Wrap up from last week

Sorry it's been so long since my last post, but life has been keeping me busy. I was pretty busy with my training all last week. On Tuesday, I was doing intervals, the usual 5 minutes on, 5 minutes off, but Mike threw a twist in it. In in the final minute of the on section, I was to increase the pace & then let it all hang out during the final 30 seconds. I was to do this 6 times. The first time it really hurt, but I survived. I thought I had picked a route that would give me at tailwind for most of the workout, but the wind shifted & I ended up doing all 6 sets with somewhat of a headwind. My legs were quite tired when I got home. On Wednesday it was an easy tempo ride. My legs needed it. On Thursday, I rode with the bike club in Warner Robins. I just sat on till we hit the big climb. I just kept a steady rhythym & actually rode everyone in the group off my wheel. I never dropped below 17 mph for the climb. I've never climbed that hill that fast before. We regrouped at the church then headed out. I was in the lead & got a gap & kept my cadence steady. The group was behind me, when I acutally got stopped by a train. That's the first time in 6 years doing that route that has happened. Needless to say, they caught up to me. Once the train passed we started again. I just stayed with the group till we hit the horseshoe part of the route. For some reason the group slowed up & I just kept on going. I just put it in cruise mode & kept a steady pace. I was getting near Elko Rd, when I noticed that they were getting a bit closer. I decided that if they were going to catch me, they were going to have to work for it. I kicked it up a notch & put it in time trial mode. I was able to stay away & was pleased with my effort. On Saturday it was the Peach Blossom ride in Byron. Some of the Securtiy Bank riders showed up & I knew that they were going to hammer the ride. I stayed with them as long as I could & we ended up doing over 21 miles in the first hour of the ride. They decided to pick it up a bit more, but I thought better of trying to stay with them & keep my own pace. The ride was fun, I rode with another group of riders for a bit, then went off on my own up one of the climbs. I finished the ride by myself & I was feeling the effort about the last 3-4 miles. I ended up doing 66 miles with an average speed of 20.3 mph. The hard work is paying off & I can tell I'm stronger than last year. I'm planning on doing a group ride with the guys from Epic this Wednesday, that should give me a good indication of how fit I am right now. I'm looking forward to a hard, but fun ride. I'll let eveyone know how it goes.

Catch up time

This weekend, I went to the Perry Welcome Center to see who was going to show up for a group ride. Chip was there when I arrived, then John, & Tom arrived. We were getting ready to leave when Shane showed up. I told everyone else I'd wait for Shane & catch up to them. Shane was saying he wanted to do 130 miles to get ready for the Bike Ride Across Florida. I told him I couldn't go that far, but I'd ride with him until we got to a point where he wanted to go farther. We left & proceeded to try to catch the other guys. We ended up catching them on Hayneville Hill, once we got to the top, the other guys changed the route we were going to ride. They didn't want to ride down Pitts Rd, because of the hills. I told them, that was fine with me & I would catch up to Shane & wait for them at the turn they said. I then put it in the big ring & caught up to Shane & rode a bit further with him. He was headed to Hawkinsville, but we were headed to Unadilla. I got to the intersection & waited for the others to arrive. We headed down Klondike towards Pitts Rd, I had gotten a gap from the others, so when I got to the intersection, I had to wait for the others. Chip & I decided to ride our pace & we waited for the others once we got to Unadilla. After leaving the store, Chip & I headed out on our own. Once we hit Elko Rd, we put it in the big ring & started hammering it. I pulled most of the way, my legs were feeling good. Once we hit the final climb, I kept a steady pace, but seemed that it was a bit much for Chip. He dropped back, but I thought he would catch up at the top of the climb. Once I saw that he wasn't catching up, I put it in the big ring & hammered down the last downhill. I figured that if he was going to catch me, I would at least make him work for it. I hit the intersection at the parkway extension & saw that Chip was a bit behind me, I waited for him & he asked me what I've been doing to get better. I told him that it was due to doing the Peach Peloton rides, & other workouts I had been doing over the winter. I also told him that losing about 20 lbs. didn't hurt eaither. Today was hill repeats. The wind outside was brutal, it was out of the NW @ 16 mph with gusts. I drove to the Perry Welcome Center to ride out the Perry Parkway to use Hayneville Hill for my workout. I wanted to keep a consistent pace up the hill on each climb. I am happy to say that I succeeded in doing that. I kept it between 14.5 -16 mph each time up the hill. I did 4 climbs & thought about doing one more before common sense kicked in & told me that I had a headwind to ride into in order to get back to my car. The wind was a pain, but I suffered & managed to get back to the car. All in all a good workout, my climbing seems to be getting better. Stay tuned for more.....

