It's been WAY too long I know!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know I haven't posted anything on here in quite some time & it's nobody's fault but my own. My offseason was pretty much shot to heck due to work & sickness. I'm still trying to get back into the swing of things. I thought I might have to move closer to Atlanta for work here last month, so having to deal with all the associated things with moving, it put my training even further behind what I already was. Well, things with the job situation have settled down & I'm staying put where I am for now as long as I know. I'm finally able to put some effort into getting back into some type of training. I was able to do a ride with Eddie on Sunday for a bit over 44 miles. We did 3 efforts during the ride. The first one wasn't too bad, but still couldn't stay with him. The second was into the wind & it was absolutely brutal. After recovering from that second effort, the third one was with a tailwind. I was able to keep a great pace during that effort, but there was no way I was able to stay on Eddie's wheel. He was absolutely flying on that last effort. On Monday it was 5 x 5's. My legs were certainly feeling it after doing 4 sets of them. Last night was a pyramid workout on the trainer due to rain. I worked up to 6 minutes, then worked my way back down. I wasn't sure if I would be able to walk after I was done with that workout. Tonight was a tempo ride on the trainer, legs felt a bit better after that. We'll just have to see how the rest of the week pans out. I'm hoping to get some riding in this weekend, but it all depends on the weather. I'll do my best to post on here more often. Thanks for reading.

It's been a while!!!!!!

I know, I know, it's been way too long since my last post. I've been busy doing an offseason workout program & by the time I get home from work & do the scheduled workout, it really doesn't leave much time to post as often as I would like. I will do my best to post at least weekly. A couple of Saturday's ago, I rode down to the Perry Welcome Center to see if anyone was there for a ride. I was lucky enough to run into 4 other riders. I was told that they would be doing the Marshallville to Montezuma route. I decided to join them & it was certainly a fun ride. We had a bit of a headwind on the way out, but on the way back from Montezuma we had a nice tailwind. I was able to keep up the pace above 20mph the enitre way back to Perry. I took it a bit slower on the way home, but I still managed to get in 79 miles @ just over 4 hours. This past week I was sticking to the workout schedule up until the weekend. I seemed to get a bit on the sick side during the weekend, so I wasn't able to do much but just took it easy & rested. Yesterday I was able to get out on the bike & get in 2 hours on the road. It really felt good to get out & ride again. I'm just ready to get back into the swing of the schedule again. I'm hoping to get a good ride in this weekend, but it all depends on the weather. Thanks for reading....

Weekend wrap-up

Well the weekend didn't turn out as well as I had hoped it would. I was looking foward to a long ride on Saturday morning, but when I woke up it was quite foggy outside. I don't have a problem riding in bad weather from time to time, but I really don't ride in the fog. The last time I rode when it was foggy outside I was nearly ran over, so you can see why I don't care for fog so much. On Sunday I was able to get to ride with Eddie. We did a steady effort ride for 2 hours, it was a nice ride. We headed towards Perry & hit the Perry Parkway, one of my fav roads to ride on. We rode through Perry then headed back home. I ended up doing 38 miles & my legs felt pretty good the entire ride. I wasn't able to get to ride yesterday due to other obligations, but the day turned out pretty good after all. Today was just commuting to & from work. I'll probably get on the trainer tomorrow, the forecast calls for 20-30 mph winds, which really doesn't sound like much fun at all. I'm hoping for a nice day Saturday so I can go for a nice long ride. That's about all I have for now, stay tuned for more adventures or misadventures......

