30 July 2011

Seattle Century on a single speed

This is a fun ride. Fun because it's low key, fun because the support is great (and frequent!) and fun because the entry fee includes one amazing post-ride meal AND beer. You heard me right, after you finish it's all you can eat and drink for no additional charge.

Oh yeah, and today was extra fun because I rode my single speed bike.

kona

To top it all off the ride had a bag check so I was able to hop on my bike at home, roll to the start and not hassle with parking, changing, you name it. Did I mention that I was able to start in short sleeves because it was already 60 degrees at the start? Oh yes, today was going to be a great day.

They feed you well on this ride!

ASIDE - I'm noticing that the quality and quantity of food provided for participants is an important criteria in Martin's ride rating scale…

At the start they have hard boiled eggs (I had one), granola, milk, fruit rollups, fruit, coffee, blah, blah, blah. Repeat every 12 miles pretty much except some rest stops have a 'featured' food. Like pie.

pie

Or strawberry shortcake.

shortcake

You get the idea.

I just rode at my own pace, listened to music (did I mention I also was test driving a new music mix from Shelley?) and tried to stay hydrated and fed. My goal was to not bring any food at all myself and to just eat ride food at the designated aid stations. I guess technically it worked but I missed one food stop after Snoqualmie Falls and so on Mercer Island I had to eat a little bar I had picked up at the start for just such an emergency. And of course no sooner had I put the bar in my mouth than I turn the corner and there is the last food stop.

I wont like, there were a couple of climbs that were a challenge on the single speed but going at my pace I was not under duress. I just had to get out of the saddle quite a bit. And it was kind of fun to pass all these people on fancy carbon bikes with 20 speeds while going uphill. :)

Honestly, one of the hardest sections to pedal was the long, gradual downhill while heading south on Cherry Valley; I was not able to pedal all of that and had to coast frequently. The most difficult hill was coming up the old Issaquah-Fall City road. Ouch. My cadence was massively slow there.

This bike is so smooth and quiet! There is no drivetrain noise when you are pedaling and hardly any when you are coasting. I SO love a quiet bike. Sections of the ride like heading south past the Carnation golf course on that new blacktop were super duper uber stealth.

I did have one moment of despair on this day. As I started to head up Issaquah-Fall City and as I was getting mentally up for the hard climb, I suddenly saw a sign that said, "100 mile route turn left, everyone else enjoy your 85 miles in the saddle." WTF?! I had just been thinking that the route seemed a tad short and guess what, I was right. To get in the full century I had to turn left, head back through Fall City and climb up to Snoqualmie Falls and then return the way I had come. I'm not afraid to admit it… I did contemplate just going straight but then my conscience got the better of me and I did the loop. And I'm glad I did. It was such a nice day out and I wasn't racing anyone.

ANOTHER ASIDE - I'm always interested/amazed/humored by how much fun hills are when you are not racing up them! I actually like to climb, just not at the pace of people that are faster than me.

Riding up this road past the Duthie Hill MTB Park is always so pretty. You are in this tunnel of green.

Descending off of the Issaquah plateau is also pretty, in a different way. If you take a road like Black Nugget or similar it's like falling off a cliff. With a run-out. I like that.

From here it was past Lake Sammamish and then up the most ridden east/west road ever in my estimation, Newport Way. Then across Mercer Island and a few miles of Burke Gilman Trail back to Magnuson Park for the post-ride feast. To top it off Shelley met me here and we had lunch together and then I got a ride home. Why do I like cycling again…? Oh right, it's days like TODAY.

Sleep 6
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast 6:00 AM - cereal
Lunch 2:00 PM - salmon, mixed green salad, asparagus, pasta, 2 beers
Dinner  
Workout Food lots of water, 2 hard boiled eggs, peanut butter and jam sandwich, cheese sandwich, piece of pie, sample size LARABAR, lots of Gatorade
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day 6:30 AM
Workout Type endurance
Weather upper 50s to start, upper 70s at the finish, sunny, dry, calm
Course  
Results I had a great time
Equipment Single Speed Bike
Clothing bib shorts, sleeveless undershirt short sleeve jersey, cap
Technorati Tags:

28 July 2011

RAMROD

If there is one ride that I hold most dear and that comes close to being a tradition for me this is it.

RAMROD (Ride Around Mount Rainier in One Day) is a 150 odd mile (depending on the course) counter-clockwise lap around the mountain starting and finishing in Enumclaw, WA. And when the weather is nice, there are no better views. ANYWHERE.

Way back in the day when I first considered attempting this I recall wondering how long it would take. I had done STP in one day with a couple of friends and that seemed totally epic. I know STP took us at least 12 hours and I think none of us rode for like a week after we finished! To do a somewhat equivalent distance with 10,000' of climbing seemed ludicrous. Especially since we had no idea how to prepare or train.

But a friend and I started. And my friend rode tubulars. And he flatted about 30 miles in.

So I was pretty much alone from then on and it took about six days for me to complete the ride.

After this nightmare I decided to come back and try it again?! Luckily this time no one flatted and we didn't take so much time. This trend of taking less time continued until I gave racing (and rides like this) a break.

ASIDE - this 'trend' culminated in one day that a then teammate of mine (Rick B) and I set out to 'win' this ride. We started with about four others but unfortunately left them behind on the climb to Paradise. From there to the finish it was just the two of us and the headwind for the last 40 miles was viscous. But we did it; in so much as you can win this sort of thing anyway. I go back and forth about that achievement. At times I am proud and at times I just laugh. Especially when I see other people 'racing' (the event is currently not timed) our group when we get close to the end after we have pulled them for 40 miles. From what I understand that time we posted for the original course still stands. And because they have stopped timing this event that record has so far been retired. This year I heard talk of timing chips like you use in a running race being implemented next year. If anyone wants to set the bar higher than Rick and I were able to do way back in 1987 I say go for it. FYI we did not have very much fun on that day.

