Since I did't want to risk getting bored, I ran the Gaurd House 4.5 miler in reverse. I was told that the reverse run might be a little easier, but running in 40 degree weather is never really easy, although more tollerable than cycling in it. In the end my time was about the same.
Of special note, I mentioned in the last post that this is a hilly run. The reverse run allows for a better view of the hills for some reason and I've got to say that this must be the biggest hills in NC outside of the Smokey Mountains. I'll try to post some pics soon.
If it doesn't get snowed out, I plan on riding with the Thorns and Roses on Saturday.
Off to buy more Christmas presents, have a great weekend.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Running again
I'm starting to feel really good in my runs. I did the SAS "Gaurd House" run at lunch today. Basically it takes you to all three gates at SAS using roads and jogging paths. The total distance is about 4.5 miles and my time was 39:30. I've been told that this is a really slow route due to the large number of hills so I feel pretty good about my time. Plus I really wasn't pushing myself too much since I hadn't done the route before. 
Hopefully this is a good trend as I'll need to run more as the days get shorter and colder.
- Dwight.
Hopefully this is a good trend as I'll need to run more as the days get shorter and colder.
- Dwight.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Post Jimmy V Ride 2009
Great ride. Ended up with 76.4 miles at an average pace of 17.6.
According to repeat offenders, the turn out was a little low this year. My guess is somewhere around 100 cyclists doing either 25,50,75 or 100 mile routes. Not sure why the turn out was low but the weather combined with a change in the time of year might have played a part. Several cyclists also joined Dwight in recommending that the event get better promotion next year. From the outside it seemed that both the Cary Cycling Celebration and the Jimmy V Ride were counting on the other one to promote. In the end there was not enough information "out there" to drum up the support from local cyclists. Cary is a huge cycling community, there should have been several hundred people there. (In my humble opinion.)
Now for the ride...
Not having a riding buddy, Dwight started out toward the front of the group trying to find the right pace makers. After a few miles, he took his first drink from his water bottle and lost it while putting it back in the cage. :( Hopefully this was not a sign of things to come. Luckily it was a 2 year old bottle that probably needed to go anyway, just didn't need it to happen on a 75 mile ride.
The front group stayed together for quite some time and Dwight enjoyed the scent of the perfume coming from a cyclist a few rows ahead. It was a lot better that the usual smells during the Thorns and Roses rides so he kept his spot in the pack to enjoy the change of pace.
The course was well marked for the first 10 miles but then the peloton got to a T and there were no markings plus they had to turn onto a gravel road. Five cyclists went right and about 10 left. Finally someone who sounded like they knew what they were talking about shouted go left, so everyone went. The gravel slowed the pace considerably as cyclists tried to maintain a good line and stay out of the really loose stuff. Plus most still were not sure that they were on the right road!
Finally, the Peloton was back on pavement and the Jimmy V markers were pointing the way.
The first rest stop came at about 17 miles and Dwight hadn't planned on stopping, but with only one water bottle he figured he'd top off. Once off the bike, the chill set in and a biology break was in order. This delay worked out perfect however because as Dwight got back on the bike a group of 5 cyclist were taking off and all were going the 75 mile route. Dwight finally had his riding buddies!
Of course names were not exchanged, men in general aren't that great at it and Dwight is especially bad, but the group gelled with the new rider and set a nice pace.
Somewhere around the 40 mile mark, 2 of the 6 cyclists started dropping back and after slowing for a while the other 4 decided to continue ahead, with Dwight in tow. After about 5 miles Dwight's chain popped off the outer ring making it impossible to get it back on while still riding. (whoever the guy was from the Trek - Raleigh booth at the start of the ride you owe me one). While he yelled out "Chain" the group didn't hear, and kept going. While Dwight was fixing the chain the 2 that had dropped off earlier passed him. Now he was way behind and in no-mans land.
So he had 3 options:
Within a few minutes Dwight can see the two that got dropped so he now has his first goal. Because of their lower speed, Dwight is able to easily catch and pass them. Now to find the first group. With no rest stop coming up anytime soon, Dwight's only hope was to keep going all out.
Luckily there was a really nice downhill with some cool twisties that both broke up the monotony of the solo ride and provided a chance for Dwight to push the speed faster than the group would likely go. It worked. After coming out of the turns and climing the hill that followed Dwight could finally see his group in the distance. Unfortunately they didn't see him so he still had to chase them for a good 20 minutes.
Now back in the group, Dwight says, "Man you guys are hard to chase down", to which they reply, "we didn't know what happened to you. We thought you were going back to join the other 2." "Nope", Dwight said, "just dropped my chain off the big ring". Appologies all around with jokes about Dwight pulling up the next hill, but they thankfully slowed their pace a little.
Of course after all of this, the group hit the second to last rest stop on the day and Dwight declared lowdly that they HAD to stop at this one.
This stop allowed one of the other two that had been dropped to rejoin the group so they now had five to go the rest of the way.
The pace over the last 15 miles was a lot slower with several complaints after each hill, but the group stayed togther and decided to skip the last rest-stop (although Dwight was getting nervous about only having one water bottle).
With about 2 miles to go the pack saw a lone rider in the distance and decided to give chase, but then slowed at the very end when they realized he was on a mountain bike and had taken one of the shorter routes.
The cyclists were met with cheers, free food, drinks, massages and water bottles; good thing for Dwight because his was empty.
