Just can't win

Today I came to a four way stop intersection in west Farmington. There was only one other car on my left. I was about 20 yards from the stop sign and the car was already stopped. I slowed dramatically to show my intention to let them go as they were already stopped and could just go ahead. Instead he waited for me to come to nearly a complete stop and then wave me on. C'mon people! Just go! I waved at them to go since they were the ones that were in the right of way to go and momentum was already shot to hell. They still waited.

Road rage was setting in. I ended up turning left on the wrong side of the road cause I wasn't about to get in front of this doofus and have him second guess me. I know he was trying to be nice, but c'mon, many people don't give a crap about bikers and I'm used to no having people break their back for them. And they shouldn't. After last week's incident I'm not assuming people are going to give me the right of way.

Today's ride was typical:

Distance: 30.6 miles
Time: 1:30
Average Speed: 20.4
------------------------------------------------------------
The ride home was a tad faster:
Distance: 30.6 miles
Time: 1:26
Average Speed: 21.4 mph

Albion to Snowville

We had such a fun time in Albion at the family reunion. We did the camping, playing games, performed in skits, tasted some great cooking, and had fun visiting with relatives. After "Deal or No Deal" game they started the Auction. It was 1:15 pm and I figured I should leave in order to get my ride done before Cathi would leave two hours later to meet me.

Here's the route I took:


The first six miles were uphill going up to the Mt Harrison turnoff, but after that it was pretty much downhill after that. In fact it was a good grade down right after the Mt Harrison turnoff. My max speed was 48 mph. Once I got to mile 26 my GPS ran out of batteries, and the backup batteries I had weren't very good and they died within a few minutes. So I was without GPS data the last half of my ride. It sucked. So I tried my best to just go as hard as I could so I could keep my goal of getting this done in just over 3 hours.

Here's video of me getting to the Utah/Idaho border:

From Biking

Cathi caught me about six miles before I got to Snowville. She said she was OK with just waiting at the end of the road. So I kept it going and met her about 20 minutes later. It was a long hot ride and it was fun. I wish I would have had someone with me to trade drafting with. I noticed the road turned to Nevada. That would be a very cool ride to go from Snowville to Elko Nevada. What a ride that would be!

Anyhow here are the stats (based on the distance and time elapsed):
Distance: 63.32 Miles
Time: 3:11
Average Speed: 19.89 mph

Here's the end of my ride:

From Biking

Mt Harrison Ride

I didn't ride up in the morning as planned because Robby (my Aunt Patricia's husband) said he would go up with me. He was going to ride his Mountain Bike and would be up there after lunch so I waited until he got to the park in Albion.

When he got there I was napping in the tent and hurried into my biking gear. We started up there and it was slow going. His bike had bike fat knobby tires with good suspension, but not very fast. Our first six miles we were going probably 11 mph average. Once we turned off the main highway and started up we went about 500 feet higher in elevation and then switched bikes. Robby seemed to like it and we went for another 1000 ft in elevation and then Rob switched back. After we were 11 miles into the ride he said I should go ahead. I did and went to the top and my GPS read 17.1 miles.


Coming back was crazy fast. Made it back to the park in less than 45 minutes. Very fun ride! I'm going to do it again next year when we come up. Looking forward to tomorrow's ride to Snowville too.

Near Death Experience

I'm a big believer in the power of prayer and today was a perfect example. While I'm glad to be alive right now, I'm disappointed that I'm so dumb. I'm sharing this to record that miracles do happen as well as a warning to myself and to other bikers to be more careful and not to assume obstacles don't exist. Cathi if you read this please know I've learned my lesson!


View Larger Map
Today when I got to the T intersection at end of weaver going onto Angel Street in Kaysville, I looked left before turning right going South onto Angel. Problem was, I didn't look right at all since I wasn't turning into traffic, but staying on the right side. I didn't look right at all and totally missed that here coming at me at about 20 mph was a huge double axle tractor, with a row of "middlebusters" (a ripper/plow) attachment on the back. The row of these plows was about 3-4 feet wider than the tractor itself. It took up nearly the whole road including my side!

