Ride of Death

Yesterday's ride was a great ride except for all the death around us.



Because of today's triathlon, most of our group was absent. It was just Ron & I. We started out both pretty strong (Ron was stronger) heading into the wind. We noticed it on the way to the starting point and figured it would eventually be a factor. Just didn't think it would so soon.

As soon as we came to the bottom of our first downhill, boom! Dead racoon. Bummer. We pedalled on and came across a dead possum, dead birds, and a dead snake. It seemed strange that with all the dead animals around that the morning was so beautiful. Seeing the sun rise over the mountains through a bullet riddled road sign really takes the breath away!

So we did our Usery Pass loops (19.5 miles each way) with plenty of hill. Some moron (me) decided it would be fun to climb Las Sendas mountain 38 miles into the ride. Well, we did and the workout was awesome! Which brings me to another "dead" fo rthe ride. We were cruising down Hawes Rd (at 35+mph) to meet McKellips and head back to the cars. Dead end. Hawes was closed due to construction. We went through the "road closed" signs to see if we could squeak through. No way. A huge hole in the ground and plenty of fencing made us have to turn back and go around. We looked at this as an opportunity to add mileage instead of a bad thing.

The last "dead" of the day was how I felt. I was wiped out! I don't think it was as much the distance as it was the climbing. All in all we rode 46.94 miles and climbed 2008 feet. Our average speed was 15.3mph and our max was 41mph. Our route is here.

I decided (at least my butt did), that my seat is inadequate for long rides. My butt was also asking me to switch my seat. I think I will put the gel seat back on for my ride in November. Which reminds me, I am using my ride in November to raise money for the National Autism Association. If you can help me by donating, please click here. Thanks.

A Hill, 6 Dudes, & a Headwind

This past Sunday, our group decided to ride the "Pecos Road Loopx2" route. The route is fairly flat with some slight rolling hills. Last time we did this route, the hill on Chandler Blvd was taken East to West. Not too steep, but a little longer than the down side. Last time on the downside, I hit 43mph. This time we decided to do that part of the loop clockwise (West to East). Just a little steeper. Since this route is fairly flat, I rode the single speed. On the way up the hill, I was out of my saddle, and pulling my body down so that I could keep pedalling. I thought my legs were going to explode and my lungs felt as if they were going to jump out of my chest, it was great! I thought I was going to stop to rest, but somehow, I managed to keep on moving and make it to the top. Ron, has nicknamed this hill "Big Bertha". She was much kinder on the counterclockwise part of the trip (I did hit 43.3mph coming back down).

We were all dudes this trip. With the exception of Bertha, it was just us dudes. Kate and Suzanne, you guys missed a great ride. I don't know who it was that decided that Gary should lead, but he dragged us along for the first 10 miles. as mentioned in Kate's blog, Gary is "The Pro". He is a fast rider and really knows a lot about the sport. Gary finally pulled away from the rest of us, but we caught him on the hill. I hope to see both ladies back out with us soon.

We started this ride at 6:00 and finished around 9:00. I hadn't noticed until we were at the end of Pecos Road, but the wind sort of picked up. The whole 20 miles back was into the wind and slightly uphill. With the wind and the hills, the 40 miles we rode almost felt like 50.

It should be noted that Kate, Peter, & Kyle are all doing the Nathan's triathlon in Tempe this coming weekend. Good luck you guys, you'll do awesome!

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!

I'm in Oregon - Finally!

What seemed like an endless (but beautiful) virtual ride up the coast of California, has come to an end. I finally made it into Oregon. I thought I'd never get out of California. Winding up the coast certainly isn't the most direct route, but certainly the prettiest in my mind. Oregon shouldn't take too long then it's into Washington, peak into Canada, and east through washington some more.

Hitting another state has renewed my excitement for my virtual ride!

Gila Bend, Really?

After some discussion about the logistics of my Gila Bend ride this fall, I have decided to alter the rout slightly. Ok, a lot. It turns out that riding to Gila Bend isn't as big a deal as getting back. I had 2 choices. 1) ride back, or 2) have the fam come pick me up. I didn't really want to stay the night in Gila Bend and ride back and 200 miles in 1 day is out. In order for the family to come get me, it would require the kids to be cooped up in the car for 1-1/2 hours out and teh same back just to pick up their dad who got a bee up his butt to ride to GB.

So, a slight change in route was needed. I'm still going to ride a century (100 miles), just around the greater Phoenix area. I have posted my route on the right side of my blog page. If thereare any other crazy cyclists that would care to join me...misery loves company. I can offer room and board, a hot shower, relaxing in the spa afterwards, plenty of cold beer, and decent company. I'm planning to roll out on 9/26/09. Let me know, could be fun.