Final Post for the Year.

This is my final post for this year. I went riding with Will today instead of doing my scheduled workout because the weather was just too nice not to be outdoors on the bike. We did the usual loop we do when we only have a limited amount of time. I decided to push it a bit today for the final ride of the year. Going up Lake Joy Rd, we hit the hills & I pushed it up the first climb. I usually do worse on the second climb, but I decided to push it up that one too. My legs felt pretty good up the second climb. I pulled most of the ride, but it wasn't that big of a deal. My legs felt good the entire ride & when we finally hit the final climbs on the ride, I was behind Will & about half way up the final climb on Old Perry Rd, I decided to pull one of Will's fav moves. I just attacked him up the final hill & I was surprised to feel how good my legs felt hammering up that hill. All in all it was a good ride with a good friend.
This year was a good year on the bike for me, I started racing again, learned how much I need to improve to be competitive, rode more miles this year than last year, & had a good time doing something I really love to do. I started out the year feeling strong, my legs just had to get used to racing again & the fields were very fast. I learned alot from fellow riders and did improve throughout the year. I need to learn race tactics better and place myself in better positions in the pack during the race. I'll learn that only through racing more. I also need to increase my power output for crits and need to really improve my hill climbing ability.
There was a lot of contraversy in cycling this year concerning doping and I'm hoping that things are getting better and they are catching the cheaters more and more. I take a lot of flak from my buddies who don't ride about all the doping in cycling, but I know it's not the only sport where the athletes using performance enhancing drugs. Baseball just released the report about what they have found out about players cheating there. Then there was the fued between the UCI & the Grand Tour organizers, which really hasn't been settled as of today. We'll just have to see what happens next season. There has been lots of changes during the offseason so far & we'll just have to see what happens when the season kicks off next year.
Well thanks to everyone who had read my adventures throughout the year & I hope you'll keep reading next year......

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

I just wanted to wish everyone who reads this a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!! May you and your families have a wonderful holiday & I hope that you get all sorts of new cycling gear to use for next season. See everyone on the road........

Peach Peloton #7

Today was my next Peach Peloton ride. I missed last week due to being out of town. It was only supposed to be a 50 mile ride. Once we got there, Chad said it was going to be a 70 mile ride. We broke up into groups and practiced rotating. We hit Maynard Mill Rd & after yesterday's hard workout I realized that I wasn't going to be able to stay with Chad & the others. I had the map of the orginal route & decided to do that route instead. I pulled out the map & was on my way. I reached one intersection & checked the map but I had the map in the wrong position so I read it wrong & made a wrong turn. I went 5 miles down the road in the wrong direction before I realized my mistake. I turned around & headed in the right direction. My legs were starting to feel it after yesterday & today. What was supposed to be a 50 mile ride turned into a 65 mile ride & my legs are feeling the past 2 days. Thanks for reading & I'll keep you updated.........

Cyclo-Core/Zen Update

Last week wasn't a great week for my workout routine. The holidays are starting to get in the way. I'm starting the past week over again. I had to do the recovery yoga routine from Cyclo-Zen today. I'm getting a bit more flexible, but still have a long way to go in that department. Yesterday was supposed to be an off day, but seeing as I haven't been on the bike since last Wednesday I went for a ride. I did the route I use for a fitness test. I managed to do a bit over 20 miles in under 1 hour & 3 minutes. The wind was a bit of a pain yesterday, but I did my best. I felt like I was going to throw up when I got home so I know I rode hard. My legs are a bit sore today, but I'll work that out later this week. Stay tuned for more updates.......

Peach Peloton #6

I know this post is about a week late, but I've been busy with other projects all week long and doing some Christmas shopping also. This past Peach Peloton ride started out in east Macon. We started from Bernd Elementary School & headed out. We had a group of about 10-12 of us on the ride. The plan was to ride about 80 miles with no attack zones, just practice rotation throughout the ride. I was happy about not having the attack zones, but didn't know how my legs were going to feel this ride. I spent the Friday night before the ride working on cleaning a house for friends to earn some extra cash for the holidays. I stayed with the group the first half of the ride until the store stop. We headed back towards Macon & started to hit some hillier roads. I was able to stay with the group until we hit Myricks Mill Rd. Chad describes that road as one short downhill & about the next 5 miles of climbing & he's right. I was dropped on the first climb on the road. I stayed within myself & rode that stretch of road at my pace. I wasn't the only one having problems on that stretch of road. Shane showed up for the ride & he was having a hard time too. I guess I over did it with the house cleaning because we regrouped before heading back to Macon & once we hit a good climb, I was dropped off the back again. Shane & I pretty much rode back to the school together, tired but feeling good to finish that distance. I was pretty much shot for the rest of the day, but have been doing more riding this week & doing the training exercises so far. Some of the workouts are getting a bit easier to do, but some still hurt. LOL That's about all I have for now, stayed tuned for more updates......

Cyclo-Core/Zen Workout Update

I'm on the third week of my 12 week Cyclo-Core/Zen offseason workout program. This week has been challenging to say the least so far. Yesterday's workout was what is called a 45 min. yoga spin. I started out doing some yoga to stretch out my legs then it was onto the bike. I started riding a 39 x 24 for 2 minutes to warm up, then the real fun began. I shifted into a 53 x 21 for 3 minutes at 100 rpm while staying in the drops. After that was a 1 minute recovery in a 39 x 24 at 80-90 rpm for 1 minute. Then it was back onto the big ring in a 53 x 19 for another 3 minutes at 100 rpm. My legs were feeling good so far at that moment, after 3 minutes of that, it was another minute of recovery. The next interval was a 53 x 17 same amount of time & same cadence. My legs were starting to feel it a bit by now, but it still wasn't that bad. After another minute of recovery time, it was time to big ring it again in a 53 x 15. This was getting harder with each interval to keep the cadence up to 100 rpm, but I gave it my best effort. After another minute of recovery it was time for the last interval, a 53 x 14. My legs were about fried half-way through this one. Once I was done with that and a 2 minute recovery spin, it was time for what they call power yoga. After doing that workout on the bike, I was having a hard time doing the positions called for, but I did try my best to do each one. The final workout was a cool down & stretching program. It felt good to stretch all my muscles after that workout.
Today was the ab/core workout. I still need lots of work with the exercises in this routine, but I can tell I'm improving a little. Some of the exercises aren't as hard to do now as they were earlier. My abs and core muscles are still sore from doing them, but if I want to get stronger and faster, this is what must be done. Thanks again to everyone who reads this & I'll keep updating as often as I can. Until next time......

Peach Peloton #5

Today was the 5th Peach Peloton ride. The weather was a bit cool at the start, but it was going to warm up during the ride. The plan was to ride 77 miles with an attack zone. At the start of the ride, Chad told us there would be no attack zone (thankfully). The route was going to be hard. It was the hilliest route we've done so far. We left Howard Middle School and headed towards Byron using the climb on Boy Scout Rd. I hadn't ridden that road in quite sometime & forgot how hard the climb was. We stayed together the entire climb so it wasn't that bad. Once we hit the top of the climb, we took a quick break to let someone who dropped off time to catch up. That gave me time to lose some of the gear I had on seeing as it was warming up & I was starting to get a bit on the warm side. We hit Hwy 42 & divided into 2 groups to practice rotating pacelines. I was with Chad, Christian, Doug, another Chad as we started out. Chad told me to do what I could and if I couldn't take my turn up front to just sit on the back and hang on. I told him I would do what I could & if I couldn't pull, I'd just sit in. We started out quite smoothly and once we hit a stretch of flat road, Chad started to pick up the pace. I was doing 29 mph & he was pulling away from me. Just at that moment, the second group caught up to us & the pace really started to pick up. I knew where the store stop was and what the road was like, seeing as I've ridden it before, so I just stayed within my limits & kept up a good pace that I was comfortable with. I was able to make it to the store & I wasn't the last one there. We waited for everyone to arrive and take a break. Some of the group had to head back to Macon for something, so they headed out on their way. The rest of us started back out on the back side of the route. We just kept up a comfortable pace until we hit Hopewell Rd. Once we made the turn onto Hopewell, we started a rolling paceline again. We kept this up the entire time we were on Hopewell, being nice and smooth and not leaving anyone behind. We then turned onto Montpelier Station Rd & just rolled on until we hit Maynard Mill Rd. Once on that road, the pace picked up & I stayed with them as best as I could, but was dropped. I did catch up to Robert Jordan, who was backing off a bit and the two of us just rode together until we got to Zebulon Rd where we saw the rest of the group. The climbs on Zebulon really hurt after all the riding I did, so needless to say I was left a bit behind, but they slowed up and let me catch them before returning to the school. It was a great ride today. I learned alot along the ride and my average speed was the highest it's been on a Peach Peloton ride. I was actually able to average 20 mph for the entire ride. I'm looking forward to the next ride. Stay tuned for more updates.......

