Where has it gone?

"Where has what gone?" you might be wondering. Or not. Where has the year gone, has my motivation gone, and my fitness gone? Would be the correct answer. Of course I know where it has gone - right out the window.

First went the motivation.  For some reason, once I met my personal goal of riding for 180 in a row, I just didn't have much more motivation to ride.  In fact I haven't been on the bike since I finished that personal challenge. This is terrible.  This is what has contributed to my overall lack of fitness (not that I had much to begin with).  Let's face it, as we age we are either actively working to maintain or possibly improve our fitness or are losing it. Since I haven't been riding I have been heading down the losing fitness road fairly quickly.

Along with the lack of exercise, we have come through the holiday season which is notorious for overeating and I have been keeping true to form in that arena as well.  Combine these 2 facts and obviously my weight has been on the increase instead of the decrease.  Time to wake up and face reality, I cannot afford to not work out.  My metabolism and eating habits just don't allow it.

This time of year is notorious for making resolutions to do whatever and unfortunately most of those resolutions rarely make it past the end of January.  That's why this is not a resolution but a commitment.  I will eat healthier and be more active starting today.  No sense waiting for the new year, for next week or until after my cruise in less than 2 weeks.  I have to start today and keep with it every single day.

I have been avoiding the scale like the plague because I know that it will not have any good news for me. I will get on the scale and note the number that it shows.  I will use this as my new beginning and move on from there. I am not happy with my current state of affairs, I have no one to blame but myself and no one can change it but me and that starts today.

I hope everyone had a great holiday and am looking forward to a happier and healthier new Year for us all!

Now, get on your bike and ride!!!!

Still here

I have been woefully negligent of this space for the last 3 weeks or so.  Most of the reason for that is little has happened in that time that is truly worth noting.  I am still riding everyday and have only 22 days left in my personal challenge.  unfortunately no progress has been made in the weight loss department and neither have I completed any rides or events of any note.

One thing that has been going on is an increased focus on my overall health via attending several doctor's appointment and having a variety of tests conducted on my body. No results have been revealed as yet due to one last test coming up this weekend. Once the testing is complete it will be time to sit with my doctor and discuss treatment options.  Nothing drastic is happening (that I know of) except for some resistant high blood pressure.  Let's hope the tests confirm this lack of other issues.

I do know that I need to get myself into better shape and will be starting to address this in the near future.  I mentioned my plan to lose weight through the fall and into winter and my doctor was skeptical due to the number of holidays frequently used as convenient excuses to overindulge in all things calorie rich.  I have hoped to prove him wrong, but so far he has been right.

Once I have a better idea of my medical status I will be making my plans to improve my overall heath and I will be posting it here, if for nothing more than public accountability.

I hope you have a chance to get out and enjoy the glorious fall weather and...

Get On Your Bike and RIDE!!!!

The ride that didn't happen

Today's post was going to be about how I managed to complete a tough 25 mile ride for the Pedal to the Medal event on Saturday.  I was registered for the event and I intended to take my time and meet the challenge even though my longest ride of the year was just shy of 13 miles back at the beginning of May.  I panned on talking about the volunteers, the scenic course, the wind and how thankful I was for cooler temperatures.  It was going to be an epic story of struggle.

Alas, the tale was not meant to be.  I had logistical issues which arose with a vehicle in the shop and 4 grandkids needing to be a 2 different schools for their basketball games on Saturday morning. Family definitely trumps cycling so I didn't partake in the ride since we couldn't arrange the transportation of everyone to their assigned locations in a timely manner if I was dropped off for the ride, or I took one of the vehicles.

I am a little sad that I didn't ride, but it is more than offset by having watched the grandkids play their respective games. The 2 youngest are on teams in the same division and actually played each other so we had one win and one lose.  The second oldest played well, but his team lost.  The oldest played well as well and his team won! So we were 2 for 4 on the day.

Here are some pictures.

Would I have liked to ride? Sure I would, but in the end I'm actually glad I didn't as I would have missed the fun.

Get on your bikes and ride!

Guess what day it is...

While technically it is hump day it is also the anniversary of my birth 52 years ago.  I really do find it hard to believe that I am 52 years old. Personally I don't think I'm old and if you ask those around me you may be told that I certainly haven't grown up. :)  I know I am getting older, though as the body doesn't respond the way it once did.  I may have to make a much more concerted effort at improving my health in order to continue to have a quality of life that I want.

Quality of life.  To me that's the key. I want to do what I enjoy, but I realize that it must be in moderation and the good must be balanced by the not so good. Sure I can have some cake and ice cream for my birthday, just not half the cake nor a half gallon of ice cream! Not to mention I really then need to be physically active to combat that rush of calories.  Fortunately I can ride my bike and that is a good thing that I enjoy that is also good for me.

