Wind in my hair, bugs in my teeth

A new addition to the stable

2012-01-28T20:28:00.003-05:00

Yep, I've done it, gone out and bought another bike. This was a bit of an impulse purchase, but when a good deal comes up, you just hope you have the cash to take advantage of it.

So, what did I buy? I bought a Tri bike. It's used, but it is in great condition and the frame is the right size. Bought it from a fellow Greenville Spinners Bike Club member. He posted it up on the club yahoo group last night, and as soon as I saw the frame size, I knew I needed to go look at it.

I first sat on it while on the trainer. As I'm not the most svelte guy, and the seller is, the handlebars are a little low. It was very obvious as I tried out the aero position on the trainer. He had it set up with carbon three spoke wheels so I rode it with those first.

A few things about the carbon wheels. He wanted an additional $200 for the carbons, they use tubular wheels, they were not quite true in the lateral direction (brakes felt a bit grabby) and a slight breeze nearly threw me off my line. I opted for the less expensive (and probably not as fast) spoked wheels.

As for the fit, and the bars, a flip of the stem will be tried first, but I may need to go for a new stem to get the bars up to the height I need.

So, what is this new ride? It's a Javelin Arcole. Here's a pretty detailed and complimentary write-up about it.

and here's some other photos posted by the guy I bought it from.

It looks great with only a few small scratches. The bars are nice aero bars (FSA Vision), the brake levers are like knife blades (also FSA Vision), the group is mostly Dura-Ace (standard crank, 11-23 cassette) with a Campy front derailler and brakes. One of the best parts, it comes with speedplay zero pedals which is exactly what I have on my road bike!

I need to work out some details of the fit, but overall, it should be easy to do. Mostly, I need to flip the stem (may have to buy a new one with a bigger angle) to raise the bars a little.

I'm looking forward to dialing in the fit and getting it out on the road.

Multi-sport training or social event?

2012-01-22T11:52:00.004-05:00

So I've been 'following' a training plan for about 5 weeks now as I make my journey to the White Lake Half Ironman event in May. I put 'following' in quotes because I'm not as strict about following the plan as others might be. I'm trying to cover the distances specified, but I don't always do the drills specified or work out at the Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) specified. Usually (except for the swim), I am going harder and longer than specified.

What's this going to mean come event day? I'm not sure. Some could say that I will be over-trained. Not sure what that really means if indeed I do complete the event and in a reasonable amount of time. Could it make the difference in hitting a goal time and missing it by 3 minutes (like the 2010 Assault on Mt Mitchell)? Perhaps, but I'm as much doing this event for the social interaction with my friends as I'm doing it to stay active and in shape.

So, what about the social interaction? There is a group of 17 of us that are planning to stay in a cabin in White Lake. It's one big Half Iron support group! It is really fun to be able to share the experience of training with these peeps. Despite the fact that we're not really spending all of our training time together. We occasionally get together for a run or a sufferfest session, but not necessarily even once a week.

What's cool is seeing their posts, tweets, texts and emails talking about what training they have done that day, or how that training is going. Of course, we're all responding to each others communications with words of support and advice when asked or appropriate. It brings a whole new perspective to what for me has been mostly an individual pursuit.

So, am I going to White Lake to participate in and challenge myself with a Half Ironman event, or am I going for the social event which is the White Lake Half Ironman? In all truthfulness, it is both. I'm looking forward to sharing the camaraderie in the hours leading up to the event, as well as the 'race recaps' following the race. And of course, in between all that there will be 1.2 miles of swimming, 56 miles of biking and 13.1 miles of running. Bring it on!

My first Half marathon - 1/7/12

2012-01-08T10:58:00.002-05:00

I'm paying the price today for my efforts in yesterday's Half Marathon. Legs are really tight and sore. it was worth it though, finished up 6th out of 25 in my age group with a time of 1:44:10 (results here).

I've never run a half marathon before yesterday. Well, not an official timed event. Once upon a time, many years ago, I was training for a marathon and so I have run the half distance, but never for any kind of time. So, yesterday was the first.

I'm pretty good at recognizing my RPE level (Rate of Perceived Exertion), mostly because I have only recently started training with a heart rate monitor on my bicycle. Never have done that with running. So, I had set a goal in the days leading up to the half to finish in less than 2 hours. In fact, I had decided to shoot for a 9 min/mile average pace. That calculates to a finish time of just about 1h58m.

Having only run 5k and 8k races in the past several years, I know that I tend to go out faster in my first mile. Knowing this, I thought I'd do my best to control my effort and not do the first mile too quickly. I'm fully capable (in a 5k) of doing a sub 7 min for my first mile, and that is what I DID NOT want to start with for this half marathon.

I lined up with my peeps Bo, Robin and Scott somewhere in the middle of the pack. This was a good thing as there were some peeps who ran a pretty fast half marathon out in the front of that pack!

As I was running along, just finding a groove, Rob Dempsey (HIS radio DJ) ran up along side me and I chatted with him for a minute. His garmin (or whatever device he has) beeped, and I asked if that was mile 1. Yes, in fact it was and we had covered it in just under 8 minutes. Somehow I had missed the marker, and my Garmin forerunner is on the blink, so I was using my old fashioned Timex watch (with timer and lap counter).

