Ghostbusters

Somewhere between "Who ya gonna call?" and "He slimed me," I found something to define last night.
First of all let me say that I really don't like Slime in bike tires. Detest it. Now, I do use a tubeless setup on my mountain bike, but that has a way to get air out when I need to make a repair. Slimed tubes are just a mess when the slime fails to patch the hole, which is just about any time the tube gets a puncture. If you've got a puncture problem, use a tire liner. Please. It is so much better to stop a hole than try to fill it with a liquid.
Now, why, you may wonder, do I start a post with this plea? The answer is simple. I had to deal with Slime last night. The LDS missionaries (as parodied in an Axe body spray commercial) who I mentioned recently, returned with another bike problem: a flat rear tire. This was a tire filled with Slime. That meant that while it wouldn't hold the air to keep the tire filled, it also wouldn't let low-pressure air out either through the puncture or the valve stem. I poked an prodded at that valve stem with a bunch of tools, finally settling on a nail punch that I have hanging around. I actually think that I got as much Slime out of the time as I did air. (And neither came out in sufficient quantity to make a real difference.) 

That was the single most difficult tire removal I've done in years. I had to use three tire levers, including my strongest metal tire levers, to pull the tire bead a few centimeters at a time. Once I removed the tube, I found that a lot of Slime had come through the hole, and was settled messily along the tire casing. Oh, did it slime me.

After getting the tube out, I filled it with air again to find the hole, a feat requiring an air compressor. I rotated the tube to hear the air flow. Once I found the leak, I rotated it back to the low point of the tube and waited for the Slime to work. It came through. I wiped off the excess and put on a speed patch. I then released enough air to fit the tube back into the tire -- again requiring the use of the nail punch since I lack a valve stem puller --and inflated it to riding pressure, only to listen to the slow hiss of air through a tiny hole. The tire was flat again in under 10 minutes. He needs a new tube. I guess I'll buy one today so that I can get my loaner bike back and get him on his way.

I guess that now as the missionaries find a bike problem and ask the questions made famous in that great movie of the '80s, Ghostbusters, "Who ya gonna call?", the answer will be me. Maybe this is how God teaches me to give service to my fellow man.

p.s. LDS missionaries don't usually just recruit the help of random strangers to help them with bikes. I was referred because I worship in a congregation that they cover with their services. And, in response to the Axe ad, missionaries always travel in pairs; just a small, missed detail.

On Broken WIngs

I like the song, and it sets up my bicycling involvement as of late. For those not familiar with the song, it's by Europe. Yes, the hair band from the '80s who brought you "Final Countdown".
Anyway, Sunday morning I learned about an LDS missionary whose bike wasn't working well. (Yes, these are the guys who ride bikes in white shirts and ties and knock on your door; no, they aren't the Jehovah's Witnesses. DIfferent sect.) Being the helpful guy that I am, and always looking for a way to increase my knowledge of bike mechanics, I offered to look at his bike and try to get it running better for him.
Monday afternoon the missionaries rode to my house in the falling snow, bringing over the offending steed: a Novarra Aspen, circa 1990, steel frame, with almost generic, but identifiably Shimano components. I think it weighed about 20 kilos. A steed that possibly should have been shot, with bearings that had seen better days. In fact I think that the poor bike was stored in a lake or swimming pool for at least one Winter at some point in its life. At best what I offered was palliative care for it while it waited to die. I guess I'm kind of a hospice for bikes.
I performed a quick and dirty true on the front wheel, pulling out a huge wobble. During that I noticed that the wheel really didn't roll all that easily, but I had limited time, so I didn't crawl into the front hub. In fact, I had to keep pushing the wheel to get a single rotation on the truing stand. Ouch. That poor missionary is really getting a workout when he rides. Once that was completed, I moved onto the real work.
The main problem reported on this bike was that it had become an involuntary single speed. The rusted -- but not stretched -- chain was sitting on a single cog of the rusty cassette. The front derailleur had been locked into the middle chainring. (In case you aren't keeping up on your low end bikes, the Aspen is technically in the all terrain bike family.) After releasing the high and low limit screws on both front and back derailleurs, I found that the shifters were the problem. The derailleurs moved freely, and the cables were not seized inside the housings. I had seen something similar on my wife's Schwinn High Plains of similar vintage. The ratchet system in the shifters gets cold, dirty grease stuck in it and the mechanism just slides rather than engaging to cause a shift.
My solution, and those who know bike mechanics can certainly tell me where I went wrong, was to crack open the shifters as far as they would budge, and spray a liberal amount of WD-40 into the mechanism to cut through the frozen grease and crud. While this worked on my wife's bike last year, I didn't see any real improvement on the missionary's bike. So, I figured that with time it may loosen up some more. In the meantime, I adjusted the limited screw on the front derailleur to rest in the middle chainring, so he could push and hold the shifter to get access to the large chianring. I then left the rear derailleur in its normal-high position. My thought was that if the de-crudding of the shifters started to work, he would have access to most of the gears he would need to ride on the relatively flat roads of West Jordan.
So, getting back to the title, "On broken wings; I guess that's how you'll have to fly…" He's glad for two gears, and I'm hoping to hear of more becoming available over time.
For those hoping for a riding story, sorry. But I think that being able to maintain what you ride is critical to continued enjoyment of riding. I also find it satisfying to help others who have more bike troubles than spare cash, or my friends who are willing to put up with my learning curve as I solve more bike problems than they currently know how to work on.

Three's Company

Is it cheating on my original premise to use song titles as my post titles if the song is the theme to a TV show? I don't know. And if I don't know, then no-one can, since it was my premise originally. So, I'm using it.
I chose this title because as of last night, I have my third, yes third, verified reader for this blog! I guilted my wife into reading it some time ago. My cousin Brad commented that he's a reader. Now, my wife's good friend informed me that she's read it as well.
I don't know that any of these are regular readers, but I guess that doesn't matter. I'm not a regular poster.
What does matter, and this is totally awesome, is that I'm up to three readers in only ten months. At that rate, I'll be able to sell this blog for a million dollars in only — let's see, if I figure in inflation and allow for a geometric growth pattern, and provided that this particular medium doesn't become obsolete before then — about three-million years! I'll start planning now how to use the proceeds.
At that time in the future, that may be just enough to buy two new tubes for the neo-bike that I'll own in my artificially extended old age.
Thanks to anyone who is reading my random thoughts. It's nice to know that I'm not just talking to myself.

Miss You

I find the song somewhat annoying, but it sums up my feelings towards my bikes right now: I miss them. Sure, they're stabled safely in my garage. Sure, I can look at them anytime I want. Sure, I lust after new ones occasionally. Sure, I bought new clothes and shoes to ride them on Black Friday. But, I still miss my bikes. I've not felt my feet lock into ht pedals for weeks. I've not felt the press of the saddle against my saddle for far too long. My hands are forgetting the feel of fresh bar wrap clenched loosely in my grasp. I've not felt the burning in my quads since I climbed Mueller Park. Oh, the things I miss.
I can blame it on heavy commitments at work. I can blame it on family responsibilities. I can blame it on stress of keeping our local Scout Troop running, I can blame it on cold weather. I can blame it on most anything I can dream up; but the fact remains that I've not ridden for far too long, and the dark, cold winter is about to descend upon us, heralding the end of outdoor biking until February.
"Ooh, I miss you."
It's the time of year a fellow dreams of building a new bike up with hand-picked components. It's when I should be thinking about snow skiing as a great cross-training activity, but there's no snow. It's time of year to accept that I'm one of those guys who gets fat in Winter, then tries to shrug it off and go the distance in St. George in February, only to come limping back home.
Maybe I can figure out how to work some home exercises into my schedule. Maybe I can decide if I want to replace my broken indoor trainer. Maybe. Maybe. Maybe. Maybe I just accept my place in the back of the pack, and take the Winter off. So many choices.
Only the next few months will hold the real answers.
Happy Hibernation to all!

Bicycle Race

How about a little video from the Tour of Utah this past August? I guess if I'm not riding, I can at least watch great bikers ride.

Nothing

"Nothing" seems like a strange title for a post, but there's something behind nothing.

You see, "nothing" is what I've been doing for any exercise, or biking, or healthy lifestyle. I'm ashamed to admit it, but that's what I'm doing. I did look at my bikes last week. Well, I think it was last week; maybe it was the week before. Anyway, I need to figure out how I'm going to stay in shape in the off season.

I don't have to stay in shape, I mean there's the old book, "The Season Starts When?" that has since been memorialized in an Old Guys Who Get Fat in Winter jersey as well. However, I got fat during the season and don't need to keep that trend going.

I was thinking the other morning that I really need to get some strength built up for skiing, and dropping a few pounds would make those jump turns through deep powder so much easier. Then last night I actually got to be at a decent time for the first time in, well since before I last looked at the bikes, and I figured that I could get up and spend a few minutes on the NordicTrack this morning. Well, that lasted until the second snooze on the alarm clock. Stupid apathy, made me look bad. (If that sounds familiar, then you, too, watched Courage the Cowardly Dog on Cartoon Network.)

I'm not sure what it will take to shock me out of my apathy, but I hope I can figure it out pretty quickly or else I'll be spending this entire ski season on the bunny hill with my wife, and none of it in the open bowls or tree lines with my brother. (Not that I mind skiing with my wife, mind you. I actually quite enjoy seeing her pick up that new skill and get a sense of accomplishment. It's just that I also enjoy tackling the more daunting parts of the hill as well to build my own skills and be able to look back up with a similar sense of accomplishment.)

Now, in case anyone reading this doesn't already read the Fat Cyclist blog as well, there will be a great new way to win cool schwag and support the fight against cancer at the same time by joining Team Fat Cyclist: Fighting for Susan starting in December. If you feel so inclined, join or donate as you are able.

Amid the Falling Snow

I've been amid the falling snow, to use the Enya song title. I'm reminded of Monty Python's Quest for the Holy Grail when in the course of the quest Fall is given a bye and the seasons jump directly to Winter. I think that just happened over the past three days.

