i am about to pop open some beers. i expect a congratulatory phone call from Pat any minute now. later.
2 days ago
Sunday, August 31, 2008
done.
i am about to pop open some beers. i expect a congratulatory phone call from Pat any minute now. later.Saturday, August 30, 2008
im not saying. im just saying.
i once dreamed of being granted membership into a certain club. i thought my acceptance into the club was a stone cold lock, a done deal, a sure freaking thing. then something took place. something smacked me in the pie hole.
since the smack down i have not spoken of these events or the club. i have ridden 674.8 miles to date in the month of August. tomorrow is the last day of August. i plan to ride my bike tomorrow. i am not sure, but maybe 25.2 miles sounds good.
that is all.
since the smack down i have not spoken of these events or the club. i have ridden 674.8 miles to date in the month of August. tomorrow is the last day of August. i plan to ride my bike tomorrow. i am not sure, but maybe 25.2 miles sounds good.
that is all.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
i said stop me....
i love cake. next, i love ice cream. after that it is pizza.
this past weekend was the princess party for my little princess who turned three. we had, well, princesses, gourmet cake, and pizza. as usual, someone (pointing the finger at my lovely wife) ordered way too much. we had leftovers galore, cake and pizza, not princesses.
as a group cyclist and runners are some fit folks. when compared to the general public here in the States we are down right skinny, healthy, sexy people. you know it's true. as a group we are also a bit odd. it doesn't take much to make me feel like a fatty patty. it could be two days off, a night of binge drinking, a visit to Taco Bell, and so on.
where was i? oh yes, cake and pizza. for three days straight i have eaten pizza and cake for every meal. EVERY meal i said. it had to stop. so, last night i tossed out the remainder of the pizza, which was about 1/3 of a large. i took care of the last pieces of cake too. alright, i ate the rest of the cake. did you see the cake? think of the best damn wedding cake you have ever had and times that by 10. plus, it was like $80 bucks, you can't just throw it away.
next year we need ice cream to go with the cake.
later.
this past weekend was the princess party for my little princess who turned three. we had, well, princesses, gourmet cake, and pizza. as usual, someone (pointing the finger at my lovely wife) ordered way too much. we had leftovers galore, cake and pizza, not princesses.
as a group cyclist and runners are some fit folks. when compared to the general public here in the States we are down right skinny, healthy, sexy people. you know it's true. as a group we are also a bit odd. it doesn't take much to make me feel like a fatty patty. it could be two days off, a night of binge drinking, a visit to Taco Bell, and so on.
where was i? oh yes, cake and pizza. for three days straight i have eaten pizza and cake for every meal. EVERY meal i said. it had to stop. so, last night i tossed out the remainder of the pizza, which was about 1/3 of a large. i took care of the last pieces of cake too. alright, i ate the rest of the cake. did you see the cake? think of the best damn wedding cake you have ever had and times that by 10. plus, it was like $80 bucks, you can't just throw it away.
next year we need ice cream to go with the cake.
later.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Monday, August 18, 2008
that's gonna leave a mark....
8:23 ride time / 9:38 total time.
131 miles
15.6 mph avg - 51 mph max
134 avg HR - 172 max HR
**edit: finished 14 out of 63 riders who completed the 200k (and then some) route. with a little hill specific training and shorter rest stops i could be a pretty good climber. :) later.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Double Ds
the Dairyland Dare is this Saturday. this is my first time doing this ride. i have done hilly rides before; the 2007 HHH (200k & 12000 feet of climbing) and a couple trips to Cross Plains, WI this season (62 miles & 6000 feet of climbing), but saying "before" is the problem.
the DD 200k is advertised to bring 133 miles and 14,988 feet of climbing. it is suppose to be relentless. short and steep all day long. nothing of significant length, but did i mention short and steep. i am guessing 10% to 15% inclines will be slapping me in the face all day.
the thing is i have not done any hill training or hilly ride of significance since June 29th. my area is flatter then flat. corn field flat. sod growing flat. flat as the rear tire on my last ride flat.
i am in trouble. it will hurt for sure.
that being said there are still open spots for this ride. get over to the DD site, register, and get your butt to Dodgeville, WI for some fun with the BFNIC gang. fun being left open to interpretation of course.
later.
the DD 200k is advertised to bring 133 miles and 14,988 feet of climbing. it is suppose to be relentless. short and steep all day long. nothing of significant length, but did i mention short and steep. i am guessing 10% to 15% inclines will be slapping me in the face all day.
the thing is i have not done any hill training or hilly ride of significance since June 29th. my area is flatter then flat. corn field flat. sod growing flat. flat as the rear tire on my last ride flat.
i am in trouble. it will hurt for sure.
that being said there are still open spots for this ride. get over to the DD site, register, and get your butt to Dodgeville, WI for some fun with the BFNIC gang. fun being left open to interpretation of course.
later.
Monday, August 11, 2008
the hurt box....
a couple weeks ago Psimet asked me if i would be interested in a bit of racing. not the hardcore Criterium style, but a 50K 2 man time trial. the BFNIC has the racing bug for sure. a lot of the group can be found hammering out 20 mph midweek rides or 25 mph crits on the weekend. feeling a need to change things up i said for sure.
a 50K all effort is no joke. even with a partner it was still 31 miles of serious suffering. you don't get to ease into this kind of effort. it's go go go go go go go from the start. i knew this going in and was mentally prepared for it. physically, the legs were not as fresh as they could have been. i rode 38 rolling miles on Saturday around the Starved Rock State Park area. plus, i have been battling some dead legs lately. so, i knew i needed to get things warmed up before toeing the line.
our start time was 9:21 and guess what, i didn't get warmed up enough. the course was a 15 mile loop. it was an instant struggle for me. i found it hard to hold Psimet's wheel. i wasn't far off it, but i needed to be inches from it since he was in full TT gear/setup and i was rolling my normal roadie gear/setup. the legs were screaming at me; "Why didn't you warm us up!!!!" i hit my max heart rate of 183 bpm at mile five!!
