Bike Chain clock

I want one. But it is a little out of my price range. I can't justify spending $2,338 on a clock that is going to take 12-16 weeks to be delivered, even if it is powered by George Clooney's smug.

click the picture for the product site

Got some tights ordered for winter

I ordered some tights for cold weather riding today from Nashbar. I can't wait to try them on and strut around the house and office.

2 Days of Going Around Lake Hefner

I went around Hefner Monday and today. Nothing special except the wind is next to nothing which is ultra rare in Oklahoma. But there was one note, there was a guy both days riding his bike that I noticed. Okay, cool. You saw the same person twice. They are probably just trying to get some exercise in and go the same time everyday. I wouldn't think anything of it except this guy had a full arm cast on his right arm. Seriously? I have a hard enough time staying upright as is. This guy is nuttier than squirrel shit. Tough guy. If I have a full arm cast I'm fishing. And by fishing I mean sitting on a shoreline drinking a beer.

Cheers,

What I need to build in my backyard

Just thinking about trail design gets my head filled with so many ideas. Some are awesome (Wife would hate it, too dangerous, too expensive, etc) and some are REALLY awesome. I want to put a half pipe in my backyard. But, I don't really have the room and the spot that I could put it in has a good portion of a garden already in the way. I've always seen half pipes, but they have been for skateboarders so the surface has to be really smooth for those little wheels. MTB half pipes can have a little ruggedness to them. I saw this one on Progressive Trail Design that made me think that I could build it. I've seen enough Built to Shred that I think I could build it. :)

I also want to build some technical things around my backyard just for balance practice. I know at Draper (dangit I need to go out there more) that there are logs to ride along. I want to build an elevated path around a tree in my backyard like this one.

Better start working on my brownie points and honey-do's.

Cheers,

Where would I put a MTB course?

There are discussions almost constantly (in my head) about where it would be awesome for a mountain bike (MTB) course would go. You can't just say, "The whole world should be a MTB course" because we all know that would just be too awesome and can't be your answer. But when I'm going places I look around and say to myself, "Self. That would be a great spot for a drop in." Or, "Self. There is nothing under that elevated freeway there needs to be a park there like the one in Seattle." So here is a list of a couple places that I thought we great places. They may not be feasible, safe, or easily accessible but I think it would be cool if they were there. (No particular order, but craziest one first)

1) Airport MTB Park

Like I said, crazy comes first.  I've put 4 markers on the map above (A,B,C&D) for possible locations.  I live in Mustang and used to drive by the airport all the time on my way to OKCCC taking either Airport Rd or SW 89th St. NONE of these spots are probably considerable due to airport security.  They would hate for a bunch of cyclists to be lounging around outside the airport.  Also, it would give planespotters a parking lot to fill, which airport security would hate even more.

A)  Inside Airport Fence - completely undo-able. But there are some great natural hills in that spot.  If you are ever driving by make sure you take a look.

B)  On the south side of 89th St would be awesome.  There is NOTHING THERE!!!  No one would complain about a MTB course because there is nothing there to start with.  There is probably some sort of ordinance keeping a building from going in due to air traffic control, but a MTB course wouldn't be permanent or high enough to tick on an airplane pilot.  Just watch out for pilots with an unusually low glide slope.
C)  More hills and trees.  I think it is a piece of government land.  It is across the street from the federal transfer center.  So... yeah.

D)  Everything from just south of 59th St to 89th St has virtually nothing.  There is a post office facility up by 59th st but that is it.  Imagine the course that you could put in with that much area.


2) Old Paintball field site

Someone on the OEF Forum mentioned the old paintball field off of 10th st. I think that would be an awesome idea! I've never played or walked around the area, but I've past it a ton of times when I ride around Overholser on my road bike.

3) Interstate 44

Whenever my wife needs to go to the Mall I cringe and die a little inside. It is painful to walk around for 2 hours while she looks at all kinds of things that cost WAY more than they should and at any moment she could want to buy one of them. But, I always look under I-44 and picture a MTB course. There are two man reasons why one should be put there:
a) no parking
b) falling cement from our fine roads
Either way I still see it in my head each time I drive by.

4) Mustang

The Mustang Park is a 1/2 mile by 1/2 mile of mixed use community stuff. I've drawn the Multi-Use Paved Trail in orange. Also, I drew some blue lines to show were the existing creek is also located. Softball fields and soccer fields take up a great deal of the plot but for good reason, they get used. I've put two markers on the map to illustrate where I think a park could go. I know that it would get highly used by the BMX crowd.

