Standing at the Trailhead of Winter

Yesterday I had the opportunity to go north, to Peru/Lasalle, to ride the I & M Canal. I've ridden part of the canal before, but I wanted to go further, around 60 miles, to give me a chance to see what this distance feels like on the mountain bike. With the Gravel Grovel only two weeks away, I knew I needed to get some distance in or I will be hurting badly in two weeks. Hubby dropped me off at the Lasalle access, and I started off under sunny skies and a breeze blowing out of the south. My goal was to try and average at least 15 mph. My first five miles showed 14. I noticed I felt tired, like I didn't have a lot of energy though I'd made sure to eat a good breakfast. The last two or three weeks, I've not had much of an appetite. I've basically been eating only to make sure I don't get so fatigued I can't focus or function. There have been a couple of times, too, when I do eat that I reach a point where I feel nauseous. Mostly, though, I find myself ...

Rode the Bike Psychos Century today with the hopes of finishing sub 6 hours. I rolled into the parking lot after 5:55, average speed 17 mph. Given the beastly hills and the 10-15 mph winds, I was utterly and completely happy with my efforts. I now have a new marker to keep in mind when I ride my next century. This ride came after a night of very restless sleep. I figured I was going to bonk at some point simply because I was running on so little quality sleep. To help prevent the bonk, I ate and drank often. This time around, I didn't pack the energy gels or bars. Instead, I ate the fruit, the pbj sandwiches, and the other goodies offered at the rest stops. I took the advice of Edmund Burke and Ed Pavelka, authors of The Complete Book of Long Distance Cycling , and ate real food. I also made sure to drink, drink, drink. Not once did I feel low on energy, and I attribute my feeling good the whole 100 miles to taking these two guys' advice. The route took us along the Illinoi...

The first ride with my tricked-out bike went smoothly . . . until I came to a stop at my destination and swung my leg over, throwing my flip-flop into the middle of the street. The dark-haired guy sitting in one of the window seats at the coffeehouse laughed. Yeah, real funny, Dude. Actually, it kinda was. I got to thinking what if a car had been going by. The driver would have been startled good by a brown flip-flop landing on the windshield. All in all, my new and improved commuter bike is awesome. One issue I'm going to have to get used to is the added weight. Each basket weighs 5.5 pounds. The rack weighs around a pound. That's like having an infant sitting behind me. Then, when something is in one basket but not the other, the balance is off. Just like having an infant sitting behind me, wiggling around in the seat. I'm looking at these things as good problems, those kind that help a person in one way or another. Not only will my legs get stronger with having to deal...

Okay, since Wednesday and my decision to cut back on the TV and the amount of time I spend online, I've realized I've wasted a lot of hours with both. In only two days, I've finished revising one of my short stories, getting it closer to the point of saying I love it enough to send out for possible publication, gotten further into a new story and am liking the direction it is going, completed my annual self-eval, completed reading and responding to the lit papers and midterms, and read three chapters in three of the four books I bought the other day. I also read the entire Bicycle Times magazine I picked up when I bought the books. (I highly recommend this magazine to all you cycling enthusiasts. The interview with Meaghan Wilbur in the current issue is absolutely wonderful.) I would have never gotten all of these things completed if I hadn't made the decision to give up the TV and Internet wandering. Seeing all of these items being checked off the list makes me feel a...