4/30/09 MIssion Trail

It turns out that it's light at 6:45 am this time of year.  I had no idea.

4/29/09 Mission Trail

The only nice thing about fighting a headwind all the way out on a ride is getting blown all the way home (that's what she said... actually, I doubt she'd say that because only a "he" would say that).

4/26/09 Comfort

What a weird weather day.  It was misting and wet when I left the house, and it just kept getting wetter as I headed to Comfort.  By the time I got to 1604, it was raining convincingly.  Mark called me and asked if I wanted to give up on the ride, but I said we might as well go to Comfort and see if it was wet there.  As we kept heading north, it kept raining.  It was still raining in Boerne, and it was still raining as we passed Po-Po's.  Then, out of nowhere, it stopped.  By the time I exited for Comfort, it was dry.  Somewhere in the 10 miles between Po-Po's and Comfort, we passed the magic line.

There was a strong headwind from the south, and still the threat of rain blowing in, so we opted for the shorter 30 mile route (which turned out to be only 25 miles).  Still, strangely, it was a great day to ride.  The temperature was nice, the humidity was low (don't ask me how), and the wind never really blew in our face.  It just goes to show you should never call the ride until you're actually at the start.

4/25/09 McAllister Park/Mudcreek Park

Just when I think I'm in some kind of decent shape, I go ride with someone that kicks my ass.  This time it was Jens, Richard, and Anthony.  Not only are they faster than me, but they had gotten in a good warmup before picking me up cold.  Needless to say, it hurt.  It's still a lot of fun, though, and I'll do it again as often as I can.  I just eventually explode and have to limp in on my own.

4/23/09 From Work

This was my last "From Work" ride for a while.  I'm going out on my own to try out some business ideas I have.  Since I'll be working from home, my commute is getting greatly compressed. Now I'll just walk out the back door and to the garage apartment, a distance of less than 100 feet.

It was time to leave for a number of reasons, but foremost is the fact that I've gotten bored with the commute.  I'm a creature of habit, and I tend to ride the exact same route to and from work each day.  I now know every pebble, pothole, and crack in the streets from my house to downtown where I work.  I know that it would be easier to just change-up the route, but my OCD prevents me from doing that.  The only real option was to leave my job and free myself from the tyranny of repetitive cycling.  Now, instead of commuting, I'll be able to do short rides from my house in the mornings before starting work.  My only fear is that I'll have to move in a year or two when I've gotten bored of all the streets around the house.

4/23/09 To Work

I've been doing an overhaul of my mountain bike this week.  I've pulled everything apart and cleaned it; I've re-greased all the bearings I can get to; and I fixed a broken axle in the rear wheel.  All's good there.  Now, the road bike is making creaking noises in the bottom bracket, so I guess that's next.  Still, this is a lot better than it was before we had good sealed bearings.

By the way, I always vaguely knew that the Little 500 was a real race, but I'd never heard the details before.  This is unlike any bike race I've ever heard of.

Bike Chatter

This looks interesting. It's a Twitter follower for cyclists.

http://www.bikechatter.com/