I haven't been riding for the past few days, despite some great weather Saturday and Sunday. Instead, I was experiencing the thrill of working retail.
I am a sales rep in my normal job, a job a enjoy immensely. But Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and ending today my local bike store has been holding their annual store-wide sale. It's a big event, so I volunteered to help out during the madness. And it was madness.t hours.
I started Friday evening, and the store was slammed with buyers for 5 straight hours. No recession in the bike world. I am not used to being on my feet like that. My feet and legs were a little weary.
On Saturday the sale ran from 10 to 9. I worked the whole time. We sold a ton of bikes, mainly comfort rides and cruisers, mountain bikes, and some entry level road bikes. They were lined up at the door to get in at open. Madness! The 4 wrenches were slamming bikes together non-stop, just to keep bikes on the floor.
At the end of the day my feet and legs were shot. I have a new found respect for the hard working folks that work retail every day. It was exciting, and energizing to do, and when I sold a bike, I got a charge. But when I got home, I was exhausted. I put my feet up, and that was that, totally asleep. Slept like a log that night.
Sunday was a repeat, but with shorter hours. Again, they were lined up at the doors. Again, the wrenches were turning, bikes, accessories, the works flying out, cash registers ringing.
I enjoyed the work, but it was tiring. I did, however, have an ulterior motive. I worked out a nice deal on some carbon wheels and a travel case. I expect to add those items to my collection soon. I will report on that soon.
In the meantime, I expect to be back on my bike again soon.
Safe travels today.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
A Little Catching Up
A belated Happy Easter, it was a great weekend here in SE Michigan. The weather was good for riding.
On Friday I snuck out for a planned 50 miles or so. It turned out to be 40. And it was a struggle. For some reason I could not keep my heart rate under control. It was constantly at an unusually high number. I felt fine, but it was unsettling.
It was also quite windy, with a very strong headwind hitting me on the long leg. That, and the heart rate issue lead me to make a tactical mistake.
I was simply in survival mode on the roads, and to be honest, I don't recall any particular incident. I probably wouldn't have cared anyway,
At some point I noticed a pair of riders ahead of me, near the point where if I went left, I would continue on my 50 mile loop. As it happened, they went right. I decided that maybe I could get on their wheel for a while, and then improvise the route a little. I could use the wheel time to recover a bit.
And this was my error. Not only did I catch them almost immediately, they were not really serious riders, and I quickly dumped them. If I had been a little sharper, I would have noticed that, and not made that mistake.
So I did improvise, and only lost 10 miles of the route, but it was truly a survival effort out there.
On Saturday an old friend came to town and wanted to do a quick ride. We agreed to meet on Hines Drive, and ride there. Neither of us had been there before. I have heard that they close the roads on some days, and that it really is a great place to ride. The road was not closed for us.
My friend Paul is a good rider, perhaps a little stronger than I am. We rode together last summer when he was in town. This time he had his "spring" bike out, a little heavier than his normal ride.
Hines Drive is a wide road, with a large shoulder to ride on. Bike heaven, and there were LOTS of cyclists of all abilities out. The weather was great, still a little windy, but hey, it's spring time in Michigan.
Obviously, no hang ups on Hines Drive. Any motorists who use that road know full well that there will be a lot of bike traffic, plus the wide shoulders make for lots of room. Paul and I rode about 20 miles. I am now planning a 50 to 75 mile route from my home to Hines Drive, ride Hines Drive for a while, and then back home.
Easter Sunday was a great ride day, but I only had about an hour to ride. I set out on my 20 mile loop. It being Easter, the traffic was very light, and very courteous. No Ernest Hemingway sightings. I rode fairly well.
No return of the heart rate issues. I actually did not wear my monitor on Saturday, because it was not a hard effort. Sunday things were more or less back to normal.
Later on Sunday I settled in to watch the Tour of Flanders. Love it! Riding the Muur is high on my dream ride list.
Safe travels today.
On Friday I snuck out for a planned 50 miles or so. It turned out to be 40. And it was a struggle. For some reason I could not keep my heart rate under control. It was constantly at an unusually high number. I felt fine, but it was unsettling.
It was also quite windy, with a very strong headwind hitting me on the long leg. That, and the heart rate issue lead me to make a tactical mistake.
I was simply in survival mode on the roads, and to be honest, I don't recall any particular incident. I probably wouldn't have cared anyway,
At some point I noticed a pair of riders ahead of me, near the point where if I went left, I would continue on my 50 mile loop. As it happened, they went right. I decided that maybe I could get on their wheel for a while, and then improvise the route a little. I could use the wheel time to recover a bit.
And this was my error. Not only did I catch them almost immediately, they were not really serious riders, and I quickly dumped them. If I had been a little sharper, I would have noticed that, and not made that mistake.
So I did improvise, and only lost 10 miles of the route, but it was truly a survival effort out there.
On Saturday an old friend came to town and wanted to do a quick ride. We agreed to meet on Hines Drive, and ride there. Neither of us had been there before. I have heard that they close the roads on some days, and that it really is a great place to ride. The road was not closed for us.
My friend Paul is a good rider, perhaps a little stronger than I am. We rode together last summer when he was in town. This time he had his "spring" bike out, a little heavier than his normal ride.
Hines Drive is a wide road, with a large shoulder to ride on. Bike heaven, and there were LOTS of cyclists of all abilities out. The weather was great, still a little windy, but hey, it's spring time in Michigan.
Obviously, no hang ups on Hines Drive. Any motorists who use that road know full well that there will be a lot of bike traffic, plus the wide shoulders make for lots of room. Paul and I rode about 20 miles. I am now planning a 50 to 75 mile route from my home to Hines Drive, ride Hines Drive for a while, and then back home.
Easter Sunday was a great ride day, but I only had about an hour to ride. I set out on my 20 mile loop. It being Easter, the traffic was very light, and very courteous. No Ernest Hemingway sightings. I rode fairly well.
No return of the heart rate issues. I actually did not wear my monitor on Saturday, because it was not a hard effort. Sunday things were more or less back to normal.
Later on Sunday I settled in to watch the Tour of Flanders. Love it! Riding the Muur is high on my dream ride list.
Safe travels today.
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