So, I started this post thinking I would do a look back over the last year of the highs and lows, the accomplishments and misses, but not today.  Maybe at the end of the year.  Today I am going to enjoy what I can and do what I must and be thankful for those birthday wishes from family, friends and acquaintances.

Get on your bikes and ride!!!!

I've taken on a project to get the family rolling

Well, I've certainly done it to myself again. See, I have been looking for a bike for my oldest grandson. He's been wanting a mountain bike so I've been watching the list of craig to see what might be available and I'd seen a few decent deals but something kept me from pulling the trigger. Then, yesterday, I saw an ad that said 5 mountain bikes $50. Here is one of the pictures included with the ad:

Now, the ad did say that they were in need of some TLC, but I figured that I could handle the minor issues these bikes might have. On top of that the seller was willing to deliver then for a small fee.  I figured it was worth the gamble so I contacted him to see if they were still available.

He replied that they were and he would be happy to deliver them.  We set up a time on Wednesday (today) and that was it, I thought. When I got home last night, however, there was a text from the seller that he had forgotten a previous engagement he had on Wednesday, would tonight (Tuesday) work? I let him know that it would, indeed work and we set up a time.

He had underestimated how long it would take to get to my house from his, but eventually he arrived and I took all 5 bikes off his hands.  After we had unloaded them he let me know that he does home cleanup and they had been working on a short sale house and as they were cleaning out the yard they found these 5 bikes in the weeds.

Looking at the bikes I see that they are not high end, but not the cheapest either.  They are one or two steps up and they appear complete. Every tire is currently flat but the tires themselves look to be in decent shape.  Over the next few weeks I'm going to see what I can do to get them back on the road so that the grandkids, and my daughter, will be able to ride them since we need to get some miles in before the fun ride on September 13.

Get on your bikes and ride!!!

Early morning ride

Got up at 3:35 this morning to get in a nice longer ride.  In fact this was my longest ride so far this year.  That's not saying a lot, except that I am starting to increase my mileage. I needed a longer ride to make sure I will be ready for Saturday's 20 mile Tour De Cure (Hey, if you haven't donated, how about slipping them $10 or more HERE?).  Its too bad I couldn't start when I want to, which would be about 5:00 am to try and stay out of the heat.

OK, anyone familiar with the schedule for Saturday will say I could, in fact start early.  As early as 5:30 am, but only if I'm doing one of the longer distances.  I'm not, so my start time will be 8:30.  That's still significantly earlier than last year.

This morning I knew i had to go at least 10 miles which represented half the stated distance for Saturday's ride. So I set the alarm to get up at 3:55 so I would have to ride, cool down and post the ride to my various websites (Daily Mile, Strava, Plus3, Map My Ride) and then get showered an to work at a reasonable time.  Now, astute readers will note the difference between my alarm and the time I actually got up.  I knew that if I tried to get that last 20 minutes of sleep, I was putting the morning's ride in jeopardy.  So, when I woke up 20 minutes early, I just got up and started getting ready.

For some reason knowing that I was up early had me taking my time to get ready and out the door.  I ended up on the bike about the same time as it would have been if I had gotten up at 3:55.  Funny how that works.  Anyway, by 4:08 according to my Garmin, I started pedaling.  The temperature was in the low 60's with a NNE wind of 10 gusting to 18 mph.  Not too bad, except the direction.

I felt good as I got into my rhythm and completed the first lap around my usual morning training loop.  On the second lap I decided I needed to change things up a little and did my longer loop.  I was still feeling good and looking at my Strava report of the ride I see I actually did my third fastest time on the long loop. Not too bad.  I continued mixing it up between the 2 loops trying to take my mind off the fact that my arms and shoulders were feeling it this morning for some reason.  By the 8 mile mark I was also starting to feel it in my saddle area.  I know its from a lack of saddle time.  I wanted to stop at this point, but knew I needed to keep going to put in the distance.

I did push through 3 more laps and ended with a total of 11.67 miles this morning and an average speed of 12.9 mph.  Not too bad at all.  Have I ridden faster and farther?  Sure I have, but this tells me I can manage to get through the ride on Saturday.

Have any big rides planned for your weekend?

Get on your bikes and ride!!!!

Ride Report BIKE:MS Vegas Challenge 2013

This past weekend I was fortunate enough to participate in the BIKE:MS Vegas Challenge 2013.  I have to say up front that this was one of the best run, most organized and well supported rides I have been on.  It was relatively small, only about 230 riders, but the support and organization were outstanding.

This was actually a 2 day ride, but with family commitments and lack of recent riding, I only did the first day of the 2.

The weekend started with packet pick-up on Friday evening over at Pro Cyclery.  I was pleased they were the LBS supporting the ride as that's where I got my wheels and I am very happy with them.  I was in and out in less than 2 minutes having signed the waiver, picked up my packet and my event T-Shirt.

