A call to arms

So, the Corporate Cycling Clusterfook is on Sunday. More than anything else, this is the event I fear. Aquafina bottles everywhere, aerobars on comfort hybrids, squirrels dodging potholes ... jesus, it's scary.

To properly prepare, we need coffee. Strong coffee. Let's hook up downtown at the Starbucks across the street from the library (where Old Yeller was stolen). 7:15 a.m. Get there sooner if you like (I probably will), and then we'll roll toward the quagmire around 7:40.

So ...

Sunday

7:15 or earlier

Starbucks by the downtown library.

Go!

Wabash Adventure - Repost

So this Sunday I'd like to ride the Wabash from end to end and back. I know a few people have expressed a passing interest, please firm up whether you'll show or not. I'd like to think I'm not the only one crazy enough to do this. The plan is to leave from the Wabash trailhead in Council Bluffs @ 8 AM and head south. It'll be a long day, bring water, food, and money. It will be good times!

Wednesday, the 5th of August

Since we've got a mountain bike race coming up at Tranquility this weekend, I intend to skip the BM group ride Wednesday night and ride Tranquility for 2.5-3 hours to get a good feel for the course and make sure I'm ready to put in a decent showing on Saturday. I am probably going to park @ BM chat till the roadies roll out at 6 PM then cruise down the hill to get in some laps until dark. If anyone wants to join the fun, feel free. May be some hard efforts but mostly just endurance pace riding.

Also, lets not forget about the Wabash Adventure coming up this Sunday. A good group will make the time pass quicker for all.

And 4500 miles of driving later...

First off, please skip this long post and read the next post about Mr. Miles riding the Wabash (down and back) on August 9th. I will be out of town so I can't join, but it's an awesome adventure and would highly recommend it. Plus, Mr. Miles is great company, so that makes it more worth it.

Friday the 10th - I got married. Had both of our immediate families (plus my Aunt) join us down at the courthouse for a wonderful ceremony administered by Judge (Larry? - I need to look this up). Went out for lunch afterward with more family and had a great time. Fast forward to Sunday and, as some of you know, had a fun little get together in Elmwood Park. The food was great, company was very welcome, and a good time was had by all.

Monday morning..er rather... 1pm... we took off for Denver. Saw some storms, enjoyed the sandhills area, visited my small town house where I grew up (Windsor, CO) then stayed in a hotel. Next morning, we ate breakfast with my Uncle Dale (hope you feel better soon!!) then headed into the mountains. The first stop was Hanging Lake near Glennwood Springs. I've been to this area twice, but that was many years ago, when I was younger. I had forgotten how tough the hike up to the lake was. You could almost call it a mild mountain climb. Michelle was not happy about it, but she soldiered on and was very impressed with the view. That view (in my opinion) was slightly tarnished by a group of Spanish foreign exchange students who did not read the sign saying it was illegal to swim in the lake. They had a great time, but the pristene quality the lake is supposed to have was amiss. Anyway, we then headed to the next town over, New Castle, to stay at relatives house(Thanks again, Bruce and Joy). We were tempted by their offer to stay another day and go rafting, but this was the very beginning of a long journey, so we had to keep on keepin on.

We next traveled across Utah and saw many great scenes. I will make a later post of pictures or creat a link to a flickr site or something. That will come after we get fully unpacked and settled back down. Utah was pretty quick, but most noteably there was beautiful canyons and Lake Sevier. Very odd to bike ride on. It had a hardish crust, but underneath was sand, and moisture. I really liked the landscape of Utah and I want to visit more of it instead of just pass through like I have the past couple times.

Nevada was D E S O L A T E along Highway 50. By this time, we'd hopped off the interstate to make our way straight across to Lake Tahoe. Highway 50 was the way to go and I see now, how it came to be known the lonliest road in America. The image about halfway down the linked page is one we saw often. You'd go up and over a mountain pass then see a valley many miles wide with just a straight road going across it and not much else. One cool place we stopped was Sand Mountain. I'm really kicking myself for not getting pictures of it, but hour camera had run out of power by this point. We saw a couple of Black Widow Spiders and some lizards on a little trail hike we took. Very fun stuff.

After surviving the Nevada leg, we got to Lake Tahoe. South Lake Tahoe to be precise. Very busy touristy town, but we had relatives living there. We visited with them and were quite jealous of their house which (itself was amazing) sat across a beatiful field where they went hiking about every day. They had a sailboat that needed some repair, but once we got that taken care of, we set out to sail away. Well we tried at least. The wind wasn't quite right. At about 3 knots, we got going, at most, 2 knots. FULL WADING SPEED AHEAD!!! It was nice to get out on the water though.

At the recommendation of the relatives at Lake Tahoe (Thanks again Tom, Jean, Nick, and Betty!) we headed for the coast and Highway 1 after a stop by Yosemite park. It was free entry weekend at Yosemite(which we didn't know) and the place was PACKED! So that potential stay was nixed. We enjoyed the views and almost made it to one of the great falls, but Michelle did not want a repeat of the mild mountain climb up to Hanging Lake. This is where the traffic of the West Coast really started to hit us. The amount of people in Cali is just mind boggling. Fun place to visit, but I don't think I could live there.

After Yosemite, we stopped by Monterey Bay to eat and try to see the ocean, but there was way too much fog to enjoy the view. Along Highway 1 and Big Sur, we saw some of the bridges the Tour of Cali goes over, but again, with so much fog, it was just so-so. We kept on down the highway till we got to the town of Ragged Point. It was basically just an Inn on the highway. It was a great place to stay and I'd highly recommend it when the fog isn't in full swing. After a great night's sleep, we got going to make it down to Laguna Beach. We stopped by to see the Sea Lions near the Hearst Castle. They were quite funny to watch. Again, I have many pics and videos that I hope to be able to share once I figure out the best way to do so.

Michelle, being an avid online game player, wanted to visith the World Of Warcraft art exhibit at the Laguna Beach Art History Museum. I just tagged along, but she was quite happy to see everything. Our next stop was Sea World by San Diego. We didn't get to see all of Sea World because of Shamu. We stopped by the Penguin area, the Arctic area, and the Shark place. Then, a show to see Shamu the killer whale was coming up, so we got a good spot. And by good, I mean in the "soak zone." This is where that blasted whale uses his huge tail to splash the crowd. They were selling towels and ponchos but we figured we'd tough it out since we were hot anyway. That was a mistake. After some amazing acrobatics with the whales and their trainers, the splashing began. Shamu must have had a thing for Michelle because I didn't see anyone as soaked as her. It was a blast and Michelle had fun, until the salt water, sun and crappy food got to us. Soon we were uncomfortable and just went to the hotel to relax.

Another short trip North and we were in Las Vegas. We got their in the afternoon when it was 105 degrees out. I have been there before, but I don't remember driving down the Strip. So, of course when I wanted to show Michelle a "quick rundown" of the Strip by car, there was traffic compounded by construction made worse by the heat. So we fled that scene and stayed at the Orleans casino/hotel which was a good half mile off the Strip. This place was an all in one deal - bowling alley, movie theater, multiple restaraunts, casino, sports arena, etc. We had planned to go back to the strip in the evening when it was only 97 degrees and not sunny, but it started to downpour and lots of lightning kept us away. So we again just relaxed in the hotel and gambled a little at the casino.

We were pretty much ready to be done with the trip at this point. We were both tired and just forgetting things. So we made a mad dash for home from Las Vegas, stopping by Green River in Utah, then home the next day.

It was a long journey and we got to see way more than if we'd flown, but I don't know if I can do one of these trips again. Maybe with more drivers to share the load. Definite places to go back to eventually are: Glennwood Springs to go rafting, Utah to see more of the state, Yosemite when it's not so busy (doubt that'll happen), Sea World with a change of dry clothes, California coast when it's not so foggy, and Las Vegas to stay at a place on the Strip. I'll update this post or create a new one when I figure out what I'm going to do with the pics and vids.

Thank you so much to all who sent us well-wishes, joined us for the wedding celebration, sent gifts/cards, or helped us out for our honeymoon. It was a great time and I look forward to taking many more road trips and maybe eventually family vacations in the future.

Wabash Adventure

On August 9th I'm planning to ride the Wabash from end to end (and back) in 1 day. It'll be fun and ridden at a moderate pace. I need the hours and would like some company. Any takers?

T minus 4 days.

I'm gettin hitched soon. Friday will be the small wedding deal at the courthouse, Saturday will be spent visiting with incoming relatives/friends, Sunday will the celebration to which I hope everyone will stop by if they can, then Monday will begin a.......

ROAD TRIP!!!!!

We are heading Westbound for adventures unknown. Well we kinda know what we're doing. We have a rough estimate. 2 weeks of driving, visiting other relatives, seeing some sites, and just relaxing. I may be getting in touch with a couple of you to ask about borrowing some camping equipment. We might visit Yosemite, so camping there would be fun.

