I’d meant to “catch up” on what interesting things I’ve done this year, but I’m falling behind.
I did a bike camping trip with Tim back in September. I don’t have time to write about it.
My mileage for the year isn’t great, but with some effort, I may hit 3000 miles for the year.
I’m weighing myself again, but I’m not posting it here yet. I’ve lost about 5 pounds, only 115 more (or so) to go! 😀
I gave up beer.. until I didn’t. I have cut back substantially.
I interviewed for a new job today. I left work early, and rode 11 miles to the new place, while wearing a suit and tie. I wish I had a picture. I think the job has promise. It’s also 12 miles from home, so it’ll kick up the mileage for me.
There’s a cheap bar near there. That could be good/bad, depending on point of view.
I hope to get this job. The pay is acceptable. The longer commute is more of a challenge, but could be good for me. I intend to remain car-free, but with the ability to use Diane’s car/the bus/Lyft as necessary.
Tim and I had big plans for last weekend. We were going to drive to Texas to ride with Pondero. We were concerned about weather on the return trip, and stayed closer to home.
Saturday was Tim’s birthday, and we usually try to put a ride together. This time, it was on Friday.
We re-visited Daniel Boone National Forest, where we spent some time back in July.
Going to a remote area, and having a flaky GPS is a bad thing, so I brought both my old GPS, and the new one, recently replaced.
Belt and suspenders
We started at S-Tree campground this time. Tim and Patrick had scoped it out a while back, but I’d never been there. The ride start was at 1400 feet of elevation. It was a pleasant run on a gravel road that followed the ridge for a while.
We followed a turn-off that lead to a cleared piece of land overlooking… well, everything. I have no idea what the purpose of the clearing is. Maybe someone will build there.
Clearing with a viewTim at the edge of the worldPleasant
After a while we took a steep downhill, still on gravel down to our only paved road of the day, KY-89. That was a couple of miles riding along the river, with some dogs chasing us along the way. Traffic was extremely light. There was a neat old wooden-decked bridge over Horse Lick Creek, a tributary of the Rockcastle River.
Neat bridge
We eventually turned off near where Horse Lick Creek branches off from the Rockcastle River. This was a pleasant ride for a while. After enjoying a snack at a deserted intersection, we continued along. Our GPS route had us crossing the creek at a location that just wasn’t feasible – and there was a “private property” sign on the other side of the creek.
We continued on “our side” of the creek for a while. It remained mostly flat, but large mud pits became common. I was reminded of the old videogame, Pitfall!.
After a while our road path dead-ended at a campsite along the creek. It wasn’t feasible to cross the creek there, and moving away from the water meant a steep climb through the woods.
Not crossing here
We considered taking crossing the creek anyway. We took off our shoes and socks, intending to walk across. It was too far. The rocks were sharp. The water was icy. I bailed and put my footwear back on.
We turned around, and later hiked crawled up the hill. Near the top was an interesting rock bridge and a cave. Neat, but I was too tired to get closer. We moved on.
Rock bridge
After riding along the ridgetop for a while, there was a mostly-unrideable descent back to the creek. This creek crossing was shallower, and looked rideable.
Tim made it successfullyI did not
It takes more than wet feet to deter me, so we continued on. In the flat spot by the creek, there was an open field with the makings for a bonfire. We had brought coffee-making materials, but time was running short. Sunset comes early this time of year, and we weren’t equipped with good lights. We skipped the coffee, but I did change into some dry socks. We also decided to cut the ride short, and head directly back to the car.
I mostly quit taking pictures at this point. We were off track according to the GPS, and there was that pesky creek and it’s cold water between us and the magic purple line. Tim and I had disagreements over the route, but it was his ride, and I followed.
In the end, even though I was technically right, his way worked fine. He has a better sense of direction than I do.
We had a couple of miles of endless mud pits to cross. I got a bit reckless due to my haste, and went over the bars. I wasn’t hurt, but rattled.
The temperature had dropped. My rear derailleur was iced up and wouldn’t shift at all. Tim’s drivetrain had similar issues.
Eventually we joined up with Raccoon Creek Rd. This began our climb back to the car. I walked most of it.
Raccoon Creek Rd and the endless mudpits before were a low point for me. I really wanted to give up cycling. I wanted to stay home where it’s warm and dry. However, I didn’t want to get rid of the Fargo as I had in some previous trips, so apparently the bike changes helped there.
Before I knew it, we were at the car. The sun was slowly setting. What was supposed to be a short ride took all day. We stopped for pizza on the drive home. It was a nice finish to the day.
Now, my bike is cleaned and lubed. The sore muscles have returned to normal. The clothing has been washed, dried, and put away. Now what? I want to do it again, of course.
