Kids doing Sudoku

Erin had an extra credit assignment for Calculus over the break. She was to complete a Sudoku puzzle using answers from calculus problems. She’d figured out the answers to most of the problems, but Sudoku bores her to tears. Nathan LOVES Sudoku. After struggling with it for 45 minutes, she asked Nathan to help.

I'll let you figure out who was speaking throughout - although I'm always going to be The Voice of Reason.

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This one needs to be a five

Which one?

This one.
Which one?

This one.

Ok…wait, it doesn’t have to be a five. It could be a five.

No, it’s a five because that’s the answer to the problem.

But in Sudoku it doesn’t have to be a five.

It has to be a five for this Sudoku, right now, today.

Fine!

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Two.

Where?

Right here.

Fine!

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This one is either a 3, 4 , 5, 6, 7 or 8.

Thank you.

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What?

Potayto!

Potahto!

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This could be a 1.

Awesome.

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Pencil tapping, tapping, tapping, tapping, tapping..

NATHAN!!!

…Is cool.

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Got ‘em Coach! That’s a nine!!

You are such a geek.

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I’m not sure if that works or not. Wait.

So why did you write it in?

I’m trying it.

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This could also be a nine.

Which one?

The middle one?

Yeah.

Really?

No.

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You can’t just do that and check.

Yes I can. There’s no rule.

But, it’s not the way you’re supposed to…

I asked you for help on the stupid thing, just help me for Heaven’s sake!

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This one’s a 2.

I know.

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I think I got it.

I’m still going to finish it.

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I think the 3 and the 1 are interchangeable here.

That can’t be!

Yes it can. It’s the way it is.

That really can’t be.

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I think it is that you can put either a 3 or a 1 there and here.

Told you.

There can’t be two solutions, tho.

There has to be.

Voice of Reason: Do you want to check it online?

CAN YOU DO THAT?

Oh my GOD. I could have done that an hour ago?

The MS 72

We rode on Sunday. Erin and I started out together and we dragged those heavy mountain bikes up hills and against wind. I can't imagine how we could have done any of it without all the training. We passed a lot of people walking -- the hills just kept coming and coming and coming! Erin's favorite part was Suicide Hill where she clocked 34mph. I glanced once at my spedometer going down that hill and when I saw it said 31 -- I applied the brakes. It was truly terrifying! (Erin feels differently! But then again, she loves rollercoasters!)



Nathan and I paired up after the second rest stop (he'd had to SAG to that rest stop because he'd broken his chain right before Suicide Hill). He has the lightest bike, weighs the least and has the most energy of the four of us -- so, how did I end up with him??? He chattered away as if he were sitting on the couch next to me instead of pedaling up an incline. (Erin had patiently explained to me earlier in the day that "hills" were things that you also rode down....inclines just keep going up.) He kindly didn't leave me behind -- even when I begged him to.



After another mishap with Nathan's chain after the last rest stop, we headed into Austin as a family. The hills in town are tough to walk up -- even tougher to pedal up -- and even tougher still if you are told by a uniformed officer that it's not your turn through the intersection (immediately before the hill). As we crossed the finish line in front of the capitol building, Nathan and I held hands and Erin and Stephen held hands. As Erin and Stephen passed over the chip mat, the announcer called out their names. THAT was really cool!



We didn't get home until 11:30 PM and each of us has spent the whole day trying to get out of our own ways. I suspect that Stephen worked a nap in somewhere, because he seems far more chipper than he should. I am sleepy more than achy -- I rarely stay up so late, much less after such a busy day!

Rain Rain Go Away

We're in a holding pattern today. The first day of the MS15o was cancelled due to the very heavy rains along the ride route. Now we're checking the MS Society webpage every ten minutes to see if there's new information about tomorrow's ride. We're expecting (hoping) to ride from La Grange to Austin tomorrow.

I've registered for a second MS 150 May 2-3 because I can't imagine not doing a whole 2 day ride after training this season. Erin may come as well -- but my poor Natie will be stuck at home that weekend finishing a project for US History.

Onward!

Saturday, April 11

It’s week 12! That means it’s time for the last training ride of the MS150 season!! Stephen had promised us that it would be short and flat and easy. (Traditionally, it has been short and flat and easy.) But, since it’s 2009, it had to be different, didn’t it?

