Little Acts

Slow enough to do some good. Out on the roads in the middle of a summer type storm. A little cold here, a little warm there. Some rain, some sun. It looked like a bad storm, but it was not bad at all. Going down the roads I see so often. Thinking about the training. The gears, the speed, the heart rate. Then there it was. 42" of big fat, slow moving Gopher Snake. Huge! It stretched from the white line to the middle yellow line. Just enormous. I stopped to move this monarch of the fields to the side of the road. The snake was moving very slow! Trying to warm it self on the black top road. It was going to be Vulture food in a matter of mins. I just could not bear the thought. I asked it to move along. The Gopher Snake was so full of mice and maybe eggs or young it could barely move. The snake was to cold. I picked it up by the tail and moved it's heavy mass off to the side of the road. I hope it lived through the day. I did my best for this friend on the road.

EPIDEMIC on the ROAD!!!

Bike riders face this every day they ride the roads. Some days the effort is harder than others. Not the effort or strain of getting up hills or going fast. The effort of just getting out on the bike. Doing the training. Not these efforts. The effort of staying alive and healthy. Safe from the brothers and sisters in cars, trucks and motor cycles. The drivers caught up in their own dreams and nightmares. Not seeing the need to put the cel phone down and drive. Not knowing the dangers of putting on their makeup while driving. Not understanding the speed and weight they carry as drivers on the road. The vehicles that are weapons going at speeds that kill every day. The litter of death I see on the roads all the time. Small bodies, birds, opossums, cats, dogs, and raccoons. Lots of other bodies to. Cars, trucks and motor cycles are weapons in the hands of the unaware. Unaware of the world right in front of their bumpers. The road ahead. Keeping an eye out on the road and thinking what the hell they are doing in their cars, trucks, and motor cycles.
As you might guess. Yesterday was the day that no one on a bike, on the road, was safe. Every mile I road was dangerous. Not the days when the vehicles are kind and looking out. The days when you are given room and courtesy. The days when every strait away, turn, corner and intersection is a hazard zone. If you think the car is going to pull in front of you. It does! I mean all day this happened. I got cut off, turned on, moved over, and all the other bad insults that you get. This was a ride that I would not be safe till I was off the bike at the front door of my place. It was every where like a illness running through a community. Everyone but a few had it. Even with eye contact, the drivers still pulled in front of me. Almost as though the driver had no control of their own. It was just a bad day on the road. It was every where. An epidemic of crazy, bad tempered, lazy, unaware, self centered, killers on the road. Dam! Till the last turn, of the last corner, just 1/4 mile from the door step of the condo. I was glad to be alive. I was glad to be alive when I left to! Man what a ride.
It is my position to trust no one on my rides. NO ONE!! It keeps me alive. I know the tricks to slow the folks driving behind me. Or the tricks to make the car pass wide. I always ride in a bike lane when there is one. Still, bikes with skinny tires need to look out for rocks, glass and dead animals. Everyone of these are hazards to cause a crash. All bikers need to avoid hazards. We need the room sometimes. All these hazards are from, cars, trucks and motorcycles. We all need to ride aggressive to be in control. What a day. There not all so bad. Some are great. Yesterday was a reminder to trust NO ONE on the road. Dam!!

Just when you think!

