Too bad, because the winner’s check already has my name on it! =) But the great 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place prizes are still up for grabs as far as I’m concerned.
RoadBikeRides.com is promoting it's new website with a kick-a$$ contest. It’s easy to enter. Just go to www.RoadBikeRides.com and become a member. Read the contest rules and start entering ride maps, uploading pictures, posting in the forum, etc. to earn points. The ride mapping is extremely intuitive with great software powered by Google Maps ®. It's really easy to do, so you have no excuse for not entering.
Good luck… well, not too much… just enough to come in 2nd!
Friday, May 30, 2008
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Back From a Short Vacation
Well, it’s been a while since my last blog. Work responsibilities and family life often get in the way for an amateur cyclist, but I try to march, uh, er, pedal onward.
For the Memorial Day weekend, we packed up the Fit, kitted out with a new Thule roof rack, and headed for Franklin, Tennessee where my father now lives. It turns out the cycling in and around the Franklin/Nashville area is fantastic! First of all, there is the Natchez Trace Parkway, which runs from Nashville to Natchez, Mississippi, covering 440 miles. The Trace, as it is called by the locals, features controlled traffic, rolling hills, and smooth road surfaces. There is abundant wildlife along the trace, too, including wild turkey, deer, turtles, skunks, red-tail hawks, and opossums. Last year, I saw a mama opossum carrying several young on her back as she waddled along the road side. This year, I found a box turtle that somehow ended up on his back. Fortunately, it was still in the cool of the morning - if I had found him later in the day, he certainly would have been cooked inside that shell in the heat of the day. Chalk up one good deed in the karma account.
There is also outstanding riding in the areas surrounding Franklin. I found a phenomenal website for the Harpeth Bike Club that included many maps and cue sheets. I found a great route which started at the Agriculture Expo Center, less than 2 miles from my Dad’s house. The ride was great – fantastic road surfaces with rolling, twisting rural roads and virtually no traffic. At one point I saw a sign reading “For Sale: Miniature Dachshunds.” I thought that Dachshunds were, by definition, miniature and didn’t know that an even smaller version existed. Does that make the regular Dachshunds “Great Dachshunds?” I digress… another good resource for rides in the area can be found here.
Monday came too fast and it was time to go home. I got to spend some quality time with the family and some good time on the bike. We taught our daughter to play Crazy 8’s and she flourished, immediately besting Heather and I in a best-of-7 tournament. We’re back home now and back to the grind that it our work-a-day existence. I can’t be on vacation forever, but I will always have a bike to help me escape the reality.
For the Memorial Day weekend, we packed up the Fit, kitted out with a new Thule roof rack, and headed for Franklin, Tennessee where my father now lives. It turns out the cycling in and around the Franklin/Nashville area is fantastic! First of all, there is the Natchez Trace Parkway, which runs from Nashville to Natchez, Mississippi, covering 440 miles. The Trace, as it is called by the locals, features controlled traffic, rolling hills, and smooth road surfaces. There is abundant wildlife along the trace, too, including wild turkey, deer, turtles, skunks, red-tail hawks, and opossums. Last year, I saw a mama opossum carrying several young on her back as she waddled along the road side. This year, I found a box turtle that somehow ended up on his back. Fortunately, it was still in the cool of the morning - if I had found him later in the day, he certainly would have been cooked inside that shell in the heat of the day. Chalk up one good deed in the karma account.
There is also outstanding riding in the areas surrounding Franklin. I found a phenomenal website for the Harpeth Bike Club that included many maps and cue sheets. I found a great route which started at the Agriculture Expo Center, less than 2 miles from my Dad’s house. The ride was great – fantastic road surfaces with rolling, twisting rural roads and virtually no traffic. At one point I saw a sign reading “For Sale: Miniature Dachshunds.” I thought that Dachshunds were, by definition, miniature and didn’t know that an even smaller version existed. Does that make the regular Dachshunds “Great Dachshunds?” I digress… another good resource for rides in the area can be found here.
Monday came too fast and it was time to go home. I got to spend some quality time with the family and some good time on the bike. We taught our daughter to play Crazy 8’s and she flourished, immediately besting Heather and I in a best-of-7 tournament. We’re back home now and back to the grind that it our work-a-day existence. I can’t be on vacation forever, but I will always have a bike to help me escape the reality.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
I hate weathermen
OK, I know that's kinda mean. And it's not really their fault. The weather in the spring is just frickin' unpredictable. I guess what I really hate is springtime. Which leads me to another point. I know many people that say their favorite season is fall. They like the cooler temps and the changing color of the leaves. Phooey. I hate fall. Fall sucks. You know why? Because fall means two things: 1) Summer's over; and B) Winter's coming.
Anyway, my tirade on weather forecasting is due to the events on Saturday. All week long the forecast had been for bad weather on Saturday. Typically I ignore the forecasts until the 24-hour period directly preceding the activity for which I need a forecast. Sure enough, Friday night, all the local news forecasters and even the online weather sites were predicting rain and scattered thunderstorms for Saturday. I woke up early on Saturday and again checked all the weather websites - same story - a chance of severe weather in the afternoon.