We started at Manvel High School, down on the south side of the city. It was flat, I’ll say that. But, of course, there was some wind to fight. Nothing was nearly as bad as we’ve battled all season. It was long – 52 miles. And I can’t exactly say it was easy, given the chip and seal pavement and the bumpy roads.

However, we had a tremendous time! The kids were in rare form – for the last 20 miles we rode all together (we’d been in pairs before that time -- Erin and I saw a guinea hen chasing a truck when we were riding together and we just giggled about that for another 10 miles.) and we sang all the silly songs we could think of to pass the time. We had a pirate theme for a little while – (Selections from Muppet Treasure Island, The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything, etc) and then we sang some Raffi songs and some Tom Chapin songs, then finished up with some selections from You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown. This along with my new bell/compass (which doesn’t work very accurately) kept us noisy and happy and plugging along.

Now we head into the last week. We won’t ride our bikes at all until Saturday morning when we head out to Austin. I can’t believe it’s almost here!

Thursday, April 9

I tend to keep my Thursday morning rides pretty close to the vest. They count as alone time. It’s peaceful and they’re all mine. But there was a news story about a biker being shot at on my regular route and that kind of gave me the willies. I’ve always felt safe on this trail – but I didn’t want to take any chances so close to the big ride. So, I invited my friend Jane out with me (we figured who would shoot two middle aged women!). We met along the trail and rode out to the skate park. Then she rode back with me to Wilcrest and then went home from there.

We logged about 25 miles – without a rest stop! We were particularly proud of that. We also thought it was pretty cool that both of us were thinking something like “Oh, 25 miles is easy – we’ll still have plenty of day left!” And that we did! There was still enough juice in Jane to sell concessions at the baseball game and enough left in me to teach my night class. Aren’t we AMAZING!

Sunday -- April 5.

Stephen talked me out of the Space Race by mentioning the W word. Instead, we logged 50 miles out to Fry Road and back. We saw two snakes (one might have been poisonous – but I was not slowing down to check his ID, the other just looked like a garden snake), a turtle and a whole bunch of other people who thought this was a good idea.

There was plenty of W. But we dragged each other along when it was difficult. We didn’t get over 12 mph – my goal is to get to 13mph before the big ride, but it was fun nonetheless.
The kids didn’t ride with us because they’d already ridden 50 miles with Stephen the day before while I was in Austin. (Yes – he loves me enough to ride two 50 mile routes in two days – what a guy!)

Exactly what I needed!

It was RAINING this morning when I was supposed to be riding, so I stayed home and graded papers until the weather cleared. I took off at 2:00 PM into the headwind (24 mph sustained, gust up to 39 mph!). I averaged 11.4 mph out to the skate park (12.5 miles – counting every single inch, let me tell you!) and 12.8 mph overall. Once I turned around at the skate park and headed back east, I SOARED! My maximum speed was 22 mph. What fun. It was EXACTLY what I needed. Now I’m ready for the Space Race on Sunday.

Sagging

We had a wonderful Spring Break in South Padre Island. But we came home kind of rocky. All four of us ended up very sick – Erin in the emergency room for IV fluids, Stephen and I incapacitated for ~48 hours each, Nathan falling asleep mid-conversation. So, training kind of took a back seat after Spring Break. The pediatrician said that Nathan absolutely could NOT ride his bike last weekend. Erin had a band commitment in Dallas (they ACED the festival!). So, Stephen and I headed off to Chappell Hill for the “Head For the Hills Bicycle Tour”.

The Chappell Hill ride is held off to the end of the training season because it’s so difficult. The hills just keep coming, with very rare occurrences of flat stretches on which you can just pedal and let the Zen of the bicycle keep you going. Of course, since this is the 2009 training season, we had to factor in wind as well. And, since we weren’t yet miserable enough – it was 40 degrees when we started. (There’s no excuse for 40 degrees in Texas unless it’s Christmas morning, if you ask me.)

There were three rides, 24, 44 and 64 miles. We’d planned to do 44, but after the first 7 I was suggesting that we stick with the short route. Stephen pooh-poohed that idea. We’d driven an hour to get to the start, seemed silly to ride so short and then just go home. So, we forged on.
Stephen checks the wind speed via a weather history website when we return from each ride. The worst recorded gust during this ride was 32 mph. I remember that one, actually. I was on my way up a hill and it hit me in the face. Or, perhaps that was the one that nearly knocked me over as it hit me full on broadside. I’m reasonably certain that it wasn’t the one that helped me cover one 2 mile stretch in a very short period of time – because there was only one of those stretches and only one of those gusts.

