Planning a Lunch Ride...

Yesterday I knew I wanted to go for a ride on lunch. I just felt like a ride and not a run as it seems has been my choice most days lately. I was not sure which loop I wanted to do. I decided that I wanted to do this loop based on just a feel for a "road ride".

I had ridden in on a mix of road, gravel trail, and very little singletrack on the Cross bike. This gave me the options of pretty much riding any surface on lunch but I just wanted to push out on the road. The ride was good but I just wanted to go further. I want to plan a longer ride today but with fixed length lunches I am not sure it is a good idea. Paul was able to do a decent job of keeping a strong pace on his Fixie but noted some leg stress on certain sections of the ride.This had me spinning slowly (recovering) and waiting up a bit. I think it's time to convince him to get a CX or Road bike for longer faster lunch loops. I think today I will stretch it out a couple KM's but keep it within the 1 hour including prep and shower time...

Anyway babbling on about nothing... I'm out...

Great rides and Lunch rides

Well it's that time of year again. Later than usual due to my new Cyclocross bike early season purchase but it came. Mountainbike season!!! Again I have been looking at new toys and new frames and salivating over what's out there. Again I dug my bike out and wow!! I love it when you grab a bike you have not ridden in a while and it's like New bike Day all over again. Of course there is still a part of me that wants upgrades that require dollars that I already spent on other things.

Anyways went out for my season opener ride on Sunday at the Hydrocut  with Paul and Mike and his crew and had a blast, a segment of Adams run was reworked and between that and riding with guys above my technical calibur I rode some things I have previously shied away from. In hindsight not sure what the big deal was. Unfortunately late in the ride I trash talked Mike and the cycling Karma got me back with a brown tube. Lesson learned... Anyway a snipit is above.

I have had 2 lunch hour MTB rides since and both have been great. Today I stopped and snapped a couple pix. Enjoy the light reading portion of the post.

The Beast

Looking Half Dead Pre-Ride (Too much white too??)

Trails 2K from house

Trailside lake/pond

Trillium season

The not Singlespeed Bike

Picked it up last night. The new toy of fun times. It's a New To Me 2009 Kona Major Jake with some alterations made. Rode it for the first time this morning and what a blast. It will take me a while to get used to the SRASM Doubletap let alone changing gears at all but all seemed well on the first ride. I will be heading out for ride 2 in approx an hour. This thing should beat me into shape this spring...


Here I am arriving at work this am. I just started using Endomondo again yesterday. look me up if you wish.

Here is a snippit of me enjoying the new toy. #newbikeday



Good times!! I'm out...

The Endurance Fuelling Mind F#@K!!

Yup, It's almost race day. Saturday I have my first real workout for 2011 an 8 hour mountain bike race. All of my other rides and races this year have been either shared team pain or short races. This one is 8 hours of pain in heat and humidity. I have been here before but I am feeling the same thing I always do. A routine question keeps popping in my head: "What do I eat?!?". I am racing in the Solo Singlespeed category and although I am not truly vying for a podeum position I don't want to bonk either.

Last year in this race I did the Perpetuem and Heed thing and it worked ok but I ended up with late day gut rot as usual. The next race I added Endurolytes and even though it was fall and cooler weather I think they actually helped. This summer at the Summer Solstice 24 hour I cut out the Heed completely and had no gut rot. I did include endurolytes again though as well as some new foods.

Sometime this spring I was introduced to Powerbar Gel's. The first one I grabbed felt kinda weird and liquidy compared to the hammer ones I had had in the past. Examining the packaging I was pleased to see there were more caffeinated flavors and varying amounts of caffeine options per gel. May 1 I ran my first Marathon and decided to fuel with on course refreshments and these Gel's. It felt kinda bold as I had yet to eat one as i generally don't train with Gel's and powders. I had one 1/2 hour before the run, it was awesome (well as awesome as a gooey substance in tinfoil-esque packaging can be). It was much easier to ingest than any hammer gel I have ever had. On course I had 2 more during the run and found the same. I also found the energy did not die off quickly on me.

