Dodging Dolly's Downpours

Hurricane Dolly made landfall far from the Houston area. Yet, we got a strong gulf moisture in-flow. That's meant sporadic, but, heavy rainfall. The clouds gathered Wednesday afternoon. Rain drizzled as I lead-out from the house but never got heavier. Got in my prescribed 4-hour base ride -dry- and returned home. I returned long enough to have a recovery drink, and get out of the bike kit and the skies opened up! HA! Just made it!

Yesterday, luck ran out. It was pouring. It's odd. If I'm out riding and it rains, I make peace with it and savor it. But taking off in the rain is infinately more difficult. I stayed in and took care of some domestic tasks.

Today, I'm going to do something I rarely do - combine workouts. Yesterday the menu held a 1.5-hr Tempo ride. Today's menu was 4x6:00 R6 Z4-5a intervals. Feeling that I need to do both... I'm going to do both. I'll shorten the intervals to three or four minutes then follow with the tempo ride. Rest and recovery is slated for Saturday.

Dirt Tan!

Hit Memorial Park before the rain started this afternoon. Unfortunately, the rain started so I high-tailed it off the trail and back to the concrete. Undaunted, I rode the paved paths to downtown. Two more hours of riding in sporadic rains, then it was back to the house. I got a nice dirt tan today...

I started a fire in the backyard, and let it get ready while I showered off the dirt tan. No more rains...

Then I topped some pounded chicken breasts with blue cheese...

Wrapped them in bacon... mmmm... bacon...

Then I grilled 'em with some zucchini sprinkled with thyme and served up with some greens.

Return to BASEics

doG dammit base miles are boring! My season-long training plan calls for a healthy stretch of base miles mid-year. Partly caused by the split mountain bike season we have here in Tejas. Sometimes I think that base miles were invented by coaches to make you so bored that you want to go out and to mega hard intervals.

I'm not there yet, but I probably will be by the end of this week.

My motto for the ride after a tough day...

Here's my tip today... don't ride on garbage day. Man, I wonder sometimes what people put in their garbage can. They can definately infect the breeze. And while drafting METRO busses can be fun, getting stuck behind a garbage truck's draft, well... not so good...

Three hours of base and it was time for reward!

Pita bread pizza with green salad splashed with balsamic vinegar and almonds.
OH YEEEAAAAH!

Modernization

I'm now the proud owner of a modern desktop computer. My old one died. When I say old, I mean OLD. It was still running Windows98. I suppose in computer years that's like 100 years old or something. Anyway the hard drive died a slow progressive death. I was able to get a good deal of data off before it quit completely, but not all of it. I lost my digital photo directories. Glad I have the blog, because that's the only pictures I have of the last year now...

Done!

The MR2 is done. Well, as done as it's going to ever be. Here are some before/after pics...

More photos [HERE]

Has been a fantastic journey. Along the way I learned a lot about chemistry, paint, sanding, and (mostly) patience. Painting teaches you patience for sure. Like any artisan I know where every defect is! I'm really happy with the end result. It was a ton of work. I will never, ever, complain about the cost of bodywork!

Would I do it again? Absolutely. There is something uniquely satisfying about painting... exposing the beauty within... that's a great journey for both life and cars!

Final Touches

This week's been filled with with lots of...

1. Removing overspray from the previous paint job from various body parts...



2. Removing lots of compound spatters. Not as easy as it looks. The residue disappears when wet, but reappears after it dries. I regret not cleaning as I went...



3. And I broke a window. Because it was not installed correctly I couldn't get the trim piece in place. It was glued in with urethane. There was no way to remove the window without destroying it anyway. So, I took a chance and decided to try to lightly grind a notch to cattywampus the trim piece in. The window went *POOF* and intantly shattered. This was the result...



I popped and crackled for almost an hour. Made a neat pattern though!



I sourced another window from American Auto Glass on Yale. The owner Robert was very helpful in this endeavor! Changing out the glass was pretty simple, except for vacuuming out all of the bits of glass. It was kinda fun smashing the window out. Don't get to do that everyday! I cut out all of the urethane sealer and replaced it with the proper -flexible- type.



Window refitted... correctly this time...



Next time, before-and-after pictures...

A Strange Soreness

Sometimes the best training comes unexpected. I've struggled all week with leg soreness. This despite a training regemine that included only endurance and tempo riding. This type of riding should NOT leave me sore.

It's been a strange soreness. Not the usual achy soreness one gets when overreaching in the gym or on on the bike. It ONLY occurred during riding, starting out very intense and slowly lessening as the ride went on. Ten minutes after riding all the pain was gone.

This was the ultimate in frustration. The pain made me want to tank my rides. How could I meow out of tempo ride? That's just weak. When doing heavy training you expect - and are prepared - to put aside that "quit" emotion. I was not prepared for that this week.

Quitting wasn't going to happen. I showed no symptoms of overtaining or muscle damage, so I trained right through it. Even though it hurt. It worked out OK.