Yesterday was the first ride since the Sisters to Sisters Loop. I was feeling great. Wanted to get out and warm the legs up. After all I was a "Road Monster". Look out boys and girls here comes the bad boy of the Cascades. I was going out for a short 53 mile ride. Hummm short.
The day was bright sun. Wind from the Northwest, lots of wind. I was going to be on the flats for most of this ride. Exposed farm land, not much tree cover or break from the wind. This wind, the Northwest wind, is always difficult on the routes I take. In Winter and Fall the winds are from the South and are kind. South winds always blow me home. Make me feel faster than I really am. Today are the winds of Summer, Northwest winds in your face. Grind you down, work you hard winds. Wishing I was a lot shorter than my 6'5" frame. The winds that make you strong if you work hard. I was feeling tough and strong. I had just climbed the Cascade Mountains. I was going to hammer all the way through these winds. The endless winds in my face for 35 miles on the flats. No breaks. I just kept the peddle down and pushed on. On to the only break I knew was coming. Cloverdale Road. A climb of about a mile and 3/4. Sheltered from most of the wind. As I got to Cloverdale Road I looked around to see if there was any other riders near by. I have been caught from behind on this road once before. I hate being passed!!!! No one in sight. I took the turn to Cloverdale and was setting my pace at the bottom of the first climb. BOOM a guy passes me from no where!! I was just surprised. I mean I had look every where. This guy passed me easy. I was tired, true. I was on 45 hard miles at this point. This guy was messing with me. Now I put the hammer down on this first hill. Big ring standing up and I gained on the other rider fast. He saw me gaining and I saw him slowing. I knew I was going to put him to my rear easy on the climb. He knew it to. I looked down at my heart rate monitor and I was pegged at my max. Still, I saw that by pacing I was going to set this guy strait fast. Then I noticed as he slowed in front of me one of his bar ends was different from the other. The left bar was like a time trial bar and the right was a normal curled down road bar. Odd that was. Then I saw this rider was only using one arm, his right arm. The side that was a normal road bar style. He was having trouble pushing up hill because he only had one arm! I mean one arm!!! No arm on the left to the shoulder!!! I was passed by a one armed rider!!! Of course I was going to catch him going up hill. I had both arms to push the bike with. I can't even imagine riding with one arm gone to the shoulder. Who was this guy?? In no time at all a left hand turn comes. Before the first bump of this climb is over. He take a left hand turn. Better to leave the field of battle a winner. Or just a guy messen around. Hummmm.
So I was passed by a one armed rider. Just when I was think how good I was. How strong I was. How bad I was. The Universe sends in the one arm rider to put me in my place again. Thanks one arm rider. Thanks Jim Henry

"The Loop"

