A Biking Challenge

The National Bike Challenge starts Friday, May 1 and continues through September 30- the best 5 months of the year for many of us to bike. They are hoping to get 75,000 participants this year. The goal is 35 million miles in these months.
(This is only out-in-the-real-world rides, not trainers, stationary, etc.)

I'm not planning anything extraordinary for this year. I am hoping to ride more than I did last summer. I was really lax with only around 120 outdoor miles over the five months of nearly 400 total miles if you include stationary bikes. Maybe I can reverse those numbers this year and then some. Maybe even get in 500 outdoor miles. That's only 100/month or five 20 mile rides. Very much within the range of possibilities.

I think I am about to break through the early retirement uncertainties. It has been more of a struggle than I expected to overcome some of my innate laziness and desire to stay up late and sleep in. So, posting this here, I am setting a very public goal. If you see me, remind me. If I don't post any updates, hold me accountable.

If you want to sign up for the National Bike Challenge, the link is below.
-Link

Ramblin' Bikin'

Yesterday was a great day on the Gulf Coast to do some biking. Didn't plan on a video so didn't have the handlebar connector but I held the iPhone camera for awhile and ended up editing it to 4 minutes. Al Hirt music and You Tube post-processing the wiggling and bouncing helps e keep the day.

Enjoy.

A Fall Ride- Prior Planning Produces Pie Pleasure

What joy- to get out and bike the Root River Trail in the fall. Colors, golden corn, clear water, and more colors.

Enjoy.

Near the start (and end) was this wonderful bench placed in memory of a friend or family member. A good remembrance of the need for "sabbath" times in our lives.

The ride started with the majesty soaring above the trail...

And, thanks to my planning, ended with the pleasure of pie!

It's About Time

Rails to Trails Link

More Than Just Pedaling

I wrote last summer about some of the mindfulness I was discovering commuting 6 miles to work, mostly on bike trails in our city. The other day I was riding the stationary bike at the rec center and realized that stationary cycling has a whole range of possibilities for mindfulness and meditation. After all it is highly repetitive with few distractions, like oncoming traffic.

I spent some time Googling the web and found some interesting sites. I am still looking at that, but thought I would simply post a quote I found there for today:

A bicycle is a magic mirror. You get your own personal reflection back from the bicycle. The inner journey parallels the outer one when you ride.

— Joel Solomon

Quote found on Bicycle Meditations web site.

A Fine Day's Ride

Sunday was a beauty of a day on the Gulf coast of Alabama, so I set out for Florida. Well, I didn't expect to make it but I was only a few miles short as I crossed the Perdido Pass bridge and stopped at the state park beach access. I gave old Trusty Trek a rest and walked a mile and a half or so, just enjoying the day, the sun, the water, the birds.

All in all it was a 22 mile round trip. I can't believe how good a shape I am in this year. All that stationary bike riding- and the loss of 30 pounds in the past year- sure are making this a fun trip.

Can't wait to see what I find next.

The bridge across Perdido Pass. Yes, I biked it.

Trusty Trek taking a rest at the beach

One big old heron

Perdido Pass looking to the Gulf of Mexico

The view from the top of the bridge (above.)

Landing. This one was on the way home. Birds are everywhere.

It Was a Very Good Year

The year is gone- and a new one has begun. It is difficult to summarize a year, of course. Here are some numbers from my 2013.

Reading and movies are a big part of my life. They take me to many places and open my world in more ways than I can begin to count. But here are 77 of them:

59 = Number of books read
18 = Number of movies seen

But life is more than sitting and having my world opened. I had to get up and move around, too. These numbers sure helped make my life even better.

    49 = Number of days biking outside
  116 = Number of days biking indoors (165 days!)
1,534 = Total number of biking miles (indoor and out)

Partly as a result of the above, but also because of I needed to do so by watching what I ate and how I ate, this is the number I am proudest of:

30 = pounds lost

THIS is one non-number that makes me excited for 2014.