It's gonna be a blast, but that means I'll be off the grid for a while. Please be kind to this blog and post ride plans or just talk about whatever. Other wise it'll be a lonely blog.

Shabbos +1

Sunday Morning - 8am

Meeting place: Scooters coffee at 120th and Blondo

Ride plans: A Fremont Loop that Mr. Miles has found will probably be around the 4 hr mark from Scooters. I need the miles, so I'm good with that.

Come join the fun if you can, or ride part of the way if ya like. Otherwise have a good rest of the weekend!

Shabbos - 1??

So Friday should be a holiday for most people since the 4th of July falls on Saturday. Jon Randell and I are planning an easy couple hour ride in the morning that day. Time and place for meeting is still up in the air, so we could start discussing that now to get a consensus.

Mr. Miles and I had a revelation this last Sunday on our mellow Shabbos + 1 ride. And that revelation is that Crane Coffee sucks. At least neither of us like it. I just thought it was me, but when he mentioned it, I felt vindicated. So maybe we should try to start our rides from some other location? I'm also up for ideas on this aspect. Depending on who shows up, a meeting place more out west would be wiser for those guys who live out that way? There's Scooters on 120th and Blondo which is right off a trail. Is there a coffee shop in La Vista that's anywhere near the West Papio trail?

Back to life..Back to reality

I've been "out of the loop" for about a week. On Thursday of last week, my brother, mom, and I headed off for a weekend of family happenings. 2 surprise birthday parties and a funeral. All within 3 days and all in very different locations. Let's just say we drove a ton over the 4 days.

For some reason, my phone was not working till we got to Denver. I then found out about Bryan's horrible mishap. I called as soon as I could, but wasn't much help. Brady had the great idea of visiting him with a video game system to pass the time. Brady's such a good friend, ain't he? I did tell Bryan that I was planning on stopping by as soon as I got back into Omaha. Well Bryan, if you're wondering why that hasn't happened, I have a very good excuse.

I hab a code. I'm sick with something that involves a runny/clogging nose, and a bad cough, with overall achieness. I really didn't want to share the wealth with someone trying to heal a broken back. So once I'm no longer coughing/sneezing/sniffling, I'll come over and visit for a while. You'll probably be back at the bike shop by then, so maybe I'll visit there.

Anywho, I don't think I'll be up for any long rides this weekend since I'll still be hacking up a lung occasionally and the humid air does not do my gunk filled chest any favors. So that's my update. I'm back to reality, but in a cold-fog induced state.

Weekend Plans...

So, its only Tuesday but I want to get the banter going for the weekend early.

Saturday:
I am not going to the MTB race on Saturday so my first choice would be to do a (somewhat) abbreviated version of the metro singletrack tour and ride at a pretty spirited pace to do it. Second choice would be a spirited road ride. Not married to the two ideas above so if there are alternate ideas out there, throw them out there and we'll see what sticks! I know there's a MTB race at Ponca but I need a longer day than that so I'm going to sit it out.

Sunday:
Trek's Ride the Best tour is coming to Lake Manawa, hopefully it'll be dry and a great chance to demo both some road and off-road Trek branded machines. Could be a good day to meet at Crane head over to Manawa, ride some bikes for a couple hours then head back west. The other option would simply be to show up over there and ride for a few hours on test rigs.

Gonna be pretty nice weather, we should all take advantage of it.

-Mike

June? With this weather?

Current weather forecasts - 70s for highs, 50s for lows, mild winds, some random storms possible.

IN JUNE.

What I'm used to in June - 80s with humidity and 20-30 mph South winds.

I'm not complaining, but it'll be interesting to see how the rest of the Summer pans out.

Shabbos - people are racing and I'm registering - for our wedding that is. JCPenny will be the place and I'm guessing we'll be spending most of the day there Saturday to get it all done.

Shabbos +1 - Meet at Crane at 7am on mtbs unless you want an easy paced short jaunt with Bob. He's taking it easy to mend his knee and Mr. Miles and I will be on mtbs. We'll depart from Crane as soon after 7am as everyone's ready, head South on the Keystone at a leisurely pace. Then once we get to Cornhusker, I believe Bob will turn around and Mr. Miles and I will jaunt over to Swanson and get a few laps in, then we'll ride back to Crane.

That's the plan.

EDIT: Here's the change in plans:

Road bikes. With all the rain we got yesterday and semi-cloudy cool conditions today, Swanson is probably iffy to ride. So we'll all ride road bikes and have a nice easy jaunt. Not sure where or how long, but we'll figure that out when we meet at Crane at 7am.

Maybe it was the coffee and tailwind.

Recently my rides have been consisting of: short commutes to and from full time job, medium commutes to and from part time job, and 1 or 2 long rides on the weekend. Do I now qualify as a weekend warrior? Who knows.

Anywho, after reading the adventures of Mr. Cronin with these guys, I decided to build up a gravel monster ride(this frame, but roadish parts) for the Shabbos +1 we did last Sunday. I figured it'd be nice on gravel to have a more upright position, so I used a short, steep stem. After some tinkering at the beginning of the ride, I had a real comfy position. Mr, Miles, who was in attendance, mentioned that I was riding rather strong. I don't know if it was the fact that I hadn't done a long ride in quite a while so I had fresh legs, but I did feel quite plucky during the ride. I rode the gravel monster to work Monday and Tuesday, but then switched back over to my race machine yesterday. The aggressive lowered-stem position of the roadie just didn't feel right, especially standing up to sprint/climb. So I real quick switched the stem to the upright position for the ride between UNMC and High Gear in the afternoon. I WAS FLYING!! I felt more comfortable and stronger on that bike than I had for a long time. Granted, a couple hours before I had just downed an Italiano from the local Charbucks kiosk (espresso shot mixed with coffee), and I had a decent cross/tail wind.... But man I felt good.

Well it must have been the coffee and tailwind. Cause on the ride home into a slight headwind, I was nowhere near as strong. I felt comfy... until my rib muscles did a weird spasm thing a half mile from home. It was kinda like a side-ache like you get when you swim right after eating, but more like only when I breathed all the air out of my lungs. It reminded me of the crash I had in Norfolk a few years ago. Very weird.

So I like the more upright position cause I think I'm not as flexible as I used to be. And I surely don't have the core strength needed to comfortably lean over in an aero/aggressive position for hours on end. I also have been contemplating a near complete cleaning out of my bike stable. I've been working for a few years on finding the "perfect" commuter bike. Guess what I figured out? Any bike can be a perfect commuter bike. And it only took me 3 bikes to figure that out. I've said to myself after each one was done, "I've made a huge mistake." But yet I went back for more....such is the life of a bike tinkerer.

Bikes are meant to be ridden in all kinds of weather, on all kinds of terrain. If the Lincoln/Rapha guys can ride road bikes for 150 miles on gravel, so should I. Sure, some bikes are better suited to certain conditions than others. Being that the majority of my riding is on road, that's probably what my bike should tailor to. So I think I'm going to sell my commuters and just have one roadish and one mtb bike. Once parts fail on my roadie, then I'll replace with parts that are more geared toward my current riding needs. I'll run my current Bonty Race X-lite wheels into the ground and replace with something similar to these. Simple, strong, lightweight. I have no idea how long my Lemond Frame is going to last, but I do really like the Rapha guys take on bikes. A well built lightweight steel frame will replace the aluminum Lemond I current use. That's probably not going to happen for quite a few years since Lemonds are/were good bikes. So hopefully I'll be way more out of debt by the time that happens and I can actually "afford" to go for a custom hand build steel ride. Hey, maybe by then, War Axe bikes will be up and running and I can support some great local guys.

And that's enough rambling and linking for today, campers. Have a good one!

One of the funniest vids evar

Stolen from Syd's blog. Thanks Syd and good luck at Nature Valley!

Shabbos +1

Gravel time.

7am is leaving time at Crane on 78th and Cass.  Get there early for wakey juice.

We'll head North out of town, and hit a gravel road I've never seen, so no promises.  

I'll be on a gravel bike, Mr. Miles is bringing his mtb, so no mashing - just easy riding.

Done.

Post em if ya got em.

I know quite a few peeps are heading up to Norfolk for the races up there. So anyone left in Omaha who want's to go on a ride, let me know. I have found from last week's group ride, of which I was too lazy to do a write up on, that my current limit on the bike is about 60 miles. That's pretty sad. Granted, we were going pretty hard, so at an easier pace, I would probably be able to handle 70 to 80 miles.

After reading a few Lincoln blogs, I kinda have a hankering for gravel. There's a couple familiar routes to the South, but one North/West route that I've never been on. I may go splorin' by myself if no one can join. Saturday would have to be an early ride, and Sunday could be anytime. Looking at the weather, we'll probably get rain overnight tonight, and again overnight on Saturday, but hopefully the daytime will be good.

Post a comment if you have some ideas.

I have a very important announcement to make..

CANNONBALL!!!!

Just kidding.  They've done studies, you know.  60% of the time, it works every time.

