2011 Ride #39 Trainer ride gets me over 1K miles for the year!

After returning from two days at the Dell storage forums and finally finish up all the tweaks since I swapped the components out, I finally got to get back on the bike. This ride put me at 1010 miles since 1/1/2011.

Ride Stats:

Speed 17.4/24.2
Heart Rate 162/182
Cadence: 85/131
Calories: 343
Time 39:22
Distance 11.4 miles

2011 Ride #38 - Trainer Ride - Sufferfest Video

So I realized I have not been able to get my evening rides in since we moved out to Temple Terrace, so it was time to break out the trainer. If you've ever ridden a training indoors you know it is disturbingly boring. A few weeks back I found a review of these videos called "sufferfest" which is a pretty accurate description if you attempt to ride anything like the video suggests. The video keeps you pumped up, gives you audible cues and shows timers, suggested cadence and effort levels. It is set based on videos from the Tour De Suisse, Tour De France, Tour of Romandie and several other venues. This definitely helps with the monotony of riding stationary.

On a positive note, my current mileage for the year is 998.3 miles, I am 1.7 miles short of hitting 1000 miles for the year. If I'd had realized that, I'd have done another two miles!

2011 Ride #37 - Fast at Flatwoods

As seems to be my typical Sunday morning routine as of late, roll out of bed at 6:30 and aim to be on the trail by 7:30. I started out around 7:30ish and noticed I was a little sore on the saddle - could it be because its new or because I still dont have the position down quite right yet. I'd bet number two, because at one point I damn near felt numb down below. Nothing that some additional tweaks can't fix.

Now I mentioned going faster. Compared to my last ride out there, I not only went a mile further, but I did it in 5 I'd attribute most of this to the group I rode with on mile 11 to 19 - mostly averaging 20mph+. For the most part I could hang, but when it was my turn, naturally the point where we turned into the wind, I knew I had I bit off more than I could chew, but I did my pull and then dropped off.

Ride Map and Stats:
Ride Time: 1:18:46
Stopped Time: 8:28
Distance: 25.81 miles
Average: 19.66 miles/h
Fastest Speed: 48.77 miles/h
Ascent: 627 feet
Descent: 741 feet
Calories: 1431


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2011 Ride #36 - Back to the Pinellas Trail Ride

Life is starting to return to somewhat normal again and I've actually been feeling well for about a week now so out to the trail we went. Winds were about 5-10 mph from out of the ENE, so we headed north to start. I made good time up but was a little sluggish coming back down. The medicine I have been taking warns of stiff tendons, so that is about all I can think would be the cause. I also just recieved my Ultegra components, so I swapped out the rear derailluer last night, along with a 12-25 cassette and the front crank. I won't be able to do the rest until I get my new torque wrench, a necessary evil when you are working with carbon frames. The bike is noticeably lighter, but we'll see when the new bars come in and I can also swap the brakes out.

The wind switched to a more ESE direction on the way back, always a treat to ride into the wind both directions. I waited for Ana to return and we headed over to Cafe Alfresco for a quick lunch.

Ride Stats and map:
Ride Time: 1:29:09
Stopped Time: 16:16
Distance: 24.77 miles
Average: 16.67 miles/h
Fastest Speed: 46.77 miles/h
Ascent: 144 feet
Descent: 148 feet
Calories: 1390


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Year to Date Update

Almost hit that 1000 mile mark, almost burned 60K calories just cycling alone...


Miles Average Max Time Calories HR Avg HR Max Cadence Cadence Max
211 17.23 28.76 12:30:54 12647 158 180 74 107

939.32 15.40 25.51 59:59:31 58278 165 174 75 120

2011 Ride #35 - Flatwoods loop

Well, after taking two weeks off after riding the MS150 (and being sick and the doctor saying to avoid the sun until I was off the meds) I had enough. Finally got back on the horse today and did a quick 25. It probably would have been a quick 32, but I wasnt quick going out the door. Change the routine up a bit and there goes 30 minutes.

The first 10 or 12 miles my left leg cried like a little baby, so when I stopped after the first full loop, I stretched out a bit and that seemed to do the trick. I stopped and chatted with some other roadies and then got back at it. The next two loops just flew by. If it wasn't for the fact I told Ana I'd be back around 9:30, I'd have done at least 1 or 2 more.

At any rate, ride stats and maps:
Ride Time: 1:23:24
Stopped Time: 14:48
Distance: 25.46 miles
Average: 18.32 miles/h
Fastest Speed: 38.08 miles/h
Ascent: 72 feet
Descent: 98 feet
Heart Rate Avg/Max: 171/187
Cadence Avg/Max: 78/98
Calories: 1637


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2011 Ride #33 and #34 - MS150 er 135...

Day 1 of the MS 150

The MS150 is an annual ride done for the MS Foundation. They offer rides of 50,75, or 100 on Saturday and Rides of 50 or 75 on Sunday. This was one of the first events I saw after I began my transition from mountain biker to roadie. The proceeds go to a great cause and it gets us who like to do endurance riding a fairly safe and well supported ride. As you've probably guess by reading my other blog posts, I have been training solidly for months for this ride. My training rides were of great help as were the friends I would make from Suncoast Cycling Club (Chainwheel Drive/Suncoast Cycling was the team I joined).

On Monday night, I started to get the scratch in the back of my throat that said either allergies or a cold was coming. As the week wore on it got progressively worse but nothing to stop me from riding. Oh well the joys of daycare right?

