Mileage Update

I was able to get in 47 miles today. So... I am now sitting at 9608 for the year. Just 392 more to get to 10000. It's really looking possible. The weather just has to hold for another week or two.

I also hit "Happy Hour" at the Davenport School again tonight. That was interesting since Evan was teaching the class. That was the least sweaty I have every left one of Evan's classes. I suspect I won't be near as dry if I hit the Vinyasa III class tomorrow and when I leave the Led Class on Sunday.

Replacement Frame

I now have my Ti road bike back. I picked it up from the shop on Wednesday. It needed a new chain and bottom bracket, besides the new frame. I will also need to replace the 7th cog. It apparently was my favorite and it's skipping something something fierce under load with the new chain. I have the same cassette on a spare wheel that I'll swap on for now.

Trek basically did the absolute minimum to get the bike here. They slapped a Lemond decal on the downtube, taped a plastic head badge to it, and put it in a box. I also got to pay to swap the components over. Ah well... At least I have something rideable again. I fully expect this one to break in the same way, but I'm hoping for a few more years. Maybe Lemond Cycles will be back up and running by then. I still may write Trek a nasty gram, but I'll let that decision wait for a couple of days.

All of that said, it sure rides nice. I've put about 70 miles on it in the last two days. More is probably happening tomorrow.

Cool Stuff.... er... no... Warm Stuff

On Tuesday, I demo'ed the Sidi Heating Insoles. All I have to say is wow! The temperature was 27F when I rolled in my old road shoes with Pearl Izumi shoe covers on. I had just one pair of socks on too. I was out for close to two hours before I got to work and my toes were nice and warm. The return trip was at about 40F without the shoe covers on. Nice and warm too.

One basically plugs the insole it to charge the integrated lithium polymer battery in the insole. There is a little wireless remote to turn them on and off. They were a bit thicker at the heal and mid-sole than I like, but.... wow... warm feet. The only down side to these things is the pricing, $300. That and they have about a three hour run time. I am really being tempted.

I may see if I can find a pair of the Hottronic m3 or m4 foot warmers to try. Or... I may just buy them out right. The real difference that I can see between these and the Sidis are that these have an external battery pack and they cost half as much. The run time is considerably longer and I think that I could probably re-battery them when the batteries fail. Or... just buy the replacement power packs.

Then there are those electric gloves....

The Sunday Class

Kelly was nice enough to take a couple of pictures of the class today for me. Here are a few of them.

Here we are on the left side of Parivritta Trikonasana.







And now for Uttana Padasana








She even got a little video of us doing Garbha Pindasana. It's always way fun.



Got home, had some lunch and then got a ride in to get everything all flushed out and relaxed again. I now have 572 more miles to get to my 10k year. The weather is looking like it is going to hold.

2 Below

Well.. I learned something the other day. I have always looked forward to Christmas time since that means we head to Kansas City, where The New Belgium Brewery (NB) line of fine beers is available. Normally, I buy the beer at the Red X in Riverside, Missouri. It has to be one of the oddest stores that I've ever seen, but... it has a beer department that is second to none. They stock something on the order of 300 different beers. And then there is the outrageously good wine department. Mmmm... Tattinger's and Gruet Champagnes.

Now, in the last year, Iowa has seen NB products finally showing up. Anyway... NB has this really fine seasonal beer, 2 Below. Normally, I bring a case of it back with us when we come home. I figured now that NB was in Iowa, I'd buy local. So... off to the HyVee I went. Lots of NB product, but no 2 Below, so I ask the smiling helpful person in the aisle about it. He tells me that they can't sell it. Apparently, 2 Below has an alcohol content of 6.6% which makes it "too strong" for us puny Iowans. Fortunately, the folks that live just east of the Mississippi are made of sterner stuff.

So for my post yoga class recovery ride today, I took a little trip east of the Mississippi to the HyVee in Rock Island where it's available. Then, under cover of darkness, I brought this potent beverage home. I'm currently enjoying one as my post ride recovery drink. Now, I have a real incentive to make my arms move.

If you'd like to see the "set list" for today's Vinyasa III class, have a look here. I think I know why my arms are tired. And then there was that Virabhadrasana III with the arms foward, to the side and then forward again. For some strange reason, I am learning what the number 15 is in Sanskrit. I think it's pronounced, "ouch". I'm hoping that I'll be recovered for tomorrow's festivities.

Marc Broussard

I went to the Redstone Room to see one of the best shows that I've seen in a long time. The lineup was Josh Hoge, The Gabe Dixon Band, and Marc Broussard. Any of these folks is worth seeing and to see all of them for $20 was the deal of the week. The house was rocking and totally into it. They claim that they loved the place and will be back. The one theme that ran through the show was that they all thought it was cold. Nashville must not be. Good thing that they came in November instead of January or February. If I was you, I would be checking out YouTube for videos of these folks and buying their current recording.

One thing that I found interesting was how much Gabe Dixon reminded me of Jon Cleary. That's another act that is on my list to see.

Just a note about the Redstone Room. It is a very small, 250 capacity venue. That said, it has absolutely great sonics and is a great place to see folks up close. It also has a great staff and some tasty beers on tap.

Ti Frame Update

I wandering into the Trek Store yesterday to see if they had a replacement part for my Giro helmet. They did and... the replacement frame was there. It's a bit odd. Trek looks to have slapped a Lemond decal on it the downtube and shipped it. I'm not really complaining since I have a replacement frame. When Jim was starting to swap parts, he discovered that the Campy Record bottom bracket was shot. I decided to put another one back on the bike instead of the cheaper Chorus one. The only real difference is that the shell in the Record is carbon fiber instead of aluminum. It's also back to a Record chain. That was because the shop had one and not the Chorus one that I'd have put on it. I will be paying for the swap over. It seems that the labor to move the parts from the bad frame to the replacement isn't covered. But... I'll have the bike back when the parts that need to be ordered show up and get installed.