Goals

I run with a friend of mine from work several days a week.  I ride most of those days and lately I have had a lot my mind.  The result of this is that I have been less than enthusiastic about running at lunch. Once he prods me into getting out there we do well. I am in the Army and we have very effective ways of motivating people to do things; the most common is to insult the person, call them mean names and humiliate them until you get your desired result. It is very effective and he usually resorts to that.  They are mostly social runs vs a race, discussions range from politics to politics.  On the past few runs he has been suggesting that we run an ultra marathon. 

 

Really.....an ultra marathon, we run about 3-4 miles on average and you want to jump to 60+ miles in some exotic location or extreme condition.  I am not that fond of running but his reasoning is sound; while we may not be as fast or trim as we were when we were young we are still in very good shape.  In fact I would venture to say that while I may not be as fast as I was (or as trim), overall I am physically stronger and more capable than I was when I was 19.  While I may not recover as quickly or bounce as well, mentally and emotionally I am stronger now than I ever was.  

 

I have decided that while I am still young, I need to challenge myself more.  There are a number of events I would like to try, mostly casual but there are a couple of races.  I have missed out on some of the event registration so in an effort to continually challenge myself, I have made a list of events I will participate in, some hard and some not so hard.

 

May:  Spring Tailwind Century--I did the fall version of this.  I don't recall that it was a ton of fun but it is a great concept.  The QCBC has a number of routes pre-planned.  The night before the route is chosen based on the most favorable tailwind.  Again, I did the fall version a year ago, not so favorable wind.

 

June:  TOMRV--I am told this is a heck of a ride.  A two day ride with 106 miles the first day and 90 or so the second.  I am told that there is a lot of climbing and that most are challenged because it is early in the season.  I have been cranking a lot more this year than in the past.  I don't think I will suffer as much as those who don't ride all winter.

 

July and August going to have no scheduled activities due to other stuff.  Household 6 would probably flip out if I scheduled anything during those months. 

 

September:  Buffalo Bill Century Ride--Looks good to me, I really know nothing about this. 

 

October:  Tour de BBQ in Kansas City--This 62 mile ride with BBQ stops looks great but the cost could become prohibitive.  I do have four kids to feed.  I will have to do some research on this as it gets closer. 

As a long term goal, I would like to try a longer gravel race.  I am looking at the Dirty Kanza for 2014 while I am still living in the area.  This fits into our lunch time run discussion.  I am not getting younger but at least I am not getting worse...for now.  I need to do some stuff while I can. 

 

Tailwind Century

Based on my amazing performance at the Heartland Century, I decided that the Tailwind Century would be a great idea. You can read about it here. Based on the website it sounded like a fun ride. The ride organizers determine which way the wind is blowing. You put your bike on a truck. You get on a bus. One hundred or so miles later you get off and ride back. In this case we started in Byron, IL. Here is the cue sheet. Please take a look at it and imagine trying to decipher this while pedaling down the highway.

My preperation strategy was the same as before.

1. Ride as much as possible: The Heartland was on 10 September. The Tailwind was 1 October. I did not ride a bike more than about 10 miles during that time period. This ride as much as possible strategy doesn't really work when trying for pain free riding!

2. Get a good set of tires: Used my Gatorskin tires by Continental.

3. Drink a bunch of water: having learned from the last century drank at least 32 ounces of water in addition to Diet Coke. I might learn someday

4. Shove my jersey pockets as full of Jelly Belly Caffeine Sports Beans and Pearson's Salted Nut Rolls: This time I made it to the bike shop to purchase Jelly Belly Caffeine Sports Beans. After several hours of riding, these help with a little extra brain boost. I do not like to put Gatorade in my water bottles because green stuff eventually grows in them. I went out to the garage where I keep a big box of Salted Nut Rolls. To my dismay, it was empty. Turns out the kids like them after swim team practices. It also turns out that my body stores many of the candy bars I eat, however, that does me little good when I am a.) hungry, b.) trying to fit in spandex, and c.) spending 6+ hours on a little seat. I would also like to add that I watched a guy eat one on the bus, which goes to show that my theory about them is correct.

As you can see, my preperation was terrible, which is how I felt about 30 miles in. The ride was great. We started at Byron, Illinois which is on the Rock River and is home to this:

One of the more challenging aspects of this ride was deciding on clothing. The temperature was about 45 degrees at the start, if you figure in shady areas and wind chill, it was very cool, however, the afternoon high was 60 degrees. I wore arm and leg warmers which peel off easily (and it never really warmed up enough for those to come off) and a light hat under my helmet.

The group was hesitant to start, I guess nobody wanted to be the first to misread the cue sheet. We quickly headed down the road, 104 miles home. My main concern was getting lost, in the middle of Illinois so I found a group that was going at a comfortable pace. I stayed with them until one of them threw a chain on hill. I then began to crank hard to catch the group in front of me.

They were too fast for me and worked a paceline well. I didn't stand a chance.  I ended riding with two others that were familiar with the route.  


All was well until I left my water bottles at the SAG stop.  It just so happened that this was the section with no convenient stores for 30 miles.  I basically rode on the 8 oz mountain dew I drank at the SAG.  At the end of the day, was ready to be done.  I am not sure if we got a lot of assistance from the wind.  It certainly didn't feel like it.  


Notes for the future:
1.  Eat breakfast
2.  Drink water before the ride (don't leave bottles during the ride)
3.  Ride a little before a century.

