Sunday, March 07, 2010
| Hours Sleeping: | |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | 6:45 AM - 177 |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 8:00 AM |
| Distance: | 77 miles |
| Time (total): | |
| Time (moving): | 4:02 |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | 19.2 mph
max speed – 44.5 mph |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | Brad – 3000 KJ
Greg – 3200 KJ |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | 80, sunny, dry, windy |
| Workout Type: | |
| Breakfast: | 7:00 AM – egg, water, oatmeal, banana |
| Lunch: | 12:45 PM – 2 big glasses of soy milk, half a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, Corona |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | 2 large bottles each w/3 scoops Perpetuem and 3 Endurolytes |
| Course: | west Maui loop |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Shit! Damn! This road is so great!
I started the ride feeling like poop. I mean I felt really bad. As usual Brad K hit the ground running and we were doing 26 mph out of town. My body was having nothing to do with this today. I felt tight, tired, slow, pretty much like dog doo. If this had been a race and anyone had accelerated, I would only have been able to wave goodbye.
Several times I considered pulling over just to regroup and finally at around 20 miles I couldn't take it any more and asked everyone if I could stop for a sec. We pulled into the driveway of some recycling station and right there in front of my tire was a $20 bill! I bent over to pick it up and spotted another. And another! And another!! And another!!! Stretching out shitty feeling legs is much more fun with $100 in you pocket let me tell you.
10 miles later we entered the fun part of the ride. This is where I was able to light it up last Tuesday but not today. We got to the first climb, brad took off, Greg followed him and I could only watch. Damn. I was determined to finally get my legs rolling and so after cresting this first rise I left Dean and tried to bridge.
It did not work. I pushed and pushed but didn't really get any closer. They finally sat up to wait for us and we regrouped. But it helped; my legs were finally not feeling so totally blocked.
The next time Brad blasted up a hill I went with and this time I stayed with him. And the next time I was able to push him. Nice. I was finally warmed up.
From here on in I was fine. I have NO idea why I felt like such crap up until now but no matter – I was flying and this road is one of the best ever. Anywhere. On the last descent into town I got stuck behind a truck with some locals that were making it really difficult to pass so deciding that it might be wise to take it easy I sat up and waited for everyone else to join me. We cruised through town and with the benefit of a big tailwind stretch and we did not dip below 32 mph. Fun! Just before we turned left off of the highway Brad went sailing by at like 38 and I had to turn myself inside out to get close to him. Sometimes that kind of effort is a blast!
And then it was over. From here it was a 10 mile spin down to and through town and back to the condo. And I was tired. In fact I had to scoot up next to Greg at one point and ask him to please slow down! Funny how I went from feeling like dirt to feeling stellar to feeling empty. Thank god for the stellar period is all I have to say. :)
Brad is riding strong! Greg is riding strong! I can't wait to race.
Today was the last day/ride and I'm already so ready to go back. :( Screw AZ, Hawaii rules. There is SO much to do after you get off the bike and you won't get caught in some unseasonal snow storm. Warm is worth SO much. |
| Equipment: | Ti cycles Hyak, 42/53, 12-27, Neuvation wheels |
| Clothing: | bib shorts, sleeveless undershirt, short sleeve jersey, cap |
Technorati Tags:
west Maui loop
Saturday, March 06, 2010
| Hours Sleeping: | 7 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | 5:00 PM - 176 |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 9:00 AM |
| Distance: | 18 miles |
| Time (total): | |
| Time (moving): | 1:12 |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | 15 mph |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | 75-80 degrees, sunny, dry, calm |
| Workout Type: | active recovery |
| Breakfast: | 7:00 AM – toasted cheese sandwich
8:00 AM – 3 pieces toast, 2 eggs, cheese, water |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | water |
| Course: | Kihei south to the end of the road and back |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Recovery ride today – just what the doctor ordered. We all felt like we needed some proper beach time.
I got some (I hope) really great footage of us riding along the coastal road which is through this massive black lava flow. Hope to get it posted as soon as I get back home.
It felt really good to just drink water! |
| Equipment: | Ti Cycles Hyak, 42/53, 12-27, Neuvation wheels |
| Clothing: | bib shorts, sleeveless jersey, cap |
Friday, March 05, 2010
| Hours Sleeping: | 6 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | 6:30 AM - 175 |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 8:30 AM |
| Distance: | 75 miles |
| Time (total): | |
| Time (moving): | 4:23 |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | 17 mph |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | |
| Total Ascent: | 3500 ish feet (according to Brad's GPS) |
| Weather: | Except for the beginning and the end it was like stepping out of a steam bath into the shower and then getting back into the steam bath. Repeat. |
| Workout Type: | |
| Breakfast: | 6:30 AM – egg, 2 servings oatmeal, banana |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | 2 large bottles each w/3 scoops Perpetuem and 3 Endurolytes, Clif bar, a few bites of banana bread |
| Course: | highway to Hana and back |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Two words: sick road
Two more: rain forest
We pulled out of some viewpoint parking lot into a vicious headwind and right away the rain started. I'm not normally a complainer but today my legs felt heavy, the shoulder was narrow, the weather sucked and there was lots of traffic. After about five miles I was this close to becoming that bitchy, whiny guy that no one wants to ride with when we finally got to the good section of the Hana Highway. Then everything changed.
Okay, it kept raining, super hard at times but this road is just insane. And by insane I of course mean f'n fantastic.
- The pavement is new.
- It's constantly going up, down and turning left and right.
- The views are awesome.
- When it rains there are a ton of waterfalls to see.
- The rain forest is SO green and SO lush, totally incredible.
Surprisingly the road surface was not slick! I guess it rains here so often that any oil gets rinsed away pronto. So in spite of having to slow down some for the water we still had a blast. And because it was warm my frown soon turned into a huge grin that kept stretching wider and wider.
I had heard that this road was pretty hard to ride because of all the hills but on the way out we took it relatively easy in order to stick together and on the way back I was able to ride many of the ups in the big ring. Maybe I was just feeling good? Regardless, it was fun to dual with Brad K and Greg K on the climbs again and again.
I did gobs of work on the way home. After one more good surge over a hill I sat up to wait for the others. Greg came roaring by and Brad jumped on his wheel. I waited a bit for Dean J but by the time we got rolling those guys were already pretty small and off in the distance. What the hey, I resolved to give it a go and gave it as much as as I had left.
And I was able to slowly shrink the gap. Especially on a descent where they coasted and where I continued to spin the 12 as fast as I could. But then I got stung. Something (yellow jacket?) smacked me in the upper, inner thigh and suddenly I was coasting and frantically tugging at my shorts. Damn. The resulting welt was not so bad as far as stings go but it sure threw cold water on my big pursuit. So Dean and I just spun it in. Luckily that was only a couple of miles.
I now can't wait to ride this road again! Any dry day has GOT to make this one of the most epic routes there is. Can you say 2011? I can.
Because of the rain we did not go all the way to Hana and stopped about five miles short. I have no regrets. When we stopped to turn around the rain was bucketing down and we all just looked at each other like, "You are CRAZY for being here! Oh wait, I'm here too…"
Big bike cleaning party on the agenda for sure. |
| Equipment: | Ti Cycles Hyak, 42/53, 12-27, Neuvation wheels |
| Clothing: | bib shorts, sleeveless undershirt, sleeveless jersey, wind vest cap |
Thursday, March 04, 2010
| Hours Sleeping: | 6 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 9:30 AM |
| Distance: | 48 miles |
| Time (total): | |
| Time (moving): | 2:45 |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | 17.4 mph |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | 70-80, sunny, dry, very windy |
| Workout Type: | |
| Breakfast: | 6:30 AM – oatmeal, banana, granola, yogurt |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | 2 large bottles each w/3 scoops Perpetuem and 2 Endurolytes, Clif bar |
| Course: | Maui 'uplands' |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Today was a rest day and according to Brad K rest means drilling it into a 20+ mph hour headwind and then racing up a four mile climb. Needless to say I was not fresher at the finish than I was at the start.
Today we met up with Donnie Arnoult owner of Maui Cyclery and he let us tag along with some paying clients. Turns out Donnie used to race with Craig Undem of Cycle University back in the 90s and moved to Maui 11 years ago and has stayed here ever since. He started out with this bike tour business and six years ago opened up a bike shop. Maui Cyclery is by FAR the best bike shop on the island… Donnie has a display case full of old school racing memorabilia, rides with people like Laird Hamilton, Ryder Hesjedal, Julia Mancuso and generally knows which way is up when it comes to cycling.
Since the forecast for the highway to Hana was iffy we instead rode along the edge of the volcano and dropped down to the south end of the island. All totally in the rain shadow. But not in the wind shadow; holy crap.
The beginning was fine. It was the four of us and four clients. We rode along some phenomenal roads that were suburban even by Hawaiian standards meaning very few cars, lots of isolated homes and tons of twists and turns. After about 15 miles, a few climbs and descents we turned the corner and POW, wind.
At least it was right in our face so no need to worry about overlapping wheels, you just sat right behind the guy in front of you. The pavement was exquisitely smooth and the road was constantly undulating. This meant that at times you were doing 22 mph on a descent that you might normally hit 35 on and then you out of the saddle on a climb producing 600+ watts. Ouch.
Picture this. Donnie can hang with anyone, Brad was overflowing with enthusiasm and there was a triathlete with us that must have been jonesing for a major workout. End result? Martin is on the rivet.
At mile post 26 the ever so lovely asphalt ends and the road surface starts to resemble a patchwork quilt. Only instead of cloth they used really small sections of chip seal, packed dirt and some street from several decades ago and stitched them all together. This continues for 10 miles and can be part of an epic loop but not today. Today we turned around and reaped the rewards of our labor. And what a reward it was!
Ever had someone put their hand on the small of your back and push you up a hill? That's what we got every time we crested a rise on the way home during this stretch of road. Half of the rollers were now negotiated in the big ring and the other half were much more pleasant than had any right to be. Oh yeah, we also toned down the tempo a bit to boot. Nice.
There was one four mile climb on the way back to the car and I kinda made a joke by asking Brad how his legs felt and when he said great I jumped away. Well Brad immediately caught me and then went right on by. :( I hesitated for a second hoping that he might be kidding but no such luck. Not exactly sure why I felt obligated to go after him but I did… Too much testosterone on the road today for sure.
I caught him pretty quick but then it was a total grind to the top. And it HURT. A couple of times I would go to the front just to slow the pace a bit but it never got easy.
At the top of this hill we finally called it quits (read: Martin says, "I'm going to loop back and pick up the others.") and rejoined the group. Whew.
Thank God the rest of the ride was mellow and we could just enjoy the scenery which i gotta say was spectacular. So lush, so green. At that last regroup Donnie disappeared into the bushes for a minute and returned with a Jackson's Chameleon. Wow! That's what this place is like. |
| Equipment: | Ti Cycles Hyak, 42/53, 12-27, Neuvation wheels |
| Clothing: | bib shorts, sleeveless undershirt, short sleeve jersey, cap |
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
| Hours Sleeping: | 5 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 8:30 AM |
| Distance: | 75 miles |
| Time (total): | |
| Time (moving): | 5:00
climb – 3:30
descent – 1:30 |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | 14.9 mph
max speed – 47 mph |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | |
| Total Ascent: | 10,023 feet |
| Weather: | upper 60s to 80, some dense fog, wind, very calm and sunny oat the top |
| Workout Type: | |
| Breakfast: | 7:00 AM – oatmeal, banana, honey |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | 2 large bottles each w/3 scoops Perpetuem and 2 Endurolytes, Clif bar, large bottle of water |
| Course: | downtown Peahi to the top of Haleakala and back |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Just when you think you've ridden a hill a friend takes you up a real hill and puts everything into perspective.
We started across the street from the beach so it was harder to get any closer to sea level. From where we parked the car we rode one block, took a right and then it was up, up, UP. But I gotta say, as crazy as a 36 mile hill sounds, the grade is not so bad. And it's super consistent at about six or so percent (that's what I was told) for almost the entire climb. Yes, there are pitches that get steeper but there are also some flatter sections and even a couple of small descents on the way up.
We started very mellow (read: 250 watts). For some reason I was itching to get going but Greg K and Brad K kept telling me how so-and-so had blown their wad by starting too hard so I hung out and tried to chill.
At 3500 feet there is a little general store where we stopped and got snacks and drinks and ate them in the grass. That was really nice. From here the pace picked up (we had made a 'pact' to ride together to this point) and right away we unfortunately lost Dean J. It seemed Brad was on a mission so I just stayed close to him.
I was surprise by how easy I was breathing. Most of the time I was in my 42x25 or 23 and only needed the 27 for the occasional switchback. Standing was also feeling really good and did not sap my energy like it usually does. And my back was feeling fine! At this point anyway. :)
After a bit I noticed that Greg's breathing was in stark contrast to mine. :( He was almost panting and sure enough, shortly after I noticed this he slowly started to drift back. That was at around 6000 feet maybe? So now it was just super Brad and me. And Brad was looking good! Every time the grade would flatten out, Brad would dutifully shift up and accelerate. We just kind of took long 'pulls' and kept trading places.
There is a ranger station/tool booth at about 7500 feet where you have to pay your $5 to enter the park. My feet were kinda hot (and swollen) so getting off my bike for a minute felt pretty darn good. After this point we rode into the fog. Nothing like having it get damp and having the wind pick up to make you second guess what you are doing. And it was swirling so just because you had a headwind at one point did not guarantee that you were going to get a tailwind around the next switchback. Headwind + climb = extra work. Big time.
ASIDE – by this time I was spending most of my time in the 25 with more and more frequent visits to the 27. Oh yes.
At around 8000 feet I started feeling the altitude and now my breathing was getting more shallow and rapid. I had to concentrate to slow it down and really blow out everything in my lungs so that they would take in as much as possible. At around 8500 feet I was in front and suddenly Brad was 30 feet behind me. Then it was 50 and then I was gone. You can't really attack on this kind of a hill – at least I can't – you just ride your pace and people either hang or they don't.
At 9000 feet I was in the 27 a LOT. Several times I would shift to the 23 and stand to release my back and after a meager five revolutions or so would be right back in the saddle. Sheesh… I felt okay in the saddle but standing was f'n hard! Because I could not get out of the saddle to do my back any good I had to get off my bike and walk for 50 feet three times in the last 1000 feet. Oh man did that feel good.
There are two visitor centers at the top of the crater. The lower one has restrooms and water and the upper one is just a lookout. Greg and Brad had both told me that the stretch of road from the lower one to the upper one was the hardest and they weren't joking. I was already in the 27 and then the road tipped up. Not being able to get out of the saddle I just had grind it out. One word: ouch.
But then I saw the 10000 foot sign. Nice. And really, I felt surprisingly good! After leaving Brad I had been able to ride my own pace and in spite of it being just a hair faster than his it was easier for me than to follow his accelerations.
I got a picture of me in front of the 10k sign, toured the parking lot and then returned to the sign and hung out to get a picture of Brad as he rode up. And then he promptly rode up the pedestrian walkway to the observation tower so I followed.
Oh. My. God.
I recall remarking that this mountain did not look like it was 10000 feet tall but now it did. We were WAY above the clouds and since it was kinda broken up you could see for ages in some directions. At times like this I wish that pictures could do the scenery justice but sadly they always fall short. :( And did I mention that the last 2000 feet were like riding through a blast zone? Nothing but pumice, red dirt and brown dirt. There was zero vegetation.
After 30(?) minutes Greg rode up and we got the obligatory group shots and got horizontal on a rock wall that had been warmed quite a bit by the sun; what a luxurious feeling!
After another 30 or so minutes Greg checked his phone and saw that Dean had sent a text letting us know that we should pick him up on the descent so off we went. We stopped really quick at the lower visitor center to get water and put on our vests and warmers and then half a mile later there was Dean.
I love descents. No, I LOVE descents. After we hooked up with Dean I did not see anyone until we regrouped at the ranger station. At the top I was only doing about 35 mph but still easily able to pass cars – of which there were thankfully not too many. Even when I descended through the clouds/fog/mist and got myself damp, the roads were pretty darn dry so I did not have to back it down much at all. To top it off, most of the drivers were really nice and would pull over to let me by. Not all but most. :)
After regrouping I was gone again. Did I mention that I love descents? And now the roads really were dry so I started hanging it out a little more. God this was fun. On some stretches of road you could see really far ahead and one time I was able to pass a car on a left hand switchback by just taking the other lane. It felt beautiful. I was almost faster than the cars on the straights as I was spinning the 12 as fast as I cold and cars were holding back. By now I was doing 40 most of the time. All the switchbacks were marked at 15 mph and they felt so good. And they were banked just slightly so you could really just brake as you approached the entrance and then once you tipped into the turn get off the brakes and ride it out. As soon as I could pedal I was doing so.
This was nuts! I just kept going down and down, through sections that I recognized and some I had forgotten about. The entire descent took me 1.5 hours! And for a change my arms and back held up fine. My legs on the other hand did not. Those little descents on the climb? They felt like walls on the way down. But who cares? I was having the time of my life.
Back at the car Dean, Brad and Greg all showed up together so that made me feel good. It was obvious that some folks were being a bit more cautious on the descent and so I'm glad they all made it down nice and safe. |
| Equipment: | Ti cycles Hyak, 42/53, 12-27, Neuvation wheels |
| Clothing: | bib shorts, sleeveless undershirt, short sleeve jersey, cap (wind vest and arm warmers for part of the descent) |
Technorati Tags:
Maui,
Haleakala
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
| Hours Sleeping: | |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 9:00 AM |
| Distance: | 63 miles |
| Time (total): | |
| Time (moving): | 3:28 |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | 17.9 mph
max – 43 mph |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | 80, windy, mostly sunny |
| Workout Type: | |
| Breakfast: | 7:00 AM – 2 pieces peanut butter toast, tons of oatmeal w/banana, honey |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | 2 large bottles, each w/3 scoops Perpetuem, large bottle of water |
| Course: | west Maui loop - clockwise |
| Results: | extreme fun |
| Comments: | Oh my f'n God! the ride today was so incredibly fun I was accused of giggling uncontrollably.
We started at the nature sanctuary just east of Maalaea. From here it's just a short distance to the highway and then you pretty much ride the shoulder up to Kapalua where the shoulder disappears and the road narrows quite a bit.
The wind was massive. We struggled up to the highway, turned left and were promptly doing 42 mph. Nice. From there all the way up to Kapalua it was mostly a crosswind and did not slow much below 19 mph unless the road was going uphill. In fact, most of the time we were still in the mid 20s on the flats. This sounds not so bad but there were moments when we got moved sideways with authority. :( No matter, it was Maui and so I was having a blast. North of Kapalua it was blast x 10.
From here all the way to Kahakuloa the road alternated between a narrow two lane road, a narrow one lane road and the pavement was not always in great shape. And it was a BLAST. It was constantly up, down, left, right, repeat. Some of the climbs were quite steep – we hit one and I was in my lowest gear pronto. Two pedal strokes later I was out of the saddle and did not (read: could not) sit down until I crested.
The views were spectacular! The roads were so not like anything in WA. No guardrails, no lines, corners marked at 15 and 10(!) mph and you had to stay on the ball for sure. As much as I hate to use my brakes, I had to on a almost every descent as the crosswinds were potent and even with totally average rims my bike was getting moved sideways more than I was comfortable was with.
Lots of the transitions were the kind where you come swooping in mashing a huge gear and then promptly go running for the granny. We rode through all these tiny 'villages' (if you can even call them that – more like a small collection of houses nestled in a switchback) and passed more than one fruit stand where people were selling pineapples, shave ice, etc.
After passing through Kahakuloa the road suddenly improved and the shoulder returned. And from here back to the car it's mostly downhill. NICE. Did I mention the roads were smooth as a baby's bottom and freshly swept? NICER. I have not descended like that in ages – so much fun. And there was hardly any traffic. I could go on and on.
Finally we blasted back to the car at 35+ mph with the assistance of the wind that had buffeted us all day.
After Brad K got us all recovery Frappuccinos (decaf for me) and then it was beach, food and lots of water. I am in love with this place. |
| Equipment: | Ti Cycles Hyak, 42/53, 12-27, Neuvation wheels |
| Clothing: | shorts, sleeveless undershirt, short sleeve jersey, cap |
Thursday, February 25, 2010
| Hours Sleeping: | |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | ride - 6:00 AM |
| Distance: | ride - 23 miles
commute – 11 miles |
| Time (total): | ride - 1:30 |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | upper 40s, dry sky, wet ground, some wind, mostly cloudy |
| Workout Type: | endurance plus (whatever the hell that means… basically I went too fast for it be an endurance ride but it was not a 'hard' interval) |
| Breakfast: | 5:00 AM – cereal
8:30 AM – almonds |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | large bottle w/1.5 scoops Cytomax |
| Course: | ride - around Mercer Island
commute – Interlaken to work, Fremont and Dexter home |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Rain had fallen last night and was in the forecast for Friday and Saturday so I figured better get our while it's (relatively) dry. Still, the ground was wet so I hauled the fender bike out. Blech… it's hard to switch back once you have tasted the sweetness that is the race machine. :(
I met Jim K and his crew on the Mercer Island lid and we proceeded with one lap around the island. The pace was very reasonable but I was still hating it. I tried to keep it in a relatively small gear and it worked most of the time but I was just plain old tired.
As we crested the small rise at the south end of the island I was huffing and puffing and my legs felt pretty heavy. Sheesh.
When we were crossing the I-90 bridge I had decided to ride home with Jim (meaning head up Madrona and Union to my place). As we neared the tunnel Jim said, "See you later." and that's all I needed, instead of turning right and climbing Madrona I took a left and made a beeline for home. :)
My commute only confirmed what I felt in my AM ride – that my legs were toast. Going to work was obviously not so bad but coming home I was going very s l o w l y… |
| Equipment: | ride - Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25
commute – Raleigh town bike, 36x16 |
| Clothing: | Sugoi shoe covers, Roubaix knickers, Craft long sleeve undershirt, heavy long sleeve jersey, OR Gripper gloves, cap |
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
| Hours Sleeping: | 5 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | 7:30 AM - 176 |
| Body Fat: | 8 |
| Time of Day: | 5:30 AM |
| Distance: | 32 miles |
| Time (total): | 2 hours |
| Time (moving): | Each hill was taking us about 2:10, maybe a little less. |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | 14.7 mph (max – 36 mph) |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | Justin's power numbers: 450, 429, 425, 460, 435, 423, 428, 450 |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | low 40s, partly cloudy, dry, calm |
| Workout Type: | hill intervals |
| Breakfast: | 3:45 AM – muesli
8:00 AM – 2 bananas
9:00 AM – 2 bagels w/cream cheese |
| Lunch: | 1:00 PM - Stonewall's Jerquee, almonds, water |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | large bottle w/1 scoop Cytomax |
| Course: | Dawg, Leschi, 8xMadrona, Seward Park, home |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Q: Where can you go 8x2 minutes at around 400 watts and maybe do it on a hill as that makes it easier to get the watts up and not be too far from home?
A: Madrona.
Seriously, this hill is just so convenient/perfect for so many things… the only problem is it's SO close that you don't really get warmed up prior to setting out for the first interval. Oh well, small price to pay.
We all went too hard on the first hill. I started in my 42x21 and kept it there and consequently paid the price near the top. And by 'price' I of course mean total leg blowup. For all the subsequent efforts I started in my 42x23.
On the second and third hill I tried to shift up and stand up just past the right hand turn. It worked (meaning I actually accelerated when I stood) once, the second time my speed did not change at all and the third time I tried this I promptly had to sit back down so won't even count that one.
After four hills we were all kinda gassed and so took a tiny break by spinning down to Leschi and back before continuing – what a difference! Number five was solid and on six and seven I was able to increase the pace just a tad after rounding the right hand corner. In the saddle this time. Seven was actually all out near the top thanks to Justin A and my ego… :)
The last effort was from the pond up to Union so we had a little flat ground to ramp it up. Did it help? Not me. I got to the climb after that initial flat section and went backwards in a hurry. Justin and Ryan D just danced up, up and away.
It only took us a few seconds to decide to ride some more as all this only took 1:15! We headed down to Seward and back and good thing as my legs needed some purging.
Greg K was on his rain bike, Justin and I were on full race machines and Ryan had his race bike with fenders. It is that time of year after all. But my point was that Greg kept up very well considering; VERY well. This is such a good training group, I'm going to milk it for all that I can as long as I can. Seeing as midweek racing starts in four weeks that means one more month. |
| Equipment: | Ti Cycles Hyak, 42/53, Neuvation wheels, 12-25 |
| Clothing: | Sugoi shoe covers, Roubaix knickers, Roubaix leg warmers, Craft long sleeve undershirt, Craft short sleeve undershirt, heavy long sleeve jersey, OR Gripper gloves, cap |
Saturday, February 20, 2010
| Hours Sleeping: | 7 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 8:30 AM |
| Distance: | 73 miles |
| Time (total): | 4:15 |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | upper 30s to low 50s, sunny, calm, dry |
| Workout Type: | race simulation |
| Breakfast: | 6:30 AM – cereal |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | 2 large bottles each w/2 scoops Sustained Energy and 1 scoop Endurox R4, gel |
| Course: | |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | First outdoor ride on the race bike! Good thing too as the pace was HOT. No way could I have hung on with the winter pig today, no possible way.
About 25 or 30 of us met in Leschi at 8 for a team picture and then after people suddenly started rolling out… 15 or so were at least five minutes up the road before our bunch got going. It was a little quick on Lake WA Blvd and a lot quick on Rainier. After Coulon Park a significant chunk of the group headed north around the lake but 15 or so headed east.
McDonald's hill was very reasonable but once we hit May Valley people started twisting the grip. And it was fun! I did not have a speedo but it felt like we were close to 30 mph the last few miles. We rotated through and I pulled down the last descent to Issaquah-Hobart.
I really wanted a race today and that's what I got starting here. As we turned left up Tiger everyone relaxed a bit except for Justin A. Suddenly he was 40' off the front so of course I Had to close the gap. At first we were still talking… then came that steep left turn.
Then I was going as fast as I possibly could. Just to stay with. After a couple of hundred meters of this I glanced back and there were Lyle T and Olivier H. Nice. We kept pushing and pushing and as soon as the hill flattened out a bit I tried an attack. Ha! Everyone was on my right away but it did up the pace again and we kept on it all the way to the bottom.
I was kinda expecting a short respite here but no, Lyle promptly turned around and started heading back up – and at a good clip! Ouch… at first I thought I was going to get shelled as the gap between me and the front two was hovering at 10' which is that dangerous distance. It can go either way in cases like this and I was not able to close it until the road leveled off again. This time as we got to the top I did not have an attack in me. In fact, as Olivier pulled off I had to move over right behind him just to catch my breath. Luckily I did recover and jumped just before the descent as I was SO looking forward to the turns and wanted to be near the front.
