55F and gray. Amazing how 2 days (Sat & Sun) pushing triple digits make 50s & 60s feel cold!

Took 3 days away from riding to prepare and execute a massive yard sale. Made good money, but it was exhausting. Not sure how to log that on my exercise chart, but my muscles tell me I worked!

Back to riding to work. Short <RANT> There's a parking lot that's supposed to be for 'Park and Pedal'; 6 painted green spots for people to park (free!) and then ride to Boston (or wherever). Sadly, it's filled by people too cheap to feed the meters, and are walking 100 feet to a small office building:https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4214/3...340a1e20_c.jpg

</RANT>

Boy did I rush back home yesterday or what. Averaged 18mph over 17.5 miles for the first time. I guess that is what a well rested and well fed body can do! Plus it was pleasantly cool in the evening.
However, had to leave the bike home today. Thunderstorms forecast right around commute time. And can't ride in tomorrow as well due to other appointments.
That leaves me with Thursday and Friday for commuting. As long as I get 3 days in, I am happy. 3 days = 100 miles. Not that it is my target, but it sure does feel good to hit that mark every week.

I haven't been bike commuting much, which is bad because they are re-building a bridge that backs up motor vehicle traffic for most of the day. I enjoy riding past it. I hope they have some accommodation for bikes when they do the other half of the bridge. Although, I'm not sure how the structure works, it might be separate for the sidewalk/bikeway. I have seen cyclists taking the roadway there, seems to work out ok.

I needed new dress shoes so I stopped on my way home and found a sale in progress. Glad I had an extra stretch cord!

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The commute home last evening was wet. It was raining when I left work with some thunder but I did not see lightning on my way home. And the rain was just a rain not the heavy downpours that happened earlier before I left work. When it stopped raining after arriving home I did wipe down the chain on the bike and apply lube.

Today's commute was very pleasant with the temp at 51f degrees. I took the long ride today.

Long ride this morning. Instead of trying to climb some big hills through downtown KC went over to Paseo, and of course was right against the wind. 8.6 versus 6.2-5 so not that much more. Think I might long ride tonight also.

Really nice these days! Cool and clear, bright stars fading as the sky lightens around them...

Mornings in the 50s is what I love - especially for exercising. You feel cool to start, don't get overly sweaty, and cool down quickly after.


Print out some realistic looking parking tickets and put them on the windshields? Or maybe just write a note asking them to not park there, perhaps threatening to notify authorities? Although the first option would be more fun to watch for their reactions.

A really nice morning for a ride at 58F and low dew point. However, I hit a small rock among some gravel and got a rear flat. I didn't really see it in time and there was a car passing me when I did see it and couldn't really swerve, so, "Bang!"

I had been moving along pretty good prior to that thanks to a light tailwind. After changing the tire I was short on time to get to work so pushed harder than normal (cooler temps helped too). I ended up averaging 17.4mph where I'm normally right at 16 or so.

Well, yesterday's afternoon commute home was interesting.

It had been lightly raining on and off since noon so I figured that I probably wouldn't be able to avoid getting wet and was happy I remembered to bring my rain jacket. However, as I was getting the bike out of the office building, it was barely sprinkling so I was quite happy. A couple of minutes down the road, it started to shower, oh well, I guess I didn't avoid the rain. And then suddenly, there was huge flash of light and less than a second later, a huge crack of thunder. Wow, that one was right over top of me! At least I heard the thunder and wasn't struck dead by the lightning before the thunder sounded. I really had nowhere to go; I was exposed although there were streetlamps along the side of the road and cars on the road so I just continued (cycling and praying). I took the shortest route home, 15 minutes, and there were many, many more flashes of lightning and cracks of thunder but with rare exception, I was able to count 7 or 8 Mississippis or more before the thunder sounded (sound travels at 4.7sec/mi). When I got home, my wife asked me if I had an exciting ride, LOL. She was at the dentist for much of the time that I was on the road and the lightning was striking all around her, 3km/2mi away.

