I had it

Seems like dare be snow outside!

So riding in the future is probably on hold until spring. If that is the case I rode over 1600k in 2006! This past week our wee bike club had its last ride; 5 of us rode 13.5 k around Leduc in cool and wet night streets, then met a couple at the Local cafe for lattes and Chias. We had a great time! From local rides around Calmar and Leduc, The Ms Tour and Tour de Alberta and The Recumbent retreat in Oregon - I had a great season.

I did my first 1 Day century with the Tour De Alberta and learned alot about my self. 1-I like to ride with some one. Not nessarily beside them all the time but with hailing range. 2- the longer I rode the longer it would take for my tailbone not to be tender. gotta lose more weight. 3- I like long rides with friends. 4-I like to ride with Audible books (scifi) and good music. 5-I gotta lose more weight 6- riding takes commitment. 7- Just do it!

My 2 most favorite rides this year were The MS Tour- cause I surpassed some challenges over last years ride and Our Godspoke Ride to Pigeon Lake-38k - we had a lot of fun and great company! I really am Blessed that Alice my wife enjoys riding ... with ME!

This saturday afternoon I drove down to Bentley Cycle to spend the afternoon with Grant the owner and say goodbye to my Burleys, the Django and the Jet Creek. I delivered them to Grant for consignment 'cause Alice would like to ride a TE too! If you are looking for a great ride drop into Grants and check them and all the other bike he has. Alice and I really like the ride, handling and speed the Tour Easy has. I find them so much easier to start and stop on and ride with other Df riders. Plus the fairing is nice on cooler rides, sleek looking and Fast. We hope that this will be our last upgrades for awhile. I have had 5 different bents in 5 years! Now I get to outfit TWO TE's

As for the engine improvement I was down to 285lb in june and have gained up 20lb back. But I learned alot about weight loss and conditioning- ITS NOT EASY! and so easy to regain what you lost. SO I am going back to the gym I November, I have swayed my trainer into offering a set of areobic classes in January to help and encourage more significantly obese people. She has been caught in a gym culture mindset and was frustrated that obese, out of shape people were not not enthusiastic about weight training and classes so we had a long talk one afternoon about my preceptions from the otherside of the fence. So her next set of classes that I will be in will focus on the other side. we will see what happens.

I want to get to and maintain 275-250 by june 07 , Hey its a goal! 2008 to 225lb. With all the riding I want to do in 2007 (2-2500k) it will be a challenge. And HEY, there is very little commuting miles in that goal. Riding this kind of mileage takes significant time. Family, work, and other committments gotta squeeze around it. But I'm lucky -I have my family and friends who like to ride!

Talk to you soon ,

Larry

The Last Ride?

Well my wife Alice and I went for a short ride and photo op on Saturday. The weather reports said snow on Sunday so we drove into Leduc and a ride around Telford lake area and took some pictures of my TE and Alice riding. I picked up a tripod for my camera at Staples and away we went.

It was a great fall afternoon and I hope not the end of my riding for 2006. I am just 35k short of riding 2000k for the year. I am going to do over that even if I have to ride in the snow New Years Eve! This is by far the most I have ever ridden in any year. I had a list of riding goals I wanted to do in the next couple of year and did them this year! Wa hoo.I am getting a bug for long distance riding. I have been reading the exploits of Micheal Wolfe http://escapevelocipede.blogspot.com/ and others who do long distance riding and am developing the goals of riding in some of the local brevets (randoneeering) in 2007. These are sanctioned riding events with timing and checkpoints with lenghts of 200k, 300k, 400k, 600k and 1000K. If you can ride an average of 16k/hr and endure the seat for 7.5 hrs per 100k you can do it easy. Plus you can get a medal and record posting in Paris, France! I hope to do a 200k and 300k in 07. This will envolve training and discipline on my part. I am finding that if I want to lose weight and maintain it I gotta have some goals set.

Will I lose the weight and accomplish it ... who knows but I am going to attempt them along with the MS Tour, Ride LA, and our Godspoke rides and tours next year. So Stay tuned, Look for posts reguarding the training, equipment, and stuff this next year.
TTFN Larry

The End of Summer '06

Well, its been a while since I last updated this blog. Let see;
I have been riding abit, at least every thursday with our local riding group Godspoke. We meet at 6:30 pm, ride around town and stop for coffee somewhere, usually the local Tim Hortons. Anywhere from 3 to 8 of us ply the roads of Nisku and Leduc. We have found that riding after dark can be fun and a totally different experience.