As we ran along through the 2nd mile, we chatted a bit, but mostly I was listening to my body to see how it felt about the pace we were running. As we approached mile 2, I actually saw the marker and clicked off a lap on my Timex. Actually, lap 1 was 2 miles, and my time was marked at 16m07s. In the neighborhood of 8 min/mile now for two miles. I was feeling good, so I decided this was the pace I would continue until I felt I needed to settle down a little. Rob decided to slow his pace a little and we went our separate ways.

Up till mile 2, it was basically flat, and after mile 2, the course started some shallow rolling hills miles 3-5. At mile 3, my trusty Timex shows 24m10s and at mile 5 (missed mile 4) it shows 39m53s. That's a solid 8ish min/mile pace.

One of the great things about this course is the hills. While it is hilly, and some of the up-hills are pretty damn mean, it really means that you get both: up-hills and down-hills. Although you lose time slowing down on the uphills, you gain it right back when going down-hill. What I found was the downhills are not terribly steep, allowing you to open up your stride and carry some speed as gravity assists. This allows you to make up time from the ascent. This allowed me to maintain the 8ish min/mile pace.

The Mile 5 marker is right at the base of one of the steeper hills on the course. Was great to See Nikki and Cara near the top. After that hill, the rollers became a little deeper for miles 5.5 - 8(ish).

I missed the mile 6 marker, but my mile 7 time was 56m8s. Despite the rollers, and the hills between mile 5 and 7, I was able to maintain the 8(ish) min/mile pace that I had been carrying. I was pretty happy about that, and was still feeling pretty good at just past the half way point. The time was clicking by pretty fast I thought.

At mile 8, Timex shown 1h3m55s, and at mile 9 1h11m56s. Around mile 8 was a another steep hill, and right at the top was a water station. I grabbed a cup of water, and tried to drink some down. Unfortunately, I ended up with a bunch of air in my stomach. I was able to run through it (partially because of a long downhill immediately following the rest station). After a long gradual downhill, we turned into the Green Valley neighborhoods.

Near Mile 10, I saw a good friend who had volunteered for the race. Her job was to direct the runners on the course. Although I was feeling good, hearing her ring the cowbell and offer support meant a lot. I high-fived her and another friend who was there waiting for his wife and kept rolling along. At mile 10, I was still rocking the 8 min miles, my time was 1h19m56s.

I rolled through mile 11 at 1h27m48s. I was really pleased to see how well I was keeping to that 8 min/mile pace. I had thought by now I'd be dropping time, especially on the hills. They weren't bothering me that much by mile 11, although I was definitely feeling it by this time.

Just past mile 11, the course turns uphill until the last tenth of a mile. I had been passing people since Mile 5. No-one had passed me until I approached mile 11. This guy goes flying past me at a pretty good clip. He had to have started pretty slow. No matter, he passed and I decided it best to try to stick with the pace I'd been running. Although as the road turned up, I could see that I was catching some other people. Of course, this gave me motivation, and I tried to reel in whoever else I could see. That is, without significantly increasing my pace.

My pace did increase, although I missed the marker for mile 12 and there was no marker for mile 13. I did catch 3 other people in those last couple of miles. One was a younger kid who stopped to walk just past a refreshment station. It feels good when I pass people who are half my age!

There was one guy I was trying to catch, he must have sensed it because he never let up. For any increase in pace I may have had, he somehow knew, and matched it perfectly. I must have been about 50 meters behind this guy for the last mile. That distance never seemed to vary. I didn't have enough to sprint early enough to catch him, although even the sprint I did make as the course turned for a down-hill finish - he matched it and I gained no time on him.

I crossed the line at 1h44m10s. That calculates out to about a 7:57min/mile pace. I'm pretty happy about that, as I had initially thought I'd be lucky to hold a 9 min/mile pace.

Next race: The Winter Challenge!

Catching up

2012-01-01T19:03:00.002-05:00

Wow, the holidays have come and gone so quickly! I can't believe I have to go back to work tomorrow. Well, it was nice to have some time off anyway.

Before this little break, I'd been doing pretty well posting up my food and my workouts. There is no way I'm going to be able to remember everything that's happened in the last couple of weeks, so I won't try to list all of that here.

My newest addition to my home is my new entertainment center. A 43" plasma TV is connected to an Apple TV box. While I'm not a guy who watches a lot of TV, the value of the apple TV is that I can stream the Sufferfest videos from my computer to the TV. Of course, the Apple TV does so much more, but that one feature right there made it worth the entrance fee.

I've already done one sufferfest session. My Neighbor came over last week and we did 'Angels'. This is a great workout which has three 8 minute climbs as the core workout.. The last one going up l'Alpe d'huez with footage from the 2010 Dauphine libere which was won by Alberto Contador.

Yesterday was a great ride here in Greenville County - the Final Fifty. This ride is put together by the local cycling club. We had a great group, and some incredible weather. Hard to believe it was the last day of December and the high was 60+ degrees!

Today was a recovery ride with some team-mates from the Spinners Racing team. Great ride, legs felt good, but I felt the need to give them a break after the final fifty ride.

I've been eating a lot over the last couple of weeks. Probably too much beer as well. Today I barely ate anything, yet I still feel stuffed. Looks like it's going to be a lot of veggies and fruits for a few days - try to detox a bit.

