#keep pedalling

Capitalism™

Back on the hardwood again. Saturday was too windy, I mean a storm type wind, and there was the AGM for the bike club. So that day was shot. Sunday the wind had died, but the rain was epic so hell drag out the trainer. Time to man up to suffering.

I cannot get over the difference in experience. I know from the data that outside rides are actually harder. Inside there is nothing to distract you from the discomfort so that is all you have. I should have found out where my wife hid the fan. I was pouring with sweat. I had a towel and it got rather heavy. I only did an hour at 25 kph average.

I can see the use of Zwift and the like. Is it worth the distraction factor? Maybe. But I do not like subscriptions that say only so much per month, then charge you a whole year and are difficult to cancel. If the first month really was free I am tempted. My trainer is semi-stupid. It does broadcast power, but it does not do the fancy hill simulation. It will work with zwift.

So I dropped my FTP to 220 and ran through a HIIT session. Shit I suck at it. I still have a bit of my summer fitness, but hell. It always starts like this. I know I will get better.

This is the 193rd day of the year and I have 66 rides in the book.  Those totaled 101 hours with a gross average speed of 24.8 kph.  It also works out to 221 minutes of exercise per week.  Yah me.

Yesterday at work I returned to my desk after checking something in the shop. I sat down and put my finger against my throat and thought my pulse was slow.  Got out the stopwatch App and in 30 seconds my heart beat 27 times.  So that is 54 bpm.  That is pretty good for an old man.

I spend most of my work day staring at a screen typing and mousing away.  Just like now actually.  My pulse is often over 70 with that.  Thinking is work too. I have to think a lot.

40 hours a week of sitting is most people’s fate nowadays. That 221 minutes of exercise helps a lot to keep this old body running.

On the weekend I got one longer ride in to the city and decided to take on 8 minute hill again.  There was wind, but it was not blowing straight down the hill this time.  My time was 6:49.  In the Ferrari Equation that gives my 317 watts.  In the online power calculator I get 274 watts,  Ferrari was a jerk anyway.

I was pushing a bit and I know deep inside that I can push harder without going totally red but my goal is to do an effort that is sustainable.  I will do the mountain soon and that is over an hour.

The Tour d France is on.  There have been some falls and crashes as usual.  I was rooting for Ritchie Port and was shocked by his horrible crash.  All caught on TV and repeated in slow motion.  (insert shudder here.)

Cycling is a tough sport.  People get hurt bad.  Mr Port has a broken collar bone and a fracture in his pelvis.  He hit a stone cliff face at 70 kph.  The prognosis is he will be back on a bike in 4 to 6 weeks. Is that not tough?  Soccer players make ten times the money and roll around on the pitch screaming for  their mommies if somebody steps on their foot.

Yes there is Spandex and super lightweight bikes, but the people take crazy risks and often get hurt.  They burn out fast.

So far there have been several broken collar bones, ankles, shoulder blades, and legs. A lot of skin has been left on the roads.  In past years they have gone off cliffs, and been booted into barb wire fences by cars trying to pass.  There are always casualties. 

Mr Froome, who I dislike as he is an ass and has a very ugly riding style is in the lead again.  I still think he is a massively sophisticated doper, but if he is not he is at the extreme pointy end of human capacity as is his team at the pointy end of “the best money can buy.”

The scenery is breathtaking, and that is a big part of the event.  My wife asks how can I watch hours of it when everything “happens” in the last 30 seconds. I cannot explain it to her.  Seeing people work so hard at the very limit is drama.  Can they keep it up?  There are tactics and strategy and those play out over hours.  It is hard to understand until you immerse yourself in it.

There has been heartbreak and triumph.  It is the best of what we can do.  It is high physical art.

My riding is but a shadow of that.  It is a community.  It is the process and the goal.

There are many different kinds of bikes.  I talk about my experiences with road bikes.  The type of riding you may do and the goals you have determines the type of bike you should have.  If you do different types of rides say mountain or trail rides vs road riding you usually need a bike specialized for each purpose.

