The Rollers - The Sickness

Ugh!

This week has been a 'coughing week' at our house.

The little ones have been hit the worst - our 4 year old has been coughing very loudly, and our 14 month old can barely get enough air to cry about the boogers running out of her face.

...then there's me.

I focus straight to me, since my wife seems impervious to any illness lasting longer than 18.5 hours. Seriously! We catch the 24 hour flu bug in our house and the kids get 24 hours, I fight it off in 12 (if I'm lucky), but Meghan is done in 2.4! So she caught this last coughing spell, and it took her about the max of 18.5 hours to run its course for her. ...she gets no further internet sympathy.

But I, on the other hand...

Well, really you don't need to feel sorry for me either. The cough wasn't fun, and the sinus stuff yesterday wasn't fun - the worst part being some drainage lodging itself next to the inside of my left eardrum - but all told, I'm getting better now.

But that stuff really makes excercise a LOT less fun!

Meg and I began a '30 minutes every other day' workout routine just before the coughs came last week. That means that within a day of whining about not being on my bikes, I actuall did something about it for once! (albeit indoors on the rollers - but hey! take what we get.)
But Sunday night, after a day of talking, preaching, standing and instructing - my head was so thick that I just knew that my inner gyroscope would fail me if I tried.

Good move on my part.

Last night I rode again. And though my balance was acceptable, my lung capacity was horrendous.

[note the use of sickness as an early excuse for being way more out of shape than I've got any business being - skillfully played out as a noble attempt to 'work through it'... what a lame-o!]

But it was good!

I'm going to try to post a video sometime of just what the experience entails. Its hard to describe the feeling... but I might call it something akin to a giraffe on ice skates: you know he's going to have a good time - provided that nothing goes wrong!


...

Two-Wheeled Cravings

They've started...

As the snow comes and goes, and the sun shines brighter than it has in weeks; they hit me.

When I walk outside and think, "This isn't so bad."

When I read Jill Homer's Blog about riding in snow, rain and ice.

Even as my car locks up its tires because the light changed late into my left-turn commitment and the combination of salt and frozen rubber loses grip, my mind says, "One of the bikes could've made that."

...

The Two-Wheeled Cravings of January are upon me!

...

Whether you term them cravings, withdrawl, lack of responsibility or effort, it doesn't matter. It does seem, however, that the subject of biking keeps coming up. I don't care at this point if there's a motor involved or not (more likely 'not' if I'm honest for the time being); my friends are posting about it, the mailings are urging off-season deal grabbing and I...

...well, I'm hopelessly out of the scene.


For the time being, I'll continue to rely on excuses. But I know that those will wear thin shortly.
I can talk about my brake cables that need tightening/replacing.
I can say that I don't have time.
I can revel in my fondness toward the wintery paunch that has seemed to develop over these last months.

OR

I could put some gloves on and do something about this lurking and nagging thought in the back of my mind - that I'm really worried that I'll never do it again if I don't get back on a bicycle SOON!



...oh well, there's always my dearly-loved scooter.

(who is currently also mad at me for not regularly starting him up this winter)


Anybody want to ride?



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Quiet Days

I've been quiet for a while on here... sorry about that. Things are often busy and hectic - but seeing as how I never regret writing a little something, that shouldn't be an excuse.

Well, today I'm writing again.
And today I'm writing on behalf of someone I don't know... at least not 'for real'.

Please take a moment and offer a prayer for The Fat Cyclist and his family. Things aren't looking too good in his world... Susan's (his wife) condition is not very good.

He could really use anything we can help him with (by way of God's hand).

Here's his latest post in case you missed the link above...

Working on the "Shiny Frenchman"

Not that anyone who frequents this blog (all three of you) cares, but I've cleared another hurdle in the process of my next bike dream!

From a previous post...

"I've also begun the progress on another bicycle conversion.

The above image is what the Schwinn Voyageur 11.8 originally looked like - not mine, you understand, but out-of-the-box "New". "New" back in 1981, the same year I was born."

The "Shiny Frenchman" term is my loving combination of the fact that the bike is chromed steel and bears as a name, the term often associated with the French-Canadian trapper/explorers of days gone by... and this cultural/historical fact is best noted by the additional 'u' in 'Voyageur'. (If my history is bogus on this, please don't burst my bubble - frankly, I just like the name.)


