Cycle Ti Thunder

Weather forecast for 2/21/2015 Yesterday I rode my bike from my house in Albany, GA to the What-A-Burger restaurant in Thomasville, GA.  The forecast for the day was for winds out of the SSE at 10 to 20 mph.  Normally I would not choose to ride under such conditions since I would be riding south for 75 miles.  I like to think that I am not an unusual fellow, but this sort of ride appealed to me so I went anyway. I have done this ride 3 or 4 times since moving to Georgia in 2010.  The What-A-Burger opened up in Thomasville after I moved here.  When I discovered it's existence I knew that I had an excuse to ride over 100 miles in one day. This ride is the longest ride to date since my accident last March 17, 2014.  I had all of the fears of not being able to ride this far as I did when I first rode this ride in 2013.  I supposed the thrill of doing things that I am not sure I can do is what drives me to do them.  I also have a fear and loathing for headwinds so what better wa

Seven Cycles 622 SLX leaning on a street sign pole  at the corner of Lily Pond Road and Denson Road. I wanted to take advantage of the day light as I rode home this evening.  The wind was blowing 13-15 MPH from the NW, so I knew I was not going to have a speedy ride home.  I decided to just enjoy the ride and take some pictures. I have become a more relaxed cyclist post accident.  I use to get so frustrated when I could not ride at least 50 miles a day.  I would beat myself up if I was riding slower than 17 MPH.  Now I just really enjoy the ride no matter what.  It takes a lot to really calm me down, but now I think I finally get it, cycling is for relaxing.  You may think that I was already aware of this fact since I have been riding all of my life, but sometimes it takes a life changing event to make you realize reality. I am glad I do not have deep dish rims.  The wind was blowing so hard my front tire took a little more effort to keep on course than I am use to.  This is t

Edomondo mileage report by month Next month will be the one year anniversary of the most traumatic event of my life.  I was cruising the Internet relaxing today and was looking at my mileage for the last few months.  In March 2014 I was on target to break the miles that I rode in February 2014 when I was hit on March 17.  For the next 8 months I hardly rode my remaining mountain bike.  Starting on December 2, 2014 I started bike commuting my new bike. One of the key successes that I can attribute to my quick recovery to getting my miles back up on my bike so quickly is that my wife  +Sylvia Wormley  has taken excellent care of me.  I decided to let her manage my diet and health during my recovery from the accident.  She is my crew chief when it comes to keeping me on a path to better health. During the 8 months off the bike I did not gain back the weight that I had lost the previous year.  I cut out all of my consumption of products with corn syrup.  I eat a lot of salads with

Anyone who has played sports and has had a good coach knows that you have a love hate relationship with training.   The 2015 Winter Training Series was one of best times on a bike for me.  At times I really loved it and at times I really hated it.  One thing for sure, I am a stronger rider because I decided to "Ride Like I Mean It". As Kent Wheeler yelled out to me today as I was dropping of the lead "Oh I am not a sprinter, I can not pull into the wind".  He was giving me sarcastic encouragement.  When I was in college I had an art professor in a studio painting class who would intentionally mess up my paintings.  He would only do this to my paintings.  At first I thought he did not like me, but later he told me that he was making me a better painter because he wanted me to be able to fix mistakes and know how to mix colors.  Kent's comments made me push beyond my comfort zone and go all out in all of the sprints and attack zones.  One thing for sure, y

Weather forecast at 1 PM Weather forecast at 1 PM I finally had a chance to ride int he rain last night.  It rained for the whole hour and 45 minute commute home. This was the first real test of my Shower Pass Elite 2.1 jacket using the hood.  I was eager to see if rain water would drip from my head and helmet down my neck and into my jacket.  My old Burley rain jacket was nice, but it had this flaw and I was always annoyed that I was warm and dry except for the rain dripping off my head. Weather forecast at 7 PM  Most of the time down here in SW Georgia the rain is nice and warm, but this time of year the temperature will drop 10 to 20 degrees on my commute home.  Last night according to my Garmin I started riding and the temperature was 59 degrees and when I finished it was 39 degrees. Weather forecast at 7 PM Selecting the correct clothing to wear with these temperature variances is tricky.  figuring out this puzzle is part of the fun of bike commuting.  so

Today on my short ride home I decided to stop and take a picture of my bike next to the new Mars sign.  When I first started bike commuting here in Albany, GA I discovered the location of the Mars plant.  I had heard that they were here, but I never knew where it was until I started riding my bike. As usual when you are in a car you can not smell the world around you like you can on a bike.  When I lived in Portland I would love to smell the smells of hops and the beer brewing from the  Henry Weinhard's  plant as I rode through downtown.  Here in Albany I love the smell of roasting peanuts and chocolate when I am downwind from the Mars plant. East facing side West facing side