I sagged the last 7miles. I was flat out done. I was useless the rest of the day. My arms hurt far more than my legs did from keeping the bike on the road in the crosswind.

I’m riding alone tomorrow morning. The forecast is for 20-30 mph winds from the west. I’ll plod pretty much due east for the first half of the ride and then soar home.

91 miles in 2 days!

The Lonestar Chapter of the MS Society really wants us to end right in front of the Capital Building in Austin, TX. It’s really a moving spot – I’ve cheered from the sidelines many times – so I can sort of understand why the Lonestar MS 150 is really 100 miles on Saturday, April 18 and 82 miles on Sunday, April 19…182 miles.

I’ve been told that if you can complete ½ the distance for your “big” ride (or run…but let’s not even think about that yet!), then you can assume that you can make the big ride. So, we set out during our vacation in South Padre Island to ride 91 miles in 2 days. And we did it!

We rode north from where we’re staying to the end of the island road, 10 miles. Then we rode back (20 miles). Then we rode out and back again (40 miles). And then we tooled around the island until we got to 45 miles on Tuesday and 46 miles on Wednesday.

Erin would have preferred to ride around the island so that she could watch the college boys more. Nathan would have preferred more opossum sightings (there was one live one and one dead one sighted). Stephen would have preferred not being stuck with an allergy attack on Tuesday night. I would have preferred fewer dump trucks and sand on the road. But…we did it!!

The scenery was stark and lovely (at least the first couple times it was…). The north part of the island is undeveloped, so the dunes roll and roll from bay to gulf. Occasionally the sand “drifts” across the road – just like snow does! And riding a bike through a 2” ‘drift’ of sand is just like driving a car into a snow drift…a little scary the first couple times, but as long as you don’t swerve or stop pedaling, you’ll get through it ok. There was road construction all the way up the island, so at times we were sharing the road with dump trucks, 12 wheeled tractors, back-hoes and various and sundry spring break kids driving up to see the sights. At one point, Nathan and I were “leading” a convoy of breakers through a construction zone. We “poured it on” and got up to 20 mph so that the cars behind us didn’t get stuck for too long.

We’ve eaten SO much! We really thought we’d tired Nathan out – but we haven’t…although that sort of remains to be seen. Yesterday he had a two hour nap and two Dr. Peppers with dinner. Today, we’re not going to let that happen. I’ll let you know how that works out!

Rain

Texas needs rain, so I really can’t complain that my Thursday morning ride was rained out this morning. I am anxious enough about being “ready” for the big ride in April that I didn’t dare to skip a day of training entirely. So, I reserved a bike in a spinning class at the gym where we’re members.

Now, I’m no stranger to this gym. Three days a week, I go in around 7AM and work my tail off lifting weights, doing sit ups (240 yesterday!) and rolling around on the stability balls. And Stephen was pretty surprised to see that I’ve logged about 100 more miles than he has throughout this training season on the “real” bike. So, I’m no slouch.

But I was completely unprepared for the level of exertion the spinning class demanded! It was billed as a “Spin-Core” class which means that we’d spend 45 minutes on the bike and then 15 minutes doing core exercises. I was actually bemoaning “only” 45 minutes on the bike – how boring.

I got a little orientation to the bikes and to the class and then the sadist – er, instructor got on her bike and started coaching. After a 5 minute warm up she started telling us to “add a gear” about every minute to simulate a hill. No biggie…it’s just that this “hill” was about 5 minutes UP. At the top she allowed us to drop a gear or two to simulate going downhill– but there’s no such thing as coasting on these bikes. If you stop pedaling, the pedals keep spinning and you have two options: fall off (I didn’t like that option) or start pedaling again. So, I kept pedaling and the next thing I knew she was telling us to start up another hill.

About 15 minutes into the class we had our first set of “position 3” intervals where we stood as we pedaled for 1-2 minutes and then sat back down on the saddle for 1 minute. I did two intervals and had to sit the remaining 3. For the last 10 minutes of the class, it was stand for 45 seconds, sit for 15 seconds, with one minute of rest in between intervals. I did one of those. I figured since I was no longer just perspiring, but had sweat dripping from my face onto my hands, I was working plenty hard. I offered up a heartfelt prayer of thanks when the 45 minutes were up. The instructor estimated that we’d gone about 18 miles. That’s about 1.5 times as fast as I usually go.