I could have ridden my bike up to last week, had weather been the only concern. However, today was definitely not riding weather. Today was early season snow that stuck. I thought about riding this morning just to spite the snow, but now I'm glad that I didn't since I lack fenders and I'd be shooting nearly-freezing spray up my back on the trip home. I keep thinking about a commuter / urban bike as an option for my stable as I get rid of my mid-1980s Centurion LeMans and my early-1990s Specialized S-Works M2. I don't think either is worth a whole heap of cash now, but they're taking up space in my garage that I could give to an inclement-weather-friendly bike. I just don't know much about the available options, aside from the Novarra that I got my Dad last year.

But for now I'll just drive my gas-guzzler on the I-can't-drive-in-snow traffic clogged roads cursing all the Utah drivers for my entire commute. Woo Hoo!

With a Little Help from My Friends

I do, indeed, get by with a little help from my friends. So, I'll ask for some of that now. I've been realizing that easy riding for the year has gone past. I've been dealing with dark mornings, and now dark evenings. Now the mountains are powdered white with snow. Anyway, I don't want to totally let this little record of my riding hibernate, but I'm not sure what I should write about until I can get riding again (like February in St. George).

Should I write about skiing, which is largely my cross-training for cycling? Should I talk about the frustrations of having to drive more, even if the price of gas is dropping like the stock market? Would you read about my lusting after new gear and bikes? Is some strange mixture of all of those reasonable? I'd talk about indoor training, but my trainer broke in storage this summer. (That reminds me: I should probably try to find a replacement resistance unit for that.) I could talk about using the NordicTrac, my only other cardio, off-season training, but there's only so much to say about staring at the basement walls while iTunes pumps out marginally motivational exercise music. Maybe I'll get the motivation to try the Graeme Street videos that I ordered a few years ago to increase my core strength, flexibilty, and general fitness; I guess I could write about that if I can find the motivation to do it.

"Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?" No, wait, that's Charlie Brown's line. Isn't there anybody who can tell me what to do with a cycling blog during the dark, cold winter months? This is where you, whatever readers I may have, act as my loyal Linus and declare, "Sure, Lanterne Rouge Rider, I can tell you what a cycling blog should be about during the dark, cold winter months." You don't even have to step on stage, or say, "Lights please." You can just tell me in a comment what you would want to read.

Dreamer

Wow, autumn came quickly. I guess now it's time to wax up the skis and begin dreaming of another cycling season.

I've already started making plans for 2009. Nicole has decided that she wants to ride the Zion Country Early Spring Century family ride again. Maybe we'll take some friends this year. The wives can do the 25-miler and the husbands can do the 50-miler (with Beth in the trailer). Maybe.

Or, I could get my first exposure to Gooseberry Mesa. I have heard and read wonderful things about the riding there, but have yet to get there myself.

Ooh, then there's always Moab a little later in the spring. And there's the Showdown at 5-mile Pass.

I still think that a great, unexplored mountain biking destination is Glen Canyon Recreation Area. There are nearly unlimited riding possibilities, just off the front of a houseboat. And, if you're in the Page, AZ area, check out Lakeside Bikes. The owner's an awesome guy and runs a slot canyon tour company as well. Oh, and it's the only bike shop I've ever visited that has promotional shot glasses rather than water bottles.

Anyway, I guess this is kind of an end of season post that has me thinking, even dreaming, about things to come in the next year. Will I  get in more mountain riding? Will I knock out a century ride or two? Will I just get in the commutes? Will I get to do more rides with my family? Will we do some Jordan River parkway rides with neighbors? So many options, so few weekends and evenings it seems.

I guess that time will tell what will happen.

BTW, the title for today's post comes from a Supertramp song.

Oh, and a shoutout to my cousin Brad Keyes. I don't think that I ever properly thanked him for making me feel like I belonged at my first mountain bike race lo those many years ago.

Sorry that the posts are slowing down, but it's harder to find cycling related content in my life when I'm off the bike and burning gas.

Das Land Der Elefanten

Yesterday I rode with my long-time friend David Mickelson. We rode through Mueller Park in Bountiful to Elephant rock.

First off, I think it's really cute -- or maybe the word's flattering -- how my friends think that I can climb. We pulled out of Mick's house onto the 14% grade that is his street. Yes, that's right, 14%! By the time we got to the trail, I already felt like I'd climbed as much as a commute ride. But I guess with mountain biking, climbing is kind of the point.

I was actually quite pleased with my ability to ride at dirt trail after so long off the dirt. There were only a few places on this -- admittedly buffed out -- trail where I lost traction, and I was never left completely gasping for air. I am of the opinion that Mick was being kind and not pushing his top speed up the climb, but I did ride all 400 vertical meters over the 9+/- km climb.

The ride back was of Deer Valley downhill quality. The trail swooped through trees and across the mountainside, ever so pleasantly making its way back to the road.

Now, a few observations from the ride. One is that the only problem with a popular trail is that it's so popular. There was no end of people on this trail, hiking, biking, or taking pictures. That did mean that I had to keep the speed in check, ready to stop at any given moment, and I had to be particularly careful approaching blind corners, of which there were more than a few.

I realized that, although putting on some years, I like my mountain bike still. It worked great for a trail like Mueller Park, with a balance of climbing and descending. Dave and I talked about how a good ride can make you lust after new equipment, or cause you to realize that you're okay with what you have. I went through both thoughts, but ended up liking what I have.

Finally, it was nice to catch up with Mick after a few years of each going our own way. I was realizing last night, after the ride, that there has to be some Force in the universe that, once people have intertwined paths for a long period, tends to keep those paths connected. It's like a rope. If you wind a rope tightly together, the ends that continue on will still be close together even if they're not connected into the rope itself. I've found this with several friends. Although we're separated by space and time we still find that we hold onto similar interests and still have things to talk about.

Oh, and riding a bike is a lot like riding a bike: you never forget how.

Is There Anybody Out There?

Simple post, with a simple question: "Is There Anybody Out There?" I just want to know if I'm contributing anything useful to the blogosphere or to readers. If you've read and enjoyed any posts on this blog, will you just put a comment on this post with a name, or email, or something to let me know if anyone is reading. If you would like to see more or less of a topic, or my whining or have any other thoughts of how you would enjoy this more, let me know that as well.

Thanks for boosting my ego and giving me an idea of if I should keep clogging up the tubes of the internets with my rambling thoughts.

Take the Long Way Home

Although this sentiment by Supertramp may seem at odds with my last post, I wanted to tell the story of having to take the long way home last night. The story begins yesterday morning when I took my truck in for a scheduled service and warranty repair. I rode my bike to the office, packed the bike into the truck, drove to the appointment, then rode back to the office. The ride back from Tim Dahle Nissan is actually pretty nice. I'm on quiet roads, or a road with a nice shoulder the whole way. No complaints.

Yesterday evening, I headed out to pick up the truck, and headed straight into a closed intersection. This wouldn't be so bad, except that it was a choke point on my commute back to the dealer. Let me explain.

Heading east from my office basically involves taking 4100 S. Other options are taking the shoulder-less 3500 S, or taking the equally shoulder-less Redwood Road to 4700 S. Either of these options requires fighting through a freeway ramp intersection. Not pretty.

Getting onto 4100 S during the evening commute means that I use the light at 1300 W. There's barely a way to get across that street to head east in a car. It borders on suicide on a bike. Well, in retrospect, I could act like a bike, head west on 4100, then act like a pedestrian and use the crosswalk at Redwood Road. Too bad I didn't think of that last night. Anyway, back to our story.

As I approached the crash-closed intersection at 4100 S and 1300 W, I had to come up with an alternate route home. I ran through all the options I just mentioned (except for the crosswalk one) and realized that I wasn't going to do so well on any of those. Then I reached out and thought of the Jordan River Parkway Trail that parallels 1300 West and could put me onto 4100 S away from the problem. So, I turned north, away from my destination, and headed for the dreaded 3500 S. I figured that I'd use the sidewalk to get to the trailhead there.

Did I mention that when a street lacks a proper shoulder for placing construction signs to hinder bicycle traffic, that the construction crews use the sidewalk for their signs to, again, hinder bicycle traffic? Well, they did. Anyway, after avoiding construction signs and other cyclists on the wrong side of the trail, I finally got myself back to 4100 S and on my way to get my truck, only an extra 5km into the ride.

I was glad that West Valley has finally decided to finish paving the trail so that I didn't have to take the skinny tires across loose gravel or rutted dirt. And I was very glad that they finally built a pedestrian overpass so that I didn't have to cross the traffic there.

I was quite glad to be on a bike, though, seeing that traffic had backed up for about a mile. And I was just zipping along the opposite direction.

I did eventually get to the dealership, pick up the truck, and drive it home. But there was a little extra excitement on the way.

When the World Is Running Down

"You make the best of what's still around." I think that the cycling world is running down for this season. How can I tell? Well there are a few reasons. Let me go through them.

First: here in Utah, the weather is changing. It's supposed to get cooler  this weekend. The leaves are starting to change. I'm starting to think about skiing. I'm definitely not thinking about water sports. But I'm still finishing out the cycling season.

My blog posts, as a second indicator, are becoming less frequent, less impassioned, and less interesting. I've done everything this season that I've set out to do (except for the last 25 km of my distance goal). I'm no longer moving toward something this year; I'm just biking.

Third, I've noticed that other cycling blogs I read have reduced the frequency of their posts recently as well. I'm seeing between a week and month since their last updates as well.

Desire, or lack of desire, is a fourth indicator. My interest in finding new ways home is waning. I'm having to talk myself into getting on the bike, and the excuses are easier to buy as I think of them. I'm also starting to think about next season more than this season.

Lusting after new stuff usually seems to hit me at this point of the season. I've either been riding the same bike for months on end, or I'm blaming my lack of riding a different bike on the bike, rather than my schedule or desire. For instance, I've lusted after two different mountain bike frames on chainlove.com in the past two days. Some little part of me was saying that if I could get one of those frames, then I'd definitely ride the mountain bike more next season. Of course, that voice is in financial conflict with the other voice that's telling me to get a city / commuter bike complete with fenders, racks, lights, and everything so that I can ride further into the fall and winter without damaging my cervelo.

