OK so this is off topic but just a reminder, the King may have retired but BK is still the King. Looks kinda like Henrik Lundqvist to me, tho.
Mar 21, 2012
Long Live The King — Henrik Lunqvist?
OK so this is off topic but just a reminder, the King may have retired but BK is still the King. Looks kinda like Henrik Lundqvist to me, tho.
Mar 19, 2012
Frank is Back and Badder than Ever
If there are no photos, it didn't happen, but I saw this one on FB — think Steve Domjan took it — and it says it all. Frank is Back and Badder than Ever. Looks like his surgically repaired (?) arm appendage is working fine; even though he said it "hurt like hell" afterward.
Ran by him on the road the other day, and he was geared up and ready for action. Meanwhile Chuck and I were clubbed bup and ready for a lesson with our friendly local PGA pro.
I'm betting we both had great days. Well we know we did. All we need to know now is — did Frank find wind? Was he sailing more epic conditions? etc etc.
Mar 11, 2012
... and Back to the Trail
Decisions decisions.
After a solid hour and a half ice-skating yesterday, our legs were dragging a wee bit to start, but still energized enough to take on three laps — two via the second half of the blue trail and a lap of the green, about 50 minutes all in all.
As we arrived at the Stillwell lot, another rider just finishing for the day reported, "it's as perfect as it gets out there." Hard to believe there was ice in the puddles just a couple of weeks ago. This was not that far short of T-shirt weather. Put on a wind shell for good measure and opened up the sleeves halfway at the shoulder zippers to let the breeze in. A nylon t-shirt underneath was all that was needed.
And he was right, perfect weather — just the right temperature about 55, sunny, slight breeze, and almost ideal trail conditions, give or take a couple of soft/muddy spots in the usual boggy parts of the green, but the blue trail and the rest of the woods were rolling nicely.
This place is always a fun ride, with some very fun — almost pump track like — flow on parts of the blue. Lots of tree pairings to scootch the handlebars between; gravity-bending roller-coaster sections. It's good to be back in the saddle.
Gordo was highly motivated to redo any steep climb/root sections he biffed on the first attempt, and made them all on the second try.
This was definitely a longer, faster effort than last time. Lost a whole chunk of map data after a stop to chat with some other riders at the top of a hill section, and forgot to restart the GPS. One old timer gave Gordy a major boost of encouragement to ace a steep gravelly, section the two of them had just walked up. The kid is making major progress.
P.S. don't try this at home without goggles and a face shield: after pumping the rear shock to 205 psi last week it felt too stiff. So I decide to press on the schrader valve to let a few PSi out and get the sag right. Pwoosh -- high pressure air and vaporized oil shoot out. And sprits my forehead and glasses. OK. Shoulda read the manual,I guess.
Probably let a bit too much out, but the ride never felt to plush.
After a solid hour and a half ice-skating yesterday, our legs were dragging a wee bit to start, but still energized enough to take on three laps — two via the second half of the blue trail and a lap of the green, about 50 minutes all in all.
As we arrived at the Stillwell lot, another rider just finishing for the day reported, "it's as perfect as it gets out there." Hard to believe there was ice in the puddles just a couple of weeks ago. This was not that far short of T-shirt weather. Put on a wind shell for good measure and opened up the sleeves halfway at the shoulder zippers to let the breeze in. A nylon t-shirt underneath was all that was needed.
And he was right, perfect weather — just the right temperature about 55, sunny, slight breeze, and almost ideal trail conditions, give or take a couple of soft/muddy spots in the usual boggy parts of the green, but the blue trail and the rest of the woods were rolling nicely.
This place is always a fun ride, with some very fun — almost pump track like — flow on parts of the blue. Lots of tree pairings to scootch the handlebars between; gravity-bending roller-coaster sections. It's good to be back in the saddle.
Gordo was highly motivated to redo any steep climb/root sections he biffed on the first attempt, and made them all on the second try.
This was definitely a longer, faster effort than last time. Lost a whole chunk of map data after a stop to chat with some other riders at the top of a hill section, and forgot to restart the GPS. One old timer gave Gordy a major boost of encouragement to ace a steep gravelly, section the two of them had just walked up. The kid is making major progress.
P.S. don't try this at home without goggles and a face shield: after pumping the rear shock to 205 psi last week it felt too stiff. So I decide to press on the schrader valve to let a few PSi out and get the sag right. Pwoosh -- high pressure air and vaporized oil shoot out. And sprits my forehead and glasses. OK. Shoulda read the manual,I guess.
Probably let a bit too much out, but the ride never felt to plush.
Mar 4, 2012
Back on the Road Again ... and maybe back off it.
After dog-sitting and dog walking all weekend, some serious bike-type exertion was in order come late Sunday afternoon. With limited daylight left (again), a test of the new, higher 45 degree road bike stem I installed was well overdue — 3 months overdue.
