As I walked out to the bike to clean and lube the chain pre-ride today, I still wasn't sure where I would go, but I had an idea. I wanted to do something a little different today under the warm sunshine for one last day before more crap weather moves in. I had it in my head that I would ride out to Minooka Park doogie park.

So I tried it, heading out west on North Ave. Now, if you ever want a little hill work, take North Ave. that way, because it is like a roller coaster.

As I rolled past Barker Rd. the thought occured to me that the one time I had driven to this park we might have turned right there. Or maybe not? Keep going straight. Well, I took North until it basically dead-ends and ended up somewhere in Pewaukee lost. American TV was on my left at one point, and Quad Graphics was on my right.

It was past there that I saw two ladies walking on the side of the road and decided to stop to ask about where the park was from here. They were nice enough, but neither one had a clue! They DID however get me pointed in the right direction to get back to Barker Rd., which I did.

Then I took the turn on Barker that I should have taken in the first place...into the park.

Now someone who knows help me out here...there is a sign there that says something about Mitchell Park, but I thought that was Minooka Park? One in the same or am I thinking of two different things? At THIS doggie park there are railroad tracks that run long and straight with a road alongside it. It took that road back and forth, thinking how now nice and flat and long it was...good place to come back to when I want to do intervals or sprints.

Anyway...there were a few dogs and owners at the park...please tell me which one this really is!

Then I headed back. MAN, there is one section of North Ave. that has a killer hill. It's about the grade of Sunny Slope, but it goes on for a longer stretch. I had to come out of the big chain ring for that one today on the way home.

So, just 24 miles today...but they were an interesting 24. My legs were tired at the end from the climbing. Still, had I not had to go to work today I believe I would still be out there riding and enjoying the weather today.

 

No, nothing terrible happened on my Monday morning ride today. But the Grim Reaper DID play a role in it.

I couldn't wait to get out, so I left early with the temp at 62 and sunshine. My plan was to squeeze in the longer Three Bridges ride, which I did.

Along the way, once I crossed Loomis (my usual turnaround point) the sun ducked behind clouds. Now it was gray and kind of a cool nagging wind too. I started to whine about it in my head...'what...no sun...ah crap...kinda cool now...maybe I shouldn't have tried going this far...blah... blah, blah...

Then up ahead on my right I saw a line of parked cars in a place where there are never any cars. Sure enough, there was a burial taking place at the small cemetery across the street from where the Franklin MUP starts.

As I looked over to scan the black-dressed crowd around the casket I thought to myself how fleeting life actually is. Then it's over. Quit whining about no sunshine or distance and put your head down and ride.

So ride I did, enjoying every minute of the MUP which was now, by the way, was once again drenched in sunshine, as would be the case for the rest of the ride.

In the end it was glorious spring morning, with dandelions now in full bloom on the greening grass, and most trees now sprouting buds.

I spent my ride back into a little headwind pushing it tempo and felt great today. The 16.7 mph average speed is a season high for this route.

DO it. GET it. Use it while you can kids, and enjoy it, because it ain't gonna last forever. Just ask whoever it was that was in that casket today.

 

No ride on Sunday. I was too busy using different muscles, the kind you use doing yard work...lots of it.

There's  a lot of grass to cut out at our lake place where I was, and I cut it all with a push mower...no riding lawmower for me.

Then I dug out a half dozen dead and dying (sad) bushes in the garden in front of the house. Ever dig out the roots of bushes? Bull work.

Then after two beers and a nap, we drove home later in the day, where I proceeded to fire up the mower at home for the first time this season and cut all the grass with a push mower here as well.

That hot shower felt as good as if I had just finished a hard 50-mile ride.

My broken bladed spoke (I had a regular round temporary replacement, was finished Friday and I put the rear wheel back on...made a brake adjustment and am ready to ride Monday and Tuesday of this week. The weather look OK for the first part of the week. Rain moving in later, and then it's vacation time, when the only riding I will be doing will be on a beach cruiser no-speed rented from Billy's Beach Rentals!