Yup, it must be the end of the season.

Nothing

"What am I trying to do? What am I trying to say? I'm not trying to tell you anything you didn't know when you woke up today… nothing." I listened to some Depeche Mode in high school. Anyway, I've not had any desire to post anything lately, but I figured I should put a few things up.

Following a GPS: I think I mentioned that I got the Garmin Edge 705 bike computer / GPS earlier this year. I love the thing. After some glitches with earlier software versions, it now works wonderfully. I love being able to track all of my rides on my computer. I think it's awesome. However, I have a problem. I don't like being told where to go. The other day I rode out to 3600 West, then told the GPS to find me the short way home. It did. I ended up riding through neighborhoods and in some of the strangest places I've seen in a while. I believe that it did cut off a few km from the ride, but I wonder if it was any quicker after all of the stop signs, dips, and funny corners. Somewhere in the middle of the neighborhoods, I started wondering if I wouldn't have enjoyed my usual ride as much. However, at this point my commutes are becoming very routine.

Commuting duty: Thank for the segue. It seems that recently my biking commutes are becoming more a matter of habit and duty than from the joy of biking. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy riding. I love the incredible late-summer weather. (More on that later.) I like the fact that I'm getting in some exercise. However, I've ridden the same routes, and slight variations, so many times this year that I'm just ready for something different on the bike. Thank goodness Mick invited me on a mountain bike ride in a few weeks. I'll really be able to use the change. In the meanwhile, though, I'll continue to try to keep my commutes fresh in spite of so many routes being closed or hindered by road construction.

Weight control: I was reviewing the distances I've ridden over the past several years, and thinking about my average weights during those years. As obvious as it may seem, on the years that I rode more my weight stayed more in control. Last year I didn't ride much at all, and my weight went up significantly. The two years before that I rode over 3,000 km, and my weight stayed closer to where I would like it. This year, with almost 2,000 km so far my weight has come back down toward where I'd like to see it.

Weather: October has been very kind to cyclists in Northern Utah. Lows have been in the 50s (F) and highs in the 80s. It's really stayed summer for a long time. Next week is starting out a little cooler, but not bad. It looks like my goal to keep bike commuting through October, and maybe into November, will be smiled upon.

Walking in LA

I was "this close" to titling this post "Abbey Road", but that is technically an album, not a song; so I went with this song by Missing Persons instead. Two reasons: I like the song, and it's a tribute to a nice crossing guard.

As I rode down 2200 West this morning I passed the crossing guard I've ridden past on several mornings. I usually say hello, and she usually waves. It's reassuring to see friendly people out. Maybe with more friendliness we could make the world a better place and settle everyone down just a little bit. Goodness knows we could use it.

So this morning the temperature was in the low 50s (fahrenheit). I chose my vented-back vest, arm warmers, leg warmers, full-finger gloves, and toe covers for temperature control. That turned out to be just about right. I unzipped the vest part-way about the middle of my commute. Then, just before getting to work I fully unzipped the vest and pulled the arm warmers down to half mast. I figure that this combination should be good down the the mid-40s. Then, because all the warming is removable, I can pull it off for my ride home when it's supposed to be around 83°.

As the temperatures drop closer to freezing, I can add in a skull cap,  swap out my wind jacket for the vest, and use both foot booties and the toe covers. The only cold place remaining will be my knees, but I'll work on that as it approaches. Maybe slipping some tights over the bike shorts will do the trick? I'll find out.

It feels good to be riding again. I calculated today that I've burned around 72,000 kcals this season just biking. That's about 18 kilos, or near 40 pounds. Too bad I've eaten the bulk of that back on or I'd be a svelte riding machine today.

Mothers Talk

"We can work it out." Many artists have used this lyric, but I choose Tears for Fears over the Beatles since I reported the broken with Tears for Fears as well.

I got the replacement parts from Easton to fix my rear wheel. I got the hub reassembled in under 10 minutes and was half way ready to ride this week. Unfortunately, I also discovered a slit in the tire that I've not yet fixed, and it rained this morning. Wow, is this becoming an excuse blog? I really need to get back on the bike, and soon!

Tonight I should be able to get the tire swapped out and the bike put back into one piece so that I can bring it to work tomorrow and do some commuting this week. I've got the clothes ready to bring. I just need the motivation and final prep.

Time to get out the arm and leg warmers and booties for the morning lows in the low teens (celsius) and stuff them into a pocket for the return home in the upper-20s (again celsius). It's shaping up to be a glorious early autumn for riding.

Broken

"Broken; we are broken." Thus spake Tears for Fears. And, thus say I. But my break is most unusual.

I've been riding Easton Vista wheels with VeloMax V3 hubs. These are the OEM spec on my Cervelo R2.5. They've been great wheels for three years. Then, recently I noticed a little play in the wheel. I figured I'd check the bearings or something soon to correct it. But kept forgetting.

Last Saturday I started a little wheel maintenance, changing out the gear cassette. After removing the gears, the freehub dropped to the floor. This was unusual as it had never come off before. I attempted to screw it back onto the wheel, but saw no threads! It was then that I realized that I had a broken axle and the quick-release skewer was all that was holding my wheel together.

I decided it best to not reassemble the wheel at that time, but to work on a repair or replacement.

At first I checked a few spots for new wheels, chainlove.com and neuvationcycles.com were the two I most fancied. However chainlove didn't pop any wheels up for me, and despite the competitive pricing, I was still taken aback at the pricing of new wheels even from Neuvation. So, it was on to repair, with marginal hope.

I've been talking with Easton this week, and they have been most helpful with the purchase of replacement parts, since the two-year warranty I didn't know about has expired. Their help means that I don't need to purchase a new set of wheels now, unless I decide that I really want to. Instead, I spent about $15 on a new axle and around $45 on a new freehub (as mine was showing some damage, which may have been caused by the snapped axle or some other thing). Once those parts -- which shipped today -- arrive, I'll rebuild that hub and be ready for some sweet late-season cycling in the crisp mornings and temperate evenings.

I'm so looking forward to it.

However, I now totally can't justify a new set of Zipp 808 wheels, particularly with a power meter attached.

What's Up?

4 Non-Blondes had a great question, "What's Going On?" Well, my answer to that, at least today, would be, "I'm back on the bike again."

I cut through all of the reasons I couldn't ride home -- and there are many, trust me -- and just rode. That meant that I rode back to work this morning as well.

Aside from a brain-dead minivan driver who backed out in front of me, and a couple of people who turned onto the street at the same place I was riding, traffic was good. (None of those were serious incidents, just minor annoyances with no major safety concerns. It's just Utah drivers.) Okay, so it looks like a bad traffic day in Utah today.

I still need to fix Nicole's flat tire. I also need to make a minor adjustment on my road bike's shifting to make it more accurate and keep the derailleur from rubbing the spokes. If only, if only… I had some spare time, I'd keep my bikes as shiny as thine. Well, at least the burn on my thumb is healing so I should be able to use my right hand for something useful soon.

The Fair Is a Veritable Smorgasbord

I don't know if that's actually the song title, but it's the thought shared by Templeton the Rat in the musical version of Charlotte's Web from my youth. So, why this song? Well, I rode to a neighborhood fair with  my family last Saturday night. Since I stated that my purpose in this blog was originally to share the experiences of getting my wife and family riding, this seemed my most appropriate post in weeks.

I suggested the ride only a few minutes before we left. In retrospect, I probably should have given a few hours. However, I know that I can get my family on our bikes in a few minutes now. I got the tires filled up and the trailer attached to my bike. 

Then Nicole brought out the pie we were taking for the pie-eating contest. That went into the trailer with Beth. Off we went on a 2 km ride to the church parking lot. When we arrived, we locked the bikes up to a fence, and walked over to the fair. We were parked closer to the action than most of the cars. The ride there was fun and easy in the lovely late-summer weather. We stuck to back-roads as much as possible to make sure there was room for the trailer.

The trip back provided some challenges. Nicole's front tire was flat. Now, that was probably my fault since I vaguely remember that tire going flat after our last ride together and I hadn't fixed it. I thought it would hold air for the evening with just being filled. Oops. And, it was getting dark. I did remember to attach a red flasher to the trailer, but forgot the front lights on the bikes. Nicole was able to limp home on the flat front tire without too much difficulty. And I believe that drivers were able to see the trailer's flasher. So, all-in-all not a bad ride.

I do still need to get some padding/spacers for the trailer seat so that Beth's head isn't pushed forward by her helmet pushing off the back. And I should probably remember to wear light colors when cycling in the evening instead of the black shirt I had chosen for the day. I also need to get a CO2 cartridge on Nicole's bike for flats. A few helpful lessons.

I was very impressed by Nicole on this ride. She cruised right up the hills, even using the gears to her advantage. She rode the flat tire home without complaint. In fact we rode home in about the same time as our neighbors drove home. I'm thinking more and more that neighborhood trips are possibly easier than driving with the right setup. I'm thinking that a utility trailer would be useful for shopping trips to load up groceries that wouldn't fit in the trailer with Beth, but for now we'll focus on the small stuff like library trips and trips to the neighborhood fair. I also have to figure out how to deal with the Redwood Road pseudo-freeway on a bike, since almost all shopping involves touching that street for a little while.

Oh, and due to the long hiatus from riding, my legs hurt worse after this little 5 km jaunt than they did after the ULCER a few weeks back. I think I have to ride more.

Cars

Gary Neumann's tribute to moving boxes seems appropriate today. I actually talked myself out of riding home tonight. I gathered half of what I need for a commute home, but left the bike at home (on purpose). I had a good excuse: I am already in the white shirt I need to wear to church meetings tonight. No reason to get another white shirt dirty. Then Thursday won't work either since my family will need two cars at home that night. Maybe I'll get one commute in this week on Wednesday night. Maybe.

Hmmm… Cars.

I've said it in an earlier post, but it bears repeating: Commuting by bike is not always the easy option. It just usually ends up being the rewarding option. Plus it saves on gas. I now just need to get motivated to get back onto the bike for that one ride.

