Wednesday, August 05, 2009
Friday, July 31, 2009
Bike Ride Bucket List
The Bucket List, from 2007, touched on an interesting subject. In this movie, several characters discuss (and, more importantly, act on) their "bucket lists" -- lists of things they want to do before they "kick the bucket".
I was reminded of this movie recently as Kasia and I discussed epic rides we hope to complete someday. With that in mind, here is my own personal "Bike Ride Bucket List":
Many more to come.
What's on your Bike Ride Bucket List?
I was reminded of this movie recently as Kasia and I discussed epic rides we hope to complete someday. With that in mind, here is my own personal "Bike Ride Bucket List":
- RAMROD (Ride Around Mount Rainer in One Day)
- RAGBRAI (The Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa)
- Fireweed 400
- Markleeville Death Ride
- Hotter 'N Hell 100
- Tour Divide -- I'm not interested in racing, but I like the idea of an unsupported mostly-off-road ride from Banff, AB to Antelope Wells, NM
- The North Sea Cycle Route
- Many other EuroVelo routes -- specifically, I'd like to completely map and record all EuroVelo routes through Poland
- Ride the Trans Canada Trail from coast to coast
- The Iron Horse Bicycle Classic -- race the train from Durango to Silverton.
Many more to come.
What's on your Bike Ride Bucket List?
Friday, June 19, 2009
Seattle Livestrong Challenge 2009
The Seattle Livestrong Challenge 2009 is coming up soon -- this Sunday, June 21. I'm quickly running out of time to nag people for donations to this worthy cause.
Kasia and I wanted to ride this together, but fate had other plans. She injured her right knee a couple of weeks ago. After last week's MRI and yesterday's appointment with the orthopod, the verdict was clear: torn meniscus. Her surgery is scheduled for this coming Monday.
It looks like I'll be riding alone.
Except I won't be alone, of course. Elden "Fatty" Nelson has organized Livestrong teams in Seattle, San Jose, Philadelphia, and Austin. There are 111 registered members of Team Fatty Seattle; I'm sure we'll all be sporting our fashionable Fatty Jerseys on Sunday.
I'll have the other 110 members of Team Fatty (and probably a thousand other riders) as company during the ride. We're all riding to raise money for The Lance Armstrong Foundation in support of cancer treatment and research. Team Fatty members ride to show support for Elden's wife Susan. Most of us also ride in honor of friends and family who battle this terrible disease.
Economically, this is not the best time to ask for donations. Ironically, this is the time when they're most needed.
My Team Fatty Seattle donation page.
Any donation (or words of encouragement) is greatly appreciated.
Does your company have a "matching gifts" program for donations? Additional information on matching gifts can be found at the Livestrong Challenge -- Matching Gifts page.
If you donate to my page, please include the following information on your company's matching gifts form:
Participant’s Name: Keith Moore
Participant ID: 241276611
Event Location: Seattle, 2009
Kasia and I wanted to ride this together, but fate had other plans. She injured her right knee a couple of weeks ago. After last week's MRI and yesterday's appointment with the orthopod, the verdict was clear: torn meniscus. Her surgery is scheduled for this coming Monday.
It looks like I'll be riding alone.
Except I won't be alone, of course. Elden "Fatty" Nelson has organized Livestrong teams in Seattle, San Jose, Philadelphia, and Austin. There are 111 registered members of Team Fatty Seattle; I'm sure we'll all be sporting our fashionable Fatty Jerseys on Sunday.
I'll have the other 110 members of Team Fatty (and probably a thousand other riders) as company during the ride. We're all riding to raise money for The Lance Armstrong Foundation in support of cancer treatment and research. Team Fatty members ride to show support for Elden's wife Susan. Most of us also ride in honor of friends and family who battle this terrible disease.
Economically, this is not the best time to ask for donations. Ironically, this is the time when they're most needed.
My Team Fatty Seattle donation page.
Any donation (or words of encouragement) is greatly appreciated.
