Season Miles: 2,273
30 miles
Sunny, windy and warm...pushin' 80!
Today was not about heart rates.
Today was not about cadence.
Today was not about speed.
Today was not about gears.
Today was about just enjoying some spectacular weather while taking an easy ride just taking in all the colors and the warmth of the sun.
I've been dying to get out, which has been tough with my schedule.
In case you are not aware, in my non-cycling life a big change was announced yesterday. I'm heading back onto the airwaves with a new job in radio.
My PhilCast podcast show changes into an afternoon-drive radio show on NewsTalk 1150 WHBY as of Tuesday the 11th, where I'll now have to be known as "The Biggest Name in Fox Cities Radio".
Starting a new job is demanding enough, but starting it in a city that's a 100 miles away from where you live makes things even more tricky.
And eventually we'll be moving there to fully-appreciate everyday life in the city.
Needless to say, cycling may almost be done for this season. Just to complicate the schedule even more there's the PhilCast Tour of Ireland listener trip to take yet later this month.
Yup, cycling will soon fall by the wayside for 2011, which is what makes these final rides in this great weather all the more special.
I hope to get out again on Friday....maybe a little longer...but then again...
Season Miles: 2,243
Loomis, 26 miles
16.1 ave. speed
85 ave. cadence
Sunny and mild, 70 with wind 5-10
Despite being swamped with other duties keeping me away from the bike way too much, I was able to take advantage of the nice sunshine today and get back on my Roubaix, albeit for an all-too-brief 26-mile jaunt. But sometimes you take what your schedule will give you.
It felt great to be on the road again, but I was feeling very rusty and sore after taking in a pier, boat and boat lift from the water over the weekend. Not to mention all the grass cutting, yard work and try sweeping out a full basement that is only four feet high. Yeah, I was sore in odd places today after a weekend of work.
While riding back a guy on a Schwinn pointed at me as he stood stopped at an intersection. As I rode up to him he asked me what kind of bike I was on.
"Does that say Roo-BIX?" he asked.
I had to laugh to myself as I explained the bike was called the ROO-BAY, like Paris-Roubaix you see.
Nice guy. He fell in love with my new blue and white beauty. He asked me a ton of questions about it and kept telling me how beautiful it looked.
He asked me if I raced, which I'm always flattered to hear because it tells me at least I look like I know what I am doing!
I told him I gave that up a few years ago. He then asked how old I was and when I told him 53 he barked out, "Hell I'm 64...come on!" Good guy.
So there...my Roubaix from Specialized got some special attention today. And in fact he is now thinking of buying Specialized.
I hope to get out there at least once or twice more this week, but things aside from cycling are hectic on my calendar.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
