Moving On

The original purpose behind The Fourteen Percent Ride has long since been fulfilled. So, I've decided that Mighty Proud will be the last posting. It just seems right.

But, don't worry. Or maybe you should. In any event, I plan to continue. I'll keep riding. And writing. Click here to come along in my new blog ~ The Long White Line. <-- check it out!

Thanks

As I've ridden for the last two years, I've picked up on the fact that Shirley, my darling wife, has been more worried about my safety than impressed with my "accomplishments." How do I know this? Well, when I'd come back and tell her, for example, that I'd hit 53.6 mph going down FO, she'd reply, "I don't want to hear it." Being the sensitive sort I figured out, after many such comments, that just maybe we were not on the same page here. But last week, she told me that she would "greatly reduce her focus on the 'fear for my safety' issue." We talked about the tour, looked at some maps, researched nutrition suggestions on the internet, and so on, just enjoying the idea of the ride. How nice is that? Thank you, Shirley!

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

The 90% Part

I rode at noon and did not really want to ride this evening. It was cool, very windy and threatening rain again. But as Yogi Berra is purported to have said, "90% of baseball is half mental." Suppose the same goes for bicycling. So here was a chance to work on the mental part. I won't get to pick and choose whether or not to ride during the tour. I suited up (long sleeved base layer under the jersey) and took off.

I may be making some progress -- I felt very good upon finishing the ride. It's do-it-yourself dinner night, so I stopped at Subway on the way home. Did you know that the back pockets on bike jerseys are just the right size for a 6" sub? Well, now you do.

Wildflowers are popping up along the highways now, adding another dimension to the pleasure of being out on a bike. The Red-Winged Blackbirds are also out. I expect to get dive-bombed any day now. These guys are territorial in the spring and will crash into your helmet if you invade their territory. I noticed that there was one bird on about every 15th guardrail post along Highway 35. Apparently that defines the size of the realm that they can guard against intruders such as the yellow-jerseyed, black-bottomed bicyclist.

Total ~ 1206.7 miles

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Jack,

I haven't been posting to your blog, but I have been keeping up with your training regimen. Just want to say that I am in awe. Hope we'll get the blow by blow of your tour also.

Sounds like you're learning a lot about weather patterns and bird behavior too!

May 17, 2007 at 8:25 AM

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