Weekend Rides

Did great rides over the weekend with several of the regulars and some new folks.  Warm weather but very windy.  On Saturday pushed with Chris Stevens and Liz Heller late in the ride.  I was proud that I hung in there although my heart rate was sky rocketing.  Two days of not riding really helped my legs pop back.  Sunday was another windy day.  I backed off considerably as there was little pop in my legs.  Nevertheless I got it in.  Walter rode a tandem with his wife.

Next Saturday I have some family commitments and will be unable to ride.  Hopefully I can get some mileage in this week.

Not a Great Night for the Human Race

I was glued to the tv yesterday afternoon and evening waiting for the Grand Jury decision on the Michael Brown case.  Since we lived in Ferguson for 9 years and lived two blocks away from the police station I was very familiar with the scene.  When we moved away the area was clearly going down hill.  Miraculously over the last several years the community experienced a revival with new restaurants and shops in the downtown area which was pretty much shuttered and in decay when we left in 1987.  We are pretty loyal to local businesses that give us good service so even though we no longer lived there we still buy our tires at Andy Wurm, a family owned tire business located directly across from the police station.  They appear to have survived business intact, but that was not the case with many businesses both in the downtown Ferguson area and on the east side of town.  Many local businesses were torched including minority owned businesses and family businesses that had been serving the minority community for years.

Ferguson has been portrayed as a rascist city ruled by white folks using police to terrorize the black community.  Not true.  If you did not want to live in a mixed community you voted with your feet a long time ago.  The white folks who live there are mostly long time residents who want to be there.  The middle class black folks who live there have moved out from the city looking for less crime, better schools and good housing.  In Ferguson they found all three; however, the events of the last three months is changing all of that.  Middle class folks, white and black, like lots of folks before them, my family included, will continue their quest for less crime, better schools and good housing.  The folks who are left will have a meager tax base, declining services and higher crime.  We have done this dance before.....in Riverview, in Normandy, in Jennings and in North City.

As a final note Jay Nixon is an ass.  He is the worst excuse for a governor I have ever seen.  To let the city of Ferguson burn was inexcusable.  He has no political future.

Cold and Windy

Cold and windy ride this morning.  Did a lot of meditating on Rule #5 and 9 both fingers and toes got pretty cold.  However, very satisfied that I got the ride in.  The is always an excuse not to work out.  If you wait for the weather forecast to be good before going out for a ride you would never get out the door.

Looking forward to riding with Mike on Wednesday and the group ride on Saturday.  Weather on Wednesday is a little iffy right now but Saturday looks gorgeous.

In the Michael Brown case the Grand Jury has completed its work and waiting on an announcement of results.  As I rode in Clayton heading to and from Forest Park this morning there were police everywhere.  Forsyth was maybe the most protected bike route in the country.

Random Thoughts on a Saturday Afternoon

Back in the day when folks talked about "reform" it generally meant that something was going to get better for most folks e.g clean water, safe foods and medicine, equal protection under the law, etc.  These days "reform" pretty much means the opposite.  Generally when politicians talk about "reform" what they really mean is that someone is going to get screwed.  It is sometimes couched along the lines that someone is going to get screwed for the "common good."  Whatever that means.  For example "pension reform" means that folks who worked their entire careers in a particular industry, generally public employees, will get less than they were promised.  Usually the premise is that those championing the "reform" are doing it for the good of the system.  Never mind that those clamoring for "reform" don't much like public employees and pretty much believe that their jobs should be privatized.  Much the same regarding tax "reform" which generally means that those who benefit the most from our economic system will pay lower amounts in taxes and those who benefit the least will pay the most.  The theory being that rewarding folks who have benefitted the most from our economic system is for the common good because those folks will create jobs.  I believe George Bush called that "voodoo economics," and it has been generally discredited.  Nevertheless, there you are.  A cynical person might point out that the common good generally means that ones political opponents make the sacrifice and ones political allies get rewarded.

A great week of training capped by an unexpectedly good ride on Saturday morning.  Forecast all week was for a cold rain and high winds.  The high winds showed up but the rain held off until the afternoon.  Curiously the creator of the HTFU facebook page wasn't hard enough to show up for the ride.  Not casting any stones but just saying that if you advertise yourself as a hard man then you can't let the threat of a little rain stand in the way of your Saturday morning group ride.  Actually conditions were so good that rule #5 and #9 did not really apply.

Going to Chris and Jess's for Thanksgiving on Thursday.  Have not checked the weather for next week yet; however, hopeful I can get outside a couple of days.  Already tired of riding indoors.

The Weekend in Chicago

We had a great weekend in Chicago.  I got to play with Sashi and took him to the park a couple of times.  Jack and Abby came into town and had a great visit with Mere and Sal.  On Saturday I helped Salvador with a plumbing project that we successfully completed after only two trips to Home Depot.  On Sunday Ana's Baptism was followed by a birthday party at the house.  A fun time was had by all.  It was a nice break from training; however, I discovered that four days without a workout was about the limit.  I was pretty much climbing the walls by Saturday and if it wasn't for the plumbing project and a trip to the park with Sal, Jack and Sashi I would have gone nuts.......Probably due to my addictive personality.

I was back at it on Monday.  Did a two hour spinning workout...keeping heart rate in the 125-132 range and worked on cadence.  I also did a good stretch and passed on the yoga class.  Pretty cold with 15 mph winds out of the north.  Looks like the same tomorrow.  I can get a better workout indoors so I will do an hour spin and then weights.  I think that I will stick with the squats for awhile until I can master that rather than switch between deadlifts and goblet squats.  Cannot handle as much weight but I would like to master that skill and then maybe I can add weight.  Anyway its an idea.

