Why I Fell Off My New Bicycle

The first ride I took on my new bicycle I fell off, to my great embarrassment. I thought I was past the stage where I fell off every time because I was just getting used to being clipped into my pedals. Apparently not so. On my weekly training ride I pass a little property where there are a few sheep. They're kinda cute and I usually slow down to get a look. This time they were laying around on the front porch like a bunch of dogs, and I had to get a picture. I was trying to hurry to get stopped and get my camera out because sheep are a little skittish and I wanted to get them before they got nervous and moved. So. To keep the sheep from getting scared by the sight of a cyclist stopping and getting off the bicycle (something even cattle don't seem to like much), I treated them to the sight and sound of a cyclist falling to the ground cursing with the bicycle stuck to her feet. I have a souvenir bruise the size of my foot on my backside, and another in a long list of humiliating tumbles witnessed by my cycling friends.

I loaded my Hotter n Hell pictures up to my Flickr gallery this morning, so you can go see them there. I was hoping to get come cute pictures of everyone but due (I suspect) to having my camera jammed into my top tube bag with so much other stuff that the controls got messed around I did not always have it set to "automatic" and a lot of - read most of - my pictures taken in the evening and early in the morning of the ride did not turn out to be of identifiable species of sentient beings.

Take Me to the Promiseland

I did not know this before, but The Promiseland is in Wichita Falls Texas! Apparently it is not the land of milk and honey I thought, but instead it's a somewhat seedy looking bar in an out of the way part of Wichita Falls. It's conveniently located just a ways down the street from the MPEC, where all the big events happen. If I had known the Promiseland was so easy to find and located so close to the center of Wichita Falls I would have gone there long ago.

I'm back in town after another century ride at the Hotter n Hell Hundred, a bit tired, sunburned, and a little sore in various body parts. Most body parts, if the truth be told. I think just about every distance ride offered was represented in our group, and (I hope) everyone had a good time. I know I did. I had signed up for 100 miles, but until the day before the ride I had not quite committed to the distance. The 100K is a good ride, and a distance I knew I could cover without killing myself. The weather turned out to be perfect and I have a new beautiful bicycle, so I stepped up and did the century. Helen was riding at about the same pace I was so we were able to meet up at the last few rest stops to encourage each other. She rode in with me to complete her first century and we were both thrilled to have finished and relieved it was over. We also could not wait to cool off in the spray from an open hydrant and get a corn dog. My goal was to finish before 4:30, which extremely modest goal I achieved. Because the weather was so good and I had done a century ride before I was able to relax and enjoy the ride much more than I had the first time. On a tough ride I am so fixed on just maintaining forward motion I tend not to see much beyond my front wheel.

This time I enjoyed the rest stops more, although I did not stay long at any of them. I had my (sweaty and dirty) picture taken at several and visited all but one. The last two stops were just quick roadside pauses for me as I was ready to finish up. Various organizations sponsor the stops and they each have a different theme with music, costumes, and a bunch of great volunteers. There were a record 14,200 riders, and a lot of people took advantage of the unusually good weather to go for the century, so rest stops were crazy busy but the 3,500 wonderful volunteers cheered us on all day. We also had loads of encouragement from residents who sat out (sometimes all afternoon) to enjoy the spectacle and wave at us. Because of the large crowds of riders that persisted far into the course there were a lot of accidents, but apparently no serious injuries beyond the usual road rash, broken wrists, and broken collarbones. The mild weather meant only a minimum of heat related problems needed treating, mostly new riders who were not prepared for long distances. Fortunately no one in our group was injured or involved in any mechanical mishaps.

We have already reserved our rooms for next year, and as we did last year, we are resolved to ride later into this year and start up earlier next year to be in better shape for an even better ride. My personal goal for next year is to ride the 100K ride at every event (except the Streak, where I am sure the 100K would be the death of me), and to get in at the Hotter n Hell by 4:00pm.

