The commute is working

I have been commuting to work on my old Raliegh since last Monday. So far the bike is working great. I forgot that it's a bit heavier than my Orbea, now even more so with the rack & my panniers filled with clothes & food for work. My average speed isn't usually what I would like, but I guess the weight has something to do with that. Today I rode home & then switched bikes. I rode the Orbea for a little over 19 miles today. I remember why I really like that bike. It felt great riding it again. I hadn't ridden it since a week ago this past Sunday. Climbing wasn't much of a problem after commuting all this week. The bike really felt light & my legs felt pretty good even after the commute home. Added all together I put in over 52 miles today with the commute to & from work plus the Orbea ride. I'm sure I'll be sore tomorrow, but I'll try to take it as easy as I can but still have a good ride. That's about all for now, stay tuned for more stories........

IT'S ALIVE!!!!!!!!!!

This past Saturday, I finally got my old Raliegh road bike finished. I have managed to ride to & from work at least 3 times this week. It would have been 4 but on Tuesday it was a 70% chance of rain. I managed to get soaked on the way home Monday. I was nearing the end of the ride, but the closer I got to the house, the harder it was raining. Oh well, things like that happen from time to time. I'm hoping to go for a reasonably long ride this weekend on the Orbea. I hope the weather co-operates with me. My legs have felt pretty good so far this week. I forgot how much heavier the Raliegh is compared to the Orbea. Then add the rack, panniers, & the stuff I carry in them to & from work & that adds a little more weight. My legs were feeling a bit heavy the trip home today & I don't really know why that was, but I got home ok & look forward to a new adventure tomorrow morning (weather permitting)...........

Better be prepared next time

Once I arrived at work yesterday, I realized I forgot my water bottles for the trip home (I catch a ride to work from a friend until I get the Raliegh finished). I had to try to find somewhere to get some water for the ride home. I stopped at a convience store near work, hoping to find Gatorade in the sports bottle, but true to the way the day was going, they didn't have any. I bought a couple bottles of water & was on my way. Once on the road, I found out I had a crosswind that was going to be difficult on the way home. It was a pain, but I decided to go a different way home. I took the shorter, but harder route home. This way home as a few more decent climbs on it. I actually didn't do that bad on the climbs considering I haven't ridden them for quite awhile. I only got 15 miles in, but the hills made me work. Needless to say I made sure I had water bottles on my bike before I was heading to work today. I hope the wind won't be as bad, but if so, I'll just deal with it. That's about all for now..........

Sorry it's been so long

It's about time I caught up with this. I'm sorry it's been so long, but I haven't been riding much as of late. The weather has been the main reason as to my not riding as much. It's kind of hard to ride when the heat index is about 105 degrees & you have been in the heat working all day long. Once I come home, the last thing I'm thinking of doing is going out & sweating trying to keep up with everyone. Now that the weather is cooling down, I have been riding home from work. My legs have felt pretty good considering it's been awhile since I've been on the bike. I'm working on putting my old Raliegh together as a commuter bike to ride to & from work. I only need the tires & cables adjusted before I'm ready to get commute again. Weather permitting, I should be able to ride to & from work until sometime in November. I'm hoping to be able to race next year. I have to see the neurosurgeon on 10/30 & will ask if I can race depending on how things turnout with him. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Catch up time

It's time to catch things up here. I'm sorry for not posting lately, but other things have kept me busy. I rode last Thursday for the first time in 9 days. I usually do the 35 mile route & average somewhere between 19 & 20 mph. That was not to be on that day. The heat & humidity did their best on me seeing as I was out in the hanger most of the day at work. I drank like a madman, but it still wasn't enough. I did the short route & struggled to manage a 17.6 mph average. Not one of my better days. On Saturday I did the short Tuesday route. My legs felt better managing a 18.3 average for 31 miles. Last night I just rode the trainer for an hour & pushed it once or twice on certain songs I was listening too on the cd player, but mostly just spun the legs to loosen them up for the usual Tuesday ride. I hope it doesn't rain, but if it does, I'll ride the trainer for a couple of hours instead. Here's hoping the weather holds off to get some good riding in.

