331 Miles

Come Down and Rededicate

2012-01-22T12:20:00.000-08:00

I grew up attending the local Baptist church, and at the end of every service we had an invitation. Everyone was invited to come forward to pray, join the church, or rededicate their life. It doesn't matter whether or not I still agree with the process or others continue to believe in it. But I do know there is power in public renewal and change. Making a decision public adds a little concrete around the base of your decision.

It happens every year, and it's happening again this year. Cycling has been losing the fight against rain, time change, cold temperatures, holidays, and work. Over the last 2 months I've become more sedentary, not less. I took my bike to Austin last weekend, and only rode 15 miles over 3 days. And the steep, short hills killed me, because I'd not been riding as much I should. I had excuses that weekend -- cold the first day, Texans game the 2nd, and spitting rain the morning of the 3rd. But they were all excuses. So I'm naming it, claiming it, and will change it.

Starting this week, I'm back on my morning routine. 15 miles on the bike before work, starting at 5:30am. And on the weekends, a couple of long rides before the family is good and awake. If it's raining, I'll run. If it's REALLY raining...then I'll figure something out: jump rope on the porch, do some strength training, whatever. But I'll break the cycle. I've got to do it, otherwise with every day that I don't, it becomes easier to continue being less of committed cyclist, not more.

I'm not making the same public commitment about blogging. I'll commit to trying to post, but I can't promise anything. That's secondary, and just not as important. I know you'll understand.

Cycling Link Bait Y'All

2011-12-18T15:32:00.000-08:00

I have broken my blogging fast just to post this link bait. Nice imagery, though.

33 Miles

2011-08-21T20:21:00.000-07:00

This may be just the thing that pushes me to create a new blog, and abandon the 331 Miles blog name and concept. That is all.

Dump Truck Full of Awesome

2011-08-13T09:17:00.000-07:00

If you're a cyclist, runner, triathlete, or for that matter, any athlete, you know what it means to be "run over by a dump truck full of awesome". But riding 200 miles with two pro cyclists is one serious dump truck.

200 on 100 - The Fall of Ryan T Kelly from cycloWHAT? on Vimeo.

My favorite quotes from the video:

"run over by a dump truck full of awesome"
"awwww....chocolate milk"
"I'm going to call my girlfriend and have her tell me how much she loves me"
"Gatorade is for *ussies"

Yours?

Independence Day Ride

2011-07-04T11:25:00.000-07:00

We spent the July 4th weekend in Smithville, Texas with family. As always, they graciously hosted us, fed us, and in general facilitated everyone having a wonderful time. I woke up early each day, and rode for a couple of hours before everyone else awakened. The first 2 days I rode Bastrop and Buescher State Parks, but on Independence Day, I took an easier spin around the Smithville area, taking time to enjoy the scenery and take a few photos.

Sunrise and a Little Fog

After I stopped to shoot the sunrise, I turned the pedals about 30 times, and saw a field of sunflowers. Since we're on day 3 of the Tour de France, I felt obligated to stop again and take another photo. They're not quite the same height or density as the famous sunflowers that are often shown during the stages that are run in southern France, but they're still lovely.

Texas Sunflowers

I rode 15 miles out and turned around when the County Ranch Road I was riding turned to gravel. I intended to ride 20 miles, for 40 out and back, but I didn't want to risk flats or a spill, so I stopped short of the gravel. On the way back, I was chased by several determined dogs that must have been asleep when I passed the first time. This gave me an opportunity to involuntarily get my heart rate up and do some intervals, and luckily none were able to catch me.

I rode back through Smithville, and with the sun up a bit higher in the sky, I stopped to capture an image that reflects our country's independence: an American Legion hall, named in honor of Robert L. Steffen, with our flag flying in the breeze, the morning sun behind it. It made me feel proud to be able to ride through the American countryside, the "land of the free, and the home of the brave".

Flag Flying at the Smithville American Legion Hall

Flyover Video of My Ride on Bike to Work Day

2011-05-21T17:54:00.000-07:00

May 20, 2011 was Bike to Work Day. Since the day was named, I was obligated to recognize it and ride to work. So I did, and logged it using iMapMyRide on my iPhone 3G (which has become a real POS, by the way), and the flyover video is here for your viewing. While watching, see if you can pick out the following:

A short section where I ride on the sidewalk and in a parking lot (safety 1st, and that road section is awful for cyclists)
An intersection where I had to push the crosswalk button so I could get the light to change
A stop near a pond where I tried to help a lost snapping turtle that was crossing the road.

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyfitness.com/routes/view/34847768"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;iMapMyRIDE+: May 20, 2011 7:09 AM&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; and more routes in Sugar Land, TX on MapMyFITNESS. &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyfitness.com"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Find route&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

I Rolled my Kid in the Bike Trailer and Broke my Arm

2011-03-27T08:18:00.000-07:00

Wednesday was a beautiful afternoon in Sugar Land, Texas. Sunny, breezy, shirt sleeve and shorts weather. As soon as I got home, I threw on some cycling clothing, filled some bottles, strapped the little one in the bike trailer, and hit the road. It was just the two of us, and without the need to worry about other kids riding with me, I pedaled hard and envisioned the ride as training, with a little leisure thrown in too.

We rode through the neighborhood, always on the sidewalk, which I don't like, but is much preferred to having cars dodge my daughter in her trailer. The kiddo wasn't happy when we rode past the park, but I wanted to burn some calories. We cruised down the bike path on University Boulevard with a nice tailwind. We fought the same wind on the way back to the park, and then did a loop on the crushed granite path before stopping to let out some trailer-bound kid energy. I did a few crunches, tweeted, and the kiddo went nuts on the playground equipment. As you can see in the map below, at that point we'd ridden 5 miles, and averaged 9 mph. Pretty tranquil speed, but physically challenging due to the weight, the commuter rig, and the wind.

We were at the park for 30 minutes, then we loaded up and headed for home. We rode on the sidewalk along Elkins Road, a divided 4 lane route with moderate traffic. At each cross street, the sidewalk curb cuts angle towards Elkins Road traffic, because that's where the crosswalks are located. It's a function of the divided roadways and esplanades, and each time I came to an intersection, I leaned left, then right, then left again, navigating the unintentional chicane and making sure the trailer stayed on the sidewalk and didn't hop the curbs or go too far into traffic. Except at King's Pass, I failed.

The doctored satellite photo below (thanks Google Maps) shows what happened. I was heading north on the Elkins Road sidewalk. I came to King's Pass, and leaned left and then back right to navigate Turn 1 of the chicane. All was good. I had to immediately lean right and left again to navigate Turn 2, ensuring I let the trailer clear the curbs each time. I'm not sure if one wheel of the trailer hopped down off the curb, or if the momentum of the trailer pushed it over, but in a split-second I felt a bump, looked back, and saw the trailer on its side, skidding along the pavement with my daughter's helmeted head awfully close to the Elkins Road concrete. The trailer hitch was pushing me down as I braked. I unclipped my left foot, but I as I got my right foot unclipped, I fell to the right. Instead of hitting my shoulder, I instinctively extended both hands and caught myself. Oomph.

With the adrenaline flowing, I jumped up and righted the trailer. Thanks to the harness and helmet, the kiddo was totally fine. Not a scratch, no crying, nothing. Me? Not a bit of road rash, but both hands were in pain. Embarrassed, I quickly jumped on the bike, and with each pedal stroke my right arm felt worse and worse. My only thought was to ride the last 1/4 mile and get home.

Once home, I realized I had full range of movement, although with some pain. I took some OTC painkillers, slept on it, and the next day I visited the orthopedist. He x-rayed and diagnosed me with a radial neck fracture of the right arm. His treatment? Nothing. No cast, no splint, no prescription. I'm taking it easy, and eating ibuprofen as necessary, hoping to be back on the bike in a few weeks.

I'm glad the break is not worse than it is, but I'm not happy that the pain will keep me from riding for a few weeks. But the best part of it all? The little one made it through without an injury. The pain of her being injured would have been worse than any bone break.

Water Bottle Cage Disaster

2011-01-16T15:37:00.000-08:00

It's been too long since I've posted, but I haven't had anything I wanted to post. That is all that I'll write about not posting.

I've had a broken water bottle cage on my road bike for a few months. It's carbon, and the little lip on the bottom that holds the bottle vertically in place was fractured. Since the cage was mounted to the seat tube, the bottle bottom would slide past the lip, and rest on the down tube. Although the cage was broken, due to this geometrical "feature" I could still use it, except that the bottle rubbing against the down tube damaged the frame finish and would eventually compromise the carbon frame.

A few weeks ago, I saw a good deal on Bonktown for carbon cages. I ordered them, and when they arrived I grabbed my hex wrenches and started what previous experience had taught me was a 5 minute installation process. When I turned each of the 4 mounting screws, they just turned and turned and turned, with the screw never fully threading out of the boss. That's not supposed to happen. Disgusted, I let the bike sit a few days. The next time I felt like working on it, I cut the carbon cages away from the mounting screws. The bosses had corroded to pieces. The bosses on the seat tube completely came apart, sort of like pulling a wall anchor out of drywall. The bosses on the down tube were in better shape, but were still corroded and malfunctioning. The damage was caused by corrosion from sweat and electrolyte drinks. Without an easy solution, I let the bike sit a few more days to stew in its disrepair.

Eventually I e-mailed a fellow cyclist and wrencher, explaining that the bosses did not appear to be laid up in the carbon itself, but were some sort of compression nut. He gave me his opinion on the options: replace the faulty bosses with poly nuts (rivet-style compression fitting), install studs by fishing screws down the inside of the frame, forgo bottles and use a Camelbak, or buy a totally new frame. The poly nut solution cost $100 for the tool and nuts. The stud solution cost $5 for the hardware, an infinite cost in the headache of installation, and the unacceptable cost of a make-do retrofit. The new frame would cost thousands, including the divorce settlement. I ordered the poly nut kit.

A week later, the kit arrived. I tested the poly nut installation on a piece of plastic that was similar thickness to my frame. It worked as advertised, and was easy to use, so I jumped off the cliff and installed a nut in the seat tube. It held. Frame was not damaged. All was good. I installed the second nut on the seat tube, with the same result. Unfortunately, I still had to extricate the partially broken down tube bosses. I couldn't grab enough screw to use bolt cutters, and I didn't have enough clearance to use a hack saw. My old Dremel tool's rechargeable batteries were shot, so I went to Home Depot and gave them $70 for a new Dremel tool. I used an abrasive disk with the Dremel to grind the screw heads off, drilled out the remnants of the bosses, and installed the last two poly nuts in the down tube.

Now it was time to actually install the cages. When I positioned the cage on the seat tube, it interfered with the front derailleur hanger. At this point, I realized how completely sick and tired I was of working on what should have been a simple project. I drove to the LBS to buy different cages. I had never been to this particular shop in Missouri City, and I felt a little out of place in this boutique shop that only sold Specialized. And just when it's darkest, the light shines. Or something like that.

One of the shop hands saw me looking at cages, and I told him what I was facing. Without trying to up sell me different carbon cages, which is what was tempting me, he told me "come here...let me show you a trick". He took me to the bikes, pointed at the knurled nut that is on a threaded Presta valve stem on a road tube, and said that this innocuous stainless steel nut, which most roadies throw away, works great as a spacer. I left without spending a nickel.

After I got home, I realized I needed four of the nuts. I didn't have four, so I went back to the shop and bought four tubes. I robbed the nuts, used them as spacers, and finally installed the cages. $100 for the poly nut tool, $70 for a new Dremel, $16 for tubes, and probably 5 hours of my own time in my garage.

Why are the easy projects always the hardest and costliest?

Another Ride in Bastrop and Buescher State Parks

2010-09-26T07:22:00.000-07:00

It was another University of Texas home game weekend, and we spend many such weekends with family in Smithville. When we do, I try to take my bike and ride from Buescher State Park to Bastrop State Park along Park Road 1C. This weekend, just L (my 3 year old daughter) and I made the trip, and thanks to some generous volunteer babysitters, I was on the road before dawn.

I rolled into the park, dropped the $4 entry fee in the "late" arrival box, and was at the first scenic overlook before the fog lifted. The moon was still high in the sky when I snapped this photo with my phone.

Moon over Smithville Pasture Along Park Road 1C

Park Road 1C is loaded with rollers, and I logged 1750 ft of climbing in my 24 mile out and back route. None of the climbing is sustained, although some of it is steep enough that the State of Texas felt compelled to warn me, as well as post a speed recommendation. I coasted faster than that...several times.

The ride was great: relatively cool temps for September in Texas, white tailed deer crossing my path, getting out of the saddle a few times, and I only met one other vehicle on the road. Early in the ride I was a little nervous because the road was wet and there were a few new washed-out potholes. That was compounded by areas where I had to follow car tire tracks through beds of pine needles. But I was cautious, and after 5 miles of focused riding, I rode out of my fear.

As usual, my Garmin hiccuped a few times, and turned itself off during the ride. It seems to happen when I'm moving fast, typically on the downhill side of a roller. I had my eye on it, and turned it back on quickly and resumed the timer, but it screws up the speed data. Regardless, my ride data is here.

I've posted about this ride before, and I still highly recommend that if you're near Bastrop, get on your bike and ride this route. It's worth making a special trip, or even setting up base camp in one of the parks and riding from there. See you on the pine needles.

2 of 3 Rides Affected by Rain

2010-09-19T11:52:00.001-07:00

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm trying to renew my vows with cycling. I logged 3 rides this week, but not much mileage. On Tuesday, I commuted to work for a whopping 15 miles. Then on Friday, I commuted again, but had to call for a pick up due to some nasty thunderstorms, and only completed 7.5 miles. Two days of commuting are better than none, but I needed a longer weekend ride.

On Saturday, we had family visiting to join us in watching my daughter's soccer game, so I didn't ride. My thought was that as long as I could get in one long ride over the weekend, I would be satisfied. And when it started raining on us as we walked to the car after the game, I was glad that I hadn't planned a Saturday ride.

But a Sunday ride was looking "iffy" too. Texas is feeling the effects of Hurricane Karl, and the weather folks predicted a 20% chance of thunderstorms on Sunday morning. As I was setting up the bike at 6:30a, I felt a few drops of rain, but that was it. I decided to try to get in some miles even if it drizzled, and as the sun rose, I saw the foreboding "red sky at morning". I took it as my warning, and cut my planned ride from 60 miles to 20. Within 30 minutes of making it home, it was raining.

It's always nice to ride, whether for 1 mile or 100, but I hope that this week the weather will cooperate more and I will be able to log a few more miles.

Note: If you're interested in my 20 miler, stats and route are here.

Labor Day Segue

2010-09-06T19:10:00.000-07:00

Labor Day weekend was a transition weekend. I'm transitioning from not riding enough to a more consistent pattern of road mileage. I thought starting the transition during the weekend and squeezing in a ride, but instead chose to fill up the weekend with good family stuff, and will start riding with more dedication this week. Of course, I'll blog about it too.

Until then, you get to hear about what occupied my time over the weekend. Saturday was the season opener for the Longhorns, and I went to the game with B.

UT v Rice 2010 Season Opener Kick Off at Reliant Stadium

On Sunday, we went out to my parents' place to celebrate my nephew's birthday. Visiting family and celebrating the birthday were great, but the craziest part was the wildlife. My parents have put out three hummingbird feeders, and there was a hummingbird feeding frenzy. At one point I counted 10 birds around one of the feeders, and the photo below shows four.

Hummingbirds Swarming

On Labor Day, we took the kids to Houston Museum of Natural Science. We saw lots of amazing stuff, but this mural was my favorite.

Squid versus Whale

I think that mural might represent the struggle between riding and not riding. I'm the whale, and as you can see, I'm getting ready to bite off several tentacles of the non-cycling beast that is attacking me. There's a 70% chance of rain tomorrow, so I might not be able to ride, but I'll do my best. I can't let the squid drag me to the bottom.

59.7 Road Miles and 20 Cul de Sac Loops

2010-08-14T19:46:00.000-07:00

Today I was on the road before dawn. I wanted to beat the nasty Texas heat, and get back home in time to still have a fresh cup of coffee. I had planned a 60 mile ride to Fulshear, one of my only long routes that I've ridden in Houston, but better than many long routes I've ridden in Austin and South Texas.

With headlight and taillight flashing, I spun along at 18-20 mph, building cadence and working my way into the big ring. Sweat was pouring, bugs were flying into my mouth, but like most days on the bike, it was good. About 15 miles in, I got really lucky, and just like my last ride, I had a flat. Of course, it's no biggie, just that it delayed me for 10 minutes and gave my legs just enough time to stiffen. I rode on, passing a few roadies and one large mountain biker, and was passed by only a trio of strong cyclists riding in a paceline at about 23 mph. My ego was on solid ground, which helped my legs begin to loosen.

At about mile 50, the heat started getting to me. I poured water on my head, struggling to ride into a light 5 mph wind and hold 16 mph. I saw my rabbit in the form of a rider on a road bike wearing a sleeveless baggy t-shirt. Hah! Anyone that sloppy deserves to be caught! But he was riding like he was on mile 5 against my 50, and I couldn't catch him. Or perhaps he was simply a stronger cyclist. Regardless, feeling defeated and overheated, I slowed to about 15 mph. I drank more water. I was not feeling good, but I kept focused and rolled for home.

When I turned on to my street I was only at 59.7 miles. Round ups be damned. Hitting the goal mileage is important. My Garmin tracks to the hundredth of a mile; thus, the ride would not be over until I hit 60.00 miles. I rode about 20 dizzying loops around my cul de sac, hit 60.02 miles, and with goal achieved, called it a ride.

Vacation Day Ride from First Colony to Foster Creek

2010-07-06T10:04:00.000-07:00

The girls and I spent the July 4th weekend in Smithville with family. We had a wonderful time: fireworks, boating, fishing, 4-wheeling, and eating. There was no cycling, which is sad, but the other fun stuff overshadowed it, and also pushed me to making a personal commitment to ride on the vacation day I had scheduled for July 6th.

I woke up 30 minutes before dawn on July 6th, and was on the road before the sun was up. I had planned a 40 mile ride, which would give me plenty of time left during the day to spend with the family. I also purposely decided it would be a steady paced calorie burning ride, but with plenty of stops for photos.

About 2 miles from home I paused to snap this photo of the Sugar Land, Texas sunrise. Sadly, the hay field in the foreground will be replaced with housing within a year. The Telfair subdivision is expanding (sprawling?), and infrastructure construction has already begun.

Sunrise at University and US 59, Sugar Land, TX

I rolled on towards Pecan Grove and Foster's Creek. Once the sun cleared the clouds, I pulled out my iPhone and snapped the ubiquitous cycling bloggers' "shadow of the cyclist" photo.

My Shadow...

A few miles later I entered the town of Pecan Grove. It is a suburb of Houston, and you wouldn't know you entered a new town except for the water tower. It does really have some honest-to-goodness PECAN GROVES. My Pa-Paw always said that once the pecan trees had leaf buds, there wouldn't be frost on the ground again that Winter. That doesn't really fit with a cycling-related blog, but it makes me feel good to write it.

Pecan Grove in Pecan Grove, TX

A bit farther down the road and I rolled through Wood's Edge subdivision. The massive Live Oaks shading the road are beautiful. I stopped to snap the equally ubiquitous cycling bloggers' "road through the handlebars" shot.

Live Oaks in Wood's Edge, TX

All of these photos were taken along a First Colony to Fulshear route that is heavily used by local cyclists. On a weekend, I'll usually see 3 or 4 large groups, as well as a couple dozen solo cyclists. Even on a non-holiday weekday, I saw about 12 other cyclists. Overall -- one of my favorite new routes, which can be a 40 miler, 60 miler, or 80 if you ride past Fulshear or add some loops.

After riding 40 miles of the route, I was home. I felt great, sweated gallons, and as usual, my Garmin 305 hiccuped and lost most of my data. If you live in the area and want the map, send me an e-mail and I'll send you a link to a map. Otherwise, blame the lack of a good map and stats on Garmin.

You Can't Get Across the Brazos

2010-06-13T11:25:00.000-07:00

Now that I've relocated to Sugar Land and starting most of my rides from home, the biggest barrier to ride variety is not Houston traffic -- it's the Brazos River. As you can see in the Google map below, unless I want to ride northwest, cross the Southwest Freeway, then double back, I can't cross easily. This eliminates lots of good riding to the southwest of my home.

The good riding to the northwest (i.e. Fulshear, etc.) doesn't really start until I'm over 10 miles from home and out of the subdivisions, so when I wanted to plan a short 20 mile round tripper that was a good match for an unusually busy Sunday, I selected a route that explored the east side of the Brazos, but didn't cross. It turned into a strange one.

The ride started poorly when it took me 20 minutes of searching to find my Garmin Edge 305. I even woke up my spouse and asked if she had seen it. She wasn't happy, and I felt really stupid when I eventually found it -- inside of my one of my cycling shoes. With GPS in place, I hit the road at 6:30a, riding towards Thompson Ferry Road. According to MapMyRide, it would be a 20 mile round trip. I hoped to see an old ferry crossing when I neared the Brazos, and imagined some nice cycling through the shady river bottom.

Initially, my route took me through the sprawling RiverStone subdivision. Riding through gigantic subdivisions, including the one I live in, appears to be the cycling price for living in the Houston area. Once I turned on Thompson Ferry Road, the terrain turned to rural farmland. Cows, horses, pasture land, and hayfields were on both sides of the road. No cars passed me. My legs were at home again on the bike.

10 minutes later, and I saw a dog standing sentry in the middle of the road. If subdivisions are the urban cycling toll, dogs are the rural one. I started spinning faster, and shifted to the big ring in anticipation of standing. The sentinel was joined by 2 of his best friends, and they chased me a hundred yards or so. And right then I ran out of road.

I had to slow quickly as the road turned to gravel. I gingerly rolled a few 100 feet more, then turned around to face the dogs again. They waited patiently for me to return, but the 2nd time around I think they were feeling a little winded, as they didn't chase nearly as long. I rolled on, regretting that I wouldn't see the terminus of Thompson Ferry Road.

To make up the miles, I made a detour on another road that also dead-ended into the river. Again, I didn't see the river, but this time the road was paved until I hit a gated entry to someone's ranch. I turned and headed for home, rolling at a leisurely 18 mph, just steadily burning a few calories, not hammering.

As I neared home, I realized I wouldn't have a full 20 miles. I was at 19.5 as I turned into our subdivision section. I really didn't feel like riding around the block just to say I rode 20, so I sucked it up and made the right turn onto my cul-de-sac. As usual, I gently bunny hopped the 2 inch street-to-driveway lip. My rear tire immediately hissed. My planned 20 miler ended with a flat at 19.6 miles, included a gravelly dead end, and a double dog chase. In hindsight, at least I didn't fall.

It wasn't the Brazos River's fault that the ride was an odd one, complete with missing GPS, dogs, and a last minute flat. That doesn't change my frustration with not being able to easily cross the muddy river. I'll be doing some near term reconnaisance and research, looking for some routes that will provide good southwesterly riding. But I know that even if I find them, dogs will still chase and flats will still happen.

