This is one of my favorites taken around Marquette Michigan a few years back when Ann and I had been there for the Ore 2 Shore race, it was the first mountain bike race I had done, damn was that fun!!
Monday, February 15, 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010
Bike on a Trainer
This is not one of my favorite things but I've succumbed to the weather and put my road bike on the trainer. It's not a really bad thing, it keeps me home on Monday and Thursday nights and I've discovered a couple TV shows. I pay for cable TV so I guess it's a good thing that I've started watching some of it. In the past I've had my bike set up in the basement in front of the TV with the DVD surround sound system and watched movies while I rode. This year my basement is full of other peoples stuff so I can't use it. I have my bike set up in my bedroom, not the best place but I have cable up there and I hooked up my big ass 19 inch TV. No DVD and no surround sound but I'm getting my pedaling in and I guess that's what counts.
Once Minnesota thaws a bit I'll go back to commuting to and from work but for the time being I'm being a wimp and riding on the trainer.
Once Minnesota thaws a bit I'll go back to commuting to and from work but for the time being I'm being a wimp and riding on the trainer.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Call Me a Wimp
Around about Christmas time Minnesota went all winter on me. We had snow and rain combine to give us a lovely sheet of ice on the roadways. At that point I wimped out on my commuting to work. I don't have the tires to ride on ice, at least that's my excuse. So shortly after the New Year I put the road bike on the trainer and started riding indoors. It's not my favorite thing to do but I need to pedal every day or my knees get too sore. I still plan to commute to work but I'm waiting for the road conditions to get a little better. We received a little more rain this afternoon but the temperature is still above 30 so I'm hoping it doesn't freeze.
I've made some decisions about my riding this summer, I'm only doing the Breast Cancer ride. As much as I love the MS150, money and time dictate that I only do one ride. I've started a team and hope to get friends and family to join me.
I have my sights set on doing the Underground Railroad tour when I turn 50, that leaves me 3 years to figure out how to do a self contained tour on a bike. My focus this summer will be on equipment and taking weekend rides. Travel from my house, camp someplace overnight and ride back home. After a few trips I hope to figure out what I need then I'll take on some two and three day adventures with hopes of an end of summer tour.
I've started a new diet which I'll call my Pain Management diet, who knows maybe I can write a book and make a million dollars! I spent several days researching anti-inflammatory foods. It's going to be a slow process of removing certain foods/drinks from my diet and replacing them with better choices. I eat pretty healthy to begin with and being a vegetarian already limits my diet. My focus for this past week has been to cut out beer :( I haven't had one in nearly a week and reduce my intake of caffeine. I've also cut out potatoes, another difficult one as they are one of my favorite vegetables and not just the fried ones. Dairy is going to be hard, I'm willing to cut out milk, I don't drink it anyway and reduce cheese but I'm not giving up my yogurt, it's a staple in my diet. I'll start on the dairy products next week. I think beer, caffeine and potatoes are enough for one week. I have a long way to go on this diet but if I can get some relief and a good nights sleep it will be well worth it. And as a bonus I might lose some weight!
I've made some decisions about my riding this summer, I'm only doing the Breast Cancer ride. As much as I love the MS150, money and time dictate that I only do one ride. I've started a team and hope to get friends and family to join me.
I have my sights set on doing the Underground Railroad tour when I turn 50, that leaves me 3 years to figure out how to do a self contained tour on a bike. My focus this summer will be on equipment and taking weekend rides. Travel from my house, camp someplace overnight and ride back home. After a few trips I hope to figure out what I need then I'll take on some two and three day adventures with hopes of an end of summer tour.
I've started a new diet which I'll call my Pain Management diet, who knows maybe I can write a book and make a million dollars! I spent several days researching anti-inflammatory foods. It's going to be a slow process of removing certain foods/drinks from my diet and replacing them with better choices. I eat pretty healthy to begin with and being a vegetarian already limits my diet. My focus for this past week has been to cut out beer :( I haven't had one in nearly a week and reduce my intake of caffeine. I've also cut out potatoes, another difficult one as they are one of my favorite vegetables and not just the fried ones. Dairy is going to be hard, I'm willing to cut out milk, I don't drink it anyway and reduce cheese but I'm not giving up my yogurt, it's a staple in my diet. I'll start on the dairy products next week. I think beer, caffeine and potatoes are enough for one week. I have a long way to go on this diet but if I can get some relief and a good nights sleep it will be well worth it. And as a bonus I might lose some weight!
