Therapy On Two Wheels

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

2012-01-09T10:47:00.000-08:00

2012 is here...my how time flies by!

Blogging to return soon.

Test Ride

2011-06-28T08:01:00.000-07:00

I know what you're thinking with this blog post title, but it's not what you think. We're talking eyeglasses, not a new bike. Yes...cycling specific, partial wrap-around prescription sunglasses! I've worn eyeglasses since high school and although I've had various forms of prescription sunglasses, I never did pull the trigger on cycling-specific shades. When you're young and poor with an ever changing Rx, you can always find better ways to spend your $$. Now that I'm older with a more stable Rx and a little discretionary money to spend, I decided to stop lusting at the catalog pages and take some action. This led me to SportRx.com and Rob their cycling optician. Rob presented me with some options that would or might work with my very strong prescription...needless to say, the options were not many. He encouraged me to partake in their "test ride" program wherein they send me the frames I'm interested in trying on without any obligations. I selected for my first choice the Rudy Project Horus despite knowing that they were very borderline for my Rx.

However, Rob suggested I try them under their excellent exchange policy knowing that my 2nd choice frames would not be an Rx issue. He assured me that a few folks with a stronger Rx were happy with the Horus, while being honest and also informing me that others with a similar Rx could not live with the distortions introduced by the partial wrap-around lenses. So last night was my test ride with my, for now anyway, new Rudy Project Horus single vision, polarized, Gray No. 3, silver flash mirror super cool cycling sunglasses. :)

I planned a 23 mile early evening ride on a loop where I knew the setting sun would be in my eyes. Here are the test ride results:

I rode the entire 23 miles without having to return home for the regular glasses

The Horus lenses did introduce some minor distortions to my vision but the longer I had them on the more I got use to it.

Did not get a headache

Did not get dizzy

Near field vision makes objects seem a bit closer

Intermediate field vision was nearly perfect

Distant vision makes objects seem a bit elongated

The ability to see fine detail on the road surface was enhanced.

Peripheral vision was blurry, but that happens to me now with my regular progressive glasses.

I think they'll be keepers...but I won't make the final decision until I try them on a couple of mid-day rides.

A quick update on last week's blog post. I never did get into that training groove thanks to a few days of relentless rain and pent up yard work from the last few weekends of yard neglect! Of course, there's always this week!!

Monday Night Ride!

2011-06-20T20:41:00.002-07:00

I'm hoping this week to have a breakthough with my riding and to hit a training groove I can sustain. If tonight's ride is any indication, I might be there.
Monday would normally be a recovery day (non-riding), but I didn't ride this weekend (spent 3 days down the Cape for my sister's wedding). So with fresh legs and a beautiful early evening, I figured I'd get in at least 20 miles. My mindset when I set out was just to spin and not to push it. But as seems to be the case at some point in each riding season, my easy ride turned into a ride with an easy to maintain pace faster than my rides the past few weeks...and on the loop I've primarily been riding over the same period. My breakthrough ride? We'll see.
Ride stats: 22.1 miles at 17.1 mph (1 hr - 17 min - 45 sec ride time)

To Blog or Not to Blog?

2011-06-13T11:45:00.000-07:00

Tis the question I need to answer if my blog posts are going to be more than a month apart!

Some of my favorite cycling bloggers have apparently walked away from a presence on the web...others clearly struggle like I do with issues of time, interest, topics and audience. This was mainly meant to be a training journal...open to the public for comment...an attempt to add some accountability. It's not like I lack for topics as it's my journal and I continue to ride...and I have dozens of post ideas jotted down on multiple pieces of paper floating around my office, home and backpack. I guess it's time and interest.

Speaking of riding, my miles as shown in the side-bar are meager so far this year but I keep plugging away. In fact, last week I hit a milestone of sorts...I surpassed my meager total from all of last year. Not a huge accomplishment but one I truly hope to build on.

I think I'll keep blogging. This year still holds a lot of potential for some great riding. I want to document that if it comes to fruition! :)

Lost Weekend

2011-05-09T09:57:00.000-07:00

I knew something wasn't quite right on Friday afternoon when I started getting stomach cramps half-way through a 22 mile ride. I sometimes get mild stomach cramps after rides or on those hot summer rides immediately after replenishing electrolytes, but this was something different. The cramps eased up after the ride and I had my usual ravenous appetite, but something still did not feel right with my body. I went to bed figuring I'd feel much better in the morning. Wrong!
Morning brought the revelation that I had a stomach virus...a nasty one. I'll skip the gory details suffice it to say that by Sunday morning I had lost 8-9 pounds. I'm definitely trying to lose weight but not like that!
So much for my weekend plans. Missed my cousin's wedding...couldn't go out on Mother's Day...no yard work got done...and goose egg entries in the training log! Truly a lost weekend.
Weekly riding stats are updated in the right side-bar. The weight entry is not a typo...that was my weight on Sunday morning. As I write this, I have thankfully gained 2.5 lbs back.

April Stats

2011-05-02T08:45:00.000-07:00

Finished off the month of April with three days of riding...well, the last of those was actually May 1st. Given my dismal early season track record, I never would have guessed that my first month of riding after 8 months off the bike would be so successful. Here are the stats:

Total distance - 213.7 miles
Number of riding days - 14 out of 17 planned.
Average # rides per week - 3.25
Average ride length - 15.26 miles
Average distance per week - 49.7 miles
Weight loss - 7 lb. (I'm currently at 215 down from 222 lb.)

To many of you these are very modest stats, but to me these numbers are huge. My early season track record is pretty spotty, so what I accomplished this April is indicative of some better cycling ahead. The 3 missed days were due to a combination of rain and Sunday family commitments, which crimped my already tight schedule. Beyond May, the holidays and family commitments ease up a bit.

Last year I devised a training schedule that was meant to increase the average distance of my rides, lower the number of riding days per week and overall to allow me more recovery time between rides. My reasons for this are chronicled in a couple of 2010 posts (here and here). Of course, I was never able to implement that plan last year.

This year, when I went out on my first few rides, the objective was just to get out and ride. Having not been on a bike for 8 months I was very aware of the potential for overuse injuries, so I wanted to keep the rides short and ease into the season. That plan so far has been successful, but while I'm slowly increasing the miles, I'm still fiddling with a training schedule and intensity level that works for me. Some people may chuckle when I refer to a training schedule, but that's simply my formula for motivation...and it has always worked in the past. Training of course suggests goals and I have two. The first and most important is to lose weight. I'd like to shed the 2 handle once and for all this year. The second is to be able to ride some fast and comfortable century rides later in the season.

If April is any indication, I'm well on my way to achieving those two goals this year. Wish me luck!

More Springtime in New England!

2011-04-26T17:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday it was only in the 50s...today we bumped up against 80...summertime conditions!!

I'm hoping to do regular Tuesday and Thursday weekday rides this year, so a longish ride was in order. First ride of the season in shorts (without knee warmers) and short sleeves.

26.4 miles @ 15.3 mph. I'm happy with my progress so far.

Springtime in New England

2011-04-25T10:46:00.000-07:00

A dose of cold...a dash of Spring. That describes the contrasting conditions on my last two rides. Thursday's ride was frigid for April...the temperature was 50 but the wind was blowing a steady 25 mph from the northwest with gusts to 40 mph. It's tough to get out in these conditions but it always feels great at the end of the ride when you know the training benefits of riding in the stiff wind will pay off later. On Friday there was a quick turnaround in weather conditions as the temperature rose to near 60 and the wind retreated, making for a very nice 21 mile ride.

I'm pretty happy with my last four weeks of riding. The rides have been short but that's by design and it's still early in the season. More importantly, I'm happier with my weight loss of 5 pounds over the same time period because it's due more to eating better than piling up the cycling miles. If I can keep the diet on track, the pounds will melt away easily when the miles start piling up. But that's the rub, as my track record is one of using cycling as an excuse to eat more!

My weekly stats are updated on the side-bar to the right.

Another Week...

2011-04-11T08:54:00.000-07:00

...another series of rides to build on. Four rides last week...four short, WINDY rides in tight fitting cycling clothes. Part of my motivation to keep riding is to get these clothes to fit normally again! So in that regard, the wind is my friend...because the wind is my training partner (with thanks to A Midnight Rider). Can I keep this going? That is the all important question.

Beginnings

2011-04-03T22:31:00.000-07:00

Some folks write about epic training rides and personal bests...others wax poetic about all things velo. My post today is to report on a modest accomplishment; namely, back to back weekend bike rides. No mileage...no timing...no stats...just two short rides to build on. Felt good to be rolling on two wheels again.

Oops!...I Did It Again

2011-01-10T08:54:00.000-08:00

No riding...no blogging since my last post in August 2010. Is that unbelievable? Well believe it. When I wrote my last post back in August it was looking like I was getting back into the swing of a routine riding schedule. Then I went on vacation for a week...to Maine...with my bike. Other than hitting the Acadia NP carriage roads on a rented MTB with family in tow, I never rode that week...nor did I ride a bike for the rest of the year. How I allow this to happen is frustrating to me but mainly after the fact. While it's happening it just seems like riding is not an option for me for one reason or another and I accept it. I obviously need to work on this a lot more. I intend on this first blog post of 2011 to be my new start, because immersing myself in thoughts on cycling puts me in the right frame of mind to take action. And action is what I need...much more than words! So expect more frequent blog posts from me as this new year unfolds and I flesh out ways to motivate myself to get an early jump on the 2011 riding season (DST starts in 62 days!!), improve my overall fitness, and lose weight. Unfortunately, I won't be hitting the road anytime soon with our 2nd major winter storm of the season bearing down on Southern New England. Lucky us...here's what we'll be dealing with on Wednesday morning.

One Step Back...Two Steps Forward

2010-08-02T13:27:00.000-07:00

That is truly the way my summer is going with respect to cycling. Last week was good...74 miles over four days, but more importantly my cycling legs are coming back. Another good thing about last week was that our spell of hot and humid weather was finally broken and that can make a world of difference to someone like myself desperately trying to get into riding shape at mid-season. Unfortunately, my history of nagging injuries leaves me no choice but to gradually build up my miles...otherwise I risk ignoring painful lessons from the past!

My weekly stats are up-to date in the side-bar on the right, including my weight. :)

Thanks to all those who left words of encouragement on my last couple of posts...it helps, it really does.

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

2010-07-26T12:03:00.000-07:00

My goal last week was 72 miles. I accomplished goose eggs.

You don't want to hear the excuses...trust me.

Weekly Stats...

2010-07-18T20:21:00.000-07:00

...are updated in the right side-bar

A Pathetic Factoid

2010-07-16T13:24:00.000-07:00

I worked yesterday...came home late (25 minute delay on train)...and still went out for a 21 mile ride. Woo hoo!! My first after work ride in over 10 months.

I am sure this is my shortest post ever. :-)

5 Out of 9

2010-07-12T10:47:00.000-07:00

Over the last 9 days I managed to ride on 5 days, but the thing about the last 9 days is that I was on vacation. Can I maintain a routine riding schedule heading into this first week back from work? That's the question on my mind...the one that will be answered over the next couple of weeks. Obviously I failed to accomplish that during the Spring riding season...so what will I do differently this time? Riding in the early morning will be key I believe...yet that is my biggest hurdle to overcome as I'm simply not a morning person. Can anyone help me with tips for rising early (other than go to bed early...I know that one!)? I'm all ears.

BTW, on the right side bar with my weekly stats, ??? = afraid to step on scale! But I will one of these days.

He Rides Again...Slowly!

2010-07-04T21:46:00.000-07:00

Yup, you read that correctly. I rode my bike this weekend...slowly, but twice!

Saturday I got in 16.5 miles @ 14.2 mph...Sunday I rode 20.9 @ 13.8 mph. Boy was it hot.

It's a fresh start. We'll see what I can do with it.

Status

2010-05-28T10:15:00.000-07:00

If I have any followers left, this is just a note to let you know I'm still alive and kicking. I'm not even sure how I got off-track with my riding, but I did...work/family/stuff (life!) got in the way yet again. I know I'm not the only one who suffers from this affliction...if only a day was longer.

Hope to ride this weekend and get back to blogging.

RoadID Giveaway

2010-03-25T19:39:00.000-07:00

Run on over to KC's blog (140 Point 6 Miles). She's running a contest to win a RoadID bracelet. I've been meaning to order one so figured I'd enter the contest. If I don't win one I'll surely order one...and when I get it I'll post about it here!

Road ID gathered its group of brand ambassadors (Levi Leipheimer, Bob Roll, Dean Karnazes, Craig Alexander, Liz Hatch and Scott Nydam) to talk about their individual sports, the inherent dangers of each, and the roll that Road ID plays in being safe.

