My Trips Behind Bars

A Bicycle from Veggies

2011-11-02T08:11:00.004-04:00

What a cute idea. I want to make this soon. I saw this somewhere a long time ago, but can not remember where. Sorry, I didn't make note of the source so as to give proper credit to the creator. Let's see, I'll need: Tomato, celery, cucumber, cauliflower, mushroom, green onion, and ah, what are the spokes?

A Trip to the Races

2010-06-22T08:51:00.005-04:00

Crossing the finish line of the 5K Time Trial at the Hall of Fame Senior Olympics, Canton, OH

'Killer Karol' handing out the medals after the races. I took them all in the women's 65-70 year age group. Ah, but I was only racing against Me, Myself and I !! Friends from the bike club are looking on behind me.

What fun it was to enter the Senior Olympics! My first attempt at racing my bicycle. Bud Scott has been after me to come on out and try it, but every year in June when this event has been scheduled in my area I've been out of town. Usually on a Ride the Rockies or Bicycle Tour of Colorado trip. But this year I was here. So I did the 5K and 10K Time Trial and the 10K and 20K Road Race. We started at Marlington High School and sped on down Beeson, then Marlboro, Rt 619, and Freshly back to Beeson. Twice that route for the 40K. The 10K TT was just to Marlboro Rd and back, the 5K along the road beside the school. Can't remember the name of that street! Lots of Stark County Bike Club members were there too. If I were in town for the National qualifying race I would participate. I had a great time. Took home four gold metals! wow.

Performance

2009-08-14T08:03:00.001-04:00

On Twitter I saw where Lance Armstrong posted and apparently liked this video on performance.

Mayo Clinic atrium piano, charming older couple...

2009-05-26T08:36:00.001-04:00

What a delightful 'young at 90 years' couple who have been married 62 years -- they got up and started playing the piano in a Mayo Clinic atrium. What fun they were having, and what a darling couple is Fran and Marol Cowan.

The Piano Peddler

2009-05-14T08:52:00.005-04:00

The 48th annual TOSRV(Tour of Scioto River Valley) this past weekend. Cycled 107 miles from Columbus, OH to Portsmouth, OH (103 official, but to my overnight at the Friends Center added a few), on Saturday. Then 104 back on Sunday. The usual head winds both days. The Piano Peddler was playing at the lunch stop at Chillicothe, 50 miles into the route. He is quite a happy bicyclist and plays a piano attached to his mountain bike. He has been on GOBA many times (Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure) and he told me he will do RAIN (Ride Across Indiana)this summer.

This year's TOSRV jerseys. Here is a photo of some couple at the park in Chillicothe, OH during the lunch break --

Tandem Bike Riding

2009-02-08T08:35:00.006-05:00

I often return in thought to my grand time in Florida the last two weeks in January. I never expected that I would get to ride on a tandem bike for all those days - except for a couple, when Don (who is recovering from shoulder surgery) took his turn on Dave's tandem. (scroll down to see). It would be nice when Paul retires if we could buy a tandem to ride together.

Captain: Dave C. Stoker: Me

Beautiful Myakka State Park, Florida

Don was experiencing what it was like to be a stoker. He has his own tandem and has a whole harem of female stokers - and a few guys too ride with him. But with his doctor's orders to rest the arm while it heals from his November surgery, he figured, 'what the heck' riding tandem won't hurt anything. He wanted to be down in Florida too and not miss out on the fun - and he didn't miss very many days of riding as there were several with tandems: Doug's, Bill's, Bud's, Dave's, and Mal's. Here's Don riding with Bud S, Dave and Doug. (click on photos to enlarge)

Ohio Winter Video

2009-02-07T09:24:00.006-05:00

Chapin Forest, Kirtland, Ohio

Ski buddies: Sara,Gary,Mal,Judy,Karen
(click to enlarge) See video below

It was a bummer to leave the sun and fun of Venice, Florida and come back to frigid Northeast Ohio. It was -22 degrees the morning I left and 9 degrees when I got off the plane on my return two weeks later.

I had a wonderful week riding on a tandem bike the whole time -- except for a couple of days when Don took a turn on Dave's tandem. Riding tandem is fast becoming one of my favorite ways of bicycling. I like the team effort and this 'gliding along feeling' that the tandem gives me. I brought along a spare Specialized women's Jett saddle, the same as I use on my single bike, and that sure made things very comfortable. I haven't been on my own bike since arriving home last Sunday. My favorite bike (Trek Madone WSD 5.9) is still in transit in Toni's van. She was staying a little longer in Florida. Note: Today there is a heat wave coming through. It will be into upper 40's!! I'll do the 1:00 PM club ride.

This past week it was time to get out and cross country ski. Even some of the club bike rides were cancelled due to severe cold. Several days the snow had such an ice crust on the top it was just too difficult to cross country over that. But yesterday five bike club buddies drove up to Kirtland area to Chapin Forest and skied on their groomed trails. The day was filled with brilliant sunshine all day and the trails were great. We skied for almost 2 hours. We didn't have to dress in very many layers either as the temps were in the low 30's. Gary got some new skis this year and was trying them out. As John S commented when he saw the video - if you have to fall to get better, Gary must be doing great! John is on his way home from Florida now, and if the snow isn't all melted he'll be out skiing with us again.

Florida: Mannasota Keys Beach area

2009-01-29T22:28:00.003-05:00

Dave C., Bob B., Margie, Doug N looking out on the Gulf at Mannasota Keys Beach.
Margie, Vicky, Sara on the beach, Mannasota Keys
The sea shell sculpture at Mannasota Keys Beach.

Week is going fast, haven't had time to even Blog. Today we rode 70 miles from the Veranda to Boca Grande. Absolutely beautiful day, and the ride was one of the best of the last 2 weeks. We stopped at the beach on Mannasota Key beach road and some took their bike shoes off to wade in the Gulf. It was 81 degrees. While some of us were wading in the sunshine, those back home in Ohio were wading through piles of snow! I would like to stay here until next spring!

Round Two inFlorida

2009-01-25T21:36:00.002-05:00

Nan is soooo happy to stop, rest, and soak up the SUNshine!
Now THIS is how Florida weather should be . . .nice and warm in late January. Nine of us went out for a 40 mile ride this morning. Karen had a flat tire even before we left the Veranda -- so with a quick change by Al we were out on the road by 9:45. We stopped about half way at a small shopping plaza that has Scrambles Cafe. No one really wanted a sit down lunch but next door was Robert's Whole Foods. A nice size organics and health foods grocery store. Everyone bought small bags of goodies from the bulk bins. Dried fruits, dried peas, nuts and such. Sharon even bought sweet potato and beet chips. Everyone 'shared' their goodies and we passed our little baggies around to each other for samples. It was just enough of a treat to fuel us for the remainder of the ride. Returning we all changed out of the bike shorts and left to go for lunch down the road at Ed and Dave's favorite bar/grille called Norma Jean's. Nice place, with lots of TV's playing sports channels.

After the lunch most everyone went back out riding for another 20 miles -- led around by Bob F. Saw lots of boats on the inner coastal this afternoon.

Sunset Ride

2009-01-24T21:00:00.002-05:00

(Click on photo to enlarge)

We gathered out front of the Veranda Inn for the 30 mile last ride of this week. We have called this our sunset Ride. Some left after the ride and headed to Fr Myers to catch an afternoon plane back to Ohio. Others will be leaving to drive back to Ohio starting tomorrow morning. There will be 10 of us staying on for a second week of riding. Al J. did a great job once again of organizing this the 4th year of the Stark County Bike Club coming to Venice, Florida.

Toni is in charge of this next week and has gotten together a good schedule of rides ranging from 40-73 miles a day. Dave C is already pondering which restaurants we should go to each evening. Just never enough days to go to the many fine places around here.

