It's been about 2 weeks since I've last done a bike ride, now thats despicable! I've been even busier than last week, but I guess that's one of those things you can count on in life, business. I've had a lot of "good busy" though these past 7 days or so, and I've made a connection that life changes as soon as you get a car and a license, you begin to need gas money; and fast. so the result of this phenomenon is me, the rolling resistor, acquiring a job.
That is how my life has turned from busy, to crazy; and the reason behind my lack of riding. I've been spending my week days training at my job, I'm being taught how to place orders and and answer phones at City Pizza at the notorious City Place. Pretty cool place to be working at huh? I bet you figured the Rolling Resistor would end up working at a pizza place, what a cliché! Now I'm in for double the battle, fighting to not eat excessive amounts of pizza and food during work, and trying to keep up my biking routine.
We'll see how that works out, I'm hoping for some balance. Besides work, I've had some projects for school, and I've been focusing on my studies as well; as I take the honor of studying at Oxbridge Academy seriously. Another major event that happened this week is the arrival of some special family friends, Jimmy Svensson, Peter Svensson and Johan Laire, these guys came all the way from Sweden. I figured I'd give you an update on my life, since I don't have many cycling stories to tell you today. Well I did manage to squeeze one ride in this busy schedule, this Saturday morning, and it certainly was a special one, because we had a guest rider, Jimmy!
This Swede has been cycling now for about a year, but has been off of his bike for some time now due to a serious injury on his toe. I'm not lying, this viking had a 50 pound metal tool fall on the big toe of his right foot during work. Thankfully his toe has healed enough to bike now, so he joined us for our usual morning ride, with a rental bike. I kinda under estimated Jimmy, I figured with an injury like that, and not riding consistently would make him a weak rider. I was wrong though, Jimmy had a blast leaving us in the dust, he was cruising right behind Jari, keeping 18mph on his clock against the wind! I was appalled, and trying to catch my breath from fighting to keep up. I was feeling a bit sluggish during the ride since getting back into the biking routine is tougher than I remember. I ended up leaving the gang to go at my own pace for the last 4 miles, giving me a total of 26 miles that morning. The crazy viking gang, racked in 30 miles, and was feeling great to get out and enjoy the smooth Florida asphalt. Peter, and Johan followed us around in their rental car, being our support vehicle to cheer us on; they had a great time admiring the beautiful A1A scenery.
Uh oh! I'm still not used to this whole going to work deal, I've gotta run to make it on time! I'll be back next week with some more stories (If I have the time to ride) until then, take it easy , and have fun!
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Cycling Lingo
I've had a jam packed week of school to start my November off with, and the result of this has been little to no riding at all! It's a strange feeling, I know I haven't forgotten how to bicycle... I just feel like if I've forgotten my schedule. I did a measly 26 mile spin last saturday morning I know that much, and now that I'm thinking I recall another 26 miles on Monday... a dark, and slightly chilly trip from the Lake Worth Bridge to the end of Palm Beach and back. This time change is really messing with my brain, it feels like it's 9 at night so I'm pedaling extra furiously to get back home, but then when the glow of a street light illuminates my computer It's only 6:45 PM! I can't complain with the extra hour of sleep we get though, but I'm looking forward to riding in the mornings now instead of the night because it's so odd. I was thinking how I could make this post more meaty and not just a scrap bone story, so I figured today I will educate you on the many terms of cycling. This has been a popular request by many, I get awkward gawks while saying words such as "peloton" and "pulling", so your in luck; because from today on you too will be speaking like a cyclist!
Talking like a cyclist is a major plus, we have tons of "hip" words that will spice up your vocabulary more than if you were to take a bite out of a dictionary. Plus they're usually short and have a nice ring. Here are the basics, the terms even a Rolling Resistor must know...
Cyclist: A person who rides a bicycle... get it, it's just like cutting off the beginning of the word bicycle and putting it in a plural form. It don't take Rosetta Stone for you to learn that one... hopefully.
Peloton: A group of cyclist, usually a large group consisting of more than 10 riders. It can even be hundreds some times; however, I'll still refer to my crew and I as a peloton when we ride.
Pulling/ Nose in the wind: The action of leading your peloton, or cycling buddy by being in front of the group, or him/ her. This is usually a bit more difficult because your enduring the direct force of wind, rain, acid rain, or whatever life throws at you while riding at that moment. This action is usually referred to as "doing all the work" because not only are you setting the pace of the other riders, but navigating also. People who "pull" are usually tougher, stronger, or just darn stubborn; but theres one thing any cyclist can agree to, the best "pullers" are those who keep a constant, steady, and smooth pace. No going from 15 mph to 20 mph every other second. In peloton guys on the front do 25-30% more work than riders hanging in middle or back of the group with there heart rate nice and relaxed.
