mashby

I didn’t get to bed until close to 2am and 5am came and went. Damnit! That’s the 3rd day in a row I’ve not cycled. That’s it! Right after the Matrix Revolutions tonight, I’m coming home and going to sleep.

Also in talking with Dan yesterday, it seems he’s not going to be able to make the Natchez Trace ride. I haven’t heard one way or another from Chris, so I’m assuming he’s not going either. Damnit! Actually, I don’t mind. 😉 I kind of like the idea of doing this ride alone. I’m not all that confident on my mileage goals so only having to worry about myself will be kind of nice.

I didn’t ride again for the second day in a row. My sleep demons got a hold of me this morning and kept me from getting out of bed. I tried to reset my alarm for a later hour than 5:00am and I goofed it up and slept in.

Granted I needed the rest. I didn’t go to bed until 12:30am, so it wasn’t like I had a lot of sleep to begin with. Knowing that I do best with 8 hours, I need to be going to sleep at 9:00pm, but that seems so early to be going to bed. 10:00pm is hard enough and rarely do I make it to bed at that time either. I’m more of a night owl, and always have been, so it’s hard to adjust my clock to be an early riser.

I’ll have to do better though. I’m not more determined than ever to go riding tomorrow. Maybe my body needed another day’s rest, but rest time is over and it’s time to get back on the road. 🙂

I’m also getting anxious about starting the tour next week. I’m a little skiddish about my mileage goals given the fact that 20 miles has been the most I’ve done thus far and that was without a full load. I know that I can do 100 miles fully loaded in a day, I’ve done it before on the European tour, but I also know that I was in the worst pain in my life for a solid month before my body became accustomed. Granted I’m not carrying as much weight, nor going as far and it’s only for 4 days, but those thoughts are going through my mind.

Luckily my anxiousness isn’t all negative. I’m also very excited about 4 days of camping and not having to shave and just hanging out with the guys. I know it’s just the Natchez Trace, but it still seems like an adventure and I can’t wait to be on the road. It should be a lot of fun.

I didn’t ride this morning. I think I’ve made Monday my official rest day since it’s always so busy and so hectic. After the longer rides of the weekend I needed the rest too. I can feel a little soreness in my chest, arms and of course legs. I’m not so sore that I can’t walk, or that I’m in pain really, it’s just that I can tell that I’ve had a workout and my muscles are getting stronger. It’s a good feeling.

The scale doesn’t say that I’ve lost any weight, but Holly says she can see that I’m losing fat all over my body. Since muscle weighs more than fat, I’ll console myself in the fact that I’m converting fat into muscle. Some of my clothes do feel looser, but I’m not at the stage where I can see a noticeable difference. Hard to believe it’s only been a week of riding. We’ll have to see what this week brings.

Holly had explained to me that Sharie really wanted me to sing in choir today, so I woke up early to make sure that I got my ride in first thing. Although I was able to ride yesterday, I didn’t like feeling that I had to squeeze it in. I’ve grown accustomed to my morning ride being the first thing of the day. I’m not a morning person, so this is quite a statement. 🙂

I started riding at around 7:00am. It appeared most of the neighborhood was still sleeping, but I don’t know how long that lasted as I rode past. My brakes were squealing like you wouldn’t believe. I tried everything I could think of to slow my descent down the hill, including dragging a foot, but I had to apply my breaks pretty hard. My rear break would just squeal with a “Weeengeeeeeeeeeee” the front brake sounded like a yak’s mating call, “Huuuuuuuuuuuuuungh!” Both were loud as hell and I had to laugh as Juliet made this cacophony down the hill. If anyone was sleeping, this noise woke them up. LOL

I rode with the same amount of weight as the day before, except that I also had a jacket on. After the first 5 miles, the jacket ended up in the rear pannier, so I suppose that added a little weight. Heck at this point I’ll count anything. Yet, now that I think about it, I left my camera and cellphone at home, so I guess I’m breaking even.

I took the same path as the day before, but this time, I decided to continue northeast until I reached Murfreesboro road. Before I reached the intersection to continue past where I was yesterday, I rode past a dead animal in the road. It looked kinda big and when I passed it, I noticed that it was a bobcat. A bobcat!?! What the hell? I had no idea that we even had bobcats out here, much less this close to my home. The only bobcat I’ve ever seen has been in a zoo and here’s one 12 inches from me as I ride past. Nothing quite shakes your foundation than suddenly realizing just how precarious your position at the top of the food chain really is. 😉

After my Animal Planet experience, I made my way further down Burkitt to the point that it intersects with Old Hickory. This is where I turned to head back home the day before. Today I continued on. Burkitt road became Old Hickory and I made the climb towards I-24. It’s funny. Just because I have some traffic to ride with, my pace instantly increases. Maybe it’s just adrelinine, but it’s always a charge to ride with some traffic. I made my way across the Interstate and past the truck stops and then on towards AmSouth amphitheater. This area wasn’t as nice as earlier in the ride. It’s more developed and somewhat industrial. The good news was that there was a wide shoulder. With the increased traffic it was a relief to have a little room to myself. Another cool part was to ride over an overpass that had a train track beneath it. There wasn’t a train passing, but it was still kind of cool to be able to look way down the track from above.

