It's time to start riding bike. It should have happened several months ago but at least I've got the impetus to ride now.
Nothing to distract me.
Ride.
Focus.
Tonight I hopped on the rollers and rode hard.
By the time I was done the towel on the floor under my bike was soaked...
and I was HOT.
I'll be ordering up more of that.
.........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today.........0.............36.............0..........0...........36
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb.........328.............76.............0..........0..........404
YTD.........423............110.............0..........0..........533
Monday, February 20, 2012
Sunday, February 19, 2012
a good day
Just not many miles. They will come though, I'm starting to feel bikey again.
Today a bike friend and I pedaled out from her home and headed for Council Crest, and the balance of the De Ronde Van Oeste Portlandia route that she didn't have time to finish last time out. We moved along at a decent pace, Monica rides much stronger than she did last year. We made our way across the Sellwood Bridge, up through the cemetery, and out Terwilliger then spotted our first Lion of Flanders. From there it was up and down the hills with abandon.
We finished the course then rode back down Broadway and across the Hawthorne Bridge. As we pedaled through the Belmont neighborhood the aroma of food caught these hungry riders. We stopped at the Waffle Window and sat a spell feeding our faces before continuing on back to the Wilshire Park area.
Now, about this needing to ride a bike thing.............
..........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........31.............00.............0..........0...........31
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb.........328.............40.............0..........0..........368
YTD.........423.............74.............0..........0..........497
Today a bike friend and I pedaled out from her home and headed for Council Crest, and the balance of the De Ronde Van Oeste Portlandia route that she didn't have time to finish last time out. We moved along at a decent pace, Monica rides much stronger than she did last year. We made our way across the Sellwood Bridge, up through the cemetery, and out Terwilliger then spotted our first Lion of Flanders. From there it was up and down the hills with abandon.
We finished the course then rode back down Broadway and across the Hawthorne Bridge. As we pedaled through the Belmont neighborhood the aroma of food caught these hungry riders. We stopped at the Waffle Window and sat a spell feeding our faces before continuing on back to the Wilshire Park area.
Now, about this needing to ride a bike thing.............
..........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........31.............00.............0..........0...........31
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb.........328.............40.............0..........0..........368
YTD.........423.............74.............0..........0..........497
Saturday, February 18, 2012
spinning pedals but not traveling far
It is cold and wet outside. I've pedaled in that weather many times, but today just can't get my head around it. I do need to start riding more though, so I put my newly minted SoCal pedaling DVD in and set the bike on my rollers and pedaled. In just under 90 minutes I was hot, sweaty, and so done with it!
..........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........00.............40.............0..........0...........40
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb.........297.............40.............0..........0..........337
YTD.........392.............74.............0..........0..........466
..........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........00.............40.............0..........0...........40
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb.........297.............40.............0..........0..........337
YTD.........392.............74.............0..........0..........466
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
another night ride
It ended up being a fairly nice day. It turned out to be an even better night. You know, one of those nights when you say to yourself, "Gee, it would be a nice night to be on a bike". What, you don't say things like that? I do!
I quickly posted my intention on my social bike club's Facebook page and on the club's calendar.
I arrived at the starting location, and took in the view.
As expected, I was the only one there. I went for a bike ride!
I rode Portland's 40 Mile Loop. It's a good route for night riding as it is mostly on dedicated bike paths, and the few miles of road are well suited for biking.
It was a good night for a ride, cool, but calm. Almost magical.
........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........40..............0.............0..........0...........40
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb.........297..............0.............0..........0..........297
YTD.........392.............34.............0..........0..........426
I quickly posted my intention on my social bike club's Facebook page and on the club's calendar.
I arrived at the starting location, and took in the view.
As expected, I was the only one there. I went for a bike ride!
I rode Portland's 40 Mile Loop. It's a good route for night riding as it is mostly on dedicated bike paths, and the few miles of road are well suited for biking.
It was a good night for a ride, cool, but calm. Almost magical.
........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........40..............0.............0..........0...........40
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb.........297..............0.............0..........0..........297
YTD.........392.............34.............0..........0..........426
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
No Valentine date, might as well ride bike
That's how I billed it on the Northwest Butts on Bikes calendar.
After having 8 tell me they were coming, exactly ZERO showed up.
Luckily, one gal works in the floral industry and as you might imagine, Valentine's Day is a busy time at work for her. She called with her apologies saying she wouldn't be able to get to the ride for at least 20 minutes so not to wait, she'd just stay home. Little did she know I had little else to do but wait for a riding partner. ;-)
When she arrived we decided to toss out the easy Springwater Trail route that I had planned for our less experienced friends and instead we decided to ride to Council Crest.
