So I joined Brady and his Triathlete friends for some LT intervals. They met early and had a freezing cold swim while I just rode to Lake Manawa from home. We all got a nice warmup in.
The plan was to do a lap of the course as a group, send one person off at a time the next lap for TT efforts, do another group easy lap, then do a pursuit dealie where the slowest person from the first effort gets sent off first while the fastest guy goes last.
I had forgotten the plan was to do this 2nd TT effort and probably went way too hard on the first one. I did the 6.62 mile lap in 15'20" so at an average of about 25.6mph. I was extatic with this time since I really haven't been training seriously this year. Never mind that I had on a skin suit, lycra booties, shaved arms/legs, and aero bars. I needed all the help I could get. Now Lucas; the guy that I chased on the first lap, had no aero bars, skin suit, or lycra booties. His first time was only 20 seconds slower than mine. Sheesh, that's one strong mofo. On the 2nd effort, I again chased him, but I never came close to seeing him. His 2nd time was 15'26" whereas mine dragged out to a 15'36".
So that was a great way to spend a Saturday morning. I hurt alot now, but it was fun and I need this type of motivation. Now I think it's time for a nap.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Nice mellow weekend.
The woman and I had a nice 3 days together. Since she's been working at Goodwill, her days off are usually Wednesday and Saturday. So when she saw that she had the entire 3 days off, she was just a little giddy about it.
Saturday was Michelle's little sisters' graduation. So we attended the ceremony then headed over to her mom's place for the celebration. Much food, fun, and badminton were had by all. Then, she got her graduation present: a Nintendo Wii. The new video game systems are crazy. They connect wirelessly to your network with ease, the graphics are amazing, and they come with too many buttons. Anyway, we played lots of Super Mario Smash Brothers, which was a lot of confusing fun.
Sunday we got Michelle a bike. I had taken her into the bike shop just a couple times before and nothing really interested her. But after the days got warmer and she test-rode this bike she said, "If I get this bike, I will ride it." So Sunday, we got it and we rode. Now, this is the first bike ride she's done in a few years, so making it from our place to the Keystone and up to Dodge was a pretty big accomplishment. We'll probably start out with a ride during the week and 1 or 2 rides on the weekend. She wants to get into shape and the bike will be better for her since she stands all day at work.
Monday was spring cleaning time. We cranked up the stereo, opened up all the windows and went to town on the place. We've lived in this place for about 8 months now and still had some unfinished organizing to do. That, and laundry. And dusting. And sweeping. It's amazing with hardwood floors, you can sweep every three days and still feel grit when walking around barefoot. Makes you realize how much crud must get ingrained into carpet. The cats are also starting to shed, so vacuuming our stairs and upper floor has become pretty common.
In all the cleaning commotion, I spaced out Chris's graduation party. So sorry to Chris and Bryan! I missed out on some good times with great friends. Congratulations Chris.
Other than that, not much has been going on. My hammies are super tight from either the cleaning or the badminton. Not sure which or why. I guess everytime the birdie fell, I had to pick it up. And I spent alot of time hunched over with dusting and such. Guess I need to do some stretches at the desk.
Hope everyone else's long weekend was well used.
Saturday was Michelle's little sisters' graduation. So we attended the ceremony then headed over to her mom's place for the celebration. Much food, fun, and badminton were had by all. Then, she got her graduation present: a Nintendo Wii. The new video game systems are crazy. They connect wirelessly to your network with ease, the graphics are amazing, and they come with too many buttons. Anyway, we played lots of Super Mario Smash Brothers, which was a lot of confusing fun.
Sunday we got Michelle a bike. I had taken her into the bike shop just a couple times before and nothing really interested her. But after the days got warmer and she test-rode this bike she said, "If I get this bike, I will ride it." So Sunday, we got it and we rode. Now, this is the first bike ride she's done in a few years, so making it from our place to the Keystone and up to Dodge was a pretty big accomplishment. We'll probably start out with a ride during the week and 1 or 2 rides on the weekend. She wants to get into shape and the bike will be better for her since she stands all day at work.
Monday was spring cleaning time. We cranked up the stereo, opened up all the windows and went to town on the place. We've lived in this place for about 8 months now and still had some unfinished organizing to do. That, and laundry. And dusting. And sweeping. It's amazing with hardwood floors, you can sweep every three days and still feel grit when walking around barefoot. Makes you realize how much crud must get ingrained into carpet. The cats are also starting to shed, so vacuuming our stairs and upper floor has become pretty common.
In all the cleaning commotion, I spaced out Chris's graduation party. So sorry to Chris and Bryan! I missed out on some good times with great friends. Congratulations Chris.
Other than that, not much has been going on. My hammies are super tight from either the cleaning or the badminton. Not sure which or why. I guess everytime the birdie fell, I had to pick it up. And I spent alot of time hunched over with dusting and such. Guess I need to do some stretches at the desk.
Hope everyone else's long weekend was well used.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
I wouldn't call this eye candy...
but, I plan on buying some of this when it comes out.
Dave is truly a funny guy and if he doesn't charge Assos prices for his butt butter, I'll put it into regular use.
Dave is truly a funny guy and if he doesn't charge Assos prices for his butt butter, I'll put it into regular use.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
I'm doing a half marathon this weekend....
...on my bike. This event is happening Sunday morning and I'm volunteering to help ride along for assistance. I've actually never been to a marathon(or half) so this will let me see if I ever really want to think about trying it some day. If anyone wants to join me for a long sloooow day in the saddle, I'll be leaving my place around 6-ish am to be out at 108th and hwy 370 by 7am.
On a side note, my latter June/early July trip with my dad out to Pennsylvania just got more exciting. Poolboy and his team of miscreants are shipping back overseas to partake in the Tour of PA. So we'll have plenty to do in the 2 weeks I'm taking vacation.
