Fair Talk, Plotting Courses, and Lots of Pedaling

We made it to the Dakota County Fair last Thursday to continue our tradition of watching the demolition derby. Maybe it's because Rachel couldn't be there with us, or maybe the derby didn't quite live up to our expectations but it was sort of a letdown this year. We left after 3 heats. I was talking with a neighbor who was also there with her daughter that night and they too were disappointed, leaving the same time we did. We kicked around the fair for a while after exiting the derby grandstands, taking in some of the exhibits and getting our fill of fair food. It's our warm-up to the State Fair! I mentioned to Tammy how Tim used to love coming to this local fair.

I was plotting out a course on my laptop last week for a bike ride the next day when I received an Etsy notification that one of my large stained glass panels had sold. A notification that should've caused a feeling of elation, caused instead my heart to sink a little because I was sorta hoping none of my larger pieces would sell. We enjoy having them in the windows of our sun-porch, and they help prevent birds from crashing into the windows the panels hang in front of. I have them on my site to display my ability more than anything. I quickly accessed my Etsy account and increased the price on the other remaining 6 large panels to soften the blow should they too sell someday. The panel that sold was the first of the larger panels I did last winter. I'll be making another to replace it when I finally find my way back into the studio in a few months.

The route planner I use to plot my bike rides is the one found on RideWithGPS. It's a nifty tool. I made a tutorial video for it in 2009 and the guys at RideWithGPS stumbled onto it and used it on their site for years before making their own. It's especially useful for mapping longer routes where I'm riding in areas I'm not very familiar with. It suggests less traveled roads but it won't distinguish between paved or gravel, and I really wish it did. Instead, I'll drag the little Google man over the road I'm considering using to see the Google Street View of it and what its surface is. I've been using the program quite a lot lately.

Between my fat-tire bike and my road bike, last week was a big week for me on the trails and on the road. I had 260 miles in my legs for the week before deciding to attempt a double century (200 miles) ride on Sunday. It all worked out well but there was a time around 4 hours into the ride where I was seriously thinking of abbreviating the ride and giving it a go another day. The forecast wind was for 7 mph out of the south but it was easily 12 to 15 mph instead and it was putting the hurt on me as I tried to keep my speed up. It didn't help matters that my #2 knee wasn't at all happy with the extra demand I was placing on it. I kept telling myself that once I got to the halfway point and I could put the headwind to use as a tailwind I'd be okay. And I was.

It was difficult staying hydrated with the temp in the lower 90ºs (33º c) but I was able to find places along my route to grab some Gatorade and get back on the road. I find these little guys especially useful for getting a quick fix of sugar into my muscles to fuel me. The extra stops added to my overall time but I had no other choice. As determined as I was to stay hydrated, I still lost 3.4 lbs by the time I finished.

Here's a link to my ride on Strava or click here to see an enlarged view of a map of my route.

I kept Tammy updated on my position through the use of a beacon sent to her phone via Strava, a site I use to track my rides. It updates my position every 30 seconds. I like that she's able to take a quick look and see that I'm still making progress. She can send texts to my Garmin Edge 820 (cyclocomputer) which gives me a few canned responses to use for a reply. it's simple and quick. I love technology!

There's no better time during the week to go out riding than Sunday morning. The streets are quieter then than at any other time. It was a little foggy to start but with my front and rear strobes, I felt comfortable that I was being seen.

I'm not certain that I'll still be doing the double century ride with Silver Cyclists that I spoke of in my previous entry. I'm more of a solo rider after all but I've done the hard work to get myself in shape so I just may show up and help out.

That's all I've got.



Video from a ride into Wisconsin on Monday. There's a map to my route at this link on Strava.