Free advice and 32 miles on the bike
Well, I met up with Cliff today (he actually picked me up) and we road the trail around White Rock Lake. All told it totaled 32 miles. Without checking I believe that’s longer than any ride I did in Jacksonville. That’s OK with me as both Cliff and I needed the mileage. Me for the poundage and Cliff for the upcoming Shiner Bash.
We parked at the tennis center that sits on the trail section before the lake. Once ready we rolled out. Cliff did a great job showing me the layout of the lake trail and route. There were tons of people out there this morning. I can honestly say that I haven’t seen that many cyclists in one place unless it’s on TV. There were all kinds. Lazy Sunday morning riders to groups/teams hammering it. There were also huge numbers of walkers and runners.
- Image via Wikipedia
The route was pretty good but one thing it wasn’t was flat. There weren’t big hills on the route but for a guy who came from Florida where was biggest hill was a speed bump they were the Alps. I had to re-learn shifting because I had gotten used to being able to ride an entire route in one gear down in Florida. I think these hills, though, will be great for me in the long run. Cliff took the time to point out the Loving Hills section down near the South end of the lake where the real hills are. I caught a brief glimpse and they didn’t look pretty. Maybe in a couple of months I can give them a try. He also showed me where Flagpole hill is.
Overall the ride wasn’t bad but I have to admit I couldn’t wait for the last four miles to get over. It was into a strong headwind that at times made it very tough. I’m sure me being way out of shape had something to do with it.
Overall it was a great ride and I appreciate Cliff dragging me out.
Oh yeah, the free advice. There was a guy just off the trail who had a couple of chairs setup and a big sign that said “Free Advice”. He didn’t have any customers when Cliff and I rode by. I said that I guess in this economy he has to give it away since nobody is going to pay for it. Cliff said you get what you pay for. That’s so true.
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No, I Wasn’t Abducted By Aliens
I wasn’t kidnapped either. I’ve just been getting accustomed to work and life in Dallas.
When I first moved here in January I was living in a small ex-burb of Dallas that was a nice place to stay except for one thing…the commute. I was literally spending almost four hours a day driving to the train station and riding the train back-and-forth to work. I basically had no time to myself and absolutely no time to ride. I could have possibly ridden on the weekends but the weather isn’t as nice here as it was in Jacksonville. Go figure.
It took me exactly three weeks to get tired of the four hours I was wasting each day commuting back-and-forth and decided to move. The move occurred last weekend and life is so much better. My total commute each day is about an hour. I’m an 8 minute drive to the train station and about 20 minutes to work by train. The planets have aligned and all is well in the universe. For those familiar with Dallas I moved from Northern Frisco/Little Elm to Garland near the LBJ/Skillman station.
White Rock Lake Trail
To the left you can see a map of White Rock Lake and the trail that goes around it. In the upper left corner you can see the DART rail station. The white line the north/south pointing red arrows are parallel to are actually a continuation of the bike trail. It actually extends to the North about 7 miles making the total round trip about 25 miles. Sunday I drove around looking for the trail and there were quite a few (a lot!) cyclists out riding. I saw two taking a rest break and decided to ask them some questions about the trail. They were very helpful and I’m looking forward to riding it.
I’m on the lookout for a group to ride with as well. I found the website for the Greater Dallas Bicyclists and they seem like decent bunch. If any of you out there are members of this club I’d like to talk to you.
Cliff, if you read this, I sent you an email a few days ago.
Read MoreBike Ride 36 – Stoplights Stink
Well, Saturday morning found me getting set to put in 30 miles. I was going to ride the now familiar University of North Florida loop. I slept in until 8 to get some sleep. I don’t think I moved all night. I got up and gave the bike a once over and put some air in the tires. I mentioned back on Ride 35 that I was hearing a ticking noise from the rear wheel. I discovered a loose spoke and tightened it up. We’ll see if that fixes it.
I rolled out of the driveway around 8:30 and the weather was fantastic. It was clear and about 67 degrees. I didn’t feel any wind but that would change before the ride was over. I made it about 150 feet and noticed the clicking sound again. I pulled over to give the wheel a once-over again. I couldn’t find anything but did meet a new neighbor whose house I had stopped in front of. I talked to him a few minutes and then headed on with no resolution to the ticking. Rats.
I was about five minutes into the ride when another cyclist pulled up next to me. We exchanged pleasantries as he went by on his Cannondale that was setup for triathlons. He was quickly gone though because he passed me like I was standing still. I was going about 16 mph. I saw him again about 15 miles later going the opposite direction. I saw a couple of other riders and walkers this morning too. The nice weather was bringing them out.
For most of the first-half of the ride I was kind of in a funk where I was really sure how well I felt. I would feel ok for a little bit and then feel exhausted five minutes later. The wind was picking up and at times gave me a pretty good headwind. I kept pounding the liquids and tried to replenish some with a power bar gel. I felt like this for about 3/4 of the ride.
At mile 20 I get to my rest stop for a much anticipated break. While sitting on the bench at the church I decided to give my rear wheel a look again since the noise seemed to get louder in the last five miles. It took me about ten seconds to find a spoke that was really, really loose. I tightened it, looked for others, and found a couple more that were loose. In order to make sure I kept the wheel true I used my brake pads as a makeshift truing stand. It worked pretty good and I didn’t have any other problems.
The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful but much better than the first 20 miles. On the way home I was actually able generate some good speeds above 20 mph. That felt great.
Now, why do stoplights stink? Because when they change to red I have to stop. I must have hit almost every single stoplight throughout my entire ride. It was unbelievable and ridiculous. There’s one stretch where there’s a lot of lights and I’d get stopped by a red light. It would turn green. I’d build my speed back up and get caught by the next one. I’m telling you, it was bad. I don’t think I’ve ever hit that many on this route.