Back on Track Again

Well, last week was a total washout for my Cyclo-Core/Zen workouts. I was pretty much busy most of the time & was a bit fatigued from things. I remember Graeme saying that you should listen to your body & if you're fatigued, skip a workout instead of getting yourself wornout and becoming sick. I'm back on the schedule again & feeling good about doing all the workouts. The only bad news was at my Weight Watchers meeting. I gained weight again this week. I'm going to start back to basics again & writing everything I eat down. I think that was my main failure two out of the past three weeks. So I have to concentrate on both what I eat & continuing with the Core/Zen program. Here's to a better week........

Peach Peloton #4

Today was the fourth ride of the Peach Peloton. We left from Howard Middle School in north Macon. The weather today was just a carbon copy of yesterday. Cold and a bit windy. The route we took today was a nice route. We started with a headwind so we would have a tail wind on the way home. My legs were a bit sore from yesterday's ride, so I didn't know how I would do on the ride today. I was able to keep with the group for the first part of the ride. After we were on the back part of ride, Chad decided to break up the group into 2 smaller groups to work on a rotating paceline. I was with Chad, Jake, Charles, Doug, and another ride I can't remember his name. I was doing well, taking my turns up front until we hit a good climb. I felt it in my legs, that it was going to be painful and did my best to stay with the group, but I had to drop back and climb at my own pace. We caught Charles' friend Chris from the first group and pulled him along. We all regrouped in Forsyth and headed back home. The way home was nothing but rollers and I really felt everyone of them. I had dropped off the back of the group, but was keeping them in sight. The attack zone started as the group made a left turn onto Maynard Mill Rd. I was behind everyone, so I just rode at a good pace for me. The attack zone was a long one today & I lost sight of the group once they picked the pace up. I made it to Zebulon Rd, and the hills on that road really hurt. My legs were on fire climbing up some of those hills. I actually made it back to the school in one piece. My legs were really fragged after two hard rides. I haven't done anything like that in quite some time, so I'm planning on taking an easy ride sometime tomorrow afternoon if the weather co-operates. Once we got back to the school, we noticed that Charles' friend Chris hadn't arrived at the school. We waited a bit & Chad said he'd go look for him, but I volunteered to take Charles and drive back on the route to see if we could find him. We drove the attack zone back to 42 and found no sign of Chris. We turned back on 42 & headed further south, thinking he might have missed the turn onto Maynard Mill Rd. Charles called his wife to get the number and we found out that Chris did miss the turn and rode for about another 7 miles down the road before turning back and heading back to Forsyth to have his wife drive him back to the school. I waited at the school with Charles until Chris & his wife pulled up. My average speed for this ride was the slowest one so far, but I think it has more to do with my legs being sore from riding yesterday and not recovering as quickly. We'll just have to see how things go next weekend. Stay tuned for more.......

Post Turkey Day Ride.

Today was a post Thanksgiving Day ride. We met at Bernd Elementary School in East Macon for about a 60 mile ride. The weather was a bit on the cold side, but we had a pretty good turnout for the ride. We headed out and just rode 2 abreast for the first part of the ride. Once we crossed one intersection, Chad said he wanted to start working on a rolling paceline. We were on a section of road that wasn't too hilly and it was about 7 miles until the next turn. We started out rollling right to left. The goal was to just keep a steady pace and when you got your turn at the front, you just rolled to the left and let the next guy pass and he did the same. We kept up a good tempo doing this & it was really easy to learn how to do it. We all took turns up front and Chad told us that if we couldn't take our turn up front, not to worry about having to sit in the back & just be pulled around. We hit another road and this one had a couple of good climbs on it. Chad asked that we try to keep it together as best as we could so we wouldn't drop anyone on the climbs. We did well on the first climb, the group staying together, but on the second climb we started to lose some riders, so we just backed the pace down so they could catch up with the group. We hit Jeffersonville & decided to make a store stop. The rest of the way back into Macon was going to be into the wind. The decision was made to ride 2 abreast and at each mile marker sign we would rotate the lead. Sitting in the back was easy, but when you're up front, it's a bit harder to keep the same pace going. The entire route back was nothing but rolling hills. We all took our turns up front & we arrived back safely. All in all it was a good ride and I'm glad I was able to get out & ride. Stay tuned for the next update with the Peach Peloton......

Peach Peloton Ride #3

Today's Peach Peloton ride route was called the Forsyth Metric Century. We started out at Howard Middle School & headed out on the route the same way we did 2 weeks ago. The weather at the start was about 30 degrees, but we had 18-20 people show up for the ride. I dressed in my cold weather gear & we headed out. The ride for the first few miles was cold, but I knew that in time, I'd warm up a bit. The route was pretty much rolling hills. We used back roads to get to Forsyth & the scenery was beautiful. On one road, we had a bit of competition. We were riding past a farm when I looked over and saw 3 horses running along their fence line with us. It seemed that they were having fun seeing all the crazy humans that were dressed funny on the road. Once we got into Forsyth we had to stop for a funeral to pass by. It wasn't very long until we were on our way once again. Riding down 41 was starting to get a bit hairy sometimes, some vehicles gave up plenty of room and were patient as they waited for a clear section of road to pass us, but others weren't. There were at least 2 close calls for accidents as some people were in too much of a hurry to check & see if the road in the opposite direction was clear to pass us. We also had a few vehicles pass by us a bit on the close side. Eddie, the ride leader, says, he's not going to ride a group the size that we had today down that road again. It's just a bit to dangerous. We finally hit the left turn and the attacks started. I did my best to hang on, but as usual I was dropped off the back. I kept up a hard effort for me all the way until the end of the attack zone. I'm surprised that my back was feeling as well as it was the entire ride after doing a Cyclo-Zen back routine yesterday. All in all it was a good ride & I was able to finish not that far back from the rest of the group. Today's totals: 66 miles, 3:24:15, average speed 19.62. Tomorrow is an off day for me, then back to the routine on Monday. Stay tuned for more updates.......

Off to a good start

I've started the Cyclo-Core 12 week offseason workout plan this week & it's been interseting to say the least. I've done every workout so far and some are easy while some are challenging. I had to do one legged drills (OLD's) the other day & boy do I need to work on my pedal stroke. I've never done drills like that in all the time I've been cycling & I found out that I have a major dead spot on my pedal stroke. It's going to take time to get used to doing them, but I have every intention to improve my stroke before the racing season starts. Most of the on the bike exercises have dealt with high cadence pedaling & speed. They've been pretty easy to do, but they are a workout. I finally received my copy of Cyclo-Zen & I have to do one of the workouts tomorrow. I'll let anyone who reads this how things go. On Saturday is the next Peach Peloton ride & we're planning on doing 65 miles for that ride. I'm looking foward to it, I've really enjoyed the first two rides. The group that shows up are a great bunch to ride with. That's about all I have for now, stay tuned for more.....

Forgotten Lesson Learned

Today I was reminded of how out of shape my core muscles are. I had to do the bonus ab & core workout today & it was brutal. I had a hard time doing some of the exercises. I did my best, but I know I'll have to get better at them in order to get stronger. The hindu squats of the body resistance workout weren't that bad today, but doing the bicycle kicks after the ab & core workout earlier was very hard. I did the best I could today & have to remind myself that this is only the start of the program & I'll get stronger as long as I stick with the workouts & do them to the best of my abilities. Stay tuned for more............

Cyclo-Core/Zen Workouts Have Begun

Today I offically started the 12 week offseason training program from Cyclo-Core. I was only on the bike for about 30 minutes, and most of the workout consisted of high cadence pedaling. My legs felt good doing it & I'm actually looking foward to the rest of the weeks workouts. The only bad news I had today is that I have gained a bit of weight since last week. I know it's my fault & I'm going to rectify that situation. I'm going to be more diligent on what I eat and make sure I exercise as often as I can. This is the first time I've gained any weight since starting Weight Watchers & I'm hoping it will be the last time. I'm going to get back on schedule for my weight loss and get to what I need to be so I can be competitive next season. Stay tuned for how the Cyclo-Core program works out.

Recovery Ride

Today was a recovery day for me. I rode with my friend Will and we just took it easy the entire ride. It's days like this that I remember why I love riding my bike so much. The weather was great, not much wind at all today. We just cruised along the roads, checking the scenery and enjoyed the fall weather. My legs feel much better after this ride. I'm looking forward to starting my offseason workouts tomorrow, we'll have to see how hard they are & how well they'll work. That's all for now, stayed tuned for more updates......

