Man, I've been doing a lot of riding lately. All of that riding sure doesn't translate into actual miles covered.
http://tomerceg.tripod.com/trippics/indoor1.jpg
No matter how long I pedal I just never seem to cover any distance!
http://tomerceg.tripod.com/trippics/indoor2.jpg
I'm really hoping the weather gods finally smile on me this weekend. I rode indoors on both Saturday and Sunday because of alleged rain, only to see no rain on either day. I'm riding indoors every day this week. Saturday looks like my first opportunity to actually feel the wind on my face since the rain-out at Tierra Bella. Keep your fingers crossed. It would be nice to actually "ride my bike" before setting off across the country.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Mother Nature is a PITA
"No plan survives first contact with the enemy."
Accuweather.com is back on my list...
I laid out this well thought out training plan. Four century rides. The last two would be on back-to-back weekends, with a fair amount of mid-week riding. I was going to cover over 300 miles in a 9 day period of time, then I'd start tapering off before the start of the trip. It all made perfect sense.
Last Saturday was the Tierra Bella ride from Gilroy to San Jose and back. It's notorious for "unsettled"weather, anything from rain to blazing heat with winds thrown in. The weather report looked dicey for last Saturday, but accuweather said the rain wouldn't start until 1:00 p.m. and it would just be showers. I figured I could handle that.
Bev and I drove down and got a shower in San Jose, but by the time we started riding the rain had stopped. We met her friends Wendy and John and rode most of the day with them. The first 25 miles were actually nice. A little cold maybe (about 48 degrees), but tolerable. Then the rain showed up.
By the time we pulled into the second rest stop we were soaked to the bone. There were a couple hundred people huddled under a tent watching the skies unload. The cup-o-noodles helped to thaw us out, but the idea of climbing Metcalf Road and its 16% grade in these conditions wasn't too appealing. So we made the "adult" decision and decided to shorten the ride.
I kept hoping that we'd return to "showers", but that was not to be. Mother Nature just kept on giving. As we rode to the cutoff point on Bailey Road the conditions just stayed uniformly miserable. We coasted down a freeway overpass and a gust of wind blew us both a full lane sideways. We couldn't do anything about it. The bikes just slid to the side.
We took another shortcut at Santa Teresa to avoid the remaining hills. Our shortcut brought 2 flat tires to the group, including a thumb tack that embedded itself into my rear tire. Frozen hands made that repair a "challenge".
Bev developed a moderate case of hypothermia at the last rest stop. She just shook uncontrollably. We sat her down by the heater and a couple of the ride volunteers covered her with towels and sweaters to try and warm her up. You can only do so much when you're soaking wet and it's still around 50 degrees outside. We only had 13 miles to finish this thing, so we figured riding on was the best choice.
Bev smelled the finish. She took off like a bat out of hell and we just latched on to her wheel. I think the thought of dry clothes was an inspiration. Just to taunt us, the rain stopped about 2 miles from the finish. We remained in good humor all day, which was no minor feat considering the conditions. The war stories over the post-ride meal were pretty entertaining.
So I didn't get in the 100 I was looking for, and I blew off the Sunday ride I'd planned. Mentally I just wasn't ready. Of course the weather was nice on Sunday.
Now I have another organized Century Ride planned for this coming Sunday, and the weather is going to be miserable again. ugh.
Accuweather.com is back on my list...
I laid out this well thought out training plan. Four century rides. The last two would be on back-to-back weekends, with a fair amount of mid-week riding. I was going to cover over 300 miles in a 9 day period of time, then I'd start tapering off before the start of the trip. It all made perfect sense.
Last Saturday was the Tierra Bella ride from Gilroy to San Jose and back. It's notorious for "unsettled"weather, anything from rain to blazing heat with winds thrown in. The weather report looked dicey for last Saturday, but accuweather said the rain wouldn't start until 1:00 p.m. and it would just be showers. I figured I could handle that.
Bev and I drove down and got a shower in San Jose, but by the time we started riding the rain had stopped. We met her friends Wendy and John and rode most of the day with them. The first 25 miles were actually nice. A little cold maybe (about 48 degrees), but tolerable. Then the rain showed up.
By the time we pulled into the second rest stop we were soaked to the bone. There were a couple hundred people huddled under a tent watching the skies unload. The cup-o-noodles helped to thaw us out, but the idea of climbing Metcalf Road and its 16% grade in these conditions wasn't too appealing. So we made the "adult" decision and decided to shorten the ride.
I kept hoping that we'd return to "showers", but that was not to be. Mother Nature just kept on giving. As we rode to the cutoff point on Bailey Road the conditions just stayed uniformly miserable. We coasted down a freeway overpass and a gust of wind blew us both a full lane sideways. We couldn't do anything about it. The bikes just slid to the side.
We took another shortcut at Santa Teresa to avoid the remaining hills. Our shortcut brought 2 flat tires to the group, including a thumb tack that embedded itself into my rear tire. Frozen hands made that repair a "challenge".
