Tan-lines on your hands?

Every summer they seem to show up.  Those weird tan-lines that aren't from the tightly hugging bib-shorts but those generated from cycling gloves.  To be fair, I'm sure any "gloved-sport" has the same weirdness pop up but I keep forgetting about them when winter roles around.  It's a whole new sense of surprise when the normal bicep farmer's tan-line gets a new friend on the wrist.  Maybe the real answer is to wear more sunblock...or get a better tan all around...

A "Fred"? What the heck...

I've never been called a "Fred" but I just learned that's what people call either 1.) a cycling noob (like me) or  2.) someone who has gear way up their skill level (since I suck, also me).  I guess I'm a "Fred" at the end of the day.  Now I like to go and think back on all of those solo cycling adventures I've had an try to remember if I've ever heard F-R-E-D shouted at my by a passing mini-peloton of club riders.  Or maybe I should join that mini-peloton so I wouldn't be a "Fred"...

Specialized S-Works Road Cycling Shoes + Big Feet = No Fun

So here I am contemplating buying a new pair of cycling shoes.  I don't "need" them, I know they won't make me go any faster, I just kind of want them.  Here's the challenge, they cost $400.  It's an insane amount and I'm nuts for thinking about it but hey, why not try them on?  Here's why not...

1. I have oddly wide feet.  So I can't go for a standard size and ordering shoes online is always a pain because you never know which size will actually end up fitting the best.  
2. Only boutique dealers (which is a good thing) are going to be selling cycling shoes that retail for $400. So I have to hunt around and see who stocks them.
3. Nobody has actually bought my size so I can try on up to a 13 (which are a little snug) but out of the 3 local bike stores I went to nobody had the next size up.

So here I am, stuck, not wanting to risk a 10%-20% "restocking fee" if I order a pair of shoes that happens to not fit.  I guess that means I'll be using the old shoes for now and Specialized will get their $400 from someone else.

I don't think my feet will hate me, too much...

Specialized S-Works Road

Fizik Pak saddle bag disaster!

So there I was, going up a tiny incline in Encinitas when something hits my shoe.  I can't figure out what it is at first but then looking around I see that my little Fizik saddlebag was gone.  User error you think?  Nope, the plastic just snapped.  Just plain snapped.  So down to the ground my little saddlebag went along with everything inside it.  Luckily, other than a garage door opener there wasn't anything breakable.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/us/en/fizik-saddle-pak-clip/rp-prod10081

I guess I'm not the only one...

Indoor trainers...

So I have an indoor cycling trainer.  It's great.  It lets me get a good little workout when it's dark, raining, etc. I would say "when it gets cold" but since I live in San Diego, it never gets that cold.  So there's the tricky thing.  It's addicting and it's too easy.

Addiction
It sits there.  I can hop on it whenever I want and pump out a quick 30 minute spin.  But that's just it, I'll never get on it for a 2-4 hour ride.  And I don't want to take my bike off of it, replace the skewer, wheel it through the house, etc.  So I find myself in a cycling rut whenever I have the bike in there.  Not to mention it wears down the tires like a crazy machine...

Too Easy
I think this is "user error" but I can't get a trainer to match the effort required on a good climb.  Or the thrill and humiliation of being passed on a flat and trying like heck to keep up until my legs fall flat.  That tiny visceral sense of competition.

So there you have it, my tiny complaints about using an indoor trainer...