Today we were invited to joing the New vCrew of Velo Valero on their training ride. We met at Comal Elementary and headed towards 3009. Today was to be our flat route for mileage ride. It started out as a nice, flat route. I pedaled along side Rana and Colin Russel for awhile. They have a great story. Rana (mom) has MS and is on the Lone Star Chapter MS Society board of directors. Her son, Colin, has been in the Club 100 every year. He rides on the tandem with his mom and for his mom. They began to pull away from me though and I didn't recognize why I was falling back already.
I struggled up a couple minor inclines, but felt justified when Vicki passed me and commented that her legs were burning. I got to the first major turn and Pete was waiting for me. Clearly, our regroup mileage distances were wrong and the group is not regrouping at this point. I tell Pete I feel like I have no legs, have some Gu and we head on. We come upon some of our riders having a flat repair training session on the side of the road. I take advantage of the break to catch my breath and stretch.
Highway 3009 is a rough road surface and constant hills. I pass some of our riders as I speed down some hills, but they catch me on the next up hill. There are points on this road where there is no shoulder and the cars are flying by and many of them don't slow down or give the bikes any space to clearly and safely continue our ride. As we pass the Wild Animal Park, I have to get off of the bike. I already contemplating turning back. I just don't have the energy or the legs to battle this surface and climb these hills today.
Pete and I continue on and I struggle up the next hill. Part way up I decide I can't make the climb and get off the bike. Somehow I lose my balance and almost fall (thankfully to the right out of the path of the traffic) but I manage to jump and bobble and catch myself and not fall! Frustrated, I walk up the rest of the hill. Just then, one of our riders comes by in his minivan. Apparently, he had multiple flats today and is now driving SAG for us. He confirms that we know the route and don't need help before he heads out.
At the bottom of the hill, we get to turn right onto the next highway. This is a new surface and a nice relief. I try to enjoy the surface and make the most of the ride. We come upon a long, flat stretch with beautiful scenery and I realize I'm not enjoying the ride. I can't enjoy the scenery around me. I'm struggling to get my legs to work to push the pedals around and get the wheels to keep turning. This stretch should be easy for me, but I'm struggling. I'm frustrated. I decide I'm done.
At the first stretch of shade, I stop and tell Pete I'm done. He begins telling me what lays ahead if we cut the ride short and head straight back to the parking lot. I try to explain what I just went through on the flat, but only tears roll down my face instead of words coming out. Just then, our SAG pulls up again and I decide I'm getting in. Pete gives me the keys to the truck and I promise to drive the route backwards to check on him.
Pete quickly finished the short route and gets back to the truck before I do. Unfortunately, I ended up a hostage in the minivan with a driver who didn't understand how much more I could do in the truck as SAG and that Pete was taking the short route and was sitting in the sun (no shade) at the parking lot now waiting for us. Thankfully, I was able to recognize Vicki and Alyssa at an intersection trying to determine the correct route. I got him to turn around to check on them and point them in the correct direction. We stopped at the gas station where everyone was regrouping.
Still, I couldn't get the van to take me back to the parking lot. We head out to chase the group into Gruene and come upon Rana and Colin who have blown out a tire of their tandem when crossing the railroad tracks. We manage to get the two of them and their tandem into the minivan. Now I know we need to head to the parking lot! Unfortunately, Rana lives closer and convinces our driver to just take her home and she can retrieve her truck later that afternoon. In the process we get a call to pick up a couple riders in Gruene.
So, we drop off Rana and Colin and head back to Gruene. I am shaking in frustration and cannot believe how this day is turning out. We pick up the next two riders and I'm glad there is some new blood to keep the conversation going. Finally, I get back to the parking lot. Pete has been there for over an hour and was as patient as he could be in the sweltering heat after a hard ride. We jump in the truck and begin to back drive the route. We find Vicki and cheer her on. I tell her we're driving out the 50 mile route to check on Tony and will return.
Further out on the longer route, we find Tony. He's doing well and we watch him stand on the pedals to climb a hill. The rest of the riders give us the thumbs up, so we continue back to the parking lot. Along the way, I beg for a pit stop at a gas station. Here we find some of the hammerheads who did the 50 mile route. They're shocked to see me and then realize I "cheated". I smile and we head back to the parking lot in the truck as they jump back on their bikes.
We are all exhausted and ready to call it a day! So many things went wrong in so many ways today and I just want to get this day behind us. Vicki, who finished the entire 40 mile route, declares this a horrible route. I quickly agree and now know what it's like when you "feel like you have square tires on your bike". I won't try this route again any time soon!
Goals
Today's Miles: 16.4
Total Miles Achieved: 783.12
Financial Investment: $1988.47
Total Weight Loss: 0
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Saturday, August 30, 2008
211 Loop Take Two (a.k.a. Group Mechanical Issues Day)
Today we decided to attack the Harbor Bridge training of the 211 loop again. Tony and members of Pauline’s Last Hurrah team joined us. Once again, my heart rate monitor started going off as we waited for the light to change for the left turn across the highway. This time Vicki was surprised by it. I just shrug it off knowing that it’s nerves.
Pete is leading the crew and I know that I’m going to be on my own to get up the seven mile hill this time, without the assistance of the power meter. As I start to begin the climb and get into the “keep on chugging along” mentality, I realize Pete is stopped in a driveway ahead of me. I stop and have a quick Gu while he tells me he had a loose pedal, or something. We go a little further and he stops again, saying something is wrong, but sends me on my way.
