Yesterday Lori and I went for a road bike ride through Stinson Beach and up Fairfax- Bolinas Road and the 7 sisters. Santa brought Lori a new ibike computer for measuring power (and just about every other possible parameter like temperature, altitude, wind speed, speed, grade, time, moon phase (not really but the date is recorded)) while she is riding. It's a nice piece of engineering, using all this data to calculate power as she rides. Power is the preferred parameter to measure if you are a triathlete these days. Training plans and specific workouts all use power instead of heart rate, time, or how you feel. Just another reason not to be a triathlete (but not nearly as compelling as the swimming in a non-life-threatening situation).
Lori had to perform 5 calibration rides where she rode 20mph and then coasted down to 8mph. This gives the computer enough information to calculate the bicycle friction drag and wind drag. She did those rides, then we rode the six miles to Stinson Beach for her 4-mile calibration ride. We had a low-wind day and the road is smooth and relatively flat so it was a good place to do the longer ride. It took two tries, but we got that ride done, and the computer was calibrated.
From there it was about 14 miles home, 2000' of climbing, and some beautiful scenery. Lori burned 550 calories riding home, and averaged 130 watts including downhill sections.
Today we rode again. I'm training for the Oklahoma FreeWheel ride across Oklahoma (of course) in June of 2009. Doing this ride is the brainchild of my brother, Hal. My dad, also Hal, and I have signed on. I officially started training today.
We rode to Pt. Reyes Station via Bear Valley today. We were going to come home by way of the Mountain, but it started raining at Pt. Reyes Station. 45 degrees and rain is a recipe for some cold riders, so we took the easiest path possible (which isn't saying much). We ended up just riding back up from the coast on Panoramic Highway (still 1500' of climbing). We did the ride with Dorette and the Ultraman Duane.
Duane and I had some fun on the last climb back home from Stinson Beach. Duane is 4.5 years older than me, and of course, an Ultraman. As we approached the Pantoll pass, we slowly cranked up our effort until we were both at our limit. Duane (Mr. I averaged a 105 heart rate Ultraman) peaked out at 161 bpm near the top, and I gave it my best grimace (no HR monitor to reflect my pain). I couldn't drop the old guy, but he didn't try to pass me at the top either.
Anyway, Lori and I got our 48 miles in today. It's a start for OKFree I guess. I think it will take a lot more than that to be ready though. What about you?
:-) Night night!
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Merry Christmas!
It has been a good year for us, and Christmas was no exception. We had friends over for dinner last night and had the traditional Dungenous crab, salmon, and lamb. Call it a California tradition since it is crab season. We ate well, that is for sure.
Then Santa showed up. Doe and Duano gave us a gift certificate to take a seaplane flight around the Bay Area. It's going to be super cool! We will try to choose the time to get some good photos. Thaks D&D!
A couple of days ago I went for a hike down the hill in Muir Woods. I mostly took pictures with my Hasselblad, but I did snap a few with the 5D after it started to rain. Here is a look down the Fern Creek trail.
The yellow alder leaves were a nice contrast to the dark green and red-brown of the Redwood trees. The rain on the leaves gives it the contrasty look.
It has been a pretty dry year so it is nice that our weather has finally turned wet. We had the big storm our wedding weekend, then it was dry again for six weeks or so. Now, finally we are getting the daily storms blowing through. Very winter and Christmas like (in a Northern California kind of way).
Hmm, I'm rambling. Anyway, we hope you had a wonderful Christmas Day. We did!
Then Santa showed up. Doe and Duano gave us a gift certificate to take a seaplane flight around the Bay Area. It's going to be super cool! We will try to choose the time to get some good photos. Thaks D&D!
A couple of days ago I went for a hike down the hill in Muir Woods. I mostly took pictures with my Hasselblad, but I did snap a few with the 5D after it started to rain. Here is a look down the Fern Creek trail.
