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Tag Archives: CashFlow

Hard Work = Positive Results

1 Comment Posted by on May 24, 2012

Let’s see, where to begin….

Back story

For those of you following along in your hymnals, skip down to the next major topic, you’ve already read my previous posts and know a thing or two about my life.  For those of you who haven’t been tracking my plight, I’ll give you the Reader’s Digest version and you can consider yourself up-to-date.  Here goes:

I had cancer.  It should be all gone now, but that always seems to be a hopeful statement not based on data.  The doctors have very specific tests they can run for very specific illnesses, but really, you never know until the wheels begin to fall off your cart.  My cancer was apparently contained within the prostate gland.  Dr. Chan removed it, so my body should be cancer free.  Certainly Prostate Cancer free, right?  Oh sure, they suck blood out of my arm every 3 months, test it and tell me the PSA numbers indicate I don’t have Prostate Cancer anymore, but really who knows what surprises await inside our bodies?  I could (heck, we all could) have skin cancer or some unknown tumor growing somewhere, all we can do is work toward good health and live our lives as best we can.

My story goes like this

I ride a road bike.  When I ride my bike, I go to the extreme limits of my capability, no matter the distance.  I ride to work hard, I go up hills until my legs are burning, I ride fast when the road is flat or tilts favorably down.  And this is not by design.  I don’t get on my bike and think about going hard or going fast.  I just love to go fast!  Must be remnants of the Adrenaline Junkie I was back in my 20’s.  Have you ever heard the comment “rode hard, put away wet”?  That’s me after a ride.  I ride hard, sweat like a race horse, and revel in the after-glow of a job well done.  Perhaps it is sheer exhaustion, but it feels the same as great!

Back in 2010 I was happily riding all over the place.  In October I did a 103 mile ride beginning in Santa Rosa known as Levi’s Gran Fondo.  The ride challenged its many thousands of cyclists with lots of hills, some very steep, a several mile jaunt down the coastline (on Hiway 1), more hills, all very steep, and a return to Santa Rosa.  103 miles, and I was loving life when I was done…..perhaps because I was done!  Two days later I was peeing blood.  Long story short, I had a too-big-for-the-tube kidney stone.  Surgery was required to remove it and it was finally removed in December.  In March of 2011, because my doc had found my prostate a bit “lumpy”, performed a biopsy.  That test showed the gland was full of cancer.  Ugh!  After much deliberation about existing treatments and procedures, we scheduled a prostatectomy (removal of the prostate).  There are lots of options and this was a big decision but my final thought was “why babysit this problem?  Lets solve it now”.  And we did.

So I was off my bike from mid-March of 2011 to sometime in July of that year.  When I began trying to ride again it was always a short distance, never difficult, and I understandably had lost my drive to go hard.  Winter settled in sometime in December and I gladly put my bike away and went about life doing that thing I do.  January came and it was seriously cold.  February, just like January, was cold too, and I did not miss riding at all.  Sure, I thought about it, but really truly I had no plans to get on that carbon horse I named CashFlow until the weather turned more pleasant in Spring.  Sometime in March (unbeknownst to me) I began working on excuses to NOT ride.

That’s probably enough info to get you caught up, let’s get this story started.

I Fail at Failing

May is Bike Month around here and has been going on in Sacramento since 2007.  Every year I make a pledge at work that I will ride XXX miles.  In the year 2007 I rode 801 miles, 2008 was 751, and 2009 was 733 miles.  I think in 2010 I rode somewhere in the high 600’s and 2011 saw 86 miles recorded in the two and a half weeks because of the little problem I was dealing with.  This year, my pledge is to ride 600 miles and I secretly expect at least 700.  Goals have been set and positive results will occur!

After today’s ride to work, when I was out of my cycling kit and getting ready for work, I realized I had somehow been NOT INTERESTED in riding.  Not the way I used to be anyway.  Oh sure, on the outside I’m all hard core about riding, but in some way, way back inside my brain, I was not buying it.  All that “rode hard, put away wet” and “riding like I stole something” had worked its’ way OUT OF MY mind and had slowly been replaced with thoughts like “you can’t” and “you shouldn’t” and “what if you’re not healthy” and all sorts of other negativity.  But I went hard anyway because I really don’t know how to fail.

