Ever since my hand rash flare-up, it seem's I've been in a bit of a cycling slump. My back tire is flat and i haven't taken the time to even fix it. Sure, I have the tube, just not the drive to fix it. I don't know why, maybe I just need a break. I've ridden the stationary bike a little, but no serious mileage (only 108 miles this month).
Work has been crazy lately. Maybe I'm working too hard and it's taking away from my desire to ride. Maybe I'm getting lazy. I've got a bit of a head cold which may be keeping me down.
In any case, i need to snap out of it. I'm heading to the gym today with the fam and going to ride there. I'll get to at least 120mi for the month, maybe-hopefully more.
I am planning to do the Ride for the Children at the end of April which is a metric century (65mi). I need to get moving.
UPDATE: The boy didn't wake up until late so the gym is out. The childcare area closes at noon (lame!). My sweetie & I have a Thai yoga/massage class today and maybe that will count for something, if not the bonding experience. We're now shooting for the gym on Monday since I'm off & the kids are out of school. Just gonna have to ride that much harder.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Off the Bike for a Bit
My holistic healthcare practitioner advised me to take a break from riding for a while. I have really bad excema on my hands which really sucks. My hands are cracking, flaking , and bleeding which makes it difficult to hold on to handlebars (let alone function daily). Everytime I ride, I put lotion on and just deal with it. My hands kill everytime I ride, but I love to ride so much, I just deal with it. See picture below.
I have tried all sorts of medication creams which seem to work for a bit, but my excema adapts and persists. Last night, it was decided that I "take it easy" and try hydrocortizone cream nand wrap my hands in gauze. I also took the homeopathic arnica and arsenic "pellets". This morning, my hands are not cracked, bleeding, and they don't hurt! Today, I have been "re-gooped", wrapped in gauze, and am sporting the brown cotton gloves. I am at least able to do a few things around here like get things for the kids and make coffee; oh yeah and type.
Unfortunately, I can't ride for a while until I get this damn excema under control. I will give the stationary a break for a while just to keep with the "take it easy" directions I've been given. This will put me off pace for my yearly goal, but I'll make it up.
My holistic healthcare provider is awesome (she's also a great wife, mother, & friend)! I have visited the dermatologist and given countless prescriptions. By slathering my hands with hydrocortizone and wrapping them, I'm hopeful that I will get rid of this and be able to use my hands.
Monday, January 4, 2010
1st Ride of the Year
Yesterday, I headed out for a little ride on my favorite new route (map). This route takes me through some of the “best” parts that Mesa, AZ has to offer. From run down trailer parks to huge mansions, they’re all there. What I like most about this rout is that the 1st half is a gradual uphill with a decent short climb at the end to the top (almost) of Las Sendas mountain. I did go around the gate and climb as high as I could to check out the view. Not bad.
I had a PowerBar gel at the beginning of the long ascent which seemed to give me the energy I needed to make it all the way up. There was no wind to speak of until the steep part of the climb, of course. At least it was a cross wind. This will work to my advantage on my way back, I figured. After a short break to take a picture at the top, I headed down. The wind was to my back and I was flying! The wind was coming out of the Northeast and I was heading southwest. Perfect.
After I got home I checked my bike computer and my average speed was just over 20mph! Keeping in mind that the 1st 15 or so miles is uphill, I was stoked.
With my goal of 3600 miles for the year, I have to ride 10 miles a day on average. I happy to report that after 3 days, I’m ahead of my goal. I hope the rest of my rides go as well as this one did. The weather was in the low 70’s and the sun was out. Absolutely perfect weather for riding.
Friday, January 1, 2010
A New Year, A New Goal
Last year, my cycling goal was to ride 3000 miles. I achieved my goal in mid December and tacked on a few extra miles for good measure. With a new year comes new goals. I don't really believe in resolutions as much as I do setting goals for the new year. Here are mine (in no particular order):
1-Ride 3600 miles by year's end
2-Be a better father to my kids (lengthen my fuse)
3-Be a better husband to my wife in general
4-Focus my energy at work on being more productive (work smarter, not harder)
For numbers 2 & 3, I don't think I'm a bad husband or father, but there is always room for improvement. Pretty simple on paper/screen, but I heard once that if you don't write down your goals, you have a harder time achieving them. So there you have it. I wrote 'em down. Let's see how I do.....
1-Ride 3600 miles by year's end
2-Be a better father to my kids (lengthen my fuse)
3-Be a better husband to my wife in general
4-Focus my energy at work on being more productive (work smarter, not harder)
For numbers 2 & 3, I don't think I'm a bad husband or father, but there is always room for improvement. Pretty simple on paper/screen, but I heard once that if you don't write down your goals, you have a harder time achieving them. So there you have it. I wrote 'em down. Let's see how I do.....
