I went out for a recovery walk this morning. Even though I started at 6:30am it was warm(ish). As I walked I broke a sweat, but that was nothing compared to the sweat which occurred after exiting the shower in our far too warm and humid locker room at work. Sometimes it seems pointless to shower if I am only going to break out in a sweat immediately following.
Today’s Personal Project
Eat vegetarian today.
Today’s Daily Challenge
Get better control of your money by spending 5 minutes organizing your wallet.
Getting control of your money starts with the stuff you carry with you every day! A well-organized wallet that’s free of excess bits of paper lets you see exactly what’s in there, so you know what you have to spend at any given time. And a wallet that’s lighter on credit cards (especially store cards, which typically apply gigantic interest rates) will make you less tempted to use them.
I have done this every day for quite some time.
Sisters And Brothers
I arose at 4am yesterday so that I could get myself together and drive up to Roswell for the GA400 Century. I was more than a little surprised to see a couple of well-dressed young ladies and a well-dressed man standing on the corner of Flat Shoals and Glenwood at that time. Could they have possibly just stopped partying? I’m too old to remember the days when I’d stay out that late.
I’m glad I did the ride, but I think that this will be the only time I do so.
Getting up that early to ride that long is insane. To my surprise the event lack decent signage for the registration area. Luckily for me my last name starts with ‘N’ so once I found the line for my name, it was much shorter than most of the lines around me.
I guess in part due to the registration SNAFUs the start of the ride didn’t occur until about 6:30am, a good fifteen minutes after which we were supposed to depart. For most events a fifteen minute delay wouldn’t be that bad, but since the section of GA 400 from Exit 7 to Exit 6 was closed because of us, it seemed to me that we should have started on time.
In my Yoo Hoo! jersey I was a fan favorite, having a number of people talk to me all ride long.
I was cruising along for the first nineteen miles (thanks in part to the many downhills in the early part of the ride) and then things started to feel odd. I stopped my bike and confirmed what I believed… I was losing air from my back tire. DANGEN! I pulled over and took the back wheel off to find a thorn, or some sort of foreign object, sticking out from the inside of the tire, thus puncturing my tube. Always riding prepared I started the process of replacing my tube when a couple of the SAG motorcycles stopped to ask if I needed help. I borrowed a frame pump in order to save some of the CO2 in my cartridge, and was back on my way a little less confident than I when I started.
My puncture was not far from the second rest stop, where they were inexplicably out of water by the time I got there. I futzed around with my wheel some more and was back on my way, now much further behind most of my riding companions.
My ride was fairly routine for quite some time, though my right knee started to feel strained along the way (note to self, I need to figure out how to adjust my right cleat in order to save my knee), until I hit the “three sisters” which occurred around the fifty-mile mark in the ride. At big sister my legs started to cramp, I had to get off the bike and walk a while. At middle sister I cramped some more, and had once again dismount and walk. And by little sister there was no doubt that I was not going to be able to ride up it either.
At some time after the three sisters the ride turned into a bit of a hash. I was following two women and we three were cruising along when we missed a poorly marked turn. We were headed downhill and while there may have been a road marking, there really should have been signage to ensure that the riders knew that we were to turn. Much like at a hash the confusion caused a pack to form and we all pedaled together until we hit the second climb of Old Alabama Road.
By the middle of Old Alabama I was physically and mentally beaten so I dismounted for the final time, walking my bike up Old Alabama much in the same way that I did back in January when the Wheelhopper hash was in that area.
I took a chilly bath and many short naps once I returned home. Around 4:00pm I was getting really hungry so I decided to treat myself to a Fox Bros BBQ for dinner.
ITP Flickr Pic
I should have taken a photo or two yesterday.
Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – tired
Current Music – listening to today’s stage of the Tour de France
Website Of The Day – Today’s website Keep North Fulton Beautiful might give you a hint at one of my upcoming Personal Projects.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – Friday = walking, ~5.0 miles; Sunday = bicycling, ~63.0 miles
Morning Weigh-In – not checking
Monthly
Foot Mileage – ~20.0 miles
Wheel Mileage – ~63.0 miles
Pushups – 0
Situps – 0
Stairs – 0 flights
Days Of Bed-Making – 0
Vegetarian Days – 1
Carnivorous Days – 7
Pancakes Eaten – 0
Marta Rides To Work – 0
Bike Rides To Work – 0
Books I’ve Read/Heard In 2012
- Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me — Mindy Kahling
- Flotsametrics and the Floating World: How One Man’s Obsession with Runaway Sneakers and Rubber Ducks Revolutionized Ocean Science — Curtis Ebbesmeyer
- God, No! — Penn Jillette
- The Elephant to Hollywood — Michael Caine
- Here Comes Trouble — Michael Moore
- How We Decide — Jonah Lehrer
- Steve Jobs — Walter Isaacson
- Death of a Salesman (Penguin Plays) — Arthur Miller
July Goals
– Take at least one load of stuff from my house to Goodwill
– Post at least ten new photos during the month (let’s try this again)
– Lose at least two pounds (net weight loss)
– Finish two books (audio or otherwise, comic books do not qualify)
– Exercise for thirty minutes no fewer than twenty days
– Not to get sick for the entire month (may be a moot point as of today)
– Eat vegetarian no fewer than ten days
– Watch all of the classes in the 2011 Winter semester of Stanford’s CS193P (iOS Development) course
– Ride no fewer than 150 miles
2012 Goals [will be a little less fluid than last year]
– Get my weight under 200 pounds, or at least whittle myself back down to where wearing a 36″ pant size is comfortable
– Completely read ten books, audio books permissible
– Run Sharpened Stone as a real business
– Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
– Attend at least one professional photography workshop
– Ride in no fewer than five 50 mile or 50K bike rides
– Run in no fewer than one one 10K
– Submit at least one application under the name “Sharpened Stone” to Apple’s iOS store
– Restore the ITP Estate to a condition where it can be put up for sale at any time
– Buy a new iPhone (iPhone 5?), a new iPad (iPad 3?), and MacBook Air [look, not all goals have to be altruistic]
The Unmeasurable
– Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
– Become a proficient and profitable programmer in Objective-C
– Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem
– Eat smaller portions
– Start, and continue, to make my own bread using my bread machine as well as using the technique outlined in Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking
– Read and discard magazines during the month in which they arrive (even digitally)
– See more live concerts than I did in 2011
– Eat more pancakes
– Drive/Fly somewhere for a real vacation
Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]
Sorry I missed you. I ‘bumped’ into Bob as I was riding on 400, then I didn’t see him again until the end.
All in all a good day. I heard a couple of folks complain about the markings, but I had no problems. After listening to one women bitch for a good 3 minutes, I offered her the cue sheet in my back pocket…she declined and just kept complaining. They did run out of water at the 3rd rest stop (where I was lucky enough to see Laura and Travis), so I just kept going. Thankfully the two bottles I had were enough for 33 miles. I would have probably skipped the last stop if I had been able to fill up before.
The three sister took their toll on many folks, me included. I walked about the last half of all three and I wasn’t alone. Maybe if they had been at mile 15 instead of 45??? I managed it up the very last hill but I was passed by a girl running. 🙁 Still I had an overall time of 4:17 and a moving time of 3:44…I was pretty darn happy with that.
I know the website said 6:15 but my cue sheet had 6:30, my guess is they padded the start time to make sure everyone was there ‘on time’ (meaning 6:30).
I never could fall asleep yesterday, I tried a couple of times. I did manage to watch a lot of Walking Dead but still missed some key episodes.
How did I not see you yesterday? I came in around 10:45 and was sitting right at the finish line looking for everybody to finish. I was there until about noon or so, what time did you come in?
I think Martha might be on to something.. you know they have to jump through some major hoops to be able to close a major highway like that. I can’t even imagine… and who are these 3 sisters… sounds like women I don’t want to meet!!
As I’m gone most of this week, Debbie and I decided to spend the day together yesterday. A nice breakfast, some TdF watching, then Men in Black 3. Really well done considering it’s probably hard to be original on that plot line.
A long time trial today should shake out the real contenders from the pretenders. I read last night that Sammy Sanchez did not break his collarbone and may be OK to ride in the Olympics. That’s good news. They also wrapped up the Tour of Austria yesterday where my friend reported only one crash all week!! Go figure.