We followed Montgomery St out of downtown and up into the West Hills. We arrived at Council Crest and ooohed and awwwwd over the city lights.
We descended via Broadway.
When it was all done, we only got 16 miles, but some good climbing.
........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........16..............0.............0..........0...........16
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb.........257..............0.............0..........0..........257
YTD.........352.............34.............0..........0..........386
After having 8 tell me they were coming, exactly ZERO showed up.
Luckily, one gal works in the floral industry and as you might imagine, Valentine's Day is a busy time at work for her. She called with her apologies saying she wouldn't be able to get to the ride for at least 20 minutes so not to wait, she'd just stay home. Little did she know I had little else to do but wait for a riding partner. ;-)
When she arrived we decided to toss out the easy Springwater Trail route that I had planned for our less experienced friends and instead we decided to ride to Council Crest.
We followed Montgomery St out of downtown and up into the West Hills. We arrived at Council Crest and ooohed and awwwwd over the city lights.
We descended via Broadway.
When it was all done, we only got 16 miles, but some good climbing.
........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........16..............0.............0..........0...........16
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb.........257..............0.............0..........0..........257
YTD.........352.............34.............0..........0..........386
Monday, February 13, 2012
A non waffle ride
I put together a DVD to ride rollers to from video I took during the San Diego Christmas Bike Ride.
I was thinking it might have been a good night to premier the program and ride rollers. I made a call to a likely candidate to ride with because misery loves company. ;-)
Instead of riding rollers however I was easily convinced that riding outdoors was better.
We started off with no set plan other than to go for a bike ride. We rode from the Clackamas area north on the I-205 bike path, then turned westward on a bike boulevard. At each fork in the road we'd pause and flip a coin, or turn a wheel, to decide which way to turn. To our surprise we soon found ourselves in the neighborhood where the Waffle Window is. My pedal partner is the co-conspirator in the infamous "Waffle Rides" so just had to make a detour in search of a waffle. Alas, the Waffle Window was closed when we got there. We grabbed a few M&M's and pedaled on.
It was a pretty good night for a ride. There were just a few of the smallest of raindrops, more heavy high fog than rain really. We pedaled up Mt Tabor and back down the other side. We arrived back at our vehicles without issues We finished up before it got too cold, and had dodged any real rain. Not a bad evening for a bike ride at all.
........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........21..............0.............0..........0...........21
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb.........241..............0.............0..........0..........241
YTD.........336.............34.............0..........0..........370
I was thinking it might have been a good night to premier the program and ride rollers. I made a call to a likely candidate to ride with because misery loves company. ;-)
Instead of riding rollers however I was easily convinced that riding outdoors was better.
We started off with no set plan other than to go for a bike ride. We rode from the Clackamas area north on the I-205 bike path, then turned westward on a bike boulevard. At each fork in the road we'd pause and flip a coin, or turn a wheel, to decide which way to turn. To our surprise we soon found ourselves in the neighborhood where the Waffle Window is. My pedal partner is the co-conspirator in the infamous "Waffle Rides" so just had to make a detour in search of a waffle. Alas, the Waffle Window was closed when we got there. We grabbed a few M&M's and pedaled on.
It was a pretty good night for a ride. There were just a few of the smallest of raindrops, more heavy high fog than rain really. We pedaled up Mt Tabor and back down the other side. We arrived back at our vehicles without issues We finished up before it got too cold, and had dodged any real rain. Not a bad evening for a bike ride at all.
........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........21..............0.............0..........0...........21
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb.........241..............0.............0..........0..........241
YTD.........336.............34.............0..........0..........370
Saturday, February 11, 2012
A head start
A friend and I decided to get a little pre-ride in on the De Ronde van Oeste Portlandia route today. The De Ronde is a non official ride that "doesn't take place" in early April each year.
Of course the roads and hills are there year round and we thought it would be good to ride the course today. My pedal partner had plans in the early afternoon so we started off near daylight. The first few miles were along Hwy 30, but traffic was light. Once starting into the hills we were pretty much by ourselves.
It was a cool start, temperatures were in the mid to upper 30's. As we climbed up into the hills we could see a blanket of fog laying over the valley.
Before long we reached the fabled and feared Brynwood Lane.(grade to 32%!) We pedaled up it, not without effort, but we did indeed pedal the whole thing. The weather was nicer than this rendition of the ride.... that I was also on!
As we pedaled through the neighborhood we came across someone using the antique horse rings to tether their pony to. :-)
After 31 miles, and 4400 ft of climbing!, my friend had to take leave so as not be late for the afternoon appoinment. I accompanied her back to her car, then noted the improving weather, and pedaled back up to the course where I had left and continued.
