Ten ways to tell that it might be too hot to ride your bike:
1. The bunnies aren’t out in THP…and the two you do see look like they’re panting.
2. You find yourself racing to the top of the hill because there’s a little island of shade at the top of it.
3. You consider, and not just for a moment, sitting down on the toilets in the park – they just might be cool.
4. When you stop and are suddenly aware of how much you’ve been sweating because it begins to drip down your arms and legs like you’re standing in the rain!
5. When your husband dowses you with water from his water bottle, you don’t threaten him with eternal abstinence…you ask him to do it again!
6. And then you scold him for wasting his water and make him fill his water bottle up again at the next drinking fountain.
7. You cheer when there’s a crosswind, your true nemesis in more temperate times.
8. You don’t worry about your legs “getting cold” when you stop for more than 5 minutes.
9. The ice and water you started the ride with are soup warm when you get to the 20-mile mark.
10. You spend the rest of the day thinking about the things you ought to be accomplishing and accomplishing none of them…oh, wait…I do that after cold weather rides too!
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Walking my old man.
Riley’s got a tumor on his elbow. It’s apparently not painful – he still has a lot of joy in him as he trots around the house or teases Bailey with a toy. But, it does take up space in his joint, so he limps. This has slowed him down on our walks so much that we’ve been leaving him home so that I can reach a cardio heart rate and so that Bailey can get tired enough to be tolerable.
Leaving him home breaks my heart. He watches us leave from the kitchen and I wonder what’s in his mind. I also worry that he’ll get broader in the beam than he already is (which is considerable). I’ve done my best to make sure he knows I still love him. He’s getting more combing and more scratches behind his ears. I’ve taken to looking for opportunities that he can join me wherever I am, in the yard, in the bathroom while I shower (I know, I know), following around as I pick up or clean. Stephen and I have even adjusted our work-from-home schedules enough so that there’s rarely more than 2 days in a week where he has to be alone for the whole day.
Still, it didn’t quite feel like enough. So, I started walking him this week again…just for short little trips around the block. It’s been funny to watch him dance around when he sees the leash and trot out to the back gate in such breathless anticipation. He takes off down the driveway like he’s a puppy again. It took me a long time (and another dog) to train Riley to walk on a loose leash. He always used to pull me along at his pace. Once Bailey came along, for reasons I don’t understand, he just started doing it. Bailey rarely pulls on me – unless it’s raining and she thinks we’re headed toward home. But, alone, Riley’s back to his old tricks. At least for the first few houses.
When we get to the end of the driveway, he has to race across the street and smell and mark the ornamental hitching post in my neighbors’ front lawn. On some days the smelling can last for 2 minutes. I feel like a fool standing across the street from my own house holding a leashed dog as he stands and sniffs. Once he’s left his message, we head toward the next house across the street. This house has pine trees. He’s always loved pine fronds and pinecones. When we were in Colorado when he was a puppy he ate bushels full of them. So, he smells the pine needles under the trees and inspects any pinecones that might be lying around. He doesn’t pick them up – that’s a chore Bailey’s taken over. And then he trots over to the third house to the west and wanders through their beautifully maintained flowerbeds. He’ll pee in one of them and I just have to pray that the neighbors who live there understand my indulgence. They’re dog people, I’m pretty sure they do.
And then comes the psychology. I don’t know if he really needs to go all the way around the block. But I need him to go all the way around the block so I can be reassured that he’s not too old or too lame to walk around the block. I’ll have to accept, fairly soon, I’m afraid, that he IS too old or too lame to make the simple trek. Until then, it’s a full block.
So, I lie to him. There’s nothing wrong with lying to your dog. People do it all the time when they pretend to throw a ball. (Just for the record, Riley would never be fooled by such a pedestrian lie…unless there were treats involved. Bailey has chased many an imaginary ball.) So, I lie to Riley. I say, in a very excited voice, “Is that a squirrel?” And he takes ten, very quick, very lively steps and looks around avidly for the squirrel. Then, he slows back down to his plod. He looks back over his shoulder at me and gives me one of his big smiles.. I imagine he’s chuckling and thinking something like “Huh, huh. Ya got me that time, Mom. There wasn’t a squirrel at all, was there?”
I lie to him that I think I see one of the kids. I lie to him that we’re going home. I save the “k-word” for the last lie because I know it’s the most powerful. I know, of course that using the k-word makes it impossible for Riley to ever have a healthy relationship with a cat. But, then again, my husband and my daughter really can’t have healthy relationships with cats either. So, what the heck, it’s all in the family.
So, as we round the corner, heading toward home, I say “Riley! Is that a kitty?” Before we know it we’re back in front of the house and he’s panting like he’s just run all the way around the block. He picks up the newspaper and carries it dutifully to the back gate, where he trades it for a treat. I pat him on the head and tell him he’s a very good dog.
He’ll rest the whole rest of the day. So far, taking him out two days in a row hasn’t been good. I have to start lying before we get to the end of the street. So, we’ll keep this pattern up for a while and see where we end up.
Leaving him home breaks my heart. He watches us leave from the kitchen and I wonder what’s in his mind. I also worry that he’ll get broader in the beam than he already is (which is considerable). I’ve done my best to make sure he knows I still love him. He’s getting more combing and more scratches behind his ears. I’ve taken to looking for opportunities that he can join me wherever I am, in the yard, in the bathroom while I shower (I know, I know), following around as I pick up or clean. Stephen and I have even adjusted our work-from-home schedules enough so that there’s rarely more than 2 days in a week where he has to be alone for the whole day.
Still, it didn’t quite feel like enough. So, I started walking him this week again…just for short little trips around the block. It’s been funny to watch him dance around when he sees the leash and trot out to the back gate in such breathless anticipation. He takes off down the driveway like he’s a puppy again. It took me a long time (and another dog) to train Riley to walk on a loose leash. He always used to pull me along at his pace. Once Bailey came along, for reasons I don’t understand, he just started doing it. Bailey rarely pulls on me – unless it’s raining and she thinks we’re headed toward home. But, alone, Riley’s back to his old tricks. At least for the first few houses.
When we get to the end of the driveway, he has to race across the street and smell and mark the ornamental hitching post in my neighbors’ front lawn. On some days the smelling can last for 2 minutes. I feel like a fool standing across the street from my own house holding a leashed dog as he stands and sniffs. Once he’s left his message, we head toward the next house across the street. This house has pine trees. He’s always loved pine fronds and pinecones. When we were in Colorado when he was a puppy he ate bushels full of them. So, he smells the pine needles under the trees and inspects any pinecones that might be lying around. He doesn’t pick them up – that’s a chore Bailey’s taken over. And then he trots over to the third house to the west and wanders through their beautifully maintained flowerbeds. He’ll pee in one of them and I just have to pray that the neighbors who live there understand my indulgence. They’re dog people, I’m pretty sure they do.
And then comes the psychology. I don’t know if he really needs to go all the way around the block. But I need him to go all the way around the block so I can be reassured that he’s not too old or too lame to walk around the block. I’ll have to accept, fairly soon, I’m afraid, that he IS too old or too lame to make the simple trek. Until then, it’s a full block.