After the rides I did earlier in the year on the Fargo, the drop bars were really hurting me. I decided to take a risk and make some changes.
I bought Jones H-Bar handlebars, Silver Shifters, and Paul Thumbies, some new brake levers, and a new rear derailleur. This gives me a more upright riding position. The derailleur is just because I’m trying to sell the old shifter/brake levers/derailleur together as a set.
Fargo Cockpit View
Bar tape and grips finished up the bars. The upright riding position didn’t work well with the stock saddle, so I moved the black Brooks saddle and seatpost over from the single-speed (there’s another story there too).
Muddy Fargo
The bike as you see above was how it was ridden last weekend. I still want to change out the rest of the drivetrain. Shifting 10-speed stuff with friction can be problematic sometimes. I’ll replace the cassette with an 8-speed, which means a new chain also. I’d like to replace the crankset with a triple. This bike will be for gravel adventure, winter commuting, and some touring.
Riding High
This is a picture (stolen from Tim) from last weekend’s ride. Yes, it’s a very upright position.
I’m still trying to catch up with my writing. I’m showing that I actually did ride this year.
Ferdinand State Forest in Indiana has some wonderful gravel roads. Tim and I headed out there on August 16th for some adventure. Tim’s write-up is here.
My favorite road picture
This was a 42-mile ride. I suffered a bit from it. I’ve had more issues with my neck, and riding the Fargo seems to make things worse.
Tim is happy
It was a good day to get out for a ride. The flat I had after riding down a “farm road” didn’t bother me.
After our Charlestown Pizza ride in July, Tim and I wanted to revisit the area, but on a longer ride.
So, on August 10th we headed out through Utica toward Charlestown. I was on the rSogn, Tim was riding his Lightspeed.
Old bridge
This was three months ago, so the details are sketchy, but I ended up with over 80 miles for the day. We were caught in a hailstorm on the way home. In other words, perfect.
In January of 2013, I joined Tim, Patrick, and Timothy for a sloppy-winter gravel ride out of Marengo Indiana. Today, it was Tim, Timothy, Jeff, and I.
Last time was a planned 40-mile ride, but was shortened a bit. This time, we did the short version, at 36 miles.
Last time it was cold and muddy with bits of ice. Today was cool, but mostly pleasant. There were still several creek crossings and numerous large puddles, so I didn’t stay dry, but it wasn’t a problem.
I’ve gained a lot of weight and lost fitness. I really struggled on this ride. For that reason, I took no pictures. I was too busy trying to keep up.
I really wanted to give up during the first four miles. After that I felt good until mile 18, at which point the wheels fell off. I wanted to quit. I wondered what could possibly make me want to slog up and down all these damn hills.
I eventually got over it. The terrain is rugged but beautiful. Traffic is nearly non-existent. The road surface is rough enough to be interesting, but not so bad as to make it dangerous. I even managed to get the Fargo up to higher than normal speeds downhill (40mph or so – on gravel).
What really came out of this ride is that I’m too damn fat. Most of the weight gain has been from beer. I really need to re-evaluate my relationship with beer.
I used to live in Charlestown Indiana. It’s not that far. They have a cool pizza place. Tim and I decided to do a road ride there and enjoy some food and beer.
On a Friday in July, I took the day off work. After running some errands, I met up with Tim at Quill’s coffee to get the day started.
This was a road ride, so I was on the rSogn. Tim was on his Lightspeed.
rSogn
We took the Big-4 bridge across to Indiana. Riding this thing is absurd. There’s nearly always huge crowds of pedestrians. I’d say “screw it” and take the Second Street Bridge, but the I-65 realignment and bridge project is going to turn that bridge into a high-speed exit ramp. Bleh.
Once across, the ride up to Utica is pleasant and rather flat. Being along the river tends to do that.
Ohio River and fluffy clouds
There’s a gradual climb up Waterline Rd. We took Highway 62 into Charlestown and enjoyed our tasty treat.
We took part of my old 11-mile loop north of town then headed down hilly Bethany Rd and back to Waterline, and back the way we came.
Tim, Timothy, and I drove down to DBNF back in mid-July for a camping and biking trip. It was intended to be three days of riding, starting on Friday the 18th, but the riding was much tougher than we planned for, so we rode two days. We still camped for two nights.
Yes, I’m behind on writing here. More about that later.
I’ll admit to being nervous about the trip. We were going to be in a very rural, rugged area. My neck was flaring up. My Achilles was still healing. Damn it! I needed a ride!
My new GPS totally failed me. It refused to show our course on the map. Timothy had forgotten to load the course on his. Luckily, Tim had no issues with his.
