2009 cycling blog

The CR1Pro was my utility vehicle today. In the bleak, darkness of last night my alternator gave its last gasp and rolled over and died leaving me stranded in the wilds of West Cobb. Luckily for me I was able to limp my Ford Ranger to the Racetrac where I was to leave it for the night. From the Racetrac, it was 4.18 miles to my house to complete my journey; I elected to go by foot rather than making as late night call for a ride and after an hour of running and walking I was safe at home. Since my plan this morning was bicycle to my Ranger, then Walmart for a battery, then back to my Ranger and attempt a resurection, I aired up the CR1Pro to 110 psi, not my regular 120 psi. Although my Mavic Ksyrium Elites are pretty much bullit proof, with the additional battery weight of about thirty pounds in my backpack, I didn't want to overburden my wheels and tires with high air pressure. The ride to the Racetrac was very enjoyable, it would have been a great day to just contin...

Although this route always has riders on it, Thursday is the big ride day.  As with previous Thursday rides, I rolled out ahead of the main pack...those guys are too fast for me. Rolling out ahead of the pack leaves me constantly thinking of someone behind me, sizing me up to be overtaken.  I've had the fast pack overtake me before and it's not fun.  I was wondering IF, WHEN and WHERE they may catch me.  I saw many riders riding in the opposite direction, heading toward the start or toward the pack with plans to catch on as they came by.  I thought with my head start, they should catch me near the end and I should be able to catch on for a fast pull for maybe the last few miles.  Also in my thoughts were the ominous, grey clouds that looked to dump buckets of rain on me at any time.  By mile eight,  I was also overtaken by a solo rider.  He rode by, said hello and I jumped on his wheel for a little pull.  He was a big fella ridin...

Rode out from my house to the Silver Comet trail.  10 miles to the trail, 22 miles on the trail then Old Lost Mountain Road to my Tour de W. Cobb route.   For the most part, I was pretty much just seeking some saddle time.  I like the comet because there are other riders to watch, other people watching opportunities and because it's flat, there is no rest, you have to keep your crank turning all the time. Once off the Comet and onto Old Lost Mountain Road, I came across a few Garage Sales.  I wheeled into a few of them but didn't see anything that I just couldn't live with out but enjoyed the diversions.    I started this ride in the early morning and with a chill in the air, I dressed accordingly with wind pants, shoe covers and long sleeve undershirt and long sleeve jersey.  At this point in the ride I was ok but as the ride wore on, it got warmer and I could feel the sweat under my layers. I took a diversion off my normal route from Mars Hill Road to Hancock Road which r...

Well, Tiger putted out on 18 so I thought...now I ride. I had a hard time getting going today and rolled out at 5:30 pm.  There were other rides I could have joined this morning and enjoyed that "group ride thing" but, hey, some people have stuff that has to be done and I had many chores today. So how was the ride?  Well, pretty ordinary, same as many other rides on this route.   This ride did feature a new piece of gear...I recently installed one of those light weight inner tubes on my rear wheel.  In the bike shop I could tell the difference in weight between the regular tube and the light weight model.  I remember someone telling me about reducing the weight of rolling mass, something about resistance  Anyway, this is supposed to make me ride better...who knows. I tried to maintain a steady pace and was doing pretty well at 17.2 mph through Mars Hill Rd. and onto Stillesboro but those hills on Stillsboro took a toll on me and the pace dropped. Rolled in with a 16.5 mph avg...

Sports fans it's been a while but for most of Feb and Mar the weather wasn't quite right and along with flu symptoms, I just didn't get much riding in.  Since my last entry and before today there have been four other rides.  Once again, I  find myself trying to get in shape. And no place better than riding the Buckhead Bellyache! This ride is one hill after another through some of the nicest, extremely monied neighborhoods of Atlanta.  For the most part the hills are short, sometimes steep but nothing really strenuous except Cumberland Parkway, imho.   Unfortunately  my  pre- ride activity was more telling than the ride.  I was starting to unload and found my rear tire flat.  Thinking that by sitting in the sun all day my fully pumped up tire just exploded, I quickly pulled the wheel and stuffed a new tube in the tire w/o checking for a possible nail, glass, etc.  still stuck in the tire.  Just before I started to pump it up, my hand ran across something sharp.  A closer...

This was a great experience for me on the bike. Hopefully, this blog will motivate me to ride more and more rides equal more posts.  I hope to have more experiences like this in 2009. The climb up Burchalter Gap was the hardest climbing I've ever done.  The city of Chattanooga opened their arms to the cyclist and treated us like honored guests, even closing the roads for cyclists only.