An empty lot across from my neighborhood recently had several dump truck loads of dirt deposited for temporary storage. The local kids took this opportunity to takes shovels and build a really great 8 foot jumps out of three enormous piles. I'm afraid to jump them. There was a small army of kids out there. At one time probably 20+ kids building and working. I know that BMX is big in the area because there is a park up in Yukon. But Yukon is a little far away when you can't get proper transportation. So if there were a park in Mustang it would get heavy use regardless of its size.

A) This area is along a creek that runs N/S. You would have to have some sort of bridge to go over the multipurpose trail that is parallel to the creek. Some sort of very tall bridge would be required (Cost is immediately going up). This spot is not going to be seen by drivers on Mustang Rd and would not be an eye-sore.

B) This spot is at the top of a very long hill that drops to the West. There are a couple groups of trees and you could REALLY do a lot of good between the "B" and the loop to the direct West. This spot is easily seen from 59th St and some citizens would consider it an eye-sore.

All of this of this course would only be a 2 minute bike ride from my house.

Cheers,

Lake Hefner

I went around Lake Hefner on Monday. My mountain bike was fixed (at no charge) from Wheeler Dealer. But there was no wind. Do you know what that means to road biking in Oklahoma?!?!? GET OUTSIDE NOW!!! WE'RE DOING 50!!!

Well, in a lunch hour I still have yet to do 50 miles. So instead I did 14 and did a lap around Hefner. Here is a snapshot from the lake.

Also, this was the first time that I actually rode around the lake with the speedometer. Time sucked and I could still not keep a great speed. But from the office, around the lake and back is exactly 14 miles.

Cheers,

Inner City Bike

The Inner City Bike is a really compact bike dealing with parking space issues. Seriously? That is your problem? Not in Oklahoma. We have all the space you need. I've had up to three or four bikes in my office alone. Not to mention the 6 other guys in the office that have had their bikes here as well. Neat concept though. The seat is questionably the same shape as my butt. :P

Results of Route #019

I start out my track at 50th and May.  I headed east this time.  Last time I rounded Britton and 63 I did a clockwise circle.  But I did an extra 2 miles, unplanned of course. 

Instead of going North on Kelley I went to Eastern.  When I got to the intersection of 63rd and Kelley it did not look familiar, so I thought I must have taken Eastern last time.  I was wrong.  I got to Eastern and it was 4 lanes and 50 MPH.  The traffic was light to non-existent, but not where I went last time.  I took some pictures out at Eastern and Britton.  Then some more pictures along Lake Hefner.  I'll post them as soon as I remember the camera USB cable. 

Time?  Too long to post.  Let's just say, I haven't been on my road bike in over two months, there was lots of head wind, yadda yadda yadda.  So this route took me some time.  (1:29 minutes)  :(

23.5 miles if you go out to Eastern instead of Kelley is what my odometer read. 

Tomorrow I may run Bluff Creek.  My mountain bike is at Wheeler Dealer.  The front and rear derailleurs are loosing the chain.  The front derailleur loses the chain to the inside.  My rear derailleur kicked the chain off and it was hung up on the frame and axle.  My guess is the tension in the rear derailleur is allowing the chain to come off too easy.  I'll ask the experts when I pick it up. 

Cheers, 

Route #019

Route #019
I've got no bloody idea how long this is gonna be...
2.5 to the lake from the office
7.5 around most of the lake
4.5 to Kelly Ave
2 to 63rd St
3.5 to Villa
1 to 50th
1 to Office

Roughly 22 miles roundtrip.

Whoohoo!

This will possibly be the route for Thursday instead of just going around the lake and back.  We shall see how I feel tomorrow.

The map is courtesy of Google Maps.  I've been using MapQuest since I started the blog in July 2008 but I do not like the new color scheme they decided to use.

Cheers,

Passing of the Trophy

I got out today with some co-workers to Bluff Creek.  We went earlier than planned.  But it was a great day.  Man, I needed to skip work and go back our there or to NuDraper.  But, work was calling and also my front and rear derailleurs are losing the chain at inopportune times in the ride.   But, I did get to pass the trophy off today.  One of my co-workers crashed on one of the downhills at Bluff Creek.  There is a sandy downhill section that bobs and weaves left and right.  Near the bottom there is a tree root that you can either go over and down quite a drop or around down a less steep section.  This section is a couple hundred yards before "Big Stupid" along the creek by the apartments.  Well, he went head first over the root and landed on his shoulder. That qualifies for the trophy.