Light recreation rides I call wicker basket rides.  I have done that.  The kids in the plastic seat and a picnic on the pannier rack and off to the park.  Family fun, but useless for fitness.  Some people get the bikes with baskets and streamers.  Some people buy or make very expensive custom low rider “styling” bikes.  Not for fitness are they.

Cruising or going to the park is fun in a mental sense, but is not counting towards fitness.  The way you get fit on a bike is by pushing it hard.  You can do that on trails, but it is dangerous as visibility on trails is limited and you may be a hazard to others if going fast.  The best and safest way is on the road with a road bike period.

Upright sitting, and seats with springs on the back aint part of this game.

The simple message is if you want to ride for fitness ride hard enough to sweat and breathe hard.  Ride for over an hour.  Ride for several hours from time to time. Ride a road bike.

Or ride a bike that is not a bike.

My younger daughter bought a 30 day pass to a spin class.  She has been doing about 5 sessions a week saying she wants to get her money’s worth. Damn.  Funny thing is she now says she is always hungry and eats a lot more.  Well she has never yet had a weight problem her BMI is in the “correct” zone. She spent half her life as a competitive athlete.  But she is burning say 3000 calories extra a week.  She has to eat more to compensate.  It is interesting to witness.

Her spin classes are hard and last under one hour.  I am guessing she is doing about 600 calories per each.  I have a standing offer to her to buy her a road bike.  So far she has refused. I think the music and social aspect with her buds is a big part of the motivation.  Though I have no idea if she has any goals to hit with this program.  She does not say.

I hate spinning.  I have a really hard time though it is ideal for HIIT training.  I do a lot in the winter and spring.  But my goal is riding in summer and getting outside.   Spin rides are from 30 minutes to one hour.  My gross average ride time is 1.74 hours over 77 rides so far this year.  That  includes a lot of short spin rides early on.  It has its purpose.  It does get you fitter and stronger because it is hard.

This has been a slow start to August.  In July I did over 700 km.  That was marginally more than last year.  I need to get some long rides in to condition my body to 6 to 7 hour exertions. I have strength and Cardio, but you gotta “go long” to do the Fondo thing.

I did one ride out to YVR in the week and did not ride Saturday.  I had car fixing stuff to do.  So today (Sunday) I did 75.4 km mostly with Alan.

We rode up Cambie to get a several minute climb in.  I stayed on his wheel as he likes to try and drop me.  He did not do it on Cambie.  We went out to Stanley’s Park and did a quick loop.  I dropped him a bit leaving Brockton Point and was first up the hill at Prospect.  There were lots of riders out today.

I have to mention the “inconsistent” quality of the roads in the City of Vancouver.  Many are pretty good.  Many are really the extreme opposite of good.  The mayor says he wants to promote bikes, but for him that is making funny lanes that are adequate for the wicker basket type bicyclist, but for riders trying to go faster, not so much.

Cornwall is a good example.  Mr Mayor is spending millions on traffic redirection and car exclusion furniture.  But long stretches of Cornwall have dangerously rough and bumpy pavement.  It is so bad I have to ride on the extreme left side of the right lane to keep my teeth fillings in place.  It is exactly that part of the lane that pisses off drivers to want to kill riders.  Rather than concrete and tulip planters how about smooth pavement?  The Hill down to Jericho Beach is so rough I have to ride in the middle of the left lane to survive.  The right lane is rough to the point you will lose control and crash if you go faster than walking speed.  I bet the mayor doesn’t even own a road bike.

So we went out on those very roads to the beach area and up NW Marine.   That hill is still there.  Alan is a hard person to follow as he is always slowing suddenly which means if you are close to his wheel it is dangerous.  So up that hill he started shifting down and slowing and slowing more.  Eventually he pulled over a bit and I went up at my “happy” speed.  I thought he was on my wheel, but I had dropped him.  I think we are pretty much the same power.  But I am just a bit lighter than he.

He said he saw Dianne ( The Rocket ) while out walking his dog.  He thought she may even come out.  She hasn’t been out with us for two years.  Maybe she will come out next week when I may be at the Abbotsford Airshow.   My older daughter and her S.O. say they are going on Sunday.

The weather was cool but dry for a change.  Wind was light for a change. I was not lazy for a change.

