A New Totem

I had to go to to the north end of downtown Seattle – near the base of Queen Anne - yesterday in order to pay for some Schoeller fabric which I’d like to try on the bike pants. Schoeller is top of the line stuff, but it’s also very expensive, so I’ll have to make up a pair and see how the cost-benefit analysis works out. Getting to the base of Queen Anne from Mercer Island is no small matter.

Accessing the south end of downtown – near Union Station and Pioneer Square – from Interstate 90 is dead easy but the three miles from Pioneer Square to the Seattle Center is dicey to say the least. When zipping along a busy downtown street I don’t so much worry about the moving cars – perhaps I should be more worried, but I’m comfortable riding in traffic – but parked cars, now those are scary. Some dude is late for a meeting, spots a curbside parking spot, pulls in, throws the car in park and flings open his door: bam I’m on the pavement. It used to be that while riding along a line of parked cars you could look to see if there was someone in the driver’s seat and take evasive action, but now with every car and SUV having tinted windows you can’t see crap. Consequently I ride three to four feet to the left of a string of parked cars, probably angers some drivers, but that’s better than a door in the face.

When I arrived at Seattle center I stopped to check out the new totem pole, which was erected only a day before. It’s a memorial to a local woodcarver who was inadvertently shot and killed by a Seattle police officer. I’m a big fan of Northwest Coast art, and the pole is definitely a nice piece of work.

I rode with the duck fabric urban bicycling pants over my racing knickers. The thermometer was reading high thirties so I rolled up the pants to the knees and pulled on a pair of wool ski socks. I was warm and comfortable. Rode 29 miles, which makes my year total 370 miles.

Nice and Easy

I had to go to the post office on Friday, it’s a ten mile round trip, so I decided to take the cross bike for a nice leisurely ride. What a difference it makes riding in street clothes, well my commuter pants really, just cruising along at a nice even twelve miles an hour. Normally I’m out there sweating and cranking as hard as I can, but on Friday I was simply riding along, no sweating, no strain.

Getting around by bicycle doesn’t have to be a sweat drenched arduous affair. You can run or you can walk; so can you ride easy or ride hard. When I was riding to the post office I never broke a sweat even though I was wearing a down coat and had to crank up a big hill. Every time I felt the prickly itch signaling that I’m about to break a sweat I geared down and eased up. It worked every time. Riding slow and taking it easy also brought back my love of cycling. Sometimes I get so caught up in training and racing that I forget how much I actually love cycling.

With all that said I did have to jump on the trainer for a full on training session later in the day.

On Saturday I snuck out for two laps around the island for a total of 27 miles. Sam, Sophia and I had gone out for breakfast at the Sorrento Hotel where I had a three egg omelet; that was mega energy for two quick laps.

Total 2012 mileage is 341.

Uncle

Wednesday, after three days of riding in the rain I finally cried uncle and drove downtown to meet with Matt the clothing designer. I swear it was raining when I left home but only five miles away in downtown Seattle it was nothing but blue.

The pants are exactly what I was looking for. We made this pair out of 10 oz duck, they have a great fit and a unique style – I’ve never seen anything like them. Can’t wait to start putting images up on this blog.

Got home and took the pants for a 14 mile lap of the Island. Today I was short on time so I got in 10 miles of hill riding. Total for the year is 304 miles.

Downtown in the Rain

Rode into downtown to talk to clothing designer, Matt, about the bike commuter pants I’m working on. We have some fabric now and I’m super stoked about seeing iteration #3. In and out was 22 miles of steady rain and a brisk wind. It looks like we Seattleites are in for a good long run of gray wet winter weather.

I wore a pair of Ibex knickers, made out of a Schoeler soft shell material, over my team issue thermal team issue thermal knickers. Didn’t stay all that dry. Don’t know if anything short of a rubber suit would have kept me dry.

I pulled out the cross bike yesterday, thinking that it might be a safer ride than my slick-tired road bike. My clip-on fenders were a no go. I think I’ll drop some bucks and pick up a set of fenders for the cross bike, winter here is far from over. I’d also like to get a pair of those Vittoria Randonneurs – in white – that would be cool.

2012 mileage total is now 306.

Wind, Rain, Cold

Knocked off 55 miles with the team on Saturday. Wind, rain, and cold – we had all three. We had a stiff wind out of the south and riding across the I-90 Bridge spanning Lake Washington was a touch and go affair. My wheels aren’t all that aero, but I do have bladed spokes and boy howdy was I knocked about by the cross wind. Actually it wasn’t seriously cold and so long as I was peddling I was fairly comfortable.

I’ve been trying out a product called Sport Legs, it seems to do wonders for keeping the legs feeling fresh. Tired legs is something I’ve been battling all winter, perhaps this is a cure, or else maybe I’m just getting in better shape.

My buddy Brian is fond of saying “growing old ain’t for pussies.” True that. As I approach 50 all sorts of weird things seem to be happing: claustrophobia, baldness, and now an intolerance for alcohol. It seems even a single glass of red wine or a bottle of beer will inevitably render a banger of a headache. I hate headaches, maybe I need to start trying hard liquor. I’ve never been much a spirits man; always tasted like gasoline to me.

My yearly bike mileage total is now 284.

229

Knocked off 45 miles with my friend Kris yesterday. That brings the 2012 total mileage up to 229. Small numbers yet. I need to log a few long rides to get those miles up. I'm leading a team ride this Saturday, that'll give me 60 miles. Cold and wet today I may have to go with the trainer once again. If the weather clears this afternoon I'll break out the TT bike and take a lap of Mercer Island. I'll kick-off my racing season March 3rd at the Icebreaker TT; I should get a few miles on the TT bike beforehand.

Thinking about using my race reimbursement check to buy a Garmin Edge 500.

Zoo Hill

Something to consider

Last year my training method of long moderate rides didn’t seem to be getting me to the finish line any sooner than my competition, so this year I’ve decided to add in some shorter distance high intensity workouts. One of these workouts involves a climb of a particularly nasty hill in these hereabouts known as Zoo Hill. It’s a scenic, yet relentless, climb up Cougar Mountain just east of Seattle.

Yesterday I started out en route to Zoo Hill under marginal skies – I’m so tired of riding on the trainer that I figured a little rain is a fair price to pay for some road miles. When I started uphill the weather was quickly going downhill and as I neared the summit out came the hail. By the time I reached the top it was a full on snow storm. I pulled over into a little bus stop shed, pulled on my rain coat and prepared for the downhill. I almost immediately lost my rear brake to worn out pads and as I whipped through the sleet and hail it felt as though I was riding through a Saharan sandstorm.

I arrived at home with frozen feet and a grimy bike. I can’t believe that racing season starts in two and a half weeks.