Great ride today. Total of 24 miles with a good average speed. I was the only non-SAS Pro rider today (they have taken over what used to be an easier ride).
So, yes, they dropped me again, but it took them longer this week. :)
It seems like only last year, oh wait it was last year, that they would drop me within two miles.
Then I could make it to the end of Weston. Then this year I could get to the mid point of Morrisville Carpenter. Last week I almost made it to UpChuck.
Finally this week I got within sight of GreenHope high!!!
I might never be able to stay with them for the whole ride, I'd have to train a lot more, but it sure feels good to stretch it a little farther each week.
Weekly Summary:
Only road on Sunday and Friday this week for a total of about 74 miles. Will try to put in that 3rd day again this week.
On the fund raising front for the Jimmy V Foundation, it came to halt this week, but I haven't been advertising much either. Don't worry, I'll start bugging you again soon.
On a general cycling note, here is Chris Horner's update after missing out on the Tour de France but putting in an awesome effort in the Tour de l'Ain http://tinyurl.com/l5ev8k .
Also the viral Performance rap video http://bit.ly/s3XnP .
Have a great weekend!!
-Dwight
Showing posts with label Jimmy V Ride. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jimmy V Ride. Show all posts
Friday, August 14, 2009
Monday, August 3, 2009
Go the extra mile
Even if it’s just because you took a wrong turn. :) More on that later.
Like last Sunday, I decided to get in extra miles before meeting up with the Thorns and Roses for the Sunday group ride. “The Plan” was to head out at 6:30, get in an easy 16 miles and have a couple of minutes to recover in the Caribou Coffee parking lot before heading out again. So much for plans!
Actually everything was on schedule until I realized at 6:28 that I didn’t have my gloves. On short rides I don’t worry too much about them but knowing it was a long day I really wanted to find. After 5 minutes of searching and no gloves I decided I better get moving if I wanted to stick to the plan.
I ended up rolling out of the Garage at 6:35. I still wasn’t worried because with fresh legs I knew I could make up the five minutes over 16 miles. Once I got into the “country”, which only takes a few minutes in Western Cary I was feeling pretty good. A deer was grazing next to the road, then a few hundred feet further one trotted across my path; not too close, but close enough to get a really good view. I thought about stopping for a photo but then remembered that I was just barely going to make the start of the group ride. By the way, someone needs to come up with an easy way to carry a camera on a bike.
A few miles after the deer spotting I came to Green Level Church Rd. and couldn’t remember which way to go! I tried recalling a picture of the map I pulled the night before but the details just weren’t clear enough. I chose left. After a 100 feet or so I was treated to an awesome downhill at near 40 mph and then a nice climb back up. When I got to the top the map in my head suddenly cleared I realized I needed to go the other way in order to make the 16 mile loop. After repeating the hill in the opposite direction I was on my way again. This route is basically a large loop into Western Wake county and back to within two miles of the house. Of course now I’m really cutting it close after the wrong turn.
It was 7:28 and I still had to get across Hwy 55, Davis Dr and finally to Cary Parkway where the group meets. I knew they usually ran a little late in starting so there was still a chance to catch them. I put it in “high gear” and flew down High House. I pulled into the parking lot at 7:35 and at first thought for sure that I had missed them, but then I saw them gather up on the other side of a large SUV. I made it!! But they were all mounted up and pulling out as I pulled up. I had time for a U-turn and then just had to get in line. I was SOOOO glad I brought a third bottle of water!!
Luckily the group starts with a warm-up through Prestonwood neighborhood at about 12 to 17 mph so I could get my legs back after the sprint to the coffee shop.
After a few miles the group ended up on Carpenter UpChurch (road where Green Hope High is) and at the end is a sprint to an imaginary line. This week I was ready for it but the veterans still got the jump on me. I was able to pass one of them though and came in a close second. That made up for the stress of the first 15 miles.
The makeup of the group this week proved to be more difficult than normal. Usually we have 3 paces called the Thorns, Stems and Roses. Thorns go to races on the weekends and think nothing of riding 70 miles a day, Stems want to Thorns, but are hard pressed to keep up and Roses ride for the scenery, although a few move up to Stems and Thorns as the weeks go by. Well this week there was 1 rose, 2 stems and 5 thorns. I’m really with the Stem group, but can keep up with thorns most of the time. Since we really didn’t have a Stems group I road with the Thorns while the other Stem road with the Roses.
Other than riding a little faster than normal, with a few extra attacks, the rest of the ride was fairly uneventful. We did go through a “squirrel crossing” and had a flat later in the ride.
The group leader ends up posting the details of the main ride on their blog so I’ll let you get the rest of the story from there: http://trailsandtrib.blogspot.com/ .
By the end of the ride, with the wrong turn and few extra miles in the group ride, I ended up with 51 miles at an average pace of 17.6 mph. If you’ve kept up with my posting you might notice that’s the farthest AND fastest in 3 weeks!!
See you on road!
- Dwight.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
23 miles and almost got drenched
Missed a downpour by 5 minutes!
I did the medium SAS route today that's touted as 25 miles but I somehow end up with 23.3 every time. :) My average speed went up a little today to 16.6 from 16.2 last week. I was at almost 17 before the last couple of hills bit me.
