6.28.2012

Lutonize Me

Needed to get in a longer-type-vigorous ride Tuesday as there is a race this coming weekend - Sweat Shaker in Harrison, MI.

I was w/o a front brake. Long story short, the front lever keeps losing pressure, so as I was trying to re-bleed (all local shops were too busy to squeeze a rush order in), I made the situation worse and lost ALL power to the front. Oh well, if there is a 50/50 chance that I will be racing with one brake Saturday, might as well train with one brake.

I only fell 3 times. Two were tip-overs (stupid) but the other one was a highspeeda through large left turn. Front tire slid out on the loose dirt laying on top of pavement-hard packed trial. It has been so dry here for weeks, that the trail was really squirrely and loose.

Good ride. Rode with Longest and Marty from Marty's house. Matt and I let Marty lead the pull on the way back to his house. He was pumping away at 25mph - Matt and I were just coasting behind.

Fun times. Marty almost rendered his man-parts useless by doing an X-games stunt on a bridge crossing, his front wheel slid out and he got jacked over the bars. The end of the bar caught him in the (very) upper thigh.

Excited for the race. Never been there, haven't raced in awhile. If I can rebuild my lever by Saturday and have full brake service, I'm going for gold. Takin' it to the Max. Nothing to lose.

Sorry, no stats. GarminConnect acting up again.


6.21.2012

Quick Update

It had been nearly two weeks from RAKC since I got any decent riding in. Work was terribly bad (busy), then so was life - just no time to ride no matter what I did. And when I did have time, I was too tired to do anything about it, except to lay around and take a deep breath.

I took both bikes with us on vacation over Memorial Day weekend to Traverse City. Plan was to get in a good 70 mile road ride up the peninsula on that Sunday, but it stormed all morning. Hard enough to knock the power out. I did get in a quick Mountain Bike ride up there - although it was riding all roads spectating as my wife ran the half marathon. Crossing the peninsula was tough...max 5mph with 80-100lbs of childness in tow on the uphills (painful), but a fantastic 34mph "coast" downhills. Kids loved that part.

Eventually I got out for a few rides at Luton (one with Marty, two laps) - another time out at Cannonsburg SGA with Heath and Marty (two laps). Other times, just tooling around with both kids in the burly cart in tow (heavy). I figure as long as I get out to do something, it's beneficial I guess.

Got in a few road rides this week. A Cannon Cruise 62 miler Saturday, then recently rides to and from work in the heat. (73 degrees at 5:30 am, then 93+ by evening).

So, 170 miles in a month. Not bad, but not good though either. Pretty sure I won't end up with as many miles as I did last year.

However, I'm reminded of my elderly Aunt who is failing in health and can no longer ride her own bike (who I give most credit to my love of cycling). She used to ride every weekend to garage sales in the Chicago area. We'd take our bikes every trip out there to visit with her to ride on the bike paths. We had picnics, stopped at the tennis courts to bash balls around, visit the local bike shops, stop and view the wildlife/scenery - lots of things other kids never got to do.

So, sometimes the best I can do is appreciate the time I DO have on the bike and enjoy it while I have it. Because it won't last forever. This year, I'll plan to ride harder and further than I need to, in honor of her. Thanks Aunt Dianne.