As I pulled out of the Motel parking lot to the start of what the locals call "The Loop". It was clear, cold and I was glad to have all my riding gear on and wished for more. Before the start of this ride, I had eaten till I could not eat anymore. Coffee, energy drinks, buffalo meat, local bakery goods. All fuel for the ride. It was 6 AM. It was cold, clear and quiet. The first of 3 highways was under my bike. My hands were freezing and my body was just about the same. As I moved down a tunnel of pine tree cover. The just out morning sun was not going to be any help to warm the body. I put the bike in a big gear and just road. Pushed a little harder than normal to warm the blood. My hands were like ice. I had to curl my fingers on to themselves to protect them from the biting cold. Tuck my thumbs under my fingers. Anything to keep the hands and fingers warm. I had not even thought to bring a pair of long finger gloves. I had my short finger riding gloves and that was it. I did think to put on a nylon rain type jacket over my jersey. Thank goodness! My legs were bare. Except the bit of Lycra from my riding shorts. I pushed hard to warm the core and prayed that would warm the body. 8 miles into the ride over the mountains I was warm. Not from the sun or temperature. Just the blood pumping warm from the effort. I started to relax. Dial the pace down a bit. I was warm and had a long way to go.
This was the ride I had been waiting to do for months now. Sisters to Sisters. Up the Santiam Pass, from Sisters, east to west. Down to highway 20 then a quick change to the highway that took me to the Old McKenzie Pass Highway taking me back east to finish in Sisters again. A well thought of ride in these parts. 86 miles of climbs and descents. Beautiful country with rivers, mountain tops, trees, lava fields and sweat. During the climbs, lot of sweat. A ride that I leave something of myself behind. A ride that gives something to take home to. Riders like to call these "epic rides".
As I passed Black Butte Rance. A nice vacation home area, I started the first of the long climbs of the day. This was a steady one hour plus climb. Not that hard or steep. Just steady and LONG. The grade was modern for highways. About 6% maximum. So I got in a good climbing gear. Put my head down and just worked. I worked at a pace that I could hold without blowing myself up. I watched my heart rate monitor close. I never went over 90% of my maximum heart rate. I was also using the new gears on my #1 bike. I had a 50X34 on the cranks and a 12X25 on the rear wheel. I was climbing in the 34X19 and feeling good to go the distance. It was beautiful country. Mt. Washington to my left. In full view, no cloud cover. I climbed with this mountain for most of an hour. There were few cars on this busy highway. Part of way I started so early. The plan was looking good except for the cold at the beginning. The climb was great. I never felt bad. Well, there was the difficulty of having over eaten that morning. To much food in the stomic. Another reason to climb steady. To hard and, well think about it. Fuel for the ride. This first climb was going so well. I was almost finished and near the summit. I was surprised at how fast the climb was going. Wishing the grade was longer. I did not want it to end. A few more turns and I would be at the first summit sign. As I finished these last few turns I was sad to be done. I stopped at the summit sign and took a photo of the sign and bike.
Next was almost 2 hours of descents. What was gained in elevation was now going to be lost, and more. The first of the descents were just wicked. Steep, fast, cold. Real cold. It was not light speed. I was just keeping it at 40 mph. Looking out for stones, car and truck parts. Crashing at 40mph was not an option. I could go faster. The bike was up to it. I was up to it. Faster was just not the right idea today. After this first of 2 major descents, both, very steep. I had to take a left hand turn across a major highway onto the next highway. Difficult with on coming traffic doing 65 MPH and traffic behind doing the same. I had to cross 4 lanes of traffic going 25 to 30 mph faster than I was. My plan was to hit this junction with traffic at a minimum. There was one car behind me and clear road ahead. I went out in the highway. Boldly left arm out to signal my needs. The car behind was kind. As I zoomed across to my next road. The car behind waved. They had bikes, on a rack, of their roof of their car. I will take luck anytime I can get it. The most dangerous part of the ride was behind me. Now I just had 1 1/2 hours of down hill to the McKenzie Pass turn off.
For the next long shallow down hill it was good road, good conditions. Very few cars and trucks. Nice. Sweet ride, always going in the big chainring. Some up hill here and there. Then down again. Down forever. I though I was going to be a sea level before I started going up again. This part of the ride is always longer than I think. Beautiful, but long. Rivers, rocks, camp grounds. I was still in the mountains. This down hill goes on for 30 miles from the top of the Santiam summit. I looked down at my odometer and it read 41 miles in just under 2 hours. Wow, I was flying for me. For about the next 10 miles you think the McKenzie pass is coming up around each corner. At 49 miles the turn sign show up. Left turn, The Old McKenzie Pass Road. Chills ran up my back. I was at 52 miles in 3 hours. I was going to smash any time I had ever thought I was going to ride this route in. More chills ran through my body.
