Photos From the Saddle

I was in the saddle and pedaling by 6:30am Saturday, eager to get out to the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes and log some non-commute miles. The trail is, by far, the best execution of a rails-to-trails project I’ve yet to encounter… hopefully it will serve as an example for future projects.

From the cabin, there’s a two mile long, 6% climb on a winding two-lane highway before dropping down to the lake and meeting up with the trail. There wasn’t any traffic at that hour, so the climb was peaceful and quiet. Since the road is relatively new, the descent on the other side was near-perfect… buttery asphalt, no blind turns and no traffic. Met up with the trail and headed east, following the river.

After about ten minutes, I passed a guy who had his bike layed out on the ground while he was fiddling with something in a pocket of his. I asked if everything was alright, he said he was fine, so I kept going. About three hundred feet later, and just around a bend, I was surprised to find two moose on the trail (mother and calf). They were equally surprised, and the mom bolted for the brush while the baby took off down the trail away from me. Unfortunately, by the time I could get on my brakes and slow down, I was between said momma moose and baby moose. Not a good place to be… so I quickly turned around and rolled back to where the guy was, who was just starting up again. I told him what was just around the corner and he wanted to check it out.

We watched them for ten minutes before we got impatient and made a bunch of noise to shoo ‘em off the trail. From there it was smooth rolling. The trail is truly beautiful. Here are a couple other shots.

There she is… Isn’t she purdy? She was a little nervous about her first time on the train, but she did just fine.

The Ninjabike is (finally) done and rolling. What a freakin’ pain all that was… however, after riding it for 20 minutes, I forgot all my frustrations and woes from the past three months. Pics to come; commuting in tomorrow as well. The Sidis and booties arrived as well… apparently today was supposed to be my bike/bike stuff day.

Timing couldn’t have been better (well… except if it had been earlier), as my family reunion is this coming weekend. Fortunately, there’s a (freakin’ amazing) bike trail not too far from the cabin/venue, so I’m planning on using the trail as an escape excuse/”training ride”. Love ‘em… but they’re family in that special kind of way.

Can’t say I’m necessarily surprised about The Chicken… disappointed, though. Who does one root for? About the “safest” bet for a non-doper is the Lanterne Rouge.

Flipped things around yesterday and rode in all the way to work. Definitely will have to do that again. Funny thing is that it took exactly the same amount of time as taking the train. The big climb wasn’t all that bad, with roughly 350′ gain over 2 miles or so… and the payoff was far better than I’d anticipated: a long, curvy descent through a greenbelt. I just tucked and let it all fly by me. Had to step it back a little once we hit the trail, as I was feeling a little spent and didn’t want to roll into work with no energy to spare. The great thing about being on the bike trail is that it makes conversation a lot easier… and we had a great chat about how things were shaping up in the Tour and the benefit of experience and discipline in sports (we both suspect Rooney will implode in a couple years). We rode ahead of the storm, which hit just as I was walking out of the locker room.

I caught the train home, as I was definitely feeling the consequences of the morning ride. It also opened up and rained some more, which made me grateful for having put the rear fender back on.

Skipped a training ride this morning, though I don’t feel too bad about it. Forecast looks like crap for the rest of the weekend…

Sure enough, got the warrantied wheel on Monday and rolled in to work today. The ride in was a little soggy, but not too bad. Apparently traffic was beyond absurd this morning… or so I heard. The ride home was great; turns out my muscle strength didn’t suffer too much over the past two weeks, just my aerobic. All in all, it’s great to be back in the saddle. Too bad the weather is forecasted to take a major downturn the next couple days… hopefully those shoe covers will arrive soon. Funny that May was so great for weather… and July is yo-yoing between oppressively hot and oddly wet.

Made an appointment to have the Ninja bike built a week from today, though it could be built as early as Thursday. We’ll see. At the latest, though, I’ll have it rolling by next Wednesday. Rock.

There’s a printout of this in the locker room at work:

“I’m out of shape” Translation: I ride 400 miles a week and haven’t missed a day since the Ford administration. I replace my 11-tooth cog more often than you wash your shorts. My body fat percentage is lower than your mortgage rate.

“I’m not into competition. I’m just riding to stay in shape” Translation: I will attack until you collapse in the gutter, babbling and whimpering. I will win the line sprint if I have to force you into oncoming traffic. I will crest this hill first if I have to grab your seat post and spray energy drink in your eyes.

“I’m on my beater bike” Translation: I had this baby custom made in Tuscany using Titanium blessed by the Pope. I took it to a wind tunnel and it disappeared. It weighs less than a fart and costs more than a divorce.

“It’s not that hilly” Translation: This climb lasts longer than a presidential campaign. Be careful on the steep sections or you’ll fall over… backward. You have a 39×23 low gear? Here’s the name of my knee surgeon.

