It seems like I can go around 80-85 miles before the right knee starts acting up. Luckily, I guess, I rarely ride that far. Back in 2005, a mere month before the start of my rookie racing career, I hyper extended my right knee in spinning class. Every now and then it flares up. That happened again with 20 miles left to go at the Mum Festival century.
Sis, Angie and I started in the fog and cold and Angie had a flat about 2.5 miles in. Not a good thing to start with on an overall bad day for her. Speed wasn't a factor as I was out for mileage so we just rode at whatever pace would suit us. At the 60 mile cut off, I was happy to see them follow me on the 100 route. Unfortunately, I didn't know that neither Angie or Sis had spent much time on the bike recently until we were deep into the ride. I felt really bad for pushing them to do the hundred with me. We got to Kaiser Lake and went DOWNHILL to the food stop. They changed the route to go down and not UP the hill. Crap. Anyway, there was one more cut off at 75 miles for the century riders to go and right before that Angie was cramping bad. I decided to take the extra loop and let them ride back. Well, that was a dickhead move on my part, but I paid for that karma about 3 mile later when I blew my knee out. I limped the rest of the way back to the parking lot with a mileage of 98.40. No way was I going to ride circles around the lot just to get 100. Packed up and went home.
Note to the organizers, and how many times does this need to be said? Please put the painted TURN markers farther from the damn intersections!!!!! Some were actually IN the intersection. On a good note, there was plenty of good food at the Kaiser Lake rest stop, but nearly NONE at the first rest stop. By nearly none, I mean "very few cookies" because the 30 milers ate them before I got there. Harumph.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
wine vs whine
In my second departure from the topic of cycling, I will discuss whining while enjoying a glass of wine.
Blogs are funny. Blogs are stupid. Rarely is a blog enlightening. Mainly it seems that blogs are for people to whine about (whatever). I have about 35 blogs saved as bookmarks and just spent the better part of a half hour checking each one. They are all listed under "cycling blogs" because they are all bike riders of some shape or size. One guy decided a while back to quit racing for whatever reason. That's cool, but he's turned his blog into a cry-fest about his job and the government. Complaints about how his life/job sucks and how CEO's are making too much money, etc. and how Republicans are basically the devil incarnate (blame game). People like this fucking irritate me to no end. It's like he wants to go through life with his 9-5 job, have a house, 2.5 kids, a dog and have no worries in the world. Well, guess what? People have hardships. In this day and age, it's "tough out there" for everyone. It's up to you to rise above your own personal issues, get over it and fix your problem. Problems don't get solved by whining about them. Especially on the internet.
Sorry for my whine about whining. I just don't get people who "blog" about not having a fair shake in their own life. If you are healthy enough to work and wealthy enough to afford a roof, electricity, a computer AND have the free time to write your thoughts on a damned internet web log, then your life is better than about 95% of the world's population. Suck it up, cupcake.
Good Lord, it seems that two days off the bike may be too much for me! Good thing I'm riding tomorrow. See you on the road.
Blogs are funny. Blogs are stupid. Rarely is a blog enlightening. Mainly it seems that blogs are for people to whine about (whatever)
Sorry for my whine about whining. I just don't get people who "blog" about not having a fair shake in their own life. If you are healthy enough to work and wealthy enough to afford a roof, electricity, a computer AND have the free time to write your thoughts on a damned internet web log, then your life is better than about 95% of the world's population. Suck it up, cupcake.
Good Lord, it seems that two days off the bike may be too much for me! Good thing I'm riding tomorrow. See you on the road.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Tipp City mum festival bike tour this Sunday
Link to information HERE
I'll be doing the century, probably solo unless someone wants to join. Assumed pace will be 18ish mph with cookie stops MANDATORY.
I'll be doing the century, probably solo unless someone wants to join. Assumed pace will be 18ish mph with cookie stops MANDATORY.
Monday, September 22, 2008
6000
Yesterday's team ride took me over the 6,000 mile mark for the year. This is the earliest I've hit that mark since 2005.
2003 - 5,183.73 miles total
2004 - 5,188.05 miles total
2005 - 6,000 on 9/8 - 8,266.76 miles total
2006 - 6,000 on 10/9 - 7,191.75 miles total
2007 - 6,000 on 11/24 - 6,550.17 miles total with surgery and a 2 week Scotland vacation thrown in.
