The weather was nice today. After days of dreary rain we woke up to a teeny bit of sun. Over the course of the morning and early afternoon that turned into a healthy portion of sun. I spent the morning reading about realism, but the whole time I couldn't help thinking about going for a ride.
I took my cross bike. Aside from being filthy from last weekend's gravel ride, it required no tinkering or pre-ride maintenance. Plus that last dirt road ride was so much fun I was itching to explore more.
The afternoon was windier than I was expecting, but it was still nice to be out. So I just got down into the drops and rode at a relatively relaxed pace and listened to the wind.
After an hour or so I came out on some pavement. It was a very short section but it was enough to relax. I did, however, notice that my saddle was a little lower than I would like it to be. I pulled over to raise it a half a centimeter or so. When I had it all lined up, I tightened the bolt, but just when it was about perfect the threads in the seatpost clamp snapped. Shit. I stood there for a few minutes thinking about what to do. But there was really only one option. Ride home.
I was lucky in that I was near a paved road that I normally ride on and so wouldn't have to take any gravel back. But it still took me 55 minutes. Standing the whole way. My legs, somewhat surprisingly, were not too bothered by this. I just kept it in the big ring and in many ways it felt like I was climbing some smooth single track on the single speed. But my hands and back were extremely fatigued. I'm not in the habit of doing anything like pushups, so supporting my upper body on the handlebars for that length of time was not fun.
But I made it home. Now I'm sitting outside enjoying a Leine's Red and am very thankful that I'm not racing my bike this weekend. And it is quite the weekend for racing. Iowa City has its big weekend. The road race is tomorrow and the crit is downtown on Sunday. Decorah is having its mountain bike time trial on Sunday as well. Those are some sweet trails and I highly recommend checking it out. And if neither of these options are really your cup of tea you can take on the entire state in the third annual Trans-Iowa race, a 325 mile gravel road race. If you attempt this, I suggest that at the very least you make sure you have a new and functional seatpost clamp.
Friday, April 27, 2007
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Wet Dreams
It has been raining here. A lot. For days. This makes me restless, and when I'm restless I tend to dream about new things to do. After wasting lots of time reading bike stuff online I found myself dreaming about the Paris-Brest-Paris ride. I had heard about it before, but I did not know any of the details. It is, somewhat obviously, a ride between Paris and Brest and back to Paris. Thousands of riders attempt this 1200km journey and I'm pretty sure that well over half finish it under the ninety hour time limit.
And the nice part is, anyone can do it. Well, they have some silly rules about carrying three spare light bulbs for you bike lights, and a glow in the dark vest (though it seems helmets are optional). But other than that all you have to do is complete a series of rides (200, 300, 400, and 600km). And then you are on your way to Paris. There are qualifying rides in every state and many, many countries. I missed the first ride for Iowa, but I still have a chance to do either Minnesota's or Wisconsin's. The Wisc. series runs all four qualifying distances in nine days or so. In between there are off days that include things like BBQs. And we all know what BBQs have. Beer. You might be thinking beer is not so good when training for such distances. Au contraire. Did I mention that it is quite customary in France to drink beer and wine with your wonderfully large meals while riding the PBP? It is true.
Unfortunately, I cannot afford to go this year (Money is tight, though I am willing to accept sponsorship. Contact me within the next two weeks if you are interested in such a unique opportunity. Or you can buy the rights to this novel, it might be the better investment.) So I will have to postpone my dreams until 2011. Like the Olympics, PBP only comes around every four years. But that will give me all kinds of time to hone my randonneuring skills. And to acquire the obligatory new bicycle. Sure, any bike with wheels can be used in the PBP, but in my rain-induced dreams I have decided that I need this bike to complete my 1200km jaunt. With a name like that it has to be ridden on such trips.
