Santini Vest Humor

I own a couple of pieces of Santini cycling clothing, and they're some of my favorites.  When I saw a Santini vest listed on Bonktown today, I was tempted to buy it and add it to the collection.  But I already have a vest.

I looked a little closer, and saw the subtitle to the listing.  Those Bonktown copywriters make me laugh:  "Santini Sushi Full-Zip Wind Vest - Men's...Because Santini Sashimi Vest was too hard to say."

I Won't Be Getting a Moyer Cycles Frame

A couple of weeks ago I posted about my lust for a frame from Moyer Cycles.  I went back to the site today to look around, and try to get in a better mood.  Talking to my wife and kids while they were on their way home from Betsy's western riding lessons got me most of the way there, and looking at a beautiful bike would take me the last 5% of the way.

I clicked around, and started looking through the dozens of photos on his Flickr photostream.  That's when I saw a strange photo, with a strange caption.  He's not building frames anymore, and has taken a job as an operator at a nuclear power plant in Palacios, Texas.  Moreover, it looks like he skipped town with the deposits of at least two buyers.

It looks like I'll have to give a hard look at Independent Fabrication.  Their Reynolds 953 SS bike is a beauty.  Here's one of the bikes...

One day....one day.....!

100% Travel

About 10 years ago, I had a job that required 100% travel.  If I was deployed on a project, I would fly to the client site on Sunday or Monday, work all week, then return home on Friday.  Victoria and I were okay with the job, as she was in school and we didn't have kids.  After an extended deployment in Europe during which I could only come home every 3 weeks, we decided that I should move on to a non-travel job.  I'm still working for that company today.

Due to my relocation from the Rio Grande Valley back to Austin, I'm now in a 100% travel situation again.  Only one domino has to fall in order for me to make a quick move -- the sale of our home in Mission.  We've had some very hard nibbles, but no offers yet.  I'm starting to wonder if this will last until Summer.

We're taking steps to keep it from taking until Summer -- working diligently with our realtor to market the home, keeping it clean and organized and ready to show, leaving the house for every showing, and now we're reducing the price just a little to hopefully set the hook on one of the hard nibbles.  Until the offer comes in, it's one week of 100% travel at a time, while trying to keep our minds from focusing on the lack of offers, and our relative inability to change the situation until the offer comes.

Shopping in the Rio Grande Valley

I moved to Mission, Texas in July 2006.  The area was booming, and still is.  NAFTA has brought increased manufacturing to the Mexican border towns, which has increased the population, and increased the wealth in the area.  This applies to the US border towns too.  As a result, McAllen has grown dramatically in the last 2 years.

I don't have the data, but if you judge growth by the construction of big box retail, strip centers, and chain restaurants, then McAllen is booming.  Just along a 2 mile stretch of US 83, I've watched the construction of a Best Buy, Target, HEB (large grocery store), Marshall's, Petco, Chili's, Macaroni Grill, BJ's Restaurant, PF Changs, Babies R US, Academy Sports & Outdoors, Champs Sporting Goods, and on and on and on.  For many of these, this is the 2nd or 3rd store in the area.  McAllen is starting to look like the suburbs of Dallas, Houston, and Austin.

These stores are similar to those in Dallas, Houston, and Austin, except that a large percentage of their sales are to Mexican citizens.  Those with wealth cross the border, shop, and return to Mexico or to their homes in the US.  The border regions NEED and WANT this business.  I have also profited from this economy, and I like most of it, but not all.

One thing that continues to bug me is the cultural difference in shopping.  Simply put, there are big differences in US-Mexico shopping habits.  In particular, I've noticed temporary total destruction of stores and store parking lots.  This includes clothing displays with all of the clothes unfolded and piled on top of the shelf, empty packages and boxes littering the parking lots after their owners loaded the contents into their car for the trip back to Mexico, total sellouts of common items during non-peak shopping seasons (I once couldn't find whitey-tightey underwear at Target!), and so on.  If you don't live here, you probably think this is an exaggeration and a minor problem even when exaggerated.  But if you did live here, you would feel frustrated and helpless as you tried to find the item you want in the size you need, and confused while trying to navigate the piles of clothing and trash.  And you would know that you NEVER EVER try to shop around Christmas.  You either buy early, or you buy on the web.

