Riding to Cure Diabetes

Hey, look, it's 2008

2008-08-22T14:51:00.002-04:00

Just reminding the universe that I'm still alive, and I still know that this blog exists.

And that I've updated that "DONATE ONLINE" link over to the right to reflect my 2008 fundraising page! w00t! Death Valley here I come!

For more Type 1 Diabetes fightin' action, see our team blog over here.

Anyway, onwards and outwards...

did

What's goin' on here.

2007-04-06T14:57:00.000-04:00

Well, ain't we just so tech-no-logical!

We've got a group blog going here to which I'll be contributing, so I sense some evolution happening here - more talk, less bike, probably. I'll update my template to reflect the changes... when I get around to it.

BANG

2007-04-06T14:21:00.000-04:00

With the weather being rewintered, I've continued to try to ride in the garage. Well, Tuesday night (the 3rd), 45 minutes into the commentary track between Johnny Depp and Gore Verbinsky on the Pirates of the Caribbean first movie, I hit a mental wall of sorts, and coasted to a virtual stop. In the interest of doing at least something, I headed over to my work area to work on some of the maple edging that will be at the front of our counter tops.

I need a small piece to go on an inside corner; it'll allow a cleaner edge profile once it's in place. I had glued up a block, and needed to trim out roughly a 2" square piece, but with the grain at a 45º angle. A little cutting with my second-tier table saw got me close. The last cut, though, was tricky. And I didn't think about it enough.

So I started the saw. With a brand-new blade, with 50 gleaming, wickedly sharp carbide teeth, as it ramped up to four thousand revolutions per minute, it sounded like a tiny jet, but with a sharper shriek. As the maple touched the blade, the shriek deadened slightly. The cut went smoothly, and I continued to push the pieces through the back of the blade.

BANG.

BANG has meaning. BANG means you've had a disagreement with an indifferent machine. Those perfect teeth, sharper than razors, are screaming along at about 120 miles an hour, driven by electricity sufficient to do the work of multiple horses. They'll indifferently cut through anything you put into them, be it wood of any sort, soft metal, or plastic. Or flesh.

BANG means you've got a shot at the emergency room. You could get to banter with a nice doctor who shares your hobby while he puts in a couple of stitches, or you could spend hours enduring microsurgery to reattach tendons and nerves, and then hours examining insurance billing statements with huge numbers on them, and hours of rehabilitation, so you can use those reattached tendons and nerves maybe half as well as you could before you heard the BANG.

Or you can simply not be able to count to ten anymore.

BANG brings a certain gift, though, to the lucky ones. Me, I was awarded a new respect for the whirling teeth, and little else. The little cutoff piece of maple caught the rear teeth of the blade. As it was unsupported, the teeth lifted and twisted the piece, trapping it against the saw fence. The blade, less than an eighth of an inch thick, deflected sideways enough to make contact with the sides of the slot where it emerges through the top of the saw.

The piece of wood was then ejected backwards probably at nearly same speed as the blade teeth - 120 miles an hour. Its trajectory first intersected with the pinky finger of my left hand, mushing and cutting it, before traveling back and to my left. It hit a plastic wing nut with enough force to break that nut into two pieces. It then disappeared. I have yet to find it. My little finger went numb instantly. It took me a few minutes to look at it; I was afraid it wouldn't be there. In those moments of fear, I didn't trust my other fingers (or my tongue) to be right about its presence. It's got a good cut, but it's obvious that it didn't hit the blade - the cut's not clean enough or deep enough. It'll be sore for a while, but it's got feeling, and it bends when I tell it to bend.

It's good to be a little afraid of a power saw.

testing again

2007-03-28T14:20:00.000-04:00

yet more testing. Oh how I am tested. Yea, verily, though I bike through tests, and would rather be tested, here I claim my place, and I TEST!

So there you go.

Addendum.

2007-03-20T15:52:00.000-04:00

Oh My Arteries, how they Quiver.

did

Hey, here I am, yo

2007-03-20T15:27:00.000-04:00

OK, let's declare the 2007 season open - spring starts at 8:07 p.m. tonight, and the weather is pretty much as it should be. Ruby has been beckoning me alluringly from her winter rack - not too much longer and we'll be out exploring.

This year features a new, uh, feature - Herman Miller is officially the team sponsor for the whole West Michigan team, AND is sending 20 riders to Whitefish, Montana in late August. Among that crew will be Diane A. from the last two years' rides, Rod S. from the 2005 Asheville ride, our CEO, me, and, best of all, a bunch of people who haven't done it before. We had our first team meeting today to brainstorm fundraising ideas - the fundraising requirement has been upped to $4000 this year, and the ride is two months earlier than it was last year, so it's time to get crackin'.

I'm pretty pleased to be headed to a new ride - that'll be all three major locations for me, so I can compare and contrast. I have to admit I'm a bit disappointed to not be going to Death Valley with the rest of the team, but last year I was disappointed to not be going to Asheville, so experience tells me to shaddap and enjoy the upcoming event.

Somewhere in the midst of all this I have to fit in getting more kitchen cabinets made, and make sure the wife's got plenty of time for running. And to sorta keep the house up. And to not neglect The Boy! He's been hankerin' to get on his little bike, and I'm looking forward to getting him back on the trailer bike, maybe for some of our team rides. Hopefully I'll be somewhat more verbose on this thing, too. People who can blog about anything boggle my quiet little mind.

did

Got one in, before the snotfall began

2006-12-13T20:30:00.000-05:00

No, that's not a typo. Our snow is pretty much gone, after a few days in the 40s with rain and wind. But, today, I felt a cold coming on as I plugged away at whatever it is that I do for a living. Bugger all, thought I, and went out to ride anyway, doing my Stonehenge loop from work. It was nice - got the new LED headlight/taillight going, as it was getting a little dusky, what with it being December and all, and I discovered the joy of charcoal toe warmers that stick to your socks inside your shoes. I'm gonna go to Menards and buy, like, all of them.

Anywhodles, now, bleah. It's Nyquil time. Stupid rhinovirus.

did

The world is a lesser place.