Saturday was a perfect day for the ride.  The temps started out around 50 in the morning and warmed up nicely into the 60's with bright sunshine and very little wind.

The courses for day one all started downtown at the Lou Ruvo Center, which is part of the Cleveland clinic, and then followed the strip south to Silverado ranch boulevard, by the Southpoint Casino.

Uncharacteristically, I wasn't at the start really early.  I slept in until 5:45 and then got the carrier and bike on the car, loaded up the rest of my gear and headed over to the start bay 7:00 or so.  The ride started at 7:30.

As I got out of the car and unloaded the bike I realized that I had left my bike pump sitting in the garage. I looked for someone to borrow a pump from, but all the cars near me in the lot were empty as everyone was heading over to the start area.  I rode over on my soft tires and the great folks at the Procyclery tent hooked me up by pumping up my tires for me.  The front wasn't bad, but the back was down to about 40 lbs.

After I got all aired up it was time for a trip to the port-a-potty.  My usual pre-ride ritual.

The safety crew was there with their vehicles.  Many were on motorcycles and trikes.

After taking care of business I was waiting near the starting area when someone called my name.  There was Stephanie and Georgette that Michele used to work with.  They were volunteering at the registration tent.  It was good to see them.

It was now just a few minutes until the start.  I was near the middle of the group waiting near the starting line.  The music was playing and the DJ counted us down to the 7:30 start.  I had expected them to let us all go at once, but that was not to be.  They let 30 or 40 riders go and then held us up for a couple of minutes so there wasn't a huge blockage on the roads. This was a good strategy as they on had the one intersection blocked right by the start.  The rest of the ride we were on the roads with traffic.

The next wave went and I wasn't in it, but I was now near the front.  Finally when they let the third wave go I got through the start and got rolling.  While I give them kudos for the organization and support on this ride, I have to say it made me appreciate the Viva Bike Vegas traffic blockage along the strip.  The first 2 miles of the ride had over a dozen lights and it seemed that we had to stop at every one of them.

Once we got to Las Vegas Boulevard and made the turn south it wasn't quite as bad, but again, there were very few lights all day that the timing worked out for me to ride through.  I swear I had to stop at over 50 lights over the 30 mile ride.

I did get my picture taken shortly after making the turn onto Las Vegas Boulevard:

We cruised down the strip past all of the mega resorts.  Traffic was fairly light, being Saturday morning, but it was far from non-existent and there were a few impatient drivers who made for some closer calls than were necessary.

Here I am cruising the strip near City Center.

BTW I have to give a huge shout out to SunRidge Photography for taking the pictures and then providing them to the participants free of charge.  The full albums are available on their Facebook page.

Once we got past the heart of the strip the riding got better.  The traffic thinned out as did the number of lights. One interesting note was that as we passed Mandalay Bay Resort I noticed they had an event lining up in their overflow parking across the street.  This was the ride 2 recovery ride and they had a bunch of police motorcycles and cars lined up waiting for the ride to start.

We got a bit farther down the strip and passed the famous Welcome to Las Vegas sign,where several riders were stopping for a photo op.  I decided to just keep riding.

From here on to the turn at Silverado ranch was a nice little ride.  Once we made the turn, heading west on Silverado Ranch we were faced with the toughest hill of the 30 mile route - we had to ride up and over I-15. Now I've ridden over this bridge many time in a car and it wasn't bad, but on a bike, I was certainly glad I had my gears.  I dropped down to my middle ring and hit my lowest gear and just ground up the bridge to the top.

Just as I neared the top, the light changed so I had to stop which wasn't all that bad as I got a minute reprieve before restarting.  I got over the top and started heading down, but of course had to stop for the light so I couldn't take full advantage of the gravity assist.  I did enjoy what I could, though.

Now along the way I had been seesawing with a couple of the safety crew riders. One in particular I remembered from the Tour De Cure back in April.  We rode past each other many times over the course of the ride:

I just want to say thank you for being there and making sure we were all safe.

We rode down Silverado Ranch to Arville and made a right towards the midway point and the rest stop. The volunteers were all upbeat and helpful and the rest stopped was well stocked with beverages, fruit and various nutrition bars.  I still hadn't opened my powerade so I didn't grab any hydration, but I did grab a banana and ate it.

The photographer caught me while I was there:

(Boy do I need a hair cut!)

Then it was back on the bike to finish off the second half of the ride.  What was nice is that there was a slight elevation gain most of the way south on the boulevard so I knew that I was going to benefit from heading back down that elevation change.

The biggest chunk of it was along Alta Drive where at one point there was a decently steep downhill that I took full advantage of. It was interesting.  I would catch up to my friend on the motorcycle at each light.  He would pull away from me but have to stop at the next light where I would catch back up to him just before it turned green.  We repeated this for 4 or 5 lights down Alta.

