Back In the saddle

Ok, I'm back.

I have not really ridden for maybe a week and a half. It feels like 6 months. I've done errands and built and farted around with a new trailer, but not a lot of training. Was feeling like crap, headaches, blahs, depression. I was worried about my mom, who had surgery on her carotid artery, obviously that is pretty serious. I've been stressed. Late February/early march, I go through a phase. The new Daylight Savings time has helped, though.

I am also convinced that every Saturday ride should start with copious amount of coffee, and WWUH Bluegrass. My brain started the day out in the key of G....

So today I finally got out to the country, it was a stunning day, sunny high 40's, felt like 55. Just a leg stretcher.

I saw a guy hammering along in a high tech wheelchair- bike. Of course, two SUV's were impatiently right behind him, trying to pass. He was missing a leg, I suspected he was an Iraq war vet by the way he said Hi as I passed. I just nodded and looked on, like "wow"... This scene caught me off guard for a second, it took my brain a second to process this whole scene.

I'm seeing more and more roadies with matching outfits and graphic advertising. I really don't understand the value of wearing a jersey that reduces your visibility to motorists with lots of word patterns. Fine if you are in a race, but usually the colors are impractical. On my list is an Advent Neon green jersey, 34.99. Simple, visible jerseys are actually hard to find. Everybody wants a sponsor, I guess.

I did some yoga way out in a huge field next to The Hartford's Bloomfield campus. Luckily, the goose crap was dried up. I went barefoot for an hour or so, which felt amazing in the straw.

The geese, interestingly, have moved on. They seem to migrate more around here. In NY, where I'm from, they used to stay all year, polluting the golf courses with their caustic dung. Not sure if this pattern has changed.

I thought maybe I could get away with this trespass, but sure enough the cops showed up, but they just patrolled the parking lot and inspected a parked car there. When they saw me leaving, they left.

I always get busted in CT . Always look both ways when you take a leak.

The sunlight in my brain was, once again, amazing. I got a burrito and talked to the kids about the possibility of the Bike Kitchen, a massive undertaking. I found out we have access to an entire shop room full of tools. 8 bikes on the way, and I'm not even trying hard. Oh wait, make that 14.

Nothing really profound to say. The Peugeot continues to ride gracefully. Hopefully it will get some additional upgrades this summer.

My insanely fast lightweight Trek 2200 had a stem recall. A bolt could snap, causing the mounting plate to come off, therefore, the handlebars come off, therefore you die. (Sigh.)

There is always a fine line between weight and safety. If a product is reliable, they call it "overbuilt". In the bike industry, parts are not really fully tested before hitting the market.

I chased a coyote for 200 yards the other night. I was doing a hard sprint. The coyote just appeared, running full tilt, diagonally across my path. So for fun, I chased it down a side street. It easily ditched me by cutting through a hedgerow. I was amazed at how it flew like a ghost, I could not hear any galloping noise at all.

LINKS!!!!

Here's a great link I found about parts failure:

http://pardo.net/bike/pic/fail-002/000.html


Also, very cool touring movie: You are only 21 years old once. Nice job, Mike!!!
http://mikebeauchamp.com/crosscanada/

Excellent site for women roadies:
http://www.mothernature.com/Library/Bookshelf/Books/51/9.cfm



Prayers to Jim. His Mom died on Wednesday. :(