As an example, here's a camera-phone photo of an Academy Sports and Outdoors shoe department on Sunday, January 27:

Notice the trash on the floor, the hula hoop, the boxes of shoes that the customers didn't bother to return to the shelves.  This is a self-service store, and it's incumbent on the shoppers to leave the area in a reasonably clean condition for the next shopper.  That might work in Austin, but that model does not work in the RGV.  This is one part of living in South Texas that I won't be missing when I move back to Austin.

Back on the Bike

Before today, I hadn't ridden in 3 weeks.  Weather prohibited me from taking the bike to Austin during the week.  Last weekend we were in Austin househunting, and the weekend before that I was too sick to ride.  My last ride was exactly 3 Sundays ago, and it felt like forever.  Last night, as I was getting my ride kit together, I was glad that the Sunday Team McAllen ride breaks up by skill level.   I went to bed happy that I would be riding, happy to be able to ride with the intermediate group, and happy that I have at least been going to spin class or running about 5 times per week.

I woke up this morning to temperatures in the low 50s, so I had to bundle up a little.  I decided on a skull cap, full finger gloves, long sleeve winter jersey, knee warmers, and wool socks.  I left the shoe covers, tights, and winter vest in the closet.  I was on the bike by 6 am, and feeling good.  There was a light wind out of the east, and it made my quads burn a little as I rode into it.  Otherwise, it just felt like a normal day on the bike.

When I reached Burger King, I saw my buddy Orangeman.  His forte is convincing me to ride with the "elite" group.  He butters me up, telling me that I've lost the weight and if I can't hang with them, then I can fall back with the intermediates.  Sometimes his talk works, sometimes I ignore it.  This morning, he had me.  My good feeling about riding with the intermediates was gone.  When the elites rolled out, Orangeman and I rode with them.

We headed northeast, with the normal plan of fighting the wind on the way out, and riding with the wind on the way back.  I recognized the usual group of hammerheads, and felt good to be riding with them.  I also looked around and realized that I had the "worst" bike of the 12 or so riders in the group. "Worst" means that my bike weighs a few grams more than everyone elses', and cost a few thousand less.  I thought about a famous cyclist's book -- "It's not about the Bike".  I concentrated on my cadence and my pulls, instead of lusting after the Orbeas, Cervelos, and Trek Madones.

We quickly left the McAllen city limits, and as we rolled into the countryside our ride leaders organized us into a rolling echelon.  I love it when this works, but it doesn't always work with a group of amateurs with varying skill levels.  Today, it worked beautifully.  We pushed up to the mid 20 mph range, surging occasionally but never pushing so hard that I felt I couldn't recover.  As the ride went on, I struggled to hold the wheel as I rotated off the lead, but I always recovered as I moved back up the echelon towards the point.

Since I rode alone for 20 miles (10 to the start, and 10 from the start to home), my stats are a little lopsided.  Regardless, here's the data:

Distance:  62.6 miles

Avg Speed:   18.7 mph

Max Speed:  27.8 mph

Calories Burned:  4096 (per Garmin)

If you want to dig into the ride segments, you can find the details here.  If you're less inclined to click, here's a screen shot of the ride data and route.

I had a great time on the ride, and it felt very good to be back on the bike.  I was pleasantly surprised at the fitness retention.  I was hoping that my spin class work, combined with jogging and rowing, would have kept me fit enough that I could get back on the bike and feel good without needing a lot of ride time to recover my form.  In general, I think it worked.

I was very happy that I was able to hang with the best riders on the team, even though they weren't pushing to their maximum levels.  But I also know that I was on a bit of a downhill slide, and if I hadn't gotten back on the bike today, next week would probably have been a very tough ride.  There's only so much gym work can do; eventually, you've got to ride or you lose your edge.  I'll take the bike to Austin this week, and get back on the bike, both literally and figuratively.

Venus is the Goddess of Shaving

Every cycling blogger out there has blogged on leg shaving.  Do it?  Don't do it?  Better for massage?  Looks better?  Effeminate?  Reduces road rash?  Some kind of crazy wind resistance issue?  Makes you look like a pro?  Ultimately, you will make the decision on your own, but with a healthy dose of peer pressure. 

I'm a shaver.  Until this week, I used clippers.  They don't shave very close, but it's good enough.  More importantly, no miserable soaping or application of shave cream, which needs constant replenishment when you have heavy leg hair..  I was in Austin this week, and didn't have my clippers.  My legs looked like some kind of cactus, with little needles of hair about 1/4 inch long poking everywhere.  They needed deforestation.

