Are you a solo or a group rider?

Watching the Men's and Women's Road Race in this year's Olympics got me to thinking about how hard it has to be to ride in the middle of a peloton.  I watched as the main peloton in both races lost to a small breakaway group.  It became very apparent that the larger group had issues with organization and working together, where the small group(s) at the front did not and that helped them to win the race.

I am not a gorup rider.  I have been on a grand total of 4 rides which have involved other people and I realize, now, that I was not a good member of the group on most of those occasions.  The reason for this, I believe is my lack of experience in riding with others.

Now that I think about it, when I rode with Robin and Cyn 2 years ago, I chose to follow Robin's lead, letting her "pull" me along.  I really wasn't being selfish about it, I just didn't want to go too fast and drop her, so I let her set the pace.  Since we really weren't riding that close together nor at any appreciable speed, there really was no benefit for me in the trailing position.

I did the same thing a couple of months later when I rode with Mary but for the opposite reason.  I was as slow as a slug and didn't want to hold her up as much as I was, so I told her to go on ahead.  She did, but without getting too far ahead and maintaining contact with me.

I've never really beenon a ride where we were going a significant distance, nor at a fast enough speed where it would benefit us working together, taking turns pulling each other along.  I've ridden over 1300 miles in the last 2 years and all but 25 or so of those miles have been as a solo rider.  I think I need to find otherriders of a comparable skill level and speed to work on my group riding skills.

So, are you a group or solo rider?  Which do you prefer and why?

Short Term Goals

I'm looking back at my almost non-existent riding history for the month of July and I'm realizing that goals are important.  Not just the big goals like riding 2012 in 2012, but smaller, short-term goals like riding so many days in a week, or month.

I knew when I had bike problems at the beginning of the month that my total for the month was going to be low, but not quite as low as it is.  Between mechanical issues, the heat and humidity, a minor injury and various late nights, the mileage has not been there this month.  In fact, as of today, my mileage for the month of July is only 17.6 miles in 2 rides!

I could make excuses and dwell on the fact that I'm falling further and further behind my initial pace to reach my goal, but I know that is unproductive.  Instead I am looking ahead.  Since it is still very warm, I don't want to overstate my goal or over commit myself for the month of August, but I do want to make sure that I am making progress towards my big goal for the year.

With that in mind, I have come up with some mini goals for the month:

First I am planning on riding at least 17 of the 31 days in August.  That averages out to 4 per week for the next 4 weeks plus an extra day for the extra half week of the month.

Secondly, I am planning on riding at least one 20 mile ride and one 25 mile ride during the month.

Third,  My total miles for the month should be at least 200.

I think these are very doable goals for the next month and will help to propel me towards the 2012 in 2012 larger goal.

Looking ahead to September, there is a ride up the Las Vegas Strip on September 22 as part of Viva Bike Vegas which I am hoping to do.  The short ride option is only 17 miles, which I know I can do, but there are some longer options which I might attempt.  I'll wait until the beginning of September to see how well I'm doing, before I make that decision.

Anyone want to join me?

What are your goals for August?

Dan

I'm rolling again

I'm finally back on my bike and rolling along.  I realized this morning that its been 4 weeks since I last rode and that is just too long of a break.  Not only did I lose some fitness, but it certainly dug a hole in terms of meeting my 2012 in 2012 goal for this year.

I actually have both of my bikes back up and rolling along.  Some bearings and a good tightening of the bottom bracket on the Univega and a new Shimano crankset on the Diamondback were just what the bike doctor ordered. :)  I was figuring a cost between $125 and $150 for the repairs and was quite pleased with a bill for $62.

I rode 8 miles this morning and felt the 4 week layoff.  I did lose some fitness as my legs were gone at 5 miles, but I know I can quickly gain it back.  I don't think I'll make 5 days riding this week, but I should make 4. 

Keep rolling along!

Not a happy camper...