When I turned I was going about 12 mph and turned into the middle of the right side of the road. I missed the tractor, but coming at me was the plow on the end of the attachment. I had less than a second to get out of the way. I thought, Oh crap (sadly not the tame version of the word), I'm going to die, or lose a leg. I also thought I should instantly intentionally spill to the right and crash to avoid getting hit and let the plow go over me as it was lifted up about 2 feet above the ground.

But somehow I managed to twist to the right enough to miss it entirely. I don't know how it happened. It was coming so fast and was so far into my lane that I should have been hit, but managed to escape with my life.

Now the blame rests entirely on me. There was a stop sign there and I don't typically come to a complete stop on those. I don't know any biker who actually does. But the thing I get from this is to go slower through intersections and to not assume that turning right doesn't mean there won't be something coming at you in the lane your turning into. I need to look BOTH ways at every intersection.

Just because I said a prayer for protection that morning, and was wearing temple garments doesn't turn me into superman and give me a warrant to be stupid and put my life in danger and expect to leave unharmed like I did. I have no doubt had I hit that plow, I would have either died, or lost a leg and been put in critical condition. Getting a higher average mph is NOT worth dying over, or even crashing over!

Lesson learned - slow down and look both ways. Intersections are dangerous! I've broke my arm and thumb before falling off a bike and both times, at intersections.

Distance: 30.6 miles
Time: 1:30
Average Speed: 20.4 mph
-----------------------------------------
The ride home was much less eventful which was good. Slower though. Its the first time I have run out of water this year and had to refill at a park.

Distance: 30.6 miles
Time: 1:32
Average Speed: 19.9 mph

You get wetter biking in the rain, than running in the rain.

With biking, you get the rain from on top, and the puddles coming up in your face and backside. This morning's ride was wet to say the least. It started from the get go and was on and off about 50% of the ride.

Distance: 30.6 miles
Time: 1:31
Average Speed: 20.18 mph

I got a flat half way down Warm Springs Road so I had to stop and change that real quick. Added about 6 minutes to my ride. Other than that it wasn't bad. I wasn't cold, just wet and it went by fast.
--------------------------------------------------------
The ride home was good until I got to the turn in Centerville. Slowed down considerably after that. My average speed at that point was 22.7 mph, but by the time I got home I dropped down to 21.1

Distance: 30.6 miles
Time: 1:26
Average Speed:21.1

Much anticipated ride

Haven't been on the bike for 4 days and I'm antsy to get back on! This morning's ride was fine. I have three bibs and one of them is blue. It was worn enough that it was like a speedo that is getting old and you can almost see through it in some spots, so I threw it away.

Distance: 30.6 miles
Time: 1:27
Average Speed: 21.1 mph

-----------------------------------------------------------

Cathi's Utah Valley Marathon

I'm putting this post together mainly as a placeholder for Cathi for when she gets around to posting the details of her race.


Cathi spent the night down in Orem at her sister Kristen's. She got up early and ran the Utah Valley Marathon. Gordon went camping with Jacob at a scout camp so Cathi was all alone this time.



She found a good running partner during the race, Martine Louis. He kept encouraging Cathi even when she felt overwhelmed and drained. This was a hard race for Cathi and she struggled more than she normally does. She did end up with a pretty good time. She saw the clock at the finish and wanted to get under 4:00, but she didn't quite make it. She got a 4:00:16.




Good job Cathi!

Need a double backup system

This morning I got to the end of Warm Springs Road in NSL when I came to a construction zone and the guy was holding up a Stop sign in the middle of the road. As soon as I came to a complete stop, I hit something and immediately my front tire had air explode out of it. I said "Dang it" like Kip and the guy looked over and said sorry. I replaced the tube and blew it up with the CO2 I had. Took off and made it another 3 miles when I noticed my air in the front tire was going out again. I must have hit something else. This time on the side. I walked from the train tracks by the Gateway Mall the rest of the way (about 1.2 miles)

I only have one extra tube and should consider a second one. Better yet, I'm going to see if I can get some decent tires from Dale with some significant rubber on the sides, which is where I'm getting these punctures.

