Trainer? Whaaa?

Yes, it's true.
In what was perhaps the earliest venture onto the trainer in my cycling career this fall, I set up an old bike in the basement and worked up a sweat in a 30-minute spin.

This weather has been brutal. I have no desire to go out under the ugly sky and get caught in blowing, cold rain. No sir, not me.

Finally today I couldn't take the inactivity any longer. I needed to do something so against my better judgment I set up the trainer.

It didn't seem so bad actually, but that is understandable because it's new and I know it is temporary. Next week the weather is supposed to be much improved, so maybe a ride or two next week.

Meantime, a reminder it's cyclocross time. The WCA starts a series Oct. 1 at the Domes. Check it out.

My friends at Crankdaddy's tell me that Specialized will be there in force.
For more info see the WCA site. wicycling.org

The magic bench

Season Miles: 2,217

Whitnall Crit, 10 laps+Up 'Barn Hill', 37 miles
Sun to partly cloudy, 63 degrees, WINDY, gusting to 25

This morning I was on the road early for me, at about 10:30 and already heading south once again. I didn't know for sure where I was headed but I knew one thing for sure. It was windy.

Because of the wind I decided to turn into Whitnall Park figuring that doing some laps in there would at least give me a break from the wind because I'd basically be going in circles on that course. It worked. I felt pretty good doing ten laps in the park.

For two of those laps I watched two large deer munching on some low-hanging tree branches. And despite my being only feet away from them neither one bothered to move at all, instead just giving me a glance.

But on the second lap with them there a man in a pickup had spied the deer and pulled over across the road to watch. It was funny to see the deer sort of peek out at the guy from behind the tree to check him out. It was as if they were saying, "Move on buddy...nothing to see here. Can't you see we're trying to eat here?"


As I whirled around the course lap after lap I saw a man fast asleep in his car. Each lap I would ride past him his head was bobbing down in a different position as he snoozed away.


Lap after lap I would shift in the exact same spot at the top of a hill where another guy had his sports car parked as he soaked up some sunshine from his lawn chair.


At the end of 10 laps I decided that on the way out of the park I would take a climb up good old "Barn Hill". With the wind still whipping it up I made my way steadily up the climb and rode over to a couple of benches out in front of the Botanical Gardens gift shop.


Although the stop for a little rest and a granola bar was only about five minutes, it was a magical one.


Legs stretched out in front of me, the warmth of the autumn sun burned onto my cheeks. It felt good. The only sounds were of the crickets and the wild grasses blowing in the wind, their fuzzy tails dancing against the bright green and neatly-kept grass in the background.


The reddish-pink roses partnered with the grasses made for a scene  worthy of Monet himself pulling out his paints and brushes right then and there.


Bright white clouds moved swiftly across the blue sky above as I noticed a jet gaining altitude not far away. I wondered where those people were going and almost felt sorry for them. Certainly they could not be going anywhere more perfect than it is right here on the magical bench.


As I loaded my water bottle back into its waiting cage and rolled away I thought about the magical bench stay, magical because for those five minutes or so my world was perfect. No worries. No deadlines. No nothing except the beauty of the day and the location. I could have died right then and there and I guess that would have been OK with me.


On the way back I thought about how lucky I am to be able not only to do this, but to appreciate the special moments in life.


I thought about a man getting a hip replacement today, and how much I myself had to overcome to get to where I am now ten years after my surgery. This husband of a co-worker of my wife's had called me earlier, worried about his operation and looking for some comfort from someone who has been there. I was glad to give it. 


Over the years I have answered mail from readers from New Mexico to Canada asking for my advice about not only total hip replacement, but the ability to ride afterward. I always take the time to share my story with them.


With about six miles left in the ride those bright white clouds that had me in a trance at the magical bench now had ugly black bottoms, making the wind now seem more like the first coughs from Old Man Winter. What started and felt like a summer day suddenly had a chilly bite to it, looking and feeling more like November. I yearned to feel the warmth of my time at the magic bench again. But that's the thing about those magical moments; you can never go back. So enjoy them when they roll around.

