Getting my ass out there

It's been a gray, windy few days. The wife has gone to the South by Southwest film festival in Austin and to visit her friend Penny, so I've been left to fend for myself. I stayed up late, poking at the Bleriot. I trued and tuned up the front wheel, and replaced a tire. I think the original was defective, I could never seem to get it to mount properly. The new tire seems rounder, and less lumpy.

So I slept in this morning. There was an Ice Road Truckers marathon on the History channel. I catnapped on the couch. I drank a beer. I pondered riding, but every time I looked out the window I saw a gray windy day. The couch called to me. "Sit on your ass", it beckoned.

Man, I sure did want to sit on my ass. I stuck my head outside and gauged the weather. Cold and windy. I wanted another beer, but I drank the last one. I was getting tired of watching Ice Road Truckers.

So I started to gear up. Slowly and deliberately. I still wasn't sure I wanted to go outside. Eventually, I was all ready to go, finally about 2:30. That would limit me to a shorter ride, probably the 'shed and back' 20 mile run. I dragged my lazy ass and the Bleriot outside, heading south, 20 mph wind at my back.

I zipped along, retuned and retired front wheel running smoothly. I was in top gear running the flats, spinning away. No computer on this bike, but I imagined I was running in the mid 20's since I didn't feel any wind. I knew I was going to pay on the return trip, and I did. Head down, cold wind in my face, crawling up hills. I didn't care. My ass was out there :>)

-D

Happy Birthday, Ayden!

It is with great joy I announce the birth of Ayden Scott McDowell. He was born yesterday at 1:42 p.m., 7 lbs 3 oz, 20 inches in length.

Did I mention he is my grandson? Grandchild #1 and he is beautiful.

Jenny and I hopped in the car after work yesterday and drove to KC to visit.

I'm the one with the goofy grin on my face

Snoozing. Grandpa doesn't mind :>)

RAGBRAI overnight towns

I thought I might be able to sneak in a ride today. But with below freezing temps, coupled with 15+ mph winds, I decided it would be better to hang out at home with my lovely wife...watching murder mystery shows. Ack! Oh well, she works hard and she deserves it.

Rather than lament my non-riding status, I thought I'd take a look at the RAGBRAI overnight towns and speculate on the route. The information at this point:

Day 1: Sioux City to Storm Lake. Distance: 68.5 miles. Climb: 3,689 feet.
Day 2: Storm Lake to Algona. Distance: 79.0 miles. Climb: 1,145 feet.
Day 3: Algona to Clear Lake. Distance: 51.3 miles. Climb: 1,036 feet.
Day 4: Clear Lake to Charles City. Distance: 51.7 miles. Climb: 1,066 feet.
Day 5: Charles City to Waterloo. Distance: 82.7 miles. Climb: 2,712 feet.
Day 6: Waterloo to Manchester. Distance: 62.0 miles. Climb: 2,313 feet.
Day 7: Manchester to Dubuque. Distance: 46.9 miles. Climb: 2,566 feet.

The first day will the the big climbing day. Next three days will be easy spins (depending on hangover severity) :>), then a bit more climbing for the final three days. I'm not sure where the century loop will end up...possibly Day 2 or Day 5?

I played around with Google Maps and tried to figure out the route for the first day. Every route I tried ended up being longer than 68.5 miles...which seems to be most direct route to Storm Lake. However, the most direct route takes you down Hwy 20 and Hwy 31...state highways and unlikely RAGBRAI routes. Most likely, RAGBRAI planners will take us down county roads passing through a few towns along the way. Kingsley, Pierson, Washta, Moville, Correctionville, Quimby, Hanover, Alta...any of these towns could be on the route.

Regardless, it will be a great ride this year! The final route, and our first team meeting, should be announced soon. I'm hoping to get out on the road soon so I can get started on getting some serious miles in. -D

Sneaking them in

Damn, it's still snowing.

Damn, I still want to ride. So I rode. I've been able to sneak in a couple of weekend rides. I managed a 25 miler two weekends ago, and a 2o miler last weekend. I got snowed on last weekend, but I didn't care. I geared up, bit the icy bullet, and got out there. The roads I've ridden have been relatively clear, so I didn't take the QBF with the snow tires. I hit the road with the old reliable Double Cross, a fine all-weather machine.

By the way, the RAGBRAI route was announced a couple of weeks ago. It'll be a northern route, one of the shortest and flattest ever. Yes, I'm doing the entire week this year, and it'll be awesome.

Waiting for my grandson to come visit - D

Video Torture

Due to the impending arrival of my grandson Ayden, the wife and I decided to buy a video camera.

