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03-31-09, 05:58 PM
Hating myself right now.....and the infernal wind, toe straps, twist shifting, old folks that follow 2 feet behind, then pull off at the top of the hill and gossip about that fat boy on his bicycle, and the wind....oh yeah, said that already.
But most of all, hating myself. See, I had this GREAT second ride back on March 18th, did 14 miles up and down the Galloway trail. It was hard going north (slightly more up than down, and the wind was from the north that day), took about 45 minutes not counting a couple stops (one of which I snapped my avatar pic, seen at left). But the last 5.5 miles I did in about 28 minutes nonstop and felt great. After which later that evening I also rode about 3.5 miles on a stationary bike at the gym.
That was then.....
Since then the weather's been generally cold, crummy and more than anything else, WINDY! (We have a higher average wind speed than that other supposedly Windy City they talk about.) I also work nights at Walmart, which is a good way to get tired in its own right, and I also somehow managed to put off going to the gym too. All of which adds up to 'not cool'
I knew it was much too windy for riding out today, but I also HAD to do something - couldn't just sit around and stare at that damn bike. So I go for a quick ride in the park, which is right down the end of the street. Alas, the wind's blowing like a son-of-a-***** out of the west, and the road runs west to east which is good, but it's also steep. I barely make it up the first little hill mainly on account of getting my momentum up, but then the second one defeats me when my front derailluer refuses to shift down to the small ring (28T I think?). Just makes a clicking noise. I barely yank my foot out of the toe strap in time and discover these oldsters right behind my bumper! After waving them past, they turn off at the top of the hill and park at the pavilion, with the car turned around facing me. Now I'm not paranoid but I know how old folks love useless gossip, and I'm sure they were talking about me. Wonderful!
I walk the bike up to the top, not too far, then after scowling at old farts for a few moments, remount (I'm not very good at this either, its awkward!) and head down the hill to the boathouse at the end of the road. Soon as I turn back into the wind it's as if I ran into a wall of hay bales! I swear I'd have gone backwards if I hadn't cranked it up. Another frustration - I can't get out of the saddle and crank this bike! The last time I tried to shift myself foward and crank the handlebars were way way too close to me to even control the bike. If this is what they mean by "upright" then I'm not liking it very much!
It's about a quarter mile across the clearing to the trees along the lakeshore, if I can make it there that ought to cut the wind a little....made it, just barely. Then another mile or so to the end of the trail, where a short but VERY STEEP (figure on 30%) grade up to the parking lot near the gate. Once again the bike's shifting lets me down and I almost get dumped. Walk up to the top, suck wind, curse the wind, suck, curse, repeat. After a few minutes I get back on and head for home, but wait - gotta ride on the street or the grass shoulder. I choose the grass - good call, because three cars whiz by at 50mph right as I got there - if I'd tried to get on the edge of the road I would have gotten hooked for sure. None of the cars gave an inch that I could tell. Okay, 100 yards of grass to the gate, then back into my neighborhood, and now here I am.
I guess you could just say I'm venting because I'm only letting myself down. If I really want to get in shape I have to do this or at least ride the stationary bike or something every single day (in addition to eating virtually nothing at all, apparently) or I just swell up like a balloon (my weight can and does vary by as much as 15 pounds in a week, which is fine except that it's always from 305 to 320, then takes 3-4 days to get back down to 305, at which point the cycle repeats, and that's not fine).
I need to get a bike rack on the Tracker so I can safely take the bike to some of the local greenways and ride there, as my neighborhood simply is one hell of a dangerous area to ride (street goes around a blind curve then goes up a hill, no shoulders at all, and motorists FLY up the road as fast as 60mph) out of. Once up to the end of the hill its flatter and there's some residential roads so its safer.
But I don't/won't have the money to get the bike rack for at least 2 more weeks, and more likely a month at least. Not to mention all the other bike stuff I haven't got but need (bike lock, frog lights, tire repair kit - there was a lot of glass everywhere). And the Tracker ripped its top when I put it back on, so I can't just take it off and put it back on (see rant about cold/rainy weather anyway).
See, in this part of the country the wind blows relentlessly 9 months out of the year, then just when its high summer and blazing hot, not even a slight puff of breeze to be found!
