To Texas, Christmas, New Years, and back to Florida

12-14-2010 

No ride today.  Just getting things ready for the trip back to Texas.

12-15-2010

Today, I worked till 5 then headed to Everette’s for smoking of the pork shoulder till midnite. We made a large fire (for a driveway) and had a good time.  We left a little after midnight in hopes of getting some rest before leaving for Texas.

12-16-2010

I made chili for the EOC potluck and had a good time.  We packed up and headed for Texas by 4 pm. I'm already tired and we just started. I pulled over after Pensacola because of a lot of fog.  Jordan ended up driving most of the time on this trip, which marks the first time I haven’t driven my share on any trip back and forth to Florida.  I know being sick did not help at all and I felt the worst during this time.

12-17-2010

Jordan and I made the trip back to Texas with a few wrong turns and me being pretty sick and not driving much.  We arrived at about noon. I had some delicious Taco Bueno with my brother then passed out until Jamie came back home at about 6. This cold is kicking my butt.  Jamie asked if I wanted to go to see Black Swan with her friends in the evening, but I was exhausted and just felt like sleeping.

12-18-2010

It was my boss' annual Christmas party and I had a good time seeing people I hadn't seen for most of the year from work and SCUBA. I did have an issue understanding people because I couldn't hear well due to the cold.

12-19-2010

I went to the gunshow with my dad and brother. We didn't find anything that we just HAD to have, so we left after about an hour.  I did see Jimmy, Chas, his family, and Jim though.  Later I went shopping with my Mom for presents.

12-20-2010

I went riding finally with my brother! This is the first time since may we've been able to work our schedules into a ride since April or May this year. We went to River Legacy where we lost each other within 5 minutes. I did get to do the new EKG portion of the trail. It is awesome! I realized that I lost Ryan here and spent the next 25 minutes looking for him in the 7 miles of trails. I did 5 miles today and How did I only do 5 miles when the trail is 7 miles long?  There are several loops off of the main trial.  I skipped all the loops hoping I'd catch up to him.  708 total on the bike. I can’t wait to go out again!

12-21-2010 to 1-3-2011

I took a break from riding due to cold weather and trails being closed. I had a great Christmas and New Year.  All of these days kinda rolled together, so I'm making this one big post.

My friend, Eric got 2 tickets 6 rows up at the Stars game at center ice.  It was my first time to a game.  I guess I thought it would be more fun in person. I was a bit disappointed especially after the fight in which the Dallas guy got his face beat in, but stayed up (won) and the opponent lost after falling down from exerting himself beating the other guy.

On Christmas, We watched my nephew open up presents and he had a blast!  He was smiling like crazy running all over opening up his stuff.  It reminds me of how important family is during this time.  Jamie and I got him a slide.  I think he likes it.

Gage slide from Pete Weydeck on Vimeo.

I ended up getting a new i9 wheelset for Christmas from my family and wife and a Niner One 9 frame, as well as a Chris King headset from my brother.

I purchased the wheelset from a guy on the dorba2.org website.  He had changed the front quick release to 15mm through axle for his fork.  I needed a 9mm quick release put back on, so I took it to Knobbies and Slicks in Colleyville.  I also ordered a Niner 20T cog for the new wheels, as well as a spacer kit.  I ended up talking to the owner Bud for awhile and mentioned the closeout price on the One 9 I had seen online.  He offered to match the price with what he could order from 2010 and what he had in stock.  He had only 1 One 9 in stock.  It was blue and medium.  I loved it and told my wife about it jokingly thinking that she’d say go get it.  I got a great surprise when she gave me the ok.  I headed right back and picked it up and had the headset installed into the frame.  I can transfer all of my current components from the Monocog except for the bottom bracket (I got one that would fit for $5 on sale) and a 31.6 mm seatpost.  I decided not to buy parts to be “until I can afford good ones” on this bike.  I will buy the parts that I want when I can afford them.  That being said, I hope to get a Niner carbon fork for Valentine’s or my birthday. I can’t wait to start the build!

I'm pretty happy with my new purchase

The beginning

Yeah, it glows in the dark!