Dry roads + Tiger = a dream. At the bottom we waited for everyone and continued into Issaquah. Alastair L was really feeling his oats as he kept the pace high on May Valley and put in an excellent surge here too.
Pulling out of town I thought I still felt fine until Newport started to climb and Lyle threw down again. He goes sailing up the right hand side of the road and Dave H and I go after him. The pace all the way up Newport was hellacious. I was burning the candle at both ends by now for sure.
When it came to lap Mercer Island I was beat. The problem was I was right in front of Lyle in the rotation so every time I would pull off the pace would ramp up. :( In very short order my pulls became pretty darn short. Someone sprinted up the last little incline before the long descent, I got third wheel and then right at the base of the last drag up to I-90 Dave gave it the gas big time.
I dutifully got out of the saddle and matched him for about five seconds and then felt the atomic core in both thighs overheat – total nuclear meltdown. Dave and Todd G were killing it. Lyle passed me again as did Dustin V and at the top Todd slayed all. Dustin was behind him, then came Lyle and I just managed to catch Dave who had slowed down. DAMN that was hard.
Going across the floating bridge Lyle AGAIN crammed the accelerator to the floor as the bridge begins to rise on the west side and I was quite literally going 100 percent just to stay on his wheel.
Everyone who was left peeled off at this point and so just Lyle (who finally slowed down) and I road home along Interlaken.
After dropping Lyle off I cruised down Broadway for the people watching. As I passed Dick's Drive In I was getting pretty hungry but the overpowering smell of greasy meat almost made me hurl. Usually I can smell French fries but not today… just lots of beef fat. Bad news.
Crazy thing happened today on the island… as we came roaring past this runner who was heading in the same direction as us she SCREAMED at us to slow down. WTF?! She was on the right side of the white line and we were on the left; and going slower than any car would have. Was it because we were quiet and surprised her? Probably. Still, whacked. |
| Equipment: | Ti Cycles Hyak, 42/53, Neuvation wheels, 12-25 |
| Clothing: | knit shoe covers, bib shorts, knee warmers, Craft short sleeve undershirt, Craft long sleeve undershirt, short sleeve jersey, arm warmers, polypropylene gloves, OR Gripper gloves, cap |
Monday, February 15, 2010
| Hours Sleeping: | 7 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 11:00 AM |
| Distance: | 50 miles |
| Time (total): | 3 hours |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | mid 40s, foggy and then clearing and warming, calm, dry |
| Workout Type: | endurance/tempo |
| Breakfast: | 7:30 AM – cereal |
| Lunch: | 10:45 AM – Boca burger wrap, peanut butter and apple butter wrap |
| Dinner: | 5:00 PM – beer |
| Workout Food: | large bottle w.2 scoops Sustained Energy and 2 scoops Endurox R4 |
| Course: | counter-clockwise around Lake WA |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | I got out kind late today but that was okay as it was FOGGY this morning. I mean holy cow, pea soup and all that.
I decided to ride how I felt and not have any agenda. At times I was spinning the 50x17 pretty easy and at other times I had to shift to the 19 on the flats. The only thing I tried not to do was bog down in a big gear on the hills and I mostly succeeded.
Heading north on the east side I took a little diversion up a hill and it felt great. And climbing Juanita was also super. I was in the 50x21 and 23 all the way up and it felt easy. Nice.
On the tail coming home things did not feel so easy and that is one of the extended stretches where I had to shift to the 19. Oh well.
I never felt super fresh but it was great to be out and about for sure. Glad I did not miss this day. |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
| Clothing: | shoe covers, Roubaix knickers, Craft short sleeve undershirt, Craft long sleeve undershirt, heavy long sleeve jersey, OR Gripper gloves, cap |
Saturday, February 13, 2010
| Hours Sleeping: | 6 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 9:00 AM |
| Distance: | 54 miles |
| Time (total): | 3:30 |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | |
| Workout Type: | |
| Course: | |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Damn…! My smoothie must have been extra large or something because I could still feel it sloshing around in my stomach for the first hour of my ride. I had no idea how my legs would feel after yesterday so I figured if I felt good I'd toss in some efforts and if not I would just follow wheels.
All the way down to Renton I was not feeling it. Corrie M got a flat on Rainier and so we had to hang out for a bit. Leaving Coulon Park Brad K got one too. At this point a few of us decided to keep rolling slow and maybe the fast guys who had all stopped to help Brad would catch up to us.
McDonald's hill was very mellow. It was all about churning your lowest gear. but I started to feel better! A couple of guys started to push it after cresting the main climb and I just knew that waiting would be torture so we talked and decided to just carry on.
As we rolled down May Valley it was just five of us. Greg K wanted to ride endurance pace and no one else had an agenda so I pushed it a couple of time just a little and no one complained. Just before the last descent down to Issaquah-Hobart I went to the front and went hard. I managed to hold it all the way to the bottom of the hill. According to Gabe T it was four minutes at 400 watts… it did not feel like I was going thta hard but with no dashboard it's always hard for me to tell.
We turned right towards Tiger but then checked our watches and decided to about face and do Cougar instead. I got in one more good effort passing the parapenting parking lot and held it all the way to the top of the rise and did not feel blown. Nice.
We skirted Squak on our way to Cougar and then it was up the zoo hill for my first time in at least six months. No one was feeling like going hard so I was on my own pretty quick. There was no agenda other than a solid effort and not dying at the top and I managed to get that. Nice. I stayed in the saddle for all the steep sections and only lost focus for a bit in the second half of the climb when the road straightens out – you need to be pretty motivated to push it on the shirt dips… I was not that motivated.
At the saddle no one was in sight so I carried on to the summit and then rode back down to meet everyone. From here it was pretty much just about getting home.
I felt better than I thought I would but that's because the ride was on my terms. There wasn't anyone else there pushing the pace when I was gassed so of course I felt okay. But that is good to have sometimes. :) |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
| Clothing: | shoe covers, bib shorts, knee warmers, Craft short sleeve wind front under shirt, Craft long sleeve undershirt, short sleeve jersey, arm warmers, polypropylene gloves, cap |
Friday, February 12, 2010
| Hours Sleeping: | 6 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | ride – 5:30 AM
indoor TT – 5:30 PM |
| Distance: | |
| Time (total): | ride – 2 hours |
| Time (moving): | indoor TT #1 – 26:09
indoor TT #2 – 25:29 |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | indoor TT #1 - 332
indoor TT #2 - 313 |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | mid 40s, partly cloudy, dry sky, mostly wet ground, calm |
| Workout Type: | ride – tempo + sprints |
| Breakfast: | 5:00 AM – 2 bananas
7:30 AM – cereal
9:30 AM – almonds |
| Lunch: | 11:30 PM – 3 pieces Pilot Bread w/cheese, 4 pieces w/apple butter
1:30 PM - Stonewall's Jerquee
2:00 PM – Odwalla protein drink, water |
| Dinner: | 8:30 PM – pasta, shrimp, wine, water |
| Workout Food: | ride – half a large bottle w/2 scoops Cytomax
indoor TT – water |
| Course: | indoor TT – 10 mile rolling course |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | I don't mind saying I was just a little hung over this morning… luckily not too much. I was tired too and did not get out of bed in time to have a proper breakfast so wolfed down two bananas and got rolling.
I met Justin A, Greg K and RC R at the Dawg and we headed south. On the floating bridge Justin got a flat and we had some issues fixing it. The spare tube also had a hole so at his insistence we carried on while Justin took the time to fix it properly.
Let me tell you that it is pretty sketchy doing sprints on East Mercer Way, especially in the dark and after Greg's light died. My light is pretty lame anyway and so we were basically riding by RC's light only. Throw in the tight turns and some wet spots and a manhole cover or 10 and we mostly (except for maybe three sprints?) rode tempo until we hit the south tip of the island.
RC said he was not feeling like he had any snap and Greg was wearing a backpack but for once my sprints were better and I was able to pass these guys pretty much every time. And I noticed that I was doing much better in smaller gears… the two times I tried to launch in a big gear I just got bogged down and did not have the strength/power to get it rolling very quickly at all.
A couple of miles from the bridge we passed Justin and so waited and regrouped. I was super glad about this as I was imagining nightmare scenarios like his tire being totally shot and his wife calling to let him know that their baby was coming… :(
I got in one more effort when we were all together and then I had to head home while everyone else got in some more miles.
At Cycle University I was thrilled to see Ryan D and Nelson J! I was also guardedly optimistic and thought that this morning had not taken too much out of me. I started fine but shortly things started to go haywire… First my power numbers went sky high but the resistance was really low. After a few seconds when I realized this was not right I stopped pedaling and re-calibrated my head unit. This didn't help. I called Lang R over and eh checked everything out twice (while I basically soft pedaled or did nothing) and finally disconnected the power from my resistance unit and plugged it back in. That seemed to do the job so I got back to work. All the stopping and starting really wreaks havoc on your concentration so I just did the best I could and finished the heat. I suspect my power number is a tad high due to that malfunction I had…
I was resolved to focus more now that my mechanical issues were sorted but it did not help much. :( Pretty quick I realized that I was not as fresh as I wanted to be and that my ride would be a good workout but not anything stellar. Nelson had done the classic fast start and burnout in the first heat so prior to the start of heat number two I counseled him a bit and he was having a MUCH better ride. Nice. Ryan was in the zone and not only had a negative split but rode what I suspect is a PR for him in this longer course. Also nice!
Another distraction for me was watching Sam J. He did the first heat on his new TT bike and posted a super time. For heat number two he got on his road bike and positively burned up the course. Kind of humbling when someone is fully 100 watts stronger than you during the entire race.
I was just not feeling it this heat and so did my best. A couple of times I did manage to keep the cadence up and generate the same power as I might in a larger gear if I felt fresh so that was a positive take-away but mostly I was just tired. To top it off half way through this heat I got the dreaded liquid burps so had to deal with a bit of stomach acid. Rats. No excuses though, just distractions that you might have to deal with on game day.
Everyone was very supportive and after each rider finished they encouraged everyone else. I think this may have messed with Nelson a tad as he was last and so had lots of people shouting not only encouragement but also advice at him. :( Oh well, he did do MUCH better and I think he was pretty psyched. He should be. |
| Equipment: | ride – Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25
indoor TT – Abici Time Machine, 42/55, 12-23 |
| Clothing: | ride – Sugoi shoe covers, Roubaix knickers, Craft short sleeve undershirt, Craft long sleeve undershirt, heavy long sleeve jersey, Polypropylene gloves, cap |
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
| Hours Sleeping: | |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | ride - 5:30 AM
run – 6:45 PM |
| Distance: | ride - 38 miles…?! Seems kinda long for what we did, but MapMyRide is frequently a PIA to use and I might have messed up the route some.
run – 3.2 miles |
| Time (total): | ride - 2:15
run – 46:16 |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | run – 7:35 minutes per mile (if that distance is accurate…) |
| Power: | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | low 40s, foggy, dry roads, calm, mostly cloudy |
| Workout Type: | threshold intervals |
| Breakfast: | 4:30 AM – muesli |
| Lunch: | I forget… but it involved half of a tofu Korean sandwich, some crackers and cheese and a few cookies and a banana |
| Dinner: | 8:00 PM – left over veggies, brown rice, tofu, Bud Light |
| Workout Food: | large bottle w/2 scoops Cytomax |
| Course: | ride - up to the Dawg to meet the crew, down to Leschi and then half way around MI and back and finally down to Seward and back
run – around the outside of Green Lake |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | What was I expecting from this workout…? In my mind I had envisioned something slightly different than a Wednesday night spent at Cycle University but it was not so. If anything it was slightly harder because I was outside and had to balance the bike and was wearing a lot of clothing and it was dark and we could not see so hot as a result of the fog. But it was also SO good to be outside with these guys and not parked on a trainer.
We rolled down to Leschi and crossed the bridge and began our first interval as soon as the road tipped up. I was told the goal was to maintain roughly 320 watts for 15 minutes, repeat.
Justin A eased up the road on this first climb and Ryan D and I ended up riding together with Greg K a bit behind. It was hard. To keep the watts up you really need to give it some stick every time the road levels off or goes downhill. Good lessons for a real life TT no doubt. :|
Mere minutes (less than 10 anyway) after finishing effort number one we started number two.
During the first one I had to grab Ryan's wheel for a few seconds but otherwise was mostly okay. This time I had to draft a couple of more times just to hang with.
ASIDE – I'm totally crediting my winter bike with this…
I was told the second effort would end at "the top of the hill" so dutifully started soft pedaling when we crested the rise before the last big descent and Ryan went sailing past me. D'oh…! They meant the next hill. I managed to catch him on the descent and we crested together. Whew, that burnt at least one extra match.
The third effort was along Lake WA Blvd. We started at Mt Baker beach and went down to the traffic island just north of Seward and then all the way back to I-90. This time I was fully relegated (read: at the back). I tried to fake it for a few hundred meters and then could feel myself capitulating (trying to throw down some multi-syllabic action here) and I had to go scrabbling (see, there's more where that came from) for a wheel. A few times I was able to come out of the draft and ride alongside Justin or Ryan but it didn't last long each time.
Nice job everyone for sure – it's a pleasure to ride with these guys as we seem pretty compatible and somewhat similar in strength and riding style.
Climbing up Madrona was no PR. And I am damn glad I had that food before the ride today. Am I looking forward to more of the same Wednesday night? Sorta… :)
Later in the day Shelley asked me if I'd like to go hit Green Lake after work and I said yes! It was pretty fun cruising around there in the dark as the trail around the outside is pretty well lit and no lights are needed. I was dressed a bit warm but hey, it was one of those evenings where I'm shivering until I actually start exercising and I didn't get way hot or anything.
It felt like I was totally plodding along! I could have sworn that my speed would be around 8 min/mile or slower but I did pick it up just a little on the second half so maybe my sense of pace is just shot from the lack of running lately? On the up side no tingling – just that awkward feeling from doing something physical activity you have not done in ages. |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
| Clothing: | ride - Sugoi shoe covers, Roubaix knickers. leg warmers, Craft short sleeve undershirt, Craft long sleeve undershirt, heavy long sleeve jersey, OR Gripper gloves, cap
run – fleece knickers, Craft short sleeve undershirt, short sleeve running shirt, long sleeve fleece, fleece gloves, hat |
Saturday, February 06, 2010
| Hours Sleeping: | 6 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 9:00 AM |
| Distance: | 64 miles |
| Time (total): | 4:30 |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | mid 40s to low 50s, partly sunny, dry, calm |
| Workout Type: | |
| Breakfast: | 6:30 AM – cereal, 2 bananas |
| Lunch: | 2:00 PM – indoor picnic (marinated veggies, greens, noodles, watermelon, 2 beers) |
| Dinner: | 6:00 PM – 2 mini cheese pizzas, tea |
| Workout Food: | 2 large bottles each w/3 scoops Endurox R4 |
| Course: | Leschi, Seward, Renton, McDonalds Hill, May Valley, Tiger, Squak, Newport, home |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | What a great day! And accordingly everyone except for Greg K and Alex T were on their A rides. Made me feel a bit insecure on my winter rig I must say; nothing but carbon as far as the eye could see.
We eased down to Seward but then on Rainier the pace hotted up right away complete with a sprint at the 'finish'.
Lyle was having a crap day. He got one flat on the way down to Rainer, his tire blew while standing around at Coulon and then he pinched one tube and snapped the valve stem off of another. :( He ended up calling for a ride home. I felt pretty bad for him. On the other hand he was not well prepared at all… he only had one tube with him and no tire levers or pump and needed to work on his flat fixing technique. Still, no fun that. All this must have accounted for about 20-30 minutes of our total time.
Climbing up McDonalds Hill was mellow and the pace down May Valley very reasonable. When we turned right on Issaquah-Hobart everyone stopped for some reason and I just kept on going; and took my gloves off – it was getting nice out! This gave me a head start climbing Tiger and I needed it. Not even half way up Olivier, Alex and Edgardo came zooming by. A few seconds later there was Aaron S.
From the top of the hill Mt Rainier was HUGE, it was an amazing day out.
Climbing back over Tiger we all stuck together until I surged at the top where it flattened out. That got a few folks moving and we leapfrogged each other on the descent. I love going downhill when the roads are dry and today was the first time this has been the case on a twisty road so it was a real thrill. Yes!
After a quick stop in Issaquah for water and for me to remove one more layer (the long sleeve undershirt) Greg, Olivier, Alex, Edgardo and I went up Squak. The bottom is so steep but it does level off a bit later on and I started to feel better on that less steep section which was a moral boost. From here Alex and Edgardo went their own way and suddenly the group that had been almost 20 to start was down to three.
And what a difference that made! Riding home with Greg and Olivier was a dream. You don't think about it very often but the experience levels on our team are actually very diverse and suddenly when it was just three guys who are used to riding in close quarters we clicked. Exchanges were intuitive, the speed was constant, the flows was great. It was such a marked difference I found myself proclaiming this to these guys when we were stopped at a light. |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
| Clothing: | knit shoe covers, knee warmers, bib shorts, Craft long sleeve undershirt, Craft wind front short sleeve undershirt, short sleeve jersey, arm warmers, Polypropylene gloves, cap |
Thursday, February 04, 2010
| Hours Sleeping: | 6 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | 7:30 AM – 177 lb |
| Body Fat: | 9 |
| Time of Day: | 6:00 AM |
| Distance: | 20 miles? |
| Time (total): | 1:30 |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | low 40s, wet ground, dry sky, calm |
| Workout Type: | hills |
| Breakfast: | 5:00 AM – muesli
8:30 AM – almonds
10:00 AM – peanut butter and jam sandwich |
| Lunch: | 1:30 PM – peanut butter and jam sandwich, Stonewall's Jerquee, 1 piece bread, pear, water |
| Dinner: | 6:30 PM – beer (specifically Oranjeboom in the 16 oz can – 5% baby) |
| Workout Food: | half of a large bottle w/2 scoops Cytomax |
| Course: | Dawg, 4 times up Capitol Hill all the way to the water tower, home |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | I had to bag early today, rats…
Ryan D, Justin A, RC R and I met up at the Dawg at 6. Unfortunately Greg K broke a spoke on the way down and had to go home so missed out. :(
From here we simply spun around the Hop In Grocery and proceeded directly to our first hill effort. Ryan said the goal was to maintain around 340 watts to the top. At the bottom of the first hill that number seemed WAY easy. Not so much as we neared the top of Interlaken. By then I was gasping for air and my legs felt the opposite of warmed up. Ryan and Justin were stellar all morning cresting the hill first this time and every time.
Effort number two was better for me. My legs were warming to the concept of what we were doing. I was still behind at the top but it just felt better…
Number three was even better? But I could tell that I was digging deep now. I could have gone harder at points but I was also not recovered from last night and this is the perfect way to make sure that you can't get in a quality ride on the weekend.
The fourth time up Justin wanted to back off some and that's all the encouragement I needed and joined him pronto. It seemed to me that Ryan and RC also backed off some because they were not that far ahead of us on the first incline… This gap stayed the same on the flat section and up the rest of Interlaken. Having that carrot is dangerous! :) As we crossed 15th they were still right there so I gunned it a bit and closed the gap. It was hard but I managed. Coming out of the corner at the conservatory I shifted to the big ring and sort of sprinted (as well as you can sprint on this pig after climbing a hill) and managed to finish with them as we hit the water tower. Oof…. that effort plus the time getting late led me to call it quits.
The hill route is below and it was taking us roughly 8:30 to climb it each time. I was in the small ring on each rise but needed the big ring for the flat section through Interlaken to keep the power up. I had to stand on the last rise up Galer and would shift back to the big ring (and get out of the saddle again) as we passed the conservatory.
This bike is hard to haul up a hill! That's my takeaway for the morning. Ryan and Just are also riding really well and RC is no slouch. Even better than their fitness though is their nature. Not many people are nice, willing to get up at oh-dark thirty, have a sense of humor and are supportive during the workout. Nice. |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
| Clothing: | Sugoi shoe covers, Roubaix knickers, Craft short sleeve undershirt, Craft long sleeve undershirt, heavy long sleeve jersey, OR Gripper gloves, cap |
Sunday, January 31, 2010
| Hours Sleeping: | 7 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 9:00 AM |
| Distance: | AM ride – 87 miles
PM ride – 10 miles |
| Time (total): | AM ride – 5:30 |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | mid 40s, some moisture, dry at the end, mostly cloudy, calm |
| Workout Type: | tempo, some race simulation |
| Breakfast: | 7:00 AM - smoothie |
| Lunch: | 3:00 PM – juice, water |
| Dinner: | 5:00 PM – potatoes, veggies, cheese, greens, chocolate milk, water
8:30 PM – chocolate milk |
| Workout Food: | 1.5 large bottles each w/3 scoops Endurox R4, Builder's bar, 2 gels |
| Course: | |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | I decided to forgo the Ladro start and rode straight from my house up the Burke Gilman Trail to Log Boom Park. For a change the trail was very peaceful and it was a fantastic spin. Just after leaving the University Village where the trail splits for a bit a tree had fallen across both paths.
It seemed like everyone was here for a ride today.. not just our team but a large contingent of Wines riders and Hagens women were also here. Nice.
We rolled out and about two miles later someone got a flat. :( After what seemed like the longest tube change in the world we got going again. Dustin V was obviously in the mood for a workout and was charging. At the expense of the group. Whatever. On the little climb before the climb to the church only Tony B stayed with him. I was hating life before we even turned left to head up to the church and was wondering if this was going to be a good day or piss poor.
More of the same up to the church. Justin A put in a big pull to close the gap and I was solely focused with staying within six inches of the wheel in front of me. Why wasn't everyone else dying like me…?!
Then we slowed a tad. Whew. After descending Seattle Hill Road Tony, Justin, Ryan D and I had a gap and so we just rolled but nothing wicked. Soon Dustin and Greg K bridged up and we ramped it up a bit. The schedule called for some efforts and the usual sprints so I dutifully took the Edmonds city limit sign. :) That jacked the pace even more and on the last rise before you hang a right back down into the valley Greg and I were left in arrears.
We caught back on as we crossed the train tracks and here we go again. Only this time I was starting to feel just a little better. At the end Dustin tried to lead out the sprint but it was much too early. When he pulled off Justin launched and I had to bridge a 40' gap to grab his wheel but I made and was able to come around. Everyone else was pooped from the pace and Justin probably could have gone harder but hey, it was my little moral booster.
In Snohomish we stopped to hit the head and eat a bar.
Just surged one more time as we got close to Monroe but that was it. As we left the highway and turned right through the farms Cathy V got a flat. This was another slow motion fix and just as we pulled out Alex T got one too. :( I must be getting bitchy in my old age because I just took this one over in an attempt to get us rolling again. Sorry Alex…
The pace picked up once more on Highbridge Road but this time it was fun. We did not kill the hills and just kept leapfrogging each other.
At some point the leaders turned right and Greg, Justin, Tony, Alex and I went left.
On the second to last hill before you get to the top of Woodinville I tried 'my move'. I went from the bottom and felt super until I crested and shifted up. Then the legs started to fill with lead… I looked back and Greg was trying to come across so I gave it everything and managed to open the gap a bit but it did not last. In spite of the fact that you are descending, that stretch of road always destroys me and by the time I reached the transition at the bottom of the hill he was on me. Greg moved in front of me and then his glasses fell off of his helmet! Greg slammed to a stop, I had to slow to a crawl and then everyone else was there. Justin almost plowed into the back of me as he was making up ground mighty quick.
From here it was just cruise control except for one stretch of trail in Bothell where Greg decided to cram the accelerator to the floor; Jesus!
Sore back today! Big time. :( Especially once I got home. But the weather was so (relatively) nice that after a quick shower Shelley and I jumped on our single speed bikes, drove to the bottom of Madrona and cruised down to Seward Park and back. It was such a nice afternoon! After that I was crippled and had to stretch a lot. |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
| Clothing: | ride 1 - Sugoi shoe covers, bib shorts, knee warmers, Craft long sleeve undershirt, Craft wind front short sleeve undershirt, short sleeve jersey, arm warmers, OR Gripper gloves, cap
ride 2 – fleece knickers, Swobo Shants, 2 cotton shirts and a cotton hoodie, cap |
Thursday, January 28, 2010
| Hours Sleeping: | 4 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | 7:30 AM (after riding and before eating) – 174
Since I'm usually at 179 or so in the evening after eating and not doing any aerobic activity this is proof positive that my weight varies 5-6 lb through the course of one day! Nifty factoid. |
| Body Fat: | 8 |
| Time of Day: | 5:15 AM |
| Distance: | 40 miles |
| Time (total): | 2:15 |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | low 40s, dry, partly cloudy, calm |
| Workout Type: | sprints |
| Breakfast: | 5:00 AM – banana
7:30 AM – banana, Promax bar |
| Lunch: | 11:30 AM – 1 piece Fitness Bread and 3 pieces Pilot bread w/peanut butter and jam, Stonewall's Jerquee
12:30 AM – 6 Dove chocolate hearts, water
1:30 PM - tea |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | large bottle w/2 scoops Cytomax |
| Course: | Dawg, half way around Mercer Island, back, Seward Park, Madrona, Union, home |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Nice! Today was my first sprint workout on the bike this year (and since my last race!) and it is just what I need. My motor is getting better but my top end is hurting. HURTING.
Today it was Greg K, RD R and Ryan D. We met up at the Dawg at the usual insane hour of oh dark thirty and hit out. Once we got on the island the schedule called for one hour of moderate tempo riding (250 ish watts?) with 10 second sprints thrown in every three minutes. These were not all-out by any means, rather they were supposed to be around 180 percent of threshold so roughly 570 watts.
I have no power meter so was just along for the ride.
Everyone else could hardly see their power meter so much of this was by feel anyway. :) We'd ride under a street light and Ryan would yell out, "315!" or similar and then we'd all slow down a touch. You get the idea.
But it was great! I thought I would be lagging seriously and did fine. Even on my boat anchor of a winter bike. If we had gone any faster or uphill it would have been a different story but we did not. Whew.
As we headed down to Seward and did some on the flats the sprints felt better and I could tell I was running out of calories at the same time. At the start of the ride I asked Ryan what he fueled up with prior to these early morning outings and he replied with a big bowl of oatmeal, fruit and coffee. Kind of made my lonely banana sound extremely lacking.
Heading up Madrona I could feel myself bonking. At least I was almost home so pushed it a little. M u s t e a t . . . Ryan claimed I charged up the hill at 500 watts, didn't know that was possible in my 38x23 while starving.
