I had planned on working in the back yard, cleaning up the leaves and such, but Friday and Saturday turned out to be nothing but rain, so we concentrated on indoor projects.  Such as the microwave in the kitchen.

New Kitchen Cabinets and Microwave

Our microwave in the kitchen died in…uhh… let’s say May or June.  It was  over the stove type, so running out and grabbing another microwave wasn’t the simple solution.  We have so little counter space that getting a small microwave for the mean time wasn’t an option either, so we went without a microwave for most of the summer.  A few weekends ago, Marty and I bought a new over the stove Samsung at Best Buy, but I then discovered that the installation of this microwave depending on it being mounted beneath a cabinet, and it could not be hung on just the wall.  (The previous microwave should have been too, I later found out, but it’s wall mounting bracket was good enough that you could get away with no cabinter.  Not possible with the new one)  The way has never had cabinets, just a microwave/stove and fridge.  So, I found some cabinets at Lowe’s that would fit perfectly, and bribed my father in coming down for the day to assist (This wasn’t a job I was going to be able to do myself, and Marty is a bit too low to the ground to be of assistance)  Marty and I grabbed the cabinets before meeting my father for breakfast (deposit on his payment) and were able to get rolling by 10:30AM.  The whole install took less then 3 hours, so we were able to have things wrapped up in time for a few beers and lunch at the Engine House on Cass.

Marty and had been considering meeting the LUV crowd in Royal Oak for dinner before heading over to Mike’s party. (Something we had dismissed when we thought we were going to have child this weekend) but decided against it because it was still raining cats and dogs (and I don’t like to mix a little drinking and crappy weather) and we were worn out from all the project work by the time we got everything cleaned up, so we camped on the couch for the evening.  (I had been upgrading my Apple TV during the day, so we had to stress test it.. <G>)

Sunday was productive too, but in a less organized fashion.  Still had work to do on stress testing the newly upgraded AppleTV, but we were able to get out in the morning between church waves at the local pancake restaurant, and order up a couple of plates of banana pancakes.  After that, we just got odd and end things done around the house.  A little after noon, we went up to Meijer to pick up the stuff we needed to make a pot of beef barley soup, and some stuff for reorganizing things down by the bike workbench in the basement (a badly needed new shelf for crap, and some stuff to setup a charging area for our 6+ biking lights.)  The charging of bike lights had been a mess of power strips, transformers and power cords taking u the end of my workbench, so now there is a whole shelf dedicated to charging batteries.  Much nicer now.  And, we had the pot of soup developing over the afternoon too.

Pot of soup on the stove

When we finally had the soup together, we decided to head out for a quick bike ride while it simmered on the stove.  We checked the weather, and found it to be in the mid-30s.  As much as that didn’t sound fun, it’s winter, and it’s time to face the reality of cold riding.  So, we dressed up in our funny clothes, and headed out on the CX bikes.  I admit that although I knew there were chances of snow, I was surprised when I looked out and saw snow on the ground.  Not too much, but enough to catch you by surprise.  So, we headed out for a quick 15 miles out toward Metro Beach and back, and came home to a house smelling like yummy soup.  Took showers to warm back up, and dove into a couple of bowls of soup and some tasty sour dough bread I had picked up to go with our feast.  The soup was awesome, and now I have a microwave to warm up leftovers tonight.  Can’t beat that!.

The snow I wasn't expecting.

So, that was our weekend in a nutshell. Other then the work in the back yard I wanted to get done, it was a productive weekend.  I suppose I’ll have to scape frozen leaves off the back yard later this week.  Nature is a bitch to finally get the leaves down just in time to rain on them, but that’s life.

Today, it’s back to work, on the first Monday that really feels like winter.  Come On Spring!

So, Iceman was the key event between a busy fall and a relaxed winter.  But, unfortunately, it also meant that I wasn’t able to train as much as I wanted to.  I know that sounds like  weak excuse, but it’s the only one I have. I’ve been riding the bike enough to have some good endurance, but I haven’t been as strong as I’d like to be.  That, and I’m carrying a few extra pounds that doesn’t make going fast any easier.