Jamie and I relaxed at home for New Year's Eve and I was asleep before 11.  Jordan and I ended driving back to Florida on Monday January 3rd, so we'd be back in time for a training class in Palm Beach. I was able to fit the new wheelset into the car, but not the bike.  It was a bit of a shock when I found out it wouldn't fit, so I'll either be shipping it to Florida or bringing it back on a trip to Texas.

1-4-2011

I went riding with Jordan for a short one at Pinehurst. Only 8 miles on the bike today. 716 overall. I can definitely feel that I didn't ride much over the holidays.

1-5-2011 to 1-7-2011

I had no time for a ride with training class that lasted from 8:30 to 4:30. Next week should be much better for riding time.  At lunch one day, I did find something interesting.  I'm not sure what the purpose of mounting a shovel to your motorcycle is.  I can only imagine it's for burying rivals or bashing in zombie skulls on the highway.

1-8-2011

I did 2 laps at Pinehurst. The first with Jordan to show him how to do portions of the trail. He was able to make it over some pretty difficult objects today. At a double set of logs he got his handlebars twisted and went over them pretty hard, which took the wind out of him. I found out a few days later he bruised his ribs and it still is bothering him. Second lap was much faster by myself and ended up with 28:12. I may have been a bit faster, but I ended up running up on a rider who I saw start to go around an obstacle and then turned back towards it at the last second This would have been ok if he had not crashed right in front of me, which caused me to lock up my front wheel and eject me over the first log. I also missed an easy obstacle early on. I'm hoping to get sub 28 min laps soon. Total miles for the day 16. Total in the bike 732.

1-9-2011

Miami Oleta River Park with Jimmy and Jordan. I had a great 2 hours and did some trails I had never done before. I goofed on a few that I knew I could do and finished several that I had issues with before. Oyster Ridge gave me multiple problems and may have just been a body english issue with climbing/ tire combo. I also did the back part of the park, which was awesome although it was longer than I thought it would be. This extra time left Jimmy and Jordan waiting awhile at the truck. I did 15 miles for the day. 747 total.

1-10-2011

1 lap at Pinehurst. 27:07. Fastest lap by over a minute. I was movin’ today! I went hard and I believe my rear wheel paid the price for it. I haven't looked at it much since I trued it the last time about a month ago. Over the last few outings, I've felt my spokes and been able to tighten them by hand. I knew I should have done this sooner, but I put it off. Alas, I had to true them up again tonight. I'm excited to put on the new rims that I got over Christmas when Jamie sends me my new cog.


1-11-2011
No ride today.  It was a little cool today at 55 degrees.  Funny thing is that Florida is the only state (including Hawaii) that doesn't have snow today.  I also waited most of the day for the website I am working on to come online and find a replacement hard drive, since mine has begun making not so nice sounds every once in awhile.

December's First two weeks

12-1-2010
I took Jimmy to Miami for his Caribbean vacation at 9 and got back at 12. It was back to work from there. Good to be back to a normal schedule, but I definitely miss my wife and pups.

12-2-2010
I took a quick lap around Pinehurst at 5 and did a total of 8 miles. I was able to clear a section (about 5 or 6 trees in a row) that I had not been able to clear before. I was pleased with my ride. My time was 30:44. Not fast at all, but I wasnt pushing myself at all. Total miles 664. Don't see me making up all those Thanksgiving miles unfortunately.

12-3-2010 and 12-4-2010
No rides. It's actually been kind of cold for Florida lately.

12-5-2010
Slow lap around Pinehurst. I was just not feeling it today. Don't know what my problem was, but not a fun ride for me for some reason. 8 miles today. 672 total.

12-6-2010
It was soo much better today. 2 fast laps at Pinehurst. First lap 30:11 second lap 29:10. It was surprisingly chilly today. I left the trail at about 5:25. I was pretty cold till I got into the trail and worked up a little body heat. My feet got cold and stayed that way through both laps and the way back. I rode 12 miles today and 684 on the bike. I can't wait until it gets dark later. Only another few weeks till I get back home!