All in all it was great fun and these guys are fantastic to ride with. I can't wait to race with them! |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
| Clothing: | Sugoi shoe covers, Roubaix knickers, Craft short sleeve undershirt, Craft long sleeve undershirt, heavy long sleeve jersey, OR Gripper gloves, cap |
Sunday, January 24, 2010
| Hours Sleeping: | |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 8:40 AM |
| Distance: | 76 miles |
| Time (total): | 4:45 |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | low 40s, mostly cloudy, dry most of the time, rain the last hour |
| Workout Type: | |
| Breakfast: | |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | 2 large bottles each w/3 scoops Endurox R4, gel |
| Course: | |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | This ride was kind of a bust… Everyone had a different agenda and the end result was a mostly endurance (read: slow) ride. I got in one opener but damn, every time I go fast it isn't very fast and I can't sustain it. |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
| Clothing: | |
Saturday, January 23, 2010
| Hours Sleeping: | |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 8:45 AM |
| Distance: | 65 miles |
| Time (total): | 4:30…?! |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | low to mid 40s, damp at times, calm |
| Workout Type: | |
| Breakfast: | 6:00 AM - smoothie |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | 1.5 large bottles each with 3 scoops Endurox R4, gel |
| Course: | Leschi, Coulon Park, McDonalds hill, May Valley, Tiger Mt, Squak, Newport, home |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Today was less than satisfying. :(
It seemed everyone had a different agenda and so not much got done. Some folks wanted to climb hills, some wanted to stay on the flats, some would have gone harder and some wanted to hold back. What did happen is we cruised along pretty slowly until we got to Tiger. Todd G went to the front and set a very reasonable tempo but after a bit he got passed and from that point the pace kept getting slowly ratcheted up.
At first it was okay but then I was breathing pretty darn hard.Greg K was pushing it and so was Edgardo B. Near the top Edgardo surged and Todd (easily!) went with. I was gapped but managed to accelerate after a few seconds to regroup. The return trip up Tiger was more controlled.
Next up was Squak. It was only Greg, Alex T, Edgardo and Julie R at this point. Edgardo was off the front immediately and gone. Then came Greg, me Alex and Julie. At one point near the top where the slope is not so severe I tried to reel in Greg but no dice. I closed the gap some but then suffered the consequences of my effort and had to let it open up again. :(
By this time I was totally out of time and Greg and Julie were done so we rode home and skipped the zoo hill which had originally been on the agenda.
I feel like I can go 70 percent for ever, 80 or 90 percent for about as long as those Cycle U indoor TTs (if I ramp it up slowly) and 100 percent not at all. |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
| Clothing: | knit shoe covers, shorts, knee warmers, Craft short sleeve undershirt, Craft long sleeve undershirt, short sleeve jersey, arm warmers, wind vest, OR Gripper gloves, cap |
Thursday, January 21, 2010
| Hours Sleeping: | 4 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 5:45 AM |
| Distance: | 30 miles |
| Time (total): | 1:45 |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | mid 40s, dry, calm |
| Workout Type: | roughly endurance pace |
| Breakfast: | 4:30 AM – cereal
7:30 AM – Promax bar
9:30 AM – almonds |
| Lunch: | 1:30 PM – fish burrito, water |
| Dinner: | 7:00 PM – brown rice, corn chowder, cheese, crackers, tea |
| Workout Food: | water |
| Course: | Dawg, around Mercer Island, home through the I-90 tunnel |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | It was just RC R and me today, we hooked up with Jim K and the ByrneInvent crew on the Mercer Island lid and did one moderate lap around the island.
There were six of us so it was perfect. Except for the two times I almost rode RC into the ditch… I was kind of out of control today. Not sure why. Luckily his bike handling is up to snuff and we were able to laugh it off.
It felt quite warm, warmer than the thermometer indicated. My windproof shirt was awesome. |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
| Clothing: | knit shoe covers, shorts, knee warmers, Craft windproof short sleeve undershirt, Craft long sleeve undershirt, short sleeve jersey, cap Polypropylene gloves |
Monday, January 18, 2010
| Hours Sleeping: | 7 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 1:45 PM |
| Distance: | 21 miles |
| Time (total): | 1:35 |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | mid 50s, mostly sunny, dry, some wind |
| Workout Type: | fun ride |
| Breakfast: | 9:30 AM - cereal |
| Lunch: | 1:00 PM – piece of pizza, 3 pieces biscotti |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | large bottle w/2 scoops Cytomax |
| Course: | |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Sometimes things just work out the way they are supposed to.
After eating burgers (veggie of course!), French fries (twice!), drinking my fair share and not exercising at all these last three days I was thinking I would be chomping at the bit today. After sleeping in and dorking around on the computer for a few hours that was no longer the case. I was just about to go for a run and call it good when I decided to peek my head out of the basement and low and behold it was gorgeous outside.
So, since I had to run an errand downtown anyway I opted for the town bike and decided to just extend the ride. It was the right call.
These rides can be the best thing ever. iPod, sun shining, low-tech bicycle, messenger bag with all the essentials and no agenda.
Besides, my legs did NOT feel spectacular… so I just enjoyed the sights and my music. |
| Equipment: | Raleigh town bike, 26x16 |
| Clothing: | baggy MTB shorts, knee warmers, Craft short sleeve undershirt, long sleeve running shirt, short sleeve running shirt, cap |
Thursday, January 14, 2010
| Hours Sleeping: | 5 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | 9:45 AM - 178 |
| Body Fat: | 8 |
| Time of Day: | 5:15 AM |
| Distance: | 45+ miles (maybe 50?) |
| Time (total): | 3:30 ish |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | |
| Total Ascent: | 4500'+ |
| Weather: | mid to upper 40s, dry, calm |
| Workout Type: | hills at an endurance+ pace |
| Breakfast: | 4:15 AM – cereal
8:45 AM – 2 bites of a French toast bagel, chocolate milk
9:30 AM – 2 pieces bread, butter |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | 2 large bottles each w/3 scoops Endurox R4 |
| Course: | Madrona x 5, Capitol Hill x 4, Queen Anne Hill x 5 |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Ouch… this ride started and finished hard.
A couple of weeks ago when I first attended this Thursday morning hill extravaganza the pace was indeed endurance but no longer. In fairness I suppose that if you were a regular participant your fitness would increase and so the perceived effort would be similar but that's not me. :| The first time up Madrona I was hating life. Ryan D was instantly 50' in front of me and the gap just grew from there. As we finished the second rep I was seriously wondering if I had made a mistake. On the fourth(?) time up Madrona Greg throttled it back a tad so I had some company. Thanks Greg.
I felt a little better on Capitol Hill. The route up the first time is a brute but then I settled in and 2-4 were okay. Once I even contemplated giving it a little gas but prudence prevailed knowing what was still in store. My mood was picking up!
Funny how fast things can change. Queen Anne broke my spirit. The first climb has a wall and I can't stay in the saddle while on it. Plus you're head is playing games with itself as you approach this hill since you know what is coming. :( RC R had turned off at this point and Greg and Ryan were riding away form me just going up Dexter. On the 'wall' the gap increased. Reps 2-5 were on 3rd Ave and although Ryan's pace was still beyond me at least the grade is not nearly as severe. And again here Greg dialed it back for one ascent so I had company.
Whew, I'm glad Ryan and Greg were okay waiting for the slow guy today as I was on the edge most every climb.
After we finished it was down to Whole Foods on Denny and the traditional coffee break. I used to hate these kinds of stops but am starting to like them… Greg got a giant chocolate milk and a French toast bagel (that's a bagel with sticky syrup and giant sugar crystals on it) and let me have some of both. We chatted about the finer nuances of running a cycling team, had a good laugh and then went our respective ways.
Riding up Pike I was okay as long as I was in my easiest gear. Seriously. If I tried to accelerate there was nothing in it. Mission accomplished. |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
| Clothing: | knit shoe covers, shorts, knee warmers, Craft short sleeve undershirt, Craft long sleeve undershirt, short sleeve jersey, arm warmers, Polypropylene gloves, cap
I was totally fine until we stopped for coffee, then I froze. |
Sunday, January 10, 2010
| Hours Sleeping: | 6 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 8:30 AM |
| Distance: | 49 miles |
| Time (total): | 3:10 |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | mid to upper 40s, dry, calm |
| Workout Type: | endurance |
| Breakfast: | 6:45 AM – smoothie |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | large bottle w/3 scoops Endurox R4 |
| Course: | Ladro, around the north end of Lake WA, around Mercer Island, home |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | "The best laid schemes o' mice an' men" and all that…
I was hoping for a more aggressive ride today than what it turned into but good thing for me as I was not capable of more. It appears that Friday and Saturday really took it out of me.
So we cruised around at something between rest and endurance pace and I tried to loosen up, eat, drink and enjoy the company. Finally, by the time we got to Mercer Island, my legs started to turn over more smoothly but there still was nothing in it. |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
| Clothing: | Sugoi shoe covers, bib shorts, knee warmers, Craft short sleeve undershirt, Craft long sleeve undershirt, short sleeve jersey, arm warmers, Polypropylene gloves, cap |
Saturday, January 09, 2010
| Hours Sleeping: | 6 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 6:40 AM |
| Distance: | 66 miles |
| Time (total): | 5 hours! |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | |
| Total Ascent: | 4190' |
| Weather: | mid to upper 40s, calm, mostly sunny by the end |
| Workout Type: | Hills! |
| Breakfast: | 5:30 AM – cereal |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | 2 large bottles each w/3 scoops Endurox R4, food bar |
| Course: | across Mercer Island, Newport, up 164th, up Cougar to the top, down the zoo hill, Issaquah, up Squak, Newport, Montreux, Newcastle golf course, home |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Started out with Greg K, RC R, Justin A and Jeff W. Greg had proclaimed this to be an endurance pace ride but I was scratching my head as I know of no way to ride up these massive hills at an endurance pace…
On the very first climb (164th) I got gapped a bit near the top of the first rise but since the pace was 'endurance' I was able to bridge back up on the flat bit before the road tipped up again. After that everyone cooled it some and I managed to finish the climb up Cougar in 2nd place. Ouch! That last up after the saddle is always hard. Mentally you SO ready for the hill to be done when you pass the school but no, you still have almost .5 miles to go.
Dropping down the zoo road is so damn good. Even when the roads are wet. After my spill two weeks ago I was Mr. Cautious on the corners but I still love this descent.
Squak is a killer. The first couple of pitches kick you in the balls and then the rest slaps you around while you are in too much pain to defend yourself. Justin was the first to reach the summit of Cougar and guess what, he was the first to get to the top of Squak too. I still felt okay here if you can call climbing in your lowest gear and rocking back and forth okay. At least my back was doing great! I managed to finish with everyone here.
As we started up Montreux I realized I was done. My legs and back had not given out but I could not go any faster and everyone slowly started to ride away from me. Waaaaay off in the front was Justin, then Greg, RC and me (Jeff had gone home after Squak). I managed to reel in RC but probably only because he was on auto-pilot. From there we finished together.
Nothing like knowing you have already given your all and still having one more hill to climb. :) Thank god it's not too far up to the Newcastle golf course! By now all I could do was find my rhythm and watch everyone disappear up the road.
By now the day had become absolutely gorgeous! The sky was mostly blue, the sun was out and the views were amazing; especially from up here. That made up for a lot of suffering.
On the way home RC got a flat. We all stopped to pitch in and then minutes later he got anther. :( This time Greg and Justin kept riding – I think had a time constraint and needed to get home ASAP. We got the flat fixed and then chatted our way back to the UW.
From here – since the day was so damn nice – I decided to log a couple of extra miles and took the scenic route home via the Fremont Bridge, Dexter and downtown. Beautiful.
It was warm enough today that I could wear knee warmers(!), unzip my vest on the climbs and I even took my gloves off for one climb. That was nice. |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
| Clothing: | Sugoi shoe covers, bib shorts, knee warmers, Craft short sleeve jersey, Craft long sleeve jersey, short sleeve jersey, arm warmers, wind vest, OR Gripper gloves, cap |
Sunday, January 03, 2010
| Hours Sleeping: | |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 8:30 AM |
| Distance: | 82 miles |
| Time (total): | 5 hours |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | low to mid 40s, partly sunny, dry |
| Workout Type: | |
| Breakfast: | 7:00 AM – smoothie |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | 2 large bottles each w/3 scoops Endurox R4, granola bar |
| Course: | Fremont Ladro, Snohomish, home via Broadway |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | My first long ride of the year! I know, big, hairy deal. :)
But it was so much fun! Due in large part to the fantastic group that showed up. I think we had fully 20 IJM.org teammates at the start and about five of them were women; good stuff.
ASIDE – I felt like a total rube as I was one of only two people not in full team kit. :( Sigh. All it takes is money, right? I blew my wad on summer clothes once again and will have to cover all my matchy matchy garments with warmer items when the temperature dips below 45. What's an impoverished racer going to do?
The pace was very sedate so we all stuck together until the 'climb' up to the church. No matter what the pace, one person's slow is another's aggressive and so we had to regroup but all was still good. We dropped down Seattle Hill Road and into the valley and then settled into a rotating paceline; it took some verbal prompting on my part but we did it. Kinda ragged at first I have to say and one guy did not have any fenders on but the further we rode and as the pace picked up just a little the rotation smoothed out.
For some reason I was itching to push it a little. As we climbed up the last hill heading NW and then dropped down to River Road I had already resolved to ride next to the bunch if the pace did not pick up or even try to up it some myself. I needn't have worried. As soon as we crossed the train tracks Dustin V went to the front and ramped it up to 25+ mph. At first our group was split but soon we were all back together again. Nice.
At this pace I had to be a regular Joe and just rotate through as I was not capable of any heroics. :) I guess my run yesterday had taken a bit more out of me than I thought plus I have not done any hard riding on the road yet, only on the trainer.
Not a problem though, I was having a blast! With almost 20 people still it was almost like being in a race. Almost. :)
As we neared the overpass I started looking around for the move and sure enough Greg K took off. Luckily for me he was right in front of when he did so I took off after him. Damn… it took all I had just to get on his wheel. I had to shift up twice and get out of the saddle twice. He kept going and normally (read: in a few months) I might have come around or gone again but no dice. I was absolutely pegged. Then it happened; we got swarmed. Up ahead I saw the sprint play out and Jeff D managed to get out of the saddle after grabbing a wheel and I think he took it.
On the way home up Broadway it's all these stair step hills. Super stuff if you feel good, sucky if you are already worked. Since I was not feeling super worked I put myself right up front with Justin A on the first hill to ensure I would not have to play catch up later. Then on the second one I upped the tempo. Not too much but it got me breathing pretty good and was about as much as I could do and hold it to the top and stay in front. Just before you get to Maltby there is one final rise and even though I had just pulled off the front I gave it one more push over the top. And I didn't blow, yeah!
The last rise before you get to the top of the hill is always a race no matter what people say… As a bit of a test for myself and as a preemptive move of sorts I went hard from 3rd position on the second to last rise. It's usually impossible to hold it from here but I knew that. And hey, sometimes it's just fun to make everyone else work.
I think Dustin was on the front when I took off. Prior to going I had given Jeff who was behind me the 'signal' but I think my move was a little early for his liking. Ryan G on the other hand was on my like white on rice. In fact he crested the hill well before me but then sat up and I went right by him. I LOVE that feeling…! And it lasted for about five whole seconds. :| Then I was in total damage control mode. Oh man were my legs done.
One minute I looked back and I had a big gap, the next Justin was pulling the lot right back up to me. Everyone passed me at the bottom of the last rise and I crawled up to the top. By some miracle I did not have to shift to the small ring.
From here it was back to a truly social pace and we chatted our way home. Going up Capitol Hill I figured I'd milk the company as long as possible so suggested to Aaron S that we climb Belmont so as to swing by his place. OUCH.
Okay, so my motor is starting to run. Just being able to sit on a bike for 4+ hours is pretty motivating for me and being able to push the pace a couple of times on this boat anchor of a bike is a treat. As usual I'm resolved to stay on this pig until the end of February – all part of my eastern block training plan. |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
| Clothing: | A tiny bit too much… thin wool socks, Sugoi shoe covers, Roubaix knickers, Roubaix leg warmers, Craft short sleeve undershirt, Craft long sleeve undershirt, heavy long sleeve jersey, OR Gripper gloves, cap |
Thursday, December 31, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | 7 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 5:45 AM |
| Distance: | 45 miles? |
| Time (total): | 3:30 |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | |
| Total Ascent: | 4500' |
| Weather: | low 40s, dry, calm |
| Workout Type: | |
| Breakfast: | 5:15 AM – 8 Fig Newtons, water
10:00 AM – cereal, cookie |
| Lunch: | 2:00 PM – green salad, grilled cauliflower, bean dip, tortilla chips, 2 beers, a boat load of Christmas cookies |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | 2 large bottles each w/3 scoops Endurox R4, coffee, nibbles of pastry |
| Course: | The 'hill' ride! We met at the Dawg, rode down to Leschi, went up Madrona four times, headed over to Interlaken and went up Capitol Hill four times, then over to Queen Anne and went up 3rd Ave N four times. Party on. |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | I tried to do this ride once and ran out of time. :( Not today.
Let me start by saying that the route sounds brutal but the pace was very reasonable throughout. 'Endurance pace' I think it was called…
For once Justin A "I just ran 24 miles yesterday, the last six with pace" was not several hundred feet off the front and was only on the front claiming he was pretty tired. That worked for me. Ryan D was his usual perky self and pretty much set the pace all morning. Greg K and RC R were also there.
I felt all right. Pretty stiff and tired at first but then better and better to a point. I never felt stellar but once the legs got warmed up and since the pace never got crazy I was fine. Here are some highlights of the ride.
- Climbing Galer towards Volunteer Park I was able to make my rear tire spin with ease just by getting out of the saddle. Nice. Not.
- On our first descent down Capitol Hill Ryan lost a bottle. Greg and I stopped to retrieve it and as we continued down the hill I turned into Interlaken. This was a problem as Greg was on my right and the route called for us going straight. Thanks to his bike handling skills neither of us hit the deck.
- Riding through Interlaken the first time I hit a metal manhole cover in a corner and my rear wheel slid out, caught and everyone behind me congratulated me on my bike handling skills.
- At Gas Works Park we saw a homeless guy who had this freakish mop of dredded up hair that totally resembled a helmet. Nasty stuff.
- Towards the top of our last climb Ryan was up the road a tad and so I kicked it in and spun up to him. Then I promptly blew and faded back to Greg. As he pulled up to me he said, "How was that, eh? Welcome back!"
- After we finished we hit Caffe Ladro on the top of Queen Anne and before I knew it, there was a huge, hot cup of coffee in front of me. Not drinking any coffee at all it hit me hard. Within 15 minutes I felt a little too alert and there was a really faint ringing in my ears. I am a huge wuss.
- We got it all done before the rain hit. Beautiful. |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25
I'm thinking a 27 would be ideal at times… |
| Clothing: | thin wool socks, Sugoi shoe covers, Roubaix knickers, Roubaix leg warmers, Craft short sleeve undershirt, Craft long sleeve undershirt, heavy long sleeve jersey, OR Gripper gloves, cap |
Sunday, December 27, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 1:30 PM |
| Distance: | miles? |
| Time (total): | 3 hours |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | low 40s, sunny, calm, dry |
| Workout Type: | 'Tempo' (whatever that means… I hear folks using the word a lot these days. |
| Breakfast: | |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | 2 large bottles each w/3 scoops Endurox R4 |
| Course: | across Mercer Island, Issaquah, up 900, May Valley, Issaquah-Hobart, Issaquah, Newport, up 164th and over Cougar, Coal Creek Parkway, back home across Mercer Island |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | I was hoping to maybe climb Cougar via the zoo road today (just for fun!) but everything that was north facing was super frosty so I bagged that plan.
I had my iPod so just cruised to the tunes and rode MY pace. And you know what? I felt pretty good. Probably because I was going my pace. :) I never pushed it too hard but tried to keep some pressure on most of the time.
I spent a fair amount of time in the drops today – because I was going so fast of course – and my back was fine. Nice. I did sit up several times to stretch but when I finished the ride I had no issues. |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
| Clothing: | It's still winter… |
Saturday, December 26, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 9:00 AM |
| Distance: | 52 miles |
| Time (total): | 3:45 |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | Crazy thermal inversion! Within 50' of Lake WA it was freezing (literally) and one you rose above that elevation it was at least 10 degrees warmer. totally bizarre… |
| Workout Type: | |
| Breakfast: | |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | 2 large bottles each w/3 scoops Endurox R4, food bar |
| Course: | |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Very mellow outing today. I basically did a loop of Lake WA with Greg and Suzie K and then went home via Fremont and downtown for the scenic value. |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
| Clothing: | all the usual winter gear… |
Thursday, December 24, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 6:30 AM |
| Distance: | 31 miles |
| Time (total): | 2:00 I think…? |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | upper 30s to low 40s, calm |
| Workout Type: | |
| Breakfast: | 5:00 Am - cereal |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | water |
| Course: | around Mercer Island |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | I thought today was going to be easy but it ended up being a tad harder than at least one person in our group wanted… It was the usual deal; as soon as the men got to the front the pace would be ratcheted up little by little and then someone was off the back.
Luckily no one had an agenda so after a couple of separations we regrouped and finished as a unit. Nice.
How did I feel? Not so hot actually; and the pace was mostly very mellow. I think that I just don't perform that well in the cold. That's my excuse anyway. That or the three indoor TTs I did last night. |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
| Clothing: | wool socks, Sugoi shoe covers, Roubaix knickers, Roubaix leg warmers, short sleeve undershirt, long sleeve undershirt, heavy long sleeve jersey, OR Gripper gloves, cap |
Saturday, December 19, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 9:00 AM |
| Distance: | 57 miles |
| Time (total): | 3:30? |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | mid 40s, heavy mist, cloudy, calm |
| Workout Type: | |
| Breakfast: | |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | 2 large bottles each with 3 scoops Endurox R4, food bar |
| Course: | The usual Renton/May Valley loop with a trip up Cougar. |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Well… hills are what I need to work on.
Great group today! And the pace was quite social throughout. At the top of McDonald's hill I gave it a little gas to see how my legs were feeling after the two indoor TTS last night and the answer was not so hot. :) I was able to cruise along on the flats okay but putting out that extra bit of power was not happening.
Strangely enough, on our way along May Valley I led up a shallow hill and Dustin said something like, "Blah, blah, blah Martin is riding by himself, blah, blah, blah" and then there was a gap behind me. Oh well.
Coming back up Newport I was feeling super and then we turned left on 164th and I died.
ASIDE – it seems these days that everyone's 'winter' bike is getting more and more like their 'summer' bike meaning it's f'n light and wicked fast. I'm still mired in the eastern block training camp and haul a 32 lb machine around in the off-season and I can usually keep up but not all the time. Like this time.
Half way up I was still in contact but hating it and then I let one person slip past me, another, and then I was off the back. By the top I was at least 100' behind but everyone waited thank goodness. From there we rode home together and I am glad that no one suggested a lap around Mercer as I was pretty done.
Riding across the floating bridge Dustin put in an effort and I tried to go with. I could not do it. I made it to within 10' and then exploded. Rats. On the upside, every time I slowed down I was realizing that I was not totally shattered and was still able to ride my own pace so that is good. I might not be able to go fast but at least I can still go medium after trying to go fast; that's something.
Climbing up from the lake towards the Arboretum it was just Jeff D, Justin A and me. At the bottom of the switchbacks you ride around an off-camber left hand turn at the bottom of a slight descent and as we got to the apex I felt my tires start to give way. It was the smoothest, most predictable fall but there was nothing I could do about it. On my way down I took out Jeff (sorry!) but luckily Justin was ahead of me and made it through. We picked ourselves up and luckily everyone was pretty much okay. A few small scrapes, my bar tape was trashed and Jeff broke his saddle. Rats. Riding home was probably the best thing for me as I did not get stiff. It has been a looooong time since I have gone down for any reason. |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
| Clothing: | thin wool socks, Sugoi shoe covers, Roubaix knickers, Roubaix leg warmers, Craft long sleeve undershirt, heavy long sleeve jersey, OR Gripper gloves, cap |
Thursday, December 17, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | Not a whole lot… |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 5:15 AM |
| Distance: | 25 miles (as best I can tell from MapMyRide…) |
| Time (total): | 1:45 |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | mid 40s, wet ground, dry sky, calm |
| Workout Type: | |
| Breakfast: | 4:30 AM - cereal |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | water |
| Course: | Dawg, 4xMadrona, 3xInterlaken, home |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Out with RC R, Ryan D, Greg K and Justin A today for what is their usual Thursday morning outing and my first time. It's a super route and I wish I would have been able to complete it but I had a PT appointment at 8. :(
As we headed through the Arboretum I led Greg right into a pothole and he got a front flat. Damn. Sorry Greg… It was also here that I noticed how f'n bright Justin's front AND rear lights are – holy cow. It's to the point where you do not want to be right behind him or you risk having some sort of seizure from the intense flashing.
The first time up Madrona was a bit stiff for my liking. Then again, any hill on this boat anchor of a bike is a bit stiff. We cooled it a tad and the rest of the ride was very enjoyable. I did feel my rear tire slip as I stood one of the times up Galer at the very top.
This ride is early as HELL but the company is super, I will try to do it again. |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
| Clothing: | Too much! I had on wool socks, Sugoi shoe covers, Roubaix knickers, Roubaix leg warmers, Craft long sleeve undershirt, heavy long sleeve jersey, Gripper gloves, cap |
Saturday, December 12, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 8:10 AM |
| Distance: | 55 miles |
| Time (total): | 3:30 |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | upper 20s to low 30s, dry, calm, partly cloudy |
| Workout Type: | |
| Breakfast: | 7:00 AM - cereal |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | 2 large bottles each w/3 scoops Endurox R4, food bar |
| Course: | |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | It was going to be cold ALL day and I wanted to have some of the afternoon free to get our Christmas tree, etc. and since some others were going out in the AM I decided to not wuss out and join them. It was the right call.
I was joined by a super group and we had a very enjoyable ride around the lake. The last couple of hills were a challenge for me and coming home up Interlaken was also hard but hey, I'm just getting back on the bike. All in all I was happy. |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
| Clothing: | Just about everything I own! Meaning DeFeet Woolie Boolie socks, Sugoi shoe covers, Roubaix knickers, Roubaix leg warmers, Craft long sleeve undershirt, long sleeve Capeline undershirt, heavy long sleeve jersey, glove liners, OR Gripper gloves, lobster mitt shell, cap |
Saturday, November 28, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | 7 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 9:00 AM |
| Distance: | 42 miles |
| Time (total): | 3:10 |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | mid to upper 40s, mostly cloudy, dry, some wind |
| Workout Type: | |
| Breakfast: | 7:00 AM - cereal |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | |
| Course: | |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Today was a super social ride, very mellow and great company.
I did the south lake loop and then when we hit Husky Stadium Todd G and I rode to Green Lake and then I went home through downtown.
