E.J. Svoboda

I tried to get out early but didn’t make it out until almost 11 a.m. due to a flat rear tire. I had a pinch flat so I patched it. I don’t think I’ve patched a tire in 20 plus years. It was probably in the low 90’s when I finally got going. I had a really good pace for the first five or so miles. Probably too good. I was averaging 17.7 mph before I started hitting the hills. The problem was that the hills weren’t my friends today. The average really started to slip and I remembered that it was really hot out. Around mile 7 I had to stop and sit under a tree for a few minutes to get my heart rate back down.After my stop I took the pace down a bit and just concentrated on getting in the miles. I try to ride into the wind so today I headed south and then west. A storm developed north of me and about the time I needed to head north the wind had shifted to the north. As I started to head east I realized that I was going to have to find shelter and that I wouldn’t be making it home. I downed a energy gel and tried to dig a little deeper. I managed to get slightly turned around and came out about a mile short of my target road. I then had to bike the last mile down a busy road to a couple of shopping centers. Just as I crossed Naperville Road in Wheaton the skies opened. I headed for the Dominick’s and Spokes bike shop.About fifteen minutes later my wife called and told me it was raining at the house (another 8 or so miles worth of riding east) and asked if I wanted her to pick me up. I only had 20 miles in but that sounded like the best idea of the day.20.878 miles with a 14.4 average. Not great but with the hot weather I’m o.k. with it.I’ve passed 400 miles on the bike odometer for the year.

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Last night I did 11 miles and tonight I did a quick 5 miles. I was attempting to put a 700c rim on my old Schwinn World Tour but found that I really need a hanger for the rear. This bike did not have one and the existing RD is not going to work for what I want to do. I have one on order and when it arrives I’ll probably take it and some parts over to the bike shop and have them finish reworking the bike. I need to have the cranks replaced as well as the FD.I put a new rim on my Miyata 710 tonight and moved to an 8 speed cassette from the original 6 speed freewheel. Welcome to the 1990’s! I dropped another pound off of the bike and the handling is much improved with a stiffer rear rim. The new rear rim is a high tech 20 spoke design which makes the old 36 spoke front look a little odd. I need to find a 16 spoke or 20 spoke front to match. My old hub had a lot of drag and I’m about a mile per hour faster with the new rim.I came in at 17.2 which is a nice improvement over any other average time I’ve had yet. I was at 17.4 before I started up the last hill. I really wasn’t riding for average and feel that if I push it a 17.5 is pretty likely for 10+ miles.I’m going to try and get a early ride in tomorrow to beat the heat. Maybe go out at 9:00 a.m. or so and get back by 11:00 a.m.

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I had a nice 11 mile ride tonight but I forgot my helmet as I shut the garage door. I would have gone back for it but I didn’t have my house key in my wallet and no one else was home. It’s the first ride in a long time for me without a helmet and not something I would recommend to others.The pace was good. Did some interval training up the hills and was spinning like mad up them. I was at 16.9 mph for an average before the last mile when I was cooling down. Chased down a cyclist and passed him. I call him the Colnago guy as he rides a Colnago. Not to be confused with the old guy on the Bridgestone or the bike chick. There’s also a couple of guys who ride by the house in full bike gear. I haven’t come up with a good nickname for them yet.I’m still about 2 mph slower than what I want to be riding at.Apparently, I didn’t get the spokes right on the backup rim. I’ll be taking them all off again tonight and sorting them by size to get everything correct.A couple of days ago I gave the Miyata 710 a nice cleaning and oiled things that probably hadn’t been oiled in a long time. I also cleaned the chain and derailuer. The shifting was so smooth and nice tonight. Like a new bike.Still waiting on parts for the Schwinn.

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I’ve been working re-building an old Mavic rim for my Schwinn World Tour circa 1984/1985. The bike has had 27 1/4 inch rims on it since I got it as a present back in the mid 1980’s. I’ve ridden thousands and thousands of miles on it through the years and I’ve been replacing and upgrading parts on it over the last year. I’m not riding it much these days as I mostly ride my Miyata 710 circa 1986. The back rim is probably temporary but I need to take the Miyata 710 in to the shop to have the cables on the bike replaced. Along with that upgrade will be a new stem (still the old quill style but with a removable plate) and handlebars. I need something to ride while it’s away.Back to the rims.I pulled all of the spokes two nights ago and last night I relaced them in what I think is a two cross pattern. I’m waiting on the truing stand and dishing tool that I ordered so I can finish the job. I have a couple of spokes that I think I’ll have to replace as well. A good learning experience but I’ve probably got four hours in the job.I had jazz band last night so I didn’t get a chance to ride. It’s raining today but I might be able to sneak in a ride after 7 p.m. Thursday will be a no ride day as I have a jazz concert. If it stays over 90 this weekend I’m planning on keeping the mileage down.

