Update

Man, it's been awhile since I've posted... A lot has happened since building my dad's bike! I've done some updating to my bike, completed my first triathlon, and have been training with Chris for the next ones.

Updates

Chris gave me a new front derailleur for my birthday, so now I have a full set of Shimano 105's. I was surprised at the difference in responsiveness between the 105 and the Tiagra that I had!

I upgraded my wheels to Campagnolo Zonda's and put some light Vittoria Diamente Pro tires on them. The bike is noticeably lighter now and I can really feel the difference when I accelerate!

My parent's gave me a new saddle for my birthday, and it matches the rest of my bike perfectly. It is an incredibly comfortable Selle Italia Flite Flow. I swear the red makes me go a little faster too.


Iron Eagle Triathlon

After a couple of injuries early in the year, I got back to training and decided to sign up for the Iron Eagle sprint triathlon at EWU in Cheney. With the 500 meter swim in a pool instead of open water, it seemed like it would make a good first triathlon.

May 31st came quickly and I woke up early, extremely nervous! My girlfriend came with me out to Cheney and my parents joined shortly after. I got checked in, set my bike and other gear up, then checked out the pool and transitions. I was in the 3rd wave of 16 swimmers and ended up sharing my lane with an experienced swimmer. The swim was about as difficult as I expected it to be, and I had to stop every few laps to catch my breath. I finished the swim in about 18 minutes, out of breath and tired. Pulling myself out of the pool was a challenge in itself, but I made it out and quickly made my way to the transition area.

The longest part of T1 was pinning my race number to my bib. I've already purchased a number belt to cut down the time for the next one... The rest of it didn't take long though, and soon I was racing away on my bike. The first mile was downhill and served as the perfect chance to rest a bit from the swim. After that little recovery I flew for the next 9 miles, passing 7 people on the way!

T2 was much faster, as all I had to do was remove my helmet and swap my shoes. After running barely a tenth of a mile, I realized that I was pretty low on energy. I ate a Gu, walked for a small portion, then ran a bit more. I continued walking-then-running for the full 5k and finally crossed the finish line! My finish time of 1:40:22 wasn't great, but the goal I had set was to just finish my first triathlon.

Overall, it was a great experience and I can't wait to continue improving and competing!

About to cross the finish!

Training and Tri's

Chris and I are signed up for Coeur d'Alene's Race the River triathlon on July 19th, and are going to be doing the Coeur d'Alene Triathlon on August 8th as well. Since his return from Bellingham, we've been adhering to the training plan that we created and have both seen improvements. My swim times have decreased and my comfort in the water has increased, and we've both gotten better at running. It's been time consuming but fun and exciting too!

Medical Lake Ride

I picked up an action camera and this was the first time we got to try it out. We went out to Medical Lake for a practice mini triathlon. It consisted of a short swim, a 10 mile ride, and a 1 mile run.

Updates from Bellingham

A lot has happened since last I posted on here! Probably the biggest achievement of all has been that I've finally gotten rid of all my knee pain. And all it took was a $20 knee brace from Fred Meyer. But I tell ya, being able to push myself to the limit without being hindered by an injury is the best feeling. I can now concentrate on building up my muscles and endurance without worrying about whether or not my knees will hold up.

While I was home in Spokane for Spring Break, I reunited with Peter for a couple nice rides along the Centennial Trail (followed by a good meal and some beer of course). As we were both recovering from some injuries, they were relatively easy rides, but as always, it's so much more fun to ride with a friend. Later in the break, I bested my previous distance record! Equipped with my new knee brace, I rode out along highway two to Davenport and back, totaling 80 miles. I was absolutely knackered afterward, but it was well worth it. I feel a bit more prepared for our first official century at the end of this summer in Moab!

My average speed has also improved. While I remember my average speeds used to hover around 18mph on a medium-length ride, they are now consistently closer to 19mph! I've also been working on my climbing quite a lot recently, tackling the very difficult Sehome Hill at least twice a week.

