Since those were my most recent memories, those are the ones I recall the best. I remember being dropped from a cat 1/2/3 field of 20 since there was no place to hide and team cohesion wasn't really a thing. Aside from Kaos having a team consisting of a third of the pack and the 4 fastest riders in the state at the time, of course. So races usually went: Kaos rider(s) in the lead break with 1 random person; another break with Kaos rider(s) catching up to the leaders; the rest of us in a VERY small pack with riders attacking to break up the field and weed out the stragglers (me). Not a very fond memory. But it was what it was.<br />
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Would I go back to that? I dunno. I switched over to dirt for a while after I got done with traveling and racing road, but I ran into the same issue - I was tired of the same routes I rode over and over and over for training. Mountain biking was new, but then got old quick when all the local courses were 4 miles long and required many repeats for any length of a ride. Again, the repetitiveness of it got to me.<br />
<br />
So now I'm doing repetitiveness in the working thing, trying to really hit the debt hard. Each day I've worked anywhere from 4 - 12 hours for the past 3 weeks at one or more of my 3 jobs - UNMC, bike building, and chip timing. At UNMC, I work a fairly normal 6am-3pm shift, so that's nice albeit early. It's hard forcing myself to go to bed at 10pm. The work is not bad. But now being supervisor, I make decisions that affect our group, not just me. So that's kinda stressful<br />
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A few days during the week and one or both weekend days I'll build bikes for the Trek Store. That's only a few hours at a time, but it can be very draining after already working 8 hours at a previous job. My weakly upper body and over-worked hands can do only so much bike wrenching before I get tired and start to make mistakes.<br />
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The chip timing thing is kind of a doozy. It starts with preparing and stressing out a few days before the weekend, Friday night configuring the races and riders into the software, being at the races a few hours before the first race (this is where my new sleep schedule has actually helped), doing something related to the races for most of the day, getting home then dinking with results and spreadsheets and emails to get all the info out ASAP and finally either taking a nap or turning that nap into sleep since it's bedtime already. And sometimes that whole process happens both weekend days.<br />
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Like the infamous Forrest Gump once said, "I'm pretty tired." <br />
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I remember over-training on the bike and how that felt. You generally felt sore all over, had a grumpy disposition, and didn't want to move, let alone hop on the bike and do intervals. But this over-working thing is something entirely new. It's like...I'm tired in my soul. <br />
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I imagine taking a vacation would probably be a wise thing to do - at least from my UNMC job. I'm getting close to maxing out my 240 hours of vacation time. (BAM! Working for the State - mediocre pay with great benefits.) I'd probably still build bikes for a few hours most days. Gotta kill the debt. <br />
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Must eat all the debt...<br />
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Debt...<br />
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Brains...<br />
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Brraaaains...<br />
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BRRRAAAAAINNNSss....<br />
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<br />munsonedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00878330049549526023noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38356521.post-9194207842182482582014-03-14T09:20:00.000-05:002014-03-14T09:28:32.911-05:00A wee updateSo usually nothing's new in my world. I've been doing the normal riding to work with the occasional weekend ride. <br />
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I did one of those infamous coffee rides last weekend and it was a blast. Scott Redd knows many different routes that, when I used to spend hours on the bike, would pass many times but never try. As a roadie, you didn't dare take your pristine machine over anything but the most direct paved routes. Many a time on our weekly jaunts out to nowhere'sville, we'd pass some gravelly offshoot that rose and curved into the trees. I'd glance their way and think, "where does that go?" It wasn't until Jon Randell and I were done with training and racing that we'd actually try those random offshoots. One of the first ones was in the middle of what is/was a commonly used road race course. Randell said, "Let's see where this goes." <br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="450" src="https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m10!1m8!1m3!1d24097.967940975625!2d-96.2465442!3d40.976094!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sus!4v1394803801320" style="border: 0;" width="600"></iframe><br />