So, I lie to him. There’s nothing wrong with lying to your dog. People do it all the time when they pretend to throw a ball. (Just for the record, Riley would never be fooled by such a pedestrian lie…unless there were treats involved. Bailey has chased many an imaginary ball.) So, I lie to Riley. I say, in a very excited voice, “Is that a squirrel?” And he takes ten, very quick, very lively steps and looks around avidly for the squirrel. Then, he slows back down to his plod. He looks back over his shoulder at me and gives me one of his big smiles.. I imagine he’s chuckling and thinking something like “Huh, huh. Ya got me that time, Mom. There wasn’t a squirrel at all, was there?”
I lie to him that I think I see one of the kids. I lie to him that we’re going home. I save the “k-word” for the last lie because I know it’s the most powerful. I know, of course that using the k-word makes it impossible for Riley to ever have a healthy relationship with a cat. But, then again, my husband and my daughter really can’t have healthy relationships with cats either. So, what the heck, it’s all in the family.
So, as we round the corner, heading toward home, I say “Riley! Is that a kitty?” Before we know it we’re back in front of the house and he’s panting like he’s just run all the way around the block. He picks up the newspaper and carries it dutifully to the back gate, where he trades it for a treat. I pat him on the head and tell him he’s a very good dog.
He’ll rest the whole rest of the day. So far, taking him out two days in a row hasn’t been good. I have to start lying before we get to the end of the street. So, we’ll keep this pattern up for a while and see where we end up.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Ode to the ZMPHF
So, you’d imagine that the riskiest part of riding a bike might be flying downhill at 30 mph. There’s nothing between your head and the road except your helmet if you fall – and I just choose to believe that will never happen to me or to Stephen or to my kids. Stephen fell making a sharp turn on a wet wooden bridge a couple years back. It scared him enough that sometimes he walks across that bridge even today. It cracked his helmet…so he’s got good reason to be scared.
Erin’s fallen a couple times from turning too sharply. Because she’s Erin, she gets back up and dusts herself off and wears clothes that show off her bruises and road burn until they heal.
Nathan announced early this season that he hadn’t had a single fall in 2009…and then rode headlong into a tree. All of us got quite a kick out of that (he wasn’t hurt in the least). He had one more fall later this year when he turned too short. He scraped up his knee and Erin had a wonderful time cleaning up and bandaging the wound.
And then…we have my specialty.
The zero-mile-per-hour-fall (ZMPHF) is an art form. First, you have to be wearing bike shoes and using “clipless” pedals. When I graduated to a road bike last summer, I graduated to this type of pedal. On my first trip out, Stephen patiently explained that I needed to develop a routine of “unclipping” the same foot as I slowed down EVERY time I did so. Since ignoring Stephen’s advice is what I do, I ignored him. And fell. Hard. Less than one block from home. I had a HUGE bruise on my hip from that one. I wobbled for a day or two actually. I recall showing my friend Tammy the bruise at the gym one afternoon. She advised me to find something safer to do with my time.
So, when the season started up again, I was a wee toady bit nervous about falling again. I got what I thought was THE fall out of the way on our first family ride. We got up to the intersection leading out of our neighborhood, unclipped the wrong foot and toppled over. Nathan laughed. I broke my water bottle holder on that fall. I had a lovely, colorful, but slightly smaller bruise on my hip from that one. Lasted about two weeks.
See, the thing is, in order for the bike to stay standing upright, it needs either a) forward motion or b) a prop of some sort. My foot is supposed to be the prop. So when I don’t clip out, the bike has no way of staying up. Since I’m ON the bike…I go where it goes. Over.
So, on our first or second trip out for a night ride, I got to the end of a street, pulled up to a stop and unclipped on the right side…and leaned to the left….and fell over. I thought quickly enough to get my most padded body part down first – and somehow or another suffered road burn – when your skin just kind of tears off in patches -- on my butt. This got a lot of laughs at the house. Including one from that darling husband of mine who declared that he wasn’t sure we had a bandage big enough to cover the wound. Quite the comedian, that guy.
And then, I figured that I’d gotten into the proper routine, so my falling days were over. I went 8 weeks without a fall. But on the MS 150 last weekend, we had to slow way down to roll through an accident site. I don’t like to unclip, so I didn’t. I kept slowly moving forward (see the paragraph above) until…all of a sudden…there was nowhere else to go…I stopped. I didn’t unclip. And over I went. Of course, there’s something sort of worse about falling over in a crowd of bicyclists. At least that time nobody laughed (out loud).
I, apparently, can RIDE the bike. I just can’t stand still.
Erin’s fallen a couple times from turning too sharply. Because she’s Erin, she gets back up and dusts herself off and wears clothes that show off her bruises and road burn until they heal.
Nathan announced early this season that he hadn’t had a single fall in 2009…and then rode headlong into a tree. All of us got quite a kick out of that (he wasn’t hurt in the least). He had one more fall later this year when he turned too short. He scraped up his knee and Erin had a wonderful time cleaning up and bandaging the wound.
And then…we have my specialty.
The zero-mile-per-hour-fall (ZMPHF) is an art form. First, you have to be wearing bike shoes and using “clipless” pedals. When I graduated to a road bike last summer, I graduated to this type of pedal. On my first trip out, Stephen patiently explained that I needed to develop a routine of “unclipping” the same foot as I slowed down EVERY time I did so. Since ignoring Stephen’s advice is what I do, I ignored him. And fell. Hard. Less than one block from home. I had a HUGE bruise on my hip from that one. I wobbled for a day or two actually. I recall showing my friend Tammy the bruise at the gym one afternoon. She advised me to find something safer to do with my time.
So, when the season started up again, I was a wee toady bit nervous about falling again. I got what I thought was THE fall out of the way on our first family ride. We got up to the intersection leading out of our neighborhood, unclipped the wrong foot and toppled over. Nathan laughed. I broke my water bottle holder on that fall. I had a lovely, colorful, but slightly smaller bruise on my hip from that one. Lasted about two weeks.
See, the thing is, in order for the bike to stay standing upright, it needs either a) forward motion or b) a prop of some sort. My foot is supposed to be the prop. So when I don’t clip out, the bike has no way of staying up. Since I’m ON the bike…I go where it goes. Over.
So, on our first or second trip out for a night ride, I got to the end of a street, pulled up to a stop and unclipped on the right side…and leaned to the left….and fell over. I thought quickly enough to get my most padded body part down first – and somehow or another suffered road burn – when your skin just kind of tears off in patches -- on my butt. This got a lot of laughs at the house. Including one from that darling husband of mine who declared that he wasn’t sure we had a bandage big enough to cover the wound. Quite the comedian, that guy.
And then, I figured that I’d gotten into the proper routine, so my falling days were over. I went 8 weeks without a fall. But on the MS 150 last weekend, we had to slow way down to roll through an accident site. I don’t like to unclip, so I didn’t. I kept slowly moving forward (see the paragraph above) until…all of a sudden…there was nowhere else to go…I stopped. I didn’t unclip. And over I went. Of course, there’s something sort of worse about falling over in a crowd of bicyclists. At least that time nobody laughed (out loud).
