Don Greer Goes Bicycling: I've Been Bad, I Know

No. I haven't been missing bike rides... far from it! But I'm way, way behind in my blogging. It just seemed that, for awhile, I was just riding with nothing noteworthy really happening. Generally I guess one thing I should report that my use of prescription testosterone has been a big success so far. After five months now, my body composition continues to change for the better as my weight creeps downward (about 207 now) with no loss of muscle mass. I'm starting to think realistically about weighing 190 or less now.

Riding this Spring
To catch up on the cycling, I've put in just over 1700 miles since my last blog entry. And most of it has, until recently, been just pretty much routine. Enjoyable, yes of course... just not really note-worthily so and certainly nothing epic to report. I have been trying to make sure a high percentage of my rides are at least 30 miles in length and my focus has shifted from riding fast to logging a lot of miles at more moderate speeds. We have had wind most every day which is common here in Nebraska. But this year it seems somehow to have more unrelenting than ever. A good many days have been in the 20+ mph range. As those who ride know, this means that there is not really a "neutral condition" day to help you judge your progress. There's nothing to do but HTFU and carry on of course.

Link to My Ride Records at Bikejournal.com

Sorting Through My Bikes
I don't believe I've mentioned this before but I have lots of bikes.... eight or nine or something like that. I'm a big fan of LeMond frames because they are good quality, they fit me, and there aren't going to be any more of them made for awhile, if ever. Also the name "LeMond" sounds very sexy and Euro doesn't it?

Anyway, I'm always experimenting with various new parts on my bikes as well as thinking about which bike to ride. But this spring I've sort of evolved toward taking three of my favorite road bikes and perfecting them while putting the others in a safe place for future use. One of the three favored bikes, "Old Reliable" took me through Cycle Montana last summer without incident and is soon to return there in a couple weeks. "OR" is geared for the mountains and is very nearly perfect, so she will not be altered. She has received new handlebar tape... a very tasteful Deda dark blue. Here is Old Reliable, with her new bar tape, in action last week at a ride in Tennessee. She is shod in DT Swiss RR-1s (now called 465s I think it is) in this pic and not the racy Mavics I used last summer.

A blog entry on that Tennessee adventure will be forthcoming VERY soon. I'll also blog on the other two bikes-in-transition in that blog entry.

Taco Ride

I did have one semi-noteworthy ride recently that ought to be reported. Did a local Thursday night ride here that is mostly done by drinkers who have a cycling problem. With friends Dusty and Megan I rode up the Wabash Trace Trail to Mineola, Iowa and the Mineola Steakhouse for beer and tacos. Good company and a good time.