Sorry that my Paul must leave to go back to Ohio tomorrow, and head back to work on Monday. The Veranda Inn has given us once again a whole block of rooms that we can use again next year. Most of us have reserved the same room for that last week in January 2010. This sure beats the cold weather back home!

Round 'n Round the Rotunda

2009-01-23T18:24:00.003-05:00

Dave C. and I riding through Myakka Park
Erika and Peg enjoy the surf and sand on Siesta Key
Riders favorite treat, Ice Cream! Mal, Bill and Carol
Waiting at the Circus Bridge while boat passes through
Don at Pop's Sunset Grille - huge Grouper fish sandwich.

58 miles today that took us into to Rotunda. It is a confusing place, we almost always get lost. Except this 4th time down here we didn't get quite so lost getting out of that round and round community. I was on tandem with Dave and we took a turn on to what we thought was the Pioneer Trail and it was not -- it was a golf cart path, and we ended up going out into some golf course following this trail/path until we realized we weren't going anywhere, and the golfers were telling us we were on a golf course! Two miles back down the road we found the right trail entrance. We only had about 2 miles on that trail.

We had a treat stopping at Bud and Margie's house to have fresh squeezed orange juice from the trees in their yard. They winter down here and they ride a tandem and Bud comes out and rides single with us too. A few of us stopped at a favorite place, Conch Cafe. Corner of Pennell and Rte 776. Home of Killer Food at Killer Prices. Starting out we had to wait for the Circus Bridge to go back down before going over it. That is a frequent thing down here since Venice is on an island and we are always riding out and over to the mainland -- we end up waiting for the draw bridges to let boat traffic go through.

Oh and the weather was much warmer today! Finally I could ride with short sleeves about 5 miles into the ride.

Boca Grande and headwinds

2009-01-22T21:11:00.004-05:00

Nice plug for Ernie's Bike Shop, back home in Massillon.
Great big Banyan trees on Boca Grande Island

Larry and I ate at the Loose Caboose Restaurant.

We drove a short way to Lemon Bay park and then rode a 55 mile loop out over to Mannasota Beach and on to a 9 mile stretch with a tailwind to the causeway that leads to Boca Grande. Larry and I ate at the Loose Caboose in the shopping district, others when out to the WhiteHouse Restaurant about 3 miles down the beach for Conch and Grouper and other good fried stuff. Followed Bud and Margie Scott back to the section where the head winds started -- they live local and they went on home. Toni had a meeting at 5:00 to go over the next week's rides. There will be about 15 of us staying for week number two. Tonight we went to Pop's Sunset Grill over near Casey Keys. Weather was still cool, but really it has been great to ride in weather that isn't so hot we are roasting all the time. Suppose to be 71 degrees tomorrow -- and warm up for next week.
some photos from today:

Riding Fun in Florida

2009-01-21T17:08:00.004-05:00

Another day of bicycling in the sun. Though it sure isn't warm (yet) down here. It was 50 degrees when four of us started out on the route this morning. About 15 drove to Sanibel Island to ride, others stayed local. Doug and Vicky had cued a 38 mile ride around here. About 8 left with them at 9:30, but those I rode with wanted to wait until it warmed up a little more. It was very cool with a brisk breeze the entire ride and I had to keep leggings and jacket on the entire time. But it was sunny and that is great! Five of us are going to a Greek restaurant, Althea's, in downtown Venice at 6:00. I'm hungry after all this riding!!
Here is a photo of three tandems with their Captains and Stokers that have been out there everyday:
L-R: Mal/Debbie, Bill/Carol, and Dave/Sara
L-R: Dave, Sara, Debbie, Mal.
Though the sign says "Motor Cycle parking -- we think our cycles have 'very special motors' -- our strong legs!

Myakka State Park

2009-01-20T17:30:00.004-05:00

Another day with miles of smiles down here in Florida!
Dave and I rode tandem again and we did the full route of 64 miles, with a few changes to avoid eleven miles of headwinds that were near 20 mph and gusting higher than that. Though it was in the mid 50's today, most everyone was in some long sleeves and a few put on tights too. Here is Dave C and I with his tandem at the start in Myakka State Park, about a 20 minute drive north of Venice. We loaded bikes, went to the park and did the ride loop. Flashing a big smile, I caught Larry J on camera as he came up along side us - and stayed with us on today's ride. I like riding tandem for taking photos! Easy to just keep pedaling and snap pictures too.

Half way through the ride there was a stop at a gas station convenience store. They have some tables/booths to sit and eat and a TV was on. It was about 15 minutes before the swearing in of Obama as the 44 president. All heads were on the TV. Then just before the swearing in, 3 minutes to go, and that TV lost it's signal! So we all got back on our bikes and continued on the ride, missing the historical moment on the tele.

Larry had a flat, and that took about 10 minutes to fix - by that time we were far behind the group that was doing the long route. Was quite chilly and windier by the time we finished around 3:30 PM. I thought maybe it would rain a little -- but it didn't! Look at all that Spanish moss hanging from the tree above us. It is a lovely sight riding through the groves of trees that are thick and line the roads throughout the park. I don't know if this stuff is good for the trees or not, but it sure makes a nice scene to ride under it.

We went to Olfelia's Italian Restaurant tonight. One of my very favorite eating spots down here. I especially savour the hot, crispy crust of boucle of bread they bring to the table and the EVO with whole roasted garlic cloves dropped into the oil. Um, um, good! Some ate a calamari dish, another had pasta, I had a delicious piece of roasted salmon with honey ginger sauce. Perfecto!

Fire Ants - Yoga - Biking - 64th Birthday

2009-01-19T21:07:00.003-05:00

The group Yoga class at 5:00 PM this afternoon, at the beach in Venice, FL.
Sara(L), Margie (R) doing some warm-ups for the Yoga class on the beach. Fran and Kathy (standing to the right of Margie) were there too.
Sara (L), Karen (R) do some sun worshiping before the Yoga class begins
Bob B. gave me a little carrot cake this afternoon - a "HAPPY 64 BIRTHDAY to me. Wasn't that nice!

Today I am 64 years old! And our Tom is 42 years young! It was a grand day today in sunny Florida. A 40 mile bike ride (riding tandem with Dave). I had wanted to stop at the Nakomis Orchard on Albee Farms Rd and take a photo of all the grapefruit trees. That was fine, except I got into a FIRE ANT hill. I sure did move fast and was batting those stinging ants from my legs to get them OFF of my exposed leg. Got six welts, but Dave and then Margie each gave me some stuff to put on the bites and they didn't hurt much after that. It was about 72 degrees today -- it was just absolutely perfect biking weather.

At 5:00 PM five of us went a few blocks down to the Venice Public beach and attended an open session Yoga class. There were about 50 or more that showed up for the class right on the sand at the beach. (They have these every morning and some afternoons on the beach, free!) Frank, Rich and Gary showed up after the class started and moved in next to us and tried it do the poses too. Good for some laughs.

Eight of us went to Markers 4 Restaurant down on the water front for a seafood dinner. Bob B. had surprised me with a loaf carrot cake earlier, before we gals took off to do the Yoga. So when we got back to the Veranda I served up pieces of it to some who stopped into our room. That was really nice of Bob to do that!

The Perfect Bike Chain Tatoo. Florida 2009

2009-01-18T17:30:00.005-05:00

About 43 people from the Stark County Bike Club descended upon Venice, FL and the Veranda Inn. When I drove to the airport yesterday morning my thermometer said minus 13 degrees!!! though Florida was warmer, it was unseasonably cold here. I wasn't complaining as biking in 60-65 degrees was wonderful! Arrived here and almost immediately went out for a bike ride with nine others. We checked out the new Legacy Trail that goes from Venice to Sarasota. It was GREAT to be on the bike again after a 2 week hiatus because of the snow in Ohio. Today we all started out at 10 AM -- and the weather was perfect for riding. I rode tandem bike with Dave C. I put on my 'extra' Specialized Jett saddle. I have that one on my Trek Madone too, and had just gotten another one to use when I ride tandems. We rode 30 miles yesterday, and 40 today.

