As the Associated Press used to write on its wire machines (back in the day of printed news wire machines) when they killed a story, "Bust It".
That's what I did today. I had intentions of an easy neighborhood ride just to take the edge off my legs after yesterday's big effort ride.
But as I left, right before my very eyes the weather was changing in a flash. It went from a mild day with hazy sunshine to a rather bizarre condition that reminded me of what is called marine layer on the west coast. Suddenly there was this odd foggy condition and the temps dipped within blocks.
I rode out to the course and into a cold wind. It was horrible. My legs were dead. The sun was gone. The cold fog had rolled in and no good was going to come of this ride attempt today.
Bust it.
I headed for home as soon as I could. I'll live to ride another day.
Add four miles to the season total and make lunch.
Season Miles: 626
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
7-Mile Rd. solution
I finally figured out the proper turnaround for my 7-Mile Rd. route today. This was my intent as I set out today under hazy skies and mild temps in the 60's. There was a slight chance of rain but I took that chance today in search of figuring this route out once and for all.
Hazy sunshine
65-72 degrees
Wind 6-12
7-Mile Rd., 45 miles
After riding the "Three Bridges" path in Franklin and going through the Franklin industrial park I turn right on Oakwood, taking me past the remote control airplane park. Take that all the way to 92nd and turn left. The issue I had on Sunday was that I turned left onto County Line Road, which is a big mistake because it dead-ends on 76th, thus dumping you onto an unsafe hell hole of a mile or so on 76th.
No, rather than a left at County Line you make a right and a quick left to continue out on 92nd all the way to 7-Mile Road, where you take another left down to 60th, which dumps you back crossing Oakwood and into Franklin's industrial park again. Then you have the option of taking the same path back or take the street route past the correctional facility which provides some hills.
I took the path back today.
Things went well for me today in terms of training as well. No rain and I rode this at tempo for periods of time. 2:57 of saddle time for 45 miles comes to about 15.2 mph average, which for me at this time of year puts a smile on my face.
I really feel I earned the dinner my wife and I will be going out for this evening to celebrate our 18th wedding anniversary. Now, while I am looking forward to pigging out on some great food, I can tell you this much: Nothing tasted much better than the PB&J I just downed with an iced-cold glass of milk out here on the porch after the ride. That should hold me over until dinner.
Looks like Friday will be the next chance at a ride perhaps.
Season Miles: 622
Hazy sunshine
65-72 degrees
Wind 6-12
7-Mile Rd., 45 miles
After riding the "Three Bridges" path in Franklin and going through the Franklin industrial park I turn right on Oakwood, taking me past the remote control airplane park. Take that all the way to 92nd and turn left. The issue I had on Sunday was that I turned left onto County Line Road, which is a big mistake because it dead-ends on 76th, thus dumping you onto an unsafe hell hole of a mile or so on 76th.
No, rather than a left at County Line you make a right and a quick left to continue out on 92nd all the way to 7-Mile Road, where you take another left down to 60th, which dumps you back crossing Oakwood and into Franklin's industrial park again. Then you have the option of taking the same path back or take the street route past the correctional facility which provides some hills.
I took the path back today.
Things went well for me today in terms of training as well. No rain and I rode this at tempo for periods of time. 2:57 of saddle time for 45 miles comes to about 15.2 mph average, which for me at this time of year puts a smile on my face.
I really feel I earned the dinner my wife and I will be going out for this evening to celebrate our 18th wedding anniversary. Now, while I am looking forward to pigging out on some great food, I can tell you this much: Nothing tasted much better than the PB&J I just downed with an iced-cold glass of milk out here on the porch after the ride. That should hold me over until dinner.
Looks like Friday will be the next chance at a ride perhaps.
Season Miles: 622
Monday, May 9, 2011
Can't trust those weathermen
Nope, you just can't trust those darned weathermen on TV. Last words I heard about Monday--dry most of the day with the rain holding off until Monday night.
Great. That means perhaps a shot at a small recovery ride today.
Although the clouds had come by noon-ish I was inspired to ride after the horrible news about the death of a pro rider who crashed in today's Stage 3 of the Giro in Italy. Click here for more info on that.
I had the brains to stay close to home because it was looking dark to the west. So I decided to do some laps in Elm Grove. Good thing too.
Cloudy, then rain
61 degrees
East wind off lake at 12-15
7 miles, Elm Grove Crit, 2 laps
I was on the road at 12:35 and by 12:55 it started to rain. So much for most of Monday being dry!