Perry-Roubaix Race Report

Well, the first mass start races for this season are in the books. On Saturday was the circuit race. It was a short course with a couple of small climbs. The class I was in was scheduled for 15 laps of the course, which they said would be 21 miles. The pace was fast from the beginning. The pack was staying together & the pace was comfortable for me. A couple of times other riders tried getting away, but the pack chased down each & every attempt. I even tried my hand at getting away with another rider. One of the Aaron riders said he was going to try a break on the back side of the course & wanted to know if anyone would go with him. I said I would give it a go & one other rider said the same. He went up the right side of the pack with both of us in tow, but we really didn't get much of a gap before we were caught. The pace was high enough not to allow anyone much of a gap. We stayed together until the last turn, I was in a good position for a top ten finish, but coming out of the final corner, I was cut off & had to let up a bit & finished 13th out of 31 riders. I was quite pleased with being able to stay with the pack the entire race. The workouts Mike has me doing are helping for sure. On Sunday was the road race. I know the course well, but it's not really my forte. There is just too much climbing on it. The first climb up Elko Rd was a bit fast for me but I managed to catch the pack on Gilbert, just as I got back on, someone up front must have attacked, because the pack picked up the pace. My legs started to cramp up & I knew that if I tried to catch the break, I'd never finish. I just settled into a fast pace that was comfortable for me to finish the race. The dirt section of the course was packed pretty good, so I was able to keep a good pace on it. Each time up Elko Rd hurt a bit more than before. I was able to catch up to a couple of other riders from my class & we rode together for the rest of the second lap. On the third lap, I thought I wasn't going to be able to get up the climbs, but I just dug deep & gave it my best, knowing I could recover a bit on the back side of the course. I rode with another rider who came up from Florida for the race & we worked well together. We both decided that we were going to finish the race, no matter what. On the finaly lap, he got a gap on me going up Elko, but I just kept a steady pace for me. I even managed to pass another rider from the other Competitive class. I kept up a steady pace on the dirt & gave it all I had on the back part of the course. I managed to finish 29th & made the finish list. I'm just happy that I finished 4 laps of that course. All in all it was a fun weekend of racing & now it's time to get ready for my next races. Stay tuned for more.....

Getting ready for Perry-Roubaix

I've been getting ready for the races this weekend in Perry. I did my intervals on Monday & it was hard as usual. On Tuesday I did the Ride to the Capitol & we put a hard effort on the way back. On Wednesday I was just cruising & ran into my friend Rob, who is back from being deployed. We just cruised around & caught up on things. Today was mock sprints. I did my 12 sets of them & then met some other cycling friends of mine & just rode easy with them. I'm looking foward to this weekend of racing. I'm going out there & giving it all I have. I'm borrowing a set of Kyrsium SL wheels for the races from my friend Will. I used these wheels on my ride today. I might not want to return them. This is one nice set of wheels. I'm probably going to take tomorrow off & have the bike checked out by Charles just to make sure things are working great for this weekend. Stay tuned for race reports this weekend........