Ok, in all serialness, here's an interesting article.  I'm sure most of you, my readers, know this already, but I figured I'd show that they have actually done studies.  You know.

Formal emails have been sent.

I have sent out my formal email asking peeps for their home addresses so I can send out invites for my wedding celebration.  If you did not get an email, get back to me so I can send you an email, so you can send me and email about your home address.  (Does that make any sense?)  You can contact me at cyclery88 at the gmail email.

Shabbos +1

Time: 7 a.m.
Distance: 3-4 hours
Rallying point: TBD
Pace: I make no promises

More information to come.

This bike is HAWT!

Cinelli XCr.

Pure hawtness in my book.

Meh...

I gots nothin.  I work most the day Saturday (time and a half, baby!!), then on Sunday early AM, I'm volunteering for the Papillion half marathon.  It'll be a wild time of riding 13 mph back and forth along the course.

If my rear's not sore from sitting on my bike for a few hours, I may be up for an afternoon ride on Sunday.  

Meh....

I'll be watching golf, but ...

I thought you might want to know that NBC's Universal Sport channel will be broadcasting the Giro - Starting tomorrow at 7:30. Uh that's channel 120 on cox. Or 6.2 if you have Rabbit Ears and a digital Television.

It's that time again.

Weekends here.  I'm tired.  I just started working the early shift at the full time job (6am to 3pm) and added on a part time job building bikes 2 days a week (4pm to 8pm).  Coffee is being taken intraveniously.

Saturday - I'm oot.  I'm on call till 12:30pm, then I have a wedding planning lunch to go to.*  I know some peeps are going to Platte River SP for the mtb race, which is an awesome idea.  Great trails there.  Others will probably join the local shops group ride.  If any of you followers of my blog (all 3 of you) want to plan something for Saturday am, post in the comments.

Sunday - the ride plans are: Crane coffee at 78th and Cass at 9:30am.  Show up early if you want to partake in some wakey juice.  I know I will.  We'll ride for a few hours, nothing fast pace, just base mileage type stuff.

*wedding plans - Yup I'm gettin hitched.  It's only taken Michelle and me 18 years to get around to it.  The date of our "going to the courthouse" is Friday, July 10th.  The date of the, "We finally did it" celebration is Sunday, July 12th from 2pm to 6pm(actual time may vary) at Elmwood park Pavillion.  I know there's a race that day, but we'll have plenty of food to refuel with so drop in and get your grub on.  It's not formal at all - there'll be background music and food.  Come in your shorts and stinky jersey if you want.  That's just how we roll.

Weekend review.

Saturday - The River City Shootout MTB race at Swanson was great.  I officiated to the best of my abilities and most seemed pretty happy with the race day overall.  I tried to be as quick with results as possible, but that's tough when your hopped up on caffeine and really needing lunch.  Overall, it was a good time.

Sunday - easy ride with Randall in the AM.  Did a couple hours and got 34 miles in.  I was 6 miles short of winning one of my Plus3 Network challenges.  So I rode to the store to by cat food and stopped by the Trek store too.  I will be the proud owner of some Ritchey Socks and, after June, have my name in a drawing for a Ritchey Stem.   If you have a Garmin on your bike, and/or just want to donate to a cause by riding your bike, check out the Plus3 site.  I've raised $50 for Rails to Trails Conservancy just by commuting and riding around.  Pretty sweet deal.

Racers I know - Well there were a ton of people at the MTB race that I wish I could have talked to more, but I was officiating.  So I had to talk when I could, but keep my focus on the race.  There were some Lincoln and Omaha guys that did the TI 5 - Um, anyone that even looked at the starting line of this race has the right to use the term EPIC!  

Mid 30s? - 2 other racers, Syd Brown and Aaron Pool did a wee race called Tour of Gila.  You know, the one that Lance, Levi, Horner, Kristen Armstrong, and all the fastest racers in America did?  Yeah well, Pool ended up 35th (out of 180 starting PROS!!!) and Syd finished 36th!!!  All I gotta say is - Nebraska's got talent.  Great job you two.

I start work building bikes at HighGear on Tuesday.  So it'll be nice to have some extra income, but my riding will suffer.  Well actually, I'll probably be riding more now since I'll be riding from my daytime job, to the part time that's 10 miles away.  So maybe my weekly mileage will go up.  I need the miles.

English racer?

As I was taking my bike into our office, an Environmental Services gentleman stopped in the hall when he saw my bike and said, "Ah nice, an English racer."  So I stopped and chatted with him a bit.  I guess he called it an English racer because it has skinny tires, chrome fenders, and drop handlebars.  He had a Mongoose.  He was happy to report that after switching to hybrid tires, his ride was much easier, but probably not as fast as my bike.  I said, "Hey, as long as you're having fun, that's all that matters."

This weekend: I may be up for an early Shabbos ride.  It depends on the trail conditions.  "What's that?" you say?  Why would mountain bike trails have an effect on a road ride?  Well I'm officiating for this weekend's Psycowpath River City Shootout at Swanson park.  If the trail is too muddy after today's rain, they will postpone the race till Sunday.  Unfortunately, that call will be made tonight sometime.  So I won't know about the weekend's plans till.......well, this weekend.

If the race is tomorrow, I'd like to ride on Sunday in the afternoon.  Or in the morning.  Whenever.

If the race is Sunday, I'd like to be done with the Saturday ride earlier in the day - by about noon?

My thoughts on the Metro SIngle Track Tour.

Epically epicness of all that is epic!!!!

Ok, it wasn't that bad.  Never mind that I hadn't been on a mtb since August.  Never mind that the last time I did more than 60 miles was back during Crank N Camp in November.  Never mind that we changed a flat in the cold rain, outran a train (ok so maybe it was only moving at .5 mph and a guy was standing there telling us we could go around it), or did a total of 80 miles, 4 different trails, and finished up the ride on the Keystone going north directly in to a heavy, rainy, 15-20 mph wind.

But it was all fun.  Today was the kind of ride where, after you're done and sitting in the shower going on half an hour (10 minutes past total prune status), you contemplate if they'll ever create time travel.  If it ever came to be, the only thing you'd want to do is go back and give the person who created hot showers a hundred dollar bill.  Cause you know, that would've been like a billion dollars back in their days.

I met up with Ryan F at Crane, had some wakey juice, then we scooted up to Tranquility.  We met up with Mr. Miles and Dale.  I was already falling off these guys cause, well I'm not that stellar at bike handling.  I'm good enough to go at normal mtbers easy pace.  But as soon as they start picking it up, I'm left fanagaling the technical stuff.  Even when Dale goes on his fixie 32tx16(?), I can't keep up.  Sigh.  I'll get better with practice.

So after Tranquility, Dale bid us farewell so we could travel at people-with-gears pace.  As we yammered about all staying together, he stopped us with, "If you wait up for me, I'll stop."  Oh.  Ok.  So that decided that.  So Mike, Ryan and I headed downtown, over the BK Bridge, and up North to Lewis n Clark.  I had forgotten how hilly that place was!  It felt like you were going up hill all the time.  Also, it was on this trail that I figured out that changing the chain did not help my skipping issue.  So maybe I need a new cassette.  Worse still, it could be a freehub issue.  In the latter case, I'm not sure what I could do as I think that would be a pretty expensive repair.

Anyway, as we were just leaving LnC, Dale was just arriving.  We all said "hi," in passing and us 3 guys were headed Southbound to Manawa.  After a quick stop for water refill, we got to the trail and I started slowing way down.  My back really started to feel the different position, the wider foot stance, and the jarring of the trail.  I was watching Ryan and Mike go up the trail, threading through the trees like it was nothing, and I thought to myself, "Man it'd be nice to have a full suspension 26er."  I have a fully rigid 29er and I was feeling it.  My pressure was down to the low 20s, but still, at this point in the ride, I was needing a break. 

So break we did.  We stopped at the Caseys general store right North of Manawa and at some Pizza and guzzled soda.  MMMMMMmmm. Perfect refuel stuff.  After a quick trip over the South O Bridge and some getting wetter rain, we did our final stop at Swanson.  We cut out Jewell since I complained enough and we really didn't need to head any farther South since the North wind was going to kick our butts pretty good.  Plus I'm glad we did that since by the time we would've gotten to Swanson after Jewell, the trail would've probably been un-rideable.  So our lap was not bad, but still really slow to normal standards.  This is where Ryan got his flat.  He got that changed in time before we complained too much about getting cold. 

Then was our slog into the rain spittling wind.  Ugh.  I was pretty toasted by this point so maintaining 15mph was not going very well.  Ryan was apparetly in great shape since he had to keep looking back and sitting up after pulling away from us.  Glad you're riding that strong buddy.  Give em hell this year at the races.

So after getting cleaned up and not so pruney, I'm feeling pretty good now.  And by good, I mean ready for a nap.  

The weekend.

Metro Single Track Tour.  Epicly fun fat tire adventure all day Saturday.