Schlegel Fest

This weekend's cycling event, aside from a very fast ride to El Reno Satruday morning, was "Schelgel Fest": a promotional event hosted by Schelgel Bicycles, a high end bike store in downtown Oklahoma City. Hamburgers and hot dogs were served, free minor repairs and a big sale brought in a good crowd. The timing for a promo event is perfect - the week before Hotter 'N Hell, and a chance to bring in some extra traffic to move the end of season clearance and catch more of the stock up business for participants getting ready to go. At the Hotter 'N Hell there is a big expo where loads of bike stores bring in their new cool stuff and their old end of season stuff, so if Schlegel wants to catch any of us with disposable bike $$$ in our pockets this is the time. I spent quite a bit of time poring over their stock and examining their assortment of women-specific complete road bikes. There were a couple with eye catching paint jobs, but nothing that was really any better than the bike I have in terms of frame composition or components. Schlegel had a great selection of cruisers and several nice men's road bikes, but not a lot in high end women's road bikes. I can ride a man's bike if the frame is small enough, but I have a women's bike in mind. The shorter length from seat to handlebar and the shorter reach on the brake and shift levers makes a big difference in comfort. Because I put more emphasis on distance than speed those features are more important to me. I had a particular interest in shoes but did not try any on - I think next year I may indulge in a pair - and I didn't see anything I coveted. I also was thinking of a new helmet - I have reached the conclusion that my current "hat" looks like a big blue tortoise is sitting on my head. I plan to check helmets out while I am in Texas, and I did not see anything here that would look good with Big Blue. I looked at a few seats, because I am currently not completely satisfied by the one I have. I picked up a couple of electrolyte items and went on home. Just as well I did not find a helmet to suit my taste. After several months of hinting around Shana stunned my by telling me she wanted to give me her Trek Madone. It's a beautiful all carbon Dura Ace bike, women's geometry and components. I must admit I have had HUGE bike envy ever since she bought it, but not enough to shell out the dough for a new ride for myself. Shana has not been riding nearly as much or as far as I have this year; she's going to finish the season with Big Blue and evaluate what she wants to ride next spring. I spent a happy hour in the garage raising the seat on the Madone and tuning up the fit, swapping out the seat bags (I carry a lot more gear along than Shana does) and transferring my computer over to My New Bike. I'll be looking for a red helmet in Texas to match my new ride. Tomorrow I'll take it out for a spin around the lake and adjust Big Blue to fit Shana.

Shana's cousin Glenda was in town to visit this weekend. Glenda took Rita all around town, and we all got together for a cookout with Uncle Buddy. One new feature this time is that I was not the only one taking pictures. Buddy and I were having "dueling cameras", Glenda and James also brought theirs. A good weekend and too soon over.

A Grab Bag Post

I've got an odd combination of too much going on which eats up my blogging time and nothing really new to say. Cycling continues unabated, with ever more miles every week, except for last week when I took the week off to rest my aching legs. That may have been a mistake, but I'll fix it this week. I still can't commit to a distance for Hotter 'N Hell which is only 11 days away. Spin Your Wheels this year featured high temperatures and a continuous heavy crosswind which tried our endurance. Lucky for my fellow participants I only took a few pictures at the start of the ride when everyone looked good. Trust me, no one looked this good afterwards. In addition to the traditional sweat and salt all over, the wind had added new features to our appearance. At about the 30 mile mark someone had chosen that morning to plow, so we received a nice gritty layer of dirt to stick on our sweat. I had foolishly forgotten to put on sunblock, so I fried my arms. Because of the heat I had tied a bandana full of ice on my neck, so not much sunburn there. Because the wind was intense I had my head down, sparing my face from the worst of the sun.

That ride went through El Reno via old Route 66 with no time to stop in town. Yesterday Shana joined Diane and Sharon and I for a ride out to El Reno on the back roads, which we far prefer. The wind was even worse, although temperatures were a little better. We had a lot of fun, but it was a very strenuous ride. We stopped a few times to break it up. The llamas I see at The Carpenter's House (some kind of non-denominational church) on the way into town had a baby, so we had to stop a minute to gawk at it. So cute. I wanted to sneak up a bit closer, but I thought Momma might take a dim view of it.

Farther down the road some donkeys caught Shana's eye. These were the same ones that got Diane's full attention on an earlier ride. This ride she had no time for them as she was trying to get in a boatload of miles by riding on and circling back to taunt us. Shana stopped to enjoy them, even giving one a kiss on the nose. Good thing they are a friendly pair.


