The little victories

Today was a beauty riding day, overcast and about 23 C so off I went to ride the 50 mile Centurion course. This time I loaded up with Gatorade, lots of water and some snacks in hopes of not bonking big this time around.
I got to the top of the Grey 19 climb in good time for me and pushed on with the idea of treating this ride like a simulated race. It seemed to me like my speed was good and for the most part I felt fairly strong although by the time I turned back onto Grey 19 heading for home my legs were certainly a little heavy. Partway up the first climb an older gentleman (I think) pulled up beside me, we chatted for about a minute and then he passed me on the way to the crest of the hill. I couldn't let myself be passed by someone older (I think) than myself so I gave a little more and at the top I was back on his rear wheel. I then pulled a Jim Twining. I sat and drafted for about 2 minutes, got some energy and then pulled out and blew by him and hammered down. I'm sure I was a blur to him when passing, hopefully not because of his deteriorating vision. He never did manage to catch up to me either, hopefully not because of his varicose veins. I last saw him just before the Grey 19 downhill and yelled "see you later Methuselah" but it's doubtful he heard me, hopefully not because his hearing aid was on low.
In total it was 90 km done in 3:26 with an average speed of 26.2 kph and an average cadence of 77 rpm. I had an average heart rate of 148 bpm, a peak of 173 and the calories burnt reading was 3360 which is a little high. 2500 calories would be more accurate I think. Update: I went to a site that calculates calories burned for specific activities and it's estimate was 2966 calories.
As for passing Methuselah all I can say is the little victories in life sure feel good......to little people like me.

Share the Road

There is a program in the Collingwood area called Share the Road which promotes safe road riding and courtesy. It's a very simple program to follow. Cyclists ride in single file and automobiles give them a decent amount of room for safety's sake. I have noticed more this year than any other year that bicyclists are not holding up their end of the bargain. More and more I see bikers taking up the entire lane and not moving into single file when they realize a car is approaching. I can't be sure but I believe many of these riders are from out of town and are unaware of the concept or maybe they are just plain stupid.  In a confrontation between a bike and a car the car always wins. Now I'm not saying there aren't some assholes behind the wheel, there always will be but the bikers who will not ride single file are turning these assholes into bigger pricks. I have talked to several drivers lately who have mentioned that large groups of riders have steadfastly refused to ride single file and have held the cars up purposely and in my mind these riders are assholes as well. I know it doesn't seem like a big deal slowing a car down for 10 or 20 seconds but the fact of the matter is it's less of a big deal to get into a single file for 10 to 20 seconds. After all the roads were built originally for cars and regardless of what the laws say about the rights of cars and bikes sharing the road one thing will always hold true, cars don't feel pain.
In the future if you are in your car and you see a group of biking road hogs let them know in a respectful way that you too are a rider and would prefer if they rode single file when being approached by a car. There will always be the odd yahoo who will speed by you with very little room to spare but if we can ride single file I'm sure most vehicles will extend the courtesy of giving us a little more space. For those drivers who wait behind you until the oncoming traffic is past or you have finished your climb, well a little thank you wave wouldn't hurt.

I just want to ride.

Today I went back down to Steve's place on Snow Valley road for a mountain bike ride. Susan was also riding as were Cam and Lori. The weather was perfect for a ride .
On Tuesday when I rode there I reduced the air pressure in my front tire and the HiFi definitely handled better. It wasn't great but certainly it didn't pogo near as much as it had and my pinballing down the trail was greatly reduced. The bike was actually controllable.
During the ride today both Steve and Cam tried some adjustments which improved the bikes handling even more. The first was to reduce the air pressure in the fork to 100 lbs from the 130 it was at. Then they adjusted the rebound. With those 2 changes the bike handling improved even more. For the first time since I owned that bike it felt controllable, predictable and fast. Going through really rocky sections the bike did not surprise me once. It was a pleasure to ride. I should have figured out these adjustments for myself but sadly I am a techno-boob who just wants to get on the bike and ride. Why do forks have to be so adjustable? Lockout? Who needs it. Massive rebound and preload adjustments. Not necessary. I just want to ride. I don't really care how it works as long as it does. I mean, let's face it. I'm the mental midget who stuck his finger in the spokes while riding the bike last week.
It was a fun ride though and Steve and Susan served up some burgers afterwards so all in all a pretty good day. Lori even mentioned that I had lost some weight. What she doesn't know is I lose weight from my face and hardly anywhere else. If somehow I managed to lose 10 pounds my head would be the size of a peanut. Which would make sticking my fingers in the spokes more understandable.

Passed me like a ??????

