Gearing Up - Part Deux

More gear.

First, I changed the tires on my ride a few days ago. Switched out the knobbies for some semi-slicks about half the width. Minimal cost really and, more than making the bike ride easier, it's diminished that annoying humming sound from the tires.

Also ordered some cycling gear online and it finally arrived today. I would have opted for faster delivery but this shit ain't cheap. Clipless pedals and shoes. Funny thing is, clipless shoes CLIP into clipless pedals - still not sure where they got that from. I went for pedals that clip on one side and are more traditional on the other because clipping means your shoes are firmly anchored to your pedals and wanted the option for a more traditional ride in case I didn't "get it." I mean, as seen below, "clipping" isn't exactly easy:



The guy's holding onto a wall, takes two minutes to "clip" and still falls over!

Anyway, here are my new toys; wish me luck:

I Think I Can

I wasn't sure I could do it but I set out to do 15 miles today. I not only did it but I "climbed"  my first hill (ok it wasn't a hill per se... it was the Blue Diamond overpass over Jones). Oh, and I did wear my fancy new cycling shorts and a "wicking" t-shirt... makes a world of difference!
Mileage goal: 15
Miles completed: 15.7
Time: 1:02:45
Avg. speed: 15.8 mph
Climb: 264 ft.
Notable sights: Trying to keep a cycling cadence isn't easy. And the top of the Blue Diamond/Jones overpass isn't pretty. I forgot about all other aspects of the ride

Gathering Courage

Short post today but wanted to put out there that I manned up a bit and took a chance with the flats. Rode about 12-13 miles. Don't have exact numbers because the app crapped out on me toward the end of the ride. Guess the GPS satellite went behind a cloud. Just glad my tires & tubes made it!

Mileage goal: 10
Miles completed: 12+
Time: about 45
Avg. speed: 14.8 mph
Climb: 304 ft.
Notable sights: Inspiration Drive, Rainbow Boulevard, Cougar Avenue, Monte Cristo Way (mmmmmmm.... Monte Cristo Sandwich)
Lessons: thinking about deep-fried sandwiches during your ride may cause your ride app to fail

Like Riding A Bicycle

Wait... it was riding a bicycle.

Not much to report except I can still ride a bike. Didn't wear my fancy new cycling outfit; instead I kept it simple in gym shorts and a t-shirt. Just wanted to go out for a quick spin in the neighborhood without getting too far from the house. After getting the bike ready yesterday, I was a little anxious about traveling too far. The tubes are in bad shape and the tires are showing signs of dry rot. The last thing my barely-there motivation needs is a walk-of-shame while carrying a bike with two flats.

Mileage goal: none
Miles completed: 7.6
Time: 29:13
Avg. speed: 15.6 mph
Climb: 119 ft.
Notable sights: Mandarin Express, Rice 'N Noodle, Baidu Chinese Bistro, Jenni Pho
Lessons: check route for dirt roads before departing; don't skip the caffeine in the morning.

 

Gearing Up 

And so it begins. After reaching out to friends on Facebook, I found a local bike shop highly recommended by everyone. This amateur walked in completely clueless. I haven't even been on a bike for almost six years. And when I was, it was to commute to work or take a short weekend ride. I wore shorts and t-shirts. Put my gym shoes on and rode off by pushing down on my big, chunky plastic pedals. That's how a bike works, right? What? It's not? I need to buy hundreds of dollars in gear? What is that, why do I need it, and how much do I need?

Before I could get an answer from the pros at the shop, they had to get past the idea that I had signed up for a 545 mile ride. "Getting past it" meant trying to hide the oddest facial expression ever created - some mix of jaw dropping, eyes popping (and simultaneously crossing), all while stifling a gut wrenching fit of laughter. For those 2.4 seconds, they were not pretty. Once they regained their composure, I got the answer... if I'm going to tackle century rides (100 miles), I'm going to need a lot of gear. Water bottles to hydrate and bottle cages to hold them. Tool kits, patches, tubes and pumps for roadside maintenance. Saddle bags to hold it all. Shorts/bibs for comfort in the saddle and jerseys to whisk away the sweat and keep me cool. Clipless pedals and fancy shoes that clip into them (Clip into clipless pedals? Huh?). And, of course, a helmet - I gotta protect the noggin' to keep on bloggin'. You get the picture. Actually, if you don't, here it is: 

These shorts scream, "I'm happy to see you!"

"Here you go, sir. Stock me up. Here's my credit card." No, that didn't happen. I kept it simple. One cycling outfit (bib/jersey), a bottle cage and a helmet. Then I walked out $265 dollars less wealthy.

