Been gone a while!

So after the MS150 it started getting plenty hot and I also started dieting, which adversly affected my cycling performance. I took the month of August off completely, as it was just too hot to make cycling (or anything outdoors) any fun. Since The end of June I have lost 25lbs, and have ridden 215 miles and picked up another mountain bike. Alex and I have decided to shoot for riding the entire lenght of the suncoast trail the last weekend of the year. The entire length up and back is 83 miles, which is the same distance as day one of the MS150. To say we have been amping up the riding would be true.

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

2011 Ride #32 - Last ride before the MS150

Today being Mother's Day I didn't want to waste away Ana's day while I was out turning the cranks. I got up and after finally waking up, headed out to Flatwoods. Today was a solo ride, as sadly, Alex has taken a job in South Florida and will be leaving in a few weeks, so his time for cycling has pretty much been lost. Today's ride was also one of the coldest rides in recent memory, when I left the house this morning it was 55F...and where the park is, especially when the sun hasn't come up and you are pedaling 18-20mph, it feels even colder. Today was also going to be the last ride I was going to likely get in (unless I get on the trainer) before the MS150 this weekend.

New Pedals:
I also didn't want to ride out to the MS 150 without riding on my new pedals, a pair of Speedplay Stainless Zero's. I'd have preferred the Titanium pedals, but they have a 170lbs rider weight limit, so that is pretty much out of the question. I decided to ditch the Shimano's because I was tired of missing when I tried to clip in when taking away from a light or other stop. These seem to be easier to find and are double sided so I dont have to play flip the pedals. They are still pretty darn stiff to get in and out of, but from what I have read that should change after use. Only time will tell.

Overall the ride was pretty good, it was very quiet and there really were quiet a number of folks out considering.

Ride Stats and Maps:
Ride Time: 58:24
Stopped Time: 7:36
Distance: 17.89 miles
Average: 18.38 miles/h
Fastest Speed: 49.42 miles/h
Ascent: 299 feet
Descent: 322 feet
Calories: 1104


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Trying a Tri

So I have signed up for the Assault on Fort Desoto sprint tri in August. I think I must be crazy. I'm also hoping to be well enough to do the Picnic Island Adventure run in June (I'll miss out on the one next Friday because of the MS150).

I ordered a pair of tri shorts, a top and a pad for keeping all my stuff and not burning the heck out of my feet!

2011 Ride #31 Wanted 50 Got 30...

Today was like any other day out on the Suncoast Trail, but I just didn't have the time to put in all the miles, as we had a 1:30 brunch to be at over on Clearwater Beach. Alex and I hung with a group preparing for the MS150 from a group called "Groupetto" (which I'll be reaching out to ride with more in the future).

Mother nature decided that our training would be more intense - she insisted that the wind be at our head no matter what direction the cogs were pointed. At least when we were riding with the group we were somewhat shielded from the wind. When we turned around it was brutal.

Ride Stats and Maps:
Ride Time: 1:52:30
Stopped Time: 10:57
Distance: 31.95 miles
Average: 17.04 miles/h
Fastest Speed: 40.77 miles/h
Behind Best Ride: 1:52:30
Ascent: 433 feet
Descent: 367 feet
Calories: 1815


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April and YTD stats

So far this year I have done almost 750 miles 272 of that was during the month of April alone. My goal this year is 1500 miles which at this point I should easily surpass. I think I may need to shoot for 2500. I have already surpassed last years riding by over 100 miles.

Month  Miles    MPH Avg/Max      Time         Calories   HR AVG/Max    Cadence Avg/Max
April    272.44     15.94/28.28     16:52:22       16589        155/183                       75/127
YTD    728.32     14.94/24.69     47:28:37       45631        167/172                       75/127

2011 Ride #30 Easy Bridge Ride

So Ana and I finally got the chance for us both to get out and ride. It wasn't without some idiots behind us smacking into the back of each other and then the other lady rolling into the bike rack. Thankfully there wasnt so much a scratch.

Tomorrow I will be doing 50 miles with Alex, likely the last ride before the MS 150. It certainly is heating up, it was much warmer than last weekend. I do feel my endurance and power going up (I actually only used the small ring once, uphill into the wind on the Clearwater pass bridge.

Ride Map and Stats:
Started: Apr 30, 2011 1:55:42 PM
Ride Time: 1:31:02
Stopped Time: 15:23
Distance: 21.41 miles
Average Speed: 14.11 miles/h
Fastest Speed: 28.46 miles/h
Ascent: 305 feet
Descent: 361 feet
Calories: 1249


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2011 Ride #29 - MS150 Training Ride - Metric Century - Check!

