Two Wheel Blogs

Ah ... where to begin?

Three weeks ago, I had a wreck. As I was riding towards home, I hit a sewer cover on the Delyte Morris bike trail that runs through SIUE.

While I don't ride that trail often, I've ridden it enough to be familiar with it, and I was not aware of the manhole protruding from the trail that much. (Also, I was not paying attention to the trail.) I later learned why the cover was so exposed: they are in the process of paving the trail. To do so, they started by digging down to make the trail level, and in doing so, they exposed more of the cover than was there before. That doesn't excuse my not paying attention to the trail, but it does explain why I hit something that, for the most part, hadn't been there to hit before.

The damages were as follows:

• To me: Some scrapes on my right hip and elbow, plus a very slight concussion from where my helmet-protected head hit the trail. I got my bell rung.
• To my bike: A flat rear tire, a broken rear brake cable, and a broken right shifter cover.

That would have been bad enough, but the next day I fell over on my right side while riding my cyclocross bike. This resulted in some bruised rib muscles that, while better, are still sensitive.

Last Friday, while riding in a thunderstorm, I took a spill as I crossed from the shoulder to the road surface. This time, I scraped my left hip and, I believe, damaged my derailleur. The former was obvious to me. The latter, not so much, as I did not discover the damage until the following morning, when my derailleur fell of mid-ride. My bike spent the week at The Cyclery, and I just got it back on Friday night.

Friday 8.27 ~ Chasing The Sun

My bike needed a new derailleur. As soon as I mounted and started pedaling, I could feel the difference immediately. It shifted quicker, smoother, and I could feel the chain "take" each new gear. I'd not felt that in a long time. It was a good feeling to experience again. It gave me confidence -- especially when climbing.

Edwardsville sits on a bluff that overlooks bottom land running west to the Mississippi. I live towards the western edge of town; there isn't a lot of town beyond me. When the sun starts to set on a late summer afternoon, I ride from the warmth of sunlit stretches through the cool of shaded patches, where the temperature seems to drop by ten degrees. On early evenings like these, with dusk approachin, I chase the sun. I ride so as to maximize my exposure to it in hopes of extending my ride as long as possible.

I left home around 5:30 p.m. and set out for Poag Road, which runs by the SIUE campus and down the bluff to the bottoms. I cut across on Bluff Road to the Nature Trail, then took that south to the intersection with Sand Road. I then rode through the small collection of homes that is Poag and headed for Wanda/Moreland, climbing them until I reached Buchta and Belk Park. The sun was warm, and a wind from the south pushed me along gently. I rode throught the park, then back down Moreland to Poag. I climbed back up the bluff and returned home.

I rode for almost two hours and, while I didn't ride particularly hard, I did manage a 17 mph pace. On the bright side, the new derailleur felt good and, most important, I did not have a wreck. Successful outcome.

Saturday 8.28 ~ That Was Then, This Is Now.

I could've ridden to KDHX today. As it turns out, I should've ridden to KDHX today. Apparently, everyone but me got the message that, due to major construction, stretchs of I-55/70 and other major interstates were going to be closed today, stretches I rely on to get to the radio station in time for my show. Fortunately, quite by accident, I left in time to allow myself time to make my way through East St. Louis to the Martin Luther King Bridge. And I did manage to get to the station in time for my show, but I did not have as much time to prepare as I would have liked. And, after my show, I could have enjoyed a leisurely ride back home, with a south wind nudging me along. But I couldn't because I didn't ride, and I really wish I had.

When I got home, I suited up and set out. I figured I could ride for three to four hours, depending on how I felt. As I left, I rode through downtown to see which way the flags in front of the courthouse were flapping. The wind appeared to be coming out of the south, so I determined that the Marine Loop with the Silver Lake extension would be a good route. I'd ride across the wind as I headed east on Lower Marine Road, then have it at my back for the north stretch on Marine, then cut back across it as I headed west on Fruit, then... I had all kinds of options, so I put my head down and rode. Two things were soon apparent:

• The wind was going to be a factor, and
• I was generally tired, and I am not in top riding shape.

