Saturday, June 28, 2008

Slow Lap

Went to Oak Mountain with Moran and ran a lap. I just did not feel great today. Moran had a hard time keeping his heart rate down and we stopped to rest a few times which was fine with me. I don't think I successfully rode any of the log rides but we did make the whole loop without any flats (lately my biggest problem). I recently put some Panracer Fire UST tires on (I just wanted to try something different than the Nevegals) and have been relatively pleased. I rode with them at Lurleen last weekend and now at Oak Mountain. I am not sure they are better, especially in the sand, but they seem to do well everywhere else. I just need to try them in the wet to see how they do, but they are less expensive and I was going through the old ones too fast.

Also, Tommy had mentioned the Gnomes had been multiplying. I managed to snap a picture of them and will try to get it up soon.

After our ride we went to McAlisters. It has been a little while since I have gone since being introduced to Chipotle. It was nice sitting outside in the shade and drinking the sweet tea. I really like people watching there, but not many people came to eat that day. My only complaint is that the little blond that looks like Elisha Cuthbert (I have no idea how to spell her name) was not working that day.

I looked back and only made about 93 miles this week. I had about 95 last week, so I am very close, but unfortunately my hundred mile week will have to be later. I am hoping all this road riding is going to help my mountain biking, but currently it is just making me too tired to ride hard.

Friday, June 27, 2008

First case of road rage (unfortunately not me)

Rode to and from work today and it was very enjoyable except for a lady in a white SUV laid on the horn as she passed me (as well as not moving over). Of course she was speeding as the speed limit is only 30 and 45 on these roads. I can only imagine it is such a nusiance to have to wait a maximum of 30 seconds to find a break in the cars to go around me. I ride on or over the line when a car is coming so most people only have to touch the far line with their wheel to give me a couple feet clearance. I know I have seen this car around Montevallo and next time I find a "I heart bikers" sticker or something similar I am going to buy it. I am pretty sure I will recognize the car and next time I see it, they are getting a sticker on their rear window.



The ride home was a bit of a gamble as Stephanie took the truck home at 4 and I knew I would have to work late. It started raining around 5, but cleared up a bit by the time I was ready to leave. I was afraid I would get caught in the rain, but other than getting a few sprinkles while in downtown Montevallo, the rain held off. It was nice and cool and smelled like rain (I hope everyone knows what I mean as I love that smell). This was probably one of the most enjoyable rides yet.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Good Start, but can I follow through?

I started this week pretty well by commuting both Monday and Tuesday to and from work. Yesterday before the ride home, I was thinking that I could get in a 100 mile week. Looking back, I don't think I have ever ridden that much in a single week before. However; after I got home last night my legs were aching a bit, but I assumed it would be better by the morning. (I don't know if I have mentioned, but the ride is 12.25 miles and for some reason is much easier to ride to work than riding back home from the office.) I was planning on going to Oak Mountain this afternoon, however Wednesdays are leg day at the gym and I was struggling there (even though I have dropped weight and do sets of 20 reps). I got back to the office and realized that if I rode; it would not be pretty. I was supposed to meet someone there and I felt bad cancelling, but I think I am going to have to work my way up to riding so much. I am going to see how I feel tomorrow and try to ride again. But by skipping today, I am going to have to ride two laps of Oak this weekend to make the 100 mark if I can make the ride to and from tomorrow.

On a good note (for me): it is thundering and cloudy outside. I need a better excuse than me being lazy.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Quite an adventure

Today Stephanie and her dad went with me to Oak Mountain to ride. I really didn't know what to expect as far as skill level since her dad informed me he had not been on a bike in over 30 years. Moran was kind enough to let me borrow his bike (The green regions machine) since I only have one spare. We met at the Waffle House so he could follow us in since he had also not been to the park in over 25 years.


We parked in the back parking lot near the South Trailhed and I tried to get my bike set up for him first so he could ride around and get a feel for it. I got it close and he took off while I swapped pedals on Moran's for Stephanie to ride. Once I had finished airing up all the tires and checking over everything he seemed pretty comfortable riding around. We quickly realized the Moran's seat would not go low enough for Steph so I was able to get my seat lower than previous attempts (I don't know why it finally lowered, I hope I didn't force it past the bottom stop).

Since Steph could not reach the pedals on Brian's I had to swap them and I put her on my old one and her dad on Brian's. They seemed to be comfortable so we worked our way up into the field above the parking lot. They both had no problems whatsoever riding around up there so I decided it was time to hit the trail. One thing as we were leaving the field, they both seemed hesitant to ride through the opening in the gate (about 4' wide). I knew they would get over this fear very quickly on the trail.

We rode up the road to peavine to the top of Mr. Toads. I was hoping that a slightly downhill ride would be a bit easier. I might should have chosen the family trail as I think it is a bit wider and has fewer roots. It is interesting how you do not realize things that could be potential problems. The first little section is quite thin and has a few roots that are not perpendicular to the trail. This was probably not the best place to start for the first time, but they did fine. Steph like going slower and her dad seemed to want to go a bit faster. When they swapped and he started leading, things went more smoothly. However I was a bit worried he would get going to fast around a blind turn, but he did fine.