<br />
Now you may recognize this race course. It's basically a vertical rectangle(ish) shape involving Church Road on the south, 310th St on West, Hwy 66 on the N to NE corner, then 334th finishing it up. If you were to zoom in to it's vertically bisecting road starting in the South with 322nd St, you'd see that it barely qualifies as a road - definitely not to road bike standards. <br />
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So when Randell and I headed North on this "road" it got real interesting, real quick. It's basically a jeep/truck access road with tire ruts, overgrowth, and some washed out places sprinkled in. Then to add insult to injury, at the end there was a spot where water usually collects. This particular ride, it looked like it was dry, but my road bike soon found out otherwise, pretty quick. I almost endoed, but saved it at the last second. My front wheel was covered in semi-dry mud of the stickiest caliber. Being in prissy roadie mode, I didn't want to get my cycling gloved dirty, and Randell was up the road (as he was always faster than me) so I just did a couple bunny hops to shake off the crud, then rode like hell to use centripetal force to get the rest off. <br />
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Well, that might not have been the brightest idea, as the mud on the side of my tires decided to eat away a little at my Carbon Fiber Fork. It wasn't bad, but still, it was the beginning of my need to use a better bike for exploring these exciting new random roads that I had always passed by. I have yet to find my perfect bike, but my <a href="http://s7d4.scene7.com/is/image/TrekBicycleProducts/80686?wid=1490&hei=1080&fit=fit,1&fmt=png-alpha&qlt=80,1&op_usm=0,0,0,0&iccEmbed=0">Trek Ion</a> is purdy darn close. If it was slightly more utilitarian (bike speak for having braze-ons) and just a little more tire clearance, and maybe, just maybe, disc brakes, I'd be in heaven. I could go all bike touristy and get a Surly LHT or Ogre, which I've seriously pondered, but I know I'd be pretty unhappy with the weight. Granted, if I lost weight off my body and rode more, it'd be less of an impact. But still, that extra 5-10 pounds of frame and disc brake weight can wear on you after hours in the saddle. <br />
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Here would be my perfect ride: aluminum frame, disc brakes (rear disc chainstay mounted, not seatstay), braze-ons for anything/everything, frame/fork clearance for 50c tires, and somehow, no toe overlap. The no toe overlap thing is a function of frame design that I'm not sure would work out. I don't understand all the geometry specifics, but anything road or CX has the front wheel tucked pretty far in for less mechanical trail, resulting in more stability for flying down the road in a straight line. MTB bikes have pretty high trail, and geometry to allow quick maneuvering at lower speeds, so toe overlap isn't a problem with the front wheel sticking out there. Salsa Vaya, or even the Fargo were close(although their newer versions are going more toward frame bag design, rather than many braze-ons for racks), but I know those bikes wouldn't be very fast. I guess that's the conundrum - speed versus utility/comfort. <br />
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All this is a moo point since my current goal is to pay down debt, not buy new bikes. Helping with that effort are a few happenings. I'm building bikes again at the Trek Store Midtown. I'll be doing Chip timing for races. Also, my manager retired, so I took on a new supervisor position with more responsibility and a good bump in salary. Our car will be paid off by the end of this year. My wife should finish up her schooling for Medical billing/coding in a year and get an internship as part of Metro's curriculum. So all of that combined should make this one of the last summers that I'm living paycheck to paycheck. That'll be a very welcome change.<br />
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Hopefully between all this extra work I can squeeze in some coffee rides, some off-the pavment beaten path rides, and some TGJ (Team Good Job) road rides. I miss the days where most of my free time was spent either riding or planning my next ride. <br />
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Some day. <br />
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Soon.<br />
<br />munsonedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00878330049549526023noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38356521.post-88251801338557669252013-09-27T12:00:00.002-05:002013-09-27T12:00:43.865-05:00Trying something newSo I'm trying this new thing where I don't destroy my wrist.<br />
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Oh, in case you didn't know, ever since I started joining rides on the weekend (3 whole weeks, WOO HOO!) my left wrist has been in agony. I don't know what I did when, but it's been in pain for most of the summer. It's most apparent after (and sometimes during) longer bike rides. Also, changing my position on my roadie by dropping the handlebar height, made it even worser. I love that position on the bike since I feel most efficient that way, but it's murder on my hands/wrists.<br />
