Time to hit the bars

I knew Rody Walter was going to bringing Luv Handlebars with him to NAHBS.  We had traded posts on facebook.  I wasn't sure till I saw them that in person that I'd need one.  So it was my one purchase at NAHBS.  The other bar arrived a few days before we left for NAHBS.  It's for my gravel grinder, or at least I hope it will be.  It looks pretty comfortable.  The brake lever/shifters should be here by the end of the week.  So I can start fitting it all together.  Bit of bar tape and were in business.

The beginnings of a gravel bike..

For the last year or so I've been looking(not very hard) for a bike I could dedicate to gravel.  Long distance gravel grinding bike.  Bags for food and water, tires specificly for gravel, drop bar set up, coshy seat and maybe different gearing.  Since Jake has grown two feet over the last year.  The Specialized HT we got him doesn't fit.  However...it does fit me.  So I picked it up and stripped it down.  Should have it ready to go soon.  Can't wait to put in some miles and see how I like it.

Post card sent...

Well I made up my post card and sent it in.

So here comes 180miles of prime Nebraska dirt.

Streching the legs

As the temps topped out at 58 degrees for the day, I flew home from work with the idea of getting in a good ride while it was nice.  By the time I assembled what I thought I'd need for a nice long ride, the temp had dropped to 55 degrees.  I had a idea of what I wanted to ride, just wasn't sure if I could get it done.  So I set out on my single speed with mytracks on.  So I could see what my average MPH would be.  Odin's Revenge needs you to pull 10mph average or they pull you off the race.  Yes I was riding my single speed, yes it had mountain gearing, yes it was the first time I'd put my butt in a saddle for sometime.  However I wanted to see what I could accomplish.

The sign pretty much tells you how my run turned out.  I averaged about 9mph.  There were a lot of times I could have used a lot better suited gear ratio.  I spun out a lot.  I did get to finally try out a little road I'd been wanting to ride.  At the end of it I did feel bad however.  It started at the top of a hill, went over a cattle guard and past some oil field equipment.  It looked to be a very established path.  Then it got better and better and better.  There was even a very cool decent to a tunnel that passed under the Interstate.  The bittersweet part was the No trespassing sign on the opposite end of the route.  It looked to be quite new.  Damage done, I rode on.  Turned on my light for the last couple miles.  All said and done, I logged 19.8 miles.  Not bad for a couple hours on a single speed

Feb 4th commute - Damn...

I was pretty dead set on riding this whole week.  Gas prices jumped 35cents here in town.  Just ridiculous.  The afternoon temperatures are going to be in the 50's all week.  Varying amounts of wind, but nothing super stupid.  It was a struggle to get to work today.  I'm tired.  The Super Bowl party filled me with things I really didn't need.  Hopefully it'll get easier thru the week.

Temp - 22/50 degrees
Wind - 7mph sustained/ 12mph gusts

Me:
Head - 5 OK (My Underarmor hat didn't want to fit inside my helmet.)
Hands - 5 OK (Again, Gloves were fine in the morning and too heavy in the afternoon)
Chest - 7 Good (The windstopper jacket I bought cheap at Cabela's is amazing.  I'm in awe of how well it works.)
Legs - 6 OK (Pants were too tight and felt like they were choking my legs at times)
Feet - 8 Good (Keen boots with bike socks)
Overall Physical feel - 2 (Ride more, Ride more, Ride more)

Bike ratings as follows.  One will mean total equipment failure.  Ten means it totally served it's purpose and I need to write more positive reviews on it.

Bike: Redline Monocog
Tires - 7(Stayed inflated)
Brakes  - 6(Little squeeky)
Drivetrain - 9(Single is good)
Overall/Other - 7

Total Score: 62

Things to change - Ride more, work out more, get to the gym

Things I noticed -  Diet, Diet, Diet.