Wear Your Helmets! A new patient reminded me of this...

Since I can't, of course, tell you directly or indirectly who I see in my office (sorry, but, I can't tell you if I see Bono and the guys or not...), I can use stories to help in my cause of public education. I recently saw a patient in my office who was the bike rider involved in a bike vs. van accident and it was a helmet, without a doubt, that played a serious role in the outcome of the contest. The bike rider had to brake suddenly to avoid a van that was coming directly at her. She quickly ended up on the ground when she lost control of the bike and was then struck in the head by the van's front bumper. The helmet she was wearing was destroyed, but, luckily, her head and brain were not. I have little doubt that she will have a very good recovery from her injuries, and have only superficial scars left for show. She is a very lucky woman who is grateful that she has her memories right now. If you don't wear a helmet when you ride a bicycle, you are making a very risky gamble. Please encourage everyone you know who rides a bicycle to wear a properly fitted helmet. It can make all the difference in the world.

Spring is Coming, The Daffodils Told Me So!

As I went down to my office to get my bike and gear today, I stepped out into 29F weather, fog, and 96% humidity. That has been pretty much the norm since last Sunday's "Grit Ride." To my surprise, there were daffodil bulbs poking up out of the ground about 2 inches. I waited a few seconds before asking them if they really thought they were ready to come up, yet. They stiffly nodded "yes," as if to say, "If not now, when?" May God help them in their quest.

As for me, today is our first "mock race." As a team, we'll be warming up together from the Valley out to the Boston Harbor Circuit race course for a lap. Then, we'll split into categories and leave in 30 second intervals as category teams, with the Cat 1-2's leaving last. The idea will be to try and maintain a breakaway as long as we can as a team before being swallowed by the swelling peleton. Then, whatever is left over after 6 laps at the end gets put into the finishline. :)

Last year, I did this race and got dropped on the first lap as we passed in front of the start/finish. That left me to ride by myself for 4 of 5 laps. Hopefully, today, I'll have more gas in the tank. Besides, now I have some very sturdy daffodils to inspire me to go for it, no matter whether it seems like the right time or not.

Tour of California Twit and my New PUMP!

I've been keeping in touch with the Tour of California in a pretty interesting way: Via Twitter. For about the past week, I have been getting "personal" text messages from stars and coaches of the Tour. For instance, I've pretty much known every time Lance is getting a massage, eating, or harassing his teammate Chris Horner. (I feel your pain, Chris.) I've also heard quite a bit from Ivan Basso who has returned to cycling after an enforced, um, break from competition. I think some of my favorites have come from him because of his broken English which comes through quite heavily on his postings. My favorite posting, by far is "i eat now." Got it! :)

After a long weekend of riding, I got the chance today to have a nice low pace ride with a few hills. Also we stopped off at JoyRide today to pick up a new pump since I am tired of carrying around CO2 cartridges and not using them because I think they are a waste. I'd rather have the pump, you know. Seems like the right thing. I got a Topeak Morph with a pressure guage. One of my teammates helped me out with it on one of my flats over the weekend. It worked so smoothly, it was like using my floor pump at home. There's nothing worse than having a soft tire when I'm tired and working hard. Anyway, my latest bike crush is the Topeak Morph Road G Master Blaster. Happy riding!

150 miles and still smoldering

Last weekend I was able to do both team rides leaving from the Valley at 10am. Usually my family is in town and I spend one of those days with them, but since they are out of town, I splurged to see what I could do. Looking ahead, I am trying very hard to play it smart and build the endurance to go the distance on Feb. 28 and Mar. 1, 2009, which is our team training camp. Over that weekend, there are two 100 mile rides planned in and around Centralia, WA.

Saturday's ride took us from Olympia to several of the points out into the Sound. We had a nice ride down to the water via French Loop and finally over to Steamboat Island Rd, which I'd never done before. I'd also never gone around Gravelly Beach Loop with the team, and "ouch" was that a burner. I did reached my max speed of 42.5 mph at the start of the loop and that was fun for sure.

I woke up Sunday morning feeling very tired and has some nausea of unknown origin. I didn't really feel sick, but just a little run down, I guess. The previous day of riding was a big stretch for me. I think I knew I was looking down the barrel of another day like it. Fortunately, it was a little lighter duty starting out and we rolled quickly down to Rochester and beyond at a fairly mild pace that I could hang with. I made my way up an incredibly steep hill I'd never been up before, which felt great. (not the right word, maybe proud?) Anyway, I made my way back and made it fairly close to town before the pace picked up and dropped me off the back. Considering the weekend and how far the riding was, I'd say I got an A. Nice to be my own teacher. I was also happy to get some "way to go's" as I was being dropped. I think it was some recognition for hard work. Believe me I know this project takes a long time, and I love seeing little days where it looks like it's paying off a bit. :)

Keeping it Real

Sadly, I heard news that a local bike racer was killed in a traffic accident in Ballard, WA. It's sobering to hear the news and I know that it brings a lot of sadness to his family and the many who raced with him. To me, this has a balancing effect and I know I will have it on my mind the next time I go riding. Bike riding is a bitter sweet joy sometimes.

It seems more meaningful than ever to pass along news about a joint program between the Capital Bicycle Club and the City of Olympia. They are putting together a series of workshops to cover the basics of navigating the streets safely on a bicycle. It's called Urban Cycling and more info can be found here: http://www.olympiawa.gov/events/pwevents/workshop_bike.htm

Steady Focus/Deep Thoughts

A few days ago, I saw an interview with Robbie McEwen after he had just won the Tour Down Under Classic in Downtown Adelaide, Australia. Because this was also the first race of Lance Armstrong's return, a question was asked about Armstrong's performance. McEwen said he looked good, etc., but what really struck me was that he said that Lance wouldn't shake his hand because he didn't want to take his hands off the bars. For many years I've been fascinated with Lance, and this fits with the stories of his meticulous attention to detail. Unfortunately, my fascination deepens... So does the deep stirring of interest in myself as to what I take seriously, what I focus my attention on, and what I hope to achieve.