On the GPS track above. See the little wiggle off to the east? That was our “Big Sinking Creek” loop. It was an off-road adventure that turned out to be much more than we bargained for. It was beautiful and rugged, but mostly unrideable.
Sure, we can ride thatThe scenery was worthwhile.
Cliff & creek
It’s called Big Sinking Creek because the creek is partially below ground. I assume it disappears and reappears seasonally. We had plenty of opportunity to ride and walk through it.
Wet feet
The rest of the ride was low-traffic, mostly-unpaved roads. It was quite pleasant.
The ride started out on paved roads, then a nice gravel road, then a turn onto a rutted, muddy, mess. Timothy managed to go over his bars at some point, but he was unhurt.
Slippery
Happiness is a muddy GPS.
Muddy GPS
We eventually make it to Turkeyfoot. It’s a very pleasant campground. It has no fresh water supply, but we brought our own.
Turkeyfoot!
Turkeyfoot is alongside a creek. The picnic area is near the creek. This made it quite handy to climb in the water and rinse off the mud. I didn’t even think about snakes until I was already in the water, but I never did see one.
The Esbit stoves did a good job of boiling water for my simple meal of macaroni & cheese with tuna. After eating and relaxing we still had to get back to the car.
We took a different route back that wasn’t as rugged. There was still a mud-pit road, but it was not rutted. It was completely rideable. It would have been enjoyable had I not been so exhausted and sore.
That was not to last as we hit another rocky, rutted, rough stretch and we walked again.
Once things flattened out and we were along a creek again, I wanted to sprint to the car. I didn’t have a sprint left in me. I was done. We all were dragging back to the car.
Tim and I discussed not riding on Sunday. We discussed leaving soon. It was eventually decided we’d go ahead and camp Saturday night, and head out in the morning.
We had a simple meal at camp. I slept soundly again.
Aftermath
My bike was a mess. It wouldn’t shift right. The brake pads were toast.
I was a mess. I’d had several instances this year where I hate the Fargo. I put it up for sale once, then pulled it back down. I was considering selling it again. It physically hurts me to ride it.
Many tough rides can be hard at the time. I’ve cried during rides before. I usually enjoy the rides much more in retrospect. Initially, I was having a hard time with this ride, even in retrospect. I’ve gained weight. The bike hurts my neck. I love these kind of adventures and the recumbent won’t work for this type of riding.
Now, more than three months later, the ride was excellent, in retrospect. I haven’t sold the Fargo. I actually switched out the handlebars, brake levers, cables, shifters, rear derailleur, and cleaned up everything. It’s a totally new bike. I don’t know what it’ll be like on another awesome adventure like this, but so far I like it.
I’m still beer-free. The eating hasn’t been great.
I haven’t ridden my bike to work at all this week. I’ve had the beginning of a neck flare-up. No matter, I leave in the morning for a camping trip with Tim and Timothy. My Fargo is loaded and ready to roll. I’ve packed plenty of anti-inflammatories.
Although I’m still in pain, I need this three-day weekend trip to keep my sanity.
I met up with Tim at Breadworks at 7:00 this morning for a ride with some distance. I haven’t done much of that recently. I rode the rSogn. Tim was on his Lightspeed.
Within 15 miles I was hurting. We were pushing into a headwind. I made it known that I wasn’t sure of completing the ride. Tim suffered through my bitching and we rode on.
We stopped at Iroquois Park to rest, and for me to decide if I could go on. Tim cajoled me into continuing, against my better judgement. He did change the route slightly to avoid a road that I loathe.
We cruised to the Jefferson Forest area, and rode a couple of hills. Tim waited for me as I fell behind.
After the two hills, it was mostly flat. Before long, we turned and enjoyed a tailwind. The tailwind made me feel so good, I pushed the pace too much, and bonked later.
With another stop for refreshments, I was able to continue. This ride wasn’t my best showing, but I need to build my fitness back up. I ended the day with just over 50 miles.
I took no pictures. There were a lot of other cyclists out. It was a great day. The forecast rain never materialized. It did get quite hot near the end of the ride.
I’m considering this ride the first step to getting back in shape.
I have to reward myself for my new drive to get fit again. I can’t have beer, but I can replace it with something healthier, like bike stuff!
Gadgets
My old GPS still works, but I can’t mount it to the bike anymore. The piece that connects to the handlebar mount is broken, and isn’t something I can order from Garmin. I’ve since learned about RAM mounts that would work, but before I knew this, I bought a newer device – the Garmin eTrex 20. It’s similar in size and appearance to the old eTrex hCX, but it’s faster, more accurate, and has a much more robust mounting system.
