What I have noticed

Here are a bunch of pictures of thing's that have caught my attention the past few weeks-

I am not exactly sure why this bike is hanging out of the back of this pick-up? Seems to me that there should be plenty of room in the truck bed.  I don't think I have ever seen anything like this.

I saw a bunch of the back wheel of this bike on a ride.  It belongs to a young triathlete who has some horsepower.

 I raced in Detroit a few weekends ago.  The course was right by Ford Field and Commerica Park.

This is the view I had during my warm-up.  I rode the trainer to avoid riding city streets to get loose.

 Trail work in Kensington Metro Park.

This is where the new trail in Kensington will join the existing trail that goes into Milford.

 Ride prep.  This past Thursday it was 98 degrees when I headed out.  I didn't check the heat index.  You have to be careful in those kind of temps- hence the Slurpee.  I have a lot of experience, and a decent tolerance, so I know how to prepare, and what I can tolerate.  If you are not sure what your limits are then I would recommend contacting me to discuss safe practices.

It is kind of hard to see, but my legs are covered in dirt.  The high temps brought out a lot of sweat.  The dirt sticks to that real well.

 I raced in Flint today.  It really looks nice downtown by the UofM campus.

I thought that this building looked cool.

 Wow! When is the last time you saw one of these?  It was a nasty looking one like this that made me finally decide to get a cell phone years ago.

How do you become a pipe smoking world champion?

Weekday Ride

I got out to a trail this week that I have not been to since last Fall, The Novi Tree Farm.  It is funny how different of a riding experience you can have between the seasons- in the Summer I am fit and I discovered that I can't get my heart rate up on this trail, but in the Fall that is not a problem.  It is a fun trail for riding and handling your mountain bike.  It goes something like this: Right, left, left, right, up, down, right, left, down, left up, right, right, left, left, right, up, down, right, left, down, left up, right, right, left, left, right, up, down, right, left, down, left up, right, right, left, left, right, up, down, right, left, down, left up, right, etc.
I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a fun ride.

iPhone camera freaked out on this and the next pick

Yes, I am traveling at warp speed.

Lots and lots of vegetation trying to win back this trail

Log pile/jump in the trail

Hard to tell, but I am parked about 5' up on a log pile

-Jason

Saturday Ride

Rode today with a friend to Kensington Metro Park via Proud Lake 2 track, dirt roads and the multi use path that starts in Milford.  Saw some pretty cool stuff out there.

This truck was modified so it could travel on the railroad tracks.  It was loading up a bunch of railroad ties.

There was some type of horse event going on at Proud Lake.  The place was packed with people and horses.  I don't know a lot about horses, but I know they tend to get spooked by bikes.  The few we passed handled it pretty well.

We stopped briefly in Kensington.  It did not smell so great near the water.  Lot's of dead carp floating in the water.  They, and the smell, were there last weekend too.

Yep, I forgot to charge the battery.

The multi use path from Milford to Kensington is awesome.  Smooth, open and with a little roll to it.

The Past Few Weeks

My apologies on the lack of updates lately.  The warm weather gets here, the riding intensity increases, the legs get more tired, the energy is lower, blah, blah and blah.  I'll attempt to get back on a regular schedule.  In the meantime here are some shots of some of the riding I have been doing.

The past 2 shots are of the new bridge, on the rail trail, that goes over telegraph.  It is just north of Orchard Lake Road.  A client and I rode over to it last week to check it out.

This dude was hanging out on the rail trail on our way back from the bridge.

This is a view of the bridge from later in the day.

I went north this weekend to see my friend Paul.  All the way up past Traverse City.  That is the Dune Climb behind us.  You'll find it at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lake Shore.

That is a luggage tag hanging from his bike.  It is a primitive form of a Road ID.

This is what riding in the Leelanau Peninsula looks like.  Miles and miles of rolling hills, vineyards, orchards, great roads and zero traffic.

I am an admitted non-climber.  That being said, this is my favorite climb.  It's about .75 miles long, winding, 4-8% grade and smooth roads.

A view of riding the climb.

A view of the plateau at the top.  Notice the cherry trees, and Paul waving and urging me forward.

One of my favorite parts of my job is sharing my love of the bike with others.  Here are some pictures from the week showing this:

 75 degrees at 7:00 in the morning. I'll take it!

There were others out early so we had to move over to share the trail.

This dude is bigger than she looks!  I saw several out this morning getting ready to lay their eggs.

70 degrees at 6:30 in the afternoon.  We both would have liked at least another 10 degrees.

