Print this pageJerry's Ramblings
This section of the website is titled Rambling because my thoughts may stray to various subjects and I didn't want to mislead the reader. On my mind today: getting things right. If you like the logo with the cyclist on the white road, traveling through the green earth, with the blue sky above, thank my designer, design gurl studio. If you think my website looks good and is easy to navigate, and has some good stuff, thank amygelfand.com. If you like my book cover, it was by Janice Phelps. Janice also was the final editor and formatted the text, so if you like the way the book is laid out, she is the one. These are just three of the many who assisted; all I did was ride and write, and locate folks who cared about putting out a quality product.
When using sarcasm, the line between being funny and being mean is very thin. Almost always, you end up sounding mean or at least disparaging. My original and several following drafts had what I thought were funny remarks. But even before the professional editors saw a draft, my friends suggested they needed to be removed. Some of the remarks were reworded, others just deleted. Occasionally while you read, you might think to yourself "he should have commented on that." Well, maybe I did, but gave it a second thought and removed it. The book is better off without them.
JAN 14 It may be a little early for this, but I would like to find a companion or two, preferably from the UK, for a ride from Lands End to John O'Groats sometime in the summer of 2009. I will need someone to remind me to "keep left" and to lead me through traffic merging since I tend to look in the wrong direction. My plan is to stay in B&Bs.
Jan 18 The plethora of diet and exercise ads and presentations on TV prompt me to give a tip of my own. While I have no hangup on going to the gym and working out my legs in the off-season, I practically have to be whipped to exercise my abdominals. My solution: while watching TV, for each commercial break on one of the hour-long shows, I will roll off the couch and onto the floor and perform one exercise. For instance, on the first break I will do sit-ups for the whole break; on the second break I will do leg lifts; on the third break, twists. This will not give you six-pack abs, but it will tighten up some of the sag.
Feb 27 I have just returned from watching several days of the Tour of California in San Luis Obispo and Solvang, riding in the area, and pitching my book to book stores and bike shops. In riding, I added a new "first" to my palmares: surviving in a 60mph gusts windstorm. Naturally, the full account will be in a chapter in my next book, but the short version follows. The forecast called for 25-35mph winds in the afternoon. We (me, Ray and Byran and Chuck and Stephanie) left at 9am for a 40 mile ride out to the coast and down (south). The wind was at our backs going out and we cruised at 20mph. We turned south at Vandenburg AFB, (where there is no traffic) and climbed up and over and turned west for the last two miles downhill. The wind hit us when we made another turn to the south. It was only 10am and it was pretty stiff, but not dangerous. In another half hour, we were being buffeted pretty good and decided to stop for a breather. Byran got off his bike, and only the fact that he still had his hand on the handlebars prevented the bike from flying into the bushes. The side wind rushing down the canyons! Both wheels flew out and the side of the bike was parallel to the ground! We discussed turning around, but Ray wanted me to see the boat house, several miles (ahem! more....) farther. Steph and Chuck gave it a try, but after a few more minutes, turned around and headed for home. Byran was again almost stopped by the wind on the uphill climb. Once up and over, it became a headwind and I was in my granny gear, about 27th out of 30, pedaling hard down a 6% grade, just to maintain balance. We made it, stopped for a while, then turned around. No hard pedaling needed, even up the hills. But the worst was the side wind. There was no relaxing your grip. I followed Ray by about 20 yards, and when I saw him blown about 3 feet sideways, prepared for the worst. I used up all of the shoulder and one lane of traffic before being able to steer back to the side of the lane. Later, we checked the weather on Vandenburg and the gusts were over 60mph. We estimated a steady 45-50mph. 40 miles, 6 hours. The legs were good, but the upper body felt whipped.
On a different note, one of the Lompoc friends, Bob, had a time trial bike he would let me have at a bargain price. So, now I have another high-end bike that makes me look like I know what I am doing. Once I get a few practice runs in, I will know if my investment in technology will decrease my tt times.
March 2 Marilane and I left at 5am to get to Bastrop by 6am to set up our table. We thought maybe we could sell some books. The ride started at 9am. Marilane volunteered to help the late sign-up desk due to the volumn of folks signing up. I was going to ride with the Cyclopaths, but was fiddling with my heart rate monitor that took the start of the ride to begin acting up, and finally gave up after about a mile, but when I looked around, Cyclopaths were nowhere to be seen. Apparently they got caught up in traffic and people falling. So, Moose and I had fun in the hills of Buescher Park, then got into some serious cycling. The sun came out, the wind came up, and all in all, a great ride. Superior support at the rest stops. We finally made enough right turns to get the wind at our back for the last ten or so miles.
March 5 Apparently, cyclists last night in Austin were heavy into voting as very few made it into the bike shop. By percentage, I had good conversations with those who stopped by to chat. If the shop is willing, I will give it another go on a weekend.