Sunday, December 6, 2009
What St. Nikolaus Left for Me
In Germany, the holiday tradition of St. Nikolaus is where children out a shoe on December 5th and if they were good would receive a treat from St. Nikolaus. Often times the treat would be small (had to fit in a kids shoe afterall); but if you were not so good, you would recieve switches. These switches were a signal that St. Nikolaus knew you weren't being good. For me it was a signal to get my acttogether before Santa found out.
This past week, I planned a ride for sometime this weekend. It had been a while and I really needed to get back in the saddle. It was decided that Sunday morning would the best time to go. Terri got to do some things on Saturday so Sunday worked out better.
It has been cold in the mornings lately and I knew that riding this morning would be no different. I planned to wear the long sleeve jersey, full finger gloves, my vest, and ear covering headband. No problem. What i hadn't planned for was last night's rain. Well, either it rained last night or some jerk wet all the roads that I rode this morning. I think it rained. It didn't rain on me while I rode; at least not from the sky. The spray from my tires was enough to seem like it was raining from below. My back had a very nice "skunk stripe" from the dirty water coming off my rear wheel. It was 43 degrees when I left and I was plenty warm in the gear I had on...Until I really started going. The spray from the road was heavy at times and in 43 degress moving at 20mph...You can do the math for the wind chill. Overall it was a good ride today. Only about 30miles in 1:40:06. I averaged 17.5mph and didn't have any incidents.
One new thing for my ride is an application I found for my phone. It's called "BiMActive" and it's free. What it does is use the GPS in my phone to calculate my ride info. It was accurate within 1 mile or so to my bike computer and the speed was a little off. What is cool about it is that it syncs up to a website and one can track all their training there. I will rely on my bike computer for cycling; but if I'm going for a walk with the kids or riding scooters with them, it would be cool to know how far we've gone.
I'm really likeing the route I did today too. I rode all the way up Lindsay to McDowell and over to Power back to the house. Lindsay is probably my favoride North/South road in the east valley. The traffic is light, the road is smooth, and the bike lane is frre of debris. What more could you ask for?
So back to St. Nikolaus, what he left in my shoe this morning was a lot of cold & wet. When I got home. I couldn'r feel my toes. I thought to myself as cars were next to me at traffic lights and the driver sipped coffee. "Yeah, but this is fun"!
This past week, I planned a ride for sometime this weekend. It had been a while and I really needed to get back in the saddle. It was decided that Sunday morning would the best time to go. Terri got to do some things on Saturday so Sunday worked out better.
It has been cold in the mornings lately and I knew that riding this morning would be no different. I planned to wear the long sleeve jersey, full finger gloves, my vest, and ear covering headband. No problem. What i hadn't planned for was last night's rain. Well, either it rained last night or some jerk wet all the roads that I rode this morning. I think it rained. It didn't rain on me while I rode; at least not from the sky. The spray from my tires was enough to seem like it was raining from below. My back had a very nice "skunk stripe" from the dirty water coming off my rear wheel. It was 43 degrees when I left and I was plenty warm in the gear I had on...Until I really started going. The spray from the road was heavy at times and in 43 degress moving at 20mph...You can do the math for the wind chill. Overall it was a good ride today. Only about 30miles in 1:40:06. I averaged 17.5mph and didn't have any incidents.
One new thing for my ride is an application I found for my phone. It's called "BiMActive" and it's free. What it does is use the GPS in my phone to calculate my ride info. It was accurate within 1 mile or so to my bike computer and the speed was a little off. What is cool about it is that it syncs up to a website and one can track all their training there. I will rely on my bike computer for cycling; but if I'm going for a walk with the kids or riding scooters with them, it would be cool to know how far we've gone.
I'm really likeing the route I did today too. I rode all the way up Lindsay to McDowell and over to Power back to the house. Lindsay is probably my favoride North/South road in the east valley. The traffic is light, the road is smooth, and the bike lane is frre of debris. What more could you ask for?
So back to St. Nikolaus, what he left in my shoe this morning was a lot of cold & wet. When I got home. I couldn'r feel my toes. I thought to myself as cars were next to me at traffic lights and the driver sipped coffee. "Yeah, but this is fun"!
Monday, November 23, 2009
Cave Creek Bike Festival
Back on November 15th, I participated in the 1st annual Cave creek Bicycle Festival. This event included a 20 mile MTB race, a 50 mile & 35 mile "discovery" ride. I chose the 50 mile ride. I'm working up to riding a century and figured this would be good training. Besides, It has been many years since doing any organized event.