2008 - 6,000 on 9/21
Looks to be a good year mileage wise with no vacations on the books except for a short one to go camping, but that will only be a weekend trip. Training for 2008 began on October 20, 2007. Sounds like a reasonable date to begin training for 2009 so I'm going to be quite lazy over the next month and just ride around with no ambition and play with my TT bike. The good news is that I'll finish 2008 in way better form than I ended 2007. No burnout and no long time off the bike combined with several hard group rides per week has found me in good form. Between the vacation and surgery, I was off the bike for around 5 consecutive weeks. Not this year!
2003 - 5,183.73 miles total
2004 - 5,188.05 miles total
2005 - 6,000 on 9/8 - 8,266.76 miles total
2006 - 6,000 on 10/9 - 7,191.75 miles total
2007 - 6,000 on 11/24 - 6,550.17 miles total with surgery and a 2 week Scotland vacation thrown in.
2008 - 6,000 on 9/21
Looks to be a good year mileage wise with no vacations on the books except for a short one to go camping, but that will only be a weekend trip. Training for 2008 began on October 20, 2007. Sounds like a reasonable date to begin training for 2009 so I'm going to be quite lazy over the next month and just ride around with no ambition and play with my TT bike. The good news is that I'll finish 2008 in way better form than I ended 2007. No burnout and no long time off the bike combined with several hard group rides per week has found me in good form. Between the vacation and surgery, I was off the bike for around 5 consecutive weeks. Not this year!
Friday, September 19, 2008
Yes, we finally have internet access
I never realized how much the internet is vital to my business, not to mention my bicycle gear window shopping.
Anyway, the state road race got pushed back to October 5th. I'm scheduled to go camping that weekend, so I think the season is over officially. I've already started my off season program of core work, which is always UNfun. Pretty soon it will morph into weight lifting and early morning trainer sessions.
Good lord willing and the creek don't rise, I can keep my weight down this offseason. I set myself back last winter and shot to 180 pounds and it made a rough spring to make it down to sub-165. That being said, I was 172.5 after our sushi fest last night. Ooops.
Anyway, the state road race got pushed back to October 5th. I'm scheduled to go camping that weekend, so I think the season is over officially. I've already started my off season program of core work, which is always UNfun. Pretty soon it will morph into weight lifting and early morning trainer sessions.
Good lord willing and the creek don't rise, I can keep my weight down this offseason. I set myself back last winter and shot to 180 pounds and it made a rough spring to make it down to sub-165. That being said, I was 172.5 after our sushi fest last night. Ooops.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
#31 Speedy Feet time trial
A great way to end the season! Conditions were perfect and the bike path was clear so I was feeling really confident going into last night's race. On the line was $50 cash, winner take all. Since I've won all four previous races and I had the new weapons, things looked good.
Anyway, the path is east to west and there was a slight wind from the north. That made things even better because I didn't have to deal with any head winds. I started out hard and kept it up, ending in my highest 15 minute power output since I've had the powertap (311 watts). I also ended up with my fastest time trial ever, at 26.2 mph average (including the turnaround where you basically have to come to a complete stop to negotiate a 180 degree turn on the path). Now I'm $50 dollars richer and I'm taking my wife out for sushi Thursday to celebrate.
I'm still on the fence about Sunday's road race, but chances are I'll probably do it but this was basically the end of my season. Now it's time to tear the TT bike apart and set it up UCI legal.
On a side note: I've been without an internet connection since the storm, hence the lack of updates. Now I'm sitting at the coffee shop surrounded by people with laptops. Dorks! Oh wait.
Anyway, the path is east to west and there was a slight wind from the north. That made things even better because I didn't have to deal with any head winds. I started out hard and kept it up, ending in my highest 15 minute power output since I've had the powertap (311 watts). I also ended up with my fastest time trial ever, at 26.2 mph average (including the turnaround where you basically have to come to a complete stop to negotiate a 180 degree turn on the path). Now I'm $50 dollars richer and I'm taking my wife out for sushi Thursday to celebrate.
I'm still on the fence about Sunday's road race, but chances are I'll probably do it but this was basically the end of my season. Now it's time to tear the TT bike apart and set it up UCI legal.
