July 29, 2009

I haven't been on my bike for a few days. I went out on Saturday and just couldn't do it. I think the constant riding and lack of proper eating started catching up to me. I made it ten miles before I couldn't go anymore. I rode to my friend's house and got a ride home. My goal for the day was 36 miles. I felt pretty lousy for a couple of days and didn't get back on the bike. 

Today I got back on the bike. I did just over 13 miles. It was an uneventful ride this time. No near misses with cars or angry drivers. I rode from my house to the U of M hospital. Not a bad place to be riding towards should the worst happen. The ride felt good. I made good time, and felt better than I have in days. It was kind of a gloomy day. I was afraid it was going to rain, which may have been one of the reasons I rode so fast. The rain didn't start until after I got home though. It's supposed to keep raining until tomorrow. We'll see how that affects my ride. 

Sorry, this isn't the most interesting post, but as I said, it was an uneventful ride. Depending on the wether tomorrow I'll be doing 10 miles and then giving my bike a bath. It's getting kind of gross. 

July 23, 2009

I'll explain today's pictures first. Both of these buildings are on Fairview. I really like the house. It's the only house I've ever stopped at and thought that I'd like to live there someday. I drive by it anytime I go to the airport or Mall of America. The other building is the, "Mall of St. Paul." I've always kind of thought that was funny. I noticed it my first week in Minnesota. I had just dropped my mom off at the airport and was driving back home. For some reason I've always liked it. It's an antique store. There are a bunch of them on that corner actually. It looks like a place my mom, both grandmothers, and older sister would like.

Now to the ride. It was pretty uneventful today. I did ten miles in 39 minutes. I was still tired from yesterday and my butt was a little sore. Thank goodness for padded spandex shorts. Even though I was tired and sore I still enjoyed the ride. It was another beautiful day for it. Unfortunately, Fairview may be the worst street in St. Paul to ride on. It's busy with traffic and full of gigantic potholes. I was swerving left and right to avoid these really deep holes the entire ride. As I was going under the 94 underpass I hit a huge hole. My whole bike shuddered, and it sent a shock wave up my back. That hurt a little. Luckily I didn't fall over, and I was close to home. It was a pretty big shock. I've got a good bike that can take a lot of punishment, and I'm getting better at riding it. I haven't fallen since I first got the clipless pedals. The first time I rode with those I fell three times at stop lights. A funny sight, I'm sure. I'm more confident on the bike and with the pedals now. Riding in traffic, and making sudden stops doesn't make me nervous anymore. I can unclip myself from both pedals fairly quickly and easily now. Kudos for me. The only problem is now I'm sitting at home with an extremely sore back. I could sure go for a back rub.

Here are my stats for today. 10 Miles in 39 minutes. Average speed: 15 mph. Max Speed: 32 mph. Tomorrow I'll be riding 12 miles.

July 22, 2009

Today was kind of an exciting ride. Lots of firsts. I used my bike computer for the first time. The computer keeps track of my speed, time and distance. According to the computer my top speed for the night was 31 mph. I'm kind of glad I didn't notice that while I was riding because I probably would have freaked out when I realized that's how fast I was going. Especially since the speed limit was only 25 mph. 

I got yelled at by a driver for the first time. He almost hit me and then he yelled at me. He then got out of his car and apologized by explaining what I had done wrong. He did really say sorry though, and I just apologized to him. Then he practically told me his life story for the next five minutes. If I was one of those guys who's good at making friends with perfect strangers who almost hit me with a car and yell at me, I might have a new pal. But I'm not, so I just rode on.  I actually almost got hit twice while riding. I was in the bike lane stopped at a light. The lady in the car next to me got stuck behind a car waiting to turn left. She decided to go around the car by pulling into the bike lane quickly. She never even looked, and probably didn't even see me. I swerved out of the way and almost fell over in the middle of the intersection. I felt kind of like yelling at her, but I just rode on. 

Having the bike computer made things much easier. I didn't have a pre-planned route. I rode wherever I wanted. My goal for the night was 14 miles, so I rode until I hit 7 miles and then turned around. I rode along the Mississippi again. I love riding by the river, and luckily there are so many trails that follow the river I never have to ride the same place twice. Tonight I rode from my house to lake Nakomis. The trail around the lake was packed so I didn't actually circle the lake, but I'd like to go back some other time. There was a huge park and it looked like a nice place to wander. 

There were a lot of other cyclists out. Most were riding in groups, but there were a few other solo riders. I even saw a couple of professional teams. Matching jerseys and everything. I actually looked like a real cyclist except for one thing. I noticed that all the other guys out riding shave their legs. I know the reason behind it, but I think that's one cycling custom I'll pass on. They all had nice tans too. I've been out in the sun riding a lot, and I've probably got all the color I'm going to get. Still pasty. 

The teams looked like they were having fun, and the pairs of riders seemed to be having a good time as well. I don't actually mind riding alone that much. It gives me a lot of time to think, and talk to myself. Yes, I'm still talking to myself. Not so much this time because there were a lot of people around. Also, I can ride as fast or as slow as I want, which is nice. 

