Open your ears

When I ride (or do household chores, or yardwork, or really just about anything) I like to listen to audio books.  On occasion I’ll listen to music, but I’ve always been drawn to reading and audio books allow me to “read” while doing other things.  Call it multi-tasking. 

Obviously when I do something like riding while listening I only use one ear bud – just wanted to assure everyone I was being safe. 

In reading the rules to the Rocheport Roubaix (my first bike race) they clearly stated no earbuds or listening to anything AT ALL.  This was a 34 mile ride so I was a little worried about how I was going to manage to get through such a long time span without audio entertainment.  I decided to try a bit of riding sans earbuds to see if I could manage.   I learned a few things.

For starters – it was nice to really hear the things going on around me.  What I had been missing were the therapeutic sounds of the tires rolling down the road and the oddly satisfying clicking sound of my rear cassette.  It was also far easier to hear the others I was riding with and to converse with them. 

I’m kind of a loner when riding and now know that riding with others can be pretty nice!  Especially on long distances where things are more likely to go wrong.  Also being able to encourage other riders and to be encouraged has an enormous positive effect. 

It kind of reminded me of when I did my first 5K years ago.  My sister-in-law ran with me and she would encourage me to keep going with the phrase, “Push, push, push”!  To this day I still here her saying that to me on any ride that requires lots of stamina and endurance!

Another thing that happens when you stop adding in audio noise to your long rides is that your brain really starts working in amazing ways.  Heck – that’s the reason I started this blog.  I wanted to document the many things that came to my mind during my riding.  By not being distracted with an audio book while riding I’ve been able to notice parallels between obstacles found while riding and obstacles I’m encountering during my day to day life.  For instance, how symbolic a simple Detour becomes. 

Will I quit listening to audio books or music while riding?  Probably not all the time, but I think I’ll leave the audio entertainment at home at least once a week to see what other kinds of things my ears pick up.

My First Bike Race Done

A few months ago I heard about a bike race happening in Rocheport, Missouri on January 31st called the Rocheport Roubaix.  I have ridden in and around Rocheport before.  Once before to be exact when a group of coworkers/riders invited me to join them on a Katy Trail ride.  We rode about 50 miles on that beautiful fall day and that was fairly early in my riding career so I figured I could easily handle a 33 mile bike race in the same general area.  Ah, great expectations - how they set you up for big surprises!

First off - none of the course was on the Katy Trail.  For a little background, the Katy Trail is a rail line converted to a bike trail.  It runs about 270ish miles across Missouri and as it is a rail line trail it is very flat.  Maybe a 5-6% grade at most.  I know now that due to the time of year the Katy Trail would have had it's own challenges.  It is almost 100% gravel and with the thaw we've had the past few days it would have been very messy and hard to pedal in.

Back to the race.  So the starting line was located in the center of Rocheport which is a very neat little community south of Columbia, Missouri.  I got there plenty early (as I tend to do) and it was fun walking around and seeing the anticipation of all the riders readying themselves and their bikes for the race.  The race had 15, 33, 50 and 67 mile options.  I wavered between the 33 and 50 mile options and in the end decided that due to the time of year 33 miles would be challenge enough for me.  I registered on December 25th and it was pretty cold outside and I think this helped me make the wiser decision.  It could have been pretty nasty yesterday - thankfully it wasn't!

I saddled up a few minutes before the start and decided to hang back in the pack so as not to get plowed over by more zealous riders.  The race started with a nice long uphill climb.  I was quickly reminded how hilly Missouri is.  There was some nice pavement sections so at least I didn't have to struggle with the gravel and the uphill climb right off.  I might have turned around had that been the case!

The route was all small country roads and highways.  Probably 40-50% were paved.  The rest was hard packed gravel and it varied between very bumpy and dry to very smooshy and gooey.  And the hills!  I had to dismount several times and push up some of the hills.  This usually happened when I cross chained and the chain popped off the rear cassette.  Once this happens there is no fixing it and riding again till you get to a nice level point to restart.  One hill will forever be etched in my memory. It was paved and allowed me to hit a top speed of 37.7 mph.  I was flying!  But then at the bottom it veered right and suddenly the pavement ended in a swamp of gooey muddy gravel.  I was sure I was going to fly right off the bike.  But I managed to stay on and the next thing I know - I have to dismount and push again as I lost all my momentum in the mud.