I, apparently, can RIDE the bike. I just can’t stand still.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Ode to 170.4 Miles
Watching the weather all week was such a bad idea. All week long it shifted from 30% to 60% chance of rain on Saturday and Sunday. But, in the end, the meteorologists landed on 30% and we landed on a commitment to ride regardless of the weather (with the exception of thunder and lightening).
So, Saturday morning found us at the crack of dawn at the corner of Eldridge and North Dairy Ashford waiting for the starting gun. It rained fairly steadily until the first rest stop – and then it stopped for the rest of the day. We’d decided we would ride in pairs as we usually did – but it never quite worked out that way. We expected crowds of riders to separate us, but they didn’t. We were able to stay together as a quartet for the whole day and that was a real treat. Erin and Nathan and I had the chance to get (and stay) silly. We motivated other riders (to ride very fast away from us) as we sang songs and told corny jokes or teased each other. Stephen generally smiles as these antics carry on. He was probably also motivated to ride very fast away from us.
The best part about Saturday’s ride was the tail wind. We fairly flew! Hills, pshaw! At one point, late in the day (after we’d already logged 80 miles or so), we were soaring up a hill at 16 mph! It didn’t seem to matter what gear we were in, we just pedaled and the bikes rolled.
We crossed into LaGrange, 100 miles later, all together. We got to the Shell tent and parked our tired behinds in chairs that were far wider than bike seats. We all ate our dinners, set up our air mattresses (much better than a camping mat, Jody) showered and reorganized for the following morning. The weather turned overnight and the system that had been parked to the west of Austin for three days got moving. One storm dropped a bunch of rain overnight and another, just for good measure, dropped some more just before sunrise. It was much easier to decide to ride “regardless of the weather” when we were fresh and hadn’t already ridden 100 miles. Peering out into the gloom was disheartening to say the least. But, we packed up and went on our way.
Erin’s knee was bothering her, so she and Stephen decided to do the “express route” to lunch. The express route has fewer hills, but it’s all highway. So, the challenge of that route is slow rolling hills, no tree protection and the distraction of concentrated traffic. Nathan informed Stephen and Erin that he and I wanted to do the “challenge route”. (I don’t remember having a vote in this decision…but if you’ll look back a few blog posts, Nathan didn’t get a vote in “our” decision to ride a few weeks back. Payback really stinks.) The challenge of the challenge route is hills, LOTS of hills. The reward is “suicide hill” a loooooong steep downhill!
With the weather system finally moving through, the wind shifted from SSE to NW. So, the express route wasn’t much different from the challenge route in terms of challenge. With no trees for protection and cars whizzing by nonstop; the wind pressing against Stephen and Erin was like going uphill for 25 straight miles.
The challenge course has two options, you can go “through the park” or not. I never once expected to go through the park, which is full of really difficult hills. As we approached the decision point, Nathan confessed that he kinda, sorta, wanted to do the park. No. Nope. Not a chance. Never. Not gonna. NO! Of course, this is Nathan we’re talking about, so I had to bargain with him. I promised that when I can average 20mph on a bike, I’ll do the park with him. (This is sort of like promising when I can fly I’ll do the park.) Suicide hill was near the end of the second leg of the day, so we rolled into the second rest stop on a bit of a high.
As Nathan and I finished up at the second rest stop, Stephen and Erin rolled in to it. We did a quick recon and Stephen and I discussed Erin’s knee privately. Erin looked pale and beaten. She would have pushed through, because she’s that type of person. Stephen and I suggested that she rest for a bit and meet us at lunch. Nathan and I headed back out and encountered the “worst hill”. Last year, Stephen and Nathan were waiting on the top of a hill and Nathan asked when the “worst hill” would come. Stephen told him he’d just finished it. We’re all pretty sure that’s the only reason that Nathan was so darned chipper the rest of that day. So, Nathan and I headed out. As we crested each hill Nathan would say “I’m not sure. That one might have been it.” Or “No, that one was definitely not it.” (This went on for 12 miles and 4 hills.) Then we were on it. It was the last one of the section and it was a killer! (Just to put it in perspective, I drove to Austin on the Wednesday after the ride and my Toyota Highlander downshifted going up this hill!!) At the top, even Nathan was panting, but he quite happily announced “Oh YEAH! That one was it!”
Once we all got to Bastrop, it became apparent that Erin’s knee wasn’t going to cooperate. So, she and Stephen sacrificed their last 37 miles and headed to Austin on the bus to cheer me and Nathan on. It was a really tough decision for them. They knew exactly what they were giving up.
With 37 miles left, we ate our lunch and refilled our water bags. I’d completely revised my attitude about rest stops on Saturday. I really hate them on the training rides, but on this ride, I needed every single one of them. Nathan had gotten in the habit of hydrating (finally), so he needed the rest stops too. So, we just rode rest stop to rest stop to rest stop. At the last one, I really felt my adrenaline surge. When we took off, we nearly had a collision with other riders. So, I scolded Nathan (and myself) that we needed to finish this ride, not finish it fast. So, we slowed down a bit and settled into a rhythm.
Turning the corner to head into downtown Austin was so exhilarating! The Capitol Building stood at the end of the street. People were all along the street cheering all the riders on. There were bubbles and music and cowbells (Erin had one!). Nathan and I held hands across the finish line. And I cried. It just felt so amazing to have accomplished something this big for such an important cause.
Nathan was a zombie on Monday morning. He tried to get up and have breakfast, but I sent him back to bed. Long about 2 in the afternoon, I was too tired to do anything but fold laundry – but even that was a pretty difficult task!
I truly cannot wait to do it again!
So, Saturday morning found us at the crack of dawn at the corner of Eldridge and North Dairy Ashford waiting for the starting gun. It rained fairly steadily until the first rest stop – and then it stopped for the rest of the day. We’d decided we would ride in pairs as we usually did – but it never quite worked out that way. We expected crowds of riders to separate us, but they didn’t. We were able to stay together as a quartet for the whole day and that was a real treat. Erin and Nathan and I had the chance to get (and stay) silly. We motivated other riders (to ride very fast away from us) as we sang songs and told corny jokes or teased each other. Stephen generally smiles as these antics carry on. He was probably also motivated to ride very fast away from us.
The best part about Saturday’s ride was the tail wind. We fairly flew! Hills, pshaw! At one point, late in the day (after we’d already logged 80 miles or so), we were soaring up a hill at 16 mph! It didn’t seem to matter what gear we were in, we just pedaled and the bikes rolled.
We crossed into LaGrange, 100 miles later, all together. We got to the Shell tent and parked our tired behinds in chairs that were far wider than bike seats. We all ate our dinners, set up our air mattresses (much better than a camping mat, Jody) showered and reorganized for the following morning. The weather turned overnight and the system that had been parked to the west of Austin for three days got moving. One storm dropped a bunch of rain overnight and another, just for good measure, dropped some more just before sunrise. It was much easier to decide to ride “regardless of the weather” when we were fresh and hadn’t already ridden 100 miles. Peering out into the gloom was disheartening to say the least. But, we packed up and went on our way.
