Monthly Archives: September 2013

Balloons, longtail test rides, and the plague

The good news is that I am alive, though I’ve felt less-than-lively since being hit by a respiratory virus on Sunday.  Illness plus a heavier work load on the part-time job front equals precious little time, energy, and brain functioning for this space.

I ended last week’s heavy biking log with a trip to Forest Park for the balloon race on Saturday afternoon.  The ride was notable because it’s probably close to the highest single-trip mileage I’ve completed with Gabriel along in the front seat, and it’s the first time I’ve been up and down the Macklind hill with him along.  I made it up on the return trip, thanks to my granny gear!

And then of course there were the balloons . . .

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We enjoyed a picnic dinner as we watched the balloons  inflate, rise, and fly swiftly south under a heavy breeze from the north.  I thought the last few balloons might accompany us on our ride home, but they must have taken a slightly different route.

On the ride home we discussed Sunday plans to test ride some longtails, and Matthew, who’d put in over twenty miles on the bike on Saturday while leading CyclingSavvy, requested that we use the car to get to our Sunday destination since he was having some knee pain.

I reluctantly agreed, having liked the idea of showing up on our bikes to test ride the other bikes.  Come Sunday afternoon (post cold-pocalypse), feeling like death-warmed-over, I lacked the energy to bike anyway.  Only the fact that we’d  been trying to set up these test rides for quite awhile (over a year, in one case!) persuaded me to abandon the couch and get in the car at all.

I perked up enough to ride the two longtails (a Surly Big Dummy and a Yuba Mundo) around the block.  Once again I failed to photo-document the fact that I was on a longtail, but it happened.  Gabriel also rode along on the Big Dummy.

Both bikes handled well, and Matthew and I agreed that either could potentially meet our needs.  I slightly preferred the ride of the Mundo, while Matthew slightly preferred the Big Dummy.

Of course, just to make things complicated, some other options, including the Xtracycle EdgeRunner and the question of whether a longtail is really what we want at all (would we be better served by a midtail?) entered the picture recently.  Enter the “too many choices” phenomenon!  We’ll have made a decision by the time Gabriel’s twenty and the question of how we transport him by bike is completely moot.

Anyhow, a variety of factors (distance, cargo, sickness) conspired to make this week quite the opposite of last week: a number of car trips (will be up to four after tomorrow morning) and no bike trips.

So far, this virus is outwitting my usual weapons (i.e., lots of liquids; salt water gargles; neti pot; soup with lots of onion, garlic, and ginger).  The only thing missing there is rest, which is hard to come by when the symptoms make it hard to sleep at night and there is too much on the to-do list during the day.  Hoping at the very least to be back to normal by this time next week, when I’m on for a CyclingSavvy gig!

Friendly Friday: Construction worker aids tired cyclist

As cyclists, it can be all too easy to focus on that one negative encounter on the roads.  Friendly Friday is a place to focus on a positive cycling story from the week.  Feel free to share your story directly in the comments or via link.

Relative to my norm lately, it was a pretty heavy cycling week (and light car week!), starting with the Bike Expo on Sunday, followed by cycling with Sir to a play date on Monday, and then cycling to meetings/appointments Tuesday through Thursday.

Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday were lovely, but then temperatures and humidity levels began to rise.  By Wednesday evening, I was seriously questioning biking to my Thursday morning meeting, especially given my pseudo-excuse of needing to take the car that direction to pick up some bags of sand (something I could, possibly, accomplish with the bike trailer, but would be more easily accomplished with the car, given that eventually we’ll be driving the car by a suitable store anyway).

Thursday morning arrived, and I overcame the voices in my head that were complaining about the heat and sun and hopped on the bike.  The ride to the meeting wasn’t bad: pre-nine o’clock, decent little breeze, plenty of shady spots.

Heading home shortly after eleven was a different story.  Still not too bad, all things considered, but I was ready to be at home: out of the heat, humidity, and sun and enjoying some water, food, and non-sweaty clothing.

I was nearing what I consider the home stretch when I’m coming from the north, an intersection after which I’m just under a mile from home, with the remaining blocks a straight shot and literally [almost] all downhill.

It is a signalized intersection between the smaller street that I usually use and a four-lane arterial.  The signal for the smaller street can take quite awhile to change.