Does your company have a "matching gifts" program for donations? Additional information on matching gifts can be found at the Livestrong Challenge -- Matching Gifts page.
If you donate to my page, please include the following information on your company's matching gifts form:
Participant’s Name: Keith Moore
Participant ID: 241276611
Event Location: Seattle, 2009
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Flying Wheels Summer Century 2009
Kasia, me, and our friend Jason planned to ride Flying Wheels together, but Kasia had to bow out. She injured her right knee a couple of weeks ago. This past Wednesday she had an MRI, and the diagnosis came in on Friday (the day before the ride).
The bad news: She has a torn meniscus. She may be off the bike for few weeks. I suspect she'll need surgery to repair the tear.
Jason and I rode Flying Wheels together, starting at my house. The ride to/from the event added an extra 22 miles for me, and about 25 miles for Jason. My stats:
Total Distance: 122.44 miles
Pedal Time: 8:30
Average: 14.41
Clock Time: 11:03
Elevation Gain: 4540
Here are a few photos from the event: http://www.flickr.com/photos/keith_and_kasia/sets/72157619671246899/
The bad news: She has a torn meniscus. She may be off the bike for few weeks. I suspect she'll need surgery to repair the tear.
Jason and I rode Flying Wheels together, starting at my house. The ride to/from the event added an extra 22 miles for me, and about 25 miles for Jason. My stats:
Total Distance: 122.44 miles
Pedal Time: 8:30
Average: 14.41
Clock Time: 11:03
Elevation Gain: 4540
Here are a few photos from the event: http://www.flickr.com/photos/keith_and_kasia/sets/72157619671246899/
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Mechanical Woes
Kasia and I hoped to do a rather long ride today. The plan was:
It was not to be.
We left the house about 6:45am. About 1/2 mile from the house, something in my rear disc brake went KABOOM. The brake made a horrible grinding noise (even when not engaged) accompanied by a dreadful clang-clang-clang racket. I tried to make some adjustments on the side of the road, but no joy. We walked home.
Back at the house, I put the bike on the repair stand, pulled the rear wheel, and peeked into the brake caliper. The problem was obvious: The metal spring that sits between the pads had come loose and one section wedged between the pad and the rotor.
I pulled the pads for inspection. The outer pad was heavily worn and clearly needs replacement. The inner pad looks surprisingly good, and what's left of the spring is a tangled mess. The rotor has some new scratches, but they seem to be mostly cosmetic -- I can't feel them when scratching a fingernail across the rotor surface.
The Good
The Bad
The Ugly
I tend to keep a lot of spare bicycle parts in the garage, but I don't have spare brake pads. So now, we're sitting at home, waiting for the local bike shops to open at 10:00am. I'll buy several sets -- one to replace, one to carry in my seat bag, and a couple to keep in the garage. Just in case.
Luckily, this happened very close to home. It could just as easily have happened in the middle of nowhere.
- Ride from our house to Arlington, WA (about 40 miles).
- Ride the 37 mile loop of the McClinchy Mile organized bike ride.
- Ride home (another 40 miles, +/-).
It was not to be.
We left the house about 6:45am. About 1/2 mile from the house, something in my rear disc brake went KABOOM. The brake made a horrible grinding noise (even when not engaged) accompanied by a dreadful clang-clang-clang racket. I tried to make some adjustments on the side of the road, but no joy. We walked home.
Back at the house, I put the bike on the repair stand, pulled the rear wheel, and peeked into the brake caliper. The problem was obvious: The metal spring that sits between the pads had come loose and one section wedged between the pad and the rotor.
I pulled the pads for inspection. The outer pad was heavily worn and clearly needs replacement. The inner pad looks surprisingly good, and what's left of the spring is a tangled mess. The rotor has some new scratches, but they seem to be mostly cosmetic -- I can't feel them when scratching a fingernail across the rotor surface.
