So the Contour arrived...DOA some sort of system issue where it doesnt recognize and cant charge the battery. Apparently a few people have had this issue. I was very disappointed. Also disappointed in Compusa/Tigerdirect exchange policy. The only option for exchange i had was to pay for another and then have them reimburse me when they received this one. They didn't allow me to return this one and once they cleared it send the other. Rather suspect. Also the mounting options that came with the Contour did not seem very bike helmet friendly.
For the ride yesterday i got there on time but then went into Strictly bikes to try and buy a tube, as i walked into the store they started leaving so i got back to my bike. By the time i was at my bike and clipped in they were already 3-4 minutes out. I rode hard and caught up to them. I was able to stay with them for quite a while often staying in the very front. At one point we came to a stop sign and all stopped we then turned right...into a hill. I said a bad word when i saw the hill as we turned, someone said what and i realized i overreacted because it could seem that my bike was in distress, i said single speed man, and they pulled away from me. When the terrain leveled out there were 4 of us left behind. I got behind one of the guys and said "Lets go get them". I went head down top speed, we started catching up a little but realized we would not be able to catch them. We eventually pulled up to the farm and the guys were milling about.
I went in and bought some orange juice and 2 bananas. When i came outside they were already starting to leave. I scarfed down the juice and banana clipped in and tried to catch them. I only caught 1 guy that was left behind. What followed was a bit of comedy of errors. After a lot of wrong turns we eventually found ourselves well north of our destination. We wound up north of Toga and Nyack, going through a ton of hills and putting in more mileage than we should have. I wound up doing over 110 miles and was completely out of juice coming down the west side.
It was a tough day.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Stuff
So my stuff is coming through.
I just purchased a Contour helmet camera, it arrives on Friday, in time for my Sunday ride. I also found out that BikeTiresDirect.com is sending me my replacement Vrdestein Tricomp. They wholly rock and all of my tire purchases will be through them going forward without a doubt.
I need to purchase 2 more tires (to be safe and fresh) for La Vuelta, i am fairly certain i will be riding on the tricomps. The Schwalbe Ultremo ZX's look better and are faster but i think they will tear in PR.
Recently my commutes have been fairly uneventful.
That is a good thing.
I just purchased a Contour helmet camera, it arrives on Friday, in time for my Sunday ride. I also found out that BikeTiresDirect.com is sending me my replacement Vrdestein Tricomp. They wholly rock and all of my tire purchases will be through them going forward without a doubt.
I need to purchase 2 more tires (to be safe and fresh) for La Vuelta, i am fairly certain i will be riding on the tricomps. The Schwalbe Ultremo ZX's look better and are faster but i think they will tear in PR.
Recently my commutes have been fairly uneventful.
That is a good thing.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
The Challenge
So, i am trying to be the first person to do La Vuelta PR on a single speed bike. Here is why it is significant to me. I was pretty much born with asthma. My parents told me i was diagnosed when i was 11 months old. In my life i have been intabated 3 times due to my asthma.
I had severe asthma with my parents sometimes taking me to Kings County Hospital twice in one night. One of my earlier memories is thrashing on a table in a hospital with several nurses trying to hold me down so they could give me the needles that i needed. The fact that it took several people to keep a 6-8 year old boy on the table is one of the reasons this stuck in my mind (that and the DARN big needle). I missed many many days of school and was often laid out at home or in the hospital due to my severe asthma. Back in those days they would shoot us up with epinephrine and i remember curling up on my mother or occasionally my fathers lap in the hospital with my heart feeling like it will burst out of my chest, weak from the lack of oxygen and the large amount of epinephrine that was coursing through my body. At one point late in High School my mother confided in me that she never thought i could live independently.
Even though i was laid out pretty bad from asthma as a kid i also loved playing baseball and being active when i could. It was a bad combination for my parents, but they never put me in a bubble. They let me play for the leagues that played at the parade ground and bought me things like bicycles and skateboards. Where i am today is attributed to their belief against hope that i could lead a somewhat normal life. Their encouragement led me to taking up the first thing that i think helped towards me conquering the invalidity that was seemingly predicated by my condition, track and field. I ran in HS and i had amazing coaches. I was never a track superstar but i did ok and eventually strengthened my lungs to the point where i could actively fight my asthma. To this day i am significantly indebted to Coach Malek and Coach McCollum for working with me and my condition and never giving up on me.
In college my life began to turn around even more. Even though there were many things i hated about the college that i went to, it took me out of the environment i was in. The air was cleaner, i was eating more, and eating healthier. These were the final two things that helped me overcome one of the more significant demons of my childhood. My last real asthma attack for which i was hospitalized was in November of 1996.
Now i am trying to complete La Vuelta PR on a single speed bike, something i am told no one has done before and in an email from the tour director for good reasons. Having completed two centuries on my single speed including a rather hilly Escape NY with decent times makes me think i have some shot of actually doing this. If i do it or if i dont is not what is important. I am trying so if my 10 month old son actually has my asthmatic genes or if he runs up against some significant obstacle in life at the very least what i can do for him is show him by my example to not give up, that he can overcome it. At the end of the day win or lose you can still try.