The next hing I knew I was riding under I-15 and coming up on Central Parkway and making the turn into the finish area, back where we had started.  The DJ was announcing riders as they came in and I stopped and got my finishers medal.

There were lots of volunteers and quite the party atmosphere at the finish:

Unfortunately it was still a bit early for the post-ride lunch so I decided to load up and head home.  All in all the ride took 3:07, but my actual moving time was only 2:32.  The other 35 minutes was spent sitting and waiting for lights along the way and the 3 or 4 minutes I spent at the rest stop.

It was a very enjoyable ride.

2013 Viva Bike Vegas Gran Fondo Pinarello Part 2

If you missed part 1 it is here.

Ride Day

When we picked up our packets, we were given our assigned start times and I have to say I was a bit disappointed. Where last yer I was able to ride the strip while it was still dark since our wave started at 6:00 am, this year we weren't starting until 8:20. The sun was well up by then and that was a bit of a disappointment.

With an 8:20 start it wasn't necessary to get there too early since we would be sitting around and waiting. We agreed that we would start loading up the bikes, etc. at 6:30 with an eye to a 7:00 departure for the 15 minute ride to Town Square for the start. Well I was up early as was my dad and we got the new bike rack sorted out and installed, the bikes loaded and were ready to go by 6:35. We didn't see a need to hang around at home so we headed over to Town Square with a stop for some gum and powerade on the way.

We got to town Square about 7:00 for our 8:20 start time. We unloaded the bikes, checked tire pressure, put our race numbers on our bikes, helmets and my jersey. Then we put our timing chips on and were ready to go with well over an hour to kill.

We decided to ride around a bit to warm up and check out the area.  We saw many riders on many different bikes.  As some of the longer waves hadn't left yet, there were many riders in full kit on expensive bikes.  There were also many others on hybrids, single speeds, hybrids, beach cruisers and even a pennyfarthing!  The rider was decked out in old fashioned dress, complete with knee socks and handlebar moustache.

Stock pennyfarthing photo

Since we had so much time on our hands we decided to find a bench and relax until it was time to line up so we found a bench and relaxed for a bit.  While we were sitting there we talked with a woman who was also riding the 17 mile route.  She was doing this as her first group ride.  She said that she rides just about every day and it wasn't the distance that had her worried, but riding with other riders.  I assured her it would be fine as this group would be very relaxed and tended to give each other lots of room.  She was suitably impressed that my dad had driven all the way from Michigan to do the ride.

The bench we had found was strategically placed near the open restrooms. As we were talking there I realized I had left my cycling gloves on top of the car so took a quick ride back to get them.  Fortunately they were right where I left them.  By 7:45 we both decided on one last trip was needed to be ready for the ride.

At 8:00 or so we rolled into the starting coral and I was surprised at how few riders were actually there.  I thought that maybe they had already let a wave of 17 mile riders go.  As we were there we noticed the gentleman on the pennyfarthing lining up near us towards the back of the group.  Also there was a tandem and a husband and wife with the husband pulling a trailer with their daughter.

Music was playing, the MC was talking to the crowd and the excitement was building.  Finally it was time to count it down - 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 GO!!! everyone was starting out, some a little less sure than others, but it was a clean start as we headed out onto Las Vegas Blvd and made the left headed north towards the heart of the famous Las Vegas Strip.

We started off slowly but the main group quickly started moving away.  We knew we would be among the slowest riders on the day.  We actually were maintaining a faster average than my dad was normally used to.  Looking at the record from my garmin, we were running 15 to 18 mph down the strip.  We found ourselves with a group of cyclists including the tandem and the pennyfarthing we had been close to at the start.

They had warned us at the start that we would be detoured into the Southbound lanes near the Venetian as the police were investigating an earlier accident. Fortunately for the cyclists it appeared the crash involved 2 cars and no cyclists.  It certainly felt interesting riding along the strip while the police held up traffic for us.  As we passed each of the officers my dad and I thanked them.  We certainly wouldn't have had the experience without their work.

Farther down the strip we passed Gold and Silver Pawn of the TV show Pawn Stars fame.  Unbelievably there were probably 20 or 30 people already lined up to get into the store before 9:00 AM. Once past them, we were nearing Downtown Las Vegas.  This is where the old casinos are and it is experiencing a rebirth.

As we made the turn off Las Vegas Blvd, the officers near us were warning us to sty to the right as there was soon going to be traffic around us as we had left the closed road part of the ride.  Looking around we were astonished to see the pennyfarthing was still with us. Up until this point it was just a matter of turning the cranks for him, but now it was going to get interesting as we would be dealing with the stops and starts of traffic lights.  Pennyfarthings don't have brakes.

Having left Las Vegas Blvd, we realized the easy part of the ride was over and now we needed to do a bit more work.  We had enjoyed a relatively flat ride so far with a 1/2 - 1 % downgrade the length of the strip.  Now we had to deal with regaining the 200+ feet of elevation we had lost. Certainly not  lot of climbing, but it added a degree of difficulty to the ride.

