Ignite it like the 4th of July

Last week, I tweaked something in my lower back which had me laid up for 4 days.  I am up around again which is a relief to me and everyone around me.  Sunday was Jenn's birthday and to celebrate it, we got a couple of our closest friends together to have dinner on the lake before watching the fireworks. 

 Just like with everything else fun, Mother Nature had to have her opinion heard and tried to scare us off the dock by passing a couple of thunderstorms over the lake just missing the restaurant.  We must have upset her by not heeding her warning by remaining out on the dock.  She soon sent a nasty storm across which sent us all scrambling for cover.

A short 2 hours later, the storm had passed and the DJ was pumping the jams once again.  If only the back was feeling better I would have thrown my "So You Think You Can Dance" audition routine out there for all to see.  Maybe next year.  Shortly after the sun was set it was time for the fireworks to begin.  The evening couldn't have possibly had anymore fun packed into it.  Here is a bit from the finale.

Tell him what you want

Last week after another discussion with a friend who just switched over to a compact crank I started to think once again.  The ADK is coming up in a couple of months and I may need all of the help I can get while up there.  The race will have ~31,000 feet of climbing if/when I make it to the finish.  On the way home, I stopped by my parents house to pick up a 50 tooth chainring I had purchased a few years back and never installed.  It just sat there new and unused.

I got the new smaller ring mounted up and decided to take it for a spin.  I could feel a difference almost immediately but I didn't know if it was a good difference or not.  With the smaller ring, I will have to increase my cadence in order to achieve the same speeds which my hips have not liked in the past.

Fast forward to that evening when I got a laugh while reading the local mountain bike forum.  There was a guy who announced he was looking to purchase a used bike.  Another user offered up one that was one size smaller than what the original poster was looking for and was denied due to it not being big enough.  Possibly offended by the denial he replied, "My wife has always told me that one inch does not make a difference."

The following day, I took Le Antique out for another ride when that comment came back into mind.  Now I understand his wife was just trying to protect his ego but I can tell you that anything that is round and an inch bigger will always generate a more pleasurable experience.  Case in point the smaller ring.  After a week of riding around on the smaller ring, I am beginning to lean more and more towards the fact that the smaller experience isn't all that others have made it out to be.  I'll give it a couple more days to see if I can get used to it but more than likely I will be going back to the larger ring.  Why?  Because bigger is better...

Friday was a day I had been awaiting for the last couple of weeks.  A few friends had invited me to tag along with them on a loop around Lake Chesdin on a couple of occasions but I had prior engagements (Sounds important doesn't it?) which kept me from taking part.  A couple weeks back, I had mapped out the ride with hopes of riding it but again, life got in the way and I hadn't ridden it.



They had always boasted about the low amount of traffic and beautiful scenery. They also warned me that I would need to carry enough food and fluid to get me about 50 miles because once you were down there, there was nothing.  Nothing was right and I was OK with it.  I was enjoying what seemed like a 100 mile stretch of wooded road sides when out of the blue the woods stopped and goats appeared.  The goats must have been just as surprised to see me as I was them because they all just picked their heads up and stared at me.

They lost interest in me before I did them because by the time I got the bike stopped to take a photo, all but one of them had put their heads back down to continue their afternoon meal.  As I was digging the phone out of the pocket I heard grunting, snorting, hoof stomping followed by more grunting, snorting and hoof stomping.  Fearing I was about to get charged I snapped the picture and started on my way again.

Shortly down the road I found myself on the south side of the lake where there was supposed to be a general store.  The store was there structurally but it has been quite a few years since it was operational.  With the temperatures starting to heat up, I decided to start rationing my fluids because I couldn't remember how far along the next store was according to the map.  I came across a small marina which had a very small country store attached to it where I could fill up my bottles a few miles down the road.

The nice old lady who was working the store asked me "You trying to kill yourself out there in the heat today, aren't you?" I replied with "Believe it or not it isn't that bad on the bike."  Because I had started when the temps were a bit lower and was out there while it heated up I hadn't really noticed how hot it was actually getting.  A few more miles down the road my wrist found out just how hot the road temps were becoming.

The forest shaded roads were now behind me and the sun was full force.  I was really starting to sweat a bunch and my wrist was starting to feel like something was irritating it.  A quick look down and I noticed my RoadID (everyone should ride/run with one) was burning my wrist.  The way my hands were resting on the hoods had the clamp pointing straight into the sun.  A quick unclip of the clamp so the band would rest on my glove and feeling eased a bit except when the sweat would roll over it.

I was really happy to have have gotten out there to do the route.  I really enjoyed it and will be looking to head that way once again in the very near future.  Now I know where the stores are which will help my nutrition planning.  With ADK just a few months away, I need some longer efforts to not complete shock my system when I ask it go 2 days without sleep.

With less than one day before the RAAM solo's officially start their trek across the country, I have spent the last couple of evenings before falling asleep reading up on this year's starters.  With the largest solo field to date, this year's rendition is sure to be a good one.  Now you can spend a minute and a half filling yourself with excitement that will last you for days.

This week looks to be a nice one for me. Cooler temps, a regular work schedule and a strong motivation to be out on the bike should help this week prove to be a fun one.  If all things go to plan I am going to hit some never before ridden by me roads in Southern Chesterfield on Friday.  I drew up the cue sheet a few weeks back but never got around to venturing out.  This week it WILL happen, I think...