I'm Glad I Didn't Ride

Friday, February 27, 2009, McAllen Texas reached 101F.  It was the highest temperature in the USA, it broke the record for the date, and was the earliest in the year that McAllen has reached triple-digit temperatures. 

Vic and I decided on Friday that Saturday would be a family day, and Sunday would be a ride day.  When I woke up on Saturday, it was a muggy 75F or so.  By 9:30A, a cool front was blowing through the Rio Grande Valley.  I was upstairs, and the wind was shaking the house.  I looked outside, and sheets of mist were blowing across the undeveloped plots across from the house.  I happened to be taking some photos for eBay listings, so I went out on the balcony and grabbed this low-res video with my still camera:

As of a few minutes ago, it was 68F, with winds of 29MPH out of the north.  What a difference a day makes.  I'm extremely glad that I wasn't out riding in the blowing wind and rain.  I'm also happy that I wasn't riding yesterday in our record-breaking heat.

My First Unemployed Weekday Ride

Now that I'm unemployed for the 1st time in 15 years (wow you're probably sick of hearing that already), there are lots of firsts.  First unemployed beer, first unemployed blubbering cry, first unemployed telemarketer call, and so on.  Today was my first weekday ride as an unemployed cyclist.  It's one of those really beautiful things -- I have time on my hands, and an extremely time consuming activity that I enjoy doing.

Speedo and I met at his place, and decided to ride towards Jarachinas Road.  Most days, this would be a beautiful ride.  Jarachinas is one of the few roads in the RGV that has it all:  light traffic, wide shoulder, rural scenery, rolling hills, and a good connection to other decent roads.  But it wasn't in the cards today, as the wind was not about to let us do this ride without paying a steep price.

Instead, we rode a little south, then rode west along the Rio Grande through Winter Texan Land (Bentsen Palms Road near the State Park), and on through Penitas and to Havana.  We averaged 17 mph, but the wind really hammered us.  It averaged 20 mph, but the news said there were gusts in the 30+ mph range.  It was blowing us all over the road.  The link to my ride data is here, and a screen shot of the ride summary is below:

Maybe because this was a 'first' for me, or because it was smack dab in the middle of a workday, or maybe something entirely different, the ride felt like it had lots of character and RGV eccentricity.  Here's what  I mean:

• I'm out of Nuun.  So I stopped at the corner store to get a Gatorade for one of my water bottles.  The clerk, who I've seen before when wearing street clothes, acted like she was selling Gatorade to the Elephant Man.  Her discomfort with my lycra almost made me laugh.
  
• After Speedo and I cut through from Conway to Military using the Mission Trails hike and bike, we found ourselves in the middle of Winter Texan Land.  There were retirees in RVs, on cruisers, on mopeds, in diesel-powered dually pickups, and walking their dogs.  As we turned on to Military, a very large RV pulled in behind us, and laid on the horn.  And this horn had the same volume and pitch as the ones you hear on the big rigs.  Speedo and I were livid.  He said "I would have considered riding single file and letting her pass, but she had to use the horn".  We rode two abreast, taking the lane, and she made an illegal pass against a double yellow line.  From her gestures and facial redness, I'm thinking that this particular retiree may not be long for this world, what with the perils of high blood pressure and stress and whatnot.
  
• Speedo had a flat out in the middle of nowhere.  As I held up his bike, I looked on the side of the road, and saw a used disposable douche.  What the heck?  On the side of the road?
  
• The little towns of Penitas and Havana are pretty cool.  There's not much there, but they have a unique combination of the historic and the rural that makes me want to go back and meet some of the residents.
  

We're planning another ride on Thursday.  I'll try to take my camera this time so I can document the ride with a few more details.  Which will mean that these will be my first photos on a ride while unemployed!

If Times got Really Tough

Disclaimer -- We try to raise our children to be culturally diverse and respectful of all cultures, races, religions, etc. Sometimes, children say things that aren't exactly politically correct. If you're offended by this post, I give you my apologies in advance.

