The Year in Review

I started out the year with the hopes of racing. My plans took an abrupt turn in California in February. I had a seizure & that ending any chance of racing this year. I kept my hopes up of just being able to ride outdoors this year & in time I was able to be outdoors riding. I set a goal of riding 3500 miles this year & am happy to say that I surpassed that goal. I managed to ride 4151 miles total this year. Although I couldn't race, I did manage to get some good rides in this year. I guess the hightlight of my year was the Tour de Cure. I had a goal of beating my time of last year. I had a new frame, trained harder, & smarter this year. I did beat my time by about 15 minutes. I'm hoping to do 100k in under 3 hours ride time next year. I did get stronger as the year went along, & am really looking forward to next year. The doc gave me permission to race next year so I'm in the process of trainging for the next season. I'll have to think about my milage goal for next year. I'm sure I'll do more miles than I did this year, but we'll just have to see how things go. Here's to a Happy New Year to everyone & a good year coming up!!!!!!!

Nice past couple days

The last couple of days have been great riding weather. I managed to get in rides the last 2 days. My legs have felt great even though I haven't done any kind of Cyclo-Core workouts this week due to the holidays. I'm planning on starting again the first of the year. We'll just have to see how things go......

Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!!!!!!! May you and your families have a blessed day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Got to ride today.

Today I rode with some of the guys from the club. I was planning to ride at least 3 hours, but things happened that changed all that. Well it all started out nicely, but I was riding at a comfortable pace for me, but I guess it was too fast for most of the group. Only one guy was with me so we started slowling down to let the group catch up. Once the group caught up, we rode together for a bit, but then they started falling back again. I just decided to ride a comfortable pace for me & anyone that could stay with me was welcome. I had only one rider stay with me until we hit Unidilla. Ali was able to hang with me most of the time. I didn't think I was going that fast, but I was faster than most of the group. One we hit Unidilla, we had a decision to make. Most of the group wanted to head back because some of them had things they had to do. I wanted to ride more, but didn't feel like going solo. Steve said he would do the metric century ride with me provided I didn't go too fast. I told him I would pull & he could just sit back & enjoy the ride. He said that was ok, so we headed off, while the rest of the group headed back. We had a head wind for a bit then it turned into a cross wind. I really didn't have a difficult time in front & Steve was sitting in nicely. We were heading down the road & Steve said we must have missed a turn to do the metric century, because we hit US 41 too soon. I told him not to worry about it & we'd just head back to Perry. I kind of picked up the pace heading back to Perry, with Steve tucked in behind me. All told, we only did 43 miles, but that's ok with me. I'm hoping to do at least a couple of hours on the bike tomorrow seeing as I'm going to Christmas Eve services at church in the evening. I wish anyone who reads this a Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rain, rain, go away!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today was my last day of vacation I had left. I was hoping to go riding today for about 2 hours, but Mother Nature had other ideas. It rained the entire day & by the time it stopped raining, it was too dark to go riding. The bike club is planning on riding tomorrow morning at 10 am. I'm hoping to get to go, but we'll just have to see what happens.......

Good week so far

The weather for the first couple days this week has been awesome!!!!!!!!!!!! It's been great riding weather & I've been taking advantage of it for sure. I managed to ride a bit over 21 miles yesterday & the wind was pretty much not a factor. I averaged over 19 mph for the trip. I just rode at a comfortable pace & really didn't push it. Today I had a bit of a tail wind most of the way home & after doing the Cyclo-Core workout yesterday & working today, I decided to take it kind of easy on the way home. My legs felt good today & I still averaged over 19 mph despite taking it kind of easy. I can tell that the workouts are working for me. I have been feeling better while climbing (my biggest weakness) & I don't dread them as much as I used to.

Recovery Ride

Today was an easy no drop ride with the club. It was a beautiful day for a ride & we had a good turnout for the ride. I think having food after the ride was a big help for the turn out, but that's another story. We just rode easy & enjoyed the company & scenery. I'm hoping for good weather this week to keep up the riding. We'll just have to see how it goes.......

Nice Ride!!!!!!!!

Today I went for a ride with Shane & Ali. We did about 64 miles today. The weather was fantastic, there was very little wind & the temperature was comfortable. My legs felt good the entire ride. I pulled pretty much the entire ride, but that's ok. I needed to work harder to get ready for next season. Tomorrow the bike club is having a social ride & I'm hoping to be able to go on it to work the soreness out of my legs. The Cyclo-Core workouts really seem to be helping with my riding. I'm feeling stronger when out on the bike & don't get as sore as soon as I used to. Let's hope for good weather tomorrow & we'll see how things go.

Rough weekend.

I went for a ride this past Saturday, but for some reason my legs just weren't there. I felt good the first part of the ride, but after about 35 miles, they started to feel a bit heavy. After about 45 miles, my back & knee were getting a bit sore. This only seems to happen here lately when I do the bonus Thursday club route. I'll have to try it again after some good rest & see what happens. The Cyclo-Core workouts are still quite challenging, but I am enjoying them a bit more now. I still have a hard time doing some of the stretches in the cool down part, still too much of me in the way. I rode home from work today & had a headwind most of the way, but I struggled through it till I had a nice tailwind & was able to pick up the pace. Not a bad ride today. Stay tuned......

Nice Day for a Ride

Today I went & rode the Sunday route the club does. My legs felt pretty good even during the climbing on the route. I was able to keep a pretty good average speed the entire route. I manged to do 52.3 miles with an average speed of 18.8 mph. I felt a twinge of pain in my right knee after about 40 miles so I stopped at a convience store to stretch my legs out. After a brief stop, my legs felt good. I use the Perpetuem emergy drink from Hammer Nutrition & it worked great. They say to use that for rides over 2 hours. I managed to ride 2:47 + hours today. I'm hoping to take it kind of easy tomorrow, but we'll just have to see. My legs may feel good enough to ride for a couple hours, but I won't know till I get on the bike. Stay tuned for my further adventures........

Cyclo-Core Update

I've been doing the Cyclo-Core workouts for about 2 weeks now. I've decided to do each body resistance workout seperately instead of all 3 at one time. I learned the hard way not to do that. I have noticed small increases in flexibiliby & strength just in the time I've done them. The hindu squats will work you out & I'm able to do more of them each time I try them. The same with the narrow width push-ups. The dvd has you do 25 of them, but the first time I tried I could only do 15, the next time I did that workout I did 17, and this past time I'm up to doing 20 push-ups. I'd say that's a good improvement in just a short period of time. Some of the balance exercises are really hard for me & it's going to take some time to get them down, but they say practice pays off in the long run. My flexibility is a little better, but I'm betting that if I lose more of my gut I'd probably do better at those exercises too. I have noticed that I have lost some inches around my waist because my pants are getting a bit bigger. I might have to purchase a new belt & possibly some new pants here soon. I have been watching what I have been eating. I'm trying not to indulge so much on the junk food & eat more fruits & veggies. I know it's going to be hard during this holiday season to avoid all the good food, but I'll do my best not to over indulge myself. I'll alllow myself some treats from time to time so I can enjoy this time of year. I'll post another update on this program in the near future. Stay tuned...........