New Year's Day Ride

Today was the annual New Year's Day ride down here in wonderful Warner Robins, Ga. I met Charles on the road & we rode to The Bike Store. It was a bit on the cold side when I left the house, so I had to decide what I was going to wear. It was going to warm up during the ride, so I went with a long sleeve wicking t-shirt, my club kit, Pearl Izumi arm & leg warmers (best Christmas present I got, even if it was from last year), my Pearl Izumi skull cap, my Trek Oslo cold weather socks, & my DeFeet Slipstream shoe covers. My hands had on my cold weather gloves, but I brought along another pair of lighter gloves in case my hands got too warm. There was a great crowd at the start of the ride. The Bike Store was giving away 2 gift certificates, one for $100 & one for $50. We each drew a card & I was able to get lucky & win the $100 gift certificate. My new year is already off to a good start. We headed out slowly and stayed together as much as possible. We were out on the ride when we heard that there was a crash back in the group. I heard that Dave Sexton touched someone else's wheel & went down. As of this posting I don't know how he's doing, but I'll post as soon as I hear something from someone. The route was the usual Sunday route. We pretty much stayed together as a group until we were in Perry. Once we crossed the train tracks, some of the guys felt froggy & tried to sprint away. I was able to close the gap, but I started to get cramps & had to back off just a bit. The group I was with kept up a pretty good pace the rest of the ride. My legs are a bit sore, but I feel much better after the ride. I'm looking forward to the weekend, going to do some long rides this weekend. That's about all I have for now, stayed tuned for more adventures & have a Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Got some new bling for the bike!!!!!!!!!!!

This past weekend I was able to get a deal on some new components for the bike. I had Charles at The Bike Store to thank for that. He put new SRAM Force group on his cross bike & sold me his Ultegra components. Today was the first time I had a chance to ride with the new parts. I hadn't been able to ride much since a week ago Saturday, but that's ok. I'm still a bit sore from the crash, but it's slowly getting better. Today I headed out & the legs felt pretty good. I did a route that I usually do. It's only a bit over 30 miles, but there are rolling hills on the route. I was surprised how good my legs felt after warming up. I kept it in the small ring during the early part of the ride just to be sure my legs were doing ok & it wouldn't hurt. The new parts worked fantastic. It shifts much better now than with the other components. I'm looking at getting the Orbea fixed. I found out that it might cost as little as $45 to get the cable guide replaced. I have the old 9 speed parts to put on it, so I'll have a spare bike in case something happens to the Trek. I just want to give Charles & Ethan @ The Bike Store thanks for doing all they have done to help me out. Stay tuned for more adventures.....

Wednesday Rides & a Crash!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I went for a ride early Wednesday afternoon seeing as I had the day off. I hadn't been on the bike for a week. I decided to just take it easy to see how the legs were feeling. I was surprised at how good they felt with being off for a week. I kept it in the small ring, but did push the cadence up a few times. I just took an easy route with just a few climbs, nothing big, just so I woudln't kill my legs. I ended up doing about 23 miles with an average speed of over 19 mph. I guess my legs felt better than I had thought during the ride. On Wednesday night, Charles from The Bike Store, was putting on crit practice at Perry Primary School. I decided to give it a shot, I need all the practice I can get when it comes to crits anyway. There were about 5 of us at the start and I wanted to see how good my legs felt. After warming up a few laps, I thought it was about time to see about putting the hammer down. I picked up the pace and was keeping a steady 21-23 mph just slowing for the corners. I was doing that for the better part of an hour. I then decided to do a few slow laps to recover for a bit. My legs were starting to get a bit tired. After a few cool down laps Charles was feeling a bit on the froggy side. I was trying to chase him down when I was turning a corner, one minute I'm upright on the bike, the next, I'm down on the pavement wondering what happened. I layed there to make sure I wasn't seriously hurt. Thankfully I wasn't hurt, my helmet took the brunt of it. Thanks to the helmet manufactureres for making a great product. I found out that my rear tire blew out & I think that's what caused me to go down. The bike is fine & I'm just a bit sore. I went for a recovery ride today, my legs felt good. I took it easy for most of the ride, but I had to put in one hard effort to see how my legs would feel. The legs felt pretty good doing a hard effort on the big ring. It hurts more to walk than it does to ride. I've got a bit of a limp, but I'm sure that will go away when the soreness is gone. I'm just going to have to be a bit more careful when taking corners. Thanks for reading & stay tuned for more adventures......