I ended up with all 49 miles of the route, along with 19 miles of mid course commute, for 68 total miles with just over 11,000 ft of climbing. Not bad for an old guy who hasn't biked much lately. ;-)
........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........68..............0.............0..........0...........68
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb.........210..............0.............0..........0..........210
YTD.........315.............34.............0..........0..........349
Of course the roads and hills are there year round and we thought it would be good to ride the course today. My pedal partner had plans in the early afternoon so we started off near daylight. The first few miles were along Hwy 30, but traffic was light. Once starting into the hills we were pretty much by ourselves.
It was a cool start, temperatures were in the mid to upper 30's. As we climbed up into the hills we could see a blanket of fog laying over the valley.
Before long we reached the fabled and feared Brynwood Lane.(grade to 32%!) We pedaled up it, not without effort, but we did indeed pedal the whole thing. The weather was nicer than this rendition of the ride.... that I was also on!
As we pedaled through the neighborhood we came across someone using the antique horse rings to tether their pony to. :-)
After 31 miles, and 4400 ft of climbing!, my friend had to take leave so as not be late for the afternoon appoinment. I accompanied her back to her car, then noted the improving weather, and pedaled back up to the course where I had left and continued.
I ended up with all 49 miles of the route, along with 19 miles of mid course commute, for 68 total miles with just over 11,000 ft of climbing. Not bad for an old guy who hasn't biked much lately. ;-)
........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........68..............0.............0..........0...........68
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb.........210..............0.............0..........0..........210
YTD.........315.............34.............0..........0..........349
Monday, February 6, 2012
A commuter
Today I was a commuter!
I dropped my pickup off to have some work done then rode my bike to work. At the end of the day I rode back to get the pickup. I rode my mountain bike because it has combination pedals that are SPD on one side and flat on the other. It allowed me to ride in my work clothes and shoes. It wasn't like a real commute... only two miles! ;-)
........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today.........0..............0.............4..........0............4
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb.........142..............0.............0..........0..........142
YTD.........247.............34.............0..........0..........281
I dropped my pickup off to have some work done then rode my bike to work. At the end of the day I rode back to get the pickup. I rode my mountain bike because it has combination pedals that are SPD on one side and flat on the other. It allowed me to ride in my work clothes and shoes. It wasn't like a real commute... only two miles! ;-)
........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today.........0..............0.............4..........0............4
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb.........142..............0.............0..........0..........142
YTD.........247.............34.............0..........0..........281
Sunday, February 5, 2012
another year older.......
..........another year slower.
after having 26 people say they were joining in the fun today 11 brave folks showed up today. Poor Monica was left to carry all womankind on her shoulders as she was the only female to ride with us today.
I rode very few miles in the last month and it showed. Though our ride was posted as a 15 mph pace the no shows and unRSVP's were for the most part our weaker riders. Our first half had a slight tailwind. We stopped in Brooks for probably 45 minutes to refuel and rest, then turned into an increasing wind. The testosterone laced guys kicked it up a notch and a few of us, me included, struggled to keep up.
The last 10 miles also brought us the most concentrated climbing of the day. I was well off the lead group when we finished. But I did finish. ;-)
I showed a 15.2 mph on bike average, pretty darn close to the advertised pace!
All of us finished, and 6 of us did not have plans for the post ride so we retired to McMenamins and had snacks and birthday cake. (thanks Bev!)
oh, and as was pointed out to me, I do now have more miles in February than I had in all of January....and it's only February 5th.
........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........63..............0.............0..........0...........63
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb.........138..............0.............0..........0..........138
YTD.........243.............34.............0..........0..........277
after having 26 people say they were joining in the fun today 11 brave folks showed up today. Poor Monica was left to carry all womankind on her shoulders as she was the only female to ride with us today.
I rode very few miles in the last month and it showed. Though our ride was posted as a 15 mph pace the no shows and unRSVP's were for the most part our weaker riders. Our first half had a slight tailwind. We stopped in Brooks for probably 45 minutes to refuel and rest, then turned into an increasing wind. The testosterone laced guys kicked it up a notch and a few of us, me included, struggled to keep up.
The last 10 miles also brought us the most concentrated climbing of the day. I was well off the lead group when we finished. But I did finish. ;-)
I showed a 15.2 mph on bike average, pretty darn close to the advertised pace!
All of us finished, and 6 of us did not have plans for the post ride so we retired to McMenamins and had snacks and birthday cake. (thanks Bev!)
oh, and as was pointed out to me, I do now have more miles in February than I had in all of January....and it's only February 5th.