On a side note: I've been without an internet connection since the storm, hence the lack of updates. Now I'm sitting at the coffee shop surrounded by people with laptops. Dorks! Oh wait.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
#30 Colavita September TT
With the weather the way it's been the past two days, it seemed there was little hope of a dry day. When I took the dogs outside around 1:30 this morning, it looked like it just got done pouring down. Luckily when I got to Greenville, the roads were kind of dry but getting dryer, but the bad news was they were freshly fricken chip sealed three weeks ago. Chip seal + cycling = slow and bumpy.
I saw Jim Matson in the parking lot and thought "shit, I'm racing for second" as he beat me last month by over 1:30. Nutz.
Armed with my new set of tires and tubes, I started fourth on the day. About 4 miles in I passed my one and two minute men within seconds of each other. There was a little wind, but the weather said it was coming out of SSE, which was odd since I was going West and feeling it. HUH? By the time I hit the turn around I was feeling drained but looking down at my powertap showed that I had a several seconds on my normal "out" section time. Good news!
The trip back was much faster. Ah ha! The wind was coming out of the SSW - now that makes more sense. I was still feeling rough though. A combination of only 3 hours of sleep last night, chip seal and the "out" wind made me hurt more than normal. Praying at the 1 mile to go sign that I had a decent time, I looked down and gave it all I had which didn't feel like much. 301 watts to be exact for the last mile.
At the finish I was spent, but saw a new personal record! I was 26 seconds faster than the previous two months. 29:01 via power tap (29:05 official). At the registration area afterward, almost everyone I heard had stories of how their times were slower due to the chip seal.
In the end, Jim still beat me but this time by only around 30 seconds. I ended up second to him in my division and fourth overall.
Now the bad news - my stupid decision back in March and April (when I was between TT bikes) cost me a free jersey. At those two races (March was actually cancelled due to fog) I chose to race the Orca in the "standard class". For whatever stupid reason I didn't ride age group and since the requirements to repeat as Series Champion was to ride 7 of the 8 tt's I was hosed. Well I was present at all 8 but raced two in the standard class. I'm an idiot. No jersey/championship for me. I'll get it back in 2009.
To add insult to injury, in the April race had I chosen to race age group I would have gotten second place with my time. BUT NO, I got third riding standard class.
I saw Jim Matson in the parking lot and thought "shit, I'm racing for second" as he beat me last month by over 1:30. Nutz.
Armed with my new set of tires and tubes, I started fourth on the day. About 4 miles in I passed my one and two minute men within seconds of each other. There was a little wind, but the weather said it was coming out of SSE, which was odd since I was going West and feeling it. HUH? By the time I hit the turn around I was feeling drained but looking down at my powertap showed that I had a several seconds on my normal "out" section time. Good news!
The trip back was much faster. Ah ha! The wind was coming out of the SSW - now that makes more sense. I was still feeling rough though. A combination of only 3 hours of sleep last night, chip seal and the "out" wind made me hurt more than normal. Praying at the 1 mile to go sign that I had a decent time, I looked down and gave it all I had which didn't feel like much. 301 watts to be exact for the last mile.
At the finish I was spent, but saw a new personal record! I was 26 seconds faster than the previous two months. 29:01 via power tap (29:05 official). At the registration area afterward, almost everyone I heard had stories of how their times were slower due to the chip seal.
In the end, Jim still beat me but this time by only around 30 seconds. I ended up second to him in my division and fourth overall.
Now the bad news - my stupid decision back in March and April (when I was between TT bikes) cost me a free jersey. At those two races (March was actually cancelled due to fog) I chose to race the Orca in the "standard class". For whatever stupid reason I didn't ride age group and since the requirements to repeat as Series Champion was to ride 7 of the 8 tt's I was hosed. Well I was present at all 8 but raced two in the standard class. I'm an idiot. No jersey/championship for me. I'll get it back in 2009.
