The wheels on my bike go...

Round and round...round and round...

Logged another 20 miles today...once again with the easy effort/pace. I've been saving myself for tomorrow's ride...a destination ride! Tomorrow I will once again try to ride down to Lock Haven to meet up with my wife and some of her colleagues for lunch to celebrate her first full year as a professor at Lock Haven University. I am pumped as the ride should total close to 50 miles...and if not...I'll ride around Lock Haven until it does. ;-) I'm also pumped because a colleague of Jeanine's (Josh) will be riding to meet me half way so we can ride the last 20 to 25 miles together. He's a category 4 rider with LOTS of experience, so it should be fun.

The legs feel incredible!! They were begging to be opened up today, but I had to resist knowing I've got a distance ride tomorrow that will most likely be at a pretty fast clip. I'll be racing the clock the entire way down to Lock Haven...seeing how hard I can push while doing that kind of distance. I will try to save a little as I have two short speed rides planned this weekend. My goal is 150 miles for my five day stretch. It might be a hard earned 150 miles, because it's supposed to rain tomorrow. :-( No worries though, I'm going no matter what this time.

I'll report on the ride tomorrow evening.

On a side note, I collected $100 in donations from my old place of employment this morning. Great people with big hearts that are supporting me 100%!! That's got me feeling pretty good today. :-)

Peace!

25.

Got out for a very easy 25 mile spin today. I have a lot of miles planned for the next four days so I figured I should start out with an easy spin, keep the heart rate and effort relatively low, so I can come on strong as the days progress. This was the first time I really took it easy on a ride, and it almost felt weird. I'm not used to riding that way, so it felt pretty awkward to be going at a descent speed with very minimal effort. All in all it's a good sign as the endurance and strength are coming around. I haven't weighed myself in a few days, but I believe I'm close to the 15 pound mark for weight lost since I started training. I feel good about my progress but still have a lot of work ahead of me.

I'll be back at it tomorrow morning.

Peace!

Sunday, Sunday...

Managed to make it out for a quick ride on Sunday. Totalled 35 miles packed with some nice fast flats and some good long grade hill climbs...a great mix on a very hot day! I think it was 88 degrees...good training for the conditions I'll see in Philadelphia in August. :-)

I quickly pounded through my fluids...leaving me with nothing about half-way through the ride. I figured I'd use the rest of the ride as training for the body...to see what how it would respond to the limited fluid intake on such a hot day. Turns out I responded rather well, with it not really being an issue. I know fluids are extremely important...so this won't be a regular occurrence...just a good test to see how I felt given the conditions.

I'm off until Wednesday when I'll assess weather conditions and plan my ride appropriately. Hoping for nice weather...but it looks like rain is coming.

Peace!

Busy.

I've been pretty busy lately. Decided to see how the mobile blogging works from my iPhone.

Got out for a nice 38 mile ride on Friday. Legs felt good. Had to shut it down early due to friends coming into town. Today was an off day...I'll be back at it tomorrow for sure.

Will report more after tomorrows ride. Will post pics too.

Peace!

Wednesday Ride.

I decided to skip the group ride yesterday as the weather conditions were not so great. One minute it felt like it was 55 and partly sunny, and the next, windy with temps feeling like they were 40...with a little rain throw in for good measure. The last part of my 23 mile ride was pretty nasty...major wind...rain...and cold temps...and of course...I was riding into the wind. The legs were fresh though so I powered it out and felt good about the ride...even though it was shorter than I wanted. No worries there...it's supposed to be 80 and sunny for the next five days...so I'll make up for lost miles Friday and Sunday. You'll notice Saturday wasn't thrown in there...that's because it's the annual Penn State Blue/White game...a scrimmage that is open to the public at Beaver Stadium. It usually turns into a game like atmosphere, with major tailgating, the game, a carnival, and just overall fun. We have some friends coming into town for it which is gonna make it even better...I can't wait!

Today is a work day...so no riding. I'll be back at it tomorrow.

I haven't forgotten about the pictures...those will come soon...I promise.

Peace!

Saturday.

My ride on Saturday with Brian was awesome! We rode out near his house, which was pretty cool because the roads are great. Not a lot of traffic, nice rolling terrain, and great scenery. We totalled 26 miles...which puts me at 103 miles for my three day stretch...not bad.

The plan now is to rest until Wednesday when I'll try my hand at the group ride. I'm a little anxious about it as I have a feeling the pace will be fierce. No worries though, I'm using this as a litmus test to see where my fitness and endurance matches up against seasoned riders...if I can only hang on for a few miles...it will serve as fuel to push me to improve. We'll see. :-)

Until then, this quote seems appropriate.