Fast forward 15 years and my old racing buddy (John P) that quit racing about the same time I did gets hold of me and says, "Let's do RAMROD!" I'm thinking you must be crazy because the last time I participated in this event it was timed and people were doing nutty stuff like enlisting entire teams (that never finished!) to pull them to the first climb and were switching to TT bikes at the top of Cayuse Pass and had personal support vehicles. But I eventually relented and we did the ride.

And you know what? It was a blast! It's amazing what slowing down just 1.5 hours will do for your morale. These days our times are pretty consistently right around nine hours total time assuming we keep our group small and it has been a real pleasure to get out and see the mountain up close.

This year it was again going to be just John and I when I heard from Charley D (another former teammate) who was looking for company. I said sure and we all met at the start. Where we spotted a current teammate (Dustin VW) and some east siders. Nice. So about seven or eight of us rolled out and as usual our group rapidly swelled to something like 30 riders.

Our group did all the pulling but that was fine with me. You never know how safe or predictable a stranger is on the bike and it wasn't like we were killing it, our pace was just a little faster than most people would ride if they were not part of this big group.

The only problem with a bigger group is you get separated. And that happened several times. Twice we waited, once Dustin pulled some people back up and this cost us a bit of time but it was okay. These days this ride is LOW STRESS and I like it that way.

I also like to hit EVERY food stop these days. Why the hell not? It's one of the big benefits of these organized recreational rides. And I gotta say, RAMROD has some of the best food.

  • Good energy drinks, not crap like Powerade.
  • Really good fruit, not hard-as-rocks nectarines or green/solid bananas.
  • Chocolate croissants. Need I say more?
  • Well I'm gonna. How about deli-style, made-to-order sandwiches. With mustard. And the lettuce and tomatoes are kept on ice. As are the drinks. Boom.

Up to the park entrance the work had been shared pretty equally but once we entered the park Dustin went to the front and rode his pace. Which was kinda quick for me… Almost right away Dustin, myself and this guy named Malcolm separated from everyone else. Malcolm was riding a straight-up steel frame and fork but also weighed at least 30 pounds less than me. And Dustin is much stronger than me. In short order I was hating it.

You know how you go through bad patches and then sometimes come good? Thank goodness that is what happened to me on the climb up to Paradise. Half way up I was seriously hurting and then when we got to the intersection where the official route turns right I talked these guys into going left all the way to the top. And I felt good the rest of the way up.

And was it worth it! It was an incredibly clear day and the mountain was right THERE and you could see the crevasses where the snow turned from white to blue and I was in heaven. We took a couple of pictures and then headed down to rejoin the route. No harm no foul I figured. :)

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At the Box Canyon food stop we checked out the river which was pretty gorged with glacial melt, all brown and dangerous looking.

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I also had two chocolate filled croissants. Experience has taught me that three is a bit much. :) From here it was up and over Backbone Ridge (always a little longer climb than you want it to be) and to the bottom of Stevens Canyon where I topped off my water and we headed up Cayuse Pass.

Everyone else had opted for a head start leaving Box Canyon and so it was just John, Dustin, Malcolm and me. Shortly after starting up the climb proper Dustin said something like, "I'm riding this one at my own pace." and fell back. A couple of minutes later it was just Malcolm and me. Then Malcolm shifted down (as into a smaller gear) and rode away from me. It was then that I recalled him saying something like, "I'm having a super day!" as we left Box Canyon…

I found my happy place in the 39x23 and drank Gatorade and poured water on my head. It was a combo that was working well for me. Incredibly I felt like I might bonk so I gulped a gel which helped tremendously. Maybe two chocolate croissants were not too much…? :) I stopped to stretch for a bit a the water stop and then waited for John at the summit and we rolled down to the deli stop right away in order to maximize our time down there.

It's been said by probably every RAMROD participant but I'll say it again - the deli stop rules. Volunteers are making you sandwiches to order. The cold cuts and veggies are kept on ice. So are the drinks. They have just what you are craving like POTATO CHIPS and MUSTARD. It really hits the spot.

After about 30 minutes of downtime here we rolled out with a couple of additions and it was a good thing. There is always a headwind on this stretch and the more the merrier in my humble opinion. We all took short pulls and soon the speed ramped back up and we were cruising along. Once again we picked up groups along the way and our bunch swelled to at least 20 riders but we did a good job of gate keeping and six or seven of us did all the pulling. Safety is paramount after all and I was in a huge, diverse (in terms of cycling skills) group once that caused a crash and there aren't many things that are less fun than doing down at speed after riding 120 miles on a hot day.

The descent down Mud Mountain was fun as usual. And as usual at least one person nearly went off the road in spite of our announcements that this is a tricky descent.

And of course at the bottom two guys that we had pulled the last 40 miles decided to 'race' us and 'sprinted' ahead. Naturally we closed it down, established our authority and insisted on a casual, friendly finish. Kidding. Not.

It worked until we were two blocks from the finish line (literally) when two other riders again sprinted out of our group to finish ahead of us. Nice. They probably went home to tell their friends that they had just beat a bunch of racers!

Finally it was time to hit the showers. YES. Did I mention that there are showers at the finish…? Damn right there are and boy do they feel heavenly. Then it was time for some free ice cream, more drinks, some rehashing of ride memories and we all made it home in time for dinner.

