Cycling in the Gap

End of this blog

2007-03-16T22:38:00.000-07:00

This blog has fulfilled its purpose. I wrote about preparing to cycle in Gap, France, in 2006. I did indeed bicycle there. Unfortunately, as I see it, I did not complete the mission I set out to in riding the E'tape du Tour in 2006.

Anyway, perhaps I'll try again one day and can finish the ride.

Warnings, shoes

2006-08-02T20:04:00.000-07:00

Certainly the Lord gives us warnings when we might stray into dangerous territory.

Some warnings one might not attribute to the Lord, because they derive from and relate to such earthly or common situations.

For example, the heat of a flame that warns us not to draw too near. Is this a warning of the Lord? He did design our minds and bodies to function this way. But, in a common, earthly, physical matter as this, animals are also designed and "warned."

Okay, here's another one more complex. Related to my bicycle pedals and cleats and possibly my recent two bicycle crashes.

About a year ago, I purchased a new pair of pedals for my bicycle. Shimano Ultegra level. These were rather nice pedals. As I was buying the pedals, I remember considering whether or not the pedals or the pedal/shoe cleat system would offer me the feature of tightening and loosening the attachment of my shoe to the pedal. (For those of you who don't know about "new" cycling pedals, I will say that about 15 years ago, manufacturers began making a different sort of pedal for road-type bicycles especially. These pedals were designed with a snap-in feature, and shoes were fitted with a sort of clip which snaps into the pedal and sticks there tightly. Guess what, now when I pull up on the pedal, my shoe is snapped in so well that the pedal sticks to it. This more secure connection between shoe and pedal results in more security and reliability especially for racers who at times pedal so furiously that weaker connections allow some inefficiency of power transfer.)

Over the years the pedal makers provided different systems for adjusting the tightness of the snap. At purchase time for my pedals, I now vaguely remember that the feature was important to me. But, to make a long story short, I never took the time to examine the pedal/shoe system to learn it and to make any adjustment. And this, even thought I disliked how difficult it was for me to unsnap my shoe from the pedals. I said to myself and probably others more than once, "I need to do something about how difficult it is to unsnap out of my pedals." Day to day, this comes into play when I arrive at a stop sign or stop light or other situation when I have to stop and dismount my bicycle or stop and put a foot to the ground for balance. I want to and should be able to do this quickly, for safety's sake.

I can say I did examine the clip on my shoe to loosen it if I could. (I used to have a pedal/cleat system in which the loosening was effected via the shoe cleat - basically a changing of the type of cleat.) But I did not find any way to loosen the cleat. But, even though I remembered from the time of purchase that I should have a means to loosen the connection, I never investigated thoroughly into how to do this.

My own knowledge and my own sense of safety was advising me that I needed to investigate and amend the system. But I never did.

Wreck no. 1 in early May. It was a slow wreck. I thought I almost was able to stay up. In retrospect, I remember my legs being somewhat immobilized as I was entering the crash zone and then falling. Did I think through that enough to think that my tight shoe/pedal connection might have been a part of the problem? No, not enough to investigate how to loosen the connection.

"Robert, your shoes snap in too tightly to the pedal. This is a problem. You know that. And, shazam, now you fall and have a thumb in cast that is maybe a warning that this is a problem. You need to investigate this and do something about it."

Did I? No.

Fast forward 8 weeks. The Etape begins. The start is at 7 am. My brother and I are way in the back. We inch forward for 23 minutes until the start line. Sometimes we can put our shoes in the pedals and pedal ever so slowly. Sometimes - for me most of the time - we we have one foot snapped into one pedal and the other foot walking, skateboard fashion, the bicycle forward. As I moved forward slowly in this way, I noticed a big man just in front of me who kept his feet in/on his pedals at slow speed. Real slow, like walking speed. I marvelled that he was so brave - at such a slow speed he could barely keep the bicycle balanced, yet there his shoes were clipped in. He's on the verge of falling. In that situation, were I to totter and begin to fall, I could not get my shoes out of the pedal fast enough. I'd go down. How can he be so confident of his ability to stay balanced, I thought. Well, now I can conclude that it was not his great ability to balance - I myself can ride a unicycle - rather it was that he could so quickly pull his shoe off the pedal. It did not matter if he started to fall, he could unsnap the foot and plant it on the ground and not fall over. But at the time, I just wondered at his confidence to balance.

Fast forward 33 miles and you know what happened. I crashed. This accident happened quickly. If I had been able to get my shoes out in a flash, I don't know that it would have made a difference. But, I can aver that when I saw this fall coming, I did not even try to extract my pedals. I basically curled up and braced for the fall. And, as it turned out, I think my body took the fall in several places, thus spreading out the impact of the fall. I took tumbling classes about 35 years ago - I disliked the class. I was not good at it and for whatever other reason did not like to go. But, one lesson was on how to fall. Maybe that helped in this fall in 2006. Thank you Lord.

Still, did I learn about the pedals? Maybe. But, as it happened, I myself did not actually investigate the pedals. When I returned to US, I took my bicycle into shop to repair, from the crash. In that process, I asked about the tightly snapped pedals. The sharp mechanic showed me how my pedals have a screw in the back that adjusts the tightness of holding the shoe on the pedal. He adjusted it to the loosest, noting that mine was set on tightest and that really only racers need or want the tight setting. What a difference this has made. I can even ride more slowly now, confident that I can get my shoe out if I begin to fall.

By the way, when I was pedaling in Lyon, I used my street shoes, not my cycling shoes and so enjoyed being able to slide my shoes off the pedal at the slightest thought. That's how kids ride bicycles all the time. Their pedals are plain and flat. There's not a connection to the pedal. That's real good for safety and for almost all riding except for racing and maybe long rides where one is on long segments of road and will pedal steadily for 30 minutes, an hour, hours.

I might be able to talk about other warnings. Look at the Scripture. God gives us clear warnings on all sorts of matters of life. The Proverbs are full of instructions and advice and warnings. The prophets of the history of the nation of Israel broadcast the sinful transgressions of Israel, Judah, and sometimes the gentile nations, warning them that God will bring punishment and sometimes the prophets could offer mercy if the people would turn. Usually they did not.

Oops, I was wrong about a Tennessee law on motorist distraction that I previously had in this blog entry - I have here now erased it. Idea is that it is against the driving laws to engage in distracting behavior - cell phone in hand; pet management in a moving car; etc. - while driving. Keeping both hands on the wheel is sort of the idea. The law is under consideration or not yet become effective.

Anyway, the laws of the land are essentially warnings or directions of God to us - he is the minister of God to thee for good. So, I have now purchased a head-mic for my cell phone, and may even upgrade to a Bluetooth wireless. This lets me keep both hands on the wheel if I "must" talk while driving.

Okay, that's it for now.