Peach Peloton Ride #2

Today was the second Peach Peloton ride of the season. This time we started in East Macon & the route was a bit longer and hillier than last week. The weather was great & we all left the starting point for the ride. This route this week was just rollers the entire ride. There wasn't many stretches of flat rode to ride. It was a great route to ride, there were a few big hills to climb, but we all stayed together. The attack zone was interesting this week. We made the turn onto the road that was the attack zone, but no one took off right away. Chad took a flyer on a downhill stretch of road & I was able to hang with the group as we caught him. The road then started going up & Christian went on the attack, I had to let them go or I wasn't going to finish the ride. The plan was to regroup at the railroad tracks at the end of the road then finish the ride as a group. I was able to make it to the tracks & I wasn't the last one this time. We rode the rest of the ride as a group and had a great ride. All in all we did over 57 miles in less than 3 hours. My legs actually don't hurt as bad this time after the ride as they did last week. I have been told that next week, we're doing a metric century (62.5 miles). I'm looking forward to it & seeing if I can survive another attack zone. Until next week's ride, stay tuned......

Cyclo-Core & Cyclo-Zen on the way.

Today I ordered the 12 week off season training package from Cyclo-Core. It consists of the Cyclo-Core program which I used last year & loved. It also contains Cyclo-Zen and a specific training plan to follow. I'm looking forward to using this system during the winter months. If the systems works as wellas Cyclo-Core did last year, I should be ready for just about anything next season. I don't know what to expect with the Cyclo-Zen workouts, but they should be as challenging as the Cyclo-Core workouts are. I hope to receive them by Monday to get started on them. I also went riding with my friend Will. We did the shorter version of the loop we like to do because of the shorted daylight that is left. I kept up a good pace the entire ride. I put in some hard efforts & surprised Will a few times. I pushed the pace on a few of the climbs and he noticed that losing the weight is giving me a bit more pop when I need some. Coming to the end of the ride, he tried getting a jump on me up the last hill, he got a bit of a gap, but I was able to catch him still sitting and climbing. I've never been able to do that before, so the weight loss is helping.

Recovery Ride

Today I did a recovery ride after work. I kept it on the small ring & didn't really push the pace at all. It was a great day to ride and the weather was fantastic. My legs felt pretty good after the ride on Saturday. I'm going to ride as much as I can outdoors this week seeing as the time change just happend & I think this will by my last week to enjoy outdoor riding during the week. I think I'll start the Cyclo-Core workouts next week & enjoy the weather this week. I'm down under 195 lbs as of today, getting lighter slowly, the healthy way. Thanks to everyone who reads this, I appreciate your time.

Peach Peloton has begun

Today was the first Peach Peloton ride for the winter. There was a good group that showed up & was ready to go. Chad gave everyone directions on what was expected of the group, then had one other announcement to make. He told us that the website said there wasn't any attack zones, but he told us that there would be an attack zone. We headed out on the ride, riding 2 abreast at the most. The route we did today consited of rolling hills the entire route. I was able to stay towards the front of the group most of the ride & even took my turns up front pulling the group. The weather was a bit cool at the beginning of the ride, but it warmed up quickly once we got going. We stayed together until we hit the attack zone, then all you know what broke loose. I was doing almost 32 mph & was getting shelled off the back. I did my best to stay in touch with the group, but when you have riders that ride Cat 1/2, Cat 3, & fast Masters class riders, it's not easy staying with them. I know I'll get stronger the more I ride with this group of cyclists. I really had a good time riding with everyone & chatting with them during the ride. I hope that as I lose the weight, I'll get stronger, but we'll just have to see how things go. I'll probably go for a recovery ride tomorrow just so my legs don't get too tight. Stay tuned for more updates.

Getting ready for the weekend

I took yesterday off the bike because my stomach had been bothering me all day. Today I did 30 miles with some hard efforts to get ready for the weekend ride. I did the route I usually do with my friend Will. It's just mainly small rolling hills & things like that. I'm just going to take it easy tomorrow & do a recovery ride to get ready for the first Peach Peloton ride this weekend. I'm looking forward to seeing where I stand compared to the other riders that show up. I'll keep everyone who reads this up to date how I do.

Back on the bike

Today was the first day back on my bike since last week. I was up at Atlanta Motor Speedway with my dad all weekend for the Nascar races. I had a great time with my dad, haven't done anything like that for awhile so it was a great weekend. Today I did my time trial course only with a twist. I did the course in reverse. I think it's harder in reverse than my usual way. The wind was a bit more than the last time I did this route, but I survived it. I was able to manage about a 19.8 average speed for a bit over 20 miles. My legs felt good the entire ride which I was a bit surprised about. I'm going to ride as often as possible this week seeing as the clock moves back an hour this Sunday, so not many more chances to ride outdoors after work. I'm planning on starting the Cyclo-Core workouts next Monday so I think I'll be a bit sore for awhile till I get used to doing them again. Looking forward to this weekend and starting the Peach Peloton rides, going to be one tough workout from what I hear, but it's going to help me get stronger and ready for next season. Thanks for reading.

Recovery & Good News

Yesterday I went for a recovery ride seeing as I was busy all day Sunday. I kept it in the small ring & just enjoyed the scenery. I was worried that I might get caught by the rain seeing as it was overcast all day long. I figured that if I got wet, I got wet. I was lucky & the rain held off for the ride. I did an 18 mile loop in a little over an hour, my legs felt much better after the ride. The good news is that I went to my Weight Watchers meeting and lost another 2.6 lbs for a total weight loss of 16.8 lbs so far. I was so happy to hear the news. I'm on my way to my goal. I have about 5 more pounds to lose to hit my 10% goal. I'll hopefully hit that in the next couple of weeks. Thanks for everyone who reads this, I appreciate it.

Rollin' to Roberta

Today I decided to do the Rollin to Roberta route. I needed the work climbing and wanted to go for a long ride at least one more time since I'll be at Atlanta Motor Speedway with my dad for the race & won't be able to ride next weekend. I checked out the peach peloton blog & got the details for the first ride coming up on Nov. 3rd. I downloaded the map & am going to print it out during the week. The blog said that the route would be 52 miles and the pace would be 18-20 mph. Today I wanted to be on the bike for at least that long at that pace. The hills were hard on the way out due to a head/cross wind. I was able to handle the rolling hills on the route and the big climbs didn't hurt as bad as I thought they might. I managed to do 63.5 miles and was on the bike for 3:17:25. My average speed was 19.30 mph, thanks to the tail wind on the return trip. I'm going to try to ride as much as possible this week to make up for missing the weekend.

A Good Weekend

I had a good week & ended with a good weekend. Yesterday I went for a ride & did 51.4 miles. My legs felt great the entire ride. I started doing the Tuesday ride in reverse & ran into some other people who were out riding. I headed out to Fort Valley & my legs felt good on the way out there. Once I hit Ft. Valley, I headed back home down Highway 96. I had a bit of a tailwind so I kept the pace up as high as felt comfortable. I managed a pace of 19.9 mph for the entire ride. I then went to the fair & had a great time. Today I went for a recovery ride. My legs felt good & I took it easy. I only did a little over 17 miles due to having to head to my Weight Watchers meeting. Today was good news. I've gone under 200 lbs for a total weight loss of 14.2 lbs so far. I'm hoping I can keep up the weight loss & get in shape for next year. I'm looking forward to start the Peach Peloton rides in about 3 weeks. I hear they'll be hard, but I'll do my best to hang with them. I'll keep updating as often as possible. Thanks for everyone who reads this.

Tuesday Group Ride

Today was the usual Tuesday group ride with the Central Georgia Cycling club. Only 3 of us showed up for the ride. We guessed the weather had something to do with the low turnout. The weather looking out towards Byron was looking pretty dark, but we decided to give it a shot anyway. We took off & it was kind of dark, we thought we would be getting wet at any moment. As we climbed the hills on Lakeview it seemed that the wind picked up & shifted direction. We reached the intersection where if you turn left, you follow the A or B routes, if you go straight, you follow the C route. We all agreed to do the C route due to the weather & getting darker and darker. We were fortunate not to feel a drop of rain the entire route. Once we had a tail wind on the way back, we hammered it good. All in all it was a good ride, 33.7 miles, avg speed 19.2 mph.

Nice weather for riding

Yesterday I went for a hard ride before going to my Weight Watchers meeting. I did about 37 miles in less than 2 hours. My legs felt great the entire ride, even on the return trip against the wind. My average speed for the ride was 19.5 mph. The weather was great, I did what I like to call the Perdue/Larry Walker Parkway loop. There aren't a lot of big hills, but there are plenty of rollers. I was able to go hard up the rollers & my legs really felt good. I can tell that losing the weight is the big factor in getting better at climbing right now. Today was a recovery ride. I just took it at a comfortable pace for most of the ride, but put some harder efforts when going up some of the inclines on the route. The weather today was absolutely great. I love riding in this type of weather. I just wish it was like this all the time, but living in Georgia, I know that's not going to happen. I've lost 10.6 lbs total so far in 5 weeks, I'm getting closer & closer to my goal. I'm hoping to be under 200 lbs the next time I weigh in. I'm at 201.8 this week, but we'll have to see how things go during the week. Thanks to all who check this out. I'll keep updating as often as I can.

