Longing for an epic ride

It's been a weird week. The family is gone: the boy is in Montana with my old man and the girls are in Florida with their mom. It would be the perfect week for a bike ride, anywhere. Alas, I'm grounded. Mostly because my wife is appropriately concerned about my durability since my 600km DNF and also because the ankle is still tender. I should be working around the house, but today I had Court and then went to the office to tie up some loose ends.

I should be riding. Yesterday, I found myself getting misty reading online accounts of others' glorious adventures in California, Colorado and France. And today I cornered a cross-country cyclist in Farmington, MO, whose bike I saw propped up against a laundromat. I raced in and said "You're the guy with the bike!" The poor kid, I was so busy peppering him with questions, I didn't even catch his name. He had come from Oregon and was headed to Virginia. Lucky guy. Tomorrow, I'm going for a ride, even if it's only ten miles.

My brother called tonight from California where it is very hot. Maybe this picture will keep him cool. Thanks for the call, buddy.

This can't be good

Yesterday's trail running went awry when I sprained my left ankle on the Greenrock Trail. It wasn't too bad at first, but when I crested the next hill a few minutes later it twisted again on an innocuous rock. Stephen sagely suggested heading back (our run ended up being 7.5 miles instead of 10 - not that that matters). I gamely tried to run it in because it wasn't particularly painful, just unstable.

But it's painful today. And what has me crabby is how much of my non-athletic pursuits are ankle-based: gardening, tidying the basement, and bike refurbishment. All I have left is beer drinking and NT Greek (which never occupied that much of my time if the the truth be told). I guess blogging wouldn't be too taxing on the ankle.

So maybe I'll find a model kit and watch the Tour as it heads into Italy today. I suppose I should have gone with Boz yesterday; then I would only have sprained lungs to contend with

The new machine

The I-don't-care-if it gets-stolen bike. This is what we'll all be on when, in the not so distant future, we fondly recall $4 gas. I fixed the wobbly headset, and put the old brake pads back on last night. It doesn't stop any more swiftly, but it's quieter. I teased my lovely wife that this is the sort of bike I'll ride when we retire to Florida where I'll ride it in just a speedo and some gold chains covering my tanned, leathery skin.

The new project is a Hercules frame I purchased at Bikeworks. It's a lugged, english lightweight, 3-speed from the late 60's I would guess. The frame weighs about a third what the Varsity's frame weighs. I'm already oogling a sprung Brooks saddle for it.

An update and a new ride

It's been a good couple of weeks since the last post. I've been riding some to work and last weekend I tackled the Firecracker 100 on my fixed-gear bike. It was hot out and a little windy, but not too bad. What was really great was seeing some biking friends like Tom and George. Too bad Tom had a mechanical (he claims) that caused him to DNF. Now he has to do the Natchez Trace 600km to redeem himself.

I threw together the old Schwinn Varsity (which I purchased a few weeks ago) and rode it to work. It's pretty cool, though not set-up exactly to my liking. I'll have to put it on Craigslist to get some seed money for the next beer-fetcher. I'll post a picture tonight.

Now for your gratuitous TDF shot, "The Man" from 2005:

Goal Set

Thanks to Stephen for helping me out of my funk by thrashing my down mood on the rocks and inclines of Greenrock Trail in west St. Louis County. Greenrock is quite tough; so tough that I remarked to Stephen it couldn't be good training because of all the walking (uphill and down). But he's right, it's toughness training. We ran a tough 10+ miles and it was very fun. I remember cruising along around mile 7 of our outing, leaping over limbs, arms pinwheeling, breath ragged; and I liked it! And even better, it was Training. Stephen talked me into running the Heartland 50-miler in October. Now I have no excuses, not to get out the door. Because this is a real 50, I'll have to adhere to the schedule or expect that my legs will explode at mile 45.

Viva Le Tour! One of things that has had me blue is the tought of the Tour starting and knowing I won't be there. I can still watch it from home, but it's fun to be there. I wish I could be on some sun-dappled french mountainside, willing my bike up a steep 20km Col, pacing the other cyclists, and craning my neck for a glimpse of the summit. And the feeling when you get to top is best summed up by this happy look:

Allez, Allez!

600 km DNF & a word on bike pricing

Sadly dear reader, the 600km on June 7-8th ended in defeat. That weekend was too hot and humid and windy. Though I gave it the old college try, I just wasn't acclimated to the heat and had to bail out at mile 141. It wasn't just me apparently, the other six 600km particiants also dropped out. No one made it further 141 miles.