On a side-side note, the 2nd unannounced part of my great discoveries post was that I thought about getting a "do-all" bike frame and build it up with spare parts I have. I know, however, I'd end up buying extra stuff too. So I have since decided to "do-all" with stuff that I already have. My Fisher Ferrous is one sweet ride and the frame I was thinking about is in the same ballpark as the Ferrous. So with some tweaking, I think I can make it my year round commuter/gravel road rider/mtb bike. The only other biking to cover, fast road rides, will be taken care of by my current road machine, the ever trustworthy aluminum Lemond bike. So I can sell my Bianchi (which is a great bike, just too big, too heavy, and not off-roadable) and make do with what I currently have. I'm starting to make some headway on my huge debt load so that feels really good(if you want want to experience what a financial punch to the gut is like, ask me how much debt I have sometime). Any new bike purchase/racing plans would put a halt to that progress, so I must maintain course and live as simply as possible.
Good luck to all of you doing the TT this weekend. I'll be doing some overtime hours at work that morning wishing I could be meditating about bunnies and lollipops to quell the searing pain of my legs/lungs.
On a side note, my latter June/early July trip with my dad out to Pennsylvania just got more exciting. Poolboy and his team of miscreants are shipping back overseas to partake in the Tour of PA. So we'll have plenty to do in the 2 weeks I'm taking vacation.
On a side-side note, the 2nd unannounced part of my great discoveries post was that I thought about getting a "do-all" bike frame and build it up with spare parts I have. I know, however, I'd end up buying extra stuff too. So I have since decided to "do-all" with stuff that I already have. My Fisher Ferrous is one sweet ride and the frame I was thinking about is in the same ballpark as the Ferrous. So with some tweaking, I think I can make it my year round commuter/gravel road rider/mtb bike. The only other biking to cover, fast road rides, will be taken care of by my current road machine, the ever trustworthy aluminum Lemond bike. So I can sell my Bianchi (which is a great bike, just too big, too heavy, and not off-roadable) and make do with what I currently have. I'm starting to make some headway on my huge debt load so that feels really good(if you want want to experience what a financial punch to the gut is like, ask me how much debt I have sometime). Any new bike purchase/racing plans would put a halt to that progress, so I must maintain course and live as simply as possible.
Good luck to all of you doing the TT this weekend. I'll be doing some overtime hours at work that morning wishing I could be meditating about bunnies and lollipops to quell the searing pain of my legs/lungs.
Friday, May 09, 2008
Shabbos: A plan
Since Mike posted a two-part revelation that only included one part, we've all been left panting for the conclusion. Let's all gather and pant together.
That sounds dirty.
Anyway, tomorrow is Shabbos, the day of riding. And since nobody's racing, how about meeting at Bike Masters for the 9 a.m. group ride? If you want to get punchy at the front, we can do that. If you don't ... well, you can ride with the guy who shows up on his hybrid. Kidding, kidding. It'll be a good chance to get some quick work in.
Now, what about rain? Well, if it's raining at 9, I'm going back to bed. I'll just ride later. And no, I'm not riding the trainer or rollers. It's outside or nothing. A day off probably wouldn't hurt, anyway.
So that's the plan. See you there.
That sounds dirty.
Anyway, tomorrow is Shabbos, the day of riding. And since nobody's racing, how about meeting at Bike Masters for the 9 a.m. group ride? If you want to get punchy at the front, we can do that. If you don't ... well, you can ride with the guy who shows up on his hybrid. Kidding, kidding. It'll be a good chance to get some quick work in.
Now, what about rain? Well, if it's raining at 9, I'm going back to bed. I'll just ride later. And no, I'm not riding the trainer or rollers. It's outside or nothing. A day off probably wouldn't hurt, anyway.
So that's the plan. See you there.
Monday, May 05, 2008
What will I think of next??
Sometimes I don't feel like a complete tool. Sometimes I figure things out that really makes me feel smrt.
Ride into work this morning: 43 degrees. Not bad, but needed a long sleeve something, light gloves, a cycling cap under the helmet, and knickers to keep the knees functioning. Since I was in commute mode(strictly riding to and from work), I didn't need any fancy cycling clothes, just comfy looking street wear. I just wore my Shimano sandals with wool socks, cycling shorts under my knickers, a Nike longsleeve running shirt (Bryan, I think I have the one that you've raved about and yes, it's purdy dern good), Nike short sleeve running shirt over LS shirt, my favorite Defeet mid-weight gloves, and cycling cap. I was just right for the 20 minute jaunt in mid fourties weather.
Ride home from work: 80 degrees. All the aforementioned items besides sandals, shorts, and short sleeve shirt were too much for the ride home. At first I tried stuffing my socks, gloves, and cap into my knickers pockets, but it was very uncomfortable. Then I looked at the long sleeve shirt I wasn't going to wear and thought, "That would make a pretty nice fanny pack." So I laid the shirt out, placed the cap, socks, and gloves in the middle, folded up the body part, then used the sleeves to wrap around my waist under my shirt. It worked perfectly. I again, had just the right level of clothing for 80 degrees and was happy as a camper riding home.
So that was my first bright idea of the day. My 2nd one is a much more involved revelation (HA!) that will take another posting tomorrow when I'm not so tired. I'm back to the 6:30am - 3:30pm shift and 10pm is officially calling-it-quits time. Stay tuned for my 2nd amazing discovery that just might involve the conjuring of a new bike.
