Edwardsville-Roubaix

"I was having a hard time following the accelerations and I basically ran out of fuel. I just wasn't firing on all cylinders today. I didn't feel as good as I have been feeling prior to this race, so it's definitely a disappointment."

Cycling-superman Bob Lundt is far too modest. Yesterday's 300km Brevet proved a challenge with high winds for 111 miles south, but it was nothing that couldn't be overcome with a little intestinal fortitude. Uncle Bob and I rolled out of Edwardsville about ten minutes after six a.m. The weather seemed promising but the southerly winds beat up our legs so that it was a bit of slog working our way back north. It was, however, a good, hard effort that brought us home when other, lesser riders, would have packed it in. It was, looking back, another audacious performance by Bob.

In other news, I have been working hard on getting the butterfly garden of good and evil ready for this summer. Hopefully, I'll have some pictures up this week. It is really taking shape and the hardest part will be waiting for the bloom to arrive. So far I have dill, fennel, butterfly weed, liatris, russian sage, echinacia, rudebeckia, bee balm, cardinal flower, sunflower, iris, loosestrife, goldenrod and iris in place. If there are fewer butterflies at your place this summer, it will be because they're in my backyard.

This is Randonneuring

The first official Brevet of the 2010 occurred Saturday. The ride itself was unremarkable. The wind out of the southeast made the southward trek a challenge, but the final 40-50 miles were very enjoyable. The company was remarkable, however. I reconnected with a few riders I had not seen in a while and had plenty of company throughout the whole 200km. Even with a dead cyclocomputer, I managed a 10:14 finish, a new best for me on the fixed-gear.

The (bad) Luck of the Irish

Feeling guilty about not having worked on the old house lately, I decided to forgo a long bike ride and instead run the St. Patrick's Day 5-mile race so I might have my afternoon free. I have never been superstitious, but one mock superstition I hold dear is: never wear the race shirt to the actual event. For 25 years, I avoided doing so. Initially, because I felt I needed to earn the shirt. And later, so not to look like a total piker. But this morning I wore my new shirt because it was one of the few green shirts in my wardrobe. Sure enough, I spilled boiling water on my leg minutes later while making coffee. Apart from a few minutes of cursing and a small blister, I was no worse for the wear. The run went fine, though I did switch from tights to shorts.

In other news, I was disappointed "Up in the Air" failed to gain the Oscar attention it deserved. I think that was in no small part due to this scene below having been deleted from the final edit. I know, this is really Facebook content, but I was reading the 2009 Boston Marathon results:

Build up Ride #2

Last Saturday I rode 100km for my first official Brevet Series training ride. Yesterday, I went out again. To more closely simulate battle* conditions, I started from Edwardsville and rode a portion of the 200km course in reverse. The weather was cold (but not as cold as some people made it out to be - sheesh, thin-blooded biathletes!), but not too bad. I rode out the MCT trail east before heading south on Marine Road toward New Baden. Once in New Baden, I rode further south to check out Mascoutah where my buddy Patrick resides. A nice little town, I'd say, and fairly accessible from the course (only a small stretch of Rte 177 to deal with). I turned around and headed back north. All together it was 85 miles on the fixed gear or a shade under 150km.

I'm pleased with the effort, the weather was cooperative with winds out of the southeast. Mechanically, the bike worked fine but the rear tire needs to be remounted because it has a flat spot. And I ought to lube the chain. Physically, it was what I might have expected. I was tired at times and I felt a little metabolic burn but no bonking. It was a steady effort thanks in part to a quartering wind that helped push me home. My shoulders and neck bothered me, but they always do early in the season.

Mentally, I tried to focus listening to my body rather than "pushing past" rest and stretching opportunities. I was helped in that regard by my dead computer. Because I wasn't obsessing over average pace, I was able to stretch out every hour or so. I also tried to cultivate positive mental imagery by concentrating on the scenery, the terrain and good thoughts and not the effort. I resolve to remove the "no pain, no gain" stream from my internal monologue. The first thing to go is the martial vocabulary; I'm not out to "do battle" or complete a "campaign" this season. Rather, I'm focusing on the memorable (good memorable) aspects of randonneuring.

San Juan Solstice

It does seem, as I contemplate another Springtime of traversing the featureless expanse of south central Illinois by bike, that there are certain, undeniable positives to trail ultras.

(photo credit, Blake Wood)

Skirting oxygen debt and the law

This is a closed trail. (Photo by Dennis McGlasson).

Went for a brevet training ride yesterday along the Riverfront Trail from my house to Alton, IL, and back. Though the computer on my fixed-gear is out, I know from previous experience it is approximately 100 km. All in all it went well, it was very hard near the turn-around point because of the wind. And again at the very end, riding toward my house, I thought I pulled my quad muscle. But I got the kilometers in and I pray the decent weather holds. Wind I don't mind, but I can't ride in ice or temps below 20 F.

The Riverfront Trail north of the Chain of Rocks Bridge has a comical, "closed" section. Not the part featured in the above photo which is on the Missouri side and now repaired. The section I'm referring to is north of Choteau Island. To my knowledge, it's "closed" more often than it's open. And for as long as this important north-south connector has been open it's been a rough, gravel trail. I have long since given up hopes they will ever pave it (like the other 80+ miles of the MCT network). I just wish they would stop randomly putting closed signs up. The dredging/fill operation going on on the side of trail has been underway for eight years; I doubt trail traffic is slowing progress that much. I just ignore the signs. But the Madison County Trail network is great recreational asset, it is too bad Illinois lacks the will or funds to really maintain it.

The Off-season is On!

Not much to report from Ultra Scott Central. I caught a cold at Christmas time and have been in low energy mode ever since.

Cold weather and general malaise have been the order of the day though I am starting to pull it together for the occasional run and short bike ride. I ran four or five hours a couple weeks ago in St. Charles and managed to get muddy and lost, but at least it was a good workout.

One positive of my layoff has been that it allowed me to start homebrewing again. I brewed a delightful pale ale shortly before the first of the year and have already consumed the whole batch. This past weekend I brewed a brown ale that I'm excited about. I do wonder if it had a high enough starting gravity, but if not, it'll just be a mild. I have been brewing with a partial mash - mashing a couple pounds of grain and adding extract.

But on the exercise front, I am hoping to get some riding in in the next few weeks to get ready for the Brevet series. Stephen invited me on a trail run Saturday, but I think if the weather is halfway decent, I should ride for a few hours instead. It's time I went out on the Riverfront Trail for windy, punishing ride. I'd like to do everything, but realistically I need to ride myself into shape this spring and use the summer to get ready for a trail ultra in the fall.