Link here to more photos

Cycling in the Gap

Cycling in France 2

2006-07-29T21:20:00.000-07:00

Finishing previous post and I hope getting to the point.

So I rode my bicycle to the bicycle shop.

The city - and this is the 3rd largest city in France I hear - is very bicycle friendly. Bicycle lanes on the roads here and there and in some places on sidewalks. It was even comfortable to meander from road to sidewalk, in and out of traffic.

On my way to the shop, I saw a man who was riding a flat-bar bike on a major road. He was coming my way. I slowed to allow him to catch me. Then, I asked if he could tell me where a certain street was. He proceeded to lead me there.

He rode with almost no regard for automobile traffic flow lanes. He ran red lights. He rode at one time against traffic. I don't do any of that in America. Except for running stop signs, slowly, I follow all traffic rules. He probably was not the best example of cycling in France, but I could tell, he rode his bicycle a lot.

All to get to the point, real cycling in France is about its pleasure and its usefulness for transportation. Clothing is what you wear that day anyway.

Let's see if I can get a photo of me riding to the Etape Village on Sunday, and a photo or two of a woman who picked up her bicycle from the shop after a repair. She did not pick it up though but rode it away. In a dress. As I rode to Etape village, there were cyclists around me wearing bright ad-laden, tight fitting clothing. It looked so out of place in the pastoral surroundings. I began to think - hey, when in France, cycle as the French do. And, these thoughts continued and were fulfilled somewhat a couple of days later in Lyon.

In the cycling shop, I saw a bicycle with "Country" on it. As in, a country bicycle. Grant P. of Rivendell recently wrote about calling his bicycles country bikes. They are very comfortable and user-friendly and useful. Practical. Did he get this idea and other of his bicycle and bicycling preferences from France, I wondered. No, most likely not.

So, can I enjoy cycling in France without popping Gu, Hammer Gel, electrolyte tablets, without wearing tights? Sure. In fact, cycling in France is not about that and speed.

Link here to more photos
Cycling in the Gap

Cycling in France

2006-07-24T20:42:00.000-07:00

About cycling in France.

I was not successful to complete the Etape. Probably if had been, I'd be bragging about it on this web site and pointing out how well I did for how little I trained or how I could have done much better if this or that. I'd like to think that without a crash I would have completed the ride. But I don't know. Okay.

The day after the ride, my brother and I travelled to the city Lyon. And, unhappy that my bicycle had a broken spoke, I wanted to get it fixed - one reason was that I might spend some time riding it in the day or so free in Lyon.

So, on Tuesday, day after the Etape, we arrived mid-afternoon in Lyon. The hotel secretary/concierge assisted me to find a cycle shop, called them - they stay open to 7 pm, a usual closing time apparently for French shops - and helped me decide that the best way to get my bicycle to the shop was to ride it there - rather than take a taxi or carry it onto the bus or tram or subway. This meant I'd have to unbox it, put it together. I dislike doing that and would rather a professional do it. (I have been broken of that tendency by the way - from now on I'll do my best to take apart and pack and unpack my own bicycle.)

So, the concierge directed me to a small pavilion across the street, in front of an old theatre (1850s, actually not so old by comparison with other structures in this city - our hotel was built in the "18th century") where to put my bike together because there was not much room in the office or hall or my room. We kept our bicycles in the hotel office because there really was not the space in our room.

Okay, so I took my bicycle box to the outdoor pavilion and began to put my bicycle together. There I saw two or three children riding bicycles around the square. One rode around several times. And, as I was a bit self-conscious about putting my bicycle together - with big cardboard box and tools and all - I would look up and note the folks going by as if my enjoying the surroundings and the people was as important as getting my machinery put together. I could not help but notice the delight the child had in riding her bicycle around the pavilion - no doubt playing and practicing simple skills of turning and slowing and balancing around the water pools, on the lines between the marble blocks, meanwhile observing passers-by and the odd bicycle mechanic from America. Basically enjoying cycling for the motion, the testing of riding and balance, the sun, the cool breeze, the speed - as much the slowness as the speed, the freedom to manage the use of the vehicle, and the anticipation of one day being able to ride around the City - to school, to the shops - as the grown-ups do. A child with a bicycle in France. This is contrast to my own bicycling, sort of. Here I have paid a lot of money to ride on a stage of the Tour de France, in an effort somewhat to imitate and compare myself on a route of the Tour de France, in which professionals, who train 6-8 hours per day, riding bicycles of 15 pounds or so, wearing high-tech clothing designed specifically for long, race-type riding, that has on it advertisements of car companies, sports drinks, food, bicycle manufacturers, ride at 25 miles per hour, showing the world how well they have trained. Nothing wrong with that, and that can be done in all honesty and integrity, and I love to watch it all.

Now I get on my bicycle and ride to the bicycle shop.

Okay, it's late, gotta go. To finish this later. But where I'm heading with this is, what is it to ride a bicycle in France. I hope I can get a photo or two posted as well that will help show.

cycling in France - photos, enjoying bicycling, Rivendell
accident-prone or adept at falling
affection on things above
Celestins, hotel architecture
night-time in Lyon
stormwater
cost of bottled tea
Lyon's maisons
bicycle shop in Lyon
Mondays on Alpe d'Huez
the Canadian couple cyclists
the Irish Catherine and Willie
what I lost - was this planned
patisserie in Gap and directions to Internet cafe
the crowd on the airplane, before and after Haagen Daas
in retirement perhaps

Link here to more photos

An enjoyable trip to France, without a successful Etape though

2006-07-14T18:28:00.000-07:00

Yes, I went to France. Of six days there, five went as planned. The Etape day did not go as planned. At about kilometer 55 or mile 33, I went down to the asphalt in a two-person fall. Sounds familiar. Indeed it was. Damage to my bicycle included a broken spoke in the rear wheel, a slightly bent front brake, and a twisted front brake lever.

By the time my bike was repaired - the Mavic mechanic cut the spoke out, trued the wheel and straightened the front brake well enough - I had been passed by the event's sweeper car, and got tagged for the bus when I pedaled up the road a couple of hundred meters to their blockade.

They were a beautiful 33 miles for sure.

I just looked on the Etape's web page and read that about 7500 riders started, and about 5400 finished. The first over the line finished in right at six hours, the last official finisher in about 11 hours. Congratulations to 21 year old Blaise SONNERY who finished in six hours, zero minutes and 33 seconds.

I think I have learned much on the trip - about the Etape - and some about myself, the Word of God, God and my relationship with Him.