I took a left on Murfreesboro and was presented with several nice hills. Due to the traffic though, I was able to cruise up them without a problem. I made my way north until I reached Mt. View road. The name of the road was a little intimidating – do I really want to ride on a road that was named after a mountain? Although the road really never took you up a mountain, or a few of one, there were some challenging climbs and it was a great road overall. The best decent was cut short however as I had to brake to make the turn onto Old Franklin Road.

Heading west on Old Franklin, I was now making my way home. I’ve driven this road many times because it’s a back way to the pool store and where I have my Jeep worked on, yet I’ve never ridden my bike here. There was plenty of climbing, but some outstanding downhills too. When I come this way again, I need to have my camera with me because there’s a great shot on the I-24 overpass where you can just make out downtown. It’s a really cool shot.

Back in familiar territory, I made the most of the downhills and was totally prepared for the climbs until I made it home. My legs were much better today and for the first time my butt wasn’t all that tender. I settled into the saddle almost immediately. It was a great ride, but I was shocked to find out that it was only 20 miles. I could have sworn that it was more than that.

So I now have a 10 mile loop and a 20 mile loop. I’m really being challenged to find 30 or 40 mile loop. I may actually have to ride to another town and back. 🙂

Distance: 20.45
Ride Time: 1:55
Avg Speed: 10.73
Max Speed: 36.4

Late Friday afternoon Bob called me to let me know that Juliet was OK. He explained that he had to replace one cable, a couple of spokes, the chain and the bottom bracket. He said once he opened it up, the bracket was completely stripped and it was just metal on metal. Nice. Once Halloween was over, I sprinted over to REI to pick her up. I didn’t ride her much, but I could tell just how smooth the ride was. It was like butta.

The next morning I woke up a little late. I had to take Gracie to the groomer at 8am, so I took the time to catch up on a little sleep. After she was dropped off, I had three hours before she had to be picked up and that’s when I planned to do my ride.

My goal today was to ride 20 miles. I’ve been doing 10 miles pretty consistently, so I felt it was time to extend my ride. Ultimately, I need to build up to at least 20 miles each morning and a weekend ride of 50 miles before the start of the Natchez Trace Tour. That’s fully loaded too. 🙂 Since I haven’t been riding with much weight, I decided it was time to begin adding weight to my bicycle. I added both my rear panniers and put my Dana and my tool burrito in one, my Kryptonite lock in the other. I also added my handlebar bag, which is a monster weighing in at 3lbs when it’s empty. That wasn’t a ton of weight but it’s the start of what I’ll build up to.

Since I haven’t ridden a 20 mile loop yet, I wasn’t exactly sure of the course to take. I decided on riding the first half of my 10 mile loop and then extend from there. The first five miles were good. Juliet was like riding butter. It was so much easier to pedal and my cadence was much improved now that I’m not pedaling grinding metal. 😛 When I reached the Davidson/Williamson country line, the halfway point of my 10 mile loop, I stopped to stretch and drink a little water. Even though Juliet was riding much better, the little additional weight was noticeable. It was also much warmer than it’s ever been. It was in the 80’s today, up from the usual 60’s that I’ve been riding in.

Once I was a little rested, I continued down Nolensville road to the next street, which was Old Burkitt road. This little side street brought me to Burkitt Road with a nice steep climb at the junction. Once on Burkitt, I road east for a few miles. The hills were a challenge to say the least. I didn’t walk on any of them, but I was definitely working hard. I tried to use my grannny gear on one climb, but my front derailleur simply couldn’t get it to switch. It almost got it, but it was just making noise and not making the shift.

I was definitely having to work a lot this ride and I took the opportunity to take a few pictures and stop and catch my breath. The views were incredible. I’ve never been on Burkitt road, even in a car, so this was a real adventure. The highlight of the ride though was a triple hill that I successfully climbed. After the first hill, I thought “Oh good, I can rest as I coast downhill”, only there was another hill to climb after a very short flat section. At the top of the second hill there was yet another hill! When I achingly crept over the top of the third hill it simply flatted out. That was a welcome relief from the climbing, but not quite as recharging as a fast downhill.

Eventually, Burkitt road connected with Old Hickory. Looking at the cycle computer, I had just gone a little over 10 miles. This was the halfway mark of what I was looking to do today. It was difficult to judge how many miles were left before I’d make it home. I’ve driven this section of Old Hickory and it seems like it’s a pretty long stretch of road, but was it 10 miles? My other option was to keep going straight and connect with Murfreesboro road. Looking at my map, I was guessing that continuing east would be my 30 mile loop. The only way to know was to ride it, so I took a left onto Old Hickory and started to make my way back home.