Today launches 2012. Some big goals for this year:
Resolution Run Half Marathon (Jan 7 - my first Half marathon)
Winter Challenge off-road triathlon (Feb)
Greenville Spring Series (road bike races - Feb / Mar)
Sprint Tri (Downtown Columbia - April - My first ever triathlon)
White Lake Half Ironman (May)
The Assault on Mt Mitchell (May - about 2 weeks after the half)

We'll have to see what else the year brings, that seems to fill the first half!

Good luck and best wishes for 2012!

jd

Following a plan...

2011-12-14T21:24:00.000-05:00

Isn't really as easy as it sounds. It takes a lot of discipline to follow a plan to the letter. As stated yesterday, discipline is my biggest challenge. It's not the discipline of getting out and getting into the activity, it's more the discipline to follow the plan.

Ok, last night I didn't follow the plan. However, had I met up with friends and did the sufferfest, I would have gotten in the hour on the bike. It would NOT have been the workout prescribed as I would have pushed much harder than the plan. But, it is one example of where my discipline breaks down.

Tonight, the plan was to do about 1500m in the pool. A 4x75m warm up with various exercises, 3x400m at increasing exertion levels and a 6x25m cool down with each 25 m slower than the last. I got the swimming, just not at the distance nor in the prescribed intervals. In fact, I probably went slower than I have in my previous swim workouts.

This is probably where a coach really helps. A coach could provide me with details of why it is important to follow the intervals and exercises prescribed. At this point with the swimming, I'm not really having an issue with boredom, so exercises or not, I have too much to concentrate on with the swim to have to worry about being bored.

Cycling on the trainer - without having a class or some exercises to follow (i.e. a video workout) - THAT IS BORING!!

Well, tomorrow is a long run. I think I'll give gunner a little bit of a break tomorrow, maybe he won't get quite so much distance total for the day. I don't want to work him too hard, he's still a puppy!

Food today, nothing too different from previous days. Successes: No chocolate from the evil jar!

Getting close to bedtime, off to dreamland to dream about swimming, biking and running.

jd

My biggest challenge....

2011-12-13T21:52:00.000-05:00

is Discipline. Today's workout was supposed to be 30 minutes of easy run and 60 minutes of small ring trainer torture on the bike. I should have gone to a trainer class - I brought the bike and trainer into the house but it never got set up. Sitting on that thing for an hour without the visual stimulation of something like the sufferfest videos or the group dynamic of a trainer class was going to be too much torture.

So, you can bet my christmas present to myself this year is going to be a set of the sufferfest videos and a new television to which I can hook my computer to watch them. Those will get me motivated.

I did get 40ish minutes of running in. Gunner requires that, so it is easy to get out with him. He really loves running.

Food was ok today. a bowl of cereal and a protein shake for breakfast. fibre bar for snack, shrimp jambalaya and a veggie medley for lunch. Even had some fruit - banana pudding! Dinner was the rest of the stuffed chicken breast with some beans, salsa and cheese in a tortilla. Also had a nice little salad to go with that. Wouldn't be complete without my chocolate milk!

that's it for me. I'm hitting the sack. Tomorrow is a new day and just a swim, although I'll get some running in there as well....

jd

and so it begins

2011-12-12T21:12:00.003-05:00

20 weeks. That's how long I have before the White Lake Half Ironman. I've downloaded a training plan from Beginner Triathlete. It is a 20 week program that I'm going to see how well I can actually follow.

Today's workout was intended to be 40 minute run at perceived exertion of 3, 2500m swim (800m warmup, 1500m main, 200m cool-down). I was pretty worried about how this plan started - that seems like a long swim when you are just starting a program! It makes me worry about what is to come!

So, my exercise routine started at 430am today. I took Gunner out and bumped his distance a little bit. It was a little slow, but we ran 2.7 miles at close to a 10 minute pace. Ended up being just under 26 minutes of running. since it was supposed to be at RPE 3, that was about the right pace.

When I got home this evening, I took him out for another 2 miles. This was at about a 9:30 pace, so that makes pretty close to another 20 minutes of running. A few more minutes than the plan called for, but I had to break it up in two chunks in order to fit it in my day. Does that still count? I don't know.

For the swim, I essentially skipped the 4x200m exercises the plan calls for and just swam 2400m straight. I know the exercises are designed to help me strengthen my technique, so I need to concentrate on doing those. I was so nervous about the total distance, I just put my head down and went for it. Just over 59 minutes to cover the 2400m.

I could tell I was getting tired towards the end. My technique started to break down, although my stroke count stayed pretty much the same. I was hitting 19, 20 or 21 strokes for 25m. I don't know how that is compared to anything, but that is where I am.

Especially towards the end, I wind up swallowing some water, or at least getting it in my mouth and nose when I try to breathe. Makes it difficult, but I suppose it is not all bad - Tedd says that is what happens in an open water swim...

Food today: cereal again with milk and a banana. fibre bar for mid-morning snack. Hamburger steak with mushroom gravy and mashed potatoes (and gravy) for lunch. PB&J sandwich as a mid-afternoon snack, protein shake for dinner.

that's my day, going to take Gunner for another walk, then go to bed.

jd

hitting the bricks

2011-12-11T19:58:00.001-05:00

So, here I've signed up to do a half Ironman triathlon. For those who are not familiar with Ironman triathlons, there is a full (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run) and the half (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and 13.1 mile run). I've never done a traditional tri before, but if you know me, it won't surprise you that I'd commit to a half Ironman having never done a real tri.