I'll have to take Frontrunner home tonight. Here's today's numbers:

Distance: 29.8 miles
Time: 1:22
Average Speed: 21.8 miles

Resistance Training

Last night I spent the night at Mom and Dad's. We got up early and headed North for a good bike ride. Had a nice wind from the south so it was kind. I pulled Austin with a trailer so that was some pretty good resistance. It wasn't too tough. Kept my average speed down. Still held back though so I could stay with Mom and Dad.

Distance: 30.1 miles
Time: 2:10
Average Speed: 13.89

When I got home I then picked up Jonas and took him to Garr Ranch and back. Less resistance than Austin, but still pretty good especially pulling him up the hills:

Distance 50.7 miles
Time: 3:40
Average Speed: 13.8 mph

Total Distance: 80.8 miles

That's half the distance to Pocatello, pulling a kid in a trailer. Felt great!

There's a storm brewin'

This morning the wind was going pretty good from the west. I cut the top off the kids bike trailer and put it in the back of the Van. The plan is tomorrow morning to pull Austin (my 110 pound 13 year old) from my parents house to my house which is about 30 miles. My parents wanted to go on Legacy trail Saturday morning really early, so I'm going with them. I'm hoping that the handicap of pulling a mouthy teenager will make the ride more unified as I stay with them.

But this morning's ride was awesome.
Distance: 30.6 miles
Time: 1:27
Average Speed: 21.1 mph
Max Speed: 27.4 mph

Will spend the night tonight at Mom and Dad's then ride home tomorrow.

A little blister

Yesterday Tom Topik and I took the scouts 2.5 miles up Bair Canyon. It seemed like 5. It was warm for the first 40 minutes, but then it started to drizzle and it got cool fast. We crossed the stream three times which made for wet feet and my toes didn't like it. I only got one timy little blister on my third toe rubbing against my second. We lost the trail coming back and missed the bridge going back to the car so our trip was extended by about 30 minutes. Kind of crazy. Got up earlier this morning and started off to work on the bike:

Distance: 30.6 miles
Time: 1:30
Average Speed: 20.4 mph

Good ride
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The ride home was even better! I was sore all day from yesterday's hike and my quads are killing me. Getting out of downtown was a nightmare. Hit just about every light. But by the time I got to 600 W it was all smooth and fast from there. I was able to get my average speed to constantly move up. No wind to speak of. The last turn off Gentile on to Bluff I noticed a guy trying to gain on me, possibly to draft. Which I don't mind, but he has to earn it. I went from a steady 23 mph up to 29-30mph. He backed off. I was hoping he'd push it and stay with me. Excellent ride!

Distance: 30.6
Time: 1:25
Avg Speed: 21.6 mph

Lifting biceps

After the Stansbury Triathlon, I noticed that my upper arms were rubbing my lats and I had started to get a blister on the inside of my biceps. I realized that my uppers arms are too flabby. There is excessive skin now that they're smaller, so I need to fill them up with some muscle. So today I did some biceps, although I don't have any plans on making lifting weights a regular thing yet.

Seated Preacher Curls: 4 x 15 @ 75 (alt inside and outside grip)
Standing Arm Blaster Curls: 2 x 15 @ 75 (alt inside and outside grip)
Alternating DB Curls: 2 x 15 @ 30
Concentration Curls: 2 x 15 @ 25

Only about 30 minutes of lifting. Got a decent burn, but nothing outstanding. This needs to be a regular thing for any significant change to happen. Maybe on days I don't ride in to work I'll try to hit the gym. That's kind of a panzy commitment isn't it?

Results of the 2009 SDRC Splash N' Sprint Triathlon - 1:11:35

This morning I got there and found out that they had put me as the first swimmer in the water in this Interval start triathlon. I told them 4:30 was my seed time which was a little aggressive cause I ended up doing it in 5:00.

