Just to be the man who biked 1000 miles

I couldn't find much for songs on youtube about biking 1000 miles so I figured a song about walking would have to do.



Anyway, just a quick celebratory post. I broke 1000 miles this morning on the road back from Canton. Kari gave me a great Father's day present watching Alex so I could go on the breakfast ride (she went out for her own ride later in the afternoon). I lost the sprint into Canton not because of a lack of power but due to poor strategy (namely, not getting right behind the motor that is Dick H. ) Next time I've got to bridge up quicker (I was 10 feet behind him and couldn't catch up without going in the red).

We had a helpful wind, but I was still pretty impressed by the numbers on the bike computer (we were holding 27-28 the last couple miles into town, and I topped out on the sprint near 33.

The rest of the day was spent casually, cleaning the apartment, then the four of us went to G&Gs for supper. We had all sorts of grilled meat products, beer, wine, treats, a huge fruit spread and more. Mom made carrot cake w/ cream cheese frosting (sooo delicious) and then the kids played kickball (Alex/Ali/Kari/Rob vs Taylor/Erika/Lance/myself) with Grandpa and Dad watching on. I think Dad was frustrated that we weren't calling foul kicks, runners out, etc-- we were loose with the rules to keep it fun.

This week will be filled with work work work, then leaving a little early on Friday to head to the black hills for The Big Mick. 100miles (and change) on Saturday, and the option of doing another 100 back to the car on sunday. I've also paid for a shuttle and plan to pack a book, so if I shuttle back I have something to do while waiting for Snakebite to arrive.

The boys

All 3 boys Taylor (boy12) Alex (boy5) and Nolan (boy1)

Me and the boys

This morning we (Kari, Taylor, Alex and I) got suited up for a ride. We took off and met the FAB coffee and donut ride at Scooters for treats. We left there and rode to Breadsmith to pick up a loaf of cinnamon walnut raisin bread for lunch before continuing to Pasley. Sarah and my youngest son Nolan met us there for lunch. Nolan devoured his bananas and carrots. Then we all left in different directions.

Ride on (w/ kids)

Windy Wandering Wednesday

So after work I raced home, dressed for biking, loaded up the race bike and drove over to Hot Stuff Foods/Orion Cul de Sac for the wandering wednesday ride. I called Jeff the racer (he doesn't like riding in the wind and stayed home) so I just putzed around to see if anyone showed.

Shortly after I got off the phone Amy (new in town) drove up in a huge pickup... seemed really weird seeing her step out of that beast. We got dressed and were just discussing taking the bike trail instead of the road when Tony and Beth drove up. We waited for them to get ready to roll (Tony is sporting a nice new Jamis road bike) and headed out of town.

Now, I'm not the top roadie in town by any stretch, but I do try to read and talk about cycling a lot. Biking Brady's recent posts highlighted that it's not enough to just be a strong rider, we need to take the opportunity to educate fellow cyclists. Since we had a group of mostly newbies tonight we discussed various tactics and tricks as we rode down highway with a fierce crosswind. We setup a sheltered spot from the wind, discussed railroad track crossing (hit it at a right angle), rode a nifty little paceline for the 2 miles directly into the wind, etc. All in all it was a fun trip. When we got back to the cul de sac there was a lot of phone number/email trading so we can all find more riding partners.

Tomorrow is the Time Trial, and with most of the riders out of town, it's all mine baby!*

*if nobody else shows up and Jeff is dumb enough to give me the prize for lazily pedaling 5 miles.

I hurt

I need to put up a pic of the damage to my bike shorts. The shammy cracked and split in half. Short rides would be a little uncomfortable but bearable. It wasn't until the stitching wore out and I could look at the chamois pad that had a 1 inch gap that the truly horrible red raw sores on my tush made sense.

Other, related saddle sores (the worn out stitching led to a lot of chamois sliding around causing chafing) make sitting on the toilet --usually a favorite activity--hurt lots.

I'm glad to be off the bike for a couple days. I can't wait to rejoin the tour thursday night/friday morning for more riding and eating and drinking

Matt
hellimatbikes.blogspot.com

101 miles.jpg

Kari and I had an epic day, riding Brandon to SF, then we drove to Mitchell. Biked back and stopped to meet Snakebite, Biking Brady and Mrs. Brady for a drink at Monks then rode home. We got in just as it started raining.

Our fuel
4 bags sport beans
2 16oz Amped drinks
112 oz gatorade
Boatloads of water
2 personal pizzas
18inches of subway goodness
2 bags cliff shots
1 beer
1 glass of wine
2 cliff bars
Lots of pride and stubborness

Now since my stupid car is in Mitchell we have to bike back tomorrow.

Casualties
3 bike tubes
1 fancy michelin race tire (cut in the sidewall)
1 pair of cannondale bike shorts
Scuffs to Kari's bike

hellimatbikes.blogspot.com

Voting

Tomorrow is the state democratic primary, which, by all accounts, will be very close.  In a weird twist of events, I was downtown on Friday afternoon for a work outing.  We were scouring Phillips ave for a scavenger hunt when David Kranz (the political columnist for the Argus) walked up and asked us a few questions about who we were supporting.  Too bad I couldn't work in anything about cycling (if he'd asked me about gas prices I'd have mentioned increasing bike commuting (fun, errands, work) keeps my gas budget the same.

Read on

http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080602/COLUMNISTS0102/806020310/1133