Skip to main content

John Muir Ride

Awesome riding with Mike on Friday. We got 15 miles in; good power work but the scenery was even better. What a great break from the train drain.

In the last 3 miles, I took a fall and bent the brake bar on the right. Guess you cannot replace the break lever without replacing the shifter. The shifter cannot be purchased without the left one as well. UGH! So, the set is $50.00 for the two. I checked several places in Madison.

It was tough to decide to put that kind of money into my bike. It is a Trek 4100. One of the most poorly balanced mountain bikes on the market. The components suck on it too. But, it did only cost 350 new. Mike had the same bike as I, but his kept repeatedly busting. He had to have the bottom bracket changed out, bent a rim, deraliur gave out during the Ore to Shore Mountain Bike Epic. Over the past year, I have been able to hear my bracket clicking as well. This is how his started. Now he has a Specialized Stump Jumper, and he loves it. Savannah has the Rockhopper, which is also a great model.

I have commited to sticking more into this bike, because while mountain biking is a lot of fun, it isn't my first priority.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Training for Power

It's been a long year. This year was HARD! Lots of injuries kept me from training to my full potential. Nearly 6 months without speed work; and what a jinx that is on performance! Some of you know I had a major back surgery in the spring of 07. My L4-S1 are now for ever fused with titanium rods. Sadly, they are not carbon fiber, as any triathlete would prefer. This has resulted in the loss of mobility/flexibility in the lower back, making my hamstrings prone to tightness and all the fun that goes with that weak link. I've tried to address this on my own. I purchased a set of Powercranks in 08 and used them faithfully. If you don't know what that is, you should. They force you to pedal each leg independent and pull the crank up/around with your hamstrings. They are beastly! They improved my run times tremendously and made my pedal stroke very smooth on the bike. In 09, I went to Mercy Sports Rehab. Brent Wesolek did an assessment of my riding and said he h...

Chey's Bake Sale and Other Stuff

She pulled it off! Made 242.36....Sunday is a trip to Monroe to see Zoey Jane and Phoebe. She will give them the check then with her friends. Tomorrow is my Nephrology Nursing Exam. This comes at a time when I am seriously considering heading back to ICU. Mike has a good racket at the VA. The turnover is incredibly low. Looking at the Surgical ICU. He is in the Cardiac ICU. Every day I work, I am training someone. And I end up with a lot of call because of the turnover. Call is a serious issue, really. Some days you work your 12 hour shift and then you are out on call all night. Then scheduled to work the next day. Your choice-burn your personal time and lose your overtime OR stay the next day and work. I know I am not at my best then and it is so scary. It gives me lots of biking time, but it is eating my vacation seriously. Last time, I was out on call all night with someone's child. I would not have been my first choice if it was my kid whose life was on the line...

Ironman Perform

Ironman Perform Last week, Ironman sent athletes signed up for certain events a case of new Powerbar product called Ironman Perform.  They are intending to serve it at several events and wanted athletes to have the opportunity to train with it ahead of time.  I really appreciated their foresight with this.  After years of struggling with stomach issues, new product is a source of fear that I would rather not deal with. Because my stomach has been so finicky, my attitude has been less than great about this.  Passive-aggressive misspelling of the product to just complete irritation is pretty much where I was at.  But really, I do appreciate having the product ahead of time. So, what about the product?  Well, it brags to be their proprietary C2MAX.  C2MAX is a combo of maltodextrin, fructose and dextrose.  Biochemistry was never my thing, but a multi-path energy source is obviously a valuable thing.  Remember good old Krebs?  Your bo...