Semi-retirement = best personal action of the year

``` ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ```

 And, yes, I have some goals for 2014 that include:

   15 = additional pounds to lose
 250 = number of days biking (outdoors and in)
    2 = Books started and at least partly written
    2 = Fitness instructor/trainer certifications earned
    1 = MLB All-Star game activities at Target Field
365 = Days to be surprised at what is in store

Milestones Continue to Collect

Last week I passed a milestone for the year. Friday was the 150th day this year that I have ridden a bike- either on the streets/trails or a stationary one at the fitness center. I know I won't be able to get enough in before the end of the year to make it 183 days (or 50% of the year). But that will be the goal for next year.

Mileage for the year so far: 1,340 miles, combination of both types.

Not bad. Not bad at all!

More: On Riding and Commuting

Found this on Bicycle Magazine's website


It's from an essay called "The Last Leg' and it's about that commute home at the end of the day.

Riding home... You can find tranquility in the whirl of your wheels and let a certain peace wash away the day’s travails. Or you can purge the day from your system–pedal hard, throw in a few sprints, and swoop low through the turns. Why not? Is your boss watching or something?

Me, I pick up the pace eventually. [I]n the last quarter mile—going fast now, on a slight descent—I suck my handlebar up toward my face, absorbing the shock. I flow on. ... I’m on an upright commuter bike, but for the moment I’ve wholly escaped: I’m all sinew and motion; I’m leading the peloton. We’re coming into Roubaix, onto the cobbles….

When I reach my doorway, I stand there a moment, feeling the hard beat of my heart. Then I shoulder my bike and step inside, ready for whatever might happen next.

It hardly begins to describe the feelings.

A Milestone and a Record Week

This was quite a cycling week.
I worked six days this week so I also bike commuted six days!

That's  the record- six days commuting in a row! Which was 71 miles.

Then:

Putting all the stationary miles (504) and road bike miles (516) together for this year, I passed 1000 miles.

My wife commented that biking to work was like playing before and after work. It sure helps to start the day with some nice exercise, watching the river and creek, listening for the same duck quack at the same place along the ride every morning. I am now riding in just before the sun comes up. In a river valley that means places of fog kind of drifting upward while the light illuminates it. I am awed every morning.

THAT is a great way to start each day- in awe of the creation.

Changing Plans

It's just two weeks away- the Big Birthday.

I decided NOT to do the 130 Miles for 65 (or Century+) Bike ride. No, I didn't chicken out. I realized it was unfair to two people- me and my wife.

#1- Me because it would actually take three days out of my vacation when I have a bunch of things I want to see and do, and most of them (nearly all, in fact) are not on the bike trail. One of those is to spend some neat time with my wife that week.

Which leads to #2- My Wife. She would be sitting around waiting 4 - 6 hours while I roll along the Minnesota countryside. Instead WE could be at the zoo, the Science Museum seeing the Maya exhibit, the Art museum, eating at a Thai restaurant, or... See what I mean?

So, Plan B is in the mix now. It includes one day of biking along the Lake Wobegon Trail then doing the neat things in the Cities followed by some day trips. Food, too. Mexican, Thai, who knows what else.

And, for me, at the end of August, I'm taking some time to go to a trumpet boot camp in the Cities to really work my lip and embouchure into shape. I will be playing in the pit at the Rochester Civic Theater in September and October and need some work on getting ready.

I think that will do much to get me through the 65th birthday.

Eating to Ride... or Riding to Eat?

Last Sunday I headed out for what I knew was going to be the longest ride so far this year. My goal was 30 miles on the Root River Trail. Due to trail construction I was forced to start someplace other than my normal starting point between Fountain and Lanesboro.

Then I remembered that Whalan is a wonderful point to start from....

and return to. But for the life of me I couldn't remember why.

:)

So here's the trusty Trek 7000 all ready and raring to go.

I got to Rushford and found the 15 mile  mark just east of town. Great place to turn around. I sure didn't stop long- the gnats were ferocious!

 I wasn't taking pictures. It used to be, 3-5 years ago that I looked at cycling as a way of getting me to places where I could take good pictures, the distances  being beyond normal every day walking. I have now realized that it may have been the other way around- taking pictures was my excuse for biking. I am no longer looking for that excuse. The biking has become a hobby in and of itself.

I know there were pictures I didn't take this time that I might have before. I just kept riding, doing a pace and an endurance that would not have been possible even last summer. It felt good.

But I was aware that I need to do some upper body work. My arms got very tired after about 25 miles. I knew I only had 5 miles to go, less than the distance I pedal to work in the morning, but it took a lot of effort to keep my mind focused.

As I was coming toward the 26 mile mark, pedaling along with only the goal of finishing running through my mind, I saw this patch of brown out in the middle of the field. I pulled to a quick stop and walked (okay- almost stumbled as my legs were not used to that movement at the moment) back the few feet to the opening in the trees where I saw the patch of brown.