P.S. If you want a detailed route map and stats, check it out here.

Pain in the Neck

2010-05-18T19:32:00.000-07:00

2 days after my first ride in a couple of months, and I only have a couple of issues. I expected I would have sore calves or quads; instead, the only muscle soreness is in my NECK. Running has kept me in moderately decent cardio shape, as well as keeping some conditioning in my legs, but few activities can prepare you for the "looking up" stress on your neck muscles that occurs during cycling.

I also have a tiny bit of saddle soreness on my sit bones, but I think there was still some toughness down there that saved me. Only cycling can keep that area conditioned. Or....perhaps it's all the sitting I do at work? Or...more likely the butt-chewing that I regularly get from my wife? Hard to say...

P.S. I love you honey.

Back on the Bike

2010-05-16T09:33:00.000-07:00

Before today, I hadn't been on the bike in two months. I won't insult you with sorry excuses. I know that the only way to break the trend is to just get on the bike, so I decided last night that come hell or high water, I would ride today. With the rain we had on Friday and Saturday, I knew that it might be the latter.

Overflowing Creek on Ride Route

I had ridden through the Fulshear area west of Houston before, so on Saturday night I mapped out a route from our new house, weaving through subdivisions and along rural roads towards Fulshear. I printed my turn list and maps, prepped the bike, and woke up at 6am Sunday to ride. It was very foggy. I don't like to ride alone in the fog, but it wasn't going to stop me.

The first few miles were miserable. The fog kept me worried about cars, and the route took me through subdivisions where I quickly lost my bearings. I made a couple of wrong turns, eventually needing to consult my iPhone to find my way back to my route. If I want to ride instead of driving to meet other riders, I'll need to figure my way through the 'burbs. With practice, I'll learn my way.

Suburban Route with Fog

During the ride I targeted 17-20mph, and 90+ cadence. I obviously need to do some interval training to build up my strength, but I also need to get used to the saddle again and get some conditioning. I felt good during the ride, and even drafted in with the Sugar Cycles "A" group when they passed me. I drafted at 23mph or so, but I couldn't pull. Luckily, I hit my 20 mile turnaround target before it was my turn to rotate.

On the way back I enjoyed the rural scenery that I had ignored while hanging on with the Sugar Cycles group: pasture land, pecan groves, creeks, and farms. The Fulshear area is really picturesque, and I'll make this route a regular one.

Pecan Tree Shades the Route

Bridge Across Flooded Creek

As I approached 40 miles, my legs definitely felt burned. My calves and quads were crampy. Once home, I had to drag myself leg by leg up the stairs. But as I write this, I feel recovered. I'm looking forward to tomorrow to see if there's any soreness, but I'm even more excited about getting back on the bike with more consistency.

One last note -- my Garmin turned off during the ride, so the ride stats are mucked up. I rode ~39 miles, I guess around 17mph average, with ~90 rpm cadence average. The map shown here is accurate, but all of the time-based stats are skewed.

Sunday Ride through Houston's Energy Corridor

2010-03-07T13:02:00.001-08:00

Houston is a suboptimal city for cycling. It sprawls and sprawls and sprawls, and the sprawl is not always connected with bike lanes or even roads with a clearly marked shoulder. It does have people that care about cycling, and try to create, grow, and maintain infrastructure for cyclists, but it's a work in progress. I learned a bit about the work in progress on Sunday when I rode through Houston's Energy Corridor.

The Energy Corridor is the area just west of the Sam Houston Tollway (Beltway 8) along Interstate 10. It's not just an area, it's a district with paying business members and leadership, and they market the hike and bike trails of the area on their website and with signs posted along the trails. Here's a photo of one I took during my ride.

What may not be immediately obvious is that many of the orange (bike lanes) and red (hike and bike trails) lines are not connected to other orange and red lines. In other words, you have to either park nearby to use them, or ride on a potentially bike unfriendly street to get to the bike lane or trail. When I left for the ride, I did exactly that -- I rode on the street, taking the lane and getting honked at by an impatient driver. A few miles later, I reached a bike lane on Briar Forest Drive, became a gutter bunny, and headed towards the Corridor.

After a turn on Kirkwood, I followed the bike lane to the Addicks Reservoir, which you can see near the bottom of the above photo. The trail around the reservoir was populated with dog walkers, and after a couple of miles the trail played out, and I was happy to leave it and its potential leash ensnarement.

Unfortunately, when I left the trail, I was on a street without a bike lane: Eldridge Parkway. The map said it had a hike and bike trail along the street, but I honestly think the wide sidewalk is to what the map was referencing. I refused to ride on the sidewalk, and took one of two lanes heading back south toward the bike lane offered by Briar Forest Drive. I was then honked at for the second time that day.

When I had looped back to Briar Forest, I headed west towards Barker Reservoir and George Bush Park. When I hit the park, I decided to crank up the speed a little and rode in the big ring at 20+ mph, taking care not to pass too closely to other trail users. I don't care much for riding on hike and bike trails, but...it was there. And I had my bike.

I decided to turn around at about 15 miles into the ride, and found a small park where I refilled my water bottle and watched kids at the skate park for a few minutes. The photo below shows the skate park, cyclists in the background, and what is surely the hottest, most uncomfortable picnic table in the world (if visited during a Houston August at midday).

After the turnaround, I rode back to the bike lane on Briar Forest Drive. I followed its bike lane all the way home...except for the last mile. Of course, I was honked at again once the bike lane ended. But that's Houston.

STATS SUMMARY

I ended the day with right at 30 miles. Details of my effort are here, but please note that my Garmin 305 hiccuped during the ride, losing a few minutes on the timer. So while the miles per hour chart seems correct, and as Tarantino has written, I am a hard hitting, pipe-swinging cyclist, I did NOT average 27.6 mph over 30 miles.

P.S. I saw lots of runners spread out on Briar Forest and in George Bush Park. I talked to someone with a megaphone that told me it was the Texas Independence Relay. Seems like a fun event.

Planning a Cold Commute

2010-03-03T18:55:00.001-08:00

Tomorrow it should be about 45F when I start my bike commute. That's not cold for some of you commuters, but for me, it's chilly. I've been waffling back and forth between going or not, even considering hauling my bike to work in the back of my truck, and commuting home when it's a much warmer 65F. But I really want to get the full 30 mile round trip under my belt.

I'll dress warmly, and layered so I'll have a cooler clothing option for the ride home. And I'll try really hard not to think about it tonight, as there's still time for me to change my mind.

Early Run

2010-03-02T19:58:00.000-08:00

I got up this morning to temps in the high 40s. It felt really warm under the covers, between the flannel sheets, but I rolled out of bed at 5:30a, threw on a few layers, and ran.

My standard run is 3 miles, at a 10 minute mile pace. Today was no different. It was good to get out there in the cool weather and burn some calories before breakfast.

It's supposed to get warmer as the week progresses, so I might work in a bike commute. If I'm lucky, I'll be turning that into a "same old same old" routine before too long.

Why the Hiatus?

2010-03-01T04:00:00.000-08:00

All bloggers have their reasons why they let their blogs go stagnant. We've all read each other's reasons. Writer's block. Focusing on work or other creative endeavors. Disillusionment with the idea of a blog. My reason isn't unique, but I think it is definitely linked to changes in my cycling habits.

After all, this blog is mainly about my cycling exploits and addictions. For those of you that follow me on Twitter, Facebook, and here, you haven't been reading nearly as many comments or posts about my cycling. It should have been a good indication that I've unintentionally gone cycling cold turkey, a condition brought on by a slew of factors.

In August of 2009, I started a new job. As all new jobs do, it sucked up my time. Then in early December, Houston got it's earliest-ever snowfall, which kicked off an unusually cold and wet winter. Right before Christmas, my back decided it was totally against any physical activity. And perhaps most importantly, my family and I have been in housing transition, living with family for 6 months while searching for a new home. None of these exactly made it easier for me to remain focused on cycling. I was lucky to run a few times per week, but even that suffered.

As of today, I'm trying to be "back". It's March 1, and the weather will warm up quickly. We closed on a new house last week, and are moving in a few weeks. I've been going to a chiropractor, and either he's dramatically helping me, or time has once again healed a wound.

With all of these in my favor, I kicked off my new state of "backness" this weekend by running 3 miles on Saturday, then going on a 20 mile ride on Sunday. I could tell during both the run and the ride that I've lost some fitness. I don't really care. The only way to change it is to get back on the bike. I'll be pushing to commute a couple of times per week, and to ride on the weekends. On off days, I'll run.

I'll follow it all up with blog posts that hopefully detail the more interesting bits. If you're still out there reading, thanks for sticking with me. I'll try not to let the reasons and excuses stop my cycling or my blogging.

Surprise! Back Pain!

2009-12-28T18:31:00.001-08:00

I woke up a week ago with a stiff lower back. The next morning I felt better, and went for a run. By the time I was showered and ready for work, my back would spasm semi-randomly as I walked, causing me to grab a wall, door, whatever, then wait until I could move again. I've never experienced pain quite like this.

It all started the day after my first non-commute road ride in about a month. I have a fairly aggressive geometry on my road bike, but it's never caused me more than a little stress in my upper glutes / lower back. Perhaps it was the cause? Regardless, there was no way I could get back on the bike with the amount of pain I was experiencing. I hobbled through the week, grimacing throughout the Christmas holiday.

On Sunday, I was feeling better. I saddled up again, and went for a 40 mile ride. I took it easy, but could feel every pebble on the road. I rode up tiny little Moss Hill, which is pronounced enough that a town is named for it. Whether on a flat or on a hill, my back was tight. I couldn't get in the drops for more than about a minute. Once home, my back was hurting again and the periodic spasms were back.

Long Straight with Moss Hill in the Distance

And then suddenly, about an hour before bed, something changed. I noticed I wasn't in pain. A little sore, a little stiff, and a bit twingy, but not really in pain. And this morning, it felt even better. So was the ride the cause? The solution? Or just your typical back pain mystery? I think I'm going to find a chiropractor in case I need urgent services in the future.

It's Been Such a Long Time

2009-12-20T13:20:00.000-08:00

Today I went out on my road bike for a 20 mile cardio pace spin. Back in the summer, this would not have been newsworthy. But recently, a combination of Houston weather, job and family constraints, and attending Texas Longhorns football games has kept me off my road bike. I've commuted to work several times, which is 30 miles round trip, but hadn't been on my road bike since November 8. That's right -- the same guy that was riding about 100 miles per week for the first half of 2009 has slacked off completely. And to me, that is depressingly newsworthy.

The only way to break the cycle was to get back on the bike. Surprisingly, I felt more than okay on the bike. It was a start-and-stop urban route, and I was pleased to average 17.6 mph. My quads and lungs felt a little weak, but thank goodness for my high intensity commute rides and my consistent jogging regimen which have combined to help keep my baseline fitness level somewhat static. If not for that, I'm sure this ride would have seemed almost like my first time on the bike.

The 20 miles felt great, and after the ride I knew I needed more. I know what I need to do to get back on the bike with more consistency. It will happen. It wont' wait on a New Year's resolution. It starts today.

The Safety of the Houston Streets I Ride

2009-11-15T18:29:00.000-08:00

When I tell Housotonians that I occasionally ride my bike to work, they are usually incredulous. Some of their surprise is due to their impression of the effort required to cycle 15 miles each way, but the primary concern is because they think it is unsafe. There are a few sections of my commute that require extreme caution (Wilcrest near Harwin and Briar Forest east of Beltway 8 come to mind), but I think most of it is very safe.

For example, the roads near my office are very wide and lightly traveled. The photo below was taken on a Sunday, but it looks about the same on a weekday. The most dangerous thing about this section of road is the acorn covered surface, cracking and popping as I ride over them.

Executive Drive near Corporate Drive in Sugar Land, Texas

Even better, about 80% of my commute is through quiet neighborhoods. In the mornings, kids wait for the school bus, and my big worry is the occasional driver that doesn't look before backing out of the driveway. In the afternoons, kids play in the yards, and a few even say hello. Dads wash cars, and dogs are walked. Sure, there is a little traffic on the road, but it's as safe as it gets. The photo below shows what I see on the majority of my commute.

Belle Park near High Star in Houston

Like many bicycling advocates say, I feel most unsafe when I'm in a striped bike lane. Cars assume that I have plenty of room, and mirrors pass at 45 mph and only a few feet away from the end of my handlebars. I negotiate glass, gaps in the pavement, poorly installed drains, standing water, and other debris. The cars would rather crowd me out than crowd the lane of the vehicle to their left. Again, Wilcrest and Briar Forest come to mind. If I could avoid the bike lanes, I would. I only use them when other routes aren't feasible, and thankfully, it's for only about 15% of my route.

The first time I really got worried was today -- and it was due to rain, not cars. Even though I have waterproof panniers and my iPhone was safely stowed in a zippered plastic bag, when I turned east and saw the storm clouds and falling rain, I called for the family SAG wagon. I was only a few miles from home, but I was glad I did, because as soon as we loaded the bike, the rain hit us.

Rain Clouds near Briar Forest and Beltway 8 in Houston

I hope that any Houstonians (or others for that matter) that read this will understand that cycling in Houston is not as unsafe as you think. Don't think about riding the same route you drive; instead, realize that there are parallel alternate routes that are less traveled and more cyclist-friendly. Join me. You'll be glad you left your car at home.

Riding from the Old Home Place

2009-11-08T16:17:00.000-08:00

On Sunday I went for a 40 mile ride. Not really unusual, except that I left from my parents' house. It's the same house I grew up in from 1974 to 1988, and I haven't ridden a bike there in over 20 years.

I left the house at 7am, and the first part of my ride took me along some back roads that I selected because they helped me avoid a dangerous section of farm-to-market road. When I was a kid, we rode on this same stretch of dangerous road, but we road AGAINST traffic, moving into the proper lane whenever a vehicle approached. Luckily, they didn't approach often. My dad caught us doing this one day on his way home from work and about lost his mind. As a parent, I would too.

Within a mile of starting, I was chased by no less than 6 dogs. That was the only negative thing about the ride. I had expected close calls and roads unfriendly to cyclists, but it was a solid, smooth ride. The road conditions were great, with smooth, clean pavement. Additionally, there were signs posted asking motorists to "share the road". My Mom said that she has seen groups of cyclists on this section of road, and I know that TexBiker has ridden it before too.

Cyclist-Friendly Sign on FM 2090 West of Splendora

I had decided to log 40 miles on the ride, so I simply rode until the odometer hit 20 mph, and then turned for home. I turned around in the parking lot of a local volunteer fire department facility. I ate a gel, drank some water, and took a snapshot of the bright blue doors and faded sign.

Montgomery County Rural Volunteer Fire Department - Station # 42

I turned for home, and realized that I had been riding with a tailwind, and would be facing a headwind on the ride home. Luckily, it wasn't too much wind (<10 mph), so I just put it out of my mind and rode. As I rode past stands of pines, I was startled several times by the sound of squirrel claws as they chased each other up and down the tree trunks. I saw Fall colors, falling leaves, and muddy roads filled with ruts from the offroading enthusiasts. All the same stuff was there from when I was a kid, except now I was seeing it from a road bike and not from my pick up.

The dogs chased me again as I neared my parents' house, but even that couldn't shake me from my positive ride. I finished wanting more miles. It was a great ride, and now that I know how friendly the local roads are to cyclists, I'll be riding more when we visit my parents.

STATS SUMMARY (Details including map can be found HERE)

Distance: 40.2 miles
Avg Speed: 18.0 mph
Max Speed: 23.3 mph
Elevation Gain: 189 ft (seriously!)

My First Urban Houston Group Ride

2009-11-02T20:20:00.000-08:00

After a month with very few rides, I decided last weekend to join the Bike Barn (Kirby location) Sunday Shop ride. The ride is advertised as "covering a variety of Houston neighborhoods" and is "not recommended for beginners. Must have intermediate to advanced cycling skills and be able to maintain a minimum of 15 mph for 25 miles." Disclaimers like these always make me nervous, because many cyclists seem to take them as a challenge. I expected the speed would be faster, but part of my decision process in choosing the ride was accepting that I would meet the challenge and ride hard and fast.

I was prepped and ready, sitting on my top tube at 7:15a, and met two other riders that were first timers. We chit-chatted about the challenges of finding good group rides in Houston, and figured out that we all shared the goal of not getting dropped. Being new to the ride, we were all concerned about getting separated from the group on a ride with LOTS of turns. The ride leader got our attention and announced we were ready to start, and we rolled promptly at 7:30a.

For the first few miles, we moved so slowly that I wasn't worried about getting dropped. Instead, I was worried that I had misread the ride description and that it was a novice ride. We rolled as mob, breezing through stop signs and barely hitting 12-15 mph. I wasn't keeping track of our location, but simply following the group. We very abruptly exited an oak-shaded neighborhood and crossed the Southwest Freeway via the Woodhead Bridge. I don't know that I've ever driven across the bridge, one of several that connect the gentrified urban neighborhoods on either side of the freeway.

Aerial Shot of Bridges Across US 59 Near Downtown Houston

As we pedaled north, we crossed through many intersections with stop signs or signals. It may have been dozens. It was uncomfortable for me, but we treated all but the largest of intersections as yields. If not for taking this approach, the ride would have disintegrated and taken hours longer. As I got used to the start and stop of the intersections, suddenly the group hit Waugh Drive / Heights Boulevard, and the hammering began.

We sprinted along Heights Boulevard from intersection to intersection, signal to signal, frantically riding through the serene, tree-lined boulevard as shown in the photo below. A small group separated at one of the signals, and as it was too dangerous to roll through, they became the rabbit for our chase group. We rode hard in the 23-28 mph zone, and within a few blocks we caught them. I was no longer worried about being challenged on the ride.

Oak Trees Along Heights Boulevard

The surges and sprints continued as we headed south along the Elysian Street Viaduct. It dumped us into downtown Houston, and we passed Minute Maid Park and Toyota Center, although I didn't have time to really take a close look. It was a new and fulfilling experience to ride on the smooth, wide streets of the city center.

Google Satellite Map of Houston City Center with Route Shown in Red

We left downtown Houston, and cruised past my alma mater, the University of Houston. We connected with Macgregor Way, speeds still in the 25 mph range, peaking at 32 mph as we passed near Hermann Park. As we neared Kirby Drive, a few riders turned off for the shop, but I stayed with a group that added on another few strenuous miles.

I finished with some interesting stats:

Distance -- 31.7 miles
Avg Speed -- 18.4 mph
Peak Speed -- 32.2 mph

It really felt like a tougher ride, and the Garmin Connect ride data supports the feeling. My heart rate was in the 160-170 bpm range for most of the ride. I didn't realize it during the ride, but after the ride I realized that the difficulty was exaggerated by the yo-yo effect of all the intersections. The start-stop sprints were taxing, and without going too deep into the analysis, it looks like the post warm-up average speed was probably nearer the 20-22mph range.

It's important to note that the ride did break into groups. A slower, intermediate level group separated fairly early in the ride, and finished about the same time our faster, extra-mileage group finished. The ride description is accurate -- if you can't ride at 15mph, you'll get dropped on this ride. It's a strenuous ride through a wide range of scenery in urban Houston, and I would definitely recommend it for any new or visiting Houston riders. I'll be back, and ready for the surges and pounding heart rate.

40 Miles after a Month Off

2009-10-25T12:27:00.001-07:00

The last time I was on my road bike was September 19, 2009. I've commuted to work a couple of times, and have been jogging regularly, but a long list of excuses has kept me off the road bike. This weekend the family and I planned to visit Victoria's parents outside of Cleveland, Texas, and I made sure the bike made the trip too. It was time to break the cycle.

I woke up on Sunday, and put on my cool weather kit -- summer bibs and jersey, with arm & knee warmers, skull cap, and full finger gloves. It was in the high 50s, clear, with a moderate wind. The weather was perfect, and I decided I would put in a solid 40 miles. I was worried about my fitness, but I also knew that I didn't have a choice. I could continue to not ride, or I could literally get back on the bike.

As I warmed up, I felt okay, but could tell I'd been off the bike. I was riding into a headwind, and struggled to maintain 18 mph over the flat terrain. My quads burned a little more than usual as I held a 95-100 RPM cadence. The ride felt a little more strenuous than usual, but nothing extreme.

I made the turnaround at Mile 20, and had the wind at my back. I started hitting 20+mph with the same effort, but now felt really warmed up and in the groove. I spun along, stopping only to take a photo of a mileage sign showing the distance to my old hometown.

When I finished the ride and uploaded the data, I was surprised by what I saw. I finished the 40 miles with an average speed of 18.7 mph, and a heart rate of 149BPM. The last time I did the same route, which was in early August, I finished with 18.8 mph, and a heart rate of 137BPM. The heart rate difference is most likely due to the headwind. Otherwise, I basically performed identically.

I'm not foolish enough to think that I'm in the same cycling shape as I was a month ago. I've started to slip just a little. The running helps with general fitness, but it's not the same as training on the bike. Likewise, commuting helps, but it's not training. Truth is, as my situation in Houston stabilizes, I'll be riding more. As that happens, I'll be crafting my rides to make sure they bolster my bike fitness. Until then, I'll keep running, commuting, and trying to squeeze in a road ride per week or so.

2nd Bike Commute, 1st Injury

2009-10-20T19:05:00.001-07:00

Late last week I installed my new bike rack and panniers, and properly mounted my taillights. I also fabricated a very basic bracket to attach the front fender to the fork. When finished, the commuter rig looked like this:

Although I expected my homemade bracket to be totally mediocre, it's actually not bad. I used a flat piece of aluminum, cut to length, deburred, and drilled for mounting. It works pretty well, except it really needs square holes and carriage bolts or two mounting holes to help square the alignment. I like the way it looks, and as long as I keep the bolts tight, it will function properly.

I installed all of this hardware and equipment last Wednesday night in preparation for a Thursday commute, but that night my oldest daughter took a trip to the ER. All is good now, but I had to postpone my 2nd commute to Tuesday. On Monday night, I loaded the panniers with notebook, clothes, toiletries, and shower shoes, then woke up early Tuesday morning and was on the road by 5:45a.

I immediately appreciated the panniers. It is much more comfortable to ride without a backpack, and except for when turning, I really didn't notice that the panniers were even there. I kicked them a couple of times when clipping in, but after a few stops I figured out how to engage the pedals without ever touching the panniers.

At one point in my ride, I have no choice but to travel on a busy road. There's just no way to get to the office without choosing the lesser of multiple evils. It's busy enough that today I decided to ride on the sidewalk. As I made a left turn on to the busy road, I had to execute a very sharp s-shaped series of turns in order to get on to the sidewalk. The weight of the panniers took me by surprise as I started the turn. As I quickly unclipped and attempted to transfer my weight and rebalance, I crossed up the front tire. I hit my knee pretty hard on the bike, and came to a complete stop at the entrance to the sidewalk. I pushed the bike over to the sidewalk and had a look at my knee.

