Yesterday my internet went out

Yesterday my internet went out, so I wasn't able to record my ride on the proper day.

I just went to West Park, went on some of the trails, then headed back home the long way through Laurel Lakes.

Tm: 25 minutes
Mi: 5.15
Tp. Spd: 18mph
Av. Spd: 12.3mph

Group ride downtown

Mr. W., S.W., Jon and I left a little after 6:30p.m. from the bank parking lot, crossed the road and started down the Canal Tow Path.

At a stop light a punk in a car yelled at us "Hey motherf******s!" I ignored him, but at the next light, he yelled "Don't I know you from somewhere?" Then I told him to shut up, and that was the end of that... fortunantly.

Mr. W. said that we could try the woods trail today if we wanted to, so at the first opening we went for it. It was really muddy so it wasn't much fun and we got back to the main gravel path as quickly as possible. When we exited the woods we were right across from a bridge so Jon and I crossed it, but, finding it was a dead end we turned around. As I came off the bridge, I swung wide onto the path to avoid coming close to a guy walking. My rear tire kept sliding and I wiped out. My left knee dug into the gravel, leaving me with a good deal of blood running down my leg. Boy, did it sting for a while!

A little farther down the trail, we turned off onto the White River bike trail heading downtown. When we got farther downtown, Mr. W. got a little mixed up and we spent 10 minutes getting back to the right path. Then we kept going.

When the trail ended we kept going on the sidewalk all the way downtown to the circle. We circled the circle (sounds funny...) and paused for a few minutes to get out water bottles filled from the extras Mr. W. was carrying. We didn't have anything to eat because we forgot to stick the power bars in our bags, so we turned around and headed back. At one of the hotels on the circle, there were several high-end vehicles parked there, including; a black Hummer H2, a light blue Mercedes, and a red Ferrari.

Heading back up the way we came was pretty uneventful. Jon and I were way ahead of Mr. W. and S.W. and were making pretty good time at 14mph. A biker (guy, slightly overweight, older thirties/mid forties, blue jersey) slowly caught up with us then passed us. Jon and I tried to stick with him... but I fell behind as Jon stayed with him for a while. Then the guy stopped for a rest, about a mile from finishing, so we blazed by him. After we crossed the next intersection Jon and I turned on out taillights since it was getting darker.

Jon and I got back to the truck before Mr. W. and S.W. did so we decided to see if we could buy any food while we waited. Jon guarded out bikes while I went into a CVS Pharmacy, but everything was so expensive I decided we could wait. When everyone was a t the truck, Mr. W. passed out South Beach Diet chocolate meal replacement bars and we dug in. While we stood there eating a yellow Ferrari Spider went down the road slowly so we got a good look at it. Then we loaded up and headed out.

At the first McDonalds we came to, we all got grilled chicken sandwiches, and at the next McDs we all got chocolate dipped vanilla ice cream cones. A great ending to a great ride!

Tm: 2 hrs, 15 mins
Mi: 23.64
Tp. Spd: 18.8mph
Av. Spd: 10.5mph

Almost ran over a snake

I turned out of my driveway the opposite way of normal and headed towards the schools. I turned in and went down the main road towards the pond (really it's a retention pond) and turned off the road. I went down the gravel trail that goes about halfway around the pond. It abruptly stop, but I kept going till I came up to a 2-foot drop-off. I turned around and headed back to the schools. I almost ran over a black-colored (garter or garden?) snake on the path. Then I went out, around the front of the schools via the walk paths then went across to Wexley Chase (the neighborhood across from the schools) and went around in there for a bit. Then I crossed back to the schools, and turned back towards home. I passed my driveway and went into the new section of West Clay which is across from Laurel Lakes. I circled back by the pool then went home.

Tm: 28 minutes
Mi: 5.26
Tp. Spd: 15mph
Av. Spd: 11.0

Tested out my lights

I went out a little before 10p.m. to try out my new lights. They're great! I could see the reflection of the hedlight on a stop sign over 50 feet away!

Tm: 15 minutes
Mi: 2.97
Tp Spd: 14mph
Av Spd: 11.9mph

Vids of the lights

I got some batteries for my headlight and made these vids.

Got my head and taillight

I got my headlight and tailight from LED Shoppe today. If you click on the pic, it takes you to a video that I made.

