New addition to the blog

At the direction of my friend Josh (the stupid fast bike rider dude) i have added a summary of my rides.

When I look at this, i see that 300 miles for the year is pathetic. Hopefully by Sept I'll crack the 1000 mile mark and be well on my way to conditioning myself for the Tour de Pink.

Donations welcome (see side bar of the blog)

The other wild hair up my butt idea that i have, is to get a vintage steel frame, like a colnago, pinarell , merckx, bianchi, or de rosa, and build up a long distance bicycle. Steel is Real!!

Could be a real good idea..

T

Mondays Suck

So Yesterday for some unknown reason i decided to Play Racquet ball in the very early AM. Well this after riding 50 miles the day before. Not the best idea I've had.

Two things occurred to me. I'm farther out of shape than i care to admit, and second I'm not good at Racquet ball anymore

Both of these items pissed me off. Oh well such is life.

So after working the day and re hydrating myself, i headed out for the Monday night ride. We again did the Dallastown loop, unfortunatly my Garmin locked up so i have no telemetry from the ride, But we did do 25 miles and i assume my average speed was between 13.5 and 14.5.

My knee was aching pretty good so I hung towards the rear, and focused on spinning and keeping a high cadence.

It was still a good ride, and enjoyed the company of the group.

So since last Friday that is 100+ miles on the road. 1 New tire and 1 sore knee.

T

MDT Airport Loop

After a weekend filled with good friends, good bbq, and great stories, our home was once again back to a dull roar. After cleaning the patio, and doing the remaining dishes, i decided to head out on the bike. It was very hot and humid, and I was curious to see if I could with stand the heat on the road.

I also wanted to get as many miles in this week as possible, due to missing my 100 mile target last week.

So if filled the water bottles with the new Acclerade that is now found in your local super market, and headed out.

It was stupid hot out, but for some reason I thought i would head out to the Harrisburg International Airport, and back. I figured that it would be a total of around 50 to 60 miles.

I got out to the airport with an average speed of 17mph, which i thought was pretty good, I also from the start that i wasn't going to kill myself today, and was out just for the miles.

I did the loop at the airport then headed back to York...

As I started back, i realized that there was a very Strong head wind and very dark clouds in front of me. I didn't think i had a strong tail wind going to the airport, but a good thunderstorm can change things quick.

Given the heat, i had drained my water bottles and was starting to get desperate for a mini mart that i had passed on my way to the airport.

I arrived none to soon, and refueled with Gatorade. While there a gentleman whom passed me going towards the airport on my return.. Pulled up as i was getting back on the bike. We chatted for a moment. And then he insinuated that he would see me later. Like hell he will see me later.

For god sakes, can't he see that i'm Riding a MASI Grand Crit?? and that his lowly full carbon trek is no match for it... I'll be damned if he was going to reel me back in.

With new found motivation, I got back on 441 with 18 miles to get back to Columbia then 10 back to the house. I just kept dumping the coal on and was moving pretty good through the wind.

After a while i forgot about the gent on the trek and settled into a good rhythm and was focusing on outrunning the rain and the Chickies Rock climb... I figured if the guy passed me going up the climb then he deserved it.

However at mile 50 I heard the air let go from my rear tire, and alas i had to stop and repair the flat...

However after looking at my rear tire, I put a 1 inch tear in the tire, and new it wouldn't make it the rest of the way home. I used a dollar bill inside the tire, and then inserted a new tube. Just as i was doing that, a pickup truck pulled up, and low and behold the trek dude was in it. He had some mechanical and was getting a lift back.. We got my tire inflated, we both agreed given the damage to the tire itself, that it wasn't likely for me to make it the 10 miles home not to mention the tire was only at 60 lbs of air, far short of the 130 the tire takes, so i called in for my support crew to come in and pick me up. (Beth and Pumpkin Pants)

I did get to climb the majority of the Rock before being plucked off the road.

With that, it is time to invest in a new frame pump, and stock up on tires.

I was disappointed that i didn't get to finish the ride, but also satisfied knowing that i could have.

Hopefully we will have better luck next time.


Ride Details here
T

Week 2 Training Summary

Well..

Just a brief post on the results of week 2.

Mileage 78
Average speed for the week 14.5

Not the best week training.

Still holding off the 13lbs I've lost. But not much more progress there. I find that frustrating. Guess I'll need to do more.

T

Riding with Will

So I went over to see my good friend Will Thursday night, Wanted to check out his new PHAT deck.

He mentioned that we should get up early Friday and go for a ride. Sure i said, somehow when people ask me to get up early and do some sort of strenuous exercise i forget immediately how much i hate getting out of bed, and respond with i'll see you there, or bring it, or consider it broughten....

Anyway... I managed to get my lazy ass out of bed early Friday, ( and it was a pto day for me) and head out. It was the only window I had, as my in laws were en route to visit, and we had a wedding to go to that evening.

I arrived at Will's pad and we headed out. For the first hour I just felt like my quads were bricks, Not as bad as previous rides, but i was tight, not really comfortable. But i was riding okay..