Bev developed a moderate case of hypothermia at the last rest stop. She just shook uncontrollably. We sat her down by the heater and a couple of the ride volunteers covered her with towels and sweaters to try and warm her up. You can only do so much when you're soaking wet and it's still around 50 degrees outside. We only had 13 miles to finish this thing, so we figured riding on was the best choice.
Bev smelled the finish. She took off like a bat out of hell and we just latched on to her wheel. I think the thought of dry clothes was an inspiration. Just to taunt us, the rain stopped about 2 miles from the finish. We remained in good humor all day, which was no minor feat considering the conditions. The war stories over the post-ride meal were pretty entertaining.
So I didn't get in the 100 I was looking for, and I blew off the Sunday ride I'd planned. Mentally I just wasn't ready. Of course the weather was nice on Sunday.
Now I have another organized Century Ride planned for this coming Sunday, and the weather is going to be miserable again. ugh.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Why this trip? Why Now?
"Why"? is probably the question I get asked the most. It's really pretty much impossible to explain it, because the reasons are not logical. Utitmately, doing something like taking 2 months unpaid leave from work and riding 80 miles a day for 7 weeks is pretty irrational. People seem to either "get it", or think I'm nuts. I understand and accept both of those reactions.
For me personally, I've dreamed of riding my bike across the U.S. basically ever since I bought my first serious bike. I didn't think it would ever happen, but the idea has always bounced around in the back of my head.
I love big, audacious athletic challenges. That is what first drew me to the Marathon back in 1988. It's why I did my first Ironman Triathlon in 1999. It's why I've done two more Ironman races, and 3 more marathons since then. It's why last year rode I rode 5 double-century (200 miles in a day) bike rides. The feeling of accomplishment when I finish one of these events is just incredible. It never gets old. They are not always "fun", in the traditional sense of the word, but these days are transformative, life-affirming events that most people never get to experience. I understand that my limits in life are truly in my head. Every finish reaffirms this. I know this in a way that the average person just can't grasp.
I've been looking at possible bike trips for awhile, but the timing was just never right, until this year. Laurie and I sold our house, so all of those homeowner headaches are gone. Our son is off living on his own now, so we're empty-nesters for the first time. I also rode all those double-centuries last year, so I already had a really solid base of training to take this on. In short, (well, too late for that) from a personal basis there has never been a better time.
So I started looking for trips to take. Believe it or not, there are several companies that put on these kinds of trips. The Crossroads folks had several things going for them.
The timing was good. They leave in early May, when Laurie is still working, so she won't be stuck at home all alone during the summer. It also ends shortly after the school year ends, so she can fly out to Boston to meet me at the finish.
The average daily riding distance is 80 miles. This is a do-able distance. I found one company that covers almost 180 miles a day. I'm looking to SEE America by bike, not SUFFER across America by bike.
Finally, I'm at a stage in my life where I'm not really looking to "rough it". We stay in hotels / motels every night. No camping and sleeping on the ground. Crossroads takes care of all the logistics, including hotels, breakfast in the morning, and dinner at night. They provide daily route sheets so we don't have to worry about getting lost. They have a bike mechanic that travels with the tour, so we can have repairs done as needed. Riding each day is all I need to worry about.
It's a wonderful opportunity to see the country in a very personal way. I can't wait to get started.
For me personally, I've dreamed of riding my bike across the U.S. basically ever since I bought my first serious bike. I didn't think it would ever happen, but the idea has always bounced around in the back of my head.
I love big, audacious athletic challenges. That is what first drew me to the Marathon back in 1988. It's why I did my first Ironman Triathlon in 1999. It's why I've done two more Ironman races, and 3 more marathons since then. It's why last year rode I rode 5 double-century (200 miles in a day) bike rides. The feeling of accomplishment when I finish one of these events is just incredible. It never gets old. They are not always "fun", in the traditional sense of the word, but these days are transformative, life-affirming events that most people never get to experience. I understand that my limits in life are truly in my head. Every finish reaffirms this. I know this in a way that the average person just can't grasp.
I've been looking at possible bike trips for awhile, but the timing was just never right, until this year. Laurie and I sold our house, so all of those homeowner headaches are gone. Our son is off living on his own now, so we're empty-nesters for the first time. I also rode all those double-centuries last year, so I already had a really solid base of training to take this on. In short, (well, too late for that) from a personal basis there has never been a better time.
So I started looking for trips to take. Believe it or not, there are several companies that put on these kinds of trips. The Crossroads folks had several things going for them.
The timing was good. They leave in early May, when Laurie is still working, so she won't be stuck at home all alone during the summer. It also ends shortly after the school year ends, so she can fly out to Boston to meet me at the finish.
The average daily riding distance is 80 miles. This is a do-able distance. I found one company that covers almost 180 miles a day. I'm looking to SEE America by bike, not SUFFER across America by bike.