Thanks to John for his company year after year and his incredibly compatible level of fitness, to Charley for his unflappable enthusiasm and to Dustin and Malcolm for their super efforts. Given this kind of group I will be back again and again and again.

Here are all the pictures.

Sleep 4
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast 4:00 AM -cereal
5:00 AM - large bottle w/3 scoops HEED and 1 tablet Nuun
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food 2 large bottles each w/3 scoops Perpetuem, water, Gatorade, 2 chocolate croissants, cheese sandwich, 2 Cokes, fruit, gel, half a bagel w/cream cheese, cookie, Clif Bar
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day 6:00 AM
Workout Type endurance
Weather low 50s at the start, upper 70s at the finish, brilliant sun, dry, some wind at the end
Course  
Results  
Equipment Road Bike
39/53, 12-25
Neuvation wheels
Clothing bib shorts, sleeveless undershirt, short sleeve jersey, arm warmers, wind vest, cap

27 July 2011

core | commute

Hit the gym, managed to eek out a couple of extra push-ups and rode my bike to work.

At lunch I ran an errand on my bike and then I rode it home. It was a good day.

Sometimes it's the simple things.

Sleep 6
Waking HR  
Body Weight 181 - that summer weight loss just isn't happening on its own… :(
Body Fat 9
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day gym - 5:45 AM
Workout Type active recovery
Weather 70, mostly sunny, dry
Course
plank 3 min, 2 min each side
back extensions 3 x 40
clam knee lifts 100 each leg
side leg lifts 100 each leg
twisters 50 each side - 12 lb.
leg extensions 100
push-ups 24
hip abductors 3 x 40 - 100 lb
Distance 20 miles
Equipment Town Bike
Clothing  

26 July 2011

core | Pacific Raceways CR

I managed to get myself to the gym AND I did well at the race. It was a banner day.

Usually I try to get in a short ride Tuesday morning but today it was misting outside at 5:30 AM and I just didn't feel like getting wet so I did the core thing instead. It was kind of tough today (especially while planking since my left elbow is pretty sore when I put any weight on it) but the feeling after a workout is almost always good. This morning did not disappoint.

When Dave H, Corrie M and I arrived at Pacific Raceways Rory told us that there was an issue with the drag strip so instead of a points race on the flats we were doing it down the escape road and up the easy hill. Nice. For sure I prefer the hill (any hill) out here and I also like the points race format so this was a win/win as far as I was concerned.

Other people it seems were not so gung-ho as I was and the air was FILLED WITH TREPIDATION. As much trepidation as you can have at the lowest stress event there is anyway. Plus I like to overstate things for effect.

And I experienced a new first - all the Cat 4 riders picking up gravel from the track.

01

Core at the gym was okay. My left elbow is still too sore from my crash Saturday to put much pressure on it so I had to forgo one exercise but it's okay.

At the racetrack my 'warm-up' was once again nothing more than a few laps around a flat parking lot resulting only in me discovering that my legs were freaking tight from Saturday. So I called it quits about 10 minutes prior to the start and stretched.

Rory called all the Cat 4 riders up and asked them please assist in cleaning up the track. It seems something or some machine had scattered lots of gravel on the finishing straight and I was very thankful for this effort!

Off we went.

The fist couple of laps were sedate which was a good thing for me. See above about my crappy warm-up.

Points race formats are great. One reason they are great is it doesn't much matter when you attack as you go early when you are fresh, later when there is an unexpected opportunity or late when everyone else is tired. It's a win/win as they say.

After about three(?) laps I saw just such an opportunity after the hill and struck out. I have forgotten exactly how I got away but by the time I hit the left hand corner after the summit I was gone.

I do however vividly recall making a maximum effort to get away and as I rolled across the line getting my two points what should I hear but the first prime bell. Ouch. I glanced back to see what kind of a gap I had and it seemed reasonable so I throttled it back just a tad and carried on down the access road, around the corner and down the hill. It's usually the case that the pack can go much faster than a solo rider on this course because they can draft on the way down AND on the way up as the hill is not so steep but half way up the climb when I checked behind me again the gap was still there. I dug deep on the last pitch and managed not to bog down as I summited and rounded the left hand corner at the top. One more look over my shoulder as I entered the finishing straight told me that I had plenty of room so was able to ease off the gas and get another two points. Nice.

There was one more opportunity that presented itself when a couple of riders came up to me but our effort was not so dedicated and the pack soon reeled us in.

Since the race was only 45 minutes tonight and I had just gotten caught it was time for plan B. Help Dave. As the second prime bell rung I got on the front as we approached the climb. One guy jumped at the summit but I was easily able to follow (and so was Dave) and when this guy gassed I took over and lead the bunch around the corner and onto the finishing straight. It was a close sprint but Dave was able to take it and the season points. Whew.

There were just three of us in the race and Corrie was coming back after a hiatus from any kind of riding so helping Dave at the finish was on my shoulders. As we rounded the corner at the end of the finishing straight with one lap to go I was third wheel. Usually that is too far up but I did not want to get surprised. As we approached the descent one guy pulled off and then so did the other… there was nothing to do but take the initiative.

ASIDE - this was one time where experience helped me out. I figured that most people would not want to attack with less than one lap to go and I guessed right.

I pulled across the transition, up the hill (just fast enough that hopefully no one would pass me) and around the corner and then I was luckily still able to accelerate onto the straight. I was pretty blown from my half lap leadout but it worked! Dave got the victory and the season points.

ANOTHER ASIDE - to be totally honest it also helped that Mark M (Starbucks) got shelled after the first prime. I think he worked too hard to catch me when I was off the front and then when the pace did not let up on the next hill he was gone. But it would be silly not to take advantage of that.