Not a Good Day

Yesterday was the Tuesday group ride with CGC & it was not to be my day. I hadn't drank enough during the day because I just forgot to. I really hadn't eaten that much either so I guess I had it coming. When we started riding I dropped one of my water bottles, so the ride was cut real short. I only managed to get in 26 miles at an average speed of 18 mph. I really felt it on the way back to the car & once I got home I downed 2 full water bottles of water. That made me feel a bit better & dinner really helped. I'm hoping to go for an easy ride later & get ready for the Thursday group ride. Stay tuned

My Weekend

This is a catchup post for this past weekend. My parents were down in Cordele at Veteran's Memorial State Park camping with some of thier friends. I decided to go visit them down there. I left my house just before 9 am & started riding down that way. It was a great day for a ride, the temperature was a bit lower than normal & that made for a great day riding. The route was great & easy to get there, stay south on US 41 unitl you hit US 280 then turn right until you get to the park. The terrian was mainly just small rollers then mostly downhill after you left Vienna. My total distance was 61 miles with an average speed of 19.1 mph. I had a great time visiting with my folks and thier friends. I even managed to see some of the Watermelon Festival going on in downtown Cordele. I took the day off the bike yesterday to get some other things done so I'm looking forward to riding later today. I don't know how sore my legs will be, but they weren't as sore as I thought they would be yesterday. We'll just have to see what later brings.

Thursday Group Ride

Yesterday was the usual CGC Thursday group ride. It had been raining on & off most of the afternoon so I wasn't sure if there was going to be a ride or not. I decided to show up at the meeting point & see who showed up. After being there for about 10 minutes, Don & Angie showed up saying that we were insane for even being there. Then after a few more mintues, more people showed up. We decided to take a chance & go for the ride. Once we hit Haynesville a steady but light rain began to fall. It was decided to do the short route instead of the longer route due to the rain. I had to catch up to the group seeing as I thought we were going to do the longer version of the ride. I want to thank Don & Shane for giving me a pull up Grovania Rd. We regrouped on Elko Rd & we just rode in from there. Even though I was wet, I sitll managed to average 19.6 mph for a bit over 30 miles. Today looks like more rain, if so then it's trainer time. If it dries out, I'll go for an easy spin before a long ride tomorrow.

Wednesday Ride

Yesterday I went on the group ride with CGC. Some of the guys wanted to go a bit further than the usual route so I was talked into doing the short loop for the Tuesday ride. There was 5 of us & the pace was pretty good. My back started to hurt a bit so I backed off. My legs have been feeling a bit heavy the last couple of rides. I'm hoping to feel better for the Thursday ride. I usually do better on that ride average speed wise. I did manage 31.2 miles with an average speed of 18.7 mph. I guess that week off really didn't help at all, but I'll just have to ride back into the shape I was in before. Here's to a good ride & good weather.

Independence Day Ride

Today I decided to ride in the morning seeing as I was off work instead of riding with the group later in the heat. I rode a route I hadn't ridden in quite a while. My legs felt kind of heavy most of the ride, but it was still good to get out and be on the bike. I rode a route with rollers most of the way, but it was fun & managed to return before it got too hot. I manged to get 25 miles in & averaged over 19mph. I'm hoping to ride tomorrow, but depends on the weather. Stay tuned.