There she was, staring at this patch of yellow with a camera in his hand.
She didn't hang around long, 

but just enough to get a shot.

Okay. Maybe both pictures and cycling will stay together.

 I got back on the bike and headed west for the last little bit. I am sure that I need to do some upper body and arm strength work. The legs are in good shape, but over 2 hours of pressure on the hands was taking it's toll.

 But, in the end, it was a wonderful ride on a beautiful day.



And, yes, now I remember why Whalan was a good place to end.

Short Pet Peeve Rant

Riding along the bike trails in town I am reminded at regular intervals by signs that tell me to be aware of pedestrians, to yield to them and to make my presence known. I am very conscientious about that. I give my normal call out as I near, but not so near that I scare them:

On your left.

Then a "Thank you." as I pass.

But my peeve is the runners who are wearing earphones attached to some mp3 audio device.

They don't hear me. I am almost on top of them and yelling

On your left!!

while slowing down and passing them. Some never do hear me. They look shocked and sometimes perturbed that someone like me would interrupt their run.

Sometimes they are even running right down the middle of the trail, oblivious to anything around them. Especially me and my trusty Trek 7000 attempting to pass.

I have nothing against listening to music while you run. I have done it when I tried to get back into running a few years ago before a Duathlon. I do not wear earphones at any time when I am riding on the trails or streets. It is far too dangerous, I feel. I depend on my hearing to warn me of approaching vehicles.

So, if you are out running, jogging or even just a leisurely walk along bike trails, listen to your music, but don't put on noise cancelling headphones. Keep the volume low enough that you can still hear me and my ilk rolling along behind you.

Meditating Whle Riding

What a great addition to my life bicycle commuting has become. I haven't quite got some of the logistics worked out into a little easier method, but it's getting there. As I said a couple weeks ago after starting this habit, that it is a great way of both starting and ending the work day. The possibilities for new things to be seen and heard, new smells, the changes in the ride from day to day- they all make it an experience in mindfulness and meditation.


 Dr. Amit Sood, author of Training Your Brain, Engage Your Heart, Transform Your Life made a comment to a group of s a few weeks ago. Many of us in 21st Century United States have a difficult time doing "sitting" meditation. We are not necessarily made that way. Of course we can train to do so; many of us can and do show that. But that isn't the only way to become mindful and experience meditation.

Since hearing that from Dr. Sood, I have started utilizing some of my bike riding as a means of cultivating my mindfulness and meditative practices.

The first time was a few weeks ago on my long weekend ride. I started out with a significant uphill challenge as a strength and endurance building. As I struggled up the last part of the hill I heard myself telling me to head over to the Douglas Trail, a former rail bed without significant hills, to do some "mindful biking."

So I did. The ride on the trail took on a different rhythm and feel. It was a first.

Then last week I was heading home after work and realized that I was really working a lot harder than I had on other rides on the same trail by the river. Oh- there was a head wind. I got home and said to my wife, "Mindful riding is a lot more difficult with a headwind!"

Which was only partly true. What happened was that I had to switch what I was being mindful of. Suddenly my body was more important to monitor. I was exerting more. I had to pay attention to my switching gears to keep from exhausting myself. I had to watch the pace and really pay attention to my breathing. The mindfulness moved from the stuff around me to the stuff within me.

Then on another morning I left home knowing there was a chance of rain before I got to work. I wanted to ride; I didn't want the rain to keep me from it. (That's one of the logistics I'm still working on.) So I headed down the street toward the river watching the clouds, feeling the breeze, pedaling at a decent pace.

Heading down the river I found myself preoccupied with the weather. Will I make it? I rushed on. Then, just as I got to one of the bridges I ride under, the sound of pigeon wings taking off grabbed me. It broke through and I looked up in time to see the bird heading away from me and the trail.

I didn't realize the sound of one bird flying could be that loud.

It brought me back, mindful, of what was happening. Always something new or different to experience. How can one get bored in such a changing and diverse world?

No, I didn't quite make it ahead of the rain. But it was close.

I then had the pleasure of a tail wind on the way home in the afternoon that made up for the morning.

I am actually finding myself expectant each evening to what might be found on the ride the next day. A turtle on the side? New flowers blooming? The trash left on a spit of land by careless people fishing? Children swimming in the creek near the confluence with the river?

But always the pedaling and the water; the feel of the rolling wheels and rhythm of my legs and body moving forward.

Three Eagles

It has become a standard stop when I bicycle for fun in that direction. Saturday I came around the corner and then saw two eagles by the nest.

I crossed the street to get some pictures and looked a little to the left and down and I realized there was another eagle sitting there watching.

So I got one of all three.

A Gift of Morning Grace

