This past weekend I finally got back out on the trails after a more than four month hiatus from mountain biking. It seems crazy that it has been that long but the last time I was out was a couple weeks before my London trip. WTF?
I received some new tires for Christmas from Lisa's parents that, based on the reviews, were pretty good all-weather tires and it turns out they lived up to their reputation in regards to muddy slopes. It rained ceaseless Saturday and we went out riding on Sunday so the trails were all pretty wet, slick, or boggy and the tread remained mud free all day. My old tires would have been filled with mud almost immediately because some parts of the trail caused the bike to sink in to the spokes.
I had sort of hoped that it wouldn't be so muddy because it was so damn cold out, in the mid 20's, but the mud and rain mixed stayed wet and soggy instead of firm and icy. I'm not sure which would have been better. I do know that the mud was exhausting to peddle through and my legs were dead like they've never been dead before. We went to Beachfork State Park; a park I'd only rode at once before, and I was dreading a huge hill about halfway through the ride. The hill is about 2 miles in length and sure enough by the time we reached it's base my legs were useless. There was no way I was going to be able to peddle up it; heck, I wasn't even sure I'd be able to walk up it.
This left me with a bit of a dilemma because we were about 5 miles away from the car so I could either try an unknown shortcut up the hill, take the main hill path, or backtrack. I really didn't want to backtrack because I would have had to ride through a small river 3 more times and risk getting totally soaked on a freezing day. I also didn't want to go up that monster hill especially considering I remembered the downhill part being pretty tricky and I was in no condition for a really tricky descent. With all that considered I decided to take the questionable shortcut while the other three headed up the long trail.
The shortcut wasn't too bad initially though it was much, much steeper than the long way. However, the trail on the shortcut disappeared a few times. Clearly it isn't a frequented trail by either bikers or hikers. However, I persevered and blazed my own trail a few times until I found a path that looked promising. We had suspected that the short cut and the long trail would meet up at the top of the mountain but I didn't see where the trail I was on would merge with their trail. I had talked to the others before the ascent and we had agreed that if I couldn't find my way I would backtrack so I figured they would know that I would be heading to the car if they didn't find me at the top of the hill. Thus I followed the trail I had found in the general direction of the car.
By this point my legs were feeling a little refreshed and most of the terrain was flat or sloping down so I was riding again. The downhill section I had to actually descend was pretty nice though there were a couple places that would have been much more fun if the weather were better (all of the wet leaves on the trails made traction very questionable). Eventually I found myself on a path that overlooked the trail we had taken out from the cars in the first place so I took another short cut down to it (another fun descent) and then started to backtrack from there. My circuitous route helped me avoid the three river crossings so all I had to do was one small stream crossing and then make it the 4 miles or so back to the car.
Along the trail I encountered a few hikers and 2 beautiful white tail deer. In general it was a nice ride except for the unusual pains I had been experiencing. The first was on the way out. I had tried to cross a large boulder and my bike didn't want to go and ended up crimping my pelvic bone between the bike frame and the handlebar post. That hurt like hell. Then, when I was about 2 miles from finishing my ass started to hurt. Beachfork's trails are criss crossed by a lot of roots and this constant bumping on a very frozen seat ended up really bruising my backside. It still hurts quite a bit today. Finally, by the end of the ride, my legs were pretty damn tight. The cold weather combined with my overall exertion caused my thighs to start to cramp up. However, I stretched out pretty good and I felt much better afterwards.
Overall it was a fun ride even though it was cold (I remained comfortably warm through the ride) and I'm glad I got back out there. My new tires are really nice and I have been reminded that I can't be taking four months off again. All of the gains I had made in leg strength and endurance were lost during my hiatus. Ed, on the other hand, has been riding non-stop and he has gotten a lot faster and stronger. I feel bad that I am holding the group back when we go out.
Speaking of holding the group back when the other three reached the top of their trail and I wasn't there they became worried and decided to split up and look for me. They sent Gilbert back to see if he could find me while Ed and Mike tried to find the trail I might have taken and they tried to follow it. I think they crossed behind me on my path a few times but we clearly took different routes because they saw some landmarks (such as large piles of coal) that I did not. Needless to say their hunt for me extended their ride by quite a bit and I was actually back at the car about 40 minutes before Ed and Mike (Gilbert rolled in about 10 minutes before them). I appreciate their effort on my behalf but hopefully they will just head to the car first in the future and then worry about me if I don't show up :O)
Back in the Frozen Saddle
6 min read
December Catch-up
9 min read
So much was going on in December I wasn't able to blog at all. Now that the new year is here, Happy New Year by the way, I figure I should catch everyone up on what kept us so busy. Technically this story is going to start in late November but hopefully you won't hold that addendum against me.
Emily turned 5 on Nov 26 amidst great fanfare and even greater parties. I'm not sure how many she had but trust me, there were a bunch. Lisa's parents drove down when all the hoopla had pretty much died down and we had one last gasp (well not really the last but I'll get to that later). While they were here we decorated the yule time tree and stood in a circle singing carols. Ok, so we didn't actually stand in a circle or sing carols but it was a nice rockwellian image wasn't it? (unless you have heard me sing then perhaps it was a scary image).