I managed to finish the race in about 3 hours and 42 minutes.  The total miles ridden was actually 34 and I burned almost 4000 calories.  And I saw a new animal on the ride - a great big black and white pig.  I thought it was a big dog till I got closer.

I learned a few new things.  I think I need to work on fueling for such long distance riding.  I know it isn't uncommon for long distance cyclists to continue to snack on fast acting carbohydrates.  The diabetic in my is leary of doing that, but if I am burning that much I should be okay to consume more carbs than on a normal day.  Also the Boy Scout in me (I was never an actual scout but I act like one in that I try to be prepared for everything) needs to lighten up.  And by lighten up I mean I need to carry less stuff with me.  This race was well supported.  There were cars patrolling the route and delivering mechanical support if needed.  I was packing 2 spare tubes, a variety of tools and spare batteries for everything.  I could have easily dropped the bike weight by 10 pounds or so and it would have made the climbs a tiny bit easier.

Would I do it again - HECK YEAH!

Just in case anyone wants to live vicariously through me - feel free to watch my video of the race!

And here are a few pics from Race Day.

 My Post Race celebration meal!

My First Metric Century (over 100K) Ride

I had it in my mind that I really wanted to do a metric century ride before the end of 2015 and in light of having some time on my hands decided to go for it.  Tuesday was supposed to be a nice day and about 55 degrees.  But I should know better - in Kansas that could mean that the nice weather doesn't show up until today for instance.  Regardless I had been doing so much to get ready that I just wanted to get this thing done.  It felt like the universe was conspiring against me, but the reality is that I am often my own worst enemy.

The night before the ride I decided I needed to prep my bike.  Word to the wise, don't wait till the night before to prep.  This needs to be done several days in advance.  I had gotten a flat over the weekend ride and needed to have that addressed so I ran up to my LBS and they got me squared away.  When I got home I decided to switch out my handlebars to something better suited for the long ride.  I've done this a ton of times with no issues but Monday night was the exception.  I was almost done when I noticed a gap in the head tube that needed to be addressed.  As I tore everything back apart I accidentally forgot to hold something in place and POW!  I had pieces everywhere.  I tried for about 10 minutes to fix it but had no idea what order everything went in.  I grabbed a zip-lock and put all the loose parts in it, threw the bike on the carrier and raced to my bike shop. Thankfully the guys put Humpty Dumpty back together again.

Somewhere in the craziness of trips to the bike shop and working on my bike I put my wallet in one of my tool box drawers.  Well the morning of the ride I couldn't find my wallet!  Panic city!  I retraced steps, drove to stores I went the night before and just flat out panicked.  Well about 45 minutes later I found the wallet (after looking in the freezer and all kinds of other unlikely places). At this point I was dangerously close to the start time for my ride.  The ride I planned to do was an RUSA ride and is therefore timed.  You have to declare a start time in advance and whether you start on time or not, the clock starts right at your declared start time.  I decided to go for it and try to make it up in the ride.  I started about 20 minutes late, but in the end it wouldn't have mattered if I had started on time as it took me an hour longer than the allotted time to complete the ride.  You get 7 hours and 20 minutes to complete the 68 mile ride and it took me right at 8 hours.  I'm not mad for not finishing in time.  I'm proud of myself for finishing!  It was both a great ride and a grueling ride. I won't bore anyone with to many details.  I'll just give a few highlights and some musings I had along the way.

The ride is called LeLoup de Loop and starts in Olathe and takes you through Gardener, Edgerton, Wellsville, Baldwin City and Vinland before looping back through Gardener and then back to the start in Olathe.  My trip log showed it at 69 miles and I burned over 8,000 calories along the journey. The scenery was spectacular and I wish I could have taken a little more time to stop and take pictures along the way but for so long there was a chance I was going to make it in time so I pushed ahead. The weather never really warmed up to the point I had expected, but it was still decent weather.  The tough part was the WIND!!!  Every time I was going south I was fighting a headwind.  All this wind really got me thinking.

Wind is such a powerful force.  In my case it was trying to work against me to keep me from achieving my goal.  We often have forces that try to keep us from achieving something great.  It could be other people who just don't think a task is worth doing, or maybe they just don't think YOU can do it.  If I had turned around to have the wind at my back it would have been way easier than going on but I would have ended up back where I had started and would not have completed my task. Each uncompleted task makes it easier to give up in the future.  Before you know it, you aren't even trying anymore!