To add insult to injury, in the April race had I chosen to race age group I would have gotten second place with my time. BUT NO, I got third riding standard class.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Test run
Monday and Tuesday were test runs of the new equipment on the time trial bike. Encouraging preliminary results. Training rides are much different than race day rides though and Saturday will be the real test. It appears that the same wattage gave me about another MPH and my typical MPH average had lower wattage. Then again, these test runs were not done on a race course, just my typical TT practice route. Breezy but not windy so I had to run tests in all four directions, etc. I can only imagine what people think when they see me running tests over and over (and over) on the same stretch of road when they're out mowing the lawn or something.
After the TT Saturday there is one more next Tuesday then that is it unless QCW has any more on the books that I care to drive 1.5 hours to get to (for a 10 mile TT, I doubt it). After that, more changes are going to happen. When I originally got "fit" on my bike, the "fitter" gave me a hand out with dimensions for both the FIST setup and UCI setup. Subjectively, I (wrongly) chose the FIST setup. With Master Nationals being a priority for next year, I am going to switch over to the UCI setup right after the final TT. I'm going to use the rest of September and October to "fiddle a liddle" with my position while staying within the confines of UCI legality. Depending on the results, it's one of two directions: Find another bike fitter, preferrably a big name in the business, or head to the A2WT wind tunnel. If my own testing is solid and I'm getting decent results, I'll go for the tunnel to tweak. If I am unhappy with my results, it's time to overhaul the position with a fit guru.
After the TT Saturday there is one more next Tuesday then that is it unless QCW has any more on the books that I care to drive 1.5 hours to get to (for a 10 mile TT, I doubt it). After that, more changes are going to happen. When I originally got "fit" on my bike, the "fitter" gave me a hand out with dimensions for both the FIST setup and UCI setup. Subjectively, I (wrongly) chose the FIST setup. With Master Nationals being a priority for next year, I am going to switch over to the UCI setup right after the final TT. I'm going to use the rest of September and October to "fiddle a liddle" with my position while staying within the confines of UCI legality. Depending on the results, it's one of two directions: Find another bike fitter, preferrably a big name in the business, or head to the A2WT wind tunnel. If my own testing is solid and I'm getting decent results, I'll go for the tunnel to tweak. If I am unhappy with my results, it's time to overhaul the position with a fit guru.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
ROCKTOBERFEST
Whatever - should be called fat fest.
Although the beer was good (some German variety), the eyes were put on high alert. I'm kind of surprised a sink hole didn't develop. Being a former lard ass myself, I won't go hard on people, but that being said it's still not easy to see all these people cramming sugar waffles in their cake holes.
On another note for those who get excited over such things (I think that's me only), I put secret time trial weapon #2 on the bike when I got home. Monday will probably be it's first test run.
Had a good ride today - it's too bad more people didn't show up for the event but it just meant more cookies for my own personal cake hole (cookie hole). Dobo and I had a conversational 77 mile ride right at 19.0 average.
Although the beer was good (some German variety), the eyes were put on high alert. I'm kind of surprised a sink hole didn't develop. Being a former lard ass myself, I won't go hard on people, but that being said it's still not easy to see all these people cramming sugar waffles in their cake holes.
On another note for those who get excited over such things (I think that's me only), I put secret time trial weapon #2 on the bike when I got home. Monday will probably be it's first test run.
Had a good ride today - it's too bad more people didn't show up for the event but it just meant more cookies for my own personal cake hole (cookie hole). Dobo and I had a conversational 77 mile ride right at 19.0 average.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Bore ring
I think I am the most boring person on the planet. From the looks of it, I would make a perfect candidate for Vice President. My wife is gone for the weekend so what are my big plans? Bachelor parties, wine and dine social engagements, poker with the boys, college road trip, hookers and blow? No, no, no, no and hell no. It looks like I'm going to sit at home tonight and rest my knee (no, the other knee), my neck and back. I may make it out of the house to go to the grocery. Saturday I'm going to ride a bike tour and follow that up with having a couple of beers with my dad at the Oktober Fest. Sunday, we have an open house so I have to take the dogs and leave. I'll stow them at the farm while I (surprise, surprise) go ride my bike.
Secret time trial weaponry #2 may get a rollout, provided I "have the time" to install it. Colavita's last TT of the year is next Saturday, got to go out on a high note, so I need to have a couple of test runs before that.