Mr. Softy

Winter arrived yesterday.  Temps started out in the 40's and dropped into the 30's during the day with substantial winds out of the northwest.  Could have hopped on my bike and gotten a ride in; however, wimped out and headed for the gym.  I did get a good 90 minute spinning workout in, really working on cadence......followed by my stretching routine.  Today I am headed back to the gym for a 60 minute spinning workout, followed by resistance training.  I have been using the smith machine for my squats but I am going back to the free bar today.  I am also going to experiment with the trap bar and do some dead lifts.  This afternoon we head to Chicago for the weekend and a break from training.

Big Explore

I did an easy ride with Dale and Elaine on Sunday afternoon.  We met in Columbia, Illinois.  I had done several rides in the area starting both in Columbia and Millstadt; however, both involved climbing a significant hill.  So I got on Map My Ride and searched for a route suitable for Elaine.  We ended up leaving Columbia on Gall and rode to Waterloo west of Rt. 3.  When we got to Waterloo Dale suggested returning a different route that he thought he was familiar with.  We ended up on totally different roads as we wound through the countryside to the east of Rt. 3.  It was a great way to spend the last nice weekend before winter really sets in.  One of the many cool things about getting out on a bike is the ability to explore.

I am riding today, Monday, but did not get on the stick early enough yesterday to organize any company.  Probably a good thing because Saturday's ride and weight session really took it out on my legs.  I am going to lift after the ride today and then again on Wednesday so I can get two days of lifting in this week.  We are heading to Chicago on Wednesday afternoon and be there over the weekend for Ana's birthday and Christening.  I get to spend some quality time with my buddy Sashi Pants.......lots of fun.  Maybe a few trips to the park but no riding for four days.

I am very happy with my training so far this winter.  I feel like my emphasis on strength training will pay dividends next season.

Not in Kansas Anymore

It was warmer today than last Saturday for the Bob Ride but the wind was a bear.  Rather than do the bike path Bob had us head north towards Bethalto; however, he, Keith and Kujo turned around and headed back into town.  Mike and I were off the front a bit and didn't catch the turn around.  We continued to Bethalto then rode on to Holiday Shores and Worden and then finally back to Edwardsville.  It was tough heading into the wind but I was very happy with my effort at maintaining tempo.  It wasn't that long ago that a stiff breeze would just tear me up.

Mike and I ended up getting in 46 miles.  Bob and Kujo headed back into Wanda and ended up doing the Horseshoe Lake bike path loop for 58 miles.  Tomorrow I am meeting Dale Loomis in Columbia at the McDonald's and riding a loop to Waterloo.

I feel like the strength training that I have been doing for the last month has really helped me.  Next week I will have to alter my routine to lift on Monday and Wednesday as we are heading to Chicago on Wednesday evening and will be there for the weekend.  Looking forward to the visit and the break from training.  Need a little break.

Nothing but Hills

On Wednesday I rode as many hills as Keith could find in Glen Carbon.  These were not exactly mountains but you do enough 10% quarter mile rollers and the legs get a good workout.  Nice ride.  Afterwards I met Harold, Mark, Bob Hyten and Mike for pizza at Panteras.  Pizza was awful but cheap but the beer is cold and the conversation was great.  Harold looks awesome.  It did my heart good to see him looking so good.  I set this up for Robin but she got called out of town on business.  I would be preaching to the choir if I gave her the lecture about not letting your work interfere with your life.  But having committed that crime I should be the last one to give that lecture and with three kids in college I don't think either retirement or unemployment are suitable options for her right now.

A Little Bit of Pain

Another day in paradise......today I had my monthly massage session at 1:30 and then headed to the gym.  It was a rainy day so I did a spin workout instead of riding outside.....gym memberships make one soft and are counter to rule #5 and rule #9.  That being said I lifted following my spinning workout to make sure that I had the requisite amount of suffering today.  I am doing a minimum of 2 strength workouts each week but last week I got in 3 and I hope to do the same this week.  I have 9 exercises that I break down into groups of threes and I do three sets of each.  Almost all the exercises consist of 12 reps.  Six of the exercises are legs......pistol squat on a bench, bulgarian split squat, dead lift on a smith machine, single leg dead lift using a bench for the non supporting leg, single leg leg press, and single leg toe raises.  I also do three upper body exercises, push-ups with a side plank, bent pull overs and assisted pull ups.  I am now using 2-15# kettle bells for the split squat and dead lift and squatting 150#.  On the leg press machine I am using 110# and 35# of assist on the pull ups.

Tomorrow I am meeting Kujo and Keith for a ride at 2:30 and then meeting Harold, Mike and Bob for dinner.  Hope that Kujo and Keith do not put the hammer down on the ride.

We're not in Kansas anymore.

Tough ride with Kujo on Monday afternoon.  Pretty stiff wind out of the south.  Kujo hammered Sand Rd. pretty well when we got to Wanda I accelerated off the viaduct...Kujo went by me about half a mile in and I jumped on his wheel.  I stayed there until about 600 to go, sprinted and held on till the stop sign......good effort.  The long slog into Edwardsville was tough on Kujo but he really suffered when we turned into the wind.  The stretch parallel to Old Troy Rd. about did him in.  All in all a good ride.  I was able to maintain a pretty good cadence going into a still wind......a confidence booster.

Rides for the first week in November

Kujo and I are meeting at 2:30 at the bike path in Collinsville next to Culver's on Monday.  We are going to do the bike path loop.  Weather should be good with wind out of the south.  On Wednesday Bob and I are planning to ride at 3:00 from the water tower.  Hopefully Robin will be available for some post ride pizza with Harold and I.  Weather looks promising for Saturday but still too far out to make plans.