Exit171… it’s all about the journey

From Paul Sadowski’s Birthday Calculator:

As of 5/30/2006 10:10:01 AM EDT
You are 40 years old.
You are 480 months old.
You are 2,087 weeks old.
You are 14,610 days old.
You are 350,650 hours old.
You are 21,039,010 minutes old.
You are 1,262,340,601 seconds old.

To finish off the 3-day holiday weekend I cycled 21.18 miles. I was excited to see my stats after the ride, but my Suunto t6 got stupid after 19 minutes. Everything appeared normal during the ride, but after transferring the data to Suunto Training Manager everything was a flatline from 19 minutes to the end (1 hr 35 min)! @#$%… no EPOC or Training Effect stats. No biggie… Total for the weekend was 47.62 miles. I feel great!

As I approach 40 I’m really starting to get into health and fitness. With all my cycling lately, this is probably the best I’ve felt health-wise in a very long time. I’m finally below 160 lbs (I’d like to get down to ~150 lbs) and my blood pressure is getting lower (at least I’m out of triple-digits!). I never thought I’d like road cycling so much! Some random thoughts on my progress…

Distance
I’ve cycled >156 miles since I got my Trek about a month ago. This holiday weekend has been great — 10.20 miles yesterday and 16.24 miles today. Some beautiful routes too. I know I could double those distances, but time (or lack of) is more the issue. Early morning rides are still my favorite.

Roadkill
Some of the stuff you see while riding is interesting, e.g. roadkill. Just this weekend I must have seen at least 3 squirrels, 2 birds, 1 gopher, 1 bullfrog, and a couple things I couldn’t identify (stuff for Fear Factor) splattered on the pavement. Although, the gopher looked liked something out of a museum… pristine.

Food & Drink
I’m sampling all the different energy drinks, bars, and gels out on the market. I’ve liked Power Bars for years, but now I prefer their gels. I also like Clif Bars, Clif Shot Bloks, and their energy drinks. Clif’s gels are good too, but I don’t like their packaging — it cuts into the side of my mouth.

Fast food has been and will always be my downfall. My latest kryptonite is Burger King. I love those Double Cheeseburgers and Cheesy Tots! A few extra miles on the bike helps me get over the guilt.

Technology
I love my Suunto t6 and Bike Pod and the data it captures. However, one thing definitely missing from the Bike Pod is cadence. Not sure why they didn’t include it. I hope it’s in a future update. My Magellan Meridian GPS is also working out well. Would love to try the Garmin Edge 305.

Clothing
Cycling wear is comfortable! Canari and Pearl Izumi are my favorites. Just bought a new Giro Atmos Lone Star 7 helmet (should arrive this week). Still using my Salomon trail shoes for riding. Will probably get real cycling shoes soon.

Hardware
I love my Trek 7.5 FX, but I think I may go for a real road bike. I’m thinking a Trek Madone 5.2 or Trek OCLV 5200. Deci$ion$ deci$ion$…

No review here. We just couldn’t get into the theater on opening night to see the movie! Sold out! Fandango for me next time…

I almost got hit by a car the other day riding my Trek. I was on Kinderkamack Road in Woodcliff Lake and less than .5 miles from home. I was riding very slow (uphill) at ~6:00 AM and some guy speeds out of his driveway (facing forward). He didn’t see me until the last second and slammed on the brakes (actually for a second it seemed like he hit the gas instead of the brakes). To top it off, after we both stopped short and made eye contact, he wouldn’t even yield to me and let me continue. What an @#$%! I had a few choice words for him and continued on my way.

After he pulled away, I noticed the Limousine license plate… I guess he was picking someone up. Not sure what the guy was thinking or doing… Maybe he wasn’t fully awake at 6:00 AM. Maybe he was fiddling with his cell phone. Maybe he was trying to gather some speed to get up the driveway. Either way, Kinderkamack Road is not a quiet street… he shouldn’t be bolting out into the roadway like that.

Just for the record it was light out, I was wearing my helmet, bright colors, and had my headlight/taillight flashing. I’m sure this won’t be the last close call I encounter.

May 17th is Livestrong Day — a day to help raise awareness about the health policy issues facing cancer survivors. Lots of events happening around the country to help the cause.

Some interesting cancer facts from the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) home page:

* There are more than 10 million individuals in the United States today who are living with cancer.
* Nearly 40 percent of people living with cancer are under the age of 65.
* 64 percent of adults diagnosed with cancer today will be living 5 years from now.
* In 1960, 4 percent of children with cancer survived more than 5 years.
* Nearly 80 percent of children (age 0 through 14) diagnosed with cancer today will be living five years from now.
* The five year survivorship rates for young adults (age 20 through 40) with cancer has remained unchanged for the past 30 years.
* Three out of every four American families will have at least one family member diagnosed with cancer.
* 24 percent of adults with cancer are parents who have a child 18 years or younger.
* One of every four deaths in the United States is from cancer.
* In 2005, 570,280 Americans will die of cancer - more than 1,500 people a day.
* The annual cost of cancer in the United States is $189,800,000,000 in direct and indirect costs.

My Suunto t6 is back from the shop and it’s been updated with the latest firmware. I couldn’t wait to try out the Bike Pod with my Trek so I took a quick ride (4.54 miles) to check it out. Cool stuff. I’m now able to record my distance, speed, and all the other interesting data (like EPOC) that I’ve been capturing with the Heart Rate Strap and Foot Pod. Great products Suunto (and some great customer service too)!

I’m loving my new Trek 7.5 FX. We’re a week into May and I’ve already logged over 60 miles (that’s more than I pedaled on my Schwinn in March and April combined!). I’ve been riding first thing in the morning ~6:00 AM and then sometimes after dinner. I simply can’t get enough. Check out my exercise page for my logs.

As expected, I think I’m addicted. Actually, I know I’m addicted… I watched the Giro D’Italia (Italy’s version of the Tour de France) this past weekend on OLN… I just subscribed to Bicycling magazine (as if I need any more magazines!)… and I also wanted to ride in the 42 mile New York 5 Boro Bike Tour this past weekend (but couldn’t make it). Yup, I’m addicted.

As for street riding, I’m still in search of a good route in my area. There are lots of smooth quiet streets, but typically I need to use a busy road (like Kinderkamack) to get there. I’m starting to get used to riding on the busy roads (except for inhaling exhaust fumes), but every now and then a car will buzz by just a little too close. Even with bright colored clothing some cars just don’t see you… and I thought riding a motorcycle on the street was bad. 100 times worse for bicyclists. Scary stuff.

To help with safety I purchased a Blackburn headlight and taillight. I’m much more visible with the bright LED’s blinking in various patterns. I’ve already received good feedback from other cyclists. You can see these lights blinking “a mile away”… even in broad daylight. Hopefully they’ll help keep me out of trouble.