August Recap

Wow, what a month!


August Goals and Results:

• Take my RHR at least 3 mornings per week
• Success - For the most part, I took my morning RHR on Mon, Wed and Fri.
  

• Recover if I notice an upward trend in my RHR or other over-training signs
• Success with the exception of the Gaunt memorial ride. My morning RHR was elevated but I still rode for a good cause
  

• Carefully push harder if I feel like I'm at a training plateau.
• I definitely pushed it a few times, especially when I noticed my RHR dropping below 50 in the morning and my legs feeling fresh.

2007 statistics (so far) at a glance:


August statistics at a glance:
Bike commutes: 22
Car commutes: 0
Commute/Errand miles: 529
Recreation Miles: 82
Total Miles: 611


August Events and Accomplishments:
I participated in a few events in August. A few Trek Store group rides, the somber memorial ride for Larry and Sierra Gaunt, and CommuterDude's Dark Side Ride. I saw a few new faces from the blogosphere this month, rolled over my Trek's 1500th mile, and had a whale of a time doing it.

Last but not least, I surpassed 200 miles in a rolling 7-day period (previous max of 191 during Bike to Work Week), did 100 miles in a 24 hour period, and pulled a metric century in one sitting, all thanks to the c'dude ride.

Looking Forward:
I don't really want any goals for September. I'll be honest. I'm to the point where I don't feel like I need them to stay motivated. I just want to have fun, stay healthy, and save some cash doing it. I'm putting some serious effort into the Monday Commuter Convoy. Details coming soon on that. I just want to have it established and working well by the end of September. We'll see how that works. Since the success of the Convoy heavily relies on other people participating, I can't really call it a personal goal. I'll give it my best, though. I'll continue to track my miles, my heart rate, and all that jazz. I'm just not making a big deal out of any specific stats next month.

Still recovering, took it easy this morning

Oh yeah, you guys need to check out commuterdude's write-up of wednesday night's ride. He's got a better way with words than I do when it comes to conveying the sheer awesomeness of a ride.

I set out into the almost-chilly air this morning. It was 62 degrees upon my departure. I pulled up to Monrovia (the street right along my apartment complex) just in time to watch the bus barrel by. I took off slowly, and missed my opportunity to follow it through the light on Quivira.

My legs are still a little stiff from Wednesday-into-Thursday's ride-o-death, so I've already decided that today is going to be more about keeping a slow, steady pace. As I approach some downhills, I decide that I'll shoot for a constant leg effort of about 60%. My "just breathe through the nose" power output level, if you will. I never left the middle ring for the entire trip. I spun up the hills, and used the higher gears on the middle ring to give me a little speed on the downhill sections. All in all, it worked well. I didn't sweat much if at all on the way in, but it came at the expense of a delayed arrival downtown and an average speed that's about 4-5 MPH slower than usual.

Despite my slower methodology this morning, I managed to catch up with the bus on Nieman, and rode alongside it for about half a mile of downhill road. Okay, I admit. I did push it pretty hard going down the hill to play leapfrog with the bus, although I never cut in front of it. And I hammered pretty hard once we started heading back up the hill. In the end, I let it fade off into the distance, then I took 67th down to Carter. Once I merged onto Merriam Lane, I was done with the hills and descents for a few miles and settled into a pace of about 21 MPH, which comes without a lot of effort on flat land. As I approach Johnson Drive, the bus goes by. The driver sees me and nods. Even at this level of effort, I'll be downtown before he can get there.

I rode up to the coffee shop just in time to see Lorin rolling in. Another multi-mode bike commuter joined us as well, coming in from the Plaza area on a re-built Trek 820 with a rack and trunk bag. He has a road bike too, but likes the mountain bike for urban riding. I don't blame him, especially given the construction.

When the buzz of my sugary mocha wears off, I'm going to press a batch of The Roasterie's boldest, baddest coffee, Dark Line Nitro. I haven't bought Nitro in probably six months. I've been experimenting with other locally-roasted blends lately, but I seem to always come back to Nitro. As I ground the beans up right before I went to bed last night, my whole apartment acquired a wonderful, dark aroma. I could actually smell it all the way from the bedroom as I drifted off to sleep. I'm really, really looking forward to this next cup of coffee! Yum!

