My Everyday Cyclist Challenge Cyclo-Club goal

Done- and a new start for 2010

2010-01-05T14:21:00.002-05:00

R-12 goal- accomplished. I rode a 200k on Dec 29 with my buddy Bruce and completed my R-12. I am still not fast and have lots of work to do but I will order my medal as soon as my results are posted! Yeah. Bruce even said if I didn't buy the medal he would. He was great company for much of the latter part of the season. I am looking forward to sharing more time on the road with him as the first 200k of the new season is this coming Saturday. I know it doesn't seem cold, but I am hoping that we are above freezing for the start. Happy New Year all. May 2010 be the best yet. eb

Seconds from Disaster

2009-10-19T22:54:00.003-04:00

Well, my 200k in September was so unexpectedly hard that it has taken me 3 weeks to even write about it. The same day Graeme was going through the VT50 I went to Melbourne FL to do a 200k. It should have been fine but somehow so many little things added up to a 125 mile day of suffering starting at mile 20.

We started on Wickham Parkway in Melbourne on a route that looked like a bow tie and mainly went North South . . . with a good breeze from the west. We had a tail wind for the first 1.25 miles and then turned south. It was a noticeable cross wind for the three of us starting out. Then there was the 20 miles of A1A- uggghhh. Now I know why everyone down there fights about it- bicyclists against motorists. Anyway, it was getting pretty warm by mile 28 and we stopped at a convenience store. It was a longer stop than I cared for but both the guys I was with seemed chatty. Oh well, 20 minute stop. At mile 50 we had checkpoint 3 with a headwind in between. Another 20 minutes plus of a stop waiting for one guy who was suffering. Turned out he dropped off and headed for the start shortly after we took off.

We faced a long, straight, hot road with no shade and nothing for 13 miles after that stop- at midday, humidity and heat that made it feel like 105 degrees. At one point I said to my riding buddy "well we are halfway done!". If we had been lesser individuals with less desire to reach our goals I think both of us would have called a cab right there.

From there the rest of the day is a blur of wind, heat, and pain. On the way to the northern turnaround it rained a little. Even with the respite from the heat and sun, we were hard pressed to ride above 16 mph.

If you have ever seen the show Seconds from Disaster that was the story of that day. There is almost never one single thing that contributes to some catastrophe, but a series of events that aligns to create a disaster. This was not a disaster as the two of us finished, but it was one of the absolute hardest rides I have ever done.

The night before I had to run errands and when I got home I was busy. I realized that it was 9:30pm and I had not eaten. I thought "Oh well, I will eat in the morning". I didn't eat before the drive out there, ate a souffle from Panera Bread right before leaving, and could not have planned to mess up my nutrition any better.

I also could not sleep the night before. I got a couple of hours but when I woke at 1:30am I never really went back to sleep. I had been caring for a very sick little puppy and I was worried about her. Mental Fatigue and stress. As evidenced by the fact that my period was late and chose that day to start. Sigh.

As the 9th of my 200k's en route to my R-12 I thought I had it all down and could just roll out of bed and knock out a long ride. Yeah, maybe a little more prep time and effort, especially mental would have been better.

Another lesson learned about taking thing for granted. The weather has gotten cooler here in Florida so hopefully the next one will really be a beautiful ride. I expect I will be able to write about that one right away instead of having to wait for the experience to fade a little before reliving it!

134 miles in Florida in August

2009-08-24T17:24:00.002-04:00

Only mad dogs and Englishmen and a small band of randonneurs were out on Saturday. The group chose the longest available permanent route to do in the hottest month in Florida! We started at 6 am with lights on for a short time until the sun came up. We did fairly well up to the lunch stop with a nice convenience store with a Subway. I was happy it was before 11 am and I got a breakfast sandwich. Yum.

It was getting pretty hot and humid with limited shade for a couple of hours after lunch. We got a reprieve because it rained- mixed blessing. It got overcast and a lot cooler but I do dislike riding for several hours with wet feet. I guess that just made taking my socks off at the finish that much better. I felt really strong on the way back. I tried Anti Fatigue caps from Hammer again and they seemed to help.

We got back right at 4:30pm and I treated myself again to a nice tall gelati at the Italian Ice shop down the street. I had a steak thawed in the fridge for dinner but couldn't work up either the appetite or energy to cook Saturday night. Steak and eggs for Sunday brunch sure hit the spot! Funny how everything turns to thoughts of food after a big ride, especially one where I felt good.

I have been doing more core work- I do love the variety that Graeme has to offer, never get bored with the same workout. I am just starting to think ahead to Sebring next February and think about a plan for that 24 hour race. I think I am laying the foundation work right now and once it starts to cool off down here I can really start making some progress. Let you know about the 200k in September!

Florida in July

2009-07-31T15:55:00.002-04:00

Well, last weekend I got another 200k done- 5 more to go. This time there was a group of 10 doing the permanent route and it was great. I had riding companions and it made the day go much faster. Not in terms of total time out on the road- I had a faster average speed but more time off the bike- but the company was great.

The only thing was that there was no relief from the heat. By 2 pm I am sure the feels like temp was way over 100. So, the last 2 hours were tough to get through. I did and had a huge gelati as my reward when it was over. Yippee, I can see that R-12 award now!!

Ride Faster, Faster!

2009-07-12T16:02:00.003-04:00

Just a quick update. I have been riding the latest 200k's by myself so in the heat here in Florida I have been spending about 8.5 hours on the bike, usually with an hour off the bike. I have been training my body to ride long but slow. To meet some of my longer term goals, I need to get faster. Last weekend I went out for a group ride with a faster group on the hills (we do have some small ones west of Orlando :-). It was foggy in the morning and the good news was that it seemed to really help climbing when I could not see the hills. I hung in until a couple of miles from the store stop and then dropped off again a couple of miles away from the place where they met.

