The good news is that the glass on the road was not the problem last week. I took the wheel off and inspected the tire, expecting to see glass sticking out of it. I found nary a piece embedded in it. I then removed the tire and tube from the wheel to continue with the inspection. Again, I did an inspection of the tire, this time on the inside both visually and by gently running my fingers around the tire. Still no glass.
At this point I was wondering if there was some other reason for the failure of the tube, so I turned my attention to the tube itself. I didn't see anything wrong, focusing on the outer part of the tube so I decided to add some air. As I pumped I felt the air leaking from a hole on the inner part of the tube about 3 inches from the valve. I was confused as to how this could be the case, until I noticed that my new wheel was missing the rim strip.
It seems that when they moved the tire and tube from the old wheel to the new, they failed to realize that there was no rim strip on the new wheel and the sharp edge of one of the holes in the secondary wall of the wheel had punctured the tube. This was actually a relief in that it meant the Kevlar tire were actually doing their job in protecting the tubes form the hazards on the road.
I took the wheel, tire and tube to the LBS where I had purchased the wheel and they replaced the tube since the missing rim strip was their fault (Thank you Broken Spoke).
Unfortunately this took place on Friday. Since my wife and I had planned a weekend of relaxing and doing very little, I didn't get another ride in until this morning. The good news is that I Rode 9+ miles this morning with no issues. I do have to make a slight adjustment to my handlebars as they are slightly off center from the crash on Thursday. The interesting this was that I felt slow this morning, yet my Garmin and Strava indicated that I had ridden my best time yet on my training loop. Go figure!
So, I'm on a working machine again and I expect to hit my 5 of 7 goal easily this week, baring any further issues, of which I hope there are none!
Monday, June 4, 2012
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Goals are sometimes very challenging
My short terms goals have been to ride at least 5 of 7 days each week. I accomplished this 2 out of the last 4 weeks and this week my be in jeopardy after riding 4 out of 5 days.
I got up at my usual 4:00 am to get in my ride before work this morning. I was moving a bit slow but managed to get the tires aired up and on the road by 4:15 or so. The first lap felt good but I noticed a bunch of broken glass about 1/3 mile from the house. I didn't think much of it having prepared for this by purchasing Kevlar reinforced tires and slimer tubes for the bike.
Unfortunately it seems my Kevlar reinforced tires and slimer tubes were no match for the broken glass someone so kindly placed on the roadway. Of course I didn't realize this until I approached the corner at 20 mph and felt the back end swerve. I tried to brake, but lost it. Fortunately just a bit of road rash on my knee and elbow and hurt pride were the only casualties(of course there was a couple walking about 1/2 block back from the corner).
So with my flat rear tire I walked the approximately half mile home. Technically I did get out and ride this morning, if only for the short distance of 1.5 miles. Its too early to look at the bike and see if I need a new tube or if I might be saved by the slime. Hopefully I can get it to hold air and get out for a ride tomorrow to make my goal.
The good news is that I ended up riding 176 miles this month , which if I'm not mistaken, is the most miles I've ridden in any month, even when I was training for Pumpkinman.
I got up at my usual 4:00 am to get in my ride before work this morning. I was moving a bit slow but managed to get the tires aired up and on the road by 4:15 or so. The first lap felt good but I noticed a bunch of broken glass about 1/3 mile from the house. I didn't think much of it having prepared for this by purchasing Kevlar reinforced tires and slimer tubes for the bike.
Unfortunately it seems my Kevlar reinforced tires and slimer tubes were no match for the broken glass someone so kindly placed on the roadway. Of course I didn't realize this until I approached the corner at 20 mph and felt the back end swerve. I tried to brake, but lost it. Fortunately just a bit of road rash on my knee and elbow and hurt pride were the only casualties(of course there was a couple walking about 1/2 block back from the corner).
So with my flat rear tire I walked the approximately half mile home. Technically I did get out and ride this morning, if only for the short distance of 1.5 miles. Its too early to look at the bike and see if I need a new tube or if I might be saved by the slime. Hopefully I can get it to hold air and get out for a ride tomorrow to make my goal.
The good news is that I ended up riding 176 miles this month , which if I'm not mistaken, is the most miles I've ridden in any month, even when I was training for Pumpkinman.
Saturday, May 26, 2012
252 miles and counting
This week has been one with much less riding than I had anticipated or planned, yet I did manage to get out for 3 rides after all of the issues with spokes and wheels. I rode a total of 24.15 miles this week bringing my total for the year to 252 miles. I realize that I am a long ways from my goal of 2012 in 2012, but the fact that I was able to get any miles this week is a good thing.
Only 1760 miles to go for the year. Divide that by the 31 weeks remaining in the year and it works out to just under 57 miles per week average needed. Riding an average of 5 days per week. I need to ride over 11 miles per day. Definitely a doable number.
Only 1760 miles to go for the year. Divide that by the 31 weeks remaining in the year and it works out to just under 57 miles per week average needed. Riding an average of 5 days per week. I need to ride over 11 miles per day. Definitely a doable number.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Back at it
I'm back on the bike and loving it.
Last Saturday I did my longest ride so far this year, over 16 miles. Now by many standards that's not a long ride, but it was an accomplishment for me. The good news is I felt good and probably could have gone farther. The bad news is as I mentioned before, I had 3 broken spokes.
Monday I took the bike into Broken Spoke, a newer bike shop here in the Las Vegas area. When I dropped it off, the gentleman said it should be done the next day. Unfortunately when I called on Tuesday afternoon, there were still 2 bikes ahead of mine. That meant the soonest it would be done is on Wednesday. I wasn't thrilled, but could understand that delays happen.
My 2 concerns were that it be done right and it be done quickly since I hadn't ridden since Saturday. I called Wednesday about lunch time and was told there was a problem. Apparently they didn't have the right length spokes in stock and it would be another 2 days to order them. I was obviously upset and wondered why this was when they had the spokes in stock when I dropped it off. As the mechanic was looking t the order, he noticed that there were 2 different spoke lengths written, one with 2 of the numbers transposed. He said he would do some investigation and call me back.
The next thing I know, I got a call that the bike was ready to be picked up. To say the least I was very happy. It meant I could ride Thursday morning, the first ride in 5 days. I stopped by the shop on the way home from work and picked it up and all was well.
This morning 4:00 am rolled around and I got up and went for a ride. I was feeling strong and very happy to be rolling again. I had missed it over the last 5 days. In fact, I felt so strong that I decided to try something I had not previously done - ride my entire morning loop with out down shifting on the incline. Now its not a very steep incline, but it does add extra work, especially at my size. I made it up to the highest point and started on the downhill and was feeling good. I rounded the next to corners and carried a decent amount of speed into the ascent (OK slight uphill grade). I made it to the middle of the grade and was still going strong, I kept pumping and made it all the way up and I wasn't worn out. I couldn't believe it.
I was feeling strong and said to myself "you made it once, let's try it again." i did and I made it the second time, then the third. Then the fourth. In fact I made it through 8 laps without downshifting. Unfortunately at right about the 9 mile made I heard a thunk and noticed a wobble in the rear wheel. I took it easy the last .3 miles home and looked to see that I had broken another spoke. I was not happy. First because I had planned on at least another mile this morning, and second I had another issue with the bike.
I pulled the wheel as I was headed out the door to work and headed to the bike shop on my lunch hour. When I walked in I talked to who i think was the owner/mechanic (wish I was better with names to give him his proper credit). He let me know that he had hoped to catch me when I picked up the bike. The diamondback comes with single walled wheels and for someone my size, with the larger wheels, a double walled wheel would be a better option.
My thought was maybe just replacing all the spokes might be a good option. The information about the wheel flexing made me think twice about that option. Besides that Broken Spoke said they weren't capable of doing the re-spoking. The other shops in town changed at least $40 for labor plus the cost of the spokes which were between $1.25 and $1.50 each or 36 spokes. I was looking at around $100 to get that done. Broken spoke had a stiffer, double-walled wheel for $80. That made a lot of sense. So I pulled the trigger and in 10 minutes was out the door with my tire mounted on my new rear wheel.
I won't make 5 of 7 days this week but I will ride 3 for 3 with a working bike!
Last Saturday I did my longest ride so far this year, over 16 miles. Now by many standards that's not a long ride, but it was an accomplishment for me. The good news is I felt good and probably could have gone farther. The bad news is as I mentioned before, I had 3 broken spokes.
Monday I took the bike into Broken Spoke, a newer bike shop here in the Las Vegas area. When I dropped it off, the gentleman said it should be done the next day. Unfortunately when I called on Tuesday afternoon, there were still 2 bikes ahead of mine. That meant the soonest it would be done is on Wednesday. I wasn't thrilled, but could understand that delays happen.
My 2 concerns were that it be done right and it be done quickly since I hadn't ridden since Saturday. I called Wednesday about lunch time and was told there was a problem. Apparently they didn't have the right length spokes in stock and it would be another 2 days to order them. I was obviously upset and wondered why this was when they had the spokes in stock when I dropped it off. As the mechanic was looking t the order, he noticed that there were 2 different spoke lengths written, one with 2 of the numbers transposed. He said he would do some investigation and call me back.
The next thing I know, I got a call that the bike was ready to be picked up. To say the least I was very happy. It meant I could ride Thursday morning, the first ride in 5 days. I stopped by the shop on the way home from work and picked it up and all was well.
This morning 4:00 am rolled around and I got up and went for a ride. I was feeling strong and very happy to be rolling again. I had missed it over the last 5 days. In fact, I felt so strong that I decided to try something I had not previously done - ride my entire morning loop with out down shifting on the incline. Now its not a very steep incline, but it does add extra work, especially at my size. I made it up to the highest point and started on the downhill and was feeling good. I rounded the next to corners and carried a decent amount of speed into the ascent (OK slight uphill grade). I made it to the middle of the grade and was still going strong, I kept pumping and made it all the way up and I wasn't worn out. I couldn't believe it.
I was feeling strong and said to myself "you made it once, let's try it again." i did and I made it the second time, then the third. Then the fourth. In fact I made it through 8 laps without downshifting. Unfortunately at right about the 9 mile made I heard a thunk and noticed a wobble in the rear wheel. I took it easy the last .3 miles home and looked to see that I had broken another spoke. I was not happy. First because I had planned on at least another mile this morning, and second I had another issue with the bike.
I pulled the wheel as I was headed out the door to work and headed to the bike shop on my lunch hour. When I walked in I talked to who i think was the owner/mechanic (wish I was better with names to give him his proper credit). He let me know that he had hoped to catch me when I picked up the bike. The diamondback comes with single walled wheels and for someone my size, with the larger wheels, a double walled wheel would be a better option.
My thought was maybe just replacing all the spokes might be a good option. The information about the wheel flexing made me think twice about that option. Besides that Broken Spoke said they weren't capable of doing the re-spoking. The other shops in town changed at least $40 for labor plus the cost of the spokes which were between $1.25 and $1.50 each or 36 spokes. I was looking at around $100 to get that done. Broken spoke had a stiffer, double-walled wheel for $80. That made a lot of sense. So I pulled the trigger and in 10 minutes was out the door with my tire mounted on my new rear wheel.
I won't make 5 of 7 days this week but I will ride 3 for 3 with a working bike!
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Habits
I've been thinking a lot about habits the last few days, both good and bad. I heard it said a long time ago that if you do something for 21 days, that it will become a habit. It doesn't matter if its something good, or bad, just the act of repeating the same activity for that amount of time tends to imprint it rather deeply into our brains.
A web search reveals that this may not necessarily be true. It really depends on the habit and how drastic of a change it is to our "normal" behaviour. Simple things, like drinking a glass of water a day, could become a habit in as few as 18 days, but something more profound, like doing 50 sit-ups everyday before breakfast could take much, much longer.
Why all this talk of habits, you might ask. Its because I've started developing the habit of riding my bike several times per week. In fact, for the last 5 and a half weeks, I've averaged almost 4 rides per week. That's 21 rides in 39 days. Seems like its becoming a habit to get out there and ride. I know it is becoming a habit, because I haven't ridden in 3 days and I'm really missing it! In fact I just did a quick tally and came up with a total of 175.83 miles ridden during those 39 days and 226.47 miles ridden so far this year.
Now, I've been doing a bit of math, and having been inspired by fizzhogg in his blog 2k in 2k10 Unfat Project, and having done a bit more math, I'm setting a goal for myself for total miles biked in 2012. That total is 2012 miles. I figure its an easy number to remember and not a bad slogan "2012 in 2012." In order to accomplish this feat, I simply have to average 55 miles per week for the rest of the year.
As soon as I do a bit more research I'm going to see how I can put some type of ticker on here to show miles so far this year and miles left to meet my goal.
Anyone want to join me in this?
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Weekly goal met again
This week I set myself the same goal as last week, which was to get out and ride 5 of 7 days. Even though I didn't ride last Sunday, I was able to get out Monday through Thursday and again this morning.
Today's ride was grat. I rode out towards Blue Diamond and didn't stop once on the way out. I even rode the farthest I have in over a year. My total today was 16.44 miles in 1:31. An earlier start, cooler weather and a light breeze all combined to keep the temperatures reasonable.
It does seem that I can't getin a weekend ride without an issue, though. I noticed a wobble in my rear wheel which seemed to get worse as I rode. Come to find out, I seem to have broken 3 spokes on my rear wheel. Time to get into the LBS and have them replace the spokes and perform a tuneup. Hard to believe, but I've got almost 120 miles on the new bike so far.
Riding 5 of 7 days does tend to allow the mileage to add up. I managed 47.52 miles this week. Not a bad week at all. Hopefully I can keep up with the number of ride and increase the distance week by week.
Also this week, I had the final weigh in for the Biggest Winner competition. While I didn't have the loss I would have liked, I did post a loss. My final weight was 416 which gave me a 12 lb loss for the competition. Not sure how we placed in the competition, but a loss is always good. i'll update once they post the results.
Today's ride was grat. I rode out towards Blue Diamond and didn't stop once on the way out. I even rode the farthest I have in over a year. My total today was 16.44 miles in 1:31. An earlier start, cooler weather and a light breeze all combined to keep the temperatures reasonable.
It does seem that I can't getin a weekend ride without an issue, though. I noticed a wobble in my rear wheel which seemed to get worse as I rode. Come to find out, I seem to have broken 3 spokes on my rear wheel. Time to get into the LBS and have them replace the spokes and perform a tuneup. Hard to believe, but I've got almost 120 miles on the new bike so far.
Riding 5 of 7 days does tend to allow the mileage to add up. I managed 47.52 miles this week. Not a bad week at all. Hopefully I can keep up with the number of ride and increase the distance week by week.
Also this week, I had the final weigh in for the Biggest Winner competition. While I didn't have the loss I would have liked, I did post a loss. My final weight was 416 which gave me a 12 lb loss for the competition. Not sure how we placed in the competition, but a loss is always good. i'll update once they post the results.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Update on last week's goal...
I had meant to post this sooner, but got side tracked and never actually published the update.
Last week I set myself a short term, achievable goal to simply ride 5 of 7 days. I made my goal. I rode Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. My total mileage for the week was just under 50 miles, which according to My Daily Mile, is the most I've ridden in one week since I completed Pumpkinman in October 2010.
When I looked back and saw that fact, I realized quickly how I had put back on some of the weight I had lost. Its really very simple, I continued to eat too many calories and to burn too few. I am working to change that by monitoring what I eat as well as what I burn.
For example, if I follow the calorie burns supplied by My Fitness Pal in capturing my rides, I burned an extra 4873 calories in 287 minutes of riding my bike over the same 7 days.
Obviously these are calories I would not have burned if I had not gotten out there and ridden. For this very fact, I am planning on setting the same goal for this week - ride 5 of 7 days.
Now I actually have applied a bit greater pressure to myself this week because I didn't ride on Sunday. I did ride this morning, though, so I have to ride 4 of the next 5 days. My plan is simple - Get up at 4:00 am on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and Ride my 8 to 10 miles in the morning before work and then ride either Friday or Saturday, depending on the weather and the activities at home.
The good news is that with riding, my weight was down 1.4 lbs. this week to 416. The big weigh in is on Thursday for the Biggest Winner competition. I will have lost some weight, but not nearly as much as I had hoped for the 10 weeks of the competition.
Last week I set myself a short term, achievable goal to simply ride 5 of 7 days. I made my goal. I rode Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. My total mileage for the week was just under 50 miles, which according to My Daily Mile, is the most I've ridden in one week since I completed Pumpkinman in October 2010.
When I looked back and saw that fact, I realized quickly how I had put back on some of the weight I had lost. Its really very simple, I continued to eat too many calories and to burn too few. I am working to change that by monitoring what I eat as well as what I burn.
For example, if I follow the calorie burns supplied by My Fitness Pal in capturing my rides, I burned an extra 4873 calories in 287 minutes of riding my bike over the same 7 days.
Obviously these are calories I would not have burned if I had not gotten out there and ridden. For this very fact, I am planning on setting the same goal for this week - ride 5 of 7 days.
Now I actually have applied a bit greater pressure to myself this week because I didn't ride on Sunday. I did ride this morning, though, so I have to ride 4 of the next 5 days. My plan is simple - Get up at 4:00 am on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and Ride my 8 to 10 miles in the morning before work and then ride either Friday or Saturday, depending on the weather and the activities at home.
The good news is that with riding, my weight was down 1.4 lbs. this week to 416. The big weigh in is on Thursday for the Biggest Winner competition. I will have lost some weight, but not nearly as much as I had hoped for the 10 weeks of the competition.
Monday, May 7, 2012
Little Goals are Important
I've been missing out on one key part of my fitness and weight loss journey. Setting short term, achievble goals. Sure I had the long term big goal of geting down to 195. The problem was I didn't have any particular plan to get there.
So This week I am borrowing a short term goal I read about on somone else's blog (Thanks Steve!). I am going to set a goal to simply ride 5 of 7 days this week.
Not a big goal, but it is doable. Also by committing to it here, I am holding myself accountble.
I'm well on my way to this goal, having ridden both yesterday and today. So I know it is within my grasp, especially since at this point, I really only have to ride 3 of the next 5 days.
Speaking of yesterday's ride, it was my longest to date on the new steed. I headed out along Blue Diamond road towards the town of Blue Diamond. Its the same ride I did 2 weeks ago with the Univega. While I was slower this week, that was partly due to stopping to make some minor adjustments along the way as well as needing to get comfortable with the different gear range.
This morning I got up and rode 8 miles around my normal training loop. I felt really good when I was done.
So This week I am borrowing a short term goal I read about on somone else's blog (Thanks Steve!). I am going to set a goal to simply ride 5 of 7 days this week.
Not a big goal, but it is doable. Also by committing to it here, I am holding myself accountble.
I'm well on my way to this goal, having ridden both yesterday and today. So I know it is within my grasp, especially since at this point, I really only have to ride 3 of the next 5 days.
Speaking of yesterday's ride, it was my longest to date on the new steed. I headed out along Blue Diamond road towards the town of Blue Diamond. Its the same ride I did 2 weeks ago with the Univega. While I was slower this week, that was partly due to stopping to make some minor adjustments along the way as well as needing to get comfortable with the different gear range.
This morning I got up and rode 8 miles around my normal training loop. I felt really good when I was done.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
My New Ride!
As I mentioned in my previous post, the Univega I had been riding for the last 2 years has developed some major issues. Its probably correctable, but beyond my skill/confidence level at this time. I'm also not so sure investing much time and or money in a 20+ year old bike is the best idea, either. So I talked to my wife and daughter and they agreed to buy me a new bike I had been looking at as a Father's Day present, and a bit early to boot!
Here it is:
As you can see it does have Shimano components, front suspension and adjustable handlebars. It also has a suspension seat post which isn't very effective for someone my size. I may swap that out in the future.
My first real ride was this morning and I was pleased. At least I was pleased after I put more air in the tires. I had approximated the air pressure Monday evening as my pump with the air gauge was out of order. The tires were greatly under inflated. After stopping to put more air into the tires, I was able to crank out 7 miles this morning in 39 minutes. Not the fastest, but respectable. I still think I'm under inflating the tires and will do a proper pressure check this evening.
One other tweak I need to make is to adjust the rear deraulier so that it engages the highest gear more efficiently. There seemed to be a struggle to get to the gear this morning. I also need to adjust the brakes as I had one that seemed to drag. Time and adjustments will allow me to dial it in to a very pleasing ride.
One other possible change down the road might be to the rear cassette. Since I'm going to mostly be staying on the pavement with this bike, I'm thinking I might want to go to an 11-28. Going to have to give it some time and miles before deciding to pull the trigger on making that change.
Here it is:
Yes. it is a hybrid. Its a Diamondback Edgewood LX in an XL frame. It actually arrived on Saturday, but I wasn't able to assemble it until Monday night. I LOVE IT! Its great to have a bike that is the right size for me. I have it mostly dialed in, but still have a few more adjustments to make to it.
Here are the stats for the bike from bikepedia.com:
| Bicycle Type | Hybrid |
| MSRP (new) | Unspecified |
| Weight | Unspecified |
| Sizes | SM (15"), M (17"), LG (19"), XL (21") |
| Colors | Burgundy |
| Item ID | 23490 |
| Frame & Fork | |
| Frame Construction | Aluminum |
| Frame Tubing Material | 6061-T6 aluminum |
| Fork Brand & Model | Sport Comfort Suspension, 63mm travel |
| Fork Material | Unspecified |
| Rear Shock | Not applicable |
| Components | |
| Component Group | Hybrid Mix |
| Brakeset | Alloy linear brakes, Shimano EF-50 levers |
| Shift Levers | Shimano EF-51 EZ fire |
| Front Derailleur | Shimano TX50, 31.8mm top swing dual pull |
| Rear Derailleur | Shimano TX55 |
| Crankset | SR XCCT208 w/ chainguard, 28/38/48t teeth |
| Pedals | Avenir Comfort Platform |
| Bottom Bracket | Cartridge Type |
| BB Shell Width | Unspecified |
| Rear Cogs | 7-speed, 14 - 34 teeth |
| Chain | KMC Z51 |
| Seatpost | Alloy Suspension, 27.2mm diameter |
| Saddle | DB Deluxe Hybrid Double Density Base w/ Coil spring |
| Handlebar | Steel 50mm rise |
| Handlebar Extensions | Not included |
| Handlebar Stem | Alloy Adjustable Quill |
| Headset | 1 1/8" Threaded |
| Wheels | |
| Hubs | Alloy QR |
| Rims | SSW700 Double Tunnel Alloy, 32-hole |
| Tires | 700 x 40c Kenda Cross |
| Spoke Brand | Stainless Steel stainless, 14ga. (2.0mm) |
| Spoke Nipples | Unspecified |
As you can see it does have Shimano components, front suspension and adjustable handlebars. It also has a suspension seat post which isn't very effective for someone my size. I may swap that out in the future.
My first real ride was this morning and I was pleased. At least I was pleased after I put more air in the tires. I had approximated the air pressure Monday evening as my pump with the air gauge was out of order. The tires were greatly under inflated. After stopping to put more air into the tires, I was able to crank out 7 miles this morning in 39 minutes. Not the fastest, but respectable. I still think I'm under inflating the tires and will do a proper pressure check this evening.
One other tweak I need to make is to adjust the rear deraulier so that it engages the highest gear more efficiently. There seemed to be a struggle to get to the gear this morning. I also need to adjust the brakes as I had one that seemed to drag. Time and adjustments will allow me to dial it in to a very pleasing ride.
One other possible change down the road might be to the rear cassette. Since I'm going to mostly be staying on the pavement with this bike, I'm thinking I might want to go to an 11-28. Going to have to give it some time and miles before deciding to pull the trigger on making that change.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Corporate Challenge Bike Race 2012 Edition
Yesterday was the 2012 Corporate Challenge Bike Race. It was held at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway complex just like it was last year. I was one of 2 riders representing our organization in the Men's 45-49 Division.The short version is I pedaled hard on my back up bike and I finished slower than last year in 59:53.
The long version is a bit more interesting.
I had signed up weeks ago for the race with our company's team captain, but I let him know that I was not going to be fast. I knew this because of the lack of riding while my knee healed and the fact that I'm just not fast to begin with. I told our captain that I would love to participate, but that if there was a faster rider in my age group who wanted the spot, to go ahead and give it to them.
Two weeks ago, he sent out an email listing the team members and their divisions. There I was, a member of the team. I decided I needed to step up my training a bit to get ready for the race. The distance was listed at 12 to 14 miles. The farthest I had ridden in the last 6 month was 7 miles and that's when I hurt my knee in December.
I started getting up more often at 4:00 am and actually started increasing my distance 5 miles one day, 6 miles a day for several days. I then did my long Sunday ride and managed almost 13 miles. Last week, I increased my daily distance to 8 miles for a couple of days. Then on Thursday I was riding and developed a bad squeak with every turn of the crank. I cut my ride short at 6 miles and intended to look at the bike on Friday to see what was up. BTW the bike is an early 90's Univega Alpina Trail.