We went for lunch at the Gold Rush BBQ place a few door down from the Veranda. They are famous for their barbecued meats. Dave (see the photo) 'pigged' out on the chopped pork platter. They have fabulous homemade chicken noodle soup. I had that for my lunch. Rick and Nan joined us and Rick had to show off his "Perfect" bike chain tattoo. You can tell he does his yoga -- look at that flexibility!

How to Make Jumbo Stuffed Shells

2009-01-16T05:44:00.005-05:00

So sad that I couldn't bike, nor did I venture out to ski yesterday. It was -13 degrees outside, so I stayed in and made this casserole of jumbo stuffed pasta shells. BicycleGirlCooks was in the kitchen yesterday making this easy to prepare for the oven dish. The complete recipe is on the information section on YouTube. Baked Pasta Shells - ala Mex-Italia
Go to the column on the right and click on the information section (the 'more' word will bring up the ingredients list). Served with some hot Italian bread, um, um GOOD. I brought this dish to the New Year's Day bike club get together.

I'm looking forward to getting down to Venice and the Veranda Inn tomorrow! Florida isn't having a heat wave, but it sure beats biking in sub-zero up here! SCBC folks are looking forward to biking in the sunshine! 60's and 70's are fine with me. So OK, for now watch me fix this yummy food:

P.S. I posted several new videos from last Saturday's SCBC banquet on the SCBCrider video channel on YouTube. Here

Removing Bicycle Chain Grease

2009-01-15T18:00:00.005-05:00

Don't you just hate it when the grease from the bicycle chain jumps up on your best piece of bike clothing?

The other day I had on my Craft Pro-Zero zip mock neck base layer shirt. It is long and hung down below my jacket. Just happens to be white and wouldn't you know, as I lifted up my bike to put it on the car bike rack the shirt came up against the chain. OH NO! The dreaded bicycle chain grease stain! About 3 days later (in general don't wait that long) I took care of it before adding it to a load of clothes in the washing machine. I have found the grease removing Heavy-duty cleaner LESTOIL is the only solution that will wipe out bike grease stains from clothes. It is also wipes out grass stains right now. There are a lot of these bike garments made these days in this day-glow color and those fabrics are just very hard to release the bike chain grease stains. But Lestoil will get it clean. If it does dissolve the stain right away, launder and do it again. It's never failed me. I use an old toothbrush to work the liquid into the grease. Just be sure to treat the stain as soon as possible after the run in with the grease.

Here is a little video clip I filmed as I removed the stain from one of my favorite cold weather bike garments. I have seen flashy ads and clever jingles, but have never seen anything work as well as Lestoil does for me

Toasted Cheese on George Foreman Grill

2009-01-14T10:32:00.005-05:00

When I come home from a bike ride - or just lots of other times - and I'm hungry for a great, super fast, toasted cheese sandwich I plug in my small Champ George Foreman Grill.

Thing about these grills is they cook the food twice as fast because they cook BOTH sides at the same time. I start with my favorite 10-grain bread that I get at the West Point Market, home of the famous original Killer Brownies - they are deadly! Delicious that is. I buy 6-7 loaves at a time and usually have them sliced 3/4" thick. I keep the loaves in the freezer.

I use a use a vegan buttery type of spread on the bread (just the outside that touches the grill plates) and then put a slice of cheese in between the bread. I like the Monterrey Jack cheese. Jarlsberg cheese is super good too.

This grill is great for putting some veggies (green, red peppers, thick slices of onion, zucchini) on it and in 1 minute you have delicious grilled veggies. It will cook a chicken breast in 2 minutes. Do a frozen burger in a jiffy too. I love salmon on this grill. 4 minutes flat and its done to perfection. First I marinate the salmon for 5 minutes in some different marinates that I keep around. With the little tray sitting below the grill it will catch all the fat -- so way, way less fat in your food preparation too! I purchased my little George Foreman at Bed Bath and Beyond. They are available all over the web too. I think it was around $20.00. I have a large size one also to do more than one (veggie!) burger, a big batch of veggies, or two sandwiches at the same time. This large one has a temperature control. I really like the small one best. I can keep it on the counter top and it is handy to plug in anytime.

Think Dogs Are a Problem for Bikers?

2009-01-13T06:25:00.011-05:00

. . . And we thought dogs were only a problem for bikers.

Due to the snow, our bicycles are still hung up so a group from the bike club went x-c skiing again. Dick was with us on our skiing adventure at Quail Hollow yesterday. I sent him the original photo I took with just one of 'Jessie' dog, and it came back with multiple doggies in the picture! Here is his exclusive account of how our day went out there:

"We had a terrible day at Quail Hollow trying to x-country ski today. Deb decided to bring her dogs. They kept stopping in front of us on the downhills. (see photo).

Karen went off trail trying to miss one of the dogs (don't know dog's legal name) and hit a tree. She fell in the snow unconcious for 20 minutes.

When she woke up she thought she was in Florida.

We told her it does not snow in Florida and then all the dogs started licking her face. Good she does not wear too much makeup. The lipstick did smear a bit and we thought it was blood until we looked closer.

This photo is just before Karen broke her nose missing the dog (don't know dog's name). Sylvia and Gary were the only smart ones. They walked down the hills to avoid skiing over the dogs.

I like those orange dog vests (don't know all their names, sorry, no disrespect intended), they are like the Canton City Street Repair persons wear. I may get one of them if they come in my size."

Now don't believe all of that . . .
We all had a blast and we're game to try it again today. Too bad Deb has to go back to work today, she and her little doggie Jessie won't be there.

Do I look like some sort of ski patroler? I must watch for DebbieDogs! I carry my camera in the zipper pocket on the front of that Nathan's runner's vest. My GPS is in another pocket on the front. It has a water bladder on the back. It is a superlightweight thing with open mesh material.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

2009-01-12T04:50:00.003-05:00

Feeling just a little stressed today? Feeling rushed while you are packing bicycles and gear to go SCBC Florida this weekend?
This is the most beautiful rendition of this song I have ever listened to. It is so peaceful. I'm putting it on my iPod to listen to when I am falling asleep at night. This song is sung by 14 year old Emma Fitlness on the album Angelis.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow - Angelis

Put Away the Bikes and Go Ski

2009-01-11T20:16:00.007-05:00

(Click on photo to enlarge) (See video below)
After yesterday's heavy snow fall that dumped from the heavens about 12" of snow in a matter of 3 hours -- those of us from the Stark County Bike Club were excited and quickly shifting our thoughts from bicycles to skiing. At the annual SCBC banquet last night we left with a time today to meet at Quail Hollow State Park. We gathered at the entrance to the trails and paused for the unofficial official opening of the 2009 meeting of the S.C.B.C.S.G. (Stark County Bike Club Ski Group) cross-country skiers. The bikes are hung up momentarily. We had a great time out there playing in the snow. There was Mal, Karen, Margie, John S, Al, and myself. I brought along the small digital camera. So the video quality isn't the greatest in this composite YouTube video -- but I couldn't resist getting some footage of us. As we came on to the trails we made our way up a small hill and stopped to remember a former member of the SCBC, Diane Barken. Her bench was placed along the trail in remembrance of her.

This was the scene outside my kitchen window yesterday morning (1/10/09). In just over 2.5 hours this is what it looked like! We went from no snow - to this. Yes! we love it because we can go x-country skiing, finally. But a lot of us will be in Florida by this weekend, bicycling for a week or two. So we will enjoy this for a few more days.