Erin’s knee was bothering her, so she and Stephen decided to do the “express route” to lunch. The express route has fewer hills, but it’s all highway. So, the challenge of that route is slow rolling hills, no tree protection and the distraction of concentrated traffic. Nathan informed Stephen and Erin that he and I wanted to do the “challenge route”. (I don’t remember having a vote in this decision…but if you’ll look back a few blog posts, Nathan didn’t get a vote in “our” decision to ride a few weeks back. Payback really stinks.) The challenge of the challenge route is hills, LOTS of hills. The reward is “suicide hill” a loooooong steep downhill!
With the weather system finally moving through, the wind shifted from SSE to NW. So, the express route wasn’t much different from the challenge route in terms of challenge. With no trees for protection and cars whizzing by nonstop; the wind pressing against Stephen and Erin was like going uphill for 25 straight miles.
The challenge course has two options, you can go “through the park” or not. I never once expected to go through the park, which is full of really difficult hills. As we approached the decision point, Nathan confessed that he kinda, sorta, wanted to do the park. No. Nope. Not a chance. Never. Not gonna. NO! Of course, this is Nathan we’re talking about, so I had to bargain with him. I promised that when I can average 20mph on a bike, I’ll do the park with him. (This is sort of like promising when I can fly I’ll do the park.) Suicide hill was near the end of the second leg of the day, so we rolled into the second rest stop on a bit of a high.
As Nathan and I finished up at the second rest stop, Stephen and Erin rolled in to it. We did a quick recon and Stephen and I discussed Erin’s knee privately. Erin looked pale and beaten. She would have pushed through, because she’s that type of person. Stephen and I suggested that she rest for a bit and meet us at lunch. Nathan and I headed back out and encountered the “worst hill”. Last year, Stephen and Nathan were waiting on the top of a hill and Nathan asked when the “worst hill” would come. Stephen told him he’d just finished it. We’re all pretty sure that’s the only reason that Nathan was so darned chipper the rest of that day. So, Nathan and I headed out. As we crested each hill Nathan would say “I’m not sure. That one might have been it.” Or “No, that one was definitely not it.” (This went on for 12 miles and 4 hills.) Then we were on it. It was the last one of the section and it was a killer! (Just to put it in perspective, I drove to Austin on the Wednesday after the ride and my Toyota Highlander downshifted going up this hill!!) At the top, even Nathan was panting, but he quite happily announced “Oh YEAH! That one was it!”
Once we all got to Bastrop, it became apparent that Erin’s knee wasn’t going to cooperate. So, she and Stephen sacrificed their last 37 miles and headed to Austin on the bus to cheer me and Nathan on. It was a really tough decision for them. They knew exactly what they were giving up.
With 37 miles left, we ate our lunch and refilled our water bags. I’d completely revised my attitude about rest stops on Saturday. I really hate them on the training rides, but on this ride, I needed every single one of them. Nathan had gotten in the habit of hydrating (finally), so he needed the rest stops too. So, we just rode rest stop to rest stop to rest stop. At the last one, I really felt my adrenaline surge. When we took off, we nearly had a collision with other riders. So, I scolded Nathan (and myself) that we needed to finish this ride, not finish it fast. So, we slowed down a bit and settled into a rhythm.
Turning the corner to head into downtown Austin was so exhilarating! The Capitol Building stood at the end of the street. People were all along the street cheering all the riders on. There were bubbles and music and cowbells (Erin had one!). Nathan and I held hands across the finish line. And I cried. It just felt so amazing to have accomplished something this big for such an important cause.
Nathan was a zombie on Monday morning. He tried to get up and have breakfast, but I sent him back to bed. Long about 2 in the afternoon, I was too tired to do anything but fold laundry – but even that was a pretty difficult task!
I truly cannot wait to do it again!
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Ode to Sleeping In
Tomorrow morning, I’m sleeping until I wake up of my own volition. This morning we were up at 4:30 to drive out to New Ulm, Texas just north of Sealy. We ate our breakfasts, loaded up the car and piled in. The kids were asleep before we were out of the neighborhood. Erin kneed Nathan in the head at one point. She woke up long enough to apologize. He woke up long enough to forgive her. Then they both fell back to sleep.
About 15 minutes out of New Ulm, Stephen said to me: “Is that rain?” The droplets on the windshield were pretty hard to interpret as anything OTHER than rain…but I denied it. “Nope.”
About 10 minutes outside of New Ulm, Stephen had turned on the windshield wipers. This was a bad sign. Stephen is a big fan of the one swipe method of cleaning the windshield. The kids began to stir in the back seat. “Is that rain?” Erin asked.
“NO!” I snapped.
“It’s raining?” Nathan asked.
“It is NOT raining!” I responded.
The windshield wipers kept right on slapping that non-existent rain off the windshield.
We got to the start site, signed in and used the restrooms. (One of the port-a-potties had been set up off balance – it was really pretty amusing as a side issue for the day.) We went back to the car and got the bikes off the rack and set up to ride. And it continued to rain. It wasn’t a bad rain, just enough to make it unpleasant to stand outside. So we sat in the car for a while and ruminated.
Then we decided to walk around and see what other people were saying about the rain. The rain was wet. It was a bit windy. The rain was wet. The road was wet. There were a lot of hills. The rain was wet. We got back in the car and decided to leave.
We loaded the bikes back up on the rack and headed for home.
Erin and I went shopping and found her a prom dress. I was in the wrong mood for shopping (even though I have a conference in two weeks for which I MUST dress like a grown up!). So, we left the mall and went back home. Nathan had finished his homework while Erin and I were shopping. Stephen had fixed the towel rack in our bathroom while we’d been shopping. When we got home, Erin went inside and I inspected the front flower beds for weeds. Stephen met me out there.
“Perhaps we could ride now. There’s no rain on the radar.”
“There was no rain on the radar this morning.”
“Well, now the sky looks clear, too.”
“Good point.”
We went in and sold the idea to the kids as: If we ride now, we can all stay up as late as we want to tonight and sleep in late tomorrow morning. (Easy sell!)
41 pretty easy miles later, Erin’s at the symphony with her best friend Travis (THANKS for the tickets Jason!!). Nathan and his buddy Patrick are parked on the couch shooting simulated enemies. Stephen’s puttering around on his computer figuring out what’s going to happen next weekend. And I’m updated the blog.
I’m not getting up tomorrow morning ‘til I’m darned good and ready.
About 15 minutes out of New Ulm, Stephen said to me: “Is that rain?” The droplets on the windshield were pretty hard to interpret as anything OTHER than rain…but I denied it. “Nope.”
About 10 minutes outside of New Ulm, Stephen had turned on the windshield wipers. This was a bad sign. Stephen is a big fan of the one swipe method of cleaning the windshield. The kids began to stir in the back seat. “Is that rain?” Erin asked.
“NO!” I snapped.
“It’s raining?” Nathan asked.
“It is NOT raining!” I responded.
The windshield wipers kept right on slapping that non-existent rain off the windshield.
We got to the start site, signed in and used the restrooms. (One of the port-a-potties had been set up off balance – it was really pretty amusing as a side issue for the day.) We went back to the car and got the bikes off the rack and set up to ride. And it continued to rain. It wasn’t a bad rain, just enough to make it unpleasant to stand outside. So we sat in the car for a while and ruminated.
Then we decided to walk around and see what other people were saying about the rain. The rain was wet. It was a bit windy. The rain was wet. The road was wet. There were a lot of hills. The rain was wet. We got back in the car and decided to leave.
