Day 6: 30 Days of Biking | Need More Layers!

Partly cloudy sunrise mornings are the best as the sun paints rich colors across the sky. I've missed riding the past few days, so I didn't want to miss today too. I got ready and headed out. Brrr! I needed more layers! I felt pretty good on the ride but my hands and feet were cold, I hadn't bundled up enough against the freezing temperatures.

Post Office Stop

I headed up to the Post Office to mail a bill (to the one place that still doesn't do e-bills) and check the P.O. box. I'd considered a longer loop but the cold drove me back down the trail to home. It looks like it'll be a great day later, but I'll be off at work.

Maybe tomorrow afternoon I can get out for a longer ride!

Day 2: 30 Days of Biking

On Monday I looked out at a partly cloudy sky, some wind, and a forecast that the high would hit 60°F! How could I resist?

I got everything together and headed out. A bit chilly, but I was thinking about that forecast.

Sun Rising

The ride to work went well, I felt pretty good even though I haven't been riding these kind of distances often. I was tired when I arrived, but not too bad.

After a long day of work I headed out into a much warmer day. Instead of layers I just wore my cycling shorts and short-sleeved jersey. I felt pretty good heading out, but I could feel I was tired. Even so, a great day to ride.

Grayish Day

My energy reserves sapped away the last few miles. I was hungry and feeling like I might totally bonk, but what was the point in stopping? It wouldn't get me home any faster so I kept moving at a slower pace. The last steep little hill at our road was tough, but I made it up. Made it home.

Not doing that again tomorrow. I'll try to get out and ride, but a shorter distance.

Day 1: 30 Days of Biking

About to Set Out

I'd made the decision to try the #30DaysofBiking, but when it came down to the actual first day I didn't think it was going to happen. This morning I drove back from Lincoln City, Oregon to home after an exhausting and fantastic writing workshop. It rained the whole way home.

I was thrilled to get home, but there were things to get done. Shopping, for one. Back into the car and off doing that, then back and dinner and time with the family. It just didn't seem like I was going to get on the bike.

But then the clouds pulled back. The sun came out. I saw Kent Peterson's Biking Around the Lake on an Allant and I thought why not? How long would it take to ride a quick loop up into town, check the PO box, and then ride down the trail back home? Not much time at all.

Snatching the chance I changed, grabbed the Marlin, stopping just long enough for my wife to snap a picture and then I was off. A chilly wind blew across my hands, the only part other than my ears that was cold, but I figured I'd warm up and I wasn't going back for my gloves.

It  felt great to get on the bike. Well, except  for the toe I bruised a few weeks back. That bugged me a bit, but not enough to put too much of a damper on the ride. I took the roads around to the post office, nothing but junk in the box, and then I was back on the bike heading down the trail.

The clouds in the sky came alive with the rich colors of the sunset. My cell doesn't take the best pictures but I did stop to take a couple snaps.

The pictures really don't do the clouds justice but it was a nice ride. Now the question is, will I ride tomorrow?

Test Ride

Partly Cloudy Skies

Next month starts #30DaysofBiking and today was pretty much the last chance I'd have before my trip to get out and see how the bike worked. Yesterday I spent time cleaning it, oiled the chain and loosened the stiff pulley that had been a problem. As it turns out, one easily solved, but I didn't know it at the time. I'm gradually learning more about maintaining the bike but there's still tons of stuff that I don't have the first clue about. I sort of muddle through most of the time, looking things up when I need to but I think I'm going to be more proactive and actually start reading more about how to take care of these things.

Earlier in the day there weren't any clouds at all but this afternoon they've started moving in. With the sun out it felt almost warm, but when the clouds got in the way it started feeling chilly. But then I was out in shorts and a short-sleeved jersey too, not exactly cool-weather clothing. I passed a couple other cyclists who were all bundled up. You'd think that we'd just had snow on the ground two days ago!

The bike handled fine. It did make a ticking sound I couldn't identify, but I'll need to figure that out. I'll get back from the trip on the 1st, so my current plan is to grab the bike and go for a short ride the first day to kick things off. I'm going to make an effort to participate this year and rise to the challenge. Last year I didn't really make any progress, having stopped by day three, so I plan to do better this year.

Short ride, I could really tell that I haven't been riding or anything. Cleared out the lungs a bit!

30 Days of Biking

I need to get on the bike more, even if it's only a short ride. I want to try doing the 30 Days of Biking challenge, and that'll feed nicely into the Bicycle Commuter Contest the next month, and then in June I might resurrect my Mock Tour Divide Challenge!

First I have to fix my bike, which hopefully won't be too hard!

Timber Land

On Monday I couldn't take it any longer — I needed to get out on my bike and ride! One big question: could I actually get to work on my bike or not?

See back in the middle of January we got a big snow storm.

Snow!

It looked real pretty at first. By the time it was done we had around 14" of snow on the ground. Then the storm turned into an ice storm that coated everything with a quarter of an inch of ice. Trees bent, bent and snapped! The sound of branches and trees breaking was constant. Some of those trees in that picture are now broken in half, most have tons of branches stripped off. Lots of damage.

So back to the biking, the roads are mostly clear by now although the branches and tree trunks still clog many of the shoulders. And I didn't know if the Parks folks had been out to clear the trail system yet. Even if they were working on it, I figured they might not have gotten finished yet.

I decided to go for it anyway and ride to work!