Ride to the Capitol

Today was the Ride to the Capitol to let legislators know that cycling is an alternative mode of trasnportation worthy of more funding. We all met at Epic Bikes in McDonough. There were about 30 of us doing the ride. We left the shop with a police escort. We had one patrol car in the lead, one following, & 2 motorcycle officers blocking the intersections for us. We had one lane of Jonesboro Rd all to ourselves. That was probably the coolest thing I've ever had done for me while riding my bike. I know what the pros feel like when they get it done for them. We met the McDonough mayor at city hall & he rode with us for about a mile. He then got into a vehicle & rode in it until we arrived at the Marta station. The route was nothing but rollers with a few good climbs. We pretty much rode together the way to the capitol. We had one rider who kept getting flats till he changed wheels. The only other incident we had was one rider was trying to help another up the hill & lost his balance & fell. Everything turned out alright & we made it to the capitol, hooking up with another group from different parts of the city. We listened to the speakers, ate lunch & then got ready to head back. We started back towards the Marta station, & Mike was feeling really froggy. It was a sprint fest between each set of stoplights. My legs were hurting seeing as they weren't warmed up that much at the time. We were doing about 27 mph trying to catch up to him. We got to the station & decided what the plan going back would be. It was if you couldn't hang with the fast group, the truck was there to pick you up if needed. We headed out back to the shop & the pace was much faster than on the way there. I tried keeping up with Mike & was doing good until he decided to let the group go by & catch up from behind. I caught the back of the group, but by then Mike was off the front with another rider. We all grouped together & tried to catch him, with not much luck. We just settled into a good rhythym & rode on our own. We made it back to the shop & we really had a good ride. It was a good time & great company.

Perry-Roubaix recon ride

Yesterday I went & rode the road race route & circuit race route for the Perry-Roubaix races this coming weekend. I rode with Eddie & several of the guys from the Security Bank cycling team from Macon. We did 2 laps of the road race course & I did one lap of the circuit race route. My legs were a bit sore the first time up Elko Rd, due to not being properly warmed up. We found out that Firetower Rd is packed down good as of right now. I'm hoping it stays that way all week. You can ride pretty much anywhere on the dirt as of now. I felt better going up Elko Rd on the second lap, & the Security Bank guys were kind enough to wait for me. I told them that they should go & do what they needed to do & I'd be fine. I was going to check out the circuit race route while they went & checked out the time trial route. The circuit race course is different from last year. The only problem I noticed was the turn from the parkway back onto Limerock Rd. There is an island & the turn seems pretty tight to me. We'll just have to see how things go on race day. Today I did my interval workout. Mike had me do the last 2 intervals in a 53 x 12 & boy was that a workout. Legs actually felt pretty good during the ride though. Tomorrow is the Ride to the Capitol. I'm looking foward to this. There should be lots of cyclists to show the politicians that cycling is a great alternative means of transportation & more money should be spent on bike lanes & things to make cities more bicycle friendly. I'll have a report about it either tomorrow or Wednesday at the latest. I'm also scheduled for a power threshold test before the ride. Tim said that would be a good warm-up before the ride. I don't know what to expect, so I really won't be surprised or dissapointed. It's going to be a starting point & we'll see how the season goes & if I get stronger as it goes on. Stay tuned for more.....

Great day for a ride.

Today was a beautifulday for a ride. It was about 70 degrees with not much wind. I was scheduled to do mock sprints today. I did 12 sets of them & my legs were a bit sore, this is only the second time I've done this workout. After doing the mock sprints, I decided to go for a longer ride. I was doing the loop I've ridden with my friend Eddie, & the wind was not much of a factor. I hit the Larry Walker Parkway & put it in the big ring. My legs were a bit sore at the start of this, but after a few minutes, they felt great. I kept it in the big ring the entire parkway, even going up the climbs. My legs were feeling good & I kept it in the big ring the rest of the way home. I rode through Perry & then hit Lake Joy Rd. I just kept a steady pace down the entire road. I ended up doing 35.5 miles with an average speed of 20.1 mph. I'm planning on pre riding the race courses for Perry this weekend, the weather doesn't look all that great, but I should be out there. I'll let everyone know what happened.