Last Monday I only rode 8 miles because my right pedal started having issues again.  Tuesday through Thursday I had to be into work early so I could teach early classes.  Over the weekend I thought I was able to correct the issue with the pedal, but this morning it proved to not be the case.  Within three turns of the crank the issue was back.  Looks like I need a new crank arm as the threads for the pedal are shot on this one.

What sucks about this is first, the bike is only 2 months old.  Secondly, there is apparently no way to order one online, which means I have to find an authorized dealer and get them to order it for me.  There are several dealers around, including Sport Chalet, its just the hassle of having to actually go in there that I dislike.  I've tried going to the Diamondback Corporate site, but their focus is on selling bikes and not on service.

The third part that sucks is that since I self assembled the bike, any warranty is null and void.  Apparently it doesn't matter that I bought the bike online and had it shipped to me directly, I was still supposed to take it to one of their dealers and pay them $80 to assemble the bike.  Based upon the wheel issues, the pedal/warranty issues and my overall feeling of abandonment by the company, I will not be buying another Diamondback bicycle, nor will I recommend them to anyone else.

So, now I'm probably down for at least another week while I get to a dealer and have them order the part for me.  My goal of 2012 in 2012 just got significantly harder to obtain, but we'll make it.

Not only am I going to get the crank arm for the Diamondback, I'm also going to see about getting the crank bearings taken care of on the Univega so I have a back-up steed as well.

Weekly goal met

I met my weekly goal of riding 6 of 7 days this week.  If I hadn't set the goal for myself I probably would not have ridden this morning, but I am glad I did!  My stats are:

Weekly Miles ridden:  72.55 miles
Time for week:  5 hours 38 minutes
Monthly miles:  102 miles
YTD miles:  388 Miles
Miles to go to hit 2012:  1624 miles

I am slightly behind on my pace of 56 miles per week, but it did improve with this week's miles.

On the calorie front I will be over my weekly total for allowed calories.  I never made up last Sunday's extra calories and was even over a bit yesterday with a trip to CiCi's pizza buffet.

I've read so many inspiring stories from the 100 miles of Nowhere and Fatty's Race report this week.  People truly suffering on their bikes for a good cause that I am motivated to keep pushing myself and improving.  I will ride that event next year.

I also watched my all time favorite movie again yesterday: Meet The Robinsons.  I can't help but get a little choked up every time I see it because it is all about the importance of family and has the best motto: KEEP MOVING FORWARD.  No matter what life throws at you, just keep moving forward.  Seems like some great advice.

Dan

I'm getting addicted...

..to this thing called cycling.  I'm starting to slightly obsess about it and am thinking about it often.

Brian, in his post over at Mid Life in the Fast Lane, said it very well.  He mentioned how it starts out as a thought that maybe I can just do this a little better.  Then you progress to adding a little distance and the next thing you know you are contemplating doing a century ride.

I must be addicted since I've gotten some gear, I keep pushing myself to go faster and/or farther, and yes I'm starting to think about a Century ride.  I'm not ready for it as yet, but I know that if I keep pushing myself and actually putting in the miles I can do it.

Yesterday I rode the farthest I have in almost 2 years - 18.3 miles.  I wasn't fast, with an average of 11.4 mph, but the fact is, I probably could have gone farther.  When I got home I wasn't worn out.  I could walk up the stairs with no more issue than normal.  I didn't even feel especially tired.  That all combines to tell me I could have gone farther.

One area that was tender though was the saddle area.  When you are placing the amount of weight that I am, on that concentrated of a region, it tends to get sore fairly quickly.  I'm finding that I start to get sore about 7 or 8 miles into my rides.  This has improved, though.  I was getting sore about 3 miles in, so progress is being made in this area. :)

In the weight department, I have to confess that I haven't been nearly as disciplined or made near enough of the right choices to move in a positive direction.  I haven't gained (at least not since my one week binge following the final weigh in of the Biggest winner) but I haven't lost either.  I have a feeling its definitely time to buckle down and stop eating over 3000 calories a day.  Sure if I take into consideration what I've been burning with my riding I'm "allowed" these calories, but if I want to lose some of this fat, I need to start eating less calories on a daily basis.