All told I got 30.2 miles ridden in 2 hours and 2 minutes with an average of 14.8. Not bad for me.
Read MoreBike Ride 34 – Drag Racing a Cement Truck
The weather the last couple of day has been spotty due to some strong thunderstorms that rolled through the area. It was a little windy yesterday afternoon too. The kicker, though, has that the temp has plummeted. Lows the last couple of nights have been in the low 70s with highs in the mid 80s. Awesome riding weather. This morning was no different. I rolled out of the garage at about 5:10 and was greeted with crystal clear skies, a bright half-moon overhead, and a slight chill in the area. Awesome.
Riding down the street I noticed a clicking sound coming from my rear wheel area. I stopped a couple of times to try and find what it was but couldn’t. It seemed to go away as I rode. I hope it isn’t anything serious.
Remember the roadside radar gun I told you about back on Ride 33? As I approached it this morning I wanted to to try and post a better speed than last time (16 mph). I shifted up a gear and began pushing a little harder. I went by it at 22 mph which is respectable for me. I’m pretty sure I can do better but I was technically still in my warm up phase and didn’t want to push it too much.
I road about another half-mile when a cement truck passed me. If you recall, I’ve been seeing these trucks every morning as they head out to the new high school that’s under construction. This truck was cruising pretty good but got caught at a stoplight just ahead of me. As I rolled up next to him I couldn’t resist the temptation to have a little drag race. Assuming he had a full load of concrete I had about a 66000 pound weight advantage and should be able to smoke this guy right? Yes and no. The light turned green and I rolled away from the stop line quickly. I immediately began forming a gap as he was fighting to get out of first gear. I still had a good 10 yard gap when I heard him shift. I pushed it a little harder because I knew he would start catching me as he worked his way through the low gears. I was at about 20 mph when I started to ease up (my legs were heavy and I was still warming up). He eventually got his momentum going and passed me pretty quickly after that. The result was as expected. It takes the cement truck a while to get going so I have the advantage off the line. Once he gets through the low gears and builds up the momentum I’m toast. Oh well.
That’s about the extent of the excitement for today’s ride. I saw a couple of runners (must have been some lazy folks sleeping in this morning) and got my 13 miles done in about 52 minutes. The weather made it a great ride.
BTL
Read MoreBike Ride 33 – Dreams of ‘The Rookie’
After a busy week last week due to my wife’s surgery, it was about time I got back on the bike and re-started my fitness program. I should have re-started yesterday morning but with only about an hour of sleep Sunday night I was in no condition to ride a bicycle. That would have been suicide.
Because I basically had to trash my cycling plans last week I’m performing week three of my fitness program this week. That means I’ll be riding 3 workdays at 13 miles each and a 30 mile ride on Saturday. I Shouldn’t have any problems with that at all. Especially after having a week off the bike.
As usual for my weekday bike rides, the alarm was going off at 5 AM, and I was rolling out of the garage by about 5:10. The weather outside was near perfect. There was a little humidity in the air but there were no clouds, no wind, and the Harvest Moon was shedding quite a bit of natural light. I hoped the pristine conditions were foreshadowing a pristine ride.
Leaving my neighborhood it was quiet out. There was much less traffic than there was back on Ride 32 but I did see a couple more cement trucks heading out to the new high school. Overall though the roads were virtually empty for me and it was nice. I always feel a little anxious when cars approach me from behind and today there was very little of that.
After a couple of miles I really began to fall into a rhythm and I noticed my speed was a little higher than normal. I was pushing the 52T like I said I would but I think the week off may have had something to do with it. Since my last ride, I had also moved my saddle forward a little bit to try and take some weight off my hands. It seemed to help my hands but I wonder if it also helped with my pedal stroke. I guess I’ll see how tomorrow’s ride goes. I really need to take my bike down to the local bike shop and have the fit checked.
Nearing the half-way point I started to notice several runners I hadn’t seen before. I do see a few over near my house but I’m usually the only person out-and-about near my turnaround point. All told I saw about six runners today and one other cyclist. I saw the bike rider on my home stretch and I’m not sure if he saw me wave. If you’re reading my blog, “Hey!”
Today’s ride was great. I felt refreshed the entire time and had no after-effects from taking a week off. I road my 13 miles in 51 minutes today.
So, why were there dreams of the movie ‘The Rookie’? If you don’t remember the movie, it’s the one where Dennis Quaid plays a high school baseball coach who makes a bet with his team. The bet was that if the team wins the district championship he would try out for a major league team. Well, the team wins and he has to try out. Before he does, though, he’s driving down the road at night and comes upon one of those portable speed display systems that let you know how fast you’re driving. Police usually put these in places as a deterrent to get people to slow down. Anyway, he decided to throw his fastball by it to see how fast it is and if he’s fixing to make a fool out of himself at the tryout. He throws a ball and it registers 68 mph on the digital readout. He’s obviously disappointed and goes to pick up the ball. What he doesn’t see is the display tick up to 98 mph after he walks by.
Well, they had one of these gadgets placed on the long straightaway leading away from my neighborhood. I see it and wonder if it’ll pick me up on the bike. I hunker down (that means getting about as aerodynamic as a brick) and press on. I get within a couple hundred feet and it registers 16 mph. As I get close it flickers to 17..15..16..15..17..16. I go by the radar wondering if it was having a hard time tracking me and it was actually trying to read out 26 mph. I look down at my computer and it says 16.2 mph. I guess I’m not as fortunate as The Rookie and won’t go home and find a message from Garmin-Chipotle on my voice mail. Oh well. You gotta have dreams right?
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