New Wheels!!!

During my ride last Sunday in the Tour de Cure I noticed that my bike really seemed to be dragging. I went through the mental checklist, brakes rubbing??? no. wheel locked in??? yes. is it a mental thing??? well... that will remain unanswered. However it just felt like the resistance was incredibly high for the whole ride. WHAT GIVES????

So I finished the ride last week and then went on another ride on Tuesday before the monsoons hit NE Ohio. Still the same feeling, now confirming it's not in my head, I pick the front end up and give the wheel a spin. It moves about 10 inches and stops, try again, same results. WTF? So I loosen up the cone on the axle and now the wheel is too loose. WTF? I also notice all of the grease from the moderately recent repacking of the front hub has oozed out of the seal. WTF?

So finally on Friday Lexi and I decided it would be a good idea to peel apart the front hub to investigate.

Lexi supervising


Side note: The wheelset on my bike consists of the original wheels that came on the 1997 TREK 5000 OCLV road bike. Who know Shimano 105 hubs and Aurora rims weren't meant to last for 12+ years???

I've also had quite the devil of a time trying to keep my front wheel tight and straight. The two things did not seem to go together. Either straight or tight, not both.

So I started to peel apart the hub, as I wiped away the excess grease ooze from the side of the hub I noticed shinny little flakes of metal. WTF? I pull of the first cone, luckily there was enough grease to still be a freakin' mess! As I clean the first cone I notice an odd marking. As you see from the picture below, the odd marking right where the bearings roll. Yes, the cone had collapsed. This was the cause of the metal shavings in the bearings, the slow rolling wheel and had a hand in ruining the grease seals that let the grease ooze out.

Broken Part

THAT'S IT!!!!

I had had enough of putting the band-aids on these old wheels. I had been eyeing up a new set of Mavic Ksyriums at Eddie's so I went for them. It was more than time and although I was going to try to hold out until the end of the season I bought the wheel. I also had to get new brake pads, my old ones (circa 1997) were past due, and I didn't want to tear up the new rims with old, metal infused, brake pads.

So I installed the new wheels with Lexi supervising and I stupid grin on my face I'm sure. The bike looked great so I took Maurice for a spin. The new wheels were AWESOME!!!! I rocked 23miles through the valley at a 16.6mph pace which I was very proud of! Let's see if I can break 17 by the end of the summer!

Enjoy the pics!

Old rear wheel


New wheel!


Maurice

2009 Tour de Cure

Sorry for the delay! Last Sunday I rode the 100k "champion" route of the Tour de Cure. I was simply hoping to finish the ride in under 5 hours. The night before I didn't sleep at all, the last time I looked at the clock it said 1:30 and then my alarm went off at 5:15am. Sheesh, just like work! However, I hoped up out of bed at the alarm and grabbed a quick shower to get my day started right! :)

I had some breakfast, packed up the bike, finished packing up my bag and then the best thing of the day happened. Molly got up and said she wanted to come with me to see me off! That meant a lot to me, having her support truly makes a HUGE difference! And you can thank her for the pictures! lol So we headed off at a mere 6:15am the drive was only across town which was nice.

When we arrived at Blossom Music Center there were a dozen or so people in the parking lot getting themselves together for the ride. We hoped out and I got my bike ready before we headed over to registration. There were people still setting up but everyone was friendly and wishing us a good morning and safe ride. Well...except for the lady at registration. She was barking, literally, barking orders at people I need this now and that there and two more copies of these. I know she was in charge of the whole Rock n Ride 2009 but sheesh, she made my head hurt and I didn't even have to deal with her! Too loud, too early!

So, back to the car to get myself ready for the big day. I pulled all my gear together and got it on while Molly fastened my number plate to my CamelBak. One last check and we were ready to go.



Here's where I need to digress a bit. I'm not quite sure why but I still get nervous for big rides, like a little kid getting ready for a car trip. I had to use the restroom like 5 times between when I woke and when I started riding. Oh well! Better 5 trips than 1 accident! lol :)

So we lined up for the start, had the run down of all the rules and route markers and then we were off! I blew a kiss to Molly, my sweet and started on my day of adventure.