So my goal for this week is to ride 6 out of 7 days for a total of at least 60 miles and to limit my total calorie intake for the week to 2500/day for a total of 17,500 calories consumed for the week.  I'll have to closely watch what I eat since we had Mexican food and Ice Cream yesterday for a daily total of 3,389 calories, (with a burn of 1858 calories from yesterday's ride but I'm not counting net calories here).  So far today I've had 1,165 calories.  If I were to try and balance yesterday's choices, I would only have 446 calories left for today.  I think I might spread the deficit across a couple of days :)

Glass was not the problem

The good news is that the glass on the road was not the problem last week.  I took the wheel off and inspected the tire, expecting to see glass sticking out of it. I found nary a piece embedded in it.  I then removed the tire and tube from the wheel to continue with the inspection. Again, I did an inspection of the tire, this time on the inside both visually and by gently running my fingers around the tire.  Still no glass.

At this point I was wondering if there was some other reason for the failure of the tube, so I turned my attention to the tube itself.  I didn't see anything wrong, focusing on the outer part of the tube so I decided to add some air.  As I pumped I felt the air leaking from a hole on the inner part of the tube about 3 inches from the valve.  I was confused as to how this could be the case, until I noticed that my new wheel was missing the rim strip.

It seems that when they moved the tire and tube from the old wheel to the new, they failed to realize that there was no rim strip on the new wheel and the sharp edge of one of the holes in the secondary wall of the wheel had punctured the tube. This was actually a relief in that it meant the Kevlar tire were actually doing their job in protecting the tubes form the hazards on the road.

I took the wheel, tire and tube to the LBS where I had purchased the wheel and they replaced the tube since the missing rim strip was their fault (Thank you Broken Spoke).

Unfortunately this took place on Friday.  Since my wife and I had planned a weekend of relaxing and doing very little, I didn't get another ride in until this morning.  The good news is that I Rode 9+ miles this morning with no issues.  I do have to make a slight adjustment to my handlebars as they are slightly off center from the crash on Thursday.  The interesting this was that I felt slow this morning, yet my Garmin and Strava indicated that I had ridden my best time yet on my training loop.  Go figure!

So, I'm on a working machine again and I expect to hit my 5 of 7 goal easily this week, baring any further issues, of which I hope there are none!

Goals are sometimes very challenging

My short terms goals have been to ride at least 5 of 7 days each week.  I accomplished this 2 out of the last 4 weeks and this week my be in jeopardy after riding 4 out of 5 days.

I got up at my usual 4:00 am to get in my ride before work this morning.  I was moving a bit slow but managed to get the tires aired up and on the road by 4:15 or so.  The first lap felt good but I noticed a bunch of broken glass about 1/3 mile from the house.  I didn't think much of it having prepared for this by purchasing Kevlar reinforced tires and slimer tubes for the bike.

Unfortunately it seems my Kevlar reinforced tires and slimer tubes were no match for the broken glass someone so kindly placed on the roadway. Of course I didn't realize this until I approached the corner at 20 mph and felt the back end swerve. I tried to brake, but lost it. Fortunately just a bit of road rash on my knee and elbow and hurt pride were the only casualties(of course there was a couple walking about 1/2 block back from the corner).

So with my flat rear tire I walked the approximately half mile home.  Technically I did get out and ride this morning, if only for the short distance of 1.5 miles.  Its too early to look at the bike and see if I need a new tube or if I might be saved by the slime.  Hopefully I can get it to hold air and get out for a ride tomorrow to make my goal.

The good news is that I ended up riding 176 miles this month , which if I'm not mistaken, is the most miles I've ridden in any month, even when I was training for Pumpkinman.