The free $4.00 jersey

Season Miles: 2,181

Three Bridges, 36 miles
15.2 ave. speed
80 ave. cadence
Sun to partly sunny, 78, windy at 10-15 out of the South

The wind direction is part of the story of the ride today because it doesn't happen very often that I get tailwind on the way back home. But heading down to the Milwaukee County Sports Complex I was getting a south wind in the face. This tells me I'll have it easier coming back. However what usually happens is that I pick up a bigger gear on the way home and work hard anyway to keep up a faster pace than I was going on the way out.

I rode with a new free $4.00 jersey today too.
What, you ask?
How can it be free and $4.00 at the same time?

Well, my wife came home from work yesterday with a new jersey in her hand. She said a co-worker had purchased it for her non-riding husband on sale from Land's End for only four bucks.
Turns out he didn't want it. She knew my wife had mentioned me and my cycling so the woman gave the jersey to her to give to me.

So bottom line that's how I got a free $4.00 jersey.

The bonus in all this is that it's the perfect color to go with my new Roubaix too!

 
Nothing unusual happened on this ride. While turning around at the sports complex their electronic sign read, "78 at 12:51" and I wondered to myself if this would be the final time this season I would ride with bare arms and legs basking in warm sunshine.

The clock is of course ticking and rather quickly on days like this around these parts.

I wasn't the turtle of the group

Season Miles: 2,145

Tess Corners, 40 miles
16 ave. speed
83 ave. cadence
Cloudy, cool, 58, cold wind 6-15


Happy Thanksgiving!
What?
It sure FELT like Thanksgiving time on this ride this morning. It was cold. How cold was it? I had to remember where I packed away the knicker bibs because I wore them for the first time this season today.

The entire 40 miles saw black clouds and steady wind. Wouldn't you know it...as I pulled into my driveway after the ride the sun finally started to peek through. Oh well, this was no frilly-weather ride. This was a ride for real men cycling! It was Belgium-like out there. (OK, maybe it wasn't THAT bad but you all know I'm a cold-weather riding weenie)

Considering how things looked out my window before the ride I probably would not have even headed out had it not been for a planned ride with Craig Busche today. who had contacted me a couple of times trying to coordinate a ride together. Today would finally be that day.


Craig showed up with a riding bud, Dom, and they wanted to see my Tess Corners route after reading about it here. Off we went.


While these guys look at today's ride pace as an easy spin for their legs I was riding more my normal pace. In other words, once again, I was the weakest of the threesome. But I wasn't the turtle on this day. That's because Craig actually FOUND a REAL turtle on the road and went back to rescue it....I hope.


He dropped back then caught up with us, small turtle in hand searching for the first available creek to release the little guy in. Soon enough we came upon some water and while singing "Born Free" (not really, I made that part up) Craig flung the turtle to the creek. "I think I got him into the water," he said. Onward with the ride.


They seemed to like the route and it is always nice to ride with guys who are rock solid on the road that you can trust.


How in the world I, the heaviest, weakest of the bunch, ended up on the front of the line along much of Sunny Slope on the way back is beyond me. Obviously I don't have these two trained like "Der Jan" and "I Drop You" when I ride with them.

I felt good despite the weather today...nice change of pace being out on the road with a couple of fellow local roadies.

Smoke on the water?

Season Miles: 2,105

Three Bridges, 35 miles
15.4 average speed
84 average cadence
Hazy sun, cooler, 68, breezy, 10-15

Well that was odd.

For the life of me I couldn't figure out the weather today. As soon as I turned onto the road I could see this was hazy sunshine and feel that this was a lot cooler than usual today.

There were clouds around too, and it didn't take long for the hazy sunshine to turn into just a haze. Yuk. There was nothing inspiring about this weather.

I rode the  path down to the sports complex where I decided to take the road/hills back home instead of opting for the flat path back the way I had come. Of course this meant the obligatory singing of "I'm Free" by the Who as I rode past the correctional facility in Franklin.

What the heck was with this hazy fog though? Brrrrr.
It didn't make sense as a marine layer because the wind was coming from the west, not off the lake.

I finished the ride feeling kinda cool...probably could have used arm warmers or a light wind vest or jacket.