The McKenzie Pass is up hill from the time you turn on to it. Not steep. Just a long up hill grade. Through a thick forest of cedar, firs and pines. Not a lot to see at first. Just climbing. 34X15 gear climbing. I started to laugh at my thinking I was going to set some time record. The clock just kept ticking and the miles seem to give in every once and a while. Every thing went in reverse from the first 52 miles. Now I was seeing that my time was going to be much bigger than I thought. I had not even started the hard part of the climb. The 2 hour plus climb. The swicthbacks, the lava fields. There was some tough climbing coming. Real tough, pray for help tough, why didn't I bring an easier gear tough. I was still a long way from that. I was just going up through the forest. My under shirt was soaked. I had long ago stowed my nylon over jacket. Poured off the extra water I knew I would not need. I was not going to carry that weight up what was coming. There was enough weight in me! A few cars and motor cycles passed me. Most were kind. It's a small road. No shoulders. A few of the Harley's were, well Harley's. HOGS. You get it I'm sure. I knew the gate was still close on the west side of the pass. I was going west to east. At the gates is where the steep stuff starts. Though the long, long, climb to that point starts to take it out of you. I turned the corner and finally there was the gate.
From the gate forward was the toughest part of the day. By this time my gear was 34X19. I put my bike down at the gate and walked around it. The forest service has boulders stacked around the edges of the gate to keep motor cycles out. People to. In cycling shoes it's a bit of a trick to get from one side of this gate to the other. I picked up my bike now on the other side. I stared up the hard part of the climb. My legs still had power in them. There was still a long way to go. As I said this is a 2 hour plus climb. All up hill no flats, no down hills at all!! Just pushing up hill forever. Now the climb gets steep. about twice as steep as what it was on for the first 35 mins. of this part of the Pass. 6% minimum grade to 10% and sometimes more. It's the kind of road you look for the easiest section to go on. The one right in front of you. The middle of the road, the left side or right side. It's that hard in places. Then the switchbacks start. Ya, a series climbs that turn back on themselves just a few feet higher then the last. These are TOUGH. Just endless hard all you can do, tough. For about 20 mins. Then you get to look over the side and see 4 or 5 of these switchbacks below your feet. I took some photos. I pushed on. I knew there was a break coming. It looks flat compared to what I had been doing. It was not of course. Now I was on the hardest part of the climb. It looks over. Then it keeps going on and on and on till the summit at 5500 feet. I was at 4000 feet. When I get to these long shallow up hill sections my legs are suffering. Just tired of climbing. There is still 30 mins. till the summit. A few flat section, nice. Then a few short down hill section. I hate those. Each foot you lose you have to buy back again. You climb some of these feet twice and 3 times on this section. It goes on forever. At this point I am just hoping I will make it back to Sisters by Noon. A 6 hour ride. The 5000' sign was no where in sight. You just think it's around each corner, or by the next tree, or it was broken in this winters storms. Where the hell is the dam 5000' sign. I have been riding this climb for ever. When I see the 5000' sign I will still have 500' to go. And then the 5000' sign shows it's face. The trees end, to the open Lava Fields. 500' more and I'm to the summit sign. Each rise in the road now taking every last bit of a toll on my legs. Several rollers. Some seem steep. I'm sure they are. Then one long hill in this moon scape on the Lava Fields. Boom there you are. The Summit sign. It's over. The 2 plus hour climb is over. It is almost all down hill from the sign to Sisters.
I took a few photos at the summit. I was feeling pressure to get off the hill and get back to Sisters and see Mary Anne. I put it in the big rings and put the hammer down. 13 mile of down hill curves and some flats right before Sisters. I never went under 25 mph and often was in the high 30s. I was flying to get home. I could feel my tires biting into some of the sharp corners. Full speed ahead. I'm a good descender. I was going as fast as the few cars on the road. I was possessed. I was not even looking at the clock. Just the MPHs. Big gear all the way to the first stop sign in Sisters. Mary Anne was 2 blocks away. I had done the ride of 86 miles, 8800' of elevation, in 5 1/2 hours. A new record for me. I felt great. Last year at this very time I was doing 22 to 25 miles and could barley stand after the ride. Now I was ready to do another 25 miles to just cool off.

