Cooler by the Lake

It is official. the start of what I call "cooler by the lake" season. That is when all the weather forecasters are crowing about how it's going to hit, gasp, 65 today!! And I get all excited and keep going outside wondering where the 65 is and why it still feels cold out... oh yeah, it's another cooler by the lake day. When I went out riding in the afternoon the radio said it was 54 by the lake. By the time I got home I am guessing it was 48-51ish. I was out about 2.5 hours. The ride north was great. The ride south felt like it was into a strong wind so it wasn't quite as much fun. Yesterday was more fun, when the wind felt like it was always in my favor. My knees hurt afer riding both days so I may have overdone it a little.

I'm looking forward to my first off-road ride of the season, which will probably be Rock Cut.

The funniest thing to me both days this weekend was the wide range of clothing I saw. I saw tween girls in shorts, flip flops, and tank tops, at the same time I was noticing that my toes were getting cold in spite of my booties! I saw shorts, t-shirts and flip-flops everywhere in various combinations, even though it was 54ish. And walking down the street near the younger people wearing minimal clothes, or half summer/half spring clothes, I saw other people wearing layers, even down jackets, including one with a fake fur collar. I did see one guy riding in shorts and short sleeves, too. It's transition season, for sure.

I can see Spring at the end of the tunnel...

The weeks seem to just be flying by. I have missed so much updating - I guess I'll go backonly a week or so. Last week two good friends, Wendy (aka New Zealand Wendy) and Kristin left for India. They will be traveling for an entire month! They both have jobs where they are able to arrange that. Judging by Wendy's travelog emails, they are having a great time. In this age of cell phones, it's wierd not talking to them for so long.

I felt awful that weekend, after not enough sleep that Thursday night. No riding for me!! I dragged myself to an event at a local shop where the Moots rep gave a slide show and answered questions. I'm glad I went - it was interesting, I got to see some people I hadn't seen in a long time, and all in all had a good time. I had planned to go to the gym after but it ended too late. All weekend I felt mostly awful, but did feel better enough to decide last minute to go to a party that the skinny's team was having. I never did get the cold, though, all the weekend napping must have kept it at bay.

The week was kind of a blur. I had trouble getting in my hour on the eliptical every day at the gym - I just did the best I could. Last night I finally got in 1 hour and 15 minutes. Everything didn't hurt quite as much as usual so I made it for a little extra before closing time. It helped that I wanted to see the end of the movie I was watching. I took three bikes in for tune-ups to get ready for the season and got those back on Friday. The cross bike that I took to Nationals hadn't been ridden since then. Turned out it had a shifter issue - something must have happened to it in the terrible muddy, icy conditions that day.

I was super excited for the warmer weather we got today! And SUN! I didn't get out on the bike until late afternoon, but I had a great ride. I decided it was the perfect day to leave my "winter/rain bike" (an old 90's cross bike with touring tires) at home and break out the freshly tuned "new" (relatively) cross bike. I swapped the cross wheels for road wheels with skinny tires, put a light on the bars just in case, and it was ready to go. The shifter now worked flawlessly. I knew it would cool off and I knew it was probably colder than the radio was saying by the lake, so I still wore (as usual) alot more stuff than most of you would. I was really comfortable the whole ride and didn't get chilled as the temps got down in the low 50's/high 40's on the way home. Well, except for my toes!

The best part about the ride was how light and fast I felt compared to previous rides. The newer bike is alot lighter than the old, and being custom, felt right as soon as I got on it. For most of the ride I was going from 1 - 3 mph faster than I had been before on the older, heavier bike that doesn't fit very well. I looked at my average speed for the few rides I did in March and noticed a definite trend - the average got higher as the month went on, with a big jump when I rode the lighter bike today. I was still a little sick and still coughing when March started. I must be improving a little, though I am by no means where I'd like to be. I had been really discouraged with my glacial avg. speeds in March, so today made me feel a little better. In addition to the usual aches, some new things were hurting (what's up with that?), but it didn't matter, the ride was a great mood-lifter!

Looking forward to another great day tomorrow!!

Droolworthy?

