Posted On Monday, March 31st, 2008 By David Veatch
With a $5 purchase of anything, Sharks is offering free pool(!) Sunday afternoons. Free pool is one of my favorite things in the world. Of course, it’s not technically “free” if you have to buy something to get it, but for $5, several hours on a 9′er is hard to beat. The GF and I went up there just before 2 to meet another friend of ours. Our plan was to get some Straight Pool in, and generally start to whip our games back into shape. I’d spent the morning elbow deep in geekery building a spreadsheet that takes in the score for the inning, and what caused the inning to end, be it a foul, safety, or a miss, and automagickally calculate all sorts of nifty, but ultimately useless stats. I couldn’t wait to try it out. You know how I love my stats! Not long after we sat down, the captain of another team I’ve been wanting to play on asked me what my afternoon looked like. They were getting ready to start a make-up match, and were short some players. Of course, at that point, my afternoon cleared right up! I ended up winning three and losing more »
Posted On Monday, March 31st, 2008 By David Veatch
The Saturday morning club photo and ride went really well, by all accounts. The GF and I showed up just before 08:30 and in plenty of time for the photo. Once everyone arrived, the photo was taken, and those of us that were riding started getting ready. It was still pretty cold, and fairly breezy out, so we had to dress both for the temperature at the time, as well as the temperature 3 or 4 hours from departure. There were about a dozen of us for the photo, but only 6, including the Bike Store owner, got out on the road. Some had other races or rides to participate in, others just weren’t up for it. The ride details, at least from my Garmin’s point of view, are here. We all clicked in (that’s one of my favorite sounds in the world) and took off at about 09:40. Initially, we had the wind at our backs, and I, in typical fashion, pushed towards the front of the group. This wasn’t the best idea, but not because I wasn’t prepared for the pace. Rather, b/c the GF wasn’t prepared for it. In a moment of pure boyfriendly slackery, I left more »
Posted On Monday, March 31st, 2008 By David Veatch
Because it’s just too funny… The Rick Astley bit is my favorite.
Posted On Monday, March 31st, 2008 By David Veatch
Holy Crap it was windy this morning! The southeasterly wind (read: headwind) was easily blowing at a steady 15-20mph the whole way in, gusting up to what felt like 159mph. Riding over the Quivira-I35 overpass was quite literally a struggle to keep moving forward. As I started going up, and especially when I crested the slight rise, it was some of the strongest head winds I’ve felt. The same can (and will) be said for the Lamar-435 overpass. Just brutal, I tell you. Going through the neighborhoods wasn’t quite as bad, but the surprise gusts from the side coming between the houses was rough. There were a couple of times when I was blown off course, try as I might to avoid it. Fortunately, I wasn’t blown into any traffic. I daresay it was almost dangerous out there! After the ride on Saturday, I was hoping for something of a recovery ride today. So much for that, eh? The roads themselves were wet from the humidity and perhaps a little rain. Not a problem for me. :) I’m not complaining, mind you. I don’t mind the cold, and I don’t mind the wind, but I hate a cold wind. Today more »
Posted On Friday, March 28th, 2008 By David Veatch
Ok, it’s a little late posting this, but it’s worth a shot. Tomorrow morning (March 29th) at 09:00, one of my clubs, Defined Fitness Training, will be going on a short starting at Epic Bike & Sport in Tuleries Plaza. They are at 6000 NW 63rd Terrace, Kansas City, MO 64151, and the ride is open to all. First, there will be a short loop for those who haven’t gotten out much this year, and it’ll be up for grabs after that for the rest of us. This will be my first time riding with the club, so I’m looking forward to it. Not so much looking forward to the team photo at 08:30 beforehand (club members only), but I’ll manage somehow. So, If you want to come snicker at me in my skin tight cycling gear in sub-40°F temperatures, feel free.
