Crosswind

Weight: 226.0
Delta M: -1
Mileage: 14.8 (Road Bike)
June Mileage: 25.2

No huge fitness milestones today, I just got out and rode a bit. I stopped at the shop to see if they could figure out why my bike won’t shift into the outer ring ever since they replaced what we initially thought was a bent chain ring. Turns out my crank arm spider thingy watchimahoozit is bent. They did get it working again, kind of, but I think its temporary and the only way I’ll get it back to full working order will be to replace the watchimahoozit. I’m sure that ain’t cheap. I ended up blowing most of my ride time there at the shop, once finally on the road I realized my time was limited due to the setting sun and the lack of lights on my road bike, so I decided to shorten the mileage and bump up the intensity.

I should have been doing intervals or some crap like that, but I was just happy to be outside, on a bike, and healthy enough to push it a little. The weather was perfect, a slight south wind, just hot enough to be a little muggy, and the setting sun was taking occasional peaks through some light rain clouds just starting to bloom into thunder heads. Sounds goofy, but crap like this is why I love to ride so much. I got out to mile 8 and hit my turn around point. This is my favorite part of every out and back. As I start to hit about 12 mph or so, the ride shifts a little past recreational. The wind picks up in my ears, and I start to get the mild impression of speed. Right about 15 mph, I start to breathe a little heavier. Between 18 mph and 20mph all there is for me is wind loud in my ears and me breathing starting to come real hard. Then I turn around, I slow down and the wind is gone and I hear the birds, tons of birds in the cornfields, and I feel my skin temperature surge, then notice the crosswind as I cross perpendicular to the double yellow line. It's not the drag from effort, just a breeze, but I notice it anyway, that and the distant rumble of thunder to the south. So simple, but good times, the best times actually.

Tomorrow is supposed to be hot, like really hot, and muggy. That’s some good training weather there. Tomorrow’s ride will be painful.

In other news, I am no longer a “kept”man, the Wife’s last day of work was today. She’s staying home to raise our brood full time. We got a system now. I snap my fingers once, she brings me food, I snap them twice, she cleans something, I snap them 3 times and she…well, let’s just say you won’t be reading about any of that over on her mommy blog.

The Silver Bullet

OK, so it’s really more of a polished aluminum bullet, with some decals, but either way it’s a bullet. It’s not the lightest or fastest bike in the pack, but the truth is I am nowhere near putting it through its paces. It’s stiff as all hell, and everything you put into the pedals comes straight out the rear tire. Hell, it even looks fast hanging on the wall, and it feels fast, unless I’m riding with Joel and Aaron. Then it feels pissed off, like one of us ain’t holding up our side of the bargain. That one would be me. That’s OK though, I absolutely love this bike. I tried to stray once with another bike, but it took action and won me back. When I'm by myself I can geek out and pretend it's an airplane. On curves and corners, it's a Pitts Speacial, on a long straight dowhill, it's an SR-71. It has the seat of honor on the sun porch, its perch over looks my favorite pile in the house.

I have to take it to the doctor tomorrow. I am more beast than man, and it turns out modern engineering and metallurgical science are no match for the insane amounts of torque and pure power my quads and hammies are spitting out. I took it out for its first ride of the season tonight and bent the outer chain ring. OK, so really it probably had more to do with the fact that I weigh 233 burritos and had no business trying to shift when I did. I just plain old wasn’t thinking. My bad.