Friday, January 16, 2009

 

Today was some light schmalz-bata and then an easy ride on rollers (more like a mosey) to forget the pain of the last few days. Why is it when cyclists want to take it easy, they ride their bikes? This is akin to trying to sober up by drinking light beer. I’m not saying that is doesn’t feel awesome, but it might not be the most effective way to get yourself back on track. My data got lost here, so no numbers for this ride.

 

Sunday, January 18, 2009 153

 

After sleeping in for two days, I felt saucy enough today to go for 90 minutes on rollers. I fortified myself with two burritos for lunch before mounting the rollers and watching the Cardinals take on the Eagles. I learned a few things about myself today. Firstly, I always enjoy a burrito, secondly, if you rest, you feel better (a revelation straight from the Obvious Squad—to the Evident Mobile!), and finally if you rest and eat before you ride your bike—you’ll probably feel good when you ride.

 

I planned on trying to survive for 90 minutes and went on to set a new 2009 indoor roller record of 120 minutes. Victory! I rode my burrito and sleep high right on past the 90 minute mark and into the great unknown of the indoor minutes from 90 to 120. It was a strange and foreign place to me, and I’m not sure if I will visit this place again this year. I kept things interesting by doing one-legged pedaling tricks every 5 minutes. All in all, a very successful session on my aluminum drums. Tonight I will sleep the sleep of the victorious, while tomorrow I will jump the rope of the laborious.

 

 

Monday, January 19, 2006

 

Today was another “light beer” ride—to ride away the memory of yesterday’s two hour roller ride. I had a grand plan to ride for maybe an hour or so, but I lost interest as I couldn’t get my itunes rental of the Minutemen documentary “We Jam Econo” to work. That’s all it took—one file not working and I’m out of the zone mentally. I just moseyed in an aimless and un-entertained fashion. Does that sound like “winner talk” to you? Probably not. I’m sure the Tour contenders are reading this and breathing a sigh of relief, as I only finished half a Miller Lite.

 

 

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

 

Today I woke with a strained feeling in my left hamstring, and that seems odd because I haven’t really done anything that seems very strenuous lately. Then I remembered doing my one-legged skillz on Sunday. I can only come to the conclusion that my left leg is weak, weak, weak! It will have to be punished! I’m thinking of trying a medieval punishment along the lines of boiling in oil or a rack stretching, but I need my left leg to walk and, more importantly, pedal a bicycle; so I am forced to use a more “warm fuzzy” method of coaxing more performance out of my leg. It’s just another case of the “wussification” of America when you can’t abuse your own limb in public!

 

I did another set of 20/10s, as today is Tuesday, and I have settled into doing 20/10s on Tuesdays. Not sure how well I actually did, I felt OK. I stopped after about 40 minutes or so, as I hit the clear button on my powertap. I think I can still rescue the data if I didn’t ride any further. This is the second day in a row that technology has boned me. Or I am just using the glitches as a crutch? Either way, I had excuses to get off my rollers—and I used them!

 

Epilogue – the data was lost, so I can only assume that I had the greatest 4 minutes of my life on a bike yesterday. It’s normal operating procedure for me when data is lost for me to assume that I rocked the bike for the entire duration of the data lost—in fact I’m still rocking now. Look, I’m playing “Eruption” on a Flying V with my toes while weaving a sweater vest out of satin on my home loom! That’s rocking!

 

Wednesday, January 21, 2009 154

 

Today was just an endurance day, nothing special. My goal today was 90 minutes, and at the 60 minute mark, my rear tire went flat on the rollers. In the past two days, I have used any mishaps as an excuse to give up, but today I changed the tire and pressed on. I can feel my resolve steeling as I type this. No longer will be put off by petty setbacks. I will stick to my goals and achieve each one! I will conquer my fears and learn a foreign language while I sleep. Expect next week’s log to be in Portuguese!

 

I gave myself a break on the last 10 minutes of the ride, and ended up with 80 minutes total for the day. But let’s face it, I earned the credit for those 10 minutes.

 

 

Thursday, January 22, 2009 154

Nenhum passeio hoje, demasiado trabalho a fazer