Gifts

In the morning, the time when we get going. The time of coffee and coffee again. Taking what needs to be taken. Feeding the big dog. Then taking the big dog out to the forest next door. The blessed forest. The place were the dog dog can roam. Ya, right, the forest where the big dog can do his thing. The thing we get the plastic bag out for. The thing that is still warm when done on the grass of the neighborhood. The thing that can be done in the forest ivy deep off the trail and left behind. Ah, morning in the blessed forest. Well the forest has more going for it than that. It's a nice break for my hand and a nice time for the big dog. It is also a place where presents are left for us.
Today was a fine present. Unexpected and fine indeed. A perfect larger black flight feather from a Turkey Vulture. The shadows of my rides. My bird of the season. A feather from the animal most close to me this season. Not just a old feather. A feather let go after hard use. A new perfect flight feather left behind on the forest floor on top of the ivy as though it was layed down for me to find. A message from another world. Beautiful and fine. An offering. I brought it home to share with Mary Anne. A reminder of all thing living. A reminder of living. Just a simple feather given from the shadows of my rides. Thank You lords of the sky.

New White Shoes

Pat Boone would be proud. My new white Sidi shoes from Competitive Cycling are now broken in. I did a 58 mile ride on them. A lot of hills. Some flat sections to. The shoes fit perfect! Well, they are Italian. They feel so comfortable on my feet. No hot spots or pressure points. Just pure comfort. It was hard not to look at the shoes while I was riding. I have never had a pair of white shoes, ever. Not even in the time when they were popular. Ya, I'm that old. I kind of like them. I hate to admit that for some silly reason. The shoes look good. They are the left overs from team CSC. A European pro team of the highest level. The shoes are from Sidi the best cycling shoe made. Not many will fight that point. Team CSC was the first team to ever get Sidi as a sponsor. Sidi made a lot of shoes for the team. The one's I bought are the surplus that Competitive Cyclist bought from Sidi or Team CSC. I saw them when I was in Little Rock in April for Mary Anne's book premier. Great price, but it still took me 2 months to buy them. Glad I did.
On the ride today on the last climb of note coming home I got passed in the last 50' of the hill by an all carbon fiber frame very expensive wheel bike. The rider was in the big chainring,53, and weighed about 165 pounds. I was climbing in a 34 tooth chainring and weigh 218 pounds. The other rider barely caught me. I did not even know he was behind me. I almost never look behind any more. I was doing a very special bit of training today. 2 gears. 50X19 and 34X19. That's it. 2 gears for everything. The rider that passed me was in a 53X28 I would say. I never changed gears to catch him. I did spin the 34X19 to it's max to catch up to him. I was a little worried that the long down hill just ahead would be the end for me. I was not going to go in a bigger gear to keep up with the rider that I was now right behind. When the down hill section came, it was obvious that I could out descend this guy easily free wheeling. He was pushing a 53X13. I went past him like he was going the other way. Still in my 50X19! At the bottom we talked a bit till the next little hill. He wanted to drop me in the biggest way. He had the gear to do it. I had the spin to keep up in a 50X19. We parted, he went left, I went strait. I hate being passed. I mean, I really hate being passed!

Boldly Go

Back to the page after a few days off. I love to put the words down. It's been a bit on the busy side around here. I put Mary Anne on the plane for a non stop "RED EYE" to NY NY to film on the Hallmark Channel Network. Wow! She gets 7 mins to talk about her book. That's huge! If the producers like everything, she may get invited back to do more segments for this years taping. Go Mary Anne!
I get to take care of everything around here. The big dog that I am re-training. He still thinks he is a puppy at 130 pounds of muscle. He is a smart dog though and is coming around fast to the old school "sit and stay". I think he will be a good citizen in quick order. He is just to big and strong to be running around and pulling on his walks. Plus he makes guest uncomfortable sometimes. All in all, with the "sit stay" program he will be much easier to be around.
I get out on a ride today. That's news. I am having a lot of fun with the new gears on the Campy Compact Double. I'm doing hills today. All hills! Next week is the Mountains. 12,000' of climbing over 2 days. If I take a right turn on the first day it will make 16,000'. One extra pass. I'm thinking about it! I only get to do these mountains once and a while. These long climbs change me. I'm never the same after I have climbed them. I'm always stronger. It does something to my soul to. Single climbs that last over 1 1/2 hours one will last 2 1/2 hours. These are strait climbs, no flat sections at all! I love this stuff. You have to climb at a pace. No sprinting or you will just die. It takes discipline to climb these mountains. It take discipline for me at least. I'm getting all excited just writing about it. I'll take a camera and share some photos. Summit shots. If I can find anyone, a shot of me next to the summit road sign. Look out road here I come! The photo is of me the last time I climbed the McKenzie Pass, 3 days before it was closed for the winter, in the worst storm of the season. Wind and rain going side ways. Wow what a great day for an epic ride!!