Ride into work this morning: 43 degrees. Not bad, but needed a long sleeve something, light gloves, a cycling cap under the helmet, and knickers to keep the knees functioning. Since I was in commute mode(strictly riding to and from work), I didn't need any fancy cycling clothes, just comfy looking street wear. I just wore my Shimano sandals with wool socks, cycling shorts under my knickers, a Nike longsleeve running shirt (Bryan, I think I have the one that you've raved about and yes, it's purdy dern good), Nike short sleeve running shirt over LS shirt, my favorite Defeet mid-weight gloves, and cycling cap. I was just right for the 20 minute jaunt in mid fourties weather.
Ride home from work: 80 degrees. All the aforementioned items besides sandals, shorts, and short sleeve shirt were too much for the ride home. At first I tried stuffing my socks, gloves, and cap into my knickers pockets, but it was very uncomfortable. Then I looked at the long sleeve shirt I wasn't going to wear and thought, "That would make a pretty nice fanny pack." So I laid the shirt out, placed the cap, socks, and gloves in the middle, folded up the body part, then used the sleeves to wrap around my waist under my shirt. It worked perfectly. I again, had just the right level of clothing for 80 degrees and was happy as a camper riding home.
So that was my first bright idea of the day. My 2nd one is a much more involved revelation (HA!) that will take another posting tomorrow when I'm not so tired. I'm back to the 6:30am - 3:30pm shift and 10pm is officially calling-it-quits time. Stay tuned for my 2nd amazing discovery that just might involve the conjuring of a new bike.
Friday, May 02, 2008
Hey, do you feel like throwing up?
Come to Hummel Park around 9 on Saturday morning. I'm doing hill repeats. It's gonna be awesome.
Or not. But I'll still be there.
Or not. But I'll still be there.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Another big mileage weekend, sortof.
Jonny and I did the Great Plains Bicycle Club Spring Fling Metric Century on Saturday. First we asserted our authority for the first 15 miles and just rode off the front from Louisville to get to the first Sag station in Plattesmouth. After that we had a few headwind sections, so we got together with some strong guys and just rotated at a nice easy pace. The pace was a little too much for a couple of the guys so by the end of the bad headwind sections, at about mile 55, it was down to Jonny, me, and one other guy. At that point, the metric Century route headed back to Louisville. The 24 mile route took this same road, but then went West. (Hard to explain) Anyway, we added most of the 24 mile route and tacked on an extra 13 miles or so to our metric century by heading out to good ol' Murdock, up around South Bend, across the river onto hwy 31, then back to Louisville. They had hotdogs n Brats waiting at the end that were quite scrumptious. So that was 4 hours to do 73-ish miles. Good times.
Then Sunday, it was reality check time. I got a text from Ryan F saying that he, Roxy, Kev, and Shim were going out on a 3-4 hour ride. Now I knew they would go hard since Kevin is as strong as an ox and his long ride days are a little too quickish (by about 5 mph) for my current fitness level. Well little did I know that the fury was about to be brought. On the ride were: Ryan and Roxy, Jeff Bergan(sp?), Kevin, Shim, Jay Chesterman (of Iowa mtb fame), Jim (last name escapes me), Kent, Stephen Jarrett, and me. If you know those names, you know that they are all pretty much MTB specialists. Well apparently, all of them had some steam to blow off since the race down in Kansas got post-poned on them at the last minute. I told myself I was only going to ride with them for a little while since I was super sore after my 4 hr ride the previous day. We took the usual Wed night Trek store ride route which entails going North on the trail, bipping over to Irvington road, out to hwy 36, over to 72nd and the Omaha Trace, Ft. Calhoun, Boyers Chute, then South home some way. The "go fast" parts are always Irvington road up a long grinder hill, Omaha Trace, and the route between Ft. Calhoun and Hummel Park. I was at the front for the Irvington road hill, but then away they went, and I was off the back. We all regrouped to start the next fast section, Omaha Trace. Well we were on it for quite a while and the speed was mellow. I thought this was great and decided I could actually eat some food to keep the fire going. Well mid-bar, with a mouth full of food, the hammer dropped. And off the back I was again. This time I all but sat up and almost turned around. But I figured I was only a few miles from Ft. Calhoun and it would be easier with the group riding a tailwind. This assumption was wrong. After the Ft. Calhoun regrouping, the pace picked up on the flat roads by Boyers Chute. Now what was frustrating about this, and I don't mean to knock all the mtbers I was with, the group did not work well together at all. And I don't want to name names (Shim) but drafting confidently was hard since there were some squirrels among us. Anyway, once the big hills hit, the group split in 2: the guys who were in TT mode to get home on time, and the rest of us who were taking it easy. We rode home at a very mellow pace, but my legs were super hurty. This is the kind of achiness you're supposed to have in the winter when putting in mega mile days for the off-season. But alas, I'm doing my base training in April/May. Hopefully I'll reap the benefits in the late season. I guess we'll see.
Congrats to Bryan for fairing very well at his first out of state cat 4 race - the Iowa City race weekend. He is picking things up and getting stronger with every race, so that's good. Teammate Ryan Legg also did that race and got a 10th place money spot in the RR which is amazing considering the distance, competition, and weather conditions. He had a pack finish for the crit, but has grown a fire in his belly for racing since he knows now he is fit enough to be with the strongest guys. Ryan, you are one fast mofo, give em hell. Kevin, Noah (Kevin's son), and Troy were down in Kansas doing the Velotek Grand Prix. Kevin did very well getting on the podium with Brian Jensen. *(little disclaimer that there was a field of 5 cat 1/2s). This race has been, for the last few years at least, been run without a cat 1/2 field, strictly cat 3/4/5s, Masters, womens, and juniors. I believe it was run this way so cat 3s and Masters could actually get large payouts. This is kind of a good idea since those fields bring in the most people, but I'm sure it alienated a lot of cat 1/2s. So that plus the cost of traveling is my guess as to why the field was so small. Congrats guys, on having a fun successful weekend.