I think these lovely cobalt wheels would look really hot on my race bike. I have not seen them in the flesh, er, aluminum, but they look sweet in the picture! Pricey though, so probably just wishful thinking. The first I had heard of them was an ad in the new VeloNews this week. They caught my eye right away.

Anyone have an opinion on whether or not they are good wheels, and are likely to be bombproof and low maintenance, from an engineering standpoint?

The Energizer Bunny Effect

Should athletes who take steroids be banned for life?

That question is posed in an interesting story titled "Cheaters Do Prosper" in the Wall Street Journal today. Researchers in Sweden have found evidence that "suggests that anyone who takes steroids, even once, may effectively be a cheater for life."

"When the researchers looked at the subjects' muscles through a microscope, they made a surprising discovery: Rather than returning to their original proportions, the muscles of the steroid users who'd stopped taking the drug looked remarkably similar to those of the subjects who were still using. They also had larger muscle fibers and more growth-inducing "myonuclei" in their muscle cells than the nonsteroid users."

"A scientific consensus on this issue may be a long way off. The Swedish study was too small to be definitive, and it's difficult (for obvious reasons) to do a large follow-up study on the effects of steroids on competitive athletes. Some studies done in the past decade have shown that while the muscles of mice grow when they are given steroids, they also shrink when the drugs are taken away. Gary Wadler, a New York University physician who consults with WADA on steroid issues, says he isn't convinced that the conclusions are accurate. "The effects of steroids are time-limited," he says."

It will be interesting to see how this develops in the future. Right now there's not enough evidence to know if it's even an issue, but if it were proven to be true, can you imagine how it would change the playing field?

Death Cab for Cutie in Millenium Park??!!

I heard on the radio today that Death Cab for Cutie is coming to Millenium Park the weekend of June 3rd!!!! (I think that was the date?). Does anyone have details on this? Is anyone going? I will have to check the race schedule to see if it conflicts with anything. It probably will, but this is one show I would love to see.

Cycling News

With racing season kicking into gear for many people, what better way to start the day today than to read Cycling News' Special Edition for the day. There are several interesting articles, including one about a new World Cup 'Cross event, to be dubbed the "Antarcticross Cup". I think 2007 Nationals were good practice for this.

But can it ride a bike?

Someone sent me an email with a link to a video about a robot called BigDog. It's pretty amazing, actually.

At first the thing seemed so creepy I thought I was going to have nightmares about it. It's like a giant mutant insect. By the end of the video I almost felt like it was a real animal - and it didn't seem quite so buglike. Though I wouldn't want to get on its bad side. If it's going to be used as a military tool, I would not want to be on the other side. If it doesn't work out for the military, I think it has a great future in sci-fi horror flicks! Can't you just see hundreds of them swarming through a field?

I think one of those would have been right at home in last year's Blue Mound WEMS race!!

Best Time Warp Wrapper Ever?

If an award existed for the best energy bar wrapper graphics, this one would get my vote. If a wrapper could take you back to a place in time, it would be this one! Fun, lighthearted, and full of puns. If nothing else, it gets Best Time Warp Wrapper. This is not for sale, it's just a fun thing they did.
Like, wow, man......

Cyclocross Magazine Cover

I got my second issue of Cyclocross Magazine today. Love the cover!! Congrats to Mr. MadCross, Dave B, for making the cover! And lots of other people we know were in the pack but didn't show up in the picture. (Tim B., JPE, etc.) Even though I have seen that pic (of the mega-crash in the ditch at the beginning of the Masters 40-44 men's race) many times, it seemed fresh all over again. It was refreshing reliving nationals again the old fashioned way, three months later in a magazine. Cross season seems so long ago, but this was like a getting a present in the mail. It came in a white envelope, which added to the excitement of opening it up and seeing what was inside. There's something more fun about reading about an event in a magazine, knowing that you were there.

I devoured most of the articles. Reading the profiles of all the age group winners was enlightening. Almost every single woman said that she doesn't work on her own bike. (whew. I wasn't expecting that, but it was kind of a relief, I don't feel so lame!) And I was surprised how long some of them warm up before a race. I do know that my warm up habits (or lack of them) need major improvement, and this backed that up. Not being a morning person, and of course, being a slowpoke getting ready, I am not one to get to a race hours beforehand. I do think my performance would improve if I spent more time warming up for the shorter races. (I don't think it really would make much difference for a WEMS race) I guess that is one reason (of many) why these people are winning national championship races and I am not!

