Should have bought the studded tires

If you are enjoying our mostly snowless winter here in southern New England, you owe me a thank you. I bought new back country skis, boots, bindings, and poles in the beginning of December. That money would have been better spent on studded tires for the fuji cross comp. I suppose since the section you see in the above photo was the only one I had to walk the bike through, I don’t need those studded tires either. Bummer.

Those of you following Karen on twitter might have seen her tweet* earlier today about snow squalls. I have proof from my ride:

*Before Karen outs me, yes, I too, am on twitter. I basically use it to follow bands and occasionally tweet something that sets off my frat-boy (Karen’s description, and no, I don’t understand why) sense of humor. Therefore, my tweets are private and I require proof you are over 18.

Ride stats

Distance: 16.8 miles
Temperature: Around 40˚
Ride category: I’m in, uh, training. Yeah, that’s it.

Heather

Winter Rides

dolce specialized elite winter ride

Originally uploaded by sipclip&go

I am not a wimp.

Really I’m not. But I admit it, I will seek out warmth over cold. Soft over hard. Comfort over pain. Which is way I’m not a fan of winter rides.

But to prove Heather wrong (because I cannot back down from a direct challenge–it’s against my genetic code), I went out for a ride this week.

When I first struck out, it was cold, 32F. Gaining speed, the wind bit my face. I made the mistake of leaving my earrings in (double pierced) and rediscovered what a wonderful conductor of temperature gold is. By the end of my 2nd mile, it felt like I was getting my ears pierced with icicles. My lungs coughed with the shock. My toes grew numb. This was not just uncomfortable, it was distractingly painful.

At mile 5, that all stopped. My body had reached a state of adjustment. My cheeks felt thick and solid, like chunks of wood–but they did not hurt. My toes and fingertips were chilled but constant wiggling kept blood flowing. I was working hard on the bike which warmed me up. I stayed in this state of adjustment for most of the ride, and it occurred to me the parallel between physical and emotional response to changes in environment. It’s not the state itself, it’s getting there. Humans find comfort in the predictably familiar. Transitions are painful–physical or otherwise.

At the end of the hour I was transitioning again. The happy medium I had found was slipping away and I felt the numbness in my toes pass the balls of my feet and approach mid foot. My gloves couldn’t hold anymore heat in, and I was getting tired just staying warm. I cruised into my driveway and stumbled off the bike, footing compromise by my cleats and lack of feeling (where’s the floor? I can’t feel it). It took me an hour and 1/2 to feel normal again, another odd, yet more pleasant transition.

Then I had one of the best naps ever.

–Karen

Inspiring.

Apples for Heather

Apples for Heather

Originally uploaded by sipclip&go

 

If you read this blog with any consistency, you may have picked up on the long-standing tradition of challenge and one-upmanship between myself and my co-blogger Heather. That tension was largely absent in 2009, mostly because I was the only one riding a bicycle, while Heather was off riding her V-Star.

Now that she’s back, she’s back with a vengeance, and has wasted no time slipping back into her provoking ways. Last post she commented that she only will blog about a ride if she does it OUTSIDE. This of course was meant as a slam to me, who is much too delicate to withstand the frigid temperatures of a New England winter. Nevermind that I log more miles spinning on the trainer out of the ice and snow. So when I mentioned I planned to ride OUTSIDE this week, unconvinced she remarked “yeah, I want video.”  Well, ask and you shall receive!!

Temp: 32F
Miles: 15.3
Ride Category: Rising to the occasion.

–Karen

Trainer Time

Trainer Time

Originally uploaded by sipclip&go

When I woke up this morning, it was -2F. I’m all for hard work, but I’m not a masochist. I did make it out last Thursday for a 2.25 mile run (at 35F) followed by a 20 minute spin on the trainer (at 68F). Nothing crazy, but the spin was a nice little push after the run.

I have a good deal of the next week off, and the weatherman promises the upper 30’s by the end of the week. I really want to get outside to ride then–when I ride outside I got further and I’m happier, and since I have the time off, I will be able to clean the salt of the bike.

On another note, I’m a little hesitant to say it aloud, but I really do believe that my mysterious co-blogger has, in fact returned after nearly a year-long hiatus. 2 posts inside a week’s time? Welcome back Heather, we’ve missed you    Now if you can just start riding your bike as often as you post, I might start getting concerned about you beating my ass at the Rock Buster Duathlon this spring.

–Karen

PS–ask Heather what she’s really training for….

The Universe is Aligned

Here’s how I know:

The DB parked in front of the local bike shop this morning. The bags are Topeak Pannier DryBags, and they are great. They hold a lot and protect the library books without having to put them in plastic bags first. As most of you know, the tires are the Nokian Extremes. It’s a great set-up for winter riding in New England, on or off road.

