Last night, just as I was cleaning up after dinner, my daughter toddled onto the front porch and started playing with the bike trailer. "Mommy, bike stroller?" she said as she climbed into it and tried doing up the buckles.
"Do you want to go for a bike ride?" I asked her.
"Bike ride?" she responded. I think that means yes. So I strapped her in properly and put on her helmet and decided to go for a little family bike ride. It's nice to get out and do a bit of exercise with my daughter - we rarely get a chance to do that, so it's nice to fit it in when we can. Besides, I'd just had a little more for dinner than I intended to and I figured a little extra calorie-burning at the end of the day couldn't hurt.
So off we went for a bike ride. Eastwood was starting to make some weird noises, a rhythmic clinkity-clinky-clack every time I pedaled. When I was coasting it didn't make that sound, but when I was pedaling it did. Sometimes it got so loud people a block away were staring at me. This can't be good.
After about 20 minutes of tooling around our neighbourhood, weaving through the grid of residential streets, we started heading back. A few blocks away from the house, the clickity-clacking reached its peak, there was one loud clink, and then suddenly I was pedaling but feeling no resistance. I tried shifting gears up and down to see if the chain had just fallen off the cogs a bit, but that didn't work. I coasted to a stop despite pedalling frantically. Okay, what's going on here?
Somehow, the cassette had detached from the rear wheel, and in the couple minutes that I played with it on the side of the road with my daughter looking at me quizzically, I couldn't figure out how to fix it. So I walked the bike home, dragging the trailer behind it. So much for our family bike ride! What really sucks is that I had JUST switched the saddle from Mike onto Eastwood, this time taking Evillerider's advice and switching the saddle rather than the whole psot. And what really sucks even more is that I can't ride Mike right now because I haven't fixed that broken spoke yet! Given that Mike only has 24 spokes per wheel as it is, I figured it would be best to hold off riding him until I get that fixed.
So I have TWO bikes out of commission right now. Hence, driving today. It's okay, I had to go to the bank after work for a financial appointment anyway so I had to drive regardless. Nevertheless, I'd better get this out-of-commission bike situation under control - I still have the whole rest of the summer to bike-commute, and it'd probably be helpful to actually have a bike for that!
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Week 42 - Day Three: Quarterhorse
BIKE: Eastwood
TIME THERE: 56 min. (walking)
TIME BACK: 32 min. (biking, including a fruitless stop at MEC on the way home to get a replacement spoke; sadly, they don't carry them, so I'll have to go to Revolution Cycle for that)
WEATHER: partly cloudy, 13C, 7 km/hr wind there; overcast, 19C, 9 km/hr crosswinds back.
WHAT I WORE: yoga pants (oh my GOD I need shorts!!), t-shirt
NOTES:
Gather round, children: let me tell you a little something about breeds of horses.
The American Quarterhorse is a muscular, agile horse traditionally used for herding. They are built for quick turns, stopping on a dime, walking all day with the herd, and galloping fast over short distances. They are often found on working ranches, at trail riding facilities, and rodeos.
The Thoroughbred is tall and elegant horse, with long legs and lean muscles. They are built for athletics: they are fast, have great endurance, and are among the most elegant breed of the species. Given their builds and the rigorous early training they often endure, Thoroughbreds are prone to injuries in their legs. They are often found in elite sports stables, such as those at racetracks and jumping facilities.
Ladies and gentlemen, I am a Quarterhorse. This is something I've concluded recently, after adding yet another piece of evidence to the pile. The most recent evidence I have for this is that I've realized I love sprinting. And I can be pretty fast for someone as overweight as I am. At my current fitness level, I really can't keep up my top speed for more than a block or so at a time, but I love me some of those start-and-stop sprints. And, strangely enough for someone who has a long history of hip and knee joint pain, I've found that jogging irritates the hell out of my joints but sprinting doesn't. In fact, sprinting feels great!
This sprinting evidence is added to the other information I already have about myself that points to me being a Quarterhorse rather than a Thoroughbred: I'm muscular, I put on muscle and fat quite easily but lose it with some difficulty, I've always been fast over short distances (I even managed to represent my school at track meets for the 100-metre dash despite being obese as a kid!), and my body does very well with walking as my main form of exercise. Combine that with my new-found love (and ease) of sprinting, and you've got yourself a genuine Quarterhorse!
The problem as I see it is that I suspect things like running and road biking are sports for people who are Thoroughbreds. Sports like football and mountain biking are more suited to Quarterhorses. Perhaps this is the reason that I feel more and more drawn to trying out mountain biking as my interest in road biking (like doing that upcoming triathlon in September) declines. This may also be why I've been having such a great time alternating walk- and bike-commuting instead of bike-commuting all day every day. Maybe I should go back to riding through the river valley, but take more mountain-bikey routes instead of following the paved path. That might be a lot more fun, and a lot more suited to me. Ooh, now there's a thought . . .