Vic and I decided to be honest with Betsy about my job (or lack thereof). We explained that they company didn't need me to work there anymore, and that it will be challenging for a little while. We'll all need to be careful with our money. On the positive side, Dad will be home instead of traveling, and we may find a job near Nana and Poppy, or near Uncle Troy and Aunt Kristin, or somewhere completely different. For the most part, she was understanding.

Yesterday, she started getting a little cranky about it. She was upset that she won't be able to go to her horseback riding lessons anymore, and she asked if I was going to be spending money on cycling. Oh the horrors. I said I would definitely be reducing what I spend on cycling, because even if it hurts, it's a necessary truth.

Then, at bedtime, apropos of nothing, we had this conversation, which really cracked me up:

BETSY:  I don't want to lose our money and our house and have to go live like wild Indians.

ME:  Why do you think that will happen?  That won't happen.  And even if it did, Indians ride horses bareback, which is really neat!

BETSY:  Oh yeah!  That would be fun.

ME:  And they sleep outside at night under the stars in teepees, just like in the movie Spirit.

BETSY:  Ohhhh noooo.  That would NOT be fun.

ME:  Hahahahahahahahahahahaha.

Sometimes you gotta take the good with the bad,  kiddo!  

Gonna go for my first "work hours" ride since I've been out of a job.  Nice!

"Have to Go to Start Over Again"

In October 1994, I abandoned the pursuit of my Ph.D from the University of Texas.  The main reason I left was because we had no money.  I took a job with a friend's family business, and have been employed ever since.  In 2001 I had a close call, and was given notice of a pending layoff.  Luckily, I found another job before they could release me.

My employment streak ended today.  I was laid off from my job.  So were many other people that worked with me.  Luckily, I had an idea that it was coming, so I wasn't surprised.  If anything, I was relieved.  My skills were underutilized, and it was a daily struggle to add value and justify my role.  Regardless, it feels a little strange to be without a job for the first time in 15 years.

As I drove the 5 hour trip from Austin to the Rio Grande Valley, I had plenty of time to talk on the phone with ex-co-workers, and think about my next steps.  When I wasn't on the phone, I had the iPod on shuffle. Around Alice, Texas, one of my favorite John Prine songs came on, and it seemed to fit my mood and the transitional mode that my life is entering.  I'll leave you with the lyrics to Clay Pigeons, written by Blaze Foley, and recorded by John Prine on his Fair & Square album, as well as a video of Mr. Prine performing the song live on Austin City Limits.

Clay Pigeons
© Blaze Foley (a.k.a. Michael David Fuller) 1989

I'm goin' down to the Greyhound Station, gonna get a ticket to ride 
Gonna find that lady with two or three kids and sit down by her side 
Ride 'til the sun comes up and down around me 'bout two or three times 
Smokin' cigarettes in the last seat 
Tryin' to hide my sorrow from the people I meet

and get along with it all 
Go down where the people say "y'all" 
Sing a song with a friend 
Change the shape that I'm in, 
And get back in the game, 
And start playin' again

I'd like to stay but I might have to go to start over again 
Might go back down to Texas, might go to somewhere that I've never been 
And get up in the mornin' and go out at night
and I won't have to go home 
Get used to bein' alone 
Change the words to this song 
Start singin' again

I'm tired of runnin' 'round lookin' for answers to questions that I already know 
I could build me a castle of memories just to have somewhere to go 
Count the days and the nights that it takes to get back in the saddle again 
Feed the pigeons some clay 
Turn the night into day 
Start talkin' again, when I know what to say

I'm goin' down to the Greyhound Station, gonna get a ticket to ride 
Gonna find that lady with two or three kids and sit down by her side 
Ride 'til the sun comes up and down around me 'bout two or three times 
Smokin' cigarettes in the last seat 
Tryin' to hide my sorrow from the people I meet 
And get along with it all

Go down where the people say "y'all" 
Feed the pigeons some clay 
Turn the night into day 
Start talkin' again 
When I know what to say

Comparing Challenging Rides

On Wednesday, I met Mike, Joe, and another rider (whose name I can't remember...darn) at the Arboretum duck pond for a short but hilly ride.  We headed south down Capitol of Texas Highway, then crossed Bull Creek and connected up with Ladera Norte.  A screen capture of the route is shown below, and the link to the ride data is here.  As you can see, there's some nice terrain around Ladera Norte and Far West.  In fact, over the 17 mile ride, there was about 1500 ft of elevation gain (and loss), with 17% maximum grade.  It wasn't a killer, but it was a nice lunch hill climb.