I have done a number of off-road tris. However, the Off-road tri is very different in one aspect. The water portion of the tri is a flat water kayak. While a trail run is different from a road run, and mountain biking is different than road biking, the differences in those activities are not massive. However, kayaking is VERY different from swimming - especially for someone like myself who does not consider himself a swimmer.

So, because of that, I've joined the westside aquatic center which has a very nice pool. I've been swimming about 2 times per week for about a month now. I'm not being coached, but that's part of my challenge - see what I can do without a coach. Although, I have to admit, it's really part stubbornness and part cheap. I'm not in a financial position to really be paying a coach right now.

I'm set to begin a 20 week training program tomorrow. Day number 1 it calls for a 40 minute run and a 2400m swim. While these two activities for tomorrow don't have to be back to back (we call this a brick), there are days where I'll be required to do a brick.

In fact, I have done a couple of bricks in the last few weeks. The bricks I've been doing have been a bike followed by a run. A few weeks ago, my teammate Hudson and I went out for 28ish miles on the bike (WAY harder than I really planned), and about 3 miles of running (again WAY harder than I really planned!). Today was another brick - 50 miles on the bike followed by a 3.2 mile run.

How hard is too hard. This is a very difficult question for me to answer. I tend to work (ride or run or swim) at whatever pace my body feels like going. Sometimes that means I'm pegged all of the time, sometimes that means I'm in total cruiser mode. Today was a mix of both.

I rode today with the A group. What this means is that they are going to go pretty hard. You get guys who have a lot of experience in the A group, and the pace tends to be fast. Of course, for a guy who races in Category 1, today's ride may have been a true recovery ride. For me, as I said, it was a mix.

Early on in the ride, we encountered some rolling hills that caused my heart rate to get pretty high. My respiration was also high, and I was thinking there was no way I could stick with that pace. Things seemed to settle down a little, and I started feeling better about my chances of sticking with this group.

About 20 miles in, our ride leader Jim stopped us and announced a 4.5 mile sprint zone. As we started rolling again, everyone up front was looking at each other like they were waiting for something. Well, if they were waiting for someone to jump, they weren't waiting for me. I took a flyer off the front, knowing full well I'd be lucky to be able to stay out there for very long. I gave it my best shot though, and it woke some peeps up.

I came off the front when they caught me and found a spot in the pack to recover. After a while, the pack started slowing down again, and I could see a couple people off the front. Of course I had to take another flyer. I chased down the first of the riders, held the front of the pack for a little longer, then relinquished the lead to someone else.

By this time, I was really feeling it, and I was VERY lucky to be able to hold on to the back of the pack through the rest of the sprint zone. It was a fun section and we had a little break at the stop sign to let everyone catch up.

The rest of the ride picked up in the overall pace, but still stayed pretty civilized. Our average riding pace climbed up towards 19mph, and I was feeling pretty good. I sat on the front for a couple of rounds before I went back to the back of the pack. As we closed down for our final miles, my body was starting to talk to me about the efforts I'd made.

We finished out the ride in 3h02m and it was almost exactly 50 miles. Not the fastest pace I've ever ridden, but for this period, in my current condition, it was plenty fast enough.

So, now comes the brick. A former team-mate Dave had also ridden in the A group and he had said he'd also be interested in making a brick out of the day. So, we had our running shoes in my car, and when we got back, we made a quick change and set off on our run.

I have a Garmin forerunner which has capability to time each activity seperately. I need to work a little more with this device, as I messed it up today and didn't get the run timing down just right. It has a way to time your transitions and correctly time your next activity. Looks like I'll have to get the manual back out to refresh myself on its operation.

So, we started off on our run. Dave immediately set a pace I knew I wouldn't be able to keep. That was OK, he became a carrot for me. It made me run a lot faster than I had planned, but overall I felt pretty good, so I wasn't too concerned about it.

The one issue I had, was with my left quad. I could feel it wanting to cramp from about the beginning of the run. It didn't, but had we run more than a 5k, it may have given me some real problems.

With my timing issues, I didn't get all of my per-mile times accurately. for example, I had run a quarter mile or more before I realized that I needed to do something else to get the run time to start. I hit the start / stop button and ran for a little while. After a couple more minutes, I looked down to see that the timer had stopped! I hit start / stop again, and it told me to begin running. How much did I just lose on getting good accurate timing?

Once it finally started tracking the run correctly, I was already close to 1/2 mile into the run. When I finally got to what it measured as 1 mile, it said my first mile pace was 14+ minutes. I know I ran faster than that, but it counted the transition time in that first measured mile. My second mile was counted correctly and showed as 7:47/mile pace. I never actually made a third measured mile because of that issue in the beginning. The clock stopped at 2.94miles. My average pace had continued to drop - first mile 14+ min, after 2nd mile 11:05ish and at the finish, my average pace was down to around 10min/mile. No matter what, the run was a pretty good pace for me. I generally do 8:30-9minute miles when I am training by myself, or even when I run with the boys.

So, that's a brick. A pretty good pace for the bike, and a pretty good pace for the run. Now I just have to get comfortable in the water....