The yellow alder leaves were a nice contrast to the dark green and red-brown of the Redwood trees. The rain on the leaves gives it the contrasty look.
It has been a pretty dry year so it is nice that our weather has finally turned wet. We had the big storm our wedding weekend, then it was dry again for six weeks or so. Now, finally we are getting the daily storms blowing through. Very winter and Christmas like (in a Northern California kind of way).
Hmm, I'm rambling. Anyway, we hope you had a wonderful Christmas Day. We did!
Friday, December 12, 2008
Winnipeg at -17F
A couple of quick snaps from Winnipeg. The first is the Royal Candian Mint, the second is the view from my hotel room. It was -17F last night when I went to dinner. Yes, very cold. With the wind, it was much colder.
Notice the mountains in the distance? Lol! Don't be silly, this is Manitoba!
Notice the mountains in the distance? Lol! Don't be silly, this is Manitoba!
Monday, December 8, 2008
If I Want to be Cool...
I should go to Winnipeg! Last week the Big Island and 85 degrees every day, this week I'm cooling off in the below zero (highs) of snowy, windy, very bitter cold Winnipeg. All week. I'll try to get a photo or two to capture the fun. Expect white. C U soon.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Hawaii Photos
Here are a few photos from Hawaii. It was pretty windy the day we went to Volcanoes National Park, as you can see in the photo of Lori.
This next picture shows ropey and pillow lava together.
Later that day we went to see the lava flow. The lava flow is outside the park and access is controlled by the county of Hawaii. They are very conservative, so we couldn't get very close -- about a mile away. Sunset or night time is the best time to actually see more than the steam cloud. We went to the flow at sunset, hoping to get a nice sunset and some good lava shots.
The sunset was fair. Fortunately, there seemed to be a lot of lava activity. The huge steam cloud is constantly changing, but often looks like heads and faces. It was definitely worthwhile, but could have been even better if we could have gotten a bit closer.
This next picture shows ropey and pillow lava together.
Later that day we went to see the lava flow. The lava flow is outside the park and access is controlled by the county of Hawaii. They are very conservative, so we couldn't get very close -- about a mile away. Sunset or night time is the best time to actually see more than the steam cloud. We went to the flow at sunset, hoping to get a nice sunset and some good lava shots.
The sunset was fair. Fortunately, there seemed to be a lot of lava activity. The huge steam cloud is constantly changing, but often looks like heads and faces. It was definitely worthwhile, but could have been even better if we could have gotten a bit closer.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Meet an Ultraman
We have been in Hawaii (on the island of Hawaii) for the Thanksgiving holidays. One of the reasons we came here was to support our friend, Duane Franks, as he competed in the Ultraman competition. This race included 6.2 miles of swimming (day one), about 262 miles of cycling (day one and two), and a 52 mile double marathon run yesterday. Duano finished in fine style. Even the Cowman was impressed, as you can see in the picture.
Today Duane and our other good friend Dorette get married. That will be the fourth day of his event, and surely the most ultra of them all. More photos to come tomorrow I guess.
We've had a great time so far, and are looking forward to a few more days here. C U again soon.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Welcome to the Capshaw Family!
Yesterday afternoon Lori began her initiation into the Capshaw family. Over the last few years my dad and brother have established a tradition of crashing their bikes to get attention (that's the best reason I can come up with). And, if you want lots of attention, of course the crash has to be bad enough for a hospital visit (at least), and surgery if possible.
We were out for a mountain bike ride to the top of Mt. Tam, enjoying the sunny day. After riding to the top and almost all of the way back down, Lori took a dive into the fire road. We were going, oh, maybe 15 mph on a gently down-sloping, smooth but loose, fire road about .5 miles from our house. Rounding a corner, there was a couple hiking up the hill and Lori adjusted her front wheel slightly while breaking to give them some extra room. Her front wheel slid out as she leaned into the right hand turn and down she went! She hit her right shoulder and hip first, but also hit her head pretty hard.