-FP
what are the 3 Sisters? Bob – where are they?
I was wondering if you two made it. Bob, I figured that you’d just jump in when we passed your street. 🙂
My watch says 4:57 for my time. I started from the very back of the back and stopped my watch while changing my tire but left it running while hitting the rest stops. My lack of training kept me slow though my body “built for downhills” came in handy. I swear that I must have hit somewhere between 40-45 mph one of the long sloping descents.
I thought the course was decently marked, except for that left hand turn onto Coleman and all along Coleman until we turned left again.
You should have seen me cross the the finish line. I decided to raise my arms in victory and nearly lost control and crashed. 🙂
Ah, the 3 sisters. Them bitches were mean!
Big sister is the hill coming out of Mountain park
Middle sister is the hill in the neighborhood (Wildwood springs?) that puts you out on Holcomb bridge. Right where you cross holcomb bridge and enter Waverly hall neighborhood.
Little sister is the hill climbing out of Waverly hall leading to Bowen road.
Good times!
I don’t know if this helps, Barb but from the web:
The Three sisters are three short climbs near the end of the ride in Roswell. You will have cheering fans as you pedal squares up the Big Sister in Mountain Park and Middle Sister as you pound your way through Wildwood Springs and finally you will roll up the Little Sister in Waverly Hall. Look for the local kids to have lemonade stands as an excuse to stop or use the cheers of neighbors to help you up the hill!
FYI there were no lemonade stands, I was promised lemonade…I could have used another reason to stop.
Since Jenka has popped in yet, you’ve got ‘started on tome’….
here’s something funny- I guess Kevin is off to the Tour of Poland……. so if anyone asks, yep – he’s at the Tour.
I rode 51 around West Cobb Saturday with Allan, it wasn’t a bad ride until I just got tired & a little over heated. We didnt’ start until 8:45 or so (a little too late for the heat), and with not being sure of where we were going, had to stop & check the map a few times. But only had to pull out the phone for a ‘real’ map twice. Using a 15 year old route map was interesting. A pitcher of beer & food at rocco’s at mile 49 was awesome.
then – rode 50 at SCT with Sarah, Ray, & JoAnna on Sunday. Trail is pretty shaded, so it was an enjoyable ride. There is a little structure at the Rambo Nursery right off the trail that has a drinking fountain & shower head – that was so nice to cool off for a second.
Sarah wants/needs to ride 80 next Sunday, she’s trying to talk me into it – I’m thinking nooooo.
You’re an animal Barb! It’s almost like you are training for RAGBRAI or something.
I forgot to mention that yesterday’s ride convinced me of a couple of things
1. I’ll never be a TdF contender
2. I’m going to have to put off a riding tour vacation until next year because I am not in good enough shape to ride 60 miles each day. If not for my knee I could get back on the saddle (with much discomfort) today, but I’m glad that I don’t have to.
Oh, maybe I’ll drop Sarah a note, I need to do another 60 next weekend, I will do it on the Comet and I won’t feel bad. Yesterday I was scheduled for 50 miles, flat to rolling…
I might have to switch things around a bit since I have a ‘bachelorette’ party on Saturday.
I know the middle & little sister – the middle was the climb we dropped the chain on the tandem at BRAG, had to walk up it & Allan walks much faster than me (with the bike) so I was getting comments from other riders like “hey – did someone steal your bike?”
not sure I’ve ever ridden the Big Sister, nor do I want to.
Laura – I’d be pissed too – I was looking for lemonade stands in West Cobb Saturday, actually anything – I learned that there is no gas stations/stores, etc anywhere in West Cobb except on major busy roads (which we were avoiding). Thank God for the firehouses, that is where we stopped for water.
Paulie – yes, that 85 mile day, with beer stops, scares me a lot. Let’s just hope this heat wave breaks, it been brutally hot in Iowa. Plus, I really wanted to bring home a bunch of some sweet corn, I think the crops are getting ruined.
Martha – yes – she wants to do the 80 on the SCT.
I’m here! Thanks for doing my job for me, Martha, heh. BTDubs: it was great to see you on Friday night!