So that was just a brief summary of my weekend, how was yours?
Then Sunday, it was reality check time. I got a text from Ryan F saying that he, Roxy, Kev, and Shim were going out on a 3-4 hour ride. Now I knew they would go hard since Kevin is as strong as an ox and his long ride days are a little too quickish (by about 5 mph) for my current fitness level. Well little did I know that the fury was about to be brought. On the ride were: Ryan and Roxy, Jeff Bergan(sp?), Kevin, Shim, Jay Chesterman (of Iowa mtb fame), Jim (last name escapes me), Kent, Stephen Jarrett, and me. If you know those names, you know that they are all pretty much MTB specialists. Well apparently, all of them had some steam to blow off since the race down in Kansas got post-poned on them at the last minute. I told myself I was only going to ride with them for a little while since I was super sore after my 4 hr ride the previous day. We took the usual Wed night Trek store ride route which entails going North on the trail, bipping over to Irvington road, out to hwy 36, over to 72nd and the Omaha Trace, Ft. Calhoun, Boyers Chute, then South home some way. The "go fast" parts are always Irvington road up a long grinder hill, Omaha Trace, and the route between Ft. Calhoun and Hummel Park. I was at the front for the Irvington road hill, but then away they went, and I was off the back. We all regrouped to start the next fast section, Omaha Trace. Well we were on it for quite a while and the speed was mellow. I thought this was great and decided I could actually eat some food to keep the fire going. Well mid-bar, with a mouth full of food, the hammer dropped. And off the back I was again. This time I all but sat up and almost turned around. But I figured I was only a few miles from Ft. Calhoun and it would be easier with the group riding a tailwind. This assumption was wrong. After the Ft. Calhoun regrouping, the pace picked up on the flat roads by Boyers Chute. Now what was frustrating about this, and I don't mean to knock all the mtbers I was with, the group did not work well together at all. And I don't want to name names (Shim) but drafting confidently was hard since there were some squirrels among us. Anyway, once the big hills hit, the group split in 2: the guys who were in TT mode to get home on time, and the rest of us who were taking it easy. We rode home at a very mellow pace, but my legs were super hurty. This is the kind of achiness you're supposed to have in the winter when putting in mega mile days for the off-season. But alas, I'm doing my base training in April/May. Hopefully I'll reap the benefits in the late season. I guess we'll see.
Congrats to Bryan for fairing very well at his first out of state cat 4 race - the Iowa City race weekend. He is picking things up and getting stronger with every race, so that's good. Teammate Ryan Legg also did that race and got a 10th place money spot in the RR which is amazing considering the distance, competition, and weather conditions. He had a pack finish for the crit, but has grown a fire in his belly for racing since he knows now he is fit enough to be with the strongest guys. Ryan, you are one fast mofo, give em hell. Kevin, Noah (Kevin's son), and Troy were down in Kansas doing the Velotek Grand Prix. Kevin did very well getting on the podium with Brian Jensen. *(little disclaimer that there was a field of 5 cat 1/2s). This race has been, for the last few years at least, been run without a cat 1/2 field, strictly cat 3/4/5s, Masters, womens, and juniors. I believe it was run this way so cat 3s and Masters could actually get large payouts. This is kind of a good idea since those fields bring in the most people, but I'm sure it alienated a lot of cat 1/2s. So that plus the cost of traveling is my guess as to why the field was so small. Congrats guys, on having a fun successful weekend.
So that was just a brief summary of my weekend, how was yours?
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
The Cold has now subsided.
Well now that it's not dipping down to the 20s for overnight lows and I'm working the late shift, I've been actually riding a bunch. I've ridden 4 of the last 5 days. Saturday was a 3.5 hour jaunt with some teammates. Needless to say, it got kinda quick in places. That was mid-day so when 7am ride time on Sunday showed up, I was not at all recovered. I hurt from the very first pedal stroke and was happy with just doing 3.5 hours. The compatriots on this newly revived Shabbos + 1 ride were: Bryan, Brady, and Joe S. Everyone was a little tired, except for Brady. He's posted some news on his blog regarding his repositioning and knee issues. I dunno. I think he must have installed a bionic knee, and maybe a side order of whale lungs, because he put the hurt on all of us during some climbs. So that was a great hard weekend.
I took Monday easy with just the commute to/from work. Then Tuesday and today I hit the trails at Swanson for some single speed leg blasting workouts. I got in 3 laps in before work Tuesday, one with Mod. He was taking it easy on his full squish 29er Fisher with gears. Just like always, any technical section we hit and BAM, he's gone. I just can't rip the corners or ride as smooth as the true mountain bike brethren. Maybe someday I'll get it. Today, I slept in and was only able to get 2 laps in. I was just fine with that as I'm going to need a couple days recovery after all these miles on road and bumps off road.
It has been perfect weather recently. Riding to/from work, I've just been wearing everyday shorts and a t-shirt. I just pedal easily and I don't sweat. I'd love to look like an average joe who decided $3.50 a gallon is not worth it and is quietly protesting the use of cars with every ride. In plain clothes, I don't seem to get yelled at by many disgruntled drivers compared to when I'm riding in tight cycling clothing. Kinda weird. I'd love to find a t-shirt that had a pic of a gas pump with a red circle/cross through it to wear while I'm riding. If I could get just one person to try bike commuting, I'd be thrilled.
Oh yeah! This weekends plans. There's a Great Plains Spring Fling metric Century (near bottom of page) that leaves Louisville at 9am on Saturday. I'm planning on it, and I know Jonny Randell's in too. Brady mentioned he might crash the party also. I know the Iowa City races are the destination for most of the racing peeps out there. I do love those races, but man, I'm out of shape and broke. Maybe next year. So that also means Sunday is up in the air. We'll see what happens.
