Me ride bicycle

2006-06-10T17:59:00.000-07:00

I suck. I only rode about 22 miles today and I'm wiped out. I went to York River SP and did two loops on the Marl Ravine and Laurel Glenn trails, then I went and did a loop at the Patriot ride, with lots of rest stops, I even took the last bailout before finishing the loop. I think I'll ride my road bike tomorrow, that always motivates me to ride my mountain bike more.

2006-06-01T19:04:00.000-07:00

Howdy folks. Well, the knee is all better but the ankle is still pretty wobbly and painful. I did a couple of rides during the holiday weekend. Friday's was about 40-miles with the last ten were in a severe lightning storm with hail ... it was awesome. I was glad to be among some tall trees. When I hit the neighborhood, car alarms were going off everywhere. The lightning was coming in danger close. That was some scary shit! I rode 50-miles on Sunday. My route usually takes me through the boardwalk. Dodging drunks at the beach is pretty good for developing your technical skills. I had three near misses with people on the phone while riding their bike. No ear peace, just hold the phone with your shoulder and look at the ground. Maybe I should start plowing into these folks. What a wake up call. 220 pounds of angry Marine plowing through some cell phone zombie. Monday's ride was 35-miles and pretty uneventful, except that I ran out of water and it was damn hot out, but I made it anyway

2006-05-24T18:31:00.000-07:00

Howdy folks. Well, I had to run at work this past Monday and it wasn't good. I have a pain in my knee. I'm not sure what it is, I've never had a knee injury. It's not swollen but every time I move it there is a sharp pain on the outside of the joint. I wonder if my weakened ankle has anything to do with it? I'm also considering racing in the Virginia DeRailer series. I hope these joint problems don't hold me up. Getting old is not for sissies.

2006-05-22T07:26:00.000-07:00

For years I’ve been an introverted rider. For about the past ten years I’ve been avoiding rides with groups including more people than me, myself and I. The Tour De Cure was a sure change from what I’m used to. So was the Ride of Silence, but as you can see in my earlier post, I wasn’t very impressed with that. This all led up to my joining of the Eastern Virginia Mountainbike Association. Yesterday I went on a group ride with these folks at some trails near my home. I couldn’t have had a better experience with a group. It was fun and laid back and none of the attitudes I’ve seen in the past. All together I rode four loops. Three of which were led by one of the guys who is working with the city on organizing the trails a little better and his loop is about half a mile longer than mine with lots of twists and turns. I only had one flat, so it was a good day at Ipswich. After all the riding was done we all went to the VP’s house for a kick ass dinner. I think I might have to give up my reclusive ways.

2006-05-20T04:49:00.000-07:00

Another great week. I only got to commute one day, but I got to ride in the afternoon a lot. I'm going to have to reroute my trip home. The crack heads and their dealers are taking way too much notice of me and my bike and I've started blowing through a lot more red lights and stop signs. I'm worried that if I have a flat in the wrong place, I'll be taking the heel-toe express the rest of the way home.

2006-05-17T18:31:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I go out to the Ride of Silence today and I've ridden with roadies once before during the Tour De Cure and those folks seemed ok. The people I rode with today ... were something all together different. The first thing I noticed was the target fixation. I can't conceive how someone could concentrate so much on the rider in front of them that they need hand signals to tell them to slow down. You would think that with so much concentration on the jersey in front of them that they could tell that it's getting closer. Another thing, why point at every variation in the road surface. Out of a 10 mile ride I saw two potholes that warranted attention, I mean why point at every little tar patch? After a while I started to run over everything they pointed at to show those behind me that their fears were unfounded. Anyone want to buy a roadbike?

2006-05-14T18:42:00.000-07:00

Ok, Don't put useless crap in the coments section. I will delete your spam.

2006-05-14T18:36:00.000-07:00

Well hey, I started off with my usual ride today, but a quarter of the way through it I decided to turn around and come back the same way(basically just ride to the ocean and back). Now, part of my journey takes me through First Landing State park along the Multi-Use Trail (the name doesn't stick) and I'm used to people jumping in front of me when I tell them that I am passing them on their left. Now it happened again today, no big deal to me. I managed to avoid injury to to the walker or myself. However on my return trip, along the same paved section I see my walker ahead, apparently he has had enough and is heading back to the car. Anyway, remembering his tendency to dart(it's amazing that something so large can move so fast) I keep silent and far to the left as I pass by with several feet to spare and what do I hear? "Hey, how about a warning next time!"