I had to work for the first couple of days of December (making sure to call my mother on the 2nd for her hundredth birthday or some huge number like that; it was also my friend Mike's birthday). On around the 5th we loaded up the family cruiser for a trip to Disney World. Fortunately we only had to drive the cruiser about 1 hour to the airport where we then flew to Orlando by way of Atlanta. We stay at the cheapest hotel at Disney, the All-Star Sports/Music/Movies. Our room was at the All Star Music. If you paid attention 2 years ago you might remember that we stay in a family suite which is really just two hotel rooms merged into one with a small kitchenette. It's perfect for the four of us because it basically has two bedrooms but we don't have to pay for two full hotel rooms.
The last time we were at Disney Emily was sick with some kind of flu. This time she was healthy the whole time and, I think, old enough to really get into everything. Earlier I mentioned the last bash for Emily well it came at Disney this year. We had pre-ordered a cake with dumbo on it saying Happy Birthday Emily and some balloons (free with the cake, sweet!). I had to pick the cake up from the hotel restaurant our first night there. However, I had to wait a while so I sent the girls ahead to the park to get some early rides in. Finally I got the cake and brought it back to the room with five balloons. Then I hustled back to the hotels bus stop so I could get to the magic kingdom and find the rest of mi familia.
Sadly, the cake wasn't really seen that night because, by the time we got back to the hotel, Emily had fallen asleep. It was understandable considering the drive, the flight, the bus ride to the hotel, the ride to the magic kingdom, the rides, the fireworks, and then the bus ride back to the hotel; she is only five afterall.
I'm reluctant to describe our entire week at Disney so I'll spare you most of the details and I'll just stick with the highlights for the girls; the biggest of which was their trip to the Bibby Bobbidi Boutique which is kind of like a beauty parlor for kids. The girls both had their hair done in a Cinderella hairstyle, they had makeup applied, and "pixie dust" liberally coating them. They both seemed to really dig the whole experience and they both looked cool when it was all done. It was weird seeing Emily with makeup on. Shannon has had to have heavy makeup applied before for dance recitals but Emily hasn't; it was really really strange to see her all dolled up. You can see a bunch of photos from Disney if you'd like
Overall, the weather while were there was cold but dry except for the Thursday of our week when it rained hard. We had gone to the Animal Kingdom and we were soaked and cold by the time we got back to the hotel so we spent Thursday afternoon at downtown Disney checking out the shops. We did that all backwards because Thursday afternoon turned out to be really nice. The best thing about the rain in the morning was that the Animals were all out on the safari ride and all of the characters were in one building (which was mostly devoid of guests) so the girls were able to meet 7 or 8 characters without having to wait in line at all. We also got to see a monkey going through dental surgery which was kind of cool. They had just brought in a local dental surgeon come in to do it since the procedure was pretty much the same for the monkey as for a human.
After we got back from Disney I had to work for one week before starting my 2 weeks of holiday vacation. It was the first time since 2009 (our honeymoon) that I had taken 2 weeks off in a row. With weekends that equated to 16 days off! Sweet. For the first four days I called it "Billcation" and I mostly just sat around and read some books. At the end of the four days Lisa was then off work and we celebrated our own little Festivus on Dec 24 where I gave Lisa her big gift, a trip to the Grand Canyon this summer. I went to the canyon while I was in the Army and it was amazing. Lisa hasn't seen it so I think she will really dig it. We will actually be staying in Vegas and my brother and his wife will be joining us which will make it extra cool.
After our little celebration we loaded up the car for a trip to Cleveland where we spent about 7 days with Lisa's family. It is always nice to see them. My nephews are all basically young men now which is a little strange but cool. One night my three nephews and I went to a local university to play some pickup basketball. It turns out I still suck but now I am in such bad cardio shape that I couldn't even make up for my lack of skill with effort. Danny and Chris both tried hard and Pete was doing really well from three point land. We played 3 games of 2-on-2 with Pete and I winning the series. Then we switched to a four on four game where Chris (the youngest and shortest) played much better. He had to guard a really big guy (wide, but not really tall) who was pushing Chris all over the place. Chris didn't back down and even swatted a few of the other guys shots. It was great. Danny ended up getting some seriously nasty looking blisters so he and I sat out after the first game of 4-on-4 so that the teams would be even still.
Danny, Chris, and I along with the girls went bowling one day where I dominated with an avg of 146. We all went again another day with Lisa, her sister Jane, and her dad as well and, while I had the best average (146 again) Lisa had the high score of the week with a 178. She had been using a 10 pound ball and was struggling, she moved up to a 12 pound ball and never looked back. It was really cool to see her do so well. I think she and I need to go bowling more often. We both enjoy it and it isn't too expensive (though for the 17 games our group played plus shoe rental it was over $100!)
The only truly negative part of out time in Cleveland, for me, was that I am now officially burnt out on Hand and Foot. We were playing with 7 people in each hand and that is just too many. We really should have broken out into 2 groups because each game just took way too long.
Once we returned from Cleveland my Dad, Patty, and my brother Chris, swung by and we had a nice dinner and they gave me a really nice Scarf for Christmas. I already had a Liverpool Football Club scarf but it isn't very long and its very red so doesn't go that well with my work clothes. It has been fairly cold and windy here lately so a nice scarf fit the bill pretty well. This one is green and gray striped and is very long so I can tie it on like I saw everyone in London doing so now I'm not only warm but fashionable!
Ted sent us a digital picture frame with about 500 photos of his part of the family on it. That was cool because we tend to harass him about getting some photos. My mom sent me three books I've been wanting to read and I've already finished 2 of them. In fact, over the past month I've knocked out 11 books. I have some serious reviewing to get to over on my book blog. Lisa's parents gave me some new rubber for my mountain bike tires that should help improve my grip. I haven't been out riding in a while but I am hoping to hit the hills this weekend with Ed and Mike (and maybe Gilbert).