After the first hour we stopped in Columbia, I took the opportunity to stretch and then we got back in the saddle and headed up Ironville Pike. That was a great climb. We then headed back to his place. All in all a good solid ride for me... Worth getting out of bed for!!

Ride Details here


Thanks for the ride W

T

where did my legs go?

So last night i went out, i thought i had some motivation... However after leaving the house i had no motivation, no speed, and no legs. So i figured i would just need to warm up and kept going. Well perhaps i should have stayed home, as i wasn't putting out enough watts to light up Edison's first light bulb.

I headed out to the accomac via river road, then climbed up out of there and went the back way into Wrightsville. I had intentions of going out to Millersville, but realized i couldn't spool it up to get there and back home before dark. So i figured i would head south along the river and hit some big climbs.

The problem with that is, i couldn't get a good cadence going so i was really working my quads with a slow grinding spin, which intern put to much stress on my right knee. So post getting home, i took some pain killers, and iced it.

Pretty sore today so won't be heading out.

Yesterday's Ride

Hopefully over the next couple of day's i'll get a new compact crank for the bike. This should allow me to keep a high cadence while climbing this reliving the strain on the knee. My boy Will is hooking me up. (Thanks !!)

I'll keep you posted on that progress.


Doesn't look like i'll get a 100 miles in this week, but stranger things have happened.

T

Monday Night Ride

Yesterday evening, i headed back from the office with the sole intent to clean up the masi, make some adjustments, and head over to the ride.



With the subie in the shop, i decided to ride over to the meeting place (the colonial coffee shop) I left myself enough time so that i could use the 8 mile ride as a warm up.



That really paid dividends, and I felt really good on the ride. Did i just say really good? i meant felt ok.



The ride commenced by doing the ladies sprint triathlon route, then Terry (the hammer) Neff added an additional 10 miles of what seemed like endless climbing. Great Ride!



Route Info Here


Summary Data
Total Time (h:m:s)
2:34:38
5:00 pace


Moving Time (h:m:s)
2:03:50
4:00 pace


Distance (mi )
30.91


Moving Speed (mph)
15.0 avg.
43.4 max.


Elevation Gain (ft)
+2,690 / -2,937

Avg. Heart Rate
146 bpm
Zone 3.8

Temperature (°F)
71.6°F avg.
73.4°F high


Wind Speed ( mph)
S 7.7 avg.
S 11.5 max.



So the thing that really stood out, was how the heart rate average has dropped. So yet one more sign of improvement!

Mum's and Inlaws ride

So this weekend My wife and I decided to head to upstate New York, to see our parents. I threw the Masi on the racks, and headed north for the 4 hour drive.

After arriving at me Mum's i decided to head from her place to my inlaws. I needed 30 miles to complete a 100 mile week.

No realize that my start was on a good and steep hill, and with no warm up i just got into a smooth rhythm and stated up.

I had to stop a couple of times to make some minor tweaks to the Masi, as she wasn't shifting so well, then had some computer issues......

So finally after some adjustments i was back in the saddle and climbing. Some of the realizations that hit me on the ride were,,

• Damn these hills, it is now obvious why my brother in law is such a strong rider...
• The roads in Broome county suck

Perhaps I should have done some more research on the route, but oh well.

I climbed up past the Broome County Airport, and then headed towards the town of Maine, I love descending, but the roads sucked so bad, that i think i got a feel for what the Paris Roubaix feels like.

Anyway.. I headed into West Corners and it was a nice flat stretch where i could just through some coal on the burners and flew down route 26.

I made a left and started to climb up and over Day Hollow Road.. As i started up this road, it occured to me that the hills on this road made my old 2.9 liter V6 Bronco II strain going up it. A good couple second gear hills.

That road dropped me off on 17c, and as i started to head to the inlaws, the headwind picked up and my legs started to feel like they had been work. I had one more mile plus hill to climb.

I pulled into my inlaws satisfied that I got to 100 miles for the week. Actually it was 98.8 miles.

Here is the route.

Overall Good Ride

T

Moment of truth?

Well this morning my wife, got my candy ass out of bed and after a stiff cup of coffee, i headed out on the ride. I decided to use the feature of my Garmin 305 to race against myself from a previous ride. My goal was to see if i had made any improvements in my fitness.

Now this is slightly unfair because when i rode the course the first time i didn't know that i would be racing myself. How cruel.

The first issue in the telemetry was the fact that my Heart Rate monitor wasn't working properly, so i couldn't ascertain my total improvement, but..

Here is what i got.

First off i beat my original time by 1.5 miles (meaning i arrived home 1.5 miles ahead of myself)

Avg Speed (mph)
July 11 -------------July 20
13.6----------------- 15.3

Total Time (MIN)
July 11 -------------July 20
1.03.07 -------------55.46

Average Cadence (RPM)
July 11 -------------July 20
61 -------------------78

Click here to see more details of today ride

At the least, there is improvement. So that is good news. Next Friday I'll have to work that much harder as now i know i am racing against myself.

T

A piece of new gear

So I just picked up my new helmet from the shop. It looks pretty nice, though i did notice that some of the pads were missing, and the Velcro on the inside was askew. What ever happen to quality control.

Never the less I took a couple minutes to straighten out the padding, and i am looking forward to wearing it in the heat.

The vents are enormous and should keep my noggin cool and safe.

Here is a review of the helmet. I'll post my thoughts after a couple rides.

T

Interesting Metrics

While contiplating where my fitness level is, I noticed a key metric that is trending in the right way.

Over the past 3 rides, I have dropped my average heart rate from 164 to 151bpm.

It occurred to me to look at this, as while riding yesterday we were climbing a pretty good hill, and the Monster HealthCare rider's heart rate was 113, Will's was 140, and mine was a whopping 170.

Moral of the story is I still have allot of work to do, but I'm heading in the right direction.


Another interesting parallel is that I have dropped 10 pounds since the training started, wonder what the correlation of weight to heart rate is??

Also My good Friend Rob, said that if i drop 25 pounds he would drop a 100 dollar donation to the Tour de Pink. Well Rob, It's ON!

T

Ride / Training Update

Yesterday I went out on my own, probably for longer than I should have, but the bike was working well, and I figured I should make the most of the two hours I had. I left the house and headed for some of the hills between the homestead and the river. Then decided to head along the river for a spell.

I didn't get as far as I would have liked, as there was an accident, but that was probably a good thing as I got back as the day light was starting to fad.

Click here to see the route

Today, I stopped by ED's Ski and Cycle, to see how my friends weekend was camping with the family. He mentioned that they were going out on the Monday night ride, and urged me to join. I had been staying away as I don't have much time in the seat, and figured I would pick that ride up in a week or two. But no time like the present.

I showed up at the Colonial Diner, and headed out with the group. Lots of nice Masi's. The ride was pretty uneventful, and showed that it was true, i can't climb to save my ass. They say the best way to be a better climber is to lose weight.

No shit!

Well while i didn't climb all that great, i still ended stronger than i normally would, and it is a great group of guys and girls, so I'll be making it regularly or as regularly as i can with my schedule.

Here is the link to the ride

Residual Self Image

Residual Self Image (RSI).... Yes that is what they called it in the Matrix when NEO was learning to bend the rules for the first time in the matrix. Morpheus called it his residual self image based on what he thought he was prior to being awaken...

Interesting concept, I think we all have a RSI. I think mine dates to the summer of 1996 when I was in the best shape of my life. I remember it well hiking in the Rockies, while completing my field school at PSU. There was no task, no hike, no summit, no mountain that couldn't be conquered with ease.

Yes that is my RSI. Today I have a good job, a family, and the nagging to get back to my RSI. Is it possible? What will I use to measure it? how will I measure my progress?

First Yes it is Possible, Second I'm sure the word Mount Rainer will be used in some context, and how will I measure my progress.. Well stay tuned.

I think ultimate goals should seem impossible until you line up a series of small goals that when viewed together show the building blocks to the seeming impossible. This is where I am starting today.

I have started training for the tour de pink. While it is a very worth while charity event, to me I will use it as the first significant goal to reach my pinnacle goal.

I've only been on the bike a couple of times this year, none of them were spectacular, and today was as lack luster as you get. Perhaps it was the motivation of the Tour de France that is gracing the vs channel on cable tv, or the prodding of my wife to get out for a ride, but i found myself out on the open road this evening contiplating my lack of fitness and how i was going to get it back.

While I rode i came up with a simple route that should prove more than adequate to gage my improvements over what is left of the summer.

T

Hit and Run

What is up with people? I was driving to work Tuesday of this week, when I stopped at the Valley Forge rest area. I typically stop there for my latte, as i was leaving the rest stop a gentleman rushed past me and out the door. His truck was parked perpendicular behind my car. He jumped in his Ford Super duty and a rushed off. I didn't think to much of it, until I sat down and another gentleman tapped on the window and asked if i knew i was just hit. I got out and looked at the rear of my car and sure enough, 1500 $ in damage. Now I am out my deducible, and this jack ass got off scott free. I think people like the ass that hit me are the lowest form of life, and represent what is wrong with this country. No one takes responsibility or are accountable for their actions. It is a world where everyone is living for themselves, and fear reprisals. I mean accidents happen, the guy was in a work truck, and I'm sure he had insurance. Why wouldn't he stop? At least leave a note with his info. I guess this confirms one observation that I have... People suck. T

Perhaps it is time

Well the year has been pretty good to me. I've put on some pounds, which means I'm eating well, and I have again signed up for the Tour de Pink.

Why.... I don't know...

I suppose because it is hard, and that is the one way I do things is the hard way. Yes that is true, But it is also a great cause..

My motivation is several fold, 1 raise money for the charity, 2 Physically push myself so i don't die young, 3 to see if i can do it.

Yes it is the 3 option that is the most in doubt now, as I've only been on the bike about 5 times this year, with barely a 200 miles under my belt, I'm 25 pounds heavier than i should be, which makes hills my worst enemy.

The other unknown this year is my right knee, the times i have been out, it has given me severe pain, could be from skiing this year, where i wiped out, or could be age. We will monitor that to see how it progresses.

So here it Starts... Where we separate the men from the whining babies of life.

T