So it has been a day. A day at home with a feverish kid. Viral attacks are tough. We managed to cram her and her violin, her backpack, and the warm water bottles in the trailer and scoot home along the bike path… Wattage numbers for the end of the day were pretty mellow, but I did noticed the cadence kept dropping out. I know I was well over the min I’d go from ticking over at 90 rpm to - - - - - and back again without changing the pedaling rhythm. So after lubing the chain I tipped the angle of the pick up a bit closer to see if that helps tomorrow’s numbers. Assuming I’m headed in on the bike and the oldest is off to school.
Heading home last night was kinda nice – too dark to see the numbers. I am planning on not really changing much consciously with the yellow buddy, at least not for a little while. After yesterday’s headwind and then the sprint this AM, followed by a couple more intense efforts on the way to the school my legs are letting me know – that was fine but it was more than just nothing. I think this morning’s 1300 bought is easily duplicated. What would be nice to see is if I can make it repeatable and longer, ie through down regularly AND beable to sustain it more than 30 seconds or a minute. Although 1300 watts for a minute probably could be outside my range for this year. Maybe next year with work and specific focus. But then…. How will that make me faster on the cross bike? I think getting a better starting position will improve my results on the cross bike more than anything else. But that’s a whole different matter.
Diggin through boxes of books that need to be cleaned and sorted from being out in the barn for a while I came across a picture and a note from a friend who used to tear up the woman’s road racing field back in 95 and 96…. Maybe even 97 and 98 too… got me thinking, I wonder if ne-bra has all the old results going back that far.
The note said “here’s a shot of me for the shop on my bike… “This is from the last day of the 4 day stage race I did in July. It’s the crit..” Goes on to say “Tomorrow is Haverill. IT’s going to be rainy, but I’m glad it’s the last one.”
The note is dated 9/7/96 … I wonder how FnF’s photographic memory is of that race… or if he was even racing that weekend… I was hard core mechanic back then. I built her bike. A gorgeous Lemond, with Campy, Athena IIRC. Got a screaming deal from lemond, before he sold out to Trek, I mean made a deal with the devil, I mean joined the big corporation that kept a couple small boutique names alive through the mid-90s. Maybe I’ll scan the image in so everyone can see the beautiful bike I built.
Now some of you may be able to recall that Haverhill race rather easily, I can remember building that bike… that headset, working like an anal freak to get that Campy threaded headset just perfect, using campy grease, careful not to mark up the aluminum locknut. Doing the whole 9 yards of frame prep, carefully facing every surface and chasing every thread. The fun stuff of building a bike.
The beauty of building a new bike back then with campy is that even the new grease was clean, a dull off white but still clean. Giving the frame a handful of coats of pledge (lemon scented and not the off brand, only the real stuff)…. Getting paid the few bucks an hour to work on bikes like that was pretty damn cool. I never got tired of doing stuff. Okay when it was cold and snowy and students would bring in the bikes with a flat tire and its below freezing outside and the bike is a solid mess of salty slush and dirt… that got old quick… Taking a solid axle huffy-types rear wheel off with dirty slush dropping down on the bike box remnants scattered around the floor in hopes of collecting most of the junk just isn’t the same as building a nice Steel frame with Campy stuff. I’m talking OLD school, not a single cartridge bearing to be found on that bike. The bike boxes on the floor actually did a good job of mostly filtering the dirt and salt… still puddles of water everywhere but the dirt and salt mostly stayed on top of the boxes, until we stepped in it and tracked it all over the carpet in the shop. Not that the accidental skids on the rug from racing laps around the center rack of bikes was doing much to keep it looking good (the newbies on their knees scrubbing with degreaser to spread the black around and make it look less noticeable just seemed to make the industrial grey carpet closer to black).
I should really probably get the Rolf wheel working. But then, ya know what else I found today. An email I printed out. I sent off a note to Deitric Rolf himself. And got a nice reply in return thanking me for my feedback and positive impression of the wheels. Now with that powertap, the rear one, well might not get much use… so I really should see about making the front work. Thing is. I actually have spokes for it. Pretty sure I’ve got front and rear spokes. Just no nipples, nor that funky sized nipple driver, nor the big tensioning box.
Ah well –
Interruptions – and a final thought. The twelve most important products to eat organic. Now my sis-in-law’s pediatrician says if you are going to do ANYTHING organic buy organic milk as it is the most important for the kids. I think the assumption is that they want the kids drinking milk like water… Anyway the this article (in NickJr family mag – free at daycare) has this as a sidebar…
“The Dirty Dozen”
“according to the Environmental Working Group, your pesticide exposure can be reduced by as much as 90 percent by eating organic varieties of these 12 foods, known as the “dirty dozen”:
Apples
Bell Peppers
Celery
Cherries
Imported Grapes
Nectarines
Peaches
Pears
Potatoes
Red Raspberries
Spinach
Strawberries
90% reduction by buying organic in those specific foods. Think about that when ya getting that 5 pound bag of potatoes… the organic one next to it might be a dollar more ($0.20/#) but isn’t that worth the reduction in pesticides? Sure the levels ain’t high enough to kill you. Or probably do major damage.
But think in terms of lead poisoning and mercury and other toxins and the levels they are harmful at. Pretty damn freaking low. Pesticides shouldn’t really be trifled with.
The thing is, there is an alternative. The article that goes with it challenged a family to go organic. They went organic and local when in season. Costs didn’t really increase that much. There are statistics that often list how much more going organic will cost you… generally its in the twenty cents range. Obviously varies by market and market driven competition. But its not that much higher and in the environmental overall scheme of things when we talk about your global footprint. Saving the couple of dimes going non-organic is probably going to cost future generations thousands of dollars or more per instance. That or I’m just being wildly sensationalistic.
It is a tough call. But look at those around you dosed up on meds for all sorts of things… toxins typically are cumulative. Keep em out as you grow old and what not, you’ll have a higher quality of life for sure.
It is about what you eat. You don’t have to be vegan to save the world. You just have to be as conscious as a vegan when purchasing/selecting food. Yeah, it can be one hell of a lot of work. But… what rewards aren’t? Cycling? Sure some people just toss a leg over the bike and they win races… others work like freaking dogs and slowly improve maybe never winning a race, but the rewards for them aren’t in medals. Cycling is a way of life. As is eating well.
Food is important. I’m lucky. I’m churning out 1500-1700 calories (if the little power tap booklet is to be believed with their efficiency conversions and what not) just commuting. I can eat volumously. Downside, is finding volumous quantities of good food on a budget. It is possible. Fortunately.
Well time to make up some salad (organic red leaf lettuce), some annies mac and cheese (sick kid and mom needing to turn around and get back to work to finish a lecture makes it a simple night), and some nice roasted sweet and regular potatoes. Nothing too complex.
Wow what a ramble… this is G signing off…
Oh and I like writing btw. I think its because I read so much... I hated writing in English classes, loved it in history and science and wrote tomes of letters to former GFs (wife included)… writing here is like talking… except I don’t have to know if people make it all the way through, or start rolling their eyes before I get my idea fully flushed out… it is a nice feeling… if anyone made it all the way through this… wow… congrats… I’ll give you a hug or something if I see you in person.
G
