Friday, March 20, 2009
New Orleans 300k March 7
Dianne and I left work after 5 to head to Pats. I picked her up and we got a little later start than I would have liked.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Harder to blog than I thought
I have been trying to get online to catch up on my blog. I want to blog at least once a week. I am still so undisciplined that it my take a while. It is difficult to do everything I need/want to do on a daily basis.
I have really made up my mind to do the Elite PAC tour next June. I have 15 months to train. I am pretty sure that with hard work and determination that I can do it. I will really have to be strict though. I am starting with my food intake. February 24th, I started logging my food on Livestrong.com's daily plate. This is a really neat site. I have not had an opportunity to play on the site much, just log in my food. I am attempting to lose 1.5 lbs a week and eat healthy. It has taken a week, but I can tell logging my food has helped. I am trying not to cheat by not logging something in. It is amazing though where my calories are. I eat more calories daily from either peanut butter or salad dressing. I don't think I can give up my pb yet, but I will try to make better decisions on the dressing.
Food goals:
No fast food - hamburgers, fries - I am going to examine salads on a day to day basis. Big fast food salads are "healthy" but they are loaded w/calories. The Zaxbys salad I like has 480 calories without counting the dressing. The Sherry vinaigrette on Newks salads has a ton of calories.
I want to match my calories with my workouts. Today I just stretched - 50 whopping calories, plus I may have to go out to eat, so I am trying to keep it small. Yesterday I burned 600+ so I ate a little more.
No packaged sweets - cupcakes cookies gas station crap.
Hammer!
Wow, I started using Race Caps Supreme two weeks ago. Boy can I tell a difference. I take one on non workout days and 2 pre workout and 1 post work out on regular work out days. I will take 2 pre long ride and 1 per hour during long rides. The other Hammer products work so well for me. I am also starting Appestat today. It is an appetite suppressant. I may not really need it, but I am going to try it for a while.
Saturday Feb 28 - It was a really cold and miserable day. It wasn't raining, but there was a fine wet mist in the air. I decided to ride up to River Bend to get 50 miles in and push my yearly total to 600 miles. Remember, my pump did not work last weekend for Steve. Well, it did not work for me either! As I pulled out of River Bend I noticed that the tail wind wasn't with me like I thought it should be. And as last week, my legs felt heavy. Of course, the first thing I wanted to sluff it off on was a flat tire. Knowing it wasn't a flat tire I just kept trudging along. About two miles later, I decided to stop and assure myself that it wasn't a flat. I was extremely surprised when I reached down and realized my tire really was flat! Well, of course, my pump would not work and I was stranded. Fortunately, I was able to get ahold of Dianne and she came and rescued me! I was pissed that I did not get my miles in. I ended up with only 582 for the year so far.
I have really made up my mind to do the Elite PAC tour next June. I have 15 months to train. I am pretty sure that with hard work and determination that I can do it. I will really have to be strict though. I am starting with my food intake. February 24th, I started logging my food on Livestrong.com's daily plate. This is a really neat site. I have not had an opportunity to play on the site much, just log in my food. I am attempting to lose 1.5 lbs a week and eat healthy. It has taken a week, but I can tell logging my food has helped. I am trying not to cheat by not logging something in. It is amazing though where my calories are. I eat more calories daily from either peanut butter or salad dressing. I don't think I can give up my pb yet, but I will try to make better decisions on the dressing.
Food goals:
No fast food - hamburgers, fries - I am going to examine salads on a day to day basis. Big fast food salads are "healthy" but they are loaded w/calories. The Zaxbys salad I like has 480 calories without counting the dressing. The Sherry vinaigrette on Newks salads has a ton of calories.
I want to match my calories with my workouts. Today I just stretched - 50 whopping calories, plus I may have to go out to eat, so I am trying to keep it small. Yesterday I burned 600+ so I ate a little more.
No packaged sweets - cupcakes cookies gas station crap.
Hammer!
Wow, I started using Race Caps Supreme two weeks ago. Boy can I tell a difference. I take one on non workout days and 2 pre workout and 1 post work out on regular work out days. I will take 2 pre long ride and 1 per hour during long rides. The other Hammer products work so well for me. I am also starting Appestat today. It is an appetite suppressant. I may not really need it, but I am going to try it for a while.
Saturday Feb 28 - It was a really cold and miserable day. It wasn't raining, but there was a fine wet mist in the air. I decided to ride up to River Bend to get 50 miles in and push my yearly total to 600 miles. Remember, my pump did not work last weekend for Steve. Well, it did not work for me either! As I pulled out of River Bend I noticed that the tail wind wasn't with me like I thought it should be. And as last week, my legs felt heavy. Of course, the first thing I wanted to sluff it off on was a flat tire. Knowing it wasn't a flat tire I just kept trudging along. About two miles later, I decided to stop and assure myself that it wasn't a flat. I was extremely surprised when I reached down and realized my tire really was flat! Well, of course, my pump would not work and I was stranded. Fortunately, I was able to get ahold of Dianne and she came and rescued me! I was pissed that I did not get my miles in. I ended up with only 582 for the year so far.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Mardi Gras 200k Weekend
I got back from the Mardi Gras 200k weekend at midnight last night. What a great weekend!
FRIDAY NIGHT
Dianne and I drove down to Dennis' in Mandeville Friday afternoon. We were fortunate enough to get one of the bedrooms. Dennis and Maria are always great hosts. I was really surprised to see all the people when we got in. Doug (Brandon), John (Memphis) at Pat were already there. We also had two very unexpected guests, Ron and Jack from Topeka, Kansas! John brought a friend, Alan from Memphis and not long after we arrived Matt (Virginia) showed up. Steve showed up much later bringing our total riders to 11. We had jambalaya for supper and king cake for desert. It was colder and we were more tired than last year so we skipped the parade and I think we were in bed before 10.
SATURDAY
Pre-ride
Saturday started early with a 4:15 wakeup call. Getting up that early did allow me to get my stuff together leisurely. The early temp was definitely in the 40s. For some reason, I miscalculated my clothing requirements. Last weekend we rode in a constant temp of 57 and I was cold the whole time. It was supposed to warm to the mid 60s, but I really did not do a good job of adjusting the clothes. I started out with shorts, arm and leg warmers, ss jersey, vest, jacket, reg socks. Once outside I realized I needed another layer. I went back in and put on a wool underlayer and changed to wool socks. I really worried that I was over dressed at this point. That wool underlayer is really warm. I hate having to take off my underlayer later in a ride when it gets too hot, but I was afraid that I would need it. I think my earlier miscalc came from not thinking about the lack of sun for the first couple hours. Anyway, I am very glad I wore the wool underlayer. I would have been miserable without it. I also had my new buff - very good investment. I will probably wear it alot.
We took off for the ride start at 5:45. The ride start is 6 ish miles from Dennis' house. It really was cold. I was stupid and although I had two pairs of shoe covers and two pairs of toe covers, I did not wear any of them. My toes were numb by the time we arrived at the ride start.
Ride Start to First Control:
We got to the ride start without any problems just before the official start of 6:30. We were off by 6:35. Amazingly, the whole group stayed together to the first control. Pat likes to ride Audax style and the bigger the group, the harder it is to ride together. I think it is difficult with more than 4 or 5 cyclists as it is too hard for a faster rider to adjust their speed to the slowest rider. In most cases there is a big difference is speed between the fastest and slowest. Since I am one of the slowest, I can really see how this falls apart. It can be frustrating when I am faster than anyone in the group to slow down for them as I think it is much easier to ride the speed you are accustomed to - especially when there is a 2-3 mph average difference.
Sometime during this first 30 miles particularly somewhere between mile 19 and 30, I thought something was wrong with either my legs or my bike. I was sluggish, my legs felt heavy and I could not "spin". At first I thought I had a flat or a break was rubbing, but I really couldn't find a problem with either. I could not get my heart rate up either. I really was afraid it was me, but did not want to admit it. The last two weekends I saw great improvement in my cycling. I am still very slow averaging 12-12.5 mph on longer rides. But, I really felt good, like my endurance was back. One thing I have always been able to do on the recumbent is accelerate. I can take off really fast and put a gap on others in a hurry. I could not close a gap to save my life Saturday. My legs were just too heavy. I did work out really hard on Thursday and just decided that I over did it, even though I never had any leg soreness Friday. I started letting it bother me. I tried to be positive. We were averaging 13.5 mph at this point, much better than I had originally expected, so I had to take pleasure from that. Maybe that was why my legs were heavy. We did get to the first control 30-45 min up.