I was not able to do anything yesterday so this was the combo do-something-so-I-don't-go-insane-and-loosen-up-the-legs-for-tomorrow's-run ride.
In spite of the pace being ultra slow I felt like I was light years behind everyone on the bike… Tony B shoed up and his training plan called for 'tempo' and he pulled out of Leschi with a squeal of burning rubber. I rode next to him down to Seward but I was breathing way harder than he was.
Oh well, one more week of this running thing and then I can start getting tired on the bike. |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
| Clothing: | DeFeet Woolie Boolie socks, Sugoi shoe covers, Roubaix knickers, leg warmers, Craft short sleeve undershirt, long sleeve undershirt, thick long sleeve jersey, OR Gripper gloves, cap
I wore a tad too much today… it was not that cold out. |
Saturday, November 14, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 9:00 AM |
| Distance: | 38 miles |
| Time (total): | 2:30 |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | |
| Workout Type: | |
| Breakfast: | 6:00 AM - smoothie |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | 3 scoops Endurox R4 in large bottle |
| Course: | |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Great group today! Greg and Suzie K, Justin A, Gabe T and Alastair L.
We cruised along and chatted it up - very relaxed. And the fixed gear felt much better today than the last time I was out on it. And I had enough food today. :) |
| Equipment: | Kona Paddy Wagon, 42x18 |
| Clothing: | Roubaix weight knickers short sleeve Craft undershirt, long sleeve undershirt, heavy long sleeve jersey, leg warmers, Sugoi shoe covers, glove liners, Gripper gloves, cap |
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 7:30 AM |
| Distance: | 50 miles |
| Time (total): | 3:10 |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | 16 mph |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | mid to upper 40s, mostly sunny, dry, light wind |
| Workout Type: | |
| Breakfast: | |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | 3 scoops Endurox R4 in a large bottle, 1 flask gel |
| Course: | |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | I had the day off from work so met Justin A (a new guy on our team) for a few miles and it felt like a lifetimes since my last ride! Hoo boy, the legs just were not turning over and felt super weak.
Justin is a phenomenal athlete and has participated in numerous ultra runs so we jabbered on about running the entire day. As a burgeoning, part-time runner it was kind of a pleasant change from the usual cycling geek conversations to tell you the truth.
The day turned out MUCH nicer than either of us expected. It kept getting brighter and warmer and all the fall colors were still out so it was scenic to boot. Top it off with very low traffic volume and it was one great day to ride.
I did not take along enough food… thank goodness the pace was nice and sedate. Three scoops of powder just do not carry you very far. I am dumb. |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-15
This was only the second ride after my fit and the brake levers feel a tad high on the bars now… |
| Clothing: | shorts, long sleeve Craft undershirt, short sleeve jersey, knee warmers, arm warmers, wind vest, Sugoi shoe covers, OR Griper gloves, cap |
Saturday, October 17, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 10:45 AM |
| Distance: | 41 miles |
| Time (total): | 2.5 ish hours |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | 60, some sun, some pounding rain, some wind |
| Workout Type: | |
| Breakfast: | |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | 1 large bottle of GU2O, 1 flask gel |
| Course: | Around the north half of Lake WA. |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Went for my first fender ride of the fall today! It's been so long since I have ridden that the winter bike did not feel so heavy…
Andy G came along and it was great to have company. We went kind of slow but it was a blast and I felt (relatively) super. Andy said he like Norway Hill and I was happy to oblige.
We got in about one hour of nice weather and then the skies opened up but it was really warm the entire time so no worries. Add in the fact that I was so excited about actually riding my bike so a good time was had by Martin.
It seemed like Andy was kind of tired so after we rode through Kirkland I asked him if he wanted to head home or do the entire lake loop. He said he was up for the loop so off we went. No sooner had we climbed two more hills than he said we should cut it short.
I was a little bummed as I was having a fantastic time but it was okay. We cruised across Mercer Island and went straight through the I-90 pedestrian tunnel and home. And for the last bit the sun came out again and the wind calmed down. Nice.
The trees were exploding with color throughout the entire route. It was so beautiful out. I love those fall days when it's pretty but not cold, wet and miserable. Who doesn't, eh?
As much fun as I was having my back did give out WAY too soon and the last 10 miles were pretty uncomfortable. I'm hoping it's just because I have not ridden much… |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25
This was my first ride after getting fit on this bike by Bike Fit Systems and it was nice. The seat is further forward, the handlebars are higher and my STI levers are higher up on the bars. It did feel more upright but okay; I guess I need to give it a few weeks before I know for sure. |
| Clothing: | shoe covers, knee warmers, shorts, short sleeve undershirt, short sleeve jersey, arm warmers, wind vest, clear rain jacket, cap |
Technorati Tags:
Bike Fit Systems
Friday, September 25, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 6:00 PM |
| Distance: | 27 miles |
| Time (total): | |
| Time (moving): | 1:33 |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | 17 mph
max speed - 38 mph |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | upper 60s, sunny, dry, mostly calm |
| Workout Type: | |
| Breakfast: | |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | water |
| Course: | Leschi, clockwise around Mercer Island, up Lake WA Blvd, Interlaken, Bill's house, home along 19th |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | I was rushing around all day and got back to my house at 5:40, changed my clothes, filled a bottle, pumped up the tires and flew down to Leschi making it just in time.
Today our team was hosting a ride to meet all the new members. It was great to hook with some folks that I had not seen since the last races and the new people as well - what a great bunch.
As usual we started out too fast for a social ride but managed to regroup on the island. Then Alex T and Kurt A decided that they needed to train or something and rode the entire lap off the front. :) I had a good time chatting with everyone.
After we wrapped it up I stopped by my father's house to assist with some computer issues and ended up riding home WAY after the sun had set. It was warm and the glow of the street light was really cool so I enjoyed myself but I was somewhat nervous about cars coming up from behind… Luckily 19th is very tame, there were not that many cars out and about so I had no issues. |
| Equipment: | Ti Cycles Hyak, Neuvation wheels, 42/53, 12-25
Today is the last day for the race bike damn it! I need to clean it up and hang it up. Then it's back to my eastern block training plan of only going out on the winter/fender pig so that this machine feels nice and light come spring.
As fast as I get used to the light bike in March, it always amazes me how slowly I get used to the heavy bike in the fall. :( |
| Clothing: | shorts, sleeveless undershirt, short sleeve jersey, cap |
Saturday, September 12, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | 5 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 7:15 AM |
| Distance: | 65 miles |
| Time (total): | 3:25 |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | max speed - 51 mph |
| Speed (overall): | 19 mph |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | cool and dark at the start, 80 and sunny with spotless blue sky at the finish |
| Workout Type: | ride |
| Breakfast: | 5:30 AM - cereal |
| Lunch: | 12:30 PM - smoothie |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | Fig Newtons, nuun |
| Course: | around Lake Sammamish and then around the Carnation Valley |
| Results: | A lot of fun! |
| Comments: | 7:00 AM start time…?! Oh man, it was hard to get out the door in time today. But I made it. And so did lots of teammates. Nice.
The IJM Seek Justice Challenge ride was two loops, each roughly 50 km so you could ride one or the other or both. They even had a 5 km run option. We dropped down to Lake Sammamish and suddenly we were going 25+ mph. Kinda typical for racers who have not competed in a while and are out on a beautiful day I guess. :) We continued to fly around Lake Sammamish and climbed back up the plateau to the start/finish.
The second loop was beautiful. Lots of roads in the Carnation Valley have been repaved and so it was glassy at times. And so damn green! With the rain of late and the sun all things living were obviously thriving. We finished this loop a bit more sedately than the first one.
There were two potential new members along on the ride today - very cool of them to come out.
This was a blast. Everyone was in a super mood, the weather was fantastic and even though I have not ridden my bike in weeks I kept up fine. Whew.
There were so many organizers and volunteers they practically outnumbered the participants. And they were all so nice and helpful - an amazing crew. And there was a huge lunch spread at the finish; I was bummed I had to take off and go home. I'll be back for this one. |
| Equipment: | Ti Cycles Hyak, Neuvation wheels, 42/53, 12-25 |
| Clothing: | shorts, sleeveless undershirt, short sleeve jersey, wind vest, arm warmers, cap |
Here are some pictures and video.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | 6 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | run - 8:00 AM
ride - 11:30 AM |
| Distance: | run - 9.8 miles?
ride - 15 miles |
| Time (total): | run - 1:21:30 |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | run - 8:19 minutes per mile |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | mid 60s, sunny, dry, very light breeze from the north |
| Workout Type: | run | ride |
| Breakfast: | 6:30 AM - Z Bar, water |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | |
| Course: | Seward Park to Leschi and back |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Shelley and I went out Friday night and had drinks and then I went out again last night to celebrate Greg K's birthday and let's just say I was a bit dehydrated and slightly hung this morning.
And once I got moving I felt fantastic! The body is a mysterious thing… It was one of those days - I could have run my half marathon today easily I'm sure as I kept speeding up.
I met Andy G at Seward and we started out at my usual pace which is around 8 minutes per mile. After a bit Andy said he was having trouble breathing so we walked a few feet. That seemed to help for a short while but I kept edging ahead of him so twice more I walked until he caught up and then we'd continue running together. We were not really that different in our pace, I was just feeling good I guess.
I waited again at the top of the hill overlooking I-90 and then after dropping back down to the lake from our last detour I asked if it would be okay if I went ahead and met him back at the car.
I was able to speed up quite a bit when I was running alone! The new shoes felt super and there was no discomfort in my joints and the only bad thing I felt was my calves tightening up some but that is normal.
After we finished I stretched and still felt fine - which has me pretty darn excited! To feel this good after a long run is excellent.
After getting home and eating three(!) breakfasts Shelley and I went for a ride down to Seward Park on our single speed bikes. It was Bicycle Sunday so Lake WA Blvd was closed and on the way home we hooked up with Greg and Suzie K and chatted a bit. Nice. |
| Equipment: | run - brand new Brooks running shoes
ride - Kona Paddy Wagon, 42x16 fixed |
| Clothing: | shorts, wicking t-shirt |
Thursday, July 30, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | 4 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 5:50 AM |
| Distance: | 155 miles |
| Time (total): | 9:00 |
| Time (moving): | 7:32 |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | 21 mph
max speed - 45 mph |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | low 90s, sunny, dry, light headwind at the finish |
| Workout Type: | ride |
| Breakfast: | |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | everything the ride had to offer plus eight large bottles of nuun and half a sleeve of Fig Newtons |
| Course: | A modified route due to problems in Stevens Canyon so we rode east via Packwood and then up Cayuse. The official route was to go up and down the Crystal Mountain road but we opted for Chinook Pass instead. Roughly the same vertical, six miles shorter and much more scenic. I think it was a good choice. |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | "Fire Danger: High" is what the sign outside the park said and two friends actually did not even start because they were afraid of the heat.
The previous day Seattle had broken two records: the all time high (we hit 102) and the highest low (the mercury never dipped below 72 Wednesday evening) so this fear was not without precedent. But the day turned out great.
Right from the start you did not need ANY clothes. I rolled out of the parking lot at 5:50 AM with just a sleeveless jersey and nothing in my pockets except for my camera and some food.
What a f'n great day. The weather/temperature was perfect, I was feeling great and the group I was with was super. The last several times I have ridden RAMROD my training has not been anything close to ideal… Lately I just don't get out for as many of the long, epic rides that I used to do so I have had to rely on racing fitness to carry me through. Luckily it has worked out but this year was kinda extreme. Not only had I not done any long rides but I had not raced or hardly even ridden my bike in weeks. Sometimes family stuff just gets in the way and that is what happened to me.
I was hoping that 1) I'd have a super day and 2) that all the stops would help me recharge. Thank goodness I was right on both counts.
I was riding with my good friend John P who I used to race with and his friend Ben J. Turns out Ben is a crackup and we had a fantastic time.
Right from the 'gun' our speed was between 26-28 mph. We had hooked up with some ByrneInvent folks and so were roughly 10 strong and everyone seemed pretty close in terms of how fast they wanted to and could ride. We would ask each other stuff like, "How is it going…?" and Ben would answer, "Not bad for a 62 year old man with advanced syphilis." And so it went.
At the first food stop we lost a couple of wheels - no biggie. WE gained them back at the first pee stop just outside of town. :) At the next food stop just outside of Ashford we lost a couple more and then as the road tipped up climbing along Skate Creek we lost even more.
I have only ridden this stretch about three times and today was a blast except for the bees that swarmed us. I felt like I was in some B sci-fi movie to tell you the truth as we were swatting and waving our arms up the entire climb. On the descent they had done some construction and there were three spots where the asphalt was gone and we had to ride through gravel. Two were no big deal and one had pretty abrupt edges. :( I still bombed it. I love descending!
As we neared the park our group of 10 or so thinned until it was just John, Ben and myself by the time the real climb began. Ben looked really at ease and I felt awesome at first until my back started to tighten up. I had to stop two (three?) times just to stretch it but each time really helped and my legs felt darn good considering the miles I had been logging lately.
ASIDE - amazingly I was able to ride the majority of the climb in my 42x23! It was not until we had gone at least half way that I needed to shift to the 25.
As we neared Cayuse Pass we had separated ourselves from John and Ben started to tell me about how he and his friend Frank would sprint for summits… I knew it was coming but did not know where the finish line would be. Ben was nice enough to tell me after he was out of the saddle whipping his bake back and forth and had already opened up a 20 foot gap.
Don't worry Ben, I'll remember that… :)
We waited for John and then headed up to Chinook Pass together. This time I was ready. Chinook has this huge, amazing wooden arch over the road that is the obvious finish line. I just shut my mouth and sat behind Ben as we approached the top and as I could feel him start to get twitchy I shifted up, stood up and took off.
To his credit he challenged me but by then I was in the big ring and just gave it a little extra juice and was able to claim the KOM. Testosterone is a great thing.
We snapped some pictures and then dropped back down to Cayuse Pass and then down to the deli stop at the base of the Crystal Mountain road. Did I mention that I like to go downhill? Well this was a loooong hill for sure. And at the bottom I got the park entrance (or exit in our case) sprint for good measure.
Sandwiches and Cokes! Every year this deli stop is exactly what I want when I get there. Real food and really cold caffeinated soda tastes pretty damn good when the temperature is toping 90 and you have already ridden 100+ miles.
And by the way, the temperatures on the south side of the mountain were NOT bad at all. It must have been at least 10 degrees cooler than in Seattle. Very comfortable. All those people that stayed home? Too bad for them.
You always want a train when you leave the deli stop - the more the better. As the three of us rolled out and craned our necks looking around there was no one in sight. Oh well, what can you do but plod along. Into the headwind. And heat. And by now it was getting hot (low 90s?). Luckily I had hydrated very well and had one bottle of nuun and one or plain water to dump on myself at intervals.
I had worn a cotton cap with the theory that I could soak it and it would keep me cool. The reality was each time I soaked it the cap would dry out completely within about five minutes. Rats. I did appreciate the sun visor though. John had even worn a 100 percent cotton tank top in hopes that it would retain some sweat and thus cool him and he discovered the same thing I did. It did not last long at all.
Finally we caught one guy and he was even able to pull some. And then we caught about six more but not one of them would pull through! So John, Ben and I did all the work all the way to the bottom of the Mud Mountain road when suddenly John just refused to pull through and forced the bunch behind us to do a little bit of work. Way to go John. :)
At the finish there was a sprinkler and so off came the shoes, jersey, helmet and into the water went Martin. Nice. Then it was time for ice cream and potato chips and more water. Then it was time for a (cold!) shower, more water and when we got home a couple of beers.
Then I was useless for the rest of the day.
Thanks John and Ben for a fantastic ride! 2009 turned out to be a great year. |
| Equipment: | Ti Cycles Hyak, Neuvation wheels, 42/53, 12-25 |
| Clothing: | shorts, sleeveless jersey, cap |
Here are some pictures.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | 5 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | gym - 5:15 AM |
| Distance: | commute - 9 miles
ride - 31 miles |
| Time (total): | ride - 1:42 |
| Time (moving): | cardio - 30 min |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | 18 mph
max speed - 34 mph |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | 70, mostly sunny, dry, light breeze |
| Workout Type: | core | cardio | commute | ride |
| Breakfast: | 2:30 AM - 3 Advil, Trader Joe's organic tea & lemonade
6:30 AM - cereal
9:30 AM - Odwalla Super Food |
| Lunch: | 12:30 PM - 2 pieces Pilot Bread/cheese, 2 pieces w/peanut butter and jam, Odwalla Protein Monster, water
3:30 PM - Promax bar |
| Dinner: | 8:30 PM - green salad, 4 pieces cheese toast, 2 beers, rice pudding |
| Workout Food: | gym - water
ride - nuun |
| Course: | | plank | 180 sec, 120 sec, 60 sec to each side | | other core | 2x40 clam knee lifts to each side, 40 side leg lifts to each side, 30 ball passes, 50 steam engines, 30 knee lifts, 30 twisters to each side - 12 lb, 30 side bends to each side - 45 lb | | back extensions | 20 straight and 20 twisting - 25 lb | cardio - elliptical trainer, random profile, 15/20 resistance, 75+ rpm
ride - UW, Leschi, around Mercer Island (counter clockwise), Madrona, Union, home |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Last night I was in bed by 9 and woke up around 2. Damn. :( Did I mention I was hung over…?
Every core exercise was hard today but cardio - once I got warmed up - was great. My head was not tip top but it felt smooth and I was able to maintain higher cadence than most days.
I felt silky smooth on my commute. As good as you can feel on a four mile ride… One the way home I was climbing Interlaken in the saddle on my single speed and not even breathing very hard.
After work I hooked up with Leif C for his weekly jaunt around Mercer Island. Today we were joined by Mike H and Mike T. Mike H had just finished the 'Mercer Island World Championships' with Ian M and company and the pace was pretty torrid so he was already well worked. That did not slow him down much though as he pulled strong and won the sprint at the end.
Cornering with Leif and Mike H was a dream. There was NO slowing down - ever - and sometimes we even pedaled all the way around the bends. There are not many people that can or will ride like this.
I started out feeling good but rapidly ran out of steam. I was able to hang on and even pull but my efforts were shorter than Leif or even Mike H. We dropped Mike T half way around the island.
We just did one lap and did not double back today. That was fine with me and I enjoyed my ride up Madrona and home. The weather was perfect. |
| Equipment: | commute - Raleigh town bike, 36x16
ride - Ti Cycles Hyak, Neuvation wheels, 42/53, 12-25 |
| Clothing: | shorts, sleeveless undershirt, short sleeve jersey, cap |
Thursday, July 02, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | 5 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 8:30 AM |
| Distance: | 52 miles (according to my cyclometer) |
| Time (total): | |
| Time (moving): | 2:53 |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | 18 mph
max speed - 36 mph |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | 70s, sunny, cloudless, dry, light wind |
| Workout Type: | ride |
| Breakfast: | |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | water, Shot Bloks |
| Course: | around Lake WA clockwise with a detour to see Shelley in Bellevue |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Just doin' my thang! iPod loaded, sun glasses on and no agenda other than to enjoy the day.
I started out pedaling a good cadence but it gradually got slower and slower as the ride progressed. I did not want to kill myself and coming home along Rainer I noticed that I was doing 20-22 mph into the headwind and it was hard… So I backed way off and twiddled up Lake WA Blvd at around 18 mph. Nice.
My back was a bit sore today so I stood on all the climbs to keep my spine straight. It really helped. |
| Equipment: | Ti Cycles Hyak, Neuvation wheels, 42/53, 12-25 |
| Clothing: | shorts, sleeveless undershirt, short sleeve jersey, cap |
Saturday, June 27, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | 6 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 9:30 AM |
| Distance: | 70 (Google maps/MapMyRide) or 73 (my cyclometer) miles depending on who you trust. |
| Time (total): | 3:51 |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | 19 mph
max speed - 39 mph |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | low 50s to mid 70s, dry, sunny, windy |
| Workout Type: | ride |
| Breakfast: | 5:30 AM - smoothie |
| Lunch: | 2:00 PM - water, tons of iced tea, a few bites of rhubarb pie and ice cream
3:00 PM - 2 beers, Cheese-it crackers |
| Dinner: | 8:00 PM - Asian noodle salad, tofu, 2 beers, water |
| Workout Food: | 2 large bottles each w/2 scoops HEED, 2 scoops Endurox R4 and 2 scoops maltodextrin |
| Course: | Liberty Cafe on Hwy 97, old Blewett Pass Hwy, Peshastin, Leavenworth, back the same way |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Today was supposed to be a nice group ride with some IJM.org teammates and some friends from Lenovo but the Lenovo gang flaked and one of our own slept in so 30 minutes after we were supposed to roll out Greg K and I finally hit the road. As it turned out everything was fine - I should quit my bitching.
The sky was that perfect eastern WA blue as we parked the van at the Liberty Cafe and there was not one cloud in the sky. There was lots of shade on the road however and it was barely 50 degrees so both Greg and I donned arm warmers and I even threw on my vest.
That lasted all of maybe four miles.
ASIDE - I have not ridden in ages and I find that the fitter I am the longer it takes me to warm up. Conversely, if I'm not so fit I can start fast but then fade dramatically. Today I took us out of the parking lot at 22 mph going up hill. Maybe you can make a prediction about how the ride ended up…
Soon our speed and sun had me taking off my vest and just before we turned off of Hwy 97 and onto the old Blewett Pass Hwy I also took off my arm warmers. We stopped for a minute to stretch at the base of the climb and I also rolled up my shorts and sleeves! So much for the extra clothing. :)
I love this road. It's not maintained (see the pictures!) but is still open to vehicles and bicycles. Greg and I were both commenting on what a shame it will be once the road completely disintegrates as it probably will never be repaired and that would be a huge shame. In many places it's covered in sand, there are pieces of pavement missing, the asphalt has settled in places and there is rock fall. And all that makes it so much more appealing than a boring old highway. Oh yeah, did I mention that we only saw three cars on this section of road all day? Nice.
On the way up/north I was actually feeling pretty good. That combined with the fact that Greg was not warmed up yet let us ride together and even chat a bit.
The descent was wicked fun. I went just fast enough to force myself to pay attention and to make it exciting but not so much that I felt like I was in danger.
When we got back on Hwy 97 there was the familiar head wind and it was really blowing today. We were both fresh and it was a real chore to maintain 26-27 mph going down hill!
At the bottom I was trying to find the shortcut so we did not have to ride through the big Hwy 97/2 interchange and we found one but it was gravel where it went under Hwy 2. No big deal I thought, it's just gravel so I Hardly even grabbed my brakes.
Not 50 feet into the gravel Greg and I both got a rear flat at the exact same time. So we walked our bikes to the other side and had a flat fixing party. Luckily not a big deal, Greg needed a small boot in his tire but mine was fine.
From here I had planned to ride through Peshastin and the orchards to Leavenworth but there was construction one mile from Leavenworth and they would not let us through! Bummer. The lady with the Stop/Slow sign was really nice, she offered us bottled water from her cooler and was really sympathetic but we had to turn around.
Greg had his heart set on a cup of coffee so we tried the store in Peshastin. OMG was that an experience. It was like a bunker inside. The walls were bare cinder block and the ceiling was sagging, moldy, stained acoustic tile. Done. There was a wall of coolers in the back and maybe three isles of shelves for pork rinds and chewing tobacco down the middle and no coffee.
The lady behind the counter was a real visual treat too.
Having recently fixed a flat my hands were kinda dirty and so I asked her if I could use the sink to wash them. She pointed me around a cinder block wall to the 'kitchen' and rarely have I been so careful not to touch anything. I practically turned the water on with my elbow and did not even ask for a paper towel, I just shook them dry and got the hell out of Dodge. Filth was everywhere.
We had seen a big fruit stand on Hwy 2 as we rode back to Peshastin so in search of coffee we rode back to that. No luck but they did have a super cool cow train for kids to take a ride in and two uber cute orange kittens.
Riding back up Hwy 97 we had a strong tailwind and once again we were topping 20-22 mph going uphill. I was still feeling okay although I could tell the end was near. Once I put my head down while leading and did not shift for a rise and separated myself from Greg. But the glory was brief and not lasting.
When we got the climb proper/the old Blewett Pass Hwy I started to fade. I managed to hang with Greg for a couple of miles but then had ask him to slow down. He did but after another mile it seemed silly as he was constantly half-wheeling me so I just told him to meet me at the top and he proceeded to ride away from me.
But that was okay. The scenery was amazing and I was not cramping or bonking, I just did not have the fitness to keep up. About one mile from the top I had to get off and walk for 50 feet to give my back a rest but then I was there.
ANOTHER ASIDE - someone had painted "500 m" (to go) and "200 m" (to go) on the road on this side of the climb. :)
We descended the old hwy and got back on 97 and once again we were assaulted by a vicious head wind. It seemed even stronger this time and we were really pressed to maintain 26 mph. We started taking shorter and shorter pulls in an effort to keep the speed up and it worked but thank goodness the car was only about five miles away because by the time we got there I was spent.
Then we hit the Liberty Cafe for iced tea, pie and ice cream and drove home. On the way back we caught each other up (read: Greg mostly caught me up) on the team gossip. Greg is fun to talk to because he doesn't spill all the beans and doesn't necessarily name names but you still get the picture. :)
What a great day and it felt SO good to finally get in a ride. Outstanding company sure helps too. |
| Equipment: | Ti Cycles Hyak, Neuvation wheels, 42/53, 12-25 |
| Clothing: | shorts, sleeveless undershirt, short sleeve jersey, arm warmers, wind vest, cap |
Here are some pictures.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | 7 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 9:00 AM |
| Distance: | 51 miles |
| Time (total): | 2:43 |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | 19 mph |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | upper 50s to upper 60s, dry |
| Workout Type: | |
| Breakfast: | 6:30 AM - cereal |
| Lunch: | 2 pieces pizza |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | 2 large bottles each w/2 scoops HEED and 2 scoops Endurox R4 |
| Course: | Leschi, Seward Park, Renton, McDonald's hill, May Valley, Issaquah-Hobart, Newport, across Mercer Island, Leschi, Madrona, Union, home |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | I was just looking for company today and lucky for me Alastair L sent out a note last night saying he was riding today. Nice.
It was just the two of us today and that turned out to be super! We rode along and chatted. Most of the time we rode side-by-side and for once there were very few cars on Rainier and all the way to Renton.
ASIDE - yesterday while I was doing a relatively easy ride Alastair got in over 40 minutes of TT intervals! This guy is 10 years older than I am and is a huge inspiration. He's going to Master's nationals this year and I wish him the best of luck!
We went up McDonald's hill at a fairly conversational pace but then once we got to May Valley things picked up. I figured Alastair was kind of cooked so I might as well get in a workout and went to eth front and picked up the pace. Well… that didn't last long. :) After just a few seconds he comes around me and at a really good speed! That kind of set the theme and it was a 2-up TTT all the way to Issaquah-Hobart.
