Work On The Munger Trail

I took the Munger Trail today for a twenty mile ride. Gorgeous is all that can be said about the weather. Sixty five degrees and sunny, light breeze off the big lake, perfect for this time of year. I'm glad I rode the MTB as the trail is rough in parts, and under major repair in others. I don't know how long it will take, but it's been a long time coming.

My six year old Tifosi sun glasses have seen better day, so I stopped at the LBS and picked up a pair of Tifosi Dolomite's. Just in time for the sunny weather coming up this week. The Tifosi line hold up well, are comfortable, and half the price of Oakley or Smith. While there, I looked at some 29er models and think that I may upgrade to one of them. Or maybe a 'cross bike. And a snow bike. If I lived closer to work, it sure would make my choice easier.

Back To It

Sorry about the no posts lately. Just too much has been going on for me to concentrate on cycling, such as work and school. I have been learning a lot on the photography front, that's a plus. Photoshop skills are very useful, as are basic editing and design elements, such as this masterpiece:

Linda At Boo at the Zoo

One reason I haven't been riding has been pain. I ached all over, didn't recover after rides for days, was putting on weight, and had gotten weaker. And it was getting progressively worse. Feet, shoulders, knees, back, muscles, you name it, it hurt. The doctors said it was from normal wear and tear do to age and abuse. I wasn't buying it, so I traced my steps back to when this started. In particular, when I started taking diabetes medications. The first was Avandia and Metforman. I didn't take Avandia for long, as it's side effects were nasty. I still have scars from the water blisters I got on my lower legs. Nasty stuff. Metforman has no real side effects, but I still stopped taking it for a while. No difference. Insulin has no real side effects, so it was down to the last drug, a stain for cholesterol. I didn't have a cholesterol problem, but the medical establishment like to treat type 2 diabetes patients as if they have already had a heart attack. Current research is proving that theory wrong, so I quit the Simvistatin. Three weeks later, I felt like a new man. The aches and sharp pains, especially in my feet, are about 90% gone, and remain that way. What a relief to be able to go about daily life clear headed from not having to take pain medications daily, not to mention what those can do to your system. I can work out again without taking a week to recover, and my outlook and demeanor are much improved.

I had mentioned my father was going through hell with temporal arteritis. Not really, he had Lymes disease. This misdiagnosis almost killed him, wreaked havoc on his diabetes due to taking prednisone, which raises blood sugar to dangerous levels and required him to go on insulin. He couldn't take his arthritis medications due to the prednisone, so he was almost bed ridden with pain, along with many trips to the hospital for complications. Now that he's had proper treatment for Lymes, he's doing much better. I', glad we kept after the doctors, because we had thought all along he had Lymes, but they didn't test him for it for several months.

I've got another month of school left, then I'll have more time to ride and write. College was one of the best things I have ever done, even this late in life. Everyone should take a break in life and take a semester or two. I'm glad I did.

Willow

This is our new cat, Willow. He's a blue point Siamese we got from my brother yesterday. Our other Siamese, Pieper, doesn't quite know what to make of him yet, but she'll come around. She's been lonely since the other two left us, so it's only a matter of time until she comes around.

I put in a lot of saddle time the last couple of weeks on my mountain bike. Nice weather was the norm, so one has to take advantage of it. The last couple of days have been taken up be family stuff, but maybe today will allow me an hour or two. One thing that may slow me down is a saddle sore. I haven't had one in 30 years, but after riding Thursday, something felt irritated in the sit bone area. Ouch! is all I can say. One more excuse for being slow, I guess.

Weather or Not

So how's the in your neck of the woods. It's supposed to be in the 70's F here for the next 10 days. Perfect riding weather for sure, so let's all take advantage of it. I know I am. This weekend was fabulous, got some MTB rides in on the trails going into Jay Cooke State Park off of the Munger Trail. I hadn't explored them much, but I was on my MTB, so why not give them a try. It was well worth it, nice trails in a great setting.

Matt Fitzgerald wrote a book called Racing Weight aimed at endurance athletes trying to get to optimum body weight for peak performance. I read some excerpts from it and it looks like it would be nice to follow to get lean and faster. The most notable thing I gleaned from what I read was this: For every ten pounds overweight you are, you have to expend 6.5% more energy to do the same effort. This means I have to produce 65% more power than I should to climb the same hill. Scary, to say the least. Not to mention how hard it is on your body to carry that much around on a day to day basis. No wonder I'm so slow on the climbs. This is a proof that the scale doesn't lie, it's proven accurate every time I get on the bike. I ride strong all day on the flats, but once the road goes up, my time does too.