I'd like to drive the route sometime, or leave much earlier and cycle it again at a much slower pace.  I saw some great scenery and really wished I had taken time for pictures.  Maybe the take away is that life doesn't always have to be a race.  Stop and smell the roses.  Take the pictures.  Enjoy the surroundings.  While I plan to do more rides like this I also plan to make more time for all the above.

With all other rides I've done this year, I'm now about 54 miles away from having ridden 1,000 miles in 2015.  I will achieve this goal!  Merry Christmas to all and get out there and do whatever you are being inspired to do!

Inspiration

Inspiration is so important in everyday life.  It takes something to get you up each morning to make the slog to work.  Something that makes the efforts of doing things you kinda don’t really want to do (if we are being perfectly honest) so you can do what you want to do with your own time.  I’ve had jobs I truly loved.  I hope to have another one of those in the near future.  But in the meantime I want to do something special with some of the time I have been given by way of this lay off.  The first thing that comes to mind is to bike as much as possible.  I had already committed to riding my bike every single day for the next year.  Come rain or shine, sleet or snow I plan to ride.  Then I started watching some cycling movies.  I’ve recently watched Inspired to Ride, Ride the Divide and Reveal the Path.  All are cycling movies that emphasize long distance cycling and for the budding cyclist in me they are dangerously infectious. 

A friend that also rides has convinced me to explore Randonneuring.  Randonneuring is long-distance unsupported endurance cycling.  I looked into it and am totally on board with it.  I plan to ride my first randonneuring route early in the new year.  The one I selected is a 110k loop in North East Kansas.

Another ride I’ve been inspired to do is the Rocheport Roubaix which is a bike trail race on January 31^st.  You heard that right, January 31^st, otherwise known as the dead of winter.  I am still trying to decide between the 30, 50 or 67 mile options, but regardless this is something I really want to do and am currently training as if I am already registered. 

I've got at least one more very lofty goal but want to keep that one a secret for now. But I promise it is a big one!

I ride to get physically fit, but I also need to stay physically fit to ride.  These things go hand in hand. It kind of reminds me of when I got my first job and my first car.  I would drive to work, and I had to work to drive.  

So I will continue to look for inspiration to ride and I will continue to ride to inspire.  

I’ve got some work to do, both on and off my bike.  But I’ve found my inspiration through the movies I’ve been watching, the love I’ve gained for cycling, my classic love of adventure and the outdoors and just my sheer optimism that I can do what many would deem impossible.  The inspiration to do these rides is also helping me to stay motivated in areas related to my physical health (diabetic health and weight loss).  Wish me luck and watch for me as I get to work to achieve these goals.   

Detour

Sometimes you need to take the detour, sometimes you have no choice.

Today life presented a detour to me.  I received the news that I was let go from Sprint (again).  My last day is next Friday and it is a bittersweet moment for me.  I have struggled to know my place here ever since they laid off my entire team last year.  I came back after about 5 months as they needed someone to work through some of the transition that was incomplete when they let my team go.  It was easy to come back to Sprint.  I love so many of my coworkers and after 23 years here things got pretty comfortable.  I’ve been pondering a whole career change ever since I came back and it looks as if I get to give that idea a try.

Once they told me about my being let go, they said I could go home early and take some time to think about things.  Well of course to me that meant only one thing, bike riding time.  I got home and ate a quick lunch and started preparing to ride.  I thought a few times about loading the bike on the Jeep so I could go do a different trail and almost talked myself out of it.  I knew riding from home could add an hour of precious bike riding time, but I felt drawn to ride the Gary Haller Trail rather than the tried and true Indian Creek Trail.  Finally I decided I must follow the urging and packed the bike to the Gary Haller Trail. 

I started riding and it’s amazing what riding can do for me.  It really clears my head and gets my mind working in a higher level kind of way.  I was clipping along nicely when I came to this:

Talk about a detour!

I immediately thought about how this forced detour paralleled my current situation.  The detour was not optional.  To continue going forward without paying heed to the detour would mean destruction (or at least a great deal of pain).  As I rode past this obstacle on the detour path I noticed that the path was not all smooth and comfortable (as the bike trail was).  It was on gravel and was bumpy and filled with potholes.  But in a matter of feet I was back on the path and moving quickly and comfortably again.  Another parallel struck me.  Detours are sometimes bumpy and not as comfortable.  They can be tough and painful, but in the end they can also be lifesaving.  And once you get past them you can start moving again.