What about nutrition for this day's exercise? I ate a 2 eggs, half of a stuffed chicken breast, some beans, cheese and salsa wrapped in a tortilla for breakfast. I ate nothing while on the bike or before the run (MAJOR mistake), then I fell off the wagon and ate junk food for dinner. I'm not even going to say where it was I am so embarrassed by it.

food and Exercise 12/9, 12/10

2011-12-10T20:38:00.001-05:00

Just catching up on my food and exercise. Going to be tough, as I am forgetting things quickly!

Friday, 9 Dec Food: cereal with milk and banana, fibre bar, last of the leftover crackmac.
2 reese cups (doh!, but not from the evil bowl @ work - from my freezer), a babe ruth bar and some finger food at my company holiday party.

Friday exercise: Gunner with a 2 mile run.

Saturday food: Greek Strawberry Yogurt and a banana.
Eggs benedict and a few potatoes, hot chocolate and a large glass of milk.
A PB&J sandwich for a mid-afternoon snack and a glass of choc milk
Salad and a stuffed chicken breast for dinner. And you know it, a large glass of choc milk. Yes, I LOVE milk!

Saturday exercise. GUTR #4. That's all.

tomorrow I'll do about 55 miles on the bike followed by a 5ish K run.

jd

December 8th

2011-12-08T20:12:00.001-05:00

just catching up on making some notes about my food and exercise routine.

Have to start with Dec 7, as I did the guest blog last night. I hope everyone took a moment to remember those who fell when Pearl Harbor was shelled. It's been 70 years now. I heard on the news that there were actually some Veterans from Pearl Harbor in attendance at the ceremony. That is what started the US involvement in WWII.

The 7th was a good day for exercise. Got in 1.5 miles with Gunner in the am, ran with Bo and Tedd for 4.3 miles after work, then went straight to the aquatic center for a swim.

Decided to do 1000m. I'm really starting to feel the glide! Tedd described it as a feeling of surfing, and I really am starting to feel it. Not with every stroke mind you, but it happens pretty frequently. I'm really starting to improve. That really gives me a lot of confidence for White Lake.

What about food on Wednesday? Well, still stuck on cereal for breakfast. Had a fibre bar for a mid-morning snack. Lunch was pretty good, a chicken salad sandwich and a salad. Bad part of that was the giant chocolate chip cookie and a large sweet tea.

Dinner? crack mac and a glass of choc milk.

After all of that, I didn't get into bed until 1030. I had to get Gunner out for one last walk before bed, and it just got later and later. The previous night, I didn't get into bed until after 11pm. That is really late considering I still get out of bed at 445am. Right now, I'm about to pass out, so this is going to be quick from here on out!

Thursday started the same as most mornings. A 2 mile run with Gunner followed by a bowl of cereal.

Running out of stuff to eat for a mid-morning snack, but had another fibre bar.

Lunch. You judge, I'm thinking not the best - Baked chicken and a portion of mac and cheese. The mac is nothing like crack mac, but it isn't horrible. Ok, this part of my lunch is REALLY bad - banana pudding.

Dinner was a salad and the next to last helping of crack mac. After tomorrow I'll be good for a little while. Of course, a glass of chocolate milk.

Workouts: 2 x 2mile runs with Gunner. Spent some time with my foam roller trying to work out the kinks in my calves. Not sure if that's going to take at all!

Guest Post: The Importance of Exercise for Individual's Dealing with a Cancer Diagnosis

2011-12-07T20:58:00.001-05:00

So I was recently contacted by David Haas and he asked me if I would be interested in hosting a guest blog. Since I am a bit of a cancer soldier, doing what I can to aid in the fight against cancer, and his post is very relevant to that subject, I thought it would be a neat idea.

He sent me the following blog. Some good information here.

The Importance of Exercise for Individual's Dealing with a Cancer Diagnosis

When you are going through the various emotions associated with a cancer diagnosis, one of the last things you are interested in thinking about is exercising to stay fit. However, when you have cancer it is very important to maintain some degree of movement every day, doing this can positively affect how you feel physically and emotionally. Exercise will help you to have more energy, which in turn, will improve your quality of life.   

To achieve the aforementioned benefits, you do not have to become a body builder or exercise fanatic, all you need to do is take 10 minutes out of your day to ride a bike or walk around the block.   

Exercise Components
Experts have stated that every sensible exercise program has three components. Even an exercise program that includes only a little of each of these components is ideal.   

Stretching  
Stretching helps keep your muscles and joints flexible, which is important for everyone, from the people diagnosed with colon cancer to the people diagnosed with a rare cancer like mesothelioma. Any individual that is bedridden for any length of time would find stretching extremely beneficial.  

An Aerobic Workout
  An aerobic workout gets your blood pumping by speeding up your heart rate. Some of the more common aerobic exercises include brisk walking or jogging, bicycling on a stationary bike or outdoors and swimming.   

Strength Training
  When you strength train you build your muscles and tone your body. This helps you maintain your strength while you are dealing with your disease and when a patient is receiving treatment that can weaken the body.  

Exercise is Important
  In 2009, the American College of Sports Medicine conducted a study that stressed that cancer patients need to avoid being inactive. Dr. Schmitz, the lead author of the Abramson Cancer Center in Philadelphia stated that programs for cancer patients that are similar to the cardiac rehab programs would be extremely beneficial.

Dr. Schmitz has stated that the cancer patient’s quality of life will improve and is the main benefit of maintaining a regular exercise program.   