And the nice part is, anyone can do it. Well, they have some silly rules about carrying three spare light bulbs for you bike lights, and a glow in the dark vest (though it seems helmets are optional). But other than that all you have to do is complete a series of rides (200, 300, 400, and 600km). And then you are on your way to Paris. There are qualifying rides in every state and many, many countries. I missed the first ride for Iowa, but I still have a chance to do either Minnesota's or Wisconsin's. The Wisc. series runs all four qualifying distances in nine days or so. In between there are off days that include things like BBQs. And we all know what BBQs have. Beer. You might be thinking beer is not so good when training for such distances. Au contraire. Did I mention that it is quite customary in France to drink beer and wine with your wonderfully large meals while riding the PBP? It is true.
Unfortunately, I cannot afford to go this year (Money is tight, though I am willing to accept sponsorship. Contact me within the next two weeks if you are interested in such a unique opportunity. Or you can buy the rights to this novel, it might be the better investment.) So I will have to postpone my dreams until 2011. Like the Olympics, PBP only comes around every four years. But that will give me all kinds of time to hone my randonneuring skills. And to acquire the obligatory new bicycle. Sure, any bike with wheels can be used in the PBP, but in my rain-induced dreams I have decided that I need this bike to complete my 1200km jaunt. With a name like that it has to be ridden on such trips.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Easy ride
Brian Eppen called this morning and invited me on an easy two hour ride that would probably include some gravel. Perfect. After weeks of no riding, the more easy rides I can get this week the better. I was also at an advantage in that I was the only one of us six who was not in attendance of local fast man Doc's big birthday bash the night before. And when Nathan rolled up on a ss road bike with a gear ratio of 53:20 and some rather skinny looking 25cm tires I felt even better. The Eppen duo was on mountain bikes with cross tires and Jack, The Rock, and myself had cross bikes.
When it is a nice spring day in Iowa it often has to do with a crazy wind from the South. Today was no different. It was supposed to be worse in the afternoon, but by 10:30 the going was already quite tough, especially on the very loose gravel. At least it wasn't gusting.
After a couple hours of battling the wind I had a vague idea about where we were, but when we turned on to something less than a B-level I realized that I had absolutely no idea where we were. The road, though I don't think we can really call it that, went down rather abruptly. It had a mix of thick grass, heavy mud, and a few downed trees. Nathan bombed the descent on the ss and at this point I no longer felt that his skinny tires and gearing would aid in my keeping up.
We crossed a highway, went over a bridge that has not seen a car or truck for a few decades and hopped on some 4 wheeler trails. The trails were quite fun, they mostly consisted of twisty trails of dry dirt with lots of logs to hop over. I'll definitely go back. The only downside is there are plenty of thorny branches hanging over the trail. Generally not a problem, a few scratches on the arms and legs are pretty normal, but one branch stubbornly grabbed my jersey and when it jerked free all the force went right to my nose. There is nothing like a little bloody nose when you are two and half hours into a two hour ride and have not yet turned back towards town.
The second part of the 4 wheeler trails I was much less excited about. Despite the dry weather recently, they were soaked. Many puddles were ridable, but there was a lot of time spent scrambling through brush looking for downed trees to carry us over creeks. Nathan got sick of it and took his shoes and socks off and just walked across the knee deep muck. It did buy him some time
A few more miles of gravel and we made our way to Riverside, the future birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk. The ride back to I.C. was quick, but one small bottle of gatorade and a little granola bar are not enough for four hours of dirt. I have no idea how far we actually rode, but my guess would be somewhere in the sixties.
The afternoon will be spent recovering with Matt and Robin. The weather is perfect for day-drinking and we're taking full advantage while we play around with a new section for Matt's Site, it will be up and running on May 1st, so don't forget to check it out. And if you can't wait that long you can fill some of the time by watching the Amstel Gold Race tomorrow. There aren't any big cobbled climbs, but there are plenty of windmills and it is sponsored by a beer company.
When it is a nice spring day in Iowa it often has to do with a crazy wind from the South. Today was no different. It was supposed to be worse in the afternoon, but by 10:30 the going was already quite tough, especially on the very loose gravel. At least it wasn't gusting.