I got in some good efforts and was going pretty much as hard as I could. I did not feel primo but okay and was usually able to maintain the gear when the road tipped up a tad on the gentle rollers. I got in one more excellent effort coming into Issaquah.
Coming back on Newport was relatively tame thank goodness; I was pretty cooked.
Riding with Alastair is great. I got to hear about the 24 hours of Le Mans, the intricacies of the track, what teams are hot, all about the various categories of cars and some massive accident that Mercedes had many years ago that caused the organizers to take a hump out of the fastest straight. You don't get that on most bike rides! |
| Equipment: | Ti Cycles Hyak, Neuvation wheels, 42/53, 12-25 |
| Clothing: | shorts, sleeveless undershirt, short sleeve jersey, cap |
Sunday, May 31, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | 6 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 11:15 AM |
| Distance: | 70 miles |
| Time (total): | 3:35 |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | max speed - 44 mph |
| Speed (overall): | 19 mph |
| Total Ascent: | 4905 feet |
| Weather: | low 70s, sunny, dry, 10 mph (?) wind |
| Workout Type: | ride |
| Breakfast: | 6:30 AM - smoothie
10:00 AM - Odwalla protein bar |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | Shot Bloks, large bottle w/2 scoops HEED, 2 scoops Endurox R4, 2 scoops maltodextrin, some massive random bar, large bottle of water |
| Course: | Greenwater to Sunrise and back |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Before setting out this morning I took the scissors to an extra jersey I had and cut the sleeves off. Yes!
My back was NOT cooperating today but this ride was SO great it more than made up for it. It was beautiful out, I never needed any more clothes, Mt Rainier was in-f'n-credible, and THE ROAD TO SUNRISE WAS CLOSED.
Let me sway that again, the 10 mile stretch of road from the White River campground to Sunrise was closed to cars and cars only. Sweet. On the gate was the most beautiful sign indicating that the road was closed to cars but NOT to skiers, walkers and oh yeah, bicycles.
I have only done this ride on a closed road once before and it's a dream. With no traffic, you can use the ENTIRE road when descending and it's just so peaceful! On the way up you could see the marks in the asphalt that were left from the snow chains on the huge rigs they use to plow this road and at the top there they were, parked in the middle of the parking lot like two prehistoric monsters. It kinda reminded me of the movie Killdozer. :) Here is a taste of that masterpiece.
I had a slight tailwind on the way out and was mostly in the 53x17 doing 20-23 mph until the road tipped up. On the hill proper I started out in the 42x17, shifted to the 19 after about three miles and then after maybe four more spent some quality time in the 21. I was feeling pretty darn all right except for my back. About two thirds of the way up I actually got off and walked for 100 feet to give myself a break. :( It helped but sucked that I had to do it.
There was snow along the road from the half way point to the top and the walls just kept getting taller and taller. In the parking lot at the visitor center at the top the walls were taller than me. In fact, I recall some snow on the ground at the cabins at the base of the Crystal Mountain road!
The mountain is RIGHT THERE, it's so in your face and never fails to impress me from this side. There was an amazing cloud cap a few thousand feet above the mountain, it looked just like the top of an atomic bomb mushroom cloud without the stem.
I saw a few people riding down as I rode up including one tandem and then at the top there were about six people in the parking lot. I didn't linger too long… I found the best vantage point in the middle of the parking lot, laid my bike down and just stared at the mountain for a bit. Then I ate a bar, tossed out my trash and headed back down.
OMG…! If you have never descended on a closed road then you have never descended. You don't actually go that fast on this hill (mostly around 35 mph) but the corners on the lower half tight enough to make it feel really quick. And it was SUCH a thrill to be able to use every inch of the road. And the turns are banked! So I was going from low side to low side to low side, it was like being on a ride at an amusement park. Did I mention that this was fun?
In a couple of spots the lane closest to the hill was covered in rocks that had slid down the mountain and one section near the top it was covered in huge dirt clods but it was no problem because the road was CLOSED! :) There were also a couple of small rivers of snow melt that I had to slice though but the roads were amazingly dry overall.
As I was passing the toll booth on my way out two racers (Hagens Berman and Jen Optics) were coming up and they asked me if the road was open. Yes I said, it was open. Hell yes.
Then as I left the Sunrise road my back quit on me. During the 20 miles back to the car I had to sit up at least five times to stretch and stand on every rise just to straighten out my spine. Bummer. The wind was square in my face for most of the descent too and I could not help noticing that on the flatter bit my speed was almost exactly the same as when I rode up. Rats.
I also ran out of water! All that descending into the warm air really dries you out and two large bottles I had were not quite enough. I rationed what I had and took my last drink with about three miles to go and of course I was instantly completely dehydrated once that last sip slid past my lips. Good thing I had more back at the car.
Even though I stretched after finishing, the drive back home was not so back friendly. I was constantly squirming to ease the pressure. Oh well, at least this is much less common that it used to be. |
| Equipment: | Ti Cycles Hyak, Neuvation wheels, 42/53, 12-25
I put this cyclometer I won on for 100 miles of nowhere hence all these wonderful stats but man, I was staring at it a bit too much. Watch the road Martin. |
| Clothing: | shorts, sleeveless undershirt, sleeveless jersey, cap |
Saturday, May 30, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 5:30 PM |
| Distance: | 39 miles |
| Time (total): | 1:56 |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | 20 mph |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | |
| Workout Type: | ride |
| Breakfast: | |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | water |
| Course: | Seward, Renton, around Mercer Island, home up Madrona |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | I actually went for a regular old ride instead of doing nothing or racing! And it was fun.
One hard effort on the way north on the east side and then up Madrona and they were okay. |
| Equipment: | Ti Cycles Hyak, Neuvation wheels, 42/53, 12-25
That creak in my bike…? I think it's my f'n Zipp wheels! What a load of crap… My bike was silent as can be today with the Neuvation wheels. It's got to be the rear, time for more research… |
| Clothing: | shorts, sleeveless undershirt, short sleeve jersey, cap |
Monday, May 18, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 5:15 PM |
| Distance: | 28 miles |
| Time (total): | |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | |
| Workout Type: | ride |
| Breakfast: | |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | water |
| Course: | UW, around Mercer Island, up Madrona, Union, home |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | I went for a ride with one of my co-workers today, Andy G. And it was a blast!
The entire time it threatened to dump and we got super, duper lucky. In fact, by the time we finished up, the roads were dryer than when we were on the island.
About half way around the island a cop stopped us. Just up ahead we saw a semi truck that had gotten stuck in the ditch. We were instructed to walk around the truck and man did this driver ever miss the turn…
He was going around a right hander and had cut it too close. The wheels had slipped into the ditch next to the road and the trailer had carved a nice slice out of the embankment.
At least the driver was in good spirits! As we walked by he pointed at the truck and then at himself and said something like, "I've had better days…!" Boy, I bet. |
| Equipment: | Ti Cycles Hyak, Neuvation wheels, 42/53, 12-25 |
| Clothing: | shorts, short sleeve undershirt, short sleeve jersey, cap |
Saturday, May 16, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | 7 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 8:00 AM |
| Distance: | 68 miles |
| Time (total): | 4:15 |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | low 50s to mid 60s, calm, dry, sunny |
| Workout Type: | ride |
| Breakfast: | 6:30 AM - cereal |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | 2 large bottle each w/2 scoops HEED, 3 scoops maltodextrin, Odwalla Superfood bar |
| Course: | Leschi, across Mercer Island, up Cougar from the west, Newcastle golf course hill, up Cougar (all the way to the park), down Montreaux, Issaquah-Hobart, May Valley, the secret closed road, around Mercer Island, home |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Tom W (sporting his bike to work day socks), Hank K and I went on one of the most scenic rides! We hit a couple of roads that are closed to cars, climbed ALL the way to the tippy top of Cougar Mountain and kept it social all the way.
I got in one effort climbing up the main bit of Cougar, another pulling along Issaquah-Hobart and a longer one on May Valley. And that was enough for me. We chatted all the way around Mercer Island instead of constantly ramping it up which was a nice surprise.
I got some sun today, you betcha.
That damn creaking in my drivetrain…? It was my f'n chainring bolts. A little grease fixed that right up. |
| Equipment: | Ti Cycles Hyak, Neuvation wheels, 42/53, 12-25 |
| Clothing: | short, short sleeve undershirt, short sleeve jersey, cap |
Sunday, May 03, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 7:30 AM |
| Distance: | 35 miles |
| Time (total): | |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | partly sunny, dry air, wet ground on the island, calm, mid 50s |
| Workout Type: | ride |
| Breakfast: | |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | large bottle with 3 scoops maltodextrin, 2 scoops Endurox R4 |
| Course: | Hank's house, Leschi, around Mercer Island, back around, up Madrona, up Union, home |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | I am amazed at how fast these rides go sometimes… We started around Mercer Island counter-clockwise and EVERY time we hit that first hill someone lets fire a long bomb in hopes they can hold it. This time was no different and I had to pass about 10 people just to avoid getting gapped/shelled instantly.
As we got to the last rise on this (first!) hill the group of 20 had shrunk to four. Out of curiosity (how can you go any faster?) I went as hard as I could up that last bit and then just kept shifting up and accelerating as the road flattened out. I guess I got caught up in the spirit of the ride.
So four of us, I did not drop anyone apparently, are now charging around the island and right away we pick up Fred B (Dewar's) and it's off to the races.
I got in a couple of good pulls including one more hard effort up that little rise half way around but then we had to slow down as the road was totally covered in wet leaves on all the fun corners. :(
Towards the end Tim M picked it up again and I gave Fred a fantastic lead out for the World Championship MI sprint before turning back and doing it all over again.
Thank goodness the return trip was more sedate. Until about two miles to go that is when the inevitable happened and someone started to dial it back up. On the last rise Fred gave it everything and I got boxed! By the time I extricated myself he was about 50' ahead of me but I got him at the bottom of the last descent.
From here Tim launches AGAIN and this time I can't hang and am dangling about 20' feet off of his wheel. Finally I decided that I had to do something and it was not happening in the saddle so I stood up, shifted up and gave what little I had left. Turns out it was enough to pass Tim and hit the top comfortably in first. :)
Sheesh, nothing like a casual ride with friends. |
| Equipment: | Ti Cycles Hyak, Neuvation wheels, 42/53, 12-25 |
| Clothing: | |
Saturday, May 02, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | 5 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 8:00 AM |
| Distance: | 68 miles |
| Time (total): | 4 hours |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | low 50s, dry at the start but then wet later |
| Workout Type: | ride |
| Breakfast: | 4:30 AM - piece of pizza |
| Lunch: | 1:00 PM - grilled cheese, water, ravioli |
| Dinner: | 5:30 PM - chocolate milkshake |
| Workout Food: | |
| Course: | Hollywood Hill, Old Woodinville-Duvall Road, West Valley Road, Highbridge, Lost Lake, Maltby, Woodinville, home |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | It started out as Alan W, Tony O, Alistair L, Dave H and myself. After a couple of hills Alan went home and we carried on. After climbing up to Lost Lake and riding through Maltby Dave went straight for more miles and so it was just Tony, Alistair and I that finished together.
Dave was hurting me today… I thought I would be the pace setter after two days of rest but no, on every hill he went right to the front and dialed it up and sometimes it was manageable and sometimes it was barely manageable.
I did feel really good on Highbridge but then climbing up to Lost Lake he almost dropped me… I spent way too much time staring at his rear wheel than at the scenery. :(
I never got cold! I was just tired of getting all dressed up so wore nothing on my legs and it was okay. My feet were kinda hot throughout the ride actually… and no gloves - didn't need 'em ever.
This was a great bunch to ride with, super company. Originally we thought we'd go all the way to Sultan but after the weather report and then the tell tale drip, drip we decided not to and I do not regret that decision. I was pretty darn wet when I got home. |
| Equipment: | Ti Cycles Hyak, Neuvation wheels, 42/53, 12-25 |
| Clothing: | Sugoi shoe covers, shorts, Craft short sleeve undershirt, arm warmers, short sleeve jersey, cap |
Sunday, April 19, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | 6 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | 7:30 AM - 177 |
| Body Fat: | 8 |
| Time of Day: | 8:00 AM |
| Distance: | 79 miles |
| Time (total): | 4:30 |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | 50-60, dry, mostly sunny, light breeze |
| Workout Type: | ride |
| Breakfast: | 5:00 AM - cereal
6:30 AM - large bottle w/1 scoop HEED and 3 scoops Perpetuem |
| Lunch: | 2:30 PM - water, big piece of teriyaki salmon, spring roll, bubble tea |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | 2 large bottles each w/1 scoop HEED and 3 scoops Perpetuem and 2 Endurolytes |
| Course: | Leschi, Snoqualmie Falls, around Mercer Island, home |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | What a great day! About 10 of us started out from Leschi and it was the first time I left home WITH NO GLOVES whatsoever. Pretty much everyone was dressed way down compared to what we have been used to lately - and commenting on how much they liked it.
So, the ride then… can I just say that Dave H and Mick W (Z Team) are freaking on fire right now? Oh yes, they are. I did my "work really hard until I can't any more" routine and each time Dave was right there (actually he was right in front of me truth be told) and ditto for Mick.
Anyway, we get across the island and onto Newport and Ryan D is gone. He said he had to turn back early so I guess he wanted to get in his training NOW. :) He figured it out eventually, slowed a bit and we all rode into Issaquah together.
Just as we started up the first climb to the Issaquah plateau Ryan got a flat. That threw some cold water on the race that probably would have ensued which might not have been a bad thing. Half the group rolled on up at a leisurely pace and half of us waited for Ryan and helped him fix his flat and then joined the rest.
As we turned right onto the old Issaquah-Fall City road (one of my favorite roads to ride on!) Ryan took off again but this time I accelerated and pulled him back and we hooked up just as the descent transitions into a climb.
Wanting to get in a good workout I took off right from here. Big ring, out of the saddle and all that. I kept it on about as hard as I could knowing I had to pace myself to the top and when I got half way I looked back and Dave was right there. Overlapping me actually. I stood up for the last roller and was totally at my limit and Dave did not move back one cm. At the top I died a small death, took just a second to recover and by the time I got it rolling again Alan W had joined us and we descended together. Awesome. If only Dave would learn to stay away from his brake levers - I was passing him in the corners just coasting.
ASIDE - Dave told me that every time he descends he pictures the scene from the movie American History X where Edward Norton puts a gang members mouth on the curb and stomps his skull… Yikes! No wonder he uses his brakes. Nothing like fanning the fires of fear.
We rolled through Fall City after regrouping and then Ryan had to turn around. We hit the salmon hatchery road and then the climb up to the falls. Alan was dialing up the pace at the base and I had recovered so figured it was time for another effort.
I took off from the first right hand corner, out of the saddle again and went for quite a ways before sitting back down. At first I did not have to shift down but that didn't last. :) As we turned left I had to grab a gear and there was Dave. Jeez.
As the road leveled off I slowed even more. :( I tried shifting up and standing up and had to get back in the saddle and grab my shifter pronto! As we got closer I tried again and this time Dave did too and flew by. OMG. Alan and Mick were not far behind at all. Nice. We took the usual potty break here and then rolled on to the additional loop above the falls.
As the road began to tip up Chance R threw his chain off the big ring and could not get it on right away so again what could have been the beginning of a painful bit was severely tempered. But as the road leveled off Alastair L went to the front and gave it a dig.
He pulled all the way to the right turn where the steep section begins and then pulled over. Bang! There went Bob W (Excel) off the front. It was a totally intimidating move and before I could effectively react Dave and Alan went by me and after Bob.
But it didn't last. Soon we were leaving Bob behind and he was replaced by Mick and the four of us crested the top together. I was KILLING myself to stick with these guys at this point but I managed it.
At the top I said something like, "Let's regroup at the stop sign…" meaning the next intersection but guess what, there wasn't a stop sign here so Dave just kept on rolling. Ouch. I had to scramble for wheels to not get shelled and just got back on. We ripped the descent and finally found the stop sign.
At this point Corrie M turned left? I think he thought it was shorter to go that way but he was wrong. :( By the time I figured out that he was riding away and not just circling he was too far away to hear me. Oh well.
Alastair got in another downhill interval descending the falls and then we kept the pace up into Fall City. At this point I was really starting to appreciate Mick's strength. He would go to the front and not slow a bit. And it sure did not look like he ever needed to pull over, it was like he was just doing it to give us a turn.
I tried one more effort on the flat bit heading into Fall City but could not maintain 30 mph all the way to the roundabout. It hurt too much.
We rolled through Fall City nice and mellow and then headed back to the old Issaquah-Fall City road. Not sure if it was my imagination or just me getting tired at this point but it sure seemed like Alan was upping the pace as we got closer to the climb…
Prior to this climb Dave had extolled his philosophy of "never initiating the pain" and that's why the peloton liked him but about 50' after starting this hill he went right to the front and increased the tempo. Liar.
My grudge was short live though as Mick came up alongside Dave and shifted to the big ring as soon as the road leveled off just a tiny bit. Cripes. No massive attacks by Martin at this point and all I could do was try and hang on. Alan was next to me again and I think he was happy to just be here as well.
At the top of the first rise I did manage to get my ass out of the saddle and come alongside the rabbits but the next time the road kicked up and Mick stood up I was not able to follow. I could only watch as Dave and Mick rode away. At the top I pushed as hard as I could and kept shifting up and Alan and I almost caught them before the stop sign.
From here it was one more sprint up a hill and then the delicious descent down Black Nugget and then back to Mercer Island for a lap around. Here some more people turned off and it was now just Tony O (Lenovo), Mick, Alan, Bob and one of his teammates that had joined us. Well, nothing like a fresh set of legs to amp the pace back up on the island…
By now I was feeling a tad crampy and was sucking down the last of my second bottle. At least we were only about 10 miles from the end of the hard stuff. Good thing too because Mick was just like a machine here! His pulls were longer and faster than everyone else and more than once I had to really concentrate to hold the wheel in front of me.
As we approached the last little rise before the last descent Mick had just been doing one of his (long) turns at the front and as we hit the rise I gave it all that I had. It was totally selfish, I hope he did not mind…
I should not have worried. I was followed over the hill by everyone and sure enough, there was Mick. And then he pushed the pace on the last rise up to I-90! Oh man, all I cold do at this point was watch EVERYONE else pass me and finish the ride up the road. Bob got the KOM - that guy has some serious power.
From here it was totally social back to Leschi where we split up one more time and I rolled up Madrona and up Union and home. I was cooked but super glad I was able to get in some nice efforts and the group was fantastic. I really like riding with these guys and was very glad that Mick, Bob and Tony showed up.
Did I mention my stupid thumb? Last night I nicked the knuckle grating cheese for dinner. It was fine and stopped bleeding but I put a band aid on this morning just in case. As we were heading out on Newport I was taking off my knee warmers and for some reason this caused it to start f'n GUSHING blood?! So I'm riding along, thumb either up in the air or in my mouth trying to keep the red stuff off of my nice, white kit. And it wouldn't stop bleeding for about 15 miles… I had to treat a few stains when I got home before I did laundry. :( |
| Equipment: | Ti Cycles Hyak, Neuvation wheels, 42/53, 12-25 |
| Clothing: | knit shoe covers, shorts, knee warmers, short sleeve Craft undershirt, jersey, vest, arm warmers, cap |
Saturday, April 04, 2009
79 miles
| Hours Sleeping: | 7 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 8:00 AM |
| Distance: | ride - 79 miles
walk - 3 miles |
| Time (total): | 4:50 |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | 40-50, sunny, mostly calm, dry |
| Workout Type: | ride |
| Breakfast: | 7:00 AM - 2 eggs, veggie crumble, cereal |
| Lunch: | 1:30 PM - rice, bean and cheese burrito
3:00 PM - 1/4 lb pistachios, water, chai latte |
| Dinner: | spezle, yams, Boca burger, caramelized onions, lemonade, cabbage salad |
| Workout Food: | 8 Fig Newtons, 2 large bottles each with 2 Endurolytes, 1 scoop HEED, 3 scoops Perpetuem |
| Course: | Snoqualmie Falls via the Issaquah-Fall City road plus the Weyerhaeuser loop above the falls |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | What a day…! Everyone was saying the same thing as the sun was out, it was DRY and it got up to 50 degrees. I was joined by Dustin VW, Brian S, Gabe T, Aaron S, Chance R and Jeff D, a perfect size group.
I was feeling kind of tired as we rolled out and on Newport Dustin was flying… Then as we climbed up the Issaquah plateau I started to feel better. Dustin, Aaron and I ended up off the front and I thought I timed my acceleration right near the end but I died and Dustin beat me. :)
Then it was time for one of my favorite roads of all time: Issaquah-Fall City. This road rocks going both directions. I gave it a little gas on the climb and when I saw I had a gap I pushed as hard as I could. I almost died again on the last stair step but managed to roll over the top and the descent was beautiful. Aaron met me at the bottom so he must have gone hard too - nice.
Knowing I was not going to ride Sunday I wanted to keep up the efforts so I took off right at the bottom of the climb to the falls. I think I was in my 53x17 to get it rolling and then sat down and shifted to my 19. By the time I sat down Dustin was right there again. I tried to keep it going as best I could and even faked one acceleration half way up but faded a bit near the top and had to settle for second again. But I was sure getting my workout!
ASIDE - Dustin told me we were putting out about 500 watts when I took off and then settled into 370. When I faded at the top I was doing about 320.
People were worried about the upper loop but we talked everyone into it and then I just rode tempo at the front. When we got to the steep part of the hill it was Dustin and me again and this time we crested together.
I LOVE the descent back to the top of the falls. What a blast. Then we bombed down into Fall City and somehow lost Brian and Gabe when we came down from the falls… I gave it one more big push on the last flat stretch and Chance told me later I was doing a steady 32 mph there.
We waited Fall City and Gabe just waved at us and rode on by. :( I Hope he was not pissed for getting dropped. Brian did meet us and we ate a bite, took of more clothes and carried on.
Climbing back up Issaquah-Fall City is harder going this way but I still felt good so gradually ramped it up and crested alone. I turned around at the top to pick up Brian and Jeff but after Aaron and Dustin rode by me and I went around two corners and didn't see them I turned around again myself and tried to catch the front runners. Even though they were not going fast they had a huge head start and I had to really peg it. I did manage to catch them about 100 yards before the stop sign at the end of the road. Whew…
We sprinted up the usual one block climb and then FELL down Black Nugget Road. Yes. There was an Audi in my way and I just rolled on by like it was parked. I love that.
From here it was mellow all the way back to Mercer Island where Brian and Jeff went straight across and so it was just four of now. Chance was getting a little tired by now but Aaron was still riding pretty strong. Dustin and I took some longer pulls and the pace stayed steady without turning into a race or anything too crazy. The last climb back up to I-90 was hard… Dustin went to the front and I was right behind him. As we got closer to the top I shifted up, stood up and promptly had to sit back down. :) I was burnt.
As the coup de grace I rode up Madrona - but only in the 42x23 and at a very reasonable pace.
God it was nice out today. And what an awesome group to ride with.
After getting home and cleaning up Shelley and I walked downtown, around the Pike Place Market and into Belltown then home. I love downtown. |
| Equipment: | Ti Cycles Hyak, Neuvation wheels, 42/53, 12-25 |
| Clothing: | I started out with my Craft long sleeve undershirt, a short sleeve undershirt, short sleeve jersey, vest, arm warmers, shorts, knee warmers, leg warmers, knit show covers, cap, OR Gripper gloves. On the Issaquah plateau I took off my vest and leg warmers and on the way home in Fall City I took off my long sleeve undershirt and gloves. FIRST NO GLOVE RIDE OF THE YEAR! |
Sunday, March 22, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | 7 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 7:30 AM |
| Distance: | |
| Time (total): | 29 miles |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | 40, calm, cloudy, dry |
| Workout Type: | ride |
| Breakfast: | 6:30 am - cereal
10:00 am - pistachios, rice cheese |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | water |
| Course: | down to the sewage treatment plant in Discovery Park and then home along the water front |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | My first Hank ride of 2009! And it was kind of a mess. :) Although the pace was super mellow some people could not keep up on the hills and so the group got split twice and we waited and had to backtrack and we STILL did not finish together. Sheesh…
Oh yeah, my legs felt like they were filled with lead and by the time I got home I was was absolutely ravenous. |
| Equipment: | Ti Cycles Hyak, Neuvation wheels, 42/53, 12-25 |
| Clothing: | Roubaix knickers, Roubaix leg warmers, Sugoi booties, Craft long sleeve undershirt, heavy long sleeve jersey, vest, OR Gripper gloves, cap |
Saturday, February 28, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: |
7 |
| Pulse (waking): |
|
| Pulse (rising): |
|
| Difference: |
|
| Weight: |
|
| Body Fat: |
|
| Time of Day: |
8:30 AM |
| Distance: |
72 miles |
| Time (total): |
4:30 |
| Time (moving): |
|
| Time (stopped): |
|
| Speed (moving): |
|
| Speed (overall): |
|
| Total Ascent: |
|
| Weather: |
mid 30s - mid 40s, dry, calm, partly sunny |
| Workout Type: |
ride |
| Course: |
University Village, Log Boom Park, Snohomish via Lowell and River Rd, Broadway, home |
| Results: |
|
| Comments: |
I thought I would feel super today but only felt fairly good. And I really started to crap out on the way home… it feels like I have shite endurance. All these 15 and 25 minute efforts are great if your race lasts 15 or 25 minutes but not if it's 60 solid miles. Or longer! :(
And it appears I am milking the winter bike a bit longer than everyone else so maybe just keeping up is an accomplishment.
It was a BIG turnout today - nice. We all rode to Snohomish and then the majority of the bunch went further to Monroe but I had to turn back. Thankfully RC, Alex, Jake and Tom kept me company; that was nice.
We also logged some karma points by giving the other guy a tube and helping him fix his flat. |
| Equipment: |
Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
Sunday, February 15, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 9:00 AM |
| Distance: | 55 miles |
| Time (total): | 3:30 |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | mid 30s to low 40s, some light wind, mostly cloudy, dry |
| Workout Type: | ride |
| Breakfast: | cereal |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | lentils, curry, veggies, potatoes, beer |
| Workout Food: | 1 large bottle w/2 Endurolytes, 1 scoop Endurox R4 and 3 scoops Perpetuem |
| Course: | north end of Lake WA, some hills, the scenic side of Bellevue, across Mercer Island, up Madrona, home |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | We (about eight women and maybe 20 men?) assembled at Caffe Ladro in Fremont and met King5 for some filming and interviews. It was fantastic exposure for the team and our charities.
From here most of the group went south around Lake WA and then around Mercer Island but I wanted to ride hills and a few guys came with me- thanks!
