Video: Riding the impossible

Video: Riding the impossible



If your palms are not sweating like mine around about the hairiest stuff @ 3:00 in then you're watching this blindfolded!

A Random Spin, A Fun Ride

 I've taken the last two days off and luckily my wife pushed me out the door this afternoon, despite the threat of continued rain. I grabbed my rain jacket (though I've yet to use it... sorta sadly...) and went out the door not sure where I was going. I decided to take a random ride and see some things that I've wanted to check out lately, but hadn't allowed myself the chance to and in the process I cured my funk that I've been in lately. I had a great ride in on Saturday and then took Sunday off. I was going to ride in the mid to late afternoon Sunday, but with everything that I did around the house I tired myself out by 3, 4 o' clock and just took a nap telling myself that I'd get back to it Monday.
 Monday I didn't ride. I was dead dog tired. I got lousy sleep Sunday night and couldn't fall asleep for the first two hours or so of bed, ruining my night. Six hours doesn't really cut it. I puttered around the house yesterday getting a few things done in my funk, but I wasn't happy, hadn't been happy. I think that I've been too wrapped up in planning a loop and a challenging, long-ish one at that. And now it had gotten too like a chore that I wasn't entirely happy doing it any more. So this was just the cure!
 I found a dirt trail paralleling power lines that I had been curious about in the past and stopped to take the time to check out the sign hanging near the gate at the trailhead. It sloped down pretty steeply and was filled by alot of loose gravel, so I took a foot out of my clipless pedal and started to slowly edge down. Realizing that I couldn't brake enough and that I was sliding I tried to unclip my other foot and well, what I had always said wasn't going to happen to me (its been a long time, but I've used clipless pedals before without falling...)... well, it happened. I flopped over into the gravel and very loose dirt underneath it giving myself a nice bit of trail rash which I also haven't had in forever. (My worst road rash is my right elbow that looks like a fire burn victim's scar... that was road rash and a very good one.) So, here I am getting my feeling back with a few scrapes on my right knee and calf (but secretly sorta proud... bike and I are both ok...) and I walked down to read the sign. "Closed due to rain oversaturation..." Yeah, no kidding. The dirt was damn deep under the gravel and I tried to ride back up, but got stopped when I just sorta spun out. Unfortunately I still don't know who owns the trail or if or when I can ride it.
 I went off on a few more tangents riding little side roads that I've been curious about, found a promising dirt road and a few dead ends, rode a little farther and in the process put in a respectable 9 miles! Looking forward to tomorrow!

Another Break

Taking a break again from riding. I rode yesterday a short warm up ride to make up for the break that I took the day before. Don't know why, but I'm feeling less than motivated today despite the fact that its a beautiful late summer day and it may be thunder storming tomorrow effectively canceling a ride then. Maybe its the quality of sleep. I didn't sleep especially well last night and I"m feeling tired, lethargic and low energy. I'm trying to make it up to myself by getting back to lifting weights which I've neglected for the last couple of weeks, but I still feel like if I don't ride I'm going to be weak by the weekend, but I also know that if I forced myself to ride I'd be weak and less than enthused at sweating this out. Ugh...

Sigh... another rest day. I sorta need it. Five days in a row now. Not that that is alot really, but a day off now and then is good to recharge the batteries and make me dream about riding even more. I spend most of my free time thinking about where to ride next, the next destination and variants on what I've already done. In the meantime I can read this guy's blog and dream some more. He rides epic long rides and is based in Ulster County where I used to live. He is able to do what I hope to be able to do one day, toss off 30 or 40 mile rides like they're nothing. Currently he has a planned 138 mile ride that takes him through three states. Sigh. One day...
http://ridingthecatskills.com/

Darn Tough Socks

Made in Vermont with a lifetime guarantee with no strings attached. You wear them out, send them back and they will replace them free for life! I'm liking this!
http://darntough.com/men/mens-bike/herringbone-micro-crew-ultralight

Breadwinner Bikes

I'm liking Breadwinner Bicycles, though completely out of my price range, they're nice to dream about (and maybe wear one of their t-shirts!).

http://www.bikemag.com/gear/bikes/preview-breadwinner-bad-otis/

Get On Your Bike

A little something for everyone here- get on your damn bike and ride!

Small Acts Of Kindness...

 ... Can renew your faith in humanity. A couple of weeks ago I had a passenger in a silver Hyundai that zoomed by me, yell "Dumb Fuck!" at me. Not the first time and not the last, I'm sure. All for daring to exercise my right of way at a four way intersection where I had the right of way (and no stop sign... whereas they did have a stop sign...). I've had it worse in my years. Yelled at, given the finger for no real reason, yesterday someone screamed something unintelligible out their truck window as they drove by me. Either they wanted to startle me, which they did achieve to a certain extent or they were having a sudden stroke and/or heart attack. I've had cans thrown at me when I was young and been driven by so close while I was doing 30-35mph downhill that the car mirror came within a couple of inches of my elbow.
 That was a scary one, but yesterday, in fact at the same exact intersection as the dumb fuck driver yelled a guy in a green Dodge Challenger waved me in front of him. He had the right of way going straight while I was turning and it was pretty awesome of him. I gave him a big thank you wave and then accelerated of up a little uphill stretch at 17-18 mph feeling the kick of strength. It was invigorating getting treated respectfully. And then today after slogging out sixteen hot and humid miles I did something that I never do, fumbled my water bottle going to put it back in the cage and watched it roll into oncoming traffic. A guy actually stopped (in a 45 mph zone...) and waited for me to drop my bike and grab the bottle from the road rather than just zooming around it or running it over. Little acts, people, they are gratifying.

Guilt

 So, I'm not riding today and damn do I feel guilty. Its the second day in a row. Yesterday I felt justified in it. It was hot as hell and more humid than I remember it being at any other day of the summer... Plus I had promised my sons that I would put their new bunk bed together. So, yesterday I chalked up to a recovery day as cyclists call them. I needed it after the mini-disaster that Sunday turned out to be.
 But today I'm not riding even though I looked forward to it all day at work. I constantly imagine myself riding and how good it would feel even though on some of the hills I know I'd suffer. I keep upping the ante inside my head- I'll ride faster, farther, be stronger, feel prouder and better. And as much as I looked forward to it, I'm not riding today.
 Its still hot and humid, but today there are also big black thunderheads which I'm using as my most convenient excuse to not ride today. And yeah, I'm STILL tired from not getting much sleep Sunday. I slept ok last night, but not long enough and so while I'm feeling motivated, I'm looking for an excuse to not ride... figure that one out. I have a rain jacket and in some perverse way I'm looking forward to riding in the rain intentionally (or not...) one day soon, but I guess not if I may get struck by lightning in an ugly downpour.
 Plus its the beginning of the month and I'm looking forward to putting some miles into this month.
 So, second recovery day or am I whoosing out on this one?

Stretching

You know, I really try to do alot after rides, but some more pre-trip stretches would be good as well. Here's a decent link. http://mikesbikes.com/articles/stretching-before-you-ride-pg241.htm