In contrast, a few weeks ago I had a great Sunday ride with the Team McAllen "elite" group.  The bulk of the ride was in the 22-24 mph range, with a total distance of 53 miles.  It was totally flat.  I felt really good about my performance, and I also felt that I had physically pushed myself and had ridden a challenging training ride.

Of course, since I'm an analytical engineering type, I've been comparing and contrasting these rides in my mind since Wednesday.  On the Duck Pond Ride, I felt like I maxed out my heart rate on the hills, and my lungs opened up and really burned.  On the Elite Ride, I sustained a high heart rate, and my quads burned, but I never felt like I couldn't catch my breath.  The Elite Ride was much longer, but I felt about the same when I finished as I did when I finished the much shorter Duck Pond Ride.

But what about data?  Here's a quick and dirty heart rate distribution:

When I first looked at the data, I was a bit confused.  For the Elite Ride, the data is shifted towards Zone 4.  For the Duck Pond ride, the bulk of the distribution is around Zone 3.  At first glance, the heart rate distribution for the Duck Pond Ride seems to indicate it was an easier ride, which contrasts with how I felt during the ride.

My take on the data is that as you move up in the HR zones, there's a non-linear relationship to the effect on your body and your exertion level.  In other words, spending time in Zone 5, even a little time, can wear you out quickly.  Since the Duck Pond Ride spent double the percentage of time in Zone 5, it had a bigger impact on my lungs and exertion.  Couple that with a healthy amount of time in Zone 4 and Zone 3 during the Duck Pond Ride, and you've got a good lung burning ride.

Oh yeah -- I'm not a physiologist, but I can BS about exercise with the best of them.  Just ask my spouse, who is having a birthday tomorrow!  Happy 29th, Vic!

Already?

As shown in the screen crop below, I saw that one of my Facebook friends (truly not a real friend) started supporting an interesting cause today.  And like the title of the post says, the first thing that popped in my head was "already"?

Seat Bag Replacement

Until a few months ago, I've always used a wedge seat bag for my tools, tubes, CO2, and other essentials.  Then the zipper broke on my seat bag during a ride, and I had to pack all of that stuff into my jersey pockets.  Partially due to cost, and partially due to aesthetics, I decided not to replace the seat bag.

Instead, I used a plastic zipper lock bag.  That wasn't very durable, so I started looking for a pencil bag or similar to use.  Coincidentally, a notebook computer power adapter that I bought came with a bag, which I converted to a cycling tool kit bag.  It has a double zipper, and when unzipped it fully opens, similar to opening a book.  Inside the bag there are some mesh pockets that I use to keep the tools separated.  The material seems to be vinyl-lined canvas, but I'm not 100% sure.  I doubt that it is waterproof, but it is probably water resistant.

The first photo below shows what it looks like when closed.  The 2nd photo shows the inside of the bag, and the tools and spares that i pack.

The benefits of the bag are that it is cheaper than a seat bag, looks better than a seat bag, doesn't rub against my legs when I ride, fits in my middle jersey pocket, and provides easier to access to contents than a seat bag.  The drawbacks are that it is almost too heavy for a jersey pocket, and it doesn't breathe well, causing me to sweat a little more on my lower back.  Weighing these, I'm pleased with my seat bag replacement.

I thought about writing some comments about the contents, but I'll save that for a future post.

