Errandonnee Wrap Up

As much as I would love to participate in the Coffeeneuring challenge hosted by Chasing Mailboxes' MG, I have found it difficult to play along. I have extreme reactions to caffeine, making it difficult to ride for a coffeeneuring-ish beverage. It's not that I never have caffeinated beverages, but I have to be extremely cautious about the time of day they are had and how frequently they are consumed. My sensitivity to the drug seems to be extremely high, and while there are probably drinks that could follow the rules, I haven't made the effort to seek them out - at least yet. Perhaps one year I'll throw caution to the wind and just lose sleep for a couple of weeks in order to play along.  Either that, or I'll have to figure out ways to make bottled water look like a coffeeneuring beverage.

Running errands is a bit broader though, so when the 2015 Errandonnee challenge was announced, I read along (as always) with enthusiasm. I don't normally participate, but I've had a rough few weeks and knew I needed something to distract me. I quickly took mental stock and realized that I really don't have many errands to complete in a given week. On top of that, the weather is very hit or miss in March (and April, and May). Would I really be able to complete 12 errands by bicycle in 12 days?

Initially, I intended to document errandonnee clothing throughout the challenge, but that very quickly fell apart. I have no idea how bike chic ladies keep this up (not that I think anything I wear is chic by any stretch of the imagination. Paint stains and holes from dog teeth are hardly "chic"), but I have a new found respect for the effort it takes to document such things. 

Additionally, I wasn't entirely sure that I'd be able to get in 7 of the 9 categories for the challenge. Let's face it, I work from home. Any supplies I need, I order online (for the most part) because there's not much locally offering what I need. I rarely have time for social visits or other entertainment these days. We have no cash to be out buying items because it's all going into house renovations. What sort of errands would I run over the course of the event if I expected to finish?

I do have the bonus though of being able to ride fairly often during daylight hours that aren't completely frigid, so perhaps I just needed to take advantage of this fact.

Well, I decided it was worth the effort to see if I could finish, and patches (much like stickers) are something I often seek out. Though I usually pick them up while vacationing, I think an errandonnee is just as valid a reason to obtain one, right?

Most of the errandonnee rides would be completed using this bike. This was one of the early errandonnee rides.

When I started trying to figure out possible errands to complete I realized there are a couple that would be no-brainers. I go to kickboxing multiple times a week and ride there, so I could use two of those trips. I'd have to hit the grocery store at some point in 12 days at least once (probably more), and even though I've yet to make a trip to the grocery store by bike since our move, I believed I could make this happen. Plus, there would likely be some sort of need to get some other task completed. Maybe it wouldn't be as challenging as I initally believed.

The first errandonnee ride was to kickboxing. It was Saturday morning at about 7:30a, and due to the fact that the majority of locals are sleeping in on Saturday's, I always get to experience the feeling of freedom on the roads while riding. Sure, it's pretty cold this time of year (particularly early in the morning), but I've managed to dial in the layers fairly well over time. It's easier to soak in the city this time of day too because the sun is just coming up and the world doesn't seem to be fully awake. Sam and I chatted and enjoyed being able to ride side-by-side most of the way to class.

Now, we do this ride all of the time, so it was easy to forget that I was starting to move my way through the challenge. It almost seemed like cheating because it wasn't an extra trip I was taking, but rather one I'd ride anyway. But, I didn't seem to be breaking any rules (surprisingly, as I do love breaking - or at least bending - rules), so I counted it. The 4.9 miles went into my log sheet and I was on my way.

Sam played along for a few errandonnee trips. I think with just a few more he would've completed his own challenge. Maybe next year. 

A couple of days later, I needed to make an appointment. I started to pick up the phone to do so and then thought better of it. The shop is less than a couple of miles away, why not take a ride to make the appointment? Plus, I could pick up some shampoo I was desperately needing. So, off I pedaled to make the appointment and pick up needed goods.

Later that evening, I was reminded that I have a new bike light to test out for review. So, a trip in the dark was in order (which is the only way to truly test a headlight or taillight on a bicycle, I think). A few more miles under my belt and another errandonnee ride completed.