2006-11-16T00:47:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm getting a whole spitload of tools, some nice wood, and a lump in my throat. My Dad passed away last Wednesday after 12 years fighting cancer. As immensely strong as he was - he ran the Chicago Marathon in 1984 - the beast is patient and implacable, and found his liver almost three years ago. I'm sure all too many of you know that once cancer takes hold there, the war is ultimately lost.

His end was startlingly abrupt. I visited my parents (they live some 8 hours away) on November 1, a few days after hearing that the last medical treatment (a clinical trial aimed at expanding the use of an anti-angiogenesis drug that shows great promise) was not going to help, as the side effects were just too much. He enrolled in the local hospice program within a day or so after that decision.

On November 1, I was pleased to help my Dad get to the weekly Wednesday night pizza dinner with all their runner friends. He was easily tired, but could get around with a cane, and was happy to see a lot of long-time friends outside of home. The next day, I went with both my parents to an appointment with his oncologist; Dr. Veeder was really surprised at how well my Dad seemed to be doing, and didn't see a need to see him again for another month.

My Mom and I had to help him with a lot of things, but he was stubborn and determined to do as much as possible for himself. We kept telling him to save his waning energy for the things he wanted to do, and to let us do the things he had to do, like moving from one chair to another. He made it into his little workshop on Saturday, and did a bit of his favorite activity out there - puttering around. A little electric heater kept away the November chill.

Sunday was another banner day; my Mom, still an active runner, went to the regular Sunday morning running group. My wife and son had joined us the evening before, and with them, we took my Dad over to the house where these long-time friends were finishing their run, so he could eat the post-exercise goodies and share their companionship. Many of these folks have known my parents for nearly 30 years, and have spent literally thousands of miles together, on foot or on a bike. They are family, more so even than the blood relatives.

Monday, November 6, I had to get back to work, so we packed up our car. I knew my Dad was declining; I'd seen change every day, as he slept more, and had to spend more and more time gathering himself to make the smallest move. Worse, though relative to other cancer victims he was in little pain, the morphine he took was starting to affect his mental processes. My Dad was valedictorian of his high-school class, got straight A's at Harvard, and spent 29 years as an educator; it was painful to hear him explain something and realize that I couldn't follow him. But he was still so strong; he hauled himself up out of the wheelchair we'd finally convinced him to use so he could hug me before we drove away.

At work I told everyone how encouraged I was, that I'd have more time with my Dad. I was afraid of that time - I watched my maternal grandfather wither away from cancer two years ago, and thinking of my Dad going through that was terrifying - but it would have been more time. The emails I got from my Mom were uniformly bad on Tuesday and Wednesday, and Wednesday afternoon she said to call. I did from the relative safety of my car in the parking lot at work. He was in a hospital bed at home, and the hospice nurse, so experienced with death, said it would likely be only seven to ten days. So I gathered myself, and made mental plans to clear stuff out at work and head back to be with them.

Wednesday, I worked outside, blowing late oak leaves into piles, letting the roar of the blower drown out my brain's overactivity. Darkness and my son's bedtime brought me inside. I read him a story, and got myself ready to shower and head to bed.

In retrospect it seem appropriate that the phone rang while I was, y'know, reading a tool catalog (Duluth Trading Company) on the can, butt naked. There are woodworking magazines and catalogs in every bathroom at my parent's house. I suppose it sort of softened the impact, the shock, to hear that horrible news in what ultimately is sort of a comical setting. He'd obviously saved all his last energy to see me, my wife, and his grandson; even the hospice nurse was so shocked that, when she heard, she could only say "you're KIDDING!" before recovering her professionalism. He'd shown basically none of the signs of imminent death, but when it happened, my Mom was at his side, and dear friends at the other.

We are ultimately spared the agony of seeing my Dad failing so badly. My grandfather was in terrible pain before he finally entered hospice; he fell several times, and once my aunt, helping him back up, actually cracked one of his ribs. He had been strong and vigorous, a golfer who shot his age into his 80s, but ended up curled up in a hospital bed so doped up that my last visit with him was basically just listening to him mutter. I don't know how I could have handled experiencing my Dad in that same state. My Mom feels the same way; they were high-school sweethearts, and would have been married 40 years in 2007.

The memorial service was nice, but unremarkable. My Mom and I thought it was too heavy on scripture, but they preferred to spend Sunday mornings running with their friends to sitting in church, so it's not surprising that the minister didn't really know him. The reception - "Celebration of Life" - was nearly perfect, though. After 29 years working with the same people, they KNEW him, and could simultaneously praise and roast him in a way that he would have loved. His field, recent Middle Eastern political history, is incredibly complex, and he was almost unique in that he wasn't partisan in his approach. In his personal library, I find subjects from Zionism to Wahhibism, from colonialism to the current news. Many of his books are in Arabic, which he could read and speak, though not as much recently.

For all his intellectual and scholarly power, though, he ultimately made his reputation as a helper of others. I think the most powerful praise came from a younger women, who said, emphasizing with a fist gently pounded on the podium, that my Dad was the first man she'd ever met who truly believed that women were the equals of men. He spent several years in the advising center, working with at-risk students, helping them to find their own abilities rather than telling them what they'd already heard.

I don't mean to ramble, but it's hard not to (and not only because I've got so much academia in my genes, or cheap wine in my blood, for that matter). My Dad was extraordinary, and I learned a lot about just how much so in the last few days. I've been hugged by so many people, people I'd never met who had tears streaming down their faces, people who credit him with their careers, people who he helped realize that it's actually possible to do something you love with your life.

The world is diminished.

What a ride!

2006-10-24T16:02:00.000-04:00

OK, we're all back. It was an amazing weekend! We had beautiful weather, with the possible exception of entirely too much wind opposing us as we rode the last, oh, 50 miles or so! I'll have a good writeup of it later; in the meantime, I've been experimenting with getting Google's web pages, so go here for some pictures...

4 second update...

2006-10-16T09:16:00.000-04:00

Life = crazy!