The core stuff at the end was a walk in the park. The only move she did that I couldn’t keep up on was the ball pass. That one’s pretty tough and I’ll get better at it over a couple weeks.

One of the men in the class told me that I had to come back and take another class tomorrow and one on Saturday because “if you don’t, you’ll never come back.” That’s a chance I’ll just have to take, I think.

Been a while.

I think I’ve ridden three times without writing anything. I conquered the bridge at Wilcrest the very next weekend. We had decided to skip the organized training ride that weekend since it was cold (with a wind chill!). We waited until it warmed up and rode out to GBSP (I don’t like to say the name of the park – I love the park, don’t much like the person it’s named for!). It was just me and Stephen and Nathan since Erin had devoted most of her Saturday to volunteering and thus was stuck at home doing homework on Sunday. It was kind of a boring ride, really. Out and back. Wind (of course) on the northbound and westbound legs. The biggest challenge really was the bridge.

The next Thursday I rode out again and accomplished 28 miles. I have decided that I enjoy these Thursday morning rides so much that I plan to keep on doing them even after April – I imagine Stephen is giggling to himself as he reads this – he doesn’t think much of biking for about 3 or 4 months after the MS 150 each year. We’ll have to see. My late class meets on Thursday nights, so I can justify going in to work late – I may even agree to have a night class every semester to make this happen. Or…maybe not!

So, on Saturday, all four of us got to go out together. The ride started in New Waverly, TX – about an hour north of us. We loaded the kids up, they fell asleep and we drove up north. We had originally planned to “go long” – that means we would choose the long route (52 miles) vs. the short route (32 miles) – but a 25 mph wind from the south (we’d be heading right into it for the last 10 miles) made us change our minds. We rode uphill, downhill (18 miles an hour!!), uphill again, downhill again (21 miles an hour!!) uphill again, downhill again (24 miles an hour – yikes!) and just for good measure, uphill again and downhill again (OH MY GOSH!! 28 miles an hour!!!). Nathan’s new bike has turned him into a bit of a speed demon – he just flew up and down the hills like they were nothing!

Once we turned into the headwind, we filed in behind the Engineer (Stephen) as he dragged our wimpy butts up (7 miles an hour) and down a few more hills against the wind. Erin’s knees were really hurting by the end of the ride – but we did it! This weekend we have to choose between 42 miles up and down hills or 52 miles up and down hills. Doesn’t seem like much of a choice for me. I’ll let you know what we choose!

My first crash

I am completely unscathed. I don’t think I have a bruise or a scratch or anything like either. I did get scared. But, I learned something.

It’s a narrow walk area. When I walk there with the dogs I keep them tightly near me for fear that Bailey will suddenly decide that she needs the stick in the middle of the road and tear off after it. So, when I found my front tire a little too close to the edge, I over corrected and rammed into the guard rail. It was the correct direction to over correct into. It smushed my front brake a bit so that it’s not releasing properly. Everything else is just fine.

I have decided that I’m going to walk across the bridge at Wilcrest for the rest of my bicycling life. I’ve always been afraid of it and now I have good reason to be afraid of it. So, there you have it.

Toughest ride ever (for me)

Despite the weather forecast (50% chance of rain), Erin, Stephen and I headed out on Saturday morning to Cat Spring, Texas. (Nathan had his last weekend Band responsibility for the season.) First we dropped Stephen’s car off at the McDonald’s in Sealy. He had a Boy Scout campout obligation for Saturday afternoon – Sunday afternoon. Then we headed up to the Cat Spring Social club. We parked in a field and made our preparations. It wasn’t terribly cold, but it wasn’t exactly Texas warm either. We all started out in our tights, jackets and various under-layers.

At the first rest stop, we all peeled off our top layers. This was our first “real” hill ride. The trail out by Buffalo Bayou doesn’t count. Those hills are short, steep and over within 6 miles from home. So, by 12 miles (since much of it was up and down) we were pretty hot. I’ve attached a map of the ride with the elevation change shown at the bottom. We used the facilities, ate a couple cookies and a banana and headed back out.