Hey, the light works! :O)

Soon, I found myself taking a ride to the post office and then for a quick visit during a friends break at work.

Were "excuses" to ride getting easier to find? Maybe I take more trips than I thought during the week.

I used the Rodriguez for a longer errand because, well, I felt like it and I didn't need to carry anything. :O)

Then, I suddenly made the realization that there were only a handful of days left in the challenge and I still needed to complete 7 errandonnee rides.

Have I mentioned that I can be a procrastinator? The good and the bad of being able to pretty much ride any time is that I can ride any time. It's easy to put off until tomorrow, just as it's as probable to decide at a moments notice that I can take off for a quick errand.

I started thinking back to my human resources days and leading classes on time management (Oh, how I laugh about this now!). Somehow, my lessons on not allowing "time bandits" to get the best of me didn't rub off.

You can do this G.E., I said to myself, as I felt a bit of anxiousness rising within. You just have to get organized and make a plan. I'm pretty sure this in itself was breaking rule #12 of the errandonnee challenge. But, like I said, I am not one to really follow rules (Side note: Can you imagine me as your H.R. person? [shaking head] I know, I have a hard time believing I did this for a living for so many years too.).

I don't make a plan for moving forward. I am not sure who I thought I was kidding. Instead, I do it the way I do most things in life and figure it will work itself out.

The following day I made a run for batteries, and later realized that I actually had a work-related task that could be completed by bike. Heading off to a local gallery to get some exhibition information, I discovered that they were closed upon arrival. Drat! Well, at least it counted as an errandonnee.

Friday evening is "Second Friday;" the day locally when most galleries open their latest exhibitions. Seemed like a perfect opportunity for a meal together and a chance to see what's going on in the art scene here. The meal together was fantastic, and all the better because we arrived by bicycle. The art showings for the evening were less exciting, but I'm always grateful for the opportunity to see what others are doing in their medium of choice.

Front row parking is fantastic... and we had a snake bike rack cozy to keep the bicycles company.

My final officially "needed" errandonnee trip was to the grocery store. It was an important trip for me to make because since our move into the new house a couple of months ago, I have to admit I haven't once traveled to get groceries of any kind by bike.

Wasn't getting much on this trip, so the trailer was unnecessary.

The nearest grocer is just over a mile away, so it's easily within bike-able distance; however, my brain was set on a particular route to travel which included a very busy street that lacks a bike lane (or any space to safely travel, really). Once I realized it was unnecessary to travel the specific route my mind seemed to insist I must, it was far less stress-inducing than I'd imagined.

In truth, I was able to easily get to the grocery store via a bike lane nearly the entire distance, and the spots that don't have a bike lane are so quiet that rarely is a motorist in sight at all.

On this trip, I picked up very little, but I made a huge realization that there really is no reason not to go by bike.

Overall, the Errandonnee challenge was one that I've appreciated. I was incredibly fortunate to have a stretch of time that was snowfall-free, making it super easy to travel by bicycle. Not only was it completed without snow coming down, but the temperatures toward the end of the challenge were actually reaching 80F/26C. Not too shabby for a state frequently under snow this time of year.

This rider opted to lock to the stop sign as the bike rack was not entirely secure.

Additionally, I've realized how often I pass places and things with little regard, and I still believe, despite the fact that there is not nearly the bike theft here that often exists in larger cities, our bike racks are (in many spots) poorly designed, provide little security, or worse yet don't exist at all in centers or destinations. While it's a requirement for newly built locations in town, some retrofitting in older spots would be fantastic.

My biggest disappointment was not getting to complete the final missing category (You carried WHAT?! on your bike). Normally, I find myself carrying ridiculous things around town via bike, but the need just never came up in the week and a half-ish during the challenge. I thought I'd get to sneak it in on day 12, but it never materialized. Perhaps next year things will work out better in that regard.

