Bicycling Author Shares Experiences

IT WASN'T FOGGY WHEN I STARTED

2012-02-02T13:03:00.002-06:00

The forecast called for dense fog until 10am, then cloudy to partly cloudy until this afternoon, and maybe showers late afternoon. I thought I was in luck when there was no fog this morning, so got myself together and headed out at 9:30am. Three layers on my chest, shorts and tights, in 58 degree, damp weather.

One good thing about fog is usually a lack of wind. Well, it wasn't as much fun as brilliant sunshine, but I motored along comfortably, possibly a tad over-dressed, since I also had Moose and a ten pound Camelbak. As I headed east, the fog thickened slightly which for the most part just meant more dampness in the air. I saw in the distance several police cars, ambulance, and fire truck all in my very wide shoulder and eastbound lane of traffic. Moving to the other side of the road, I could only see one older car, and it wasn't an accident. Once past, I returned to the correct side of the road and continued on.

The further east I traveled, the thicker the fog got. Now visibility became impaired. Then my right calf malfunctioned. It didn't cramp, but on each pedal stroke it refused to work. It worked on the down-stroke and halfway up, then it quit and resumed again on the down-stroke. Something like this has never happened before. As I stopped to give it rest and ponder the advisability of continuing, the fog continued to thicken. Ok, I got the message! Go home.

So, while prepared for a 48-50 mile ride, I turned out having a 23 miler. Some is better than none. And the fog cleared as I cycled west.

LEVI, THE WHEELSUCKER

2012-01-30T14:06:00.003-06:00

Like many others, I used this pejorative to describe Levi's tactics. But I've gotten away from describing him negatively, mainly because he has recently shown (or possibly because the tv coverage has shown) he can do more than follow. I wouldn't even bring this up but I ignored my own directive and read some of the comments following an article on Velonews.com. A short aside: 95% of the comments are mindless rants and the few that are thoughtfully presented are quickly and soundly criticized by more mindless rants.

Let's define wheelsucker: A person who follows the wheel of others in order to save energy in their draft, which also helps in pacing. That's what team leaders are supposed to do, up to a point. Their teammates expend maximum energy to deliver the leader to the last climb, or in the case of sprinters, to anywhere from 500 to 100 meters from the finish. But that is not what we are talking about here.

Cadel and Levi are similar in their climbing style, in that they lack the speedy acceleration of Contador or Schleck, but instead generally do a gradual increase. After all, you cannot do what your body cannot do, you do what you can. But what gained both of them (possibly unfairly) the wheelsucker tag was their lack of initiative when the opportunity presented itself. Sometimes it was team tactics, or lack of team, sometimes it was a poor choice, sometimes it was because they had no more juice in the legs. Once Cadel moved to BMC and had a real, dedicated, well-coached team, he proved he was a winner. We still haven't seen a lightning acceleration, but we have seen him motor away from folks. When Levi left Schleck in Colorado last year, it wasn't like he was gone in a puff of smoke (yes, he did accelerate). He just saw the opportunity and kept the hammer down.

Most of the time Levi didn't have to win the climbs because his tt skills more than made up for it. In a multi-day race, unproductive energy expenditure is a serious waste. If you only have X amount of energy, it must be apportioned appropriately. Enough of this, I just wanted to expel it from my mind and I promise not to read any more comments.

We have at least four super teams that should make the racing season extremely exciting. Truthfully, my guy is Horner. After that, I just want to see really good cycling.

I KEEP REPEATING MYSELF

2012-01-23T07:16:00.004-06:00

But before I do, let me relate that on the way back from Saturday's ride, I saw in the distance at least a dozen white-robed folks, including their heads, all milling around in a tight circle in a field. My first thought was: S**T, a KKK gathering right here in Williamson County! Fortunately, traffic was light because I really focused on what the heck they were doing. As I got closer, I saw a van with the word HONEY in big letters, then realized everyone wore a white beekeeper outfit, then saw the bee hives. Ok, excitement over.

I really don't like riding on Saturday. But I agreed to ride with Amy on the Weir Lost ride out of Old Settlers Park at 9am. At 8:30am I opened the garage door and prepared to leave, felt the cold, damp, north wind and called Amy to ask (beg, whine, implore) if we could postpone the ride a few hours. The temperature was mid 40's, but the forecasted partly-cloudy day had yet to materialize, with the clouds still low and heavy. She agreed. I'd check back at 11am.

I really, really don't like riding on Saturday afternoon. At 11:15am I called and said it looked like 12:30pm would be a good time. The temperature had only risen a few degrees, but the clouds were thinning out and by the time we started should produce a few patches of blue.

The Weir Lost ride has 30 mile and 50 mile options. I only wanted to do 40 miles or 3 hours, whichever came first. About twenty minutes into the ride, I mis-remembered the upcoming segment as not being very smooth and suggested a different route. This cut out about 8 miles (of the 50), plus put us onto very familiar roads. The wind was out of the northeast, and we were headed north and east, and generally, uphill. Needless to say, our mph proceeded at pedestrian pace. As we travelled along, now off the route but certainly not lost, we jetisoned a few more miles.

Finally we reached the eastern most point and turned west, no longer directly into the wind. A mile or so further we reached the northern most point and stopped to refuel (and for me, being old and cold, a nature break). I also removed my long-fingered gloves and wind jacket. Refreshed, I reminded Amy to hit her lap key because the trip back would be much faster.

We did a lot of big-ring pedaling. Downhill, wind generally at our backs, about ten degrees warmer than when we started, and much more enjoyable. As it turned out, we totalled 38 miles in 2 hours, 58 minutes. Close enough.

Oh, the repeating thing: Friends and variation. Friends will get you off the couch when you would rather blow it off. Variation keeps you interested (although only part of this ride was new to me). If you need incentive, find some friends and don't be afraid to go/do something new.

For the Sunday ride I joined the Jack & Adams group from downtown Austin. They rotate three rides, and this time Decker Lake became the objective, which meant going through a lot of east Austin. The city paved 2nd street and the new asphalt provided a very smooth beginning. I rode with the Intermediate group, which averages 16-18mph (except when they do 20-22+). The thermometer showed 47 degrees when left home. I had tights and three layers on my chest. This group takes no prisoners. While I had no problem hanging with them, even though I went over to McDonalds to empty my bladder just before we pushed off, about 45 minutes into the ride I received an urgent call. Actually, about 35 minutes in I received the call and it took another 10 to find a reasonably remote spot to again empty the bladder. Going, going, going. By the time I had remounted, they were just a blip down the road.

I had the wind at my back. I had my aero bars. I was quicker on the hills. After 20 minutes of chasing I caught up. It might have taken 25 but they stopped at a stop sign to regroup and have an energy bar break. Anyhow, the sun finally made an appearance and turned this into a nice 32 mile morning ride. I didn't wait around and socialize afterwards, because my bladder called.

Monday morning I did weights at Gold's in the morning and my normal 32 mile ride starting around noon. Because the forecast called for 70 degrees (61 when I left the house), I assumed the light wind would be from the south. It wasn't all that light, and it was from the northeast (still). Out in 63 minutes, back in 53. Tomorrow it is supposed to rain, so I'll be back in the gym or on the trainer, or both.

DECISIONS, DECISIONS...

2012-01-19T17:59:00.002-06:00

A few weeks ago I removed the aerobars from the road bike. This is no easy task, I didn't get the top-of-the-line, easy-to-install types. My previous ones only lasted about seven years, but they were the kind that flipped up and gave you an extra hand position fairly close to the stem. When I replaced them, I went for a more sleek look. Unfortunately, if I wanted that extra hand position, I now had to hold on to the arm rests. So, I figured I'd be doing shorter or slower rides in the winter, plus my weekly hill routine, and therefore took them off.

The weather is not cold, but there is more wind. In looking at my ride stats, I can see how much time I'm losing against the wind. Time, in and of itself, is not the problem. I've never done well in the wind, and my stats tell the tale: I can't get my heart rate up to attain a decent workout. It may be all in my head, but when I try to go hard against the wind, my quads rebel and either go limp or cramp. Bah!

This morning the aerobars were re-installed. Generally, they give me an extra 2 mph against the wind, but more importantly, in cheating the wind, my legs are much happier and so I can work them harder, ergo the heart-rate goes up.

I'd like to report that in this 80 degree, slight wind day, I had a great ride. What I had was several appointments during the day and my only contact with the bike involved installing the aerobars. Maybe tomorrow.

I'VE SAID THIS BEFORE TOO...

2012-01-14T14:49:00.002-06:00

Under 65 degrees, cover the knees. Especially if the sun isn't shining and/or there is a wind. This maxim did not originate with me. I read it about 20 years ago (Alex Steida or Davis Phinney or somebody else), and have followed it faithfully, although I might fudge 5 degrees if the sun is bright and there isn't any wind.

One thing that did originate with me, however, is having three layers on your chest under 65 degrees, with any wind at all, in the winter. I just got in from my standard 31 mile ride. It was 58 degrees, sunshine, wind out of the northwest. I wore shorts, tights, base layer, jersey, and wind vest. I was not too hot. Arriving home I had ginger tea and 500mg vitamin C, also stretched. Don't wait for the sniffles before taking action.

On another note, I just received notice of a race in early February. Based on yesterday's tt practice, I don't think I'm ready for prime time in three weeks. But I haven't read all the details, and haven't had a couple more practices, so I'm not ruling it completely out.

I'VE SAID IT BEFORE...

2011-12-13T05:36:00.002-06:00

And I'll say it again: Exercise is such an easy habit to break. You must use CONSTANT VIGILENCE (as Professor Moody puts it), lest you allow your muscles and good health to suffer. That's where friends and variation come in. It is much more difficult to sluff off when you have friends who are waiting for you or are out suffering while you bask on your couch in front of a fire.

Since my excellent performance in Gruene Nov 5, I've been on the bike a total of five times. Yesterday's 32 mile cruise was less than stellar and showed me how quickly the body loses training. I can't blame my friends. The holiday season is disruptive and only the most dedicated stick to a rigid schedule. It isn't that I've gone couch potato. My trips to Gold's have increased and I'm doing core training and stretching more. This variation will help in the long run.

If you haven't already, find a group/club you can exercise with. Let the peer pressure be a positive inducement. I only need a few rides per week in the next couple weeks to get me through December. January and February are generally clear and are great months to put in some serious training.

CYCLING ON THANKSGIVING

2011-11-29T07:47:00.007-06:00

The weather was gorgeous, 70 degrees, brilliant blue sky, no wind. However, I found myself (and wife) headed to the airport to have Thanksgiving Dinner with Kurt and Nic, and a few fortunate friends. By now, my readers know that Kurt and Nic live in Evesham, England and I live in Round Rock, Texas. And, yes, we were just popping over for dinner. Well, perhaps a slight exaggeration, but not much.

Traveling with Ms. Platinum is so much better than the average peon. We always get seated right after first class. But for this trip, Ms. P got us up-graded to First or Business Class all the way there and back. On one of the flights I was actually the first person down the jetway. No fighting for overhead space, spacious seats that reclined all the way down to flat (which I didn't do), all the alcohol I could drink. I will say this now, I stayed extremely moderate in consumption, both on the planes and at Kurt's, so the amount I turned down would boggle your mind.

We left Thursday, Austin to Dallas to London Heathrow, arriving Friday morning. Kurt met us and we drove the two hours northwest to Evesham. Conventional wisdom indicates a nap in the afternoon usually sets your body-clock, and that is what Marilane did. Kurt had arranged for me to have a massage with his super-therapist, Sara, so that was my afternoon relaxation.

The afternoons are short, with the sun setting just after 4pm, and it gets dark early. Nic had fixed Marilane's favorite (favourite) dinner, steak and ale pie. I did the best I could, but had to call it an evening at 7:35, went upstairs and was asleep by 7:45. Marilane held on 'til 9. The sun woke me at 7:30am, but I hadn't really had 12 hours sleep. More like 10 hours, with some awake time around 2am.

Nic had all preparations well in hand, so we had time this morning for exercise. Nic went for a run (which was at least 10k, probably longer but that account escapes me). Marilane did some exploratory walking all over Evesham, and Kurt took me on a 5 0r 6 mile hike, around Evesham (like circumnavigation). After lunch I laid down for a nap, but my body-clock thought it was 8am. The rest of the afternoon's activities were house-prep for the ten guests.

This is a sought-after invitation, restricted because of space, so I felt badly that we took the place of two of their friends. But, Thanksgiving is, afterall, about family and friends. It originated while Kurt was at school in Edinburgh (Scotland). He and a few American friends (with help) put together a Thanksgiving dinner and voila! a tradition was born. Turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, pumpkin (which, it turns out, was butternut squash) and pecan pies, potatoes. No greenbean casarole (thank goodness, I'm not a fan). Guests started arriving shortly before 7pm and last one left somewhere around 12:30am. We did a fair amount of cleaning up, then I fell into bed.

The next morning, Sunday, we slept late (7:30 for me), and after breakfast and additional cleaning up and getting the house back together, it was time to leave for the airport. We did a side-trip to Stratford for a short stroll and lunch at one of their favourite places, Lambs. Then it was off to London and the Heathrow Hilton.

We up-graded to the executive floor, which includes snacks, lots of alcohol (available, not consumed), canapes, and breakfast. Wanting to be sure of ourselves when sherping luggage, we did a dry-run to the check-in. You can walk to the terminal from the hotel, then take a train to whichever terminal your departure is from. Early to bed, early to rise, have breakfast, hang around, fly home. We were home at 10pm Monday night.

Now, it is time to get back to cycling.

BIKE JERSEYS

2011-11-21T14:37:00.003-06:00

In re-reading yesterday's blog, I got to thinking about all my jerseys and why I have so many. I knew I had twenty but hadn't really given them a whole lot of thought. So I sat down and actually listed them out, researched when purchased, what colors they are (in case I detected a trend toward a certain color), and what prompted me to purchase it.

I have a friend, Tony, and I think he only has one bike jersey. Actually I know he has two, because he bought one of mine (Cyclopaths, my design), but I only see him in his Ben and Jerry's. This for the last five years. I guess he doesn't ride as much as I do. But, back to my collection.

Four jerseys are from my belonging to the club: two Cyclopaths, one Austin Flyers, and one Williamson County Cycling Club (1986). Four are from supporting other clubs. For instance, the San Luis Obispo Lighthouse ride has a terrific reputation, but they had their old jerseys on sale for half price. So, to help them out, I purchased the distinctive jersey. Two are because my friend Ben (retiring next year from the Coast Guard, and rode with us on the coast-to-coast ride) was a club member and had some killer designed kits. The other was supporting Adventure Cycling. I purchased this in 1996 and it was their 20th Anniversary jersey. I had originally signed up to do this ride in 1976 (Bikecentennial) so this jersey was both a memory of what didn't happen and an incentive to get it done.

Then there are the completion jerseys. Two from Marty Jemison for a week each in the Pyrenees and Alps (in conjunction with the Tour de France, highly recommended). One from America by Bicycle for the coast-to-coast ride, one from Bike Adventures for the Land's End to John O'Groats ride. I purchased the Hotter N Hell Hundred jersey after completing several (and ten in all), the Alpe d'Huez jersey, the Six Gap Century jersey, and the Tour de Georgia jersey (not because I participated but because I spent a week cycling those roads). These are worth bragging you have done them.

The Texas State Champion jersey requires some explanation. Three years ago I won my age group in the 10k Time Trial, two years ago I won the 40k road race, and this year I was a member of the winning team time trial. All three were State competitions. Because there were not enough entries to qualify for a free jersey, the winners were allowed to purchase jerseys. So, I earned the jersey, but had to purchase it.

Two other jerseys were gifts. The A&M jersey (and shorts, arm warmers, shoe covers) came as a Christmas gift, and the Roark jersey came with my custom titanium bike. The last is my Christmas jersey, designed by me (see previous posts). I'm hoping Evesham takes their time and does a killer kit.

EVESHAM VALE TRIATHLETES

2011-11-20T05:56:00.002-06:00

I think I just became a member of the Evesham Vale Triathletes. For sure, I'm on the roster of members listed on the Facebook website. So far, I've not been asked to pay any dues. That's a good thing. My friend, whom I have never met, posted that she had formed a club for triathletes. Evesham has a runner's club, to which my son and daughter-in-law belong. But those more athletically gifted needed this additional outlet. When the announcement was posted on FB, I asked if I could be a member-in-absentia. Apparently I could.

So, let's get to the facts. Evesham is a nice little town in western England, in the Cotswolds (that may not be precise, but close enough). I am in Round Rock, Texas. Getting to club functions could pose a logistical problem. I have never learned to swim. My running days ended twenty years ago. Why the heck do I want to become a member of a club where I cannot contribute? Mainly to show support until it gets up and running. And, when it comes to cycling, at least I can contribute thoughts and opinions. Maybe they will have team-triathlons sometime during the year when I'm visiting.

My only skinsuit is one my friend Ben sold me. It is from Hickham Field, Hawaii. At every race I've been to, someone has come up to say they had been stationed there and wanted to talk about the experience. Sadly I have to tell them I'm only a supporter of the club. Ben also sold me (eight years ago) a kit from Virginia, the Colonial Racing Team. It is good looking and I wear it a lot when racing. Once Evesham has their kit, I'll probably get one. I say probably because it will have to be really good looking. My current inventory is 20 jerseys, so I don't need another. In my 30+ years of cycling, only 1 jersey has worn out, my first cotton one. Several others are losing their elasticity, but are still worn occasionally.

TOUR DE GRUENE, FINAL STATS

2011-11-08T07:29:00.002-06:00

In the grand scheme of things, the only real value derived from reviewing the finish order is to learn how effective my race training is. For instance, you can't measure the average speed this year against last year because there are too many variables. And, while I came in first in my age group, because the group was so small (5), that isn't a true measure. Now, since I came in ahead of a known faster rider, that was significant. Because the folks who run this race are computer-savvy, they break down finishing times by group, and I am quite pleased with my results. Bear with me as I spout stuff.

No one older than me finished faster. Only two men in the 60-64 age group finished faster. In the 55-59 group, out of 31 riders, my time beat 13 of them. In the 50-54 men, out of 26 riders, I beat 17. and in the 45-49 men, of 23 riders I beat 14. I didn't fare quite so well against the younger men. In the 40-44 group of 30 I bested (is that really a word?) 13, and in the 35-39 group of 27 I managed a faster time than 8. In 30-34 group of 17, I beat 7, and in the 17-29 group of 9, I beat 3. Only 1 under 17 man beat me.

There was a separate group of men who did not use time-trial bikes or aero bars. This group of Merckx men, 50, had 6 who were faster than I. Only 3 women out of 30 were faster.

To sum up: of the 267 riders, I finished 102 (the 62nd percentile). The fastest rider finished in 35:07 (to my 46:58). Only 17 riders were under 40 minutes, two of whom were under 36 minutes.

TOUR DE GRUENE, STATS

2011-11-07T08:03:00.005-06:00

One of the great things about my Garmin is the plethora of stats it spits out. It will be another day or two before the offical times and places list is posted, but in the meantime, I'm going over the graphics and information I have available to me. This isn't a post-mortem, in that I'm quite pleased with how I performed, and if I lost a few seconds here and there, oh well.

For instance, my heart-rate chart indicates a starting rate of 108 that jumped pretty quickly to 134 and then on up to 150 at the one-mile mark. 150 is 89% of max. Most of the first mile is a slight grade (2-4%) and I kept it in the small chain ring and high cadence. After that, it was the big ring. The plan called for me "cruising" the first three miles 1) Because that is how long it takes to get me settled in; and 2) Because that is when the first significant flat and downhill come. My HR between mile one and three was at 90%+, which is unsustainable for me at this time for the whole race. So, when the downhill came, I eased back a bit and the HR dropped to 145 and I kept it between 145 and 150 until mile nine. My cadence, meanwhile, remained in the mid-80's.

I had slowly been gaining on Michael, but couldn't get that last 30-40 yards. At mile nine I sensed he was slow in an up-shift, (or is that a down-shift, in any case, going to a smaller cog), possibly taking a breather from the slight grade, upped my cadence, and being in a higher gear quickly closed the gap and passed. Naturally, my HR also increased. Now I returned to the mid-150 range, but felt I could keep it there to the end, so did not back off any.

From mile 13.7 to 15.1 it is all up, slight for awhile, then the last three-tenths is at 7.5%. My HR moved between 151 and 154, and when cadence dropped below 70 I moved back to the small chain ring and increased to above 80. This was only for a couple hundred yards, then we hit the steep downhill before the finish climb. I quickly moved back to the big ring and shifted to my lowest cog, a 12, achieving my high speed of 39.9. Cadence increased to 97, HR dropped to 145. This is where I lost a handful of seconds. With an 11 cog and 110 cadence, this section would have been much quicker.

However, never having time-trialed this distance, and with the 10% hill looming, I saved a bit for the last. The finish is four-tenths of a mile, something like 6%, 9%,9%,10%. My 145 HR went up to 161, leaving me very little oomph to stand and power to the end. I did stand for about 50 yards, then sat back down before my quads cramped. Needless to say, cadence also dropped.

After analizing the graphs, if I were to do this again I'd: 1) Go with the 11-28; 2) Train getting from a high HR to max HR so that I can hold it for about a minute; 3) Try to get another 5 rpm on my comfort level (this is harder than it sounds; I am very comfortable at 80 rpm and can't seem to get it higher). I spent 28.5 minutes at or above 90% of max HR. That's about as much as I want.

GRUENE TIME TRIAL, THE RACE

2011-11-06T02:26:00.008-06:00

My practice times at Old Settlers Park were 47:39, 46:46, and 47:10, so going into the race I had a high confidence level (of finishing without falling over). Additionally, the temperature fell in the 70 degree category for warm-ups and the mid-70's by race time, perfect. Plus, the wind forecast had it from the SE at 15mph and the course generally went N or NW. Couldn't ask for more than that. When I saw the list of competitors, my confidence took a slight hit, in that my friend Bill, who beats me like a drum, had signed up. I now had silver in my sights.

Anyhow, I arrived in Gruene about 1:10pm, after taking a wrong turn (no surprise there) and touring a bit of New Braunfels before getting back on track. I had plenty of time to pick up my packet and prepare before the 3:24pm start time. I warm up on my road bike, and today I wore the Texas State Champion jersey, just to show off a bit. The location of the Packet pick-up/Start Line was several blocks from the parking lot and I cycled over to get my numbers. Then I stuffed the packet into my pocket and previewed the first mile or so to make sure I remembered it properly.

Back at the car, I dropped the stuff off and did another fifteen minutes of warm-up on a flat road with a bike lane. A little rest and I headed out again, but this time Bill and Michael saw me and called out. We exchanged pleasantries (no rivalries with us old guys, we cheer each other on no matter) before I did another round of warming up. Back at the car, with a slight glisten, I changed into my skin suit, changed socks, donned shoe covers, and, with a few more minutes, got on the bike trainer for last-minute preparation. Truthfully, I don't know why I take the trainer with me, I know I can't get the heart-rate up on it like I should. Anyhow, I only had eight minutes before getting off and putting everything in the car.

Riders were off at 30 second intervals, and Michael started right in front of me. They have a 300 person limit, starting with the slower riders and finishing with the really fast ones. It came as no surprise that Michael was next to me, in that I used his average speed from last year to estimate mine when I signed up. One thing my practice runs have taught me is the first three miles need to be a settling in time before I start pushing. And my practice on the first mile of the race course reaffirmed that on the long, shallow (6%) grade in the first mile, I should keep it in the small ring and concentrate on rpm, which I kept around 90.

Having Michael as my carrot really helped as an additional gauge as to my progress. He is generally a slightly faster rider, and in the next youngest age group. As we got into mile three I started to pick it up, and by then had caught a slower rider. I made up a few seconds here and there on downhills and corners (over river crossings), but not until over halfway did I finally pass him after a slight uphill. My heart-rate chart indicates that at this time I moved from about 85% of maximum to 90%+, and kept it over 90% for the rest of the race (except a short recovery on a long downhill before the finish).

I passed three riders before the second to last, half-mile climb, and another three or four on that climb. One rider passed me at about mile 13, and another on the last climb. Only having two riders pass me buoyed my expectations. Anyhow, shortly before the last two climbs we have a downhill into a river crossing. The route map indicates this to be a very treacherous turn and caution must be exercised. Indeed, when Barry and I previewed it a couple weeks ago, I remarked then that if I weren't careful I could over-cook it. My carrot was now the guy who passed me, and I used him to help me through the turn. I found out after the race that a lady had missed it and gone off over the guardwall into the river (which unfortunately is a lot of rocks and not much water).

The last climb is about three-tenths of a mile long and tops out at either 10 or 11%, depending on whose gps you look at. After my practice ride, I contemplated switching to an 11-28 cog set to make sure I could make it up this climb without embarrassing myself. Given the wind, at my back for some of the downhills, the 11 would have netted me some higher speed on the downhills, but I did just fine in my 25. I struggled, but didn't wobble, up the hill to the finish.

I hate it when I have a good plan but fail to execute it. Plan A was for me to get my breath, then do a reverse course recovery ride back to the car, report to Marilane, then drive back to the finish line for the award ceremony. They don't start the awards until the last rider is finished, so I figured an hour or and hour and fifteen minutes. But I got to talking to Michael after the race, really didn't want to do sixteen miles against the wind, and decided to take the shuttle back after the awards. To make a long story short, I finished at 4:15pm and the awards started about 6:00 and didn't stop until 7:00. By this time it was dark. And, they didn't have a shuttle! The race director managed to find a guy with a truck to take two of us back to Gruene. Needless to say, Marilane was quite relieved when I finally got back to the car and was able to check in.

Oh, yes. I finished first in my age group, besting Bill by a little over a minute and Michael by around a minute and a half. Based on some of the other times I was able to glimpse, my time (46:56, unofficial) was quite respectable no matter what the age group. I'll do a short follow-up when all the times are posted.

DOUBLE-CLUTCHED TT PRACTICE

2011-11-01T13:47:00.003-05:00

I felt the need for one more practice session before attempting the Gruene run. Monday morning about 9am at my usual place, Old Settlers Park, was the plan. Fortunately, my Guardian Angel interceded. Several things came up that prevented me from leaving at 8:30, but I finally got out at 9:30, somewhat overdressed in tights and base layer. The extra clothing would have been needed for Plan A, but the sun blazed in a clear sky and the temperature rose rapidly.

Anyhow, Monday mornings usually is just me and the maintenance guys. But when I turned into the park, about a half dozen cars came with me. Strange. I turned into the first parking lot and no one else was in it, and the other cars kept going. As I unloaded the bike and prepared for my first warm-up lap, I noticed cars upon cars driving by. This did not bode well. But they weren't soccer moms, because the fields were empty. I warmed up for a quarter mile until I saw a line of cars coming from the other direction, all being directed into the grass overflow parking area on the left. On the right were zillions of pre-schoolers and parents. Pook, ding-fu! It was, afterall, Halloween and Old Settlers Park was hosting a party of some sort. I stopped to ask the parking director how long this would last and he advised until 11am.

I turned around, made it back safely to the car and drove home, re-structured my chores, had lunch and returned about 1:30pm. Had my GA not kept me home, I would have been half way through practice when the hoard decended. As it was, I had another great practice, in shorts and jersey. The wind came up a bit for the last three laps, but I was grateful I had an uninterrupted 16.5 miles.

As an aside, I'm old enough to remember when tractor-trailer drivers had to double clutch to change gears. We had a car that occasionally wouldn't go into gear unless you did it. To explain to those who are clueless (and might remain so if they never initiate a manual transmission), in order to change gears the driver had to push in the clutch, shift into neutral, release the clutch, then push in the clutch again before going to the next gear, thus double-clutching.

ROSEY CHEEKED WEEK-END

2011-10-30T15:08:00.002-05:00

Extremes! Bah! We went from record heat to really chilly in a few short days. I had to make an exception to rule #2 (pay attention, Gibbs). Rule #2 states if the temperature is below 40 degrees, I wait for warmer weather. However, Saturday I left the house with a reading of 37 and drove north to Florence, arriving at 8:45am and a rise in temperature of 2 degrees. But that was in the shade. It felt warmer in the sun, and there was only a slight breeze which would be at our backs for the first hour. I had on tights, base layer, jersey, wind jacket, and long fingered gloves and a need for a good ride.

It's not like I was the only one here. We had an even dozen intrepid cyclists. About ten miles into the ride, seven of us turned right for the valley ride, five continued on for a hill climb. I had wanted to climb Eagle's Nest for several years, but never got around to it. This time, at the beginning of the ride Karen found a gash in her rear tire. Not bad enough to trash the ride, but definitely a concern. I always carry a spare tire in the car, so put it in the Camelbak just in case she had a spectacular blow-out. When Karen opted for the valley ride, her spare tire holder went with her.

True prediction, the temperature warmed rapidly and as we made various short stops, articles of outerwear came off and joined the tire in the Camelbak. All in all, we had a very pleasant 33 mile ride.

Sunday morning came in at 47 degrees, clear, with a slight wind. I attired myself similar to yesterday and headed out to Steiner Ranch Steakhouse to ride with the Jack and Adams group. I had not done this ride before and was anxious to see how it went. About a zillion cyclists showed up. Perhaps I exaggerated somewhat, so let's say around 75.

The fast group led out and we gave them about a minute headstart, which is all they needed. I joined the intermediate group and slotted in about ninth (of maybe 40). We went east on RR620 and our leader kept an easy pace (18-20mph) all the time on 620 and even further on El Salido. Once on N Lakeline Blvd, the pace increased. The group split due to the increased speed and red lights, but I managed to stay with the lead group. They gapped me at one point, but I dropped into the aerobars and clawed back. There were only about ten of us.

When they turned onto Crystal Falls Parkway, they upped the speed again and I dropped back, knowing a large hill loomed. Of course, I thought we would climb the hill, regroup, and retrace our steps. Duh! Not these guys. First of all, we went down the hill (s), hit the turn-around, then climbed back up. No stopping. I mentally waved good-by and struck out alone. I checked the mileage and it occurred to me that this 11% climb came at the same mileage of the Gruene Time Trial next week-end. I had been wondering if I could finish the TT up the climb without having to get off the bike. Well, the effort in keeping up with the group approximated that of my TT, so I made sure in climbing the hill I stayed in my 25 cog (eschewing the 28), because my TT bike only goes to 25. Ok, I can do that.

I took it easy on the way back, and enjoyed the cycling. The temperature increased, the wind increased (but not too bad), and the traffic increased (pook). Safely turning left into Steiner Ranch I noticed flashing lights ahead and saw a fire engine, and various police vehicles. It seems a vehicle did not negotiate the sharp right turn and had flown off into the trees/bushes. I suspect it happened late last night, but can't be sure since I hadn't noticed it when I drove in (then again, the car was quite aways off the road in more or less covered by bushes).

Two days in a row, great rides with a nip in the air.

SIX GAP CENTURY SANS SADDLE

2011-10-18T14:31:00.002-05:00

An update to my previous post, specifically my remark that a guy without a seatpost or saddle passed me on Neel's Gap. I inquired further and was advised that he had left his equipment at home, had traveled a long way, and decided to do the whole 105 miles without them. I tried an internet search and didn't find any mention (other than mine). More power to him.

An update on my TT training. I rode yesterday, and after a couple of 5k warm-ups, went for the whole 17 miles, using my 3 mile out-and-back circuit at Old Settlers Park. This has two uphills and one downhill on the outbound (this day, with the wind), and two downhills and one uphill on the return, against the wind. Five and a half laps netted 16.8 miles in 47 minutes and change. Confidence level now at a 10. Thursday Barry and I will drive down to Gruene and preview the course. The profile is generally UP, two steep climbs, but it is a question of how gradual the rest of the course is. I'm thinking my estimated 50 minutes might be spot on.

GRUENE TIME TRIAL

2011-10-14T14:48:00.003-05:00

I have the memory of a corner-back. Perhaps age has something to do with it, but I prefer to think not. Shortly after scribing that my organized cycling was over for the year and I would be "cherry-picking my days" to ride, something came over me and I got a wild hair (I don't think it's hare) to do the Gruene Time Trial.

Actually, I have wanted to do the two man TT for a couple of years now. So I emailed my gold medal USAC teammates to see if they knew of anyone looking for a partner. Tom and Tom had teamed up last year and were again this year. Then, AFTER sending the email, I began to look at the details of the race. That gave me pause for thought. It was all I could do to drag my body 40km in July, with three other people, and truthfully, needed Tom to pace me the last mile. What was I thinking, asking someone to team with me for a similar distance.

So, as their suggestions came back, I replied that I had changed my mind and would be doing the individual time trial instead. This is ONLY 17 miles. I really think I can do that distance, or as I prefer to measure it, 50 minutes or so. I'd like it to be 45 minutes, but that is extremely optimistic. I have no clue as to the profile of the road, other than it goes UP to Canyon Lake. Next week I plan to preview the course.

Now for the good news. After signing up for the race, I dusted off the tt bike and went out to my course to see what kind of shape I'm in. For starters, I just did a 5k warm up, 5k fast pace, then a 10k fast pace. Believe me, I know that 10k is only the beginning. But all went well, my pace was good and I felt like I had a lot left in the tank when I finished.

This morning I returned for round two. 5k warm up, 5k fast pace, then a 20k fast pace. I would love to tell you my stats, but inadvertently hit the "stop" button instead of the "lap" button, thus my times are skewed. However, the first lap was very fast, and the other three not much slower, and again I finished with more in the tank. It was during this practice that it finally occurred to me that 17 miles is less than 30 kilometers. All this time I had 40k in my head! So my confidence has returned and with a preview ride under my belt, I'm sure I'll do well.

One other confidence booster: I'm finally beginning to feel good. As other posts will attest, I have been somewhere between 80-90%, unable to really get the most out of my muscles. With more miles in the legs, especially the Blue Ridge and Six Gap rides, I appear to be hitting on all cylinders. We'll know as the next few weeks unfold.

THE OUTLAW TRAIL

2011-10-08T15:30:00.004-05:00

This is the 25th anniversary of the Outlaw Trail. I've been telling everyone that Kurt and I did the first one, but in researching our photo album, plus seeing that the jersey I have says 1988, unless a younger memory can come up with a different year, it looks like my first one was the third anniversary. Anyhow, I've done ten of the twenty-five, including the memorable one when they closed the 100 mile course due to heavy rain, thunder, etc. They have since changed the course to stay east of I-35 and on less traveled roads.

I've only done one century, mostly 100k or 50 miles. This is the end of the cycling for the year, and truthfully, I'm more or less cycled-out and ready to cut back. Let me recap this year: outrageous wind that went on endlessly into July; outrageous heat (130 days over 90 degrees, of which 90 were over 100) and zero rain; seriously under-trained. And, I just got back from doing an epic ride and am still recovering.

So, I again signed up for the 100k ride. That was before looking at the weather forecast. Right after plunking down my registration fee, I returned home to see that we had a 40% chance of rain, and 100% chance of high wind. Bummer. As Saturday approached, the forecast moderated somewhat, in that the rain showers would probably come in the afternoon, and the high wind (40mph) was downgraded to 15-25mph. Of course, no one EVER pays attention to the low figure.

The Outlaw Trail ride is so well organized and has so many volunteers. Parking, getting ready, the start, all went smoothly. We even started out with the wind mostly at our backs. I only saw one of my Cyclopaths jerseys in the crowd. My friend, Janet, was with me at the start, but, like me, is very tentative and cautious when doing a charity ride. So, she was somewhere behind me.

I thought my speed to be average for a tour, but folks kept passing me. Not in bunches, but fairly steady. About a half hour into the ride I saw Barry (Blue Ridge ride partner) coming from the other direction. We waved. Not long after, Janet came up and passed, so I increased pace to keep up. Eventually we reached the northern most point of the ride and turned south, into the wind. About this time, Barry again appeared, coming from the opposite direction. This time he turned around and rode with me for a mile or so, to the rest stop. I transferred a flash drive from the Blue Ridge ride (Rick's pics), and he went on his way, as did I.

By this time, I had determined 100k would take too long and get me too beat up by the wind, so I switched to the 50 mile route (the way the routes are configured, switching among the 40,50, and 62.5 is very easy). My rest stop was quicker than the ladies, so I was on my own. The route direction continued south and east, the wind direction from the southeast. Most of the roads were quite familiar to me, a few were not. Eventually, I came to the Taylor city limits and knew the next turn would be to the west and finally give me a favorable wind. The next rest stop came at mile 35 (for me) and as I prepared to leave, one of the ladies mentioned that they had pickle juice because many riders started complaining about cramps at this stop. I took the opportunity to take a few ounces, because my calf had made a mild complaint.

Now, with the wind somewhat on my left shoulder and a short rest, my speed increased and I began enjoying the ride. About this time I saw Janet coming from the other direction. Hmmm. It seems she, too, had opted for the 50 mile ride, then the 40 mile ride. As soon as I saw her, I did a U-turn and joined the group. I guessed my final mileage now would be around 45.

The last few miles had a few hills, against the wind. We now passed people who had over-exerted themselves and were walking their bikes. Eventually we entered the park for the last few miles of traffic-less riding and cruised to the finish line. My estimate was correct: 45.5 miles in 3 hours, 5 minutes. I drove home, had lunch, had a nap, and am now musing about how beat up I feel. I'm not going back to check, but I suspect I whine about the wind at least once a month. It really is a big bully. I'm pretty sure this is my last organized ride of the year. From here on out, I'll cherry-pick my days.

SIX GAP CENTURY

2011-10-03T05:56:00.005-05:00

The previous post gives a run-up to this one, which deserves to be separate. But you might want to read that one first.

A short history: for the past five years Marilane and I have been coming to Suches, Georgia for a family get-together. I bring my bike and cycle, as evidenced by numerous posts on the subject. Therefore, I have experienced all six of the gaps that comprise the ride. But I only do them three at a time, and that is only 33 or 37 miles. Early this year, I decided to sign up for the Six Gap Century, billed as 105 miles and 11,200 feet of climbing. Then, working backwards on the calendar, I planned an epic Blue Ridge Parkway ride. Unfortunately, as whined about in previous posts, I also planned a lot of big mileage training that never happened. Coming into Virginia, my longest ride this year had been 63.5 miles and only half a dozen had been over 50 miles.

Based on our performance on the Blue Ridge Parkway, Barry and I discussed opting for Three Gaps rather than suffer a whole day doing the century. But the weather finally turned gorgeous, with brilliant blue skies, light wind, and afternoon temperatures in the 80's. On Saturday we arrived early to pick up our packets on the square in Dahlonega, then wandered around the vendors, purchased a jersey, had lunch, and rested in the afternoon, watching football. We were then pretty much determined to suffer on Sunday.

Conversation with an experienced Six Gap rider Saturday morning convinced us to arrive early at the start, the high school. Breakfast consisted of bagels and juice at 5:30am, then the short drive to the high school. Even at this early hour, the police were directing the line of cars into the parking lot. Not much to do except sit around and use the facilities until start time, 7:30am. I had left my wind jacket at the hotel, so Barry lent me his (he had two). With a starting temperature in the low 50's, and being on the west side of the mountains, I knew it would be chilly for the first hour, especially going downhill. Usually I also cover my knees, but not when I'm serious, and I was definitely serious this morning.

We started mid-pack of an estimated 2,000 cyclists. Not because we wanted to, but because that is where we landed when we went to line up. For sure, we did not want to be with the crazy folks at the front. We are both experienced charity ride cyclists, which means we know enough to start off slow and warm up the body and conserve energy. What is different about this ride, though, is the lack of inexperienced riders. You know, the ones that zip around, change pace willy-nilly, generally causing a nuisance. Without these nuts, the atmosphere was quite relaxed, knowing that the folks around you were not dangerous.

So, I felt quite good as we eased into the ride. Lots of cyclists passed me, I passed a few. After the first half-hour I was warm, comfy, and finally came to that part of the ride where the roads were familiar. Just before Turner's Corner (a rest stop that hardly anyone stops at), I pulled off the road for a nature break and to remove the wind jacket. Neel's Gap, the first significant climb, started at Turner's Corner and finished nine miles later.

One interesting thing on the way up: a cyclist passed me (nothing strange about that) and the girl behind me called out loudly "are you going to stand the whole way!" Her companion asked her why she said what she did, in that cyclists periodically stand when going uphill, to give their backs and legs a break from sitting. She answered "he doesn't have a saddle." Sure enough, when I looked closely, he had no seat post and no saddle. No place to sit. This was not a mechanical failure, he planned to ride the whole way without it.

What wind there was came at my back. Given the temperature, the wind, the crowd, I ascended Neel's Gap better than any of my previous rides. Only glancing at the rest stop at the top, covered with a myriad of cyclists, I continued on down the other side and enjoyed a fast, vehicle free descent (the road wasn't closed, just empty of cars and motorcycles). Next came Jack's Gap.

Rather than being all uphill, the climb up Jack's Gap is a series of ups and downs, the ups being longer. Saving myself for the third gap, I just geared down and cautiously reeled up to the rest stop. Now almost three hours into the ride, I stopped and refilled my bottles, one with water and the other with the energy drink they provided. I carried a flask of energy gel (along with a couple Clif Bars). I also ate half a banana, then mounted up for the descent. All of this took seven minutes, two minutes more than what I preach should be the length of a fuel stop (it isn't about time lost, per se, but giving your muscles a break but not letting them begin to tighten up).

Halfway down, I turned off the course and pulled over for another nature break (the line at the porta potties having been too long), then proceeded down the rest of the way. This descent is downright casual, the only one of the six I can characterize that way. The start up Unicoi Gap began almost immediately. And like the just completed descent, the ascent up Unicoi was casual. Easy or not, I still started passing people. It is a short climb, maybe two and a half miles, but the descent is spectacular. Over seven miles of going down, the first three steep, fast, with wide sweeping curves. Having several cyclists in front to show me the lines helped in keeping my speed high. The last four were more moderate, in the mid-20's mph, pedaling mostly just to keep the legs moving.

Then it was time for the beast of the ride, Hogpen Gap. First came the several miles of transition to the turn on the Russell Scenic Highway. Make the turn and voila! you are going up. The first couple of miles lull the uninitiated into thinking this gap is just like the others, then you cross the KOM timing lines. Soon enough I came to guys (never women, hmmm) standing by their bikes gasping for air or just standing still hoping their heart rates would drop back to an acceptable range, or walking their bikes for a short distance to allow their legs to recover. Halfway up Hogpen a rest stop provides an excuse to ease the pain, and, of course, refuel. I took the opportunity to do both, and use the porta potty. It only took five minutes.

I still had another three miles to the summit, but almost a mile of that was downhill, and the hardest climbing had been accomplished. What with the rest and downhill, I felt fairly chipper as I crossed the KOM timing lines at the top. An aside: While the Six Gap Century is primarily a ride, not a race, they give everybody a timing chip and award prizes (and bragging rights) to the fastest finisher (male and female), and fastest up Hogpen Gap and Wolfpen Gap. I didn't enter the KOM competition, but they have my time anyhow. I finished 7th in my age group going up Hogpen. Had I put off the rest stop, I would have (woulda, coulda, shoulda) finished 4th. This is more musing than anything, I took the rest when I needed it. Besides, I finished 5th overall in my age group, so apparently two guys punished themselves too much.

Back to the ride. The downhill off Hogpen is extremely fast and the road is rough. I was happy clocking 47.5 mph and not trying for 50. Perhaps smooth asphalt might have tempted me. With a judicious use of the brakes, and again having a cyclist in front of me (about 50 yards, we don't like being too close at these speeds), the eight miles of downhill and transition went by quickly.

The next gap was Wolfpen. Wolfpen is my friend. It is three miles of steep, switchbacked corners. It usually takes all of my gears to get past some of the ramps, but because of my familiarity with it (at least five climbs per year), I never seem stressed with this climb. And the downhill has banked switchbacks than are a lot of fun for the first mile. Like Neel's and Unicoi, I zipped down Wolfpen at speeds previously unseen by me. Then came the short climb up to Winfield Scott Lake and the transition to Woody Gap.

Woody is a wuss (in this direction). It is short, maybe a mile and a half, with not much gradient. When you reach the summit, however, you have a great five mile downhill. I hardly glanced at the rest stop, as I pushed into the big ring and small cog for a fast descent. Alas, it was now afternoon and the wind had come up, blowing in my face. Rather than coasting in the high-20's, I now soft-pedaled in the mid-20s. Again, even with an open road, only one car came from behind me.

The last ten miles I took casually, mainly because I was really tired and secondarily because I knew I could finish. Actually, once I got past Hogpen I knew I had enough energy to complete the ride. One other thing kept me from pushing hard to the end: every now and then my left calf or right quad would give indication they might cramp if I asked too much of them. So we eased into Dahlonega and turned into the high school grounds, stopping the clock at seven hours and 55 minutes, three seconds.

Right after crossing the finish line, we stopped to turn in our timing chips. When I started to pedal away, the right calf balked, so I opted to walk the 100 yards to the truck and give different muscles an opportunity to work.

Having the start/finish at the high school is a great plus. Besides the bathrooms, they had the kitchen in which to work. A spaghetti plate, with rolls and tea, waited for me to pick up and find a table to sit at. My new friend, Mike, and his friends waved me over and we ate and discussed the ride.

I went over to see about getting a massage. The list and waiting period was too long. I just found a chair and let the day's work ease away.

ANOTHER EPIC JOURNEY

2011-09-28T16:55:00.012-05:00

Or, cycling Skyline Drive, Blue Ridge Parkway, and finishing with the Six Gap Century. The Blue Ridge Parkway has been on my radar for a few years and my original plan called for a week riding its 470 miles. From my experience doing rail-trails and the Natchez Trace, I know that anything over five days tends to get monotonous and boring. I figured this being a mountainous ride, the vistas would allow seven. Besides, the Blue Ridge tends to have fog, so anyone riding it should anticipate one or more non-riding days.

One problem with planning epic rides: getting someone else to accompany you. My friend, Barry, expressed willingness and enthusiasm. He talked me into adding Skyline Drive, an additional 105 miles. This would be a long drive to the start (1,435 miles, two days) and we might not get this way again, so let's tack it on. Ergo, my #1 rule got violated. We recruited one more rider, Rick. We could not recruit a sag driver.

Actually, I did recruit a sag driver for the first 20 miles. Besides bicycles, Barry's truck transported several musical instruments for my grandchildren. Daughter, Jean, and her husband, Jim, drove to Front Royal to receive them, and Jim kindly drove the sag vehicle to the first exit on Skyline Drive, thus allowing the three of us to at least begin the ride together.

Seventeen of the first twenty-three miles pointed generally UP, at about a 6% grade. A 6% hill is not difficult, a 6% mountain can wear you out. We stopped at several overlooks, both because of the vista and to give our legs a break. Eventually we arrived at the truck and I became the sag driver for awhile. About 10 miles further, Barry took over the duties. Not long after, the clouds thickened and Rick and I found a few patches of fog. It started to mist. It started to drizzle. Then, miraculously, Barry appeared at an overlook. Making the hand-across-the-throat signal, we called it a day and loaded our bikes, bemoaning our fate of cutting short the ride by about 20 miles.

Not more than a half mile later, it started to rain, and then we hit heavy fog. We found out later that a group of cyclists behind us were pulled off the road (by the authorities) due to the fog. At the Big Meadows Lodge, we were in the parking lot but unable to see the lodge not more than 20 yards away. So, we moderated our moaning and congratulated ourselves on the perfect timing at ending our cycling day. I missed several thousand feet of climbing, but still managed 5,099.

Big Meadows has great scenery, unfortunately obscured by the fog. We got settled in our rooms and had a celebratory glass of wine. Eventually the bar at the lodge opened and we had a beer while waiting for the restaurant to open. Activities were nil due to the weather and we retired early. The next morning started clear, with blue sky, and we took pictures of the vista from the lodge. By the time we started riding thin clouds had greyed the sky and it stayed that way throughout the day.

This was Friday and I cycled 39.7 miles (of the 51.2) and climbed another 4,038 feet. The temperature started at 48 degrees and stayed mostly in the lower 50's throughout the day. But at least it didn't rain. We stayed the night in Waynesboro, VA and Rick knew a great Italian restaurant.

Saturday, the plan called for 86 miles and 8,500 feet of climbing, a really, really long day, the first on the Blue Ridge Parkway. I managed to do 46.6 miles and 7,314 feet of climb, with the temperature again in the mid-50's and damp. Again we stayed at a lodge, Peaks of Otter, located right on the parkway. Being in the middle of nowhere, we also ate there. And would have enjoyed the views, had we been able to see any distance.

Sunday, 54 miles and 9,147 feet of climb replaced the scheduled 74 miles. This took us around Roanoke. By now, we might glance at the overlook vistas, but the monotony of the valleys, especially without any dramatic sunshine and blue sky, pretty much kept our cameras in our pockets. Occasionally the fog settling in the valleys created a dramatic pic.

My legs really felt the mileage, so I did the majority of sag driving, only cycling 13 miles and 956 feet of climbing. And again on Tuesday rather than 63 miles, I did 28.5 and 3,533 ascending feet. Our stop today was in Blowing Rock, NC. Due to the weather, we didn't walk around town, but we drove around and found it to be quaint and pretty. A fun place to wander around in and out of shops had the sun been out.

Wednesday I turned in zero miles, but the other guys didn't get much in either, as they chose to pack it in due to the cold and rain. We all had rain gear, and the pictures show me in my jacket most days. On a paid tour one must suffer the vagaries of weather, but we had the luxury of choosing whether or not to ride.

Thurday, the penultimate day, the schedule called for 84 miles, of which 10 were the side-trip up and down Mt. Mitchell, the highest point east of the Mississippi. My stats show 40.4 miles and 7,877 climbing feet, most of which was Mt. Mitchell. The previous easy days apparently were what my legs needed. The temperature reading on my Garmin never moved more than 3 degrees, starting at 61, but the clouds were thin (early) and no wind. I prepared for Mt. Mitchell with a 3 mile downhill and 6 miles uphill, plus some rolling miles, then divested my outer-wear at the truck at the foot of the entrance. Most of the way up had new, smooth, asphalt. I monitored the heart-rate, keeping it in the 85% of max range, thus the speed remained generally paltry at 6 mph. Going down, we exceeded the posted speed by a lot, with my maximum being 40 mph, passing a cement mixer.

We were supposed to then ride another 50 miles, but the weather turned wet and chilly, so I ended up with an additional 11 miles before we again trucked it in. Our last day dawned cold and misty, and a planned 7,500 feet of climbing before a terrific 15 mile downhill to the finish. However, both Barry and I were saving our legs for the Six Gap, and Rick had had enough of cycling cold, so he opted to be driven to the Atlanta airport early.

So far I cycled only about half the planned distance, but climbed an outstanding 37,962 feet. My legs were beginning to come around. It was time for the crown jewel of the epic journey: Six Gap Century.

CHRISTMAS BIKE JERSEY

2011-09-12T17:12:00.003-05:00

This is a re-posting of August 5. I'll be placing the order at the end of the month, so if you want to decorate yourself on your bike, please send your order and money before that. Of course, there is always a re-order, but that would push us right up against the Christmas rush.

Club fit, 45cm invisible zipper, mfg by Pactimo. Cost: $65

If interested, email me at jerrydusterhoff@att.net

COOL!

2011-09-06T13:12:00.002-05:00

We've had 80 days over 100 degrees. I've been used to riding around 7am with a temperature around 80 degrees. This morning the thermometer registered 56 degrees. I have a soft rule of "cover the knees under 65 degrees." While 56 wasn't going to last long, the shock of over a 20 degree drop in temperature had me reaching for the tights, arm warmers, and wind vest (just in case).

My plan for this morning included a north/south trip of maybe 25 miles. The wind, indeed, came out of the north, but not as sharp as anticipated. Within half an hour the temp. had climbed out of the 50's and was very pleasant. So much so, I took a few turns (intentional this time, I know these roads quite well) and added 8 miles to the journey. The additional miles also brought a few excellent views: calm, clear, newly cleared or tilled fields.

The cold weather gear stayed on for about an hour and a half, keeping the muscles warm and functioning smoothly. But when the sweat started to build (this was just a casual ride, average heart rate at 110), it was time to stop and put them in the Camelbak. I cruised on in the rest of the way and put up the bike. What a great ride!

CRITERIUM

2011-09-05T02:59:00.005-05:00

I thought when I finished USAC State Time Trials that racing for the year was over and I could concentrate on the upcoming Skyline Drive and Blue Ridge Parkway ride. Then my friend, Tom, emailed me. The 60+ category in the Austin Criteriums was in danger of being scrapped for lack of participation. Would I please at least sign up?

This is a three day set of criteriums in three different venues. I had already agreed to ride with Amy, Barry, and Rick on Saturday, and was scheduled to be out of town on Monday, but I signed up for the Sunday ride, which happened to be at the Jake Pickle Complex only a few minutes away from home. The bike had just come back from getting a tune-up at the bike shop and was ready to roll. Only thing to do was switch out the pedals, remove the bottle brackets and saddle pack. I suspect I was the only adult racing on a triple crankset.

Sunday morning the wind was bad, then got worse. Our race wasn't until 2:15pm, with the temperature once again above 100 degrees. Us old guys only had to race for 30 minutes, so I figured I could do that, especially if I drafted the windy portions. Even drafting, I had to drop to the middle chain-ring. Of course, we were booking along at 30mph when the wind was behind us.

I apportioned my energy, seeing that each lap took about 5 minutes. Not much calculating to know that 6 laps would get me to the end. Unfortunately, since I don't do criteriums, once I calculated the laps, I didn't really look at the smaller "laps to go" board. I had begun strategizing how to handle the last lap when I heard the announcer proclaim "two laps to go." Bummer. Apparently, it is a 30 minutes to the last lap time limit.

At the bell lap, Tom pulled ahead, the other two gapped me and when we hit the wind, I didn't have enough oomph to get back into the draft. Oh, well. 4th place isn't so bad, and it was a great workout. Of the 37 minutes of racing, I spent 29 in Zone 5 (90% of maximum heart rate) and 8 in Zone 4.

Now all I have to do is re-set the bike for touring and get ready to do some cycling in the mountains.

LIVING IN MEMORIES

2011-08-28T20:00:00.004-05:00

It's great to have memories you can relive over and over again. Then again, you must be able to separate memories from reality. Two years ago, when I rode Land's End to John O'Groats (SW England to NE Scotland), I pompously wrote something to the effect that "while I can and have ridden multiple century days, there was no reason to cross Great Britain so quickly." 40 or 50 miles per day is soooo easy (compared to 90-100).

That line wasn't a fabrication. When I rode from San Francisco to Portsmouth, NH, we did half a dozen century-days back-to-back. Ah, memories! Here I am, three weeks from doing the Blue Ridge Parkway, with multiple 80+ mile days, and I'm suffering when doing 60 miles. My Plan A had been to work up to 80 miles by doing a long ride once a week starting in June, and by doing 80 each week in August. This heat derailed Plan A. I'll get a few more 60 mile rides in before we go.

Don't get me wrong, my legs are quite strong and can go the distance. It's all the other body parts that will complain. When touring, the average time is 10-12 mph, taking into account stopping to eat, take pictures, find a tree. So, even if your speed is 15-17 mph, the rest of the time is off the bike. Thus, I'm looking at 7-8 hours on the road. All of my joints will ache, my neck will be stiff, my new shoes are light but get uncomfortable after 3 hours. The lower back gets cranky after 4 hours (sometimes 2 hours).

I can still remember riding 78 miles, getting off the bike, and exclaiming "today was a short day." Those days are but memories.

FOLLOW-UP

2011-08-27T17:53:00.003-05:00

This post comes about because I was trying to hawk my Christmas jersey (see previous post). Once again, Jack of Jack and Adams is being gracious in allowing me to set up a table Sunday morning (Sept 4) and will also display the jersey in his shop.
See my post of 3 20 09 for complete details, but from the very beginning Jack was determined that the bike he sold me was a perfect fit. That is just the kind of person he is, and the culture of his shop reflects it. It is no coincidence that from the day after I picked up my Felt, I started winning. Usually I drop by after a race to thank him again (and again, and again) for putting me on a superior bike. I have been a State champion three years running (age group, of course), mostly due to the bike.

You can be sure if you go to Jack and Adams that you will have individualized attention to your needs. Which is why I'm also dropping off my road bike for a tune-up before heading out to the Blue Ridge Parkway next month.

CHRISTMAS JERSEY AVAILABLE

2011-08-05T16:15:00.008-05:00

My counselor advised I needed some left brain work, so I teamed up with Pactimo (jersey mfg) and designed this Christmas jersey. If you would also like to decorate yourself this year, send me an email at jerrydusterhoff@att.net and I'll return an order form and additional information. Salient facts:

Cost $65

plus $5.36 tax (if in Texas)

plus $5 if I (priority) mail it to you.

The order must be in by Sept 26 in order to have jerseys by Thanksgiving.

AND THE WINNER IS...

2011-08-02T07:11:00.005-05:00

Yes, I'm still whining about the lack of strength and whatever mysterious ailment is keeping me from going 100%. However, I managed to come home from the USAC State Time Trials with a silver medal in the Individual and gold, plus a jersey, in the Team competition.

The week-end went like this: First stop, acupuncture. Next, drive to Lytle, arriving shortly after 1pm. I changed into bike clothes and prepared to preview the TT course, a simple 10k out and 10k back with a profile that seemed to indicate mostly flat with a long incline coming to the finish line. My Garmin indicated the high temperature at 114 degrees due probably to sitting still waiting for me to get ready. The minimum temperature of 105, unfortunately, accurately reflected the heat. Additionally, a stiff wind whipped my face. Well, today wasn't about speed but to gauge shifting (a delay in shifting costs precious seconds) and road conditions. It struck my brain that, except for the initial downhill, the rest of the first leg moved generally uphill. Between the wind and the incline my time out registered 24 minutes, 17 seconds, an average of 15.6 mph. Coming back the time improved to 15:12 or 23.3 mph. I consumed the whole bottle of energy drink and was wringing wet. Bummer. Speaking of wet, Tropical Storm Don was scheduled to come through late in the evening and still be raining in the morning. My TT bike has never been wet. Castroville, 12 miles away, provided adequate lodging, and became the next stop.

The Saturday morning routine: up at 4:30am, bagel breakfast, and on my trainer, in the room, at 5am. A half hour of warm-up, then stretching, then it was time to leave for Lytle and check-in. It was still dark at 6:15am, but I secured a prime parking place, set up the trainer, picked up my packet and readied myself for the 7:17am start time. A little more trainer work, then I pulled the TT bike out of the car and completed preparations to race.

The forecasted showers did not materialize (as it turned out, my start time was between showers) and the wind light. (A slight diversion: the groups after us were younger and rode 40k. Where we turned around, they turned right and did an additional 10k and turned around. I talked to some of them that afternoon, and they said when they made the right turn it was into rain for the whole time until they came back onto our course and as soon as they made the left, the rain stopped). I knew half the racers in our group, and all but one of them started before me. Monty started 30 seconds behind and my goal was to hold him off for at least three miles. Well, I did hold Monty off as planned, but he went by me like a flash.

Because I wasn't really confident in my conditioning, I went out with a high cadence and smaller gear, and came back with more strength work. It must have worked in that I came in 3rd in the 65-69 age group and 6th in the 60+ group (which means only three riders in the 60-64 group were faster than me). Monty is from Oklahoma and not eligible for a medal, thus I collected silver behind Tom, with a time of 32:09. This better than I expected result had me feeling quite pleased with my effort. Now that I have had a chance to review the Garmin graph of my ride, I see that it really is a series of ups and downs (both ways), making my original perception erroneous. Not that it mattered. The average speed of 23 mph might have been a tad quicker if I had gone out faster, but it would not have made a difference in placement.

Sunday our start time was 9:17am, so the morning was a bit more relaxed. The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th places in the ITT comprised our 60+ team, plus one other rider, Bob, who didn't ride on Saturday. We met at 8:30ish and went out to practice for about 20 minutes, then made final preparations to race. The teams had a 2 minute gap between each start, and we were the very last team. In front of us were the 35+ ladies and one of us wandered up to advise they were being followed by a group of dirty old men. Tropical Storm Don (The Dud) was history and the morning had a slight breeze and 30 degrees C (why the Garmin switched to Centigrade is beyond me).

We did not push hard, having learned our lesson two years ago. Even so, our speed kept us on track for a good finish time. When we made the right turn at 10k (the team race is 40k) we could see the ladies in the distance. Right before the turn-around I had the lead and had come close to the ladies. From behind came the loud urge: Go! Go! so I pushed hard and we passed them right before the cone. It took a bit of time to get the four of us moving again, but we held off being passed back, then gradually increased our lead, and within two miles the ladies were out of sight. We made the left turn and had 10k to go when suddenly "the monkey" jumped on my back. My energy which had powered me along more or less effortlessly, drained quickly and I had to ask for less speed (compliance being mandatory in that we had left Bob several hills back and had to have three finishers). Tom Hall urged me on, pacing me the last kilometer and I gave it all I had.

It took quite a while for me to complete my warm-down. First easy pedaling for five minutes, then stopping, then some more pedaling. I drank two bottles of water and some pickle juice. Walked around a bit, changed out of my wet clothes. Waited around, talked to the guys, purchased a Championship jersey (not enough teams had signed up to get a free one, but eligible folks could purchase one), collected the gold medal. Eventually headed home, feeling extremely mellow. A few days off and begin hill rides in preparation for Skyline Drive and the BlueRidge Parkway.

GEORGIA MOUNTAINS

2011-07-22T06:22:00.010-05:00

This long entry includes the cycling and hiking in our annual vacation to the North Georgia Mountains. I'm skipping the family fun, since this is a cycling blog. Thus, I start with my first cycling foray.
Truely, it takes some time to get used to climbing, and more so as the years mount. I have learned to take it easy and just get it over with on the first day. However, there is a bit more interest in the rides since at the end of the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive adventure, we (Barry and Rick and I) are doing the Six Gap Century out of Dahlonega. It so happens that my vacation riding includes all six gaps, although I take them three at a time and without the extraneous mileage.
So, off I went, leaving the cabin and doing a counter-clockwise circle of the gaps. Woody Gap is first, only a mile from the cabin, and fortunately in this direction, quite a mild climb. On the century ride it is the last of the gaps and truthfully, not as difficult as some of the rollers leading up to it. From the top of Woody Gap it is a five mile descent. There are no steep ramps, some tight turns, a few straight-aways, and a couple of chicanes. All in all, a delightful ride, mostly in the 30mph range, and especially easy when there are no cars to challenge you. A stop sign at the end means turn left and continue downhill for another mile, then rolling the rest of the way to Turner's Corner.
A left turn starts me on the way to Neel's Gap, nine miles of mostly ascending. Fifty minutes of climbing gets me to the top and a short breather while I turn my phone on and email Marilane that I'm safe and on time (this is the only place where AT&T has coverage, but we have wi-fi at the cabin). It is another five mile descent. Much of the way there are gentle turns, two lanes and a wide shoulder, allowing for increased speed (I won't use the term "breakneck"). There was a tentative driver who pulled over for the cars in front of me and I also passed him and stayed ahead all the way to the left turn to Wolf Pen Gap.
Wolf Pen is a three mile climb and probably my favorite of the six. The turns are tight, banked, and a few are pretty steep. I managed the ascent with a gear in reserve, and dipped down the other side. Just like last year, I did too much braking on the curves (but got better with each pass), and arrived back at the cabin exactly at the estimated 2 hours 45 minute time. I can tell you my legs were not happy campers, but then they never are on the first day.

I pick my days based on time constraints, weather, time of day, and lastly, how I feel. The next day I got out in the morning and did the same ride in reverse. Neither Wolf Pen nor Neel's is very strenuous from this direction, but the road down Wolf Pen was wet and dark, so I mitigated the speed (putting a damper on the "wheee" feeling). The descent from Neel's Gap, on the other had, was great, especially with no cars behind you. This is a nine mile, wide curves, and high speed drop. Lots of "whee" here, and only one car passed me. Unfortunately, the traverse over to Woody is more uphill than down. I took a short break before beginning the slow slog up Woody. This narrow, two lane road is more travelled but thankfully the drivers are used to cyclists. I have no idea why the mph is so slow, since the grade is only moderate.

Kurt and Nic (son and wife) arrived Saturday night, so my Sunday ride was a short out-and-back to Wolf Pen Gap. I estimated 45 minutes out and 30 minutes back, but apparently I'm getting better because I was 35 out and 25 back. That gave us plenty of time to sit and chat and absorb the great scenery our cabin presented (I highly tout High Valley Resort). However, this may have proved to be the beginning of my downfall. In the afternoon we became restless, waiting for the other siblings and their family to arrive. Last year, Kurt raced me up Brasstown Bald, him trail-running and me cycling the road. My time was 32:20 and quicker than Kurt by several minutes. Since then, Kurt has completed eight marathons, most of them over trails, and is much more fit. I, on the other hand, have had a poor training season and am less fit. Given the disparity, neither of us felt a need to race, however I proposed we hike up Brasstown Bald, something I have not done in my previous five years.

One hundred yards into the hike I was cursing the fool who suggested hiking. It was a hot, humid afternoon and I was already soaked in sweat. Kurt set a moderate pace, yet I had a difficult time getting my breathing and heart-rate stabilized (Nic was with us and, like Kurt, showed no signs of distress). I'm thinking it took about an hour. Kurt had mentioned a short downhill section to get to the parking lot of Brasstown Bald. Our definitions of short differ, in that my idea was a couple hundred yards. I could say it was a mile, but that would be a slight exaggeration. We couldn't very well just go to the parking lot, we had to complete the mission to the top, another steep climb (although on a nicely asphalted path). We made it to the top, but I didn't make it to the observation deck. I sent them on up while I rested and pondered the state of my health.
Ah! The downhill. Ok, they wore me out coming up the trail. When I considered the long climb from the parking lot (I'd had enough of hiking UP), I balked at taking the trail back to the car. So, we took the road. Half-way down my shins reminded me that they hadn't hiked in a year. Two and a half miles of steep downhill walking really did the shins in. At least my breathing was normal. The clothes were soaked, as was the dry t-shirt I had in the car, two minutes after I put it on.
One of the family goals is to complete the Appalachian Trail (AT) in Georgia. We do this with short hikes and half the time include the grandkids. Monday was a good hiking day, so there was no cycling. We got a late start and the travel logistics put us in the cars more than hiking, but in any case, put in 4 miles on the AT. My shins complained the whole time. Tuesday was also a good hiking day, and we did another 6 miles (without little ones) up to the North Carolina border. The shins merely wimpered. Wednesday morning a heavy shower cancelled both hiking and/or cycling (Hallelujah, a rest day).
Thursday the family activity was swimming. I don't do water. This would be my long day. Skeenah Gap is not one of the six gaps, and is to the north of Suches. It's a great ride and the weather cooperated nicely. Rather than a left turn to climb Woody Gap, a right turn takes me through Suches and several miles of superior downhill. The road was dry, shady, with great turns and several steep ramps which pushed the speed above 40mph. Sixteen miles later I took a right and had some nice, mostly flat riding through scenic countryside. One more right turn brought me to some short, steep hills. I saw deer, a box turtle, no dogs, and only a couple of vehicles. Of course, to get back to the cabin, the last part of the ride took me up and over Wolf Pen again. Fifty-one miles today.

Friday and Saturday were family oriented. Sunday two families returned home, plus church, so I was left with the option of riding in the afternoon heat or foregoing a ride. I opted to once again do the three gap ride, starting with Woody. I had the wind against me going down and had to pedal, albeit in my big gear, the whole way. Hardly any traffic for a Sunday afternoon. I came in ten minutes quicker than previous, although the time up Neel's Gap was the same. I think I did both sides of Wolf Pen faster.

Monday the rest of the family left, some needing a ride to the Atlanta airport. Once again, an afternoon ride was on the agenda. My plan was to do the other three gaps, Unicoi, Hog Pen, and Jack's. But I was looking at a three o'clock departure and in truth had no clue as to the mileage. I knew it was more than 34 and less than 45. As I dropped down the east side of Jack's Gap, the starting point, I calculated the time it might take. By the time I reached the bottom, five miles later, this was looking like a bad idea. But the climb back to the car was just the warm-up I needed for the legs to attack Brasstown Bald, which happened to start where the car was parked.
I'm pretty much resigned to the fact that my body cannot get up that one section of 26% grade without stopping. Once again my heart rate had another 10 bpm (or 14 under max), but the legs/lungs couldn't take it. The legs were shaking pretty bad when I stopped. Let's recap the climb: total of 2.5 miles that starts you off with a 14% grade, then relaxes to between 8-12% before jumping to 15% at the half mile mark, dropping back to 6-8% and jumping to 14% at the mile mark. For the next half mile you are between 9-12%, then you hit 16% followed immediately by the 26% wall (this year the Garmin registered 27% but in the previous years only 26%). After that come ramps of 16% and 17%, then single digits which seem downright flat. Shakey legs and all, my time was 32:09, or 11 seconds faster than last year. The descent took 5 minutes 38 seconds, with speeds topping 40mph, and too-hot-to-touch wheels at the bottom.

Looking on the bright side, I got back to the cabin with time to spare. That left one more day to do the three gaps. Early in the morning I was back at Brasstown Bald, parking and again heading down Jack's Gap. I was the only vehicle on the road. The first mile down is fun, but the other four are pretty boring and necessitated pedaling on occasion. A right turn at the bottom and shortly thereafter the climb up Unicoi. This is only three and a half miles and not difficult and has a great descent. I call it a nine mile descent, but only half of that is challenging, with long straights, chicanes, several U-turns, and many wide turns. When you start paralleling the creek, you know the fun is about to end.
The traverse to Hog Pen. I took my time and didn't let the hills bother me. Two miles later, the turn onto GA 348 signaled the ascent to Hog Pen Gap. According to the computer, this climb is about seven miles long and only tops out at 14%, but there are lots of double-digit ramps. Like last time, I found a need to take a breather about two-thirds of the way up. Beware the false tops, where you think you are done. Believe me, it isn't the crest until you see the AT sign. The descent is faster than Brasstown Bald (43mph with my hands squeezing the brakes) and quite straight. But after a few miles you are into rollers, and at this part of the ride, they hurt. I didn't remember this stretch going on for so long. Eventually I came to the stop sign and turned right.
Immediately I was on the climb up Jack's Gap and it was about six and a half miles of climbing.
I had no strength in the legs, so relied on cadence in a small gear. I must have zoned out, because I don't remember the hills being particularly difficult, the Garmin telling me 8 and 10% hills (not short ramps) and the miles passed relatively quickly. I was only 20 minutes later than my projected time, not bad for not knowing the mileage. Turned out it was a tad under 39 miles. Driving back down, I was more impressed with the hill I had just come up.

So, another foray into the North Georgia mountains has been completed. Can't wait for next year. I have a new plan to strengthen the legs and conquer Brasstown Bald.

GUARDIAN ANGEL

2011-07-03T21:31:00.004-05:00

Barry wanted to ride last Friday. He was going to do 70, how many did I want to do? I replied 60-65, since I need to work up to long rides once or twice a week, and the one with Amy and Chuck last week was my longest so far this year. My fitness has suffered. Speaking of Amy, we invited her along, and Rick (who is soon off to the TdF, Alps).
Wheels down slightly after the 7am planned time, so we could be off the road before noon. The temperature was in the high 70's and no wind (thus humid).
From Berry Springs to Schwertner to Bartlett to Granger, a nice loop. We stopped in Bartlett for fresh water and Gatorade (for them, I had plenty of liquid). None of this has anything to do with a guardian angel (although the ride was very pleasant and practically traffic free). The G A guided our movements to bring our ride in at 55 miles.
Shortly before 11am the wind strengthened out of the south, which happened to be in the direction we were going. Fortunately, it was only for a few miles before we turned east for a few miles and then would turn north and get the wind at our backs. So, as we headed south, we could see by our computers there would need to be a course correction if we were to actually get in 60 miles. Nope, my mouth was bigger than my legs when spouting out I needed 60 miles. But my brain, and body, had the final say and we completed the loop at 55 miles. As we cruised back into the park, all body parts were in agreement that today they had had enough. (Ed. note: the whole point of this entry is that leg and lung strength is only part of the equation. You also need to build up time-in-saddle muscles)
I added another 31 miles on Saturday and today (Sunday) had my fastest ride time ever on the 360 Loop ride (subtracting the 16 minutes to change a flat). About the flat, right after crossing the dam and as I finished up, a DPS trooper stopped by to alert cars and provide protection while I got myself together. I really need to get some tire-toughies if I'm to continue to ride 620.

IF ONLY...

2011-06-26T07:00:00.004-05:00

I had purchased a Garmin with GPS, our innocuous 35 mile ride would not have turned out to be 54.3. If only I had printed out a map rather than rely strictly on a narrative version. Ah well, if a frog had wings...
Amy wanted to ride to Joppa from Andice. This is a nice ride and I hadn't been out that way in several years. I got on Mapquest and mapped it out as I remembered it. We invited Chuck, our 77 year old friend who had a little heart surgery last year and was getting back into shape. Long time readers will remember I wrote about Chuck several years ago, when he lived in Lompoc. He had ridden with Amy before, but that was before she took up her bike class, so his memory of her riding was pedestrian pace.
Anyhow, we met in Andice at 8am and headed west. The sky was overcast but the forecast assured us it wouldn't rain (although an occasional drop did get blown out of the clouds). All went well until Joppa. County road 210 became our undoing. Even though my directions clearly stated we took CR 210 in an ENE direction, with a right turn coming next (my directions didn't give mileage to the next turn), we managed to take CR210 north. Most of the time, a county road will stop in a town (or in this case a crossroad on the map), and take up another number. Unfortunately, CR210 just takes a 90 degree turn at Joppa and continues. In a slight defense, there is a sign indicating CR210 going north but there is no sign going east. So when we saw the sign, and knowing that was the right number, we took it. To exacerbate the situation, the road surface was smooth, the terrain flat, and the wind at our back. We really enjoyed some big-ring cruising.
When we came to the end of the road, we took a right. It seemed like a busier road than what it should, and before long we saw were were on FM 973. Oops! But we were heading east, which at least was the proper direction. I knew we were north of where we should have been, but there were no county roads heading south. Eventually we arrived at US 183. In Watson. Pook! Ding-fu!! Amy has improved immensly, but riding on 183 with no shoulder was beyond her coping ability. We had to find a way.
Chuck saw a group of guys remodeling an old church and went over to talk to them while I phoned home to see what Marilane could tell me by bringing up Mapquest. We could either go back to Joppa, or continue east to Oakalla, then back south-west to Briggs. Guess what: Briggs is on 183. The guys told Chuck CR 211 was right out of Briggs, leading him to believe we could access it from FM 2657. It was 8 miles to Oakalla and 7 miles to Briggs. So we went 15 miles in order to avoid riding 7 miles on 183. Advantage us! Besides, it was a great road and Oakalla is a place most cyclists don't go to (thus affording us bragging rights, which might be construed as dubious).
Well, we had to go about a mile on 183 from Briggs to CR 211. Amy went first, Chuck with his bright white jersey second, and me with my blinking LED was behind, hoping that all the traffic would see us in time to change lanes. There were no incidents, but anxiety was pretty high. Once on 211, we could relax and continue on the journey. One more turn to the south, into the wind. By now, we were approaching 50 miles and Chuck was pretty frazzled, but moving.
With a few miles to go, he really wanted to be by himself, and urged us to let him pedal at his pace to the end. Having been in his shoes before, we agreed and upped our pace, although just like the last time I rode with Amy, she had more power than I.
Once at the car, with Amy stopping at the store for r&r, I loaded the bike and drove back to check on Chuck. He was less than a half mile down the road, so I drove back to the store to load Amy's bike and get a drink, and to eyeball Chuck. Definitely bonked, but nothing lots of liquid and rest couldn't cure.
As a post-script, all three of us enjoyed the ride (except 183). Both Amy and I took power naps, and I suspect Chuck did also. But I knew yesterday afternoon that my Sunday ride would take a hiatus, and the stiffness and soreness when I woke up just verified it was an excellent decision. And now that I know how to get out of Joppa, this would make a good repeat.

NATIONALS

2011-06-22T06:15:00.004-05:00

From the start, I had not looked forward to these Nationals. For one thing, it didn't involve a trip. For another, it was in Houston (Fulshear, actually) in June. As the year progressed and my training didn't (who would have guessed this gosh-awful wind), my displeasure increased. And one more thing: I'm at the oldest in the age-group. Four years makes a difference. So, instead of excited anticipation, I left Monday with a "let's-get-this-over-with" attitude.
I arrived Monday afternoon around 2:30pm in Fulshear. They were just finishing up the 5km races. Temperature about 105 with humidity 80 or so, clear sky. "Perfect" for me to get in a practice ride to see what gears to use. The course was straight as an arrow and generally flat, however the slight grades would necessitate a few gear changes to keep the speed at optimum.
When I got back, I saw the 5km results posted (and the 40km from Sunday that I opted not to ride). Ouch, these guys are really, really fast. Ah well, I'm here for the experience. Off to check into the hotel and find dinner (Carino's, pasta) and relax the evening away.

My start time on Tuesday was 11:15am so there was no rush in the morning. I had breakfast at 6:15am then watched TV until 7am, noting that the forecast was for spotty showers all day, becoming more so in the early evening. At 7am I went down to the Fitness Center and did a half hour on the stationary bike, working up a nice sweat and a very good stretching routine. I did this last year also, with great results. Much better to get warmed-up in the dry air conditioning than in the sauna they call Houston. I showered and laid around until 9am and checked out of the hotel and drove the 30 minutes to Fulshear, stopping to fill up with gas while it wasn't raining.
I checked in, got my race numbers, then did some more warming up, trying to get the heart rate up to where it wouldn't go into shock when I started racing, and letting the quads know they were in for some punishment later. The temperature at 10am was mid-80's and the humidity close to 100%. All the while, I pushed as much fluid as I could. Unless you live (or spent lots of time) on the coast, you cannot comprehend the amount of fluid needed to keep hydrated. The start times were pushed back 15 minutes because one of the older competitors (80-84 age group I was told, not the 90-94 guys) had an accident and needed an ambulance. My computer indicated 97 degrees at start.
Apparently I lost track of time while cruising the back streets, so when I arrived at the staging area I found out that my group had alread left for the start line, but only a minute or so. The start line was several blocks away, not a problem. When I got there I found a much smaller group than anticipated. There were 53 guys in my age group. As I found out later, 21 of them opted out. Ah, the Houston weather took it's toll (and probably other factors).
My turn came and off I went, feeling pretty good and strong. The course was into the west. The expected SE wind was actually SW or South, so I knew I was in trouble. At one point I was sprinkled on, and later I saw the temperature dropped to 92 during that time. When racing I monitor my heart-rate and was pleased to see that I held it around 90-94% of maximum most of the time. Unfortunately, with the wind and lack of sustained training, I could tell I was a gear or two short. But, my body did the best it could do given the circumstances and I'm pleased with that.
Originally I hoped for a top 20 position. When I saw the reduced field, I hoped maybe a top 15, and when I saw how I finished relative to Wally, I thought maybe 10-12th. As it turned out, my finish place was 17th with an average speed of 22.84mph. As a comparison, last year in Fulshear my average speed was 24.9 (silver). That is the speed of this year's 5th place finisher.
On to the next adventure: two weeks cycling in Georgia (and visiting with family and having other fun).

A BIT LATE

2011-06-12T09:42:00.002-05:00

First, the excuses. At State we raced at 5pm and 6:30pm and the temperature at that time was 98 degrees with a stout wind. The course was unfamiliar and somewhat technical. We arrived at 2:15pm when the temperature was over 100 and warmed up (on the wrong course) and sat around letting the heat zap me. And, my legs felt like crud (or similar words). So, realistically, I was pleased as punch to bring home two ostentatious medals. That was Thursday.
Friday I rested. Saturday morning, even though I hate riding on Saturdays, I did my usual 31 mile ride to Hutto and back. Even early, the wind was still up, though out of the south, so mostly a side wind, both ways. I felt great! The legs seemed to know what was expected of them and responded properly. My time was excellent.
That gave me some hope for the Sunday morning ride, this time wheels-down was 6:05am. The problems previously posted never materialized. Once again the legs responded well. Still had wind, but not so bad and not a factor. Finished strong and with the fastest time this year, and close to all-time fastest. I'm hoping this continues for the rest of the year, but since Nationals are next week, at least that long.

STATE TIME TRIALS

2011-06-10T06:32:00.004-05:00

Truthfully, I wasn't looking forward to yesterday's racing. My form is 'way down, and how were the organizers to know that early June would see 5pm temperatures in the high 90's with equally high wind speeds. Whine, whine, whine. Followed by aphorism: it's the same for all the racers. No, it's not! The wind really bullies me more than the other guys.
The course this year was the Texas World Speedway in College Station. We had corners and chicanes and the finishing straight was down pit row. Really, I liked the facility. Marilane accompanied me and suffered through the heat and tedium of sitting around while I warmed up.
Ah, the warm-up. We arrived at 2pm, first race at 5pm. After setting up my trainer, I got on the road bike to take a few laps and get acquainted with the corners, etc. The first thing I found was the headwind at the start would mean a small-chainring gear selection. Normally, I'm in the big chainring the whole race. Well, I got around the course, enjoying the corners, mentally noting where I could shift to a higher gear, leaning and taking corners etc. All too soon I was back at the finish line. A check of my new computer showed 1.7 miles. Hmmm! I guess we are going around twice and be a little over distance. I went around again, a little faster and this time utilized the aerobars. Not bad. The time of 4 minutes and 30 seconds boded poorly for my finish. Stretched, talked with others, and generally let the time pass. Decided to take the tt bike around the course. That was better. It really is a fast bike.
Chris and Alisa brought the grandkids over to watch and visit, but they were a bit late, and the race director a bit early in giving us instructions, so I had very few minutes to sit and chat before having to line up to start. In other races, start times are posted and the racers generally spend the time right before the race in getting warmed up and ready. Not so here. We were lined up and waited.
Having nothing to do while the first fifteen rides went off, we discussed the race course, among other things racing. It was at this time that I found out the 5k was ONE circuit. Ooops! All my pre-race warmups had been on the wrong course. Well, half of it was wrong. That was a shock to the system. Easy enough, just don't ride through the cones. When I see a line of cones, turn (or go) onto some other pavement.
Having been jolted out of my pre-race mentals, I forgot to start the computer. Pook! We started a minute apart, so there wasn't anyone to follow. It wasn't all that bad, except I couldn't set up for the turns as well as I might have and had a few mis-choices of gears. I actually caught and passed one guy, and finished second. Silver is what I expected, since Tom Cole usually takes me in the 5k.
Race over, short warm-down, visited with kids, grandkids. Stretched, did some warm-ups on the trainer. Marilane had taken the opportunity to drive off to find air-conditioning and sustenance. At 6:15, a half-hour before the scheduled start, I grabbed my road bike to again ride the correct course and see if I could improve on my time. Traditionally, my average speed is higher in the 10k. As I reached the gate, the race director began calling us to the line. He had decided to start early so we could finish before the sun went down. Pook! Ding-fu!!
I also had saved some time to change into my skin-suit. No time for that.
We also were starting at 30 second intervals. I had no problem with that. Having raced the course once, I at least had some idea of better gear selection, giving me more speed. A combination of mis-remembering a corner and having additional mph, led me to stay in my aerobars rather than come out of my tuck. This is the first time ever I have over-cooked a corner and ran off the road (about 10 yards) into a field. Fortunately, the dirt was firm and the weeds thin and I was able to stay upright and guide myself back onto the road. It was a small incline, into the wind, and with the loss of momentum, it took a bit to get back up to speed and into my tuck.
The guy in front of me, who I had been gaining on, was long gone. The rest of the lap went well and I conservatively came out of my tuck on several other corners. The second lap had me take the offending corner correctly, keeping my speed. I whistled through the others rather well, but not as well as possible if only I had additional practice on them. As it turned out, my little escapade netted me a bronze medal rather than silver (I'm still not back to form and Mr. Cole is).
There is only a week and a half until Nationals. I have no allusions for medals there. This year is only to experience the atmosphere of being at Nationals. The real goal is Nationals in two years.

ALARMED!

2011-06-06T13:01:00.003-05:00

No, that is overdoing it. Concerned? Of course, I am, but more than that. Perhaps by the end of this writing, I'll have a good word.
The Sunday ride saw me leaving the house at 5:45am (dark) to be ready to ride at 6:10am (not quite so dark). I finally had a day without a fierce wind, and what there was would be at my back in seventy-five minutes. Once again I cursed my Garmin, as it refused to update, leaving me without data, other than I left around 6:10. It wasn't ten minutes later that I knew I was in for a repeat of last week; specifically lack of leg strength.
Perhaps "baffling" is an apt description. My cardio wasn't taxed, and my cadence was good, and without a problem on the flats and downhills. Climbing out-of-saddle also was as it should be. Only the seated climb, when I needed power, caused my quads to feel full of lactic acid. I could not push them to full strength. By my best remembrance, I was two gears short in my seated climbing. Baffling comes in because in spite of the recalcitrant legs, I seemed to be motoring along just fine. Since I had not even a watch, it was all perceived exertion.
I have managed to have a course without any clocks (there was one at the start, but they don't turn it on that early). The only thing I can go on is when one of the many churches lets out. Anyhow, without a wind to beat me up and dropping down a couple of gears on the climbs, I felt really good the whole way. Getting the wind at my back helped, especially the big hills at Steiner Ranch. Every now and then I'd try for some high-gear seated pedaling and each time my legs refused to work. But I had lots left in the tank, and when I passed the catholic church letting out, I knew my time was super.
The clock still hadn't been turned on when I got back to the car, so I dismounted, unlocked it and turned the key on to see the time. Two hours, thirty-five minutes total. Fastest time this year. And, I didn't feel winded, beat up or even like I just pushed out 42 miles. Once again I cursed Garmin.
I was still saying nasty things this morning as I unloaded the TT bike at Old Settlers Park for a final tune-up before State. I brought my old HRM (the one I use when I ride in the kitchen) so at least I could monitor my heart and get my time. My wishful thinking that maybe my legs would relax went down the tubes almost immediately. As we all know, almost all of time-trialing is done seated. Well, I did a warm-up lap and looked to see how long it took. Apparently I double-clutched the button (on/off) because it showed me .3 of a second.
I was a little more careful in pushing the button on the 5k practice, a little careful in pushing the pedals, and conservative in the turns. Even with the lagging legs, my time was the best this year.

Perturbed and/or baffled is what I have settled on. Whatever happens Thursday will happen.

BEEN THERE;DONE THAT

2011-06-01T09:57:00.002-05:00

But it doesn't mean I don't get excited reading about somebody else doing it, especially when my book may have been the final push he needed. Check out Dillon's blog of his east/west coast-to-coast bike ride. Of course, he is much more adventuresome than I, doing it without sag support. He also takes better, more interesting pictures.

WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE...

2011-05-28T20:45:00.002-05:00

In my book I opine that exercise is a very easy habit to break, and two things that keep you on track are variety and friends. Variety helps belay boredom and friends can get you out when you would rather not. Such was the case with today's ride.
I prefer to not ride on Saturdays and really don't like riding in the wind. Thus, I was peacefully planning a quiet day of stretching etc when Amy sent me an email. Her calendar was open Tuesday and Thursday, and she would be riding from her house out to Andice (30 miles north) tomorrow (that is, Saturday). Timing is everything. What with wind and various appointments, my mileage is way down and State Time Trials only two weeks away. My legs need work. And, I wanted to see how she got from her house to Parmer Lane (5 miles).
So, after several communications, we agreed I'd ride over to her house (1.7 miles) around 7am. Not even waiting for the sun to get them going, when I looked out the back door at 6:15am, the trees were already bending in the stiff south wind. We would have fun going to Andice and pay dearly coming home.
Five miles of neighborhood, twenty miles of Parmer/Ronald Reagan, five miles of county roads put us into Andice. Twenty miles of rolling hills, with a lot of big ring riding, but not really pushing a pace. A nice downhill was interrupted by hitting something (no clue what) that gave me a pinch-flat. The flat-changing god smiled kindly upon me. With a minimum of movement, I had it changed and used the CO2 without a problem. The rest of the ride north was uneventful.
Lots of cyclists use Parmer Lane and many stop at the Andice store. Amy refilled her water bottles (I had about 80 ounces in my Camelbak) and after a short break we started back. This section also had no drama, other than gusts of wind that threatened to blow us over. Because my riding this year so far has very few days over 43 miles, I was beginning to fade after 45 miles. However, I still had enough to not be an embarrassment to Amy. And since we weren't fighting the wind for excess speed, we were able to keep a nice, even pace.
Sometimes I describe riding into a wind as brutal. Today might have been ferocious, but not brutal. While extremely tired, at least I didn't feel beat up. I may even have enough left in the tank to take my Sunday ride.

On another note: From the "They don't make them like they used to" department, I dragged an old bike out of the attic recently. The tire was flat, but when I began to put air in the tube, it had no problem staying inflated. The tube is twenty-five years old.

STARS ALIGNED

2011-05-17T11:52:00.002-05:00

Yesterday we had a great day to ride: mid-60's, slight wind. Five of us left the park at 8:30am, because I had a doctor's appointment later in the afternoon. Two of the folks I had not met before, although Rick, recently retired, had sought advice on doing the TdF and had purchased my book. My plan was to just get in some mileage, having done a hard workout Sunday.
We did 33 miles at around 15mph and my heart-rate average came in at 106, so I definitely wasn't working.
One of the things I hate is changing a flat, even more so when riding with strangers. But, once again (this happens more often than actually having a flat on the road), I finished the ride and when I got home and prepared to hang up the bike, I found the rear tire flat.
Well, the rear tire was twenty months old, and the front one sixteen, and I had purchased replacements a few months ago, so this morning I sat down in the kitchen and installed new tires and tubes. One of the new tubes didn't hold air. The old one that went flat had a pinhole leak, found by submerging in water. I had replaced the rear and was finishing up the front when I noticed some printing on the tire. Specifically, I saw "rotation" followed by an arrow. Pook!

As it turned out, both tires were mounted in the proper direction of rotation so I didn't have to take either off and turn it around. Lots of little irritations had been avoided. This is a good sign.

NO EXCUSES...

2011-05-10T09:09:00.002-05:00

Of course there are. I have plenty of them. The most prevalent is "too much wind." Yesterday, Monday, it was difficult walking, let alone riding. So that became stretch and stength day, inside. Sunday I did my regular ride, but even leaving at 6:30am the wind was still strong in my face for the first hour.
Not that it mattered much, because on Sunday my legs took a day off. D'you know how the quads feel at the end of a hard ride? That's how mine were at the start of the day and they never loosened up or gained power. Each time I tried to get serious, they threatened to cramp. Even with the wind at my back I was a couple of gears short.
Ah, but the 42 miles were done and are in the bank.

GOD SPOKE, I LISTENED...

2011-05-01T12:19:00.003-05:00

Perhaps He didn't speak and rather I just interpreted certain events and changed my actions because of them. I prefer to think we have communication. Here is what transpired:
The weather forecast called for a stout wind and possible thunderstorms this morning. Sunrise was at 6:47, meaning my start time would be 6:35, leaving the house at 6:15, thus out of bed at 5 (to take medication an hour before breakfast). Once again, I turned over one too many times and actually started moving 15 minutes late. To make up time, I made all preparations, including getting dressed, before breakfast, having first checked the radar and seeing no green.
I've said it before: changing your routine requires extra thought and woe to those who ignore this fact. So, six minutes into driving to my start I realized I'd forgotten my computer (I had the chest strap on, but the computer was next to the computer). It's not that I can't do the loop without, but I wanted to monitor the heart-rate. This extra fifteen minutes meant the sun was up, thus the wind would be stronger as I headed into it, and there would be more bikes and cars on the road.
Computer secured, I headed back to the start place. Almost there I realized that I had forgotten my water (filled with PowerAde) bottles (twice, actually). Putting me an additional half hour behind would mean I'd be in church traffic (three churches) for the first hour and two churches and a golf course in the last hour. I had two 20oz bottles of water and, although not intending to wear it, my Camelbak, which had several Clif bars, so plans changed.
Regular water bottles, with screw caps, meant having to stop to drink (I had the Camelbak but the reservoir was hanging in the garage, drying out). Instead of sipping continuously (or, every few minutes), I now had to pull over and stop, because I don't ride without a hand on the bars.
Once I started rolling, it became quite evident I had no legs today. Stopping to drink and eat actually gave me about five short rest stops, contributing to getting me through the 42 miles without cramping or bonking. The long stops were about a minute, the short ones 30 seconds. Having to wear the Camelbak added time. But, since God had given me multiple signals (remember the joke about the guy who drowned waiting for God?), before turning a pedal I had already resigned myself to being pedestrian and following His will. He saw to it I had a good ride today.

ENDURANCE, CHECK; POWER,?

2011-04-25T05:26:00.003-05:00

Yesterday's ride wasn't a disaster. A bit of discombobulation at the beginning got me out of routine, however. Late getting up, late leaving, a few minutes late getting to the start. It got a few more minutes late as I looked at the computer and realized I'd forgotten to switch from the time-trial read-out (which only showed BPM and RPM). Frustration because I forgot how to switch it back (actually I could switch it, but added the extra push of the "enter" button and it kept reverting to the tt screen). OK, I would just live with it.
Then I saw the screen indicating my heart was beating at 30BPM. Dang! As it turns out, I need a new battery, but for this ride, I also had no accurate reading. But, back to the topic of the day.

The first hill is short, so I gave no thought when it took an extra gear to get up and over. The next is longer and steeper. Generally, I do this in the middle ring with a cog to spare. Sometimes, I use the last one (28). Surprise! Quickly into the granny and moved right up to the 28. Once past the 24% ramp I dropped back a cog, but I gave my legs a dirty look. Where had all the power gone?
I now had the four hills on Loop 360 with which to contend. I concentrated on RPMs, keeping above 80 most of the time and no longer worrying about what gear it took to keep spinning. It wasn't until I turned onto Bee Cave that I wondered what my time was. Then it crossed my mind that I hadn't hit the "start" button on the timer. I gave it a stab and saw the "timer started" across the screen.
Now, with a following wind, the hills were not so intimidating, but I was still a gear or two short. Making the turn back on FM620, I generally kept the wind behind, on my right shoulder, but occasionally on my right. This might not turn out so bad if I could get a boost up the dam and Steiner Ranch. My hopes were dashed as I went down toward the dam with a strong wind in my face. The flat road across the dam had me in the middle ring. I got a break going up to Steiner Ranch and once over the top, the slight turn to the left was all I needed to put the wind again behind on my right shoulder.
All this time, my RPMs stayed at or above 80 and my energy level was good. Even turning into the wind at Anderson Mill didn't slow me down. It would have been nice to know my heart-rate, but the perceived exertion was only in the 7 range.
My average speed of 17.2mph (for the 1hr 41min it was on) exceeded the average for this loop, so I'm happy with that. I just need to find where the power went.

GREAT TIME TRIAL PRACTICE, PLUS...

2011-04-21T14:20:00.002-05:00

Finally! Easily the best tt practice this year, and maybe one of the best ever. Not the fastest, just a really good workout. Here is how it came about: 1) I paid attention to the weather forecast; 2) The weather forecast was spot-on; 3) I felt good and strong to the end.
The forecast called for the wind to die down last night, to be light out of the northeast, then moving to the east and strengthening during the day. I left the house at 7:45am and drove to Old Settlers Park, my own personal tt training road. By 8:15am I had started my warm-up loop, 3.1 miles. Zero wind. After a short break, I did my 5k tt practice. The time was average, but RPMs were what I concentrated on, and they we pretty good at 82 per minute.
Next came a 10k, twice out-and-back. Again, an average time, but I kept the 82 rpm average. A breeze had started. Usually, this early in the season, that is the extent of my practice, But I felt strong, so did another 5k run. Slower by 5 seconds than my first one, but I only dropped to 81 rpm. The wind had shifted to the east and increased in strength.
I called it a day, on the bike. But upon arriving home, a quick shower and I was off to the gym for Body Flow (combination of yoga and pilates), the Plus in the title. I quickly found out that these two exercises should not be undertaken back-to-back. Static stretches were fine, and I benefitted greatly from the hip-openers. The balance moves couldn't be held, and several positions could not be attained. Toward the end, both calves were threatening to rebel. Ah, well! Now I know.

#@%! HAPPENS...

2011-04-19T13:54:00.002-05:00

I know my heart and lungs are in great shape. Besides all the cycling, the myriad tests last year confirmed my excellent health. However, I worry about the unknown assassins lurking in wait of the unwary. I'll tell you up-front, all is well now, but this past Saturday we received quite a scare.

Marilane was out running errands and I try not to cycle on Saturdays, other exercises being the agenda. In this case, push-ups. I'm following the six-week program and just started week six, in the middle column. I'd completed sets of 40, 50, and 25 and was resting for the next set when suddenly I got weak and woozy (this term because I didn't lose consciousness but certainly wasn't thinking clearly).

Anyhow, I monitored myself while supine and there was no pain, no nausea, just really, really weak. Both my blood pressure and heart rate had dropped precipitously. I waited for this to pass, but ten minutes went by and I was still afraid to move from my now half-sitting position.

Marilane came home and I apprised her of the situation. First call the bookstore and advise I would not show up for my book-signing. Then we decided 911 would be appropriate. The fire department came, they were very nice, checked my blood and blood pressure. The ambulance came, they were very nice. Gave me an EKG and a ride to Seton Williamson County. They were very nice, gave me a bag of saline, another EKG, another blood sample. In two hours I was on my way home.

Here is what I learned: my efforts apparently triggered a Vagus nerve incident. In simple terms, the Vagus nerve regulates lots of stuff, and whatever I did, it thought my heart might explode, thus shut it down (not completely, just to protect me from myself). This resulted in the drop in blood pressure and heart-rate. The doctor advised that should it happen again, lay still with my feet elevated until I felt better.

I took Sunday off, but was back cycling on Monday (in the kitchen on my trainer, closely watching my HRM). No problems. Tuesday (today), the wind and smoke kept me off the bike, but I went to Body Flow at the gym, and just now completed Day 3 of Week 5 push-ups (dropping back to give me a few days to rebuild). For those not wishing to link over, that consists of sets of 20,20,24,24,20,20,22,50. Ah, but this time utilizing a different approach. For one thing, I was warmed up. No more dropping to the floor and starting cold. For another, between each set, rather than sit and recover, I stood and walked around a bit and drank some water. And, because it is possible I had been holding my breath and straining, I now am extremely conscious of regular breathing.

RESULTS ARE IN

2011-04-12T08:50:00.003-05:00

This is more interesting than important. While I don't like competing with the younger guys, it is always interesting to see how things stacked up against the whole field. Of course, like in any race, not all the fast guys show up. Keep in mind Senior Games has 5-year increments, starting at age 50. In the 10k time trial on Saturday, first place overall was my friend Peter Lekisch (he is in the 70-74 group). Second place was the winner of the 50-54, third was the winner of 55-59, fourth to Bill Corty in the 65-69, fifth and sixth in the 50-54, and I placed 7th (second in my age group). Everyone else was slower. In the 5k time trial on Sunday, first place was the winner of 55-59, second place (one second slower) was the winner of 50-54, third place was Peter (7 seconds slower than 1st). Forth place was in the 50-54 group and fifth was Bill Corty, sixth was in the 50-54 group and again I placed 7th overall.

In the grand scheme of things, in the 10k I was faster than 4 younger guys and in the 5k was faster than 5 younger guys.

SENIOR GAMES, SAN ANTONIO, 2011

2011-04-11T08:36:00.002-05:00

This spring has been the pits as far as training. The fact that I don't let a good vacation go to waste exacerbates the situation. Yes, I cycled in California and cycled in Georgia and South Carolina, but that wasn't hard-core training. Back at home, the wind has been relentless. So, with that caveat, we move on to this week-end's competition. San Antonio's Research Park is a great venue. It has a 2.5 mile loop with two hills, great asphalt, no traffic. It always has wind, and this year was no exception, about 25mph out of the SE. Saturday afternoon starts with a 10km time-trial followed by a 20km road race. Sunday morning is a 5km time-trial and a 40km road race. I wasn't happy to see Bill Corty, as I knew he was much faster than I, as is Peter Leikisch but he has moved on to the 70-74 age group. In a time-trial, the more you can go all-out, the better you will place. It also helps to have a tt bike and be able to assume a good aero position in order to hide from the wind as much as possible. I have the bike and position. I can also say that for this race I had an average heart rate in the 93% range. 13 out of 17 minutes were in Zone 5. You can't get much better than that, and the result was second place behind Corty. In the hour and a half between races, I changed wheels on my bikes, since the tt Zipp wheels are much better than my Rolfs. In doing so, I somehow assumed an incorrect position and suddenly developed sciatica over my left hip. It wouldn't go away. That was all I needed to decided that discression was the better part of valor, and packed up and went home. Sunday morning, I had a difficult time getting up and down but no problem on the bike. The short tt went well, once again coming in second behind Bill. Stats for this race are typical of my 5k: average heart rate in the 80% range and only 26 seconds in Zone 5. I just can't get properly warmed up. The 40k race, 10 laps, went well. Bill tried to go solo but the wind was too much for him and after 5 laps he dropped back into our pack. I felt pretty good and on each lap would stand and pedal up one of the hills in order to keep my hamstrings ready for the big sprint I knew would come at the end. I had my finishing tactics all worked out. On the 9th lap, when I stood to pedal, my quads grumbled a bit, so I quickly sat down. A mile later we came to the beginning of the last lap and suddenly my left hamstring seized up. Not just a cramp, it flat froze, causing me to utter a loud expletive, unclip the leg and come to a stop. I'd like to say a few seconds massage released it, but it took several minutes before I could even put enough weight on it to lift my right leg over the saddle. Game over. I'm now home for two months, no trips, and ready to put some serious training it (right after I get a massage and can move my leg, which is still complaining).

SOUTHERN LIVING

2011-04-04T06:46:00.005-05:00

My wife has visited both Charleston, SC and Savannah, Ga on several occasions and wanted me to also feel the charm of these two historic cities. The calendar showed an opening for the last week of March, so we took the opportunity. This worked out perfectly, for as we left Texas and got into Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia, the wisteria and dogwood brightened the landscape, bringing the occasional ooh! or ahh! Yes, the bike and four kits were in the car. We arrived in Savannah in time for dinner and a ghost tour. The next morning I left for a short 20 mile ride (having found the directions online). Fortunately, I'm not traffic-adverse so the lack of shoulder didn't bother me too much. The vehicles shared the road and I had no incidents. Eventually I came to a really nice stretch, with trees on both sides creating a shaded arch. When this road merged with a major highway (my directions indicated I should continue on this highway) without shoulder I started looking for an alternative and within 50 yards saw a bike-route sign leading off to the left. The road was good, sparse traffic, and I meandered along until it also hit a major road, then turned around and retraced my steps. Total: 25 miles. Back in Savannah, we started walking. The old city was designed around parks. Camillias had not yet finished blooming, but the azaleas were gorgeous and had just blossomed out a few days before. The parks, and the main street , burst with a profusion of color. Spanish moss hung everywhere. Since this is a cycling blog, I'll move on, as we did, to Charleston. The weather was cold and misty, with occasional drizzle. That didn't hamper us taking a walking tour, and a horse tour. We ate at Paula Dean's and drove to Tybee Island. We toured, but what I didn't do was cycle. Our departure day came and with it sunshine, no wind. Not one to let this opportunity pass, I bundled up (40 degrees when I started), and rode out to Folly Beach (thanks to coastalcyclists.org) and back, still getting showered and packed before check-out time. Post script: I had maps, clothes, and intention of getting in four rides. Sometimes things don't turn out as planned. No regrets, the touring alternatives were great. BTW, I am putting in paragraphs but Blogspot keeps condensing.

CALIFORNIA

2011-03-17T07:57:00.002-05:00

For the last five years, my friend Byran (from Portland, Or) and I would visit our friend, Ray, in Lompoc, CA for a week of riding. Originally we came because the Amgen Tour of California was in February and we got to see the pros in action. Then they moved the tour to May, but we still came. This year Byran couldn't make it, so it was just me.
I came for a week and rode six days. The first day we cycled to Surf Beach, on the ocean, and I took several pictures. The next morning, early, my wife called to inform me of the tsunami that would be hitting in an hour. I was tempted to later send her the picture from the previous day and tell her we went over to see it come in, but in view of the seriousness of the disaster, decided that would be in poor taste.
Anyhow, we had some great riding, although somewhat chilly. I only took my tights off on two half days (first half of the ride with them on, took them off on the way back), and always had two layers on my chest (the very windy day also had the wind jacket on).
This is the last year of going to California. Ray is moving to South Carolina. I guess I can go east just as well as west.

GOAL SETTING WOES

2011-03-04T07:57:00.002-06:00

50 years ago, Business 101 advocated: 1) Determine your goal; 2) Research and develop plans how to achieve it; 3) Implement the best plan; 4) Monitor progress to be sure you are on track; and 5) Adjust if the plan is not on target. Of course, variations mutated, but the basis is the same today. As an aside, the new generation of managers seems to have forgotten 4 and 5 and take it as an affront if anyone says their plan isn't working. But, you ask, how does this pertain to my cycling?
At the beginning of the year I thought it would be good to get into USAC racing to help improve my overall speed and stamina. After last year's State Championship race result (last) I harbored no hopes of winning, but just the effort gave me encouragement. I researched the standings and while there was no chance of coming close to first or second in accumulated points, the large gap to third gave me a goal to shoot for. Additionally, even placing last, I gathered a handful of points. Taken with my second place finish in the time trial, my final placing (with only two USAC races) was 21st. Thus, I reasoned, if I entered sufficient races this year, I could gather enough points to compete for third in the final standings. That became my goal, and my plans to achieve it.
Now that I have two race week-ends under my lycra, reality has set in. I had done a really, really poor job of research. For instance, I knew I'd be racing in the 60+ category, that they didn't have a 65-69 bracket except at State. What I didn't know, but should have, is in the races the 60+ guys are grouped with the 50+ guys. The older guys are shelled in a hurry, and at the moment, I'm the first one to go.
The other factor not taken into account was the number of really fast 59 year olds who this year are in my bracket. Last year there were 8-12 in my age group; this year 16-20 and all faster than me. Thus, my points gathering has now been seriously diminished.
Unlike the current crop of managers, I have no problem admitting an error in planning. There is no plan adjustment I can make to get me to the goal, so the goal will have to be reset. Still a challenge, but rather than a podium finish, I now am shooting for top ten.

PAINFUL LEARNING EXPERIENCES

2011-02-28T09:54:00.004-06:00

This past week-end I participated in my first stage race, in Mineral Wells, Tx. In this stage race, you must complete in a time trial, criterium, and road race. Failure to participate in all three will result in zero points. In my case, I had the 7.5 mile time trial at 10:22am and the 45 minute criterium at 2:30pm on Saturday. The road race, 49 miles, started at 11:15am on Sunday.
I managed to preview the tt course and found it contained five (count 'em) hills, two of which were significant (I think three but don't want to exaggerate). Needless to say, the small chain-ring would see considerable use. As would the small cog on the downhills. The weather was good, other than a fairly stout south wind, which would be at our backs helping to neutralize the hills.
My place, for my purposes, was 2nd. My purposes are those within the 65-69 age group. Officially, in the 60+ category, I placed 11th. Since this was the tt, it didn't matter that we were grouped with the 50+ guys.
However, in the criterium, it mattered a lot. Racing against guys 18-19 years younger than yourself might be ok if you are 30 or 40 years old. By the way, I was the oldest guy racing this week-end. It took less than a minute and one climb before most of the group was ahead of me. The .6 mile circuit had one hill, four right turns and one left. I lost another place on the second circuit, two more places on the third circuit. After the fourth circuit the referee pulled me from the race. However, he also pulled the three in front of me and the one behind me. Being pulled by the official is not the same as not completing the race, so we still received points and were allowed to enter the road race. My finish was next to last.
For the road race, the wind, still from the south, picked up. Not quite howling, but very significant and about 50% more than last week in Walburg. The way the 24.5 mile course was laid out, only one short four mile leg actually had the wind at our backs. I dreaded being dropped.
And of course, since we were still grouped with the 50+ guys, dropping was a certainty. However, given the wind in their face (actually from their left shoulder), the leaders weren't about to expend excess energy on the first lap. I positioned myself on the right, out of the wind, and only about five riders back. I think we dropped a dozen riders immediately, but can't be sure because the results haven't been posted yet. Anyway, I hung on for nine miles until we turned and put the wind at our backs and a slight downhill. My speed was in the mid-30's and rpms quite high, but the pack moved away quickly. I wasn't the only one dropped at this point, but when I slowed a fraction to let my heart-rate drop back to 90%, I lost another four riders.
One of the four came back to me on the really big hill; I passed and within minutes he had dropped from view. I had one other straggler about a quarter mile ahead, but apparently he caught his second wind and once we turned into the wind, I couldn't close the gap.
Similar to Walburg, the second lap was by myself. The wind really slowed my progress, but while I never caught up with anyone, no one in my group passed me. I am now waiting to see if I really was again second to last, or if I came in the top ten.
I might be getting more fit. While tired, I wasn't near as wiped-out as last week. But my piriformis really need tlc.

REDEMPTION, OF SORTS

2011-02-21T17:21:00.002-06:00

One of the things that depressed me about the past weekend's rides was my inability to get my heart-rate into zone 4 for any length of time. My "perceived exertion" was 8 or 9, so maybe my mind was playing tricks on me. I thought I'd trained better than that.
However, after a day of rest I reviewed my stats again and saw that the average heart-rate of 133 fell above the zone 4 minimum. How strange! Obviously, with more oxygen to the brain, I concluded my computer zones were out-of-whack. Of course! I hadn't reset everything when it came back from Garmin. A few quick clicks showed me the computer thought my max HR should be 185 when in reality it is 167 (or was last year when I challenged Courtyard). Much better.
I had cleared the memory when moving the data to my spreadsheet, so I can't re-calculate the time spent in zone 4, but I can look at the chart and get a good idea. Yes, I deserved to feel as wiped out as I did. Most of the time was low zone 4.

REALITY BITES!

2011-02-21T05:15:00.002-06:00

Ok, I knew I wasn't in race-shape, not this early in the year. And, in truth, I'm more comfortable doing time-trials. Yet I committed myself to doing USAC races this year, to get more fit and faster. This week-end was the first of three, with seven races total.
Walburg has a reputation of being cold and wet and windy. It is also 48 miles in length, two loops of 24. This year it was only windy. I think they had a record turnout. We had 19 in our age group and 33 in the 50+ age group, which unfortunately we were grouped with. These guys hammer from the moment the flag drops.
Not a problem for the first mile, downhill and flat with the wind behind us. Not a problem on the first hill. Hanging in at 40mph going downhill. But as we approached the crest of the second hill I passed a rider on the right. This put me temporarily out of the slipstream of the peloton. They again ramped up the speed and before I could jump in beind, I lost 5 yards. This became 10 yards and all of a sudden, I couldn't go fast enough to catch on.
Three miles into it, and now I had 45 to go by myself. One other straggler carried on about 400 yards ahead. Then, after five miles by myself, four of the guys who had been dropped on the hills came up behind, having formed a pace line. I jumped on behind and within a minute had caught the guy ahead, who also joined our crew. Just in time, in that we now had a right turn directly into the wind.
With six guys alternating, we kept a reasonable speed into the wind and at the next right turn, into the side wind. But the wind took its toll, first dropping two guys and a few miles from the end of the first lap, another. Going up the hill into Walburg, my left hamstring started to grumble and I let the other two go. First lap completed in 1 hour 12 minutes.
But I had another lap to go by myself. Yuck! I kept the rpms up, sacrificing some speed but made it most of the way without problems. With four miles to go, several muscle groups were on the verge of rebellion, so I apportioned labor equally and soft-pedaled in. Second lap at 1 hour 25 minutes. The wind really beat me up.
Sunday was the Pace Bend Park race. 44 miles, seven laps of a six+ mile course. This time we were grouped with the 40+ and 50+. I'll make this short. At the start of the race, my foot couldn't get clipped into the pedal quick enough and I found myself at the back of the pack, them doing a right turn, going downhill, again at top speed. The main pack of younger riders was out of sight in a hurry, but a second group formed just twenty yards ahead. But just like yesterday, I chased and chased up and down three hills before waving them goodby. Besides, my piriformis were not working well at all. I had stretched the hams and quads and calves, but forgot the hip-openers. The wind was even higher than at Walburg, like flags-out-straight strength. I gave it up after the first lap.
Next week should be better, a 7 mile time-trial in the morning, 45 minute criterium in the afternoon, and a 33 mile race on Sunday.

CONSTANT VIGILANCE! 2

2011-02-06T12:52:00.003-06:00

After four days of inside exercise you would think I'd jump at a chance to get out and ride as soon as the weather moderated. I monitored the weather forecast closely. Saturday morning early the sun was out, 40 degrees, no wind. Forecasted to go to 54F, I prepared to depart, to the extent the bike was in the "go" position, I had my gear on. Then I saw a few things flying past the window. Where did this wind come from? Marilane called to say the flags were standing out straight. I paused and pondered. 54 degrees is still pretty chilly, wind out of the south meant I'd have a side wind both ways on my east-west course. I'd been beaten up by the wind several times on this course and decided to pack it in. Besides, I had the manuscript to my sequel to work on. Several hours later I walked out to check the mail. Hmmm! Still windy, but not biting, and the temperature seems pretty warm. I checked the thermometer: 65. Bummer, this was doable. I hate riding in the late afternoon, so while I could have, I went back to the computer.

With Saturday missed, I felt more pressure to ride Sunday. The high Saturday actually got to 70 degrees at my house. I checked the forecasts for Sunday. But first I'll mention that I don't understand why after missing the high temperature by 15 degrees, several stations still were calling for freezing Saturday night (and one station hadn't moved from predicting the mid-20's. I made plans to get out two hours after sunrise (or about 9am). I had to start early because the forecast called for a front to move through, with a cold northwest wind, starting around noon. They actually said afternoon, but a look at the system convinced me it would come earlier than that. Sure enough, the temperature only dropped to 39 at my house. I re-evaluated and decided to get out at 8am instead.
Since the first hour on my Sunday ride heads south, into the wind, the earlier the better, before the sun had a chance to strengthen the wind. Sure enough, I had a breeze in my face, but after two right turns headed me back east (actually northeast) on 620, the wind, now quite strong, was at my back. Yipee! Steiner Ranch caused no problem today. Home before the front.
I'm still a little frosted (pun intended) that I didn't continue to monitor Saturday's weather and get that ride in. Constant Vigilance! And its companion: Believe, but verify.

EOM PRATTLE

2011-01-31T08:54:00.002-06:00

Earlier this month I worried about not getting enough outside riding. Through the 16th I had less than 100 miles in 4 rides. With today's planned 32 miles, I'll come in right at 400 and will have had 11 of the 14 days outside. In addition, I've received my money's worth of gym workouts, having made 11 visits for either weights, yoga, or spin classes.
But here is how all of this came about: Last Friday I had spin class in the morning and usually that is my big workout and the afternoon devoted to abdominals and yoga standing poses. However, the weather turned so nice, I drove up to Walburg and did one lap (24 miles) of the upcoming road race. My legs were approaching jelly when I finished. No problem, I usually take Saturday's off.
The weather forecast called for rain Saturday evening lasting through the morning. That would put a crimp in my Sunday ride, so I opted for an easy Saturday 31 miles in the cloudy early afternoon. An aside: I put on my pink lenses to help visibility, but miraculously the clouds blew away. Pink lenses in the sun always make my eyes "jump" for a couple hours after I get home. A second aside: operative word "blew." My out and back course took 53 minutes out, 75 minutes back. Again, my tights held my muscles in place because surely they would have fallen off otherwise. Ah, but I had Sunday off....
The rainy weather stayed south, and Sunday morning was fine, just some clouds. I did my hill ride and am pleased to report that the legs responded nicely and my time excellent. Now I could take a few days off....
Eric sent an email asking if we wanted to ride at 11am Monday since the rest of the week would be crap. Well, I will show up and see what happens. I know I'll have Tuesday off.

HIT ASPHALT; WENT BLANK

2011-01-25T06:12:00.002-06:00

Not me, my Garmin 305. 25mph, downhill, roughish road bounced my bike computer out of the holder and onto the road. Dang! It took a bit to realize what happened, stop, and walk back to the scene of the disaster. I also lost one of the buttons. Pook, ding-fu!
I originally planned to ride in the kitchen, but with the weather not as depressing as forecast, I took the opportunity to get in my hill workout. Similar to last week, except a few degrees colder, I actually felt pretty good. Until losing the computer. I gathered it up, and continued the ride.
Neither Courtyard nor Jester felt as tough as usual, but I don't have stats, only perceived exertion. Once home I emailed Garmin to see if they feel they can rehab the computer. If not, I'm in the market for a new one. Cycling goes on.
Today I really am riding in the kitchen, with my old HRM.

THE UGLY, THE GOOD, AND THE BAD

2011-01-20T08:10:00.003-06:00

I've always said "make a face" but I believe "pull" a face is the same thing. In any case, last Monday was my first ugly face; I realized my first race was a month away and it is 48 miles. When in my best shape last fall, my longest race was 28 miles. Actually, the longest race I entered was 33 miles, but I was so far behind after the first 10, it turned into a training run. So, 48 is quite a stretch, especially for February. Thus I made a face and went out and rode 47 miles. The pace was pedestrian and I really just wanted to know what it felt like after a lot of time in spin class and weight training. I gave thanks for my tights, in that I'm sure they were the reason my muscles didn't fall off the bones.
The other ugly face came Tuesday morning. Monday night the weather forecast called for overcast morning and 20+mph winds starting around noon, with the temperature rising from mid-40's to mid-60's. I planned my hill ride for 10am, thus finishing at 11:30am. Early Tuesday morning my favorite weatherman opined he thought the wind would have come through by now (7:10am). So I got myself together after making a face, and managed to be ready to ride at 9am. The wind started around 8am.
Temperature on the marquee read 47F. But, putting my best spin on it, the wind out of the north gave me 30 minutes to warm up before turning back into it. That counts as "Good."
Monday's mileage and the wind in my face climbing Courtyard and Jester is the "Bad." Once again I thanked my tights for holding my muscles together.
Wednesday I previewed the race course, which is two 24 mile laps. I'm expecting the winners to come in around 2 hours 15 minutes. I did it in 3hr 10min. Hmmmmm. While that sounds bad, I'm not worried yet. My heart rate monitor showed a lot of time in Zone 3, not much time in Zone 4 and zero time in Zone 5. Three weeks to bring my speed up to something respectable.

ADVENTURES IN SPIN CLASS

2011-01-13T05:57:00.005-06:00

Cycling outside being minimal and predictable this time of year, I turn to what's happening in spin class, which itself is generally without adventure (some would say boring). Yesterday had a few things out of the ordinary. First off, the Wednesday noon class is usually quite full and with the January influx of folks who made resolutions to get in shape, yesterday was over-full. They do a good job in cutting off the sign-up list at 25 (24 yesterday because we had two instructors), but # 22,23, and 24 found out that all the bikes were taken and were grousing. Our instructor has no tolerance for folks who don't use the sign-up sheet, so once it was determined who the folks were (it took a while because they claimed their bikes then left the room), they were dismissed and the bikes turned over to the signees. First time I had seen that happen.
Ah, two instructors (who could have passed for twins). They were introducing a new choreography and were truly syncronized. Plus, I can tell you now, this workout had me about ten beats higher than the previous classes. One of the regulars brought her brother to class. About ten minutes into it, a loud noise emanated from his bike. His chain had broken. Immediately, sister gave up her bike and departed the class and he readjusted hers and was back pedaling within a minute. I'd never seen, nor heard of, a chain break in class.
At the end of the workout, as we were cooling off, the instructor asked who had heart-rate monitors. Surprisingly, very few of us raised our hands. Me being closest, she asked "how much did you burn?" This is funny. I heard her words but was a tad slow in computing their meaning, and to cover up, I asked her to repeat, while I fathomed her request. I rejected if she were asking about my lactic acid build-up, then realized she was asking about calories burned. When I answered instead that my heart-rate was plus 10, she got her answer from another person: 540. My Garmin counts calories, but the HRM I use in spin class is my old one and I had to wait until I got home to check the manual to see if I mis-remembered how to access that info. Nope, it doesn't count calories.
So, here are the thoughts running through my mind: 1) More folks in class should be using HRMs; 2) Apparently lots of folks, instructor included, gauge their workout by what the computer shows as calories burned (with all that entails in terms of motivation); 3) I never look at the calories burned on my Garmin, and don't intend to start. My gauge is time-in-zone, mostly zone 4.
Seriously, if you ride a bike with some goal in mind, you need to have a measurement of how you are doing. That's why I love my Garmin, it gives me lots of data. While my prime measure is TIZ, I occasionally switch to cadence, and always in the back of my mind is overall time, but that is so dependant on weather and traffic, it is never a good indication of how hard you worked. Only when time-trialing do I look at speed.

AH, THE INCONCRUITY!

2010-12-22T14:56:00.002-06:00

Perhaps purists will take umbrage with the description. But, alas, today I found myself cycling to spin class. Even the receptionist made a comment. However, they were nice enough to let me bring my $10,000 bike inside.
This whole scenario was a series of oopsies on my part. It actually stems from 1) Being retired, thus not caring what day of the week it is; and 2) The Christmas Season, further exacerbating not knowing what day it is. By way of explanation, of sorts, I'll first state that Friday the spin class is 8:45am which puts me back home (driving) at 9:45am. This is what was on my mind when I saw that Marilane needed the car at 10am today. No problem.
Unfortunately, Wednesday's spin class is at noon. And double pook! Ding-fu, I also forgot a 10am appointment. Again, not a problem, the appointment location is only a few blocks from the gym, and both ony about 2.5 miles from the house. Yesterday's 84 degrees is but a memory, with 55 and a cold north wind. Uncomfortable, but for only 12-13 minutes. I have done it in the past on my old bike, locking it to the fence (my first appt. place).
Ah, the old bike. It has old pedals. Spin class bikes have Shimano SPD's. I have SPD's. They are on my custom titanium, never-let-out-of-your-sight bike. I rode it to the appt and locked it to the fence. No problem.
Then, as I mounted to pedal the few minutes to Gold's, it occurred to me that I had forgotten my Gold's ID, attached to my key chain because I couldn't fathom going to the gym in anything other than my car. Ride back home, get the key, take a few deep breaths, get back on the bike and ride back to spin class.
My bike and gear were safely watched over while I had an excellent spin class. All is back being right with the world.

EARLY WARNING SIGNS; LAYERING

2010-12-19T20:13:00.004-06:00

Two separate subjects connected tenuously by my weekend cycling. First, the early warning signs. Saturday, after three hard days of workouts, I felt grumpy. We might say out-of-sorts, but definitely low on energy. Now, this can be caused by lots of things, but my second clue was when I went outside. Even though I had on a sweatshirt, the 55 degrees, sunshine, slight breeze felt cold. Past experience has shown that when my body cannot quickly adjust to a chilly temperature, then quick corrective action must be taken to stave off illness.
Within minutes of returning inside, I had taken 1000mg vitamin C and started brewing ginger tea. In addition, I used my Neti pot, then gargled with salt and soda. Those are my usual responses. The other response is inactivity (otherwise known as resting). BTW, I had gone outside to get a feel for the weather so as to pick out the proper cycling gear for the afternoon ride. Needless to say, as I reclined I could see a perfect cycling day slipping away. However, better give up a day than to get sick.
Can't say whether or not I was really getting sick or just needed to rest, but in any case, Sunday morning came and I was ready to ride my usual route. I delayed two hours to allow the temperature to rise from 30 to 39 (when I left the house, 46 at my start place). And this brings me to layering.
A healthy body has no problem keeping warm, given proper clothing. Today I had on a long sleeve base layer (REI), jersey, and my wind jacket (plus tights and long fingered gloves). The wind was out of the south, stronger than yesterday, so I was in for an hour with it in my face. The wind jacket I intended to shed when I made my turn to the west. But, and I stress, you have to know when to divest excess layers. After four hills, only 35 minutes of riding, I could feel the moisture finally beginning to build. As much as it pained me to do so, I pulled over on an uphill and removed the jacket. If you don't remove the layer early, you will be stuck wearing it because you don't dare take it off when the other two layers are soaked.
In the two hours, forty minutes of riding, the temperature only got up to 56F, so the tights stayed on. I had regular gloves, but kept the long-fingered ones on for the whole ride. They kept my hands nicely warm for the first two hours, and were not a problem for the last part. Had my hands been sweating, I would have exchanged them.
Summing up: yesterday's rest and ministrations combined with good clothing selection resulted in a fine ride today.

I SHOULD BUY A LOTTERY TICKET

2010-12-11T21:00:00.002-06:00

I missed my 31 miler on Thursday because the wind (again) was atrocious. To make up for it, I planned a ride this morning, even though I usually leave the roads to the cars on Saturday. According to the weather forecast, we have a cold front blowing through this afternoon, thus 20+mph cold, northwest winds. I tried to get out at 8:30am and made it by 8:45am.
As I eased my way into the ride I could tell the wind came out of the southwest, a bit stronger than what I saw at home. This was good, because except for a short stretch, my route went east and north, then back east. My first check-point (the school where Marilane subs on occasion) was reached in record time. Once on University, the road is straight east and the wind was now directly at my back.
The turnaround came seven minutes faster than average. But, of course, on an out-and-back course, if you have the wind at your back going out, it will be in your face coming home. It wasn't more than two miles of laboring, aerobars heavily in play, that I noticed a slight movement of the wind to the north. Another mile brought some more shift. Instead of in my face, it came from my right. Before long I made the left turn and again had the wind at my back.
I'm guessing that in the last ten years, having the wind both ways has happened twice. Considering I wasn't even going to ride, I can only take this as a sign. About the only sign I can think of wanting at the moment is the lottery (world peace being a bit too heavy for this little bit of luck). Check back tomorrow, I'll post it if we won.
And for my friends in the UK, the temperature was 13C and I had on tights and two layers on my chest. They keep promising cold weather, I guess it just went your way. Sorry.

THE MIND CAN BE DECEIVING

2010-12-08T15:32:00.002-06:00

I had to pass up a few good cycling days in order to get the house decorated for the holidays. But, cycling in December is always hit-or-miss. I have attended spin classes once a week. I may have to go twice this week because today's didn't go too well. I don't know why I even go the day after my hill workout. I know the quads will fail to respond properly. Speaking of the hill ride...
Yesterday I flipped the coin between 31 miles of flat/rolling and 19 miles of hill workout. Hills won. I left the house around 9:30am. The temperature read 46F and the attic fan on my neighbor's house was whirring briskly so I tossed my wind-jacket (a Hotter'n Hell with mesh back gifted to me by my friend, Ray, several years ago) in the car. Regular readers will recall several posts ago I was pleasantly surprised when getting to the starting point that the temperature there was 15 degrees warmer than at home. I couldn't hope for that again, but 10 degrees kept floating through my mind.
Ah, the luck of the Irish: all I got was a 3 degree bump. 49 degrees at 10am with a brisk southerly wind. On went the wind jacket, giving me 3 layers on my chest. Needless to say, I had on tights. The southerly wind meant 30 minutes (in this case, 32 minutes) against the wind, but it would be at my back going up Courtyard (16, 16, 24 degrees), Jester (16, 20), and Bluegrass (16, 18).
All the while my mind kept telling me how uncomfortable I was. But my body was nicely warm and secure and really felt no discomfort at all, and the pedaling went quite well. The trip took about five minutes longer than usual, but all-in-all a fine excursion.
I believe tomorrow will be the 31 miler and Friday back to my regular spin class.

THAT TIME AGAIN

2010-11-19T06:06:00.003-06:00

Last Friday I started back in spin class. Even though the weather has not as yet become unbearable, the holidays are demanding more of my riding time and in order to keep some semblance of regularity, spin class will be part of my activities for the next few months. Please don't read this and feel I have an attitude about them. Actually, except for the loud music, I enjoy going; they are an excellent exercise and several years ago were the main reason I did well in the early season races. Plus, the thrifty part of me likes getting more reps at the gym, thus getting my money's worth.

I got out earlier this week for what was supposed to be a 50 mile ride, but came up 10 miles short. Once again I relied on the previous night's weather forecast. They hit the temperature ok, but the 5-10mph nw wind turned into 20+ generally from the west. My mostly north-south route only gave minor relief going north, but by the time I turned around, the wind had become quite strong. The aerobars were of no significant use since the wind came from the side. It was all I could do to hang onto the bars and keep the bike upright. Fortunately, there were very few vehicles on the road, so when the occasional gust blew me several feet sideways, I had the room. After fighting this for 15 miles I gave up and called for a sag wagon. Marilane was out and about and had urged me to call if I wanted. As it turned out, she was only 10 minutes away.

The other reason I called for relief is that we had rum-ball making on our afternoon-evening agenda and I couldn't afford to be as beat up as the previous week. While not allowed to mix the ingredients, I did 2/3 of the ball rolling. This turned out to be 840 rum balls. A few balls are not strenuous, but I assure you that my back (not sure if it was the lats or teres major) muscles were screaming after the first hundred.

LSD (LONG, SLOW, DISTANCE)

2010-11-10T05:35:00.002-06:00

This was my motto when training/running marathons. It wasn't unique to me, got it from Joe Henderson at Runner's World. Anyway, this last Monday the sun shone in a cloudless sky and the temperature at 9:15am read 55 degrees with a promise of upper 60's by early afternoon. My Sunday 360 ride had been strenuous and this looked like a perfect time for a nice recovery ride and an opportunity to increase my mileage base.

It wasn't until a half hour into the ride that I noticed the slight wind at my back had increased as the sun rose. The planned ride went to Walburg, a straight north route which meant 25 miles of wind mostly at my back followed by 25 miles of right into my face. My recovery ride now morphed into something more like hard work. The cycling to Walburg obviously went well, pedaling in a higher than normal gear and an easy cadence. Quite enjoyable. Once there, I stopped for a Clif Bar and to take stock of the situation.

I much prefer a circular route to an out-and-back, so while munching the energy bar, decided to head east about a mile and take an alternate road south until I picked up University (Chandler Road). My mental calculation added five miles, but as the calendar was clear, the additional minutes posed no problem. Besides, as Barry would say, the trees would provide a modicum (he wouldn't use that word) of protection from the wind.

It took an hour and a half to Walburg, two and a half to return home. My mantra: "become one with the wind." That sorta worked, in that I really didn't fight it like I normally do, stayed in a low gear, and had a mid-route energy stop. Total mileage came in at 56 miles. The wind really did a number on me and I was beat for the rest of the afternoon, utilizing the recliner to the fullest extent.

In posting the stats on my spreadsheet, I looked up the last time I had ridden over 50 miles. Not counting the vacation trips of Natchez Trace and E2E, my last 50-miler occurred May 11, 2009. As Mad-Eye Moody would proclaim: CONSTANT VIGILANCE! I need to get back to once-a-week lsd rides.

FLUSTERED

2010-11-03T12:44:00.005-05:00

Not me, I'm just recounting what I saw. First, refer to the September 25th entry about changing flats, then go to action #7. Perhaps when reading it you feel as though I'm being much too basic. There was a reason I used that wording.
Several years ago, also posted but not worth going back to read, I was on a group ride with some friends and a bunch of strangers. One of the folks got a flat, and as cyclists do, we all stopped for him to change tubes. But, when you are with folks, there is a bit of peer pressure to perform well, and this includes changing out a tube. Here is one guy, apparently not all that well versed in efficient flat fixing, surrounded by 15 or so others who he thinks all know more than he does, and rather than accept help tried to bluster his way to the finish.
But his cover quickly blew away when he tried to install the tube around the rim, then attach the tire. At first we all thought this to be a new technique for checking the tube or something. Truly, he knew how to fix a flat. He just lost focus and became flustered with so many eyes watching his every move. No one really wants to practice changing a tube on the side of the road, but it wouldn't hurt to read through the steps enough times so you don't have to think about what to do next.
On a different note: The aerobars are back on the bike, I've changed out the pedals so I can revert to my SPDs, re-installed the bottle holders and my saddle pack. I think we are finally out of warm weather, so afternoon riding will be the norm.

REDEMPTION, OF SORTS

2010-10-31T17:27:00.007-05:00

Following the debacle at Fort Hood (racing, not shooting), I felt more than a little concern about this week-end's Senior Games Championships. Even with concentrated workouts, while the legs felt strong, they really weren't sympatico with the pedals. As I drove to Houston (Fulshear, really), a smidgen of doubt crawled through my consciousness, but I beat it back.

What I really didn't like was the 40 degree temperature on Saturday morning. My first race, the 5k time-trial, went off at 9:25am. This means getting to Fulshear around 8am, checking in and getting my packet, getting squared away, and riding for about a half-hour or more to warm up. Since we are still waiting for daylight savings time to go away, the sun was barely above the horizon at 8am. Granted, it would warm up to the low 80's in the afternoon, but to give me as much warmth as possible, I put off riding until almost 8:30.

I had on my tights and jacket and cut the warm-up ride to 20 minutes. Still, I can't tell you my heart rate because my skin had no moisture to make the connection between the strap and computer. After the warm-up, I jumped on the stationary trainer to see about jump-starting the heart rate. That is a useless endeavor; I have never been able to get over 90% of max on the trainer. And, I mis-read the clock, and showed up at the start line, a few blocks from the parking lot, about 10 minutes too early, meaning I had to ride around in the side street, keeping my legs loose. By this time, the sun was nicely warming us and I had shed the tights and jacket.

Unlike last year, almost 90% of my time was in the 90% heart rate range. My average speed was 23.2 and the max was 25.2. This course is almost dead flat. I missed silver by less than 3 seconds and about 20 out of first. Perhaps dropping one gear lower might have netted me silver, but that's water over the dam.

The course is point-to-point, meaning I cooled down for the 5k back to the start line. I had an hour before the start of the 10k. Most of the time, I coughed a lot, ate an energy bar, drank an energy drink, and talked to the other guys about cycling. I also jumped on the trainer to keep the legs loose, then went back to the start line.

Again, point-to-point on a generally flat course. Same course, just keep going. Like last year, my average speed of 24.9 exceeded that of the 5k, and I felt quite comfortable. Unfortunately, I must have been a gear short, because gold wasn't very close (like 11 seconds). I felt bad that I couldn't successfully defend my gold medal standing.

After changing into more comfortable clothes, I drove the 20k course (40k would be two loops) to get a feel for it. Well, duh, it was the same one as last year except in reverse. After that, it was back to the motel to rest and eat. Watched Oregon run over Southern Cal.

Again, had a 9:10am start time. This time, however, even though the temperature was about 10 degrees warmer, I went down to the fitness room and jumped on the stationary bike for about 20 minutes. Can't say about the heart rate because the machine thought it was around 72, but I broke a sweat for about 10 minutes of the 20 minute warm-up, and stretched nicely afterwards. Showered, got dressed, and drove to the start about 8:15am. Again, I set up the trainer to keep the legs loose and otherwise make final preparations.

A slight aside: I had forgotten that my computer mount was placed on the aerobars of the road bike. When I took them off, I found I had no mount for the computer, thus the computer was turned on and put in my back pocket. I had no electronic feedback during the race, which is just as well.

I learned Saturday that several of the fast guys (those who usually medal) would be foregoing the 40k in order to attend a different cycling event. However, Tom Hall gave me a sage piece of advice: stay within the first five or six because the accelerations out of the corners could leave you gapped.

We started with the 60-64 age group, and I dutifully took up position behind Wally (because he is a big guy and blocks a lot of wind). Of course, riders changed positions as we wended our way around the course, but I generally kept between 3rd and 5th. Surprisingly, I spent a lot of time in heart rate zone 3 (cruising effort), due to drafting. On the second loop the speed picked up a bit and on one corner I got boxed out and in manuevering to avoid a crash felt my right calf try to cramp. Fortunately it was not one of the corners requiring a heavy push, so I relaxed for the next minute or two and it returned to normal.

I occasionally checked my mirrors but all I could see was some big guy (Monteith) and had no idea how many were behind him. As it turned out, the accelerations out the many turns had taken their toll on many, so when it came to the last sprint, there weren't more than six or eight.
Even though I'm a novice at racing, I pretty much know what I can do. Given my protected position, and no time in zone 5 (until the final sprint), I felt good, and as the finish line approached, I selected a high gear that I could handle when I stood on the pedals. The rpm's increased and Wally and Monteith passed on the left and I followed Wally's rear wheel. As it turned out, Wally had jumped too soon and my acceleration allowed me to come around him just before the finish line. Monteith was in the 60-64 age group. Average speed for 28.2 miles was 22.3mph.

Thus, I finished first in my age group and second in the combined group. I have now qualified for Nationals next June. All I have to do is get about a minute faster in the time-trials.

DECISIONS, DECISIONS

2010-10-22T16:20:00.002-05:00

I had some spare time this afternoon, so pulled the bike off the hooks in order to tighten the aerobar (returned after the ill-fated race on the 10th) pads. Once again, the lack of bounce in the back tire clued me in that, once again, I had fortunately returned home before the tube lost all its air. My Sunday ride is an excellent workout and fun riding, but it cost me a handful of tubes. First act was to jump in the car and pick up three new tubes at the bike shop.
Next came the tire inspection. Oh, oh! A good-size slit in the bottom of the tire. I marked the spot and proceeded to remove the tube. Then I inspected the inside of the tire, only to find out that the slit didn't go all the way through. Back to the drawing board with the tube, otherwise known as submerging it in the sink (changing tubes at home is much more relaxed than on the road). The air bubbles tattled on the hole. But wait! What is that in the hole, a small piece of wire. Now I held the tube up to the tire to locate approximately where in the tire this tiny assassin infiltrated. Pook! Ding-fu!! I was looking at a piece of duct tape. Surely I didn't miss that wire when I inspected this the last time. I refuse to entertain that thought and will go with this being a mere coincidence.
A short history: Every February or March I buy a set of tires, changing out the old ones. I don't keep track of mileage. The old ones I put on my trainer bike or just hang up for emergencies. But now I have a decision: continue with the duct-taped, slitted, tire or get an old one from the hook. Upon examination of the wear indicators, I see that last year's tires still have a lot of wear left; not as much as this year's, but without a slit or duct tape. Easy, put the older tire on.
I may have to get tires earlier this time, maybe Santa will throw a set down the chimney.

BACK TO BASICS

2010-10-21T06:05:00.002-05:00

While my mind assured the rest of the body it only had a bad day, I immediately resumed workouts at Gold's twice a week. Within two sessions most of my exercises returned to previous levels, however several were glaringly weak. I had a massage. My practice rides felt great!
On my hill circuit, Courtyard didn't leave me breathless and Jester didn't take all of my gears. On the longer rides, the times were excellent and I had energy to spare at the end. My last tt practice was only a few seconds off my PB. Confidence level is high as I top off in preparation for Senior Games State Championships at the end of the month.
Check back to see if mind and body came together and if good results followed.

REALITY CHECK - FACTS AND FANTASY

2010-10-11T10:04:00.002-05:00

In one of my earlier blogs I mentioned that for me to be in racing shape, I should put in around 750 to 800 miles per month. This is a fact, proven. Now, I can get away with less miles, if they are "quality" training, for short time-trials because 1) They are short duration and 2) They don't require (usually) all of your leg muscles.
Even placing second in the State Time Trials and feeling strong in doing so, was only ground-work for actual racing. Unfortunately, we had a vacation followed by a hurricane, and my mileage went south. The upshot of this is I have put in about half the necessary mileage leading up to yesterday's race. Knowing this, I moved into fantasy-mode.
The race course, I thought, was extremely fair, if tough. There are around ten climbs in 30 miles, with about a two mile incline to the finish. The first 16 miles have two tough climbs and several lesser ones. When I practiced the course several weeks ago, there was a moderate north wind and it took 1:59 to complete. The wind was in my face for the first 16 miles.
I knew I was in trouble even as I drove to Ft. Hood. There was no energy, no spark. I knew I was in deep doo-doo when I opened the car door and the wind almost whipped the door out of my hand. My warm-up went well and I arrived at the start line ready to go. The wind would be from behind for the first part.
One of the tactics in racing is to lead out strong to put those who didn't train well under stress as soon as possible. I didn't think I was stressed, as I moved into the big ring and easily kept within the 20 man group. The first four miles are more or less downhill, with the wind from the right rear. We cruised around 36mph, hitting over 40 once. The first climb came and I didn't think I had a problem until everybody moved away from me toward the top. Oops. It took about a mile to catch back on, and once again cruising comfortably. A few miles later and the steep hill took its toll on me. I had no oomph.
I managed to keep them in sight until just before the turn. When that came, the wind was in my face and without anyone to help block it, my speed dropped a bunch. I had 13 miles and several 12% grades to get over before the 3 miles with the wind at my back at the end. The group that started 15 minutes behind us passed me at around the 20 mile mark, and stragglers from that group continued to pass as I labored on. I managed to make the turn, get the wind at my back, and even uphill, held around 20mph to the finish. My racing time was about 40 seconds slower than when I was practicing.
Another interesting fact: on the practice run, where I was just cruising and previewing the course, my heart rate was 137, but race day 147. All that time in zone 4 and 5 did nothing to improve my time. Of course, the wind was a contributing factor.
I really didn't think I would come in last of 20. Actually, I could have raced to not be last, in that one other person in our group was with me for the last couple miles. However, I refuse to race just to be second from last. He beat me by three seconds.

THAT TIME AGAIN

2010-10-05T05:48:00.002-05:00

I have a "soft" rule (i.e. flexible): under 65 degrees, cover the knees. I read it in a bike mag about 20 years ago. 65 is the starting point, and I'll drop lower if the sun is out and the wind light or out of the south. Really, the knees don't have any fat to protect them and get pretty cranky if they get cold. Sunday (the ride with the flat) I saw 61 degrees when I started before sun-up and 61 degrees when I finished three hours later. The light wind out of the north brought a cool front. Still, while the rest of the body reported in as quite comfortable, at around 35 miles my right calf started complaining. I don't think lack of tights caused the problem.
Yesterday my morning started at 55 degrees with a brisk east wind, so I pulled on the tights for the first time in months. Actually, the forecasted wind out of the east had moved to the south when I left the neighborhoods for the open road. Bummer! This ride goes mainly east-west, so I had a side-wind both directions (and, still under 60 degrees when I finished).
Two layers on my chest and the tights over my shorts gave me a comfortable two hour workout.
I have appropriate clothing for most cycling weather. I love it when I pick the right combination!

PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH

2010-10-03T13:19:00.002-05:00

I've gone for years without suffering a flat while out riding. This isn't one of them. Once again, an errant staple eluded the tire-tuffy and found my tube. Only 30 minutes into what until then was a fabulous ride, the first thought that came to mind was, well, follow the procedure you wrote about last week.
Sure enough, the back wheel was flat. I removed the wheel, turned the bike upside down (didn't want to get my brand new chain dirty), found a nice rock to sit on, and went through the procedure. I reached for the chalk, and found none. No problem, I was among limestone, and picked up a piece for marking. The staple still stuck in the tire, so locating the hole was easy. I reached for the duct tape and found none. No problem, used a handy dollar bill.
Pre-aired the tube, installed easily, checked the rim, began pumping.
Now, I'm using my son's mini-pump. He last used it about 20 years ago. Still works great, but you don't get much air-per-pump. My arms were weary by the time I got to what I estimate at 80 pounds. That was enough!
Everything was back together and I proceded with the ride. While the rear wheel felt a tad soft, it rolled well.
Note: I usually use an air cartridge to save time. However, I felt mellow, with no need to rush. Plus, in the back of my mind I was worried that, with so many miles ahead of me, I might get another flat, and would use it then if needed. Later today I'll retrieve my dollar and stick a small block of duct tape over the hole. When I have time, I'll patch the other tube to be used at a later date.

CHANGING FLATS

2010-09-25T10:56:00.005-05:00

My friend, Randy, at Natchez Trace Travel asked me to jot down a few tips on what to take when doing the Trace, or any other ride for that matter. He advises these will be on his website next week. While cycling this morning, it occurred to me that I had seen many riders, whom I considered experienced, flumoxed when it came to a simple tire change. In my tips, I assumed good changing abilities, but to cover myself, I'll expand on the tire/tube changing experience.

The three most common causes of flats are: 1) Tube malfunction, e.g. the stem leaks; 2) Pinch flat, caused when you hit a hole or rock and the tire momentarily allows the tube to crash against the rim, resulting in two holes that look like a snake bite; 3) Puncture, as when glass, nail or staple, or sharp rock, penetrates the tire and tube. I shan't mention operator error, when you goof up when installing the tube. We will assume this was done correctly.
If you are going on a long ride, like the 444 miles of the Natchez Trace, put new tubes in before you go, practically eliminating cause #1. Keep your tires properly inflated, thus minimizing cause #2. Use a product like Tire Tuffy, minimizing cause #3.

But, things happen. Let's assume you are cycling along (not racing) and a flat occurs. Here is what you do:
1. Find a safe and comfortable place (as best you can) to work.
2. Remove the wheel (we all hope it is the front but it usually is the rear).
3. Remove and arrange your tire changing tools and the spare tube (I use new tubes on the road, patched at home, as this cuts down on the frustration of a installing a defective tube and having to start over).
4. Before doing anything else, inspect the tire to determine the source of the flat. If found, mark the spot with the chalk you carry in your saddle pack.
5. Release one side of the tire, pull out the tube, again marking the tube at the site of the puncture before completely removing it. (I'm assuming knowledge of tire lever usage)
6. Run your fingers (slowly) around the inside of the tire, with special attention to the chalked area, to find the pin, glass etc. that caused the puncture. You may have to remove the tire completely and turn it inside-out in order to find and remove the offending object. I saw one person go through 3 tubes before an experienced traveler interceded and found the glass. Don't skip this step, even if you removed the nail (for instance) from the outside. It is an opportunity to inspect the whole tire. Once satisfied all is clean, move to the next step.
7. Blow a little air into the tube, enough to give it a round shape (maybe 10 pounds). This makes it easier to move out of the way when re-installing the tire. Be sure one side of the tire is already in place before putting in the tube.
8. Be very careful not to catch a piece of the tube with the tire lever when putting on the tire. This will cause a pinch-flat before you even get started. That is also why you put some air in the tire first.
9. After the tire is re-installed, with hands about 3 inches apart, pinch the tire away from the rim, visually making sure the tube didn't sneak out under the tire bead, all the way round the tire. This only takes about 30 seconds and is very important.
10. Air up the tire half-way. Inspect again for bulges or the tube not being inside the tire.
11. Air it up completely. You are finished, except for cleaning up and putting the wheel back on.

Forcing yourself to take the time to go through all the steps will result in much less frustration and only adds a few minutes to the whole operation.

Occasionally you will receive a gaping hole in the tire, usually a nail or staple. Simply installing a new tube is inadequate, in that when inflated, it will push through the hole in the tire. I carry a 3 inch section of old tire (called a boot) in my saddle pack, and put this over the hole between the tire and tube. This works quite well, especially when the hole is in the sidewall, although each revolution of the tire produces a slight (annoying) bump. I also carry some duct tape and a small section of this over the inside of the tire also works well. In an emergency, paper currency will work, as will a mylar candy wrapper.

DEAD

2010-09-18T18:33:00.002-05:00

As in dead legs. Yesterday I had my first time trial practice since the State Championships. It went as expected, my times were slow, my intensity zero. Today I intended to get in a 50 mile cruise, just to increase mileage. However, with last night's rain on top of last week's flood, I opted for my safe 31 mile route, the one that didn't include low-water crossings that probably were still under water.
For the first 13 miles I kept looking at my cogs, wondering how I could be so high on the ring. I had no energy, the legs were totally dead. I started out pedaling under 70 rpm and it didn't get much better for the first half hour. Breathing was labored. This was the pits!
I soldiered on and at the 13 mile mark, two miles or so from turn-around, I felt as though a huge weight had been lifted. I checked to be sure the wind hadn't shifted (it hadn't), and saw that I now was effortlessly at 85 rpm in the middle of my cogs.
At the turn-around, the slight wind now came from behind my right shoulder. I hoped for having it flat on my back, but that was not to be. I even managed to move to the big ring for most of the return trip.
In the end, my time was average. That's good, considering the first half. I stretched and relaxed but although everything loosened up nicely, the legs were not happy. Well, tomorrow is Sunday and we shall see if they can get me around the 360 course.

FAREWELL TO ARMS

2010-09-15T20:20:00.002-05:00

Rather, farewell to arm holders, aka aerobars. Following today's ride (which was windy and I was grateful for the use of them), the aerobars on my road bike will be retired for the rest of the season.
In a frivolous moment, I signed up for the State Road Race Championships to be held next month. Aerobars are not allowed, thus I need to have my body ready to race 33 miles without them. Last October I did the Senior Games 40k race, so I know what to expect. Which is why I need to get a few long rides in without my resting place.

BOGUS

2010-09-14T13:51:00.002-05:00

Pook! Ding-fu!! I knew I was fast Sunday. For the first hour. Then it was average, then labored. The more I contemplated the ride, the more I questioned how good it was. My Garmin threw me a curve. On the downhill leading to 360, it turned itself off. While I immediately turned it back on and made sure it was recording, because it wasn't showing time and mileage, I didn't know if it reset at zero. When I checked all the data, the mileage was correct, thus I accepted the other data.
But, as the old saw goes: if it sounds too good to be true, it isn't. I double-checked the graphs, and there was an absence of the first two climbs, and the downhill. Apparently, some of the data continued, but the time reset itself.
It was a hard workout, discounting the data. We just have to erase the PB designation for the first half.

CRAMPED AND HAPPY

2010-09-13T11:28:00.006-05:00

Saturday I finally got on the bike and did my 31 mile ride, with a few detours due to flooding in the neighborhood. The intent was an easy, get-acquainted-with-the bike-again type ride. However, I kept the cadence as high as I could and the body responded exactly how I expected it to given the length of time sans exercise. The surprise was my neck and triceps were the most sore.
Sunday is the 360 ride and with a looming 33 mile State Championships, I wanted to give myself a good workout. Thus, rather than meandering along for the first eight minutes, I cranked up the revolutions and attacked. Perhaps attack is too strong, but it was quick. The computer read-out just gave speed, cadence, and heart-rate, not minutes and miles, and in the past I didn't look at the speed going up hills (it's so depressing to see single digits).
Realizing I didn't have complete real-time info, I hit the "lap" button so that the first half info wouldn't be swallowed up by the second half morass. My body was rebelling at current energy levels and even only half-way, the quads had lost their punch, and in another 15 minutes, I would face the tri-level dam-Steiner Ranch climb.
Well, I kept a decent cadence, having to resort to the small chain-ring, and made all three climbs and kept a fair speed on my way to Anderson Mill Rd. Turning onto Anderson Mill proved the last straw for my left hamstring. I tried letting it hang and just use my right leg, but the right quad then cramped. Ok, I gave up and stopped, propped the bike against a telephone pole and sat down, gingerly, to let the protesting parts rest and recover.
It only took five minutes, maybe less, before I mounted up to ride the last couple of miles. The short rest did the trick, and I soft-pedaled to the car without incident.
Nice story, you might say, but what's the point? Ah! The first half of the ride turned out to be 13 minutes faster than my previous best. This included nine tough hills, so, cramps in the second half notwithstanding, I'm pretty pleased at the result.
PS, I have changed the computer read-out to show time and mileage also (I really like my Garmin 305). Immediate feedback on training rides is important.

NON-CYCLING

2010-09-08T16:32:00.003-05:00

Just returned from a 10 day tour touching Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. No cycling involved. I planned to take two weeks off following the time-trial, and planned to do stretches and possibly work-out in the hotels we would be staying in.
My plans did not include staying an extra day. Who knew, six months ago when we booked the trip, that Hurricane Earl would arrive in Halifax early in the morning of our departure date? Well, Earl had lost a lot of punch by the time he got there. Lots of folks were walking around outside and none were hunched over against the wind.
We got out Sunday, arrived in Round Rock late night and awoke Monday to the news that a tropical storm had developed in the Gulf and would hit Mexico. The rain showers started, but between the sprinkles I managed to cut the yard, and at bedtime Tuesday several inches of rain showed in our rain gauge. Nice, good for the grass.
At 1:30am our neighbor woke me out of a sound sleep to advise that the water was rising fast and if we wanted to leave, they would be closing the bridge (over low-water crossing) shortly. We didn't leave, but watched the water come up the back yard, quickly passing the previous high mark. By 2:30am or so, within several feet of our patio, it stopped and started to recede. By 4am we went back to bed, and when I got up at 7am, it was almost back in the creek bed. Hermine dumped 7+ inches in my gauge, neighbors recorded more.
Other circumstances have delayed my return to cycling. I'm now thinking Saturday.

STUPID MISTAKE

2010-08-16T06:30:00.002-05:00

I skipped my Sunday ride yesterday and allowed my knees to lessen their whining. I also cut the grass, which had been neglected in the run-up to the competition, and a few other household chores. A lot of my down-time was spent grousing over not recognizing the lack of cadence display before my race.
The plan to increase speed this year focused on increasing my rpm. Because I could only perceive that my strokes were in the 85-90 range, I don't really know if I reached my goal. Back to the practice course and continue increasing rpm until I'm comfortable at 90-92 and wait until the Senior Games in October to see how that turns out.
Another change, in the actual races, I haven't been paying much attention to the computer, using it mostly for post-race assessment. In the future, I'll re-configure the display to make cadence prominent, and monitor and adjust during the exercise.

TEXAS STATE TIME TRIAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

2010-08-14T12:34:00.001-05:00

I participate in two sets of TT championships: USAC and Senior Games. The USAC distance is 20k, and Senior Games have 10k and 5k distances. Today the USAC championships were held in Floresville, Tx. Once again, I managed to put together a sterling performance, good enough to garner a silver medal. Since I was 50 seconds behind first place, there are no recriminations as to what I could have done to shave time.
Last October I posted remarks about how my 10k speed was faster than my 5k and how my heart-rate couldn't seem to get high enough in the 5k, due to improper warm-up. So I was very pleased with my chart today. I spent 15 seconds in zone 1; 8 seconds in each of zone 2 and 3, 9 minutes in zone 4 and 26:18 in zone 5. Average heart rate came in at 150, with a high of 158. My zone 5 starts at 150 bpm.
The course in Floresville had some hills. When I practiced it two weeks ago and again yesterday, I used my Roark and rode in the afternoon. The amount of time in the small chain-ring disturbed me, in that I try not to use it at all. This morning, without too much wind or heat (but lots of humidity), I pushed up the hills in the big ring, mostly keeping my tuck. Average speed came in at 22.7, top at 31.7.
My cadence was high, but I can't give you any data because I washed the bike. In washing the bike, the cadence counter moved and I didn't notice it. It felt like 85 rpm, except when I was in the 11 with the speed at 31 mph. I was trying to get my breath, so just eased down the hill.
Karen did a great job in getting my energy to flow as it should have. Some pooh-pooh acupuncture, however I am able to have 100% output when I receive a treatment before a race.

TUBE TROUBLES

2010-08-08T11:05:00.003-05:00

I'm sure this happens to other people also. I know it's my own fault, mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa! But that doesn't mean I have to like it. This is a continuing story, more or less picked up where we left off last week. But I must give a bit of history.
The tube on my time-trial bike was losing air, just a little at a time. These are Zipp wheels with extenders, thus you ride with the valve stems open. I figured it was the open valve stem, so rather than toss the tube, I put it in the Camelbak for a spare. This is the tube I used last week when I again had to change out and patch the tube with the wire in it. It worked well for the week, but last night when I was getting the bike ready for this morning's ride, the tire felt very low. No problem, I got out my Silca pump and aired it back up to 120 pounds.
Unfortunately, the valve grabbed the pump and wouldn't let go. The force required to extract the pump from the valve was the same amount it took to release the valve stem from the tube. Dang! This is why I air my tires the night before. Tube changing without time pressure. I secured the previous tube, now patched, and in record time had it switched out, aired up, on the bike and ready to go.
At 4:45am I dragged out of bed and downstairs to take my thyroid medication (necessary 1 hour prior to eating). Most of the time I tumble back to bed or in the recliner, but this morning I wandered out to the garage and checked the tire. Flat! That patch really didn't look right, but seemed to be holding last night. Ok, pull the bike out of the car, pull the rear wheel, pull another tube from the hook. This tube is at least a year, maybe two, old and also has a patch. But I had used it with the patch and knew it held.
Again, the tube switching went well, and I aired the tire. Around 80 pounds I heard a hissing sound and knew there were no snakes in the house. Pook, ding foo! (familiar expletive to fans of Thoroughly Modern Millie) Defective valve. It's not like I don't have new tubes. One is residing in my saddle pack, and I got it out and made another easy tube change (are you keeping track of the tubes?). Easily aired, back on the bike, back in the car.
Ah, now I have no spares in the saddle pack. Last year I purchased the correct size tube, but it is so thick it looks like a monster compared to the others. I keep it in the car in case one of my friends has a need. Reluctantly, but of necessity, this was transferred to the saddle pack.
The rest of the morning went well, the ride went well. The bike shop supplied two additional tubes. One went into the saddle pack, the other in a drawer in the garage. The thick one returned to the car for emergencies.

DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN

2010-07-29T06:16:00.002-05:00

Not quite, but close enough. Now that I'm taking Moose, shaving seconds on my best times has receded for the duration. I still push hard, just only expect average times. And I have no problem with that.
Anyhow, after the Sunday ride I hung up the bike. Monday presented an opportunity for early time trial practice, which went well. I love my tt bike. I had appointments and grass cutting on Tuesday, so that became my rest day. Wednesday morning, as I lifted the bike off the hooks, the lack of bounce from the back tire gave me the bad news. Fortunately, I had a spare half hour before beginning today's ride, so brought the offending tire into the kitchen for a leisurely tube change.
When you have an unsuspected flat, the first order of business is to visually check the outside for cuts, holes, and things sticking out. In this case, a very thin wire (like from an old wire brush) pricked my finger, telling me of its existence. I had to look hard to see it. Sure enough, it had penetrated the tire, the tire-tuffy, and the tube. Don't know where I picked it up, but at least it didn't go flat until it got home.
I've gone years without a flat, just changing tires and tubes annually, and now two weeks in a row. Bad karma. I put a patch on the tube and it now hangs in the garage, in case it's needed.

BOOTED, AGAIN

2010-07-18T14:46:00.002-05:00

The Sunday ride went well, up until right before the big climb at the dam. Only five minutes off last week, and I had plenty of energy to launch an attack. Until a clanking noise coming from my back wheel interrupted my plans. I had caught a sharp piece of wire. Dang! Ten miles from the car with minimal (that is, non-redundant) tube changing materials.
My saddle pack has a tube, patches, tire irons, hex wrenches, and a CO2 cartridge. It also has a boot (for the uninitiated, a 3 inch section of old tire). I went ten years of carrying a boot without needing one, until last year when a companion needed it. When I have my Camelbak, that carries another tube and a frame-pump.
I walked over to a building with a curb, made myself at home, pulled out the glasses from my jersey pocket, and leisurely changed the tube, first locating the hole. The new tube and boot was inserted, and I said a short prayer that the CO2 would work properly. The last time I tried one, I blew up the device, scaring the bejabbers out of me in the process. My new one is two years old and has never been tested, but is a much simpler design. It worked well enough. Apparently when I pierced the seal, it wasn't a clean hole, and the CO2 came out very slowly.
I'm guessing the tire was up to 80 lbs, maybe only 70, but enough to roll without damage to the it. I used the brakes on the (usually) 30+mph hill, holding it to 18mph, and came around any corners slowly and without leaning, trying not to roll the tire off the rim.
The ten additional minutes (plus the 15 for tube changing) and conservative riding allowed for a long recovery, thus I spent no time cooling down when finally arriving at the car.
Once home and showered I watched Andy and Alberto do a track stand in the Pyrenees.
Moose, who has been whining at being left home, is placated. I'll be wearing my Camelbak, with additional water capacity and tube changing paraphernalia on future rides.

MORE ON CADENCE

2010-07-17T04:48:00.003-05:00

After two days of hard workouts, I needed a recovery ride. My 31 mile route out to Hutto, leaving from home, provided the perfect venue to monitor heart rate and cadence. The goal: keep the heart rate under 140 (83% of max) and the rpms at 90 with an average of 85.
Of the 111 minutes (including stops for red lights and a quick bite of Clif Bar), only six minutes exceeded 140 and the highest bpm was 146 for only a few seconds. I spent a lot of time at or above 85 rpm but had some difficulty holding 90 except on the flats. Toward the end, into a stiff headwind, my energy ran low and the rpm dropped.
My average cadence came in at 82, an all-time high, with an average speed of 16.9mph, also PB for this course. The average heart rate of 126 left me feeling refreshed and without the need to recuperate (like, in the recliner) for a few hours. Of course, I was in the recliner, playing the TdF that we had DVR'd.
In time-trial practice, I recorded an average rpm of 80 for the last three workouts, with a goal of 85. So far, I've been concentrating on just getting the 20k distance in at reasonable speed and haven't dedicated any of the runs to just cadence. Maybe next week.

HEART RATE WORKOUT

2010-07-16T16:15:00.003-05:00

Time trial practice is generally once a week, or twice as I gear up for State. One of the other days I reserve for my "hill ride." This is only 19 miles and takes in the neighborhood of an hour and a half. Starting at Big Lots at Spicewood Springs and 183, I go through Barrington Oaks and eventually get on Rain Creek Parkway. About ten minutes of warm up gets me to the first climb, definitely 16% and possibly 20% but short, maybe a tenth of a mile. A mile later gets me to the second climb, definitely 13% and a start of 18-22% depending on which side of the street you take the bend. This is a longer climb, about four tenths. Twenty minutes of rolling gets me to 360 and Courtyard. From 360 it is a four tier, about six tenths of a mile climb, with ramps of 16%, 18%, 18%, and 22%. This gets me in the 98-100% of max category.
The downhill allows recuperation, which is needed because next is Jester. Around six tenths, my gps shows a lot of 16-18% numbers, and one 20%. Interestingly enough, the heart rate is a beat or two less. More downhill and rolling back on 360 gets me to Blue Grass. This climb is about three tenths, 17% with a short 20% ramp. Blue Grass takes me back to Rain Creek and the first climb, but just before the turn is another 20% short, like a tenth, hill. One more, Oak Knoll at two tenths and 13% with an 18% ramp, gets me to mostly flat ground for the two miles back to the car.
These seven double-digit climbs, not counting the half dozen 8%ers, resulted in 25 minutes in Zone 4 and 19 minutes in Zone 5. I'd like to reduce Zone 5 by about half.
Disclaimer: The numbers are from my Garmin 305, so could be off a bit. Whatever, you get the idea these are steep climbs.

MAINTENANCE WORKS

2010-07-12T10:13:00.002-05:00

Saturday the bike shop called for me to come pick up the bike. Chris informed me the bearings were all good, only needed to remove the dirt and dried grease, and re-lube. Great news. I felt pretty frisky, so I lubed the chain and switched the SPDs for Speedplay. Changing pedals allows me to wear my Sidi road shoes, and the overall weight savings is about 2 pounds (shoes and pedals). Then I announced my attempt the next morning to set a new fast time on my 360 Loop ride.
Since I've described this route in previous posts, we can skip the profile. The wind came from the southwest, giving me an hour into the wind, a half hour from the left, and an hour at my back. The smooth rolling wheels seemed a bit faster and hill climbing benefitted from the lessened weight, thus my time turning onto Bee Cave equalled non-headwind times. At the halfway point, my confidence of squeaking into a PR grew.
I topped Steiner Ranch at 2 hours and with the wind at my back sailed along in the 23-25 mph range. Going through Balcones never was easier.
Bottom line: I cut 5 minutes off my previous best. Great wheels.

OVERHAUL

2010-07-10T06:29:00.003-05:00

One of the things bothering me for the last couple of years has been losing speed on the downhills. New, my bike could coast faster than most when the road turned down. The last trip to Georgia finally convinced me to get the hubs overhauled. I coasted five mph slower than in previous years (as if 46mph down Hogpen Gap could be considered slow). However, no binding or noise or anything tell-tale could be detected.
I love my Rolf wheels. Nine years of riding without a moment's trouble. Not having to worry about truing a wheel (which I would do very poorly, and sometimes followed by a trip to the bike shop) is a super benefit. Rolf will overhaul his wheels if you send them to him (I know, not personally). Unfortunately, my Vector Pros were actually Trek's, and he doesn't do those (probably a contractual thing when he and Trek parted ways). I contacted Trek, who advised I needed to see a Trek Dealer, who could do it.
So, with several days of rain forecasted, I took my bike to Jack and Adams (see previous posts about my tt bike) and dropped it off. Hopefully, they will call me today to come pick it up and I will give it a tryout on my Sunday morning ride.

CYCLING SIX GAPS AND MORE

2010-06-30T15:21:00.004-05:00

This is my cycling blog, so only the cycling portion of our two weeks in Suches, Georgia will be recounted. However, kids and grandkids joined us for a week of other fun. We continued our hiking of the Appalachian Trail and perhaps next year will complete the State of Georgia portion.
You will soon hear Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen say, sometime during the next three weeks, that the first day (of Le Tour de France) in the mountains is amajor leg adjustment even for the pros, in leaving flat or rolling hills and cycling mountains. This is very true, and even though Brasstown Bald is always the "big" objective, I always take a few days of lesser climbs before tackling it.
We again stayed at our favorite site, High Valley Resort, so on the first morning I left the cabin and within five minutes began the climb of Woody Gap (from the north, or easy side). Ten minutes later came the 5.3 mile descent and the transition over to Turner's Corner, followed by the 8 or so mile climb up Neel's Gap, a nice descent, and the 3.2 mile climb up Wolf Pen Gap. This totalled 34 miles, just shy of 4,000 feet of climb, and a good warm-up.
What I found out on this practice run is that my sinuses were not working properly, my legs took an abnormally long time to go from "rolling" to "climbing," and I used too much braking on the curves.
The next foray had Marilane drive me to the top of Jack's Gap (coincidentally the beginning of the Brasstown Bald climb), and I began with a downhill, followed by Unicoi Gap, a modest climb and great downhill, and a transition over to the Russell Scenic Highway (Hogpen Gap). This is a long, steep climb and took a lot out of me. Plus, while the downhill gave me some great speed, a lot of transition miles had to be churned out before coming to the turn to Wolf Pen Gap. The day's total came to 44.8 miles and 5344 feet of climb.
The next day I took it easy and just went up to Wolf Pen and back, 14 miles and 1602 feet of climb. The day following, still taking it easy, I did the three gaps in the other direction. Four days of riding, all of which included Wolf Pen Gap.
My next riding day took me north of Suches to Skeenah Gap. In all, 50.7 miles and 4788 feet of climb. But it was a clockwise loop, and to return to the cabin, I again came by way of Wolf Pen. By now, my descending had improved quite a bit. Two days later, the time had come to challenge Brasstown Bald.
Since it is about 25 miles away, some coordinating needed to be done. I left the cabin on my bike, up and over Wolf Pen and another five miles. Son Kurt drove the car, picked me up roadside, and drove the remaining 10 miles (up Jack's Gap) to the base. Because I had warmed up for an hour, it didn't take but a few minutes before beginning the climb.
B'town starts you off with a 16% max, 13% overall, ramp of about a quarter mile, then the steepness lessens, but rarely did I see single digits on my computer. Somewhere around a mile, the Garmin (thus the road) jumped to 18% for a short while, 16% overall, then a short respite, then "the wall" so named because it comes in around 24% (this # is open to debate). Twenty yards from topping this ramp I had to stop and let my heart rate and breathing recover. Within 90 seconds I remounted the bike and easily, if slowly, covered the distance and continued the climb. I noticed single digits and dropped a few gears for a while, but two more ramps in the teens needed attending before the parking lot came into view. Total time for 2.4 miles: 32 minutes, 20 seconds. Total time to return to the bottom: 4 minutes, 54 seconds. The wheel rims were very, very hot to the touch.
Brasstown should have been my last ride, but Kurt and Nic had a late flight, so starting at 8am Sunday I did the familiar three gap ride. Ah, but fate had just a tad excitement in store. Coming to the Wolf Pen Gap turn off of Neel's Gap, I noticed a banner on the corner indicating the Georgia Cup. Oh s**t! I was now on a bike race course!!
Hey! I had to get home and showered. I made about a mile of climbing before I saw the lead vehicle, lights flashing. About 50 yards behind was a single rider, the leader. It took another 3 or 4 minutes before the second rider came past, and another 5 minutes before a pack of five riders. By now, I only had a short way to go the top. Other riders came past, Moose waving at each but receiving no response. Moose is the stuffed animal attached to my Camelbak.
All the while, I kept tabs on riders behind, and when getting to the top and not seeing any within 100 yards (where a turn prevented further distance sighting), I plunged down the other side. Given the many times I had done this recently, I must admit, I took the curves beautifully and without braking and pedaling out of the corners. I even had to wave the car and motorcycle in front of me to speed it up. Alas, one of the earlier cyclists had a misfortune coming out of one of the turns and needed medical attention, plus having a vehicle in the road. I slowed a bit, and then could see in my mirror a real racer coming. I sat up and let him pass before again tucking and pedaling.
This was a two mile downhill and four miles of rolling before arriving at the cabin. Only one other racer passed me, but truthfully, only the ones who were out of gas were behind anyhow. Because I saw an on-time arrival when topping Neel's Gap, and actually arrived ten minutes early, I guess being on the course and scorching the downhill accounted for the whole ten minutes. My legs felt like jelly, and agreed with me.
Climbing now takes a back seat, as only six weeks away are the Texas State Time Trial Championships. Stay tuned.

EVELYN

2010-06-30T05:11:00.004-05:00

For the past two weeks I've been enjoying cycling in the north Georgia mountains (to be posted later). Unfortunately, I received tragic news one afternoon: my friend, Evelyn, collapsed and died while on a ride.
This came as a real shocker. If you have been a regular reader, you know that she was a strong rider, in seemingly excellent health, making me struggle to keep up with her on my Sunday morning 360 route. Just a few days prior, we had exchanged emails, planning to ride it again when I returned home. However, she also volunteered countless hours helping people learn to ride, become better riders, led Sunday rides for several years, and actively promoted cycling whenever she could. She was a very nice person.
Her cycling friends held a commemorative ride in Austin. Not being able to attend, I did my own in Georgia. Her family held a service on Monday. I returned home on Tuesday.
So, with heavy heart I bid a solitary "adieu" to my cycling buddy. Sorry I couldn't do more.

LEGS SENSATIONS

2010-06-18T16:32:00.003-05:00

Short background: when going to Georgia to, in addition to family fun, accost Brasstown Bald, I generally take a few days to get used to riding mountains. Going "up" for five+ miles is not the same as attacking a short hill. Therefore, my first day is usually Woody Gap, Neel's Gap, and Wolf Pen Gap. This is a 32 or so mile circuit.
Woody Gap is easy from the north, with a 5.3 mile terrific downhill. From there is a transition over to Neel's Gap. This is a 5 or so mile uphill in the neighborhood of 8%, judging from my glances at the readout of my Garmin 305. Later I will ascertain more accurate figures. Wolf Pen is about 4 miles of tighter turns and double-digit ramps. I did these two days ago.
One thing I noticed on this ride was the transition from downhill to uphill caused my quads to signal my brain "who, me"? This is very strange and has not happened before. For the whole ride, each uphill took a long time before the muscles started operating properly.
Today brought a new adventure. I had not cycled Unicoi or Hogpen Gaps. Judging from the map, I guesstimated 40 miles. Marilane accompanied me in the car to the beginning of Brasstown Bald, my departure point.
The ride began with a generally 4 mile downhill, very little pedaling. Unicoi was longer than Woody Gap, but not too difficult. The downhill had long, sweeping curves and allowed for high speeds and very little braking. A short transition to the Russell Scenic Highway, aka Hogpen Gap. This proved to be a leg-breaker. I think probably a mile longer than Neel's Gap, and steeper, as it took an hour and ten minutes of climbing, using all of my gears (including the one I saved for Brasstown Bald), and a rest stop to allow my heart to return to a reasonable level. The major downhill portion had me above 40mph for several miles, but the rest of it flattened out or rolled. My legs had no umphh left. Unfortunately, Marilane had gone shopping, a dark cloud began to form, and I had another 15 miles, including back over Wolf Pen Gap, four miles away.
I took a short break at the bottom of Wolf Pen and shifted to the easiest gear possible. Thirty-five minutes, and a short mid-climb break later, I somehow made it to the top. This side of Wolf Pen is only a few miles of descent, but is truthfully my favorite. The curves at the start are short and steeply inclined and just a whole lot of fun. These gave me the energy to make it the rest of the way to the cabin, a total of 44 miles, arriving concurrently with the rain.

FIVE GEAR WIND

2010-06-13T10:06:00.002-05:00

One of the reasons for my before-sunrise-departure Sunday rides is to try to take advantage of the wind. Generally, the prevailing wind is from the southeast or southwest. Generally, the wind picks up as the sun rises. My 360 route goes south, southwest, west, then northeast, with the last few miles again heading south. Ergo, for the first 50 minutes I'm into the wind and my goal is to make the turn before the sun gets too high.
Alas, this morning proved non-typical. As I drove to the start, I could see some big flags billowing straight out. Again today my start time was 6am. This route gives me about eight minutes of warm-up before the first climb. I rounded one corner and prepared to shift into the big ring and fold over the aerobars, as this is a nice flat section with a bike lane. Immediately Plan B came into play as the wind came head-on. Plan B is to scramble for a gear that I can hold at 80 rpm. Once I found the gear, I looked down to see which one and gave a startled grunt when I saw how far up the cassette I had come! Thus the term "5 gear wind" came to my mind.
I count going from middle to big ring as two gears, so today I pedaled this stretch 5 gears lower than average.
The half-way point came and I had lost seven minutes. Even with the wind behind me, I never made up the time. Great workout, enjoyed getting out, but still haven't taken advantage of the new gears.

DUAL-PURPOSE

2010-06-07T05:54:00.002-05:00

After yesterday's ride I installed my new 11-28 cogset, replacing the 12-25. This (the 28 cog) is the final improvement toward helping achieve success at Brasstown Bald. My Sunday 360 Loop ride is amazingly consistent: 2 hours 33 minutes on good days, 2:36 average days, 2:45 on bad days. In a previous post, I hypothesized that my downhill speed needed a boost. The 11 tooth cog should rectify that. Therefore, I modified the 100% cadence focus by planning to see what speed the 11 would give me going down, without regard to cadence.
The weather forecast indicated a slight wind (5-10mph) from the south, increasing to 10-15mph in the afternoon. Perhaps I should have paid more attention to the whole forecast. At 4:30am the temperature showed 83F. I expected 75F. While mentally noted, I gave it no more than a passing thought.
I left the house, in the dark, at 5:30, driving to the start place and putting wheels down at 6am. As the sky lightened, I could see there would be no sunrise to behold. Dampness enveloped me within 20 yards of starting. It wasn't foggy, but for the next 2:36 minutes I cycled in a cloud. I'm guessing the humidity hovered between 95-100%. I managed to put it in the 11 a couple of times, but with the heavy air and slight wind, never could to crank it up. Of course, I still worked on cadence (had to, actually). Try again next Sunday.

GRASSHOPPER COMMITS SUICIDE

2010-06-05T21:31:00.002-05:00

Cycling has been restricted for the past two weeks. This morning I slipped out at 7am for a quick 31 mile ride before the wind had a chance to come up. The ride is half neighborhoods and half highway with a wide shoulder and normally takes two hours. Once again I concentrated on cadence, not worrying about speed. Until last month, my average rpm surrounded 72. The last two rides I had it up to 80. Since most of the time today I was in the mid 80's and occasionally low 90's and once 102, I think 80 is about the best I can do. The route has several hills that even with gearing down, my rpm drops. Plus, the computer registers zero when I coast. Does high cadence work? I can tell you I dropped 5 minutes off the last time, and the last time was 5 minutes off my previous best. And, my knees thanked me.
But, the title is the grasshopper. I pedaled up a grade on the highway (next to a field), concentrating on my cadence. Suddenly, for no reason, my gear shifted. Further investigation revealed a small grasshopper stuck between the chain and the 19 tooth cassette ring. Really, really stuck. Stopping and changing gears moved the chain off the corpse, but removal proved difficult. I couldn't pry it off the teeth, it had impaled itself so deeply. After a few futile efforts, I moved on and by the time I had gone 12 additional miles, it had departed the cassette. Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Apparently, it jumped onto (or the space above) the chain just as it engaged the gear.
And why even bring up this trivial matter? One, because the ride itself was boring. Enjoyable to be out, but other than dodging early garage sale patrons, uneventful. And two, because sometimes stuff happens. Let it go.

THE PLAN - RPM

2010-05-23T15:35:00.004-05:00

As posted earlier, it is obvious that I need to be faster in the time trials if I want to be competitive. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy doing tt's no matter the outcome, and I really don't enjoy beating anybody. But I like having the time and trouble I put into racing provide positive results, i.e. being as fast as I can be, usually resulting in a high placing.
I THINK I can be faster if I work on a faster cadence. Don't "duh" me, of course if you pedal faster you go faster. But there is a trade-off. If you drop to a lower gear, then you need to know how much faster to pedal in order to meet or exceed the speed of the higher gear. Up until now, I was guessing.
Tomorrow I install a Garmin cadence counter on my tt bike. I have one on the road bike but it is too much trouble to keep switching back and forth. Then I'll head out to my tt practice place and do some laps at various rpms. I'm hoping: 1) My information is accurate; and 2) I can adjust my practice to achieve the improvement necessary.
For those who are not familiar with gears and rpm, visit Sheldon Brown's Calculator. Sheldon passed away last year, but his website has invaluable information.

BRASSTOWN BALD REALITY

2010-05-14T21:07:00.002-05:00

I love cycling the Georgia mountains. Woody, Wolfpen, Neel's, and Jack's are no strangers to me. This year I intend to include Hogpen and Unicoi to complete the six gaps. Perhaps I'll return in the fall and do the famous Six Gap Century. It would be good training for Das Hugel. But the notorious Brasstown Bald is my conversation-starter. If you are not familiar, it is almost three miles of climb with several ramps of 16-18%, and the biggie at 22-24%.
My first attempts were with the standard 53-39 double. The first year I had to walk the 50 yards or so up the "wall." The second year, I had to stop to let my heart recover, but didn't have to walk. Then I moved to a compact 50-34. Last year I installed a triple, but with a 25 cog. I made it up, still needing a short lactic-acid break. Today I replaced the 30 tooth inner chain ring, with one having 28 teeth, resulting in a lower gear.
With the improving weather, I should have enough hill practice before going to Georgia that this modification will be sufficient to insure a clean climb. We shall see.

WIND POWER

2010-05-10T06:07:00.002-05:00

Each week the 360 loop ride presents a different challenge. Two weeks ago, strong winds from the north, last week no wind, yesterday, strong winds from the southeast. My start-time backed up to 6:20am, so traffic was less. At the halfway mark I had gained 10 minutes on the average, turned into the wind and gave it all back. Having to pedal down hills and going up to Steiner Ranch with the wind in my face resigned me to finishing with a good, hard workout but not exceptionally fast.
Training is making me stronger. Even with the wind, I didn't suffer up the climbs. But the clue I'm waiting for is when I start attacking them. The pros describe the legs as "having good sensations." Each week is better, so let's see when the legs have the energy to aggressively push the climbs.

FAIT ATTENTION!

2010-05-07T11:52:00.005-05:00

One of the few phrases I still remember from high school French, perhaps because Sr. Mary Michael directed it at me so much.
Even though I am a firm believer in "signs" I need to be reminded occasionally. Yesterday, not wanting to feel guilty, or wimpy, I ignored the 30mph wind gust forecast and started out cycling. This was to be an abbreviated ride anyhow, because I got a late start and the heat already jumped past 80 and fast approached 90. A little looseness in my water bottle holder attracted my attention. The faux-carbon fiber had split. I bungied it together around the bottle and commenced. Ten minutes into the ride, 4 lanes, no shoulder, a cable dump eschewed changing lanes (even though he was the only one on the road) and buzzed my ear. That woke me up a bit. A mile later I had a nice shoulder, but the gusts were strong and from my right side. A panel truck left a stop sign, causing me to take an avoidance maneuver. Needing both hands on the handlebars, I couldn't give him a sign of approbation (ok, it would NOT have been approbation). However, he never saw me before or after. Approaching the toll road, a car from the right blew through a stop sign (didn't roll through, accelerated without stopping), and came quite close while looking over his shoulder at the traffic he was trying to beat. What with the wind and the drivers, I gave up and turned around. Shortly thereafter I narrowly missed a rattlesnake sunning itself on the hot asphalt.
Got home without further incident.
Windy this morning. Set up the trainer and rode in the kitchen.

TOUR DAS HUGEL

2010-05-05T11:28:00.002-05:00

I've pencilled in the second week-end of November on my calendar. If unfamiliar to you, by all means, Google Hugel. I have not done it yet, but putting it on the calendar makes it more likely to happen. Generally, I do a hill-ride once a week. This ride is 19 miles, 7 climbs, and includes Rain Creek, Courtyard, Jester, and Bluegrass. So far, none of my friends have accompanied me more than once. Really don't blame them.
However, Hugel is 100+ miles and 14,000 or so feet of climbing. Fortunately, it is arranged in two loops, so you can opt out after the first one. For that matter, you can opt out anytime if you have a sag wagon and cell phone.
Last week I couldn't even attempt Jester. This week I felt stronger and slowly reeled myself up the hill. I'm sure next week will be even better. Once I no longer struggle, I'll add some additional climbs to the circuit.

SOLO CYCLING

2010-05-02T11:39:00.003-05:00

Last month's bike log showed 639 miles. I had hoped for 700+ but took the last couple of days off to recover. 442 miles of the total came in the six days of riding the Natchez Trace at tourist speed. That took a lot more out of me than expected. I also had to recover mentally from again struggling to keep up with Evelyn last Sunday, and still only posting 2 hr and 55 minutes for the 42 mile, hilly ride.
Evelyn is out of town this week, so I reverted to doing the ride by myself. A brief history: I used this course to train for my coast-to-coast ride and really like it, although took a two year sabbatical when they resurfaced RR620. It has either 18 or 22 climbs, depending on what you call a climb. For instance, going from the dam to the top of Steiner Ranch is either one climb or three. Same thing for Loop 360 from the river past River Bend Church. I know that early in the year, I should expect 2hrs 45 minutes and later that should drop 10 minutes. The last two rides were 2:57 and 2:55. Given the number of miles in my legs, and the suffering done while riding, my results should have been faster.
The reason I usually do this ride solo is because my start time is 10 minutes before sunrise. Today that meant 6:30am. Not too many of my cycling friends are willing to get out this early. Unlike the high winds of last week, this morning had no wind, a few sprinkles, and 60-65 degrees. I tried to keep a high rpm and had good energy the whole way. 2 hrs, 33 min 3 sec.
Recovery worked!

GOING DECAFFEINATED

2010-04-30T06:13:00.003-05:00

It seems old folks only talk about health issues. I'm not there yet, but it takes up more and more of my conversation. You see ads on TV all the time: sudden urges to go, etc. and advocating medication to shrink your prostate. My nighttimes were showing multiple trips to the bathroom, and on morning bike rides, the number of trees I needed to visit became ridiculous. So, I cut out caffeine. And, I cut out beer and a significant amount of other alcohol (except relapsing on the recent Natchez Trace trip). The result: sleep all night and zero tree stops on my three hour ride last Sunday (and other rides, this started three months ago).
I've found that coffee in the morning is more habit than anything, so three plunges of hazelnut into Starbucks decaf worked, and I only went through three days of headache and didn't have to try to break a 40 year routine. A bonus: coffee in the afternoon, something I previously avoided at all cost.

MISC CYCLING STATS

2010-04-27T05:55:00.004-05:00

The Senior Games times are now posted, confirming what I already know: my 5k time trial preparation needs to be better. In the 5k I finished 12th of 33 riders overall. In the 10k, I finished 6th of 37 riders. Of the 37 riders, one was in my age group, so only 4 riders in the younger crowd were faster. My speed was actually faster in the 10k.
In the Natchez Trace ride, since we were tourists, my heart rate hardly ever topped 110 and a lot of times I saw it in the 85 bpm range. As a change of pace, I would drop to the largest gear and pedal along at 50 rpm.
Sunday on the 360 ride (42 miles) with Evelyn, I had to extend myself to keep up (again), and with the wind and hills, couldn't hold a high rpm, but the heart rate stayed mostly in the 130s for almost three hours.
Yesterday on my 30 mile ride in excellent weather, I concentrated on keeping high rpms. Most of the time it was 80 and higher, a lot of which exceeded 85. I finished with an average of 80, my highest ever, and my time was the fastest ever. Time is not necessarily a reflection of the ride, in that traffic and red lights come into play, but the average speed also was fastest.
Unfortunately my tt bike doesn't have a cadence counter, but I'll try a lower gear on a practice run to see what that does to the time.

CYCLING THE NATCHEZ TRACE, APRIL, 2010

2010-04-23T11:49:00.007-05:00

This year's epic cycling adventure featured 442 miles of the Natchez Trace Scenic Byway from Natchez, Mississippi to near Nashville, Tennessee. This is a very smooth, 2-lane road without commercial traffic and a 50mph speed limit. However, motorhomes and travel trailers are allowed. I picked a south-north route because of the southern prevailing wind. As it turned out, we had a front/high pressure system come in and put a slight wind in our face for five out of the six days.

Cyclists Amy, Barry, Byran, Jerry, and Rick enjoyed excellent weather and took a zillion pictures, some of which are included here.

Somehow my precise mileage calculations had a few mistakes, leading to a long day of 88 miles rather than 81. This day also included about 30 miles of chipseal rather than the smooth surface we loved. We averaged 10mph overall (including stops) and except for the long day, finished in mid-afternoon.

Early April gave us peak wildflowers. The Dogwood and Black Locust trees were spectacular. Off the bikes, if you wandered the towns, the azaleas showed their best colors. We even managed to hit the cypress swamp right after the alligators appeared.

My suggestions: 1) Six days is just right, averaging a little over 70 per day. 2) Have a support vehicle. This allows flexibility in lodging and off-bike touring. We each took a turn driving, thus 5 days cycling. 3) Use http://natcheztracetravel.com/ for any and all help you need. Randy did an outstanding job in finding us lodging and giving food recommendations. 4) One caveat: this is not for inexperienced cyclists. The traffic around Tupelo and Jackson is heavy, and elsewhere the motorhomes and trailers, while mostly courteous, can come perilously close. Rick had one motorhome run him off the road and the same driver came very close to Amy (we found later when comparing notes).

I managed to cycle all six legs of the trip. Driving from the north the day before the official start, Marilane dropped me off outside Raymond and I cycled to Natchez. BTW, for that day, the prevailing wind blew in my face rather strongly.

CYCLING TRUISM

2010-04-12T04:37:00.004-05:00

Sad fact of life: you have to put a lot of miles "in the bank" if you want to compete well. Another truism, esoteric to Senior Games or any age-based racing: There is always a younger guy moving into your age category. So, I entered the San Antonio races hopeful but not brimming with confidence.
Saturday morning I drove the 120 miles to Texas Research Park, a great venue with good roads and no traffic. The bluebonnets were great. Warm-up went well and since this is the 6th time here, re-familiarizing myself with the course took minimal time. There is one 90+ degree turn at the bottom of a hill. The wind was up. Me and the wind do not get along.
My hope of winning went out the window when I saw Peter Leikisch. I would measure my accomplishment by holding his margin to under a minute in the 10k tt. Silver also, when a new member (Bill) moved into my category. The other guys I knew and was pretty sure I was faster.
They changed the course for the 10k: rather than twice around plus a bit, it was once around, then out and back. I liked the old way. Now we had three hills to climb and both downhills had the wind in my face. In any case, Bill started two minutes ahead of me, Peter two behind. After the first loop I saw Bill walking back, victim of a flat tire. I believe Peter beat me by 35 seconds.
The 20k race started about a half hour later. Peter skipped this one. Five laps. With this wind, once you open a gap on your competitors, it is very difficult for them to regain the pack. Me and Bill and Frank did that on the first lap, and we lost Frank on the second lap. Bill and I rotated for a lap, then he left me. Knowing I had second without a problem and no chance of first, I motored on at my own easy pace and cruised in with the silver.
Rather than stay overnight, I drove home and back the next morning. Warm-up went as well as expected, considering the drizzle and wet road conditions. No puncture this time, Bill won the 5k tt and Peter second, with me a distant third. However, I am interested in how we came in overall. I didn't hear a time faster than Bill's, so the younger guys were slower.
The 40k started an hour later. My legs couldn't respond well to any acceleration. I stayed with the pack for five laps (out of 10), then let them go. This is where the lack of training showed itself. I'll do better in the fall.
Placing nothwithstanding, I had fun. Check back in a couple of weeks to see how the fun increased.

CONNECTIONS

2010-04-02T12:44:00.002-05:00

I cannot find our copy of Connections, the book that chronicles how one thing impacted another through the centuries. But the book came to mind as I toiled through an ab workout. Some time ago, I posted advice on how I did my ab work. I can't find that either, so will repeat it in brief: During TV commercials, roll off the couch and do a specific action; sit-ups for instance. During the next break, roll off the couch and do crunches, the next hold your legs a couple inches off the floor, the next exercise the obliques. By the end of an hour show, you should have completed a full ab workout. That worked for me for years. Then...
We replaced furniture. In addition to a new couch (since it is new perhaps I should refer to it as a sofa) we obtained a nice, if large, coffee table. More importantly, in my opinion, I have a leather recliner. Not only do I no longer watch (the new) TV from the couch, the coffee table takes up my old exercise space. And, it is much more of a struggle to release from a recliner than simply rolling off the couch. It is soooooo easy to break an exercise habit.
I now have an exercise CD to encourage my ab work. I lost my time efficient method, but found a suitable replacement. I tried going to the gym and doing the ab class. Ouch! That is some serious punishment. I'll stick to the CD until a better alternative presents itself.

GLIMMER OF HOPE

2010-03-26T18:02:00.002-05:00

I prefer to take a recovery type ride the day after working out with weights. But my morning went like this: 45 minutes of physical therapy exercise for my left deltoid; 30 minutes of abdominal work (it could be done in 15 but there is no rush); 20 minutes of yoga standing poses; acupuncture. Given some rest and hydration between, plus drive-time, it was noon when I returned home.
The weather forecast is wind for tomorrow and Sunday, so another tt practice is indicated for today. The thermometer registered a pleasant 75 degrees. By 1:15pm I was back in the park and warming up. Great choice!
I still couldn't hang in the 90%-plus heart-rate, and my legs certainly knew I'd worked them hard yesterday, but the clock showed times comparable to last year before the qualifiers.
A couple days ago I forgot my new tt helmet. This time I had it.
My warm-up 5k utilized the regular helmet, the serious practices had the new one. Yes, I could tell the difference, especially going into the wind. The helmet covers my ears, and even if I can't prove aerodynamics, just not having the wind noise made me feel faster.
The lesson here is not just for cycling, or even restricted to sports: Having the proper equipment makes goal achievement much, much easier. And, of course, the harder you (study) practice, the easier the test.