:)

Cheers,

4 days of riding planned

I have four days or riding planned, now let's see how well my execution is after being away so much. 

Tuesday - 11:15 - Bluff Creek
Wednesday - 4:15 - Bluff Creek
Thursday - 11:15 - Lake Hefner (Road biking before winter hits)
Friday - 4:15 - Bluff Creek

My office buddies are probably going to make it Wednesday and Friday.  Thursday will either be Lake Hefner or something like Route #018.  It all depends if any office buddies feel like road biking.  Wish my bike seat luck!

Cheers,

Where have I been?

I was out for 5 weeks. 5 WEEKS!!!

Food poisoning, bronchitis, swine flu, flu-like symptoms, etc. If I didn't have something one of my kids did. That meant I couldn't go to work or the gym without a chance of me possibly spreading disease. I have been at home for too long. In the last two weeks I finally got to go to the gym a couple times. It has been very... spiritual.

With the turn of this lovely weather it looks like I missed the last of the good weather riding days for the year. If there are a couple in November I'll do my best to jump out on the street and ride. I'm doing my best of course not to get sick. When you've got little kids it is horrible when you get sick and they catch whatever it is you had.

The blog might be a bit quiet for a couple months. If I find anything of interest it will of course get posted, not that any one reads this, because I use it as a personal reference for biking related topics.

Cheers,

3 Days of Bluff Creek

I've gone to the Bluffs for the last three days @ lunch. I am trying to get as much riding in as possible since I feel the weather changing. One other thing that has changed is that I took the cage pedals off of my bike and put standard pedals. The idea is that I can get off the pedal faster and put a foot down to prevent some of these crashes I've been having. So the last three days have been with regular pedals. Monday really shook my confidence. My feet bounced of the pedals a couple of times and I was really taking it easy. I realized that my positioning was really advanced. Not that I'm technical, but I referring to that I lean forward pretty hard. Now I'm probably more balanced and centered on the bike like I need to be. Tuesday was my best ride. I think I went the fastest and attempted the most jumps and more "technical" roots. Tomorrow I'm taking a break from the Bluffs. I think I'll ride around the lake.

Cheers,

Constant Riding

It is the time of year when you realize that winter is coming. You NEED to ride as much as possible before you are confined to sitting indoors looking out the window and wishing it were 100 degree rather than 30 degrees and icy.

Last week was a bad week for me personally. I had various sick days and didn't excersize for an entire week. By weekend I felt quite pudgy. Little bit doughboy-ish. hehehehe.

I went to the Bluff Creek trail yesterday. I'm going again today at lunch. Look for a white Ford pickup, ugly guy and green Specialized Rockhopper. But everyday that I can ride a mountain bike or road bike I am going to rather than go to the gym. I've been trying to do 1/2 gym 1/2 biking the last month. But this change in the weather has me realize that in another couple months it will be all gym and no biking. I don't want to get burnt out on the gym before winter even starts.

Cheers,

The weather sucks

I know that I shouldn't complain about the weather. You can ride your bike in anything as long as you have proper clothes, shower, and/or attitude. But it has rained so much that I've barely gotten to do anything in the last month as far as cycling goes. I'm really bummed out because I've done nothing but go to the gym. I I really do not want to get burned out on going to the gym when winter is just around the corner. I hope we get a good couple months of cool weather, leaves changing, dry trails and ample opportunities.

Roman Nose

It took a year and two trips to Roman Nose State Park before I road the trail. The first trip out the wife did NOT want me to ride the trail by myself. I can understand. Our daughter was a couple months old, my son was 2 and there is no cell phone coverage. So if I broke my leg I would have to military crawl my butt back the several miles back to camp.

This year everyone is a year older. I've ridden a bit more and was a bit more pressing about going. Plus I'd ridden all over Manitou Springs, CO all by myself. And Manitou Springs is a bit more challenging than Watonga, OK, right?

Roman Nose is a GREAT trail. Go there. Even if it is just a morning trip. Take a whole weekend and ride the trail in different directions. It is a great trip. But I am definitely going to make some changes to my bike before going back.