I decided to stop at Target on the way to the hotel, and browse all the pink, lavender, and similarly pastel-hued feminine shaving products.  I zoned in on the Gillette products, and bought the Venus Breeze, primarily because it has built-in shave gel bars.  That's right.  It creates it's own shave gel when you use it.  And it has 3 blades, and everyone knows that 3 is the new 2.

Using this razor was a joy.  It creates something like aloe vera slime when dipped in water, so the razor glides across the skin easily without nicking and snagging.  The 3 blades had no problem with my long man-hair, although I had to continually rinse the razor and my legs so I could see through the hair debris clouding the water and coating my legs and figure out what part of my leg still needed shaving.  In comparison to the clippers or other razors, this one is a beauty!

Inauguration Day

What a day.  The hopefulness of the inauguration and the change in leadership is very inspiring, but will be forgotten quickly as we all remember the war in Iraq, the state of the economy, and America's reduced standing in the global community.  One of President Obama's campaign slogans was "change can happen".  Now is the time to celebrate the inauguration, tomorrow is the day to begin effecting change.

House Hunting and a Frame I Like

I'm tired from a long weekend of house hunting.  Thank heavens my brother and sister-in-law were kind enough to watch Betsy and Lola for about 10 hours combined while Vic and I looked at probably 2 dozen different houses.  Without them, we would have had the kids with us, and probably would have seen a fraction of the homes.  Thanks Trop and Tikkatin (not their real names)!

And now back to our regularly programmed cycling post...

After I commented on one of his recent blog posts, my buddy Speedo sent me a link to some custom framebuilders that specialize in steel.  Due to my currently low cash flow, and aversion to risk, I won't be able to get one of these for awhile.  But when I do, I'll be taking a hard look at Moyer Cycles.  I would change a few things, but I think this bike is just downright beautiful.  If any of you readers win the lottery or find a bag of money on the ground and don't have anything to spend it on, keep me in my mind.  In the meantime, I'll keep saving, wishing, and patiently waiting on brighter economic times.

I Met Some New Friends at the Gym

Since I've been going to Pure Austin Fitness, I've met a few new friends.  I saw two of them again yesterday morning.  The first one I met was the Concept2 Model E Rowing Machine.  If you don't know him, here's what he looks like:

From Drop Box

He talked me into rowing 2000m.  That might sound easy, but it's a very hard 8 minute activity (actually my pitiful PR is 7:57.5, which is NOT respectable).  When I'm done, I hang my head and breathe hard like I just sprinted a quarter mile.  My shoulders ache, and my legs burn.

Right after I finished rowing, I met a brand new friend:  the Nordic Track Incline Trainer.  I had no idea the Mr. Incline Trainer was very popular, and was good friends with Jillian Micheals from The Biggest Loser.  I figured that out when I googled him while writing this entry.  I wanted to make sure my new friend wasn't a tin foil hat wearer or some such.

Mr. Incline Trainer took me on a slow run up the Moab Trail.  It was much tougher on my calves than running on a treadmill, so I might incorporate a visit with him once or twice a week.  Here's a little photo of him:

From Drop Box

And here's a photo of my new best friend:  the Schwinn Evolution spin bike.  I finally got up the guts to talk to her because I was missing my real bike.

From Drop Box

I've been spending 45 minutes with her 2 or 3 times a week.  I've locked in on my favorite spin instructor.  She pushes the class to its limits,  I sweat like crazy, and I can tell it's making a difference in my cycling strength.  I need to get back on the road soon so I can tell if it helps my sprints or increases my maximum speed.  I don't think it will help much with endurance; I'll have to work on that with some long, slow base miles next weekend.

Ten Good Things for January 13, 2009

I've posted a list of good things before, but right now I don't have the energy or the attitude to go dig it up and link to it.  The Mcallen to Austin travel, hotel room, job transition, home sale, and new home purchase is dragging me down, way down.  Don't worry -- Vic and I are doing things to try to make it happen faster, and things could be far worse, but it's still a stressful, rough section of road.

When I'm feeling like the rough sections of road are getting a little too rough, it always helps me to make a list of...