As an example of that, here’s a question for you.  You know when you’re not good at something?  You try, fail, and move on?  I mean, it’s not fun being rotten at something!  That’s me and basketball.  I can’t make a shot to save my life!  Maybe I can make a shot since a “miss” is still a shot, but you know what I mean, I can’t make a basket, especially during a game.  Yes, I can play the game of HORSE and yes I can sink a shot (made one from 150′ once.  Threw it like a football.  Resulted in a swish, which was more than awesome!  Ask Brother Don, he’ll tell you the same thing.), but playing a game of basketball with teams and such, all looking to score the ball, well, I am NOT THAT GUY.  To celebrate my inability to play basketball, I joined a team.  And when I was a part of that team I found out I am one heckuva defensive freak!  If you pass me the ball, I get rid of it like it is radioactive hot.  I’m smart like that.  But when YOU get the ball, I cover you like sunshine…I am on you like white on rice….and you will either do something magical or rid yourself of that ball because I will take it away, block it, or make your life miserable until you relieve yourself of this terrible responsibility called “ball control”.  That’s my Method of Operation.  My MO.  And it worked.  I think it proves that hard work can find you a way to be effective.  Being stubborn helps too.

So, you ask “what in the heck does that have to do with riding a bicycle?”  It has EVERYTHING to do with the way I ride a bicycle because it is an example of how hard work can bring success even if you aren’t born with the talent to lead out your team.  My riding style may be likened to brute force tactics.  Keep on my wheel if you can!  I can’t really sprint that well, and I’m just an okay climber, but I stick to the job at hand like a rider possessed.  The word “can’t” does not exist.  I don’t quit.  It is an example of how if and when something isn’t going my way, I pursue it like a rabid dog.  A rabid, salivating, snarling dog.  One that is stalking you and following you and harboring thoughts of domination…until I get it right.  Or learn how to get it done another way.  My way.

SHUT UP LEGS!

And as it turns out, to attain my recent success on the bike, I had to somehow give myself permission to ride hard.  I had to kick the tires and give myself a thorough going over before I could FINALLY accept that I could really push my limits again.  Would my heart be strong enough to beat 160 times a minute?  Would my lungs be good enough to support that effort?  What about my legs?  Sitting around for 9 hours a day at my job has done NOTHING to keep them toned and ready for any action at all.  I also had to accept that as I get older things don’t work the same.  Recovery takes longer, muscle-building takes like FOREVER, and stamina (which was the first to go) only comes after A LOT of hard work.  I had to test how deep I could reach within to do something that was hard, that was hurting me, and was nowhere CLOSE to easy.  And I had to come out of that with a clear idea of how to keep doing this thing that was causing great discomfort.  I had to get used to the fact that the little tiny seat my big fat ass was sitting on would never be comfortable.  How my shoulders would need to once again become accustomed to bending forward and holding up my big helmet-protected head for hours on end.  So I have been working hard and telling all the complaining parts of my body to just SHUT THE HELL UP!  And you know what?  It’s seems to be working.

Permission to succeed

Remember that Bike Month thing I mentioned?  To date I have recorded 564 miles and should be on my way to at least 700 miles before the month of May is finished.  During that time I will also have lost at least 10 pounds and should find my elevated blood pressure (for which I take daily medication) to be closer to normal readings.  I sleep better and more soundly these days, and also have a certain “calm”.  I could call it “complete and total exhaustion at night”, but I choose to name it: calm.

As a Fitness Check, there is a ride I do that is a round trip of 50 miles taking me from home to Folsom Lake.  Before I found out about the cancer I could get this ride complete in right around two and a half hours.  Maybe 2:15 on a good day.  My best effort (just prior to Levi’s Gran Fondo) finished this in two hours, eight minutes.  It is neither flat nor free of traffic.  Leaving the house I navigate through familiar neighborhoods for four miles, then hit the bike trail for the rest of the ride.  To get to the Lake there is a little uphill ramp to crest, and when at the top I take a mandatory break of 5 minutes for water and a little nourishment.  Home is next, and the day begins anew.