When packing for the 24 hour I decided on an interesting mix which worked well for a 5 man team approach to eating. 2 hours before lap one I had a Peanutbutter and Banana on whole wheat wrap(Race Taco?!?). 1/2 hour before the lap I had one Powerbar Gel which I was preaching to my teammates about and gave them each one to try, and Endurolytes. I then took water on the bike and stuffed a just in case gel in my jersey pocket. The lap felt great so upon finishing I had a Race Taco, a scoop of Perpetuem, and a can of Pepsi (I know that does not sound right). Before each lap Powerbar Gel and Endurolytes. On each lap Water. This became the routine until approx 3am when the pre-lap cocktail started to contain a little RedBull (eh well). Anyways during and after the race I felt awesome and my lap times were more consistent than they have ever been at one of these events.

So I am writing this and learning a bit at the same time. From what I have said before my body seems to like: Race Taco's, Powerbar Gel, Perpetuem, Endurolytes, and Water. It seems to dislike Heed for some reason.

Saturday I will likely try to pre-fuel with a solid meal and go with the powder/gel mix mentioned with a backup plan of Race Taco's in the cooler if I need something solid. As always apre-race I will be craving grease/salt/beer but what can ya do?!?

Thanks for listening to my notknowingness of it all... I'm out...

Important Message About Tonights City Council Meeting

Here is a message sent to me today regarding cycling in my city. If you know people in the region please urge them to attend. Thanks

"
Dear fellow cyclists,

Please consider attending the Kitchener City Council meeting tonight, Monday evening, June 13. Your presence could easily be the difference between success and failure regarding cycling development in the city for the foreseeable future.

The City of Kitchener's Cycling Advisory Committee will make a brief but important presentation to this meeting of City Council. The point of the presentation traces back to Council's last-minute decision to cut the cycling funds that had been called for in its new Cycling Master Plan (passed in August 2010). Of course, with neither staffing nor discretionary funding, the Cycling Master Plan is largely reduced to words on a page rather than an action plan for developing Kitchener into a cycling-friendly city.

When news of this slashed funding got out in February and March, many cyclists and non-cyclists alike contacted Council members to let them know of their unhappiness with the decision. The Cycling Advisory Committee also urged councilors to fix the situation at the earliest opportunity. As a result of these efforts, councilors have now approved in committee the hiring of a permanent half-time staff person to act as Cycling Coordinator for the city.

This is a crucial part of implementing the Cycling Master Plan. If it's nobody's job in particular to see that cycling development is maintained, it just won't happen. So getting the staff in place, while only part of the battle, is a very important part of the battle.

But the staffing decision has not yet been formally approved by Council, and recent events have proved that a last-minute change of heart or loss of commitment cannot be ruled out. With this in mind, I urge you to attend the meeting and bring your cycling helmet with you. The City of Kitchener Cycling Advisory Committee will be one of several delegations to speak, so arriving for 8 pm is probably safe. It should take little more than an hour of your time; but your support may have positive effects for local cycling that last for decades.

Thanks for your time,


Brent Ellis
Waterloo Cycling Club
and
Tim Kenyon
Chair
City of Kitchener Cycling Advisory Committee
Contact: cycling@kitchener.ca
"

Riding in the debris lane...

Photo Credit: Jim's Bike Blog

I "always" ride with caution when sharing the roads with motorized vehicles. My city has recently started to put in place "cycle lanes" a place you could continue to ride safely but be a tiny bit less cautious and take in a little more of what is going on around you. If you remember a couple weeks back I had a great day. Would the day have been as great without a bikelane flat? Probably not. Does this excuse the chunk of mesh metal that was in the cycle lane brushed off the "road"? Also probably not.

The last couple days I have had amazing lunch hour rides! Absolutely amazing for November in Ontario. 8 and 9 degrees Celsius and sunny. I did a 16km loop yesterday and completed the planned route from two weeks back with a cell phone in my pocket and route plan passed on to Paul (lesson learned). Today I took an alternate route to my regular commute and surprised my wife with a luch hour visit. The rides were things of lunch hour dreams. Good climbs great cadence(just kicked a cold), etc...