According to repeat offenders, the turn out was a little low this year. My guess is somewhere around 100 cyclists doing either 25,50,75 or 100 mile routes. Not sure why the turn out was low but the weather combined with a change in the time of year might have played a part. Several cyclists also joined Dwight in recommending that the event get better promotion next year. From the outside it seemed that both the Cary Cycling Celebration and the Jimmy V Ride were counting on the other one to promote. In the end there was not enough information "out there" to drum up the support from local cyclists. Cary is a huge cycling community, there should have been several hundred people there. (In my humble opinion.)
Now for the ride...
Not having a riding buddy, Dwight started out toward the front of the group trying to find the right pace makers. After a few miles, he took his first drink from his water bottle and lost it while putting it back in the cage. :( Hopefully this was not a sign of things to come. Luckily it was a 2 year old bottle that probably needed to go anyway, just didn't need it to happen on a 75 mile ride.
The front group stayed together for quite some time and Dwight enjoyed the scent of the perfume coming from a cyclist a few rows ahead. It was a lot better that the usual smells during the Thorns and Roses rides so he kept his spot in the pack to enjoy the change of pace.
The course was well marked for the first 10 miles but then the peloton got to a T and there were no markings plus they had to turn onto a gravel road. Five cyclists went right and about 10 left. Finally someone who sounded like they knew what they were talking about shouted go left, so everyone went. The gravel slowed the pace considerably as cyclists tried to maintain a good line and stay out of the really loose stuff. Plus most still were not sure that they were on the right road!
Finally, the Peloton was back on pavement and the Jimmy V markers were pointing the way.
The first rest stop came at about 17 miles and Dwight hadn't planned on stopping, but with only one water bottle he figured he'd top off. Once off the bike, the chill set in and a biology break was in order. This delay worked out perfect however because as Dwight got back on the bike a group of 5 cyclist were taking off and all were going the 75 mile route. Dwight finally had his riding buddies!
Of course names were not exchanged, men in general aren't that great at it and Dwight is especially bad, but the group gelled with the new rider and set a nice pace.
Somewhere around the 40 mile mark, 2 of the 6 cyclists started dropping back and after slowing for a while the other 4 decided to continue ahead, with Dwight in tow. After about 5 miles Dwight's chain popped off the outer ring making it impossible to get it back on while still riding. (whoever the guy was from the Trek - Raleigh booth at the start of the ride you owe me one). While he yelled out "Chain" the group didn't hear, and kept going. While Dwight was fixing the chain the 2 that had dropped off earlier passed him. Now he was way behind and in no-mans land.
So he had 3 options:
- Ride at his own pace and hope to get caught up in another pack
- Speed up a little and ride with the 2 that got dropped earlier
- Really speed up and get back with the 3 that left him.
Within a few minutes Dwight can see the two that got dropped so he now has his first goal. Because of their lower speed, Dwight is able to easily catch and pass them. Now to find the first group. With no rest stop coming up anytime soon, Dwight's only hope was to keep going all out.
Luckily there was a really nice downhill with some cool twisties that both broke up the monotony of the solo ride and provided a chance for Dwight to push the speed faster than the group would likely go. It worked. After coming out of the turns and climing the hill that followed Dwight could finally see his group in the distance. Unfortunately they didn't see him so he still had to chase them for a good 20 minutes.
Now back in the group, Dwight says, "Man you guys are hard to chase down", to which they reply, "we didn't know what happened to you. We thought you were going back to join the other 2." "Nope", Dwight said, "just dropped my chain off the big ring". Appologies all around with jokes about Dwight pulling up the next hill, but they thankfully slowed their pace a little.
Of course after all of this, the group hit the second to last rest stop on the day and Dwight declared lowdly that they HAD to stop at this one.
This stop allowed one of the other two that had been dropped to rejoin the group so they now had five to go the rest of the way.
The pace over the last 15 miles was a lot slower with several complaints after each hill, but the group stayed togther and decided to skip the last rest-stop (although Dwight was getting nervous about only having one water bottle).
With about 2 miles to go the pack saw a lone rider in the distance and decided to give chase, but then slowed at the very end when they realized he was on a mountain bike and had taken one of the shorter routes.
The cyclists were met with cheers, free food, drinks, massages and water bottles; good thing for Dwight because his was empty.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Jimmy V Ride 2009
The ride is finally here. Of course I just found out that the "75 mile ride" is actually 76.76. All this time I've been training for 75!! What will I do? :)
The weather should be awesome, cloudy and 70 degrees. Looking forward to great time. Just need to find some other cyclists who want to average about 17 mph so I don't have to ride alone for 4 and a half hours!
If you're driving in the Cary Area, please be especially kind to the big Cajun on the Fuji Team bike. :)
The weather should be awesome, cloudy and 70 degrees. Looking forward to great time. Just need to find some other cyclists who want to average about 17 mph so I don't have to ride alone for 4 and a half hours!
If you're driving in the Cary Area, please be especially kind to the big Cajun on the Fuji Team bike. :)
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
47.5 miles, a dog chase and a Baptism
Saturday was a great day for a ride. A high school friend of mine, fellow Cajun and now Godfather to our third child, was in for the weekend. We headed out to meet the Thorns and Roses at 7:50 ish, and rolled into the Caribou Coffee parking lot just as the cyclists were pulling out, so no time for the usual meet and greet.
Andre (sporting my borrowed orange 97 steel LeMonde) pulled alongside Love Train and got acquainted with the rules of the ride as Love Train shouted / sang his own rendition of "I'm an inconsiderate cyclist" when a car had to pass him by going into the other lane. Dwight shuffled back and forth between his guest and the other cyclists as he tried to find out the plan for the morning. Captain Carbon uncommittingly said we'd likely split into two groups once we reached the lake, however with only 10 in the group and lacking most of the Hammerheads, Dwight figured we'd stay together.
