Ridden Words

So I asked my wonderful wife last night if there was a day that I could bike commute to work this week since it’s National Bike to Work Week.  She thought about it and said I could do it every day if I wanted to.  Since it’s ~18 miles each way and I’m not in very good shape for long rides yet I thought if I could do 3 days that would be great.

I got all outfitted with my satchel and new mountain bike shoes for my new SPD peadals, rain pants and rain coat, and clothes for work (good thing t-shirt and jeans works, not really room for much more than that in the satchel) and headed out slightly later than I had hoped.

I was shooting to catch my normal bus which leaves the park and ride at 8:19.  If I left right at 7 I should have plenty of time given the time for my test ride a few weeks ago put the ride at about 1:05.  I didn’t get out right at 7.  Since it’s a bit like herding cats to get our girls up and ready for school in the morning I committed to getting all of my normal morning things done before I left - 2 lunches packed and in backpacks, two breakfasts on the tables, dogs fed, and girls up and down stairs.  By the time that was done and I headed out it was 7:15.  Well, the last bus is the 8:51 so I have some extra time.

Going down the hill from my house I realize the cleat on my right shoe is way off and my heal is pointing out at about 30 degrees.  That’ll really hurt if I leave it alone so I pull over at the stop sign and adjust that cleat.  5 minutes wasted, foot much better.  Now that the right one is not out of wack, I can tell the left one is so I pull over again to adjust it.  5 minutes wasted, pedal, pedal, pedal, still not quite right.  Pull over again and adjust.  Feels right now.  Hmmm. 7:30 and I’ve only gone 1.5 miles.  Not a good start.

Nice ride with pretty light traffic - much confidence is gained by having the mirror on my glasses.  I don’t have any cross traffic turns it’s just nice to know someone is coming up from behind.  As I get to the bottom of the climb I start to think how hot and sweaty I’ll be given the layers I have on so I pull over and take off the outer rain layer.  5 more minutes gone but much cooler.

The climb up Issaquah-Fall City Rd is uneventful but still hard.  Wishing I hadn’t taken that 26 tooth cog off, what was I thinking? Lots more out of the saddle climbing than I like to do but I made it without really struggling.  Getting across traffic at the main road was harder than expected - I’d never thought about it but it is a main drag and it is rush hour…

Some good defensive riding now, take the lane and get in line at the stop lights to avoid the “turn in front” and annoying drivers by riding up the line next to them.  The two dips between on the main road are sort but steep and I don’t quite have the strength to push through them yet.  The last climb up to the park and ride is interesting as well.  It’s a climb so I’m going kind of slow.  I need to cross 3 lanes of traffic to get to the left side of the one way road to pull into the park and ride, and it’s a sweeping right bend turn so my mirror doesn’t really help me see traffic behind to know when it’s safe.

As I approach the park and ride my worst nightmare is realized.  The bus is there and loading.  The temptation to try to catch it is huge.  I know I cannot lock up my bike, take off the lights and computer, and run to the bus before it leaves - yet there it is, tempting me.

I go slowly getting out the bike lock, taking off my gloves, and locking up the bike.  The bus finaly pulls away just as I turn the key and I can relax.  I now have to wait for 15 minutes for the next one but the stress of trying to make the bus is gone.

Pretty good ride for my first bike commute of the season.  Here’s to many more.

Workout:

• Type: Cycle
• Date: 05/12/2008
• Time: 07:10:00
• Total Time: 1:04:35.00
• Distance: 17.9 miles
• Average Speed: 16.63 mph

After a quick plot of the route on MapMyRide I decided that it was very ‘doable’ to explore commuting to work by riding my bike from my house to the Issaquah Highlands Park and Ride.  The route is straight forward: 202 to Issaquah-Fall City road, to Highlands Drive.  18 miles.  One big climb each way and some rollers.  When Kim got home from the barn I headed out for a ride on the Fuso to test out the course.