12-7-2010
I debated about riding today, but it was very cool this afternoon and eventually got into the 40s. That's not a lot of fun for me when I have just summer riding gear here in Florida.

12-8-2010
A great 2 laps at Pinehurst. 30:00 and 28:36. 2nd lap was my unofficial fastest lap. I say unofficial because I have finished a second quicker, but I ran up on a few people and had to slow down a bit at the beginning of the ride. I was very happy going through the trails today and the weather was great this afternoon. 12 miles today 696 on the bike so far.

12-9-2010
I got to enjoy Miami traffic twice when I picked up Jimmy from the Miami airport and on the drive back. No riding today after getting back at 3:30 pm. Enjoyed some good food from dinner with Everette, Jimmy, and Rene.

12-10-2010
Jimmy and I were invited to the Tri-City festival in Pahokee, FL. We were asked if we wanted to go on an airboat ride. It was a 4 HR ride that included fixing the overheating engine and me climbing in the back of the airboat with my head between the propellers and the cage so I could refill the radiator. It was a really fun time going out there though! It was beautiful and the airboat's owner, Boots, had tons to tell us about the area, see link. Here's some pics to enjoy.

12-11-2010
I did my fastest lap at Pinehurst today at 28:26! I only did 1 lap when I noticed my rear wheel was really out of true and at least one spoke was almost falling out. I headed straight back and only did 7 miles today, 703 miles total. I went to the bike shop and purchased a spoke tool, master link for my chain and a chain removal tool.

I cleaned my bike really well and did a basic truing of the rear wheel relatively easily. I also took off my chain. The instructions explicitly stated to not drive the pins out unless I was taking off a link (which I was). The plan was to replace the link that I took out with a master link that would allow me to remove the chain without tools. Unfortunately, I was sold a 1/2" x 1/8" master link and it was "way" too big. Way in this case means 1/32 too big. This meant it didn't fit correctly and I had to somehow drive the old pins back in to get the chain back together. This took about 45 minutes to get back together. All told, I spent about 3 hours cleaning, lubing, and fixing my bike tonight. I'm glad it's finally done and now understand how to true a wheel and take apart a chain.

12-12-2010
I went to the bike shop after they opened at noon and attempted to replace the wrong master link I had purchased yesterday. They didn't have it in stock, so I headed to Wheels of Wellington. Forest Hill was closed down for a holiday parade on the east side of the store, so I went around west. It was a bear to get around this area today. By the time I got back to the apartment and ate lunch, Jimmy had called me to come over to Heather and Trevor's, so no ride today, but I enjoy some great beef stew an rice with some awesome Trini hot sauce.

12-13-2010
No ride again. ;( I didn't ride because I was starting to get sick. I simply didn't want to go out into the cold and wind and make things worse. Hopefully I can fight this cold before it gets bad, unlike what happened with Jordan in the last few weeks.  I did end up spending 10 hours cloning and XP partition twice, installing XP twice, unlocking an account, and removing a forgotten password.  Thanks Trinity Rescue Kit.  This toolkit rocks!

Nov 15 to Nov 30th

11-15-2010

I didn't feel great today, but headed out for a ride and got to the trail around 4:30. I did two laps. 30:38 and 31:11. Not fast at all. I was a bit sore from yesterday and I could definitely feel it in my knees from standing up on my pedals yesterday. I did 12 miles today and now have 644 on my bike total.

11-16-2010

While cleaning up for my trip home, I decided to clean out my camelbak. I cleaned it last week, but I didn't clean out the hose too well. It turns out that the hose had a ton of black brown red stuff in it. Yay. I think this may be the reason I've been getting sick after riding.

No ride today mostly because I decided to eat 32 oz of salsa at about 3pm. Why did I eat so much? I don't know. I do know I didn't feel awesome afterward. Interestingly, I woke up and weighed myself in at 166.4 lbs this morning. My only "meal" today was the salsa. I weighed 174 lbs at 7 pm. No bueno. No bueno.

11-17-2010

2 early morning laps at Pinehurst this morning with times of 28:38 and 28:42. I was movin! That's 12 miles for the day and 656 miles on the bike so far.

