Saturday Breakfast (Lunch) Ride

This Saturday was to be the ride to Tony Packo's for lunch via the recently opened trail across the old 280 bridge (Craig Bridge).  If it snowed Friday night, the plan was to do a MTB ride instead.  However, while it had only snowed a skiff, the general consensus was to ride within Monclova.

Matt was in need of warm toes so I gave him a spare set of chemical toe warmers.  Hubert was ever present as was Rick.  Chris was there too along with Jimmie and I.  And  so the six of us set off for our winter adventure westward down the Wabash Cannonball - North Fork.  While it was moderately cold and quite cloudy there was little wind and I found myself able to "run with the pack."  For that I was grateful! The plan was to ride a similar route as two weeks ago but to capture 25 miles or greater without the need to run circles in the Monclova School parking lot.  I am impressed with how well Rick and Hubert know the various roads and possible routes to reach a 25 mile ride.

We then went south into Oak Openings and proceeded with the real fun where we hit a trail deep with soft snow.  Past petal and fast shifts into granny gears ensued but to no avail.  We all scrambled but failed to stay seated and had to dismount.  Rick, however, made it to the end of the soft snow only to get shanghaied by his petal and a pile of hard snow left from a snow plow weeks earlier causing him to "snow angel."  The rest of us walked out until we got to the firmer ground.

The remainder of the ride proved mostly uneventful; lots of fun zipping around on the loose but less than deep snow.  At a couple of points we crossed pasts with Cathy walking Duke and Sugar.  As we blew past she remarked on our nerd-like appearance.    We continued out of the park to east bound Obee Road and then south to N. Texas into town for a toe warmer at Cycle Works.   Then west on the South Fork to Yawber Rd to Archbold Whitehouse Rd to Jeffers Rd back into the park.  The path to the route out of the park was missed by all except myself due to me drafting the others and being able to turn in time and thus I led the way out.  The last major turn to the last section required a hard left threw some soft snow.  I was ahead so I could turn with some ease but the rest of the guys had more difficulty due to a tighter pact.  Later, Jimmie said he would send pics of his road-rash having taken a spill at that way point.

The route back to Monclova via the North Fork was as usual; a faster pace.  Matt and I led most of the way until the rest of the guys pushed ahead where I was dropped (per usual) just after Weckerly Rd within 2 miles of the end of the ride.

It was a fun ride and while a little faster and wetter thanks to warmer temperatures causing road spray, I was warmer and am already looking towards the next one. 

MXS: 17.5 mph.

Weather Conditions: 0911 hours. Cold and Overcast. Mostly westerly winds light around 3.5 mph starting out increasing steadily to around 13.8 mph.

Min: 27 Avg: 28 Max: 30 ºF

Peanut shows Papa how the Bushido assembles

Hubert's TAB Saturday Morning Fat-tire Ride

Yah...so this is the 2nd ride of the new year; a tad warm than the last. Dropped the Hound off at Doggie-Day-Care prior to the meet; Chris, Jimmie, Rick, et al. Hubert offered his extra helmet; I had left mine in the garage. Go figured.


We started off and I realized I had not adjusted the helmet so I pulled over to do so. Then attempted to catch up and WAM; a brutal wind out of the west. Worse was the gusts.  I could not catch up and the guys after a while notice how far back I had fallen and waited for me. We continued on and the second clearing to the south pummeled me further. Hubert took pity and suggested I stay in a pocket that they would make to shelter me from the wind. Ayup; weak ass! The wind had once again kicked my butt. (See Hubert's Birthday Ride: 73 miles for 73 years last October 24th.)


We pressed on and rode to the shelter in Oak Openings off the North Fork and Route 64. There, I adjusted the MTB seat post up an inch; I had not made further adjustments since I had gotten the Cervélo and it made a world of difference.


Next, Hubert lead us back about a mile to begin the off trail section (as it were)of the morning into Oak Openings. This was going to be "way cool". I had not ridden any bike in the snow and with a MTB it was "no fear", baby! The pace was snappy and winding and got really interesting on the assents loosing rear wheel traction using too low a gear or on the descents while slipping and sliding while turning or breaking. Thoroughly enjoyed the experience while staying mostly warm and am looking forward to more of the same. Truth-to-tell, the park trail ride was just too short.


The remainder of the ride back to Monclova School was a quick pace and even with the wind behind us found the warmth in my feet fleeting to the point of no return.  Hubert took us an additional short distance to Jerome Rd to reach the desired 25 miles and I was glad it was over. Again, the wind and frozen toes.