On a final note, we are two more pets down. Spencer, our seal point Siamese cat disappeared over three weeks ago. He went outside in the evening never to return. Then, a couple of weeks ago, Brooklyn the Airedale developed a nose bleed the lasted for about ten hours. We took him to the vet and discovered his blood platelet count was 150. It should be at least 80,000. They gave us some steroids to give him, and he was rechecked a week later. This time he was at a normal count of 143,000. This didn't last long. Last Thursday he was bleeding out again, so we had him put down. L had him for almost ten years and they were inseparable. So first Simon, then Spencer, and now Brooklyn. Poor Piper, Simon's mother, is very lonely now that they're all gone. We may get her a kitten to keep her company and her mind off of the others.

 

                                    

Digital Photo Class

These shots are from my Digital Photography class I'm taking this semester at Lake Superior College. The instructor really loves the derailleur pic, so much so she is having it blown up and shown in the art building on her office wall. She didn't even know what it was, but thought it was an excellent piece of art. What would she think if it was Campy C-Record? Hmmm...

I took the rock formation shot this last Sunday on the Munger Trail. Doug and I rode up the trail from West Duluth for a ways until the hike-a-bike got a little too much. It was nice to get out, even for just a little more than an hour, in the great weather. This week should really get the snow melt going, being above 50 degrees for most of the week. I plan on riding a bit more than I have been lately. I need a good base going into summer.

Spring 2010

The warm weather and rain have created some great rapids on the local streams and rivers. The above was on Skyline Parkway this afternoon. I took the local scenic route and luckily had my camera with. I bet Doug got a good look at this same spot. The deer were also moving around a bit. The little guy up above was content to just check me out and was in no hurry to get out of the road. A nice afternoon, I must say.

Update 1/29/10

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, but things have been rather hectic here at the casa. L and I are both hitting the books- and camera- hard at the start of the semester. The digital photography class I'm taking is very good. Lots of black and white pictures, Photoshop editing, projects, field trips etc. I took advantage of some of that stimulus money to upgrade the man cave a bit. A trip to Ikea netted a new desk and work table and cabinet, Sam's Club a new chair and computer. The Windows 7 sure is a lot nicer to work with than Vista, which will make school work much smoother. Not to mention a 25" high def monitor is much easier on the eyes than squinting at a 16" lap top screen. This makes Photoshop much nicer to work with.

As far as riding goes, I have not done much. Time and weather. Weird, I broke a spoke while riding the trainer. I've never done that before. Something tells me I need to loose some weight...

Sense Of Direction

Well, it looks like the end of the line for me and the car biz. I won't be returning to the job I had before being laid off, so it's a new plan of action here at the ranch. I'm enrolling in school for the first time since high school graduation, thanks to some of that Obama stimulus plan money. I'm looking at getting into the medical insurance field, so I'm taking some courses on billing, coding, and such. Being that the health insurance industry is getting a revamp, it looks to be a good opportunity for me. L will be done with her legal studies about the time I get ramped up, so she can enter the work force while I learn. At least that's the plan.

I got out for a nice ride on the road bike yesterday. An hour and a half of nice tempo on the Munger Trail. I saw one other cyclist the whole time on a crisp 35 degree morning. A base layer and a long sleeve jersey, along with bib knicks were all I needed for perfect comfort. Oh, and a Sugoi skull cap and Specialized Radiant gloves, too. That reminds me, I need to get some more chemical had warmers before the really cold weather sets in. They sure are handy to have along if things change weather-wise.

I'm also thing about doing the North Shore Ultra this winter. Maybe the half, as Jeff and Doug plan on. That could be some serious motivation to get back training hard. Now that the game plan is in place for everything else, this could happen.

A New Page

A couple of mile stones this weekend. First, L and I decided to get married. Not right now, but probably in a year or so down the line. I sold my spare road bike and used the proceeds to get her a nice ring. Nothing gaudy, just a small diamond in a classy setting. Funny how the economy has even hit the jewelry market. I purchased it at a fraction of what it would have cost a year and a half ago. Funny how things change. A few months ago, I vowed I would never tie the knot again. She said the same. The fact that neither of us is working full time right now has left us a lot of opportunity to get to know each other in a relatively short space of time. It's been great!

The second thing is she decided she wanted to go for a bike ride with me. She hasn't been on a bicycle since the 7th grade and wasn't sure about how she would do. So, she borrowed a bike from her friend and we headed down the Munger Trail out of Carlton this afternoon. We rode 6 miles with no problems. She seemed to really enjoy it and wants to go out again tomorrow. If this keeps up, we'll have to get her her own rig and some clothes. But first, lets see if she continues to enjoy it. More on that after a few more trips.

