Seeking Coastal Utopia

A close friend of mine that wishes to remain anonymous because he is deathly afraid of the Google monster sent me a picture of his bike after a ride in the snow in the Midwest.  He had recently put on his studded tires and notice the pansy fenders on the Specialized ride.  I think he personally sponsors Specialized - yes, you read it right - he sponsors Specialized, not them sponsoring him. So of course, I could not let him one up me.  I dug the old school Raleigh Peak (circa 1991) with the Shimano XT Rapid Fire shifters and first Generation RockShox (Paul Turner design - air oil) -  http://mombat.org/Rock_Shox.htm  and decided to ride it in the snow here in central Oregon to prove a point. Dumb. Really dumb. So having not really even ridden the 20 year-old bike in probably 2 years, and being VERY used to my Gary Fisher Supercaliber 29er , I was immediately noticing how different the geometry is on the Raleigh.  Don't get me wrong, the R...

http://www.endomondo.com/?wicket:interface=:2:::: My first run since knee surgery. Heck, it is even my first run since I last ran in Hawaii in May 2010! Tried a new running style - more of a Chi or Pose method of running. It was the first time trying that. I also ran with new shoes that will promote that running style, NewtonTrail Guidance Trainer . So because I really do not know what I am doing in this running style, I most likely overdid it.  Left calf is a little sore, but what is nice is that my knee does not seem to be bothering me yet.  I was concerned with my ability to run.  The path I ran is one of the same paths I use on my mountain bike, and it was muddy, so there was some extra natural cushioning with the mud, maybe that helped.  Overall 4 miles as I was also listening to the Audiofuel running coach to music and posted the run at the time called in the music.  8:00 min mile pace.  I've turned into a slowpoke. Related articles Endomon...

Endomondo Mountain biking Workout : "was out mountain biking 12.04 miles in 56m:01s using Endomondo." Okay, so this is one of those situations where bravado needs to take a back seat to the stupidity of riding offroad in the snow, rain, and sleet. Not only were my feet blocks of ice when I got done, my hands were almost non-functional, and silly me - I have to wash my bike after this exercise. Dumb. Don't get me wrong, I am glad I went out and did the ride, but I was not a happy boy. Riding as slow as I did due to the neat winds that swirl around here didn't help.  Here is a picture of the dirty bike after riding. So averaging just under 13 mph with a 37°F day made it about 29°F with wind chill . Chart can be found at http://www.nws.noaa.gov/os/windchill/index.shtml and there is a nice little calculator on the page listed so you can determine the actual chill factor when you ride in fabulous weather such as this. I should have borrowed a co-worker'...

Endomondo Mountain biking Workout : "was out mountain biking 11.95 miles in 51m:35s using Endomondo."

So is my hierarchy of needs being met?  The thrill of adrenalin?  Or am I only after the endorphin high?

Surprisingly enough, I pushed it a little too hard on October 15th, I must have been feeling my oats! Started off the day with a bit of P90X Yoga (about 1:30-ish minutes) then rode the Airport-Canal Loop at lunch that I have posted before that I tracked with my Blackberry using Endomondo , then went and had the fabulously torturous physical therapy session with Joy Torbett, PT, OCS  and Rebound in Redmond for an hour in the late afternoon.  So, stating the obvious, I really beat my legs up something fierce and felt it today while riding my loop around the airport and canal.  At least I was wearing Smartwool socks all day! Although you probably wouldn't guess it, the P90X yoga is actually pretty well done.  I have been to a few yoga classes and have a collection of yoga DVD's (because I am too lazy to drive to a yoga class ), and this is pretty good.  It isn't beginner, but maybe a step up from beginner.  I am usually dripping with heavy sweat when I a...

Endomondo Mountain biking Workout : "was out mountain biking 11.97 miles in 46m:47s using Endomondo." So Brian (one of Lancair 's partners running our customer build shop) and I went out and stomped the pedals around the airport again, this time clocking it almost 1.5mph faster than on Monday. It's good to get out there with someone that will push you, then you feed off each other until you are both ready to pass out because of O2 deprivation. What surprises me is that the route shows me burning a little over 1100 calories . It doesn't feel like an 1100 calorie workout, more like about 5~600 workout. Must be all this extra weight I am still lugging around!

10/11/2010 workout - Endomondo Mountain biking Workout Ok, so I have been severely slacking off as of late. Back in school now, some of the extra stuff going on has become either more manageable or off the list entirely, and I am finally getting my fat butt back into shape. Some of what I am doing to get back into shape after the knee surgery? I have been spending time with physical therapy at Rebound in Redmond, Oregon , and as that has tapered off, I started going the P90X workout. I know, I know. Sell out. Loser. Call me what you will, but it has been kicking my butt. Laurie and I have both been doing it in the morning before work now for about 4 -weeks and we notice a difference already. Also, I have been going for a mountain bike ride at lunch every day as well. A real ride to say the least, not a roll down the road, but a ride as hard as I can, sweat flying in my eye, snot running down my face, heart slamming in my chest ride. I try to drag co-workers out, but most...

Jeez, what a cliche for a title. That particular phrase is on the back of t-shirts sold by Rebound Physical Therapy  in Redmond.  However, I am glad this week has come as I am glad to be able to start sweating again.  After being in Oshkosh standing around talking to customers all last week for EAA Airventure , I started this week on the technique trainer that Laurie got for me from Performance Bike about 100 years ago it seems.  I started off the ride with a high pedal cadence (90+ RPM)  to get blood flow through the legs and allow me to push less hard to protect the knee.  I also need to work on my pedal mechanics.  Here is a video from the Livestrong YouTube Channel and Chris Carmichael regarding high-cadence pedaling. I start with 5 minutes small ring-big ring and every five minutes skip two gears until I am small front-small rear for 5 minutes, then back up for cool down.  This has been the morning wake-up all week an...