Further down the road, I see one of our riders stopped and fixing a flat all alone. Just then Pete calls and informs me his crank arm is coming loose and he has to head back. He says he’ll drive SAG and see me in a bit. I mention the cyclist ahead and say I’ll call him back with an update. I stop and chat with Don as he finishes fixing his flat. Just as he gets the wheel back on, the tube pops again. He's not thrilled. He hadn’t been able to determine what caused the first flat and now he’s convinced that putting in another tube would just go flat again. I call Pete and leave a message asking him to pick up Don on his way out in the truck. I provide the distance and a quick landmark to direct him to the right location. Don assures me he’s fine and sends me on to finish my ride.
At this point, I’m not just the slow one up the hill, I’m miles behind. That’s okay because sometimes you just have to help your fellow riders. Plenty of people have offered me assistance even when I didn’t need it, so I know the drill and it's my turn to repay the favor. I start down the hill and am not looking forward to attempting this left turn again, especially without a second set of eyes to check for traffic. Just then, I see another cyclist changing a flat on the side of the road. Wow! I stop and check on the guy. He is not riding with us, but we have a quick exchange where I confirm he is good and doesn’t need anything.
I now have less momentum to get up the hill, but I was able to make the turn within the lane width and feel it was a safer turn. I shift and pedal making my way up the hill knowing that I can stop, but that I want to perfect this hill as it’s my Harbor Bridge training. I keep on pedaling and I get to the top with a gear or two to spare. I enjoy the downhill and make the next climb. I decide there isn’t much point in me going the full distance this time when I’m so far behind the group, so I turn back at the same point I did last time and pause for some Gu.
As I start the long and steady climb back up, I’m thankful the wind isn’t blowing like it was last time. I still haven’t seen Pete in the truck and now I’m beginning to get a bit worried. I don’t want to stop in middle of a climb though, so I keep pedaling. I begin to make deals with myself to not shift until I get to this sign, or that driveway, or that rock. I even picked a point at the top of the hill that I couldn’t stop until I got to it. I actually went a little beyond that point because as I approached it, I was being passed by another cyclist.
I pick up the phone to call Pete. He answers and tells me he’s climbing “the bridge”. I tell him I’m at the top and wave at him as he climbs. He tells me the bike mechanic at Roger Soler’s helped him tighten his crank arm and he was good to go to head back out. So he took off on the chase to catch me. He stopped when he got to Don and helped him change the flat again with one of Pete’s tubes. Then Don headed back to the truck.
About then, I turn around and Tony and crew are approaching at the end of their climb. Tony announces he made the climb in his big ring! “Show off!” I don’t know why he’d want to make it that hard on himself to climb the hill other than so that he can say he did it. Must be a guy thing! We exchange some idle chit chat and Vicki catches up with us too. Lilian pulls out her camera and snaps a few photos of the group at the top of the hill.
Now it’s time to climb “the wall” and this week I’m determined to pedal the whole thing without stopping all the way to the top. I stopped down shifting with two gears left and started the deal making with points along the hill. I picked a driveway for my second to last shift, but when I got there I didn’t need it, so I moved the point to the next driveway. By then, I needed the gear and shifted. Now I had one shift left and my legs were burning. Pete shouted some words of encouragement and I tried to latch on to those.
Pete warns me that a cyclist is passing me and cheers me on while coaching me to hold my line. Truth be told, although it was a hard climb, I was sweating like crazy, huffing and puffing, and my legs were burning, I was holding my line well and wasn’t wobbling all over the road. However, being that tired and working that hard, wobbling is a potential so the warning was worth it. A little further and Pete warns me that Vicki is approaching me and will be passing shortly. It saved Vicki some breath and she wasn’t passing all that fast. Then, I made it to the top of the hill. I stopped at the blue sign at the top and just leaned over my handlebars huffing and puffing. Finally able to take some deep breaths, I look up and see Vicki hitting her thighs. I can’t decide if this is her version of a tantrum, or if something is wrong. Just then, she clips back in and heads down the hill, so she must be fine. I take another minute to drink some Gatorade and have a Gu.
Pete and I head out in tandem with him setting the pace. We’re moving at a good clip, but I’m gaining on him (without pedaling.) I told you my gravitational advantage works well down hills. As we’d discussed after last week’s ride, I holler at Pete to “grab a gear” – meaning “kick it up a notch”, or “go faster!” With the wind whipping by though, he can’t understand me, just heard something. So I holler louder “Grab a fear!” He seems to have misunderstood me and is slowing and even unclips a foot like he thinks I want to stop. I scream, “Not stop! Go faster!” Now I know he heard me because he shakes his head no and shouts back, “I can’t. Cramping!”
Yikes! I back off and give him some space to work out the cramp, or decide to stop. He clips back in, so I roll up on his wheel. He worked out the cramp, but I’m still worried. This is the first time Pete has had trouble on one of our rides and it’s happened twice today. Apparently, I use some energy on this concern and I’m inconsistent all the way back to the truck. We fly on some portions and others I fall way back. It was a good ride though and everyone made it back under their own leg power!
Goals
Today's Miles: 21
Total Miles Achieved: 766.72
Financial Investment: $1988.47
Total Weight Loss: 0
Pete is leading the crew and I know that I’m going to be on my own to get up the seven mile hill this time, without the assistance of the power meter. As I start to begin the climb and get into the “keep on chugging along” mentality, I realize Pete is stopped in a driveway ahead of me. I stop and have a quick Gu while he tells me he had a loose pedal, or something. We go a little further and he stops again, saying something is wrong, but sends me on my way.
Further down the road, I see one of our riders stopped and fixing a flat all alone. Just then Pete calls and informs me his crank arm is coming loose and he has to head back. He says he’ll drive SAG and see me in a bit. I mention the cyclist ahead and say I’ll call him back with an update. I stop and chat with Don as he finishes fixing his flat. Just as he gets the wheel back on, the tube pops again. He's not thrilled. He hadn’t been able to determine what caused the first flat and now he’s convinced that putting in another tube would just go flat again. I call Pete and leave a message asking him to pick up Don on his way out in the truck. I provide the distance and a quick landmark to direct him to the right location. Don assures me he’s fine and sends me on to finish my ride.