Just enjoying the ride

The weather here has been great here lately, it has rained a few days, but we need it. I have been able to get outside & enjoy the cooler temps a few days this week. I have really enjoyed just getting out & ride my bike. I haven't been putting any pressure to ride hard or anything like that. It's been fun checking out the scenery as I ride. I'm just trying to keep a level of fitness before the Peach Peloton rides start next month. I'm looking forward to see if I can survive the first month of them & then we'll go from there. The saddle is getting broken in slowly, but it's getting there. My legs have felt good on each ride. I've been losing weight slowly but steadily. I have lost 9.2 lbs so far on Weight Watchers. I'm still on track to reach my goal weight by my birthday. Here's to keeping it up & sticking with things, wish me luck.

Riding in the rain

Today was the usual group ride with the club. Only four of us showed up for the ride. The group consisted of Chip, Tom, John, & myself. We all decided it was going to be a somewhat easy pace for the ride. We headed out on the ride & as we got close to the Haynesville Hill, it started to rain. We decided to climb the hill & see how things got at the top. Once we hit the top, it wasn't that bad yet so we decided to do the short Thursday route. Once we got on Grovania Rd., the rain picked up a bit, but still wasn't that bad. As we got on Payne Rd, we started to see a bit of lightning. After seeing that, Chip & I decided to pick up the pace to get back to the church before it got any worse. We left Tom & John behind & picked things up. I was surprised at how my legs were feeling the entire ride, especially after the effort I put in yesterday. I was able to keep a good steady pace the entire ride & my legs never really felt all that sore. I'm sure I'll feel it here in the next day or two. I actually do enjoy riding in the rain from time to time even if other guys hate it. Today all in all was a good ride & I had lots of fun.

Hammer Time!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today due to time constraints, I deciced it was Hammer Time!!!!!!! I have a route I use every so often to gauge my fitness. It's made up of varied terrain not really flat but with some climbs that will make you work. I did this route on the 16th and averaged 19.2 mph. Today I did the same route & averaged 20.4 mph. I can see what a difference losing the weight has done so far. I'm down to 204 right now, for a total weight loss of 8.4 lbs. My legs felt good today, climbing was better than usual & I was able to climb the hills in a bigger gear than before. It felt great beating my average speed, that's the incentive I need for right now. I'll do this route at least one or two more times as long as there is light enough to do it to see how my fitness is going with the weight loss. Thanks to everyone who reads this. I'll keep updating on the weight loss as it progresses. Stay tuned.......

Nice day for a ride

Today was a beautiful day for a ride. I got home & got ready to head out on the bike. My legs felt good from the start. I just took it easy the first part of the ride, due to the wind, but I was really enjoying being out on the road. The scenery was great & traffic wasn't that bad. I didn't see anyone else riding, but that's their mistake for missing a great day. I did 35 miles today & rode some rolling hills. Losing the weight is helping me climb better and it's getting easier to go uphill, still not my favorite part of riding, but I'll get better if I work at it. I hope to be able to ride most of this week, but it will depend on the weather. I'll try to get better at posting more often. Stay tuned for more.......

I know, I've been very lazy about posting

I know that I've been extremely lazy about posting anything on here lately. I've been busy with other things & the weather here lately has been kind of on the wet side, so I haven't been able to ride as much as I would like to. Well, I've pretty much finished my racing for this year & it's been a big learning experience. I had lots of fun racing, if you call suffering at the back of the pack most of the time fun, but I did learn alot. I have some ideas as to what I need to do this off-season and will do my best to become a better rider. The first thing that I need to accomplish for next year is to lose weight. I have started that by attending Weight Watchers. I started a couple of weeks ago & have already lost 6.6 lbs. I did the short group ride on Thursday & when we started climbing the hill into Haynesville, I noticed a big improvement over the last time I rode that hill. My eating habits and losing the weight have greatly helped my climbing. My goal is to get down to 165 by my birthday on March 5th. I am at 205.8 lbs right now. I figured out that I will have to average a weight loss of 1.7 lbs per week to meet my goal. I also told a friend that when I reach that goal, we are going to climb up Brasstown Bald. I just want to see if I can make it up that climb. I know I can't do it now, but after I lose 40 lbs, I might have a better chance of making it up there. I need to be more consistent in my on the bike training. I need to quit making excuses for not riding when I really should be on the bike. I'm going to continue with the Cyclo-Core workouts & remember to continue doing them during the season, not just do them in the off-season & then quit doing them. I think that was one of my biggest mistakes during the season. I also need to put more time into specific types of workouts, not just going on the group rides & hammering all the time. I need to work on hill climbing, intervals, & sprinting just to name a few things. I have plenty of time to set up a training schedule, so that's the biggest thing for me. They have what they call the Peach Peloton rides here starting in November & I'm going to attend everyone of them. They are for building up base miles. They start out with 2 1/2 - 3 1/2 hour rides each Saturday in November and work up the distance, time, & speed each month after that. I had one guy in our club do them last year & said that it really helped him get better. I hope that I can have the same effect he did & that will be a good start for next year. Right now, I'm just riding my bike for the enjoyment of it & keeping a level of fitness. I forgot how much fun just riding a bike is. I have been enjoying just getting on the bike & seeing the sites around here. That's about all I have for now, I'll keep posting about the weight loss & how things are going so anyone can see.

Got some new toys!!!!!!!

Yesterday I got some new toys for the bike. I got some new wheels for my bike and some new tires. I took them out for a short ride yesterday & they worked great. I was able to cruise much easier than with the old set. Today I went on the group ride, but because it was so hot I just put it in cruise mode today & rode my own pace. The hills didn't seem that bad with the new wheels, they still hurt, but it didn't seem to as much as before. They are also much more quiet than my other wheels. Sometimes I wonder if they are even there when I'm freewheeling, that's how quiet they are. I just need to think about getting a 39 tooth chain ring for next season, I'm using a 42 for my small ring, but it is a bit tough on some of the hills around here. I think that if I lose the weight I need to & get that chain ring, I should have no problems climbing next season. That's about all for now, stay tuned.....

It's HOT out there!!!!!!

Boy, I know it's usually hot during August here in Georgia, but this month has been worse than usual. It's been either close to or over 100 degrees most of this month, that's the temp, not the heat index. When you add in the humidity and the other things to make up the heat index, it's been between 105 up to 120 degrees. I don't know about most of you, but for me that's a bit too hot to be outside riding. I've tried that in the past & ended up very dehydrated and sick. I hated feeling that way so until the temps drop down a bit, I guess I'll just be riding the trainer indoors for the time being during the week & getting outside early on the weekends. I hope the temps will drop down a bit here soon, I hate riding the trainer for more than 90 minutes. I do it during the winter, but that's about the limit when the sun is shining outside. I'll keep you updated on things here, keep checking.......

Good days & bad days

I went riding yesterday & my legs felt good. I didn't think I was pushing it that hard. I did the usual route I do with Will. I kept up a good pace and did a few hard efforts during the ride. I managed to do about 38 miles and average 19.4 mph for the ride. Yesterday was the good day, I paid for yesterday today. I went on the usual group ride and my legs just felt heavy during the warm up part of the ride, that was a sign it wasn't going to be a good day. I hung with everyone on the first climb, but then come the second climb is when I found out that the legs weren't there today. I survived the second climb and up to Bible Camp Rd. Everyone was regrouping at the silo. We were missing Kim so I headed back down Bible Camp Rd to find her. Shane met me part of the way down the road & called Kim, she said she was taking the shorter route so Shane & I did the smaller loop of the Tuesday ride. I was just glad to survivethe ride back home. I learned a good lesson today, it's hard to do two hard days back to back, but I learned I need to recover better than I had been lately. I guess I'll take tomorrow off & try my best on the group ride Thursday.

Weekend Wrap Up

This weekend I went to St. Simons Island with a group from church. It was a choir retreat, but seeing as I'm not in the choir I went as a guest of a friend. It was a bit more humid than I'm used to, but the scenery was beautiful. I cruised around the island on Friday night. It was very nice just to cruise and take in the sights. On Saturday morning I went to breakfast and after that, I went cruising around the island again. I was able to explore more of the island this time & took advantage of it. I cruised down to the beach & around the lighthouse. The water looked very inviting, but I had to take a rain check on swimming. I checked out the other parts of the island I didn't get to see on Friday & then headed back to the hotel to get checked out & do more exploring by car. It started raining while exploring the island and most of the way home, but all in all it was a good weekend.