Betsy Learns to Ride a Bike AND Skate

As soon as I made it home last Friday, my daughter Betsy said "I've got a surprise!"  Moreover, she wouldn't tell me, and said she would have to show me on Saturday.  After our traditional weekend waffle breakfast on Saturday, Betsy told me the surprise -- she had learned to ride her bike without training wheels!  I was floored, and very happy that Victoria had taken the time and patience to teach her while I was in Austin.

She's still learning to take off, and falls sometimes when she turns, but she's really riding.  Here are a couple of photos.  And yes, I know her seat is too low -- Vic did that to help Betsy to start from a seated position.  We'll adjust it up soon.

From 090201 Skating, Biking, and Tadpoles

From 090201 Skating, Biking, and Tadpoles

And while I'm bragging about my daughter, I should let you know that her grandparents bought her inline skates for Christmas.  Betsy loves them!  She's not an expert yet, but she can zip up and down the driveway, with only about 0.75 falls per trip.  Here is a photo of her in her skates, and wearing her too-small pads and gloves that we have since replaced:

From 090201 Skating, Biking, and Tadpoles

When I look at these photos, I am stunned at how big and old she looks.  Watching her ride for the first time was an emotional moment.  I have to remind myself that she's only 6, but it doesn't stop me from getting anxious for her to be able go on road rides with me.

Valentine's Day Ride

Today was the Jalapeno 100.  I haven't ridden this ride since I've lived in the Rio Grande Valley, and this year I skipped it AGAIN.  My parents are in town this weekend, and I'm still commuting to Austin, and I just couldn't rationalize driving to Harlingen to start a century ride.  In lieu of an organized century, I decided to ride up to Burger King and see who else decided not to ride the Jalapeno, but still wanted to do a group ride.

There were quite a few riders that met at the BK, with a good mix of intermediate and beginners.  We all started together, but the pace was moving a little slow for me.  Within a few miles of the start, I saw another rider about 1/2 mile ahead of us, so I broke from the group and sprinted to try to catch the distant rider.  I caught him, and it was Sal, one of the stronger triathletes / time trialers in the area.  We talked for awhile, moving along at 18-19 mph.  As we turned onto Military Highway towards Progreso, we cranked it up to the 20-21 mph range.  We were moving into a slight headwind, and these speeds felt very near my maximum.  We swapped pulls, but Sal did more than his share.

Once we reached Progreso, I fueled up with Nuun and a package of Grandma's Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Sal turned north.  I waited on the group, and 5 minutes later they made it to Progreso.  I grouped up with 2 of the stronger riders, and we headed west on Military.  With the tailwind, we were averaging 21-22 mph, and I was feeling much better than I did on the way out.

I decided to vary my route and head for home instead of back to BK, but the other 2 riders turned off to head back to BK.  I was alone, but riding a route that I've ridden many times.  A few miles later, I felt a lot of movement in my shoe or pedal.  I stopped, and saw that my left cleat was almost detached from the shoe.  I had to stop for 15 minutes, disassemble the cleat, and retighten.  I think that my cleats loosened up this week while doing some out of the saddle climbing in Austin, although it could have been a gradual build-up that I just didn't notice.

When I started pedaling again, my quads were very stiff.  I warmed back up, and struggled home, grateful for the tailwind.  I finished with 66 miles, with an average of 18 mph.  Today's lessons learned are:   maintain my Speedplay cleats a little better, challenge myself by riding solo or in smaller groups more, and don't give up on the Jalapeno.  There's always next year.

And if you're a data-driven reader, here's the link to the ride stats, and I've inserted a screen grab of the summary for those that don't like to click through to other sites.

Cheesy Bar Tape?

I always try to maintain some sense of style with respect to my road bike and gear.  Actually, I just try to keep things color coordinated, not really stylish.  And I'm not always that successful at the color matching, either.

My bike has always had silver bar tape until the last time I had the bars retaped.  Speedo taped them for me, and he used black tape.  I really liked the black look, but I found silver bar tape on sale on the interwebs somewhere and have had it in my closet for 4 or 5 months.  More specifically, this silver tape is a little unusual because it has a "woven carbon fiber" pattern.  