At this point, I’m not just the slow one up the hill, I’m miles behind. That’s okay because sometimes you just have to help your fellow riders. Plenty of people have offered me assistance even when I didn’t need it, so I know the drill and it's my turn to repay the favor. I start down the hill and am not looking forward to attempting this left turn again, especially without a second set of eyes to check for traffic. Just then, I see another cyclist changing a flat on the side of the road. Wow! I stop and check on the guy. He is not riding with us, but we have a quick exchange where I confirm he is good and doesn’t need anything.
I now have less momentum to get up the hill, but I was able to make the turn within the lane width and feel it was a safer turn. I shift and pedal making my way up the hill knowing that I can stop, but that I want to perfect this hill as it’s my Harbor Bridge training. I keep on pedaling and I get to the top with a gear or two to spare. I enjoy the downhill and make the next climb. I decide there isn’t much point in me going the full distance this time when I’m so far behind the group, so I turn back at the same point I did last time and pause for some Gu.
As I start the long and steady climb back up, I’m thankful the wind isn’t blowing like it was last time. I still haven’t seen Pete in the truck and now I’m beginning to get a bit worried. I don’t want to stop in middle of a climb though, so I keep pedaling. I begin to make deals with myself to not shift until I get to this sign, or that driveway, or that rock. I even picked a point at the top of the hill that I couldn’t stop until I got to it. I actually went a little beyond that point because as I approached it, I was being passed by another cyclist.
I pick up the phone to call Pete. He answers and tells me he’s climbing “the bridge”. I tell him I’m at the top and wave at him as he climbs. He tells me the bike mechanic at Roger Soler’s helped him tighten his crank arm and he was good to go to head back out. So he took off on the chase to catch me. He stopped when he got to Don and helped him change the flat again with one of Pete’s tubes. Then Don headed back to the truck.
About then, I turn around and Tony and crew are approaching at the end of their climb. Tony announces he made the climb in his big ring! “Show off!” I don’t know why he’d want to make it that hard on himself to climb the hill other than so that he can say he did it. Must be a guy thing! We exchange some idle chit chat and Vicki catches up with us too. Lilian pulls out her camera and snaps a few photos of the group at the top of the hill.
Now it’s time to climb “the wall” and this week I’m determined to pedal the whole thing without stopping all the way to the top. I stopped down shifting with two gears left and started the deal making with points along the hill. I picked a driveway for my second to last shift, but when I got there I didn’t need it, so I moved the point to the next driveway. By then, I needed the gear and shifted. Now I had one shift left and my legs were burning. Pete shouted some words of encouragement and I tried to latch on to those.
Pete warns me that a cyclist is passing me and cheers me on while coaching me to hold my line. Truth be told, although it was a hard climb, I was sweating like crazy, huffing and puffing, and my legs were burning, I was holding my line well and wasn’t wobbling all over the road. However, being that tired and working that hard, wobbling is a potential so the warning was worth it. A little further and Pete warns me that Vicki is approaching me and will be passing shortly. It saved Vicki some breath and she wasn’t passing all that fast. Then, I made it to the top of the hill. I stopped at the blue sign at the top and just leaned over my handlebars huffing and puffing. Finally able to take some deep breaths, I look up and see Vicki hitting her thighs. I can’t decide if this is her version of a tantrum, or if something is wrong. Just then, she clips back in and heads down the hill, so she must be fine. I take another minute to drink some Gatorade and have a Gu.
Pete and I head out in tandem with him setting the pace. We’re moving at a good clip, but I’m gaining on him (without pedaling.) I told you my gravitational advantage works well down hills. As we’d discussed after last week’s ride, I holler at Pete to “grab a gear” – meaning “kick it up a notch”, or “go faster!” With the wind whipping by though, he can’t understand me, just heard something. So I holler louder “Grab a fear!” He seems to have misunderstood me and is slowing and even unclips a foot like he thinks I want to stop. I scream, “Not stop! Go faster!” Now I know he heard me because he shakes his head no and shouts back, “I can’t. Cramping!”
Yikes! I back off and give him some space to work out the cramp, or decide to stop. He clips back in, so I roll up on his wheel. He worked out the cramp, but I’m still worried. This is the first time Pete has had trouble on one of our rides and it’s happened twice today. Apparently, I use some energy on this concern and I’m inconsistent all the way back to the truck. We fly on some portions and others I fall way back. It was a good ride though and everyone made it back under their own leg power!
Goals
Today's Miles: 21
Total Miles Achieved: 766.72
Financial Investment: $1988.47
Total Weight Loss: 0
Thursday, August 28, 2008
A Roadrunner Gets Me Up the Hill
Steve challenged us to a fast-paced pace line tonight. I thought he was nuts at the 22 mph speed, but knew I’d fall off the back no matter what speed, so I let him challenge the rest of the group. Sure enough! I fell off at the one block incline from the intersection I don’t like. Even though I was moving at a good clip, there was no keeping that group in sight at that pace. I let them go and Pete let me push myself without killing myself.
We got to “the hill” and I was determined to make it up tonight. The first time, I got part way up, suddenly felt like I wasn’t moving, had no momentum, and was going to topple if I didn’t unclip. So, right in front of Pete, I pretty much gave up and jumped off the bike. I’ve got to figure out how to save something to give it a kick when I feel that lack of momentum to keep me moving. The constant momentum, no matter how slow, will keep me moving up the hill. I don’t have any plans to go up any mountains that would be so steep as to roll me backwards despite my legs powering the pedals forward. So, I walked to the top, caught my breath and decided to try it again.