Here's the video:

Speedplay Pedals

2010-03-24T11:03:00.000-07:00

I may have only mentioned it a couple of times if at all here on the blog, but I'm a huge fan of Speedplay pedals. I credit them with saving my knees and allowing me to continue to ride big miles (relative I know, but at least for me).

Bike Noob recently posted a nice piece on Speedplays (Speedplay Pedals - Are They For You) in response to friendly recommendations he received when he was dealing with severe knee pain. Given my view on Speedplay pedals, I left a lengthy comment on his post as a result of reading through the comments and seeing what I thought were a few misconceptions floating around concerning these pedals. I am going to re-post my comments here.

I’ve weighed in before on Speedplay pedals but have no interest in converting others to switch…if you like the pedals you have I’d say stick with them. That being said, Speedplays work for me and I have what I like to call the perfect storm of bad knee conditions: ITB friction syndrome (proper stretching is the key to helping with this one), damage from previously misaligned cleats, a touch of arthritis, and mild chondromalacia (severe if I don’t get my base miles in on the small chainring). I was at my wits end about 10 years ago when the chronic pain became impossible to manage and the only solution outside of possible surgery was to stop riding. Enter Speedplays and result – my knee problems are mostly history. Sure I still deal with aches and pains, but the key is they are now very manageable. So yes, Speedplays work for me and I like to tell others all about them. :-)

With that in mind, there still seems to be a lot of misconceptions concerning Speedplays and I see them right here in the comments. A few need to be addressed:

1. Platform size and stability: the Speedplay platform is about the same size or larger than most other pedals…seriously! The key here is the unique design of the pedal system where the “platform” is designed into the cleat portion of the system. So if you’re looking at the lollipop-shaped pedals and asking how that can be stable, your logic is correct but you’re only considering one part of the pedal system…in this case, the wrong one. I find them to be quite stable and have never experienced the rocking sensation mentioned in Noob’s post (mine are old X/3s…now X/5s…so maybe that’s why). I’m in the market for a new pair…if those have the rocking sensation at least I know there is a solution.

2. Stack height: folks seem to be equating stack height with cornering clearance. It has nothing to do with cornering clearance. Stack height is the distance between the center of the spindle and the top of the cleat, and dictates the amount of distance between the bottom of your foot and the pedal’s spindle. Stack height affects pedaling efficiency, not cornering. Apparently, one can pedal more efficiently the closer their foot is to the spindle…meaning less stack height is better. Speedplays have relatively little stack height. The superior cornering clearance comes from the narrow profile of the pedal compared with others.

3. Additional maintenance: I’ve done nothing, and I mean nothing, to my Speedplays except one exchange of cleats over a 10 year period and they continue to work fine. I admit, I don’t walk around in them a lot. If I planned to, I would buy the cleat covers. Some of my riding buddies have also mentioned additional maintenance as a reason to shy away from Speedplays, but I just don’t find that to be a compelling reason given my experience with them.

4. Dual-sided entry: no misconceptions on this feature, just surprised that no one mentioned it as a benefit. No fumbling around with the pedal to get it on the right side to engage the cleat…just place your foot on the pedal, push and you’re locked in. Very simple in and out.

For those of you not familiar with the Bike Noob blog, I urge you to check it out. He always posts on interesting aspects of the cycling world with well written pieces and always soliciting the views of others. As a result, the comments are also well worth reading. Plus he utilizes a couple of guest bloggers who write about their cycling experiences to keep things even more topical and interesting. Keep up the good work Ray.

Sunrise...Sunset, Sunrise...Sunset

2010-03-17T19:36:00.000-07:00

Here are some cool geeky sun charts I just found at: http://www.gaisma.com/en/location/providence-rhode-island.html

The chart below shows sunrise, sunset, dawn and dusk times for the whole year for Providence, RI. Start of dawn and end of dusk times are based on the definition of "civil twilight".

The next chart is a sun path diagram, which is a visualization of the sun's path through the sky. This path is formed by plotting azimuth (left-right) and elevation (up-down) angles of the sun in a given day to a diagram.

To find out the position azimuth = 60, elevation = 30, for example, imagine standing at the center of the diagram heading to the true north. To find the azimuth angle 60, you must turn 60 degrees to the right. Now the altitude angle 30 can be located by raising your head 30 degrees from the horizon.

It can be seen from the orange line on the diagram (Sun's path today, 3/18/10) that the sun rises from the East (azimuth = 90) in Providence at 06:52. Sunset happens at 18:56 when the sun is in the West (azimuth = 270). The elevation angle is approximately 48 degrees at noon.

Saturday, 3/20 is the Vernal Equinox...better known as the first day of Spring. So what is an equinox? Funny you should ask.

Far from being an arbitrary indicator of the changing seasons, March 20 is significant for astronomical reasons. On March 20, 2010, at precisely 1:32 P.M. EDT , the Sun will cross directly over the Earth's equator. This moment is known as the vernal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere. Translated literally, equinox means "equal night." Because the sun is positioned above the equator, day and night are about equal in length all over the world during the equinoxes.

And that is your moment of GEEK, brought to you by TOTW!

Happy Saint Patty Day!!

2010-03-17T17:34:00.000-07:00

Celebrated with a 24 mile ride after work (just love that DST!!!) followed by a good dinner of corned beef and cabbage...and a few more veggies to make it a nice hearty meal. Yum

I even wore green today. :-)

Hope everyone had a grand time being Irish for a day...or whooping it up if you happen to be Irish!

Walking the Talk

2010-03-11T17:00:00.000-08:00

At least for today that is!

Today was the typical type of day on which I usually have a hard time motivating myself to ride. It was cloudy, cold (48F at ride time) and threatening to rain. Most of the time I find a nice convenient excuse to do something else. But not today...today I rode.

The difference today was the fact that I was working from home and HAD a decent window of opportunity to ride. With rain on the horizon for the next 4 days it wasn't a difficult decision to make. I didn't want goose-eggs as my entry for Week 2 of my base log. It's going to be hard enough hitting targets this month with the always potentially crappy New England weather in play.

Next week we'll be on DST, which should give me more flexibility to ride and make after work rides doable with a little planning (i.e., getting out of the office early :)).

Anyway, today it was 25.6 miles at a sickening 14.4 mph pace...argh! Thirty minutes after I got home it was raining...a cold, nasty type of rain.

Base Training Plan

2010-03-11T06:45:00.000-08:00

In my last post I mentioned my new base training plan, so here it is.

I said it was a 12 week plan, but it's really 16 weeks and will take me well into June. That's a long time for building a base but that's by design. It's basically my adaptation of a block training plan modified to address my time-crunched lifestyle and need for lots of recovery.

Key elements of the plan consist of:

Four 4-week blocks each peaking in the 3rd week followed by a recovery week.
Only 3 rides per week...meaning plenty of recovery time (down time or time for other activities)
Longer rides (for me at least...particularly for the Spring season)
More flexibility for scheduling rides

If I follow this plan, I'll end up with close to my total mileage for all of last year by the end of June. So no doubt, there is a lot of cycling involved. We'll see how it goes.

An Offer Too Good To Refuse...

2010-03-09T12:18:00.000-08:00

...So I didn't.

I'm talking about this past weekend's weather of course. Full sunshine with temperatures in the mid-50s...10-15 degrees above normal for this time of year. The only blemish was a persistent northwesterly wind, but who's looking for perfection this time of year.

With these great conditions, my 2010 riding season has commenced.

On Saturday, I logged an easy 21 miles for my 1st complete ride of the year. Easy that is until I inadvertently picked-up a pair of lovely lead weights. You know, the kind you wear around your legs! I have to presume they were lost and looking for a new home. So if you missing some lead weights, I have them. I'll carry them around for a few more rides before I shed them…hopefully, someone else will claim them first. Twenty-one miles was most likely the max I had in me given my long 6 months out of the saddle. I know this because my quads started cramping at mile 20 when I stood on the pedals…I can't remember the last time I had any leg cramps while riding.

Sunday brought another beautiful day and a leisurely ride of 17 miles...lead weights and all. No one claimed them…bummer.

I'll be recording my basic weekly ride stats over on the right sidebar again. So a quick check there will tell if I'm riding or not.

As a time-crunched cyclist, I'm changing my plan of attack for this riding season. While many have completed or are nearing completion of their base miles, I'm just starting mine. My base plan is to ride fewer but longer rides this Spring. So for the next 12 weeks I'll generally be riding 3 times per week while working my way up to 50 mile rides. There will be little focus on speed during this period, while a lot of attention will be placed on proper recovery. One thing that happened last year, among a few that I would rather not repeat, was chronically sore quadriceps. I'm hoping I can manage that with fewer riding days and more rest days. Once my base miles are complete I hope to transition from rest days to active recovery days to get more rides in.

We'll see how it goes. Wish me luck!

The Most Famous Weather Prognosticator

2010-02-02T07:14:00.000-08:00

Punxsutawney Phil has predicted 6 more weeks of winter!

Not the news this cyclist wanted to hear today...bummer. :)

Registration for 2010 Harpoon B2B

2010-01-29T14:12:00.000-08:00

I admit it...the last two weeks have been depressing for me.

After my accident, I had a feeling that by the time I was all healed a second wave of bitterly cold winter would have its grip on New England. So here I sit today...about 90% healed...and the temperature outside is barely in the 20s with the 5-day forecast showing daily high temperatures barley in the 30s. Bummer, I just knew that would happen.

But what really is a bummer was trying to register for the extremely popular 2010 Harpoon B2B bike ride. I posted about this event last year (didn't ride it...just wrote about wanting to). The open registration was on Tuesday, 1/19, and the word on the street is that the open slots filled up in 3 minutes. Yes, I wrote that correctly...3 freakin minutes! Needless to say, I was not able to register.

The main problem with registering for this ride is that alumni get to register first for a whole week leading up to the start of the open registration. So basically, if you haven't participated in the ride in the past, you're pretty much locked out (although I do understand that registrations are transferable). Seems to me that this event is truly an exclusive club.

Here's an uplifting thought...a seed of an idea perhaps. Why not start another brewery to brewery (B2B) ride right here in Southeastern Massachusetts area. A friend of a friend of a blogger type ride! After all, there are three fine craft breweries all within a day's ride of each other in this area. I'm sure they wouldn't mind the publicity...and we all like good beer, right?

For reference purposes, the 3 micro-breweries are:

Coastal Extreme Brewing Company - Middletown, RI
Just Beer Brewing Company (formerly Buzzard's Bay Brewing Co.) - Westport, MA
Mayflower Brewing Company - Plymouth, MA

Hmm, a Mayflower Porter sounds good right about now!

Bad Karma?

2010-01-18T07:48:00.000-08:00

Saturday was a beautiful mid-winter day...temps in the 40s...no wind. Perfect day for my first ride of 2010, so I set out on my fixie for what would be about an 18 mile ride. Oh how I wish the ride had been as perfect as the day!

What happened? No more than 2.5 miles into this ride I had words with a motorist as I carefully (I thought) entered a T intersection to make a left hand turn. I had come to a complete stop and proceeded when I thought it was safe to go. Apparently I did not see an oncoming car to the right who came to a stop despite my avoidance maneuver and felt the need to call me out. The incident did not escalate beyond the initial exchange of words, but as I pedaled away I couldn't help but think that the whole incident could have been avoided if I had been more careful. It really bothered me that I had allowed myself to lose my temper on this very first ride of 2010. Did I give myself bad karma? You tell me.

A few miles later I'm on a slight downhill stretch of road trying to keep my cadence under control and then, crack...thunk!! My natural inclination was to stop pedaling but on a fixed gear bike that means you get lifted off the seat. Guess what? No seat! The saddle had snapped off the seat post!!!!! Luckily for me there was no traffic passing by when this occurred and I was able to ditch my bike into the snow on a nearby front lawn.

I feel real lucky to walk away from this accident mostly unscathed except for a deep contusion on my inner thigh where I initially landed on the broken seat post. It could have been a LOT worse...by less than an inch if you know what I mean!

Now I have a new cycling goal for 2010...try to maximize good karma! I want to have a large reservoir of good karma in reserve for the rest of my cycling days!!

The bike, post accident:

The saddle with broken post:

The bib knickers with punture hole:

Looking Back on 2009

2010-01-15T12:45:00.000-08:00

In thinking about 2009 only one word comes to mind - DISAPPOINTING.