It was tough but exactly what I need to do right now. The older advice to ride faster was to ride with a faster group. I do like the way that Graeme Street goes about it, I just did his Spin class #8 off the bike upper body work and on bike over-under intervals. Whew. I chose this specifically because I have to travel the next couple of days for work, so plenty of recovery!

I will do another 200k this month, maybe start really early or maybe start in the evening and do a night ride. I am on the downhill side of the R-12 and we will get to the nice part of the year after the heat breaks. Earlier this year, when I re-evaluated my goals and decided to do the R-12, I thought it was going to be fairly easy. I mean in comparison to a 400 or 600k this was an easy day. Well, it has been a little more difficult than I thought, mainly from the motivation side. Now, after halfway I am finding more positive thoughts and look forward to ticking them off. Of course, it is TDF time, so everyone wants to ride anyway. Vive le Tour!

halfway to R-12

2009-06-29T11:44:00.001-04:00

Saturday I left at 6am for another 200k solo. Heat, humidity, wind, rain. Had it all and kept about my same 200k times and I am now halfway to the R-12. Too much invested, I can't stop now!!

Getting Yours

2009-05-28T08:50:00.001-04:00

OK, long time no posting. There has been just a little going on- I have moved into a new place and am going through major financial stuff. But I still have a job and there are lots of new beginnings and I am grateful.

I had targeted doing the Bike Across Florida ride on May 3- 170 miles. I felt that my training was spot on. The ride was to be on the Sunday before moving on Tuesday. The previous weekend I felt a cold coming on and finally by Friday before the ride I gave in that I was not going to make the ride as I stayed home from work with a fever.

I have been watching American Idol and Dancing with the Stars. (No judgements please and I am glad to have a DVR so I can just watch the performances and skip everything else). Anyway, on both shows I thought the unexpected person won. Adam Lambert- the guy I expected to win on Idol did not win. I thought everyone else was competing for second place. The same thing on Dancing with the Stars- of the two finalists, Gilles and Shawn- I thought Gilles would get it hands down. Instead it brought to mind one of the things that James Arthur Ray teaches- everyone gets what they need. I really think Adam did not need to win Idol, he is going to be a superstar. Kris Allen, the winner is not as charismatic as Adam, but now he is forever going to have the title of winner of American Idol which may turn out to be a bigger boost to him than it would have been for Adam. On Dancing with the Stars, Gilles has found a passion for dancing and says it will be a part of his life from now on. Shawn Johnson is only just graduating from high school and although she has an Olympic gold medal she is still very young and has been somewhat isolated in gymnastics. She says that she grew on the show and learned how to work as a team, not just compete for herself. I believe that winning that show will do wonders for her self confidence and this accomplishment may even be life changing for her.

So, did I get what I needed by getting sick and not doing the ride? I had more time to focus on packing and moving. I learned that the training plan I put together for myself worked. I have spent time with my two dogs to adjust to a new place and develop a solid and rewarding relationship. I will knock out another 200k next weekend to keep my R-12 going. I also have the beginnings of a really cool bike room. I took what would have been the master bedroom (the larger one of the two bedrooms) and have my weight machine, treadmill, trainer, workbench, and other fitness stuff almost set up. Tools and organization is making progress too. So, like my mother always said- when you don’t get that thing you really wanted, something else even better is going to come along.

124 miles and 24 mph winds!

2009-03-24T14:10:00.003-04:00

OK, so we do not have hills to speak of in Florida, but we do have wind. My buddies and I left from Melbourne last Saturday morning on another 200k adventure. We criss-crossed the Intercoastal with 3 overpasses (that is another term for a Florida hill :-)) generally heading north east beyond Cape Canaveral. It is a pretty ride, we saw lots of gators, masses of different birds, etc. This route does have some of my least favorite roads- long and flat with no turns, but companionship always helps.

We battled headwinds almost the whole way up as it was a strong east northeast wind. I can speak for myself that I was tired at mile 66 when we stopped for a lunch break. The trip back was much faster, and even faster still when we all noticed the rain clouds chasing us from behind. It was a fun gallop down the beautiful road next to the water. We did much better on time off the bike, this one only had about an hour and 40 minutes of down time, comparable to many of my other 200k's. Another pseudo epic ride down, a few more to come before the May 3 Cross Florida 170 mile ride.

fires and butts

2009-03-11T16:36:00.003-04:00

Wow, time flies. I did not realize how long it had been since I posted but we are having financial difficulties etc so this had slipped off the hot list. Sorry. I did not just a 200k but a 223k ride on the very last day of February to keep my R-12 streak at 2 months. Our next one is coming up quickly, next weekend in fact!

The ride was good, though a little longer than I thought and was prepared for. We had our 3 ladies and a bonus of an experienced randonneur Matt. It was just a little cool at the start but good weather. We had a kicking tailwind all the way north and thought it was going to be a long slog home. Someone was smiling on us though and even with a bit of a cross wind for a little while, we had an almost tailwind for some of the ride back. The ride did go longer than I thought and had (not) prepared for, but it was a good ride and everyone finished in good shape. It was an epic ride as ever as we had to stop and phone in a fire to 911. We were going past someone's house and all their furniture in the pool was on fire.

I have high hopes that the Brooks has solved some of my butt issues as I finished feeling pretty darned good. The saddle squeaks when I hit bumps and I have developed a real love for that sound. Every squeak of the saddle means that my @$$ is NOT the one taking the bump!

We have been spending a lot of free time with our Ladies training program. We now have a new crop of road riders and hopefully new friends to play with. It is just the best time of year now that the time has changed and we are able to get our weekly evening rides going again. All of this is helping towards the goal of the Cross Florida ride May 3. I will endeavor to be a little more consistent with updates coming up. Till after the 200k!