Friday came and went, as did Saturday and Sunday without my looking at the bike. There were many things going on and I just didn't make the time to look at it. Monday evening I finally found the time and went to look at my trusty steed. Bad news. The bearing on the crank were totally shot! I could actually move the pedals about 1/2 to 3/4" side to side. There was no way I was riding this bike on Wednesday for the race. Fortunately I had a back up. My Trusty Schwinn Landmark Cruiser I had purchased 2 years ago when I decided to get back into riding.
The Schwinn:
I checked over the Schwinn and lubed the chain and verified it was in good working order. Tuesday night I loaded it and the rest of my gear (helmet, gloves, shoes, riding clothes, a couple of tools just in case) into the van ready for the race on Wednesday.
The weather forecast said that there might be rain on Wednesday, starting in the afternoon. That was a concern that it might be wet and windy and a bit cool for the race. The morning of the race dawned and it was overcast, with some light drizzle and 10 to 20 mph winds and the forecast was just as dire:
Meanwhile I had been scouring the Craig's List ads in hopes of finding a replacement steed. I did find a couple of ads posted by the same person that looked promising. One was a Univega and the other was a Specialized. I made arrangements to look at the bikes on the way to the event on Wednesday. My hope was that if one was in good shape and fit me, that I could purchase it and then maybe even ride it in the race. They looked both bigger and in better shape in the pictures than they did in person, so I passed on them and headed to the speedway.
When I arrived at the speedway I quickly realized 2 things: first, the weather forecast was wrong (it was in the mid 80's with sunshine) and second, mine was the only cruiser on the premises. I also realized as I mounted the Schwinn and headed up towards the tunnel, that the Schwinn really was not the right size for me. My knees were coming up and almost hitting the handlebars and the seat was nowhere near high enough. I knew the seat post was at its maximum extension so there was nothing to do but ride.
I met up with the rest of the team and got checked in with my number and my timing chip and then rode around for a bit to warm up and get ready for what was to come.
The course this year was similar to last, except instead of running on a part of the road course, they extended the course out through one of the back parking lots to reach the 10 mile length. we still got to ride on the Super Speedway, up the drag strip and around the Bullring. There was still the nasty climb up from the tunnel to the grandstands.
I knew I wasn't going to be fast, so I just determined to enjoy the ride. As we were queuing up to get ready for the start a couple of other new members of the team were remarking on how awesome it was to be in the infield and have access to the track. They were Nascar fans and had only ever been up in the stands.
As we waited, one of the organizers went through the pack of cyclists giving a bit of course info - the right lane of the drag strip was being worked on, so use the left lane; there were some other cones set up by LVMPD and they were shorter than the race cones so ignore them. Then it was time to go.
I started my Garmin as I crossed the line and headed around the track. It quickly became apparent to me that I was going to be working hard to get the race completed. The Fat tires of the Schwinn were great for a comfortable ride, but there were also requiring more effort due to the rolling resistance. I probably could have put another 10 lbs of air in them. The other thing I quickly realized was that only having 7 gears was going to hurt me. I ran out of gears on both the uphill and downhill portions of the race.
Throughout the race I tried to keep in touch with a group that was a little ways ahead of me, but it wasn't to be. They seemed to keep just barely out of reach as I followed them around the course.
Here is the map of the ride from my Garmin:
My finish time for the race, as I said was 59:53. I had to really dig for the last 1/2 mile to make sure I finished in under 1 hour.
I'm certainly glad I did the race and it has definitely motivated me to find a new bike that is the right size for me!
The long version is a bit more interesting.
I had signed up weeks ago for the race with our company's team captain, but I let him know that I was not going to be fast. I knew this because of the lack of riding while my knee healed and the fact that I'm just not fast to begin with. I told our captain that I would love to participate, but that if there was a faster rider in my age group who wanted the spot, to go ahead and give it to them.
Two weeks ago, he sent out an email listing the team members and their divisions. There I was, a member of the team. I decided I needed to step up my training a bit to get ready for the race. The distance was listed at 12 to 14 miles. The farthest I had ridden in the last 6 month was 7 miles and that's when I hurt my knee in December.
