| (Long Distance) Ramblings |
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I like to ride my bicycle - for long distances. I have earned the California Triple Crown and finished the Furnace Creek 508. My goals include qualifying for RAAM and ...(read the blog to find out). "The bicycle has a soul. If you are able to love it as it deserves, it will give you emotions you will never forget." "Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride."
"The important decisions in my life I make while out riding my bike."
"Pain is temporary, quitting lasts forever.” Lance Armstrong
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Saturday, December 30, 2006
I was stupid today.Todays Saturday Century was just 15 miles long. Joanne and I left our house riding our Cannondale Tandem and headed toward Steam Heat Coffee House. The sky was clear and the air was cold, but the worst of it was that the roads were frosty. Tom Wood and Bob Dichtel were enjoying coffee inside Steam Heat when we arrived. They warmly greeted our cold bodies and wished us well when we left shortly after 8:00 am. The ride out to Cordon Road was not bad, but as we came to one stop light, the rear wheel of the tandem began to slid out. It wasn't bad, it was almost fun. This was our first warning. Next, as we came to a stop in the left turn lane to Turner Rd, the wheel almost slid out from underneath us again but this time it was not fun, we just about went down. We came to a safe stop with rapid heart beats. This was our second warning that we should have paid attention to. But foolishly, we did not. As we climbed up prison hill, our rear tire started to slip with every pedal stroke. Nothing serious, but it was our third and last warning. We crested prison hill and began the descent. I knew it was slippery, so I tried to keep the speed very slow. But, the tandem wanted to pick up speed. I knew we were in trouble. As we came up to Gath Rd, and I decided to turn onto it so we could stop on a level piece of road. But, the front wheel of the tandem hit a small rut in the road and we were down, and down hard. Joanne and I picked ourselves up off the road and moved out of the path of traffic. Sever people stopped and offered assistance, but we declined as we thought we could continue. But as I worked on the chain, we realized just how icy it was. We saw several cars almost spin off of the road. Then, we began to realized just how hurt we were. Joanne sholder began to be painful and my ankle started to hurt. So we called good friend Martin Doerfler for rescue. Martin took us home and then we were off to an three hour visit to urgent care. The bottom line is that Joanne has a broken clavicle and is off of the bike for four to six weeks. I was not so badly injured. I have a sprained ankle and I can not ride for two weeks. We will both be able to return to work next week. I am lucky that my wife and stoker loves me and does not hold me responsible. She says we were both stupid. Friday, December 29, 2006
Training UpdatesChristmas Eve Miles: 54.83 December Miles: 332.01 Rides in the Rain: 10 Since all of our Christmas shopping was done, Joanne and I took the Cannondale Tandem out for a spin. We did both of Sunday's Salem Bicycle Club's rides, and got just a bit wet in the morning. But, by the afternoon, it was a very good day to ride. Tuesday Miles: 31.52 December Miles: 362.84 Rides in the Rain: 10 I joined the group from Scott's Cycle and did the Windor Island Loop. the group had two flats so our progress was somewhat slow. Wednesday Miles: 16.24 December Miles: 379.08 Rides in the Rain: 10 Three of us did the Salem Bicycle Club night ride. No wind. No rain. No troubles. Thursday Miles: 34.46 December Miles: 413.54 Rides in the Rain: 10 Scott's Thursday Night ride. Clear and cold! The Next EventMy next event is the Spring Death Valley Double on March 3, 2007. I have done this event several times before, each time a bit fast than the last. My best time is 14:19. Yes, I have set a goal. I hope to finish in less than 13 hours. To meet my goal, I have created a training plan. As you can see, it is somewhat agressive. Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Keizer Christmas LightsMiles: 8.6 December Total: 277.18 Rides in the Rain: 9 Joanne, Sal and I rode the Miracle of Christmas, colloquially known as the Keizer Christmas Lights, route tonight. The forecast for tonight has not been very positive, and this held down the number of people who usally join us on this ride. But the forecasters were wrong; we had warm temperatures, very light rain and no wind to speak of. All in all, it was a very nice ride. As we rode through the neighborhood, we marvelled at the decorations. We saw thousands of lights in amusing formations. Very Nice. Again this year Jackie helped out by hosted a "rest stop" complete with hot chocolate and Christmas cookies. Yum and yes I ate way to many of them. RouteSlip.com map. Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Solo Night RideMiles: 23.25 December Total: 268.58 Rides in the Rain: 8 I intended to join the Scott's Cycles group, but I was ten minutes late and missed the start. I guess that they headed north, so that is the way I went. I never caught them as they had too much of a head start, so this is my first solo night ride. And since there was a light rain shower, I get to count it as a Ride in the Rain. I had a good ride, but I am scared that vehicles will not see me. I have two red blinking lights visible from the rear. One is on my saddle bag and the other is on my CamelBack. I also have two white lights visible from the front. One is a three led CatEye light mounted on my handlebars set to blink. The other is a NiteRider Flamethower attached to my helmet. This is my light the road in front of me light. But, since it is mounted to my helmet, it lights up what I am looking at. So, I can "flash" any cars that may pull out in front of me. This does make me feel a bit safer. RouteSlip.com map. Saturday, December 09, 2006
Saturday in the HillsMiles: 84.96 December Miles: 245.33 Rides in the Rain: 7 I did a long ride in the hills of east and then south of Salem with Pat K. (who loves to ride in the hills). We did three hills. The first was Gibson Rd/Orchard Heights. The we rode out to Dallas and did Fishback hill (which I did with Mark J. just last week. Finally, we finished with Liberty Rd. So, my HAC4 reported 3806 feet of elevation gain, while routeslip.com calculated 4473 feet. The way my legs feel, I believe the higher number is correct. I get to increase my "Rides in the Rain". While most of the afternoon was dry, the morning had several showers and I got a bit wet. Friday, December 08, 2006
Weekday UpdateMonday Martin injured his knee working on this latest project so I got to work out at the gym all by myself. Instead of lifting, I decided to return to the stairclimber. I did a 35 minute workout that included four 3:20 intervals - 3:20 at high heart rate and then 3:20 at recovery pace time four. This was very hard, but I finished all four intervals. Tuesday I had a migraine attach at 12:30 pm, just as I was looking at some Rolf Wheels at Rivercity Bicycles. I sat in my car in their parking lot for 30 minutes before returning to work (I was at lunch). I managed to work through the rest of the day, but my head was pounding in pain. Wednesday Miles: 18.60 December Miles: 121.47 Rides in the Rain: 6 The migraine was still with me when I woke up, but I went off to work none the less. After work, Joanne and I did a night ride in the fog. Jim K. and Mike G. joined us as we searched our way through east Salem. It was so foggy, it was difficult to find the road at times. This is not something I would recomend doing. I am not counting this as a ride in the rain, but none the less, we got wet! Thursday Miles: 38.90 December Miles: 160.37 Rides in the Rain: 6 Joined the folks at Scott's Cycles as they headed east to the MacLeay Hill. I felt tired and did not climb well tonight. I was in the first chase group, and we were way behind the lead group. I found a new and interesting site on the web RouteSlip.com. Using Google Maps, this site allows you to create maps and share them. But the cool thing is that you can create a map by import GPS data! Click here to see the Scott's Cycle route. Friday Woke up at 4:35 to be at the gym for 5:00 am Group Power Class. Why? Because I am dedicated, I guess. Sunday, December 03, 2006
Saturday Century - An Honest OneMiles: 102.87 December Miles: 102.87 Winter Rides in the Rain: 6 Ring, Ring. "Hi Mark. Yes, I'm planning on riding tomorrow. I'm planning a sufferfest - riding up and over Orchard Heights over and over again until I reach one hundred miles. What, you don't think that sounds like fun? Well, OK. We will ride to Philomath and back. See you at 8:30. Bye." Ring, Ring "Hi Honey. Say, how many flats do you have to have before you can call for rescue? Three, you say? Good. That's how many I have had." I left my house at 7:45 and rode to Mark's house. The morning sky was very encouraging. I saw blue skies to the north and east but clouds to the south and west. Riding southward, it seemed to me that the blue was expanding and the clouds were receding. This proved to be true as Mark and I rode down Corvallis Road. Just a short distance from the intersection of Springhill Rd, I had my first flat. The rear tire was going soft so we stopped for the repair. We could not find an obvious cause. Yes there were bits of glass in the tire, but nothing that screamed "I'm the one the cause your tire to loose air!" We picked out the glass and replaced the innertube and continued on our way. Just two miles later I felt the rear tire going soft again. Again we inspected the tire and found no obvious cause. Again, we picked out (more) glass and Mark lend me a tube as I was out. Mark said I could return the tube at my convenience . I replied I would as soon as it got a hole. Well, just as we were entering Salem, my rear tire went soft. This time, I called Joanne and she came out and picked me up. I now need to buy Mark a Michelin innertube. In between the flats, we had a really good ride. The sky cleared and we took off some of our cold-weather clothing. Mark said if not for thetempurture, the day could have been in July as the skies were so clear. Perhaps December will be kinder to us.
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