This week, while having some maintenance and repairs done on my bike, I had the mechanic retape the bars.  When I went to pick it up, I wasn't sure that I liked the tape, but what do I know?  I'll put it up to a vote of my 7 or so readers.  Post a comment, and let me know what you think. 

Here's a close up, and another photo a little further away.  My apologies for the camera phone image, and for the poor lighting in my hotel efficiency kitchenette.

The Man in the Arena

Lately I've been needing inspiration.  I don't need inspiration to ride, exercise or eat right.  I need inspiration to continue the struggle:  sell a house, buy a house, relocate the family, and in the meantime live separately and work a new job.

I read part of Theodore Roosevelt's "Man in the Arena" speech for the first time last week.  I found it on the 10 degrees latitude site.  After researching it, and learning that Nixon used it in his farewell speech, some of the luster faded.  Regardless, it was new to me, and gave me a slight spark that I can use to carry myself through tough times.  Maybe it will help you too.

It is not the critic that counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement. And at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.

Theodore Roosvelt, Paris 1910

The Threshold of Pain

Over the last few months, I've been reading a lot of George Pelecanos' crime novels.  I became hooked on his style of writing while watching The Wire on HBO, for which he was a writer and producer.  This week, while reading The Night Gardener, one of his sentences really matched what I've been feeling lately, both on the bike, at work, and in life:

"Good fighters come to the threshold of pain and cross it fully to achieve greatness."

Moreover, I think greatness requires you to see the threshold before you reach it, and to push towards it, knowing that success is beyond the threshold.

NOTE:  In the context of the novel, he states that it is a quote from a boxing poster from Mack Lewis' gym in Baltimore.  I'm not sure if that's a real or fictional gym, and since I can't find the quote anywhere on the internet, I give full credit to Mr. Pelecanos.

10 Degrees Latitude Expedition

Last summer I rode back-to-back centuries in the middle of the hot Texas summer.  I enjoyed both the ride and the training for the ride, so when I read about the 10 Degrees Latitude expedition concept I compared it to my previous long rides, and was fascinated and inspired. 

The idea is to traverse 10 degrees of latitude on all 7 continents, one continent per year.  This year the expedition is in North America, and it involves 13 days of long distance cycling, and a 10 mile swim or kayak.  The route primarily follows the California coastline, and travels the entire length of the state.  The swim/kayak leg is from San Quentin prison to Alcatraz (wow!).   

Here is the actual itinerary for the expedition:

Day 1 – Fly to Medford Airport 

Day 2 – Assemble bicycle 

Day 3 – Bike to Redwood National Park (73 mi) 

Day 4 – Bike to Humboldt State Park (82 mi) 

Day 5 – Bike Mendocino (96 mi) 

Day 6 – Bike to Bodega Bay (98 mi) 

Day 7 – Bike across to San Francisco (62 mi) 

Day 8 – Rest day 

Day 9 – Swim from San Quentin prison to Alcatraz (10 mi) 

Day 10 – Bike to Santa Cruz (77 mi) 

Day 11 – Bike to Big Sur (72 mi) 

Day 12 – Bike to Morrow Bay (91 mi) 

Day 13 – Bike to Gaviota State Park (96 mi) 

Day 14 – Bike to Malibu (96 mi) 

Day 15 – Bike to New Port Beach (71 mi) 

Day 16 – Bike to San Diego (87 mi) 

Day 17 - Bike to Ensenada (90 mi) 

Day 18 – Celebration party 

Day 19 – Fly home from San Diego Airport

I have no doubt I could complete this itinerary.  I also know that it's not my year.  Family, finances, and work won't allow it.  Even though I know that it's out of the question for this year, my mind has started churning, thinking about something like this for my 40th birthday.  Honey...are you reading this?

Beginner's Guide to Spinning Part II

A few weeks ago, I started spin classes to supplement my cycling training, and immediately posted an entry detailing a few recommendations and lessons learned.  I'm about 10 classes wiser now, so it seems a good time to update you with a few more recommendations.

