Yesterday was a weird day. First, my van started driving like shit. It has 360,000 miles on it, but I’ve kept it in pretty good shape. Plus, it is diesel. But yesterday, when I started it, I think the EGR valve is stuck and it would barely get up to speed. I’m going to mess with it today and see if I can fix it some.
I decided it was about time to try to ride again. I hadn’t ridden in two days and my hip was feeling alright, so I decided to go out and do the 6 o’clock club ride. They were riding out to the start of the Kansas State Games Time Trial, in Auburn, which is a 30 mile ride. I started out and pretty instantly, my rear tire was flat. So, I turned around and went back to the house to fix it. It is tubeless and there was latex spraying out the sidewall, so I just took a small amount of the bead off, used some brake clean to get the latex off the rubber and patched the tire. It took a total of maybe 4 minutes.
So, I was behind. I didn’t mind because I didn’t have any idea what speed I was going to be able to ride. Especially uphill. I didn’t feel that bad. It was headwind heading south and I was riding alright. The transitions between sitting and standing is pretty painful, but I’m not going with pain now. I’m just doing it. I am 7 weeks out and the bone is supposed to be pretty healed at 8 weeks, so that is close enough.
I was maybe only 20 minutes from my house and all of a sudden, it felt like someone grabbed my hair. It was so strange. I whipped my neck around and saw nothing. I stopped and looked around. The only thing I saw was a bird up on a wire. He seemed too far away to be the culprit, but there wasn’t another explanation. So, I turned around to see the bird. All of a sudden the bird took off and dived bombed me again, grabbing at my head, then back to the telephone wire.
I took out my phone and put it on camera, to try to get a picture of the bird. It looked sort of like a owl, at least it had an owl’s face, but it didn’t have owl ears. The rest of the bird was sort of gray/blue. The beak was definitely hooked like a Predatorial bird. Anyway, I rode back and forth three or four more times and each time, when I least expected it, the bird would dive and grab at me. I took some burst pictures on my camera, but never got a great one of the bird right there. The bird was very mean. Like scary mean.
I eventually, after about 10 minutes, thought I should get going. It was super interesting playing with the bird, but I wanted to get to the time trial before it was all done.
I rode out there and it was finished. The official said something about me not wearing a helmet. I told him the bird story and it never would have happened if I were wearing a helmet. See, there are some other upsides of going helmet-less, attracting birds to attack you.
Steve Watke, a local that does the club rides, won the race. I didn’t feel like hanging out there much, so left pretty quick. Bill, who’d met at my house, rode back with me. By the time I was half way back, my leg was pretty done. Actually, I was done. I was finally able to go hard enough to be winded. And I was, winded. Climbing was a challenge. My weighted wattage was 219, so it wasn’t that bad.It is amazing how quickly any type of form leaves when I takes so long to attain.
It did feel pretty great getting on a road bike. So much quicker and lighter than my MTB bike. I couldn’t have leaned over enough before, so it was the right time to switch over. I’m happy to feel the wind again.
My legs were wasted, so I used a new foam roller that just showed up in the mail when I got home. It is from Christian Hon, he invented it. It’s called a Muscle Knead and it worked super well on my IT band. It has handles so I didn’t have to roll on the floor on it. Plus it had different surfaces, so I could pick how aggressive I wanted to be. I rarely get surprises in the mail and this was a good one. Here’s a link to their website.
I’m going to try to ride again today on the road. I woke up this morning pretty sore, but I have pretty much for the last 7 weeks, so that is nothing new. I was more cycling sore though, which is a good thing. It’s gonna be baby steps for a while.
That thing is spooky as hell.
Mississippi kite?
Agree with chris. I think it’s a Mississippi Kite.
It looks like a Mississippi Kite. They are very protective of nest sites.
from the shape of the tail, I say a falcon of some kind.
hawks have shorter stubby tails compared to falcons.
c
Mississippi Kite sounds reasonable. I agree.
http://www.birdsinfocus.com/show.phpabsID=5760&text=Mississippi%20Kite
Thats a good shot you took. Mississippi Kite. Owl like face.
Seems like this is the answer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississippi_kite
Trey Harrison would know for sure.
Yes, Mississippi Kite was my first thought.
It is definitely a Mississippi Kite, they’re badass birds.
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/mississippi_kite/id
D’yuh think that kite is big enough to carry Levi away?
It was Levi, he’s angry with you
Last summer every time I rod up Fairlawn between 53rd and 61st, there was some sort of bird that kept dive bombing me. I never saw it close enough to identify it – the thing just flew down, slammed down onto my helmet and flew off. Weird.
Yep, Mississippi Kite. They can draw blood. I have had more trouble with redwing black birds over the years. I am surprised he didn’t tap you a bit harder on multiple passes. He was probably thinking “slow learner, this one”.
Don’t forget!
http://youtu.be/_F44hWDCyYA
360k miles on your diesel and you haven’t removed all of the emission control stuff yet? Its no wonder your fuel economy is so bad. Find a truck diesel specialty shop in your area and go visit them. Ask them about better air cleaners, propane injection, computer chips, 4-5″ exhausts rom the turbo (if you have one) back, taller tires, trans/oil coolers. There is no reason why your MPG’s shouldn’t be in the mid to high 20’s.
I did all of the above on a 2003 Ford F350 crew dually and my fuel economy went from 14 mpg to 19 – 21 mpg without pulling a trailer and 16 mpg pulling my 24′ closed trailed.
Glad you are liking the MuscleKnead roller Steve and thank you for the shout-out! I’m hoping it helps you heal in time for the BT Epic – Always great to race with you out there. All the best!