Now in the summer, a light rain while caught out on a ride isn't enough to make me turn around. But with what feels like a wind chill while you are being pelted in the face by cold rain...well, I threw in the towel in a hurry, got home, wiped the bike off and hit the shower.
Oh well. It's seven more miles this season at the very least.
Season Miles: 577
Great. That means perhaps a shot at a small recovery ride today.
Although the clouds had come by noon-ish I was inspired to ride after the horrible news about the death of a pro rider who crashed in today's Stage 3 of the Giro in Italy. Click here for more info on that.
I had the brains to stay close to home because it was looking dark to the west. So I decided to do some laps in Elm Grove. Good thing too.
Cloudy, then rain
61 degrees
East wind off lake at 12-15
7 miles, Elm Grove Crit, 2 laps
I was on the road at 12:35 and by 12:55 it started to rain. So much for most of Monday being dry!
Now in the summer, a light rain while caught out on a ride isn't enough to make me turn around. But with what feels like a wind chill while you are being pelted in the face by cold rain...well, I threw in the towel in a hurry, got home, wiped the bike off and hit the shower.
Oh well. It's seven more miles this season at the very least.
Season Miles: 577
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Amsterdam?
There were so many bikes out there on this Sunday afternoon that at times it looked like Amsterdam.
And while the sun was out at the start of this 47-mile effort it had long disappeared by the halfway point. The east wind off Lake Michigan hung around. Lets just say that my little yellow wind jacket has become my best friend as of late.
Sun to clouds
60-63 degrees
Wind 5-10 off lake
47 miles, 7-Mile Rd. w/Botanical lap on way back
I felt real good about this ride. I was nice and steady and smooth the entire time. I took it easy on the "Three Bridges" portion of the ride on the paths in Franklin, just sight-seeing and people watching.
On the way back I decided to climb Barn Hill and check out Botanical Gardens. Wow! That place was jumpin'! I guess the Mothers Day brunch at the restaurant there is a hit!
I walked into the jammed building to fill my water bottle and I could feel all the eyes on me from people dressed in their Sunday best looking at a guy clicking along on the floor in some spandex-like superhero outfit. Pretty funny. Talk about being out of place somewhere!
I'm dedicating the ride today to Dominic Gill, whom I learned about over the weekend. I watched his Take a Seat video Saturday and it was very inspirational for me. Click here to watch it. It's an hour long, and better than any waste-of-time TV show you'll spend an hour on.
I had some very solid miles in this past week and for the first time am starting to feel like I'm getting into riding shape this season.
Season Miles: 570
And while the sun was out at the start of this 47-mile effort it had long disappeared by the halfway point. The east wind off Lake Michigan hung around. Lets just say that my little yellow wind jacket has become my best friend as of late.
Sun to clouds
60-63 degrees
Wind 5-10 off lake
47 miles, 7-Mile Rd. w/Botanical lap on way back
I felt real good about this ride. I was nice and steady and smooth the entire time. I took it easy on the "Three Bridges" portion of the ride on the paths in Franklin, just sight-seeing and people watching.
On the way back I decided to climb Barn Hill and check out Botanical Gardens. Wow! That place was jumpin'! I guess the Mothers Day brunch at the restaurant there is a hit!
I walked into the jammed building to fill my water bottle and I could feel all the eyes on me from people dressed in their Sunday best looking at a guy clicking along on the floor in some spandex-like superhero outfit. Pretty funny. Talk about being out of place somewhere!
I'm dedicating the ride today to Dominic Gill, whom I learned about over the weekend. I watched his Take a Seat video Saturday and it was very inspirational for me. Click here to watch it. It's an hour long, and better than any waste-of-time TV show you'll spend an hour on.
I had some very solid miles in this past week and for the first time am starting to feel like I'm getting into riding shape this season.
Season Miles: 570
Friday, May 6, 2011
Special Delivery
As it turns out, this little ride a little bit of everything in store for me.
Indeed, I set out to make a special delivery of sorts. Here is the back story on that. I wanted to get my pass application for riding on the Glacial-Drumlin trail in. After making out a check with the application paperwork I had picked up along the trail on Wednesday during my 54-mile ride I could not for the life of me figure out how to turn the thing into an envelope. Apparently my brain cells are now limited.
My plan was to put the ap and the check into a regular envelope and ride back out toward Wales to deposit the entire thing in the drop box.
Now heading west into a stiff west wind was a chore. I knew it would be. But the thing to do here is put your head down and just take your time. When I finally got to the box I dropped the envelope in and decided to continue west into the wind for one more segment of path. Thank GOD I made the decision to wear my wind jacket today...I almost didn't. The sun was now dancing behind clouds and it was chilly.