• Be careful in your cycling shoes.  I use Look cleats, and they are extraordinarly slippery on polished concrete.  I bought some cleat covers similar to these, but for some reason they didn't fit on my cleats.  You might want to use mountain bike shoes, but if you don't I recommend you don't try to walk around the gym in your cycling shoes.
  
• Make sure your cleats are adjusted correctly.  It took me a couple of tries to get my feet lined up parallel with the pedal stroke.  If you don't line up, your knees will suffer.  I'm not sure why, but I think this problem is exaggerated on a spin bike.  It's probably due to the limited adjustment of the other bike elements, as well as being used to riding a bike that is fitted to me.
  
• You MUST push yourself.  Take advantage of the spin instructor guiding you, yelling at you, and coordinating the routine to the music.  If she says turn up the resistance, turn it up!  If he says 90% effort, overcome the friction and pedal faster.  Of course, don't hurt yourself, but don't sandbag and keep yourself from getting better either.
  
• Make sure you stretch after you finish the class.  You can do calve stretches while still clipped into the pedals.  Stand up, level the pedals, then drop your heels and lean forward.  You can stretch your hamstrings by putting a foot on the bars and reaching to your toe, similar to a hurdle stretch you would do on the floor.  If you're really coordinated, you can stretch your quads with one foot clipped in, and holding the other foot against your buttock (make sure you keep your knee down).  You'll feel better if you stretch.
  
• Get to class 10 minutes early, get the bike set up, then spin easy and warm up your legs.  Think about a normal road ride -- don't you usually spend at least 10 minutes, probably much more, at an easy pace?  Since spin class is heavily time constrained, you won't spend too much time in the class warming up before you start the heavy stuff.  So start your warm up earlier than everyone else.
  
• Wipe the sweat off your bike and the floor when class is finished.  Even though the instructor always reminds us to do this, I've noticed lots of lazy SOBs don't pay attention.  I guess it's hooray for them, and to heck with everyone else.  Clean up after yourself, please.
  
• After you're through with a couple of weeks of classes, measure your performance.  Ride one of your normal routes, and see if you feel better.  Do a hill repeat, and benchmark your time.  I noticed that I had a lot more cycling strength after a few weeks of classes.

As I progress in the classes, I'll post more hints and tips.  Good luck, and see you in class!

Spin Class is Helping

I've been wondering if my spin classes have translated to improved performance on the real bike.   My Sunday ride proves that the classes are really taking my cycling up a notch or two.

As you can see in the below screenshot, I rode 53 miles, and averaged 20.0 mph.  The wind was negligible, but I did have the advantage of drafting since it was a group ride.  Prior to this ride, my previous average speed record for a 50+ mile ride was 19.9 mph, but it was aided both by drafting and by a 15 mph tailwind for half the ride.  Anecdotally, on all previous rides with this group on this route, I've been dropped.  I was not dropped on Sunday.  The spin classes have strengthened my legs and my tolerance for speed surges.  But actually, my improvement was even better than this overview indicates.

How was it better?  The table below shows a breakdown of the ride by 5 mile segments.  Here's the quick analysis:

MILES 0-10

I rode alone from my home to the group ride start, and in complete darkness.  18.5 mph...not too shabby, but nothing spectacular.  These miles obviously drag down the average a little, but they're not garbage miles, as I was riding alone.

MILES 10-15

A lot of time riding very slowly in the Burger King parking lot waiting on the ride start, followed by group warm up.  A little garbage, a little easy riding.

MILES 15-20

Here we go...riding faster, averaging 20 mph.

MILES 20-50

Hammerfest, baby.  Single paceline, rolling echelon, intentionally creating and chasing small breakaways to push our speeds and hone our teamwork and paceline skills.  Each 5 mile group average was in the 22-24 mph range, with maximum speeds often above 30 mph.

MILES 50-END

Warm down alone on my way home, feeling great about the ride.

I'll keep attending spin class, although I brought the bike to Austin this week and will be out on at least one short road ride.  Maybe I'll find a nice, hilly route and see if spin class has made a difference to my hill skills.