So, what are you? Quarterhorse or Thoroughbred?
TIME THERE: 56 min. (walking)
TIME BACK: 32 min. (biking, including a fruitless stop at MEC on the way home to get a replacement spoke; sadly, they don't carry them, so I'll have to go to Revolution Cycle for that)
WEATHER: partly cloudy, 13C, 7 km/hr wind there; overcast, 19C, 9 km/hr crosswinds back.
WHAT I WORE: yoga pants (oh my GOD I need shorts!!), t-shirt
NOTES:
Gather round, children: let me tell you a little something about breeds of horses.
The American Quarterhorse is a muscular, agile horse traditionally used for herding. They are built for quick turns, stopping on a dime, walking all day with the herd, and galloping fast over short distances. They are often found on working ranches, at trail riding facilities, and rodeos.
The Thoroughbred is tall and elegant horse, with long legs and lean muscles. They are built for athletics: they are fast, have great endurance, and are among the most elegant breed of the species. Given their builds and the rigorous early training they often endure, Thoroughbreds are prone to injuries in their legs. They are often found in elite sports stables, such as those at racetracks and jumping facilities.
Ladies and gentlemen, I am a Quarterhorse. This is something I've concluded recently, after adding yet another piece of evidence to the pile. The most recent evidence I have for this is that I've realized I love sprinting. And I can be pretty fast for someone as overweight as I am. At my current fitness level, I really can't keep up my top speed for more than a block or so at a time, but I love me some of those start-and-stop sprints. And, strangely enough for someone who has a long history of hip and knee joint pain, I've found that jogging irritates the hell out of my joints but sprinting doesn't. In fact, sprinting feels great!
This sprinting evidence is added to the other information I already have about myself that points to me being a Quarterhorse rather than a Thoroughbred: I'm muscular, I put on muscle and fat quite easily but lose it with some difficulty, I've always been fast over short distances (I even managed to represent my school at track meets for the 100-metre dash despite being obese as a kid!), and my body does very well with walking as my main form of exercise. Combine that with my new-found love (and ease) of sprinting, and you've got yourself a genuine Quarterhorse!
The problem as I see it is that I suspect things like running and road biking are sports for people who are Thoroughbreds. Sports like football and mountain biking are more suited to Quarterhorses. Perhaps this is the reason that I feel more and more drawn to trying out mountain biking as my interest in road biking (like doing that upcoming triathlon in September) declines. This may also be why I've been having such a great time alternating walk- and bike-commuting instead of bike-commuting all day every day. Maybe I should go back to riding through the river valley, but take more mountain-bikey routes instead of following the paved path. That might be a lot more fun, and a lot more suited to me. Ooh, now there's a thought . . .
So, what are you? Quarterhorse or Thoroughbred?
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Week 42 - Day Two: Drove
My second kitten, Tiggy - an adorable, if skittish, long-haired tabby with a face like a jungle cat - has hit the ripe old age of six months. To celebrate, I'm getting him neutered.
So, I had to drive today. I dropped Tiggy off on the way to work in that narrow timeframe between when my daughter's daycare opens at 7:30 and before my workday starts at 8:00 am. With a tight timeframe like that, I definitely needed to drive. That poor cat. He's already scared of everything. I think after today's surgery he'll be truly traumatized.
Given that I didn't have any built-in exercise today in the form of bike-commuting, I opted to spend some time over lunch doing something. Usually on Tuesdays I meet up with a couple friends and we go for a walk, or occasionally a wog (a walk-jog), but today without my hour of biking I wanted to do something more substantial over lunch. So today I left a few minutes early and spent 40 minutes on the following: I did a brisk walk to the northern edge of campus, then I jogged along the edge of the river valley, jogged/walked into and through the river valley, climbed a pile of stairs back out, then did intervals of sprinting and walking on the way back to work.
I returned from my adventure dripping with sweat, and though I felt stressed out that I didn't get enough time to eat lunch and properly dry off before I started seeing afternoon clients, I felt soooo gooood all afternoon. Usually I'm barely awake for my afternoon clients, but today I was wide-eyed and bushy-tailed! Ahhh, vaso-dilation, you've never felt so good.
So, I had to drive today. I dropped Tiggy off on the way to work in that narrow timeframe between when my daughter's daycare opens at 7:30 and before my workday starts at 8:00 am. With a tight timeframe like that, I definitely needed to drive. That poor cat. He's already scared of everything. I think after today's surgery he'll be truly traumatized.