I won't now write about the trip and the events of the Etape itself. Below is a list of incidents or topics I could and may still write about, not in any particular order.

cycling in France - photos, enjoying bicycling, Rivendell
accident-prone or adept at falling
affection on things above
Celestins, hotel architecture
night-time in Lyon
stormwater
cost of bottled tea
Lyon's maisons
bicycle shop in Lyon
Mondays on Alpe d'Huez
the Canadian couple cyclists
the Irish Catherine and Willie
what I lost - was this planned
patisserie in Gap and directions to Internet cafe
the crowd on the airplane, before and after Haagen Daas
in retirement perhaps

More photos

Time trial, 9 mile loop

2006-06-29T19:48:00.000-07:00

Tuesday drove to park and began a ride about 7 pm or so.

First I rode the 5.6 mile loop, at a warmup pace.

Then did my best to post a good time on the 9 mile loop - approximate 9 miles.

My time disappointed me a little. I did the loop in about 31 minutes. Years ago I would do the loop in about 28 minutes.

No exercise Wed., Thurs. Still at work Thurs. late pm. Look forward to Friday pm.

Rec'd call from bicycle shop - they think the new compact chainring will work on my bicycle with its existing front derailleur. But, I was surprised, the shop does not have a Phil Wood bottom bracket tool. Phil Wood bottom brackets are about the best there are. I have two tools and will be taking them by the shop Friday pm I plan.

Have ordered a bunch of stuff from Rivendell Bicycles, some of which is for the E'tape.

Three mile hill...!

2006-06-26T20:20:00.000-07:00

First time in about six weeks I've ridden the Percy Warner Park loop and three mile hill.

A short ride tonight, about 18-20 miles.

Also, today, I took my Masi to Gran Fondos to have a compact double chainring put on. They're not sure it will work, however, because this 1990 frame has a braze-on to the seat tube to which the front derailleur is attached. The potential problem is that this braze on is too high on the seat tube for the derailleur to function with the smaller chainring. I think and hope it'll work because I now have a 49 tooth big chainring that I put on years ago. It works.

I also am trying to arrange for a wider spread set of rear cogs, that'll let me go to 28 or 30 teeth on the "biggest." That may require another rear derailleur. I have one marked and expect to order it tomorrow.

Doctor's appt. on July 3rd to check the thumb. If he says, "no go," then I guess I'll go and take photos of my brother, and eat.

Harpeth River Ride, 98 miles

2006-06-24T19:47:00.000-07:00

This was a great ride. Lots of organization and volunteers. Even had a live band at the finish where pizza and mexican-type food was served.

My brother and I did the 100 (more like 98) mile ride. We stayed together the entire route. I saw a few friends there - Mark Smith, John, Wes and Larry.

Mark rode the 100 miles. I never saw him. He finished the whole deal in five hours, twelve minutes. 5:12 that is. This was not a flat ride. There were some tough hills.

My brother and I finished in 6:25. That included a total of about 45 minutes of stop time. A lot of time. Not nearly as much as last week though.

This ride passed through areas of relatively untouched landscape - some really backroads. Excellent landscape for a bicycle ride. Oh, that reminds me - we went down the road where I had my crash about 6 weeks ago. I heard a dog bark as we approached the place.

Lessons:

i. Again I am reminded I don't like wet cotton. I decided not to wear wool, thinking it would get too hot. But for me, that means wet cotton. Maybe the Rivendell searsucker would work well.

ii. I could use more padding on my right hand. I wore two gloves today as I have since I started riding again.

iii. If there are only three or four food stops at the E'tape, I need to carry more water.

Two weeks and two days 'til the Etape. Hard to believe. John and I regularly wonder out loud if we really want to go. I can say, though the ride was great today, my mind wonders, do I really need to be doing this - I mean, spending all this time riding.

After the ride today, I went to the annual meeting of the Stones River Watershed Association in M'boro. There I heard two great presentations, one on amphibians in middle Tennessee, and the other on what we can do as SWRA members, citizens, government employees to make a real difference in water quality of our water resources. By Brian Miller and John McFadden respectively. Very knowledgeable folks.

Total miles to date: 1028
My brother went over 2000 today !

Keeping fit

2006-06-21T20:35:00.000-07:00

Rode a mere 30+ minutes late, then ran about 20 minutes. I saw my friend John at the ride location, chatted a while, then rode the 5.8 mile park loop. I felt pretty strong, relatively. I then rode down the Boulevard and back about 2-21/2 miles.

The run was fun. I thought about running the 5.8, but decided against it figuring it'd take me at least 50 minutes. A little too long. So, after a 10-12 minute run, I moved over to the golf course and ran about five 150 yard intervals up a small hill. It was after 9 pm when I finished.

Okay. Miles to date: 930.

More pedaling on trainer

2006-06-20T19:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Monday, I spent 40-45 minutes on a trainer, then went for a run/exercise session of about 45 minutes.

Total miles to date: 921 of which 39 are stationary "miles"

No training Tuesday this week. Still in M'boro at 9:00 pm. Not sure about Wednesday yet. Thursday looks like a condo association board meeting.

Probably going to do a 100 miler Saturday, an organized ride of the Harpeth River Bike Club.

Cherohala Challenge, TN/NC, 115 miles !

2006-06-19T11:28:00.000-07:00

My brother and I rode the Cherohala Challenge 6/17. Wow, it was a beautiful day and a well-run event. Starting and end-point was Tellico Plains High School in T.P., Tennessee. Ride put on by the Smokey Mountain Wheelmen of Knoxville.

Yes, indeed, we completed 115 miles with a lot of climbing. We did not go fast. In the end, our overall average speed was 11.5 mph. Pedaling - and coasting - time was 8:10 for an average on-road mph of about 14. Nevertheless, we did not finish last. The 11.5 mph is significant. We have learned from recent E'tape du Tour mailing to our homes that the event will run a sweep wagon back of the riders and remove riders who do not maintain a 19 kph pace. That's about 12 mph.

Let's see, along the way, we met Jim, who was riding a 25 year old touring bicycle he built (including frame). He saw me on my Rivendell and asked, "where's the searsucker shirt?" A searsucker shirt would have been nice, if it dried better than the flat cotten jersey I wore.

That's one important bit of information from the ride - I really don't like wearing wet cotten. I had thought about wearing wool, but with temperature predictions in the 90s, I opted for my cotten jersey. Wool would have been hot at times, but also not cold at 5000+ feet and not cold on the descents.

Speaking of descents, there were three or four sections of extended descent after we hit the high point at 83 miles. Jim had informed me that I could take these sections with little or no braking - that was good also for my thumb, still recovering - because the road had been designed for cars to do 45 mph. He was right. I hit 45 on two of the descents and then somehow on the 3rd or 4th hit 49 mph. That's with non-aero brake cables too.