Final Thoughts on the Tour de France

Well the Tour de France has finally concluded & Alberto Contador of the Discovery Channel team was the overall winner. Cadel Evans was second and Levi finished on the podium in third place. The final few stages gave the breakaway artists their chances for glory. I really loved the final TT. I actually thought Levi just might jump 2 spots and take over the yellow jersey. Levi rode a great TT and made his goals for the Tour. It turns out that Discovery also won the team competion, something they never did during the Lance years. I was very pleased with the way they rode the race. I have the utmost respect for Levi. Once Contador was in the yellow jersey, Levi said he would ride for him & sacrifice his personal goals for the team. That is the mark of a true professional & team member. I'm glad that Levi was still able to podium after taking care of Contador the final few stages. After all the problems during this year's Tour, I have hope that the next one will be clean. It seems that they are getting better at getting the dopers caught and that's a good thing for the sport. The sport is taking a beating right now, but it's what needs to be done to clean things up. Cycling is doing more to catch dopers than any other sport that I know of. I keep getting teased about my sport, but at least they are trying, which is more than I can say for the other major sports in this country. All in all I enjoyed watching the Tour this year and I'm going to keep following my sport, no matter what everyone else says. I think eventually things will clear up & the dopers will be either caught or just quit. They always say you have to hit rock bottom before you'll change. I hope cycling has hit rock bottom & is on the way back up after the black eye they received this year. Here is to the future, & it's looking bright with the new stars.

My Thoughts on the Tour

This year I was really looking forward to the Tour de France. I knew it was going to be wide open this year. It started out great, the prolouge was fantastic and the first week was a sprinter's field day. I felt sorry that Vino crashed so early in the race. It was looking like he was going to be out of things. The Alps stages were great, but I thought Levi was going to do more there than he did. Michael Rassmussen took the yellow jersey on one mountain stage, but there was the first time trial coming up & I thought he would lose it, but he rode the TT of his life so far and was able to keep it. Vino won the TT & it seemed like he was back in the thick of things, then he bombed the next stage and it was stick a fork in him, he's done. Alberto Contador was looking great in the mountains & I thought it was just a matter of time till he's in yellow. The battles in the mountains were some fantastic racing. This year's Tour was really great so far & clean so far. Then the bottom fell out. It turns out that Vino was busted for illegal blood transfusion after the TT. It also came out that his sample after his victory on stage 15 was the same. I thought this year would be different, no doping, but I was proved wrong once again. While I was on my way back from a recovery ride today, I got a call from Will telling me that a buddy of his told him that the leader of the race had been kicked out. He asked me to check when I got home & let him know if his buddy was yanking his chain or not. I got home & got online and found out that Rabobank had removed Rassmussen from the Tour and the team for breaking team rules concerning his missed out of competition tests. It seems that he lied to his team about where he was at during the missed tests. I don't know what to think about pro cycling anymore. I love the sport, but it seems like everytime I turn around, another big named rider is getting busted for some sort of doping. It's getting to seem like cycling is getting worse and worse instead of better, but at least they seem to be doing more to remove the cheats than most other sports. I'll still follow the sport, but for the time being, I'll wonder if the winner is on the juice or not until all the cheats are out of the sport. The Tour is still wide open right now & it seems like it's going to come down to the final TT on Saturday.

Thursday Group Ride and weekend wrap up.

This past Thursday was the usual group ride. Will picked me up and told me what his plan was for the ride. He told me he was going to attack up the Haynesville hill and see if anyone could catch him. I told him I'd try to go with him, but didn't know if the legs were up to it. Well his plan didn't go the way he wanted it to. On the first short climb on 341 Mark Dufus took off, Will countered the attack and slipped in behind him. The rest of the group picked up the pace a bit hoping they would slow down going into Haynesville, but no such luck. They got a gap going up the hill and it was all I could do to keep up a steady pace on the climb. On the way up the climb, Charles passed me on his cyclo-cross bike. I just kept to my own pace. Once we turned onto Grovania Road, it seemed like Will and Mark had slowed up a bit, we caught onto the back of them, but then I started to get cramps and had to slow down a bit in order to feel better. The group of them went ahead and it seemed like Mark & Will picked up the pace again & no one could stay with them. I manged to catch BK, Shane, & Charles before hitting Elko Road. Once on Elko, I could see Mark & Will ahead, but didn't think I could catch them. I just settled into a good cadence & pace for me. They turned on the loop off Elko and I just kept my same pace. I was caught on the loop by BK, Shane, & Charles, but it was ok. We worked together heading back towards Elko. By the time we reached Elko Road again, it was just Shane and myself. We turned on Elko to head back to the start of the ride. I caught a couple of the other riders who didn't do the extra loop and passed them. I was going at a good pace for me & my legs actually felt pretty good. Near the fairgrounds I caught two more of the group. Once into Perry, I saw Mark and Will, Mark ended up going home but I was going to try my best to catch Will. I caught onto his wheel & he started pulling us towards the finish of the ride. I did my best to hang on, but the pace was a bit too high for me. I told Will to go at his own pace and not worry about me. I finished the ride with an average speed of 20.7 mph. It was the fastest I've done this ride this year. It seems that riding with Will is paying off. On Friday I decided to ride home from work as a recovery ride. My legs felt good the first part of the ride home. Once I was near Robins AFB, the route started to go up a bit. My legs felt fine until I hit the small hills just before Sandy Run Road. They hurt a bit more than usual. I headed home and my average speed was still 18 mph. On Saturday, I waited to ride with Will. He had a class but called me about noon to go for a ride. We were both pressed for time so we decided to push the pace a bit. I met him on the road and we started pushing the pace. We did a shorter version of the loop we usually do and it was a good workout. We did 25.5 miles and my average was 19.4 mph. All in all it was a good weekend and my legs feel better now.

Tuesday Group Ride

Today was the usual group ride with the Central Georgia Cyclists. I met everyone at the shop and we headed out. I just started at a comfortable warm-up pace and then I noticed I had a gap on everyone. I just started out towards the hills solo, thinking that I'll get caught on the second hill. I made it up the hill and really didn't look to see if anyone was getting close or not. I was riding my own pace & if I got caught, fine, if not, that was fine too. I went up Bible Camp Road and when I hit the silo, I noticed about 3-4 riders behind me. I just started out on my own, thinking that if they work together I'd be caught soon enough. I got into a nice rhythym and just kept on pedaling. I took the new loop they added on the route & it added another good climb. I got on Maynard's Mill Rd, and found about 3 riders ahead of me, so I figured I'd see if I could catch them. I tried taking the second loop they added to the route, but missed a turn and ended up doing a loop back to 42. I saw the same 3 riders ahead of me, so I put my head down and tried catching them. I caught them in Byron at the stoplight. Once the light turned green and we got going again, I just sat on the back and sucked some wheel. We headed back to The Bike Store and Kelly just asked if she could sit in and just suck my wheel. I told her it was no problem and if I got going too fast to let me know. She was able to hang with me the entire way back to The Bike Store. I never saw anyone else during the ride, so I guess they must have not done the extra loops or were behind me after I left. All in all it was a good hard ride & I'm sure I'll feel it tomorrow. That's all for now.....

Georgia Games Criterium Report

I went up to Marietta for the Georgia Games Criterium. Will was racing the Cat 4 race & I was racing in the Cat 5 race. The entire trip up there was in the rain, it never really stopped at all. We arrived there, the bikes were soaked, but we got our numbers and proceeded to get ready. I pinned my number on my jersey and then set my bike on the trainer to warm up. I was able to warm up for about 20 minutes on the trainer in a dry area, then went out on the course for a couple of warm up laps. It was still raining and by the end of the first warm up lap, I was already soaked. The course was in an industrial park. It was 1.2 miles in length and had some rolling hills. The uphill parts were on the front part of the course and the back part of the course was pretty much downhill. The race was 30 minutes plus 2 laps. The gun went off & we started up the first hill, the pace wasn't that bad, probably due to the wet roads, but I was able to keep my place in the pack. We did the first lap in about 3 minutes. Everyone was very courteous towards everyone else, there was plenty of space to race on as we had the roads pretty much to ourselves. About lap 2 a rider from Reality Bikes took a flyer and gained about 10 seconds on the pack. We let him stay out there for about 2 laps then he was reeled back in. The Land Rover & Reality Bikes teams had the numbers in the pack. I was still in the pack, watching how things were going. My bike computer quit working after the second lap, so I had no idea how fast we were going or what our lap times were. They gave us a count with 3 laps to go & I started trying to move up towards the front. We got the bell for the final lap & coming out of the final turn I was about 4th from the front. I thought I had a good position. The pace was picking up as we got closer towards the finish line, I was holding my own, only dropping back about 2-3 positions. Then suddenly another rider shoved me from my right side. I had to slow down to stay upright and that gave the rest of the field a gap. I tried my best to close it, but I couldn't. I ended up 11th out of 19 riders. The winner was from the Aaron's team. All in all I had a great time, did the best I've done in a crit for a long time. I was able to stay with the pack the entire race. By the time the Cat 4's started, the rain had stopped. They took off & Will was in the group most of the race. All of a sudden, he slowed down & said he had a flat front tire. I ran to my bike & gave him the front wheel from my bike. He used his free lap and rejoined the pack. He said the pace was brutal, they were going uphill @ 27 mph he said. He said he was in a good position coming out of the last turn on the bell lap, but just flat ran out of gas. He ended up finishing 17th, only .4 seconds back from the winner. He said he had a great time & looks forward to the next race just as I do.