TEN GOOD THINGS

1. A picture drawn by your child.
   
2. Small bottles of nice-smelling hotel shampoo.
   
3. Living in a town that has more than one bike shop within a 3 mile drive of the office.
   
4. Scaring your wife when you come back into the house to get something you forgot, then hugging her.
   
5. Chicken cheesesteak with jalapenos (sorry -- no time for the tilde)
   
6. Turning on the TV in the hotel room and catching part of a good movie.
   
7. An 18 month old daughter that knows how to say "kiss" and "hug", and then give one of each.
   
8. Reading a good book while eating a bagel.
   
9. The excitement of picking out a new house.
   
10. Watching your daughter learn to rollerblade.
    

Activity Log and Goal Update

I don't know if I'll update my cycling and exercise activity and progress toward goal completion on a weekly frequency, but I don't feel well today, and this seemed like a good thing to do while reclined on the couch.

Here's my activity log for last week:

• Sun Jan 4 -- Team McAllen Sunday Ride of 50 miles.  18 mph avg, 31 mph max.  Just a solid base mile ride.
  
• Mon Jan 5 -- Ran 3 road miles, 6 mph pace.
  
• Tue Jan 6 -- Ran 3 treadmill miles, 6 mph pace, 'aerobic' intervals with varying inclines.
  
• Wed Jan 7 --  20 minutes of moderate intensity elliptical machine training, followed by 10 minutes of very high intensity rowing.  I rowed 2000m in 00:07:59.9, which is a PR for me.  It's also close to the world record on a machine...for an 80 year old.
  
• Thu Jan 8 -- 45 minute high intensity spin class.  Oh my...the sweating...
  
• Fri Jan 9 -- 45 minute high intensity spin class.  Oh my...even more sweating...
  
• Sat Jan 10 -- Off day
  

All of these apply to 2 of my 4 goals:  ride the Tour das Hugel, and track my miles.  I think any and all training applies to the Tour goal, although the base mile ride and spin class are the most applicable.  I also bought a chain stretch gauge, which applies to my bike repair goal.

I'm feeling queasy again.  Time for more couch sitting, and maybe NFL playoff watching.

A Beginner's Guide to Your First Spin Class

After completing thousands of road miles and hundreds of offroad miles, today I completed a cycling first for me:  a spin class.  This post covers what I've learned while getting ready for the first class, and my advice for those of you that are thinking of taking a spin class.  I know -- what is the advice of a total beginner worth?  I'll let you be the judge, but I did quite a bit of research and hopefully can save you a little time.  One quick note -- I visited several websites to find my info:  Active.com and eHow were the main ones, and their info and advice was pretty consistent.  But most of what I'm writing is my own stuff.

• If possible, use your road or mountain shoes as your spin shoes.  Why?  It saves you the expense of a new pair of shoes and cleats.  Also, it helps maintain consistency between your normal cycling gear and your spin gear, which is a major theme of my advice, as well as what I read on other sites.
  
• Wear cycling shorts (with chamois), primarily for the same reason you wear them on your non-stationary bike -- seat comfort.  You don't necessarily need to wear a cycling shirt with pockets, but make sure your shirt is long enough to cover your rump when you lean over and grab the bars.
  
• Since there is no breeze when you're on a stationary bike, you will sweat more.  A towel is mandatory, and a full water bottle is advisable.
  
• Get to your first class early so you can adjust your bike.  Keep it simple.  Adjust the seat height such that your  leg is almost, but not quite, fully extended at the bottom of the pedal stroke.  Adjust the seat longitudinally so that your knee is above the pedal axis when your feet are at the same height on the pedals; i.e. 1/2 rotation from the up-down position.  Handlebar height is a matter of comfort, and I suggest matching it to your preferred bike position. 
  
• Spin for awhile before the class starts.  Keep a high cadence with low resistance until you are comfortable with the bike setup.
  
• Once the class starts, the instructor will speak in terms of intensity or % of maximum cadence, as well as telling you to increase resistance by 1/4 turn, 1/2 turn, etc.  Don't worry too much about the resistance at first.  Focus on cadence, similar to what you do on a road bike.  If you're jumping all over the place because your cadence is too high, like when you're in the wrong gearing and overspinning on a road bike, then add a little resistance.  It's sort of like grabbing a gear.
  
• If you follow your instructor and add a 1/4 turn, or a 1/2 turn, or whatever, and then find yourself dying a fast death, don't feel too bad about tweaking the resistance down a little.  Each bike is different, and your instructor doesn't know every student's starting resistance.  It's all relative, so my attitude about adjusting resistance is try to follow the instructor, but modify it a little to make sure you're able to push yourself without totally bonking.
  
• Every once in awhile, look around at the other class participants.  You'll see some people that by far more novice than you.  It will make you feel a little better, sort of like passing someone in a race.  I've found that this applies to all individual sports -- golf, bowling, and billiards, for example.  No matter what, someone is always worse at it than you are!
  