Then I found out on line what all the haze was about. It's smoke! You know I thought it kinda smelled like a fire somewhere but ruled that out figuring no fire would make that big a blanket over the area.

It did.
Turns out a wildfire in Minnesota is burning today and the NW  wind was just dumping smoke over us.

Well that's a new one for a ride.

Not the dedication made you'd expect

Season Miles: 2,075

Dousman, 53 miles
15.2 ave. speed
83 ave. cadence
Sun, 80, wind 5-8 NICE!

First of all, a question for you.
Q: How many people did I count riding a bike on my ride out to Dousman and back today? The answer at the end of this post.

This beautiful Sunday, Sept. 11 meant a dedication ride, but it's not the dedication you might think. Not to take anything away from marking the 10th year since the terrorist attacks. But today's dedication goes to Eddie.

My lake neighbor Eddie died on the morning of Sept. 11 a couple of years ago. I grew up with good old Eddie next to us out there. For decades whenever I needed a tool or help on a project or a suggestion for how to get something done out there Eddie was my go-to guy.

Within five minutes of pulling into the lot I would see Eddie come out from his garage to send me his patented greeting with a wave, "How ya doin'?" he would always say. Just months before he died at the age of 96 he was out there raking in the lake weeds. He was like a grandpa to me. I hope that's how long I last and how strong I go out when it's my time. On this anniversary of his passing I dedicate my effort today to Eddie.

It was less than 24 hours after I had completed a 40-mile ride that I was back out on the road today. Wearing my Sunday finest for the occasion, I had pulled on the kit I bought several years ago when I was in Paris. I don't wear it much, but I wore it today for the dedication ride on 9-11.

I decided that since the path west is going to be closed now until the 23rd that I would take it one more time out to Wales. When I got there I decided after my stop that I would go on to Dousman today, simply enjoying the ride and counting all the people I was seeing on a bike.

I pulled up to Bicycle Docs and went in to buy a gel and get a bottle filled with water.

Once back to Wales I pulled off briefly to get more water. I saw a couple of serious looking roadies doing the same. They took off down the road rather than the path in the same direction as me...just a couple of minutes before I too left.

This is the fun part of this route because there is a slight false flat downward toward Waukesha. And at one point later I saw those same two guys on the road. One went straight and the other turned back onto the path in front of me.

He looked back, saw me, and then set a solid tempo. Having a little gas in the tank yet and some Shot Bloks in my jersey pocket, I decided to get up behind this guy. He was moving. It took work, but I grabbed his wheel. Then after following for a bit I decided to take a turn up front.

On the gas....full on.

As I approached a walker ahead I glanced back figuring this guy on his Trek would be right behind me. He was. So I gave him the hand motion to move over to the left. I did the same thing for a second person walking. Trek guy was glued right to my wheel and I was doing 24's in this section at hard tempo.

When we got to a second intersection I called out 'CLEAR' for him and glanced back just in time to see that he was turning off to the right. He called out to me, "Thanks for the lift," to which I replied, "Any time. Good riding."

To tell the truth I was glad he turned off because I was now gassed. Even if he had taken a turn at the front next I am not sure I could have stayed on his wheel.

After that big effort it was just a matter of pacing myself all the way back home. No major issues. No cramping. I was a little tired, but not bad at all for going 53 miles in what felt like the dead of summer heat. Fantastic I say! I'll take this weather all year.

A: 260
Yup. 260 people riding a bike...and no repeats either. I kept track.

It's good to see all those people out there enjoying the weather on a Sunday afternoon. Of course it helped that the Packers played on Thursday.

Honey Stingers

Season Miles: 2,022

Tess Corners, 40 miles
15.6 ave. speed
82 ave. cadence
Sun, 80, light wind

A busy Saturday morning had me visiting the Tosa farmers' market first, followed by a trip to Wagfest with our dog Gabby.

Here's picture of Gabby (right) with her pug friend Nellie at the event.

It was a lot of  fun but all the while I kept thinking about making use of the great weather on the bike.

So first shot I had I was on the road by 1:30 with a plan to ride the Tess Corners 40-mile route to the south.