I left early, around 6:30 AM to give myself plenty of time in case I encountered any obstacles. It felt great to get back on the bike, riding off into the dark morning before the sun rise. My helmet headlight illuminated the road ahead. Debris from the storm littered the side of the road but since there wasn't a shoulder it was mostly off the road and didn't interfere. That lasted until I reached the Yelm-Tenino trail. As soon as I got there I encountered my first tree across my path, necessitating a stop to make my way around it.

It wasn't the first. That first stretch of trail had me questioning the wisdom of continuing. It wasn't only trees, but branches ranging from twigs to big branches several inches thick. We're talking piles and piles of branches under any tree overhanging the path. And then, of course, whole trees across the path. Some I could ride around going off the trail but others meant stopping to find a path around, over, or under!

I went down the Chehalis-Western trail and finally stopped counting trees down at two dozen. I didn't count all the rest of the debris. I could see signs that conditions had been even worse, but other trail users had dragged some material off the trail. The 29er tires helped rolling through piles of branches, or going off the trail at times.

Trees down

In some cases my only option was to carry the bike up and over trees in the path because of growth on each side of the trail.

All of this made for an interesting commute but despite the obstacle course I made fairly good time. The storm caused so much destruction, it's really too bad.

Tree Split

Whole trees that are just split apart. Some look like they got stomped on by a giant. You can look at groups of trees and see where they all got their tops broken off. It's going to be a massive effort to clean all of this up. There's already been a lot of work to get the roads somewhat clear, but it's not done yet.

Riding down Old Hwy 99 I was pleased that the shoulder was pretty much clear, giving me a good path for the last stretch to work. I felt tired after ~18 miles, but also energized by the ride.

That evening, when I headed home I just felt tired. I also discovered that the other side of Old Hwy 99 wasn't nearly as clear on my way back. Several times I encountered stretches were I had to dismount and navigate trees and massive debris piles that extended across the shoulder almost into traffic. I don't feel safe riding out in traffic at dusk and night fall when I'm dealing with lots of commuters doing 50+ MPH. The shoulder is usually fine, but in this case it made it very difficult.

Eventually I made it up to Waldrick which lacks shoulders but the speed limit is lower and the lack of shoulders meant that the road at least was clear of debris. I did get chased by dogs at one house which has been a problem before, but otherwise the cars gave me plenty of room. Unfortunately a few other things made the ride home less enjoyable.

For one thing, my batteries were getting lower and the headlight automatically switched to a lower setting that made it a harder to see. Add to that it was getting darker, it was cloudy and raining. Not the best of conditions. Plus by that point I felt pretty worn out. I haven't been riding to work enough. The stationary bike helps, but in the past couple weeks I hadn't done that much either, and even when I have ridden it I've only been doing a half-hour to forty-five minutes. It took me an hour and twenty-seven minutes to get to work. Given conditions, the trees, my fatigue and the fact that the ride home is more uphill (a little) I had figured that the ride home might take two hours.

That was pretty accurate.

So not a fast ride at all. Even as I slogged home, however, I couldn't help but enjoy parts of the ride. Riding along the trail at night is fun. I stopped at one point and listened to coyotes howling, crying, and yipping off in the darkness, a whole chorus of canine celebration. What the fallen trees added in slowing my pace, they also broke up my pace and added interest to the ride. Especially riding home when I had to stay very alert to potential obstacles.

The big question in my mind remains, how do people get in shape to do things like the Tour Divide where they're riding 150 miles each day? I was tired after my commute and it was only ~35 miles. I guess you just need to ride longer and longer, but it's hard. Hard to fit that into everything else. Riding today took over three hours. That's hard to fit in with everything else.

Exercise Bike Miles

The other day I started off to work bundled up against the cold. The sun hadn't come up yet. Everything was frosty and dark as I pedaled down the road with my light illuminating the road ahead. I felt excited about the ride but I couldn't decide which way to go. Should I head down the trail and take the old highway in to work, for 20 miles total? Or risk going the shortest route (~16 miles) which put me on a busy, narrow stretch of road with no shoulders and grumpy morning commuters?

As it turned out I didn't have to decide. Not quite three miles down the road all of a sudden I was riding on a flat back tire. It happened fast. I got off, moved off into the frozen weeds and turned over the bike to look at the wheel. After rotating the wheel a little I discovered the culprit — a nail stuck in the tire. Small, but completely embedded. I had to use my multi-tool screw driver to pry that sucker out.

Then I set about working to get the tire off so I could change the tube and continue on my way to work. I managed to get in one plastic tire lever but couldn't slide it along the wheel. I broke another trying to pry up another section of the tire. All I could think was that if this had happened out on the Tour Divide I'd be in a fix if I couldn't do something as simple as fix a flat.

In this case I took the easy out. I put the rear tire back onto the bike and walked home. I made it back in enough time to change and drive to work without really being late.

I still haven't fixed the flat! I ordered some alloy tire levers that shouldn't bend when I try to get off the tire.

In the meantime, this is what I'm riding:

Star Trac E-UBi 

It's an expensive bike machine at my gym. Lately I've been putting in more miles on it than on my bike. It has its good points. I can go to the gym and ride when time or weather considerations make riding my bike less desirable. With its hill programs it also gives me a chance to build my hill-climbing muscles. I wish it was more like riding a real bike, but it does provide a good work out at least. I'm also using the gym to build core and upper body strength.

Last year I rode and ran ~1076 miles. I feel pretty good about that total but I plan to do much more than that this year. I still have 2013 in mind for a possible Tour Divide attempt, if things come together to make it possible. There's so much that has to happen for that to work out, and my fitness is only one piece. But that's a piece that I do have control over so I'm going to train and see where I end up by the end of the year! From flats to gym miles to whatever comes next, I'll keep learning and improving!