The local radio station's morning news report with today's forecast sounded identical to yesterday's with thunderstorms and rain predicted to start at noon and continue into the evening but my two weather apps on my phone and two websites I checked this morning indicated sunny all day with no chance of rain until nearly midnight so I decided to ignore the radio's forecast.

It was a nice ride in. I decided to up the effort to improve fitness and strength with a series of fast intervals along the way: I was able to do 6 intervals and I added two additional hills at then end (not high or exceptionally steep, just more effort than flat terrain) and my legs are a bit shaky at the moment but that will pass.

It was a good ride, I hope yours is too!

Was headed to bed last night right as a thunderstorm was rolling in. Heavy rain, wind, hail and tons of lightning. The storm raged for more than two hours before things calmed down. Cat was a little freaked out and sat on top of me as I laid in bed through most of it, but the storm was so loud there was no way I was sleeping through it anyway.

As a result, I didn't get much sleep last night. This morning I woke to discover I'd lost some limbs on a couple trees, and our cable/internet was out. No other damage that I could tell.

Some trees and branches down on my ride in to work. The pavement was still wet in most places. There were a couple spots on the MUP where the water had been running hard across the trail and left a big patch of mud. Wind was still blowing hard but not like during the storm (actually, I should say it returned to the normal everyday wind for the Great Plains.)

Tempting! Yes, the thought of their reaction does bring a smile.

56F, still felt chilly. The winds have finally switched so I'll have a tailwind going home - always makes me happy!

I talk about my bum ticker... here's the difference. These are not big rides, just over 5 miles and 200 ft elevation. The left is Monday when I missed the timing on my medication, ate too much of the wrong thing, and felt like crap. The right is Tuesday when I kept it together and got two PR's. So my modes are very slow, or slow!

This morning was quick too.

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[MENTION=339610]Darth Lefty[/MENTION] That must be so frustrating. I never thought much about the timing of certain medications but it makes a big difference.

Tomorrow is moving day. We are nearly packed and have the barge all lined up. Now just for the heavy lifting, anyone care to help? I do need to find an extra set of hands and arms to be my surrogate mover. In the last few day I have gotten a knot in my shoulder/back that responded to massage by getting worse and pinching a nerve. It is a stress related condition that occurred last year for the move also. Anywho, I have quite a bit of arm and back pain along with a numb thumb and fore finger.

As for cycle commutes I have not had any since last week when my trailer connector failed. I have the parts and just need to cobble it together.

Another day with a pleasant commute. The temp was 56f degrees when I left the house with partly cloudy skies.

For the past couple of weeks I've been riding to the gym on Monday and Thursday mornings. It's about 7 miles from home to there. I'll lift weights for about 45-50 minutes, then ride the remaining 5-6 miles to work.

A nice 65F this morning. Sunny day ahead.

72 degrees on the way in and against the wind in the red slug. A bit sad, started raining 30 minutes after I got to work! And I even brought another set of undies.

Have been doing mostly par and ride lately. Yesterday, I rode from home since it was perhaps the best day of the year to do it. It started off at 62F and went up to 78F in the afternoon. I really like those cool and crisp mornings. If it wasn't for the fact that those 3 hour days like yesterday tire me out, then I'd be doing it more often. I usually hold back a bit as well so I'm not a total veg when I get home. Wife wanted to go and see a small classic car show that we have in our town on Wednesdays from 6pm to 9pm in the summer. So we saw that with my son after dinner. We heard about some folks dressing up as superheroes. My son got to have a picture with Batman and Wonder Woman. :thumb:

I haven't commuted in weeks due to a surprise kidney stone. Worst pain I ever felt. Agonizing. The stone is too close to my kidney to attempt removal so a stint was installed in the hopes that it will help move that stone out of there. So that is one surgery. I get the stint and hopefully the stone removed on Monday. And that's two surgeries in three weeks.

I miss my morning commute terribly. I was making great progress, feeling good and getting healthier by the week. Now I don't know when I'll be able to jump back on the bike and ride. The best weather of the year is here and I'm missing it. I think I would be more depressed if I didn't have riding to look forward to.
[MENTION=339610]Darth Lefty[/MENTION]
I understand your situation. I have type two diabetes and I use some medication and the riding to control my blood sugar. If I am late or miss a dose, I suffer the same as you do. So I really admire that you ride despite your bum ticker. You are an inspiration to many folks, including me. Keep on riding.

-Shin

De-railed
 

Decided I wanted a relaxing short ride, so parked at my 3 mile ride location. Got less than 1 mile from car, when this happened:

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Wheel would not turn, because derailler was loose enough to get into spokes. Used the strap from the toe clip to pull back the derailler, lowered the seat, and rode the bike as a strider back to the car.

Anyone got a Shimano Altus derailler? I might end up looking to replace the bike; the frame is a little small for me, but I have enjoyed riding this for the past few years.

50F, sunny but hazy

Everything at Amazon! 69F this morning with a ripping headwind. Hope it's still there going home

Fortunately for you pretty much any 6-9 speed long-cage Shimano derailleur from the last 30 years is a direct replacement

[MENTION=26168]High Fist Shin[/MENTION] not a candidate for ultrasonic treatment?

I had another flat when a mile from home yesterday and accepted a rescue. Flats essentially caused by using an 18-25 tube in a 37 tire which should pretty well answer that question for people. Because the tube is stretched 2:1, the least insult causes a hole to tear open like a pin in a balloon. Both flats have started from the channel, not holes in the tire. I've noticed while following this up that most tubes are rated in a 1.5:1 range of sizes and I've resolved in the future to use the biggest tube I can fit in the tire.

I'm done for the week. I had to deliver dogs to the vet this morning and my new 32-47 tubes are still in the mail. (this fat with a long Presta valve is kind of an obscure size and shops don't stock it.) On the plus side, I got a free Fitbit to participate in a medical study, and I discovered that dirt-cheap 12 gram CO2 cartridges from the pellet rifle section at Walmart will work in the Slime-branded inflator I bought the other day. No commuting next week due to road trip, though there might be mtb'ing in Soquel Demo - really looking forward to that.

No, it is not offered where I am located. I live in a really small community. Health care options and treatments are limited. I would have to travel 5 hours to San Francisco for lithotripsy. It's not really feasible.

It's a small price to pay to live here behind the redwood curtain.

-Shin

I had a mechanical on the fixed gear this morning, when my windbreaker somehow escaped from the rack and wrapped around the cog - resulting in a sudden skidding halt. The torque pulled the wheel into the right chain-stay. I teased the windbreaker out, but to make matters worse I had the wrong wrench in my bag, too small for the axle nuts. That was a disconcerting quandary - I'm not going to call home for a wrench, or drag the bike the last 2 miles with the rear wheel locked, and I wasn't wild about rolling it while holding the rear up. I wound up hammering the axle nut with my beefy mini-tool and got just enough clearance to get the tire rolling, but I was worried that too much pedaling force would torque it back, and justifiably since that's what happened when I started uphill at an intersection. So it's going to be one of those least possible effort rides on the way home, until I can properly adjust and tighten the nuts.

I'd had the windbreaker rolled up, under two bungee cords, double-checked that it was secure, yet somehow some part worked loose enough to get into the wheel and got pulled in. Lesson learned: it goes in the bag, or on the back of the rack, never on the front no matter how secure.

Repair the old, or get new or 'new old'.
 

Drove down to the LBS in West Newton, got a quote on the repair, too much, asked about new bikes, took a quick spin on a Giant Escape, now I'm trying to figure out how I could squeeze it into the budget.

Or check out CL, see what I could find. That old Trek 800 sport is too small for me, really. (rationalize). A new bike would have everything set up right (rationalize). It isn't really that much more expensive than the repair. (rationalize). I could keep the old bike as a foul weather bike, after repairing it myself (rationalize)...

What I'd consider perfect although I didn't get to ride in the rain again, sad. Did ride 10.1 miles this morning on the red slug. I always get close to the 10 mile mark but always seem to miss it.

Warmer and muggier this morning than it has been all week. Back to summer conditions I suppose. A good 15 miles anyway.

Although I did come across this on the MUP. I contemplated calling to tell the boss that I can't make it in due to a road block.
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