Cycle Ti Thunder

Sometimes I amaze folks when they ask me how far I ride to work.  I usually only tell them my short route distance which is about 8 miles because they will think I am crazy when I tell them which way I like to ride.  I only ride this route when I have to get home fast like when there is a thunder storm.  I normally ride routes like the one i rode today which was 54 KM.  I figure if I have to ride east to get to work then my favorite bike commutes will have to start by riding west, away from work. Today I rode in later than usual as I worked late last night working on a project.  today I saw wild bore on Old Dawson road.  This was the first time that I have seen wild boar from my bike.  there was one male and what looked like one female and some smaller pigs.  One was a calico color.  I startled them and they ran in circles in the rural yard near a home before running off into the woods.  I am glad they did not decide to cross the road. Later on during my ride down Mud Creek Road I

Today was one of these mornings that I was glad to be a few minutes late on my bike commute.  The long dark winter rides are getting to me.  When I get a glimpse of sunlight on my commute I am inspired. Sunrise on Lily Pond looking towards State HWY 91 Lonnie's cold morning head gear

[Lonnie's Brain] You do not have to ride to work today. You rode so far last night. Why not take a break. [Lonnie] I am in this for the long haul. Back to back riding is what I want to do no matter how slow I am. [Lonnie's Brain] I really do not feel like riding in the cold dark morning. Why not wait until daylight savings time starts and star riding again then. [Lonnie] I know that once I get on my bike I'll be happy [Lonnie's Brain] It might rain today, do you think it is going to be safe? [Lonnie] I am already dressed and ready to go better get ready. [Lonnie's Brain] Why not take the short route today. [Lonnie] We are going the long way.

I took the long way home tonight.  Lots of robins and cardinals flying around.  looking forward to the long days of evening daylight.  I made a wrong turn on Gillionville road so I got about 4 bonus miles on my ride tonight.

 This week I rode 250.17 KM (155.77 miles).  I need to ride 193 KM each week to make my goal of 10,000 KM this year.  So far this year I have ridden 1,450.3 KM (901.4 miles).  My goal is to ride 10,000 KM this year.  I need to average 835 KM a month to make my goal.  Nine and a half hours of wheel time this week bike commuting back and forth to work.  In order to ride at a C level I need to average between 24.14 to 28.96 KMPH (15 to 18 MPH).

Tonight was my chance to have a cycling happy hour. My version of the TGIF party at the bar is where I ride a little further than I do during my normal weekday ride home. Since it is still winter and the days are short, I knew that this would be another ride in the dark, but I did not care. The main reason I ride so much is that I eventually will get so bored with riding short distances that I will start to push myself into longer distances just to stay interested in riding. Yes this may seem crazy to some but any hard core cyclist knows what I am talking about. For me it is not a matter of getting the inspiration to ride everyday it is a matter of getting the inspiration to stop riding when I get to work or home. So tonight I started riding home on the same route that I typically ride to work. I was low on water in my back pack bladder so I stopped by the Quick Stop to grab a Gatorade and a double Almond Snickers bar. This is the cocktail and appetizer part of my TGIF. I h

Rode kind of slow this morning.  I was thinking of lions, tigers and bears running out in the road to get me.   I was also the hapless bike rider in the science fiction movie riding down the lonely dark road that was snatched up by the giant monster claws.  Yes I have a wild imagination and sometimes when I just relax and ride my brain goes wild.

This morning I am glad to be alive.  I believe that as a cyclist I have an obligation to be an ambassador of good cheer and courtesy on the road.  I ride my bike as I would drive my motor vehicle.  I obey all road signs.  I wave and acknowledge when a motorist pauses and allows me to continue first at a stop sign.  I wave and yell at kids playing in their front yards as they cheer and yell as I ride by. This morning something special happened.  I was riding down a dark country road and just past the Tunnel of Oaks there is a farm house where a pickup truck seems to be leaving the house about the same time every morning that I leave my house.  I notice that as the truck drives down the long driveway I can see the head lights go up and down on the bumpy road in the distance through the trees as I approach where the drive intersects the road that I am riding.  The truck always slows down way before the paved road to let me pass.  I appreciate this as most times a car will speed up and

I started riding in a slight sprinkle at 9 C.  I saw a yellow eyed zombie raccoon and dead deer on Eight Mile road.  Saw another dead zombie raccoon on Oakridge Road after the Flint river bridge. Yesterday was my Burley training ride and I slugged along hauling 2 weeks of clean shirts, underwear, socks and towels to work and hauled dirty clothes back home.  I did not set any speed records, but I made every effort to do full circle cycling on all of my strokes. This morning I started out and in the darkness did not care what gear I was in but knew that the current gear from last night's ride was too easy so I shifted down and hammered on into the darkness.  I was riding on Eight Mile Road and I noticed that my legs felt a bit sluggish, but I paid it no mind and just kept on riding.  My brain was thinking that this was supposed to be the fast ride after the Burley training so I needed to be flying faster than this, but Cycle Thunder legs said this was all that was available so shu

Tonight's ride was cold. I rode 80% of the ride into head winds from the south west. I was not fooled into thinking it was warm by the sun still being out when I started my ride home. I got 10 KM from my house and I got chilled so I stopped and put on another shirt. I was rewarded on this ride during the golden light of sunset by see a giant crane gently flying up from a wooded pond to seek out a tree to roost in for the night. This crane was hugs and as I rode down the road it was flying in the same direction that I was riding. Watching it's giant wings whooshing the air as it slowly gathered speed to rise up to the trees was beautiful. This is what I love about cycling. You can not see this in a car. You can not experience this movement when you walk or run because you make lots of noise in the woods. On my bike I silently crept on the crane and it did not know that I was on my bike just a few hundred feet from it watching it fly. I was almost riding at the sam

In January I rode 1,093 KM.