When I arrived home, I realized there was one piece of gear I hadn't put much thought into. It's essential since I'm planning on a ride tomorrow. So I opened the garage door and saw it exactly where I left it six years ago. That once beautiful 1998 Gary Fisher Marlin.

Opening the garage door, I saw it looking as neglected as it was. Hanging crookedly. Tires flat. Covered in dust. It looked so bad I wasn't sure I could make it ready to ride tomorrow but I pulled it down and got to work anyway. Inflated tires. Greased chain. Tightened bolts. Wiped down everything. Mounted bottle cage. Rummaged through the junk drawer to find the key to the bike lock.

Fourteen years old. Aside from the seat and tubes, it's all original. And, surprisingly, looks ready to roll...

Now let's see if I am.

AIDS/Lifecycle... what is that?

Starting another blog entry with a question. But isn't that part of what blogs are about? Answering questions for the readers?

The answer to this one's pretty simple. The AIDS/Lifecycle is a fundraiser to provide, "critical services to people living with HIV and AIDS." The ride benefits major AIDS Service Organizations (ASO's) in California. Participants - both cyclists and roadies - each commit to achieving a minimum of $3,000 in donations for their participation. To prove their commitment, they spend seven days traveling from San Francisco to Los Angeles. Cyclists spend those days on their bikes and roadies spend their days ensuring the cyclists have everything they need to complete the ride - food, rest stops, gear, first-aid, guidance, support and all sorts of assistance. But the true heroes are you... those who donate to the cause, support the participants, and do it all with the ultimate goal to assist those living with HIV/AIDS and continue our efforts to bring an end to the epidemic.

You know I'm not blowing smoke but, as proof positive, here is my confirmation letter for ALC12:

Dear Jim,

Congratulations and welcome to AIDS/LifeCycle 12!  Prepare yourself for the experience of a lifetime! 

We want to thank you for your commitment of time, energy, and heart to raising the necessary funds and awareness so that together we can end the pandemic and human suffering caused by HIV.  We at the L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation are so grateful for your extraordinary dedication, which in turn allows us to provide the necessary services and programs on the local, statewide, and national levels.

You will receive an email from your participant representative soon with instructions for accessing your Participant Center so that you can customize your homepage and begin fundraising. If you have questions, please feel free to contact us.

Again, thank you for registering, and we look forward to joining you on the road June 2-8, 2013

Sincerely,

The AIDS/LifeCycle Staff

To find out more about the ride, you can visit http://www.aidslifecycle.org

Jim Blogs?!?!

Short answer... yes. Well, true answer... I used to. Before "blog" was a word and when its root phrase "web log" was hardly known, I kept an "online journal" (that's what we called it last century). Believe it or not, I was one of the first - if you can count a couple hundred thousand people as "the firsts." Today there are close to 200 million blogs so let me keep that "first," okay? For the geeks like me - especially those younger than me - you can read a little on the history of blogs here:
 
Wikipedia History on Blogs

Now, back to this blog...see that header at the top? jimagery. That was me and those are the original graphics that lived on my site. The site was developed by me and designed by my friend Marco (and just like "web log" became "blog" - "Marc" became "Marco" over the years). Those images are authentic and were the section headers and this blog's layout, fonts and colors are comparable to what I used so many years ago. When I looked at those graphics and the primary navigation again after all these years, I realized they're still relevant:

jimagery (me)
vision (my goals/reasoning)
thought (my thoughts/stories)
exchange (reader comments /interaction)
clarity (answers to how/what/where/when/why).

But enough of the reminiscing and WTF... let's bring some vision, thought, exchange & clarity to this blogging thing.

Over the past decade, I'm sure I've had plenty to write about in a journal even if there was no one to read it. But after living my life online during those years and interacting with 150,000 site visitors from more than 80 countries, I was burnt out. But today I made a decision that gave me a topic to discuss in a blog and, even more, reminded me of the reach of the internet. Today I registered to be a cyclist (Participant #1655) in the AIDS/Lifecycle - a seven day, 545 mile ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles. While reviewing their 2012 ride site, I kept encountering the question, "Why are you here?" For me, that answer is very long. Then there's the fact that the preparation and training I'll complete over the next year might benefit from some journaling in order to keep my motivation high. Finally, making it personal may help me in reaching the mandatory fundraising requirements.

So this is how it starts again. My idea (vision) is to share my experience and stories (thoughts) through the next year. My hope is to have plenty of interaction (exchange) to help keep me motivated. My goal is to bring (clarity) to the question, "Why are you here?"

Want to join me on the journey again?