November 2nd Ride
My mileage for this past week:Wed., Oct. 29, 10 miles
Thur., Oct. 30, 32 miles
Sat., Nov. 1, 50 miles
Sun., Nov. 2, 25 miles
The great weather has allowed me to ride more than I normally would be this time of year. I can tell I'm out of biking shape, I didn't have much zip today. I should have taken advantage of the 70+ degree temps and went for a longer ride but my legs said 25 miles was enough!
My route today was along the Bluff Road to Volin and back to Wakonda via the County Line road, hitting all the hills I avoided on yesterday's ride!
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November 1st Ride
I certainly do appreciate the extra hour we gained this weekend - it's been hectic as usual! Friday night oldest daughter came to visit bringing along our grand-dog, Maggie. Ashley's husband is on a hunting trip with his Dad so she came to spend some time with us. We ordered food to go from our local establishment (The Pit) and had supper at home to be around to hand out candy for the trick or treaters. After eating I left my husband in charge of the trick or treaters and I talked Ashley into going to Vermillion with me where I helped judge the med student Halloween party. As usual, there were many creative costumes making our job very difficult!Ashley stayed overnight and Saturday morning we went to an "Uppercase Living" party - basically its "word-art" for your walls. These parties are an excuse to get together and get caught up with friends over coffee.
Around noon Ashley left to go meet up Emily to go shopping. I got ready to go on a bike ride. I knew Ann and Little Cindy Lou Who might want to go on a Saturday afternoon ride but I didn't really want to make another trip to Vermillion in the car. So I decided to go out on my own and ride to Meckling and maybe I would connect with the Yankton, Sioux City, and Sioux Falls riders who were riding from Sioux City to Yankton.
I started out sometime around 12:45pm. Upon arriving in Meckling I made some calls to Biking Brady and then Rick (the organizer of the ride) and found out Biking Brady & CDV had gone ahead to get back for a volleyball game and the rest of the group was taking a break at Whimps in Burbank. We decided to meet at Pros. I pressed on to Vermillion where I met up with the group just a couple of minutes behind them.
We had lunch at Pros (along with a few adult beverages as CDV & Biking Brady would say). I tried to call Little Cindy Lou Who and CDV to see if they wanted to join me so I wouldn't be the only LaneHog on this leg of the ride but no answers from either of them at the time. Later when I completed my ride, CDV called to check in and to make sure this LaneHog didn't go missing - they're always watching out for me and I appreciate it!
After quite a long break (full of biking stories, including how Rick rode 26 miles with Lance Armstrong on RAGBRAI 2006!) we rolled out around 4:00pm. We took Timber Road to Highway 50 to Gayville. Wow - I haven't pushed myself that hard for a long while, nor ridden in that big of a group (9 riders total). I dug in and kept up with 21 mph pace of the group most of the way to Gayville and then the other two women riders and myself eased up a bit and let the men go ahead and try to kill each other with their pace!
We parted ways at Gayville and I headed for home (Wakonda) but realized my legs were feeling fried. As I approached Volin I thought of 2 things: 1.) how much I was dreading the last 8 hilly miles home; 2.) how good a beer at Mac's Pub would taste. I called my dear, sweet husband and offered to buy him supper at Mac's if he would meet me there and bring my car so I could load the bike on th bike rack. He accepted the offer and I rode around Volin to top my mileage off at 50 just as he arrived. The beer and good food was the perfect way to top off a great ride on a beautiful November day!
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Commuted home from work by bike……
It was great! This time of year the days are too short and the mornings too chilly to make my 24 mile commute by bike (I try to do this on average 5-6 times during the summer). Last night on a bike ride, where I do my best thinking, I got the idea to bring my bike with me to work and then ride my bike home. I had some comp time coming and left work around 3:15pm. It was so nice I decided to add a few miles on (miles with hills!), for a total of 32 miles.No offense to Holly, but today's ride was so much better than Thursday night spin class!
Tomorrow I'll ride to work with a friend and drive my car home.....hopefully I won't get a ticket for leaving it in the lot overnight!
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Late Afternoon Ride
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Positive Addiction
I just re-read the book “Positive Addition” by William Glasser, MD. Here is the synopsis of the book taken from the back cover of the paperback edition that I have:
“A hallmark of Dr. Glasser’s work is his insistence that people can change themselves and improve their lives. It is possible, he says, to become ‘addicted’ to positive behavior – for instance running or meditating, or some other activity performed for a specific period each day. These positive addictions – contrary to negative addictions to drugs, alcohol, smoking, or even overeating or excessive caffeine —can strengthen a person so he or she can overcome such negative addictions and lead a more integrated and rewarding life.”
My problem is my withdrawal from riding and not replacing it often enough with other forms of exercise to maintain my positive addiction. Instead I’m back sliding into the negative addictions of overeating AND excessive caffeine (as evidenced by the grande skinny latte with an extra shot of expresso habit I’ve been falling into).