I rode both of these rides watching my surroundings but also with one eye on the lane. I was amazed by the amount of vehicle and other debris that was shoved into our space. I saw chunks of metal, rusted tailpipes, nails, bolts, indescribable sharpness, but the worst offender of all was an old style manhole cover where a cycle wheel can be swallowed whole that was lengthwise and was the whole width of the "cycle lane".

I don't really have a whole lot more to say on this subject. I was just shocked that while the road seems to be cleaned of debris regularily that our space alongside seems to be the lucky recipient of their trash.

I seemed to loose my frustration while writing this. Success!! 

Anyone else have thoughts/experiences on this matter?? I'm out... 

A great afternoon...

An afternoon in review...

Was it a #bikeschool lesson?? Well for me no but it definitely has some #bikeschool type lessons involved for those thinking of starting a family etc...

Wednsday anyone who follows me on twitter knows that there was a contest being held for Jonas Brother tickets and my daughter really wanted to go. My wife and I tweeted like crazy to try to win these as we had not planned ahead on this one...

Our weekend plans were to close the Summer off as we had spent most of the summer. Head north to the cottage, Swim, canoe, maybe I may sneak in a ride here or there on my old Singlespeed Nishiki. Plus there are a few summer ending celebrations going on up there in the evenings...

Thursday came and we did not win the Twitter contest, all stays the same right? I am at work and get a tweet from a dear friend that she has been offered 2 free tickets to the 2pm Friday concert for my wife and daughter. We snapped at them still planning to head north early Saturday after the show... Well I think that is a good backgrounder -- lets get on with the story...

Friday I worked from home as someone had to watch my son and the little guy my wife watches on the side. This was easily worked out at work as it was a last day before the long weekend and things would be quiet. Got quite a few tasks crossed off and 3:30 came quite quickly. The extra little man was picked up early and my work day was done...

My wife and Daughter had been in or on route to Toronto since 9:45am and were not expected back until later in the evening. The boys needed something to keep them occupied, and what would a guy like me think of...... Hrm... A bike.

Little guy was happy to hop in the back and head to a park an then dinner. We had a blast at the park dinner then another park. He was running out of gas and there were signs of rain. I put up the roof of the trailer and we headed for home.... Well that was the plan, ran into a friend that had seen me messing around on a longboard at my daughters school pick-up last year and told me of his extensive skateboard collection. Perfect time to check out a couple toys. He grabbed 2 sweet toys and his wife went and grabbed another that was in mint condition but recently converted into a bench for the front hall of the house.

I took an old Tony Hawk board for a little ride around his court and pulled a couple tricks that I had not even tried in years. Then the little guy decided to try it and held my hands as I dragged him around the circle. He had a blast so I took a pic of him on the fun toy.

I was amazed at how much effort it took to climb some of the hills around here on the fixie with the trailor attached. I had taken the trailor out on a variety of different bikes in the past and never had any issues. I did not have to step off at any time but had to fight it a couple times yesterday.

the little guy and I had an amazing afternoon-evening and he is still a little whipped today. Weather conditions and just an overall crazy schedule yesterday kept us home from the cottage but I don't think anyone here would change a thing. Cant wait for our next impromptu father son/father son/or family adventure!!

#bikeschool egggy edition #2... healthy cycle...

Well, I am about to step back in time a few years get ready....
Talking to a new co-worker about cycling (mountain biking to be exact) and how we both had ridden a local trail quite a bit but not in the past few years. "We gotta get out sometime" was the topic of many conversations. These conversations stretched out across approximately 3 years. Yeah we had been off the bike for too long. The both of us had.

One crazy day I contacted my friend, a cycle store owner and asked what kind of deal he could give me if I was going to get back into biking. He hooked me up with a 15% off plus tax free deal for me on a Kona Blast although he made many free alterations for me. I asked about a friend and he said if I had 2 purchases same day he would honor the same deal. So from there i played it this way, hey Paul you are getting a new bike, here is the deal!!! He was in but one upped me with a Kona Caldera. History was made. Wednesday rides starting/finishing my place 10k to the trails 22km-27km of trails then back was official.