As the Thorns and Stems pulled onto Carpenter Upchurch, Andre was surprised that the group was double file on such a narrow road with the speed of the cars coming by. Dwight noted that this happened quite a bit that day, even on some of the highways, and the group might need a "talking to" by GOG.
With the sprint line in sight several cyclists pushed to the front to get the first race underway but Dwight spoiled the party by jumping way too early with only Captain Carbon chasing him down. Of course Captain caught up and taunted Dwight all the way to the finish. - GOG owes Captain $100.
The ride made the usual route from there going up Upchuck, Dwight opted out of that one, and on toward the lake.
At the rest-stop the group discussed what they would do with their winnings on the day, and Captain Carbon was strong-armed by Patti-melt and her minions into doing Col de Lystra.
Everyone made it, with Andre bringing up the rear due to the extra 10 pounds of steel he was pulling. :)
On the way back to the lake Dwight decided the group needed another sprint and designated the Bridge as the finish line. Since he was the only one that knew about this new sprint he won easily! - GOG owes Dwight $100.
Right before the Jig-jog at the strawberry patch Andre hit a wall and Dwight slowed to pull his buddy back to the group. At that point a dog came running down a drive after the two of them. (Likely stirred by Lovetrain) They both hit the gas but the dog was gaining fast and as it caught up to Andre the strangest thing happened. Going against it's "survival of the fittest" instincts, it passed up Andre and kept running for Dwight. It must have been the bright blue socks. :) Of course the dog could only run for so long and eventually pulled off leaving Andre and Dwight to catch up with the group.
On the last county-line sprint several Stems went into cahoots and successfully blocked-in Captain Carbon so that he couldn't win the sprint - again. - GOG owes someone else $100.
On the way back, Dwight and Andre left the ride a little early to get back to the family that was preparing for the Baptism that night.
Andre (sporting my borrowed orange 97 steel LeMonde) pulled alongside Love Train and got acquainted with the rules of the ride as Love Train shouted / sang his own rendition of "I'm an inconsiderate cyclist" when a car had to pass him by going into the other lane. Dwight shuffled back and forth between his guest and the other cyclists as he tried to find out the plan for the morning. Captain Carbon uncommittingly said we'd likely split into two groups once we reached the lake, however with only 10 in the group and lacking most of the Hammerheads, Dwight figured we'd stay together.
As the Thorns and Stems pulled onto Carpenter Upchurch, Andre was surprised that the group was double file on such a narrow road with the speed of the cars coming by. Dwight noted that this happened quite a bit that day, even on some of the highways, and the group might need a "talking to" by GOG.
With the sprint line in sight several cyclists pushed to the front to get the first race underway but Dwight spoiled the party by jumping way too early with only Captain Carbon chasing him down. Of course Captain caught up and taunted Dwight all the way to the finish. - GOG owes Captain $100.
The ride made the usual route from there going up Upchuck, Dwight opted out of that one, and on toward the lake.
At the rest-stop the group discussed what they would do with their winnings on the day, and Captain Carbon was strong-armed by Patti-melt and her minions into doing Col de Lystra.
Everyone made it, with Andre bringing up the rear due to the extra 10 pounds of steel he was pulling. :)
On the way back to the lake Dwight decided the group needed another sprint and designated the Bridge as the finish line. Since he was the only one that knew about this new sprint he won easily! - GOG owes Dwight $100.
Right before the Jig-jog at the strawberry patch Andre hit a wall and Dwight slowed to pull his buddy back to the group. At that point a dog came running down a drive after the two of them. (Likely stirred by Lovetrain) They both hit the gas but the dog was gaining fast and as it caught up to Andre the strangest thing happened. Going against it's "survival of the fittest" instincts, it passed up Andre and kept running for Dwight. It must have been the bright blue socks. :) Of course the dog could only run for so long and eventually pulled off leaving Andre and Dwight to catch up with the group.
On the last county-line sprint several Stems went into cahoots and successfully blocked-in Captain Carbon so that he couldn't win the sprint - again. - GOG owes someone else $100.
On the way back, Dwight and Andre left the ride a little early to get back to the family that was preparing for the Baptism that night.
Upcoming Rides to remember:
- Friday October 2nd - LIVESTRONG Day ride starting at SAS for SAS employees with all others joining along Weston Parkway for 20 to 25 miles through Cary and Morrisville. For more details visit http://www.livestrongaction.org/node/191464
Thursday, September 24, 2009
LIVESTRONG DAY EVENT
Fellow Cyclists,
I’m adding the SAS Friday Ride on October 2nd as part of LIVESTRONG Day – a global day of action to spread the word about the impact of cancer and push for more resources to eliminate the disease.
This is our normal Friday ride, but let’s wear yellow to raise awareness.
Please pass this on to any and all cyclists in the community.
Here is the link to the “event”: http://www.livestrongaction.org/node/191464
*****
A message from Livestrong:
Cancer has a huge impact on communities all over the world – all of us know someone whose life has been touched by the disease. But we’re not doing enough to combat cancer effectively. That’s why we’re hosting an event on LIVESTRONG Day – to join an international grassroots effort to push for change.
I’m excited about LIVESTRONG Day and this important event, but it won’t be a success if you don’t join me! Here are the details:
SAS Friday Ride
Join in Via Weston Parkway
Cary
Oct 2, from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm
The Livestrong Foundation is tracking the event so please RSVP – it only takes a few moments and a few clicks:
http://www.livestrongaction.org/node/191464
*****
Thanks and remember to forward this to everyone with a bike and the guts to join us.