This section of Old Hickory was pretty hilly, with some nice climbs and some very nice decents. Barking dogs are a pretty common occurrence when riding. They always bark at you and sometimes they give chase. You can usually tell when I dog is barking whether or not he means you harm. A dog that wants to bite your ass is a hell of a lot more determined and meaner than one that just wants to chase and bark. All of the dogs that I’ve seen thus far have either been chained or fenced. The few exceptions simply want to bark. Believe me, I’m thankful for that. 🙂 However, on one downhill, this mean looking dog, with a battered left ear came charging out of his yard. This dog had only one thing on his mine and that was to take me down. I was so thankful that I was on a downhill. Had I not been, I would have had to hop off the bike and beat him away for sure. Even though I was doing a good ~28mph I started pedaling just to make sure that I was getting away as fast as I could. The entire encounter lasted no more than 3 seconds, but what I scary 3 seconds that was!

After awhile, I came to the junction of Pettus and Old Hickory at a 3 way stop. I needed a break, so I got off the bike to walk and stretch and drink a little water. I also took the opportunity to call Chris and Dan to share in the riding experience. I had to leave messages for both. 🙁 After sitting on a log and resting for a few minutes and snapping a few pictures, it was time to get back on the road.

As I turned onto Blue Hole Road, I realized that I was going to be way off my 20 mile goal, so I turned early into the subdivision to try and add a few miles. The section I turned into is a new section, so I’m unfamiliar with it. I don’t think it added any more miles, but it did add another big climb. Oh boy! When I finally made it through the new section and down to my street I hoped off the bike and walked up Alexis Drive. With the added weight and the fact that I didn’t have a granny gear, there was no way I was going to make that climb.

Overall the ride was fantastic. Although I was drained from the heat (I drank both of my water bottles dry) the views and the route itself was perfect. Tomorrow I’ll have to extend it so that I can hit my 20 mile goal. I can’t wait!

Distance: 16.08
Time: 1:26
Avg Speed: 11.21
Max Speed: 38.4

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Weekly Totals
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Distance: 56.23
Time: 7:56
Avg Speed: 10.16
Max Speed: 38.4

After my glorious ride yesterday morning, I took my bicycle into the shop at REI. I try and support my local bike shop, but Allanti seems to be primarily a racing shop and I haven’t clicked yet with the guys there like I have at REI. I know it’s a chain, but it feels like a local shop and their hours are better and I’m a member so I get a discount on everything I buy there. It sounds like I’m confessing like a guilty Thomas, and I suppose I am, but I like the guys there, so I’m going to keep sending my business there for the time being.

Anyway, I took Juliet in for some work. I know what needs to be done, but I simply don’t have the time, nor the skills to make sure that it gets done properly. I was hoping that I could get just he basic tuneup which was around $40, but in order for them to repack my bottom bracket <insert your funny joke here> I had to get the complete overhaul package which will set me back $130 bucks. Ouch. I know it’s a wee bit expensive, but I have no choice. Juliet needs the work done and she hasn’t had a tuneup since the Europe tour back in 1990.

The previous night I had talked with Eric and it sounded like they might have it done the same day. That would be great, because it would mean that I could get in my ride this morning. Bob, the mechanic there, said that it was a 4 hour job to do an overhaul, so it wouldn’t be ready until tomorrow. 🙁 I left instructions regarding what I knew that needed work: replace the bent spoke on the rear wheel, replace the chain with a standard chain, install a plastic guard behind the freewheel. They agreed to call me if they needed to replace something.

Hoping that Bob would begin working on Juliet that day, I was anxiously waiting for a call yesterday. I feel a little bit like I did when we took Monkey in for treatment. I want the bicycle doctor to call me and let me know how Juliet is doing. I can just hear one of the bike techs on the other end of the call saying, “Juliet is just fine. We fixed up her wheels and gave her a nice bath and she’s resting peacefully.” I know it may sound pathetic to be so attached to something as silly as a bicycle, but she has been with me through thick and thin.

She was there when I began my recovery in earnest after breaking both of my knees in high school. She took me to class for 4 years at LSU and all over Baton Rouge. She helped me transport a great big bean bag chair across town so that I could give it to my girlfriend Holly as a birthday present. And last, but certainly not least, she took me on the wildest adventure of my life for 6 months in Europe. I treasure that bicycle.

Maybe they’ll call today.

If you’ve been keeping up with my workout log, or if you’ve taken a peek at the new travelogue I’ve been writing, then you know that I’m planning on taking a short bicycle tour next month. It’s been 13 years since I went on a bicycle tour and I’m overdue.

I don’t know how to explain the feeling exactly, but there’s simply nothing like pedaling your bike down the open roads to places unknown. My last tour was in Europe and I spent 6 months riding from Ireland to Portugal. The first two months were spent riding with a childhood friend and the last 4 months were I went solo. It was a life altering experience and one that I’ll treasure forever. That tour was done just after I graduated from College, which was the one and only time that I could have taken such a trip. I was old enough to know how to stay out of most trouble, but not too old not to take a little risk. It was also the only time where I wasn’t saddled with responsibility and could afford those six months. Quite frankly, it was the most freedom that I’ve ever known.

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