Let's see, I also met Stewart. He had a light-weight, modern bicycle that he had put together. His left hand integrated brake/shifter had broken some time ago, he'd not had the money to replace, so he retro-fitted with a shifter almost like a bar-end shifter. His components were a hodge-podge of stuff. He knew the end of the route well and could tell me that even after mile 83 there were some steep sections yet. Indeed, those were demoralizing, but knowing they were coming was good. Stewart own a bakery in T.P. called Tellico Grains Bakery.

We also rode a while with Stan Wallace - raised in Knoxville, had been in Nashville some in the 1970s, and had recently moved back to K'town from Washington State.

I had two or three folks who commented on the Rivendell. That's probably a record on a ride like this, and this ride only had about 250-300 riders maximum. It seemed the commenters were from Knoxville area - hmmm...Knoxville must be a pretty savvy place these days. I guess it's the University and the outdoors recreation and mountains. One was Jim, I mentioned above. Then, at a rest-stop, a volunteer from Knoxville, Renee, saw the Rivendell and promptly exclaimed "wow, a Rivendell!" I was standing by and happy someone noticed. And then she noticed the Brooks saddle - she had a Brooks saddle, and her friends made fun of it. Sad but true.

Okay, gotta go back to work.

Overall pleased to finish the ride. It took a lot out of me though.

83 miles on the road !

2006-06-11T19:42:00.000-07:00

This past week included two sessions on the trainer, for a total of 1hr, 40 minutes.

And, one run and exercise session.

And today, as the title goes, I rode 83 miles. On the Natchez Trace again. Today, I did not wear my splint, but I did wear two gloves on my right hand. Not once did I perform a normal right hand/rear wheel braking because my thumb and ligament is too sensitive still. I did brake with the right hand a few times, when stopping at one of the rest stops for water and rest. But, I support the hand only with the palm of the hand and the butt of the thumb - I keep the thumb outside the handlebar, not wrapped around the bar to the inside. I did practice once braking easily in the normal fashion toward the end of the ride. Not safe to do.

Avg. speed first 1/2 about 16.8. Avg. speed overall 15.1. A hot day today.

Total training miles to date then.

684 + 27 pedaling + 83 = 794 miles

56 miles on the road !

2006-06-03T19:53:00.000-07:00

Today I drove to the Natchez Trace Parkway, and on to Garrison Cove rest stop. There I parked, ate lunch, changed into cycling clothes, prepared my bicycle and headed out for a four hour ride. I would pedal from Garrison Cove to mile post 400, I planned, then turn around.

All went well. What a beautiful day too.

Total time was 3hr, 50 minutes. That included quite a few stops and breaks. 1:50 out, 2 hr back. I experienced a significant drop in pedaling power coming back, especially the 2nd half of the return trip. But, all in all, I think I can be pleased with the ride and my fitness, what with not much pedaling the past four weeks.

Let's see, total miles training.

613 + 15 pedaling + 56 = 684

When it rains, it pours

2006-06-02T19:45:00.000-07:00

My cast came off Wednesday morning. I now wear a smaller, removable splint, which I am allowed to remove if I need.   I do take it off at least four times a day, three times for thumb exercises, one time for showering.

But, I have done no exercise since Wednesday.   Part reason is that Wed. I stayed up 'til 1-2 am. Crazy. Had a lot to do Wednesday night and indulged in chatting with family and watching TV until too late. So, Thursday after work when I should exercise, I could not muster the effort.

Friday after work, no exercise, expecting to ride in the am, or pedal anyway.

My brother is emphasizing that we need to purchase plane tickets. I can understand, I want to see what the Alps look like and enjoy French food. I also want to tack a trip to Turkey onto the end of the France trip.   Need to convince my brother that'd be a good trip.

The agony of faithlessness

2006-05-29T17:00:00.000-07:00

Today, Monday, is Memorial Day, and a holiday from work.

About 2 pm, I take the rollers and the track stand to nearby school track. My plan is to pedal at least one hour and run after that. The weather is about 80 degrees and partly sunny.

Yesterday I put a cyclecomputer onto my bicycle. So, riding the rollers, I would have the display to look at and the timer.

I decided to ride the rollers first. The first ten minutes went by without much strain. I was happy about that. I took a break for water at 20 minutes, and again at 40 minutes. About a minute & 1/2 each, and I remain on the bicycle, just stop pedaling. Plus a short stop in pedaling at 30 minutes.

The last twenty minutes I stopped a couple of times. Turned a bigger gear some of the time. Why this is so hard I can't understand.

But, I will say, today, I began to wonder why I am struggling to train. At best I'm getting in 6 hours of training per week from May 6 to June 16. And of that, only three are pedaling. That's hardly enough to ride the 117 mile Tour stage on July 8 or thereabout. On top of that, I'm pressed at work, to complete a load of tasks prior to June 30. The Etape is starting to seem a futile endeavor. And, that makes it mentally tough to train.

Then, after pedaling to about 1 hour, five minutes (extra five to account for the breaks), I stop, rest a lot, then change clothes to do as much running as I could.

And the running too was mentally difficult. I like to run. I was so slow, and on more than one occasion, I had to stop and walk. This is pitiful, discouraging. All I wanted to do was run three miles, and that with sit-up breaks in between. I did not manage even that. I walked 400 meters between miles. Worn out, feeble, exhausted, both mentally and physically.

I hope that some of this weariness was a result of not enough calories this morning. I had two Cliff Bars. But of course, I'd eaten plenty the day and evening before.

What it seemed like was that I did not have the heart and faith to do this training. Thoughts of aging, weakness, mortality and my life's purpose, along with doubts, thoughts of failures, mistakes and sins and struggles likewise about work tasks, all filled my mind and oh what torture and agony.

I said, to myself, I must call on the Lord and his word, to encourage myself in him. But in that, I have to wonder, what does he think about two hours of exercise and an attempt to ride L'Alpe d'Huez?

What a great God who has loved me and cared for me and has all wisdom and power, who hears my prayer I trust, who is near, and I will let my requests be made known unto him and trust that the peace of God will keep my mind and heart through Christ Jesus.

Sunday am run, exercise

2006-05-28T14:39:00.000-07:00

Weather was superb this morning. I ran and exercised from about 7:30 to 8:55.

I ran to a nearby school, and there I did sit-ups and jump rope, followed by more running and then the exercise again. I do two-leg and one-leg jump rope. I can't jump rope more than about one minute on one leg. I think that this jumping is helping strenthen my legs. That's good. But it's going to take me more than one minute to ride up L'Alpe d'Huez of course.

Wed. am I go to the doctor to have my cast removed. I can wiggle my thumb and still get pain. So, it's not repaired yet.

A sermon this am by Ray Prince of Berea Baptist Church in GA. His son Matthew has been with brain tumor for about a year. He preached this morning on the fact of evil in our lives, such as a dying son. It's NOT all good. But, God works things together for good. In our deepest trials, we as believers in the God of creation and in His immutable, infallible word, we must, we can only, go to those words we know to be true. Where else can we go, "you have the words of eternal life."

