I haven't been very diligent lately about keeping my blog updated. Summer is a busy time for everyone. I have been busy packing for my 2 trips to Colorado and keeping in mind the new rules for baggage. I think I can get everything into 2 large suitcases and carry one on the plane and check one. United's site indicates that I won't have to pay any surcharge. On the other hand if I would have checked both bags then I would have to pay a fee for the 2nd bag.
I am combining my business trip to Denver this week with my biking trip in the Montrose area scheduled for next week. Only 6 more days until Tony and I get on our bikes and head into the mountains pulling 50 pounds of gear in our trailers.
With all the last minute packing and other things I need to get done, I have kept my training rides short this week (15-20 miles). I did bike the last 4 days, but took today off.
One other activity that Patti and I have been enjoying the last several months is dancing. We took up dance lessons late last year and are starting to get proficient at doing the: Foxtrot, Swing, Texas 2-Step, Cha Cha, Rumba, and Waltz. This past Saturday we had some of our friends come over (9 couples) and gave a beginner's dance class. It was a blast. When I return from Colorado we will give lesson #2 to our friends. Our friends Dave & Sylvia are also helping us give these lessons.
I probably won't get time over the next 2 weeks to update this site, but will keep my Colorado web-site up to date: www.iowacyclist.crazyguyonabike.com
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Flooding In Iowa
For the last week+ we have b
een experiencing flooding in eastern and central Iowa. All the water from the north has now made it down to our area and most of the rivers have crested and are now starting to slowly recede.
een experiencing flooding in eastern and central Iowa. All the water from the north has now made it down to our area and most of the rivers have crested and are now starting to slowly recede.These two pictures along the Mississippi River east of Muscatine, I took tonight on a bike ride. The paper last night said tha
t the crest of the Mississippi River in this area will be recorded as the fifth highest with the 1993 flood being the highest. Further down river the Mississippi is expected to meet or exceed the 1993 crest as the Cedar, Iowa and Des Moines Rivers dump their overflow.
t the crest of the Mississippi River in this area will be recorded as the fifth highest with the 1993 flood being the highest. Further down river the Mississippi is expected to meet or exceed the 1993 crest as the Cedar, Iowa and Des Moines Rivers dump their overflow.Saturday, June 14, 2008
Quad City Triathlon
Today was the annual QC Triathlon held in Davenport, IA. The weather was great, but the flooding that the Midwest is experiencing reduced the normal number of entries. Interstate 80 has been closed about 15 miles west of Davenport for the last couple of days and it doesn't look like it will reopen anytime soon.
This is the third time I have competed in
the QC Triathlon. Since I am not a swimmer or a runner, I enter in the team section. Our runner, Mark has been competing in running events since he was in high school. His goal this year was to complete the running stage (3.1 miles) under 20 minutes. Good job Mark, as his time was 19:20 (12th overall).Our swimming member, Jimmy got sick the day before the race and we made a quick substitute (14 hours ahead of race time). We were glad that a mutual friend, Muffy agreed to help us out. This was her first time competing in a triathlon. Muffy's time was 10:40 for the 600 yard swim. Good effort on such short notice.
My goal in the biking leg (15 miles) was
to reduce last year's time of 44:55 by 4 minutes. This might have been a little too optimistic. I ended up with a time of 42:15.Our aggregate time was 1:16:44, which was good enough for first place in the coed team division and first overall (teams). This year there were only 8 teams competing, which was less than previous years.
Our bike club (Melon City) had several participants in t
his year's event and we placed very well in the standings. This picture captures the majority of our triathletes.This year I dedicated the race to my son-in-law, Casey; who was diagnosed with acute leukemia 5 weeks ago. He has been in the University Hospital in Iowa City since the diagnosis, but is responding well to treatment. Patti and I tried to go up and see him this afternoon, but all the roads from
Muscatine to Iowa City are closed due to the flooding. Our daughter lives in Cedar Rapids and it has been under siege from the flood waters for the last 4-5 days and she has been unable to go visit Casey. With all the water we have in Iowa I am thinking it might be time for me to take up swimming. As I log this journal entry at 5:30 this evening there is a severe thunderstorm watch for our area. The news media is talking about this event as being a 500 year flood. It may be time to build the ARK.Thursday, June 12, 2008
Why Do Cyclists Like To Climb?
