A Ride

I went out for "a ride" today. It wasn't training. It was riding. I believe one should get out even in the throws of winter (not that now is then). Ride you trainer or rollers as much as you want/need to. But get a bike outside once per week if you can. Your effort level may not be that of "training". Chalk it up to sanity and bike familiarity.

First I rode over to the local trail, only to find boot prints in the ice with a thin layer of snow to reduce the coefficient of friction.



Going solo, I decided to try the creepyfriendly style of photo takin'. This proves I was either on the ride or staged an elaborate studio setup taking much more work than an actual ride. Note, I'm still wearing that same Perl Izumi stuff I reviewed a while back. It's holding up well.

For the triathlete crowd. Normally I might stop at the site of the former Xterra swim for a dip. Here we see it would be unsafe, as there is no lifeguard. Never mind the snow bank protecting the water. Do you think my wet feet would freeze to the snow on the way back out?

Flag flying high.

I thought this was a good view of the sun coming out over Milwaukee. I had a tune in my head at the time, but who knows what it was now? (not the Beatles)

There you have it. "A ride". Soft tires ready for a trail that wasn't ready for me. Maybe tomorrow would be a good road ride day.

Multithreaded "What are you thinking?" Process diagram

I was reading Fatty's blog (like I always do). And I found myself answering similar to "I don't need a thing to think of, there is lots I'm s'posed to be concentrating on."

So I made a little diagram.



I just tossed it together. As such, I wouldn't recommend using it in an actual race. Also, there are clear things I missed. What if you have a flat or endo? I left out power meters and HRMs. Of course there's the "if camera, then smile" function.

In case it's not clear. The point is that you could be focused on racing. You do not have to try to remember the Chinese remainder theorem to stay mentally busy. I realize that this righteous babble means very little from a slow dude. Just sayin'.

Win Susan.

Diagram made with Open Office.

No Shortage of Droolin'

Some bike guy got me droolin' over a bike some months ago.

Originally they weren't shipping to the good old USA. I thought I was going to have to drum up a fictitious cousin in Europe to get one. As of late though, they started shipping to the good old USA.

All good news. But low and behold, some dude living in a land of French prairie dogs has a bike shop and decided to stock some of these bikes.

Sheet fire, who thinks I need to suggest a "camping trip to Wyalusing" with a quick stop to the LBS? Too thinly veiled, I suppose.

Anyway, I'll keep you posted. I should really start up that "product review Tuesday" idea..

Is anyone stayin' back for a weekend of riding in the rain while the cool kids go to NAHBS? I'll be here, savin' my pennies (and catching up on training).

Trust Your Feelings

Come (go?) to the dark side.

Any of you trail riders who are starting to think your biking needs a swim and a run added might take a look here.

Look, I know WORS has their stuff together for a reasonable price. And, it's tough to want to out of state. I'm just sayin' here it is. If you click, you click.

Re-Nay-Sance

Catchin' all my loyal readers up. Sorry you had to resort to reading the back logs, or worse (gasp) someone else's good blog. Ahem!

In no particular order.

I passed a test today. It means I'm certified to tell you all why you should turn off your mail server unless you really need it (and know what you're doing), encrypt all your traffic, and develop your programs right so some bad guy doesn't smash the stack on it.

To celebrate, I purchased a long held off "to do". I picked up a Boss Micro BR fer cheap. This is a re-learn guitar stimulus package. It's the one item that will kickstart said guitaring. It records really nice. Only problem now is that I don't play better.

I took my last antibiotic today. I can't say I feel totally normal. I hope that not taking the meds will improve how I feel.

I've been in a mood to eat less.. once I feel like exercising I am hopeful of the results.

Oncall ends Monday morning.. So, my prayers are for trail riding next weekend. A beer to relax at some point. Mayhap I can wrangle a buddy to go play 9 ball.

There you have it. This post pretty much gets in 1/100th the stuff I enjoy and or been thinkin' the last while or so.

Recovery Drink

NyQuil. Not that fennel-effervescent stuff, the good stuff with whatever the pharmacist doesn't want you to have direct access to.

One more day, I hope. The outdoors and even my rollers miss me. Nightie night.

Having Trouble Keeping Up

Rest assured I'm confident the season will get rolling as planned. But currently I can't speak. My throat has decided I should shut down for a bit. I'm going to lay low until I get it fixed.

I'm anxious to be doing something. Today would have been a wonderful opportunity to be road riding. Here I am. I'll be back.

This Is Not a Week in Review

Looking back my training logs say I put in over 6 hours. Not bad considering I don't feel like I'm in the swing of things yet.

And I managed to evade the paparazzi on the weekend ride. Awful nice of R. Tools to call "waiting on JWM" "taking a break for smart talk". Thanks guys.

Shortly following the ride, I made an appearance at the multisport expo to pick up my schwag bag for Tri Wisconsin. I think I threw a few tri-heads for a loop in my sweats/parka/brown hat combo. I don't want to tip anyone off that I'm already down 1/2 a stone for the season. I'm finally posting a loss in the weight column again.

10km is going to be my long run for a bit yet. It's plenty for now.

Other than that, when I'm not studying, I'm studying. Time for bed. Rollers don't roll themselves on Monday mornings.