Five minutes seems like ten minutes

2006-05-25T19:55:00.000-07:00

Used to be four.

Tonight I pedaled an hour. When it seems I've pedaled ten minutes, it's really only about five. I'm getting more used to pedaling in place. Four used to seem like ten.

The rollers on Sat. were more trying. Three/three & 1/2 seemed like ten. And the last ten of an hour were torture. Not that I was pedaling that hard, simply the monotony of it and the static position on the bicycle. On the track stand, one has more options - pedal with one leg; sit upright; etc. Probably someone could do that on rollers, but not I.

Cross-training

2006-05-25T15:56:00.000-07:00

Eq. total miles*: 579 + 34 = 613

Sat., May 20: Pedaling about 1 hr., 15 minutes - one hour of which was on rollers; plus run and exercise one hour.
Tues., May 23: Pedaling one hr., run and exercise one hour

Last week was quite busy. I think I ran once or twice in these past two weeks, without pedaling.

Management 101

2006-05-15T19:50:00.000-07:00

I studied engineering in school. Then, out of school, I worked as a government environmental regulator. No design engineering, although I did two or three small projects that involved design.

Management as a job position never interested me. What is management anyway? I've seen the Dilbert cartoons. I know management staff are not really like that. Actually, I know there is a need for management. Okay, but I'm not interested.

I changed jobs about two years ago, and since there was no one to report to me, I figured I was safe from management responsibilities. That may be true in some sense, at present, but there are numerous projects to accomplish, most of which involve other people's work in addition to my own to make it all happen as it should. Maybe I need to learn something about management. Uggghhhh....

Get enough sleep, get exercise, follow directions, listen to my management's direction. Pray, read Proverbs, ask the Lord for wisdom, trust Him and the mind He has given me, though my mind is tainted with sin and faulty. But the Scripture says, God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, of love, and of a sound mind.

While pedaling in place this evening, I listened to a teaching tape on management. The speaker made several points - let's see what I can remember.

- Management (of people) is essential in a business. There must be persons who don't do any work, except to oversee the work of others. One reason this is needed is that our own natures are wayward, we want to do things our own way.

- Management is, to a great extent, personal interaction with those one manages. Sure, we can have SOPs, standards, performance criteria, but people have to be personally coached and confronted with these standards.

- The manager's decisionmaking. He made an interesting point. Significant to me because I constantly second-guess myself, especially when decisions involve directing people. The manager has to make the decision or take the action that is needful, as he sees the need. This is true for all sorts of jobs and decisions. It was a significant point for me because I am quite aware of the process often in my mind - "so this is what I think, but there may be a better way, so let me get more data."

A couple of other management principles I have accessed recently, via a book and via other connections in my brain:

a. have a set of decisionmaking principles, communicate those to all levels of management and staff, and all know that we make decisions based on those principles;

b. be faithful to the law - the law might be, in fact, the local, state or federal laws that are written that regulate my work resonsibilities. In the law, at least in the case of my job, there are standards and do's and don'ts. Be faithful to accomplish those standards. So one has to take the steps that will lead to those standards.

Today, I managed to pedal one hour again. Then I ran and exercised for about 30 minutes.

I am eating a little better, but I'm not sticking to the diet that was so easy to write down a few days ago.

Eq. total miles*: 549 + 30 = 579

* This assumes 15 cycling miles for every hour pedaling on the track stand.

One hour pedaling, one hour running

2006-05-13T19:51:00.000-07:00

Sat. I rode around my block, to consider if I would be safe to ride out on the Trace. The ride informed me that braking the right lever/rear wheel is awkward. I can do it though. Also, a couple of times I hit a bump in the road, and with my right hand and cast on on the bar, my hand got quite a jar. I could feel a twinge of pain in my thumb. (I think I am going to get a sponge of some sort to make resting places on the bar.)

So, because of those, and because of the time involved in driving out to the Trace, I stayed home and pedaled on my Rivendell on a Blackburn TrakStand. I was pleased with how well it did. I rode one hour, looking at the watch off to the side about every ten minutes, hoping 30 minutes had passed. Then I went out and ran, did sit-ups, and torso rotations, and jump rope, for about another hour.

Still hoping to ride Alpe d'Huez.

5.8 miles, jump rope

2006-05-12T18:22:00.000-07:00

Monday, the day I took on the cast, after work I ran 5.8 miles, a good run on a loop through the park.

Wed. am I did some exercises, including jumping rope and sit-ups.

That's it for this week so far.

Maybe I spoke too soon, saying, "no road riding." Thinking about riding Sat. am on a long, straight, low-traffic parkway, the Natchez Trace, which will provide a very predictable ride. I hope I can manage that. Check my blog next time.

Now what?

2006-05-09T19:50:00.000-07:00

There is now a cast on my right forearm in order to immobilize my right thumb. Not a broken thumb, a damaged tendon. Cast comes off end of May, to be replaced probably by a removable cast for another two weeks. No road riding during 1st three if not all five weeks. Full recovery in six to eight weeks.

Wow, now I realize how much I enjoy cycling. And how useful my right thumb is.

Also, looking at some photos of me recently, I see I have a bigger belly than I thought.

Okay, here's the deal:

Only fruit and vegetables after 6 pm on nights I don't train. No eating past 9 anyway.
No soft drinks, except diet ones. I don't like them, so there won't be many.
Fasting one day per week. Usually Sunday.
And, running and abdominal exercises.

Robert

Accident on a 75 mile ride

2006-05-06T19:25:00.000-07:00

Miles this week: 108
Miles to date: 549

Lessons learned or reminded to me
- Don't follow too close to a rider I don't know.
- Be especially alert if riding with riders I don't know.
- Be observant of warnings.
- Don't change your plans except with good reason. See v. 23.
- This is not about chasing my brother's training miles.
- How important are all the different parts of the body to our life. See v. 15.

Okay, I don't feel much like writing, but I am thankful to be writing.

I could not go out with my brother this am, who was leaving early. Rather, I decided to attend a men's breakfast at my church. The speaker spoke about hell. Yes, hell. See at the end of this blog some of what he told us from the Scriptures.

So, I left home about 11:34. My goal was to take the same route as my brother, who left about 8:30. He was going to ride 90-100 miles. I proudly would do the same. What an opportunity to see how we compare in fitness at this point in Etape preparation.

But, I had an uneasy feeling about this plan. For one, I would be returning rather late if he did 100 miles. Of course, I was taking my cell phone and so could check up on his route.

Basically the route takes me southwest of Nashville - the Boulevard, the park, Vaughn Road, Sneed Road, the Trace to Leipers Fork, then - I will fail to remember the roads (it's the Glenn Wanner Snow Creek ride from there) - Sulphur Springs, Snow Creek, and so forth, back onto the Trace and back to Leipers Fork, then back home somehow. By that point, the somehow would most likely be the most direct.