On the mountain bike: new chain? Check.  Old front derailleur to act as chain catcher for my 1x9 setup?  Check.  New upright position to make for more comfortable ride?  Check.

Bad weather forecast that could possibly cancel the whole thing? Check.

Crap.

I'm hoping the 50% chance of thunderstorms ends up changing to 0%, but we'll see.

Sunday is also looking iffy.  It is Spring and we do need the moisture, but why can't it happen during the week over nights when it won't ruin anyone's plans?  Come on, Mother Nature! Get with the program!

Catch me ridin durtay

I rode my mountain bike to work today.  I have mixed feelings about mtb.  I love riding in the trees where the wind won't bug you, but I don't like getting to and from the trails.  Have you noticed that most mtbers drive to the trail?  The main reason is a mountain bike is way inefficient on paved surfaces compared to a roadie.  It'll get you there, but you're probably going to work pretty hard before your ride is supposed to even start.

When I first got into mtb, I was super fit from racing.  So I hopped on my single speed mtb, whirlied my cranks down to the trail, did a few laps, then whirlied home.  I don't have that kind of endurance now.  Or strength.

I really like the single speed for trails, but it takes quite a bit of strength to punch it up those short steep bumps.  Jewell park is near impossible for me on the single speed, but all other trails are doable.  Like I said though, as my training/racing went away, so did my strength and endurance.  Last year I found myself driving to the trail head, riding a couple laps, then driving my sore, beat-up body home.

Well now I get to learn it all over again.  I just setup my mountain bike as a 1x9.  So I have a 34t chainring and a regular 11-34 cassette in the rear.  Plenty of choices to get me going on the roads and also not have to use my entire body to get a single gear over some steep stuff on the trail.  We'll see how that all works out.  I already made a mis-shift this morning on the way to work.  Right after a stop light turned green, I tried to push a pretty big gear, but instead, my chain popped off.  Crap.  So I moseyed over to the curb.  Nothing was broken, but I guess I can't punch it like I do on my roadie or when my mountain bike was setup as a single speed.  Very interesting.

In other news; please donate thoughts, prayers, money, bike parts, good luck, bandages, or skin to Bryan. He's had a couple of rough months so he could use any help possible.  Cause that's what friends are for.

And here's Ollie with the weather report...

IT'S GONE RAIN!

Thanks Ollie.

So Saturday is looking pretty crappy weather wise and I need to do some spring cleaning.  So Saturday is out for riding.

Shabbos +1: couple options here.  Meet at the Bike Masters Century by 8 am and ride some or all of it?  Meet at Crane at 7am for some wakey juice then ride out to the Century and do some or all of it?  Or, meet somewhere sometime and ride someways?

Please respond with your availability and we'll decide by Saturday what the plans are.

Blog relegation

Not that anyone will notice, but I've relegated some of my links to "will link again when consistent posting resumes."  Just some spring cleaning, that's all.  Why have a link to a website that doesn't have anything new since a few months ago?

My guess is it's all the new Facebook, Twitter, or even Flutter sites that has everyone's attention, rather than writing full paragraphs or full page pics of blogging.  I know I'm pretty wordy with my posts, which is why I don't post that often.  However, I can't see just writing out one liners about what's going on in my life.  I'm not witty enough to make a comedic, sentence-long post about going to the bathroom.  Plus, who wants to read about that?

Biking - I didn't do a Wednesday night ride yesterday.  I was mopey, depressed, lethargic, and wasn't looking forward to the grocery shopping trip we needed to do.  I think it needs to get green outside soon.  It seems like this Spring is much more Winter like than in years past.  Not happy about that.  My guess is it's going to create a really hot summer.  Cause the yearly temp has to even out, so all this below average temps have to made up somewhere.  If it doesn't happen this Summer, next Winter would do just fine by me.  No more riding to work in negative degree temps.

Crank n Camp - It's not looking good, campers.  I've seen everything from 60% to 85% chance of showers on Saturday, with better chances to the South.  Which is where we would be heading.  Plus the thunderstorm possibility is just a slap to the face.  Limestone trails generally dry out fast and/or don't get too affected by lighter rains.  But throw in some lighting, and it makes for a very un-fun trip.

If I stay in Omaha this weekend, and Saturday is too crappy, I'll sure be up for a Sunday ride.  Bike Masters is doing their Spring Century ride on Sunday starting at 8am.  I'm in no shape to do a century, but I'd probably tag along for some of it.  Might be a good starting point for Shabbos +1.  Either that, or meet up at Crane at 7am, have some wakey-juice, then head there to meet everyone else?  Or do our own thing?  Or ride in the afternoon?  Guess I'm saying I'm up for whatever.  We'll see how the weather plays out though.

Of Slipping Seatposts and Forecasts.

I put a different seatpost on my bike I'll be using this weekend for the Crank N Camp excursion.  I had reported yesterday that my bike was ready to go from the 2.5 mile ride into work.  Well, that changed on a ride afterward.

Bob had asked to meet up for a scouting ride Friday to see if the trail is good to go for this weekend.  I decided it would also be wise to see how the trail faired after a rain like we had on Sunday/Monday.  So after work I rode to the trail to check it out.  On my way there, I started to feel like my knees were hitting my chest.  I thought, "Well, maybe I moved my saddle too far forward?"  So I stopped, got out the wrench, and adjusted.  After another few miles things just did't feel right.  So I stopped, got out the wrench, and pulled the seatpost up.  That was way better.  I felt near perfect.  I had a smaller wrench so it would fit in my seatpack, but getting enough torque on the seatpost binder was diffuclt.  Oh well, it should work.

Not at all.  After only a few more miles, I could see my seatpost getting shorter and shorter.  Grrr...  So finally, after I had gotten to the trail and saw that it was fine only 8 hours after a decent rain, I moved the seatpost out one last time and really reefed down on the bolt.  It stayed there, for the most part.  And I had the position pretty good cause I was feeling strong.  I really pushed it on the ride home.  Granted, I had a tail/cross wind, but still making my heavy commuter move quickly was a welcome experience.

So I got home and decided to check my seat height.  IT WAS 2 CENTIMETERS TOO SHORT!!!  If you have ever moved your saddle around by 5 or so millimeters, you know what a difference that makes.  I was 20 millimeters off.  Well that explains the horribly sore muscles this morning.  They were not used to that position at all.  My hamstrings feel like I've been doing leg curls for days.  And my quads are tweaked in all the wrong spots (mostly around my knees - which is very bad).

I think the reason I felt strong is because I was using muscles I don't normally use, but I paid for that in soreness.  But I may have to revisit my position if a lower saddle did help the strength factor.

On to the Forecast.  This weekend looks glib, Matt.  Originally, they had thought it was going to be rainy on Friday maybe into Saturday.  Now they're saying Friday sprinkles and Saturday Thundershowers???  Not sure if I want to be stuck out on the Wabash trail between towns with lightning around me.  Hopefully the forecast will change again before the weekend, but as it stands now, the trip might be in jeopardy.  And not the good kind with Alex Trebeck.

Yehuda Moon has ended!!!

Not sure how many of you stopped by the Yehuda Moon comic strip.  It was entertaining.  The creator, Rick Smith is on haitus for a while, probably to actually get some riding in.  So, that won't be on my blog anymore.  It was fun while it lasted, but that's the way it goes.

Anyway, I was on haitus for a while too this weekend.  Saturday I felt like crap.  Utter and horrible crap.  Which sucked cause it was a top 10 weather day outside.  Oh well, hopefully there'll be more down the road.  And Sunday I was busy cleaning house and getting the things done that I couldn't do on Saturday.

And next weekend is Crank N Camp.  My bike is ready.  Well it seems ready from the 2.5 mile ride into work.  Not sure how it will handle 70-ish miles over limestone each day next weekend.  I will need to ruffle up some camping gear though, so I'll be calling on some of you guys over the next few days.

8 posts in 1

Here's an interesting quote:  Overheard:  "Next time you're in your car, at 50 miles per hour [80 kph], strip down to your underwear and jump out. That's what it's like to crash in a professional bike race." -- Jonathan Vaughters, former pro and current Team Garmin director.

I thought about how much it would suck to crash last night during the Bike Masters Wed night group ride.  We weren't going 50 mph, but at mid 20s, sliding along the pavement or rolling over each other with bikes in the mix isn't exactly enticing.  I wasn't really worried since the people I was riding with were solid riders, but every now and then when a weird gust happens, or a really bad hole in the pavement gets someone up front, you have visions of everyone going down and not being able to avoid getting caught up in it.  Unfortunately, this is one hurdle I'll have to cross if I decide to get back into racing.  And that's a fairly significant hurdle.