Reevaluation

2009-02-13T10:00:00.001-05:00

Best laid plans. My crash a couple of weeks ago has kind of taken the wind out of my sails. I was feeling pretty good about my fitness, but since then it has been cold and I have not ridden much. I can finally sleep on my left side, so as a side sleeper I am really grateful to have half of my sleeping territory back. Actually I think the crash was just a method to give me the time to sit back and reevaluate my year. I have financial and time pressure with other things in my life right now, so I have had to cut back on events etc.

I had a conflict with both 300k brevets offered in my area in February and also finally decided that I would have to skip the ride at Sebring because I really could not afford it right now. So, in looking around for another goal, one that would be inexpensive but still a challenge, I have decided to go for my R-12 award from RUSA. In English, that is an award for riding at least a qualified 200k ride for 12 consecutive months, from Randonneurs USA. Check out rusa.org if you are interested.

This will be a challenge in and of itself, if only because of the time involved. At least one weekend day a month, I will have to ride a total time of about 8 to 9 hours. Brevets count total time, not riding time. You have 13.5 hours to finish a 200k, which is very doable unless you have mechanicals etc. The key is not stopping! I was pleased that on my 200k in January the Brooks saddle I have been trying to break in was pretty comfortable. I will not yet know what it will be like on longer rides, but it seems like an improvement.

I have lots of my Dad’s old equipment, and because of the prepared fellow that he was, he also bought spares. I inherited two brand new, never used Brooks saddles. I think they are standard B-17’s and those seem to be saddle of choice for more than 50% of the long distance riders I saw in Paris. I have one on my brevet bike and one on my commuter bike. I have no idea if it is just time and distance that are different but the one on my brevet bike is feeling really good, while the commuter bike is still hard and I am grateful I only have a 45 minute commute each way. Maybe one day I will swap them, or maybe I will just leave well enough alone!

OK, so enough rambling. I am going to do my February 200k on the very last day of this month, and have invited some buddies along to share in the fun. I hope lots of them show up, always more fun with others. I will keep you posted about training and plans in case anyone wants to join me. Boy, for that one in August I think I am going to have to get one early start! Till then, keep the rubber side down!

Ups and Downs

2009-01-26T22:44:00.003-05:00

Well, I had some ups and downs this week- literally. I did my last Computrainer class and improved my wattage from 184 the first week to 204 at week 6. It is nice to be getting back in shape. It was pretty cold here in Orlando last week, we had a couple of nights of hard frost. So, somehow I found that enough reason not to ride to work. I know- we are spoiled.

I went for a ride Sunday and it was a great day, warm, beautiful. Just one other riding companion and we took a nice route north of town. About 40 miles into the ride I was pulling and stood up to go up a slight rise. As my left foot came down the pedal came off my bike and I was on the ground in a hurry. My hip and shoulder took most of the impact and I was grateful I had on sleeves on my jersey after seeing what was left of the cloth. My helmet did a perfect job, and I would hate to see my head if I had not had one on. I have a good lump above my eye, but a new helmet is a small price to pay for having an intact noggin.

It was kind of a freak thing for the pedal to come off. I have not had the pedals off that bike for a very long time so I am not sure what happened, except that they loosened up over time. I am sure I am going to figure out the lessons to learn from this, I would hope that if I needed some time off I could have found a different way ;-) I am still grateful though that it was not worse, that the bike is fine, and I will be back on the saddle again soon. Everyone keep the rubber side down!

you must listen to your body- it speaks volumes

2009-01-17T15:21:00.002-05:00

My 200k last weekend was awesome, a beautiful warm day, a reunion with riding buddies, help from friends, just an excellent ride. We went up the coast for 66 miles with a great tailwind. The turn around made it a little harder but I was with a terrific group that made it a quick fun trip. Just so we had a story, a bridge was locked so traffic was backed up as we were to go back to Jupiter Island and we had a detour but got back with time and safely.

I didn't ride on Sunday, but commuted to work on Monday and had a nice blow the legs out ride. I felt pretty good but still took an inventory of little aches and soreness. I had a sore spot that came up from my right ankle up the side of my shin. I really need to replace my cleats! I also noticed that the instep of my right foot was itching again.

I had that problem for almost a year and could not figure it out. I tried athlete's foot products, but it was an internal problem, there was no rash or anything on the sole of my foot. I asked doctors, massage therapists, everyone about it and got no answers. I finally went to a chiropractor when I was in CT who said- "oh, of course, that makes perfect sense. You have problems with your pelvis being twisted and tight hips, that goes right down the sciatic nerve and it ends right there in your foot". So- who knew? I worked with him and a massage therapist and it went away.

Now I take it as an indicator. Kind of like I get a very specific back ache when I am running a fever. It may be a very low grade fever, but if I have the back ache, I know even without taking my temperature. So, I made sure to work on stretching out my low back and hips this week and the itch in my foot went away in a day or so.

I think it is so easy to not listen to your body, to ignore little things, hope they go away, or mask them with a pain killer or sleep medication or something. However, if you are really tuned in to what is going on you can address things before they develop into something worse. Listening- such a useful skill to develop whether it is with your spouse, child, boss, body, or conscience. It is all within you, just tune in to it!

lunch stops, perfection, and gratitude

2009-01-08T11:47:00.003-05:00

Over New Years I was able to ride 45 miles New Years day, 40 miles on Saturday by myself, and 85 miles on Sunday- which was perfection in every way.

We had a group of 6 start 5 miles from my house so I rode to the start for an 8 am push off. It was one of the days that make me want to fall to my knees with gratitude for living in Florida this time of year. I had just arm and knee warmers to the start (because it was in the low 60's after all ;-)) and those came off by the lunch stop when it was getting into the upper 70's. There was little wind and we rode double paceline for almost the entire day. We explored new roads, got that extra special bonus of getting to a gate across the road and just went around it to rejoin the new roads we were exploring. It was a minor diversion and we got to go through when cars can't. I love that.

