Back from Florida, back on the bikes...

I got home from Florida about two weeks ago, and as usual, the weather followed me back. My work schedule plus the extreme temperatures (with the heat index topping off at 111ºF!) kept me off the bike for most of those two weeks, but never fear, I am back riding again.

Most of those rides were on a new single speed I got for riding around campus. (I'm going back to MSU, in case you didn't know! I can't remember if I mentioned it here...) The decision to get a single speed was based on several factors, but mostly I just wanted a simple bike to get me around the flat town of East Lansing. It goes against my morals to clod around on a 40 pound mountain bike from Walmart, so for about only $50 more I bought the cheapest bike on Nashbar and put it together myself.

No bike of mine is complete without some pink, so I threw on some hot pink Oury grips and called it a day. (I also tore off the cheap houndstooth stickers that came on it.) The whole thing, complete with fancy-pants grips, cost me $213. I think it's a pretty decent bike for being pretty cheap. There are more tweaks I want to do (like getting a seatpost and saddle for it that don't suck), but all that can wait.

I'm in a minor dilemma about the pedals. For a campus bike, platform is okay, and maybe preferable. I hate riding without clipless pedals, but I don't want to come back from class and realize my means of putting power to the cranks has been stolen. I've been thinking about throwing some toe clips on there, but I dunno. Worth it? I also figure, if I want to take it to the track, I can just put my spare set of Speedplays on it. (That's another thing I like about this bike—flip the rear wheel and throw on some drop bars...boom, super cheap track bike.) Speaking of the track...

I'm officially digging it. Had my first track experience today, and it was awesome! It's been a while since I've had that much fun on a bike. I can't wait to go back.

There was one small hitch: about halfway through when we were doing some paceline exercises, all of a sudden I noticed my right pedal didn't feel quite...right. I promptly moved off the track and onto the infield, only to discover my pedal was hanging on by a thread. Literally, one thread. The rest were stripped out.

I believe the appropriate reaction is "EEP!"

After a quick swap, I was off riding again. I find myself wondering why I didn't try it before, especially since my boyfriend (who I've occasionally mentioned on this blog as TrainerDan™) started prodding me to give it a try over a year ago. What can I say? I may be late to the party, but I'm glad I'm here.

Ore to Shore...

I finished!

Actually, I did more than just finish. I didn't crash, I didn't cause any crashes, and I didn't come in last. I finished at 2:34, which was good for 16th in my age division, and 197 overall for women. My pace was pretty slow at 10.9 mph, but hey, I can't complain. It was my first race, and I seriously slacked on my training plan. Hopefully next year I'll actually stick to my training regimen and go faster. I was kind of nervous about the mass start with almost a thousand people (967 people finished the Soft Rock race), but I finished uninjured, and I beat a lot of people, too!

Okay, so I did fall once. In the first sand pit somebody cut me off, and I fell into the sand...but I can't call this a crash, since I didn't run into anything, or take anyone out, and the sand was actually quite fluffy. It was kind of like falling into a pillow. But I learned my lesson and was really careful about each of the following sand pits...and there were a ton of them. No amount of training in sand could've prepared me for the soupy pits which were surprisingly reminiscent of quicksand.

There was really only one mishap the entire race: while I was pushing my bike, some woman climbing Kirby's Hill fell into me when her tires stopped spinning. I'm okay, but my rear wheel is now seriously out of true and I need to get that fixed. I'm just thankful it happened in the last few miles of the race.

Rolling out on pavement: the only photo my mother got of me actually on the bike

A few revelations:

1. Being serious about training might actually be a good idea next year. My last long-ish offroad ride was 24 miles of the North Country Trail in June with an average pace of about 13mph, so I actually got slower as the season went on. Shame on me.
2. My bike is great at descending. People were pedaling their asses off downhill, and I cruised by them coasting. I know I'm not that aerodynamic, so props to you, Gary Fisher!
3. I brought way too much water. My camelbak was still half full when I went through the finish. Actually, it might be time to invest in a smaller, lighter-weight pack for racing.
4. Never trust people when they say a race is "practically all downhill." I heard that a lot about Ore to Shore, but don't let anyone fool you, there was a LOT of uphill in this course, especially early on.
5. Damn, this racing stuff is FUN!

