Yesterday I finished off a 500+ mile week.  The weird thing is I really didn’t do anything other than just ride.  On Saturday, I did ride Bill home and an extra 3 miles to get to triple digits, but that just felt good.  Yesterday I needed 70+ miles and the ride was just 64, so I did a little extra and ended up with 84, which was easy too.

I have never been too much into big miles.  I’ve only been keeping track of my mileage since I got a Garmin and have been using Strava, which does it automatically.  Cycling is funny, but there are many ways to get up to race speed.  And they differ as much as the weather.

I seem to do better with more miles now.  We’ll I’m not positive about that, but I’m really enjoying riding longer miles, so I’m going with it.   This year, the miles are passing quickly.  And by that, I mean our average speeds seem fast.  I had a 90 mile ride last week at over 21 mph and an 100 mile ride at 20.5.  That is with it being fairly windy, like 15-20 mph.  For the month of February, I’ve ridden a little over 1200 miles and have averaged 18.5.  That is with riding on gravel a few times and more than a couple days with the wind 30+.

Even Bill and my brother were riding big miles.  Bill had a 500 mile week a couple weeks ago and 400 last week.  My brother rode 600 miles, which to me, seemed crazy.  But, the weather has been pretty great here, other than the wind, so it has been easy getting on our bikes.

I have been sick the last two weeks.  I’m not sure if it was from flying, then allergies or what. But I wasn’t sick enough not to go ahead and train.  Cycling is perfect for that.  It is one of the only endurance sports that always you to train through illness.

It is supposed to be closer to normal here today, in the lower 50’s.  I would love to get on my bike and ride to Lawrence and back on gravel, but I know I need to rest.  When I have been riding a bunch it is hard for me to rest.  I know I don’t need any more miles, but want more miles.

I haven’t really done any intensity yet, so this weekend is going to be a shock to the system.  But I’m too lazy to go out and do intervals, etc. when it is so much easier, and enjoyable, just to enter a few races and get up to speed that way.

Since everyone’s mileage is out there, it is so easy to think you’re behind when it reality, it is still only February.  But, the season seems to be nearly year round now, which I like.

Anyway, I can see how it would be easy to overtrain.  Once you get those endorphins going on a daily basis, it is hard intellectually override the urge to just keep going.  Maybe that was Forest Gump’s deal?

But, that is the plan now.  I might even go out and do a few efforts to see if I can breathe deeply and elevate my heart rate over 150.  The only problem with that is they are started to burn the grazing land already, so the air isn’t that great.  I guess that is one of the downsides to an unseasonably warm February.

I’m bad. Remiss. Here’s Tucker’s picture. With Kukla watcing over.

I’ve been spending the last few evenings over at the building I put a rubber roof on sorting through tools.  Man do I have a lot of tools.  The reason I’m having to sort through them is because about half the time I use these tools it is not here in Topeka, thus I load up a bunch of tools into the van, then they get all mixed up and when I’m back, I just unload them all in a big bunch on the floor.

Plus, there is all the excess stuff that I’ve bought.  Boxes of screws, nails and various other odd bits that might be useful on another project.  Yesterday those odd bits didn’t seem so valuable, so most of them went into recycling.

I love a project that involves buying a new tool.  A new tool that isn’t that expensive, but is key to the project getting completed timely.  Cordless power tools have been a game changer the past 20 years.  The batteries are getting better, thus the tool more powerful.  I was looking at my odd collection of cordless power tools and was thinking it is about time I get a new set.  I have quite a few Dewalt 18v tools, but they are so old and the drill drivers are about done.

I find that I’ve already written a post about just about everything I think about, thus there is this one about tools that I did 3 years ago.

Proper Tools are Invaluable 

I’ve been replacing this fence down in Richardson Texas the last few days. It always amazes me how important that the proper tools are for each and every situation. It isn’t only in construction, but everything you need a tool for.

I’d say that a large part of doing construction is having the right tools for the job and always having the necessary components when they are needed. Nothing slows a project down than running out of anything. It goes in a certain order and when that order is interrupted then the project sometimes comes to a complete stop.

The same when dealing with bicycles. More so. Can you imagine not having a chain tool when one is needed? There is nothing that can replace that. Maybe in “wartime” you could use a punch and a pair of pliers to get a chain back together, but not in a race situation.

Park Tool company is now taken for granted, but they have been innovators in bicycle tools. When Thomas Frischnecht first came to the US from Switzerland, he barely spoke English. It was about the same time that Park came out with the tri-tool, the y-tool with the 4-5-6 mm allen keys on it. When Thomas came to Boulder and stayed with me and saw the tool, he wanted to buy 50 and take them back to Switzerland and give them to his friends. He was that impressed with it. I have to agree. Life is much easier for me because there is a Park Hex wrench in the world. It holds true for lots and lots of tools.

Specialty tools are just that, special. There are many situations that there is nearly only one tool that will work for a specific situation. And if that tool is missing or unknown to the person that needs it, then there is nearly a zero percent chance that the task can be completed.

I guess this post is for me to acknowledge my appreciation to all the people out there that have thought through the process and made tools for each and every situation. It makes my life much easier on a daily basis. I always look for projects that “force” me to acquire new tools. If that is the case, then the project is usually always a success.

This little Bosch driver is one of my favorites now. It fits in a pocket of a tool pouch and is pretty powerful considering its size.

This Paslode nail gun is can virtually build a house by itself. It is a framing nailer, but…..

it can also be used here with a non-mar tip to use on fences, etc.

The Park tri-tool and Shimano chain tool are a couple of the tools that are indispensable.

The Campagnolo Tool Kit. I still want one, even though most of the tools in it aren’t used for modern day bicycles now.

Me. Innocent.