byebyesuckas.com

It's been a very good week

I've had a lot of fun riding this. Got into some heavy rain one day, stands with goodies setup every day and more traffic on the path. The latter is kind of a good and bad item. On the good side... more suckas to take down. On the bad... more suckas on the path.

Another observation is that the bike racks at work are full. I'm a little suprised by that because you wouldn't think that telling people "it's Bike to Work Week" would make them ride. Then again, maybe they're just waiting for an excuse and this is the motivation they need? Either way, the racks are full as there are more people biking.

Challenge Accepted!

Bike to Work Week is next week and I'm hoping that BBS riders will accept the challenge to ride all 5 days. 

As I've said 100 times "the hardest day to ride is the first." After that, it gets easier every day. Couple that with some good morning snacks on the path and it seems like a "win-win" situation. Last year, I got free bacon and oranges at a station setup by the Monona Terrace Convention Center. 

Listing of all Bike To Work Week Events

What did you sign up for?

If you're like most of my friends you got a taste of the warm weather and thought to yourself "this is the year I'm going to get myself back in shape." I'm going to start <insert activity of choice here> and then I'm going to sign-up for an event where I can put my new found fitness to the test. For some brave souls, the Crazy Legs Run yesterday might just have been this event. I realize it wasn't a race for most, but 8K? Far enough for me to make it count.

A test? I don't think so...

I signed up with a few others from Team BBS to ride the Tour de Cure, a charity bike ride which supports Diabetes research. This is a 62 mile event and the kind of thing I can do at any point due to my daily bike commute to work. It's right up my alley since I can likely do the entire event sitting down. Nice. Not really a challenge, but I'm getting out and doing something right? 

Time to take the skirt off Nancy

Really? Going on a long bike ride is challenging myself? Wrong! For me, the warm weather challenge to myself came when my wife asked me if I'd be interested in doing the Tough Mudder? 

I didn't know much about it (thought it was a 3 miles beer run) and blindly said "sure, sounds like fun." What a dum dum Chicken Little.

I don't like to run. I don't run. Well, I haven't run on a consistent basis since I was in the Army and that goes back to 1986. Yes, it's been 26 years since I ran more than twice a year. In those 26 years I've learned to fear running. I've thought about running many times, but it seems to be my Achilles heel, my Kryponite.

That said, I've faced my fear and preparations for the Tough Mudder are going pretty well. I've done some running inside on a treadmill and outside with my daughter. It would be nice to have more time to train, but what do you do? Just suck it up and do your best.

Not enough real beer to drink already?

WTF? Scoonie beer. Anger level: HIGH

It's bad enough that we have people wandering around with "Sconnie" and "Sconnie Nation" shirts, but now I'm going to see these same dorks at bars drinking Scoonie beer?

Why am I against this? Honestly, I've spent zero time figuring out why I don't like it. I just don't and that's good enough for me. Could it be that I'm against the Wisconsin lifestyle? Possible, but unlikely. I think it's just the celebration of Wisconsin and the potential link to the Packers and/or Badgers (minus the hockey team of course).

Here is what the President of Scoonie Nation Industries had to say:

Vosseller sees beer as a natural extension of the Sconnie brand, which celebrates Wisconsin culture. It’s one of “the three legs of the Wisconsin tripod,” along with cheese and bratwurst, he said. “Our slogan is celebrate the Wisconsin lifestyle, and anything that falls into that bucket is fair game,” Vosseller said.

A morning of bike distribution is pretty cool

A couple Sundays ago Arianna and I helped out the Madison B-Cycle program by distributing bikes for them. We rode them from their warehouse near East High School to various B-Cycle stations are the city. Most are in the downtown area, but we did hit one at Olbrich Park.

I've ridden a B-Cycle before during a "Ride the Drive" event, but this was my first prolonged exposure to the B-Cycle bikes. I really liked the bikes overall. They're a little heavy, but I'm sure this is for durability more than anything. The bikes were designed and manufactured by Trek and feature: 

• smooth shifting transmission
• built-in lights and lock
• carrier on front fits a case of beer
• easy to adjust seats

How B-Cycle works

If you've never used the B-Cycle program it's pretty slick. 

Wicked head wind? No problem

This morning's ride was a good one. I was riding into a steady headwind with gusts that almost stopped by bike. Nonetheless, I was smiling the entire way to work. Why? Because I've figured out how to harness the power needed to flip off Mother Nature and ride directly into the wind without problems. My secret? Clip-less pedals.

What are "clip-less" pedals? For an indepth view feel free to read the description provided by (Clip-less pedals) Wikipedia, but the short and sweet definition is they're a system that locks your shoes (bicycling specific shoes must be used) to your pedals to allow the rider to utilize the pulling portion of the pedal stroke more efficiently. 

Pros

What does this really mean? Bascially, it means you can push your pedals down and pull them up at the same time, thus, increasing your pedaling power and reducing leg fatigue because you're using your quadriceps and well as your hamstring. 

Cons

On the downside (yes, there is a downside to clip-less pedals) they do take some getting used to. I'm guessing that in the 6+ years I've been using them I've probably fallen 5 times simply because I couldn't disengage my shoe from the pedal quickly enough. Falling because your foot is locked in can be a double whammy.

1. You have to be careful of your wrist. My people's natural reaction is going to be to put their hand down to try to break the fall. Ouch... your wrist is very vulnerable in this scenario. You can bang your knee pretty well here too depending on how you try to save yourself.
2. Tipping over because you can't get your foot down can be quite embarassing. It usually happens when you're barely moving (stopping) so it's like your falling in slow motion. Not good.
   

Tough Mudder... You're Going Down!

Cocky? Maybe. Confident? You bet! I've enlisted the help of a trainer and I'm going to be ready to kick ass.

My guy, Andy Zywicki, is going to lead me (and my Wife Amy) to the promised land. I know what you're saying, "you've got a guy for that?" Yes, I do. I have El my cell phone case guy. I have Jeremy from Milio's who gives me the old bread they can't sell/give away and now I have Andy, my Beer Run Trainer.

Remember in the movie Dodgeball when Peter LaFleur (Vince Vaughn) got in touch with Patches O'Houlihan (Rip Torn) and everything came together for Average Joe's Gym? Well, yesterday was that time for us. It started with the 5 D's of Tough Mudder Beer Run training:

• drink
• dodge
• duck
• dive
• drink