Finally, we had a small party for my dad's 63rd birthday the night before his actual birthday. We had paella and apple pie. It was great. Plus my dad had put together a prototype for a secret project we are working on and the prototype was perfect. We agreed to work on the final version sometime in the next couple of weeks and I'm really excited about it coming to fruition. I suppose I'll probably let the cat out of the bag when it is done just because I will be so excited about it and want to show it to everyone! Stay tuned.
#Sports #Family #FunStuff #MyLife #Travel #Featured #Entertainment #Photos
Stateside
5 min read
I'm home from my business trip to London. I actually arrived back home on Saturday afternoon, around 3pm or so. However, I was really, really tired at the time which led to me not really telling anyone I was home and to a most unfortunate accident on my part.
The five days after my "day 2" post were pretty uneventful in general. Jason and I worked while Mark and Paul had meetings. In the evenings we would go out for a beer and dinner but otherwise Jason and I didn't really see much more of London. Mark and Paul did get an opportunity to ride on the "Eye" one day and I hope to see the photos from that soon.
We flew out Saturday morning and had to be at the airport by 6am so we had to leave the hotel by 5am. Because of this, and the fact that Jason and I weren't packed, and our plans to go out "boozing" with one of the guy sin London on Friday night we decided we wouldn't sleep until we were on the plane. We left work around 6:30pm Friday and headed to a bar fairly close to the office for our first couple rounds of drinks. Once we were done drinking Mark and Paul headed back to the hotel while Jason, Matt (our London guy), and myself hopped in a cab for the White Chapel area of London to eat at a really tasty Pakistani restaurant named Tayyabs. They don't serve alcohol there but you can bring your own. The guy at the table next to us gave us six cans of Carlsberg to drink while we ate just before he left. About 20 minutes later he reappeared and gave us 8 more cans of beer (Heineken and Fosters). It was incredibly generous of him!
We basically hung out at the restaurant until it closed near midnight and then we headed down to the Leichester square area looking for a pub to hang out in. However, all of the pubs close near midnight and the other two weren't particuarly interested in hanging out in a club. We spent a while trying to find an unoccupied cab for Matt to ride home in and finally bid him farewell at around 2am. Jason hung out with me for about 30 more minutes before heading back to the hotel to pack. I wandered around and checked out the various clubs and side streets until around 3:30am when I finally stumbled into the hotel room. I packed and then we gathered in the lobby for the cab ride to the hotel.
At Heathrow I picked up a bottle of Sheridans Liquor for Lisa. She had tried it on our cruise years ago and really liked it but I have never been able to buy it in the states so I picked up a bottle duty free. I had to stow it in my carry on for the flight to Dulles. I had planned on sleeping for a large portion of that flight but we ended up sitting behind two 3 year old twins who had blast playing and goofing off. Nearly everytime I dozed one of them managed to wake me again. Once in DC, I had to bury Lisa's gift in my checked bag because you can't take that much fluid on a plane.
We had about an hour layover at Dulles before loading onto our small prop plane for Charleston. I did sleep for a good portion of that one hour flight. Once we arrived in Charleston I pulled the bottle back out of my suitcase to make sure it survived (it did!). Then Jason and I piled into his car for the drive to Huntington. Jason dropped me off, I unloaded my bags and my bottle, and then opened our mailbox to gather the weeks worth of mail that had accumulated. In my utter exhaustion I wasn't really thinking and tried to shift some things in my hand to make room for the mail and I dropped the bottle of Sheridans which instantly shattered on the driveway. I was so pissed at myself and full of a great many "why didn't I?" type questions. Why didn't I just take my bags in first? Why didn't I put the bottle back in my carry on or suitcase once I knew it was OK? Why why why? I felt like crap that I had destroyed Lisa's gift.
I collected the mail and then headed inside to wait for Lisa and the girls to get home from Hilton Head. I had a long wait. Eventually I went out for dinner (around 6pm) and then came home and kept trying to stay awake until, finally, Lisa and the girls arrived around 10pm. I helped get the girls to bed and then went straight to bed and fell into a solid sleep for the night only to be woken around 7am to go to church? WTF? I don't go to church. But off we went becuase the service was supposed to be Shannon's schools service. Shannon wasn't involved though and I really don't think I'll be suckered into going back for another one. After my mockery of church participation we came home and then planned on going to a movie (Beverly Hills Chihuahua - which, while lame, was still better than the Astronaut bug movie I recently saw).
London : Day 2
4 min read
Our second day in London got off to a slow start thanks to our late partying the night before. Jason and I both slept until around 10am. However, after that I think we made great use of our time.
We gathered up Mark and Paul and headed on the tube towards the Science museum. While some parts of it were oddly mundane, such as the "Household Materials" section which featured such simple items as tootpaste and baking soda, other parts were fantastic. There was a large section just on math; specifically dealing with calculus and geometry. There was also a nice section on various ships throughout time populated with incredibly detailed models. Some were huge and all were amazing.
We spent quite a bit of time in the museum until Mark, Jason, and I kind of gave up. Right next door was the natural history museum but we didn't really have the motivation to hang out in museums all day. Paul actually started to get the flu or something equally irritating so he kind of wanted to go back to the hotel. However, we looked at the map and saw we were only a few blocks from Harrods so we all decided to head over there and see that part of town.
