Every Day in May - Day 28

Back on the bike - my back that is...

I felt better tonight, so after a nice dinner with Pat's RTF buddies Miss Maya and I headed out for a quick once around the block. It was a pleasant cool evening and we made the loop without incident. She seemed reluctant to go at first, but once it was clear what we were doing she burst out of the driveway and never looked back.

I'm building (ok, well just assembling really) some nice Adirondack chairs we got from Home Depot...I can feel the cool breeze on my face just looking at them...

I forgot to reset the bike computer before leaving, so tonight's stats include some earlier data...

B: M
T: 21.55
O: 36.4
M: 12.6
A: 8.5
D: 3.11

Here's Miss Maya and I getting ready to head out; new chairs in the background:

Almost Every Day in May - Day 27

Oops - my new Water Quality class started Monday night and I'm exhausted: 5 hours a night of teaching with oodles of hours of lab prep and cleanup before and after. So Monday's ride was just a drift around the driveway and, after hurting my back somehow, nothing on Tuesday, Wednesday or today. Yikes! I will try to have something to report for tomorrow - no class to worry about anyway, and it is the beginning of the Memorial Day holiday weekend.

Every Day in May - Day 23

Sunday - This is looking like a pattern: around the loop with Maya.
Bike: M
T 10.08
O 33.3
M 12.5
A 8.7
D 1.46 (must have been an extra loop around the driveway in there)

Every Day in May - Day 22

Saturday - where did it go and why didn't I do a longer ride? Around the loop with Maya.
Bike: M
T 10.03
O 31.8
M 13.1
A 8.4
D 1.40

Every Day in May - Day 21

Still going - this afternoon/evening ride started out to be just a loop with Maya, and we did that - but then I had some time and energy left so I extended my route after dropping my furry buddy off at home. I traveled down to Valley Creek and back, taking a somewhat hilly approach to get in some more exercise. Another nice ride - it is very bike friendly around here.
Bike: M
T 39.43
O 30.4
M 38.5 (down Tree Lane)
A 10.5
D 7.9

This is Maya looking for a floating stick in Valley Creek, the first summer we had her:

Every Day in May - Day 20

The ride is over,
The bike's hung up.
It's time for a beer,
Now where's my cup?

I rode to and from work
on this fine spring day.
The car is more comfy
But this is the way!

In through the WC,
and on to the U,
Home by the river,
It's just what I do.

Bike: R
T: 59:34
O: 138.4
M: 31.7
A: 13.0
D: 12.93

Every Day in May - Day 19

Picked up new bearings and cones from Bean's Bikes in West Chester (a new shop in town - it's right on my way to and from work). Got them home and they installed very quickly with a little fussing setting the right amount of tightness to avoid both axle wobble and binding. Used waterproof (so they say) "Bullshot" grease. Put the wheel back on my bike, degreased my hands, and rode around the driveway a few times. Axle still had a little wobble so I took it back off the bike, tightened the cones a bit, then rode some more. Everything felt pretty good. Total distance about a mile. Does that count as a ride? Hope so.

Every Day in May - Day 18

Drizzling rain. Dark. Cold. Sounds like time for a bike ride! Maya and I took another quick dash around the block...

Bike: M (Road wheel still disassembled in basement, waiting for parts)
T: 9.12
O: 23.3
M: 12.9
A: 9.1
D: 1.40

Every Day in May - Day 17

I came home from work a little early and wanted to get in a short ride. Pat and Maya were heading to Embreeville for a walk, so I agreed to meet them there. I concentrated on riding fast, which is pretty easy on this route because it is mostly flat. Stats for this ride:

Bike: R
T: 45:48
O: 124.4
M: 39.3
A: 15.6
D: 11.91

The biggest problem was my rear wheel bearings - they were making a lot of noise and I was guessing that something had gotten in there from my ride in the rain last week. So this blog entry is mostly about rebuilding the rear hub.



