Cyber Monday

Cyber Monday was coined by the American Retail Association, an organization that exists to promote the relentless consumption that is the main driver of our economy. True to that organization's throw-away frame of mind it now appears the label, which was coined as recently as 2005, is ready for the garbage can. Not too long ago, when high speed internet access, the pre-requisite for online shopping, was the exclusive domain of businesses people had to wait until they returned to work the Monday after Thanksgiving to unleash their online buying sprees. Now that everyone has a smartphone, shopping holidays like the infamous Black Friday, are heading to the landfill faster than the consumer goods they intend to promote.

Meanwhile here in Northern California, we were hit by a number of nasty storms, interspersed with sunny but cold days and borderline freezing night time temperatures. The rapidly changing weather makes training a challenge for those of us accustomed to warmer climes.

The view from the back porch, 11/29 @10AM

That said, anyone who takes a cycling career seriously will not be deterred by this weather. As the foreseeable future of cycling remains in Europe, our climate is downright balmy and tropical by comparison. Apart from a few vicious storms, when driving is next to impossible so let alone riding, we have year-round cycling weather here in Berkeley.

That said, I think I am going to go on a ride right now!

disk wheel

I pulled out my Renn disk wheel and rode 44 miles today. Not the best terrain for a disk as most of it is quite hilly, but both I and the wheel held up well. Unfortunately, the wheel is no longer really true and it has a slight wobble. I am not sure if this can be fixed. It isn't too bad and there is no rubbing -no brake adjustment needed. That is good because the Griffen frame is very tight and there is very little room in the back. The chainstays are almost as close as the brake pads.

It took me 2:44 to cover the distance. I rode out Redwood, to Moraga, to Lafayette (lots of traffic lights here) to Orinda over the St. Stephen's bike path, and then over Wildcat and Grizzly back home. I added a little detour on Grizzly to Skyline at the end. According to the Ergomo I burned 2,065 calories. My average power was 195W with a "normalized" average of 244W.

I felt a bit tired and think I will only do a short run tomorrow. Then I will be on travel for the next three days. That should give me plenty of opportunity to recover.

35 Mile Ride

No rain today, but rather cold, with a chilly wind and lots of debris on the road. Yesterday's rain storm brought down rocks, dirt, branches and even some trees. There were crews everywhere working on power lines, phone lines, and cleaning roads. There were also a lot of "Sunday" drivers, out to go voting no doubt. Met a lot of people holding up "NO ON 8" signs, even in the suburbs.

I rode 35 miles, out Redwood into Moraga to Orinda and back over Wildcat and Grizzly. I think I saw Freddie but I am not sure. There was a rider wearing a Mapei outfit coming to Pinehurst when I rode out to Moraga. I did some hard climbs and took it easy on the descents and flats. Burned 1,695 calories according to Ergomo and had a normalized power reading over 250W with an average around 210W. So far so good. Took a little over 2 hours to finish.

Easy ride

Went on an easy 51 mile ride today with Alistair, Mike Audley from Team Specialized and Freddie Rodriguez from Rock Racing. I am sure it was easier for them than for me, but overall we took it easy, even on the down hills. 

Although there were plenty of clouds, at times very dark, it did not rain, and apart from some spray -I noticed that both Mike and Freddie had fenders on their bikes- I did not get wet. The temperature was nice too.

We rode out Redwood to Moraga and Lafayette and then back over the bike trail to Wildcat. There Freddie decided to climb while we went back over the flats. It had been a while since I last rode "flats" and Mike took us in a very tortuous path back to Tunnel. Then Alistair and I climbed Alvarado and Grandview.

About 1/2 from home Alistair got a flat going over the curb at Schooner Hill and he walked home. I rode up Sherwick and Bristol. Burned 1,944 calories according to my power meter. 21 days to go.