Once I buy the RAM mount, I’ll have two usable GPS devices for the bikes.
Cousins in the GPS family
Rebirth
My poor single-speed has been languishing in the basement for too long. The crank and bottom bracket were trash. I damaged the stem and handlebars. The original (30+ year old) headset was crunchy.
Some time ago, I took it in to have the headset replaced. I ordered some brake pads, cleaned the bike, obtained some tires, and had a rolling frame in the living room for a while. It did make a nice art piece, but that wasn’t the plan.
I ordered a stem and handlebars. I mounted the brake levers. Diane had bought me a crankset (a beautiful Sugino) on our honeymoon. I took the bike and crankset up to the bike shop and dropped it off.
On Friday, I got a call that the bike was ready. I went and got it, put pedals, lights, and a bell on it, and took it up the street a bit.
The single-speed lives!
It still needs bar tape, but I haven’t decided on color yet. I also want freedom to re-position the brake levers for a bit, so I’m in no hurry on bar tape.
I went for a different look this time. I ditched the red accents, and when grey, silver, and black. I may give it a splash of color with the bar tape. I may cloth, twine, and shellac for an old-school look.
Mechanically, it is a little different. The new crankset would give it a higher gear ratio (but I really liked the crank). So I also had a new freewheel put on, to lower the gear ratio. The end result is about 65 gear-inches, which is a bit lower than before. That’s about perfect for my old knees.
I won’t be commuterizing this bike this time. I did last time, but really this bike just wants to be a simple, nimble, light, fun ride. I’ll ride a different bike to work.
Saturday, I met up with Tim for a ride. He, unfortunately, rode a geared bike. No matter, I got to give the bike a good workout. I got a good workout up and down the hills. Things were good until on one climb when the headset made a loud pop and the lock ring came loose.
I carefully rode it to Tim’s house, where he gave me a ride home. I didn’t use the front brake at this time.
Once home, I was able to tighten down the headset. As long as it doesn’t come loose again soon, I’ll be happy.
Future?
I miss my LHT. I shouldn’t have sold it. I don’t have the money for another right now, but when I do, I’m going to buy the Disc Trucker – which is the same bike, but with disc brakes. It will become my commuter/tourer/beater/gravel grinder.
Once I have the trucker, the rear rack will come off of the rSogn, as I want that bike to be my rando bike, even if I never do a randonneuring ride.
Goals
I need to earn the new bike. I need to be able to crank out metric centuries every other weekend or so. I used to do this, but have not recently, and I certainly wouldn’t enjoy it much if I did it in my current condition.
I’ve done no long rides since my Achilles surgery (until today! – more soon!). I’m out of shape. I’ve gained weight. I need to fix that.
Yes, I’m still riding a bike. I just having been writing much about it.
Camping!
Back on June 20th, Tim and I went bike camping. I rode my Big Dummy.
Big and dumb
We didn’t want to deal with a campfire, so I brought a candle for light. An unfortunate spider managed to get into the molten wax.
We each brought our Esbit stoves for cooking dinner, and making coffee in the morning. There’s little else as important as camp coffee.
World’s smallest campfire
This was just a quick trip to Jefferson Forest, but it improved that weekend.
Family Riding
The next weekend was my wife’s birthday. She had her daughter over. We got out on the bike (my stepdaughter and I on the tandem, and Diane on her own bike).
Among other places, we rode the Beargrass Creek Trail. There’s a heron usually visible, but he’s shy and hard to photograph. This time he was feeling brave, and I managed to get a picture of him. I think Tim knows him well.
Heron!
This was a slow, meandering ride. It was quite enjoyable. We stopped for ice cream on the way home.
Volleyball
I’m still not playing volleyball, but I will be in about a week and a half. Two years ago, I was the only one who rode a bike there. Last year there was usually one other bike. Last month brought a large collection of bikes, including my ex-girlfriend riding the bike I bought her. Sweet!
Diane and I rode the tandem
The motorcycle belonged to our group too.
Look carefully, there are four more bikes
Robin’s bike had a low tire. I pumped it up.
Robin’s bike looks neat with a basket
Fourth of July
Bicycling For Louisville put on the Family Freedom Fun Ride on the morning of the Fourth. It was partially intended to celebrate/show off the new bike lanes on Breckenridge and Kentucky streets.
Turnout was good, probably 100+ people. The mayor was there. The news crews were there. There were four highwheel bicycles there, which is more than I’ve ever seen in one place.
A few of the crew
We didn’t take many pictures. This one was at the end, before everyone returned. Diane is off to the left in hi-vis yellow. There’s a highwheeler hiding behind the tree.
