UMMM SORE BUM?

It was another ramp up weekend. I was on the road bike at 8am and headed out towards Coldwater with a loop along Quarry road. The club was meeting at 10 so that gave me a solid 2 hours. Kept things pretty sane witha 29.5 average for 2 hours.

Now the fun begins. Meet up with the group at the school. It was great turn out today with 20 riders. It was also a strong group which meant a better ride. The plan was to go to Wasaga Beach by way of Tiny Beach Road. Itw a nice run and of course we had the tail wind for the ride out. Worry about the return trip when it happens.


This was also the start of our interclub competion. The Stinky Helmet Award. The first sprint was the Wasaga town line. I got caught at the back of the pack and it was a late burst for the line. If I would have had 200 more meters I would have caught the 3 in front. Awww well there was that same sprint line on the return trip. We made teh cruise out along golf course road and then eventually making it back to the main beach where I have never seen so many riders run for the washroom.

Once we all regrouped we picked up the pace again. The next sprint line was the Tiny sign. Lets just say I wanted this one bad. I'm not sure who went first but I just kept grabbing a wheel till around 300 meters then swung out. This is a hard sprint because the sign is around the corner so you have to keep hammering blind. I pulled away from everyone except Brien but was able to hold him off as well.

The final sprint was the Midland sign. This one I knew I was out of. There was a bit of confussion going up the one concession and most of us thought we would regroup at teh stop sign before the final run to the sign. It didn't happen and everyone blew apart. There was a crazy wind which hurt everyone. Except for the 4 riders that broke free everyone was on there own and no one tried to regroup and catch them. Aww there is always next week.

So the numbers for the day. 89 km with the group at 31 km/h average and an average heartrate of 148. Grand total 6 hours. 5 hour 35 minutes of hard riding with a total of 167 km and then a 20 minute cool down at a speed that is almost like coasting. The legs felt great overall. I had planned on mountain biking in the morning but I have a cracked rad house in the subaru so it's shop bound on monday. I'm thinking I will do the big chute loop instead which is a 90 km loop and then take the mt bike just around the rails here with the dog after.

As old as you feel?

So I turned 34 today. Not really a big deal. Hell I'm in better shape now than I was a 24. Now I did get a couple cool birthday presents that were spread out over the week. The first is the theatre which I enjoyed again tonight. The latest gift was from Giant. My TT bike is in Canada!!!!!!!!!! Woohoo should have it sometime next week.

It was a rest day from training but still did good old fashion work in the backyard. The earlier I get all the backyard landscaping done the more time I can either train or sit and enjoy it. Tomorrow will be one of those days. If things go well I should be on the bike by 8ish, mett up with the club around 10 and be home around 2. THats the plan, around 6 hours on the bike. The afternoon will be pretty mellow. Why Because I will be tired.

Keeping the rubber side down!!!!

Another fun day

Ok, so I'm distracted from my new bike. I got the movie theatre up and running and am currently sitting in the backyard watching a dave matthews concert on a 6 foot screen. UMMMM SWEET!!!!!!!! Ok before you think I slacked of today I did an hour twenty five on the bike today on a shorter loop of yesterdays ride. Legs felt pretty good. 35km full out and a 5 km cool down. Rest day tommorow before the 6 hours on saturday.

So out on the ride today I was thinking on what are some great tips for endurance racers. So first off, its all about energy conservation. Climbing is a big thing. Don't let your body rock on hard climbs Shift up a gear. Also in mountain biking its better to stay seated climbing for traction. On the road bike stick to the same practice. I know I can pick up the pace if I stand on a tough climb and I do this racing road but when it comes to base for a 24 solo I stay seated as much as I can. I also set my road bike to mirror my mountain bikes. Makes it easier to transition from one to the other. I also spend as much time riding in an upright position on the hoods when on the road bike. Its much closer to the position of the mountain bike.

Now the normal common sense training tips. If you want to become a strong climber, CLIMB HILLS. If you want to sprint with the big boys get some drugs!!!! Just kidding. Things that can help with this though is researching the course. Knowing what it up ahead makes things so much easier. I think this applies to all racing. If you don't know ab out that last killer hill before the sprint or near the end of a lap and you hammer to soon you won't have anything at the finish.

Well like usual I could type more BUT I'll save it for another night. Tonight is a movie night.

The things that happen on a ride

Well it was back to real training tonight. I was a bit draggy when I got in from work. Things have been crazy busy and its taken a bit of a toll on my energy. I shouldn't complain to much though. I was able to get out on the bike just after 5 which meant no time restraints of daylight. Picked a great route with a big mix of terrain.

The first 40 minutes was pretty much a warm up even though I was averaging 32 km an hour with out major effort. Gotta love good pavement. From there I headed up Vasey line. This is a cruel road. Bad pavement with lots of momentum killing cracks and patches. Oh did I mention the 3.4km long climb with the start of it being at 15 percent. The picture below is close to the top where it levels off a bit.


This was the route for the day.



After playing on Vasey line started down county road 93. Talk about a mean wind. I stopped getting made at the wind. Can't change it so deal with it. So as I can in to Wyebridge I saw this out the corner of my eye and had to stop.




When all was said and done it was a 2 hour 9 minutes and 64 km. Average heart rate was 158 with a spike up over 200 a couple times. With the stinky helment award starting this weekend I mixed in a couple town line sprints. The one going into Vasey was teh hardest as it was just over the top of a long climb. Hopefully I can take a few sprints. I think it will be Brien and I battling it out at the end of the year overall. Its all fun.

So the latest update on my TT bike is its still in ASIA. They are still having some manufacturing issues. The only thing that makes me feel better is that some Giant factory riders are still waiting for theirs. The latest time line is end of next week. I've just need to stop being anxious for it. YA RIGHT!!!!!!

Not enough hours in the day

Ok so its 9:30 pm and I just ate dinner. I need to either become a pro athlete and get paid to train or independently wealthy and not work. That or a bum with alot of cool gear and no place to live. We had the first time trial tonight and with the killer rain coming down I have to admit that I wasnt all that upset that I wasn't riding. It was a small group tonight with only 8 riders showing up. The rain and the cold have a tendency to scare most into the house. Normally we have 30 plus riders. Well there is always next week.

We finished up around 7:30 ish after getting a group pic of who was out. By then the rain had stopped and I had a quick outdoor ride with hill repeats since the rain finally stopped. Well that changed when Alex decided to bail on his ride home and through his bike in the car. I don't blame the guy, his legs were still pretty much toast from the half marathon 2 days earlier. Well by the time I drove him home and then got back to the house it was after 8 and the light was pretty much gone. Said screw it and pulled out the roller and spun for 30 minutes. Better than nothing.

Well things shold be back to normal tomorrow, I hope. I'll be out alone tomorrow and spend a fair bit of time in the hills. Gotta ride, Gotta love them!!!!!


The boys that showed up, even Molly got in the picture