Random Tunage:
Push - Strange World
Way Out West - Don't forget me (Slam Return To Mono - Vox Mix)

100 miles in 24 hours + my first metric century

I don't consider 100 miles in a day to be a century, especially when it's broken up into three distinct parts like a commute, another commute after an 8-hour break, then a bunch of recreational riding a few hours later. At any rate, I recently got back from the c'dude ride which wrapped up 100.1 miles since I first departed home yesterday at around 6:00am. Once I left my apartment to ride to the start/stop location, I didn't stop riding for more than a few minutes at a time. I put 69.1 miles on all in one run of things, which qualifies as a metric century.

The air tonight was cool and perfect. There were four of us riding. The 'dude himself, clem, badger and I. We had a few bouts of speed but for the most part we just chugged along and ate up the miles as they came. The route was about 34 miles and we finished up in about 2 and a half hours for an average speed around 14 MPH.

Another thing this did was throw my 7-day rolling mileage up over 200. I'm definitely going to enjoy my rest in a few hours.

The commute gods were smiling on me

A light breeze was at my back, but I would have been happy with calm. This time of year, winds are almost always out of the southwest. The wind out of the north was nothing to write home about, maybe gusting up to 10 or 15 miles per hour, but it was welcome all the same.

I grabbed some cheesesteak sandwiches on the way home to fuel tonight's ride. Well, only one was for me. All in all I still feel ready to go for tonight. We'll see how I feel after 50+ more miles, though. Looks like a chance for a little but of rain for the ride tonight. It doesn't matter too much, though. Even a bad bike ride is better than no bike ride at all!

Random Tunage:
Vengaboys - We like to party
Kevin Saunderson - Powerbass

Morning madness and the conquest of Summit

Let's go over my gear assortment for the day, shall we?  It's supposed to rain today, or that's what it looked like on the radar when I woke up.  No laptop today.  In its place, I packed a towel and spare set of shorts, socks, and shirt for the ride home in case I got wet this morning.  I also put some tunes for work on a USB drive.  On the other side, I carried my usual clean-up gear and work clothes, and a tasty cinnamon roll that I haven't partaken in as of writing this.  All of this stuff is wrapped in plastic bags in case of rain.  I had the handlebar bag on, but it's meant for a flat-bar bike.  It seemed to fit alright.  Inside it, I have my windbreaker, cell phone (in a ziplock), keys, and wallet.  This is what I was planning on using for the C'Dude ride tonight.

 

I got off to a late start.  I stepped out around 5:45 which is at least 5 minutes later than usual.  As I pulled away, I realized I didn't have my gloves.  I don't NEED them, but they help absorb some road vibrations.  A round trip without them wouldn't be pleasant.  I went back up the stairs to get them, only to find that my wife had already locked the door behind me and she wasn't answering the door. I went back down to the bike and grabbed the keys.  I went back up to the apartment and unlocked the door to find my wife smoking on the balcony; that's why she didn't answer the door.  Grr!  I grabbed the gloves and locked the door on my way out.  I trudged somewhat angrily back down to the bike, put the keys away and slid the gloves on.  Let's roll!  I'ts only 5:52 -- 12 minutes later than usual but better than driving!

 

Well, not long after taking off, it's apparent that the handlebar bag is interfering with my front brake.  It's pushing the cable over to the side and causing some brake rubbing action.  I took the handlebar bag off and threw it into a pannier.  I'll need to find some other solution to carry my small stockpile of gear tonight.  Up the road a ways, I got barricaded by a train that was on the brink of stopping, causing at least 10 minutes of further delay.  I narrowly avoided being cut-off by another train near Mission and Southwest, but I blew through the crossing as the bells started clanging and before the arms started coming down.  This is NOT my day, is it?  So much for my morning coffee.

 

With that out of the way, I decided to try to conquer Summit.  Summit is a little road just west of the downtown loop.  It's a 9% climb at some points but about 5% average over about 3/4 of a mile.  Then, it levels off, goes over I-670, past the FBI complex and into the loop.  I made it, and didn't even need my granny ring.  I was tempted, though. This is one of those roads that I said I'd never intentionally take, but this morning I looked up it from the stoplight on Southwest Boulevard and it just started calling to me.  It's easily the steepest and longest climb I've had to make, which isn't saying much.  I know there are people out there who could zip right up it, but I hate hills.  Well, I don't hate them, I would usually not ride up them if I can help it.