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I could look back in the archives of this blog and find the time I originally sprained my wrist on a ride, but that would require some work. I remember not being able to ride the Corporate cycling challenge and getting a lot of flack from Shim, for the "real reason" I sprained my wrist. Ha ha.<br />
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HHHmmmmm...there's the time this last spring when we had the freak snowstorm and I went on a drunken bar hop ride with Scott, Pell, and company. It snowed all day, we met downtown at 5pm when they were closing things down, we "rode" (and by rode I mean walked mostly) up the hipster highway to the Homey Inn. Afterward, I putzed home on Saddle Creek since no cars were around. The whole ride no one really fell. But right by Bakers, there was a crack in the cement I couldn't see because of the snow. I fell over slowly, but of course I braced myself with my arm and I think I damaged the wrist right then.<br />
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I could go see a doctor, but I'm pretty sure they'd just say, "Stop riding your bike, you idiot." So that's what I've been doing since last Sunday. I've only ridden to work a couple days this week rather than every day. I'm also not riding on Saturday since I'll be a groomsman in my brother in law's wedding.<br />
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Sunday ride? I dunno. I may flip my stem back over and see if the upright riding thing is any worse for my efficiency or any better for my wrist. If not, I may have to go see the doc for some suggestions.munsonedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00878330049549526023noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38356521.post-61155259824692474662013-09-14T15:59:00.000-05:002013-09-14T15:59:04.135-05:00Intended usage Part 2Shomer Shabbos +1!!! (Unless it's raining at start time?)<br />
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Meetup - Crane Coffee at 78th and Cass?<br />
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Time - 7:30am?<br />
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Riders - the GJ!T - Good Job! Team. (or anyone else who wants to show)<br />
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Up for suggestions on other times/places to meet. munsonedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00878330049549526023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38356521.post-2385055811078781252013-09-13T15:32:00.001-05:002013-09-13T15:32:18.078-05:00Intended usageNot that anyone will see this or anything, but I've been thinking that a 7:30 ride that mimics the WNW (Ft Calhoun ride) route tomorrow (9/14/2013) morning would be just perfect. The reasoning here is that I have a commitment to my neighbors to be around during the UCLA college football game tomorrow. If the ride lasted until 10:30, I'd be really surprised.Flintstone R Cubehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09534736994621915569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38356521.post-65121122891414864972013-09-06T08:23:00.000-05:002013-09-06T08:23:11.721-05:00I'm tied for 4thI now know how to Strava.<br />
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I've only done 3 rides - commutes, but I'm giving myself some time to ramp up the training. I did lotsa miles last weekend and I plan to do more this weekend. I'll probably do a couple more weeks like that before I start going after KOTMs. This is mainly because I want my body to acclimate to the new/old road bike. I've been strictly riding the <a href="http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/road/cyclocross/ion_cx/ion_cx/#">Super Commuter</a> (Its Slices! It Dices! And it's usually in a state of disrepair due to heavy use and abuse!). <br />
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<a href="http://www.bikepedia.com/quickbike/BikeSpecs.aspx?Year=2005&Brand=LeMond&Model=Tourmalet&Type=bike#.UinSfNJ4zKc">Old Blue</a> has been dusted off, made into my typical franken bike(with all component manufacturers represented - Campy, Shimano, Sram), and brought up to date with a GPS donated by Fred. <br />
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I decided on a whim, before I knew any better, to create a "segment" - ie KOTM section - on the little hill up 42nd street between Leavenworth and Emile. I mapped it out and forgot about it. <br />
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Going back to check it a day later, I found that I was in 6th place with an average MPH of 9.7 or something. I'm usually trying to creep up that climb as it's a block or so away from walking into work, so I'm trying to cool down by then. Who did I find on the <a href="http://www.strava.com/segments/5383159">top of the list</a>? One Eric Brunt; with an average MPH of 27!?!?!?! I should have known better not to create a segment anywhere in Eric's workplace. See, he delivers Jimmy Johns to this area and is always in a bit of a hurry. Apparently someone needed sandwiches really bad at UNMC the day that Eric set that record. I don't see myself ever beating him on that KOTM.<br />