LSD Ride

Yesterday was a LSD (long steady distance) ride. A group of us left from the Perry welcome center. On tap was a route that took us through Unadilla, Byronville, Montezuma, Marshallville, then finally back to Perry. The start of the ride was a nice long climb up Elko Rd. I really didn't like this climb, but managed to survive it. The roads to Unadilla was gentle rollers. We then rode to Byronville through some pretty country scenery. We made a store stop there to refresh & then headed to Montezuma. Montezuma is a pretty little down. Riding down their main street was cool. There were lots of old houses that really looked great. The road to Marshallville was more of the same, gentle rollers with a few larger climbs. Another rider & I picked up the pace from Byronville until we returned to Perry. I was tired when I got back, but it was a great time. I did 65.2 miles with an average speed of 18.1. I'm happy with that average seeing as I picked it up 2 mph from what it was in the first hour of the ride. Hoping to ride to work tomorrow morning.

Thursday Group Ride

Yesterday was the usual group ride. Some of the guys were going to add a few more miles by taking a bit different route, but seeing as I hadn't ridden much in over the past week, I just decided to do the usual 35 mile route. I was doing good until I hit Elko Rd. There was a bit of a headwind going up Elko Rd, but I tried my best to push it. I managed to catch the ladies before Perry. On the last part of the ride my back started getting sore, but I still managed over 19.5 mph for the ride, not too bad considering. Let's hope for good weather this weekend to ride.

Time to catch up here

I'm sorry it's been so long since my last post, but things have been busy. I managed to ride about 55 miles on June 17th with some friends. It was a nice ride, not too fast or hilly. I had to take a week off the bike due to other obligations. I'm going to try & not let that happen again. I managed to get a ride in yesterday. My legs actually felt pretty good during the ride. The climbing was about usual, but that's ok. I actually averaged a faster speed than I thought I would on the ride seeing as I had over a week off the bike. I'm hoping the Thursday ride isn't going to hurt that much, but we'll just have to see. Check back for details........

Today was a heck of a ride!!!!!!

Today was the usual Thursday group ride with CGC. We stayed together until the big hill on Larry Walker Parkway. I just kept a steady pace & was able to catch the lead goup on Grovania Road. I hung with them as long as I could, but had to let them get ahead of me. They slowed down & let everyone regroup on Elko Road. I tried hanging with them, but realized that if I stayed with them, I might not be able to finish. I just rode at my own pace & kept it as high as I comfortably could. I saw a few of the other riders who took the short route & did my best to catch them. I caught them just before the finish of the ride. I managed to beat my best average speed this week. I averaged 20.4 mph for 35 miles. I'm sure I'll be a bit sore tomorrow, but I'll go for an easy spin to loosen the legs up before a long ride on Saturday morning. I just hope the weather co-operates with me this weekend. Same bike time, same bike web address.........

Abandoned Husband Ride

Yesterday was the Monday ride starting in Perry. This was really set up for the ladies to get together & ride, but some of the guys decided to take advantage of it too. We just did a recovery ride pace for about 23 miles seeing as the weather was looking kind of nasty most of the ride. We tried to stay near the fairgrounds & did a couple of laps of about a 12 mile loop. It felt great to ride again, seeing as I hadn't ridden in 3 days. The new tires were great & we pushed it just a bit on the last part of the ride. We did manage to avoid the rain on our bikes, but ran into it on the way home. Later today is the usual Tuesday ride, let's hope the weather lets us to it. Stay tuned.....

Abandoned Husbands Ride

Yesterday was the Abandoned Husbands Ride starting in Perry. This really is for the ladies to get together & ride, but a few of the guys take advantage of it too. The weather wasn't looking that great so we kind of stayed around the fairgrounds. We did 2 laps of about a 12 mile loop at a recovery pace. It felt nice & easy after not riding for 3 days. We did kind of push it just a bit on the last part of the second lap, trying to make sure we got back before the rain started. We beat the rain, but ran into it on the way home. Later today is the usual Tuesday ride, we'll see if the weather lets us do it today. Stay tuned.......