Jacob's Ladder

While there are several versions of the song "Jacob's Ladder", I've been humming the Huey Lewis & the News version all day long. The problem is that the chorus is so stinking short that you can sing it about 10 times every minute. Talk about repetitive.

Anyway, I got my second round trip commute in today, since 9 August! That's quite a drought for me. I can't complain about the entire thing however, since I did go on a trip for a week. I traded in the wheels for waterskis and tried out a different sport at Lake Powell. I learned that bicycling is only marginal cross-training for waterskiing. The legs have the strength, but the upper-body gives out way too quickly for serious waterskiing action. I figure that if I can lose the extra weight I'm toting around and get my upper-body toned a little better, the I'll be better prepared for waterskiing next season.

Not much to mention about the commute, aside from the mornings cooling off enough to almost require the arm warmers again. I'll work on that over the coming weeks. Since I have the goal to keep bike commuting until the snow flies, I guess I'd better figure out the layering as the weather cools. Maybe I'll even be smart enough to write down what works for me at different temperatures so that I can reverse it next spring. Maybe.

Well, back to getting caught up at work. I'm looking forward to a good ride tonight and another tomorrow morning.

Burnin' Ring of Fire

For some reason "Burnin' Ring of Fire" is the theme son for the ULCER (Utah Lake Century Epic Ride) sponsored by the Bonneville Cycling Club. It's a 111 mile ride around Utah Lake that occurred last Saturday, 9 August 2008.  I was one of the 1,500 riders. I rode with David Flores, Nicole's Uncle; Phillip Harrison, a riding buddy for several years; and Mike Pope, a friend of David's who is training for the Lotoja Classic next month.

Last week I had people ask me if I'd actually enjoy the ride. I responded then that I figured I would enjoy the first 80 miles and survive the last 30. It turns out that I was about right. I felt good for most of the day. Now, to be fair, it really helped that Mike wanted to pull the line for the majority of the ride. I'll freely admit that he was a big reason that I was able to enjoy so much of the ride. I did at times feel guilty and pull up to take a turn in the front and try to pull my own weight, but I didn't come close to matching Mike's effort. So, what was there to enjoy?

Well, there was the band at the starting line playing "Tequila"; that song stuck in my mind for 10-20 miles or so. There was the well marked course. Okay, a story about that. Even with good course markings on the road, the leader of the line has to look at the road to see them. Twice I had to call from the back of the line that we had just missed a right turn. (They weren't both Mike. I don't know who was leading then.)  There were well stocked rest stops every 10 miles, including water, sports drinks, ice, fruit, and licorice. Good stuff. There was one rest stop toward the end of the ride that ran out of water and ice, but I'm told that's because the volunteer just bailed on the stop. I heard another rider say that was the only glitch they'd seen on the ULCER in about five years. There was the pleasant company. Obviously I've enjoyed riding with Phillip and David, but I also discovered that I have a lot in common with Mike, and we hooked up with Adam, an employee at Zion's Bank. He and Phillip ended up talking shop for several miles. Who knew that a credit union guy and a bank guy could get along so well?

I actually felt pretty good during the entire ride and after. I stuck to my game plan to keep a sports drink or electrolyte supplement in my bottles at all times. That really helped me to stay hydrated. In fact I felt better toward the end of this ride that I did on the last training ride leading up to it. I also made up my mind to not try to lose weight on this ride, but to eat as much as I needed at each stop. It worked. It was good that we kept the line together for most of the ride. Now, Mike and I did pull ahead of the group on a small climb out of Lincoln Beach heading to Genola. But, hey, if you can climb sometimes you just have to.

I did also notice how increasing just a couple of km/h can drastically increase the amount of effort required. To get from 25 km/h to 28 km/h took a fair amount of work, and then to get up to 30 km/h spiked my heartrate and really increased the effort required to keep going.

Oh, and it's really fun to look back and see a group of 20 riders falling in line behind the little group you're a part of. Good stuff there.

Anyway, I'm amazed at how much I really did enjoy the ride, despite the headwinds and other challenges. To have no mechanical failures was really a bonus!

Now it's time to return to my original goal of commuting by bike as much as possible until the snow falls here in Utah.

Feelin' Stronger Every Day

I'd like to think that this title and it's lyric describes my riding, but I'm not sure of that. Anyway, that was the earworm for Saturday's ride: the 80  miler that shrank to about 70 after 6 mechanical issues delayed the whole procession by an hour.

First, I figured that an 80 mile ride would properly prepare us for the 111 mile ULCER this coming Saturday. That's about 75% of the total distance. Seemed reasonable. It also seemed reasonable to figure that a 25 km/h average speed would let us finish that 125 km ride in, well, 5 hours. So much for reasonable.

I will take credit for the first mechanical. I, cunningly, found a section of loose, sharp rocks hidden in a patch of shade on the shoulder of the road. At first I thought I snuck through it, until I got to the top of the hill and coasted for a second, feeling a strange cyclical breeze against my calf. Oops.

From there, however, it became the Phillip show. There was a flat back tire first. During that repair he noticed that his tire was getting thin, as in down to the threads. We rode further on faith and cotton thread,  until about 2 km past Taylor's Bikes. Then, Phillp flatted again; this time it was violent. The threads had given out. So I shared the rest of a Clif bar and we booted his tire for the ride back (uphill) to Taylor's. There he bought a new tire and tube (on borrowed credit -- always bring a credit or debit card on a ride). After putting his own new tire on, the shop inflated it for him. About a half hour later we were off again. That finished up mechanical 4.

At about km 80, we crested another small, steep climb and pulled over for a breather. Phillip cleverly noticed that his front wheel was out of true and was rubbing against his fork. After realizing that none of us had an adjustable wrench, we just put his wheel in off-center so it would stop the rub. Off we went for about 100 meters when we got the call of another flat from Phillip. Mechanical 6 had struck.

After that last delay, we had only a strong headwind to contend with for the next 20 km before we turned around for the final, truncated leg of the last lap.

Hopefully having that many problems on the last training ride portends having a safe, uneventful ride on the real event!

Here's to well-oiled machines and tailwinds!

Heavy Things

"Things kee falling down on me; heavy things that I can't see… when I tried to step aside, I moved just where they hoped I'd be."

Heavy things can take many forms. If you're me, the heavy things could be an upset stomach or a Honda Civic. If you're my scale, the heavy thing is me. After yesterday, I'm taking it a little easier on the scale, tipping in a just a few strands of hair over 200 lbs. (My wife likes to keep the scales on pounds, rather than going metric.) That's pretty good for me, considering that I started this biking season at around 210 lbs.

Anyway, I think the heavy things for me are going to be more interesting that the heavy thing for my scale. Wednesday  evening my family finished up the day by going with some friends to Rile's for a milk shake. My banana-hot fudge shake was delicious. It was just the fact that it was 1500 - 2000 calories of fat, right before bedtime that had me worried. And worried I was for good reason. As I scooped out the last couple bites of the cup full of deliciousness, I thought, "Oops." Well, Thursday morning I woke up with a tender tummy and didn't want to really eat anything until THursday night. There was one challenge with this not eating: I had to bike to work. Yup, no car at home. So I took an easy, short commute to the office and went through the day on a pice of bread and some a pudding cup. Now, I was glad to see that this helped drop my weight to within 20 pounds of where I want to be, but it was a hard way to do it. Heavy thing falling down on me.

Then this morning I was at the top of Winchester at 1300 West when a, dare I say it -- yes, stupid Civic driver decided that he could get the left turn in front of the bike coming straight at him. Fortunately for me I was planning on turning at that intersection anyway so he didn't smack me broadside. Well, I discovered that I can get -- and effectively act upon -- road rage on a bike. I was seriously ticked at this idiot. So, I shifted all the way up and sprinted down the 10% grade. I was finally able to catch up to him and thought about slapping his trunk, but then realized that there was a gap between him and the car ahead of him, so I kept sprinting and put myself squarely in the middle of the lane, directly in front of him, repaying the courtesy of cutting me off by cutting him off. Eventually I did slide back to the right and watched him burn a half gallon of gas speeding up ahead of the bike as he raced to the next red light. Just after this I thought back to the stories recently of card pulling in front of packs of bikes and slamming on their brakes. At least I didn't slam my brakes. Anyway, that's one heavy thing I'd rather not see on the road again.

Chasing Cars

Thank you Snow Patrol for putting a title to my thoughts. Two days ago on my commute home, I realized that I like tormenting cars.

First on that ride I pulled up behind a bus stopped for passengers; I couldn't pass because of the line of traffic already passing closely to the bus. So I waited for the bust to start and stayed right behind it while it accelerated. Eventually it pulled away, but I kept riding. Then the bus stopped again a few meters later. I passed it this time and kept riding. Then this jack-rabbit-style bus driver passed me again. Shortly after, again, the bus stopped for passengers. I passed it again. After the bus passed me once more it pulled away and I couldn't pass it again. Now, this wasn't the really fun part, but it was my first car chase of the day.

As I continued to ride, I noticed an old, gray pickup that I kept catching at lights for several kilometers. Kind of cool to know that I'm keeping up with traffic.

But the fun one was the black car. I think it was a Nissan. The guy just had to fly past me to get to a red light before the biker. And I mean fly. I happened to catch the light just as it turned green and caught him in the intersection. Sweet. Then, at the next light it happened again that I caught the light just turning green and could slip past this guy who just had to get ahead of the biker. Repeat that a few more times until the stop sign at the 3-way intersection where I could just slide through, again ahead of this guy. Shortly after that he turned off the road.

I think it was just the fun of making someone who thinks he's is such a big hurry realize that he's going no faster than the guy on the bike that I enjoy. People who are just driving along I get no real joy from leapfrogging, just a happiness of keeping up with traffic. But the idiots who think they're going to get so far ahead with their gas-guzzling, quick-driving techniques are the ones it's fun to torment. And chase.

Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First)

The song was stuck in my head for three-and-a-half hours! From West Jordan to Sandy. Sandy to Riverton. Riverton to Herriman, Herriman to Copperton, Copperton to Taylorsville, Taylorsville to West Jordan. The whole 50 miles it was the same song. Yet, somehow I didn't get sick of it. Then for a few days it was gone completely,  It was gone. When I'm biking I tend to do that a lot; I get an  "earworm" or song that gets stuck in your head, that won't go away. Then after the ride the song goes away. It's like the repetition of pedaling keeps the song there and keeps me fron going insane from it, then my brain rebels when the repetition ends and rejects the song.

Elsewhere on the ride I discovered that the Baccus in Herriman is at the same elevation as Wasatch Boulevard on the east side of the valley. It just doesn't feel like the same climb since it's more gradual climb rather than the 6-8% gradients on the east side.

Copperton park still has good water.

Lousy post, but it's a crazy day at work.

The Wheel in the Sky

After the exultant post last Saturday, I realized that I hadn't ridden at all the week leading up to that, and I've only been able to commute last night and this morning. I guess that there's a big old elastic out there in the universe and when I pull it too tight at one point, it rebounds to release it's own tension. So, after a great few weeks of high commutes, it bounced back with a week off the bike. Then I stretched it again with two rides in one day last Saturday (totaling about 72 km) , only to have it recoil back and keep me off the bike for another day or two.

Now I get to ride home today -- provided it's not raining then -- and ride to work tomorrow and it's off the bike again for a few more days while I'm chaperoning Youth Conference for the teenagers of my ward.

Why is it that July always seems to get so busy, just when I want to kick up my training, and maybe watch some of Le Tour? I don't get it. As the Journey song says, "The wheel in the sky keeps on turning… I don't know where I'll be tomorrow."

Dancing with Myself

First of all: Davey -- meaning Dave Zabriskie, whom I have no right to call by any nickname -- you've got to stop with the crashing! I was so stoked to see you riding with Team Garmin at Le Tour. But is was not to be. Even though the Stage 4 Time Trial would have been ideal. I'm just saying.

Anyway, that stage 4 Time Trial and a ride this morning -- solo -- reminded me that I've not yet heard Phil Ligget or Paul Sherwin refer to anyone "dancing on the pedals." Probably because I've not seen a mountainous stage yet.

Well, this morning I did a 38 km ride that mirrored my typical morning and extended evening commute rides, but all together.

Now, since even David Bowie says that if he had the chance he'd ask somebody to dance, I'll be heading out with Phillip Harrison and David Flores for a training ride for the ULCER. We're planning on taking the rolling roads of the west side of the Salt Lake valley. Should be fun.

But, WOW!, two big rides in one day! How did those stars align?

Morning Has Broken

Wow! Sumer mornings are wonderful. The last two days I've started my commute in the shade of large trees lining the east side of 1300 West. Flying into that shade in the cool of the morning just made me happy. I don't know exactly what memories it's evoked, but I just have really enjoyed it. It may stem simply from an enjoyment of mornings, or there may be something else that I'm half remembering, but which stays just beyond my mental grasp. Either way, I really enjoy these mornings. There's something about the cool breeze blowing across your head.

Well, I've a young daughter here begging for my attention, so I'll have the end this soul search a little prematurely.

Changes

"Turn and face the strange, ch-ch-changes" 

A few days ago I got a call from David Flores, Nicole's uncle. One phone call can alter the course of the rest of the summer. Nothing terrible, mind you, but changed nonetheless. During the course of that call my goals for cycling this season went from saving gas on commutes and getting in a few family rides to preparing for the ULCER on 9 August. This was my first organized century two years ago, and will likely be my only one this year (as it will be David's). Now, when it's still June -- even if by only a day or two -- and the ride isn't until August, it's easy to think that I have all summer to prepare, but then I realized that I have only a month, and a rather full month at that to get from a high of 40 km to almost 180 km. Daily commutes put me around 100 km per week, but I don't have a week to complete the ULCER, only a few hours. So, in between holidays, church commitments, family commitments, and work, I have to get from "just getting on a bike" to "ready for a century" in -- essentially -- six major steps with commutes of increasing length building up an aerobic and strength base to get me through.

I'm sure I'll post more on this little endeavor as I get through the coming month. Stay tuned.

Against the Wind

I think that "Against the Wind" should be every cyclist's theme song, because there's not a ride out there when a cyclist won't tell you about, or complain about, the headwinds. It's a given. I had a couple of rides this week that have had notable headwinds, but that's not what this post is really about. Those rides sparked a memory.

Years ago, late-August of 1992 to be exact, I took a ride with Dave Pickett that will live forever in my memory. The entire ride was 300 miles over three days, with the middle day as a rest day. I could write a book on that ride, on preparation, and on how to survive when 100 miles becomes 150, but today I want to focus on just a few miles of the ride that were the most disappointing cycling miles I think I've ever experienced.

On the return day, we had ridden up many miles on US 89. I had continued on with the knowledge that we would be descending Spanish Fork canyon into Utah valley. I survived the rolling hills and even the climb to the top of the canyon firm in the hope of miles on end of quick, painless descent. What could be better? What could spark a cyclist on to greater effort than free miles? For hours on end I looked forward to this incredible downhill. It was to be what the Boy Scouts expected from a downhill ride. It was my salvation on what I had otherwise come to see as a massive death march. (Okay, the stop we were going to make at BYU to see our friends who had already started school was another highlight, but that's an entirely different story about two guys wandering around that no-shorts-allowed campus in Lycra.)

Well, we approached the backside of Spanish Fork canyon through Thistle, and climbed to the high point. I had been off the back the entire climb, since Pickett could always out-climb me. (Pickett being always the first to the top, I being the first to the bottom, and Rod Asher being the first to involuntarily leave his bike -- fall.) Now as I approached Pickett waiting for me at the top I was ready. I didn't even need to stop for breath, I was ready. Now was my time. I started down the canyon, and was blasted with a headwind so strong that my air resistance overcame the pull of gravity. I HAD TO PEDAL! NO!!

"Maybe if I pedal now the wind will die as I get lower. Yeah, that's it," was essentially the thought that got me through the first mile. Then after the second mile I thought that it at least couldn't get worse. And I now had to keep pedaling since I was the one who was to get to the bottom first. I knew that Pickett would be close behind and that if he caught me I'd never hear the end of it. Oh, the humanity! I had to work on the one section where I was to have been able to catch my breath and watch the world blur past me with incredible speed.

To shorten the rest of the misery, it turned out that I had to pedal the entire length of the canyon just to keep my pace equal to what we'd done earlier in the ride. As I mentioned earlier, this was one of the great disappointments of my cycling -- and entire -- life.

After escaping the canyon, we made another great cycling decision by stopping at a greasy-spoon-diner for a late lunch, but as I said that's one of many other stories for the book of decisions not to make on an epic bike ride.

We Are Family

I met Nicole and Beth at the entrance to our neighborhood on my commute home. It was fun to have my little girl help me walk my bike along the sidewalk. She grabbed the fork, the frame, and the handlebars at different times to help her Dad. It was the sweetest thing. I'm glad that she kept her fingers out of the spokes.

A little later that evening I got my whole family out for a ride around the neighborhood! It was fun riding through the Ward and being able to stop and talk with neighbors, rather than just hurrying on from place to place without any contact. Nicole had to deliver some papers around the neighborhood, so rather than drive -- like we can afford that at $4 per gallon -- we hooked up the Chariot and went visiting. Nicole was amazed how much easier 5 km was on a bike than on foot. (Well, to be honest it was more like 4.5 km, but I counted the Boy Scouts 22 miles as a 25 miler, so I'll count this as 5 km.)

We had the chance to stop and talk with several neighbors along the way. With the visits we ended up around a two hour trip, but it was fun. We did have a little challenge on the ride. As we started heading back from the far point of the ride, I heard a click from Nicole's bike that sounded suspiciously like a thorn embedded in a tire. I looked as her tires turned, but didn't see anything, so I didn't mention it to her. After our final visit stop, about four houses away from home, she saw that her tire was low. Turns out that she heard the click as well, but thought it was just something that made her sound cool. I don't know how often I've preached the gospel that a properly adjusted bike should run silently when being pedaled, but for some reason people think that ticks, clicks, and rubbing sounds are normal. THEY AREN'T!

Anyway, we all had a great time, by the end. Beth took the longest to enjoy the ride, but once she finally fell asleep, even she was able to enjoy it. She also really enjoyed the stops when she could get out and play with other kids. I'm not sure why Beth resists the trailer. It may be that the helmet forces her head forward. I'm trying to figure it out so that she can enjoy her rides more.

Cars

I realized yesterday that I live in a car world. It was sad. While writing this I remember a recent Frazz comic strip that pointed this out to me. I also realize that despite my efforts to create a bike culture around myself, that there is a car culture completely surrounding me here in the suburbs of Salt Lake.

I was looking forward to a good week with multiple cycle commutes. Yesterday was to have been the first of those. However, I was wrangled (along with my truck) into hauling mattresses in the evening, so I couldn't exactly ride my bike. Then today I need to have the car seat that's attached to my truck to take my daughter to her grandparents, ergo no bike commute today either. Maybe tomorrow. I've thought about using the bike trailer, and borrowing Grandma's car, but I don't feel safe bringing Beth home in the dark through the road construction that puts me in the middle of the lane of traffic. Even with a blinker on the back

I also realized while writing this that the car culture impacts my bike commute. The shortest commute route is along Redwood Road. I have a full right to use that road on a bike. However, that right won't keep me alive against cars who think that bikes should be relegated to sidewalks. That seven-lane, shoulder-less monstrosity is probably less bike friendly than most interstate freeway. So, I ride the extra two to three miles to detour around that road. Advantage cars. And, yes, today's post title is also a song title.

Lamb to the Slaughter

"We go down, because down is the only way out." (a-ha, from the Memorial Beach album) After a ride with the Boy Scouts today, this song seems appropriate. The boys took a 25 (+/-) mile -- approx 40 km -- bike ride down a canyon on a Rail Trail. However, because of the point-to-point nature of the ride, I had to go down with them more than half way, then return up the canyon to get the cars with another leader.

