Easy

Easy like a Sunday morning.

A funny thing happened when I went out for my ride today: I felt great.

Normally by the end of the first week of Bike Month I would be flirting with 250 miles and feeling completely miserable. This year, due to my son's baseball commitments, my riding time has been limited to an every-other-day schedule.

The forced recovery has left me fresh for the next ride. Instead of dreading my ride today, I took off in a positive frame of mind and actually had FUN. Imagine that.

Even with my modest mileage total, I am right outside the top ten.

I figure I will keep much the same schedule this week and hope to stay fresh for the latter part of the month.

Later.

The Hard Way

Today my original plan was to take the road bike down to the bike trail and knock out an easy 40 miles. However, I really hate using a vehicle to drive somewhere to ride a bike. It seems counter-intuitive and wasteful when the only real goal right now is to rack up miles. I rode from home instead, doing a mixed surface ride on the mountain bike.

I still got my 40 miles, but instead of cruising on a road bike and gaining maybe 50 feet of total elevation on the pancake-flat bike trail, I rode the mountain bike and gained 3200 feet.

It's a much harder way to compete with the roadies at work.

It was a cool morning, which was nice considering the heat we had earlier this week.

I had a nice long nap after my ride. Not a bad way to spend a day off.

Later.

Sudden Impact

Today I rode home from work on the first hot day of the year. It's been a very mild spring with lots of rain, so the sudden jump to 94 degrees was shocking.



I rode pretty well for the first 25 miles, but the heat got to me in the last 12. Every hill became more and more difficult. The sweat was pouring off me as my body tried to adapt to the heat.

I rolled up the driveway very tired and glad it was over. The forecast is for lower temperatures later in the week, and I am fine with that.

Later.

El Mes de Mayo

It's May, which means it is time to start riding more. I only pledged 500 miles this year, which should be an attainable goal, even with my busy schedule.

Just for grins I hopped on the scale this morning and I weighed in at a robust 175.4 pounds. Yikes. My all-time record was 180 pounds back in the early '90s when I "retired" from racing and quickly gained 45 pounds. I never thought I would ever get anywhere near 180 again. Bike month couldn't have arrived at a better time.

Today I liberated the road bike that has been sitting on the stationary trainer for at least two years. I have to admit, it was pretty fun to get in the drops and go fast. It's been a long time.



The river still has an unbelievable flow going. So much water.



It's finally warm enough for the rattlers to come out.

I put in a modest 30 miles, but the ride was made tougher due to the high winds.

Unlike previous years, when I rode too much early and either burned out or got sick, I am going to start slow with the hopes of finishing strong.

Later.

Breaking

We took advantage of both spring break and a break in baseball action to spend a few days in Monterey.

After arriving late Sunday afternoon, we took a walk followed by dinner.

On Monday Spencer and I went for a ride north on the bike trail.

For once I photobombed Spencer.

The next day Jennifer joined us for the same ride.

We enjoyed a well deserved dinner at Peter B's that evening.

On Wednesday morning we walked around, drank coffee and looked at the scenery.

That afternoon Jennifer and I rode south along the coast.

We enjoyed a nice 19-mile ride in beautiful weather.

On Thursday morning we headed home. It was a nice break, but I am also looking forward to our baseball tournament in Woodland this weekend.

Later.

You Know You're Old When . . .

In late November my coworker Rob retired. His love for the fanny pack was always a source of playful jabs, and also more than a little mystery. We always wondered: "What the hell is in that thing?"

As a tribute to Rob we all decided to dress in his likeness for the retirement sendoff—convertible pants, beer/wolf T-shirts and fanny packs. Javi picked up a bunch of fanny packs at the auction for seven bucks each and we were in business.

After the party I threw the pack in a corner and forgot about it. I had no intention of ever using it because, well, fanny packs are for old guys.

One day I prepared for a ride and realized the laundry situation was a little grim. Typically for local rides I use a traditional three-pocket road jersey to carry all my crap. I had nothing but baggy mountain bike jerseys and therefore no cargo capacity. I was only going out for an hour or so, and a hydration pack would have been overkill, especially on that cool day. Looking in the corner I saw the fanny pack. I sighed and thought, what the hell.

I used it for that ride and had to admit it was pretty awesome. I don't especially like wearing tight-fitting road jerseys anymore, so having the ability to wear a baggy jersey and still carry my phone, tools and keys comfortably was great. As a bonus, I could barely tell it was there.

My only issues with that particular pack were the zippers rattling together (noises drive me insane) and the narrow belt. I thought a wider belt might be more comfortable and stable.

I found this Dakine pack and thought it fit the bill.

It's comfortable, has a separate pocket for my phone, doesn't rattle, and even has an extendable pocket for a spare water bottle. And best of all, it has a tag on it that says "this is a legit mountain bike product," which makes me feel a little less dorky. But just a little.

Later.

Faster

Yesterday I rode home from work again, but this week was a bit different. Last week I finished and told myself, You're old, fat, slow, and nobody likes you.

Last night I rolled up the driveway and had a Stuart moment:

"I'm thin enough, I'm fast enough, and doggone it people like me."

I finished in 3:04, shaving a full 24 minutes off my time from the previous week. I am in no way under the misconception that my fitness has increased that much in one week. As I have mentioned numerous times before, sometimes you just have good legs.

Here are a few pictures:

Next week, weather permitting, my time will likely be closer to 3.5 hours and I can go back to hating myself again.

Later.