Only 18 more days before I start biking across the mountains of southwest Colorado and today we are getting lots of rain in eastern Iowa. The flooding up around Cedar Falls and Cedar Rapids has been making the national news the last 2 evenings. Several local towns near Muscatine are bracing for record (500 year) floods in the next 3 to 4 day period. At my sister's home in Colorado, they had ice on their grass this morning. I am hoping that the weather warms up a bit before I get out there.
This will be my fourth ride in the Colorado mountains. I am always cognizant of a question that lingers in many non-cyclists' minds that read my blog entries and journals. That question is why am I doing this? Sometimes it is hard to put reasons into words and when I recently came across the following answer to that age old question I thought it was appropriate to publish it.
Here is an excerpt printed on a blog by former pro cyclist, Jonathan Vaughters, who is now the director of the U.S.-based pro-cycling team Slipstream-Chipotle. As a rider for the U.S. Postal and Credit Agricole teams, he was so good against gravity that he set the record for the ascent of France's Mont Ventoux, the extinct volcano of racing legend that appears on the venue of the Tour de France on a regular basis.
"Why do people want to climb? Climbing, at its very core, is just a simple and hearty battle against gravity. The basic law of nature that oppressively pins us to the earth seems to be the one we feel the greatest need to fight against. Perhaps, this is why we are always trying to climb? Whenever we climb, we are proving that we can take on a force greater than ourselves. We're pushing against something that holds us down. It's the fight for freedom, freedom from the oppressive laws of nature (designed by God) as laid down by that rather aristocratically named gentleman, Sir Isaac Newton. We all know humans have a long and volatile history with the pursuit of freedom. Climbing is just a facet of this same fascination with being free.
With this noble and never-ending battle between gravity and the human race permanently underway, it would only be logical that when the greatest invention known to man, the bicycle, came into existence, the first thing we would want to do with this mechanical marvel would be try to climb hills with it.
And, of course, when the greatest sport ever known, bicycle racing, came to be, the most immediate and most illogical thing to do would be to put the largest possible mountains in the race.
And if the fact that we are so very enamored by the ability of those who can pedal their way up hills swiftly and gracefully wasn't enough, this is where the irony really sets in: because of the sad fact that we don't seem to be able to power bicycles up hills as fast as we can on the flat, that 30 percent energy savings that one can derive by drafting another rider at 30 m.p.h., is useless while plodding up a hill at 10 m.p.h.
Because of this simple fact, the most important parts of bicycle races are always uphill. The tactical genius of those who stealthily hide behind the dolt plodding away into the wind up front is lost on hills. Hills put bike racing back into the realm of Darwin and the grunting cave man. The laws of nature rule on the hills, and only the strong will survive.
Of course, due to our twisted need to watch nature weed out the weak, we gather, in the millions, every year in France to watch men climb really big hills on bicycles.
God help us.
That's my amateur psychoanalysis of the human race on a bicycle.
Rule 1: Get on with it. Climbing mountains on a bike is not fun. So, to do it properly, you need to accept this fact and get on with it. I see so many people looking for that secret technique or training method that will make climbing painless and suffer-free. This will never happen. Training and techniques will make you suffer slightly faster up hills, not suffer any less. Climbing is painful, period. The sooner you just accept that and stop looking for ways around it, the better you will learn how to climb. Let the suffer-meter serve as your internal tachometer, letting you know how close to your limit you are. Accepting and really allowing yourself to feel that pain will make you a better rider. Trying to ignore it will distract you from the task at hand and make you ride slower.