Peter recently visited me in Bellingham and the weather cooperated just enough that we were able to take a quick ride. I was super excited to show him some of the roads I've become so familiar with out here--especially the beautiful Chuckanut Drive. Here's a picture from one of the outlooks:

Oh! And other big news is that I've finally joined the masses and gotten a smartphone. What does this have to do with cycling? Well, now I can use the GPS feature and get all the stats for my rides! I tried to use Strava for awhile but for some reason, it wouldn't work on my phone, so I started using Map My Ride, which works great. Though it just tracks speed, elevation, and distance, it's a lot of fun to see everything laid out in front of me. Maybe eventually I'll be able to get some fancy things like a cadence sensor and heart rate monitor.

Building a Bike

When my parents attended bike-friendly UC Davis, they were both big into cycling. I grew up seeing their road bikes in the garage, but until recently, only ever rode a BMX or mountain bike myself.

Thanks to my new interest in road cycling and a desire to get (and stay) healthy, my dad decided to get back into it. He had a box of newer parts that we determined wouldn't work on his old frame, so we decided to build a bike! We found a used frame, fork, and handlebars on eBay for a good price and won the auction. Everything arrived within a few days, and the next several Sundays were spent working on the bike.

Once it was done, we went on a short test ride. It was sunny and unseasonably warm, making for a perfect spring ride. We went about 7 miles along the Centennial Trail, riding through both Kendall Yards and Riverfront Park on the way.

Now that it's done, Sunday build time has become our weekly Sunday ride!

Makeshift bike shop in my basement

Starting the assembly

Some nice Shimano parts from my Uncle, and a set of dual use pedals I had

Looks like a bike!

Shiny new cassette from a local shop!

My ever helpful cat, Aurora, checking out all the parts

Orion, hanging out with us

Look at those lines! Only thing left is bar tape

All done. Time to take it for a spin!

Beautiful day for a first ride

Going Further

February 21st, 2015

Bellingham, WA to La Conner-ish and back

70 miles

1820 ft ascent/descent

Sunny, 55 degrees

Greg LeMond famously said about cycling: "It never gets easier, you just go faster." I've kept that in mind throughout my training. It seems like sort of a discouraging prospect, though it doesn't necessarily have to be. If you can push through the pain, it's so rewarding just to look back at what you've done. Today, I pushed myself harder than I ever have before, and was rewarded by getting to see my mileage meter on my cycling computer almost 15 miles higher than it's ever been. Seventy miles!

Today was a gorgeous day, and I must have seen at least 50 other cyclists out on my route, many of them in their own mini-pelotons. I'd love to try team riding like that sometime. There is a cycling team here at Western, so I'll probably check them out soon. In the mean time, I discovered a way to help the miles pass by easier--music! I've always been wary about using headphones while riding because I fear not being able to hear the traffic or any strange noises my bike might be making. The solution, of course, is to only use the right earbud. So, I found an old pair and lopped off the left side, then strung it trough the straps of my helmet to help keep it in place. I made a cycling playlist full of high-energy hardcore and dance music, and voila. It worked wonders, I tell ya. 

Chuckanut Drive

February 14th, 2015

Bellingham, WA to Bow, WA and back

32 miles

1700 ft ascent/descent

Sunny, 56 degrees

I'm not gonna lie. One of the best parts of cycling is getting new stuff. And today, I got some new stuff! Namely, a Finish Line chain cleaner, second bottle cage, Cannondale gloves, and a Cannondale jersey. My kit is complete!!! (for now). The best part is that it all matches--black and white bike, jersey, socks and shoes. Yup, I know, lame... but here is a picture of the proud owner all dolled up for his bike selfie. 

Rather inconveniently, all this stuff came to my door about ten minutes after I got home from my ride today, so I didn't get to go show it off. But I did get to test out the chain cleaner, and wow, this thing is amazing. I just filled it with a little bit of degreaser, ran the chain through it, and now my chain looks like new again! One of the coolest things about it is the magnet at the bottom of the trough which collects the little metallic particles that would otherwise wear away at your chain.

It's been so sunny in Bellingham the past few days, so I've really gotten to enjoy my rides even more. On Saturday morning, I thought I'd finally try biking along Chuckanut Drive--one of the most famous scenic drives in Washington. It runs along this beautiful cliffside in Bellingham Bay, overlooking the San Juan Islands and the snowcapped Olympic Mountains behind them. I really want to take a picture for this blog, but my bulky camera won't exactly fit anywhere on my bike. 

The road twists and turns and climbs and drops all along the coast, reminding me of a mini-version of Highway 1 along Big Sur. The speed limit varies from 15-40 mph, and there are signs informing drivers to be aware of bikes on the road, so it feels pretty safe. 

