Back on the Road Again

This afternoon's ride:

27.2 miles

Out and back to San Jose (yes, I knew the way)

Mostly clear, 57 degrees, a bit of wind

No excuses today. Dry roads. Sunshine... at least for the first half of the ride.

The instant the sun went down, the temperature dropped. It's always surprising how fast it gets cold when the sun drops below the western horizon. There must be some psychology behind it. No more sun... it's getting dark... and, wow, feel how cold it's getting and how quickly.

If there were the same drop in temperature with the sun still shining, I don't think it would feel so cold so fast. We have a wind chill factor... the wind makes it feel colder. Maybe we ought to have a sun warmth factor... the sun makes it feel six degrees warmer than it actually is, or some such thing.

There is certainly a sun-warmth factor in the middle of summer in Arizona. There is a big difference between working in the blazing sun compared to working in the shade – even if the air temperature is exactly the same in both places.

It was a pleasant ride today, but rather uneventful. Uneventful is usually a good thing when riding a bike.

I did have a herd of 40 or 50 cows watch me as I road by their pasture. I think, without exception, every cow was looking at me. I actually felt kind of special for some strange reason.

Have a good ride.

Rain Delay

It's a standing rule for living in the desert. One does not complain about rain.

And rain we've had the past several days.

The result?

Spring poppies in the desert... maybe.

Happier farmers... certainly. This is a good time for rain. The cotton fields lie fallow waiting for new cotton seeds in March.

And it snows in the mountains. Yes... even in the desert.

Here's proof: a snow-covered Mt. Graham behind the new temple being constructed in our little valley.

Another result – more germane to the subject of this blog – it keeps me off the saddle.

I know. There were some breaks in which I could have squeezed in a ride. But the wet roads, intermittent rain and cold combined to keep me off the bike.

The forecast calls for sunny weather to return soon so I'll enjoy the much-needed rainfall and, instead of writing about my riding, I will introduce you to my ride.

Meet my bike. It doesn't have a name. I'm not that kind of a person. I haven't named my truck either. Coincidentally, both are red. Maybe that says something about the kind of person I am. I don't know what.

I bought the bike on eBay about 11 years ago. The seller purchased it new to do a ride from California to New York. He developed some medical problems and could not make the ride so decided to sell the bike. I recall he was a roofer from Eureka.

We compared sleeve length and inseams and consummated the sale.

It was a purchase with no regrets.

It's a Waterford made by Waterford Precision Bicycles in Waterford, Wisconsin.

Most people don't know the name Waterford but do know Schwinn.

Back in the day when Schwinn was a real bicycle company (it's only a brand name now), Schwinn's racing division hand-built competition bicycles that were given the name of Paramount. They were among the best bicycles in the world.

When Schwinn went bankrupt, the guy in charge of building Paramounts acquired that part of the company and changed the name to Waterford Precision Bicycles.

Unlike many of today's road bikes made of exotic materials like carbon and titanium, Waterfords feature a frame made of light weight (but strong) steel tubes, lugged at the joints.

I will tell you about lugged joints someday.

It's a classic road bike with a comfortable leather saddle made by Brooks of England, a company that has been making horse and bicycle saddles since 1866.

Here's a picture.

A few years ago, I made a longish ride from our home in Mesa to Salt Lake City. The fifth leg of the ride was from Flagstaff to Page, Arizona. About 40 or 50 miles into the ride, I stopped for a break at the small reservation community of Cameron.


I was sitting on a bench just outside the Cameron Trading Post with my Waterford leaning up against a porch post. A woman – I think from a tour bus – came up and began inspecting my bicycle.


"Is this your bike?" she asked. I found the question a bit funny since I was the only one around wearing bike shorts, bike shoes, bike gloves, bike jersey and a bike helmet.


"Yes," I replied. "That's my bike."


"I'm from Waterford, Wisconsin," she said, "and my neighbor makes these bikes."


What are the chances sitting on a bench outside the Cameron Trading Post on the Navajo Nation in Arizona of meeting someone who knows the man who made my bike in Waterford, Wisconsin?


About the same, I guess, as four days of rain in the desert in the middle of a drought.


Good riding to you.

I ride. I write.

I ride. A bicycle. A red road bike.

I write. Mostly with a computer. I'm a Mac.

I ride because I enjoy it and it's about the only exercise my knees — at least, my right knee — will permit. A bike is less expensive than a pool.

I write because it is required (much of the time) and also because I enjoy it (some of the time).

I earn money with my writing. I would like to be able to earn money with my riding but I'm afraid it will never happen. Too old. Too slow.

This journal, or blog, or diary, or whatever you want to call it, is where my riding and my writing intersect.

I call it Bicycle Writing. Here's the plan...

I ride on as many days as my schedule allows. That's usually three or four times a week. I have ridden as many as six times in a week and as few as zero times. You can't get much fewer than zero times.

Every time I ride I will write.

I already keep a ride log -- miles, average speed, course, time, maximum speed, etc -- of each ride I make. Been doing that for years.

This will be my ride blog.

I rode a lot last year. I was motivated for reasons I might get into later.

I plan to ride even more this year but spread those rides more evenly through the course of the year.

Last year, 2009, I really didn't get into a serious riding routine until June. From June 1 through early December, I rode three or four times, sometimes five and even six times, each week. A total of 84 rides in the second half of the year. More than 2,640 miles.

From January to June 2009 I rode a total of one time and that was on New Year's Day. Shameful.

So this year I am planning to ride more frequently but that really only means getting into a riding groove much earlier in the year.

So far in January? Three rides. That's not good enough. Short days and cold air are my enemies.

I live in southeastern Arizona so it's certainly not lung-freezing cold. Still, when on a bike saddle, there is the continuous wind chill to consider. But I have lights and my balaclava so that leaves me without excuse. I will do better. I am hoping this riding journal provides an extra measure of motivation.

I rode today so it must be working.

TODAY'S RIDE...

27.5 miles

From home to Bryce, Arizona and back

1 hour 42 minutes

No wind, 55 degrees (until the sun went down)

MY OTHER RIDES SO FAR IN JANUARY...

January 6

23.5 miles

Bryce-Pima loop

1 hour 34 minutes

Cold with some wind

January 14

25.5 miles

To Bryce and back

1 hour 45 minutes

Windy on the return ride

This is a long post. I will try to keep them shorter in the future. The idea is to log my rides and share some thoughts I had while riding through the cotton fields and deserts of southeastern Arizona.

Good riding to you.