Dr. Schmitz, along with her partners in the study, has created realistic, but aggressive guidelines for the cancer patients’ exercise program. This program avoids any tasks that may be too difficult for a cancer patient to overcome. For instance, certain medications or therapies that are used to treat cancer have a tendency to make the patient prone to have bone fractures. This must be realized when creating an exercise program tailored to the cancer patient.  

You can ask your support person at the hospital if they have a personal trainer available that caters to the needs of cancer patients. If they do not, contact your local health clubs to inquire about fitness personnel that are trained to work with cancer patients. Do not be apprehensive about asking for the trainer’s documentation concerning his licensing and/or experience.

Suffering, but not in a good way

2011-12-06T22:21:00.002-05:00

Tonight my peeps got together to enjoy another sufferfest. I was so bummed I missed it. What was I doing instead? I was sitting behind my computer working on the team's kit order. Well, I'm ready to send the order out, so I guess it is worth it. You could say I was suffering, but not in that good sufferlandria way.

However, I still got about 3.5 miles of running in today. 1.5ish this morning with my boy Gunner, and another 2 miles after work with him again.

Food? Not the best today, although I was able to stay away from the bowl of chocolate. Today was the holiday meal at work, so the feasting was big at lunchtime. Turkey, stuffing, mac and cheese and a salad. Followed by some cream pie with caramel and chocolate. Total indulgence.

Breakfast was cereal and I had another protein bar for my mid-morning snack. With the gorging at lunch there was no need for a mid-afternoon snack.

Dinner was to finish up some of the burrito makings. Still have some stuff left, but the ground beef is gone.

Two bottles of beer as I worked on my stuff.

Overall, probably not the best food day, but any day I can avoid that bowl of chocolate is a good day.

12/5

2011-12-05T21:22:00.002-05:00

Today was a good day. Not only did I manage to completely avoid some very yummy chocolate treats in the evil bowl at work, I actually ate a good lunch and had my mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks that seemed to work so well earlier in the year when I managed to drop some weight.

Breakfast needs some work - cereal is just so quick and easy.

Dinner, ok, not the best, but not the absolute worst either - a plate of crack mac. gotta love some leftovers!

As for workouts, along with my runs with Gunner, I went to the pool again this evening. I've been reading the book 'Total Immersion" by Terry Laughlin with John Delves. This is an interesting book that really speaks to my inner engineer. The way they describe swimming with such an engineering approach makes a lot of sense.

I've been working on following their advice, and perhaps it is paying off. Of course, each day in the pool gives me a little more strength that allows me to be that much stronger the next time. While I am not breaking any speed records, I can tell my 50m lap times are improving.

the last visit to the pool I did 1050 meters in about 29 minutes. Tonight, I passed that mark in about 27 minutes. Then, I kept going until I totaled 1500m. Stopped the clock at 47 minutes. Still pretty slow, but I felt really good about it.

One of the reasons I felt good about it is because when I hit my lap button on my forerunner, it gives me my lap time. Last time, I saw most of my times in the 1m20s range. Mostly over 1m20s, but a few under 1m20s. This time, I saw many lap times that were in the 1m15s range. The fastest I recall was 1m13s. Still there were quite a few in the 1m20s or more range, but I was definitely feeling stronger and my technique is improving.

Speaking of technique, I know I could benefit from a coach, but I'm a stubborn fool and like to see what I can do all on my own. If I decide to do a full Ironman, I'll spring for a real coach. For this half, in one sense, I'm going it alone (well, I'll have plenty of support from my friends of course).

Here's the official food list for the day:
bowl and a half apple jacks/cheerios mix, with milk and one banana

Protein (builder bar) for mid-morning snack

Pork tenderloin and two orders of veggies (a corn / lima bean / green peas medley and a cauliflower / broccoli / carrot medley). Sweet tea (ok, shoot me)

Fibre bar for mid afternoon snack

Dinner - crack mac and a glass of chocolate milk.

Workouts:
2 x 2mile runs with Gunner. He is sacked out big time now. That running is very good for him!
1500m in the pool.

12/4 food and workouts

2011-12-04T17:45:00.002-05:00

Food:
2 bowls of mixture Cheerios and Apple Jacks (generic) with milk
Glass of apple juice
One home-made burrito
Some scraps of cheese as I prepare the crack mac
TBD, but you can guess that Crack Mac will be on the menu.
About 6 bottles of Miller High Life.

Workout(s):
2 miles running with Gunner, inside just long enough to drop him off, then back out for another 3.5 miles (total 5.5 miles).

Today's ramblings - 12/4

2011-12-04T10:33:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, Bo posted that he had run 8.5 miles. Last week, I know he and others ran 7 miles. So, I had to ask if peeps were training for a half marathon. Of course, they (unknown who exactly right now) are training to run the YMCA Resolution Run Half marathon on Jan 7th.

Bo asks if I want to join them. Well, of course I do! However, I'm not sure i've really been running all that much. Yes, I get between 1.5 and 4 miles a day with Gunner on most days (he has to get his run in you know!), but I haven't really been doing any long distances on my own. The most recent long distance has been a 5.5 mile run (today) and a 5 mile run (thanksgiving day).

