Tag Archives: cycling

You don’t need sleep. Just legs and a bike.

Tues/Thurs 7:45am ride, ,

Last night was not fun… one of those nights where you’re trying really hard to get to sleep which, of course, keeps you from getting to sleep. You feel your pulse racing faster as your anxiety level rises, leading to… more anxiety. I have no idea how little sleep I actually got, but it wasn’t much. Even thought briefly that maybe I wasn’t going to be able to ride, but that’s nonsense. Cycling cures everything, therefore cycling without sleep will help me wake up. And that’s pretty much how it went.

What I didn’t enjoy was waking up to it being dark. Really dark. As in, should daylight saving time really start this early? But it all changes once you get on the bike. You start up the hill past your driveway and it feels… right. The bike feels light. Things are moving. I can do this. That week off the bike didn’t kill me after all.

Large group today; no way to remember everyone, but I’ll do what I can. Kevin, Kevin, Karl, Karen, Nigel, Eric, Marcus, JR, George. Pace up the hill was reasonable for winter; a few guys riding faster up front but nobody trying to kill themselves. I got to the top in about 28:25 or so, faster than I anticipated. My heart rate was also faster than I imagined, running very high for the entire ride, likely an effect of riding without much sleep. Glad I didn’t have any coffee first!

Cool & foggy at the bottom; sunny & warm up top. Just like a typical summer day… in March. This is Why We Ride.

A tale of two sprints

Tues/Thurs 7:45am ride, ,


If you were any other man, I’d kill you where you stand!
(Worf, Star Trek First Contact)

And “First Contact” could have been very appropriate this morning, when, during the first sprint on the Tuesday/Thursday-morning ride, Kevin, that would be Kevin my son, not the pilot, claimed he didn’t know I was there when he made a move to try and get onto George’s wheel… problem being, I was already on George’s wheel. And how could Kevin not have known I was there when he had to first pass me? Watch the video. You be the judge!

Had this been an actual race, my wife might not have been too happy if instincts had taken over and I had strong-armed Kevin across the road. It’s not as if I don’t know how to “protect” myself in a sprint. Thankfully, I redeemed myself a bit later.

Very nice morning; started out not so cold maybe 40 degrees, and warmed up to 55 by the end. The end of winter is in sight! Karl, Kevin, Kevin, Eric, Todd, George, Karen and, for a little while, Les, the guy who used to own a bike shop or two, but apparently had a better exit strategy than me. Which doesn’t take much, since I have no exit strategy at all! Thankfully this is a business I really enjoy. Not much bad about putting people on bikes.  –Mike–