Hope everyone's enjoying the weather!
I took Monday easy with just the commute to/from work. Then Tuesday and today I hit the trails at Swanson for some single speed leg blasting workouts. I got in 3 laps in before work Tuesday, one with Mod. He was taking it easy on his full squish 29er Fisher with gears. Just like always, any technical section we hit and BAM, he's gone. I just can't rip the corners or ride as smooth as the true mountain bike brethren. Maybe someday I'll get it. Today, I slept in and was only able to get 2 laps in. I was just fine with that as I'm going to need a couple days recovery after all these miles on road and bumps off road.
It has been perfect weather recently. Riding to/from work, I've just been wearing everyday shorts and a t-shirt. I just pedal easily and I don't sweat. I'd love to look like an average joe who decided $3.50 a gallon is not worth it and is quietly protesting the use of cars with every ride. In plain clothes, I don't seem to get yelled at by many disgruntled drivers compared to when I'm riding in tight cycling clothing. Kinda weird. I'd love to find a t-shirt that had a pic of a gas pump with a red circle/cross through it to wear while I'm riding. If I could get just one person to try bike commuting, I'd be thrilled.
Oh yeah! This weekends plans. There's a Great Plains Spring Fling metric Century (near bottom of page) that leaves Louisville at 9am on Saturday. I'm planning on it, and I know Jonny Randell's in too. Brady mentioned he might crash the party also. I know the Iowa City races are the destination for most of the racing peeps out there. I do love those races, but man, I'm out of shape and broke. Maybe next year. So that also means Sunday is up in the air. We'll see what happens.
Hope everyone's enjoying the weather!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
What's that you say?
Shabbos +1 is back??? From it's original starting location?
That's right my cycling brethren. The coffee shop formally known as Caribou has a new name. I don't know what that name is, even though I've been by it a dozen times or so. But this Sunday, at 7am, the brainchild of one Peter B (only in attendance once and now in California) and Mr. Mitmoned himself (as once seen in cycling sandals and rumored to do so again) will sure as Sheldon, roll on Shabbos.....+1.
Wouldn't it be great if Fred showed up in his wool jersey, ready to sweat out some last apprehensions before his final finals? And wouldn't it be great if Brady showed up with flags hanging off the back of Old Yeller so they can slow down his blazing fast speed since fixing his knee issues?(congratulations on that again, by the way)
Come one, come all to the event of a lifetime(or rather since it got really, really cold).
Meeting time: 7am
Meeting Place: The coffee shop formally known as Caribou (72nd-ish and Pacific)
Ride type: Friendly social ride with speeds averaging in the upper teens.
Distance/time: we'll figure it out based on who shows up and time constraints.
There'll be fun, laughs, and hopefully more than 2 people!! Hope to see you ALL there!!
That's right my cycling brethren. The coffee shop formally known as Caribou has a new name. I don't know what that name is, even though I've been by it a dozen times or so. But this Sunday, at 7am, the brainchild of one Peter B (only in attendance once and now in California) and Mr. Mitmoned himself (as once seen in cycling sandals and rumored to do so again) will sure as Sheldon, roll on Shabbos.....+1.
Wouldn't it be great if Fred showed up in his wool jersey, ready to sweat out some last apprehensions before his final finals? And wouldn't it be great if Brady showed up with flags hanging off the back of Old Yeller so they can slow down his blazing fast speed since fixing his knee issues?(congratulations on that again, by the way)
Come one, come all to the event of a lifetime(or rather since it got really, really cold).
Meeting time: 7am
Meeting Place: The coffee shop formally known as Caribou (72nd-ish and Pacific)
Ride type: Friendly social ride with speeds averaging in the upper teens.
Distance/time: we'll figure it out based on who shows up and time constraints.
There'll be fun, laughs, and hopefully more than 2 people!! Hope to see you ALL there!!
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
You're Welcom Fred, and updates.
Fred, congratulations on the completion of a significant life milestone. Would you say, the later you get that diploma, the more you appreciate it? If so, you must really love it. Sorry, had to go there.
Well, despite Matt's fighting for my cause, the Lemond Zurich is not going to happen. Thanks again, dude, for trying. I will keep trucking on my Aluminum steed with much happiness. It really is a great bike. The opportunity was just hard to pass up. Some day, I hope to finally see what all the hype is about on a plastic bike. I will probably order that Salsa Casseroll later in the year when my relief check actually comes in (mine's not coming till mid August!!!). Hopefully, I'll find that bike more zippy and fun to ride than the Bianchi. There's something to be said about a stable tank of a bike, but there's much more to be said about a bike frame that doesn't squirm under every pedal stroke.
THIS WEEKEND!!! Saturday: 40s for low, 70s for high; Sunday: 50s for low, 70s for high. I think we might need to go practice bikes for a little while being that there's no races to attend or help with and the weather will be perfect. I have yet to confirm, but I think the old Caribou coffee shop has been replaced with a new one. I just drove by it, the other day and saw a new sign and lights on inside. I don't know if it's officially open yet, but that could be a new/old meeting spot again since it's right off the trail? Please post your open hours and preferences for ride time so we can get out there and put in some miles!
Well, despite Matt's fighting for my cause, the Lemond Zurich is not going to happen. Thanks again, dude, for trying. I will keep trucking on my Aluminum steed with much happiness. It really is a great bike. The opportunity was just hard to pass up. Some day, I hope to finally see what all the hype is about on a plastic bike. I will probably order that Salsa Casseroll later in the year when my relief check actually comes in (mine's not coming till mid August!!!). Hopefully, I'll find that bike more zippy and fun to ride than the Bianchi. There's something to be said about a stable tank of a bike, but there's much more to be said about a bike frame that doesn't squirm under every pedal stroke.