At this point I had one young daughter and I had quit baseball for cycling and 1 night vs 3 looked great to my wife. Anyways this is not the real #bikeschool story. More of just a lead in. I was a pretty tame mountain bike enthusiast just getting back into the game.

one day I decided to do the whole ride with no stop/chat's and just ride it hard. I did it i cranked and cranked out there, across the whole trail Paul and I switching up the lead position as we saw fit. Riding back my 210lb body said no-more. I rode it out but was in a beyond bonk position. Home was a great place to be to think about where I was and what I needed to get into better riding shape. The #bikeschool lesson this time was that in order to be able to continue with my passions of hockey and cycling I may need to take care of myself a little better.

Health is important as learnt via #bikeschool...

Ouch, this post is off topic as it has to do only with geared cycling... More about my evolution in future sessions... I'm out...

#bikeschool

A little while ago I caught onto what started as a joke between @Bikerly and @LovingTheBike on twitter. They were talking about #secretevilplan, I was curious and threw in some fun anecdotes. From there it turned into jokes about water bottle concoctions etc... Then we joked a little less and started to think about where we could go with a #secretevilplan event even though we are geographically diverse. I was not successful in coming up with a plan but @bikerly came up with a great one. And we move forward.

Was called up by a close riding friend Chris who I had not ridden with in years and another old friend's younger brother was to come along. We tossed the idea of meeting at a new location for two to three of us as I was not sure if Ryan had ridden there before. I knew my buddy Mike had ridden there before and we had only ever raced together and regularly near missed group rides together. An unlikely group of riders all different speeds and styles showed up at the lot.

All of us excited about a ride we got through the "hey how goes it's" etc quickly and got on the bikes. Ryan apparently knew the trails best so he led. I decided to jump in second and we were off. Went through a couple nice tight pine switchbacks and then into a dark spot. Not sure if it was Ryan's yell "mud" that spooked me or just a slippery puddle, I dropped the bike but successfully ran along side somehow. Mike and Chris passed and I rejoined the back of the train. I slid in front of Chris on a loose rocky climb only because I needed to keep the momentum on the singlespeed. We rode through a few more pine switchbacks and stopped for water and a little chat. All was well and we started up in the same order as we stopped. At this point Ryan moved forward followed closely by Mike, Myself and Chris. After a few more tight twists and turns and a little gravel climbing I realized Chris had lost a little pace on us. I took a left and yelled out left for him to follow. Two more climbs and I realized that where there had been four there were now three.

I decided now would be a good time to stop and wait for Chris as this was a group ride with friends and not a race. I also called to the guys ahead but they were on their way down a loose rocky downhill and did not hear me. I watched as they rode off into the distance. Waiting a little longer I turned back expecting a bail or mechanical had occurred. Not only did I not find Chris but another group of riders had not seen him either. I was in a set of 50km of trails that I did not know from Adam, and to that matter I did not remember the way out as I had followed a tire in and not paid attention to which turns were made.

I rode for approximately 15km before finding the carpark. I yelled names every so often and asked other groups if they had seen my group or a stray. There was writing in dust on my van saying Chris had been there 10 mins ago but went back in. The chase was on I sprinted through "all the original singletrack" without the mud bail this time. Realized I was lost again and wound through a real nice technical section of climbs (that likely are mapped as downhills) found the carpark alot quicker this time though after about a 5km loop. Got to the carpark and Mike and Ryan were there, we started talking and Chris showed up. They all started putting their bikes away and we chatted for a while. I said to Mike that I was still feeling great and had heard from Ryan about a nice loop I had missed. He apparently did not realize I was serious and got changed.

The others left and I turned back in, Mike yelled out that he wanted another loop but was already comfortable so he left. I had an amazing 10km loop with no worries about finding the others and packed it up and went home.

How does this story relate to twitter and #secretevilplan? How does this relate to @bikerly or @lovingthebike? These two guys were nowhere near this ride. I did not even chat about this ride with them before or after. I may have tweeted about loosing friends in the trail but that's about it. What did I learn while riding this set of trails? Did I learn about a great new set of trails? of course I did but this is not my point. Did I learn that riding alone is more fun than in groups? Heck no!! Really I may have learned a little about riding but this is not really why I am writing this story.