Given that I didn't have any built-in exercise today in the form of bike-commuting, I opted to spend some time over lunch doing something. Usually on Tuesdays I meet up with a couple friends and we go for a walk, or occasionally a wog (a walk-jog), but today without my hour of biking I wanted to do something more substantial over lunch. So today I left a few minutes early and spent 40 minutes on the following: I did a brisk walk to the northern edge of campus, then I jogged along the edge of the river valley, jogged/walked into and through the river valley, climbed a pile of stairs back out, then did intervals of sprinting and walking on the way back to work.
I returned from my adventure dripping with sweat, and though I felt stressed out that I didn't get enough time to eat lunch and properly dry off before I started seeing afternoon clients, I felt soooo gooood all afternoon. Usually I'm barely awake for my afternoon clients, but today I was wide-eyed and bushy-tailed! Ahhh, vaso-dilation, you've never felt so good.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Week 42 - Day One: Saddle Switcharoo
BIKE: Eastwood
TIME THERE: 26 min.
TIME BACK: 55 min. (walking)
WEATHER: a few clouds, 12C, 24 km/hr cross/tailwinds there; a few clouds, 18C, 11 km/hr crosswinds back.
WHAT I WORE: yoga pants, t-shirt, zip-up hoodie
NOTES:
Given the negative impact Eastwood's saddle has been having on my sensitive lady-bits, at the end of last week I decided I'd try switching saddles with Mike. So I broke out my wrench and pulled the ol' switch-a-roo. But there was a problem: Eastwood's seat post was thicker than Mike's, so hard as I might crank the damn wrench it just never seemed to get tight enough around that thinner post. I did my best, and the post didn't seem to be sliding even as I tested it by hefting all my weight onto the seat. So I gave it a shot - I tried biking to school with Mike's thinner, less heavily-padded seat.
The effect on my lady-bits was instantaneously appreciation - no more cutting into me in that horrible way that Eastwood's saddle tended to, leaving marks and saddle sores. The problem was that as the ride progressed, the seat slid down because the seat post was too damn skinny. About a third of the way into the journey the seat had fallen as far as it could and was resting on the frame below, leaving me with my legs crunched up and unable to extend. It was a terrible ride, one I wouldn't recommend to anyone.
I gave it one more shot - adjusting the seat once more before heading home. I tried to get it even tighter than before, and I was hopeful that maybe this time I might make it work. Alas. This was not to be. Once again, it didn't take long into the ride before I sunk down by a couple inches, making me work much harder to maintain my speed because I wasn't getting full power out of my legs without their full extension.
FINE! Back to the way it was. I switched the seats back, and now Eastwood is once again messing with my lady-bits. I think there might be a way to play switch-a-roo with just the seats, instead of the whole seat post, but quite frankly I'm tired and cranky and I want to get my lazy ass to bed.
So until I develop another unbearable saddle sore, I'm leaving damn well alone.
TIME THERE: 26 min.
TIME BACK: 55 min. (walking)
WEATHER: a few clouds, 12C, 24 km/hr cross/tailwinds there; a few clouds, 18C, 11 km/hr crosswinds back.
WHAT I WORE: yoga pants, t-shirt, zip-up hoodie
NOTES:
Given the negative impact Eastwood's saddle has been having on my sensitive lady-bits, at the end of last week I decided I'd try switching saddles with Mike. So I broke out my wrench and pulled the ol' switch-a-roo. But there was a problem: Eastwood's seat post was thicker than Mike's, so hard as I might crank the damn wrench it just never seemed to get tight enough around that thinner post. I did my best, and the post didn't seem to be sliding even as I tested it by hefting all my weight onto the seat. So I gave it a shot - I tried biking to school with Mike's thinner, less heavily-padded seat.
The effect on my lady-bits was instantaneously appreciation - no more cutting into me in that horrible way that Eastwood's saddle tended to, leaving marks and saddle sores. The problem was that as the ride progressed, the seat slid down because the seat post was too damn skinny. About a third of the way into the journey the seat had fallen as far as it could and was resting on the frame below, leaving me with my legs crunched up and unable to extend. It was a terrible ride, one I wouldn't recommend to anyone.
I gave it one more shot - adjusting the seat once more before heading home. I tried to get it even tighter than before, and I was hopeful that maybe this time I might make it work. Alas. This was not to be. Once again, it didn't take long into the ride before I sunk down by a couple inches, making me work much harder to maintain my speed because I wasn't getting full power out of my legs without their full extension.
FINE! Back to the way it was. I switched the seats back, and now Eastwood is once again messing with my lady-bits. I think there might be a way to play switch-a-roo with just the seats, instead of the whole seat post, but quite frankly I'm tired and cranky and I want to get my lazy ass to bed.
So until I develop another unbearable saddle sore, I'm leaving damn well alone.
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