They are hard to see, but there are some Sand Hill Cranes in this photo.  They look kind of prehistoric, not as much as the snapping turtle, and they have become very prominent in the park.  

Buffalo are awesome, and no this was not from this week!

Fitness Pentathlon / The Winner

It was a real close contest.  So close that it came down to the piece of cardio data I received to determine the winner.  And the winner is, and still champion . . .

John and Lori

That's right, it was a tie.  Both John and Lori won their respective categories in the winter of 2010, and they both had exactly the same score this time around.  Great job by them and great work by everyone.

-Jason

Fitness Pentathlon / Cardio Time and the Winner(almost)

Congratulations to everyone who attempted any/all of the events.  It is fun and interesting to watch people challenge themselves and others during this informal competition.  I am in the process of scoring all of the events, but am being held up by some people not getting their cardio times to me.  Imagine that, people not liking their cardiovascular.  As soon as I get everything together I will let everyone know.

Fitness Pentathlon / Scoring the Sit and Reach Test

Sit and Reach Test

Testing:


Greg 27.0 cm
Rick 29.5 cm
John 32.5 cm
Lori 35.5 cm
Beth 36.5 cm
Jim 40.0 cm

Fitness Pentathlon / Scoring the Tree Pose

Wii Tree Pose

Testing:


Rick 60
Greg 64 
Vanett 69
Beth 73
Lori 76
John 88

Fitness Pentathlon / Scoring the Machine Row

Machine Row

Testing:


Vanett 35
Greg 40
Beth 60
Rick 80
Lori 125
John 131

Fitness Pentathlon / Scoring the Lunge

Lunge

If you missed the earlier post on the Fitness Pentathlon it is here.  Feel free to join in.  Choose 1 particular discipline or try all of the events.  If you need help with picking an alternative exercise, I would be happy to help you with that too.   I plan on posting the ongoing scores of each of the disciplines during each weekday according to this schedule:

Monday- Lunge

Tuesday- Machine Row

Wednesday- Wii Yoga Tree Pose

Thursday- Modified Sit and Reach Test

Sunday- Cardiovascular Time & Winner

Lunge

Testing:


Greg 50
Beth 160
John 161
Rick 174
Vanett 174
Lori 180

Check back often, and please forward me any scores you would like posted.  I will update each discipline daily.  Good luck!

-Jason

Active Day

Just wanted to let everyone know that it was a very active day out there today.  I got in 2 hours on the mountain bike with a friend.  The dirt roads were dialed- hard packed and no dust!  And the temperature was great- mid 70's and sunny.  Here are some other accomplishments:

☆ Kathy is doing a half marathon tomorrow- I'm giving her credit for that, for today, because she also did a resistance training workout and a short walk today.

☆ Tommy, aka Blackjack, put in 106 miles on his bike today.

☆ Michelle put in a 6 mile early morning walk.

☆ Greg did 53 miles on his cyclo-cross bike on the rail trails.

I know there were a lot more people putting in time today.  What did you do?  Let me know about it.

-Jason

Exercise of the week 5/16/11

Standing Leg Curl

This exercise works the hamstring muscle group which is located on the back of the upper leg.  This muscle group is a common area for injury in athletes - think pulled hamstring - so it is important for them to train it.  It is also important for the non-athletes out there to keep this musculature strong and flexible. This is a very tough body part to train without a specific machine and this, the standing leg curl, is the easiest exercise to learn and perform without a machine.

How to perform:
➱ Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart
➱ Place your hands on a stable object
➱ Place one foot firmly on the ground and shift your body weight to that side
➱ While keeping the unweighted leg straight, move it back so that its toes are slightly behind the weighted leg's heel

➱ While keeping your foot relaxed and your knees in line-
➱ Bend at your knee and lift the unweighted leg as high as you can
➱ Hold/squeeze the muscles at the end of the movement
➱ Relax your leg and let it return to the starting position
➱ Repeat for the prescribed number of reps

Make sure you keep your hips locked in place while you perform this movement.  That is, do not rock or move your lower back while performing this exercise.  Good luck!  Please feel free to contact me with any questions about this, or any other exercise, and I am always open to suggestions on which exercise to cover next.

-Jason

2 Rides

I started off my workday Wednesday with a bike ride on the West Bloomfield Rail Trail.  The temp was about 54 degrees and the sun was starting to warm everything, and everyone, up.

An afternoon break in the schedule allowed me to get out on a second ride.  With temp's in the mid 70's, I joined a teammate of mine, and we stormed around the dirt roads near Kensington Metro Park.

-Jason