We loaded the bikes back up on the rack and headed for home.
Erin and I went shopping and found her a prom dress. I was in the wrong mood for shopping (even though I have a conference in two weeks for which I MUST dress like a grown up!). So, we left the mall and went back home. Nathan had finished his homework while Erin and I were shopping. Stephen had fixed the towel rack in our bathroom while we’d been shopping. When we got home, Erin went inside and I inspected the front flower beds for weeds. Stephen met me out there.
“Perhaps we could ride now. There’s no rain on the radar.”
“There was no rain on the radar this morning.”
“Well, now the sky looks clear, too.”
“Good point.”
We went in and sold the idea to the kids as: If we ride now, we can all stay up as late as we want to tonight and sleep in late tomorrow morning. (Easy sell!)
41 pretty easy miles later, Erin’s at the symphony with her best friend Travis (THANKS for the tickets Jason!!). Nathan and his buddy Patrick are parked on the couch shooting simulated enemies. Stephen’s puttering around on his computer figuring out what’s going to happen next weekend. And I’m updated the blog.
I’m not getting up tomorrow morning ‘til I’m darned good and ready.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Ode to Counting
112 pickup trucks, 9 dogs in trucks and 11 cows in trailers. Willow has shown us how to pass the time on long bike rides. Yesterday, when we began our century weekend (100 miles in two days), we counted dogs. Erin (as always) made up the rules. If a dog was Riley sized, it counted as one dog. If it was Bailey sized, it counted as ½ a dog. Dogs smaller than Bailey counted for ¼ of a dog. Dogs bigger than Riley (except for the special case of Great Danes counted for 2 dogs. A Great Dane added a factor of pi (3.14). Perhaps you had to be there…but the miles really did fly by!
So, today as we started the second half of our century weekend (up and down the hills of Montgomery County), we started out counting pickup trucks. Then, a really big lab in the back of a pickup truck rode by us barking his fool head off…so we added our previous counting system to today’s. Not sure why we started counting cows…but there were a total of 11 of them.
The hills were tough, especially after riding yesterday. I’d been nervous that I hadn’t done enough hill training to be ready for the MS (in TWO WEEKS!!). I’m ready now. The hills started right away and they didn’t quit until the finish line…not that I got to ride my bike across the finish line.
37 miles in, just after the rest stop, I was climbing up a really steep hill and I shifted from the middle ring up to the easiest ring and my chain slipped off. I didn’t have enough time to unclip my shoes and I toppled over. I’ve got a scratched up knee and a gash on my other calf. My upper arm is bruised for some reason.
Erin rode back to the car with me in the SAG wagon. I have been second guessing myself all afternoon wondering if I could have made the last 14 miles. Stephen and Nathan disagreed. Apparently, they were 14 really tough miles! Erin has agreed to ride a quick ride with me tomorrow to get the last few miles of the century completed. She’s a good kid!!
So, today as we started the second half of our century weekend (up and down the hills of Montgomery County), we started out counting pickup trucks. Then, a really big lab in the back of a pickup truck rode by us barking his fool head off…so we added our previous counting system to today’s. Not sure why we started counting cows…but there were a total of 11 of them.
The hills were tough, especially after riding yesterday. I’d been nervous that I hadn’t done enough hill training to be ready for the MS (in TWO WEEKS!!). I’m ready now. The hills started right away and they didn’t quit until the finish line…not that I got to ride my bike across the finish line.
37 miles in, just after the rest stop, I was climbing up a really steep hill and I shifted from the middle ring up to the easiest ring and my chain slipped off. I didn’t have enough time to unclip my shoes and I toppled over. I’ve got a scratched up knee and a gash on my other calf. My upper arm is bruised for some reason.
Erin rode back to the car with me in the SAG wagon. I have been second guessing myself all afternoon wondering if I could have made the last 14 miles. Stephen and Nathan disagreed. Apparently, they were 14 really tough miles! Erin has agreed to ride a quick ride with me tomorrow to get the last few miles of the century completed. She’s a good kid!!
Friday, April 2, 2010
Ode to the South East Wind
We’ve vowed to thank God for the opportunity to ride into a southeast wind for the next two weeks. We will gladly, giddily, happily, enthusiastically ride into a southeast wind because that’s the wind that will push us to Austin on April 17th and 18th.
Today we rode into that wind. We logged 48 miles or so, some of it with the wind behind us and some of it with the wind in our faces. We used a pace-line to keep us going a few times. We shifted…a lot! And we did it. It’s funny trying to draft off of Nathan’s small frame (ok, he’s taller than I am, but he’s a pretty narrow wind block!).
Tomorrow, we’re going to ride again. We’re completing our back-to-back training this week. (You may remember that Willow rode back-to-back a few weeks ago with us.) This training will ostensibly prepare us both physically and mentally for getting BACK on the bikes in LaGrange on Sunday morning!
Tomorrow’s ride has some hills, but no wind is forecast. When we rode this route last year, the wind was between 15 and 18 mph. This is the ride during which Stephen was our “engineer” and he dragged us up a long, slow, knee-grinding hill at the very end of the ride. I’m hoping that this time, without the wind, that if there’s any dragging necessary, I can do my part.
I think, if all of us were honest with ourselves and each other, that we’d admit we’re ready for the training season to be over. We do love riding. It’s a great family activity and as parents, Stephen and I are so proud that our kids are willing to do this with the ‘rents and that they’re participating in an important cause. But, the end of the school year is approaching. While Nathan’s homework load seems to have lightened almost to non-existent, Erin’s seems to have almost ramped up. There will be band concerts, Senior festivities, prom. I’ve got papers to grade and a summer semester to plan. It will be nice to wake up on April 25th when we want to and to NOT go load up the car and drive off to a far away place to ride.
Today we rode into that wind. We logged 48 miles or so, some of it with the wind behind us and some of it with the wind in our faces. We used a pace-line to keep us going a few times. We shifted…a lot! And we did it. It’s funny trying to draft off of Nathan’s small frame (ok, he’s taller than I am, but he’s a pretty narrow wind block!).
Tomorrow, we’re going to ride again. We’re completing our back-to-back training this week. (You may remember that Willow rode back-to-back a few weeks ago with us.) This training will ostensibly prepare us both physically and mentally for getting BACK on the bikes in LaGrange on Sunday morning!
Tomorrow’s ride has some hills, but no wind is forecast. When we rode this route last year, the wind was between 15 and 18 mph. This is the ride during which Stephen was our “engineer” and he dragged us up a long, slow, knee-grinding hill at the very end of the ride. I’m hoping that this time, without the wind, that if there’s any dragging necessary, I can do my part.
I think, if all of us were honest with ourselves and each other, that we’d admit we’re ready for the training season to be over. We do love riding. It’s a great family activity and as parents, Stephen and I are so proud that our kids are willing to do this with the ‘rents and that they’re participating in an important cause. But, the end of the school year is approaching. While Nathan’s homework load seems to have lightened almost to non-existent, Erin’s seems to have almost ramped up. There will be band concerts, Senior festivities, prom. I’ve got papers to grade and a summer semester to plan. It will be nice to wake up on April 25th when we want to and to NOT go load up the car and drive off to a far away place to ride.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Ode to Sunday Rides
I got to ride with Willow again this week. We both had to be at the state convention for speech-language pathologists this weekend, so we didn’t get to ride on Saturday with Stephen and the kids. While the three of them fought the wind and the hills in Chappell Hill (the one ride I had to sag on last year), we were getting trained in Ethics and schmoozing.