I knew that today would be met with some firsts - Riding road with a big group, my first metric century. I am happy to say I completed both of them and then some.

Everyone Getting Ready to head out:


The ride started off pretty awesome, the Clermont police blocked off all the major intersections in Clermont. From out of the parking lot and for the first mile or two, the ride was downhill. Very much downhill. It was at this point I saw the fastest time of the day - 41 miles per hour. Let me tell you what - that is hauling ass on a bicycle. I almost decided to just stick with the 35 miler and up to the point where I hit about 45 miles or so, I loved it. From about mile 34 to mile 50, the wind was just unrelenting. It was at about mile 50 when someone having fun, swapped the directional sign telling riders where to go sending me the wrong way...unfortunately I didn't notice for about 5 miles, so I ended up with an extra 10 miles. Unfortunately that also mean that I had to traverse about 5 extra hills both ways. That sucked. I went so far as to call the bike shop and asked to be picked up in a support vehicle, but they told me I'd have to make my way back to the official course. I did manage to make it back and with about 7 miles left to go, I met the guys in the SAG van. The gave me ice cold gatorade and water (and I poured a great deal of it on me to cool off). They encouraged me to ride on because there was only one more really steep hill (as I am looking at the hill from beside the van thinking no freaking way). At this point I said to myself, just do it, and they reassured me that if I finally gave out, that they would be about 5 minutes behind me. Now that I was paranoid about going the wrong way, I kept pulling out the GPS and checking, just to be sure. There was really only one more seriously challenging hill that they neglected to mention on the way back, but it was like an eighth mile from the shop and the glorious payoff to the climb was the major downhill on the other side (which without pedaling had you doing 32mph).

I ended up doing 74.93 miles (I went past the metric century (100K/62.5 mi) by more than 10 miles).

Ride Stats and Maps:

Ride Time: 4:35:26
Stopped Time: 1:06:45
Distance: 74.93 miles
Average: 16.32 miles/h
Fastest Speed: 41.46 miles/h
Ascent: 1785 feet
Descent: 1785 feet
Calories: 4258





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2011 Ride #28 40 miles back to back

I did it! 41 miles on Saturday and 41 miles today! It was even more windy than it was yesterday, but this time the wind was worse on the trip out (it was nearly non-existant when you were going south.

This was a mixed blessing. While my average speed was substantially less than normal on the way up, on the way bay we more than made up for it. On the southern end of the ride I actually saw 7 miles that were averaged over 20mph. While I thought I would end up bonking, I stayed through it and was rewarded with my fastest 40 mile average to date.

We changed up the ride a bit today, instead of returning to the lot we proceeded to the southern terminus of the trail and returned back up. At this point it is where Alex went to his car (around 33 miles) and I kept going. There were several points where I thought my legs were going to explode, but then on the return trip I ended up with three of my fastest average miles to date.

Next weekend I will be going on a group ride in Clermont - with options to do 35 or 65 miles. The distance isnt a worry but the hills are...we shall see.

Ride Map and Stats:
Ride Time: 2:28:01
Distance: 41.41 miles
Average: 16.78 miles/h
Fastest Speed: 25.59 miles/h
Ahead of Best Ride: 5:56
Ascent: 856 feet
Calories: 2483


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2011 Ride #27 Forty Miles with Nathan

This weekend begins the true ramp up for the MS150 next month. Nathan met up with me today and we did my usual 40 mile trip. While he hadn't ridden in a while. it certainly did seem that way, he motored along just like had been for months.

The weather on the way up was great - but the wind on the way back was insane. I hope the wind subsides for tomorrows 40!

Ride Stats and Maps:

Ride Time: 2:33:08
Distance: 41.44 miles
Average: 16.24 miles/h
Fastest Speed: 30.16 miles/h
Ascent: 443 feet
Calories: 2839


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2011 Ride #26 Forty miles and falling

It was another beautiful Florida morning today, a nice cool 68F. Alex and I had decided ahead of time that this would be a 40 mile day. Today I was also experimenting with the "Endurance Fuel" from Infinit Nutrition. My goal has been to find a product to replace having gels, bars and everything else on each trip. We got rolling around 7:45 and agreed to keep the pace between 16-18mph so we wouldn't kill ourselves with the distance.

So it happens to all bikers eventually...you cruise up to the light and stop. Except you didn't unclip and fall over, or your riding buddy forgets which side he unclipped from and falls on you, which isn't bad if your opposite foot is unclipped...So we got to the light at SR52 and Alex forgot he unclipped on the right and not the left...and then leaned to the left. Standing to his left, I was unclipped on the right...he fell onto me and while I still managed to unclip my foot to prevent from falling completely, the bikes both got to kiss the pavement (and so did Alex). Of course the cagers sitting at the light had their laughs, and the other roadies told us we had earned our badges. Neither of us were hurt, but it was funny.

