#17

I'm not 23 days in. I rode last Monday and then had a big ol' nasty run o' tennis matches all the way late Saturday. Exhausting.

Sunday I took a brief coffee ride with Dave on the QB and barely kept pace. Tired. Good coffee though. .5m from home I had another spoke snap on the QB rear wheel. Sigh. Later I went back out on the Ute to deliver some sold bike schwag. I need to sell some stuff to fund a new maybe project.

Today I sit here ready for bed and it's 6:15. If I weren't driving soccer taxi later I would have a nice glass of grape juice and drift off at 7.30. Oh well.

#16

Quick 5.5m in between tennis match and soccer taxi. Take it when I can get it. Averaged 16.2 while hamster-wheeling the SS.

#15 1.1

I suspect more miles are in me for later, but Day #15 began with the 4m there-n-back to Breadworks where I had a cup and bagel and graded some stacks of paper.

I bailed on a 40m gravel-grinder today b/c I feel the need to make a last minute push to achieve all the crap I didn't during the Break. First Papers, next up lawn mowing. After that more papers, odds-n-ends and then, hopefully, a ride.

Halfway done on 30DaysinApril. Next 15 are going to be more challenging, with a full tennis complement.

************

I knew I had more miles in me somehow, and I got them this evening with two different ride partners. Even though we were full from pancakes, L was wanting to get out to take advantage of the (again) beautiful weather. As he headed out, Dave and I texted back and forth and he was out kicking out the jams on the SS. So I did a short bit with L and then peeled of to find Dave on Baxter. Basically we took a loop through Cherokee/Seneca ploughing through the bugs fields along the creek. Although we were both on singlespeeds, our tempo was a bit different, with Dave's larger gear making my flat runs more challenging and my smaller making things easier to spin up the hills. Not that it mattered; he took me on some hills anyway.

I was a nice way to end Spring Break. Back to the real world tomorrow, where getting in my 30DaysofApril rides will be a bit more challenging.

#14 Night Ride

A full day of soccer, pizza, more soccer, a nap and ice cream finally allowed me to get #14 in, a brilliant nightride through a perfect temp for, well, nightriding. I even relished riding through the bug clouds in Cherokee because at least I was out in it instead of docked like a fat tanker on the couch.

My route took me along a dark Beargrass Trail, down to the skate park where I watched one dude do this whirly-bird spin thing balancing on his bike tire all while holding onto all kinds of parts of the front of his bike. It looked like some kind of wind chime, except for the sallow complexion and mowhawk. I then rolled along NuLu peeking into the many restaurants and bars that comprise that area. Garage Bar even has outdoor lighted ping-pong tables. I must go.

Creeping through G'town led me to Highland Ave. where I ran into work friends, with whom I chatted on their front porch while petting their very amiable (calm) beagle. Again I commented as to how damn nice the night was. Of course, being on the QB, I chose my passage carefully to take advantage of low traffic but also low acclivity, bypassing some of the larger hills in the park and sneaking up Spring. I was sorry to end when I did, but it was late and it was time.

I've been doing lots of bike thinking lately, wanting to cull, to thin, to simplify ever slightly. A time or two the thought has crossed my mind to sell the QB as a superfluous, fancy bike. L even asked me if it was my oldest bike the other day. Pushaw! But tonight cruising along on that too-big frame with the one gear spinning quietly, no. There was no other set of two wheels I would rather be on.

 

Uuffff!

As the Spanish may say. I didn't satisfy Day 13 with the short coffee ride, so this afternoon Cherokee trails awaited my cycling efforts. In short I was out about 1.25 hr, rode several trails both ways, never quite got not the 29er flow, occasionally thought of what a 26" full suspension mount would be like, And went solidly over the bars down a soft off-camber and fell squarely on my face, shoulder, and ribs. I'm a little stiff and have my first trail blood in a while, but I'm here on the "patio" having a Sierra Nevada Torpedo IPA and writing about it, so I'm alright. I'm liking this April stuff.