Article about Bay Area Crash

Bob Mionske wrote an enlightening article about the recent Bay Area collision between a police cruiser and a group of cyclists. We learn about some discrepancies in the way the investigation is being handled as well as how little sleep police officers get between shifts. He has some interesting observations about the way the media portray cyclists. I wish I could have gone to his lecture at Turin at the end of February, but I had two other events to go to that night. I don't know why everyone picked that night to have their events!

Gadgets to find your Gadgets

Well, speaking of gadgets (previous post), there is an article in both the print and online Tribune today featuring some cool gadgets. Gadgets to help us find our other gadgets, such as lost USB drives, and to help us be found if we are lost. The print article is better because it shows photos of each item, but you can still get most of the info online.

One in particular, a GPS locator called the Spot satellite messenger, would help you be found if you were in the wilderness and got lost or injured. In the article he uses getting injured mt. biking in Palos as an example of a situation when you could use the Spot. (Actually, I would think at Palos you could be fine with a regular GPS and a cell phone?) This could be really handy for anyone mt biking anywhere that doesn't get a cell phone signal!

Another one is something I have many many times wished I had, especially for keys. It's the Loc8tor Lite, and at $80 it's not cheap, but might be worth it for people who waste alot of time looking for stuff! It's basically a radio receiver tag you can put on anything that you might lose track of.

Pre-installed viruses

I found this article alarming. I guess because I love gadgets and it had never occurred to me that they might come with extra "features", such as pre-installed viruses and password-stealing programs!!! Especially since I haven't tried loading pictures on the digital picture frame that I bought for my mom. I wasn't looking forward to the task before, and now I am really not!

After reading it my too-active imagination took it one step farther.... this could be a whole new type of sneaky warfare that manufacturing countries could use on nations like the U.S. that do a lot of outsourcing. Are we going to all have to have a second computer dedicated to this kind of stuff?

Awareness Ad

If you haven't already gotten an email about this or seen it on other blogs, make sure to do the test. Better yet, send the link to your non-cyclist family and friends! The first time I saw the link I didn't watch the whole thing cuz I was pressed for time. Then when I got an email about it telling me it was bike-related, I figured I'd be more patient.

In yesterday's print obituaries in the Tribune I noticed that Richard Burke, the founder of Trek Bicycles, passed away on Monday at age 73. The article said he founded Trek in a red barn in Waterloo, WI in 1976. What a journey it's been for him and his family, building a company that sells 1.5 million bicycles a year and does $700 million in sales (according to the newspaper)!

I made it out for a ride Tuesday evening with New Zealand Wendy, for about 1:45. The last half hour was in the dark. I had brought lights, but the potholes and bumps bounced my Vega front light off the bar mount at least 4 times. The roads are so rough here I have always had trouble with the Vega working it's way off the bracket and flying off - usually once or twice in a ride. This time it was really frustrating. I tried to adjust the screw that I thought was coming loose with my finger but it didn't solve the problem. I'd put it back on the mount and I'd see it wobbling over the bumps. Watching it wobble was unsettling. The last time it went flying I put it in my pocket, and we had to make do with my small blinkie in the front. It turns out that the light had totally broken away from the bracket that slides onto the handlebar mount. it doesn't seem fixable to me, but I'll have to look into it. I think having the entire unit on the bars makes it kind of top heavy, vs. units that have external batteries. But that's the beauty of it, that's it's all in one package that you can just put on your handlebar, no cords, etc.

Wednesday was an hour on the eliptical at the gym, but tonight I went out to ride for 1:35. It was so nice out! Supposedly 57 or 60 by the lake. I figured it would get cold as the sun went down, so I wore warm-ish stuff and really enjoyed not being cold at all on the ride. I discovered a new porta-potty that I didn't know about when I went a slightly different way than usual in Glencoe. It is a gross one with a big mud (I hope that's mud!) puddle outside, but sometimes you can't be picky!. At least there was T.P. Maybe I should make the Best Bathroom Map of the North Shore for female cyclists!