I'm really excited to see my wife and family again today which probably explains my ability to be up at 6 AM. I am going to miss riding the Cog for a few weeks, so my Trek will get some use while I'm home. I hope it's ready to be ridden.

There are the new AIT scanners at PBI. A woman in front of me was picked to go through and opted out to get a pat down. I'm thinking that the American public may not be cool with the new scanners.

11-18-2010

No ride today, since it was my first day home and I drove all over seeing family and doing chores. I did see the bike stand I want now. Park tool PCS-10.

11-19-2010

I rode River Legacy on my brother's 2009 Trek 6500. Fun bike, but definitely felt tiny compared to the Monocog. I rode the path I did last time on the cog and finished in about the same time, 32 minutes. I began at about 4 pm and took a couple of wrong turns. The sun was setting, so not a lot of fun there, especially with sunglasses on. I will probably ride tomorrow without sunglasses. I lost my grip a bit on the north loop where the trail had a bit of mud on it around a corner. I am excited about tomorrow’s time trial. I know I am probably not going to rank high in it, but it's my first competition on a bike ever, so I'm pumped. I am going to take Jamie to work in the morning and then to look at computers with my dad after that. If I can, I will go to try to help out getting the course set up. I don't have a clue how the course will be routed. I need to fix Ryan’s bike computer and his front brake. I may swap in my Trek’s tires if I have time.

11-20-2010

Time Trial results. Lap 1 28:10, lap 2 27:37. Not good at all compared to most peeps who had times as low as 23 minutes. I did have some issues with Ryan’s rear derailleur. It kept skipping as soon as I would be spinning fast. This was annoying and made it difficult to get going very fast. The culprit appears to be the SRAM chain link. I'm going to take it to Bicycles Inc on Sunday to get an idea of what needs to be done.

11-21-2010 to 11-23-2010

No rides. I was busy running around with Jamie and the family as well as trying to get some work done. I made some great pot roast on 11-22 though.

11-24-2010

Jamie and I went to Knobbies and Slicks in Colleyville and spoke with the owner, Bud, for about an hour on what I want to do with my Monocog upgrades. I wanted to see a Niner fork, but was treated to a air carbon fork and frame! The bike was super light and felt awesome. The fit and finish on this bike is phenomenal. I can't wait to eventually to buy one. It was kind of strange because I went in looking for the fork and came out wanting a wheelset and a fork.

11-25-2010

Thanksgiving got cold! It was 61 degrees at 6:30 AM and the temp dropped into the 30s by 8. Jamie, my sister, my brother in law, my nephew, my brother, and I participated in the Fort Worth Turkey Trot 5k "run". There were tons of people out and participating at this event. We all had a good time and walked and jogged where we could. Jamie and I finished together at about 42 minutes. Not a fast time, but she and I certainly haven't been running in some time (years). It was great to get out with my family for the event and I found out Jamie and I can participate in sporting events without getting on each others nerves!

We spent the afternoon getting ready for dinner and preheating some food. We had a big dinner with my parents and siblings, my nephew, as well as my grandma and aunt.

11-26-2010

I drove the wife to work and I got quite a surprise on black Friday when I was driving down 287. I pushed the clutch and it was rock hard. I pushed again and it was on the floor. AA and Eric came to bring the Jeep back to the house. 

We took some interior things out of the jeep to gain access to the transmission.

11-27-2010

Since I had replaced the clutch master cylinder earlier this year or late last year I didn't think the master cylinder could be the problem, which left the slave cylinder as my primary suspect. The slave cylinder is very handily located inside the transmission. In order to get the transmission out all you have to do is remove the front and rear driveshafts, the starter, the shifter, the center console, skid plate, and the 8 bolts that range from 19mm to torx to 1/2.

After we took it all apart and put it back together all while laying on a very cold floor for 8 hours, the bleeder valve would not budge. Eric and I both worked on it for a half an hour and couldn't get it to move. At 6, we called it a day and by 6:30 I was showered and asleep. We were both cold, sore, and very tired.

