Late Night Training

Everyone I know and associate with has a very busy life.  Jobs, kids, social activities and even daily errands suck up most of our time.  And more often than not I have people tell me that their busy lives leave them with too little time to exercise.  To that I say,"make the time!"  There are always plenty of obligations and commitments to keep us from doing one thing or another, but I have yet to meet the person who could not carve an opening into their schedule to fit something in that they wanted to do.  My schedule was particularly busy yesterday.  What that meant was that I was going to have to start and finish my workout later in the evening.  Later was/is starting at 9:15 and finishing up at 11:15.  I didn't think twice about doing it, and I didn't hesitate when I needed to start.  I set aside the time, made a workout plan and executed it.  It was as simple as that, and I would suggest that it could be the same for everyone else too.  Know what you need, make the time and crush your workout.

-Jason

The Elements

I think I can speak for most when I state that last winter was brutal.  Cold, snow-filled and long.  It just didn't give up, and it made training outside very tough.  This year, however, has been great.  We have had very few really cold days, very few snow falls, and even fewer days with the combination of both.  This past Saturday we got a blast of Winter which brought us that bit of both.  We woke up with a fresh 2.5"-3.0" inches of snow and the thermometer pegged at 11F degrees.  It was going to get better though.  The forecast called for the temperature to peak at about 28F degrees.  I messaged a bunch of friends to see who was going to be on board with my planned 5-hour ride and I received 2 firm "Yeses" and a bunch of "No Ways."  The three of us who were committed braved the elements and headed out into what turned out to be a great day and a great ride.  While the temperature never got above 25F degrees, there was plenty of warmth due to full sunlight and zero wind. We rode through Proud Lake, Island Lake State Park, Kensington Metro Park and all around Milford.  It was a fantastic ride and I am happy that I didn't let the elements stop us from reaching our ride goals.

-Jason

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!