We got to Yalaha Bakery and stopped for a real lunch stop- mine included a breakfast sandwich and a chocolate eclair (one of the very best items there) and a goody to take home for my partner. It was delicious and then we continued on around the lake to Mt. Dora where there was a quick stop for coffee and ice cream and then back home. Just absolutely perfect- a group that was well matched in speed, was willing to go on an adventure, and not so wrapped up in the get-there-itis that they were unwilling to stop and enjoy a sit down meal. I of course was so tired when we got back to the meeting point that I wished I had a car there. I did not however, so I trundled my way home for 5 more miles and then took a nap!

Due to tired legs and upcoming plans, I did NOT ride to work on Monday. Those were the original plans but after the weekend, discretion became the better part of valor. I had my Computrainer class on Tuesday evening, only a couple more left, and the first brevet of the season is next Saturday. So, jumping from 85 to 124 miles- that is in the training plan right? It is all good, I am looking forward to the 200k, if only to see how the Brooks leather saddle I have been riding treats me over the day. Fingers crossed for North winds as we will do an out and back up the east coast of FL. Would be a headwind going out but tons of fun coming back! Will keep you posted.

Raisin Bran

2008-12-30T15:22:00.003-05:00

I was grocery shopping last night and while in the cereal aisle I overheard a young man say "I am going to be healthy and get the Raisin Bran". Now, of course I was curious and I looked at the cart he and a young woman were pushing away and I saw cases of soda, bags of Doritos, frozen pepperoni pizza- in short a plethora of good old american processed food.

I try to be careful about what I eat and I try to only eat things with one ingredient- milk, eggs, chicken, broccoli, whatever it is but I try to stay away from processed food. Now, first of all I thought this incident I observed was really funny. I mean, is the Raisin Bran really healthy in the context of all the rest of the stuff in that cart? But then, maybe they were shopping for someone else? And maybe it is not up to me to make a judgment? After all, I can only control what I put in my body, not control or comment on others.

But what really got me thinking was the incongruity of the picture of eating his cereal and feeling good about it but the rest of the day is putting crap into his system. That is inconsistent with his "healthy" intent. What do I do in my life that is incongruent in the same way? Well, the first thing that came to my mind was cycling and this blog. I have stated that I want to RAAM qualify. That will necessarily entail a training plan, discipline, and constant working towards that goal. I feel that my actions (lack of discipline, haphazard training, chocolate every night after dinner) are not consistent with my stated goal.

It is the perfect time of year for this introspection. I wonder if more New Years resolutions would stay strong if we all could either recognize the incongruence in ourselves, or if we could have really valuable friends who point those things out- (only at the most perfect receptive time of course, preferably over a piece of chocolate ;-)

Anyway, just some musings, hope you enjoy. And, so I could have some consistency- even though it was 10:30pm last night- I got a couple of Graeme's workout in 5' in- core and loose. Here's to congruence and the best New Year of your life so far.

suntan at christmas and goals

2008-12-29T13:16:00.003-05:00

I am so grateful to live in FL, this is the time of the year when it really makes living through July, August, and September worth it. I did a couple of commutes to work last week and checked to make sure all the new bits stayed on the commuter bike. I was sorry we are off for the next couple of weeks from the Computrainer class, but I have filled in the time.

I had hoped to ride across town for Christmas day with the family but it was pouring as I was just ready to leave so I gave up and drove. I was able to make up for it by riding almost 5 hours on Saturday and 2.5 yesterday. Great company, nice easy pace, no set route, just "which way do you want to turn?" and enjoy. I did put on my power meter on Saturday and was disappointed with the results but I also was not pushing and not doing real intervals. I usually do not care to ride by the numbers unless I am doing a structured interval workout.

So, I guess that means I am going to have to go do some hill repeats and work on that! And that is not easy to do down here. I do live in the middle of the state, near Clermont where we can find hills that are not overpasses, but Sugarloaf is still only 500' above sea level!

I also resolved to institute some more discipline BEFORE New Years so I was up and doing stretching this morning. I will do a Core workout when I get home tonight and work on getting semi prepared! The new brevet season starts here Jan 10 with a 200k and the Sebring event is Feb 14. There are 3 events- a 12 hour, 24 hour drafting, and a 24 hour non-drafting RAAM qualifier. I had hoped to do the RAAM qualifier but I know I am not physically ready and I don't want to set myself up to fail. I will however see if I can reach one of my goals which is 200 miles in 12 hours. 2 6 hour centuries are not bad- you just can't stop! Do 17.5 miles per hour and I can bank about 5 minutes an hour or something. Whatever, 200 miles in 12 hours. That is the goal! Let you know on Feb 15th. Happy New Year.

2008-12-17T13:18:00.002-05:00

Ah life, why do we say it gets in the way when all we have is life? Is it because it is nicer than saying my family gets in the way? Or because they might fire you if you say my job gets in the way? OK, I digress and that is my good story for such a long gap in posts.

I went out of town for almost two weeks, between leaving for work, then a personal trip out to San Diego over the weekend, then back to South Florida for more work on the project and then home. I felt like the George Carlin routine about stuff. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvgN5gCuLac So, I packed for two weeks, left some stuff at work so I could go across country for the weekend, then come back and get reunited with my stuff!

I did Graeme's first Cyclo-Spin in my hotel. Kind of sucked as the bandwidth was really low. An hour workout turned into 1 hour 45 minutes! But, it was awesome and I got my workout in. Things were really busy and crazy and I finally got back to town and got into a makeup class for my Computrainer class last Friday morning.