I felt totally fine after today's run, in fact, I had no intention of stopping when I did, but those home-made burritos caught up with me and I had to make a bee-line to the restroom instead of the 2 mile route back I had planned (was hoping for 6.5 to 7 miles today). Well, I do know I'll get the extra miles - Gunner will need another run this evening...

The longest I've run in the past 5 years has probably been only about 7.5-8 miles. I have a month and I have a pretty good base because of the runs with Gunner. I suppose if I can get some longer runs in during the week, and longer runs on the weekend, I should be fine.

This will be good training for the Off-road tri I want to do in Febuary (11th). The Winter challenge is a fun little tri with a 7ish mile run, 6 mile paddle and a 10ish mile mt bike. I did this race a few years ago, and it really is a blast.

Talk about a difficult transition - run, paddle, bike! After that run you have to fold yourself into your kayak for 30-45 minutes. Your legs get completely cooled down and might even start cramping while your upper body does all of the work. I'd love to have video of the racers coming out of the boats and running (if you want to call it that) towards the transition with the bike. Your legs just don't want to work AT ALL!

Well, I'm looking forward to that, will have to make plans and see if any of my peeps are going to do it.

I'll post the complete day's food and workouts in another post, but wanted to get this down before I forget:

Food:
2 bowls of mixture Cheerios and Apple Jacks (generic) with milk
Glass of apple juice

Workout(s):
2 miles running with Gunner, inside just long enough to drop him off, then back out for another 3.5 miles (total 5.5 miles).

Food and workouts 12/2 and 12/3

2011-12-04T10:11:00.005-05:00

So, Friday.
A pretty good milestone for this weak willed chocoholic - I managed to pass by the candy dish several times without taking any pieces from it. Admittedly, there was no Snickers Peanut Butter Squares in there, so it made life a little easier. I'll take the victories where I can get them.

Don't ever expect me to give up my chocolate milk though...

Food:
Yep, another bowl of honey nut cheerios
Lunch - another healthy choice meal - lemon garlic chicken over a bed of angel hair. Green beans and garlic bread
Dinner - another healthy choice meal - forget which one, yes, chocolate milk.

workouts:
2 mile run with Gunner (am)
3 hours raking leaves (gotta count whatever I can!)

Saturday Food:
Fruit protein smoothie (32oz)
2 slices of cheese pizza
2 uncrustables PB&J sandwiches, large glass chocolate milk.
another fruit protein smoothie (~32 oz)
2 home-made burritos - beans, beef, cheese, avacado, salsa in a jalepeno cheddar wrap. Chocolate milk ;)

Workouts:
Setup and tear-down of the State Championship Cross course. If it means anything, after setup, I took gunner home and he crashed for the entire rest of the day. I probably walked somewhere between 3 and 5 miles.

Posting this HAS to make me change my errant ways!

2011-12-01T22:12:00.002-05:00

Today's food:
2 bowls honey nut cheerios (yeah, get ready for this every day....)
9 hersheys 'whoppers' malted milk balls
one fibre one bar
Healthy choice meal - Beef and Broccoli
Cake - yes, a corner piece with extra frosting.
Shredded beef burrito
chips and bean dip
guacamole
2 big Dos Equis

workout:
What workout? I did walk Gunner 3 times today.

workouts and food log 11/29 and 11/30

2011-11-30T19:49:00.002-05:00

So, I'm not writing much, so to try to get back into it I've decided to do my best to keep a workout and food log each day. Shouldn't take but a few minutes to type up my activities.

Why? Because I have signed up for the White Lake Half Ironman on May 5, 2012. I have a long way to go, and there is a lot of work to do on the sports within the tri. Especially the swim.

Without further adieu, Here's my workouts and the best I can remember of my food from yesterday (11/29)
Workout(s)
2 x 2mile run with Gunner
1050 m in the pool
Food:
bowl of honey nut cheerios w milk and banana
Too many chocolate bars to even count
protein bar
serving of crack mac, sweet tea
probably more chocolate than I should even think about
another serving of crack mac with some cheesy garlic bread and a large glass of choc milk

Today (11/30)
Workout(s)
2 x 1.25ish mile run with Gunner
3.8 mile run with the boys
Food
2 bowls of honey nut cheerios
10 'candy cane' hershey kisses
Philly cheese steak with fries, chocolate pudding
2 kit cat bars
serving of crack mac and large glass of choc milk.

Maybe writing it down will make me a little more likely to have some damn discipline and avoid eating so much of that evil chocolate at work.

This is for the cyclist in me.

2011-10-11T22:25:00.002-04:00

So, today was an amazing day riding with the Polka Dot team on the Challenge to Conquer Cancer ride to Austin. Lots of thoughts of the loved ones affected or taken by cancer. I wrote about that in my previous post, but this one is purely for me and the cyclist within.

Today's route was on the Natchez Trace. This is a pretty flat road and the road surface is quite smooth. With this kind of terrain, it is not uncommon for teams to cover a full century during their six hour shift.

Because the C3 team is ahead of schedule, the Dots decided to go back to the future for this ride. We started about 35 miles from our scheduled transition point, and had we ridden in the direction we are headed, we would have probably taken the team from 1/2 shift ahead to one full shift ahead.

So, we decided to get creative. We wanted to ride, but at the same time, we didn't want to really take the team any more ahead of schedule. So, we decided to backtrack for about 25 miles. Well, we didn't really take into account the headwind we were riding into! After some delays, we finally got started about 1/2 hour into our shift. We covered about 17 miles before we decided to stop and take a short break.