I must say I really like this route. You start out riding my Three Bridges in Franklin, but then loop around from 112th and 116th, St. Martens and then Tess Corners and eventually back onto Sunny Slope heading into New Berlin and the path back to Greenfield Park.

There is pathway...there is parkway...there is road riding...there are some hills...good scenery and hardly any areas with heavy traffic.

I felt good today on the Roubaix. This was a solid ride.

I tested a product out for Jerry at Rainbow Jersey today too. From time to time he will give me something to test in return for my honest opinion and review.

This time it was a bag of wild cherry Honey Stingers. He said since I liked Shot Bloks that I should try these.
My review:
First of all, the bag of them was incredibly easy to open while riding, and that's a big score for me!
These are slightly smaller than Shot Bloks, but the same type of jello-like consistency. 

BAM...the flavor hit me right away. SWEET, but very tasty. I downed half a bag and just a little later put down the other half. I felt they held cramps at bay in the legs just fine.
Based on ease of use I might buy these over the Bloks in the future. They certainly seemed to be just as good.

Over two thousand miles now for the season with today's ride, much less than years past, but not bad. Plenty more riding to do this fall.

Acorns I tell ya

Season Miles: 1,982

Whitnall Crit, 1 lap, 26 miles
Sun, 72 and WINDY! 15-20+gusting.

It was the kind of wind that can throw the front of the bike around if it catches you right. And NE direction is the worst I can have because every one of my routes ends up coming BACK either north or east into that wind.

Today was just to do a little test ride with my new rear tire after getting home from a nice visit to Rainbow Jersey. I was tired today and will admit that without sunshine today this ride would have never happened.

As for the flat yesterday...
After inspecting the tire this morning I found both a cut and a puncture. In fact the puncture had a little something in the tire yet. So I dug out what appeared to be a piece of shell from an acorn. Fair warning. I told ya...ACORNS are the enemy. I took a detour today both out and back to avoid the area on the path where I rode through the little buggers yesterday.

The new tire on the Roubaix feels fine back there. Now it's time for a little rest for me after three days in a row. Times were that was no big deal for me. Times WERE...
 

A tire and I both took a dump

Season Miles: 1,946

Wales, 40 miles
14.8 ave. speed
81 ave. cadence
Sun, 65-70, Windy again, E NE 12-15

Funny how toward the end of this ride I was thinking how uneventful a 40-miler could be. Things changed.

I spent too much time worrying about which way the swirling wind was blowing as I headed out today. At the last minute I decided to stick to my plan and ride out to Wales for lunch. At one point near the pond on the New Berlin Trail I swear it felt like all I would need to  do would be to sit up, spread my arms out and the wind would push me to Waukesha without so much as a turn of the crank! And as nice as that was now, I knew I'd be getting all of that in my face on the way home.
But like I said, I was worrying too much about that and told myself to just enjoy being able to be out riding under this blue sky. Still a bit chilly in the wind, but I'll take it.

Oh, and here's a tip for those of you who like to pack a little sandwich for lunch like me. Here is the new bread. I love making a PB&J on this flat bread stuff. 

It packs in your rear jersey pocket real well, taking up less space than traditional bread slices. 


Plus, it tastes good too!


Riding back from Wales to Waukesha was a breeze. I had downed this sandwich and a Cliff Shot gel in Wales and was able to fly down to the water stop just outside  of the Glacial Drumlin Trail exit with ease.


As I started the portion of the ride on the New Berlin Trail from Waukesha to Greenfield Park I was wondering what or who I might bump into to make a story of the day. I thought to myself how dull a ride this turned out to be. No characters to write about. Nothing unusual happened today. Would this just be a workhorse 40-miler?


Nope.


I noticed some stomach cramps and groans from deep within. Odd. It started to get worse. My legs were dead now too from pedaling into this steady 12-15 and gusting wind out of the east off the lake again today.


More groaning.


What the?


The final three miles were a pain. I was tired. My legs hurt. I felt like every minute more on the bike put me closer to having to rush into the bathroom once I got home...IF I made it home!