"Every day do something that will inch you closer to a better tomorrow." -Doug Firebaugh

Peace!

Longest ride to date.

I got out for a 55 mile ride on Thursday, my longest ride to date. It was awesome! Beautiful weather, great scenery, and just a good amount of uninterrupted time on the bike. I felt like I could have gone another 20 to 30 miles, so I'm pleased with my progress thus far. It's only April and I'm feeling pretty good on the bike. Still lots of work to do, but we're on track.

In addition to Thursday's monster ride, I got out yesterday for a quick 22 mile ride to keep the legs spinning. No strenuous effort, just a nice pace to keep things moving.

It is now Saturday morning and I'm getting ready to head out for a ride with Brian, one of the doctor's I work with. We're headed out in his neck of the woods, a great area that should provide a nice ride for us. Not sure how long we'll go, it will depend on how we both feel and as always, time constraints. I love riding with other people, it makes for a nice change of pace as conversation is always welcome. Speaking of riding with other people, I met up with a member of the Penn State Cycling Team on Thursday. I was in the home stretch of the ride when he pulled up next to me and asked if he could ride with me for a while. Of course I said yes, and we rode for about 10 miles talking about cycling and random other stuff. It turns out there is a group ride Wednesday evenings not far from my house. Apparently this ride draws quite a crowd, with some Cat 1 pros, right on down to cat 5's. From what he said, it's a pretty fierce pace, with people dropping off when they can't maintain the group speed any longer. I won't lie, this peaked my interest when he mentioned it...because...well...yeah...I'm kind of competitive and am always up for a challenge. :-) Even if I can only hold the pace for 1 or 2 miles, I want to see what it's like...so I think I'm headed out with them next Wednesday. I'll certainly report back after that experience...it should be interesting.

Ok, I'm off to get ready for my ride.

Peace!

Family first.

That was the motto yesterday...and it prevented me from getting out for that extra ride I wanted. It turns out the break we "thought" we'd have didn't work out, so I was not able to get out for a ride. No worries though, the day was originally intended as a rest day, so it's probably better I took the time off. Not to mention I got to hangout with the family for the entire day...which is a reward in an of itself. :-)

I will use today and tomorrow as rest days as well. The legs have been in great need of some rebuilding time, so I'm giving it to them knowing they will repay me with loads of power and endurance for later this week. My anticipation of how strong they will be is high...I know when I head out on Wednesday I'll be able to push it hard for quite some time...and that brings a smile to my face...because I love pushing the pace and flying down the road close to 30mph on nothing but a 17 pound bike. I can see why people ride motorcycles...there is just something freeing about not being surrounded by a car.

Stay tuned...more pictures to be posted soon.

Until then...

Peace!

You'll never guess the conditions during my ride today...

Yup...WINDY!!! That's just par for the course these days. :-)

I got out for a 26 mile ride with my buddy Grant. Great ride! We toured some roads I had never been on...absolutely awesome! No cars, great scenery, good company, and just an overall fun ride. Part of the reason for the increased fun factor is due to the professional fitting I received on my bike yesterday. Grant also happens to be the manager of "The Bicycle Shop" in town...the place I buy all my bikes and gear...and he is certified by Specialized to fit people to their bikes. All I can say is...WOW...what a difference being fitted to the bike!! I felt so much more comfortable...I couldn't believe the improvement. I felt so good, that tomorrow will not be a rest day as originally planned. Even though it's Easter Sunday, I will be able to get out for a short speed ride. My wife is the best! We have a break in the schedule tomorrow that will allow for the ride. I think we're doing like three Easter egg hunts...well...the kids are...we're just there to witness the excitement. I can't wait...the kids were excited tonight knowing the Easter bunny is coming.

Ok, time to relax and enjoy the evening with Jeanine.

Peace!

34...

hard miles today. Once again it was windy, and I spent over half of the time riding into the wind. Did I mention that it's windy around here in the spring? It wouldn't be so bad except that I live in and do most of my riding in the valley...and the winds just whip through here. To give an illustration, when we built our house a few years ago, we had a small privacy fence put in out back. When the fence company came out to talk about it, I told them the fence needed to be strong because it gets really windy around here...they assured me I wouldn't have an issue. Three weeks later we came home one windy night to find the fence in the field next to our house. I called the company, they gladly fixed the issue with a much nicer and stronger fence...and the guy I spoke with in the beginning apologized. Anyway, in case I forgot to mention it, it gets windy around here in the spring. ;-)

Tomorrow is a day off...which is probably a good thing as the legs are feeling a bit overworked right now. They are going to need a few days of rest soon. That will most likely happen early next week. I'll use those rest days to further the fundraising efforts.