In knitting news I'm still working on the Canal du Midi socks, and a secret project that cannot be revealed until after a certain baby shower. The Float Stole is calling me sadly from the bottom of my knitting box, but it will just have to wait. Deadline for the baby project is a full month sooner than I had expected, so I have to concentrate on that.

Weekend Potpourri

This has been a busy and fun weekend. Shana and I went to see the new Harry Potter film, which we both enjoyed very much. As always the sets were wonderful and the special effects suitably magical. Of the series, I would say this was the weakest one, sort of like the second LOTR movie (The Two Towers) with Horcruxes. Worth seeing, I thought, and important to advance the plot for the series as a whole, but is possibly not a good stand-alone feature. Having seen all the movies and read all the books I may not be the best judge, and I'm not at all sorry I went to see it, especially when Shana had a pass so we were effectively getting in for half price. I was stunned almost speechless by the prices at the concession stand, though. We saw the movie at the mall, and stopped to do a little bra shopping for Aunt Rita on our way out. We stopped by to see if the bras were a good fit (they were. at last success in this area) and went on for a ride around Lake Overholser. We finished up the day with a delicious Mexican meal at Los Amigos, a trip to the grocery store and went home to do our prep work for a hot dog lunch with friends after our planned Sunday ride.

We met up Sunday early in the morning with friends to enjoy the day. We split into two groups with one group riding around the lake and the other riding to El Reno. It's an easy and convenient 40 mile round trip that has become our go-to weekend ride. Sunday is a nice day to ride out because there is even less traffic than usual. Since we are not so occupied with watching out for traffic we are free to look around us more than usual. We passed a group on horseback having a spot of trouble on the road. A house caught my eye on the way into town with some unique lawn decor. What appeared to be a Native American couple stood on the porch behind a group of flower pots and under a sign mentioning Jesus. The couple was watching a fairy take a bath in the birdbath. Even more items were featured on the porch, but I didn't like to stop too long staring at the house. I only took one picture, and a poor one it was. I suspect I would have had a better picture had I taken it on the way into town when the light was not quite so harsh. Ah well. I'm no photographer, just an observer of the the absurd. Next time I'll get a better one. Having stopped there I looked around before taking off and saw a round rock house I had never noticed before. I'm sure there is a story behind it; one day I'll find out more.

I've had occasion to visit with a resident with a store across the street from the Shamrock gas station where we always stop. He has a beautifully restored car that gets a detailed washing every week.

We enjoyed our hot dog lunch with most of the friends who rode and several more who were not riding but were able to come by for a visit. Shana was finished with her ride before I was, so she picked Aunt Rita up so she could come over for lunch and visit with our friends. It was so much fun to visit, and we firmed up some of our plans for the upcoming Hotter n' Hell festivities. Before heading home Diane B was kind enough to not only build a bike rack to fit inside my car but also put up the hangers to get Shana's bikes hung in the garage.

There are more pictures of this weekend's adventures in my Flickr Gallery, and also recent pictures there from last weekend's visit with Miss Vivian and the kids.

Shrivelled and Dehydrated

Yesterday we drove down to Duncan for the yearly Dehydrator. It's one of our yearly visits because it's a well organized and enjoyable ride (with lunch!). In our training schedule it comes at the point where we are looking for a 50-63 mile ride in the heat on a fairly flat course to evaluate our training up to that point. Because the ride benefits the local high school marching band the morning starts with music from the band itself. Just before the race and the ride left we had a prayer led by the town mayor, then were played out by the band (think tunes like "Rocky").