I finally had the chance to ride my bike to work this past week, Tuesday and Thursday. That meant heading out the door around 6:10 in the morning for the slightly less than six-mile ride. It starts out on a quiet residential street, crosses a busy cross-town street, then winds through another residential neighborhood.

Then comes a better part. I cross the Zumbro River and coast south along the river on the bike trail. One more bridge along the main highway and back to the trail and the best part- several miles along the Cascade Creek. Heavenly.

Then the final leg along the streets to work.

At 6:30 in the morning the streets are pretty much left to the joggers, rabbits and cyclist. The river had its share of fishermen out for an early catch. The Creek was noisy with ripples and running water. The smell of lilacs and damp earth wafted in spots as the morning cool kept me focused and wide-awake.

It was a ride of mindful meditation. You don't have to sit and breathe in rhythm to meditate. In fact most of us are not all the good at that. But to get in the zone and pedal the morning calm with mindfulness and openness to what is happening around me was a great way to start the day.

The ride home was different, but no less exhilarating. More cars meant more fuel smell. More walkers and strolling with dogs. The temperature a bit warmer but I was on the way home so I didn't worry about the sweat. The Creek still set the tone for the ride. Nothing like running water in its natural environment to get the mental kinks from a day at work.

This, too, was a meditative ride with a different focus. Renewal in the afternoon was just as powerful as starting well in the morning. Over these months of developing my meditation and awareness, I didn't expect this.

But then again, if life were all about what we expect, think how boring that would be. To become aware and mindful can even turn commuting into a deepening time.

The Wonder of a Sunday Ride

Noteful thoughts of a June 2 Ride

The wonder of a Sunday bike ride
Rain has been the word of the spring.
I have a long three-day ride planned for my birthday in exactly 9 weeks.
Will I be ready to do 44 miles/day?


Today I did 28.6. Starting with hills. Up some good ones, down some and then back up.

I am in decent shape. It goes well.

After 6 miles of that I get on the trail- a rails-to-trails ride. The hills are gentle.

I continue to do well. I have a hunch that losing 16 pounds since mid-March has helped. It’s 16 pounds I’m not pedaling up the trail! Hopefully lose ten more in the next 9 weeks.

I hit the “Trail Closed” sign; but the bridgework has been stymied by the weather and is behind schedule. Trail NOT closed today. Keep moving.


Another few miles and there is a tree across the trail. Not difficult to cross, but I’m beginning to feel the ride. It’s 13+ miles and I still need to go back.

Turn around.

Saw some guys out searching for morel mushrooms. I stayed far away since I know how rabid morel mushroom hunters get in protecting their discoveries.

Kept on riding.

At the end, barely making it on easy small rises, but still skimming along the flats at speeds unheard of just a year ago.

One last decision- an extra two miles to check on the eagle’s nest along the river? Will it be worth it? It's just around the corner from home. Could walk it if needed.

First, though, I see a coyote. Yep, right here along the river and inhabited land. Couldn't get a picture. Moved too fast for my slowing body.

Easy answer to the "Should I have done this? Question- I come around the bend and have the nest in sight. The eagle is there. Stop for some pictures.

A great ending with 2 miles still to go. No, the eagle didn’t transfer any special energy or power. But what a ride.

Will I be ready in nine weeks? Why not! Just keep on keeping on.

Wet, Wet, and Then More Wet

We have been setting water-based records all "spring."

February 2013: 10th snowiest - 15.4"
March 2013: 3rd snowiest - 23.5"
April 2013: 2nd wettest - 6.79" of precipitation
May 2013: All-time snowiest - 14.5", All-time wettest - 8.63"
-KTTC Meteorologist Randy Brock

It hasn't quit. We had two sunny days on Thursday and Friday and now, well, it's back to the threat and chance and promise of rain and showers. For days and days with no seeming end until next weekend.

Fortunately I had Friday off for time exchange from last weekend. I enjoyed the day. Let's see:

• I sat outside and did some reading.
• I picked up my bike from its spring tune-up.
• I bought a new Weber gas grill.
• I sat outside and waited for the grill to be delivered.
• I got my bike ready to ride.
• I went for a 10 mile bike ride!!!!
• I got home and started heating up the grill for my first cook-out of the year.
• I mumbled when it started to sprinkle as I was about ready to start cooking.
• I finished cooking before it really started to rain.
• Enjoyed supper.

A lot of hours outside.

 

Then the rain came in.

Twelve Weeks to Go

It's twelve week from today I will ride through another milestone birthday. And like with the last milestone 5 years ago, I will be doing a bike ride. This time, as I have previously announced, it will be a Century Plus Ride. Actually, around 130 miles (2 for every year of my 65!)

I will, weather permitting (I may be aging but I'm not crazy!) ride over three days from Fergus Falls to St. Joseph, MN, along the Central Lakes Trail (Fergus Falls, and ends in the city of Osakis) and the Lake Wobegon Trail (Osakis to St. Joseph). I will add a little loop of the Soo Line Trail in order to make it 130+ miles AND to cross the Mississippi River.

I am in very good biking shape at the moment. So far this year on stationary and real bikes I have ridden over 350 miles. I am riding one way or the other at least 4 and usually 5 days per week. I am beginning to get excited.

Will keep you informed.

Soon! Please!!!

Douglas Trail, MN

May 17, 2011