Tim rode with us most of the way. We ran into a number of people we knew, including Ben and Marcus. After the ride, Ben, Tim, Diane and I went to Cumberland for beer and to watch the soccer game.
Ben invited us to a party at his house. We went home, and packed up the tandem with beer. Ben is much younger than we are. He lives in an apartment with a roommate. There’s a nice back yard. He had quite a few people show up, most on bikes. You know it’s a party when the police show up.
Yes, one person was arrested. Almost nobody there knew her. She was arrested for DUI. She had driven there (drunk) and ran into a parked car in front of it’s owner. Sigh. The police are never in a good mood when responding to incidents like this on the Fourth.
Louisville’s main fireworks show, at the Riverfront, was cancelled this year. Diane and I went home early and watched a few neighborhood fireworks from our front porch.
More?
Yes. More. I’ll have more posts today. Things are a-changing.
My progress has been slow, but I have lost 3.4 lbs in four weeks. I have had days with too much beer. MyFitnessPal is helpful, but I have the occasional day that I blow my calorie budget.
Yes, I’m tracking all my calories again. I don’t yet have a specific calorie goal, but I’ll get there. Just writing it down has kept things in check. I have had a 3000-calorie day, but I’ve also had a 1000-calorie day. When I wasn’t tracking, I probably had several 5000+ calorie days.
I’m weighing again every morning, but I’ll just be posting my weekly and monthly averages. I’ve updated the weight page.
I gave up beer. It was supposed to be a month, but a social engagement enticed me to have a couple. That’s okay, I’m tracking the calories of the beer also – and limiting it greatly.
I’ve already had a happier digestive system than I did before.
Diane and I have been a bit more active. We’ve been walking the dogs more frequently. We bike-pool to work on the tandem most days. On Sunday, we took the tandem and trailer on an errand run in parts of town I don’t normally ride. Those areas have a reputation for not being bike friendly, but we had no issues.
The rig
Due to Diane having an earlier schedule, I just go to work early. I went in a 6:30 this morning – which meant I got to leave at 3:00. That’s not a bad deal.
There was an article on a local news website today that drivers are driving in the new “protected” bike lanes. I haven’t yet used these lanes, they don’t go where I’m going, but I’ve seen them. They’re “protected” with paint. That must be some magic paint – or not if people are driving in them.
Anyway, I clicked though and made the mistake of glancing at the comments at the end of the article. These are people who post comments from Facebook, so their real names show up. I’m not on Facebook, and even if I were, I would not want to engage these same tired arguments.
Ignoring the rare occasion, I normally have no issues with drivers. So why do I get so angry when I see the raging ignorance online? Maybe it’s because they are willfully ignorant. Some are worse. In one article about a cyclist badly injured in a hit-and-run crash, one idiot commented “Good!”
I want to take away their cars and licenses until they have a better understanding of the law and more empathy for their fellow man. Maybe I’m just having a bad day, but this is getting to me today. It’s making me want to go have a beer – but I’m trying to lose weight.
I don’t care for driving, but I still do it for longer trips. I first got a drivers license two days after my 16th birthday. I rarely drive these days. After having a valid license for a solid 27 years, I managed to let it expire yesterday. I didn’t realize it until this afternoon. It’s now been renewed.
Beer
I’m taking a one-month break from beer. I’m not cutting back, I’m cutting it out. I’ve gained too much weight. I’ve been lazy. I’ll re-evaluate in a month.
Bike-Pooling
Diane and I often ride the tandem to her work in the morning, then I ride solo a few blocks to my work. We did that today. In the afternoon, I picked her up, and headed to get my drivers license renewed. She had changed into casual clothes and flip-flops. She learned that flip-flops can come off while pedaling. She had to retrieve her footwear in downtown traffic.
Look carefully – there’s Diane grabbing her flip-flop
Achilles
My weak ankle has been causing me to limp. The weird walking caused a large buildup of callous on my heel. The heel split open and was quite painful. This caused quite a few issues. I started putting “heel balm” on it a few days ago, and it’s much better.
Sunday’s ride with Tim showed me that the ankle is still quite weak. I think the uptick in activity that I’ve had recently has been good, if a bit painful. I noticed today that I can barely lift myself onto my toes while standing only on my right leg. I haven’t been able to do that since before the accident. I’m also not limping at all today. I still have some weakness, but I’m making good progress.
More About Beer (and Food)
Beer and food is the keystone of my current social life. I often go out for beer after a bike ride. Diane and I go out for beer too often. Since I’m not drinking beer for a month, we need to come up with healthier habits. We started today by taking the dogs for a walk.