Before I was even out of Blossom I met a middle-aged guy named Ray, he seemed to be about the same speed as I was heading out at so we ended up riding together the whole time, chit-chatting like little kids! The ride was great, well marked, well stocked! We hit three massive hills that Ray powered up and I was like a tortoise heading up. However, i made it and didn't quit!

Ray and I rocked out, it was painful and tested my intestinal fortitude many times here were the stats:
61.8 miles
15.8mph avg.

WHAT??? I just rode almost 62 miles with that sort of average???? I was pumped, but a little sore! I pushed through many painful hills and made it! The reason why I was pumped was that this ride was a huge improvement over last year where I was lucky to have that sort of average on a 60+ mile ride! :) So needless to say we shattered the 5 hour I have hoped for and finished in about 3 hours and 57 minutes I believe. :)

Not only that but when I got back to registration that had some awesome Red Rider jerseys left so I got one!!! A Red Rider was someone who was participating in the event and also has Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes! Yep, that's me!!! Check out the jersey, it's my new fav!!!

Great ride, over $1200 raised, life is good!

Red Rider Jersey

Saturday First

Hello everyone! It was a really busy weekend!!! Saturday I decided to rest up for the big ride on Sunday, so Molly and I decided to go to White House Fruit Farm and pick fresh strawberries! I've attached some pictures to show you how it went. Also on Friday my little Lexi ate a bug and got sick all over everything in the apartment. :( The carpet, couch and comforter all felt her wrath! So the evening was spent at the laundry mat washing the comforter. All and all it was a great Spring Saturday and Lexi is doing much better. It hit the sack somewhat early to get ready for my Tour de Cure ride on Sunday, stay tuned for the TDC ride report.

Arriving at the farm


Molly picking berries


Me picking berries


Our pickings


Our fingers afterwards

Sorry...

Once again, getting "blog lazy". I'll try to get a new post on Monday after the Tour de Cure ride. Have a great weekend!

Throwback Friday!

Sorry it's been awhile. Between my sisters graduation and her wedding over the past few weeks my Friday's have been crazy! This throwback Friday I bring you an invention that, "sucks as it cuts".



http://www.flowbee.com/

YES!!! That's right! The Flowbee! Simply attach this miracle of modern engineering to your vacuum and cut away. You can even cut your own hair in the comfort of your own home! It practically pays for itself after one use!!! lol

Enjoy!

Jamaica Mon!

So, last week I went to Jamaica with the family for my sisters wedding. It was freaking AWESOME! I wanted to stay in Jamaica, partially because it was amazing and partially because I wasn't looking forward to the long trip home.

I decided to go on my first "pump vacation" since starting my insulin pump last August. It was interesting and I was a little scarred getting started but everything turned out ok. My numbers actually stayed really steady for not using the pump. Having done it I think everyone should take a break at some point from their pump. Outside of getting the prescriptions filled there isn't much else you need to do other than let your Dr. know in case things go south. There were some benefits to the pump vacation, not being attached to the pump for starters! It also made me resort back to basics as far as carb counting and carb ratios were concerned which was kind of compforting to know not much has changed there.

I won't bore you with all of the details but I used 2 shots a day, one at 9am and 9pm, of Lantus at 15 units per shot to replace the pump. The I used a Humalog pen throughout the day to cover my food intake similar to bolusing in the pump.

It wasn't until I got home that I remembered why I liked the pump so much, I forgot a 9am shot of Lantus. Once I figured out that I thought about taking the shot but since I was stuck in a meeting until 10:30am, I never did. My blood sugar was out of control until I could get home and reinstall my insulin pump.

Overall it was a great trip, a great wedding and a great break from my pump. However, I missed my pump, missed Molly and missed my own bed. So I was happy to b back as well!

Here are some pics from the trip:

The rents and brother sleeping on the way there


Chicken's Magic Tour Bus = our shuttle


The beach


The beach right outside of our room


The awesome waiter from the reception dinner


The view from my porch


My brother and I


THE wedding


It's official!


The view of our resort from the catamaran


The whole fam


My brother and I, a bit worn and burned


The end.