We hardly spent any time at Harrods at all - maybe 15 minutes tops. We walked through their fine watch department and some of the watches pricetags lived up to the billing. I saw many at the 30-50k pound range; that's the $60-100k range in USD. We walked out of Harrods and there were two Ferrari's and a Mazeratti parked on the curb. Amazingly those weren't the nicest cars we saw. In fact, when we first got off the tube to go to the science museuem a Lamborgini store was just across the street so we swung by and imagined we could take a test drive. In reality we couldn't even enter the store.
After Harrods I thought Paul was going to head back to the hotel but then we realized we were fairly close to Hyde Park so we headed that way, then we were going to load Paul on a train but realized we were close to Buckingham Palace so we went over there.
We couldn't actually get close to the Palace, it is pretty well fenced off but we did get some nice photos of the famous guards. I was a little disappointed I couldn't get close to them though since Lisa really wanted me to get a photo up close. As we were leaving and heading down the main drive up to the Palace we saw a satellite guard shack that was just about to go through a changing of the guards. Sweet. I took some nice photos of the guards and Mark took a photo of me with one.
After our encounter with the guards we realized we were close to 10 Downing Street (Prime Ministers House) so we went there, then we saw Big Ben so we went there. By this point it seemed like Paul would never head back to the hotel but we finally split up. Mark, Jason, and I headed to Westminster Abbey but it was closed for tourists on Sundays so we decided to cross the Thames and check out the huge ferris wheel that is the eye. When we got there we ran back into Paul who had also decided to see the wheel.
Finally we headed toward a tube station and rode back to the hotel where we deposited Paul and then went out to dinner. Dinner was at a pitifully bad "pub" that was really more of a chain restaurant that was like a crappy Applebees. All in all it was a really good day and I think we managed to see an amazing amount of stuff. We still haven't made it to the Tower of London nor have we ridden the Eye but both are still planned for later this week.
I've put up some photos from day 2.
Two For One - Biking Fun
9 min read
I failed to post an update on my mountain biking activities last week so this is going to be a summation of the two weeks rolled up into one.
Typically we have been riding at Barboursville Park which is a city park with 20+ miles of trails that wrap around the main park area. Last week we decided to mix it up a bit though and instead headed to Beachfork State Park. It is just a little south of Huntington and is laden with trails; most of which seem more like the river trail I like so much at Barboursville. These trails don't go up or down hill too much they just roll with small dips and rises. I like these kind of trails because I can focus on steering and just going. When we are going up hills I'm wondering when my lungs became so poor and when we are going down them I'm focused on not flying off the side of the trail or, worse, over the front of my bike.
Not all of Beachfork is rolling flat trails though. Eventually we came up on the Mary Davis trail which features a 1/2 mile climb at one point. I honestly don't think the people who knew Mary Davis cared much for her if they named that trail after her - it was a bitch. Somehow Ed, Sean, and Mike rolled up it without pausing. I, on the other hand, stopped, gasped, wheezed, and stumbled to the top of the hill. When I was younger I was always the guy who tried to push ahead to the top of the hill (when hiking, running, marching) and I was a bit disgusted with the people who couldn't keep up. Now I'm just disgusted with myself. It's not a pleasant feeling. I really need to get in better cardio shape (and my legs could use a bit more strength too).
Though it might be hard to tell I had a blast at Beachfork. After the painful climb we had a lot of downhill to look forward too and, unlike prior weeks, I didn't worry about the hills. I just rolled. I think it helped that I didn't really know what I was getting into. Instead I just focused on using the appropriate techniques for the terrain and I managed to get down every hill without incident. That isn't to say that my day was perfect. Almost right off the start I discovered that no matter how slow you are moving up a hill that if you don't avoid even a thin tree it will stop you and throw you and your bike back down the hill. I didn't fall off but my chain did. Overall we rode 7 miles and that was my only real problem with execution of the day so I was pretty happy with the ride.
Mike and Ed over the past couple weeks have really been talking up the use of energy bars/gels. Considering we are going biking at around 5pm and we haven't eaten anything since 11:30am it seemed like a good idea so I packed up a Cliff Bar (Chocolate Brownie flavored) and figured if I got really tired or hungry I'd eat it for a bit of refreshment. I generally like most of the Cliff Bar flavors I have had but the I was disappointed to find out on the trail that the Chocolate Brownie is nasty. I only ate 1/2 of it before tossing it into a bin.
This week we returned to Barboursville park but we followed a totally new path through the first half of it and it was a blast. We started off going up a short but steep hill and then we flew through the woods and attacked a fairly steep downhill. I think it was at least as steep as where I flew over the handle bars a few weeks ago - but I went at it with more confidence this time around (as well as proper positioning on my bike) and I made it down without a problem. Then we headed on some cross country riding before coming to a set of train tracks. On the other side of the tracks we had to backtrack about 50 feet through the thick gravel along the side of the track. That is some hard pedaling. The ground shifts constantly under your bike, your wheels sink into the the loose stone, and you really have to fight to keep your balance. I had to put my foot down once but I was happy to make it through. After the tracks we hit the river trail. At this point I'm not sure what happened. I went into the trail last and pedaled hard the entire time. I Shifted my gears into a faster configuration (2,3) and I didn't have any problems with the obstacles - yet somehow I fell behind the others. I pushed myself pretty hard trying to keep up but still they all got far enough ahead of me that I couldn't see them. It was really strange.
