LOVE THE GLOVES!

I was recently given a gift card at work and decided to use it this weekend. My riding gloves are starting to wear a little thin and I needed some with more padding in the palm to help reduce fatigue from the vibration of the bike.


After dinner Saturday night, Mel and I stopped by Performance Bikes to see what they had in stock. I found a pair of Pearl Izumi Cyclone gloves that seemed to be what I needed. They have plenty of padding in the palm, with the requisite terry cloth snot wipe on each thumb (what will those bikers think of next?).






My rubber handlebar grips were starting to wear and crack, so I needed to upgrade. I found a pair of Lizardskins Peaty clamp on grips with red ends to match the paint on my bike. Sweet! After getting the old ones off (bit of a struggle), I fitted the new ones on in less than 10 minutes. I'll keep the old ones for spare parts in case I need them in the future.

This morning I went back out to OP Schnabel for my weekend ride. I had to get the Marin tuned up again this week, so I didn't ride during the week. OP fit the bill. I had a nice 2 hour ride and covered 10.5 miles. Best of all, I was able to conquer a part of the trail that I had avoided for weeks. It is a very rocky downhill section that for some reason, I hadn't been ready to handle mentally.








Today I made up my mind that I was going to ride it! I was already at the end of my ride and headed toward that section of the trail. I had already avoided it at the beginning of my ride, so I was determined to do it. I stopped at the top of the section to study the downhill and pick my line.


Satisfied with the line, I walked my bike back to the top of the trail and headed down. I navigated the first portion of the downhill, then lined up for the hard part. I shifted my butt off the seat and just above the rear wheel, in case I needed to jump off the bike. I hit the first rock and my bike absorbed the hit, then kept on going. At the bottom of the downhill, I gave a fist pump for my small victory! Then I headed back to the truck to load up and come home.


It seems that riding alone the last few weeks has helped my stamina, as I challenge myself to take shorter and fewer breaks throughout the ride. Daylight Savings time will end next weekend, so that virtually eliminates any chance to ride after work. I guess I'll have to make do by simulating my rides at the gym.


Once showered, I super glued my butt to the recliner, having earned my afternoon of guilt free football watching!

GOTTA LOVE THIS PICTURE!

Boy, does this bring back memories of "I am Batman". When I was little, Batman was my hero. My mom went as far as to sew a Batman costume for me to wear. It wasn't Halloween either. I would wear it in the front yard, at the park, anywhere I pleased!

Now, so many years later, IT'S STILL COOL TO BE BATMAN!

YAY, BERT WAS HERE!

As mentioned in a previous post, Albert was in Austin for a friends wedding. We were able to meet for dinner Sunday night to spend a couple of hours with him and his cousin Chris, his wife Jennifer, their son Allister, and good friend Brian. We met at Waterloo Ice House and had some good burgers and tater tots!

It was good to see Bert and catch up a little. Hopefully we will have more time to spend with him next month when he comes to town for Thanksgiving. Until then, it was great to see him again after nine months. California seems to agree with him!

AWESOME RIDE!

Although I rode quite a bit Friday, I decided to ride again this morning. It seems to help my stamina when I ride more than once a week, so I didn't want to lose any momentum. I have to admit, I almost talked myself out of riding this morning, but I ignored the voices.

I decided to head out to O.P. Schnabel and hit the trail a little before 9 AM. It was a BEAUTIFUL morning, with a little nip in the air. It was cool enough that I dressed in layers, with a long sleeve undershirt under my regular shirt. An hour into the ride, it had warmed up enough for me to take off the undershirt.

There were a few bikers and hikers on the trail, but not too bad. The ones I came across were very friendly, which was a nice change from usual. I ultimately rode 12.6 miles in around an hour and a half. Hopefully I can keep up my momentum for another try at Government Canyon next month.

Now it's time to rest up before we head to Austin to see Bert!

BEAUTIFUL DAY!

It has been pretty stressful at work lately, so I decided to take a personal day to ride off some stress. I hit Madrone Trail about 10 am and decided I was going to try and ride the entire trail. Although I like the first two miles the best, I figured since I had the whole day to myself, I would try the whole thing.

The sun was shining and there was a crispness in the air. I love fall! When I was younger, summer was my favorite time of year, but especially since I've been riding, Fall has taken first place. Sixty five degree temperatures make for a VERY comfortable bike ride!

Although the first part of the trail is challenging, having several climbs, I was able to complete it with few breaks. I finished the first three miles within an hour and took a break to rest and eat a GU packet. After five minutes, I was back on the trail headed for the dreaded Madrone rock gardens. As you will see from the pictures, these rocks are large and treacherous, some with very sharp edges.

I stopped for a couple of minutes at the bottom of an old boat ramp, that is no longer in use. It was kind of sad to see Canyon Lake, as it is several feet low. There was probably a hundred feet or so of exposed ramp that is usually under water.

I continued to the West side of the trail and stopped to take pictures of a canyon facing the lake. There were several tires strewn about; I don't understand how people can toss trash about as if it was a dump. Cigarette butt tossers are a huge peeve of mine, but that's another story.

I wound up finishing the 9 mile trail in 2 hrs and 45 minutes, but I stopped a few times along the way to take pictures and catch my breath. All in all, it was a good ride. I really like Madrone, but I hate having to drive almost an hour each way (depending on traffic).

Once home, I washed and detailed my bike, cut the front yard, and played with Hershey and Mattie. I am pretty tired right now, but it was a great day off. Tomorrow will be another COLLEGE FOOTBALL DAY, with Tech playing A&M at 11 and Texas vs. Missouri at 7 pm. Sunday we will head to Austin to have lunch with Bert, who is in from California for a friends wedding. It will be good to see him.

Depending on what time we have to be in Austin, I may or may not ride Sunday. If I do, it will probably be close to home, just so I can get another workout in. Until next time, GO TECH!

CHECK THIS OUT

If you missed Sean Hannity's debate coverage after last night's debates, you've GOT to watch this! Hannity was beat at his own game!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zgn6rjGbp0c&feature=bz301

TRIED AND TRUE

Tuesday I was able to slip out a little early from work and get out to McAllister for a quick workout. I was on the trail by 5:30PM and was able to ride 9.5 miles in 1hr 15 min. The trails were a little crowded and my asthma was bothering me because of the cool front that blew in. A couple of puffs from my trusty inhaler and I was good to go.

The sun is setting a lot sooner now and by 6:45 it was getting dark in the creek bottoms. I got a good workout and rode off some stress, so it was a successful ride!

GOOD WEEK

This has been a decent week considering I was able to ride twice; once on Thursday and again this morning. Hopkins and I went to OP Schnabel for a two hour ride.

It was a little surreal, as an 18 year old girl died there this past week. In a previous post, I showed a picture of a cliff that is around 35 feet high. This girl was near the edge with a friend and somehow slipped and fell to her death below. When we rode by the cliff, we could see crosses and bouquets that friends and family had placed along the cliff side.

We rode almost 11 miles in a little over 1.5 hours. It was a good ride that was technical enough to keep it interesting, yet not so treacherous that we could actually stay on our bikes. Last week at Guadalupe River State Park was tough because of all the rocks on the trails.

Today the Dallas Cowboys squeaked by the Cincinnati Bengals, and yesterday The Texas Tech Red Raiders POUNDED the Kansas State Wildcats. I also read that Mojo whupped up on OHS, but that was pretty typical. Even in Permian's down years, OHS was never able to beat them in football.

Mel and I had a good weekend, which included cleaning house, eating dinner at Red Lobster, and visiting with Cindy today. All in all, a good week!