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But there are many other KOTMs out there. And I'm really looking forward to dropping about 20 lbs, ramping up the engine, and going after some number one spots. Hey that reminds me:<br />
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<br />munsonedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00878330049549526023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38356521.post-53947951820660135062013-09-04T09:55:00.000-05:002013-09-04T09:55:56.368-05:00Do you even Stava, Bro?So now that I've ridden more than an hour for 4 days in a row, which hasn't happened in years, I feel like I'm back in the swing of things. For some reason, where there used to be no motivation, I'm now really looking forward to my next ride. I'm not sure what prompted the light switch to flick on. Possibly my weight topping out at 186 lbs and feeling like a lazy sack o' crap? It can't be the goading I get from my friends, because they've been trying all kinds of tactics for a few years - being nice, being mean, tempting me with bacon, etc. But nothing stuck.<br />
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In any event, I'm back on the bike and having fun. I don't see racing happening in the next couple years till I get more out of debt and my wife gets done with school and gets a nice job. But I'll be working at getting faster and lighter. I've never been good at structured training, but I still need goals and such - enter Strava.<br />
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As some of you may know....<br />
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Tangent: How many people even read this blog anymore? For that matter, who reads blogs in general aside from a <a href="http://steel-cut.blogspot.com/">few</a> <a href="http://fredcube.blogspot.com/">word</a> <a href="http://algomaha.blogspot.com/">smiths</a>? I like complete thoughts, wordiness, and run-on sentences, so blogs work much better for me, rather than Twitter or Facebook. Other tangent: The race summaries of Gravel Worlds on Facebook were quite annoying. I know that's some people's only means to convey their thoughts to friends and family, but Facebook is meant for annoying game requests, all things cats, and political misinformation - you know, nothing really useful, just entertaining - not really long descriptions of how epic the race was(I'm not bitter and kicking myself for missing that race...no). Original tangent: So if you read this blog, that means we're probably friends on Facebook and/or connected in some sort of social networking fashion so you'll know that...<br />
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I have recently joined the Strava movement. It's pretty cool since it's basically Facebook for GPS strapped cyclists. You follow (and if they post something you don't like, unfollow) people to see what they've done and where. There's KOMs - King Of Mountains (why not KOTM for King Of The Mountain??? What makes "Of" so much better than "the"???) which tracks how fast someone rides a specific length of pavement/gravel/dirt/etc. I've kinda always wondered who creates the KOTM courses? Does someone just create it, then other riders happen upon it and Strava automatically knows they're attempting to best the KOTM creator at "That one hill on that one street?" I guess I'll figure it out eventually as all I've entered into Strava world is my measly shortened commute to work. It's pretty pan flat aside from the hill from 42nd and Leavenworth to 42nd and Emile. I guess I could create a KOTM for that? Why not? Then I could try to best myself for that half a block every weekday.<br />
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Oh, by the way, the only reason my joining Strava was possible is because Fred lent me his spare Garmin. What a pal. Now I can attempt some of my favorite climbs around town I used to fly up when I was in shape and see where how I stack up to the current elite riders. Hmmmm... Maybe this is another mean tactic used by Fred to force me to get faster as I'm guessing my current times up those KOTMs will be pretty lame. <br />
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Meh, either way, it should be fun as I'm really looking forward to putting all the time I can on the bike. Woohoo!!!munsonedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00878330049549526023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38356521.post-41023892096382917142013-09-01T15:15:00.000-05:002013-09-01T15:15:31.406-05:004 days in a row?Beer soaked socks. Different than GSV, eh?<br />
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On Saturday, Fred convinced me to take a "leisurely" ride with him on the Greenstreet Tuesday night route. I guess for Fred, it might have been leisurely, but I sure felt like I did after every Wednesday night ride I've ever done - a wobbly mess of tiredness. <br />
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It was a fun ride, no doubt, but I had to keep telling myself, "Boy! Fun sure is hard work."<br />