Stephen rode with Erin until the second rest stop – I’d ridden with her for the first leg. I enjoyed being free to set my own pace. During one section (between 20 and 22 miles) I was proud that I didn’t have to shift off my middle chain ring for a pretty long climb – about 1.5 miles. Of course, there was also a period where I was less pleasantly surprised when I realized I was in the wrong gear to make it up a much steeper incline. That was tough. I was thinking at that time that since we were in East Texas and it seemed that we’d been going uphill an awful lot that we should really have been at “the top” wherever that was. I was wrong.

So, we met back up at the second rest stop. While there, I heard someone say “The rest of the ride is downhill except for the uphill part.” I looked around for who had spoken such words of wisdom so that I could let the air out of his tires. But it wasn’t clear. We had another banana, a couple more cookies and set back out. Stephen and Erin had pulled ahead of me. I was beginning to feel some regret about pushing so hard on the middle of the ride. Then it started to rain. At first it was just a few drops here and there, easily ignored. But, any of you who have been in Texas knows that that kind of rain isn’t long lasting. About 10 miles from the finish line the sky opened up. Shortly after that point, I passed Erin and Stephen pulled over and putting their coats back on. Stephen advised me that I didn’t want to get cold (when, oh when will I learn to listen to him??).

I seriously thought about sagging once I was good and wet. But, when I stopped to put my coat back on I realized exactly how much wetter I would get if I were to stand still and wait for a SAG wagon. I decided to forge ahead. Occasionally, the rain would subside, which is what made it possible for me to pull off and wait for Stephen and Erin as we made our second to last turn in toward the start point. That was about 5 miles out…all uphill. And inexplicably, against a driving headwind – and…more heavy rain.

We pulled back in to the Cat Spring Social Club parking lot and the sun came out. We wrung out our clothing, covered our bike seats and changed our clothes (as best we could). We had a barbeque lunch and sent Stephen off to camp with the Boy Scouts. Erin and I spent the rest of the day trying to get out of our own ways. It was probably quite comical from someone else’s viewpoint as two, reasonably intelligent women spent 40 minutes inside Target trying to find a notebook suitable for a Pre-Cal project. A trip to Petsmart was equally amusing (from the outside, at least). Poor Erin had to babysit some of her favorite charges – boys who like to wrestle – while I sat on the couch and allowed my brain to turn to mush. I slept like a rock until Riley decided I was late for our walk (at 5:45 AM) and barked until I got up and let him out.
http://www.conocophillipsbikeclub.org/maps/5_2009.pdf
Next week, we’re riding more hills. I’m hoping without the rain and the wind.

Sunday Ride for the Girls

On Friday evening, we decided that we didn’t want to ride on Saturday morning. The weather forecast called for rain and cold wind. So, we ran around all day on Saturday. (Nathan had a commitment with his baseball team to prepare the field for play this season. So, he couldn’t have ridden with us anyway.)

We planned on riding on Sunday morning. But we woke up to a drizzly rain and gray skies. We waited it out and saddled up around 10. There was wind. Nathan’s bike has not grown with him. His knees ride closer to his chin every week, it seems. He and Stephen turned around and headed back home at Highway 6. Erin and I continued on toward Fry Road – a repeat of the ride that Stephen and Nathan and I had done last week. No dog-bike accidents this week. Just more wind and a tired girl who hadn’t ridden for two weeks.

We slogged it out. I think, in the end, that I didn’t hydrate well. It seemed as if every push of the pedal was hard this time. But, we made it home with 40 more miles behind us. I was truly useless the rest of the day. (And I really didn’t have the luxury of being useless!) So, I think my lesson is to focus more on making sure I’m drinking enough water throughout the ride. Stephen has told me that many times, and once again, he’s proven right! Darn it!

My Thursday Morning Rides

On Thursday mornings, I ride alone. Stephen often reminds me when we’re riding together that however far “out” I go, I have to return too! Without his wisdom, I can push myself and ride as far out as I think I can get back from. So, I do. For the last two Thursdays, I’ve ridden from our house to Highway 6, which is roughly 9.75 miles away. Then I turn around and head back. Once I get back into the north side of our neighborhood, I loop around the neighborhood enough to get my odometer all the way to 20 miles.

When I get back to the house, I drink a glass of Ovaltine, shower and take myself off to work. The first time I did it, I barely made it through my evening class. But I did better last week. I’m planning on adding 5 miles to my route this week and seeing if I can break the average 13 mph mark.