Secret time trial weaponry #2 may get a rollout, provided I "have the time" to install it. Colavita's last TT of the year is next Saturday, got to go out on a high note, so I need to have a couple of test runs before that.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Shill post
http://www.projectveloracing.com/waco.php
Blatant shill post for the bike tour that my team is hosting. Proceeds go to supporting youth cycling.
I'll be doing the 75 mile route, but I'm riding from my house to add a few more miles. If anyone wants to join me, leave a comment or email me. I'll be leaving from my house at 7am.
Blatant shill post for the bike tour that my team is hosting. Proceeds go to supporting youth cycling.
I'll be doing the 75 mile route, but I'm riding from my house to add a few more miles. If anyone wants to join me, leave a comment or email me. I'll be leaving from my house at 7am.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Wright Ride 2008
Due to time limitations, I opted for the 64 mile route. Hmm, 64? Oh well. I was solo and just wanted to ride my own pace, hard where I wanted and easy where I wanted. Stop often for cookies. Not really much to report but when I got back to the parking lot I had 68 miles so I turned around and did the opening hill (pinnacle point) again which is 1 mile long and back down to get near an even 70 miles for the day. 70.11 miles took me almost 4 hours. 17.9 I think was my average. Couldn't exactly go fast due to the road situation. More below.
THE GOOD
Plenty of snacks
Plenty of rest stops
Great weather
Slightly rolling terrain
Great paint on the route for the most part
THE BAD
The absolute WORST roads I have ever ridden on bar none for that length of time. Preble County must have had extra gravel for their annual chip-seal party. Many times we were riding on roads that were not there over top of gravel/dirt. Then there was the miles of chip seal. From the first rest stop on the 64 mile loop back to that same rest stop, the roads were absolute crap.
I'm not doing that ride again, which is unfortunate. You can't control the county chip sealers, but you can control (at least I'm assuming) the fact that we had to ride over roads that were shit.
THE GOOD
Plenty of snacks
Plenty of rest stops
Great weather
Slightly rolling terrain
Great paint on the route for the most part
THE BAD
The absolute WORST roads I have ever ridden on bar none for that length of time. Preble County must have had extra gravel for their annual chip-seal party. Many times we were riding on roads that were not there over top of gravel/dirt. Then there was the miles of chip seal. From the first rest stop on the 64 mile loop back to that same rest stop, the roads were absolute crap.
I'm not doing that ride again, which is unfortunate. You can't control the county chip sealers, but you can control (at least I'm assuming) the fact that we had to ride over roads that were shit.
Battle of the Cows TT #29
What do you do when you go 25mph and finish near the bottom? You pout of course. Holy crap! I love the course that Craig set up and I think I'll be heading back for some training rides there.
I felt like crap for the whole ride and felt like I couldn't generate a watt to save my life. Burnout is right around the corner and it's been a long season with my first time trial of 2008 being last January. That being said, I was just a shade over 25 mph for the 9.1 mile course.
Notice the sweat dripping off my nose. Yes, I was working hard. I still have yet to ever beat Vince or Todd in a time trial.
I felt like crap for the whole ride and felt like I couldn't generate a watt to save my life. Burnout is right around the corner and it's been a long season with my first time trial of 2008 being last January. That being said, I was just a shade over 25 mph for the 9.1 mile course.
Notice the sweat dripping off my nose. Yes, I was working hard. I still have yet to ever beat Vince or Todd in a time trial.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Sunday ride picture
Dobo looks as if he's chatting away with me. I'm sucking big air at that moment.
Blue Streak TT #28
Last night was my first attempt at the blue streak course. I've seen fast times, so I wanted to check it out at least once before I move. This was the last of the series for this year, but they are going to host 6 races next year.
I felt like crap most of yesterday and I have no idea why. Stresses with our building/my job/house sale are kind of building up (maybe I should be on the internet less, ya think). Weird shooting pains were hitting me all over. Suck it up cupcake and race. There are only 3 or 4 more races and this season is over.
Not knowing the protocol of being on a military facility, I kept the warm up mostly in the parking lot until I finally saw people on the road. I didn't want to do something wrong and end up in the "stockade"! The warm up was not typical of a usual time trial for this distance but felt ok throughout.
I started 17th on the day and wanted to catch Shayne who started 3 placed ahead of me. I passed around 9 or 10 riders, but no Shayne. The back stretch was brutal where I was giving it everything and holding only 21mph, but everyone was having that problem.