I’m adding the SAS Friday Ride on October 2nd as part of LIVESTRONG Day – a global day of action to spread the word about the impact of cancer and push for more resources to eliminate the disease.
This is our normal Friday ride, but let’s wear yellow to raise awareness.
Please pass this on to any and all cyclists in the community.
Here is the link to the “event”: http://www.livestrongaction.org/node/191464
*****
A message from Livestrong:
Cancer has a huge impact on communities all over the world – all of us know someone whose life has been touched by the disease. But we’re not doing enough to combat cancer effectively. That’s why we’re hosting an event on LIVESTRONG Day – to join an international grassroots effort to push for change.
I’m excited about LIVESTRONG Day and this important event, but it won’t be a success if you don’t join me! Here are the details:
SAS Friday Ride
Join in Via Weston Parkway
Cary
Oct 2, from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm
The Livestrong Foundation is tracking the event so please RSVP – it only takes a few moments and a few clicks:
http://www.livestrongaction.org/node/191464
*****
Thanks and remember to forward this to everyone with a bike and the guts to join us.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Col de Lystra
I finally did it. There's been so much talk about the Lystra hill since I moved here that I finally had to do the ride to see what all the fuss was about. Before I get to Lystra though let's back up a bit.
I want to thank V. for holding down the fort so that I could ride on Saturday. Since the Saturday Thorns and Roses rides are usually longer I don't go so that I can help around the house with projects, kids etc. With the long weekend going on, Saturday was not as a big deal and the weather was absolutely perfect.
At 7:15 I rode to Caribou's and had plenty of time to chat with the group since our leader GOG, was a little slow on getting ready. The group was HUGE this week. Almost rivaling the Cycling Spoken Here Sunday ride. There was no way he was going to get everyone's name down, although I think he tried. One rider of note was visiting family from my old stomping ground, Winston Salem. He's on the Wake Forest race team so we were looking forward to some good sprints.
We all headed out by about 7:40 and stayed together until Carpenter Upchurch. The high speeds kicked it and since I tried to stay up front I didn't notice that the group had completely splintered. By the time we got to Morrisville Carpenter only half the group was left, with the others no where to be seen. Unfortunately, Wake Forest opted to stay back with his family, so the anticipated sprints weren't going to happen. Sporadic Steve decided to stay back and try to get the second group to catch up while Captain Carbon lead the rest of us out to Lystra at a slower pace. Eventually we realized that the second group wasn't coming so we picked up the pace and opted to wait at the designated rest stop.
After 10 or 15 minutes at the store, GOG and the group pulled in and we decide to spit in two again with one group doing the Col de Lystra and the other opting for a less hilly return.
So we started the climb.
It really wasn't as hard as everyone was trying to make it out to be, but was definitely steep, forcing everyone to stand on the pedals to get to the top. I made it to the top in the middle of the pack, too far back to see who got the mountain points for the morning.
Now it got interesting. As soon we reached the light at the top of Lystra it changed leaving half of us stuck. A few risked running the light but this was a highway, so me and 3 others waited a bit. After we finally crossed we could still see the pack ahead so I wasn't too worried. Then I realized that we weren't going fast enough to catch up and about the time I was going to say something the guy up front took a right that I wasn't expecting. The second guy in line said, "aren't we supposed to go back to the store?" The guy out front had no clue what we were talking about ... he wasn't part of our ride!
Joe (new Motobecane) and I had mistakenly teamed up with a different set of riders and were now on our own. Initially we tried to go all out to get back to the store and catch up but apparently Capt'n Carbon hadn't noticed that he left two of the troops on the wrong side of the HWY and had pushed the group onward. Joe and I decided to take a slightly shorter route home but still ended up with about 45 miles on the day.
Instead of going back to Caribou's, I headed home and got started on a great 3-day weekend with the family. Hopefully Joe was able to give Cope some grief for leaving us hanging. :)
- Dwight
I want to thank V. for holding down the fort so that I could ride on Saturday. Since the Saturday Thorns and Roses rides are usually longer I don't go so that I can help around the house with projects, kids etc. With the long weekend going on, Saturday was not as a big deal and the weather was absolutely perfect.
At 7:15 I rode to Caribou's and had plenty of time to chat with the group since our leader GOG, was a little slow on getting ready. The group was HUGE this week. Almost rivaling the Cycling Spoken Here Sunday ride. There was no way he was going to get everyone's name down, although I think he tried. One rider of note was visiting family from my old stomping ground, Winston Salem. He's on the Wake Forest race team so we were looking forward to some good sprints.
We all headed out by about 7:40 and stayed together until Carpenter Upchurch. The high speeds kicked it and since I tried to stay up front I didn't notice that the group had completely splintered. By the time we got to Morrisville Carpenter only half the group was left, with the others no where to be seen. Unfortunately, Wake Forest opted to stay back with his family, so the anticipated sprints weren't going to happen. Sporadic Steve decided to stay back and try to get the second group to catch up while Captain Carbon lead the rest of us out to Lystra at a slower pace. Eventually we realized that the second group wasn't coming so we picked up the pace and opted to wait at the designated rest stop.
After 10 or 15 minutes at the store, GOG and the group pulled in and we decide to spit in two again with one group doing the Col de Lystra and the other opting for a less hilly return.
So we started the climb.
It really wasn't as hard as everyone was trying to make it out to be, but was definitely steep, forcing everyone to stand on the pedals to get to the top. I made it to the top in the middle of the pack, too far back to see who got the mountain points for the morning.