I started getting up more often at 4:00 am and actually started increasing my distance 5 miles one day, 6 miles a day for several days. I then did my long Sunday ride and managed almost 13 miles. Last week, I increased my daily distance to 8 miles for a couple of days. Then on Thursday I was riding and developed a bad squeak with every turn of the crank. I cut my ride short at 6 miles and intended to look at the bike on Friday to see what was up. BTW the bike is an early 90's Univega Alpina Trail.
Friday came and went, as did Saturday and Sunday without my looking at the bike. There were many things going on and I just didn't make the time to look at it. Monday evening I finally found the time and went to look at my trusty steed. Bad news. The bearing on the crank were totally shot! I could actually move the pedals about 1/2 to 3/4" side to side. There was no way I was riding this bike on Wednesday for the race. Fortunately I had a back up. My Trusty Schwinn Landmark Cruiser I had purchased 2 years ago when I decided to get back into riding.
The Schwinn:
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| Schwinn Landmark Cruiser |
I checked over the Schwinn and lubed the chain and verified it was in good working order. Tuesday night I loaded it and the rest of my gear (helmet, gloves, shoes, riding clothes, a couple of tools just in case) into the van ready for the race on Wednesday.
The weather forecast said that there might be rain on Wednesday, starting in the afternoon. That was a concern that it might be wet and windy and a bit cool for the race. The morning of the race dawned and it was overcast, with some light drizzle and 10 to 20 mph winds and the forecast was just as dire:
Wednesday
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Mostly cloudy with a chance of rain in the afternoon. High of
77F. Breezy. Winds from the SSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
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Wednesday Night
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Overcast with thunderstorms and rain showers. Low of 55F.
Breezy. Winds from the West at 10 to 20 mph shifting to the SSW after
midnight. Chance of rain 70% with rainfall amounts near 0.4 in. possible.
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Meanwhile I had been scouring the Craig's List ads in hopes of finding a replacement steed. I did find a couple of ads posted by the same person that looked promising. One was a Univega and the other was a Specialized. I made arrangements to look at the bikes on the way to the event on Wednesday. My hope was that if one was in good shape and fit me, that I could purchase it and then maybe even ride it in the race. They looked both bigger and in better shape in the pictures than they did in person, so I passed on them and headed to the speedway.
When I arrived at the speedway I quickly realized 2 things: first, the weather forecast was wrong (it was in the mid 80's with sunshine) and second, mine was the only cruiser on the premises. I also realized as I mounted the Schwinn and headed up towards the tunnel, that the Schwinn really was not the right size for me. My knees were coming up and almost hitting the handlebars and the seat was nowhere near high enough. I knew the seat post was at its maximum extension so there was nothing to do but ride.
I met up with the rest of the team and got checked in with my number and my timing chip and then rode around for a bit to warm up and get ready for what was to come.
The course this year was similar to last, except instead of running on a part of the road course, they extended the course out through one of the back parking lots to reach the 10 mile length. we still got to ride on the Super Speedway, up the drag strip and around the Bullring. There was still the nasty climb up from the tunnel to the grandstands.
I knew I wasn't going to be fast, so I just determined to enjoy the ride. As we were queuing up to get ready for the start a couple of other new members of the team were remarking on how awesome it was to be in the infield and have access to the track. They were Nascar fans and had only ever been up in the stands.
As we waited, one of the organizers went through the pack of cyclists giving a bit of course info - the right lane of the drag strip was being worked on, so use the left lane; there were some other cones set up by LVMPD and they were shorter than the race cones so ignore them. Then it was time to go.
 |
| Starting Line waiting to go |
I started my Garmin as I crossed the line and headed around the track. It quickly became apparent to me that I was going to be working hard to get the race completed. The Fat tires of the Schwinn were great for a comfortable ride, but there were also requiring more effort due to the rolling resistance. I probably could have put another 10 lbs of air in them. The other thing I quickly realized was that only having 7 gears was going to hurt me. I ran out of gears on both the uphill and downhill portions of the race.
Throughout the race I tried to keep in touch with a group that was a little ways ahead of me, but it wasn't to be. They seemed to keep just barely out of reach as I followed them around the course.
Here is the map of the ride from my Garmin:
 |
| Map of ride |
My finish time for the race, as I said was 59:53. I had to really dig for the last 1/2 mile to make sure I finished in under 1 hour.
I'm certainly glad I did the race and it has definitely motivated me to find a new bike that is the right size for me!
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