I made three errors in this tri and the first one was pretty minor, but cost me a couple seconds is all: When I jumped in feet first (per the direction given me), I went to the bottom which was only about 7 feet deep. I tried pushing off the wall, but I was at the bottom and the walkway barrier thing didn't go all the way to the bottom, so when I pushed off the wall, there was no wall to push off, so needless to say the guy behind me was right on my tail from the start. After 300 yards he touched my toes and I let him pass me. Then at 350 I thought he was getting out and I didn't really think it through, so I ran into him. Not bad at all, but he stopped for a sec and looked at me. I said sorry at transition and told him I thought we were getting out right there next to the door. Instead we got out on the far end of the pool and had to walk over to the exit door.

At transition I simply put on my jersey, shades and helmet and took off. I passed the guy in transition and immediately made my way on the bike course. I was going at a very good pace and every 10 minutes or so I looked back and didn't see a soul, so my biking was good. At the very last turn, I wasn't absolutely sure it was the right turn. There were some race volunteers there at the corner helping people just starting to make the right turn. I wasn't sure if I needed to go one more block or turn here so I yelled out: Do I turn here to go back? They said "we don't know they didn't tell us". I didn't see any arrows painted so I kept going. After a block I still didn't see any arrows so I cut in and made my way back to the route. I wasted probably 1 minute or so off my time trying to figure out how to get back. So that was my second error. It was annoying.

I looked back and there was a fairly good pack behind me about 200 yards. My GPS shows my stats as:

Distance: 13.4 miles
Time: 36:30
Average Speed: 22.03 mph

When I transitioned to the run I hurried to get my socks and shoes on and then my race belt and took off. I ran south to 400 S when the guy behind me yelled out: "Dude! We're going the wrong way". Just then I realized that the run course went around behind the building instead of straight to the road. I must have passed nearly a dozen volunteers right there at transition who saw me and didn't say a thing. I wasted about 1 minute on that one too. I was tired at the start of the run and my calves felt a little tight, but not too bad. My pace to start wasn't good at all, but slowly it picked up. We had to head North to Pages lane, then east to 400 E and then south to 400 S. There was a slight uphill grade for the second half and it was tough. Coming down 4th south at the end was nice as it was downhill. I was passed only twice by runners (besides the 5 that didn't screw up the run transition and were already ahead to begin with). My run time was about 26 minutes.

My overall time was 1:11:35. I wanted less than 1:15 so I at least did that. But was hoping for close to a little over an hour. I took 8th place out of about 100 or so people. If I didn't make those errors I would have got down to around low 1:10. And probably placed in the top 3. Before my second error I was ahead by probably a couple minutes. Triathlons are a great deal about mental focus at transition times especially and I goofed up big time on this race.

I'm a little bugged that the race volunteers didn't know the course to help doofus' like me. I also thought the 2nd watering station was very badly placed (only about 300 yards from the finish line). Why not put it 300 yards into the run! Not just before finish when people are sprinting and not going to stop/slow down for a drink!

I'll probably skip this race next year. Sprints are too short. Especially when the swim is half of what it should be. Sprints are typically half of an olympic distance and an olympic distance is 1500 M which should be about an 800 yard swim for sprint distance, not 400. That takes a little away from my advantage. Oh well. I got a good workout today anyway, and plan to go for a 50 mile bike ride later this afternoon, as well as taking Jacob on a 3 mile run at sundown.

Next up... Utah Summer Games. Time to get in the pool!

Fully Recovered

This morning I discovered that my ankle and knee strains have fully recovered and I'm at 100%. No more limping/tenderness or pain! Feels good. I was getting a little nervous about this weekend's sprint tri. But I should be fine. This morning's ride was fast. No drafting today, but no wind either, so that was good:

Distance: 30.6
Time: 1:28
Average Speed: 20.9 mph
Max Speed: 30.2 mph

------------------------------------------------------------------------

The ride home was a little windy, but not too bad.