Some things had to be set aside, and this was one of them. BUT, it's crunch time now - my beloved bike Ruby is wrapped in foam and a shipping blanket, and is truckin' out West with a herd of other noble steeds. I have a Death Valley weather bookmark in my link farm (the current forcast for Furnace Creek on ride day is a rather bearable 90º with clear skies; that's really no worse than the Holland Hundred weather, except it'll be a lot less humid). My mind is finally focused on this event, and not on building cabinets, or on work issues, or on family health matters. Or on getting a root canal.

My mileage for the year is rather sad compared to last year - Ruby racked up about 1800 miles, and I had another 200 or so on Frank the Hybrid in the early season. Last year I did 2500 miles on Ruby in a shorter amount of time. But then, last year work wasn't all that busy and I wasn't putting any time into the horror of our old kitchen. For most of the summer this year, one ride a week was about all I could manage. I think I'd be over 3000 miles if I had maintained the riding schedule I did last year. C'est la vie!

In any case, it's ride time! I hope to bloviate a bit more later this week...

Who's got time to bike?

2006-08-04T21:15:00.000-04:00

Yoink! What a week. First my man Floyd goes from Hero to alleged Zero, prompting a day of honest sadness and naval-gazing. Seriously, I was totally mourning. Then I start in on building cabinets. Then Wife Unit Alpha jets off for an extended Girls Weekend in Los Angeles. Then more cabinets, and sawdust, and sanding, and shellacing, and sanding, and sawing, and gluing and screwing. Yarg.

So, Flandis. What's up with that? I'm all about giving someone the benefit of the doubt, and I see plenty of reasons to doubt: taking testosterone during the Tour is stupid, as it won't improve your performance; alcohol intake and hard effort both raise testosterone level;, the lab that did the tests has ties to l'Equipe, which may be the most anti-american publication outside of one of Uncle Osama's screeds; blah blah blah blah. But the rumors that his T/E ratio was 11:1, when normal is roughly 1:1 and the threshold of naughtiness is 4:1, are getting stronger and more credible. Also becoming more credible is that there was synthetic testosterone detected. So the extraordinary claim here is not "he cheated," it's "no I didn't." Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. Burden's on you, Mr. Landis.

Cabinets - fun. Hard work. Messy. I get to buy tools. Yay! The kitchen will be done Monday or Tuesday. In this case, "done" means it's drywalled, taped, sanded, and the trim is mostly in place; I have to primer paint a couple of coats, finish paint a couple of coats, put down underlayment, level and prime said underlayment, put down flooring, re-install laundry labor-saving devices, and BUILD THE FREAKING CABINETS. I've lost my mind. Who builds their own cabinets, other than a cabinetmaker? Call the men in white suits. They can haul me away, if they sand a sheet of plywood first.

LA - I don't wanna go there. Someone in California stole my tricycle when I lived there at about age 4. I hold a grudge against the whole population of the state. They all look like they're hiding something. But my wife has internet friends out there, so she's off making fun of the beautiful people.

And I managed to fit in a 30 mile ride somewhere in there. I don't even remember what day it was.

Chaos, continued...

2006-07-26T12:26:00.000-04:00

Phloyd! Phloyd! He's our MAN! w00t! What a kick-adze Tour de France that was - there wasn't a clear overall favorite until the last time trial, the day before the last. With Lance and his squadron, it wasn't so much a question of who would win as it was a question of how they'd do it, and by how much. That certainly had entertainment value, but it was sort of like watching Mike Tyson clobber some poor schmoe who had the temerity to get into HIS boxing ring. Watching Floyd collapse and then pull off a Merckxian attack was just inspiring. The fact that he did it with a gimpy hip added that perfect "overcoming adversity" aspect that American sports figures have to have, and it's real adversity, not the NBA player's horror of not being able to find 26" chrome wheels for his third Escalade.

Well, inspired or not, I took a whole week off after the Tour de Allegan County (aka the Holland Hundred), and my legs actually appreciated it. We had a nice JDRF team ride and pool party on Sunday the 23rd, and I was pretty comfortable riding a total of about 65 miles between the optional/extra ride from Holland to Pullman and the actual 40 mile team ride. No hardcore points for me, though, as I skipped the ride back to Holland in favor of a nice air-conditioned car ride home. The pool party part of the day was truly delightful, with a heap o' kids, burgers and brats, chips and salsa, and brownies and oreo/ice cream pie. Nummy.

Monday I came home with eight boxes of self-adhesive vinyl floor tile. Hooray for half-price sales at the Home Despot!

Tuesday (yesterday) I tucked in a nice 33 mile ride from work, and included a stop at a co-worker's house to see her kitchen, which was done by the same guy who's doing ours. It's verr' niice. Said contractor today relieved us of our washer and dryer, so the next loads of stinky bike clothes will have to be done by hand or at the local laundromat. Kirsten's updating the pictures pretty much daily, so check in there to see the emergence of a real, useful, modern kitchen. Which will eventually have cabinets.

Back to work for me...

CHAOS!

2006-07-18T12:07:00.000-04:00

I tell ya, everything always happens at once.

First, my dear cat falls ill and declines. Increasingly frequent trips to the vet make the choice obvious. This past Friday morning, the very day our Gus was to make his last car ride, we found him lying still on the kitchen floor, next to his food bowl and the trash can that he loved to sit on. It was a sad relief to not have to take him to a cold, bright examining room for his last moments. He wasn't that old at about 12 and a half, but we think he had one or more strokes in the last few weeks.

Sad as that was, there was no time to feel bad, as our kitchen is no more. The remains of the horrid thing are in a dumpster in our driveway, and we're doing dishes in the bathtub until we have a new kitchen. With lots of structural work to do, it's not going to be real soon, but when it's done we'll have a real, solid, decent kitchen to live in and sell with the house. Day 1 pictures are here:

http://candidartistry.smugmug.com/gallery/1677153

The twist to the kitchen is that I've elected, quite insanely, to make my own cabinets. They're not overly complicated, but they do have to be done before we can have a sink again, so I've got my work cut out for me.