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After the ride I had my normal recovery drink - almond milk with a good heap of chocolate syrup. I then showered*, fixed myself some leftovers, and of course had a beer. Well, since I was all wobbly and tired, I first spilled gravy on our couch which I cleaned with my napkin, then I spilled beer all over our floor. Since I was out of napkins, I moved on to the next best thing - random socks on the floor that had not been put into the clothes hamper yet.<br />
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So there you have it - beer soaked socks.<br />
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Anywho, I have ridden 2 days in a row, which goes against every training book in the world, as you're only supposed to increase your weekly mileage by 10% a week. But that would mean going from my normal commuting 24 miles a week to 26 miles, then 28-ish, then around 30(or 31 if you want to round up), etc, etc.<br />
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I did the ride with Fred for around 55 miles on Saturday. Then today, I rode down the Keystone, around to Hayworth park, up the Bellevue Blvd, through Spring Lake, to the South Omaha trail, to the Keystone again to home. It was a mellow ride with my next door neighbor who's gotten in pretty decent shape. I needed that ride after the "leisurely" ride with Fred.<br />
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So my plan is to ride Monday since it's a holiday and going to be much cooler, and also hit the Greenstreet Tuesday night ride and hopefully not embarrass myself too much being that it's a fast group road ride and I haven't been on one of those for at least 3 years. <br />
<br />That's 4 day's of riding with an increase of weekly mileage by about 2000% or something? I might be undercutting that estimate a little.<br />
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So who wants to go on a mellow, not "leisurely" ride on Monday morning, or afternoon, or whenever?<br />
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*this is probably TMI, but I'm now adhering to rule <a href="http://www.velominati.com/the-rules/#33">#33</a>. Guess it's time to get serious again.munsonedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00878330049549526023noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38356521.post-83373252594778217532013-08-19T09:47:00.002-05:002013-08-19T09:47:49.012-05:00I'm never riding my bike again.This last weekend was a doozy in terms of my part time job - that being chip timing for bike races. 2 evening crits meant the days were filled with data processing, setting up, working, tearing down, then more data processing. Sunday brought the Corporate Cycling Challenge. They wanted timing for that too, so after collapsing into bed at midnight Saturday night, I trudged downtown at 5:30am to get things setup for the chaos that is 4000-ish people becoming cats needing to be herded around. After I got a very small percentage of the cats chipped up, all were loosed upon the Northern regions of Eastern Douglas County. <br />
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Good buddy Peter Boyd won the timed 42 mile trip in 1 hour 42 minutes. After they cooled down a tad I chatted with a few of the guys I used to paceline with on this ride. Brady and Fred said it was a blast and I let them know I was hoping to join them for the event next year if someone else can do chip timing, or chip timing just doesn't happen. Brady of course pointed out that I should say I'm not riding in next year's CCC since I always do the opposite of what I say I'm going to do.<br />
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Thanks for the gut punch, dear friend.<br />
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My last post was in the Spring and I was all giddy about training for Gravel Worlds. There's something about going on a long bike ride that gets me all euphoric and gung-ho to ride more. I start having grand schemes about training hard, getting faster, possibly trying racing again. <br />
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Then a week or 2 (or 3 or 4) will go by without any riding aside from my measly 3 mile commute to and from work. Things happen - family comes into town, I have a month long stint where every weekend I do chip timing for races which takes up a ton of time over the weekend, the weather gets too extreme (wet, hot, cold), or I just generally feel lazy and don't want to ride.<br />
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So when the "registration deadline" for Gravel Worlds came and went, I let it go. I was on the fence about a friend's wedding to attend the night before GW, but now I'm committed to it. Originally in May, the whole month of August looked clear, race chip timing-wise, so I figured I could get some good long rides in leading up to GW. Then in July, the NCA schedule all of a sudden filled up with races, and I was glad I didn't need those weekends to get things dialed in to survive 150 miles of gravel. <br />
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So next weekend, when everyone is having an EPIC time GRAVEL GRINDING away(obligatory overly used terms) I will be at the vet, getting our kitten her rabies shot. Yay.<br />