 

"Oh c'mon and let me know...(RB-1)"

"Da-da-da Da-Da Dah!"

Cheesy

I just put one up for sale and the cleaning spirit has hit me. This is the classic, which I bought, I believe, in '95 from a bike shop employee for a fair price. I put 3-4 good years in and since I have used it sparingly, most due to the 53/40 up front. Geez!

I'm of a mind (I think that's one of those grandparent idioms) that if I can find a good home for it, I'll sell. If not, it can sit and improve in the garage like a good bottle of  red.

It needs to be ridden, though.

#12

After yesterday's big time, today was decidedly more toned down. The morning was mostly dominated with taxes (it's complicated; I won't get into it), and the afternoon was gutters and other stuff, so this evening became a quick roll out on the QB. It was a bit chilly and my crocs are starting to thin out a bit and hurt my feet, but I rolled the flats pretty well and ground up the Milvale climb single-speeding. The QB is so damn steady. Amid my latest bike things I had the fleeting notion of, "I don't need the QB!". No, I *do* need the QB.

Bike(s) doings...

'Tis the season of the year when Spring springs, cyclists starting planning out their post-winter cycling year, and everybody strategizes what to sell to fund further two-wheel shenanigans. As for me, I have a beautiful stable of bikes that has accumulated and accumulated and I'd like to cull down a bit. It's no different than what the other kids are doing here, here, or here. The last link is a self-referential joke; it's something I posted in November of '10 about selling 3 different bikes: Redline Monocog, Redline 9.2.5. and Rans Rocket, one of which I already did, the Rans.

I like to discuss selling things, but I must be impeded by some inherent laziness or dysfunction of some type. Dave and PJ constantly sell stuff and seem to pull it off with ease. Last time I tried to sell some wheels on CL I got one message and nothing more. This time I'm going to be a bit more thorough and proactive. Too many bikes. Too much choice. Too much waste. So...

I'm selling the Redline 9.2.5. I'm "recableing" it, tweaking the rear wheel a bit and giving it a cleaning and then it's out the door. I'll post when it's ready, which hopefully is soon. It's a perfectly good bike with low miles (only 208m since the start of '08) and has all types of suitable applications. I just don't need 3 SS bikes, plain and simple. So it goes. I would sell the SSFrankenTrek, but I doubt I'd fetch $100 for it, so it stays.

I'm inching closer to selling the Bridgestone RB-1. It's simply the case that I don't ride it. I bought it in the mid-'90s as a means to connect to an iconic ride, a very non-C'dale, non-trendy steel mount. It served me well for several years, but eventually I got the Blueridge with its greater clearance, triple, and options for racks and fenders. The RB1 sat about for a while until Lithodale took it for a 1.5yr spin and helped to infect him with the cycling bug. One returned, it has basically sat, or hung. Dave was going to try it at some point, but he decided it was too small, and my uncle- who now has my 22yr-old C'dale- wasn't interested in steel (silly him!).

That last bike to consider is the RBW Bleriot. It's been a great two-wheeled friend this past years, taking me on many a long ride, RCCS ride, my first two centuries, my introduction into the RBW ethos, my first machine that I *really* tolerated at distance. From 2008 to present it's my second-most ridden mount after the do-it-all LHT. That said, compared with my other viable options now, I think it's too small; that's the answer more than most. As soon as I purchased the QB in '09 I've felt cramped and even silly on the Bleriot. Based on top tube height and PBH and such, it's the appropriate size, but I prefer the feel of other bikes now. If I decide to sell, I will either sell it in its entirety or I'll use the parts on another 650b project that is more in line with size preferences.  Who knows? One at a time.


p.s. Per Nov.'10 post, the Redline Monocog is now the neighborhood bike for the 16 yr-old. It's absurdly simple and he's strong/fit enough to use it on any hill in the 'hood. It prolly needs some BB love soon, but it's a keeper.