Two weeks to Perry-Roubaix

In about 2 weeks my first race weekend will be here. It's just south of me & I know the course quite well. I've ridden it several times over the years. I'm in the preperation mode & getting ready to do some climbing practice to get ready for it. I raced this course last year, but the category I was in only did 3 laps. This year we are doing 4 laps for a total of 50 miles. I'm planning on doing the race distance on Saturday. The past several days, I've been doing workouts that Mike from Epic Bikes has told me to do. Mostly it's been designed to build up my speed. I've done several workouts that involve some type of intervals. This is the workouts I did last week & will be doing. On Monday it was intervals, 5 minutes hard, 5 minutes easy. I did 5 sets of that. On Tuedsay it's a pyramid workout, 1 minute hard, 1 minute easy, 2 mins hard, 2 easy & so on until you get to 5 minutes, then work your way back down to 1 minute. On Wednesday, it's an easy ride, keeping it in the small ring. Thursday is an off day & Friday is mock sprints. You ride in the drops & raise your butt out of the saddle for 15 seconds, do this 12 times. Last week I was quite sore from the workouts, but this week I'm feeling a bit better now. I'm looking forward to the races in two weeks. I hope I do well.

Time to catch things up.

On Saturday, I went riding with Mike & the guys from Epic bikes. The weather wasn't the greatest, but it wasn't raining & it was starting to clear up a bit by the time we left. The roads were still wet, but that was ok. We had 4 of us riding total. We did the Jordan Hill loop. I really like riding that loop, it's mainly rolling hills, but the last part of the ride is really the fun part. We rode like Mike usually has the group doing, going hard on certain sections of the ride, then taking it a bit on the easy side when someone starts to drop back. We hit Jordan Hill & I was in a 53 x 17 hoping to get up the hill without shifting, that was not to be, I made it up about 2/3's of the way before having to downshift to a 53 x 19. We regrouped after that & cruised through Hampton. Once we hit Mt. Carmel, it was the fun part of the ride. Mike let me lead & I started pushing it. I kept the speed between 24-26 mph, then my legs started to cramp up. I just kept going a bit farther. My legs started to cramp up even more by now. Mike noticed that I was slowing down & passed me, encouraging me to get on his wheel. I somehow was able to catch up & he was pulling me at 28+ mph. After the ride was over, I cleaned up my bike a bit & got ready for the fitting I had scheduled. Mike told me he had been watching me while we were riding & already had some ideas on what needed to be changed on my bike. He told me he was going to shorten my stem because I was too stretched out & he raised my saddle a bit. He told me that should help me with getting more power to the pedals & should help my climbing. On Sunday I put the new position to the test. I rode with the group leaving from The Bike Store. The new position felt comfortable & during the ride, I noticed that it did help with my climbing. I actually tried chasing Charles on one of the climbs & seemed to be closing in a bit. Later in the ride, a few of the guys tried attacking & I was able to catch up to them & hang in there contesting the sprint. I haven't been able to do that before. On Monday after work I went & did intervals. I did 5 minutes as hard as I could go & then 5 minutes easy. I finished 5 sets of intervals after a 15 minute warm up. My legs were a bit sore to say the least. Today it was raining so I was on the trainer doing a pyramid workout. It was one tough workout & I know I'm going to feel it tomorrow. Mike says that tomorrow is going to be a steady tempo ride on the small ring to workout the soreness from the past two workouts. I'm looking foward to taking it a bit easier on the bike. I'm getting ready for the race weekend it Perry. I'll get several chances to pre-ride the course during the next couple of weeks. Stay tuned for more.....