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Then, I might just go for a bike ride. I mean, I'm never riding my bike again. Yeah, that's it.munsonedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00878330049549526023noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38356521.post-88948827340559800872013-05-21T13:01:00.000-05:002013-05-25T05:34:35.629-05:003 Months3 Months = roughly <a href="http://gravelworlds.com/">Gravel Worlds</a> weekend.<br />
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I here by, do declare, I'm participating in this event. It isn't official official as I haven't sent in the post card yet, so I first have to find a post card. Then I can start training for it. Wait, what?<br />
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Really, I haven't been training or riding much at all, as if my shape didn't give that away. I did a couple longer rides (literally, a couple; not the normal "couple" by roadie standards that involves 4+ hour rides once a weekend instead of twice) over the winter and spring. So my endurance needs some help. That, and figuring out how the hell to survive 150 miles on gravel. I need to figure out food, hydration, and comfort. So I will need to do long rides to test things out and see what works and what doesn't. It's pretty daunting to attempt this within just 3 months, but I need to start somewhere. <br />
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And so it begins.<br />
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SHABBOS RIDE!!!!!<br />
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Fred, Brady, and I are riding from 6:15am to 8:30am as per Fred's time limit. So no later ride inquiries will be entertained. Ass crack of dawn, or no dice. Meeting place is Aksarben - nothing's open then, so get your caffeine fix pre-ride. Road bikes are the weapon of choice.<br />
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I know Brady and Fred are fast, whereas I'm not at this point, so speed will hopefully be near conversational pace so I can catch up both on breath and in talking with good buddies. Route will be decided as we go, but probably somewhere Southish.<br />
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EDIT: My general rule of thumb is ride if it's intermittent rain, but pass if there's thunder boomies. As of 5:30am, there's thunder and lightning, so I think we'll go ahead and cancel the ride. Seems like the last post I did trying to plan for a Shabbos ride ended the same way? Is this blog cursed?!?munsonedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00878330049549526023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38356521.post-3847067949843571232012-12-10T10:45:00.001-06:002012-12-10T10:45:06.604-06:00Title goes here.Not much to report. Figured I should try to put at least a few blog posts out a year. Uh, yeah.<br />
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I rode in this morning in -10 degree wind chill temps. It wasn't bad overall except for my nose and the tips of my fingers. In case you're wondering, here was the clothing breakdown:<br />
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Base layers - wool long johns, midweight wool long sleeve shirt, wool socks.<br />
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next layer - Bonty commuter pants, cycling wind vest.<br />
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over layer - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Minus-Buffalo-Plaid-Shirt-Men/dp/B004STV21U/ref=sr_1_29?s=apparel&ie=UTF8&qid=1355156382&sr=1-29">Minus33 lumberjack wool workshirt</a><br />
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Head - Pearl Izumi Balaclava, <a href="http://bontrager.com/model/09256">Bonty winter cap</a><br />
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Hands - wool glove liners, lobster mitten/gloves.<br />
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Feet - plain old Addidas Sambas pedaling my flat pedal commuter.<br />
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Also, to protect my eyeballs from becoming marbles, I wear some horrid shop safely glasses. They are huge, but that also protects most of the skin around my eyes that the balaclava doesn't cover.<br />
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I was sweating by the end of the ride, but that was because I had a tail wind and was trying to ride quickly on my heavy commuter.<br />
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Thanksgiving was nice but tough. Spent time with as much family as we could. Christmas will be similar. At least we'll have my lil bro, his wife, and their cutie pie 1.75 year old in town. She's talking some now so it'll be fun to interact with her.<br />
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I really need to clean my bike so I can't use that as excuse not to go on rides with people. I meant to clean it last week so I could ride on Saturday with a few people I knew were heading out. Sure wish I had a basement or someplace inside to make a mess with cleaning. That will be one of my requirements in a house, whenever I get around to buying one - a basement shop with a drain. Someday.<br />
<br />munsonedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00878330049549526023noreply@blogger.com22