I know that in the end this detour will be a good thing.  It gives me a chance to think about what I want to do for the next 20 years or so.  It gives me a chance to take care of things that I always say I would do if I had more time to do them.  It gives me time to take care of myself and my family. 

Last year when I got laid off I commemorated the occasion with this tattoo:

The translation  for this is – Never look back, continue going forward on your journey.  I need to remember why I got this tattoo as I move forward. 

In the meantime, I foresee even more riding as I will have some free time on my hands.  Hopefully I will be able to share more thoughts that come to me on my rides.  One thing that helps me is that I am a positive thinker.  I'm always looking for the silver lining.  I know I can and will find it!

The Fall

The last few rides I've taken I've been noticing the beauty of Fall.  The leaves are almost done falling and the colors they have provided are one of the many things I love about cycling the trails around my house.

As I was riding this weekend I was struck with a parallel of Fall the season and what it is like for someone to fall because of something happening to them in their life.

Towards the end of Fall the leaves are gone from the trees.  One thing I noticed is that because of Fall I can see through the trees.  I can see things that are 15 feet off the trail that I did not notice all Summer long.  I can also often see further up the trail and even see around corners better.  It gives me more time to react to oncoming obstacles.

Compare that to someone having fallen in some way in their life.  Maybe because of a family crisis or a job related problem.  Something that causes one to really feel down and defeated.  Depressed and beaten.  When I've been in those places I've noticed that my outlook on things shifts or changes.  In some cases I become more careful, in other ways more free spirited.  Usually the opposite of however I acted before the fall.  After I've fallen I've noticed that I see things I did not see previously.  So many times I suddenly see the bigger picture.  I get meaning out of the sadness or pain.  I can see further down the road to where I am going and I make corrections to ensure I don't fall again, or least I don't fall as hard.

One thing I truly love is the fact that after the Fall there will eventually be another Spring.  A reminder that whatever I'm going through now will not last forever.  New life and renewal is just around the corner.  Using the learning of a fall will better prepare me for a new start.

Thankful for my LBS

If you've been riding for any amount of time you've probably heard the term "LBS".  I had no idea what this meant at first, but soon learned it referred to my Local Bike Shop.  Just like McDonald's, Subway or even gas stations there are bike shops and/or bike departments at larger chain stores all over.  But there is a vast difference in hitting the bike department at Walmart vs. your trusty LBS.

First off - most people working in a department store are hardly qualified to advise on bike parts and these same people are the ones who probably assembled the bikes for sale there.  And then there is just such a limited selection of parts available.  In a pinch you might get a new tube or a bike lock or something else fairly common, but that is about the limit of usefulness a department bike store offers. I've even found that sports and fitness stores have limits when it comes to the cycling departments they contain.

Then there is the LBS.  My LBS is Bike America at 95th and Nall in Overland Park, Kansas.  I bought my Cannondale there and I can't say enough about how awesome these guys are!  They offer great and knowledgeable sales support and as far as bike mechanics go they are tops!  I pop in there frequently and have gotten to know several of the mechanics pretty well.  They are always ready to help me out with any problem.  Often times they teach me how to do something for myself in the future, and they always let me hang out while they work on my bike.

Well the other day was another day for my LBS to shine.  I was planning to ride and went to reach down my 29er and found a totally flat rear tire.  I kinda thought it was going soft on my ride the day before so I wasn't completely surprised, but it changed my plans.  I jumped on the fat bike for a quick 3 mile ride, but it is just not ready for much longer riding yet.

When I got back I thought about tackling the flat so I'd be ready for a longer ride the next day.  I kinda started at it half-assed and then decided to just run it to my LBS.  They would fix it in a quarter of the time so the repair fee was worth it.  Well I got there and sure enough they fixed it lickity split! It turned out that as I had installed flat prevention strips earlier in the year, the repair was free of charge!  My long Thanksgiving Day ride was back on schedule thanks to my LBS!

I've walked in to larger bike shops - like Bike USA and I've found them very impersonal and in fact I recall twice shopping there only to find myself completely ignored.  I since decided to avoid them all together.  (I apologize if anyone reading this is a Bike USA fan - this is just my experience with them).

So here I am the day after, the day after Thanksgiving finally getting around to finishing this post and come to find that this is "Shop Small" day.  So this is a fitting day to say Thanks to my LBS and remind people to shop small and support local shops vs. big chain stores as much as possible.