Naturally, this is putting a kink in the bike time. My last solo ride was over a week ago, and I've missed the last couple Thursday rides as well. I did, though, have a good time on the Holland Hundred on Saturday the 15th. I rode mostly with a couple of co-workers, and covered the 102ish miles in about 6 hours and 20 minutes. It was a pretty hot day, but not to the point of feeling dangerous, and I carried lots of water. The course was nice, heading more or less South all the way through Allegan county and then back up the lakeshore. It was no where near as challenging as the Asheville century - my legs were tired the next day, but not particularly sore. Incedentally, I'm at 1056 miles for the year now.

And work is the busiest it's ever been, pretty much, so I'd best get back to it!

Best.Ride.Ev-ar.

2006-07-09T23:26:00.000-04:00

44 and a half or so on Saturday with the JDRF team, including another bee-in-the-chest episode for Stacey; this bee was less happy about the encounter, and stung her. We'll have to come up with some sort of insect deflector for our executive director.

The riding hightlight of the weekend, though, was Dane's first ride on the trailer-bike today. He's just barely big enough for it, but with the handlebars way back and the seat all the way down he can pedal comfortably, so we did maybe as much as 10 miles, enough to make his tuckus sore. He's got little bike shorts (not little enough, though; they're baggy on his skinny legs and butt), tiny gloves, and a real jersey complete with three pockets in the back. A typical conversation:

d: "I'm going to win the gold jersey when I grow up!"

D: "You mean the Yellow Jersey?"

d: "Yeah, I'm gonna go so fast!"

D: "Are you going to be a sprinter? The fastest sprinter gets a Green Jersey."

d: "Like Robbie McEwen!" (yeah, my kid knows who Robbie McEwen is)

D: "Maybe you want to climb mountains and get a Polka-Dot Jersey!"

d: "No, I want a blue jersey."

D: "I don't think they have a blue jersey."

d: "Well, I want a pink jersey, then."

D: "You'll have to ride in the Giro d'Italia to get a pink jersey."

d: "Yeah, I'm going to ride in the Giro d'Gublia!"

D: (Tries to stay upright laughing)

That's my kid, in the Maglia Rosa, in the 2026 Giro d'Gublia...

Happy Fourth...

2006-07-04T13:41:00.000-04:00

Celebrate America by blowing up a small piece of it!

To recap the last weekish:

Sunday the 25th was a nice JDRF ride and cookout from Coach Mike's house. We did a comfortable 42 miles or so south of Holland, including a couple of decent hills, and then chowed hearty on grilled chicked fajita wrap things, chips and dips and salsas, and all whatnot. Good stuff.

Monday I still had my bike in the car, so I did my 26 mile Stonehenge loop from work (scroll down to see the 'henge that someone built in their yard). It's a nice mix of flats and hills, and a Neolithic replica never fails to be interesting.

Thursday was the group ride; before setting out, I had my rear tire replaced as I'd found a lot of cuts in the tread. Naturally, not 5 miles into the ride, I picked up a little piece of metal and flatted the new tire. D'oh! Tim got my new tube installed nice and quick, and we were on our way, though the rhythm was gone and the ride ended up being relatively slow with a 20.3 average or so.

Saturday I dodged raindrops down to North Muskegon and back for a 35ish mile ride at a nice quick clip. Rah.

And finally, this morning, I dragged my carcass out of bed at 5:40 and joined the Rock N' Road group for the Breakfast Canadian Century. The weather was great and starting at 7 the roads were largely deserted, so it was a really nice ride despite getting pretty dropped from the A-ish group after only 25 miles or so. Breakfast was at Murphy's in Allendale; they had a nice buffet for $6. The challenge, of course, is to not eat so much that you can't keep a tolerable pace for the last 28 miles back to Grand Haven. The french toast sticks and fruit salad hit the spot, and the ride back was comfortable.

Now, off to Twin Lake to watch the fireworks...

That didn't quite work...

2006-06-23T12:03:00.000-04:00

Well, another Thursday ride's in the bag. Tim the Organizer of The Ride set up an actual A group this time, as we had some of the faster regulars and a couple of sponored riders from Team Healthnet. The intention was to send out the B and C groups, and then the A train would head out three minutes later and play chase. I rolled with the B's, figuring that the A's would be spicier than usual (and I've got a nice cough going, too). We cruised at an easy 20-21, slower than the usual B group pace by a couple of notches.

Well, the A line rolled by us after maybe 8 miles and, naturally, all but two or three of the B group accelerated and latched on. The pace held at about the same as we'd been doing in the apparently mis-named B group for the last few weeks, cruising in the mid-20s with occasional testosterone moments into the 30s. This time, though, the group didn't fragment at all as we headed back towards Grand Haven, so we rolled back into town in a full pack of 20+ people instead of the more common subgroups of three to five. The full-ride average I showed was 20.8, so I assume the people who started 3 minutes after us showed 21+. That was despite a few minutes of slow going after an injury- and damage-free crash.

This ride's getting to be the highlight of my week! It's also making it harder to get out and ride on my own, not because of the effort, but because riding in a group is so much more interesting. This group's doing a breakfast metric century on July 4 that I might add to my schedule...

Gotta catch up a bit

2006-06-21T12:45:00.000-04:00

Man, I'm gettin' neglectful. I think I've got a decent excuse, though; we had Dane's cousin and my mother-in-law staying with us last week. With five people in our one-bathroom house, and two of them being smart, independant, stubborn roughly-5-year-olds, I think I can be forgiven for being distracted. They took the slow boat back to Wisconsin yesterday morning, although I'm beginning to suspect that they left behind a virus or two.

Anyway, on the 13th I got out and did 30 miles at a relaxed pace, as much to escape the house as to ride.

Thursday the 15th was the regular paceline ride, only more so - we had the addition of a skinny guy on a hoighty-toighty Bianchi, with legs to back up both the hoight and the toight. Unfortunately, he didn't seem to grasp the concepts of "B" or "group" and so pulled us up to 26 to 27 any time he got to the front. I ended up a quarter mile behind the pack after 15 miles, but as I saw them turning left, I noted that skinny guy continuing on straight. Apparently he got far enough ahead that he didn't hear the "left turn" hollering behind him. So, the pace moderated, and I was able to catch up. Once I settled in and started to feel better, it was a nice ride. My final average, including the loafy bits in Grand Haven, was 21.1 mph. Zoom zoom.

