Riding while on vaca and why I blog

For the past 10 days I have been vacationing on the Western coast of Florida. I was in Ft. Myers, Sarasota and Lutz, which is a suburb of Tampa, (who-knew). I brought my ‘B’ bike so I would be able to ride as much as possible. One of the problems I have when traveling to a new city is figuring out where to ride. When I can, I ask friends for riding recommendations, however I cannot always find people who know the bike paths and the ins and outs of the cities I am visiting.

The best solution has been to use the web sites of local bike shops. I simply fire-up goggle and use it to find local bike shops. I then go to each shop’s web site in the hope of mining the best rides. Data mining for bike rides worked extraordinarily well. In Ft. Myers I found a long stretch of road where I could do my interval training. I Sarasota I rode along Long Boat Key, which is where the various bike clubs do their training (Long Boat Key had long stretches with low traffic and very strong head winds, 15-20mph) and in Lutz I found a great path next to the Sun Coast Hgwy. The path was 40 miles long and had side trips through nature preserves. The preserves were really cool because it was like riding through the forests of Jurassic Park. (One rider told me to be careful of wild boar, they do have a tendency to chase people. What a great way to increase my LT and overall power, taunt a wild boar then ride like hell. I will have to tell Robbie.) Each ride was mapped on a local bike shop’s web site. The shop also had local group rides and contact numbers. Needless to say I had a great time on the rides.

Finally this is my last blog for 2009. My goal this year has been to write 1 blog a week that highlighted my adventures as an amateur cyclist trying to get better. I plan to keep writing my blog but at a slower pace in 2010. My new goal is 1 blog a month. I hope you have found the blogs fun and informative. I have had a blast riding and writing. May 2010 find you on the road and riding strong. Have a great season in 2010. JAM

Taking the Next Step

I rode well in 2009. I achieved my goals of finishing the ETape and getting on the podium at bike camp. However I have been unhappy with my progress. I discovered that my core is not as strong as it could be, I am extremely tight and I have been having recurring muscle injuries. I have been discussing those issues with my coach Joe W and he said he has been seeing a trainer, HJ, that we both know, and she has been helping him with his core and muscle issues. I have known HJ for a long time and hold her in high esteem so I decided to take the plunge.

HJ said her goal was to work on my foundation. She spent the first 90mn session teaching me how to breath. HJ said breath from the core , expand the chest. I want more, no more side, now more core. I hyperventilated several times. Eventually I got it, sort of. Now I have to practice breathing every day. I also need to learn how to engage lower stomach muscles while remaining loose and not hyperventilating. It's surprisingly hard.

My quest is continuing. I now breath every day with as much concentration as I can muster. So if you need me just breath, I'll be there soon.

Wow It's Cold Outside

December has blown in and baby its cold outside. Last Sunday I bagged the cyclocross ride and rode inside for 3.5 hours because it was 28. This week has been in the 10's. Wow what to do? How to dress?

Here are my helpful hints on dressing for the cold.

1. Know your limits because cycling is suppose to be fun. Joe Wroble loves riding in the snow and will go out as long as he feels it is not icy. I hate the cold and 30 is my cut off. My goal is to have fun and if I am freezing I am not having fun.
2. If you ride outside protect the toes and the fingers. I use either lobster claw gloves or heavy gloves with liners and I wear Lake winter off road shoes. I also include those chemical warmers in my shoes and gloves for an extra layer of protection. (Those have helped me remain warm during many a cold ride.)
3. Its best to start out a little cold because you will heat up during the ride but make sure you have an thin over layer you can put on if you have to repair flats or for whatever.
4. Take a cell phone; better be safe than sorry.
5. and finally; cycling is suppose to be fun so have fun. I keep telling myself that during the really cold rides. "this is fun, dam it."

Well I am off to cycle in a sauna. See you in the schvitz.

The Zipp 202s

This is a quick follow-up to the saga of the Zipps. As I mentioned in my last post the Zipps are the premo climbing wheel. However they have some drawbacks for the amateur rider. The Zipps are tubular only, which means they take a certain type of tire that is glued to the rim. I emailed several biker friends and asked what their opinions were of the zipps. I said, " My heart says go for it, but my head says are you nuts?"

One response was; "go for it; tubulars are great." The other response was a little less positive. "Well the tubulars are hard to change and if you get a flat you may have to abandon the ride. etc etc etc."

Well here is what happened. My heart won and I unwrapped the Zipps and slapped them on my new racing bike and went for a ride. I thought, what the hell, I am going to ride a pro wheel even if I am a poser. I rode about a mile and I felt a slight jerking when I applied the brakes. I then sped up and braked again and felt the rhythmic pulsing of a wheel out of true. These wheels were suppose to be new and they looked new so the pulsing was a giant red flag. I dismounted and looked at the rear wheel. The wheel looked true but when I rotated it the wheel grabbed and the section what was rubbing was 2 inches long. At that point I decided to return the wheels. Carbon fiber is amazingly stiff but has some play, about 3%. However once carbon exceeds its give the carbon will fail catastrophically, meaning the wheel will blow apart. Because the Zipp was out of true I was not sure how it was treated and I did not want the wheel to fail while I was descending at 50mph. That was a very scary thought.

So where am I now? I decided to wait and not buy anymore wheels until the spring. I have also sworn off EBay for a while. Now I am back on my ksyriums riding happily and because it is cold outside look for me on the computrainer; see you on the road in the spring.

The Dangers of Ebay

As you all have surmised, I have been badly bitten by the cycling bug. I have a Cannondale Synapse, which is a fast road bike with the SRM and the Zipp knockoff wheels. The Synapse is considered an easy geometry bike because the position of the rider is not as aggressive as on a race bike. Because I ride with VQ off road this time of year, I have a cyclocross bike. I also have a Bike Friday, a travel bike that folds up into a small suitcase, Bike Friday's have a huge cult following just google them. The other day I was at my local bike shop, The Pony Shop, and Lou, the owner, said he had a nice used frame that I could get cheap. Now I have a "B" bike, a racing bike, that I built from parts I had laying around the house. You would think that I would be done and that there is no more; but no there is the danger of EBay.

EBay is a great service. People can have constant garage sales so that others can buy more stuff. EBay also allows buyers to look for bargains. But caution, EBay can be addicting, because everyone, especially me, likes a deal.

The other day I was looking up climbing wheels. These are light aerodynamic wheels that allow a rider to climb hills/mountains easier and descend fast. I was looking for climbing wheels because bike racing camp is coming up and it promises to have a ton of climbing. The camp is sponsored by VQ and Robbie and the routs are being designed by Levi Liepheimer, a pro racer. Because I have been worried about all the climbing I typed in, "best climbing wheels", into Google and Zipp 202's, immediately popped up. The 202s are an all carbon wheel that use a tire called a sew-up. These are fast wheels that are ridden by the pros and retail for $2,300 with tires and wheel bags.

I like Zipp wheels because they ride really smoothly and are fast fast fast, so I was very interested in the 202s. I thought, and here is the dangerous part, I'll just pop onto EBay and see what's up. Well there were a set of wheels in a auction ending in an hour going for $850. I thought what a great deal and I bid bid for them. However I was immediately out bid. Ah, I thought, these are still a good deal I will just go a little higher and before i knew it I was the proud owner of a new set of used wheels.

Here is the moral of the EBay story. Don't look on EBay when you want something. Its the same rule as, "Don't go to the store when you are hungry." I am having some buyers remorse, I may not have bought them if I had more time to think. So look for me on the road I will be trying out my new wheels.

Winter Training Goals and Fun

Since returning from France I have found it difficult to train hard. I have been riding but the same burning desire to ride and train is gone. I have talked to riding friends and they said that a certain amount of focus loss after a big goal is normal. However my goal has been to ride faster, or to keep improving my speed so I am asking myself why can't I focus.

I think the answer can be found in the fun of riding. Having a goal gives training focus but is not necessarily fun. Accomplishing the ETape goal was fun, a ton of work, and the actual ride was an awesome experience. Now, I am back in Chicago where there are no hills and the terrain is flat, flat, flat; so where is the fun, where are the cafes and the where are the French cheering me on?

This is what I have learned since the weather changed. Fun is riding slow for the sake of riding slow, a change of bikes, or a change of scenery like the Des Plaines River trail. Fun is breaking the routine, riding for ridings sake, and riding on a cold crisp morning. Fun is trying to ride hard and discovering I have more left in the tank. But most of all fun is riding with friends. Friends make time fly and help me ride faster because like my friend Dennis says; "1 bike is a ride and 2 bikes are a race." So I have rejoined my friends and I am back to doing group rides and I am having fun. So stop me if you see me, lets ride together for awhile.

Neck deep in Cyclocross

Cyclocross season is definitely here. For those of you who are not in the know cyclocross is riding a modified road bike with mountain bike tires in the mud, rain, snow, sleet, whatever, plus to make things even more interesting the courses throw in barriers that force you to hop off your bike, carry your bike over the obstacle, hop back on your bike and ride. The courses are circular and a race consists of 10 or so loops.

I have not been racing but to mix things up at VQ we ride the trails in October and November or until it gets too cold to ride outside. My lower temperature limit is 28 and sunny. However i will ride in the rain and mud as long as it is warm. This past Sunday is a great example of mud, rain and just a messy messy trail at a very comfortable temperature.

VQ meets at 7:30 on the Des Plains River Trail. It had been raining for the past week and I expected the trail to be soft but rideable. However we found a mud flooded route. There was water everywhere and where the water subsided there was mud. Being bike nuts we saw dry and rideable, ok not dry but Noah was nowhere to be found, and we mounted up and left.

We quickly broke into 2 groups. The fast group and the group I was in, the not as fast group (I am being politically correct.) Several people had ridden the course the day before and they led us around the first water hazzards. The riding was fast and muddy. When you drafted mud and gravel were thrown in your face. The people who had fenders thought they were being polite however the fenders just aimed the rocks right at your face. The accuracy was uncanny. At half point I felt like a odd kind of bird because my stomach was full from eating so much dirt and gravel.