We walked the dogs to the bank, post office, and coffee shop. It was about a 2.5 mile trip. I much prefer riding a bike that distance, but it was nice to do something different and the dogs liked it.
Sandy enjoyed her break at the coffee shop
What’s Next?
I’ll eventually start weighing myself again. My last doctor visit had my weight at 268, which is pathetic. It basically means I lost 100lbs only to gain back nearly 70% of that. I weigh more now than I did since before I started riding a bike.
I’m going to have to help more with the cooking around the house. I have some ideas for healthier eating. I’m going to start tracking calories again. Once I do allow myself beer again, the beer calories will have to be tracked.
I want to feel like a cyclist again. I’m not selling the Fargo. I’m holding off on buying another bike. The bikes I have can get me through. It’s more about riding the bikes than buying them.
Tim and I met up at Breadworks, as usual, on Saturday morning for an urban spin. The ride was pleasant, but it’s really the only kind of riding we’ve been doing recently. We schemed to do something about that.
He did play a game of Spot the Turkey at my expense, but that’s how we roll sometimes. If you follow that link, you’ll see that I’ve gained some weight. More on that later.
I was up quite early Saturday morning. Diane and I bike-pooled to her work on the tandem. Then I rode home to grab my rSogn to meet Tim for the morning ride.
After the ride, I went back, grabbed the tandem, and took it to the shop for some minor repair. I then picked Diane up and headed home.
Later, Diane and I rode the tandem again, this time across the newly-opened Big Four Bridge. We checked out a burger & beer place in Jeffersonville before riding back home. The Big Four Bridge has no car traffic, but the crowds of pedestrians made this a walking-speed ride.
Sunday
Diane was on her own on getting to work. I had other plans. I had the rSogn packed and ready to go when Tim pulled up in his car with his Atlantis on the rack. We loaded my bike and headed for New Washington Indiana.
Tim and I have ridden the New Washington area before. It’s got enough hills to be interesting, but it’s not brutal. It has enough gravel to add texture to the ride. It’s low-traffic and our Sunday morning began with beautiful weather.
Tim likes his beach sunglasses
Much of the route was wide-open farmland.
Moo?
Some of it was a bit more forested.
Shady
We had navigation issues. Tim used his Edge GPS, which isn’t meant for routing. I didn’t have the route, and my GPS was at home with a broken mount. We meandered in the general direction, but managed to make a wrong turn on to a long dead-end road. It wasn’t wasted. It was one of the better roads on the ride.
We had planned a reasonable 35 miles, as both of us are out of shape. At 20 miles I was done. My right ankle is still weak. The ankle kept trying to turn while pedaling. It was painful, but I managed the last eight miles back to the car.
After I was home, I still had a few errands to run. I was extremely slow on the bike, but I managed without injury.
Monday
Monday, being Memorial Day here in the States, brings various celebrations. Louisville has the Mayor’s Hike, Bike, and Paddle. I had already planned to ride this on the tandem with Diane, but Asher contacted me about riding with him and Denis on their tandem. Tom and Jen joined us on their Rans Screamer (tandem recumbent) – and it was a party.
Asher and Denis in matching jerseys
There was a huge variety of bicycles to see. John brought his velomobile – probably the only one in Louisville.
John and his velo
There were a few ‘bents, and a few tandems, but I only saw one tandem ‘bent: Tom and Jen’s.
Rans Screamer
The first part of the ride was very crowded. I spent most of that time at a walking pace in close quarters. That’s a bit of a challenge with a tandem among wobbly children.
Tandems everywhere!
At one point Denis, started a water fight with me. I retaliated with my water bottle. Diane ended it by dumping water on me. It was already unfair – Denis, Asher’s stoker attacked me, the captain. He had his hands free to aim. I had to steer. Then my own stoker turned against me. All is fair in love, tandems, and water fights. I did get the last squirt in later in the ride. I zoomed past Asher and Denis’s tandem, drenching the surprised Denis along the way.
I have recently put a new saddle on the tandem. I hate it. I think I’ll be changing back to the old one. I was rather sore by the end of the ride. The six of us had a meal and beer at Against the Grain before going our own way.
Whew!
Over those three days, I rode 104 miles. I’ve certainly done more, but not recently. I’m out of shape and too fat. I went to work today by car. I was really sore. I left early due to a massive headache. I’m slightly sunburned. I guess I need to work on my physical well-being.
I had a minor incident while riding my bike home from work today. A woman stopped at a stop sign, but started again without yielding to traffic (me). I was moving at a decent clip on the Big Dummy.