After a couple hours of battling the wind I had a vague idea about where we were, but when we turned on to something less than a B-level I realized that I had absolutely no idea where we were. The road, though I don't think we can really call it that, went down rather abruptly. It had a mix of thick grass, heavy mud, and a few downed trees. Nathan bombed the descent on the ss and at this point I no longer felt that his skinny tires and gearing would aid in my keeping up.
We crossed a highway, went over a bridge that has not seen a car or truck for a few decades and hopped on some 4 wheeler trails. The trails were quite fun, they mostly consisted of twisty trails of dry dirt with lots of logs to hop over. I'll definitely go back. The only downside is there are plenty of thorny branches hanging over the trail. Generally not a problem, a few scratches on the arms and legs are pretty normal, but one branch stubbornly grabbed my jersey and when it jerked free all the force went right to my nose. There is nothing like a little bloody nose when you are two and half hours into a two hour ride and have not yet turned back towards town.
The second part of the 4 wheeler trails I was much less excited about. Despite the dry weather recently, they were soaked. Many puddles were ridable, but there was a lot of time spent scrambling through brush looking for downed trees to carry us over creeks. Nathan got sick of it and took his shoes and socks off and just walked across the knee deep muck. It did buy him some time
A few more miles of gravel and we made our way to Riverside, the future birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk. The ride back to I.C. was quick, but one small bottle of gatorade and a little granola bar are not enough for four hours of dirt. I have no idea how far we actually rode, but my guess would be somewhere in the sixties.
The afternoon will be spent recovering with Matt and Robin. The weather is perfect for day-drinking and we're taking full advantage while we play around with a new section for Matt's Site, it will be up and running on May 1st, so don't forget to check it out. And if you can't wait that long you can fill some of the time by watching the Amstel Gold Race tomorrow. There aren't any big cobbled climbs, but there are plenty of windmills and it is sponsored by a beer company.
Monday, April 16, 2007
Slop, Silly Slop and the Academic Marathon
I never thought there was much in common between the academic marathon and the exercise marathon, but as I sit here in my post paper writing glaze I have come to realize they are much closer than I originally believed. To begin with the obvious, they are both invariably followed by that statement so many of us have uttered numerous times before but so rarely followed, "I'll never do that again." The same thing happened to me today. Well, I didn't actually say those words, by now I know better. Well, a little better. But I did make a checklist for the rest of the week in hopes of keeping me on track for the last three and a half weeks of the semester. Perhaps it will work, perhaps it wont.
Another major similarity comes from the cloud like fuzziness that follows lengthy and arduous endeavors. That oddly nice sensation of a light tingle pulsing through ones veins. After running on trails for more hours than many people work in a day or pedaling well past the century mark a welcomed numbness begins to develop and lasts long after the event is complete. And I've felt that for most of today as well. After many pages of typing into the late hours of the night, pausing to sleep for a few hours, and getting up in the dark to resume typing, I've almost floated through my day. And I was also lucky in that we had a beautiful sunny spring day that provided ample people watching opportunities while I tried to get work done from a slightly uncomfortable bench.
Illness is another common factor. Hours of heavy exertion in any kind of weather can leave one run down enough to catch a number of opportunistic bugs. And the same can be said of the all night paper chase, which for me is often accompanied by poor nutrition. Hopefully luck is on my side this week as I am very much due for some nice bike rides.
Since you probably know I have done many marathons of both types and will most likely continue this trend, you might possibly be thinking that I am a glutton. And perhaps you are right. I myself cannot say for sure in my current state. But the one thing I can say is that there is nothing like sipping a cold beer when you are already drifting in that tingly state of satisfied completion.
Another major similarity comes from the cloud like fuzziness that follows lengthy and arduous endeavors. That oddly nice sensation of a light tingle pulsing through ones veins. After running on trails for more hours than many people work in a day or pedaling well past the century mark a welcomed numbness begins to develop and lasts long after the event is complete. And I've felt that for most of today as well. After many pages of typing into the late hours of the night, pausing to sleep for a few hours, and getting up in the dark to resume typing, I've almost floated through my day. And I was also lucky in that we had a beautiful sunny spring day that provided ample people watching opportunities while I tried to get work done from a slightly uncomfortable bench.