This was my first year actually racing single speed.  Third time I’ve signed up.  2 years ago, I signed up, but I totally forgot that I had signed up for SS, and brought gears, so I switched classes on Friday night.  Last year, I came to my senses a few weeks early and changed classes (Actually, I just hadn’t been riding my SS, so I thought racing it would be stupid.)  But this year, I’ve been riding the SS almost exclusively, so I was more then ready to bring it to the race.

We had a nice early start time (9:35 for both of us, as Marty was riding SS too), and we were actually starting together this year, not that we stuck together for too long.  The weather was in the mid-30’s, but the rain that they were predicting was nowhere to be seen.  There were brief periods of rain/sleet through the day, but never for that long, and never enough to be a problem.

If I were to sum up my flaws in the race, they are simple and obvious.  I didn’t hydrate enough the days prior, and I really didn’t eat/drink during the race.  I had a good breakfast about 2 hours prior to racing, but nothing once I started.  Something I need to work on.  That, and I wasn’t aggressive enough on the flats, where I could make up time.  It was too easy to get into someone else’s groove, and slow down.  I need to be move aggressive and keep MY goal speed at all times.  Slowing down causes me to use a lower cadence, and burns out my legs.

by Dan Frayer

I had a bit of cramping start into my legs at Anita’s Hill, about 3.5 miles from the end, so I babied my legs a bit on the last few hills, as to avoid the full out cramps.  But, overall, I’m happy with out things turned out.  I got a time of 2:26:20, which was under my 2:30 goal time.  I was being realistic this year.  I’ve done a 2:04 on a geared bike when in better shape, but I knew that between being fluffier this year, and doing SS for the first time, I’d be slower.  Now I have room to improve for next year (SS again!)

The bike was perfect, and I dressed exactly right for the weather.  I pulled off my wind jacket about 4-5 miles in, and was comfortable for the rest of the race.  But, I know I have to push myself a lot harder for training next year, and lose a few pounds.  I think with 20# off by next year, and some harder training (hill repeats! ugh) I could probably get very close to 2:00.  My long term goal is to some day beat the 2:00 mark, and I could do it next year if I push.

The SS was a blast, and I think my gearing was spot on for the race (36×18, or 58 gear inches) as I could make a majority of the hills, and with a bit more hill training, could make almost all of them.  And, as long as I could keep my head into keeping my legs going, I could pull ~15MPH at ~93 cadance.  Not too difficult to keep up for a couple of hours.

Marty and Nick at the finish

Logistics wise, everything worked out perfectly.  My warm clothes and beer were already at Timber Ridge, and I knew exactly where that car was parked.  As soon as I was changed, I was able to find the person who drove my car to the campground, and was able to get the bike on the rack and squared away, so I could concentrate on waiting for Marty, and drinking beer.  Marty came in @ ~3:40, which was a bit off her original time goal, but well within her main goal of finishing Iceman on a SS.  Last year, she bailed at Williamsburg Road, so for her, finishing was the main thing.  And she did, with a smile on her face.  Seeing the huge smile on her face as she waiting to have her chip removed was a great feeling.

We headed out out to the Loading Dock after the awards for the Bell’s Beer Iceman Party, but ended up heading back early.  The bar was CROWDED, and although I knew it would clear out as the evening went on, I couldn’t deal with the packed little bar, so we bailed out and grabbed some chow on the way home.  I think our flaw was heading out too early, so we had a couple of hours under our belt before the band even started.  Next year, a bit of a later start so we can last to the end easier..