The knee didn't hurt much, but blood was already dripping down my leg and into my sock. What the heck? It was dark, but from the street lamp I could tell that I didn't have a big injury. It looked like a puncture wound. I inspected the bike, and found the source of the damage. When my knee hit the fender of my crossed-up front wheel, I hit it hard enough that a protective cap on the end of a fender stay was punctured by the fender stay, which then punctured my leg. Check the black caps in the below photo.

I made sure nothing was rubbing on the bike and that the bleeding had stopped, and then rode on to the office. Once there, I snapped this photo of the injury:

The wound is only about 3/8" long, but it's pretty deep. The end of the fender stay gouged a little channel into my leg, but I'm happy that it wasn't just a straight puncture. I cleaned and dressed the little wound, and it feels fine now.

I learned the hard way not to underestimate the impact of panniers on bike handling. I'll think twice before I try to make another series of sharp turns at low speed. I almost forgot -- even with the injury, it was another great bike commute in Houston!

Sick and Tired of Not Riding

2009-10-18T10:02:00.000-07:00

The whole family has been sick this week. It manifested as a cold for Vic, Lola, and me. For Betsy, it meant two trips to the emergency room. We're all recovering, but it has meant that riding time has been scarce.

I haven't been on the bike in over a week, although I have at least run a few times. My fitness is holding for now, but I need to get on the bike this week. I plan on commuting by bike twice this week, and then working in a ride next weekend. Perhaps I'll ride with a local group or shop ride. Regardless, I'll be back on the bike. I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired, and the best way to break the cycle is to ride.

The 1st Houston Bike Commute -- My Bike and the Route

2009-10-08T19:22:00.000-07:00

In my last post, I promised to provide more details on my commute. I'm about to tell you more than you ever wanted to know.

PREPARING THE BIKE

You've read about my conversion of my Marin Hawk Hill MTB to a hybrid. I took it a step further before my first commute ride, and bought full fenders, a rack, a new taillight, and panniers. As you can see in the photo below, I've installed everything except the rack and panniers.

The fenders are Planet Bike Cascadia ATB fenders, and they installed with minimal fuss. The biggest issue is that the front fork that Speedo installed to replace my suspension fork has a larger-than-normal gap between the wheel and the fork, and I had to temporarily zip-tie the fork to the fender. I'm working on making a new bracket so that I can properly gap the fender to the wheel, as well as give the fender the right stability. Unlike the front, the rear fender installed with no issues at all.

I did not install my Planet Bike VersaRack Disc because the M5 x 45mm screw for the lower mount was not long enough. Since I'm using the same mount hole for both the rack and the fender, I needed a little longer screw. I ordered some from Fastena l (highly recommend for hard to find hardware), and they should be here Monday, which will be just in time to install the rack and hang my new Axiom Typhoon panniers.

Perhaps most importantly, I installed both of my headlights on the bike, and a new taillight. The main illumination is provided by my Cat Eye HL-EL 500, which is the same design but less bright than the HL-EL530. I also put my smaller Cat Eye headlight on the bike, and set it on blink for visibility. The taillight is a Planet Bike Blinky Super Flash. It is truly the brightest taillight I have ever seen on a bike. It hurts to look at it. Seriously. Just to add a little more safety, i threw my old Cat Eye taillight on my backpack to provide some backup.

With everything installed, I was confident that the bike was ready enough for the 1st commute. I made sure the tires were properly inflated and that my emergency seat bag was stocked, and rolled out at around 5:45a.

THE ROUTE

I mapped out the route a couple of weeks ago, drove it last weekend, then remapped it again before I rode. I eliminated as many busy streets as I could, used bike lanes and routes where possible, and used footbridges to cross two Houston bayous. Check out the detailed route in the below map.

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/tx/houston/746125486446446148"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Bunker Hill to Sugar Land Work Commute&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br/&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/find-ride/united-states/tx/houston"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Find more Bike Rides in Houston, Texas&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;
Unfortunately, west Houston is not a cyclist's paradise. I didn't count, but I bet I roll through 20 stop signs on my 15 mile route. I also have to cross two busy streets without a traffic signal, as well as ride on the sidewalk of a couple of busy streets. The sidewalk riding is maybe 5% of my route, but I'll be trying to find a better route. Even with the problems, I still think that overall the route is good, and relatively safe.

Without photos, the details of my commute will put even the most dedicated bike commuter to sleep. I'll leave you with a few highs and lows:

I had to make a quick stop when a high school kid turned in front of me. Luckily, I was ready for it.
Using the footbridges required me to navigate a few feet of path with offroad conditions. This might be an issue when it rains.
I felt great when I rode on the sidewalk. Not because it was smooth or comfortable, but because I was scared out of my wits to ride on those particularly busy streets.
I travel through an extraordinarly wide mix of property -- the obvious wealth of the Memorial Drive corridor, industrial areas near my office, and lower middle class neighborhoods dotted with gang tags and homes in need of repair. The worst cycling? The Memorial Drive corridor. Drivers were speeding, and cut it way too close for comfort.
It was EXHILARATING to commute by bike. I felt like I accomplished something before I even got to work.
I enjoyed ringing my bell at folks. Especially when it's gentle ting-ting sound startled them.

I promise to take photos over the next few weeks, and give you some examples of the good and the bad. In the meantime -- ride your bike to work. If I can commute in Houston, then you can commute wherever you are.

My 1st Bike Commute in Houston

2009-10-07T20:31:00.000-07:00

This post is actually a prologue to a more detailed post that will follow in a day or two. I've been so busy with the new job, trying to find a house, and being a Dad and husband that I haven't really had time to write a more descriptive post. I can't leave my readers hanging too long, so I wanted to give you a little insight into the 1st commute.

The high points (or low points) are:

There are way, way more cars in Houston than in Austin or the Rio Grande Valley. Even at 6:45a, I encountered bumper-to-bumper traffic on some of the larger streets (Beechnut and Bissonet, for the Houstonians). I used the sidewalk for a few blocks on both of these. It sounds bad, but this type of riding accounted for about 5% of my overall commute.

I used neighborhood streets to avoid traffic, which really worked out well. It required me to cross a few bayous (errr...large drainage ditches to non-Houstonians) using foot bridges, but that was actually nice, as you can see in the photos.

One of the most dangerous sections of my commute is on Wilcrest, which is a major street, with 2 lanes each direction and a bike lane too. The cars pass VERY close, and they're usually exceeding the 30-45mph speed limits. I'll be trying to find another way around this section. As you can see in the photo below, cars rule this street.

View of Bayou from Foot Bridge

One of the Foot Bridges I Cross (Dismount for Pedestrians!)

Wilcrest Drive -- The Friendliest Bike Lane in Houston (REAL PHOTO)

Overall, it was a great first commute, with only a few minor problems; as such, I'm hoping to make the commute a twice-a-week occurrence, perhaps starting next week. If you want to hear more about the commute, click back in a few days for details about my commuter rig, the commute details, and the fun of showering at work.

Getting Ready for my First Houston Bike Commute

2009-10-03T09:00:00.000-07:00

As I've mentioned, I'm in the process of prepping my mountain bike to be a commuter bike. Due to a few constraints, I was targeting this Tuesday as my first bike commute day. The shower at work needs tile repair that will be completed by Tuesday. My fenders and rack will arrive Monday and be installed Monday night. Based on the convergence of all of these details, Tuesday looked like THE DAY. Until I remembered I am working Sunday.

Due to current business conditions, my team is working rotating Sundays. Tomorrow is my first Sunday, and it struck me as a great day to ride to work. I can test out the route under minimal traffic conditions, and get empirical evidence of what I'm in for when I ride during the week. It's 14 miles each way, so I'll also get in a little exercise.

I still need to take care of a few basics. I need to go by a bike shop and pick up a seat bag since my old bag was packed away by the movers. I might buy some plain ol' Eggbeaters, as my Candy pedals are a tight fit with my new shoes. I'll throw some stuff in my backpack, including a change of clothes, baby wipes and deodorant. In other words -- I'll "make do".

I'm looking forward to a good ride tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes.

P.S. For those of you that want a homework assignment and know something about Houston bike routes, think about how you would ride from the intersection of Gessner and Briar Forest to the intersection of Corporate Drive and the Southwest Fwy (Hwy 59). Discussion to follow...

Adios Mexico

2009-09-28T04:00:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, I drove from Mission, Texas to Houston. I've made the trip dozens of times, but I'm 99.999% sure that I will never be employed in the Rio Grande Valley again, and any trips back will be strictly for pleasure. I made some great friends while living there, especially my cycling pals, and I hope to make it back down to ride with them, but I will never again be employed in the maquiladora industry.

When I was employed in the maquiladora industry, there were days when my co-workers and I would commiserate about our mutual misery. It wasn't any different than any other jobs -- I had great days and terrible days. I think that overall it was a great experience, but I remember on one particularly bad day, I promised one of my buddies that when I left Reynosa for the last time, I would play "Adios Mexico" by the Texas Tornadoes as I drove through U.S. Customs. I didn't keep the promise back in October of 2008 when I left for my temporary position in Austin, and I have regretted it for months.

On Sunday, I made up for breaking the promise. After watching movers pack up our house, I drove the family back to Houston. I played the song, and then my daughter, not realizing why I played it but loving the accordion beat, asked me to play it again. A double shot of "Adios Mexico" was just what I needed to break me out of the funk of leaving behind a life in the Rio Grande Valley, and starting a new one in Houston.

Early Morning Solo

2009-09-20T16:23:00.000-07:00

When you ride alone, you always self pay. No drafting, nobody to help change a flat, nobody there for conversation. It's just you and the bike. Lately, most of my rides have been self pay. I haven't found a local group that rivals my experience with Team McAllen, but I will continue searching. Until then, I'm on my own.

My last ride was solo, and through Bastrop and Buescher State Parks. I'm riding this route frequently, as it's near Victoria's cousin's house in Smithville, and we are frequent guests. I was on the road at sunrise. I paused at a utility right of way to absorb the beauty. To the east, I could see the sunbeams through the early morning mist.

To the west, the red dirt of the right of way made me wish I had a mountain bike. It won't happen. I'm converting my MTB to a commuter road rig, and I'll be picking it up this weekend. Having the bike should lead me to more time in the saddle, which I struggle to find right now.

While riding through the peaceful forest, I saw about a dozen deer. I stopped to take a photo of this doe. She seemed to be solo as well, but I think she had friends nearby in the forest. She let me take her photo, then ran into the forest and watched me from relative safety while I put my camera away and got back on the bike.

I'll be trying to squeeze in another self pay solo ride this week. This time, it will be on the streets of Houston. Maybe not as peaceful, but a ride is a ride.

Preparing the Urban Bike

2009-09-08T05:00:00.000-07:00

The bike lanes of Houston, at least the few that I've seen, are full of potholes, glass, cracks, and debris. I don't want to ride my road bike if I start commuting. My buddy Speedo was reading my mind, and provided me the mechanical encouragement shown in the below photograph.

It might not be obvious to you, but Speedo replaced the stock no-name front suspension fork on my Marin Hawk Hill MTB with a rigid fork. I've been wanting to do this for awhile, but hadn't made it a priority, primarily due to my out-of-work negative cash flow. Speedo decided to order the fork, go get the bike from my garage (he has the keys right now...long story), and install it. He also cleaned the bike up and waxed it. Now THAT was a surprise! Many thanks, Speedo.

Since the conversion to hybrid is basically mechanically complete, as I've replaced the tires and front fork with non-MTB versions, I now have to think about the final accoutrement that would make it a nice commuter ride. I'm thinking about:

A set of fenders that are disc brake compatible. It rains quite a bit in Houston, and I don't want to get overly wet and muddy just because it starts drizzling. I'm thinking about Planet Bike Cascadia ATB Fenders.
My handlebar grips kill my hands after a few miles. I want to replace them with some Ergon GP1 grips.
I need to install a headlight and taillight. I have a Cat Eye HL-EL500 Opticube that I'll use, but I'll need to buy a taillight. I'm thinking about buying the Cat Eye TL-LD1100. You can't have too much taillight in Houston.
I need an underseat bag, as I always used a Camelbak when I used the bike for offroad. I'll attach my RoadID Firefly Supernova to it to provide more visibility from behind.

I have a Performance Bike gift card, courtesy of my parents, and between the card, Craig's List, and eBay, I'll be trying to find some deals on this stuff. Even though I'm employed now, I don't want to go broke on this.

See you on the city streets of Houston!

A Strange Sensation in my Legs

2009-09-07T04:00:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday I rode 30 miles through Bastop and Buescher State Parks. I've done this ride before, and was looking forward to the ride as it is one of the more scenic and enjoyable routes that I've ridden. Unfortunately, within a few minutes of rolling away from Victoria's cousin's house, I felt a strange, tingling sensation in my legs.

I can only describe it as feeling like thousands of tiny vibrations, and it increased with speed. It wasn't painful, so I didn't bother to stop and investigate. When I reached my turnaround point at Bastrop State Park, I finally stopped to try to find the root cause. That's when I noticed that my legs looked like a jungle.

I'm a roadie, and a leg shaver. I've also been a bit lazy over the last couple of weeks. The first week I was travelling and not riding, so when the weekend came and I went out for a ride, I thought "my leg hair is still short enough; no need to shave". Then another week went by without riding. When I planned my Saturday ride, I knew I needed to shave, but as the ride approached, I couldn't make time to shave. As a result, on Saturday my legs were the hairiest they've been since I started road cycling.

During the ride I was feeling sensations in my legs that I haven't felt in over 3 years. It felt like sea grass moving with the rhythmic motion of the waves and currents. Or wheat blowing in the wind. It didn't feel good. As I passed other cyclists on Park Road 1C, I knew that they were staring at my legs, mortified by my rebellious, anti-cycling hygiene. I was embarrassed, and wouldn't look them in their Oakley-shaded eyes.

When I made it home, I shaved. Or rather, I clipped. Afterwards the shower floor looked like a small poodle had been groomed there. Luckily, the plumbing was able to handle the hair, and didn't clog. My legs were back to normal.

I know many will debate about the culture of leg shaving in cycling, and I won't be surprised with comments that follow that thread. Having ridden both clean and hairy, I'm going to continue to try to stick with clean. That is, unless I get too lazy again.

P.S. I changed my blog subtitle, my location, and the 'about me' section. I decided against a rename, and the changes that were made are very minor. Thanks for all of your suggestions!

Dog Tired

2009-09-06T09:18:00.000-07:00

It's unusual for me to feel tired. I don't mean physically fatigued. Of course I feel fatigued after physical exertion, but today I feel tired. How I got to this point is obvious when I look back at the events of the week.

Monday through Friday, I got up at 5:30a every day and ran my normal 3 mile loop. I took Wednesday off, but still got up early to go into work to meet with an employee. 5:30a isn't that early, except...
Lately I've been crawling into bed around 11p. Then I read for a few minutes. I'm probably asleep by 11:30p. 6 hours sleep is not enough for me. I need about 7 hours. A little more or a little less is okay, but I notice the deficit if I'm only getting 6 hours. The late hours are a function of living with family. They stay up later, we stay up later. I think I'll need to break the cycle.
This week was my first week "on my own" at the office. My trainer left to go back to his normal assignment, and the facility is now mine to manage. It has added significant stress, although I don't find myself during the day thinking "wow, this is stressful". It's just a constant buzz, and I know from experience it will subside as time goes on and improvements are made.
On Saturday, I woke up early and went for a 3o mile ride through Buescher and Bastrop State Parks. I didn't feel tired or even that fatigued, but I'm sure it contributed.
Saturday night was the Longhorns' home opener. We went to the game, then got back to the home base in Smithville around 10:30p. I set an alarm for 7:00a, with intentions of riding in Bastrop State Park again. I laid my head on the pillow thinking I would be getting up with a full 7 hours of sleep, and would have another great ride. I felt sleepy...

My daughter woke us up around 8:00a. My alarm hadn't gone off as planned. Apparently I set it for "weekdays only". I wasn't frustrated; instead, I was happy to be resting. My head felt fuzzy, my eyes puffy, and my body seemed glad to be resting. Only then did I realize I had been truly tired.

I'm taking Sunday off for a much needed day of rest. As I type, I already feel better. I'll ride Monday morning, and I know I won't be tired as I start.

Renaming my Blog

2009-09-01T05:00:00.000-07:00

I think it is time to rename my blog. I created the blog when I moved from Austin to Mission, Texas, and the title is based on the distance between the two locations. The subtitle refers to "living and cycling in South Texas", and the "About Me" section mentions that I am trying to get back to Austin, or maybe Houston. It's all wrong. It doesn't align with what is happening in my life.

I already live in Houston. I'm 331 miles from lots of places, but that doesn't matter since I have no plans to move to or from any of them. I like the history of the "331 miles" name and it has deep meaning to me, as it is associated with a very trying section of my life, during which I found cycling, perhaps coincidentally, perhaps not. What I'm dancing around is that I really want to stay with the "331 miles" name, but it just doesn't make much sense in the context of my current life.

The result is that I've been mentally batting around a few name ideas. I'll probably subtitle the blog with "formerly 331 miles", even if it's an afterthought. Here are a few ideas.

Urban Cycling Cowboy

I'm not really a cowboy, although I wear jeans and sometimes boots. I know how to two-step, and can talk redneck. I live in an urban environment, which happens to border Pasadena, where the movie was filmed.

Houston...We Have a Cyclist

SUPERCHEEZE. I know. But it's so cheezy....it's almost good.

I Want to Run Over Bud Adams with My Road Bike

You have to be an good ol' days Oilers fan to understand. Not sure if he lives here anymore, but you never know.

Hammering in Houston

The blog is mainly about cycling, right? And cycling means the occasional hammerfest. Not my fave...

Living and Cycling in the 4th Largest City in the USA, which if You Don't Know is Very, Very, Very Car-Centric

Houston has a little tiny sprawl problem. Just so ya know. Not too many bike commuters, but there are more than I thought there would be. Might subtitle this one with something that contains the word Houston, just for search purposes.

Some of these are jokes, and some are not. Regardless, please hit me with your best critical shot in the comments. I'm not in love with any of them, so don't worry about hurting my fragile feelings.

NOTE: I love Larry Gatlin's "Houston (Means I'm One Day Closer to You)" song. But I couldn't figure out how to plagiarize it and twist it into a decent blog title.

Urban (Cycling) Cowboy

2009-08-31T03:00:00.000-07:00

Before I left for training last Sunday, I had intended to get in an afternoon ride in Houston. I mapped it out using a Houston Bikeways map as a reference, and managed to find a route that originated from our temporary home and which traveled along bike lanes for 90% of the route. Due to weather and other commitments, I didn't get to ride the route that week. After an almost 2 week hiatus, I decided to ride it Sunday.

Unfortunately, I hadn't been feeling well. On Friday, I had a grilled chicken breast from a restaurant in the Tampa airport. I won't give the name, but let's call it "T.G.I. Stomach Cramps". My stomach was in lockdown Friday night, and this continued until late Saturday night. I got up Sunday morning to ride, put on my new Crocs Prepair slides (thanks cousin!) and kit, then prepped for the ride. Stomach cramps were gone, but as you can see, leg hair was not. Obviously, I've been lazy for the last 2 weeks.

I headed out on the route shown below. I knew that the route contained a wide mix of paths, including: heavily travelled, multi-lane streets, industrial routes without bike lanes, residential streets, and a few sections without bike lanes. Even though the mix seemed less than optimal due to the necessity of stop signs and signals, it was the best loop route I could find.

&amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/tx/houston/739125165696166182"&amp;amp;gt;26 Mile Bunker Hill Loop&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;br/&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/find-ride/united-states/tx/houston"&amp;amp;gt;Find more Bike Rides in Houston, Texas&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;

I headed out about 6:45a. It was light enough that I felt comfortable leaving the headlight at home, but I did use my taillight. The first mile or so of the ride did not have a bike lane. I travelled along Briar Forest, and hammered up to 21-23mph so that I could quickly reach the section that included a bike lane. From there, the next 8 miles or so all had a bike lane. Unfortunately, the bike lane was often muddy, wet, dirty, or filled with cracks and potholes. I frequently found myself using the lane, but did so safely. I eventually reached a park just north of I-10 on Kirkwood, with a bike path that followed Addicks Dam. The entry was blocked to car traffic, and the path was smooth and well marked. It was a great riding surface, although there was a little too much human and dog traffic for really fast cycling.

It didn't last long, and a few minutes later I was on the worst street of the loop: Britmoore Road. Britmoore is full of potholes, repaired potholes, debris, and has no bike lane. It travels through an industrial area, and I was passed a few times by service trucks that seemed to be in a big hurry for a Sunday. I'll have to find a way to get around Britmoore on the next ride.

The route continued on to Clay Road, and it was a pleasant surprise. The bike lane was smooth, the traffic was fairly light, and it was smooth sailing all the way to 290. When I saw 290, I realized I had missed my turn, which should have been Blalock. I turned around, and instead of riding back to Blalock, which has a bike lane, I turned on Bingle, and headed south.

Next time, I won't travel on Bingle. It had more traffic than I'm comfortable riding with, had no bike lane, and it was the only time during the ride where a car honked at me. I rode through nice neighborhoods into the Memorial area, then picked up Memorial heading west. Although Memorial doesn't have a bike lane, it is heavily used by cyclists, and I felt comfortable spinning along at 20+mph.

As I neared home, I stopped to take a photo of my bike and a street sign:

This was taken on Bunker Hill near Memorial. There is a very nice, wide sidewalk along the road, but it's just not feasible to ride a road bike on it. It has too many transitions, drainage grates, and foot traffic. My morning jog route uses this path, but I frequently see runners IN THE ROAD because they don't want to deal with the grade changes, cracks, etc. In fact, this morning I saw a dude running BACKWARDS in the street. I guess I should petition the local government to put up signs that say "Pedestrians on Roadway Prohibited".

Overall, it was a great ride. As usual, my Garmin puked, so I guess I'll finally send it in for warranty repair. Based on my frequent checks of speed and cadence, my guess is I was able to ride at 20+mph during periods of sustained effort. My stomach issues did not drag me down at all. I was nervous a few times during the urban ride, but overall, the loop route was a good one that I will probably tweak slightly and then ride again.

A Houstonian's Guide to Tampa

2009-08-28T11:10:00.001-07:00

I'm not really qualified to write about this topic, other than I'm sort of from Houston, and have spent a grand total of about 2 weeks in Tampa, Florida. I think people write about things for which they have even less knowledge and experience, so I'm exercising my blogger's rights, and writing my own Houstonian's Guide to Tampa. Here's the outline, with a book to follow:

People

People in Tampa are very similar to people in Houston. There's a ton of folks from the Midwest and Northeast, and you're just as likely to hear a Jersey accent as you are a Southern accent. It's very similar to Houston in the oil boom years. Unlike Texas, though, I did not see any "I'm not a Native Floridian, but I Got Hear as Fast as I Could" bumper stickers or stickers from a similar genre.

Weather

Absolutely no difference. Hot and humid, with afternoon thunderstorms.