252 miles and counting

This week has been one with much less riding than I had anticipated or planned, yet I did manage to get out for 3 rides after all of the issues with spokes and wheels.  I rode a total of 24.15 miles this week bringing my total for the year to 252 miles.  I realize that I am a long ways from my goal of 2012 in 2012, but the fact that I was able to get any miles this week is a good thing.

Only 1760 miles to go for the year. Divide that by the 31 weeks remaining in the year and it works out to just under 57 miles per week average needed.  Riding an average of 5 days per week.  I need to ride over 11 miles  per day.  Definitely a doable number.

Back at it

I'm back on the bike and loving it.

Last Saturday I did my longest ride so far this year, over 16 miles.  Now by many standards that's not a long ride, but it was an accomplishment for me.  The good news is I felt good and probably could have gone farther.  The bad news is as I mentioned before, I had 3 broken spokes.

Monday I took the bike into Broken Spoke, a newer bike shop here in the Las Vegas area.  When I dropped it off, the gentleman said it should be done the next day.  Unfortunately when I called on Tuesday afternoon, there were still 2 bikes ahead of mine.  That meant the soonest it would be done is on Wednesday.  I wasn't thrilled, but could understand that delays happen.

My 2 concerns were that it be done right and it be done quickly since I hadn't ridden since Saturday.  I called Wednesday about lunch time and was told there was a problem.  Apparently they didn't have the right length spokes in stock and it would be another 2 days to order them.  I was obviously upset and wondered why this was when they had the spokes in stock when I dropped it off.  As the mechanic was looking t the order, he noticed that there were 2 different spoke lengths written, one with 2 of the numbers transposed.  He said he would do some investigation and call me back.

The next thing I know, I got a call that the bike was ready to be picked up.  To say the least I was very happy.  It meant I could ride Thursday morning, the first ride in 5  days.  I stopped by the shop on the way home from work and picked it up and all was well.

This morning 4:00 am rolled around and I got up and went for a ride.  I was feeling strong and very happy to be rolling again.  I had missed it over the last 5 days.  In fact, I felt so strong that I decided to try something I had not previously done - ride my entire morning loop with out down shifting on the incline.  Now its not a very steep incline, but it does add extra work, especially at my size.  I made it up to the highest point and started on the downhill and was feeling good.  I rounded the next to corners and carried a decent amount of speed into the ascent (OK slight uphill grade).  I made it to the middle of the grade and was still going strong, I kept pumping and made it all the way up and I wasn't worn out.  I couldn't believe it.

I was feeling strong and said to myself "you made it once, let's try it again."  i did and I made it the second time, then the third.  Then the fourth.  In fact I made it through 8 laps without downshifting.  Unfortunately at right about the 9 mile made I heard a thunk and noticed a wobble in the rear wheel.   I took it easy the last .3 miles home and looked to see that I had broken another spoke.  I was not happy.  First because I had planned on at least another mile this morning, and second I had another issue with the bike.

I pulled the wheel as  I was headed out the door to work and headed to the bike shop on my lunch hour.  When I walked in I talked to who i think was the owner/mechanic (wish I was better with names to give him his proper credit).  He let me know that he had hoped to catch me when I picked up the bike.  The diamondback comes with single walled wheels and for someone my size, with the larger wheels, a double walled wheel would be a better option.

My thought was maybe just replacing all the spokes might be a good option.  The information about the wheel flexing made me think twice about that option.  Besides that Broken Spoke said they weren't capable of doing the re-spoking.  The other shops in town changed at least $40 for labor plus the cost of the spokes which were between $1.25 and $1.50 each or 36 spokes.  I was looking at around $100 to get that done.  Broken spoke had a stiffer, double-walled wheel for $80.  That made a lot of sense. So I pulled the trigger and in 10 minutes was out the door with my tire mounted on my new rear wheel.

I won't make 5 of 7 days this week but I will ride 3 for 3 with a working bike!