Peach Peloton Ride Recap

Yesterday was the next in the Peach Peloton Ride series. I was a bit hesitant about this one seeing as I had missed the past couple weeks due to other obligations. We started out near Julitte and it was certainly one cold morning. I had on a wicking t-shirt, my jersey, and then a thermal jacket. My legs had my shorts and I put tights on. My feet were trying out some Oslo extreme weather socks from Trek. I put my booties on due to the cold weather. We headed out and the first 10 miles were pretty good rolling hills. We ran into a couple of large dogs early in the ride & we were worried that they would be a problem on the way back. I decided to ride smart this time. I wasn't going to be up front very much, just wanted to survive this ride. The pace on the way out was pretty good, my legs were feeling good and when they started rotating, I just stayed out of the way and let them do it. I stayed close enough with the group to not get dropped but didn't want to wear myself out doing the rotations. We hit the store stop just after 2 hours and I was feeling suprisingly good. After the store stop we got back on the road and once again started rotating. The road after the store stop was constant rollers, some bigger than others, but I need the hill practice. We just continued rolling on the road and I was able to stay with everyone, once in a while we would come across a county line sign and some of the group decided to sprint for the signs. I just watched them, not wanting to contest any of them. We started back down the road we headed out on for the first part of the ride, this was the attack zone. We were all together for about the first couple of miles, then Chad decided it was time to break things up. I did my best to stay with them, but when you're riding with guys who are Cat 3 or higher, it's kind of hard to stay with them. I gave it my best, but had to let them go in order to finish. The return trip down this road seemed a lot harder than on the way out, but at least I didn't have to deal with the dogs like I was worried about. All in all it was a good ride, did 82.54 miles at an average speed of 19.46 mph. I was happy to survive the ride & look foward to next week.

Weekend was a wash for riding

Woke up on Saturday morning to rain. I headed to the meeting place for the Peach Peloton ride, hoping the rain had stopped in north Macon, but it actually was raining harder there then when I left my house. I thought I would head up to see if they were doing the Southside Fondo ride in Fayetteville, but it was the same story, rain. So, seeing as I was already up that way I stopped in to Epic Bikes to give the Power Tap Time Trial Series a go. I warmed up on the trainer for 20 minutes, then it was time to hammer. I increased the cadence & pushed it hard for the next 10 minutes. I started to feel it about minute 7, but I just gritted my teeth and pushed through it. I averaged 274 watts for the 10 mintues. I'm hoping to do it here again in the next few weeks to see if my numbers will improve. On Sunday it was pretty much the same story, it rained the entire day, so riding outdoors was a total wash. I'm hoping to be able to ride more this week and looking foward to the Peach Peloton ride this weekend. Stay tuned for more adventures......

Great weather for a ride today.

I was just about to head out for a ride alone, when Will called and asked what I was doing. I told him I was just about to head out for a ride & he asked if I wanted to join him and his friend Tim. I told him of course and he said to meet them at his house. My legs were a bit tight at the start of the ride, but by the time I met them at his house, they were feeling pretty good. We headed out towards Old Perry Rd, and I was feeling good. We took turns up front breaking the wind. We headed out to Hunt Rd and then hit Sandefur Rd. I like riding down that road, not much traffic, and smooth pavement. We hit a section of the road that has a slight downhill to it & Tim just took off. I tried to catch him, but couldn't close the gap even at 31 mph. I later found out that Tim is a Cat 3 racer, so that might explain things just a bit. We then headed down Bear Branch Rd and when we hit the first section that had a rise to it, Tim took off again, I did my best, but there was just no way I was going to stay with him. He slowed at the top to let me catch him, then we both waited for Will to catch up with us. On the next section that had a rise to it, Will tried going away, but Tim just made catching him look so easy. We then took 247 to Piney Grove, where I took a good steady long pull. The final section of the ride was down Old Perry Rd again, only in the opposite direction from earlier in the ride. There is a section of road that Will likes to attack on, & today was no different. I was behind him and I knew he was going to try something, the only thing was I didn't know when he was going to go. Sure enough, he tried getting away on the last climb as he usually does, but Tim & I were having none of it. Tim caught him first, then I did. He said it sucked doing about 21 mph up that hill and being dropped none the less. We took a quick break & chatted for a bit before splitting up and heading back to our respective homes. All in all I did 35 miles with an average speed of 19.62 mph by the time I got back home. I had a great ride with some great company. Stay tuned for more adventures.......