On the downhill leg, as we were going just about fast enough to coast down the 2% grades, we were able to see rock squirrels, potguts, other rodents, several birds, and even a deer bounding down the trail in front of us. The boys were feeling challenged to even move their bikes downhill on the trail. One even seemed to think that "downhill" meant he wouldn't have to pedal at all for 25 miles.

Anyway, rather than bring the boys back uphill from Wanship to Park City, some 200+ meters vertically over just under 19 km, we sent them with a third leader down another 100 meters in the remaining distance to Coalville. That was apparently challenge enough for them, because we were able to return to the trailhead, then drive to meet the boys, arriving at Echo Reservoir at the same time as the boys did.

The return trip -- uphill -- was a good workout accounting for 2/3 of the 1100 calories I burned on the ride. With gradients of 1-3%, the ride was not impossible, but did provide some challenge.

In Wanship and Coalville both, I saw numerous club and group rides passing in clusters or meeting at the finish. There were some other groups of bikers on the trail as well.

If you need a good family ride, the Park City Rail Trail is a good option, particularly if you have the option to have a shuttle return you from Coalville to Park City, as the scouts did today. One thing I particularly like about this ride is that for part of the ride we were actually between the two directions of I-80 following a stream. Ever since I was a young teenager seeing a train track go between that section of freeway, I had wanted to be there myself. So, today was the culmination of a childhood desire, or maybe even a dream.

RIver of Dreams

"In the middle of the night, I go walkin' in my sleep…" This song by Billy Joel seems to fit the last few days on a few different levels: sleepless nights, and riding by the river.

The past few days I've been fighting a nasty cold. It's not been quite bad enough to keep me home, but it's been enough to keep me going just a little slower at everything from thinking, to my reflexes, to my riding. The first thing I notice about myself when I get sick is that my temperature regulation goes. When the weather warms up and I try to do a full effort ride, that means that I'm sweating a lot more. So the past few days I've been doing slower rides, keeping my heart rate down to the mid-150s and lower. It takes a little longer, but at least I'm not so hammered by the end of a commute that I can barely ride straight, and I still have the clarity to respond to things happening around me.

This same cold has kept me up the past few nights. Two nights ago I had to take another cold pill in the middle of the night. After that I still couldn't sleep, so I read a few chapters in Blazing Saddles, the history of Le Tour de France. After a couple of chapters I could breathe again, so it was off to bed.

Well, also related to this cold, I decided to take the Jordan River Parkway Trail home the other night. It's been a while since I've ridden that. I found that it is actually longer than several other of my commute options, and I tend to limit my own speed along it. Well, I was also limited by my ability that day as well. It was fun, though, to ride by the river, see so many other cyclists, joggers, and people out strolling. I saw a squirrel -- or was it a chipmunk? -- several birds, including quail. Kind of a fun ride, even if it took me half again as long as my usual commute, 45 minutes up from 30 typically.

Born to Be Wild

Okay, motorbikes are incredibly loud. I'm talking deafening to ride past. I mean you'd think that a diesel or tricked out Civic with a race non-muffler would be loud. But neither of those can compare with a pair of motorbikes passing you. I've noticed this on several rides recently. I'll be riding along quietly focusing on my heart rate, my cadence, or how to create world peace, only to be interrupted by this air-splitting roar that increases to the volume of a small airplane as it passes me. Now, I know that part of the fun of riding a Harley (or other cruiser) is hearing the rumble of the engine, but can't they get them to rumble without rattling out the windows of homes as they pass? Just my thoughts.

Oh, and there've been a lot more motorbikes just like there've been a lot more bicycles this year. Must be something about petrol prices.

Hot, Hot, Hot

Wow! We jumped from highs around 60° F to above 90° F over the weekend. (Sorry about not using metric, but the temperature is the one thing that I've not been able to learn to convert easily and the weather reports in Utah all use Fahrenheit.) That means that the cold weather gear can go away until autumn. Welcome to summer!

Last night I caught traffic just right so as to be able to keep up with cars for about 6 km of my commute. I had a nice tailwind, and the cars were taking a couple of lights to get through the intersections, so I leap-frogged a number of autos at each light. It was FUN! Then I turned off that street and couldn't keep tabs on that traffic any longer.

Then I took on an 11% grade on Winchester. Yup, the new GPS bike computer will also tell the grade of the road I'm riding. As I approached the hill I saw another cyclist, and thought we may meet up at the light at the top of the hill. So, I kept pedaling. As I shifted through the gears I felt fairly strong climbing the hill, then noticed as I approached the other rider that he had dismounted and was walking his bike up the hill. I really couldn't believe that I was still going up as well as I was. Now, when I reached the red light I was panting like a dong on a summer's afternoon. I was really glad the light was red so I could stop and get my heart and lungs under control.

Then this morning I rode without any extra warming clothes. Summer is fun. Even if I do sweat a lot more.

Soft Rains of April

"The soft rains of April are over." And it's about time. It seems like Utah's been stuck in March and April for three months. This included a morning ride in single digits (Celcius) and almost continuous rain. However, the week ended with a rapid approach toward June. I've also learned that once a chain starts to squeak regularly, no amount of lube -- it seems -- is going to save you long term. I think it's time for a new chain for the cervélo.

I think it was Tuesday when I first intended to post this, since I rode in a light drizzle in temperatures just over freezing. It's a good thing that I have the leg and arm warmers so that I could enjoy the ride. Yes, I mean it. With the long finger gloves, a wind vest, and the arm and leg warmers I actually almost overheated during the ride. And I wasn't even wearing the skull cap. It was actually quite fun to ride in the cold like that. Too often I avoid riding when it's cold because I think that I'm going to just freeze myself, but as long as I'm prepared it's actually okay. And prepared doesn't mean unlimited layers either. It's largely a matter of getting accustomed to what layers and wind resistance works at specific temperatures and rain levels and then wearing that. I recently read a Yehuda Moon comic strip about riding in the rain, and found myself siding more with Yehuda than with Joe. See where you fall.

I have recently discovered that I really need to get some core training to accompany the lower body and cardio exercise that cycling provides. You may laugh, but I'm starting to use the AbSlide. Yep, as seen on TV a few years ago. I have the core body strength of a ten-year-old video gamer. WEAK!

I also got in some waterskiing today and that helped me to realize that upper body strength is a good thing. My legs worked great the whole time I was skiing, but my arms gave out on a couple of cuts. I was left in the water, watching the boat pull away from me while I floated there contemplating how I was going to get my arms stronger so I could hold on longer. Again I came up with the AbSlide for lack of a better solution.

Overall, a good week to ride. But then I'm starting to think that any week is a good week to ride, particularly now that my daily commute can save almost $4 each day compared to driving the truck to work. That goes a long way toward more saving, new bike parts, or my wife's shopping habit.

Mothers Talk

"When the wind blows, when the mothers talk… we can work it out." This song by Tears for Fears describes last evening perfectly. I started out with a strong headwind for my commute, then ended up on the periphery of a discussion between to mothers about blogging.

First the commute, since the joy of biking is supposed to be the focus of this weblog. The temperature was ideal for biking and the sun was shining in a cloudless sky. I was in short sleeves, and loving the feeling. The only downside was the strong headwind blowing from the south. But, I could be forgiven for loving the ride anyway, even if I was running about 5 km/h slower than usual as I fought the wind. I took one of my usual routes home since I had to leave work late, wanted to minimize the time on the bike so I could see Nicole and Beth, and didn't want to have to fight any more headwind than necessary.

Then later in the evening my family went for a walk. If we can't do much biking together at this time, at least we can walk together. We had made it a good 1/4 km when we ran into a good friend, and stopped to talk. Nicole and her somehow got on the topic of blogs and how so many blogs paint a rosy picture of the world. Then these two women, whom I consider to each be good mothers, said that reading these blogs that skip over problems can, at times, make them feel inadequate. I hope that nobody feels inadequate reading my blog. I mean, I'm just an old, overweight biker who's trying to keep from getting obese by commuting by bike.

Anyway I'm about to head out into a beautiful morning that's supposed to degrade into a rainy day later. I hope I survive. Who knows, that south wind may still be blowing and I'll feel like I've gotten fast with the wind assist behind me. One can always hope.

River Deep, Mountain High

The Jordan River was running really deep today with the runoff from the mountains, Utah Lake, and recent storms filling it to capacity. I'd say it feels like spring, but the cold temperatures have had me wondering if it's March or June. Hopefully we'll eventually move our way toward summer. At least the recent rains, while complicating riding, have meant I've not had to water my lawn as much, and the reservoirs should fill up this summer.

A couple of days ago, Kyle asked me about how I rode in the rain. That particular day I had managed to avoid the rains and wet roads with the timing of my rides. However the following day I put covers on my shoes, arm and leg warmers on me, and wrapped myself in a rain vest to get to work across the wet streets (and that was supposed to be the day the rains cleared). Keeping the wet away from your core, and keeping the winds at bay is really the great secret to riding on wet roads, and in lighter rain storms. Fortunately I don't have to deal with real torrential, tropical downpours in Utah. There's no way to stay dry in those. You just hope that you don't get too much water into bearings during your ride so your bike's ready to ride the next day.

I saw Tal this week as we crossed Redwood Road in opposite directions, he in the crosswalk, me flowing with traffic. I think I caught him off guard, even though I didn't mean to. He's published a book about some of his experiences: Feast After the Spirit. Check it out on Amazon. I also saw another neighbor in her SUV this morning. I'm pretty sure she didn't realize who I was, being all pimped out in cycling apparel, and it took me a minute to recognize her at the light. But at least I was friendly.

This morning wrapped up the first full week of commuting that I've done in a long time. I was on the bike at least one direction to or from work every day this week. I'm sometimes surprised at how well I can do at home sharing a single car. Granted there are times when having a second auto is extremely convenient, but I'm finding life to be approachable without it much of the time.

Paradise City

"Take me down to Paradise City, where the lights are green and the traffic is pretty; oh, won't you please take me home?" Okay, so maybe those aren't the words, but they should be! Last night and this morning: commutes with nary a stop!

Last night, on a slightly lengthened commute I rolled up to almost every light as it turned green. Yep, over 16 km and I only dismounted at one minor intersection where I just missed on the yellow. Other than that it was smooth sailing and a good 169 meters climbing with an average speed of just under 28 km/h. It felt good to just ride.

This morning was a shorter route, but an average speed of over 31 km/h. I did have to stop at three short lights, but got the rest green! 

This was also the first morning of the season that I've ridden without leg or arm warmers. Yep, just bibs and a short-sleeve jersey. It felt great! I'm looking forward to more of this nice weather -- after a possible storm tomorrow.  I have a goal of 30 rides this month, and the warmer weather will really be helpful in getting there. I'm counting each leg of my commute as one ride, and any weekend rides I may get are bonuses. Two down and 28 to go!

Quick clothing note: I'm hooked on bibs. I read in a bike mag some time ago that once you try bibs, you'll never go back to shorts. I can see why. Bibs stay put with no tugging during the ride, they don't bind at your waist, and you never have to worry about your jersey and your shorts separating.

Faith

While not the biggest George Michael fan, I remember the song and song title from the 80s, and it seemed to apply recently. Yesterday's rain almost made me doubt riding home. Then an early mailbox pickup almost made me doubt getting a letter off.

The great rains of Thursday morning had me pulling the bike inside the office to keep the chain from actively rusting in the water. However, by mid-afternoon the clouds had parted some and I decided to take a chance, have some faith, and ride home. As I did, I actually rude under a front and felt the temperature drop as I rode. The cloud line was quite distinct and clear. But the weather held except for a few droplets of rain.

Then, I was supposed to get a letter into the mail yesterday as well. I thought it was not a problem since there's a mail box on my commute home. However, I had forgotten that the pick-up is at 3:00 PM. I rode past at about 4:30. Oops. So, it was off to find a post office. My bike GPS failed me for the first time ever by not having S state Street in its database. So, I was on my own. I know how to get to the Midvale post office on back streets, so I headed off. The last pickup on their outside boxes is 5:00 PM. I missed that by 20 minutes, but their last pickup on their inside box is 5:30. Barely made it. Glad I had the faith.

By the way, 20° C is find for riding without leg warmers, but when it drops to 15° C, you may want to have them back on. Just a thought from people who care.

Oh, and a big "Woo Hoo" to all the commuters who waved on yesterday's ride home. 

Lean on Me

I realized this morning  that I like riding with, seeing, passing, or being passed by other cyclists. There's something about sharing the road with someone with whom I'm sharing the joy and challenges of cycling, especially cycle commuting, that just helps to make my day. Now, if they're on a mountain bike and I get to fly past them on a hill, I feel even better. Something about a falsely inflated ego. I know, pride goeth before a fall, but I enjoy it anyway. This morning I passed a fellow on his mountain bike, wearing a red shirt. While I did pass him on a short climb, he caught up to me at the next light. He was a sell spoken gent. Had I not been pushed for time to get to work, I would have enjoyed chatting with him over a half mile or so. Then again, had I not been rushing by when I did, I probably would never have crossed his path. Life can be funny, can't it?

When I'm passed by a fellow cyclist, I often take that as a challenge to keep pace with them as long as possible before being dropped like so much extra weight. (Although, if I could drop that extra weight I probably wouldn't be dropped by other cyclists. So much for that simile.)

Oh, and when you're out there, feel free to wave at passing cyclists. I apologize to anyone whom I've missed recently, but I think that if we're going to keep cycling from becoming the driving of the future, we need to stay friendly with each other. I think one of the problems with automobile drivers is that they isolate themselves and forget their connection to others around them. Let's keep cycling personal.

And, I'll keep offering help to people I see with flats or mechanicals even though most everyone seems to cover their own problems pretty well, and I always appreciate the same from others.

Interesting time of year for clothing selection. During the late winter and early spring, it's easy to just add on the layers. But now with weather here jumping between around 10° and 20° C (thats about 50° to 70° F) from morning to afternoon it gets a little more tricky. I chose a thin, long sleeved jersey this morning and wore my leg warmers. The cold weather gloves are right out since I think I'd just sweat away inside them. This afternoon may be a bit warm in the long sleeves, but shouldn't be  too bad. I can pack away the leg warmers and should be good to go.

A Little Help from My Friends

Want to give back to the community? There are a few events coming up in the Salt Lake area that I'm supporting: the West Jordan Sunrise Duathlon, and Bike for Kids.

Despite my thoughts on running and joggers, I'll be participating as a team with Nicole in the West Jordan Duathlon on 24 May. It gives me a chance to ride and her a chance to run. We just need to figure out how we take care of Beth with the quick transitions. Maybe some grandparents coming to watch? This event benefits a small charity established to help families whose children die of cancer.

Then, we'll be volunteering at the Bikes for Kids event. I've appreciated the help of people at rest stations, so I wanted to give a little back by manning one for this ride on 31 May.

As part of the Cycle Salt Lake week events, the UTA Bike Share Bonanza takes place 16 May from 4 - 8 PM at Gallivan Plaza. It's a fun time for all and a nice escape for a Friday night. Bike there or take a train!

Storm Front

Wow! What was up with the unfriendlies out there today? Between the car that just had to block the shoulder so he could wait to turn right at the next light, to the joggers -- they can be excused, my thoughts on joggers later -- to the cyclists who wouldn't even return a friendly "Howdy!" Is it the cloud cover?

From the joggers, I'd expect it. I mean, I don't think I've ever seen a happy jogger. It's like they spend their entire workout chanting the mantra, "No pain, no gain: no pain, no gain…" And if it's not the mantra, they have their iPods turned up so loud that they can't hear you anyway. They never smile, and they rarely acknowledge anything outside their circle of pain as they bang their knees to oblivion. They just don't seem happy. It's probably because they can't coast. I mean, I'd get grumpy too if I'd just climbed  up a hill and then I had to work to get back down. BUT, the cyclists are supposed to be at least courteous as you pass o the street. I yell out a, "Howdy!" and I expect at least a wave of the hand, a nod of the head,  or a friendly grunt in return. But this morning, nothing. The sullen skies seem to have sullied the moods of the collective population of Salt Lake.

SMILE PEOPLE, YOU'RE BIKING! Oh, and remind me sometime to tell you the story of the time I had to work to go downhill. It's a great story. Now.

BTW, the title is a great song by Billy Joel.

Video Killed the Radio Star

The Buggles nailed it. But, I'm going to risk putting some video up anyway. The videos are from the family trip to Cedar City last weekend. I shot the videos on a Flip video, so the quality is not stellar, but it was kind of fun to film while riding up the bike path. 

Oh, a quick recommendation when filming on a bike: use a wrist strap. Also, make sure there's no traffic, pedestrian, bike, equestrian, or auto, that you could run into while filming or putting the camera away.

I can see clearly now the rain is gone

I met a guy this morning whose bike commute was 15 miles each way, and he wished it was ten more. His office was considering a move South, closer to his home, and he was bummed about it. Find me a single auto commuter who would feel that way! Kudos to him.

Happy Salt Lake County Mayor's Bike to Work Day! Yup, as part of National Bike to Work Week, Salt Lake County has a Bike to Work day. Not that it made any difference to me. But anything that can get people out of their cars and onto a healthy form of transportation is a good thing. (Well, except for legislation. I think it needs to be a voluntary move to have any true merit.) Strange how the past few years Bike to Work week has been the week that I've been able to bike the least; I've had conflicts at work, at home, anywhere it seems. This year I'm at least getting a few days on the bandwagon, even if on the official Bike to Work day, Friday, I have a conference to attend and biking is, for me, not an option that day.

Anyway, after a beautiful morning commute with temperatures hovering around 10° C, it's off to work.

Mother

Yes, this post's heading is actually the title of a song. Several songs in fact.

Anyway, happy belated Mother's Day to all mothers in the US. And happy, very belated International Women's Day to all women worldwide.

I love you Mom. And I love you, Beth's mom.

Dust in the Wind

While I think we're a little more than dust in the wind, that phrase accurately describes this past weekend in Cedar City, Utah. I went with Nicole's family on a mini-reunion of sorts to the KOA in Cedar City. From the moment we arrived the wind was blowing dust, and desiccating the entire family. To be fair, beyond the wind and dust the weather was glorious.

We went out for a ride from the KOA up the canyon trail and back, a total of just over 12 km. This seems to be the lone bike/pedestrian trail in the city. We left the bike trail on the return trip and took some bike lanes and quiet back streets and these were also quite a good ride. Everyone had a fun time, even Beth riding behind me.

The ride up the canyon is a well paved path with moderate grades and stunning views of the colorful rock and Southern Utah scenery. Within just a few miles you can forget that you started in the center of a college town, and think that you're off exploring wild places.

The trail follows a creek up the canyon and this provides some other nice views overlooking the water colored with sediment from red rock and dirt. I'm told the water is frigid, but I didn't check this for myself.

There are a few other nice mountain biking trails in the area that could make this a worthwhile weekend biking trip. Check with a Local Bike Shop for trail details.

I still had a non-functioning front derailleur from the broken spoke incident on the prior Tuesday, but fortunately the pace never picked up enough to miss my upper gears. A simple cable adjustment upon return home repaired the issue.

Cedar City could be a great cycling city. It is still small enough that a bike ride is very close in time to a car trip most anywhere in town. There is a college there that could help support a strong bike culture, and the weather for more than half the year is ideal for biking. The winters are cold and snowy, but once that clears the bikes could rule the roads for nine months a year. I know from past experience that there are a couple of good bike shops in town willing to help with repairs, trail advice, and anything else you need. All these shops need is more people on bikes.

Break It Down Again

"Break it down again. No more sleepy dreamin'. The time to build is through, it is time to dissolve." A great Tears for Fears song, but a sad concept for blogging. One broken spoke can really ruin your ride. I was about 1 km from the start of my commute home when the spoke blew out as I started at a light. The only thing I could do was turn around and walk back to the office. The wheel is at Taylor's Bikes being fixed and I'll get it again tomorrow.

Just a reminder to not put off riding. Any day may be a great day to ride, and you never know if you'll be able to ride tomorrow. I was on the bike yesterday and today. Because of scheduling issues, I'll not be able to commute tomorrow, or any more this week. As my bike bottle from REI so clearly states: Ride every day. Bikes are freedom. I'll miss that freeedom.

"On a Cold and a Rainy Day…

Where on Earth is the Sun, anyway?" Well, it was in Cancun for a week, in Salt Lake for the start of this week, then back today. But, the glorious temperatures in Cancun (pushing 30° C every day) that followed me home, quickly left and returned us to near-freezing temperatures and threat of rain and snow. So much for May's grand arrival with warmer weather.

I actually managed to ride the great temperatures on Monday and Tuesday. However, Tuesday's brutal winds nearly did me in. I rode out for a haircut, and the ride took me 15 minutes longer than the extra 15 minutes I planned into a commute that is typically just over half an hour. Well, from the haircut home with a tail wind, there's great story. Nicole left her sister's house, heading home,  just before her sister gave me a haircut. After my haircut, I got a call from Nicole telling me that she wasn't home yet. I hopped on the bike and headed out. The next time I saw Nicole, we were passing in the neighborhood. She had been home long enough to make a phone call and head out to a neighbor's house when I caught her there.

Then Wednesday and Thursday were just cold and overcast. I did still ride, but it was tougher to convince myself to get out Wednesday morning and Thursday afternoon. Now Friday morning's dawned clear and cold and I'm looking forward to the ride with proper wind protection.

Tomorrow is the Intermountain Cup Showdown at 5-mile Pass. It's tempting to try it, but I haven't been on a mountain bike in almost a year. Maybe I should try a dirt ride out of competition first. Yeah, I think that's what I'll do.

Finally for this morning: As David Bernstein says on his podcast, The Fredcast, "I'm a Fred." Yes, it's true, I am. I got the GPS enabled bike computer the other day and got it installed last night. I'll probably mention more about that as I get to use it over the coming weeks.

And now it's time to head out to work.

You Don't Mess Around with Jim

Jim Croce said it very well: "You don't stand on Superman's cape; you don't spit into the wind; you don't take the mask off the old Lone Ranger; and you don't mess around with Slim." Talk about the wind. I've gotten in a couple of commute rides this week: Monday evening with Beth in the trailer, Tuesday morning, and Thursday/Friday solo. They were all really windy. 

There were 30 mph sustained headwinds Monday evening, 20 mph (and yes, I'm reverting to Emglish measure here since that's how they're reported) on Tuesday -- again a headwind. Thursday evening was  mostly a crosswind, and Friday morning: a blessed tailwind most of the way.

Just for the record: hauling a trailer into a massive headwind is even harder than either hauling a trailer in neutral conditions or riding solo into a headwind. I guess that's particularly true since we have the big-ol-double-wide trailer. And Beth didn't really appreciate that much wind blowing across her, so I had to close up the wind screen halfway home.

Friday morning was my first 30 kph+ (20 mph+) commute of the season!

Then, just when I start getting back into a groove of riding a little bit, it's off on vacation for a week. Maybe a little spinning in the gym while I'm gone.

And why Jim Croce today? Well, during Monday's commute I did have to spit, but had to aim across the bike path so as to keep it out of my face.

Big Shot

Billy Joel said so well, "You can cry in your coffee, but don't come cryin' to me." I'm not cryin', but I'm warnin'!

I just wanted to leave a reminder that preventative maintenance and general tune-ups on a bike are wonderful things to remember. I passed a fellow this morning who was pumping up his tire enough to limp to work without having to change it on the roadside. I don't know his maintenance schedule, but I know mine's been deficient recently.

Half way home last night I started getting this strange skipping sensation in the drivetrain. It was incredibly regular. I couldn't shift away from it. I will tell you that it is incredibly annoying to have your pedal stroke interrupted every 2nd or 3rd rotation with a sudden skip. My first thought was that the rear derailleur had slipped out of alignment and was jumping between gears, although there had been nothing to cause that. Once I got home, I got the bike up on my repair stand. (And may I insert here that if you're going to spend any time at all working on a bike, that a repair stand is almost a necessity.) As I started spinning the pedals, I could feel the tick. So, I looked at the rear derailleur, from whence the sound came. I could see the chain not mating up well with the cogs, but couldn't tell which direction it was off. Turns out that the problem was a seized chain link. I could see some signs of rust on the outside of the chain pins, but the chain wear is still within limits. There is just one link that does not flex properly. I lubed the entire chain — something I should have done before the first ride of the year — and it is working well except for that one link.

Now, I usually listen for squeaking from the chain to indicate the need to lubrication, but I hadn't thought to give the bike a once over after it sat for the long winter (and most of last summer). Had I done that, the chain would have been better prepared for the rain I drove through both to and from the St. George ride last month.

This morning, after the service work last night, the chain skipped less, but that link is still not bending smoothly. I still had some skipping. So now, instead of a preventative lube in February, I'm looking at removing a chain link and hoping to still have adequate length on the chain, or replacing a chain entirely. 

Hazy Shade of WInter

The Bangle's song really describes the weather around Salt Lake that has kept me off my bike this past week. There's a patch of snow on the ground, the sky is a hazy shade of winter. Temperatures dropped this past week and it's rained and snowed most days. Like I said before, I'm kind of a fair weather biker, so this has put me back into a car for my commutes.

An example of the weather comes from my weekend. I took a flight to Lake Powell to escape the winter up here and look at houseboats. (Thanks, Vanya, for flying us.) Most of the way down, the clouds were hovering just above the plane, and because of the cold (-10° - -20 ° C) temperatures, we couldn't punch through without a risk of icing the wings. So, we were funneled down the valleys of Utah and over low passes to get the Page, AZ. Once we got south of Bryce Canyon — and began our descent — the skies opened up and it was glorious and warm. Then when we landed we were warned of 40 MPH winds possibly coming later that day. After our business down there, we headed home, but couldn't make the turn to the west to get on the right route home. The freezing clouds just made a wall to our left side the whole way. We ended up following the low lands up to Price, where we were hemmed in on all sides with mountains and clouds. So, we had to park the plane there and bum a ride home through a snowstorm. (Thanks, Mom.)

Today I'm looking out at a beautiful day, that just happens to be stuck in the single digits (Celsius). I may be able to eke out a ride yet, but it's just teasing me daily. 

Oh, and Happy St. Patrick's Day! I'm a wearin' the green. Are you?

Baby, It's Cold Outside

I think I went a little under my preferred minimum temperature of 0° C this morning, but I somehow still overheated. I had some really cold areas when I got to the office, but my core was quite warm, and I was sweating. How does that happen?

Getting the hang of proper layering is something that takes time and practice. A few years ago I got it down pretty well. This year I'm starting again. I guess I could keep a log of temperatures at ride start and end, the clothing I wore, and my comfort level and complaints. But, I don't even keep a training log or a journal of my life. I don't think that I'm going to get that scientific about clothing. As it stands, I'll just try to build a best guess system of layers. Oh, and just for the record, this morning it was leg warmers, foot covers, bibs, a long-sleeved jersey, a vest, and a windbreaker. I could have probably skipped the vest and been okay. I also wore a baclava under my helmet.

I need to get back in shape. I spent a lot of this morning's ride panting for air and coasting. Now I did maintain an average speed of about 29 km/h — about 18 mph for those of you not accepting of metrics — but it really burned me over the 13 km course I take to work.

BTW: I choose to use metric measurements in my cycling and most aspects of my life as I find them easier to work with. And in much the same way as most Americans just understand the length of a foot, I find that just understanding the length of a meter or decimeter makes the system easy to use, without worrying about the whole conversion thing. Weights, distances, and volumes are pretty easy. I'm still struggling on overcoming my SAE upbringing when  it comes to temperature, but I'm working on it.

I'm on Fire

"Hey, little girl, is your daddy home? Did he go and leave you all alone? Whoa, I'm on fire." I had the Boss running through my mind as I rode home along the Jordan Parkway trail with my little girl in the trailer behind me.

Carrying Beth behind me increase the time to 50 minutes from 30 for the ride, but it was fun. The commute also increased to 15 km from 13 km since I took a detour through the neighborhoods so as to not have to deal with the fact that 1300 West has no shoulder through most of West Jordan, and it seems the city has no plans to add one on what could be one of the most cycling-friendly roads in the Salt Lake valley.

I was heartened while riding the trail to see several other bikers, both roadies and tread-heads, kids on scooters, moms on roller skates, skate boarders, walkers, equestrians, and even a family who took up the entire bridge while the two-year-old (or at least so he looked) walked his bike ever so slowly across while his mom tried to not roll backwards on her roller blades. This early burst of Spring — even before the vernal equinox — is well received, and the switch to Daylight Saving Time seems to have brought out all kinds of people enjoying the weather and leaving their cars behind. There were people hooked up to their 'Pods, and other enjoying the rhythm of life. There were people who could figure out that the yellow line was a divider, and others who just spread their trip across the entire trail. I saw babies in strollers (even beside Beth), and bikers with white hair. It was a totally different experience from driving on a crowded road. Even though I had to slow down numerous times when overtaking a group, I enjoyed the entire commute.

This was the first time I've brought Beth home from work on the bike. Although I threatened to ride with her last week, I was scared off by cold weather. I have decided that I have some minimum temperatures for riding. I want a morning low above 0° C (32° F) and an afternoon high of at least 10° C (50° F). Call me a fair weather cyclist if you will, but I have my standards. The weather predictions for this week meet those standards, so I'll be riding as much as I can to and from work this week.

How did Beth do on the commute? Very well. She slid into the Chariot and dozed off quite soon after we took off. She didn't wake back up until after we had pulled into the garage. That's a great time to take a nap. I just wish I could have done the same.

Tomorrow will probably be back to the road for a quick trip to and from work — yes, still in the bike — but this was a great change of pace.