Mostly cloudy
63
Windy, 12-15
Toward Wales and back, 35 miles
I turned around at DT, loaded up my second bottle and looked forward to an easier time of it heading home. Or so I thought.
Oh at first it was fine, until I saw a guy coming from the other way toward me, then turn around as I crossed the street on the New Berlin trail. It was as if he was baiting me. Bold. I bit. I decided to grab his wheel. And now there was some cross-wind too. Well this skinny dude was haulin' ass. But I felt I had the legs so I tried to stay on. It was work. Major work. This guy was dancing with 25 mph steady all the way from Springdale to Calhoun, the longest stretch of that path.
I huffed. I puffed. I sprinted out of the saddle at times just to keep pace. There was no way I could overtake to even attempt to take a pull for him.
After crossing Calhoun he took off again. I was gassed. Done. Fork-sticking time. It was then I just said, "See ya bumblebee (he was in yellow and black) I'm cooked."
He was gone for a short bit and when I came up on Sunny Slope there he was loading his bike onto the back of his parked car. I slowed and yelled out to him, "Thanks for the pull. I would have taken a turn at the front but you were too fast." He said thanks and that was that.
From there to Greenfield Park it was like a race horse taking a cool-down lap. Time to back off the accelerator. Coming into the park I heard a guy behind me say "On your left." I pulled over and as he passed he said, "Now that's more like it."
I have no idea what he was talking about. My best guess was that perhaps he too was behind me trying to keep up and could only catch and pass after I was off the gas. Who knows. I don't think he was mad about anything. Just odd.
One final surprise too...what started as a sunny and mild day was now cloudy with a light blowing rain!
Like I said, this special delivery ride had a little bit of everything.
Season Miles: 523
Indeed, I set out to make a special delivery of sorts. Here is the back story on that. I wanted to get my pass application for riding on the Glacial-Drumlin trail in. After making out a check with the application paperwork I had picked up along the trail on Wednesday during my 54-mile ride I could not for the life of me figure out how to turn the thing into an envelope. Apparently my brain cells are now limited.
My plan was to put the ap and the check into a regular envelope and ride back out toward Wales to deposit the entire thing in the drop box.
Now heading west into a stiff west wind was a chore. I knew it would be. But the thing to do here is put your head down and just take your time. When I finally got to the box I dropped the envelope in and decided to continue west into the wind for one more segment of path. Thank GOD I made the decision to wear my wind jacket today...I almost didn't. The sun was now dancing behind clouds and it was chilly.
Mostly cloudy
63
Windy, 12-15
Toward Wales and back, 35 miles
I turned around at DT, loaded up my second bottle and looked forward to an easier time of it heading home. Or so I thought.
Oh at first it was fine, until I saw a guy coming from the other way toward me, then turn around as I crossed the street on the New Berlin trail. It was as if he was baiting me. Bold. I bit. I decided to grab his wheel. And now there was some cross-wind too. Well this skinny dude was haulin' ass. But I felt I had the legs so I tried to stay on. It was work. Major work. This guy was dancing with 25 mph steady all the way from Springdale to Calhoun, the longest stretch of that path.
I huffed. I puffed. I sprinted out of the saddle at times just to keep pace. There was no way I could overtake to even attempt to take a pull for him.
After crossing Calhoun he took off again. I was gassed. Done. Fork-sticking time. It was then I just said, "See ya bumblebee (he was in yellow and black) I'm cooked."
He was gone for a short bit and when I came up on Sunny Slope there he was loading his bike onto the back of his parked car. I slowed and yelled out to him, "Thanks for the pull. I would have taken a turn at the front but you were too fast." He said thanks and that was that.
From there to Greenfield Park it was like a race horse taking a cool-down lap. Time to back off the accelerator. Coming into the park I heard a guy behind me say "On your left." I pulled over and as he passed he said, "Now that's more like it."
I have no idea what he was talking about. My best guess was that perhaps he too was behind me trying to keep up and could only catch and pass after I was off the gas. Who knows. I don't think he was mad about anything. Just odd.
One final surprise too...what started as a sunny and mild day was now cloudy with a light blowing rain!
Like I said, this special delivery ride had a little bit of everything.
Season Miles: 523
Thursday, May 5, 2011
It's all about performance
Yup, it's all about performance in this video piece that's too funny...funny because I bet so many of us roadies can relate!
Click here...sound up...enjoy.
Click here...sound up...enjoy.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Longest of the new season
Nice hard effort today getting some serious time in the saddle on a long adventure thanks to the return of the sun.
