Thirty-One

Bob - March 31, 2005

Thirty

I made an appearance at work this morning, then left to pick up my rollers from Allison. We agreed to meet at the Oak/1st street MAX station at noon.

I left on Bob around 10:00. It took me about an hour and a half of relatively easy riding to get there. I felt kind of tired. Maybe it was too much sleep last night. I went up Old Germantown road, along skyline, down Barnes (a nice curvy road near the Pitock mansion) and then flew down Burnside into Portland. 22.6 miles total.

Near Oak street, I was entertained for a while by a group protesting a timber sale. One guy was dangling about 10 feet in the air from a massive tripod he had erected in the middle of the road. Police officers were all over the place, but they didn't seem concerned.

I bought three soft tacos at a corner restaurant and took them over to a bench at the MAX station. Allison showed up just as I was about to start on the second one. She had my rollers and a bottle of wine as a thank-you present. That was really nice of her. Fortunately, I had a pannier that I could carry it home it in. I rode the MAX back to Quatama and then rode a precarious mile back to the house with one hand on the handlebars and the other clutching the rollers. I celebrated my safe return home with a glass of Jean-Luc Colombo 2000 La Tuiliere Crozes Hermitage.

I pasted the word CAUTION on the sign tonight. Two more words to go: BICYCLE AHEAD.

FedEx delivered the digital camera this morning shortly before I left. Soon I'll be able to liven things up around here with some pictures.

Twenty-Nine

5x25 push ups
5x25 sit ups
3x4 pull ups

The 2'x10' refrigerator magnet arrived today. I assembled the SMV sign and cut out a piece for the CAUTION BICYCLE AHEAD sign. The magnet isn't as strong as I hoped it would be, but I think it will work OK. I wonder if I should make a spare SMV triangle just in case.

Twenty-Eight

1:06
17.2 miles
Helvetia/Jackson Quarry loop
rain, rain, and more rain

And now the sun's coming out.

Actually, that was a nice way to start the morning. Gotta take Xiang and Ashly to jazz band in a few minutes. The bike (Bob) is wiped off and the chain has fresh lube on it. Shoes are stuffed with newspaper. Oh yeah, I'd better write that check for Michelle before I forget.

Twenty-Seven

I just took my pulse. It's 57 bpm. I suppose that qualifies as my morning resting heart rate. After all, it is 3:30 AM. Why am I even awake? Well, I had to pee. Then I decided to check my email (stupid, I know). Then I started looking at heart rate monitors and thinking about places to ride. And in the back of my mind, I kid myself that maybe I'll go out for an early morning ride before work if the weather doesn't look too foreboding.

Last night I rode 7.5 miles in about 30 minutes. I didn't have much time because I had to take David and Lara to Tae Kwon Do. While they were at practice I took my cleats apart, put lock tight on all the screws and put them back together. When we got home I did some stretching.

Yesterday I talked with Michelle Grainger on the phone. She's the cycling coach John Hughes recommended. I've got to compile a bunch of information for her about my training history and plans. I've never worked with a cycling coach before, so this is new territory for me. I'm looking forward to the experience, but at the same time I'll be keeping one eye on my wallet and asking myself whether it's worth it. Nothing against coaches. It's just that athletics is my hobby - dare I say passion? - not my livelihood. Of course, Spendy approves wholeheartedly.

Twenty-Six

Afternoon workout:

4x25 push ups
4x25 sit ups
3x4 pull ups

I brushed the grime off Bob and then tightened one of the water bottle holders that was loose. I used lock tight, since I've had trouble with it before. Off course, something always has to go wrong. I tightened the screw that clamps the water bottles onto the seat post too tightly and it broke. C'est la Vie.

Out of curiosity I weighed Bob and Greg (without water bottles):

Bob without panniers ~ 30 lbs.
Bob with one pannier and some tools ~ 35 lbs.
Greg ~ 20 lbs.

By the way, I would never have named the bikes if it wasn't for the fact that I refer to them so often in this blog. I sort of regret my choice of names. At first, they seemed like logical choices, but still... Maybe Galen and Mel would have been more appropriate? I wonder if anyone from DyeStat will ever read this silly thing. Reminds me of the whole Locke-Demosthenes thing in Ender's Game.

Twenty-Five

Let's see...

Thursday was uneventful - some push ups, sits ups and pull ups.