It was a cool class because instead of watching the screen and keeping your watts on track, it was a blind test where you had to ride for 20 minutes at what you thought was 65% of max, then 20 minutes at 75% of max, and then 10 minutes at 95% of max. I was under all 3 times but not by much. Several other folks went over 75% on the first test. There were two women and 4 men in that class. Both of us females were almost spot on in all 3 while the men tended to go too hard. Our coach said women are often better at this than men. Not sure why the gender tendency but I told him in the beginning I thought I would be good at that test. I have ridden all my life until about 18 months ago not using anything other than a cycling computer with distance, time, etc. I never even used a heart rate monitor. I can tell you if I my heart rate is up there- because I can't talk to you! Anyway, it was fun and different.

Last weekend was more cross training (yard sale and reverse ditch digging) so I finally got to put fenders and a rack on my commuter bike late Sunday night. Whew, that single speed got a lot heavier! I commuted to work on Monday and was pleased I kept up the same general average mph to work even with a heavier bike. I had another Computrainer class last night and had a blast pushing hard on some intervals. Hip flexors are telling me today that it worked! And I finally brought my ball chair into work so I can have people wonder what the heck that is. http://www.isokineticsinc.com/category/ex_ball_chairs

Hopefully there is a nice long ride in our beautiful Florida weather coming up this weekend.

My muscles are very confused

2008-12-02T11:38:00.003-05:00

Little bit of catching up. My second Computrainer class was great and my hip flexors complained for two days! That is when I know it is good! I rode over to the family Thanksgiving across town on Thursday. A very nice hour and a half ride and because I was going straight east for the most part I had a fabulous tail wind the whole way- woohoo! For those who try to balance family and training this was one of those occasions that can serve everyone. If you are planning a family outing you can either ride out to meet them or drive out with bike in tow and ride back. I understand about limited time and it is fun to find creative ways to serve everyone.

I had a much longer to do list over the days following Thanksgiving than time to accomplish them all. I was able to go out on Saturday and take a couple of our young dogs in the buggy behind the bike. We have two 6 month olds who are distemper survivors. They both still have lasting neurological damage with muscle twitches in their hind quarters but are able to still run and get around just fine. My special girl Paddy was first but it did not take long down the trail before she was whining and just seemed not to have a good time. I turned around and took Kody out. He was quiet and looking around and we were out for an hour total. I hope to take him out again so he can get exposed to different things.

Sunday was another cross training day. That means I dug a 150' long trench to run new power lines and conduit out to our gate opener. Yikes, unaccustomed activity. As an infomercial I was watching for a fitness product called it- muscle confusion. Just as Graeme says, you can't keep doing the same thing over and over. So, if I need to dig again in a week or two, I am more ready. But I hope not.

Now I am in the middle of a long road trip for business, then fly to San Diego for a conference, then back to work out of town next week. This is really putting a dent in training schedule as there is no schedule. I expect the rest of today and the next two days to go from 7 am to 11pm. Not much time off in there. I will get up early tomorrow and hope that wifi in the hotel fitness room is working for Graeme's spin class. Should be interesting, but I am committed now in continuing to move forward. This morning I got up and had time for some stretching and the first On the Go 15 minute circuit. Perfect for a hotel room.

Things will be busy but I will attempt to keep up posting and updates as I travel across the country.

Stretches, Pink, and Turkey

2008-11-24T13:33:00.002-05:00

Well, riding continues to be at a minimum but all is well. I am doing some stretching everyday and using the At the Desk Energizer workout. This weekend was busy with chores at home. I had hoped to get out yesterday with one of our dogs in the buggy on the back of the bike, but alas, I ran out of time.

I did have a very nice time last evening with our Bobbies Holiday party (www.luvbobbies.com). It is nice to try to recognize everyone not in lycra! I am sometimes not so successful, then I just envision them in a helmet and it usually comes to me! I am looking forward to my next CompuTrainer session tomorrow so I will give another update soon. In the meantime, safe riding and enjoy the holidays. I plan to ride across town to the family gathering so I will assuage my eating guilt that way! What creative ways does anyone else have to work off those turkey pounds?

Get out of my head!!!

2008-11-21T11:39:00.003-05:00

Tuesday I went for my first Computrainer class and I was pleased. For a baseline we did a 40 minute time trial. I have done one test on a computrainer and have my own Power Tap so I was not too overwhelmed by the info. There were 8 of us in class, 4 gents and 4 ladies. We warmed up and were off. I thought I started out a little too hard and was at 170 watts by 10 minutes. I gradually improved that to 175 watts at 30 minutes. The coach was really encouraging at my trend upward and said "You can get another 10 watts by the end". Here comes the part I would like to end- the voice in my head responded with "Yeah right, I will be happy with 5 more".

Negative self talk. I am working on a lot of self improvement but these nasty little gremlins pop up out of nowhere. Now, I would like to point out that at about 25 minutes or so I had started to feel pretty good, like I had really warmed up and was ready. But I still got that crap in my head. I did dig deep and worked hard to keep my watts as high as I could. The coach was great and I just concentrated on my wattage and doing what I could. I finished with 184 watts average for the 40 minutes and was very happy.

OK, for some of you guys out there that is nothing and don't even think of looking at the pros (Taylor Phinney just recorded a peak wattage of over 2000 watts in wind tunnel testing but he comes from gifted parents on both sides!). In fact two guys were over 200 watts average in this class. And I am competitive as most of us are- and I came in third! Which meant I did beat 2 of the gents. OK, OK, not really important, but what does matter is that I feel relatively untrained right now but this wattage is higher than the first time I ever did testing. So, I fully expect that my wattage will go up higher than it did before!

I am going to have to juggle my schedule for this in the next few weeks but I will let you know how things go.

Just the tailwind

2008-11-17T15:24:00.001-05:00

OK, I almost joined the ranks of the rest of the country by commuting this morning at 42 degrees! So, I overdressed and was sweating on the way to work. And everytime I think I am doing really well and having a great ride, I realized it was just the tailwind ;-). Until tonight when I turn around to go directly into the north wind. Life is like that isn't it?