........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........63..............0.............0..........0...........63
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb.........138..............0.............0..........0..........138
YTD.........243.............34.............0..........0..........277
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Woo Hoo!
I got back on the bike today. After a nearly 1200 mile December, followed by a 105 mile January I was wondering if I was ever going to get back on that bike!
Today was a beautiful day, blue sky, a high of 60 degrees. I pedaled 30 miles to my mother's house and pruned her grapes then pedaled back. I could feel that I hadn't biked much in the last month, but it was a good ride. It felt good to be back on the bike.
I got home from that ride and loaded the bike up and headed into Portland where I was to meet 5 others for another rendition of our now famous "waffle ride". As I drove in I was notified of 3 of our group deciding not to ride tonight. Their loss. It was a great evening for a ride. Warmer than we expected and the east county winds were not a factor on the inner east side.
We headed straight for the waffles because they close at 9pm this time of year. Our little group prefers the waffle stop at the end of our ride, but you gotta take waffles when waffles are available!
From there we rode to Widmer Brothers Brewing. Widmer has been on our list on most of our previous waffle rides, but it's always been on the end of our route and by 2AM we were ready for waffles so dropped Widmer. This time we started there! ;-)
We started our ride tonight a bit later than normal to accommodate a participant who was out of town to attend a funeral and would have had trouble getting back in time. Since she was the founder of this craziness we figured we could start a bit later to allow her to join us.
Our third participant had to take leave after Widmer so that he could be home by 11PM. Since we left Widmer at 10:45 I doubt he made it, but he at least wasn't sitting in a bar when the call came!
Chris and I decided it was just too nice of an evening to call it quits. We pedaled a loop of the Portland Waterfront. It was a beautiful day followed by a beautiful night. We made a few stops for photos.
When you don't bring a tripod you make do with concrete curbs!
We finished up and put the bikes back in our vehicles. Within minutes it was midnight, and Chris became the first person to wish me happy birthday on my birthday!
Tomorrow I had 26 people joining me for a 57 mile birthday ride, but tonight 6 of them found other things to do. (who would pass up a bike ride to watch football?)
It's going to be very nice weather again tomorrow. If I have to get another year older it least it's a nice day to do so!
Barring bad luck, by the end of tomorrow I'll have more miles by the 5th day of the month than I logged all last month. (of course that's not saying much!)
........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........75..............0.............0..........0...........75
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb..........75..............0.............0..........0...........75
YTD.........180.............34.............0..........0..........214
Today was a beautiful day, blue sky, a high of 60 degrees. I pedaled 30 miles to my mother's house and pruned her grapes then pedaled back. I could feel that I hadn't biked much in the last month, but it was a good ride. It felt good to be back on the bike.
I got home from that ride and loaded the bike up and headed into Portland where I was to meet 5 others for another rendition of our now famous "waffle ride". As I drove in I was notified of 3 of our group deciding not to ride tonight. Their loss. It was a great evening for a ride. Warmer than we expected and the east county winds were not a factor on the inner east side.
We headed straight for the waffles because they close at 9pm this time of year. Our little group prefers the waffle stop at the end of our ride, but you gotta take waffles when waffles are available!
From there we rode to Widmer Brothers Brewing. Widmer has been on our list on most of our previous waffle rides, but it's always been on the end of our route and by 2AM we were ready for waffles so dropped Widmer. This time we started there! ;-)
We started our ride tonight a bit later than normal to accommodate a participant who was out of town to attend a funeral and would have had trouble getting back in time. Since she was the founder of this craziness we figured we could start a bit later to allow her to join us.
Our third participant had to take leave after Widmer so that he could be home by 11PM. Since we left Widmer at 10:45 I doubt he made it, but he at least wasn't sitting in a bar when the call came!
Chris and I decided it was just too nice of an evening to call it quits. We pedaled a loop of the Portland Waterfront. It was a beautiful day followed by a beautiful night. We made a few stops for photos.
When you don't bring a tripod you make do with concrete curbs!
We finished up and put the bikes back in our vehicles. Within minutes it was midnight, and Chris became the first person to wish me happy birthday on my birthday!
Tomorrow I had 26 people joining me for a 57 mile birthday ride, but tonight 6 of them found other things to do. (who would pass up a bike ride to watch football?)
It's going to be very nice weather again tomorrow. If I have to get another year older it least it's a nice day to do so!
Barring bad luck, by the end of tomorrow I'll have more miles by the 5th day of the month than I logged all last month. (of course that's not saying much!)
........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........75..............0.............0..........0...........75
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb..........75..............0.............0..........0...........75
YTD.........180.............34.............0..........0..........214
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