Friday I got Bob ready for the 200K brevet on Saturday: one pannier, lots of reflective tape, tools, spare clothes, food, money, etc.

And Saturday I got soaked. The wind wasn't too bad, but there was a decent amound of climbing and the rain never stopped. We left a little after 7 and I finished around 4:15. Only one wrong turn when I missed the Hwy 6 exit at Banks. The other mistake involved my cleats. My left cleat came loose and was sliding forwards and backwards. Murphy's law (or my own stupidity) - the only tool I didn't have was a philips head screw driver. I borrowed one at the first control point and was able to tighen down one of the large screws without taking apart the cleat. Speaking of shoes, in addition to my booties, I tried wearing my seal skinz socks on the outside of my shoes (yes, I cut holes in them). They kept the water out for a while, but eventually soaked through too.

I rode off and on with a fellow named John. His daughter's a triathlete ranked third in her age group (23) last year. He used to do tri's until an injury forced him to stop running. Then he started bike racing and rode with a club in California for a while. I was in and out of the control points a little faster than John, but he caught me on 30 and I didn't see him again after that.

I drank 3 bottles of Perpetuem and 2 24 oz. bottles of Gatorade. At the first control point I had a sausage, egg, cheese biscuit. At the second, a beef and bean burrito and half a power bar - I stuffed the other half in my mouth as I rode back to Portland on dirty 30. Crossing the St. John's bridge was fun. It reminded me of the Portland marathon, and I told myself I'd rather be riding across than running. It was a bit of a let down to get to the finish and find no one there. There were only a few people ahead of me. Most of the pack was behind, and I figured Marvin was out on the course somewhere looking for casualties. I found a pay phone, called Marvin's number, and left a message letting him know when I finished. Then I rode home on the MAX.

Twenty-Four

After work I hopped on the bike and road 18 miles in 1:08 including track "stands" at lights and a brief stop at the Tae Kwon Do school to see if that's were David and Lara were. I looped by the trestle again. At the top of the hill a woman was riding a horse. I tried to pass as far to the left as I could, but I still startled the horse as I went by. I said "sorry", but I got the feeling my apology wasn't appreciated. What can you do?

Just checked the weather forecast. Now it says 90% chance of rain on Saturday. Great. At least it's only a 200K brevet. I better start thinking about what I'm going to wear and carry. I'll probably ride Bob, but his bottom bracket (or something related to the drive train) has been awfully creaky lately.

The coffee story, you ask? I popped 80 cents into the freaking machine this afternoon and the cup drops down at an angle. I tried to prop it up so it wouldn't spill all over the place when the automatic door opened. But as soon as I pried the door open to fix it, the machine stopped filling up the cup, and I was left with not even a 1/4 cup of coffee. So I raced down to the cafe thinking I'll fill it up before they close. On my way past the register I make a comment about how the machine jipped me. Instead of a smile and an "I feel your pain" look, the cashier (a manager at that) gives me a dirty look and says the machines are operated by a different company. Come on! I opened a cafeteria for how many years? You're about to close and dump all that coffee down the drain and now you expect me to give you another dollar for filling my cup up? It's not even your company's cup for crying out loud. GGCB! Not my day, I guess. Oh yeah, Raj got a job offer today, so now it's just me and Ed passing the pager back and forth like a hot potato. Did I say it wasn't my day?

Twenty-Three

Passed a house on fire as I was riding to work this morning. I could see flames, and smoke was billowing out the back. A firetruck blasted it's horn as it raced by me about 30 seconds later. I turned around. By the time I got back, the firemen had their hoses out and were in the back yard already. They're fast! Not sure if I should have tried to do anything. I didn't have a cell phone, so I couldn't call 911 and there was already someone walking around in front of the house.

Joe and I traded emails about his new bike, places to ride, saddles, lights, etc. I told him about the train trestle on Dick Road - except I didn't. I just said there was something really neat out there that he had to see. I said it would make for an exciting dare in a game of truth or dare. It must be a good 500-1000 feet across and maybe 70 feet high in the middle.

After work I took David to Tae Kwon Do. On the way their I asked him which was better, bikes or cars? I'm proud that he knew the right answer.

PT after dinner: 4x20 push ups, 4x20 sit ups, 3x3 pull ups. The last set of push ups were starting to feel difficult. Embarrassing.

Ordered a bunch of stuff from hammer/e-caps. That should get me through RAO at least.

