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I rode in today it was well below freezing...Maybe I will get a breathable jacket for Christmas but I was warm enough. 2 base layers and a jersey and the sweat soup raincoat.

It is getting hard to get motivated. I really like sleep. I have ridden at least once a week I think so fat this school year but that's kind of weak. I need help with my computer again. It's skipping readings from time to time although there could be interference from the panniers as they were loaded and bloated today with clothes and 10 pounds of mash potatoes and 2 jars of gravy for a school thing. (yeah jars of gravy because I didn't do the meat so I didn't make the gravy. My appetite has stayed even when I don't ride so I back slid some on that. I swear it's the darkness. I want to eat carbs and hibernate. I was really sore today and couldn't sleep too well from my knee hurting because I fell coming in the door. However I am sore but fine and riding didn't make it worse. I just miss riding with my friends. Riding in the dark, worried of getting flats, potholes on the trail from construction and who knows what. It might be good if I was alone but there always seems to be deathwish ninja joggers when I let my guard down.

Hey I'm still riding and that's good but I am not faster or in better shape. On the other hand imagine what a stump I'd be if I were not biking at all.

my new rim was making noise today but may have been the pannier. Did I tell you of the whole flat/new rim thing?

Last Wednesday unexpectedly worked double shift. My lights pretty much ran out which may or may not helped me get a flat, I made it to Culvers in Liberalville-. I haven't changed a tire but I was going to try. I only have 2 tire levers (3 recommended) 1 snapped. Those continentals are a tight fit anyway so I can't get the tire off. Wife not home, borrow culvers phone leave message, go back and wrestle with wheel, many a yuppie gawks at my 1 wheeled upsidedown bike 15 feet in front of the main door, no one offers help. Go back in to try to look up elbow boys ph #, wife calls culvers so I wait. make it home. Next day in between jobs take wheel to cyclry in Libertyville. I say maybe you can find out why it flatted blah blah. Hole is on the inside...hmm not good rim poke side....Says these tires are a tight fit, I buy metal tire levers and then he says oh time for a new rim. WHAT!!??! UM no....This was supposed to be a 'bulletproof rim it's not even a year old. Where did I get it? From Tim in LZ. oh it will be under warranty ok but what's going on? He thinks bad batch of heat treated rims...the store has seen it recently in same rim they sold to so and so-Cracks at the spole eyelets will take about a week to get new rim shipped. Tim happens to call the store...yeah he knows me and will order new rim, I drive around and decide to go to LZ to make sure they have my ph# and to show Tim my rim. He says leave it here, new rim will be here tommow. Friday I pick up rim and spend a long time saturday trying to get it back on. I pick up a water rack and 2nd pannier rack for the old SC-30 but doubt it will work withot heal strike of panniers...we will see. Hopefully Darth can help me put it on sometime and maybe we can try the speedo sensor.

Dirt, do you like the integrated brifters of the CX bike?

more later, ride safe.

A Perfect Fit

Well I hadn't ridden the Cyclocross bike since the 80-mile ride several months ago. This was due to the fact that I just haven't been as comfortable on it as I was on my MTB. While at Summit City Cycles in Fort Wayne to buy a bike computer for my nephew I described the problems I was having and asked a sales person if there was anything that he could suggest. He suggested a professional bike fitting for $100 by the shop manager David. Turns out he is a licensed Serrata fit expert. I knew that thanks to Darth’s Ebay work on my behalf I had some money coming so I bit the bullet and scheduled the appointment.

The appointment was at 6pm Last evening, Monday the twentieth of November. I showed up with my bike and two pairs of riding shoes. I will not go into all the details of the fit but here’s a quick overview. The bike is now perfectly aligned with my body, from where my cleats are positioned to the angle of my handle bars. I had to buy a zero degree seat post to give me a bit more adjustment forward, another $30, but well worth it. The whole fitting took two hours and there was more then just fitting it was a lesson in riding technique.


I learned much and was eager to try it out so after work today I went for a 25-mile ride with FGB. I don't know the average speed or any of the details other then we rode 25.6 miles. I could look at the other stats but truthfully I was just thrilled in the difference a properly fitted bike makes. David informed that there are many certified fitters in the Chicago Land area and I would highly recommend it. CK it may reduce some of the pain and fatigue you feel when you ride. Of course I can't blog without at least posting one picture so here's a cool one that the wife took on one of our recent hikes.

This Doctor Must be Trustworthy

Okay so this post isn't really about a physical or out door activity per se, but there is an element worth noting since it has to due with bikes. As you all know by now I've been having some trouble with my kidneys and was scheduled to see a specialist. Thursday I saw the specialist. The short version is that my disease has progressed and I am at about 35% kidney function. This means that dialisis (I'm gonna have to learn to spell that one) and or transplate are in my near future. How near depends on how fast my function drops to 20% or below. This could be 6 months, 6 years, 10 years. We will know more in 6 weeks after two months of testing and monitoring. The treatment is simple... try to slow down the decline. This is done through maintaining a blood pressure at 110/70 or even better 100/60. This will have to be done with drugs so He started me on accupril, an ACE inhibitor that has had the good side effect in many patients with kidney disease of also removing some of the protein from the urine which helps to prevent further damaging of the kidney. Unfortunately, in a few of the patients it has caused a decrease in kidney function so those patients could no longer take it. That's it.

Okay now for the bike related part. While describing to the new kidney doctor about my lifestyle of biking he asked where I ride. I started telling him about my mountain bikes and then that I couldn't find many off road trails so I bought a cyclocross bike as my road bike wouldn't work on the gravel roads. He was quiet so I thought he might of thought I was nuts to own four big dollar bicycles so I started explaining why I needed a cyclocross bike. He raised his hand and with a smile said, "You can never have too many bikes." He then proceeded to tell me where the best MTB trails were in the Fort Wayne area and his favorites. He is a fellow enthusiast. He understands the passion and encouraged me to ride as long as I felt up to it. So ride I will. Of course I'm not supposed to over do it and I require twice the fluids that others do when sweating so a six litre camel back may be in order... too bad they don't make one. Hey I could just tow a water cooler in the baby carrier.

Inspired by Dirt Magnet

Inspired by DM and frustrated by tiredness and brocken equipment I got on the exercise bike after picking up the blue bomber from the shop. That cable really sticks out. We will see if I opt for leave it alone, pipe insulation, or some other protection. That hard break casing might work but I think I'd have to unattach and reattach the cable and threat it through.

So after scratching up my trunk lid with the cloppy claws of the trunk rack I filled up the smaller camelback and put in the MTB workout. Man it is killer and it almost claimed me as a victim. I had forgotten. Great but body bashing. Of course there are polite Canadians interviewed.

How do you get a Canadian to apologize? Step on his foot.

For those that don't know it consists of a 6 or 8 minute warm up with two 1 minute high rpm times then part one is 5 minutes of max effort for 30 seconds then moderate effort (limited recovery spinning) then 2 minutes of full recovery then 4 minutes of the :30 , :30 then 3, then 2 seperated by 2 minutes of recovery...then 5 minutes of recovery then 5 secions of 2 minutes max effort 2 minutes recovery then 5 mins cool down. I was just mashing at the end but I made it. It is a great workout.