However, I began to tag along with a couple of other riders on the Trace about one hour & thirty minutes out. Off the Trace, they offered me to join them. I hesitated, still wanting to do my brother's route. But, I was not sure at this point the exact route he had taken. And, since they were going to shorten my loop at this point in the ride by about eight miles, this would get me home quicker.

After riding with them about an hour, and I was usually in the second position, we had an accident. I went down and jammed my thumb, scraped my knuckles, and did some damage to my thumb at the fingernail. Not too bad, though the results of the thumb damage is possibly yet to be determined.

At the time of the accident, I was in third position. The rear two of us had been t alking about my bicycle (Rivendell) and had drifted behind rider no. 1 about 30 yards. As we were wrapping the conversation up, we were also closer to rider no. 1. All the sudden, rider two is hard on the brakes, rider one is stopped or nearly stopped - what is this!? We are going 22 mph or so and have an abrupt stop! My front wheel gets about a two-three inch overlap on the rear wheel of no. 2, he turns right a bit to avoid no. 1, and that pushes my tire to the right and I go down to the left, sort-of toward no. 1. I may have reached out to stop my fall to no. 1. I can't recall the details of the fall. My left hand and arm must have broken the fall somewhat. But, somehow, my right hand gets to the front of my body - chest or stomach or maybe waist area, and gets pinned between the asphalt and my body as I slide forward some small distance on the road. I could feel it being scraped rather harshly. The thumb was turned toward the asphalt.

All in all, in the big scheme of things, minor injuries. I should be thankful. I am thankful that I have my thumb. But injured and tender and hurting, I realize I am quite dependent on it about every 30 seconds of my waking life for something.

Turns out the rider no. 1 stopped because a couple of dogs were barking and I guess moving our direction from a yard on the left side of the road. I don't stop when I see dogs. 50+ % of the time they don't seriously chase me. And if they do, it's mostly for show. The rare dog that seems to want to bite and gets close, I can usually scare away. In fact, in 18-20 years of cycling, I may have been bit once, not seriously.

There was something of a foreshadowing of the abrupt stop for the dog. Earlier, we had rounded a curve and about 50 yards down the road were two dogs beside the road. Rider no. 1 noticed them first and gave us a heads-up. I thought that was a bit odd. Why such an alert for two dogs. Turns out those dogs did not move one foot as we passed.

My brother thought it fitting to tell me, after my ride home, that he always thought I followed too close on the wheels of riders I did not know. He's right. That may have had a little to do with my going down today.

We finished their ride, back to their car. They realized I needed help. They went rather slow for me the rest of the way. I did my best, but they were stronger riders - they had not ridden the one hour 1/2 prior to our hooking up either. They took me home, shortening my ride another 15 + miles.

My total mileage was about 75.

Hell. A place where God's wrath against unholiness burns forever. Where unredeemed men/women will spend eternity. How can a holy, pure, sinless, just God forgive the sin of a man? Can he ignore our sin and be just? No. How can the justice of God be satisfied if men are to be saved from his wrath?

The Scripture teaches a hell. Against all my rational thinking, then, I acknowledge it is so. Hell, the place of eternal, unquenched fire. Not one second in a burning oven, not 15 seconds there, not one minute, not one day or one year. In each case, if I knew it would end and I would remain, there might be some way my mind could survive it all. But eternally.

The Scripture teaches that Jesus Christ is the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

The Scripture teaches that many men throughout the ages will reject God's salvation. How many of Noah's day rejected? All but eight. Eight. The rest perished. And in hell, they will still not repent.

For by grace are you saved through faith - faith in the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ for the sin of men - and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast.

If you have not trusted Jesus Christ's sacrifice for you, consider the Scriptures promptly in these matters, and believe on the the Lord Jesus Christ.

45 minutes on bicycle yesterday

2006-05-05T18:58:00.000-07:00

Yep, that's it, 45 minutes or so, which I squeezed in after work and before a Wycliffe Associates banquet.

I did hook up with my brother; of course, after I turned back, he continued. You can probably check his blog for how he finished.

Speaking of my brother, he's looking to purchase a bicycle as a temporary bicycle for the Etape. Okay. But get this, he placed a bid on a Trek 5200. That is a carbon fiber bicycle.

Somehow, to me, riding a carbon fiber frame up L'Alpe d'Huez cheapens the ride, a mount made famous in cycling history by the Tour de France and the great climbs on steel frames of Eddy Merckx, O. Bottecchia, Fausto Coppi, Jacques Anquetil, Bernard Hinault. They all rode steel. My brother will probably wear synthetic clothing up the alpe too.

Oh, good news, this just in, he did not win the bidding on the fiber bicycle. Yet another chance to buy steel.

Anyway, my ride tonight was about a 13 mile ride I guess.

Miles to date: 474
Miles this week: 33

Another historic ride

2006-05-02T19:28:00.000-07:00

Miles last week: 109
Miles to date: 461
Miles this week: 20
Weight: Guessing 156 lbs

Three rides last week. The one, Tuesday, 4/25, in previous blog post. I also rode Thursday, 4/27, another late after work ride about 18 miles.

Then, on Saturday, April 29, my brother and I rode from Nashville to Trenton, KY, via Elkton, KY.

This ride to Kentucky is a ride my brothers and I began doing about 12-13 years ago. How rewarding it is to ride from Nashville to Kentucky. By car, on the interstate most of the way, it's about 62 miles I think. The cycling route is not much longer, somehow. I think it's about 63 miles. So this is another ride that recalls earnest rides of years ago. In my own small world, a "historic" ride.

Now, our ride Saturday included an additional loop of about 12-14 miles or so.

The ride is also historic because it finishes at a house built about 1832. What a great place to finish a cycling ride.

So, how was the ride? Well, you can read my brother's blog for more detail. For me, I was happy to do it, though in the end the preparation, riding and returning home consumed practically all of Saturday. I did not budget for all day, and so, the end of the weekend arrived too early.

Sunday, no exercise.

Monday, yesterday, I forced myself to go ride. Oh, not that I did not want to, just as usual wondering how other stuff is going to get done. It got done, about 12:30 am Tuesday.

Still hoping to do a big ride in Chattanooga this weekend. Unlikely, but if all goes well this week, I get a lot of sleep. Not sure I'm ready for it though. Over 100 miles.

Turning 38 miles into 52 miles

2006-04-25T21:14:00.000-07:00

Today after work I rode with my brother John, another Etape-in-Training rider. My mileage about 18 miles.

He knew I'd ridden part of the Glenn Wanner ride Sunday pm. He also figured I rode more than the 38 miles I had reported for that ride.