End result was a TIE for 9th out of 80+ riders (with Shayne) with an average of 24.7 according to the results. Never been that fast and felt like such ass. I'm discounting the guy who finished first because he was riding a missile (full aero HPV-recumbent). My powertap showed 24.4 average, but what scared me more is that I was over 190bpm for 15 minutes+. I usually TT at 180-185. No wonder I felt cooked and dead. It took about two hours for my heart rate to settle to normal, that freaked me out as my heart rate is usually in the 60bpm range just sitting around. For comparison, my heart rate right now is 54 after one cup of morning coffee. Last night it was around 100-110 for too long.
I'm not happy with a decent result when I raced and felt like crap. I'll chalk this down as the worst time trial I've ever done.
Ok, it took me a few minutes to realize what was up. I forgot that I ate a lot of mixed nuts yesterday for lunch and I have a low grade allergy to some of them. Nuts have tanked races for me before. That was dumb.
I felt like crap most of yesterday and I have no idea why. Stresses with our building/my job/house sale are kind of building up (maybe I should be on the internet less, ya think). Weird shooting pains were hitting me all over. Suck it up cupcake and race. There are only 3 or 4 more races and this season is over.
Not knowing the protocol of being on a military facility, I kept the warm up mostly in the parking lot until I finally saw people on the road. I didn't want to do something wrong and end up in the "stockade"! The warm up was not typical of a usual time trial for this distance but felt ok throughout.
I started 17th on the day and wanted to catch Shayne who started 3 placed ahead of me. I passed around 9 or 10 riders, but no Shayne. The back stretch was brutal where I was giving it everything and holding only 21mph, but everyone was having that problem.
End result was a TIE for 9th out of 80+ riders (with Shayne) with an average of 24.7 according to the results. Never been that fast and felt like such ass. I'm discounting the guy who finished first because he was riding a missile (full aero HPV-recumbent). My powertap showed 24.4 average, but what scared me more is that I was over 190bpm for 15 minutes+. I usually TT at 180-185. No wonder I felt cooked and dead. It took about two hours for my heart rate to settle to normal, that freaked me out as my heart rate is usually in the 60bpm range just sitting around. For comparison, my heart rate right now is 54 after one cup of morning coffee. Last night it was around 100-110 for too long.
I'm not happy with a decent result when I raced and felt like crap. I'll chalk this down as the worst time trial I've ever done.
Ok, it took me a few minutes to realize what was up. I forgot that I ate a lot of mixed nuts yesterday for lunch and I have a low grade allergy to some of them. Nuts have tanked races for me before. That was dumb.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Out of my league
Ever ride above your pay grade? That's exactly what happened to me for the first time Sunday. A 100 mile, 22 climb ride was on the schedule. The last century I did was May 1, 2005 and the longest I've ridden this year was around 65 at the Strawberry festival metric tour. So going in, I was pretty nervous about being able to keep up with the climbing AND the distance. The saving grace for me was that there was regrouping after the climbs. The quicker you get up the hill, the longer the regrouping time!
I packed a boatload of generic fig newton bars and started eating them about 6 miles in and didn't stop until the ride was nearly over. That was probably the smartest thing I did. I have a problem with being able to eat while I eat due to breathing issues, but I was able to eat during the regrouping periods with no problem. It's nearly impossible for me to eat during a road race. That's bad.
As the ride continued, everything felt pretty good except for some chafe issues. Luckily, my legs were able to hold out and I felt stronger as the day went on. I do have some soreness in my already bad right knee (thank you, stupid spin class on February 1st, 2005), but I don't see it stopping me from riding today.
One thing that did bother me is my lack of confidence in descending. Due to the nature of my training rides (mostly flat stuff), I don't have the opportunity to descend often. On each downhill section, I coasted my way to the back of the pack before it started so as to not get in anyone's way. My new brakes sure got a workout, and I slid out once, but was able to keep it upright. Of course after each downhill, I had to make an effort to close the gap I made and that was often at the bottom of yet another climb. Ouch!
Anyway, it was a great ride and on the final few climbs I did pretty well and thought I was climbing out of my pay grade. I'm not a small man, and my usual "climbs" involve overpasses, but I felt pretty good going uphill being able to keep up with the stronger riders for the most part. It was a great day and I'm glad there were a bunch of us to share in the suffering.