Mountain biking is like drinking

For me, mountain biking is like drinking. I may start out kind of slow, but as I get faster I get overconfident. When things speed up, I get cocky and become sure that I can handle that next sweeping descent/shot of tequila. I think I can slam that rock garden/pint of beer with no consequences. And then I crash. In short—I don't really know my limits.

Yesterday was one of those days. Rode Pontiac Lake and had an awesome time. That trail totally kicked my ass—literally. I wiped out once and I'm pretty sure it's going to have some bruises. Other than that I didn't crash too hard though—no cuts, no scrapes, just a broken pair of glasses to show for it. Had an awesome time on the climbs (which I'm beginning to think is my forte) and I'm starting to get a lot more comfortable with steep, rocky descents...even if one did happen to bring me down.

Also, I'm beginning to re-evaluate my relationship with rocks. I guess they're not half-bad when they're not loosely nestled in a giant pile. In fact, when they're rooted pretty solidly in the ground they're downright fun.

My favorite climb, very twisty and steep.

[I swear it was a lot steeper than it looks in the picture!]

This was a fast, fun section...

This post would not be complete with documentation of the damage.

[Except not really damage, because the only things I maimed were my glasses and my ego.]

The north part of the park was a little too intense for my current skill set with its crazy switchbacks (I believe this is known as "the chute"?) and the ridiculous climb that follows it, but otherwise I found it to be a great trail with a nice variety in terrain. I definitely surprised myself on the climbs and it was a great change of pace from the flat landscape Lansing offers.

It was a great way to spend [possibly] the last day of outdoor riding this season, because today the snow started flying. I only wish I could've taken another lap around the park. Next time I'm bringing a spare set of specs.

Oh, and in case you were waiting for my decision regarding the last post: Ore to Shore won out.

Who needs luck?

un•luck•y

adj. un·luck·i·er, un·luck·i·est

1. Subjected to or marked by misfortune.
2. Resulting or likely to result in misfortune; inauspicious.
3. Not producing the desired outcome; disappointing.

Sometimes, it would be nice to be a lucky person, but I'm not, and I deal with that. It doesn't help that I'm also clumsy and have a very high pain tolerance (which leads to recklessness and/or not noticing I've been injured). In the last two weeks, I succumbed to a series of falls that have left me bloody, bruised, and now scabby. But my misadventures don't always leave me broken, sometimes they have ill effects on my bike instead. Today, a mere 5-6 miles out my door, my chain broke during a sprint. No, that's not right, it didn't break: it was eaten. Chewed up and spit out by my chainring.

So tomorrow (Black Friday) after my 3:30am shift at a big box retail store, I will hoof it to the bike shop. Hopefully the answer will be as simple as a defective chain and I'll be good to go. But in the mean time, seeing as it is Thanksgiving, I think I should list what I'm thankful for.

1. My mom. Without her, I would've had to hike it back to the house in 38°F misty rain today. Instead, she came and picked me up in her SUV. [Plus, it was sort of like having a team car, which was kind of cool.] Oh—she's also the best mom ever. I should probably point that out, too.
2. My cycling friends. I owe a lot of how far I've come this year to you guys. Seriously.
3. My coworkers. You make working in a retail toilet tolerable. Thank you.
4. My legs. I love them, and somehow no matter how much I cut/scrape/bruise/otherwise maim them, they are always ready for more pedaling.
5. Having a trainer instead of rollers. Seriously, I don't even want to think about how much trouble I'd be on rollers.

I may or may not think of more things I'm thankful for (there are many), but this is all my mind can come up with at the moment in its turkey-induced coma.