Step 1 was to clean off my workbench so I could get at it. Pull out the trusty box 'o bike parts and tools...give the wheel a spin - the bearings sounded like there was sand inside...

Step two - get out the bike repair book. This old crescent wrench was originally my Dad's. He gave it to me when I went to college and had to have tools to work on my car.


Next I check out the freewheel/cassette and pull the axle. The grease was gray and runny - not a good sign. No way to do this work without getting all greasy.



Out come the bearings. This is where Pat got tired of taking pictures, although I was far from finished. One side was clean as a whistle - the bearings were shiny and looked fine. On the other side though, both the bearings and the cone were pitted and rusty. Not good!

I cleaned everything up and checked inside the hub at the bearing race. Those looked good - both sides - although not perfect. That is the expensive part as it involves replacing the hub and essentially rebuilding the whole wheel - spokes and all. With an old rim and spokes, that would have basically meant just getting a whole new rear wheel. Yikes!

So...hoping for an inexpensive fix, I'm off to the parts store tomorrow for new bearings and cones.

Every Day in May - Day 16

Pat and her friend Mary, photographers both, say my blogging about biking is boring because there are not enough pictures. Pat took this one of me the other day (while it was still cold out) before a ride. It has nothing to do with tonight's little ride, but here it is:



Meanwhile, Maya and I went out for our neighborhood loop again. Tonight was not without incident either. At about the same place we crashed yesterday we were zipping along when...along comes a big dog off leash running straight down the middle of the road at us. I hopped off my bike, Maya freaked (did I say the dog was BIG?) and I tried to keep my bike between Maya and I and the other dog. He was perfectly friendly - no growling or teeth - but Maya and her leash were getting wrapped around me, the bike, the BIG dog and things were getting messy.

The owner came running up calling for "Bruiser" (I'm not making that up) then Maya slipped her collar (I keep it a little loose when I'm running her from the bike - just in case) and took off towards home. It was by now dark...but I caught her and Bruiser and reunited the big lug with his owner who was nice and very apologetic. I re-mounted and the two of us finished our trip home.

Bike: M
T: 11.59 (not including dog interaction time)
O: 21.9
M: 10.8 (not including the scared, collarless dog runaway)
A: 7.1
D: 1.42

Every Day in May - Day 15

After sailing in the morning and doing yard work all afternoon, I decided to take a quick loop around the block with Maya before hitting the showers. All went well until we were almost home. She had gotten out to the end of her lead and then suddenly jerked left, pulling me over. I tried to fall into the grass at the edge and the leash got wrapped around the handlebars. I had a soft landing but there went Maya, running up the road dragging my bike! She was scared but I caught up to her and made it all ok. The bike was ok too. We finished the loop - no harm done. I'll have to make sure she doesn't get out to the end of the leash!

Bike: M
T: 10.28
O: 20.5
M: 12.7
A: 7.9
D: 1.38

Every Day in May - Day 14

I decided to go for a longer ride in the afternoon/evening, heading out to the western part of Chester County. The weather was warm but pleasant, although some spotty rain showers were predicted. I got off to a nice start but found one bridge out (on Shadyside road west of Marshalton-Thorndale road) and decided to detour out towards Coatesville to get around it. Then I came back through Mortonville and out Apple Grove Road. This provided my first clear view to the west and boy did the clouds look dark! I clipped the westernmost loop off my planned route and headed towards home along Embreeville Road. The rain caught up with me just as I reached Embreeville - big huge flashes of lightning and big splashes of rain. I stopped underneath the bridge at the ChesLyn Preserve and watched the rain approach, get heavy, then finally slack off. A hiker came by and hid out under the bridge with me during the worst of it. Finally, it seemed to become a tradeoff between getting wet or having to ride home in the dark, so I pushed off and quickly got soaked. Fortunately it was still warm. All in all, it was a nice Chester County bicycling adventure.

Bike: R
T: 2:28:12
O: 112.5
M: 41.0 (zooming down Strausburg Road into Embreeville, trying to beat the storm)
A: 12.9
D: 31.97

Every Day in May - Day 13

The weather today got nice and by the time I went for a late afternoon/early evening ride it was in the low 60's and partly cloudy. I wanted a hilly workout so I chose a route that included Skelp Level Road - which is anything but - level that is. One section got so steep that I had to move up on my saddle and lean into the bars to keep the front wheel on the ground. It was about a 10 minute ride. I need to adjust my bike computer because it is reading about 1-2% too high, at least as compared to IPhone GPS. Here is the bike computer data:

Bike: R
T: 45:45
O: 80.5
M: 39.5
A: 13.4
D: 10.26

Here's the map and some elevation data from mapmyride.com:

Every Day in May - Day 12

It's still raining and cold - 52F and 91% humidity, so no big ride for today. Once again, around the block with Maya. She does love it, though! Good dog!

Bike: M
T: 9.36
O: 19.1
M: 13.5
A: 8.7
D: 1.40

Every Day in May - Day 11

This weather sure isn't cooperating. When I thought of "every day in May" I thought the weather would be warm, pleasant and typically May-like. It has been very cold! It was even raining a little by the time I finally got outside to go, but since I made this commitment, out I went. I did a short loop that took me on a cold downhill run to Valley Creek, then a "warm" climb back home, about 300' vertical climb.

Here is a map of my route from mapmyride.com:


Bike: R
T: 24.59
O: 70.2
M: 37.7
A: 12.4
D: 5.18

Every Day in May - Day 10

Tonight was just a quick night trip around the block with Maya. I used a new bike light that works pretty well, but I think I prefer the headlamp because it turns to focus on whatever I want to look at, rather than just straight ahead like a fixed headlight on a car.

Bike: M
T: 10.04
O: 17.1
M: 12.9
A: 8.4
D: 1.41

Almost Every Day in May - Day 9

OK - I tried really hard but I blew it. Pat and I worked on the yard all morning yesterday and then went out with Chili to a used bookstore in Phoenixville. After a few good buys, we went to the Chester Springs Creamery for excellent ice cream. Yum! Then it was home, some TV and before I knew it I was getting into bed and had not ridden...Oh well...I really tried.

So not to be defeated, I'm back on my bike today. I'll keep trying to ride every day in May. But today was a challenge - high winds and cold. But, in keeping with a saying I heard this winter while working in the unheated sail house at the sailing club, "the heat is in the tools." So I put more effort into the pedals and warmed right up. I rode out to meet Pat, Chili and Maya at the ChesLyn Preserve in Embreeville. The wind made some flat sections seem like uphill and some uphill sections seem flat. Once at the park the four of us did about a 1.5 mile walk (run for Maya) and drove home together. A nice afternoon break.

Bike: R
T: 52:12
O: 65.0
M: 33.4
A: 14.0
D: 12.24

Every Day in May - Day 7

Today got hectic and before I realized it, it was 10:20 pm and dark. But there had been no bike ride yet! OK - I know I wrote that I don't like riding in the dark, but I can do it and with Maya protecting me, we did a quick loop around the block. I wore my bright electric headlamp that does well enough to light the way for me, as long as I don't ride too fast and outrun the light. Maya appreciated it!

Bike: M
T: 10:42
O: 16.1
M: 14.0
A: 7.8
D: 1.40

Every Day in May - Day 6

Today was a great day to commute to work by bike - beautiful weather and not a hectic schedule. I rode straight in (~4 miles) and changed in my office. I keep some clothes there in my closet so I can wear biking clothes which are much more suited to riding. Then I just change back into them for the ride home. I returned via the Brandywine Creek - a great ride with a few hills (including a big one to get home) but otherwise light on traffic, stop signs and no traffic lights!

Stats for today:

Bike: R
T: 55:19
O: 52.8
M: 32.9
A: 12.2 (Need to improve this)
D: 11.32

Every Day in May - Cinco de Mayo

So today's biking was just a little jaunt to show you how I walk Maya on the bike. She really knows the drill, although with Pat hanging around as photographer she was quite distracted...

This one shows us coming towards Pat. Maya is always on my left, just as when we walk her. She is only slightly behind but there is no risk of "dragging" her as she still has about another 15' of retractable leash to go.

This panned shot shows us in motion, about 10-12 mph. This is about our top speed and you can see she sometimes lags behind and sometimes she's ahead. I always try to leave at least a spare 10' of leash so she doesn't pull me off my bike.

Our first dog Shasta used to do this out of the car - at a top speed of 20mph! I don't think Maya will ever get to that speed, but she does love to run and this works for us!

Every Day in May - Day 4

Today was a beautiful day weather wise and I didn't have to be in to my office until 11, so I rode to work via the Brandywine River and through the Radley Run Country Club. How nice it is to be able to take a semi-rural, moderate ride in (about 10 miles) then get a shower at work before going to my office! The ride home, more direct through town but with lots of stoplights, stop signs and traffic, is about 4 miles.

I've often thought that I should commute to work more often by bike. I've done it on and off for years, typically more in the summer and fall than winter or spring. Night teaching assignments can make it difficult but there are plenty of remaining day trips available. It's only four miles one-way, but I like to make it interesting with a longer loop either on the way in (as here) or way home. Maybe "every day in May" will help me jump-start this.

Here are today's ride stats from my bike computer:

Bike: R

T: 1:10:30

O: 41.4

M: 33.4

A: 12.9

D: 15.16

Here are some stats and illustrations from the interesting bike mapping program (based on Google Maps) from http://bikeroutetoaster.com/:

Every Day in May - Day 3

OK - I hope to turn this thing around. Today I was insanely busy again so I only got in a short ride, but hey, at least I did it. Maya and I went around the block again. Here are the stats:

Bike: M
T: 9:43
O: 13.6
M: 16.4
A: 8.8
D: 1.42
Tongue (Maya's, not mine): Out 3"

Every Day in May - Sunday May 2

Today I set out for a slightly more ambitious ride. After another busy day that included performing in the spring concert for the Chester County Concert Band, it got late again. I left home about 7 pm hoping to do this 10.5 mile ride before it got dark:


I made it the first 2.5 miles when I suddenly noticed that climbing the first hill was really tough - with a flatted rear tire. I knew that by the time I could get it fixed it would be dark, so I called Pat for a rescue. She showed up quickly and now here I am at home posting this...

Inauspicious stats for today:

• Bike = R (where R = road bike; M = mountain bike)
• T=13:44 min = pedaling time, total
• O=26.2 miles = odometer, zeroed January 1. Not much so far this year!
• M=34.4 mph = maximum speed
• A=12.1 mph = average speed (includes some walking my bike with flat)
• D=2.77 miles = distance traveled this trip, zeroed at beginning of each trip

Every Day in May - Saturday May 1

So here's my project idea: I want to complete a bicycle ride every day in May 2010. This seems doable enough; I love to ride and the weather this time of year is great. By setting this goal I'll actually integrate PLANNING to ride into my day, too. Not every ride has to be long or hard; just getting on the bike will count. I know I can build up to longer, faster rides, and this may be just the ticket to do so.

After sailing all morning and working around the yard all afternoon, there wasn't time for a long ride so I set off around the neighborhood loop with Maya. OK - I don't have a picture of Maya and I riding bike together, but here she is. She loves to run and we often watch a brown blur go across our view of the yard as we sit in the living room or kitchen.

To ride together I take Maya's retractable leash and hold it loosely in my left hand while on the bike. She knows what to do - and off we go, usually at about 10-12 mph, at least until we see another dog...or a cat...or a deer...

It was an easy start - our loop took us about 1.5 miles at an average speed of 10 mph. We both enjoyed it!