Psimet was strong. he instantly took to tracking our pulls and barking out at 1 minute intervals to rotate. i knew he would do this and it was a solid plan. i felt a bit bad that first loop. a couple times i dropped off his wheel. he would finish his pull and look for me to take my turn. having to close that small gap to take my pull cost us time. add in the fact that i was surging to the front and we had a bit of a yo yo effect going on that made it hard for us to find a rhythm.
the more and more i ride i realize that i may be a better distance rider then speed demon. as we started lap 2 i felt better. the legs were still burning, but i was able to hold the wheel and take better pulls.
that last lap was fun. we suffered into the wind and up some rollers heading back West. prior to making the last right turn for the final 3 miles i was hurting real good. i was planning to pull off and let Psimet power us in. however, we made that turn and what did i see???? four riders up ahead. it was the dangling carrot. i didn't stop pulling until we chased them down. Psimet then took the lead and powered us home. i fell about 2 bike lengths off his wheel, but was standing, sprinting, and giving it what i had left.
we don't have the official times yet, but Garmin had me at 1 hr 23 minutes, 22.3 average mph, and a 167 average heart rate. i think this is my fastest ride and highest average HR to date. even on hard efforts i rarely spend prolonged time in Zone 4 (80%-90%), but i was in that zone for 27 miles of this ride. no wonder it hurt so good.
so, i have raced this season. next up is the Dairyland Dare 200k and 12,000 feet of climbing. different kind of ride, but same hurt box. good times.
Race Stats
later.
a 50K all effort is no joke. even with a partner it was still 31 miles of serious suffering. you don't get to ease into this kind of effort. it's go go go go go go go from the start. i knew this going in and was mentally prepared for it. physically, the legs were not as fresh as they could have been. i rode 38 rolling miles on Saturday around the Starved Rock State Park area. plus, i have been battling some dead legs lately. so, i knew i needed to get things warmed up before toeing the line.
our start time was 9:21 and guess what, i didn't get warmed up enough. the course was a 15 mile loop. it was an instant struggle for me. i found it hard to hold Psimet's wheel. i wasn't far off it, but i needed to be inches from it since he was in full TT gear/setup and i was rolling my normal roadie gear/setup. the legs were screaming at me; "Why didn't you warm us up!!!!" i hit my max heart rate of 183 bpm at mile five!!
Psimet was strong. he instantly took to tracking our pulls and barking out at 1 minute intervals to rotate. i knew he would do this and it was a solid plan. i felt a bit bad that first loop. a couple times i dropped off his wheel. he would finish his pull and look for me to take my turn. having to close that small gap to take my pull cost us time. add in the fact that i was surging to the front and we had a bit of a yo yo effect going on that made it hard for us to find a rhythm.
the more and more i ride i realize that i may be a better distance rider then speed demon. as we started lap 2 i felt better. the legs were still burning, but i was able to hold the wheel and take better pulls.
that last lap was fun. we suffered into the wind and up some rollers heading back West. prior to making the last right turn for the final 3 miles i was hurting real good. i was planning to pull off and let Psimet power us in. however, we made that turn and what did i see???? four riders up ahead. it was the dangling carrot. i didn't stop pulling until we chased them down. Psimet then took the lead and powered us home. i fell about 2 bike lengths off his wheel, but was standing, sprinting, and giving it what i had left.
we don't have the official times yet, but Garmin had me at 1 hr 23 minutes, 22.3 average mph, and a 167 average heart rate. i think this is my fastest ride and highest average HR to date. even on hard efforts i rarely spend prolonged time in Zone 4 (80%-90%), but i was in that zone for 27 miles of this ride. no wonder it hurt so good.
so, i have raced this season. next up is the Dairyland Dare 200k and 12,000 feet of climbing. different kind of ride, but same hurt box. good times.
Race Stats
later.
Friday, August 01, 2008
652 Club....
or not. after running my mouth about knocking out 700 cycling miles for July i hit the wall. not the wall, just something more like a knee wall. mentally and physically i am tired. it is an odd tired though. doesn't feel like the late season cycling burnout.
i just cant party like it's 1999.
with four off days behind me i still aint right, but better. i can feel the IT Band trying to sneak up and bite me. damn you 2007 Chicago Marathon! i see more stretching and a new foam roller in my future.
all the crying aside, i will be back on the bike today, tomorrow and the next. it is what i do when i can do it.
July Rides: 15
Avg. AHR: 128.7
Total Time: 35:43:08
Avg. Speed: 18.3 MPH
Total Distance: 651.9 Mi
Total Cal. Burned: 32110
i just cant party like it's 1999.
with four off days behind me i still aint right, but better. i can feel the IT Band trying to sneak up and bite me. damn you 2007 Chicago Marathon! i see more stretching and a new foam roller in my future.
all the crying aside, i will be back on the bike today, tomorrow and the next. it is what i do when i can do it.
July Rides: 15
Avg. AHR: 128.7
Total Time: 35:43:08
Avg. Speed: 18.3 MPH
Total Distance: 651.9 Mi
Total Cal. Burned: 32110
later.
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