Catch up time

I think it's about time to catch up and post my adventures from over the weekend. I was going to do the Peach Peloton ride this past Saturday, but situations dictated a change of plans. I had to help a friend out of a situation so I didn't get to participate. I really enjoy doing the rides, no matter how much I suffer on them. It's a great group of guys that show up for the rides and they are a great bunch of racers too. I went out solo on Saturday afternoon and did a 40 mile ride that I really enjoy doing. I rode out to the Perry Parkway and pushed the pace on that part of the route. I came back home on Lake Joy Rd. My average speed was 19.48 mph for the entire ride. My legs felt good the entire ride. On Sunday I rode with my friend Will. He has a new Cannondale & he hadn't seen my new Trek, so we got a good look at each other's new toy. We headed out down Old Perry Rd, then headed out down Moody and then Sandefur Rd to Lake Joy. We took that road into Perry then headed out towards the Perdue plant, then ended up riding down Piney Grove Rd to Old Perry Rd. It was a good ride with a good friend. Today was just a steady tempo ride. I did 2 hours still trying to break in the new saddle. I kept the tempo as steady as I could and kept it in the small ring the entire ride. I rode down the Perry Parkway and then headed back Lake Joy, my legs felt pretty good the entire ride. It's just going to take time to get used to the new saddle. The new bike is working great, comfortable and stable for me so far. Stay tuned for more adventures......

Breaking in a new toy.

A couple of weeks ago I went on the Peach Peloton ride and noticed that shifting from the big ring to the small ring was intermittent. I took it to The Bike Store & had Charles look at it. I was just thinking that the cable was loose and just needed to be adjusted. I found out that I was wrong. The guide on the frame was stripping out. Charles did what he could to fix the problem, but I didn't know what the result would be. I went for a ride on Monday & found out that once I shifted to the big ring, the only way to get it back on the small ring was to unclip my right foot from the pedal and push the derailleur back to the small ring. I asked Charles to see if he knew anyone who had a 54 cm frame that I could borrow until I could afford a new one. He called back a bit later in the evening and told me about a 2008 Trek 1.2 and asked if I would be interested in it. I asked him to let me know what the cost would be and how we would work it out. We came to an agreement and I went to the shop to swap out the parts from the Orbea to the Trek. I went up to Epic to make sure the fit was correct and Mike worked his magic once more. Yesterday was the first ride. I did the Peach Peloton ride from Howard Middle School. We started together then broke up into 3 groups to practice rotation for a bit. The road we used to practice the first set of rotations was mainly uphill and the bike worked great. The frame was stable and responded great. We regrouped and rode 2 abreast until we hit Hwy 42. That was the next section of rotation practice. Chad let me know that I might want to hang back and hang in. I'm glad I listened to him, as the pace was quite fast. I don't think it dropped below 20 mph the entire time down 42. The last hour of the ride we had a tailwind and it felt good, the pace was pretty fast, but I was able to hang with the group. My legs were certainly feeling it close to the end of the ride. All in all we did 66.96 miles and I had an average speed of 19.86 mph. Today I went on a steady effort ride with Eddy. My legs were a bit sore from yesterday, but I really wanted to get more of a feel for the new frame. I just followed Eddy and let him dictate the pace. On some sections of the ride, we were riding what seemed like an easy pace and at other times it felt as if we were hammering. We rode out to Perry and used the Perry Parkway for a good section of the ride. I really like riding the parkway, it's just nothing but rollers, but it will give you a good workout. The Trek worked flawlessly, just need to work on the motor for it now. I'm very happy with the frame, it may be called an entry level frame, but it seems stiff enough for me and stable enough at higher speeds for me. I just need to break in the new saddle and that will only come with getting on the bike. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more adventures....