Getting ready for the weekend.

Yesterday Will & I went for a ride. We started our usual loop down Lake Joy, but we decided to add the hill going to Haynesville to the route. I met Will at his house then we headed out for the ride. My legs felt good the first part of the ride. I pushed it a bit on the climbs on Lake Joy Rd, but the legs felt good. By the time we hit the Haynesville hill, I had been on the bike for 1 hr. 45 mins and that hill really hurt going up after that much time in the saddle. We hit a store stop in Haynesville, then headed back home. My legs recovered after the store stop and we were able to ride a good pace back towards home. At the end of the ride we ended up doing 52 miles at an average speed of 19 mph. We were averaging almost 20 mph till we hit the headwind on the way home. All in all it was a good ride. Today was a recovery ride. I kept in under 17 on the flats. My legs feel good so far, we'll see what happens the rest of the week. I'll keep everyone posted........

What a storm!!!!!!

It's been too darn long since my last post, but I've been riding as much as I could. I'm getting ready for the Georgia Games crit this coming Sunday. I've been riding with Will and the CGC guys on the group rides. I really enjoy riding with Will, he pushes me harder than I probably would if I was alone. We went out yesterday to do our usual loop. My legs felt good going up the hills on Lake Joy, we took turns in front and kept the pace up pretty good. On the way back home we noticed that the sky was getting darker and darker the closer we got to home. We were hoping we would get back home before we got caught in the rain. Needless to say we didn't get that lucky. Once we hit Piney Grove Baptist Church, the lightning and thunder started. Will & I each headed towards our respective homes, and the closer I got to my house, the worse the weather got. Once I made the left turn on Mt. Zion Rd. I could barely see 10 feet in front of me, due to the amount of rain and my glasses fogging up. By the time I hit Peach Blossom Rd, for the final leg of the ride, I was totally soaked. I could feel my shoes squish water with each downstroke of the pedals. My jersey and shorts were soaked, but it was kind of fun riding in the rain. I finally made it home in one piece and was just wet. I'll file a race report after the race & I'll try to post at least one or more times before then. Stay tuned.......

I've been really lazy here lately.

I know, I know, it's been a few weeks since I posted any thing on here and it's no one's fault but my own. I've been getting back into the training mode here lately & found out I've needed the break that I took inadvertantly. It's been good to get some miles back in & get some intensity again. I went out last weekend with the usual group & went for a long steady ride. I didn't bring enough to eat & paid dearly for it near the end of the ride. It had gotten quite hot out during the ride & between not having enough to eat during the ride & the temp, it really hit me hard. I barely managed to finish the ride. I had a good average speed going until all that happened. My average speed dropped down to 17.6. I went riding with Will the following Monday to do intervals. We did about 11 of them and my legs actually felt pretty good. The weather around here is starting to get a bit crazy, don't know if it's going to rain in the afternoon or be very hot. I took Tuesday & Wednesday off the bike. I went with the group on Thursday's route & my legs felt pretty good. I was able to stay with the front group most of the ride, then about 4 guys got off the front. I tried chasing them down, but the gap stayed the same. I settled into a nice rhythm and just finished the ride. I did 35 miles with an average speed of 20.3 mph. Let's just see how the rest of the weekend goes.......

Not a good week for riding

This week so far hasn't been a great week for me. I have been up in the Chicago area because my grandmother had passed away late last week. I drove up here with my dad on Monday & the memorial service was yesterday. I'm scheduled to fly back home on Friday & hope to be back on the bike this Saturday. Let's just see how the week off the bike has affected me. Stay tuned......

Tour de Cure

I know it's been over a month since my last post & I should be servely beaten with a wet noodle for being so lazy. This past Sunday was the Tour de Cure ride near Atlanta for the American Diabetes Association. The weather was absolutely perfect for the ride. The temperature was a bit cool at the start of the ride, but it warmed up & was very comfortable the entire ride. There really wasn't much wind to speak of & the sun was out the entire ride. The ride started out great, I was with a group of about 10 riders & we had a nice paceline going for about the first 10 miles of the ride, then the route started to get a bit more hilly & then they decided to pick up the pace, not wanting to blow up so early in the ride, I decided to let them go & ride my own pace. I rode with another rider the rest of the ride. We had a great average speed going & it was looking good to break the 3 hour mark for the 100k ride. At a bit after the 2 hour mark into the ride, my back really started to give me problems, I kept having to stretch it out on the bike & make more rest stops to stretch than I really wanted to. I didn't break the 3 hour mark, but I did manage the 100k route in 3:07:08 with an average speed of 19.56 mph. I just have the feeling that if my back didn't hurt, I might have been able to break the 3 hour mark, but there is always next year to look forward to. We'll just have to see how things go.

Recovery Ride

Today was a recovery ride after the group ride yesterday. The weather was great & the wind wasn't much of a problem. I managed to get in 30 miles today at a comfortable pace. I tried to keep my heart rate under 150 as much as possible. It got above that a few times during the ride, but I was able to bring it down under 150 somewhat quickly. Tomorrow is another group ride, so we'll see how things go. I've been doing my Cyclo-Core workouts in the mornings & I've noticed I've lost some of the core fitness I had earlier. Some of the exercises are as hard now as they were when I started the program. Only time will tell if that's what my problem is or it's something else. Stay tuned.....

Back to Basics

The past few weeks, I've been feeling a bit sore on the bike when riding with the club. My back gets sore after about an hour and a half. I'm thinking that it's because I've stopped doing the Cyclo-Core workouts since I've been riding more lately. I decided to start back with the exercises before work. We'll see how things go. I'm thinking my core muscles have gotten weaker by not keeping up with the exercises so I'm going to start getting them back in the shape they were in earlier this year. I have to get ready for Tour de Cure next month. I'm hoping to do the 100k route in under 3 hours ride time this year. Stay tuned for more updates.......

Perry-Roubaix Race Report and Training Rides

Sorry it's been so long since my last post but I've been riding quite a bit lately. The weather here has been fantastic. I had trained as much as possible for the Perry-Roubaix road race, riding the course no less than 3 times before the race. I knew the hills would hurt, but I was going to do the race anyway. On the first lap we had a crash, not on the dirt like I thought, but on the pavement early in the race. I was towards the back of the peloton on the climb when it happened and it seemed to split the peloton up. I was able to gain a few spots on the dirt road before we headed downhill on the back part of the course. I guess I overdid it on the back of the course during the first lap because I paid for it on the second time up the climb. My legs felt a bit heavier, but I did make it up and survived the second lap. I was working with another rider on that lap and we seemed to work good together. Coming up to the final climb I was able to drop my ride partner. I saw 3 other riders ahead and tried my best to catch them. I gained some ground on the dirt road, seeing as they were playing tactical games. Once I turned onto the pavement again, I was about 100 yards behind them, that's when they started working together and pulled away from me. I crossed the finish line 27th out of 35 riders. Most importantly, I didn't crash and wasn't last in the race. The past week has been some good, hard training rides. On Tuesday, we did the CGC ride. We were all together till we turned onto Maynard's Mill Rd. That's when things started to get a bit froggy. Will and Jason took of on a flyer. I was able to and bridge up to them, but as soon as I got on Jason's wheel, Will took off again. I couldn't do anything about it and just rode my pace. We all got back together on 42 for the ride back into Byron. Getting closer to the county line, the pace picked up and I coudn't hang with them, but that's ok. I guess I did too much up front on the ride before then. I'm learning as I go, going to be a process as to when to be up front and when not to be. All in all it was a good ride with some hard efforts. On Thursday, we did the usual CGC ride. We had a nice tail wind on the way out and Eddie was really feeling froggy on the hill going to Haynesville. He went off on his own and I followed BK up the hill. I rode up the hill the fastest I had ever done it. Once we turned onto Ellis Rd, they picked up the pace and I had a hard time staying with them. I remembered that the wind on Elko Rd, was going to be in our face so I decided to stay back and save something for that part of the ride. They slowed up on Elko and we all were together again. I turned on Sewell with Jason and Jessy to do the extra 3 miles. It felt good to ride and my legs were actually feeling good riding against the wind. All in all I did 38 miles that day with a 20.4 mph average. That's all for now, my next race is the Cat 5 crit in Athens, Ga the weekend of the Twilight. That should be fun. Stay tuned......

