Rollers are HARD!!!

With the prospect of winter approaching, days are even shorter and the weather is turning colder. This means that the riding season will some come to a close. With luck, September will stay warm and dry on the weekends and perhaps even through the first half of October. Any rider though has to choose between indoor winter training or buying winter riding gear. I opted for the former, since weather is only half of the issue; daylight is the other.

So I went to the bicycle shop and decided to buy a roller. Rollers are similar to a conveyor belt for a bicycle with no belt, just the spindles. After looking at rollers and trainers, I decided that rollers are much more difficult to use, but make you a better ride by forcing a higher level of balance and control over the bike.

After watching some epic roller fail videos on YouTube, I decided it was time to give a try. I too experienced epic failure. Balance is difficult, and even the slightest movement from left to right creates monumental direction changes on the rollers. I was all over the place. After 8 attempts, I finally got to where I could be on the bike unassisted (by a wall or door) for about 5 seconds. From what I read, this is typical. Next time, a little better, and the the time after that better still, until I can get on and ride unassisted. Then... the sky is the limit!

Tomorrow's big ride

Well, tomorrow is another big ride (50 miles, give or take) on the new bike. I am sure the weather being less brutal, and the hills being more forgiving will make this ride far easier than the last one (Ramapo Rally). I rode about 17 miles last night when I got home from work early for the holiday, and it feel great to be on the road bike.

Here is the ride for tomorrow:

Finally, a post not about cycling... well not completely anyway

On the work front... As I am now the boss (or am allegedly, as I have yet to reign in the behaviors that have been lax too long), I am at the mercy of every possible calamity that could befall anyone simultaneously. It seems that if something COULD have gone wrong in the past 2 weeks, it did. All the while, every Tom, Dick and Harry has been vying for my time, or the time of my team, I am trying to catch up on the status of projects and the vultures who think that their department is the MOST IMPORTANT department in the world, deserves the undivided attention of every engineer, all the time. Meanwhile, systems are failing left and right, projects are STUMBLING forward (at best) and the opposing troops, or at least those who wish to see me fail for a varying number of reasons, are marshaling at the gates.

All the while, all I can think about, if how can I get ANY time to ride? Perhaps I really am done with the city, the long commute, being a slave to the long hours, high stress, and ultimately, the golden handcuffs. I can certainly live with less. I can live a more meager existence. In fact, the freedom that would come from having less, would be far reaching across all aspects of my life. I suppose the real question remains: Do I have the courage? Have I lost too much already? Has the price been paid? Will I ultimately regret it and wish it could be undone?

Perhaps teaching is the way out....

So perhaps this blog is really about cycling with a few added other things mixed in. Why is that? Probably because I enjoy that more than most anything else in life. It is solitary. For anyone that knows me well enough, people are NOT my forte'. In fact, most people annoy me, so being all alone for hours making myself suffer is perfect for me.

I remember as a kid, we used to ride all the time, my friend Rob and I. We rode and rode until it seemed that the world was far too small. We had no concept of distance back then. No cyclometers, no mapping tools, no GPS, no cell phones. Just us, our bikes and some destination that was far away. We didn't worry about whether or not it was hilly. We didn't worry about rest stops, or what might happen if it rained. We just rode. We didn't know how far or how fast, only that we were riding. I remember getting my drivers license and swearing that I would still ride. We could have logged thousands of miles.... and we just didn't care.

Those are the days I want. Long summer days, riding all day, for 50 miles or more with only a destination in mind. I want this area to be too flat, and too small. I want to ride until it hurts and then keep riding until I can't remember what hurt anymore.

This weekend's metric century is going to be tons of fun. If you are looking for me... I will be on the carbon fiber racer. Keep up if you can!

So much to report....

So there are 3 big things happening... The first is work. My boss has gone and gotten himself fired... That leaves me to do that job. Back in the saddle again doing management, which I don't mind at all, but it is hard to pick of the pieces of a broken team and try to get everyone back to the point that they are comfortable and ready to work again. Oh well, Rome is being sacked again, and the boss wants another shiny new coliseum. Yah....

The other big news... A few weeks ago, my bike was stolen. S.T.O.L.E.N. Absconded with. Ridden away by someone who doesn't own it. A thief in the night (or day as it happens). It happened AT the bike shop. Dropped it off for a tune up before a big ride up in Warwick... and went to pick it up. Stolen. So I got a rental for the ride, no biggie. Which leads to the next section of news... the new bike. The new bike is a Specialized Tarmac Elite. A very nice machine. Black and Blue. Sweet. Carbon Fiber. 19.0 lbs. I picked it up today and took for about an 8 mile ride. It is FAST...

More updates to come.

Athleticism

It seems to me that years ago, being in shape consisted of nothing more than just not eating the triple pounder at McDonalds and having the large shake.  Today, the concept is radically changed.  This weekend I was able to get away to a winery upstate, but instead of drinking wine all day and eating cheese, I brought my bike.

I biked 31 miles though the backcountry of Warwick, NY.  Hills, vales and everything in between. My original route was to bike about 50 miles, after about 25, I realized that I was being overly ambitious given the hilly scenario.  There were no flats, and little opportunity to sit back and relax.  I was in every gear ring combination from 1 to 21 with more then my fair share of times thinking that I wish I could gear down further.  With a max speed of 36 mph and and average speed of 12 mph, I don't feel too bad.

After (finally) getting back to Warwick, NY, I was exhausted and hungry. I decided to skip on the remainder 11 miles and take the shortcut back on the 5 miles to my start location.  I was too tired to go on, and the very nice woman at the bike shop in Warwick informed me that the remainder of my route was all up hill.  

In the end, I am glad to have done it, and look forward to a lot more riding soon.  150+ miles so far, and hoping to make my goal of 500+ this summer!

School and Riding, everything conflicting, and keeping balance.

As it appears, my constant battle in life is simply the use of my time. School has now completed the second semester, and with 3 whole weeks until it starts up again, I will be taking a new strategy. Riding. So far, my weekends consist of 20-30 miles per weekend on the bike. I am hoping to extend that this coming weekend to 40 or 50 miles. D is working at a winery in Warwick, so I am going up there with her, but instead of sitting around, drinking wine and eating cheese all day (which isn't a bad concept by any means) I will be bringing my bike for a long trek through the country.

In the past, when I have had some respite from class, I have sat my ass on the couch, watched TV, or played video games. Occasionally I would break out the camera, or even take on a house project. Now that the weather is finally nice though, it is time to bike. I am also considering biking to and from the train station, which is about 9 miles one way. This would be a great thing, except that I would have to get up earlier and get home later. It is the idea of how much time it takes that makes me hesitant. I will probably try it for a week and see how it goes.

More updates as they come in...