Anyway, the group ride was fun and furious.  Huge group showed up for the first annual "Return of Marco Vasquez" ride.  He was just visiting, but apparently he was quite welcome as about 30 people showed up to the ride.  Of course, the ride split up eventually, but it was still fun.  The really fast guys took off on a hill and Bryan and I tried to bridge up, but it was all for naught.  We kept it steady and picked up about 8 other riders to form a solid group.  Bob used the momentum of his 26lb bike after a big dip to punch it up a hill.  And dropped I was.  My legs just gave out.  Last weeks Trek Store ride showed my lungs' weakness, this time it was my legs.  After a while in no man's land (it was actually quite enjoyable to be pushing along at 22-ish mph) the fast guys who went further than us at our turn around, caught me and I hopped on.  I stayed with them surprisingly well, but I think they were at the end of their beating up on each other stint.

So that's my ride report.

Onto part 3...

Shabbos ride!!!  Any plans?  I know Sean's going to be in town and wanting to ride.  I also know Mr. Miles would like to do a mtb ride (probably on Saturday since Sunday will likely be rainy?), and I also know Jon Randell wants to do a 7-ish am Saturday road ride for base miles (3-4 hrs).

So what does everyone think about a ride?  Would there be a large enough group to start at Crane at 7am on Saturday?  Sean, do you need to borrow my bike?  Mr. Miles, are you fine with doing road or mtb?  Is this thing on??  Check 1, 2?

I thought the sky was supposed to fall?

All last week everyone was certain we were going to get shut down with a horredous blizzard with accumulation of 3-6" of snow.  

We got maybe an inch and a half?  Granted, getting aroud during the storm was not fun.  The wind was crazy strong and the snow falling sideways didn't help.  Locally, there was power out around where I live.  But the good folks at OPPD got everyone back online by about noon or so.  

So instead of breaking out the fendered beast for my ride into work this AM, I just stuck with the light and agile race machine.  The ground was dry, the air was cold, and the wind was moving, but I made it in just fine.  There were a couple spots where I thought I was going to run over large shards of glass, but it turned out to be ice chunks that had falled down from limbs or signs.  Besides the wind that made my eyes water pretty much the entire ride in, it was just fine.

I guess we'll have to wait till next winter for the sky to fall again.  And I'm just fine with that.

Weekend after next is the Crank n Camp weekend.  Should be a good time.  Hopefully it won't be as cold sleeping overnight as it was at our past fall Crank n Camp.  Oh, I may be contacting some of you to borrow some camping gear if it's available.  That is unless some of you plan on joining us???

Early Shabbos Posting

Plans for Shabbos

7am meet at Crane Coffee - 78th and Cass.

Ride South some way so we can be at 108th and hwy 370 by 9:45am.

This will be tricky.  We could do the old High Gear Wed night route where we Head South on hwy 50 to loop around Schram park, then come back.  But that might take us longer to make the 9:45 deadline.

Then again, this whole thing could be rained out.  How does everyone feel about riding in the rain AND cold.  I'm good in either/or, but both is usually too uncomfortable for an extended time.

I'm open to route suggestions if anyone has an idea.  Here's mine.

Wed night group therapy

Even though Brady got me all fired up for the Wednesday night group ride, then pulled an April fools by not showing up, I still had a good time.  In attendance was Mr. Webb, Lucas, EB, Shim, and 3 other gents I did not know.

I only got dropped 2 times.  2 times? 3 times.  3 times?  Ok maybe 4.  It always involved a hill.  So once I loose some winter padding and ride more frequently, I won't be dropped on the hills as much.  So right now, my training regiment involves the Wednesday night group ride for intensity, Saturday spirited Shabbos ride, easy spin Shabbos +1 ride on Sunday, then what ever other miles I can do the other nights of the week.  Having someone to ride with will always garauntee that I get a ride in.  So if you're ever up for some miles with an easy going chap, reply to any of my posts, or email me, or call or whatever.  I'm done with work at 4:30 and am riding my bike from 42nd and Leavenworth shortly thereafter.

Hope all of you are getting out for some great riding also!

Shabbos -3 (Wednesday Night Group Ride)

Wednesday night group rides are back.

While some may opt to join the Bike Masters group, I'll be heading out with the Trek Store club ride. Apparently, a half dozen rode from there last week.

Trek Group Ride Details:
Where: Trek Store (7214 Jones St)
When: Meet at 5:30; 5:45 Departure
Bring: Lights

Weather:

Wednesday

Partly sunny. Highs in the upper 40s. Southwest winds 5 to 10 mph.

Hope to see you out there.

Mrs. Pacman visits Omaha.

Comfort on bike = speed.

Today's ride was a top 10.  Even though it was a bit windy with a 15-ish frigid breath from the Great North, the sun was out, and I got a 3 hour ride in with some great friends.

I had forgotten how comfortable fancy new fabrics can make you feel.  This whole winter I've been wearing wool since it keeps you really warm and doesn't stink after a single ride.  Today I went back to my racing days and donned a Craft long sleeve base layer (warm and dries in seconds even when sweating), a jersey, a vest, arm warmers, shorts, leg warmers, booties over shoes, and mid weight gloves.  We worked hard into the wind, so I stayed warm that way, then after turning around, I could easily unzip some layers to let my layers dry out quickly.

All this along with the fact that I was riding with Brady, Joe, Mr. Miles, and Jonny Randell, made for a stellar ride.  And I was feeling my coffee and cream of wheat.  I hit it hard when I could and sat in when I needed.  But overall, I finished the ride kinda tired, but feeling great.  Now if I would just keep doing rides consistently, I would get fitter faster.  Oh well, warmer weather is coming (maybe in a couple weeks??) and more group rides will be had.  It's all gravy.

Oh yeah, tomorrow - Shabbos +1.  Not sure yet.  A call is in to Bryan, but I've heard that he caught the sickness his son has.  So his input for the ride may be out.  Mr. Miles and I (and maybe Joe and Jonny?) are still planning at 12:30 or 1pm for a 3-ish hour easy spin.   Keep checking back, kiddies for official time and place.

Weekend for roadies.

The Pedal Omaha site has some discussion that may lead to riding of the off-road variety.  However, if you'd like to take it to the streets on skinnies, you could join us.

Saturday(Shabbos): 2pm at Crane Coffee at 78th and Cass. 

2-3 hours depending on what peeps wanna do.

Pace will be set by attendees.  I'm hoping for easy speed, but will follow fast wheels.

Sunday (Shabbos +1): Afternoon 3 hour EASY SPIN. Don't show up if you need to see a speed of +18mph at all times.  I will be beligerently berating anyone who picks up the pace.  Have frame pump, will use it.

Sometime.  Somewhere.  Mr. Miles, Bryan, please elaborate on this.

Goodbye Spring, Hello......Winter??

So just last week it was awesome.  I put in about 15 hours of riding (after quite a few 5 hr weeks) in the upper 60 degree weather.

I rode into work this morning and it was COLD!!  Not quite cold-as-the-ass-of-death like we had during real winter, but still cold.  According to Accuweather, right now, an hour after my ride into work, it's 23 degrees with an 8 mph wind.  So that makes it a "RealFeel" of 15 degrees.  I know it was windier and colder when I rode in before there was any real sun, so I had to be riding in the single digits again.  And I was way under dressed for it.  Oops.

So this weekend, well Saturday at least, there are some plans being thrown around, along with some wrenches.  I'm kinda on the same page as Brady with wanting to ride later in the day.  2pm would be the warmest at mid 40 degrees vs 30 degrees at 10am.  But then again, riding with the guys who will be hitting singletrack will be nicer than battling a frigid Northern wind for an hour or so.

Any takers?  Any suggestions?

Shomer Shabbos!

So, what's the deal? Looks like SSE wind at or around 20 mph. That'll be fun.

I'm looking for three hours, max. Because my legs are pretty much shredded.

I won't be able to get out until 10:30 at the earliest, so let's get this stuff figured out, yeah?

SHABBOS RIDE!!!

I'm calling it out since many fast guys will be up in Sioux City doing a reeeeally early season race.

Shabbos(Saturday) ride.

1pm - Crane Coffee at 78th and Cass.

Distance/tempo - to be determined by group, but most likely South since there'll be a South-ish wind of 15-20mph.  

If you have major objections to the start time, or if many people are in agreement to an earlier time, we'll go for that.  I mainly just wanted to hit the warmest part of the day.

Clouds and cool weather come hither!!!

So after 4 days straight of more than half hour rides (which has not happened since last fall), I'm burned out in more ways than one.  My muscles are sore from an uptempo ride with Brady on Saturday ride, and a "recovery" ride on Sunday.  I spun the legs out after work on Monday, then today, took off work early to pedal for a couple hours with old pal Jonny Randell.  My rear is not used to the chamois time, so it's pretty irritated.  Then to top it all off, today's intense sun gave me the first sunburn of the year.  It's mostly on my hands/face/calves/eyeballs.  Seriously my eye are super dry and irritated.  It has to be the sun.  Either that or allergies.  That'd be a first for me.