The GoodThe BadThe UglyI tend to keep a lot of spare bicycle parts in the garage, but I don't have spare brake pads. So now, we're sitting at home, waiting for the local bike shops to open at 10:00am. I'll buy several sets -- one to replace, one to carry in my seat bag, and a couple to keep in the garage. Just in case.
Luckily, this happened very close to home. It could just as easily have happened in the middle of nowhere.
Sunday, March 01, 2009
February 2009 Century
As mentioned earlier, one of my goals for 2009 is to complete at least one century ride every calendar month. My first century for the year was on Saturday, January 31. Four weeks later, I completed another century, again on the last day of the month.
I'm not trying to do these on the last day of the month -- in fact, there are many reasons to NOT do it on the last day. The weather can suck, I can feel down or otherwise unprepared for a century, etc. However, when the last day of the month rolls around and I haven't done a century yet, I have no choice but HTFU and get it done.
Yesterday's February Century was a mixed bag. It was much more enjoyable than the January Century because Kasia rode the entire distance with me. Yes, she did it! I'm very proud of her.
Many other aspects of the ride sucked. I had been rather busy at work the previous week, and I was still feeling a little stressed out. Although I got a solid 8 hours of sleep the night before the ride, the night before that I got only 3. I was just not in the mood for a big ride, but since it was 02/28, I had no choice.
We planned to leave our house at 8:00am. We actually hit the road about 8:45 -- not too bad for us.
Kasia looking very fresh at the start of the day.
Me, looking (and feeling) a little less fresh.
A cycling friend recently suggested we join UMCA, the Ultra Marathon Cycling Association. In an act of purest optimism, we joined, although I don't how "ultra" we'll be.
Among the many on-going programs, competitions, and challenges endorsed by the UMCA is one we found particularly interesting. The Year-Rounder Challenge is, as the name suggests, is for cyclists that ride year-round. From the description on the UMCA website:
There are specific documentation requirements for "personal centuries", and unfortunately I failed to do this for the January Century. Luckily, the UMCA allows up to two "make up" rides, so I can do two centuries some month later this year and still qualify for the Y-R. Even more luckily, Kasia wants to do the Y-R Challenge, too!
One way to document a ride for the UMCA is to provide store receipts from towns along the route of the ride. We took this to heart, and stopped in a number of places we may not have otherwise stopped. Having this "forcing function" was actually quite pleasant. We met several very nice people when we stopped.
Our first stop was at the Shell in Duvall to buy batteries for my GPS. We then rode a loop connecting Cherry Valley Road, Kelly Road, Big Rock Road, and Highway 203. Back in Duvall, we stopped at Duvall Family Drugs for a sugar fix.
Snacks in Duvall.
From Duvall, we crossed the valley on Woodinville-Duvall Road, then headed north on West Snoqualmie Valley Road. Just after crossing Highway 522, Kasia's front tire went flat. Luckily (or maybe not) I've had a lot of practice changing flats lately, so it was quickly reparied and we continued on our way.
Rest stop at Bob Heirman Wildlife Park near Snohomish.
Cruising on Springhetti Road down to the valley floor, we spotted this sign -- "SLOW DOWN, ENJOY THE MOO". Not much "moo" around, but the views of the Cascades were lovely.
Two random unknown cyclists near Snohomish.
At Snohomish, we stopped at the Snohomish Bakery for lunch -- BLT sandwiches, Russian tea cakes, vanilla & chocolate "pots", and coffee. Yummy.
No, I didn't eat it all, Kasia helped!
From Snohomish, we rode up the Centennial Trail to Arlington, where we bought another couple of coffees (with recipts, of course!) and started the long ride back home via Snohomish and Monroe.
The combination of a) later than expected start, and b) slower than expected pace meant we arrived in Monroe just as the sun set. By the time we got to Tualco Road, it was seriously dark. We were very happy we had our Light & Motion Vega lights. When I packed them that morning, I remember thinking "we should be back long before dark, we probably don't need these, but just in case..."
