Category Archives: Uncategorized

Moanday Rides are Go

5:15PM 1st lap is not recovery. This will be a fast paced group, and while we try not to drop people, it may happen unintentionally at times with the high pace, and the usual folks that like to sweep hitting it hard on the front.

6:45PM lap IS recovery. There are usually 2 groups. Front group will be quick, but the back group is truly recovery pace and will make every effort to not drop anyone.

Thoughts From The Saddle: Driving is Hard

When you ride a bike a lot, you get a very different view of the road, and drivers. Early in learning to ride on the roads, it is easy to conclude that drivers are actively trying to hurt you. It is only after many miles, many hours, and time to contemplate their actions that you begin to understand that the issue is not that they are out to get you, but instead that complacency, convenience and comfort have led drivers to forget one simple thing.

Driving is Hard.

The act of driving a car is a complex task that engages many skills into a single act. Just consider the skills required to control a car. Steering, controlling the speed via 2 pedals (maybe a third). Many people cannot rub their stomach and pat their head at the same time, but we are asking them to steer and control a throttle and brake at the same time. But no, it is more than that, because now that they are moving, the task also means monitoring multiple outside factors, like lane markings, road signage, road conditions, other road users, things that are not in the roadway that MAY constitute a problem. Still we aren’t done, because all of this has to be done while still maintaining the operation within a set of rules that we have applied to road usage, and avoiding other drivers that have momentary lapses.

All of that is a lot to manage. That is an enormous amount of bandwidth and compute power. These are the reasons that computers and automated cars are not yet viable, the sensors, machine learning, bandwidth and compute power just have not reached that level yet, and it may be years before we see true automation that can replace a human outside of controlled environments.

Yet, somewhere along the way we forgot that driving is a complex task, one that requires our full attention. Somehow, we have convinced ourselves that we can drive while doing other things. Somehow, we have forgotten that the faster we travel the less time we have to process and make decisions.

Maybe, it is time to change the message. It is not drunk driving, it is not texting while driving, it is not distracted driving that increase the risks. It is just the act of driving itself, and everything else just makes a hard job that much harder.

How do you make a hard job easier? slow down, pay attention to details, and don’t let the distractions place you at greater risk.

Test Ride: Possible Route for New Weekly…

With Halcyon getting close to opening, it is time to start testing possible routes for events from there. Looking at a possible test loop this Thursday or Friday afternoon if interested.

Beware, with test rides like this, we may loop through sections multiple times, or try multiple variations of sections during the ride, so this will not be either a smooth pace type group, and there may well be some longish stops mid ride to dissect options.

Monday Night Recovery Ride

Just a reminder, the weekly recovery ride should return Monday with the holidays now over, and the weather drying out for a week.

6:45PM from Gate City in Roswell. 18 miles at about 15 mph, followed by beverages at Gate City Brewing. We have been parking around the back rather than the upper level parking area that has been charging $5.

More Infrastructure/Lower Usage

Sadly, this is a cultural issue. We do so many things to create a perception that riding a bicycle is too dangerous, or too inconvenient. We lack facilities to “clean up” or even safely change clothes at our workplaces. In short, while infrastructure is a part of the problem, our cultural reinforcement of the idea that climate controlled transportation is the only way for middle and upper class people to travel is doing nothing to help our over crowded roads and cities. Fewer Americans are biking to work despite new trails, lanes and bicycle share programs

Welcome to 2019, a year of renewal

Welcome to 2019, a year of renewal2018 was a tough year for many. I would call my 2018 a mixed bag. Not terrible. Not great. I lost a lot of fitness. I gained some weight. I made some friend. I lost some friends. I watched friends and family deal with losses and struggles. I dealt with my own losses. My oldest daughter got engaged. She also graduated from college. And got her first “adult” job. My son has found his adult niche and happpiness in hist professional life. My younger daughter continues to amaze with her battles against her fears. My wife went through a difficult work transition in which she left one job without a safety net for her principles. She landed back in a Kindergarten Classroom after almost 15 years away. I have watched her succeed, and in many ways blossom in ways that she did not during her first stint as a Kindergarten teacher. So while there have been some negatives in 2018, I have to look at the balance as a net positive for the year. Dwelling upon the negatives just feeds the dark aspects of human nature and my personality. So, I choose not to do these things. Looking forward to 2019 it is time to focus on renewing my focus on the positive things in life. Time to continue not only working to be a better me, but also to make the world around me a better place for everyone else. This year my goals are small in scale, but also simple.
  • Each day, I want to bring a smile to someone else face, even if it is nothing more than a momentary bright spot in an otherwise drab day.
  • Help change reduce the car usage by being one less car on the roads as often as possible (telecommuting, bicycle commuting, better route planning)
  • Regain physical fitness lost in 2018, without sacrificing the mental fitness I gained.
That’s it. Nothing more. Perhaps you will join me. Perhaps you won’t. Either way, understand that when I see you this year, I hope that it is your face that I can bring a smile to.

W’intervals Start Tonight

6:45PM in the old HH Greg parking lot on Windward Parkway. Bring your lights, you MUST have them for this ride. Yes, we have street lights on the route, but that is simply not enough. Yes, I know that state law doesn’t require good lights, but I do.

The route tonight will be 8 x .5 mile intervals, with .5 mile recovery sections on Westside/Deerfield Parkway. ( The route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/28959216 ). The intervals will be at or near your personal threshold, and we will soft pedal the recoveries for everyone to come back together before the next interval. Red lights are GOOD for this kind of work.

Most of all, let’s have some fun, ride some bikes, and get stronger for the spring.