Night riding

On Wednesday night I had done my workout with my Bowflex and I really wanted to get on the bike. I had two choices, one was to put the road bike on the trainer and ride that way, the other was to take the commuting bike and ride outdoors. I didn't have lights on the road bike & really didn't feel like riding the trainer as of yet. I know I'll be doing plenty of that here in the near future, so I decided to take the commuting bike out on a short route that I use for my recovery rides. It was certainly different riding that route at night. I heard things I never noticed during the day. I guess I was paying more attention to my surroundings seeing as I couldn't see as well. I have to admit it was fun riding that route in the dark. I had a good ride and just might try it again just to break up the monotony of riding a trainer all winter long. I'm up at my folks house, but I did bring my bike and I'm hoping to get some riding in this weekend, just long, steady, miles to build up for next season. Stay tuned for more.....

Recovery Ride

Today was a great day for a recovery ride. I didn't get to do one yesterday due to other obligations, so today was recovery day. The weather was great, didn't need any arm or knee warmers at all by the time I got to get to ride. I headed out and decided to keep it in the small ring the entire ride. I headed down towards Perry to ride the parkway. The traffic was minimal and I had the wind at my back going down the parkway. I just kept a comfortable cadence, not hammering it at all. I'm trying to stick with a plan to do some proper recovery rides and not give into the temptation to ride hard if my legs feel good when I'm scheduled for a recovery ride. There were only a couple of bad things about today's ride. The first was on the return trip I got stuck at a construction zone for quite some time while they cleaned up gravel on the road. The other bad thing was that I had a headwind most of the way back home. I ended up doing 42 miles today & my legs felt better today. Stay tuned for more adventures......

Peach Peloton Ride #1

Today was the first Peach Peloton ride of this year. The temperature at the beginning of the ride was under 40 degress, so I was having a hard time deciding what to wear. I knew it was going to warm up during the ride, so I just had arm & knee warmers, my jersey, a base shirt, shorts, vest and my Slipstream shoe covers. It turned out that I wore just enough for the entire ride. We had over 20 people show up for the first ride, which was great. At the start we were told that it would be a social pace on the ride. There was no attack zones at all on this ride. The pace was nice and comfortable for everyone. The route was rolling hills with a few decent climbs on it. My legs felt good the entire ride, I was able to keep up a good cadence throughout the ride. I was only able to ride once this week, so I'm very happy that my legs felt as good as they did on the ride. I stayed towards the front of the group, taking my turn up front. On the way back to the starting point, I had a difficult time shifting my front derailluer from the big ring back to the small ring, but luckily I was able to shift to the small ring just before the last two climbs. All in all we did 54 miles in just under 3 hours, great start to the Peach Peloton series. I'm going to start my off-season program on Monday & I'm going to stick with it better this year than I did last year.

Recovery ride

Today I went on a recovery ride with Eddie. I really enjoy riding with Eddie cause he's been racing for quite some time & I learn something new each time I ride with him. We rode for a bit over 2 hours today, using the Perry Parkway on the ride. I really like riding that road. It's nothing but rollers, but it gives me a good workout. We talked about what our plans were for the coming winter rides. I told Eddie that I was going to try to make every Peach Peloton ride that I can this winter. I really enjoyed doing them last winter. It's a great training ride they have set up over there. I did suffer on quite a few of the rides, but it did help me get stronger. One thing I really have to learn is to take it easy on some of my rides. Eddie even told me that I need to do the same thing. He said that by reading my blog here that I have a very bad habit of riding the same way on every ride. I totally agree with him. I have to force myself, no matter how good my legs feel, that if I'm on a recovery day, to take it easy on the bike. He also gave me a hint to help me lose some weight, which I'm going to give a try. All in all it was a very nice ride with one great rider. Stay tuned for more......

Group Ride

Today was the usual group ride. I got home from work, changed clothes, and headed out. I met everyone on the road. Chip told me there were quite a few women in the group and they were going to do the "C" route and take it easy. I told him that was fine with me. My legs were a bit sore after yesterdays ride & core workout. We were heading down Lakeview, when one of the ladies seemed to be feeling a bit froggy. I caught up to her and just rode behind her for a bit. We hit Houser's Mill Rd, & I asked if she wanted to wait for the others. She said that this was going to be her last ride for a couple of weeks and wanted to have a good ride. I led her up the hills and Tommy caught up to us. We waited for a bit at the intersection of the 247 connector and 49. She headed ahead on her own. When the others met up with us, I headed out and Tommy was right behind me. When we hit 49, I saw her ahead & was determined to catch her. It took me longer than I wanted it to, but I ended up catching her & we rode in together until Tharpe Rd. Tommy & her headed back to The Bike Store and I headed home to do my core workout and my stretching. My legs actually felt pretty good up the climbs, considering they felt sore all day long. I'll probably have to ride the trainer the next couple of days, the forecast calls for rain. All in all it was a good ride.