Heather

Ride stats

Distance: 11.68 miles
Temperature: 29˚ F
Ride category: Errands

I’m baaaaaaaaack

First, let’s not hold me to any specific number of posts or anything. Structure is my enemy. Now that we’ve cleared that up.

My hand is dirty because I switched out the tires on the Diamondback ascent. The Nokian Extremes are back for winter 2010. I would like to bring to your attention that surprisingly, there is no blood in the above photo. I decided to go outside and bomb around the neighborhood. Here’s a photo of the new Franklin County Speedway (aka my backyard):

I did not make any resolutions or set any goals for 2010; see the first paragraph re structure. I am planning on doing the Warrior Dash as well, but that’s not a goal. There is beer, so no need to explain any further. Hmmm, maybe I’ll challenge Karen to double or nothing.

Heather

Ride stats

Distance: Several laps around the FC speedway
Temperature: 20˚ F
Ride category: First official run of 2010 for the Nokian Extremes

2010 Cycling & Fitness Goals, Resolutions

Sigh. 

Fine.  I’ll tell you what’s on my mind for 2010.  I thought about doing this post, then not doing it, for a couple of weeks now.  I think it was mostly because I was trying to figure out exactly what I wanted to accomplish in 2010 with regard to fitness & cycling.  I think now I have a pretty good idea.

1.) 2500 miles on the bike.  I did 2000 in 2008, and last year, only 1000.  Time to kick it up.

2.) Participate in my 4th LIVESTRONG Challenge.  I’m signed up and collecting donations here.  I’m doing the 70 mile leg.

3.) Participate in at least 1 multisport event.  I’m all but signed up for the Rockbuster Offroad Duathlon on April 25th in Ashland, MA.  This is a repeat of the Mud, Sweat & Gears event I did last October.  I’m hoping my brother & a few friends will join me this time.

4.) And this is the crowing jewel, the event I’m really primed for….participate in my first Warrior Dash.  More on this event later, let’s just say if there’s a race involving barbed wire,  hurdling open flames, and free beer, I’m there.  The only thing preventing me from doing this is a work related conference that is historically scheduled at about this time of year annually–in September.  My company bagged the conference last year because of the economy.  I’m guessing they’ll need to see the 4th quarter results before deciding to do the conference in 2010. 

I’ll need to keep up with the running in order to swing the duathlon and the Warrior Dash.  How I’m going to log that many miles on the bike AND keep running with my schedule, I have no idea.  But the thing about goals is that you may not meet them, but end up accomplishing equally great other things along the way. Last year I was intent on doing a century ride.   I never did.  But I did the duathlon and really had a blast. I also started a Ladies Mountain Biking Group Ride and met some great new friends.  I plan to continue that in 2010 (email me at my About Karen page on this site for more info).

So there you have it. What do you plan to do with your year?

–Karen

Arriving Soon

For Christmas, my brother & sister-in-law got me a gift card to Bike Nashbar’s online site.  Gift cards by themselves aren’t sexy but they sure get the job done, and this evening I picked out brand new mountain biking pedals:I got the red to match the red on my mountain bike–something that I will be criticized for by Heather, who is anti-fashion.  Now–I don’t consider myself a fashionista, certainly not in the cycling world or any other world for that matter–but I do like to match.  And red is my favorite color.

Fashion aside, I’m eager to try this style of clipless pedal out, because I’ve been raised on Speedplays exclusively.  I have Speedplay Frogs for my mountain bike and the cheapest version of the Speedplay for the road bike (I believe it’s the Speedplay X/5 Chrome-Moly).  The worst case is that I hate the new pedal and go back to the frogs, which have worked splendidly for some time.  But 2010 will be my 9th year with the frogs, so–time to evolve a little, and explore different equipment.  These were reasonable too– only $34.99 marked down from $54.99.  The reviews online were solid, and these weigh about 178g.  The frogs I have are also the cheapest version and come in at 255g.  I doubt I’ll notice a difference–I am not a finely tuned rider.  But I’m anxious for the opportunity to try something new.

And now to shop for new MTB shoes…..

–Karen

Karen’s Christmas present

Even though I am injured, I was able to ride the Fuji today. Just around town, see if I remembered how to pedal one. I was wondering if the ride would even take place because of this:

This is the aftermath of the nerf gun battle I had last night with some of my younger relatives. Yes, I won but it was do or die because I lost the earlier battle of dodge ball played with an exercise ball and mini basketballs. I would like to take a brief moment to point out the dodge ball teams were them (4) vs me (1). After a professional bandaging job:

I was good to go. I figured I might as well post about the ride seeing that Karen has been good about my lack of presence here on the blog this past year. I think she’s only mentioned once that she’s been carrying us. So, Merry Christmas Karen…an actual post from me.

Heather

Ride stats

Distance: 11.6 miles
Temperature: 34˚ according to the bank
Ride category: Why the hell not ride one of ‘em.