THIS WEEKEND!!! Saturday: 40s for low, 70s for high; Sunday: 50s for low, 70s for high. I think we might need to go practice bikes for a little while being that there's no races to attend or help with and the weather will be perfect. I have yet to confirm, but I think the old Caribou coffee shop has been replaced with a new one. I just drove by it, the other day and saw a new sign and lights on inside. I don't know if it's officially open yet, but that could be a new/old meeting spot again since it's right off the trail? Please post your open hours and preferences for ride time so we can get out there and put in some miles!
Monday, April 14, 2008
Thanks mike.
I was going to post to fredcube, but I thought that might be silly. I haven't even read any blogs for a few weeks. So what a great surprise to see my name in the title Munson's last post.
Oh by the way, I will graduate from the college on May 9th. Lots of people go to college for 25 years - yeah their called professors. Drop by the house in the afternoon/evening, if you'd like. I'm having a big huge party. I will start posting on fredcube about golf stuff real soon.
And Mike - I still have my Zurich if you could use a 59 cm steel frame. Oh wait, I'd never sell that bike. ever.
Oh by the way, I will graduate from the college on May 9th. Lots of people go to college for 25 years - yeah their called professors. Drop by the house in the afternoon/evening, if you'd like. I'm having a big huge party. I will start posting on fredcube about golf stuff real soon.
And Mike - I still have my Zurich if you could use a 59 cm steel frame. Oh wait, I'd never sell that bike. ever.
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
I'm turning into Fred or Sean
So I haven't posted in a while and kinda been scarce all around. Brady, I'm sorry I didn't get back to you about riding Saturday. I was on a cleaning frenzy (since that's about all I can do that's constructive when on call) that lasted well into the afternoon. I didn't even check my blog or pick up my phone till Saturday evening. I didn't really want to face that wind again anyway.
Sunday's races were fun. I was practice officiating and found it quite challenging. Well, the cat 4/5/womens/juniors race at least. With 28 people whizzing by on different laps with fitness levels spanning the rainbow, it was difficult to keep track of finishing order. Luckily, the very experienced and wise teacher, Neil Weide, got most everything down for us. But it was still fun.
Some more interesting news. After I just put a link to the Lemond bikes website(among other team/bike/sponsor sites), I find this out. I have a Lemond Zurich bike on order that is taking a while, I think. The order did get faxed by the soon-to-be-missed Matt N right before the Trek Store US-wide super sale, March 27th - 30th, so I'm sure all the stores and the company as a whole are recovering from that. If there is any issue at all with me not getting the bike, I'd be perfectly fine with that. I'm stretching the budget and selling current stuff to make this carbon framed beauty happen, but I don't really really need it. So if I find out that they aren't going to take all my money, I'm ok with that. But, my guess is this is my last chance at ever owning a carbon bike. If it happens, I sure hope it's worth all the hype. If not, I'm going completely luddite. Steel frame, either down-tube or bar-end shifters, and 32-spoke wheels. I've been eying this frame/fork for a while and wish I would have seen it before I got my Bianchi. Especially after my successful venture with this product. The Reelight setup has been on my racing machine for a couple weeks now and I'm very impressed with it. On the Bike Master's Century, Doug was in the follow vehicle and mentioned that my rear blinky was as bright or brighter than all the others. I never have to think about batteries or even turning them on. They just work all the time I'm riding and are just about all I need for road riding. I do wish that the front light could mount up on the handlebar and have an option for constant light instead of blinking. I'm hoping the company will explore this possibility. Have your bike shop order you a set through J&B Importers. It's a little pricey, but well worth it to have extra safety that you don't ever have to think about.
This weekend is the Spring Cycling Classic in Lincoln. Come one, come all and enjoy the bountiful sunshine and mild conditions. Oh wait, it's gonna be 30-40, windy, and possibly still raining in the morning. Real recent forecasts have the rain/snow ending early Saturday morning, like before sunrise. So hopefully that will pan out for you courageous racers out there. I will be helping with registration, then following a group with a truck full-o-wheels. Should be good times. If you are racing, keep this mantra in mind. (Warning, harsh lingo in said mantra.)
Riding has been a little scarce recently, just like my posting. I work from 11:30am - 8:30pm Mon - Thurs this month, so it's hard to get up early, eat food, then get excited about riding alone for a couple/few hours THEN going into work. Much depression shall ensue this month. So if anyone has some hours free in the morning and wants to help motivate me to get outside, let me know. Otherwise, I'll see ya'lls on the weekends.
Sunday's races were fun. I was practice officiating and found it quite challenging. Well, the cat 4/5/womens/juniors race at least. With 28 people whizzing by on different laps with fitness levels spanning the rainbow, it was difficult to keep track of finishing order. Luckily, the very experienced and wise teacher, Neil Weide, got most everything down for us. But it was still fun.
Some more interesting news. After I just put a link to the Lemond bikes website(among other team/bike/sponsor sites), I find this out. I have a Lemond Zurich bike on order that is taking a while, I think. The order did get faxed by the soon-to-be-missed Matt N right before the Trek Store US-wide super sale, March 27th - 30th, so I'm sure all the stores and the company as a whole are recovering from that. If there is any issue at all with me not getting the bike, I'd be perfectly fine with that. I'm stretching the budget and selling current stuff to make this carbon framed beauty happen, but I don't really really need it. So if I find out that they aren't going to take all my money, I'm ok with that. But, my guess is this is my last chance at ever owning a carbon bike. If it happens, I sure hope it's worth all the hype. If not, I'm going completely luddite. Steel frame, either down-tube or bar-end shifters, and 32-spoke wheels. I've been eying this frame/fork for a while and wish I would have seen it before I got my Bianchi. Especially after my successful venture with this product. The Reelight setup has been on my racing machine for a couple weeks now and I'm very impressed with it. On the Bike Master's Century, Doug was in the follow vehicle and mentioned that my rear blinky was as bright or brighter than all the others. I never have to think about batteries or even turning them on. They just work all the time I'm riding and are just about all I need for road riding. I do wish that the front light could mount up on the handlebar and have an option for constant light instead of blinking. I'm hoping the company will explore this possibility. Have your bike shop order you a set through J&B Importers. It's a little pricey, but well worth it to have extra safety that you don't ever have to think about.