Watch Me Make Stuffed Oatmeal

2009-01-09T04:07:00.010-05:00

My first BicycleGirlCooks video has been posted. View it below. And wow, today it is featured on this bicycle guy's blog: Biking to Live

Read this great oatmeal blog post from a bicyclist who re-introduced himself to Oats after gagging on it as a kid. My mom too served it day after day during cold North Dakota winters, I loved it - alternating between Quaker Oats and Cream of Wheat. Especially liked how she sprinkled chocolate chips on the cream of wheat. Now as an adult this guy says he came to his senses and found out about the health benefits of eating this whole grain food, oatmeal. He is actually scarfing it up now on a daily basis. Another one has become a member of the Oats Club! After reading his post, he asked for some comments on what we thought of oatmeal. That got me up and going on editing a video that was sitting in my video file/folder on the computer. One morning a few days before reading his post I took my new JVC Everio GZ-HD6 video camcorder into the kitchen and recorded myself preparing my Loaded Oatmeal. I Twittered him and said if he was interested I'd post my Oatmeal video. Hey, he liked it. Now it is the featured video on his blog today.

Speaking of Oats and Oatmeal . . . This photo was taken the final morning of my 52 day cross country bicycle trip, 2006. The leaders from America By Bicycle had presented riding buddy, Chuck, and I with boxes of "Quick Oats." He and I were always the very first ones up at the butt-crack-of dawn every morning downing some oatmeal and chomping at the bit to get out there and ride our bikes. They figured all those oats made us quick on the pedals. Oh such fun we had. Sheesh! I really kept my hair short that summer. It did make it very wash 'n go those days out there on the bike. After averaging 85 miles of day for 52 days on the bike there was no desire to fuss with the hair do!

It's deadline time right now for the Road Captain. - So after things settle down and I get the February Stark County Bike Club ride schedule, and Road Captain's Report article sent over to The Spokin' Word newsletter editor I can spend some time preparing to post my little cooking school videos. Stay tuned.

Build a Bicycle Snow Plow

2009-01-05T14:52:00.008-05:00

I have friends in other states that are complaining about the snow and being trapped in the house having to ride their bike on the indoor trainer. Totally boring for most. Actually, I like my bike trainer. I don't have time to watch TV so when I'm on the trainer (treadmill, or Nordic Track Ski machine) I can be a news junkie, or dream about those HGTV home re-decorating ideas for at least thirty to forty minutes. But there are times when you have to get outside to tend to the business of snow clearing.

Looking at the weather here in NE Ohio we just may have some accumulation of the white stuff coming. Soon. Will have to get out the shovels and snow blowers. But why not get in a bike ride while taking care of the chore of clearing the snow? Yes! I'm thinking of rigging up one of these bike snowplows. Do you have one?

Photo credit: http://www.oklahomabicyclesociety.com/Scrapbook/image_80.html

Toasted Toes and Hot Hands

2009-01-04T09:56:00.009-05:00

I could not be bike riding (or snow shoveling, or x-country skiing) in this cold weather with out using these two items. Instant heat packs for my toezees and my finners. (Click on photos to enlarge) Feet: Before putting on my bike shoes, I stick them on top of a pair of wool socks . Sometimes I put them on top of my socks, sometimes on the bottom of my socks. They are a thin, flat, light adhesive backed toe warmer. There are times I have put them on the top of my bike shoe inbetween the shoe and the Gore Bike Wear Shoe Cover. It all works well. It is a lifesaver toward being comfortable out on a cold winter bike ride. I even wear them into the springtime too when it is still chilly. I just don't add the shoe cover. I'm one that has very sensitive-to-cold digits, and I need them often when others can go out there wearing just bike sandles in the middle of the winter!

Hands: On the coldest days I use these Burton mittens with the heat packs. The mittens have a little fleece lining and this handy zip pocket on the outside. I just slip in the packet right there. I have also dropped them in a windproof light-weight mitten and wear another glove (if the temperature requires it) inside. I can bike along squeezing/touching this little heat pack and warming the fingers. I have used them with some fingered gloves too, by inserting them down in the glove to the palm, or on the back of my hand. The heat will still radiate to the fingers. With it next to the palm, it still isn't too much in the way when you have the hand on the handlebars of the bicycle.

I can buy them at my local Gander Mountain store. But this season since I have been biking every day in the cold weather I have purchased them online in a 40 pairs count box. Cheaper that way. I have to check several websites because the prices vary. I like to go with who ever has the cheapest (or free!) shipping at the time. There are several brand names of these instant charcoal activated heat things: Toastie Toes, Heat Factory, Hot Hands to name a few.

Now I have figured out how to use the hand and the toe warmers TWICE. As soon as I finish my bike ride (or skiing, or snow blowing) I put them in a zip-lock baggie and zip it closed to cut off any air/oxygen. They are reusable the next time. So this cuts the cost down to half the price.

Don't Stop in the Shade in the Winter !

2009-01-03T13:47:00.012-05:00

Heard this today as I was riding along with the back of the pack. It was a fantastic day because the sky was so clear and the sun was absolutely brilliant how it was filling every bit of the sky with sunshine. What a treat. Four of us are rolling along coming near the home stretch on the last of a 25 mile ride. I could see Gary F. up ahead. Looked like he had stopped to take a brief break along side of the road - about 20 miles into the ride. I come rolling up and he is just pushing off on his pedals and begins rolling along with us. I ask, "Everything OK?" He says, "Yup, I was just stopping in the shade." What?! You got it WRONG, Gary. Not the shade! It is 22 Fahrenheit degrees and the sun (newsflash! newsflash!) is shining here in NE Ohio. You got it wrong. You stop in the SUN when it is this frickn' winter cold and the sun is shining. You stop in the SHADE in the summer heat when it is 90 degrees blazn' hot! I guess he must be part polar bear?

Captain Kaos Fan Club

2009-01-03T06:00:00.003-05:00

Meet Captain Kaos

Click photo to enlarge

I asked Steve the other day how it was that he has become known as Captain Kaos? Mike G, he told me, started telling him a cloud of chaos hung around him when he showed up for the bike rides. Steve loved the teasing, and soon we were calling him Captain Kaos.

Don't know what I did to deserve this but he said I could become an official member of his very own Captain Kaos Fan Club. You gotta love it. After the bike ride the other day I was ready to pull away and he comes running over to my car with this membership card and invitation to join his fan club. Really special because it says on it, "Only special people are invited to join this elite club."

Life around Steve is a little Kao-tic - especially when he is out riding his bike with us. He has some powerful legs - that he says he keeps in shape between bike rides - with weight training at the local gym. So riding with him I sure can't keep up for long. His youth and power on the bike leave me in the dust. But Steve, he is just, well Steve. On more rides than I can count, we'll be riding along and ask, "Where in the world is Steve?" Lost. Again. He will miss a turn and he will be off for hours trying to find his way back to the finish of the ride. But he is so good natured and will still laugh at himself for all the trouble he gets himself into on his bicycle rides. I wish I had his good naturedness when I get myself in a pickle!

If he isn't on his bike, he'll be on his cell phone calling his fan club, at the public library checking his email, or tooling around in his little green monster (you'll know it's him because he has a magnetic 'Captian Kaos' sign stuck to the side) trying to find the ride start location. I'm sure you have heard him say a million times, "Sweet!" Ah yes, for Steve life may be Kaos, but still he's a treat, quite simple and sweet. Someone in the club said about steve: "The Captain is the nicest person I have met at scbc. I really appreciate him and he has taught me alot about how to be happy."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmRKq5eVG2A

Videos: Riding to eat - Eating to ride

2009-01-02T22:03:00.007-05:00

My first bike ride of 2009. New Year's Day 1:30 PM. It was a chilly one (about 25 degrees F) but the sun came out and I did the cued 16 mile ride from Dave and Marilyn's. Best part was the huge feast that we devoured afterwards at their home. A great start to the year: "Riding to eat and eating to ride."