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The GU energy gels are cool except for the fact that they contain Caffeine. I avoid Caffeine and as a result it really does a number of me when I have any. Yesterday I had 80 mg of it and couldn’t get to sleep until 2:30 a.m.After doing some research I found that only one flavor of GU comes in a Caffeine free form. I also found that a couple of honey packets should accomplish the same thing as a GU energy gel.

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That’s right 73.792 miles on the bike today. I’ve been home for the last hour or more recovering. Took a nice shower to get rid of the road grime and sweat and after getting dressed I pretty much have been sitting in the recliner. I’m waiting for the legs to come back.My average was a little low at 13.8 mph. It would have been higher but the guy I rode with from where the Prairie Path and Great Western Trail meet up to somewhere north of Algonquin had an issue with his rear derailleur around mile 40. It was nice to ride with someone as it helped break up the riding a bit. He would lead some and then I would lead some which kept us at a decent pace. His mechanical issue happened on the way back south down and as a result it really killed the pace. To ride seven to ten miles at 14 mph instead of 20 kinda kills the average. I had my tools with me so I attempted to fix the issue for him but it was beyond what I could do on the trail.So with today’s ride I was able to hit multiple riding goals. Here’s what fell today:50 mile rideMetric Century (100 km) 62 miles70 mile rideI could have made one more loop on the way home and got in 75 miles but I was ready to get off the bike.The next major goal is to do 75 miles and a century (100 miles).Adjusting the old seat fixed some of the issues I was having. I basically moved it down a bit more and tilted it slightly down. This gave it a more flat profile like the modern seats and I place by bottom in the seat in the cradle. I basically stopped fighting the seat. Tomorrow the new lighter seat comes so I’ll give that a try. It means that I’m back to adjusting everything again but if it is a comfortable seat it will be worth it.Next up will be nicer rims and maybe an 8 or 9 speed rear.

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I guess if there is such a thing as 20 easy miles then today’s ride was it. I did a couple of stops along the way and my right buttock went numb at mile 14 from the mountain bike seat. I’ll be taking that off tomorrow before I go out. My new seat should arrive on Monday. As a result of the numbness I had to stop every few miles.In the afternoon, I drove into the city and checked out Working Bikes. Working Bikes rescues bikes from salvage yards and other places to get them back into use within the community. I was hoping to find a cool vintage Italian road bike but I didn’t find one. If I had wanted a really old cool 3 speed I would have been in luck. I don’t have a need for the cool old 3 speed as I already have a vintage road bike (Miyata 710), vintage road touring bike (Schwinn World Tour), and a mountain bike (Giant Yukon).On the way back home I stopped by the bike shop in LaGrange and found out that I can’t really fit on a 49CM Lemond frame. I’m bummed as I really like the look of the modern Lemond’s. I did fit on a Specialized 50CM with compact road geometry. It seems that my short legs are suited to compact geometry. Spending money on a nice new frame isn’t high on my list but I guess it would be nice.

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Took a quick vacation up to Appleton Wisconsin to visit some friends. My friend Jeff took me on a nice short ride out in the country. More hills than the western suburbs of Chicago! Decent average for me. Really slow for him.We did some work on the bike (adjusted the dish on the rear and ended up with a new tire and tube) and slightly adjusted my riding position. It’s much more comfortable now! I changed seats when I got back home as the old one is causing me some issues. I have a new seat coming from Performance Bike as well as some other parts. After the new seat and changing out the other tire I’ll have dropped another 400+ grams off the bike. The Miyata 710 originally spec’d at 25.5 lbs for a 58CM frame. I ride a 50 and when I first got the bike it weighed about 24 lbs. I dropped a half pound off the bike when I changed out the pedals. After the changes to come I think it will be in the 22 lb range. If I changed out to a carbon fork I could get it near 20 lbs.

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The weather didn’t exactly agree and I spent most of my morning cleaning around the house. I sometimes forget that Saturday is cleaning day. I really need to get the maid service back!Didn’t head out on my ride until about 11:30 a.m.Road mostly on the Prairie path. Went to Elmhurst to drop off some reeds and then road over to Wheaton to pick up some brakes for the bike (the bike I was riding since the brakes just don’t stop well enough). At that point I headed over by the Wheaton College and found a store with Gatoraide as I had run out of the homemade stuff. Thankfully I found a couple of 24 ounce bottles and tossed by well used bottles. At that point I had done about 21 miles.I felt good until about mile 26. Gutted it out until mile 28 and then finished on fumes up the hill (although I made the turn at 12 mph so I had a little something left). Cool down consisted of me getting into the house and laying down in the entry way for five minutes. My son told me I was in the way and that he would trip over me. I informed him that I’m pretty big and easy to miss!After laying on the ground for five minutes I put on some regular shoes and put the bike up on the rack in the garage. Thrilling stuff.After a shower and shave I feel a lot better. Used a Gillette Superspeed from the early 1950’s that I picked up a week or two ago. Really nice razor. I didn’t eat any lunch but am going out with friends for Italian for an early dinner. I guess I should have carb loaded before the ride.

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If the weather agrees I’m going to go on a 50 plus mile ride on Saturday heading north on the paths.

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