And, as I re-figured myself, I can see he was correct.

The ride today was a late ride, finishing in dusk to dark. Car lights were on.

In addition to a ride through the park on the 5.8 mile loop, I did some meager intervals (heart rate 85-90% of max I think) on the Boulevard, as I waited for my brother because we took different routes at the top of three-mile hill.

Until next time.

Abandoning a ride

2006-04-23T20:10:00.000-07:00

Today, 38 miles. (nope, actually 52 miles)
Past week 4/16 - 4/22, 25 miles.
Total to date: 339 miles (actual, corrected)

Today, Sunday, I did not even attempt to ride early. I did not even make it to Sunday School until about 9:35.

So after church I eventually leave for a 65 mile ride my brothers and I call “the Glenn Wanner ride.” I was too optimistic. At about mile 15 I had a choice to cut to a 42 mile ride, but not having a watch on and not caring to find the time, I continued on the 65 mile route.

At the halfway point, in Leipers Fork, TN, in Williamson County, I stopped for water. It was supposed to be a short stop, but even so, I realized I could not go the 65 mile route. It’d be too dark for the last few miles. And, on top of that, as I am there, up drives a H2 and out of it gets a old friend of mine from many years ago, the son of a man that goes to my church. In fact, I sat by that man in church today. And then see his son about 6 pm. And, he and I start to talk and go on for 20 minutes. He told how this morning at his church in Leipers Fork, a former general of Saddam’s military had spoken. The general was a Christian man. As you can imagine he had some great stories of his service there and of how God had answered prayers and as it has happened, obviously preserved his life through it all.

So I head off back home, but I’m getting tired of the ride, it’s getting colder, and I’m wearing cotton not wool, and it’s getting dark. So, several miles later I make cell phone calls to my two brothers. The younger agrees to come pick me up, and so he does, about 11 miles from home for me.

A poorly planned and executed 65 mile ride ends up at about 38, maybe 40 miles. Sad. I hope my training does not continue like this.

Fitting in rides

2006-04-20T20:08:00.000-07:00

Miles this week so far: 25
Goal this week: 125
Weight: unknown

Two rides this week, through Thursday. One, a ride to lunch spot on Monday, for a total of four miles. Then, today after work, with my brother in Nashville, to the park and through the park.

Monday night a Idlewild Design board meeting. Tuesday night a visit to my old workplace, after work hours, that ended up lasting until 7/7:30. Wednesday a night of service at church. Tonight a homeowners board meeting was cancelled, and so I got to ride. I'm glad for it.

Extra activities continue through the weekend with a Friday night movie, The Gospel of John, as a part of our Awana ministry. Saturday, to my workplace for an Earth Day event. I might could ride Sat. pm about 4 pm. But I have another work-related event Sunday pm - I may bail on that one - which would keep me from riding Sunday pm. I don't like to ride Sunday pm anyway. So, I'm thinking to ride Sun. am, starting about 5 am, with a ride from 5 to 8/8:30. I have to start riding in the am some in order to get necessary time training. Anyway, a Sun. am ride would mean no Saturday ride in the afternoon.

So, my maximum mileage this week is looking to be about 75 miles, if all goes well.

The ride today with my brother was an okay ride for me. It's plain that he's as fit or moreso than I. Makes sense, as he has 500 miles training this year to my 287 or so.

My recent riding schedule has been 1/2 riding and 1/2 wishful thinking.

My brother and I await our status w/r/to Etape.

Two County Metric (TCM)

2006-04-15T19:57:00.000-07:00

Week of 4/9-4/15
Week's mileage: 109
Total miles to date: 262

The Murfreesboro Bicycle Club, along with sponsors, conducted the Two County Metric today. The two counties are Rutherford and Williamson.

My brother and I rode with about 250 other riders. Some did 31 miles, some did an extra 38 for a total of 100. We did the 100 kilometres.

This is, I'm sure, the earliest in the season that I have ever done an organized 62 mile ride. It may be the earliest in the season I've ever done a 62 mile ride. So that's good. Several (12?) years ago, I was training for the annual Caldwell County Bridge to Bridge cycling ride, held in September, and part of my training regime was to ride long rides early. In recent years, I've only managed to do long rides the several weeks before the BtB. The year I did long rides early, I thought it paid off when Sept. came and BtB. But, for doing the Etape, April 15 is not really early to be riding 62 miles.

A beautiful day. Rest stops at 22 and about 46. We spent a lot of time at the 1st one. Not so long at the second. The service at the stops was quite good, and the snack choices good.

This is one of the events that allow riders to use facilities to shower afterward. And, a post-ride meal is provided. Those are fun times, meeting people, talking about work, the wind, the hills, any unusual occurrences on the ride - some folks got stopped by a train at one point.

Let's see, I think my brother and I averaged 16.5 miles per hours. 3.75 pedaling hours plus 30 minutes or so rest stops. Not very fast.

A long way to go to be able to do the EdT.

No coasting

2006-04-12T19:11:00.000-07:00

Today, 5 miles during lunch, on the Greenway.

There's no coasting on a fixed gear bicycle.

I did not expect my fixed gear to teach me lessons about living, but it is. I admit I like to coast. I've been made more aware of this after spending some time on my new bicycle gear. I like to coast in my work, in various extra-curricular work, in studies, in relating with and to people, in paperwork, in all sorts of roles and activities.

Well, my brain is, it seems, transferring the no-coasting mode of riding a bicycle to other activities. If I feel like taking a break on this task or that, I am beginning to think...no, it's not so much a conscious re-thinking...it's more that I don't feel like taking the break as much. Continuing to pedal on the fixed gear is - so I am sensing - training my attitude and my purposefulness. And, that I can keep spinning on the bicycle is encouraging me to keep pushing on in tasks.

Thanks for this surprising and interesting lesson, Lord, if I may recognize You in such a way, and let me practice it diligently. Thy word of course teaches diligence and patience and perseverance. I'm thankful for this encouraging and personal reminder.

Still hoping to do a metric century Saturday.

Two days in a row in wool

2006-04-11T19:23:00.000-07:00

21 miles after work and an eye doctor's appointment

Today, again, I wore a wool jersey - today a long sleeve one. Starting temperature was probably about 74-5 degrees F. Finishing temperature was probably about 70dF. Humidity was low I think. A really beatiful weather day. The wool was not a tight fitting and not a heavy wool. Wool jerseys do a good job of keeping temperatures comfortable and moderate, even if it's not cold outside. They especially help to prevent the chill that happens when moisture in a damp cotton jersey is evaporating in the low humidity breeze.

I could tell my legs were tired from yesterday.

I ride about 5 miles or so to a park with a road system inside. There are loops of 1.5, 5.3, 9 and 11.2 miles. There are other routes possible but those are about the only ones I do during normal rides.