Catch up time

It's finally time to catch up on here. I've been riding as much as I can lately with the weather being great. On Monday I rode home from work, dropped my work gear off, & went out even more. I ended up doing about 34 miles that day. My legs felt good, didn't push it that much, just rode at a comfortable pace. On Tuesday I rode with my friend Eddie. We did 30.5 miles at an easy pace. It was a great ride. We talked about all sorts of cycling & non-cycling things. It's rides like that I remember why I love riding my bike again. On Thursday I did the group ride with the Central Georgia Cyclists. There were only about 6 of us that showed up. I guess others thought it was going to rain so they decided to pass. Well it was a great ride. I rode from my house to the start of the group ride so my legs were nice & warm by then. I told eveyone that I was going to push it on the ride & if they wanted to ride easy, I was cool going solo. Well that's exactly what happened. I started out at a comfortable pace for me & before you know it, I'm on my own. I decided to push the pace more. The big hill into Haynesville hurt just like always, but I know I'm getting stronger, because I can recover quicker after getting to the top of it. As I made the turn onto Grovania rode, I put it in the big ring & just setteled into a nice cadence. My legs felt really good the rest of the ride. I ended up waiting for everyone back at the start of the ride before having to ride home. I managed to get in 49.5 miles and my average speed was 19.4 mph. I can't complain about that seeing as I was riding solo the entire time. Well that's a good indication that I'm getting stronger & in the next 2 weeks, I'm going to be training for my next race. My next race is April 1st. It's the Perry-Robaix ride just south of here. There is one long climb I'm going to have to get used to doing, so I guess I'll be riding the race route as much as I can for the next couple of weeks. Stay tuned for more.....

Albany Race Report

The race in Albany was fun. This was my first race in quite awhile. The time trial was fun, but it was cold that morning. The temp was only 42 degrees, but it wasn't raining. My start wasn't the greatest, my bike kept skipping the chain, but once I got to the first flat part of the course I was able to upshift & find a comfortable gear. The course was short, but had quite a few turns in it. My time was 4:08 & I was 42 out of 53 riders in my category. Later that afternoon was the criterium. I didn't know what to expect, but was going to give it my best shot. The official told everyone at the start that if you were passed by the motor marshall, you would be pulled, but would be able to race the road race the next day. If you dropped out on your own, then you couldn't race in the road race. The start was very fast & I was doing my best to hang on. I completed two laps but on the third one I began to fall back with 3 other riders. On the back side of the course we were passed by the motor marshall & our day was done. I cruised back to the start/finish & then had something to eat afer cleaning up a bit. On Sunday morning was the road race. My category was racing for about 32 miles. The wind was a bear from the get go. The start was kind of a pain. One team had a ride go off the front early & they rode across the road blocking for him. The group was having a hard time keeping a steady pace due to the group up front. It was constantly speeding up & then slowing down. Quite a few of the other riders were beginning to get upset. The official finally told the riders up front to quit it & then the pace really picked up. I stayed with the pack as long as I could, but the pace was too high for me. I had to let them go in order to finish the race. I struggled with the wind riding solo, but I was able to pass at least 2-3 other riders. I finished the road race in 75th place. Overall for the stage race weekend I finished 60th out of 103 riders. I'm happy with what happened. I had fun, didn't crash, & didn't finish last in each event. I can only improve from here. I'm looking forward to my next race, so I'll be training harder & smarter know what to expect from now on.

One last hard effort

Today was an absolutely beautiful day. I went for one last hard effort before the race in Albnay this weekend. I did the Tuesday route that that club does once we start the weekday rides. I really pushed it today to simulate a race pace. It was one hard effort, but it should be worth it. My legs felt good the entire ride & my average speed was over 20 mph for 40 miles. I'm hoping I will be competitive this weekend, but we'll just have to wait & see. I'll post my report after the weekend. Stay tuned......

Beautiful day for a ride

Today was a beautiful day to ride. I went with Will & we pushed it pretty good. It's nice riding with someone stronger than me to push me to get better. My legs felt great today & Will noticed it. I did some good long pulls & we switched off pulling. He told me I should be ready for the Cat 5 race in Albany this weekend. I haven't done a criterium in quite awhile so I don't know what to expect. I'm going to give it my best this coming weekend & let the chips fall where they may.

Felt good to ride

This hasn't been the best of weeks for me to ride. I've been feeling under the weather most of the week. Last night I was very tired & just relaxed in my bed after coming home from work. Today I was able to get back on the bike & ride. It felt great!!!!!! I did an easy ride & rode at a comfortable pace. Tomorrow the Ambercrombie & Fitch pro cycling team is inviting people to ride with them. They are doing a loop that lasts about 2 hours & they are doing that loop 3 times. I haven't decided if or when I'm going to go, but it sounds like it could be a blast. I think it would be a good training ride to get ready for next week in Albany. Stay tuned to see what I decide......

Back to training

Well today it's back to training. I rode with Will today & my legs felt heavy. I guess it's due to not riding at all yesterday & having to do an acceptance inspection at work. I'm sure climbing the ladders & all over the aircraft didn't help things either today. I'm probably going to take it easy tomorrow, but we'll just have to see. Will is a strong rider & I'll either get stronger riding with him or I'll get hurt in one way or another. LOL I'm looking forward to the race in a couple of weeks. We'll just have to see how things go & do the best that I can. Stay tuned.......

Tundra Time Trial Report

Today was the Tundra Time Trial in Hiram, Ga. Boy was it freaking COLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I heard that at the start of the event it was only 25 dergees outside. I was totally amazed by the number of cyclists that showed up for the event though. I thought that the cold weather would keep people away, but I was sadly mistaken. The weather really didn't help me today. I usually don't mind riding in cold weather, but I could never seem to get my legs comfortable the entire ride. Maybe it was just because of the cold weather, but I really don't have an idea. I was hoping to do it in under 28 minutes, but fell just a bit short of that. I managed to complete the 9.4 miles in 28:08. I had forgot how hard a time trial really is, but I've got one event under my belt so far this year. My only real goal for this event was not to finish last in my category. I can safely say I wasn't the last one, but I was about 6 minutes behind the winner in my category. I have some work to do on my time trialing & will try to get better as the year goes on. Well, the season is off to a start & we'll see how things go from here.

Getting Ready for the Tundra TT

All this week I've been getting ready for the Tundra Time Trial on Saturday. I just wish the weather had co-operated a bit more so I could have ridden a bit more, but I'll just have to deal with it. I rode home from work on Monday then went riding with Rob. He was feeling a bit froggy so I let him stay up front for as long as he watned, then took over. I gave it one really hard effort before the weekend & my legs felt great doing it. I somehow left Rob quite a bit behind me when I went to the front. I gradually picked up the pace & didn't really look back until I was doing about 24 mph before I noticed that he wasn't behind me. I slowed down & let him catch up then we continued the ride at a pretty good pace. Tuesday & Wednesday really didn't lend to getting much riding done outdoors. I should have ridden the trainer easily, but really don't care for doing it. Today I went & did 17 miles at an easy pace. I'm heading to my parents house tomorrow & might do an easy trainer ride before the TT on Saturday. The forcast is supposed to be cold. I'll just have to deal with it & I'm going to give it my best shot during the TT. Stay tuned for the race report........

I've gone & done it!!!!!!!

I went & done it the other night!!!! I got my USCF racing license for this year. Yep, that's right, I'm going to race the bike this year! I hope I can be competitive & not get spit out the back at every race, but we'll just have to see how things go. I have my first competition on Feb. 17th. I'm going to do the Tundra Time Trial in Hiram. Hopefully 2 weeks later, I'm going to Albany for the first race of the Maxxis Georiga Cup series. Yesterday we went on a group ride & headed out towards Haynesville. Once we hit the big climb I shifted into a lower gear, but it keep slipping & upshifting on it's own. I couldn't find a good climbing rhythym the entire ride. We cut the ride a bit shorter than usual, but some of us took a side trip down Gilbert Rd. It's a nice little loop that has some climbing. Some of the guys got a bit froggy so I tagged along, then the next thing I know Shane tells me we broke them. We slowed up a bit & they caught on, then Shane took off on a flyer. I tried to catch him with a new guy Will on my tail, but all we could do was to keep the gap the same. Will told me when we got to the stop sign that he was just able to hang on to my wheel & was sorry he couldn't help out any. It was ok, we didn't go as far as we may have wanted, but we made up for the lack of milage with some intensity. All in all it was a good ride. I have the bike fixed now (hopefully), but won't really know till I go climb some hills. I'm planning on one more hard effort this week, then just doing some spinning until this weekend. Stay tuned for race reports........

Catch up time!!!!!

I'm sorry I haven't been posting lately, but other things have had to have my attention. Last week wasn't a great week to ride. The weather really wasn't great for riding. I did manage to ride the trainer earlier in the week & my legs felt pretty good. I did manage to get 50 miles on Sunday, but it was a workout. Earlier this week I bought some new toys for the bike. I bought some new components & had them installed. I tried them out yesterday, but when I shifted onto the big ring, I heard something rubbing. Rob was riding with me, but neither of us could find out what was causing the problem. I took the bike to the shop & they found out that the front derialleur cable was causing the problem. They fixed that quickly & I finished my ride home. I did try the big ring & the legs didn't feel that bad using it. I really haven't used it much this year due to my old shifter not working properly. I'll have to push the bigger gears here in the next week because I have a time trial to compete in on Feb. 17th in Hiram, Ga. Then two weeks after that is the first race of the Maxxis Georgia Cup series in Albany. I guess I'll have to start getting serious now about training. That's about all for now, stay tuned.........