Back on the road

Today was the first day I've been on the bike in 3 days. This weekend was busy with things that kept me from riding. My legs definately felt like they haven't been riding for a few days. I rode out to the Perry Parkway and my legs felt okay, but nothing great. I just kept it in the small ring & kept up a higher cadence. I just couldn't keep up the speed I wanted to, but my legs will come back around soon enough. I just have to get back on the road bike & get back into getting ready for the offseason. That's about all I have for now, sorry it's such a short post, but really don't have much to say. Stay tuned for more......

Weekend Report

Sorry I didn't post much last week, but I really didn't ride the road bike until Saturday. I rode my commuter bike to & from work and did other things in the evenings. On Saturday I rode to the Perry Welcome Center for the usual group ride. I got there just before 8 am, but no one was there at all. I waited for about 10 mintues, then just headed out on my own. I rode down the Perry Parkway to Boutwell Rd, then past the Perdue plant, then down 247 to 96 then home. I was in the big ring the last part of the ride & the legs felt good. Today I went out & started doing the Sunday route, but I changed it up a bit. I took 341 all the way through Perry, then went past the Perdue plant, then onto 247, then Bear Branch Rd, to Houston Lake Rd home. My legs felt pretty good the entire ride. I'm hoping to get more riding in this week, the weather is starting to get cooler again & I love riding in cooler weather. That's about all I have for now, thanks for reading.

Trying something different

Today I did something I haven't done in quite a long time, I went mountain biking. I borrowed a demo Gary Fisher Caliber full suspension 29er from The Bike Store here in Warner Robins. I rode the trails at L. H. Thompson. I started out quite cautiously, not know what to expect riding the dirt. I can say one thing, riding a mt. bike takes a lot more upper body strength than riding a road bike. My arms & shoulders definately got a workout riding the trails. I didn't do too bad on the first lap, I only hit the dirt one time. I decided to try a second lap, and I guess I got a bit on the cocky side. I learned the hard way never get too cocky on the trails. They have a way of biting you when you least expect it. During the second lap I hit the dirt twice and brushed up against a tree. Needless to say, I'm a bit sore, but I have to admit, I had a good time riding the trails. I might have to look into getting a mt. bike in the future and giving some races a try. Later in the afternoon, I took the road bike out to do a recovery ride. My right knee was a bit sore from hitting the stem when I went down one time on the dirt, but after doing about a 17 mile easy spin ride, it feels much better now. I told Charles I might have to borrow the other demo mt. bike they have to compare a 29er and one with 26" wheels. All in all it was a fun day and definately a learing experience.

Saturday Jordan Hill Loop Ride

Today I went up to Epic Bikes and rode the Jordan Hill loop. I hadn't rode that loop for over a month. The usual group was there and we took off just as it was getting brighter outside. We started out as usual, a brisk pace for me before my legs warmed up, but after a bit they started to come around. Once we hit Hillview Rd, my legs started to feel the climbing. I did my best to stay with the group, but I dropped back a bit. I was able to catch up on the flatter parts of the road. We hit Jordan Hill Rd and my legs hurt going up the climb. I was happy that at least my speed didn't drop into single digits like it did the last time I climbed it. We regrouped at the top of the hill and just rode a paceline the rest of the way back to the shop. Tim showed us the new location of Epic Bikes. The new location is bigger than the current shop and what Tim told us the plans for the new shop are going to be, it's going to look awesome. He's planning on having the new location open on Feb. 3rd of 2009. It was great to ride with those guys again & I hope to be able to get up there and ride again soon.