I take off around the block to attempt “the hill” again. This time Vicki and I pause to catch our breath just before the bottom of the hill. I probably should watch my heart rate rather than say “I’m catching my breath”, but I didn’t and when Vicki was ready, I headed up the hill a short distance behind her. I got distracted by a rider passing me on her second (probably her third) time up and then Laura passing me and doing switch-backs next to me. I pretty much jumped off of the bike at that point as I don’t like climbing a hill in the vicinity of Laura’s switchbacks. Shamefully, I walk up the hill and hope no one is watching from the top. But, I only cheat myself, so I admit to walking.
Meanwhile, Pete is practically doing circles around me as he continues going around the block and up the hill. I should mention that he doesn’t stop at the top to catch his breath, or drop his heart rate either. Show off! Actually, I think he’d just challenged himself to six climbs and was determined to do it and leave me to my own devices to get up “the hill”. To be honest, Thursday nights are good for that as I have the opportunity to ask Steve and JD for coaching and tips that may click for me, or get a different perspective on my ailments or challenges.
Third try, and probably my last as the others are nearing their “six climbs” Steve challenged at the beginning of the night. I countered with “that’s once each!” but the others took him seriously. So much for pedaling smarter, not harder! This time around, I think I’m ready, I turn the bend, start my climb… and suddenly, I know that I’m out of gas and it’s not going to happen. I decide to attempt a “do over” and turn around in the driveway and go back to the bottom. After all, one of the other girls did it tonight! I circle back around, but know that I have less momentum to get me started.
Just then, a road runner runs out in front of me across the road. I stop to avoid him and proceed to watch him across the road. He plays in the driveway until he finally meanders off through the gate and out of sight. By this time, I’ve lost count of how many other bikes have passed me and not one noticed the road runner. I take a deep breath and figure it’s now or never. I start pedaling and shifting. I pedal and shift. I shift, shift, shift, pedal harder. Just then, I cross the line in the road that has been my barrier. I shift again and pedal some more. I’m making it. I keep on pedaling and now I can see the group gathering at the intersection at the top of “the hill”. I pedal and grunt as the group starts to cheer me on. I’m beginning to smile through the pain and I made it to the top! With a triumphant yell and a cheer from the gals, I role in to the rendez-vous point (having attempted "the hill" three times to their six) huffing and puffing, but excitedly jumping up and down as much as one can while still on the bike!
Steve immediately congratulates me and then starts questioning me about what was different this time. I confess to the road runner and stopping to watch it play in the driveway. He points out that I watched the bird until I was no longer distracted and was able to focus on “the hill”. Good point! Now I know what I need to keep in mind next week to get up “the hill” all three times!
Goals
Today's Miles: 12
Total Miles Achieved: 745.72
Financial Investment: $1988.47
Total Weight Loss: 0
We got to “the hill” and I was determined to make it up tonight. The first time, I got part way up, suddenly felt like I wasn’t moving, had no momentum, and was going to topple if I didn’t unclip. So, right in front of Pete, I pretty much gave up and jumped off the bike. I’ve got to figure out how to save something to give it a kick when I feel that lack of momentum to keep me moving. The constant momentum, no matter how slow, will keep me moving up the hill. I don’t have any plans to go up any mountains that would be so steep as to roll me backwards despite my legs powering the pedals forward. So, I walked to the top, caught my breath and decided to try it again.
I take off around the block to attempt “the hill” again. This time Vicki and I pause to catch our breath just before the bottom of the hill. I probably should watch my heart rate rather than say “I’m catching my breath”, but I didn’t and when Vicki was ready, I headed up the hill a short distance behind her. I got distracted by a rider passing me on her second (probably her third) time up and then Laura passing me and doing switch-backs next to me. I pretty much jumped off of the bike at that point as I don’t like climbing a hill in the vicinity of Laura’s switchbacks. Shamefully, I walk up the hill and hope no one is watching from the top. But, I only cheat myself, so I admit to walking.
Meanwhile, Pete is practically doing circles around me as he continues going around the block and up the hill. I should mention that he doesn’t stop at the top to catch his breath, or drop his heart rate either. Show off! Actually, I think he’d just challenged himself to six climbs and was determined to do it and leave me to my own devices to get up “the hill”. To be honest, Thursday nights are good for that as I have the opportunity to ask Steve and JD for coaching and tips that may click for me, or get a different perspective on my ailments or challenges.
Third try, and probably my last as the others are nearing their “six climbs” Steve challenged at the beginning of the night. I countered with “that’s once each!” but the others took him seriously. So much for pedaling smarter, not harder! This time around, I think I’m ready, I turn the bend, start my climb… and suddenly, I know that I’m out of gas and it’s not going to happen. I decide to attempt a “do over” and turn around in the driveway and go back to the bottom. After all, one of the other girls did it tonight! I circle back around, but know that I have less momentum to get me started.
Just then, a road runner runs out in front of me across the road. I stop to avoid him and proceed to watch him across the road. He plays in the driveway until he finally meanders off through the gate and out of sight. By this time, I’ve lost count of how many other bikes have passed me and not one noticed the road runner. I take a deep breath and figure it’s now or never. I start pedaling and shifting. I pedal and shift. I shift, shift, shift, pedal harder. Just then, I cross the line in the road that has been my barrier. I shift again and pedal some more. I’m making it. I keep on pedaling and now I can see the group gathering at the intersection at the top of “the hill”. I pedal and grunt as the group starts to cheer me on. I’m beginning to smile through the pain and I made it to the top! With a triumphant yell and a cheer from the gals, I role in to the rendez-vous point (having attempted "the hill" three times to their six) huffing and puffing, but excitedly jumping up and down as much as one can while still on the bike!