Monday, January 4, 2010
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Bike Lane
Wow, as a commuter this looks great...
LightLane is a company designing a rear bike light that creates a laser-lit virtual bike lane that goes where you go.
There’s no timeline as to when the LightLane bike light will be available, but the company has a targeted retail price of between $80 and $100. www.lightlanebike.com
I plan to be one of the first people in line buy one!
There’s no timeline as to when the LightLane bike light will be available, but the company has a targeted retail price of between $80 and $100. www.lightlanebike.com
I plan to be one of the first people in line buy one!
Monday, December 7, 2009
Mechanicals
I had some issues riding to work this morning. I'm thinking the temperature had something to do with it. I left the house about 0530 and it was a balmy 14 degrees! After about the second stop I noticed my back tire was not riding smoothly, it felt like the brake was on.
When I arrived at work I found out that yes the brake was rubbing, the wheel would not spin very good. I made a few adjustments to the back brake and it seemed OK. While checking out the back brake I noticed I had a bad spoke. I did what I could to fix it.
I also noticed that my lights were pretty dim by the time I got to work. I'm thinking maybe the cold is having an affect on the batteries as well. I usually leave my bike in the breezeway where there is no heat. Tonight I'm bringing it in the house to work on it so I think I will just leave it inside for the night to see if that makes a difference on the lights. If so then I know I need to bring the lights in the house and not leave them on the bike.
After getting home I took a closer look at the back tire and was able to fix the spoke, I think it must have just worked it's way loose. I cleaned and lubed the brake cables and I'm hoping that will fix the sticking problem. I really need to clean and lube the chain too but I ran out of energy. I swear riding in the cold just sucks your energy.
So far the low temperatures have not been bad, I've had a couple mornings where I did not dress quite warm enough, I needed more protection on my face. Today I added long underwear, and a scarf to my ensemble, I also wore my mountain bike glasses, they keep the wind out of my eyes, and I had a nice hot cup of tea before I left the house. I didn't get cold at all. I think the key is the hot tea made of honey and cinnamon. It's my new favorite!
There's a big ass winter storm on it's way due to arrive tomorrow afternoon so I may get my first chance to ride in the snow. I sure hope I'm ready for it! The Weatherbug just went off again I think I'll go check the weather...
When I arrived at work I found out that yes the brake was rubbing, the wheel would not spin very good. I made a few adjustments to the back brake and it seemed OK. While checking out the back brake I noticed I had a bad spoke. I did what I could to fix it.
I also noticed that my lights were pretty dim by the time I got to work. I'm thinking maybe the cold is having an affect on the batteries as well. I usually leave my bike in the breezeway where there is no heat. Tonight I'm bringing it in the house to work on it so I think I will just leave it inside for the night to see if that makes a difference on the lights. If so then I know I need to bring the lights in the house and not leave them on the bike.
After getting home I took a closer look at the back tire and was able to fix the spoke, I think it must have just worked it's way loose. I cleaned and lubed the brake cables and I'm hoping that will fix the sticking problem. I really need to clean and lube the chain too but I ran out of energy. I swear riding in the cold just sucks your energy.
So far the low temperatures have not been bad, I've had a couple mornings where I did not dress quite warm enough, I needed more protection on my face. Today I added long underwear, and a scarf to my ensemble, I also wore my mountain bike glasses, they keep the wind out of my eyes, and I had a nice hot cup of tea before I left the house. I didn't get cold at all. I think the key is the hot tea made of honey and cinnamon. It's my new favorite!
There's a big ass winter storm on it's way due to arrive tomorrow afternoon so I may get my first chance to ride in the snow. I sure hope I'm ready for it! The Weatherbug just went off again I think I'll go check the weather...
Monday, November 16, 2009
Cold Weather Riding
So far I've been pretty lucky the coldest day this Fall was this morning; a chilly 27 degrees when I left the house.
I have my routine down fairly good, this morning I even had time to make and eat a bowl of oatmeal before heading to work. As the weather gets colder I plan to shower before I go to bed so I can keep some of the oils on my skin as protection. Taking a shower in the morning helps with waking up but it takes all of the oil from your skin and leaves you exposed to the elements.
My routine goes a little something like this:
cell phone alarm starts playing the Mexican hat dance at 0415
I crawl out of bed and let the dogs outside.
Brush teeth, use toilet and find clothes for the day, not necessarily in that order.
Let dogs back into the house and feed them.
Jump into shower, get dressed.
Pack lunch and work bag.
Grab a bite to eat and something to drink, fill water bottle.