Distance: 30.6 miles
Time: 1:31
Average Speed: 20.1
Max Speed: 29.8 mph

Drafting

This morning as I started my ride and neared the end of Bluff Road, I saw three bikers merge onto Gentile about 200 yards ahead of me. I thought to myself, I'm going to catch them and draft for a bit. So I caught them at 3200 W and Gentile and they turned on 2200 W where I normally go. They followed the same path I normally take clear until 350 E and Shepherd Lane in Farmington. I drafted off them for about 6 miles.

I didn't feel so bad cause the guy in the lead had thighs almost the size of my waist. I was surprised though that these serious guys were only going about 21.5-22.0 mph. Their cadence was really high. Personally, I don't understand why such a high cadence. I like going into a lower gear and get a slower rhythm going with more power rather than spin like mad.

Anyhow I enjoyed the break and the rest of the way I was on my own. There was little to no wind to deal with the entire ride and was able to get to work in a really good time:

Distance: 30.6 miles
Time: 1:25
Average Speed: 21.6 mph
Max Speed: 30.6 mph

Very good ride. My left ankle and my right knee are much better after that ride! They don't hurt at all while riding, but once I get off they're still a little tender. I'm probably at 65% right now. Hoping that taking a break from running this week will get them healed up for this weekend's SDRC Sprint Tri. I'm probably not going to swim at all this week either given that I need to ride in to work tomorrow as well.

The first two weeks in June I will NOT be riding in to work at all since I need to really step the swimming up for the Utah Summer Games the third week in June. My goal is to put in at least 25K yards per week for the first two weeks in June and then taper for the games on June 18-19th. That should be a fun trip. Three days off work and spending time with the kids down in Cedar City. Should be lots of fun.
---------------------------------------------
The ride home also involved a little drafting. I caught up to a guy just getting on the Legacy trail from Redwood Road. He drafted off me for about 1 mile then he took the lead. I drafted for a couple miles and he motioned for me to take the lead. I did so, but after a couple minutes didn't see him in my wake. So I just kept the same pace. About 5 minutes later I saw his shadow next to mine so I picked it up just a bit so he could push it right behind me. After leading for about 10 minutes I slowed up and he went next to me and asked, "Where's the motor?". I asked him where he was going and he said Layton. I told him I was heading to Syracuse. He then took the lead for about 10 minutes at a pace of about 20mph. I was feeling like 22 was a more comfortable pace so I took the lead again. I slowly worked up to that pace so I could keep him close. But he dropped off and I never saw him after that.

I was able to fight the headwind and maintain a pretty good speed at the same time. Felt very good.

Distance:30.6
Time: 1:28
Avg Speed:20.8 mph

Neighborhood ride

This afternoon I made a few calls and left messages and didn't expect quite a good turnout on a holiday. Matt Yeates, Chad Frew, Jason Bremer, Ron Snow and myself went out to the end of the causeway and back. It was nice having a large group. This is a new personal record of going with a group of 5. Got some decent speed going even with a pretty good wind from the West.

Distance: 24.6 miles
Time: 1:11
Average Speed: 20.8 mph
Max Speed: 29.8 mph

Very nice ride. Lots of bugs. Thank goodness for the bug shield I have around my neck which I very easily move up over my mouth and nose. Had a concern about passing since I've never had anyone really explain to me cycling etiquette. I found that I was passing on the right to take the lead, but didn't feel that was correct after I had made the maneuver. I did tell Matt "Passing on the right" and then took the lead. After that though I passed on the left when taking the lead. That felt more safe so I'll be doing that from now on. Here's a pretty good page with some basic etiquette which is good to follow.

Results of the 2009 Syracuse Memorial Day Half Marathon - 1:45:59

So a new milestone has been reached. My first official Half Marathon race. I could hardly sleep last night I was excited for it. I wasn't nervous just anxious to start. Last night Jacob said he wanted to do it so we woke him and took him with us to register for it last minute.

When we got there we saw Dan and Liz Yardley from our Fruit Heights ward. It was nice to see them again.

At 6:45 they started the half marathon runners. I started my stop watch as soon as I crossed the starting line (only about 25 feet from the front of the pack).

