Musings on my fourth MS 150

Two of my teammates and I on the ride (Kim Morris Photography)

I spent June 11-12 riding my bike from Proctor to White Bear Lake. A good time was had.

The Seafoam Green Machine
This was a test of sorts for my bike, which I still consider to be new. I bought it last July, after declaring that, Lo! That would be the last MS 150 that I did on a hybrid. And indeed, it will be, for the SFGM has proven itself worthy of remaining a part of my household. It currently has a place of honor in the living/dining room. I was able to keep up with a group of my teammates this year and biked with people for the entire distance. In the previous years, I biked the whole thing alone. Sometimes I would go 15 minutes without seeing another cyclist, despite there being 3500 of them on the trails. The only modification to my bike is that I replaced the stock saddle with my Brooks at the last minute due to concerns about numbness. That worked out pretty well, I think. Butt soreness is at a [relative] minimum today.

Socialist Biking
The biggest benefit of the SFGM is that I was able to go about 2 mph faster than I was on my previous bike with no additional effort. This meant that I was able to keep up with a group of people and take advantage of the wonderful world of pacelines. There was a stupid, stupid headwind on Sunday, but thanks to being in a paceline, I only had to deal with it head-on for 2 out of every 10 miles. Saturday was pretty amazing. We were keeping about a 16.5 mph pace for some pretty good-sized chunks of time (keep in mind that my general average pace on my training rides was about 13.5 mph). Occasionally we would pick up some strays traveling about our pace, which I welcomed because that means more people to rotate into the leader position! I think the most we had going at any given time was 11 people. It's kind of exhilarating being the leader, responsible for all of those people. But it's also nice to give it up and float to the back so that all of those people can break the wind for you. :^) By the last two segments on Sunday, we were having to switch off every mile.

I need a bell
I'd never passed so many people in previous years. I went hoarse from yelling "on your left" for 5 hours on Saturday. I have a bell on my other bike that I should switch over to this one, now that it has proven itself worthy of the Compass Bell.

Number-y things
From the Garmin--
First day: 72.7 miles, with an average speed of 15.6 mph.
Second day: 74.7 miles, with an average speed of 14.3 mph. <--headwind :^(
Just shy of 10 hours total time on the saddle.
I guess I ate exactly the right amount of food, even though it felt like I was eating constantly. My weight Friday morning was the same, down to the fifth of a pound, as it was on Monday morning.

Leave no cyclist behind
A contributing factor in the lower average speed for the second day is that my group of four took a really slow cyclist with us on the final segment-- a coworker of mine who was riding for his first time (he actually just bought a bike 2 months before the ride). He had taken the SAG to the final rest stop, but we convinced him that he could ride the final segment because it was really short. The worst hill of the entire ride is a one block section just before the finish line, which he walked up. Another coworker and I waited at the top of the hill so that we could cross the finish line together.

The morning after
My neck is sore and my quads kind of feel like I've been biking for two days. My left knee hurts, which I think might be due to the sup-par bike posture that I developed after my butt started hurting (fortunately didn't really happen in earnest until after lunch on Sunday). Oh, yeah, my butt hurts. :^P My upper back and shoulders are kind of sore, along with my arms. I am going to schedule a massage for very soon.

ZZZZZZZZ
For the first time ever, I didn't camp out either night. It was kind of nice to not have to worry about setting up my tent, keeping warm at night, and trudging afar to the bathroom in the morning in order to wait in line to brush my teeth. A non-riding coworker of mine's wife has a brother-in-law with an extra house (was his parents), and they invited four of us to stay up there on Friday night. It was actually located in the town that is our first rest stop on Saturday. It was a little surreal to see the rest stop with no people. We ate dinner in Duluth with the people whose house we were staying in-- that was really nice. The brother-in-law used to be a ship captain on Lake Superior. We went to the house and played Boggle and had some drinks before going to bed at a semi-reasonable hour. It was nice and relaxing.

Strange Addiction
I registered for my 5th ride at the finish line. Can't wait for next year. :^)

[Review] The Amazingly 3.5-starred EilliptiGO

I saw this guy riding his ElliptiGO in the Minneapolis Bike Tour last weekend. I went to their website and immediately signed up for a test ride, arranged, oddly enough, with this guy right here for the next weekend.

Physical Stuff
The ElliptiGO weighs 40 lbs and is predominantly aluminum, but the elliptical arms are carbon fiber. The handlebar post folds down so that the ElliptiGO can be transported more readily. There are a few bike racks , that can hold an ElliptiGO, but most will not because it lacks a cross bar and is pretty wide. The tires are 80-100 psi and look pretty sturdy-- probably a relatively low likelihood of flats. Because all of the components on the ElliptiGO, most bike shops will be able to do minor repairs relating to the drive train, shifters, etc. The ElliptiGO has eight gears and the stride length can be modified.

How it rode
It took a bit of getting used to. The ElliptiGO requires more active balancing than a bicycle, due to the upright position in which you ride. I found the shifting to be really smooth and had no problems ascending hills. My pedaling movements didn't feel as smooth as I would have liked, which may have been due to the stride length being set too long. It felt a little wobbly, but I think that is the nature of it. The ElliptiGO may always feel a little less steady than a bicycle. I never mustered up the courage to pass a slower cyclist because I didn't feel that I had that fine of control over the ElliptiGO. That may be something that comes in time. I was impressed at the speed that I could achieve, especially considering the upright position.

As an extra bonus, I rode in my Vibram Five Fingers, and they definitely work for shorter rides on the ElliptiGO.

The day after
The ElliptiGO is definitely a better full-body workout than a bike. All that balancing really works your core. I noticed soreness in my abs and lower back (the muscle kind of soreness, not the hunched over on a bike kind of soreness). I also felt it in my arms, again probably as a result of steadying myself. It also really works your legs, which should go without saying. Notably absent were butt pain and elbow pain, two of the most common in my repertoire.

But wait...there's more
There is now at least one stationary trainer that will hold an ElliptiGO, making the price easier to swallow if you were thinking about getting an indoor elliptical. This is the idea that intrigues me the most.

Yowch!
It costs $2200. So there's that.

Verdict?
3.5 out of 5 stars. It's definitely on my list of desired toys. Contributing factors in the non-perfect rating were: the price, the unsteadiness (which, again, may be more me than the ElliptiGO), and the lack of cargo space. It will definitely not be replacing my bicycle, but I am intrigued.