Oh yeah, did the "break away" again, but only lead the main group by 5 minutes today. They still didn't catch me so I guess it's time to go ahead and ride out with them. I'll just have to suck it up while they pound through the first few miles that should be a warm-up.
The ride did start out a little bumpy. Dropped my chain at the light turning left onto Weston. This is a busy intersection where you really don't want to do that! Luckily there were some nice motorists who let me recover and pedal through.
Then, later on Weston there was some construction where they created about 6 "speed bumps" spaced about 20 feet apart. Well the last one threw my water bottle (OK it was store bought gator aid bottle - that's another story) and it skid behind me for 30 feet or so almost catching me while I came to a stop.
Speaking of speed bumps, I decided to hit the 10 mph bump I mentioned last week even faster today and did it at almost 12 mph, but paid for it. I forgot that it's a false plateau and the hill keeps going up. :( OUCH!
Ended the ride by going through the Apartment complex that corners Cary Pkwy and Chapel Hill road and then up hill the rest of the way back to SAS.
By the time I showered and got back to my office it was pouring outside. Great timing!!
- Moot
I did the medium SAS route today that's touted as 25 miles but I somehow end up with 23.3 every time. :) My average speed went up a little today to 16.6 from 16.2 last week. I was at almost 17 before the last couple of hills bit me.
Oh yeah, did the "break away" again, but only lead the main group by 5 minutes today. They still didn't catch me so I guess it's time to go ahead and ride out with them. I'll just have to suck it up while they pound through the first few miles that should be a warm-up.
The ride did start out a little bumpy. Dropped my chain at the light turning left onto Weston. This is a busy intersection where you really don't want to do that! Luckily there were some nice motorists who let me recover and pedal through.
Then, later on Weston there was some construction where they created about 6 "speed bumps" spaced about 20 feet apart. Well the last one threw my water bottle (OK it was store bought gator aid bottle - that's another story) and it skid behind me for 30 feet or so almost catching me while I came to a stop.
Speaking of speed bumps, I decided to hit the 10 mph bump I mentioned last week even faster today and did it at almost 12 mph, but paid for it. I forgot that it's a false plateau and the hill keeps going up. :( OUCH!
Ended the ride by going through the Apartment complex that corners Cary Pkwy and Chapel Hill road and then up hill the rest of the way back to SAS.
By the time I showered and got back to my office it was pouring outside. Great timing!!
- Moot
Friday, July 24, 2009
Week 2 Summary of training for Jimmy V Ride
What a great week.
As I promised last week, I increased my mileage. The total, including the ride home from work later today, was 58 miles. There were a few interesting moments but overall a great week of riding. Feel free to read my earlier posts for more details.
The best part of the week however was what happened to my fund raising total. Since last Friday's post my percent to goal for the Jimmy V Ride for Cancer Research went from 34% to 70% as of noon today!!
Thank you to everyone who donated!!! Please continue to spread the word by passing a link to this blog or my fund raising page to anyone you think would be interested.
I still have a little ways to go so I'm making another plea to anyone who hasn't considered making a donation yet. This is a great cause and the process is extremely easy. A side benefit is that I won't ask for further donations once I reach my goal. :)
Please visit this site every week to get an update on the fund raising and my training for the ride.
- Dwight.
As I promised last week, I increased my mileage. The total, including the ride home from work later today, was 58 miles. There were a few interesting moments but overall a great week of riding. Feel free to read my earlier posts for more details.
The best part of the week however was what happened to my fund raising total. Since last Friday's post my percent to goal for the Jimmy V Ride for Cancer Research went from 34% to 70% as of noon today!!
Thank you to everyone who donated!!! Please continue to spread the word by passing a link to this blog or my fund raising page to anyone you think would be interested.
I still have a little ways to go so I'm making another plea to anyone who hasn't considered making a donation yet. This is a great cause and the process is extremely easy. A side benefit is that I won't ask for further donations once I reach my goal. :)
Please visit this site every week to get an update on the fund raising and my training for the ride.
- Dwight.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Wednesday's Ride
Meant to do 26 miles today but took a wrong turn and did 23.5. Also didn't ride with the SAS group so that I could go longer than normal. I just headed out a few minutes ahead of them and they never caught me. :)
The reason for it is that they usually start out too fast so I end up fading by about mile 10 and then have to limp home. This way I could ride my own pace at the start and finish much stronger. The weather was great but it felt a lot hotter than 80 degrees by the time I rode back to SAS.
By the way, as you can see from the widget on the right, my fund raising for the Jimmy V Ride is at 60% of goal! This is far outpacing my predictions. Thanks to all who have donated!
Have a great Hump Day!
The reason for it is that they usually start out too fast so I end up fading by about mile 10 and then have to limp home. This way I could ride my own pace at the start and finish much stronger. The weather was great but it felt a lot hotter than 80 degrees by the time I rode back to SAS.
By the way, as you can see from the widget on the right, my fund raising for the Jimmy V Ride is at 60% of goal! This is far outpacing my predictions. Thanks to all who have donated!
Have a great Hump Day!
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