2006-05-08T15:57:00.000-07:00

Don't ask me how, but I busted my ass last thursday. You will never guess how fast I was going ... zero. That'a right, I was getting on my road bike and I must have sliped or lost my balance because I went over the bars and sprained my right ankle! I'll be riding again in a few days. At least were having a cold snap. Also, a friend who lives down the street just got my old Cannondale for his birthday and wants to start riding, yay!

2006-04-26T17:53:00.000-07:00

2006-04-26T17:45:00.000-07:00

Howdy folks. Well, last Saturday, April 21st, I attempted my first century with the Tour De Cure starting in Chesapeake, Virginia and ending in Manteo, North Carolina. I won’t lie, I didn’t train nearly enough for this, the constant headwind didn’t help either. According to my computer I baled out at 67 miles. For a while a preacher man and I were drafting off each other, but eventually he fell behind. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking him, because he made eighty-some-odd miles before he got swept up due to some supposed lightning storm headed our way. He even wiped out in some sand in the road, and there was no shortage of sand in the road. I was pretty discouraged on the ride home, but I got over it. I’m looking for another event, I don’t know if it will be on the road or on the trail, but I know I’m going to train a lot more. Maybe I’ll take a trip. I’ve started a new commuting plan this week. I take my beat up old Trooper to work with my mountain bike in the back (I always have to have a car at work) and ride home on meandering neighborhood streets, parking lots and short trails. In the wee hours of the next morning I ride my road bike to work on actual roads. I’ve only been able to do it once this week, but I like it because it gives me a chance to ride both bikes.

2006-04-09T20:48:00.000-07:00

Oh yeah, my son made a full recovery, but as of late he is having trouble with his hearing again. If anyone reads this, do you think I should post photos? (not of my son, just random photos from my bicycle adventures) I'm not sure if I can, but I might try.

2006-04-09T20:14:00.000-07:00

Howdy. I know it’s been a long time since we talked, but I’m pretty lazy when it comes to writing. You see, I write for a living and I don’t particularly like to write. So, after writing propaganda all day about mindless happy snappy nothing in particular, I really don’t feel like writing. However, I feel like it right now (there’s a long explanation that I don’t want to waste this motivation on). The whole racing deal never materialized. The diamondback was way too big so I bought a Cannondale (a nos Terra) frame off eBay and the sorry a$$ bike shop in Texas that listed it as a large when it was a medium … I built it anyway. I rode this one for a while and it was good. Around Christmas I started thinking I wanted to try road bike so I picked up a Specialized Allez (more on this later) and it was good until I got buzzed a few times. The next big step was tax return time, so I bought myself a Giant Trance 2, which I ride very much and it is good. This bike along with high gas prices has led me to start commuting by bike to work. I am the only commuter I see skirting the chaos that passes for traffic around here. It may also piss off those bicycle advocates who loudly proclaim that “bicycles have the same rights as autos” to know that I stay off of the road as much as possible. Not that I don’t think bicycles have the right to ride on the road, but I’m not willing to die for that belief! In conclusion, I will try to write more, I’ve only a little more time to suffer under the iron hand of my employer, so let the multitudes rejoice … or not.

2005-08-02T23:59:00.000-07:00

Hi everybody,
No riding today. My youngest son had a tonsillectomy as well as a few other ectomyies today. So, from morning till night I sat in the hospital keeping him company.

2005-08-01T19:11:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, like someone other than my wife will read this. This blog is going to be about me, and my return to cycling. You see once upon a time I was a pretty girl ... no, wait I raced mountain bikes ... and I'm a dude! I wasn’t half bad, but some of the people I was hanging out with were. Anyway one thing led to another and my fitness level went into a nose dive! Not even joining the Marine Corps could fully restore it. So, it’s been about nine years since my last bike race and I recently disposed of my motorcycles. I took my trusty old GT, Outpost out for a ride. (It was purchased used, for some reason, even though I hardly ever used on, I've always had to have a bike.) Long story short ... it broke, really bad. So, after a few weeks of flip flopping between a high end XC rig and some bargain basement beater I compromised and bought a second floor beater from the nearest mega sport outdoor shop. It's a Diamondback, Response ... I think. It's out in the shed and I don't feel like looking right now. Let's wrap this up. I took it for its first ride today. Boy, am I out of shape. Now keep in mind, I am a clydesdale at 6'2" 215lbs I have never been one of those skinny little "sport" guys. I rode about six miles (I really should get a cycle computer) on relatively flat terrain, ok it was the multi-use trail at Sea Shore State Park. It was not too bad, I feel better than I thought I would. I was disappointed in the past I was keeping though; I remember hauling butt through there much faster in the past. Oh well, maybe it will come back to me. The bike did great though. I guess time will tell how we hold up.