I got an email a couple days back from a pretty solid rider who was interested in getting a night ride in tonight. Was all geared up and decided to head out a little early to do a little warm up loop around Lemoines point. Arrived about 5 min before Chris and popped into trail head to adjust the lights.
Collins bay trails are nothing to sniff at....they are tight, technical and have potential to really smack you up if you begin daydreaming. Now add no light and some dew......game time. This is when I have to say....i love my bike and my HID nightrider lighting system. It was like riding in day and was enjoying being the tour guide to a pretty straight shooting guy. Other than the fact we had to back track for Chris' lost handle bar light, 2 hours went by quick and I was really just beginning. These riding partners of mine have a tendency to be either ER docs that work crazy hours or this guy who is also a geriatric doc just getting off a night shift....
Nonetheless...truly enjoyed being out in night on these trails. Because I left my HR monitor strap in a buddies truck...stats are taken from polar and timex watch....here she goes:
Polar:
27.1 km
1 hr 55 min ride time
Avg spd 14.2 and 34.4 max
Timex:
2 hr 17 min inclusive of leaving my garage and chit chat pre/post ride.
"In zone" 37 min 30
Avg HR 65%.....yup....mellllooooow
Peak 85%
Min 40%
1415 Calories
Plan....it's the loooong wknd. Working on reports from home tomorrow....may get a quick rip in prior to heading to cottage. Will leave bike at home??? That just sounds funny when I type it out...probably bring the road bike for an early Saturday ride????Long wknds just aren't long enough when you have a golf game scheduled for Sunday and a wife who is antsy to get back Sunday...so new plan...convince wife to stay at cottage until Monday...really what's the rush anyways.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
recovery ride??
I was all fired up at work, almost feeling cooped up with the nice weather taunting me through the walls of windows that i am blessed to surround me overlooking the scenic waterfront of Gananoque. It was a done deal when I had the sun roof, both front windows open and that sense of......freedom overcome me on the ride home...i needed to get a ride in. Nothing silly...just load up the camel back with about 2 litres...just enough to make it a longer ride if i was REALLY feeling the weather.
Point blank..simple loop of 20 k with nothing to rave about other than the fact the legs and lungs were feeling waaaay better than i would have thought..stats on watch upstairs.....hmm maybe the legs are feeling it a bit today. And no...I'm not about to catch the last bit of the batchelorette with my wife.....that would be just gay..........not that there's anything wrong with that ;)
Point blank..simple loop of 20 k with nothing to rave about other than the fact the legs and lungs were feeling waaaay better than i would have thought..stats on watch upstairs.....hmm maybe the legs are feeling it a bit today. And no...I'm not about to catch the last bit of the batchelorette with my wife.....that would be just gay..........not that there's anything wrong with that ;)
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Satisfaction....yes....that sums it up :)
The 8 hour solo event at Hardwood is an event I've done a couple times and have enjoyed each event. This year, I was looking to do bigger and better. My goal was to get 10 laps, or one more than last year, and I did it. The other was to better my lap times by 5 minutes on average....stats will soon tell but from the numbers my pops kept it's looking pretty favourable.
This was also a pivotable race in that the speed demon a.k.a Tommy Hanrahan didn't lap me....for a change. Overall, I felt gooooood and of course regretting the fact that I didn't squeeze in that last lap. Reason for stopping at 10 came down to the simple fact that I was hurting after the 9th...so much so that I reached for a "Monster" energy drink and an advil vs the traditional perpetuum and heed staple that normally keeps me fired up. Now let me just say something about........chemicals. Chemicals are gooood. About 15 minutes into the last lap, which happened to be my fastest lap of the 95 plus km of riding that was done (I think), the chemicals blending with the Monster energy drink and the advil became synergistic for mind and body. Climbs that I would dismount, yeah this does happen as a soloist, were grinned at and killed with fierocity. Simple "on your lefts" were challenged on climbs with an off the saddle response and quickly reiterated with a "good climb solo" which further fueled the desire to hammer.
I really and truly enjoyed this 8 hour solo venture at Hardwood hills or what I like to call a mountain bikers spa. Mike Ring, who is a fellow cycling buddy of Tommy H podiumed 3rd place in his first ever solo venture...impressive. Also impressive is TH coming in 4th EVEN after crashing, and what sounded like pretty significantly, 4 or 5 times. Tom, I know you'll read this...if it weren't for the crashes, you know quite confidently that you would be 2nd place at this showing eh? Whatever......it was a good day none the less.
What was pretty cool as well, was my 62 year old father was supporting not only me, but Tommy and Mike Ring. BTW pops, Mike wanted to give out a big thank-you and stated, "he wouldn't have podium'd it it weren't for your support"...so I guess you were doing something out there eh :)
Now the plan is to do what I do.....live and enjoy life, get some riding in with the amazing support of my wife and get ready for the ultimate test which does have a tendency to burn out my desire to throw a leg over a bike, HAN SOLO. My dad is already setting a 15 lap goal based on what he saw today and my performance from last year.........I'm going to shoot for the mid point and go for 13.
Stats are normally more impressive but I was missing my heart rate monitor strap and forgot my alternate strap for my back up TIMEX watch....oh well...it would have been pretty anaerobic I'm sure...here's what I got:
7 hr 19 min in saddle riding out of a potential 8.5.....hmm still that last hour of "non-committment" rearing it's ugly head...new goal
93.6 km....auto stop function on monitor must have missed a few meters with pushing my ride up a few steeps between laps 5 and 9
Avg spd 12.7
Max 45.6
This week....recovery spins...enjoy the weather and catch up on a hell of a lot of report writing that I have been putting on the back burner for last wknd's focus.