Good Long Ride!!!!!!

Yesterday we did the Rolling to Roberta ride as a group. I hadn't done that route for some time, so I forgot what it was like. We started out from The Bike Store, then headed out to Bryon. Once we got out of Bryon we started to hit the hills on the route. They were good climbs & I was able to keep a steady pace up the early ones. Once we hit 42, it was nothing but rollers. We tried to keep the group together as best as we could, but once the rollers got a bit harder, people dropped off the back. Shane, one other rider, & I were up front doing a good pace up the hills. Some of the hills were a bit difficult. The hardest hill was up Fire Tower Hill. I had to drop a couple of gears to get up it & my pace slowed to single digits. The only other time I climbed up that hill I had to walk up the last part of it, so I'm happy that I was able to climb the whole hill & still had one lower gear if I needed it. The trip back was much easier. I really didn't push it that hard on the way back, but still had a good gap over everyone else. I coasted most of the way, saving my legs for a bit later. Once we hit 42 & Maynard's Mill Rd, Shane & I turned & headed to get some extra miles in. The rest of the group headed back to The Bike Store. Shane & I rode to Ft. Valley, then took 341 to Perry, along the way his left knee began to bother him & we ended up cutting the ride shorter than he wanted to. I was fine with that & we ended up doing 72.5 miles & bumped our average speed for the enitre ride up from when we were riding with the group. My legs & knees were a bit sore, still trying to find the right saddle position, so it's a work in progress. They are feeling a bit better, so I think I'm getting closer to the right position. I'll probably either ride the trainer later today due to the high wind or I'll just take the day off & plan on riding tomorrow. We'll just have to see how things go. Stay tuned.........

Easy day

Today I made sure I took it easy. I rode with Rob on an easy loop where we had a slight headwind on the way out & a tailwind on the way back. It was a nice ride, the weather was great & I kept the pace low & wasn't even tempted to push it. I have a nice ride scheduled for tomorrow so I hope I'm ready for it. Only time will tell.......

Kind of a lazy week so far

I have to admit that I've been kind of lazy this week. I'm sure it has something to do with the temps being a bit colder this week so far. I rode the trainer on Monday but only for 30 minutes seeing as I had other obligations. When I can't get out to ride I have a tendency to skip some of my Cyclo-Core workouts. I know it's a lame excuse, but that's the truth. Today was the first day this week it's been above 50 degrees, so I went riding with Rob. We did a short route due to the time frame, but the wind was a bear. It really made a workout on the return trip home. My legs actually felt pretty good today, but I really didn't push it that much. I'm hoping tomorrow will be nice too, but I'm planning on taking it easy & saving it for Saturday. We're planning metric century that day & I really want to be ready for it. I have to start riding the big ring here seeing as the first competition I want to do is only 3 weeks away, so I guess it's time to start hammering on some of the rides to get used to it. Stay tuned for more.........

Over did it one day, & paid for it the next.

I just have to remind myself that no matter how good my legs feel on Friday, that I should take it easy to be ready for Saturday's long ride. I really pushed it on Friday on the way home from work & riding with Rob & I certainly felt it on Saturday. We started from the Perry Welcome Center & headed out towards Haynesville as we have the past few weekends. My legs were feeling good at that time & we had a bit of a tailwind. It was a bit on the cold side, but we were outside & not riding on trainers. I really felt good going up the climb into Haynesville. I was able to keep a steady cadence & speed up the entire climb. We then took Pitts road to SR 26, there were more climbs up that road, but I still wasn't feeling too bad. Rob & I decided to get more miles in heading down SR 26 to US 41 while the rest of the group took Elko Rd back to Perry. I forgot that the rest of the way down SR 26 was rollers & that's when I started to feel it in my legs. We then turned down US 41 & had a headwind the entire way. With the headwind & the rollers on 41, my legs really started to get tired & sore. Rob & I managed to get back to Perry not too long after the rest of the group arrived. I was hoping to ride longer than I did, but I guess I learned that I'll have to force myself to take it easy on Friday so I can ride longer on Saturday. I'm planning on taking today off to watch football & let the legs recover. The weather forcast for this week isn't looking great for riding outdoors, so I guess it's trainer time for a bit. I'll manage it & look forward to getting outdoors again soon. Stay tuned for more........

Got outside today.

Today was a good day!!!!!!!!!! I managed to get out & ride today. The weather finally co-operated enough to let me out. I rode home from work then rode with Rob. We had to push it a bit, in order to get back before it got too dark, but it was worth it. My legs felt great the entire ride. I'm just hoping I didn't over do it for tomorrow. The weather looks good for tomorrow, but we'll just have to see. Stay tuned.......

Weekend was good, but this week is the pits so far!!!!!!!!

This past weekend was a good one. I managed to get in 59 miles on Saturday. I rode to the Perry Welcome Center to see who would show up & there were 3 other people there. Two of them were new to me so I introduced myself & let them know about the club a bit. It was mainly an easy ride until we hit the split for the Thursday ride. Two of the guys wanted to take the shorter route due to time obligations. The other rider decided to stick with me, so we went the longer route & picked up the pace a bit. We tried catching the two guys doing the short route, but were just a bit too slow. They must have not been back long when we arrived. The rider that rode with me then decided to ride home with me & found out he's not too far from where I live.
On Sunday I went riding with Rob from the Saturday ride & his wife Amanda. We rode at her pace, which was very easy for me. I forgot how much fun just riding is. Sometimes I get all caught up in average speed & things like that I forget why I love to ride so much. It takes days like this to remind me.
This week has been the pits for riding outdoors. We've had a cold front move in & the temps are in the 40's for the highs & the wind has been a bear. I have resisted using the trainer, hoping it would get better, but it doesn't look like it will until the weekend. I'm riding the trainer tonight then doing my Cyclo-Core workout. I'm sure I'll be a bit sore by Friday, but that's what it's going to take to improve. I hope the weekend is a bit warmer so I can ride outdoors, but we'll just have to see........

Good Month So Far

This month has gotten off to a great start. The weather has been fantastic even for this time of year in the South. I didn't get to ride as far as I wanted to on Saturday, but still managed to get in 38.5 miles & rode again on Sunday though I thought I would get soaked with it being overcast all ride long. I managed to stay dry & enjoyed a 31.1 mile ride with an average speed of 19 mph. I had to work a bit late yesterday, so couldn't ride outdoors & really didn't feel like riding the trainer. I did manage my Cyclo-Core workout in the evening. Today I was able to get in 21.4 miles. The wind was a bear, but I still had a respectable average speed considering most of the ride was with either a headwind or crosswind. I'm hoping the weather stays clear the rest of the week till the weekend to get some good rides in, but we'll just have to see what Mother Nature has in store for me. Until next time...........

Easy day today

Today was an easy spin ride to recover from the ride & workout yesterday. I just rode an easy route, mainly flat with one to two climbs, but nothing big. My legs felt stiff at the start of the ride, but felt better as I rode. I kept noticing the speed creeping up & had to conciously slow it down so as not to overdo it today. It's supposed to rain tomorrow, so if I ride, it looks like it will be on the trainer before doing the Cyclo-Core workout. You should really check out the program, it's been great for me so far. Check it out http://www.cyclo-core.com .

Good Week So Far

This week has been off to a good start, with the exception of the flat tire yesterday. I managed to get in 21 miles today & the legs felt great the entire ride. I wish I could have ridden farther, but the clouds moved in & that kind of made it a bit on the dark side sooner than I would have liked. I'm hoping it will clear up this weekend because it looks like it's going to rain tomorrow & Friday. If the weather is nice on Saturday, I'm planning on riding at least 3 1/2 hours if not more. I started combining the body resistance workouts of Cyclo-Core this week & doing that 3 times a week. I plan on doing the weighted resistance workouts the other 3 days of the week I used to do the body resistance workouts. We'll just have to see how things go. Stay tuned.....

Happy New Year!!!!!!!!

Yesterday was a great way to start the year. I went on the New Years ride with the club. We had quite a good turnout seeing as we weren't sure the ride was going to go on. It was raining early in the morning, but about 45 minutes before the scheduled start, the sun came out. I headed to the start & there was a good crowd to head on out for the ride. We did the route they usually do on Sunday mornings. It was a nice social ride with a few opportunities for some harder efforts. I ended up doing about 60 miles for the day. I went for a short ride today, but not by choice. I was heading out when I had a flat & had to turn around and head back home. I fixed the flat & cleaned the bike up seeing as it was a bit dirty from riding yesterday. All in all a good start to the new year.