1. Knobby tires - I've got the factory tires on my bike still. After 2 years, they are nearly road tires.
2. Platform pedals - I'm ditching clips or shoe covers. I fell because I wasn't able to put my foot on the ground and push rather than something like going over the handle bars.

Cheers,

Extreme Folding Bike

Inventor's Bike Folds Into Its Own Wheel

"A student has designed a bike which can be folded completely into the space of the wheel's 26in circumference."

My back wheel is a 4()(k#(@ liar!!!!

My rear wheel tells many a tale. Most of which are about the roads in OKC. Everyone that has been outside of Oklahoma knows that our highway system sucks. Our roads are just bumpier than any other state that I've been to. I can say this because I've lived in Oklahoma, Colorado, Arizona and Florida. I've driven back and forth between Oklahoma and Georgia many a times. I've even pulled a 31' camper from Oklahoma to Colorado and back behind a GMC Yukon. I've driven on the island of Grand Cayman in a 3 cylinder Chevy rental car. I've raced drivers in San Jose and San Diego in my sister's Dodge Durango. Oklahoma roads need help. I can attest to this, I've ridden a bike with tires an inch in diameter across a lot of NW OKC. A pothole made me go over my handlebars once. I dodge "cracks" in the road for fear of falling into a cavernous pit. But to not go off into too much of a tangent...

My rear wheel on my road bike is getting trued up again. This is where the wheel does not spin perfect on your rear axle. Usually every rotation your wheel might rub against your break. This is the second time in 8 months that I've had to have my wheel corrected. My dad's old road bike that I was riding last summer needed the same thing before I retired it. So let's say 3 times in the period of one year. That is how bad the city streets treat my rump and wheel.

So when I say my back wheel is a liar. It is because it constantly has to be trued. Because only liars need to consistently need to be corrected. That and politicians.

----

FYI... $15 to true my back wheel @ Wheeler Dealer

Route # 018

I think I'm up to route #018. I'm calling it that either way. I went up around and did 13-14 miles today of city streets. I saw a lot of tiny little stores that I had no idea that existed. For instance, up on Britton there is a little Thai place I want to stop at. Also, before or after the railroad tracks on Britton there is a model train store that my son would absolutely love to go into. (I can tell him 100 times that we aren't going to buy anything but he will of course win that argument.)

From Kelly and Britton you can barely see the New York Life Building on NW Expressway. I always forget to take a camera with me. I always have some sort of picture opportunity. (Well. A picture I'd appreciate.) I still want a picture of my office from way up on the Lake Hefner dam.

I went North and then East on the route. That was very fast! Stop lights were in my favor that whole way. Also, your subconscience takes over your body when you are doing a lot of city pedalling. You think you can keep up with these cars that are doing 30+ MPH. You learn after the half way point that you were a dammed idiot to try.

Once I dropped South to 63rd St it seemed that I had to wait an eternity for each stop light. Also, there were some awesome hills on 63rd st. I've gotta try the route again in the reverse direction.

Cheers,

Why haven't I installed my odometer on my road bike?

I still haven't figured out myself why I haven't installed the odometer on my road bike. I took it off of my mountain bike maybe 6 months ago. I wonder if it is because I don't really want to know how slow, err.., blazing fast I'm going. I can guestimate mileage. That is good enough for me I suppose.

I wonder if I just don't want to know. I enjoy cycling. If I start logging data too much I won't enjoy it any more. I guess that also explains my workout routine. THERE ISN'T ONE! I try and hit the gym a couple times a week, pedal a couple times a week or take the mountain bike to the trail. Each day I have no idea whether I'm going to lift weights or try a different route. I guess that is the strange reason I've kept this routine the last year. I'm in a heck of a lot better shape than I was a year ago. Odd as it seems. I think I'll keep the odometer off the bike. I'm not a professional and do not plan on being one. (My kids won't let me!) Even if I do a century or another even I'll leave it off. I'll just pedal until I cross a finish line or fall down crying in agony and pretend I have a flat tire.

Cheers,

RIP MP3 player... almost

It is a day of almosts! I almost hit a pigeon and my MP3 player almost died. It had a seizure on the way back to the office today. Buttons where having spasms, I couldn't get it to play music, it went into hyper drive when trying to toggle between menus. Overall, I was quite scared that it was going to turn into a demon and try to eat my hand.



