The Year in Review

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

Nice past couple days

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

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

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

Got to ride today.

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

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

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

Good week so far

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

Recovery Ride

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

Nice Ride!!!!!!!!

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

Rough weekend.

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

Nice Day for a Ride

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

Cyclo-Core Update

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

One Busy Weekend

This was one busy weekend riding wise. I went with the club & we did about 54 miles today. There was even more climbing (yeah), but I do need to work on that aspect of my riding. I'm sure my legs will be sore tomorrow, so I'm planning on taking a nice easy spin on the way home from work if the weather permits. It was nice to be able to ride every day this weekend. The weather was great, the company was great, & the legs actually felt pretty good during the rides. I've been using Hammer Nutrition products seeing as I'm a Type 2 diabetic & their products are supposed to be better for diabetic athletes. So far all I've used are the Hammer gels, Perpetum energy drink ( for rides longer than 2 hours), & their recovery drink. I have been impressed with each product, though the taste of the Perperum drink might take some getting used to. I really like the Hammer gels. My legs don't really feel tired when I have used them. I'll have to keep trying them & the energy drinks they have to see how they work in the long run. Stay tuned for further updates........

Sore Legs

Yesterday I went to The Bike Store, hoping to meet some people for a ride, but no one showed up so I went for an easy ride to work the kinks out of my legs. Today I went for a ride doing the CGC Tuesday long route with a couple of changes. I didn't know that the changes I made to the route were going to hurt like they did. I did more climbing today then I have in quite awhile & I'm feeling it right now. I'm planning to ride with the club tomorrow @ 1:00 pm. They say it's supposed to be an easy ride, but that depends on who shows up. We'll just have to see what happens tomorrow. I'll post the events here & let everyone know....

Nice Thanksgiving Day

Today I went on an easy ride the some of the guys from the bike club. We did the short version of the Thursday ride & just took it at an easy pace. The weather was great & the company was great too. The hills on the route are still hard on me, but the more I ride them, the easier they will become (I hope). I'm hoping to ride tomorrow & the rest of this weekend depending on the weather. I'll just have to see how it goes. I had a great dinner & really didn't overdo it on the food. Stay tuned.......

Sometimes I'm just too hard headed

Last week I started the Cyclo-Core workouts, but instead of easing into them, I, in my brilliant kind of insanity decided to do all 3 body resistance circuits in one workout. BIG MISTAKE!!!!!!!!! After the one time doing all 3 workouts, my hamstrings hurt most of the week. I laid off the workouts & checked out the forums for Cyclo-Core. Most everyone said to ease into the workouts if you haven't done anything like that for a long time. I decided to break up each circuit into a single workout & just repeat them twice a week. There is also a bonus ab & core workout, but the Graeme recommends only doing that twice a week total. Today I was able to get out & finally ride. It felt great to be on the road. I'm hoping to get to ride a bunch this weekend seeing that I have the next 4 days off of work. I'm hoping to ride at least 2 hours tomorrow, take it kind of easy on Friday, then do at least 3 hours or more on Saturday. On Sunday they changed the time for the ride so I can do at least the 40 mile route. That's about all for now, stay tuned for further updates..........

Tough workout

Yesterday I started the Cyclo-Core workouts. I had previewed the exercises last week & most of them didn't seem too bad. Boy was I wrong!!!!! I was just using my body weight & it was a tough routine. Some of the exercises required balance & mine isn't that great so it was difficult. I'm looking forward to getting stronger with the program & the exercises should be easier later down the road. I rode home from work today & the legs definately felt the workout last night. They were tight & I just tried to keep a comfortable pace on the way home. I'm going to try the exercises again tomorrow night & see how it goes.

Nice day for a ride!!!!!!

Today was a great day for a ride. I left the house a bit later than I was planning. I was waiting for the weather to warm up a bit more so I wouldn't have to wear as much clothing. When I left, I had shorts, jersey, wicking t-shirt, & arm warmers. I decided I was going to do at least 3 hours on the bike today. I rode a combination of rides I've done in the past. It was a hilly route that I did today, only a couple of hard climbs, but most of the route was rollers. My back started hurting after about 2 hours in the saddle. I had to stop a few times to strech it out. I tried some Hammer gels today & they really worked great. My legs never really felt bad the entire ride. I could probably have rode faster if my back hadn't started hurting, but I haven't ridden this long in quite awhile. I'll get used to it as the winter goes on. I think I'm going to start the Cyclo-Core workouts on Monday & do them during the week, leaving the weekends free for more riding. I'm still going to try riding home from work as often as possible. I don't think that will be a problem for a bit seeing as I get off work @ 3:30 pm & there is still plenty of daylight to try and get at least 20 miles in a day. We'll just have to see how thing go from this point on. Stay tuned...........

The Off Season Begins

The weather here this week has been fantastic!!! I've been able to ride most of the week home from work. The wind has been a pain sometimes, but that's just the way it goes. Today, my Cyclo-Core DVD came in. I'm going to preview it & see what it's like & probably start it next week. I hope it will help get my core muscles ready for next year. I have no idea what to expect with this program, but I think it's worth a try. I have absolutely nothing to lose by trying it out. I'll let everyone know how it's working as the winter goes on. Stay tuned.......

Great time on the bike!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday I went to Snellville for the grand opening of a new Jittery Joe's franchise. They had Ceasar Grahales & some of the other riders from the pro cycling team there. Thery were going for an easy ride of about 30 miles. The Gwinnett Touring Club was there to guide the ride. There was a surprise on the ride also. Nathan O'Neil from Healthnet presented by Maxxis showed up just to ride along. Seems he lives in the area & heard about the ride & decided to join. I can't tell you what a great time I had riding with everyone. It was so cool getting to ride & talk to the pro's. Nathan had one of the new Cannondale System Six bikes. I asked him what he tought about it & he told me it was one of the best bikes he's ever ridden. I asked him about the team & he said he's looking forward to next season. I really had a great time & look forward to the next time I get to do something like that. I also orded the Cyclo-Core DVD to help get ready for next season. We'll just have to see how the system works for me. I'll let everyone know how the system works. Stay tuned......

Nice week so far

So far the weather this week has been fantastic. It's been a bit cool in the morning to ride to work, but the rides home have been great. Yesterday my legs felt great & the ride showed. I've been off the bike since last Friday, so I was very well rested. I managed to average 19.9 mph for the trip home. The ride today wasn't as fast, but I still managed to average 19.3 mph. I am happy with that considering I pushed it yesterday. I'm hoping the weather continues this week & weekend for some good riding. Stay tuned......