Of course, I had to test it. Not only that, but I had to attempt putting the horrendous results of my test on YouTube. Eek. After at least a dozen failed attempts, I finally figured out how to get my video in the right format and actually have YouTube accept it...the original video was 17 minutes. Much to my chagrin, YouTube "Regular" only accepts 10 minute videos, so my 3 1/2 hour download was rejected. This edited version (courtesy of iMovie) is much shorter. Thankfully.

So here it is, a tour of my combination bike shop and laundry room, and a tour of the 'bike basement'. Enjoy, or run away screaming.

Ice, Ice Baby

Adding insult to injury, an ice storm hit here last night. Didn't we have enough precipitation?

Anyways, no driving to work today. Ironically, they had zero ice in Omaha last night, but once the storm passed over the river it froze like crazy. Must be all that husker hot air :>) Some places east of here got over an inch of ice accumulation.

I did not ride a bike today. The wife and I hunkered down here in the Dau compound, warm and toasty. Maybe I'll try tomorrow.

Several years ago, I purchased an Adidas cold weather cycling outfit, jacket and bibs. One of the best gear purchases I've made, and I wear the heck out of it during fall and winter. It still looks pretty decent, though the jacket is starting to show signs of wear. Works great, though. I bought the jacket a bit oversized so I can layer underneath. Usually, this consists of a base layer of a technical, long-sleeve mock tee neck then an Ibex wool top over that. It breathes, yet is plenty warm enough for most freezing and above cycling excursions. On my head, a Rivendell wool cap and wool balaclava. The pants have enough room to accomodate a base layer as well. Smartwool hunting socks and winter cycling shoes finish my winter gear-up.

Since this is the only set of winter cycling gear I have, I decided to supplement. I wandered into our local Trek store and discovered some nice Bontrager brand winter cycling bibs on deep discount. I tried on size L, a bit tight. The store owner explained most cycling clothing lines are designed for 'skinny Euro types', of which I am definitely not :>) It always seems that a good rule of thumb for cycling clothes is go up at least one size from what you would normally wear unless you want them to be form fitting. I also ordered a new jacket online...a Gore Tool. Since I couldn't try before buying, I had the wife measure me and it seems that the go up one size rule applies there as well. I liked the Gore Tool because it has a zip open underarm vent similar to my Adidas, a feature that has proved to be very handy. It was discounted as well, another great feature!

Looking forward to trying out the new gear, not looking forward to any more snow or ice!

-D

A foghorn would have made it perfect

After many weeks of non-biking, the drought has been broken.

Since the mercury climbed above freezing, and the QBF with Nokians was just itching to be ridden, I donned the gear and headed out into the fog. Pretty darn thick, too.

I lit up the QBF and attempted to make myself as visible as possible. I layered up and hit the road! How did they fare? Positives: they stick like glue in hard snowpack and even on ice. I rode around town up and down a few snowpacked streets and had no problems maintaining control. I even forced a couple of skid stops (at slow speed, of course) on some ice and even though the wheel skidded it was quite controllable. Very happy with winter performance.
Negatives? Well, I decided to ride out to my folks, about 10 miles. The county road out to their house is paved until the last mile or so, and was completely clear. Riding studded Nokians on pavement is like, well, riding in snow. The studs seem to stick to the pavement as well as snow and ice, to the detriment of rolling resistance. Riding up paved hills with fixed gear and heavy studded tires? Let's just say 20 miles today felt like a half-century in good weather.

I was sure happy to have them once I hit the gravel, though. The roads out in the country aren't well plowed, so I rode intermittently through snowpack, ice, gravel, and mud. The Nokians were in their element there. Turning into and riding up my folks snowpacked driveway should have been drama filled and nerve racking...instead it was no sweat at all.

My overall impression? Excellent winter tires...they weren't inexpensive but definitely worth not falling on my arse in the snow. I sure don't want to ride them any long distance on pavement, though...what a workout! Maybe I just need to get into better shape. The humming noise as I rode reminded me of driving with studded snow tires, for those of you who remember studded auto tires (they're illegal in Iowa).

The fog...the fog was giving me fits. I decided to wear my glasses today, a mistake. They immediately fogged up and stayed fogged during the entire ride, totally covered with moisture. I ended up riding with them on my nose, looking over the tops. Yes, that gray blur in front of me must have been the road :>) Just keep it between the ditches. Every time I heard a car behind me, I pulled off the road and waited for it to pass. Most cars on that road were driving without lights on and I didn't want to risk getting rear ended. I did have my reflective vest on and a taillight. Unfortunately, the battery in my taillight was draining and it was getting pretty dim, so I was afraid vehicles would have a hard time seeing it especially in the fog. I should have taken my Planet Bike strobe taillight with me..that thing is impossibly bright for a battery powered light and I'm sure it would have been visible.

With all that, I still made it home in one piece which made it a GREAT ride anyway. Nothing more invigorating than a nice, chilly winter ride!

-D