I finally did catch up with them at a "rock garden" formation. A rock garden is basically an obstacle in the path that is made out of large rocks or small boulders that you have to navigate on your bike. We took a rest just before entering the garden when the local mountain biking group came flying up the trail. We all moved over and they just flew through the garden. The leaders of the group even took a more difficult line. Once they were past we mounted up and attempted a similar feat. Ed, our best rider, rolled right through, and then, for some reason I decided to go second. I actually did OK though I had to put my right foot down once to maintain my line. Sean's pedal bottomed out on a rock (really easy to do) and Mike made it look pretty easy. Overall it was the best the four of us have done on that part of the trail before. We then pushed our way over the remained of the river trail where we found the big group finishing up a rest. We took another short rest while they headed out toward our main climb of the day.
At that point I really should have stopped. We were back at the main parking lot (which isn't anywhere near where we parked) and I was really tired. Granted, had I stopped there I still would have had to climb the big hills on the road to get back to my car so I was pretty much stuck. We headed up the mountain trail though and I struggled with all of the climbs. I struggled with the flats, oddly enough the only part I didn't struggle with too much was the downhills. At one point we were going up a worn smear of dirt on the side of the mountain - it wasn't even a cut so the angle was oddly slippery since we were climbing against the grain - my arms were exhausted and I couldn't steer well when suddenly I was pointed about 50 degrees to far to the right. That means I was pointed straight down hill. A very, very steep and hill with no trail. Fortunately I didn't really have any momentum when I turned (which is part of the reason I turned I think). I managed to jump forward off my seat and put my feet down, I clenched on both brakes so the bike wouldn't roll too much, and I tried to stop myself from sliding down the hill. It was really steep so I failed. I started to stumble down waddling with the bike between my legs. After about 15 feet I just fell over onto my side and the bike seat drove into the back of my thigh (that could've have been MUCH worse). Eventually I extracted myself from the bike and fought it back up to the "trail" where I resumed my ride.
We kept on riding and riding and riding. My left arm was getting really really tired. However, I found a second wind and really pedaled hard on the last mile or so. Up hills and across flats I was attacking and getting more and more tired until eventually we reached a pretty steep downhill with some nasty rocks jutting out. I thought about riding down it but I could barely hold my body up on the handle bars so I decided to walk that part. It is actually a tough little hill to ride and I haven't done it yet. We used to ride in the opposite direction on that hill and we always had to walk our bikes up it. I didn't recognize it for the hill it was until I was halfway down it then I was happy I had decided to walk. At the bottom I hopped back on my bike and rolled to the end of the trail which spits out where we parked. I was drenched in sweat, my arms were like rubber, and I could barely catch a breath but I felt pretty good.
We rode about 8 miles in all though I'd guess that with some of the uphills I had to walk I probably rode closer to 7. It was my best performance so far in terms of navigating obstacles but was also my most tiring. I was so tired at the end that when I changed my socks I couldn't pinch my sock tightly enough with my left hand to pull it over my ankle. I really need to ride more than once a week if I want to get in better shape so I think I'm going to try and ride with Ed on Sunday as well. I probably won't post for each day individually if I do - instead I'll try to keep my mountain biking posts to no more than one a week.
The County Fair
1 min read
The girls and I went to the Gallia County Fair with my dad and step-mother last week. I have to be honest - I'm not much of a fan of county fairs but it wasn't too bad. The girls rode a bunch of rides and Shannon won an prize at a dart game. I even managed to win the big animal prize on a game - that one where you roll a ball up a small table and based on which hole it goes in your character races ahead. There were at least ten of us in the race so it was cool to win even though I almost choked after pulling out to a huge lead.
Anyway, here are some photos of the girls at the fair.
Day of the Battered Shins
5 min read
I'd like to think that I was getting better at this mountain biking stuff but, as it turns out, I'd just be lying to myself if I thought that. If yesterday's effort is any indication I am actually getting worse. However, instead of accepting that harsh reality I'm going to blame my poor performance on the conditions and my nagging hunger; yeah, that's the ticket.
Last week I told you that it was muddy and that biking in the mud was pretty dumb. Well, I still hold that position after doing it again this week. I didn't really think the mud caused me a ton of problems last week but it definitely did this week. My tires were pretty clogged with mud so I don't think I had much traction in general and my feet continuously slipped off my pedals. The muddy tires and the lack of traction probably didn't cause me much trouble beyond what I would normally have but my feet slipping off was a pain in the ass (and in my left shin). On at least three occasions my left foot slipped off the pedal just as my right foot slipped and slammed the pedal around in a full circle ending in my shin. It hurt more than falling off the damn bike. So now I have some ugly gashes on my left shin. I think I can honestly say my future career as a leg model has been cut short.
We actually traversed the hill that sent me flying a couple weeks ago. However, I really wasn't feeling like I had my "A" game with me this week so rather than risk a repeat (especially with Sean at the bottom taking photos) I just walked my bike down this time. I did make it down a few hills that were a bit tougher than I normally do so I was happy with that and I was doing better getting up some of the steep hills so the day wasn't a total bust. However, aside from those small bright spots I had a bunch of dark ones. Nearly every rock that could reroute me did, nearly every fallen tree that could stop me did, and nearly every time I could fade off the path you could consider me faded. It was not pretty.