Put on riding gear; Techpant Overtrouser by Endura, super bright yellow windbreaker jacket from REI, and Sugoi vest, Spider gloves, Pearl Izumi liner, and Bell Ghisallo helmet. I wear my regular work clothes underneath.
Set alarm system, lock up the house and pedal off to work.
If the weather is over 40 I'll wear a headband instead of the liner and regular biking gloves instead of the Spider gloves. Once the weather gets really cold I'll add another layer under the jacket and possibly long underwear. As I said earlier now that it's getting cold I'll start showering before bed and also get my lunch ready and work bag packed the night before. This will save me some time in the morning. At this time of the year I have to dress for a 20 degree difference between the time I ride to work and the time I ride home. Example at 0530 this morning the temp was 27 degrees, at 1430 the temp was 50 degrees. The tech pants were packed in my work bag and the liner and Spider gloves were replaced with a headband and biking gloves.
I'm also looking at getting a new helmet, I really like the Nutcase helmets and hope to purchase one of those real soon. They have less ventilation which I hope will make it warmer and they come in some really fun designs. And while I'm looking at a new helmet I'll be checking out new gloves too. The pair I have work great for skiing but my hands don't move enough on the bike and my fingers were pretty cold this morning. I plan to check out those claw gloves. I had a great hand warming idea on my ride home today that if it works could be a great new invention for us bike commuters. I'm not saying anything at the moment but the idea has been formed in my mind now I just need to figure out how to bring it to life.
I've checked into studded tires and I'm not sure if I'll be able to get them to fit my rims. My tires are 700cX 28 and the smallest studded tires I've been able to find were 32's I don't know if they will work or not. The young gentleman at the bike shop thought they might. I guess I'll find out after the snow starts to fly. In the mean time the Armadillo Nimbus tires will have to do. If all else fails I can ride my mountain bike when it snows, I know I can get studded tires for that one.
Well, that's all for today...
I have my routine down fairly good, this morning I even had time to make and eat a bowl of oatmeal before heading to work. As the weather gets colder I plan to shower before I go to bed so I can keep some of the oils on my skin as protection. Taking a shower in the morning helps with waking up but it takes all of the oil from your skin and leaves you exposed to the elements.
My routine goes a little something like this:
cell phone alarm starts playing the Mexican hat dance at 0415
I crawl out of bed and let the dogs outside.
Brush teeth, use toilet and find clothes for the day, not necessarily in that order.
Let dogs back into the house and feed them.
Jump into shower, get dressed.
Pack lunch and work bag.
Grab a bite to eat and something to drink, fill water bottle.
Put on riding gear; Techpant Overtrouser by Endura, super bright yellow windbreaker jacket from REI, and Sugoi vest, Spider gloves, Pearl Izumi liner, and Bell Ghisallo helmet. I wear my regular work clothes underneath.
Set alarm system, lock up the house and pedal off to work.
If the weather is over 40 I'll wear a headband instead of the liner and regular biking gloves instead of the Spider gloves. Once the weather gets really cold I'll add another layer under the jacket and possibly long underwear. As I said earlier now that it's getting cold I'll start showering before bed and also get my lunch ready and work bag packed the night before. This will save me some time in the morning. At this time of the year I have to dress for a 20 degree difference between the time I ride to work and the time I ride home. Example at 0530 this morning the temp was 27 degrees, at 1430 the temp was 50 degrees. The tech pants were packed in my work bag and the liner and Spider gloves were replaced with a headband and biking gloves.
I'm also looking at getting a new helmet, I really like the Nutcase helmets and hope to purchase one of those real soon. They have less ventilation which I hope will make it warmer and they come in some really fun designs. And while I'm looking at a new helmet I'll be checking out new gloves too. The pair I have work great for skiing but my hands don't move enough on the bike and my fingers were pretty cold this morning. I plan to check out those claw gloves. I had a great hand warming idea on my ride home today that if it works could be a great new invention for us bike commuters. I'm not saying anything at the moment but the idea has been formed in my mind now I just need to figure out how to bring it to life.
I've checked into studded tires and I'm not sure if I'll be able to get them to fit my rims. My tires are 700cX 28 and the smallest studded tires I've been able to find were 32's I don't know if they will work or not. The young gentleman at the bike shop thought they might. I guess I'll find out after the snow starts to fly. In the mean time the Armadillo Nimbus tires will have to do. If all else fails I can ride my mountain bike when it snows, I know I can get studded tires for that one.
Well, that's all for today...
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