Here are my stats according to the computer. I did the 14 miles in in 1 hour 8 minutes. Not a very fast time. Probably because I stop to text people and take pictures. Oh, and make new friends. My max speed was 31 mph, but my average speed was only 12 mph. I'll need to get my average speed up to around 17 mph for the century. 

More next time. If anyone is reading. 

July 18, 2009

Bad weather kept me off my bike for a few days. The rain stopped on Saturday though so I had no excuse. I loaded my bike onto the back of my car and drove to Harriet Island to start my 30 mile ride. I got the ride from a bike atlas that I picked up a few weeks ago at the bike shop. It seemed like a great buy because it had a map and then a CD with directions for each ride in the book. Well, it turns out that the directions weren't very good. I got lost at least three times. It took me 3 1/2 hours to go 28 miles. In one instance, the directions gave me the wrong street name and direction. I stopped at the intersection for a good five minutes trying to figure out where I was and which way I should go next. I made the wrong choice and went down a long steep hill. At the bottom of the hill I realized that I had gone the wrong way and that I now had to go back up the hill. I had no momentum and I was already pretty tired at that point so getting up that hill was tough. I was almost to the top when I just couldn't go any further. The problem was, I was clipped into my pedals and didn't have the momentum to push down and unclip myself. I wobbled for a moment and thought I was about to fall. That would of been quite a sight. I would have been on my side in the middle of the road still clipped into my pedals and furiously trying to free myself. Somehow, I managed to get myself moving again before falling and made it up the hill. At the top of the hill I stopped and had a power bar and figured out where to go next. I made the right turn this time and proceeded to get lost again a few minutes later. It was a long ride, and my butt really hurt by the end of it. 

Other than the bad directions the ride was great. I rode around some beautiful parts of St. Paul and the south suburbs. At one point I was on the opposite side of the Minnesota river from the airport. I stood there watching planes land for about ten minutes. They would come in low right above my head. Riding my bike through the cities is really giving me a greater appreciation for how beautiful they are. This really is a great place to live. 

July 15, 2009

I made good time today. I rode 11 miles in just under an hour. I didn't really have a planned route today so I just rode my bike along the Mississippi river. I've actually ridden this way before so I knew where I was going. I left from my house and rode to a view point along the river that I've stopped at before. Then I turned around and went home. I did see some interesting things along the way. I stopped and took some pictures of an old abandoned building on Prior Avenue that I thought was kind of cool. There are a lot of amazing houses along the Mississippi. Maybe someday I'll be the type of lawyer who can afford to live in one of those houses. I also saw about a dozen teenaged couples making out at various points along the river, so maybe when I'm a wealthy lawyer I'll live in a neighborhood where the kids don't put on quite that much of a show in my front yard. The kids seemed to be enjoying themselves though and I just rode on. There were a lot of other cyclists out today riding along the same road. Everyone seems nice and the other cyclists always seem to make eye contact and smile. I saw one girl, probably about my age, who looked like a serious cyclist. She was hardcore with all the gear and she looked like she rides a lot. She gave me a big smile. Maybe she thought I was cute-- or I looked funny in my shorts. I do, so it was probably the latter. I'm starting to wonder why I keep picking sports that require me to wear skin tight pants?

I felt pretty good about the ride. I was actually surprised how quickly I finished. I didn't even feel tired or sore afterwards. I'm not feeling that way now. I think I need some strong pain killers and a massage. Since the massage is out of the question ( I can't really reach my own back) I'll have to settle with the medicine and a good night's sleep. I've got the big 30 mile ride planned for Saturday so I don't want to be too worn out for that.  

7/13/09

I did a six mile ride after FHE this evening. I started at the stake center and looped around the neighborhoods again making my way around silver lake. It's a good ride with some long stretches where I was able to build up speed and some rolling hills toward the end. I didn't go very fast today. It actually took me over 30 minutes to do the six miles. Hopefully speed and endurance will come if I'm consistent. 

People who saw me riding probably thought I was crazy. I was having a full on conversation with myself as I rode. This wasn't just a few mumbled words under my breath, but an actual conversation. So, here comes this skinny kid in tight pants on a bike talking to himself. Must have been a funny sight. I'd probably laugh at myself. In fact, I did a little. 

When I got back to the stake center Nate and Jonathan Chipman were in the parking lot playing catch. Nate made a comment about how I look in my riding shorts. I would feel slightly self-conscious about them, but they sure keep my butt from hurting so I'll take the occasional jokes. 

Week 1: 7/13-7/18

Here are my riding goals for the week: 

Monday: 6 miles at an easy speed.

Tuesday: 10 miles at the pace I want to maintain during the century.

Wednesday: 12 miles at a brisk pace.

Thursday: 9 miles at pace.

Friday: 10 miles at pace. 

Saturday: 30 miles at pace.