So, take a guess at what happened the first time I tried this.  My first “fitness check” saw me “bonk” on the way back!  Completely devoid of food/nourishment AND water, I had to stop riding.  I think I was about 8 miles from home when I called my wife to pick me up.  She is a dream and supports my riding in any way she can, and that day she met the Defeated Me four miles from the end of the ride.  I could go no further and I actually quit the ride early.  Ugh.  It is a horrible memory, and I think about it all the time.  But you know what?  It drives me forward.  Never to happen again, it could also be a testament to how far I will go to get/earn what is rightfully mine….fitness!  So I do the work, expect results, and try to keep a very short leash on these rotten memories.

Hard Work = positive results

I think “hard work garners positive results” is just one of those Life Lessons everyone should know.  Set a goal, work hard to get it done, don’t quit, and good things will happen for you.  Get busy, fail like crazy if you have to, but go out and do it until you get it right!  Until you do it to your own satisfaction and get the job done.  It’s a good thing.  Try it, you’ll like it.

Today’s Ride

So, I told you all that so I could tell you this: today’s ride to work was the best I have felt on the bike since I got back to cycling.  It was fantastic!  The seat caused me no pain at all.  My neck/shoulder area had nothing to say the entire way in.  My legs were silent while I busted a move in my best ITT position for miles 5 thru 7.  The lungs did their job without complaint and the heartbeat usually so loud I cannot ignore was nearly quiet.  Oh, I was working up a lather all right, but the cool 62 degree morning air and the LACK OF WIND (for once…the month of May has been super windy) made for a really nice morning, and I got to say it today: rode hard,put away wet.  Nice.  Permission to succeed?  Granted!

Success is just around the corner, I can FEEL it!  You know what else is just around the corner?  A Fitness Check.  Update to follow.

Peace to all.  Thanks for reading.

~david

bicycling, commute, prostate cancer , , ,

Clean your bike! I did….

4 Comments Posted by on February 21, 2012

Spring is in the air.  Finally.  If you are a cyclist there is a very large gap between the start of Winter when you quit riding and the beginning of Spring when you begin riding again.

It’s about two months early for Spring to show its colors out here….and in spite of the calendar, the grass is getting green, trees are budding, and folks are spending time outside.  Pretty soon when it warms a bit more there will be clean cars, gardening services rushing from yard to yard, and outdoor fitness buffs will grudgingly show off their lumpy acquisitions of weight gain while they trudge along to some unknown song playing on their music player.

And if you’re me, your bicycle just got a bath.  I haven’t been riding lately but noticed a layer of dust had settled on the paint, also saw I had not scrubbed the goo-cumulation from the last ride back in October, and could NOT tell by looking at the dark cluster of grease toward the back of the bike there were gears back there waiting to power the bike on down the road!  So I gave CashFlow a bath.

Up she went onto the bike stand and my attention turned to the rear wheel.  The cassette was detached and summarily reduced to the parts of its sum with spacers, gears, and the end cap were drowned inside a half coffee can full of Simple Green.  The de-greasing had begun.

The bike then received a full wipe-down with a damp cloth.  Chunks of road tar were addressed with a toothbrush dripping with more Simple Green and lot of TLC.  Another wiping with the cloth and CashFlow was looking like her old self!

Now the wheels.  I think you can clean just about anything if you take the time and apply yourself to the task at hand.  Greasy spokes and road grime had given the bike an old beat-down look to it and the goal for today’s bath was to remove that layer of ugly and replace it with the look I am accustomed to….this was a Beast-to-Beauty transition, and it would make me a happy man to do the work.  I used the toothbrush soaked in Simple Green to remove the layer of grease on each cog and spacer.  Only when they looked all bright and shiny would I move on to the next one.  And I made a promise this would not happen again!  We’ll see how that goes.

After re-assembling the cassette with those shiny new looking cogs, the rear wheel looked great.  Of course I cleaned up the front wheel and when they were both put back on the bike, CashFlow looked great.  I am so proud of her!

CashFlow is clean now, and with Spring nearly here, I better figure out how to get my newly acquired weight into some cycling shorts and start working it off so CashFlow can be proud of me too.