First, the the cycling season started off slow given a combination of bad weather, work commitments involving travel away from the area, and of course my darn daily commute into Boston. Heading into summer things started turning around as I got into a nice training groove. Then a minor bump in the road - I started a home improvement project that evolved (don't they always?). That ate into my riding time...especially on Saturday mornings, which was the only time my expert help (FIL) was available to assist! Finally, my cycling for the year came to a screeching halt around Labor Day as I fought through a couple of health issues that conspired to keep me off the saddle. And off the saddle I needed to be as, shall I say, saddle interface issues seemed the likely cause of the health problems. Despite all this, I still wanted to ride in the NBW's TFCE century ride on September 13 and had my doctor's clearance to do so. Unfortunately, with a minor flare-up of symptoms the day before the ride I couldn't face 100 miles in the saddle and decided it was simply time to heal. So essentially just as I was peaking, I stopped riding! Very disappointing to say the least!

As far a specific goals I set, another word comes to mind concerning my ability to attain these goals - PATHETIC! Not being able to double my 2008 miles does not bother me terribly as this was a lofty and probably unwise goal to set. The same thing can be said about trying to double my number of riding days. More bothersome to me was my continuing inability to establish an early morning riding routine, not being able to lose weight, not finding time to ride with friends, and not joining the NBW. The only goal I met was to increase the average length of my rides. On this goal I was able to increase my average ride distance from 21 miles in 2008 to 25 miles in 2009. This of course is a direct reflection of riding slightly more miles in 2009 in slightly LESS days (71 in 2009 vs. 78 in 2008).

The following are tabular and graphical depictions of my 2009 riding season.

Ride days and miles summary table:

Missed days are based on a "loose" training schedule, NOT all days that are available to ride. Clearly, doubling the number of days I ride appears to be an attainable goal.

Miles by month:

Miles by week:

I need to think more about specific "training" goals for 2010, but at a minimum, I consider all of my goals for 2009 to be the general goals I'll be shooting for again this year. However, losing weight needs to be my top priority.

2010-01-14T07:12:00.000-08:00

Bike Noob had an interesting post on Tuesday: Bikewise – A Potentially Valuable Resource

This morning, thanks to a link from An Old Guy on Two Wheels, I came across a web site called Bikewise. This isn’t your usual biking advocacy, biking avocation site. It’s all about cataloging bike crashes, hazards, and thefts to make biking safer. According to the site, “It’s estimated that 75% or more of all crashes go unreported. We believe that by gathering detailed information on how and why crashes happen, we’ll be able to ride smarter.”
Bikewise is based in the Seattle area, but accepts crash reports from all over the country. The biker submitting the report is asked to include information about the circumstances of the crash, road and weather conditions, and perhaps most importantly, lessons learned from the crash.

I agree that collecting data on how and why crashes happen will lead to smarter riding.

I work for a large A&E firm with a large construction division. In my own work over half my projects are related to hazardous waste sites while the remainder are typically in an industrial setting. Several years ago our CEO decided to make safety the company's top priority. The goal: to lead our industry in safety. They implemented a series of mandatory training programs and required monthly safety reporting along with project financials. An expansive incident reporting system was rolled out, and quite frankly, they beat us over the head with safety information on almost a daily basis. At the time, many of us were non-believers. We had to be brought along kicking and dragging our feet. But you know what? The collection of data on safety incidents and near misses, and the formal development of lessons learned, has lead to a safety ethic that I do believe is tops in our industry. The last few years we have ranked higher in safety than most of our competitors...it has saved us money by driving our insurance rates down...and it has DIRECTLY resulted in the company winning several major new corporate contracts. Most of all, we now work smarter and safer than we ever have before. The KEY to making this happen, beyond the CEO's mandate, was the collection and analysis of data on all the types of incidents that were occurring. It worked!

Folks can see an example of how the site works by reading Bike Noob's post. Or you can go directly to the Bikewise website.

One more thought. The safety program and reporting of incidents where I work was not voluntary...the Bikewise approach obviously is. Our own personal cycling crash incidents do not occur frequently so participating on Bikewise is not a time-consuming endeavor. But it's a smart one that could pay dividends in the future once enough data is collected.

Casualties of the Economy?

2010-01-13T22:47:00.000-08:00

Recently I was surprised to learn of two local bicycling-related establishments that went out of business presumably due to bad economic times. Well, one is loosely cycling-related and still has its doors open but DID stop making its namesake product.

Buzzard’s Bay Brewing Company – Westport, MA

I wanted to pick-up some of their excellent craft-brewed lager beer to bring to my brother-in-law in NJ in a couple of weeks, and when I went to their website to refresh my memory on where the beer is sold I learned they stopped brewing the beers under the Buzzard’s Bay label! That really shocked me…their brews were award winning. Apparently they slipped from brewing 5,000 barrels a year in 2002 to ONLY 100 barrels in 2009. That’s the bad news. The good news is the brewery is still open with a shift in approach to being a contract brewer plus focusing on a new line of small batch American inspired ales made with all domestic ingredients. The new brew will be sold under the label Just Beer. Moby D and John Beere are their first two offerings. I might have to post a review after I try them.

Village Bicycle – Westport, MA

Although I did not frequent this bike shop, this was another shocker for me. Jim Lebelle seemed to have his finger on the pulse of current cycling and lifestyle trends. In addition to the standard bike shop fare, he was offering nutritional products along with diet/fitness plans and last winter had started-up an indoor cycling training center. He ran what I call a progressive bike shop… listening to his customers …bringing in new products...renting bikes…organizing routine shop rides and special events. I have no details on what factors conspired to do him in…presumably it was related to the recession. I only saw online that he posted a closure notice on the store website on Christmas Eve.

That’s the second LBS that I know of in as many years to close its doors. The other one was Epicycle here in North Attleboro (former sister store to East Providence Cycle). Sad.

My blog postings should increase now that I’ve healed and have my mind set on an early start to the 2010 cycling season.

Bicycle Repairman

2009-10-15T21:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the 40th Anniversary of Monty Python's Flying Circus. These guys are great, so for your viewing pleasure, here is a bicycle repair clinic!

Ride with Chris Carmichael on Sep 17

2009-09-09T08:31:00.000-07:00

Lance Armstrong’s Coach Makes Exclusive
New England Stop at Belmont Wheelworks

for Group Ride & Book Signing

“The Time-Crunched Cyclist”

What:

Love staying in shape? No time for exercise? Enjoy cycling? Two words for you: Chris Carmichael, who’ll be in town to sign his new book, The Time Crunched Cyclist, and to answer your questions in person about how to fit some reasonable riding into your unreasonable schedule. Carmichael, who coached Lance to seven consecutive Tour de France victories and this year's comeback third place, makes his only New England stop at the Belmont WHEELWORKS on September 17th with a group ride and a Q & A. Says Carmichael, "We’re not 20 anymore. Many of us have families and jobs and can’t commit to 10 or more hours per week on our bikes. For most of us, “your training program is the only thing stopping you from enjoying cycling the way you used to. Why? Because predominant theories in training are still stuck in the 1980s.”

The event will begin with a 2-hour group ride for up to 40 local cyclists led by Carmichael. All riders should be intermediate level or more advanced and be able to maintain a 17 to 19 mph pace. After the ride, the public is invited to a clinic and book signing reception sponsored by GU Energy Labs at the Belmont WHEELWORKS. You have to register for the ride by emailing events@wheelworks.com and all are welcome to the book signing reception later in the evening.

When:

Thursday, September 17th

3:30pm Ride Meeting Time at Belmont Wheelworks
4:00pm Ride Departure
6:30pm-8pm Clinic & refreshments at Belmont Wheelworks following the ride

Where:

Belmont WHEELWORKS
480 Trapelo Road
Belmont, MA
(617) 489-3577

COST: The ride and in-store appearance are free and open to the public.

The Time-Crunched Cyclist...sounds like he wrote the book for me!!

Grounded!

2009-09-04T08:31:00.000-07:00

It has certainly been a while since my last post. Until recently, I had been riding and chronicling my rides using the Daily Mile/Facebook applications as well as posting some basic weekly stats here (both can be viewed over to the right). This was suppose to a riding season of PRs and reaching set goals. Unfortunately, it hasn't exactly evolved in that manner, although last week I did have a "first" worth posting on. I wish this was a good "first" but it's not.

Two Sundays ago I did a 51 mile ride followed by a 20 miler the next day, and then I was off to NJ to work at a project site for a few days. Well by the end of my first day away I was experiencing some discomfort which I immediately attributed to being dehydrated...wrong! Despite efforts to rehydrate, the symptoms grew worse, and last Friday I was diagnosed with prostatitis, otherwise known as a male urinary tract infection! As a result, the doctor suggested that I curtail riding until the symptoms had subsided, which they did a few days ago. But I've been playing it safe and have been grounded for a total of 10 days! I plan on riding today...wish me luck!

It's not entirely clear to the doctor or me what caused this...it could have been the 50 mile ride or the cumulative affects of the riding season...or not related to the riding at all. One thing is for sure, the saddle I've been riding is comfortable and has not caused any numbness in the nether regions nor malfunctioning parts! So go figure! Obviously I'll have to monitor the situation closely.

July 4th Ride

2009-07-06T21:20:00.000-07:00

I wanted to do something different over the long holiday weekend so July 4th featured a one-way ride to the family cottage on Buzzard's Bay in Fairhaven. Of course, the ride would have to wait until after the Arnold Mills July 4th Parade (also known as the Horribles Parade). We started bringing the kids to this parade last year with several other families...it's not the Bristol Parade but it's still a pretty good time for a parade with easy to obtain seating! Anyway, I was thinking the parade started at 10 but it didn't start until 11 and we didn't get home until just before 1:00, so I got a real late start on this ride which essentially took a chunk out of the middle of the day. But it was fun anyway. The plan was for the rest of the family to get there before me with my change of clothes.

I figured on 3 hours of riding and ended up at 3 hrs- 3 min despite a wrong turn in Berkley that added about 3 miles to the ride. The ride was actually quite easy given that I essentially had at least a partial tail wind from the west to northwest over most of the distance.

Ride stats: 53.7 miles at 17.6 mph.

The cookout and fireworks afterward seemed more enjoyable this year!

Unexpected Tempo Ride

2009-07-01T21:55:00.000-07:00

This was the week I planned to turn it up a few notches with some serious riding, but glitches in the plan hit early. With Friday off from work extending the holiday weekend and my Tues/Thur kid-carting obligations absent for a week, I figured I'd ride every day except Wednesday...including joining the PHAT ride on Tuesday night and the Bikeworks TT on Thursday. Of course Tuesday was a terrific night for riding given the horrible weather we've been experiencing, but as luck would have it, I couldn't leave work early (just on time!)...so no PHAT ride. Plus when I got home, although there was time for a short ride, I just felt tired and hungry and non motivated...so no ride at all. And the night before I found out there would be no TT in Rehoboth this week. It's an 8 miler.

Then the rain came and came and came and....well you all know about the lousy weather that never seems to end.

So tonight's ride was unexpected for two reasons:

First, it pretty much rained here all day and hard...and it was raining when I left Boston...and my wife reported very wet roads and huge puddles. So I figured another ride missed due to the crappy weather system that has parked itself in various locations in the Northeast for just about the entire month of June. But after I got home and had a good meal, the roads were clearly drying and I just needed to get out on the bike for a short ride. Damp conditions were not going to stop me.
Secondly, I hate wet rides of any type so I simply resigned myself to a "going through the motions" type of ride. But after the first 5 miles of spinning I unexpectedly picked up the tempo without really trying. That's when I realized how strong my legs were feeling so I picked it up some more to a level I thought I MIGHT be able to sustain for the rest of the ride (by now an 18 mile ride had been decided!).

Lo and behold...I ended up doing 18.25 mostly dry miles in 58 minutes...an 18.9 mph pace! And that's with one decent size hill and a somewhat slow first 5 miles. Now I don't feel bad about there not being a TT on Thursday. Sometimes the best rides are totally unexpected.

Next up: a one-way approx. 50 mile ride to the family cottage in Fairhaven on the 4th...well, that is after Friday's ride.

Longest Day Ride

2009-06-23T21:15:00.000-07:00

This blog may start to be known as the blog which features bike ride events that "I never manage to ride"...lol! Earlier in the year I posted about the Harpoon B2B ride that was held last Saturday. That has to be one of the coolest and toughest organized rides offered in the New England area. A couple of testimonials posted on the Sharon Road Club message board (see posts dated 6/21 and 6/22) seem to indicate that it was a great day of riding last Saturday and an all around very successful event. Oh well, there's always next year.