Against The Wind 2

Wow, that cold air mass that swung down from Canada really kicked us into fall in a big hurry. Last week, temps in the 80's, now 40's to 50's are in store. I ended up doing my zone 2 hill work yesterday instead of Sunday. Pure murder is all I can say, into the wind at least. It's hard to dress for this weather, but it comes down to layers. I got a new Pro Bike Kit long sleeve jersey and Castelli bib knicks a couple of weeks back and can put them to use now. I just need to find a good long fingered glove that's not too insulated for this kind of weather. I hate sweaty hands, but not cold hands. Do I ask for too much?

I don't know if you are like me, but this weather kicks in the comfort food cravings. It's fortunate that there is a pasta us diabetics can enjoy without having to take a butt load of insulin. Dreamfields
pasta is a low carb, high fiber product that tastes great and doesn't spike your blood sugar. I took my normal dose of Novolog the first time I ate it, and had a low sugar episode that evening. It is as good as advertised.

Speaking of the wind, I'm hating it a lot less these days. I'm not sure why, maybe it's just an acceptance of something you can't control. Or, maybe it's that I've gotten stronger, my bike is lighter and so am I. My climbing abilities still suck, but you can't have everything. I guess maybe I can, after all Cadel Evans just won a world championship.

Busy Busy Busy

The back yard was looking like hell. The old deck off of the back of the house was in rough shape, actually it was partial removed, leaving only a 3 foot wide landing. What a mess. I tore it off completely and built a new 8 X 10 deck. I will add another 12 X 12 section as finances permit. At least now the gas grille is off the ground and the back door usable.

Yesterday, I put in another 30 mile ride on the Munger Trail from Duluth to Carlton and back. I was only planning to go for an hour, but I felt really good, so did my new bike. It was one of those days where you just seem to float along, nothing holds you back, and you can put the power down seemingly effortlessly. The stretch along the Thompson Dam was surreal. I'm not sure how fast I was going ( new computer hasn't arrived yet), but it felt much faster than normal. There was a tail wind, that helped, but part of it is the new bike. So smooth and quiet, not to mention light, it seemed to disappear, leaving nothing but the air rushing by to notice.

In fact the ride went by much faster than normal. Over 10 minutes faster over 30 miles. L asked me if the new bike was worth the wait, and I think that proved it. Yes, definitely worth it.

Next up on the list, install the new storm door in the back entrance. I love progress !!

Fully Operational

The cable guy showed up yesterday and hooked up a high speed wi-fi modem so I have high speed Internet at my desk in the new man cave. I'll be doing some more frequent posting now that the frustrations of my old low speed/low data connection has been banished to the emergency back up role it deserves. AT&T 3G may never get here in our life time.

I've been able to get in some nice rides again, now that I'm settled into a new living situation. My fitness had declined a bit, but it came back nicely. A few visits to a chiropractor to work on my tight IT band has netted some good results, but she said the nasty groin strain I suffered in a fall down some stairs a few months back, is going to take a long time to heal. At my age, that's just how it goes. Putting on my left sock is painful, but otherwise it's no real bother.

The fall riding season is rapidly approaching. Shorter days and warmer clothes, but it's still my favorite time of the year. Fall riding and golfing are just great around here, so are drives up the shore and hiking on our many trails over looking the big lake. I can't wait to do some cross country skiing this winter, since my knee feels good and my fitness level is pretty good. L and I are heading to Las Vegas in mid September with a group of friends for a few days. I'm going to hit Red Rock for a day of mountain biking. Hopefully, I can find some folks to ride with, since I don't know the area all that well. But, with a GPS, I shouldn't get too lost. I'm looking forward to that adventure in a big way !!

Misc Stuff

Well, I'm almost all moved in to my new digs. Merging two households is not an easy task, to say the least. I was smart and got rid of a lot of excess clutter in my last incarnation, so the things I have brought are the quality items that you can't get just get rid of. I have high end cook ware, tools, art work, etc. that are a needed part of me and my life style. My new partner and I have spent many hours sorting and re-evaluating what we have versus what we need. It's gone pretty well and you get to really learn a lot about someone by what they value. And question what you yourself really needs and values.

On the riding front, I've gotten some quality mile in lately. A fairly flat 40k time trial netted a 16.1 mph average, my best effort this year, but down from what I could do back in the day. Proper pre-ride and during ride fueling has contributed to better results and I haven't bonked at all. In fact, I seem to finish a two hour ride stronger than the first hour. It seems like back in the days when I was a runner. The better shape I was in, the longer it took to get in the groove. The first mile or so was very "disjointed" and slow, then I would get in that flow where you can just run with little effort. In the last 10k of the 40k ride, I don't even remember breathing. Weird how the body works.

