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.