11-28-2010

The bleeder valve was a non issue today.  It came off immediately! Eric and I wrapped up the clutch issues and had everything back together and working by 3. We gathered borrowed tools and returned them. I was back at the house and getting ready for dinner by 4.

11-29-2010

Today was spent wrapping up things around the house and getting ready for my trip back to Florida.

11-30-2010

I was able to get everything together and packed before I had to leave for my afternoon flight. I'm ready to get back to riding in a warm climate!  I was able to clean my messes up at the house and even get the tree into the house and set up for my wife to decorate.

Exiwolf 29er 2.3 Review and a late Pinehurst lap

11-14-2010
For the last week or two, I've noticed my back tire just skidding all over the trail. On Wednesday, I had a lot of issues getting the rear tire to stay planted on ascents where I stood up and whenever I was braking hard around turns. It's not that I was necessarily braking hard, it seems that it would just lock up at the slightest braking.  After looking at the tires on Saturday morning, they almost looked like they were dry rotted.  I've beat these tires up a lot and I've been very pleased with them over the last few months, but I really felt like new tires would be helpful.  I had seen some WTB Exiwolfs at Wheels of Wellington for $26 each, so I decided to shop around and see who else had tires as well as any deals they might have. 


Awesome. At first I was a bit hesitant about the Exiwolfs at Amelia Earhart Park, but I'm more confident after putting 22 miles on them today. 22 miles? How did I get that number? Oh yeah, since I was a little concerned about their handling in the turns, I hurried back to the apt and went to Pinehurst as the sun was setting.  My idea was that maybe I hadn't given them as fair of a shake since I was at a place I had never been to before.


At the familiar Pinehurst trail, I had much more grip over logs and roots than with the Nevegals. The grip in the sand was better than the Nevegals, but I had to be careful not to turn too quickly or I'd wash out. Straight line grip is pretty good. I pushed myself pretty hard at Pinehurst and finished in 29 minutes. I probably could have been quicker, but I made some mistakes as I couldn't see the trail as well as I normally do and I was a little tired and cramped from the 14 miles earlier at Amelia Earhart Park. 

Exiwolf on the left, Nevegal on the right

Looking side by side, the Exiwolf 2.3s look thinner than the Nevegal 2.2s

Nothing screams class and sophistication like this.

I'm pretty sure I didn't hit 46.8 mph today, but if the computer says I did, then I'll take it.

New lowest weight.  I was 185+ a few months ago.

The tires definitely roll much better than the Nevegals, especially on pavement. I was able to hit 20 mph and sustain it without bouncing. I couldn't go above 15 mph without bouncing on the Nevegals. I don't want to dismiss the nevegals because when they were new, they bit into everything. I loved them. After 610 miles though, they showed a lot of wear and almost looked dry rotted in places. I'm keeping them in case I rip the Exiwolfs, but I'm betting the Exiwolfs won't come off the bike for some time.  I finished with 632 miles on my bike today.  Here are some pics of the new tires: 

Tire Search and Amelia Earhart Park

11-13-2010 

As boring as this sounds, I shopped the West Palm area bike shops that I haven't visited recently. I went to Wheels of Wellington first and found they still had the Exiwolfs and they were still $26 each. They didn't look nearly as beefy as the Nevegals did, but I was just looking at this point.  

Next, I headed to Bike America in Boynton.  This store has a lot of room.  It's nice, clean and neat. At the time I went in it had one customer other than myself and 2 people working.  I found a set of Specialized Captain 2.0s in 29", but nothing else.  I kind of expected a shop like this to have more of a selection.  I also expect at least a hi, hello, or something when you're walking around a store for 10 minutes.  After not seeing anything that I wanted/needed, I left and probably won't come back.

Next store up was Boynton Bicycle Rider.  I had been here a few years ago and they were nice, but it was a really small store. The employees were nice and helpful, but they didn't have any 29" tires for me.  I did get to overhear a...well, he sounded like a douchebag customer going on and on.  Seriously, he's the kind of asshole that sounds like he never left the Jersey shore and at 45 still tries to be a badass.  You see, he was there to buy a bike, not because he wanted to enjoy riding or exercise. No, it's because he got a DUI and wanted everyone in the store know how awesome he was.  Except he wasn't.  