After the race I found out that my four points were good enough for 2nd place! What a nice surprise. And then Rory M and Deanna had their annual BBQ which was fantastic. Double bonus. For the third year I was treated to a veggie patty which is incredibly thoughtful. Thank you BuDu Racing for putting on this series year after year!

Here are all the pictures.

Sleep 6
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast smoothie
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food gym - water
drive to race - large bottle w/1 tablet Nuun and 3 scoops HEED
45 min before race - gel
10 min before race - gel
race - water
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day gym - 5:45 AM
race - 7:00 PM
Workout Type race
Weather 70, sunny, dry, light wind
Course
plank 3 min, 2 min each side
back extensions 3 x 40
clam knee lifts 100 each leg
side leg lifts 100 each leg
twisters 50 each side - 12 lb.
leg extensions 100
push-ups 22
hip abductors 3 x 30 - 100 lb.
Results 1st prime - 1st
2nd prime - pack
finish - pack
Equipment Road Bike
39/53, 12-25
Mad Fiber wheels
Clothing bib shorts, sleeveless undershirt, short sleeve jersey, cap

25 July 2011

commute

Man… I just can't seem to get my ass off the proverbial couch these days. Our plans to ride yesterday fell through and today when my alarm went off to go to the gym I just rolled over in bed and didn't wake up again until Shelley's alarm sounded 1:45 later.

Dead. To. The. World.

Riding to work never shines much light on how I feel as it's 95% downhill. Coming home I felt okay. Good thing because I can't wait for RAMROD this Thursday!

Sleep 6
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day  
Workout Type  
Weather  
Course  
Distance 10 miles
Equipment Town Bike
Clothing  

24 July 2011

Thank you for the football lesson!

That's exactly what the coach of the Seattle Sounders Football Club should have said to the coach of Manchester United after the drubbing they gave us a few days ago. Holy crap.

But let me back up.

This was my first time in the new stadium and it was FUN! We were up on the 300 level and our seats were excellent. It's hard to imagine a bad seat in the house. And the view of downtown Seattle from the stadium? Fantastic.

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Here is the 'official game report' and read on if you want to see mine.

Shelley had the idea to go see a soccer match some time ago and then asked me if this one with MU would be a good choice. I was like, "Uh, yeah; it sure is!" Good thing she planned ahead as the game was sold out. Totally. 67,052 fans. Nice.

The Stadium
Just walking up to the stadium is an impressive sight. And if you pretend not to see all the American football signage and paraphernalia you can pretend this was built just for soccer.

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As we walked up the first set of stairs I got to peek over the railing and experience what people who pay three or four times what we did get to see.

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When we finally got to our seats here is what the stadium looked like.

The Fans
Then there are all the fans! From about one mile away you can see all the green. As you get closer to the stadium the sidewalks get pretty darn crowded and by the time you pass the train station you are in an ocean of humanity. A green ocean. A green ocean with lots of scarves.

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From here it was up, up and away to the 300 level. Where you enter a virtual foodcourt! Man was there a lot on offer here, most of what I saw (and could smell) people eating was garlic fries. Business was hopping at all the food and drink booths in spite of prices like these.

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Of course we encountered shirt-off-guy up here. He was buying another beer. Sorry, no picture.

We were treated to all kinds of chants.

And flag waving.

Then the game started.

The Game
To quote the official write-up, "For 45 minutes, David was equal to the task against Goliath." MU scored one goal in the first half - and it was beautiful - but that was it. within five minutes of the start of the second half the flood gates opened up and the final score was MU 7, SS 0. Class dismissed.

What struck me was the stark contrast between the two teams. Here are some of the things that MU did so well.

  • Pass to space
  • Anticipate
  • Made sure all shots on goal were actually ON GOAL

When the Sounders had the ball they would look around, find someone to pass the ball to (by which time all the MU Players knew where the ball was going) and then kick it to where he was standing. Not where he was moving to. Of course the ball was stolen half the time.

On defense it was like watching a middle school soccer match. All the Sounders ran to the ball and so when MU passed to open space and one of their players ran there he was totally alone. And he had the ball.

The energy was really amazing. I would go back in a heartbeat.

Here are all the pictures.

23 July 2011

Seattle Super Gran Fondo

My first ever Gran Fondo!

I had put the Seattle Gran Fondo on my calendar long ago but you never really know if you will be able to do it when the date draws near. Things can happen like it can rain or you can be too tired or some family obligation comes up so it was pretty damn exciting when all things aligned and the forecast was fantastic.

Besides, any event with the word 'super' in it has got to be cool.

From what I have heard the established fondos are pretty damn fast! Riders take off from the gun and it's basically a race for 100 miles with the pack breaking up into groups. I was not so confident about my ability to race 100 miles much less 100 miles that finishes with an 18 mile climb!

To my relief the ride started out at a very sane pace but as we pulled out of the first aid station it was Tony B, myself, two young kids (Ian T and Alan S) from Hagens Berman and a couple of others, On the very first hill our pace shed the two others and so suddenly it was just four racers.

So much for taking it easy. :)

Our ride actually started at Tony's house. I drove there to park and we rolled down to the ferry terminal which was about five miles. Here we hung out for about 20-30 minutes eating doughnuts and enjoying the early morning sun.

There was a HUGE variety of bikes and people at the ferry dock. Mine is pretty average as far as racing bikes go.

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Of course there were over-the-top carbon everything bikes but at the other end of the spectrum was stuff like this.

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Ouch!

Once we got underway Tony and I were able to easily draft and generally conserve tons of energy.

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So much so that I felt very comfortable shooting a quick video as we rode into Port Gamble.