We went up Simonds, up Norway Hill, back up the other side of Simonds and then they all peeled off. I continued up Juanita and headed home. As I was about to cross the I-90 floating bridge I saw Dustin show up and so waited for that group. Funny how these two routes take a similar amount of time...
From here it was just up Madrona and then up Union and home.
I can't WAIT for warmer weather, even just 50 degrees would be fantastic. |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
Sunday, February 08, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | 7 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 9:00 AM |
| Distance: | 56 miles |
| Time (total): | 3:30 |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | mid 30s to mid 40s, fog, calm |
| Workout Type: | ride |
| Breakfast: | cereal |
| Lunch: | 2 baked eggs, bread, butter, blueberries |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | 2 large bottles each with 2 Endurolytes, 1 scoop Endurox R4 and 3 scoops Perpetuem |
| Course: | Renton, Cedar River Trail, Cedar Grove, Tiger, Cougar, home |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Yesterday put a little dent in my zip but per Chance R I was still the antagonist/protagonist today. I was trying to maximize the benefit so that's good to hear.
Cruising down to Renton my legs felt fairly heavy. I tired to pen them up a bit by pulling from where we get on Rainier to Renton and it felt okay but did not help that much... Climbing Cedar Grove was sedate - I think it has become the official warm-up hill so no one is too eager to twist the throttle just yet.
Just as we got to Issaquah-Hobart Chance had a flat. Due to bad luck (the valve of his spare tube sheared off!) and haste (the tube was under the tire bead and blew off the rim) one flat turned into three. Feeling a little impatient I installed the last tube myself. :( By this time half of our group had already gone up Tiger via the usual route so we decided to head south and catch them. Cold legs + Dustin V drilling it right from the gun = Martin gets winded.
Once we started climbing I went to the front to get this party started and although Edgardo B and Allan W went by in short order I was feeling okay. Then half way up Tiger I met Kurt A at the side of the road (he had gone the other way) and he asked for help. Turns out his front derailleur clamp had loosened up and it got stuffed down into his chainrings. Luckily that only took a minute and then we were off again. Cold legs + Martin decides he needs to drill it = massive want for oxygen.
Dustin was just up the road and I killed my self to catch him. As I was getting close Alastair L was bridging up to me.
ASIDE - that guy is incredible! Thursday he lifted legs and Friday he did stairs and today he was killing it on hills with guys 10 year younger.
When I got up to Dustin I shifted up, stood up and jumped right by. And when I say 'jumped' I of course mean crept since I was on my winter bike and he on his race bike. Still, it made him work. :) He went by me again no problem but then the road leveled off and I slowly caught back on. With the chain already in the big ring I shifted up again and did my best to jump by one more time. Ouch...!
Alastair was right on my wheel and now took over and Dustin got on me. We pushed it over the summit and although I was blown by then it felt good to get in those efforts.
Riding into Issaquah I took one more flyer at the top of the descent. I was caught as the road leveled off (by Dustin no less) but then he sat up! This was the motivation I needed for one more push. I passed him at the light, held it up that last little rise and we all regrouped in Issaquah.
With all the mechanicals I had run out of time to do all three hills so opted for the most scenic one and skipped Squak. Corrie M and Chance joined me on the zoo hill - thanks guys!
As we started out Chance was scooting right along and just kept opening up a gap on me. I figured I was tired and he maybe not so much so I just tried to settle into a good tempo for me. Most of the time my eyes were focused on the road about three feet in front of me but then I looked up and Chance was coming back. It is SO hard to increase your speed on this climb and I probably was not able to but eventually I was passing him just before that insane, right-hand switchback.
Leg press, pure and simple; that's what this climb is. My 38x25 is NOT sufficient for this kind of grade. I was crying for a 27.
I think I more-or-less held on to my effort to the top and when Chance arrived he informed me that he was limited to his 39x23...! Seems his derailleur hanger is bent and he had to dial down the inner limit screw to keep the derailleur out of the spokes. Bad luck on a day like today for sure.
From here we just rode home. I talked Chance into dropping by and letting me straighten his hanger and adjust his rear (and front) derailleur. For some reason I can't stand it when the bikes of friends or teammates don't run well...
Having done my good deeds for the day I went inside and ate.
I heard from Aaron S later in the day that not only was he able to stay with Edgardo on Squak but that he beat him up Cougar. Shit... I did see him rolling the race bike today for the shake-down ride and obviously it passed the test. :) |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
| Hours Sleeping: | 7 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 9:00 AM |
| Distance: | 56 miles |
| Time (total): | 3:30 |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | mid 30s to mid 40s, fog, calm |
| Workout Type: | ride |
| Breakfast: | cereal |
| Lunch: | 2 baked eggs, bread, butter, blueberries |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | 2 large bottles each with 2 Endurolytes, 1 scoop Endurox R4 and 3 scoops Perpetuem |
| Course: | Renton, Cedar River Trail, Cedar Grove, Tiger, Cougar, home |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Yesterday put a little dent in my zip but per Chance R I was still the antagonist/protagonist today. I was trying to maximize the benefit so that's good to hear.
Cruising down to Renton my legs felt fairly heavy. I tired to pen them up a bit by pulling from where we get on Rainier to Renton and it felt okay but did not help that much... Climbing Cedar Grove was sedate - I think it has become the official warm-up hill so no one is too eager to twist the throttle just yet.
Just as we got to Issaquah-Hobart Chance had a flat. Due to bad luck (the valve of his spare tube sheared off!) and haste (the tube was under the tire bead and blew off the rim) one flat turned into three. Feeling a little impatient I installed the last tube myself. :( By this time half of our group had already gone up Tiger via the usual route so we decided to head south and catch them. Cold legs + Dustin V drilling it right from the gun = Martin gets winded.
Once we started climbing I went to the front to get this party started and although Edgardo B and Allan W went by in short order I was feeling okay. Then half way up Tiger I met Kurt A at the side of the road (he had gone the other way) and he asked for help. Turns out his front derailleur clamp had loosened up and it got stuffed down into his chainrings. Luckily that only took a minute and then we were off again. Cold legs + Martin decides he needs to drill it = massive want for oxygen.
Dustin was just up the road and I killed my self to catch him. As I was getting close Alastair L was bridging up to me.
ASIDE - that guy is incredible! Thursday he lifted legs and Friday he did stairs and today he was killing it on hills with guys 10 year younger.
When I got up to Dustin I shifted up, stood up and jumped right by. And when I say 'jumped' I of course mean crept since I was on my winter bike and he on his race bike. Still, it made him work. :) He went by me again no problem but then the road leveled off and I slowly caught back on. With the chain already in the big ring I shifted up again and did my best to jump by one more time. Ouch...!
Alastair was right on my wheel and now took over and Dustin got on me. We pushed it over the summit and although I was blown by then it felt good to get in those efforts.
Riding into Issaquah I took one more flyer at the top of the descent. I was caught as the road leveled off (by Dustin no less) but then he sat up! This was the motivation I needed for one more push. I passed him at the light, held it up that last little rise and we all regrouped in Issaquah.
With all the mechanicals I had run out of time to do all three hills so opted for the most scenic one and skipped Squak. Corrie M and Chance joined me on the zoo hill - thanks guys!
As we started out Chance was scooting right along and just kept opening up a gap on me. I figured I was tired and he maybe not so much so I just tried to settle into a good tempo for me. Most of the time my eyes were focused on the road about three feet in front of me but then I looked up and Chance was coming back. It is SO hard to increase your speed on this climb and I probably was not able to but eventually I was passing him just before that insane, right-hand switchback.
Leg press, pure and simple; that's what this climb is. My 38x25 is NOT sufficient for this kind of grade. I was crying for a 27.
I think I more-or-less held on to my effort to the top and when Chance arrived he informed me that he was limited to his 39x23...! Seems his derailleur hanger is bent and he had to dial down the inner limit screw to keep the derailleur out of the spokes. Bad luck on a day like today for sure.
From here we just rode home. I talked Chance into dropping by and letting me straighten his hanger and adjust his rear (and front) derailleur. For some reason I can't stand it when the bikes of friends or teammates don't run well...
Having done my good deeds for the day I went inside and ate.
I heard from Aaron S later in the day that not only was he able to stay with Edgardo on Squak but that he beat him up Cougar. Shit... I did see him rolling the race bike today for the shake-down ride and obviously it passed the test. :) |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
Saturday, February 07, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | 6 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 8:15 AM |
| Distance: | 72 miles |
| Time (total): | 4:30 |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | mid 30s - mid 40s, calm, dry, partly cloudy |
| Workout Type: | ride |
| Breakfast: | cereal |
| Lunch: | 2 big slices of tamago, veggie soba noodles w/salmon, giant slush (bubble tea) |
| Dinner: | salad, bread, cheese, roasted veggies, biscuits, water, ice cream |
| Workout Food: | 2 large bottles each with 2 Endurolytes, 3 scoops Perpetuem and 1 scoop Endurox R4 |
| Course: | Snohomish via Lowell and River rd |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Good times...
Today we did some structured drills that worked chasing and blocking along Lowell and River road and I think everyone learned something which was the goal. It was also a super interval workout and for once I did not feel like lead and was right there in spite of being on my winter boat anchor.
After what seemed like a pretty long stop in Snohomish we headed up Broadway. It was fine at first and then Dustin V struck out with a stiff tempo on the second hill. I jumped up to him and thought, "Hey, this isn't so bad..." but about 200 m later my legs were screaming. As we hit the false flats towards the top I had to stop riding side-by-side and grab his wheel for a bit.
Just then Greg K came storming up with almost everyone else in tow; just in time for that list little rise which we all sprinted up.
After crossing 522 it was on again. I got things moving by pushing the pace on the first rise and again Greg caught me and passed me and I had to scramble for wheels... I had planned to go again on the second to last rise but Dustin and Greg beat me to it! Luckily my acceleration was well timed and at the top I was only about 10' behind them. I managed to latch on and then take the lead down the descent. I went as hard as I could here and completely blow at the base of the last rise. So hard that Chance R and Tony B caught me from the chase group that Dustin, Greg and I had separated ourselves from.
But it was okay, I was feeling good for once and this was a super training ride.
One the way home I was tired but not mentally beat down or bonked - all signs that I am slowly getting fitter. I know that switching to the race bike will be heaven but I also know that feeling will last about one day. Oh well, better to have that day than not, eh? |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
Sunday, February 01, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | 7 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 8:45 AM |
| Distance: | 60 miles |
| Time (total): | 4 hours |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | |
| Workout Type: | mid 30s to 40, light wind, cloudy, dry |
| Breakfast: | cereal |
| Lunch: | chips, bean dip, guacamole, beer, water |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | 2 large bottles each with 2 Endurolytes, 1 scoop Endurox R4 and 3 scoops Perpetuem |
| Course: | Leschi, Renton, Cedar River Trail, Cedar Grove, Tiger, Issaquah-Hobart, Squak, Newport, Cougar, home |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Gott im Himmel... today was hard but I did it. Last week I was only able to complete two of the three hills and today I managed all three and had a great effort on Tiger too.
The start to this ride is massively flat and too long, ideally it would be shorter. And not anywhere near Rainier Ave. [I HATE that road...] but that's another story for another time.
My legs were the opposite of fresh as we started out and 20 miles of flat did not help that any. Going up Cedar Grove everyone was just warming up and twiddling these tiny gears and I was worried about getting dropped! At the top I naively looked back hoping we might have to wait (so I could catch my breath) for Cathy but she was right there. Damn. Bad for me, great for her.
The speed picked up on Cedar Grove and it was pretty fun except our rotation was SHAKY! Not everyone in our group had a ton of experience and it was all gaps and playing catch-up and gently telling folks what to do. It's okay I guess, they appreciated it and I guess this is what you need to do so I should not cop an attitude. :)
Then it was time for Tiger. BANG! There goes Aleks T, Ryan D, Nelson J, Dean J and Edgardo B. Not too far behind them was Gabe T and then came me followed by Alastair L and Gentry M. The front bunch was riding away from me so I said screw it and instead focused on finding my tempo and trying to get it up to threshold. And slowly, it started to happen.
You know that edge when you feel strong but it you push too much you blow? I was there. And this time I managed to hold it all the way up. I caught Gabe and then I caught Aleks and Ryan. When I got up to these guys I had recently found the big ring and went by them as hard as I could.
ASIDE - by 'hard' I of course mean like 2 mph faster... but I did go by.
Aleks jumped up to me and then Ryan bridged as well. Soon we caught Dean and then it was one of those awesome, go-go-go chases all the way down the back side. We were absolutely flying and even reeled in Nelson. The only guy that stayed away was Edgardo - probably because he had like a half hour lead by the summit. :( Jesus that kid can climb.
So after that maximum effort we turn right on Issaquah-Hobart and there goes Aleks followed by Edgardo. Shit. I had to sprint to get on that train. And when I catch they slow so everyone else can get on as well. WTF?
On the way into Issaquah a woman in a total soccer mom mini-van gets next to us and asks that we ride single file. We kind of ignored her (this road has a decent shoulder so it seemed very safe) and so half a mile later she slows down and proceeds to straddle the center line for what felt like ages while giving us this whole speal on how it's dangerous to ride two abreast and how it obstructs traffic and blah, blah, blah... All while fully straddling the double yellow as oncoming cars are forced into the dirt to avoid her. People.
At the bottom of Squak I stopped to shed the vest and the usual suspects got a 200 m head start. Oh well. I tried to generate the same fortitude that carried me over Tiger but it wasn't going to happen. I did okay and managed to connect with Gabe and even finish a bit ahead of him but the rest put at least another 100-200 m into me by the top. Not shabby but not excellent either.
Descending Squak you realize how much sand there is on the road...! I had to grab the brakes most of the way down and I hate doing that.
As we turned left onto Newport Aleks and Edgardo took a right to Starbucks! I'm thinking okay, two less rabbits for Cougar. But I did not count on Ryan. about 50 feet after turning left he stood up and took off. I was impressed. At this point I was limiting my loses and it was a slugfest all the way to the top. Like lifting weights only the set takes about 16 minutes.
Ryan did not maintain the pace of his original burst but to his credit he did continually put more distance into me. Dean was right on my wheel and I could hear his labored breathing all the way up. I tried to crack a joke or two but when you feel like you are scaling Everest without oxygen your effectiveness is somewhat reduced.
At the top you could stick a fork in my legs, they were D O N E. So done that these 'teammates' of mine shelled me riding across Mercer Island! :) Ryan did the civil thing by waiting and then towing me back up as we crossed the floating bridge. And you know who was leading the way...? Gabe. I think he should have kept a little less in reserve on the hills.
Once again our group shrank as we rode but we still finished with four. That's fine with me. And it was a great group. |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
| Hours Sleeping: | 7 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 8:45 AM |
| Distance: | 60 miles |
| Time (total): | 4 hours |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | |
| Workout Type: | mid 30s to 40, light wind, cloudy, dry |
| Breakfast: | cereal |
| Lunch: | chips, bean dip, guacamole, beer, water |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | 2 large bottles each with 2 Endurolytes, 1 scoop Endurox R4 and 3 scoops Perpetuem |
| Course: | Leschi, Renton, Cedar River Trail, Cedar Grove, Tiger, Issaquah-Hobart, Squak, Newport, Cougar, home |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Gott im Himmel... today was hard but I did it. Last week I was only able to complete two of the three hills and today I managed all three and had a great effort on Tiger too.
The start to this ride is massively flat and too long, ideally it would be shorter. And not anywhere near Rainier Ave. [I HATE that road...] but that's another story for another time.
My legs were the opposite of fresh as we started out and 20 miles of flat did not help that any. Going up Cedar Grove everyone was just warming up and twiddling these tiny gears and I was worried about getting dropped! At the top I naively looked back hoping we might have to wait (so I could catch my breath) for Cathy but she was right there. Damn. Bad for me, great for her.
The speed picked up on Cedar Grove and it was pretty fun except our rotation was SHAKY! Not everyone in our group had a ton of experience and it was all gaps and playing catch-up and gently telling folks what to do. It's okay I guess, they appreciated it and I guess this is what you need to do so I should not cop an attitude. :)
Then it was time for Tiger. BANG! There goes Aleks T, Ryan D, Nelson J, Dean J and Edgardo B. Not too far behind them was Gabe T and then came me followed by Alastair L and Gentry M. The front bunch was riding away from me so I said screw it and instead focused on finding my tempo and trying to get it up to threshold. And slowly, it started to happen.
You know that edge when you feel strong but it you push too much you blow? I was there. And this time I managed to hold it all the way up. I caught Gabe and then I caught Aleks and Ryan. When I got up to these guys I had recently found the big ring and went by them as hard as I could.
ASIDE - by 'hard' I of course mean like 2 mph faster... but I did go by.
Aleks jumped up to me and then Ryan bridged as well. Soon we caught Dean and then it was one of those awesome, go-go-go chases all the way down the back side. We were absolutely flying and even reeled in Nelson. The only guy that stayed away was Edgardo - probably because he had like a half hour lead by the summit. :( Jesus that kid can climb.
So after that maximum effort we turn right on Issaquah-Hobart and there goes Aleks followed by Edgardo. Shit. I had to sprint to get on that train. And when I catch they slow so everyone else can get on as well. WTF?
On the way into Issaquah a woman in a total soccer mom mini-van gets next to us and asks that we ride single file. We kind of ignored her (this road has a decent shoulder so it seemed very safe) and so half a mile later she slows down and proceeds to straddle the center line for what felt like ages while giving us this whole speal on how it's dangerous to ride two abreast and how it obstructs traffic and blah, blah, blah... All while fully straddling the double yellow as oncoming cars are forced into the dirt to avoid her. People.
At the bottom of Squak I stopped to shed the vest and the usual suspects got a 200 m head start. Oh well. I tried to generate the same fortitude that carried me over Tiger but it wasn't going to happen. I did okay and managed to connect with Gabe and even finish a bit ahead of him but the rest put at least another 100-200 m into me by the top. Not shabby but not excellent either.
Descending Squak you realize how much sand there is on the road...! I had to grab the brakes most of the way down and I hate doing that.
As we turned left onto Newport Aleks and Edgardo took a right to Starbucks! I'm thinking okay, two less rabbits for Cougar. But I did not count on Ryan. about 50 feet after turning left he stood up and took off. I was impressed. At this point I was limiting my loses and it was a slugfest all the way to the top. Like lifting weights only the set takes about 16 minutes.
Ryan did not maintain the pace of his original burst but to his credit he did continually put more distance into me. Dean was right on my wheel and I could hear his labored breathing all the way up. I tried to crack a joke or two but when you feel like you are scaling Everest without oxygen your effectiveness is somewhat reduced.
At the top you could stick a fork in my legs, they were D O N E. So done that these 'teammates' of mine shelled me riding across Mercer Island! :) Ryan did the civil thing by waiting and then towing me back up as we crossed the floating bridge. And you know who was leading the way...? Gabe. I think he should have kept a little less in reserve on the hills.
Once again our group shrank as we rode but we still finished with four. That's fine with me. And it was a great group. |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
Saturday, January 31, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | 6 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 7:30 AM |
| Distance: | 67 miles |
| Time (total): | 4 hours |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | mid 30s to mid 40s, foggy at first, sunny at the end, dry, some wind |
| Workout Type: | ride |
| Course: | University Village, Log Boom Park, Lake Sammamish slew trail, Marymoor Park, East Lake Sammamish, 900, May Valley, around the south end of the lake, Beacon Hill, home |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | For sure I was tired after this week but I didn't fold totally so that was good. I could not stick my nose in the wind today because the pace set by Aleks T and Greg K was a bit too fierce but I managed a solid tempo up 900 and that felt good.
Then I was just hanging on for the rest of the ride to be honest.
Again Chance R was riding strong - good for him. At one point Gabe T asked me how heavy my bike was so I told him - 32 lb. He called it the equalizer. :) |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
Saturday, January 24, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | 7 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 7:30 AM |
| Distance: | 56 miles |
| Time (total): | 3:45 |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | low to upper 30s, dry, calm, partly cloudy |
| Workout Type: | ride |
| Breakfast: | 3 waffles w/yogurt, banana, apple butter |
| Lunch: | 2 fermenting, organic drinks from PCC |
| Dinner: | Italian with all the trimmings, wine |
| Workout Food: | large bottle with 1 Endurolytes. 1 scoop Endurox R4 and 3 scoops Perpetuem |
| Course: | around Lake WA with a couple of detours |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | So... I get to the U Village and Cathy is the only one there. :) Guess the weather scared everyone off.
We decide to head to Log Boom and see if we can pick anyone up there but based on the weather report I checked before heading out, it's in the mid 20s up north so I have no desire to do the usual route.
We get to Log Boom and there is Tony B! Yeah... He just got back from 12 days in Cancun so when I suggest we just do a lap of Lake WA with some detours he is all over it.
It was a fun ride! I got in a few efforts (every hill and a couple of good pulls on the flats) and we always regrouped when needed. I was going around 90 percent on the hills and it felt better than ever. Sure, we were not setting any records on the flats but still, it's just so good to feel like I'm not a cripple when the road tips up.
I pulled us home on Rainier and after that last rise I tried to ramp it up as much as I could on this pig I call a bike. Ouch... Maybe I reached 25 mph but I'm not sure. I have been without a dashboard for so long now it's all feel. I was pedaling total squares by the time we got to the last traffic light and turned right. Whew.
Tony and Cathy were great to ride with. Except for the fact that it was butt-ass cold out the day turned out very nice. |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
Sunday, January 18, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | 6 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 8:00 AM |
| Distance: | 72 miles |
| Time (total): | 5 hours |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | upper 20s in sports and then freakishly warm at times (the top of Tiger Mt) and at the end, mostly sunny, calm |
| Workout Type: | ride |
| Course: | |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Okay, I'm not fast, I'm not strong and I can't climb but boy do I have my nutrition nailed. These bottles of liquid lunch that I started using last year absolutely rock. And when you add the Endurolytes it means you don't cramp. Even when you get dropped! I rule. If I get dropped it ain't because I'm bonking, it's because I'm slow; you got that?
Okay, today we started out with a huge (10+) group and it kept trimming itself due to circumstances and natural selection.
We tooled down to Renton and just when you thought it could not get any colder we got on the frost covered Cedar River trail. Damn that was chilly. We were almost finished with Jones Road when we got to a slight downhill and at the bottom there was water running over the road. As contact with the water became imminent, I started to have the realization that there could be ice as well and sure enough; bang, bang, bang, bang.
Beth G took a tumble, Julie fell and so did Dustin and Alex. As bikes were going down to my right and left I knew my only chance was to not do anything and somehow I managed to ride right in between Beth and Julie as they slid down the road.
Rats. Dustin scraped his right ass cheek, Beth will have a lump in her left side and Julie was probably the worst off with a really sore wrist and hand. Thank goodness nothing seemed terrible and all the bikes were fine.
We got rolling again and when it was time to climb Tiger it was only myself, Alex T, Dustin V, Gentry M and Edgardo B (Cucina) that came along. And when I say Alex and Edgardo came along I of course mean that they dropped me like a ton of bricks. It was instant - there they were 'dancing on the pedals' and I was really laboring. So I quickly decided to try and find my rhythm and bingo, it felt much better.
All the way up Tiger it kept getting warmer and warmer, it was surreal. Once we got back on Issaquah-Hobart the pace picked up pronto. I dropped back a bit when I saw Gentry was off the back but after I had left a sizable gap he waved me on! :( Argh, I had to kill myself to make contact again and from there it was a steady 25 mph or so into Issaquah.
Then up Squak. I Had shed my vets climbing Tiger and now on the first slopes of Squak I tried to shed my glove liners. Not so easy when they are tight and soaked with sweat... By the time I got my shit on order Alex and Edgardo and Dustin were up the road quite a bit. Then Dustin's rear derailleur started giving him trouble. I pulled over to see if he needed any help and when we started back up we were the same speed which was nice.
I could not imagine climbing Cougar and it was taking WAY longer than I had imagined so Dustin and I Headed straight home. Alex and Edgardo did not. Troopers that they are they headed up the zoo road.
ASIDE - turns out Edgardo was dropping Alex on every climb. Nice.
I limped back across Mercer Island and then rode the slowest mile of my life from the tunnel to my house. |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
Saturday, January 17, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | 6 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 7:30 AM |
| Distance: | 72 miles |
| Time (total): | 5 hours |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | low 30s at times as we rode north, low 40s at the finish, dry, mostly cloudy with sun breaks at the end, fairly calm |
| Workout Type: | ride |
| Course: | U Village, Log Boom Park, church, Seattle Hill, River Road, Snohomish, Broadway, Woodinville, home |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Last weekend was so hard for me I spent a little time early this morning giving my bike some TLC. Especially in the drivetrain department. Last time I rode this bike I heard the derailleur pulleys squeaking and so I cleaned and oiled them an the chain. What a huge (probably mostly mental) improvement. Besides, I love a quiet bike.
A huge improvement until we hit the first ride that is; just riding up to Canyon Park before you even get to the church I was tailed off the back. Man.
I did manage to spend some time on the front and I actually felt slightly better during the second half of the ride but everyone else - to me at least - had another gear that I was lacking.
Today was a tempo day for Alex T and he was impressive. All the way down Lowell Larimer Road he was off the front and all the way back on River Road he pulled us at 25 mph. Greg K and Ryan D and Chance R were also looking strong.
I kept telling myself it was the piggy winter bike I was on but I'm not kidding anyone. Even though several guys were on race bikes today the gap was just too big. As long as the 'sensations' continue to improve I'll be happy. |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
Saturday, January 10, 2009
| Hrs. Sleeping: | |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 7:30 AM |
| Distance: | 75 miles |
| Time (total): | 5 hours |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | 40, damp at times, light wind |
| Workout Type: | ride |
| Course: | around Mercer Island, around the south end of Lake WA, May Valley, 900, Newport, around Mercer Island |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Jesus H.
Martin has some work ahead of him.
Even on my solo spin around the island I was crawling up the hills. I met Dustin when I was almost all the way around and so we rode back the way I had come to meet the team at Leschi for a 9:15 departure.
Flats, not so bad. The McDonald's hill, very bad. I think I was in the 38x21 and was not comfortable at all. Every few feet another person would pass me (thank goodness I started at the front) and by the time we got to the top of main rise the leaders were a good 100; ahead of me. I managed one sustained effort that took me to Coal Creek and then I had to suck some more wind.
Once we hit May Valley Brad K turned on the style and it was hard for me feel good. I was hanging but not too fun. Everyone around me looked like it was not big deal.
ASIDE - I gotta say, my rain bike is a PIG and it does make a difference. I just wish I had been riding it for the last two months or something like that...
We got to 900, turned left and on that stupid, little hill (more of a rise really) I was suffering. Big time. Thank god it was down hill to Issaquah although it was f'n top speed all the way. Like spun out in your biggest gear speed.