So, this morning, we met in Waller, TX. Willow drove in from Austin and I drove out from Houston. I got up and out of the house without a hitch but realized about ½ way to Katy that the ride wasn’t IN Katy! I turned around and headed back toward HWY 290 and Waller. I still made it in plenty of time for the start.
We fought winds that were fiercer than the kids and Stephen did yesterday, but they definitely had the tougher hills. Our winds were steady at 21 mph, with gusts up to 30 mph. There was a stretch between the second and third rest stops that was just grueling. But, the wind worked with us for a good ways too. It was a great ride, with great company and enough wild flowers, donkeys, horses and cows to keep us entertained.
So, this morning, we met in Waller, TX. Willow drove in from Austin and I drove out from Houston. I got up and out of the house without a hitch but realized about ½ way to Katy that the ride wasn’t IN Katy! I turned around and headed back toward HWY 290 and Waller. I still made it in plenty of time for the start.
We fought winds that were fiercer than the kids and Stephen did yesterday, but they definitely had the tougher hills. Our winds were steady at 21 mph, with gusts up to 30 mph. There was a stretch between the second and third rest stops that was just grueling. But, the wind worked with us for a good ways too. It was a great ride, with great company and enough wild flowers, donkeys, horses and cows to keep us entertained.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Ode to the Wind 2010
We got rained out on Saturday. A front moved through the ride area just as we’d have been riding into the first rest stop. Since I’ve experienced the trauma of riding in the rain AND being stuck waiting for rain to end from a rest stop, I was glad to make the decision Friday night that we wouldn’t ride the following morning. Fortunately, we were vindicated as the Conoco-Phillips team actually cancelled the ride!
The front brought with it much cooler temperatures and wind. Lots of wind. We haven’t had a windy ride yet this year (nothing like last year!), so it only seemed fair that we should try to get our ride in today! I got up and walked the dogs (Riley’s feeling well enough that he made it for 2 miles today!) and when I came back to the house I announced that I was going to go riding at 1PM, once the temperatures moderated a bit. Stephen opted to come along. The kids swear that we just assumed they were joining us…but I was pretty sure I suggested or asked if they wanted to come…
We headed out shortly after 1 right into the wind. Our back up ride is Terry Hershey Park which can be used to go 15 miles or 45 miles, depending on our moods and the weather conditions. Erin had an asthma “episode” (we don’t call them attacks because they’re less scary as “episodes”) at about 8 miles out. So, I rode back home with her while Stephen and Nathan forged ahead.
Once I got Erin home, I turned back to meet Stephen and Nathan. They had made it out to the top of George Bush (the less bad one) Park and turned back toward home. One stretch on this trail is like a wind tunnel. Nathan tells me they were in their lowest gears, pedaling for all they were worth and going 9 mph. Exhausting! But, on the way back, in this same stretch, they clocked 25 mph going WITH the wind!
I didn’t get to go that fast, but I have to admit that I was happy when I saw them coming back toward me. On our way back home (my second time), I got up to 18 mph! That was quite an improvement over my trips down hill that didn’t get over 10 mph!!
The front brought with it much cooler temperatures and wind. Lots of wind. We haven’t had a windy ride yet this year (nothing like last year!), so it only seemed fair that we should try to get our ride in today! I got up and walked the dogs (Riley’s feeling well enough that he made it for 2 miles today!) and when I came back to the house I announced that I was going to go riding at 1PM, once the temperatures moderated a bit. Stephen opted to come along. The kids swear that we just assumed they were joining us…but I was pretty sure I suggested or asked if they wanted to come…
We headed out shortly after 1 right into the wind. Our back up ride is Terry Hershey Park which can be used to go 15 miles or 45 miles, depending on our moods and the weather conditions. Erin had an asthma “episode” (we don’t call them attacks because they’re less scary as “episodes”) at about 8 miles out. So, I rode back home with her while Stephen and Nathan forged ahead.
Once I got Erin home, I turned back to meet Stephen and Nathan. They had made it out to the top of George Bush (the less bad one) Park and turned back toward home. One stretch on this trail is like a wind tunnel. Nathan tells me they were in their lowest gears, pedaling for all they were worth and going 9 mph. Exhausting! But, on the way back, in this same stretch, they clocked 25 mph going WITH the wind!
I didn’t get to go that fast, but I have to admit that I was happy when I saw them coming back toward me. On our way back home (my second time), I got up to 18 mph! That was quite an improvement over my trips down hill that didn’t get over 10 mph!!
Ode to My UH Jersey
My UH jersey has a big ole wicked looking cougar on it! On March 15, I got to wear it with my friend Willow who is a UH alum. I love wearing this jersey when I’m riding with Willow because she and I are the only two on Team Dunk who have them. Willow rode on Saturday with the rest of Team Dunk while I stayed home with a sick old dog. Then, she valiantly rode along with me on Sunday as well! What a great friend!
Willow is a terrific riding buddy. She has this great strategy of “choosing to believe” the finish line is closer than it actually is. Since she chooses to believe this way, she can reject any comments that counter that belief. It’s really quite fun! If I say “we only have 10 miles left” she can easily respond that she’s really only thinking of 5. Even better, we never seemed to run out of things to talk about! I’m so looking forward to riding with her again next weekend.
We also have matching after-ride t-shirts made especially for us. The after-ride t-shirt is a ½ and ½ shirt. Last year, when the Houston-Austin trip was cut in half, I asked Willow to join me in another bike tour from Frisco to Ft. Worth. That one was cut in half too – so we proudly wear our Houston to Ft. Worth and Frisco to Austin shirts whenever we’re riding!
Willow is a terrific riding buddy. She has this great strategy of “choosing to believe” the finish line is closer than it actually is. Since she chooses to believe this way, she can reject any comments that counter that belief. It’s really quite fun! If I say “we only have 10 miles left” she can easily respond that she’s really only thinking of 5. Even better, we never seemed to run out of things to talk about! I’m so looking forward to riding with her again next weekend.
We also have matching after-ride t-shirts made especially for us. The after-ride t-shirt is a ½ and ½ shirt. Last year, when the Houston-Austin trip was cut in half, I asked Willow to join me in another bike tour from Frisco to Ft. Worth. That one was cut in half too – so we proudly wear our Houston to Ft. Worth and Frisco to Austin shirts whenever we’re riding!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Ode to the UPS truck
On my first night ride with the family, Nathan and I were surprised by the UPS truck stopped around one of the corners that we’d taken (maybe a little too fast). We swerved around it safely, but it was a bit unnerving. The driver got into the truck pretty soon after we passed it and we heard the door slide shut and the engine start. We poured on the muscles and raced down the street ahead of it. Talk about exhilarating! Before we reached our turn off point, we heard the truck turn down one of the side streets. We laughed that we’d beaten it…even though both of us knew that the driver had probably not rushed to beat us!