MXS: 16.7 mph.



Weather Conditions: 0900 Cold and overcast. The wind out of the WSW was bruital; 21.9 mph falling to 17.3 mph by the end of the ride.
Min: 28 Max: 30 ºF

2011 Tacx Bushido 2 Trainer T1980 (Updated Version)

Well, I finally pulled the trigger on a bike trainer.  I had pretty much decided to go with Tacx trainers that incorperate power training.  That said, it was a toss up between the i-Magic and the Bushido.  The i-Magic in the long run would have been less after the updates to the Bushido to render it a VR trainer.  The Bushido is a stand alone trainer but can be used with a PC to upload/download files to render a more realistic ride indoors or to store ride data to analyse later. 

The Tacx Bushido is the Dutch company's latest entry into the ultra-premium computer-controlled indoor trainer market and it's an impressive collection of hardware. 

First and foremost (and unique to this segment), it's fully wireless: the ANT+ communication protocol connects the resistance unit to both the handlebar mounted controls and USB PC dongle, and even the resistance unit itself draws its energy from your own pedal power via an on-board generator so it doesn't have to be plugged into the wall. 

In theory, you could even train on the Bushido outdoors if you were so inclined. From a more practical perspective, the upside is a quicker and easier setup relative to its competitors, not to mention a much tidier arrangement than having to string wires and cables everywhere.

The resistance unit is whisper quiet – aside from when the small cooling fan periodically kicks in to dissipate accumulated heat – and the folding quick-release frame is easy to set up and quite stable provided the somewhat hard rubber feet aren't resting on a slippery floor. 

More versatility and functionality with PC upgrade

Even by itself, the Bushido is more than just a standard turbo. The generously sized LCD on the bar mounted console displays the expected array of information – such as speed, distance, elapsed time, grade, power output (which is surprisingly accurate relative to a Powertap), and heart rate – and also serves as the input interface for user and bike profiles. 

The intuitive interface lets you program in prescribed workouts, too, and the resistance will adjust itself to suit – handy if you’ve got a strict training regimen to follow.

Connect the Bushido to your PC via the optional software and ANT+ dongle, however, and it really comes into its own, making indoor winter training far more palatable than usual.

Users have their choice of several on-screen environments, from video game-like animations with preloaded or self-created courses to optional real-life video (yes, you can actually ride with the Schleck brothers and no, they won't drop you).  

Embedded road grade information adjusts the resistance based on your position 'on course' so aside from physically being on the roads depicted, it's a reasonable approximation of the real thing, though of course without the wind-in-your-hair feeling.  

One especially engaging feature is the well-integrated Google Earth plug-in, which you can use to create a course using virtually any route on the planet. Simply plot your course on the screen and the Bushido PC software will create the resistance profile based on the elevation data – a novelty for most riders but something that could be very useful for those looking to prep for an upcoming event for which they won't have the benefit of a pre-ride.  

You can also upload route information from a GPS device so you can replay favourite rides at will or download other files from a large library of user-created programs online. When riding the virtual course, one of the display options even projects an icon of your position over an actual Google Earth satellite map as you cover ground – neato.

Wabash Cannonball - Long Loop with TAB

The ride followed the Wabash Cannonball to the east from Monclova Elementary School consisting of Mike and Jacqueline, Hubert, Chris, Jim and myself. Hubert road his recumbent trike.

It was my first ride of the year and it was a good ride. While the pace was a little slow it was also my first ride in over 2 months and I was more than a little curious as to how well (or poorly) I might ride.

That said, the warm sun help against the cold breeze. I dressed as best I could and included my balaclava. Feet and hands were cold but I felt ok elsewhere. After about 20 minuets or so my hands and feet warmed up perhaps due to my core having warmed up sufficiently.

Once on County Rd 1 the ride got colder mostly due to less sun. The same going east on Reed and through Oak Opening to the North Fork; "frozen toezen".

Anyway, given a 24 ºF ride, I found it not all that bad and am looking forward to more.

MXS: 20.4 mph.



Weather Conditions: 1300 hours. Partly to mostly cloudy and cold. Winds mostly WNW from 3.5 to 6.9 mph.
Min: 24 Avg: 25 Max: 27 ºF

New Years Resolution

I have not really had much success with these things in the past but given that I surpassed my mileage goal last year and given that I have gained back much of the weight lost over the past year I have decided to further define my sculpted abs. The progress has been astundling!