There was also a bridge on this section that I had not even thought about. Steph's dad went over it fine and I shouted congratulations to him right as Steph was heading for it. Unfortunately, I think I made her nervous about crossing it because she locked up the brakes and slid off the bank to the side of the bridge. Unfortunately I could not get my camera out quick enough as she quickly jumped up and scurried across the bridge in hopes I wouldn't catch her. We rode the rest of the way out and they were both doing pretty good near the end. We stopped back at the trucks for a rest. After getting some water we did a few more laps around the parking lot before packing up.

They both did well for their first trip and I think there will be another in the future. We will wait till tomorrow when the saddle soreness kicks in to know for sure.

Edit: I finally got the pictures added.
All the pictures are here:

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Joined the Club at Lurleen

Yesterday evening in anticipation of today's ride I went by and picked me up some stuff to make Spaghetti. I was too lazy to make my own meatballs so I picked up some frozen ones also. I try to pasta before longer rides as I always seem to feel better during the ride if I do. (This could be all mental, but I really just wanted some spaghetti and meatballs so it was a good excuse).

I woke up and got ready. Moran was going to meet me at my house and ride with me. I was running a bit behind, so we didn't leave until close to 7. He decided to drive separately as he was on call and I don't think he was wanting to spend the whole day there. I was originally going to have to leave by 3 to get back home for dinner with friends, but that was postponed till next weekend, so I was given the go ahead to stay as long as I wanted. On the way I realized that I had forgotten the camera. I hate I was not going to be able to get any pictures of the event.

We arrived at about 8:30 and probably hit the trail close to 9. We went counter-clockwise as was suggested by some of the other riders showing up the same time we did (however these riders ended up riding clockwise). We definitely were going the opposite direction of everyone else, but I thought it was a really nice ride. I have only gone this direction once before and it seemed to be the easier way to go. We passed most of the BUMP folks and they told me where they were parked. We finished up and swung by their campsite. I couldn't talk Chris S. into riding another lap immediately, but found Mitch lounging in the AC and he decided to try to get another lap in before lunch with me.

Moran decided to sit this one out and I though the might stick around and do a second after lunch as he was hanging out at the car when we left. I ate a snack and refilled my camelback before heading back out. Mitch wanted to go Counter Clockwise so we headed off. He set a perfect pace on this lap that kept me moving a bit faster that I would have gone by myself, but I was relatively comfortable and recovering quickly after the climbs. This lap was a bit more hot and humid than the first. The first one was perfect weather and I stayed pretty comfortable. The trail definitely seems easier this way as there is a lot of downhill on the second half. We finished somewhere after 1:15. I swung by my truck and noticed that Moran had headed back home. We went up to the pavilion to get lunch.

They had BBQ (I forget where they said they got it) that was quite good. and Mitch had brought some watermelon. I didn't want to gorge myself because I was still debating on the number of laps I was going to try and ride. After we ate and relaxed a few minutes (quite a few minutes to let the food settle) we went to try to find everyone else. It appeared they had already left, so I refilled the camelback and we decided to head Clockwise for the next one (because I had not been that way yet). I have to say that Clockwise is definitely harder, but much more fun. There were a few jumps over water pipes going this way at the beginning and I was able to clear all the trees going across the trail as well as some off to the sides. There was one tree that I believe was slightly larger than the one near the base of Camp road at Oak that I made it over (this is the first lap I tried). I would ballpark the height at 16-18". I had tightened my pedals but I still hopped out of one of them trying to hop the back wheel up, but I managed to still stay on the bike and somewhat ungracefully clear it. There were a few more log piles that I rode. one was about 5 smaller logs piled up loosely that was not too difficult (someone had laid these out pretty nice). There was also 2 roughly 12" logs that almost got me. I got my front wheel over, but right as my front was coming down, the back tire was in between them and it brought me to a stop. I had to do a small hop to get the back moving and thought I was going to go over the handlebars, but somehow recovered. The last thing I found was at the top right on the ridge right before heading back down. There was a short skinny that was propped on a log so there was a small drop off the other end before heading down. I had not noticed this before as going the other direction I just never saw it. I was a bit nervous as the drop was just enough that I needed to keep the front wheel up but it was quite fun. Somewhere around the midpoint I started feeling the hills. I knew this was not a good sign as I knew a fourth lap would be quite a struggle. We finished it out and there were a few climbs at the end. I was not cramping at all, but was just running out of energy.

Right as we were getting back to the parking lot, there was another rider stopped in the road. Mitch was ahead and I heard the other rider say snake. Mitch must have just seen it because he locked up the back tire and slid sideways to a stop. Of course that got a comment from Monty who was standing not too far away at the campsite. He came down to look and it was a rattlesnake (probably 2.5' long). We watched it slither across the road and went up to the campsite. Everyone was sitting around and we joined them. Jim had some cantaloupe and honeydew and I ate quite a bit. This got me feeling better and I was considering riding another lap but no one else really wanted to. I was at a good point and one more lap probably left me struggling with stairs the next day. This was all I needed to talk me out of doing another one. It was already after 4:00 so we hung out at the pavilion for a while and then headed home.