The final challenge was climbing Woodinvile-Duvall Road from the valley floor up to Redmond Ridge. The odometer showed about 97 miles at this point, and my legs were "done". I put the bike into the granny gear, and we slowly crawled our way up the hill.
The final total: 104.26 miles, 8:27:09 time, average 12.33. Not the fastest century we've ever ridden, but not the slowest either.
We seem to learn more every time we attempt a long ride. This ride was no exception, but the lessons somehow were more concrete.
The most important lesson: we need more carbs in the morning. Before the ride, we ate our usual pre-ride breakfast -- scrambled eggs and toast, and coffee. This has served us well over the years, but not this time. By the time we made it to Duvall the second time (after the Cherry Valley/Kelly Road/Big Rock Road loop) we were winding down and our energy was gone. I suspected we needed more sugar, so we bought Snickers at the drug store. Man, what a difference that made! Next time, we'll definitely eat more carbs with breakfast. Waffles, perhaps?
The other lessons are mostly related to the UMCA documentation requirements for Year-Rounder rides. These lessons include:
I'm not trying to do these on the last day of the month -- in fact, there are many reasons to NOT do it on the last day. The weather can suck, I can feel down or otherwise unprepared for a century, etc. However, when the last day of the month rolls around and I haven't done a century yet, I have no choice but HTFU and get it done.
Yesterday's February Century was a mixed bag. It was much more enjoyable than the January Century because Kasia rode the entire distance with me. Yes, she did it! I'm very proud of her.
Many other aspects of the ride sucked. I had been rather busy at work the previous week, and I was still feeling a little stressed out. Although I got a solid 8 hours of sleep the night before the ride, the night before that I got only 3. I was just not in the mood for a big ride, but since it was 02/28, I had no choice.
We planned to leave our house at 8:00am. We actually hit the road about 8:45 -- not too bad for us.
Kasia looking very fresh at the start of the day.Me, looking (and feeling) a little less fresh.A cycling friend recently suggested we join UMCA, the Ultra Marathon Cycling Association. In an act of purest optimism, we joined, although I don't how "ultra" we'll be.
Among the many on-going programs, competitions, and challenges endorsed by the UMCA is one we found particularly interesting. The Year-Rounder Challenge is, as the name suggests, is for cyclists that ride year-round. From the description on the UMCA website:
The Year-Rounder (Y-R) provides a structure to motivate you throughout the season and to recognize your personal achievements. The Y-R is designed to showcase consistent performance in cycling throughout the year.Participants in the Year-Rounder Challenge who complete one Y-R event (such as a century ride) every calendar month receive the Larry Schwartz award. Since we're planning to ride a century every month anyway, we signed-up for the Y-R Challenge. Maybe we'll have a small award at the end of the year to show for all of our time, pain, and suffering.
There are specific documentation requirements for "personal centuries", and unfortunately I failed to do this for the January Century. Luckily, the UMCA allows up to two "make up" rides, so I can do two centuries some month later this year and still qualify for the Y-R. Even more luckily, Kasia wants to do the Y-R Challenge, too!
One way to document a ride for the UMCA is to provide store receipts from towns along the route of the ride. We took this to heart, and stopped in a number of places we may not have otherwise stopped. Having this "forcing function" was actually quite pleasant. We met several very nice people when we stopped.
Our first stop was at the Shell in Duvall to buy batteries for my GPS. We then rode a loop connecting Cherry Valley Road, Kelly Road, Big Rock Road, and Highway 203. Back in Duvall, we stopped at Duvall Family Drugs for a sugar fix.
Snacks in Duvall.From Duvall, we crossed the valley on Woodinville-Duvall Road, then headed north on West Snoqualmie Valley Road. Just after crossing Highway 522, Kasia's front tire went flat. Luckily (or maybe not) I've had a lot of practice changing flats lately, so it was quickly reparied and we continued on our way.
Rest stop at Bob Heirman Wildlife Park near Snohomish.Cruising on Springhetti Road down to the valley floor, we spotted this sign -- "SLOW DOWN, ENJOY THE MOO". Not much "moo" around, but the views of the Cascades were lovely.