I had severe asthma with my parents sometimes taking me to Kings County Hospital twice in one night. One of my earlier memories is thrashing on a table in a hospital with several nurses trying to hold me down so they could give me the needles that i needed. The fact that it took several people to keep a 6-8 year old boy on the table is one of the reasons this stuck in my mind (that and the DARN big needle). I missed many many days of school and was often laid out at home or in the hospital due to my severe asthma. Back in those days they would shoot us up with epinephrine and i remember curling up on my mother or occasionally my fathers lap in the hospital with my heart feeling like it will burst out of my chest, weak from the lack of oxygen and the large amount of epinephrine that was coursing through my body. At one point late in High School my mother confided in me that she never thought i could live independently.
Even though i was laid out pretty bad from asthma as a kid i also loved playing baseball and being active when i could. It was a bad combination for my parents, but they never put me in a bubble. They let me play for the leagues that played at the parade ground and bought me things like bicycles and skateboards. Where i am today is attributed to their belief against hope that i could lead a somewhat normal life. Their encouragement led me to taking up the first thing that i think helped towards me conquering the invalidity that was seemingly predicated by my condition, track and field. I ran in HS and i had amazing coaches. I was never a track superstar but i did ok and eventually strengthened my lungs to the point where i could actively fight my asthma. To this day i am significantly indebted to Coach Malek and Coach McCollum for working with me and my condition and never giving up on me.
In college my life began to turn around even more. Even though there were many things i hated about the college that i went to, it took me out of the environment i was in. The air was cleaner, i was eating more, and eating healthier. These were the final two things that helped me overcome one of the more significant demons of my childhood. My last real asthma attack for which i was hospitalized was in November of 1996.
Now i am trying to complete La Vuelta PR on a single speed bike, something i am told no one has done before and in an email from the tour director for good reasons. Having completed two centuries on my single speed including a rather hilly Escape NY with decent times makes me think i have some shot of actually doing this. If i do it or if i dont is not what is important. I am trying so if my 10 month old son actually has my asthmatic genes or if he runs up against some significant obstacle in life at the very least what i can do for him is show him by my example to not give up, that he can overcome it. At the end of the day win or lose you can still try.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Nyack
So i went to meet up with the group leaving from Strictly. I left 15 minutes later than the last time i wanted to leave and got to the store at 8:35, 5 minutes late. They had already left.
I wound up biking to Nyack with a group of 10 who were later than me.
I found out biking in a peleton with a single speed is not going to be good. There were times when i would need to speed up to get the forward momentum i would need to help crest the hill so i applied extra power forcing me outside the group and passing them, however once i was at the top of the hill i would be beat and they would blow right by me. Sometimes i was to the left of the group and i saw a hill coming but couldnt get around them and get to the outside so that i could power ahead leaving me struggling to get over the hill without the necessary forward momentum.
They called me dangerous. They all shifted gears and kept their cadence no matter if they were going uphill, downhill, or on flats, and they mostly kept their order in the group. For me on a single speed that is impossible. Its like i ride a series of intervals throughout my ride.
Other than that the ride was mostly uneventful.
While biking back home a cyclist went through a red light crossing Bleeker Street while i was riding in the green path on Bleeker forcing me to stop really hard, not enough time to get my feet out of the clipless set up my pedals eventually slammed into my shin somehow helping me realize how i got that last scab on my shin. My shin looks like a warzone now.
As i was headed home i saw the marathoners running underneath the willie b while i crossed it. I dont think my asthma will ever let me try that but i can dream...
I wound up biking to Nyack with a group of 10 who were later than me.
I found out biking in a peleton with a single speed is not going to be good. There were times when i would need to speed up to get the forward momentum i would need to help crest the hill so i applied extra power forcing me outside the group and passing them, however once i was at the top of the hill i would be beat and they would blow right by me. Sometimes i was to the left of the group and i saw a hill coming but couldnt get around them and get to the outside so that i could power ahead leaving me struggling to get over the hill without the necessary forward momentum.
They called me dangerous. They all shifted gears and kept their cadence no matter if they were going uphill, downhill, or on flats, and they mostly kept their order in the group. For me on a single speed that is impossible. Its like i ride a series of intervals throughout my ride.
Other than that the ride was mostly uneventful.
While biking back home a cyclist went through a red light crossing Bleeker Street while i was riding in the green path on Bleeker forcing me to stop really hard, not enough time to get my feet out of the clipless set up my pedals eventually slammed into my shin somehow helping me realize how i got that last scab on my shin. My shin looks like a warzone now.
As i was headed home i saw the marathoners running underneath the willie b while i crossed it. I dont think my asthma will ever let me try that but i can dream...
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
The cold
So i have been riding in the cold more than i ever thought possible of myself considering my predilection for tropical climates. The past couple of years i have been finding that i can do things that i previously thought unfathomable (hopefully La Vuelta PR on a single speed is one of them).
I was just able to ship back my Vrdestein TriComp to Bike Tires Direct. Which means i probably wont get it's replacement for a little bit. That means i need to ride with a Schwalbe Ultremo ZX on my front tire until it comes back. As you can imagine thanks to its lack of durability, i already had a flat today. I wanted to make a Nyak run tomorrow but i feel tentative about trying given my luck with the Schwalbe Ultremo ZX.
I also hope all the snow is gone from the Nyack route...
I was just able to ship back my Vrdestein TriComp to Bike Tires Direct. Which means i probably wont get it's replacement for a little bit. That means i need to ride with a Schwalbe Ultremo ZX on my front tire until it comes back. As you can imagine thanks to its lack of durability, i already had a flat today. I wanted to make a Nyak run tomorrow but i feel tentative about trying given my luck with the Schwalbe Ultremo ZX.
I also hope all the snow is gone from the Nyack route...
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