So I'd be perfectly happy with cooler cloudier condition the next few days to block some of the sun from my burns.  I had forgotton how annoyingly painful they are.  It's not bad, just really really annoying.  Like having sandpaper scrape your flesh when in actuality, nothing is there.  

Ok, I'm done complaining about the sun now.  You'd think I'd want it to be 10 degrees again or something!

That was fun! Let's do it again!

Went out for 3-ish hours with the Steel cut man.  We hit the warmest part of the day and kept a pretty good clip of around17mph.  Headed down to Plattsmouth, across that bridge to Pacific Junction, then back.  We battled some wind, but otherwise the ride was a top 10.  

Anyone have plans for Sunday?  Please post if you have a definite timeline in mind. 

Pain train leaves the station at 10

Saturday

10 a.m.

Trek Store (72nd/Jones)

4-5 hours

Limpach-organized (ouch)

I'm hitting Crane (78th/Cass) at 9:20ish for coffee, then riding down to the Trek Store.

readysetgo!

It could get cold, possibly wet

I'll make the call, I guess. Rain is likely in the morning, but it's supposed to be dry after lunch. So here we go:

Sunday
Noon (earlier if you want coffee)
Crane Coffee at 78th/Cass
3-3.5 hours
steady pace (but not tottering along)

See you there.

It's been almost a month.

I've been riding.  But only for a whopping total of about half hour each work day.  I haven't ridden more than that since February 10th.

Until last night.  I joined some wide tired brethren on a couple hour jaunt last night.  We headed south with a wind to a tune of 20-ish mph.  We picked up a couple friends along the way, and also picked up pace into a cross-headwind.  After a hotlap around the lake, we kept the pace medium almost all the home.  The North-ish wind had died down so our efforts didn't have to be too hard to maintain 19mph.  But man it felt good to ride fast with friends.

After dropping off people along the route, Ryan, Roxy, Larry, and I ate at my neighborhood healthy spot.  I had a delicious tuna sammich with edamame and, after bidding the last peeps farewell, mosied the 3 blocks home.

A great end to a much needed evening ride.

Positive Pedal Experience

Thank you, Mr. friendly Hispanic guy driving a red Ford truck, for being a nice neighbor.

Good start to the day.  I unclip at a stop light in the left hand turn lane when the guy in the red truck next to me rolls down his window. 

"Where've you been??"  

What is this guy talking about about, I ask in my head.  

"I haven't seen you for a while."

I swear I have never seen this guy before in my life.

"I always bump into along about Center street, but you haven't been there for a while."

Holy crap, this guy just admitted he missed seeing me riding my bike to work!!  He even called me out on not riding the past few days.  It's true.  Friday I drove (GASP!!!) because I didn't have any clean clothes at work and I wanted to take the woman out to lunch.  Yesterday (Monday) I still didn't have any clean clothes since I forgot to take them with me in my car on Friday.  Driving makes you forget stuff, I swear.  I took the bus on Monday, so that was nice and stress free.

So anyway, the experience with this nice guy who ended the conversation with, "You have a good one, buddy," was polar opposite to an instance a couple weeks ago.  That one involved a car laying on it's horn while waiting to pass me on Saddle creek.  I'm at a stop light when apparently, a bunch of cars pull up behind me in both lanes.  (On a side note, the lady in the left hand lane right next to me had her talk show music on louder than most boomin system hoopties!!)  So the light turns green and I get going.  The greyish Volkswagen Passat right behind me has to wait for all the left lane traffic to go by before he/she can get around me.  So he/she starts laying on his horn.  This goes on for half a block and I keep looking back like "What is your problem?"  The laying on the horn continues along with flashing of brights and emergency blinkers?!?  So this person apparently really needed to get past me (in the slower moving right hand lane) and had to let everyone else know around also.  Whatever.  Don't pull up behind a cyclist at a stoplight and expect them to jump off the road when you rudely demand them to.

Meh, such is the ups and downs of bike commuting.  At least Mr. friendly red truck guy has the decency to talk to me in person.  I should have looked for his license plate number and sent him a thank you letter.  I'm sure we'll bump into each other again.  Well, hopefully not literally.  

First race of the season.

Want to see how your winter training (or lack thereof in my case) has helped you get ready for the race season?  Then head North bound to partake in one of the first races of the season.  It's our own Tour of Cali, but without the coast, multiple days, large crowds, huge teams, media coverage, or pretty much anything else.  But it's the best way to get a boost to your fitness this early in the year.  Details below:

The Twin Bing Road Race
The Event
The Twin Bing Road Race is an A and B category race starting in the very
small town of Climbing Hill, Iowa on Saturday, March 21st.

The Course
Starting on the only street in town, the clockwise course will proceed
upward and westward on D54, north on 'Old Hwy 141' (D25), east on D38
past Bronson and south on K64 back to Climbing Hill. You want hills? We
got hills! Nice tarmac all the way around.

The Races
A- (1,2,3) 68 miles (3 laps + hilltop finish) Start: 10:00am
B- (3,4,5) 45 miles (2 laps + hilltop finish) Start: 10:15am

The Cost
$20 (no late fee!)

The Prizes
A- 6 places: $150, 100, 80, 60, 40, 20
B- 4 Places: $100, 70, 50, 30

The Registration
Day-of at the County Sheriff's Substation north side of the street in
Climbing Hill. Registration closes at 9:45am.

Save some time: Fill out a Standard Athlete's Release and bring it with
you. Make checks payable to "SC Velo". Renew your licence now!

The Rules
The Yellow Line rule will be enforced. Yes, we really mean it. Wheels
in, wheels out. Feedzone in front of the Substation. 

There will be water and bathrooms at the Substation. Otherwise, come
prepared! The town is a few churches and a dozen or so houses. There is
a cafe but it's probably not open this time of year. There's no gas
station so don't show up running on fumes. If you did Ragbrai in 2006
then the stretch on D38 will be deja vu all over again.

The Directions
Mapquest or Google Climbing Hill, Iowa.

(Here's the google directions from midtown, Omaha)

The Go-to Guy
Bill Mize
coupechopper@msn.com
(712) 252-1344 

The Sponsor
Palmer Candy

I have no response to that...

I doubt anyone will get that random quote in the title.  It's from a movie that most seem to hate, but I loved.  Anywho....

Not much going on in Munsonville.  I'm getting fatter, if that's considered a "goings on."  I can't wait for warmer days and longer evenings so I can take off after work and ride for hours.  It's tough to do that now when work's done at 4:30pm, it gets dark at 5:45, and it's usually pretty chilly.  Meh.  That's life.  I guess if I lived near the equator, I wouldn't have this problem.  But then I'd be in the desert.  And that doesn't sound like fun either.

So goes the randomness that is my world.

Prepare for the Ice Age!!!

Well, it's not that bad.  But today is basically the last day you could possibly ride on clear dry ground for at least a week.  Tomorrow's afternoon commute should be very interesting with blowing heavy snow in full effect.  Pedal safe if you plan to ride.

This weekend is probably either a trainer, mtb snow trail, or fun slow road ride situation.  It's also"valentimes" day (the way my woman pronounces, which I find very cute).  So spend some time with your significant other if you survive the cold and snow.

Newest Hosre in the barn!

Ya this one goes to 11!



Carbon Bar and Clear bar-tape!



Yes it is SUPER!



No these are not the wheel that will be on it!



And this is just bragging!



And no its not mine, But I do get to ride it for the next year. As soon as the snow melts!

Plans? Plans?

If you are one of the 2 or three people who still follow my blog and check in for ride plans, here's what I know.

Nothin.

Ok, but seriously.  SATURDAY, 2 known options so far:

1. 10am Kohls at 72nd and Pacific.  Hop along for the Spence Pain Train.  There will be speed and there won't be stops.  Bring your lungs and your legs and give em hell.

2. 5pm at EB's house, then ride downtown to watch some filmage, then ride around like a bunch of crazies(?) 

What am I doing?  I have no idea.  I'd like to ride with the fasties, but I'd also like to ride with a group for more than an hour, as they'd likely drop me pretty darn quick.  And I'm ok with that.  By mid summer, I plan on being in shape enough to join them again.  And the evening thing sounds intriguing, but I'll be in dispose from 3pm on.  So if anyone else has a ride planned for morning or noon or till 2pm, let me know.

SUNDAY:

Again, I have no idea.  Bryan may be waiting for me to make a decision, and I'm waiting for someone else to pipe up and give some time guidelines.  If anyone has a timeline, let us know.  I'm open all day so make a choice and I'll be there.

So great...so tired.

My Garmin GPS gave out at mile 36 and it was at least 10 miles from home.  I'm gonna say I had fifty miles for the day.  It was indeed a great day.

Warm sun, great friends, interesting route choice.  It all kicked off with delicious breakfast at EB's casa.  Many assembled and partook in the mastication.  Then it was off to the Blue Line coffee house.  We met a couple other folk there, then we were on our way.