BUMP had a great showing at this event with 9 riders (Me, Mitch, Moran, Strayner, Allen, Monty, Linda, DeShazo, and Jim). I had a good time and think we should do something similar at Oak Mountain. It would be nice to have some sort of 48 club (or whatever 3 laps is) that will give people a goal to reach. I would probably never had ridden Lake Lurleen more than twice without someone setting the goal to reach. However, I think LL now has quite a few with 4 and even 5 laps under their belt in a day. I was hoping for a commemorative pint glass to honor the occasion, but I may have to settle for the self satisfaction of doing it.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

First True Commute

Today I truly commuted to work on the bike. The previous trips were a ride home after driving in and then riding in and driving home. Today I actually rode in and rode home. I wanted to take Friday off to rest up a bit for the Saturday ride (hopefully I will get 3 laps in of Lake Lurleen in before I have to get home). It is getting much easier and really helps me relax after a rough day at the office.

I got a return authorization for the Garmin, so I am once again going to be without it for a week or two. I think I am going to hang onto it for Lurleen and just send it back Monday.

I am also taking Stephanie's dad biking for the first time on Sunday. He has lost over 60 lbs so far for the wedding and he said he was going to ride with me when he hit the 50 lb mark. I think Stephanie may go also, so this could be quite an adventure.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Commuting but at least I am on the bike.

I finally gave up on trying to make it to any organized rides during the week. And after not riding this weekend I was getting desperate. Things are starting to slow down a bit here at work, but I still seem to get caught having to get a quote out or something on the days I want to leave early (or on-time, I forget what that is).

Monday I rode the bike home from the office after driving in that morning. I ended up leaving about 6 so traffic was not too bad. I also took 17-15 home instead of 119 which I feel a lot more safe. There are very few large trucks and the rode is more hilly and winding so the drivers are forced to pay a bit better better attention. It was a pleasent ride, but I am out of shape or something. I ended up with roughly 12.3 miles in 45 minutes. This is faster than I ever rode it on the mtn bike, but I still felt like I was going pretty slow.

Tuesday I decided to just ride in that morning also as I was able to wake up early enough to have time. I duplicated my ride with just under 46 minutes, so I assume both directions are about the same (climbing wise). I though tmy legs would be killing me, but I felt pretty good throughout the day.

I do have a grump. My Garmin has once again stopped working properly. This time it is turning off whenever I hit a bump. It seems to be only sudden shocks that do it as it has been only happening randomly when I am on the Mtn Bike (I think the shock dampens most of the trail chatter). But on the road bike it turns off very often. I got mad and just took it off the bar mount and threw it in my jersey. It stayed on when I did this, but I can not see my speed or heartrate or anything that would probably make me ride harder. (Maybe this is not such a bad thing). I have contacted Garmin, but I am guessing I am going to be witout it again for a couple of weeks while they repair it. I haven't had a lot of luck with this thing.

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Road Ride from Helena

First off I finally got a new keyboard. Part of my poor spelling was due to a number of keys on the keyboard not working very well. Now I have no excuse.

I found that the Montevallo riders were riding from Joe Tucker Park in Helena to 280 and back on Highway 11. I was a bit scared as I knew that there is a moderate hill starting on 52 up to cross the highway. One of my biggest problems is warming up quickly so hitting this hill at the beginning was worrying me a bit.

I met the guys and everyone was nice and welcomed me on the ride. One thing that bothered me a bit is that as we were leaving everyone was checking to make sure they had ID. I asked if this was in case they were pulled over, but I was informed it was so they could quickly identify the body. After this nice bit of information I grabbed my license and we headed out.

Luckily they chose to ride to Alabaster to hit the end of 11. This road was pretty level and I was feeling OK as I fell in line at the second to back. I quickly realized that I was pretty bad at keeping in line properly. We got to the 31-119-11 intersection and headed across. My heart rate was staying low but my legs were burning a bit.

One thing that was annoying is that my Garmin appears to be damaged again. Every time I hit a bump (especially when crossing the railroad tracks) it would switch off. I kept having to turn it back on and restart it which is hard to do and keep in line.

We got to 280 and stopped to rest at the gas station. I ate the nutrigrain bar I brought and stood in the shade. I stretched a bit and by the time we were ready to head back, my legs were feeling better. We headed off and I decided to bring up the rear of the pack. I noticed that I felt better coasting down the hills (in which I would fall back a bit) but when climbing the hills I would catch back up with everyone. I seemed to be able to climb easier, but they never stopped pedaling whereas I enjoyed the rest while coasting down the hills.

The only problem we had with cars is a truck that displayed his displeasure of having to go around us by flooring the gas and only clearing us by a foot (he only missed the leader by few inches). I have terrible luck with riding on the road, but other than that it was a great experience. We got back to the park and they invited me to the Depot to relax after the ride, but I had a wedding to go to that afternoon, so I packed up and headed on home.

I will definitely try to ride with these guys again as I had a good time. I ended up riding about 36 miles and for the rest of the day my legs were burning. I really struggled with stairs and sitting for the better part of the day. Hopefully I can start riding a day or so a week on the road and see if it gets easier.