Now it got interesting. As soon we reached the light at the top of Lystra it changed leaving half of us stuck. A few risked running the light but this was a highway, so me and 3 others waited a bit. After we finally crossed we could still see the pack ahead so I wasn't too worried. Then I realized that we weren't going fast enough to catch up and about the time I was going to say something the guy up front took a right that I wasn't expecting. The second guy in line said, "aren't we supposed to go back to the store?" The guy out front had no clue what we were talking about ... he wasn't part of our ride!
Joe (new Motobecane) and I had mistakenly teamed up with a different set of riders and were now on our own. Initially we tried to go all out to get back to the store and catch up but apparently Capt'n Carbon hadn't noticed that he left two of the troops on the wrong side of the HWY and had pushed the group onward. Joe and I decided to take a slightly shorter route home but still ended up with about 45 miles on the day.
Instead of going back to Caribou's, I headed home and got started on a great 3-day weekend with the family. Hopefully Joe was able to give Cope some grief for leaving us hanging. :)
- Dwight
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Long time no blog
Sorry about the absense, just working and living life more than blogging lately.
Just to get caught up I was able to ride and run last week but haven't been putting on the same number of miles. I'll need to pick it up toward the end of the month to make sure I don't have any problems on the Jimmy V ride. Speaking of which the fundraising has gone great, only need $40 to reach my goal. Thanks to everyone who has donated.
I plan on doing a solo lunch r
ide today, so please watch out for the guy in the white jersey on the black and white Fuji Team. :)
Don't have a good pic of me on the bike yet, so this stock image will have to suffice. I need to get someone to take an action shot so that I can use it on twitter / facebook / blogs etc.
The Fuji is still doing great by the way. Other than the rear tire wearing too fast there have been NO issues (somebody knock on wood). I was thinking about getting a different seat for the longer rides, but that might affect other things so I'll hold off for a while.
Everyone have a great rest of week.
Dwight.
Just to get caught up I was able to ride and run last week but haven't been putting on the same number of miles. I'll need to pick it up toward the end of the month to make sure I don't have any problems on the Jimmy V ride. Speaking of which the fundraising has gone great, only need $40 to reach my goal. Thanks to everyone who has donated.
I plan on doing a solo lunch r
ide today, so please watch out for the guy in the white jersey on the black and white Fuji Team. :) Don't have a good pic of me on the bike yet, so this stock image will have to suffice. I need to get someone to take an action shot so that I can use it on twitter / facebook / blogs etc.
The Fuji is still doing great by the way. Other than the rear tire wearing too fast there have been NO issues (somebody knock on wood). I was thinking about getting a different seat for the longer rides, but that might affect other things so I'll hold off for a while.
Everyone have a great rest of week.
Dwight.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
13-20-6-5
No, that's not the combination to my locker. :)
The SAS Pro ride on Wednesday left the parking lot with 13 riders, gained 7 on Weston Blvd, then 6 of us opted for the short route and 1 got dropped (finally it wasn't me!!).
Great ride today and the "Friday" group finally showed up for a Wednesday ride which meant I had a few more semi-pro riders to keep me company.
Other than the heat, it was "too hot to stop", it was great ride. We kept a good pace the whole way with a few attacks to keep it interesting. Didn't notice any new bikes but we had a "shirt-less wonder" join in (shirts really should be required on group rides), and Mary "look at me I'm in Fortune magazine" was sporting a new set of wheels.
In the end logged 20 miles through Cary and Morrisville.
-Dwight.
The SAS Pro ride on Wednesday left the parking lot with 13 riders, gained 7 on Weston Blvd, then 6 of us opted for the short route and 1 got dropped (finally it wasn't me!!).
Great ride today and the "Friday" group finally showed up for a Wednesday ride which meant I had a few more semi-pro riders to keep me company.
Other than the heat, it was "too hot to stop", it was great ride. We kept a good pace the whole way with a few attacks to keep it interesting. Didn't notice any new bikes but we had a "shirt-less wonder" join in (shirts really should be required on group rides), and Mary "look at me I'm in Fortune magazine" was sporting a new set of wheels.
In the end logged 20 miles through Cary and Morrisville.
-Dwight.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Make-up ride
Wasn't able to join the Thorns and Roses this weekend so I road with a group of 4 from SAS.
It's been said resently that my posts are a bit verbose, so just for this once I'll make it quick.
Road 22 miles that went something like this: easy start, tough hills at easy pace, very fast pace line, blew up my legs, recovered and caught group, blew them up again on huge hill, caught group, couldn't stay with group and got stuck at a light, fought gravity and blowed up legs the last 3 miles on a different route, beat the group back!
Have a great week everyone!!
-Dwight.
It's been said resently that my posts are a bit verbose, so just for this once I'll make it quick.
Road 22 miles that went something like this: easy start, tough hills at easy pace, very fast pace line, blew up my legs, recovered and caught group, blew them up again on huge hill, caught group, couldn't stay with group and got stuck at a light, fought gravity and blowed up legs the last 3 miles on a different route, beat the group back!
Have a great week everyone!!
-Dwight.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Friday SAS Pro Ride - and weekly Summary
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
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
Sunday, August 9, 2009
No wrong turns but a Flat
That's right, this time I went the right way in my 16 mile solo ride before meeting up with the Thorns and Roses.
Last week I was running late because I couldn't find my gloves, well today I left on time and completely forgot the gloves! For the non-cyclists the gloves give you some padding so your hands don't go numb but for me the key is keeping my palms dry. With today's high humidity, it was a feat to keep from slipping off of the bars.