I’ll let you know how it turns out!

On our own this week

So, this week, we had a choice to make. We could repeat the ride we’d done three weeks in a row or we could make up our own ride. The choice was pretty easy for me. I was bored with Katy. I think it was also pretty easy for Stephen. I explained to Nathan that we wouldn’t have SAG support or rest stops. He informed me that we didn’t need SAG support. All right then. We mapped a 20 mile out and back route from our house out to Fry Road (which is in Katy – but it’s not as far out as all the other riders were going to be – and it was on the hike and bike trail that we like so much.

Erin was fighting a bad cold and had an opportunity to attend an AP test prep session for Biology. So, this week, it was just me and Stephen and Nathan. Nathan had last ridden on Wednesday night when Stephen and he did some interval training in the neighborhood. I’d last ridden on Thursday morning before work (which made for a very long Thursday). While Stephen and I had logged 36 miles last weekend, Nathan had been playing baseball. So, his longest ride so far had been 28 miles. This weekend we were hoping to do 40 miles.

We set out from the house around 8AM. We rode up through the neighborhood and onto the bike trail. On Thursday, I’d gone out as far as Highway 6, a 10 mile out and back route. We continued on past the dam at Highway 6 and paralleled I-10 for a few miles. Then we headed south into George Bush (the less disastrous one) Park. This was the windy leg and Stephen and I worked to keep Nathan protected and spinning along as best we could. Stephen really did most of the work on this leg. I don’t think I was in front more than a mile or so. Then we headed back west. We rested at the FFPS soccer fields, where Nathan had some of his custom-made trail mix (cashews, plain m&ms and goldfish). I was glad I had my camelback (a purchase a couple weeks back). The day was the warmest we’d had for riding thus far. All four of us were in single layers by the time the ride was over.

Once we got out to Fry Road, we turned back and headed toward home. We witnessed a bike-dog accident shortly into our return trip that was SO preventable that it made me boil. The dog was on a leash attached to a kid (maybe 10, no helmet) on a bike. As the cyclist approached, the dog saw something on the other side of the trail that just had to be investigated. So, the leash tripped up the cyclist and she went pinwheeling. She ended up with a flat, a very sore leg and a REALLY achy week ahead. I confess that I scolded the child’s mother when she appeared.

When we got back to the north-south leg, the wind was at our backs, so I pushed Nathan to ride in front of me and told him he had to go between 15 and 18 mph for the whole leg. He LOVED it. Unfortunately at the end of that leg, when the wind was on our side and pretty strong, we still had about 13 miles to go before we got home. So, we reorganized and Stephen took the brunt of the wind for the team.

We made it home some time around noon. It was a great ride. Pretty scenery, (great company) and 40 miles accomplished. Nathan has another baseball commitment this weekend, so it’s Erin and Stephen and me out in Sealy, Texas. The long ride is 41 miles. We’re planning on doing that one. The short one (30 miles) is for wimps! Shoot, now I’ve set myself up, haven’t I?

Week 2 of the CP training series

This week just Stephen and I rode. Nathan had a “Marathon Baseball Game” (100 innings in 6 hours). Erin had Solo and Ensemble competition. So, they got to sleep in and Stephen and I took off from the house at 6:30. We rode from Katy Mills Mall again (I’m getting a bit bored with the routes, but I really like the access to real restrooms and shopping before and after).

I’m going to have to just get used to wind. Stephen has patiently explained that if we’re going to end up where we start, then we’re probably going to have to fight against the wind at some point of every ride. (This will not be a problem in April, because we DON’T end up where we start. We end up 182 miles away from where we start.) Of course, now that he’s explained it, I’m kind of surprised that I hadn’t already figured that out…

By most measures, however, the wind this week wasn’t too bad. Stephen and I drafted on the east-west leg and I finally got to experience why Nathan likes to ride behind me. I doubt I’ll get as much benefit from riding behind him next weekend, but I think I may make him do it a couple times anyway so that I can show him how hard I’m working to make his little life easier. After the rest stop we had a short trip south and Stephen drafted me for that whole leg.

When we turned onto Route 90 (which, I predict, will be the last leg of every single ride for the whole rest of this training season – I’ve gotten to the point where I remember where the dips in the road are!) the wind was at our backs and we were able to really pour it on. We sped up and sustained a pace of about 16 mph for the last 13 miles.