I am writing this because @Bikerly came up with a great idea for #bikeschool, things learned while riding. Not necessarily things learned about riding. I learned on this ride in particular that I there needs to be a better way of communicating amongst a group when group riding, maybe it should be radio's maybe it should be cellphones? Maybe everyone should stay still when they realize they have been separated and then slowly retrace their steps. Probably does not matter what the method is but communication of a plan before the ride is key. Or maybe communication with friends is the real key.

If you have stories of things you have learned about life through cycling tweet about it using #bikeschool or maybe some more #bikeschool bloging. Now I guess we will have to think up another #secretevilplan.

Be Sure to also checkout these cycle blogs regarding #bikeschool

http://lovingthebike.com/
http://bikerly.wordpress.com/

Taking it in

Although today was a bit of a fail in a couple ways the lunch hour ride was amazing. First, why a fail? All day meeting ran for about 45 minutes (Meeting Fail!!), second my originally planned 4 days of 5km running on lunch turned into 3 days of 5km running and 1 day of 15km riding (Running Motivation Fail!!).

Today's ride was along a familiar route. I have ridden this route regularly for the past 2 years. It is a nice 15km starting and ending at the steps of the hospital that employs me. Even though this ride was the same it was somehow different. I rode hard and pushed myself to do better (Same), but I noticed things, lots of things (Different).

I noticed lots of people on their bikes, Kids on their BMX's pedaling along and talking. People in work cloths commuting. People with large packs secured to themselves and bikes obviously on an adventure of some kind. Cyclists on trails, roads, sidewalks. People with helmets and people without. The cycling culture in the city is obviously growing, or I am just finally opening my eyes.

I also noticed other things, vehicles, pedestrians, road workers and summer patio dwellers. I may have to partake in the patio part at some point also. In the summer the city is alive especially late in the week over the lunch hour I assume.

Why are my eyes open? Why am I finally noticing my surroundings? Why am I taking it in? Watch here as well as @bikerly and @lovingthebike for more info coming in the next little while.

Perhaps I should have ridden with a camera. I'm out...

8 Hours of Epic Encouragement

WOW, had a super fun ride/race Saturday. Made up for any negative feelings I held onto from the previous race for sure.

The week leading up to the race had me very weary of weather conditions as they were calling for 15-20mm of rain. I had also spent the week prior to that relaxing at the cottage and let my training slide completely except for canoeing, swimming and 1 measly 8k ride. Back at the office last week I did my best to get in at least 21K per day except for Friday when I only rode 6k to wind back down. I was feeling pretty good about my return to conditioning by Friday except for maybe mild lack of sleep. All week my wife and I had things going on and did not get settled in until late. Friday night my daughter did Jr. Cheer for the Toronto Argonauts which was great but again left us up until 12:30am.
Saturday morning I woke up in a quiet house at 6:30am. Careful to be quiet and not wake my wife, in-laws, kids, or niece I made and ate some breakfast and began mixing Perpetuem and gathering other foods which would not be used. Grabbed 2 Gatorade bottles on the way out the door for morning beverage needs.

I was off, put the Hardwood Hills co-ords in the garmin and headed for the fun. Part way there I stopped for water and found Red Rain on for 74cents a can so decided to get 4 for post-race wake up. A little further on and got a text that Mike had forgotten his water, stopped in Barrie at an everything store that was equipped with a Water depot and got him 4 gallons of water. Again, I was off...

A short drive further and I was at Hardwood Hills unpacking my bike and daily needs into Mike's tent. Headed in and got my plates and race schwag and got into my racing garb. Day was shaping up well. It was hot and humid but not raining. Mike and I headed down and got in line at the race start. I positioned myself behind a few people I knew were in my category. I also met a couple guys at the start. Always great meeting people in person at these events that you have talked to online. Almost time to go and then time stands still for a bit.