The brightest part of my day was actually the end result of a huge mistake. We were going down a semi-steep hill that did a semi-switchback to the left about 3/4 of the way down - right about when you have maximum speed really. I was cruising down trying to control my speed when I hit that turn and I just couldn't turn enough so I basically just went straight. Now, there is a reason the turn is there and that's because the next 20 feet of the hill, going straight, are very very steep. I cruised over the ridge, gripped my handle bars with a death grip, sat way back in my stance and got as low as I could over my back tire, and hoped for good luck. Now, since I told you this was a bright spot the drama is kind of lost becuase you already know I made it down the hill safely. Amazingly I didn't lose control hitting a hidden rock or fallen tree, I didn't fly over my handlebars, I didn't even tip over at the bottom when I would have relaxed thinking all was safe. I just slowed down, took a sharp left turn, and bunny hopped over and obstacle and got right back on the trail. I was amazed and disappointed that none of the others had the chance to witness my skills since they were well ahead of me.
I think I'll try to just focus on the positives and build on these small victories and try to forget about the pain in my shin and my shoulder. However, to help avoid the shin pain I'll probably start wearing my soccer shin guards. I'm already wearing the soccer socks so now I'll look the part of crazed Mt. Biker. Mark my words some time next year it will be fashionable to wear long songs while mt. biking.
Tomorrow I am going to try to align my rear wheel so I can avoid the $12 it costs to have the bike shop do it. After next payday I think I'm going to buy some new wheels and tires in a progressive step towards upgrading my brakes. Next month some time I'll probably buy new brakes and a support bar so my frame can handle the increased breaking power. I also want to start going out a little on the weekends, maybe at Ritter Park with my other coworker Jason so I can get a bit more practice in (and thus more comfort "in the saddle").
Mud spelled backwards equals Dum
6 min read
Last night provided me with the opportunity for my fourth mountain biking excursion. My left shoulder recovered remarkably well and my right knee and hip weren't bothering me at all so I decided to join up with the three amigos of Ed, Mike, and Sean for another outing in the park. It had rained a bit Wednesday night and Thursday morning so the trails were kind of sodden on the lower parts of the hills. The upper third was in pretty good shape but once we switched hills the downward slope was a muddy mess; more on that later.
This week we decided to go up the hill the way we have come down it in the past. It turns out most people take this opposite route and that we were oddballs for going the way we were. We hadn't actually climbed one of the mountains via a real trail before instead we had gone up small dirt/gravel roads or actual paved streets. It's a lot harder to go up a single track path that is wet and muddy. I don't think I have ever found myself breathing so hard or had my heart thumping so hard as I did when we were trying to climb the hill. Now, don't panic mom - I'm ok and I took breaks; plenty of them! But, when we were moving and working it was a hell of a work out. Every break was a little slice of paradise.
On the way up Ed and Sean stayed out front (Sean is a beast at climbing hills) while I trailed in third and Mike took up the rear. Mike started off the ride not feeling so well becuase his hamburger from lunch just didn't like all the exertion so he was uncharacteristically slow. Thankfully, about 1/2 way through our day he seemed to bounce back and was riding strong again.
This week we rode for almost 7 miles which is a little less than we normally do but it was the hardest ride we have had by a lot (even harder for me than that first one). It wasn't technically harder it was just more physically exhausting. There were a couple really technical spots (to me) where I opted to walk my bike down the hill as opposed to pushing myself too hard - I really didn't want a repeat of last week. This cautious approach worked pretty well though once I was cautious only to find out the hill I was being careful about had changed quite a bit since last week and it was easy to ride down so that involved me getting off my bike, walking four feet, and then getting back on once I realized what had happened. Thankfully nobody gave me too much crap about it.
Once we switched hills we still had to ride up a gravel road but it wasn't too horrid - exhausting but not too much street (boring) at least. Then we hit the trail for the downhill and it was a thick, sloggy, mess. The mud was 4 inches deep at least and there were piles of nasty wet leaves all over the place to help drag your bike this way and that. The path down was about 8 feet wide so it wasn't too bad until my front tire got stuck in a rut and I was drug toward the left edge which consisted of a good 50' dropoff. I hit my brakes and kept on sliding through the mud towards my impending doom but saved myself at the last minute by putting my feet down and grabbing a nearby tree. Granted, I was only moving about 1 mile per hour at that point but even then it was hard to stop due to all the mud. If necessary I would have jumped off my bike and let it take the fall alone but I'm glad it didn't come to that. Once I got straightened out the rest of the downhill was smooth sailing.
After the downhill we had a little cross country and then we were back to the trail around the lake. That is my favorite part - it is narrow but generally flat or with small swells that you can really cruise through. You still have to pay attention so you don't clip a tree (the path is very narrow) and so your feet don't hit upthrust rocks and roots but overall it is really just fun. There are even places where Ed jumps as we go through. I tried to jump on one of them but only managed to get my front wheel about 2" into the air. Thankfully Sean and Mike were both far enough behind me to not see that lame effort. Even better I didnt' crash and then have to admit I crashed while jumping 2" into the air. That would have sucked.
The worst part of the ride was that whatever was bugging Mike's stomach at the beginning was bothering mine the last 1/4 of the ride. I felt like utter crap when we were done though I'm sure that's due in part to me not drinking enough on the trail. I need to make a more focused effort to drinking while we roll and not just when we take breaks; perhaps I will end up getting a camelback. I did just order a new water bottle but perhaps a single bottle just isn't sufficient? I dunno. Either way I felt like totally crud when we were done so I just chilled at my car for about 45 minutes before I tried to drive home.
