I decided to bike out to Honolulu International Airport today around 2 in the morning. I had a ton of energy and wanted to get out on my bike. I finished fixing my flat tire from the other night, put some proper tension on the chain (I use the shoe between the seat tube and the tire trick), packed a few tools in my Incase hip pack, and set out seeking fresh air, sweat, and a clear head. Boy did I get what I was looking for.
The beginning is always the hardest, and you follow sort of a bell curve with the tippy top a bit closer to the end, before becoming incredibly uncomfortable and beginning to think about other options for getting home. I typically can't ride anywhere without booking it either, so I tend to get to my destination after going balls to the wall, and coming to the sad and painful realization that I'm technically only half way there.
A portion of the my mistress and beat to shit 2005 Pista Concept
My ass hurt most of the time. Part of that is because my seat was meant for someone with an iron taint like Lance Armstrong, and partly because I was wearing cargo shorts and day-old hanes. I really need to get some special biking shorts with a little padding for the family jewels. The part just after HNL was the toughest, coming back underneath the H1 on Nimitz Highway. I kept shifting my weight around to keep my feet from getting numb and my ass from getting sore. A few times I considered waiting for the one single bus that runs all night long on this island, the 40, but didn't pussy out.
Eventually I caught a second wind... sometime a little after Stairway to Heaven and just before one of my favorite songs of all time, Pearl by Maritime. I love the fact that I can trace my entire route using my phone, but it would be awfully nice to tie that with the music I was listening too at the same time (I know this is possible, fortunately everything on Android seems to have access to everything else at any given time). Why would this be cool? I'd be able to observe where I picked up the pace or slowed down due to the song that was playing!
I definitely ride better with music playing. I've always been one of those people who finds life better with some kind of soundtrack, and riding isn't an exception. Certain songs get my legs pumping faster and I don't even know it. Plus cruising through Kalihi at 3am isn't exactly the brightest idea, and music keeps my lonely haole ass company out on the road. I love my Etymotic ER6i headphones, but they're unsafe on the road because of their great noise isolation. The alternative? The cute little Android earbuds that came with my Nexus One of course! They don't block out the outside noise (like some dickmunch in a car cruising up close behind me, although headlights do better at night) and they have a nifty little remote to play/pause/skip.
These are the cute little headphones the N1 comes with. I love the Android!
I also tried out this cool sweat wicking shirt my mom got me last year made for riding. It was a cold night, but the shirt helped even more by keeping sweat away from my body. I got home drenched but feeling amazing. While I was stopping the MyTracks app on my phone to keep a more accurate total riding time my rear tire suddenly burst, releasing all of its air. It was just resting against the wall! I guess I did a crappy patch job, time to swap the tube.
Here are some of the awesome statistics that MyTracks records using the GPS hardware inside of your Android phone!
I kept reminding myself of that the amazing shower I'd have on the ride back, and that combined with some real good tunes kept me pushing like a freight train through the city. Now I can't possibly sleep because I am so incredibly energized and wide awake. I'm pretty surprised with myself to be honest, the entire ride my biggest frustration and annoyance was my uncomfortable seat situation. At one point I breathed in as deep and as relaxed as I possibly could, and did that a couple of times with ease. What a great ride! I feel amazing!