I packed a boatload of generic fig newton bars and started eating them about 6 miles in and didn't stop until the ride was nearly over. That was probably the smartest thing I did. I have a problem with being able to eat while I eat due to breathing issues, but I was able to eat during the regrouping periods with no problem. It's nearly impossible for me to eat during a road race. That's bad.
As the ride continued, everything felt pretty good except for some chafe issues. Luckily, my legs were able to hold out and I felt stronger as the day went on. I do have some soreness in my already bad right knee (thank you, stupid spin class on February 1st, 2005), but I don't see it stopping me from riding today.
One thing that did bother me is my lack of confidence in descending. Due to the nature of my training rides (mostly flat stuff), I don't have the opportunity to descend often. On each downhill section, I coasted my way to the back of the pack before it started so as to not get in anyone's way. My new brakes sure got a workout, and I slid out once, but was able to keep it upright. Of course after each downhill, I had to make an effort to close the gap I made and that was often at the bottom of yet another climb. Ouch!
Anyway, it was a great ride and on the final few climbs I did pretty well and thought I was climbing out of my pay grade. I'm not a small man, and my usual "climbs" involve overpasses, but I felt pretty good going uphill being able to keep up with the stronger riders for the most part. It was a great day and I'm glad there were a bunch of us to share in the suffering.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Out of reach
Being 38 years old, I've been flirting with the idea of riding across the United States in 2010 to celebrate my oldness of 40. Now, I'm not so sure that's anything more than a pipe dream. I've been searching for touring companies that offer varieties of rides, from the carry your own gear type to the hotel and buffet type. The underlying factor is cost. Even the carry your own crap and cook your own crap rides are $4,000+! Of course, I don't even want to carry my own crap! If I do this, it's going to be hotels and buffets, but not to the tune of $8,000-$10,000. The thing that makes the cost even more of a challenge is the fact that I have no vacation days, being self employed. Every minute I don't work, I don't get paid. Even if My wife's clinic exceeds beyond all expectations, it's going to be a struggle with me netting a ZERO income for 5 weeks.
So it's become apparent that this cross country thing won't be happening until later on in life, barring winning the lottery (which I don't play).
One idea I've been thinking about is doing as many state championship time trials as I can fit in. Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Pennsylvania, etc. That will account for several weekend trips, but still be fun (in an ouch sort of way) and I see what kind of results I can rack up in my first year being a 40+ rider.
Another idea is a winter training camp. Hammer (as in Gel), along with many other companies put these on in Arizona so us snowed in mid-westerners can get some consecutive non trainer rides under our belts. Probably what would be more fun is to just rent a house in Tuscon, buy a case of pasta and have 5-10 friends go out and ride for a week.
Yet another is do as many multi-day tours as possible. Goba, Rainstorm, TOSRV, etc.
Or simply fuck it and just ride wherever I please.
So it's become apparent that this cross country thing won't be happening until later on in life, barring winning the lottery (which I don't play).
One idea I've been thinking about is doing as many state championship time trials as I can fit in. Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Pennsylvania, etc. That will account for several weekend trips, but still be fun (in an ouch sort of way) and I see what kind of results I can rack up in my first year being a 40+ rider.
Another idea is a winter training camp. Hammer (as in Gel), along with many other companies put these on in Arizona so us snowed in mid-westerners can get some consecutive non trainer rides under our belts. Probably what would be more fun is to just rent a house in Tuscon, buy a case of pasta and have 5-10 friends go out and ride for a week.
Yet another is do as many multi-day tours as possible. Goba, Rainstorm, TOSRV, etc.
Or simply fuck it and just ride wherever I please.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
That which does not kill me...
...makes me wish I were dead.
Far be it for me to call in sick, I hit the pavement with little expectation. I gave it my all, got dropped, got back on, gave it my all, got dropped, gave it everything I had (Rudy) and died. I was resurrected minutes later only to commit cycling suicide on the rollers. Then had 10 miles worth of time trial practice.
From the time I got back on with the group on Rudy until I was dropped for the final time on the rollers, the average was 24.0. That included the cow hill, the unnamed hill, the long Rudy incline THEN the roller. Ouchies.
