Spoiled by warm weather

Well it is back from break and into the real world again. Last week was spent in the warm sunny weather of Panama City Beach, Florida! Yes, I decided to be like the thousands of other college students who head south for their Spring Break. A group of about 30 students from UWM and the surrounding area headed south for the 20 hour drive. When we left on the 14th the weather in Milwaukee was fantastic. Sunny, a light breeze, and temps in the 50's. The first day in Florida wasn't too bad, a little windy, humid, and foggy, but way better than what we were having in Wisconsin! The rest of the week was great, sunny, temps in the 70's, one day of rain, but overall great. I spent a few days doing some body surfing in the ocean and when the red flags were up I attempted (keyword) to do some skim boarding. Apparently, just because I have good balance on a bicycle does not mean I have good balance on a skim board. My last day in Florida was Friday the 21st. I spent some time lying in the sun, desperately trying to get even a slight burn so I didn't return to Wisconsin pasty white. I was given the sad news late Thursday night that while we were having highs in the mid 70's and sun, Milwaukee was to get a big snow storm with 10-14 inches of snow... Not Cool! (Actually very cold, but that's besides the point). We all tried hard to enjoy our last hours of sun and warmth as we packed up the caravan and hit the road. As we neared Indiana, it became clear how bad the transition would be as we got some gas and ran inside for some caffeine (wearing shorts and maybe a long sleeved shirt if we were lucky). After 19 hours, we crossed the border into Wisconsin and sadly back to reality. The hard cold reality of school and snow. Thankfully we have had a few days in the 40's and 50's in Milwaukee to ease the transition, but it is clear that break is now over and I have something like 8 weeks left of school.

Riding on Ice

Saturday night was time for the second kids safety event at the Resch Center. As fans came in for the Gambler game, families found numerous booths with safety related activities. Like last year, the team was in attendance helping with a miniature computrainer time trial and of course to do a little riding on the ice. Yes... ICE. Thanks to Shawn I was equipped with a set of homemade studded tires. These babies were so much better than the set I had last year, granted the other set I had used did not have huge drywall screws for studs.

(Though extremely sharp, drywall screws are good ice tire studs)

The tires held on to the ice very well, as you may have imagined, and they look pretty cool on the bike too. (Especially because I spent three hours before the ride cleaning mud from shvegas.)
Overall we had a great turnout, about 10 riders on the ice and a few more manning the booth and handing out sponge bobs.
More importantly, the team was out in force showing how cool it is to wear a helmet. Events like these are a great opprotunity to lead by example and that is just what we accomplished. (While having fun tearing up the ice at the Resch Center, throwing sponge bobs into the crowd.)

Myth: College Students Do Not Eat Well.

Tonight, the apartment was filled with some delicious smells that seemed to be coming from the kitchen.










Upon investigating the oven and the pots on the stove it was becoming very clear. This is not the average college student's dinner. While some college students eat the stereotypical easy-mac or the infamous pizza, this kitchen seems to be breaking the myth that college students do not eat well. Inside of the pots on the stove we find steamed vegetables and rice.
Even more impressive than the rice and vegetables, is the Alaskan Salmon fillet in the oven which seems to be smothered in some sort of homemade sauce.
As dinner nears the table is elegantly set, like a showcase for this delectable meal.
Yes, it is clear that this college student does not eat like the rest. Perhaps he is gifted with the ability to prepare delicious meals. (Or he is a cyclist with too much time on his hands because he does not want to ride his bike.)

Whatever the answer may be, I am leaving now; I am full from dinner.

Busy Vacation

Not posting for over a month should be indicator #1 that things are quite busy. School ended sometime around December 19th and from that point on it has been a nonstop list of things to do before next semester and Heather leaves for Spain. Obviously the first thing on the list was Christmas and the like. A little last minute shopping through Christmas Eve and getting together with both sides of the family followed by driving back and forth between De Pere, Milwaukee, and Menominee Falls. After Christmas was New Year's at Heather's and a belated Christmas celebration. Soon thereafter Heather and I met with a friend in Chicago to sightsee and pick up Heather's Visa. Then the countdown began as there were only two weeks before Heather leaves for Spain. This weekend was more or less the climax of everything. Heather was all packed and we drove Heather to Minneapolis to fly out to Spain for 15 weeks. Now I have plenty to do, with only one more week before classes start. Getting out for a ride would also be a plus.