Good ride today

Today was a good day for a ride. I've started commuting to work by bike this week. If anyone is interested in that adventure, you can check out my new blog at http://commutingbybike.blogspot.com
After the commute home today, I switched bikes & got on the road bike. It certainly felt a bit different on the road bike after riding the commuter bike the past two days. I headed out & just went for a loop I usually do with Will. I headed out on Lake Joy & my legs felt good even doing the climbs. I then had a tailwind & put it on the big ring & started pushing it. My legs started to feel a bit sore, but I just pushed through it for a bit longer. I hit Houston Lake Rd. & then decided to take it a bit easier until I got home. All in all it felt great to be back on the road bike, & looking forward to the weekend.

Nice day for a ride.

Today I went for a ride to work out the kinks that were in my legs since finishing the Tundra Time Trial. I rode the loop I've done with Eddie, only in reverse to take advantage of the wind on the last half of the ride. My legs felt heavy the first part of the ride. I kept it on the small ring until I hit the Perry Parkway. I had the wind at my back & put it on the big ring. My legs felt much better by then, so I decided to pick up the pace a bit & take advantage of the tail wind. I just kept up a good cadence & kep on pedaling. I hit 341 & had a head/cross wind the rest of the ride. I still was able to keep it on the big ring & really didn't slow down that much. All in all, it was a good ride & my legs feel much better now than they did yesterday.

Tundra Time Trial Report

Today was the Tundra Time Trial in Hiram, Ga. It's on the Silver Comet Trail. They claim it's flat, but I'll tell you that they lie!!!! It's not flat at all, there are gradual inclines & descents the entire trail. The start was at the trail head in Hiram, then it was out about 4.75 miles, turn around and come back. I made sure I arrived early enough to get a good parking space & made sure I warmed up well before my start time. Well I warmed up & got ready to head to the start ramp when they got close to calling my number. I rolled up on the ramp & got ready to go. I got the start & headed out. The trip out is mostly uphill with a few sections that go downhill. I was using a set of Mavic Kyrsium wheels I borrowed from Will. I really like these wheels. I was going well until I hit a bump at the beginning of a bridge crossing. Once I hit that, the speed magnet on the wheel slid & I was without any kind of info concerning time, distance, & most importantly speed. The only info I had was my heart rate. I just concentrated on getting to the turn around point. It was a very tight turn, really had to slow down to make it, then it was back up out of the saddle gaining speed. I hammered it on the way back, my legs felt good the entire ride. I managed to beat my time from last year by over 2 minutes. I finished in 26:01. All in all a good time & a good race. Nice way to start the racing season.

Update from the weekend.

This past Saturday I went riding with my new club. I joined the Southern Crescent Cycling Club in McDonough & this past Saturday was my first group ride. I met the ride leader at Epic Bikes about 6:30 am seeing as the ride was scheduled to start at 7. His name was Mike & he told me what to expect during the ride. He said that the route was rolling hills with a short, somewhat steep climb later in the ride. I told him I would do my best to stay with the group. I had no idea what to expect during the ride. I wasn't sure what the pace was going to be & what kind of riders I was going to be riding with. We had a group of about 6 of us that left Epic Bikes around 7 am. It was a bit on the cold side ( surprise), but it was going to warm up during the ride. Mike said that he never leaves anyone during a ride, there would be sections to be ridden fast & sections to let the slower riders catch up. Each group would get a workout, the faster riders would be doing intervals, while the slower riders would be building base miles. I liked the concept, Mike said it was kind of like riding to learn the flow of a race, there would be sections where the pace would be fast, and sections where the peloton would bunch up and slow down. The other riders on the ride really made me feel welcome during the ride. It really was a nice route to ride, the traffic really wasn't a problem at all until we were getting closer to the shop on the return trip. The climb up Jordan Hill was just like Mike said, short & somewhat steep. I was in the big ring going up the climb, but managed to make it up the hill. We regrouped at the top of the hill for another of the fast sections of the ride. We were doing about 22-23 mph during that section, when one of the group started to drop back, Mike said it was time to slow down & let the other rider catch up to us. We hit the section of the route that they use for a local time trial, & it was time to hammer. I don't think I dropped down below 25 mph on that section of road. It felt good to really hammer for a good stretch of time. We got back to the shop & I just chatted with everyone that was in the group. I'm looking forward to riding more with the group & Mike said that the pace would be picking up in not much longer. I'm looking forward to the challenge of keeping up with this group. All in all it was a good ride, a good new route to ride, & great new people to ride with.