Regardless of any minor hiccups encountered along the challenge path, I am grateful for the opportunity to have ridden to many destinations over the last twelve days. There's much to explore by bike and having an extra reason to make trips on two wheels is always welcomed. I hope you enjoyed your twelve days of errandonneering too. I have to admit, I'm a bit sad to see it come to an end. I've enjoyed the thought of people all over riding "together" to get errands completed. Fortunately, I know the rides will continue even if they aren't part of an officially organized errandonnee event.

Summer of Climbing: Climb "8,800 feet" in 9 days

The summer of climbing has gone a little differently than anticipated. By now, I expected to have conquered ridiculous mountains and to suddenly be proclaiming myself a lover of all things slanted upward. That has not happened. Not even close. The more I try to convince myself that the only way climbing is going to improve is to actually do the work, the less I want to get on a bike and go in an upward direction. It's almost as though my proclamation has been working against me. Blasted proclamations!

Then, as if Strava could somehow read my mind, a nine-day challenge appeared before me. This 9-day challenge was simple: climb at least 8,800 feet in that slightly over a week time frame. It's a lot - or at least a good chunk of - climbing in just over a week, at least I thought, but if I focused and actually did what I keep saying I'm going to do, it shouldn't be too painful...

I should say more accurately that it wouldn't have been horribly painful if the 8,800 feet was actually the challenge.

*Image from Strava

No, no, dearest pals, that was not the challenge at all. Apparently my feeble mind cannot tell the difference between the word "feet" and the word "meters," and so, I would soon come to realize that in fact I had signed myself up for a challenge that in no way could I ever accomplish. The 8,800 "feet" I thought the challenge would be, was actually 8,800 meters (so, for the record, just shy of 29,000 feet - though all of you non-metric-challenged and able-to-read-English-words readers already knew that).

How a human being that doesn't ride 10 hours a day is supposed to climb 8,800 meters in 9 days is beyond me... but, there are many who (as I would learn) are quite capable, and even far surpassed the challenge. As in, some did 5-7 times that amount. Seriously, what are these people? Mountain goats? In all reality, I have to question when Strava will have a challenge for us mere mortals and/or that doesn't rank us based on what pro or elite riders are out doing.

So, anyway, I was plotting out how I was going to get my 8,800 feet (or so I presumed) in 9 days. I had some routes planned, but when I realized the challenge was more than three times that distance, I immediately started mentally - which led to physical - slacking. The first day of the challenge, I didn't ride at all. Nor did I ride the second, third or fourth days of the challenge. I think I rode to the store during that first four days at some point, but that was about the extent of my time on a bike. What fun would it be if I didn't make it completely impossible to even come anywhere close to meeting the challenge? By day 5, I realized that I needed to do something or I wouldn't even get in 100 feet of climbing.

I can see how some would think, "Why would you even bother if you know there's no chance of completing the required climbing meters?" and I would answer them by saying that, in its simplest, I truly have a screw loose. Obviously, by day five, I knew there was no chance of getting 8,800 meters of climbing on a bike. I mean, who am I kidding? There's no way I'm going to climb close to 6k feet a day for five days straight.

Instead, I plotted ways in which I could torture myself needlessly. At the base of our old town area, there are several streets running north and south with hills that climb (or that descend if going in the opposite direction... which, I highly recommend for some down hill fun). Each is only one block and I wondered how many times I could circle one of these blocks without becoming both completely sick of the track-like path I'd be making and if my legs would make it up these hills more than twice.

Typically, I avoid these hills like the plague. If I have to go up any of them even once on a ride I am cranky, breathing hard, and whining that I should just walk up the stupid hill instead of trying to ride it. Of course, that's generally at the end of a ride when I'm tired. So, what if I just made the one-block climb the ride?


Ah, brilliant! I was pretty sure it would be a short ride, but I tried to tell myself that I could do it at least 5 times. Five rounds didn't seem so bad if it was all I would have to do.