Saturday the 16th was nice and warm and breezy; I did a good 46 miles south of Whitehall, exploring some roads in North Muskegon. Without the exploring, it would still be a pretty nice 43ish mile route, one that I'll have to try to remember.

Tuesday I packed my bike up, brought clothes, and just couldn't bring myself to ride. Gotta catch up on sleep, and hopefully preemptively fight off the coughing that I'm starting to develop. Ghaa, kids.

did

Musta been a boy bee

2006-06-11T22:55:00.000-04:00

I skipped out on riding Saturday, preferring to work on cleaning Dane's room in advance of his cousin visiting us. What fun, vaccuming carpet that the boy has impregnated with crayons and various cats have whizzed upon.

Sunday, though, was a really nice team ride on the Musketawa Trail, starting in Marne. A bunch of us did the whole thing, 51 miles or so for the whole ride to Muskegon and back. The trail is just as pretty, straight, and boring as ever. The highlight of excitement was a bee getting fresh with Stacey. No stinging, just, y'know, nestling. After the ride we stuffed out on chips, salsa, and the like.

With two 5ish year old boys in the house, I don't know how much riding I'll get in this week. Gotta do the Thursday ride, though.

More fun with pacelines

2006-06-10T12:15:00.000-04:00

An easy 20ish on Tuesday let my legs get a last bit of recovery in after last week's Rock N' Road ride, so I could do it again on Thursday. I got my 'puter reset properly before riding out, so have 40.5 miles as the accurate distance, and one hour fifty-six minutes and change as the accurate time. Again it was a pretty big group, maybe not quite the size of last week, but still plenty. The pace heading South was pretty spicy, in the 25+ range quite a bit, and we ended up stringing out into a couple of groups. We did regroup after turning inland, but splintered again as we rode North. Rolling back into GH was a relief!

One of the guys had a video camera mounted on his handlebars - hopefully he'll be able to post that online somewhere...

First Cinnamon Roll

2006-06-04T20:33:00.000-04:00

The weekend in review:

Saturday I headed North, with tired legs and a noticeable headwind. I chugged along the lakeshore to Stony Lake, then continued up along Scenic Drive to Silver Lake for my first cinnamon roll of the year. Nummy! After ingesting that (gotta keep the energy up, you know) I went inland to Mears and picked up the bike trail for the ride home, for a nice long day of 53 miles. And then I mowed the dumb lawn.

Sunday was a JDRF ride, which turned out to be a pretty hilly 28 miles from Ada Park. Other than a few rather brutish hills it was pretty relaxed, which was about all the effort I could manage anyway. I'm looking forward to a few days of relaxed riding at most; I figure Thursday will be my next major ride, though I'm planning on riding again on Tuesday with the woman from work.

Outside of riding, life is entirely too busy. Kirsten is running three to five days a week, we're working ten hour days at Uncle Herman's House of Specials, we have yardwork that's been sitting for a week waiting for the right combination of weather and "free" time, and who knows what else. Criminey!

Wheeeee....

2006-06-02T14:24:00.000-04:00

Tuesday was a relaxed day - rode for about 10 miles with another Herman Miller person, who is planning to do one of the shorter distances in the Holland Hundred. I puttered around a bit more after than and totalled 19 or so.

Thursday was with the Rock N' Road group again, this time with Group B. The weather was almost perfect - maybe 70º and completely clear, with low humidity - and the turnout was great, with a good couple dozen guys in the B line. What a treat it is to ride in that size group! As we got south of Grand Haven, I was wondering when we'd amp up the pace, then looked down to see that we were already there at 23+! Even at that speed, in the middle and back of the line we were feathering our brakes to keep from riding into the person ahead. We rolled down Lakeshore Drive all the way to Quincy street, then turned inland.

Quincy turned out to be the intermediate sprint street, as the leader pulled us up to almost 30 before peeling off. I was third in line, and we slowed to maybe 27 before three guys went shooting by, evidently gunning for the next stop sign. I got all caught up and tried to give chase, getting up over 33 before letting up. It was silly, totally unnecessary, and utterly entertaining. Mercifully, we relaxed for the next mile or so before the pace ramped back up to a steady 22-23.

I did a couple of good pulls, the second one being a bit too long - after I peeled off and the group passed me by, I couldn't quite reconnect. Fortunately, we were almost back to Grand Haven by then, and I caught back up shortly after we crossed Robbins Road. I had started my computer late, so my numbers aren't completely accurate, but for 38.6 miles we averaged 20.8. The full distance is probably between 40.5 and 41, and the extra distance was loafing through town, but I expect the total ride average was still over 20. That was too much fun!

Memorial Day weekend rides...

2006-05-30T13:18:00.000-04:00

BAM! Summer! Hot! Sweat!

I did not quite 46 miles Saturday in a nice loop from home, out Old Channel Trail to the lake, North on back roads to Stony Lake, East and then back South on more back roads, and then picking up the bike trail in Rothbury and taking that home. It's my longest ride of the year so far, and felt pretty comfortable. I had to stop and wring out the padding in my helmet a couple of times, and I was getting the dregs out of my water bottles at the end - summer weather is definitely here.

Sunday was a JDRF team ride from Ada Park, with maybe 10 people. The high-reading thermometer on my bike computer was reading 97 to 105 degrees for the whole of the 26+ miles. Even if the thing reads 10 degrees high, that's hot enough to take it easy.

Sunday morning was the riding highlight of the weekend, though; Dane and I rode about 2 miles on the newly-paved portion of the trail between Old Channel Trail and Cook street. He rode his little dirt bike with the training wheels, and I rode my mountain bike. Cool.

did

Da week in da hind view...