Here's the map of the course:


I stayed right behind Tiffany Gallup and Cathi for the first 2 miles and afterwards either they slowed up a bit, or I felt more energy so I went ahead for just a bit. About 4 miles into it Cathi comes up and passes me and increases my pace. We stayed together from 4 - 8. My MP3 player quit working after 3 miles and the new battery wouldn't work either so I only got 2 songs before I was without it. I then used my breathing to help pace myself. I wasn't too disappointed not having tunes.

When I turned around at the top of the trail and started heading back I was still feeling good. When I got down to mile 10 I was a little worried. I was feeling pain in my ankles and a little in my right knee. I put up a mental block of the pain and kept the pace. The last mile was tough. I picked up the pace and started to get stabbing sharp pain in my right knee, but I again put up a mental block and within a couple minutes I brought it back down as the pain was gone. I sprinted the last stretch heading north on the path. I had a very strong finish.


I stopped my watch at the finish to get my actual time: 1:45:59. I wanted to get under 2:00 and I definitely did that. My overall pace was 8:01/mile which is way faster than what I did at the Stansbury Triathlon last Saturday. So I feel great that I didn't absolutely kill myself and leave nothing for this race. I had a great race and very happy with that time.

Cathi was a few minutes behind me and she ended with 1:49:37. She took first place for her age group (30- 39) and got a medal. Jacob got 2:17:01 and took first place for his age group (10 and Under). He was getting high fives and lots of encouragement for many runners. Only a couple kids his age were entered and he ran nearly the whole thing. He was so tough. Tiffany did good. She seemed a little disappointed with her time though. Liz Yardley ran it too. It was nice to see her and Dan and their kids. It was her first half too.

Overall a very good race. Next up: SDRC Sprint Triathlon this Saturday

My results at the 2009 Stansbury Triathlon

Our family slept over at Diana and Brendon's in a tent in their backyard. It was fun. We watched "Lil Rascals" projected on to the side of their house last night. The kids loved it and ate popcorn. I slept great last night in a sleeping bag in our tent. Got up naturally just before my alarm went off at 6:30.

Went in got ready, had some quick breakfast and headed over and got my timing chip and setup my transition area. Met up with Duane and Brian and Teri. Brian, Duane and I all started at the same time. I positioned myself right at the front by the buoy and when they said "Go", I started my stopwatch.

I was planning on bilateral breathing, but I ended up just breathing on the right side. I was disappointed with that cause I like to think that I'm now a fully converted bilateral breather, but this just goes to show that I'm still naturally a right side breather. Anyhow there were about a 9 people ahead of me that stayed ahead. My goggles were very foggy that I couldn't see the red buoy's very well off in the distance but as I got closer, realigned. Felt great on the swim and when I got out I looked at my watch and it just turned over to 20 minutes. That's great!
I was aiming for anything less than 30 minutes.

On my way back to the bike I stripped off the wetsuit fully and threw it over to Cathi who had my bag. The transition to the bike was very fast, just as I practiced at the SDRC clinic a few weeks ago. The bike course was flat and was just a four turn per lap course. I turned on my GPS just as I left the transition area and I fully got satellite connection after probably a half mile into it. According to my GPS:

Distance: 26.1 miles(not accounting for satellite acquiring time)
Time: 1:07
Average Speed: 23.2 mph
Max Speed: 29.8 mph

I was a little over zealous hoping for less than an hour on the bike. I was passed by about 15 bikers (All of them with the goofy beak helmets). And I passed about 30 people during the second lap who were all from the Sprint race.

When I transitioned to my run I looked at my watch and it said 1:31. When I got to the start of the run my watch said 1:33. During the run it was still a little cloudy, but I could tell the cloud cover was minimal and felt the heat of the sun coming through. My mouth was dry and at every aid station I took advantage of it. During the run I also thought about the half marathon I'm running on Monday (in two days) and kept telling myself to save something for that race. I didn't want to push it and be crippled for Monday. So I held back just a little.