#11 100K Hundy

So far the 30DaysofBiking as consisted of many small rides, some of them great in the company of the 2nd son. Really enjoyed them! Today, however, was different. Timothy talked me into doing some actual mileage. I chose the IF and we left early to avoid some traffic. Our path took us from Slugger Field into New Albany, where we stopped for a cup and scone to get our motors running. The run out 111 towards the casino was *hot*, with the 5m lap avg at 20mph, which is absurd for me personally. Shortly I felt the payback.

 We climbed Blunk Knob first and I felt the sting of lack of mileage and of the IF, which is a wonderful bike unless I'm fat and out of shape. I ground up the hill but had to take a 30sec breather about 2/3 of the way up, during which Timothy passed me. At the top we decided to continue our route in lieu of cutting things short, a great decision except for when I had to walk significant portions of Doolittle Hill. It wasn't so much that I could turn the pedals but that my back was seizing up at a whiff. Agony. Once at the top we headed northeast right into a robust headwind. Tough. Timothy was an excellent companion; he could've left me at mostly any time but played the good partner instead.

We stopped in Lanesville for a snack and hit the rollers to and along Corydon Ridge. Somewhere in here I slowed down and started to suffer. It was my first long ride since '11 and I was out of practice eating and drinking, much less not having the legs to get rolling. We dived down Corydon Pike hill where at the bottom I talked Timothy out of Camp St. I had achieved around 45mph down that hill at some point. I couldn't image going up it given that my quads were cramping at the bottom of the hill. We took it easy through New Albany and finally caught a tailwind across the bridge.

 We stopped for lunch at Against the Grain at the baseball park. Fighting sun and cloud-induced shade we had sandwiches and beverages before splitting up for our respective rides home. I stopped by OYLC to show the boys that I, in fact, *do* ride my fancy bike before crawling home in need of a lavatory and of simply stopping. Tired. But really glad I made #11 a memorable one.

 

#10 1.1

Needed to pick up the SUV (never know to say car or truck, so...) so I used the SSFrankenTrek, a bike I haven't been on in who-knows-how-long (I patched its tube yesterday). Actually, mycyclinglog tells me the last time I was on the SSFT was Sept 9, '1l, when I got a flat tire. Anyway, it was windy, a tailwind, and I made good time out there in the sun. Another multi-ride day. Not bad.

#10

Don't know what the rest of the day will hold, but under perfect skies again- albeit a little cooler and with a strong headwind coming from NW- the L-man and I ran some errands on 2 wheels. His phone has been on the fritz, so we wheeled to the Sprint store for a bit of failed triage; he ended up moving his number onto my old PalmPre for the time being. We walked next door for a coffee and brownie at Heine's next and soaked in some more rays. After that we took a mixture of sidewalks and the outside lane of B'town down to Kroger for some basic sundries (and Sierra Nevada Torpedo IPA. Love that stuff!) and now home to see what else we can get into this afternoon.

Day 10, again not bad. I think I'll take 6m with L over a macho hundy most times. Good stuff there.

#9 1.2

The third ride of the day, the second commute. I've been unfortunately shopping for tires for the SUV and needed to leave it at the dealer- yes, I'm buying them from the dealer. It's a relatively uncommon size and their price wasn't any worse than the others I was finding- so they can mount them tomorrow a.m. I put the hitch mount back on after having it off for a few weeks and after dropping it off, used the LHT to get myself home in the dark through the neighborhoods. I could've cut about a mile off coming straight down Taylorsville, but the neighborhoods are nice and quiet at night. And my daily mileage was about 21m or so, not a herculean effort, but might damn pleasant for day 9.

#9 1.1

Or is that 1.1? L wanted to take a ride after getting home from a sleepover so there was no way I was going to deny him. We took the short trail behind Atherton and then linked to the Zoo trail and bushwacked out of there and across to Creason. From there it over to the Douglass Blvd neighborhood for a final 5m+. Excellent choice! And a second ride of the day. Later tonight I'm taking the Volvo for new tires, which will give me a 3rd ride of the day. Why not?