As I approached, I saw some construction workers and vehicles on the corners nearest me, putting finishing touches on some sidewalk improvements.  Unfortunately, this work involved using some kind of big circular saw on the corner nearest me, which was kicking up a ton of concrete dust (not really something I wanted to inhale) and making a lot of noise (and I, unlike the worker, did not have hearing protection).

To make matters worse, I had just missed my green light, meaning I would be stuck there for awhile — noise, dust, and no shade in sight — with home so close, yet so far away.

As I came to a stop, I further realized that the position of their trucks made it dangerous for me to be on the portion of the road where I would be able to trip the signal detectors.

With a very sad face, I hunkered down with a my fingers in my ears, preparing to be there for awhile.  Knowing that I would not be able to trip the signal, I considered taking advantage of Missouri’s “dead red” law, but parked cars made visibility too poor to tell if the road was clear to my left, although I could see that there was nothing but wide open road to my right.

Then I noticed one of the construction workers walking around his truck and into the street to my left.  He had noticed my sad plight and was motioning that the road to the left was clear and I could cross against the light.

After confirming that I was still clear to the right, I did just that, waving and mouthing “thank you” to my new friend.

His action was a small thing, but he definitely went out of his way to help me out of an unpleasant situation, and that brought a big smile to my face.

Happy Friday!

Bike expo and pawpaws

We spent Sunday morning on top of a parking garage at the Mississippi Valley Bicycle Expo and Swap Meet helping at the CyclingSavvy info table.

What’s the best way to get to a bicycle expo?  By bike, of course!

Our route took us past the theoretical pawpaw spot.  We rode slowly, with our eyes peeled, until Matthew said, “That’s a pawpaw tree.”

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I never would have found this on my own, as I don’t think the tree is particularly “tropical looking,” and it wasn’t in the spot marked on either of the foraging maps.

Whether it was birds, humans, or just a low-fruit year, there were not many pawpaws to be found.  A few ripe dropped fruits on the ground, and a couple more unripe that Matthew grabbed from a tree — not sure if they’ll ripen or not.

Despite the low harvest, it was a successful mission in my book.  We now know the exact location for future years AND there were some fully-loaded persimmon trees with fruit that should be ready before too long!

After our little detour, we proceeded to the expo.

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CyclingSavvy’s littlest fan needs a t-shirt of his own!

We bungeed Sir’s BalanceBike to Matthew’s rear rack, and Gabriel enjoyed riding it around the expo.  Sir needs an advertising contract with the bike company.

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We also added one more [small] bike to our fleet, picking up a used tricycle for Sir.  Our cargo capacity was already maxed out, so the trike is awaiting pick-up at a friend’s house.

Want to find out what it’s all about?  There are still a few spots open in this week’s CyclingSavvy workshop: course details and registration.

*Bike expo photos courtesy of our friend and fellow CyclingSavvy instructor, Karen.

Gym rat no more?

I intended to write a “Gym Rat” post back in May, when my beloved chain fitness center branch shut its doors with only a week’s notice.  I couldn’t feel too sorry for myself as a patron because the fitness center employees received the same minimal amount of notice regarding the end of their jobs.  Oof.

Last October, after debating which gym to join, I chose the closer (i.e., walkable), cheaper, now-shuttered option.  I quickly got in the habit of working out (i.e., lifting weights) there at least two, and often three, times a week.

Even with the $10/month unlimited kids’ room (i.e., childcare), I was paying less than $30/month total.  It was definitely money well-spent, as that gym helped save my sanity during the early part of this year, when wintry weather minimized outside time, leaving me stuck indoors with this.  For much of February and March, my two or three visits per week increased to four or five, as the kids’ room provided a much-needed break!

When they closed their doors in mid-May, my visits had already decreased, and with warmer weather and more built-in physical activity (i.e., active living — walking, biking, etc.), I’d been questioning continuing my membership.  They transferred our memberships to another [relatively nearby, but biking distance, rather than a 3-block walk] fitness center, which I tried I couple of times over the following month, before deciding it wasn’t the place for me.

After another month of no gym, a different fitness center’s $10/month with a $1 joining fee lured me back.  In a moment of weakness, I signed up for the free intro session with a personal trainer, a privilege I’ve waived at past gyms, given my training and years of experience lifting weights.