Happy Good Friday to all. In my opinion, every Friday is a good Friday. :-)

Peace.

Change of plans.

Due to cold windy conditions this morning I had to change up my plan for the day. I was pretty disappointed...but without the proper gear...it just wouldn't have been smart to make the 50 mile ride. I have some cold weather gear, but not the proper gear to deal with 26 degree windy conditions. Luckily, it warmed up enough that I got out for a quick 20 mile ride this afternoon.

Tonight, I'll be shopping for some gear. :-)

Peace!

Destination Ride.

That's what I call a ride that is not round trip...meaning I won't end up back at home when I'm done. I have a destination ride planned for tomorrow...the destination in mind...Lock Haven...the home of my Alma mater....and also where my wife works at a professor. You see where this is going, right? I'm going to ride down to Lock Haven to meet up with my wife for lunch...we will then drive home in the car. ;-) It clocks in at about 50 miles. The nice thing is that there is a pretty good hill climb in the beginning to get me warmed up for some flat line speed once I descent the mountain. Other than the climb in the beginning, I'm looking at flat lining it almost the entire way...which means speeds in the mid to upper 20's for sure. I might even go a little crazy if the legs are feeling good and peg the heart rate for some 30mph action. This is of course if there aren't any nasty headwinds...then we kick into survival mode...just pounding against the wind...grinding the ride out until we hit our destination. Either way, fun!

I'll report back after the ride tomorrow to let you know how it goes.

Peace!

Sunday ride.

I got out for a 35 mile ride today. The ride included 4100 feet of climbing. I'm a bit of a freak and actually love to climb so it was a welcome ride. I would have done more but was a bit pressed for time. 67 degrees and sunny after two days of absolute crap weather had me wanting to hangout with the wife and kids at home...so I called it early in favor of fun times outside. Glad I did too...we let the kids get in the hot-tub which was an absolute blast. Speaking of the hot-tub, after the kids went to bed I had a half-hour date with it myself. There's just nothing like getting in 102 degree water after a workout.

I received some fundraising materials from the Lance Armstrong Foundation this weekend. Jeanine and I are coming up with some plans for the next few months. Should be able to do some great fundraisers to help get closer to the $10k goal. Right now I sit at $1200, not a bad start, but we've got a long way to go, and a short time to get there, I'm gonna do what they say can't be done...Ok...who started thinking of Smokey and the Bandit when they read that...come on...I know I'm not the only one. ;-)

Peace!

Lucky Dog!

That would be me as I had some cancellations in my schedule today which allowed for a 62 degree and sunny 32 mile ride before work! It's nice to be greeted with surprises like that from time to time. My plan was to ride Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. As I talked about, Wednesday was cold and rainy, and guess what, Friday is to be the same...so I really lucked out today. Today's ride will replace tomorrow, so I will be able to avoid the nasty conditions. YEAH BUDDY!!

The ride today did not start off well. The legs felt like crap...I couldn't believe it after how they felt yesterday. Not to worry though, I didn't stress about it, put forth the effort they would allow, and just didn't get caught up in the frustration that could have been present....and what do you know, they came alive about 10 miles into the ride. It was great!! I was very thankful as the ride was just awesome...rural back roads...virtually no cars...and great scenery. I really was a "lucky dog" today! :-)

Pics from weekends ride.

I found a local bike path in my travels...this was a welcome sign. Thankfully, no one else was on the path...that allowed me to take full advantage of my Specialized "Ferrari"!

It's the Tin Man...I think that's Toto next to his feet. The Lion to the right...and an unknown to the far left.

Apparently I was wrong.

The next day I would ride would not be 65 and sunny...it would be 41 and raining. Yup, 41 and raining for my ride today. I managed to get in 20 miles on the bad weather bike before calling it a day. Not a long ride, but I was glad I got out...three days off the bike felt like forever. My legs felt incredible! I usually start off the ride with a warmup in my development...this gets the muscles up and ready to go...and gives me an indication of what kind of day it will be on the bike. I climbed the small hill in my development and the muscles responded kindly, ready to rock out for the day! Lots of power means good things...and it certainly did as I pushed the pace despite the rain and cold. The legs wanted more, but the conditions kept me from really pinning the throttle. No worries, I'll keep that power in reserve for this weekends rides. ;-)

I'm going to attempt to post a few pictures from my ride this past weekend...we'll see how it goes. :-)