There, done with my rant. I feel a little better now :) But how can I be thinking of that Masi or a road bike if I can't even make it 3 or 4 (3.2 actually) lousy miles to the end of the park and back?
Tom
But most of all, hating myself. See, I had this GREAT second ride back on March 18th, did 14 miles up and down the Galloway trail. It was hard going north (slightly more up than down, and the wind was from the north that day), took about 45 minutes not counting a couple stops (one of which I snapped my avatar pic, seen at left). But the last 5.5 miles I did in about 28 minutes nonstop and felt great. After which later that evening I also rode about 3.5 miles on a stationary bike at the gym.
That was then.....
Since then the weather's been generally cold, crummy and more than anything else, WINDY! (We have a higher average wind speed than that other supposedly Windy City they talk about.) I also work nights at Walmart, which is a good way to get tired in its own right, and I also somehow managed to put off going to the gym too. All of which adds up to 'not cool'
I knew it was much too windy for riding out today, but I also HAD to do something - couldn't just sit around and stare at that damn bike. So I go for a quick ride in the park, which is right down the end of the street. Alas, the wind's blowing like a son-of-a-***** out of the west, and the road runs west to east which is good, but it's also steep. I barely make it up the first little hill mainly on account of getting my momentum up, but then the second one defeats me when my front derailluer refuses to shift down to the small ring (28T I think?). Just makes a clicking noise. I barely yank my foot out of the toe strap in time and discover these oldsters right behind my bumper! After waving them past, they turn off at the top of the hill and park at the pavilion, with the car turned around facing me. Now I'm not paranoid but I know how old folks love useless gossip, and I'm sure they were talking about me. Wonderful!
I walk the bike up to the top, not too far, then after scowling at old farts for a few moments, remount (I'm not very good at this either, its awkward!) and head down the hill to the boathouse at the end of the road. Soon as I turn back into the wind it's as if I ran into a wall of hay bales! I swear I'd have gone backwards if I hadn't cranked it up. Another frustration - I can't get out of the saddle and crank this bike! The last time I tried to shift myself foward and crank the handlebars were way way too close to me to even control the bike. If this is what they mean by "upright" then I'm not liking it very much!
It's about a quarter mile across the clearing to the trees along the lakeshore, if I can make it there that ought to cut the wind a little....made it, just barely. Then another mile or so to the end of the trail, where a short but VERY STEEP (figure on 30%) grade up to the parking lot near the gate. Once again the bike's shifting lets me down and I almost get dumped. Walk up to the top, suck wind, curse the wind, suck, curse, repeat. After a few minutes I get back on and head for home, but wait - gotta ride on the street or the grass shoulder. I choose the grass - good call, because three cars whiz by at 50mph right as I got there - if I'd tried to get on the edge of the road I would have gotten hooked for sure. None of the cars gave an inch that I could tell. Okay, 100 yards of grass to the gate, then back into my neighborhood, and now here I am.
I guess you could just say I'm venting because I'm only letting myself down. If I really want to get in shape I have to do this or at least ride the stationary bike or something every single day (in addition to eating virtually nothing at all, apparently) or I just swell up like a balloon (my weight can and does vary by as much as 15 pounds in a week, which is fine except that it's always from 305 to 320, then takes 3-4 days to get back down to 305, at which point the cycle repeats, and that's not fine).
I need to get a bike rack on the Tracker so I can safely take the bike to some of the local greenways and ride there, as my neighborhood simply is one hell of a dangerous area to ride (street goes around a blind curve then goes up a hill, no shoulders at all, and motorists FLY up the road as fast as 60mph) out of. Once up to the end of the hill its flatter and there's some residential roads so its safer.
But I don't/won't have the money to get the bike rack for at least 2 more weeks, and more likely a month at least. Not to mention all the other bike stuff I haven't got but need (bike lock, frog lights, tire repair kit - there was a lot of glass everywhere). And the Tracker ripped its top when I put it back on, so I can't just take it off and put it back on (see rant about cold/rainy weather anyway).
See, in this part of the country the wind blows relentlessly 9 months out of the year, then just when its high summer and blazing hot, not even a slight puff of breeze to be found!
There, done with my rant. I feel a little better now :) But how can I be thinking of that Masi or a road bike if I can't even make it 3 or 4 (3.2 actually) lousy miles to the end of the park and back?
Tom