Illness is another common factor. Hours of heavy exertion in any kind of weather can leave one run down enough to catch a number of opportunistic bugs. And the same can be said of the all night paper chase, which for me is often accompanied by poor nutrition. Hopefully luck is on my side this week as I am very much due for some nice bike rides.
Since you probably know I have done many marathons of both types and will most likely continue this trend, you might possibly be thinking that I am a glutton. And perhaps you are right. I myself cannot say for sure in my current state. But the one thing I can say is that there is nothing like sipping a cold beer when you are already drifting in that tingly state of satisfied completion.
Saturday, April 14, 2007
One Week Anniversary
Not a big milestone by any means, but I'm really surprised so many of you have come, most of you more than once too. So that is great. In the near future posts will appear more frequently. I don't know why I started this during the end of the semester, well, who am I kidding really? I procrastinate, simple as that.
But today I got some work done. Outlined things for a paper. Read descent sized chunks from two novels. And I even managed to write a short paper about Fitzgerald and bicycles. I will share a few of the more interesting quotes.
Of Dick Diver, "At the Glion funicular he checked his bicycle and took a small beer on the terrace of the station buffet."
And, "That he bicycled a lot, was much admired by the ladies."
Ah, trains, beer, and bikes in the Swiss Alps. Very nice.
Tonight, we have beer and margaritas in honor of my sister Jen's visit. If you are in the neighborhood, stop by.
Oh, and how could I forget? Tomorrow is Paris-Roubaix. The Hell of the North. I'm sticking with De Ronde as my favorite for now, but this is a close second. No other race breaks more bodies or bikes. So don't miss it.
But today I got some work done. Outlined things for a paper. Read descent sized chunks from two novels. And I even managed to write a short paper about Fitzgerald and bicycles. I will share a few of the more interesting quotes.
Of Dick Diver, "At the Glion funicular he checked his bicycle and took a small beer on the terrace of the station buffet."
And, "That he bicycled a lot, was much admired by the ladies."
Ah, trains, beer, and bikes in the Swiss Alps. Very nice.
Tonight, we have beer and margaritas in honor of my sister Jen's visit. If you are in the neighborhood, stop by.
Oh, and how could I forget? Tomorrow is Paris-Roubaix. The Hell of the North. I'm sticking with De Ronde as my favorite for now, but this is a close second. No other race breaks more bodies or bikes. So don't miss it.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Snow, but not enough to ski on
At least not yet. In the meantime I'm doing my best to convince myself that this is a good thing. Although it has been over two weeks since I have been on a real bike ride, at the moment it is best if I get my homework done. And 34 degrees with big wet snowflakes in the air is perfect paper writing weather.
Unfortunately that is all for now. If I kept going I'd probably digress into a whiny state about how much school sucks and how I would be better off getting some fenders and riding anyway instead reading theorists I don't understand and using them to back up a thesis that I don't have.
The view from the study. And yes, those blurry objects are big wet snowflakes.
Perhaps a couple more hours of articles and then a tasty adult beverage. Thankfully the weather is perfect for that too.
Unfortunately that is all for now. If I kept going I'd probably digress into a whiny state about how much school sucks and how I would be better off getting some fenders and riding anyway instead reading theorists I don't understand and using them to back up a thesis that I don't have.
The view from the study. And yes, those blurry objects are big wet snowflakes.Perhaps a couple more hours of articles and then a tasty adult beverage. Thankfully the weather is perfect for that too.
Saturday, April 7, 2007
Tender is the Muur
If I were a good graduate student I could say that I have been reading Fitzgerald's Tender is the Night all day. But I am merely a mediocre graduate student and so have only read a small portion of it. This portion, however, was enough to convince me that I really like this book. I had those expectations, having thoroughly enjoyed the other works of his that I know (Gatsby and This Side of Paradise), but now I think I can safely say that Fitzgerald is one of my favorites. Perhaps I should become a Fitzgeraldist. I'm not sure if there are any pure Fitzgeraldists out there. They are probably also Modernists, and that just wont work for me.
