July 9th

Wow been a while since I popped in here.
Updates since last time:
Doubled my mileage almost, sitting at 499.8 miles
Lost more weight, now at 246.

I seem to have hit a wall at the 245-247 range not gaining not losing but fluxing in between. Still much better than when I started.

The miles are coming smoother and faster. Since my last report I rode to Hovland and back and made a trip into Grand Marais. G.M. is a 32 mile ride and I clocked it in at 2:47:00 not bad at all considering the headwind the entire ride. Hovland and back 12.5 miles in about an hour even both ways.

Picked up some new tires, Schwalbe Big Apples :

Kind of a big tire :)
Compared to the Michelin 700x32:


even the original :




Ordered some new bling for the bike, new handle bars and a Brooks B-17 saddle.

sexy sexy saddle.

http://www.brookssaddles.com/brooksengland.html

Hoping that the new swept back bars and the comfy seat will relieve the minor discomfort on a long ride. My wrists seem to handle the straight bars but my palms go numb so I end up riding switching hand positions into all sorts of funky contortions.

Over all the more I ride the more I notice how much better shape I'm getting in even if I'm not seeing stupendous weight loss. I can crank up hills without huffing and puffing, ride for two hours straight without setting a foot down etc...
I remember when we moved back up here that I "needed" to stop for a cig break then walk the bike up the hill on the way to work. This hill is probably the lowest lump of elevation out side of the regular undulations around here.

I'm now considering going to a 1x9 set up dropping the front derailleur as I can get away without the granny gear and the large ring is mostly useless other than trying to reach terminal velocity going down hills. I think the area would make a single speed hellish, perhaps when we move.
Dropping the front derailleur would lose weight (haha) and allow me to move the Big Apple in the rear forward a bit closing up my wheel base. Even tho its only back an extra inch or so I would rather keep the rear tucked in and not rely on the hangers to support my weight while extended.

hard to see in this pic, but when forward theres about a credit cards width of clearance!

Monday June 16

Good weekend, biked the Old 61 Loop on fathers day. The miles are starting to add up.

Failed to lose any weight over the weekend but I also didn't bother to watch what I ate and got piggish.

Put the knobbies back on, wow I know the slick n' skinnies made for a fast ride but I forgot how rough pushing the big rubber was.

Today I flopped the stem and shimmed it at the max I think 16 degrees? I don't know how to read the thing. It seemed to allow me to ride more relaxed and a little less bent over.

Friday Part Deux

Commute home in decent time given the wind, felt squirrelly so I decided to tackle the Hovland ride.
Made it to the turn around point in exactly an hour pushing into heavy wind 12.5 to 13 miles. Dani showed up earlier than the rescue time I set up so I took the opportunity for a ride home in the car. I was going to tell her to turn around andgo home that I was on time with the ride and all was well but when I unclipped my left foot something shot off my pedal.

It was the end cap thingy that seals off the outter bearing.
Then noticed the pedal rocking a little.
Looked at the right side pedal.... same issue.


They are not "destroyed" yet but I cant rely on them for any more longer rides since the ottuer bearing on both seems to be blown out. At least they are the cheapos that came with the bike.
It also explains the creaky grind noise that pops up and had me fearing the bottom bracket was roached.
Yay new pedals for me.

Friday June 13th

Not a lot to note.

Wednesday was a basic commute day.
Thursday sucked, rain, rain ..... no rides.

Today rode in after lunch. This morning it looked like another rained out day, fog, wind, drizzle. Absolutely beautiful out now at 2pm.

Trying to crack down on my one food weakness: carbs in the form of breads.

Whipping up another batch of my semolina italian bread was probably not a good idea.... oh so tasty.

Tomorrow is the Kids Day at the community center and afterwards I believe we will be heading into Grand Marais for some grocery shopping etc.. not sure what kind of riding I will get in.

Sunday is Fathers Day, once again not sure what time I will have to ride around. Fathers day ... I should be able to work some alone time in just because.

I had planned to ride to Hovland this weekend so not sure if that plan will come through. Maybe after work today if I dont feel drained.

AA is going well, over 1/3 complete now.. weeee ...

I'm starting to find myself stressed out when I can't ride or walk. Yesterday was hard during the day but I had afternoon/evening things to keep my attention. Wednesday was harsh because I couldn't morning commute then when I went to do extra activities after work they got rained out.

Lots of built up energy now, or maybe I am just getting used to not being a lazy blob?

Tuesday May 10th

Not much to note.
Went for a short walk after dinner last night and took a quick ride to red rock.
No going home for lunch so no bike riding in the AM, maybe take a ride after work depending on the weather.

Monday June 9th

Sunday:
Boom.
I had smaller tubes in my tires than I should have so the initial ride closed with a bang at .9 miles, seriously a bang. Walked the bike home pretty bummed out since I had no spare tubes. When I removed the tube it had a hole about 1/2 inch in diameter.
We drove in to Grand Marais to the bike shop and I picked up 3 new properly sized tubes. and scurried home to install them.

Ride #2: Much nicer with out the exploding tires, I was a little skittish and took it easy and kept pace behind the boy on our ride to red rock and back.
The ease of movement on the new rubber was amazing I think I kept it in the largest front ring the whole ride and alternated the 3 smallest rear cogs.

So after the test ride I decided to roll the 10 mile test again 38:56 vs. 44:12 on the knobbies :).
Took the boy and the dog out for a two mile walk before dinner.

Monday:
Commute to work on the new tires @ 11:35 vs. the usual 15-20. sweeeeeet.

Weighed in at 252.3 this morning

Saturday June 7 - New Tire Day

We drove to Duluth today to do a little shopping and returned home a little late to bother with a ride of any distance.
I stopped in at a few of the bike shops down there to eye up the tires and settled on a pretty damned slick Michelin Dynamic 700x32c Touring "road" tires. I had hoped to land a set of 28-30 instead but after mounting them the 32 seem plenty skinny. Took them out for a quick run 1/4 mile or so and back before it was completely dark and holy shit the beast is fast now. Of course I'm not rolling huge 29x2.0 knobby tires but still whizzz zoooom. I did not have the computer set up for the tires yet so no real numbers to back me up.
Yesterday after work I felt guilty about not commuting even though it had been raining so in preparation for New Tire Day I rode out 5 miles and back to get a nice even time off of 10 miles - 44 minutes and change. Hopefully the weather holds out and sunday I can test run the new tires and compare times.
Also in Duluth I snagged a new CamelBack for a good price at the sport shop, new toys galore!