Sunny
55-63 degrees
Lt. wind
54 miles to Dousman and back
As I headed out early in the ride I had no handle on which way the wind was blowing as I tried to determine if I would head west or south. As it turned out I made the wrong decision, at least if I would have wanted a tailwind rather than a headwind all the way in from Dousman. Oh well.
This turned out to be my longest ride of the season at 54 miles. I wanted to pick up an application for a trail pass, needed on the Glacial-Drumlin Trail. (heads up-you can no longer get one on-line either)
The first box on the trail that I passed was empty, but the second one had the envelopes you can send in with a check. So I stuffed a couple into my jersey pocket and continued west to Wales.
Interesting thing happened on the way. East of the Wales rest stop a woman walking flagged me down. She asked if I had seen a guy walking his bike. I had not. She explained that she was riding with a friend when he crashed, so she rode ahead to get the car, then walked from the nearest road to find him.
Now I was worried. I told her I would ride ahead and check and if I saw him would tell him that she would wait for him at the rest stop.
Sure enough I saw the guy ahead. He was OK but looked a little dazed. I chatted him up while we walked toward the rest stop where the woman saw us and all was well.
I stopped there to open the turkey sandwich I had packed for lunch, but ate only half before getting back on the bike. It was just cool enough to not want to cool down sitting there so I finished the sandwich while on the bike.
The green buds are popping along the path now which is nice to see. Soon the canopy of trees and leaves will be formed overhead. It is quite beautiful in there.
I decided to just keep going west. What the heck! Yup, went all the way to Dousman where I stopped in at Bicycle Doctor. The dude behind the counter gladly filled my empty water bottle with a smile and I was on my way back.
At times the slight wind was sucking the life out of my legs at this distance and I had to take it real easy up the Carroll University hill because my quads were ready to cramp.
From there is was just a matter of keeping up an easy spin heading east into that darned wind off the lake keeping it cooler than it should be.
I did regret not having a wind breaker on. But I always have to laugh when I see others on the path with much less on than my two long-sleeved layers. Like the young, tan girl rollerblading with tiny shorts and a tube top on. Really? Brrrrr. Nice to look at though I'll admit.
Back to rain on Thursday. I'll need a recovery day anyway. Maybe a ride to the south on Friday when the sun returns....
Season Miles: 488
Sunny
55-63 degrees
Lt. wind
54 miles to Dousman and back
As I headed out early in the ride I had no handle on which way the wind was blowing as I tried to determine if I would head west or south. As it turned out I made the wrong decision, at least if I would have wanted a tailwind rather than a headwind all the way in from Dousman. Oh well.
This turned out to be my longest ride of the season at 54 miles. I wanted to pick up an application for a trail pass, needed on the Glacial-Drumlin Trail. (heads up-you can no longer get one on-line either)
The first box on the trail that I passed was empty, but the second one had the envelopes you can send in with a check. So I stuffed a couple into my jersey pocket and continued west to Wales.
Interesting thing happened on the way. East of the Wales rest stop a woman walking flagged me down. She asked if I had seen a guy walking his bike. I had not. She explained that she was riding with a friend when he crashed, so she rode ahead to get the car, then walked from the nearest road to find him.
Now I was worried. I told her I would ride ahead and check and if I saw him would tell him that she would wait for him at the rest stop.
Sure enough I saw the guy ahead. He was OK but looked a little dazed. I chatted him up while we walked toward the rest stop where the woman saw us and all was well.
I stopped there to open the turkey sandwich I had packed for lunch, but ate only half before getting back on the bike. It was just cool enough to not want to cool down sitting there so I finished the sandwich while on the bike.
The green buds are popping along the path now which is nice to see. Soon the canopy of trees and leaves will be formed overhead. It is quite beautiful in there.
I decided to just keep going west. What the heck! Yup, went all the way to Dousman where I stopped in at Bicycle Doctor. The dude behind the counter gladly filled my empty water bottle with a smile and I was on my way back.
At times the slight wind was sucking the life out of my legs at this distance and I had to take it real easy up the Carroll University hill because my quads were ready to cramp.
From there is was just a matter of keeping up an easy spin heading east into that darned wind off the lake keeping it cooler than it should be.
I did regret not having a wind breaker on. But I always have to laugh when I see others on the path with much less on than my two long-sleeved layers. Like the young, tan girl rollerblading with tiny shorts and a tube top on. Really? Brrrrr. Nice to look at though I'll admit.
Back to rain on Thursday. I'll need a recovery day anyway. Maybe a ride to the south on Friday when the sun returns....
Season Miles: 488
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