I should say, these aren't long hills. Just a typical, neighborhood block. The grade runs between 4-13% (depending on the spot on the hill and which street one chooses to climb), but the total feet climbed is somewhere around 45-60 feet (again, depending on the street). So, if I could complete 5 laps, that would give me somewhere around 225 feet. Okay, I realize this isn't even kind of close to what I would need for the climbing challenge, but still, 225 feet for something that's probably a total of about a mile or two at most is pretty good, I think.

My first round didn't go quite as expected. I was on the Hillborne (which has a triple crank and mountain gearing - see, I did use my noggin' a little bit) and I couldn't get it to shift from the middle ring to the bottom. As I struggled to fight my way to the top for round one, I just.... couldn't...... quite......... get there. So, I stopped, got off the bike, picked up the rear end, turned the pedals a few times, and it shifted. The next lap went better and I had no trouble shifting when needed. By the time I was on my 5th round, I decided I would attempt to do 10 laps and then call it done.

A funny thing happens on a short loop like this though. It's really, really easy to lose count - especially for someone like me who's easily distracted by shiny things... or furry things... or old things.... or rusty things... or, well, you get the gist. I'd start to question myself... was that lap 6 or 7... 7 or 8... 8 or 9? So, I'd end up doing another one because I wasn't sure.

Now, a smarter person would keep better track, particularly knowing how much she despises climbing - and specifically these short hills. But, I didn't. I was trading off between two different streets for the uphill portions and coming down the third street, but my mind would become easily muddled. Additionally, I'm fairly certain anyone who was home on the streets during this experiment was pretty sure I am completely insane. I have to admit, it did look (and feel) a bit wacky.

Then, I started noticing something with my GPS. As soon as I'd get about half way up one of the hills, the incline percentage would change to 0%. The problem with this reading is that at no point on these hills is it flat. The reading struck me as odd the first time, but I figured there may have been a temporary malfunction. Soon, I realized it was happening every time I'd ride up. Whether this affects the final results, I'm not entirely sure. I know GPS' cannot be 100% accurate, but at the same time, I still haven't found an answer regarding whether the unit's reading is what is used, or something else entirely (like satellite information, etc).

By the time I'd finished what I believed to be 10 laps, I thought I could complete a couple more, so I went for it. Why not? My legs were definitely starting to quiver, however, so I knew I was close to the end whether I liked it or not.

Ultimately, I ended up doing 17 laps (so much for accurate counting), which (according to the reading I got at home), put me at just over 850 feet (approx. 260 meters) climbed over 8 miles. I'm still not entirely sure if the GPS picked up everything, but regardless, it was a decent amount for such a short distance. Obviously, nowhere near the amount I needed for this type of challenge, but I think it was an interesting - if not slightly moronic - means of getting in some climbing without "wasting" the mileage on flatter terrain. Because, you know, heaven forbid I actually put in more mileage.

As the challenge wrapped up, I came shy of hitting 1,000 meters (it was about 3,000 feet) of climbing. Of course, I also hadn't given myself a very good chance at coming close given that I waited until half way through to even start and didn't even ride each of the last five days. A lesson learned, certainly. Considering I only went on three challenge-specific rides, I didn't think it was so bad, but it certainly didn't come close to being the climbing challenge I'd wanted. Of course, the participant (aka me) has to do the work for the challenge in order to make it beneficial. There are also better ways of getting in climbing, such as simply heading directly for the mountains; but I learned that if time is of concern, there are ways to practice climbing close to home and without spending hours out on the road. I also understand that while not the weakest participant (read: not last place) in the Rapha Rising challenge, I should be thoroughly ashamed of myself - mostly for lack of effort. I live at the base of some of the greatest places to climb on a bike in the world, and I didn't take advantage of it at all.

Even though the challenge is over, I will likely continue to use these in-town hills as training once in awhile. Although slightly nauseating to use in a track format, it's an easy (well, easier) way to get in climbing when I don't have a lot of time to spare.  Additionally, the mountains are at my disposal and the summer is still fairly young, so there's hope for me yet. I may not have met the specific challenge goals, but perhaps I just needed a bit of failure to realize that I can do it (maybe not this specific challenge - but my own version of it) if I set my mind and body in appropriate motion.