Once back out of downtown we headed through much less picturesque parts of the city.  Along the way we crossed under the Sahara overpass and we decided to stop in the shade for a drink.  Pennyfarthing had kept going and we honestly never saw him again.  After a quick drink we got back at it. 

Further along we passed under the I-15 expressway and hit one of the steepest sections of the course as we climbed back up from the underpass.  I was super impressed with how well my dad did, pulling away from me on the uphill.  He had far less trouble on the climbs than I and I had more gear choices.  A bit farther along after  couple of more steep sections we hit Valley View and it was time for another drink.  We pulled over into a lot and had a nice drink.

We then took off to tackle the last 3 miles or so of the ride.  We rode down Valley View to Sunset road and made the left towards Town Square.  That's when the last obstacle came into view - the overpass back across the I-15.  It seemed a bit cruel to put the toughest climb of the day at the end of the ride. There was a slight downhill run up to the overpass and I took full advantage of it.  I made it up and over and was enjoying the wonderful downhill, but had to make a u-turn back to the service road under Sunset Road.   It wasn't fair that we had to slow down and stop for the light to make the turn.

Once under Sunset we were in the final stretch with a turn into the finishing chute.  There was the finish line.  We had done it!  We hit the dismount line and walked our bikes towards the volunteers. 

 

We were given our finisher medals and offered water bottles and Gatorade right at the finish.

 

Here are our official finishing times:

The official time was 1:45:11 but according to my Garmin it was over 12 minutes less than that.  The reason for this is the starting timing mat was well before the start and we crossed it heading up to wait for the start of the ride.

I have to say it was great fun and I totally enjoyed the ride with my dad.  At this point I'm not sure if he will do it again, but I just might.  Thank you Dad for doing this ride with me!

2013 Viva Bike Vegas Gran Fondo Pinarello Part 1

This year I was fortunate enough to ride this event with my father.  Here is the tale in 2 parts.

Background

Last year I rode the 2012 Viva Bike Vegas Gran Fondo Pinarello and I had a lot of fun.  You can read the report here.  I decided then that I would ride this event again this year.  It was a great ride and I loved starting in the dark and seeing the strip all lit up as we rode down it.

My father had done numerous bike rides with us as we were growing up in Michigan in support of the March of Dimes.  We had ridden several 50 mile rides and even done a 100 mile ride from Detroit, MI to Flint Michigan and back.  The thing was the last of these was over 30 years ago.

Back in May as I was talking about the upcoming rides I had planned, I knew that my dad had started riding a bit again and I threw out the idea of him riding in this event this September.  At first there wasn't a lot of enthusiasm for the idea.  It must have stuck, though as there was more discussion and eventually my dad said he might be interested in doing it, but he wasn't sure if he could do the distance.

My wife and I decided that as a bit of incentive, we would gift him with a registration as a combination Father's day and birthday gift.  My thinking was that it might keep him motivated to ride knowing that we had gotten his registration for him.  It seemed to do the trick.

He started riding almost every day throughout the summer in Michigan.  Personally I think it was a good thing this summer in Michigan was a bit cooler than normal as it kept him out there riding.

As August rolled around both he and my mom decided to take me up on my August Challenge.  My dad rode every day and my mom walked on the treadmill every day in the month of August.  In fact in terms of total miles, my dad actually rode 2 miles farther than I did for the month.  His longest ride of the year was only 12.8  miles, though.  He was still was leery of the 17.3 mile distance.

Finally on September 12, he got in a 17 mile ride. and was satisfied that he could make it the distance.

The Journey

Now Mom and dad had to get from Michigan to Las Vegas in order to ride in the event.  They don't like to fly, so they loaded up the motorhome and started a leisurely 6 day trip across the country.  They left on on Friday, September 13.  Unfortunately this would prove to have been an unlucky choice as there were several challenges on the way.

The first challenge was a leaking air line.  Fortunately, my dad being a mechanic and always prepared was able to make the repair and keep on going.

The second challenge happened on Tuesday, September 17and was a blown tire near Winslow Arizona.  It was the left front tire and not only was it blown, but as it blew it tore apart some of the wiring.  They stopped for the night in Winslow after the courtesy patrol helped him change the tire, putting on the spare.

On Wednesday, after a stop at an auto part store, they made it to Williams Arizona where they had planned on staying for 2 days to possibly do a side trip to the Grand Canyon. Then they were planning on rolling into Las Vegas Thursday evening.  Well, that day after they got set-up in the campground my dad set to repairing the wiring and making sure the motorhome would make it the rest of the way here.  He got it taken care of in a couple of hours.