On the diabetes front, my morning glucose readings have been rock solid, between 90 and 115. I'm not sure what to say is the main contributor, but I think much of it has to do with a inner calm that has set over me lately. It's hard to describe, but there doesn't seem to be that stress that comes with marital strife and uncertainty of the future. I have been kicking around the idea of changing careers, which would mean going to school and being a student for the first time since high school. There is money available for people's educational costs like never before, and I may take advantage of some of it. I'm just not sure what I want to be if I ever grow up!!

Cha-Cha-Cha-Changes

No posts lately due to lack of time, riding, and changes. My divorce will be final shortly, I've been spending more time in the big city, and am now moving to said big city. Well, it's just back into Duluth proper and not the outskirts where I was hanging out. A real home again. Strange how quickly life can change. For the better at last.

Now, my riding habits will change again. Hills everywhere. I am only a few blocks from the Monday night group ride from a local LBS. I haven't ridden it before, but I'm going to give it a go next week. My fitness is down due to only a couple of rides in the last 2 weeks, so I have to get on the stick. My blood sugar is up a bit due to lack of riding. It will be back in line after a couple of good efforts in the saddle. New routines are in order as soon as the moving gets done and the house reorganized.

It sure is nice to have high speed internet again. Having it is has removed the restricter plate from my computer. I don't have to go to the coffee shop to get things done in a timely manner any more, saving money and time. Being central to all the things I need and do is great. Simple things like that make such a difference. It's like being able to breath again.

Happy 4th

It's the 4th of July already. So, happy 4th, one and all.

Have you ever heard of an IT band injury. Well, it's just my luck to have that strange thing occur. You see, my bum left knee started to hurt again, but in a different area. I talked to the ortho doctor, who knew what was up right away after asking a series of rather intelligent questions. Have you changed position on the bike? Yes new cleats and pedals, raised seat height a bit. Is one leg shorter than the other? Yes, the right is 3/4 inch shorter (up to a 1/2 inch is normal) . I had just recently found my heal shims for my everyday shoes and started using them again. Have you been riding longer and harder lately? Yes, I had doubled my rides and had been ramping up the intensity.

OK, rest and special stretches were prescribed for 5 days. The stretches worked well, the pain is pretty much gone. I took a short spin Thursday before golf league, no problem. Yesterday, a 26 mile ride with some intervals mixed in went off without a hitch. This morning, the knee feels fine, in fact I feel great all around. And, my average speed was up compared to the same ride several times this year. Probably due to the intervals, I would think.

Looks like it's going to be nice weather around these parts for the weekend. It's just too bad the local roads turn into a speedway on the holidays. Maybe I'll ride the MungerTrail, even though I'll have to put up with all the knuckle heads walking 3 wide with a dog on a long leash. People just don't think. Also, I picked up Tony Bourdain's "No Reservations", collection 3 to watch. 9 episodes of my favorite series of all time. Tony leads quite the life, one which I truly envy. Maybe once life settles down again, I could do some traveling, No Reservations style. Only, I would bring a bike.

The Week In Review

Well, my week anyway.

I lost another 1.5 lbs. A nice pace for long lasting weight reduction.

On the bike, I rode 126 miles. One of the best weeks in a long time. 85 miles the week before.

Made some progress on the job front. A couple of definite maybes. Better than all the "we're not hiring at this time" I've been hearing.

I took a day off the bike on Thursday. I rode stronger on Friday and Saturday. Coincidence ? I think not.

I sub in a golf league for the first time in years. We pay Thursday nights at Nemadji in Superior. I won my match, that's 4 out of 4 this year. After knocking off the rust from not playing for a couple of years, I'm hitting the ball pretty well. Putting, which used to be my strong suite, is not coming around like my iron play has. I need to practice more, but I have other priorities that take up my time.

I had another strange flat on the road bike. I have a habit of checking my tires for cuts and garbage after each ride and all was OK. The next day, the front tire was flat. There was a fairly large hole on the inner side of the tube. There was no debris or anything to account for the puncture. No loose spokes to poke through, no nothing. It looked almost like a pinch flat, but it would have gone flat immediately if it was. I installed a new rim strip and patched the tube. Knock on wood, it's been fine since.

Lastly, happy Father's Day to all of you dads out there. Take an easy spin with your family if you can. Share the day with your kids. They'll appreciate it, even if they don't say it out loud.

