Back in the Saddle

It was 51 degrees this afternoon, and I took advantage by taking the Surly out for a brisk road ride.  Riding inside on the trainer all winter makes you forget what a headwind is like.  I felt pretty good, but I've got some work to do.  Riding yourself back into shape each spring is part of the fun.

Don't I look handsome in my new Leinie's jersey?

It's good to be back.

Winter Cold

I returned from my work trip in sunny Corpus Christi to below zero temps in central Illinois.  Then, a few days later, the mercury began to rise and we enjoyed a week-long stretch of weather in the upper 50s and lower 60s during the day.  The snow melted and all rejoiced.  It would have been a great opportunity to get some rare, outdoor February miles on the road bike.  Instead, I spent Valentine's Day and the majority of the two following days in bed going back and forth between shivering and sweating.  It was awful.

I have spent the past week at work trying to minimize my coughing and sniffling spells.  As usual, colleagues and students drop by my office regularly throughout the day. Yesterday, a friend brought to my attention the fact that I have a few things in my office which might be considered strange to some people.

Here is the table that you see as you enter my office.  Does something strange stick out to you?

No? You don't see it?  Let me give you a hint.

I ran out of Kleenex. I swear.

In other news, I am a fan of the Southern Agricultural Economics Association.  Most conferences I go to disappoint on the swag.  I end up coming home with a cheap tote bag, a note pad or two, and some crappy pens.  Here is what I brought home from Texas.

Apparently keeping beverage cold is a high priority in Texas.  I think this is something we can all get behind.

Super Bowl Sunday

Having to go to an agricultural economics conference over Super Bowl weekend is not all bad.

View from my hotel room balcony

73 degrees, palm trees, the Gulf coast, and a 5 mile run.  Not a bad way to spend a morning in February.

Snow Day: Being Neighborly and Kids These Days

We had a storm go through the Midwest the past two days. Some might say we were "pummeled" by said storm.  Maybe you heard something about it.

Don't get me wrong, this was a major storm.  Major news sources have provided an excess supply of images from this catastrophic event.

Satellite image of the storm from the NYT

Flights were cancelled as Midwestern airports shut down

It was so bad, it almost stopped this Chicago hipster from getting some pictures

University administration deemed it necessary to cancel classes today, so I am working from home.  Which is to say I have my laptop open while watching Sportscenter in front of my fireplace.  I am sure the students are celebrating the snow day in much the same way as they celebrate anything - binge drinking and sex before marriage.

The effects of this major winter storm were even more alarming in my neighborhood.

See all of that accumulation! The snow is almost all the way up to the base of my fire pit,
which is AT LEAST 6 inches off the ground!

By noon I decided it was time to assess the damage in my driveway.  There was some drifting, and there was some ice.  It was definitely the most unpleasant shoveling experience I have had since moving to Illinois.  The whole 30 minutes of it.

It was a popular time to be out shoveling. Both of my neighbors across the street were also out going to town with their shovels.  One of these neighbors happens to be a single mother.  I have no idea why she is single, and have never asked.  She was struggling.  The other guy, also named Nick, took care of business and went back in the house.  When I finished my driveway, the single mom was still working on hers.  Nobody had offered her any help.  There were kids out in the neighborhood playing in the snow that were of shoveling age, but they offered no support.  So I walked over and asked if she wanted some help.  15 minutes later we were done, no big whoop.

The entire time I had assumed her kids were not home. I know school was cancelled, but maybe they were spending the day with their dad.  During the course of our conversation (in between sniffing snot and wiping it from our noses), it became clear that her kids were in the house because they did not want to be out shoveling.  They were watching TV or playing video games!

I am in no way claiming that I was forced to do a lot of manual labor as a child, nor were my parents hardasses by any means.  But I do think that if it came down to sitting in the house and watching TV while my mom shoveled outside by herself, I would "want" to go outside and help. If for nothing else than I would feel guilty. Luckily for all of us my dad took care of 99% of the shoveling and snow removal (and still does).

The Difference Between Biking and Running: A Pictorial

Last summer I bought a Garmin Forerunner 305 to use when biking and running. Being a researcher, I am kind of a data nerd.  The Garmin collects a plethora of data about pace/speed, heartrate, time, and distance.  You can have it give you averages, current values, max values, etc.  Serious athletes would use this type of data to chart progress and design and follow training programs. 

I use it to make pictures.

And I've noticed these pictures provide an excellent illustration of the difference between the effort you exert while biking versus running.  Allow me to explain.

Exhibit A: Output from a cyclocross race on 1-30-11.
Note: I finished 4th in this race. The total number of participants is unimportant, but I can assure you it was more than 4.



Exhibit B: Output from a mountain bike ride at Kickapoo on 1-22-11

Exhibit C: Output from a 70 mile road ride on 9-26-10

Exhibit D: Output from a 6 mile training run on 1-29-11

Can you tell the difference?  Here's a hint - look at the red line in the charts which is showing my heartrate. The values for this series can be seen on the left axis and the scale is basically the same in all four figures, so they can be directly compared.  Bike rides, especially cyclocross and mountain bike rides, generate a much more volatile heart rate pattern than running.  Also, the peak heart rates that I hit on bike rides tends to be 10-15 bpm higher than when running (at least until my heart rate gets up to 160 during my runs).  So biking results in more anaerobic effort, while running is more aerobic.  I already knew this to be true, but it is cool to see the data support it.

The point? I think doing both cycling and running workouts is very good for me.

Heat Wave

It reached the mid 30s today, and there was a strange reddish-orange thing glowing in the sky.  After a few google searches, I determined it was either a UFO or something called the sun.  I faintly remember seeing this sun thing before, although it has been a few months.

I also found my digital camera while I was organizing some things in my office. So I took the mountain bike out to Homer Lake to check out the trails.  I spent about 90 minutes riding a total of 13 miles or so.  Definitely not as technical or hilly as Kickapoo, but closer and still a lot of fun.  It would probably be boring riding at Homer in the summer, but with some snow on the ground it might become a regular winter riding spot.


The Homer Lake Trailhead

View down one of the wooded trails

The balaclava was not needed today. I got sweaty.
And, yes, that is a size L jersey fitting me quite nicely.  Thanks for asking.

The Cobia, post-ride.  Lots of slush in the drivetrain. 
Ran very low pressure (~15 psi) and just floated over the snow.

Buying Groceries and Cussing in Yiddish

I have already written about my recent affinity toward applesauce. Tonight, while making a quick grocery run at Schnucks*, I noticed something.

Notice anything funny about that picture?  Take a few seconds to look it over, I'll wait.

See? Applesauce is listed specifically on the sign for aisle 3, along with much more general items - canned fruit, canned vegetables, etc.  Why is applesauce special?  Why do corn, green beans, peas, pears, and peaches all get lumped into their respective general categories?  I'll tell you why - because applesauce is awesome.

But simply listing it on its own is not enough.  Schnucks management has deemed applesauce to be so awesome that it is displayed in a noticeably larger font than the other items located in aisle 3. And rightly so.

Was applesauce on my grocery list for tonight? No, it was not.  I already have a stockpile in my pantry. 

Did I buy some more tonight anyway?  Yes, I most certainly did.

*I have a friend who has a friend who is Jewish. Very Jewish.  My friend told me that her friend told her that Schnucks is Yiddish slang for dickhead. A quick google search partially confirms that schnuck is some form of insult in Yiddish. I think of this everytime I buy groceries.