I've been really lazy here lately.

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

Not a good week for riding

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

Tour de Cure

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

Recovery Ride

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

Back to Basics

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

Perry-Roubaix Race Report and Training Rides

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

Catch up time

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

Albany Race Report

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

One last hard effort

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

Beautiful day for a ride

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

Felt good to ride

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

Back to training

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

Tundra Time Trial Report

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

Getting Ready for the Tundra TT

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

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

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

Catch up time!!!!!

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

Good Long Ride!!!!!!

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

Easy day

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

Kind of a lazy week so far

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

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

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