That earned me a nice cup of coffee and a blueberry muffin here at the coffee shop.
And now I'm sitting here trying to come up with a plan to be able to do the Ramble after moving to Cincinnati. Suffering is fun.
Far be it for me to call in sick, I hit the pavement with little expectation. I gave it my all, got dropped, got back on, gave it my all, got dropped, gave it everything I had (Rudy) and died. I was resurrected minutes later only to commit cycling suicide on the rollers. Then had 10 miles worth of time trial practice.
From the time I got back on with the group on Rudy until I was dropped for the final time on the rollers, the average was 24.0. That included the cow hill, the unnamed hill, the long Rudy incline THEN the roller. Ouchies.
That earned me a nice cup of coffee and a blueberry muffin here at the coffee shop.
And now I'm sitting here trying to come up with a plan to be able to do the Ramble after moving to Cincinnati. Suffering is fun.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Speedy Feet TT #27
Four for four! Even though I had to come to a complete stop on the course because of a family hogging the path, I ended up with a 24.8 average and won by 18 or so seconds over 2nd place. 295 watt average for the 17 minutes and change.
I started first, a position that most people hate. I wanted that spot because it minimized the amount of people on the course at least for the "out" section. The course being a small open bike path, I think it's important to have traffic at a minimum. The course today was lengthened to 3.6 miles out and 3.6 back, so it was about a mile longer than last month. At mile 3, I was barreling along at 28.7 mph and came upon a family of four walking the way I'm riding and the two young kids were wandering around. Crap! I yelled 'PASSING'. Luckily, they moved over but not before I had to shut it down. The wife said she was sorry, and I was able to get out a "no problem" before ramping it up again. This being an open course, I can't really get mad at people using the multi use trail as it was such a nice night out. Anyway, trying to get back up to speed in my 53x13 or whatever gear I was in, I hit my max wattage for the ride - about 930. Way too high for a time trial.
After the turn around, I saw the guy who started right behind me and it seemed like he was WAY to close, so I spent the "back" section wondering if we were starting at one minute or thirty second intervals. I was also wondering if I was going to get passed. I pushed as hard as I could and was in the red the whole way back.
There was actually more than a slight headwind coming back, confirmed by the data, as the course is flat. Maybe it's slightly downhill going out, I don't know.
Out
8:03
26.7 average
272 watt average
167 heart rate average
Back
9:20
23.1 average
313 watt average
179 heart rate average
Overall
17:23
24.8 average
295 watt average
174 heart rate average
Results
I started first, a position that most people hate. I wanted that spot because it minimized the amount of people on the course at least for the "out" section. The course being a small open bike path, I think it's important to have traffic at a minimum. The course today was lengthened to 3.6 miles out and 3.6 back, so it was about a mile longer than last month. At mile 3, I was barreling along at 28.7 mph and came upon a family of four walking the way I'm riding and the two young kids were wandering around. Crap! I yelled 'PASSING'. Luckily, they moved over but not before I had to shut it down. The wife said she was sorry, and I was able to get out a "no problem" before ramping it up again. This being an open course, I can't really get mad at people using the multi use trail as it was such a nice night out. Anyway, trying to get back up to speed in my 53x13 or whatever gear I was in, I hit my max wattage for the ride - about 930. Way too high for a time trial.
After the turn around, I saw the guy who started right behind me and it seemed like he was WAY to close, so I spent the "back" section wondering if we were starting at one minute or thirty second intervals. I was also wondering if I was going to get passed. I pushed as hard as I could and was in the red the whole way back.
There was actually more than a slight headwind coming back, confirmed by the data, as the course is flat. Maybe it's slightly downhill going out, I don't know.
Out
8:03
26.7 average
272 watt average
167 heart rate average
Back
9:20
23.1 average
313 watt average
179 heart rate average
Overall
17:23
24.8 average
295 watt average
174 heart rate average
Results
Monday, August 11, 2008
Found another event!
And it's sponsored by our team!
Project Velo Racing
Troy, OH
Saturday, September 06, 2008
http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=6847
Waco Music Festival Bike Tour
Presented byProject Velo Racing
Troy, OH
Saturday, September 06, 2008
http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=6847
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