The Big Dummy has excellent brakes. I think I (barely) missed her car, maybe I grazed it. The panic braking would have been fine on a four-wheeled vehicle, but the swerve and braking led to me hitting the pavement.
The woman stopped, but was nasty and complaining. She tried to blame it on me. I didn’t have a stop sign. She did. I called the police. They weren’t much better. They refused to take a report. One officer said “I’m sorry you fell off your bike“. They never checked her registration, insurance, or license.
The bike has some scuffs, it’s just cosmetic. My hands and left elbow had road grit embedded in them. My left knee got a little scraped through my pants. That’s all pretty minor, and I really don’t even feel it now.
My left shoulder is another story. I have a deep ache in that shoulder and arm. This is not the right should that I’ve struggled with. This is my left shoulder. It’s been fine, until this afternoon.
I wrote a complaint to LMPD for the poor service I got from one of their officers. I hope they follow-up with it, but I’m not hopeful.
So, I had a crappy evening. I’m hoping the shoulder is feeling well enough to ride to work again tomorrow.
I regret selling my Surly LHT. I want another one. One way to fund a new one is to sell an existing bike.
Here’s what I currently have:
Surly Big Dummy
Rawland rSogn
Bacchetta Agio Recumbent
Salsa Fargo
Raleigh Record single-speed
Trek T-900 Tandem
Specialized Crossroads (Diane’s)
Norco VFR4 (Diane’s)
Diane’s bikes and the tandem are staying. The recumbent is staying. I don’t ride it much, but when my neck flares up, I need it. The single-speed is in pieces, but I intend to fix it. I miss it. The Rawland is definitely staying. (Sorry Scott). That leaves the Fargo and the Big Dummy.
I had decided to sell the Fargo to fund a new LHT. Then I’d sell the Big Dummy to simplify. I can’t live without a car now that I’m married to Diane, so we’ll always have her car when needed. The LHT would be commuter/gravel/touring rig. I still have a trailer for cargo if necessary.
I brought the Fargo back upstairs (it had been in the basement) to clean it. I don’t want to sell it, but I don’t ride it often. I did take it out on an awesome ride back in January, but mostly it just sits.
On April 6th, 2014, Diane and I were wed at Duncan Memorial Chapel. This is my third marriage and her second. It’s the first time either of us had a “traditional” wedding.
Duncan Memorial Chapel
We had approximately 50 people attend the wedding. It was a good mix of her family and friends, and my friends. I have little family in the area. Asher played the organ for us. His husband, Denis, was there also.
Asher at the organ
Michael and his wife, Sarah, were able to make the drive. I hadn’t seen Michael in a while. We need to ride bikes together again sometime. He brought his camera and got some great shots.
I’m looking older
Tim was my best man. It was great to have him there.
He was arm-in-arm with Denise, Diane’s sister. He’d never met her until this day
Tom and Jen were able to make it. Patrick couldn’t make the wedding, he was at a funeral (gulp), but he did make it to the reception. Timothy was there, and dressed well with a bow-tie. He likes to pick up women at weddings, but I don’t think there were single women in his age range. In a way, most of the RCCS crew was able to be there.
I hadn’t seen Diane since earlier the day before. I had a beautiful bride.
My beautiful bride
Once the ceremony was complete, many pictures were taken, as people left to head to the reception. I was really tired of pictures by this point.
The reception was at the BBC (Bluegrass Brewing Company) Taproom. The mood of everything was lighter there. Several people Diane and I both know from the Louisville Ski Club were present.
Ski Club – just there for the beer
Once the alcohol was flowing, people loosened up. My daughter and her husband showed up. They had been unable to make it to the wedding. People started acting strangely, especially the bride and groom…
The garter is in here somewhere…
I did find the garter. It eventually ended up on someone’s head.
Umm, wha?
Our wedding night was a quiet night at home. We needed the rest after such a busy day.
We did have honeymoon plans. We had a rented “cabin” in Brown County Indiana. The “cabin” was actually an upstairs apartment in somebody’s home. It had it’s own deck and hot-tub. It was in the tiny ‘burg of Helmsburg Indiana.
On Monday, we loaded the tandem bike on the car and drove there. We arrived during a cold rain, so we tried to stay warm in the hot tub before going to bed.
All the interesting shops in Brown County are in Nashville Indiana, about six miles from our “cabin”. This was an easy ride on the tandem. The tandem was our transportation for the duration of the honeymoon.
Let’s go tandem-ing!
The route between the “cabin” and Nashville was hilly, but scenic and low-traffic.
Tandem selfie?
Nashville is a small town, but it’s full of local shops, restaurants, and bars. It also has a bike shop.