Thankfully, I got back to the office, let it dry out and it started working again.

I need to get one of those sleeves I can put it in to keep some of the sweat, blood and tears off of it.

Cheers,

Pigeon this time...

No I didn't hit one! But I got really, really close on several occasions today. It was freakin' gorgeous out today and I saw nearly no one on the Lake Hefner trail today. Low wind, low water, low numbers...



Cheers,

Squirrel Hunting

I've thought about it many times while riding on the Bluff Creek mountain bike trail. Will I ever hit a squirrel or a cute little bunny rabbit. Well, I nailed a squirrel last Tuesday.

For the record, I felt bad.

I was coming around a slow arch of a corner but it is a quick one being mostly downhill. The poor guy must have been startled by the rapidly approaching noise. Well he ran beside me on the trail until my unbiased tire ran over him.

I did not try to hit the squirrel! I do not want to kill squirrels. I do not think they would be "good eatin'".

The little guy knocked me down. It was the first day that I was also trying the clip in pedals on my mountain bike so I went down and landed on my side. I got up, brushed myself off and went back to check on the little dude. He was no where to be seen. I'm pretty sure at this point he was having a BAD day.

Later, I was attacked by his cousin. His cousin tried a similar tactic and tried to run me off the trail into a tree. Thankfully he scurried away when I yelled like a sissy girl at him.

I thought this was a crazy enough day at this point. I finished the trail and headed to the truck. But the trail leading back to the parking lot had a gang of squirrels waiting, ready to ambush me. (By gang, I mean two) I breathed in deep and gave out a war cry that thwarted the squirrel's plan of putting some cement around my ankles. They scattered and I safely made it to my truck.

Cheers,

Planumrotundumphobia

Figure out what the title means? I can't lay fame to figuring it out either. I read it in Rider Magazine, a motorcycle magazine. Not to be confused with Easy Rider which has pictures of ladies with low self esteem or large ... postures.

Planumrotundumphobia is a fear of a flat tire. I think I have it. I hate having to jog my bike back to the office from 3 miles away. (Done it) Having to jog the bike back to the truck from the middle of the mountain bike course. (Done it) I hate having buddies leave me behind when no one has a spare and jogging a couple miles before they make it back to the truck and come back to pick me up. (Yeah. That one too)

I carry two tubes and a pump with me every time I ride. My wife picked up my backpack and blurted out, "Geez! You ride with this thing?" I think she was talking about the weight and not its fashionability.

What do I carry?

- 2 tubes
- small pump
- flat tire repair tool
- multi tool
- 9/16" wrench - for my pedals in case they get loose
- screwdriver w/ multiple ends - multi tool just isn't enough for me
- extra chain link - I broke a chain on a bike less than a year old

All of that doesn't even include: Wallet, cell phone, keys, and camelback. But dangit! I can make it back under my own power! If not, that is what the cell phone is there for.

Cheers,

Anybody wanna make me a t-shirt?

This is completely off-topic. But during a typical work day I scribbled a drawing while waiting on my incredibly slow computer. If anyone can put it on a t-shirt let me know. Mind you... this was random drawing over several hours of work.




Cheers,

Crap it's hot out!

I need to go back through my posts and see which day in February I rode that was the coldest. I bet it was in the low 50's. I don't think I rode in 40 something degree weather. But today marks the hotest temperatures I've riden in: 96 with a heat index of 98. I went around the lake on this windless day. I better get used to it, too.



Anything of interest?

- Still a good number of cyclists
- significant drop in number of runners
- way more people roller blading

Would I do it again?

Probably will this Thursday.

Cheers,

MS-150 results

The trip to Texas for the MS-150 was awesome! I had a great time and it was a very fun and memorable trip.

The plan was for my buddy Marcin and I to go to Texas Friday and meet up at various stops Saturday and Sunday during the race. Then drive back Sunday night. My coworker Peter was going to be pedalling with me. Marcin and I got down to Texas no problem. Ate some pizza with Peter and crashed very late but ready for a full weekend.

The first day was from Frisco to the Texas Motorspeedway. Roughly 85 miles. The day went off without a hitch. The day was completely overcast the whole day; Low to no wind; cool air; sprinkled for 1/2 an hour; no sun-burn :); no dehydration possible; no broken chain; no flat tires.