First Control to Second Control:
I was ready to leave the control pretty quickly. Since I was the slowest, I tend to try and leave first and let the others catch up with me. I was unaware that Matt had a broken spoke, so Pat, Dennis and Steve stayed back to help him. The others rode off with me. 3-4 miles later, I had to take off a layer. The sun started to come out and warm things slightly. I still had on my underlayer, but took off my vest,jacket, and gloves. At this point, I was dropped and would not ride with anyone for a while. Unfortunately, I started to beat myself up. What had I done to screw up my legs? I worked out really hard on Thursday. I started taking race caps. I did not stretch Friday. I did not think it was the race caps, because I felt good other than my legs. I was alert and seemed to have energy, but I just could not make my legs go. I allowed myself to get negative and decided that I would not be doing the 300 in two weeks. This is one of my biggest problems. I was truly preforming better that I had the previous two weeks, yet because I was not preforming at the level I wanted to, I started going mental. ARRRGH!
Doug, the Kansans, Dianne all waited for me at one of the turns. Pat, Matt, Dennis and Steve all came up behind after messing with Matts wheel. One weird occurrence, we were all honked at and buzzed by a black pickup. This attitude is typically rare in LA. They are normally the nicest people to be around. At the corner, we had pulled off waiting for the others and a lady stopped and told us we should be riding on the bike trail - some 30 miles behind us! Dianne told her that we had the right to ride on the road and the lady started cussing us out. She had kids in her car and one of the others pointed out that she should not act that way in front of her kids, she replied that it was a free country and she could do !#$%#%# what she wanted in front of her kids! Poor kids, I am sure they will become upstanding citizens too! The weird thing was that we were all pulled over out of the road in the parking lot. We had been cycling single file when on the road and the traffic was light enough that we would not have even held anyone up at all. Sheesh!
We all stayed together for a little while. I really needed to pee, but we were in an area that did not lend well to relieving ones self. I was really getting hot and holding it became a real issue. It was frustrating me beyond belief. That is the other issue with Audax cycling. It does not lend well to the individual needs. If one person stops then they all do and not everyone needs to pee at the same time. I finally could not stand it! I stopped, peed and took off my base layer. I put on arm warmers and my vest as it was still cool, I just did not need the wool anymore. Once again the guys waited at the next turn. However, when I got dropped again, only Pat and Steve stayed with me. I would fall behind them and continue to bash myself. Pat waited for me at the last turn before the control. 1.6 miles of rolling hills that should not be a problem - however, I was in my granny granny gear the last half mile. I just had no energy. At the control, Steve asked how I was feeling. I told him I was doing okay, just a little disappointed that I was sluggish this weekend.
Second to Third:
I stay on a totally liquid diet on the long rides. So, it does not take long for me to be ready at the control. Once I had my bottles ready, I went on ahead. The Kansans and Tenns were ready before I was and left before me. My legs really hurt all over at this point. Not excruciating, but I was not comfortable. I rode several miles by myself and then Dennis caught up with me and then Doug and Steve. I really like riding with these guys. Funny story: Pat and Steve concocted a plan to zip tie a 20lb weight to Dougs bike. Little did anyone else know, but they also slipped a small disc 5 lb weight into his bike bag. He found the 20lb weight without a problem, but never suspected the 5 lb one. He only found it when he was packing his bike after the ride!
While riding alone on the stretch before Dennis caught up with me, I did a little soul searching. I want to be an endurance cyclist. Not everything is going to be perfect. I am going to have times that don't work out the way I want them too. My attitude must stay positive. I was still riding at 12.8 mph - better than any other weekend. We were an hour or so up. The weather was nice. I am riding my bike. I was with friends. Shut up your whining. Put your big girl panties on. Although my legs still hurt, I was going to have fun. So when the guys and Dianne caught up with me, I had fun. We pretty much rode together for the next 15-20 miles.
Once we reached the 13 mile stretch, Dianne, Dennis and I skipped a bio break and got out in front of the others. Dianne was riding like a bat out of hell. She has always climbed better than me and she was putting major distance between the two of us. By now my knees were really hurting the left knee was hurting really bad behind the knee and the right hurt on top and behind. I occurred too me that I had moved my seat Friday morning. The longer I rode, the more I decided that I had not tightened the seat bolt tight enough. I was going to wait until the next control to stop and look, but it finally got the better of me. I found a good place to stop and pulled off. Darned if I wasn't right! My seat was about 4 inches from where it should have been. I got really lucky here and Steve and Doug showed up to help move the seat! Eureka! Once the seat was moved, I could spin! I could accelerate! My legs were still tired, and my knees still hurt, but, hurrah, I have a reason that my legs were so heavy!
Third to End:
The rest of the ride I felt much better. I was able to hang with the group. Issue 2 popped up its ugly head just before dusk. I had been riding with my Ixon all day. I turned it off at the ride start as I did not think I needed it anymore. At dusk, it would not come back on. No worries, I had spare batteries. We put them in and after a little prodding, the light came back on although I did not have it aimed right. I realized I did not pack my backup light. Thats what I get after being off the bike for so long. This is a really good reason for Audax riding. When riding in a group, the others can pick up the slack of those that may need a little help, in some cases the group can provide the draft, the light, the upbeat in attitude, the properly applied kick in the pants. All in all Audux riding in the right combination is my favorite way to roll.
The ride continued successfully with our group staying together for the rest of the ride. We finished 12 hr and 3 minutes into the ride. I can't find our official finishing time for last year, but I am pretty sure we were slower but took less time off the bike. I am fairly certain that we ended with a better time.
Positives:
No hot foot!!!! This is my first long ride with the Specialized shoes with arch support in combination with the Crankbrothers Acid pedals. Whoo Hoo!
Being able to come back with a better attitude after lunch!
Perfect fueling - 5 SE+2H to the turn around control, Hammer bar for lunch, 5P for the next 18 miles, 3 SE +2H to the end.
Things to remember:
Bring back up light
Don't go negative
Bring warmer clothes, just in case
Back at Dennis':
We all gathered back at Dennis and Maria's for a shower and supper. The Kansans had to leave to get back home, but the rest of us were able to stay for dinner - a most wonderful spaghetti and meat sauce and chick parm. For desert, we had homemade banana pudding - a wonderful end to a great day! After dinner, we packed up and headed to Pat's.
SUNDAY
Tour de la New Orleans
After breakfast (piggys and cinnamon rolls), we headed out to New Orleans. It was much colder and windyer. I wore my wool jersey and all the other paraphernalia from yesterday. We started out to the levy at 9:30. I did not bring any lights since they really weren't working. My legs were very sore and my left knee hurt really bad. I was doubting if I could do the whole ride, but what the hell. Fortunately, the worst of the pain would wear off with distance. It would rear its ugly head after an extend stop (lots of these), but overall was okay.
St. Charles:
Okay, I hate riding in traffic - the traffic that the car passes you in your lane without giving you any space. I had a really bad occurrence of this December 2007 and still have not fully recovered although I am really trying to get better about it. St. Charles was bumper to bumper cars, but Dianne mentioned that she wanted to ride in the garden district. Pat ever the pleaser, would not deny. I voiced my concern to Pat who all too well knows my fear and he indicated that if were too much, we could always turn off. This ended up being one of my two favorite parts to this ride. The traffic was heavy, but it was either slow enough for us to ride between cars, or when available, we rode in the "parking lane". The morning parade crowd was gathering and we became the parade! It was spectacular. We had a lot of stop a start and dodging between people and vendors, but the crowd really reacted to our bikes. All over you could hear - look at those cool bikes! People were all dressed up with Mardi Gras colors and there were ladders and these neat seats on "stilts" set up for kids to sit in to see the parades. While waiting for the parade to start there were vendors selling color hats and boas and food. Doug had a hat Maria had given him and he put it on while we were riding slowly in the crowd. Although chaotic - it was a complete blast. We attempted to eat at Cafe Dumond, but the line to wait was at least an hour long. We walked over to City Grocery instead and at a muffaletta. Doug, Dianne and I split a whole one.
The Award Ceremony:
From City Grocery we cycled down Chartes to somewhere just off the quarter. Steve stopped us all and stood on a loading dock of a deserted building to make a grand presentation. Apparently, he had been disturbed at getting away with the awful joke that they(?) played on Doug the day before. They(?) assumed Douggy would find the weight much earlier in the ride and discard it along the way. Well, since that did not happen, Steves conscience got to him. He had taken the weight home, painted it, glued a medallion onto it and turned it into the nicest, yet heaviest, medal I have ever seen. The ACP should ask him for his expertise in designing the next medals in 2011! He then wrapped this medal very nicely and presented it to Doug. We were all able to sign the back of it. The best part of all came with the realization that now it was a really great keepsake, Doug had to haul it another 30+ miles back home!
Revenge
Meander was the name of the game for the rest of the day. We meandered to the lower ninth ward where the damage was the worst after the dams broke after Katrina. The area is seeing slow progress. Brad Pitt has sunk 2 million (?) of his own money into revitalization of this part of the city. The houses supposedly were designed to be green. They were definitely interesting. We then headed out to Algeriers(?) to see the Jean Laffite battlefield. From there we rode out to eat again. The original dining choice was closed so we found a suitable substitute. After filling our guts again, somehow Doug was able to let air out of Steves back tire. While waiting for everyone to get gathered up at a gas station, they lead Steve into a discussion of his tires and how difficult it is to change the back tire of a recumbent. Minutes later, we are back on the road stopped at a light and Steve realizes that his tire is running flat. He crosses the road against the light and heads to the ferry well before the rest of us cross. When we get to the ferry, he has already started changing the tire. Doug does not hold out on Steve at all and shows him his valve stem cap. Steve's face was priceless. The dawning of the trick was absolutely perfect! We were able to board the ferry and Steve was able to finish fixing the tire on the ride. The best thing to come of this trick was the realization that my pump no longer works.
Getting back:
At this point it was getting late and we knew we needed to get back to Pat's. Doug, Dianne and I were leaving to go home and it looked like it would be midnight before we got back. However, the challenge was to get back through the parades. Traffic on Canal was completely bumper to bumper gridlock. Steve had a good idea to go on this back road near the street car/train line. We were able to get to Tchopoutulus (?) without a problem. We did have a police car catch up with us and hurry us out of the area we were in. We were able to travel "chop-a-two-lus" street pretty easy until we ran smack dab into the floats lining up. This was phenomenal! People in costume with all sorts of commotion. We were weaving in and out of the crowds, stopping and starting, darting around bands and parade goers. It was so exciting. It would have been fun to have been able to stick around to see the parades since we were in the middle of them, but alas, we had to get home. It was dark when we hit the levy and neither Dianne nor I had lights. Pat and John stopped at a store off the levy and we attempted to continue to Pat's on our own. I really learned a lesson about not having back up lights. I really could not see unless I was really close to Doug. Pat eventually caught back up with us and lead us home.
What a great weekend - somewhere close to 195 miles! I should eclipse my 2008 cycling miles sometime in March! WHOO HOO! WHAT A RIDE! I really appreciate everyone being so supportive. Thanks to Dennis and Maria and Pat and Cindy for putting us all up. And thanks to Pat for being such a great RBA and providing such a great cycling weekend!
FRIDAY NIGHT
Dianne and I drove down to Dennis' in Mandeville Friday afternoon. We were fortunate enough to get one of the bedrooms. Dennis and Maria are always great hosts. I was really surprised to see all the people when we got in. Doug (Brandon), John (Memphis) at Pat were already there. We also had two very unexpected guests, Ron and Jack from Topeka, Kansas! John brought a friend, Alan from Memphis and not long after we arrived Matt (Virginia) showed up. Steve showed up much later bringing our total riders to 11. We had jambalaya for supper and king cake for desert. It was colder and we were more tired than last year so we skipped the parade and I think we were in bed before 10.
SATURDAY
Pre-ride
Saturday started early with a 4:15 wakeup call. Getting up that early did allow me to get my stuff together leisurely. The early temp was definitely in the 40s. For some reason, I miscalculated my clothing requirements. Last weekend we rode in a constant temp of 57 and I was cold the whole time. It was supposed to warm to the mid 60s, but I really did not do a good job of adjusting the clothes. I started out with shorts, arm and leg warmers, ss jersey, vest, jacket, reg socks. Once outside I realized I needed another layer. I went back in and put on a wool underlayer and changed to wool socks. I really worried that I was over dressed at this point. That wool underlayer is really warm. I hate having to take off my underlayer later in a ride when it gets too hot, but I was afraid that I would need it. I think my earlier miscalc came from not thinking about the lack of sun for the first couple hours. Anyway, I am very glad I wore the wool underlayer. I would have been miserable without it. I also had my new buff - very good investment. I will probably wear it alot.
We took off for the ride start at 5:45. The ride start is 6 ish miles from Dennis' house. It really was cold. I was stupid and although I had two pairs of shoe covers and two pairs of toe covers, I did not wear any of them. My toes were numb by the time we arrived at the ride start.
Ride Start to First Control:
We got to the ride start without any problems just before the official start of 6:30. We were off by 6:35. Amazingly, the whole group stayed together to the first control. Pat likes to ride Audax style and the bigger the group, the harder it is to ride together. I think it is difficult with more than 4 or 5 cyclists as it is too hard for a faster rider to adjust their speed to the slowest rider. In most cases there is a big difference is speed between the fastest and slowest. Since I am one of the slowest, I can really see how this falls apart. It can be frustrating when I am faster than anyone in the group to slow down for them as I think it is much easier to ride the speed you are accustomed to - especially when there is a 2-3 mph average difference.
Sometime during this first 30 miles particularly somewhere between mile 19 and 30, I thought something was wrong with either my legs or my bike. I was sluggish, my legs felt heavy and I could not "spin". At first I thought I had a flat or a break was rubbing, but I really couldn't find a problem with either. I could not get my heart rate up either. I really was afraid it was me, but did not want to admit it. The last two weekends I saw great improvement in my cycling. I am still very slow averaging 12-12.5 mph on longer rides. But, I really felt good, like my endurance was back. One thing I have always been able to do on the recumbent is accelerate. I can take off really fast and put a gap on others in a hurry. I could not close a gap to save my life Saturday. My legs were just too heavy. I did work out really hard on Thursday and just decided that I over did it, even though I never had any leg soreness Friday. I started letting it bother me. I tried to be positive. We were averaging 13.5 mph at this point, much better than I had originally expected, so I had to take pleasure from that. Maybe that was why my legs were heavy. We did get to the first control 30-45 min up.
First Control to Second Control:
I was ready to leave the control pretty quickly. Since I was the slowest, I tend to try and leave first and let the others catch up with me. I was unaware that Matt had a broken spoke, so Pat, Dennis and Steve stayed back to help him. The others rode off with me. 3-4 miles later, I had to take off a layer. The sun started to come out and warm things slightly. I still had on my underlayer, but took off my vest,jacket, and gloves. At this point, I was dropped and would not ride with anyone for a while. Unfortunately, I started to beat myself up. What had I done to screw up my legs? I worked out really hard on Thursday. I started taking race caps. I did not stretch Friday. I did not think it was the race caps, because I felt good other than my legs. I was alert and seemed to have energy, but I just could not make my legs go. I allowed myself to get negative and decided that I would not be doing the 300 in two weeks. This is one of my biggest problems. I was truly preforming better that I had the previous two weeks, yet because I was not preforming at the level I wanted to, I started going mental. ARRRGH!
Doug, the Kansans, Dianne all waited for me at one of the turns. Pat, Matt, Dennis and Steve all came up behind after messing with Matts wheel. One weird occurrence, we were all honked at and buzzed by a black pickup. This attitude is typically rare in LA. They are normally the nicest people to be around. At the corner, we had pulled off waiting for the others and a lady stopped and told us we should be riding on the bike trail - some 30 miles behind us! Dianne told her that we had the right to ride on the road and the lady started cussing us out. She had kids in her car and one of the others pointed out that she should not act that way in front of her kids, she replied that it was a free country and she could do !#$%#%# what she wanted in front of her kids! Poor kids, I am sure they will become upstanding citizens too! The weird thing was that we were all pulled over out of the road in the parking lot. We had been cycling single file when on the road and the traffic was light enough that we would not have even held anyone up at all. Sheesh!
We all stayed together for a little while. I really needed to pee, but we were in an area that did not lend well to relieving ones self. I was really getting hot and holding it became a real issue. It was frustrating me beyond belief. That is the other issue with Audax cycling. It does not lend well to the individual needs. If one person stops then they all do and not everyone needs to pee at the same time. I finally could not stand it! I stopped, peed and took off my base layer. I put on arm warmers and my vest as it was still cool, I just did not need the wool anymore. Once again the guys waited at the next turn. However, when I got dropped again, only Pat and Steve stayed with me. I would fall behind them and continue to bash myself. Pat waited for me at the last turn before the control. 1.6 miles of rolling hills that should not be a problem - however, I was in my granny granny gear the last half mile. I just had no energy. At the control, Steve asked how I was feeling. I told him I was doing okay, just a little disappointed that I was sluggish this weekend.
Second to Third:
I stay on a totally liquid diet on the long rides. So, it does not take long for me to be ready at the control. Once I had my bottles ready, I went on ahead. The Kansans and Tenns were ready before I was and left before me. My legs really hurt all over at this point. Not excruciating, but I was not comfortable. I rode several miles by myself and then Dennis caught up with me and then Doug and Steve. I really like riding with these guys. Funny story: Pat and Steve concocted a plan to zip tie a 20lb weight to Dougs bike. Little did anyone else know, but they also slipped a small disc 5 lb weight into his bike bag. He found the 20lb weight without a problem, but never suspected the 5 lb one. He only found it when he was packing his bike after the ride!
While riding alone on the stretch before Dennis caught up with me, I did a little soul searching. I want to be an endurance cyclist. Not everything is going to be perfect. I am going to have times that don't work out the way I want them too. My attitude must stay positive. I was still riding at 12.8 mph - better than any other weekend. We were an hour or so up. The weather was nice. I am riding my bike. I was with friends. Shut up your whining. Put your big girl panties on. Although my legs still hurt, I was going to have fun. So when the guys and Dianne caught up with me, I had fun. We pretty much rode together for the next 15-20 miles.
Once we reached the 13 mile stretch, Dianne, Dennis and I skipped a bio break and got out in front of the others. Dianne was riding like a bat out of hell. She has always climbed better than me and she was putting major distance between the two of us. By now my knees were really hurting the left knee was hurting really bad behind the knee and the right hurt on top and behind. I occurred too me that I had moved my seat Friday morning. The longer I rode, the more I decided that I had not tightened the seat bolt tight enough. I was going to wait until the next control to stop and look, but it finally got the better of me. I found a good place to stop and pulled off. Darned if I wasn't right! My seat was about 4 inches from where it should have been. I got really lucky here and Steve and Doug showed up to help move the seat! Eureka! Once the seat was moved, I could spin! I could accelerate! My legs were still tired, and my knees still hurt, but, hurrah, I have a reason that my legs were so heavy!
Third to End:
The rest of the ride I felt much better. I was able to hang with the group. Issue 2 popped up its ugly head just before dusk. I had been riding with my Ixon all day. I turned it off at the ride start as I did not think I needed it anymore. At dusk, it would not come back on. No worries, I had spare batteries. We put them in and after a little prodding, the light came back on although I did not have it aimed right. I realized I did not pack my backup light. Thats what I get after being off the bike for so long. This is a really good reason for Audax riding. When riding in a group, the others can pick up the slack of those that may need a little help, in some cases the group can provide the draft, the light, the upbeat in attitude, the properly applied kick in the pants. All in all Audux riding in the right combination is my favorite way to roll.
The ride continued successfully with our group staying together for the rest of the ride. We finished 12 hr and 3 minutes into the ride. I can't find our official finishing time for last year, but I am pretty sure we were slower but took less time off the bike. I am fairly certain that we ended with a better time.
Positives:
No hot foot!!!! This is my first long ride with the Specialized shoes with arch support in combination with the Crankbrothers Acid pedals. Whoo Hoo!
Being able to come back with a better attitude after lunch!
Perfect fueling - 5 SE+2H to the turn around control, Hammer bar for lunch, 5P for the next 18 miles, 3 SE +2H to the end.
Things to remember:
Bring back up light
Don't go negative
Bring warmer clothes, just in case
Back at Dennis':
We all gathered back at Dennis and Maria's for a shower and supper. The Kansans had to leave to get back home, but the rest of us were able to stay for dinner - a most wonderful spaghetti and meat sauce and chick parm. For desert, we had homemade banana pudding - a wonderful end to a great day! After dinner, we packed up and headed to Pat's.
SUNDAY
Tour de la New Orleans
After breakfast (piggys and cinnamon rolls), we headed out to New Orleans. It was much colder and windyer. I wore my wool jersey and all the other paraphernalia from yesterday. We started out to the levy at 9:30. I did not bring any lights since they really weren't working. My legs were very sore and my left knee hurt really bad. I was doubting if I could do the whole ride, but what the hell. Fortunately, the worst of the pain would wear off with distance. It would rear its ugly head after an extend stop (lots of these), but overall was okay.
St. Charles:
Okay, I hate riding in traffic - the traffic that the car passes you in your lane without giving you any space. I had a really bad occurrence of this December 2007 and still have not fully recovered although I am really trying to get better about it. St. Charles was bumper to bumper cars, but Dianne mentioned that she wanted to ride in the garden district. Pat ever the pleaser, would not deny. I voiced my concern to Pat who all too well knows my fear and he indicated that if were too much, we could always turn off. This ended up being one of my two favorite parts to this ride. The traffic was heavy, but it was either slow enough for us to ride between cars, or when available, we rode in the "parking lane". The morning parade crowd was gathering and we became the parade! It was spectacular. We had a lot of stop a start and dodging between people and vendors, but the crowd really reacted to our bikes. All over you could hear - look at those cool bikes! People were all dressed up with Mardi Gras colors and there were ladders and these neat seats on "stilts" set up for kids to sit in to see the parades. While waiting for the parade to start there were vendors selling color hats and boas and food. Doug had a hat Maria had given him and he put it on while we were riding slowly in the crowd. Although chaotic - it was a complete blast. We attempted to eat at Cafe Dumond, but the line to wait was at least an hour long. We walked over to City Grocery instead and at a muffaletta. Doug, Dianne and I split a whole one.
The Award Ceremony:
From City Grocery we cycled down Chartes to somewhere just off the quarter. Steve stopped us all and stood on a loading dock of a deserted building to make a grand presentation. Apparently, he had been disturbed at getting away with the awful joke that they(?) played on Doug the day before. They(?) assumed Douggy would find the weight much earlier in the ride and discard it along the way. Well, since that did not happen, Steves conscience got to him. He had taken the weight home, painted it, glued a medallion onto it and turned it into the nicest, yet heaviest, medal I have ever seen. The ACP should ask him for his expertise in designing the next medals in 2011! He then wrapped this medal very nicely and presented it to Doug. We were all able to sign the back of it. The best part of all came with the realization that now it was a really great keepsake, Doug had to haul it another 30+ miles back home!
Revenge
Meander was the name of the game for the rest of the day. We meandered to the lower ninth ward where the damage was the worst after the dams broke after Katrina. The area is seeing slow progress. Brad Pitt has sunk 2 million (?) of his own money into revitalization of this part of the city. The houses supposedly were designed to be green. They were definitely interesting. We then headed out to Algeriers(?) to see the Jean Laffite battlefield. From there we rode out to eat again. The original dining choice was closed so we found a suitable substitute. After filling our guts again, somehow Doug was able to let air out of Steves back tire. While waiting for everyone to get gathered up at a gas station, they lead Steve into a discussion of his tires and how difficult it is to change the back tire of a recumbent. Minutes later, we are back on the road stopped at a light and Steve realizes that his tire is running flat. He crosses the road against the light and heads to the ferry well before the rest of us cross. When we get to the ferry, he has already started changing the tire. Doug does not hold out on Steve at all and shows him his valve stem cap. Steve's face was priceless. The dawning of the trick was absolutely perfect! We were able to board the ferry and Steve was able to finish fixing the tire on the ride. The best thing to come of this trick was the realization that my pump no longer works.
Getting back:
At this point it was getting late and we knew we needed to get back to Pat's. Doug, Dianne and I were leaving to go home and it looked like it would be midnight before we got back. However, the challenge was to get back through the parades. Traffic on Canal was completely bumper to bumper gridlock. Steve had a good idea to go on this back road near the street car/train line. We were able to get to Tchopoutulus (?) without a problem. We did have a police car catch up with us and hurry us out of the area we were in. We were able to travel "chop-a-two-lus" street pretty easy until we ran smack dab into the floats lining up. This was phenomenal! People in costume with all sorts of commotion. We were weaving in and out of the crowds, stopping and starting, darting around bands and parade goers. It was so exciting. It would have been fun to have been able to stick around to see the parades since we were in the middle of them, but alas, we had to get home. It was dark when we hit the levy and neither Dianne nor I had lights. Pat and John stopped at a store off the levy and we attempted to continue to Pat's on our own. I really learned a lesson about not having back up lights. I really could not see unless I was really close to Doug. Pat eventually caught back up with us and lead us home.
What a great weekend - somewhere close to 195 miles! I should eclipse my 2008 cycling miles sometime in March! WHOO HOO! WHAT A RIDE! I really appreciate everyone being so supportive. Thanks to Dennis and Maria and Pat and Cindy for putting us all up. And thanks to Pat for being such a great RBA and providing such a great cycling weekend!
Friday, February 20, 2009
Back in the Saddle
Ok, I am not a good Blogger. Lets see where this goes this time since I have not blogged in a year and a half.
2007 was a great cycling year. I finished with 4000 k, over 3000 ultra cycling miles and somewhere over 6000 total miles. I bought my Corsa in Oct 2007 and started riding it exclusively.
2008 sucked. My office combined with 4 others to form a very complex multi-specialty group. I started working 56-72 hours a week sometime in February and really did little else. I participated in my own Natchez Trace 200k - it was great - I had several LSR members drive over for the ride and had a PR while doing it. I also rode in Pat's Mardi Gras 200k. The next weekend Aidan was born. He is really the only good thing about 2007. I do enjoy being a grandmother!
I participated in one more 200 k - the Franklinton 4th of July ride. I struggled as I had been off the bike more than on it.
I rode so little, I have no idea how many miles I actually rode. I am guessing less than 1000.
So, it is February 20th. I am 25 lbs heavier now than my April 2007 weight and I have already lost 10 lbs this year. I am motivated to become a real athlete. I will leave in a few hours for this years Mardi Gras ride. My goal is to finish in the time limit. Last night I heard Shanna Armstrong speak at a Boys and Girls club award banquet in Kosy. Very interesting. Her story is almost unbelievable. She was not always the picture of health and athletic envy - at one time she was a 170lb+ smoker!
Well, I am not a smoker! I really want to be a true ultra cyclist. I don't know why except the fact that I love to ride, I love the outdoors, and I love pushing myself. Lets see where I go!
My longer term goal is to make another PAC tour in 2010. I would really like to do the elite tour as it is basically RAAM without the sleep deprivation.
Short term goals:
Lose 5 lbs a month to lose at least 25 lbs - maybe 35.
Finish a MS or LA 200k at 15mph ave
Ride a minimum of 250 miles a month.
2007 was a great cycling year. I finished with 4000 k, over 3000 ultra cycling miles and somewhere over 6000 total miles. I bought my Corsa in Oct 2007 and started riding it exclusively.
2008 sucked. My office combined with 4 others to form a very complex multi-specialty group. I started working 56-72 hours a week sometime in February and really did little else. I participated in my own Natchez Trace 200k - it was great - I had several LSR members drive over for the ride and had a PR while doing it. I also rode in Pat's Mardi Gras 200k. The next weekend Aidan was born. He is really the only good thing about 2007. I do enjoy being a grandmother!
I participated in one more 200 k - the Franklinton 4th of July ride. I struggled as I had been off the bike more than on it.
I rode so little, I have no idea how many miles I actually rode. I am guessing less than 1000.
So, it is February 20th. I am 25 lbs heavier now than my April 2007 weight and I have already lost 10 lbs this year. I am motivated to become a real athlete. I will leave in a few hours for this years Mardi Gras ride. My goal is to finish in the time limit. Last night I heard Shanna Armstrong speak at a Boys and Girls club award banquet in Kosy. Very interesting. Her story is almost unbelievable. She was not always the picture of health and athletic envy - at one time she was a 170lb+ smoker!
Well, I am not a smoker! I really want to be a true ultra cyclist. I don't know why except the fact that I love to ride, I love the outdoors, and I love pushing myself. Lets see where I go!
My longer term goal is to make another PAC tour in 2010. I would really like to do the elite tour as it is basically RAAM without the sleep deprivation.
Short term goals:
Lose 5 lbs a month to lose at least 25 lbs - maybe 35.
Finish a MS or LA 200k at 15mph ave
Ride a minimum of 250 miles a month.
Monday, July 9, 2007
New Orleans 200 k (Birthday Bash Brevet)
I have been looking forward to this brevet for a while. Earlier in the year Dianne agreed to travel down to New Orleans with me for it. After her more difficult 200k in Franklinton, LA, I did not know if I would ever be able to get her to do another one. Since this one fell on her birthday and I guaranteed her that it was flat, she decided to try it again. What made this brevet really special was that not only was it Dianne's birthday, but it was Pat's too.
I intended on starting to train with Dianne the first weekend in June. She had some good base mileage, but needed to start ramping up. Unfortunately, we hit a snag in that my knee was out of commission because of the Mineral Wells 400k. Dianne and I were not able to ride together during the month of June except for a short 12 mile ride on the Trace my first day back on the bike for rehab. Dianne rode some with the group and purposefully got some bonus miles by herself on those rides. I was able to do rides in Arkansas and Long Leaf before the 200k.
Friday night before the ride, I went to pick up some birthday surprises. I had pin wheels for every one's bike and flashing spoke decorations for Dianne and Pat birthday present.
Saturday morning I went by Dianne's house to pick her up. We had not yet decided if we were going to do Pat's bonus miles or if we were just going to stick with the 200k. If we left with Pat from his house, we would end up doing close to 150 miles whereas if we drove to the ride start, we would only have 130 miles. I worried about Dianne doing 150 miles since her longest ride of the year so far was only 80 miles.
The drive went by very fast and we arrived at Pat's by 10:30. The weather was not too bad at the time. It was hot, but a storm was brewing and made the temperatures seem comfortable. On a whim, we decided to do the bonus miles. I hope we would not regret this later. In order to arrive at the ride start by 2:00, Pat wanted to leave at 12:30. Dennis had come in sometime near 12:00 and we were all getting our stuff together to leave. I was really glad we had gotten in as early as we did as we did not have to rush to get our bikes together. I ate a PB&J and some of Pat's famous piggies (cocktail sausage wrapped in biscuit dough) and an Ensure. I was not sure how good of a pre-ride meal this was going to be, but it was good at the time.
I decide to let Millicent the Magnificent ride on the back of the rack today. Normally she sits comfortably in the front pouch of my bike bag, but today I thought she might like a different view. This was Millie's first ride in Louisiana and I know that she was going to have fun. Tomorrow, we had big plans for her to go to the French Quarter and eat Muffalettas and benets and hang out at Burbon Street.
At 12:25, large rain drops started falling and it started thundering and lightening. I am pretty lucky as I have well over 300 miles of rain riding experience, but I have never been caught in a complete scary down pour. Dianne, Dennis, Pat and I huddle in his garage waiting to see if the rain lets up. I decide to put on my toe covers, front fender and shower cap. Since I dried out so well in the Texas rain, I decided not to bring a change of dry clothes - just socks. This ends up being a bad decision as the high humidity keeps my clothes from drying out after the rain stops. The rain does let up some, so at 12:45 we head towards the levy and Audubon Park. Millie immediately lets me know she is on the ride. I have never heard her be so vocal. At first I thought she was happy then I thought she may be upset about being in the rain. She chatters almost non stop. About 7 miles or so into the ride, the rain stops abruptly. You can see the rain line on the pavement. Millie is still chattering. It did not take long to decide that she was unhappy with her view. Maybe she is like me and just can not face backwards or maybe she was upset knowing we were headed for the zoo, but she let me know she was not a happy monkey all the way into Audubon Park.
At Audubon Park, we met Steve (did not get his last name), an architech, on his first official brevet. While waiting for the official 2:00 ride start, I moved Millie back to her pouch on the bike bag. She seemed much happier at this point.
We started the official part of the brevet at 2:00 on the dot. This is a first for any brevets that I have done with Pat. On one occasion, the late start was my fault, but we don't have to discuss that on this blog! Not far into the ride, Steve notices that I am on an IF. I immediately know that I am going to like him. We discuss custom bikes, components and trips on and off for the whole ride.
I don't remember when it started raining again, I think it was somewhere around the bathrooms on the levy. We stopped at the bathrooms and again at the gas station on River Road. If we were doing a harder brevet, we would not have needed to have stopped twice before the first control for time reasons. Since this is a casual brevet ridden in the audux style, we all stay together and stop when someone needs to stop. It really is fun, but if we were doing a 400 or 600k the extra time on the stops would eventually add up to major time. The rain continues for a couple hours. Nothing bad. We are getting a few honks - all happy - but not as many as the 300 k last year.
The ride to the first and second controls are really uneventful. I am guessing we have a tail wind as we are cruising pretty fast. We probably only averaged 14 mph on the levy and River Road, but from La Place to Ponchatula, we really pick up speed. We end up averaging 15.3 mph at the turn around. We are about 2 hours up when we reach Ponchatula and head for the McDonald's. I had purchased candles that read "52" since not only was it both Dianne's and Pats birthdays, it was also both of their 52nd birthday. They both seemed to get a kick out of the candles. I let them know that they would get to carry the candles home as I did not need the extra weight on the way back! I ate a $1 double cheeseburger plain with a small fry. I really enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. Dianne bought two - one for the end of the ride. She really was smarter than me here! I must remember this for next time.
We left Ponchatula close to 6:30, I think. This was a little later than we would have liked as Dennis and Pat like to leave in time to cross the Manchac bridge before night fall. We probably would have made it except....
This route has 3 sets of nasty railroad tracks that cross the road at weird angles. On the way out of Ponchatula, we crossed one of these tracks that was much rougher on the return side. Pat went over it first followed by Dianne and then me. I hit the tracks at a very uneven spot. Millie lept from the bike bag as I hit the tracks. I grabbed her and immediately noticed my front wheel had flatted. Steve and Dianne both commented that it was weird that I flatted on the front tire. Dennis observed that I had flatted on the back. I started to correct him when I turned and noticed that the back tire was flat too!!! I could not believe that I had two simultaneous flats! Well dusk was approaching and we acted like we were part of a NASCAR pit crew! We changed both tires in 15-20 minutes all working as a well oiled machine!
We continued the ride very uneventfully after this. I am sure I drove everyone crazy though as every few minutes I said "I can't believe I flatted simultaneously"! We were still cycling strong through La Place all the way to the levy. As I was not wearing my helmet light, I could not tell what our average had been. According to Pat and Dianne, we were still averaging 15 when we hit the levy. Obviously we slowed down considerably as we only ended up averaging 13.5 overall for the return trip. We completed the official ride in 11 hrs and 12 minutes. Had we not had the simultaneous flat, we would have beaten our time from last year. Once back in Audubon Park, we were going to leave Steve, but he lamented that he was the only one without bonus miles and rode the 10 miles back on the levy towards Pat's house. We made it in sometime near 2:00 am. What a great ride!
I have been looking forward to this brevet for a while. Earlier in the year Dianne agreed to travel down to New Orleans with me for it. After her more difficult 200k in Franklinton, LA, I did not know if I would ever be able to get her to do another one. Since this one fell on her birthday and I guaranteed her that it was flat, she decided to try it again. What made this brevet really special was that not only was it Dianne's birthday, but it was Pat's too.
I intended on starting to train with Dianne the first weekend in June. She had some good base mileage, but needed to start ramping up. Unfortunately, we hit a snag in that my knee was out of commission because of the Mineral Wells 400k. Dianne and I were not able to ride together during the month of June except for a short 12 mile ride on the Trace my first day back on the bike for rehab. Dianne rode some with the group and purposefully got some bonus miles by herself on those rides. I was able to do rides in Arkansas and Long Leaf before the 200k.
Friday night before the ride, I went to pick up some birthday surprises. I had pin wheels for every one's bike and flashing spoke decorations for Dianne and Pat birthday present.
Saturday morning I went by Dianne's house to pick her up. We had not yet decided if we were going to do Pat's bonus miles or if we were just going to stick with the 200k. If we left with Pat from his house, we would end up doing close to 150 miles whereas if we drove to the ride start, we would only have 130 miles. I worried about Dianne doing 150 miles since her longest ride of the year so far was only 80 miles.
The drive went by very fast and we arrived at Pat's by 10:30. The weather was not too bad at the time. It was hot, but a storm was brewing and made the temperatures seem comfortable. On a whim, we decided to do the bonus miles. I hope we would not regret this later. In order to arrive at the ride start by 2:00, Pat wanted to leave at 12:30. Dennis had come in sometime near 12:00 and we were all getting our stuff together to leave. I was really glad we had gotten in as early as we did as we did not have to rush to get our bikes together. I ate a PB&J and some of Pat's famous piggies (cocktail sausage wrapped in biscuit dough) and an Ensure. I was not sure how good of a pre-ride meal this was going to be, but it was good at the time.
I decide to let Millicent the Magnificent ride on the back of the rack today. Normally she sits comfortably in the front pouch of my bike bag, but today I thought she might like a different view. This was Millie's first ride in Louisiana and I know that she was going to have fun. Tomorrow, we had big plans for her to go to the French Quarter and eat Muffalettas and benets and hang out at Burbon Street.
At 12:25, large rain drops started falling and it started thundering and lightening. I am pretty lucky as I have well over 300 miles of rain riding experience, but I have never been caught in a complete scary down pour. Dianne, Dennis, Pat and I huddle in his garage waiting to see if the rain lets up. I decide to put on my toe covers, front fender and shower cap. Since I dried out so well in the Texas rain, I decided not to bring a change of dry clothes - just socks. This ends up being a bad decision as the high humidity keeps my clothes from drying out after the rain stops. The rain does let up some, so at 12:45 we head towards the levy and Audubon Park. Millie immediately lets me know she is on the ride. I have never heard her be so vocal. At first I thought she was happy then I thought she may be upset about being in the rain. She chatters almost non stop. About 7 miles or so into the ride, the rain stops abruptly. You can see the rain line on the pavement. Millie is still chattering. It did not take long to decide that she was unhappy with her view. Maybe she is like me and just can not face backwards or maybe she was upset knowing we were headed for the zoo, but she let me know she was not a happy monkey all the way into Audubon Park.
At Audubon Park, we met Steve (did not get his last name), an architech, on his first official brevet. While waiting for the official 2:00 ride start, I moved Millie back to her pouch on the bike bag. She seemed much happier at this point.
We started the official part of the brevet at 2:00 on the dot. This is a first for any brevets that I have done with Pat. On one occasion, the late start was my fault, but we don't have to discuss that on this blog! Not far into the ride, Steve notices that I am on an IF. I immediately know that I am going to like him. We discuss custom bikes, components and trips on and off for the whole ride.
I don't remember when it started raining again, I think it was somewhere around the bathrooms on the levy. We stopped at the bathrooms and again at the gas station on River Road. If we were doing a harder brevet, we would not have needed to have stopped twice before the first control for time reasons. Since this is a casual brevet ridden in the audux style, we all stay together and stop when someone needs to stop. It really is fun, but if we were doing a 400 or 600k the extra time on the stops would eventually add up to major time. The rain continues for a couple hours. Nothing bad. We are getting a few honks - all happy - but not as many as the 300 k last year.
The ride to the first and second controls are really uneventful. I am guessing we have a tail wind as we are cruising pretty fast. We probably only averaged 14 mph on the levy and River Road, but from La Place to Ponchatula, we really pick up speed. We end up averaging 15.3 mph at the turn around. We are about 2 hours up when we reach Ponchatula and head for the McDonald's. I had purchased candles that read "52" since not only was it both Dianne's and Pats birthdays, it was also both of their 52nd birthday. They both seemed to get a kick out of the candles. I let them know that they would get to carry the candles home as I did not need the extra weight on the way back! I ate a $1 double cheeseburger plain with a small fry. I really enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. Dianne bought two - one for the end of the ride. She really was smarter than me here! I must remember this for next time.
We left Ponchatula close to 6:30, I think. This was a little later than we would have liked as Dennis and Pat like to leave in time to cross the Manchac bridge before night fall. We probably would have made it except....
This route has 3 sets of nasty railroad tracks that cross the road at weird angles. On the way out of Ponchatula, we crossed one of these tracks that was much rougher on the return side. Pat went over it first followed by Dianne and then me. I hit the tracks at a very uneven spot. Millie lept from the bike bag as I hit the tracks. I grabbed her and immediately noticed my front wheel had flatted. Steve and Dianne both commented that it was weird that I flatted on the front tire. Dennis observed that I had flatted on the back. I started to correct him when I turned and noticed that the back tire was flat too!!! I could not believe that I had two simultaneous flats! Well dusk was approaching and we acted like we were part of a NASCAR pit crew! We changed both tires in 15-20 minutes all working as a well oiled machine!
We continued the ride very uneventfully after this. I am sure I drove everyone crazy though as every few minutes I said "I can't believe I flatted simultaneously"! We were still cycling strong through La Place all the way to the levy. As I was not wearing my helmet light, I could not tell what our average had been. According to Pat and Dianne, we were still averaging 15 when we hit the levy. Obviously we slowed down considerably as we only ended up averaging 13.5 overall for the return trip. We completed the official ride in 11 hrs and 12 minutes. Had we not had the simultaneous flat, we would have beaten our time from last year. Once back in Audubon Park, we were going to leave Steve, but he lamented that he was the only one without bonus miles and rode the 10 miles back on the levy towards Pat's house. We made it in sometime near 2:00 am. What a great ride!
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Long Leaf Trail
Left early Saturday morning - about 5:45 for the 1.5 mile drive to Prentiss by myself. No one wanted to go and I wanted to ride the Trail. I have it set up as a perm and no one has ridden it yet. I was surprised to find the gas station I intended on using as a control was boarded up. I then went to the bathrooms at the Long Leaf and they were locked due to excessive vandalism. Great! I need to go and there is no where to do it that I wouldn't be booked for public indecency. I drove back towards the main street and the gas station on the corner looked pretty scary. There were several people hanging out there and I was not comfortable going in. I drove further down the road to another gas station and there were only three people hanging out. I walked in and asked to use the bathroom. The cashier was not eager to say yes, no, or kiss my butt. When I could tell she was about to say no, I informed her that the ones at Long Leaf were locked. She sullenly gave me a key a pointed to the hallway where the restrooms were located. Both the men's and women's restrooms had large signs on them indicating that they were out of order. Opening the women's restroom, revealed a clean toilet that was in good working order. I drove back to the parking lot knowing my mileage would be off by a mile and got started. I wondered since the Prentiss rest rooms were closed if any of the depots along the way would be open. I also wondered if my car would be there when I got back. I started at 7:41 - 11 minutes late. The weather was cool and humid. I knew that it would be getting really hot before the ride was over. It was probably in the high 60s at that point.
Within the first mile, I saw a rabbit scampering off of the trail. Remembering the number of rabbits I had seen on the trail last time, I decided to count rabbits today. 1,2,3 before the 10 mile mark! So far the new Body Geometry seat was working - but boy it was ugly. I hiked out of Prentiss knowing I would be climbing all the way to Bassfield. I thought the majority of the route was uphill to Hattisburg, but I apparently was wrong. I really try to push it as much as possible. I wanted to finish with a 15 mph rolling average. 4,5 more rabbits darting across the trail.
I stop in Sumerall to get water, stretch, and go. I walk across from the Depot to look at the cafe to see if they would have any V-8 - it was closed. The knee was stiff, so I stretched it some more. 6,7 rabbits to Jefferson Street. I stopped again to stretch. There were two black girls resting on a bench at this depot. One in jeans and the other in long pants. They apparently were on bikes and had come from Hattiesburg. They had no idea how far they had come and did not have helmets or water. One asked if I could look at her bike seat as it was rotating on her as she rode. It had a quick release lever on it and I tightened it for her. I made it into Hattiesburg at 10:45. I was up 1.75 hours. At the depot, I realized the signs were wrong and that the final two miles were not complete. I would end up 5 miles off. I bought a powerade and a water and started back out at 11:05. 20 minute stop...
Passed Jefferson Street depot, the two young ladies were still there. I wondered if they would make it back. Apparently, I had a cross wind with a slight push on the way down and now had a cross wind angling toward a headwind. I really wanted to find a place to stop to get a v-8. I knew Sumerall was not that far ahead. I pulled into one of the gas stations in Sumrall and bought a V-8. I filled up with ice and water from a drink machine. The water looked like it was coming from the machine pretty fast, but I really did not think much about it. Stretched, finished the V-8 and got back on the bike only to realize that the water I had in my camel back was carbonated water - blech! I rode over to the Sumerall depot and poured out the water trying to save the ice and refilled it from the water fountain. My speed and stamina had definitely dropped off. I did the first half in 15.3 mph. I was having trouble maintaining 13 mph now. The time off the bike really hurt my cardiovascular system and endurance. I am beginning to think that there is no way to attempt the 600. If I could finish the Long Leaf at a 15 mph average, then I think the 600 attempt would be feasible, but I am struggling. I feel tired - not bonked - but just physically tired. I stop to stretch in Bassfield. A little girl is at the depot which is just up from a park. She is probably only 2 or 3 and is enthralled with my camelbak. She asks what it is and I told her it is for my water. She really wants to try to drink out of it. I leave quickly. I haven't seen any rabbits on the way back from Hattiesburg, but I now see what in the distance looks like a large rat. It ends up being a baby armadillo. He was not scared of me at all - that is probably why they are dead on the side of the road all the time! Not long after that, I see a doe running on the horse trail just in front of me. We ride/run together for 1/4 mile or so as the deer looks as curious at me as I am of it. The doe finally stops and we look each other eye to eye as I continue to ride off.
I make it back into Prentiss at 2:30. My speed has fallen to 14.3 mph. So I was definitely slower on the way back. I ended up 2 full hours thought. I go to the gas station that I skipped over this morning. I did not need to use the restroom, so I don't know how it looked, but the cashier was pleasant. The seat preformed well - no complaints. I will see how it does in New Orleans next week. Hopefully, my cardio and endurance will miraculously appear and we can average at least 15 on the 200k. If so, then I may still try the 600 - if not, the pursuit will be over...
Within the first mile, I saw a rabbit scampering off of the trail. Remembering the number of rabbits I had seen on the trail last time, I decided to count rabbits today. 1,2,3 before the 10 mile mark! So far the new Body Geometry seat was working - but boy it was ugly. I hiked out of Prentiss knowing I would be climbing all the way to Bassfield. I thought the majority of the route was uphill to Hattisburg, but I apparently was wrong. I really try to push it as much as possible. I wanted to finish with a 15 mph rolling average. 4,5 more rabbits darting across the trail.
I stop in Sumerall to get water, stretch, and go. I walk across from the Depot to look at the cafe to see if they would have any V-8 - it was closed. The knee was stiff, so I stretched it some more. 6,7 rabbits to Jefferson Street. I stopped again to stretch. There were two black girls resting on a bench at this depot. One in jeans and the other in long pants. They apparently were on bikes and had come from Hattiesburg. They had no idea how far they had come and did not have helmets or water. One asked if I could look at her bike seat as it was rotating on her as she rode. It had a quick release lever on it and I tightened it for her. I made it into Hattiesburg at 10:45. I was up 1.75 hours. At the depot, I realized the signs were wrong and that the final two miles were not complete. I would end up 5 miles off. I bought a powerade and a water and started back out at 11:05. 20 minute stop...
Passed Jefferson Street depot, the two young ladies were still there. I wondered if they would make it back. Apparently, I had a cross wind with a slight push on the way down and now had a cross wind angling toward a headwind. I really wanted to find a place to stop to get a v-8. I knew Sumerall was not that far ahead. I pulled into one of the gas stations in Sumrall and bought a V-8. I filled up with ice and water from a drink machine. The water looked like it was coming from the machine pretty fast, but I really did not think much about it. Stretched, finished the V-8 and got back on the bike only to realize that the water I had in my camel back was carbonated water - blech! I rode over to the Sumerall depot and poured out the water trying to save the ice and refilled it from the water fountain. My speed and stamina had definitely dropped off. I did the first half in 15.3 mph. I was having trouble maintaining 13 mph now. The time off the bike really hurt my cardiovascular system and endurance. I am beginning to think that there is no way to attempt the 600. If I could finish the Long Leaf at a 15 mph average, then I think the 600 attempt would be feasible, but I am struggling. I feel tired - not bonked - but just physically tired. I stop to stretch in Bassfield. A little girl is at the depot which is just up from a park. She is probably only 2 or 3 and is enthralled with my camelbak. She asks what it is and I told her it is for my water. She really wants to try to drink out of it. I leave quickly. I haven't seen any rabbits on the way back from Hattiesburg, but I now see what in the distance looks like a large rat. It ends up being a baby armadillo. He was not scared of me at all - that is probably why they are dead on the side of the road all the time! Not long after that, I see a doe running on the horse trail just in front of me. We ride/run together for 1/4 mile or so as the deer looks as curious at me as I am of it. The doe finally stops and we look each other eye to eye as I continue to ride off.
I make it back into Prentiss at 2:30. My speed has fallen to 14.3 mph. So I was definitely slower on the way back. I ended up 2 full hours thought. I go to the gas station that I skipped over this morning. I did not need to use the restroom, so I don't know how it looked, but the cashier was pleasant. The seat preformed well - no complaints. I will see how it does in New Orleans next week. Hopefully, my cardio and endurance will miraculously appear and we can average at least 15 on the 200k. If so, then I may still try the 600 - if not, the pursuit will be over...
Recovery Rides
My knee seems to be healing pretty good. However, it has taken longer than the two week healing time that I was hoping for. I have lost a lot of my endurance and what little speed I had. My 600 attempt is in grave danger.
I started Physical Therapy with Mark Ware the Tuesday after Memorial Day. He did some ultrasound treatment and got me started on some stretches. I have been going twice a week ever since.
June 2nd - did not ride at all. My knee still hurt pretty badly. It really was stoving up at night. Drove up to Mom & Dads for the day. Sucked not being on the bike. I really wanted to be back on it.
Mark added some exercises to my stretches during PT. They also message the heck out of it.
June 9th - Dianne and I rode 12 miles from my house down the South Trace to the bridge before 49. Basically 5 miles out and back on the Trace and mile back to the house. I was trying out David's Fizik Alliante instead of my Selle an-atomica. I really lost confidence in it on the 400 k. Hated the Alliante. I felt like I was sitting on my girly bits. We stopped a couple times for me to adjust the saddle. All in all it was a good ride and my knee did not hurt.
After the ride, Dianne and I cleaned up and rode to Jeff Busby Park on the Natchez Trace to develop a 300 k route. We found a 600 ft climb over .8 miles inside the park. I can't wait to do this ride. We listened to the State Game on the radio the whole time. We stopped in French Camp for lunch and it was great. French Camp is an older looking town that has a few old buildings to look at along with a cute craft shop and cafe. We had the best BLT I have ever eaten.
June 16th - Drove to Magnolia for Fathers Day to see Pal. I got up early and rode out to Logoly State Park (nothing there) and then out to Waldo and Stamps. The North/South portion of the route was hillier than the East/West portion. The total route was 57 miles. The weather was overcast and humid. The temps were probably in the 60s to start and 80s by noon. I saw three deer on the route. The dogs behaved themselves - most acted like they have never seen anyone on a bike before. There probably aren't many cyclists in Southern Arkansas. I really can tell my cardiovascular system has been compromised during this layoff with my knee. I changed my saddle back to the new Selle An-atomica. It was slick and I probably need to adjust the nose down slightly. It wasn't perfectly comfortable, but I guess it needs to be broken in now.
The roads were pretty decent for the most part - various degrees of chip seal with some smooth or old pavement mixed in. Normally the road surface changed at the county lines. I was on 79 and 82 some. The shoulders were pretty wide in most places. Just past Waldo however, the shoulder on 82 was very rough chip seal and the road was pristine black top. I fixed my mirror to see the traffic behind me and rode directly on 82 only getting on the shoulder when cars were approaching from behind. When I entered the next county, the shoulder changed to smooth pavement and made the trip much easier and safer.
I started back to spin class on Tuesday and on Wednesday I tried out the spin bikes at Northeast. I liked them, but the women's locker room is still disgusting. I will stick with the crappy bikes at Lakeland instead. I also rode the South Trace on Wednesday night. I switched saddles to the Lady Gel Flow from Selle Italia. It is the newer version of my old saddle that had worn out before I got the Selle An-atomica. I hated it to. It felt like I was sitting on a brick.
My knee and quads felt very fatigued. I probably over did it doing 2 spin classes and riding the trace within 2 days. Mark looked at the knee and pronounced it okay. He said as it starts showing up on rides to get off the bike and stretch.
Went in to see Josh on Friday to get re-fit on the bike. Sammy helped me instead. He was really good. I told him how uncomfortable the Selle Italia was and that I thought my sit bones were coming off of the seat. He suggested the ugliest bike seat I have ever laid my eyes on. It is much wider that the others I have tried and has more cushion. Within 2 seconds, the seat felt comfortable.
I started Physical Therapy with Mark Ware the Tuesday after Memorial Day. He did some ultrasound treatment and got me started on some stretches. I have been going twice a week ever since.
June 2nd - did not ride at all. My knee still hurt pretty badly. It really was stoving up at night. Drove up to Mom & Dads for the day. Sucked not being on the bike. I really wanted to be back on it.
Mark added some exercises to my stretches during PT. They also message the heck out of it.
June 9th - Dianne and I rode 12 miles from my house down the South Trace to the bridge before 49. Basically 5 miles out and back on the Trace and mile back to the house. I was trying out David's Fizik Alliante instead of my Selle an-atomica. I really lost confidence in it on the 400 k. Hated the Alliante. I felt like I was sitting on my girly bits. We stopped a couple times for me to adjust the saddle. All in all it was a good ride and my knee did not hurt.
After the ride, Dianne and I cleaned up and rode to Jeff Busby Park on the Natchez Trace to develop a 300 k route. We found a 600 ft climb over .8 miles inside the park. I can't wait to do this ride. We listened to the State Game on the radio the whole time. We stopped in French Camp for lunch and it was great. French Camp is an older looking town that has a few old buildings to look at along with a cute craft shop and cafe. We had the best BLT I have ever eaten.
June 16th - Drove to Magnolia for Fathers Day to see Pal. I got up early and rode out to Logoly State Park (nothing there) and then out to Waldo and Stamps. The North/South portion of the route was hillier than the East/West portion. The total route was 57 miles. The weather was overcast and humid. The temps were probably in the 60s to start and 80s by noon. I saw three deer on the route. The dogs behaved themselves - most acted like they have never seen anyone on a bike before. There probably aren't many cyclists in Southern Arkansas. I really can tell my cardiovascular system has been compromised during this layoff with my knee. I changed my saddle back to the new Selle An-atomica. It was slick and I probably need to adjust the nose down slightly. It wasn't perfectly comfortable, but I guess it needs to be broken in now.
The roads were pretty decent for the most part - various degrees of chip seal with some smooth or old pavement mixed in. Normally the road surface changed at the county lines. I was on 79 and 82 some. The shoulders were pretty wide in most places. Just past Waldo however, the shoulder on 82 was very rough chip seal and the road was pristine black top. I fixed my mirror to see the traffic behind me and rode directly on 82 only getting on the shoulder when cars were approaching from behind. When I entered the next county, the shoulder changed to smooth pavement and made the trip much easier and safer.
I started back to spin class on Tuesday and on Wednesday I tried out the spin bikes at Northeast. I liked them, but the women's locker room is still disgusting. I will stick with the crappy bikes at Lakeland instead. I also rode the South Trace on Wednesday night. I switched saddles to the Lady Gel Flow from Selle Italia. It is the newer version of my old saddle that had worn out before I got the Selle An-atomica. I hated it to. It felt like I was sitting on a brick.
My knee and quads felt very fatigued. I probably over did it doing 2 spin classes and riding the trace within 2 days. Mark looked at the knee and pronounced it okay. He said as it starts showing up on rides to get off the bike and stretch.
Went in to see Josh on Friday to get re-fit on the bike. Sammy helped me instead. He was really good. I told him how uncomfortable the Selle Italia was and that I thought my sit bones were coming off of the seat. He suggested the ugliest bike seat I have ever laid my eyes on. It is much wider that the others I have tried and has more cushion. Within 2 seconds, the seat felt comfortable.
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