 

Since I have no laptop, I'm making this post via email, too.  If it shows up with strange line breaks, blame Blogger's silly email posting feature.

 

Random Tunage:

Way Out West - UB Devoid

Orbital - The Box

404: Smooth Pavement Not Found

Really, it's out of control. It looks like they finally laid fresh asphalt on Central, but the construction elsewhere is just too much.

Anyhow, heat index was closing in on 100 degrees. Tomorrow's low is supposed to be in the mid 60's. Talk about a temperature swing! Rest assured, I'm packing appropriate gear for tomorrow night's ride. I'm trying something a little different than I did on last month's night ride, including a possibly stupid move of down-grading to a 5W halogen bulb that's helmet-mounted and running it for the whole trip WITH the supplementary LED setup. I'm also ditching the panniers but going to a handlebar bag just to keep my cellphone, windbreaker and full-finger gloves handy in case of rain or worse.

I caught a short nap with my wife this evening, but tomorrow is still going to be a LOOOONG night. The plan is:

Round-trip commute to/from work (~29 miles)
Ride to the start point (~16)
Ride with the 'dude (~33)
Ride to JCCC to kick it with my wife until she gets done with her shift (~15)

By my calculations, that's about 93 miles, which is the most I've ever ridden in a 24-hour period by far. Of course, c'dude's last ride was about 37 miles and that was the most I've ever ridden all in one go of things, so I've got a ways to go before I'm ready to just jump head-first into a century ride. I'm confident that I could do a metric, though.

Random Tunage:
Gravity Kills - Guilty
Stabbing Westward - Save yourself

The trailer guy is back!

Well, he's probably been riding regularly, I just happened across him again this morning. I saw him ahead of me again. As we lose more and more daylight, I really wish this guy would get a rear blinkie, as I could only see his silhouette against the road. His neon-green bag on the trailer doesn't do much until light hits it just right.

The rest of the trip was as normal as can be expected given the construction in the loop. I'm still slogging up Main instead of Baltimore. To complicate matters further, there are even more roads being resurfaced now. Central is destroyed. Wyandotte is torn to shreds. Completely sabotaging southbound traffic on Main, there's still a yawning crater that could devour a metro bus. Northbound traffic on main is also restricted as well. Let's face it, downtown roads are nearly impassable on a road bike right now. I've had to be really careful this week.

Update!
I'm glad martinoffroad mentioned it in my comments, but yes... the Lunar Eclipse was bad-ass this morning! It was going bye-bye as I hit the road a little late - closer to 6:00 than to my usual 5:40. But at 5:00 this morning, it was pretty sweet to look at!

Random Tunage:
Only Real Music - Lost in space
Usher - You make me wanna (Extended)

Commuting, Errands, Recreation, etc...

Let's see, over lunch I had to run some errands. I started with a trip to the HR office to pick up the bus pass that I may or may not get my money's worth for next month. I had to deposit a check at the bank, and waved to my boss's boss on the way there. She was heading out to lunch. After I hit the bank, it was time for some grub myself. I made a quick stop by a nearby chinese joint and snarfed down some cheap, mediocre-yet-satisfying pseudo-asian grindage.

I cheated and took the A bus most of the way home. I swung by the grocery store really quick, then grabbed some supper en route. I chilled at home for a bit, then it was off to the Trek Store ride. I drove there, unfortunately. I had some stuff to do that required driving afterwards. All in all, not a bad night and I still got about 30 miles in for the day.

Since I'm going on c'Dude's Wednesday Dark Side Ride, I asked my boss for a vacation day Thursday. To my astonishment, he granted approval for it. I'm going to be BEAT on Thursday morning. It looks like it could be anywhere from 80-100 miles if weather cooperates. Only 30-40 of that will be the c'dude ride, but between Wednesday's commute and then riding to and from the ride location, there's going to be at least 50 miles added to that. Maybe more.

Anyhow, that's a wrap. I'm about to retire for the night, I think.

