Dave’s Good Stuff

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 1. I should have won, but I played the player instead of the table, and relaxed too much. He blundered past me by virtue of too many mistakes on my part. It could have been worse, though. The captain told me to show up Tuesday night ready to play. :)

The rest of the afternoon went pretty well. We shot some terrible 14:1 and put the spreadsheet through it’s paces. It could use some tweaking to make it easier to use while we’re shooting, but other than that, it’s not too bad. I may post it here once I’ve worked out some of the issues.

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 the GF behind to pull up the rear of the pack. One of the ride leaders gently pointed out to me that a “Good BF” would stay with his woman, and taking the hint, I did so. Her feelings were hurt at first, but I groveled sufficiently that she forgave. Unfortunately, she was hurting (physically) pretty bad, and it wasn’t long before she felt she had to turn back. The shop owner was cold as well, and the two of them turned back at a bit over 5 miles in.

It was her first time out, and she wasn’t used to the pace, or the traffic. She did a bit over 10 miles, though! I’m proud as hell of her for getting out and doing that much. It was her first ride of the year, it was cold and windy, and she’d never ridden with a group before. I’m glad she wasn’t discouraged, b/c riding with a group can be so much fun (when your BF doesn’t ditch you and leave you behind, that is).

The rest of us took off again and made our way under I29, past the Tiffany Greens Golf Club, and on towards NW Interurban Road. An easy, but brisk pace took us over some really bad road surface, and past Camden Point. Breaking the pace were a stop at a convenience store and a flat tire at the Platte County River near the Platte Falls Conservation Area. We lost a rider there. Prior commitments cut her ride short. The four of us continued on, the pace as brisk as before, before a sprint to Camden from about a quarter mile out kicked us into the big ring for a bit. I, of course, did not win. The defacto ride leaders are both very strong riders (at least compared to me, that is), and effortlessly broke away.

On to Dearborn, and a short stop at a convenience store there before we turned around and realized just how much the wind helped us on the way out. We set up a pace line, with the strongest out front to cut the effects of the wind, but it was difficult to maintain. With two strong riders and two not-so-strong riders, we got separated early on. My peer and I weren’t able to maintain the pace being set. Being the compassionate folk they are, the leaders slowed down a bit and let us keep up. Of course, the stronger of the two got his workout in by speeding ahead, then turning around to go the other way, then after he’d gotten far enough behind, catching back up again. Show off. ;)

The rest of the ride back to the bike shop was just rolling hills and fighting the wind. We made pretty good time, though, and it was a fantastic workout.

One thing the ride did point out to me is that, while the commuting is definitely good for me, I absolutely have to bolster it with some serious training workouts.  By itself, it will not take me up those mountains.

The guys at Epic Bike and Sport are equally fantastic. The owner spent some good time with the GF, helping her adjust her bike to fit better. It’s still, unfortunately, not a perfect fit, but it is better. I wish they weren’t so far away from home. It’s a 20-30 minute drive just to get up there.

• Average HR: 148
• Average RPM: 74.5
• Average Speed: 14.4
• Max HR: 194
• Max Speed: 29.3
• Mileage: 56.30
• Reported Calories: 3304
• Temperature: 45
• Total Time: 03:54:40
• Weight: 184
• Wind: SE 10-15mph with 20-25mph gusts.

Because it’s just too funny… The Rick Astley bit is my favorite.

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 was nearly 60°F at departure, so I was having fun!

Oh, and I broke 1,000 miles this morning for the year. Woot!

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.

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 anything really bothering me. I was thinking about my goals, the weekend, pool league tonight, choice things I’d like to say to cars that pass too close, the absence of other commuters, and a dozen other things I can’t remember now. I just couldn’t focus on riding the way I should.

Instinct kicked in. Autopilot got me by the pot holes and maintained a good line through traffic. There were no incidents. No close calls (that I know of). No last-second dodges of pot holes or obstacles. There was just pedals turning and the whine of my knobbies on pavement (which was, unfortunately, drowned out by the wind in my ears). It was a singularly odd ride, looking back on it. I credit the years of riding experience that honed that instinct and trained that autopilot, and I throw a big fat Howdy Do to Lady Luck, may I need her but rarely.

This weekend, we have a Defined Fitness Training team photo Saturday morning at Epic Bike and Sport, followed by a club ride. I’m not sure what the plan is for the ride, but if it’s a relatively short one, I intend to tack on some additional miles via my “Balloon Route.” I thought of that name for the route this morning… get it? It looks a little like a balloon. Guess you had to be there. If all goes as planned, I might actually be there for the photo and the ride, right there alongside my body and bike.

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…

Finally, I think I’ve found the culprit. Weight loss. As I’ve lost weight this year, the strap fits less and less snug. I tightened it up again so it fits nice and snug, and that seems to have done the trick. Then again, the strap could be loosening on it’s own, outside of any loss of mass on my part.

Naw…

So, if you’ve got a Garmin HR monitor that isn’t responding, has a fresh battery, and isn’t fitting all that snugly around the ribs, tighten that bad boy up and see what happens.

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 the PO carriers just the other day, in fact. It’s a thankless job, really, but it’s one of those jobs, like trash pickup, and street cleaning, that is met with great uproar and passionate and loud negativity when neglected.

It was great to meet you, Ron, and thanks for all your hard work.

Bonus points to the person who can identify where I got the title for this post.

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.

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?