This was also a pivotable race in that the speed demon a.k.a Tommy Hanrahan didn't lap me....for a change. Overall, I felt gooooood and of course regretting the fact that I didn't squeeze in that last lap. Reason for stopping at 10 came down to the simple fact that I was hurting after the 9th...so much so that I reached for a "Monster" energy drink and an advil vs the traditional perpetuum and heed staple that normally keeps me fired up. Now let me just say something about........chemicals. Chemicals are gooood. About 15 minutes into the last lap, which happened to be my fastest lap of the 95 plus km of riding that was done (I think), the chemicals blending with the Monster energy drink and the advil became synergistic for mind and body. Climbs that I would dismount, yeah this does happen as a soloist, were grinned at and killed with fierocity. Simple "on your lefts" were challenged on climbs with an off the saddle response and quickly reiterated with a "good climb solo" which further fueled the desire to hammer.
I really and truly enjoyed this 8 hour solo venture at Hardwood hills or what I like to call a mountain bikers spa. Mike Ring, who is a fellow cycling buddy of Tommy H podiumed 3rd place in his first ever solo venture...impressive. Also impressive is TH coming in 4th EVEN after crashing, and what sounded like pretty significantly, 4 or 5 times. Tom, I know you'll read this...if it weren't for the crashes, you know quite confidently that you would be 2nd place at this showing eh? Whatever......it was a good day none the less.
What was pretty cool as well, was my 62 year old father was supporting not only me, but Tommy and Mike Ring. BTW pops, Mike wanted to give out a big thank-you and stated, "he wouldn't have podium'd it it weren't for your support"...so I guess you were doing something out there eh :)
Now the plan is to do what I do.....live and enjoy life, get some riding in with the amazing support of my wife and get ready for the ultimate test which does have a tendency to burn out my desire to throw a leg over a bike, HAN SOLO. My dad is already setting a 15 lap goal based on what he saw today and my performance from last year.........I'm going to shoot for the mid point and go for 13.
Stats are normally more impressive but I was missing my heart rate monitor strap and forgot my alternate strap for my back up TIMEX watch....oh well...it would have been pretty anaerobic I'm sure...here's what I got:
7 hr 19 min in saddle riding out of a potential 8.5.....hmm still that last hour of "non-committment" rearing it's ugly head...new goal
93.6 km....auto stop function on monitor must have missed a few meters with pushing my ride up a few steeps between laps 5 and 9
Avg spd 12.7
Max 45.6
This week....recovery spins...enjoy the weather and catch up on a hell of a lot of report writing that I have been putting on the back burner for last wknd's focus.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
What kind of Blog is this anyway...
Well...it happened..my 92 yr old grandmother passed away this morning at 6:20 am and was notified 10 minutes later. The common denominator to this blog was that the last event, the 24hr summer solstice, marked the wknd she had her first stroke...about three days prior to. To say this was a shock.....not in the least, she was aging and fast. She was a strong independant woman of 92 that golfed every tuesday up until about a month ago. She had wisdom in her presence and youth that gleamed from her eyes whenever you had the opportunity to talk about anything and everything. This was the woman who was part of my earliest memory that would don a knitting needle, sitting quietly in the corner who personified the "cottage" as we knew it. She was advancing in her years.....this is inevitable and to see her age was just what it was. She will truly be missed.
The day I saw her in the ER at Smith Falls was hard......someone so strong.....so independent.....at the mercy of her own mind and body. 92 and a big stroke...odds aren't in anyone's favour....if anyone could "pull through it", it would have been my Granny. I still love the fact that she had a DNR (Do Not Resucitate) on her file....it's her..She will be missed and will always be remembered in spirit with strong association around the family cottage.
A fitness blog.......yeah, that hedonistic, selfish attempt at motivating one to strive to bigger and better. This wknd, my father, who was also my best man at my wedding will be my support guy for this event. It's not about the race or the fact that I will be "suffering" throughout the 5 plus hours ( because really....after 5 hours it gets tough) to get 8 hours of consecutive riding....it's about the fact that I've got a pops who is pumped about seeing and supporting his only son participate in his most recent passion. Another highlight is being able to share this wknd's experience with a guy with whom personifies positivity and recently, dedication and perseverence...Tommy H. This is a guy, with which the first time i met, was sporting a Cannondale Super V, because he cracked the frame on his Gary Fischer Sugar 3....trying to think back to when this guy wasn't tuned in to the positive vibes..can't really tap into it.....maybre a glimpse when we were in Moab our first tour, but that had to do with the fact that he just wanted to RIIIIIDE or EXPERIENCE EVEN MORE of whatever and in present time....would love nothing more than to push the button on my camera with this guy podium'ing in this wknd's event.......RIIIP it TOMMY BOY!!!
Back to introspective...We all suffer.....sometimes when we can control the level of suffering and deepen that level of tolerance, I think this gives us a sense of "control".....in reality....shit can happen big and quickly...so..to think that we truly have control is naivity in it's purist form.
Back to Fitness and the "blog".....bike is prepped and all is packed. Car is out of the shop ready to roll and anticipate an 8 hour event like no other. To say I will better last years performance is as confident as cocky can be defined.....will look at my results from last year and table that my plan is to better each lap by a minimum of 5 minutes and hope to get another lap than last. This should be "do-able". No more keystrokes till monday....have a 5 year old muttering..."oh dad....you are boring me......ohhhh you take so long" bye bye computer...