After 10 miles we hit our first water barrier. The underpass had flooded and we had to carry our bikes up the steep muddy embankment, cross highway 41 and ride down the other side. The slopes were slippery and traction was iffy at best. Several people fell into the muck and emerged coated in grime. At the second flooded underpass one person decided that they would try to ride slowly through the water. They turned around when the water went up to their knees.

We crossed 2 more underpasses in various stages of flooding. At the half way mark my clipless pedals stopped working. After 10mn of futzing I was able to unclog the left foot and decided to ride with 1 leg clipped in and the other just gripping the cleat. About 25mn later my chain kept slipping. I looked down to see a vine wrapped around my cassette causing my chain to jump. That took another 10mn to clean.

After all the hassles we headed for home. When I reached our starting point I was elated. I had a great ride. OK my bike was a total disaster, my cleats were clogged and I was covered in mud. But the weather was warm and we were able to beat the water and the mud and have a really fun ride; and that is cyclocross. Every ride is an adventure with new obstacles to overcome and I was able to share the experience with friends. So my suggestion is get out and ride no matter the weather because its fun and everything is wash and wear. Plus nothing is more enjoyable then breaking out of a rut. See you on the trails.

A New Bike

I had wandered into my local bike shop, The Pony Shop, the other day to talk with the owner, Lou, and my favorite mechanic, John. We were shooting the shit when Lou mentioned that in the bowls of the shop he found a used frame in my size, and he was looking to get rid of it, cheap. Here is the gist of the conversation:

Hey Lou what kind of frame is it?
It is a Cannondale System Six, Cannondale's race frame, in Liquigas colors, lime green and white. I will sell it cheap.
Me: I already have the power train and the wheels, all I need are some minor components. Wow that's lucky.

The bottom line is that I bought the frame and then all the parts i needed. I ended up getting a decent race bike for a great price. Now you may ask, as Ruth did, why do I need another bike? Besides the fact a new bike is always fun and as Lou says, you can never have enough bikes, I needed a bike I can take places when my main bike is at VQ during the winter. Well I need a "B" bike to use when my main bike is in the shop. How about, I need to bring a bike to NY and if I bring my Litespeed I need a "B" bike. (I needed to quickly come up with more excuses and I am rapidly running out of steam.)

Anyway I brought the bike home yesterday and slapped it on the wind-trainer, because it was rainy. The verdict is that the bike fits nicely and seems fast. ( Its hard to tell how fast because I am on a trainer and not on the road. ) Now comes the fun part of breaking it in. I have some high intensity workouts coming and I will see if I can hit my power levels. It seems stiff and the power goes right to the wheels. I am very excited so look for the lime green streak on the road.

The Weather

Now that it is officially fall the weather has become truly weird. Its hot; its cold; its rainy; its sunny all during 1 ride. I dialed in my clothing for the weather. My rule of thumb has been to start the ride a little cold and warm up as I ride. However how can I dress for a myriad of climates and weather conditions? Last week when I left Evanston it was 55 but when I hit Highland Park it was 45. I froze for that portion of the ride.

So here is my advice to Chicagoans riding during the fall weather season. Dress in layers. I wear arm and leg warmers that can be removed on a ride. Several times I have taken them off and put them back on during the same ride. I have also been known to wear a light rain jacket that rolls up into my back shirt pocket. I also use toe cozies, long fingered gloves, a head warmer, being bald i always use a head cover to help with the sweat, and an undershirt. That's the way it is in Chicago: be prepared for everything and if you have to take off clothing or put stuff on no big deal. It is always better to have the clothing then to get hyperthermic.

Once you have aced the wardrobe issues riding in the fall is great fun. I love to ride in October because the trails are beautiful and not as crowded as during the nicer weather, the trees are turning colors and the air is crisp and fresh. So get your fall/winter gear together and get out there. Look for me, I will be there in all my layers.

Fall is Here

I am listening to Keb Mo lamenting the loss of Summer and Fall. It's cold outside and riding is mentally more difficult. I did a submax yesterday and it was 44 plus I had to use lights, glove liners and warm socks. The summer was way too short this year. Now I will be stuck riding in the cold or worse riding inside for long periods. I guess its beer and tears time.

On the other hand fall riding brings lots of opportunities. The pressure of competing is over and now its riding for fun. That is why I love this time of the year. Wait i just changed my tune. It looks like the weather is also changing. I need to dress and get outside before it rains. Well make sure you look for me on the road. I am there all year. Have a great week.

3Man 1Woman TT

The summer biking season is over, at least in Chicagoland, and to top off the road racing year I competed in 1 more race. It is by far the most fun and the hardest of the races. It is the 60K, 4 person Time Trial in Utica, IL. A TT is called the race of truth because it is your team against the clock. I really love this race because 4 people ride as one.

My team is made up of 2 new comers to cycling with VQ, Tony and Ted, both about my age, and Mia an experienced tri-athlete in her early 30's. Mia and I have been riding hard this summer and have a good aerobic base. Ted and Tony are strong riders but do not have a lot of endurance. Our main impediment to success is our lack of time riding as a team. The 4 man requires a fair amount of coordination and trust in the other riders so no one crashes by overlapping wheels. Another fun fact about the race is that each team has a captain who needs to understand the riders strengths and weaknesses so he can maximize the teams speed, with a limited amount of practice it is harder for the captain to do a good job.

The race was last Sunday. Our team finally assembled on race day. Because the race was delayed for an hour, due to fog, we had some time to practice. We first practiced rotations and then cornering. We got the rotations down pat however the cornering was a bit ragged.

To heighten the fun, or just for the hell of it, our team, The Chicago Rollers, decided to challenge another VQ team to breakfast. The other VQ team was composed of Noda, Lyons, Lydon and Deanna. We were closely matched; It was going to be a close and epic race.

After an hour of practice it was time to line up for the start. Beep 5 beep 4 beep 3 beep 2 beeep go, went the timing clock and the timer. We clipped in, put pressure on the pedals, went through the gate and we were on our way. I was the team captain and pulled first. My responsibility was to to call time for the riders and to set pace.

The race was going well. We each pulled for a minute and everyone was feeling great. The first corner was ragged, like practice, however we regrouped quickly and sped on our way. There was no real wind and we were going fast. As we approached a left-hand turn a group came buy and screamed, "slow down; gravel." Gravel in a turn can be deadly, the bikes slip and can easily go down. (In fact 4 people crashed in the turn.) As we entered the turn we saw that the road was a new chip and seal surface. Chip and seal roads are made by putting down a layer of tar, seal, then pouring gravel, chip, over the tar. When a road is new it is very gravely and a horrible riding surface. Luckily we had the warning and were able to ride though the 1/4 mile of bad road moderately and without any incidents.

The race went very quickly. I am calling time every minute and checking in with the riders. Our goal was to pull 110% of LT for 1mn then go to the back and recover. Typically the last rider is pulling 50% less watts then the front rider. Several times during the race I checked with each rider to see how they were feeling. At the 3/4 point Ted and Tony were feeling tired and I switched their pulls to 30-45sec, I took 90 sec and Mia felt real strong and took 2mn pulls.

Quickly we rounded the last corner, beautifully if I may say, and began our sprint to the finish. I took the first pull at the 1 mile mark and gave it all I had. Our time was governed by the 3rd rider over the line. The others sprinted after I was done. We covered the last mile at 28mph (very nice.) Our final time was 1:42:02 or an average of 22mph for 37 miles.

Unfortunately we lost our bet. The other VQ team beat The Chicago Rollers by 15 sec or so. They also received a 5th place finish in the open category. Great job, Lyden, Dave, Deanna and Kevin.

Here are some interesting numbers from this race as compared to my last 4MTT 2 years ago. My adjusted watts, a normative number, were at tad higher, 5% the my 1st TT. However the average watts were 12% lower meaning I did a better job drafting and conserving energy. Even with the lower average power I was still a 1/2mph faster overall. That shows that a good group that works together has a real benefit.

Now that racing season is over it is time to build base and maybe do some Cyclecross events. 2009 was a great cycling year. Its on to 2010.

Getting Back into Form

Since retuning from Japan I have been trying to recover my biking form. Before I left for France I was riding at my highest level ever and was feeling very strong. After returning from all my exotic touring I had the mental ability to ride but not the physical ability. I would go on a long ride, get in front pull hard and blow-up, or I would race some local riders and do great for the first 200 meters then blow-up. In fact I have been blowing-up for several weeks now and I have been getting pretty frustrated.

To figure out why I have not been riding at the level I thought I could I did some research, but before the answer here are some numbers. Before I went to France I was riding 12-14 hours a week, some days doing long distances and other days doing shorter more intense workouts. I was also doing intense core work. Once I returned from the ETape I had 10 days at home 5 of which I had to travel due to work and a niece's wedding. I was able to ride some but only 5 hours the entire 10 days I was home. Then I went to Japan for 2 weeks where I did not ride at all. Upon returning from Japan I had work and killer jet lag which took another 10 days to feel mostly normal. In summery I worked out like a fiend then took a month off with little or no riding.

Ah Ha you say, that is the answer, I took too much time off; and you are partially correct. The real answer is Consistency. There is a woman I know in VQ. She is a tri-athlete and just won the Louisville Ironman in her age category. I asked MJ what she attributed her win to. She immediately said VQ workouts. However, after some further questioning from me she thought a little and said the real difference is consistency. After thinking about MJ's comments and my training schedule, consistency is the reason I became better, and lack of consistency is the reason I have had a long recovery.

It is frustrating to learn that to get fast and stay fast, riding consistently is the way to go. Unfortunately there are no short cuts for us mere sports mortals. So I am back on the road and I hope to see you beside me. This week I am training for the 4man TT on the 13th. More on that later.

I'm Back: Sortof

Finally, on last Monday I felt somewhat back to normal. I did a long bike ride on Sunday, 50 miles in the beautiful Wisconsin countryside, only got lost once, and felt fine after the ride. I feel I can think critically again and I have some of my stamina back. I even felt good enough to go on the Robbie ride on Tuesday, which is always a 10+ ride. I did well but was exhausted after the ride because I rode at LT for 15mn then a 2mn break then at LT for 15 again. When I checked my numbers my average HR was 173 during peak times and that is over my LT and at 1 time my HR was 183 which is max. These numbers mean I worked way too hard. So I asked myself why did I work so hard?

I think the answer is buried within my experience in France and the ETape. The ETape has given me a ton of confidence. I now feel I can do anything. However I am learning I can not do anything at the speed I think I should be going. My tendency has been to ride too hard and blow-up rather that ration my resources over a period of time, this is called burning too many matches too soon. I need to relearn and remember what my limits are and then not burn those matches all at once.

I am a little disappointed I am not as fast as I want to be. Yet I am a ton faster then I was and I am riding a ton better then I have ever thought I could. I am not sure if my expectations are not reasonable or I am not riding smart. After Tuesdays ride I know I am not riding as smart as I could be, so I am going to concentrate on being a smarter rider. The coaches at VQ said follow the plan and you will get faster. I just need to make sure I stay within my ability and be a good tactical rider. Being tactical will allow be to be fast and efficient. That is my ultimate goal.

Hope to see you on the road. JAM

Major jet lag & safty first

I have been home for 3 days, (this was written earlier) and I am still totally jet lagged. I am tired when I should be awake and I want to be awake when I should be sleeping. I am getting about 5 hours of sleep a night and I am drinking coffee and tea until it coming out of my ears. Japan is 14 hours ahead of Chicago and my body is totally confused. I will have to drift, muddle through, the rest of the week and hope and pray that I will recover by Monday. Right now I would settle for 6 hours of solid uninterrupted sleep.

Needless to say work and cycling have been a chore. What did the 2 weeks off do to my aerobic capacity? Physiologically I should have been able to maintain my edge for 1 week and only loose a little aerobic capacity the second week. However, I am 54 and I have only been working out at my current level for 3 years so I feel my body lost its edge quickly. I did cross training Wednesday like lunges, stretching, upper-body and I am totally sore. When I hopped on the bike this morning my legs were screaming for mercy, my shoulders said go back to sleep and my brain felt it was in a bath of molasses. All in all I am a wreck. I feel so out of it and my reactions feel so slow that I do not feel safe riding in a group. Because I am a good group rider I have been riding solo and staying out of the fray. Its hard not to join a group but having an accident or causing an accident is much worse. The moral of the day. If you don't feel that you can ride in a group comfortably and safely, ride solo.

So look for me by myself. JAM

Travel log

I tried to post this from Japan last week but was unable to. Sorry for the delay.


This weeks blog is a travel-log and not a biking blog. I have been in Tokyo and Kyoto the past week. This is my first trip to the orient and it has been both very familiar and very different. I enjoy traveling and have just returned from France but obviously Japan is not France. We have been traveling for a week so I am sorry if this blog is a bit uneven and I am a bit goofy

My first impression of Japan was that Tokyo feels like New York. The women dress finely, the men are wearing suits and everyone is rushing about. At night couples go to dinner or the club. However the similarities end at the feel. In Tokyo there are people everywhere, there is definitely more room in NY. Plus in NY things are closer. We had a guide in Tokyo and if it were not for the guide we would have spent a ton of time negotiating the 15 train lines.

We saw some cultural sites but mostly we visited the neighborhoods. We stayed in the Ginza area where high-end shops abound. Tokyo is very expensive; here are some highlights. Breakfast was $30 per person. A good sushi meal was $45+, beers were $8, the subway charged by distance and it was about $2.50 to $4.00 per trip, and temples etc were about $10. Now for the high end; we saw 1 cantaloupe for $100, no kidding, kimonos were about $125 and a truly fine dining experience was about $150 plus wine per person. Meat was expensive but the kolbe beef was outrageous. We went out for a kolbe beef dinner and it started at $120 per. We saw the beef at a store for $30 per 7 ounces and Kolbe beef is mostly fat. It was too rich for us.

Japan is a very western country. The old religions and behaviors are dying with the older generation. However some behaviors are holding fast. It is not unusual for the younger generation to go out in traditional dress on dates. Both young men and woman will wear the summer weight kimonos with gorgeous obis and wooden shoes. It was really fun to watch. (I did not take pictures because I wanted to respect their privacy.)

Now for some facts. The average Japanese male worker works 60 hour weeks, 5 days, 12 hours. Most men only see their children on Saturdays. Sunday is reserved for the company golf outing. Workers get 2 weeks off and receive 2 bonuses, 2 weeks pay in June and 3 weeks pay in December. The average salary is 60K. Because prices are so high both parents work; the mom usually returning to the workforce after the kids enter 1st grade. There is a huge glass ceiling in Japan with women getting significantly less then men and have to work longer to get a promotion. The average person does not want to practice the older religions and usually does not go out much. It seems the Japanese work hard and are boring.

Now for the sights: Tokyo is mostly shopping and Kyoto is the cultural center of Japan. Kyoto was not bombed during the war so many of the cultural sites remain intact. However, because the buildings are wooden they have burned at one time or another and have been rebuilt. We saw the famous Shogun castle that was not used because the Shogun moved his headquarters to Tokyo. The most impressive temple was the longest wooden building in Japan that housed 1000 buddhas and the protector gods. The other side of the temple housed the archery contest that was started in the 900s. The current record holder is a 16 year old boy who hit 11,200 targets in 24 hours in 1216. Now that’s a record. Another 9 year old had 90% accuracy in the 1500s. These records mean the Cubs have a long way to go before they win a world series.

Kyoto also had great food. Most shops made their own soba and buckwheat noodles, and they were great. The sushi was excellent but was a tad expensive. The only problem was that I was not always sure what I was eating. I am an adventurous eater but I do have limits. At 1 shop the waitress asked if I would like to try some American sushi. I said sure; it was sushi with ketchup.

There were 2 notable events I need to mention before I sign off. We were having dinner at a nice restaurant when everything began to shake. It was the 7.1 earthquake that hit Tokyo. Amazingly no one panicked. We have been experiencing aftershocks ever since the most recent coming today as we were leaving for Hong Kong. After we felt the earthquake we learned that a typhoon was expected to hit the day we left for Kyoto. I had only 1 thought, Cue Godzilla. The second is the heat and humidity. 90 is hot but 90 and 92% humidity is unreal; you sweat just standing around. I was able to get use to the climate but Ruth and Ben wilted in the summer heat.

Japan was great and a fantastic place to visit. The people were nice but we did not really meet or get to know anyone. The cultural sites are fascinating and uniquely different. Being from the West has not prepared me for the Orient.

While on vacation I have missed biking but I have had a chance to workout. We all must make some sacrifices.

So until next week: See you in Hong Kong.

Japan

This weeks blog is a travel-log and not a biking blog. I have been in Tokyo and Kyoto the past week. This is my first trip to the orient and it has been both very familiar and very different. I enjoy traveling and have just returned from France but obviously Japan is not France. We have been traveling for a week so I am sorry if this blog is a bit uneven.

My first impression of Japan was that Tokyo feels like New York. The women dress finely, the men are wearing suits and everyone is rushing about. At night couples go to dinner or the club. However the similarities end at the feel. In Tokyo there are people everywhere and there is definitely more room in NY. Plus in NY things are closer. We had a guide in Tokyo and if it were not for the guide we would have spent a ton of time negotiating the 15 train lines.

We saw some cultural sites but mostly we visited the neighborhoods. We stayed in the Ginza area where high-end shops abound. Tokyo is very expensive and here are some highlights. Breakfast was $30 per person. A good sushi meal was $45+, beers were $8, the subway charged by distance and it was about $2.50 to $4:00 per trip, and temples etc were about $10. Now for the high end; we saw 1 cantaloupe for $100, no kidding, kimonos were about $125 and a truly fine dining experience was about $150 plus wine. Meat was expensive but the kolbe beef was outrageous. We went out for a kolbe beef dinner and it started at $120 per. We saw the beef at a store for $30 per 7 ounces and Kolbe beef is mostly fat. It was too rich for us.

Japan is a very western country. The old religions and behaviors are dying with the older generation. However some behaviors are holding fast. It is not unusual for the younger generation to go out in traditional dress on dates. Both young men and woman will wear the summer weight kimonos with gorgeous obis and wooden shoes. It was really fun to watch. (I did not take pictures because I wanted to respect their privacy.)

Now for some facts. The average Japanese worker works 60 hour weeks, 5 days, 12 hours. Most men only see their children on Saturdays. Sunday is reserved for the company golf outing. Workers get 2 weeks off and receive 2 bonuses, 2 weeks pay in June and 3 weeks pay in December. The average salary is 60K. Because prices are so high both parents work; the mom usually returning to the workforce after the kids enter 1st grade. There is a huge glass ceiling in Japan with women getting significantly less then men and have to work longer to get a promotion. The average person does not want to practice the older religions and usually does not go out much. It seems the Japanese work hard and are boring.

Now for the sights: Tokyo is mostly shopping and Kyoto is the cultural center of Japan. Kyoto was not bombed during the war so many of the cultural sites remain intact. However, because the buildings are wooden they have burned at one time or another and have been rebuilt. We saw the famous Shogun castle that was not used because the Shogun moved his headquarters to Tokyo. The most impressive temple was the longest wooden building in Japan that housed 1000 buddhas and the protector gods. The other side of the temple housed the archery contest that was started in the 900s. The current record holder is a 16 year old boy who hit 11,200 targets in 24 hours in 1216. Now that’s a record. Another 9 year old had 90% accuracy in the 1500s. These records mean the Cubs have a long way to go before they win a world series.

Kyoto also had great food. Most shops made their own soba, buckwheat noodles, and they were great. The sushi was excellent but was a tad expensive. The only problem was that I was not always sure what I was eating. I am an adventurous eater but I do have limits. At 1 shop the waitress asked if I would like to try some American sushi. I said sure; it was sushi with ketchup.

There were 2 notable events I need to mention before I sign off. We were having dinner at a nice restaurant when everything began to shake. It was the 7.1 earthquake that hit Tokyo. Amazingly no one panicked. We have been experiencing aftershocks ever since the most recent coming today as we were leaving for Hong Kong. After we felt the earthquake we learned that a typhoon was expected to hit the day we left for Kyoto. I had only 1 thought, Cue Godzilla. The second is the heat and humidity. 90 is hot but 90 and 80% humidity is unreal; you sweat just standing around. I was able to get use to the climate but Ruth and Ben wilted in the summer heat.

Japan was great and a fantastic place to visit. The people are nice but we did not really meet or get to know anyone. The cultural sites are fascinating and uniquely different. Being from the West has not prepared me for the Orient. I Have missed biking but I have had a chance to workout. We all must make some sacrifices.

So until next week: See you in Hong Kong.

Life After ETape

I am continuing my recovery since France. The only problem is that I am traveling a ton. Since France and the ETape I have been to New York for 2 days then back home for a day, then off to Madison, WI for a nieces wedding, then back home for 2 days and now I am in Tokyo. The travel is as hard as the ETape.

Because of all the travel my body has not been responding to the biking workload too well, or more accurately I have shown uneven power and workout progress. I have done some hard workouts but I have not been able to sustain power out-puts at pre-ETape levels. The other day my goal was ride 5, 4-minute intervals at LT. I was able to do the 1st 2 intervals with no trouble but I was unable to complete the next 3. However, 200 watts has never been easier and I have a new found inner confidence and peace while cycling. I know it sounds odd that doing a hard ride would make me mentally calmer on the bike but that has been a side consequence. If anything I expect my body to do more, I may even have unreasonable expectations. Joe W, my coach, always said that life interferes with cycling and consistency so I will have to wait to see where my fitness lies before I can evaluate my cycling progress. That is where I am now: great fitness, uneven practice time and uneven performances. “What is a mother to do?”

I am going to do the only logical thing, I am going to enjoy my trip to Japan and Hong Kong and worry about improving when I return. Life is truly short so I might as well sit back, sip some cold Saki and enjoy, and that is exactly what I am doing while contemplating a 5 hour delay waiting to take off.

So think of me while you do your intervals, I’ll being doing progressive Saki Bombs and heavy touring. See you on the road and at the sights.

Back to Reality

I have been back from France and the ETape for almost a week. My legs are 80-90% recovered from the ETape. I can produce power but not for long periods of time. The good news is that I have never been stronger or faster. The bad news is I really have limited endurance.

What I miss the most is the change in scenery, the French countryside, long rides in the morning, the cheering crowds, the podium girls, the medals, the fame and fortune. Oops not me; thought I was Lance for a minute. I do miss the change in scenery. In the Chicagoland area there are really 2 rides. North up Sheridan and West to Barington. The French countryside was great.

I have been doing a lot of thinking about the Etape and how I would have changed my training. Basically I was very happy with my training and the help I got from my VQ buddies and coaches. I was in great shape for the ETape in fact I may have been in the best shape of my life. The only thing I would have done differently would be to do more intervals at lower power, just below lactic threshold or at LT and to do intervals at low revolutions inside. I think this would have helped on Ventoux and after all that was the real goal.

Now it is back to the grind. 10-12 hours a week doing LT intervals, submaxes and long rides on Sundays. Now that I have accomplished this years goals training is a tad harder. However the quest for speed and aerobic shape continue. Its upward and onward. So if you need me I will be on the road.

ETape Race DAy

The day started at 3:50am when my alarm went off. Truthfully, I was not really sleeping but dozing, flipping in and out of consciousness, obsessing that I was going to miss the bus to the start. That 3:50am cell alarm just allowed me to get up from that not sleeping state I am always in before a race.

I had laid out my cloths and gear the night before and began to dress quietly in the dark as to not wake Ruth. I had decided to carry enough supplies in my jersey pockets to last me to the second water stop, in case I missed the first stop, as recommended by others that have done previous ETapes. I put on the blue and yellow VQ kit and packed the back pockets with powdered drink mix, 3 GU packets, 2 air cartridges, a course guide, my cell phone (required by Ruth so I could call for help), 20 euros (may have to buy water), extra Nuun, Saltstick and a partridge in a pear tree. I dumped the extra tube and the extra water bottle because I was just carrying too much weight. Also I did not want to wear a vest to ward off the early morning chill so I brought newspaper that I was going to stuff inside my shirt to add another layer of insulation in the starting pens.

I had been pretty sick for the 2 days before the ETape with an upset stomach and the runs. The change in climate and time zones were had been doing a number on me. I dipped heavily into our stash of Imodium and Pepto and I had been pushing fluids in an effort to flush out whatever was attacking my system. The good news was on ETape Day I was not nervous just nauseous and I was hoping my calmness would chase the runs away. I was only semi-successful in feeling 100% and went down to breakfast with the mantra “nothing new.” Breakfast consisted of white toast and Nutella; it tasted delicious.

4:30am, and it was time to load the coach-bus. The bike trailer that came the day before had no way to secure the bikes so we packed the 16 of us and our bikes on the bus and took off for the start. It was quite a sight; each row was sitting a bike or 2 guys fully dressed with helmets on. On the way we saw other groups heading to the start. My goal during the 50mn ride was to rest and not try not to stress about French traffic. Earlier in the week Ruth and I had driven through Lyon. The traffic was so bad it took 3 hours to drive 10 miles. Several other times traffic would just stop on the highway for no apparent reason. It seems the French are worse rubberneckers than the Americans.

Fortunately the traffic was light considering that 9,500, mostly amateur, riders were descending on a town of 35,000 to start the 20th leg of the Tour de France. ETape Day is a local holiday in France. The course is closed, meaning only official vehicles (mostly motorcycles), are allowed on the route. The streets are narrow so the locals just hang and watch the show. Once we left the highway it was a short drive into town. We found our parking spot, reassembled our bikes, I lined my chest with newspaper, mounted up and departed for the starting pens.

Once I was riding my nervousness ebbed. I was a lot calmer because the day had started and I was doing something very familiar, I was riding. We had a quick ride to the gates where we were sorted by our race numbers. There were 7 pens each holding about 1250 riders. My pen was about half full. We rolled in and then waited, we were about an hour early.

Being in the starting pens can be fun but is mostly boring. I was able to scout out the others riders, watch people run off to pee, and see what everyone else was using for nutrition and hydration. One French rider caught my eye. He had long frizzy blond hair, a killer handlebar frizzy mustache and unique nutritional supplements. He had divided a bagget into 5 equal parts and stuffed them into his rear pockets. No need for all those expensive goos and gels-- just bring a loaf of bread. (On the other hand the guy looked like a killer rider.) I am going to suggest to Robbie that he dump all the goos and put in a bread store in the HP location.

Finally the start sounded and we were off. OK we were not off. I was in the 5th pen and there were 3000 riders ahead of me so we just sat there and looked at our navels. I was psyched, my illness forgotten and I was ready to roll. After about 10mn we could see the people ahead of us moving. 5mn later we could mount our bikes a ride.

The ETape had finally begun. 20,000+ feet of the climbing 15,000+ feet of descending with the finish on the legendary Mt. Ventoux, the most feared climb in France, all wrapped in a 90°+ package. The early part of the ride was calm. Everyone was focused on riding and not crashing. Spectators lined the streets and cheered as we passed. I was totally excited and pumped, what a great way to ride.

The beginning of the ride was one of the most enjoyable experiences I have had on a bike. The town’s folk came out to cheer on the riders. If you said merci or acknowledged their presence you got more cheers. The scenery was awesome and included tiny medieval towns, ancient castles, panoramic views of the countryside, purple fields of lavender and bikers as far as the eye could see both in front and behind me. The first climbs were not difficult-- just long 3-5% climbs. One the way up you could see a 3K line of riders snaking up the mountain. At the top you could see and smell the fields of lavender and the surrounding countryside. It was glorious.

Descending the mountains was dangerous because of the large number of riders and the aggressiveness of some of the other cyclists. Just after the 1st climb we bunched up and came to a stop. A rider was down having crashed on the descent. While I did not see the crash I am sure it was caused by the more skilled riders who would bomb down the mountain brushing by you and you had better get out of the way or you were going to crash. Several times riders came so close to me I felt their front tire on my legs. I would calmly steer away and yell, but riding defensively was the way to go.

The ETape can be boiled down into 3 experiences; the water stops, the ride to Ventoux and Ventoux. There were 3 official water stops plus we had 2 club stops where I stored my critical supplies of extra Carbopro, Gu, tubes, air and my secret weapon, Oreos, pure sugar in a chocolate wrapper. I was carrying enough food and Gu to last 6 hours. I expected to finish the ride in 9+ hours so I had to find a least one club stop. I had marked the stops and the kms on my cue sheet so when I was tired and not thinking terribly straight I could just look at the distances and know where I had to go.

The first club stop was just after a descent and I blew by it. I went by at about 25mph and my brain said, “hey you just blew a food drop,” but the body said push on. The 1st official water stop was 20k later and I was set so off I went. When I got to the stop I needed water. This is what I saw empty plastic water bottles and people everywhere. I could not see the water tables so I found a place to lean my bike and went into the water scrum. I elbowed my way to the table and grabbed 5 small bottles not knowing how many bottles I needed to refill my supplies. There was an Aussie rider beside me and we talked as we drank, mixed our drinks and took electrolytes. It turned out I only needed 4 bottles, 3 for refills and 1 to be carried so I could dump it on my head for cooling. I traded my extra bottle for a banana that I tucked in my jersey and off I went. Total stop time about 10mn.

After refueling, the ride became more congenial and less congested. I had time to look at the other participants. There were several para-riders, people wearing funky things on their helmets like feathers, tandems and groups of riders hanging together. I was able to draft behind a tandem for at least an hour. I remembered Robbie saying that tandems punch a big hole in the air. I jealously guarded my wheel position and did not let anyone get in front even when they motioned to be let in the groupetto. “Hey, I don’t speak French, sorry buddy. “

It was fun to watch the groups of riders. The one group I saw most often was dressed in a total white kit and did everything together. They pace lined, waited for their buddies after a climb and even peed together. It was quite a site.

I also noticed there were a ton of bike makes that I had never seen before. There was Time, a French bike, Trek, Cannondale and I even saw a Litespeed. There were also a ton of Cubes and other makes I had never seen before. The bikes looked the same, mostly carbon, but had exotic names.

Most riders were riding road bikes with climbing wheel-sets. However there were some exceptions. The most notable were: the woman on a mountain bike, she was fast and passed me on a climb; the person riding a time trial bike with a disc rear wheel, that guy was struggling up every climb; and the people who had the deep racing wheels like Zipp 404s or cosmic carbons, those people were fighting to stay erect in the strong cross-wind.

Because I missed the first club refueling stop I had to make the second. It was at the 141.2 km mark or in the area just before Ventoux. By the time I hit the stop I was hot, tired and hungry. Thankfully my group was easy to spot and I stopped to refuel. However, the people manning the stop were only semi-organized and it took time to find my pre-packed goodie bag. It had been sitting in direct sunlight at 95°+ heat for a few hours and most everything in my musette was hot and melted. In 10mn I was able to slam a coke, mix my bottles, soak my head in ice, eat 1 Oreo and take off. Unfortunately my secret weapon, the Oreos, were too dry to eat.

I had taken about 30mn in stops total up till then and I wanted to push on because Ventoux was looming. After the stop it was a short downhill ride through a beautiful town. The town was packed with spectators cheering, yelling and sitting in café’s drinking. It looked like a great way to watch a race. Up until now the heat had been manageable. Then, I turned a sharp corner and crossed the timing mats indicating the climb had begun. (The race rules required riders to hit the base of Ventoux by 3:30pm or they wouldn’t be counted as finishers.) As I made the turn I noticed the heat; I wasn’t even thinking that I had made the qualifying time. It was about starting the Ventoux climb.

The first 3ks of Mt. Ventoux are very deceiving. They are not very steep, about 3-5% grade and you can’t really see what is coming. After those relatively easy ks the real climb begins. A relentless 19K climb at an average grade of 7.5% with pitches as steep as 12%. After I entered the 10k forest leg of the climb I noticed the mood of the ride drastically changed. It was desperately hot during the forest ascent, there was very little shade and no hiding from the climb. No one was talking. There were riders littered everywhere. Some cyclists were walking up, others were passed out on the side, and still others were throwing-up beside the road. I polled the riders in my group and we feel that 25% of the riders cracked on Ventoux and had to walk up. At least 5% were laying beside the road and could not even move. There was no first aid there was just Ventoux.

The heat in the forest was oppressive. When I took out my other secret weapon, a cold bottle of water. I poured it on my head in the hope of cooling myself off. However the water was hot. No relief there. I just kept climbing one pedal stroke at a time, riding Ventoux like walking up stairs.

My average speed uphill was 5mph. There were times when I looked down at my speedometer and found that I was going 5k an hour or 3mph. I did not even know that a bike could go that slow and stay upright. I had hoped to do the final ascent in 2 hours so I would not have to refuel, but it was going to take longer. There was a water stop at the final 6k mark, and I knew I would need to stop 1 more time.

Unfortunately the stop had run out of water. But there was a huge bar with a mob scene of riders sitting around drinking beers and I calmly fought my way inside. I felt like I was in the scene from Blues Brothers when the cops are surrounding City Hall and Jake and Elwood are serenely riding the elevator. It was pure chaos outside with cyclists scrounging for water so they could continue. Inside people were calmly cued up paying for beers, water or whatever. That stop cost me 20mn.

I grabbed my water and mounted up: 6k to go and the steepest yet to come. Push, push I told myself. I made agonizingly slow progress up Ventoux. I tried dancing on the pedals but I did not have enough energy to stand up. I sat back don and slowly climbed past the spectators sitting by their RV’s and the riders walking up the mountain.

The top 6k of Ventoux is a barren wasteland that looks like the moon. There is nothing there just the weather station and lots and lots of white rocks. Campers were already lining the race route waiting for the pros on Saturday. I just pushed on. 5-7k an hour and up I went. At the 2k to go point I passed a guy changing a flat. How depressing is that? I could see the top but could not see the finish line. It was too high above me.

Finally I summoned the energy, from where I don’t know, and finished. There is no ribbon at the finish, just an electronic beep registering my time. But the Ride is the Thing. I finished. I was very excited and satisfied with the accomplishment. I rolled past the timers and went to the rim of Ventoux to watch the other riders make their tortuous assent.

I finished the ride in 9 hours 50mn. The official cut off time was 10 hours 30mn. I could have ridden faster but halfway through the ride my goal shifted from time only to include, enjoy the journey. The ETape was an epic experience. I learned to trust my coaches, my training and myself. ETape also was a group effort and Joe Wroble, Harry Bliss, Robbie V, my VQ buddies and my wife all get a huge assist. I could not have done the ride without them. Thanks to you all for your help and encouragement.

On My Way to France

This week has been a blur. I have been training/riding, dealing with work issues, trying to plan another trip to Japan and pack. I am totally glad the ETape is here. I could use the rest.

Here are my number from the last few months.
Month Hours Miles KJs (calories used)
July : 24 412 11,000
June : 38 617 17,000
May : 33.5 551 15,500

The hours spent training do not include the time spent in core work, 2 hours a week, the time stretching, 20mn to 1 hour a day, and the massages I have been receiving to make sure I remain as semi-flexible as possible, 1 time a week. Needless to say I am excited about the trip but I am relieved that all my intense training is over. I am looking forward to just riding in France the next few days.

Interestingly, when I compared this years training schedule with last years, the numbers are not so different. This year I have more intensity earlier in the summer but the hours spent training are about the same. What has changed you ask? One crucial factor has changed. My LT, lactate threshold, has jumped from 195 to 210ish. (I use 210ish because I have not been tested recently and I am using my TSS scores to approximate my LT.) My increase in power should make the ETape a successful ride. While I do not plan to ride a substantial portion of the ride at LT, in fact the winner of a race usually uses the least amount of power (draft, draft, draft), I will need all the power I have to get up Mt. Ventoux after a 85 mile ride, mostly up hill.

My goal for the the ETape is to finish the ride before quitting time, (The race has a 10 hour time limit.) Hopefully I can do the miles before Ventoux in 6-7.5 hours. I think Ventoux will take 1.5 to 2 hours at about 190 watts. That part of the ride will be very challenging. I have trained, I am ready: So France here we come. Have a great week riding.

From Today's NY Times

This articles the famous climb I am doing in 1 week, Mt Ventoux

Following the Path of Lance Armstrong

By SEAN D. HAMILL
DESPITE his personal biking coach, his New York City Cycling Club membership, his weekday ritual of 6 a.m. rides through Central Park and his weekend rides of 40 to 50 miles in the New Jersey countryside, Dan Keating does not consider himself a competitive cyclist.

“I just always enjoyed being outdoors,” said Mr. Keating, 59, a financial executive who lives in Manhattan and took up cycling in the early 1990s after knee surgery.

That won’t stop him from trying to emulate some of the most competitive athletes on the planet for a week this month. He and a friend, Diane Kee, 48, will spend six days riding about 250 miles of the Tour de France bike race course — on the same challenging hills and valleys the pros themselves use, albeit it before the race itself actually reaches those particular places.

They consider this a vacation, despite the fact that the tour company they signed up with, Steve Bauer Bike Tours of St. Catherines, Ontario, promotes stages like the one that tackles the infamous Mont Ventoux with a brochure that says: “You will understand the racers’ suffering after feeling the pain of Ventoux yourself.”

Needless to say, Mr. Keating and Ms. Kee have stepped up their training, doing long hill rides in Vermont on some weekends and hill repeats in Central Park.

“You don’t want to find yourself halfway up Ventoux and realize you’re out of shape,” Mr. Keating said.

That is the ethos that guides the thousands of amateur riders who buy vacations like this from the 50 or more tour groups that offer Tour de France packages. The same companies also sponsor trips based on bike races in Italy, Spain and Australia.

Attempting a leg of the Tour de France is “a great goal to have,” said Ann Marie Miller, a national champion masters biker who helps train Mr. Keating and Ms. Kee. “It gives them a focus to training because, simply, you are more reluctant to blow off training if you know you have got to race some Tour de France mountain stage that last week of July.”

The lure for most people who pay handsomely for the trips — the one-week Steve Bauer tour, for example, costs $6,400 per person — is not just to focus their training. Tour operators routinely refer to “the Lance effect,” which refers, of course, to the star power and seven consecutive Tour de France victories of Lance Armstrong.

With Mr. Armstrong leaving retirement to return to the Tour de France this year, there has been a bump in interest, the tour companies say. Some programs can expand as necessary, accommodating as many cyclists as want to sign up and letting people enroll at the last minute.

More amateurs have begun to see the roads of France as an enticing destination: if you really want to test your skills, why not ride the same roads you saw Mr. Armstrong ride?

“I suppose it is a cyclist’s Mount Everest,” said Peter Davies, cycle tour manager for Sports Tours International of Manchester, England, which offers a tour that allows bikers to ride every stage of the Tour de France, two days before the race itself. “It’s this thing you have seen on television, the Tour de France, and you wonder if you can do it.

“A lot of them take it extremely seriously,” he said. “And though they will never be pro riders, for three weeks in July they get to ride like pros.”

William Webb, 42, of Cambridge, England, who is head of research and development for the British government’s communications agency, was in the midst of a weeklong tour with Sports Tours International this week. He said that he and three other cyclists were riding the same first nine stages that the pros were riding this week, and that it had been a humbling experience.

“I’m doing better than I expected; I’m generally riding about one and a half hours slower than the times the pros are over a five-hour race,” he said in an interview Monday after riding about 120 miles through the Pyrenees. “But I long ago realized they’re in a different league than I am. It gives you even more respect for them.”

In part because of the expense, and the technical nature of cycling, the people who go on such trips are often men in their 40s and 50s who hold professional jobs, tour operators said.

The tour packages vary greatly, with some providing just a rented bike and a map. At the other end of the spectrum are full-service tours that book hotel rooms, set up meals and provide a mechanic and a chase van in case of problems.

And while they don’t do physical tests on their customers, all of the tour operators try to gauge the fitness of the riders before they come out to tackle something like a mountain stage.

“We’ll talk to them about their fitness and the tour they want to do, but we’re not going to keep anybody from coming on a tour,” said Monica Malpezzi Price, co-owner of Experience Plus! Bicycle Tours, based in Fort Collins, Colo. “It’s usually not a problem. Most people who want to come on these tours are fit and are your more passionate riders.”

Most tour operators will provide advice on training, if asked. Experience Plus! has 24 specific training programs on its Web site, divided by age, fitness level and intensity.

The company didn’t have to provide any advice to the Haleys of Evergreen, Colo., who have signed up as a family. Mike Haley, 46, vice president of an oil and gas service company, and his wife, Marla, 49, co-owner of a spa, and their sons Trevor, 16, and 14-year-old twins Cade and Dillon, are all going to try to spend seven days this month riding up to 400 miles of current and former Tour de France routes with Experience Plus!

Everyone in the family already rides and runs, but the parents hope this experience will serve as motivation for a lifetime of fitness for their sons.

“I’m just excited to share it with our guys and I hope they’ll have a real passion for it after this,” Mr. Haley said. “What better way than to ride the same roads Lance did?”

Riding can be Dangerous

The ETape is looming. My ride is on the 20th and there are only a few more days of training. To increase my fitness I am lengthening my rides and increasing the intensity of the shorter rides. My long ride of 5+ hours is on Sundays and I usually ride with my VQ buddies. We meet at a school in Gurnee, IL and ride all around Wisconsin for 4 hours. Then after the group ride is done I go out and do another hour solo all in the name of fitness and the ETape.

This past Sunday our peloton had a bad accident and I was reminded that riding in a peloton can be dangerous. We were in the last 12 miles of a 75mile ride and all of a sudden there was a loud crash. I looked down and a wheel was sliding toward me. I quickly veered away from the crash. Luckily I did not go down; however 3 members of our group crashed and had to be transported to the hospital by ambulance. Wally broke is scapula, Don broke his elbow and fractured his hip, and Kevin dislocated his shoulder. While two of the riders had serious injuries none of the injuries were life-threatening. Here is what happened: The lead rider, Wally, was swatting at a bee lost control of his bike crashed into the rider next to him causing a 3 bike pile-up.

The moral of the crash is: leave the bee alone and if you get stung ride through the pain or calmly slow down telling everyone what you are doing and remove the bee. Whatever you do don't panic. I was stung a few days ago. While riding home from a submax a big bumble bee hit my glasses and stung me in face just below the eye. It really hurt. However I kept my head and rode through it. (I did feel like I was being attacked by a swarm but that was my mind playing tricks.) Falling from a bike is far worse then any bug sting.

Luckily everyone involved in the crash will fully recover. The injured parties will be out of commission for 6 weeks then its back to training. I am playing it safe and will be avoiding large groups and dangerous situations. For another week, look for me on the road covered in foam.

The Etape is close

On Saturday July 4th, the Tour de France starts. This marks the beginning of the end of my training to some degree. I still have to do long rides, 3-5 hours twice a week, and I still have to work on my flexibility, but my goal is insight.

After having a very difficult time at the HHH I consulted some very experienced athletes and they said train long. Heeding their advice I have increased my training rides to 2 hours twice a week, a 3 hour hard ride on Fridays and a 5 hour submax on Sundays. I have decided to supplement my nutrition with GU and have a little less Carbopro because I am not sure of its effectiveness. The new addition to the mix has been a product called Saltstick. It is a nutritional supplement with salt. Saltstick will help replace the electrolytes and salt that I am loosing due to the heat.

I tested this new plan last weekend in the Adirondacks. I was in the Lake George area visiting family and I had a chance to ride in one of the most beautiful places in the US. I consulted the local bike shop, Blue Sky Bicycles, and they gave me 2 rides to try. I chose the one they said was the most scenic and went the next day. It was a beautiful ride with low traffic through the rolling foothills of the Adirondacks. My plan was to ride for 2-3 hours and just do as many hills as possible. Because I was unfamiliar with the route I did a few more hills then planned but it was a great ride and the hills did not seem too hard.

The following day I rode along 9N beside Lake George. The route was along rolling terrain and had 2 big climbs over Mt. Tongue, about 1000' of climbing in each direction. My strategy was to ride the mountains as close to my LT as possible, which would be about 200 watts, and then recover on the downside and ride submax all the other times. The strategy was great and allowed me to do a 3 1/2hr ride with plenty of power. The only issue during the ride was the rain which made the downhills somewhat scary.

Now that I have returned to the Chicago area I have resumed my training. Flying always disrupts my rhythm and it takes me a day or so to recover my form so my first ride was a 2hr submax. I was doing a low submax ride with a buddy, Ted, and after he dropped off to go home I decided to take a scenic rout back a went along the Skokie Canal. While traveling at a pretty good clip I hit a huge bumble bee and was stung in the eyelid. It really hurt. But those are the trials and tribulations of training.

I am in good form. HHH is behind me and I have refocused on my goal. The rides are long and hot and my riding buddies are back from Italy. Its good to be back in the saddle. So my training continues and intensifies as the Tour begins. I can't wait for the next ride. So if you need to reach me I will see you on the road.

Horribly Hilly Hundred

In all great quest novels the hero goes through a series of trials and tribulations before the quest is successfully completed. There can be weather, trolls, evil opponents, imposing ominous mountains, and other sundry meanies and annoyances that make the completion of the journey seem doubtful or even hopeless. There are always setbacks, side stories and helpers when the hero least expects it. The hero may even consider abandoning the quest. Such is the life of a person on a quest.

The Horribly Hilly Hundred was the past weekend. There are 2 courses a 100 and 200 kilometer course over some of the hilliest terrain in central Wisconsin. I chose the 200K course and made the 3 hour drive up to Mt Horeb the day before the ride to make sure I got a good nights sleep and an early start. The weather the previous days had been stormy and rainy making the event look somewhat doubtful; I will ride in rain but not in thunder storms. (Lighting likes bikes as much as anything else.) However the weatherman was promising a beautiful day for the ride so my hopes were up for a fun instructive experience.

Saturday arrived and there was not a cloud in the sky. I ate breakfast loaded-up the car and went to the finish line at Blue Mounds State Park the highest point in Wisconsin, at 1700 feet, a climb I would have to make at the end of the ride. The start line was in the town of Blue Mounds a sleepy village in central WI. The ride started at 7am and we coasted down to the start, got into groups and began the ride. I expected to take 9 hours to finish the 200K which is an average speed of about 18mph. I expected to climb the steep hills at 6mph but I was going to descend like a stone averaging my speed to about the 16-18mph range.

The temperature at start time was a humid and balmy 80 and the day promised to be a hot one. The first part of the ride was once around the perimeter of the park which made all the riders do a steep climb, 600' at 6-9% grade, twice before we went riding around central Wisconsin. The climb was hard but doable. Many riders had to walk up the hills because they red-zoned, their heart rates were too high and they could not recover enough before they could remount their bikes and continue the ride. There were rest stops every 20 miles or so and my goal was to refuel at every stop.

I had my hydration and nutrition plan, I had my mantra, what I had not figured on was the heat. My plan was to drink 1 bottle of water every hour. The water contained my nutrition and electrolytes. However, because of the heat what I ended up doing was drinking 1 bottle every half hour, meaning I was getting twice the calories. The problem with too many calories is that the body can not process them and you get nauseous. At the 3 hour point I was hot nauseous and had a killer headache. I thought I was dehydrated so I began to drink more which meant that I consumed more calories. I also loaded up on peanut-butter sandwiches at the sag stops. At the 4.5 hour mark I had begun to loose power on the climbs and I could not keep up with my group. I started asking myself why am I fading and then it hit me, I was consuming too many calories and not enough water.

I decided to ride the next half- hour with water and electrolytes only, however the damage had been done. I was unable to maintain my power up the hills. Instead of climbing at 6-8mph I was climbing at 4-5mph. It took all my inner strength to not get off the bike and walk. I promised myself that I was going to ride the entire ride so I rested at a water stop and began to chat with other riders. It turns out that many people underestimated the weather factor, several had gone out too fast and had bonked so we started our own groupetto and limped to the finish line. The final climb was a brutal 2K climb on a 10-13% grade. I made it by shear guts and determination. Here are the numbers:

Total miles ridden 86; Total time 6 hours; calories burned 2700; ave watts 127; normative watts 148; TSS 323. However these numbers deceivingly hide the reason for my big bonk.

Totals for the 1st 4 hours: Normative power 163, this is power smoothed out so it gives a better indication of how hard a rider has ridden, 163 is in my Zone 3 which is tempo riding and burns a huge amount of calories because it is a huge effort; TSS, a score that measures how hard you work, 50 an hour is average I did 70 an hour for a score of 280.

All these numbers add up to the Big Bonk. This is what I learned: I need to train in the heat and I need longer training rides. I also have to watch what I am eating and make sure I am hydrating and finally I need to make sure I do not ride the first section too aggressively.

The HHH was a great training ground. I made a ton or mistakes, and now I am set to continue my quest, so if you see me on the road lend a hand I can truly use the help.

Getting ready for the Horribly Hilly

Saturday is the big tune-up for the ETape. It's the Horribly Hilly Hundred
http://www.horriblyhilly.com, a 200k race (122 miles) over every hill in the area. The weather is supposed to be sun-showers, which is a change from just the regular showers I have been riding in for the last several weeks.

I am ready for the ride. I will pack every piece of bike clothing in the hope that i will be prepared for whatever the weather brings. I had considered bring a bike trailer to haul all the stuff but I nixed the idea because of all the hills.

Here is my plan. I will carry all my nutrition on me during the ride. I will have 2 bottles in cages and then I will have 2 baggies with my nutrition hydration mixture that I can mix at the water stops. These are fairly light so there is only a modest weight penalty. I have stopped using caffeine for the past few days, it has been really hard, to help me have a boost during the race. Thankfully I will also be back on caffeine so I will have a little more mojo.

Finally I have decided to use zipp 404 wheels during the race. These are not considered climbing wheels but are lighter then the wheels I was going to use and should help me on the down sides of the climbs and on the flats while I draft. My mantra for the day is slow and steady up the hill then draft, draft, draft.

I hope to see you on the ride.

Cadence and Positive Thinking

I have just my swapped beloved SRM power-meter for a powertap and converted my bike to a triple in preparation for the ETape. (This means that the power measuring function of the bike has gone from the crank to the hub of my rear wheel.) The triple will give me more lower gears than the standard front chain rings or a compact crank. I need the lower gearing so I can keep my cadence up on the climbs during the grueling mountain stage of the Tour de France which I will be riding. Cadence is important because cadence works the aerobic system not the muscular system and it is easier to recover from an aerobic workout then a hard muscular effort.

My choice to go with lower gearing was reinforced on my threshold workout last Friday. The exercise was to ride 2x20s at 95% of lactate threshold and then 10mn at LT with 7mn between each interval. I struggled on the 1st interval. I never got into any rhythm and I felt I was constantly fighting the bike, the slight terrain and myself; however the results were good and i rode at 97% of threshold. After the brief recovery I started my second interval. My struggle continued but this time it was harder to get the watts up because I was starting to fatigue.

About half way through the exercise I remembered that I was using a triple and I had other gearing options. (One of my training gurus, Harry B, says make sure to use the smaller front cog; it gets lonely and misses you.) I immediately shifted to the middle cog. Once I shifted to a lower gear my cadence increased easily, my watts increased and the ride became a ton more enjoyable: which does not really mean easier. On the 3rd interval I used the same gearing and I was able to ride 10mn at LT. The interval was not easy but cadence helped me accomplish my goal. The power of my higher cadence was reinforced when I looked at the numbers from the powertap. While I had higher watts my first interval I also had a higher heart rate as well as more fatigue. Once I increased my cadence my heart rate decreased by a few beats and my watts increased by 10%, and I did not fade at the end of the ride. These were the results I was trying to accomplish.

There is one more piece of the puzzle that helps me ride stronger. As I work hard during the intervals my mind begins to drift. I always find it hard to stay focused on pedal stroke, watts, breathing, traffic, etc for the entire exercise. As my mind wanders my power usually decreases or I loose form or I loose whatever. This past week I took a class on positive imaging and playing a movie in my mind that will help me concentrate and ride better. During the last interval I tried my movie. I imagined I was chasing a very fast member on my team and I was gaining on her. The imaging really helped my have a better ride. I would suggest anyone try this method of race preparation. It is always better to have a positive attitude because being positive makes your goal so much closer and easier to accomplish.

So positively, I will see you on the road.

The Races are Looming

My "A" events for this summer are looming. I am working hard to make sure I will be ready and capable. To prepare I have been doing long rides on Sundays, 75 miles, and intensity rides on Tuesdays and Fridays. I am always looking to update and advance my training practices. To help me train the best way possible I ask experienced cyclists during group rides what they are doing to train.

This week I learned I may not be doing enough intensity during my intensity ride, go figure. My intensity rides usually consist of 2 20mn periods where I am riding close to my lactate threshold. The goal is to increase my ability to withstand mountains. Harry B, my hill training guru, said that I may want to do 2x20s followed by 2x10s at lower intensity. The goal is to increase my endurance by doing more at lower wattages.

But wait I thought my training was in the grove, was settled, was maximized. I thought I had dialed in everything; and now I have to change? I am whining not because of the change but because I am feeling the effects of training so hard. Yesterday I was tired after my 75 mile ride and the ride was not as intense as in prior weeks. Today, the day after the ride, my legs feel gimpy and rubber-bandy. The good news is that my knees are in great shape and I have no pain from this weeks exertions. However, can I ramp up and maintain my ability to compete?

Some factoids: Strength comes from from rest and recovery. If I over-train and do not recover then I am doing my body a disservice. I am measuring my success by time to completion of some very intense rides. To get that success I need balance, stretching and strength. I am working hard, the body is getting stronger.

A bad day riding outside is better than a good day inside. The weather in Chitown has be cold and rainy. Tuesdays ride was both wet and cold. I love riding outside.

Whenever I have a great day on the bike I am pumped and can't wait to ride again.

The key to my success will be riding intensity, recovering and riding distance. I will up my hours per week to 12 and my miles to over 160. I also want to keep increasing my intensity factor, TSS score, every week. So far so good.

So much for whining. I am on the road so look for me.

Bike the Drive and Truths

I have truths I live by. Some are truths, some are mostly true. Here are 2:

1. On the bike; some days I am good and other days I am awesome.
2. Half the battle of winning a race is just showing up. (This is my coaches saying that I have adopted.)

Today is the great Chicago mass chaotic ride called Bike the Drive. For you non-Chicagoans it is the one day a year where Lake Shore Drive is closed to all traffic except bicycles from 5:30-10am. LSD is a 30 mile loop stretching from Hollywood Blvd. in the North past downtown to the Museum of Science & Industry in the South, 15 miles along side the shores of Lake Michigan. Its 8 glorious lanes of concrete & asphalt in various shape ranging from totally smooth to pot holes that will taco your wheel in a second.

Approximately 10,000 riders pay forty bucks each for the privilege to bike the most beautiful city street in America. There are all kinds of riders from toddlers in Burleys to octogenarians on ultra plush riding machines, from novices to racers, from the physically fit to those who should have consulted their doctor before participating in physical exercise. There also is a myriad of bikes from racers to cruisers, from recumbents, to tandem recumbents, to tandem's of all kinds pulling a tag-a-long or a Burley. (That is one long bike.)

Bike the Drive is chaos in the guise of a bike race. Most riders are casual riders and their job is to provide obstacles for the riders who want to go fast or if you are a leisure rider the ride is a causal ride mucked-up by riders who think this is a 1 day bike race. My goal was to continue my training for the Etape and the Horribly Hilly. That meant that I wanted to complete 2 circuits, 60+ miles before the drive was reopened to cars.

I left my house at 5:30am with my friend Ed and we headed to the Drive. There was a strong wind from the North, 12-15mph, that was pushing us along. Once we hit the drive we were able to open it up and ride at a fast pace, 22-25mph, because most riders were just starting and we joined the ride at one of the apogees. It took exactly an hour to get from my house in Evanston to the Museum at the Southernmost point of the ride, a drive that can often take 1 hour or more in a car. Its amazing what you can accomplish with a little wind and some open road. However once we turned North we began to pay the price for our speed and pedaled right into the teeth of wind, 14-17mph. My friend Ed tired quickly. He fell off the pace twice and Ed told me that he had biked 2.5 hours the day before and was recovering from Saturdays ride.

Half way into the return loop Ed dropped off and I continued alone. Because I am training for 2 hard rides I decided to have a no-draft policy and just ride my ride. I kept my cadence high to work my aerobic system and made sure I kept the workload at a sustainable level, 180 watts or less. The return leg into the wind took 55mn, which was a good time.

I really began to feel good on the return leg with the wind at my back and began to ride hard. I passed other racers, other racers passed me and we would encourage each other. At one point a saw a friend, Troy, on a tandem with a tag-a-long. He had modified the tandem to allow his daughter to reach the pedals. We were riding hard when we reached a little hill and Troy yelled back to the kids, "ok I need some help, everybody pedal," at which point everyone came out of the saddle stood on the pedals and rode in unison. It was a fantastic and beautiful site. I told Troy he needs a photo of that, it was so cool.

Soon Troy pulled off to meet some friends and I continued on along feeling really strong. Because I was moving fast a group formed behind me drafting off my efforts. The code of biking allows for people to draft as long as everyone helps. However today no one was offering so I decided to shatter the mini-peloton by sprinting. I felt really evil as I powered ahead and the group just floundered. What a great feeling.

I rode strong for the rest of the ride. I motored by riders into the wind. I began to feel that I had really improved then I remembered my coaches saying, half the battle of winning is just showing up. Bike the Drive is a mixed ride with skill and weekend riders. I was just in a group where I could shine. Well down a few pegs but still an accomplishment.

Now for the facts. Total miles 78; total calories 2218; total time 4:40:06. My nutrition/hydration method is working well. I did 300 calories an hour with electrolytes. I tried 1 GU but I really did not need the extra sugar and caffeine during the ride. I think this is partly due to my loading before the race. I was told to eat more protein then usual. I had a great dinner the night before and that really sustained me. I was able to refuel after the ride at a fantastic after ride breakfast at the Ringwoods. What a great way to recover with bagels, smoked salmon pancakes and friends. Thanks a ton Michele & Ken.

The only downside to the ride was my left knee which began to stiffen at the 65 mile marker. It could have been the breakfast stop or it could have been the fact that i pushed myself the entire ride. Whatever the reason it feels better a day later. I will have to do extra stretching and be careful to let it heal.

Until the next Bike the Drive see you on the road.

New Shoes and nutrition update

I have been looking for new racing shoes for a long time. The major difficulty is that I have a small wide foot. With normal shoes if I find a pair that fit I buy'em, even if I don't necessarily need shoes, because I can not always find shoes that fit. I have tried many different types of cycling shoes, Sidi, Specialized, Lake, Bontrager. The biggest problem I have is that my size is out of stock and there is no delivery date, then I have to ask to have the shoes ordered and I feel guilty if I do not buy the shoes.

Finally I found a pair that I like. It is the Lake CX330. The main advantage of these is the closure system. Instead of a lock and velcro closure the Lake shoe uses a BOA system. Boa is a cable that interlaces on the shoe and is tightened by turning a ratchet on the heel. The Boa effectively holds the entire foot more evenly. I have found the shoe very comfortable and I am getting good power. My only complaint is that there could be more arch support. However to solve that issue i am putting special orthotic inserts. More on the shoes as they get broken in and so far so good.

Now to update my nutrition situation. As you may recall my plan last week was to have my nutrition and my hydration in the same bottle. I mixed Nuun with Carbopro for electrolytes and calories. I also did gels at the 2 hour and 3 hour mark. The plan worked well. The only issue I had was when I put too many calories, 600, in 1 bottle. The excess of calories upset my stomach, but when i stopped using the drink everything went back to normal. So this week my nutrition for the 80 mile ride is the same. Nuun and Carbopro with gels. If this works I have my plan for the ride.

My riding is going well. I hope to see you on the road. Next blog riding in the A/B group.

Chris Horner's Giro Race Blog

I just read Chris Horner's blog on the Giro. Here is part of it. He is a great racer and what he eats every day is amazing. I will try some of his diet but because I am not racing everyday I will do less. Until then see you on

Chris Horner speaking: http://blog.oregonlive.com/horner/

In another facet of the Tour of Italy, I thought I would give you my calorie count from one of the past two epic stages. This should begin to explain why, as each day passes, the desire to eat becomes harder and harder.

Yesterday - about 6,500 total calories

Breakfast: 1,100
Bowl of cereal with two yogurts in it, an omelet with 3 eggs and ham, bread with jam, and hot tea with about 6 tsp. sugar.

Before race: 430
PRC (pre-race Coke), candy bar (normally a Snickers).

Race: 2,455
Two race bars (SIS), 6 or 7 mini Cokes (65 calories each), two Clif shot blocs, three small euro sandwiches, 3 to 5 gels, and two Snickers.

After race in bus: 650
Sandwich, two Cokes, candy bar.

At hotel: 450
Bowl of cereal with milk and honey, crackers.

Dinner: 1,300
Salad, pasta sauce, meat and potatoes, dessert

After a while, it gets hard to choke down that much food every day! But at least we have a great staff and a great chef to keep things tasty and interesting.

Training Eating and Bonking

My heavy training for the Horribly Hilly and the ETape is in full swing. I have done most of my traveling and now its time to concentrate on training. I did my first long ride outside last Sunday. The goal was 4+ hours. The weather was very odd. At first it was sunny and warm. Then after 30mn it became overcast and cold and began to rain. After the rain it was windy and a mix of tepid or cold. I have not ridden in such variable weather since I got caught in a snow squall two years ago.

My feed plan was to ride for 90mn, no energy drinks just electrolytes, then begin to do 300 calories an hour for the rest of the ride. I decided to use less food because I am still trying to shed some pounds. Unfortunately I discovered that I had a bad nutrition program. I was fine until the 2 hour mark then I bonked hard. My legs felt heavy and I had a hard time keeping my cadence up. I was definitely peddling squares not circles. Dennis, my riding partner, had to pull my sorry butt back from Wisconsin. (It really was a time of suffering for me.) I was able to pull for part of the time but I was not in my best form.

My new feed plan is too eat a breakfast of oatmeal and a protein 2 hours before the ride then I will have 2 bottles both with calories and electrolytes. I will start with the calories as the ride begins. I will also include caffeine at the 2 hour point in the form of a Coke. This seems like the best new strategy. If this does not work it will be onto plan 3,whatever that is. I am glad I have a chance to get the nutrition and hydration correct before my races. It looks like my initial ideas have really missed the mark.

Today I had a really fun ride. I rode with Robbie V and learned how to corner. We did 2 10 lap crits on a 1/4 mile course. The first crit was turning only right the second was turning only left. I had a great chance to learn about pressure on the pedals and steering. The saying "time on the bike with people more skilled" is truly correct. I plan to do more Tuesday rides with the Robbie to increase my skills.

Hopefully as I improve i will become more efficient. Until then. see you on the bike.

Allergy Season Has Arrived

Spring is finally here. The trees are in full bloom and there is pollen everywhere. For those of you who do not have allergies I wanted to give you a quick insight into what allergies are all about.

My head feels like a giant wad of cotton, my eyes are rivers, I am constantly sneezing, plus I've saved the worst for last, I am low energy. For hyper-guy low energy is truly an anomaly. What am I to do? How can I do 7 things at once, how can I ride? Well the answer is easy, this too will pass, caffeine is a great pick- me-up and spring is an awesome time.

However the real problem is that my riding goals seem harder to accomplish. The LT workouts have become more difficult and at the same time I have become spacier. At times I am dizzy and I have to stop my ride for safety reasons. Other times I am able to ride but I have a hard time breathing, moving my heart rate over my LT. So if it is not one thing it is another.

I think the answer is simple. I will listen to my body but I will also adapt my ride to how I feel that day. On the dizzy days I will do submaxes, on the watery days I will ride LTs but carefully. The work can still be done but now it is more variable.

I would write more but today is a dizzy day and its time for my 1 o'clock caffeine buzz. See you on the road.

Moving On and Aging

I now have a better understanding of Lance Armstrong's book title "Its Not About the Bike." To me riding has a health and social component. It’s a place where I can work hard and use other riders to push myself. VQ is unique in that it offers both components in a non-threatening package. I am who I am, and I ride like I ride. That being said, it is not entirely true. When I first started at VQ I was very frustrated because I was the slowest. It has taken 3 years for me to improve my speed, endurance and lower my weight. Now that I am faster, lighter and stronger than I was 3 years ago I feel confident to compete in the safety of the bike gym among people who I consider friends. I have talked to many new riders who are frustrated by the same issues I was. The cruel truth about VQ and riding is this; it's time on the bike, hard work and consistency that pay the biggest dividends. I ride against myself as much as I ride against anyone else. And there is no magic bullet. It's really only partly about the Bike. Damn

Riding is also has a social aspect. One of the best parts of riding at VQ is riding inside on a cold Sunday in winter with friends who have similar interests. 3 hours on a computrainer is a long time but with friends it is a bit shorter. Unfortunately two friends are moving to other cities. Justin and Natalie are moving on. Both have good opportunities out West where they will be able to train full time. I am happy for both but will miss them.

I first met Justin as the ringer on my old man 4 TT team. The ages of the riders were 60,59,51, and 23. And good lord we needed him. The race was a technical 40K, it was hot and very windy. Justin carried our butts the last 5-10K. What a great sport and what a great time; we rode our hardest and Justin was there to hide behind when we got tired. After that we became riding buddies and I have spent several Sundays beside him killing time riding the various computrainer courses.

I don't know Natalie well; we have not ridden together much. She has qualified for Kona by winning her age group at Ironman Wisconson and she is training hard so she can win in Hawaii. Natalie is always at VQ, riding longer, doing more functional training and being a role model of what you can do when
you put your mind to it.

Good luck and take care Justin and Natalie have a great time and great success in California. You guys will be missed and the rides will be a tad less fun. Keep in touch.

Now about the aging part of riding. What I have learned about working out hard is that bits and pieces of my body keep falling off. OK, not really falling off but getting injured. Last week after a hard cross training class that included jumping around like a chimp and a million squats, which I had been doing but not to that degree, my left knee decided it had enough and began to feel achy and stiff. I was told to stretch it out and take it easy for a few days. Sure enough the knee felt great. Last Sunday I was scheduled for a 4 hour ride and my knee felt great until the 3-hour mark and then it began to ache again. I rested it again and rode submax to make sure it as fine, however there is still pain. Damn now I am off the bike for 4 days and I will see how it goes. This reminds me of the line from the book The Right Stuff; "It can blow at any seam." Well this is where I am, my two "A" races are coming up June 20 for the Horribly Hilly and July 20 for the ETape. I am worried I will be injured, I want to ride hard and get ready. My knee is saying, slow down and take it easy. I have ridden through this before, I know the cure is time and rest: I am very frustrated, but what can I do? Good thing I am off to Seattle for a family event.

So until I return from Seattle, Have a great ride.

A Whole Week Off

This past week I was visiting my son during parents weekend at his school and then hanging in New York City. We left about a week ago and I have only had limited time to workout and absolutely no time to ride. Usually during a week I will workout for 10+ hours: 2 hours (2 days) of strength, 3 hours (2 days) of LT/high stress workouts, 1.5 hours (1 day) of submax and 3.5 hours on a Sunday endurance ride. To date I have worked out or stretched a total of 2 days for 2 hours.

Because I have only exercised briefly I feel horrible; more specifically I feel stiff, somewhat bloated and achy. I understand the stiff, I have tried to stretch every day but the days are full, and I am usually tired by the time we get back to the hotel. I understand bloated, my body thinks I am going to ride soon. What I don't understand is achy. Why on a break from exercising do I feel so bad?

I have looked for the answer and I have been unable to find one, however I think I know. My body thinks I am an athlete. I keep telling myself that I am just an old guy trying to stay in shape but my body knows better. Only members of the cult of VQ, athletes and extremists exercise as much as we do. When I polled my friends not many workout more than 5 hours a week, which to them is 5 days a week. Most of my friends only workout 3 times a week; that makes me at 6 days a week an extremist.

Exercising as much as I do must mean that working out has other by -products. The most hidden of them is what I am experiencing now; my body is decompressing from the all the exercise. Needless to say I am not happy. Not only am I achy I just generally feel bad. This is a totally unexpected by product of being in good shape. What a bummer. What I expected is a feeling of bliss, what I am getting is a feeling I have to workout.

OK I am off to the bike gym as soon as I get home, but this feels like an addiction and I am going through withdrawal. There must be something wrong but I am not sure. Oh well another unexpected benefit of riding. I can’t write more I must quench my thirst for pain on an unusually hard computrainer ride. Until later……..

I will see you on the road.

PS: I just finished riding a submax. I feel bad, slow and fat. Double bummer.