I still need to clean the chain, but I’ll do that before my first ride….which will happen soon!

bicycling, bike repair, exercise , , , ,

Update: New Wheels

1 Comment Posted by on September 1, 2011

This is the revision I promised to the 08/08/2011 post titled: NEW WHEELS

I bought some new wheels for my bicycle, CashFlow.  The wheels came from a company named “Neuvation” located in San Luis Obisbo.  The guy who runs it, John, has been doing so for quite some time and he is really good at what he does!  And what he does is this, buy the parts and pieces overseas, assemble those parts/pieces into bicycle wheels, and make them available to any interested parties.

Recently, I was one of those “interested parties” because my previous, expensive, Bontrager XL rear wheel had been producing flats as frequently as I could finance the purchase of the next one.  Some rides would see a single flat while other rides would see two or three.  It got to be a real drag to pull over to the side of the trail and show off my repair skills while dripping sweat all over the pavement.  So, with great trepidation, I dipped my toes into the pond where new wheels glisten in the horizon like so many oasis glimmering in the desert.  The purchase of new wheels seemed so far away!  Everywhere I looked the cost was right around $800 a set.  For CHEAP wheels.  Bottom-fishing stuff.  The stuff you buy and wonder why.  Discouraged, I wanted to give up, but wanted to stop fixing flats even more.

And right about then, I remembered my friend over in Utah who last summer was sporting some new wheels from Neuvation.  I emailed him asking about ride quality, wheel stiffness/response, and his overall impression.  His reply?  “Love them!”

So, to save you from the headache(s) I suffered while shopping for a new set of wheels, do this: visit the Neuvation site and buy yourself a set.  Mine?  I love them!

You will too.

Visit the website: http://www.neuvationcycling.com

This is an excerpt from a review about John’s R28 Aero’s:

“The economics behind Neuvation’s business model are simple enough: Product is sourced overseas and then sold directly to consumers. Neuvation’s brain trust has a single Social Security number: John Neugent’s. Neugent was the head of Sachs here in the U.S. and his skill set is unusually broad; the guy has done everything from CAD drawings to sales and marketing, but relationships being what they are, Neugent’s most important asset is his 25 years of experience sourcing product in Taiwan. And if you’ve ever heard anyone haggle with a Taiwanese businessman then you know that garage sales are for the faint of heart.

It’s true that his web design isn’t too exciting and the graphics on the wheels aren’t exactly sexy, but that’s really the point: You purchase Neuvation wheels not because they have the allure of a Victoria’s Secret model, but because anyone gainfully employed has the coin for a set.”

Read the full article at: http://www.belgiumkneewarmers.com/2008/05/neuvation-r28-aero4-wheels.html

bicycling, bike repair , , ,

My Ride with Zach

3 Comments Posted by on August 21, 2011

Bicycle Race!

Zach is the 18 year old son of a friend of mine. And he challenged me to a race. On bicycles. This entry is about that ride.

First of all, Zach is 18 years old. And he does NOT ride a bike very often. To say he HAS a bike would be stretching the truth a bit, as the bike he has is quite old, is best suited for trail riding, and does not fit him very well. For Zach to use this bike in a race would also be an adventure in curiosity, as perhaps his ability to survive an outing of more than 20 miles would be like watching a slow motion de-evolution of an otherwise capable boy. And I was correct. More about that in a minute.

How it began

This story began as many do, with a group of people talking about a thing, that leads to another thing, and someone challenges someone and BAM! just like that a race is born.  It happened in Hawaii for the IronMan Triathlon some 33 years ago and it happened in Walnut Grove just last weekend while camping.  And, like in Hawaii, I had nothing to do with the conversation.

Really, I was just sitting there.

So Zach was talking about youthful things and alluded to his sheer ability to survive about anything.  Well, when a mouth gets to motoring, there seems to be no stopping it, and Zach was certainly getting chatty.  And it seems the conversation got revved up like a big ol’ V8 engine when Zach dropped the pedal to the floor, let gasoline fill the chamber and NO2 got mixed in from the highly pressurized tank, and something came out of his mouth that sounded like “I could beat you in a bicyle race.”

I was like, “what?  You talkin’ to me??”

A smile formed; first in my eyes, then on my lips.  The gears began turning.  We all knew how this would play out, but Zach had a learning moment coming to him….courtesy of me.

