Freedom

The other day at work I had a phone conversation with a woman about many different topics on cycling. Initially it was just a call for a simple warranty part, but it turned out to be a half hour phone call. Among many other things, we talked about the topic of riding tandems with our significant others, the appeal of old bikes, and our habit of browsing bike shops even when we don’t need anything. However, it came up in the conversation how she couldn’t get her teenage kids out on their bikes even though she and her husband were very active cyclists. We basically shared our disappointment that kids today just don’t have the same relationship with a bike as kids of generations before.

I’ll be the first to say that I – growing up in the generation of TV, Nintendo, and early computers – probably didn’t ride my bike as much as some other kids, but at least I did. I knew someone in college that never even learned how to ride a bike! This was so appalling to me (and as well to others) because learning to ride a bike is a universal rite of passage. You learn to talk, you learn to walk, you learn to drink out of a big cup, and you learn how to ride a bike. (Ok, maybe there are a few others in there.) While as the others only welcome you on your way to adulthood, learning to bike gives you something much more – FREEDOM. For me it was freedom to ride over to my Grandma’s house, jump a dirt pile in the back yard, and do whatever else on two wheels. For others living in a city, it was maybe leaving home on your bike in the morning with some friends, getting into trouble on the other side of town, and biking back home just in time for dinner. With a bike, you could go anywhere and do anything.

That night on the bike ride home, I decided to ride with some of my coworkers toward downtown just to have a bit more of a ride instead of going straight home. Originally I said I would just turn around at the first place the bike path crossed a road, but then I kept going. My turn-around point kept get pushed further and further and eventually I just said, “It’s going to be easier if I just ride downtown and loop back home on another path.” Upon reaching downtown, my coworkers split off to go home and I was left to enjoy my ride. I figured that since I was downtown I could ride through campus and say hello to my wife. Even though we saw each other for just a few minutes it was worth seeing her surprised face. I then journeyed back to the apartment pedaling on bike path or zigzagging my way through suburban streets. It was one of those rides where I got off the bike, walked into the garage, and, having so many different emotions and thoughts in my head, just nodded and said, “Yeah…that was good.”

“Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race.”

- HG Wells

Catching Up

Now this is sad. I know I haven't updated this in quite awhile, but February? Really, it's been that long?? I was thinking more along the lines of sometime in March...

Well maybe I should do a quick list of some of the major things that have happened since then:

- Crazylegs Classic, April 25th - an annual 8K in Madison that I did with a friend of mine (at that time also Joan's roommate) It was quite fun for me to run in the rain (always love it) but she needed some convincing.

- Madison Marathon, May 24th - Days and weeks after the race, I kept referring to it as a "non-event," which should be considered odd for a race of 26.2 miles. Working up to race day, I was getting burned out on running - so much that I didn't care. I also didn't train enough, mostly not long enough. The actual marathon went great...for the first half anyway. I felt great for the first 13.1 miles, but then got to the halfway marker to realize I went out too fast. If I remember right, I was about 10 minutes ahead of where I should have been. From then on it was just a mix of running/waddling/walking to the finish. My end time was 4:50:30, my worst marathon time, not far from an hour behind what I ran at Marine Corps. Oh well, at least I finished.

- Biking to work - Yes, not really an event like the others, yet something to be talked about. Although, I didn't bike everyday through the summer, I did do it pretty consistently through July and August. I always wanted to start bike commuting more but just never did it. However, after my car got a flat tire one weekend, it just pushed me over the edge. I was just sick of dealing with my car. I haven't been so good about biking in lately, but I'm hoping to jump back on track this week. I'm also trying to fix up Ol' Blue (my old '78 Schwinn Traveler) to be my main commuting bike so I don't always beat up my nicer road bike.

- Dousman Duathlon, Sept 20th - This was probably my highlight of the season. I had never done a multi-sport race before so I didn't really know what to expect. The race was comprised of a 2 mile run, a 20 mile bike, and a 2 mile run. Conservatively, I was hoping for a time of a time around 1 hour and 40 minutes. The first run leg I probably ran too fast, but I was pulling back the reigns some to keep enough gas for the rest of the race. Looking back I could have made the fist transition faster, but being my first race I just wanted to take my time and not get caught up in racing. My bike leg was awesome, passing a lot of people along the way. I knew the biking was going to be my strong part, but I was just flying. It really felt good to be passing all the tri-geeks on their super bikes with aero-bars and carbon deep-rim wheels, especially since I was just using my normal road bike and my normal training wheels. Gaining confidence from the great bike ride, I sped up my transition and got running as quick as I could. Running after biking always hurts and this was no exception. My legs were dead but I just kept going. As long as I was passing just as many people as were passing me than I was doing good. During the last mile, I was coughing and dry heaving, but I just shook it off. I did have a final sprint for the finish line, as I always do in a race, but not as long of a sprint as usual. Still I finished with a time of 1:35:24, a time that I was quite excited about.