I awoke on the 15th early not because I was so excited about the ride, but because I slept like crap that night. Every couple hours I woke up (after getting to bed late). Anywhoo, I staged all my gear by the front door so I'll I'd need to grab was my water and coffee. The ride started at 8 and it's an easy hour north of here so I headed out at 0515. I arrived in Cave Creek in the dark and searched for the "tell tale" start/finish line. Once I found where the event was, I parked across from a VFW post. At the VFW, an American flag was blowing in in the wind. I couldn't help but notice, it was almost sticking straight out. Not only was it windy, it was a COLD wind. My car read about 52 degrees. I figured that this wind would probably factor into my ride. I walked over to the Flat Tire Bike Shop and signed in. I got my "swag bag" and headed back to the car. I looked through the various "goodies" in the bag and studied the route map. Looks like a lot of hills I thought. Now, when I checked the route at home t didn't look that hilly. It certainly did today. In fact the 1st 9 miles will be uphill.
As the start time got closer, I decided to get ready. I decided against my jacket since it traps so much heat and sweat and went with the vest which keeps my torso warm. The vest proved to be useful last cold ride and I figured it would get warmer today. I also wore my headband that covers my ears. Last cold ride, my ears froze. I wasn't going to let that happen today. I found the (unmarked) start line and stood in the sun. Everyone was standing in the sun to try to get warm.
I was close to the front of the pack at the start of the ride. This wasn't a race, just a fun leisurely ride through Cave Creek with 200 of my closest friends. When the ride started, I was in the first 25 riders (the only on a MTB). I stayed in this group for a few miles and a couple people passed me. At the 6 or so mile mark, the 35 mile group turned off. The 50 mile group headed up. It wasn't a terribly steep hill, just long. My hamstrings were cramping a bit so I ate a few bananas and stretched. Good as new. At the 9 mile mark, we turned around and followed the 35 mile group's route. I figured at the turn, I was probably still in the top 40. Not bad. Of course there's no prize for 40th place. Once we joined the 35 mile riders, it was hard to tell where I was in the pack, although I didn't let many pass me.
We rode through the scenic areas of Cave Creek getting out little "passport" stamped along the way. The passport pointed out interesting things about the area. Kinda a cool idea. I was rolling down a stretch of the Care Free Highway and at the turn into the Cave Creek Regiostanding Natural Areal Park (right turn) and the wind hit me as if it was a truck. It seemed that the wind was always behind each turn. I know it's impossible for the wind to switch around and blow from every direction, but I swear that it blew down every hill. Every climb was into a good headwind. Ugh.
The best part of the ride is that I used this ride through a site called Train 4 Autism to raise money for the National Autism Association. Thanks to friends and family, I raised over $1500! Pretty cool! When the ride started to suck really bad and my legs ached, i thought about why I was really riding and I found the strength. I kept telling myself, I was doing this for Matthew and millions of other kids that needed the help. Seemed a little corny, but it worked.
In hindsight, I asked myself:
1. Would I do the ride again? Hell yeah!
2. What would I do differently? Cancel the winds or just train on the hills harder.
3. Best thing I brought: Headband with ear covers - saved me!
4. Worst thing to take: I needed everything.
I can't wait for my next organized ride!
I awoke on the 15th early not because I was so excited about the ride, but because I slept like crap that night. Every couple hours I woke up (after getting to bed late). Anywhoo, I staged all my gear by the front door so I'll I'd need to grab was my water and coffee. The ride started at 8 and it's an easy hour north of here so I headed out at 0515. I arrived in Cave Creek in the dark and searched for the "tell tale" start/finish line. Once I found where the event was, I parked across from a VFW post. At the VFW, an American flag was blowing in in the wind. I couldn't help but notice, it was almost sticking straight out. Not only was it windy, it was a COLD wind. My car read about 52 degrees. I figured that this wind would probably factor into my ride. I walked over to the Flat Tire Bike Shop and signed in. I got my "swag bag" and headed back to the car. I looked through the various "goodies" in the bag and studied the route map. Looks like a lot of hills I thought. Now, when I checked the route at home t didn't look that hilly. It certainly did today. In fact the 1st 9 miles will be uphill.
As the start time got closer, I decided to get ready. I decided against my jacket since it traps so much heat and sweat and went with the vest which keeps my torso warm. The vest proved to be useful last cold ride and I figured it would get warmer today. I also wore my headband that covers my ears. Last cold ride, my ears froze. I wasn't going to let that happen today. I found the (unmarked) start line and stood in the sun. Everyone was standing in the sun to try to get warm.
I was close to the front of the pack at the start of the ride. This wasn't a race, just a fun leisurely ride through Cave Creek with 200 of my closest friends. When the ride started, I was in the first 25 riders (the only on a MTB). I stayed in this group for a few miles and a couple people passed me. At the 6 or so mile mark, the 35 mile group turned off. The 50 mile group headed up. It wasn't a terribly steep hill, just long. My hamstrings were cramping a bit so I ate a few bananas and stretched. Good as new. At the 9 mile mark, we turned around and followed the 35 mile group's route. I figured at the turn, I was probably still in the top 40. Not bad. Of course there's no prize for 40th place. Once we joined the 35 mile riders, it was hard to tell where I was in the pack, although I didn't let many pass me.