Lunch stop:

A parking lot completely full of bicycles. This picture does not do justice to the shear amount of bikes present. This is the way the world needs to look. :)




I really did not take enough pictures. I just soaked in all that was going on around me.

Me on the Lake Lewisville Dam:


Me chasing Peter on the Dam:


The first day went great. We finished around 1:45 in the afternoon. I'd have to check with Peter on times and speed. We didn't do a back breaking pace for two reasons:
1. I've never gone farther than 32 miles!
2. We still had to pedal Sunday!

Right as we crossed the line the first day it started to hail. I'm not kidding. It started 2 minutes past the line. We walk to my truck, load up two sweaty guys and Marcin and head to the hotel.

Well, we got rained out for Sunday. They cancelled it Saturday night. It was still too late for me to drive home safely and I'd already paid for the hotel so we stayed in Fort Worth that night. The rain must have been pretty bad, it knocked out the satelite television in the bar in the hotel. I made everyone move so I could take the picture of course.



FAIL!!!!

Marcin and I made it back to OKC safely. Thanks for all the support everyone! I look forward to the Tulsa to OKC ride I hope to do in 2010.

Cheers,

Tour de Houston

I recently went to Houston on a business trip. I borrowed a bicycle from a co-worker rather than get a rental car. Also, there is a townhouse that I was allowed to stay in. I was given some routes from my buddy to take to and from the office. I think I found a better route than he gave me. :)

Where all did I go? I went all over in the few hours I had in the saddle. Here is a smashed up map (roads taken highlighted in red):



Route #1 - preferred route by my buddy
- From Townhouse to Office: Washington out of Downtown and work your way down Shephard, Kirby and what not till you hit the office. .
- Not bad. Seems kind of out of the way. Also, I do not like taking Sheperd across the Buffalo Bayou. High traffic and some high speeds.

Route #2 - straightest route from my buddy - AKA suicide route by my own recollection
- Take Fannin St out of downtown to the Richmond and Richmond to the office
- I nearly got taken out by several buses along Fannin... not a suggested route

Route #3 - My ROUTE! Safest and best scenary
- (From Townhouse) Runnels St to Hamilton, to Commerce to La Branch
- Take La Branch to Polk to Dallas
- You will take Dallas all the way till it turns into Chilton.
- Take Inwood all the way to Larchmont and head south.
- At Westhiemer you will zig-zah a little to Edloe

Hope for Bryden

Bryden is a special little boy that needs a lot of help. My wife and I are commiting to help raise money for medical treatment for this little guy. We haven't hashed out all the details but it will involve some bike rides. Watch for details.

Cheers,

Birthday Shopping Results

Hello,

The wife surprised me with a big ole gift card to Wheeler Dealer. So I got to go get more stuff for the ride in 10 days. What did I get? A helmet that is more for road biking, some shoes with the clips on the bottom, and and extra master link for my chain.

Shoes:

The shoes I bought were the Sonoma's by Specialized.

So right now I'm going up and down the hallways in my office falling of my bike with my feet stuck to the pedals.

Helmet:


Nothing fancy, but it is more of the road bike shape and supposed to "breathe" better. My other helmet is more for mountain biking. So I guess the mountain biking helmet is... well I guess can take a harder hit?

I've got a week and a half to get used to getting in and out of these pedals. This'll be fun! Lots of good bruises so it looks like I'm a serious dude!

Cheers,

Tracking Rides - 3rd week of April

I haven't posted my daily rides last week. So here is just an overall update.

Tuesday: Around Lake Hefner w/a buddy
Wednesday: Two Lakes - broke chain nearby Al's Bicycles (Thanks Al's for being open!)
Thursday: Pedalled to they gym, worked out, pedalled back.
Friday: Ran the Bluff Creek trail with a different buddy

It was a good week. My road bike ghost shifted a lot (shifted gears unintentionally) before breaking the chain master link. Hopefully fixing the chain will alleviate the problem.

Cheers,

Tracking rides

Just tracking what I've ridden recently. Last week had some beautiful weather. I took two days and went to the Bluff's (Tuesday and Wednesday). Thursday I did the Two Lakes route with a small edit. So, 8 miles of mountain biking and 20+ of road biking. I wish I could do that as a minimum every week.

Cheers,

There are some crazy people out there...