Landscape

If humankind left either Houston or Tampa, within a few years the plant life will reclaim the ground. The only difference is that the earth beneath the plants will be swampy in Florida, and a blend of swamp and mud in Houston.

Dining and Nightlife

Both Tampa and Houston have all the chain restaurants you want. The inside of the hotel rooms look the same. Did I mention that I was working while I was in Tampa, and I'm a boringly (but happily) married man?

That should cover 99% of the traveling population. For the rest of you, please buy my book...or pamphlet.

Would You Rub my Neck Please?

2009-08-27T16:48:00.001-07:00

I woke up today, took a shower, and when I was drying my back I felt my neck meat tighten up into a snarl of barbed wire. This happens every few months, and is related to an old injury. About ten years ago I was following the Body for Life program, and was doing some seated dumbbell shoulder presses. I was using poor form, straining and pushing my head against the headrest (unlike Mr. Man in the below photo), when I felt something pull in my neck. Since then, I wake up with a stiff neck every few months or so.

Usually, I take an over-the-counter anti-inflammatory, and painfully muddle my way through the day(s) until my neck loosens. Today, the longer I sat in new employee training, the more my mind focused on the pain in my neck. During a break, I looked up the nearest location for Massage Envy, and made an appointment.

When I made the appointment, I thought the receptionist said "Marcella" was available for the massage, but when I arrived I realized it would be "Marcelo". He showed me to the room, and I explained that my neck was killing me. He asked me to describe the pain, and then acted like treating it wouldn't take the full hour. I mentioned that I was a cyclist, and he said he would also work on my calves, hamstrings, and quads.

He left the room, I disrobed down to my whitey-tighties, crawled under the sheet. I waited on him, secure in my manhood, and he came back into the room and started working on my neck and back. As usual, it was slightly painful. It felt like he was singulating each muscle, and as he found tight spots he would mention them to me. Each time, I knew he had hit one BEFORE he said anything. The relief was incredible. He worked for about 30 minutes, then moved down to my legs.

I've never had deep tissue massage on my legs, and it was intense. At one point, he worked my calf in a way that caused my foot to cramp, but then he worked on the pressure point in the foot until it released. It felt amazing. He talked about calcium deposits, drinking enough water, pressure points, constrictions, and other things I don't really understand or necessarily believe. But what I do know is that when he was finished, I felt great, and had much less pain in my neck.

If you've never had a massage, get one. It's not inexpensive, and I've paid anywhere from $40 to $60 per hour, but it's well worth the cost if you have the funds. It will treat what ails you.

Exercising but not Feeling Fit

2009-08-26T16:42:00.001-07:00

I haven't ridden a single mile since August 15. That's a lifetime to me. Since then, I've been exercising almost daily, but it just doesn't feel the same. Here's the breakdown:

Sun Aug 16 -- Off
Mon Aug 17 -- Ran 3 miles, 6mph, ~325 calories burned
Tue Aug 18 -- Ran 3 miles, 6mph, ~325 calories burned
Wed Aug 19 -- Off
Thu Aug 20 -- Ran 3 miles, 6mph, ~325 calories burned
Fri Aug 21 -- Ran 3 miles, 6mph, ~325 calories burned
Sat Aug 22 -- Ran 3 miles, 6mph, ~325 calories burned
Sun Aug 23 -- Ran 3 miles, 6mph, ~325 calories burned
Mon Aug 24 -- 30 minutes on exercise bike ~200 calories burned
Tue Aug 25 -- 30 minutes on elliptical cross trainer ~200 calories burned
Wed Aug 26 -- 30 minutes on exercise bike ~225 calories burned

Sorry that I was too lazy to create a table for the data, but regardless, there is an obvious difference between this level of exercise and cycling. When I ride, I generally spend at least 2 hours on the bike. And in general, I burn 2000 or more calories. And for the last 5 months, I was doing that at least twice a week. These paltry 200 calorie days just don't match up. As a result, I don't feel as fit.

I'm going to make it a priority to get on the bike this weekend, even though Vic, the kids, and I are going to my parents' for a family gathering. Next week, I think I'm going to bite the bullet and try to commute by bike one day, even if it means riding in the rain. I must figure out a way to get on the bike more.

P.S. I don't enter a lot of contests, but I sure would love to win a new rig from MADSEN Cargo Bikes. Click through and help me win!

Trading Running for Riding

2009-08-23T18:46:00.000-07:00

I love to ride my bike. But as long as I've been riding, I've supplemented my riding with running. I don't love running, nor do I hate it but I do view it as a necessity. I've learned over the past 39 years that if I don't exercise 4-5 days out of 7, I will gain weight. Since I can't ride 5 days out of 7, I run when I can't ride.

Since I've started a new job and am living in a new city, I haven't been able to ride as much, so I've been religiously waking up at 5:30a and running in the neighborhood. I run 3 miles at a little faster than a ~~6 minute pace~~ 10 minute pace, so it's not really running...it's more like jogging. But I still burn about 300 calories, which is what's important. It also gets my metabolism cranked up for the day, and gives me a sense of accomplishment.

The below map shows the route I take every day. Join me! I'll be the guy sweating buckets, and pushing the strands of spiderweb that pop up every night out of my way.

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-states/tx/houston/357125107998582839"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;3 Mile Loop in Piney Point&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br/&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyrun.com/find-run/united-states/tx/houston"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Find more Runs in Houston, Texas&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

Limbo

2009-08-18T18:29:00.000-07:00

A little over two weeks ago I started my new job in Houston. Last week, my daughter registered at her new elementary school in Houston. Both vehicles are now EZTagged, which lets us zip through the Houston toll roads. I've finished my first group ride with Northwest Cycling Club. We're settling in, but not completely -- we don't have a home.

Fortunately, Victoria's cousin lives in Houston, has a large home, and a generous heart. She's allowing us to stay with her, so we've moved in to two of her upstairs bedrooms. Meanwhile, the house in McAllen was put on the market the week I started my new job. Speedo is providing some periodic housesitting services, which is much appreciated. My parents are temporarily keeping Eric (our outdoor cat), and Victoria's parents are keeping Riley (the indoor cat). Although I know we've covered the bases for now, until the house sells I'll feel like we're in limbo.

Limbo might be synonymous with unease, but in our case, it is assuaged by my finally being employed, but more importantly, by having family and friends that are so extremely helpful. Thanks, ya'll!

First Houston Group Ride

2009-08-17T04:25:00.000-07:00

I apologize to my readers for not updating more frequently. Between the new job, temporary housing, and related details, I have not been able to squeeze in time for the blog. I'll figure it out, but in the meantime, the posts may not be as frequent as they have previously been.

This past weekend I completed my first Houston group ride. Based on advice from friends and online research, I chose the Northwest Cycling Club Saturday Ride. I had to drive 30 miles to get to the ride start, but on the way I noticed lots of other cyclists doing the same thing, which made me feel a bit better about polluting. I arrived at 7:00a, saw about 75 cars in the parking lot, and realized this was going to be a big ride.

As the 7:30a start time approached, I estimate that about 125 cyclists gathered around the ride starter to listen to announcements and prepare to ride. I've only ridden in groups this size on organized charity rides, so I was skeptical of organization. But promptly at 7:30a, the starter directed the first group to roll out, and I was encouraged by the punctuality. As I recall he categorized them as 20 mph +. Only about 8 riders rolled, so not wanting to bite off a ride with too much fast pulling, I hung back for the 2nd group. This group was more than 20 riders strong, and we quickly formed a double paceline and sped up to 20 mph. My skepticism regarding organization was gone, and I felt I was on a good ride with a good group.

A few miles passed, and the fast group merged with our slower group. And not too much later, the fast group split again; my guess is they were hoping that a few more riders would join. Another 6-8 of us granted their wish and went with them. From there on, it was a personal hammerfest. It was a strong, fast ride, with riders breaking away and forcing the pack to pick up speed and chase them. I loved it, but it wasn't without it's group nuances.

One of the riders had the physique of rugby player, and was sporting a black kit. A New Zealand All Black, perhaps? His upper legs were as big as my torso, and he was the kind of rider that would easily sprint up from the back of the group, grab a buddy, and break away for a few minutes. Midway through the ride, I noticed the speed increasing. Over a few minute span, we ramped up to nearly 30 mph. As the speed peaked, suddenly All Black was out of the saddle, and taking a few riders with him. Dang it. As I saw a wide gap open up, I realized that I had missed a city limits, county line, or some other sprint marker.

After we passed the stop-sign-warning-sign that marked the end of the sprint, I rode up next to All Black and asked if I had missed a sprint marker. He said that I had, and I congratulated him on a strong sprint. He said something like "I didn't give it my full effort, because I have a cracked crank". He then turned to a buddy and asked "hey was that my full sprint?" I smiled politely, and then as quickly as was safely possible I dropped back to ride next to someone that wasn't quite as full of themselves and had more reliable equipment.

Overall, it was a great group ride. I finished more than 44 miles, with an average of 23 mph, and a max speed of 33 mph. For me, that is a "wow" ride. I'll be back, and I'll even give All Black the benefit of the doubt...at least, I will if he replaces his crank before it catastrophically fails.

POSTSCRIPT: As seems to be the norm, my Garmin powered down midway through the ride. It captured some of the stats, but not all. The average MPH I quote above is based on data given to me by a fellow rider. I'm sending this thing in for repairs, but in the meantime, here's the link to the ride data that it DID capture.

Cycling Across the Trinity

2009-08-09T18:31:00.000-07:00

Due to my starting a new job this week and my wife finishing hers, my kids were staying with my in-laws. Vic drove up from south Texas on Friday, we spent the night with cousins, then drove out on Saturday to both pick up the kids and spend the weekend with the in laws and extended family. Since I hadn't cycled all week, I made sure Vic was okay with me cycling on Sunday, and took the bike.

On Saturday afternoon, my father-in-law and I scouted the area for a good route. I had some ideas, but wanted to drive some of the potential routes to verify surface and safety. The routes were in rural east Texas, where I grew up, and even while riding in the truck with the windows up I swore I heard the faint notes of "Dueling Banjos". My father-in-law mentioned several times that some of these folks back in the woods might not look to kindly on a lycra-clad fancy lad riding through their area. Undeterred, I picked a route that combined some larger roads with a VERY backwoods segment that followed some winding, narrow country roads.

I woke up Sunday at 6:00a, and was on the road by 6:20a. I thought the banjo-pickers wouldn't be up that early. It was humid and warm, typical east Texas weather, and with virtually zero wind. A few miles from the start I ran into a little fog. Fog makes cycling dangerous, but it was beautiful. Thunderstorms were in the area, highlighted by the rising sun, and I stopped to snap a photo.

2 miles later, I connected with Highway 105, and had a nice wide shoulder. I paced up to about 20 mph, enjoying the smooth pavement and lack of traffic. It couldn't last, and eventually I found an area that had been drenched by the thunderstorms, and the roads were still wet enough that me and the bike got filthy. Even with the grit, I felt great. It's always nice to get back on the bike after a week of only being able to find time to jog.

On the way back, I stopped to take a photo of the Trinity River crossing. Trinity...I started modifying the religious concept to match my addiction to cycling. The first thing that entered my mind was an idea from my buddy Speedo. He says that cycling jerseys should be a combination of red, white, and black to symbolize the trinity of blood, bone, and bruises. Don't know if I agree with that, because I really like other colors. What about other cycling trinities? Gears, wheels, and a frame. The Tour, Giro, and Vuelta. Calves, quads, and glutes. Regardless of the trio, they symbolize the religious fervor that most of us cyclists put on the activity.

I didn't stay in my trinity-inspired reverie for long. I focused on completing the route and not falling on the slick road. I finished 37 miles in 1'57", with a moving average of 19 mph. I was pretty happy with that, considering it was my first time on the route, streets were slick, and I hadn't ridden in a week. If you want more ride data, including a map that you can use to find the Trinity, you can find it here.

P.S. Ultimately I didn't ride on the more rural, isolated roads due to some nasty chip-seal. I didn't realize how bad it was when driving on it, but once on the bike it was bad enough that I changed the route.

First Few Days in Houston

2009-08-04T18:58:00.000-07:00

I think of myself as being an Austinite, as Vic and I moved there as newlyweds in 1994, and lived there (mostly) until 2006. Since the move to south Texas was always planned as a temporary move, we frequently talked about the move back to Austin. It almost happened, but instead we're relocating to Houston, and on Monday I started my new job.

I almost hate to admit it, but after two days here, Houston already feels like home. It should, because even though I think of myself as an Austinite, the city and I have history. I grew up 40 miles from Houston, and attended the University of Houston from 1988 through 1994. I'm an Astros fan, was an Oilers fan, and I've always liked the city. Vic and I were were married here at the University of Houston A.D. Bruce Religion Center Chapel. We both like Houston.

Unfortunately, it's not quite as cycling-friendly as Austin or even south Texas. The car-based sprawl is intimidating to someone that is used to starting rides from home. For my first few days here, I've replaced cycling with jogging. Today, I'm trying to find a Wednesday evening club ride. If I can locate a good ride that doesn't require 20 miles of driving, I'll count my first few days in Houston as extremely successful, and will have another reason to like the city.

The Wind is Your Friend

2009-07-31T07:11:00.000-07:00

If you're a cyclist, you've heard this phrase. If you're like me, you usually want to punch the person that says it.

In fact, the wind is not your friend. It is just another element that cyclists face when riding. You can lump it in with chip seal, gravel on the road in a turn, debris in intersections, cyclists that hit the brakes in a paceline, and other challenges you encounter on the road. The wind might be a friend if you use it to your advantage in a race or to take a rest when you have it at your back, but it hurts so much when you ride into it, if it's a friend, it's the worst ever.

Yesterday, I met Speedo at 5:30p to ride the scheduled Thursday night Team McAllen ride. Much like Austin, where the official temperature is taken in a low spot near the airport and always seems to be much lower than what everyone really experiences, Speedo tells me that the wind speed at McAllen is taken next to a hangar at the airport, and is always lower than what we really see out on our rural rides. So when I checked the wind speed history on Weather Underground and saw the below graph, I knew why yesterday's ride was so tough.

It's a bit hard to see unless you zoom into the image, but we faced winds of 15-20mph, with gusts of 25-30mph. We both think that is a 5-8mph underestimation. As we rode side by side, Speedo commented that he was leaning over about 30 degrees to counteract the wind, and that was while riding in my generous leeward side. And not only was the wind stiff, it was blowing air that was superheated: 100F at the start, 92F at the finish. If the wind was indeed our friend, it was counteracted by the actions of its weather buddy Mr. Temperature.

When you cycle in Texas, you have no choice. I know...Texas ain't the only hot and windy locale, but I write about what I know. Speedo and I faced the hot wind, and rode 25 miles. We hammered, but we could only hold 16-18mph into the wind. On the back side of our loop route, we pushed up to 35mph. Is that the part where the wind was my friend? I think not, as friends don't usually push your heart rate to 95% of your max. I told Speedo that I wasn't about to puke, but I could see the point of no return.

We did four loops, 6 miles each, and I was cooked. I had consumed 2 bottles of sport drink, and half a bottle of water. It was time to go home. As tough as these 25 miles were, I LOVED IT. If not for other commitments, I would be out there again today, accompanied by my friend Speedo and my supposed friend the wind.

For the data-philes, here's a link to my ride data. I wish it accurately portrayed the pain.

POSTSCRIPT: Perhaps I'll write another blog post about this; if so, here's a preview. About 1.5 years ago, I decided to train for and ride a 2-day ride from McAllen to San Antonio. I used a technique I've used in my professional life: find some mentors with proven ability and skills, and learn from them. I didn't tell them, but I chose Speedo, the Major, and Dutchman. I rode with or near them every chance I got, and still do. Their mentoring has been invaluable and I have enjoyed their friendship. When I leave the valley, I will miss them all.

Getting Two Job Offers During the Recession

2009-07-30T11:31:00.000-07:00

Over the last 5 months, I've been very open about my job search. I've blogged about it, tweeted about it, and frequently updated my status on LinkedIn and Facebook. I've received lots of encouragement and advice, and when I posted to LinkedIn that I had received two offers, one of the members of my network immediately asked me what I had done to be able to get two offers.

Since I was out of work for 5 very long months, I know the frustration of not having offers, not getting call backs, and thinking more about what happens if you don't get work instead of how to go about getting work. I'm going to publish what I did over the last 5 months, not because it is groundbreaking, but because it led to 2 offers and perhaps someone else will find it useful in their job search.

Clearly Defined the Jobs and Industries for my Job Search

Most of us have held more than one title during our careers. In my case, I have been an engineer, an engineering manager, a program manager, an IT consultant, a manufacturing manager, and a plant manager. I narrowed my search to 3 job titles: plant manager, senior engineer, and program manager.

Additionally, I decided to focus my search on electronics manufacturing, medical, and energy. This was based partially on my geographic focus, but also on factors such as future growth, opportunity, and match to my background.

Focused my Search Geographically

I spoke with my spouse, and decided I would only look for jobs in Texas. Specifically, I would look in Austin, Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, and McAllen, and by that order of preference. Before I narrowed my search, I was getting calls from recruiters all over the USA. If I had not narrowed my search, I think I would have been overwhelmed with non-productive inquiries.

Revised my Resume to Match Career Goal

This one might sound simple, but I took my 3 job titles and created 3 different but similar resumes. I then created 3 geographic versions of each: one with my current address, one with a family member's address in Houston, and one with a family member's address in Austin. The math is easy: 9 different resumes. Depending on location and job, I would select and submit the best match of the 9. It's important to note that when interviewed, I quickly mentioned that the address was temporary and that I was transition from South Texas to another geographic location based on job availability. I didn't want anyone to think I was a liar, and simply being totally straightforward during the interviews resolved the potential issue.

I also revised the content of my resume using feedback I received from job search websites, recruiters, and friends. I made some very drastic changes based on feedback I received from The Ladders.

Networked and Used Social Media

I networked 3 basic ways: by phone, by e-mail, and by social media. The day after I was laid off, I sent a global e-mail to all my professional contacts telling them my situation. I then called a few key contacts. Lastly, I updated my LinkedIn profile and status.

IMPORTANT NOTE #1: one of my offers originated through a former boss that noticed my status change on LinkedIn. I had communicated with him about once every 6 months since leaving the company some 8 years ago. Weak link? Yes, but strong enough to get my name in front of a recruiter.

I also used Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to keep my network updated. I updated them daily, often more than once per day. It is amazing how much positive feedback and referrals you can get from friends and acquaintances that you primarily only know through social media.

Worked the Job

I worked on my job hunt from 8a to 12p every day, and often more. I was lucky to review all of my automated search e-mails, websites, and network messages in 4 hours. Some people say it's a full time job -- I disagree. It's not truly full time, but sometimes it's HARDER than a full time job, and it always feels like more is at stake.

I also attended two career fairs, which were a total waste in terms of job leads, but helped me hone my interviewing skills. They also made me feel like I was actually accomplishing something, even if I didn't land a job through the fair.

Diligently Worked Job Sites

There are tons of job sites. Three that I really like and used daily were Indeed, Trovix, and The Ladders (paid subscriber). I also dabbled with Careerbuilder and Monster, but it wasn't fun. I received more spam and junk from Careerbuilder and Monster than I did real job leads.

IMPORTANT NOTE #2: The offer that I eventually accepted originated with Indeed, although Indeed was linking to a posting on Monster. I WOULD HAVE NEVER FOUND THE JOB THROUGH MONSTER if not for Indeed.

Turned Down Inferior Positions

I wasn't scared to tell potential employers that I wasn't interested. It's a key part of building your career, even if you're hungry for employment. I told two different employers, Eaton and Scott Fertilizer, that I was not interested in pursuing the opportunity they presented. It scared me to do it, but I knew that the jobs were not right for my career. If I had accepted one, I would have missed out on two very good offers.

Executed on the Basics

This one might be obvious, but it's important. Any time someone talked to me about a job or my career, whether they were an employer or recruiter, I sent a thank you note. I prefer e-mail for recruiter follow-up, but I sent letters on 100% cotton paper to anyone who interviewed me. I also followed up any application with a phone call, e-mail, or letter IF I could find good contact information.

I hope someone out there finds this useful. Me? I hope it's the last post I ever write about job searching. I'd rather be cycling, and writing about cycling!

How to Hurt Yourself Cycling

2009-07-26T18:43:00.000-07:00

Here's one of my favorite ways to hurt myself cycling:

Don't ride much for about two weeks. A little jogging is okay, even a day or two of interval training. But you can only ride less than 100 miles each week.
At the end of two weeks, mow your grass in 100F heat. Make sure you don't hydrate, and that you're exhausted when you're finished.
Plan a ride for the day after you mow the grass. The start temp for the ride has to be at least 80F.
On the day of the ride, drink a Coke Zero and eat a breakfast bar. Don't consume too many calories, as you don't want to have much energy for the ride.
When you ride from home to your scheduled team ride, really push. Try to hold 20mph into a 10mph headwind. The absolute best day for a ride like this is the last day of the Tour de France. It will make you work harder because you'll be excited about cycling.
When you get to the start of the ride and they call out for the "fast" riders to start, go with them, even though there's only 5 in the group. Don't second guess yourself and ride with the big group of intermediates. Remember -- the less people, the more pulling, and pulling is a real key ingredient in the "how to hurt yourself" recipe.
As you ride along in the 5 man paceline, don't admit to yourself (or to the paceline) that you can't hold 26mph into the headwind. When one guy drops out, don't even think about dropping back with him. That might reduce some of the hurt. Instead, keep rotating and pulling in the now FOUR man rotation.
When you finally finish your first course of hurt and just can't do another turn at the front, you shouldn't drop back and ride 19mph with the 20+ intermediates that are enjoying drafting in a double pace line. Instead, lose the wheel of the rider in front of you, and let them get 50 yards ahead of you. Then let a really strong rider drop back and pick you up. You'll feel challenged to suck wheel back to the other two "fast" riders. It looks easy on TV, but drafting back to the group HURTS, and never forget that you're looking for hurt.
Once you're back to the main group, keep struggling through your pulls in the paceline. Eventually, someone will hurt you in an entirely different way, and tell you to sit out a turn because you look exhausted.
Lastly, as you near the end of the ride and the sprint to the gas station begins, go ahead and get out of the saddle. Even though you've been living in a world of hurt, there's a wholly different universe of hurt waiting for you in the sprint. What will hurt the most is realizing that there is no way that you can catch the other 3 "fast" riders in the sprint. You won't be on the informal podium. But you will be at the top of the podium of HURT.

Of course, these 10 steps are based on a real series of events that culminated with my Sunday ride. It hurt. It hurt badly. Here's a link to the hurt data.

Let me know if you need any other help with ways to hurt yourself cycling. I've got more.

Summary of Very Long Week

2009-07-25T06:26:00.000-07:00

It has been a tough but good week. I haven't had time to write a blog post, but I want to show my dear readers why:

Monday

Drove 50 miles from Smithville, Texas to Austin for a drug test. Drove back. Packed and loaded kids, bikes, and tons of stuff. Drove 5 hours from Smithville to Mission, Texas. Umph. Long, long day.