Finally, I'm at a stage in my life where I'm not really looking to "rough it". We stay in hotels / motels every night. No camping and sleeping on the ground. Crossroads takes care of all the logistics, including hotels, breakfast in the morning, and dinner at night. They provide daily route sheets so we don't have to worry about getting lost. They have a bike mechanic that travels with the tour, so we can have repairs done as needed. Riding each day is all I need to worry about.
It's a wonderful opportunity to see the country in a very personal way. I can't wait to get started.
Why CARH?
I've had a couple of people ask me why I decided to use this trip as an opportunity to raise money for CARH, so I thought I might as well spell it out here.
I decided early on that I wanted this trip to be more than just a gigantic exercise in ego-gratification. There is of course a large measure of ego stroking in taking on something like this, but there is also the opportunity to do some good.
Raising money for charity seems to tie in quite nicely with big athletic endeavors. I've watched Team-in-Training raise millions of dollars over the years with the various Marathons and Triathlons they work with, so I figured I could raise some money as well.
I considered several charities and ultimately decided on CARH. I wanted the money that we raise through this trip to be used locally. I also wanted to help a smaller charity so that the amount raised would actually make a difference. There are many much-deserving organizations.
My family has been connected to CARH for a number of years. My Mom crochets slippers at Christmas time every year and donates them to CARH's clients. We have made donations over the years. The more I learned about the organiztion and the work they do, the more convinced I was that they were the proper group for me to sponsor. They are located right here in Castro Valley. They've been helping people for 35 years. And the work they do is entirely local to the Bay Area.
Their work with the elderly and mentally handicapped improves the quality of life for a segment of our society that is largely forgotten. They make a real difference in the lives of their clients. I'd encourage you to check out their website and newsletter for examples of the kinds of services they provide. See the link on the right side of the page if you'd like more information. I'm proud to be able to help out this deserving organization.
I decided early on that I wanted this trip to be more than just a gigantic exercise in ego-gratification. There is of course a large measure of ego stroking in taking on something like this, but there is also the opportunity to do some good.
Raising money for charity seems to tie in quite nicely with big athletic endeavors. I've watched Team-in-Training raise millions of dollars over the years with the various Marathons and Triathlons they work with, so I figured I could raise some money as well.
I considered several charities and ultimately decided on CARH. I wanted the money that we raise through this trip to be used locally. I also wanted to help a smaller charity so that the amount raised would actually make a difference. There are many much-deserving organizations.
My family has been connected to CARH for a number of years. My Mom crochets slippers at Christmas time every year and donates them to CARH's clients. We have made donations over the years. The more I learned about the organiztion and the work they do, the more convinced I was that they were the proper group for me to sponsor. They are located right here in Castro Valley. They've been helping people for 35 years. And the work they do is entirely local to the Bay Area.
Their work with the elderly and mentally handicapped improves the quality of life for a segment of our society that is largely forgotten. They make a real difference in the lives of their clients. I'd encourage you to check out their website and newsletter for examples of the kinds of services they provide. See the link on the right side of the page if you'd like more information. I'm proud to be able to help out this deserving organization.
Monday, April 9, 2007
training, training, training...
Figuring out how to prepare for a 500 mile per week bike trip is a bit of a mystery. I'm mostly just riding 5 days a week, with one long ride on Saturday. The long day tends to be pretty tough, but I'm not putting in anything close to 500 miles a week. The work schedule right now just won't support it. I've done two century rides so far, with two more coming in the next two weekends.
This is the kind of training I did for Ironman and for the double centuries, except I usually never rode more than 3 times a week. So far the body is holding up pretty well, although I'm starting to lose too much weight. That's never been a problem before! I want to start the ride a little heavy, since I figure I'll lose at least 10 pounds during the course of the trip.
What a bummer. I had to force myself to eat fried chicken and spaghetti for dinner tonight! Such problems... such problems.
This is the kind of training I did for Ironman and for the double centuries, except I usually never rode more than 3 times a week. So far the body is holding up pretty well, although I'm starting to lose too much weight. That's never been a problem before! I want to start the ride a little heavy, since I figure I'll lose at least 10 pounds during the course of the trip.
What a bummer. I had to force myself to eat fried chicken and spaghetti for dinner tonight! Such problems... such problems.
Trip Info
I added three links at the right-hand top of the blog. There is a map of the United State showing the route we'll be taking. There is also a daily itinerary showing how far we travel each day, where we stop for the night, and the highlights of each day's ride. More info than you could ever hope to have!
Actually, Crossroads, the company that puts on this ride, have really done a phenominal job of logistics and information passing. They send out bulletins every couple of days, covering everything from training methods to how to ship a bike via UPS. If there is anything in particluar that you're wondering about, let me know and I'll post whatever information I have.
Actually, Crossroads, the company that puts on this ride, have really done a phenominal job of logistics and information passing. They send out bulletins every couple of days, covering everything from training methods to how to ship a bike via UPS. If there is anything in particluar that you're wondering about, let me know and I'll post whatever information I have.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