Xmas was good.  I stuffed myself less than usual.  Two people were baking cookies and treats while I did the xmas turkey in the BBQ. It was yummy.  So today my reserve of guilt built up enough pressure to get my ass in the saddle and a loop around town.

I had a new chain and decided to install it on the Trek as the old one was really worn.  I did not want to wreck my new front rings.  Turns out I had already ruined my rear cassette.  The middle three gears worked fine with a worn stretched chain but did not work well with a new one.  I managed the ride and decided to look at replacement once home.

I had an old cassette from the red bike which is a ten speed rear.  The blue bike is a nine speed rear.  It was the summer bike so nowhere near as worn as winter riding gets you.  So I popped it on ( I have all the necessary tools.)  Strangely all ten speeds work.  The shifter had ten clicks in it.  Hmmmm.

So I seem to have settled into “winter shape”  still got something but not as much.  I expect this as I am only about half as active as summer.  You get out what you put in, but rest is important.

Today there were not that many riders out.  I started around noon and the CORE people start near dawn.  About half the riders I saw were serious type “A”s and half were old farts like me.  The first type  blew by me at speed.  The second type I was reeling in and passing.  Yay me!

As of today 8/11/2015 I have 241 km to go to hit my goal distance.  So I should be there by the end of November.  I think I will not stop riding cold turkey, but just cut way back.  Last year I did 250 km in all of December and then started this year out with a few very short rides in January.  It worked really well.  I like PBs.  Rest does not have to be full potato mode. 

So today Alan and I did a loop up to UBC and Lucky’s for Coffee.  On the hill up Chancellor we passed a young couple on older bikes.  It is nice to be able to pass people especially when they are younger than us.  As I passed I said “good morning.”  Later at Lucky’s they pulled up for coffee as well.  As we went outside to sit by the bikes I said “good morning again!”  How about that, a bike date.

So not much to report about the ride.

I have to report that a cyclist was killed on the road out to Iona a few days ago.  There are a few fatalities every year in the metro area.  I do not know who it was or if it was anyone I know.  There are a significant number of trucks running out there to a UPS depot and a huge Post Office transfer station.  Apparently it was a truck.  It is frustrating as the road is long and straight and there is no reason that a responsible truck driver could not see or avoid a cyclist.  That road is more than just popular with cyclists.  Basically every cyclist in the region rides that stretch.  It is long and straight and after the first third it is rather quiet for traffic.  No driver who frequents the area would not know about the cyclists.

I have no details and the news coverage is almost non-existent. It was the middle of the day and the weather was not very bad.  I almost feel like a rant as I have witnessed a lot of really stupid truck drivers.  And if one thinks we are just an annoyance then shit may happen.  I do not know enough to blame.  We are vulnerable and need our skill and attention to survive in a hostile place.  Sounds like life don’t it?

Yesterday the sun was shining and it felt warm and I thought; “one more.”

At just before 6:00 I was out the door and headed to YVR.  Arm warmers and a vest, but otherwise summer gear.  As I Left it was 18 degrees( 64F) and the sun looked to be well above the horizon.  I should get back before sundown.

Come next spring I will obsess over the thermometer willing it to get in the high teens so I can skip the thermal stuff.  Now 18 feels cool.  As I approached the Airport I was feeling cooler.  There were patches of cold air here and there and you really notice it.  Maybe I should have had my full finger gloves.  Hell not enough time to get hypothermic so keep on.  As I got close to turn around the sun started to move faster?  The golden hour when the light is low and golden and shadows are long. Great for photos. Hey It should have been almost an hour to sunset.  Damn.

Turned around and head back and the sun is right on the horizon.  Double Damn.  The big island across the straight has some mountains that block the sun before the “true horizon” but I am not making it back before sunset now.  I am about halfway back and the sun is down, and the difference is cold.  14 degrees (59F).  Fingers cold, toes are going numb.  Intellectually I know that I have the equal of 1000 watts of heat in my legs as I ride, almost a toaster.  So my legs are OK my Torso OK but my clever body is shutting down circulation to my hands and toes to preserve warmth.

Well that's the LAST after work outdoors ride this year.  Last week should have been last.