Enginerve : Bikes

10% luck, 20% skill, 15% concentrated power of will, 5% pleasure, 50% pain…a 100% reason to remember the name

  • I finally figured out how to add myself to the Strava West Hills Challenge 2011.

    From the Peloton: today’s excuse is that I haven’t ridden a bike in a week and haven’t trained all summer.  And the Rivendell Atlantis failed me, it refused to shift into the low range of the triple.  I am sure that it remains spiritually one with me as I believe it is out of adjustment from when I caught the chain in between the gears and the frame.  No “Check Engine” light here.

    Reality: I was lucky to get home on the 35 Mile Loop as I had a slow leak and even slower legs.

    How am I doing?  I am 41st of 44 on this Category 3 climb, yes, it was shorter yet steeper than the last climb.  And for those who simply are recording it and not in the competition, I am 94th out of 110.  And the hills are getting farther from Portland.  Pedal On!

  • This morning I rode the first of the five West Hills Challenge Rides for 2011, a Category 2 climb.

    Why?

    1. I was already going to do the last climb up from the level Hwy 30 because in addition to the climb I get the ups and downs of Skyline Blvd on the way home.
    2. I am not built as a hill climber but I learned touring that hills are what are always there, so I no longer avoid them, and having a goal to try some hills gets me right up and out there.
    3. I want to do some long distance rides before the end of summer, Mt. Hood/Hood River, Salem, Seattle and while I won’t train enough to justify trying these, I might as well do something to get ready.
    4. Did somebody say competition against myself?

    Only two rides under my belt this summer (not going to get my bike dirty,  tired of always cleaning it with everyday commuting, I rode both dry days) I placed 72nd out of 92.

    I don’t care, I got out, I rode the hill, I am active in a competition, at the end of the summer I hope to have them done.  If you are out there, let’s meet for a beer at the end of August and recount all of them. My current excuses include the dog, the branch, the dirt on my bike, my current shoulder injury, my lack of training time, the cold and my weight being the highest it has been in over three years.

  • This from Portland Velo:

    West Hills Challenge 2011

    Upper Echelon is happy to announce The West Hills Challenge 2011. This is a an event using Strava.com to record times for climbing the popular training routes in the West hills of Portland.  The competition is now open and the climbs must be completed before the end of August 2011.

    How? You only need a GPS device (Garmin, iPhone, etc) to record your climbing performance. Upload your ride data to Strava and your climbing time will be recorded and added to your results sheet on the events page.  Easy!  You have over two months to complete the 5 hills.  If you have questions, contact us and we will help.
    Prizes: Awards for top GC (combined times for each climb) and for Stage Wins. Prize info coming soon!

    When: Now until August 31st, 2011

    Who: Open to anyone!  Competition is FREE.  Register here:  http://app.strava.com/events/147/news

    Questions? Contact Russell at Upper Echelon.   Russell@upperechelonfitness.com

    If you are interested in purchasing a Garmin, we have special pricing available if you mention this event!

    Stages (no need to complete them any a particular order):

    Stage 1:  NW Saltzman Road: strava.com/segments/254905/
    Stage 2:  NW Newberry Road:  strava.com/segments/626980/
    Stage 3:  NW McNamee Road:  strava.com/segments/624499/
    Stage 4:  NW Logie Trail:  strava.com/segments/625695/
    Stage 5:  Rocky Point:  strava.com/segments/634058/

    If you have questions about how this works, let me know.  Thank you!

    -Russell

  • Watching the Tour de France and wondering what I could do to improve my fitness during the commercials.  Eating pastries certainly is an option, but I remembered Full Body Moves for Fitness and I include a great set of three from FitSugar’s  Full-Body Moves That’ll Work You From Head to Toe

  • I finally used my smartphone to record a ride, the biggest problem was carrying the phone somewhere on the bike, a problem solved by my Arkel Handlebar bag being mounted again for adventuring this summer. So courtesy of iMapMyRIDE, where today’s ride is stored, you can fly down the map route in 3D.  Although it appears to do the route backwards.  If you have local building layers turned on, I imagine it might be even cooler.  Sorry, it requires Google Earth PlugIn so only Windows and MACs are supported, and I am posting from a Linux workstation. Sigh.  If it doesn’t work you can see the 2D version below.

    The Route Map itself



  • Yes, I am watching the Tour de France and caught myself wondering when various riders were describing how they slept more to recover from crashes how one gets this kind of sleep.  I am still learning, but I did run across the article Simple Rules for Better Sleep from the NYTimes.  And while they explain all of it, the brief take-away I had was the focus on Seniors (not there yet) and these principals.

    The idea is to stick to a schedule that maximizes your “sleep efficiency” — the amount of time in bed you spend sleeping, instead of tossing and hoping that sleep will descend. That involves four rules: Reduce the time spent in bed. Get up at the same time every day. Don’t go to bed until you feel sleepy. Don’t stay in bed if you’re not sleeping.

    Now if I can just find the research on reading before bed and staying away from flickering devices I will have it made.  Does anyone remember where that is?