Ironically, that training session, meant to encourage me to pay for more training, contributed to my [almost-finalized] decision to leave the gym.  The session itself was good — personalized and challenging — but I realized afterward that almost all of the exercises the trainer gave me were using my own body weight, not free weights or weight machines, and thus were things I could do for free, at home.

Still, I was not convinced that I would actually do the exercises at home, where there are always a million-and-one other things that need doing, making it easy to put off the workout until it ends up not happening.

Then, a few weeks ago, as I was writing my “gratitude” post, I came across a NYTimes Well Blog post about a 7-minute workout that could be done almost anywhere.*  It almost sounded too good to be true, but something about it appealed to me.  Many of the exercises (there are 12 total) were identical or similar to those assigned by the trainer.

For whatever reason, this seems to be an at-home workout routine that I can maintain.  The short duration helps.  I mean, seven minutes?**  How can I not find just seven minutes at some point in the day to do this?

Instead of saying, “Oh, I’ll workout after I do x,y,z,” my mentality with this is, “Oh, I have enough time to squeeze in a workout before I do x,y,z.”  This shift in mentality is HUGE.

In reality, I’ve made the program my own, focusing on reps rather than strictly on time for a few of the moves where I want to focus on form (e.g., squats and push-ups), and adding in an extra move or two for shoulder and back muscles.  Even with these tweaks, a full circuit takes less than nine minutes, and once I get going, I usually end up doing the complete circuit twice.  For my fitness level, this provides a very good workout in barely more than 15 minutes!

While I did fall off the wagon a bit last week, I’m on track for maintaining a 2-3 times/week routine for almost a month now.

Since I have until the end of the month to decide, I should probably revisit the gym at least once before cancelling my membership (since I would pay a much higher fee to rejoin if I cancel), but I really don’t think I’m missing much.

*7-Minute Workout originally published as “High-Intensity Circuit Training Using Body Weight: Maximum Results with Minimal Investment” in the American College of Sport’s Medicine’s Health and Fitness Journal.

** I am using this circuit in addition to the “exercise” I get from active transportation.  Great full-body routine or no, seven minutes a day (much less seven minutes two or three times a week) is FAR below the minimum guidelines for daily/weekly physical activity.

Biking to work again, sort-of

Shortly after I wrote this employment status update, I learned that, after making it to the final interview (round of six) for a very competitive position, I was not their top choice.  With that option off the table,  I accepted a part-time, work-from-home position.

Given the “work-from-home” status, the only commuting (other than walking across our front room to the desk) involves biking to and from a weekly meeting with my supervisor who lives about four miles away.

After this morning’s blistering hot commute, I am two for three on biking to the meetings.  I wimped out two weeks ago, given the smack-in-the-middle of the day start time.  I would have traveled there during peak sun and returned home during peak heat.  Blech!

My current situation is a bit different than my previous bicycle commutes.

Previously — Biking to an office where I worked all day:

  • I traveled to and from work at off-peak sun times, so I didn’t really worry too much about sun protection.
  • It made sense to bike in one set of clothes (especially during sweaty summer weather) and clean up and change when I arrived at work, then change back into the “bike clothes” (nothing fancy, just gym shorts and a t-shirt) for the evening commute.

Current — Working from home and biking to/from meetings:

  • I’m trying to encourage early morning meetings to minimize heat and sun, but I don’t get to dictate when we meet.
  • It doesn’t really make sense to bike for thirty minutes, spend time getting cleaned up and changed, meet for an hour or two, and then change again to bike home . . . .
  • So instead, I have to pick outfits that work both for the bike and for the meetings.
  • These are one-on-one meetings with my boss who also works from home, so I don’t need anything too fancy in terms of attire, but I also don’t want to arrive wearing gym shorts and an old t-shirt.

I’m not a heavy sweater by any means, but 90°F, with 50% humidity and a heat index of 94°F (the temps I faced when returning home this morning), will make most anyone perspire.  It was a bit cooler on the way there, but also higher humidity.  I arrived, hydrated, wiped the sweat off my face the best I could, and spent the ninety-minute meeting in sweaty clothing.  Not the end of the world, but I was very ready to get home and lose those clothes!

Changing seasons — both the cooler temps and less intense sun — will mitigate some of the above factors, and come winter, I might be angling for middle of the day meetings.

Though there are a few kinks to work out, I’m happy to have a job and to face the challenge of incorporating [work-related] bike commuting into my life again.