Heartland Century

It has been a couple of weeks (ok more like a month) since the Heartland Century. It was a nice 107 mile ride (supposed to be 104 but I got lost) through Illinois farmland. The county roads are amazing, paved, clean, and most important minimal traffic with polite drivers. The high was about 80 degrees and the morning started with a nice cool mist. For my first century I performed well beyond my expectations and the personal goal I set (8 hours). As for my preparation:

1. Ride as much as possible: I rode as much as possible (which was not nearly enough).

2. Get a good set of tires: I did not flat (not sure if that had to do with a good set of tires or the reasonably clean roads).

3. Drink a bunch of water: I did a lousy job of hydrating for the several days before the ride. It turns out that Diet Coke is not a water substitute (shocking I know).

4. Shove my jersey pockets as full of Jelly Belly Caffeine Sports Beans and Cliff Bars as possible: I never made it to the bike shop to purchase Jelly Belly Caffeine Sports Beans. Recent studies show that caffeine is a great for enhancing athletic performance, I was mainly trying to stay off withdrawal due to lack of Diet Coke. Fortunately the "continental breakfast" consisted of energy bars and gels so I used the Caffienated Clif Shot gels (nasty) at the sign in table. I ate about 3 or so Pearson's Salted Nut Rolls (240 calories apiece) during the ride and a standard Clif bar (240 calories).

As for getting lost I would like to point out that I am not from the area and this part of Illinois is like a giant maize maze. I am anti-GPS (for use as other than a speedometer and odometer (mine is basic no road maps, just data). The cue sheet that was handed out was long and without a map, missing a turn or missing a mileage mark translates to lost. To make it easier, the Quad Cities Bike Club paints a bright orange heart on the pavement with an arrow. But I missed a turn in the small town of Erie, Illinois where I took a few mile detour around the down town area.

For this ride I chose the Basso aka "the Mistress." This was a comfortable choice, however, it is high geared and is limited to 16 gears. I bought some new Continental Gatorskin tires in a 25c for the durability. Aside from the gearing and limited choice of shifting, it is a great bike and for being 16 years old it does an amazing job.

Below are some super high quality pics of my ride stats. If you need to, turn your monitor sideways to view the pictures.

This is clearly a picture of the trip odometer for the ride.

Moving Time was 6 hours 31 minutes. This did not calculate the time I spent eating at the mid point SAG. Average speed is 16.5 MPH

As you can see, the map feature is fairly detail free, there are no road map features. If someone would like to get me a Garmin Edge 800 for a gift I could probably upload really cool ride stats and profiles instead of using a camera. I have a feeling that for $500 I will continue with my camera and old GPS.

I would like to add that while rides like this are not about racing, my family blood does not permit me to participate in anything without it becoming some sort of competition in the end. This quality is both a burden and a blessing which ultimately allows a person like me to survive in a world of intelligent and talented people. I found myself racing some people who started before me, did not get lost, and did not sit and eat/drink as long as I did. At one point I found myself working hard to catch a man that was about 1/4 mile ahead of me. After several miles of relentless pursuit I caught the man. As I overtook him I gave a friendly greeting of the day. To my surprise, it was a woman. To be clear, I was not surprised a woman was "beating" me in a "race," that has happened plenty in life. She just looked like a man!

I quickly shook that off and began my pursuit of another "man," as I got closer I was assured of this based on the fact that facial hair was present. What shocked me about this guy was that he looked as though he would be better suited for bowling or low endurance activities such as watching NASCAR. To my surprise, he could pedal.

I guess that is what I like about bicycling, anyone can do it, regardless of age, gender, or shape. Though it does help to be young, fit, and prepared.

I have done quite a few 30 mile rides during the last few weeks. During that time I have been been making a lot of adjustments that will make longer distances more comfortable.

The Basso is set up for racing and has a stem that drops a little more than I would like. Not that I spend a lot of time in drops but it is nice to have a variety of riding positions, this helps kinks in the back and arms. I moved the stem up a quarter of an inch. We will see if that helps.

I also picked up some Continental Gatorskins in a 25c. I have heard great things about them and the larger size will help reduce some of the road chatter.

The other day I had to pull the bottom bracket and grease it. Apparently the grease had broken down as it sat for 15 years. I couldn't take the creaking anymore. That was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I initially planned on taking into the LBS, however, the guy said it would be cheaper if I did it. So far so good.

I also bought a box of Pearson's Salted Nut Rolls. This is one of the best candy bars ever. They have as many calories as your standard energy bar but better tasting. I plan on loading my jersey pockets with them for the century.

You know what they say, "no pain, no pain."

100 Miles With No Plan

When I found out I would be moving to Rock Island Arsenal, I decided to look into cycling activities. I found that the Quad Cities has a great bicycling club. I had one check with me in Pakistan so I used it to sign up for a century in September. My plan was to put a ton of miles on the road so I would be prepared.

I have never ventured much past 50 miles. It usually takes me about 4 hours. When I use my GPS my average speed is typically 17-18 MPH. That is on pretty even terrain without a lot of big climbs. Of course if there are any mechanical issues or flats, that adds time.

As it usually goes my dreams do not come close to reality. I cannot ride every day, nor do I have 3-4 hours a day to train properly. So here is the current plan to survive a 100 mile ride.

1. Ride as much as possible.

2. Get a good set of tires (avoiding flats=finishing in less than 8 hours).

3. Drink a bunch of water.

4. Shove my jersey pockets as full of Jelly Belly Caffeinated Sports Beans and Cliff Bars as possible.

It is not much of a plan. We will see how it works out. My goal is sub 8 hours.