So that’s the commuting part.  It’s a nice ride, traffic is light and there are some side roads I can take if I want to avoid it further (though making the trip a bit longer) and it includes the final climb from the Flying Wheels Century up Issaquah-Fall City road.  I like this last climb because it comes at 80 miles in and lots of people are beat.  It’s good for my ego at that point in the ride (if I’ve got the training under my belt).  Only down side is there are only racks at the park and ride, no lockers.  If I really care about the lockers, I can add ~4 miles to the ride and get to a park and ride with lockers.  If I ride the Trek, that’s a consideration.  If I ride the Ciocc or Fuso, not so much.  I don’t think I mind locking up my vintage steel all day but I’m still not comfortable doing that with the Carbon Fiber frame.

Now, gears and ego.  Well, when Dad was here last week riding the Ciocc (on the brand new wheels after the car accident) we were adjusting the index shifting and couldn’t get into the smallest gear which is important since the house is at the top of a 10+% grade hill.  So we where examining the freewheel, or should I say cassette, and something didn’t seem right so we took it apart.  Dad cleaned it up and it turned out that a number of the cogs were backwards and the 2nd to last cog was not sitting on the grooves of the cassette and wasn’t threaded on the threads so it was pure friction that was keeping it in place.  I pulled out my small collection of cogs and we found a better fit and made sure all of the cogs were facing the right way and shifting up to the 23 tooth cog started working.  Excellent.

Since we had the chain whips out and were playing with cogs, I decided to look at the cassette hub on the Fuso.  See, it’s got a 6 speed cassette on it with 7 speed shifters.  That means I’m stuck with friction.  I hadn’t looked a the gearing so I took it apart and checked it out.  I assumed it was a 24 or 23 tooth low gear but it turned out to be 26.  Here’s where ego comes in a bit.  I decided I didn’t need a 26 and rebuilt it with a 23 tooth cog as the largest instead.

First some history.  My first racing bike was a 24″ Peugeot 12 speed.  I didn’t like the Sauc-huret freewheel so I bought campy hubs and re-laced the wheels with them.  I didn’t end up growing the extra 6 to 8 inches I needed to for the 24″ frame to really fit me so when I wanted to buy a proper Italian racing bike my senior year in high school I got a 23″ frame - my Ciocc.  (I now know I need a 53cm frame)  I built the Ciocc from the frame up.  Bought the new Ultegra groupo with 7 speed cassette and put it all together myself.  I laced the wheels but let the shop true them.  When I ordered the cassette I wanted a fast one so I chose a 21-12 gearing to go with the 42/53 chain rings.  All 18yr old ego.

You  see, I was living in Los Alamos, NM at the time.  6500 ft elevation at my house.  The favorite riding loop was 27 miles with ~2K of climbing.  Other routes took me into the Jamez mountains up to 9000+ feet in elevation with a few 10+% climbs.  I got around but I struggled more than I needed to.  A 23 or 24 tooth cog would have made the hills go faster for sure.

With that experience in mind, when I bought my Trek, I got the compact drive.  No need for an ego at this point I said, I wanted to be comfortable but couldn’t bring myself to a triple so I went CD.  The Trek goes all the way down to 36×27 which is nice when climbing hills in Kirkland with Brad.  Keeps me from getting tired out.

So, what do I do the 2nd ride after I take off the 26 tooth cog, I go climb Issaquah-Fall City and 202 up past Snoqulamie Falls.  Neither is particularly steep, just kind of long but with only a 23 I wasn’t spinning like Lance, more like grinding like Jan.  I’ve not put the 26 back on yet but I’m really thinking about it.

Workout:

• Type: Cycle
• Date: 04/13/2008
• Time: 16:03:00
• Total Time: 2:20:00.00
• Average Heart rate: 175
• Max Heart rate: 200
• Distance: 36 miles
• Average Speed: 15.43 mph
• Max Speed: 36 mph
• Average Cadence: 80
• Max Cadence: 103

After dropping Samantha off at preschool and running some earands for Kim I got in a practice ‘commute’ ride in today.  Looks like it’s about a 50 minute ride from Issaquah to the Mercer Island Park and Ride.  If I get a bike locker at Mercer Island, I can drive to Issaquah and ride to Mercer Island, locker the bike and ride into Seattle without worrying about bike racks on the bus. (more…)

Workout:

• Type: Cycle
• Date: 04/02/2008
• Time: 09:10:00
• Total Time: 1:38:00.00
• Average Heart rate: 161
• Max Heart rate: 197
• Distance: 22.65 miles
• Average Speed: 13.87 mph
• Max Speed: 40.6 mph
• Average Cadence: 68
• Max Cadence: 104