We also got a Wii Fit earlier in the week. Each day we use it and it weighs us and does some other tests before we do any of the exercises. Last night I just did the weigh-in/test and it said I had lost over 4 pounds in the prior 24 hours. I'm thinking I lost a lot of fluid on that bike ride; but hey, my BMI was looking great! I only need to lose 5 more pounds to get to the ideal BMI for my height. Sweet - bring me dehydration and a better BMI. Oh, well, maybe that's the wrong way to go about it.
Mayhem on the Mountain
10 min read
Some say three times the charm to suggest that the third time you try something you'll "get it" and everything will be much smoother. In general I can say that held true for me on the mountain yesterday though I'm not sure I would use smooth as the correct adjective to describe my evening of mountain biking. Just like last week there were four of us hitting the trails; Ed, Sean, Mike, and myself. Somehow, even though I left the office last, I was actually the first one at the park. I unloaded my bike (which had some service done on it at the local bike shop over the week) and stretched out my stiff legs (I had played about 3 hours of Ultimate Frisbee on Wednesday night) and then waited on the others. Ed showed up shortly there after but Sean and Mike were both delayed so we got off to a bit of a late start.
This week we decided to do a totally different line through the parks trails. We would circle around the lake then come up through some big field before ascending the mountain via a rough track. Once at the top we descended a gravel/paved road (it alternated surface types) before crossing the main road onto the first trail I rode in week 1. It sounded like a great plan because the lake trail is pretty easy and would give us all a great way to warm up before we had to climb the mountain and then face the descent. We headed down a dried riverbed to the lake trail and, before we even hit the trail I made a mistake. The dried river was fairly gouged. While trying to cross a large crevice I hopped my front tire nicely over it but my back tire hit really hard. My tire pressure was a little low and just like that I had gotten a "pinch flat" - of course I didn't notice it until i had made it down the lake trail a bit and by that time Ed was well ahead of me. Sean and Mike were actually behind me so they said they would go get Ed. They took off and I started walking my bike. Shortly thereafter a nice older guy (in his 50's) came down the trail in the opposite direction on his bike. I asked him if he had a pump and not only did he but he had a tool to take my tire apart with and a patch kit containing a "super patch" which is a self-adhesive rubber patch. By the time the other guys got back to me my bike was repaired. I don't know who the guy was but it was very, very cool of him to stop and help me and I really appreciated it. He wasn't sure I should try to ride on the super patch for long but we decided to risk it anyway and it held up marvelously throughout the ride.
The ride down the lake trail was a blast. Overall it is pretty flat with just some little whoopsie-do type risers; nothing to fancy. The trail gets narrow at times and there were plenty of little slalom type areas where you had to turn quickly between trees and rocks. On one of those there were three trees then a large rock so you had to go left, right, left, right really fast. I went left, right, left but couldn't make the right. Fortunately I wasn't moving very fast. A better cyclist probably could have popped their wheel up and rode over the large rock. I, on the other hand, came to an abrupt stop and went slowly over my handle bars. I was going slowly enough where it didn't hurt at all and my bike didn't suffer any damage either. I hopped back up and resumed my trek through the woods; at this point I was third in line behind Ed and Sean. At one point the lake trail actually encounters a desolate construction area where the park board is working in some new facilities. The ground was very uneven and generally uncomfortable to ride on. At one point my left peddle hit a upthrust stump that caused the tail end of my bike to kick to the right and the pointy part of the seat to get far too friendly with my booty. Fortunately I was able to keep my balance and carry on with nothing worse than a sense of violation.
By the end of the lake trail I was pretty tired - we had ridden pretty hard and fast I thought and we took very few breaks. However we had a nice casual ride across the field immediately after so we were all refreshed before having to climb the mountain. The mountain climb was a bitch. Mostly because I'm just not in that good of cardiovascular shape yet. My legs were actually doing pretty good but once I lost my momentum it was really hard to get rolling again so I had to walk up big chunks of the hill. By the time we all reached the top we were pretty winded and in need of a good rest. While we were up there Ed told us about a guy called The Fat Biker who loves climbing hills becuase he can climb hills nobody else manages to complete in one go and he rolls past them all; he views it as his own super power. After climbing the hill I and failing to do it in one sweep I kind of view it as his super power too.
The ride down to the next trail was cool and relaxing. We passed a couple beautiful overlooks so sometime I'll have to take a camera out there with me so I can share them with everyone who reads my tales.
The next leg was the downhill forest trail I had done in week 1 and I did phenomenally better than I did last week. It was really pretty amazing. I was hopping over trees and rocks and all sorts of other debris like I actually knew what I was doing. I was amazed. I was keeping up with the rest of the group (though I chose to go last in line down the hill so I wouldn't be a danger to anyone else). Being in last but keeping up actually caused me some new problems becuase some of the obstacles required some momentum to complete but if one of the guys in front of me had a problem I had to stop while they cleared. At one point my lack of momentum had me walking my bike through an obstacle and then I had to let some other trail rider go by. After that I tried to get my balance and get going again but I had trouble making a turn, my handle bar hit a tree, and back over my handle bars I went. Again, I was going really slow so it didn't hurt at all but it was frustrating because everything had been going really well.