Today, it came together. The legs were snappy and sore-free. Better. I felt stronger today than I have in a long time, too. Haven't done any thing to mitigate the soreness, but it's gone. And I'm happy about that!

Tomorrow it's a road trip up north to the hill country for some hill repeat intervals. Now that, I expect, will leave me with some pain!

Bad Scene

Rolled up to this scene this afternoon... Yale @ 14th. Ouch.



Ambulance, Fire, Police and wreckers showed up instantly and I cruised... Ride like you're invisible my friends, because you are!

doG Darn It Was Hot!

This is me... panting like a dog...



On the menu today 8x4:00 R4 anaerobic intervals. The legs didn't feel very good leading out from the house. They didn't get any better. I meowed after 2 intervals. Just. Could. Not. Doit. Not worth doing low-quality training...

Sometimes it's just not your day. Today's training started with a dead GPS. I really like my Garmin Edge. But, today it would not turn on. Completely dead. An omen perhaps? I have a Forerunner 301, too, but the HR montior has always been skiddish. I hurriedly rigged up a mount on the bike so I could have some hope of montioring the HR. I love zip ties! The HR montior worked today, luckily.



After my "ride" I got online in the hope of a solution. Google is your friend. HERE IS A USEFUL LINK. Pressing and holding the Mode+Lap button reset it. I've turned it on and off about 10 times and so-far-so-good.

Most Ingredients Aren't Planned

Since I was listening to Vida Blue while prepping dinner... I thought I'd borrow the title. I had a recipe for a basil, tomato, pesto, chicken. I had some fresh basil - the only thing that's made from my spring planting. My basil variety smells like weed. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it clashed with pesto after I mixed it up. Something just didn't smell/taste right. So much for plans. I dropped that idea and went with another. My chicken breasts were butterflied and pounded already...



I found a lonely can of Rotel tomatoes. I had some feta cheese too. They got mixed together. Just enough to break up the bigger tomato chunks.



Then spread this on the chicken breasts, rolled them up, and grated some fresh Parmesan on top...



Baked them. Then ate one. Made some spinach w/garlic, and peas so the chicken wouldn't get lonely in my belly. This turned out OK. I like this. A little Parmesan adds a lot flavor.



While rolling up the chickens, I thought about using pasta sauce instead of Rotel tomatoes for an Italian flavor influence? Darn, some pasta sauce with the fresh basil leaves would have been fantastic! Next time...

I Fear No Orange Peel

Three pieces were left to colorsand and compound. First was the rear wing. It was difficult! That thing is loaded with compound curves and sharp edges. Each waiting to be a burn through.



With lots of patience and a very low speed on the buffer pad, I prevailed!

Then onto the engine cover. I sprayed this thing really, really dry.



Here's a close up of the orange peel. Yikes!



Surprisngly, it mowed down and polished up fine... Then on to the front bumper, which wasn't as bad. Still, the plastic bumper is not easy to compound. I did as little cutting as possible. It's tough to get a good attack with the pad.



Then a final wash so any spots that I need to polish up will be easily visible... I'll get that knocked out tomorrow and it's final assembly!

Punchin' Holes In The Wind

Took off northbound with the wind at my back today. Oh what fun! The speed rawked! I tried to pace myself. I knew the upwind ride would be tough. I couldn't do it. The speed was too addicting!

I hauled the mail up north, then turned around. With gusts over 31-mph the southbound run was as tough as I thought. I pushed through at a good climbing pace. It was difficult! The extra workload felt good for the legs.

On the way home, the wind was at a perfect angle for drafting a Metro bus down Heights...a nice respite from the wind, but the fumes weren't so good!



Oh, and Cornershop's When I was Born the Seventh Time is another great album to ride to. Thanks for the suggestion Liz!

A Picture Of Nectar

Phish's A Picture of Nectar is a great album for riding. Just sayin'.

Stress Damage

After returning from a long working road trip, today's ride plan was a 2-hour endurance ride. Things didn't go according to plan. My heart rate was through the roof! I got down to 8-mph trying to keep my heart rate within Zone 2. Usually, I'm hovering around 18-mph for that heart rate. What's up?

My stress level! The most obvious sign was when I turned my head to look for traffic over my shoulder. It pulled me off line. The neck muscles were that stiff.

I looked up a previous ride in my training log that matched duration, average speed, and environmental conditions. Previously, my average heart rate was 138. Today it was 153! All other things being equal stress was worth 15-beats per minute. Wow! It's striking the effect stress - a mental/emotional factor - has upon our physical well-being.

Without today's ride I would not have recognized the physical ramifications of a stressful day. I'm not the most self-aware person. But when training, the symptoms are on full display. That's a healthy feedback. Makes me wonder what kind of damage I've done myself from years previous?

The good news is my training ride did a lot of good. I felt stronger, and better, at the end of the ride than when I started. Most importantly, I felt much looser and de-stressed. My heartrate was closer to normal by the end. A sure sign of reduced stress! It's great to see physical activity balancing out the daily stresses of life.