Tuesday

Recovered from being away from home for over a week. Unpacked, then rode 40 miles with Speedo. Received offer with Austin company. Woohoo! Started preparations for traveling to Tampa, Florida to interview for Houston job.

Wednesday

Prepped for interview and flight. Had to iron and starch my best cotton dress shirt with french cuffs. This proves to be harder than interval training. Flight departed at 3:55p, and I arrived at hotel in Tampa at 10:15p. Shirt was wrinkled again, so I had to do a little touch up. Oh the humanity.

Thursday

Got up early and rode 30 minutes on hotel exercise bike. The wide, extra-padded seat felt like I was sitting on a lumpy pillow on top of my Fi:zik saddle. How can anyone think a seat like this is comfortable? If I had ridden much longer, my thighs would have caught fire from chafing friction.

Interviewed with all sorts of VPs from 9:00a-2:30p. Had a delicious Italian meal at lunch, and managed to not get any sauce on my white shirt. This was a good sign. Flew home, and walked in the door at about 10:45p.

Oh yeah -- it was my 15th wedding anniversary too. What a day!

Friday

Received verbal offer on Houston job. Wahoo! Drove 1.5 hours to drop off kids with wife's sister. Drove back home, and had a date night with my love. We and 8 other patrons saw Public Enemies, which I thought was a pretty good flick. I love Micheal Mann's films. We then ate at a chain Italian restaurant that serves chianti in water glasses. It was still pretty good, and we had a great time.

Nutshell? It was obviously a long week. Next week will be a slow down, so I hope to get in some rides and some substantive posts. And the most important part...make a decision on the two offers. Wish me luck...

Ride it Like it's Hot

2009-07-21T09:10:00.001-07:00

Actually, it IS hot. Not stolen, but 100F+ hot. I read yesterday that McAllen has reached 100F or more for the last 20 days. We have had very little rain. Vegetation is parched, brown, and ready to burn. On my way home from Smithville yesterday, I drove through a grass fire along the highway. It...is...hot.

If I want to ride, I must fight the temperature. I can either ride early on the hybrid bike with kids in tow, or ride late on the road rig. Today, I will choose riding late on the road rig. It will probably be around 102F when I leave home. But it's worth it.

When I sweat, I'll drink from one of the three bottles I'll carry. If sweat gets in my eyes, I'll douse the eye burn with cool water. Sunscreen will prevent the hot sun from charring my skin. Sunglasses will block the sun's searing rays. The wind I create by riding at 18-20mph will cool me down just a little.

Even with all of my measures and counter-measures, it condenses down to the purely mental: do I think it's too hot to ride, or is it just another item on the long list of pains and discomforts that comprise cycling? I choose to believe it is mental, and I choose to ride.

There Aren't Any Pine Trees in Texas

2009-07-18T13:34:00.000-07:00

When I first moved to Austin, I worked with a guy who had spent most of his life in California, and had only lived in Texas for a few months. One day, we started talking about the differences between California and Texas, and he said "I just wish we had pine trees in Texas. I really miss the redwoods and pines". I politely told him that I grew up in east Texas, near the Big Thicket, and if he left central Texas and headed east, he'd see as many pine trees as he wanted to see.

In fact, you barely have to drive 35 miles east of Austin before you find large stands of pine trees in Bastrop. The area is so beautiful that the state designated two state parks in the area: Bastrop State Park and Buescher State Park. When I lived in Austin, I heard lots of stories about driving along secluded and shady Park Road 1C between the two parks, and also that the MS150 ride traveled that route on the second day of the ride. Even though it was close by, I never rode Park Road 1C when I lived in Austin.

About a year ago, Victoria's cousin bought some property in Smithville, near Bastrop, and this weekend I find myself staying with them. We've visited before, only I've never had my bike with me. This weekend, I have it. I got up this morning, and decided to ride Park Road 1C. I got up at 6a, brushed my teeth, and ate a breakfast that included mandatory pre-ride nutrients: calories and caffeine. I almost never drink a real Coke, but that was the only caffeine available. The pastry is a delicious kolache from Hruska's in Ellinger, Texas.

From Bastrop and Buescher State Park Ride

I rode east on Highway 71, which is an uber-busy highway connecting Austin and I-10. Luckily, I only had to ride about a 1/2 mile until I turned towards Buescher State Park. I rode in, and the park headquarters was closed, but the gates were open, so I kept riding. I was immediately in awe of the smooth, twisting, hilly road, shaded by pines and other trees. My rides in both McAllen and Austin rarely have shade, and almost never are on a road as solitary and isolated as Park Road 1C. I only encountered two cars, even though I was on the road from about 6:45a to 10:00a. I took the photo below, but most of the road was even shadier than this slightly inclined section.

From Bastrop and Buescher State Park Ride

The road rides a ridge line just east of Highway 71, and rolls from hilltop to creek bottom over and over again. I paused at the top of one of the ridge lines to take the below photo with my iPhone. It's not a mountain vista, but for central Texas, it is sweetness.

From Bastrop and Buescher State Park Ride

After the short stop, I rode on, using all the gears in my drive train. I alternated between slogging up steep but short grades, then bombing down to the next creek bottom. I would easily hit speeds of 25-30 mph, then slow to 7-10 mph on the uphill. One one downhill, I encountered a group of cyclists that were on road bikes and dressed in full road kit. They seemed a bit less fit and experienced. Several were just chugging up the hill, but one was walking his bike, one was zigzagging / paperboying up the hill, and one had her bike upside down on the side of the road with what I suspect was a chainsuck problem. I had to whistle a couple of times to keep from hitting the zigzagger and another in the group that wasn't paying attention. Scary stuff, because a car would potentially have hit them.

While zooming down, I kept an eye out for more errant cyclists as well as gravel and pine needles, which were piled deep on the sides of the road, but only drifted into one intersection requiring me to slow to a walking pace. For the most part, the road was free of gravel, potholes, and debris, and the road surface was excellent.

From Bastrop and Buescher State Park Ride

While riding the up-and-down rollers, I took a photo of one of the more picturesque creek bottoms, known as Alum Creek. There was still a little water in the creek, but the deep drought has reduced it to stagnant pools. It was hard to imagine that there are times when the road is an impassable low-water crossing, and that the water would reach up the 5' depth stick installed near the creek bed.

From Bastrop and Buescher State Park Ride

A few miles into the ride, the road exits Buescher State Park, passes through private property, then enters Bastrop State Park. Eventually, you reach the Bastrop State Park headquarters. I had been wondering if I should have paid an entry fee, so I stopped at headquarters and looked for some help. It was closed, but I found my answer.

From Bastrop and Buescher State Park Ride

For my non-Texan readers, if a park sign explicitly references bicycles, then the park must be getting TONS of bicycle traffic. Otherwise, we cyclists usually just get ignored. I dropped my $5 entry fee in the drop box, gulped some fluids, and simultaneously watched a few golfers on the park course. It's a public course, and seems to be fairly heavily used.

From Bastrop and Buescher State Park Ride

After my short break, I turned back towards Buescher State Park. This time, I really bombed the downhills, and made sure I used momentum to keep from exerting too much energy on the short climbs. I still found myself out of gears and out of the saddle a couple of times, but it wasn't too tough. I stopped in one gorgeous stand of pines that had been thinned by a fire a few years earlier. The iPhone photos can't convey the beauty of these pines in the early morning sun.

From Bastrop and Buescher State Park Ride

On the way back home, I took a detour down KLBJ Road, which cut off some of my travel on dangerous Highway 71. while on KLBJ Road, I had to stop and take a couple of photos: one for my loyal reader and Twitter follow GTratter, and another for M.E.-Rider. GTratter wanted a "Blue Bell Ice Cream Cow Heaven" cow photo, and M.E. makes fun of my dorky face shots. Quick explanation of the surreal face photo -- I was making a face that my 2-year old calls "skeewry", and pulled the camera away while the shutter was in action. It's a freaky photo.

From Bastrop and Buescher State Park Ride

SUMMARY, RIDE STATS AND MAP

This is now one of my favorite short rides in Texas. It's smooth, shady, picturesque, lightly traveled, and close to both Austin and Houston. I highly recommend it. If you want to ride Park Road 1C, here's a link to the route I took and my ride data, with a screen shot of the map shown below. If you're not a click-through kind of reader, here's a summary of the ride data:

Distance: 34 miles

Elevation Gain: 2436 ft

Calories: 2419

Avg Speed: 16.3 mph

Max Speed: 35.5 mph

From Bastrop and Buescher State Park Ride

Lastly, when I was looking at the map, I clicked over to the satellite image, and saw a stunning landscape modification / satellite photo easter egg that a local landowner has created. Have a look at the right edge of the photo. It should be obvious.

From Bastrop and Buescher State Park Ride

My First Ride in Houston

2009-07-16T13:41:00.001-07:00

Today was my first chance to get in a decent ride this week, and I took advantage of the opportunity and rode a 40 mile loop around Fulshear, Brookshire, and Katy. This was the first time I'd ridden in the Houston area, and before I selected this route, I was concerned about finding a route that was relatively safe.

I posted route requests to a couple of cycling forums, and the route I chose was suggested by a member of the University of Houston Cycling Team. Based on the source, I was pretty confident that it would be a good, relatively safe route. I dropped Betsy off at camp, and drove about 2 miles to a convenience store that was on the route. I drove part of the route on my way to the store, and was glad to see nice, wide shoulder.

Once at the store, I prepped all of my gear, and by the time I got on the bike at 8:30a, it was already about 85F. I felt great from the first pedal stroke, and started riding with high intensity. I was holding about 20mph, but I could tell my heart rate was surging. I haven't been riding much the last 2 weeks, and it felt great to push myself and even to be short of breath.

A few miles down the road, and I stopped for my first of several map checks. I was sweating like crazy, so I snapped a quick self portrait. It's hard to tell in my low-res iPhone photo, but sweat was dripping off my nose. I was soaked already.

While stopped I took another photo of the parched coastal prairie. The drought has browned most of the grass, except for areas that have been irrigated. As you can see in the photo, it's flat in Houston just like in the Rio Grande Valley. I felt at home, except it wasn't nearly as windy as my RGV rides.

After I took these photos, I turned onto a small two-lane road, and suddenly there were rolling hills, creeks, and pasture land. It was very pretty, but I didn't stop to take a photo. I plan on riding again tomorrow, so perhaps I'll stop and take a photo.

During the 40 mile ride, I saw about 15 other cyclists on the route. I take that as a good sign, as it was a weekday and a little late for most cyclists. My guess is that this route will be very heavily traveled on weekends. The route I took is shown below, and a link to my ride data and map is here. I highly recommend the route, and look forward to riding it tomorrow and maybe more frequently in the future.

The 2nd Longest Day

2009-07-15T16:26:00.000-07:00

Today felt like the longest day. Ever. I drove all over Texas, had an interview, drove all over Texas again, and made it back to Houston in time to pick up my daughter from camp. I couldn't name this post "The Longest Day", because it felt tangentially disrespectful to D-Day since there's a movie about D-Day with that name, but I'm okay with this being the 2nd longest day, so long as you understand that for ME, it was THE LONGEST DAY.

The day started at 5:00a. I woke up, showered, got dressed in my monkey suit, and was on the road by 5:30a. I'm not a real fancy lad, but my monkey suit consists of undergarments, nice 100% cotton dress shirt, cuff links that were a gift from my brother on the occasion of his wedding, dress belt, a non-Timex Ironman watch, my black summerweight wool suit, nice tie, and real shoes and socks. I wore all of this, sans jacket, while driving 170 miles from Houston to Austin. I still felt uncomfortable in the remaining clothing and accoutrements, but I got used to it all after about 50 miles.

I stopped in Brenham for coffee and a scone for breakfast, managed to not spill any on my white shirt, and still made it to Georgetown (just north of Austin) in barely three hours. I lived in Austin from 1994 to 2006, and never visited downtown Georgetown. It's a lovely town, with an old town square area around the courthouse. It's filled with buildings that look like the one in the below photo.

I made it to the interview with plenty of time to spare. I met with my potential manager, as well as a few other folks. Afterwards, they took me to lunch at The Monument Cafe, which was absolutely great. Good food, great building, and the service was prompt and courteous. The interview was my 2nd on-site, and my 3rd including a phone interview. I'm very optimistic about this opportunity.

I left Georgetown about 1pm, and headed southwest the way I came. I took TX-130, which is a new (to me) toll road running north-south along the eastern border of Austin. It allowed me to avoid I-35, probably shaving 30 minutes or more from my trip. It's not exactly heavily used, at least at 1p. I don't think I was passed by even one car heading the same direction, and maybe passed 50 cars going the other direction on the 20 mile segment.

On my way back to Houston, I took a different route to facilitate picking up my daughter. It took me through the outskirts of La Grange. Yes, that La Grange....but now, I might...be...mistaken....hmm...hmm...hmm...hmm.

I arrived back in Houston about 1.5 hours early to pick up my daughter. I tried to think of a place to change out of my suit, and remembered that Starbuck's usually has "one holer" bathrooms. I found one along my route, and luckily it had the restroom I expected. I occupied it for a few minutes, and changed into shorts and t-shirt. More than one person rattled the door handle, which is unfortunate for them, but it worked out great for me. It didn't surprise me that when I left carrying all of my clothing, I got a few strange looks from the patrons. I'm not sure if they were angry that I occupied the room for so long, or if they were surprised to see me using the restroom as my personal dressing area.

I still had time to kill, so I drank a non-fat latte, got a quick haircut, then picked up my daughter just in time. We made it back home by about 6pm. I've crammed more stuff into a day, but 340 miles of driving and almost 4 hours of interviewing tweaked this into one of the most stressful and long days I've experienced. Now if I can only land the job, it will all be worth it!

Houston Means that I'm One Day Closer

2009-07-13T09:16:00.000-07:00

The Trip to Houston

Victoria and I packed up the truck on Sunday, and I drove to Houston with the girls. Victoria's cousin Lori had invited us to stay the week with her, and arranged for Betsy to attend horseback riding camp all week. With three of us in my little Nissan crew cab, I had to stack luggage in the front seat, as well as pack some gear in the truck bed. It was a little crowded, but we managed to get all of our stuff in the truck, plus I had room for my cycling kit and bike.

I haven't traveled alone before with both girls, but we're now 24 hours into the trip and things are going well. No meltdowns, either by me or by them. Everyone ate well yesterday and slept well last night, and this morning I dropped off Betsy at camp right on time. If the rest of the week goes this beautifully, I'll be elated!

Home to Houston?

One of my strongest job leads is for a position in Houston. I've interviewed by phone with Human Resources, as well as with the VP that I would report to if I am hired. I found out late last week that they will be flying me to headquarters in Tampa for another interview. Unless something goes terribly wrong, I think I'm moving quickly towards an offer and moving to Houston.

Although my blog is based on my move from Austin to the Rio Grande Valley and my cycling adventures in both cities, I have a deep history in Houston. I grew up 50 miles from Houston, and earned two degrees from the University of Houston. Additionally, Victoria and I moved from Austin to Houston for a couple of years (2001-2002), but moved back to Austin when it didn't work out. We still like Houston, and consider it a close 2nd to Austin in terms of preferred relocation cities.

Being here with the kids AND having a good job lead makes it feel like I'm home. Of course, if I'm home, I need to figure out how to work in a good ride. I'm scouting some routes, and plan on liberating the bike from Lori's game room later this week. Wish me luck, as Houston isn't know for being friendly to cyclists.

Lastly, even though it feels great to be in Houston and I might get an offer for a Houston job, I still have a strong lead in Austin and a 2nd interview this week. Who knows...next week I might be writing a post about returning to Austin!

Dead Critter

2009-07-07T19:46:00.000-07:00

Something is dead under my front porch. I smelled something today while on the side of the house working on my broken air conditioner, and when I went to the porch, I noticed a stronger smell as well as some flies buzzing around the end of the porch. All signs point to dead animal.

The porch is huge. It runs the full width of the front of my house, and is maybe 45' x 10'. There isn't enough room between the ground and bottom of the porch for me to even get a good look under the porch, but there's plenty of room for an animal to make a home. If you need evidence, I caught this cute little baby opossums in the yard a few weeks ago:

Around the same time, using some crack detective work we figured out we had a raccoon living in the crawl space in the deck ABOVE the porch. Try as he might, he couldn't hide his claw marks or urine stains from Mr. and Mrs. Sherlock Holmes. We initially boxed him up in the crawl space, but when we heard him scratching, I removed some wood and let him out. I'm not kidding.

My best guess is there will be a raccoon or possum funeral in the next day or so. I hope all of the mourners find their way home, and don't decide to stay permanently.

Staycation

2009-07-07T06:52:00.000-07:00

My brother and his family are staying with us for the next few days. It's a modified "staycation", and we'll be going to South Padre, the local parks and destinations, and generally enjoying each other's company. I won't be able to update daily, but I might get in a post here and there.

At worst, I'll resume semi-daily publishing on July 13. Enjoy your time without me!

Just a Tiny Taste

2009-07-02T13:51:00.000-07:00

A few years ago, my brother Troy and his girlfriend Kristin decided to move from Los Angeles to Austin. They had moved from Chicago to LA about a year prior, and we never thought they would move back to Texas. When we found out they had decided to move to Austin, Victoria and I were really happy.

They lived with Victoria, Betsy, and I (Lola wasn't born yet) for a few weeks until they found an apartment. We swam, laughed, ate, and enjoyed communal living with extended family. We all got hooked on HBO's Deadwood together, and we ate at Chuy's every chance we got. Once they moved into their own apartment, we didn't see them quite as much, but we were still together all the time.

About a year later, they were married. It was bittersweet, because while the marriage added permanence, at about the same time I found out that I was being transferred away from Austin. Permanence for me was destroyed.

While we were away, both Troy and Kristin had a son Osby, and we had Lola. Two and a half years passed, and I found out that my company was transferring me back to Austin, except we didn't get to enjoy even the thought for very long. Before we could relocate, I was laid off and our dream of getting back to Austin seemed distant again. The economy was weak, and jobs were hard to find.

Fortunately, job growth in Austin is strong. As of today, I have a very strong lead on an Austin job. A professional network contact referred me after a long discussion, I've interviewed extensively with the company's contracted recruiter, and today I found out I will have an extended on-site interview this Monday.

Coincidentally, we were already planning a trip to Austin to attend an Independence Day party being hosted by Troy and Kristin, and to spend the rest of the long weekend with them. Having a long weekend visit with a strong possibility of a permanent move in the background will be just a tiny taste of what it will feel like to move back to Austin and be close to Troy, Kristin, and Osby. It's very exciting. I'm looking forward to the weekend, and many weekends after that.

The Burn of Running, Mowing, and Riding

2009-07-01T08:50:00.000-07:00

After a long, strenuous ride on Saturday, I took a rest on Sunday. Vic and I watched TV, then watched the latest X-files movie, ran a few errands, but in general tried to stay out of the oppressive heat and humidity. By the end of the day, I was restless and ready to exert some energy on Monday. I set my alarm for 5am, and planned on riding intervals.

Lola decided to be an insomniac Sunday night / Monday morning, and around 4:30a on Monday I abandoned my early morning exercise plan, and reset my alarm for 6:45a. I woke up tired, thinking that maybe I would take Lola to the park later that day. Instead, I took the cat to the vet, and it was another long day without exercise. That night, I set my alarm for 5:30a, and planned to get up and go for a run.

Lola cooperated, so yesterday I got up on time and ran 3 miles, albeit at my plodding ~10 minute mile pace. I knew I would be getting a little more exercise later, as I planned on mowing the grass, so I didn't push hard during the run. The run felt good, and after a shower and breakfast, I felt great and ready to face my daily job search.

Typicall, right when I wrap up my job search, Lola cooperates and naps from 11a-12:30p. I planned on mowing the grass while she napped, but a recruiter called me at 11a before I could get Lola in her bed. We talked until 12p, so Lola wasn't asleep until 12:15p. I threw on my work clothes, then walked outside into the south Texas oven and mowed the grass for 1.5 hours. We have a 20" human-propelled mower and a large lot. It ain't easy, and I was literally cooked after being in the midday sun for over an hour.

Speedo e-mailed me shortly thereafter and asked if I planned on riding our Tuesday evening ride. Since we're planning a family trip this weekend, and I knew I wouldn't get in a long ride, I said yes. I felt tired, but I wanted to ride.

We left from our usual start point, and put in 31 miles. The 15mph ESE wind was stiff, and we had a long, tough stretch of chipseal riding directly into it. We averaged 17 mph, but it felt like 20 mph. Once I made it home, I asked Vic if she would take care of Lola's bedtime activities. I was pooped.

I added up the calories for the day, with data from LIVESTRONG and GarminConnect. Here's the burn:

Running, 6 mph, for 0.5 hrs: 381 kCal
Mowing, Push, for 1.5 hrs: 907 kCal
Cycling (GarminConnect for my ride): 1963 kCal

TOTAL: 3251 kCal

I didn't feel guilty at all when I drank my MGD 64 while watching the Strangers with Candy movie on DVR, and I definitely felt no guilt when I did not set an alarm to wake up and exercise this morning.

I Want to Cycle, but It's Unsafe

2009-06-30T13:13:00.000-07:00

I have very little concern for my own safety when road biking. When I'm alone, I ride defensively. I hug the outermost edge of the shoulder, taking the lane at the right time so that I don't get "right hooked". When I take the lane, I make sure cars don't try to lane-share. I use a headlight and 2 tail lights when it's dark. More importantly, when I can, I ride with a buddy, or even better, a group. I have fallen before, but never been hit by a car, and while it might happen one day, I don't worry about it.

On the other hand, I won't expose my children to the same danger. For the last two weeks, my oldest daughter has been with grandparents. That leaves me and the little one, who I can haul around in the trailer. There is a major shopping center barely 2 miles from my home. It houses a Target, an HEB (major Texas grocer), PetSmart, my bank, an OfficeMax, and several clothing stores. I could easily tow her to the shopping center instead of driving, but I'm afraid.

I'm afraid of the danger presented by motorists on busy roads. Shary Road, which is the only reasonable way to get to the shopping center, is a 55 mph road. Additionally, when I reach the intersection of Shary Road and Expressway 83, it's busy and dangerous. There is always traffic, and lots of cars entering and exiting the stream of traffic from the shopping centers along the road. It looks a little like this, only usually busier:

There's a huge shoulder, and I've seen ONE other cyclist towing children on the road, but it still scares me. The shoulder on most of Shary Road looks similar to the Google Street View photo that I've inserted below. It's a shoulder that many bike commuters would love to have, but I still can't bring myself to tow my 2 year old on the same shoulder.

I believe that bikes will play a larger role in transportation as our dependence on oil continues to create problems for the American consumer (and the worldwide consumer too). I believe that we all have a responsibility to reduce our reliance on oil. As such, I want to ride my bike for more than just recreation. I want to use it as real transportation. To use it as transportation, my circumstances require me to take along at least one child, and I want to feel safe towing my daughter to the store. But I don't, and I'm sure my spouse feels the same way multiplied by maybe 1 gazillion. Yet, that doesn't make me feel like less of a hypocrite.

