Monthly Archives: October 2012

Fall/Winter Riding has Started

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Even though it is over two weeks before daylight savings time rolls our clocks back an hour, it seems like it is the time of the year where everyone riding bikes sort of go their own ways. At least around Kansas, it is that time where the evening rides are getting much smaller and smaller.

The evening rides started meeting at 5:30 a month ago, but with the sunset shortening the day by nearly 2 minutes each day, it is amazing how much difference just one week makes in how far you can ride. Right now the sunset here is around 6:45pm. Next week it will be only 6:30. No one will come after that.

It is strange to me how quickly there becomes a huge difference in rider’s abilities at this time too. One of the best things about the cycling is that people of much different athletic abilities can go out and train together and everyone gets a good workout. Drafting in our sport makes that possible. The aren’t many sports like that. But, one thing that happens, sometime soon, is that the differences in abilities seem to spread. I think it happens everywhere.

Plus, here in Kansas, our falls and springs tend to be pretty windy, so the time when lots of guys are losing their form, the wind picks up and makes it just that much harder to spend time on the front. This is the time of the year when I end up on the front most, if not all of the ride. I don’t really mind it, but sometimes it would be nice to be out of the wind some.

Cyclo-X has changed our fall and winter training some. Guys racing on the weekends do tend to stay a little fitter than before, but that being said, I see these guys a lot less because they are training specifically for cross and don’t ride the evening rides.

I normally train with others. But, this year, I haven’t been doing that nearly as often. I’m not sure why that is. Probably because I’ve been hurt a bunch and want to do exactly what I think I need, but whatever the reason, I’m kind of likin’ it. I think it is important to spend some time on your bike solo to allow your mind to clear. That is one great thing about riding, it is a huge mental massage.

I heard this thing on the radio today about how if you sleep on an issue, you make a better decision. I think that is the same with a bike ride. Even if you don’t consciously think of the subject of what you need to figure out, riding allows you to work through thoughts that might be buried deep. It is super cool.

Anyway, it is a beautiful fall this year in Eastern Kansas. Better colors than I can ever remember. The weather has been great. It has only rained once in a month. We are way, way behind on rain. We’ve only had 19 inches of rain this year, normally it would be around 34. If the Climate Prediction Center is correct, Kansas should expect above-normal temperatures and near-normal levels of precipitation for the months of October, November and December. That is good news for riding. We have nice winter riding weather.

I’m going to be racing this weekend in Tulsa, the first cross races of the season for me. 3 in a row. It’s hard enough doing three cross races in a row when I’m fit for cross. Doing this the first weekend might be sort of silly. I think I’m going to do some dismounts and mounts at the local cross training ride on Wednesday. Not so many to get really sore, but hopefully enough to be proficient. Yesterday I did the first real effort I’ve done in a month. It was for 2 miles. I didn’t feel that bad, until it was over, then I was gassed. My body is not going to like me after Sunday, but you have to start somewhere.

There aren’t that many trees out in the the country around Topeka, but where there are, they are great.

Riding Sunday across a metal bridge West of Topeka.

The river is so slow and the water so low that there are trees growing on the sandbars.

Willow

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I buried our cat Willow last night. I buried her under her favorite tree that she used to climb onto the roof of the house. It is by the back door which is constantly used by Bromont and the rest of the gang. She won’t be bored for sure.

Pets dying are a part of life of a pet “owner”. I don’t really believe that humans own their pets. I think they cohabitant and are each other’s companions. But, this was different. There is a pretty high chance that I ran her over with my car in the driveway. I’m not positive, but there isn’t any other explanation.

The weird thing about that is she is a quick cat. A ex-feral cat. Not a lay around, let people walk around me cat.

We came upon Willow, or more appropriately, she came upon us about 10 years ago. There was this large kitten, small cat living in a wood pile in our back yard. I didn’t really see her much, but there were a lot of sightings. Trudi eventually started leaving food out on the back porch. I told her that if she left food, it was going to come inside.

So a couple nights later I set up a trap. It was actually like on TV, a plastic laundry basket, held up with a stick with a string tied to it, going to the window. I put some food out, turned on the back porch light and waited. Nothing. For maybe 3 hours until after midnight.

The next morning I woke up and Kris has left a note on the kitchen counter. There is blood everywhere. The note says that he caught the cat, it’s in the back bathroom and it bites.

Bill comes over to ride around 10 and he wants to see the cat. So, we go and open the bathroom door. It looks like the Tasmanian devil has gone through it. She is on top of the top curtain rod looking like a rabid bat. We shut the door and went riding.

Kris wakes up just a bit later. He goes down to the bathroom, looks in and thinks I’ve taken her to the pound. So, he cleans up the bathroom and proceeds to take a shower. While he’s showering, he looks up and sees the cat up on the curtain by the ceiling.

So Kris goes out to the garage, nude, and gets some welding gloves and goes back into the bathroom and grabs her. Then he takes her to the kitchen sink and gives her a flea bath. There is nothing that calms young cats down like getting the really wet. I’m not kidding here. They become super docile.

Anyway, the cat lived in the back bedroom for a couple months. Then, late at night it started prowling around. After a few months, it walked around the house in the light. Eventually, it lost its fear and lived among us.

The only time I come close to religion is when a pet dies. I make up a Indian-like scenario where the animal’s spirit gets to hang in its favorite places and stays around.

I try to think about what could have gone differently during the day to change the time sequence and thus the one in a million chance that our paths crossed. Just about anything for me.

A exhaust manifold stud that was striped took an extra two hours of attention. I would have been riding, but for that bolt. Looking for a socket for just that much longer. Listening to the engine longer before I started driving. And her list would probably be longer. A moth that didn’t fly by. The squirrel found its acorn and ran up the tree 15 seconds before she came around the corner. Just about anything once again.

Life can end so abruptly. I honestly don’t think my life is any more valuable than Willow’s. I just don’t. And I value my life, to a certain extent, so I must value her life.

It took a while to cut through the tree roots and get below the layer of clay. She was in a fleece pillow case. Burying pets, it seems so wrong scooping in the first shovel full of dirt. I think I project myself there, or something like that, but it just seems is so horrible.

Anyway, it is now close to 2 am. I just got back from riding my MTB around Washburn University. It is cathartic. At least for me. It helps to sort and maybe even purge some of the stronger emotions. I’ve always had that to fall back upon. I’m lucky.