Tim and I had planned a 7:00am ride for this morning. At 6:30 a storm with heavy rain and lightning was moving through. We made the decision to wait it out. By 7:00, things had settled down, and I headed out in the rain (by then, just a drizzle) to meet up for the ride.
I took the more direct, but hillier, route along Eastern Parkway. My loss of fitness was obvious. I was terribly slow up the hills.
My right ankle swells up frequently. I call it a cankle. The calf-portion of the cankle has atrophied due to the achilles tendon not being connected to the foot for a while – then not walking on it – and finally walking carefully on it with a limp. So, I have an atrophied cankle, and I took it out in the rain.
It was about 65F degrees. I dressed in shorts and short sleeves. That was probably under-dressing considering the rain.
Tim and I headed around some neighborhoods to warm up before hitting the hills. I had already warmed up on Eastern Parkway, but I was glad to tone it down a bit.
The hilly roads in the park are a lot of fun. I had to ride the brakes a lot to dry them while descending into a curve, but it’s all part of the fun. There were no accidents or almost-accidents. I am a bit out of practice with fast riding in the rain.
During the ride we had two downpours. One of those times included a little lightning and thunder. It passed. We looped through St. Matthews, Mockingbird Valley, and Indian Hills before heading back to Breadworks for coffee.
I stayed warm during the ride. I think the effort I was putting into keeping up with Tim kept me warm.
We arrived at Breakworks much drier. The rain had let up. We each had coffee and a snack before going our own way.
The ride home was cold. I had sat, cooling off, at Breadworks. My top speed for the day was also in the stretch home.
I got home with 31 miles on the odometer. I took a warm shower, poured another cup of coffee and sat on the front porch with the dogs for a while.
Diane and I had a wonderful wedding, and the marriage has been good so far. Yes, we’ve had an argument, but nothing we won’t get over. Mostly, things are quite good. I really have planned on a big post about the wedding, but I think that’s dead now – over a month later. We wedding was great. The weather was perfect. The reception at BBC Taproom was a blast. I’ll write about the honeymoon – including tandem bike, later.
Wait. I’m married now?
My temporary job has been extended until the end of the year. I don’t enjoy the job, but being employed is nice. Work has kept me busy, too busy at times. I feel like many other things are falling behind.
My doctor has not sent me to physical therapy for my leg/ankle/achilles. I had my final appointment with my orthopedic surgeon, and he believes all is well. It could take a year to feel normal again, but I have no more activity restrictions.
I still get swelling and soreness sometimes. Walking causes more issues than riding the bike. I still intend to start playing volleyball for the next session. In the meantime, I need to stretch and work on strength.
I’ve gained weight. I haven’t been weighing regularly, but I’m about 260lbs right now. I still drink too much beer. I’ve left the weight issue on the back burner for now. I know I shouldn’t, but I feel like I have to finish the transition to married life and fixing financial issues.
Diane and I are trying to fix some financial issues. We want to own a home someday. Our spending on beer is down – most due to buying it from a store rather than a bar.
I’m on the bike pretty much every day now. Diane and I ride the tandem several times a week. We bike-pooled to work three days this week on the tandem – and plan to do so in the morning again. We work within a few blocks of each other, so it works.
I seldom ride at a fast pace. Serious distance would hurt. This is killing has killed my fitness.
My depression issues have resurfaced again, but in a different way. I’m able to monitor how I feel. Maybe I’m just learning a new coping mechanism. It still sucks, but it doesn’t paralyze me. I can analyze it. I can usually avoid hurting others.
I hope to not go another month without posting. This blog was built on accountability on my weight control. It’s been failing at that recently.
I spent most of the weekend at home being lazy and reading books. Diane had to work.
When she got home today, she wanted to go out. We hopped on the tandem for a quick trip to Four Pegs. We decided not to eat there, but go somewhere farther away. The tandem has the new chain and cassette, so I figured we should really give it a work out.
We headed to Indiana. We cranked over the bridge, but very shortly after that the chain wedged between the cassette and the spokes. I got very greasy getting everything back together. We continued the ride, but soft-pedaled it, as the chain would skip. Apparently it has a bent link or two.
We eventually made it to New Albanian where we enjoyed BBQ pork sandwiches and delicious beer.
The drivetrain on the tandem was really complaining on the return trip. I was worried that we’d break the chain. I carry both 9 and 10-speed chain links, but the tandem is an 8-speed. Again, we soft-pedaled our way along – and took the bike path through Clarksville. It was dark by the time we made it to the riverfront. We were well lit, but we took some time to enjoy the view.
Louisville skyline from Clarksville
We made it home with no further mechanical issues. Now I need to get in the shower and scrub the grease off of my arm.