The Ride

Our “race” would begin at Bannister Park on Sunday, at 9:00 a.m.  This was changed, and we began at Zach’s Place.  And the race became a ride.  And the challenge of the race went away.  Now it would just be a brash 18 year old kid riding the bike trail with some old guy trying to get another fitness ride under his belt.  So the ride took us down a couple of residential streets for a mile and a half, a mile on Fair Oaks Blvd, and we would attain Bannister Park then continue on to the American River Bike Trail (ARBT) proper.  Following the ARBT for about 13 miles would take us up to Beals Point where we would have a breather and turn around for the ride home.

The entire ride logged in at 32.02 miles and it took 2:55.  Our speed was a sizzling average of 10.9 mph and total climb was 1492′.

Learning Moment

The big learning moment for Zach may have come early in the ride, perhaps as early as 15 minutes into the ride.  Now, these are his words……and when he was reporting them to his Dad, sister, and I…we were laughing so hard I may not have heard them correctly.  So here you go, my version of what Zach said about the ride.

“The first ten minutes go by and I’m hanging with Dave, thinking this is going to be easy.  The next ten minutes I’m thinking this is getting hard!  The first hour goes by and I can’t believe what I’ve gotten myself into.  The next hour was like an out-of-body experience and I’m up there floating along watching this guy down there, struggling to keep up and wondering how he is going to make it.  The next hour I was begging God to just take me!”

I may not have gotten this right….Zach, any help?

Anyway, Zach bit off more than he could chew and by throwing the gauntlet at my feet in front of all those people….well, there was just some part of me that wanted to really show him how difficult it can be to ride competitively and dare him to keep up!  And another part of me that wanted him to enjoy the ride so he could challenge me another day.  I think we attained both.

The lesson?  That is easy….don’t open your mouth and have it write checks your body can’t cash.

Thanks for visiting!

bicycling, bike ride , ,

65 Miles

Leave a comment Posted by on July 20, 2011

what a ride!

Yesterday, I finally got a ride of significant distance.

More inna minnit….

OK, I’m back.  Posted that little bit via Windows Phone 7.  Nice feature!

The ride of “significant distance” was a 65 mile slow ride to hell and back.  By that I mean – it hurt.  And I am dead serious.  I think the ride lasted about 15 miles too long and I knew it because I was plodding along at about 16 mph instead of my “new” usual speed of 18 mph.

Oh, and my Garmin 305 is sporadically functioning, and this is most likely due to its lack of use over the last 9 months.  So there’s that.

Anyway, back to the ride.  It got started nicely with some really nice weather.  A little cool at 62 degrees and a bit breezy as well.  But hey, I was going for ride, was dressed, the chain was lubed, and off I went.  Mark the time at 9:00 am.

At 9:10 I was logging mile #5 and off the street working in his garage is a friend of mine.  Detour #1.  I pulled over and we talked for about 20 minutes.

9:30, I excused myself and took off down the road.  The American River Bike Trail was the next destination ……………….

WordPress for Windows Phone

bicycling, bike ride, exercise , , ,

Goals are made to be broken

1 Comment Posted by on July 16, 2011

Yes, goals are made to be broken and I am here to report the successful squashing of another goal.  And this is something to crow about from the top of a tall building!  Here it is:

Riding goal this week: 100 miles
Actual riding mileage: 130 miles

This is how it happened.  For each of three rides, I used the American River Bike Trail.  It is familiar and there are zero cars to worry about.  The first ride was a round trip to Beal’s Point, 40 miles covered.  The second ride was an out-and-back to downtown Sacramento for a coffee at my favorite shop, Chocolate Fish Coffee.  That was 40 miles, and I was beat like a rented mule from the effort.  The third ride was a 50 mile trip up to Beal’s Point again (the little hills “make me strong like ox”.  Say this with a russian accent and clench your fist to get the full 3D movie effect), this time with an add-on over to Douglas Blvd, and it felt great!  It felt great to be on the bike, felt great to battle the wind, and felt awesome to turn the crank with some strength.