Steve immediately congratulates me and then starts questioning me about what was different this time. I confess to the road runner and stopping to watch it play in the driveway. He points out that I watched the bird until I was no longer distracted and was able to focus on “the hill”. Good point! Now I know what I need to keep in mind next week to get up “the hill” all three times!
Goals
Today's Miles: 12
Total Miles Achieved: 745.72
Financial Investment: $1988.47
Total Weight Loss: 0
Upgrading My Saddle
I decided to upgrade my saddle and try out the new Bontrager saddle. I traded in the Terry one that wasn't working and now I have 90 days to decide if this saddle is right for me.
Greg, one of the Bike World mechanics did the saddle switch for me and I went for a quick spin in the parking lot to confirm the height and adjustment was right.
Goals
Today's Miles: 0
Total Miles Achieved: 733.72
Financial Investment: $1988.47
Total Weight Loss: 0
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Gear Indicator and a Short Water Bottle
It’s finally Wednesday, so we can head to Bike World to see Tom (he’s off on Mondays and Tuesdays.) After riding the 211 loop, I know that I want the gear indicator added to my cable so I can see when I’m about to run out of gears. My hope is that I’ll be able to save that last gear for when I really need the oomph! to get me the last little bit up a hill.
We start by looking at the short water bottles and trying them in my Ride Like a Girl cage on the seat tube. None of them fit! Tom suggests we try a side mount cage. I’m not thrilled about having to give up one of my brand new pink Ride Like a Girl cages, but I decide it’s worth a shot. We pick out a grey one and Tom mounts it with the pink bolts from my Ride Like a Girl cage. It works! We find one short bottle that just barely fits in the side mount cage. At least we find one and now I don’t feel like I’m wasting the space.
Tom handed my bike over to the wrenches to put the gear indicator on. I’m always amazed at how quickly the guys can do the little things on the bike. We were still chatting with Tom and shopping when my bike was done. We needed to get to dinner, so we paid the bill, loaded up the bike and headed to dinner.
Goals
Today's Miles: 0
Total Miles Achieved: 733.72
Financial Investment: $1956.42
Total Weight Loss: 0
We start by looking at the short water bottles and trying them in my Ride Like a Girl cage on the seat tube. None of them fit! Tom suggests we try a side mount cage. I’m not thrilled about having to give up one of my brand new pink Ride Like a Girl cages, but I decide it’s worth a shot. We pick out a grey one and Tom mounts it with the pink bolts from my Ride Like a Girl cage. It works! We find one short bottle that just barely fits in the side mount cage. At least we find one and now I don’t feel like I’m wasting the space.
Tom handed my bike over to the wrenches to put the gear indicator on. I’m always amazed at how quickly the guys can do the little things on the bike. We were still chatting with Tom and shopping when my bike was done. We needed to get to dinner, so we paid the bill, loaded up the bike and headed to dinner.
Goals
Today's Miles: 0
Total Miles Achieved: 733.72
Financial Investment: $1956.42
Total Weight Loss: 0
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Jazmin and I Get Rained Out
Tonight I promised Jazmin I would take her for a ride again. As I headed out from work, I noticed that I could smell rain in the air, but the sky looked clear. Half way home (two miles), it starts pouring down rain. I was drenched running from the car to the house. I called Vicki and she was surprised to hear about the rain. We decide it might be an isolated pocket, so we head out to Bullis Park.
Jazmin and I are early, so we back-drive part of the route. There are a couple stretches where it rained recently, but nothing extreme enough to cause puddles in the road that would stop us from riding.
We met Vicki in the parking lot just as some large raindrops began to fall. We pile into the truck and watch the clouds hoping they will pass quickly. Unfortunately, it looks like the clouds that I drove through earlier with the torrential downpour are on their way toward our route. We decide to declare we are rained out and go to dinner.
Alicia met up with us at Chipotle. We had a leisurely dinner with lots of talk about biking and the big event. Jazmin learned a lot and asked questions when appropriate. So much for her special night with me. She understood and seemed to enjoy the adult dinner conversation as much as a ride.
Goals
Today's Miles: 0
Total Miles Achieved: 733.72
Financial Investment: $2015.24
Total Weight Loss: 0
Jazmin and I are early, so we back-drive part of the route. There are a couple stretches where it rained recently, but nothing extreme enough to cause puddles in the road that would stop us from riding.
We met Vicki in the parking lot just as some large raindrops began to fall. We pile into the truck and watch the clouds hoping they will pass quickly. Unfortunately, it looks like the clouds that I drove through earlier with the torrential downpour are on their way toward our route. We decide to declare we are rained out and go to dinner.
Alicia met up with us at Chipotle. We had a leisurely dinner with lots of talk about biking and the big event. Jazmin learned a lot and asked questions when appropriate. So much for her special night with me. She understood and seemed to enjoy the adult dinner conversation as much as a ride.
Goals
Today's Miles: 0
Total Miles Achieved: 733.72
Financial Investment: $2015.24
Total Weight Loss: 0
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Saddles Don't Point to the Sky?
Pete has wanted to ride the "211 loop" but hesitated taking me out there due to some of the hills. We tried to go a couple weeks ago, but heard there was some major construction out there. Determined, Pete came up with an idea to go out and back to make for a nice 30 mile route and still get in the hill work. He’s never done this portion of the route in the “back” direction, but figures the hill training is necessary before the big event.
The group headed out and we waited for awhile to safely turn left onto the highway for a green light to get triggered. As we stood there, Christina comments that she’s getting nervous and holds out her shaky hand. I tell her she’s not alone and point to my heart rate and the monitor that is going off. Once the light changed, we were headed up highway 16. It's a four lane highway and has a good, wide shoulder to ride on. Most of the cars move to the left lane so you have a good deal of space between you and the cars going 60+ mph.
