Still on Track

Through August, year to date, I have now ridden 2,236 miles. I am definitely on track to make my 3,000 mile goal. Infact, if I keep the same pace, I could almost hit 3,500!

Our weekend ride group decided to tackle the Usery Pass loop this past weekend. You can check the route here if you like. The hills are not too shabby, a 1,660 ft climb/decent. We decided to go clockwise and atthe end of 18ish miles turn around and go back. In the group was Kate & Ron (this is Kate's idea) and a girl from Oregon named Suzanne (one of Katre's students).

We all started out together fairly strong (19-20mph), and then a big down hill (hit 39.7mph). Cool! I decided to ride my mountain bike since it has gears and my road bike doesn't. I planned to put the slicks on so I could hang with the road bikes, but Saturday when I grabbel the wheel, it had no tube. Bummer. I would have to work that much harder to hang in with them. On the first hill, I started to put a little distance between me and the pack. It wasn't long before Ron caught me.

Next hill, 4-1/2% grade for a couple miles, no biggie. We started out and Suzanne's bike decided that it liked the big chain ring better than the small. That wasn't going to work. We all stopped to get this fixed and were back on our way. We made it to the top and down the hill to our turn around/starting point. What I found interesting about the return climb is that Suzanne flew up this hill. I swear she's part mountain goat! I didn't realize how long that big hill was until we went screaming down it (32mph max) for over 3 miles. We crouched down as to get better aerodynamics and more speed. I was crouched so long that my back started cramping. The hill that I hit 39mph coming down absolutely sucked going back up. In cycling, what goes down almost alway comes back up. We were 35 miles into the ride and it was in the upper 90's. Luckily we were near the end and could call it a successful ride.

All in all, it was a great day to ride. Great group, great route, great work out.

Cave Creek Bike Festival

It's been decided. Instead of the logistical nightmare of riding the Tour de Tucson, I will instead ride in the Cave Creek 50 mile Discovery Road Ride on November 15th. in this ride, each registrant will receive a ride "passport" and at each stop along the 50 mile route, a page will be "stamped" with a handmade stamp depicting an important feature of the area. The passport will also contain a brief note about the area's significance to the region. Kinda cool.

Here's what's really cool. Terri turned me on to a site called Train 4 Autism (www.train4autsim.com). This site allows one to participate in any athletic event and raise funds for an autism based charity. How cool is that? I've chosen the National Autism Association because of their support to the biomedical protocol for curing autism. As many of you know, my son has been diagnosed with autism and we are fighting it (and I think winning) because of the biomedical supplements we give him. For more on this protocol, check out Terri's blog. She's way smarter than me on all this. So I set my goal and have started fund raising for autism. I have been blown away by the support from my friends and family. If you're reading this and have donated, thank you very much!

So, Terri had an order with the National Autism Association for some of those ribbon magnets and other stuff. She told them about my ride and they a were super appreciative. They are even going to throw a mini-magnet in the order for my bike! Gives me an idea to create a custom autism awareness cycling jersey. Hmmmm.

I'm pumped to finally ride in an "organized ride" again. It's been a long time. the camaraderie and support is awesome. i always find myself riding just a little bit harder when in a group like that. i don't want to be the guy sucking wind. If you care to donate to my "Ride for Autism click here. You can even join my team and ride with me if you want. November is a great time to ride in Arizona, the ground is no longer like the surface of the sun! C'mon out, I could use the company.

Update

It's been a while since I posted anything. I guess there's been nothing going on. That couldn't be further from the truth.

My work workload has cranked up significantly. Not sure if it means an economic upturn or not, but I've been flat out busier. Not a lot of time to ride. Not even the stationary at night. I've been busy doing work shit. Kinda sucks.

I recently joined a Saturday riding group that has recharged me. One of my wife's friends (the one that talked her into doing a triathalon) is training for a half IronMan in March and started a small riding group that rides on Saturday mornings. I rode with this group last weekend for a "30 mile" ride. i figured; 30 miles, easy enough, I'll take the single speed. The route was fairly flat with a smallish hill and some rolling hills towards the end. This was only my 3rd ride in the month of August and I'd figured, I'd suck wind. Surprisingly, I rode pretty well. I found myself leading the group for the one hill and the last leg of the ride. This was a geat group to ride with and I can't wait for the next ride. Here's a link to Kate's blog.
I was looking into doing the Tour de Scottsdale in early Oct, but Terri is out of town that weekend. Maybe I can do the Tour de Tucson in November. I need to work on some of the logistics, though.

Bottom line, I guess is that thanks to Kate and her riding group, she's recreated a monster. All I want to do again is ride. Thanks Kate and let's tackle some hills!