Clock/ Screen: The computer located on the handle bars of a cyclist's bike, it's also known as a speedometer, and records the miles biked for the trip, as well as the speed you are riding, the time, your average speed, and overall miles, etc. If your imagining like an iPad on our handlebars your a bit off... It's more like a small screen 1 inch X 1.5 inch, with one button in the middle. It's also available in a larger form with the ability to measure cadence, heart rate, power, and some even with GPS mapping. If you haven't already noticed, this is one of the most important tools we cyclist have, it guides our training.
Cadence: The speed which a riders legs are spinning, as of revolutions per minute. Typical cadence is somewhere in 75-95 rpm's range in normal conditions.
Lid/ Brain Bucket: A helmet (a must have for all riders, safety is key).
Bib: Cycling shorts with suspenders so there is no need to have restricting elastic waist band. Much more comfortable than regular biking shorts. Bibs has nice and some cases thick chamois (back in old days it was real chamois but now its synthetic multi density specialty foam) in the seat area. It looks like a luchador suit, and makes the extra hard bike seat more comfy, especially for longer rides + all the pros wear them.
Jersey: The breathable, light, technical shirt that zips in front and has 3 pockets in the back for storing snacks and other items. Comes normally in two fits race and club, race been in very tight fit with noting flapping around and the club is roomier looser fit. I prefer race fit.
Spill: When a rider falls or makes contact with the asphalt or ground. This action usually results in pain, frustration, or damage to the bike; sometimes even all of the above.
Road Rash: The result of a rider falling on asphalt, it's a scrape or patch of red, shaved, exposed skin, which is very painful but all the tough guys still ride the next day.
Tanks: The bottles in which cyclist carry their beverages in, usually a sport drink, I prefer Cytomax, but if I can't grab my hands on the powder, I'll settle for Gatorade mixed with water.
Clipless Pedals: The cleats cyclist wear, these shoes have a special plastic hook like attachment on the bottom and snap into pedals. I don't know what genius thought up the name, because not much thought went into it.... they clip.
Drop Bars/ Drops: The lower section of a cyclist handle bars, when holding on to the drops, a rider achieves greater aerodynamics, boosting speed, reducing wind force, and creating a more aggressive riding position. If your not the most flexible person this isn't the most comfortable way to hold your handle bars.
Well this should have you up to date on the latest and greatest cycling jargon, and hopefully I cleared up some confusion for you readers. if your already a cyclist today was a review then! I encourage you students to practice these terms and use them in your daily dialect; you'll confuse the boss, impress the ladies, and be the ultimate hipster.
Talking like a cyclist is a major plus, we have tons of "hip" words that will spice up your vocabulary more than if you were to take a bite out of a dictionary. Plus they're usually short and have a nice ring. Here are the basics, the terms even a Rolling Resistor must know...
Cyclist: A person who rides a bicycle... get it, it's just like cutting off the beginning of the word bicycle and putting it in a plural form. It don't take Rosetta Stone for you to learn that one... hopefully.
Peloton: A group of cyclist, usually a large group consisting of more than 10 riders. It can even be hundreds some times; however, I'll still refer to my crew and I as a peloton when we ride.
Pulling/ Nose in the wind: The action of leading your peloton, or cycling buddy by being in front of the group, or him/ her. This is usually a bit more difficult because your enduring the direct force of wind, rain, acid rain, or whatever life throws at you while riding at that moment. This action is usually referred to as "doing all the work" because not only are you setting the pace of the other riders, but navigating also. People who "pull" are usually tougher, stronger, or just darn stubborn; but theres one thing any cyclist can agree to, the best "pullers" are those who keep a constant, steady, and smooth pace. No going from 15 mph to 20 mph every other second. In peloton guys on the front do 25-30% more work than riders hanging in middle or back of the group with there heart rate nice and relaxed.
Clock/ Screen: The computer located on the handle bars of a cyclist's bike, it's also known as a speedometer, and records the miles biked for the trip, as well as the speed you are riding, the time, your average speed, and overall miles, etc. If your imagining like an iPad on our handlebars your a bit off... It's more like a small screen 1 inch X 1.5 inch, with one button in the middle. It's also available in a larger form with the ability to measure cadence, heart rate, power, and some even with GPS mapping. If you haven't already noticed, this is one of the most important tools we cyclist have, it guides our training.
Cadence: The speed which a riders legs are spinning, as of revolutions per minute. Typical cadence is somewhere in 75-95 rpm's range in normal conditions.
Lid/ Brain Bucket: A helmet (a must have for all riders, safety is key).
Bib: Cycling shorts with suspenders so there is no need to have restricting elastic waist band. Much more comfortable than regular biking shorts. Bibs has nice and some cases thick chamois (back in old days it was real chamois but now its synthetic multi density specialty foam) in the seat area. It looks like a luchador suit, and makes the extra hard bike seat more comfy, especially for longer rides + all the pros wear them.