A Ride That Was Not To Be

Yesterday I woke up ready for a long Saturday ride. The CGC guys were doing a metric century starting at the Perry Welcome Center. I got myself ready & as I was loading my bike I notice the rear wheel was flat. I just loaded the bike knowing that I would have time to change it once I got to the starting site. I was the first one there & proceeded to changed the tube. After changing the tube, I noticed that the tire didn't seat right, so I released the air pressure & tried to reseat the tire. This time while I was pumping up the tube, I noticed that I had a small hole in the tire. So much for any kind of ride today I said to myself. I told the assembled group that I wasn't going to be able to go with them, loaded my bike back up and headed home. I did things around the house to relieve my frustruations & bought 2 new tires and installed them on the bike. I'm hoping to ride to work in the morning, but we'll have to see how the weather goes. Stay tuned for more of my adventures.........

Thurdsay Group Ride Report

Yesterday was the usual Thursday group ride with CGC. It started out as usual, everyone staying together until the big hill on Larry Walker Pkwy. I couldn't hang with them & kept a steady pace for myself. I did feel better climbing this week. I saw a rider ahead of me on Ellis Rd. & that was my incentive to catch. The wind this week was worse than last week making the catch even harder. I managed to catch him in Elko & rode his wheel for a bit. Once on Elko Rd. I decided it was my turn to pull him for a bit, but he must have been feeling worse than me because he couldn't stay with me. I didn't put in a big acceleration, just rode steady. As we went along Elko Rd. I noticed that he was falling further & further behind. I saw the group a ways up the road, but knew that there was no way I was going to be able to catch them. I just rode a steady pace that was just a bit of a push for me. I caught Kim & another girl riding together on Kings Chapel Rd. They did the shorter route. On days like yesterday with the wind, I think the shorter route is actually harder than the longer route, due to the fact that the short cut takes you into a head wind when the wind is out of the west as it was yesterday. I had to ride back home after the group ride so I did a total of about 43 miles with an average speed of 19.8 mph. It was a bit slower than last week, but with the conditions, I'm not complaining about it. I feel as if I'm getting stronger, just have to keep riding & watching what I eat. The weight will come down & I'll get better. I'm hoping to ride the metric century they are planning from Perry tomorrow, but we'll just have to wait & see. Stay tuned.....

Tuesday Group Ride

Yesterday was the usual group ride with CGC. The guys were feeling extra froggy because they started pushing the pace before the first climb. I was dropped on the climb ( as usual, but getting better). I managed to catch up with them at the stop light as they waited for it to turn green. Don & Bk took off on Bible Camp Rd. I tried bridging up to them but didn't have much success. They waited at the top of Bible Camp Rd. but I contined on with 2 other guys. I was hoping we could work together & give the hammerheads a good workout chasing us. It was not to be because as soon as I got to the front they waited for the group. I contintued on at my pace & was eventually caught. I tried staying with them but couldn't. After turning on 42 I caught one rider & he just sat on my wheel the whole way back to Byron. Each time I tried to get him to take a turn to pull, he just let up & I stayed in front. It kind of aggrivated me a bit because when we caught the others in Byron due to a train crossing, he left me & hammered the rest of the way with them. I think on Thursday's ride I'm just going to sit on someone's wheel & let them pull me around the route, but we'll just have to see.

Good start to a new week

I should have posted this yesterday, but things didn't go as planned. I decided to try riding to work yesterday via the hillier route I've used in the past. The plan was to test how my fitness level was coming along. Well, it's better than I thought. I never had to downshift going up any of the climbs on the way to work. That made me feel good & I still managed to average over 19 mph for the 17 miles. On the way home I had about a 10 mph tailwind so I decided to push it a bit, but not too much seeing as the group ride is the next day. I kept in one gear the whole time but did manage 20.7 mph for the trip home, the only time I had problems keeping it near or above 20 mph was the last stretch home into the headwind. All in all it was a good start to a new week. I rode to work this morning & took it easy. Looking forward to the group ride. I'll let everyone know how that goes later tonight so stay tuned........