Here's another ride I had my sights set on but won't be able to participate in due to family commitments (the kid's have their karate class graduation this day). It's the Longest Day Ride being held this Thursday night (6/25) and sponsored by Ten Speed Spokes in Newport, RI. The ride covers 46 miles on Aquidneck Island (Newport, Middletown, Portsmouth) and starts promptly at 6:00 pm. A moderately long organized ride at night...and during the weekday too! I've never ridden it nor do I know anyone who has, but it just seems like it would be a unique and fun ride to participate in...to celebrate the time of year that offers us the most sunlight!

So not this year... perhaps next. But I would like to hear from anyone who's participated in the ride. Is it a cycling event worthy of clearing the calendar? And just so my few readers don't think I just talk about organized cycling events, I am registered for and will participate in the NBW's TFCE this September. This will be about my 10th time riding in this fun event.

My First Time Trial

2009-06-21T10:42:00.000-07:00

And a disaster it was!

I think time trials (TT) are great. In addition to being my favorite type of cycling competition, I think they are great to participate in as a way to measure your fitness and help attain riding goals like speed. Turns out, there are several TT races held in the local area by clubs and bike shops...and they're open to anyone. I'd been thinking of trying one but my schedule makes it difficult. But there is one that fits my schedule perfectly and also happens to be reasonably close by as well, so earlier in the week I committed to participate in the once per month Saturday morning 12-mile TT held by the Sharon Road Club.

Okay, so now about the disaster. I'll start by giving some advice. Know the TT course before you ride it for the first time. I know the roads in the area reasonably well and had both a map I had downloaded and studied plus written directions handed to me at the race. Despite all that, I missed a turn that resulted in an estimated extra 1.6 miles being added to the 12 mile TT loop. But that's just the BIG mistake I made. Here is a complete list of all the things, that IMO, went wrong...rookie mistakes if you will :

Not knowing the course well enough and missing a turn
Riding 28 miles the night before
Starting out way too fast for the 12 mile distance and at too high a cadence
Forgetting to reset my cyclometer
Not being able to ride on the drops for long enough distances
Forgetting to wear my skin suit and teardrop shape aero helmet (ok...just kidding on those two!)

My official time was 44:19, which for a 13.6 mile distance equates to an average speed of 18.5 mph. My goal for this TT was an average speed with a 19 handle...so to me I didn't come close. My goal for this season is to break into the 20s. Despite the disaster, I still had fun and plan on doing this TT routinely as a measure of progress.

The Sharon Road Club TT is held once a month during the riding season at 8:30 on a Saturday morning. More information can be found at the link.

There are a few other regularly held TT events in the area of varying distances. Here are the ones a know about with links for more information.

Dover TT - Dover, MA - Wed nights - 7.7 miles
Bikeworks TT - Rehoboth, MA - Thur nights - 8 miles
Tri-Town Cycling TT - Rochester, MA - Tues nights - 14 miles (the Small Town Cyclist wrote about it here)

I'd like to try the Bikeworks TT next if I can manage to free-up a Thursday night.

Anyone know of any other TTs in the area?

Edited to add another local TT:

Pat Bell TT - Southboro, MA - Tues nights at 6:30 - 11.7 miles

Just Beat The Rain!

2009-06-16T07:56:00.000-07:00

Now that I've got momentum going, I hate to miss a riding opportunity on a potential ride day. At this point in the season, all days are potential ride days except Tuesdays and Thursdays when my children and wife have back to back to back karate and/or kickboxing lessons (once school is over next week I hope to sneak in a Tues/Thur ride here and there). Yesterday was no exception, especially when Wendy reported patches of blue sky and "no threat of rain whatsoever". But she was driving down the highway and I was staring at a radar screen at work. No rain now I told her, but there's a solid line of yellows and reds headed our way...at which point she reminded me how often our hopes are dashed for a good old-fashioned thunderstorm as they fall apart and die crossing Rhode Island. Good point I told her...I'll be on the 5 and plan to squeeze in a short ride.

Of course, by the time I get home the threat of rain is imminent. Not liking to have my hopes dashed yet again, I decide to stay local so I can cut the ride short if need be. There's a 5 mile loop from my house...I call it the basic loop...which I can ride one or more times with add-on loops to get anywhere from 10 to 20 total miles. Figured I'd do 14 miles. That was one cold ride for June...even with a LS jersey and vest on. At mile 12 I decided to stay out longer and predictably at mile 13 rode into a few sprinkles. But basically the rain held off until 10 minutes after I got home at which time a good steady rain developed. Wendy told me that the whole time I was riding the main area of rain was getting closer but that the light green leading edge on the radar didn't move beyond the MA/RI line just to our west. Now that's called just beating the rain!

Ended up cranking out a total of 18.3 cold miles at an average pace of 17.5 mph. Funny how the threat of cold rain makes you go faster.

Summary for W/E 14Jun09 - Near Perfect Riding Week

2009-06-15T11:27:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago was yet another low point in my 2009 training schedule (yes, there have been others). It was the 1st week of June and I was only capable of logging a measly 46 miles as result of 2 rides over the weekend. And my average speed for those two rides was a pathetic 15.9 mph. This is NOT what I planned when I decided to blog last year and wrote about my cycling plans for 2009.

What a Difference a Week Makes!!

This past week ended up being a nearly perfect riding week, despite a weather forecast that suggested few opportunities for riding. It would have been a perfect week had it not been for the untimely rain on Sunday morning. I had planned to do my long ride for the week 1st thing Sunday morning, 30-35 miles or more depending on how I was feeling after 2 days of riding. As a result of the rain, I had to settle for a much shorter ride later in the day. I was able to get in after work rides on Monday, Wednesday and Friday...an early morning ride on Saturday (on the road shortly after 7:30 AM, which is as good as it gets for me!)...and an off-plan late afternoon ride on Sunday. A total of 101 miles for the week at an average speed of 16.8 mph. If I can string a few weeks like this one together I'll be mighty pleased.

The jump in my average speed is noteworthy. I'm pretty sure it's real but I must admit I'm still fleshing this out a bit to make sure. Let me explain further.

Different Bike/Different Cyclometer

All my rides this week were on the Trek 2100. These were my first "real" rides on this bike other than tooling around the neighborhood shortly after I bought it. I bought the bike off of eBay last October from a seller in Hopkinton as I felt the need to have a "back-up" bike once I decided to raise my training up a few notches for 2009. To me the bike was a steal for what I needed. But when I started the longer rides earlier in the Spring I naturally took out the Specialized Roubaix, the only road bike I rode for the last two years. However, two Sundays ago I sent myself into a mild panic when I was preparing to ride and noticed that the outer layer of rubber was peeling off the rear wheel tire on the Roubaix. I had known it was getting near that point but I'm not too good with standard pre-ride checkouts of my bike...usually just hop on and go. I certainly got good use from that tire...it was the original that came with the bike and had just under 3,000 miles on it! Anyway,it was time to get the 2100 out of the basement and get it set-up for riding, which is what I did. It came with a Cateye cyclometer and after verifying the correct settings and riding on loops of known mileage, it seems to match very closely the data from the Trek Incite 8i on the Roubaix. I have no reason to believe it's not properly calibrated, but I probably ought to get new batteries for its two main units in case its flaking out on batteries about to go kaput.

2100 vs. Roubaix

I like the Roubaix and test rode several other comparable bikes before I decided to buy it in early 2007. After years of riding an old Trek 1200, the Roubaix had the plushest ride I had ever experienced. The 2100 has a noticeably harsher ride but much better responsiveness to my pedaling. Yes, in just a few rides this past week I've noticed vastly improved accelerations and more power going up hills. At first I thought it was just in my head but I really do believe it's the bike. I know I certainly feel faster on the 2100!

The Dreaded Big Chainring

There's no reason the big chainring should be dreaded except in situations like mine. I've had a chronic problem with my right knee that in the past has kept me off the bike and getting PT. What I've learned over the years is that I need a good base of miles riding exclusively on the small chainring and building up the muscles around the knees each year before I can start to even entertain the thought of using the big gears. If I don't train this way, I end up on the sidelines with a painful knee. So my training has always been based on a high cadence riding style with a focus of building leg speed early in the season. I use 500 miles as a basic rule of thumb for building the base but it also depends on how my knee feels. Having passed the 500 mile mark a week ago and with my knee feeling pretty good, I started using the large chainring sparingly on 2 rides this week...and both those rides resulted in average speeds easily exceeding 17 mph.

So to me, this all adds up to my first "breakthrough" event for 2009. I wish it was all in my legs but I'll take improvement anyway it comes...both stronger legs and a faster bike work fine for me. But I also know my history and I typically don't have such large increases in weekly average speeds so I'll need to keep an eye on the Cateye cyclometer. I'm pretty sure this all adds up to real improvement, but...

Walking at Lunch - Boston HarborWalk

2009-05-21T20:50:00.000-07:00

Working in Boston has it's pros and cons. The biggest con for me is all the time that gets consumed commuting by train. This time of year the commuting time takes away from cycling time. But I'll take it if it means I stay employed.

One of the pros is there is plenty to see and do during free time if you have any. :-)

One thing I haven't done much lately is take a full hour plus lunch to walk around and explore. My office is only a few blocks from the Fort Point Channel water front and I have certainly walked down there many times in the past but not recently (recently being... say, a couple of years). With the weather turning summer-like this week, I had heard some folks talk about walking down by the water. So today I decided to take a long walk to the water and check out some portions of the Boston HarborWalk. I headed over the channel to Fan Pier and walked to the end of the developed walkway. Fan Pier is home to the Moakley Federal Courthouse, which wraps around the western portion of the pier. The rest of the pier is currently under development, but was the site and support zone for the recent Volvo Ocean Race that visited the city for about a month starting back in April.

I had promised some original pictures, obviously bicycling-themed, when I stared this blog last year. That has been too slooooooow in developing for sure, but there's nothing like a walk along the Boston waterfront to get me in a picture taking mood with the new LG enV2 cell phone I got a few months ago.

Here are a few a took today.

View of downtown Boston skyline from Fan Pier.

Sailboats docked at Fan Pier. The red boat in foreground is the type participating in the Volvo Ocean Race.

At the end of the walkway. A view of the famous Anthony's Pier 4 restaurant.

I'm a little concerned about my inability to stick with the general cycling training schedule I thought I'd be able to follow this summer...which means I'm concerned about attaining my weight goal. I'm going to add walking at lunch to my schedule to help burn calories. Stay tuned for more pictures!

Weekly Stats Update

2009-05-18T22:47:00.000-07:00

It's about time I posted something.

What's worse than not posting in over 3 weeks? Not riding for two of those weeks! Working out of state is a training schedule killer...at least for me I'm afraid to admit. I couldn't even fit a ride in on two consecutive weekends. Last week was a little better.

Weekly stats, as meager they be, are updated in the right side-bar.

Weekly Stats

2009-04-27T09:26:00.000-07:00

I've added weekly stats for 2009 under the Daily Mile widget on the right side bar. Hopefully my weekly distances and average speeds will increase while my weight decreases. My target weight is 180 lb...it's an ambitious goal so we'll see how it goes.

Last week was a disappointment for riding. The week had a lot of promise with the children away for the week, but other things got in the way. I had wanted to de-thatch the lawn for a few years now so last Friday was the day. Of course, I got a late start for numerous reasons, including being on call for a crisis brewing at work and a one hour wait at the RMV to get my license renewed. I had wanted to start in the morning but didn't get going until 2:00 pm. After that the domino effect controlled the rest of the weekend, which meant no ride on Friday and short rides on Sat and Sun. I understand those kinds of weeks are going to happen but it still aggravates me to no end.

Week Ending 4/26/09

Sat 4/25 - 18.9 mi - 16.4 mph
Sun 4/26 - 22.6 mi - 16.0 mph

This week will be another thin week for riding. I'm heading off later today to a project site in New Jersey where I'll be working for the next few days. Hope I'm back in time and the weather holds for rides on Fri through Sun.

Mid-Week Update - W/E 4/26/09

2009-04-23T19:27:00.000-07:00

After riding three days in a row to end last week, the plan was to take a rest day on Monday, ride Tues or Wed, ride Thur or Fri, and then ride the weekend for a total 4 days of cycling. The weather forecast even dove-tailed nicely with this plan, and furthermore, all days were in play this week as the kids were shipped off to Gramps and Grammy's house for the week (school vacation week...bless my parents!). Unfortunately, the timing of the rain conspired to prevent any dry after work rides through Wed, and today, well I guess you could call it one of my lazy-ass days. I just could not motivate myself to pull on the tights and the heavy-weight jersey and face those gusty westerly wind again tonight. It might have actually been easier to do it if the forecast for the next few days wasn't so spectacular...but for today, it was just too easy to wait the extra day for more proper riding conditions...without any layers and hopefully no gusty winds.