Unfortunately Wednesday evening my mother started having severe abdominal pains which continued to get worse.  So my dad called the emergency numbers at the campground.  No answer.  He went back to the unit and started packing things up and getting ready to move.  Then he called 911.  The closest emergency room was 30 miles away in Flagstaff so rather than wait for them to come to him, that's where he went.

11:00 Wednesday evening I heard from him that they were there and getting her checked in but had no idea what was wrong as yet.  Eventually after an examination and a cat scan it was determined that she had a kidney stone.  The plan at 2:00 am was to fill her with fluids and hope that it would pass.

There was concern since my mom is 74 years old, has asthma and is diabetic.

By 9:00 am, it hadn't passed. So the day attending brought in the urologist who was concerned that there might be infection behind the stone.  He determined that the best course was to put in a stent and use a laser to break up the stone so that it would pass.  He said he would get her in as soon as he could.  Surgery was just after lunch and everything went well.

With her medical history, they decided to play it cautious and kept her overnight to make sure there weren't any complications from the anesthetic nor the medications.

Friday morning they determined she could, in fact, leave.  With the need for release signatures, etc.  they didn't get out of the hospital until after 11:00 and headed towards Las Vegas.

Now there was a bit of a time deadline as packet pickup was only open until 7:00 pm and the ride was Saturday morning.  The original plan had been to arrive Thursday evening and then we would have had time on Friday for a tune up ride to check the bikes and then take our time heading over to packet pick-up.  Obviously that didn't happen.

Getting away when they did, and with the need to stop for gas and lunch, we figured they would be showing up between 4:00 and 5:00 with plenty of time to do what we needed to.  At 2:40 I got a text that they were near Kingman, AZ and still on schedule.

Unfortunately Tom Tom led them a bit astray and at 4:52 my mom called for directions to get beck on track.  For some reason instead of coming all the way across the 215, Tom Tom had sent them on the 15 north.  They got turned back around and I had them come the most direct route via Blue Diamond Road.

At 5:11 I got another call, this time from my dad that they were off the side of the road near Blue Diamond and Buffalo (less than 2 miles from the house) and that they had blown a transmission line.  The motorhome was out of traffic so we decided that Michele and I would pick them up, get to packet pick up, drop off my mom's prescription at CVS, and then have dinner before attending to the motorhome.

We got to packet pick up and as usual things went smoothly.  I was wearing a Hawaiian shirt and on of the volunteers suggested I wear it for the ride hte next day.  I told her I had last year and will again this year.( you can see it in my photo here).

We then dropped off the prescription to be filled and had a great dinner at Montana Meat Company where our daughter met us.  The girls then left to pick up the prescription while my dad and I went to the motorhome for what was hoped to be a 5 minute fix.  Unfortunately it took a bit longer as the line had to be replaced and then the engine cover had to be removed to put enough transmission fluid in to get moving.  It took about 45 minutes, but the repairs were successful and the motorhome finally made it to the house.

More on this tomorrow.

August Challenge Day 2

Today is day two of my August Challenge I mentioned here.

I had hoped to get out and ride before it got too hot, but there was a delay. So it was after 11:00, 92 degrees with a 14 mph wind gusting to 22.  At least on part of the ride the wind helped to cool me off a bit.  I didn't have a plan on where to ride today, so I just picked some roads in the neighborhood and did a couple of meandering loops.  In the end I did:

6.6 miles
30:30 elapsed time

Totals for the month:

17 miles
1:16:02 elapsed time
One item to note is that my dad has accepted my challenge and is ridingevery day in August as well. So far his total is 16.3 miles for the month.  We'll see who has more miles at the end of the month.

100 Miles Of Nowhere...

Ok, here's the story for this:

(Fat Cyclist 100 MON)

I was competing in the 100 Miles of Nowhere Las Vegas Block edition. As I posted here, I signed up for this for the first time this year back in mid-April.  I figured I would have lots of time to train, get my stamina up and be ready to go.  While i had the time, things didn't quite work out as well as I had hoped in that regard.  My longest ride leading up to this event was only 20 miles.

My swag showed up 2 weeks ago.  Great swag from all of the sponsors.  Here is my race plate.

As I planned my event I decided to use laps around my block as my course for the event.  From training and testing ride I determined that it was approximately .47 miles around the block.  Doing the math that meant I would need to do 213 laps to hit 100 miles.

One concern I had was with the forecasted temperatures for June 1st.  !0 days out the forecasted high was 101 degrees Fahrenheit.  Way too hot to ride in all day.  Since a lot of my training is done before work when it is nice and cool, I decided to start my ride nice and early in order to try and beat the heat. So my plan was to get up and be on the bike by 4:00 AM.

As I posted yesterday here, I had just changed my seat and did a quick shakedown ride to check the position.  Friday night I washed my cycling attire, laid out all my supplies for before and during the ride, set my alarm for 3:30 AM and went to bed early for my at 9:00 PM.