Don't even get me started about Newport. Brad set out again and Greg K was in hot pursuit. Then Jeff D flew by me and the Chance R left me behind and started riding though everyone until he got up to the front runners. Nice.
As we hit the island I was thinking one thing. Home. But no, let's ride around. Okay I think, the pace won't be that bad, I can probably hang. Wrong. There goes Brad, and there goes Greg. I think Greg said something like, "Are you okay...?" as he passed me going about five miles an hour faster. :(
Somehow I managed to catch that bunch and held the last wheel for all I was worth. I mean I was pulling off behind the guy in front of when he pulled off. Ouch. With about two or three miles of island left these guys gunned it up some lame, usually insignificant rise and all I could do was watch the gap in front of me start to grow. I pleaded with Jeff to let me grab his wheel as he came by and although he obliged, there was not much I could as he was just riding faster than I was able to.
I limped up the last ride to I-90 alone and then just crossed the bridge and got home as best I could.
Damn, Brad, Greg and Chance and Jeff were riding really well. Chance and Jeff were not pushing the pace so much but they followed no problem.
Me? I hate myself. But I did get some pictures before the ride started. I love our new kit. |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
Sunday, January 04, 2009
| Hrs. Sleeping: | |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 9:00 AM |
| Distance: | 50 miles |
| Time (total): | 3 hours |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | low to mid 30s, high clouds, dry, very light breeze |
| Workout Type: | ride |
| Breakfast: | cereal |
| Lunch: | 2 pieces bread with cheese |
| Dinner: | salad, pasta, red sauce, lots of ice cream, water, tea |
| Workout Food: | 2 small bottles each with one scoop Endurox R4 and two scoops Perpetuem |
| Course: | around Lake WA |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Martin finally gets on the damn bike!
My pace was pretty mellow and I was so not setting any speed records on the climbs. But the wind was out of the south and it was just enough to make me feel fine riding home from Renton. Nice.
I rode the last 15 miles with Tim T and saw about six teammates in their new kit; that made my day. |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
| Hrs. Sleeping: | |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 9:00 AM |
| Distance: | 50 miles |
| Time (total): | 3 hours |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | low to mid 30s, high clouds, dry, very light breeze |
| Workout Type: | ride |
| Breakfast: | cereal |
| Lunch: | 2 pieces bread with cheese |
| Dinner: | salad, pasta, red sauce, lots of ice cream, water, tea |
| Workout Food: | 2 small bottles each with one scoop Endurox R4 and two scoops Perpetuem |
| Course: | around Lake WA |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Martin finally gets on the damn bike!
My pace was pretty mellow and I was so not setting any speed records on the climbs. But the wind was out of the south and it was just enough to make me feel fine riding home from Renton. Nice.
I rode the last 15 miles with Tim T and saw about six teammates in their new kit; that made my day. |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
Sunday, October 19, 2008
| Hrs. Sleeping: | 6 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 8:00 AM |
| Distance: | 70 miles |
| Time (total): | 5:20 |
| Time (moving): | 4:23 |
| Time (stopped): | 56 min |
| Speed (moving): | 15.8 mph |
| Speed (overall): | 13.1 mph |
| Total Ascent: | 2676 feet |
| Weather: | 40 to start, low 50s at the end |
| Workout Type: | tandem ride |
| Breakfast: | cereal |
| Lunch: | 2 enchiladas, beans, beer, lots of crackers with Nutella |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | 2 small bottles, each with 2 scoops Perpetuem and 1 scoop Endurox R4, LARABAR |
| Course: | Fremont Caffe Ladro, Logboom Park, Snohomish, Woodinville, Burke Gilman Trail, home |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Oi... Shelley and I bit off a tad more than we could chew today. I thought the ride to Snohomish would be okay and it probably would have been but I decided to tack on 10 extra miles by riding to the 'official' start in Fremont. That and it was kinda cold and we had to work a bit to keep up on the way north.
So, when everyone else turned left to go to Snohomish proper, we decided it was probably better if we didn't stop and jut got home as fast as we could; so we turned right. Good thing we did.
On the way home (which is hillier than the way out for sure) we slowed down. Then we got a flat that required me to boot the tire as well.
Note to self: change the rear tire, it's worn out!
Then we got another flat on the trail. :( At leas the weather was fantastic at this point or I would have been crying. Still, my legs were toast and Shelley's bottom was sore and every time we rode over one of those damn cracks in the trail it did not feel so good for her. Rats.
I did not really bonk, I was just empty. It was one of those rides where you just want to be home. Yesterday.
On the other hand it was shaping up to be a super group! At Logboom we met Clint C and Alison H on their tandem, Brian and Rosanna S on their tandem and Mick and Martha W on their tandem. Nice! Too bad the group had a rigid route; once when we were in front with the Walsh tandem and turned right, the entire group turned left. Not so nice. Not a word from anyone either. :(
Sometimes when this happens I think it's no big deal and sometimes I think it would have been nice to at least speak up. Today I was torn. :) |
| Equipment: | Co-Motion Robusta tandem, Rolf wheels, 30/42/55, 12-25
I think a 27 would be nice to have... both for the middle and the big ring. There were a couple of hills that were a bit of a struggle in the 42x25. Not coming up Interlaken tho, that was all about the 30. |
Sunday, October 05, 2008
| Hrs. Sleeping: | |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 10:30 AM |
| Distance: | 40 miles |
| Time (total): | 3 hours |
| Time (moving): | 2:26 |
| Time (stopped): | 33 min |
| Speed (moving): | 16.3 |
| Speed (overall): | 13.3 |
| Total Ascent: | 1886 ft |
| Weather: | upper 50s, dry, calm, partly sunny |
| Workout Type: | ride |
| Breakfast: | |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | water |
| Course: | across I-90, across Mercer Island, north through Beaux Arts, Kirkland, Juanita, Burke Gilman trail, Interlaken, home |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Shelley and I went for a spin around the north end of Lake WA and it was another super day out! WE rode to uBRDO, had some coffee, chatted with Scott and then finished up. |
| Equipment: | Co-Motion Robusta, Rolf wheels, 30/42/55, 12-25 |
Monday, September 08, 2008
| Hrs. Sleeping: | |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | |
| Distance: | 20 miles total |
| Time (total): | |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | low 70s, sun, dry |
| Workout Type: | errands on a bike |
| Breakfast: | |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | |
| Course: | |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | I had to file some forms with Seattle Schools, see the doctor, meet Cameron for an appointment in the University District and then head back up the hill for a JCV board meeting in that order.
On a nice day it makes you realize that this is exactly what bikes are for. |
| Equipment: | Raleigh town bike |
Saturday, September 06, 2008
| Hrs. Sleeping: | 6 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 8:00 AM |
| Distance: | 70 miles |
| Time (total): | 4:30 |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | mid 50s to start, 70 by the end, partly cloudy, muggy, dry |
| Workout Type: | ride |
| Breakfast: | cereal |
| Lunch: | 2 fried eggs, 4 pieces of toast, peanut butter, beer |
| Dinner: | Pho, beer |
| Workout Food: | 2 large bottles each with 2 scoops Endurox R4 and 2 scoops Perpetuem, |
| Course: | Snoqualmie Falls |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | What a great day! I met a couple of guys at Hec Ed and then we picked up some more at Leschi and proceeded to head east. The pace was conversational the whole way and I was able to remove clothing all the way to the finish meaning it kept getting warmer. :) |
| Equipment: | Ti Cycles Hyak, Neuvation wheels, 42/53, 12-25 |
Saturday, May 17, 2008
| Hrs. Sleeping: | 6 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | 181 |
| Body Fat: | 8 |
| Time of Day: | 8:00 am |
| Distance: | 88 miles |
| Time (total): | 5:15 |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | mid 60s - upper 70s, sun |
| Workout Type: | ride |
| Breakfast: | 1.5 Pop Tarts, smoothie |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | 2 large bottles each with 2 scoops HEED and 2 scoops Endurox R4, 1 bag of Shot Bloks, 20 oz Gatorade |
| Course: | Leschi, across Mercer Island, Newport, Issaquah, up to the plateau, old Issaquah-Fall City, Snoqualmie Falls, Weyerhaeuser loop, Fall City-Carnation Rd, NE Carnation Farm Rd, Ames Lake Rd, Redmond-Fall City Rd, E Lake Sammamish Pkwy, SE 56th St, W Lake Sammamish Pkwy, bike trail, Eastgate, across Mercer Island |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | This first hot ride! And oh did I suffer...
I started out feeling fine and flew up the last rise on Issaquah-Fall City and I felt fine going up to the falls too but then after taking a long pull on the loop Clint C, Dave H, Alan W and Alistair L stormed by me on the steep bit. From then on I was shaky and just got worse. I was shelled unceremoniously going up Ames Lake and was hating it on the flats thereafter.
I totally limped home and did about 8 mph from Lake WA to my house. Shit.
Dave and Alan were both riding really well, especially Dave. He went with every single acceleration. |
| Equipment: | Ti Cycles Hyak, 42/53, 12-25, Neuvation wheels |
Sunday, May 04, 2008
| Hrs. Sleeping: | 6 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 8:00 am |
| Distance: | 77 miles |
| Time (total): | 4:30 |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | low 50s - upper 50s, pretty calm, dry |
| Workout Type: | ride |
| Breakfast: | cereal |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | about 6 Fig Newtons, 2 large bottles each with 2 scoops of Endurox R4 and 2 scoops of Perpetuem |
| Course: | Leschi, Seward, Renton, Cedar River Trail, Jones Rd, Ravensdale, short loop of Ravensdale RR, Issaquah-Hobart Rd, May Valley, Coal Creek Pkwy, across Mercer Island, Leschi, Madrona, Union, home |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | What a great day! Towards the end it seemed warmer than the 59 degrees that it was and I was able to take off my knee warmers (20 miles to go) and arm warmers (5 miles to go) which felt really good.
Today Alistair L, Jim K, Dave H and I previewed the new finish for the upcoming RR this weekend and it was a great group. I'm realizing I really like groups of 3-5 riders, the pace is more consistent, mechanicals are dealt with more efficiently and you stick together more easily.
Coming off loads of rest I felt great today and pulled a lot. Dave and Alistair were also strong but they had ridden some hill extravaganza yesterday and were somewhat tired. |
| Equipment: | Ti Cycles Hyak, 42/53, 12-25, Neuvation wheels
ASIDE - ever since I put on these new Dura Ace cranks I have been riding a 42! I guess I knew that when I purchased them (all lengths except the 180s came with a 39) but I just totally spaced it out... |
Sunday, April 20, 2008
| Hrs. Sleeping: | |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 7:30 am |
| Distance: | 74 miles |
| Time (total): | 5:15 |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | low to mid 40s, snow at times, some sun |
| Workout Type: | Hank ride | team ride |
| Breakfast: | |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | two large bottles each with 2 scoops Endurox R4 and 2 scoops Perpetuem |
| Course: | Hank ride - around Mercer Island counter-clockwise
team ride - Leschi, Seward Park, Rainier to Renton, Coulon, McDonald's hill, May Valley, Issaquah-Hobart, Issaquah, Squak Mountain, Newport Way, across Mercer Island, home |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | I could not bear to get out on the rain bike today... once that thing is put away once it's hard to pull it out again. So instead I got soaked on my race bike. :(
For a while it looked like it would not be too bad but on the island the roads were really wet and there was SNOW on the ground and it was melting off of the trees.
Alastair L was on the team ride and he wanted to go long and do a hill so when he suggested Squak I impulsively went along. It was just him, George G, Jim K and Mike from Dewar's. The way up was brutal as usual and on the way down it started to snow! Luckily it was pellets and we did not get any wetter.
I was first to the bottom (only second to the top, George was first!) and when I got there I was alone. After waiting a bit Alastair showed up and said George had gone off the road on the descent and was fixing a flat. Finally everyone rolled up and George had a huge skid mark on his tire and it was really thin. They had booted it but it did not hold. It blew again a few 100 m down the road and he had to call home.
Alastair and I each got in quite a few good efforts on this ride today as no one else seemed to want to pull. It felt good and I was plenty tired when I got home. I was laughing at the weather... we got snowed on three times and it would alternate with sun and dry conditions. Totally nuts. |
| Equipment: | Ti Cycles Hyak, 39/53, 12-25, Neuvation wheels |
Saturday, April 05, 2008
| Hrs. Sleeping: | |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 7:15 am |
| Distance: | 72 miles |
| Time (total): | 4:40 |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | low 40s, cloudy at first, partly sunny at the end, pretty calm, NO RAIN |
| Workout Type: | ride |
| Breakfast: | |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | 2 large bottles each with 2 scoops Endurox R4 and 2 scoops Perpetuem, half a sleeve of Fig Newtons |
| Course: | 23rd, Lake City Way, Log Boom Park, Hollywood Hill, blah, blah, blah, Avondale Rd, blah, blah, blah, Ames Lake, Union Hill, Slough trail, Lake City Way, Interlaken, 19th, home |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Nice! This was JUST what the doctor ordered... Tony B, Jeff D and Kurt A and I went for a longish, zero stress ride. The tempo on the hills was anything from sorta hard to pretty stiff but we chatted throughout the rest of the ride and always regrouped at the top.
I pulled a lot and felt good all the way. And my back did not hurt! YES. I did stretch it a couple of times towards the end of the ride but no pain. I like that. |
| Equipment: | Ti Cycles Hyak, 39/53, 12-25, Neuvation wheels |
Saturday, February 16, 2008
| Hrs. Sleeping: | 5 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 8:00 am |
| Distance: | 84 miles |
| Time (total): | 5:35 |
| Time (moving): | 5:01 |
| Time (stopped): | 34 min |
| Speed (moving): | 16.7 mph |
| Speed (overall): | 15 mph |
| Total Ascent: | 5080 feet |
| Weather: | mid 40s to start, wet roads, upper 40s (50 maybe) and dry roads at the finish, very little wind |
| Workout Type: | ride |
| Breakfast: | cereal |
| Lunch: | 24 oz (?) Jamba Juice |
| Dinner: | salad, nachos, beer, chocolate covered peanut butter filled pretzels |
| Workout Food: | half a sleeve of Fig Newtons (8 maybe?), 5 scoops Perpetuem in one big bottle, 3 scoops HEED in another |
| Course: | University Village, Leschi, across Mercer Island, Newport, Issaquah, up Sunset, Issaquah-Fall City Rd, Fall City, up to the falls, Weyerhaeuser loop, down the falls, up Issaquah-Fall City Rd, Black Nugget, bike trail along I-90, across Mercer Island, Leschi, up Lake WA Blvd, Arboretum, up Interlaken, 19th, home |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Yes, a solid five hour ride if ever there was one. And I love this route! The roads were kind of muddy the further east we went but we all stayed dry and it was not too cold. In fact, I took my gloves off for the last 15 miles or so.
I started out strong and this time we rotated out to Issaquah. When we hit Issaquah-Fall City Greg K and I found ourselves off the front a bit and so I encouraged him to try and stay away. We hit out at at about 90 percent. At one point I saw Tony B try to bridge and he made it more than half way across but then faded back. Our lead kept growing and when we got to Hwy 202 it felt good. Although Greg nearly lost me as we crested that last hill on this road - ouch.
Climbing the falls Greg went to the front and set a reasonable temp and with about 300 m to go I tried to go. Near the top Brad K flew by me (on his carbon fiber race bike!) and Tony and Greg were not that far behind. We stopped at the top for water.
The Weyerhaeuser loop is one of my favorite bits of road. Super scenic, super isolated and one damn good hill. I pulled all the way up the gradual climb and into the steep section and then Tony and Brad shot past me again. This time it was early enough that I was able to reel Tony back in and we crested together behind Brad.
Then I got tired. And Brian S and Dustin V got stronger. What's with that? Dustin was complaining of a cold all day long and when we climbed back up Issaquah-Fall City he simply gave it a twist of the wrist and pulled away. But Brian was not far behind him! That guy always gets dropped around half way and then gets this enormous second wind and kills it all the way home.
And that's how it went. Dustin and Brian were off the front, Greg was getting in as much work as possible and I was just barely able to hold Greg's wheel.
The last two miles were super slow. And when I say super I mean 12-14 mph on the flats. |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
Saturday, February 09, 2008
| Hrs. Sleeping: | |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 8:00 am |
| Distance: | 75 miles |
| Time (total): | 5:00 |
| Time (moving): | 4:25 |
| Time (stopped): | 35 min |
| Speed (moving): | 16.9 mph |
| Speed (overall): | 14.9 mph |
| Total Ascent: | 4037 feet |
| Weather: | humid, low 40s, dry at the end |
| Workout Type: | ride |
| Breakfast: | |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | food bar, 5 scoops Perpetuem in one large bottle, 3 scoops HEED in another |
| Course: | University Village, Leschi, across Mercer Island, Newport, Issaquah, up Sunset, Issaquah-Fall City Rd, north across 202, golf course rd, up Tolt Hill Rd, Redmond-Fall City Rd, E Lake Sammamish, 56th, bike trail, across Mercer Island, home |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | My back blew up today followed shortly thereafter by my legs.
The first 40 miles were great. I pulled a ton and led the charge up and over Issaquah-Fall City road and then pulled all the way to Tolt Hill at about 21-22 mph. Then I got a flat. And then I felt like dirt.
Boy, Tolt Hill is steeper than I recall... :( Luckily by this time everyone else was feeling a bit less frisky and Brian S waited for me so I got it fixed in short order and resumed the climb. But then my back started complaining. For some reason there was just no dealing with it today and when my back acts up it makes riding much less fun.
Brian bonked hard here and Greg K gave him a gel but we had to throttle it way back for a stretch along 202. Coming back along Lake Sammamish Brian got his second wind and amazingly kept getting stronger and stronger. To his credit it must literally have been a case of running out of food and not fitness related. We stopped in Issaquah briefly so Brian could get a Snickers and Gatorade and combined with me fading it felt like he sped up massively again. Ouch.
I really crawled across the island and then took the shortest route home. No messing around with Madrona or Union today, no sir. |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25
With my new rear wheel! That's right, Martin finally gets off his ass and builds a new rear wheel - turns out I had a pair of rims sitting in my basement and only had to buy spokes. No more S-bend in the rim, nice. |
Sunday, February 03, 2008
| Hrs. Sleeping: |
7 |
| Pulse (waking): |
|
| Pulse (rising): |
|
| Difference: |
|
| Weight: |
|
| Body Fat: |
|
| Time of Day: |
7:45 am |
| Distance: |
73 miles? |
| Time (total): |
5 hours |
| Time (moving): |
|
| Time (stopped): |
|
| Speed (moving): |
|
| Speed (overall): |
|
| Total Ascent: |
|
| Weather: |
upper 30s to start, dry, calm, around 40 at the finish |
| Workout Type: |
ride |
| Breakfast: |
cereal, banana |
| Lunch: |
|
| Dinner: |
|
| Workout Food: |
half a food bar, 5 scoops Perpetuem in one big bottle, 3 scoops HEED in another |
| Course: |
University Village, 23rd, Lake City Way, Log Boom Park, Hollywood Hill, Avondale, up Ames Lake, up Union Hill, Willows Road, Lake City, Interlaken, 19th, home |
| Results: |
|
| Comments: |
First really hard hill today and all is well.
As we rode out of town on Lake City Way I saw Mick and Martha W heading south. Those guys sure ride a ton and are always in such good spirits about it! Something to aspire towards for sure.
Going up Hollywood Hill Greg K went to the front and upped the pace a bit. I had been chatting in the back with some other guys and when I saw this I went to bridge. Oof... It took a bit but I got on just as the hill starts to flatten out. As it turned left and kicked up Greg looked back, saw me and stood up and gassed it proper. I was afraid I was going to blow so I just increased my cadence and stayed in the saddle. After about 100 yards I caught him and then testosterone took over. Since I was only at 98 percent, I stood up and jumped by him. :) Ouch! I had to shift down and sit down in short order but I held the gap to top where it levels off again. What a lung burner.
Then we kind of dorked around and eventually descended down Avondale Road and headed south along the Carnation Valley and up Ames Lake and Union Hill. This time I decided to ride temp from the bottom and so went to the front right from the start. After a bit I looked back and I was alone so I upped the pace a little. Soon I was basically at my limit when what did I see just behind me but the shadow of a certain Tony B... Nice.
By now I was going basically as hard as I could without (hopefully) blowing sky high. This ascent has so many rollers and I always forget which one is the last one so I tried to peg it at around 90 percent or so. Accelerating out of the saddle was not an option this time so as the road leveled off some towards the top of Union Tony was able to come around me. But I grabbed his wheel and that little rest was just what I needed. After a few seconds I was able to come around him and then we swapped the lead a few times and just kept speeding up. This felt great!
Finally we got to the next intersection and doubled back to grab the rest of the bunch. I was tired but elated. And Tony seemed pretty ecstatic too - that's contagious. :)
I pulled a lot today and felt good on the hills - now I just need to be able to do this when the pace does not slow down so much on the flats. |
| Equipment: |
Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
Sunday, January 27, 2008
| Hrs. Sleeping: | 6 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 7:30 am |
| Distance: | |
| Time (total): | 4:15 or so |
| Time (moving): | maybe 3:30? |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | mid 30s, a couple of sprinkles but then clearing, not much wind |
| Workout Type: | Hank ride | team ride |
| Breakfast: | smoothie |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | bar, 4 scoops Endurox R4 in one big bottle, 3 scoops HEED in another |
| Course: | Hank ride - around Mercer Island counter-clockwise
team ride - Leschi, around Mercer Island counter-clockwise, north end of Lake WA via Juanita, Burke Gilman, Interlaken, 19th, home |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Ugh... the cold sure makes my legs heavy. Then again, yesterday when it was even colder I felt relatively good. So maybe I'm just tired from yesterday?
The Hank ride started out at the usual tempo and by 'usual' I mean as fast as John M wants to go. Today he was on a single speed bike with a 42x16 (he claimed it was a 39x16 but it sure looked larger to me based on how fast he was moving and pedaling...) and so when we were on the flats the pace was mercifully moderate. But on the first climb it was just as fast as always and I was sucking wind. Hard.
When I got back to Leschi only about eight people showed up so I suggested that we do something besides riding down Rainier and everyone liked it so we went around the north end of the lake and it was nice.
One funny story - after climbing a hill in Bellevue this woman on the ride was gasping for air and asked us to slow down as she could not shift to her small chainring and HAD NOT BEEN ABLE TO DO SO FOR THE LAST TWO WEEKS. I had her pull over right away and fixed it. Seems the shop she took her bike to had just left the cable tension way too tight and although the limit screw was okay, the cable prevented it from dropping down. Easy fix. Later on in the ride we started a descent and when this same woman tried to shift to her big chainring the chain fell off. I happened to be behind her and was passing as this happened and noticed that she was grabbing her brakes to stop and fix it. I yelled out, "Shift it back on slowly while you ride." and bingo, it came right back on. She was so stoked! As our group assembled at the bottom of the hill she turns toward me and deadpans, "Martin, I have so much to learn from you!" Oh man, I almost burst out laughing and at the same time felt somehow inappropriate. :)
After Juanita we decided to ride the trail home and guess what - it still sucks. Even when there are very few people on the trail like today when it's super cold out, the surface is so darn bumpy that it just is not fun to ride. Oh yeah, and we almost collided with this kid on his Big Wheel for crying out loud. When was the last time you saw one of those, eh? |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25
Man, my rear wheel is kinda bent and won't stay true anymore... I've only been able to milk it this long because I have disk brakes. Time to rebuild. Not bad for a wheel that is over 15 years old! |
Saturday, January 26, 2008
| Hrs. Sleeping: | 5 (maybe...) |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 8:10 am |
| Distance: | 64 miles |
| Time (total): | 4:00 |
| Time (moving): | 3:42 |
| Time (stopped): | 18 min |
| Speed (moving): | 17.4 mph |
| Speed (overall): | 16.1 mph |
| Total Ascent: | 2913 feet |
| Weather: | mid 20s at the start, mid 30s at the finish, dry at first, sprinkles at the end |
| Workout Type: | road ride |
| Breakfast: | 7:30 - cereal |
| Lunch: | 3 tempeh 'tacos' (tempeh, dressing, tomatoes and lettuce in a pita), chips, avocado |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | bar, 4 scoops Endurox R4 in one big bottle and 3 scoops HEED in another |
| Course: | Leschi, Seward Park, Rainier, Renton, Jones Rd, up Cedar Grove, left on Issaquah-Hobart, up Tiger, right on Issaquah-Hobart, May Valley, down McDonald's hill, Renton, Rainier, Lake WA Blvd, Leschi, up Madrona, home |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | God, I could not sleep last night... I woke up at about 3:30 and that was it. So I dorked around on the computer for a few hours after realizing sleep was futile and was about to head out for this 8:30 ride that a friend was organizing when I remembered the 8:00 am ride...! I got on the horn and called Greg K who graciously opted to head south and pick me up instead of going north as was his original plan. Am I a lucky guy or what.
I got out of the house at about 8:10 and Greg had said to meet him at Leschi at 8:20. I'm glad I made it.
It was so cold today. My legs felt slow and heavy and at first I thought that my brakes were rubbing. I had just put on new disk brake pads and when I sailed out of the driveway and got to the first red light I realized that I was not stopping... I had to back the adjusters all the way off to install the pads and had not screwed them back down. Crap. I almost literally had to drag a foot as my brake levers were against my bars and my velocity was only changing ever so slightly.
Once I survived that boner maneuver I pulled over and cranked 'em right down. Like too much. So when I got to Leschi the first thing I did was adjust them as best I could. I got it pretty close but in my head my pads were still rubbing ever so slightly. Okay, I could hear them so they were rubbing, just not very much. :)
The pace was a tiny bit faster today than the last few weeks which was good. I needed that. Going up Cedar Grove the group split up a little but that is such a short hill and we got back together right away. Going up Tiger was a different story. I thought I was going to be slow but Greg got on the front and set a steady tempo that separated him, me and Paul from the rest pretty quick. And it felt fine. About half way up I was able to ride past Greg and we dropped Paul on the first steep pitch.
ASIDE - I was noticing that I was breathing almost half as rapidly as Greg. That's not to say I was not out of breath, but Greg was kind of panting super fast.
At the top we waited for everyone and then descended. It was WARM at the top of Tiger. And it lasted almost all the way back down to Issaquah-Hobart.
On May Valley we fell apart. Greg suggested we rotate and it just didn't happen. Gaps opened up, the pace was too fast and then too slow - good grief.
By the time we go to Seward again I was very tired. It seems I can only go about three hours and then I fold. Maybe it's because I only ride for a little over three hours...? You think?