I chugged along and quickly realized this highway is a slow and constant uphill. I watched the group pull further and further away from me. My cadence matched the group (or at least Vicki), but my speed and my power just were not the same. About then, Pete pulled in front of me and set pace based on the power he thought I was exerting. He hit it right on and I managed to maintain a comfortable chug up the seven miles of hills. He’s been enjoying playing and learning with his new tool the power meter. Now we’ve learned that I too can benefit from the power meter if he’s setting the pace. It’s one of the reasons he wanted the power meter for pulling a pace line through the wind and now we know that it’s a success!
As we chug up the hill, a pack of motorcycles came roaring by on their way for a Sunday drive. I could just hear each of them thinking how crazy we were out there going up this hill without a motor. Trust me, I was thinking that too a couple of times! The roar of those engines doesn't help your motivation to get up the hill. I have learned to listen to how long they accelerate up the hill to truly know where the crest of the hill is and that's a sweet sound when you realize how near you are to the top of the hill. If the roar of the engines is a demotivator, the sound of them no longer accelerating is a motivator!
Pete coaches me through the downhill with a left turn across the highway and then an immediate climb up the next highway. This next climb is the one he really wants us to train on as it is closest to the Harbor Bridge in grade and length that he’s been able to find in town. He heads down the hill in front of me and makes the left turn. I’m not too far behind him and start to make my left turn. Half way through the turn, I realize I’m going pretty fast and turning pretty wide. I realize I’m going to go through the median section with the large, road turtles covering it. I don’t want to brake too hard and cause a skid as I’m crossing the highway, but I don’t want to hit one of the bumps either. I manage to find a straight path through and take a deep breath on the other side. *Mental note: work on turning this bike so I’m not a semi coming across the road.*
I start the climb and find a consistent pace to get me up. Pete shouts some words of encouragement about getting to the top. Surprisingly, I make it up with a bit more ease than I expected. Good! That’s comforting knowing that I have the physical strength and shifting knowledge to get me to the top of the Harbor Bridge on my bike under pedal power!
As with any uphill, there must be a downhill. Whee!!! This is a good downhill. I blow passed Pete and leave him in my dust. Yeah right! But I do allow my gravitational advantage to get me down the hill fast, and I keep pedaling most of the way so I do put some distance between us. I’m sure he “let” me get the distance, but I’ll take what I can get. As I start up the next hill, I try the attack and decide to work on a “fancy shift”. This is where I switch rings and upshift a couple of gears in order to maintain my cadence and have gears to shift down to on the uphill. I was quite fast enough, didn’t shift in the right order, and began the shifting too early in such a way that I ended up spinning my pedals pretty fast for a few seconds, which causes you to lose some speed, and in the blink of an eye, Pete was on my wheel again. The good news is, as I climbed the hill, I managed to find the some power level that Pete and I had been maintaining for most of the climb and I got up the without exhausting myself. Pete congratulated me on finding the right power level and I beamed in surprise and my newly discovered skill. Yours truly is a fast learner! (That, or I’m just stubborn and my stubborn muscles were holding their ground.)
We pause at the top of the hill and I announce to Pete that I don’t think this saddle is the right saddle for me. This helps to serve as my reminder to go to Bike World later and exchange the saddle. I had nothing to prove, so Pete and I decided this was a good point for me to turn around. The faster group would catch me up the next two hills on the return route. The point in the route was to ride the hills, so going the distance was not important for me. I turn around and Pete goes for the distance. I zoom down the hill I just climbed. As I start the attack for the uphill, I hear Steve telling me to sit back on my saddle to climb the hills. I adjust back in the saddle. Then, I hear Steve say “No, sit back in the saddle!” So, I sit back in the saddle! Honest, I have no idea how Steve gets us to listen to him so well that we hear his voice out on our rides.
Just then, I hear CRRAAAAACK! And suddenly find my saddle pointing to the sky. “Oh! That isn’t good.” I come to a stop and get off my bike. I look at the saddle and it doesn’t seem to have broken, it’s just shifted on the bolt and is now pointing skyward. I know I can’t ride like this. I try calling Pete, who shouldn’t be more than a couple miles down the road by now. No answer. I call a second time as our agreement is to call when there is an issue and text when it’s just a status/progress update. Still no answer. “Hmm… he must be climbing a hill.” I send a text message Broken saddle and continue to examine my bike. I can’t get the saddle to budge. To be honest, if it did I’d be worried that it wasn’t stable and therefore not safe to get me up the hills. I open up my seat bag to see what kind of tools I have on me, but I’m pretty sure I only have tubes and CO2 cartridges. I’m right. So, I call Pete again and this time he answers. I explain what happened. He says he’s with the group and they’ll be here shortly.
Now what? Well, there’s a guardrail next to where I stopped, so I lean the bike up against the guardrail and find a post at the right height and plop down. As I sit there swinging my legs and surveying the countryside around me, I decide to cool off a bit. I laid out my gloves to dry. I hung my helmet on a post. I even wrapped my buff around my ponytail so my hair wouldn’t keep blowing and blocking the view of my mirror. Various riders pedaled by and checked on me. I gave the thumbs up sign, replied “I’m good. Thanks!” and chatted with those who slowed down significantly to check on me. I felt like a kid taking a break. I didn’t have a care in the world. There was nowhere I could go and nothing I could do until Pete arrived with the tool. I swung my legs and relaxed while the rest of the group was pedaling and getting extra mileage. So much for the group catching me along the route.
When Pete arrived he confirmed my suspicion that the bolt wasn’t tight and shifting my weight had allowed the saddle to adjust on the bolt. He loosens the bolt and adjusts the saddle. I climb back on and go for a quick circle to check the adjustment. It feels right. I reattach my underseat bag, adorn my helmet and pull on my gloves.