As a disclaimer, I am a L O N G way from being strong enough to brag about my riding prowess.  But the ability to actually generate some power while riding, if only for a short distance, is a thing of beauty indeed!  And, to further keep you fully informed about my current riding strength and stamina (or lack thereof), I was passed on ride #2 by an old dude on a squeaky mountain bike, and today a gal blew by me on the way up a small rise like I was an old dude on a mountain bike.  OUCH, I have to adjust my thinking!

In spite of getting trounced by these obviously fit and healthy individuals, I still loved being out on the trail and fully enjoyed the ride.  It felt great to be back!

Now then, where is that building?  I got me some crowing to do!

bicycling, bike ride, exercise , , ,

Top Secret. SHHHHhhhh!!!

7 Comments Posted by on July 5, 2011

Be vewy vewy quiet……please. Nobody tell my Urologist! Today I did a no-no and went for a ride on my bike.  I RODE my bicycle today. CashFlow is out of the house!

OK, there, it’s out, and it is a Secret no more.  I don’t feel better about telling that lie yet though.  Oh wait, I haven’t really told a lie, it’s just that I went against doctor’s orders.  Against his very direct statement, “you can ride your bike after 6 weeks. Not sooner.”  Bother.

Here is what I know.  The Six Week Rule (SWR) is all about letting the previously abused-during-surgery parts and pieces fall back into place and let them realize they have a little more room than before.  And to let the tube that was cut and sewn back together get healed up again for long-term duty.  And previous to the newly made-up SWR I’m pretty sure he also said everything looks good, and to just go about life.  So, I changed the SWR to the new and improved FWR (Five Week Rule). And then I went for a ride.

And it was good.

I am here to tell you, it was REAL good!  Now, I say that because I’m not bleeding, and I didn’t fall off the bike, and I didn’t hurt my muscles too much by riding hard, and so far so good…..and it FELT really good while I was on the bike.  Now that I am off, it feels as if I went for a ride.  No aches or pains to report, and nothing went Bump while I was out.

Oh sure, I forgot some things about riding a bike.  As an example, I forgot:

  • about the bike seat penetrating my butt like I was a new convict at the prison just after Lights Out
  • about how much energy is required to actually move forward faster than granny using her walker to get across Fair Oaks Blvd
  • how difficult it is to haul the added 12 pounds around when you’ve been off the bike for NINE MONTHS!
  • how great it is to be back on the bike

So I knew this is how it would be too….but that doesn’t make it any easier!  And I have to think CashFlow (the name of my bike) didn’t know what happened. 

Shaved my head

Don't leave me alone too long.....things happen!

After months of slumber some dude who looked like the previous owner is pumping up the tires for the first time in months, and lubing the chain, and adjusting and primping the derailleurs, and it seemed like time for a ride!  But the dude who climbed on to do the pedaling was fat and didn’t seem to know how to miss a pot-hole in the road, and couldn’t possibly have been the same guy.  I felt bad for making CashFlow carry my fat butt around Carmichael!

And now I am happy to report, in spite of riding sans prostate (or perhaps BECAUSE of it), my life just got better…..again. Man it’s good to be me!

PS – on a dare from my nephew, I shaved my head.  Picture that!

bicycling, bike ride, exercise, prostate cancer , , ,

Bicycling: first ride

Leave a comment Posted by on February 7, 2011

I got in a bike ride over the weekend.  Here it is Super Bowl Sunday and my day involved nothing about watching a football game.  wow, am I demented or what?!

This is the first time I have been on a bicycle since October 9th of last year when I had a kidney stone.  This was a huge ordeal where, after 2 months, I ended up having surgery to have the darn thing removed.  Ugh.  Learning moment: drink your water.  Don’t add protein.

Back to the weekend ride; preparation included installing my new saddle, cleaning the major chunks of goo from the ride last October, and pumping up the tires.  After that, it was all about getting my riding gear on and mentally preparing for the upcoming effort.  Then, I headed out the door and off to the American River Bike Trail, just 4 miles away from home.

It was a little windy with the gusts kicking up over 20mph, and I resolved to go against the wind early to enjoy the fruits of my labor and an easy return trip home.  This ride was only to see what kind of shape I had deteriorated to, not as a normal ride which would tell me how long it took to get from point A to point B and give me an idea of my level of fitness.  Good plan?  It sure turned out that way!