We pulled into the first aid station/food stop and I sorta thought we would pull out pronto but the ride leader/organizer got on the PA and said we had 15 minutes! Suddenly people started sitting down on the grass so Tony and I did likewise but we kept our eyes peeled for folks that might be leaving. When the two Hagens riders rolled back out we got on our bikes and followed them to the intersection.

Where no one knew where to go.

The sign said turn left but that was the way we had just come from. Thank goodness someone had a map which confirmed that left was the right direction so I said let's just go and Tony and I started down the road. We were joined by the Hagens riders and a handful of others.

Shortly we came to an intersection that said the 100 mile route goes right so I turned right. What I didn't see was that there was another sign that said the HC (Hurricane Ridge) route goes left. Oops. Tony yelled at me and I turned around. I had gone from first to last in our little group so I accelerated to catch up, went past our group and right to the front. I then carried on up the hill and by the top when I pulled off there were only three people on my wheel Oops again.

So now it was down to just the four of us.

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And really, it was not a bad thing. We didn't race but we didn't go slow either. Just nice and steady. For sure Alan and I did most of the pulling but I didn't care. When Alan flatted just west of Sequim we all stopped and helped him fix it.

A few miles after this we got on a bike path (the Olympic Discovery Trail) which was rally fun to ride. It wound around, crossed streets and went up and over this amazing wood bridge that I WISH I had filmed. It was just like some - albeit very tame - elevated North Shore mountain biking path. I did try to get some footage.

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After a few miles of trail we found the last aid station where they had Cokes on ice and salty crackers! Nice. As we were slowly getting ready to continue a pack of about 15 riders blew by us on the highway. We had actually missed the turn-off for the trail and only found it because we were meticulous about following the directions. Once we hit the highway we knew we had made a wrong turn and backtracked about .5 miles to find the trail. These people had not bothered. :)

Amid shouts of, "Time to roll!" we all quickly finished stuffing our faces, drinking our Cokes and hopped on our bikes. We had been in the lead so long I guess some of the competitive juices had stopped flowing. This was a timed event after all!

After we left the last aid station I was probably a tiny bit amped up. From here we rode across some gravel sections, around several blind corners and one of them was my undoing. I was in front and suddenly the trail turned left up this short, steep hill. Pretty much everyone (including me) realized I was going too fast but since I was in front I had the least time to react and instead of simply keeping it upright and perhaps bouncing off of the chain-link fence next to the trail I tried to make the corner and pushed out the front wheel. Ouch.

I was not going that fast but slid a bit and of course tore up my hands because I hate to wear gloves. Crap. As I stood up to inspect myself and my bike we were both mostly okay but my palms were bleeding all over the place! I straightened out my left STI lever, hopped back on and we began to ride. Oh man were my handlebars a mess… I had blood all over my hands, the bar tape, my levers, my stem, my cyclometer, you name it. Pretty gruesome looking. But it didn't hurt too bad so I said I was okay and we kept on going.

And then of course we started the climb.

I was not sure if these guys were going to leave me behind immediately or what but I figured I would hang on as long as I could. Tony was having difficulty pretty early on but then we got to the start of the timed section and regrouped because they were letting riders go at two minute intervals. Who should we see here but the organizer of the ride! Turns out Mr. Hunter Ziesing is quite competitive and takes no small amount of pride in beating riders younger than himself.

Hunter was lying down for effect but of course jumped up and insisted on started the timed section of the climb with us so off we went.

Tony was gone right away; darn. And suddenly Ian was on the front. :) I led for a bit trying to keep the pace sane (for me anyway) but it didn't last. Ian passed me again and after about four or five miles I was really hating life. There was a brief respite when Ian's wind vest fell out of his pocket and I stopped to pick it up but my heart was beating incredibly fast and it was those shallow beats that don't feel really good… After not very much of this I had to say goodbye. In hindsight it was probably a good thing because as soon as I peeled off my back felt like crap and I had to stop, get off my bike and stretch for a bit.

From here I just rode my own pace which felt like it was a LOT slower than we had been going. Oh well. I got off the bike twice more to stretch and also stopped once at a water station manned by two EMTs. I finally got to rinse my hands and sponge some of the blood off of my bike. They were really nice and offered me a towel. When I handed it back the thing was half red. :( An EMT took one look and pulled on gloves to take it back.

After a while Elvis and a gorilla informed me I had two miles to go. That was nice to hear.

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Then maybe half a mile later I saw a deer in the ditch by the road! It was absolutely not afraid so I snapped a picture.

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Finally another gorilla told me I was just one mile from the top.

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I had recovered enough that I had the presence of mind to get my camera out for the finish. As I rolled across the line the timer asked me what my number was (since I hate frame numbers and helmet numbers and my jersey number was on the opposite side of the road) and I replied, "I have no idea…" I'm an idiot.

Whew…! As I pulled up Ian (who I had noticed earlier likes to blend the tan lines as much or more than I do) had already stripped down and everyone was relaxing.

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Luckily Tony was not too far behind and so eventually, after eating and drinking we got some obligatory summit shots like this.

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Note the AMAZING view. It really was a banner day… not too hot, no clouds and you could see as far as your eyes would let you.

After recovering a bit I started to look around at some of the other bikes that finished and spotted this beauty here:

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Yep, that's an 808 in the front and a 1080 in the rear. Perfect hill climbing gear dontchaknow. But you gotta love cycling enthusiasts and the founder of Mad Fiber was here riding his wheels so we ran the full gamut.

They announced the first bus back to the start so Tony and I went for it. As nice as it was up here I was already looking at a 10 PM arrival back home so we got out of there as fast as possible. The drive down was agonizingly slow compared to riding… but they did serve us beer.