All in all, a super great year, and I look forward to my 7th Iceman next year (OK, 6th Iceman raced, 7th attended)

I’ve had a project at work that has been under a deadline, but have been unable to get the assistance I need from the SME in this paticular area.  I finally got him nailed down, RIGHT before I went on vacation, so I had the completion of the work hanging over my head when I returned.  But, I immeditaly ran into problems when I got back, and it turned back into a matter of trying to track down the right guy AGAIN, for I can get more questions answered.  It’s now Friday, and I’m still in the middle of trying to get this work done and the project off the ground.  The simpler this project gets, the longer it seems to drag out.  I’m hoping that I’ll finally be able to get this wrapped up early next week now.

I was hoping to get some major progess done yesterday on this project (involving work offsite) but then yesterday, my brakes failed during the commute to work.  I was about 1-2 miles away, stopping at a traffic light.  The brakes felt soft, so I have them a extra ’squeeze’ and the pedal went to the floor and the brake light came on.  GREAT!  So, I limped to work, with the little bit of bakes I had left.  I checked under the truck when I got to work and parked, and sure enough, brake fluid leaking out.  I left work early to limp the truck home with minimal brakes (thanks GOD for driving a manual) and dropped at off at the shop.  It’s being worked on as we speak, at $300 for the repair (and now I’m getting the lower ball joints replaced, at the additional cost of $400)  On top of it all, Marty got stuck in traffic coming home, so I had a nice mile walk home from the shop.

Iceman is also this weekend, and since neither of us were able to get today off, we had to find someone else to take care of MMBA merchandise for the Iceman Expo.  As it looks, we may end up not having to deal with the tent at all this weekend, which is nice.  We’re both rather burned out for a slew of MMBA related activities over the past few months, and the break is nice.  Marty and I are both considering scaling down our amount of MMBA volunteerism, before we both lose our minds (which could result in a homicidal ’snap’ for either of us..<G>)  So, tonight, we will have to complete the task of getting our shit together and heading up (on top of picking up the truck before we leave), so after work will be a bit of a frantic rush.  But, at least we don’t have to deal with the merchandise stuff this year (YIPEE!!!!!)

So, on top of just being strung/stressed out due to the amount of crap we’ve had to deal with over the past 2-3 months, things are FINALLY slowing down.  We actually decided to skip the Thanksgiving trip to the UP this year, just so we can stay at home and relax a bit.  A vacation from travelling.  I’m hoping we can plan a nice longish trip to the UP on Jan, but I think our major goal for November and December is to not go ANYWHERE.  THAT’LL be a nice vacation.

Sure looks like a fun ride...

The last few months have been a blur of activity, as each time we successfully completed an event in our lives, it lead it immediate planning and stress for the next event.  Between Addison Oaks Race, Interbike, Massive Fallout, Chapter Meeting and Amsterdam, the last two months have been a repeating pattern of planning/panic, execution and recovery, and right back into the cycle.

But that’s pretty much over now.  Today is back to work, and this weekend is Iceman, but after everything else, that really doesn’t seem like much.  Just a quick weekend event/race.

But, today it’s back to work.  And  a chance to relax over the next couple of month, enjoy the weather and riding, and not worry about what upcoming event we have to get ready for next.

I would now, but we’re about to head out and explore the town on a Saturday night.  I’ll post something soon, promise.

Add a .com to the post title, and you’ll find a trip blog.

And thanks for seeing us off Jeremy!!

Feed ME!!!

Roll Over

Originally uploaded by netgeek

Our main vehicle, the 2002 Jeep Liberty, rolled over to 200,000 this past week. It was kind of funny that it picked last Thursday to hit this mark.

Marty had decided that it was silly that we drove to every biking group ride that we did, so she decided to start a local ride. Thursday nights out of Mount Clemens, a nice paved path social ride, with a meeting at a bar after for drinks and food.

Last Thursday was our first ride, and after the ride, we rode home, changed, and drove the ~1 mile up to the bar and back. It was during this short ~2 miles round trip that we rolled over to 200K.

My goal now is to try to stretch this vehicle out to 250K, because it would be neat to put 1/4 of a million miles onto a car that we purchased new. My truck isn’t far behind at ~170,000.