I’ve had plenty of time to assess this hill, so I’m ready to attack it now. We all start up the hill, but I quickly realize it’s a long hill with a steady climb. Makes sense as it was such a long downhill to get here. To add to the struggle, the wind picks up and it’s a distinct headwind. Well, this is supposed to be training and if we’re pedaling to the beach, there’s going to be a headwind at some point coming from the Gulf. Pete is trying to shield me and pull me up at a constant power, but there is only so much help he can lend. Just then, I look ahead and see the road get steep in front of us. My eyes get big and I shake my head and tell myself to just focus on the road in front of me and I’ll get there. Not much further on, I realize that steep hill is someone’s driveway and the road takes a much “flatter” way over the hill. The “flatter” route however puts the highway in a cut-out between two rock walls and now the wind is really blowing in our faces. “Oh come on!” I shout in frustration, but I keep on pedaling. I make it up the hill and am thankful for a rest at the top.
Down “the bridge”, sharp right turn back onto highway 16 and now to climb up “The Wall” as this hill is called. Pete has told me that he fully expects I’ll have to walk part of this hill. I’m determined to prove him wrong. Then I run out of gears. My legs are burning! My lungs are burning! I have to stop, so I do. I huff and puff and then get back on the bike. I still don’t make it all the way to the top. They aren’t kidding about this hill being a wall! I try to start again and almost slip as my cleat misses the pedal. I see a cyclist approaching and I stand back up and wait for her to pass. When it’s clear, I attempt it again, and this time I get to the top – exhausted! I didn’t have to walk it, but I did have to stop twice on the way up.
After we catch our breath (you know it was all me) Pete and I take off down the hill. This is the constant seven mile uphill, so now it’s a gradual and mostly steady downhill. We hit a great rhythm and sometimes I have to grab the brakes to keep from passing Pete. It’s exhilarating and I feel great! I roll back in with a smile on my face and later learn that we averaged 19 mph on the last stretch. This route is a winner! Not only do we get to train for the Harbor Bridge climb, but we get a great finish to a good training ride. We all agree we’ll have to do this one again.
Pete asks if he should have brought me out here sooner. I comment that it would have been good to bring me out sooner after the Fredericksburg ride so I didn’t forget what real hill climbing was like, and so I didn’t have time to work this route up to such a challenge in my head. But, it didn’t work right in the schedule, so it wasn’t a loss by coming out when we did. I’m glad that the rest of the group liked the route so it won’t be a challenge to get out here again for more training.
Goals
Today's Miles: 21.12
Total Miles Achieved: 733.72
Financial Investment: $2015.24
Total Weight Loss: 0
The group headed out and we waited for awhile to safely turn left onto the highway for a green light to get triggered. As we stood there, Christina comments that she’s getting nervous and holds out her shaky hand. I tell her she’s not alone and point to my heart rate and the monitor that is going off. Once the light changed, we were headed up highway 16. It's a four lane highway and has a good, wide shoulder to ride on. Most of the cars move to the left lane so you have a good deal of space between you and the cars going 60+ mph.
I chugged along and quickly realized this highway is a slow and constant uphill. I watched the group pull further and further away from me. My cadence matched the group (or at least Vicki), but my speed and my power just were not the same. About then, Pete pulled in front of me and set pace based on the power he thought I was exerting. He hit it right on and I managed to maintain a comfortable chug up the seven miles of hills. He’s been enjoying playing and learning with his new tool the power meter. Now we’ve learned that I too can benefit from the power meter if he’s setting the pace. It’s one of the reasons he wanted the power meter for pulling a pace line through the wind and now we know that it’s a success!
As we chug up the hill, a pack of motorcycles came roaring by on their way for a Sunday drive. I could just hear each of them thinking how crazy we were out there going up this hill without a motor. Trust me, I was thinking that too a couple of times! The roar of those engines doesn't help your motivation to get up the hill. I have learned to listen to how long they accelerate up the hill to truly know where the crest of the hill is and that's a sweet sound when you realize how near you are to the top of the hill. If the roar of the engines is a demotivator, the sound of them no longer accelerating is a motivator!
Pete coaches me through the downhill with a left turn across the highway and then an immediate climb up the next highway. This next climb is the one he really wants us to train on as it is closest to the Harbor Bridge in grade and length that he’s been able to find in town. He heads down the hill in front of me and makes the left turn. I’m not too far behind him and start to make my left turn. Half way through the turn, I realize I’m going pretty fast and turning pretty wide. I realize I’m going to go through the median section with the large, road turtles covering it. I don’t want to brake too hard and cause a skid as I’m crossing the highway, but I don’t want to hit one of the bumps either. I manage to find a straight path through and take a deep breath on the other side. *Mental note: work on turning this bike so I’m not a semi coming across the road.*
I start the climb and find a consistent pace to get me up. Pete shouts some words of encouragement about getting to the top. Surprisingly, I make it up with a bit more ease than I expected. Good! That’s comforting knowing that I have the physical strength and shifting knowledge to get me to the top of the Harbor Bridge on my bike under pedal power!
As with any uphill, there must be a downhill. Whee!!! This is a good downhill. I blow passed Pete and leave him in my dust. Yeah right! But I do allow my gravitational advantage to get me down the hill fast, and I keep pedaling most of the way so I do put some distance between us. I’m sure he “let” me get the distance, but I’ll take what I can get. As I start up the next hill, I try the attack and decide to work on a “fancy shift”. This is where I switch rings and upshift a couple of gears in order to maintain my cadence and have gears to shift down to on the uphill. I was quite fast enough, didn’t shift in the right order, and began the shifting too early in such a way that I ended up spinning my pedals pretty fast for a few seconds, which causes you to lose some speed, and in the blink of an eye, Pete was on my wheel again. The good news is, as I climbed the hill, I managed to find the some power level that Pete and I had been maintaining for most of the climb and I got up the without exhausting myself. Pete congratulated me on finding the right power level and I beamed in surprise and my newly discovered skill. Yours truly is a fast learner! (That, or I’m just stubborn and my stubborn muscles were holding their ground.)