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By the time we got back to the start I was starving again and of course they were taking down all the food tents and our ferry left in 10 minutes. I tried shoveling some fantastic pesto pasta and mixed green salad in my mouth and then jumped on the bike to catch the ferry. For a few seconds there I was seriously worried I was going to choke to death from all the food I had tried to cram down my throat but after some very gross sounding coughing and pseudo-retching I managed to regain control of things and survived. Plus we pretty much rolled right onto the boat. Nice.

As this ride grows and turns into a faster event with more people I predict that trail which caused me problems will also be the undoing of many others… The gravel section where I went down was about the third bit where one of us almost bit it. There was an incredibly tight and steep downhill switchback that would have surprised many riders and some ugly metal posts that we almost ran into. Good times. Still, this is a fun route when the weather is nice and hopefully I'll be back.

Thanks to Tony, Ian and Alan for the company!

Here are all the pictures.

Sleep 6
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast 5:00 AM - cereal
6:45 AM - doughnut, half a bagel
8:30 AM - cookie
Lunch after the ride - tomato bisque soup, cornbread, water, cookie
bus ride home - 2 beers
Dinner 7:00 PM - some pesto pasta and green salad but not enough
Workout Food water, HEED, 4 gels, banana, half a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, cheddar Goldfish crackers, Ritz crackers, Coke
Injuries - scraped up my palms, left elbow, left hip and left knee
- my back was pretty tight by the end
- one of the times I stopped to stretch my hamstring almost cramped but it went away
Therapy  
Time of Day 8:30 AM
Workout Type endurance
Weather some low clouds/fog in the beginning, dry, relatively calm, upper 70s by the finish
Course Kingston to Hurricane Ridge
Results Hurricane Ridge climb - 4th
Overall - 4th
official results
Equipment Road Bike
39/53, 12-25
Neuvation wheels
Clothing bib shorts, sleeveless undershirt, short sleeve jersey, arm warmers, wind vest, cap

22 July 2011

core | commute

I made it to the gym and then after work I cruised up to Gregg's Cycles at Green Lake to pick up my number for the Seattle SUPER Gran Fondo.

From here I went home through Interlaken which was exploding with green. Seattle sure has a lot of that. On the best days there is no other place I'd like to be.

Core felt okay with the exception of back extensions - they took my breath away. As in it's hard for me to breath when I do them.

Sleep  
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day gym - 5:45 AM
Workout Type active recovery
Weather  
Course
plank 3 min, 2 min each side
back extensions 3 x 40
clam knee lifts 100 each leg
side leg lifts 100 each leg
twisters 50 each side - 12 lb.
roman chair knee lifts 3 x 40
push-ups 22
hip abductors 3 x 30 - 100 lb
Distance 12 miles
Equipment Town Bike
Clothing  

21 July 2011

commute

A great day is also a great day for a commute by bicycle.

And that's about all I got in today. At least I took the long way home. On the up side my legs feel like they are bouncing back and the hills (which I pushed a little bit) felt fine.

Sleep  
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day  
Workout Type  
Weather  
Course  
Distance 20 miles
Equipment Town Bike
Clothing  

20 July 2011

core

Holy hate, I did not get enough sleep last night.

Not sure what is up but sometimes I wake up at 3 or 4 (or 2 in this case!) and for the life of me I can't fall back asleep. I seem to recall a show like 60 Minutes that featured people who only needed a couple of hours of sleep each night. They all led dual lives; one during the day with one job and set of friends and then another at night with perhaps another job/hobby/set of friends. That's not me for sure but not being able to fall back asleep is a major bother. Plus I crash big time by the end of the work day. :(

Walking up the stairs to the gym my legs felt pretty cooked.

Core was mostly okay in spite of no sleep, the knee lifts were pretty tough.

Sleep 4
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast 7:00 AM - smoothie
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day 5:30 AM
Workout Type rest
Weather  
Course
plank 3 min, 2 min each side
back extensions 3 x 40
clam knee lifts 100 each leg
side leg lifts 100 each leg
twisters 50 each side - 10 lb.
roman chair knee lifts 3 x 40
push-ups 21
hip abductors 3 x 30 - 100 lb.
Results  
Equipment  
Clothing  

19 July 2011

ride | Pacific Raceways CR

My legs? Why yes, they are still sore from my massage yesterday, thanks for asking…

I met pretty much everyone that shows up for the early morning hot lap today, we were about 10 total! Gentry M was there letting everyone know how tired he was from his triathlon on Sunday and so of course he went hard as hell and about broke my legs.

ASIDE - it's pretty much guaranteed that if ANY athlete tells you they are sore/tired/injured it's gonna be one f'ing intense day and you better beware. Hilarious actually.

Since my legs were not feeling tip top I got on the front for the first hill and rode next to Gentry and started chatting to 1) make him talk in order to deprive him of oxygen and 2) take his mind off of riding hard. It worked until we got to the top and I pulled off.
As soon as I pulled off Gentry ramped it up and I had to get out of the saddle just to get on the wheel of the last guy! Then as I was rotating up toward the front Gentry (who had rested for a bit by now) decided that the pace was way too slow and passed us on the left and floored the accelerator. Damn.

But my legs were coming around so the next time I got to the front I was able to put in a relatively good pull and as we approached the hill at the south end of the island I got on the front and pulled into the hill, over the top and kept on going until the next corner. I got two separate compliments for that effort so it must have been fast?