Random Tunage:
Cake - Never There
Tillman Uhrmacher & Peter Ries - Bassfly

More fun this weekend and a nice trip to work

Last night, my wife and I tried going the other direction on the same trail we used Saturday morning. We ran into a hill that my wife wasn't quite up to tackling on her little three-speed Townie. I don't blame her. The granny gear is great for taking off from a start and someone like me could use it to mash up a hill in a pinch. It's definitely not made for casual recreational riders to be death-slogging 5% climbs, though. We turned around and went the same way we went last time, except we made a loop around some of the Mill Creek swamp land instead of riding all the way to 75th or so. We rode a little further than we did Saturday, sneaking in about 8 and a half miles together total for the weekend.

We finished off the evening at the pool and hot tub to relax and hang out. Some silly teenagers whining amongst themselves in our presence about some of their "huge" problems in the hot tub kind of killed the mood. These kids were probably fresh out of high school from the sounds of it. Still obsessed with their old classmates, their old schools, and their current state of drama in their friendships -- there was much wringing of hands and biting of nails over such trivial matters as who doesn't like whom, how attention should be divied up between a significant other and your friends while at social gatherings and other such childish riddles of life. I must say by the time I was out of high school I was a little more concerned with how to kick off my career and become a functional adult that could care for the family I was preparing to build. Oh well.

Anyhow, after the pool we grabbed some supper and passed out on the bed for about an hour. Then I decided it would probably be a good idea to make sure everything was locked up, bring my wife's bike in, get the rest of the bedding out of the dryer and make the bed properly before actually retiring for a 4-and-a-half hour nap.

I was more than a little bushed when I woke up this morning. I hit the snooze twice, got out onto the road a little later than usual, hammered the hell out of the first 1/3 of my trip then decided it was stupid to do that. I strolled the rest of the way in at a moderate pace. I ran into Lorin when I got coffee. I saw a girl pull up on a beach cruiser with a basket on front that tried to take her bike into City Center Square. That didn't work too well, security put the kibosh on that, much like they did with me. Must be new to the area. Several other cyclists were out today, too. It was a pretty nice morning despite being really humid from the precipitation late last week.

I am probably taking the bus partway home tonight. I'm going on the Monday night ride at the Trek Store. Wednesday night is another CommuterDude Night Ride. Another one that starts at 9:00PM and goes till whenever we're done. Email the 'dude (email link is on the page) if you're interested. He doesn't publish the ride details in public, so RSVP with him if you're in the mood for a dark ride.

Random Tunage:
Morningwood - Nth degree
Real McCoy - Run Away

Good time on Mill Creek Streamway Trail

Looking for someplace new for the wife and I to ride this morning, I chose Mill Creek. This trail is one of the longer ones in the KC area, stretching about 17 miles end-to-end. The southern terminus is just a few blocks from our old apartment. The northern end is on an island (if you want to call it that) in the Kansas river. It's your typical 8-foot-wide asphalt multi-use path. For the most part, it's very flat and has quite a few long straightaways.

We got there before 6:00 in the morning, before the sun was even thinking about coming up. Just a few short weeks ago, the sun would be almost fully visible by this time of the day.

We weren't out for very long, but we got a little more than 4 miles in. Sefauna's getting more comfortable on the bike. Our schedules and the weather limit her to mostly weekend riding if we wish to ride together, so it's still going to take a while for her to build up to longer distances. Maybe once it cools off in the evenings, that will change.

Yesterday's trip home was interesting. I got caught up in some last-minute stuff at work and lost track of time. I wanted to be home early so I had to rush to catch the A bus. No time to change clothes! I rode to the bus, then rode home from the bus stop (about 3 miles) in my work clothes. Not exactly pleasant, but not terrible, either.

Random Tunage:
Rank 1 - Airwave
Humpty Hump - Do the humpty hump

Oh yes. It's definitely soggy.

There's that word again. Soggy.

It stormed most of last night and it's still sprinkling outside. Road grime is everywhere and the temperatures are starting to cool off. I did my usual crappy-weather routine of riding a few miles to the express bus to get downtown, but my riding clothes are still water-logged and covered with splotches of gray sludge. Even though I didn't sweat, I still had to take a sink shower this morning to get the thin layer of oil and mud-like substance off of my legs and arms. It wasn't a particularly pleasant ride, but it beats the heck out of driving in the rain.