After that ride on Saturday, I couldn't wait to do it again. So I did it today, riding just 20 miles this time, but keeping an average speed of 19 mph--a new record for me! 

Bellingham to Kendall

February 8th, 2015

Bellingham, WA to Kendall, WA and back

55 miles

1600 ft ascent/descent

Sunny, 58 degrees

My, how things change. When Peter and I started cycling together, I was totally content with what we were doing--one nice 30-40 mile ride a week on my commuter. I remember both of us saying how we weren't interested in racing, didn't need special bike clothes, thinking the whole middle-aged men in lycra culture was laughable. Then about the time we started this blog, things got more serious. Peter bought a new bike; I bought some new parts for my bike, and as I installed them, I realized how cool bikes are from a mechanical perspective. I became interested in taking things apart, cleaning them and putting them back together. I couldn't stop hanging out with my bike. Every spare moment I had at home seemed to be spent looking at bike websites--maintenance, parts, repairs, builds. Every time we rode, I felt like I discovered something else I could love about cycling. 

Then came Christmas, and along with it, two surprises that pushed me to the next level. First, I got some cycling shorts which enabled me to go for even longer distances without feeling uncomfortable. Plus, I can't deny the increased badass-level that came along with sporting them. Second, I got a cycling computer from my brother. Oh, so much fun! I could now time my rides and accurately brag about my speed! I just couldn't get enough. 

But then about a month ago, I started getting pretty bad pain behind my knees while biking. I adjusted the saddle over and over again to try to fine-tune it, but the ache just wouldn't go away. It started to become painful even to walk. I figured I had better give cycling a rest for a few weeks until whatever I had done to myself healed. In the meantime, I realized the pain might just be from pushing myself for 40-50 miles on this three-speed bike that was honestly made for the sole purpose of relatively short city rides. Yes, it is time, I told myself, for the next step in my cycling love-affair, the +1 in the infamous n+1 equation. I needed a real road bike.

So I started scouring the internet, checking Craigslist, Ebay and many other bike websites daily, trying to find the perfect bike for me. But after a few weeks of intense searching, I noticed Nashbar had released their new aluminum road bike equipped with the brand new Shimano 105 5800 groupset. From what I could tell, this thing was budget badassery at its best. I ordered it in a moment of payment pain/extreme excitement/payment pain again. But it was done, and within seven days, it had arrived. As soon as I put it together, I wanted to test it out, but the weather wasn't having it--it is Bellingham, after all. So after waiting with bated breath through three straight days of rain, I got to take my new ride for a spin.

Wow, this bike is so much different than my commuter. It just feels good, man. Not to mention the clipless pedals and cleated shoes, which were another monumental step up. It took awhile to get used to the shifting, but after about an hour of riding, I felt like I had the basics down. I was flying down hills at almost 40 mph without even pushing it (compared with my commuter which seems to absolutely max out around 36 mph), and I was able to maintain an average speed of around 22 mph. Until about mile 40...

As I rode back toward Bellingham along the Mount Baker Highway, cars and semis whooshing past at 60 mph, I suddenly began to feel weak. And as I continued, I felt worse and worse. I kept powering through, as one does, but after another ten minutes or so, I physically wasn't able to go more than 10 miles per hour. I couldn't think straight, I felt very lightheaded and absent from my surroundings--not good on the shoulder of a highway. I had to stop. My legs and arms shook uncontrollably as I dismounted and reached into my saddle bag for the granola bar I had thankfully brought along in hopes of reversing this awful feeling. It was the dreaded "bonk," as they call it in the endurance sports world, though more officially known as hypoglycemia. Luckily, that granola bar gave me just enough energy to push through the last 15 miles back home. But I'm vowing "never again!" with this whole bonking business. I'll be getting another bottle cage for my bike so from now on, I will have one bottle of water and one bottle of sports drink with me anytime I'm training.

And as for clothing, I'm moving into the upper echelons. I've bought some cycling gloves and a jersey to complete my kit. Still on the budget side, but hey, I'm a student. When I'm richer, I'll go for the full-on, color-coordinated bib and jersey thing with cycling-specific socks. Yes, not too long until I, myself, am a middle-aged man in lycra. My, how things change.