Across the BK bridge, South on the trails, a pit stop at Manawa so most of the guys could venture out onto the frozen over lake (I was not that adventurous).  Over to the Wabash where we probalby should have not opted to ride.  It was fun, but pretty messy.  We hit the road even further south so we could hit 370 into Bellevue.  We hung out at Hayworth park, then remounted and mozied toward downtown.  Most of the guys ate at the Upstream, but Brady and I had to get heading home.  We conjoined with Ryan and Roxy who were just coming back in from their wonderous warm winter day ride.

It was a great time, but I'm pooped.  50 mile rides used to be nothing to me.  Now, alas, I've slowed down and become soft.  I imagine once summer hits and I can put in some hours outside in the sun, I'll harden up again.  But until then, I'm content to get out when I can and soak up the comraderie with fellow pedalers.

Tomorrow!!!  Shabbos +1!!  Bob, I hope you read this before you go to bed.  The other Mike and I would like to ride somewhere in the AM if you want to join.  If you don't pipe up by 9pm, we'll assume you're busy and figure something out.  All posts about tomorrows ride please respond in the comments section.  Oh, and if, perchance Bob and/or the other Mike can't ride, I'd be willing to ride in the afternoon with whomever responds.  Talk to me Goose!!

It's like riding on gravel the whole time.

That must have been the thought process for the creators of tires like these:

I got these tires from Fred since he over-bought them.  I figured today's ride in some snow would be a good test.  I didn't get to mounting the rear tire, but I got the front one on.  I had to patch the tube that was going in it so I ran out of time before my 11am shift.

These things are super stiff.  I'm not sure how much pressure I got up to, as I used a frame pump since my regular pump went on the frits.  But even at, what I assumed was, about 50 psi it was still really stiff.  Also, these tires say they are 35C.  I've been running my 32 C Bonty hardcases and they seem WAY fatter than the 35s from Innova.  Kinda strange.

Anyway, now I see what all the hype is about.  With just the front tire being studded, I felt like I was velcroed to the ground, no matter what was on it - hardpack snow, loose fresh snow over hardpack, etc.  I couldn't tell if I went over any ice since it had just snowed some.  However, once i got onto the flat smooth plowed surface of Center street, the tire played against me.  I felt like I was going on a gravel ride.  My normal speed of 16-18mph dropped down to 13-14.  Which is kinda frustrating when you know it's the tire that's doing it.  I could have just as easily ridden both slicks since I only really have a couple blocks of non-treated roads.

Speaking of treated roads, has anyone noticed how much salt is on the roads nowadays?  I guess I'm glad since it makes for easier driving when I do that, but man, the drivetrain on my bike is completely orange with rust.  I have a heater for the garage, so I really should get it cleaned up.  I'm just not looking forward to all the scrubbing I'm going need to do.

grumble,grumble..Rides anyone?...grumble, grumble..

Anyone venturing outside this weekend?  Highs of 18.  North wind.  Snow on Sunday.

grumble...grumble...

Ok.  Anyone playing loads of Playstation/XBox/Nintendo and/or watching TV this weekend?

I'm up for either, but will be doing only the latter if I don't hear from anyone.

I rode, therefore I was?

Saturday's ride was a hurtfest for a number of reasons.  I met up with Bryan near Ponca hills and we proceeded to climb for an hour or so.  He was riding at almost LT, whereas near the end, I was blown past anaerobic.

Let me go back to that morning to set the stage.  The alarm went off at 8am so the woman and I could go grocery shopping long before the noon bike ride.  I was planning on re-applying the removeable fenders onto my race machine.  It was sloppy out and I didn't want to ride for a few hours with soaking bike shorts on.  Never a good idea.  The original plan was to be grocery shopping by 9am, done by 10am so I could have time to dink on my bike and ride to the coffee shop meeting place early.  

We were not so quick to get going.  9:45am rolls around and we head out the door.  We get to Bakers on Saddle Creek and Leavenworth only to find multiple cop cars around the parking lot.  Customers were still going in and out of Bakers, so we decided we better get our stuff done.  We talked to the coffee shop ladies and they mentioned that a half hour before we got there, some guys showed up to make a "withdrawal" from the USBank that's inside the Bakers.  So had we been on time......who knows?

We didn't get all the grocerys put away till 11:30, so that only left me enough time to change and ride out on my heavy commuter bike that has fenders.  Unfortunately the shifting had gone to crap after a couple really sloppy and cold commutes the week before.  Plus the rear brake was rubbing.  All this made for a very unhappy climbing repeats experience.  But I held on ok.  For the first 2 climbs.  After that, I was lagging behind Bryan as he crested the tops of the climbs.  Then eventually, I was almost a minute behind.  Meh.  He's been training, and I haven't.  That's the way it goes.

Sunday, Bob and I met up at Crane on 78th and Cass for an easy spin.  I was running late since my alarm went crazy(sorry again about that Bob).  The Crane store was closed with no reason why.  We had to get the rear rack off Bob's bike at my place, so that's where we went first.  We then tried the Crane that's 2 blocks from my house.  It was closed also.  It had a note, however, that gave notice that all Cranes would be closed that day for a large computer upgrade process.  So instead, we stopped at Blue Planet Natural Grill for some pre (me)/mid (Bob) ride drinkage.  I've only been to this place once to eat, but it was purdy tasty.  Hopefully when all of the Aksarben stuff gets done, they'll be hopping with business more.  Bob and I basically rode straight back to his place since he had to be home early, then I mosied home since I was tired from the previous day's ride. 

Overall, a decent weekend of outdoor riding, but I need to ride more to get back into shape.  Summer will be here before we know it and I don't want to keep falling off the back of rides.

Nice easy ride, part ni

That's Japanese for "2", for those of you in the no.  That last word is how the Japanese would read the word, "know."  I have no idea how to type the crazy Chinese characters for the word, "know." Ok, I'm done now.
This Sunday, or rather, Shabbos + 1, Bob and I are once again going to meet at Crane on 78th and Cass for a truly mellow ride about town.  Speed last week was an average of 14 mph.  We can go slower or faster depending on who shows up to join us.  Ride time is still up in the air, but Bob needs to be at his house (near Lake Cunningham) at 10:30am.   Last week, after we sat and drank coffee for a good half hour or so, we left at about 8:30 and were up at his place by 10:30.  The route we took only had a couple decent hills, but hey, it's Omaha.  There's no way around that.
Please post a response if you'd like to join us and/or if you have plans for Saturday that you'd like to share with others.  

Nice easy ride.

Met up with the Bob at Crane and we chilled (or rather warmed?) for  a while drinking coffee and chatting.  He had on his studded tires so once we did get riding, we had a nice mellow pace of about 14mph average.  Hills were done at 9-ish, downhills coasted near 20.

I forgot that I really enjoy the challenge of riding my slick tires in crappy weather.  Last year I made it just fine with 28C tires.  Now I have some 32C slicks from Bontrager and I had no issues.  The northern part of the Keystone trail was mostly snow with rough spots from walker/joggers and a few bike tracks.  I just muscled through and kept on rolling.  A couple of dips going under the bridges had my front wheel sliding slightly sideways, but the clear cement underneath was a nice respite.

Now that I remember how easy it is to ride in this stuff, I really have no excuse not to ride more.  Oh, and Fred, I so super sorry I bailed on yesterdays ride.  I hope you had fun laying down those first tracks on the Keystone.

Rough weekend plans.

Shabbos + 1 (Sunday for anyone new to this crazy blog):  We will leave from Crane coffee at 8am.  If you want coffee, get there early, I know I will.  The route will be heading up north after about a couple hours.  Bob needs to get home at 10am, and lives near Lake Cunningham.  That gives the rest of us time to ride home for some more time on the bike.  Tempo is real laid back.  Bring out your heavy bikes for some conversational pace riding.

Shabbos (Saturday) is still kinda up in the air.  I know Bryan is planning on a painful hill climbing workout in the afternoon.  So if you want to join in his fun, have at it.  Johnny has all afternoon to ride also, and my guess is he doesn't want to do hill repeats?  (correct me if I'm wrong, Johnny)  So if anyone has a definitive timeline for Saturday afternoon, that'd help the rest of us wonderers commit to the ride.

I challenge Bob!!!

This weekend, temps are looking kinda good.  37 for a high on Saturday and 42 for Sunday.  Saturday may feel warmer since it's supposed to be sunnier, however, there's also supposed to be lots of wind Friday that may carry into Saturday.

Let's start making plans now to put in some time this weekend either or both days.  Write what times you have available and we'll hopefully figure out a compromise to get everyone riding.

2009 Shabbos #1

It starts tomorrow. Weather permitting, outside. If not, then let's crash the Bike Master's trainer ride in the shop.

When 8:00 AM
Where Bike Masters
Duration 2.5 hours

Discuss

Ah vacation time.

I've been off of work since the 19th, my last post.  And being that the last almost 2 weeks have been inundated with family time, food occasions, and most of all laziness, I haven't been on the bike during that time either.  I'm riding in about 2 hours and it'll be interesting.