And that's what the one-class expert has to say about spin class.  If you have any advice you want to add, or criticism of my advice, comments are welcome.

Lance Armstrong's Ranch and Mellow Johnny's Bike Shop

If you're an Austinite, cyclist, and blogger, then you need an occasional post that is at least tangentially related to Lance Armstrong.  Technically, I guess I had a Lance posting when I rode in the LIVESTRONG Challenge.  Today's post should satisfy my Lance blogging requirement at least until he wins his first post-retirement race. 

THE RANCH 

Lance Armstrong has a ranch, and today I read an Austin American-Statesman article that announces that it is for sale.  It is a sweet ranch, complete with 7 miles of bike trails, hill country views, and Pedernales River frontage.  Unfortunately, I don't have $12 million, and I still won't have $12 million when I sell the house in Mission, Texas.

THE BIKE SHOP

I also finally made it down to his downtown Austin bike shop, known as Mellow Johnny's Bike Shop.  A buddy and I decided to take a lunch time field trip to the shop, so I drove down, dropped a quarter and a dime in the parking meter, and walked in to one of the coolest shops in Austin.  And I don't mean cool for a bike shop -- it's just a generally nice storefront.  Much has been written about the shop, but here's my take:

• In high contrast with most bike shops, the interior is airy, open, and uncluttered.  Somebody actually put some thought into the layout, and the merchandise is well displayed.  It feels more like a Gap than a Bike Bonanza, and even if I'm describing it poorly, I think it's a good thing.
  
• They have a huge selection of clothing with shop logos and branding.  I usually wouldn't think that was a good thing, but Mellow Johnny's logo looks really nice on a jersey, t-shirt, water bottle, or ball cap.  Unfortunately, I couldn't twist my own arm past the $3.99 water bottle, even though I really wanted the $25 t-shirt, and really, really wanted the $110 Capoforma jersey.
  
• The staff is very helpful.  One of the sales staff spent 15 minutes trying to find some 3-hole cleat adapters, and gave me tons of seemingly experienced advice about why I should buy Look cleats for spin class.
  
• There's a coffee shop, showers, lockers, and training center.  What other shop has that kind of stuff?  Neato.
  
• It's definitely an urban, commuter-focused shop, although they have ALL KINDS of bikes, equipment, and clothing.  But they have more than the normal selection of fixed gear bikes, commuter accessories (reflectors, fenders, etc.), and other urban commuter gear.

I'll be going back soon, but I think the next time I go down there, I'll ride my bike!

2009 Cycling Goals

I haven't been very driven to set cycling goals for 2009.  My immediate goal for the past 2 months and into 2009 is to squeeze in a ride or two per week, and cross-train while on the road in Austin, and that's been as far as I've been able to plan.

Yet, I know that without goals, progress is difficult to make.  So after reading goals of several other fellow bloggers and cyclists, particularly Mike's, I wrote down a few goals.  Here's what I want to achieve in 2009:

• Join a cycling club in Austin.  Before I moved to the Rio Grande Valley, I rode alone or with a friend or two.  When I moved to the Valley, I joined Team McAllen.  I now realize how much being a member of a club improves my cycling life, and want to continue it.
  
• Complete 10 centuries.  In 2008, I rode 4 centuries, almost without trying.  I almost set this to 12, or one per month, but I think that will be extraordinarily difficult since I am traveling every week.
  
• Improve my bike repair skills.  Currently, my skills are limited to changing chains, tires, cleaning my drive train, and a few other basic repairs.  I want to purchase a good stand, tools, and start learning more repair skills.
  
• Complete the Tour Das Hugel.  This is a biggie, as it will require me to consistently complete some mini-goals, particularly hill training.  Since the bulk of my cycling life has been in the RGV, I am very weak on hills, so I'm going to have to get organized and really train for this in order to achieve it.
  
• Track my miles...religiously.  I've been very lazy about this in 2008, but in 2009 I will track my cycling and running miles, along with other stats.  This will be key to helping me track my training progress, and to determine if I'm getting better and getting ready to meet my other goals.  Since I haven't been dedicated to tracking miles in 2008, I wasn't able to set a data-driven mileage goal for 2009.  Hopefully, in 2010, I'll be able to set a good mileage goal.
  

And with the goals now solidified, I will watch the Fiesta Bowl!