Go!! And we are off. Up the first hill and playing early pole position with one of my competitors. Got ahead and set my sites on the rear tire of another pair of riders led by Peter. I loosly held the tire in question for the next 1.5 laps but they snuck away in traffic after that. My plan was to do 3 laps between first pit and 2 there on out. I had been feeling great early and was not drinking my Perpetuem and started to notice lack of calories. Drank back quite a bit and was right back. Ended up doing 4 laps before first pit and was feeling great. Went in for my first pit stop and refilled my Camelback and grabbed a new bottle of Perpetuem.

Lap 5-6 went well except for my new bottle was a little too fast pour. I decided I was going to do 3 laps but did not have any left in the bottle after 2. Quick pit and back out. Not sure what happened the next lap but it was a game changer. Was pounding through feeling great until I got in the midst of a bunch of other riders and got sloppy. Literally fell off the bike at the crest of a hill between two large trees and hung there from my cleats for a sec. "You alright??" Yup back up and going. Over the same sections that I have already hit 6 times and things are just sloppy this time. Just before the end of the lap within the last 1K i go over a familiar rock that I have found a great line to cross successfully at high speed and... Bang, twist, flop, smash... Head - meet fallen log, hey that guy just asked me if I was ok back there too. Take inventory, head check, neck, check, bike, check, helmet, well sorta check it is not sitting anywhere near right. Ride the few hundred meters to transition and repair the helmet. Great encouragement from the sidelines continue and a how was that lap? I just shook my head and headed for my pit.

Plans change. Time to ease off a bit and stop for fuel and cool-down a bit more. I dumped 2 bottles over my head and took an advil for that new pain in the back of my head. 8th lap was great and the water bottles over the head and Heed at the campsite really brought my temp back to normal. I decided to do so for remaining laps. At the end of lap 8 I was given info that the rear wheel I had chased early in the race had dropped out as well as my early pole position which put me around 4th place. Still feeling too far from the podeum I decided pacing myself was best. If I had realised that I had just been passed coming into transition and was close within fighting distance of 3rd I think I would have played the late game differently. Lap 9-10 were very much the same as 8 and had no bails or anything and energy bursts were good. Nothing to report about bails etc and my hand eye had came back after the cool down sessions. Lap 11 was a slow start. Could not muster my normal attack the first couple climbs and get into it. Pulled away later on the lap than usual. Ended up about midway standing for a little breather atop the hardest climb of the race pounding some heed and ran into Mike. "What are you doing?" I'm dead. "No you are not" and with that it was back I felt like I sprinted the second half of my last lap leaving everything on the course. It was a super fun race and I want to do the fall Epic 8 now. I am very happy with a 5th place finish in Solo SingleSpeed at my first 8 hour solo.

Late in the race I was greeted with a bellowing of egggman, egggman, Mike how you feeling from behind. I said I was hurting and called a pass for the guy in front of me. I wnt out to the right and was passing when he swirved or at least that is my story. My bar end cought in his brake lever and we went down. At this point Mark Somers of Joyride 150 rode by with a little laugh/smirk/you ok kind of thing. Another last lap mini bail came from missing my water bottle cage and doing a little butt over teakettle kinda roll. Ah the comic relief of it all.

It was great to ride with all the people around you giving you props for doing it solo and a few minor heckles about sanity and doing it Singlespeed Solo. I have always had an appreciation for Solo racers but that increased 10 fold over the day. The weather held out other than a couple minor sprinkles late in the day and my wife showed up on my second last lap which put a smile on my face. The picture below is me on the final turn of the final lap taken by my wife. I did not feel like I had as much energy left as the picture shows.

I think I learned a few things about Solo racing Saturday, mostly regarding keeping the fuel coming at the same rate and don't let up or you will get weak. Also make sure to do whatever it takes to cool down when possible. Next time I hope to need less breaks as if I am able to schedule it it will be early fall and much better temps. I think that's all I have to say for now... I'm out...

CREAK, CREAK, CRE-E-AK!

I read a book called Newton by Rory Tyger to my kids regularly as a bedtime story. It features a bear who gets scared of noises specifically CREAK, CREAK, CRE-E-AK!!! I have often wondered if this book would lead them to being scared of such noises. Over time I have realized that it is me who has become scared of the CREAK, CREAK, CRE-E-AK!!!

During my first lap of Hot August Nights I heard the noise, only once when pushing over the top of a hill. I was nervous of it and tried to reproduce the sound back at camp. Nothing so I put it away as a one time odd noise. As mentioned in my 6 Hour Blog entry the creak came back and all in all ended up being my first ever broken chain. I put in a quick link and all was well. I noted to self that now is the time to replace my chain and since I am running Singlespeed and there is play in my 18 year old bottom bracket I might as well replace that while I am at it.

I am a professional-crastinator so I have not yet got around to this 2 weeks later and continue to ride the bike. I was beginning to think I could just forget the repair and ride the way I have been when my lunch hour ride today back came CREAK, CREAK, CRE-E-AK!!! I guess it is time to kick my own butt and go out and get a chain and bottom bracket before the inevitable.

Other than the nightmare the lunch hour ride was a nice mix of doubletrack, singletrack, climbs and descents that stretched out to 11K today. I felt refreshed afterwards and felt it time to release my words...

Well that's todays fun...

Shameless Plug - Singlespeed and Fixie Wear

I created a line of clothing a while back to catch the humorous side of cycling. Particularly to allow Singlespeeders and Fixie's to poke a bit of harmless fun at your geared friends.



I know there are many other designs that do this but was just fiddling around with The Gimp one night and liked how it turned out. Figured I would see if anyone else like it too. What do you think?

Back to normal blogging tomorrow. Im out...

Eating for an Endurance Event

I have read many, maybe too many articles on fueling the body for a race or Epic adventure. I have put together my basics over time and they seemed to keep me in good shape through the 6 hour this past weekend.

I start my altered eating plan 2 days prior to an event. I like to have Liver and onions for dinner this night to increase Iron, and vitamins. The day before the race I try to get some Cod Liver from the local European market ever since my Father in law gave it to me one night before a race and I did well. And for evening the night before the race I have Liver and onions with spaghetti and Tomato sauce fried in the pan also. Covers the Iron, Vitamins, and Additional Carbs needed for the race.

These things I figure are all just done to get inside my head and make me feel prepared. May not actually do anything on the day of the race but they make me feel prepared. I think convincing myself I am ready is half the battle.

On the day of the race I like to start my day out with a heavy breakfast consisting of cereal, fruit, and yogurt. Just get enough easily absorbed calories into myself before I switch to a race diet just prior to the event.

30 minuites before start I like to have a piece of fruit and some Hammer Gel. As the event progress's I fuel myself between laps with Hammer Heed, Hammer Gel, My Mother In-Laws peanut butter granola bars (My wife makes these now), and fruit. This past weekend I was stopping every 2-3 laps and having half a bar, a shot of gel, some fruit and washing it down with heed. I drink water alone on the course.

This mixture of foods seems to keep me going well without feeling hunger and without bonking.

Maybe this post will add to some other guy like me who likes to mix all the things he hears into his training/eating regime.

Thats all I have to say about that....

A new country loop!!! Great ride!!!

Well, as you can guess from the pic today's lunch hour ride I chose a loop thru the country. After looking at my previous loop and zooming out I found an alternate route that looked fun. So instead of a ride just shy of 18K this time it was a ride just shy of 25K. Altho my previous post stated that I would be thinking 26 vs 29 on this ride that was not in my mind at all. Not long before I left Phaty tweeted this. Now my mind was racing why would a bent top tube be a bad thing. I am not sure why but I am sure there are well founded reasons.

Is it weaker? Harder to fit the cycle to the rider? Too noodly? Or esthetically not pleasing to certain cyclists? Does it rob the cyclists of pedal power in some way? If you can shed some light on this subject please let me know.

The other thing I kept thinking about was the Blackberry in my jersey pocket. Should I take pictures of the shoddy road repairs. Nah I don't want to stop. Do I take pix of the country side, maybe in a bit.... Then eventually I stopped.

All in all a great 25K. I will probably just do a short 6K ride to the office tomorrow and a walk on lunch to round out my training for Saturday's 6 hour solo race... If I have not mentioned this is my firs solo endurance race so i am starting small with a 6 hour. Ride report to come after race...

That's all that's runnin around in my head with the hamster right now... I'm out...