Posted On Wednesday, March 26th, 2008 By David Veatch
There was a little wind from the east, and one lane hog in a small blue truck on Quivira, but other than that, it was uneventful. In fact, I’m a little ashamed to admit it, but I really wasn’t there for most of it. I was *there*, mind you, but my mind was wandering and I just couldn’t seem to tow it in. It was really tough to get out this morning, starting with the bed, and ending with the garage door. The time between the first alarm and the snoozed alarm can only be measured in milliseconds, and gathering everything together for the ride was an exercise in repetition. Go downstairs and pack item. Go upstairs and get item I’d forgotten. Repeat. My Wallace and Gromit machine failed me utterly. Once I was finally on the road, I was so inwardly turned that I’m really surprised I made it here at all. All this talk of paying attention and having 360° awareness (difficult, at best, harder still without a rear view mirror, impossible with the eyes focused inwards) and I spend most of the morning ride mindless and unaware. Not mindful, mind you, but mindless. Thing is, there isn’t more »
Posted On Tuesday, March 25th, 2008 By David Veatch
Every now and again, my Garmin HR monitor will decide that it doesn’t want to register itself with the Edge 305. Or perhaps it’s the Edge that doesn’t want to acknowledge the existence of the HR monitor. Regardless, I struggle with this on occasion. It’s a pain in my (chest) butt when I have the HR monitor strapped to my chest, and the Garmin just sits there with it’s little heart icon blinking innocently. Most times it begins responding after a few seconds, and it’s a momentary inconvenience. Other times it never responds, or reports absurd heart rates of 12, or even 315. Either way, I’m fairly confident that I wouldn’t be riding my bike that day were it’s report accurate. I thought the problem was the battery. I use the thing every day, and it’s little CR2032 battery gets tired. Swapping it out the first time I had major problems did the trick (or so I thought). Last week, however, it was persistently unresponsive over a few days, and changing the battery did NOT do the trick. I was a bit at a loss and was getting ready to call Garmin for some troubleshooting tips or a replacement, until… more »
Posted On Tuesday, March 25th, 2008 By David Veatch
Like protection in the lee of the stone, I was warm, perhaps a little too warm, while the wind was at my back (even if off to the side a bit), and a touch too cold with the wind in my face. I’m not sure how to dress for that. We’re in that awkward time of the year when it’s cool to cold in the morning, and perfect to warm in the afternoon. It means planning ahead, and a slightly heavier set of panniers, but other than that, it’s a most welcome change from the all day tear freezing frigidity of earlier this year. I met Ron on the way in this morning. I caught up with him at around 101st and Lamar. This morning was his first time out this year. He seemed apologetic for it, and perhaps a little ashamed. I assured him that there was absolutely nothing to be ashamed of by getting out and riding. Actually, I said something more along the lines of “No, no no no no…”, but the sentiment was conveyed. He works for the Post Office as a carrier and has a 6.5 mile walking route every day. I was thinking about more »
Posted On Monday, March 24th, 2008 By David Veatch
It was cold again this morning. The temperature at departure was about 25°F/26°F, and it wasn’t much warmer when I arrived at work. I’d really hoped the sub-freezing mornings were over for the year. It’s been years since I’ve been out on a bike this time of year, and never this early in the morning, so this is somewhat new to me. I’m relearning all the lessons I learned back then, including how long into the year it usually takes for the warm mornings to arrive. Back in college, the distance I had to ride was much shorter and so I didn’t pay attention to the weather the way I do now. I’m sure I rode in some crazy weather, but I couldn’t tell you what it was. That’s why I’m keeping a log of it now. When I arrived, I realized I had neither my work mobile, nor my access badge. At some point in the move over the weekend, they were misplaced. They’re at home, I know, but the phone is dead so I can’t call it to locate it. I love moving, and I love Mondays.
Posted On Friday, March 21st, 2008 By David Veatch
It’s late notice, but it looks like the moving will take place tonight, leaving Saturday and Sunday free for rides. I don’t think I’m going to go for anything epic, but some quick 30-40 milers both days would work for me. I’d like to get 80 miles in, and if it’s broken up between the days, that’s fine too. No routes planned yet. I don’t have any 30-40 milers in my route-bag right now. Mine are either shorter or much longer. Any suggestions or takers?