I made the solo ride in good time with no incidents. Didn't see any Big Game this week, but a "killer squirrel", did mount an attack. Luckily my quick reflexes avoided a sure disaster. :)
Due to leaving on time and no wrong turns I actually had a few minutes to rest and talk with the group before heading out again.
The group pulled out of Caribou's at about 7:35 and headed into Preston Woods before getting onto Carpenter Upchurch (aka. Up Chuck). That's where my flat hit. I couldn't find a hole so I'll just chalk it up to a bad tube. I'll check it later to make sure. Of course I need to hit the store for another backup before riding again.
I figured the change might take awhile without the "team car" so we had most of the riders continue on with 4 staying back to help me catch up after the tire change. As soon as we got back on the bikes Steve (Capt'n Carbon) makes the comment that I have to "pull" since it was my flat. So much for getting help in catching the group! Of course he was joking, a little, but I did most of the pulling anyway. After a few miles we caught the main group and were on our way again.
One thing I've learned in this group is that it's REALLY hard to win a sprint. Two of the guys are super fast, and probably weigh 50 lbs less than me, so I decided to be a "lead out man". That means I pick a friend and let him draft behind me while I go all out. Then as soon as the other sprinters get close he jumps out of the draft with fresher legs and hopefully wins the sprint. The sprints take a lot of effort, but they break up the ride nicely.
At Lake Jordan, the group spit up with the Roses going for a longer ride at a slower pace while the Thorns headed back home. At UpChuck we met up with the Cycling Spoken Here ride and 2 of the Thorns split off to do another 20 miles with them (that's why they are "Thorns". The last 3 of us stayed together until UpChuck T's at HighHouse and I split off for home.
All told, 2 water bottles, 1 Gatorade, 1 tire tube, 50.5 miles and a fun ride in the country side!
- Moot
Friday, August 7, 2009
Gym Closed :-( and this week's summary
Happy Friday,
I was all set to get in a work out with weights yesterday only to find out that the Gym was closed for Thursday and Friday. That also complicates my ride for today, but that problem was solved with a lunch-time meeting. My back up was to do a long commute this morning, but little mr. E decided to have a rough morning so I didn't get out of the house in time.
Now I'm trying to figure out a way to get in a run around 1 or 2 today. It'll be a little hot but most of the trails are shaded. I'll have to shower in one of our other buildings with the Gym being closed.
Looking forward to a good ride on Sunday!
Since I won't be riding today, I can post the weeks wrap-up on riding and fund raising for cancer research.
Only got to ride twice this week, but with the big ride on Sunday I still got in 74 miles total. This week's goal is 100 miles total.
The funds continued to come in for the Jimmy V foundation this week. As of this morning I'm at 84% of goal!! Thanks to everyone who has donated and please continue to pass the word along.
- Dwight.
I was all set to get in a work out with weights yesterday only to find out that the Gym was closed for Thursday and Friday. That also complicates my ride for today, but that problem was solved with a lunch-time meeting. My back up was to do a long commute this morning, but little mr. E decided to have a rough morning so I didn't get out of the house in time.
Now I'm trying to figure out a way to get in a run around 1 or 2 today. It'll be a little hot but most of the trails are shaded. I'll have to shower in one of our other buildings with the Gym being closed.
Looking forward to a good ride on Sunday!
Since I won't be riding today, I can post the weeks wrap-up on riding and fund raising for cancer research.
Only got to ride twice this week, but with the big ride on Sunday I still got in 74 miles total. This week's goal is 100 miles total.
The funds continued to come in for the Jimmy V foundation this week. As of this morning I'm at 84% of goal!! Thanks to everyone who has donated and please continue to pass the word along.
- Dwight.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Mais, Ca fais chaud, oui!
I know I've seen hotter coming from Lafayette plus time spent in Texas but
90 degrees with 60% humidity on a 23 mile ride at lunch is damn HOT!!! I think I lost 5 lbs just in sweat!
Sorry no pictures, the camera couldn't focus in the heat. :-)
I wonder what the actual temp was on the road? At one point we were going to stop to recover but it was too stifling so we just kept riding.
All that said, it was great ride!
- Dwight
90 degrees with 60% humidity on a 23 mile ride at lunch is damn HOT!!! I think I lost 5 lbs just in sweat!
Sorry no pictures, the camera couldn't focus in the heat. :-)
I wonder what the actual temp was on the road? At one point we were going to stop to recover but it was too stifling so we just kept riding.
All that said, it was great ride!
- Dwight
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Swimming Day
I decided to swim on Monday to loosen up the muscles. Definitely sore from the long ride on Sunday.
- Dwight
- Dwight
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.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Week 3 Wrap up for my Jimmy V training
I was able to put on the extra miles this week!
I started the week with 41 miles on Sunday morning. It was good group ride with a few attacks and sprints to keep things interesting. Wednesday was a 23 miler from SAS that took me to the edge of western Cary and a goose crossing. Friday, today, was a 20 miler with the SAS Pro Team and I got dropped as usual, but had a partner in crime to ride the rest of the way back.
The body is feeling good after 84 miles this week. I going to try to get in another 40 plus mile ride over the weekend as I need to build up to 50,60 and finally 70 miles before the Jimmy V Ride for Cancer Research.
Unfortunately the donations fell off this week after a super-strong first 2 weeks that got me to 70% of my goal. No pressure here, the net difference will come out of the kids college fund. ;-)
But seriously, Thank YOU to everyone who has already donated!!
Whether you've donated, are thinking about donating or just can't do it right now, please spread the word to friends and family who might want to support this cause.