I regret bailing. The cold that I was nursing since Memorial Day came back. I have begun to doubt my stick-to-it-iveness. I wonder if I'm still Ultra Scott, or merely plain old Scott. I'm in a funk, sort of like Ricky Bobby after he crashed.

Enough wallowing in self-pity. Because I'm a "bike guy" people often ask me about bikes for transportation and commuting. Everybody wants something reliable and comfortable, but no one wants to spend more than $200. I'm no bike snob. I don't tell the neophyte they have to have a Vanilla or a Seven if they want to "truly enjoy their biking experience." I see enough high-end bikes on Craigslist with "5 minutes" ride time as it is. I understand the appeal of utilitarian transport. But really, it's not the 70's anymore. For better or worse, commuting bikes are going to cost more than $200 if you want to buy new from a bike shop. The problem is neatly summarized by this post I stumbled across on Commute by Bike . Thanks Rick, it's harsh but rings true to me:

Honestly I don’t understand why cost keep coming up as a major hinderance to getting more people on bikes. It’s not the cost! It’s peoples priorities. Flat panel televisions are selling in record numbers, XBox 360s and Playstation 3s sell for more than what you can buy a quality bike for, gas prices keep going up, the cost of driving a car continually rises. The cost of even a $750 bike pales in comparison to the yearly cost of commutting by bus or train. A montlhy bus pass where I live is around $90. It has nothing to do with whether employers supply a shower facility either. Do all the people that go for runs during their lunch hour have a shower at work when they get back?
It’s about peoples will and desire. The diet industry is worth billions of $$ a year. I’ll bet it cost more to join Jenny Craig than it does to make a VISA payment on a $1000 bike. Where there is a will there is a way. There just is no will. North Americans aren’t fat asses by accident. There are plenty of choices available to the consumer right now. Any quality mountain bike with lights, a rack, some panniers and slick tires will do the job more than adequately. We need to stop waiting for the manufacturers to build the perfect bike. We have literally dozens of bikes that will do the job available now.
Bikes are inexpensive!! People are lazy.

Amen, brother!

400km ride report

Still too tired for a clever title. The 400km - the ride I dread the most - is now history. It was tough; they're always tough. But I made it and I shaved a few minutes off last year's time.

Bob (seen here at the Tour de Missouri) and I rolled out of Edwardsville at 6:00 am Saturday. The weather cooperated and we made Control #2 in good order. Bob was riding the 200km which he finished in 11:30 despite a bum knee. Truly an audacious performance!

My troubles started in Okawville at mile 78. I had trouble finishing my lunch and it was over 50 miles to the next food & water. By the time I hit mile 130 I just didn't feel like eating and was getting dehydrated. By the time I hit the northbound leg at mile 150, I had recovered somewhat but still couldn't eat much. And at mile 180 it was getting dark which brought my speed down from a daytime average of 15+ mph. The heat played a factor too. Heading north into the darkness, I caught glimpses of the computer reading "12 mph." And, darnit, the headwind I cursed most of the day evaporated just when it could have helped push me home. Though it did reappear as a headwind at mile 220 in the form of brief rain/hailstorm. I'm pretty sure the RBA has weather -control machine. I finished in 19:41, not a great time but a new best for me.

What would I have done differently? I think my fitness was there, but I should have done more bike-specific training. The legs and butt were okay, but my shoulders were sore and I fretted unnecessarily about little aches and pains most of the day. I've done this year's Brevet series cold - no long rides this spring and I relied instead on running to stay in shape since last fall. But Lance was wrong; it is about the bike. That is, I should have spent more time on my bike. The occasional bike commute (12 miles, roundtrip), even on a fixed-gear, is not sufficient. No matter how you slice it though, 252 miles in one day is going to involve a little suffering. I am looking forward to the 600km on June 6-7th. Happily, it allows for a brief nap. And, I rode to work today with no ill effects, so I think I'm good to go...

In other ultranews, Stephen Reynolds, trail-running deity, completed the Jemez Mountain Trail Run 50-miler in New Mexico on Saturday in 15:46. Not too shabby. I'm envious and I definitely want to do a trail fifty someday soon now that Steve has shown it's do-able. Who knows? -maybe my biking fitness will get me there.