This weekend is the Spring Cycling Classic in Lincoln. Come one, come all and enjoy the bountiful sunshine and mild conditions. Oh wait, it's gonna be 30-40, windy, and possibly still raining in the morning. Real recent forecasts have the rain/snow ending early Saturday morning, like before sunrise. So hopefully that will pan out for you courageous racers out there. I will be helping with registration, then following a group with a truck full-o-wheels. Should be good times. If you are racing, keep this mantra in mind. (Warning, harsh lingo in said mantra.)
Riding has been a little scarce recently, just like my posting. I work from 11:30am - 8:30pm Mon - Thurs this month, so it's hard to get up early, eat food, then get excited about riding alone for a couple/few hours THEN going into work. Much depression shall ensue this month. So if anyone has some hours free in the morning and wants to help motivate me to get outside, let me know. Otherwise, I'll see ya'lls on the weekends.
Friday, April 04, 2008
Races, on-call, family rides.
So from the sounds of things, riding on the first extremely nice day of the year is not going to be a huge group gathering? I'm on call in the AM till noon...thirty....ish. I usually skip out of the last half hour since we rarely get calls anyway. Lots of people are heading out of town to either Iowa for road racing or Norfolk for some single track action. Bryan mentioned something about riding with people he refers to as "family" but apparently, that doesn't include us?? What gives bro-skee?
So anyway, I'll head outside for a while in the afternoon if anyone left in Omaha wants to join. Respond or give me a call.
So anyway, I'll head outside for a while in the afternoon if anyone left in Omaha wants to join. Respond or give me a call.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Last night and this morning.
Was only a difference of 3-ish hours for me. I went to bed about 2am, and was at various stages of waking up by 5am. I do not do well with little sleep. I know Bryan is a master at such feats, being that his job forces him to be, and he handles it amazingly well. When I'm on my 6:30am - 3:30pm shift at work, I do best when going to bed around 10:30pm. I went just slightly past that last night.
It started off with me cleaning my bike, which some of you know, I'm just a little finicky about. I started the cleaning process at 7pm and was done at oh, about 9:30pm. Everything is sparkly again, just the way I like. Seriously, if I can't look at my crankset and see it as a potential stainless steel plate ready to eat off of, it's not clean. So I put everything away and remembered I hadn't eaten dinner yet. Oops. I pop in a Kashi frozen pizza since it was quick and easy. Yummy....cardboard crust....
So I scarf down the pizza, watch the weather on the 10 o'clock news and discover that there's no way I'm riding to work in the morning. Especially not on my clean-enough-to-eat-off-of bike. Unless they were wrong about the rain, which has happened a couple times in recent memory. But it seemed like they were pretty certain, so I figured I should drive to work and therefore had a whole half hour more to sleep in, a very nice thing for Monday morning. I flip around the channels and find the World Series of Poker '07 championships on ESPN (8 - the Ocho, I love that channel...can't get enough of it). They were running back to back episodes (each an hour long) of this progression of elimination. This is a tournament where a ton of people start, but eventually, all the chips remain with a final selection of great/lucky players. It was interesting because the guy who is credited with making Texas Holdem poker popular in 2003, Chris Moneymaker, was knocked out early in the tournament. Mr. Moneymaker made the "sport" well known because he, as a 25 year old, got into a poker tournament with $50 and made it all the way to the end to win something like $1.5 mill. I remember watching that and thinking, "Wow, that's like hitting the jackpot, but you increase your chances exponentially by being a great player." Anyway, I watched a few hours of this tournament, so this put me at about 1:30am. My late dinner finally settled and I was ready for bed. Waaaaaaaaaay past my bed time.
Our condo loft has a skylight that sits right above our bed. It's a good thing to have when it's cold out cause the sun shines through and heats the place well. However, since it's right above our bed, when it rains it is LOUD!! I guess some people sleep well when there's a droning sound like that, but with the rain we get, it's quiet for a little while, then comes down in buckets, then quiets down, then pours again. So it's not constant. I sleep much better in silence anyway. So the rain started around 4am and I had my alarm set for 5:30am. There's nothing worse than being woken up before you really want to get up. Especially when you haven't had much sleep to begin with. Very frustrating cause all you want to do is sleep, but you got this rain coming in waves, then your cat notices you're stirring so it must be time for canned food, so she jumps all over you. I angrily drifted in and out of slumber till 6am, got up, got dressed, (lightly) kicked the cat out of my way since I was too groggy and would step on her if she did her normal clingy thing. I got in my car, drove slowly to work, parked in the neighborhood just South of UNMC (free parking is the right price, just not very convenient), and got very wet walking the 5 blocks before reaching the cover of a building. What a great way to start a Monday.
So needless to say, I'm on a lot of coffee this morning. Luckily work is light, but that means I have to do something otherwise I'm going to fall over and start snoring. And now, after proofing this post for the 4th time to catch all my grogginess-induced mistakes, I'm done.
How do you fair with very little sleep and a crappy Monday morning?