4 Things I had NEVER done before

2009-01-02T21:37:00.006-05:00

1. Ride a Tandem Bicycle.
2. Play Disc Golf (some call it Frisbee Golf).
3. Taught myself how to use the voice-over feature on ProShow Gold software.
4. Ride my bicycle in very cold weather.

Mal and I on his Cannondale Tandem

Over his shoulder shoot with my camera.

OK, so here it was the very last day of 2008, New Year's Eve. I was thinking back over this passing year - I always like to recall if there was something, anything, that I did during the year that I never in my lifetime had done before. It dawned on me that I did four things. It is like breaking through barriers of my brain and body that have not been touched before. Thinking outside the box. With a couple of these I had to widen my comfort zone. Researchers say learning to do something new can keep your brain cells doing good things, and fend off dementia. I don't know about that, my 'senior moments' are getting all too frequent. Here are my 4 never dones that I did in 2008:

1. Riding a tandem bicycle. I have wanted to try that for so long. But no one asked me to ride tandem with them -- so I just figured I would have to wait and see if my DH would get one after he retires. But one day this summer I had volunteered to mark a road route with spray paint for an invitational bike ride. Mal too had volunteered to do this. I was joking when I said, "It would go faster if we rode on your tandem, and I could just lean over at the intersections and spray the arrow on the road." He said, "OK, meet me at Bolivar School and we'll get the job done." Wait a minute! I've never ridden on a tandem before! He said, "Well no time like today to learn." What fun that was. I brought along my spd clipless pedal shoes, as his tandem doesn't have the Look pedals that I use on my Madone. I just took a few deep breaths and trusted Captain Mal up front - just leave the driving to the pilot and stay cool in the stoker's saddle.

We got the job done. We didn't fall over going up the hills. Wheeeee, what a thrill going down the hills! I tried to pedal as hard as I could -- so he would not think I was just sitting back there watching the scenery go. Now this is the kind of Back of the Pack (position) I like to be in. I must have done OK, because Mal asked me to ride on some club rides as the summer/fall went along.

New things #2, #3, and #4:
I'll come back and post on these later. I have a ton of stuff to do to get next month's SCBC ride schedule ready for publication in the club newsletter.

Ride It Like You Stole It

2008-12-30T13:00:00.014-05:00

Click on photo to enlarge detail

I was stopped at a traffic light on my way home from the bike ride today. While waiting for the light to turn green, on the truck in front of me I stared at this bumper sticker (the upper one). Though it has the logo of Harely Davidson on it and it was surely referring to his motorcycle -- I couldn't help think to myself that I make this a New Year resolution. YES! That's going to be my mantra in 2009!

"Ride It Like You Stole It"

I'm going to get out there and ride this bicycle like I stole it! I'm going to give it my best on all the rides. This doesn't necessarily translate into a huge jump in mph, but just that I'll be laughing at the wind, and sucking the wheel in front of me.

I'm going to make every ride count for something. Perfer that some thing be a trimmer, stronger body. I'm going to strive to put forth more power on the bike. You betcha, I'll have the back of the pack (where I will still be riding) chasing me!! I'll be at least a sixteenth of a mile up ahead and reaching to ride with the MOP -- Middle 'o Pack -- riders. And this bike is going to steal my heart away.

Cycled 10,000 Miles This Year

2008-12-29T20:04:00.013-05:00

Congratulations to my friend, Toni, for reaching her personal goal of cycling 10,000 miles on her bicycle this year! She did some of the miles with the Stark County Bike Club, a few with Folks On Spokes Club, some week long organized bike tours (Florida, Indiana, and Wisconsin) as well as many times just riding around by herself - until she finally hit this nice even number! This year she turned sixty-five years (young). I greatly admire her energy, her commitment and love of cycling. I hope we can continue to spend many more times riding with each other. She is one special gal!

Don R. showed up for the 9:30 AM Stark County Bike Club ride that started from Lake Avenue parking lot - and he had this great banner of congratulations. Notice it is pink, of course! It was a total surprise to Toni when she arrived for the ride. Such fun.
Here we are posing with Toni just before the ride started. There were a couple more riders who were not in time for the group photo. The temperature was 30 degrees and SUNNY (such a rare occurrence in NE Ohio winter)! Nice ride. Map #182.
L-R: Ed G, Dave McK, Me, Mal J, Bill S., John S, Toni P, Gary F, Bob D, Mike B, Tom K, and Gary H.

Update to this blog entry: The next day the banner appeared at the ride out of Alpine Park. Some riders not present yesterday (and a few from yesterday too) stood in this picture. L-R: Dave McK, Ed G, John S, Larry J, Toni, Dick A, Steve C, Margie B, Judy S, John S (hidden). Another riding buddy, Margie, also is a member of the 10,000 mile club this year - approaching 11,000 miles. She holds the women's 'Most Miles Ridden' with the SCBC club this year.

Don, the instigator of this little surprise. Don too rode his bike 10,000 plus miles this year. He hasn't been on his bike though for the last month as he is recovering from surgery on his shoulder. The pink bike! (She owns two pink bikes) Toni is known and affectionately called "Pinky" by some of her friends. She is rarely seen in any color other than pink. Pink everything. She was in the pink looong before it became the color identified with cancer research.

Totally Addicted to Biking

2008-12-28T17:56:00.003-05:00

Over heard while riding at the Back of the Pack on a recent ride:

"I already know that I'm "addicted" to riding. No doubt about that!! In fact, not to be on the dark side of a joke, but if you could get cancer from riding a bike too much, like getting cancer from smoking too many cigarettes, I'm sure I'd be on chemotherapy treatments as we speak!"

Flying Bike and Falling Riders

2008-12-24T18:42:00.011-05:00

Click on the photo to see the damage!

What a crummy Scrooge type start to my day. This morning Miss Lady Madone was carried into Ernie's Bike Shop and directly to their ER room. Emergency surgery was performed by Dr. Mechanic, aka Erik, and she was back in the hands of her much relieved Sara in less than an hour. So here's what happened. I got distracted while putting the bike on the car rack as I was leaving for the 9:30 AM club ride. Since it was drizzling a little outside I wanted to cover the saddle with a plastic bag and use a little bungee to hold down the bag. I put the bike on the first hooks on the car --- BIG NO-NO -- and continued to do the baggie on the saddle. But then that distraction caused me to forget to buckle the straps. I should always do what Paul has told me a zillion times to do. Put the bike on the furthest inside hooks, right up next to the car bumper. Then if you forget to strap it. . . But I tend not to do that because it is hard to thread the bike all the way to the back. But I paid for it this time.

Well need I say it: I drove off and the bike was not secured with the buckles around the top tube. Drove the one mile down the street, stopped before turning on to Hwy 21 going south. I was just beginning to accelerate and I don't know what made me look into my rear-view mirror -- HORRORS! What I saw was all happening in slow motion. My Madone was flipping off the bike rack. I could see it take a bounce to the pavement and flip over to the side of the road. Thank you all you bicycle angels - there were no cars coming up behind me. I stopped and ran down the road to pick up my bike. SOB, sob, Sob! The wheels wouldn't move and the handle bar was all screwed up! All I kept thinking was, how much is this going to cost. Maybe only needs a new handle bar I thought. I drove to the ride start and three riders were getting ready for the ride. Thank goodness the ride started from the lot at Lake Avenue where Ernie's Bike Shop is. And it was open, even earlier than usual this Christmas Eve morn. Everyone looked over my bike and the consensus was it was fixable. I took it into the shop and they got to working on it. I left and ran an errand at the grocery store. On my return to the shop -- a Christmas miracle awaited me. My bike was back together. The wheels were true, the chain back on, the shifters, hoods and handlebar was all back in order. What a relief!