Rule 2: Don't be self-conscious. Suffering isn't pretty. It isn't meant to be. If you are going about your business of climbing properly, you will be breathing like a water buffalo, sweating like you were on a chain gang, and probably have snot dribbling off your chin. If this is not the case, you aren't doing this correctly. Over the years I've ridden with so many people who are always worrying about breathing too hard in front of their buddy. You're supposed to be in pain and you're supposed to be breathing hard, I mean the harder you breath the more oxygen you'll get to your muscles, so let the image thing go, and get down and dirty with the hill. Anyway, if your buddy is two miles behind you, he can't hear you breathing anymore, can he?
Rule 3: Relax. O.K., I know this seems a bit contradictory to rules 1 and 2, but this is the real Zen of climbing right here. You have to learn to accept the pain, breath like a warthog, and keep everything else relaxed. Gripping your handlebars with white knuckles and doing brake lever pull-ups does not make your pedals go around any faster. Your hands should be so relaxed that if you had to, you could play the piano. Your shoulders, arms, and upper body should be so relaxed that you just sort of rhythmically flop along with the pedals, like Stevie Wonder in concert. Also, if you look at all the pros, notice how they look like they have a pot belly when climbing? That's because they let their diaphragm relax and drop. They breathe by expanding the soft tissue of their belly as opposed to trying to expand the bones of their ribcage. This is the opposite of what you do at the beach, where it's belly in, shoulders back, chest out. This is belly out, shoulders relaxed, and forget about your chest.
Rule 4. Pedal all the way around. Momentum is what you don't have very much of when going up a hill. So, if you just push the pedals down and let the chain go slack the other 250 degrees of the pedal stroke, you will be losing momentum with each and every dead spot. On a flat road this doesn't matter too much, but on a hill this will cost you dearly. So, keep the tension on the chain the whole way 'round, especially at the 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock pedal position. Push outward with your quadriceps at the 12 and pull back, like you're scraping mud off your shoes, at the 6. This will help keep that precious little momentum from slipping away.
Rule 5: The Little Engine That Could. 'I think I can, I think I can, I think I can ' .Think I'm joking? No, I am not. The rhythm of your breathing and thoughts are crucial to grinding your way up long hills or mountains. You must synch your breathing, your pedaling, and your thoughts in one monotonous, focused, and plodding rhythm. Exhale forcefully and inhale naturally in time with every contraction of your muscles; let your body sway to the rhythm that it creates; then set the metronome in your head and be The Little Engine. Laugh all you want. It works.
If all else fails, you can just stop on the side of the road and rest, right? Maybe ask for your mommy and curl up in a fetal ball while you're at it? Which brings me to the most important rule of all when it comes to climbing: Never give up."
This last phrase in Jonathan's article reminds me of one of Winston Churchill's famous speeches. The speech was made in October 1941 at his old school, Harrow: "Never give in--never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.''
And the enemy we all face as cyclists is gravity.
This will be my fourth ride in the Colorado mountains. I am always cognizant of a question that lingers in many non-cyclists' minds that read my blog entries and journals. That question is why am I doing this? Sometimes it is hard to put reasons into words and when I recently came across the following answer to that age old question I thought it was appropriate to publish it.
Here is an excerpt printed on a blog by former pro cyclist, Jonathan Vaughters, who is now the director of the U.S.-based pro-cycling team Slipstream-Chipotle. As a rider for the U.S. Postal and Credit Agricole teams, he was so good against gravity that he set the record for the ascent of France's Mont Ventoux, the extinct volcano of racing legend that appears on the venue of the Tour de France on a regular basis.
"Why do people want to climb? Climbing, at its very core, is just a simple and hearty battle against gravity. The basic law of nature that oppressively pins us to the earth seems to be the one we feel the greatest need to fight against. Perhaps, this is why we are always trying to climb? Whenever we climb, we are proving that we can take on a force greater than ourselves. We're pushing against something that holds us down. It's the fight for freedom, freedom from the oppressive laws of nature (designed by God) as laid down by that rather aristocratically named gentleman, Sir Isaac Newton. We all know humans have a long and volatile history with the pursuit of freedom. Climbing is just a facet of this same fascination with being free.