I ride at lunch. A two hour ride to me is a good long ride. I'd love to take longer ones but I just don't have the time. I was reading today about some longer races. We've all heard about the 'Tour de' something or other in a baquette eating country. What is in the US? I watched a couple of the events during the Tour of California. That looked really cool. It made me want to take off for a month and go peddle through a scenic state. I've found one crazy dang race out there, the Race Across America. It surprised me at first. "Who in their right mind...?!?!?" But then I got to thinking about it. It sounds like a great vacation for two months.

I wandered around the net for a bit longer and came across some records on the UMCA's website. There are records for going North to South and South to North in Oklahoma but no East to West or West to East. Why not? Who knows? Probably because North/South is 230 miles while East/West is over 300. Here is the route I would take if I was going to go East/West. (Panhandle excluded. I've been there. Don't wanna go back.)



Cheers,

Ran the Bluffs

Hello all,

I got out and ran the Bluff Creek trail today. (yes, I was on foot. This goes against the idea of the blog, but it's my blog. So blah!) It is fun to get out there at least once a week and see what all is changing on the trail. Just since I made it out there there has already been a large change on the trail. Another couple hundred yards of really good tree trails have been added. The parking lot is coming along. And I had some fun with co-workers at the section where the bridge will be crossing the dirt trail. The bridge is basically crossing a big ravine and creek bed. The trees have all been cut out where the bridge will be going in. Some BMX'ers have been out there and smoothed out a nice packed section of path where you can go up and down the ravine. It is fun on foot or wheel. Two of my buddies where pedaling and bottomed out on their front shock when they hit the bottom of the creek bed.

Good times!

Cheers,

Traveling Trophy

Here is the traveling trophy at my office. This trophy passes from one rider to another. How do you obtain this symbol of strength and dominance? Well, you have to crash. The person who crashed last or got hurt or wrecked their bike gets this trophy proudly displayed on their desk.

The trophy is made up of a sterling silver cup that I obtained from somewhere. Also various broken bike pieces have ended up wrapped around it or in the goblet. We have a rusted bike chain, flat tube, broken crank, and broken rear derailleur as a start. There also is a picture that was the original trophy. The picture is just a piece of paper, nothing fancy. The picture used to hang on the person's door of whomever crashed last.

Some ground rules to obtain trophy:
- The current trophy holder determines whether or not passing of the trophy is practical based on;
- Crash
- Any blood?
- Pain involved with riding that would be related to a slip, crash or goof-up (can receive trophy.
- other circumstances are welcomed.

A perfect example

Cheers,

Mountain Bike Crash - reason: tree roots

Here is an old picture from when I crashed sometime last fall on the Bluff Creek trail. The bike landed that way. I didn’t put it there like that intentionally. You are supposed to go up over the roots to the right of the tree. I hit one of the roots off balanced, I bounced of the tree with my hip and left elbow and rolled down the hill to the left. I crawled back up the hill for the photo. I then peddled back to the truck.



My captioning:


Cheers,

Lake Henfer -> Lake Overholser -> Wheeler Dealer

I got out today despite the 30 mph winds. I was going to my circaqueous route of going around Lake Hefner, Lake Overholser and back. Just south of Lake Overholser my rear derailer failed on me. It was ghost shifting like crazy and then slipped. My 27 speed turned into a 3 speed. I had all three gears on my front crank but only the hardest gear on the rear. I immediately headed back on 36th street back to Wheeler Dealer to fix me up.


courtesy of NOAA

Cheers,

3 Days of Bluffs and some construction

March 17th - 19th I was dragged kicking and screaming to Bluff Creek. It was rough. :)

The Bluffs look like they have some major work going on. I haven't checked any of the local forums recently. But it looks like a paved parking lot will be going in considerably closer to the trail than the original parking. If you look at the map, the parking lot seems to be going in at the East Double Track. Also, there looks like a bridge might go somewhat West Northwest from the parking lot to the other side of the trail. I've got all kinds of conspiracy theories from paved trail, to houses to martians. Seems like I need to check with some forums.

(after looking around)

Bluff Creek construction

Cheers,

Stillwater Library - Smart Cycling Class

The Stillwater Public Library put on a three day bicycle safety course. I think that it is awesome that some city organizations are doing things like this. Below is more information.

Details: "Smart Cycling" is a a three-day bicycle safety course taught by certified League of American Bicyclists Instructors and held at the Stillwater Public Library, 1107 S. Duck St., on Friday, March 20, Saturday, March 21, and Saturday, April 4.