Finally Friday rolled around. We stayed in Winter Haven to make the early morning comute to Bok Tower a lot less of an issue (I had to be there for our team photo at 6:20 and the ride started at 7). I woke up around 4:45 after a night of tossing and turning. Hit the shower and stopped at a Dunkin Donut on my way to Bok Tower.

When I arrived at Bok Tower, the place was alive. There was a brilliant glow of light coming from the parking area near where the tower and visitors building were. As I got closer there were already many rows of cars and there were tons of people out and about. I found my team and verified where we were supposed to meet up. After taking the picture I finished getting myself and the bike ready. It was quite humid at this point and already about 75F. At around 6:45 my team and I rolled into position. As one of the biggest teams we got to be one of the first waves of riders released.

At this point I met the first of my teammates I would be riding with, they were looking to do 16-18mph consistently. This falls into the realm of my riding preference (or rather endurance level). Courtney, Christine, Donald, Mike, and, I would take turns taking pulls. By taking turns being the one to take the wind effectively makes the whole team ride faster. We called ourselves the wolfpack and kept up the higher side of 18 as our pace for quite some time and having a group of people to help you keep distracted from the constant churning of the pedals is a great thing.

Another blessing of the humidity was a thick layer of fog. This helped us all stay cooler and kept the sun out for a much longer time. The ride also had the best rest stop volunteers and were filled with all the goods one could ever ask for. The porta pottys were all super clean too (if you can imagine).

The first 37 miles were for the most part - flat. For the most part. There were some slight hills but nothing really out of the ordinary (and nothing worse that the inclines on the Pinellas Trail. Around mile 36 rest stop is where I met up with my friend Nate who I would finish the ride with. The next 19 miles were hellaciously hilly, especially the section on"Detour road". We should have definitely detoured this section. Climb afterer endless climb. The real plus here was the 1/2mi downhill that let us see 30+mph without so much as turning the cranks. Once we finally got past the hellacious climbs, there was a short run through some neighborhoods and then the busy road fun began. They also had a photo opportunity here as well:

Around Mile 46 there was a stop for lunch - pb&j (if you wanted that) and stock up on gatorade, ice water, and bananas. From mile 57 to nearly the end, it seemed like the roads were either very busy or in very poor repair (or in some cases both).

The stated distance for this ride was 75 miles. The distance indicated on the cue sheet was 78. I set my sights at 78. When I got to about mile 75 I was stopped at a stoplight and was talking to the cop who was directing traffic. I mentioned where we were and he said we had at least 6-10 miles remaining. Nothing crushes your motivation like setting your goals on one thing and being told you were quite a bit short.

Emotional ending. The power of this event doesn't hit you till you get near the finish line and the folks with MS are waving you in and people are cheering for you as you make the push past the finish line. It truly was an amazing experience.

After the ride I got cleaned up and got my post race massage. While it was being done the storms that had been promised arrived which for some unfortunately folks meant a wet afternoon was in store for them. At this point I had some coffee and relaxed for the rest of the night.

Day 1 Ride Stats and Maps:
Ride Time: 4:47:20
Stopped Time: 1:23:18
Distance: 83.26 miles
Average: 17.39 miles/h
Fastest Speed: 42.06 miles/h
Behind Best Ride: 3:48:56
Ascent: 2244 feet
Descent: 2385 feet
Calories: 4960

The Roubaix needs it's rest too!

Day 2 of the MS 150 - 50 miles

I was awoken at 5am to the sounds of hellacious thunder. I fired up the weatherbug app on my phone and saw a nasty patch of weather moving across the state. The one big plus was that it was moving across at a rocket pace.

I stopped in and had a huge breakfast of cereal and bananas and then headed to the cafe for an espresso as they had delayed the ride for an hour. Nate and I discussed wether or not we were going to ride, as the weather still looked really bad and the wind was something fierce.

Around 8:05 we finally got underway. It was much cooler this morning, and it was still wet which was a little disconcerting. One thing I did notice was a huge number of people repairing flat tires. A surpising number...

So naturally about 16 miles into the ride I feel the bike start to be somewhat sluggish. I look down and sure enough the tire was going flat. I pulled over and Mike from the club did as well. He let me borrow a CO2 tube to quickly get it pumped up, and meanwhile a SAG truck pulled up with a pump and let me fill it the rest the way up. The bummer was that I forgot to readjust the the speed sensor and I lost speed reading and distance for the next 8 miles. Great.

From here we rode up to the next rest stop and I topped off my water supplies and made sure my speed sensor was good to go again.

From here the pain train arrived. The next 9 miles were filled with climb after climb and then another flat. Courtney from Suncoast suggested running a piece of cotton or a paper towel around the inside of the tire to find out if there was something poking inside the tire. Sure enough, there was a wire sticking through which we quickly removed and got back on our way.

A quick stop for lunch and cold water and we were off again for the last leg of the journey. At this point the wind became brutal and the climbs were no help. It is a sad time when you are going the same speed downhill as you were uphill  because the wind is just beating you.

We finally made it to the rest stop at the bottom of the last climb, rested for a minute and then attacked. It was the perfect time for using the small/big chain combo. Nothing like spinning 100rpm up a hill at 10mph.

I will definitely do this ride again - it was for a great cause, and I had an awesome time. Ana and Alana had a good time shopping and going to the hotel's kiddie pool.

Day 2 Ride Stats and Maps:
Ride Time: 3:29:16
Stopped Time: 1:36:46
Distance: 52.44 miles
Average: 15.03 miles/h
Fastest Speed: 44.06 miles/h
Ascent: 1467 feet
Descent: 1293 feet
Calories: 3131