 

 

I'm not much of a ball and stick fan. But I DO love my Brewers when they play an afternoon game on WTMJ Radio. See, that means I have about an hour's worth of prep to do instead of the usual workload of three hours. THAT translates to a bigger window to ride in, as long as the weather is OK.

I headed out for an LSD ride today. Again, LSD=Longer-Steady-Distance. For me, anything longer than my usual 27-mile route can be an LSD ride. It's not about speed. It's not about intervals. It's not about climbing. It's all about saddle time and miles.

Today I would head out on my Franklin loop in the usual direction, taking me past the House of Correction first, where I like to hum "I'm Free" by The Who in my head as I pass there for some reason.

I'm also hereby re-naming this ride from the Franklin Loop to "Three Bridges."

That new MUP section in Franklin that I end up on is really quite pretty. You can relax and enjoy it too, since you are afterall on a MUP and there is pedestrian traffic in there at times. But that's OK...remember, this is just LSD today. And in this feature part of this ride there are three wooden bridges that rattle you like Paris-Roubaix. There's long bridge, short bridge and double bridge, where you go over two of them with a patch of cement in-between.

Again, with the snotted up nose. I broke my own rule too by going with bare legs when I left at 54 degrees. But with some sun out I figured the temp would come to me on the ride. It did, ending up at 62, but still, my legs had that nice pink shade to them by the time I got back. Someday it will actually warm up here. But today was not that day...not with the wind coming off Lake Michigan at this time of year.

On the way home some dude with winter riding pants and a backpack on came blazing past me. Ooooo, I had everything I could do not to jump on his wheel and let him inflict some pain on me. I didn't though. I told myself to stick to the plan. This was an LSD ride, and I was already getting a little tired at this point.

Overall, two good days of rides are in the book. Storms are forecast for Friday, and lake duty calls over the weekend, so no rides are planned at this time.

 

Interesting ride today. Sun but very cool with a cold wind. I almost didn't go. But I did, and while warming up the first few miles I was thinking to myself about how this season, each ride on this route was going to be some sort of adventure if I saw anyone on a bike.

I'm not racing much, if at all this season. I'm not really into group rides these days either for some reason. So my fun will come from catching, passing, or being passed by someone then grabing their wheel on this route. I figure I will let no opportunity go by, unless I am simply on a recovery ride.

Sure enough...it happened again today.

Up ahead I saw a guy with a red jacket. OK, lets make sure we get up there to him first of all. I did. As I got behind I saw he had a nice celeste Bianchi too. Hang on...he's wearing the old orange Rainbow Jersey socks, and I spy a Rainbow Jersey water bottle in his cage as well. Jerry hasn't had those in the store for some time now. He's an RJ guy like me!

I rode up next to him at an average pace, especially considering there was a nagging cold headwind of 10-12 mph, and said hello...then made a some comment about wishing it was ten degrees warmer.

Well, he picked up his pace enough such that he grabbed my wheel, and we rode together for quite a stretch. We traded off taking the point well too. He asked me about where I was riding to and where I came from...what time I usually ride...that sort of thing.

He turned into Whitnall Park and I was going straight on my usual Loomis out and back route, so he thanks me for the ride and I said perhaps we'll hook up again. I hope we do. See, when it works right it really works....two guys about the same level, and I believe I helped him ride a little harder than he would have been all alone. And he helped me do the same when I was pulling for him into that wind.

(My ave. speed of 17.0 today was the highest of the young season on this route) We both got a benefit from the experience. Never did catch his name though. For now, he's RJ Bianchi guy here in my book.

 

 

***Reminder***see the post before this one for a link to some video from Saturday's WCA race at my Whitnall Park crit training course. That's where I went this afternoon for a lap before heading back home into the cold wind.