This little misfortune was, I hate to say it, a bit of a blessing in disguise. Not so good for the others. Peg called a few hours later to say it was a good thing I wasn't able to start out on the ride with them. All three were riding just out of Canal Fulton, coming up near NWHS, on a bit of a rise and BLAM!!! All three riders went down. Chuck K hit the black ice first and his bike went right out from under him. Then Peg, then Margie. All three hit that ice at the same time. Enough to ruin the ride for sure. They headed on back to Ernie's where Peg had to leave her bike to have the derailleur adjusted. No one expected that ice. For heaven's sake who would have thought when the temp was 40+ and light rain -- you'd think the ice would have melted. First report is everyone is OK. If I'd been on the ride I too would have been right there in the road sprawled out with them. My bike was fixed and I was spared, this time, the excitement on that ride.

Bike fixed. I put it on the safest spot on the rack!

Blue Blobs Result in This

2008-12-22T11:00:00.005-05:00

I'm going to look reeeally close at the Accuweather local radar before the bike rides these days. Dakers told me to watch out for green, pink, and blue blobs covering Stark/Summit Counties. Or else I would be tooling along in this . . .

This photo was taken by a Portland, OR bike rider on his way to work today, viewed on Flickr. http://www.flickr.com/photos/bikeportland/

Top 10 Reasons to Ride in Winter

2008-12-22T05:09:00.007-05:00

Al got it right when he came up with this list of Ten Reasons to Ride in Winter published in the January issue of SCBC Spokn' Word - club newsletter!

1. Polar Bears are cute

2. Santa's elves wear tights

3. Road salt is an acquired taste

4. Snow fills the Stark County potholes

5. The tingly feeling at the end of the ride

6. Mike Jones in shorts and short sleeves

7. Hot coffee, hot showers and saunas

8. I look good in a ski mask

9. Spandex and layers have a slimming effect

10. HotHands (tm) down the tights

Clean Your Bike Garden Variety

2008-12-21T21:30:00.008-05:00

Handy dandy tip here to clean your bike that I heard from someone while riding along in the 'back of the pack' one day. Using one of those garden sprayers (like mine pictured here), filled with water and a few drops of all-purpose cleaner, just pump the handle up and down to add some air pressure in the tank. Take the wand, pull the trigger and spritz off your bike. Gone is the road grime! And oh so handy to have along in the car for after the bike ride. Get back to your car take this sprayer and clean off the bike before putting it in your van/SUV/car-trunk/back-seat, or the bike-rack. Have a dry rag close by and just wipe it down after your bike's been sprayed off. No mud/snow/slush or gunk dripping off the bike all the way home. And your bike is clean for tomorrow's club ride! Isn't this just the neatest thing? I have gotten in the habit of bringing this out as soon as I get home and pull in the garage. Before I remove my bike from the car bike rack I wash the bike right away this fast and simple 2 minute way. A clean bike drives so much better.

You can get these at the hardware store or any big-box store. They are about fifteen bucks for a 2 gallon size. Less for a smaller one. Bring it out, go over to your riding buddy and offer to give his bike a little shower too before he puts his bike away. You'll be on his good buddy list for sure. And if you were to do this for Bob B - no telling he just may put you on his Candy List. Maybe.

The Masked Bicycle Bandit

2008-12-21T13:44:00.005-05:00

Cold weather riding? Not a problem this year. Hey I found a couple of perfect solutions.
I wear my Scott Storm OTG goggles and my wonderful Gore Bike Wear Windstopper balacava. This face mask fits over my eye glasses, against the face very softly and is helmet compatible. Has nice ventilation holes around the face too. While on a trip in early November I went into my favorite store, REI (Recreational Equipment Inc). They had a huge selection of ski/face goggles. A very helpful sales clerk was very knowledgeable about which one would be ideal for using while bicycle riding. From his own experience, he said it would definitely keep the face much warmer. Those Minnesota bike riders surely know about riding in the cold - I lived in North Dakota right next door to Minnesota long enough to know what cold is! I had two criteria:
1. Had to fit over my eye glasses - comfortable and roomy
2. Had to be suitable to wear with a bicycle helmet. Be adjustable.
This goggle was designed with this in mind. It is high quality lens material, with anti-fog coating that prevents fogging up and quality construction so that one has good side vision while riding.
I look a little scary though, no? But when my eye area is getting hit with cold wind while flying down the roads the eyes can start to tear and the face feel so much colder. I will deteriorate into miserableness. This has been the greatest in those head winds and general cold weather riding.

Next best purchase was the Gore Bike Wear Windstopper Balaclava. It is a very light weight fabric, but don't let that Windstopper material fool you. It may feel thin and light, but it STOPS the wind all around the face, neck, ears and top of head. This one covers the top of the nose, yet is open for air, and over the mouth area it has a mesh pattern of small holes. These two things, my goggles and my balaclava all add up to a much more enjoyable ride in the wintertime.

Oh and I bought the face warmer, which is half the size of the full balaclava. Same material/brand. It's right here on Colorado Cyclist. It covers just the lower part of the face/nose/mouth and up on to the ears -- without covering the top of the head. I have used this a few times, but I like the full top of the head covered right now. I could though, wear this with a skull cap. Click on the highlighted words to view these items on the web.
Warning: It may be a good idea not to stop at the bank while out on your bike ride dressed in this garb. Could send the tellers into a frenzied panic mode : - )

Gore-Tex vs Poor-Tex

2008-12-19T21:56:00.012-05:00

(Click on photo to enlarge details)
When the weather turned cold I was wearing on all my rides full-cover Descente Neoprene Shoe Covers over my bike shoes . But I found Neoprene doesn't breathe very well. After a ride I would remove them from my shoes and they would be quite wet from sweat. This makes your feet colder. (See this blogger's comments on using Neoprene for the cold weather)

It seemed when I would ride in the cold and into the wind I could still feel some air coming through these booties. I noticed Dick A. duct-tapes his helmet holes shut with duct-tape. A permanent way to keep the wind out and his head warmer. I heard from the Back of the Pack, that back when Gore-Tex first came out everyone was rushing out to buy all sorts of bike clothing and accessories made with this waterproof, breathable, windproof miracle stuff. Gore-Tex this, Gore-Tex that. It is a bit pricey that's for sure. Thrifty Dick came out with his Poor-Tex! That is, duct-tape was just as good for him as the expensive Gore-Tex.

I had read in Runners World Magazine a couple of years ago that some runners in (frigid cold winters) Minneapolis would wrap their running shoes in duct-tape to close the mesh vents and to keep their feet warm. One morning a few weeks ago I was getting ready for a bike ride and I brought out a roll of sunny yellow colored duct-tape and decided to cover all the vents and holes on my road bike shoes. I wanted to see what it would do for the warmth rating. I was amazed! This trick really works!! I have found this to be another one of the best things I have done for comfort during this winter riding.

The bad thing is -- I'm afraid to find out what this duct-tape is doing to these $$$ Specialized Road Bike shoes. (Note to husband: Do not click on that link, or you will find out how much I spent on these bike shoes). I fear when I peel it off this Spring I will be stuck (literally) with adhesive all over the leather on the shoes. But notice, I have a spare pair just like the taped ones! Maybe I'll just leave the tape on for good -- and not have to find out what it has done to the shoes. I'll report the damage, if any, should I decide to peek under the tape. Hey, give this a try -- if you feel you need just a little something more to keep those tootsies warm when it is 19 degrees out and you are on a bike ride with me . . . and the other few crazies that are on a club ride in the winter here in Northeast Ohio.