Basically, I'm trying to salvage my wonderful bike so I can ride it with my cranky neck. It was great for a while, until herniated cervical disks put me out of action for a year and a half.
A year and a half of pain and physical therapy. Now things are a lot better — not fully repaired say 90%. Good enough to ride MTB for 40 minutes. But Road bike is another thing altogether. The neck no longer tolerates looking up for more than _n?__ minutes. How long I don't know. Overdo it and I might be screwed for another year.
The road position is essentially one of "looking up." If your neck is good, you can do it for days and hours. If your neck is farged, it can be an incapacitating problem.
I've gotten the steepest rise stem I can find, and set it so I have the bar tops an inch higher than the saddle.
After riding MTB in August, and a good dose of golf, followed by some road riding, the neck balked on my last road ride in November. So I shut it down.
Got a lot better in January/February, felt good on the MTB in late Feb. Now it felt like time to test the road bike.
Carrying a Camelbak with too many tools, a wallet, phone tube, CO2s and cold weather extras, and a heavy NightRider battery and HID light. I set off with no target in mind until the first turn.
Where to? I went right: Longview. The big one. The Hill. The challenge to limbs heart, lings and maybe a little easter on the neck. Maybe.
The original plan had been a quick ride to Sands Point and back, but this route would keep me close to home and give me a real hard climb concentrated in a short period, and feweer cars to deal with.
I guess the MTB got me psyched for elevation gain.
Stopped on Jeanette/linda to pull the allen key and check the handlebar, stem and top cap. Definitely could use a little tightening all round. a 5-minute wrench check.
The home-side Northwest face. Made pretty good time for a while but the lungs were not quite ready for the workout. It's amazing, they struggle a bit until warmed up then they seem to do better. But, it was a hell of a grind all the same and I decided to left turn right at Ezring's house onto Hillcrest, good choice led to some interesting hill routes, and a detour from Hampton through the church, put me in a good spot to ride on down to Harbor Acres and tackle the East/Missle/South Rd climbs.
That got pretty heavy duty at the end and I u-turned out of caution, not wanting overcook it on the first time back.
As for the cervical neck. I got a nasty inner arm spasm twinge early on, then some generalized neck discomfort that said. This is tolerable but maybe not a great idea. Afterward, I was definitely feeling some added tingling in the index fingertip. A sure sign there was some nerve impingement. And during the evening a very little soreness and stiffness.
Verdict: great had-work hill ride, but due to the neck — Mustang Steve is right it seems — not something that can be repeated soon.
Basically, I'm trying to salvage my wonderful bike so I can ride it with my cranky neck. It was great for a while, until herniated cervical disks put me out of action for a year and a half.
A year and a half of pain and physical therapy. Now things are a lot better — not fully repaired say 90%. Good enough to ride MTB for 40 minutes. But Road bike is another thing altogether. The neck no longer tolerates looking up for more than _n?__ minutes. How long I don't know. Overdo it and I might be screwed for another year.
The road position is essentially one of "looking up." If your neck is good, you can do it for days and hours. If your neck is farged, it can be an incapacitating problem.
I've gotten the steepest rise stem I can find, and set it so I have the bar tops an inch higher than the saddle.
After riding MTB in August, and a good dose of golf, followed by some road riding, the neck balked on my last road ride in November. So I shut it down.
Got a lot better in January/February, felt good on the MTB in late Feb. Now it felt like time to test the road bike.
Carrying a Camelbak with too many tools, a wallet, phone tube, CO2s and cold weather extras, and a heavy NightRider battery and HID light. I set off with no target in mind until the first turn.
The original plan had been a quick ride to Sands Point and back, but this route would keep me close to home and give me a real hard climb concentrated in a short period, and feweer cars to deal with.
I guess the MTB got me psyched for elevation gain.
Stopped on Jeanette/linda to pull the allen key and check the handlebar, stem and top cap. Definitely could use a little tightening all round. a 5-minute wrench check.
The home-side Northwest face. Made pretty good time for a while but the lungs were not quite ready for the workout. It's amazing, they struggle a bit until warmed up then they seem to do better. But, it was a hell of a grind all the same and I decided to left turn right at Ezring's house onto Hillcrest, good choice led to some interesting hill routes, and a detour from Hampton through the church, put me in a good spot to ride on down to Harbor Acres and tackle the East/Missle/South Rd climbs.
That got pretty heavy duty at the end and I u-turned out of caution, not wanting overcook it on the first time back.
As for the cervical neck. I got a nasty inner arm spasm twinge early on, then some generalized neck discomfort that said. This is tolerable but maybe not a great idea. Afterward, I was definitely feeling some added tingling in the index fingertip. A sure sign there was some nerve impingement. And during the evening a very little soreness and stiffness.
Verdict: great had-work hill ride, but due to the neck — Mustang Steve is right it seems — not something that can be repeated soon.
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