A Day At The Races

Today was a perfect day to be absorbed in bike culture. I spent the morning and afternoon at Mont Du Lac for the Dirt Spanker mountain bike race, part of the Mn MTB series. Brendon Moore and Jenna Reinhart won the men and women's expert races respectively. They really fly up and down the slopes, with Jenna having very little competition. Sarah Kylander Johnson isn't back to form after having a baby, but you can bet she will be soon. I had a nice day hanging with Whitey and Corey from the Ski Hut, who put a lot of support into the race. Everyone seemed to really enjoy the course. There was quite a few single speeds in the expert and comp classes. Too steep for these old knees to ride a single speed, I think.

After dinner, I took a nice 18.6 mile ride from my house and back. An 14.9 mile per hour averge is a full 1.6 mile per hour faster than a month ago. Lots of riding, eating right, and weight loss real have really paid off this spring. My blood sugar is staying steady with less effort than ever. I like it !

The Dentist

That's Joe the Cat helping with the laundry this morning. I think he does more damage than good, but he works cheap.

This morning, it was off to the dentist for some routine cleaning and a check over. I knew I needed to have some root planing done, along with a crown, but that will be done in 5 stages, starting this Wednesday. I just can't wait for all that fun to begin. The good news is that nothing has gotten any worse than a year and a half ago. The lovely Laura the hygienist said my gums look great, the pockets hadn't gotten any worse, in fact better on the right lower side. A testimony to eating better, brushing, and flossing more diligently, but mostly due to better blood glucose control. She commented that there was very little blood and that nasty smell associated with diabetic patients having their teeth cleaned. Next Holly gets to do her root planing thing on me. That's cleaning below the gum line and then treating with antibiotics. This will be done in four phases, worst to best. Will the fun never end? I had to ask Dr. Todd if he rode a Cervelo, but he didn't get the joke.

This weekend, the brakes on my van went to metal, I couldn't get the scooter to run right, my cell phone software smoked, my Backburn bike computer died ( no, a new battery didn't fix it ), and my first flat on the bike since I started riding again. That was weird, since it went flat overnight after a forty plus mile ride. To make matters worse, the small hole in the side of the tube would not seal after 2 different patch jobs. And I've patched a zillion tires in my time. So, I threw in a new tube, but the stem was too short to air up. I'm sure glad I wasn't riding when it went flat. Funny thing is, there was nothing in the tire, no mark, or anything. Strange.

At least the cell phone was under warranty. The folks at Blackberry sent a new one priority mail, so it should be here tomorrow. The bike computer wasn't, so I'll have to pony up for a new one. I put new front pads on the van, lifetime warranty ceramic top end ones at that. They sure have gotten inexpensive lately. The same pads four years ago were over a hundred dollars a set. Now they were twenty five dollars with my professional discount. The scooter, I'm not going to worry about at this time. Not my dog anymore.

Update

Sorry about the lack of posts lately. I've been doing a big project that has taken all my available time. Well, almost all of it. I had planned on being done yesterday, but the fickle finger of fate had other ideas. Old plaster house hold many surprises when you open them up. Enough said.

I did get an hour of saddle time in a couple of days ago. The new Shimano SPD-SL pedals I installed on the road bike begged to be tested. I've been riding road SPD pedals up to now, but were a pain to clip into, being such a small cleat to catch a one sided clip surface. Plus, they never felt secure. Don't get me wrong, SPD is a great system on a mountain bike or touring bike with two sided clip-in, what with being easy get in and out, and walk-ability with the recessed cleat. But SPD-SL with the wide platform feel much better in that it spreads the pressure surface out and the same wideness makes it easier to catch the cleat on the clip in. I like the feel on the foot a lot, especially with my big feet. That positive click in sound is cool, too. I was looking at the Speedplay line-up, but if you walk in sand or gravel, you could get that in the cleat, which is also the clip-in mechanism. So, I went with the Shimano and am very happy.

On the health front, my knee is holding up well, considering I'm up and down stairs all day, up ladders, down on the floor etc. The very things it didn't like aren't bothering it much. Could be the cycling and weight loss (20+ lbs) have made a big difference. The weight loss plus diet changes have also contributed to improved blood sugar control. I've had to back off on the insulin quite a bit with meals, or I go low. Eventually, I want to get off insulin all together. That would be a major improvement in my life style, not having to haul a pen and needles everywhere I go. It doesn't seem like a big deal until you have to do it. This disease is on your mind 24/7, and that is the worse thing. It lives in your mind rent free. Not fair, but what in life is?

What The !!

Carbon, 28 gram bottle cage at Walmart for under $30.00. Part of Bell's platinum series. Bolt one of those on your Magna. You know, you have to save weight somewhere!