This book reminds me of why I need to get back to my positive addiction of regular and consistent exercise when I am unable to ride. Glasser’s research was done primarily with runners and people who meditated on a daily basis, including those who practiced yoga with meditation (now I have a better understanding of how Catus-Eyed Joe got addicted to yoga). But I think all cyclists can relate to the experience of positive addiction described by personal antidotes of the runner’s quoted in the book – just replace the running terms with cycling terms and see if you agree.
“…the rhythm of running/cycling at a high cadence is a strong element. Sometimes problems get solved while I am running/cycling …but it’s not a figuring out process. More of a sudden flash of insight that comes when you are least trying to find an answer. I think worrying and running/cycling are impossible to do at the same time.”
“Everybody should run/ride a bike. It would drown hates, aggression, make people happier, create a greater sense of self-worth. ….If everybody ran/rode a bike, the revolution would be accomplished, the automobile eliminated, idiotic luxuries and compulsions abolished, proper priorities established, the environment saved, classes of racism ended.”
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My newest method for cleaning my bike and chain
Since last Sunday might sweet husband sagged for Cindy and I as we rode the Nebraska hills, this Sunday was payback time. I was a good wife and helped wash all the mud and grime off the school buses that accumulated after the wet week we had last week.With two people it went rather quickly – I ran the pressure washer and Charlie did the scrubbing. And I found a new way to get a bike chain and cassette dazzlingly clean in no time flat. I brought my mountain bike in and sprayed it down with a degreaser and then took the pressure washer and with the bike propped against a wheel of the bus, I could hit the stream of water just right on the chain and got the pedals spinning backwards at a ridiculously high speed. I then took the air hose and dried off all the components and oiled the chain. I have never seen such a clean chain!
I’m anxious to take the bike out for a little spin. Last time I rode it I was having problems with it not wanting to go into the small chain ring but I could see there was quite a bit of mud around the derailleur so I’m sure that was the problem. It looks like a brand new bike now and I hope it rides like one too. Hopefully this is an “approved” method of cleaning the bike chain and cassette - I guess someone will let me know if it isn't.
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Pictures from Saturday’s Ride
I met Biking Brady and Ed in Gayville and rode with them to Yankton where we had lunch at HyVee - great salad bar - we actually ate some healthy foods!
Biking Brady's front tire went flat while we were eating lunch - luckily he is a quick change artist!
Since we were in Yankton we had to take the opportunity to ride across the retired Meridean Bridge as well as the new Discovery Bridge. It is amazing how narrow the old bridge is - I don't see how semis and some farm equipment could fit.
We had to go around the road block to ride across the old bridge. Mike at the bike shop said that they don't want people on it as they are saying it is "unsafe." It was safe for vehicles up until a couple of weeks but evidently it is now unsafe for pedestrians and bikes.
I have to agree - I don't think the top deck was safe for riding - especially with the gusty west wind today. I'm a timmy (ask Ed or Biking Brady for the definition) and didn't try out the upper deck of the old bridge but the boys of course rode it to check out the view.
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Finding Motivation
As the days get shorter and temperatures fall my riding outdoors drops off dramatically. So it's back to spin class and whatever else I can do to try to maintain my fitness level. And of course I always have the elusive hope of improving upon my fitness level and riding faster and stronger next summer!But it's a long time before next summer - that's a lot of time in spin class pedaling like crazy and going nowhere. Today was a dreary rainy day, it would have been a great night to skip spin class and come home and curl up with some hot chocolate, a blanket and a book. But I dragged myself to the Dome and on my way to the locker room I passed the Campus Rec bulletin board where I saw our cycling team picture (Team Warfarin) for the intramural race and it made me smile. That was a fun day! It also reminded me of why I keep working at trying to ride stronger. Our team was made up of Cindy and I and two med students and this old lady wants to ride with our students for as long as I can. This year I was the last one to finish from our team but I didn't care, it was an honor for me to be a part of the team. Last year I passed one of the students - and this year she passed me - good for her! It gives me a reason to push myself and get ready for next year's cycling season!
This time of year you have to look for motivation where ever you can find it.
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Mountain Bike Ride
I fulfilled my wish to get a mountain bike ride in this year on Turkey Creek Road. The best part was I got to ride with my friend, the ultimate road biker and mountain biker extraordinaire, Little Cindy Lou! AND our ride was fully supported by my awesomely sweet husband!
Perfect weather (no wind, temp around 70 degrees) and the great company made for a great ride. The hills were challenging. My great-great grandparents homesteaded near this area, south of Maskell, and my grandmother always talked about the Nebraska hills. After today's ride I have a greater appreciation for those Nebraska hills!
Our SAG picked us up near Newcastle and we loaded the bikes and rode to Ponca where we met up with Biking Brady and Dan at the state park. A local photographer from Vermillion had made arrangements with Biking Brady to take some mountain biking shots for his portofolio. I was the only one who he had to take a photo of pushing my bike up the trail - I'm definitely not an off the road rider!
After the photo shoot, Little Cindy Lou gave me mountain biking lessons and rode the trail with me. I learned a lot and she gave me the confidence to give the trail a try - my skills are very lacking at this point - but it was fun! Thanks to Little Cindy Lou and my hubby for all of his patience hauling around and sagging for two women today!
For more pics go to this page.
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