With this noble and never-ending battle between gravity and the human race permanently underway, it would only be logical that when the greatest invention known to man, the bicycle, came into existence, the first thing we would want to do with this mechanical marvel would be try to climb hills with it.
And, of course, when the greatest sport ever known, bicycle racing, came to be, the most immediate and most illogical thing to do would be to put the largest possible mountains in the race.
And if the fact that we are so very enamored by the ability of those who can pedal their way up hills swiftly and gracefully wasn't enough, this is where the irony really sets in: because of the sad fact that we don't seem to be able to power bicycles up hills as fast as we can on the flat, that 30 percent energy savings that one can derive by drafting another rider at 30 m.p.h., is useless while plodding up a hill at 10 m.p.h.
Because of this simple fact, the most important parts of bicycle races are always uphill. The tactical genius of those who stealthily hide behind the dolt plodding away into the wind up front is lost on hills. Hills put bike racing back into the realm of Darwin and the grunting cave man. The laws of nature rule on the hills, and only the strong will survive.
Of course, due to our twisted need to watch nature weed out the weak, we gather, in the millions, every year in France to watch men climb really big hills on bicycles.
God help us.
That's my amateur psychoanalysis of the human race on a bicycle.
Rule 1: Get on with it. Climbing mountains on a bike is not fun. So, to do it properly, you need to accept this fact and get on with it. I see so many people looking for that secret technique or training method that will make climbing painless and suffer-free. This will never happen. Training and techniques will make you suffer slightly faster up hills, not suffer any less. Climbing is painful, period. The sooner you just accept that and stop looking for ways around it, the better you will learn how to climb. Let the suffer-meter serve as your internal tachometer, letting you know how close to your limit you are. Accepting and really allowing yourself to feel that pain will make you a better rider. Trying to ignore it will distract you from the task at hand and make you ride slower.
Rule 2: Don't be self-conscious. Suffering isn't pretty. It isn't meant to be. If you are going about your business of climbing properly, you will be breathing like a water buffalo, sweating like you were on a chain gang, and probably have snot dribbling off your chin. If this is not the case, you aren't doing this correctly. Over the years I've ridden with so many people who are always worrying about breathing too hard in front of their buddy. You're supposed to be in pain and you're supposed to be breathing hard, I mean the harder you breath the more oxygen you'll get to your muscles, so let the image thing go, and get down and dirty with the hill. Anyway, if your buddy is two miles behind you, he can't hear you breathing anymore, can he?
Rule 3: Relax. O.K., I know this seems a bit contradictory to rules 1 and 2, but this is the real Zen of climbing right here. You have to learn to accept the pain, breath like a warthog, and keep everything else relaxed. Gripping your handlebars with white knuckles and doing brake lever pull-ups does not make your pedals go around any faster. Your hands should be so relaxed that if you had to, you could play the piano. Your shoulders, arms, and upper body should be so relaxed that you just sort of rhythmically flop along with the pedals, like Stevie Wonder in concert. Also, if you look at all the pros, notice how they look like they have a pot belly when climbing? That's because they let their diaphragm relax and drop. They breathe by expanding the soft tissue of their belly as opposed to trying to expand the bones of their ribcage. This is the opposite of what you do at the beach, where it's belly in, shoulders back, chest out. This is belly out, shoulders relaxed, and forget about your chest.
Rule 4. Pedal all the way around. Momentum is what you don't have very much of when going up a hill. So, if you just push the pedals down and let the chain go slack the other 250 degrees of the pedal stroke, you will be losing momentum with each and every dead spot. On a flat road this doesn't matter too much, but on a hill this will cost you dearly. So, keep the tension on the chain the whole way 'round, especially at the 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock pedal position. Push outward with your quadriceps at the 12 and pull back, like you're scraping mud off your shoes, at the 6. This will help keep that precious little momentum from slipping away.