What do you think?

All Suffering SOON TO END!

2009-06-29T05:00:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, a very evangelical group left this wedged between my front door frame and doorknob. At the time, my mood was dour. No recruiters, HR staff, or hiring managers had interviewed me in weeks and weeks, and our house had been on the market since November. I was not able to visualize sitting down in a field with my spouse, gorging myself on pumpkins and apples while my daughters chased moose on horseback.

A few weeks of good news changed my attitude. I've had 3 phone interviews, have another scheduled, and have promises of two follow-up interviews with hiring managers. I am so positive about my job search that I did not feel much guilt at all when I recently did not have a second interview for a Production Manager position. The job and pay were not a fit for my career trajectory. I'm confident that the right position will open up for me, good things will happen, and all job search suffering will indeed come to an end.

Not only is the job search starting to accelerate, my progress on the bike is excellent. I was really worried that being a stay-at-home Dad would cause some of my progress to atrophy. Instead, pulling Lola in the trailer, riding intervals in the morning, jogging a little, and riding a 25-30 mile ride during the week seems to have kept me in shape for hammering on the weekend.

On Saturday, Speedo and I left from Granjeno and met the Team McAllen ride in progress. We rode to Progreso, and about 10 miles from Progreso, three of us broke off the front. I expected Speedo to jump too, but I learned later that Speedo turned around early so he could visit with another rider. After the jump, Major, Dutch, and I pushed along at 20-23 mph, taking short pulls, making sure that the large group of 20 or so riders couldn't bridge. It was a good burn, full of suffering and sweat.

On the way back from the pit stop in Progreso, Dutch and I broke off the front again, but it only required us to pull at 19-20 mph to stay off the front. That is, until we caught 2 other cyclists that we knew, and really started hammering, cruising at 24-25 mph, at times reaching the upper twenties. It was fun, but it was tough. I finished the day with right at 70 miles, and I estimate my average moving speed at 19-20 mph. Unfortunately, my Garmin puked during the ride, so I only have partial data on which to base my speed data. I had a good, hard ride, especially since the temperature was in the 90s for much of the ride.

At the end of the ride, I was cooked. I drank about a quart of water and electrolyte, then jumped in the pool to cool off and get the sweat rinsed off my body. As all cyclists know, even on a good ride, all suffering is NOT soon to end.

When is my Chain Going to Wear Out?

2009-06-27T10:12:00.000-07:00

Last week I was searching through my American Express online statements and my Gmail trying to figure out when I bought my Wippermann Connex 10S0 chain. The reason is that I thought it should be showing wear by now, and I was starting to worry about it.

I worry about all sorts of strange chain-related thins. Is my measuring technique wrong? Is the chain damaging my drivetrain? Am I at risk for another catastrophic failure of the chain during the ride? I needed to answer these questions for my own obsessive-compulsive reasons, and if I could determine when I bought it, I could estimate mileage, which I could then use as another data point in my chain wear assessment.

Unfortunately, American Express doesn't provide easy access to statements that far back, so I have to rely on measuring the chain wear. I religiously maintain my drivetrain, measuring chain "stretch" with a go - no go gauge (shown in the below photo). I bought the gauge last December, and I know I had my current chain before that. I bought my Garmin Edge 305 in October 2008, and I had the chain before then too. Since October, I've ridden over 1500 miles. So, the chain has at least 1500 miles on it, and probably more like 2000-2500 miles. I measure it every time I clean the drivetrain, and have not seen any wear...until last Friday.

On Friday night, while cleaning my bike and drivetrain in preparation for Saturday's ride, I measured the chain stretch. Surprisingly, the 0.75% side DID engage in several places, but the 1.00% side did not. The chain is finally showing some wear! It felt a little odd, but I was actually happy that the chain was showing measurable wear. Otherwise, I would continue to question whether the Spin Doctor gauge was made to specification and was actually measuring correctly.

As I mentioned, I probably have over 2000 miles on the chain. Based on a little internet research, this seems fairly typical. The chain doesn't absolutely need to be replaced at 0.75% stretch, but it does absolutely need to be replaced at 1.00% stretch. Since I want to keep turning smoothly, and I have a spare chain on the shelf, I'll install it next time I clean the drivetrain.

I guess I'll have to find another source of worry. Unseen cracks in my carbon frame are near the top of the list!

Team McAllen Team Trial Preview

2009-06-26T08:39:00.000-07:00

In honor of the return of the team time trial at the Tour de France, Team McAllen is hosting our first-ever team trial (sorry for the PDF link). It will be 3-person teams, with the usual varied mix of teams: men, women, co-ed, tandem, and others. The route, which you can see in Google maps HERE, is 14.5 miles (just over 23 km). It includes a mix of rural roads and suburban streets, and more than a few turns. If you're a blog reader, and you're thinking about coming down for the time trial, send me a message. I'll be happy to provide more information about lodging, the area, sights to see, and anything else that might help.

When I saw the map, I exchanged e-mails with Speedo, and we decided to ride the route. Last Tuesday, we met at 6pm, and thunderstorms were rolling through the area. I snapped this photo while waiting on Speedo, thinking that we would definitely be getting wet on the ride.

We rode south by southwest through Mission Trails to the ride start, keeping our eyes out for both the good and the bad. After we finished the ride and I was home in front of my computer, I wrote a forum post describing problem spots that our team would need to address, including the use of team members with flags or just simple verbal warnings to riders. I foolishly didn't say anything positive, but have since added a post with my perspective on the good things about the route. But since the majority of my readers don't live in the Rio Grande Valley and don't know our streets and roads, my forum post won't make sense to you, so here's a high level summary of the good and the bad elements of the route:

It starts in a rural area, on VERY smooth roads. There are a few quick turns separated by 1-2 miles each. It should keep the riders on their toes, as we'll build speed quickly, then need to navigate 90 degree turns.
For a few miles, the route drifts into suburban south Mission, and follows city streets without shoulders. There are a few intersections, and since it's not a closed course, riders will need to be very careful about obeying the law. This can also affect your time...or not.
After the suburban section, the route opens up and there's a long, smooth straightaway that lasts almost 5 miles. This is where the teams will really hammer.
The ride finishes near a store and community center, allowing riders to buy drinks and congregate in the parking lot to discuss their times.

Overall, it's a solid route that allows us to get a good distance, yet starts fairly central so riders don't have to drive their vehicles all over south Texas to get to the start point.

But back to my ride with Speedo...

Here's a link to activity on GarminConnect. We rode the route at a moderate pace, never drafting off each other. Lap 3 is the actual route. I finished 14.2 miles in 47'48", and averaged 17.8 mph. We did the distance without thinking about expending true time trial effort, so our time was okay but not what we would expect in a real time trial, individual or otherwise.

As you can see from the storm photo, the weather was not good, even though we were lucky DID NOT ride in any rain. The winds were 12-15 mph, blowing east-southeast, which made for several tough sections into the wind. With my excuses in mind, I think it was a pretty good result. Oh yeah -- let me mention again that I wasn't really trying.

P.S. Here's the hybrid view of the route, including my ride to and from the start point. As always, I'm amazed by how close I ride to the US-Mexico border, as well as the rapid transition from farmland to suburbia.

Lazer O2 Helmet and a Google Blog Search Win

2009-06-25T10:15:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, I started writing a long, detailed post about my decision to purchase a Lazer O2 helmet to replace my cracked Giro Atmos, complete with 7 different photos. This morning, I decided not to post it. I'm not in the free marketing business, but I do want to give my concise analysis and opinion to any readers that care to consider it, so I'm posting a reduced version of the original post.

MY NEW LAZER O2 HELMET, AND WHY I BOUGHT IT

Here is the one sentence reason I bought a Lazer O2:

The Lazer O2 is about 20% cheaper than the best deal I could find on a Giro Atmos, it was sold at a shop for which I already had a $60 gift certificate, and the adjustment mechanism on the Lazer O2 is superior to that on the Giro Atmos.

The adjustment mechanism difference makes the fit of the Lazer O2 much better. The Lazer O2 mechanism uses cables and a screw device to allow the headband to be adjusted, and the adjustment is continuous. On the other hand, the Giro Atmos Roc Loc adjustment has mechanically predefined "clicks" of about 1/8" that do not allow continuous adjustment.

I can't help myself. I must give you a few photos to explain. The first is the Lazer O2 adjustment. The silver spring-like cables at the top of the photo are actually cable housings, and you can see the cables just below them on both sides of the helmet. When you reach up and turn an adjusting screw on the top of the helmet, it changes the overall headband circumference. It allows you to get a really precise, comfortable fit.

What about this goofy, complicated screw mechanism I keep mentioning? It's not goofy at all. I took the close-up photo below, and as you can see, it's simple. I think it works great AS WELL AS looking great.

The Giro Atmos uses Giro's Roc Loc adjustment system. The system is not bad, and for the last 4 years it has been the only fit system I've known, and I liked it. After trying the Lazer O2, I realized that Giro's Roc Loc "click" adjustment just doesn't allow as good a fit. If you're not familar with Roc Loc, I've inserted a photo to show how it works. The two silver half-moonish devices on either side of the lateral-running thin plastic strip engage serrations on the strip, similar to the way a tie wrap works (only adjustable without the use of a jeweler's screwdriver!). Since the serrations have a set gap, this limits the adjustment precision. Additionally, it's easy to asymmetrically adjust the system, pushing one side of the strip in farther than the other, and as a result causing your helmet to get off-center to your noggin.

In summary, I give the coveted 331miles endorsement to the Lazer O2 helmet. Take that to the bank. I did, and they just looked at me funny.

GOOGLE BLOG SEARCH WIN

As most of you know, my blog is famous and widely read. Yesterday afternoon, delliot13, who follows my blog and whose blog I follow, sent me a tweet telling me to have a look at Alltop. It seems that I made the top 5 on their Alltop Cycling Google Blog Search section. Wow! I remembered that BikeNoob had been honored by Alltop in the past, so I was excited to see the link. Here's a screenshot and a close-up:

As I've mentioned, I'm not trying to monetize or publicize or even convert my blog into a way to get free samples of stuff (although that would be nice), so this was just a little bit of icing on my blogging cake. And what sweet, buttery icing it was...but not for long.

The icing went rancid very quickly in the South Texas heat, because about 2 hours later I clicked back to Alltop, and my blog had already fallen out of the Top 5!

Cycling Near a Drowned Man

2009-06-24T07:23:00.000-07:00

We didn't realize it during last Saturday's ride, but it is very likely that Speedo and I rode right past the undiscovered body of a drowned man that was found yesterday in a canal near El Gato Drain. What's even more strange is that we were lost, riding down a road that we've never ridden down before, and will probably never ride down again. As we rode, trying to find our way south to Military Highway, a man was dead, lying just yards away from our path.

I know that this is pure coincidence, and that death is all around us, but this chilled me when I read the story. May this man rest in peace, and may his family have peace as well.

Job Search Progress? Heck Yeah!

2009-06-23T19:24:00.000-07:00

I've been taking some photos and thinking about writing a post about my new helmet, but so much has happened on the job front that I feel like I should update my readers. Here's the chronology of the last few days:

Friday, June 19

Woke up early and ran 3 miles...then...

I received an e-mail from an ex-boss, asking to confirm contact info. I sent it to him, and around 5pm I got a call. It's a friend of his who is a consultant for an electrical equipment manufacturer in Austin. He's working with the company to manage a recent acquisition, and consolidate manufacturing operations. He has recommended that they hire someone to manage manufacturing for all sites, and work with their contract manufacturers and suppliers. Title, salary, etc. is TBD. I sent my resume that night, and he forwarded it to the VP of Operations that evening. I am supposedly going to get an interview this week.

Also, a Talent Acquisition Specialist for a Fortune 500 company e-mailed me regarding a manufacturing management position at one of their Houston sites. She wanted some background information and detail regarding a few resume points. I sent it to her, but didn't hear anything that day.

Saturday, June 20

Ate like a pig. Rode my bike like a champion.

Sunday, June 21

Ate like a pig. Did not ride my bike like a champion.

Monday, June 22

Got up early and rode intervals for 45 minutes.

Fortune 500 Talent Acquisition lady called and left voice mail. I called her back and left voice mail. Her voice mail was very encouraging and mentioned "next steps". I liked her word choice, as it indicates an assumption of progress.

Tuesday, June 23

Towed Lola in her trailer as I rode 10 miles around Mission Trails.

Fortune 500 Talent Acquistion lady called me again, and we set up a formal phone interview for Wednesday, June 24. She again mentioned "next steps", which made me happy all over again.

I received a voice mail from HR for another company in Houston regarding a Plant Manager position. I called back and left voice mail. She called back, we talked for 30 minutes, and I now have a formal phone interview with her on Wednesday, June 24.

I called the "friend of a friend" to follow up, and he assures me things are moving along, and the VP of Operations will be in contact soon.

Finished the day by riding 30 miles in a staggeringly strong wind.

Summary of Last 5 Days

Over the last 4 months, I've had a grand total of 1 phone interview, and 1 solid job lead through a fellow maquiladora GM that I'm still working. Over the last 4 days, I've locked in 2 phone interviews for what seem like great jobs at great companies in Houston, which is my 2nd choice of cities for relocation. I have another solid lead with a company in Austin. And the maquiladora lead is still gestating, and I hope to hear something this week.

Suddenly, I feel very good about my chances.

Replacing a Cracked Helmet

2009-06-21T11:02:00.000-07:00

When I moved the Rio Grande Valley and started to ride with Team McAllen, I typically would drive to the ride start location. I would stuff all of my gear in a large black duffel, load the bike in the back of the truck, and then gear up at the ride start. Even though I now usually ride the bike to the official ride start location, my gear started living permanently in the black duffel bag.

When I was commuting from Mission to Austin in late 2008 through early 2009, the black duffel accumulated lots of miles. It was joined by my rolling luggage and notebook bag, and I would often lug them all at the same time, banging into walls and doorframes. When I get up early to ride intervals, the black duffel makes the trip downstairs with me, where I gear up quietly to keep from waking up the family. It gets shuffled around on the counter sometimes when I'm too lazy to take it back upstairs. Lastly, when I store the bag in the upstairs closet, I'm not always the neatest cyclist. The gear gets left out on the floor to dry, and I'm sure that it sometimes gets kicked around a bit.

Somewhere in all of this handling, my 2007 Giro Atmos was cracked. I noticed it yesterday after my ride. In the first photo, look at the small section directly above the arrow-shaped padding, roughly in the center of the photograph. There's a crack running left to right. Look in the middle of the 2nd photo. That's a different structural section, and the crack runs up and down. Helmets don't protect you if they're already broken, and this one needs to be replaced. My guess is that it was crushed by shifting luggage during a rapid stop on one of my trips to Austin, but regardless, it's time for a new helmet.

The good news is that my spouse gave me a gift certificate to a local bike shop for Father's Day. The shop sells Lazer and Limar, and I like the Lazer O2, especially the unique adjustment feature. On the other hand, I think the Giro Atmos and Ionos have more ventilation, and they're both about 30 grams lighter. But the Giro products are more expensive, and since I'm unemployed, I'm leaning towards the Lazer O2.

I'll keep you posted on my decision, but in the meantime, your input and opinions are welcome!

The Road Does Not Go on Forever

2009-06-21T09:46:00.001-07:00

About 10 years ago, I was a big fan of Robert Earl Keen. For awhile, the drunken redneck and college student crowd kept me from attending concerts, and I slowly wandered away from his music. Then a few years ago his music and followers seemed to start drifting back to the roots: good songwriting, a solid band, and a great Texas aura expressed through his music. The rowdies were still fans, but now his music was drawing me back and I started listening all over again.

One of his most well-known songs is "The Road Goes on Forever". It has been covered by The Highwaymen and Joe Ely, and is just on the edge of mainstream country. The rowdy fans like it because it's a story of 2 inept criminals, partying outside the mainstream of society, with a strangely romantic, jackpot ending. It also seems to help that Keen drives the song along with a fast tempo and lots of breaks for lead guitar, giving them ample opportunity to raise their can of Lone Star and bob their head to the rhythm. Me? I really like it because when performing live (like on No.2 Live Dinner), Keen uses the song to allow his band to show their chops, and I also think the title (and the main theme of the chorus) is a simple but great song line. You should give it a listen.

On Saturday, I thought about "The Road Goes on Forever", but from a new angle. Speedo, Piojo, Rio, and I met in Edinburg, with plans to ride SSE towards Progreso, possibly meeting up with the Team McAllen folks along the way. Rio has a bum knee, and he didn't want to start the ride with Team McAllen, as it always turns into a hammer fest. The rest of us were along for support and camaraderie, and just a good ride.

We headed towards Valverde, and about 15 miles into the ride, Rio's knee wasn't treating him nicely. He and Piojo decided to call it a day, and turned back for home. As they turned, they shouted directions, as Speedo and I hadn't planned the route. Since I had my iPhone, I wasn't worried, because I can always use the GPS and map app to find my way. When we reached an intersection, and weren't sure which way to go, I pulled out the iPhone. It showed that if we headed south on Valley View, we would be able to connect with Military Highway (US 281). We turned south onto Valley View, and the road was smooth, without traffic, and within a few miles we reached a lake that neither of us knew existed.

I found out later the lake is called El Gato Drain, but we found out within another 1/2 mile that the road did not "go on forever". In fact, the pavement ended after El Gato Drain. The road turned into washboard gravel and caliche, and just like the old football cliche about passing the ball, there were only 3 things that could happen by taking that road, and 2 of them were bad. We could make it through to 281, or on the other hand the rough path could induce a mechanical problem or a fall. We tried to ride on it, and after a few yards we decided to turn around and regroup, as shown in the below image.

We retraced our steps and rode north, then east to the next major southbound road. Speedo recognized the road, and knew it would get us through to Military. We suffered in a 10-15 mph headwind for the entire southbound segment, but after we stopped for 5 minutes to eat and drink, we turned west with a partial tailwind, and of course the ride got sweeter. The dead-end detour was forgotten, and we cruised home debating about motion and dynamics of riding a bike off the back of a trailer being pulled at highway speed, and what would happen when your bike tires hit the pavement. I know...we're strange. When it's just me and Speedo, the conversation is lively!

I ended the ride with 62.3 miles, and a very respectable average moving speed of 19.7 mph. It was a hot ride, as the temperature at 5:30a that morning was 82F. By 10am when I finished, it was already 90F. It was hot and humid, but we stayed hydrated and had a great ride, despite a wrong turn. You can find the ride map and stats on Garmin Connect.

NOTE: The BikeNoob has a well-commented recent post about speed. As I always do when I post ride data, I included average speed in this post. Most folks commented on BikeNoob's post that measuring average speed isn't important. Reasons include variability, training theories, and cycling for fun. My basic "take" is as follows: on a longer ride, with terrain and conditions that challenge you, i.e. hills and wind, you are engaged in extended interval training. Yes, the intervals might be longer and less varied than true, focused interval training, but they're intervals. If you measure and track your average speed on these longer rides, you can infer something about the success (or lack thereof) of your training, similar to using a time trial to gauge your ability.

A Great 9 Miles of Cycling with the Kids

2009-06-18T12:15:00.001-07:00

After my Tuesday ride with the girls, I really wasn't anticipating a good ride on Thursday. To compound matters, when we woke up Thursday morning, Betsy thought her grandparents would be arriving around midday. I reminded her that they wouldn't be at our house until around 7pm, and that sent her into a tailspin of frustration. She had been excited about riding, but suddenly she said she didn't want to go. I felt myself grinding my teeth.

Victoria knew I was frustrated, and coached me on how to work with Betsy. I poured on a lot of positive feedback, encouragement, and told her how proud her grandparents would be when they found out she rode 9 miles that morning. She started to warm up a little, but it was still looking like an aggravating ride was about to start.

I loaded the truck and the kids, and we headed to Bentsen State Park instead of the Mission Trails trailhead. I wanted to ride out into the wind, because on the last ride the wind is what brought Betsy down and caused her to want to turn around and quit. Once in the parking lot, I unloaded everything, and Betsy was suddenly happy. She jumped on her bike, and started warming up in the parking lot.

We cruised north up Old Military Highway towards Inspiration Road and the junction with the Mission Trails network. When we reached the trails, I asked Betsy if she wanted to stop for a snack. We had only ridden about 2 miles, but I knew the answer would be "yes" before she ever said it. With a smile on her face, she ate two lemon cookies and drank a juice box. Lola had one too, even though her job was just to ride along in the trailer with a smile on her face.

After the snack, I let Betsy ride ahead a bit, and snapped this photo of her on the trail. If it looks hot and dry, then the photo accurately captured the weather.

Once we reached our turnaround at the Mission Trails trailhead, we stopped for our 2nd snack. Both kids were getting cranky, and we still had another 4.5 miles to go. With more cookies in their bellies, we turned around and headed back the way we had come.

A few miles down the road, Lola started wailing. I tried some tricks to distract her: singing, speeding up, slowing down, swerving, and even locking up my brakes. It didn't help. I felt myself getting angry. But I stopped, opened up the netting on the trailer, and gave her a piece of breakfast bar that I had reserved in my jersey pocket. She ate that, drank some water, and seemed to calm down some. Betsy even apologized for her behavior, even though she had nothing to do with it!

We rode on, and it was getting very hot. With all of our snack breaks and slow pace (maybe 6-8 mph), it was already approaching 11am. We were riding so slowly that we weren't getting much cooling effect from the wind. We were almost to the parking lot, with maybe 1/8 mile to ride, when suddenly Betsy broke down sobbing. She was cooked. Her face was red, and she complained that her whole body hurt. I calmed her down with praise and kind words, and pointed out that we could actually see our vehicle and we were almost done. That did it for her. She actually sped up a little, and we were back at the vehicle in about 2 minutes.

We got off the bikes, de-helmeted, and I gave the kids the remaining water and sport drink that was still in the bottles. They sat on the running boards of my truck, and the looks on their faces told me that it was a good ride, and a good day.

Shooting Guns Near A Hike & Bike Trail

2009-06-17T08:39:00.000-07:00

Before I get to the focus of this post, here's a quick history of my experience and opinions on guns:

I'm not anti-gun, although I do approve of some measure of gun control.
I own a hand gun, although I'm not licensed to carry. The pistol sits on a shelf in a case, with rounds hidden away in a nearby closet.
I've hunted and killed deer, squirrel, and dove, and have eaten what I've killed, but I don't really consider myself a sportsman.
I've shot skeet, and have gone to ranges to shoot pistols for fun and practice.
My father was a police officer, and I have a healthy respect for guns, as well as a solid amount of hands-on safety training.
I've had to hunker down with friends behind vehicles when some jokers about a mile away unintentionally shot some rifle rounds over our heads while shooting their rifles.

Why am I giving you this history? Because...