I was reminded of the time Tom Boonen clearly had, as the announcers said when the camera was on him, "A digestive issue" during a stage of a race on TV. Clearly he had crapped his bibs and just kept racing!


Then just three blocks from home I thought my Roubaix felt funny. Was it going over bumps differently? Something didn't feel right? Did I have a tire going down? I've suspected this on rides in the past and have been wrong.


Groan. 


Oh man...come on...get home in time! 
Wind gust.


Groan...gurgle..groan...


I pulled into the driveway without a minute to spare. I pulled off my shoes and pinched the rear tire as I ran past the bike. Yup...mushy. Damn!


Into the bathroom I went where some unholy matter came bursting out of me. Ahhh....relief. No Tom Boonen syndrome for me!


Back out to the bike. I see a small cut in the rear tire. I bet that was the issue, and I bet I know when it happened too. There was no pop involved here, just a slow leak out of nowhere. Acorns. I rode over a patch of acorns on the path approaching Bluemound. I bet that did it. Right? 
Any of you have this happen to you? Acorns...not a friend of thin bike tires pumped up to 100 psi I am guessing.


Off to Rainbow Jersey Thursday to get a new tire...already.
Oh well. At least it happened close to home. If this had happened out farther on the route in my condition today I would have been in the woods with my bibs down around my ankles.


And here I thought this was going to be a dull ride.

She had speed skater thighs

Season Miles: 1,906

30 miles/Minooka
15.4 ave. speed
84 ave. cadence
Sun, COOL 62-68, Windy out of east off lake 12-15

First, a public service announcement about the New Berlin Trail. Due to WE Energies utility work there is a sign posted as of today that says the trail will be closed between Calhoun and 164 from Sept. 12 though 23. So I guess I'll be riding to the south and back for much of this month.


-A new sleeveless base layer from Rainbow Jersey
-A short-sleeved jersey
-Arm warmers
-Sleeveless wind vest
...and I was still chilly at times today, with a starting temp of only 62 and no shortage of east wind off the lake. My how quickly the weather changed.


I made a PB&J and headed out for what I thought would be lunch in Wales.
But as I made my way easily down the NB Trail I realized that all the wind would be in my face coming back. There was no way I wanted to battle wind all the way home from Wales today.


Game plan changed. I would ride the hills to Minooka Dog Park and beyond instead.
All I wanted to do today was get my legs back under me after the long holiday weekend of doing nothing.


I ate the sandwich at the dog park, then headed out for part two of the ride. That's when, as usual, some thing or some one made for a story for me to write about here.


On that long stretch heading east from Springdale to Calhoun a woman passed me. I think I have seen this woman before because she stands out for a couple of reasons. Today she stood out because the first thing I saw after she passed me was her pink SLEEVELESS top. Are you kidding me? I've got three layers on and she's rockin' skin? And not just any skin either. No, this woman had a bronze tan to die for.


She also stands out because she is tall and doesn't wear a helmet. And then there are those legs. Speed skater thighs I thought to myself. Muscles like you wouldn't believe.


I decided to chase her down and hang behind her, which took  me doing 19's into all the east wind. No easy task, but on she went. Then as I rode behind her it occurred to me that this woman had sort of a throwback 80's look to her, as if she would look perfectly normal with one of those old spider web helmets on her lid.

She wore cycling shorts that appeared to be a little too short and old. It looked as though she wasn't wearing socks either. Those long, tan muscular legs just went all the way down into her shoes.

But it was her speed skater thighs bulging with muscles that were most impressive. Her legs made mine look like pale little bratwursts. 


At one point she had to wait for traffic and I had been riding behind her. As I caught up I was going to ask her how in the world she wasn't cold riding into that wind with bare arms. But every time I got near she was ready to take off, always seeming to be in a hurry to pedal hard again.


I felt like I should have passed her then and pulled for time, but quite honestly I was worried that once I got up there I would be going too slowly for her and she'd pass back. Not cool. Besides, when wondering if I should pass her I had to ask myself, "Why would you really wanna do that anyway?"


I bet I see her again. I swear I've seen her before on that path. She sure is a strong rider...her and her sleeveless, helmet-less 1980 look.