Bicycle Lunch Box

2008-12-19T14:22:00.013-05:00

(Click on photo for detail)

I love my Bento Box on my bicycle. It is the most handy thing. I first saw one of these in 2004 while on the tour of Ride The Rockies in Colorado. I searched for this and found two sizes. I bought both the large size and the smaller size. I sometimes put the smaller one right under the tip of the saddle -- on the top tube. The smaller one will hold gels, keys, or my cell phone. But I really like the one up front. I can carry my Fuji Finepix E900 Digital Camera in the Bento. Handy to whip open the velcro lid and access the camera quickly. It is great too for the cell phone. In the summer I always put my 'treats' in the Bento box. I carry dried dates and pop one of those in my mouth about every 45 minutes of continuous riding for a little 'fuel'.

Bento is a Japanese word meaning lunch box. These little bike Bento Boxes are used by triathletes too as they can quickly open it for their fuel, like GU Energy Gel while on the race. I purchased mine at http://www.trisports.com/. I've given a few of these away, and everyone loves them. And no, these little boxes do not interfere with your riding. Your legs don't touch it as you ride along.

See Toni's pink one on her bike. (scroll down to last photo) It is a FuelBelt brand. It has a zippered top closure. She says it keeps everything dry inside in a light rain. Of course hers is pink and you know she has to have it in pink! But this zippered one comes in black and red too. Can see these zip close ones here: Zippered Bento Box.

**Click on the photo to enlarge detail**

Nifty Bike Fender

2008-12-13T07:37:00.000-05:00

(Click on image to view close-up)
It is really irritating when I would like to draft the wheel in front of me when the roads are sloppy wet and/or it is raining and the spray flies right up in my face onto my eye glasses. It's cold and yukky and before long I can barely see. And not only that, my tush and all the way up the back of my jacket, clear up to the neck begins to look like, well, Sh** has been thrown at it. This disgusting brown slop (winter is especially the brown variety) sprays up from my own rear wheel.

Everyone in front of me needs a fender. If I ease up on my pace to avoid the spray from the bike in front of me, forget it, I lose my momentum and I'm sure to be dropped. On a recent ride the other day I saw Peg had outfitted one of her (many) bikes - a 'beater bike' - with a fender she had just bought in Ernie's Bike Shop. It was a seat post fender that telescoped to different lengths. She said it was very light weight too. Heaven forbid I add a gram of weight to my bike! So I tested it and ride behind her and it does a pretty descent job of keeping the crud off my face. Never seemed to make it in to the bike shop to buy one, so used the computer to look for them. REI has two pages of bike fenders, but couldn't find the one that was hers. I asked her what the brand was but I keep forgetting what she told me. But I saw this SKS Race Blade XL road bike fender set. It is a German company that makes these. I ordered it from Colorado Cyclist for $39.99. And free shipping for me too. Can't beat that . . .

What I like about it is that it took all of about 3 minutes to attach it to the bike. I was in a hurry the morning I put it on ready to go out on a club ride in heavy rain. I am glad it was so easy to attach. And it will be just a 2 second removal job too. It is very light weight too. Notice in the photo that the wires that come down from the fender have a piece of plastic that rests on the seat stays of the bike and two strips of rubber with holes (that can be cut to shorten to look better if you like) come around it and hooks it securely. It is light weight too. Another BIG plus with this one that I really like is it comes down a good way on the tire -- meaning it has great coverage and good shielding from keeping the rider behind me from the road spray. It past the test -- no one got any spray from my wheel. AND my jacket was perfectly clean - a little wet, but clean wet! I did not attach the front wheel fender. I need to fiddle with it some as the clearance between the tire and the down tube of the bike is narrow and I need to bend the wires I think. So there ya go -- another fine accessory for riding in the inclement weather.

27 Miles of Gas in The Veins

2008-12-11T16:00:00.004-05:00

I like this t-shirt. On most every ride it does feel like heaven to be out there riding like hell. But some rides . . . well they're just hell from start to finish.

*Rant On*

"In their veins gas flowed, but in mine only blood flowed."
I burst my lungs and crushed my legs while I busted (hoping it trimmed?) my butt this morning giving it my all to catch up with the Wolf Pack. Right from the get-go I was BOP (Back Of Pack). Didn't even make the turn onto Greensburg Road a mere four tenths of a mile from the starting gate and I knew it was going to be a struggle of a cold weather ride. The group dropped me like I was something that had fallen off a tall building. What gives? Just yesterday I was riding in a driving rain for twenty three miles and I was right there hanging in and even taking turns with the pull. The three of us were not going a snail's pace either, we were moving. The brisk 12 mph headwind didn't really slow us one bit. The chilly rain was only a minor distraction. I was dressed for the wet and was warm. Even with all the extra clothes which surely sets up more resistance, I was keeping up.

This morning Accuweather showed it was going to be warmer at the start; 31 degrees, no rain, no snow, and half the wind of yesterday blowing in at about 6 mph. So I dressed a tad lighter today. Only three layers on top - my Craft zip-T, a short sleeve Smartwool zip-T, and my windproof Gore Wear Phantom jacket. For the first time in cold weather season even skipped the packs of Toastie's hand warmers in my gloves. I wore two layers of gloves. First few miles I had the usual numbness/cold in the fingers, but by four miles the blood was into the fingers and that was no longer a distraction. As I drove to the ride start I was thinking I had a fighting chance to get to ride with a little group.

I pretty much knew who would be showing up. It's very cold these days, and I thought it would be just like yesterday, and we would stay together. Things just looked better overall from yesterday. No rain, tad warmer, decent route over-all. - meaning not too many climbs for long stretches.

When I didn't make the turn onto Mayfair Road the last rider in the pack was holding up. The other four in the lead were like shots out of rockets. I just don't get it. How come these people are riding even FASTER in this cold weather? I said something about that to one of these riders a few weeks ago. Said something like, "Seems like a lot of you are riding really fast in this cold weather." The response was, "We all ride slower this time of year." Well you cannot prove that by me! No, honestly they are riding faster than ever!

I'm coming around the turn onto Mayfair and my fingers are frickn' cold. This is a distraction for me. Instead of being able to fully concentrate on moving forward my mind is on these freezing digits. At this point I was sorry I didn't wear mitts with a HotHands pack dropped in. My only hope was that soon there would be some blood getting to the fingers and they would warm up. Thank God that happened about four miles into the route.

The rider who saw me falling back pulled in to a drive-way, stopped, and was fending a clothing adjustment. Yeah, right. He would have been able to start up again, ride off in a flash, and catch right back up with the Wolf Pack. I pedal on past him and he slips in behind me. Now I'm really nervous. This rider was just doing this so I wouldn't be by myself. I should appreciate that, but it made me nervous because now I feel I have to push harder than ever, not let up my pace one iota. I don't want him to feel he is enduring a boring ride with this slow rider. I did not slow up to do a little chit-chatting, because then that would really slow everything down. I start talking, and the pace just naturally eases up. From somewhere I had a surge of energy - my legs were about this time getting loosened up so I could pick up the tempo. How come the Wolf Pack's legs were warmed up and turning the cranks like they were jet-fueled the minute they got on their bikes? It's not fair. I'm going to blame it on my age, too much clothing, exercised induced asthma, and closed restrooms. Huge distractions and discomfort to be riding with the bladder not completely empty! The restrooms are closed there this time of year.

So here I am a little ways in front of him and he lets me kind of pull for the next 25 miles. Every downhill I would push and pull on those cranks with everything I had, never letting up. And coming up some of the hills I was for most of them holding a satisfying clip. Still, the Wolf Pack was out of sight. I was hoping that we wouldn't get caught at any traffic lights, or delayed at any cross streets at the stop signs to wait for traffic. I was hoping that the Wolf Pack hit every traffic light and got slowed up by traffic at every stop sign! All of us must have hit those obstacles in sync, because I never approached a signal and saw them - until - mile nineteen. They were pulling away from a traffic light. The competitive juices were ignited and started to flow and I tried so hard to try and reach their tails. I just wanted to be part of their group, to ride with them, to draft along with them. I wonder if they saw me back there? Did it occur to slow up just a wee little bit so I could catch up? No, because I know what it is like to be riding 'up ahead'. When was the last time anyway? And here's the thing. You have this nice momentum going, you are rolling along and your speed is constant, you are in this neat, exhilarating groove and it takes a lot to give that up, even for three or four minutes that it would mean for the one within sight behind you to catch up. I admit it is hard to give that momentum up when I'm riding in a little group.