2006-05-25T22:45:00.000-04:00

Tuesday I headed out intending to do 30ish, but stopped over at a friends house and ended up chatting for an hour or so. By that time it was getting chilly, so I cut it to 18 and change. I also crossed paths with the every-other-Tuesday time trialers from the West Michigan Coast Riders club on Michellinda. Looks uncomfortable, and I don't think my gut will allow that kind of position for more than a few minutes.

Thursday (dat be today) I hooked up with the regular ride group from Rock N' Road in Grand Haven. The average pace for the "B" group seemed a little spicy by description, so I rode off with the four other folks in the "C" group. Well, C ended up slower than I'd hoped, and another guy and I ended up pacing each other for 20 of the 31 miles we did, comfortably cruising at 21 to 24 on the flats between Holland and GH. Next week we both agreed to take off with the Killer B's; they typically average about 20 for a 40 mile ride. I might get dropped, but hey, better that than being bored. That was a bigger group anyway, so the paceline should be longer and steadier.

Nice weekend double

2006-05-21T21:34:00.000-04:00

Finally the rain has mostly left us (apparently it's on an extended visit to New England now), and some almost springy temperatures made Saturday a good day for a ride. I wandered North, eventually making it up to New Era, and then rolled home on the bike path for a decent 30 miler. It was my first time this year climbing the New Era hill; didn't feel too bad.

Saturday night some rain accompanied a cold front, and Sunday was barely above 50, albeit nice and sunny. I drove down to Holland to ride with a group from VeloCity, in the oddly-named Pineapple Bob ride. A distinguishing feature of this ride is that dirt and gravel roads, the sort that skinny-tire folks usually avoid like the plague, are intentionally included, in an homage to a cyclocross racer who appeared in old Bridgestone Bicycle ads. They're nothing a road bike can't handle, though - rough, but not to the point of being washboarded or potholed. We only had one flat over the whole ride, between a dozen riders. It was another 30 mile day, and concluded with chips and salsa at the shop.

The weather for the rest of the week looks great - gotta get some miles in. I might join up with the Thursday group from Rock N' Road in Grand Haven; group rides are too much fun.

A brief break in the rain

2006-05-17T15:06:00.000-04:00

33 miles, from home to Twin Lake, with a few enjoyable hills.

We had a cold front followed by 5 days of rain and cold and wind and yech. Yesterday was at last decent, so I left work early and did a nice ride. Ruby has a new tube and I have a new combo CO2 shooter/micro-pump. I'd hate to have to try to get up to even 100 psi with the micro-pump alone, but I can use it to get partway there and then hit the rest with CO2. And Kirsten brought home a 25 pack of cheap CO2 carts intended for BB guns.

Today, another cold front is looming, it's raining again, and the yech is back. And the lawn is on the verge of acquiring weapons of mass destruction, it's gone so long with rain and no mowing. Sunday looks like the next definitely-rideable day, and there's a fun ride down at Velo City which I may do.

Danga fragga wugga daga dooga!

2006-05-10T20:48:00.000-04:00

So, it's the last chance to ride in nice weather for at least a few days - we'll be getting some much-needed rain, but much cooler weather is coming with it. So I head out, figuring I'll do 20-25 miles. After about 13, I feel the rear end getting sort of squirrely, a sure sign of decreasing air pressure. So I stop and shoot in a CO2 cartridge, which was really pretty silly since shooting air into a tube that's clearly if slowly losing air is an exercise in futility. Anyway, I hear ffffffffff, and so I swap the tube successfully - it holds air just fine. And I am now out of CO2.

And, naturally, whooping happily down a hill, I let my attention wander for a moment, peg a rock, and the rear goes almost instantly flat. I have no more tubes, no more way to fill the tubes I don't have, and I didn't bring my good luck talisman. Y'know, the one that says Verizon Wireless on it? Ghaaaa.

So, in spandex and a Herman Miller jersey, I have to seek the kindness of strangers. Fortunately, the strangers were kind, although think I rather startled a teenage girl. Who expects to see a garish ape at their door? They had a proper friendly dog who flopped against my legs at the slightest hint of my scritching her head, and they didn't mind my hanging out until Kirsten came to my rescue.

I have a perfect pinch flat - two parallel slits each about 3/16" long, about 1/4" apart. As hard as I hit the rock or whatever, I was worried about the rim, but it appears to be fine. I'll double check it before I ride it again, but I'm further impressed by how strong these wheels are...

Aaaahhhhhhh...

2006-05-08T21:24:00.000-04:00

First off, Sunday was another ride with Justin - almost 20 miles! Excellent for a 13 year old on a clunky mountain bike with a dragging front brake. We'll have him up to 30 miles in no time.

And then today, it was 75, perfectly sunny, with a gentle breeze. What could I do but break out Ruby? The first thing I did, before even lifting the bike off the wall, was clear off last year's last numbers from the computer. Those numbers were left over from Asheville - hard to believe that it's been six months since I last rode Ruby!

With the tires pumped up to their full 125 psi riding pressure, I was off, and feeling klutzy. I'd thought the hybrid was twitchy, but it turns out it's just me working off the winter lumps. As I got the feeling back a bit, I could pay attention to how much easier the bike would accelerate, and how precise everything is. You think that bike around a corner rather than steering. A gear change is a twitch of the finger, a click from the shifter and a corresponding click from the drivetrain, and a slight change in pedalling effort and cadence. Nobody needs a 10 speed cassette, but you can have mine when you pry it from my cold dead greasy fingers.

Anyway, bike adoration aside, it was a lovely 33 mile ride, on my new "standard" route. I was rewarded with a 17.5 mile an hour average and a nice saddle sore. Yay for Desitin.

A few days in review

2006-05-04T15:06:00.000-04:00

Stupid work is too stupid busy for me to update this thing regularly! Arrgh!

Anyway, I did another rainy 24 mile ride with the JDRF group on Sunday. Among the riders is the general manager of one of the area PBS/NPR stations, affiliated with Grand Valley State University. Cool. Now, if we can just get our CEO to come out and play with us!