Checked the weather forecasts this morning and rain wasn't predicted so Todd and I went for a ride up the Pretty River road. I didn't feel like I had a lot to give but a 2 hour ride wouldn't be too tough to take. About 3/4's of the way up the climb a guy passed me like I was standing still.....passed me like a drunk rushing to the bar for last call........passed me like the town slut looking for a better offer. You get the picture. I wanted to throw my water bottle at him but he was out of throwing distance in no time at all. Very humbling. Granted this guy was younger and about 30 pounds lighter but it still was a shot to my tattered ego.
Just as we turned west from Robroy it started to rain. So much for the weather forecast. It didn't rain hard or long, just enough to soak us and cause the sweat from my hair to run into my left eye and sting like mad for the next 20 minutes. The rain stopped and we dried off just in time for the high speed downhill on Grey 19 which was when it started to rain again and continued until we reached the bottom. Bad timing on our part I guess. I was soaked when I got home but at least I got a ride in and hopefully I will never see that blur who passed me ever again.

Twice a day

Yesterday I had two good rides. In the morning I was out on the road bike with Todd for a 45 km ride and then in the evening I drove to the Snow Valley area to go mountain biking with Steve (the birthday boy), Cam and a few others as well as Susan, Steve's better half.
I enjoy riding down there because it is more of a speed ride with lots of twisty turny trails as well as many ramps, bridges and other such man made obstacles. I would have to say that it is a more fun ride for me than many of the trails at 3-stage because it is a speed circuit. For me many of 3-stages trails are riddled with technical section after technical section with very little speed involved. It's almost like trials riding. I don't mountain bike near as much anymore so my lack of practice doesn't help the situation.
Last night the Gary Fisher HiFi was again acting like a pogo stick which has been driving me crazy. I have not been able to find a setting that will stop the Rock Shox Recon from bouncing me through every  technical section. The front end of the bike becomes impossible to control.
It was recommended that I lower the tire pressure to around 28 psi but when I tried this last year and made quick steering corrections I broke the seal on the tubeless tire, lost all the air and crashed hard the second time it happened. So what to do? Run the tire hard and pogo through everything or run it soft and risk flatting and possibly crashing.
I reduced the tire pressure last night after a lot of pogoing (not sure of the actual psi) and the bike became ridable again and I didn't flat. There must be a perfect pressure where the bike handles well and doesn't flat so in the next few rides I am going to try to find the sweet spot. Problem is I don't have an accurate tire pressure gauge that works on presta valves so I suppose an adaptor for the valve may needed.

56 and counting

As hard as it is to believe I am now 56 years old and like most other people my age I don't feel 56. I still think the same as I did 30 years ago. Other than my thinning grey hair, sore neck, my bad foot, carpal tunnel wrist, the wonky knee, my failing eyes and the necessity for high fibre foods I am physically the same. It's true that I grunt now trying to get out of the sports car and I have to plan my entry into it. It's also true that I know exactly where the ice bag and heating pad are at all times. I have foot beds in all my shoes and I do actually try to take better care of myself now. I guess the important thing is like many of my friends I still try to get out and exercise on a regular basis. I have no doubt that staying fit has greatly improved my quality of life.
The thing is I simply can't do what I could years ago but the thing is, I still think I can. The day has not yet arrived when I say I can't. It's the same with just about everyone I know, they do everything with the thought: I can. Doubt does not enter into it. We are older but we still want to compete and challenge ourselves every day and that is a beautiful thing. Now if only I could remember where the hell my car keys are so I could drive to the store for some painkillers. And while I'm on the topic of remembering, very few people did.

Pain in the neck

It's three days since the finger in the spokes incident and believe me, it's still very sore and very tender. I was worried about infection as well but I believe the blood erupted out of my finger so fast that bacteria just wasn't fast enough to get in. It seems to be healing well and is not what bothers me the most right now.
The most bothersome problem I have right now is a very sore neck. I started the season on my new Madone in a very racy position with the stem angled down and this was a mistake. After only one hour my neck would start to hurt and it was difficult to ride after two hours. I finally flipped the stem over so it was on a rise but the damage had already been done. My neck is unbelievably stiff now. I have been to a chiropractor eight times but there doesn't seem to be any improvement so I am now going to try to alleviate some of the pain and stiffness with my own remedy; Tylenol back pain tablets, tennis ball massages and hot and cold treatments. It may take a while but I really do believe my neck and upper back will improve in time.
I will take a week off the bike as well to get a decent start on the therapy. If all goes well and my neck improves I may enter in the 100 mile Centurion ride and if not the 50 mile ride will probably be more than enough. I never thought that my neck would be a problem but apparently many road bikers have neck pain and stiffness at one time or another. My thick skull may be making it worse.