I saw Duane, Brian and Teri during the run and they all seemed to be going strong and we shouted encouragement to each other each time. I saw Cathi and the kids all shouting for me about 50 yards from the finish line and I immediately jumped into sprint mode and ran for my life across the finish. I stopped my watch at the finish line and it came up with 2:24:52. That meant my 10K run was done in about 52 minutes. I was aiming for less than an hour. So I was pleased with that.

I was impressed with this race. It was flat. The turns were well laid out and the path from swim to bike transition was fully paved so I didn't need to worry about wearing shoes or flip flops for that portion. The aid stations were well manned and supplied. The only thing that concerned me is that some people after the race were exiting the transition area out of the bike-in gate where there weren't any race staff checking numbers. Most people went out of the bike out section where there were two or three number checkers. I'd be more concerned if my bike weren't on the low end of the value scale for those road bikes I saw. If someone wanted to risk a felony stealing a bike, they'd pick something that cost a few thousand more than mine.

Anyhow. Teri took second place in her age group for the Sprint distance. She was so happy and it was cool to see her get that. I took 9th in my age group out of 17. With this being my first one, I'm just glad that I was able to meet my run and swim goal. My bike goal was a little lofty, but now I know and can set a more reasonable goal for next time. Still, 23.2 mph average is dang good for me, so I'm not beating myself up over it. And if I ever get one of those goofy beak helmets, feel free to give me a good punch in the arm.

Here are the official results.

Cathi used Teri's camera for pictures, so I'm at her mercy on getting those pictures emailed to me which I will then add to this post.

Christmas all over again AND my first tumble

So on the way home on my bike I stopped to see Dale at his Bikewagon warehouse. He gave me 5 bibs and 2 jerseys for free. They were slightly used, but still in excellent condition. I was so excited. These were quality items. He said he got them at a swap meet for $20 and already gave away half of them. I was very pleased.

Then in Woods Cross on the Legacy Parkway bike trail I was coming up to a bicyclist who was going the same direction. He was on the right side and was slowing down. He was looking a little to the right so I thought he was going to stop and take a moment to rest or something. It was an older guy on a mountain bike. He reminded me of my dad. So he didn't come to a complete stop. As I was about to pass him he immediately turned left and blocked the entire path. It had just rained a few minutes before so the path was still a little wet. I yelled "Excuse me!", but it was too late, I couldn't go in front of him, or behind him. He didn't even look before doing the U-turn. I was able to slow down a bit, but not completely and I hit his rear tire. I was more concerned for my bike than me at the moment.

I don't remember how I landed, or if/how my feet got out of the clips, but I remember going over the top of my handle bars and my bike went with me. I remember landing in a tucked position and rolled without much impact. My shoes were unclipped at the end and I was a little muddy. I hit my shin on the handle bars, but not bad. No blood, no damage to either bike and he was still standing there kind of in shock. "Are you OK?". He felt dumb (as well he should have). I asked him a couple of times if he was OK and looked at his back tire to see if any spokes were bent or anything. I spun my front tire to see if there was any damage to my bike. Nothing. I said, "That could have been alot worse". Well then, See you later, and took off.

I was angry, but he got off easy. I didn't give him any retaliatory words except the tone in my voice when I said "Excuse me" when I was just about to hit him. Hopefully more people realize that the bike path has a line in the middle for a reason. The path should be considered a road. They need to stay on the right side of the road, when not passing, and should do a u-turn after looking behind them.

Distance: 30.6
Time: 1:30
Average Speed:20.4 mph

Trying to smear the farmer's tan line

I definitely have a line on my upper arms where the end of my jersey comes to. When I take off my shirt, I have a "farmer's tan". It looks really dumb. Well - my singlet equmen shirt came yesterday so I'm going to start wearing that (especially when it's been getting so warm now outside) to hopefully move that line up to my shoulders where the singlet is. I guess it doesn't matter cause the only time I take my shirt off in public is when I'm swimming, and nobody cares anyway, except me.

This morning's ride went well. Had a slight headwind most of the time, but not too bad:

Distance 30.6 miles
Time: 1:34
Average Speed:19.5 mph