There's also the sideways reference to the great cycling movie, "The Flying Scotsman" mixed in as part of the mystique.

Anyhow, I've found that fixing up and dealing with American steel beasties is a fun little game of conversions and mix-matched parts... what a joy! (sarcasm mixed with scent of challenge)


The parts for this bike have been selected and gifted me as Christmas presents and the like, and my hope is to create a fun all-weather bike with capabilities of following 'real' trails as well as going on commutes and family rides. Certainly I've got bikes enough for most of these endeavors... but the Shiny Frenchman will be my well-loved 'beater' bike that I won't feel bad taking on the trails, or be worried when I go over a curb or two.

Its been a lesson in plan-adaptation in getting things to 'go' for this bike.

I want it to be 'right' and everything to work, but the facts of age and non-standard parts (read: not parts made once the European size systems had taken over) has made this project a little more involved than I'd like.

But since I daresay that no one who will likely read this will share enough interest to invest the minutes necessary to read of the trials involved, I will simply post a photo of the (nearly) finished product...

Since this picture was taken, I've switched out the regular platform pedals for my platforms with clipless adapters built in, and I changed the seat out for one that's much more 'dashing'.

The only other issue is that I believe the brake pads are original to the frame, and therefore it stops like the Titanic turns... not so much. This will be remedied soon, since I've also hooked up my son's biketrailer-hitch, which only adds to the stopping conundrum.

However, I'm really pleased with how things are turning out on it. Its comfortable, utilitarian, and has a semi-vintage 'flash' to it... ah, how nice.

(Many thanks to Michael and his "Carbon Rocket" for making all of this a possibility.)

...

Still out of shape, and still no pics in this one... so lets talk about St. Patrick

My blogging seems to be a direct reflection of my fitness levels these days...

Yeah, that good.
[note the sarcasm dripping off like sauce on BBQ ribs]

But things are going to be getting better. I hope.

The new bike has adapted well with adjustments, and its a whole lot of useful fun to ride!
So life isn't too bad, really.

In addition to that, today is St. Patrick's day (which means that yesterday was St. Urho's day for all my friends who wear the purple)! And as a result, I've had the joy of relating, in very loose terms, the story of St. Patrick to two classes of our Pre-Schoolers here today.

St. Patrick is a pretty admirable figure, once you take away the crazy bits about the snakes and the associations of green beverages and rivers! In fact, though I'm not Catholic, I have no trouble wearing green (in addition to my splash of orange of Protestantism) in rememberance of the efforts of such a significant evangelical heart.

...and what's more, if there really was a system of merit that earned the status of 'saint', I think that folks like Patrick would be ringers for that too!

Just imagine being kidnapped and enslaved as a youth...
Taken away from all you know and care about...
Being rescued and brought 'home'...
...only to realize later on that your true calling in life is amongst those very people who made you suffer for those hard years that they stole away from you as a young man.

By going back to share Christ with his captors in Ireland, Patrick was following the nudges and urgings of the Holy Spirit; and God worked through him in BIG ways!

...and now people drink beer about it.

huh.


...

The "New" Bike... and being out of shape

So I finally got to ride this afternoon!

[distant cheering]

I'll write about the "New" bike's completion in a few days... once she's feeling photogenic enough to post some pics. But I've gotta say two things as of today (as I rode back to church on a 90% completed project bike)

1) I don't know how people can go without handlebar tape
2) Knobby tires are loud on pavement and really hard when you pump them up full and take them onto a little trail (75 lbs. - the recommended max pressure)

But I still smiled/grimaced joyfully most of the trip!

Oh, and the out of shape thing... its just a simple fact.
We'll get into that some more later as well.

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My two-wheeled winter fun makers!

So I made it halfway...

Its been flurries and 37 degrees in Cleveland today, so I figure that's nice enough to warrant leaving the car at home! After lunch I put on some warm pants (snowpants), my winter coat, some warm (snowboarding) gloves, and my dress shoes (because there's no use looking silly)...

And I rode the scooter back to work.

It was great fun! With the full-face helmet I didn't have to worry about my head getting cold, and really, all that got chilly was my ankles and my chin. (THIS is why I have the goatee!)

...now there's just the return trip once it gets a little cooler. I can't wait.

I've also begun the progress on another bicycle conversion.