Random Tunage:
Kelly Clarkson - Since u been gone
Alanis Morissette - Crazy (cover of Crazy, originally by Seal)

Mmmph

Crazy headwinds again today. I'm not aching like I was earlier this week, but that's probably because I decided to see if my granny ring still worked.

Today on the way home, I picked up some more patches and Pedro's tire levers. The ones integrated with my Park MTB-3 rescue tools just don't cut it, and my Park Tool plastic levers have been missing for a while. I finally got around to fixing the Outlook from Monday's flat tire incident. I just patched it and it seems to be holding well. I'm probably riding the Outlook tomorrow. Between that detour and Thai food for lunch, I added about 4 miles to my usual to-and-from trip.

Also, I did a cheap fix to my NiteRider headlight. It works, but it's not as bright as I was hoping for. I need to drop by a hardware store tomorrow to see if I can find something a little brighter. I'm shooting for a light that will go an hour and a half or so on a charge, and with as many lumens as possible from there. We'll see...

Random Tunage:
Third Eye Blind - Semi-charmed life
Vertical Horizon - Everything you want

Another nice morning

It was about 73 degrees when I left home this morning. Very humid, but nice. I took it kind of easy on my way in, as I didn't feel like rushing it. I got to experience the smells of the commute again in full force. It's trash day! I also got stopped by a train in Rosedale. The rest of the ride was smooth sailing with my slightly modified route that takes into account Baltimore being closed for bridge construction.

Last night, I noticed a squishy rear tire during my pack-and-check routine. I pumped it up with air and found the leak before removing the tire, so I just did the old patch in-situ routine (patch the tube while still on the bike by only popping enough of the tire off to get to the puncture) I found another patch about 5 inches from the one I had to put on. That patch is holding up surprisingly well. Until last night, the rear tire rarely needed any air. Hopefully my new one holds air the same way.

Random Tunage:
Erasure - Always
Paul van Dyk - Vega

$25 and a six-pack

That's what I traded this bad boy for. This is the rear hub off of my spoke-breaking wheel. I already have a superior Tiagra hub, so I put this on craigslist earlier this week. A guy who works at the brewery that I ride past every day put dibs on it, and today I met up with him to make the trade.

I was asking $25 for the hub, but he offered a case of whatever beer I wanted. I opted for a sixer since that's about all I could hold in my panniers with all my usual gear. The beer was bottled yesterday. That's fresh. Almost too fresh, since Boulevard believes in secondary fermentation and the beer might not actually be mature yet. Imagine that!

Anyhow, thunderheads rolling in made me think twice about riding back home so I headed for Union Station to catch the express bus to the mall. I ended up bailing off the bus right after it exited the highway and taking some backroads to 87th street thus avoiding the death-slog and the traffic on the Quivira viaduct. I got rained on pretty good and the roads were soaked with grime. The beer survived, though and that's all that really matters. My bike is so grimey. Grr.

Random Tunage:
The Verve - Bittersweet symphony
Cranberries - Twenty One

On the road to recovery

I decided to hop on the express bus this morning. I'm sharing the bike rack on the front of the bus with Lorin! Whee!

My legs still ache, and my resting heart rate is up; It had been trending downward. I could easily ride all the way this morning. I could ignore the fire in my legs and just ride, but this month is about keeping an eye on my body's warning signs and reacting accordingly -- whether they're warning signs of dehydration, overheating, over-reaching or over-training. I simply didn't recover properly overnight, so this is what I get.

Right now, I really wish I was cruising the streets with wind in my hair, so it kind of sucks. I'll thank myself for this later, though.

Random Tunage:
The Chemical Brothers - Star guitar
Prodigy - Breathe

Arterial Observation Redux: Metcalf Ave.

So, Fritz posted a link to a story about Metcalf Ave out here in lowly Overland Park, KS. This resulted in me leaving one comment on his post, and a little e-mail volley ensued under the blogosphere's radar. Fritz told me I should consider posting my views on the whole Metcalf ordeal, and I agree.

I think that it would be a waste to attempt to fix Metcalf itself. Remember, the key problem I have with our love affair of arterial roadways is the fact that there's often no easy way to get from one side of a town to the other without riding on a mini-highway.