When the Tour de Puke rolls around to finish off the Tour de France, we'll ride six loops for a total of about 65 miles.

Six miles last week

2006-04-10T21:58:00.000-07:00

Monday, April 10.

Rode about 20 miles after work, with my brother John and a co-worker of his. To the nearby park and on the 11 mile loop.

Week of 4/3 to 4/9

Week's mileage: 6
Week's mileage goal: 50
Total mileage to date: 153
Weight: Unknown
Weight goal: 150 lbs

Lots of work to do this week. My only riding was a little on my now fixed-gear bicycle, during lunchtime two days.

A Friday night out of town, participating in an Awana Sparks-A-Rama and AwanaGames in Clarksville, TN. I got home about 11:20 pm. Not quite able to get right to bed even after two nights of little sleep, I surfed the TV for Masters information. And chilled out to a couple of TV programs - a history channel one and a movie was showing, Saving Private Ryan. 2 am or so, I'm in bed.

Up fairly early Saturday to attend and serve in an Awana quizzing event. I left there about 1:30 pm.

Weary, I could not get on the bicycle for a ride. I wanted also to watch the Masters. I did but did not see much because of rain delay. It was also a rather cool day for us here. So, tomorrow, Sunday, a ride in warmer weather.

Nope. After church and lunch - especially lunch - I was still tired and napped. Watched a few holes of the golf tuhnament and managed to run and exercise for about 35 minutes. Good exercise.

Should be able to ride Mon., Apr. 10, Tues., and would like to Thur. or Fri. am. Not likely on that though.

Trip to Augusta National, Masters practice round

2006-04-04T21:01:00.000-07:00

Total miles to date: 147 (an estimate)
Miles this week: 3 (Week starts Sunday.)

My brother, who is training for EdT and has a blog going too, has been telling me that he was going to Masters practice round today. On a Lear Jet. One-day trip even though we live hundreds of miles away.

I'm a big golf fan, bigger than he is. I asked him to give me a call from out on the course. I kept my cell phone with me all day long. I even called him - paged him once, left message once.

No call from my brother. What? Did the Lear Jet crash? Who knows?

Tonight, about 10:30 pm, I call him at home. He's there. Along with telling me he's real tired and has to go to bed and can't talk, he does report that he went to Augusta and that cell phones weren't allowed. There are pay phones on the course, but when he called nobody answered. I did not get any voice mails today. He also has a few stories about the owner of the Lear Jet and a few interesting bits of information about this golfer or that. None of it would I ever be able to verify under normal circumstances. I always called home - and probably always called him high on my call list - when I was at the event, usually calling from around #6/#16.

Well, enough of that. I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt and do believe he went today. Just an oversight I did not get a call I guess.

Okay, I have now put the fixed gear on my Quickbeam. I pedaled on it a little tonight to tighten the cog onto the hub. After a couple of goofed attempts when I stopped my legs, which stopped the pedals, which unscrewed the cog from the hub as the Locktite is not dry. So, in a day or two, I hope to ride it as a normal fixed gear.

Otherwise, I rode about 15-20 minutes after work on my road bicycle.

Saturday riding with my brother 52 miles

2006-04-01T19:29:00.000-08:00

52 miles today with my brother. Avg. spd. 14.5. Several short, steep hills.
Total miles to date: 144 (an estimate)
Miles this week: 84 (Week starts Sunday.)

A beautiful day.

I'm worn out after this ride. My longest ride to date this year was 30 miles and that was Sunday of this week with friend Mark.

We rode a route that my brother plotted out almost 20 years ago, when he first started cycling - the Berry's Chapel ride. Back when he and I rode that 10-15 years ago, I was a new cyclist, and he was my mentor.

A couple of lessons he taught me in those days:
- no matter how much I eat before a ride, or how much store of fat on my body, I can only go about two hours without having to put some food in my stomach in order to keep pedaling and to keep from bonking (he taught me about bonking too);

- one help to climbing a hill when standing is to stand as upright as possible, to place as much of the body's weight directly above the pedals, so the downstroke is simply the weight of my body pushing the pedal down.

Today, traveling this old route - that neither of us has ridden to speak of in probably 10 years - brought back memories of the early days of our cycling. Positive memories. If you think joy of life is about great memories - I heard that on the radio the other day - then this was a great day for us. I thank the Lord that I have the hands, feet, eyes, legs and all to ride a bicycle, and a 50 mile semi-rural route at that.

One remarkable turn of the day was when we came to an old turn in the road, where we used to turn off Manley Road onto Harpeth Hills Drive. At that point, Manley used to transform from a paved road to a gravel road. So we took a left and made our way to Hillsboro and then up Hillsboro to Boxwood. Today, however, my brother was surprised to see Manley paved. That did not mean much to me, but he explained that when he had first mapped out this route - now almost 20 years ago - the maps had shown this gravel section of Manley the same as the paved section - so it looked to be paved. But on his first ride back then, he had to turn left there because in fact Manley became gravel.

Today, we went straight, and this provided a much better, safer route to Boxwood.

How interesting I thought. Somewhere someone - a government planner - had planned that road to be paved. Somewhere there's somebody who knows the story of the timing of the paving of that road. "The wheels of government grind exceedingly slow but exceedingly sure." That's a saying I borrowed from a long-ago acquaintance of mine who was in the business of keeping his clients in environmental compliance with certain regulations. He would say "but exceedingly fine," noting that though slow, when the end came, the government with all its records could bring about an exceedingly fine judgment. And so, anyway, my brother's cycling plans of 20 years ago came to fruition today.

Yesterday, I purchased the one-speed cog and had it welded not to freewheel, for my Quickbeam. I'll get that put on and see how it is to ride a fixed gear.

Question of the day:
What is wisdom? How would you define it and what does it mean to you?

More on the Quickbeam

2006-03-31T21:14:00.000-08:00

Thursday, 3/30. Rode the Quickbeam during lunch break for a total of 23 minutes. That was to a local restaurant and back.

The Quickbeam is a great bicycle. It's a one-cog freewheel and a double chainring. That's the way I received it. The rear hub is threaded on both sides. So, I can put another one-cog freewheel on the other side.

Today, Friday, I bought another freewheel and had it welded not to spin. I'll see what it's like to ride a fixed gear bicycle.

Whatever, I need to ride lots more to do 117 miles in three months.

*******
Wednesday, March 29, 2006. On the Quickbeam today

During lunch today, I rode my new Quickbeam to a nearby bicycle shop. There I pumped air in the tires. While there, I met Ben who told me he can weld a coaster cog fixed, and so I can get another cog for the flip side of the hub, which is threaded, fix it, and ride fixed gear if I like. I expect to do that.

But one mile a day is not going to get me up L' Alpe d'Huez. Nor is watching CNN going to improve my French.