Bicycle Diaries
30 years riding, 15 years writing
Back to normal temps
Mid August and we’re back to normal temperatures.
Gone are the days of 95+, temps are now in the normal 85+ range. Mornings are pleasant as is the late afternoon, so you can sit outside and enjoy the birds chirping.
Felt good today, my legs are responding when I decide to pick up the pace. I’m not trying to break speed records, but I like to keep a steady rhythm when pedaling.
With the future looking like bikes will play an important role in transportation, I just want to be able to hop on and go fetch groceries without having a stroke.
MTB: distance 19.17 miles, average speed 13.2 mph.
Dst over Av
Distance over average speed.
My cyclocomputer is my coach, forever flashing the current speed, and with an assorted array of statistics a click away. It’s what keeps me going on a ride, how far have I gone, what’s my pace, and so on.
On a good day, you can go for a long ride and keep a fast pace, but those days are worked up to. Whenever you step into your bike shorts and don a helmet it’s not a given you’ll break personal records.
Today I wanted to get some distance in my legs, keeping a steady pace was more important than flying down the trail and expending all kinds of energies. It was a chilled ride, my cyclocomputer is pissed.
MTB: distance 20.32 miles, average speed 12.4 mph.
SRAM for the Fuel 70
Ultimate Bicycle replaced the front derailleur shifter.
For just $22, parts and labor, the bike techs at Ultimate installed a new SRAM shifter on the Trek Fuel 70, that I bought from them in 2006. The only other part that has gone bad on this bike was the rear shock, and that was replaced for free under Trek’s warranty.
The Trek was not a bad investment, the mountain bike is still rolling along after five years of use. So you pay twice as much for a quality bike store bought vehicle, but it lasts you way longer, while still giving you an enjoyable ride.
After a 3 week break off the bike, my legs did not show up for today’s ride. They were still on vacation, preferring to keep me afloat in a swimming pool, rather than propel me down a muddy trail.
MTB: distance 13.42 miles, average speed 12.7 mph.
Shifters need adjusting
Couldn’t get out of the middle chain ring.
Heading out today, the front derailleur freaked out, so I had to keep it all ride long in the middle chain ring. Spinning was the theme of the day, surprisingly I was able to keep a good average speed going. This afternoon I’ll see if I can fix it, after the heat has dissipated a bit.
It sure is hot, sweat dripping in your eye, irritating humid heat. I’m hoping this is a fluke of nature, and come next year we’ll be back to the mid 80’s rather than mid 90’s with heat indexes in the 100’s.
Saw three deer on the main trail, this young lady was just staring at them, neither of them moving an inch. She asked me if I get to see them often, I said yes, she said cool.
MTB: distance 18.98 miles, average speed 13.4 mph.
Rear shock needed air
Pumped some air in the Fuel 70’s rear shock.
While finishing up yesterday’s ride, I noticed that the rear triangle was a bit low. So I attached a post-it note to the seat tube to remind me to pump some air into the rear shock. The note is necessary cause I tend to hop on the bike and fly out before noticing it needs attention.
After a few miles into today’s ride, I noticed the difference. I reckon the back pains I’ve been having are a result of the bike taking on a different geometry and my body reacting accordingly. My back feels fine after finishing up today, and my butt appreciates the more cushioned ride.
The heat and humidity are coming back, glad I got out early.
MTB: distance 19.32 miles, average speed 13.5 mph.
Plenty of water
When my water runs out, that’s the end of my ride.
On today’s ride, the cooler temperatures allowed me to ride longer because my two large water bottles lasted. Lately it’s been rather hot, which causes my body to sweat, forcing me to drink more water.
Plenty of folks on the trails today, more bike riders than usual taking advantage of the cool front hitting Charlotte this weekend. We best enjoy it because there’s another freaking heat wave heading our way next week.
MTB: distance 24.55 miles, average speed 13.5 mph.
Feels like 105
Oh summer, how I waited for you after a long winter. Oh winter, how I wish you arrive sooner than later cause summer is kicking our asses.
Thought twice about going riding today, but if I’m going to ride at all this summer, I have to ride no matter what the temperatures are. There wasn’t too many people out there this morning, I guess everybody is heeding the warnings and staying inside.
Felt really good on the ride, if it wasn’t for the fact that I ran out of water, I would of ridden a little longer. My back and butt had been hurting me the last couple of days and I attribute it to the fact that my saddle had gone done a few centimeters and I hadn’t noticed.
MTB: distance 18.91 miles, average speed 13.5 mph.
Old Trek riding shorts
Dug deep into the riding gear drawer and pulled out an old pair of Trek riding shorts. I hadn’t worn them in years, but riding more frequently these days does make one run out of gear quickly.
The old shorts still have the saddle intact, they are just a little thin in the rear end department. There’s not too many people drafting me these days, so it’s not a big deal if my butt is visible through the lycra.
Nice weather this morning, a lot of people on the trails, a few dogs off their leashes but they behaved on approach.
MTB: distance 19.15 miles, average speed 12.9 mph.
Humid and muddy
Rain keeps coming down, good for the soil, bad for any outdoor activities. The humidity is really high, though the rains are keeping the temperatures down a bit, so there’s some benefit to late afternoon and evening showers. The trails have been moist for quite some time now, so it’s slow going in the inner paths that are covered by trees.
Waited till today’s 8th stage of the tour finished up before going out, later than I usually want to head out these days, but it was an interesting day today in France. In honor of the tour, my wife made french toast for lunch, ate a bit too much, felt it halfway into the ride, had to slow down.
MTB: distance 17.35 miles, average speed 12.2 mph.
Weir flooded over
Rain has been the norm for the last couple of days, and last night a rather large thunderstorm came over us. Normally, I don’t ride in the McAlpine after a night of rain, but I wanted to ride today.
In order to get over to the main trail, I have to cross over one of the two concrete weirs that straddle the creek. After a heavy rain, the run off from all of our neighborhoods ends up in the creek and at that point it’s more of a rapids than a lazy body of water.
This morning the water was rushing over the weirs, you couldn’t tell there was a crossing. When you get run off, branches clog up the large concrete pipe under the weirs, forcing the water to find another way across.
So I had to improvise a bit on the ride, darting here, climbing over there. My usual laps turned into explorations of uncharted territories, and very slow going at that due to the ground being very soggy from the rain.
It was fitting that the only creature I saw today was a turtle.
MTB: distance 15.72 miles, average speed 12.0 mph.
Charlotte, NC
Spent 10 years in Charlotte, a block away from an entrance to the McAlpine Creek Greenway.
Switched to a mountain bike from the road bikes I was accustomed to riding for 15 years.
The time spent on these trails was most appreciated.
Trek Fuel 70