Thank you, and have a great weekend everyone!
- Dwight.
I started the week with 41 miles on Sunday morning. It was good group ride with a few attacks and sprints to keep things interesting. Wednesday was a 23 miler from SAS that took me to the edge of western Cary and a goose crossing. Friday, today, was a 20 miler with the SAS Pro Team and I got dropped as usual, but had a partner in crime to ride the rest of the way back.
The body is feeling good after 84 miles this week. I going to try to get in another 40 plus mile ride over the weekend as I need to build up to 50,60 and finally 70 miles before the Jimmy V Ride for Cancer Research.
Unfortunately the donations fell off this week after a super-strong first 2 weeks that got me to 70% of my goal. No pressure here, the net difference will come out of the kids college fund. ;-)
But seriously, Thank YOU to everyone who has already donated!!
Whether you've donated, are thinking about donating or just can't do it right now, please spread the word to friends and family who might want to support this cause.
Thank you, and have a great weekend everyone!
- Dwight.
Hot Hot Hot
Yep, the ride was HOT today. It was actually in the 80's but the humidty was in the 80's as well so it felt way hotter!
Great ride though!
I left with the SAS "pro team" and was able to hang on for almost half the ride. I dropped back right before we made the turn on "up chuck" and finally lost site of them by the time I got to Green Hope High. Luckily another rider dropped back as well and we rode the rest of the way together.
We took a slightly different route to what I normally ride back to SAS.
Came back on High House to Davis and then cut through the Preston neighborhood coming out on Morrisville Parkway (the road with the big up hill). At Chapel Hill road, rather than going back to Cary Pkwy like I normally do we went back to Weston and did the many climbs that it takes to get back to Harrison Ave and SAS.
Given the heat and hard start I think I did pretty well.
Ended up with about 20 miles and no "events" on the ride today.
- Dwight.
Great ride though!
I left with the SAS "pro team" and was able to hang on for almost half the ride. I dropped back right before we made the turn on "up chuck" and finally lost site of them by the time I got to Green Hope High. Luckily another rider dropped back as well and we rode the rest of the way together.
We took a slightly different route to what I normally ride back to SAS.
Came back on High House to Davis and then cut through the Preston neighborhood coming out on Morrisville Parkway (the road with the big up hill). At Chapel Hill road, rather than going back to Cary Pkwy like I normally do we went back to Weston and did the many climbs that it takes to get back to Harrison Ave and SAS.
Given the heat and hard start I think I did pretty well.
Ended up with about 20 miles and no "events" on the ride today.
- 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
Monday, July 27, 2009
Rest Day
Didn't intend for it to be a day of rest, but I just didn't get the time to work out. I'm definitely riding on Wednesday (weather permitting) so I'm going to either swim or do weights on Tuesday. I'll post the outcome later.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Hot and Humid but mostly Humid
Decided to ride with the Thorns and Roses today. Since they typically do 30 miles on Sundays I did 10 miles before meeting up with them at Caribou Coffee on High House at 7:30.
It took a while to roll out, mainly due to the ride leader not being there. They'll post details of the ride later in the week on their blog http://trailsandtrib.blogspot.com/ so rather than go into it now, I'll let you check it out as detailed by the ride leaders.
In summary, we went out to Jordan Lake and back. There were two designated sprints, both of which I wasn't ready for. There's also a part of the ride that goes through a super hilly neighborhood. I've decided to own that one and be first up the last hill before we take a left and head back to Cary.
Great ride completing 41 miles total with an average speed of 17.2.
- Dwight.
It took a while to roll out, mainly due to the ride leader not being there. They'll post details of the ride later in the week on their blog http://trailsandtrib.blogspot.com/ so rather than go into it now, I'll let you check it out as detailed by the ride leaders.
In summary, we went out to Jordan Lake and back. There were two designated sprints, both of which I wasn't ready for. There's also a part of the ride that goes through a super hilly neighborhood. I've decided to own that one and be first up the last hill before we take a left and head back to Cary.
Great ride completing 41 miles total with an average speed of 17.2.
- Dwight.
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.
Friday's Ride
Great ride to work today. My "long route" ended up being 12.5 miles with an average speed of 16.5. Not too bad with having a lot of traffic lights to deal with.
Took the route that had me crossing Davis Dr and circling back through Morrisville. Went past Green Hope High and saw the Drivers Ed. class in session. Glad they were in the parking lot and not on the road. :)
Then headed to Morrisville Carpenter and back to Davis. This was the part that made it a "long route".
Once on Davis there's a quick left to get onto Morrisville Pkwy which goes to Chapel Hill Rd.
I had a personal challenge to "speed" on one section of the road. Right before you get to the final climb up to Chapel Hill there is sign that says "Bump - 10 mph". It's actually a railroad track that's at the top of a steep hill. I decided to take it as a challenge and reached the summit at 11.2 mph! Of course the climb continues right after you cross the tracks so I paid for it a little.
Once reaching Chapel Hill Rd. I ended up inadvertently wasting a bit of time. I usually take a short cut through an apartment complex, but once I was in it they had the road blocked so I had to turn around and wait at a traffic light to turn left. So much for the short cut.
Once back on Chapel Hill Rd. it's a short distance to Cary Parkway and then a couple of miles to SAS and a quick shower. With all the rain last night the bike got pretty grimy so it'll need a shower tonight as well. :)
Overall the ride felt real good.
On a side note, I encountered quite a few polite drivers today. The best was a lady who was in the right turn lane at a traffic light in front of Cary Academy. She waited for me to see if I was turning right. (I was in the next lane going straight but real close to her lane) She actually pulled up beside me and asked if I needed to turn ahead of her. That was awesome. I made to sure to give her a big "Thank You" and let her by.