So lotsa people are doing the whole 2008 in review deal.  Here's mine: I rode some, I officiated some races, I became better friends with some new peeps and lost touch with others, I've paid down some debt and tried not to buy too much new bike stuff.  I can't say it's been a stellar year, but it's been a decent one.

For 2009, I hope to pay down more debt and keep up the commuting/fun rides.  I hope to go on  a couple vacations; another crank n camp this spring, a possible Colorado mtb trip in mid summer, and maybe another non-bike related vacation.  There might be some big life events coming up this year too.  I'll keep ya'll posted about this.

Hope everyone had a great 2008 and will have an even better 2009.

*Sigh*

This weekend......

Trainer time....

Unless you got skis, snowshoes, mountainbikes with huge tires, or just want to go sledding, the only road bike activity is going to happen indoors.

Bryan mentioned to me that he's heading to Bike Masters on Saturday to put in some time at their morning trainer session.  My plan is to head over to Jon Randells place, guts through an hour or so on the trainer, then have fun playing Xbox.  hurrah.  The same will probably also happen on Sunday, with the addition of Bryan.  Let me know in the comments if anyone wants to join us this weekend.  Trainer, Xbox, or otherwise.

Didn't have to twist my arm much.

Originally, my big bro and I were planning on meeting at the parents house after work to wrap presents and have a family dinner.  Well then the snow happened.  I was back and forth about whether I wanted to ride home at 3:30pm then drive to the parents house.  Well both my dad and my brother convinced me to catch a ride home with my dad in his truck and wait to do the family thing another (safer travel) night.  

On the ride, watching how some people drove confirmed that it was probably a wise decision.  Every year, we all have to re-learn how to drive in the snow.  Some remember better/faster than others.  If you were brave enough to face the crazy drivers out there for the trip home by bike, then you have earned my respect and admirition.  I'd like to be that fearless some day.

Fingers slammed in a car door.

That's what my index and pinky finger on my right hand only feel like after riding to work.  Everything else is just fine, but my index and pinky finger.  I was even sweaty by the time I got there.  Good cycling clothes are amazing.

About halfway there, I realized I couldn't feel my pinky on my right hand, and shifting was getting really difficult.  I had my bike in the house overnight, so I'm thinking the warmth to freeze factor might have caused some icing of parts.  Any shift I did took quite a bit of force.  I think this is what caused my index finger to get angry.  Cause after getting inside, it hurt like crazy.

But I made it anyway.  I actually would have taken the bus, but I didn't have any money.  I should have had money, but my change jar had been raided by Michelle. *scowls*  So I need to build that back up for the next time when it's probably wiser to travel protected from the elements.

And the Forecast Sayssss.....

More wind.

Saturday, high of 40, cloudy, 20mph South winds.  

Sunday, temp of 30 in the morning, down to 10 degrees by the afternoon, which means an evil cold front brung in by lots of blustery North wind.  I think this would be a good trainer day.

Oh wait!  That crazy 6/12 hour trainer thing is this weekend at Bike Masters right?  Bryan, are you hitting the trainer all weekend?  

Anyone else have any ride ideas?  I'm up for whatever.

I forgot, did Spence ride with us?

Ok, my legs hurt as if I just went on a Spence Pain Train ride.  Seriously, I have the angry legs.  I think the main reason is this was my 3rd crazy windy cold ride in a row.  Thursday was my failed attempt to ride in 25 degree, 20+ mph wind weather.  It was still an hour of way-too-cold at any rate.  Then yesterday, I got off work at 3:30 and decided to do my usual Southern loop down Bellevue Blvd to Old Towne Bellevue, then decide whether I wanted to loop all the way around Offutt on the trail, or just take 370 straight to 25th and the trail.  It was already getting dim when I hit Old Towne and I forgot to wear my booties, so my toes were already frozen pretty good.  I headed straight home instead of adding an extra 10 miles or so.  I'm very glad I did since the wind had decided to shift more to the West by that point.  This meant that even though I had been going into the wind most of the ride, at the "turn around" I was still going into the wind.  I didn't get a real tailwind till about Harrison St which is all of 5 miles away from my house.  So that sucked.

Today the plan was to meet with a few gents at Crane about 11:40, then catch Bryan by his place, then figure out a route.  At Crane was Brady and the Big Puma(aka Brandon Fenster).  We didn't know, but Shim caught up to us after TTing for about an hour from his house in Bellevue.  He was pretty pooped when he caught us, but he obliged whenever Brady was feeling his Steel Cut Oats.  Brady, I love ya, but man your cruising speed is too much sometimes.  I think I went into this ride not wanting to really do it, so the speed and pain of the blustery cold wind didn't help my attitude.  I gutsed through it with being dropped only 5 or 6 times.  Now I'm ready to move to someplace that has no wind.

I'm just fine with cold cold temps.  It's the 15-20mph winds which just beats down on my enjoyment of riding.   Anyway, we headed North for a while, Brady and Shim had things to do, so they turned around early (man, I wish I would've joined you guys).  Bryan, Puma and I headed more North to almost hwy 30.  

A weird thing, turning around really didn't help much.  Sure it was not as hard to pedal, but all the sweat I was accumulating started to freeze really bad.  I got COLD.  Plus, I was running on fumes.  I ate a couple bars, so that helped, but still, every hill just took it out of me.

On a positive note, I rode 50 some miles, so I added another dollar to my Plus 3 Network charity deal.  Tomorrow, I think we're riding trainers and there's no money for riding my bike no where.  Oh well.  At least it won't be windy.  Sheesh, with all my complaining, I don't think I could be considered a Flahute.  I would beg for more if I really was one.  Oh well.  I think I can live with that.

Late post for Saturday Plans!!

Brady and Joe(and whoever else wants to join us for a 3 hour easy ride), meet me at the 78th st Crane coffee shop by 11:40am.  From there, we head out to meet Bryan at 120th and Fort by about 12:15.

The route we pick will drop Brady off near his house by 2:30pm or so.  That route has yet to be determined.  See you guys mid day so we can sure as shikahkah roll on Shabbos.

Ouch, that was a bad idea.

I brought to work Brady's lobster gloves that I so thankfully borrowed from him on this last weekends Flahute ride.  I had a great plan to make a big loop up North and hit his house on the way home so I could deliver his gloves to him.  Well, things didn't go as planned.  I made my way toward the airport and it just got worse and worse as I started to turn directly into the wind.  So I followed my childhood hero's advice.

My nose told me, "Turn around now, or you're going to lose me!"  So, I turned around right at the last downtown exit.  I then snaked through town to get to Brady's abode and dropped his gloves off in his mailbox.  On my return trip home, I passed MOD on his sweet Fisher Simple City.  His studded tires made a sound like he was riding on gravel.  Come to think of it, he looked a lot like this fellow:

So anyway, I got home and man was I cold.  I didn't dress right for the 20 degrees and wind weather.  Oh well.  It's nice and toasty inside so that's where I'm stayin!

Well, at least it won't be raining.

So this weekend looks pretty wintery, weather wise.  Snow is possible for Sunday, but Saturday just looks cloudy.  I know it won't be a barrel of laughs, but does anyone want to head out for 2-5 hours either day?  Post a comment if you have a plan.  Cause I don't have a riding problem.  I'm just a social rider.

Yay MAT bus!

Being that I heard some sliding tires behind me on my Tuesday morning bike commute and there was no precipitation, I figured I'd let the dumb drivers get into fender benders with vehicles that have fenders, not a rear wheel.   So I went all Brady like and took the MAT bus.

Here's some stats for Brady:

I took the first #55, but I have no idea what kind of bus it was.  I'm not as OCD as Brady.  

~32 blocks of travel

Picked up 8 people besides me and another guy who got on when I did.

That's one person per 4 blocks!!  Or about 3 people per mile!

5 people besides me got off at UNMC.

And that's all I got.  I don't think there was a bike rack on the front of the bus, but I don't think I could get all my bike stuff together, then not ride.  It would feel really weird.  Although, that would have been a better plan than how I rolled yesterday.  It was 22 in the morning, so I had 3 layers up top and lots of extras to keep warm.  Then, when I got out at 3:30, it was fricken 50 degrees.  So all my layers had to be either crammed into the handlebar bag, or worn.  I got plenty warm on my ride.  But it was a nice change from last Saturday's ride.

On the ride, which was down the Keystone then over to HighGear and back, I did some one-legged drills.  Those are TOUGH!!  But I can tell it's a good thing.  It worked my core and my leg muscles.  So this month, I think I'm going to do a couple of those sessions a week, do some weight lifting/core workouts, and whatever longer rides I can fit in.  Then next month, I might try to do some intervals just so I can keep up with Bryan next summer.  Having people refer to me as a cat 2, then promptly getting dropped....often...does not sit well with me.  I'm not planning on racing since I can't afford it, but I'd like to help people suffer on their group rides.  You know, cause that's what friends are for, to help you suffer.