This semester I have come to learn that I am an anti-Modernist. Joyce, Stein, Faulkner, and those other high brows have the tendency to make me feel like I am reading something in a foreign language where I am able to understand the vocabulary but not able to discern any real meaning. I should probably love texts enough to give them more time, but I just can't bring myself to do it. I think much of this has to do with the rather large streak of practicalness that runs through me. I have inherited a different form of practicality from each of my parents, a rational/mechanical practicality from my engineer/pilot father and a more relaxed Occam's Razor practicality from my mother the nurse.
I know what some of you are thinking, 'you are a graduate student in literature. You get paid little to no money to study for years and then run the risk of not being able to get a job. There is absolutely nothing practical about that.' But I beg to differ. I also get plenty of free time to ride my bike, hang out with some pretty cool people, travel, and read some really great books (admittedly, I also read a lot of really bad books). And as for the money part, well, I'm practical, remember, I don't need a lot frivolous things in my life.
Which brings me to my main point. Tomorrow is the Ronde Van Vlaanderen. The Tour of Flanders. What I believe is the best one day race of the year. But what about Roubaix? You might be asking. Well, it is no doubt one of the best, and I love watching it every year as well. But it is lacking in the elevation department, and elevation makes races. It's as simple as that.
So tomorrow morning I suggest you get up and watch what happens on the cobbled Muur. You can get it free at cycling.tv. And they have some pretty good announcers too.
This semester I have come to learn that I am an anti-Modernist. Joyce, Stein, Faulkner, and those other high brows have the tendency to make me feel like I am reading something in a foreign language where I am able to understand the vocabulary but not able to discern any real meaning. I should probably love texts enough to give them more time, but I just can't bring myself to do it. I think much of this has to do with the rather large streak of practicalness that runs through me. I have inherited a different form of practicality from each of my parents, a rational/mechanical practicality from my engineer/pilot father and a more relaxed Occam's Razor practicality from my mother the nurse.
I know what some of you are thinking, 'you are a graduate student in literature. You get paid little to no money to study for years and then run the risk of not being able to get a job. There is absolutely nothing practical about that.' But I beg to differ. I also get plenty of free time to ride my bike, hang out with some pretty cool people, travel, and read some really great books (admittedly, I also read a lot of really bad books). And as for the money part, well, I'm practical, remember, I don't need a lot frivolous things in my life.
Which brings me to my main point. Tomorrow is the Ronde Van Vlaanderen. The Tour of Flanders. What I believe is the best one day race of the year. But what about Roubaix? You might be asking. Well, it is no doubt one of the best, and I love watching it every year as well. But it is lacking in the elevation department, and elevation makes races. It's as simple as that.
So tomorrow morning I suggest you get up and watch what happens on the cobbled Muur. You can get it free at cycling.tv. And they have some pretty good announcers too.
Friday, April 6, 2007
Beginnings
So I figured it was time I start contributing to the vast amount of garbage out there on the internet. Afterall, I waste so much time reading other people's drivel, I figured they should have a chance to read mine. So with the help of my talented girlfriend/webmaster/ridinganddrinking partner Robin, I am now online.
You should not set your hopes too high. For the most part you will find info on the three items in the title, but I also do a whole lot more than that. Kind of. Maybe not a whole lot more. But there will be other things. I have no idea what any of them will be. I hope you are entertained. If not, go drink beer and ride your own bike or do whatever else makes you happy.
You should not set your hopes too high. For the most part you will find info on the three items in the title, but I also do a whole lot more than that. Kind of. Maybe not a whole lot more. But there will be other things. I have no idea what any of them will be. I hope you are entertained. If not, go drink beer and ride your own bike or do whatever else makes you happy.
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