Well I think that gets things caught up for the most part. I did want to write more, but I think I'll do that in another post that I promise to do soon...

New Look

So I decided to try on a new look for my blog. I was getting a bit tired of the old look, especially with the disco dots and, in my opinion, some sort of The Price is Right flair. Anyway, I'm liking the design of the new layout but feel free to leave your comments and let me know what you think.

"Things do not change; we change."
- Henry David Thoreau

Can It Be Spring Yet?

I guess not.

After enjoying temperatures in the high 40s and even in the 50s last weekend, it snowed Friday night and then dropped into the 20s. Then this Thursday the forecast is for a possible 2-6 inches of snow. It’s alright since we’ll be leaving for the Twin Cites for the weekend, but it better be drivable. There’s no way I’m missing Flogging Molly again. But anyway, back to the topic at hand. It was so nice doing my 12 miler in just one layer of tights and sans jacket last weekend, that I really don’t like the thought of doing longer runs back in the snow and cold temps. I’ve had enough of that.

On the bright side of things I’m doing alright on my New Year’s resolutions. Yep, I did actually make some and yep, I am just first mentioning resolutions now a month and a half into the New Year. Ok, ok, so maybe doing more frequent blog updates should be included…

1) Lose 30 pounds – Already lost 5!

2) Finish a marathon under 4 hours – Don’t think it’ll be the Madison Marathon in May but doing it at the TC Marathon is a definite possibility.

3) Eat better

a) Salad every other day – Mostly doing this

b) Oatmeal ever other day – Granola counts right??

c) No fried food – Not any that I can think of

d) Have pizza no more than twice a month – On track, and surprisingly not missing pizza at all.

e) Make real dinners – a.k.a. ones that actually give you leftovers; not ones that come pre-made from the freezer section

4) Run a total of 1000 miles in the year – should happen

5) Some sort of biking milestone – Bike commute 1000 miles? Ride the bike 1000 miles? Put more mileage on the bikes than on my car?

As far as eating better, I made thing of Tater Tot Casserole the other night and have made a new favorite – sweet potato fries – a few times now. I guess I’ve always like sweet potato fries since discovering them in of all places, the cafeteria at Luther. My homemade fries are super tasty with the curry ketchup that I get at Bavaria Sausage, a German grocery / butcher shop. Of course, I also get my ration of brötchen (German hard rolls) and salami there as well.

While I’m on the topic of food, I have to mention two other things as well. First at Pasqual’s (a small local Mexican restaurant chain) I had their tamale burrito. Tamales hands down are my favorite Mexican dish and coincidentally enough I ordered there 3 tamale meal last time we were there. However, I couldn’t pass up the ridiculous but delicious idea of the tamale burrito. So imagine – take a flour tortilla, cover it with refried beans, lettuce and tomato, and then most importantly flop a chicken tamale in the middle and roll it up. Of course it was too big to pick up and eat, but really, you can’t complain having edible gluttony all rolled up for your enjoyment.

Second, this weekend while grocery shopping, I discovered two beers that have become new favorites. Both brews were by the New Glarus Brewery, just from the town of New Glarus, down the road from Madison. Both the Berliner Weiss and the Bohemian Lager are part of the brewery’s “Unplugged” series, limited time only beers where they basically just let their brewmaster go loose. The Berliner Weiss is a golden Euro styled pilsner that’s simply just right. Nice blend of hops, caramel, and malt tones. The Berliner Weiss is a strange beast that I’m not sure if I can simply call a beer. It’s made with Pinot Grigio and Riesling grapes as well as Wisconsin white wheat. As noted on the bottle, Napoleon once called the style of beer the “Champagne of the north,” and I’m not going to disagree with the short-statured Frenchie. I would rather open a bottle of this on a special occasion then popping open a bottle of Champagne. It’s a slow drinking beer, in part to it’s complexity but also due to an addictive tart sweetness. If you find either of these beers in the beer aisle near you, don’t hesitate; put them in your cart!

"Whoever drinks beer, he is quick to sleep; whoever sleeps long, does not sin; whoever does not sin, enters Heaven! Thus, let us drink beer!"

- Martin Luther (joking a bit of course)