Tonight, we were out on our third night ride. We got a late start, and we were on our fifth lap. It was completely dark by this time, dusk had long since passed. Nathan was leading when we heard the UPS truck again – it didn’t surprise us this time! It was driving right on our speed track!! We flew down the street ahead of it, laughing rather maniacally that we were beating it again (I wonder if it was the same driver). When it turned off again, we decided that the driver just didn’t have the muscles to overtake such fast cyclists as ourselves!
Man, this is fun!
Tonight, we were out on our third night ride. We got a late start, and we were on our fifth lap. It was completely dark by this time, dusk had long since passed. Nathan was leading when we heard the UPS truck again – it didn’t surprise us this time! It was driving right on our speed track!! We flew down the street ahead of it, laughing rather maniacally that we were beating it again (I wonder if it was the same driver). When it turned off again, we decided that the driver just didn’t have the muscles to overtake such fast cyclists as ourselves!
Man, this is fun!
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Ode to my heart rate monitor
I am NOT the gadget person of the house. But, I have a gadget that I just can’t live (or bike) without! It’s my heart rate monitor. I wear it when I walk the dogs so that I can fool myself into believing that I’m actually exercising (instead of ambling through the neighborhood, tied to two noses on four legs). I wear it to yoga so that I can be very impressed with how my heart rate slows waaaaay down in shivasana. And I wear it on my bike rides so I can justify eating whatever I darned well please for the rest of the day!
The monitor is set to beep slowly when I am working under my cardio zone and it beeps faster when I am working over my cardio zone. Today we headed into the hills waaay west of town in Columbus, Texas. It was just Stephen and me because the kids had another band commitment (we’re hoping this is the last ride they’ll miss!). The ride began pretty tight and I got nervous amongst all the riders. (Beepbeepbeepbeepbeep!) So, I hung back until the crowd thinned out a bit. Stephen waited for me about 5 miles out. It was really hard to stay together for the rest of the ride, however. The hills came on fast and furiously!
There were lots of slow grinding hills before the first rest stop. I’m finally pretty comfortable with my shifting, so I felt pretty good going up the hills (and on one downhill I got up to 29.5 mph). Even so, for the most part, the heart rate monitor was either quiet (meaning I was working within my cardio zone) or it was beeping fast.
After the first rest stop I noticed that it was more often quiet or beep… beep… beep…beep…beep…beeping. It’s very satisfying to know when it’s quiet that I’m working efficiently. On the other hand, when I’m trying to slow down a bit after slogging up a hill, the slow beep…beep…beep…began to tick me off a bit! Although my knees were beginning to ache (and I can barely stand right now), I pushed through those hills and kept that darned thing quiet until the second rest stop. (Inexplicably 5 miles before the map said it would be.)
Some one had told me that the last leg of the ride only had a few hills, and I foolishly believed that I would be coasting most of the last 13-18 miles (depending on if the map had been wrong or if the route was actually shorter than 50 miles…guess which was true). Oh, how I would have loved to hear the beep…beep…beep…beep…, but instead, I heard silence and beepbeepbeepbeep. By the time we rolled into the finish line I was 50 miles worth of fried.
I rode down to the sign out area to sign us out. Stephen headed back to the car. After I signed out I couldn’t bear to get back on the bike, so I walked it back through the park and into the parking lot. As I approached the car, I glanced up and saw Stephen finishing up with the bike loading and thought to myself how sweet he was to have put my bike up on the rack for me…
Of course, it was the wrong car, the wrong man and I still had my bike with me… Bike brain!
The monitor is set to beep slowly when I am working under my cardio zone and it beeps faster when I am working over my cardio zone. Today we headed into the hills waaay west of town in Columbus, Texas. It was just Stephen and me because the kids had another band commitment (we’re hoping this is the last ride they’ll miss!). The ride began pretty tight and I got nervous amongst all the riders. (Beepbeepbeepbeepbeep!) So, I hung back until the crowd thinned out a bit. Stephen waited for me about 5 miles out. It was really hard to stay together for the rest of the ride, however. The hills came on fast and furiously!
There were lots of slow grinding hills before the first rest stop. I’m finally pretty comfortable with my shifting, so I felt pretty good going up the hills (and on one downhill I got up to 29.5 mph). Even so, for the most part, the heart rate monitor was either quiet (meaning I was working within my cardio zone) or it was beeping fast.
After the first rest stop I noticed that it was more often quiet or beep… beep… beep…beep…beep…beeping. It’s very satisfying to know when it’s quiet that I’m working efficiently. On the other hand, when I’m trying to slow down a bit after slogging up a hill, the slow beep…beep…beep…began to tick me off a bit! Although my knees were beginning to ache (and I can barely stand right now), I pushed through those hills and kept that darned thing quiet until the second rest stop. (Inexplicably 5 miles before the map said it would be.)
Some one had told me that the last leg of the ride only had a few hills, and I foolishly believed that I would be coasting most of the last 13-18 miles (depending on if the map had been wrong or if the route was actually shorter than 50 miles…guess which was true). Oh, how I would have loved to hear the beep…beep…beep…beep…, but instead, I heard silence and beepbeepbeepbeep. By the time we rolled into the finish line I was 50 miles worth of fried.
I rode down to the sign out area to sign us out. Stephen headed back to the car. After I signed out I couldn’t bear to get back on the bike, so I walked it back through the park and into the parking lot. As I approached the car, I glanced up and saw Stephen finishing up with the bike loading and thought to myself how sweet he was to have put my bike up on the rack for me…
Of course, it was the wrong car, the wrong man and I still had my bike with me… Bike brain!
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Ode to Speed Runs
So, last year when we were training I refused to join in on the Wednesday night speed runs through the neighborhood. I was sure that riding in the dusk/dark would be too scary. But, I just finished our second speed run and I’m hooked!
My last speed run was two weeks ago when I fell on my derriere. (One day I’ll write an Ode to the Zero Mile Per Hour Fall (ZMPHF).) I even enjoyed that one, despite the blow to by butt (and pride). We ride up to the north part of our neighborhood and run laps of about 2 miles. We ride as hard and fast as we can for 1 ¾ miles and coast for ¼ mile. We keep that up for about an hour.
Nathan and Stephen and I had to leave Erin home since she was putting a project together. Nathan and I made the goal of averaging 13mph. Stephen decided he’d let us ride as fast as we wanted and that he’d see us at the end. So, off we went.
Nathan and I took turns leading as we rode single file. I had to threaten to take his odometer away because he was paying more attention to his average speed than he was to the road – and it is a neighborhood at the end of a workday! He finally agreed to set it on elapsed time so that he didn’t watch it so closely.
We rode hard. I burned 500 calories and my heart rate monitor beeped that I was in my target cardio zone for most of the fast legs. We averaged 15.1mph – 2.1 mph faster than our original goal! We were pretty proud of ourselves!
After our last lap, we pulled up and waited for Stephen. He came back toward us heading west, so we saddled back up and turned around…well, I turned around. Nathan cut it too close and fell. Not quite a ZMPHF, but perhaps a 2MPHF. He popped back up and got back on the bike. We rode off home. As we were coming inside, I sent him to the bathtub to wash the blood off his wound. Erin quickly stepped in to wash and dress the injury with much fanfare.