Recovery Ride

Today I took it easy on the bike. It was a nice day to just cruise & watch the scenery. I really enjoyed just taking it easy today, not worrying about average speed, heart rate, & things like that. It's days like today that remind me why I love cycling. I'm going to ride with the Southern Crescent Cycling Club this weekend. They are sponsored by Epic Bikes in McDonough. I was in their store a few weeks ago & they seemed very friendly & invited me to join them for a ride sometime. I have an old high school friend coming to visit his brother in Buckhead this weekend so I'm going up to my parent's house & get together with him sometime this weekend. It's a perfect time to ride with a new group of people. I'm looking forward to the ride & will post about it later. Stay tuned for more......

Catch up time

I know, I know, I've been either lazy or busy since my last post. I'll let ya'll who read this decide which it's been. This past Friday I just went for an easy ride & just enjoyed the weather on the ride. On Saturday it was the rolling to Roberta ride. I headed to The Bike Store and arrived there about 9:30 am & Bill told me that the group left about 25 minutes earlier. I headed out on my way trying to see if I could catch the group that left. I hit Byron & decided that it probably would be easier to catch them if I didn't ride down Juniper Creek Rd & just head out on 42. I just put it in cruise control until I hit the hillier sections of the ride, then put in some hard efforts. I hit the Knoxville Store & was surprised to see that no riders were there yet. I got me some water & something to snack on & waited for a bit to see if anyone showed up. About 5 minutes later the group that was doing the ride showed up. I actually beat them to the store. I asked them what kind of pace they were going to do on the way back & they said they were going to be going much slower than I probably wanted to ride. I chatted a bit with them, then headed on my way back. I put it in the big ring after the first climb & kept up a nice steady pace. I turned on Walton Rd & headed to Ft. Valley. My legs were feeling pretty good even with all the climbing. I hit Ft. Valley & headed on 341 towards Perry. I was riding at a good pace & kept it steady. I hit Perry & needed to make a store stop to visit the bathroom. I finished there & headed back home. I managed to do 78 miles in just a bit over 4 hours on the bike. I felt good the entire ride & managed to average 19.5 mph. On Sunday I did a recovery ride with Eddie. We had great weather & he told me about the Pine Mt Challenge ride they did on Saturday. After hearing about it, I'm glad I chose not to go. He said it was a hard ride & everyone suffered in some way. We had a nice recovery ride & a nice chat while riding. Monday I started doing intervals. I did 15 seconds hard with 2 minutes recovery in between them. I did about 15 sets of intervals & I was feeling it by the time I got home. Today it was a beautiful day & I headed out for a ride. I did the same loop I did with Eddie, but it was in reverse. My legs felt good after warming up which was a surprise to me after yesterday's ride. I really pushed it when I had the wind at my back. I was able to do 36 miles in 1:46:00 & averaged 20.4 mph for the ride. I'm looking foward to an easy ride tomorrow. On Saturday I'm heading up north of here to ride with a new group of guys. I don't know what to expect, but it should be fun. I'll let everyone know how things go. Stay tuned for further updates........

Update time

I'm sorry it's been so long since my last update, but life has a way of getting in the way of training. I was planning on doing the Peach Peloton ride this past Saturday, but I woke up with an upset stomach & the weather was cold & raining. I decided to head back to bed and catch up on some sleep & hope the weather & my stomach would clear up later in the day. They both cleared up about 2:30 pm so I headed out for a ride. I did the loop I usually do with my friend Will. I didn't want to go too far in case I got sick again. My legs felt ok as I did the ride. On Sunday I went riding with Charles from The Bike Store before we went out on the usual group ride for Sunday. We all got together and did the Sunday route, my legs were feeling pretty good & I took my turns up front pulling the group along. We worked on doing a double paceline for the ride. It was a good ride, & when I got closer to the house I left the group and headed to the house. Yesterday I did a loop that I do with Will, only this time I did it in reverse. I kept it in the small ring the entire ride, but most of the ride I rode in a 39 x 14. My legs felt pretty good the entire ride & I was able to average 19.5 mph in the small ring. I'm hoping to get some good rides in the rest of the week, but we'll just have to see how the weather goes. Stay tuned for more updates.........

