Diabolical Winter Plans

So I took the singlespeed up to the Post Office tonight. I finally admitted to myself that it is, in fact, too small. 59cm was the biggest frame IRO offered back in The Day. Uh, four years ago?

Anyway, now vague plans of a bizarre utility bike are stirring in my brain. Something involving a Shimano Nexus 8-speed internally geared hub perhaps, and fenders. And probably a rear rack.

Speaking of strange bikes, the Surly Pugsley has always intrigued me:
Big ol' massive low-pressure tires for floating on any surface and absorbing any bump. Not a "high speed commuter" by any means, but it would be worth it just to roll into work on one of these. Arriving on a bicycle seems to mystify enough people, but to roll in on a Pugsley would send people running for the hills. Security would lock down the site, thinking I was an alien/terrorist mutant hybrid on steroids.

Which reminds me...

I wonder...are there any "fast" cyclists who are mouth-breathers? Do the sinus membranes absorb any oxygen into the blood, thus increasing VO2 max? I am most definitely not in the "fast" category, and am primarily a mouth breather. At rest I preferentially breathe through my nose, but congestion or the slightest elevation in heart rate requires a switch to mouth breathing.

Feel free to chime in.

Careful what you wish for!

Yes, well, these new drugs appear to be working. So well, in fact, that I can see what appears to be a polyp up inside my left sinuses. Formerly obstructed by bloated tissue. White spongy, floppy looking thing up in there, as opposed to the rest of the fleshy-looking structures around it. That's going to have to come out at the talented hands of Dr. Druck, no doubt about it.

I am happy to report that although I still have only limited nose-breathing capabilities, at one day post-steroids my sinuses are much improved. Although I do have some weird heart palpitations/high blood pressure, so have to keep an eye on that. Could just be from the withdrawal of the 'roids. Current meds are: Zyrtec (morning); Nasonex (evening); Xyzal (evening); Benadryl (as needed). I'm sleeping much better, thank you. I may switch the Zyrtec and Xyzal, or discontinue the Zyrtec altogether. Although they are different mechanisms of action...but anyway we'll see. Cross your fingers.

In other news, I've "flipped" my flip-flop IRO Jamie Roy over to the fixed-gear side. Just to mix it up. I kind of like the direct-drive action. Don't worry, though, it still has a full complement of brakes, fenders, and regular drop bars. I am in no danger of becoming a hipster. I'm far too old for that, anyway.

Go Time

It's never fun to be locked in battle with your own body. Granted, it's not what you'd call a life or death struggle. Allergies. I've officially declared war. This won't end until my nose starts behaving itself...or else winter sets in.

Wednesday I went to see the kind and talented Dr. Norman S. Druck, my sinus surgeon. I told him I was fed up with a lifetime of sneezing, stuffiness, lack of sleep, and everything else that's bad about allergies. He agreed to a prudently headlong assault on my overactive immune system.

So here I sit. Hopped up on a multitude of medications. But happily breathing through my nose as humans were meant to. Will it last? Maybe. If not, Dr. Druck has a prescription pad and endoscopic surgery tool up his voluminous sleeves.

Freaking nose. It's go time.

Misery in Missouri

I have allergies. And sinus issues. Not real bad allergies, like the kind that will kill you. And I had an operation several years ago to manage the worst of the sinus issues. But they're still there, and they're at their worst in the Fall. Like yesterday. Yesterday was quite possibly one of the worst allergy days I've had in years. Nose running like a faucet, no airflow, sneezing so much that now my throat hurts.

So I assaulted my own immune system with a multifaceted offense. Nasalcrom, Zyrtec, saline sinus washes. Things improved. Then I pulled out the big gun: Benadryl. This age-old antihistamine works great for me, but has the unfortunate side-effect of drowsiness. Serious drowsiness. You know that "Tylenol PM" that you take to curb a headache and help you sleep? Yeah that's Benadryl in there putting you to sleep. Diphenhydramine HCl if you're into that sort of thing.

But it works. So now I am shuttered in my apartment, fearful of pollen and ragweed, HEPA filters on high, groggy and sleepy. But my nose isn't running, I'm not sneezing uncontrollably, and I can breathe through it a little bit. Life is good.

Allergies. I wish someone would find a cure already. Wednesday I visit my ENT doc to see if there's any new drugs he'd like to try. Cross your fingers.

