First brevet of the season

I missed the first few scheduled brevets this year, but I decided to do the 200K this past weekend. I've said in the past that I should be able to roll out of bed and do a century with no preparation and that's almost what this was. I have not been doing nearly enough long rides. In fact the longest ride I had done this year was a 21 mile ride in February.

Helen dropped me off in Edwardsville about 15 minutes before the 6 am start. There were about 15 people there, some for the 200K and some for the 300. It was still dark and a little chilly. The forecast called for a high near 60 and winds out of the WNW. This meant that we would have a headwind on the way back.

No one seemed to be interested in setting too fast a pace at the start. As usual I stayed with the front group. I do this, not because I'm fast, but because I don't know how to pace myself. I was also having problems with my bike computer so I had no idea how fast we were going.

I dropped behind the front group at the stop at Pocahontas (mile 24), but managed to catch back up in the next few miles. There were 5 of us at this point. We took turns pulling with Louis doing most of the work. Louis is an incredibly strong rider who has being doing this since 1985. We stopped at the first checkpoint in Breese (mile 51) and then stayed together until the 200K turnaround at Okawville (mile 78). There, one rider continued on the 300K and the remaining four of us turned back to complete the 200K.

Now we were heading back into the wind. Louis did almost all of the pulling for the remaining 50 miles. We made one more stop at St Jacob (mile 107) and the continued to the finish (mile 126). We finished at 2:39pm giving us a time of 8:39. This is my fastest 200K time. I certainly could not have done it without Louis's help.

I felt pretty good on the ride. I was hurting towards the end but being with a group of people help to keep me motivated. The Camelbak seemed to work well for me. I got a little sunburn on my face because I did not put on any sunblock.

I did not eat that much this ride. Some chocolate milk at Pocahontas, a doughnut in Breese, a Landshire cheeseburger and soda in Okawville, and Another soda at St. Jacobs. Not a lot of food considering that I burned an estimated 5000 calories. But I never felt like I was bonking.

I hope to do the 300K in two weeks. For that I will need to rent a car or make other transportation arrangements. I'm not going to make Helen dropped me off for a 5am start and pick me after 8pm.

Busy Weekend

On Friday I celebrated my birthday. My birthday is actually this Wednesday but I hijacked the first Friday of the month get-together at work (and I also invited non-work people). We went to the City Museum. Turnout was pretty good even though some people couldn't make it. I ended up crawling through the caves until closing (1 am).

I was a little sore the next day. But it was warm but it had snowed 2-3" so the kids and I built an igloo.

On Sunday, I was really sore but Helen suggested that we go sledding. We went to Lindenwood Park and had a really good time.

Cold, Snow, and Bicycles

I woke up Sunday morning to see the ground covered in snow and more coming down. I think we got a couple of inches by the time it was done. The kids were excited by the first snowfall of the season. I was a little concerned about what the roads would look like on Monday.

I got ready by swapping tires on my fixed gear. Out with the 23mm slick tires and in with the 32mm tires with tread. These are not specifically winter tires but I used them last winter and they seemed to do pretty well. The drawback to these tires is the higher weight and higher rolling resistance. Swapping the tires also gave me a chance to practice removing and reinstalling the rear wheel on the fixed gear.

Luckily the roads were in pretty good shape by Monday morning. The worst street was the street that I live on. It was better by the time I got to the next block. There were a few places where I had to ride on packed snow but for the most part the roads were clear. The bike lanes were unusable for the most part.

Another problem was the cold weather. It was 8 degrees for the morning commute, with a sub-zero wind chill. The ride home was in the teens, but there was less wind. I didn't have any problems, but I did have ice in my moustache by the end of the ride.

The next three Rams games don't matter

This is not a sports blog, but I do enjoy watching sports (mostly baseball and football). I have been very pleased with how the Rams have been doing this year. They are not a good team yet, but the are certainly improving. After last years 1-15 season anything more than 4 wins would have a cause for celebration.

Because they are in the NFC West, the Rams have a realistic shot at making the playoffs. Everyone expected the 49er's to walk away with the division this year but that didn't happen. The Rams and the Seahawks are currently tied for the division lead right now with a record of 6 and 6. The Rams hold the tie-breaker because they beat the Seahawks but that doesn't help them unless they beat the Seahawks in the last week of the season.

In the next three games, the Rams face New Orleans, Kansas City, and San Francisco. Seattle faces San Francisco, Atlanta, and Tampa Bay. Realistically I expect both teams to go 1-2. So it should come down to that finally game between them. In fact, the only way that the last game doesn't decide the division winner is if one of the two teams picks up two games in the next three.

Here's why: If Saint Louis and Seattle are tied going into the final game, obviously the winner will have the better record. If Saint Louis is trailing by one game and then wins, they will win the tie breaker because the will have beaten Seattle twice. If Seattle is trailing by one game and wins the final game then they win the tie breaker because the head to head record will be even and Seattle will have more division wins.

In all of this, I've been ignoring San Francisco. They have not been mathematically eliminated, but they would need to go 4-0 or 3-1 over the last 4 games to have a shot. While they do have an easy schedule, the Rams can all but eliminate them if they beat them.

So that's why I don't think the next three games matter. Please comment if you disagree, or if I've made mistakes in my analysis.

Wheel Problems

After I got to work on Friday, I noticed that the rear brake was rubbing. While adjusting it, I noticed that the spokes were very loose. Loose enough that I didn't feel comfortable riding home. I figured that it was better to call Helen to pick me up than to call her when I was halfway home.

I took the bike into Maplewood Bicycle and they decided to do a warranty replacement on the wheel. I had a problem with the spokes loosening shortly after I bought it in August. This means that I will be without the bike until Wednesday.

I rode my Lightspeed to work on Monday morning. Unfortunately I did not realize that I had left my headlight on the Salsa until I was ready to leave on Monday night. Fortunately, Matt E. was still there and he gave me a ride home. Actually I had him take me to Maplewood Bicycle so I could pick up the headlight and I walked from there. Matt offered to drive me home after that, but I needed to stop and pick up some dinner on the way home. It was cold (upper twenties) but it's only about a mile and a quarter walk and I was dressed warmly.

Helen will have to take me to work tomorrow and then I should be able to ride home.

Longer Commute

For the past two days I've been working from my company's satellite office near Scott Air Force Base. This is a sneak preview of what my working location might be for the next year or so. Since this is about 30 miles from my house, it presents a commuting challenge for someone without a car.

Google maps estimates that it would take 40 minutes to get there if I was driving, about 2 hours using public transportation, and 2 hours and 45 minutes cycling. Using a combination of cycling and public transportation, I am able to make the trip in about an hour and a half.

If this becomes long term (which is the plan) I will have three options: continue with this commute, buy a car, or find a new job. I don't went to spend all day commuting. We've been a one car family for over 4 years so I'd hate to buy a car. But I also really like my job so I don't want to find a new one. There aren't any easy answers, but it's not a decision that I have to make right away.

Riding at night

I like riding at night as long as the weather isn't bad. Last night I left work late enough that it was fully dark when I started my commute. The temperature was in the upper 50's. There are several advantages to riding later than usual: There was no wind, traffic was lighter than usual, and I felt like I could just take it easy.