Afternoon Muni at Whiting

I took a few hours off from work and rode at Whiting and Webster Park today.
It's my first muni ride since being sick for weeks. I felt pretty good, but a little out of shape.

I did my usual 6 mile loop, and decided to try some more. But about 10 minutes into it I started to feel pretty weak. Being in the middle of the orange trail, I pushed on, but ended up stopping for a rest. I ate a Power Bar and chilled for about five minutes. I also ran out of water there. I should have filled my CamelBak more, but I tend to try to bring only what I'll need to avoid carrying the extra weight. I felt better after the rest and moved on. My attempts to climb the two remaining hills were pathetic. My legs just didn't want to work, but I made it to the car without any real problems.

I really enjoyed my Schlumpf hub today. I was really hauling through some areas. Downshifting is still causing me more problems than upshifting. I may adjust that shift button to stick out a bit more.

It was a good start to the real riding season!

I rode about 8 miles. According to my cycle computer, my average speed was 5.7 mph, and max speed was 11.3.

Muni at Whiting and Webster Park - 2011-05-11

Whiting Trail Work

This morning I worked for three hours at the Whiting Road trails with the Friends of Webster Trails. The group worked on a variety of tasks throughout Whiting and in the Webster Park corridor to the Midnight Trail.

Most of the work had something to do with addressing water issues. That's very understandable considering how much rain we've gotten so far this spring.

I worked on the blue trail and some of the yellow trying to allow areas of standing water to drain off. Some of the sustainable trail methods I've learned from the Tryon and Bay Park West work days helped me. But some muddy places on the trail didn't seem to have a quick fix. If both sides of the trail are at the same level as the trail itself, where do you direct any water? In cases like that, it seems the trail was simply built in the wrong place. Maybe a bridge or a dry well could be used in the future, but for now, the sun will have to dry it up.

One of the other projects was starting to develop a new trail off the red trail. That sounds cool.

I didn't get a chance to see much of the work that was done, other than my own. I look forward to seeing it all next time I ride there.

After this weekend of no rain (fingers crossed), I hope the trails will all be dry enough to ride.

Tryon Trail Work

Tonight I attended the Tryon Park Wednesday night trail work meeting.

We spend about an hour and a half walking the trails and breaking down berms on the low side of trails, where water tends to collect. The water creates mud, and when hikers and bikers walk through it, berms are inevitably created on the low side of the trail. More water can then collect and the problem grows.


We broke down the berms and creating a channel or knick for the water to flow out.


It was good to get out after being sick for a while. Now if it will just stop raining!

Sick and Rainy

Two weeks ago I became sick with bronchitis. After a week or so, it mostly went away, but the tight irritated feeling in my upper chest still lingers. And I still have an annoying dry cough.

Aside from a bit of hopping in the driveway on Saturday, I haven't been out riding.
But even if I wanted to ride the trails, we've had so much rain it would undoubtedly be a muddy mess.

I guess it's good that my bronchitis overlaps the crappy weather. But the whole situation is frustrating. I wanted to get stronger early in the season. Instead I feel like I'm getting weaker.

It sounds like the persistent lung irritation left from bronchitis is common, and it can last many weeks. Hopefully I will be done with it soon. And hopefully by then the trails will be dry and ready to ride.

Springtime at Whiting

Today I rode at Whiting and Webster Park. It was still wet and muddy in places, but most of it was ok.
This is my first real trail ride this spring. The Hojack doesn't really count because it's so flat.
I definitely felt a bit out of shape. I got winded faster than I used to at Whiting and didn't make it up all the hills I know I can. Because of that and the muddy conditions, I only rode one lap through Whiting and Webster.
I did make it up the hills in Webster Park.

I was able to use my high gear in a few places. But in many places where it's flat, I was too spent to consider using it. I preferred to take it easy, knowing I'd need the energy for whatever was up ahead.

It was just shy of 50°F according to the weather report. I wore shorts, a poly t-shirt, and a poly long sleeve shirt. Less than a mile in I had to remove the long sleeve shirt and felt perfect the rest of the time.

I forgot my GPS this time, but my cycle computer said 6 miles.

Checked the Hojack Again

The ground is still too wet to be riding the trails with messing them up, but I rode the Hojack again anyway.
I don't really think it's a big deal, because the spots that are muddy should really be fixed anyway. And I see other people actively using the trail, even a casual biker.
I didn't see any of my past tracks from my last ride, so I'm not sure what effect it had. No snow at all this time! Yay!

Last time my lower back was killing me. I later realized I had left my tire pressure very high because I has been riding the streets more. The hard tire didn't absorb all the bumps left from the freezing and boot prints. This time I lowered my tire pressure and things were much better.
I made a lot of good shifts, but I'm definitely finding down-shifting more difficult. It might be because I have less coordination with my left foot. A bunch of times I failed to down-shift about 5 consecutive pedal rotations as I was heading into a muddy area, causing me to dismount.

Again, not the most exciting of rides for me, but it's good to get out, work the muscles, and practice shifting.

My cycle computer says 12.8 miles, average speed 7.1 mph.

Hojack, Etc - 2011-04-03

Hopping in the Driveway

I spent some time in the driveway this afternoon hopping on my 20" uni.
I lowered my seat an inch or so to help give me some more room to spring up.
I should post some pictures soon to show my progress.

But I should probably take a break from hopping for a while. My inner thighs feel bruised and are a bit chaffed. I guess that just comes with the territory. I need to toughen up.