We rode through the scenic areas of Cave Creek getting out little "passport" stamped along the way. The passport pointed out interesting things about the area. Kinda a cool idea. I was rolling down a stretch of the Care Free Highway and at the turn into the Cave Creek Regiostanding Natural Areal Park (right turn) and the wind hit me as if it was a truck. It seemed that the wind was always behind each turn. I know it's impossible for the wind to switch around and blow from every direction, but I swear that it blew down every hill. Every climb was into a good headwind. Ugh.
The best part of the ride is that I used this ride through a site called Train 4 Autism to raise money for the National Autism Association. Thanks to friends and family, I raised over $1500! Pretty cool! When the ride started to suck really bad and my legs ached, i thought about why I was really riding and I found the strength. I kept telling myself, I was doing this for Matthew and millions of other kids that needed the help. Seemed a little corny, but it worked.
In hindsight, I asked myself:
1. Would I do the ride again? Hell yeah!
2. What would I do differently? Cancel the winds or just train on the hills harder.
3. Best thing I brought: Headband with ear covers - saved me!
4. Worst thing to take: I needed everything.
I can't wait for my next organized ride!
Monday, November 9, 2009
A Great Cycling Weekend
This past weekend was great for me & the bike(s). Saturday started out with the Ride of Honor in north Mesa. Over 400 cyclists turned out to support those who have been injured or killed in vehicle-bicycle accidents. This event was incredible! The support form the local bike shops, SRP, elected officials, and businesses was awesome. There were all types of riders in attendance; professionals, recreational riders, triathletes, kids in trailers, kids on dirt bikes, and every type of rider you can imagine.
I was particularly touched meeting Kim Saks, whose husband was killed last October while training for the Qualcomm Million Dollar Challenge (a 7 day, 600 mile charity bike ride from San Francisco to San Diego) an organization that raises money to provide prosthetics, hand cycles, and a variety of services for challenged athletes. I met a group of Kim’s friends at the Ride of Silence earlier this year and was touched by the story. Putting a face with the “story” deeply saddened me. Brett’s accident left behind, a wife and two small kids. I know Kim struggles from day to day and it was hard for her to be there Saturday. It turns out that Arizona has a 3 feet law that requires vehicles to give at least 3 feet when passing a cyclist on the road. Unfortunately, that law is seldom enforced. Brett and far too many others have had to pay the ultimate price for this. I wish I could do more to help her family and others.
On a happier note, on Sunday, the kids decided that they wanted me to pull them around the neighborhood in the bike trailer. We have split them up in the past due to them growing and the occasional “disagreement”. They promised me that they wouldn’t argue if I’d pull them both in the same trailer. We rode for a while and Emma decided she had to potty. Once we got back to the house, the kids encouraged Terri to get her bike out and we rode up to the store and picked up a few things for dinner. It was really nice to be out on bikes as a family again. That is one thing I really missed over the summer is riding with my wife with kids in tow. I was very happy to be able to do it again!
Overall a great cycling weekend. Not many miles (20), butu it’s the quality not the quantity that count.
I was particularly touched meeting Kim Saks, whose husband was killed last October while training for the Qualcomm Million Dollar Challenge (a 7 day, 600 mile charity bike ride from San Francisco to San Diego) an organization that raises money to provide prosthetics, hand cycles, and a variety of services for challenged athletes. I met a group of Kim’s friends at the Ride of Silence earlier this year and was touched by the story. Putting a face with the “story” deeply saddened me. Brett’s accident left behind, a wife and two small kids. I know Kim struggles from day to day and it was hard for her to be there Saturday. It turns out that Arizona has a 3 feet law that requires vehicles to give at least 3 feet when passing a cyclist on the road. Unfortunately, that law is seldom enforced. Brett and far too many others have had to pay the ultimate price for this. I wish I could do more to help her family and others.
On a happier note, on Sunday, the kids decided that they wanted me to pull them around the neighborhood in the bike trailer. We have split them up in the past due to them growing and the occasional “disagreement”. They promised me that they wouldn’t argue if I’d pull them both in the same trailer. We rode for a while and Emma decided she had to potty. Once we got back to the house, the kids encouraged Terri to get her bike out and we rode up to the store and picked up a few things for dinner. It was really nice to be out on bikes as a family again. That is one thing I really missed over the summer is riding with my wife with kids in tow. I was very happy to be able to do it again!
Overall a great cycling weekend. Not many miles (20), butu it’s the quality not the quantity that count.
Here are some pictures from the event:
Opening ceremonies
Starting out
Not the most flattering
Ghost Bike
Heading back
My next Jersey
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