All in all, we covered 35.77 miles (on my computer – Stephen stole another .5 miles somehow) in 2 hours and 52 minutes. Our average speed was 12.5 mph. I logged these miles on my training log and was pleased to discover that I have covered 200 miles in the month of January between walking dogs and riding the bike! That’s a lot of miles for an old chick!

First Official CP Team Ride

We’d changed our plans multiple times over the course of the week as one thing after another got put on or taken off the weekend schedule. In the end, we decided to wedge a ride in with the Conoco-Phillips Training Team on Saturday morning. The nicest part about training with a team is that there is support on the ride. That means rest stops, Support and Gear (SAG) vehicles, maps and signage. The toughest part about wedging it in to our Saturday is that the kids were both at All-City Band Clinic on Friday night until 9 and then had to report back for final rehearsals and concerts by 1 on Saturday afternoon. They’re young, right?

It had been a gorgeous week (those of you who live in the northeast might want to skip this paragraph). The temperatures had been in the mid to upper 60s all week and there had been sun and blue sky. We awoke Saturday morning to a very blustery, gray 55. The weather station reported sustained winds of 15 mph from the north-north-west, with gusts up to 22. Sigh. We loaded up and headed out anyway. Erin signed us all in as I went and bought Nathan and myself some ear warmers that would fit under our helmets. Then we mounted up and waited for our start wave.

We started in the last wave, Steve and Erin ahead of Nathan and me. We stayed in these pairs for the whole ride. We cruised comfortably right up to the rest stop at 12 miles out. The ride up to that point had been principally west and south. After the rest stop we headed north and into the wind. After about five miles of Nathan complaining about the wind, I advised him to pick a point on the horizon and ride to it. When he got there, he could pick another spot and ride to it. I told him I was riding to the silos ahead of us.

When we got there I said “OK. Now, I’m going to ride to the truck that’s parked in the driveway ahead of us. See it there on the right?”

“Yeah.”

“What’s your point on the horizon?”

“That mailbox.”

“Which one?”

“The one we just passed.”

“Nathan…”

“Ok, that reflector.”

“Which one? Ah, the one right here. Ok for you, pal. I’m riding to the truck.”

I rode on. He followed me. He likes me to be in front because he can get a little wind protection. Once we got to the truck, he informed me that he’d already picked his next spot on the horizon. Me. Considering I was always in front, I thought that would be pretty good!

We rode 28 miles (8 of it against a 15 mph wind). The temperature never rose over 55. Everyone keeps telling us that the wind in April is “usually” out of the south east, so it pushes us to Austin. God, I hope so!

Nathan and Me Quick 18 miles

I am SO mean! Nathan was camping this weekend with his Boy Scout troop. So, since there was no school today, I suggested (perhaps “demanded” might be a better word) that he and I could put some miles in this afternoon. We left the house at 3:30 and rode out to Highway 6 (roughly 9.5 miles). Of course (as seems to be my predilection) there was a headwind. Of course, the nice part about this was that the headwind was worst on our way OUT! I think this is a much better arrangement than headwind on the way back home. I’m looking for the phone number to call to make that happen ALL the time.
We plodded out to Highway 6 – it wasn’t really hard, but it wasn’t exactly easy either. One hill ate Nathan’s lunch and I downshifted WAY too early for another one so that my legs were like rubber by the time I got midway up it! But, when we turned around we SAILED back home. We rode about 19 miles in an hour and 47 minutes and got home in time for the last of his long weekend homework and dinner!
Stephen got back home from Florida last night. He was pulling up to the house after a long day of work when we pulled up. He was suitably impressed that we’d accomplished so many miles in an afternoon. He offered some great advice about refueling after a ride and we downed some pasta and a lot of water!
I imagine I might be a bit sore tomorrow, but in the end it was a great ride and we’re ready for the next ride on Sunday this weekend!

Erin and Me 22 miles!