The day I saw her in the ER at Smith Falls was hard......someone so strong.....so independent.....at the mercy of her own mind and body. 92 and a big stroke...odds aren't in anyone's favour....if anyone could "pull through it", it would have been my Granny. I still love the fact that she had a DNR (Do Not Resucitate) on her file....it's her..She will be missed and will always be remembered in spirit with strong association around the family cottage.
A fitness blog.......yeah, that hedonistic, selfish attempt at motivating one to strive to bigger and better. This wknd, my father, who was also my best man at my wedding will be my support guy for this event. It's not about the race or the fact that I will be "suffering" throughout the 5 plus hours ( because really....after 5 hours it gets tough) to get 8 hours of consecutive riding....it's about the fact that I've got a pops who is pumped about seeing and supporting his only son participate in his most recent passion. Another highlight is being able to share this wknd's experience with a guy with whom personifies positivity and recently, dedication and perseverence...Tommy H. This is a guy, with which the first time i met, was sporting a Cannondale Super V, because he cracked the frame on his Gary Fischer Sugar 3....trying to think back to when this guy wasn't tuned in to the positive vibes..can't really tap into it.....maybre a glimpse when we were in Moab our first tour, but that had to do with the fact that he just wanted to RIIIIIDE or EXPERIENCE EVEN MORE of whatever and in present time....would love nothing more than to push the button on my camera with this guy podium'ing in this wknd's event.......RIIIP it TOMMY BOY!!!
Back to introspective...We all suffer.....sometimes when we can control the level of suffering and deepen that level of tolerance, I think this gives us a sense of "control".....in reality....shit can happen big and quickly...so..to think that we truly have control is naivity in it's purist form.
Back to Fitness and the "blog".....bike is prepped and all is packed. Car is out of the shop ready to roll and anticipate an 8 hour event like no other. To say I will better last years performance is as confident as cocky can be defined.....will look at my results from last year and table that my plan is to better each lap by a minimum of 5 minutes and hope to get another lap than last. This should be "do-able". No more keystrokes till monday....have a 5 year old muttering..."oh dad....you are boring me......ohhhh you take so long" bye bye computer...
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
BOOM Shalakalakka Boom
My weekly ride plans came to a screeching halt once I put the key in the ignition of the A4 on Monday after work....no headlights, turn signals, or air conditioning....Dropped it off to the shop thinking, this should be a cheap fix...probably just an alternator....never that easy with Audi...quote of a 1000 bucks for ignition wiring and fixing a rough sounding flex pipe...Car is worth keeping around for another year or two though.
So, shared wife's car today and managed to get a ride in with Fil. He seemed pretty pumped to ride...me...not so much. Was feeling tired..That quickly dissipated once we got off rolling out to the East. The old Fil was back...after 5 k into the ride...pacelining began and didn't stop for up to 25 k in...laughed at our growing desire to hammer from the get go and stay in the big ring on any and all climbs no matter HOW much it hurts. Enjoyed listening to the groans of fil loading up his bike and getting into his car after this hammer fest. Stats are two fold as I hit the stop button by accident after 44 k.
1 hr 31 min
47.5 km
avg spd 31.3 max 51.8
Avg CAD 88 Max 110
45 min
22 km or 69.5 k total
avg spd 29.4 Max 54.5
Avg CAD 87 Max 106
Forgot my Polar HR strap in buddies truck from PA ride...Timex backup:
2 hr:17 min
In zone 44 min
Avg HR 79%
peak 93%
Min HR 51%
2139 Calories
Plan.....busy week and car in shop......no riding till weekend. Play with bike and put some new brake pads on it...maybe a light spin Thursday night to break in the pads.
Green tea and sleep....early morning tomorrow
So, shared wife's car today and managed to get a ride in with Fil. He seemed pretty pumped to ride...me...not so much. Was feeling tired..That quickly dissipated once we got off rolling out to the East. The old Fil was back...after 5 k into the ride...pacelining began and didn't stop for up to 25 k in...laughed at our growing desire to hammer from the get go and stay in the big ring on any and all climbs no matter HOW much it hurts. Enjoyed listening to the groans of fil loading up his bike and getting into his car after this hammer fest. Stats are two fold as I hit the stop button by accident after 44 k.
1 hr 31 min
47.5 km
avg spd 31.3 max 51.8
Avg CAD 88 Max 110
45 min
22 km or 69.5 k total
avg spd 29.4 Max 54.5
Avg CAD 87 Max 106
Forgot my Polar HR strap in buddies truck from PA ride...Timex backup:
2 hr:17 min
In zone 44 min
Avg HR 79%
peak 93%
Min HR 51%
2139 Calories
Plan.....busy week and car in shop......no riding till weekend. Play with bike and put some new brake pads on it...maybe a light spin Thursday night to break in the pads.
Green tea and sleep....early morning tomorrow
Monday, July 19, 2010
Off to PA with the familia
I've taken and made it standard luggage now, no matter where we go and how long we're away. I'm referring to mounting a bike on the roof of the family car, whether it's a quick rip up to the cottage or a lengthier stay at friends of ours in Easton Pennsylvania.