#9

I fully intend on getting out today for more riding, but my morning and my bike took me to a few different locations trying to get some things accomplished (car tires, hardware parts). I accomplished 6.5m, but haven't accomplished any actual thing.

#8

Fine, fine neighborhood ride with the second born. Beautiful skies, nice temps and a casual roll around, eventually visiting Farmington. Another short one, but I won't complain one bit.

#7

At one time I had aspirations of a double ride today, this morning with a commute, errand ride and then a "real" ride later in the afternoon. Life caught up and my 8m ride this morning became day seven on the road. 

It was glorious.

Mid-50s faced me as I "Ute'd" to Breadworks for family scones, and then to Quills for my fav half-caff au'lait. I ran into Drew of OYLC fame and he happened to pick up the coffee tab. Mighty good of him. After a drink and a savory ham and cheese scone and headed to OYLC to shoot the breeze and eventually pick up a QB wheel which Drew had just updated with a new spoke (broken when some soccer mom almost took me out while exiting MVSC a while back). Had a good gab with Jimmy of previous FuckGas.org fame (he let it lapse. good for him!). Being a sucker, I ended up picking up an inexpensive Pro-tec helmet, color orange to match the Ute and because I like bike stuff in orange. Molteni, you know, if you do know. Cheap and pretty comfy. That works.

I picked up the wheel and headed home for more glorious easy stroll miles. Glorious, really. Once soccer finished (5-2 win, and le Dauphin played quite well, if you ask me) I set about mowing the yard for the first time this year and took the opportunity to pound it with some nasty chemicals as well. Our yard mostly looks like crap because I have a real issue with lawn chemicals, but this must be an even year, so I pounded it.

Tonight we feast on some serious dead cow, and I couldn't be more excited. Spring Break damnit!! Meat, Bike and Wine!!

#6

Another 6m night ride, this one the best so far: moon, crisp nip, Dauphin ave moi pushing pace.

#5

Tenuous. Tennis and then meeting divided family for supper. Home full of some fish dish and took Ute out for 1.5m. Ute only bike I could pedal on full belly. The beat goes on. Commute tomorrow?

#4

A peaceful 7.8m tonight after work, tennis, rain, soccer, emails, soccer, supper, spider...  Alone chasing  luminous geometry, cool wet laying damp and thick, ease off casual gentle even, wander.

Nati8nal Champions

#3

Another evening ride after tennis, in this case a commute up to Dundee Tavern for soup and salad. I convinced the teenager to accompany me as his mother and brother were coming from a different direction in the car. After a meal he went straight home, but I meandered a bit over familiar avenues under the warm evening. Not a milestone, but satisfying in its own way.

Go Cats! 

8pril! Gr8! #8. Foreigners can't imagine how important it is for Big Blue Nation to win after 14 years. Unlike what pundits say, that we demand or expect to win every year, BBN only wishes to be in the mix and for it to fall into place like this year. Kansas, UNC, Puke, UCLA, IU and Louisville want the same.

#2

Another shortie after a long day. I finished tennis about 6.00 and was going to sneak in a ride before driving the 8.00p.m. soccer taxi. Instead I had to take the second-born up to FedEx/Kinkos to finish up a project that he had been working on before he and his brother totally janked up (teenager's word, but perfect) the printer.

So, after soccer taxi I grabbed the closest bike, the Bleriot in this instance, and rode around for 5m, which added on with my 33min walk this morning gives me around an hour of activity on the day. Better than none.

And the Cats are going to win #8 tonight. Not much blogging about it, but #BBN is strong and enthused. Go Cats!

#1

Whatever that April Challenge thing is, I'm doing it. I feel like crap. I haven't exercised in 2 weeks and have been eating uncontrollably of late, especially since my 12-hr tennis days have started. Heartburn. Tight pants. Afib. Bleh! The boys met and put in 30+ this afternoon. I balked out of laziness and ended up doing 8m in the neighborhood in the dark (SON-assisted, of course). I certainly won't be doing 30m/day, but I'm going to get on the bike every day, somehow.