This week (Saturday) it was Erin and me riding the beginner ride! She’s a good coach and she was motivated by the promise of a girls’ night when I got home on Friday night. By the time I’d dropped Nathan off and picked up the Chinese, Erin had prepped both my bike and hers and packed her bag. We ate dinner and watched “The Notebook” and went to bed pretty early (especially for a girls’ night!).
We hit the road in plenty of time. We were dressed for pretty cool temps. Both of us had three layers of tops and our leggings. She advised me to wear my full fingered gloves on TOP of my riding gloves (the opposite of what Stephen recommends…hmmmm, the mutiny continues) so that I could take them off more easily if I got too warm.
Once again, the wind was with us on the way out. I need to start paying attention to the basic earth science fact that if the wind is blowing from the south when we’re headed north, IT doesn’t turn around with us at the rest stop! So, we tootled north from Brookshire, TX to Monaville, TX. The best part was coasting down some long twisty hills. We think that we may have passed the farm where we got our Bailey dog three years ago. It looked familiar – but I’m famous for not knowing where I am in space, so it’s entirely possible we were 40 miles away from where I thought we were – or right exactly where I thought we were – it’s anybody’s guess.
At the rest stop (11 miles out), we stopped, drank some water and ate some PowerBar (I will eventually get used to that flavor). Then we started peeling off layers. I took off one of my shirts and Erin took off her jacket. We both took off our full-fingered gloves…and then we headed back into the wind. Good heavens – I never knew there was so much wind in Texas!
The trip back was pretty tough. Remember those long twisty hills? They were going the other way on the way back (I know, earth science). And the wind. I swear that once, just as I started up a hill, the wind slapped me in the face. I made it to the top of the hill, but my knees were killing me when I did! Definitely need to work on the hill management part of this whole training gig.
But, in the end, we logged 22 miles on the bikes. We were tired and a bit wind-burned. Erin had a date to get ready for and I had laundry to do and groceries to buy. So…we headed back home. I dragged for a good part of the day, actually. But everything got accomplished. I even had enough energy left over on Sunday to clean up the front yard. We got new trees to replace the ones that Ike destroyed and the rest of the yard looked awful in comparison to the nice trees and mulch, etc.

Beginner Ride

Nathan and I had our first solo training ride on Saturday January 10. The day dawned warm and muggy. It was 79 degrees when we left the driveway. I think we were both kind of nervous about going solo, but it was a short ride. As we drove west to the starting point, the sky grew Wizard of Oz gray. We agreed that if it was pouring, we wouldn’t even get out of the car (chickens, yes.) But it only rained a little and we shortly discovered that what we were observing was the edge of a dry cold front. The thermometer on my rear-view mirror read 76. Then 75. Then 73. Then 69. Then 64. Then 62 by the time we arrived at the start point. When we got out of the car, we were both happy that Stephen had taught us to take EVERY piece of bicycle clothing we owned on every single ride. Nathan hurriedly put his bike tights on. I added a long sleeved tee-shirt. We both found full finger gloves.
After we were well turned out, we signed in for the ride and listened attentively to a mentor rider who explained the rules of the road and the basics of safety when riding in a group. Nathan and I agreed to ride two abreast for as much of the ride as we could because it would be more fun and the mentor rider said the shoulder was wide enough and the traffic was light enough, we’d be ok.
(See, don’t we look attentive?)
We started out in the third “peloton”. It really wasn’t a peloton because less than ½ of us knew what we were doing. It was just a bunch of us leaving the starting spot together. Apparently there’s a rule about the fastest riders leaving first and the slowest riders leaving last…seems backwards to me, but nobody asked for my opinion on the matter. The ride was simple enough. South for about 7 miles on one road, turn around and take the same road north for 7 miles, ending where we’d begun. I crammed the map in the back pocket of my jacket. Didn’t think we’d need that much. Nathan noticed that the map had phone numbers on it also in case we needed to call someone in an emergency. I sent a quick prayer heavenward that that would not be necessary.
So, we headed south. It was so easy! We averaged around 14 mph and got up to 20 mph a few times. What a rush! We got down to the bottom of the ride for the rest stop (who needs a rest stop for a 14 mile ride??) and took a quick bathroom trip (me) and snack stop (Nathan). All refreshed we headed the bikes back north into a headwind that some people estimated was 12 mph. We shifted down. We shifted down again. We shifted down again. Nathan pulled in behind me to see if I blocked the wind from him any. Not much. And we plodded on. We averaged about 8 mph on the way back, but there were lots of times when my speedometer read 3 mph and 2 mph. It was really tough.
(Setting off)
When we finished we decided two things. First, we definitely deserved a Starbucks run. Second, there is no way any subsequent ride could be as grueling as this one had been…it’s not like we’re going to ride 182 miles in two days or anything!