We pause at the top of the hill and I announce to Pete that I don’t think this saddle is the right saddle for me. This helps to serve as my reminder to go to Bike World later and exchange the saddle. I had nothing to prove, so Pete and I decided this was a good point for me to turn around. The faster group would catch me up the next two hills on the return route. The point in the route was to ride the hills, so going the distance was not important for me. I turn around and Pete goes for the distance. I zoom down the hill I just climbed. As I start the attack for the uphill, I hear Steve telling me to sit back on my saddle to climb the hills. I adjust back in the saddle. Then, I hear Steve say “No, sit back in the saddle!” So, I sit back in the saddle! Honest, I have no idea how Steve gets us to listen to him so well that we hear his voice out on our rides.
Just then, I hear CRRAAAAACK! And suddenly find my saddle pointing to the sky. “Oh! That isn’t good.” I come to a stop and get off my bike. I look at the saddle and it doesn’t seem to have broken, it’s just shifted on the bolt and is now pointing skyward. I know I can’t ride like this. I try calling Pete, who shouldn’t be more than a couple miles down the road by now. No answer. I call a second time as our agreement is to call when there is an issue and text when it’s just a status/progress update. Still no answer. “Hmm… he must be climbing a hill.” I send a text message Broken saddle and continue to examine my bike. I can’t get the saddle to budge. To be honest, if it did I’d be worried that it wasn’t stable and therefore not safe to get me up the hills. I open up my seat bag to see what kind of tools I have on me, but I’m pretty sure I only have tubes and CO2 cartridges. I’m right. So, I call Pete again and this time he answers. I explain what happened. He says he’s with the group and they’ll be here shortly.
Now what? Well, there’s a guardrail next to where I stopped, so I lean the bike up against the guardrail and find a post at the right height and plop down. As I sit there swinging my legs and surveying the countryside around me, I decide to cool off a bit. I laid out my gloves to dry. I hung my helmet on a post. I even wrapped my buff around my ponytail so my hair wouldn’t keep blowing and blocking the view of my mirror. Various riders pedaled by and checked on me. I gave the thumbs up sign, replied “I’m good. Thanks!” and chatted with those who slowed down significantly to check on me. I felt like a kid taking a break. I didn’t have a care in the world. There was nowhere I could go and nothing I could do until Pete arrived with the tool. I swung my legs and relaxed while the rest of the group was pedaling and getting extra mileage. So much for the group catching me along the route.
When Pete arrived he confirmed my suspicion that the bolt wasn’t tight and shifting my weight had allowed the saddle to adjust on the bolt. He loosens the bolt and adjusts the saddle. I climb back on and go for a quick circle to check the adjustment. It feels right. I reattach my underseat bag, adorn my helmet and pull on my gloves.
I’ve had plenty of time to assess this hill, so I’m ready to attack it now. We all start up the hill, but I quickly realize it’s a long hill with a steady climb. Makes sense as it was such a long downhill to get here. To add to the struggle, the wind picks up and it’s a distinct headwind. Well, this is supposed to be training and if we’re pedaling to the beach, there’s going to be a headwind at some point coming from the Gulf. Pete is trying to shield me and pull me up at a constant power, but there is only so much help he can lend. Just then, I look ahead and see the road get steep in front of us. My eyes get big and I shake my head and tell myself to just focus on the road in front of me and I’ll get there. Not much further on, I realize that steep hill is someone’s driveway and the road takes a much “flatter” way over the hill. The “flatter” route however puts the highway in a cut-out between two rock walls and now the wind is really blowing in our faces. “Oh come on!” I shout in frustration, but I keep on pedaling. I make it up the hill and am thankful for a rest at the top.
Down “the bridge”, sharp right turn back onto highway 16 and now to climb up “The Wall” as this hill is called. Pete has told me that he fully expects I’ll have to walk part of this hill. I’m determined to prove him wrong. Then I run out of gears. My legs are burning! My lungs are burning! I have to stop, so I do. I huff and puff and then get back on the bike. I still don’t make it all the way to the top. They aren’t kidding about this hill being a wall! I try to start again and almost slip as my cleat misses the pedal. I see a cyclist approaching and I stand back up and wait for her to pass. When it’s clear, I attempt it again, and this time I get to the top – exhausted! I didn’t have to walk it, but I did have to stop twice on the way up.
After we catch our breath (you know it was all me) Pete and I take off down the hill. This is the constant seven mile uphill, so now it’s a gradual and mostly steady downhill. We hit a great rhythm and sometimes I have to grab the brakes to keep from passing Pete. It’s exhilarating and I feel great! I roll back in with a smile on my face and later learn that we averaged 19 mph on the last stretch. This route is a winner! Not only do we get to train for the Harbor Bridge climb, but we get a great finish to a good training ride. We all agree we’ll have to do this one again.
Pete asks if he should have brought me out here sooner. I comment that it would have been good to bring me out sooner after the Fredericksburg ride so I didn’t forget what real hill climbing was like, and so I didn’t have time to work this route up to such a challenge in my head. But, it didn’t work right in the schedule, so it wasn’t a loss by coming out when we did. I’m glad that the rest of the group liked the route so it won’t be a challenge to get out here again for more training.
Goals
Today's Miles: 21.12
Total Miles Achieved: 733.72
Financial Investment: $2015.24
Total Weight Loss: 0
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