Rule 5: The Little Engine That Could. 'I think I can, I think I can, I think I can ' .Think I'm joking? No, I am not. The rhythm of your breathing and thoughts are crucial to grinding your way up long hills or mountains. You must synch your breathing, your pedaling, and your thoughts in one monotonous, focused, and plodding rhythm. Exhale forcefully and inhale naturally in time with every contraction of your muscles; let your body sway to the rhythm that it creates; then set the metronome in your head and be The Little Engine. Laugh all you want. It works.
If all else fails, you can just stop on the side of the road and rest, right? Maybe ask for your mommy and curl up in a fetal ball while you're at it? Which brings me to the most important rule of all when it comes to climbing: Never give up."
This last phrase in Jonathan's article reminds me of one of Winston Churchill's famous speeches. The speech was made in October 1941 at his old school, Harrow: "Never give in--never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.''
And the enemy we all face as cyclists is gravity.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Rivers Rising
I went out for a 90 minute training ride today during lunch hour. I headed northwest of Muscatine and crossed the Cedar River. Severe flooding is occurring throughout a good share of Iowa and all this water is making it's way down the various rivers that dump into the Mississippi. All of the houses that I could see along the bridge on F70 were un-accessible by auto. Some were already taking water in their structure. The crest is yet to come and it's not going to be easy for those that live along the rivers around here.
My training ride went well and I did some power intervals, fast pedal and a 6 minute time trial at maximum effort. During the time trial I was going 22 to 23 mph. I am hoping I can maintain that rate during Saturday's race.
My training ride went well and I did some power intervals, fast pedal and a 6 minute time trial at maximum effort. During the time trial I was going 22 to 23 mph. I am hoping I can maintain that rate during Saturday's race.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
TOMRV 2008
I completed my 5th TOMRV (Tour Of Mississippi River Valley) ride this weekend (two day ride). This is one of the top rides in the U.S. and there are usually 1,200 to 1,500 riders that come from various Midwest States. I believe the number of riders this year is down, due to the high cost of gasoline. My friend, Bill and I started out yesterday morning at 5:45 am from Bettendorf, IA and made it to Dubuque, IA around 2:30. The route takes you through various small towns in Iowa and Illinois along the Mississippi River. It is very hilly in this bluff country and my altimeter showed 3,645 feet of climbing with 108 miles of riding for the first day. We had a good tailwind all day ranging from 10 to 20 mph. It was very humid and the heat index reached 100-102 by mid-afternoon.
The Quad City Bike Club sponsors this ride (31st this year) 
www.qcbc.org/tomrv. It is a well supported ride with a sag stop every 15 to 20 miles with plenty of refreshments. Our stay in Dubuque is at some of the college dormitories and the bike club has a banquet meal upon our arrival. This picture is one of the sag stops and my friends, Ira and Dave are enjoying the snacks.
www.qcbc.org/tomrv. It is a well supported ride with a sag stop every 15 to 20 miles with plenty of refreshments. Our stay in Dubuque is at some of the college dormitories and the bike club has a banquet meal upon our arrival. This picture is one of the sag stops and my friends, Ira and Dave are enjoying the snacks.Today Bill and I were on our bikes by 5:30am and headed into a 10-15 mph headwind. When we reached Bellvue around 9 am we ran into a thunder shower and got completely soaked. It continued raining for at least 30 minutes. Our next sag stop was in Preston. We both reached the city park shelter just before a major storm came through the area. I heard later that there were 60 mph winds. Several 
small tree branches tumbled down from the trees in this park and the wind whipped the rain sideways. As the storm subsided bikers that were caught out on the highway came into the rest area and told us how the wind swept them and their bikes completely into the ditch. We wondered if we would hear of some serious accidents later on. This picture shows Bill climbing one of the many hills.