I tried taking the hybrid along on our truck rack, which worked fine- almost. For 50 miles, at highway speed, it was dandy, but pulling into the parking lot where we were congregating before the ride, crash! And suddenly there was no bike in my rear-view mirror! Well, the bike was mostly unscathed - both wheels were a bit wobbly, with the rear being bad enough that I had to release the rear brake, but there wasn't any frame damage or bent components. Stupid rack! Henceforth, it's relegated to being used as a back-of-the-car repair stand, never again to be trusted with actual transit. I put my mad Park Tool School skillz to use and re-straightened the wheels over the last couple of days, so the bike's all nice and smooth again.

And yesterday, the 3rd, I did a nice 34 miles south of town, following my new "standard" route until I managed to catch up with a group of women who were riding Northwards, among them fellow JDRF rider Peggy. I rode with them for a couple of miles before turning for home.

I'm jonesing to get out on Ruby, big time. The hybrid is OK, but easy speed beckons with its crooked finger...

New route

2006-04-27T08:35:00.000-04:00

32 miles on a new route that avoids Scenic Drive.

Uncle Herman is recruiting employees and family members to ride in the Holland Hundred in July - they're paying the entrance fee and providing Herman Miller jerseys. Time to start harassing my co-workers!

First team ride...

2006-04-24T22:09:00.000-04:00

Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate worth a toot yesterday, so we did our 24ish miles on the White Pine Trail in 50 degrees and light rain. Yech. Six hardy souls managed the ride, though. Next weekend we do the same thing in the same place; hopefully the skies will not be cloudy and grey. Of course, there's snow in the forecast for tonight - good ol' bipolar Michigan spring weather at its best, as a few days ago it was shorts-and-a-t-shirt weather.

A familiar loop

2006-04-20T08:36:00.000-04:00

I rolled through my standard 30 mile loop in a skoosh under 2 hours, this time with a new computer on the hybrid. I thought my speed seemed to be reading high, but the distance agreed with what I generally get on Ruby.

Incedentally, the hybrid's name is Frank. I asked Dane to name it, so Frank it is. I think it fits. Frank the Trek Multitrack 700 Hybrid.

On to ranting: every time I ride (or, for that matter, drive) on Scenic Drive between Muskegon and Whitehall, I want to scream at whoever's responsible for that road. How can something that's labelled as part of the Lake Michigan Circle Tour, and is named Scenic Drive, be such in such disgraceful condition? I'm not riding Ruby on that anymore, despite it having the best hill (the Blockhouse hill) in West Michigan, and even on Frank, with tires nearly twice as wide as those on Ruby, it was questionable. And now there's a stretch where it's been "repaired" with chipseal patches! A chipseal road is a blight, but at least it's a consistent surface. The chipseal patches start out as humps of gravel, and eventually get mashed down into somewhat less harsh dents in the road surface. It's complete crap.

First team ride is Sunday - I don't know if I'll make it out again before that, as the weather looks a bit questionable for the next few days. My legs are tired anyway.

Google knows all...

2006-04-17T19:52:00.000-04:00

Or at least that I did between 15 and 16 miles, via the Gmap Pedometer (http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/). It seems to have become popular - it now has a real URL and is apparently on a dedicated server. I suppose I should get a basic computer for the hybrid, since I'm riding it a few times a week now. It's a good bike for exploring back roads.

The food at the Double J ranch Easter Buffet was excellent, for the most part right up there with the Holland Country Club Mother's Day buffets (only less WASP-y), so without a doubt we'll be back there. Tomorrow is one of our fabled Options Birthday Lunches, where 25 people each bring enough food for 25 people. At the rate I'm going, I'll reach my "ride Ruby" weight goal only if there's a Star Trekkish tear in the fabric of space time and I go back to about 1992. Ah well, it's only April, and my legs feel pretty good.

Onwards!

It's STILL spring!

2006-04-15T20:08:00.000-04:00

'cuz, y'know, sometimes spring doesn't "take" around here, and we drop back into winter.

Anyway, I did about 12 miles on Thursday, got rained on a skoosh, and went out to the end of the pier. A short ride, but good for keeping the legs in touch with their intended purpose.

Today, I rode over to my folks place and met up with one of their neighbor's kids. He's set a goal for himself of riding 30 miles (actually, of riding to Montague for breakfast), and he's wanting someone to ride with once in a while. I'm always up for introducing a kid to my personal addiction, so he and I did about 9 miles together before I headed back home. I guess I finished with about 38 miles, not too shabby for this time of year. I also managed to get a bit of a sunburn on the tops of my thighs - ah, the sun.

Still on the hybrid, though - it's not a disagreeable bike, and I don't mind riding it. For rides where I might hit dirt (or worse - some of the paved roads around here are truly wretched), it's pretty ideal. The front brakes howl annoyingly, but that should be easy enough to adjust away. I might consider some funky randonee or butterfly handlebars for it, to gain some more variety in hand positions.

I'll credit myself with 70 miles for the week - not too bad. As long as the weather holds, I should be able to continue with that kind of mileage pretty easily.

Easter tomorrow, so we're pigging out at a buffet at the Double J ranch. So much for the last few good weigh-ins...

Aaand - it's Spring!

2006-04-10T22:21:00.000-04:00

Finally, warmth and dryness combined to create irresistable riding weather, so I emerged, purulent, blinking, and spandexy, into the sun (that's the big bright thing in the sky that we don't see much of between November and April), and lumped my way though about 20 miles. I'm still doing flab-related penance, though, so I did the ride on my Dad's Trek hybrid. It's a bit better to road-ride on than a slick-tired mountain bike, but Ruby's going to feel amazing in another 6 pounds.

Since I haven't put up anything since early January, and my horde of readers (can my parents be considered a horde?) are undoubtedly clamoring to know what I've been up to, a bit of a summary: I did not set butt to saddle at all in the last half of January or at all in February. In March, I put that hybrid on the trainer in the garage and rode while watching movies a few times.