I scoped out some of the local trail builders (VMB) and bike shops and graciously took an invite from a 23 yr old downhiller for a tour of what I would have to peg as some of the most exciting trails that I have come across: http://www.bikevmb.com/node/4178
The only tricky part was coordinating my wife's shopping, girl bonding, kiddy time on tours of the crayola factory, a steam engine ride and a mining expedition. Also informed of a golfing tourny with an American vs Canadian theme....hard to pass up and yes, kicked that yankee assss!
So what I hoped to get, 2 rides in, turned into a beauty sun chasing ripper of Walking Purchase in Bethlehem. To get there, meant coordinating some challenging and sketchy streets to surface at a surreal looking park at the top of a San Fran type city street climb. Once arrived met some local riders who were interested to see we(my 24 hr partner also was dragged to this girl get together) were from Ontario and we chit chatted about the usual banter. On to the trails..
This younster "Ryan" was raving about the down hill scene and was talking about his french made (can't recall) 8" rig he loves to ride...Chris and I already were convinced this kid was going to spank us, but I had other ideas......:) We headed out, Chris on his Kona Coil Air, Ryan on his Racing Giant Hard Tail and me on what was soon coined the PERFECT bike for these trails. We started down into the first decent of what was called the "Outer Loop". The downs kept going down...could tell Ryan was a DH'r as he was flowing up the trails with Vigor. Kept on his ass though:)
First break came and we were grinning from ear to ear. The downs kept switching and transitioning along this what seemed to be a pretty decent hill. Watched Ryan do a few headers and some wash outs.........thought to myself.....not much of a technical rider.....and finally made it to bottom. Some banter was exchanged and I challenged all to a dab free climb when Ryan indicated it was pretty technical...he actually challenged me to a 10 dollar wager that I couldn't clean the climb......that fueled my desire to mount and rip it up.....a grin ear to ear and sweat POURING in the 36 plus degree weather the top came quicker than expected. About 5 minutes later I see Ryan pushing his bike....hard to resist my enthusiasm, while balancing on a tree to ensure I didn't risk a pre-mature dab I said, Is that IT???? He gladly extended an arm to seal the deal but i quickly said no worries, no need for cash, just credits to go towards future wagers...*SMILE*
More climbing and an amazing boulder rock garden later we arrived at the top...feeling super strong. Good times...only wish I had the luxury of time to check out more to these trails..apparently Leigh Valley has some pretty great technical climbs.
So haven't ridden since Friday evening and the 8 hr is coming quick. Planning on riding with Fil (road) tomorrow to spin out the legs and then probably Wednesday (mountain) to ensure bike is still ready for wknd..need to replace brake pads and break them in for wknd....Tommy is going to podium (smile) and I'm hoping to get top 50% in my category (solo under 40). Feeling this is going to happen. Anticipating rain......given history and will be pleasantly surprised if sunny. Stats:
1 hour 26 min...."advanced riders do this trail in 60 to 90 minutes".....sweeet WITH breaks that were "unnecesary" in my opinion.
Avg HR 155 max 178...batteries working now :)
In zone 36 above 48
1110KCal
14.8 km....heat and terrain....sufficiently fatigued and boost of ego as well :)
Avg spd 10.3, Max 31.3
Ride Time 1 Hr: 25 min....about a 5 min break at 3 miles in
I scoped out some of the local trail builders (VMB) and bike shops and graciously took an invite from a 23 yr old downhiller for a tour of what I would have to peg as some of the most exciting trails that I have come across: http://www.bikevmb.com/node/4178
The only tricky part was coordinating my wife's shopping, girl bonding, kiddy time on tours of the crayola factory, a steam engine ride and a mining expedition. Also informed of a golfing tourny with an American vs Canadian theme....hard to pass up and yes, kicked that yankee assss!
So what I hoped to get, 2 rides in, turned into a beauty sun chasing ripper of Walking Purchase in Bethlehem. To get there, meant coordinating some challenging and sketchy streets to surface at a surreal looking park at the top of a San Fran type city street climb. Once arrived met some local riders who were interested to see we(my 24 hr partner also was dragged to this girl get together) were from Ontario and we chit chatted about the usual banter. On to the trails..
This younster "Ryan" was raving about the down hill scene and was talking about his french made (can't recall) 8" rig he loves to ride...Chris and I already were convinced this kid was going to spank us, but I had other ideas......:) We headed out, Chris on his Kona Coil Air, Ryan on his Racing Giant Hard Tail and me on what was soon coined the PERFECT bike for these trails. We started down into the first decent of what was called the "Outer Loop". The downs kept going down...could tell Ryan was a DH'r as he was flowing up the trails with Vigor. Kept on his ass though:)
First break came and we were grinning from ear to ear. The downs kept switching and transitioning along this what seemed to be a pretty decent hill. Watched Ryan do a few headers and some wash outs.........thought to myself.....not much of a technical rider.....and finally made it to bottom. Some banter was exchanged and I challenged all to a dab free climb when Ryan indicated it was pretty technical...he actually challenged me to a 10 dollar wager that I couldn't clean the climb......that fueled my desire to mount and rip it up.....a grin ear to ear and sweat POURING in the 36 plus degree weather the top came quicker than expected. About 5 minutes later I see Ryan pushing his bike....hard to resist my enthusiasm, while balancing on a tree to ensure I didn't risk a pre-mature dab I said, Is that IT???? He gladly extended an arm to seal the deal but i quickly said no worries, no need for cash, just credits to go towards future wagers...*SMILE*
More climbing and an amazing boulder rock garden later we arrived at the top...feeling super strong. Good times...only wish I had the luxury of time to check out more to these trails..apparently Leigh Valley has some pretty great technical climbs.
So haven't ridden since Friday evening and the 8 hr is coming quick. Planning on riding with Fil (road) tomorrow to spin out the legs and then probably Wednesday (mountain) to ensure bike is still ready for wknd..need to replace brake pads and break them in for wknd....Tommy is going to podium (smile) and I'm hoping to get top 50% in my category (solo under 40). Feeling this is going to happen. Anticipating rain......given history and will be pleasantly surprised if sunny. Stats:
1 hour 26 min...."advanced riders do this trail in 60 to 90 minutes".....sweeet WITH breaks that were "unnecesary" in my opinion.
Avg HR 155 max 178...batteries working now :)
In zone 36 above 48
1110KCal
14.8 km....heat and terrain....sufficiently fatigued and boost of ego as well :)
Avg spd 10.3, Max 31.3
Ride Time 1 Hr: 25 min....about a 5 min break at 3 miles in
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Family Fun World
O so the day started anyway. The wifey had a work committment which meant she was expected to be at this strange run down amusement center slash drive in with go carts, batting cage and mini golf. Kids were acting unpredictable, leading lauren to head out with her mother and me with the little emms...we rolled out of the house at 9:30 on a mission....a new camel back bladder to fit the mule. The search finally ended with me buying a 3 L and cleaning kit so I don't gum these bladders up so bad which led me to throwing the old ones out...let's see how long this lasts. Reason for going back to a camel back....my rides are now consistently over two hours and the heat doesn't enable me to carry enough with me in two bottles...so back to the back weight of a camel back, for training anyways.
The wife's work party turned out to be pretty relaxing...tried to get Lauren to get into a double go cart...a no go....spent a couple rounds connecting with my baseball days in the fast ball (60 mp/hr) cage...not that fast...connected ALLL DAY BABY and worked up a pretty good sweat. ATE and ATE with the goal of getting out for a ride this evening.
My riding buddy fil, confirmed the go time of 6:15 pm...just enough time for a "nap" or whatever kind of nap that is with two kids in the house and load up the bike to meet him for the rip. We quickly confirmed that this would be an easy ride as fil was just getting of one of his usual night shifts at an ER in some surrounding town and was looking a bit rough. I was really hoping to get a 70 plus k ride in...but slowly assessed the situation and as usual, we were right back into some pace lining after about 30 k in..
Finished the ride with a solid climb in big ring for about a km and felt the PAIN in the quads...always good to test the threshold and agreed to fils idea of an icecream post ride...felt a little strange standing outside a very busy icecream shop kitted out in spandex while fil grabbed a couple cones....worth it....good ride. One of those rides that were side by side discussions and then full on hammer fests...more mellow than hammer but a ride none the less.
Countdown to PA for some riding in Bethlehem and then the next weekend is solo 8 at Hardwood with the Pops providing support :) Should be a good one. Stats:
2 hr
142 avg; 181 max....these are normal....must have been getting interference inpast or was due to weak battery??
In zone 1 hr:31 min; above 23 min; below 5 min....good aerobic workout!!
1334KCal....replenished with a gelato and some recoverite
57.6 km....over 50 but feeling guilty with such low km's.....enjoyable ride though
avg spd 28.7, max 51.3
avg Cad 89 max 117
Plan....hmmmmmm...may get a ride in on Tuesday and then chill till we get to Easton PA. Hopefully ride Friday and Saturday morning, return to K-town on Sunday, ride with Fil mountain on Monday and easy road on Wednesday and then chill till 8 hour.
Now....try and sleep after I shower
The wife's work party turned out to be pretty relaxing...tried to get Lauren to get into a double go cart...a no go....spent a couple rounds connecting with my baseball days in the fast ball (60 mp/hr) cage...not that fast...connected ALLL DAY BABY and worked up a pretty good sweat. ATE and ATE with the goal of getting out for a ride this evening.
My riding buddy fil, confirmed the go time of 6:15 pm...just enough time for a "nap" or whatever kind of nap that is with two kids in the house and load up the bike to meet him for the rip. We quickly confirmed that this would be an easy ride as fil was just getting of one of his usual night shifts at an ER in some surrounding town and was looking a bit rough. I was really hoping to get a 70 plus k ride in...but slowly assessed the situation and as usual, we were right back into some pace lining after about 30 k in..
Finished the ride with a solid climb in big ring for about a km and felt the PAIN in the quads...always good to test the threshold and agreed to fils idea of an icecream post ride...felt a little strange standing outside a very busy icecream shop kitted out in spandex while fil grabbed a couple cones....worth it....good ride. One of those rides that were side by side discussions and then full on hammer fests...more mellow than hammer but a ride none the less.
Countdown to PA for some riding in Bethlehem and then the next weekend is solo 8 at Hardwood with the Pops providing support :) Should be a good one. Stats:
2 hr
142 avg; 181 max....these are normal....must have been getting interference inpast or was due to weak battery??
In zone 1 hr:31 min; above 23 min; below 5 min....good aerobic workout!!
1334KCal....replenished with a gelato and some recoverite
57.6 km....over 50 but feeling guilty with such low km's.....enjoyable ride though
avg spd 28.7, max 51.3
avg Cad 89 max 117
Plan....hmmmmmm...may get a ride in on Tuesday and then chill till we get to Easton PA. Hopefully ride Friday and Saturday morning, return to K-town on Sunday, ride with Fil mountain on Monday and easy road on Wednesday and then chill till 8 hour.
Now....try and sleep after I shower
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Concerned about riding in heat???
Playing it low key this wknd..Washed both cars, weeded the side and back gardens, hung out with the kiddies for a bit and then began to get antsy. Was planning on going for an early morning road bike but the insistent puttering around in the a.m. brought me to noon before I knew it. 30 degrees reading from the car made me retreat to the woods for a little mountain bike spin.
I was trying to retrace the tour that these guys brought me on last Thursday, but missed the crucial turn. Had some fun meandering in and around random trails and favourite loops to the tunes of Oasis...gooood head space. Heat was starting to affect me, knocking trees that I normally don't and losing some momentum on technical climbs that I usually fly up...was finding it also hard to drink...am going to bite the bullet and buy another camel back bladder for these training rides..one litre just isn't enough for an hour and a half ride anymore....
I popped out of the woods after meeting with a fellow rider who was just entering the trails and decided to ride north to the local BMX track...no kids on this track????? This is a beautiful pro grade track that held Nationals last summer.....weird there weren't any kids ripping it up? Considered parking and watching some of the soccer tourny that was going on, but decided I'd keep on riding and head home.
Got home and felt weird and dizzy again.....sat and observed the amount of sweat that was pouring out of my body......drank the last bit of perpetuum in my now luke warm/hot water bottle and headed in for a cool shower. BBQ lit, finish this blog, grab a beer and chill with the familia....a little movie with the wife tonight, go to wife's work summer party tomorrow and rip with Fil on a road ride in evening.....makings of a great wknd. Stats:
1 hr: 25 min
159 avg; 181 bpm max
In zone 27; above 57 min....HOT HOT HOT
1151 KCal
24.8 km
Avg spd 17.4; max 40.1
Can't wait for Pennsylvania trip...sneaking in some mountain biking with trails less than 30 min away from Easton...novelty will be just what I need.
I was trying to retrace the tour that these guys brought me on last Thursday, but missed the crucial turn. Had some fun meandering in and around random trails and favourite loops to the tunes of Oasis...gooood head space. Heat was starting to affect me, knocking trees that I normally don't and losing some momentum on technical climbs that I usually fly up...was finding it also hard to drink...am going to bite the bullet and buy another camel back bladder for these training rides..one litre just isn't enough for an hour and a half ride anymore....
I popped out of the woods after meeting with a fellow rider who was just entering the trails and decided to ride north to the local BMX track...no kids on this track????? This is a beautiful pro grade track that held Nationals last summer.....weird there weren't any kids ripping it up? Considered parking and watching some of the soccer tourny that was going on, but decided I'd keep on riding and head home.
Got home and felt weird and dizzy again.....sat and observed the amount of sweat that was pouring out of my body......drank the last bit of perpetuum in my now luke warm/hot water bottle and headed in for a cool shower. BBQ lit, finish this blog, grab a beer and chill with the familia....a little movie with the wife tonight, go to wife's work summer party tomorrow and rip with Fil on a road ride in evening.....makings of a great wknd. Stats:
1 hr: 25 min
159 avg; 181 bpm max
In zone 27; above 57 min....HOT HOT HOT
1151 KCal
24.8 km
Avg spd 17.4; max 40.1
Can't wait for Pennsylvania trip...sneaking in some mountain biking with trails less than 30 min away from Easton...novelty will be just what I need.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Hatha Biking...wheeew
Tonight's ride was off to a rocky start as my wife came home and asked if I could "delay" the ride as our oldest had to go to a walk in clinic to address another ear infection....one hour later and light slowly disappearing....little did I know, my riding buddy could have quite easily called in a prescription for her symptoms as HE IS AN ER DOC!!!!!!! lesson learned....we now have a plan for next time ;)
We loaded the bikes on Fil's car to save time vs ride to trails and I mounted my lighting system not knowing how much light would be available. Well hydrated during the wait period for wife to come home we were ready to rip. Came across one of the local trail builders Shaun Weima and then emerging from the brush like some fateful event.. another guy who is responsible for some of the local trails..."Todd". This led to a hallucinogenic mind blowing technical flowy ride of ONCE AGAIN NEW terrain. Only an hour and 10 minutes of riding but it was RIPPIN'!!!
One over the bars experience by myself and Fil led for some fun air time and some great practice at unclipping in mid flight :) MAN, I'm still on a high from that ride...looking forward to hooking up with these guys again!!! I'm sure my truing stand will get some use after this ride.
Stats:
1 hr; 10 min
156 avg, 181bpm max
in zone 28 min; above 41 min
922KCal
15.2 km....just enough in this heat :)
13.2 avg spd; 37 max
Plan...wife has been pretty accomodating for rides the past few days so....family time tomorrow night and looong road or mountain ride saturday/sunday...and prep for trip to PA next week with a Tuesday ride :)
We loaded the bikes on Fil's car to save time vs ride to trails and I mounted my lighting system not knowing how much light would be available. Well hydrated during the wait period for wife to come home we were ready to rip. Came across one of the local trail builders Shaun Weima and then emerging from the brush like some fateful event.. another guy who is responsible for some of the local trails..."Todd". This led to a hallucinogenic mind blowing technical flowy ride of ONCE AGAIN NEW terrain. Only an hour and 10 minutes of riding but it was RIPPIN'!!!
One over the bars experience by myself and Fil led for some fun air time and some great practice at unclipping in mid flight :) MAN, I'm still on a high from that ride...looking forward to hooking up with these guys again!!! I'm sure my truing stand will get some use after this ride.
Stats:
1 hr; 10 min
156 avg, 181bpm max
in zone 28 min; above 41 min
922KCal
15.2 km....just enough in this heat :)
13.2 avg spd; 37 max
Plan...wife has been pretty accomodating for rides the past few days so....family time tomorrow night and looong road or mountain ride saturday/sunday...and prep for trip to PA next week with a Tuesday ride :)
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Heat Stroke anyone??
It was hot....craaazy hot today. Was in an air conditioned clinic all day and wasn't aware of the humidity until I left at 3:30 with the intention of getting an early ride in at the local trails (Collins Bay). I was silly in wearing my fox baggy shorts and a pocketless jersey which meant only one bottle which i mixed with an hour dose of cafe latte perpetuum and some Heeeeeed (yummy).
The heat was sapping the legs of enerygy, luckily I had the MP3 blaring some Korn and disturbed to keep the chemicals flowing to allow time for the perpetuum to kick in. Super hot, great new trail being developed which challenges the wits to do a double drop....not quite what I want to do as I don't have the disposable income for a new wheel set or time to spare for awaiting a broken frame...but beauty flow. Still a little foggy..fired in some recoverite and am nursing a beer...perfect combo...will finish the BBQ, get some food and add stats from today's ride later..
Back. Had some dinner and jumped on the trampoline with my oldest daughter for about 45 minutes...drenched in sweat...yet again :) Getting good at forward flips but not quite sticking the landing..also practicing some 520's...respect to the snowboarders.
Stats..let see..:
1 hr 16 min
159 avg 184 bpm max...
In zone 26 min; above 50 min
1034 Kcal
21.9 kilometers...10 of that road to get to/from trails
avg spd 17.1 with 42.9 max
Plan...bring out the Mt. bike for a tour with Fil tomorrow...and will be bringing two or THREE water bottles depending on heat....that was super hot...a wake up call.
The heat was sapping the legs of enerygy, luckily I had the MP3 blaring some Korn and disturbed to keep the chemicals flowing to allow time for the perpetuum to kick in. Super hot, great new trail being developed which challenges the wits to do a double drop....not quite what I want to do as I don't have the disposable income for a new wheel set or time to spare for awaiting a broken frame...but beauty flow. Still a little foggy..fired in some recoverite and am nursing a beer...perfect combo...will finish the BBQ, get some food and add stats from today's ride later..
Back. Had some dinner and jumped on the trampoline with my oldest daughter for about 45 minutes...drenched in sweat...yet again :) Getting good at forward flips but not quite sticking the landing..also practicing some 520's...respect to the snowboarders.
Stats..let see..:
1 hr 16 min
159 avg 184 bpm max...
In zone 26 min; above 50 min
1034 Kcal
21.9 kilometers...10 of that road to get to/from trails
avg spd 17.1 with 42.9 max
Plan...bring out the Mt. bike for a tour with Fil tomorrow...and will be bringing two or THREE water bottles depending on heat....that was super hot...a wake up call.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
I Love the Cottage
Even though we weren't able to get away until later Friday afternoon due to daycare for kids, wife taking off thursday and working Friday, it was golden once I packed the road bike on the roof of the "Family Car"....love that thing and headed out to the cottage.
Fil and his sister were coming this wknd with bikes so I was looking forward to being a tour guide of some of the magical loops around Pert, Lombardy and Smiths Falls. They arrived Saturday with our goal to go for a mellow ride...well one beer led to another, comments about the wind ~40-50 km/hr..and the plan quickly changed to Fil and I ripping a quick early Sunday morning ride...my preference anyways ;)
A RIIIIIPP it was...other than some dry eyes and a verge of a headache, we woke at 6:30, fired some breakfast in our bellies and headed out to Lombardy. The route was pretty sweet. We headed across Hwy 15 to a the eastbound Hwy 1 which connected, eventually to Hwy 29. I made a quick adjustment to the angle of the bars on the trusty Fondriest and the legs, which were feeling more like turbo diesel engines, were feeling smooth and loose. After about 30 Km in I could tell fil was feeling it with our 3 km alternating pace lines....he should have considering we were ripping at 38-40 km/hr. We connected with a back road which led us back to 15, travelled about 3 k south on 15 and made our way Eastbound on Hwy 1 to Perth.
Perth....let me just say this is a perfect destination for a mid ride break..We arrived at this park, that is just majical....across from this old mill that contains a restaurant called Fiddleheads...s to the weeet..dunked our heads in the stream, did some strange yoga stretches which I'm sure entertained the tourists and mounted our bikes for the last 17 k back.
Let me also say Perpetuum cafe Latte.....goooooood. My legs were feeling amazing and I was watching us rip along at 40 plus km/hr...Fil was hurting and starting to bonk which enabled me to get comfy with high cadence spinning...all in all 70 k in the big ring with the following stats...not bad ;)
Exe time 2 hr: 14 min, 48 sec; Ride time 2 hr: 14 min, 40 sec
153 avg and 209....yeah BABY 209 bpm max..last push of remaining 5 k's felt gooood
"In zone" 1 hr 13 min; above 1 hr 1 min
1693 Kcal.....still hungry at 8:40 tonight
70 plus k....first couple of km forgot to reset my cs to road bike mode
Avg spd 30.3
50.2 max
avg Cad 92; max 107
Well now...here's the plan ;)......wife no longer has Monday and Wednesday night classes....will be getting 3 days a week of mt/road riding in and a Long 4 plus hour ride, maybe Glenora and back (100 k) ride on the weekend. Next week in Pennsylvania so researching the area will determine if I bring road or mountain...........I could bring both ;)
Fil and his sister were coming this wknd with bikes so I was looking forward to being a tour guide of some of the magical loops around Pert, Lombardy and Smiths Falls. They arrived Saturday with our goal to go for a mellow ride...well one beer led to another, comments about the wind ~40-50 km/hr..and the plan quickly changed to Fil and I ripping a quick early Sunday morning ride...my preference anyways ;)
A RIIIIIPP it was...other than some dry eyes and a verge of a headache, we woke at 6:30, fired some breakfast in our bellies and headed out to Lombardy. The route was pretty sweet. We headed across Hwy 15 to a the eastbound Hwy 1 which connected, eventually to Hwy 29. I made a quick adjustment to the angle of the bars on the trusty Fondriest and the legs, which were feeling more like turbo diesel engines, were feeling smooth and loose. After about 30 Km in I could tell fil was feeling it with our 3 km alternating pace lines....he should have considering we were ripping at 38-40 km/hr. We connected with a back road which led us back to 15, travelled about 3 k south on 15 and made our way Eastbound on Hwy 1 to Perth.
Perth....let me just say this is a perfect destination for a mid ride break..We arrived at this park, that is just majical....across from this old mill that contains a restaurant called Fiddleheads...s to the weeet..dunked our heads in the stream, did some strange yoga stretches which I'm sure entertained the tourists and mounted our bikes for the last 17 k back.
Let me also say Perpetuum cafe Latte.....goooooood. My legs were feeling amazing and I was watching us rip along at 40 plus km/hr...Fil was hurting and starting to bonk which enabled me to get comfy with high cadence spinning...all in all 70 k in the big ring with the following stats...not bad ;)
Exe time 2 hr: 14 min, 48 sec; Ride time 2 hr: 14 min, 40 sec
153 avg and 209....yeah BABY 209 bpm max..last push of remaining 5 k's felt gooood
"In zone" 1 hr 13 min; above 1 hr 1 min
1693 Kcal.....still hungry at 8:40 tonight
70 plus k....first couple of km forgot to reset my cs to road bike mode
Avg spd 30.3
50.2 max
avg Cad 92; max 107
Well now...here's the plan ;)......wife no longer has Monday and Wednesday night classes....will be getting 3 days a week of mt/road riding in and a Long 4 plus hour ride, maybe Glenora and back (100 k) ride on the weekend. Next week in Pennsylvania so researching the area will determine if I bring road or mountain...........I could bring both ;)
Friday, July 2, 2010
Training session???? Kind a....
Wife got up her usual early 5 am and a little groggy realized, I had the day off. My wheels were turning since last night about the entry into the Hardwood Summer 8....here's the deal...last year I entered the spring, summer, local 8, and both 24's. The wife tolerated this but has put a bit of a kaibosch on things this year...something about having to socialize...blah blah blah.
Well, made the decision, for my sanity, to enroll in the Hardwood 8 to make up for my mediocre efforts in the last 24....not even CLOSE to enough suffering. It feels so good when you know there is only a couple of weeks until an event...next year...one a month ;)
So, wife is at work and i have both munchkins...loaded them up in the bike stroller and attached it to my retro Peugot equipped with shimano 105 with suicide shifters on the downtube. Took the kids to every park in the neighbourhood and kept fielding my oldest's question, "daddy, why are we going this way, with a quick....we're just going for a tour..which was just an excuse to get at least SOME consecutive spinning time. Ended up making a trip to macdonald's fed them with some pancakes, more like fed myself with pancakes and watched them rip around in the air conditioned play structure. Ride home was one step away from full bore down in the drops...heheh, I'm pretty sure I was exceeded the "recommended" speed limit of the stroller but, common sense prevailed as things were stable.
All in all, I estimate about an hour of consecutive spinning...legs actually feel it. Meeting up with Fil and his sister at the cottage, doing a little road loop tomorrow afternoon and will have wife drop me off en route to our return home to get some saddle time in. Mountain as many days as wife will tolerate with next weeked being a potential travel for some new trail. Looking forward to this summer 8.....A LOT...I love Hardwood 10 k loops...so fast...
Well, made the decision, for my sanity, to enroll in the Hardwood 8 to make up for my mediocre efforts in the last 24....not even CLOSE to enough suffering. It feels so good when you know there is only a couple of weeks until an event...next year...one a month ;)
So, wife is at work and i have both munchkins...loaded them up in the bike stroller and attached it to my retro Peugot equipped with shimano 105 with suicide shifters on the downtube. Took the kids to every park in the neighbourhood and kept fielding my oldest's question, "daddy, why are we going this way, with a quick....we're just going for a tour..which was just an excuse to get at least SOME consecutive spinning time. Ended up making a trip to macdonald's fed them with some pancakes, more like fed myself with pancakes and watched them rip around in the air conditioned play structure. Ride home was one step away from full bore down in the drops...heheh, I'm pretty sure I was exceeded the "recommended" speed limit of the stroller but, common sense prevailed as things were stable.
All in all, I estimate about an hour of consecutive spinning...legs actually feel it. Meeting up with Fil and his sister at the cottage, doing a little road loop tomorrow afternoon and will have wife drop me off en route to our return home to get some saddle time in. Mountain as many days as wife will tolerate with next weeked being a potential travel for some new trail. Looking forward to this summer 8.....A LOT...I love Hardwood 10 k loops...so fast...
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