Nice to know everyone got to participate!
My last speed run was two weeks ago when I fell on my derriere. (One day I’ll write an Ode to the Zero Mile Per Hour Fall (ZMPHF).) I even enjoyed that one, despite the blow to by butt (and pride). We ride up to the north part of our neighborhood and run laps of about 2 miles. We ride as hard and fast as we can for 1 ¾ miles and coast for ¼ mile. We keep that up for about an hour.
Nathan and Stephen and I had to leave Erin home since she was putting a project together. Nathan and I made the goal of averaging 13mph. Stephen decided he’d let us ride as fast as we wanted and that he’d see us at the end. So, off we went.
Nathan and I took turns leading as we rode single file. I had to threaten to take his odometer away because he was paying more attention to his average speed than he was to the road – and it is a neighborhood at the end of a workday! He finally agreed to set it on elapsed time so that he didn’t watch it so closely.
We rode hard. I burned 500 calories and my heart rate monitor beeped that I was in my target cardio zone for most of the fast legs. We averaged 15.1mph – 2.1 mph faster than our original goal! We were pretty proud of ourselves!
After our last lap, we pulled up and waited for Stephen. He came back toward us heading west, so we saddled back up and turned around…well, I turned around. Nathan cut it too close and fell. Not quite a ZMPHF, but perhaps a 2MPHF. He popped back up and got back on the bike. We rode off home. As we were coming inside, I sent him to the bathtub to wash the blood off his wound. Erin quickly stepped in to wash and dress the injury with much fanfare.
Nice to know everyone got to participate!
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Ode to Katy, TX
We’re at the halfway point in our training this year for the MS 150. This morning all four of us loaded up and headed out west to Katy, TX for our third trip around the back roads of Fort Bend County.
We’d decided to ride the middle route (38 miles), despite our earlier intentions to make our better than 50 mile this weekend. When we ride on Sunday, we want to be done early enough in the day so that we can accomplish something in the afternoon. Of course, “accomplish something” doesn’t mean much after a bike ride. I’m always impressed with myself when I can stay awake past 9PM on these days.
We generally find ourselves riding in pairs. This week it started with me and Erin paired up and Stephen and Nathan paired up. After the first rest stop, we switched parents. Despite my lingering sniffles, Nathan’s too low bike seat (or too long legs) and Erin’s sore feet, we all averaged around 14 mph for the first 27 miles.
And then we rolled into the second rest stop. Up until that point, we’d had cross wind and tail wind. With the turn to the east, we were riding right against a wind of approximately 13 mph. We haven’t had much wind this year – and Stephen and I are the only ones who have had any hill training thus far (last weekend). So, to say that we were a little surprised is an understatement.
We decided to try a pace line. In a pace line, the riders line up behind one another, just a little bit offset so that the head rider acts as a wind break for the other riders. Of course, the rider at the back gets the easiest ride and the rider at the front gets the most difficult. That’s why you pace – each rider takes a turn as head rider and rolls back after a set number of minutes or miles so that s/he can rest up for his next turn.
Stephen took the first front shift, I followed him, Erin followed me and Nathan brought up the rear. For 6 miles we shifted positions every 2 ½ minutes. Then Erin saw the traffic light that signaled our turn back south in the distance. She refused to give up her place in the front and dragged our sorry behinds right up to the turn. At that point, Stephen and I “let” Erin and Nathan pull off ahead of us and get to the finish line at their own pace.
So, we all ended up with averages somewhere around 13 mph. Not bad for two old people and two kids who hadn’t been on bikes in two weeks.
We’d decided to ride the middle route (38 miles), despite our earlier intentions to make our better than 50 mile this weekend. When we ride on Sunday, we want to be done early enough in the day so that we can accomplish something in the afternoon. Of course, “accomplish something” doesn’t mean much after a bike ride. I’m always impressed with myself when I can stay awake past 9PM on these days.
We generally find ourselves riding in pairs. This week it started with me and Erin paired up and Stephen and Nathan paired up. After the first rest stop, we switched parents. Despite my lingering sniffles, Nathan’s too low bike seat (or too long legs) and Erin’s sore feet, we all averaged around 14 mph for the first 27 miles.
And then we rolled into the second rest stop. Up until that point, we’d had cross wind and tail wind. With the turn to the east, we were riding right against a wind of approximately 13 mph. We haven’t had much wind this year – and Stephen and I are the only ones who have had any hill training thus far (last weekend). So, to say that we were a little surprised is an understatement.
We decided to try a pace line. In a pace line, the riders line up behind one another, just a little bit offset so that the head rider acts as a wind break for the other riders. Of course, the rider at the back gets the easiest ride and the rider at the front gets the most difficult. That’s why you pace – each rider takes a turn as head rider and rolls back after a set number of minutes or miles so that s/he can rest up for his next turn.
Stephen took the first front shift, I followed him, Erin followed me and Nathan brought up the rear. For 6 miles we shifted positions every 2 ½ minutes. Then Erin saw the traffic light that signaled our turn back south in the distance. She refused to give up her place in the front and dragged our sorry behinds right up to the turn. At that point, Stephen and I “let” Erin and Nathan pull off ahead of us and get to the finish line at their own pace.
So, we all ended up with averages somewhere around 13 mph. Not bad for two old people and two kids who hadn’t been on bikes in two weeks.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
2010 Training Season
I've been pretty quiet this year so far. But, we'll see if I can get back in the swing now.
This was week 5 of our training. The kids had solo and ensemble competition, so they got to sleep in. Stephen and I got up at 5 and headed north to Willis, TX. Willis is near Conroe. The ride started at 8 and we pulled into the parking lot shortly after 7. We'd reviewed the map on Friday night and assured ourselves that our first ride with hills would be full of ROLLING hills. Silly us. The hills rolled some, but mostly they stretched. We worked really hard!
It was warmer than all of our previous rides have done this year, but it was damp and just windy enough that I kept my jacket on for most of the ride. Still, going up hills warms you up pretty well. I unzipped the jacket going up hill and zipped it back up going down!
We saw lots of cows and horses, a bunch of chickens and a whole field full of daffodils! (SPRING must be coming!!) We decided that the road with all the potholes and cracks must have been in the unincorporated part of Willis...
37 miles of hills and some icky road surfaces. Great company.
This was week 5 of our training. The kids had solo and ensemble competition, so they got to sleep in. Stephen and I got up at 5 and headed north to Willis, TX. Willis is near Conroe. The ride started at 8 and we pulled into the parking lot shortly after 7. We'd reviewed the map on Friday night and assured ourselves that our first ride with hills would be full of ROLLING hills. Silly us. The hills rolled some, but mostly they stretched. We worked really hard!
It was warmer than all of our previous rides have done this year, but it was damp and just windy enough that I kept my jacket on for most of the ride. Still, going up hills warms you up pretty well. I unzipped the jacket going up hill and zipped it back up going down!
We saw lots of cows and horses, a bunch of chickens and a whole field full of daffodils! (SPRING must be coming!!) We decided that the road with all the potholes and cracks must have been in the unincorporated part of Willis...
37 miles of hills and some icky road surfaces. Great company.
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