It has been a busy couple of weeks. Lots of fires to put out, one after another. Nothing too fun or social, for the most part, just stuff that has to be done. Lots to get done this weekend, too, but I hope things quiet down sometime next week. A party Friday night, and I think I should go to LunaFest in support of our sponsor. I still must have some flu bug left in me, cuz I still want to sleep all the time! I mean at the drop of a hat. I finally am getting rid of the cough. Finally!!

LunaFest

I received this today for LunaFest, a film festival/fundraiser, which is this Saturday. Thought I'd pass the info along.

MacBook Air stuck on the ground

I found this article, titled Steve Jobs Made Me Miss My Flight rather amusing. The author tries to take his MacBook Air on a flight and encounters some resistance from the TSA security folks.

WORS handbook

Did anyone else notice some goofy dates in the WORS Handbook? They must be typos from using the same template over and over and plugging in different race names and dates, but I bet someone is going to get confused mid-summer. I remember one year the directions in the book to a race were wrong so I ended up driving back and forth trying to find an exit that didn't exist. The Firecracker in Eau Claire, always somewhere around July 4th, is listed on one page (46) as being Sunday, May 4th, on the next page (47) as being Sunday June 22nd, and on the back cover (the correct date) as being July 6. That would be an awful lot of driving. Oops!!

I am going to Argonne National Labs for a tour in the morning (Saturday), with an alumni group. I guess we are going to meet some of the scientists and then get a tour of the facility. I never go on alumni things but this one sounded interesting.

Yummy Chair

For all you cupcake lovers out there, here is the chair for you! (I can think of at least one cupcake fan...) It comes in different colors - pink, blue and green. Unfortunately it's pretty pricey.

Cool stuff that's useful: I saw in a catalog that Keen now makes an SPD compatible riding sandal! I saw it only in women's sizes, but I have to think they make it for men as well. Could be nice for summer around town rides, maybe even commuting, depending on how well they work. My current Keen sandal soles are so wide they get in the way, especially on my mtn. bike. From past experience I know these probaably won't fit me, so if someone tries them, let us know how they work!

Brian Lopes is going to be riding for Ibis this coming year? Seems like an odd match, I would not have put those two together. Hmmm.

Useless trivia I learned today in the Tribune, although I have only made it through the Q section so far.... a bartender at a bistro on Devon in Chicago is offering the "nicotini" to his customers who smoke, so they don't have to go outside. (Chicago's ban on smoking in bars started this year). The base of the drink has nicotine in it. Also, testing the makeup of the water molecules in your hair gives clues as to what region you live in. This is likely to be helpful in crime investigations.

What a weird weather weekend. Did a little shuffling, er, skiing on Saturday at the end of the day, then went for a ride on Sunday afternoon. Almost, but not really, like being in Colorado where you can ride and play in the snow all in the same day.... The snow was crusty on Saturday so I knew it probably wasn't worth trying to go again Sunday. I saw some mt bike tracks on the trail. Not a bad idea that day, the snow was packed enough. Driving home from the forest preserve I noticed police cars blocking the entrances to Old Orchard. It looked like a reaction to some type of threat situation. Sure enough, I later heard on the radio that the mall closed early due to rumors that were circulating about a suspicious person. Sunday I got sidetracked from going on a ride, and then next thing I knew it was raining. Later the sun came out, then after that it got really gray. Finally I made it out, taking along lights in case I wanted to stay out longer. I really enjoyed being dressed for cold weather, but not feeling cold because it was so warm out! I even forgot my toe heaters and I was still ok. It must have been somewhere between 45-55.

I also went riding last Sunday. I talked to Holly K. on the phone that Sunday afternoon and she had gone riding earlier. I had planned to go to the gym but got inspired to try a ride after talking to her. It was a busier-than-usual week but I did some x-c skiing mid-week under the lights at Gilson. It was the day after a few inches of new snow (Tuesday?), and it was lovely. Bushwhacking was much more fun than staying in people's tracks, I found. Feeling the squish of the new layer of snow on top of the old....nice. Remnants of the flu have been hanging around though, besides a little cough, all I really want to do is sleep. I feel tired all the time and would be happy to just sleep all day. I hope that goes away soon! I have so much to get done and no energy to do it.