I got my groove going again and caught up with the group before too long and we kept on cruising. Eventually we were almost done and Ed asked if we wanted to finish on the long, medium, or short trail. I called for medium becuase my arms were really tired. It turns out medium is also really, really steep. We hit that part of the trail and I discovered new levels of speed through the woods. I gripped my back break as hard as I could but the tire spun unimpeded and my speed kept picking up. I pulsed my front break and it had no effect. I started bouncing, and before I knew it my weight was too far forward on the bike and BAM I flew over my handle bars. This time I was going fast. I ducked my head and landed hard on the back of my left shoulder, rolled across my back, saw my bike fly over my body, slammed my right hip and knee into the earth and then popped up onto my feet. My bike was about 20 feet further down the hill. I walked down and got it, hopped on to finish the trek, and my shoulder shot with pain when I pulled up on the handle bars a little. Fortunately the parking lot was only a few hundred feet away by this point so I was able to casually ride with just my right arm holding the bars.
Ed helped me out and put my bike in the back of the car and then I drove home. My shoulder was still sending some sharp pains through me off and on as I drove and my finger tips were occasionally sparked with a shooting pain. Once I got home I saw the lawn was well past need of being mowed so I hauled out the mower and mowed the lawn. Suprisingly my shoulder didn't bother me at all while I did that though most of the time I tried to take it easy on my left arm. Once I got in the house I iced it up and told Lisa about the events. She gave me a pain killer and a medicated patch to put on my shoulder and my right hip (which, by this point, hurt quite a bit). I was not looking forward to going to sleep where I couldn't sleep on either my stomach (my back always hurts if I sleep on my stomach on our current mattress), my left side (painful shoulder), or my right side (painful hip). Thankfully, while I was trying to sleep the pain killer kicked in and I was able to sleep pretty well.
This morning I took a hot shower and, honestly, my shoulder feels pretty good. The spot that bore the brunt of the impact is very sensitive but it doesn't hurt to move my arm around at all and I seem to have full range of motion. My fingers haven't had any sharp pains today at all. My hip still hurts quite a bit so I imagine I bruised it pretty badly but overall I think it is OK too; I'm a little battered but no worse for the wear.
I may end up taking off next week if my shoulder doesn't feel better by then. However, I definitely will go back out. It was a lot of fun and I have progressed a lot in a small amount of time; plus now I know to put my weight way to the back of the bike (well behind my seat) while going down a steep hill! Ed offered that advice after my crash. Before I go back out though I need to get a small kit of bike maintenance supplies such as patches, a pump, a spare tube, and some allen wrenches. I really look forward to getting back out there and continuing to improve. Overall it is a lot of fun and some great exercise; I just need to stay on the damn bike!
Mountain Biking Maniac
4 min read
Yesterday, at work, two of my buddies told me they were going mountain biking after work. They have actually gone a couple times over the last two weeks and their chatter about it has had me thinking about joining them so, yesterday, I did. I've actually owned a decent entry level mountain bike for about 7 years now; it was a fathers day gift after Shannon was born. However, I have never ridden it on anything other than the streets of Huntington between work and home. In fact, I've never really ridden any bike of any kind off road at all. Needless to say I had no idea what I was really getting myself into.
Once I was off work I headed up, grabbed my bike and helmet, and then headed up to the Barboursville park where there exists many miles of mountain biking/hiking trails. Ed and Sean had gotten there about an hour and forty minutes before me so they had already hit one trail, broken a spoke on Ed's bike, and repaired it by the time I had gotten there. Ed has been doing this for a long time (and seems to flow across the trails) but Sean just started a few weeks ago yet is already quite a bit better at it than I am. I, on the bottom of the skill spectrum, suck. I was fully unprepared for both how difficult and how heart poundingly nerve wracking mountain biking can be. We went on a trail that I imagine most skilled riders would think is very easy. Ed, for instance, was cruising along and hitting jumps to add a little excitement to his ride. Sean was managing the trail OK but wasn't adding any additional thrills and got off his bike when it was necessary to avoid a spot that was dangerously tricky for his skill level. I got off my bike when it was necessary and, once, when I wasn't planning on it. I also spent a lot, and I mean A LOT, of time off the trail blazing my own path through the undergrowth and trees. It turns out I'm not very good at steering my bike when on a narrow track of dirt that is regularly decorated with large rocks, fallen trees, and branches. Quite frankly saying I'm not very good at it is being generous. By the end of the run I had slammed my left ankle into my bike frame three times, flown through the air once (trees don't move for bikes), and cut my cheek sufficiently enough to have blood all over it (the cut looked worse than it was and I didn't even know I was bleeding until Ed saw it).
I think we rode about 3 miles over the course of an hour. It didn't really feel like we had traveled that far when all was said and done but I was thoroughly exhausted. My legs were weak and my breath was coming in deep gasps. After we had finished cruising out of the woods we actually had a big hill climb on a road to get back to our vehicles. Unlike Ed and Sean I had to stop twice to get my legs to stop burning and to be able to breath. My past 8 months have not been good for my overall conditioning and mountain biking, it turns out, is a hell of a work out.
Ed and Sean both were cool about the whole experience. They waited for me when I fell too far behind (which was fairly frequent) and they seemed pretty encouraging about the whole experience. I'm not sure they are nearly as concerned with self preservation as I am on the trail though - or else I've just turned into a coward. I think the biggest thing I need to gain at the moment is a level of comfort with riding my bike off road. I was often unsure of whether or not my bike was going to just stop and throw me and I almost always felt like I was going too fast down hill (even though I was the slowest). Overall it is actually kind of amazing how much crap those bikes can just roll over without much problem; I just need to learn to trust that my bike will actually do most of that stuff. As uncomfortable as I felt all day yesterday I still had a blast. I liked the rush that came with the danger but also the fact that I was constantly having to work hard and think about what I was doing. It was the most challenging sport I've ever participated in. I'm definitely going to do it again.