This year I am really trying to meet a goal of commuting 200 times to work equaling about 6000 commuting miles. To reach the 200 commute mark I need to ride to work an average of 4 days a week. I have had this same goal for the past 3 years and have never been able to reach it b/c of travel, some intentional rest days before races, or a week of for jury duty.
As of today, I have rode in 50 times, which puts me at 1,500 miles. I rode to work 20 times in March and only missed 2 days due to a work trip to Las Vegas. I am right on track to reach my goal. I know I am only 3 months in to the year, but the weather should be getting nicer soon making riding easier.
Now I need to keep putting in some consistent weeks while I can. Before I know it the summer travel schedule will pick up and it will be easy to fall behind.
Oh yeah, it is going to snow tomorrow. I did say it is going to get nice soon, didn't I?
First race of the year is April 18. The Durand road race in WI. It's time to start getting out of the saddle and building up some sprinting legs.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Welcome back spring
Friday night I went over to Timmy's house for dinner and a bike building sorie. I am getting antsy for spring and I wanted to do some part swaping on my current bikes to get them ready for cleaner drier streets. Since my shop is in the unheated garage, I sought warmth (and beer) in Tim's basement shop. Project builds included putting a Red group on my Primero and swapping my Chorus group to my Casseroll. I will post pictures later.
Saturday morning Joe and I planned to put in a long ride on the road. Our goal was 100 miles, but since neither of us have computers on our bike we can only estimate how far we rode. I can tell you this, When I got back to the house I logged about 5.5 hours of ride time. I dont think we did 100 miles but I am sure we did more than 80. When I left the house at 8am, it was about 24 degrees. I dressed light knowing it was going to reach high 40's. The air was cool to start but I was able to stay comfortable the whole ride.
Joe rollin into St. Paul
Our route took us through St.Paul and up to Stillwater where we stopped for coffee at the Bikery. We kinda stumbled across the coffee/bike shop, but we were very happy to find a bikecentric coffee shop in Stillwater. I wish this shop the best of luck and recommend you check it out if you in the area. From Stillwater we headed south to Afton and then home.
Overall my body felt good for the whole ride, The wind was blowing hard from the south east so the cross wind on the way home became a bit exhausting and my neck and abs got tired from holding the bike upright while leaning into the wind. All in all I am really happy with how the ride went and how I felt. Cant wait for summer and the single track to open
Enjoy the ride
So far the weekend has been off to a great start, and I still have Sunday left.
Saturday morning Joe and I planned to put in a long ride on the road. Our goal was 100 miles, but since neither of us have computers on our bike we can only estimate how far we rode. I can tell you this, When I got back to the house I logged about 5.5 hours of ride time. I dont think we did 100 miles but I am sure we did more than 80. When I left the house at 8am, it was about 24 degrees. I dressed light knowing it was going to reach high 40's. The air was cool to start but I was able to stay comfortable the whole ride.
Joe rollin into St. PaulOverall my body felt good for the whole ride, The wind was blowing hard from the south east so the cross wind on the way home became a bit exhausting and my neck and abs got tired from holding the bike upright while leaning into the wind. All in all I am really happy with how the ride went and how I felt. Cant wait for summer and the single track to open
Enjoy the rideSunday, March 8, 2009
Switching to Clippless
After over 4 month of riding platform pedals with either a big winter snow boots or hiking boots, the weather has final warmed up to the point where I can comfortably ride in cycling shoes again.
What a difference it makes to be able to clip into my pedals again. At first the float in the pedals felt really awkward, but it didn't take long for me to get used to it again. And let me tell you it is a welcome change.
So you may ask, if it is so nice riding in clipless pedals why don't you ride them all winter; afterall they do make winter cycling shoes. For years I tried riding in the Lake winter boots but this fall I decided I had enough. For me, these boots never fit my feet and never really kept my feet warm. I was able to ride in them in temps down to about 20 degrees before my feet got cold.
I think decades years of playing hockey in freezing temps has damaged the circualtion feet, so my feet really get cold easily. In the past when I rode in temps about 10 below and I could never keep my feet warm. Since switching to real winter snow boots, I have rode down to 20 below and actually stayed pretty warm. It is been amazing how much easier it has been to ride with warm feet. Mentally, I have a lot more confidence going out in the cold and it is a lot of fun to stick my foot out moto style around the corners. I recommend everyone try riding in platforms for a little while.
Now playing: Screeching Weasel - My Brain Hurts
via FoxyTunes
What a difference it makes to be able to clip into my pedals again. At first the float in the pedals felt really awkward, but it didn't take long for me to get used to it again. And let me tell you it is a welcome change.
So you may ask, if it is so nice riding in clipless pedals why don't you ride them all winter; afterall they do make winter cycling shoes. For years I tried riding in the Lake winter boots but this fall I decided I had enough. For me, these boots never fit my feet and never really kept my feet warm. I was able to ride in them in temps down to about 20 degrees before my feet got cold.
I think decades years of playing hockey in freezing temps has damaged the circualtion feet, so my feet really get cold easily. In the past when I rode in temps about 10 below and I could never keep my feet warm. Since switching to real winter snow boots, I have rode down to 20 below and actually stayed pretty warm. It is been amazing how much easier it has been to ride with warm feet. Mentally, I have a lot more confidence going out in the cold and it is a lot of fun to stick my foot out moto style around the corners. I recommend everyone try riding in platforms for a little while.
Now playing: Screeching Weasel - My Brain Hurts
via FoxyTunes
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