Twenty-Two

29 miles
1 hour 51 minutes
6 times past the train trestle on Dick Rd.

Not a bad way to spend a Monday afternoon.

Twenty-One

Trainingwise, Sunday turned into an easy recovery day. Some PT and that was it. The Sidi's were still soaked (should've put newspaper in them Saturday), it drizzled off and on, and I wasn't sure whether I would have a chance to do an initial measurement of the 1/2 marathon course at Champoeg or not. Turns out, I ended up staying home with David while the girls went shopping for most of the afternoon.

I might have calibrated the bike and left for Champoeg early in the morning, but I was waiting for a bike shop in Willsonville to open to see if they stock solid (i.e. airless) tires. They were listed as distributer on one of the solid-tire websites I found. I never did get an answer when I tried calling the store. And after reading some tire sizing information on another website, I figured it would be my luck that any tire I could get my hands on wouldn't fit the only wheel I've got that works with my Jones Counter. So I changed plans and had Julia pick up another thorn proof tube at Performance while she was out. That and a thick tire is probably the next best thing to a solid tire. However, it would have been reassuring to know that hours of work couldn't be ruined by a flat and that fluctuations in tire size were being minimized. (In case you have no idea what I'm talking about, see: http://www.usatf.com/events/courses/certification/manual/appendix-a.asp.)

I used the extra time to take care of a few details. First, I replace the cleats on my shoes. I might have rebuilt them if the outermost metal plate wasn't completely worn through in one corner on both shoes. Instead, I finally broke out the new cleats (and heel pads too), and relagated the old ones to the spare parts bin. Second, I mocked up my "CAUTION BICYCLE AHEAD" sign. Last week I ordered a 30 foot roll of 2" orange reflective tape and a 2'x10' roll of magnetic sheeting with a white coating on the non-magnetic side. I plan to make my own signs for RAO and the 508. I don't need much for RAO: just the CAUTION sign and the SMV triange (which I'm making with a reflective decal, btw). But I'll need "SABERTOOTH SALMON" signs for all four sides of the vehicle at the 508. That will use up just about all of the magnetic sheeting, with a little left over for a couple of fish pictures.

Oh yeah, did you notice that Ruppagator's been posting on Dye Stat again? Something about Goucher and dropping out of a race. Dork.

Twenty

24:15

That's how long it took me to climb from the bottom of Rocky Point to the top on Greg with 40x15 gearing, a 700x35 tire in the rear, 700x28 in the front, and thorn resistant tubes. Start timing at the sign on the left side of the road as you begin climbing and stop when you reach the yeild sign (formerly a stop sign) at the top. Scott made it up in a little over 20 minutes.

It rained non-stop. Not too hard, but enought to soak through my leather gloves after about an hour. I met Scott and Sara at Sauvie Island (took Cornelius Pass over the hills). We road for 10-15 minutes on Sauvie before heading out to Rocky Point. Up on Skyline it was very foggy in places. I was starting to get cold, so it felt good to take a shower when I got back home.

I think I'll go take a nap.

Nineteen

Good weather today, so I rode Greg - the Lemond - to work. (Bob, in case you're confused, is my other fixie: a Country Road Bob.)

Tomorrow I'm meeting Scott and Sara at Sauvie Island. We plan to ride up Rocky Point "as fast as we can" (Scott's words) and regroup at the top. Rocky Point is about 3 miles of steep climbing, so I don't mind taking it easy today. Yahoo say's it's 15 miles from my house to Sauvie if I go over the hills on Cornellius Pass. So I'll probably get in a good 50 miles of hard riding tomorrow. Then I'll go long on Sunday.

After work I took Xiang and Ashly to school for a band concert, performance, or something of the sort. (I'll probably have to leave to pick them up any minute now.) Then I stopped by Performance to return a helmet. While I was there I picked up two cans of White Lightning Clean Streak - impulse buy because they were on sale. Used carefully and in moderation, it's great stuff. I also bought one of those heavy-duty puncture resistant tubes and a 700x35 Performance brand Kevelar tire ($21).

When I got home I put the tire on Greg's rear wheel. A few days ago I put Bob's front wheel (a 32 hole Surly hub and Velocity Deep V rim) on Greg, since I needed a computer for a milage challenge ride, and the spokes on that wheel are the only ones that the Cateye magnet fits on easily. The Surly wheel already had a Conti Top Touring 2000 tire and thorn resistant tube on it. For training rides, I like wide, bomb-proof tires because I almost never have to pump them up, I can run over glass without cringing, they soften the ride, and they make me work a little harder on the hills. Now the dilemma is what to ride during a race. Do I go light for higher speeds and easier climbs, or do I carry some weight to reduce the chance of flatting?