So off I went; wind in the face, pavement rattling under the wheels, feet spinning wildly, and that familiar feeling of freedom tweaking my emotions.  The thousands of bicycle miles I have logged in the recent past help me easily contol my expectations.  And since this is the seasons First Ride, I expect to go about 25 miles, experience much discomfort (new seat and unused squishy muscles) and hurt when finished.  And by “hurt” I mean the hurt is everywhere.  And by “everywhere” I mean deep, inside pain in every muscle group that only goes away with time.  And for the record, I was not disappointed in either catagory.

I ended up riding 34 miles and learned a few things:

  • the new seat needs to be re-positioned forward about an inch
  • my old butt needs about a month of riding before it is going to feel okay after a ride
  • I have gotten very good at changing tubes on the rear tire

The first two points were pretty well known.  I knew the seat was not perfectly set.  I could see it lined up properly and had the correct angle, but sitting on a saddle for a few minutes and actually riding on it is very different.  You learn things when you sit for a while, and you know what I learned?  Riding a bicycle is hard work and you best get yourself as comfortable as possible!  So the seat is going to be tweaked until it is just right, and that might take a few rides to until it is perfect.  The part about “my old butt” needing some time in the saddle is pretty much self-explanatory.  I’m just lucky to have not gained a bunch of weight while I was off eating and drinking for the past 4 months.  So there’s that…..

The bullet point above: “changing tubes on the rear tire” is a bit of a quandry.  Going back to the last time I rode the bike it was giving me trouble.  During Levi’s Gran Fondo, which is a difficult 103 mile ride put on by road racing superstar Levi Leipheimer, and was the last time I was at a really good fitness level able to enjoy such an event.  Anyway, I had two brand new tires on the bike and suffered two rear-wheel flats during the ride….with one of them happening while speeding down an 18% decent to the ocean!  Yep, that is a scary time to have a tire go soft and could have caused major damage to me and CashFlow (my bike).

Out on the bike trail having a flat is only “inconvenient”.  You don’t really have a problem unless you are in a pace-line with other riders or are pushing the limits of centrifugal force inside a turn.  Get a flat during this time and you will find it can really hurt!  Other than that, you have to stop, get out of the way, and change a tube.  No big deal.

On this little trip to the town of Folsom and back, I had to do this not once, not twice, but thrice (is that how you spell it?).  The first tire change came at mile 6.5.

“OK” I thought, “the bike has been sitting, waiting for four months, this is expected.”

The next one happened on the way back somewhere around mile 25.  Since I used an old tube from last season I was not surprised.  Not happy about it, but not surprised.  And I promised myself I would look at what is causing the problem when I get home.

The third malfunction happened at mile 35, and really annoyed me.  The ride began sometime around 2:30 and here it was almost 4:30, the sun was going down, and there was about 1 hour of sun remaining in the day.  And, there were mosquitoes flying about….and I HATE mosquitoes!  Especially early in the season when they can be especially ravenous.

So, flat #3.  Clock ticking.  Sun going down.  Mosquitoes.  And I am beat.  The ride has given me great pause.  Here I am riding at about 17 mph and not feeling particularly well after just 30 miles.  I have been feeling “not strong” for about 15 miles.  I mean, what kind of shape was I in to enjoy the previous ride?  Wow.  Anyway, back to this repair.  The wheel is off, I am swatting at and/or getting bit by flying adversaries I can pay little attention to, the inside tire has nothing poking inside to cause a flat, and I am only interested in finishing this thing out.  Now the new tube is seated, tire is hooked to the inside rim, air is going in, and that all familiar 90 pounds of air is holding the rubber taut once again.  The wheel is back on the bike and adjusted to the middle of its track, and off I go down the trail again.

For the record, I did not complete the ride as expected.  With the sun casting its yellow/orange hues all around, I used the cell phone to call the wife for a pickup at the park.  She complied and I was comfortably inside a car after just 34 miles.  Heckuva way to start the season!

The bike is now back in the rack and will receive my full attention before the next ride.  Might be a couple of days though….I still hurt!

bicycling, bike repair, bike ride , ,