Sunday, April 19, 2009

Hills

Well after failing at twitter I can sort things out here. Another reason not to post anything comment-y on twitter, there is no edit function if you are wrong! You are just wrong forever.

Anyway, now that I have a team to live up to, I am even more motivated to hit the streets. Or hills, which I am apparently good at. This article explains why,
We all know that lighter riders climb faster that heavy ones. So remember to watch the weight - both your own and the weight you are carrying on the bike. It costs a lot to reduce the weight of your bike by a pound, but that extra water bottle or weight in your fanny pack could easily add up to a pound and really add up on a ride over hilly terrain.
So my carbon-fiber body is suddenly worth something! I would be a lousy time trial rider because the resistance comes mostly from the wind and road but I am well suited to hills where the resistance also comes from gravity. So my low weight ratio kicks in and I can squirt up.

To develop my strengths I am going to be working the hills, and there are a few nice ones near by. Today I did a route that starts at the boat landing on the Mississippi and ends up on pelham st over 94. Here is a map. My twittering mistakes were many, but the real route is .9 miles one way with 154 ft accent. I did it 5 times for 770 ft, when my goal was 1,000. So more next time, but I got out so late it was getting dark already.

To compare, the Ohio st. hill is 118 ft, in .3 miles. That is a good one too. Got to keep it up on the flats too though, the cross season doesn't have that many hills to work against and I always get burned in the flats. Just like I did cross country skiing back when I was racing in high school! Oh well, I have always said I need something to push against.




6 comments:

L D'S-G said...

I know that hill well, its got a nice steep kick as you go under the bridge. I think it may help to alternate with seated and standing and finish each lap with a sprint to Pelham. There is another good hill down the street near Fr Snelling, it goes down to the Goat Trails so you could do a bit of off road.

Cheers.

Anonymous said...

This is for Megan. I wanted to clarify some comments I found on your blog that I stumbled onto looking for articles on terminal surgery in vet schools. This is a great day for OSU. My daughter received a letter from the dean stating they will end terminal surgeries. Unlike you, my daughter had No choice. When she applied to vet school she was told she could transfer for this rotation to a vet school in Washington that had an alternative program. At the start of second year she found out this option was no longer available. She then with help from a former UC Davis vet school professor and curriculum from vet schools who had alternative programs she met with the Dean, Chancellor,and the President of OSU. The only option she had was to set up her own program. She received what she was told was a humanely acquired cadaver and purchased Daisy Dog models from Canada. She was the first student at her school to not do a terminal surgery. She next spent a month at an intership at the New York City shelter and another seven weeks interning at Best Friends in Utah. She will graduate in two weeks and has done over 200 surgeries because of these experiences. She continued to work for curriculum changes Not to keep those who want a traditional track from doing that but to have an option for those who object. Not unlike what most Vet schools have. She has had some support from professors and a few students. She essentially was by herself and on the receiving end of threats and taunts unfortunately from classmates. She volunteers to drive local shelter dogs to Boulder for adoption and a volunteer there told Mrs. Pickens about her. She did not tell Mrs. Pickens the school does bone surgeries.My father a retired Vet and my sister a graduate of OSU said this and also organ removals such as splenectomies were done in the past. Mrs. Pickens listened to her and upon doing her own research stood with my daughter to facilitate changes. They both have taken tremendous criticism for wanting to help animals. My daughter does and has always had the utmost respect for her professors and classmates. She is quite,caring and an excellent student. There are usually two sides to every story and I felt hers was not noted on your blog. Mrs. Pickens does not deserve the hatred she has received either. We are very proud of her strength of character to stand up for what she believes in. I doubt I could be as strong facing the opposition she has. I wish you well in your Vet school endeavors. It is truly a noble profession. Debra Gordon

Anonymous said...

Megan, an additional note from my husband a physician in Tulsa Oklahoma, a majority of medical schools no longer use live dogs for practice. My husband did not in his training either. Dr. Emad Aboud, a neurosurgeon at the University Of Arkansas has a training model that simulates bleeding and profusion etc. Check HSVMA site under alternatives in education for more info.

Chris Schommer said...

Hi Anonymous, Megan is a away but I can respond a little bit. First, have you read part 2 of Megan's terminal surgery post? She goes into the other side of why she did not participate.

http://winnielovesus.blogspot.com/2009/02/terminal-surgery-part-2.html

As far as I know, your daughter has never been in the news, at least the news we have seen. We are not connected to OSU in any way, and I only read what was in the news paper available online. It is very impressive that your daughter managed to avoid the surgery when so much was required to do so, that is very courageous.

I do think the 180 degree turn by OSU to now do no terminal surgery, compared to it being a requirement is very strange, and looks clearly financially and politicly motivated. I am all for giving students a choice, but pr Megan's first post some people do get value out of it. If OSU wants to be progressive and remove terminal surgery that is great, but they need to fill the gap some how, preferably by interning and observation. The U of M already does the spay and neuter program in addition to terminal surgery and they are not comparable.

But that has nothing to do with your daughter who sounds like a very brave person and did what she had to to deal with this complicated issue.

Anonymous said...

Chris thanks for responding. I did read the second post. Some good points were made. It seemed that some of the OSU bloggers were missing the point. My daughter was also instrumental in ending the use of Class B dog dealers. OSU may have come reluctantly to join the more than half of the vet schools in the U.S. no longer doing terminal surgeries. They are in good company as some include Tufts, U.C. Davis, Ohio State, Oregon, Washington, Penn State ,Florida and Cornell. Hopefully other students and faculty can persuade the rest to use more humane policies. Thanks Debra Gordon

Chris Schommer said...

Also, you might want to re-post these under the blog post in question. They get quite a bit of traffic off google, while posts about me biking up hills sadly, do not.