In my defense, not counting Friday's ride, I had not ridden for a week. That and I've missed a lot of Monday nights on Mueller Road and Wednesday nights in the Chesterfield valley. (More on that later.) So no, I did not ride hard, nor was I capable of riding particularly hard. I kept the pace I was able to, and I did not back down to the fews hills I encountered on the route. I may not be a particularly strong rider, but I'm not quitter.

I did a lot of riding last summer. Not only did I log a lot of miles, but I covered a lot of ground, riding places I'd never ridden before. I did the century ride up to Carlinville. I rode north of Alton into Jersey county. I rode in various parts of the St. Louis area. This summer, I've not been able to do as much. Not only have I ridden fewer times, but I've not covered as many miles, and the routes have been, for the most part, limited to a few regulars. I did a few Monday night Muellers, a few Wednesday valley rides, several Belk Park loops, a couple of Marine loops, a couple trips up to Litchfield and over to KDHX. But I'd not ridden the Silver Lake extension this year. Not once. That's wrong.

So I took Lower Marine to Marine, fighting a crosswind all the way. When I turned north on Marine, relief was immediate as the wind moved to my back. Unfortunately, it was short-lived. As soon as I turned right to head towards Silver Lake, the crosswind returned. I passed the lake (I always enjoy the brief glimpse of the water), then headed north to Fruist, and east towards home. But when I reached Marine Road, I decided to turn south and eat the wind again. I had gotten a push from it on the way out. It seemed only fair to let it slap me in the face on the way back. So I got in the drops, put my head down, and pedaled into the south wind, my pace dropping to as low as 12 mph.

When I got the convenience store in Marine, now two hours into the ride, I was ready for some restoration. I put ice in one water bottle and filled the other with Gatorade G2. When I went to pay, the cashier said, "Forget it." I love it when clerks comp riders sports drinks. To me, it suggests that they undestand we're doing something hard, physically dermanding, and while they may not do it themselves, they respect us for it. I was touched.

I set out for the last southerly stretch on Marine, and I was relieved when I finally turned east on Lower Marine. Riding was generally easier from this point on, though it was slow going as I climbed the hilly stretch for the second time this afternoon. Riding got much easier once I was on the Goshen Connector trail and heading north back to Edwardsville.

When I rolled into my driveway, I'd cover 52 miles at a 15.9 mph pace, for a 3-hour and fifteen minute ride I was surprised: it had felt slower than that. But I wasn't going to beat myself up over it. I had ridden as best I could, and I was satisfied with my effort.

Once inside, I checked my workout log to compare what I had just done what I'd done at this time last year. Here's what I found:

• Fri 8.28 ~ I'd ridden 100 miles on the Madison County trails in 5:58.
• Sat 8.29 ~ I got up to ride 57 miles in the morning, then rode another 18 in the afternoon.
• Sun 8.30 ~ I rode my cyclocross bike on the SIUE trails.

In August 2009, I rode 784 miles. This year, I rode 405 miles in August. But off course, now I do more than just ride.

It was last August when I first started trying to run again. My first "run" was on August 9, 2009. Here's what I did last year on this same weekend:

• Sat 8.29 ~ I ran 1.7 miles in Forest Park, my longest run so far.
• Sun 8.30 ~ I ran 1.9 miles on the Nickel Plate. This run marked the first time I'd run on consecutive days.

In August 2009, I ran ten times, covering 14.2 miles. Not big distance to be sure, but ten times and 14.2 miles more than I'd been able to run in the three years previous. This year, I've run 43.5 miles this month -- and I'm due for a 6-miler tomorrow.

As I posted earlier, when all I could do was ride, I was a somewhat better, stronger rider. Granted, at any of the group rides I did, most of the other riders could kick my a**. But I didn't care then, and I don't care now. I ride because I enjoy it, and it's good for me. Those are the same reasons why I run.

Tomorrow, I'm going for a run. Afterwards, maybe I'll take my cyclocross bike out to the SIUE trails. After all, that's what I did last year. Why not do it again?