The above image is what the Schwinn Voyageur 11.8 originally looked like - not mine, you understand, but out-of-the-box "New". "New" back in 1981, the same year I was born.

My friend in Wyoming has blessed me with another piece of Chicago Schwinn metal to have some fun with. (This because he has blessed himself with an amazing road bike that I cannot even dream of without realizing how out of shape my legs are.) This particular bike came pre-equipped (through the workings of a previous owner) with knobby cyclocross tires, a rear rack, some other interesting odds and ends, and a Shimano Biopace crankset.

A Shimano what?
Here's what a biopace crank looks like:

You may notice something that looks like distortion in the usual circle of a crank...

...that's how its supposed to be on a Biopace crankset!

Biopace cranks aren't all that terrible, I suppose - I just don't want to go back to them now. They're intentionally made to be oblong in conjunction with your pedal stroke's strongest part - the downstroke. So you get a larger part of the gear pulling the chain while you're at your strongest... not a bad concept. However, at slow speeds and full-on cadence work the rythmn of your 'circle' (how you're supposed to pedal) is disrupted.

...plus they look funny.

So its nashbar.com to the rescue and I've got some kickin' parts on order to make me an all-chrome, knobbly, bullhorn bar, downtube-shifter, winter/summer/bring-it-on bike!

I'll share more as appropriate.

...

Bike Commuting in October

So Martin Luther became a monk after he got caught in a storm on his way from one town to another... and I've always thought, "What a wimp!"

Then I decided to ride my bike to work Monday...

I'd made it about ten pedal strokes from my driveway and the first drop hit my glasses.

Such a tiny drop, its not going to be that bad! I can take it!

So me and my road bike move on, and I realize that the first drop was nothing more than a warning shot from the heavens! The others aren't falling, but wafting at me - which means snow.

"Ugh, its not too late, I should probably just get the car." But my car was already at work, we'd left it there Sunday to go out with friends. It had the bike rack that I'd been neglecting to use this month since I got the scooter.

"I'll keep going! It'll be fine!"

I realized later that the high for the day in Cleveland was something about 42 degrees, and that was mid-day sometime. I also heard that there'd been gusts of wind in the 25 mph range in the morning (getting to 50 mph later on). I also realized that I hadn't been on my bike for better than a month...

Well, I made it. And I didn't feel the need to pray to St. Anne anywhere on the route either.

However, I did feel like a wimp.

This week, the Fat Cyclist (a much more noble blogger than I... in many ways) is not a wimp.

His family's life is serving to put the whole internet-soaked and complaining world in perspective. If you have a minute, say a prayer for Elden, Susan and their family. These people are dealing with a lot!

And my prayer, as we come up on Reformation Day (All Hallows Eve for most) and All Saints Day (Nov. 1st), that those who know about the forgiveness and joy of Christ will be able to share that depth of happiness in a world so adversely affected by tragedy and grief.

I'll recover from my bike ride, sure. And you know I'll make attempts to ride when its even colder and gustier. But lets take a moment to thank God for the BIG recovery from sin that He's given to us in the Gospel message.

And thank God for Martin Luther's fear of lightning while you're at it!

Nice Days to Ride

My "favorite" bike's birthday is coming up next month.

I use the term favorite loosely, as many who are prone to bicycle would. The truth is that I simply have a soft spot in my heart for my '63 Varsity.
(see her featured as the Schwinn headliner - right)

She's going to be 45 years old on October 16th.

That's a Thursday, so I think that I'll be able to pay her some attention... I think.

You see, my job allows me a few days per week of flexibility when I am not necessarily required to be mobilized at a moment's notice: going to a hospital to visit someone just admitted is the primary culprit here. So I have established a pattern of two, sometimes 3 days/week when I can blissfully ride the 4.5 miles to work without guilt or worry of needing immediate long-range transportation.

But another variable attached to this equasion, is that I'm still a bit of a wuss when it comes to inclament weather and commuting by bike. And as it often is, the days when I cannot ride (Tues. & Wed.), it is "beautiful day today in Cleveland" - and the days when I can ride, "well, the roads are a little wet out there this morning."

Its not a very good excuse, really. She's got the right tires. She's got decent brakes. There are the original chrome fenders that rattle subtly as they glisten. She's got a flat handlebar, a nearly-vintage rear rack, and a very functionally updated rear deraileur.

...no, I'm just a wimp.