Ride Before the Storm

I guess, I was being a little closed minded in my last post. I somehow forget that I live in Wisconsin. (If you don't like the weather, wait five minutes and it'll change), or in my case, wait about 30 hours and it will change for the better.
I got out of bed this morning thinking I really want to go for a ride, but I kept thinking about Thursday's ride. Finally, I jumped online to look at the weather because it looked nice out. To my satisfaction, weather.com showed 21 degrees and 2 mph winds... Not bad at all. Excited to get out again, I started cooking some good 'ol pancakes and getting stuff together, got dressed and off I went.
The weather was great! I knew there was a snow storm on its way so the plan was to go past the hill on Silver Spring Dr. and turn back. On the way out I was amazed. I stayed warm and didn't get the feeling of fluid in the lungs like last time. I hit Silver Spring and then the long hill just a little further. As I hit the hill I could feel my body starting to struggle a little, but I kept at it and worked to keep my breathing slow and steady. As I reached the top, I realized I am still at a good fitness level, given I have not been on the bike much and have not raced in... almost two months.
I went a little further up the road and turned back. I realized all to quickly that the wind was mostly to my back the whole way out, so it took a little effort to get moving. As I came back through Silver Spring the snow began to fall and the winds picked up. Thankfully the snow did not get worse until the last five minutes of the ride. As I look out my window now I am quite happy to get out this morning. Over the last hour the snow has really started to fall.
Here we see the progression of snowfall between 12:10 PM and about 1:20 PM. Again I say, I am happy that I got out this morning.

The End of the Outdoor Season?

Well today may just be the end of the outdoor season for me this year. Temps have plummeted and the winds have picked up making rides outdoors difficult. The one nice thing is that the winds changed directions, so now I have a slight tailwind on the way back from a ride. With that said, I hope the weather cooperates for a few more rides; but it is almost December, so I may be breaking out the trainer. Of course this also brings me to another point... I need to find a quiet way to use a cycleops trainer on the 3rd floor of an older apartment building.

Taking a Stand for the Environment

Water is essential to life. Clean water is also important. Many of us choose to stay healthy by drinking purified water, which normally comes in easy to carry half-liter bottles. I drink about 4 of these bottles daily, and the same is true for many others too. Little do we know, while trying to stay healthy by drinking bottled water, we are actually depleting natural resources and hurting the environment. According to filterforgood.com, "Americans used about 50 billion plastic water bottles last year. However, the U.S.'s recycling rate for plastic is only 23 percent, which means 38 billion water bottles - more than $1 billion worth of plastic - are wasted each year." This is just one of the many facts about using bottled water. Even if the bottles are being recycled, plastic bottles waste the limited resources we have.

The bottom line is that you and I do not have to be part of the statistics. I am making pledge to stop (or at least limit) my consumption of bottled water as part of the Filter for Good Campaign found on www.filterforgood.com.

Here is how it works:
Buy a reusable water bottle and a filter for at home. Simply filter the tap water that comes to your house and fill up your bottle. Now you can enjoy clean, refreshing water with a lower impact on the environment. I have been doing this for a couple days, and even Milwaukee water tastes great when it is filtered. Personally, I bought a new "Filter for Good" Nalgene Bottle, dusted off the one I currently own (for a backup), and bought a Brita Filter. All I do is fill up my bottles in the morning, refill the filter, and put it back in the fridge for later.

I really think this is a great way to stay healthy and to help the environment. Who knows, maybe I'll use these filters at the races for my bottles so I don't need to bring as much water along!

If you want to know more, check out the website at: www.filterforgood.com and take the pledge.