April = August

As I'm sure everyone knows by now, we're going to have June-like weather this weekend. That means shorts and short-sleeve jerseys for certain...some of us for the first time at least for the jersey (at least that's the case for me). But remember, even though the calendar says April...the sun strength at this time of year is equivalent to that of August. Don't forget your sunblock folks!...especially if you're going out on a long ride. Karen gave that warning last weekend...and it sort of came the hard way. Seems worth repeating just prior to this first truly made for cycling weekend of 2009.

Enjoy your rides all!

Weekly Summaries

2009-04-20T22:12:00.000-07:00

Picking up where my last post left off, here are my weekly riding stats for the past two weeks:

Week Ending 4/12 (I track my weeks from Mon through Sun)

Wed 4/8 - 20.1 mi - 16.3 mph
Thur 4/9 - 17.2 mi - 15.6 mph
Fri 4/10 - 22.6 mi - 16.1 mph

Total for week of 59.9 miles at a weekly average speed of 16.04 mph.

Week Ending 4/19

Mon 4/13 - 18.6 mi - 16.3 mph
Wed 4/15 - 16.1 mi - 16.3 mph
Fri 4/17 - 25.4 mi - 16.4 mph
Sat 4/18 - 19.2 mi - 16.6 mph
Sun 4/19 - 17.2 mi - 15.9 mph

Total for week of 96.5 miles at a weekly average speed of 16.31 mph.

I'll be adding weekly stats - total miles, average speed, and my weight - to the right side-bar shortly. Yes, I'll be including my weight so the public can see if I'm full of crap about my goal of getting down to 180 pounds.

These have all been good early season rides...though most were coolish and all were windy (at least they all seemed windy to me....some brutally so). As much as I hate riding in windy conditions, I know the extra effort will start paying off soon. One thing about my rides so far is that I find the average speeds to be remarkably consistent. This is unusual for me. In past years, my average speeds over the first few weeks of riding at similar distances were typically erratic and wide ranging from low 14s to mid 16s mph. The only thing I can attribute this to is my handful of fixie rides over the winter and my attempt at keeping the off-season as short as possible (as lame as that effort was).

I'm still getting use to it, but the new ride schedule with Tuesdays and Thursdays generally reserved as off days (due to family schedules, not by choice) is working out fine. Although I still don't like the idea of riding on Mondays, a day I use to count on as a rest day after long and/or hard rides on the weekends.

Speaking of weekend rides, this Sunday offers a special fund raiser ride event down in the MA South Coast area (Fairhaven, Mattapoisett, Marion, Wareham). The event is to raise money for and awareness of the proposed Mattapoisett bike path, a portion of which has already been completed. Ride distances of 15 to 40 miles are being offered and the registration fee is small ($20). John has more details about this event on his blog. These are my old stomping grounds and the roads are excellent for riding...at least they used to be...and loaded with great scenery. I'd like to participate in the 40 miler, but the time commitment for me to get there and back and ride would be approx. 5 hours and I'm afraid the yardwork at home is already starting to pile up. There are many organized rides that I'd like to do later in the year when the yardwork dwindles off...so I'm thinking I should stick to plan and ride a 30 miler or so around here. We'll see.

Music To My Ears and Riding Update

2009-04-08T22:08:00.000-07:00

Here I am once again...finding it hard enough to find ride time around all the other commitments of family life while not allowing this blog to wither and die on the vine. I need to find a way to ride AND still have time to blog! As a result of my latest lapse, this post is not exactly the most timely with respect to its main topic...the music.

Yes, the music to my ears....an enduring seasonal chorus I look forward to hearing each year as much for the sweet sound as for the emergence of the Spring renewal it represents. This year, I first heard them the night of my daughter's birthday (date of my last post) as the in-laws were leaving. On my next ride 2 days later, I passed a spot in Plainville where the music was deafening...a roadside vernal pool perhaps. I'm talking of course about the spring peepers...also known as pinkletinks on the Vineyard (a fact I just learned). After our long and lingering winter, it's been good to hear them on my rides including my ride tonight...a nice reminder of the fact that warmer weather WILL arrive eventually.

Click on picture to hear the "music".

As for my rides, here's a summary of my mileage and average speeds since my last post:

Fri 3/27 - 18.3 mi - 15.7 mph
Thur 4/2 - 14.4 mi - 16.0 mph
Sat 4/4 - 17.1 mi - 16.0 mph (strong wind)
Sun 4/5 - 22.6 mi - 16.0 mph (strong wind)
Wed 4/8 - 20.1 mi - 16.3 mph

IMO, not too bad, but not too good either. I like to think of it as the "ramping up" phase. But once I start the training schedule with after work rides I try very hard to keep the momentum going. That means adding miles and riding days. Right now I'm only shooting for 3 to 4 rides per week with the max distance ranging into the 20s. I'd like to get to the point where I'm riding 5 days per week with after work ride distances ranging into the 30s and at least one long weekend ride in the 40-60 mile range. We'll see how it goes, but it's good to know that it will get easier as the temperatures warm up and the daylight hours grow.

Today's ride was a good example of keeping the momentum going. It would have been so easy to bag today's scheduled ride given the cold and wind and snow flurries my wife saw at work. I was really in no mood to ride all day, but I left work like I was going to ride and when I got home the wind had mostly died down. I started feeling better about riding and lo and behold I ended up doing a 20 mile ride and felt great doing it.

I didn't think I would be wearing my PI InsulaTour winter riding jacket again until next Fall, but the 44 deg temperature at ride time demanded it as well as the winter tights. Good call...I was never cold nor overly warm during the entire ride. The InsulaTour jacket has worked out well with temperatures in the 30s to mid-40s. When I wore it once or twice with temperatures in the 20s I found that I couldn't stay warm enough for an entire 12-16 mile ride. The cold too easily penetrated the back of the jacket, especially the back of the sleeves, which by design have no wind break material for breathability/water management.

I was looking at the NBW ride schedule a few weeks ago and noticed that the Triboro ride in my area was scheduled for this coming Sunday. I figured I'd join them for the 35 mile loop and get to know some of the club members. Now of course I realize that Sunday is Easter and I'll be lucky if I get any type of short ride in with all the egg hunts the family is preparing for the kids. Oh well...it's always something!

First After Work Training Ride

2009-03-25T19:19:00.000-07:00

When I planned yesterday to go for a ride today I forgot one very important thing - my daughter's birthday. She turned 7 today. I know that sounds awful but we had a big family party to celebrate her birthday last Saturday and this Saturday she gets another party for her friends (a gymnastics party). Silly me that it had escaped me on Tuesday that we were having yet another birthday cake on her actual birthday with my in-laws coming over (I don't remember having so many B-day parties when I was a kid )-: ). So when I told my wife on Tuesday night that I was riding after work on Wed, it was not exactly met with her approval. All was good though as I managed to leave work a little early and lo and behold - I finally got a bike ride in!! Another shoehorn special!

Glad to get that one done and over with...the first of the season. I kept going back and forth on deciding whether to stick with the fixie or take a road bike out. I went with the fixie and decided to simply ride the flat 4.8 mile loop near my home...that way I could easily bailout after the 2nd lap or shoot for one or two more depending on how I felt. Three laps was just right and gave me a decent workout with all the non-stop pedaling. I was happy with the 16 mph average speed.

As far as how the riding conditions were, all I can say is 50 degrees F never felt so warm and comfy!

Ride Stats (25Mar09)

Bike: Fixie
Distance: 14.4 miles
Time: 54 minutes
Average Speed: 16.0 mph
Next scheduled ride: Friday, 27Mar09
Temperature at start: 51 F (5:18 pm)
Temperature at end: 49 F (6:12 pm)
Gear: silk weight base layer/SportHill Summit LS jersey/PI Zephrr vest on top...and LG tights on the bottom...perfect for the temperature!

Falling Behind the "Firsts"

2009-03-24T13:54:00.001-07:00

Here is a list of cycling "firsts" I've been reading about in the blogosphere lately:

First road bike ride (http://cycling4fun.blogspot.com/2009/03/march-metric.html)
First Spring Ride (http://ilovemybrookssaddle.blogspot.com/2009/03/first-spring-ride.html)
First Spring Training Ride (http://www.tindonkey.com/2009/03/first-spring-training-ride.html)
First race http://suitcaseofcourage.typepad.com/the_suitcase_of_courage/2009/03/weekend-racing.html)
First team ride (http://mainevelophile.wordpress.com/2009/03/21/first-official-team-ride/)
First 2009 NBW ride (http://martysbikerides.blogspot.com/2009/03/nbw-028-east-providence-spring-season.html)
First Week back in the Saddle (http://trialsintri.blogspot.com/2009/03/first-week-back-in-saddle.html)

I'm very pleased to see that my fellow cycling bloggers are faithfully completing their 2009 cycling "firsts" and moving forward toward meeting their cycling goals. I'm certainly not in competition with anyone for any type of cycling stat or bragging rights (except perhaps myself), but my inability to get on track while others are off and running is starting to weigh on me.

The month of March has been particularly frustrating so far with snow-clogged roads to start the month, followed by a bout with the flu, a need to prioritize the completion of home remodeling projects, lingering effects from being sick, and finally this past weekend, a home full of guests for the weekend (my SIL and her 3 children stayed with us this weekend and on Sat we had a birthday party for my daughter). Then a review of my cycling goals for 2009 reveals that I've already missed one entirely - to start routine "training" rides BEFORE daylight savings time begins on March 8. And now I'm starting to question my ability to commit to early morning rides on the weekends as I wimp out upon sight of the thermometer!

I need to get on track soon...the pressure is of my own making but it's building quickly and I don't like the feeling!

Tomorrow looks like a fine day for my FIRST after work ride of the season. We'll see what happens.

Where in the World is Matt Lauer?

2009-03-24T09:05:00.000-07:00

While the cycling community is all a buzz about the Lance Armstrong crash (what a bummer), another cycling incident hits a little closer to home IMO. Apparently Today show host Matt Lauer was out riding over the weekend on Long Island and had to slam on his brakes to avoid hitting a deer...which I guess he did by being thrown over the handlebars...OUCH!! News reports indicate that he was going fast on a downhill stretch when a deer came out of nowhere. He suffered a separated shoulder as a result of the crash. He was wearing a helmet and no head injury is being reported.

That just got me thinking of all the close calls I've had with deer in my area when I've been driving in the car. Just this weekend a friend was telling me about two deer that had darted out in front of her on Route 152 earlier in the week. It completely startled her because they had never seen deer in this particular area before.

Until now, I haven't really heard of any close encounters between deer and cyclists...at least in the local area. But it certainly makes sense given the close calls with cars that cycling accidents with deer are VERY POSSIBLE. I'll sure be thinking about deer on my next few bike rides...especially if they're early morning rides.

Longing for March 1998

2009-03-23T13:57:00.000-07:00

Continuing where my last post left off, this past weekend brought less than ideal weather conditions for cycling IMO...at least to be thought of as truly Spring-like. Saturday was sunny with temperatures barely getting out of the 40s and on Sunday the low 50s did not feel warm with the sun playing peek-a-boo and the wind picking up. I was particularly bummed with the cold early morning temperatures on both days. You can see where I'm going with this...yes, no cycling for Glenn this past weekend (the less than ideal weather is only one of a couple of excuses for not riding; the other is we had house guests visiting for the weekend).

But thinking about the weekend weather jogged my memory of a March about 10 years ago. I remember that at the end of that March we had a heat wave with temperatures touching 90 degrees. As usual, my curiosity got the better of me and proved my memory for trivial weather-weenie facts to be fairly accurate. 1998 was the year.

From the Penn State Weather World website (http://www.ems.psu.edu/WeatherWorld/) I found this.

March 1998 Weather Across the Nation:

"...The month concluded with a spectacular heat wave in the Northeast. Portland, Maine reached 88 degrees, their highest reading ever for March and April. Boston and New York City reached their highest March temperatures. Charlottesville, Virginia hit 90 degrees on three consecutive days. A rare outbreak of tornadoes in southern Minnesota devastated the town of St. Peter. One renegade twister even hit northern Michigan where nearly a half foot of snow was still on the ground."

A quick check of climatological records revealed that temperatures peaked on the 31st at:

Boston - 89
Norwood - 90
Providence - 85
Hartford - 89

How I long for those temperatures. And as soon as we get them, I'll be longing for something 15 degrees cooler!

First Day of Spring

2009-03-20T08:42:00.000-07:00

Funny...didn't seem like it with a low 30s air temperature and stiff NE wind hitting me in the face as I waited for the train this morning.

We'll see what the weekend brings.

Return From Hiatus

2009-03-17T13:43:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that my last blog post was over six weeks ago. It wasn't planned...it just sort of happened...per usual! I even got a ride in 3 weeks ago but couldn't get myself to post about it.

So what's been going on in my life since early February? Essentially, I got sucked into the dreaded winter funk...a place I tend to visit each winter but was hoping to avoid this year. Couldn't do it. Despite the snow and lack of riding, January was a good month...even as I found my motivation waning. But in February, laziness took total hold and motivation was lost. It didn't help that near the end of January I suffered a pinched nerve, followed by a 2-week head cold in early February and most recently a bout of the flu. Add to that the stress of dealing with the most severe slow-down I've ever been through at work and you clearly have a good recipe for winter funk!

When I last posted I called out my need for an 8 week training plan to transition to the riding season at a certain fitness level. Sadly, 6 weeks later and that plan has yet to materialize. However, all was not completely lost as we made good progress on the bath remodel project.

Ride Stats (21Feb09 Ride)

Bike: Fixie
Distance: 17.5 miles
Time: about 75 minutes
Average Speed: approx. 14.0 mph
Next scheduled ride: Sunday, 22Feb09 (never happened)
Temperature at start: 38 F
Temperature at end: 35 F
Gear: the winter stuff

So in the final analysis, with Winter finally behind us (I hope I don't regret saying that), I accomplished a whopping total of 2 rides this 2009 winter season. To me that's a HUGE disappointment given my mindset at the end of 2008. On the other hand, riding in the cold in general was a first for me...something I never thought I could motivate myself to do. I guess I can only wonder what might have been accomplished had the winter been warm and snow-less. For example, simply doubling my meager December ride stats (5 rides for 82.2 miles) over the last two months would have been a HUGE success in my book.

Okay...Perhaps a Bit More Than a Nuisance Snow!

2009-02-02T13:47:00.000-08:00

How quickly things change. What looked like no more than a nuisance snow a few hours ago has now morphed into a winter storm watch.

Just released by NWS-Taunton:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MA
407 PM EST MON FEB 2 2009

... A PLOWABLE SNOW FOR MUCH OF SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT MAY ADD UP TO NEARLY 8 INCHES IN PARTS OF SOUTHEAST NEW ENGLAND...

.THE COMBINATION OF LOW PRESSURE PASSING ABOUT 200 MILES EAST OF NANTUCKET AND A STRENGTHENING JET STREAM PATTERN OVER THE NORTHEAST UNITED STATES MAY RESULT SNOWFALL IN EXCESS OF HALF A FOOT AND DRIFTS TO 2 FEET OVER PARTS OF COASTAL SOUTHEAST MASSACHUSETTS AND CAPE COD.

Here is their first crack at forecast snow amounts:

And to think, it reached the low 50's in many areas around here today. What's that ole New England saying..."If you don't like the weather, just wait a minute." So true.

Nuisance Snow

2009-02-02T11:25:00.000-08:00

So much for the weekend update.

Tuesday's weather event now looks to be no more than a nuisance snowfall for most of us in southern New England.

This is a forecast map for Tuesday morning (1200Z = 7:00 AM EST). Generally when a low pressure area tracks this far offshore we don't get much snow.

Had my sights set on a Sunday bike ride with temperatures well into the 40s, but a survey of local roads by car revealed huge road-spanning puddles and many areas where the ice was still reaching the travel lane. I shelved the ride and focused on languishing home projects instead. Why can't a day have more hours?

The main project right now is a remodel of the half bath/laundry room. And the most difficult element of this project is the installation of a pocket door to replace the original door that swung into the room. Reversing the swing was not an option.

I took a walk at lunch today and decided that a plan was required to transition myself into the riding season in or near the shape I had hoped to maintain over the winter...but sadly did not over the last two months. My weight is up (pants are tight again) and my blood pressure has been creeping up a bit. The way I see it, I've got 8 weeks to work on some core strength, lose about 5 pounds and incrementally build up some riding miles...whether it be on the trainer or on the road. Eight weeks will bring us to April, and if I have any hope of riding a metric century by then I KNOW I need a plan!!

Our Next Weather Event?

2009-01-30T13:04:00.000-08:00

Monday promises to bring a dry, mild day with temperatures in the mid-40s...okay, this is mild only in a relative sense. It might be a perfect day to hit the road on a bike to knock-off one of those February challenge rides, if you have any to check off the ole list (sadly, I don't). It might also be the calm before the storm. Looks like our next low pressure visitor will be whistling Dixie AND meaning a little business. Look at those wound up isobars!

This storm will be coming up the coast from the deep south and laden with moisture. Currently it looks like mostly rain for these parts and a fast mover...starting Monday night and lasting through Tuesday night. BUT, and you know there's always a "but" when it comes to New England weather forecasting, the numerical weather models keep tracking this storm further east with each successive run. So you've heard this a hundred times before and you'll read it here again now, depending upon the track this could be yet another major snow storm for southern New England. Interestingly, the models had the last storm tracking more and more northwest as the forecast period narrowed down and the outcome was snow to rain. What will this storm bring??

I'll update over the weekend.

Sorry about all the weather postings...unfortunately, I've been obsessed with winter storms all my life and since my butt hasn't touched a saddle in 3 weeks...well, you know, gotta write about something!

January Thaw

2009-01-27T08:48:00.000-08:00

I've recently mentioned the January Thaw in several posts. Being the fanatical weather weenie some think I am, and realizing that I have a worldwide audience (well, the potential for a worldwide audience I suppose...although I do know a couple of kind folks from across the pond have ventured onto my blog a few times), makes me feel compelled to provide an explanation of this regional weather phenomenon.

I'll let Keith C. Heidorn, PhD, (THE WEATHER DOCTOR) provide the technical details.

A January Thaw is expected to fall within the third week of January, usually following a strong cold snap, but need not occur every year. In fact, during the very cold winters of the late 1970s, there were no January Thaws in the New England region during 1978 and 1979. (And they could have used a thaw!) There have also been recent mild winters when the Thaw was absent or hardly noticeable...

In prime January Thaw country, the ideal weather pattern characteristic of the Thaw period unfolds in this manner. It begins after a cold air mass from northern or
western regions has slid over the region (A), eventually moving out over the Atlantic Ocean. As that air mass leaves, the Bermuda High strengthens (B,C,D) and becomes positioned over the southern Atlantic Coast or southeastern US
states while a broad low pressure trough moves slowly across northern Ontario and Quebec (B-E). The juxtaposition of the isobar patterns of these two map features (E) places the northeastern US and southeastern Canada border region into a south-southwesterly flow of warm air from the Gulf of Mexico. This air advects over the northern snow and ice fields and begins a thawing.

Often during this time, the upper air wind patterns are in a period of readjustment, and thus surface weather systems stall or creep slowly across the eastern continent's mid-latitude belt. After several days of warmth, the regional weather again comes under the influence of a strengthened polar high (F,G), and cold weather returns.

Technically,the January Thaw is what is known as a weather singularity, which is a weather phenomenon likely to occur with reasonable regularity around a specific approximate calendar date. That date is typically January 23-25...and those of us living in these parts know that we have not observed any type of thaw over the past several days nor do we have any type of thaw in store over the next few days.

If I had known there would be no January Thaw this year, I would have made a greater effort to get on the bike trainer. Yeah, right!!

Enough Already!!

2009-01-26T13:27:00.000-08:00

After my last ride a couple of weeks ago (sole ride in 2009 so far) I took a guess that my next ride would occur during the January Thaw. What luck...it appears there will be no January Thaw this year and now we're on the verge of another major winter storm.

This just out from the NWS:

***WINTER STORM WATCH***

...SEVERAL INCHES OF SNOW EXPECTED IN SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND WEDNESDAY...

LOW PRESSURE WILL RACE OUT OF TEXAS ON TUESDAY...SPREADING SNOW ACROSS SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TAUNTON HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WATCH...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM LATE TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH LATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT.

THIS WATCH INCLUDES ALL OF SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND EXCEPT FOR CAPE COD ...NANTUCKET ...MARTHAS VINEYARD ...AND BLOCK ISLAND.

SNOW WILL DEVELOP BETWEEN 3 AND 6 AM WEDNESDAY. THE HEAVIEST SNOW WILL OCCUR BETWEEN 10 AM AND 4 PM. SNOW WILL THEN DIMINISH WEDNESDAY NIGHT.

THE SNOW MAY MIX WITH SLEET OR RAIN IN PARTS OF RHODE ISLAND AND SOUTHEAST MASSACHUSETTS...AND MAY COMPLETELY CHANGE TO RAIN FOR A TIME ALONG THE SOUTH COAST. WHERE THIS OCCURS...IT WILL CAUSE LOWER SNOW ACCUMULATIONS.

A WINTER STORM WATCH IS ISSUED FOR THE POTENTIAL OF ACCUMULATING SNOW OF 6 OR MORE INCHES IN A 12 HOUR PERIOD...OR 8 OR MORE INCHES IN A 24 HOUR PERIOD. ANYONE TRAVELING IN THE NEXT 24 TO36 HOURS SHOULD MONITOR LATER FORECASTS AND BE PREPARED TO MODIFY TRAVEL PLANS SHOULD WINTER WEATHER
DEVELOP.

ENOUGH ALREADY!!!!!!!

I still have a good foot of ice encrusted snow in my backyard and the roads are still too shaky for riding (IMHO based on my survey of local roads as I drove around town last Thur/Fri). How much will we have on the ground after Wednesday and how long will it be staying around?? This is really bumming me out after the last few mild winters sandwiched between seasons of sporadic riding! Oh well.

I'll end this sad (pathetic?) post on a positive note...because there is reason for a bit of optimism. The current extended outlook for temperature presented below is showing above average temperatures across the Northeast starting in the first week of February. This would mean temperatures in the mid to upper 40s. Could it be a February Thaw? Could be, but I don't plan on holding my breath!

Harpoon B2B Ride 2009

2009-01-12T14:12:00.000-08:00

Got an email notice over the weekend for the start of the open registration for the 2009 version of the Harpoon Brewery to Brewery bike ride. This is a 148 mile 1-day ride from Harpoon's brewery in Boston, MA to their brewery in Windsor, VT...with beer and food at the end. Now that's my type of ride!

Open registration starts at 7:00 AM on this Thursday, 1/15/09 (2008 alumni registration started last week). Here is the registration link:

2009 Harpoon B2B

Apparently this is another very popular New England area event ride (like the NBW's TFCE). To be honest, I had never heard of this ride until I was told about it during the TFCE last September. The next day I looked it up on the web and immediately signed up for email notices pertaining to the event. This year's B2B ride will be held on Saturday, June 20.

As far as 1-day rides go, the B2B is obviously much more difficult than the TFCE. It's approx 50% longer (148 vs 102 miles) and makes NO claim to be flat...after all, most of the ride is in New Hampshire! They also request that you do not register if you can't maintain a 16 mph average pace over the duration of the route...and they specify a 10 hour time limit for finishing the ride.

This ride is awfully, awfully appealing to me because it obviously would be a lot of fun and most definitely would be a challenge with the 10 hour completion target. I've been thinking about doing it ever since I learned about it...but I think I'm going to pass on it this year. There are a lot of other event rides in the New England area during the upcoming season and if I can prove to myself that I can handle a hilly century ride with ease, then my award for 2010 will be the Harpoon B2B. Of course, as with all challenges, I could be talked into it!!

Images courtesy of The Harpoon Brewery.

First Ride of 2009

2009-01-09T17:03:00.000-08:00

Yes! Finally got in the first ride of 2009. Took the 1:50 train out of Boston...got home by 3:00...and on the bike at 3:30 (I needed to do some stretching after not riding for 3 weeks). Anyway, I'm just glad I was able to get it in during the first full week of the month...not as exciting as riding on New Years Day, but it will have to do and it's now on the tracking sheet!! Who knows, with the weather forecast looking as it does this could be my only ride this month...unless the January Thaw comes on schedule.

It was a nice, relaxing, and reasonably warm ride as I decided to go slow for ice-dodging reasons. Overall, the roads were not too bad today.

Ride Stats

Bike: Fixie
Distance: 16.5 miles
Time: about 70 minutes
Average Speed: approx. 14.0 mph
Next scheduled ride: during the January Thaw
Temperature at start: 27.7 F
Temperature at end: 24.8 F
Gear: Polartec midweight base/Summit jersey/InsulaTour jacket/Zephrr vest on top...Polartec silk weight base/Bell Weather winter tights (circa 1988) on the bottom

Bad Winter?

2009-01-09T10:27:00.000-08:00

NOTE: Weather maps updated to most current at 8:00 pm on 1-9-09

With this forecast of snowfall for this weekend....

...and this 8 to 14 day outlook for temperatures...

...it seems like we might be looking at snow on the ground for several more weeks.

Think I'll try to get a ride in this pm

Looking Back on 2008

2009-01-07T21:33:00.000-08:00

Looking back at last year, I'm pretty happy with my level of cycling activity in 2008. Although my annual stats pale in comparison to those posted by many of the bike bloggers I follow, to me they represent a decent achievement and something solid to build upon for 2009. When I started this blog I stated that I had lofty goals for the future and that continues to be the case. However, my past riding history is spotty at best with little to show subsequent to the few good years I've had like this one (Note: I plan to post on my riding history soon...just in case any of you want to be bored silly!). We'll see if I can keep the momentum going in 2009.

With this in mind, the one huge positive development I see going forward is being able to follow the adventures and challenges of other fellow cyclists as they strive to achieve their goals. This has proven to be a tremendous source of inspiration to me. Whether the bike bloggers I read are new to the sport or veterans of the road, whether they are younger or older, female or male, ride to stay fit or train to win the local crit, or whether they prefer hills over flats or singletrack over the pavement, the blog posts they string together allow amazing stories to be told of challenges, achievement, and the love of the sport...along of course with countless tips, ideas, and other bits of useful information. It's nice to feel connected to a community of folks with a common interest and I know it will help motivate me to achieve my goals.

Okay, here are the stats and graphs. First, a table of riding days and miles by month.

I rode 1,641 miles in 2008. Good considering the miles I racked up over the past 5 years or so, but not a PR I'm happy to say (being happy about this IS a relative thing I guess). That mileage was accumulated over a total of 78 rides for an average ride distance of 21 miles. Makes sense as I ride a lot of loops after work in the 18 to 25 mile range. What might not make sense in the table are the percent scheduled and missed day values. Unless you see the spreadsheet I use to track my rides, it might seem like the percent values are a bit high and missing days too low. What I try to do is plan the rides for a season well in advance starting out with 4 rides a week (Tues, Thur, Sat & Sun) for the first month or so and then increasing to 5 and perhaps 6 if I've been at it long enough. I never ride every day as my knees generally need at least one rest day per week (my knees will be the topic of a future post as I'm determined to bore you!). Anyway, the whole schedule is fluid and it certainly gets tweaked from week to week as things come up, but I always designate riding days versus rest days. So in computing the annual summary stats, only scheduled "ride" days get considered. To me, missing 31 scheduled ride days is not a stat to be proud of, even if many of them are due to factors beyond my control...like heavy rain and lightning (a common occurrence in these parts last summer).

The next two graphs show my cycling mileage by month...

Oops, line missing...then by week

Some additional stats are as follows:

First ride of season: May 18
Longest ride: 102 miles (NBW-TFCE)
Shortest ride: 6 miles (1st ride on my fixie)
Fastest ride: 17.7 mph (23 miler loop)
Most miles in a week: 166 miles
Fastest weekly avg speed: 17.0 mph over 145 miles

Days biked: 78 (62 on the Roubaix, 16 on the fixie)
Lazy-ass days: 4 (these were 4 of the 31 missed days with absolutely no good reason for not riding...as noted in my riding log!)
Solo rides: 75
Rides with Mark: 2 (Mark is my longtime friend who got me into riding years ago)
Event/Group rides: 1 (NBW-TFCE)

Again, I'm mostly happy with my 2008 accomplishments, but more importantly I certainly know what my shortcomings are that need to be addressed this year. Without going into a lot of detail (like above), in 2009 I'll strive to achieve the following:

Continue fixie rides this winter as weather permits
Start routine "training" rides BEFORE daylight savings time begins on March 8
Increase the length of my rides in general
Establish and stick to a routine of riding early in the morning on weekends (a chronic problem with me)
Plan on at least one long ride per month (metric century or longer)*
Plan on at least 3 event rides in addition to the TFCE
Join the Narragansett Bay Wheelmen (NBW) and participate in a few group rides
Double the number of ride days
Double my yearly mileage (I'm setting a target of 3,500 miles)
Eliminate lazy-ass days
Ride with Mark at least once per month during the season
Drop 30 pounds (I'm setting a target of 180)

*Note: I don't consider the one long ride per month goal to be Trio's Century a Month Challenge because I honestly have no hope of accomplishing that over the rest of this winter. I can say I will try, but I'm just being realistic.

Wow...what a post! Sorry

Missed Opportunities

2008-12-29T13:53:00.000-08:00

Missed opportunities or excuses, excuses, excuse! I was going to go with the "excuses x 3" for the title of this post but I'm saving that title for a later date that I know all too well will come. Yes, the long holiday weekend presented several riding opportunities all of which I allowed to pass. Too cold, too wet, too windy...too tired, too lazy, too busy...they all applied over the post-Christmas 3-day weekend. Not even a new Garmin Edge 305 could motivate me. Yup, pretty pathetic!! But on the other hand, I got to spend some quality time with the kids playing with their new toys which includes the family gift of the Wii (Wii Sports, Wii fit, and MarioKarts to start). Other than the kids DS units, we're not really video heads in this family, so it was not just about new video games but also learning the basics of using all the gizmo's that come with a Wii console. We don't have everything mastered quite yet, but we're having lots of fun learning. And so far daddy is the champion of most of the Wii games, but as I learned with the DS, give my son enough time and daddy is no longer good enough to play with him. :-(

I'm heading out of town for a day so I guess my 12/18 ride was in fact the last ride for 2008.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

2008-12-25T07:11:00.000-08:00

Ho, ho, ho...the snow's a melting!!

Santa Tracking

2008-12-24T18:12:00.000-08:00

The children and I were just tracking Santa Claus on the 2008 Norad Tracks Santa website. The problem of course is that at this time on Christmas Eve, he's pretty much over the Atlantic, so there are no live images from any Santa cams. But the previous recorded videos of Santa over the major European cities are pretty cool. Actually, with a little bit of computer technology and know how I was able to capture and blow-up a good image to display here. What's this I see??

Looks like Santa has a new mode of transportation this year!!

Note: Clip Art Courtesy of Pearl Izumi

A Little Christmas Music...

2008-12-23T22:35:00.000-08:00

...Bicycle repair style!

Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker Suite" - performed entirely on bicycle parts:

Click on the 10-Speed Cassette to listen. Wait at the end to see the "instruments"

http://www.specialized.com/bc/microsite/holiday/

Courtesy of Specialized Bicycle Components.

Happy Holidays

And Snow It Did!

2008-12-22T08:37:00.000-08:00

Snow totals in my yard:

Friday - 9"
Saturday - 2"
Sunday - 4" (before brief change to sleet/rain)

I can be a bit of a weather geek with stats and with IMO commentary on weather forecasts. Drives my wife crazy. What can I say, it goes hand in hand with my BS in meteorology.

As expected, I won't be hitting the road on two wheels anytime soon. But I WILL start on the trainer before 2008 is over and do plan a series of mostly bicycle related posts over the holidays. Gotta keep the blogging skills intact too!

Looking over my my blog, I'm mostly pleased with the results so far. One thing I'm not pleased about is the lack of photos...so photos will be added soon. Today I've add stock photos of my bikes on the sidebar.

Last Ride This Year??

2008-12-18T20:44:00.000-08:00

Had my sights set on two more rides this weekend and at least another two over the long Christmas weekend, but with a double barrel snow threat bearing down on southern New England for Friday and Sunday I decided to vacate the office this afternoon to get in what might be the last ride of 2008. Hope it's not the last ride, but I can't see myself riding in the snow, slush and ice left over from two major winter storms.

Anyway, it was a good ride...the longest ride on the fixie so far. Stayed warm enough except my toes got too cold, which was a first for me on these cold weather rides. Bummer, freezing toes always spoil an otherwise good ride.

Ride Stats

Bike: Fixie
Distance: 19.8 miles
Time: about 78 minutes
Average Speed: approx. 15.2 mph
Next scheduled ride: 12/26 - 12/28...but more likely in 2009
Temperature at start: 37.0 F
Temperature at end: 32.5 F
Gear: base/Summit jersey/InsulaTour jacket/Zephrr vest/Bell Weather winter tights (circa 1988 but they're still the best winter tights I've ever used)

I actually do like the snow...especially around the holidays. So...let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!! (But I'll be hoping the January thaw comes on schedule and lasts the rest of the winter)

Sunday Ride - 12/14

2008-12-14T21:00:00.000-08:00

Wow! What a difference 10 degrees makes. Today's ride was warmish. I had on a base layer, winter weight jersey (Sporthill Summit top) and the Pearl Izumi InsulaTour jacket...just the right combo for a long ride. Just one little problem. When you leave for the ride at 3:08 pm on a mid-December day, you haven't left yourself enough good daylight for a long ride. Had to settle for a 17.5 mile ride...was hoping to do 25 miles but that ride will have to wait for another December weekend day with temperatures above 40. Perhaps we'll get one soon but times running out I'm afraid.

So today I had my first self inflicted "incident" related to riding on a fixed gear bike. The loop I rode yesterday and today has a short downhill section on which I typically attain 33 mph while coasting. Knowing this, I used a little brake action yesterday to make sure I could handle it on the fixie. Today I decided no brakes...oops, little mistake. These old legs couldn't handle the RPMs on this section and my foot slipped off the pedal (yup, no clipless yet on this bike). I also learned that you need absolutely perfect timing to reengage foot to pedal at high speeds (moderate and low speed too) and I have the marks on the back of my legs to prove it. Plus it's hard to keep one foot on while the other is off at this speed, so the cars passing by must have done a double take when they saw me flying down the hill with my legs out straight and the pedals moving. Oh well, I survived that little incident fairly unscathed so I'll just chalk it up as a lesson learned. Thankfully, the rest of the ride went without incident.

Ride Stats

Bike: Fixie
Distance: 17.5 miles
Time: about 70 minutes
Average Speed: approx. 15.0 mph
Next scheduled ride: next weekend
Temperature at start: 42.1 F
Temperature at end: 40.8 F

Saturday Ride

2008-12-13T14:49:00.000-08:00

Made it out today for a slightly longer 16.5 mile ride on the fixie. I was too bored with the 14 mile ride which is a shorter loop I do twice. I get bored easy! We had around 4 inches of rain on Friday so it was no surprise that many roadsides were still wet...even had to do a little ice dodging.

Ride Stats

Bike: Fixie
Distance: 16.5 miles
Time: about 65 minutes
Average Speed: approx. 15.0 mph
Next scheduled ride: tomorrow (suppose to be mid-40s!!)
Temperature at start: 31.5 F
Temperature at end: 28.4 F

Housekeeping notes: I've added some new widgets! Local radar images are at the bottom of the page. A "Latest Ride Widget" courtesy of dailymile is on the right under "About Me." Dailymile is yet another training and social networking web site. It's currently in beta testing. Figured I'd try it out for a while.

Nothing Tastes As Good As Thin Feels

2008-12-09T20:04:00.000-08:00

The title of this post is a saying I heard tonight on NBC's The Biggest Loser show. Yes, as much as I hate to admit it, I need to get my motivation to ride from different sources...including a reality TV show. So every Tuesday night I tune in to the Biggest Loser to watch these amazing transformations. They truly are amazing. And believe it or not, I had never heard that saying before...neither had my wife. But we're in agreement that it's a profound statement.

Again, the reason I mention this is, that despite my love for cycling, I still need to be motivated to get out and ride. And riding is my main method for losing weight. What can I say, I enjoy eating...and most often not the right food. Yes, I'm more of a live to eat than eat to live type of guy. But I also know when enough is enough, and that moment came earlier this year when my doctor informed me that I had essential hypertension (high blood pressure runs in the family) and put me on medication. I hate medication! I desperately want to be off of meds! Ha!...more motivation.

At the time of my high blood pressure diagnosis, I was tipping the scales at 226 lb (at 5'-11" I believe that equates to a BMI of around 31...not good). Immediately, I set out with a haphazard bike riding training schedule and I'm happy to report that I lost 25 lbs by mid September. No doubt, eating better was also an essential part of that success. Currently, with the lack of riding miles and the festive season underway, I'm waging a losing battle with maintaining that weight loss. So yes, I need all the motivation I can get.

Nothing tastes as good as thin feels. I should put that on a tee shirt! Darn, someone beat me to it.

Now you know a little more about me and the motivation I need. I went riding in snow showers on Sunday. I never would have done that in the past. Being part of a cycling blog community provided the motivation. Thanks Sarah!!

The weekend weather is looking mighty good at this point, so no excuses for not getting in two more rides this week.

One Post, Two Rides

2008-12-07T21:59:00.000-08:00

Quoting myself, "I might be a little slow getting this blog going but I've got ideas and lofty goals...and it looks like an early winter is setting in here in southern New England, so I might have some extra time too. Stay tuned"

Did I say I might have some extra time? What extra time??

My goal going into this past Friday was to get two rides in over the next three days. I knew it would be tough given the weekend weather forecast of snow on Sunday and our plan to once again find our "perfect" Christmas tree and get the lights on it. For us, buying a tree is not a quick errand...it's not even an activity that can be reliably scheduled in a 2-3 hour window, though we do try. In a good (lucky) year, it may take an hour...in a bad year it might start on a Saturday afternoon and wrap up the next morning! This was a fairly good year. We left the house around 2:30 pm Saturday afternoon and headed over to a previously unknown (to us) tree farm in Plainville. Traipsed around there for 30 minutes looking at all the half-way decent trees that were already tagged...okay, time to try another place (Sunlight Farms) we recently found in Foxboro. First Saturday in December and their pre-cut Frazer Furs are all picked over...time to move on, until I start talking to a worker about the tree farm we had just visited. He asks if we've been out back to look at their 3 dozen or so uncut trees (they're not really a tree farm, but apparently they planted some a few years back). The moment I saw these trees I had a feeling we would find ours. Bingo! 15 minutes later we're driving away with what I consider to be a great "tree farm" find. Total elapsed time of about 3 hours (after a few more Christmas decoration related errands). Not bad. Unfortunately, with the children's commitments in the morning and the tree adventure in the afternoon, there's no time left to ride the bike. That's the bad bike news.

The good bike news is I left work early on Friday and was able to get a 14 mile ride in and the snowstorm on Sunday was a nuisance event that was over by early afternoon...so another 14 mile ride shoe-horned into an otherwise busy weekend. It actually snowed for a while on the Sunday afternoon ride...so that was a first for me.

Ride Stats

Bike: Fixie
Distance: 2 x 14.2 miles
Time: about 60 minutes each day
Average Speed: not worthy of mention
Next scheduled ride: who knows with a week of forecast unsettled weather and no doubt another busy weekend
Temperature: ranged from 33 to 38 F for the 2 rides.

I had most of my new winter riding gear on during these two rides, but the verdict is still out on how much I like this stuff. Need a few more rides to finalize my opinion.

No Ride - 28Nov08

2008-11-30T22:10:00.000-08:00

My "next scheduled" ride for Friday, 11/28, never happened...of course, I did say "maybe".

Simply stated, I know better than to try to fit a ride in on the morning we're packing to go away for the weekend, so I never should have scheduled this ride anyway.

The weekend was fun, but feel like I gained weight over the last four days. :)

Unfortunately, I really have no idea when my next ride will be due to work hours and weather forecasts. We'll see.

Thanksgiving Day Fixie Ride

2008-11-27T08:39:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

I'm thankful that I can spend the next four days with my family.

We're looking forward to the Polar Express in North Conway, NH this weekend.

Ride Stats

Bike: Fixie
Distance: 14.2 miles
Time: about 55 minutes*
Average Speed: approx. 15.0 mph
Next scheduled ride: tomorrow before we leave for New Hampshire...maybe
Temperature at start: 44.6 F
Temperature at end: 45.3 F

"Scheduling Fluke" Bonus Ride

2008-11-26T21:05:00.000-08:00

Well, it was less a fluke and more a decision to simply leave work early so I could shoe horn another ride in. And a shoe-horned ride it was! Working in Boston means a minimum of 2 hours a day is consumed by commuting. Today I took the 1:50 PM train which got me back to Attleboro at 2:50 and to the house at 3:10. Plenty of time for a ride except because I'm home and my son has a late afternoon appt. that my wife will bring him to, we agree that I need to pick my daughter up at her school by 4:30. At least 4:30 is the target. We just don't want her being the last child picked-up on the day before the holiday. So I'm out on the bike by 3:25 (15 min. prep time not too bad IMO with all the winter gear on) and back home at 4:10...45 minutes of riding on a 12 mile loop. By the time I'm showered and out the door again it's 4:35 and I arrive at the school at 4:45...15 minutes late. The good news is there are at least 15 children still there including a couple of her friends...so no sad face when I show up. Sadly, this is a typical scenario for me for getting a short weekday ride in at this time of year. Truthfully, in the past I didn't have the motivation to make in happen...rather, it was all too easy to just decide there was no time for a "decent" ride. So far the fixie and the blog reading/writing has changed that dynamic. But how long will it last? I don't know the answer to that question but whatever it is it will be documented on this blog. Stay tuned.

I have a scheduled ride tomorrow morning, but my track record for following through on rides before family holiday events is miserable...at best. We'll see how it goes.

Ride Stats

Bike: Fixie
Distance: 11.9 miles
Time: about 45 minutes*
Average Speed: approx. 16.0 mph (that's more like it!)
Next scheduled ride: Thur 11/27 - Thanksgiving morning (got to earn the 2nd helping!) Temperature at start: 42 deg F
Temperature at end: didn't notice, but never got cold on this ride

*Note: a don't intend on tracking time accurately on my fixie (i.e., no cyclometer wanted!!)

Pearl Izumi Thanksgiving Weekend Sale

2008-11-24T06:45:00.000-08:00

Don't believe my blog viewership has reached the level that will make this a particularly useful post. As a matter of fact, I'd say that as far as views of this blog go, it's stuck deep down in the lower left hand corner of the "views" graph. Be that as it may, this is the type of post that some cycling aficionados may find useful, and it's the type I'd like to post from time to time. So here it is!

Pearl Izumi is having a Thanksgiving weekend blowout sale on previously marked-down items at its Factory Stores. Unfortunately, the factory stores are few and far in between, with the only New England location in North Conway, NH. Nice store. It's a must stop whenever we're in town, which will be the case next weekend when we bring the children to the Polar Express event!!

Here's the deal:

40% off from store opening on 11/28 until 7:59 AM (store openings vary...some are midnight...North Conway is 6 AM)
20% off from 8:00 AM to closing on 11/28
10% off all day on 11/29 and 11/30

Whenever I've been in the North Conway store, most of the major clothing items (jerseys, shorts, tights, jackets) have been marked-down. Accessories such as socks, gloves, and warmers typically are not.

Now here's some good news for those of you not near a store. You can call the stores direct to inquire about specific items and order over the phone. They will ship to you for a nominal shipping fee.

The link above will bring you to a list of their factory stores. Here is the address and contact information for the North Conway location:

North Conway Factory Store

Dunkin Donuts Plaza

1946 White Mountain Highway

PO Box 1517

North Conway, NH 03860

Tel. 603-356-5183

Fax 603-356-5682

Email: northconway@pearlizumi.com

Happy shopping!!

Darn Cold Fixie Ride!! - 23Nov08

2008-11-23T20:48:00.000-08:00

Priorities

Cleaning the yard of leaves and a final mowing took precedence this weekend (the town compost center closes at the end of November and we're going away for the weekend after Thanksgiving, so...), which means that bike riding time was extra limited. Fortunately, the yard was certified clean by 3:00 PM so after a quick truck run to the compost center there was still enough time to shoe horn in a ride. As usual, I stretched the ride to the longest mileage possible without actually having to arrive back home in the pitch black...just the normal darkness that precedes pitch black! And even then the ride wasn't completely over as I had promised my daughter a short bike ride with her "phonics owl" (Echo) down to see the lake at both ends of our street...okay, now that's the portion of the ride that was darn cold. We were out riding for an additional 10 minutes or so.

Ride Stats

Distance: 14.2 miles
Time: about an hour*
Average Speed: approx. 14.2 mph (sadly)
Next scheduled ride: Thur 11/27 - Thanksgiving morning (got to earn the 2nd helping!)
Temperature at start: 31 deg F
Temperature at end: 28 deg F

*Note: a don't intend on tracking time accurately on my fixie (i.e., no cyclometer wanted!!)

The Bike

Most of my rides during the cold off-season are going to be on my Peugeot fixed gear (fixie). Today's ride was no exception. Truth be told, I'm not even sure I had ever heard of a fixed gear bike before a couple of months ago. In late September I found myself Googling some sort of bike or bike part or something, and as usually is the case, one thing led to another and yet another and then I found myself on the Harris Cyclery web site reading articles written by Sheldon Brown. Sheldon is a guru among bicycle mechanics...sadly, he passed away early in 2008. But his web pages and articles, and quite frankly, an ocean of cycling knowledge live on at the Harris Cyclery web site he developed.

Turns out, Sheldon was a strong advocate, a huge fan one could say, of fixed gear single speed bikes...especially fixed gear conversions. Check out these articles by Sheldon if you have some time to kill. Anyway, a fixie is a bike with a single gear ratio and no free wheel. The chain turns the single cog on the back wheel in both directions -- yup, you can pedal the bike forward or backward. What this REALLY means is that you CAN'T coast on a fixie...okay you can if you want but you'll look kind of funny with your legs and feet up in the air and the pedals still moving. Oh, and if you forget what you're riding and try to coast the normal way, the bike will rudely remind you of the primary rule for riding a fixie -- thou shall not stop pedaling the bike.

Okay, so getting back to "the bike", I thought it would be a cool idea to look into riding a fixie over the off-season. I mean, I know all too well the realities of riding beyond September...at least for me. No after work rides...lots of family obligations...the holidays...the cold..the snow. To me, riding a fixie represented the best way to stay on the road and maximize the fitness benefits of riding. Yup, a fixie would allow me to shoe horn in some shorter rides and still get the benefit of longer rides. Sure a trainer might work too, but I'm certainly no fan of trainers even though I own one. So a fixie it would be...now I just needed to get one.

Of course, me being me (impatient and liking new toys), I headed off to a couple of LBS to check out the Surly Steamroller and the Redline 925, both excellent fixed gear bikes according to many online reviews. Bummer...no 925 in stock at East Providence Cycle and the wrong size Surly at Union Cycle in Attleboro. I've lived in North Attleboro for almost 10 years now and I've never stepped foot in Union Cycle until this visit. Turns out, the Service Manager there (Ron) worked for Sheldon Brown a few years back and is himself a fan of the fixie. After tying Ron up in cycling conversation for the better part of an hour, it dawns on him that perhaps one of my old bikes is a candidate for a fixed gear conversion. In order to be a candidate, the frame must have horizontal dropouts. Most modern bikes have vertical dropouts and his guess is my old Trek is most likely one of these. That's when I mention the Peugeot...that's when his eyes light up. My Peugeot is a sports/recreation model circa 1983 that was my first bike for long bike rides and eventually fitness training. For the last 20 years it has been collecting dust, the last ten of those hanging on the wall of my garage. I knew I kept it for a reason. :) The next day I brought it to the shop, signed up for the conversion and three weeks later I was riding my "new" fixie.

The Strange Thing Mentioned Above

We had a guest this weekend -- an acquaintance of my daughters. His name is Echo. He is a stuffed animal -- an owl. A phonics owl to be exact. This will all make sense. My daughter is 6 and in 1st grade, and she is currently Superstar of the week in her class. One of the duties of the Superstar of the week is to take Echo home over the weekend so he can partake in family activities. One of those activities was a bike ride with daddy. I foolishly thought that the ride would be bagged due to the cold and wind...wrong! In any event, the owl ate with us, attended dance class with my daughter, slept near her, watched a movie with the children, etc. I'm sure you get the picture. The "phonics" part came earlier tonight as my daughter had to write a story about Echo's stay with us in her own words and without any spelling help from mom or dad. She did a great job!!

Finally, a promise to readers and myself. I'll try to keep most posts much shorter than this one.

Inaugural Post

2008-11-21T20:31:00.000-08:00

I'm a recreational cyclist who rides mainly for fitness. Although I love riding, I always need motivation and a little accountability to keep training and to achieve goals. That is why I've always set goals and maintained a log of cycling miles. Recently I discovered cycling blogs. I REALLY like the concept. A journal of my rides...and thoughts...sharing photos...and whatever else may be fun to write about. I might be a little slow getting this blog going but I've got ideas and lofty goals...and it looks like an early winter is setting in here in southern New England, so I might have some extra time too. Stay tuned.

I mentioned above that I recently discovered cycling blogs. Two great ones that I wish to give a shout out to are:

Martinator's Biking Blog (http://martysbikerides.blogspot.com/)

Sarah's Cycling Blog (http://cycling4fun.blogspot.com/)

Martin and Sarah maintain the type of blogs that I will be striving to emulate. I might even steal some of their ideas. Hope they don't mind. But I also want my blog to be unique to me...to reflect my personality...my ideas for self-motivation and knowledge sharing. So we'll see where I go with this blogging concept.