Slow, but not really

Today's ride was interesting. 10-15mph wind, fine. Right off the bat, I felt weak. When I'd try and push with my legs, nothing much would happen. I made up for it with a faster cadence, which seemed to work out alright. Although it felt like I was struggling just to get by, the speedo told a different story. Not my fastest riding - which isn't very fast to begin with - but not nearly as pathetic as it felt. It happens.

I chalk it up to the following: not going to bed until 3am, not eating since breakfast for a late afternoon ride, and general lethargy. Other than that, the ride was awesome. 80 degrees is perfect cycling weather. Hopefully I can find the energy after work tomorrow to go and give it another try. Winter is just around the corner, after all.

Winter will of course mark the beginning of kayak season! At least for me. I despise kayaking in hot weather. Missouri is too humid to have a good time sea kayaking in the summer - it's just a sweaty, smelly affair all around. And my plastic boat loses rigidity as well, so that's not good. No one likes a flaccid 17' kayak!

It's Over - road season wrap up

I am sad. The most epic weekend for cycling in St. Louis is over for another year. This weekend we had not only the Gateway Cup - four days of pro-am racing in various St. Louis locations, but also the first stage of the Tour of Missouri.

Not only is the road racing season largely over, but it also marks the start of the slow descent into winter. I will ride through the winter, as I have little choice if I want to maintain my sanity, but it's not nearly as much fun as riding when it's not freezing cold. I am definitely a warm-weather kind of person.

My slow progression to faster cycling has been interesting. Not only is it a matter of fitness, but also of learning *how* to go faster. Just by the mere act of going faster, I've learned that I've never really even remotely scratched the surface of what my body can do. I accelerate to speeds I don't think I can manage, and then somehow manage to manage it, manageably. Also spinning my enormous feet around faster broke down another barrier - brute leg strength (or the lack). I don't quite understand that one, but it seems to work. Must be some biochemical thing in the muscles.

I even bought a fancy-pants indoor trainer to attempt to at least maintain, if not improve a bit over the cold winter months.

Thanks to everyone (TK, Mitch, Ghisallo, John S., Ted, and the kind folks of St. Louis Biking to name but a few) who has tolerated my inane questions or otherwise helped out with my desire to go faster on a bicycle. Some of you know bits and pieces of my struggles the past few years, and your support and kindness has been invaluable to me.

The next four to six months will be interesting. My employment future at Pfizer is in serious doubt these days; whether I remain employed, continue to live in St. Louis, or even if the St. Louis research site remains open will all be determined shortly. Fortunately I have a lucrative set of skills, so I'm not worried much about employment opportunities. Just where my paycheck will come from, and where I'll be living.

Now, I shall go ride my bike.

What is wrong with the world?

Ok, one of my minor pet peeves. Today I receive an email advertisement from a popular discount computer store. One of the taglines reads - and I'm not making this up - "Delivers unmatched technology for Intelligent of performance on the most demand tasks..."

Do you see the problem here? That is so bad, it hurts my brain to read it.

Also, claims like "Multi-task up to 28% faster." Faster than what? Faster than the competition? Faster than the previous CPU from Intel? Faster than a cow? That number is meaningless.

If advertisers can't even bother to come up with coherent copy, I'm certainly not going to bother buying from them. As a result of this, I "unsubscribed" from this merchant's email list. I mean really, it's not some mom-and-pop operation. They can afford decent writers.

Walking is for cavemen

Today I was faced with a dilemma. I needed to get my rent check from my abode to the office, roughly 2 blocks away. Fire up the car? That would be absurd. Walk at night? People might think I'm a lunatic and pepper spray me. A tall male walking at night without a dog can be frightening, especially one as menacing-looking as me. The scar on my face makes me look like...oh who am I thinking of...Scarface.

Bike to the rescue! Pumped up the tires on the singlespeed, slapped on some lights, and headed out. Shorts, tennis shoes, t-shirt. No kit required. I even went "extreme" and didn't put on my helmet. Danger is my middle name. It's nice, from time to time, to ride like the old pro's before helmets were all the rage. Roughly 30 seconds later I arrived at the office. Dropped off check. 30 seconds after that, back at my hovel. Bam. Simple as that.

Bikes. They rock.