Edit: Oh yeah, and a weekend report. Saturday; 3.5 hours with evil headwind/lovely tailwind ride with Brady. Thanks Brady, for sticking it out with me and I hope your position issues are solved so bike practicing is more fun. Sunday; first 3rd of the Bike Masters Century. It was wet at the start, but got pretty nice, Bryan and I broke off early since we both had stuff to do and I found out the meaning of pain as we rode Bryan's work-to-home commute route. Being he rode that route on a single speed, I can see why it was just a little hard on the training. Rollercoasters have less ups and downs than that route. So overall, 3-ish hours each day, not a bad weekend. Man I love riding my bike. I can't imagine doing anything else. Yes, I'm that tired that I'm getting mushy.
It started off with me cleaning my bike, which some of you know, I'm just a little finicky about. I started the cleaning process at 7pm and was done at oh, about 9:30pm. Everything is sparkly again, just the way I like. Seriously, if I can't look at my crankset and see it as a potential stainless steel plate ready to eat off of, it's not clean. So I put everything away and remembered I hadn't eaten dinner yet. Oops. I pop in a Kashi frozen pizza since it was quick and easy. Yummy....cardboard crust....
So I scarf down the pizza, watch the weather on the 10 o'clock news and discover that there's no way I'm riding to work in the morning. Especially not on my clean-enough-to-eat-off-of bike. Unless they were wrong about the rain, which has happened a couple times in recent memory. But it seemed like they were pretty certain, so I figured I should drive to work and therefore had a whole half hour more to sleep in, a very nice thing for Monday morning. I flip around the channels and find the World Series of Poker '07 championships on ESPN (8 - the Ocho, I love that channel...can't get enough of it). They were running back to back episodes (each an hour long) of this progression of elimination. This is a tournament where a ton of people start, but eventually, all the chips remain with a final selection of great/lucky players. It was interesting because the guy who is credited with making Texas Holdem poker popular in 2003, Chris Moneymaker, was knocked out early in the tournament. Mr. Moneymaker made the "sport" well known because he, as a 25 year old, got into a poker tournament with $50 and made it all the way to the end to win something like $1.5 mill. I remember watching that and thinking, "Wow, that's like hitting the jackpot, but you increase your chances exponentially by being a great player." Anyway, I watched a few hours of this tournament, so this put me at about 1:30am. My late dinner finally settled and I was ready for bed. Waaaaaaaaaay past my bed time.
Our condo loft has a skylight that sits right above our bed. It's a good thing to have when it's cold out cause the sun shines through and heats the place well. However, since it's right above our bed, when it rains it is LOUD!! I guess some people sleep well when there's a droning sound like that, but with the rain we get, it's quiet for a little while, then comes down in buckets, then quiets down, then pours again. So it's not constant. I sleep much better in silence anyway. So the rain started around 4am and I had my alarm set for 5:30am. There's nothing worse than being woken up before you really want to get up. Especially when you haven't had much sleep to begin with. Very frustrating cause all you want to do is sleep, but you got this rain coming in waves, then your cat notices you're stirring so it must be time for canned food, so she jumps all over you. I angrily drifted in and out of slumber till 6am, got up, got dressed, (lightly) kicked the cat out of my way since I was too groggy and would step on her if she did her normal clingy thing. I got in my car, drove slowly to work, parked in the neighborhood just South of UNMC (free parking is the right price, just not very convenient), and got very wet walking the 5 blocks before reaching the cover of a building. What a great way to start a Monday.
So needless to say, I'm on a lot of coffee this morning. Luckily work is light, but that means I have to do something otherwise I'm going to fall over and start snoring. And now, after proofing this post for the 4th time to catch all my grogginess-induced mistakes, I'm done.
How do you fair with very little sleep and a crappy Monday morning?
Edit: Oh yeah, and a weekend report. Saturday; 3.5 hours with evil headwind/lovely tailwind ride with Brady. Thanks Brady, for sticking it out with me and I hope your position issues are solved so bike practicing is more fun. Sunday; first 3rd of the Bike Masters Century. It was wet at the start, but got pretty nice, Bryan and I broke off early since we both had stuff to do and I found out the meaning of pain as we rode Bryan's work-to-home commute route. Being he rode that route on a single speed, I can see why it was just a little hard on the training. Rollercoasters have less ups and downs than that route. So overall, 3-ish hours each day, not a bad weekend. Man I love riding my bike. I can't imagine doing anything else. Yes, I'm that tired that I'm getting mushy.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Ryan F and Roxy saw me while riding yesterday.
See how I made it look like all 3 of us were riding. Well we were.
I was just creeping home from a jaunt to the Northwest into some abslowtively reconculous wind. I would like wind a lot more, or rather hate it a lot less, if my eyes didn't feel like burning during/after a ride where I cry almost the whole time. I have this problem where my tears are mostly oil so my eyes are usually dry and itchy to begin with. Add some wind and I get the nice 40-grit sandpaper effect right to the retinal area. I tried contacts once, very unsuccessfully.
So I was riding home around the Aksarben area when I saw R and R probably just heading out to face the fun. Hope you guys enjoyed almost being knocked over a couple times. I sure did. Not.
I was just creeping home from a jaunt to the Northwest into some abslowtively reconculous wind. I would like wind a lot more, or rather hate it a lot less, if my eyes didn't feel like burning during/after a ride where I cry almost the whole time. I have this problem where my tears are mostly oil so my eyes are usually dry and itchy to begin with. Add some wind and I get the nice 40-grit sandpaper effect right to the retinal area. I tried contacts once, very unsuccessfully.
So I was riding home around the Aksarben area when I saw R and R probably just heading out to face the fun. Hope you guys enjoyed almost being knocked over a couple times. I sure did. Not.
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