Rain makes every ride epic

2008-11-03T10:46:00.002-05:00

OK, sorry, life has gotten in the way as I was out of town for over a week. Here is an update from Saturday 11/2.

Awesome ride yesterday- I got up stinking early to meet a group riding up to do a Century. OK, I was not going to do the century but wound up with almost that by riding to and from the event. It was a perfect morning, cool but not chilly, slight winds from the north, and a great looking large group of ladies all in pink (www.luvbobbies.com). We rode up to Sanford and joined the Boys and Girls ride. Great time with some new roads and old ones. My now significantly smaller group peeled off and headed back to home and cars. A few miles down the road it opened up and rained. Of course, this is Florida so it was not too cold, just enough to get good and wet and soak the shoes and the bike (no I was not on the brevet bike with fenders!). There is nothing like riding in the rain to make it feel like it was an adventure.

A couple of days later I left for a personal development seminar and was out of town for over a week. I rode to work on the day we left to eliminate dealing with 2 cars - I just love that, win/win all the way around, I got to ride and saved the logistics of otherwise having a car there or someone to drive me to work. The seminar had some really long days- the first was from 7:30am at registration until past midnight. I was able to fit in a morning of the Fix the back strength and stretch as well as a quick 8 minute power routine one morning.

One of the speakers was a woman named Valerie Waugaman probably best known as Siren on American Gladiators. She was really awesome, had great info, took us through a short exercise routine as well that left my legs sore the next day (unaccustomed movements!), and best of all, had suggestions for "the world is your gym". Along the lines of Graeme's workouts that do not require lots of equipment or machines. She just used simple suggestions for use at the airport or at the grocery store, or standing in line. It was great.

So, I am finally back in town, having to forgo another local century (The Horrible Hundred) with catch up at home and with the family. However, I plan on commuting this week to work and on Tuesday I start my new 6 week program of power training with Vision Quest Coaching at LBS David's World Cycle. It should be tough but great. Updates should be more regular, but I have to go fix a faucet right now!

2008-10-27T09:56:00.002-04:00

aaahhhhhh, we are getting to the time of year when I really appreciate living in FL- the about 9 months when I look at the rest of the country and am grateful. I was just asked at work the other day about some training- seemed nice except it is in Wisconsin in Feb- umm, nope thanks, I'm good, think I will just stay here!

Saturday I did what I prefer to call cross training, others may call it shoveling dirt but I like cross training better. As I was moving stuff from one place to another I was pondering how many machines at the gym I would have to use. As I don't have a gym membership this kept me occupied for a while. So, I figured I did bent over rows, throw the medicine ball, leg press, and I don't know what translates to walking behind a fully loaded wheelbarrow and keeping it from tipping over until you want it to be empty and then it seems to all want to just stay in the bucket. Whatever, a good couple of hours of work accomplished.

Sunday all my buddies bailed- if you are reading this you know who you are- so I got a leisurely start and rolled out for just over 60 miles of rolling country. It was a beautiful day, stayed in the upper 70's with a steady wind out of the north, northwest. I headed north from home taking a new road I recently found and kept winding my way up to Eustis where I turned around and had a great trip home. After 3 hours I finally made a store stop and realized sadly that I am still going to have to figure out saddle issues.

I have several bikes, a carbon trek with a Terry Falcon saddle. This is the light bike and the one I will most likely use for my 24 hour event. I will install my aero bars soon to start to incorporate that position into training. I also have a Bianchi Volpe, a great steel touring bike that is my brevet/long distance bike. It has a triple and I have put on a Brooks leather saddle to give that a try. I also have a single speed with another Brooks to break in that I use for commuting, as well as a fixed gear that needs to have some things swapped out and right now is a short distance bike.

I attempted the grand daddy of all brevets last year, the 1200km Paris Brest Paris but I only did the PB part as I abandoned in Brest. I had a few problems- not enough training in the hills and not enough time in the saddle- but my biggest challenge is finding a saddle I can go more than 600k on. As soon as I can figure that out I will have solved my biggest limiting factor.

So, after the ride, though my butt was a little tired, I had a nice recovery session at home doing the Fix the Back stretching and myofacial release sessions. Felt good as after my cross training on Saturday I felt tight on the bike Sunday. Maybe I will schedule a massage for this week. I have to get ready for the Boys and Girls Club Century next Sunday!

Upping the mileage

2008-10-20T22:29:00.002-04:00

Sunday was a great ride 80 miles, a little cooler, and a whacking great tailwind on the way back. I keep feeling better than I think I should as I rode strong. I need to do the core work as I feel my form slipping when I get longer into the ride. I think the commuting even though it has dropped off a little lately must be helping.

Saturday was a crazy day busy at home and running errands. We went down to Ft. Wilderness at Disneyworld with the family and I brought the single speed just to do a little riding- out to the cabin and around with the nephews. Today I had to get up early and drive out to the west coast of FL. I wound up having to stay overnight.

Traveling for work is tough and makes it challenging to stay on track fitness and eating-wise. I sat down to get a take out dinner and had a beer while I was waiting. I succumbed to the chips and salsa too. The beer put me about over the edge as I walked back with dinner. I decided that I had to do something and I put dinner in my room and did at least 15 minutes of stair climbing.

I have been thinking about how to make things simple. I love watching people people cruise the parking lot of the gym to get the closest parking spot so they can go in and use these expensive machines. I realized after I worked on a construction site and climbed stairs every day that my climbing stamina on the bike had gotten much better. That is why I like Graeme's workouts using body weight and challenging your own stability. So, I will keep looking for ways to do the simple things even on the road to keep active a little, if only to work off the beer at dinner! Salut.