Next store I was going to try was called Boynton Bicycle Shop.  It was supposedly at 312 E Boynton.  I looked all over and couldn't find it.  I got hungry, so I went to grab some food and talked with Jamie to see if I could grab the tires from Wheels of Wellington.  She ok'd it and I grabbed them late in the afternoon and put them on Saturday night.  

11-14-2010

Amelia Earhart park in Hialeah, FL. Fun trail. This is not a technical trail like oleta or Markham. The trail has enough for everyone though. I rode the trail twice back to back. It was 7 miles to the car and back. Actual trail length is probably 6.75 miles or so. On the first lap, I went pretty leisurely through the trail and it was a bit boring until I started on the hills at about the end of the first mile of trail.

The hills here are bigger than most places I've ridden here in South Florida and overall the trail seems to be more fun than Markham or Oleta. I say more fun because the trail is really laid out well and keeps riders on the same trail throughout. There are plenty of bypasses for novice riders, but they all reconnect to the main trail. 

The flow is what is so great here. There are plenty of fast and flat portions that weave in and out of the trees. The ground in many places is actual hard packed dirt, not the sandy dirt or limestone trail I've seen other places. I finished the first lap in about 45 min. Second lap was almost the same time. 

I began right behind a group that was taking a leisurely ride through and I was able to pass after the first mile. I also ran into a family that was hiking backwards through the trail and I think I spooked them all a little. I don't know if it's a multi use trail or only for bikes. I would definitely keep your eyes open because the park was extremely busy when I got there at about 2 pm. 

I also ran into a couple of kids who werent wearing helmets and were probably 7-11 years old. I never wore a helmet as a kid, but that's because my parents didn't like me. Just kidding Mom.  Parents should care enough about their kids enough to make sure they at least strap something to their heads to keep from getting seriously hurt.  If they don't care, they should put a helmet on them because going to the hospital is expensive. There are signs all over saying helmets are required.  Ok, rant over.

The hills should be approached with some caution, especially in the razorback section because of their height above ground level and the angles of the hills. On one hill I made it to the top with some effort and was able to put a foot down only to almost fall backwards down the hill. Many of the hills are covered with carpet that makes the ascents much easier than if they were simply the limestone thats underneath. 

This is a really fun trail.  I will definitely go back with Jordan and Jimmy to ride this trail again.  This trail has the best flow of any trail in South Florida and was a joy to ride.  Like I said before, it's not technical, but it's a satisfying ride and definitely fun.  Here's a map of today's ride:

Halpatiokee Regional Park Review

11-12-2010
Today, I left the apt at about 3:15PM for Halpiotokee Regional Park in Stuart, FL. Here is the location of the trailhead. It was a relatively short drive up to the park and no traffic. The park was nice and a mix of Fort Pierce and Pinehurst. There were plenty of roots and sand, but also a lot of smooth, relatively fast, good flowing parts of this trail. 


The photos I have below are low quality.  I didn't realize how poor the quality was until I looked at them later.  I was using the app Motion X GPS.  It's a good app, but I'd really like to have the option to change the quality in the app instead of going into the regular camera app.  


The trail seemed well marked the first few miles even to the point of being obnoxious in the middle where there was nowhere else to go. The trail moved from the wooded area to the open, and finally towards the highway. Unfortunately, the signs quit being helpful after awhile and the trail would end in a T and I no real idea of which way to go. I kept moving towards the highway (or at least where I thought the highway was) because I knew I could find my way to the highway, I could get back to the car. If you blow up the map below, you can see where I did a big loop towards the east side of the trail.  I later found that this is actually the route.  It doesn't seem to make a lot of sense to go from being marked well to nothing and dump the rider hundreds of yards from a usable trail. I ended up making some wrong turns and did a fire road loop while the sun was setting and clouds were beginning to form overhead.  I did a total of 9 miles for the day and 610 miles on the bike overall.  Here are some pics from the day's ride:

Aerial image of my ride

About to get the Cog dirty again!