I think I'm finally getting the position of my new Koobi PRS saddle (on Greg) dialed in. I was as sore I've been in a long time after last Sunday's ride, which was just shy of a century. In comparison, when I got back on the Koobie Au Enduro on Bob, it practially disappeared underneath me. I'm tempted to get another seat post so I can have both saddles set up in case I get sick and tired of one during a race and want to quickly switch to the other. Or maybe what I really want is the new Au Enduro PRS. GGCB, I've got to get a new wallet. The one I'm using now is a sieve.

Eighteen

PT

I haven't been doing much cross training on a regular basis. A little here, a little there. Riding would be best, but sometimes it's hard to fit it in. It will be easier when the days start getting even longer. Until then, I might as well do something on nights when I'm not out riding and I don't feel too tired. Alex and I followed this schedule before. It only takes 30-45 minutes two or three days a week. No time like the present...

Phase 1

Week #1:
4X15 push ups
4X20 sit ups
3X3 pull ups

Week #2:
5X20 push ups
5X20 sit ups
3X3 pull ups

Weeks #3,4:
5X25 push ups
5X25 sit ups
3X4 pull ups

Weeks #5,6:
6X25 push ups
6X25 sit ups
2X8 pull ups

Weeks #7,8:
6X30 push ups
6X30 sit ups
2X10 pull ups

Week #9:
6X30 push ups
6X30 sit ups
3X10 pull ups

Phase II

Week #1,2:
6X30 push ups
6x35 sit ups
3X10 pull ups
3X20 dips

Weeks #3,4:
10X20 push ups
10X25 sit ups
4X10 pull ups
10X15 dips

Week #5:
15X20 push ups
15X25 sit ups
4X12 pull ups
15X15 dips

Weeks #6:
20X20 push ups
20X25 sit ups
5X12 pull ups
20X15 dips

Seventeen

Keep your feet on the pedals!

It's not always as easy as it sounds. I wanted to get some miles in after work. Problem was my speedplays are on the Lemond (no light) and it was getting dark. Also, it finally started raining again for the first time this month. So I decided to take Bob (light, fenders, rack, bag to carry a movie back to Blockbuster, etc.) out for a spin. Thing is, right now Bob just has some old pedals that used to have toe straps. Thinking they would keep my feet nice and cosy, I laced up a pair of Cochran jump boots and headed out the door.

Mistake! Just ask anyone who's ever tried riding a fixed gear with tiny plastic pedals in jump boots in the rain. On the first downhill my feet slid off the pedals and I found myself holding my legs up in the air waiting for gravity to slow me down. I couldn't just turn around and call it quits though. After all, I took all that time to put on my rain gear. I tried taking it easy, but still I almost fell off the pedals once when I stood up. A few miles later I called it quits. I really need those frogs and a new pair of Sidi's.

Sixteen

Just got an email from George Thomas about maintaining a blog for RAO. I'll let him know about this one in case he wants to post a link to it. It's hard enough to get into the habit of writing down information about my training, although I know I should. The last thing I need is a bunch of blogs scattered all over the place. Pencil and paper has its appeal.

Sunday I got out copies of my UMCA milage challenge forms for 2005 and tried to summarize the highlights. I made notes on the back of the form for Sunday's ride and then made a copy. BTW, the current standings were recently updated. I'm still in 9th place: http://www.ultracycling.com/standings/umcstandings.html

I guess I should mention that my plans for the Vanilla have taken a turn. I decided to convert my Lemond to a fixie and have Sacha build me a fixed tandem instead of a single. To me, that seems like a better use of limited resources (i.e. my money). The thing I regret most when I'm out on long rides is that there's usually no one with me to share the experience. I'm hoping David and Lara will keep me company once the tandem is done.

Of course, it wasn't long after I told Sacha about the tandem before visions of RAAM 2010 began floating around in my head and I started to lust after a single Vanila fixie again. I'm getting WAY ahead of myself, though. Let's deal with the next two years first. Spoken like a true rookie, I suppose.

BYE!

P.S. I can't decide whether numbers for titles is banal or not. Oh well... that's the least of my worries. Might as well stick with it for now.