2011 Mileage: 865
Last night was the first time in the saddle in over a week. I am still congested and feel like I'm coughing up a lung every night but at least I am feeling better than I did last week. There was a lot of loose snow on the dirt roads so it was slow going for the 20 miles Ed and I put in last night but it felt good to be back out there. Just over a month until Barry-Roubaix. I'm also really hoping that this snow goes away soon so I can start some regular commuting again to bring up the weekly mileage. I've had enough winter, it's time for things to warm up.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
Back to Reality
2011 Mileage: 771
Last night I rode the customary Thursday night ride out of the shop. Unfortunately I got way too accustomed to the weather in Florida and the 5 degrees it was outside made me pretty miserable. Also, I only had one companion last night since everyone from our regular crew except for Tim bailed on us. We made pretty good time but my knee got the all to familiar twinge about half way through the ride and we skipped the Markwood climb because I didn't want to push it. Now it is back to the stretches/foam rolling/exercises and a couple days off the bike to avoid any further problems with the knee. What stunned me last night was how cold I felt. It wasn't any colder and I didn't have on any less clothing than before I left for Florida, my body just acclimated to the warm temperature and I was freezing for most of the 1:42 we were riding for. Sunday should be a lot longer than 1:42 so I hope I acclimate back to the cold pretty quick here.
Last night I rode the customary Thursday night ride out of the shop. Unfortunately I got way too accustomed to the weather in Florida and the 5 degrees it was outside made me pretty miserable. Also, I only had one companion last night since everyone from our regular crew except for Tim bailed on us. We made pretty good time but my knee got the all to familiar twinge about half way through the ride and we skipped the Markwood climb because I didn't want to push it. Now it is back to the stretches/foam rolling/exercises and a couple days off the bike to avoid any further problems with the knee. What stunned me last night was how cold I felt. It wasn't any colder and I didn't have on any less clothing than before I left for Florida, my body just acclimated to the warm temperature and I was freezing for most of the 1:42 we were riding for. Sunday should be a lot longer than 1:42 so I hope I acclimate back to the cold pretty quick here.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Florida Recap
2011 Mileage: 747
Well that trip went by way too quickly. Six days in Florida was not long enough, but we definitely made the most of our time down there. My grandparents took great care of us and made sure we were always well fed. Grandpa even got me out for 9 holes of golf and I was content with the 49 I shot. Lindsay got in a good amount of beach time and a little shopping as well. And I got in lots of time in the saddle. 350 miles to be exact. My long day was Saturday at 110 miles. Monday was a recovery day with 50 easy miles but the rest of the time was rip your legs off fast with the Naples Velo group ride. I couldn't believe how fast these group rides were. I thought Friday was fast with a pace of 24-25 mph. Saturday was Ft Myers Beach and back (about 45 miles) at 27-29mph and I followed that up with another 30 mile group ride and then another 35 on my own to put my day at 110 and still home by 1. Sunday was a similar pace for over 60 miles, with the paceline surging up to 32+ mph for the last 15 miles or so. That was brutal after my long day Saturday. Monday I took it easy and explored all the incredible homes out in the Port Royal area. Considering the economic downturn it is amazing how much new construction is going on in an area where you can spend over $10M on a lot alone. Then Tuesday was a simulated crit. Similar pace as Sunday, 27-29 with surges up in to the low 30's. What I was having the hardest time with was cornering at this pace. It forced me to put out more effort than necessary since I would get gapped off on the corners and need to fight my way back up to the wheel in front of me. Again I was topped out at over 35 on the final sprint and it wasn't enough. I also might have jumped a little too early but I still made a good go of it. All in all it was a great trip and great riding. I accomplished my mileage goal for the trip, even though I rode a lot harder/faster than I had anticipated.
Now it is back to the cold weather with a group ride tonight. It is supposed to be a lovely 12 degrees outside, a little different than the 70 degree temps I've been riding in but it will have to do.
Well that trip went by way too quickly. Six days in Florida was not long enough, but we definitely made the most of our time down there. My grandparents took great care of us and made sure we were always well fed. Grandpa even got me out for 9 holes of golf and I was content with the 49 I shot. Lindsay got in a good amount of beach time and a little shopping as well. And I got in lots of time in the saddle. 350 miles to be exact. My long day was Saturday at 110 miles. Monday was a recovery day with 50 easy miles but the rest of the time was rip your legs off fast with the Naples Velo group ride. I couldn't believe how fast these group rides were. I thought Friday was fast with a pace of 24-25 mph. Saturday was Ft Myers Beach and back (about 45 miles) at 27-29mph and I followed that up with another 30 mile group ride and then another 35 on my own to put my day at 110 and still home by 1. Sunday was a similar pace for over 60 miles, with the paceline surging up to 32+ mph for the last 15 miles or so. That was brutal after my long day Saturday. Monday I took it easy and explored all the incredible homes out in the Port Royal area. Considering the economic downturn it is amazing how much new construction is going on in an area where you can spend over $10M on a lot alone. Then Tuesday was a simulated crit. Similar pace as Sunday, 27-29 with surges up in to the low 30's. What I was having the hardest time with was cornering at this pace. It forced me to put out more effort than necessary since I would get gapped off on the corners and need to fight my way back up to the wheel in front of me. Again I was topped out at over 35 on the final sprint and it wasn't enough. I also might have jumped a little too early but I still made a good go of it. All in all it was a great trip and great riding. I accomplished my mileage goal for the trip, even though I rode a lot harder/faster than I had anticipated.
Now it is back to the cold weather with a group ride tonight. It is supposed to be a lovely 12 degrees outside, a little different than the 70 degree temps I've been riding in but it will have to do.
Friday, February 4, 2011
A Compact Wasn't Cutting It
This morning I met up with a group of about 50 people for the Naples Velo group ride. A pace of 25 mph for 25 miles sounded fast but I figured I'd give it a shot. All I can say is Florida is really flat. I had no problem with the pace and took my fair share of pulls at the front. I only encountered two issues. First, I was getting gapped on every corner and then having to put in extra effort to close the gap. Closing it wasn't too tough but it showed me I need to work on cornering at speed. Also, I realized that the compact drivetrain I am running is lacking big time on the high end. I crossed the line second in both of the group sprints I contested but I was completely topped out at about 35 mph and I still had some in the tank but not enough of a gear to push. That was a good time and helped me knock out the first 30 miles pretty quick. I then headed North along the coast to add on another 40 miles to be home by 10:30 with 70 miles on the day. Now it's time to enjoy the beach with Linz, then massages this afternoon. A pretty good day if you ask me.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Hello Florida
Linz and I left behind the snow and cold this morning to spend a week with Grandma and Grandpa in Naples, FL. We landed to 80 degree weather and after a nice lunch and a glass of wine Linz laid out and got some sun while I built my road bike up that I sent down last week and headed out for a quick 23 miles. It feels strange wearing shorts and short sleeves, but I'm sure not going to complain about it. I'm hoping to get in a lot of mileage over the next five days (and a lot of good meals too I'm sure, I am at Grandma's). Barry Roubaix is 8 weeks away!
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