Two random unknown cyclists near Snohomish.At Snohomish, we stopped at the Snohomish Bakery for lunch -- BLT sandwiches, Russian tea cakes, vanilla & chocolate "pots", and coffee. Yummy.
No, I didn't eat it all, Kasia helped!From Snohomish, we rode up the Centennial Trail to Arlington, where we bought another couple of coffees (with recipts, of course!) and started the long ride back home via Snohomish and Monroe.
The combination of a) later than expected start, and b) slower than expected pace meant we arrived in Monroe just as the sun set. By the time we got to Tualco Road, it was seriously dark. We were very happy we had our Light & Motion Vega lights. When I packed them that morning, I remember thinking "we should be back long before dark, we probably don't need these, but just in case..."
The final challenge was climbing Woodinvile-Duvall Road from the valley floor up to Redmond Ridge. The odometer showed about 97 miles at this point, and my legs were "done". I put the bike into the granny gear, and we slowly crawled our way up the hill.
The final total: 104.26 miles, 8:27:09 time, average 12.33. Not the fastest century we've ever ridden, but not the slowest either.
We seem to learn more every time we attempt a long ride. This ride was no exception, but the lessons somehow were more concrete.
The most important lesson: we need more carbs in the morning. Before the ride, we ate our usual pre-ride breakfast -- scrambled eggs and toast, and coffee. This has served us well over the years, but not this time. By the time we made it to Duvall the second time (after the Cherry Valley/Kelly Road/Big Rock Road loop) we were winding down and our energy was gone. I suspected we needed more sugar, so we bought Snickers at the drug store. Man, what a difference that made! Next time, we'll definitely eat more carbs with breakfast. Waffles, perhaps?
The other lessons are mostly related to the UMCA documentation requirements for Year-Rounder rides. These lessons include:
- At every lengthy (more than a few minutes) stop, take a photograph, record the time and distance, and (if carrying a GPS) make a GPS waypoint.
- Don't trust the date/time on cash register receipts. We found at least one that was wildly inaccurate.
- Pay attention to the UMCA rules for verifiction points (within 10 miles of start and finish, every 50 miles, etc).
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Worst Day of the Year Ride 2009
Kasia and I rode in the Worst Day of the Year Ride again, and again we had a great time. Last year (our first WDotYR) we rode without costumes. This year...
Does this skirt make my butt look big?
We originally planed to ride the 40-ish mile "Challenge Loop", but after driving part of the route and seeing just how challenging it is, we decided to do the 15-ish mile "Urban Loop". Kasia had oral surgery just a few days before the ride, she was still on antibiotics, and had just gotten off Vicodin. She wasn't super hopeful that she could finish the hilly 40 mile loop, so we rode 15 miles and had a great time.
Kasia's wig was wider than her handlebars.
No comment.
As you would expect from any ride starting and ending at a bar (the Lucky Labrador) beer was in abundance at the finish line.
Mmm... Beer.
We seemed to attract a lot of attention. Everyone loved the bike decorations (especially the neon-colored pipe cleaners on the spokes). We even got interviewed by a reporter for The Oregonian! How cool is that?
Does this skirt make my butt look big?We originally planed to ride the 40-ish mile "Challenge Loop", but after driving part of the route and seeing just how challenging it is, we decided to do the 15-ish mile "Urban Loop". Kasia had oral surgery just a few days before the ride, she was still on antibiotics, and had just gotten off Vicodin. She wasn't super hopeful that she could finish the hilly 40 mile loop, so we rode 15 miles and had a great time.
Kasia's wig was wider than her handlebars.No comment.As you would expect from any ride starting and ending at a bar (the Lucky Labrador) beer was in abundance at the finish line.
Mmm... Beer.We seemed to attract a lot of attention. Everyone loved the bike decorations (especially the neon-colored pipe cleaners on the spokes). We even got interviewed by a reporter for The Oregonian! How cool is that?
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