Enroll by Monday, March 16 at the Stillwater Public Library or Cooper's Bicycle Center, 220 S. Main St. There is a $30 fee for materials. Limited to adults and teens over 13.

For more information, call (405) 372-3633, visit the web site at http://library.stillwater.org or e-mail askalibrarian@stillwater.org.

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Route #017 - "50 < 36"

I have 3 different titles for this post. "Route to Work Research", "Sprint Workout" or "50 < 36". This route is helping me figure out which streets to ride if I want to take the 20 mile ride from my house to the office. I found out that there are a lot of stop lights along this route so the stop and go makes for a good sprint workout. And I learned that 50th street is worse that 36th street.

Route #017
Distance: around 13 miles



Notes:
- Nice easy ride. Traffic was not as bad as expected.
- 50th Street is much rougher than 36th Street.

Proposed Route to work: (I made this map before trying the last route)
Distance: around 20 miles

311 day!

It's March 11th which is why it is National 311 day! (at least in my head and probably a bunch of 311 fans)

Here is a playlist of the barely recognized band.


SeeqPod - Playable Search

Two Lakes - two days in a row

I made it around again. I figure if in two months I am going to ride two days with 70 miles each day, I should be able to do somewhere around 30 miles two days in a row now. Either that or I have a condition where I am obsessed with making circles around bodies of water. Someone will have to look up the Latin and figure out that one.


Weather @ Wiley Post Airport

Cheers,

Older Playlist - Seu Jorge

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Recent Playlist - CKY

SeeqPod - Playable Search

I made a LOL

Two Lakes - Route #015 - too much too soon

I haven't ridden or worked out in a week. I then jump on a bike on a lunch break in 20 mph winds and nearly die. Alright, that is a little over the top. But kinda close.

I did the Two Lakes route today. The wind was not my friend.



Oh well. Onward!!!

Cheers,

Route #016 - Martin Nature Park

I'm going to try and make it up to Martin Nature Park today.
Here is my proposed route:

I'll post info later how it went.

Cheers,

Made it out to the Bluffs

Its February and what is better than biking? (sitting next to a fire with a good beverage)

Bluff Creek was nice and dried out. It has been a couple weeks since any serious precipitation. Whomever worked on it this winter deserves props. The trail is very much smoothed out and trimmed back. The entrance area had all its 'wheat' cut down. Also, it looks like there are some contractors out there working on the outer loop. Not sure what the heck the plans are.

Cheers,

Pandora Radio Station

These may not be the best thing to try and listen to when you are peddling, but this is what I listen to at work.


I've listed my stations on the panel to the right.

Cheers,

Two Lakes - Route # 015

Hello all,

I got some time to ride on a weekend. So this next map is not one you can do on your lunch, unless you can peddle 30 miles an hour consistently. I can not, but there are those that can. I made it from the office, to Hefner, to Overlholser, back to Hefner and back to my office. I'm guessing it is somewhere around 25 miles (total guess)? I've got to find my old map files and put some stuff together to find the distance and get a map published. I've got the weather data and how long it took my lumpy butt.

I get weather data from NOAA. Here is the link for weather tracked at Wiley Post Airport. NOAA tracks the last three days worth of weather by the hour. It is nice to look and see how things are changing.

From Sunday the 8th of February

Time       Wind           Weather              Air Temp
11:53      S 21 G 29      Fair and Breezy      63
10:53      S 21           Overcast and Breezy  61
9:53       SE 18 G 26     Mostly Cloudy        59

It took me 2 hours and 10 minutes. So I went slow. What is that? Average maybe 15 miles an hour? Horrid. But it means I definitely have something to build upon.

Some notes on the ride:
- Bring snacks - energy bars are better tasting than I originally thought
- Bring water - one camel back was enough, but it wasn't hot at all
- Saw two homeless people - two people where enjoying the Sunday under the bridge on Route 66
- Walked the bike for a little bit - When I got to the dam at Overholser I walked my bike over the dam rather than go down to 10th st.

Bad spots:
- Wilshire Blvd - This road is used to get from Lake Hefner to the bike path around Wiley Post airport. This is an awful road. Go figure, a bike path marked road is one of the bumpiest I've seen in OKC.

Here is a snapshot of the route: