EVEN MORE APPS... mostly free, but some for around a dollar.

This tells you the angle of anything you hold the iPhone next to.  Say, your head tube or seat tube.  This costs 99 cents.  Not free- but is it really all that much money?  Honestly?

This is a little confusing, but claims to be a GPS mapper that is free to download.  Again, remember- I have no iPhone, so you're on your own.  Just letting you know about them.


Quiver is 99 cents, but a great way to keep info on your bikes together if you have a few of them around (don't forget other members of the family)

Shiftit takes your gearing and your cadence and tells you how fast you'd climb some famous mtns.- focusing on the TDF.  How is this useful?  Not at all, that I can tell- but it sure would pass the time quicker waiting in a drs. office, wouldn't it?  It IS free, as well.


Of course, you don't need me to tell you that google can lead  you to literally hundreds of these sorts of things, and I'm not even getting into the cycling sport news kind of apps that practically every bike magazine now has available, usually for free.  These take RSS feeds and compile them on your phone.

Another Free App for MTBers.

This is where you can get a free download of Every Trail for iPhone or Android.

And

This is where you can see what it'll do.

If you have the technology, I suggest you go there and download immediately. 

You're welcome- and if you don't have MTB Boston, you can thank me by downloading it HERE.

An Open Letter To A Kook

To the dumbell who cut me off this afternoon.

I bet you thought you were pretty cool swooping down that hill and cutting just inches in front of me.  It's cool.  I saw you coming.  But, you know, with my leather saddle and fenders (and a helmet), I'm sure I looked like such a "square" that to someone cool like you, I simply had to be passed.  I mean, sure, it goes against all bike etiquette I've ever heard, but whatever.

What kind of pissed me off was when you immediately veered back to the left (as soon as you got the turn under control) and cut in front of me a second time, still without saying so much as "sorry about that".  You know, with your long flowing rock n roll hair, I'm sure it's hard to see all around, but in fact there are other people on the road with you.  Maybe it was just a long guitar solo or something.  Couldn't see if you had an iPod somewhere under there.

picture this, but without a helmet...

But in the end, it's not about me feeling a little miffed.  What you've got to be thankful for- riding that obliviously- is that I was on a bike and not in a large truck that's not so easy to stop.  Forgive the lame soft-rock reference, but then we'd be talking about Dire Straits...

Peabody Trails Update

Not sure if I'm telling you all something everyone but me knows already, but have discovered lately that there are quite a few trails in the triangle between Kodak, Higgins Middle School, and CBD in Peabody.  Not a whole lot of mileage, but some fun singletrack and bermed turns and such.  Certainly worth checking out, esp. if you combined it with a visit to Salem Woods.  And Salem Willows.  Those are fun little trails too, if you spend some time at the Arcade after.

Not back on it, Joe- STILL on it.

So, I took my own advice, and passed it by my wife just to be sure.  Take a day off.  Do less mileage at first.  Make it fun, and then it'll happen, and then you'll get in better shape, and THEN you can up the mileage.  But still it will be good to rest.  Everyone says that.  The pros.  The wise men. 

And my wife.

 

So, today I went out and did 5.5 mi. in the woods.  And made sure to wet down myself BEFORE I went out.  So as not to use my drinkin' water for wettin'!

Not sure if I've used this before, but does it really matter- what an image.

Rest Day?

My natural inclination is to say that though I feel pretty tired today, I should tough it out and get my butt out there.  I know myself well enough, though, to know that this extreme-ness is a bad tendency I have, and that probably means I should take a rest so that I can be ready to ride tomorrow.

The difference between intention and action is staggering to me sometimes...

Ride Report: Kodak Loop #1

Now THAT is hi-viz!

I'm confused- No bikes INSIDE the atm? 

water, bikes, what could be better? 

My kinda sign.  Still seems a little controlling, though, doesn't it?

So, I started again with my new shot at being an actual cyclist.  I laid out a loop in the woods near the Kodak plant and rode it 3X, figuring that 10 mi. in the woods is about equal (to me at least) to 20 mi. on the road.  The loop is approx. 2.3 mi.  With a 1.5 mi. warm up/cool down to get there, it adds up to almost exactly 10 mi.

So, my best time of the day was the middle one  (of course) at 14:48.  That's my current PR.

The air felt like gulping down water today.  I had no idea how humid it was until I was out there.  Esp. the long sunny sections (duh) were hot and humid.  Don't know if it was my legs from being out of shape and riding yesterday, or if the trails were wet and it added rolling resistance, but I felt it all the way around all three times.  The downhills were fine, but the short, low speed anaerobic climbs were hellish.  And the hike-a-bike sections felt pretty horrible too.

I saw two small rabbits and two turtles, one of which was digging a hole, I think preparing to lay eggs.

I was wearing a cycling jersey and cargo shorts.  Going to see if lycra shorts make a difference tomorrow.

Oh, and lastly- one downhill where I couldn't get my foot into the pedal (the first of the loop my first time around, actually) had my heart in my throat- maybe it never quite recovered from that!