Best Laid Plans

2008-10-15T17:16:00.002-04:00

So, um on the commuting front. Not so much lately! I lost last week to stomach problems. I am still taking things a little gingerly with my stomach but there is great improvement. No, this time it is outside forces but I am still happy. My partner runs an animal rescue out of the house. One of the feral cats who does not let us touch her got pregnant. Last week she had 5 babies but is so shy that she has not been feeding them. We took over feedings every 2 hours round the clock but we have lost 3 of the litter of 5. Then while at another county animal shelter there were 3 more kittens, about the same age but much stronger that were going to be put down. So, if you are already feeding 3 or 4, what is the difference to add 3 more!

What does this have to do with my commuting? Well, in exchange for only having to get up once or so in the middle of the night I take the babies in to work and take the day shift. So, driving to work it is. I hope to negotiate maybe one day a week to ride to work, but hey- how often do you get to hand feed less than week old kittens and give them the best chance to thrive? I am grateful for the opportunity to help out so I have been doing some Quicong exercises and core work in the evenings. They should be weaned in about 3 more weeks, so I will give up a little commuting time for a short while. I am looking forward to riding this weekend and going up to Gainesville Sunday.

Nice ride, stomach not nice still!

2008-10-13T17:27:00.002-04:00

Sunday, up early again and felt good so I attempted a 62 mile ride with our Century Training Group. Everything seemed OK in the beginning though I could feel a little burn in my quads early on. I did my normal don't eat anything before the ride because I was up at 6am for a 7:30am start. Yes, it is Florida and it is still hot here so an early start. I felt OK as we did our first stop and mixed up more Sustained Energy and did the same at our second stop.

The ride was beautiful as we headed up to go around Lake Monroe. We took some of my favorite backroads where traffic is light and the few cars don't care if we are there. I noticed a couple of hours into the ride that my legs were tired- not a real suprise as I had just spent almost a week eating no protein. As we headed back in I found that my stomach was full and sloshing around but I was still really thirsty. My stomach was just not emptying. I am not sure if it was overload of SE, the hammer bar I ate at one of our stops, or the heat. Or something else entirely. I do know that I came home and spent the rest of the day in bed or not far from porcelain. I am grateful it is all coming out the rear end though! So, off to the grocery store for more yogurt and probiotics and try to get the digestion ironed out.

Next weekend is one of my favorite weekends, the Gainesville Cycling Festival. In 2004, 2005, and 2006 I did back to back centuries, Santa Fe on Saturday and Horse Farm Hundred on Sunday. I missed last year working up in CT. This year I am just going up for the 45 miles through the horse farms on Sunday with some of the Century Training Group. Ought to be a nice road trip. Next year though I want to do the double- what a fabulous weekend.

Ahhhhh, it is so nice just to ride

2008-10-12T19:28:00.002-04:00

Saturday I joined an event sponsored by Trek dealers for an Awareness for Breast Cancer Ride. The local ladies cycling clubs had a really nice turn out. I really enjoyed the 25 mile ride led by the teams sponsored by our local bike shop (LBS). I got to chat with several friends and make new ones. I had a blast rolling along inside a large peleton and the best was coming down the last road to the end with a ripping tailwind.

I would like to digress for a moment just to talk about your LBS. As cyclists we run the gamut just like folks everywhere regarding buying stuff. Some of us are such great mechanics we could buy everything on ebay and do all the work ourselves and that would be that. Others rely heavily on our LBS, even though you could get things online much cheaper. I fall somewhere in between where I can do basic mechanical stuff but don't know what I don't know so I try to find the mechanic I really trust. I also look online at any of the many sites to find the best price. IMO, supporting your shop when you can is a really good thing. They give back to the community like the event above and are great ambassadors for our sport- or should be.

Even though the media is bemoaning the economy right now, bicycles are selling well. No, not the mountain bikes from several years ago, and not the lightest sexiest "I am the next Lance" carbon bikes, but real bikes for real people. Bikes that will provide reliable transportation whether you are only riding down the block to the coffee shop or commuting day and night, winter and summer, rain or shine to work. Please always encourage folks to go to a LBS to buy a bike. There are many horror stories out there about the discount retailers and the high school kid paid minimum wage who really doesn't know what they are doing assembling that bicycle. There are other stories about that $200.00 bike that is made with substandard components and may even be dangerous. So, support your LBS and if you have more than one, find one that is friendly and welcoming to all customers and has a really great mechanic.

OK, stepping down off the soap box now, that's enough. I will fill you in on Sundays ride tomorrow.

Staying on course

2008-10-10T11:50:00.002-04:00

On the road again, well almost. I have lost commuting to work all this week but I am starting to feel better. I am hoping I can eat a real dinner tonight in prep for a Breast Cancer Awareness Ride of 25 miles tomorrow. Sunday will have to be a wait and see as the plan for the Century Training ladies is a 65 mile ride.

I was speaking with some friends on a teleconference the other night and they said I should have rephrased my previous title to 2 steps forward 3 steps in a slightly off course direction! My partner often uses the analogy of a sailboat or a rocket ship into space. They spend about 97% of the time off course, continually making adjustments to get to their destination. OK, so I am not sure I needed a break right now but I will keep making adjustments and stay on course! I will let you know how that goes after the weekend. Tailwinds.

2 steps forward, 3 steps back

2008-10-08T16:54:00.002-04:00

Sunday I had another good ride with the ladies and felt pretty good. I know I am still out of shape when I only ride 55 miles and have to go home and take a nap, but it was a good day. We had a small group of 8 and I even tried to get everyone doing a rotating paceline on a good safe road into a headwind. I think we all had fun learning a new skill.