A summary of the week's rides and fund raising to follow.
Stay safe.
-Dwight
Took the route that had me crossing Davis Dr and circling back through Morrisville. Went past Green Hope High and saw the Drivers Ed. class in session. Glad they were in the parking lot and not on the road. :)
Then headed to Morrisville Carpenter and back to Davis. This was the part that made it a "long route".
Once on Davis there's a quick left to get onto Morrisville Pkwy which goes to Chapel Hill Rd.
I had a personal challenge to "speed" on one section of the road. Right before you get to the final climb up to Chapel Hill there is sign that says "Bump - 10 mph". It's actually a railroad track that's at the top of a steep hill. I decided to take it as a challenge and reached the summit at 11.2 mph! Of course the climb continues right after you cross the tracks so I paid for it a little.
Once reaching Chapel Hill Rd. I ended up inadvertently wasting a bit of time. I usually take a short cut through an apartment complex, but once I was in it they had the road blocked so I had to turn around and wait at a traffic light to turn left. So much for the short cut.
Once back on Chapel Hill Rd. it's a short distance to Cary Parkway and then a couple of miles to SAS and a quick shower. With all the rain last night the bike got pretty grimy so it'll need a shower tonight as well. :)
Overall the ride felt real good.
On a side note, I encountered quite a few polite drivers today. The best was a lady who was in the right turn lane at a traffic light in front of Cary Academy. She waited for me to see if I was turning right. (I was in the next lane going straight but real close to her lane) She actually pulled up beside me and asked if I needed to turn ahead of her. That was awesome. I made to sure to give her a big "Thank You" and let her by.
A summary of the week's rides and fund raising to follow.
Stay safe.
-Dwight
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
About Map my Ride
This is a great concept but I have to say that it needs some work. As you could see from my post on Monday it looks a lot like google maps, but it just doesn't work that way. It takes way too long to get an accurate "turn by turn" map. They have a premium product, so maybe that's where the "easy button" is located. Anyway, I won't be using it much. I might try to just use Google Maps so that so my training is a little more interactive for those following the blog.
Happy Trails.
-Dwight.
Happy Trails.
-Dwight.
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!
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
Ride to work
Forced the training today by riding to work. It wasn't a long ride, 7.5 miles, but its mostly uphill. If the weather holds out I'll ride the long way home to get in some extra miles.
Bonus: on ride to work days I usually wear shorts!
Bonus: on ride to work days I usually wear shorts!
Friday, July 17, 2009
Happy Friday
Not so good for Levi of team Astana. Ended up breaking his wrist yesterday and had to retire from the tour. Astana still kept up the pace today though and Lance is still in 3rd only a few seconds off the overall lead.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Maintenance Class
Won't be able to make the free class at Performance Bike of Cary today. It was a good one too, maintaining and adjusting your derailleurs. I'm installing new shifters and cables on the commuter so the timing would have been perfect. Hopefully I can make the next one.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Fuji Team Bike
Just an update on the new bike. Since I got it in February, I've been able to ride at least once a week. Short rides feel absolutely great. The bike is really comfortable. Since I don't do a lot of longer rides I can't really attribute any soreness to the bike itself. That's probably just my conditioning. It's had its first "break in" maintenance and everything checked out great.
Definitely worth the purchase.
My 1997 LeMonde is looking for a new home if anyone is interested. :)
Definitely worth the purchase.
My 1997 LeMonde is looking for a new home if anyone is interested. :)
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Shimano pedal update
The shimano pedals felt good at first, but either I have to get used to them or I need to adjust them. The spot behind both of knees was killing me after 10 miles. Hopefully its just a quick adjustment. I'll get to the bike shop later in the week.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
More Running on Saturday
Ran for 48 minutes today. I know why not round up to 50, but that feels like cheating. Not sure how far I went. I'll try to map it out but I need a longer route anyway as I ran out of trail before I ran out of gas. Had to go past the house a couple of blocks and circle back for a cool down.
Thanks to everyone who has donated to the Jimmy V Foundation so far! I'm up to $145 but still have a long way to go to reach my $500 goal. Remember, any amount helps.
Just go to http://www.firstgiving.com/dwightmouton to make your secure donation.
- Dwight
Thanks to everyone who has donated to the Jimmy V Foundation so far! I'm up to $145 but still have a long way to go to reach my $500 goal. Remember, any amount helps.
Just go to http://www.firstgiving.com/dwightmouton to make your secure donation.
- Dwight
Friday, July 10, 2009
Had 19 miles for Lunch
Can't buy that at Subway! Averaged 17 mph, mostly pushed by two of the faster riders at SAS. At the halfway point they finally dropped me, I mean I let them go :) . Looking to get in a longer ride this weekend, maybe 30 to 35 miles.
- Moot
- Moot
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Installed new pedals
Finally upgraded to real road pedals. Put on the Shimano Ultegra 6620's. They aren't the super-lite race versions, but for the price and my level they are plenty good enough. Tying them out tomorrow. Looks like a great day to ride, 86 for the high and clear!
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Run first
Started off the training with a short run last night, just over 3 miles. Way too slow, but it was my first run in over 3 weeks. Hope to get on the bike this week but the schedule is way crazy so I'll have to see how it pans out.
More later...
I just signed up for the 2009 Jimmy V Ride for Research in Cary NC. Follow this link to get more information and donate to the cause. http://www.firstgiving.com/dwightmouton
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