We have all gotten lights to illuminate our path. I Picked up a Nite Hawk Digital Emitter with Recharger from MEC (This super bright (approximately 10 watt) white LED headlight system has 11 light-output settings and features an advanced microprocessor to ensure continued brightness throughout the battery cycle. Includes rechargeable NiMH batteries and recharging kit.)
I really like it. It really lights up the road in front, but I still think If I was riding alot after dark I would get another to really widen the total path of light, maybe a helmet mounted one! On the back of my bike I have a: Blackburn Mars 2 Rear blinky - from REI in Seattle. This is one bright taillight with 3 modes -highly recommended.

This september I did it again. I have been riding recumbents for 4 years. Some how I have managed to get 4 'bents in that time. First was a BikeE AT that I traded up for a BikeE RX that I found later was too small for me. Then my LBS got in a Burley Jet Creek for which I traded in lieu of my RX. Then BikeE went out out biz and I got a CT from Ebay. Then Last year I got a Burley Django which I rode last summer and the summer of 05. Then I went to the recumbent retreat in Oregon, and relazied that I was a Easy Racer wanna be. Riding my Django was fun and fast but after a couple of centuries this summer I was getting a severly sore tailbone. Due to the fact I was so reclined on the Django, because I had to recline to get my belly out of the way. I like to ride fairly fast but I also am beginning to like riding far. The MS tour, Tour de Alberta gave me a taste of going the distance. I think I may see randoneering in my future.

Randoneering is riding set distances in a certain time, 200 to qualify for a 300k then 400 then 600 then 1200k. If you can ride consistently at 15mph you can finish the rides on time. I may not get beyond the 400k rides but I wanted a bike that would help get me there in comfort and speed. The more I talked to people at the recumbent rally the more I was Impressed with the Easy Racers. They are made for faster long distance rides. And the enthusiasium from current oners really impressed me that a Tour Easy was in my future.
So late August I started my research to see what a second hand one would cost, looking on Ebay, the classified on BROL and the Easy Racer Forum. I was thinking of Spring but if I got the right one I could extend my riding into November if I had a fairing.
Then mid September I posted a note on BROL that I was looking for a good used TE. A couple of days later I got a private message from a lady in Seattle who said she had what I was looking for and would email me pics and more info after the weekend.
A few days later I got an email with pics of a Tour Easy freshly uncrated. She had gotten this TE in a round about way from someone in northern California, she had them take it to Easy Racers nearby, they wrapped it and sent it to her. How long it sat in her garage up unopened I don't know. But before my eyes I am seeing this TE with fairing, rapid fire shifters, rack, (the bike I envisioned I would get) lying amidst cardboard and cellophane. She never rode it, she had to unpack it to take the pics! From what she told me it is a 2004 that the fellow never took to. It sat and was hardly ever ridden. the rear cassette looks brand new!
So we haggled a bit then I decided to get it. We found out that some friends of ours were going to Vancouver for the weekend and that they would pick up the bike there and bring it back. So Rosie from Seattle loaded up her car and drove to Vancouver dropped it off at Cambie Cycle and Dale & Judy picked it up from there and dove to Calmar and WA LLA I am an EasyRacer, Tour Easy Owner and Rider.

So, I am very happy with my TE which I call "Rosie" After the generous Lady who went out of her way and country to get me this 'Bent. The more I ride it, the more "right" it feels for me. I want to change a few things, what 'bent rider doesn't want to add a few mods and make it thiers, eh! Eventually I will upgrade the Touring gearing for a higher front chain ring, add at least a tail sock; but I enjoy the ride, it is allowing me to ride further in the fall (like that fairing) Well, I think I going to go for a ride on this nice Autumm Thanksgiving Sunday. I will write soon and post more pics of the TE and our rides.

Enjoy the Ride

Larry

P.S. I have a Burley 2004 Jet Creek and a 2002 Burley Django upgraded with xt gearing for sale now, my wife would like a TE in the spring!