small tree branches tumbled down from the trees in this park and the wind whipped the rain sideways. As the storm subsided bikers that were caught out on the highway came into the rest area and told us how the wind swept them and their bikes completely into the ditch. We wondered if we would hear of some serious accidents later on. This picture shows Bill climbing one of the many hills.We weren't very optimistic about heading south towards Bettendorf and several riders began to make other arrangements with local residents to 
drive them to the finish line. Bill and I decided to go ahead and try it. As we reached the outskirts of town we discovered that the south wind had completely reversed itself and now was coming out of the north. We enjoyed the tailwind for most of the rest of our ride. By the time we reached our truck the wind had shifted again and was coming out of the southeast. Today we rode 92 miles with 3,415 feet of climbing. The ride today was 4 miles longer than the previous year's as they have changed some of the route.
drive them to the finish line. Bill and I decided to go ahead and try it. As we reached the outskirts of town we discovered that the south wind had completely reversed itself and now was coming out of the north. We enjoyed the tailwind for most of the rest of our ride. By the time we reached our truck the wind had shifted again and was coming out of the southeast. Today we rode 92 miles with 3,415 feet of climbing. The ride today was 4 miles longer than the previous year's as they have changed some of the route.It was a good ride and I got a chance to practice using my aero-bars and get in some endurance training before my big race on Saturday. I look forward to doing this ride each year as it is the premier ride in the Midwest.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Aero-Bar
Today I purchased an aero-bar attachment to fit on my bike. This device allows the rider to tuck into a low-profile position to minimize the drag coefficient. It is typically used in time trials and can shave precious minutes off your elapsed time for a 25 to 40 k course.
On June 14th I will essentially be doing a time trial at the Quad City Triathlon event held in West Lake Park. I will be doing the biking portion of the team event. It is a 15 mile (25 k) course along Locust Street and Y40. I should have done this much earlier so I could get some practice in, but will need to bike with it every day until the race to get used to it and condition my muscles. Down in this tuck position you end up using more of your hip muscles (gluteus maximus) rather than your quads and hamstrings.
Today I went out for a 90 minute ride (23 miles). It was very windy today (25-30 mph). Not a good day to experiment with the aero-bars. When you
are layed down in these your arms are used to guide your wheel and it takes a little getting used to. With the wind it made me try and over-correct every time a gust of wind hit me. So I was weaving all over the pavement. I am sure if someone saw me they would have thought I was drunk. By the end of the ride I was starting to master it and found it very relaxing. I am thinking of taking my Trek Madone racing bike on TOMRV this week-end instead of my Trek 5200. This will give me 2 long days of riding to get used to the aero-bars.
are layed down in these your arms are used to guide your wheel and it takes a little getting used to. With the wind it made me try and over-correct every time a gust of wind hit me. So I was weaving all over the pavement. I am sure if someone saw me they would have thought I was drunk. By the end of the ride I was starting to master it and found it very relaxing. I am thinking of taking my Trek Madone racing bike on TOMRV this week-end instead of my Trek 5200. This will give me 2 long days of riding to get used to the aero-bars.Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Tuesday Night Group Ride
Tonight I decided to ride on the Tuesday night fast pace ride with my bike club. This is the first time I have done this ride since March 25. My schedule has not allowed me to do the ride for the most part and I haven't been in good enough shape to keep up with our racing group in the past.Our ride starts and ends at Harper's Cycling & Fitness in Muscatine (thanks to Greg & Charlie for letting riders use their shop as a staging area). Tonight we had 9 riders show up. The route we took tonight was a hilly course and 3 riders were dropped early in the ride. The rest of us stayed together through the turn around and then about half way back 1 rider was dropped on the last hill. I ended up getting dropped before we got back into Muscatine, but was surprised that I was able to stay with the group that long. My conditioning has really improved a lot since I rode with them back in March. My training has targeted the QC Triathlon race on June 14 to reach my peak fitness. I could tell last night that I was riding better than I did at the Melon City Criterium a week and a half ago.
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