Insert title here :P

Photo: Bob (who lives downtown) and Lorin (who multi-mode commutes from Overland Park, KS) joined me at Starbucks this morning. Both of them ride Schwinn SuperSports. If you can't tell from the bike on the far left, Lorin is a pretty tall dude.

As far as the ride this morning goes, it was about as uneventful as they come. The only exception being that on my way out of Johnson County, I encountered swarms upon swarms of these bugs. The same kind I mentioned in this post in late march. I could hear them bouncing off my helmet. They were getting stuck in the hair on my arms, and I probably got about a dozen of them in my mouth and nose.

Also, I found out that if I get a really, really good aero tuck going, that I can coast down the 67th street hill and my speed is almost as good at the bottom of the hill as if I were trying to pick up a lot of speed by pumping the pedals. I crested the hill at about 12-15 MPH, then coasted in a tuck, resulting in close to 38 MPH by the time I was at the bottom. I've been experimenting with more aerodynamic riding and it might be part of why my average speed is up a bit lately. Even on the flat bar bike yesterday, I found myself crunched over a bit more than you'd usually see on that kind of bike. No, you aren't likely to see me bolting aero bars onto my Trek or picking up an Equinox to commute on any time soon. It's just interesting to see what a change in riding posture can do.

Also, the more aerodynamic positions on my road bike seem to be working my core a lot more than I'm used to. This is a good thing, as my legs really don't need that much more work. My heart and lungs are always improving, but my core and arms are still lacking. I should probably take up more mountain bike riding as well. That would give me a better overall workout.

Random Tunage:
Nirvana - Lithium
Kenny Loggins - Meet me half way

Wow. That was some really random tunage.