July Numbers

First things first, HUGE shout out to David and Suzie Olsen on completing Ironman Boulder!  David finished 22nd out of 338 in his AG and Suzie finished 8th out of 133 in her AG!  Now, if you guys could ever figure out how to do Ironman Arizona, we could go mano-a-mano on our finishing times.

Just as I feared, but swore wouldn't happen, as soon as I get my MTB all set to ride, my running plummets.  As you recall, my running was coming along nicely.  Keeping my trusty metronome handy, I was clipping along at 180 cadence for 8 and 9 mile "fun" runs.  Gone were the days of heading out for a quick 3, 4, or 5 miler.  I was becoming efficient enough to actually enjoy the longer stuff.  Alas, I fix the tire problem, and brakes, on my my MTB, and it's all about the trails again.  Not to mention that my tri bike is back on the rack too. In fact, I've only ridden it in May, June, and July only this year and logged a mere 613.26 miles.  If I don't get back on my tri rig for the rest of the year, it would be my lowest annual output (since I started keeping data in December 2009) by about 406 miles.

Swimming?  What's that?!?!  STILL no yards in the pool or in the lake.  I haven't been in either since January.  We even renewed our YMCA membership with the anticipation of getting back.  So, far, it's not happening.

JULY 2010 TOTALS (IMAZ 2010 TRAINING YEAR):
SWIM = 26750 yards
BIKE = 554.69 miles
RUN = 82.7 miles

JULY 2011 TOTALS:
SWIM = 39042 yards
BIKE = 578.87 miles
RUN = 0 miles

JULY 2012 TOTALS (IMAZ 2012 TRAINING YEAR):
SWIM = 27000 yards
BIKE = 338.63 miles
RUN = 96.33 miles

JULY 2013 TOTALS:
SWIM = 11200 yards
BIKE = 321.91 miles (169.77 tri & 152.14 MTB)
RUN = 6.5 miles

JULY 2014 TOTALS

SWIM =  0 yards

BIKE = 227.23 (96.58 tri & 130.65 MTB)

RUN = 5.33 miles

 

Rekindling A Love Affair

Went in to pick up my new brake pads today, but was quickly told that they weren't in.  Un-friggin-believable, right?!?!  I was told that the order was already in and that they'd be in today.  Come to find out that the order wasn't in and that it was, allegedly, put in a couple minutes after the cut-off on Wednesday.  As a result, they were do in the shop on MONDAY!  Seriously?!?!  Seriously.  So, we end up checking a few of the bikes on the floor to see if they are built up with what I need.  Nope.  Completely frustrated, I end up walking towards the door to leave.  Right there, right at the door, something caught my eye.  It was a MTB bike that we hadn't checked yet, but was sporting Avid Elixr 1 brakes.  I went in for a closer look and, sure enough, JACKPOT!  There they were, the elusive brake pads that I've been looking for.  The shop ended up pulling them out and I ended up installing them a couple hours later.  Finally, I'm back in MTB business.  I suppose I own my bike an apology, but I'm not quite ready for that yet.  After all, she is high maintenance, and has caused me a bit of grief lately, but it's not entirely her fault.  Let me get a few rides under my belt, get the MTB romance built back up, and maybe, just maybe, I'll apologize for the negative posts/comments then!

I've Just About Had It!

Sometime, late last month, I got around to picking up some new brake pads for my MTB.  After watching several YouTube videos on how to do it, I felt confident in my abilities.  Well, those pads sat on a garage shelf for a few weeks before I got around to installing them.  When I finally had time to make the switch-aroo, I realized that my hex wrench was too small.  After some scurrying around, I found an Allen wrench that was able to remove the necessary screw nicely.  This was, per the videos, the reservoir for the brake fluid.  Once off, I wasn't really sure why that needed to be done, so I put it back in place and surveyed the scene again.  I saw the pin that the videos said needed to be removed, but not several of the other components mentioned.  Well, at this point, I figured, "why not", and just dove right in.  I removed the pin, pulled out the pads, and the metal clamps keeping them put.  Hmmm, that's it?!?  The pads were out.  According to the video, there was going to be brake fluid leakage and several more steps to follow.  Well, that was easy!  The one thing I did remember, was to make sure that the calipers were pushed all the way back, before installing anything, or replacing the wheel.  OK, done.  I now go to install the new brake pads, and, wait for it.......................they don't FRIGGIN' FIT!  They are the wrong ones!  I specifically told the dude, at the shop, that my brakes were Avid Elixir 1.  When he handed me the pads, I verified that they would, indeed, fit and went so far as to tell him the exact model bike while reiterating what brakes it had.  His response was a very positive, "Yes"  @#$%@!@#$!@#$^#$%&$%^*!  This bike is really, REALLY, starting to piss me off.  Honeymoon over I guess!  So, 4 or 5 more days go by and today I make a return trip to the shop.  I bring the old pads in and tell the guy (one that I've worked with for years now) and explain what's going on.  He quickly recognized that the pads I was holding wouldn't fit what I'm riding.  DUH!  What the?!?!  He disappears for a while and comes back with news that I really didn't want to hear.  They didn't have any of my correct pads, and wouldn't have any until Friday!  ANOTHER return trip!  Now, you may be asking yourself, why do I keep returning to this shop?  Quite honestly, their prices can't be beat and they have been good to me for going on 6 years now.  The few bumps I encounter aren't big enough for me to look elsewhere for my biking needs.  So, until Friday, another week goes by with no mountain biking.  Hopefully, HOPEFULLY, I'll get this rectified this weekend and will report back about a glories trail ride.