Towards the trailhead

Trail markers

This is what most of the trail looks like

Part of the wetter portion of the trail

Balance beam

One of several bridges

Clouds gathering at the end of the ride.

As soon as I took this shot, it began to rain.

Grazing birds eating asphalt

Mounted up and ready to go back to West Palm.

Tread worn down on the Nevegals

A parting shot leaving the park.

600 miles!

11-10-2010
I started out pretty early today and did a lap at Pinehurst in 28:50. That's been my fastest lap going through all the obstacles. I was pretty happy about that. After I finished, I didn't feel too well and I figured it might have something to do with my camelbak water tasting awful and me drinking a bit. You see, if you leave water or gatorade in a camelbak and don't keep it cool or clean it out after every ride, you get nastiness inside it.  I drank a bit of that nastiness, so for future reference, don't drink nasty smelling water/gatorade. 


I was disappointed and knew I'd have to ride a lot tomorrow to get my 600 miles in 3 months. I decided to do some riding at Okeeheelee and felt better soon after. I rode 28 miles today and now have 601 miles on the Monocog. I'm hoping to go to Amelia Earhart park either tomorrow (Veterans Day) or Friday in the late morning/ early afternoon. 

11-11-2010

I cleaned up, lubed, and got the bike set up again for smooth riding.  I had the day off, but I worked and kind of relaxed later in the afternoon by cleaning up my bike.

November coolness rolls into South Florida

11-1-2010

The new month has gotten off to a slow start. I planned on going riding in the morning. Not trusting the interwebs for information, I concluded that the sun should be up 30 minutes before it would be. Lo and behold this morning, guess what happened at 6:45? Yep, that's right, it was still dark. Apparently, my willpower is no match for gravity and planetary orbits and such. So, what to do so early? Go back to sleep of course. By the time I awoke, it was too late to begin a ride in time for work. 

At about 5, I headed out with Jordan to Pinehurst. I did one lap all reds in a little more than 30 minutes. I saw it was nearly 6, getting dark, and about to rain. I begrudgingly headed back to the apartment, but decided to ride a bit at Okeeheelee. A bit in this context is defined as me not being able to see much anymore due to the decreasing light. I got back at about 7:20 with 21 miles for the day and 506 miles on the bike.

11-2-2010

I decided to try to use a cage and water bottle today. I also ordered my avid speed dial 7 levers, which should be in on Friday. I also decided at lunch to clean my bike and relube my chain. The bike hadn’t been cleaned since Texas, so it certainly didn’t hurt to be clean again. The cage and bottle combo worked well today, although I should have probably drank a bit more water before I went for my ride seeing that the bottle is only 24 oz. I rode a fast first lap at Pinehurst at 29:10. My second lap started about 6, as it was getting dark out. I took it easy and was going to focus on the harder, red, rooty portions. I finished in a respectable 33:15. Not fast, but that's not what I was going for. I tried out Jordan's saddle bag, but it was simply too big for what I want. Stuff was flying all around inside it and made a ton of noise. I am really happy with how simple my bike is.  It’s awesome how it makes virtually no noise and I like to keep it that way.

Then rode to Okeeheelee for another 10 miles as the sun was setting and darkness took over. I finished with 21 miles for the day and 527 on the bike.

I am beginning to look at new tires as my Kenda Nevegals are starting to wear. I've used them everywhere and I like them, but I may try something with a little less rolling resistance around Christmas. I priced a headset at about $60 from Jim’s Bicycles in Deerfield. That price is about what others charge, but they will install it for free for me. I called all around the West Palm Area for the Avid Speed Dial 7 brake levers and no one had them in stock. This wasn't surprising, but the salespeople here could learn a little about how to talk to customers. Some shops just told me that they didn't have it. Some offered me something I didn't ask for and only 2 said they could order them and get them to me by Friday. Jim’s was the natural choice as they were the same price and they know who I am. I really like that place even though it's a 45 min drive. I need to find a good shop like that in Texas.

11-3-2010

No ride today. Relaxed a bit and had dinner with Jordan, Jimmy and Everette instead. I'm looking forward to my new levers Friday! By the way fried squash is awesome.

11-4-2010

Rain, so no riding today.