I had a board meeting for my ladies cycling club Monday night and afterward I brought dinner home from the same place- just a couple of vegetarian wraps. Well, right after we ate we both felt sick. I even tried to go ahead and throw up Monday night but nothing came up, not until almost 5 pm on Tuesday (needless to say I called in sick to work). My partner runs an animal rescue out of the house so at minimum puppies had to be let out to potty etc. She dragged herself around somehow. My back was sore from neck to butt I guess from all the toxic stuff I needed to get rid of. Anyway, I felt a little better this morning but still only made it through a half a day at work today.

So, I keep hoping to get back into things but am still really wiped out- not caring to eat anything will do that. I have accepted that I will not ride in tomorrow either as I don't think I am up to it, but hopes are high for Thursday and Friday. I tell you what- I just don't bounce back as quickly now that I am in my mid 40's as I did a few years ago! Ce la vie- I hope I am smarter and I am sure I am happier.

Flats, abs, and centuries

2008-10-03T11:52:00.002-04:00

Well, got a few things to catch up on. I rode in to work on Wednesday and had a flat a mile from home. I REALLY have to check them before I leave! When I was ready to leave to go home, it was flat again though I could not find the leak this time. So, I pumped it up and it was flat again by the time I got home. I am running Slime Liners in that wheel but I may have to put in Slime Tubes and get really serious about this. Maybe a problem in the rim as well. Whatever, I will figure it out.

Yesterday I drove so I could run some errands after work. I had just watched Graeme's Advanced Core in 5' so I stopped by a Play it Again Sports to look around. They had an ab bench for $9.99 and I almost went home with it but without prior discussion I decided that discretion was the better part of valor, so we will talk about it ;-)

I did do the On the Go light workout and Loose in 5' late last night, right before heading to bed. I am still having some pain in my hips so I am keeping things light for now and will ramp up later. I have been kicking over in my head about a training plan but since I have been challenged with my motivation lately I will keep it easy like this for a while. My goals are to ride to work 2 -3 days a week, do 2 core workouts a week, and for the next month work in the weekends with a group of women riders aiming for their first century. Yes, this is FL so we are just moving into our high century season. Boy I just love that!

Longer range than that there is an event in mid February here in FL at Sebring. It is flat and good for me and is usually the first event on the Ultracycling Calendar. It is a 12 and 24 hour race. I would love to RAAM qualify there but I am going to have to see how things go. I hope that 4 months is enough time to train properly. It just takes so much time, it requires a lot of support and understanding from my partner at home to be gone so much.

I do know my motivation is starting to come back when I start looking at events and planning into the future. I have started to do that in the last couple of days so I will pick some events and keep things rolling. I also may skip some of the organized centuries I have done around this area that I have already done and just find some good buddies to do them either the weekend before or after the regular ride.

Accountability Graeme is right on target

2008-10-01T10:18:00.003-04:00

Small steps. I enjoyed my commute yesterday and even stretched when I got home. I also did the At your Desk energizer workout. I am not going to let my massage and steps on the path slide backwards. I am starting to feel motivation coming back, I just love riding- it is a self perpetuating cycle. It must be that endorphin addiction. Anyway, I find myself surfing commuter websites and other cycling stuff at work. All good signs if the past is any indication for me.

I think this all started a few weeks ago when I finally enrolled in the Hammer Nutrition auto-reorder program. So, between knowing that is coming so I better use it up, the Everyday Cyclist Challenge and commuting life is looking great. Next, I plan on a good core workout tonight.

Tortoise is on the road

2008-09-30T10:14:00.002-04:00

OK, so it seems really slow but I have taken a couple of steps forward. I had a massage last night and she did a lot of myofacial release work on my hips and low back. I was having a chicken and the egg paralysis by analysis time trying to figure out whether to have a massage or not. I usually reserve it for when I am training and need recovery so I felt that now I did not deserve it. Yeah that looks really stupid when I write it down! So, anyway, I was having a lot of trouble with my right hip and psoas so I made the appointment.

Lesson- it is easier to keep it going when you feel better. So the massage was a good idea and it loosened me up a lot. I even stretched before bed. I rode in to work this morning and had a nice start to the day. It was tempting to not ride as it was drizzling a little but as ever when you overcome that inertia, it turned out to be a nice ride, not too humid (this is Orlando!) and cool because it was overcast. I will ride home tonight and plan on a core workout tonight. Say Graeme do you have a hips in 5'?

Getting started

2008-09-28T15:15:00.000-04:00

I have been struggling with getting motivated to get out there on the bike. I have allowed life and stress to get in the way lately. I have started a new/old job (meaning I am back at the same company for the third time- crazy or a great choice, hoping for the latter) and am working on getting my single speed dialed in for commuting. More on that in a sec.

I have done some long distance rides in the past, brevets, half of Paris-Brest-Paris, 12 and 24 hour races etc. My previous PR for 24 hours is 357.5 miles. I have thought about it a lot and I need to work on a few things to meet my new goal. Of course, fitness- and I know Cyclo-Club is the right place to give me tools and forums for advice etc. Then also I have yet to find the right saddle that I can stand beyond a 600k. I have resorted to the old randonneur or randonneuse standard of a Brooks which I am working on breaking in. Finally, I really need a dedicated crew that will hand off bottles etc so I do not have to stop.

So, to meet this goal and overcome the motivation thing I am participating in the Everyday Cyclist Challenge. Nothing like making it public to make me accountable! So, I went out today with my local ladies cycling club. It was the first day of Century Training. We had 5 newbies whose goal is their first century in 6 weeks. I saw some old riding buddies and had a really great ride and did feel pretty good, maybe better than I should, nice surprise.

I am riding my singlespeed to work I would like 3 days a week but last couple of weeks schedule has only allowed for 2. Nothing like a one day trip to Miami and back (4 hours drive time each way) to blow the heck out of the day. And last week it was twice!! So, onward and upward. My goal for this week is to get a couple of new components for the commuter bike to make that work better. I also want to get in a couple of core sessions to make a start to get that back. Let you know how it goes!