Initially, I would have suggested investing in bicycle-friendly infrastructure one mile west, along Antioch, which Warren had to interact with daily during MUP construction. That's not going to happen, either, as they just added highway ramps, which did not exist just a year ago. Antioch was one of the few north/south routes to get from one side of Interstate-435 in Overland Park to the other without having to ride though a mess of stoplights and angry/anxious motorists trying to get on or off the highway. As we speak, Metcalf is undergoing construction that's actually blocking part of the MUP that Warren rides on.

They've been widening it again seemingly by narrowing the median this time. More. Bigger. Badder. Faster. Build. Develop. Consume. If you could flag counties like you flag flickr photos, those would be the flags on Johnson County, KS. A mile to the east is Nall, which has a highway junction as well. Pflumm, 4 miles west of Metcalf, is the closest way I know of crossing I-435 without going through a highway junction. Pflumm also has only one lane in each direction, dark tunnels under the highway, and blighted pavement near the gutter. Top that off with being a very hilly road, and it's really not worth the hassle to use it versus taking your chances in the melee that is your average Overland park interstate highway junction.

There are too many intersections for a bicycle lane on Metcalf. I don't see a way to "bolt-on" bike/ped friendly infrastructure to this death-trap. Click here to see a map if you don't know how bad Metcalf is. Warren posted that Metcalf doesn't really need improvements. I agree with that. Our infrastructure as a whole needs improvements. I suggest starting with our Multi-use paths, and later on, focusing on smaller roads that can be used to get across highways without the fuss of exit/entrance ramps: either with an overpass/viaduct or a tunnel.

What's wrong with our multi-use paths? First off, most people call our trails "jogging trails" and that's what you find out there. Joggers or walkers. They were never, ever designed to be used for getting from one place to another. They are recreational amenities designed to provide a shady, scenic place for people to walk. The signs themselves demand that bicycles maintain a speed below 10 miles per hour -- a ridiculous guideline that I only follow when approaching a pedestrian or a blind curve. The narrow trail, blind curves and overall design of our trails seem to be designed to ensure that you don't go fast for very long.

Honestly, a better-defined multi-use path system is what we need for the whole Greater KC area, and unlike Warren's Indian Creek Trail, we need one that's optimized for transportation AND recreation, that's at least twice as wide as anything else we have out here with two dedicated bicycle lanes (one each direction) on which no pedestrian, stroller, or canine can tread. One with long, sweeping curves and straightaways instead of scenic blind switchbacks designed to make higher bicycle speeds impossible or dangerous. Simply widening, extending, and interconnecting Indian Creek Trail, Turkey Creek Trail, and Mill Creek Trail would be a great start. Straightening out the switchbacks would be feasible in many places. Unfortunately, I don't think these things will happen any time soon.

This whole area prides itself on being very affluent and successful. Some call us the silicon valley of the midwest. With places like Sprint and Garmin claiming giant plots of land in Johnson County to build their world headquarters, it's not too far fetched. Success is displayed by square footage of your home and total tonnage of your vehicles combined. Needless to say, someone on a 19-pound bicycle seems to be practically bragging about their insignificance to most people out here.

Metcalf isn't what needs fixing. Our transportation infrastructure needs to be turned inside out and undergo a complete and total paradigm shift.

Homeward vs. Headwind

The winds were out of the south and southwest on my way home, gusting up to 30 MPH at times, and holding steadily above 20 MPH. Combined with the heat (index 102) and humidity (50%+), the extra effort to fight the wind made my ride home almost regrettable. Even now -- more than 2 hours after I got home -- my legs still ache, and these days, they don't often ache right after riding. I might feel the burn while I'm riding, and I might feel some healin' going on the next morning, but it really hurts right now.

I'm gonna see where I'm at come 5:00 tomorrow morning. I'm not going to devote to riding all the way in tomorrow yet, but I'm not going to chicken out 10 and a half hours before I leave, either.

I took a shorter route today, staying on the road and avoiding turkey creek trail. The result was about half a mile shorter and about 5 minutes saved at the expense of dodging cars. I don't think I'm going to do that again, at least in a 20 MPH headwind.

Random Tunage:
Hybrid - If i survive
Dave Matthews Band - Crash

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.

Wonder what it feels like in a crock pot?

If so, come to Kansas City this week. You'll get slow cooked by steam!