In February, I did do the Park Tool School at Velo City Cycles in Holland. It was great fun and a perfect opportunity to drop a few dead presidents on bike tools. My favorite tool is, hands down, this. Anytime you can make a wrench look like a burger turner, it's gold, baby. It even came in a leather pouch. Anyway, any bike that comes with arm's reach is now gleefully adjusted, and possibly disassembled. My mountain bike now sports new shifters and brake levers, and on the two-minute test ride that I did after completing the fun, they even worked right! I also finagled up a bike workstand out of galvanized steel pipe and a pipe clamp, which was an immensely satisfying way to spend $30.

The planning for the Death Valley ride is in the works, now, with our first group ride being on the 23rd of this month. We have some 60 riders this year, most goiing to DV with a few going to Asheville and a few to the new ride in Montana. Last year we had 26 riders, between Death Valley and Asheville. Yay us!

Note to self: start fund-raising before hurricane season...

Aaaand - it's 2006!

2006-01-03T10:12:00.000-05:00

Feels about the same as 2005, except it's a little easier now to look ahead to the REAL biking season and to Death Valley in October. My brain's halfway there already. The other half of my brain has been playing Half-Life for the last few days, leaving diddly-squat to devote to work.

First on the docket for the year is ridding myself of the annual Autumnal and Holiday Bloat, so I'll come clean with the relevant number: 243 pounds this morning. In Asheville, I was roughly 230, despite 2500 miles of riding. Annoyingly, in the fall of 2004, I was as low as 225.

My intention is to basically keep sugar and bread out of my diet as much as possible, while keeping track of calories in vs. calories out. FitDay makes that pretty easy. For cycling, I prefer the calorie calculator at Kreuzotter. It allows a lot more inputs; the FitDay cycling calorie calculator depends only on the time you ride, which ain't nearly accurate enough. For a 2 hour, 34 mile ride, FitDay gives 2053 calories burned, while Kreuzotter, which takes into account bike type, riding position, and other variables, gives 1368.

did

You...Complete...Me

2005-12-18T14:47:00.000-05:00

Ahhh, at long last, my separation from Ruby is ended. My beloved bike is leaning against the wall in my bedroom, awaiting spring. Having been honking around my 30 lb. mountain bike, I'd forgotten just how feathery Ruby is. Shimano replaced the rear rim with the 2005 version, which is the same extrusion but slightly different graphics.

I managed a 45 minute ride on my mountain bike. Yee haw. It's still sort of fun, but now I'm jonesing for dry roads and warmth. If I'm going to expend X amount of effort, I want the maximum speed and distance that my flabby flesh can manage for that effort.

The sun might come out later this week. I ain't holdin' my breath, though.

did

More in the snow

2005-12-13T12:31:00.000-05:00

This past weekend had me out on the mountain bike both days - a short ride Saturday followed by maybe 10 miles or so on Sunday. Saturday I tried the bike path again, but I think that deep snow riding is something that I'll mostly avoid. Once the snow has sat for a few days, it settles, hardens, and develops a crust, all making it that much more resistant to the passage of a bike tire. It gets to be brutally hard work just to keep moving forwards, let along covering any distance. When it's fresh, light, and fluffy, it's a hoot, but that doesn't last, especially once some wind comes up.

Sunday I stuck to the roads, and road-style riding, avoiding the snow as much as possible. It's still hard work, given that I'm bundled up, on my mountain bike, and on fat knobby tires inflated to the bare minimum for the sake of as big a contact patch as possible. On the hard surface, though, I can keep up a decent cadence in a middle gear, and feel like I'm actually getting somewhere in reward for my effort. Cars have generally been good; I think a lot of drivers rightly regard someone riding in this weather as an oddity. When the road allows, I do duck over onto the shoulder to give myself more room.

I'm getting the clothing layup closer to right, too. I think a three-layer approach is best: The first, innermost layer is primarily devoted to moisture transport; i.e. getting sweat away from my skin. I've been wearing bike shorts first (for the chamois), then either my leg warmers and a pair of old running tights, or some polypropylene long underwear. Polypro goes on top, too, possibly over my arm warmers.

The middle layer is devoted primarily to insulation; it's synthetic fleece that's the obvious choice there. I've got a nice selection, but either a zip-up vest (if I'm wearing the arm warmers) or a long-sleeve pullover are the basic choices up top. On my legs, if it's not truly cold, I won't add a middle layer, or at most a second pair of tights. I do have a pair of fleece sweats that would work fine in really cold conditions.

The outer layer is first there to block the wind, then to keep water from coming in and to allow sweat to dry outwards. I have a cheap nylon windbreaker set that I got from West Marine years ago; the pants seem ideal. The top is OK, but I've only worn it once so I'm not sure. This weekend I wore the vinyl rain jacket I got last fall; it's got mesh vents that are supposed to let vapor out, but I still look like a greenhouse after a few miles so I think the vents aren't enough. I'll go back to the nylon and see how that works.

I know I've got it close to right when, after a ride, the inner layer is dry, and the middle layer is full of sweat, and the outer layer looks wet.

Oh, on my hands, I've worn deerskin gloves, which were OK but let too much cold in though the cuff, and heavy Gore-Tex ski mittens, which were too hot for mid-20's weather. I need to work on my feet; two pairs of socks don't add a thing. My tootsies had no feeling when I got home Sunday, so I warmed them up for a few minutes in the bathtub. Some folks swear by a plastic bag over the socks inside the shoe; otherwise, I'll look for overbooties.

My mountain bike has done fine. The shifting has never frozen, although it has gotten sluggish and I've been frozen out of some of the faster gears. I've been spraying it with a aerosol wax lubricant (I think it was Elmer's Slide-All), which has helped a bit with snow buildup. The cheapo tires that came with the bike are doing fine, much to my surprise. People recommend studded tires, but since I'm mostly on either snow or pavement, I don't know how much they add. At $100 a tire for good Nokians, I'll live with not knowing. Maybe I'll try making my own; there are instructions on Icebike.

2005-12-05T18:46:00.000-05:00

Well, this is sort of an inauspicious first post for this blog, but Blogger's not working to well at the moment.

I can, however, report that I rode about 7 miles in the snow yesterday, on my mountain bike. Riding in snow is fun, and quite hard work; hopefully I'll be able to do that at least once a week or so until the roads clear up some time in April.