Stupid weather forecasters. It was supposed to rain all day today. It was pouring last night and on the drive in to work. I'm pretty lucky at work, because my cubicle is on the top floor right next to a huge window with a nice view of the San Francisco Bay.
Just as I got to work the rain tapered off. From the window I could see bands of rain over the bay. It looked like more, much more, coming our way. Oh, well no ride today. The bands of rain just passed on by to the north. By the time I headed out the door at 4:20 the clouds were only on the perimeter of the sky.
Got home by 4:40, nice short commute, which I plan to start doing by bike soon, brought in the garbage cans and checked in on the kids. Katie's homework, done. Matt's big ataxic fall at school, no big deal, even though it scared some teachers and resulted in a call to me at work from the principal. Nothing broken or bruised.
Dinner in the oven by 5:00 and on the bike at 5:20.
Wow, it's cold, but plenty of light as I leave. I'm heading for the San Tomas Creek Trail. It promises to be an easy way to work by bike. But it's about 2 miles through heavy commute traffic to reach the head of the trail. I've got the super bright tail light flashing away and a day-glo orange wind breaker on. You'd have to close your eyes to not see me. And if you do see me, you'll close your eyes! :~)
The cold is not too bad, except for my ears. Biking helmets do not keep your ears warm. I reach the trail without incident and cruise along. At the major roads the trail dips down under the road and close to the water level. Now, we've had a lot of rain lately, and I was wondering what the shape of the trail would be close to water level. They close the trail when the creek rises, because it rises over the trail. It's surprisingly dry in the low spots and it looks like someone has cleared the debris.
I set a goal of 10 to 12 miles. Once I hit mile 5 I knew I was going for 12. I wanted to reach Baylands park and I was close. I reached the park just past the 6 mile mark.
Getting dark and time to turn around for home. Feel good, but even on the trail with no cars I'm glad for the headlight and tail light. The oncoming bikes that pass with no light are just a bit scary. It's hard to see them, so I wonder if they can see me. Silly.
I get home at 6:10, hang up the bike and in comes the wife. Dinner is ready and it's time to write the blog.
Map of the ride.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Training Ride 2
It's supposed to be raining. I should have an excuse, but have you seen the profile of the ride? I got to get into shape. The wind is blowing, it's cloudy, but no rain. Off we go, the goal is 10 miles, a 25% increase from the first ride. I am an engineer, aren't I?
Wow, I did ride 2 days ago. Is that a bruise where I sit? Ouch!
I think I'll head towards Saratoga, get a little bit of climbing in if I can. Lawrence Expressway, heading slightly uphill, but the wind. A steady 17 miles an hour right in my face. Keep it in a low gear. I need to work on spinning. If I turn to big of a gear I hurt my left knee. It's one of the reasons I stopped riding. Low gear, fast spins, only doing about 12 to 15 miles an hour.
The red lights are welcome rest stops. An overpass, there's a way around it. I can exit, cross the street, then get back on the expressway. NO! Have you seen the 4,000 foot climb on the first day of my ride?
Not too bad, put it in a very low gear and over the top I go. Down the other side, but still into the wind. 5 miles down, should I turn around? That would make the trip 10 miles total. I feel pretty good though, the wind is brutal, but I haven't reached Saratoga yet. I at least need to reach Saratoga Avenue.
Saratoga Ave, mile 6.5. I can't just turn around here I have to head towards the hills, at least to West Valley College. It's still slightly uphill, still into the wind, but finally Fruitvale Ave. That's the turn for the college and the 8 mile mark. Good enough.
5 minute rest and head for home. Downhill with the wind at my back. Cruising at 20 mph, pushing it to 26 at times. Hit a peak of 28. Much easier. Strange though, my odometer on my back which said 8 miles at the turn around only say 14.9 miles total. Lost a mile somewhere.
Time to ice the knee and start that blog thing while I rest...
Map of the ride.
Wow, I did ride 2 days ago. Is that a bruise where I sit? Ouch!
I think I'll head towards Saratoga, get a little bit of climbing in if I can. Lawrence Expressway, heading slightly uphill, but the wind. A steady 17 miles an hour right in my face. Keep it in a low gear. I need to work on spinning. If I turn to big of a gear I hurt my left knee. It's one of the reasons I stopped riding. Low gear, fast spins, only doing about 12 to 15 miles an hour.
