Great week

It's been a great week. I hit the 4500 mile mark on the bicycle today, on tuesday I had a bald eagle fly over me about 20 feet up while I was riding. Very cool looking bird from that distance. And to top it off the first vegatables from the garden were ready this week. I hope things are good where ever you are.

Mid Year Update

It seems hard to believe that half of the year is gone already but that is what the calender says. So far I am making good progress on the goals I set for myself in January. I finished the second century ride of the year on tuesday, 100 miles in 5 hours and 48 min. And after six months of riding almost every day i have a grand total of 3907 miles. I am closing in on the goal of 5000 that I set for myself. It will be interesting to see what the grand total for the year ends up being.
The garden is doing well so far overall with a few things growing a bit on the slow side. I am looking forward to harvesting some fresh vegatables soon! Around the county I see the farm crops are doing well, with the corn far ahead of where it usually is this time of year. Could be all the rain we have gotten this spring.
The little town I live in is holding its own through the awful economic times we are in. I wish i could say the same for the State but it looks like another big budget shortfall this year. I think it is going to be a good long time before we see anything that even looks like stability.
I wish everyone a good independance day holiday and a great rest of the year. Hope to see you out on the bicycle!

Half way there

I just came in from a chilly and windy ride and I am happy to report that I went over the 2500 mile mark on the bicycle today. Half way to the goal that I set of 5000 miles for the year. It feels good to be over 700 miles ahead of schedule and with any luck I will end the year with a total mileage in excess of 6000. It should be an interesting summer!

5 gallons!

I attended my 40th Red Cross blood drive today and I am happy to announce that I officially got my 5 gallon donor pin! I looked at a five gallon gas can today and it is still hard to picture that much blood. I am glad to do it though and i am glad to help some anonymous person in need. If you want to help somebody in need, look around for your local Red Cross blood drive and then roll up your sleeve and give, please!

http://www.redcross.org/

Century

I crossed one goal for the year off the list yesterday when I rode a century ride on the bicycle. I ended up doing 100 miles in 6 hours 9 min in conditions that were less than perfect. The next time I go for it the conditions are going to have to be optimal because my goal is to get under 6 hours. When I finished riding yesterday I looked on the computer to see exactly how strong a wind I had been fighting and found out it was running at 18 to 22 miles an hour.
When I started the conditions were fine, a little bit of a breeze but nothing too extreme. It stayed that way for the next 60 miles and then I noticed that things were changing rapidly and a front was moving in. By that time I had made up my mind that I was going to finish, high wind or not. One of the benefits of this was that I got lots of practice in riding in the most aerodynamic position that I could. I could watch the display on the computer and see if the speed was picking up as I changed position.
Things to consider if you want to ride long distances are, get your bike in optimal condition because even a little extra drag in an out of adjustment component goes a long way, ride in a REALLY GOOD set of bike shorts, pay close attention to eating and drinking enough while you are riding or you will pay for it later on. A friend of mine who is an endurance racer told me that at 75 or 80 miles drink a regular Coke and he was right. The combination of the sugar and the caffeine really hit the spot. Be aware that at the +70 mile mark you have to be even more careful on the road than usual due to fatigue.
I learned some valuable things yesterday and I am looking forward to the next time I give it a go. But you can be sure that next time the wind will be calm. See you out on the road!

Spring must be here!

I admit up front that my hearing is pretty bad but I had to laugh at the mistake that I made today. I was out riding the dirt country roads today on my bicycle when I started hearing the strangest sound. I rode further while looking down at the bike to try and figure out where this strange creaking sound was coming from. I'm thinking bottom bracket bearing failure or maybe the seat post when it dawned on me what I was hearing. The frogs have made their first appearance of the spring and they were really going at it! It was neat to hear them singing again and funny that I did not recognize it right away. Happy spring everybody!

Progress Report

It was not a new years resolution but more of a couple of goals that I set for myself this year. The first is to ride a total 0f 5000 miles this year on the bicycles and the other is to do 2 century rides(100 mile rides).
5000 miles breaks down to 13.69 miles a day and I am doing a miminun of 14 to add in a little cushion. So today I did the math and and on three bikes I have ridden a total of 900 miles for the year. Actually when I first added it up I was at 899.61 so I jumped back on the bike and rode another four tenths of a mile to bring it to an even 900. ;-)
I have ridden a lot of miles over the years but never at this pace and I can tell already that I am stronger on the bike than I have ever been. By the time summer gets here I will be ready to tackle the second goal.
So I dare you, set a goal for your self that is a little ambitious and out side the old comfort zone. You might suprise yourself.