Beautiful Cycling gif

Love this cycling gif from Henning M Lederer created f a music video for Max Cooper.

 See entire video below
via Dezeen

My Tri Training

Just over a month ago, on my first day of vacation, I broke the little toe on my left foot.   This has meant that I didn't snap my training lull after a May race.   At the time I should have been increasing my training and preparing for the Maine Sport Triathlon in September, I had to virtually stop training.  I booked our accommodation near the event before my injury and the thought of camping there that weekend without racing is eating at me.

So, with 7 weeks until the race, I'm back to training and will be working to make up ground.  For the next couple weeks I'll be focusing on the swim and bike portions to give my toe more time to heal before running.  I should be fine on the swim as that's my best part of the tri (though sadly the shortest).  My goal is to work on improving my cycle time.  Given this is the longest part of the race, it offers the best chance for improvement in overall time and I've added clipless shoes to the mix which should help my control on the bike and hopefully foot strength on the run by taking pressure off my arches during the bike.

My open water training spot

This year I'll be focusing more on brick workouts (swim/bike or bike/run in a single workout).  Last year the plan I used didn't have many bricks and I found that the transitions were difficult so I'll be incorporating two per week. I'll also be pushing the endurance pieces quickly up rather than a gradual incline.

My plan, as it stands, is below.  It was constructed based on my experiences and referencing other tri plans for the length of particular workouts during the training period.  All elements are in minutes unless otherwise specified.   Some plans focus on mileage while others focus on time.  For a longer race such as this, I like the time approach as it's about endurance, though I will be tracking my mileage, speed and pace using the Garmin 10 sport watch (more on that another time).

Week of July 20

• Monday:Swim 30
• Tuesday:Bike 45
• Wednesday:Brick Swim 20/ Bike 30
• Thursday:Swim 40
• Friday:Bike 45
• Saturday:Brick Swim 20/ Bike 60
• Sunday: Rest

Week of July 27

• Monday:Swim 40
• Tuesday: Bike 60
• Wednesday:Brick Swim 20/ Bike 45
• Thursday: Swim 30
• Friday:Brick Swim 20/ Bike 60
• Saturday:Bike 75
• Sunday: Rest

Week of August 3

• Monday:Brick Swim 30/ Bike 45
• Tuesday: Run 20
• Wednesday: Bike 75
• Thursday:Run 30
• Friday:Swim 30-45
• Saturday:Brick Swim 20/ Bike 30/ Run 20
• Sunday: Rest

Week of August 10

• Monday: Brick Swim 30/ Bike 45
• Tuesday:  Run 30-40
• Wednesday: Bike 90
• Thursday:Run 45
• Friday:Swim 45
• Saturday: Brick Bike 45/ Run 30
• Sunday: Rest

Week of August 17

• Monday:Swim 30
• Tuesday: Bike 105-120
• Wednesday: Run 45
• Thursday: Brick Swim 20/ Bike 45
• Friday:Bike 105-120
• Saturday: Run 60-70
• Sunday: Rest

Week of August 24

• Monday:Swim 20/ Bike 45
• Tuesday: Bike 75
• Wednesday: Run 60
• Thursday:Swim 30
• Friday: Bike 60-75
• Saturday: Run 45
• Sunday: Rest

Week of August 31

• Monday:Brick Swim 20/ Bike 30
• Tuesday:Run 45
• Wednesday:Swim 20
• Thursday: Bike or Run 30
• Friday:Rest
• Saturday: Swim 15 / Run 15
• Sunday: Race Day

Cycling and Taking Chances

 

 Every spring, the debate about cyclists on the street heats up.   This year it was stirred by a column by Wendy Leighton in my local paper.  She proposes that the State's laws are flawed because of some dangerous incidents she recounts, such as "Last summer on Route 231, I was approaching a blind hill with a blind curve when a woman driving a station wagon appeared in my lane, setting the stage for a head-on collision. There was a lone bicyclist on her right. She was over-compensating for the flawed, 3-foot law..."

As one adept rebuttal noted,she never once considers the dangerous action of the vehicle to be the drivers fault, but blames the cyclist and suggests "all the driver of a vehicle has to do is treat the cyclist just as she would any other vehicle"

I weighed in on the debate as I see another side of the issue, which is drivers not giving space to cyclists.  According to State law in Maine requires vehicles to give 3ft  to runners and cyclists on the road (not a suggestion as Leighton says).  However, all too often vehicles are not giving that space and are instead coming extremely close to me as a runner and cyclist, often at high speeds.

I don't believe drivers are considering the consequences of what happens if they misjudge when they're trying to squeeze between me and oncoming traffic.   180 lbs versus 2+tons doesn't have a good outcome for me. 
 
Arguing against me (and still somehow making my point), a lone commenter "You can pound your fist on the table and demand three feet all day long. The next time you are sitting in your car, look right and attempt to accurately judge three feet. If you are in a car, now try to imagine doing this in a pickup truck, a one ton truck, now a tracker trailer truck."

In a recent article in Australia (where the author is experiencing similar issues), he notes "..no one seems to have a problem with changing lanes to go around a parked car." which is very accurate.  People go out wide to get around other vehicles and would would never consider driving past a parked car as close and fast they pass runners and cyclists.

While most drivers are respectful and give people space on the road, too many times people choose to cut it very close (like less than a foot close) rather than give me space or slow down for the few seconds which would allow them to safely pass me.   It's great to know that, for those drivers, the risk to my life isn't worth the 10 seconds they'd have to wait.   


Because of the news paper allows only paid subscribers to comment, much of the dialogue about this issue is in multiple letters to the editor. Below is a selection

• Current bicycle laws are not realistic; Wendy Leighton
• Rebuttal; Wait until it is safe to pass; James Witherell
• Consider the Consequences; Joshua Howe
• A Dangerous Situation; Normand Boulay Sr.

Upcycled Dictionary Book Art Prints

I stumbled across these on Etsy the other day, and love the combination of vintage illustrations on the book pages.   The seller, PRRINT calls it upcycling, taking an old object and rather than recycling, they're making it more valuable. At $8.00 a print (plus $2.50 shipping to the US), they're very reasonable. 

Sadly, many of the photographs are a little out of focus, but they look like beautiful illustrations.  I especially like the head as it has a very Monty Python feel.

 

Jelly Fish

Frog Reading

Balloons

Bike on a map

Octopus

Alice in Wonderland

Beware of What You Put Inside

Amazing Wood

I love wood.  I'm fascinated by it's properties, colors, grains and what people can do with wood.  Below are some beautiful pieces from some amazing craftsman

Boefloor

Using wood scanning systems, the manufacturer optimizes the use of each board by cutting along the unique lines that a tree gives providing a truly unique product. Sadly, it doesn't appear to yet be available in America.

Splinter Bike 

Splinter bike is an all wood bike crafted by hand by Michael Thompson and will be ridden by James Tully in an attempt to break the land speed record.  This amazing piece of engineering has been hand crafted and uses no metal fasteners.

Kinetic Marble Track

A project that you can build, this marble track is the baddest of kids toys, running around the entire room.

The Floris Wubben upside down chair and upside down lounge chair

These stunning chairs were made using inverted willow trees.

"The legs have been obtained by twisting and splinting its branches and letting it dry into the final shape.  The seat and back were naturally kept in line with the bole’s silhouette. This project had been put in practice jointly with the artist Bauke."