March 8 One of the props I used in my booksigning was my bike. Bringing it to the bike shop was a dual purpose action, in that I felt it hadn't been rolling as easily as it should and I wanted to drop it off to have them give me an evaluation (if you read my back cover you already know I don't "do" mechanical stuff). The mechanic gave the back wheel a spin and listened to the ratchets and asked "When was the last time you overhauled the (rear) hub?" I innocently replied "It is only 7 years old, does it need overhauling?" He didn't roll his eyes, but I might have dectected a mutter under his breath. Long story short, I now have a much quieter, better rolling rear wheel. Really, it had been making a "ratcheting" noise since it was new and I was told that was the way it was supposed to sound. But as it got louder through the years, I had my suspicions.
I was really pleased that Book People reviewed my book and agreed to take it on consignment. I will drop off the books tomorrow. The Hill Country Bookstore in Georgetown will also have my books on consignment later this month and also host a booksigning on April 5, and I donated a couple to the Round Rock Library.
March 26 I have been waiting for almost 7 years to be able to use my boot, and it happened today. Ever since I put a staple into the sidewall of my brand new $50 Continental, I have ridden with Tire Tuffies in my tires, and a boot in my saddle pack. For those who don't know, a boot is about a 4 inch long piece of old tire (I know, you can use a dollar bill or a candy wrapper, and duct tape for that matter). Three of us were riding today and my friend, David, suddenly had a loud blowout on his back tire. David has only been riding a few years, so Barry and I took this as a learning experience and rather than ride the remaining few miles and get a vehicle, we sat down and changed the tube and I installed my boot, all the time instructing David in the finer points of changing out tubes, like putting enough air in it before pushing on the last bead, to help avoid pinch flats. We also took the opportunity to try out Barry's compressed air device, which he hadn't used before, to make sure it worked. It is so much fun to try out stuff on other people and their mis-fortune! All worked well, and except for a faint "thump, thump, thump" of the boot, the tire worked fine.
April 22 I am a tad late in posting the first time trial of the year. For a change of pace, I indulge my passive competitive spirit in riding time trials in the Senior Games. I like Senior Games because they start at age 50 and have 5-year age groups, therefore the age differential is minimal. Every other year they hold Nationals, and therefore the alternate years the State competitions are qualifiers. What that means is when State is a National Qualifier, more people get involved, and the fast guys show up. In my age group, there are at least 4 guys faster than me, so if they all race, I don't have a chance at a medal. I truthfully do not care about medals, but I do like to at least be in the same ball park.
Getting back to the time trials, I managed to earn two bronze, and was also awarded 3rd place in the 40k race because there were only 3 who were silly enough to ride it. My times are improving and we will see what the other two race days bring.
April 25 When I checked in at Kerrville, I was surprised by the lack of riders this year. There were only three in my age group and I didn't recognize the names, which means they haven't beaten me (yet). Kerrville is very well organized, but the 1 mile loop course is extremely rough, thus a lot of riders don't want to expose their bikes or bodies to the pounding, plus, they only offer time trials and no races. I felt pretty strong on the 5k and once times were posted, saw that not only did I win my age group, I was fastest overall. Ok, I only beat the young guys by 1/2 second, 1 second and 1 and 1/2 seconds, but still, I was fastest. On the 10k I was also fastest in my age group, but 3rd overall. I replayed the ride in my mind, but even though I missed my turn a couple of times (that is, didn't negotiate it right and had to brake a bit), I couldn't have improved my overall place. One more time trial next week end, then I start climbing hills in anticipation of the Alps in July.
May 24 We just finished riding the Katy Trail and the complete trip will be detailed in a chapter in my next book. However, I offer some quick observations. The Katy Trail should be the first multiple-day ride you should undertake. The trail is well groomed, there is water available every few miles (like 10 or 15), and they have clean rest rooms at the rail heads. I enjoyed doing it on my mountain bike with full suspension, but my friend Barry had an old road bike with 32mm tires and probably had just an easy a ride. PAY ATTENTION: This is how you should plan your adventure - The VERY FIRST THING you do is contact Amanda at the Doll House B&B in Rhineland (see Links) and see when you can get a room. Then plan the rest of the trip around that day.
Can you tell that I was impressed? There are other sites where folks have left comments as to how good this stop is. They aren't blowing smoke. My plan is to put a page of our adventure in Excerpts, so check back in a week or so, or contact me if you have specific questions.
June 25 I am having difficulty keeping up with my adventures. We just returned from cycling in the north Georgia mountains. Again we had a week of great weather, 50-75 degrees, brilliant blue skies, hardly any wind, and some really great mountain climbs. Eventually, a page will be in Excerpts, and go to my blog site for expanded info, but that will also include our other non-cycling activities. Don't be in a hurry to read it, I am a little pressed for time, in that we leave for the New York Book Festival. See you in Central Park!
July 1 The Book Fesitival in Central Park was a sales disaster. Again, my blog will tell the tale. But we met some nice people. I only have two weeks to get my act together for the Alps, but might get caught up in telling my adventures.