11-5-2010

It rained pretty good last night, but skies were clear all day. I was able to pick up my levers from Jim’s at about 5 pm. Since Jim’s is across from Quiet Waters, I really wanted to ride with the new levers. Jimmy was nice enough to let me borrow his truck so I could ride the park.

The levers are awesome. I felt like they were quite responsive and I know I haven’t adjusted them very well yet, so I'm excited to play around with them a bit. I will say I like my hand position, especially the reach. Quiet Waters was fun even though I got passed by 3 guys. I was puttering along for the most part since I don't know my way around here very well. I did 6 miles and have 533 miles on the bike. I did the trail in about 40 minutes. Not very fast today at all. There's a bit more hills at this park than at Pinehurst. I enjoyed the hills, but I was slipping and sliding around a ton! I didn't like that. I had the biggest problem when I was standing up. I was standing because it's a pretty rocky trail. It's only so much I can enjoy being seated on a trail like this. Once I did sit down, I did get better traction, but I didn't have as much power or comfort. 

 The trail was nice, but very windy and started to get cold.  The low temp was down in the 50's today. Looks like I'll begin looking for some warmer clothes.  I did wear a long sleeve under armor shirt along with my short sleeve.  

11-6-2010

Another Pinehurst ride today. 4 laps. 1st lap 29:15, 2nd lap 30:00, 3rd lap 28:56, 4th lap 30:30.  All reds today again. I have 22 miles on my bike today and 555 overall. I had to make a quick ride back to the apt after Jimmy tore his tire and tube open between laps 2 and 3. There’s a spot at Pinehurst on the west side where there are 2x4s across the trail nailed down.  I’ve seen the nails come up before and since then I’ve been able to avoid the spot.  It looks like Jimmy will need to get a new tube and tire before he can ride again.

I don't think I've ever put so much time and effort into enjoying a sport like this. I absolutely love riding. Even when I'm huffing and puffing down the trail, riding down the street, or doing somewhat boring road rides, it's a great feeling to be hugging the turns and making your bike do exactly what you want it to do.  I know I must be annoying to my wife by talking about riding so often and probably to my friends as well.  I am glad they put up with me though.  I really wish I had started riding again sooner than I did. I have set the 200 mile goal per month for myself, but I am hoping to do much longer rides than what I have so far starting in the spring and summer of 2011.  I am contemplating even doing the Hotter Than Hell 100 on the Monocog in Mineral Wells next year. 

11-7-2010

No ride today. I cleaned up the apartment and my room today. It was quite the mess. Were making chili at Heather and Trevors tonight. We’ll see how everyone likes spicy chili. 

It seems like everyone enjoyed both the spicy and the not so spicy chili. There was none left at the end of the evening, which may be a first at their house. I'm looking forward to some long rides this week at Pinehurst and then Miami /Ft Lauderdale next weekend. I had a good time watching the Walking Dead at 10 on AMC.  This show rocks!

11-8-2010

11 more miles today. I hit Pinehurst a little after 5. I was only able to do one lap because it was getting dark. I had one of my best laps today and I was really happy with the trail conditions except for the sand. I really don't like sand. There's just not a lot of fun in going through it. I changed my music from just Mumford & Sons to a mix from my collection based upon Cage the Elephant's "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked". I was hauling through the trail today and ended my lap at 29:28. I rode around a bit to make it 11 miles and 566 miles total. I also got my new bottle opener in today. 

11-9-2010

I met Jordan at Pinehurst today after getting a late start. He had already done one lap by the time I got there. I rode one lap off and on with Jordan and he had a few problems with his bike.

The first time we stopped his headset was loose. The second time we stopped I noticed he was having a lot of noise coming from his rear derailleur. It just didn't look right. He was able to finish the trail, but we headed back before it got worse. It was a leisurely 7 mile ride in 31:30 minutes. 

We took his bike to the shop he purchased it at to see what was wrong. Apparently, he was able to bend his derailleur so badly the shop said it had “exploded”. He decided to wait to get it repaired till he got back since he's leaving in 2 days. 573 miles total on the bike now.