I've probably said it a few times but I love Mercer Island on a dry day. The corners are SO much fun. We zipped around them with pretty good form and I rarely had to coast and our speed rarely slowed.
Near the end I told Jim K to grab my wheel so I could lead him out for the tennis court crosswalk sprint but two turns from the end he lost me. Then Gentry jumped hard on my left and I was the only person to go with him. Maybe he really was tired because I came around in the saddle. :)

A bunch of us flipped and rode back the way we had just come but it was totally social this time which was nice. We talked about all kinds of things that racers usually don't talk about - like all these things that don't involve the bike!

At work I totally pigged out… Not sure what happened to me but I simply could not stop eating. One of those days.
At Pacific Raceways attendance was lower than usual with some of the heavies doing other things. Still, Erik O (Cucina Fresca) and Jeff R (Starbucks) were there along with Tom H (Old Town Bicycle) and others. We had Dave H and Steve O.
For a change the first THREE laps were quite sedate and I for one sure needed that. My legs were feeling quite leaden; worse than this morning in fact.
As we crested the hill for the fourth time I was just about to attack when Steve beat me to it. Nice. We caught him pronto so next lap I gave it a go and Mike B (Garage Racing) came with me which seemed like a super combo but we still had 45 minutes to race and he was having as much trouble as me warming up. I ended up pulling the entire lap and we got caught pretty much right where I attacked initially. That's when I switched to plan B which was help Dave get some points in lieu of the leaders not being here tonight.
Rory rang the bell and Steve and I went to the front. I pulled around the right hand corner and down the hill and Steve passed me as the road tipped up. Dave took it from there and got the prime.
Prime number two was the same except this time Steve started the leadout - a little too early but oh well - and I took over at the top of the descent. This sprint looked a little close from my vantage point but Dave won so mission accomplished.
I turned to Steve and we discussed the last lap tactic as we had room to improve for sure and everything was set. Until someone attacked and the pack let them roll away.
I let the gap grow hoping someone/anyone else would take the initiative but it didn't happen so I pulled half a lap and then Steve finished it off and we caught the break. Which was countered by another. Nice.
Mike B got up there and when Dave saw him go he joined up as well along with a couple of other riders. I was right behind Tom H and just knew that if I made a move it would doom the break so yelled at Tom to GO. He did not react at first so I had to tell him this was THE move and that I would not chase. He finally went, made the bridge and they were gone. It is not always fun to sit up but sometimes it's what you gotta do.
We had about three laps left so I just checked in with Steve and made sure we were both on the same page.
At the end Dave won the race and I won the pack sprint! No pints for me since I was 6th or 7th or something but it felt really good to battle someone all the way up the hill and come out on top. Whew. Tonight was great teamwork, I love it when that happens. Congratulations to Dave for being able to bring home the goods, Steve for being such a willing helper, Tom for making the move again and to Jeff for working his butt off all night. He certainly got in a super workout.
Oh yeah, I forgot my cyclometer at home when I left for the race so tonight was old school (read: I wore a watch).


Sleep 6
Waking HR
Body Weight
Body Fat
Breakfast 4:30 Am - cereal, banana
8:00 AM - large bottle w/way too much (5 scoops) recovery drink powder…
9:30 AM - almonds
10:00 AM - 2 Pop Tarts
Lunch 11:00 AM - 4 little oranges, lots of cherries, hand full of toasted soy nuts
1:00 PM - 4 pieces string cheese, package of fake turkey meat, yogurt, tea
Dinner
Workout Food ride - large bottle w/1 tablet Nuun and 2 scoops HEED
race - gel at start, half a small bottle w/1 scoop HEED
Injuries
Therapy
Time of Day ride - 6:30 AM
race - 7:00 PM
Workout Type ride - 10 miles of intervals
race - domestique
Weather ride - upper 50s, dry, partly cloudy, fairly calm
race - mid 60s, dry, partly cloudy, really windy
Course race - clockwise up the escape road
1:05
Results Masters
7th
Equipment Road Bike
39/53, 12-25
ride - Neuvation wheels
race - Mad Fiber wheels
Clothing race - bib shorts, Craft short sleeve undershirt, short sleeve jersey, cap

18 July 2011

core | commute

I got worked this morning by Tucker R from Mobility+ Healthcare… it's my own fault really for not getting a massage in ages and then starting up again but boy did I feel it all day AND on my ride home. One word: sore. Tucker is very good but take my advice and use him after a hard workout and not before. I will be back.

I was going about as slow as I could on the hills during my commute home and my legs were still screaming; screaming for vengeance. You can only go so easy on a single speed bike.

Sleep 7
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day gym - 5:45 AM
Workout Type active recovery
Weather upper 60s, sunny, dry, light breeze
Course
plank 3 min, 2 min each side
back extensions 3 x 40
clam knee lifts 100 each leg
side leg lifts 100 each leg
twisters 50 each side - 10 lb.
roman chair knee lifts 3 x 40
push-ups 22
hip abductors 3 x 30 - 100 lb.
Results  
Equipment Town Bike
Clothing  

the beauty of the Bemis

How many times do you walk down the isle of a store looking at bazillions of versions of what you need having no idea which one to buy? If you're in sales this deer-in-the-headlights look is easily recognized and a huge opportunity as the shopper is putty in your hands; you can pretty much sell them whatever you need to move. Sadly.

A few years ago I broke a toilet seat in our house. I guess I got a little agro when lifting the lid or closing it or something and twisted it enough so that the plastic hinges were no longer feeling very secure when you sat down. Shelley and I went to the Home Depot and down the bath isle where we promptly both got that same look… There were SO MANY TOILET SEATS. Some had padding, some had special coatings, some were painted, some were stained and some were just butt ugly. But not enough of them were butt ugly so the options we had left were still pretty overwhelming.

Eventually we found what seemed like a pretty darn good, basic seat for something like $5.63. It was painted, wood and probably the cheapest seat in the entire store, how can you go wrong? It was a Bemis.

As we paid the cashier he took one look at our purchase and said, "Ah, you can never go wrong with a Bemis!" Confirmation is awesome.

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Last weekend we went and did it again. Not sure if we are hard on our toilets but this time we replaced all three seats in the house. And you know what? The Bemis was STILL only $5.74. I was so happy I decided to chronicle the installation.

The packaging is as basic as the product.

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Which I for one appreciate. Why do so many manufacturers insist on shrink wrapping the item, putting the wrapped item in a box, that box in a bag and then that bag in another box that has been stuffed with plastic peanuts? No wonder our planet is only going to last another 30 years.

Installation is practically tool-less, all you need a screwdriver. Just pop the hinge covers off and unscrew the plastic bolts and remove the old seat.

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Ah… clean beginnings!

Installing the new seat is cake. About the only thing you could screw up is installing the nut upside down so be sure the beveled/concave side faces the porcelain.

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Tighten the bolts (but not too much, they're just plastic), snap down the hinge covers and she's ready for a test drive! Behold the Bemis.

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In case you were wondering, this is about the extent of how handy I am around the house.

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17 July 2011

fixed gear ride

Funny how your goals get 'adjusted' as conditions and your motivation changes.

Way back when I had wanted to participate in the Rapha Gentleman's Ride on Saturday but then I woke to rain and Saturday turned into a day of slothliness. I ate, watched television, ate some more, repeat. Rumor has it there was also alcohol involved. Back on Friday the forecast for the weekend looked better on Sunday than Saturday so when the rain started Saturday morning I figured no biggie, I'll make it up tomorrow.

Originally I planned on a long (100 mile) ride by myself on Sunday.

I woke up Sunday. I started watching the TdF. Then it was 9 AM. No more time for 100 miles.

How can you maximize the benefit of a limited ride window? You never coast. And what better way to not coast than riding a fixed gear.

So I aired the tires and rolled out.

ASIDE - I just want to point out that my max speed of 33 mph is not too shabby… and there were sections where I maintained 27 and 28 mph for seconds.

Back when I last checked the forecast it predicted warming and drying on Sunday but as we all know, the NW Is nothing if not fickle when it comes to weather. Let's just say I'm lucky it was warm enough because I got pretty darn wet.

The first raindrops arrived when I got to Bothell. Just after I had to climb a mother of a hill because the last couple of miles of the Burke Gilman Trail were closed. Of course I saw the detour sign and of course I ignored it thinking there would be some way for me to sneak through. There was not. So up to Bothell Way I went.

Road and trail closures were the theme for the day. In Kirkland the park at the north end was closed for some sort of street fair. I noticed it just in time to avoid entering the park.

As I got closer to Bellevue the rain started coming down good and proper so I donned my vest. I was really surprised how warm I still was as rain = hypothermia in my mind. I guess I've been living in the NW too long… I didn't have any shoe covers or rain coat but I did have my phone which has a radio so I was grooving to Preachin' The Blues and Johnny Horn is damn good.

In Bellevue there was another road closure and this time I got lucky because I really wanted to go a certain way. The sign was at the bottom of a really steep hill and boy am I glad the road was still open when I got to the top.

I kept snacking and sipping my bottles but the rain was bad enough that I told myself I was going to head across the lake on I-90 if it didn't let up and what do you know… just as I neared the bridge the rain abated some. So I kept on heading south. Good times.

My legs usually tighten up on longer fixed gear rides but today was just the opposite. I was getting tired but I was also feeling more fluid the longer I rode. Nice! Just south of I-90 I hit 33 mph on a descent and was then able to maintain 28 down a longer hill. Coming down Juanita it was a chore to sustain 27 so I was definitely getting better/looser.

As I rounded the south end and started to head north the rain almost stopped and the DJ on the radio changed (which was a good thing - I can only take so much Blues) and I was able to settle into about 22 mph all the way up Rainier. I guess this meant there was also no headwind! :)

Dropping down to Seward Park I saw yet another road closure sign and was about to utter something inappropriate when I saw that it was Bicycle Sunday. Glad I exercised some restraint. All they way up Lake WA Blvd I had a big smile on watching little kids ride around, jump out in front of, stuff like that. But I had use of both lanes so it was easy to swerve and avoid them. I saw one guy on a hand bike meaning he was using his ARM to power the cranks. That's right, not only did he not have use of his legs but he only had use of one arm. And he was still riding! Way to go mister - that is so cool. I wanted to high five him but his arm was occupied and I suddenly felt like an ass for even considering this so just rolled by.

I had been taking small detours all the way around the lake just for fun and to add a few miles and when I got to Mt Baker Beach I turned left, crossed Rainer and then rode up Beacon Hill. This is such a nice green space and it was so quiet. Except for the one guy who was walking down near the top and yelled something completely unintelligible to me. He looked kinda sketchy so did not slow down or ask for clarification.

When I got home my back was a little tight that was a super ride. And really, I have not ridden in the rain in ages so since it was warm I can't complain. Plus my bike had fenders!

Sleep  
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast 6:00 AM - cereal
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food 2 sample size Clif Bars, 1.5 large bottles each w/1 tablet Nuun and 2 scoops HEED
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day 9:00 AM
Workout Type endurance, power intervals
Weather upper 50s, rain at times, cloudy, pretty calm
Course  
Results  
Equipment Single Speed Bike
Clothing bib shorts, Craft short sleeve undershirt, short sleeve jersey, arm warmers, wind vest, cap

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