The alarm went off, what seemed like way too soon and it was time to get up and get going.  I got dressed, headed downstairs and had a banana and some Oreo vanilla cookies washed down with a bottle of Starbucks Vanilla Frappacino.  I then aired up the tires and opened the garage.  I was relieved to feel the cool air come in as it was only about 65 degrees.  I turned on my Garmin and my lights and off I went.

The first lap wasn't too bad except for the 10 to 15 mph wind from the west.  This meant that I was pushing into the wind on the uphill prat of the lap.  Not bad, but I started thinking that it might prove to be a problem later on.  One lap down and a whole bunch more to go.

Very few people were out so early so i basically had the streets to myself  It was relatively peaceful and quiet.

I got into a pretty good rhythm and the laps started going by.  I kept a count of laps in my head and the goal was to complete at least 45 or 50 laps before I took my first rest.  As I rode along I noticed that the sky to the east was getting lighter and eventually at 40 laps I noticed the sun on the mountains o the west.  A few more laps and I actually saw the sun over the houses to the east.

As the laps were adding up, my saddle area was getting a little tender.  Let's face it, I just didn't have enough saddle time leading up to this ride.

I hit 53 laps, which was 25 miles and decided it was time for a rest.  I checked my Garmin when I went in and noticed that I had completed the 25 miles in 1:55 which equated o an average speed of 13.0 mph.  I was right on the pace that I had envisioned before the ride.  I knew I needed to get hydrated and eat some calories or I would be in trouble.

So, some powerade, more Oreos, a couple of fig newtons and I was back on my way.  As I rode the next laps, the neighborhood started waking up.  People were walking their dogs, backing out of their driveways and starting to do some work round their houses.

As the laps progressed I was thankful for the Garmin as I lost count and had no idea how any laps I completed.  fortunately I had my distance traveled on the Garmin. 

One thing to note is that during this stage I actually had a dog chase.  On the opposite of our block a woman was putting her 3 dogs into the car as I rode by.  I was almost by when the largest of the 3 dogs spotted me and all 3 took off after me barking.  The woman called after them and within a house or two they decided to listen and turned around.  

At approximately 12 miles I passed the house and my wife was there cheering me on!  Thank you dear! I completed the next lap to make 12 1/2 miles in just under an hour and it was time for my next break.   I had just under 3 hours seat time and a total of 37 1/2 miles so far.  My saddle area was also quite sore.

A banana, a powerade, some pringles and a couple of fig newtons and I was back on my way.

My wife took a picture of me during the ride:

Not much to remark on for this segment of the ride.  I did a bunch of laps, the sun was out and warming things up and surprisingly my legs didn't feel much worse for wear.  My saddle season was another matter, though.  I was getting quite sore.

Just after the 50 mile mark it was time for another break.  Still maintaining about the same pace as these miles took just under an hour as well.  Here I was at 50 miles and 4 hours into my ride.

More powerade, a Honey Stinger Blueberry Buzz bar, a few more pringles and some oreos and I was on my way again.

I noticed that I was slightly slower and this was due to shifting my position on the saddle looking for some relief.  It wasn't to be found, though.  I toughed it out to 62.5 miles and decided that was it for this event.  I had completed the 100 Miles Of Nowhere Las Vegas Metric Century around the block edition.  I was pleased to have made it that far since this was 3 times the farthest ride I had taken in the last 3 years.

Now for a nap, some sushi and Cold Stone Creamery.

May ride #13

Today is the last day of May.  I had hoped to get in 23 rides this month, but sadly my number is only 13.  Of course if I compare where I am this year versus last year it looks a bit better or not. :)  Last May I got in 20 rides for a grand total of 176 miles.  This may my 13 rides total only 104 miles.  What has improved is my total mileage for the year which is at 347 miles this year and only 286 miles through May of last year.

Today's ride was a short one as a check and adjustment of seat position in preparation for the 100 Miles of Nowhere I am riding tomorrow.  As such it was a successful ride as I believe I have the new seat dialed in and the bike is ready to go.  Now let's hope that I am ready for it.

If all goes according to plan, and let's face it when it comes to these things that is a rare occurrence, I should start about 4:00 AM and finish up between 2:00 and 3:00 pm.  I am being very conservative with my speed estimates and generous with rest stops - about 10 minutes every hour.

Look for an update either tomorrow afternoon or on Sunday.

May Ride #12

I had been planning a longer ride this morning and I actually got to execute the plan.  I got the bike ready and rolled away at 8:40 or so.  There was little wind, bright sunshine and temps in the 70's - a glorious day for a ride.

I headed out Blue Diamond road with a slight tailwind.  I was feeling fairly strong and I just spun away.  I made it out to the Gypsum mine in 35 minutes.  Made it to Bonnie Springs in just under an hour.  I continued on to Spring Mountain ranch.  It was a hair over 10 miles from my house to here.  I stopped and drank some powerade and decided that was far enough for the day.