I rode my bike commute this morning. I made it all the way to the office and back. Without a falling off, without a broken derailer, and without getting by a car. I missed out on two weeks of clear dry roads while I was recovering from the accident and the cold/flu. It was pretty warm this morning and while the roads were wet, it wasn’t raining. (more…)

Workout:

• Type: Cycle
• Date: 11/07/2007
• Time: 22:39:39
• Total Time: 1:49:00.00
• Distance: 24 miles
• Average Speed: 13.21 mph

It’s been a rough couple of rides for my commuting.  Friday, crash in the rain.  Monday, broken derailer.  Wednesday, hit by a car.  Just 1 mile from the office as I came into Redmond today, I got hit by a car making a left into a parking lot.  I saw it coming a split second before it happened and knew I was going to get hit and go down. (more…)

Workout:

• Type: Cycle
• Date: 10/24/2007
• Time: 08:50:00
• Total Time: 00:46:37.40
• Average Heart rate: 125
• Max Heart rate: 170
• Distance: 11 miles
• Average Speed: 14.16 mph

On our rounds closing up the house last night Kim looked out on the front porch and noticed a package - my fenders had arrived. I had the Ciocc and bike stand in the family room earlier in the night fixing the jockey pulley and would have loved to put them on but resisted doing any more than checking wheel clearances at 11:30 PM. That meant that tonight once the girls were in bed and dishes were done, it was time to enter the next stage of comfort for my commute. (more…)

This morning started out a little odd. A phone call at 7:15 informed us the local public schools were canceled due to vandalism of the school district buses overnight. That threw Kim’s day into a re-planning state and served to distract me from my appointed duties - getting the girls ready for school. I did manage to accomplish my task, though in a rather random order that elevated my stress level higher than necessary. I was sure I would forget something for my commute - no checklist yet. (more…)

Workout:

• Type: Cycle
• Date: 10/22/2007
• Time: 08:50:00
• Total Time: 00:20:00.00
• Distance: 4 miles
• Average Speed: 12 mph
• Max Speed: 20 mph

Well, it looked like luck was smiling on me when I left work tonight on my evening commute. While it had rained during the day, the clouds were breaking up and the roads were drying up. It was a bit blustery but only leaves were falling from the sky. I thought I might make it a dry round trip for today’s commute. Excellent I thought. (more…)

Workout:

• Type: Cycle
• Date: 10/19/2007
• Time: 16:15:00
• Total Time: 00:52:27.40
• Average Heart rate: 121
• Max Heart rate: 163
• Distance: 12.4 miles
• Average Speed: 14.18 mph
• Max Speed: 25 mph
• Average Cadence: 85
• Max Cadence: 95

This morning as I dropped off Samantha at school I had a sneaking suspicion I’d forgotten something. As I unpacked my bike I realized I’d forgotten my cleat covers. I hate cold feet and cold wet feet are worse. I had dressed with leg warmers in the hopes of not having rain on the way in but it was raining as I got ready so off came the leg warmers and on went the rain pants. (more…)

Workout:

• Type: Cycle
• Date: 10/15/2007
• Time: 16:30:00
• Total Time: 1:25:00.00
• Average Heart rate: 165
• Max Heart rate: 185
• Distance: 24 miles
• Average Speed: 16.94 mph
• Max Speed: 30 mph
• Average Cadence: 85
• Max Cadence: 106

Well, after kicking myself for not riding into work on Monday (warm and georgous) and Tuesday (sunny morning, sprinkles in the evening) I got on the Ciocc for the commute today. I almost didn’t. I’ve got a bit of a head cold. My teeth hurt from the sinus pressure. My head felt a little off balance. Then Kim said “Above the neck, aerobic’s OK.” and so I suited up. (more…)

Workout:

• Type: Cycle
• Date: 10/10/2007
• Time: 16:30:00
• Total Time: 1:23:13.00
• Average Heart rate: 166
• Max Heart rate: 185
• Distance: 24 miles
• Average Speed: 17.3 mph
• Max Speed: 31 mph
• Average Cadence: 90
• Max Cadence: 110