Let's see... The Outlook made it back in one piece and I'm getting more accustomed to the heat. 44 ounces of fluids (barely) got me back home from downtown. This was complicated a bit as the Outlook only has one bottle cage and no eyelets for another one. Sure, there are behind-the-seat ones, clamp-on ones, handlebar cup-holders, and a multi-colored array of things that I could use to increase my fluid carrying capacity. I just used my backpack for the other bottle.

There was no stopping for shade this time, either. I rode straight through and made pretty good time considering the fact that I was intentionally holding back a bit to stay safe.

I had to come home for a bit first, but when I was on my way out the door to the Monday ride, I noticed my Outlook's rear tire was squishy. Very squishy. I came in and quickly switched the lighting onto the Trek, then took off.

Tonight there were FIVE flat tires within about 10 miles of riding. My front tire was one of the victims claimed. So yes, I had another two-flat day. Oh well. The Trek is fixed up and ready to go tomorrow. I will work on the outlook tomorrow evening. It's time for bed in a little bit.

A note on the commuter convoy. I've been doing some networking. Mark Thomas from LocalCycling not only linked to the Commuter Convoy page, but he might be helping me add a few twists to the convoy. Similarly, if you'd like to make some suggestions, please contact me with the form on the right (down a ways, too!). Let me know if a different day or time would work better, if you'd like to meet somewhere further north or south along the way, or if you'd like to meet up at a convenience store or coffeehouse to get a kick before you hit the road. All of these are options I'm open to. I ride to work pretty much every single day, and I'll ride with YOU (*YES, YOU!*) any day of the work week as long as I can get to work on time. I'm also meeting with Bridging The Gap's new director of the Clean Commute program later this week and perhaps we'll brainstorm a little bit.

I'll see ya on the road!

Random Tunage:
Way Out West - Don't forget me (w.o.w. dust biter remix)
B-Movie ft. Koishii & Hush - Nowhere girl (club mix)

Never a dull moment when I'm on my bike

Photo: I took the Oulook and the backpack all the way downtown today.

Let's see, some interesting stuff this morning:

First, the slick, 85PSI tires on this bike are great at a lot of stuff. Navigating lightly rain- or sprinkler-slicked roads is not one of them. Right after leaving my apartment, I rushed to get through a light and mis-judged the corner and my bike's ability to handle it. My front wheel washed out just after the apex of the turn, and then my rear wheel started losing grip as well. Here I am, losing control of my bike in an intersection. The light turned yellow just after I entered, so if I lay it down, northbound quivira traffic will have a green light in less than five seconds. I got up out of the saddle and decided I would try to ride it out and bail if I hit the curb. My wheels nestled neatly into the curb's groove with a pretty harsh impact. I brought the bike back under me, still going about 12 MPH, then took off as if nothing had happened. That was a pretty fun (okay, scary) rush to start the morning with.

I was averaging about 18.7 MPH by the time I got to Mission road. I saw a young woman riding a bicycle on the sidewalk on the wrong side of the road who appeared to be commuting as she was wearing a backpack. Then I noticed a guy pulling a single wheel trailer, hauling serious ass as he merged onto southwest boulevard. I picked up the pace to catch up to him, and talked for a while. He's currently unemployed but doing some labor for a friend of his for a while before heading out to Colorado. It looked like he had tools and clothes on his trailer. We were going a little more than 25 MPH with a brief sprint up to 35. It was a good time.

All in all, the Outlook doesn't really feel any slower than the Trek 1200; My average was boosted to 19.4 MPH by the time I got to the brewery. I'm missing the drop bars and panniers. Wearing a sweaty backpack for anything more than 5 miles kind of sucks. Since I fixed the bottom bracket woes, this bike seems to be pretty nice, actually. The top speed leaves something to be desired, but it's rare that I really wring my road bike out on my commute.

I had coffee and ran into Bob and Lorin this morning. I've seen a few other bike commuters stroll by as well. This is probably the nicest feeling morning we've had this month. Although the humidity is in the 90%s thanks to light rains in the past 24 hours, the temperatures were in the low 70s. All in all, it felt a lot less brutal than usual this morning.

Random Tunage:
Filter - Hey man nice shot
Nine Inch Nails - Head like a hole