Stoopid

Growing up there were certain things your parents taught you that were important lessons kids needed to know. Things like "don't run with scissors", "stay away from strange men" and "don't stick your finger in the spokes". I never ran with scissors and I stayed away from strange men so that means I learned those lessons well. Sadly the lure of sticking my finger into moving spokes was too great. My advice to you now is DON'T DO IT!!!!!!
I was out riding with Todd yesterday and we were just coming into Glen Huron when my bike computer stopped working. I was pretty sure it was the sensor on the fork that was the problem. I could have left well enough alone but that's not my nature so so I reached down and started fiddling with it. Baaad idea. The ring finger on my right hand got caught by a spoke and when all was said and done there was a chunk of flesh hanging from the side of my finger as well as an inch long cut. I had to stop in a lumber supply place for some bandages and after getting patched up we were back on our way.
My hope now is that if bad things happen in three's then I have now have had two close calls and inflicted grievous bodily harm to myself once so the rest of the season should be a cakewalk. If anyone asks about the spoke incident in the future I will simply say I was mesmerized by the spinning wheel. I figure if your dense enough to stick your finger into the spokes then being hypnotized by a spinning object can be my excuse. Or possibly I am simply stoopid.

Three days later

The Wall

Today was a good day for a sprint ride so I hopped on the bike and headed over past the airport and back for a total of 35 km's in an hour and seven minutes. My average speed was 31.1 kph which was down 1 kph from my 32.1 kph of two weeks ago on the same ride. I felt a little better than yesterday when it seemed like I had nothing to give. I did 72 km's yesterday with a fair amount of climbing involved but I definitely felt tired on arrival back at the house. I hadn't been on the bike for a week because of 9 days in a row of working so I had a tough time finding the motivation to get at it.
I must admit it feels a little bit like a wall has been hit where it is going to require much more work to improve my performances. Yesterday on the climb up Grey 19 Brent Kratz caught up to me with no problem and yes I was feeling tired but I didn't think I was that bad. It's so hard to tell whether it was just an off day or I really do suck.
Years ago playing hockey I do remember showing up at the rink feeling great and then having a shitty game and the following week feeling shitty and then having a great game. It's hard to tell sometimes what determines peak performance. I suppose my riding is too varied and my training not consistent enough to make accurate evaluations on my performance. Or maybe I'm just being a little hard on myself. It wouldn't be the first time.
Tonight it's off to Terry's place for his 65'th birthday. At 65 Terry still rides like a demon and loves mountain biking more than anyone I know. He's embarrassed many a young rider who realized in the first 5 minutes of a ride that there was no way they could keep up with him. I think he should change his nickname from oldphatbkr to pedalingpensioner. Happy birthday Terry.

Another close call

Well I am certainly hoping things don't come in three's because I had another close call on my road bike today. I had just made the turn off of Grey 19 onto Grey 2 heading for Ravenna. It's downhill so my speed at the time was probably around 55 kph. I noticed an older guy pulling out of his driveway in a very old Jeep Cherokee and assumed he had seen me but you know what they say assuming does.  He pulled out extremely slowly and when it became very obvious that he had no idea I was there I hit the brakes hard. I'm thankful for my many years of riding because my back wheel locked and started to fish out to the right but I caught it in time and managed to get slowed down just enough to make an evasive maneuver into the oncoming traffic lane. I passed him and it looked like he was more than a little bit surprised, possibly from the f-bombs I hurled at him going by.
That's two very close calls in three weeks. I know on the last one the guy did see me coming from behind like he did so I will never know what exactly happened there. On this one there's no doubt in my mind that it was simply a case of the driver taking a quick look for cars and when seeing no cars he pulled out into my lane. Scary stuff.

August already.

It's hard to believe it's August already. Summer is flying by but I must admit the weather has been great for riding. Other than the week long heat wave we had conditions are great on the trails and the road.
I rode up the Pretty River road this morning and over to Grey road 2 and back. That totalled 47 kms in about 1 hour 40 minutes. It was so nice out the ride would have been longer but I walked out the door and hopped on the bike without water so the ride had to be cut short a little bit.
I have finally set up the cadence sensor on the bike and decided an average of 75 rpm would be a good goal for the ride but at the end my average was 80 rpm. Not bad. In my mountain biking days I had a tendency to push big gears and that is now something I am trying to move away from. High cadence is the most efficient way to pedal according to the experts. It's also easier on my aging knees which are starting to show signs of wear and occasionally remind me that I'm  not a kid anymore.

I would also like to update folks on the latest creations of Stinkbreath aka Guinness. I call his latest masterpiece "The Ass of Clubs". That little meal must have been scrumptious.