yes, I s*ck, but not today

I'm posting this for FA, it was originally written on 4/20/08. -- Agricola

Gents, just took the bike out for a shortyin CP, my first ride of 2008. (As interminable as my late fall/winter/early spring slothfullness became, I cling to this scrap of pride: I NEVER hung laundry on the bike!) Anyway, my first stats for the news season read like I've got work to do:

Distance: 11.35 miles
Time: 43.53 minutes
Av Speed: 15.5 mph
Av HR: 152 bpm
Mx HR: 176 bpm (The Great Hill)
669 Calories burned

So, I caught up on the April posts, VTR's injury, Ag's Sherman-esque run through ATL. Saw the Agricolae last weekend and heard an idle thought from Ag that the blog might shut down. That would be too bad.

The BTV Marathon is May 25. Don't know if our plans are for PH that weekend but if so, we'll aim to root for Ag from the sidelines, maybe with the VTRs?

I've blown being in any kind of shape for the Montauk Century, but am looking for alternatives later in the summer. I'm open to suggestions. VTR, is cycling in the rehab plan? If so, let's look for a Saturday morning in May / June and do a section of the champlain bikeway.

It feels good to blog again, to get out and break a sweat, to look forward to another ride. Feels good to catch up with you both.

Peace,
FA

There but for the grace of dog, go I

I got out tonight at 7:35pm and the curtain fell pretty quickly; it was dark by 7:55. So there I was, pedaling through the Park in the dark, just passing the Guggenheim when a profoundly oblivious woman stalked across the road with a giant shaggy dog, about 25 yeards ahead, directly into the vector off three guys who had just passed me. The middle guy hit the brakes so hard he went bike over ass over helmet, landed on his right shoulder and hadn't come to a complete stop before the woman started blaming him for reckless cycling, climate change et al. Nearly a dozen passing cyclists came to his aid, which was pretty cool, this being NYC, after all, as well as an older runner who appeared to be an orthopedist, which did not surprise me one bit, this being NYC, after all. Everyone agreed the orthopedist had rank so we sped away.

Adventures, fellas. Central Park is full of them. I am getting out Labor Day morning with a friend on a 30 mile loop trail up in Westchester County, and looking forward to that.

So I took a slow second lap and called it a night. Strangly, the heart rate monitor wouldn't give up my average amd maximum heart rate but provided a level of alternative detail I've never seen before. And so the numbers are:

Time: 0.54.39
Mx Speed: 23.3 mph
Av Speed: 14.7 mph
Distance: 13.34 miles
Burn: 746 calories

Hard: 19.30
Moderate: 27.44
Light: 8.02

(I presume these last three stats are judgment calls on my heart rate....)

Ride to blog...

Mini Me

For my first ride since Bastille Day I took the elder little artist for a spin in the Park early this morning. It was a successful outing, the first time she didn't need help getting up the hills. We stopped a few times, but in all she was a trooper and loved it and it was truly sad and delightful to see how strong she's grown.

As I figured she'd need me to hop off and on my own bike a few times, I rode the mountain bike I acquired during the first Reagan administration. That was odd. Heavy. No toe clips. The saddle was comparatively comfortable. But as I watched all the roadies whiz past us, I longed to ride again. I am blocking out time and hoping this will be my week.

More on that later, fellas.