I am disappointed because the race course for Saturday is one of my favorites - Sugar Grove. But the course has some serious descents which are sketchy enough even when it's dry (ask Mitch Tallan about them - he beefed heavy there last year) and I wasn't thrilled with the prospect of trying to negotiate them on slick roads. And with gas hovering at $3.85 per gallon, I opted not to make the drive down to Sugar Grove.
Idiot.
Turned out to be a beautiful day.
Oh, well. At least I thrashed myself severly on my training ride trying to simulate same race-type efforts.
I hate spring.
Anyway, my tirade on weather forecasting is due to the events on Saturday. All week long the forecast had been for bad weather on Saturday. Typically I ignore the forecasts until the 24-hour period directly preceding the activity for which I need a forecast. Sure enough, Friday night, all the local news forecasters and even the online weather sites were predicting rain and scattered thunderstorms for Saturday. I woke up early on Saturday and again checked all the weather websites - same story - a chance of severe weather in the afternoon.
I am disappointed because the race course for Saturday is one of my favorites - Sugar Grove. But the course has some serious descents which are sketchy enough even when it's dry (ask Mitch Tallan about them - he beefed heavy there last year) and I wasn't thrilled with the prospect of trying to negotiate them on slick roads. And with gas hovering at $3.85 per gallon, I opted not to make the drive down to Sugar Grove.
Idiot.
Turned out to be a beautiful day.
Oh, well. At least I thrashed myself severly on my training ride trying to simulate same race-type efforts.
I hate spring.
Friday, May 16, 2008
State Road Race Championships
The Ohio Cycling Association announced earlier this week that the Ohio State Championship Road Race would take place on Sunday, September 21. The venue will be the old Caesar’s Creek course located at Caesar’s Creek State Park in Waynesville, Ohio.
This announcement was music to my ears, because I love this course. The climb on Middletown Road is amazingly similar in duration and elevation change to the CR 5 climb that I use for training on an almost-weekly basis.
This event is already on my calendar with a big star next to the date. And typically, I tend to come into my peak form in late August and September. But September 21 is a long way from now and a lot can happen between now and then, so I’ll be hoping to avoid injuries and burnout to come to a peak at the right time.
This announcement was music to my ears, because I love this course. The climb on Middletown Road is amazingly similar in duration and elevation change to the CR 5 climb that I use for training on an almost-weekly basis.
the image below is an overlay of the climbing portion of Middletown Rd with Cr 5.
This event is already on my calendar with a big star next to the date. And typically, I tend to come into my peak form in late August and September. But September 21 is a long way from now and a lot can happen between now and then, so I’ll be hoping to avoid injuries and burnout to come to a peak at the right time.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Training Rides
One reason I have decided to start this blog is to document my training rides and race results. I'll be using RoadBikeRides.com to show the routes that I am racing and training on. If you haven't already heard of that site, check 'em out.
Tuesday's I typically stick around in Logan County after work and do some kind of hill ride. The riding in Logan County is my favorite. There are all varieties of hills to train on... and I love to climb.
Tonight's workout plan was to complete 5 hill climb repeats of about 6 minutes in duration. I use a big gear such that my cadence stays between 50 and 65 rpm and I target 300 W, which is about 110% of my functional threshold power (FTP). When I'm riding in Logan County, I always complete the hill repeats on CR 5, starting at the intersection of CR and CR 25 and finishing at the top of the climb, just south of SR 540. Here is a link to the course that I used for tonight.
Today, there was an electric company maintenance crew working right at the location where I start the intervals. I got some strange looks as I kept going up and down the hill from the dude tasked with controlling traffic around the worksite. As I started my last repeat, I announced, "This is the last time," to which he replied, "Oh, good, I thought you were lost."
Anyway, it was a good ride as I completed all of the repeats at or above my target of 300 W. It was nice to get a good ride in tonight as tomorrow I will not get a chance to ride due to work obligations. Too bad, because I will miss Wednesday Worlds again.
Tuesday's I typically stick around in Logan County after work and do some kind of hill ride. The riding in Logan County is my favorite. There are all varieties of hills to train on... and I love to climb.
Tonight's workout plan was to complete 5 hill climb repeats of about 6 minutes in duration. I use a big gear such that my cadence stays between 50 and 65 rpm and I target 300 W, which is about 110% of my functional threshold power (FTP). When I'm riding in Logan County, I always complete the hill repeats on CR 5, starting at the intersection of CR and CR 25 and finishing at the top of the climb, just south of SR 540. Here is a link to the course that I used for tonight.
Today, there was an electric company maintenance crew working right at the location where I start the intervals. I got some strange looks as I kept going up and down the hill from the dude tasked with controlling traffic around the worksite. As I started my last repeat, I announced, "This is the last time," to which he replied, "Oh, good, I thought you were lost."
Anyway, it was a good ride as I completed all of the repeats at or above my target of 300 W. It was nice to get a good ride in tonight as tomorrow I will not get a chance to ride due to work obligations. Too bad, because I will miss Wednesday Worlds again.
Why "Leave The Biker"?
Leave The Biker is a song title by the Fountains of Wayne. I've always liked that song, even though it's really about a motorcycle rider, not a cyclist.
testing 1-2-3, testing 1-2-3
This is a test, this only a test. Should a real emergency have occurred, you would have been instructed to roll up in a ball and kiss your rear end good-bye.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