Nice day for a good ride

Today I went riding because the Peach Peloton ride scheduled for tomorrw was cancelled due to bad weather. It's going to rain all day tomorrow so I figured I'd get at least 90 mins on the bike today. I started out from my house & my legs felt pretty good. I rode the trainer last night at an easy pace for 90 minutes. I was surprised at how good my legs were feeling. I headed out on a route that I usually ride with my friend Will. It's a 30 mile loop with rolling hills. I warmed up for the first 5 miles of the ride in the small ring, then once I hit Hunt Rd, it was time to pick the pace up. I put it in the big ring and started pushing it harder. My legs felt great, I turned onto Lake Joy & kept a steady pace heading for the first of two climbs on that road. I really didn't push the first one that bad, because I wanted to push the pace up the second one. I climbed up the second hill at a good pace for me. I recovered & started picking things up again. I hit Kings Chapel Rd & I was feeling good. I rode hard to Arena Rd, & then turned off 127 to Bear Branch Rd. I picked up the pace on that road & I was starting to feel it a bit in my legs. I rode hard down that road turning on Farr Rd heading back towards home. I eventually hit Old Perry Rd & picked up the pace once again. My legs were feeling it, but I just kept on pushing at a steady pace. I pushed up the last two climbs on Old Perry Rd & then cruised for a bit on Hwy 96. I crossed Moody Rd on 96 & then picked up the pace for one more push. I was feeling a bit sore by now, but I just ignored it & kept on pedaling. I made the turn onto Peach Blossom for the home stretch & it was hard keeping a steady effort, but I tried my best. I reached home with one of the best rides I've had in a long time. I did 30.1 miles in 1:27:20 for an average speed of 20.6 mph. I can tell that all the suffering doing the Peach Peloton rides, Cyclo-Core, Cyclo-Zen, & the workout program are paying off. I need to concentrate on what I've learned so far & keep working on losing more weight. I'm looking forward to racing this season & should be more competitive than I was last year. Stay tuned for more updates.......

Peach Peloton #9

This past Saturday was another in a series of my suffering on the bike called Peach Peloton Rides. I really have enjoyed each and every ride this year, no matter how much I've suffered on them or after them (trust me, I've done plenty of both). This past ride was scheduled for 100 miles. I hadn't ridden that far in quite sometime so I really didn't know what to expect. The weather was a bit on the cool side, but was going to warm up during the ride. I brought out the new knee & arm warmers my folks gave me for a late Christmas present. This would be the second time I got to use them & I loved them after the first ride earlier in the week. I also took a windbreaker that would be able to be shoved in my jersey pocket once the weather started to warm up. Before the ride, Chad told me that I was NOT to take a pull at all today. He wanted me to sit in & finish with everyone instead of pulling like I did last week & not being able to stay with the group until the end. I told him that was fine with me & I just hoped that nobody would be mad about that. Chad told me not to worry about that. We headed out & the ride was fun, we mainly rode 2 abreast & I did what I was told to. I stayed about mid pack & just sat in. We headed to the first attack zone & the pace started to pick up. I couldn't stay with the group, but as always I had a copy of the map, & I stayed within myself. I caught up to the group at the store stop. I rested a bit & refueled before heading out again. The entire ride route was nothing but rollers. We stayed together heading back towards Macon, when Christian seemed to get sick. We slowed & waited for him to rejoin the group. We hit the second attack zone & Chad told me of a shortcut I could use. I took him up on his suggestion & took the shortcut. I rode hard on the shortcut & once I hit Maynards Mill Road, I thought it wouldn't be long until the group came flying past me, but I turned onto Shi Road & still no sign of the group. I was riding hard, but I guess the route they took was longer than I thought, because it wasn't until I was on Moore Road when they came flying past me. We regrouped somewhat at the end of Moore Road & headed back to Howard Middle School. On Zebulon Road, there are a few good climbs which have in the past really hurt going up after a long ride. This time they still were hard, but I didn't drop down to single digits on my computer like I have in the past. It was a good ride & once we got back to the school, Chad told me that I probably learned more sitting in the entire ride than if I took a turn up front & didn't finish. I told him I have learned quite a bit on each ride & look forward to learing more from the group. All in all it was a fun ride & I can at least say I have one century done this year. Stay tuned for more updates