Reached 22mph

I went to West Park for a quick ride. I went up the big hill and down... that's how I got up to 22 mph. Then I went through the woods trail forwards and headed home, going the long way around the Laurel Lakes.

Tm: 19 minutes
Mi: 3.81
Tp. Spd: 22mph
Av. Spd: 12.1mph

Almost hit a squirrel

I went to West Park through Laurel Lakes. I went through the woods trail twice forwards. The first time, I almost hit a squirrel just standing there in the path. He jumped and ran right before I would've hit him.

Tm: 25 minutes
Mi: 5.32
Tp Spd: 16.1 mph
Av Spd: 12.4 mph

Haircut

Earlier this morning I got a haircut which removed over an inch of hair. This buzz-cut is nice... my head feels lighter and cooler and my hats fit better.

I went to West Park, went through the woods trail forwards, went up the big hill (I haven't done that in a while) and went throught the woods trail again. I wasn't able to get into my 8th or 9th gear because my chain hits my front derailleur. I really need to fix that.

Tm: 29 minutes
Mi: 5.86
Tp Spd: 21 mph
Av Spd: 11.9 mph

Saw first "real" biker at West Park

I went to West Park... I went throught the woods trail backwards, and went over the water pathways. Then I blasted the mini-hills by the playground. In all these times I've been at West Park, I have never seen a "real" biker there. (By real I mean wearing a jersey and helmet and going quicly.) Well, I saw my first today!Then I went throught the woods trail forwards and headed home, going the long way around the Laurel Lakes.

Tm: 25 minutes
Mi: 5.30
Tp Spd: 17.2 mph
Av Spd: 12.7 mph

Tested out my Enduro 8

I went for a 7 minute ride around the Laurel Lakes, and tested out my Enduro cyclocomputer. It's about 1.25 miles around. I'm keeping a little chart on the sidebar of this blog to record all the important info.

Mr. W. is trying to sell his Ellsworth Truth frame on eBay. It's pretty nice!

I got my Enduro 8 and Podbag!

Earlier this morning I got an email from LED Shoppe's distributor CCNow, saying my head and taillight were shipped today. Later this afternoon I got my CatEye Enduro 8 cyclocomputer and Nashbar Podbag from Nashabar. So, I raced out to the garage and hooked both of them up! The Podbag went on fairly easily, but the clamp was a little too short for the seat bars that it attaches to. It was so minor, but it's going to be at a slight angle. So, I angled it so it will be more even when my bike is leaning on the kick-stand. I also had to angle my rear reflector more toward the ground to get the bag to fit. Then I started on the cyclocomputer. It took me a while to get the display mounted, because the first time I put it backwards, then I had to adjust the tightness band. Then I placed the sensor and measured the right distance (5mm) for the magnet. The magnet screws into a little plastic piece that has a notch for a spoke. Then I tied down the cable as well as possible. I had a little extra play in the cable, so I routed it little bit differently than the instructions indicated. Then I took it for a quick spin around the first Laurel Lake. It works great! I'm going to keep a little indicator on front page of my blog that shows the total miles that I've traveled, and the highest speed I have attained. I'm also going to record the miles that I rode in each entry.

My cyclocomputer shipped

My cyclocomputer and podbag that I ordered from Nashbar shipped today!

Ordered some bike stuff

This morning I ordered some bike stuff. Here's a list:

• Cat Eye Enduro 8 cyclocomputer
• Nashbar Podbag
• 5-LED headlight
• 5-LED red taillight
  

Total was less than $50.

Also, I had my bike taken in to my LBS and they redirected the cable as needed.

I didn't time myself

Before I started my ride, I was looking the bike over, and I realized that my front shifting cable was not in the right guide on the bottom of the frame. I'm going to have my LBS fix it since they're the ones who put it on that way.

I was into my ride when I realized I didn't have my watch on, so I wasn't able to time myself.
I went to West Park, through the woods trail backwards, then I headed toward the water pathways. There were a bunch of people fishing and it was crowded. I almost ran over a fishing pole that was laying across the walkway. Fortunantly I stopped in time, but it was close. Then I went through the woods trail forwards, then headed home. I didn't try the big hill because of the cable problem.

15 minutes, no breaks

I went for a 15 minute ride to West Park. The whole ride, neither of my feet left the clips at all. I went over both the water pathways, then headed home the longer way around the Laurel Lakes.