I was behind her and stopped to see how she was. She said her head hurt. Uh oh. Her helmet was cracked in two places. Uh oh. But, she didn't black out. Whew! I un-clipped her left foot, pulled the bike off her, and we assessed the damage. Her head hurt a little, she was a bit dizzy, but coming around quickly, her nagging back pain over the last few weeks seemed cured, her shoulder didn't hurt, and she had trail rash on her hip. After deciding there were no major injuries, she sat up and we sat for a few minutes gathering ourselves for the trip home. When Lori stood up, we realized that the trail rash was pretty bad -- she was bleeding quite a bit.
At home, we assessed the damage to her leg and decided she would need some expert medical attention. We ended up going to the Marin General Hospital Emergency Room. During the interview/assessment process they tested Lori's neck. She passed all the tests but one - leaving the door open for a broken neck. We had gone in looking for a little bit of expert contusion-cleaning, and the next thing we knew she was in a neck brace waiting for a cat scan! All along I had been thinking that she was taking the easy way out of this Capshaw rite of passage with a simple bit of rocks-under-the-skin trail rash. Oh no, she wasn't. She had a broken neck!!!
Well actually, I didn't think so, but the only people that seem to think they are more right than I think I'm right are ER doctors. Anyway, she had her brace on and went off for her cat scan. After another 45 minutes of waiting, it turned out I was right (of course) and she didn't have a broken neck.
After that crisis was averted, they could focus on cleaning her wounds. That all went fine and she was discharged. Last night and this morning she was sore, but it looks like she will recover quickly. So, she had punched the "crash-your-bike" ticket as a Capshaw, and managed to avoid surgery and a broken neck. What a catch she is! :-)
We were out for a mountain bike ride to the top of Mt. Tam, enjoying the sunny day. After riding to the top and almost all of the way back down, Lori took a dive into the fire road. We were going, oh, maybe 15 mph on a gently down-sloping, smooth but loose, fire road about .5 miles from our house. Rounding a corner, there was a couple hiking up the hill and Lori adjusted her front wheel slightly while breaking to give them some extra room. Her front wheel slid out as she leaned into the right hand turn and down she went! She hit her right shoulder and hip first, but also hit her head pretty hard.
I was behind her and stopped to see how she was. She said her head hurt. Uh oh. Her helmet was cracked in two places. Uh oh. But, she didn't black out. Whew! I un-clipped her left foot, pulled the bike off her, and we assessed the damage. Her head hurt a little, she was a bit dizzy, but coming around quickly, her nagging back pain over the last few weeks seemed cured, her shoulder didn't hurt, and she had trail rash on her hip. After deciding there were no major injuries, she sat up and we sat for a few minutes gathering ourselves for the trip home. When Lori stood up, we realized that the trail rash was pretty bad -- she was bleeding quite a bit.
At home, we assessed the damage to her leg and decided she would need some expert medical attention. We ended up going to the Marin General Hospital Emergency Room. During the interview/assessment process they tested Lori's neck. She passed all the tests but one - leaving the door open for a broken neck. We had gone in looking for a little bit of expert contusion-cleaning, and the next thing we knew she was in a neck brace waiting for a cat scan! All along I had been thinking that she was taking the easy way out of this Capshaw rite of passage with a simple bit of rocks-under-the-skin trail rash. Oh no, she wasn't. She had a broken neck!!!
Well actually, I didn't think so, but the only people that seem to think they are more right than I think I'm right are ER doctors. Anyway, she had her brace on and went off for her cat scan. After another 45 minutes of waiting, it turned out I was right (of course) and she didn't have a broken neck.
After that crisis was averted, they could focus on cleaning her wounds. That all went fine and she was discharged. Last night and this morning she was sore, but it looks like she will recover quickly. So, she had punched the "crash-your-bike" ticket as a Capshaw, and managed to avoid surgery and a broken neck. What a catch she is! :-)
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