It was 50 and cloudy when I left, just to get a little exercise. The course was cleaned up quite well. I saw rather than attmept to get the potholes fixed, all they did was spray pink paint around them to mark them off.

On the way there I had an interesting little situation to tell you about.

Again, I guess this is just how we're built and we can't help it.

I'm riding along at a pretty easy pace on a basic ride. Ahead there is a guy riding all bundled up in a yellow winter jacket...looked like kind of a husky shorter guy. My pace was such that I was going a little faster, so I simply passed him w/o any greeting. I was too cold and grumpy to make nice.

I didn't see him, nor did I hear him back there again for a while.

About a mile or so down the road another roadie comes past me on the left at good clip. All I remember was that it said "Milwaukee" down the side of his shorts. He's out in front of me and pulling away fast. Even as I started to debate in my head if I should attempt to chase him, I suddenly hear another rider coming around to pass me! Yup, chubby winter jacket guy was haulin' ass now, right around me and obviously putting on the afterburners trying to catch Milwaukee shorts guy. I'm being left in the dust.

"Nope," I told myself, "Just stick to what you're doing and let him go. You're not racing anyone today."

Ah crap, I can't just let 'em go like that!

Boom, I'm on it again.

Man, as I got up next to him finally I think he amped it up a notch...side by side and we're workin'  it now. So I had to go full-bore for a bit to take the point. Man I am out of shape, because I was hurtin' big time for a bit there. But I never saw the dude again. Either I dropped him because he had already used himself up chasing the other guy....or I turned and he went straight behind me at some point. I'll say I dropped him...just makes me feel better about it all.

I just don't do well if it isn't hot out. It was about 55 on the way back now, the sun was out, and the wind was out of the cold north at about 5-10...not bad really. Yet I was cold. I laugh to myself when I see people working in their yards with only a T-shirt on....while I've got a wind-proof base layer, a long-sleeved jersey, and a long-sleeved riding jacket on!

Will it ever heat up here?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YM5vfxkoukw

Thanks to John Wilke of Bikeforums.net, the above link is a little action from the race Saturday.

I wish I could have been there, but alas I couldn't make it. By the time my 'duty calls' stuff was over it was late, cold, and winds were gusting to 50 MPH!

My hat's off to all who raced there.

It is with regret that I must report to you that reader and poster here, my Cat. 3 bud 'recursive' (Tom) from Madison crashed in his race. He suffered a broken wrist.

Been there. Done that.

Post here later if you can 'recursive'....and heel fast.

Remember...when the road turns, YOU have to turn the bike too!

 

Well, this was supposed to have been a nice Saturday at the bike races, but it's not working out that way for me today.

First of all, the weather is anything but nice, with a cold wind howling under dark, cloudy sky this morning. The temps are in the 40's and I can only imagine what the wind chill is. This after it was 78 yesterday.

Not only that, but my schedule tightened because I have an electrician coming over in the middle of the day to do something. I may drive over to the course later and take a few pix...which I would post here later.

 

 

It was one of those borderline days. Would I ride or not? It was windy, cloudy and mild...65 at 10:30. I had it in my head that perhaps the sun would burn through and this would be one of those instances where I would be glad I went because the weather would turn out to be better than anticpated.

WRONG.

Headwind right away. The sun never came out. And I'll tell you this much...65-ish felt like 40 with 40 mph gusting wind practically standing me still at times.

Not only were the flags snapping straight out, but even the flag POLES were blowing all over the place.

I had bare arms too, and today the ride never came to me. At some point I just wanted to make the train in my head stop, turn around and get some tailwind behind me so that I could warm up. So I turned at the 10-mile out mark just to make it an even 20.

What the heck. I got a little exercise and set myself up for a Friday off before the big race day Saturday at Whitnall Park. FYI--Weather looks marginal. IF the front blows through in time, race day will be cloudy, chilly (50-ish) but dry.

Oh, and get this...

SNOW possible Monday.

I give up.