Daily Challenge 13: There and Back Again

Wow! It's so nice to ride on warm, sunny days! I'd almost forgotten with my starlight rides. I'd only meant to go out for an hour or so, but once I started riding I just kept going down the trail. I kept going when the paved trail ended, but when the gravel path ended then I turned around and headed back the other way. I stopped over at the Tenino library to say hello to folks, then headed home.

Nice day, nice ride.

Ouch

So after my nearly 50 mile ride that took me to Olympia my left knee hurt. It hurt a bit while riding but I thought it was just because I wasn't used to riding. Then I discovered I'd strained it or something, because it became quite painful. I've only been on the bike a couple times for short rides since. It's feeling better, not 100%, but getting there. I took the bike in to the bike shop yesterday and dropped it off for a tune-up. I won't get it back until Friday but that should take care of some of the issues I've been having with the bike. It'll be nice to get it back all professionally taken care of, I'm learning but not there yet. I do need to get better at working on the bike.

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!

Riding Again

I've been riding the trike more, at least in theory. In actual fact the last time I rode before today was three weeks ago! I finished up that week with my highest mileage of the year. Still not anywhere like the distance I need to work up to doing. I try to picture the Tour Divide, doing ~125-150 miles per day, daily, for weeks on end over tough terrain. How am I ever going to get in that kind of shape?

I don't know. Keep riding, I guess.

It was a nice day for a ride to work today.

Easy riding

The air felt slightly cool on the ride, but of course not too cold. But suggesting that maybe we're not really going to see a summer around here. I've already seen a few trees changing their colors.

The other day I asked Kent Peterson on Twitter for his suggestion for a newbie MTBker. 

Trek Marlin

His suggestion, the Trek Marlin, was one of the bikes that I had been considering to get started. It looks nice, and fits my budget. Further down the road, if I'm still pursuing my hope to ride the Divide, I might look at something else. But for now this looks pretty good to me. Now I just need to figure out how to pay for it! I'd like to switch soon and start building my mileage. It'll be strange to get back on a bike after riding the trike the past several years. I need to get down to Bike Tech and check it out.

It felt warmer for the ride home. Lots of people out on the trail. Tons of roller bladers, not sure what was going on with that but they kept coming in groups of two for the most part. Must have been at least a dozen of them, plus assorted other cyclists, dog-walkers and runners. The nice weather really had people out on the trail. When I ride it during other times of the year I tend to have it to myself.

On the ride back I stopped to take a picture of the clouds, which doesn't do it justice.

Clouds

Good day. Need to get out more!