The red lights are welcome rest stops. An overpass, there's a way around it. I can exit, cross the street, then get back on the expressway. NO! Have you seen the 4,000 foot climb on the first day of my ride?
Not too bad, put it in a very low gear and over the top I go. Down the other side, but still into the wind. 5 miles down, should I turn around? That would make the trip 10 miles total. I feel pretty good though, the wind is brutal, but I haven't reached Saratoga yet. I at least need to reach Saratoga Avenue.
Saratoga Ave, mile 6.5. I can't just turn around here I have to head towards the hills, at least to West Valley College. It's still slightly uphill, still into the wind, but finally Fruitvale Ave. That's the turn for the college and the 8 mile mark. Good enough.
5 minute rest and head for home. Downhill with the wind at my back. Cruising at 20 mph, pushing it to 26 at times. Hit a peak of 28. Much easier. Strange though, my odometer on my back which said 8 miles at the turn around only say 14.9 miles total. Lost a mile somewhere.
Time to ice the knee and start that blog thing while I rest...
Map of the ride.
First Training Ride
The bike is ready to go, but the rider needs some work. Also, there is no backing out now. I've been overwhelmed by the response to my ride donation website. According to the guidelines for the ride I'm supposed to raise at least $125 per day that I ride. So, 6 days would be $750. Sounds bit meager, so I set a goal of $1500 and crossed my fingers. That was just a couple of days ago and so far the donations total $2325!
OK. Running out of time, so let's get to it. Thursday night after work, cold a bit wet, and an out of practice rider. Put on the layers, new batteries in the head light, and set the Super Flash to flash mode. 8 miles later and 40 minutes later, I'm done. Not too bad. I stayed close to home, riding laps around small portion of Calabazas creek.
Map of the ride.
Of course when I got back from the ride, there, in the entry way, a wind trainer. You know it looks like this. My friend Ben dug it out of his garage so I could train indoors during the inclement weather we are experiencing. It does rain in California! He dropped it off about 5 minutes after I left for my cold ride.
OK. Running out of time, so let's get to it. Thursday night after work, cold a bit wet, and an out of practice rider. Put on the layers, new batteries in the head light, and set the Super Flash to flash mode. 8 miles later and 40 minutes later, I'm done. Not too bad. I stayed close to home, riding laps around small portion of Calabazas creek.
Map of the ride.
Of course when I got back from the ride, there, in the entry way, a wind trainer. You know it looks like this. My friend Ben dug it out of his garage so I could train indoors during the inclement weather we are experiencing. It does rain in California! He dropped it off about 5 minutes after I left for my cold ride.
Getting Ready
I have a road bike. It's not top of the line, but it's good enough. I used to ride at lunch time with some friends at work, but stopped a few years ago. The bike has been hanging in the garage for a while. So, if I'm going to do this ride, the wheels are going to need some fixing up.
I'm pretty handy with tools, and mechanical things, but I'm short on time and it's got to be right. Luckily there is a mobile bike mechanic who comes to my work place once a month. I only found out about this by chance on Tuesday and he was scheduled to come on Thursday. Funny how sometimes when you need something, it just appears.
So I made an appointment with the bike doctor. Wow, what a difference. The shifters work better than new. The new Super Flash tail light that he suggested is crazy bright. Cars will notice you in the daytime when you set it to flash mode.
I'm pretty handy with tools, and mechanical things, but I'm short on time and it's got to be right. Luckily there is a mobile bike mechanic who comes to my work place once a month. I only found out about this by chance on Tuesday and he was scheduled to come on Thursday. Funny how sometimes when you need something, it just appears.
So I made an appointment with the bike doctor. Wow, what a difference. The shifters work better than new. The new Super Flash tail light that he suggested is crazy bright. Cars will notice you in the daytime when you set it to flash mode.
Going for a Ride
I've decided to join Kyle Bryant and company for the 2nd Ride Ataxia. For now, I plan to use this blog to keep track of my training progress. Since I announced that I'm doing the ride I get a lot of questions about what I'm doing to get ready, hopefully it will help answer those questions. It probably won't help with the, "What are you crazy?" questions though...
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