In the past the route has been two medium to large hills early on, followed by a flat section of intense boredom relieved on the 66 mile course by two passes across a large lake, then back over the same two hills to the finish. I had signed up for the 66 mile course (which is actually 69 miles) but had decided to do the 53. This year the course and distances were changed slightly to be closely compliant with the stated mileage of 62, 50, and 26 miles and to go over different roads for a more scenic ride. The end of the ride was over the same hills in the last 10 miles, but the prior route was completely different. I saw lots of sheep, goats, and chickens in addition to the usual cattle, horses, and burros of Stephens County. There were gently rolling hills, and a pass through a neighboring small town. As we rode along over the new route I thought about going on to the longer route. This idea died as the heat quickly picked up. When the new and improved 50 mile route passed over the lake I felt that I would have had the full experience without stepping up to the longest ride (the only course on the old route that passed over the lake). It turned out to be a good choice, because by the time we passed the 30 mile stop temperatures were well over 100, and by the time we got to the 40 mile stop the temperature on the road had reached 109. On of our party cramped and Shana took her back in in my car. Alan bonked but did finish his ride after a flat tire four miles out from the finish and learned a valuable lesson in hot weather riding. We're all hitting the bike store this week to get some electrolyte concentrate because the usual Gatorade offered on organized rides does not contain nearly enough for temperatures this high unless you can get bananas at every stop.

Young Blake (5) was a first time participant under his own steam (he'd been on a child's tandem on previous rides) and finished his 10 mile ride. Although he was the last finisher on his ride he did finish and we were all proud of him.

Today I'll be taking Vivian to church with Aunt Rita and we'll have Sam and Alex joining us for lunch. Big fun all weekend long!

Melissa Made Me Do It

We rode the the annual Norman Conquest today. We were so lucky with the weather: temperatures from 70's to low 80's during the ride, sunny skies and no wind. It was the kind of day we seldom get in Oklahoma and I was prepared to make the most of it. Some of my friends were planning to ride, so I'd have the extra fun of company during the ride. I was planning to attempt the 48 mile ride, which I have done before. Alan also had his sights set on the 48. Somewhere around mile 12 we both decided that maybe the shorter 22 mile ride might be more suitable. The toughest hills the last time I did the ride were asphalt in not-quite-prime condition. Some care needed to be taken to pick a good line to ride to avoid potholes, but the surface was otherwise OK. Sometime between then and now a new chip seal surface had been added. This is becoming a pretty common surface, especially these days when money for road improvements is getting to be a bit sparse. I understand the need to use it, but it's not always the nicest surface for cyclists. A fresh surface like this is almost like a gravel road, with all the opportunities for sliding around and for rocks to be kicked up at you by passing traffic. A year later after traffic has had a chance to squash the gravel into the tarry surface it's usually OK, but it's not a very fast surface. If really big chunks of aggregate are used (as this stretch was) it is a really rough road that will test your personal structural integrity in addition to that of your bike. It might improve your chances of scoring a nice slightly used water bottle as they tend to shake loose on this surface. I may improve your balance because the consequences of falling on it are so awful. It will certainly give you many opportunities to improve your fitness level by exerting more energy. You have to put out a lot more effort pedalling, and this year I just did not have it to spare. None of us thought we were up for a longer distance after fighting our way up the first part of the course.

Having decided on the shorter distance we cheerfully proceeded down the road at a pleasantly leisurely speed knowing that we were not going to be suffering over a long distance. Alan was riding quite a bit faster than Melissa, and I slowed a bit and paused to let her catch up with me so he could go on ahead at his own pace. This is where our trouble started. The worst of the hills were past, and on the gently rolling verdant terrain in the cool morning we had a chance to visit. Our thoughts turned to knitting. Our talk turned to Monkey Socks, of which Melissa was making her first pair. We missed our turn. About four miles down the road Melissa noticed that we were coming up on 22 miles without reaching town. We noticed the lack of yellow arrows on the road. The yellow arrows were the markers for our distance. We were on the 48 mile course, which I might survive but would not enjoy, and which Melissa would not have the strength to do. Melissa flagged down a passing sag wagon and we loaded our bikes into the back. After driving on a couple of miles to see if Alan had made the same mistake we decided that instead of sagging all the way in we'd like to be dropped at the last rest stop, which would let us finish with a distance of roughly 30 miles. This was the very distance Melissa had wished was offered, so we jumped back out of the sag wagon and finished a ride of a bit over 32 miles. As it turned out Alan had made the same mistake (without the excellent excuse of knitting talk), but instead of calling the sag to the rescue he adjusted his route to join back up with the 22 mile course. He ended the day with a ride of about 38 miles.

The Bicycle League of Norman puts on a good ride with great support, a good lunch and a drawing for loads of good stuff. Our table was well represented among the winners although to my great disappointment someone else was awarded the Shimano sandals I had hoped to claim.