I've ridden the Mission Trails many times, and have noticed signs for the Mission Skeet and Trap Club. There's an earthen barrier, probably about 12' tall, and signs warning people to "keep out". The barrier is about 10 yards from the Mission Trails Hike and Bike Trail. While riding the trails with the kids last Monday, I heard gunfire. As always, when I hear gunfire and can't verify the source, direction, or intention, it makes me nervous.

This wasn't anyone shooting skeet or trap, but was pistol range fire. The shots went off rapidly, and it sounded like some sort of competition. I probably heard 75-100 rounds being fired within a 5 to 10 minute span. As I approached the section of trail nearest the range, I trusted that the barrier was sufficient, and simply rode past with the kids in tow as quickly as possible.

Today, I loaded the GPS data for another Mission Trails ride into Google Earth. In the image below, you can see the red route passing directly south of the Skeet and Trap Club grounds. The actual skeet and trap range is to the north, and appear as the 3 half-moon areas past the parking lot. I'm not totally sure, but it looks like a firing range is just south of the parking lot, and aims directly towards the path, with the earthen barrier protecting anyone on the path.

I neither observed anything unsafe happening, nor can I infer from the satellite images that there is anything unsafe about the layout or safety of the range. On the other hand, take a look at the zoomed out satellite image of the area around the Mission Skeet & Trap Club (marked with a yellow pin). There's just a little bit of rural, sparsely populated land nearby. It seems like it would make sense to not have a firing range 10 yards from a hike and bike trail if there are many, many alternate locations within the immediate vicinity.

I'll keep riding the Mission Trails, both with and without the kids. The gunfire will keep making me nervous. And if there's ever an organized effort to expand the trail system or find an alternate location for the club, I'll definitely jump in and help.

Hammer Time

2009-06-17T06:33:00.000-07:00

This just had to be posted. The pants, the song, and the dance -- they're my generation.

HT to How to Avoid the Bummer Life

Sweaty Gloves and a Miserable Ride

2009-06-16T09:57:00.000-07:00

In my last post I described how sweaty I got during a very hot weather ride. Today, when I put on my gloves for the first time since the ride, the salt deposits on the palm reminded me of how sweaty I was.

And yes, that's the kiddie trailer in the lower right corner of the photo. And in the upper right, you can see the shadow of Betsy on her bike. We rode the Mission Trails again, but frankly it was a miserable ride.

I had very high hopes for the ride. For the first time, I packed snacks and drinks for the kids, hoping that it would give them something to look forward to when we made the turnaround. I decided not to push the distance or the pace, and to leave decisions like turnaround point, snack time, and speed to the kids. I remember my Dad pushing me to learn to water ski, and how frustrated I was when he continued to push even when I was ready to quit. I don't want my kids to remember our cycling trips in that way.

My plan was good, but the results were not. It was a frustrating ride. I want to vent and write about the details, but I won't, because my family reads the blog and someday my kids might too. What I will say is that it will get better. All days won't be as frustrating, and if I play my cards right, the kids will continue to enjoy the rides and help me to enjoy the rides too.

Fighting the Heat with an Early Ride

2009-06-15T04:00:00.000-07:00

It has been hot in the Rio Grande Valley. Summer here is always hot, but it's technically not even summer yet, and we've already had several days with heat indices above 110F. Extreme temperatures were the primary reason I scrapped my plans to ride the "Ride to Nowhere" in Harlingen on Sunday. It started at 8am, and most likely it would have already been above 90F by the time the race finished. Combine that with a $25 entry fee that I'm not comfortable paying while unemployed, and I decided to cancel. In lieu of racing, I completed a strenuous 60 mile ride on Saturday.

I contacted Speedo on Friday and asked if he wanted to ride on Saturday, and we decided to meet up with Alan and leave directly from Mission instead of meeting Team McAllen at Burger King. I'd never ridden with Alan before, but knew that he was a strong cyclist with years of experience racing and riding. We planned the start for 6:30a, giving us a 45 minute head start against the typical Burger King departure time, and head towards Progreso to take advantage of a tailwind on the return. I was excited about the company, change of schedule, and change in locale.

We met near my house, and after making a minor adjustment to my cadence / speed sensor, we rolled out on time. Speedo had 2 bottles and a Camelbak, Alan had 3 bottles, and I had my typical 2 bottles - one with sport drink, one with water. When we started discussing how far we would go towards Progreso, I said "far enough to get to a convenience store so I can refill my bottles." I am a heavy perspirer. I knew that 2 bottles might get me 25 miles, but it would be close.

Alan, Speedo and I decided we needed to push ourselves a bit on the way out. There was no discussion of speed, but even as we warmed up the pace was 18-19 mph. Once we cleared the McAllen / Mission area, we naturally formed into a paceline and started maintaining 19-21 mph. We had a mix of cross and headwind of 11 mph on average, so it was a pretty good burn. Of course, this did nothing to help my hydration. As we rolled into Progreso, both bottles were empty. My jersey was soaked, as well as my bib shorts. Nothing unexpected, but it's still amazing what the body does under exertion.

We dismounted, and Alan noticed that I had gooseflesh on my arms and legs. It is a sign of dehydration, but it happens to me all the time. I just drink as much as I can, and make sure I eat as well. I bought a quart of sport drink, filled my bottle, drank the rest, then filled the other bottle with water. I ate a Clif gel, and we were off on the return trip. About a mile down the road, I noticed that Alan had sweat dripping off his pedals. He was sweating so much that the sweat was draining out of his shoes. It was hot...Africa hot...but we were surviving.

On the way back, we had the wind at our back, and rode along at 20mph+ with no problem at all. We swapped cycling stories, took turns in a reverse delta (my invented term for 2 cyclists side by side in front, one behind but not drafting), and generally enjoyed having water and the wind. At one point, Speedo popped out a strong interval, and Alan one-upped him and took us up to 30mph+. I was surprised by his surge, and had to get out of the saddle to grab his wheel. It was that sort of ride -- we didn't take ourselves too seriously and try to hammer the whole way, yet we played around and challenged the pace from time to time.

We rolled back in to Mission at around 9:45a. Since I had originally planned to be home from the race in Harlingen at about noon on Sunday, this was a big improvement for the family. Also, I've already learned many cycling lessons from Speedo, and hope to ride enough with Alan to learn some from him. Regardless of the heat, it was a great ride with great company, and very enjoyable.

Finally, here's a link to the ride data. As I mentioned earlier, I had problems with my cadence/speed sensor, so I only have data for the return trip. Based on "feel" and frequent speed checks on the way out, I'm guessing that the overall data is very similar to the return trip data. Also, here's a screen cap summary.

P.S. After Alan turned off for home, he was stung by a wasp between his glasses and helmet. That's gotta hurt. Hope he doesn't look like a unicorn getting ready to have his horn break through the skin.

Unoriginal Cycling Comic...CSI Style

2009-06-12T07:28:00.000-07:00

Daddy duty and job searching are getting the best of me today. It was all I could do to put together this hack piece of unoriginal cartoon work. Enjoy. See you Monday, or maybe sooner if I get over my self-pity of the moment.

Cycling with my Kid: The Tortoise and my Graying Hair

2009-06-10T14:29:00.000-07:00

Today was another cycling first for me -- pulling Lola in the trailer, but without Betsy riding along on her department store special. I didn't put this on my goals at the beginning of the year, as it kind of snuck up on me. It was an achievement none the less. Since it was just me, the hybrid, and Lola in the trailer, I decided before the ride that I would hammer. My goal was to push "hard", defined solely by how I felt, as I have no cyclocomputer on the hybrid. I set a subgoal of completing two loops of Mission Trails to Bentsen State Park, which would be about 20 miles total.

With that goal in mind, I unloaded the bike at the entrance to Mission Trails, and loaded the trailer with repair kit, personal effects, kid, and a few toys. I bet I was pulling 50-60 pounds of load. As I got on the bike and clipped in, I noticed something about my bike, and had to stop and snap a photo. My new bell, which comes in handy on hike and bike trails (versus the road), is made by.....yep....Bell.

I rolled out of the parking lot, and 1/4 mile down, I thought my rear tire felt spongy. It was probably just the heavy load, but it made me think about changing a flat. It was then that I remembered that I had forgotten my pump in my truck. I turned around and headed back to the trailhead, picked up the pump, and pretended like I was starting the ride for the first time.

I spun along at probably 90 rpm of cadence, never touching the granny gear on my triple chainring set. I mainly stayed on the middle ring, rarely shifting into the big ring. I really felt some good burn in my quads, and could tell it was pushing me cardiovascularly. The best comparison I have is riding into a 15-18 mph headwind, or pulling up a long, steady grade like the climb from Pennybacker Bridge heading south up the hill towards West Lake Drive in Austin. It felt good to verify that I could use my hybrid and trailer to get a good workout.

I was sweating like a horse when I finished the first 5 miles, and made the turn near the World Birding Center at Bentsen State Park. I stopped to try to use iMapMyRide on my iPhone (no luck...I took a photo while it was logging, thus losing the data), and to talk to Lola a little bit. She had been upset for the last mile or so, and needed to be calmed. When I looked at her, I realized I would be returning my Father of the Year Award. She didn't have on her helmet.

I felt like a heel, but comforted myself with the thought that we weren't riding on the road, and were not in danger of getting hit by a car. That meant it was "on me", and if I could keep the rubber side down, we would be fine. I rolled back towards the ride start, and straight into a headwind. I just looked it up: 18 mph wind, gusting to 25 mph. If it were just me and my road bike, that would be a challenge. With the hybrid and trailer, it was more than a challenge. I huffed and puffed, legs burning, heart pounding, and sweat dripping off my nose. That was around the time that Lola decided she was ready to be finished with the ride.

She cried. She screamed. She yelled "Daddy" about 87 times in succession. I started talking to her. "What do you see?" "Where's your toy?" "Can you sing Twinkle Twinkle?" "What kind of animal do you want to see?" That one got a response. In 2-year old talk, she said "tootle", which means "turtle". I replied with "okay honey let's find a turtle stop crying it's okay is that a turtle where's a turtle please stop crying" and right then I saw...a turtle.

I grabbed the brakes, wheeled around, and pulled up next to it. I'm not a turtle expert, but this could be a tortoise. It looked like a tortoise of some sort to me. Lola was about 3 feet from the turtle, all smiles and surprise. I grabbed a couple of photos with my phone as the reptile moved into the grass.

The calm brought on my a turtle sighting lasted about 3 minutes. Lola continued to scream and yell. I had no choice but to give her a time-out-in-place; which is not different at all from just riding in the trailer. I rode as hard as I could back to the truck, happy to complete a strenuous ten miles. As soon as we got to the truck, Lola stopped crying. She wins Round 1.

Daddy Duty Trumps Cycling Plans

2009-06-09T13:13:00.000-07:00

Have you ever met someone, and in conversation they mentioned that their spouse is a "housewife" or "stay-at-home mom", and then they emphatically state "she works 5x harder than I do"? Forgive me for being gender-specific, but I've only ever heard this said by men, and as a new stay-at-home dad, I'm telling you it's true. It's cliche, but it's true. It might be 3X or 10X or 100X, but it's harder, albeit in a different way.

Maybe it's obvious, but it's harder because you're working with CHILDREN. They are unpredictable, primarily because their logic and decision-making isn't the same as that of an adult. This morning, everyone was getting ready as normal. Vic was preparing for work, Betsy got dressed for basketball camp, Lola got dressed to...be Lola, and I prepped gear and got dressed to take Lola for a ride after dropping Betsy at camp. Except at about 30 minutes to departure, Betsy said she felt bad and didn't want to go to camp. Why didn't we find out last night? Why didn't Betsy tell us before everyone was ready to walk out the door? She's a six year old, that's why.

She had been up several times in the night "taking care of business", and things weren't happening correctly. She was obviously scared, frustrated, and maybe in pain. We assumed the worst, because if she wanted to skip camp, then it was serious. Vic left for work, promising to call the pediatrician on her way, and I loaded the kids to drive to the doctor's office. The cycling gear was left on the counter, chilled water bottles in the fridge, and the early morning ride was cancelled for good reason.

I won't share the nitty-gritty details, but Betsy is fine. Since we spent the morning at the doctor's office, it's too hot to ride (97F and 36% RH as I type) with a toddler in a trailer. So instead, I mowed the grass and edged, and since we have a relatively large lawn and a tiny 20" mower, this was plenty workout for me. Vic offered to let me ride this afternoon, but I think I'll just cook dinner and take Lola out for a ride in the morning. That's what daddies do.

P.S. There's a 50 mile race this weekend in Harlingen. I've been asked if I'll race, and I'm tempted...more on that later.

Tagged

2009-06-08T18:43:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged. Mike J did it. No complaints, as I'm rarely tagged by chain letters, memes, or that type of thing. In fact, they're kind of fun, but I have to admit that I can't summon any creativity for the post.

This particular meme was started by Fat Lad, and the idea is based on the "my old mother went to the market and bought" memory game. Only in this case, each blogger in the thread lists something that was bought at the LBS in June. Here's the list thus far, with my addition at the bottom:

Fat Lad went to the bike shop in June and all he bought was: A new PC971 Sram Chain and a Cassete Spanner and a chain wear tool.
TOB went to the bike shop in June and all she bought was: a new pair of ruby red Sidis and some X-Series Cleats (but it's only the 4th!).
Mike J went to the bike shop in June and he bought two Gel Flasks and some Handle Bar Grips.
331 Miles went to the bike shop in June and he bought a pair of Performance Ultra II Bib Shorts.

I know -- I've been blogging about all the junk I've bought so I can ride with my kids. But my most recent purchase was made because my Castelli bibs came unhemmed and had to be trashed.

And before I forget the whole purpose of this post: Bryan, you're on deck.

My Reaction to a Dangerous Group Ride

2009-06-08T04:00:00.000-07:00

During yesterday's Team McAllen Sunday Ride, I started the ride with the "elite" group. That means an average speed of 20-22 mph, pacelining and echeloning as necessary to fight the wind, and being able to ride without any SAG support. The group was about 20-25 strong, so we would have plenty of pairs to pull the standard double paceline as we rolled out of the Burger King parking lot.

Dutch and I led the group out, and after a 5 minute pull, we rotated to the rear. We had some strong riders, including a local competitive mountain biker out for some training and some strong Team McAllen roadies, but we also had a lot of newer riders and intermediates trying to bridge up to the next group. As I moved back, I noticed a lot of gaps building within the paceline. I knew that if we had gaps at that point in the ride, then it was soon to get a lot worse.

Like many group rides, the ride doesn't really start until the group is warmed up and ready. When we reached that point about 20-30 minutes into the ride, the hammering began, accompanied by some dangerous riding. I saw:

Surging and half-wheeling at the front of the group, creating confusion and forcing the drafting team (and the teams behind them) to close the open gap, only to slow again to keep from overlapping wheels.
Standing up and getting out of the saddle for tiny, short "climbs". We don't have elevation change here, so I'm referring to overpasses and levees.
Very short pulls, which induced lots of yo-yoing in the paceline.
Weaker riders not taking pulls at all.
Weaving, braking, and quick movement that required quick reaction from other riders.

I rewrote that list several times, as I don't want it to be hypercritical or negative. In a group ride, you have to be ready to ride with lots of different types of riders, and to handle the unexpected. And I know - all of that stuff happens in racing. But this wasn't a race, it was the Sunday group ride. I've been the rider that does all of those things in the list, so I know it's a function of skill, conditioning, and experience, and not something that typically happens maliciously.

On this ride, Dutch and I decided it was a bit too dangerous. Instead of trying to change the behavior of a large group, we simply took a detour. We turned off and rode alone for 20 miles or so, meeting the group again at the rest stop. It took the worry out of the ride, we still hammered, and when we reached the rest stop we learned we avoided a couple of near misses in the group.

If you read this and think I'm complaining, then I haven't properly made my point. Group rides like this aren't perfect, and some days are good, with other days not quite so good. Since it seemed to me that this ride was shaded towards the inconsitent and dangerous side of the group rides, I'm glad we made the decision to split from the group on this ride. The last thing I need right now is to be out of work, injured, and needing to spend money making expensive repairs to my bike.

RIDE DATA

Distance: 44.5 miles

Avg Speed: 19.5 mph (includes solo to ride start and some SLOW laps around BK)

Calories: Unknown (thanks, Mr. Malfunctioning Garmin 305)

Elevation: +752 / -771 ft (yeah, really!)

Here's a link to the ride data, and a screenshot.

Lawnmowers are Fun

2009-06-05T05:42:00.000-07:00

I saw a funny F Minus comic in yesterday's paper, and it reminded me of a tweet I posted back on March 8. I'm not saying I could write a comic...I guess I'm just saying, that's all.

Here's the comic:

And here's my tweet from March 8 (acutally a twitpic, but basically the same thing). If you're on Twitter, you can find the original here.

Amusement Park for

the Unemployed

Happy Friday! I might have a longer post later, or maybe I won't.

First REAL Ride with the Girls

2009-06-04T10:37:00.000-07:00

GETTING READY FOR THE RIDE

This morning was Betsy's first day of Summer vacation. We got up at the normal school-day hour, had breakfast with Vic at 7am, then packed up to go for our first "real" ride together. It took me longer than expected to pack. I had to load my bike, which requires deflating the tires so I can close the tailgate. I then had to pack 4 water bottles, snacks, a pump, all of my riding gear, the kids' riding gear, break down the trailer, load the trailer, tie the loose stuff down, and then get everyone loaded into the truck. I bet that it took me 30 minutes to do this, and I still forgot stuff (more on that later). It was probably 8:30a when we rolled out of the driveway. I'll get faster as we go on more rides, because if I don't, I'll go insane.

Once we arrived at the trailhead, I made my first, and maybe only, smart move of the day. I left the girls in the truck, AC running, XM Kids on the radio, and got everything ready for the ride. It only took a few minutes, and I had it all put together.

Both kiddos were ready to go as soon as they saw the bikes set up, so I strapped in Lola, Betsy got on her bike, and we hit the trail. As you can see in the photo, Betsy's bike is a department store special, with coaster brakes and 20" tires. That would bite us later in the ride.

We headed down the trail, and due to last night's storms, there were lots of broken mesquite twigs and branches on the trail. I told Betsy to watch out for them, but there were so many, it was impossible. They have thorns, but there was no way to avoid all of them. As we rode along, we saw a Horned Toad, as well as a very large Roadrunner. Betsy and Lola were really excited to see the animals, and were enjoying the ride.

I was having fun, but I was not getting much of a workout. Even in the big chainring, I couldn't really work, otherwise I would leave Betsy down the trail. So I spun along, sometimes unclipping on one side and working just one leg to try to get some kind of muscle work. We stopped several times, and once I had to stop because Lola was reaching up through the trailer front and touching my rear tire. That one scared me. Other than that, it was a relaxing first half. I didn't realize it until almost halfway into the ride, but while I was coasting along, Betsy was hurting.

We approached the halfway point at the World Birding Center at Bentsen State Park, and suddenly Betsy screamed at me to stop. She was about 20 yards back, and as she rolled up I could tell she was upset. She said she was tired, and her whole body, incudling her head, was in pain. What can a parent do with a summary like that? She was on the verge of tears. I told her let's just get to the park, and we would rest in the shade. She was happy with that, and we rolled on to the park.

Once there, we browsed their air-conditioned gift shop, drank some water and Gatorade, and then got back on the bikes. Betsy said she felt great, but 10 minutes later, she was upset again. This time, she said her forehead was really, really hurting. I checked her helmet, and somehow she had tightened the adjustable section down to the smallest setting. She needs almost the largest setting. No doubt that her head hurt -- it was being compressed by the helmet. I adjusted it, she said it felt much better, and we continued.

Barely a mile later, she said she couldn't continue. This time, she was crying. I felt terrible. Had I taken them too far? Was it too hot? I think her bike was mismatched with me on my bike, even when pulling the trailer. Her tiny wheels, flat pedals, and super heavy bike cause her to exert a lot of energy to stay up with me. We rested a bit, I encouraged her and told her how proud I was, and then continued. I let her take the lead, and said she could ride as slowly as necessary.

About 5 minutes later, we found another cause of her struggles. I looked down, and her rear tire was completely flat. It was probably getting pretty spongy over the previous few minutes, and was probably the thing that put her over the edge. I stupidly had forgotten the wrench to remove her wheels, which don't have quick release skewers, so I put some air in the tire, and we high-tailed it back to the truck. I still haven't checked the tire and tube, but I'll bet my non-existent paycheck that it's a mesquite thorn.

After Betsy rode as hard as she could back to the trailhead, I started the truck, cranked the AC, and loaded the kids. Lola had been sleeping in the trailer, and continued to sleep in the truck. Betsy drank some water, ate a breakfast bar, and started feeling a little better. I loaded the gear, and once in the truck, took these "after" photos of the girls. You can tell Betsy was glad to be finished. You can also tell that even though she wasn't exercising, the hot South Texas weather took it's toll on Lola.

I don't have a cyclocomputer or GPS on my hybrid. I mapped the ride, and as you can see in the below map, it was 9 miles. To me, 9 miles is nothing. But I remember when I was a kid, riding 3 miles each way to the store on our BMX bikes was pretty strenuous, especially in hot and humid conditions. I also remember some kids rode to the next town, which was 11 miles. We thought that was nuts.

I think Betsy completing 9 miles on her first ride longer than a mile on her own two wheels is amazing, and I'm very proud of her.

Hybrid Trailer-Pulling Bike Update: The First Ride

2009-06-03T05:00:00.000-07:00

24 hours later, and my trailer-pulling plan has changed drastically. Here's the update on yesterday's plan:

1) BUY A CHEAP BUT DECENT TRAILER

Done! I bought a Schwinn Spirit at Wal-Mart for a good price. Weiland offered one for free, but I don't have plans to travel to Austin in the near future, and a special trip just for the trailer wasn't cost effective. I hope that there's no point in the future that I wish that I had the $139 back so I can buy food.

2) REPLACE MY FRONT SUSPENSION FORK WITH A RIGID FORK

SkiBikeJunkie and Weiland both said this wasn't necessary. I agree, and as a result I pulled the trailer today with the front suspension fork still on the bike, although dialed down as stiff as I could get it. During the ride, I felt a lot of sponginess in the fork. I think it's blown out, but I don't know much about suspension. I might spend the $75 or so and replace it. We'll see after a few rides...

3) BUY SPARE TUBES, CO2, HELMET FOR LOLA, AND OTHER ACCESSORIES

Again, SkiBikeJunkie said to forego the CO2 and just put a pump in the trailer. Great idea, and that's what I'll do. I bought some spare tubes for my bike, the trailer, and Betsy's bike, as well as a bell for my bike. I can't wait to ring it on the hike & bike! Lola wanted a Dora helmet, but it was pricier than some other options because it included knee and elbow pads that she doesn't need. I cheaped out and bought a panda bear helmet that she now loves.

4) USE MY ROAD GEAR AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE WHEN ON THE RIG

TBD...my ride today was spur of the moment, and I rode in street clothes with MTB shoes and my road helmet. I really, really need new shoes. Compared to my carbon-soled Specialized road shoes, it feels like I'm riding in $3 flip-flops. My spare pair of road shoes have the Look 3-hole pattern, and I need SPD 2-hole. Instead of buying an adapter, I'll probably look for a cheap pair of MTB or "hybrid" shoes.