Today's ride was a good reminder (feedback) to not ignore the stressors in life, but find effective ways to cope. I'm off to do some yoga now...

Learned Two Things Today

First, the large CO2 cartridges that barely fill an MTB tire contain enough gas to blow a roadie tube clear off the rim!

KAPOW!

Second, doing the above will bring a very inquisitive hotel manager to your room pretty quickly!

Road Junkie

I'm on the road this week in Houma, LA. Before leaving Houston, I installed some bike brackets in the bed of the pickup for holding the bikes. Both were transported snuggly in the back for the trip.

Arriving at the fabrication yard down here both bikes were in the truckbed. I was meeting with my fabrication superintendent, and the crane foreman when someone passed outside the office giving me a suspicious look. He passed two more times, each time with a keener look. Then he passes and says "Psst. Hey, do ya'll know who that tan truck is for outside." Me thinking, I was parked in a bad spot quickly spoke up, "Yeah, its mine..." And the guys says "Tomorrow 5 o'clock we meet at the archdiocese for a group ride." It was a strange vibe. Like how an addict invites someone to an AA meeting. Or a dealer, recognizing a junkie makes an offer of a hit. A "I know you need some of this" invitation.

A unique comraderie felt across complete strangers recognized only by a bicycle stowed in the back of a pickup. I do believe cyclists to be an honorable group - stereotypically.

THE TOUGHEST CHALLANGE
Eating. Damn the food is good out here. And not very training oriented! I cleaned the local Rouses grocery out of all the Abita Restoration Ale they had on the shelf. AND went back the next day to to see if they restocked. They hadn't. Domage.

In The Loop Ride

Today was an endurance pace ride through out Houston. Here's a map of the route...

The route takes me north of downtown. Here is the skyline from the Quitman St. Bridge. That's I45N coming at ya'.



The route goes all the way across downtown. Getting through downtown on an early Saturday isn't too bad. Helps to time the lights right. Went south to Hermann Park.



I've never understood this feature. It's a straight ripoff of the Mall in DC. Complete with a minature Washington Monument. Is it supposed to be? Or is just completely unoriginal?

Anyway, from there, I went back northbound back to downtown and across Allen Parkway.

I ran into a somber scene on Heights. There were people outside of the Art Car Museum adding to the memorial of the recently killed (by drunk driver) curator...



Now that car! That's Art baby! I did the shim-sham-shimmy via 12th Street over to TC Jester and the White Oak Bayou trail...



I went all the way up to 43rd street and headed back east...43rd turns into Crosstimbers which is the home of Flying Saucer Pie Company. The pies from this place are YUM!



After a winding trip down Fulton to Airline it was time to take a break and get a bite to eat at the Spanish Flowers Restaurante'. Yum! Then it was the short two-block trip back home!



Nice route. Don't think it would be too good on a week day, but for a weekend ride, it's perfect.

Back on the Roll

Today's ride was brought to you by the letter A, and good nutrition! No bonks, no problems. No stress, no worries - its FRIDAY. Perfect weather. Keller Williams' "The Best Feeling in the World" randomly popped up on the iPod as I pulled away from the driveway. Appropriate! I took a second to be reflect on how good life can be!

The plan called for a light spinning day. But, I missed the anerobic intervals from yesterday. I did them. T'was good filling the lungs full of air. Some serious huff-and-puff before it was all done. Refreshing and tiring all at the same time. Then I did the speed work planned for today.

Tomorrow morn I'm doing a long endurance ride that goes all over the inner loop. Should be fun!

KA- POWWWW!

You might have heard it if you were in the vicinity of 14th and Durham yesterday afternoon. It was the sound of me blowing up! I stopped for the traffic light on my afternoon ride. As I put my foot down I realized I felt like I was drunk! Almost dizzy and a stomach that was doing dances in my belly. Uh-oh. How does one bonk a mere 3-miles from the house? By not eating properly that day!! I'd only had about 450-calories, most of that for breakfast, but somehow thought I'd be OK. Dumb on my part.

I downed two Clif Shot gels to no effect. An immediate turn to the house was all I could manage. The anaerobic intervals didn't get ridden. It was couch time after a cool shower and a nice big fat meal!

I'm A Pavlov Dog

Been off the bike for my rest cycle. With JazzFest and some tragic events in the rearview mirror, today it was time to get back into the saddle! I glanced at my heart rate monitor as I strapped on the helmet. Hmm... its 15 BPM above normal! I truly am excited to be back! Cool how the body follows the passion (or pains) of the heart!

Today was a simple 2-hour base ride. Boring, but necessary. The knee was stiff and balked at any heavy load/low cadence combo. My muscles felt good and curiously strong. What they say is true. You really do gain strength when you rest providing you've done the training beforehand.

Tomorrow it ramps up to a tempo ride, then some short intervals to see if there's any pep in the engine.