Peach Peloton #8

We were supposed to have a Peach Peloton ride last week, but weather forced the cancellation of that. This week the scheduled route was for about 95 miles with attack zones. The weather was cold & it seemed that several of the other riders used that as an excuse not to show up. We had 10 of us there for the ride. We started out warming up then Chad had us practicing rotating going down US 23 towards Twiggs County. We kept up a good pace & I took my turns up front as I was feeling good so far. We hit HWY 96 & turned left for the next part of the ride. The pace picked up a bit & I did my best to hang with the group. I fell back a bit, but they waited for me at least once. We broke up into 2 groups to practice rotating again, but I couldn't keep up with the pace of the group I was in. I decided to just ride my own pace & be able to finish the ride instead of letting my ego get the best of me & try to keep up with them. We regrouped again & Chad said that there was an unannounced attack zone to the Laurens County sign. I told the group to have fun, I knew I wasn't going to be able to hang with them & I was correct. I was doing between 21 & 22 mph on the flatter parts & was getting left behind. I stayed within my abilities & rode my own pace. I hit US 80 & headed towards Allenton. I met the rest of the group at the store stop & let Chad know that I was going to finish the ride going straight on US 80. I let him know that the pace was too high for me, & I knew I wouldn't be able to keep up & didn't want to slow the group down. Chad said that was fine with him & that if my car was still at the starting place when they got back, he would know something happened to me. I refueled & headed out on my own. The rest of the ride down US 80 was nothing but rollers. The good thing was that the wind wasn't that bad on the way back to the school. My neck & shoulders started to get a bit sore, but my legs were actually feeling pretty good. I just stayed within myself & had a good hard ride. I managed to get 80 miles done with an average speed of 19.3 mph. When I got home I noticed I had a voicemail from Eddie & called him back to let him know that I made it home with no problems. He encouraged me to be back next week for the ride & I told him that I would be there unless something came up that I couldn't get out of. I told him thanks for the encouragement & I told him that I'm learning alot on these rides & I am getting stronger. I'm looking forward to next weeks ride & we'll see what happens..............

Happy New Year!!!!!!!

Today was the annual New Years Day ride starting at The Bike Store. I was using this ride as a recovery seeing as I was told this was a social ride & if anyone tried pushing the pace, they would be dealt with severly. The weather was certainly a factor during the ride. The wind was out of the NNW @ 15-25 mph. We had a tailwind most of the way out, but had a headwind most of the return trip. I decided to take my share of pulls up front early in the ride & then just ride behind someone the last part of the ride. The wind was a pain, but I did my share of pulling on the early parts of the ride. Once we got a tailwind, some of the other riders decided to pick things up a bit more. I picked up the pace myself, but kept it on the small chain ring. On one section with the tailwind I was in a 39 x 13 & managed to top 30 mph. I was very happy with that, & then backed off the pace for a time. I just hung in towards the back, drafting off people & staying out of the wind. All in all it was a good ride, my legs feel good & I'm looking foward to getting back into training the rest of this week. I just want to wish everyone who reads this a Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!

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.