“This is a no-drop ride” Translation: I’ll need an article of your clothing for the search-and-rescue dogs.

“It’s not that far” Translation: Bring your passport.

It’s great working with people who find humor in the similarities of the above with their riding habits.

Finally got confirmation that the new rear wheel, to replace the original wheel, is on the way. Don’t know when I’ll get it, though. So now it’s a waiting game. Lame. Almost four months since the original FUBAR, as seen here:

Crossing my fingers that the wheel arrives this coming Monday.

People have been asking when I’ll be riding again, reminding me just how perfect the weather has been for riding… and all my friends that ride have been going on and on about how great it’s been. It’s like a little twist of the knife each time. Coming up on two weeks without wheels, and the Ninjabike won’t be built until the middle of next week at the earliest.

I’ve come to realize that, without wheels, I’m slowly going stir crazy. It’s only been 5 days since I last rode, though it feels like two weeks. It doesn’t help knowing just how fast and easy it is to lose what muscle strength and endurance one has when you don’t maintain it.

The good news is that all major parts for the Ninjabike have been acquired… only a few small remaining parts are needed, which most shops will have. It’s entirely possible that I’ll be on the Ninjabike by the end of the week… which will conclude a two-month-long process (and more money than I’d like to admit).

Oh, yeah, and there’s that Tour thing going on…

I figured out the profile for The Hill route – 900 ft. gain over 24ish miles, though the majority of all that gain happens in less than three miles. I hadn’t thought the second climb was as intense as it appears to be. No wonder I’m always beat by the time I get home… Here’s the profile:

Tuesday morning’s commute was spectacular. Clear skies, calm wind, cool temps and an empty-ish trail. Briefly chatted with a guy on the train who had gotten on a stop before mine with a Fuji SL. He commented that he liked the layout of the dual brake levers on my bike (front and top, typical of ‘cross bikes). I asked him how he’d fared with his FSA SL-K compact. The usual bike geekery. I deboarded the train and set a 21 pace all the way in to work… it felt fantastic getting the blood going again. Along the way I crossed paths with bike girl and stopped to take a trail usage survey being held by the county.

After work, I threw my bike on a friend’s rack before heading to a beach bbq. Once at the beach and helping unload a kayak, another friend pointed this out to me:

Yup. That’s some tasty rim crackage going on there, likely the result of over-tensioning. Given the proximity of this crack to the first replaced spoke, I’m inclined to wonder if the over-tensioning was the work of the shop… I’ll never know for sure. Bottom line, I’m not riding anytime soon – either this loaner wheel is replaced with a loaner or the Ninjabike is completed. Lame.

Albi is back in action with a hot new spoke and all true-like. Took the opportunity to pull off the fenders, sand the disc pads and fiddle with the rear limiter screws a little. While I was itching to go for a ride when I got home, I decided that I’d play it chill for the night. The weather is going to be gorgeous the rest of the week, so no rush there.

Waiting to get off the train this afternoon, busted wheel in hand, I had the pleasure of standing behind a couple guys who were ranting about cyclists. The central theme was how cyclists always break road rules, always expect cars to wait for them, and in general, in their humble opinion, act like arrogant pricks. One of the two went on to explain that the legal department of his workplace considered all bicycle-and-car accidents the cyclist’s fault until evidence or testimony suggested otherwise.

From behind them, I chimed in “Oh, tell me about it… cyclists are such assholes!” They both turned around with smiles and one guy was just about to get going again before they both noticed the bicycle wheel in my hand and my non-smile. They stopped smiling and turned around to face the door, which opened a few moments later.

I’ve come to the conclusion that this is an unfortunate, but unchanging fact of riding: some people hate cyclists. Typically it’s because they happened to encounter some cyclist who broke the law and ran a stop sign or light, was in the right hand turn lane going straight, or (and this is a big one) “cut” in front of a line of cars by riding up beside them and waited at the front.

I’ll admit I can see both sides on this one. I’ve encountered some true asshole cyclists that, among other things, ride with the assumption that a driver would rather be pissed off than be in an accident. On the other hand, I’ve encountered some drivers who intentionally harass cyclists (just the other day a van of teens drove past with their door open in an effort to clip me…). It’s a two-sided coin with antagonists and protagonists in both camps. As a driver and a cyclist, I recognize the concerns of both “sides”… and I’ve come to believe that while there will always be assholes, if one has the ability to empathize with both perspectives, they’ll come out a better driver and cyclist.

Just discovered that I’d busted another spoke on the loaner wheel (28h). That’s two now in a little over a month. Not sure when it happened. I suppose that’s one benefit to discs… you can just keep on riding until the wheel starts getting friendly with the frame.

Crap. Now I gotta get that sorted out in the next couple hours. Glad I got 32h wheels for the Ninjabike…