Compact but Mighty

New to me I must say. New parts for the bike. I got a new Campy Compact Double Crank Set. 50X34 Quite small to my normal 53X39. I wanted some releive on the long and hard climbs. Skyline Road of past posts. Some gears that fit my age. So I installed the 50X34 on my #2 bike to test it out. Do the flats and do the hills. See if it can be helpful. This 50X34. First off I found I was riding in the 50 tooth chainring all the time on the flats. No need for the little chainring at all. Similar gear to the 39X15 or 14. Just odd the feeling. I have been out of the big ring for sometime during the redevelopment of my legs after the position change. So pushing what looks like a big gear took a little getting used to. It's all about the number of inches one pushes in any gear your in. 39X15 is 70" 50X19 is 71". The gears are close but in a different way. The biggest difference is the climbing gears. In the 34 tooth chainring I have a 37" gear. 37"s for each full rotation of the crankset. In a 39 the climbing gear is 42". Does not seem that different. Start climbing a steep grade and you will understand the need. Also it allows me to keep the spin of the crank much higher in a 37" gear. Down side is the 50. With a 50 tooth chainring VS a 53 it is 113" in a 50 to 119" in a 53. Dosen't seem like that much. In a field sprint it's everything. In training though this Compact Double is great. I love it! I will have to shift a bit of my thinking and re-learn the gear chart. These are easy. 3 or 4 rides and review of the charts and I will be good. I already noticed a differince in my climbing. Most of the small chainring gears are off by 2' in the 34. So I was climbing normal grades in a bigger gear and much faster. Leg speed is so important. If your legs slow down. You slow down. Keep the legs fast and your fast.
So I have 12,000' of mountian passes to climb next week. I wanted a little help on the up hill grades. This will do the trick. I think my MPH will stay high even though I will be in a smaller gear. It's conterintuitive. It works though. These Campy crank sets are just the best. So easy to change out. So smooth. No movment at all side to side like the old square taper bottom brackets. Thanks Campy.

Pin Holes of Light

Unexpected, is the only description. All the, out of the blue or from the dark past. Up from the sea it came, out of the mountains it walked. Everything changed the moment it showed up. One of the events you just never saw coming in any shape or form. The Universe snapped it's fingers and poof, everything that was, is now new. I got a card from my 20 year old Daughter lost in a bitter divorce. Think of that. A child, lost to a divorce. Well, that's how I came to deal with it. A Daughter who I could not communicated way by her and her mothers choice for 3 1/2 years or longer. Well there is the money I send each month through the government system. This Daughter, my only Daughter, sent me a greeting card. Kindly written, with warmth and clarity. Stunned was all I could be. As I opened the envelope for the card I just figured it was going to be yet another insult to me somehow. A slash from the knife that the divorce had become. It wasn't! It was kind and thoughtful. A day later I am still shaking my head, and not from the palsy of age. News, from a past let go to save my soul from the harm of holding on. All I was to that moment was a check, and that was processed through some cold government agency. A bitter chapter, that past is. Then a warm light turned on. From the Daughter that was not even allowed to call me, Dad, or Father by her mother my X wife for 10 years now. A Daughter that never says my name. The card started out "David" not even Dad or Father. David. Still, it was a good note. As I said, kind and true. What do I do now. I had written a note to both Daughter and X wife in reguards to child support during college in the last 10 days. First note in a long time. Talk of payments based on grades by State rules. Grades had not been very good. In fact poor. I am a little behide based on holding back during failing grades. I had been burned once already on a failed quarter. I wanted things to be as the rules needed. No more or less at that point. When you are stripped of your parenthood it changes you. It is a wound that takes time to heal. A long time. It's a big scare to. It's healed though. Kind of on the tough side. Well, till I got a card from the Daughter. Just a simple funny card. Hand written note on the blank inside. A thousand wounds just melted away. The steele was now soft and warm again. Change often takes just a moment. A simple card written, and sent to a new day.

It's a new world coming

As a bird lover I see a lot of my friends on the side of the road. Little souls lost to the speed of modern life. Examples of the speed we have, vs the speed of life. Life being the natural forces all around us. Not the motor vehicle speeding to the the store or school and work. Just the pace of life at a more natural speed. Well that's how I see it.
Over the last few weeks I have noticed some change. Gas is expensive. The rural roads have less traffic now. It has been quite noticeable. Less casual trips to the mini market. The gas just cost to much. More bikes on the road. People riding bikes you just would not have seen riding a few months ago. The weather is good so why not go to Wal Mart and buy a bike to save on gas so the family can eat. Save on gas so I can have that 6 pack. Save on gas so I can smoke! Save on gas because it's smart. Drive less, so I have more money. Ride the Bus system. There is a lot more of this. I saw a guy walking home carrying a bike trailer in a box from one of the mall stores. I bet it was for groceries not the child. Still though, it is more bikes than I have seen in a long time. The local bike shops are having a record year. Double last years sale at this time. I can only guess that Internet sales and big store sale are about the same. People riding bikes because the GAS for the car just cost to much. Gas cost more than the family or personal budget can pay for. Food or gas? Food will always win.
I saw my second all electric car. There is a local electric car company here. They are selling a small car that goes 45 MPH and will give 125 miles on a charge. Not the car to put the gas car out of business. Though a good town car, get groceries, a few small tasks that are to far to ride or walk for the average person. I think this company is going to sell several more of these cars at $10,000. 20 mins to recharge at home or 4 hours to recharge anywhere on a house outlet. Not a bad idea at all.
Change is happening everywhere all the time. The high gas prices are forcing car drivers to rethink. This is a great thing. It's to late for my little friends on the side of the road. Odds are some brilliant mind will come up with a new way to get around fast. Meet George Jetson stuff. For now though all the new bike riders and less traffic on the rural roads is wonderful. Town traffic has a ways to go though! Gas or food will change that soon enough.