Condolences

My condolences to the family and friends of cyclist Matt M-L. who died today after being hit by a car while riding his bike in the alleycat tour da chicago. I didn't know him but did know others who were probably there in the pack this morning. I also feel badly for the driver, who, according to the evening news, was trying to avoid other cyclists in the pack and was not at fault in the accident. More info here.

Infl-eewww-enza

I feel like the flu took over a week's chunk out of my life, from last Monday to today. I am hoping to get back to the gym for cardio any day now. My cough has gone from a death-rattle to just a strangle. It sounds terrible, but at least I am no longer grabbing my stomach with each cough, trying to keep the intensely sore chest and tummy muscles from moving. I had days of chills, fever, and my skin hurt so much I didn't want to take a shower. I knew the water droplets hitting my skin would hurt. They did. My clothes felt like they were scraping against my skin. I am sure glad much of that is behind me.

Last weekend (a week ago) was fun. Friday night I went snowshoeing with New Zealand Wendy and Kristin. Turns out it was drizzling, but we stuck it out and had fun. Saturday I wanted to go try skiing at PETS for the first time, but I woke up with a headache and was really tired, so I stayed close to home. I heard lots of loud pounding going on, but kept going back to sleep, since I had stayed up late. I knew that my neighbors were taking down a wall that day. Later I went over to check out their progress. I saw a teammate's car parked behind mine, and knew that he must be over there too. I hadn't seen him in ages, it was great to catch up. I later found out that all four of the people in that room that day besides me were either sick or about to get sick! That's probably where I got my big dose of flu germs.

My friend Brian was having an impromptu party later and I realized I was running out of time to work out. I decided that it would take less time to go x-c ski for an hour on the lakefront than it would take to go to the gym for an hour on the eliptical. The ski expedition was horrible. It was dark and incredibly windy. The snow was covered with a layer of ice, kind of a crust. You could barely even see the indentations that the skiis made - it was more like sliding around sideways than settling into a groove. There really wasn't anywhere to settle - it was just slip n' slide, instead of glide. I tried going over to the campus lakefill, thinking that would have real snow and be better but instead I just worried about whether I could grab onto the fence cable in time if I slipped sideways on the ice and started to slide into the lake...it was all bumpy ice where people had walked and left behind icy footprints.

The party was fun. Brian made veggie gumbo and I got to see some people I hadn't seen in a while. Dan and Susan brought their new puppy, a Puggle. Cute. Somebody pulled out a game called CatchPhrase late in the evening. I was not in the mood for a game at all, but it turned out to be really fun.

That Sunday was the 'Cross Banquet for our local series. The turnout was smaller than I expected, but I had a great time. We had a lively table - my old teammate Tim, his wife Kim, and some other folks. We were in the room next to where the awards were announced - it was hard to hear what they were saying. I missed talking to some of the people at the other tables before they left. Congrats to all of the series prizewinners!! Great job.

It ended early enough that I was able to hit the gym after and get 1:20 in on the eliptical. That exercise session has had to last me for over a week - I got sick the next day.

After that, the long feverish week.

This past weekend I got up earlier than usual for me on a Saturday and went to a meeting out in the burbs. Some decisions to be made. Then stopped by a local shop that was having an event and saw a bunch of people I knew. NZ Wendy and John wanted to go snowshoeing at the end of the day so we went to the woods. I probably shouldn't have - I felt much worse on Sunday. But the river was pretty and it was nice to get out.

Lunar Eclipse Wednesday the 20th

I got this email (below) today. Apparently the last two weeks have been very intense for a lot of people. Here is what the email suggested:

>> We are around midpoint between the 2 eclipses this month, the full moon/lunar eclipse being on Wednesday. This is a very intense time of deep healing, learning, changing, and stepping forward out of old patterns into new. It is crucial during this time to do whatever it takes to keep your vibrational level up. Use the sun, light, meditation, music, being around loved ones etc. Spiritual rewards come from the discipline of changing old habits and this is the best opportunity you will have. Put yourself first; above work or other responsibilities that have the illusion of being more important. <<


I have had the flu since last Monday. I am finally starting to feel human again, though I am still really tired. The death-rattle cough is slowly getting better. I hope to do a catch-up post later.