Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Trying to stay in Shape

Well, I know this is not exactly in chronological order, but early this month I drug out my rollers to try to get in some riding and stay in shape. I have been consistently riding about 2 to 3 times during each week. I was riding one day and the belt for the headwind (resistance unit that blows air at you to keep you cool) broke. I would like to think it was from the massive amount of power I was generating, but more likely one of the cats decided it would be fun to chew on. I sort of like it because I have to put it in a much higher gear to get the resistance. that makes my mileage look better when I am done. The first few times I would get so tired I would usually fall off and that is when i knew to stop, but lately I have been getting a bit better even being able to stand and peddle and stay on (I can't just start hammering, or the surges will kick the bike off the front of the rollers). I have been turning the TV to one of the music video channels and cranking the music while I ride. It has actually been quite fun.





Also, in purchasing the replacement belt, I priced a set of rollers and I paid less than half of what they cost now (of course that was close to 10 years ago), but I think this is the first bike related item that has increased in value since I bought it.




I got this picture off of their website, and don't think this is for personal gain so hopefully they won't sue me for stealing their pictures.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Rough Day

Well it seemed like it was a rough day for quite a few people, but I will start with my day.



Went to Oak Mtn. for the BUMP third Saturday ride. Started off well except it was a bit chilly. We rode a loop heading in the clockwise direction. It was a nice lap with Me, Chip, Mark, Jim, DeShazo, Micky, Dee, and Hambone. A change I noticed was that someone added another large log across the trail right before camp road. I was not expecting the this and didn't quite make it over. Didn't wreck, but my back tire started spinning and when I tried to hop it over I had to unclip a foot. I actually like this better as both logs are over a foot in diameter, but about a foot of space is between them. This stepped up the challenge a bit, which is what I needed.

We were actually moving at a slightly faster pace than normal and I took the lead on the "Cat, Dog, Snake" section right before the North trailhead. The second to last bridge before the North trailhead has a rooty section leading up and it is a sharp lefthand turn onto the bridge. I was moving through pretty good (just having a good time) and hit a root wrong and my front tire washed out a bit. Trying to not miss the bridge, I ran into a tree that was immediately to the left of the bridge. I didn't think anything about it at the time as nothing really hurt and I just remember putting my hand out and my shoulder hitting the tree (not very hard), so I just kept going. After cruising up to the top of the jeep trail and heading down toward blood rock, I tried to brake and noticed my left finger was a bit sore and I couldn't squeeze the brake easily.

Anyway, we started down quarry road and I was once again having a great time. At the rock jump at the bottom, I jumped it and noticed someone had piled a bunch of rocks in the trail where I wanted to land. I jerked the bike and managed to land on the side of the pile, but shortly afterwards my rear tire went flat. I tried to look at it, but due to the rain I couldn't really tell where the cuts were. I tried to put a CO2 cartridge in it and it wouldn't hold. I assumed there were a few cuts, so instead of putting a tube in it there as I no longer had enough CO2 to fill it, I just decided to walk it back to the car. It was only about a mile on the dirt road and I was meeting others to ride later, so I was not worried about it. I walked/jogged a ways and Mark had gone back and gotten his truck to pick me up. He gave me a ride back. Thanks Mark!

I took the wheel off and checked it out and it had a couple of cuts including a larger one on the sidewall (that I don't think Stan would have sealed) so I just put my spare tube in it. I didn't have another spare to carry with me, but I figured with the tubeless and the tube, I would be fine.



I met Jeremy and Mark and we rode a biot while waiting for Chase to get there. We rode aound and then rode the family trail a couple of times to stay close to the parking lot. Chase showed up and we headed down to the Trail starting across from the canoe rentals. We rode out and had about 2 hours before dark so we figured we would ride for about 45 minutes and turn around. On the double log crossing before camp road, I sucessfully made it over both logs this time (not the most gracefully, but stayed on the bike). We got to the top of the hill before Garrets gultch and Jeremy decided to head back. Chase wanted to keep going, so after chatting for a few minutes we headed on. At the bottom I jumped off the log and of course popped my back tire. I had only put about 45 lbs in and I should have put closer to 50. As that was my last spare I decided to once again walk back. I headed back and once again walked/jogged back to camp road and to the road. The front of my ankles started hurting so I had to walk (biking shoes were not made to do much hiking). I made it almost to the trailhead by the lake when Chase drove up. We threw my bike on the back of his car and he took me back. Thanks Chase!


Of course All this came at a price. When I got home and showered to warm back up my finger turned a nice purpke blue color and swole up. I guess being outside effectively kept it iced all day. I also had bruises on the front of my ankles from trying to run in the bike shoes. As well as being sore from hiking I guess. I feel like I am getting old!