Beach side spin.

Just finished up an hour zone 1 ride that ran parallel to the beach. It was nice to slow things down a bit. Great scenery, a nice breeze, and flat roads, perfect for today!

I'll upload some pictures later tonight.


Peace!

Vacation.

Greetings from the beach! :-)

Did I mention that it's flat at the shore? I went out for an hour ride yesterday and averaged 23 mph!! No hills to speak of...just stop lights here and there that serve as small breaks from the speed fest.

My goal is to fit in three rides while down here...nothing too crazy...just enough to keep the legs moving.

More updates to follow...


Peace!

Mid/End of week riding.

This is going to be a short entry...been a busy week...getting ready to go on vacation. Got out on Wednesday for a zone 4 hammer fest. Lasted an hour and a half...good stuff! Got out again today for a two hour zone 3 ride. This sets up a few nice zone 1 and 2 rides for while I'm at the beach with my family as I can't always be hammering on the legs...they need rest and easy rides too. Good thing because it's awful flat at the shore. ;-)


Going to use some of my vacation time to make an effort to cross over the $2500 mark for fundraising...let's hope we can do this soon...we're quickly approaching the LIVESTRONG ride!


Peace!

Weekend spinning.

My riding partner for Saturday...my son Alex. He absolutely loves riding his bike! He often takes time to make sure he has all the right gear on before the ride..."just like daddy". You'll notice his "riding gloves"...they are actually batting gloves...but do the trick for now...he's getting a cool set of riding gloves for his birthday...he just doesn't know it yet. :-) I used Saturday for my easy spin so we could ride together. We usually ride around the neighborhood...with me splitting off for a few minutes every once in a while to get the heart rate up to the ideal spot. I recently taught him the out of saddle power climb...he's a machine ever since he learned the technique...he loves every minute of riding his bike...and so does daddy! :-)


After Saturday's easy ride I headed out on Sunday for a longer spin...only 30 miles. I was extremely tired and was just having an off day...so I shut in down early in favor of some time at home napping with the kids. Sometimes rest is just as good as pounding out a serious ride. I've found that I really need to listen to my body, or I'll suffer down the road...so when it's time to rest...I rest. I will do that until Wednesday when I'll look to fit in a tempo ride.

Still catching up on some promises for donations...and sending out a few more e-mails...let's hope we can crack the $2500 mark.


Peace!

Easy spinning.

That was on tap yesterday, and will be on tap again tomorrow. I rode for just over an hour yesterday...very easy pace...just using the time to recover from Monday's long ride. The legs feel pretty good...a little sore...but all in all are doing pretty well. I won't hit it hard until Sunday when I might switch things up a bit and take the mountain bike out to do some major climbing.

Fundraising is at $2151. I really want to crack the $2500 mark...and crack it soon. I have promises to collect on...but that's not always easy. I remind people about their pledge...but it doesn't always translate into a donation...frustrating...but I must keep moving forward so I can reach my goals.


Peace!

90.

This was the view from half way down the climb at mile 40. It was gnarly, but I love a good climb.

I was in Rebersburg today...home of the famous racecar driver, Butch Leitzinger...this is his house. :-)

So the 90 in the title of this post is because I rode 90 miles today! I figured it was time to see how all this training was shaping up...so I rearranged my schedule at work to allow a full day for riding. It ended up taking me just over 6 hours...not bad...but not where I want to be. I want to complete the 100 mile LIVESTRONG ride in 6 hours...so I've still got some work to do. All in all though, I was pretty pleased with the ride. I battled a descent headwind for about 40 miles, and tackled a gnarly climb at mile 40...I love a good climb...but it was a little disheartening to reach the top knowing I had another 47 miles to go.

I stopped for food/drink supplies two times...both at awesome little country stores with great folks abound. Everyone was curious how far I was riding as they don't get too many riders that far into the valley...I told them the goal was 90 and each of their faces dropped...that's a long way on a hot day like this they said...I told them I was thankful for their great little store as it allowed me to refuel and catch a few smiles which always brightens the day. I'll take one of those stores over a big chain any day...good stuff...and great people! :-)

My next ride will be a recovery type ride on Wednesday...I'll be curious to see how the legs feel after today's long trek.

Peace!

Saturday.

Got out for a nice hour long spin yesterday. The last two rides have only been an hour long, in preparation for tomorrow's long ride. I adjusted my work schedule so I'm off tomorrow...that will allow lots of time for a good solid ride. I'll be sure to report back tomorrow...if all goes well...this is going to be a major step toward the 100 mile ride in August. :-)

Currently up to $2051 raised!!

Still moving forward...


Peace!

Tempo spin.

Got out for a one hour tempo spin today. I basically get the heart rate up to about 80% effort and keep it there for the entire ride. Doing this tends to make the ride what I call a speed ride...because at that effort I can keep up a good pace.

I've been limited on time lately, so I'm trying to tailor my rides based on what time is available. Things should slow down a bit soon which will allow me to get back on track with longer training rides. I'm off tomorrow...will most likely do a recover type ride Saturday...then log a long ride on Monday. We'll see how things go. Until then...


Peace!

Friday/Sunday.

Greetings this fine Monday morning. So glad the rain has decided to take a break and the sunshine is in abundance. Looks to be that way for a while now.

I went out for a 1 hour easy spin on Friday to let the legs rest from the interval ride last Wednesday...it was all good until thunderstorms rolled in and I ended up abandoning the easy spin in favor of dodging some nasty storms. Fortunately I was able to best them and stay dry...man was it nasty...glad the ride was only an hour. ;-)

I got out again yesterday for a 3 hour ride...nothing too out of hand...just a nice paced ride to keep things moving forward. My legs were a bit tired, I think the intervals and lack of sleep are catching up to me. It's time for some rest and hot-tub action to get them back in prime shape. I'll likely do some easy spins during the week with plans for a some monster rides this upcoming weekend.

The fundraising continues to plug along...I have some promises I need to collect on...and a few more proposals to go out...I will use this week to get caught up on some of that as well.

Moving forward...


Peace!

Wednesday.

This picture is for my buddy Ron. I'm willing to bet he could climb this with little effort. Ron hiked the entire Appalachian Trail with his wife...they are hardcore...and the nicest, coolest people on earth.

I came upon this wall on my half-hour cool down after the 2 hours of intervals I did...half of them nice and dry...the other half very wet. My legs felt great! I pushed them pretty hard today. Looks like my next training ride will be on the mountain bike as Nate and I are gonna try very hard to get to Allegrippis on Friday. I can't wait! Fast, flowy single track...should prove to be much fun.

Peace!