The Infinit nutrition products worked out great - not once did I feel fatigued, and I had plenty of energy (without making my teeth feel disgusting at the same time).

We keep rolling up to County Line Road and turned back:


Ride Stats and map:

Ride Time: 2:33:57
Distance: 41.89 miles
Average: 16.33 miles/h
Fastest Speed: 44.41 miles/h
Ascent: 1104 feet
Calories: 2508


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2011 Ride #25 quick and dirty thrity..broke 500 miles on the year

Today Alex and I met up at the suncoast parkway to get in 25-30 miles at a good clip. Alex had a surprise this morning - he rolled up and pulled out a Trek Madon 5.2. One sweet freaking bike. Alex has really picked up the pace over the last few rides and being on a new bike certainly showed. We rode up the parkway about 14 miles, turned around, headed through Starkey park (till it was flooded) and headed back. This netted us a simple 31 mile ride that we both felt great having completed.

I also passed 500 miles for the year and considering I haven't been able to ride both days a week this year, it's not a bad thing.

Ride Stats and Maps:

Started: Apr 3, 2011 8:12:57 AM
Ride Time: 1:50:23
Distance: 31.65 miles
Average Speed: 17.20 miles/h
Fastest Speed: 27.09 miles/h
Ascent: 33 feet
Descent: 125 feet
Calories: 1919

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2011 Ride #24 Friday Afternoon ride

I had taken today off to get our cabinets installed and have some new fence installed in the back yard. I got a call on Wednesday saying that the cabinets would be late coming in and that they needed to install it on Saturday. Great. Too bad I had scheduled the fence work, else I could have had one of the most beautiful days all to myself.

Alex and I had planned on riding on Wednesday, only to find out that one of the worst storms to hit our area planned on coming in early. I metioned that I was going to be off Friday as well and we planned on going riding up at the Suncoast trail because Flatwoods would have been underwater (it always is in places during the summer).

So we met up at around 3:30, I decided not to bother with the ipod tracking today and soley go by the bike computer. Unfortunately, this would be the first of many little grrr moments during our ride. We got rolling only to see my speed was not registering. I look down and see that my speed sensor had slid down the spokes. I readjusted it a bit, and speed was registering...but now it was rubbing on the staps that hold the sensor to the bike frame. At this point I moved it out of the way, but it wasn't close enough to register speed. I finally said the hell with it so we could get on our way.

The weather today was spectacular, 80F, slight north wind - perfectly blue skies. We rode up about 7 miles and Alex asked if he could swap bikes so he could decide if there really was a difference over the other bike. Of course he immediately noticed the difference. We got about a mile down the road and then his bike started to feel wobbly, I looked down - the tire had flatted out. This is the second time this had happened to him since we had been riding out there. I flipped it over and changed the tire.

We continued to head up to 52 and then turned around. At that point we put a little more air in his rear tire and continued on. All in all it was a good ride, we did approximately 20 miles give or take 1/2 mile.

Since the speed sensor and all were not working quite right, I dont have the specs today...

2011 Ride #23 Mileage and towing Alana

Today I headed out to Flatwoods to get some miles in but took the bike trailer and Ana's bike so they could meet me up later in the morning. I got in just shy of 22 miles by myself, and then another 15 while towing Alana behind me. It was a stellar day and getting out before the wind picked up was a Godsend. The freaky part was the temperature variations around the loop. In some sections it was around 55F, in others about 70. Normally you can tell the swing a little but this shift was so great that my glasses and the bike computer fogged up for a minute or two. I have succeeded in raising my average 20 mile speed by almost 3 miles per hour since I got the new bike.

Amazingly, I really couldnt feel Alana behind me until I caught the windy side of the loop. Ana learned about drafting today and enjoyed riding at a faster pace behind Alana and I.

Ride Stats:

Without Alana:
Started: Mar 27, 2011 8:11:51 AM
Ride Time: 1:13:32
Distance: 21.88 miles
Average Speed: 17.86 miles/h
Fastest Speed: 23.01 miles/h
Ascent: 450 feet
Descent: 405 feet
Calories: 1387

With Alana:
Started: Mar 27, 2011 9:47:59 AM
Ride Time: 1:12:13
Stopped Time: 6:40
Distance: 15.02 miles
Average Speed: 12.48 miles/h
Fastest Speed: 19.56 miles/h
Ascent: 140 feet
Descent: 132 feet
Calories: 946