Truth be told, I was feeling a bit saddle sore and decided it as prudent to head home.  I turned and started back down towards home.  The effort of riding uphill on the way out was rewarded with the lovely downhill ride on the way home.

I was coasting and floating down the road towards home and it was wonderful.

When I got home I uploaded the data from my Garmin to the various sites including Strava, where I learned I had set a personal best.  I hadn't been trying, but having everything working well and not mechanical issues allowed this to happen.

May Ride #11

So I got up at 4:00 am,got into my cycling clothes, got my piece of gum, pumped up the tires and was on the road by 4:20.  I noticed right away that there was a Southwest wind again this morning.  This meant extra resistance on the uphill part of my lap around the block. Checking out the official weather after my ride it shows 20 mph with gusts to 26. Just another spring morning in Las Vegas!

I was feeling pretty good the first few laps, but about lap 6 It was getting tough to make the pedals turn.  No sure why, but I powered through.  One thing I like about the laps around the block is I generally  get to coast for about 20 to 30 seconds each lap.  I use that as recovery time.  Its almost like doing interval training.

After powering through 3 or 4 tough laps, its like my body decided to quit protesting and just get it done.  It never really became easier, but it wasn't as hard either.  I suspect the wind and my mental state towards it was as much to blame.  Once I accepted that it wasn't changing and that I was just going to do it, it felt easier.

Somewhere along the way I must have lost count and skipped a lap number since I finished at 9.97 miles and not the 10.47 I had thought.  That means I did 21 and not 22 laps.

May Ride #9

Got up and got out there for the 4th morning in a row and it felt good.  I'm finally getting into a groove.  No mechanical issues, no weather issues, just getting out there and putting in a few miles every morning.

This morning it was another 22 laps around the block for a total of 10.48 miles.  I even did it faster than yesterday by 37 seconds!  That actually gave me an average speed of 14.8 mph!  It also got me over the 300 mile mark so far for the year.

As with yesterday's ride, I could have gone farther, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't too late to upload the data and put up my post this morning.

Hope everyone has a great day and is able to get out and enjoy the outdoors in some way!

Wonderful, unremarkable ride

Got on my steed and headed out on Blue Diamond towards Red Rock. Noticed right away how awesome my ride felt.  The new tires and wheels gave a smooth and stable ride.  The gatorskins had noticeably less rolling resistence.

Funny but it was a great ride primarily because nothing remarkable happened.  The winds were in the 10 MPH neighborhood the sun was shining and temps in the low 70's.

The above picture shows the road looking towards Red Rock by Blue Diamond.

Yesterday I did a quick 10 laps around the block as a test to gauge what the 100 Miles Of Nowhere was going to take.  The 10 laps netted 4.71 miles which means it will be 212 laps to hit the 100 miles on June 1.

Before that, though I have the Tour De Cure coming up on Saturday.  30 miles with 1960 feet of climbing.  It will be a challenge, but I'll do it.  Join me in fighting Diabetes by making a donation on my page.

Thank you.

Oh my, what have I done????

In a fit of insane behavior (at least that's my story and I'm sticking to it) I just registered for an insane event that is scheduled to occur on or about June 1 this year.  It is a very worthwhile event, I assure you, but what was I thinking????

The event is Fatty's 100 Miles Of Nowhere.  If you  are not familiar with this concept, in a nutshell we are to ride either stationary trainers or around a very small course for 100 miles in support of charity.  Fatty explains it so much better here.

The race is going to benefit a very deserving cause this year - Camp Kesem.  To quote from their webiste:

"Camp Kesem empowers college student leaders nationwide to create free, life-changing summer camps for children affected by a parent’s cancer."

 As you can see this is a very worthy cause for such a crazy stunt.  What makes this even more crazy is that I have not ridden 100 miles in a long, long time.  Wish me luck!

Spinning

I bought a spin bike for the house. I never could figure out or trust rollers and none of the other exercise bikes in my price range seemed like they would hold up so I bought a spin bike. Spinning has taught me to be less concerned with mileage and with average speed – there is no speedometer, odometer or any other kind of meter on my spin bike. I could wear my Garmin, but it won’t show any progress – only time. That’s what I’m focusing on when I’m spinning – riding for x number of minutes at a time.

Now, granted my time on the spin bike is currently fairly short – only in the 10 minute range, but that will be increasing as I move forward. My goal is to spin at least 5 days per week.

Some people call it boring, but I find it relaxing. It gives me a chance to retreat a bit from the chaos of the house and focus only on one thing – turning the cranks. Its almost a zen-like feeling as I focus solely on what I’m doing and leave the rest to resolve itself.

I know riding the spin bike this winter will give me a new appreciation for riding my bike and actually going somewhere. Sure I’ll still be doing my training loops and out and backs, but I think I will enjoy them more.