Jersey: The breathable, light, technical shirt that zips in front and has 3 pockets in the back for storing snacks and other items. Comes normally in two fits race and club, race been in very tight fit with noting flapping around and the club is roomier looser fit. I prefer race fit.
Spill: When a rider falls or makes contact with the asphalt or ground. This action usually results in pain, frustration, or damage to the bike; sometimes even all of the above.
Road Rash: The result of a rider falling on asphalt, it's a scrape or patch of red, shaved, exposed skin, which is very painful but all the tough guys still ride the next day.
Tanks: The bottles in which cyclist carry their beverages in, usually a sport drink, I prefer Cytomax, but if I can't grab my hands on the powder, I'll settle for Gatorade mixed with water.
Clipless Pedals: The cleats cyclist wear, these shoes have a special plastic hook like attachment on the bottom and snap into pedals. I don't know what genius thought up the name, because not much thought went into it.... they clip.
Drop Bars/ Drops: The lower section of a cyclist handle bars, when holding on to the drops, a rider achieves greater aerodynamics, boosting speed, reducing wind force, and creating a more aggressive riding position. If your not the most flexible person this isn't the most comfortable way to hold your handle bars.
Well this should have you up to date on the latest and greatest cycling jargon, and hopefully I cleared up some confusion for you readers. if your already a cyclist today was a review then! I encourage you students to practice these terms and use them in your daily dialect; you'll confuse the boss, impress the ladies, and be the ultimate hipster.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Conquering Gainesville
I'm back to bring you folks the 411 from our 45 miler ride in Gainesville, where the gang and I (excluding dad and the Frog, but adding my uncle Jim) conquered one of the hilliest rides in our young cycling history. Well that doesn't count for uncle Jim, because he's a cycling veteran and has participated in some of the most grueling physical events on the planet. Jim has a 8 Ironman competitions under his belt, around 30 marathons, and a bucket filled with ultra distance rides he has completed; many in real mountains which make the hills we climbed during the 45 miler look like speed bumps.
During our shortened ride in Gainesville, Uncle Jim and Alexander (and for some time Jim's buddy), were flying together at above Rolling Resistor speeds because they had no fear of ever struggling through the hills. I however, was kind of in the middle of the pack, cruising at whatever speed fancied me at the moment, while Nick and Johanna were in front of me at some points, and then behind me for others. Since we prefer the same speed and difficulty we tried to stay together, but I ended up traveling solo for about half the ride. This was actually pretty fun, I mean I felt like I was in the middle of a televised cycling race! Passing old farts, on their ancient road bikes, sprinting furiously to pass middle aged couples on tandem bicycles, it was quite entertaining, to see new faces come and go.
Now the hills, those things make me chuckle now! To think I ever let them worry me, It was living proof that I had become stronger and improved over the course of my training, because I never struggled through a single one. There had to have been at least 20 hills I climbed, many much larger than the Lake Worth bridge, which was the only mini mountain I had come to know and love. These foreign hills played an annoying role, slowing me down for a good minute, accelerating my heart rate, but then giving me a sort of joy ride in the end. It was a like a Rolling Resistor powered roller coaster, the more effort I put climbing up, the faster I would fly down, while the chilly breeze gnawed at my nose. I even got a bit stylish riding down hill, I began using my drops, which left the cyclists I passed awing at my professional aerodynamic position as they ate my dust.
My favorite part of the event was certainly the rest stop we raided. This row of tents covering elderly volunteers which were enslaved to make sandwiches for us cyclists, as well as unbox packaged goods was visited by our gang of cyclists about half way through the ride. Alex, nick, and I loved this part of the trek, we met up, talked about the ride while recharging our teenage boy appetites with a surplus of snacks. Nick and I stuffed the pockets of our jerseys with packets of M&M's to give us boosts through out, and we filled up our tanks and drank merrily.
If free food doesn't make you happy then your going to be one miserable bicyclist for the rest of the ride, because it's always the last 15 miles or so when you start getting a bit tired. So thats when Nick and I started busting out the chocolate, and taking turns to pull each other and all that good stuff. Johanna wanted to get some speed now since she was recharged from the rest stop and flew off with a small group of riders and Nick and I stuck it out, until I became fully charged up and began speeding up. This was about 8 miles from the finish line, when that adrenaline feeling began to kick out the laziness. Once again I started passing bikers, and even Johanna! I was now behind the lightning crew, Alex, and Jim. The finish line was now tangible, the last 3 miles had arrived and I was just whistling while peddling, passing people left and right. This was the best feeling, like I was finishing up an eventful stage of the Tour De France. Finally I could see my dad and the the lightning crew and the finish line had been broken by yours truly, it was over! A minute later we were whole once again because the notorious Nick was back along with Johanna burning rubber as they braked to take pictures with us. What a day it was, one filled with friends, family, and good ol' riding fun!
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