A good ride - super company. |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
Saturday, January 19, 2008
| Hrs. Sleeping: | 6 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 8:00 am |
| Distance: | 58 miles |
| Time (total): | 4:24 |
| Time (moving): | 3:59 |
| Time (stopped): | 25 min |
| Speed (moving): | 14.6 mph |
| Speed (overall): | 13.3 mph |
| Total Ascent: | 5401 feet |
| Weather: | 40 (it felt colder at times), overcast, mostly dry with some sprinkles at the end |
| Workout Type: | ride |
| Breakfast: | smoothie |
| Lunch: | 2 helpings of coffee cake with fruit |
| Dinner: | veggie stir fry, pita, humus, salad, 2 big beers |
| Workout Food: | 4 scoops Endurox in one big bottle, 3 scoops HEED in another |
| Course: | University Village, Leschi, across Mercer Island, Newport, up 164th, up Cougar Mountain, down the zoo road, Issaquah, up Squak (Wildwood Blvd), back down, Newport, up Montreux (NW Village Park Dr), up Lakemont Blvd, Newcastle Golf Rd, Coal Creek, across Mercer Island, Leschi, Madrona, Union, home |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | I think I've figured out how to dress for these damp, cold days! I go with a long sleeve undershirt, a short sleeve jersey, a long sleeve jersey and a vest for a wind block. On my legs I go with roubaix-weight leg warmers over roubaix-weight knickers and top it off with shoe covers and Gortex lobster mits over my OR Gripper gloves and a cap under my helmet. Can't forget the cap... it helps a lot! I was quite comfortable today.
It was a super bunch today. All the usuals (Greg, Brian, Jim, Tony) were there. We rode pretty slowly between the hills and on the hills everyone went their own tempo. For some reason I was going up the hills faster than everyone else but I know Greg and Tony and maybe one other person could have beaten me, they must have been holding back. But I wasn't going super hard, just a steady, moderate speed. And I kept it up for all three hills so I know I was not digging that deep.
I've decided Brian S is the king of not being able to pace himself. He always starts out too fast and then when he dies it's a spectacular death and he has to slow way down. Today he said he was pretty hung over and so in an effort to get rid of the poison he went up Newport with a little more passion than everyone else. Sure enough, when we got to the first real hill he was back in the bunch and then on the second hill he was at the back. These things take time to learn I guess...
On our way up Cougar this new guy Paul and I went all the way to the top. That's twice to the tippy top for me in as many months! I never did this last year at all.
On the descent I was miles ahead of everyone. Because of all the snow and ice the road was very heavily sanded but my disk brakes made it no problem. And I did not freeze! Almost everyone else was complaining of the cold after the descent and my hands and feet were just fine.
As we rode away I noticed I had a flat, crap. Everyone got a head start and Tony, Paul and Brian waited for me. Squak was fine, just churning it out and whereas on Cougar Paul was going like gangbusters, this time he fell back a bit towards the top and it was Tony that summited with me.
I had forgotten just how steep it is to ride up through Montreux... damn. My 38x25 had been okay so far but there I was wishing I had a 27.
I didn't really start to feel beat down until we headed back across the lake. Then it always sinks in. Madrona was ridden slowly as was Union. But I was super happy with the way I went up the big hills. To quote Ice Cube, "It was a good day". |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
Monday, January 14, 2008
| Hrs. Sleeping: | 6 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 8:00 am |
| Distance: | 58 miles |
| Time (total): | 4:10 |
| Time (moving): | 3:35 |
| Time (stopped): | 36 min |
| Speed (moving): | 16.1 mph |
| Speed (overall): | 13.8 mph |
| Total Ascent: | 3139 feet |
| Weather: | mid 40s, dry, sun, calm |
| Workout Type: | ride |
| Breakfast: | cereal, Clif Builder's bar |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | Clif Builder's bar, 4 scoops Endurox in one big bottle, 3 scoops Heed in another |
| Course: | Hec Ed, Log Boom Park, Norway hill, Simonds Road, Juanita, Bellevue, around the south end of Lake WA, Rainier, Lake WA Blvd, up Lake Park Dr, up 31st, home |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | The weather today was outrageous! The sun seemed almost out of place. We enjoyed it and rode rather slow today which was fine with me. It was a big social, outing.
I ended up being first to the top of all the hills but towards the end I was so flat. Oh man, I was ready to call a cab once we got to Rainier Ave.
Today I tried to ride somewhat larger gears on all the hills to hopefully gain some strength. I think it just left me dead. |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
Sunday, January 13, 2008
| Hrs. Sleeping: | 5 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 8:00 am |
| Distance: | 63 miles |
| Time (total): | 4:12 |
| Time (moving): | 3:35 |
| Time (stopped): | 37 min |
| Speed (moving): | 15.9 mph |
| Speed (overall): | 13.8 mph |
| Total Ascent: | 3815 feet |
| Weather: | started out mid 40s, pouring rain and finished in upper 40s and dry with some spotty sun |
| Workout Type: | ride |
| Breakfast: | cereal, kefir |
| Lunch: | fried egg, 4 pieces Wasa bread, cheese, apple butter, pasta, garbanzo beans, sauce |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | 4 scoops Endurox in one big bottle, 3 scoops Heed in another |
| Course: | University Village, Leschi, around Mercer Island, Newport, up 164th, up Cougar, down Cougar, up to Newcastle Golf Club, Coal Creek to 405, Lake WA Blvd, Coulon Park, Rainier, Seward, Lake WA Blvd, Leschi, Madrona, Union, home |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | I'm learning that Martin + bed does not always = sleep. :( Man, I woke up at 5 again today...? Maybe the weekdays program my body or something and then on the weekend I just can't figure out how to relax.
I met the gang at University Village and we headed south to pick up Brian at Leschi. From there it was counter-clockwise around Mercer Island and then half of the bunch had to head back home so just Greg K and Brian S and I carried on.
By now the weather had mellowed out but I was dogging it! My legs felt like lead and every hill was a bit of a chore for sure. Greg had tweaked his neck last night and was riding really slowly and Brian was also tired from something or other so I was the first to the summits but it felt like I was going at 70 percent.
We decided to ride up Cougar. I got to the saddle and was looping back when Brian rode up and gestured towards the summit... It ended up being a good thing actually, I would not have done that extra .25 miles on my own and it's always nice to feel like you did it all. From there we rode back down to meet Greg and then went up to the Newcastle Golf Club.
Evidently, Greg had access to some amphetamine in this transition as he blasted up the road to the golf club. At first I was in disbelief and then I tried to catch him. I was totally pegged in the saddle and only gaining ever so slightly. As the summit approached I knew I was going to have to do something to I stood up, shifted up and just managed to pull even as we crested the summit. Holy crap. What an effort.
Then we noodled home. Thank god. |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
Sunday, December 30, 2007
| Hrs. Sleeping: | 7 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 9:00 am |
| Distance: | 44 miles |
| Total Time: | 3:00 (moving 2:31) |
| Speed: | 14.4 mph (moving 17.3 mph) |
| Total Ascent: | 1899 feet |
| Weather: | upper 30s, dry, slight breeze, mostly cloudy |
| Workout Type: | ride |
| Breakfast: | smoothie |
| Lunch: | chocolate, burrito, carrot juice |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | 4 scoops Endurox in one big bottle, 3 scoops Heed in another |
| Course: | Leschi, Seward, Renton, Lake WA Blvd, around Mercer Island, up Madrona, through the Arboretum, Interlaken, 19th, home |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Another weather window - what luck!
Attendance for the team ride today was pretty sparse (go figure, it's cold out and it's the holidays) but those that showed up were fun. Greg and Suzie K were there, Brian G was there, Tony B was there and Bill B was there.
The pace was nice and mellow until we got the island and then it started ramping up. Due entirely to the efforts of Greg who was "feeling great". At first when the pace was not so high Greg was never off the front. We would rotate on the right side and he would just sit there on our left and keep pace. After the pace picked up another notch and Greg got back on the front I tried to ride alongside him but the burned me off in about two miles and I was forced back in line.
Of course Brian was also pretty on form so whenever it was his turn to pull the pace did not drop at all. The times I was in front I gradually slowed and then the line just came around me. :( On the very last incline before the longish descent coming up West Mercer Way Greg had just pulled for what seemed like ages. Brian got out of the saddle and jammed up this short hill and it was I could do to just hang on to his wheel. Greg held mine no problem. We dropped everyone else. Nice.
At the bottom of this descent you have the option of going up a longer, gradual climb or bailing out and getting on the bridge as soon as possible. Greg shouts out, "I'm going up!" Ouch. I Held on for about half of the hill and then started to fade back. Near the top Brian got out of the saddle to beat Greg but it looked hard.
By the time we went up Madrona it was just Greg, Suzie, Jill and myself. Jill was slightly ahead of Suzie and Greg says something to the affect of, "Don't let he beat you Suzie...!" so it was another sprint to the top. The KOM victory must have inspired Suzie because through the Arboretum she was right on my wheel. Greg pulled for a bit, then I took over and then Greg blew by me too fast for me latch on. NO problem for Suzie though! And then she sprinted by him to win the bridge prime!
All I could do then was crawl home. I better hurry up and downgrade. |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
Saturday, December 29, 2007
| Hrs. Sleeping: | 6 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | 180 |
| Body Fat: | 9 |
| Time of Day: | 8:30 am |
| Distance: | 52 miles |
| Total Time: | 3:40 (3:11 riding time) |
| Total Ascent: | 2760 feet |
| Weather: | upper 30s, partly cloudy, dry, calm |
| Workout Type: | ride |
| Breakfast: | smoothie |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | 4 scoops Endurox in one big bottle, 3 scoops Heed in another |
| Course: | 3 trips up Madrona and down Lake WA Blvd, Leschi, I-90, across Mercer Island, Lake WA Blvd, up 119th, down the McDonalds hill, Renton, Rainier, Lake WA Blvd, Leschi, through the Arboretum, Burke Gilman Trail, Fremont, across the Fremont bridge, Nickerson, 15th, Dravus, Myrtle Edwards Park, Broad, 1st, Pike, home |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Oh man, I actually got on the scale this morning and it didn't break... I thought for sure I was going to be around 185 with all the cookies and snacks I have been consuming. Thank god I was wrong.
So, after an abysmal weather report (rain, possible snow) it turned out to be a great day. I wanted to get in a couple of extra miles so did some laps up Madrona before meeting the bunch. Unfortunately, as soon as I got to Leschi someone started saying there was snow on Cougar Mountain which is where we had originally intended on riding. :( So we made alternate plans and took off.
No sooner did we get to the east side than Brian said he was too tired to climb Cougar and proposed just going around the south end of Lake WA. And everyone else thought this was a good idea. Since riding that same old boring route just barely beats a sharp stick in the eye I quickly suggested that we at least go up 119th on our way south. To the group's credit they were all game including Jeff on his fixed gear! He got up a big head of steam and muscled his bike all the way to the top. Nice.
Today was not Greg's day; he got three flats. Sometimes I almost want to throw some tacks in Greg's path as his colorful language is almost worth having my legs seize up. When it's not raining that is. We got them fixed pretty quick at least.
After we got back to Leschi most folks got into their cars and headed home and Jim and Greg and RC and I went up Madrona, dropped off Jim and then headed through the Arboretum. At the UW I went left and those guys went straight. From here I just enjoyed the sights and logged a couple of extra miles - it really was an awesome day out.
In retrospect Cougar would have been hard - my legs were a bit toasty after yesterday. Man, it felt really good to get out and ride! Everyone else must have felt the same way, we saw like four other team rides out and about. |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
Brian was testing his new helmet cam and got a video of our descent down McDonalds hill where Greg got his second flat.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
| Hrs. Sleeping: | 7 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 11:00 am |
| Distance: | 57 miles |
| Total Time: | 3:45 (3:33 riding time) |
| Total Ascent: | 3200 feet |
| Weather: | upper 30s, calm, dry |
| Workout Type: | ride |
| Breakfast: | cereal, Christmas cookies |
| Lunch: | Boca burger w/cheese and humus, Christmas cookies, lemonade |
| Dinner: | pasta, salad with eggs and facon, lemonade, chocolate |
| Workout Food: | food bar, 4 scoops Endurox (in one big bottle), 3 scoops Heed (in another big bottle) |
| Course: | University Village, Leschi, around Mercer Island (counter-clockwise), north along the water through Bellevue, Kirkland, Juanita, Lake City, Leschi, Madrona, Union, home |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Finally, a ride.
Today it was Greg and Suzie K, Todd K and Deb P and RC. The weather was wonderful as in it was not raining or sleeting and after the last few days everyone kinda over dressed so no one was cold. Even my hands were warm because I wore some wind-proof mits over my usual winter riding gloves. Nice.
We moved at a very casual pace today except a couple of times when Greg accelerated a bit. Towards the end Suzie was getting really tired so I have her a couple of pushes on hills. These guys are super fun to ride with as we talk about stuff that does not involve bikes. Things like hiking, skiing, kids, drinking too much at holiday parties and the merits of being female or male. I like that. |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
Sunday, December 16, 2007
| Hrs. Sleeping: | 6 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 7:30 am |
| Distance: | 62 miles |
| Total Time: | 4 hrs [3:31 riding time] |
| Total Ascent: | 2780 ft |
| Weather: | low 40s, light wind, dry |
| Workout Type: | Hank ride | team ride |
| Breakfast: | 6:00 am - smoothie |
| Lunch: | 12:00 pm - piece of pizza, some yummy bean dish Shelley made |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | Clif bar, 4 scoops Endurox in one big bottle, 3 scoops Heed in another |
| Course: | Hank ride - around Mercer Island counter-clockwise
team ride - Leschi, Seward Park, Rainier, around Mercer Island, Leschi, Madrona, Union |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Wake up call this ride was.
Other than maybe one spin class per week and a couple of indoor TTs per month I really have not been on my bike at all... Loads of other crap like stairs, running around in a park, some weights but guess what; it just does not equal TITS (Time In The Saddle). I was not breathing that hard but my legs were toasty way too early on.
I managed one extended pull on Mercer Island while on the Hank ride and another on Rainier but then going around the island the second time I could NOT maintain the 23 mph that this one guy wanted to go. I practically got dropped. |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25
This is only my second ride outdoors with my new cleat position (I shoved them as far back as they would go) and it feels fine so I'm sticking with it. |
| Hrs. Sleeping: | 6 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 7:30 am |
| Distance: | 62 miles |
| Total Time: | 4 hrs [3:31 riding time] |
| Total Ascent: | 2780 ft |
| Weather: | low 40s, light wind, dry |
| Workout Type: | Hank ride | team ride |
| Breakfast: | 6:00 am - smoothie |
| Lunch: | 12:00 pm - piece of pizza, some yummy bean dish Shelley made |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | Clif bar, 4 scoops Endurox in one big bottle, 3 scoops Heed in another |
| Course: | Hank ride - around Mercer Island counter-clockwise
team ride - Leschi, Seward Park, Rainier, around Mercer Island, Leschi, Madrona, Union |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Wake up call this ride was.
Other than maybe one spin class per week and a couple of indoor TTs per month I really have not been on my bike at all... Loads of other crap like stairs, running around in a park, some weights but guess what; it just does not equal TITS (Time In The Saddle). I was not breathing that hard but my legs were toasty way too early on.
I managed one extended pull on Mercer Island while on the Hank ride and another on Rainier but then going around the island the second time I could NOT maintain the 23 mph that this one guy wanted to go. I practically got dropped. |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25
This is only my second ride outdoors with my new cleat position (I shoved them as far back as they would go) and it feels fine so I'm sticking with it. |
Sunday, November 25, 2007
| Hrs. Sleeping: |
5 |
| Pulse (waking): |
|
| Pulse (rising): |
|
| Difference: |
|
| Weight: |
I was too scared to check... |
| Body Fat: |
|
| Time of Day: |
1:00 pm |
| Distance: |
51 miles |
| Total Time: |
3:45 |
| Total Ascent: |
3150 ft |
| Weather: |
mid to low 40s, sunny, calm |
| Workout Type: |
ride |
| Breakfast: |
cereal |
| Lunch: |
2 cheese quesadillas, lemonade |
| Dinner: |
|
| Workout Food: |
3 scoops Endurox (in one big bottle, 2 scoops Heed (in another big bottle) |
| Course: |
Leschi, Log Boom Park, Norway Hill, Simonds Rd, Juanita, around Mercer Island, home through the tunnel |
| Results: |
|
| Comments: |
Two words: weather window. That's what today was. Previously in Seattle it was majorly cold and tomorrow it's supposed to start raining. But not today; today was gorgeous.
For no good reason I decided to "ride big gears seated on hills to get strong" today... It was probably because Tom W showed up on his fixed gear which sports a 46x16, that's 78 gear inches to you and me. HUGE in other words.
ASIDE - I usually (read: always) ride a 42x18 which is 63 gear inches.
Not only was he riding it, we did some good hills today and he sat down for most of them. So, trying to be like Tom I stuck it in my 50x21 (71 gear inches) and tried to do likewise. It worked most of the time but not all the time.
Fun and tiring.
Oh, did I mention that doing mostly nothing over the Thanksgiving holiday does not help? Mark my words. |
| Equipment: |
Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
Sunday, November 18, 2007
| Hrs. Sleeping: |
6 |
| Pulse (waking): |
|
| Pulse (rising): |
|
| Difference: |
|
| Weight: |
|
| Body Fat: |
|
| Time of Day: |
7:30 am |
| Distance: |
51 miles |
| Total Time: |
about 3 hours? |
| Weather: |
mid to upper 40s |
| Workout Type: |
ride |
| Breakfast: |
6:30 am - 2 eggs, 3 pieces bread, cheese, peanut butter |
| Lunch: |
|
| Dinner: |
|
| Workout Food: |
4 scoops Endurox (in one big bottle), 3 scoops Heed (in another big bottle) |
| Course: |
Leschi, across Mercer Island, across 405, Coal Creek, May Valley, Issaquah-Hobart, Cedar Grove, 169, Jones Rd, Renton, Rainier, Lake WA Blvd, Madrona, Union, home |
| Results: |
|
| Comments: |
Boy, I was touting Cedar Grove as being hilly and it was not. :( I guess the last time I was on this road the pace was pretty hot and I was struggling to catch someone, eh?
Anyway, it was a super day! Not too cold, great company (Jim K, RC R, Todd M) and just rode and chatted. I stuck to the front along Jones Road and then got in a good effort all the way up Rainier. It pretty much gassed me but I felt like I needed it and I was feeling a LOT better than one week ago when I could barely hang on. To a bunch of guys on fixed gear bikes!
Today I rode with my GPS that I used in TransPortugal, I love that thing! But after about five miles the overly-complicated handlebar clamp slipped and I had to stuff it in my pocket. But you know what? It still worked! |
| Equipment: |
Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
Sunday, November 11, 2007
| Hrs. Sleeping: |
Uh... 6 I think? Not enough. |
| Pulse (waking): |
|
| Pulse (rising): |
|
| Difference: |
|
| Weight: |
|
| Body Fat: |
|
| Time of Day: |
8:00 am |
| Distance: |
No idea as I _still_ don't have any instrumentation on my bike... |
| Total Time: |
4 hours |
| Weather: |
50, kinda windy, dry |
| Workout Type: |
ride |
| Breakfast: |
smoothie |
| Lunch: |
|
| Dinner: |
|
| Workout Food: |
1.5 big bottles of Heed (3 scoops each), one food bar |
| Course: |
Leschi, Arboretum, 23rd, Log Boom Park, Hollywood Hill, Paradise Lake loop, Log Boom, Lake City Way, UW, Arboretum bypass, down to Lake WA, up Madrona, Union, home |
| Results: |
|
| Comments: |
I felt like dirt today. Nutrient-free dirt at that. Dirt from the sandy wasts of the Sahara; from the strip mines of the central US.
Last week, in spite of being crazy hung over, I had a decent ride. Today, after doing nothing but eating for two days I was hating it. At first I thought it was just the wind but I was suffering on the hills too.
Other than Jim K everyone else was on a fixed gear today. I kinda wish I'd known and would have done likewise but then again, all these guys ride a significantly larger gear (42x16, 44x18) than I do (42x18) and it would have been pretty hard to keep up. As it was I was not talking very much at all today. Gotta let it go I suppose. |
| Equipment: |
Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
| Hrs. Sleeping: |
|
| Pulse (waking): |
|
| Pulse (rising): |
|
| Difference: |
|
| Weight: |
5:00 pm - 178 |
| Body Fat: |
|
| Time of Day: |
gym - 5:15 am
ride - 1:00 pm
indoor TT - 5:15 pm, 6:15 pm |
| Distance: |
|
| Total Time: |
gym - 60 min
ride - 2 hours
indoor TT - 60 min? |
| Weather: |
|
| Workout Type: |
weights | core | ride | CycleU indoor TT |
| Breakfast: |
|
| Lunch: |
|
| Dinner: |
|
| Workout Food: |
gym - water
ride - Perpetuem
indoor TT - Heed |
| Course: |
| leg curls |
3x15 - 135 lb |
| leg extensions |
3x15 - 155 lb |
| incline leg press |
20 (270 lb), 20 (315 lb), 3x15 (360 lb) |
| push-ups |
15, 15, 13 [I sure suck at doing push-ups!] |
| bent over row |
3x15 - 60 lb barbell |
| shoulder press |
12, 12, 12 - 15 lb dumbbells |
| upright row |
13, 14, 12 - 15 lb dumbbells |
| lat pull down |
14, 14, 12 - 90 lb |
| plank |
2x180 sec, 60 sec right side, 60 sec left side - 30 sec rest between sets |
| other core |
30 ball pass, 30 twisters |
| back extensions |
20 straight, 20 twisters - 20 lb |
ride - Log Boom Park, Hollywood Hill, Paradise Lake loop, Log Boom |
| Results: |
I'll post 'em as soon as I get 'em... Sheesh, sometimes CycleU kinda pisses me off with their level of professionalism about this stuff.
Finally - the official results. |
| Comments: |
On the ride today I went out with a few of the women that race on ByrneInvent and tried to teach them a bit about tactics. This is pretty hard when you are not actually racing and the next event is still months and months away but I did my best and kept the conversation limited to just the concepts of attacking and blocking. And it was fun! I tried to give them just two or three things to take away from the ride and I hope I succeeded.
I got to the indoor TT with _very_little time to spare... after the ride I had to run downtown to get my hair cut (because I'm getting MARRIED in two days!) and then it was back out to Sand Point way. My first time was around 15:20 which is not too bad but my second was around 15:50 which kinda illustrates my fitness at this time of year. Usually, as I get fitter, my second time gets closer to my first (and my first gets a little faster as well). But I was not going 100 percent either - by conscious choice. During the first event I was going maybe 90 the whole time and during the second one when I saw that I was going to be the fastest pretty easily I slacked off to maybe 85 percent (if you can accurately quantify this sort of thing...).
That means I have a little more in the tank which makes me happy. :) I heard the fastest time of the evening was around 14:55 which is attainable for me in a month maybe?
I probably _seems_ like I did a ton of work today but the ride was the slowest i have ever gone on that loop... no biggie at all. |
| Equipment: |
Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
Sunday, November 04, 2007
| Hrs. Sleeping: |
6 |
| Pulse (waking): |
|
| Pulse (rising): |
|
| Difference: |
|
| Weight: |
|
| Body Fat: |
|
| Time of Day: |
8:00 am |
| Distance: |
65 mi maybe...? |
| Total Time: |
about 4 hours |
| Weather: |
Mostly nice, it started out cool and dry, got a little drizzly towards the middle but then we finished in the sun again. |
| Workout Type: |
ride |
| Breakfast: |
4 big-ass Ibuprofen tablets, juice, left over tortellini from a couple of nights ago |
| Lunch: |
|
| Dinner: |
|
| Workout Food: |
5 scoops Perpetuem, 3 scoops Heed |
| Course: |
Leschi, Log Boom Park, Norway hill, Simonds hill, Juanita hill, Kirkland, along the water through Bellevue, up that step hill just south of Bellevue Square, around the south end, home |
| Results: |
|
| Comments: |
Ouch... last night was too much for Martin and I paid for it today. I was at this dinner party and had cocktails, beer and then wine with dinner and guess what I did not have - water. It does not take a genius to do that math; I was hurting today.
On my way down to Leschi I swear I was trying to ride 'soft' so that the bumps in the road would not jostle my brain so much. Pretty hilarious in hindsight but I was totally serious at the time. When I arrived at Leschi everyone was chatting it up per usual and I just sat there silent and glum. I proposed my route and off we went.
The hills at the north end of Lake WA are really nice. They are all about one half to one mile long and the incline is just right meaning that you can actually ride up them kinda easy if you have/want to but they are steep enough so that you can get a good workout for sure. My goal next year is to be a better climber so I figured that a few hills all the time, even when I'm not going hard, is a good thing.
Finally, after some sweating and drinking my hangover subsided enough for me to carry on a pleasant conversation with the bunch. It was Jim K, Dan B, his coach/mentor, RC R and Todd M on their fixed gears, Charley D and a couple of others.
After hill mania we got to I-90 and everyone except Dan and one other guy pulled off. The three of us finished up the ride with a loop around the south end. This is where we got rained on but it was also some much needed flat riding.
The pace was mellow today and so I stayed at the front all the time. At first to KEEP it that way and then later just to stay there and somehow maximize the benefit of this ride in my little brain. Coming home on Rainier I did speed up and managed a good pull all the way up to Rainier Beach. |
| Equipment: |
Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25
God this is a great bike! Heavy as hell (30 + lb. at least) but SO damn useful and comfortable and practical. The bonus is it makes my race bike feel like a feather come March. All part of Martin's secret training plan... |
Sunday, October 28, 2007
| Hrs. Sleeping: |
5 |
| Pulse (waking): |
|
| Pulse (rising): |
|
| Difference: |
|
| Weight: |
|
| Body Fat: |
|
| Time of Day: |
8:00 am |
| Distance: |
|
| Total Time: |
3.5 hours |
| Weather: |
mid 40s, calm, sunny |
| Workout Type: |
ride |
| Breakfast: |
cereal, banana |
| Lunch: |
Boca burger, bagel, cheese |
| Dinner: |
|
| Workout Food: |
5 scoops Perpetuem (in one bottle), 3 scoops Heed (in another) |
| Course: |
Leschi, across MI, Coal Creek, up Forrest, up Cougar, back down Cougar, up Newcastle, down McDonalds hill, around the south end of Lake WA, up Beacon Hill, down to Leschi, up Madrona, Union, home |
| Results: |
|
| Comments: |
What a great day! The sun was out, the group was fantastic and we rode hill after hill. :) I have never been up Forest and it's a good one. And the view from the Newcastle golf course/plateau was simply amazing. The sky scrapers were sticking out of downtown Seattle, downtown Bellevue and you could even see the Olympics. Epic.
Did I mention that my legs hurt trying to lug my lazy ass and my piggy bike up all those hills? They did. |
| Equipment: |
Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |