A mountain ride with Dr. Fil, with me being a tour guide of the local trails he has yet to play on around Collins Bay. It was all pretty wet...yeah yeah yeah, all you tree huggers out there and that blah blah blah about erosion etc...I'm a tactician when I ride and you can barely see my tracks ;)
Found a bunch of new trail that these guys have been building and all in all FUN. Legs felt freakin' crazy strong!!!!! Including this wknd, that's 4 rides in a row.....NIIIIIIICE!
1 hour 27 min exe time; 1:26 ride time = less than 15 second breaks ~ 4 of them....waiting for my riding buddy :)
137 avg to 163 max....hmm is that fitness I'm seeing hehehehe
In zone 1 hr 20; above 1 min; below 5 min....why yes....YES it is Fitness I'm seeing
846 Kcal
18.7 km
12.9-39.4 km/hr......slick as goose poop
Plan...rest tomorrow and Fil was talking night ride Thursday...WHY NOT!!!!
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
Hang on...Wait a minute...ride...YES
I was assessing the legs and the body all morning, curious at just how good i was feeling. After doing a few loads of laundry and running up the stairs two at a time...it was confirmed...1.....I didn't push myself hard enough during the 24, that's a given...and two I need to go for a ride!!
Called the wifey to ensure i wouldn't be stoned to death if i didn't pick up the kids...green light..GO
Told myself I would spin easy and ensured I wouldn't go too long by only bringing one water bottle and it was warrrrrm. Legs were feeling unusually vibrant....hmm must be a tail wind...nope a head wind....hmm must be spinning in easy gearing....yup but still pushing 27 plus into a pretty strong headwind....curious..
Decided to do an out along Bath road about 15 ish k and then cut north on county rd 6..yup head wind all the way, which meannnnnns tail wind once I cut onto Taylor Kidd. Changing my stem to increase my bar height was golden as I got in the aggressive drops and started attacking flats and climbs.....now feeling really weird about not givin er in the 24..next time...
Got back, washed down a recoverite, shower, beer, and get dinner ready for wife and kiddies..maybe a little trampoline errr popcorn for the kids.
Stats 1 hr 9 min
avg 149.....good boy John with a 171 max.
In zone 51 min, above 17 min..once again...good boy..behaving
833Kcal
34.2 km
Avg spd 29.4 with a max of 62...yeah...full attack in drops pushing biggest gear
avg Cad 95 with max of 116 eh?
Plan, Mt with Fil....I just cleaned up my mt bike............oh well
Called the wifey to ensure i wouldn't be stoned to death if i didn't pick up the kids...green light..GO
Told myself I would spin easy and ensured I wouldn't go too long by only bringing one water bottle and it was warrrrrm. Legs were feeling unusually vibrant....hmm must be a tail wind...nope a head wind....hmm must be spinning in easy gearing....yup but still pushing 27 plus into a pretty strong headwind....curious..
Decided to do an out along Bath road about 15 ish k and then cut north on county rd 6..yup head wind all the way, which meannnnnns tail wind once I cut onto Taylor Kidd. Changing my stem to increase my bar height was golden as I got in the aggressive drops and started attacking flats and climbs.....now feeling really weird about not givin er in the 24..next time...
Got back, washed down a recoverite, shower, beer, and get dinner ready for wife and kiddies..maybe a little trampoline errr popcorn for the kids.
Stats 1 hr 9 min
avg 149.....good boy John with a 171 max.
In zone 51 min, above 17 min..once again...good boy..behaving
833Kcal
34.2 km
Avg spd 29.4 with a max of 62...yeah...full attack in drops pushing biggest gear
avg Cad 95 with max of 116 eh?
Plan, Mt with Fil....I just cleaned up my mt bike............oh well
Not quite deja vu...thankfully
Our plans to get to the 24 hr Summer Solstice the night before, hook up to water and power with my partner Chris's 12 foot macked out trailer did not come to fruition as we arrived to a spot that looked more like a tent city vs a trailer section....apparently the serviced areas book out earlier than April. Anyways....good thing we got there.
A little recap...I had day off Friday, in anticipation of an early trip up to mellow out and pre-ride the course with my parnter...unfortunately, a lot of crap including Chris attending a funeral for his Aunt changed our plans slightly. Nonetheless we got there and cracked our first beer around 11 pm.
We awoke to dismal and rainy conditions which did not serve the head well. This was my first ever Tag for a 24 hour and I had high hopes with my partner who appeared to be pretty pumped and had some fitness behind him. After getting updates from a site beside us intermittently while we were in the comfort of our camper :), we "rock paper scissored" for first lap with Chris winning.
Finally start at 2 vs 12 resulting in a 22 hour? vs 24 hour I was awaiting Chris to pop out of the switchback pines....first guys were ripping laps just over 45 minutes....another level altogether....maybe in a few years :)...Caught the whites of Chris' eyes and made my way to transition area..he looked tired...I was concerned as this was going to be a long race....my turn
We decided our first lap we would meet each other at the transition vs camp to get the full loop experience. Now......the difference between SOLO and TAG can be summed up this way...standing and hammering climbs is realistic and FUN in TAG and in SOLO a sure fire way of ensuring an early termination. I had a blast passing and outclimbing riders ALLLLL day.
The loop was pretty damn mellow...I generally enjoy some technical descents and full on drops that may challenge the suspension but....nadah...could be that the 5 and 5 of the Giant just makes everything too damn smooth now.
We were doing well trading off laps one to one until my third where I saw Chris at camp looking more like Aunt Jemima than a rider...quick fix....I kept riding...He was ready to roll after my return......now this was interesting. After completing my fourth lap, it was like a switch was kicking in....my mind was getting into SOLO mode and I was LIKING it....HANSOLO here we come. When Chris returned from his final lap on Saturday, the night was coming in quickly, so equipped with my HID lamp off I went.....due to humidity.....super hard to see and was getting discouraged with riders down/hurt and bleeding everywhere i looked. Not having an incident thus far..I decided to play it conservative and finish out the lap with Chris confirming he was done for the night and one beer in.......I looked at the finality in his eyes and turned the switches off in the head to get aligned with the sit, chill, and beer mode...not hard to do, but took everything i had to finish a second beer.
We hit the hay about 10:30-11pm (can't really remember) and knew my internal clock would wake me to either continue with Night rides or hammer out some day laps. 7 am came QUICK!!!!! so much for more night riding :) I looked over at Chris and saw no clear indication he was in for starting off this a.m. so I kitted up, hit trails and was enjoying the packed down terrain. As I was rolling in to transition area of camp i saw Chris standing tall and ready to tag in.......I'm impressed with this guy....would TAG another event anytime with this guy....it was his first after all and a doozer to intro him to a 24 hour..He came back energized after his loop locking up the rear and giving a scream of joy...good sign!!! He quickly told me about the RED BULL combo which I jumped on board with and we continued to complete a total of 10 laps (me 6, Chris 4). Upon completing the final, Chris looked like he was......done....this event was not meant to be a suffer fest....I'll leave that for August...so I compromised with him and said you should finish the last 1 km, hand in the chip, and soak up the experience....he appeared to be game..I met him at the finish and tried to capture a photo, he appeared to be pretty dazed.
What did i learn.....Tag is harder than Solo....in Solo you can just keep riding and suffering comes and goes...Tag, you get to sit, eat, and fight the tendency to just freaking relax in between each lap...it's more of a psychological battle to get on the bike than a physical...also factor in that we had all the creature comforts of a 12 foot pop up camper......hard to keep riding when trail conditions were fair, light...poor due to condensation in air, and wanting to make this first experience for a buddy a favourable vs a "I'm never doing this again" experience....all in all worth it.
My stats as per Polar monitor/15.4 km laps:
Lap 1 - 1 hr 1 min
165 avg hr, 186 max In zone - 11 min, above 51 min
Avg spd 15 km; max 37.1
892 Kcal
Lap 2 - 1 hr 3 min
163 avg, 219 max(?!?!?) error? - In zone 14 min; above 49 min
Avg spd 14.6; 40.3 max
907 Kcal
Lap 3 -1 hr 3 min (doubled up with 2)
158 avg, 227 max (?!?!) In zone 24 min; above 38.....nice looking more aerobic here..warming up
14 - 36.6 km/hr
846 Kcal
Lap 4 NIGHT LAP 1 hr 20 min...was being cautious...hard to see
148 avg 222 max??? something weird here...getting other peoples data???? In zone 55; above 25 min......happy with the aerobic....good sign for SOLO in August
12-36.7 km.hr
955Kcal
2 beer...SLEEEEEP
Lap 5...polar says began at 7:33 am.....waaaay too much sleep :) 1 hour 9 min..took about half lap to feel like I was riding again...warming up just to cool down at end of lap....
149 avg 170 max HR(that's better) In zone 45; above 23 min
13.38.8 km/hr
828 Kcal
Lap 6 - 1 hr 6 min
150 avg- 175 max, In zone 42 above 24 min
13.7 - 38.1 Km/hr
807 Kcal
8th place of 13 showing....could have been 6th(easily) if we rode throughout night........................
A good time.....not feeling guilty about the lack of suffering 'cause I'll make up for it in August Hot August Nights SOLO BABY!!!!
Training plan...clean up the mt bike today...wait for rain to break and get an hour easy spin on the roadie, Mt. bike Tuesday(tomorrow with Fil) and see if Chris is up for it as well. Long wknd will bring road bike to do a nice loop from cottage to smith falls-perth-lombardy- back to cottage. Might start running.....Chris was talking about adventure racing....that would mean running.....ugh
Friday, June 25, 2010
Celebration of Life
I know I told myself I wouldn't blog prior to this wkn's event...'cause I haven't been riding, but it's time for a head check.
Last week, My grandmother had a massive stroke and is still recovering as well as a 92 year old woman can from such an event. My 24 hr tag team partner's Aunt passed away and will be attending her funeral today...
We have both decided that this wknd's event needs to happen, regardless of our family's events of sadness...probably because we both need this to reboot the head. I've decided that this will be a journey, not to get too flakey, but a journey, of self discovery and reflection about Life and to truly live every moment. Won't be too hard to motivate myself to stay in the mid ring on climbs or choose the "granny ring" in later stages to get over that hill. I will choose to ride hard and fast to assist my partner to achieving a result we will be happy with. Given the weather this weekend, this will be a true test of character and preparedness.....no worry about preparedness, now it's time to assess character.
My strategy.......Ride, pass on laps to partner, ride again, and keep riding. I won't sleep unless the body chooses no alternative...I will challenge any negative thoughts (because they come in waves) with positive reflection. In other words.....this is not going to be the usual mentality that I go into one of these events...."oh, I'll just hope for top 50 % and have some fun"...NOPE...the fun will be punishing my lactate threshold and my ability to consistently keep one hour laps for a solid 12 of the 24 hours that will be Raced...not RIDDEN!!!! F#*&% YEAH!!!!!!!!!!
Last week, My grandmother had a massive stroke and is still recovering as well as a 92 year old woman can from such an event. My 24 hr tag team partner's Aunt passed away and will be attending her funeral today...
We have both decided that this wknd's event needs to happen, regardless of our family's events of sadness...probably because we both need this to reboot the head. I've decided that this will be a journey, not to get too flakey, but a journey, of self discovery and reflection about Life and to truly live every moment. Won't be too hard to motivate myself to stay in the mid ring on climbs or choose the "granny ring" in later stages to get over that hill. I will choose to ride hard and fast to assist my partner to achieving a result we will be happy with. Given the weather this weekend, this will be a true test of character and preparedness.....no worry about preparedness, now it's time to assess character.
My strategy.......Ride, pass on laps to partner, ride again, and keep riding. I won't sleep unless the body chooses no alternative...I will challenge any negative thoughts (because they come in waves) with positive reflection. In other words.....this is not going to be the usual mentality that I go into one of these events...."oh, I'll just hope for top 50 % and have some fun"...NOPE...the fun will be punishing my lactate threshold and my ability to consistently keep one hour laps for a solid 12 of the 24 hours that will be Raced...not RIDDEN!!!! F#*&% YEAH!!!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Interesting turn of events....
As indicated in last post....last ride was Saturday, felt a throat thing coming on Sunday, confirmed this on Monday with a doctor's visit..STREP THROAT...on antibiotics and goal is to rest...get a call from Mother indicating my, tough as nails, 93 yr old grandmother has had a stroke on Tuesday and the kicker...my 24 hour partner's aunt passed away soon after I called to reassure that the wknd was a go. Hmmm now I'm twiddling my thumbs...my grandmother is on the up and up making gains almost hourly and...my partner is awaiting confirmation of funeral date. I have taken the initiative to confirm I can change my tag to a solo entry. Oh yeah...weather forecast is calling for showers both saturday and sunday....
This event will be a true test of mental/physical character...no more posts until I return from the event either a tag or solo team successor.
This event will be a true test of mental/physical character...no more posts until I return from the event either a tag or solo team successor.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Return from a wknd at the cottage
Decided to get Fil and Chris together for a little debauchery on Friday and a cleansing ride on Saturday up at the Family cottage. Time couldn't go fast enough from me to load up after work and get to the cottage.
I stopped at Pig and Whistle, to pick up some BBQ fare, got pretty excited when i saw a scicillain salad, potato curry, and some cous cous......to go alongside the lamb, chicken and steak skewers..let me just say they looked smaller when I was pointing and stating...uhhhh three of these, and uhhh three of these......well, 120 bucks later.......all in all... GREAT GRUB.
I finally arrived at the cottage with time to spare, set up a little bike shop for last minute tinkers and cracked into my first beer...ahhhhh peaceful. The boys soon arrived and we did what all boys should do.....found a bed sometime throughout the night and awoke at around 8 am nursing a headache and the desire to stoke the head for our days ride.
Now, the ride.....pretty mellow....rail trail the whole way...enabling aerobic threshold training with an out and back from Otter Lake to Chaffey's locks. It began on a humerous note with Chris standing and cranking, SNAP, a chain broke...quick repair and off we went. Had some fun dropping some natural stone features, climbing and descending some interesting stairs, and managed to dissolve two teeth of my Race Face Evolve big ring into a stone....marked my territory...forgot...no rock ring on this rig.
We felt pretty happy with the 32 k out and played a bit before returning with a quick pause at a convenience store.....and then it happened......we got humbled when this, what had to be a 23 year or so whipper snapper rolling in on a full carbon Kestrel...what a thing of beauty...he was equipped with a power tap and shared his ride plans with us when i prompted him for details...yeah, he was clocking 145 k and was getting prepped for a criterium race tomorrow..Oh yeah, did I mention, this dude was also just shy of being an Adonis.....jerk :) This seemed to stoke our fires for the return trip..
Phil started to keep pulling...now this terrain was pretty flat...our tires were pumped up to 60 psi and every vibration was being felt...there were surges where silent battles would attain 35 to 40 k/hour intervals with bars locking as we tried to avoid puddles by moving both.heheheh..to the inside...Phil and Chris with about 15 k left, dropped the hammer, me fighting some dehydration and a residual headache, watched them for about 8 k battle it out...They paused, I caught up and off we were again...Chris making a charge on his 29'r...very impressed my 24 hr partner...we're ready....as Fil and I commented on what he fired down his throat to get this advantage, I said Fuck it, loosed up the upper body dropped it a few gears and began attacking the paved hills that were taking us back to the cottage road....success....caught, passed and carried up until the pump, plan was to just easy peddal in the last mile to cool down...Chris, decided he would get one last attack....gave him it....he looked strong.
Finished with some beers, bid them adios JUST as the wife and kids rolled in to spend the afternoon/evening with me for "Dad's Day".....
This time next week....will be cracking some beers and reviewing the trials and tribulations from the 24 hours of riding/racing that was just had.
Stats:
3 hr: 13 min
148 avg; 182 max HR
In Zone 2:07, above 1 hour 2 min....the silent racing hehehe
2315 Kcal
63.7 km
avg spd, 19 km/hr max 43.2
Plan....mellow ride tuesday and MAYBE thursday......Friday off....en route to Albion.
I stopped at Pig and Whistle, to pick up some BBQ fare, got pretty excited when i saw a scicillain salad, potato curry, and some cous cous......to go alongside the lamb, chicken and steak skewers..let me just say they looked smaller when I was pointing and stating...uhhhh three of these, and uhhh three of these......well, 120 bucks later.......all in all... GREAT GRUB.
I finally arrived at the cottage with time to spare, set up a little bike shop for last minute tinkers and cracked into my first beer...ahhhhh peaceful. The boys soon arrived and we did what all boys should do.....found a bed sometime throughout the night and awoke at around 8 am nursing a headache and the desire to stoke the head for our days ride.
Now, the ride.....pretty mellow....rail trail the whole way...enabling aerobic threshold training with an out and back from Otter Lake to Chaffey's locks. It began on a humerous note with Chris standing and cranking, SNAP, a chain broke...quick repair and off we went. Had some fun dropping some natural stone features, climbing and descending some interesting stairs, and managed to dissolve two teeth of my Race Face Evolve big ring into a stone....marked my territory...forgot...no rock ring on this rig.
We felt pretty happy with the 32 k out and played a bit before returning with a quick pause at a convenience store.....and then it happened......we got humbled when this, what had to be a 23 year or so whipper snapper rolling in on a full carbon Kestrel...what a thing of beauty...he was equipped with a power tap and shared his ride plans with us when i prompted him for details...yeah, he was clocking 145 k and was getting prepped for a criterium race tomorrow..Oh yeah, did I mention, this dude was also just shy of being an Adonis.....jerk :) This seemed to stoke our fires for the return trip..
Phil started to keep pulling...now this terrain was pretty flat...our tires were pumped up to 60 psi and every vibration was being felt...there were surges where silent battles would attain 35 to 40 k/hour intervals with bars locking as we tried to avoid puddles by moving both.heheheh..to the inside...Phil and Chris with about 15 k left, dropped the hammer, me fighting some dehydration and a residual headache, watched them for about 8 k battle it out...They paused, I caught up and off we were again...Chris making a charge on his 29'r...very impressed my 24 hr partner...we're ready....as Fil and I commented on what he fired down his throat to get this advantage, I said Fuck it, loosed up the upper body dropped it a few gears and began attacking the paved hills that were taking us back to the cottage road....success....caught, passed and carried up until the pump, plan was to just easy peddal in the last mile to cool down...Chris, decided he would get one last attack....gave him it....he looked strong.
Finished with some beers, bid them adios JUST as the wife and kids rolled in to spend the afternoon/evening with me for "Dad's Day".....
This time next week....will be cracking some beers and reviewing the trials and tribulations from the 24 hours of riding/racing that was just had.
Stats:
3 hr: 13 min
148 avg; 182 max HR
In Zone 2:07, above 1 hour 2 min....the silent racing hehehe
2315 Kcal
63.7 km
avg spd, 19 km/hr max 43.2
Plan....mellow ride tuesday and MAYBE thursday......Friday off....en route to Albion.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
24 hr countdown..ride with tag partner tonight
A perfect situation.....feeling pretty lethargic today and yesterday...haven't ridden since Friday and feeling edgy as a result. Got a text from Chris (my Solstice tag team partner) that he finished a 60 k ride yesterday and was coming in from Belleville to ride today rain or shine...that's all i needed.
Still...got home from work and felt more like cracking a beer and tipping a few than slinging a leg over the stallion. Mid back and left shoulder KILLING me from assembling that trampoline over the weekend...so trusty advill bottle it was (2 tablets), and filled up my water bottles with nestea...just put an order in for Cafe Latte Perpetuum WITH caffeine and some recoverite but won't be in till next week, so will make do with simple sugars.
Now for the ride...we decided to take the scenic route from my garage to trailhead through Lemoine's point and when we got to trailhead, noted three cars (minimal) that signified few dog walkers on north end...so a little variety and some rock gardens to warm up the core :). Chris is riding a 29'r hardtail with an 80 ml fork..given the terrain, was soaking it up, but the GIANT...KILLED it..legs were feeling fresh and felt like I could spin all night. Came across a couple riders, expressed my usual concern, when prompted, about my "ban"....so silly, from some of the local trails and finished a 37 K ride, topped it off with a beer and dinner that was waiting compliments of the wifey...love that woman..stats are messed as HR monitor acting wacky again...either chest hair interference :) or need to replace the cs battery as well?!?!?
36.6 km
avg spd 15.7; max 45.9
ride time 2 hr: 19 min
Plan...road ride thursday...60 k or so..easy spinning, Recruited my 24 partner to cottage for some good eats, drinks and a 3-4 hour saturday ride on Cataraqui trail....next week...mellow to enable body to prep for sufferring ;)
Still...got home from work and felt more like cracking a beer and tipping a few than slinging a leg over the stallion. Mid back and left shoulder KILLING me from assembling that trampoline over the weekend...so trusty advill bottle it was (2 tablets), and filled up my water bottles with nestea...just put an order in for Cafe Latte Perpetuum WITH caffeine and some recoverite but won't be in till next week, so will make do with simple sugars.
Now for the ride...we decided to take the scenic route from my garage to trailhead through Lemoine's point and when we got to trailhead, noted three cars (minimal) that signified few dog walkers on north end...so a little variety and some rock gardens to warm up the core :). Chris is riding a 29'r hardtail with an 80 ml fork..given the terrain, was soaking it up, but the GIANT...KILLED it..legs were feeling fresh and felt like I could spin all night. Came across a couple riders, expressed my usual concern, when prompted, about my "ban"....so silly, from some of the local trails and finished a 37 K ride, topped it off with a beer and dinner that was waiting compliments of the wifey...love that woman..stats are messed as HR monitor acting wacky again...either chest hair interference :) or need to replace the cs battery as well?!?!?
36.6 km
avg spd 15.7; max 45.9
ride time 2 hr: 19 min
Plan...road ride thursday...60 k or so..easy spinning, Recruited my 24 partner to cottage for some good eats, drinks and a 3-4 hour saturday ride on Cataraqui trail....next week...mellow to enable body to prep for sufferring ;)
Friday, June 11, 2010
Another successful bike commute
From my door, actually garage, to the clinic door is exactly 39.7 km. Given the weather forecast and the fact that some family activites are planned over the weekend, I decided to maximize my potential for ride time by getting a bike commute to/from work today.
What a cool experience en route.....luckily that rolling dark cloud that was coming in from the south was just fog and condensation, there was. It reminds me of the mist machines that are in Vegas that keep the skin moist with beads of water...Found that riding on the road without vision/aid of corrective lenses, due to fog is not only manageable but PREFERABLE....really reconsidering Lasik now.... Strange that with my prescription sunglasses I feel closer to the ground and without....taller...must be something to that...
I though for sure I was going to PB my time to work this morning because I never came out of the big ring and attacked all of the hills.....man I respect consistently fast road riders...didn't better my hour 21 min which makes me think I may have delayed the polar start the day it recorded this PB, cause today, I felt REAL good. Work was busy, therefore fast and other than educating a young girl and her mother about....here it goes.
13 yr old girl is playing soccer with her day..this girl does not look too athletic. Girl "injures" herself while playing, mother indicates it was a "dislocated patella". They go to the ER and informed she "hairlined fractured her femur" and was casted. Follow-up in three days with pediatric ortho who reviews xrays and indicates no fracture but concerned regarding knee and orders an MRI. In meantime removes cast and replaces with an immobizer brace. Mother and daughter consult with me to request a new brace (currently has an immobilizer or in other words keeps her knee if full extension) in a white or black color to "blend in for grad in 6 weeks"???
OK, this 13 year old girl has been immobilized since May 1st...thats almost 6 WEEKS!!!!! Her knee is significantly atrophied and unable to flex. x-ray's have already ruled out fracture. Essentially told this mother and daughter to get this freaking brace off, book assessment with our PT and start regaining range of motion and strength...MRI OR NOT...that was my last appt of the day..someone dropped the ball on this one...helped her pick it back up....crazy. bit of a tangent...could do this daily with some of the stuff that comes through work but BACK to Stats:
TO WORK:Road bike
1 hr 23 min
146 avg; 174 max
In zone 1 hr 2 min above 20 min
961 Kcal
39.7 Km
Avg spd 28.6; max 44.2
Avg CAD 91; Max 106
FROM WORK:
1 hr 29 min...kinda tired and that usual head wind...small ringin'
137 Avg...slackin/mental fatigue??163 max
In ZOne 1 hr 22 min...more aerobic...a good thing :) above 4 min
934 KCal
38.7 km...take a short cut on way home...wow a Km difference?!
Avg spd 25.9; max 50.8
avg Cad 87; max 107
Holy SHIT...14 days until the 24 hr.......feeling good about it. My 24 hr partner is also doing some riding.....should be a good one. One thing DOES need to happen though...absence of rain.
Plan. mow the lawn, change in plans perhaps re: dock at cottage, therefore Ride somewhere on Sunday preferably mountain. Oh yeah and finish this beer and my wifes which I see is still 3/4 full before it goes warm
What a cool experience en route.....luckily that rolling dark cloud that was coming in from the south was just fog and condensation, there was. It reminds me of the mist machines that are in Vegas that keep the skin moist with beads of water...Found that riding on the road without vision/aid of corrective lenses, due to fog is not only manageable but PREFERABLE....really reconsidering Lasik now.... Strange that with my prescription sunglasses I feel closer to the ground and without....taller...must be something to that...
I though for sure I was going to PB my time to work this morning because I never came out of the big ring and attacked all of the hills.....man I respect consistently fast road riders...didn't better my hour 21 min which makes me think I may have delayed the polar start the day it recorded this PB, cause today, I felt REAL good. Work was busy, therefore fast and other than educating a young girl and her mother about....here it goes.
13 yr old girl is playing soccer with her day..this girl does not look too athletic. Girl "injures" herself while playing, mother indicates it was a "dislocated patella". They go to the ER and informed she "hairlined fractured her femur" and was casted. Follow-up in three days with pediatric ortho who reviews xrays and indicates no fracture but concerned regarding knee and orders an MRI. In meantime removes cast and replaces with an immobizer brace. Mother and daughter consult with me to request a new brace (currently has an immobilizer or in other words keeps her knee if full extension) in a white or black color to "blend in for grad in 6 weeks"???
OK, this 13 year old girl has been immobilized since May 1st...thats almost 6 WEEKS!!!!! Her knee is significantly atrophied and unable to flex. x-ray's have already ruled out fracture. Essentially told this mother and daughter to get this freaking brace off, book assessment with our PT and start regaining range of motion and strength...MRI OR NOT...that was my last appt of the day..someone dropped the ball on this one...helped her pick it back up....crazy. bit of a tangent...could do this daily with some of the stuff that comes through work but BACK to Stats:
TO WORK:Road bike
1 hr 23 min
146 avg; 174 max
In zone 1 hr 2 min above 20 min
961 Kcal
39.7 Km
Avg spd 28.6; max 44.2
Avg CAD 91; Max 106
FROM WORK:
1 hr 29 min...kinda tired and that usual head wind...small ringin'
137 Avg...slackin/mental fatigue??163 max
In ZOne 1 hr 22 min...more aerobic...a good thing :) above 4 min
934 KCal
38.7 km...take a short cut on way home...wow a Km difference?!
Avg spd 25.9; max 50.8
avg Cad 87; max 107
Holy SHIT...14 days until the 24 hr.......feeling good about it. My 24 hr partner is also doing some riding.....should be a good one. One thing DOES need to happen though...absence of rain.
Plan. mow the lawn, change in plans perhaps re: dock at cottage, therefore Ride somewhere on Sunday preferably mountain. Oh yeah and finish this beer and my wifes which I see is still 3/4 full before it goes warm
Thursday, June 10, 2010
quick little rip
This is my regular Thursday night ride....my 24 hr partner wasn't able to join due to his wife working late and he ALSO has a wife and two kids to schedule these kinds of things in...so, I was hmm'n and haaa'n about the plan. Do I go to Fort Henry and do some hill repeats, clip into the road and get some saddle time and attack some hills along the way or just go for a little rip at the local trails....well the sun surfaced and the ground looked waaay drier than Gan where I worked, so a mt bike it was.
Packed light, water in bottle...damn need to get some more perpetuum and heed..and off I went. The geometry of this ride makes me feel so much like I'm cheating even with dropping the bar as low as the stack will allow....may go negative degree stem...
Pretty low key ride with a kicker....all my gear was dirty....well all except the colors of a local bike shop that just doesn't get along with me anymore.....on I donned and off I went. Other than my heart rate elevating a few beats and some adrenaline boost with a glance at the hall mirror on my way out it was a pretty mellow, laid back ride. Trails a little slick and really looking forward to the terrain at Albion. Stats:
52 min
145 Avg HR; 173 max
In Zone: 41 min; above 10 min
600 Kcal
16 Km...HA and that used to be a loop that would result in me racking the bike back on the roof of the car...felt like i was cheating tonight....road ride to/from work tomorrow to make up for it
Avg spd 18.4 km/hr; Max 41.2
Plan..finish this king can of Maclays...I'm getting cheap re: beer and get some carbs to prep for tomorrow's ride...this wknd.......put the dock in at the cottage and have wifey drop me off half way home to ride the cat trail home..the part with actual undulating terrain...should be a good experience :)
Packed light, water in bottle...damn need to get some more perpetuum and heed..and off I went. The geometry of this ride makes me feel so much like I'm cheating even with dropping the bar as low as the stack will allow....may go negative degree stem...
Pretty low key ride with a kicker....all my gear was dirty....well all except the colors of a local bike shop that just doesn't get along with me anymore.....on I donned and off I went. Other than my heart rate elevating a few beats and some adrenaline boost with a glance at the hall mirror on my way out it was a pretty mellow, laid back ride. Trails a little slick and really looking forward to the terrain at Albion. Stats:
52 min
145 Avg HR; 173 max
In Zone: 41 min; above 10 min
600 Kcal
16 Km...HA and that used to be a loop that would result in me racking the bike back on the roof of the car...felt like i was cheating tonight....road ride to/from work tomorrow to make up for it
Avg spd 18.4 km/hr; Max 41.2
Plan..finish this king can of Maclays...I'm getting cheap re: beer and get some carbs to prep for tomorrow's ride...this wknd.......put the dock in at the cottage and have wifey drop me off half way home to ride the cat trail home..the part with actual undulating terrain...should be a good experience :)
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Road Ride with the good Doctah
So, I've got this riding buddy who used to be a pretty regular riding partner who is now travelling all over this earth of ours and will send me a text msg out of the blue saying he is in town for one day and let's go for a ride. This being Tuesday, I already had a regular ride with my 24 hr partner, but due to the circumstances, tried to coordinate a threesome. Chris (24 hr partner) cancelled, probably a good idea given he would have been drafting us on a 60 k road ride.
The first 15 K was pretty much just a strategic route that enabled a parallel riding style just to catch up on life.....more HIS life as he was living it up and I was Mr. consistent family guy :) The ride was a nice reminder of the fitness foundation that is being laid down. Climbs that normally kill me and headwinds that normally sap me mentally and physically were no longer the case....MAN, I felt GREAT. This may have something to do with the fact that I had a massage earlier today that was supposed to be an hour, however after all was done turned out to be an HOUR and a HALF....pays to be in the rehab bizzz, a little chit chat goes a long way :)
Other than my HR monitor going a little screwy....HR was recording 104 bpm for about 5 minutes straight, when I know for a fact I should have been a solid 150...and saw a 224 bpm a couple times.....I'll just replace the battery...when did I do that last? and see how that worked. Ride was great, legs are flushed and interscap region is feeling like it was worked...not sure if it massage or ride related. Stats:
2 hr: 13 min
Avg HR 144; max 226?????
In Zone 1 hr 26 min; above 33 min; below 13 min??
1492 KCal
Distance 61.3
Avg spd 27.5 km/hr
max 51 km/hr
Avg Cad 86; max 108
Oh yeah.....came across a couple group rides tonight. Let me just say, Sepp's and TI Cycle were WELL represented.....a certain bike shop that appears to have some issues with KARMA was not.....
The first 15 K was pretty much just a strategic route that enabled a parallel riding style just to catch up on life.....more HIS life as he was living it up and I was Mr. consistent family guy :) The ride was a nice reminder of the fitness foundation that is being laid down. Climbs that normally kill me and headwinds that normally sap me mentally and physically were no longer the case....MAN, I felt GREAT. This may have something to do with the fact that I had a massage earlier today that was supposed to be an hour, however after all was done turned out to be an HOUR and a HALF....pays to be in the rehab bizzz, a little chit chat goes a long way :)
Other than my HR monitor going a little screwy....HR was recording 104 bpm for about 5 minutes straight, when I know for a fact I should have been a solid 150...and saw a 224 bpm a couple times.....I'll just replace the battery...when did I do that last? and see how that worked. Ride was great, legs are flushed and interscap region is feeling like it was worked...not sure if it massage or ride related. Stats:
2 hr: 13 min
Avg HR 144; max 226?????
In Zone 1 hr 26 min; above 33 min; below 13 min??
1492 KCal
Distance 61.3
Avg spd 27.5 km/hr
max 51 km/hr
Avg Cad 86; max 108
Oh yeah.....came across a couple group rides tonight. Let me just say, Sepp's and TI Cycle were WELL represented.....a certain bike shop that appears to have some issues with KARMA was not.....
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Work Commute Friday
I live in Kingston on the West Side and hop in my car every morning and drive to Gananoque either via the 401 (if running late) or cruise through town and take a beautiful route along the water via Hwy 2. Hwy 2 just so happens to be a major artery for linking in some great road riding. As weather was looking pretty bleak for Thursday, I decided to forgoe my regular Mt ride on Thursday and bring some gear to work and enough lunch to enable a ride to/from work. Good choice.
The weather was, in a word......Choice both ways. I felt strong and pretty fast on the way there but....always a but in Kingston due to the consistent headwind that travels from the west, the ride back had moments of "struggle". I kept telling myself, COME ON, this is only an hour and a half TOPS, and you have consistently rode for 7 plus hours in 8 hour events and longer in 24's....It's just something about the road bike and that bloody flexed position. Who's kidding who...it's really about advil the right dose of caffeine to make a road ride...."special".
Was pretty wiped when I got home last night, off to the carni fair for my oldest as she was about to lose her mind if she didn't get to ride the ferris wheel and then to Canadian Tire to price out trampolines. Oh yeah, Boating safety course tent set up.....oh yeah passed the bloody thing without opening a book.....barely....that should keep my mother off my back when I go to the cottage this wknd :) Stats:
Ride TO work:
1 hour, 21 minutes (door to door)...personal best
avg HR 155 bpm; max 178
In zone 30 min above 50 min
1057 KCal
39.6 Km
Avg spd 29.2.....man getting an avg 30 plus k/hr is a CHORE!!! but my GOAL!!
Max 47.6
Avg Cad 94; Max 108
Ride FROM work:
1 hour, 26 min....hmmm not bad with a headwind and how I was feeling
avg HR 149; max 179
In Zone 59 min; above 26
1037
39.6 km
Avg spd 26.9
Max 49.2
Avg Cad 89; max 106
Plan....looking like a rest weekend.....Bringing kids to an event at their daycare with jumping castle, facepainting etc and then off to the cottage for some beer drinking and steak eatin and hopefully getting the dock in. Who's kidding who......ride on sunday.
OH YEAH!!! neighbour pops over last night and asks if I'd be interested in a bike.......well, as my current set up for trucking around the kids in their bike stroller to/from park etc is via my Italian rigged Fondriest.....welcomed the idea. Checked out the bike and found it's an Old school Peugot with shimano 105.......in GREAT SHAPE....sweet. Tuned and cleaned it up and is now getting to know it's younger whipper snappers the Giant Trance X2 and Fondriest Mega Plus...hope they're getting along out there :)
The weather was, in a word......Choice both ways. I felt strong and pretty fast on the way there but....always a but in Kingston due to the consistent headwind that travels from the west, the ride back had moments of "struggle". I kept telling myself, COME ON, this is only an hour and a half TOPS, and you have consistently rode for 7 plus hours in 8 hour events and longer in 24's....It's just something about the road bike and that bloody flexed position. Who's kidding who...it's really about advil the right dose of caffeine to make a road ride...."special".
Was pretty wiped when I got home last night, off to the carni fair for my oldest as she was about to lose her mind if she didn't get to ride the ferris wheel and then to Canadian Tire to price out trampolines. Oh yeah, Boating safety course tent set up.....oh yeah passed the bloody thing without opening a book.....barely....that should keep my mother off my back when I go to the cottage this wknd :) Stats:
Ride TO work:
1 hour, 21 minutes (door to door)...personal best
avg HR 155 bpm; max 178
In zone 30 min above 50 min
1057 KCal
39.6 Km
Avg spd 29.2.....man getting an avg 30 plus k/hr is a CHORE!!! but my GOAL!!
Max 47.6
Avg Cad 94; Max 108
Ride FROM work:
1 hour, 26 min....hmmm not bad with a headwind and how I was feeling
avg HR 149; max 179
In Zone 59 min; above 26
1037
39.6 km
Avg spd 26.9
Max 49.2
Avg Cad 89; max 106
Plan....looking like a rest weekend.....Bringing kids to an event at their daycare with jumping castle, facepainting etc and then off to the cottage for some beer drinking and steak eatin and hopefully getting the dock in. Who's kidding who......ride on sunday.
OH YEAH!!! neighbour pops over last night and asks if I'd be interested in a bike.......well, as my current set up for trucking around the kids in their bike stroller to/from park etc is via my Italian rigged Fondriest.....welcomed the idea. Checked out the bike and found it's an Old school Peugot with shimano 105.......in GREAT SHAPE....sweet. Tuned and cleaned it up and is now getting to know it's younger whipper snappers the Giant Trance X2 and Fondriest Mega Plus...hope they're getting along out there :)
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
The count down to 24 hr Solstice begins
Work was mellow today, so mellow that I blocked off the schedule and coordinated a quick meeting in kingston to start my apres work a bit earlier than my usual 8-4. Puttered around, got an oil change at one of those quicky lubes (high km cars can take the manhandling) and prepped my body (with leftovers in fridge) and bike (already to rock and roll) for a little rip of a ride with my 24 hr tag team partner Chris.
We decided to just do a b-line for the trails and have some fun. Well, it rained all morning and these trails turned into a technical over the bar fiesta!!! I managed to dismount over the bars twice and Chris had a good three photo worthy dismounts himself...going over on a 29r just looks BIGGER!!.. The ride was hot man...so hot that I actually felt TIRED....came across three guys on the trails and did my best to behave when they all asked if we rode the local J&J trails....it's getting quite comical now, when I inform all those that ask, and it appears to be every ride now, of the bizarre treatment that this bike shop had instigated back in April of this year...anyways...the people are becoming informed and are just as baffled as myself.
All in all the ride was shorter than usual but effort increased as mental and physical abuse was increased with wet, sketchy and big over the bar dismounts. Stats:
1 hr: 24 min....but HOT
Avg 143 bpm; max 186...AhHA!!! at the age of 38 my max is 186 vs 182....I'll try and crank that up higher....this occurred during an end of run sprint with me vs a 29r on the road....yup, little guy won :)
In Zone 1 hr 2 min; above 19 min; below 2 min
949 KCal
21.6 km
15.4 km/hr avg spd.....slow and wet with max 42.8
Plan...get out Thursday, plug into some tunes.....maybe a road bike to shake it up a bit.
We decided to just do a b-line for the trails and have some fun. Well, it rained all morning and these trails turned into a technical over the bar fiesta!!! I managed to dismount over the bars twice and Chris had a good three photo worthy dismounts himself...going over on a 29r just looks BIGGER!!.. The ride was hot man...so hot that I actually felt TIRED....came across three guys on the trails and did my best to behave when they all asked if we rode the local J&J trails....it's getting quite comical now, when I inform all those that ask, and it appears to be every ride now, of the bizarre treatment that this bike shop had instigated back in April of this year...anyways...the people are becoming informed and are just as baffled as myself.
All in all the ride was shorter than usual but effort increased as mental and physical abuse was increased with wet, sketchy and big over the bar dismounts. Stats:
1 hr: 24 min....but HOT
Avg 143 bpm; max 186...AhHA!!! at the age of 38 my max is 186 vs 182....I'll try and crank that up higher....this occurred during an end of run sprint with me vs a 29r on the road....yup, little guy won :)
In Zone 1 hr 2 min; above 19 min; below 2 min
949 KCal
21.6 km
15.4 km/hr avg spd.....slow and wet with max 42.8
Plan...get out Thursday, plug into some tunes.....maybe a road bike to shake it up a bit.
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