Getting ready

As I mentioned a little while ago, I've got a sprint tri coming up next weekend. I've done another race at this same location a few years ago, and that time I had to borrow my brother's old full suspension MTB to ride. The worst part (other than the fact that I don't like suspension to begin with) is that he hadn't used/maintained it for so long that the front fork lock-out wasn't working, so by the end of the bike section I was almost sea-sick from the bouncing every time I tried to really push on a climb. This time I'll be driving to his house instead of flying, so I can bring my own bike.

I thought about it a bit and decided to pull the Raleigh off of the trainer and use it. Sure, it's limited gear-wise (a straight 10, and not for climbing, compared to the 21 on the Trucker) but it weighs less, has no racks, and is easier to pack into my truck. I also decided to swap the pedals out. When I first bought it the Raleigh had what looked like original toe clip pedals on it and I pulled them off for clipless. In this case I want the toe clip so I can just wear my running shoes. Since I'm not going for speed the slight benefit of the clipless shoes is more than balanced by only having to put my shoes on once (I'm VERY slow at transitions.)


The only downside is that while I was pulling the non-driveside pedal off I wanged my thumb good - pinched it between the wrench and the crank. Darn thing is still tender. Oh, and the fact that the spare tube from the seat bag had spider webs on it.

Wednesday weigh-in: Week 15

In addition to the update on my weight (still going down, slower than I'd like) I want to talk about weather. In this case, the difference between cycling and running weather.

I really like to ride. It's one the of the most enjoyable activities I do. What I don't especially like is riding when it's chilly. Not cold, mind you, just chilly. Weather right now in the Bay Area is mid 50s and 60s which isn't bad for riding but for some reason I just can't get myself to ride in this sort of weather.

Running on the other hand...

I love running in this weather - the colder (down to 20s) the better. I head out in my shorts and sweatshirt and pound for an hour or so and I'm happy as can be. So why not with riding?

(and yes, that parenthetical in the first line is the weight update for this week)

Wednesday weigh-in: Week 14

Okay, so it's not Wednesday and I've been slipping more often than not on the "weekly" part. After a great week of working out I've had a week and a half of bad. Basically, I missed most of last week, was gone over the weekend (did a lot of hiking but no true workouts), and have been feeling a little meh this week. I will be back in the gym today to get back on the horse, but have a lot of ground to make up.As you can see from the graph I'm still trending down, although with some deviations. As I get back into working out regularly I hope to get that trend a little more solid.

I have registered for the Turkey Tri at Bonnelli Park in the LA area, the Sunday following Thanksgiving, so if any of you are in the are come by and laugh.

A rideless weekend

I spent last weekend in Mammoth Lakes, CA and intended to do some riding. I loaded my bike and all of my gear into the truck, and that's where it stayed for the length of the trip. Two things caught me short - the altitude and the hills. I fully expected both, but wasn't ready for just how much they would whoop me. I had a hard enough time hiking around and don't want to think about what would have happened if I'd tried to ride anywhere.

Below is a shot of McLeod Lake, a short hike from where I stayed. I also tromped around Convict Lake and a bit in Yosemite. This is will certainly go on my list of trips to repeat, especially in the spring/summer/fall while 120 through Tioga Pass is open.