THE FIRST RIDE

Once I bought the trailer, Betsy was begging to ride. After Vic got home from work, I put the trailer together, attached it to the bike, and aired up the tires on all the bikes and the trailer. When Lola saw the bike attached to the trailer, she started to get amped up. When I put her helmet on and adjusted it and plopped her in the trailer, she was ready to go. Unfortunately, I had to adjust the 5-point harness for a few minutes, which was just enough time to get everyone antsy and ready to go.

Here I am, foolishly making sure there are no loose straps, while anticipation builds and the squealing begins.

Here's everybody strapped in and ready:

We pulled out of the driveway, rode to the end of the street, then Vic took these pictures of us as we passed the house on the way back. We didn't stop, because when Lola saw the house, she thought we were stopping, and absolutely lost her little 2-year old mind.

We rode past the house, and down to a hike and bike trail that follows a canal near our house. Lola sang "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and other nursery rhyme songs the whole way. It would be a massive understatement to say she enjoyed the ride. Betsy chugged along, making sure she stayed up with us. She's tentative around any intersection (which is great), so she tends to lag a little.

When we got home, Lola cried and cried. She did NOT want to stop. I think the trailer is going to be a home run. Next step after the minor fork and shoe purchases? A bike for Victoria, and then the whole family is addicted!

Building a Hybrid Trailer-Pulling Bike

2009-06-02T05:00:00.000-07:00

Now that my spouse is employed and I'm staying home with our two girls, I can't continue with my current cycling lifestyle. In other words, during the work week, I won't be leaving the house alone to take my road bike out and ride without the girls. The tentative plan is that I'll be able to ride either Tuesday or Thursday after Vic gets home, and then a long ride on either Saturday or Sunday. Of course, I can still get up before everyone and do intervals in the dark for an hour. If you're a cyclist, you know this is not good news.

There's no sense in fighting this, so I've prepared an alternative. I have a 2003 Marin Hawk Hill mountain bike that I put street tires on, and up until a few months ago I was using to tow a trailer bike that Betsy would ride. Since Betsy can ride her own bike now, and Lola is barely two years old, the trailer bike is currently useless. Solution? Betsy rides with me on her own bike on some of the local hike and bike paths, and I'll pull Lola in a trailer. An idea without a plan is useless, so over the last few days I did some research, consulted with friends, and developed a basic plan to turn the bike you see below into a capable trailer pulling rig.

1) BUY A CHEAP BUT DECENT TRAILER

There aren't a lot of options. Burley is the Cadillac of trailers, and have the best features, reviews...and the highest prices. On the low end, you can find the typical department store junk. I'm watching some Burley trailers on eBay, but if I can find a supplier I am leaning towards buying a mid-tier trailer like these.

2) REPLACE MY FRONT SUSPENSION FORK WITH A RIGID FORK

If I'm going to pull 25 pounds of kid plus 20 pounds of trailer, I don't want energy to be absorbed by my front fork. I'll be on paved paths, so suspension is not very helpful. After a bit of research, I figured out that rigid mountain bike forks with disc brake mounts aren't that common. But I did find some, both pricey and cheap; since I'm not employed, cheap and functional wins out. I'll be getting Nashbar's basic, rigid, cro-mo fork. No stickers, no fanciness. I guess I'll have to decorate it myself.

3) BUY SPARE TUBES, CO2, HELMET FOR LOLA, AND OTHER ACCESSORIES

Since I haven't bought mountain bike gear in a few years, I'll need to spend a little money on accessories. The bike already has street tires, but I'll be buying a couple of spare tubes for the bike and trailer, some 12g unthreaded CO2 cartridges, and a helmet for Lola to wear when she's in the trailer. I'll also be paying for some service to help install the fork, and perhaps a general tune-up.

Perhaps most importantly, I'll buy a bell, as I'll be sharing the hike and bike with walkers, joggers, dogs, and other cyclists.

4) USE MY ROAD GEAR AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE WHEN ON THE RIG

Some of my road gear will be used and worn when riding this rig and pulling a trailer. I'll wear my existing cycling bibs / shorts / jerseys, as well as helmet and gloves.

Lastly, I really need some new mountain bike shoes, as the ones I have now are falling apart on me Unfortunately, this might be one area where I have to "make do". Alternatively, I have a spare pair of road shoes that I bought for spin class, so I might use those, but it would be much nicer to have shoes that are more suited to walking.

I'll keep you updated with progress and photos. I'm already thinking about more stuff, like making my Garmin Edge 305 function on the bike, mirrors, lights...perhaps if I ever leave the trails and detach the trailer, that's the next step. If I'm employed by then, maybe I'll actually be able to afford the purchases!

Pre-Ride Flat and Saturday Ride Tricks

2009-05-31T18:56:00.000-07:00

The Saturday and Sunday Team McAllen rides leave at 7:00a. Actually, they are scheduled to leave at 7:15a, but that's a recent change designed to help people be on time, and of course does not help one little bit. Me? I'm punctual; so much so that I leave my house at 6:00a to make the 9 mile trip to the ride start. I leave early in case I have a flat on the way to the ride start, but until Saturday I have never had a flat on the way, and as a result am always 20-30 minutes early.

On Saturday, I finally had a flat on the way to the ride. Luckily, it was daylight already, so I pulled over and tried to change it as quickly as I could. It was a rear flat, and although I was shifted into the gear combo with the most slack, I couldn't get the chain off the cassette. I had to get my fingers a little greasy. Once it was free of the chain, I pulled out my single tire lever, and promptly broke it. Argh! It wasn't looking good for making the ride in time.

I mentally reminded myself that I had around 30 minutes to spare...no need to get nervous. I used the broken piece to work a little bit of bead off the rim, and even though I ride Michelin Pro3's, I was able to get the tire off relatively easily. After a quick inspection of the tire, I noticed the tell-tale white, dusty residue, and in the center was a through-and-through cut. I booted it with a dollar bill, then put everything back together.

I rode on to the ride start, and made it with 5 minutes to spare. Of course, I couldn't help but think about how the official ride start time has been pushed back 15 minutes to help us leave on time. I wasn't at the team meeting to vote, so I guess I shouldn't complain.

Since the Zapata to Laredo race was Sunday, the Saturday ride was sparsely attended. About 12 of us rolled out, mostly intermediates, but with a couple of stronger riders too. We managed to hold an 18-20 mph pace as we rode southeast towards Progreso, and the wind was unusually light. We held a double paceline for the entirety of the outbound trip, and as we neared the turnaround I got a little antsy for some fun.

I noticed a couple of pulling pairs tended to push the pace to the relatively mild 20-21 mph range. I was more than happy to work with them if they wanted a little extra pace. On my next turn at the front, I happened to be pulling with one of them. I did something a little evil: I half-wheeled him until I could tell he was tiring. If you aren't familiar with half-wheeling, it's when you pull ahead slightly of your riding partner, about a half-wheel of distance, forcing them to surge forward to catch you. You then speed up a little more, and your riding partner will follow you, unexpectedly expending energy in the process. Of course, if you're the half-wheeler, you know when you're surging, so you have a distinct advantage.

But that's not all. We started the pull at 18mph, and when I half-wheeled him up to 22mph, I geared up into the big ring, and started churning. I pulled away from the group, and held a 25-27mph pace for a short while. I wasn't feeling strong, but I had put 1/8 mile gap or so on the group. Two other riders had followed me away from the group, and had been sucking my wheel, so I let one of them pull me for awhile. We held the pace until we put 3/4 mile or so on the group. Luckily, we were almost to the turnaround spot, so I slowed, made the turn, and let the main group catch me. Nobody said anything about my dastardly half-wheeling, so maybe it wasn't noticed...but I don't think so.

On the way back, we "climb" a short little rise. Seriously -- we probably gain 150-200 ft in 1/2 mile. To the South Texas folks, this means it's time to test your constitution and "race" to the top of the "hill". I knew it was coming, and when a small group surged, I joined them quickly and then pulled enough ahead that they grabbed my wheel. After about 1/8 mile, I feigned fatigue, and pulled to the side. But I grabbed a wheel, and as the group seemed to stabilize speed on the approach to the finish, I got out of the saddle and sprinted the rest of the way to the top, taking the informal stage win. Wahoo...or whatever.

Yes, it's always nice to win something, even if it's a race to the top of the hill, a city limits sign, or the county line marker. Even better to do it after starting the ride with a flat!

Here are the statistics for the ride:

60.8 miles

18.5 avg mph

27.5 max mph

2163 kcal burned

Note that we gain/lose barely 1000' of elevation over 60 miles. Trust me -- you wouldn't notice.

Cycling and Talking about Snakes Eating Eggs

2009-05-29T05:00:00.000-07:00

Thursday afternoon I meet Speedo for a few laps around Granjeno, accompanied by our typically varied, lively discussion. Today, Speedo wanted to return to a topic that we discussed at our previous ride: snakes eating chicken eggs.

Speedo raises chickens, and on our last ride, he told me about using glass or porcelain eggs to lure the hens into laying in a specific spot. I then told him a story that I've heard repeated by my grandmother, as well as my father-in-law: some farmers use the eggs to kill chicken snakes. Snakes will eat the porcelain eggs, can't digest them, and will die. My father-in-law even says that he would find them wrapped around trees, trying to crush the egg against the tree.

I guess my story intrigued ol' Speedo, and he had a very logical argument that seemed to point at me being flim-flammed into believing an old rural legend. My Dad was always trying to take me snipe hunting, so I wouldn't put a trick like this past my family. Speedo had talked to some other farm folks, and they all agreed that:

Snakes are very sensitive to temperature, and it would be odd for them to eat a cold egg. What would keep them from just eating an egg-shaped rock?
Snakes break the egg when it's in their mouth, so the "crushing against a tree" element of the story can't be true.
Nobody that he talked to had ever heard of anything like this, but everyone knew that you used porcelain eggs to help hens lay.

As we talked and rode, I was pretty convinced. I was thinking that I needed to make a few phone calls and see why my family was spreading around old farm tales, or even intentionally tricking me. But I googled for awhile, and found some interesting stuff:

Rat snakes, which are one of the species typically referred to as chicken snakes, eat eggs whole. They don't crush them in their mouth. Here's a sequence of photos showing a rat snake in Alabama ingesting a whole egg.
Apparently my family isn't the only one that has heard this story. Here's a blog post describing the same phenomenon, with some comments showing that others have heard the same story.

As someone schooled in scientific method, I know this proves exactly jack squat. It's nothing more than interesting, anecdotal information. On the other hand, here's a FAQ from the U.S. Geological Survey that, among other things, gives some very valid reasons describing why glass eggs probably wouldn't work if used to try to kill Brown Tree Snakes in Guam. If forced, I would believe the USGS over a bunch of blog posts and legends, but I think this one needs some more research.

Regardless, it sure is a strange and interesting topic, and it led me to some cool videos like this one.

But what about the ride? Somehow, my Garmin Edge 305 combined this ride with my last ride. Luckily, I used the lap feature on my last ride, so I have some slightly useable data. The ride was about 30 miles, at an average speed of 19 mph. Since we were riding loops, the wind was pretty stiff on about 1/2 of each lap, and felt to be in 12-15 mph range. What's new....that's South Texas!

I Found the Sock!

2009-05-28T04:00:00.000-07:00

Back in March, I posted about some stuff I lost while traveling to Austin. The list included a brand new cycling sock, in the longer style that is so fashionable these days. Last week, while packing for our trip home, I pulled a pair of pants off a hanger, and the missing sock fell out of the pants leg.

To me, this was better than finding a $20 bill in your coat pocket when you put it back on for the first time during the winter. With the money, you usually don't know you lost it. But I knew I was missing a sock, and the leftover sock in my drawer reminded me daily. Then again, I'm easy to please, as I need all the good news I can get these days.

Trust me...these two photos are of the matching socks. You know I wouldn't lie to you...

Decisions, Decisions

2009-05-27T08:43:00.000-07:00

For those that aren't keeping up, here's a little history, sort of like at the beginning of The Tudors, where they show you clips from the last few seasons so you'll understand what the heck is going on:

I was laid off in February.
I've been looking for work in Austin, Houston, Dallas, and McAllen. The list is sorted by preference.
I have had...drum roll please...one phone interview in 3 months.
Our house has been on the market since November 2008, during a period when home prices continue to slide...and slide...and slide.
The good news is we had 2 offers over the last two weeks. One was junk, but we accepted the other. Then more bad news arrived: the buyers backed out during the option period. We netted $100 in option fees.
My grandfather died last week. Bless his heart, but he was very ill.

To put it simply, we are under a little stress.

Vic and I had a serious discussion last night. No big deal, because with everything that is happening, it seems like every discussion is a serious one. The discussion centered around a few key points:

Why are we selling the house right now? The market is terrible, and although it could decline further, there are some subtle indications that it is improving.
If we sell the house, where will we go? To live with parents near Houston until I find work? What if that means we have to relo to another city?
What are we doing to the kids? They need stability, and we're going to shuffle around, living like nomads?
The market down here is slim for manufacturing managers and professionals, but why not find an alternative career and just get some cash flow going?

After a long discussion, we're leaning towards making some changes in our plans. Perhaps we'll liquidate some retirement funds to enable us to continue without a job and stay in the house. Maybe we'll sell, and move into a local apartment so that at least the kiddos stay in the same school, and we minimize the number of moves. We're not sure yet, but we seem to agree that our current course doesn't get us where we want to be.

I'll post more as we decide more, but in the meantime, why not finish with some GOOD NEWS?

The air conditioner broke on Monday during one of the hottest days of the year thus far. That night and most of the day Tuesday, the weather was strangely cool and overcast. The downstairs A/C was able to keep up and cool the whole house. Icing on the cake? The A/C was repaired late yesterday. It took 30 minutes and cost $85.
We had a second showing last night. Another buyer is working on a loan, which is no small accomplishment these days. If we decide to sell, it looks like we might have some more buyers.
Our family could not be more supportive. They've offered to help us move, store our stuff, and give us a room or two to live in. We're not destitute, and it would take a lot for us to not have any other options, but it's nice to know you have someone that is watching out for you. That's family for you.
There's a good chance that Vic will be extended a job offer within a week or two. That will help staunch the blood loss, but won't suture the wound. Regardless, it's good.

I'll post more about this drama as we make decisions and the situation changes. Thanks for all of your good thoughts, well wishes, and prayers.

Video from Karie's Ride

2009-05-26T04:00:00.000-07:00

A few posts ago, I blogged about my experience at Karie's Ride. Not only was it a great ride, but some Team McAllen members took the time to document the ride on CycleTube, a cycling video site that they recently launched.

I admit that video of a bunch of amateurs in a charity ride isn't very exciting, but if you know someone who is IN THE VIDEO, it's a little more interesting. If you fast-forward to 6'25", you'll see me and Dutch pulling the double paceline, and then hamming it up a bit for the cameras. Too bad they didn't get a shot of me when I was cramping so badly that I could barely pedal...

Karie's Ride

On Behalf of a Grateful Nation

2009-05-25T04:00:00.000-07:00

My grandfather was a veteran of World War II. He didn't talk about it much, but we all knew that he had served in the Navy as a SeaBee, and among other things had helped build airstrips on Iwo Jima during and after the battle. I wish he had told us more, because last Tuesday he left this world.

My parents and grandmother requested a Naval Honor Guard at graveside, and they played Taps and presented the flag to my grandmother. When they gave it to her, they spoke a few words to her, and they brought me to tears. I would like to paraphrase them here in commemoration of all those that have died in service to our country:

On behalf of the President of the United States and a grateful nation, please accept this flag as a symbol of our appreciation for your loved one's service to this Country.

Goodbye Pa-Paw

2009-05-22T14:58:00.000-07:00

It has been a long week. My grandfather passed away after a long battle with Alzheimer's, and he will be missed.

Ride Report: Karie's Ride, May 16 2009

2009-05-17T12:00:00.000-07:00

This year, Team McAllen started a new ride: Karie's Ride, which is a ride established in memory of Karie Sheridan, daughter of a Team McAllen cyclist, who passed away due to complications resulting from colon cancer. The proceeds of the ride benefit the Colon Cancer Alliance. I chose to to ride the long route, which was 67 miles. I started the ride thinking that this would be an easy spin through Edinburg and south Texas farmland. I was wrong.

It was 15 miles from my house to the ride start, and as much as I wanted to ride there and reach the century mark, I decided to drive to the start to save time. When I arrived registration had started, but the line was short. The rider in the Italian colors (or Mexico?) was on a custom Serotta, and rode most of the 67 mile route with my group.

From 090516 Karie's Ride

I had prepaid, so I quickly picked up my ride packet. I usually don't pay attention to bib numbers, but if you're into numerology, you'll love my bib number. It's composed of two VERY lucky numbers: 21 and 7. Too bad they didn't help me on the ride.

From 090516 Karie's Ride

I saw Dutchman's bike leaning against a post, then saw that he was in line to register. I leaned my bike against the same post, and snapped a photo. I wish I had his bike...

From 090516 Karie's Ride

After he finished registering, Dutchman, Speedo, Chris and I lined up at the front of the group, as the 67 mile riders were to be the first to start. While we waited, I snapped a couple of photos of my ride buddies. The first is Dutch, then the 2nd is of Speedo and Chris. Lastly, I turned the camera around and got a terrible upwardly angled self-portrait. Even worse, some dude casually photobombed me!

From 090516 Karie's Ride

After a short speech from Team McAllen leaders, acknowledging the cause and thanking the sponsors, we rolled out with a full police escort. Edinburg police shut down all the intersections and we rolled at 18-20 mph until we reached the city limits. Our group was about 20 riders strong, but I only knew a few of them, and Dutch, Speedo, Chris and I were the only strong riders I recognized. We still had SAG, but from there we were on our own.

Speedo and Chris had pulled us out of town, and Dutchman and I took the next pull. We started maintaining 20 mph, and before too long Speedo rode up from the back of the paceline and asked us to slow down to 18 or so. The group was starting to struggle already. Dutch and I slowed down the group, but we started talking about how this would be a LONG day if we had to hold 18 mph within 10 miles of the ride start. Even worse, we had the wind at our back. If we couldn't hold a good 20+ pace with a 10 mph tailwind, we were really in trouble.

We rolled up to the 1st rest stop, barely 15 miles into the ride. Since it was a hot and humid day, and we obviously had some riders that needed the stops, we all pulled over and refueled. You never know what you'll see on a ride, and what I saw demanded to be photographed. A frame house being moved, with a guy riding on the roof peak. Dangerous...yes. Photogenic...absolutely.

From 090516 Karie's Ride

After the quick stop, we continued on, with Dutch, Speedo, Chris and I taking most of the pulls. It was intentional, because when we weren't pulling, our speed suffered. In hindsight, taking these long pulls into the wind set me up for pain, but more on that later. As we cruised along, the scenery changed from urban to countryside. We reached the next rest stop faster than I expected, and Dutch and I were pulling the group as we rolled in to the stop. As we did, I looked back and realized the group had fragmented. A few minutes later, Speedo pulled a struggling rider into the stop. I snapped his photo, capturing the wide open cornfields in the area. If the corn was replaced with sunflowers and there were some slight rollers, it might be confused with France.

From 090516 Karie's Ride

At the rest stop, we were warned that it was the last stop until Hargill. I knew Hargill wasn't far, but I refilled my bottles anyway and grabbed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. After a quick group discussion, we decided to break into a fast group and a "not so fast" group. Dutch and I would lead out the fast group, with Chris along as ride leader and our official connection to the ride organizers. Speedo volunteered to ride with the slower group...bless his heart!

Again, Dutch and I led out the group. And again, in hindsight, all of this pulling really set me up for what was to happen later in the ride. Within a mile, we turned from a headwind to a tailwind, and we started pushing a 23-25 mph pace. Our group was about 10 riders, and we all seemed to be feeling good and taking good pulls.

5 miles later, we realized we had dropped a few riders. They could easily fall back and ride with Speedo's group. No problem for them, but it was a problem for us, as that left less cyclists to pull. We hammered onwards toward Hargill, but when we reached Hargill, nobody wanted to stop at the tiny country store. We decided to continue on, and turned towards the south. A steady 15 mph wind hit us in the face. We had been riding with tailwind and crosswind pushing us for so long, we had forgotten all about the wind. Our speed dropped, and we all began to suffer through the pulls.

About 8 miles later, and close to 20 miles from the last rest stop, Dutch and I were both almost out of water. The extra rations of pace line pulling had worn me down, and I let Dutch know that I was hurting. He gave me a Hammer gel, and I slammed it, then chased it with my last bit of water. A few minutes later, I felt a bit better, but was very happy when we reached the next rest stop. I filled the bottles, drank and refilled, and also drank a can of Coke. I'm not sure if it was the Coke or what, but I felt like I had an anvil in my stomach.

We left the stop, again pushing into the wind. I really wasn't feeling well. My stomach was too full, my legs felt rubbery, and I just wasn't having much fun. We continued on, but at about mile 62 I experienced something that I have NEVER experienced on the bike: hamstring cramps. I've had minor calf cramps when sprinting at the end of a long ride, but never hamstring cramps like these. I know they're not rare in cycling, but it was a first for me.

The cramps hurt so bad that I could barely pedal, and when I did, it felt like I was spinning a square, not a circle. I stood up, locked my knees, and bent forward, stretching them the best I could. We caught a signal light, and that helped, but a mile or so later I was cramping even worse. The SAG vehicle saw this, and handed me a pint bottle of Gatorade. I slammed it, and between that and just not wanting to stop, I fought through it and made up the 50 yards I had lost. The group rolled in together, and Victoria and the kids were waiting for me, waving red pom-poms and yelling for me. It was a great ending to the ride.

In retrospect, the extra pulling combined with running out of fluids and fuel was a bad combination. Since summer in Texas is brutal for cycling, I pay extra attention to fluids, but on this ride, in 86F temps and with a 15 mph headwind over about 25% of the course, I made a critical mistake and allowed myself to run out of both fluids and fuel. Lesson learned. Even so, it was a fun ride for a great cause, was extremely well-organized, and I had a great time.

STATISTICS

Like me, I know a lot of you like to see the data. The summary data shows that we averaged 19 mph, although the average was brought down drastically by the speeds before the group split. Additionally, you can see that I was pushing pretty hard, with an average heart rate of 154 bpm. Garmin thinks this is Zone 4.3 for me, but it's probably more like Zone 3.5. The software is setting my max heart rate too low.

From 090516 Karie's Ride

The most interesting plot to me is the speed plot. You can see the first 10 miles, where we pushed 20+ at times when we had a police escort. After that, the speed slowed to a very controlled but slow pace. When we hit the rest stop at mile 28 or so, the group split, and the speed went up. The higher variability in the post-28 mile section is because when we had the wind, we busted it. When we didn't, we rode as hard as we could, but significantly slower. Hence the scatter in the data.

From 090516 Karie's Ride