Weekends are for riding

Last weekend I was riding up Shookstown Road (a road in Frederick county running west from town up the mtns). In this section the shoulder narrowed and disappeared. I wasnt paying attention and rode right off the road into drainage ditch, haha. Almost big bummer as I rode right onto a beer bottle and heard it crack under my tire (luckily I was jumping off the seat right as the bottle broke). Also luckily I have kevlar tires. That was too close.

The rest of the ride was nice. I rode out into Washington County into South Mountain State Park. The trees, plants and grass are almost neon green. Thankfully the pollen has died down a bit allowing me to breathe. When out riding for 5 hours I really need to breathe.

Lately Ive been letting my mind drift as I ride. One minute Im concentrating on hammering the pedals and next minute Im wondering if Ill eat pizza when home. I spend a lot of time trying to imagine Frederick county during the late 1800's. Our row house was built in 1886. The town of Frederick existed and lots of farms surrounding town were here also. Its easy to loose myself daydreaming on some of the quiet lonely mountain roads.

Cant wait to get the ride tuned. Last week I upgraded my helmet. Shoot wish I had done that earlier. The new lid is great and vents very well. Also I was getting embarrassed by the ancient one I'd been wearing forever. Next will be new brake pads, and maybe a new seat. Then pretty soon I gotta break down and get clipless pedals and shoes with cleats. Ive avoided these for a couple years. At first I was really uncomfortable about clipping feet to the pedals. Thought for sure I would just fall right over. Now Im much more comfortable in the saddle and feel like Im losing power wearing my addidas. All in good time.

progress, well kind of...

I still remember my 2 favorite bikes, a schwin scrambler with mag wheels (had it for like a day before was stolen from school bball courts) and my schwin varsity (loved that bike sooo much - it was a beast). But my Trek is a monster and works like a champ. So by last July I had been riding a few times a week for over a year and was getting comfortable. Shifting was working out well. I was getting good at climbing and was trying to spend all free time riding.

Then after my 40th bday I was tested. On a beautiful summer afternoon I went out for some climbing. After cresting hill I turned towards home. On way down hill I got a bit of speed. Week prior I had Wheelbase adjust my bars - dropping them as low as possible so I could get more aero. As Im cruising down Hamburg rd I was feelin good and let speed get up. Hamburg is winding 1 and 1/2 lane tree lined mtn road. I came around a long corner maybe a bit too quick. While still in turn I looked ahead and saw a Vette pullinig around a cyclist climbing hill towards me. I tried to drift wide, but I was hard on brakes and ended up eating gravel. It only seemed like I touched ground for a split second. I hopped up and noticed other cyclist and driver were huddled around me. Cyclist eyes were HUGE as he told me - "I thought you were in the tree for sure." Other driver was really worried. I was pissed cuz looked like my bike took it hard. Then I noticed i couldnt feel my finger and it was bent all strange. Other cyclist said I dislocated it and he got real strange look on face when he saw my back. Weird cuz i couldnt feel anything other than I was SOOO HOT.

I thanked both guys and apologized for goin way too fast for the road. I hopped on bike and bolted outta there. When I got to level ground I pulled over and called for the team car, oh wait I mean I called wife to come get me. haha. I was carried away there for sec.

Long story short, only dislocated 1 finger but was able to see bones in my back from the hole i cut above my hip. Those damn things took freaking forever to heal up. But Im happy to report that White Lightnin was a beast and absorbed nothing worse than a flesh wound - some tape scrape.

Funniest part of that 40th bday present which I got myself - road rash - was that the day before fateful ride I was sure my descending skills were spot on. Hmmm in retrospect I could have been more in control. Ok - a bit of an understatement.

Since I had to let finger, and hip heal I was off bike for a bit. But I tried using this time to get core strength in better shape. I couldnt do pushups or pullups for a bit so I concentrated on doing plank - isometric stuff. Great idea. Then when I was back on bike I felt more in control of both bike and my body when riding. Im still amazed how little time I need to spend doing isometric stuff daily to maintain. Proof that if you really take care of body it will function correctly.

Well thats all I can take - its way to nice out to be sit here type. late

So it begins

A few years ago I went to Wheelbase Bikes downtown interested in new parts for my mtn bike. Wheelbase is a little shop on Market St, main drag, of Frederick's Historic district. I wasnt able to find the parts I wanted, but I did find a "new" bike. Classic move - dont buy what you need, get what you want. After confirming I could make the bike a "birthday present" I returned to Wheelbase chomping at the bit to ride.

After getting "white lightning" adjusted by the mechanics I was cleared for take off. The Trek 1.2 was a total steal, bought it used for almost half its retail price new. Totally love at 1st sight/ ride. For the 1st few months I was content riding laps around the Historic district. I sought out a couple nice small climbs in town and raced from home around the city and back. Then I went to Jackson Hole Wyoming. And it all changed.

While in Tetons my cousin, wife and myself rented bikes and cruised out. Half way into the ride I couldnt catch my breath. Then I could hardly press the pedals. Whew - I limped back to bike rental shop and collapsed. Of course my wife and cousin had a blast. Never understood if it was the elevation or my lack of cardiovascular health. But what a wake up call - thought I was in shape and was blasted back to reality. I left Wyoming dying to get on MY bike.

Once home I began to stretch my riding. On Frederick County map I found smaller roads winding into Catoctin Mtns west of town. Perfection. So I packed my riding shorts pockets with iphone, granola bar, and couple bucks, grabbed water bottle and busted a move. I still remember the 1st ride up the hills on Hamburg road. I never had been good at shifting gears when riding and was now wishing I knew which gear lever to shift - cuz the hills were turning into mountains. I kept head down and fought the pedals up a nice section of steepness. As I crested the peak I felt strong and accomplished then I saw the road ahead went up a LOT more. A couple deep breaths and I saw a couple riders coming up behind. I slowed and watched as they sailed effortlessly by. I never caught up to those riders, I also never shifted, but I did make it to the top of Hamburg road. The climbing was not fun but I was hooked. No idea why I was hooked on something I didnt consider fun...

I kept crushing Hamburg road every weekend. Little by little I found myself able to go up the mtn quicker. One ride I finally decided to downshift since it was supposed to make climbing easier. Of course I downshifted on a very steep section and WHAMMO - chain came off! Nothing takes mind off hurting legs and lungs like both hands totally covered in grease. Lesson learned - when shifting pay attention to the amount of force being used on pedals.

So I was now climbing and shifting and loving it. The winter climbs were hard and taught me the value of good gear. Next post will be about last July and a fall