But I was closing in. Dang! The hill on Cottage Grove bent skyward and my automatic transmission dropped down a gear. I saw them rounding on to Christman. My riding buddy who was still sheparding me close behind makes the turn with me. I slow up and say, "I give up!" " I thought I had a good chance of catching them." He came out in front of me and hammered it -- it was hard to keep up, I'd spent so much of myself trying to reach the lead group, that now I was ready to just give up the whole idea. But I gave what I could to stick in behind him as close as I could. It was hard. He really pulled us both in close to the flyers. Finally after the hills on Main street and left onto Mt Pleasant the leaders were pausing at the stop sign at Arlington. I do believe they saw us coming up and actually decided to take mercy and wait for us.
Twenty seven miles, that's all it took. I was there at the stop sign and ready to roll. Though I fell back once again, I was by this time tired. They sure weren't tired though. Up and down the hills they flew. I rolled into the parking lot of the starting location and thanked the nice club member who stayed with me the whole time. Why was I near tears? It was just so hard today. I just want so much to be able to ride with a group in this cold weather and not see the Wolf Pack up there within sight and have to struggle like he** to reach them. But I would never want them to have to sacrifice their fun to slow down for me either.

*Rant Off*

4-Mile Run on Turkey Day

2008-11-28T23:05:00.009-05:00

Nick was home and brought his friend Brandon with him. The three of us went to downtown Akron and raced the 4 mile road race 'Run for the Homeless'. There were 2,500 that came out for this popular Thanksgiving morning race. I hadn't trained for this - just been bicycling exclusively this season, no time for running. But I did do it and had a blast. It was just barely 30 degrees. But NO rain or snow. I just took it very slow, even stopping to take photos. So my slooow time was 49:25. What a neat experience to be in a running event for the first time with my son Nick. Watch out -- next year I'll train for this one!! I have to do something about this problem I've been having ever since hiking in Gatlinbug, TN (Smokey Mountains) last May. I keep getting this painful muscle inflamation/tightness along side the shin near my ankle on my right leg. Dr Keyes who does ART (Active Release Technique) gets it all loosened up, but then when I hike, or like this running, I'm right back with the pain again. What is causing this weakness in this one particular spot?!

Nick and Brandon ready to race

A sea of people going down Exchange St, Akron, OH

Another Cold Weather Chick

2008-11-22T18:32:00.005-05:00

Here's Toni all dressed for a cold ride today. It was between 25-27 degrees on her ride from our house to Smithville and a stop for lunch at The Barn. She donned my IllumiNITE waterproof helmet cover. I had already done my ride this morning with the SCBC bike club -- so she used it on this 35 mile ride this afternoon. It keeps the wind from entering the helmet holes and keeps you nice and warm. If your head's warm, you's warm! She put on that plastic rain jacket too. Says it is a good wind shield. Man, I'd be sweating with that on. My Gore Bike Wear Phantom Jacket (she has her red one on - we both have this same jacket) is my favorite wind shield, and that along with my Craft long sleeve and a long sleeve Smartwool zip-T is plenty for me under the Phantom jacket and I'm good to go. Now I wonder if she was SMILING when I snapped this photo?!?

Dressed to Kill the Cold

2008-11-20T05:55:00.008-05:00

I think Peg has found the bandit who came out to rob her of warm weather riding! Looks just like me, doesn't it?!

Yesterday I showed up for the SCBC ride at Lake Avenue Trailhead/Ernie's for the morning ride. It was map #182. It's the one we now like to call the "Same 'ol Same 'ol" - over the gravel pit to Clinton/Center Rd trail head parking lot and back. The ridership has dwindled in this weather. Instead of the usual 20-30 riders, only the die-hards will come out now. This is the first year I've joined this rank, but for how long I don't know. I'll keep trying, even in a light snow fall. I don't see many (any!)other sixty-three plus year old women doing this - so I am pretty happy to keep on pedaling in 'my advanced age'!

There were six of us on this ride today: Peg, Al, Bob,Margie,TomK (at least we had a doctor with us. To start with stitching us if we fell on the ice) and me. Denny D was in the parking lot, looked like he was going to ride, but I never saw him from the get-go. He took the above photo. We didn't ride the gravel pit section today, over Riverview Road - that open grate metal bridge at Crystal Springs could have been icy this morning. We didn't chance it. We get the same miles by going straight up Erie Avenue. We had trouble enough slicing along though the very thin layer of ice spots on Cleveland-Massillon Road between Clinton and Center Road.

What are we doing this for?! Because we lovvve to be out there on our bicycles, no matter what. Because a day without a bike ride just doesn't feel complete - it just puts the sunshine in our lives. And here in North East Ohio, there ain't much sunshine in the winter. We are addicted to exercising. I just love the adventure, the wee challenge of being able to get out and Do IT! It was only about 27 degrees out, but I dressed for the occasion.

Am I Missing Something Here?!

2008-11-18T03:10:00.008-05:00

I would probably follow the arrow and hit the concete Post!
So this is why we wear helmets. . .

Rolling from Greensburg Park

2008-11-17T15:14:00.008-05:00

This morning it was just 33 degrees at 9:30 AM. It was Peg's ride and Larry J, Don R, Toni P and I showed up looking like masked bandits with our Balaclavas covering our faces. I was plenty warm wearing my Phantom Gore Wear jacket (with the sleeves zipped in), a turtle neck Under Armour long sleeve shirt, a feather-weight vest, wind stopping tights over padded bike shorts, Smart Wool liner socks and second pair of medium weight wool socks, full GoreTex shoe booties with Instant Heat pads between the bootie and shoe toe, a WindStopper full coverage balaclava, fit-over sunglasses to block more wind, and last important cold weather garment - one set of gloves inside Oasics wind-proof mittens. A warm Instant Heat pack inside the mitten. Good thing I didn't have to go pee - I'd be like the little boy in "A Christmas Story" who got all bundled up to go out in the snow and said he had to "P". Was I too warm on this twenty-five mile ride out of Greensburg Park this morning? Not really. My toes stayed warm, and fingers too. Those are my biggest worries as I'm totally miserable if they are cold. But after a couple of hills my long sleeve UnderArmour was feeling a tad too much covering. I wanted to rip it off actually. I start to feel itchy with that garment when I've worked up a sweat.

But oh what a nice ride. The sun shone a little, the snow had stopped for a couple of hours and the wind wasn't bad 'atall!! I stopped at Buehler's Market on the way home and got goodies to make a salad. I hope I burn more calories in this cold weather -- with my body trying to stay warm. This is the first year I have biked in colder temps. I just get out there and give it a try. Once I get going I find I do pretty good. I don't think I want to do much more than 30 miles max though in these cold months.

Bicycle Cross Country - Again?!

2008-11-17T07:38:00.002-05:00

I'm about to get ready for another cross country bicycle trip. Well, at least I think I am. It is only November and the trip would start the first weekend in June so I do have a number of months to decide, prepare and muse about this trip. Crossing the USA on a bicycle is to me the ultimate bike ride! It was yesterday that Paul said some words about "your cross country trip" - it took me by surprise, as I didn't really think he knew how very much I dreamed of doing this once again. He has always been such a big fan and support of these wild adventures I take myself on -- so I shouldn't be surprised he would be all for this, most likely my last, attempt to cross the country by bike. By next summer I will be in the second half of my 65th year here on earth, and I might as well do these things while I still have good health and support of those closest to me. God is good, and I am blessed, indeed.