The Truth is a Hill

I got this nice card from Mary Anne. Ten ways to eat crow. I like crows. Though I had not thought of eating one. Just love the concept of the card. Fun is good where you get it. Thanks to the mind at seltzergoods.com. Thanks for thinking of me Mary Anne.
The card came to me in the morning. I had seen it in Mary Anne's studio. It was in my hand in a second. Over to my desk by the computer. Not to be seen for a few hours. I have stuff to do, friends to see and pick up a bike in need of repairs. Dan wants to start riding his bike again. I gladly offered to get the bike cleaned up, safe and ready to use again. Then I was out to a late afternoon training ride. 4:30 to when I got back. It was a hill day. All hills for the ride. It started out like so many rides I have done. South River Road to Riverdale. A nice 10 mile roller ride to a 2 mile section of flats to the first climb. A nasty though short climb to get the legs in the spirit of the day. Steep but short. Lungs are burning by the top if you let them. So I went at a moderate pace. Stay out of the red zone. Then my normal hill ride, did a lot of rollers to Liberty Road. Today, I was going to climb a road called Skyline. The name tells you the story. I have not climbed this hill in 15 or 16 years. I have gone down the hill often. Even this year. With in the last 2 weeks. I have avoided going up this brute of hill. Even when I was 20 years younger the hill whipped me several times. About 7/8s of the way up there is a driveway to pull over in and catch my breath. I have stopped there many times over the years. That's how hard this hill is. Just relentless. It gets a lot steeper at the last section. Just leg killing steep. Stand on the peddles and just push them over with your weight steep. Pray you do not die or explode steep. Wish you had a "Granny Gear steep". When I was young I climbed this monster every morning in a 42X21. These were the gears of the day. Today it's 39X25 and still not enough. I climb this thing, the best I could. Staying relaxed, keeping my breath and heat rate at about 80%. Stay out of the RED ZONE. It was impossible. I was lucky if I got up the hill at all. It's one of those hills. I'm think of turning around from the first 1/3rd. Then I get to the half point and it is not as steep. Still steep! Just not as steep. Then it's a shorter distance to finish than to turn around. Mind games to keep you going. Anything that keeps you going up the hill. Now about the last 2/3rds it really gets steep. I mean seriously steep. Then it keeps getting steeper till the finish at the top. Dark, covered by tree branches, tunnel like. Few cars, and the cars seem to pay attention. It's hard for them going up to. It's brakes on going down. Did I mention the hair pin turns about half way? There deadly. So I am in the tunnel of death. My heart rate is just below max. I'm hardly turning the cranks over. There is so much pressure and now it starts getting steeper. Right to the finish. I can barely breath anymore. My heat rate is way in the red zone. I am looking for the driveway to pull over in 7/8s up the hill. I had no choice. Just a few neural breaths for just a few seconds. Let the heat rate come down a bit. The heart rate comes down fast. The hill won again. It's beat me many times over the years. It only took 90 seconds to recover. I finished the hill easy after that. Just a quick push and I am on the top. What was I thinking doing this hill at age 57. My young legs could barely do it! Well it got done. I did hands full more of hills on this days ride. Nothing even close to as hard as Skyline Road.
Now I was thinking about my card. Eating Crow in ten slices. Which part do I eat first. Will I have to eat it again? Skyline Road. It's a measure. I did not measure up as well as I had hoped. I like Chuck Roast the best.