We had left the bus at the place from where we started and headed back towards it. When we arrived back at the bus, we were two hours and 45 minutes into our shift and had covered just over 36 miles. Not a really strong pace, but we didn't really care. We were having fun and were working on helping the C3 team stay on track.

During that break, we found out that Toni really wanted to knock out a century. 3 hours and 10 minutes to travel 64 miles, well, it was really 3 hours and 5 minutes by the time we made the decision and started rolling again.

The team started out rocking a great paceline with everyone making short pulls (~2-3min each). We were flying along at a great pace but things were looking like it was going to come down to the wire for actually hitting the century mark within our six hour shift. We took a short break with about 1.5 hours to go, and we still had to knock out just over 30 miles. It was definitely going to come down to the wire.

As we rolled along, we all found the pain cave. Everyone reacts differently when they enter the pain cave, but I was really proud of my friends on this ride. Although at times they were suffering the way a cyclist does when the combined effects of the distance and speed come to bear, every one of them pushed themselves with their eyes on the cycling goal we had set.

I know that part of what pulled them through was thoughts of their loved ones, but it is a testament to their intestinal fortitude that they pushed themselves to the limit.

As we all began to tire, Brandon told us about his experience with the Leadville mountain bike race. An old guy stood up to address the competitors before the race began and he said something along the lines of "You're stronger than you think you are, and you can do more than you think you can". Really true if you think about it. Your body and your conditioning can only take you so far. When you find yourself in your personal pain cave, it is only your mind that can carry you through.

With about a half hour to go, it become clear that to maintain the best pace, Brandon and I were going to have to share the work on the front of the peloton. At this point, we had something like 11.5 miles to go and lots of shallow rollers.

These shallow rollers are actually nothing to sneeze at. They are sustained 2ish percent grade for hundreds of yards. Sometimes, perhaps as much as 3/4 to one full mile of just gradual grade. Yes, we get the advantage of going down the other side, and we take full advantage of that. At one point, I looked down and saw that we were only going 10 mph up one of these grades. Not the pace necessary to knock out 11.5 miles in 30 minutes.

With my new Garmin 500 (purchased just for this trip, and about 1 week before departure), I can now see my heart rate. You have to recognize that in all of the physical activities I have done in my life, this is the first time EVER that I have been able to know how my heart is doing. All I can say is 'THIS IS REALLY COOL!!!!".

I found that if I keep my heart rate between 140 and 145, everyone was right on my wheel. If I allowed my heart rate to climb much higher, I would start to pull away. Very neat to be able to see that. In the past, I relied on my instincts and my perceived effort. Now I can put a number to it.

Another cool thing about the Garmin: It is pre-programmed to give your lap time for a 5 mile distance. Although we had one 5 mile time over 16 minutes, most of them were sub 15, and several were sub 14. I think the best 5 mile time was 13:10 - that's rocking a pretty good average pace!

At about that half hour remaining mark, Brandon and I began to exchange 5ish minute pulls. This was about the right interval, and I think we both realized this. When we swapped leads, it worked like this: If Brandon was riding in the pack, he would come to the front and let me know he was there. I would accelerate slightly to open a small gap, and he would pull in to take the lead. Then it was my turn to drift back and take position near the back of the peloton.

This was an amazing ride today. As a cyclist, especially a cyclist that really loves the team aspect of riding, it purely rocked. When everyone was strong, we all did our share of the work to meet the goal of hitting the century for the 6 hour shift. As riders began to tire, we communicated well and others stepped in to carry the load.

So, did we hit the century? I figure it only really counts if we do it in the 6 hours we have allotted for our shift. We covered 36ish miles in 2:45ish, and took a 10ish minute break. With 3:05 to go, we had to cover 64 miles. We took one short break and got quickly back on the road. We passed our target mile marker (incidentally, it was Natchez Trace mile marker 200) at 5:59:30. We covered our target distance with 30 seconds to spare.

That's coming down to the wire!

The dots go back to the future!

2011-10-11T22:18:00.000-04:00

What’s that re ally mean? well, it goes back to how far ahead of our planned schedule that the C3 team has become. With so many strong cyclists in the group, we tend to ride more miles than expected. As we were sitting at IHOP this morning, and Flat stanley was about to knock down a stuffed french toast breakfast, we were talking about how we should deal with this situation. Between bites of cream-filled, strawberry and whipped cream topped french toast, Stanley whispered to me “Go back to the future”.

Of course, what this meant, was that if the Dots just rode the distance that we are capable of riding, we would go from a half shift ahead, to a full shift ahead. So, it was decided (with buy-in from Team Boss Ron) that the Dots would help slow down the overall forward progress of the C3 team with an unconventional ride along the Natchez trace.

So, What is the Natchez Trace. Lots of historical stuff surrounds this road, and we get so busy on this ride in our travels that we sometimes don’t take enough time to appreciate the significance of the countryside through which we ride. Part of this history is about keeping the Nation together in the early days. It was a pony express route that connected the towns together and kept that sense of togetherness that people feel when they are part of a nation.

Today, the Natchez trace is a National scenic road that is frequently travelled by folks who are on vacation and by many bicyclists. It really is a beautiful road and we always enjoy riding along this road. The C3 team rides for over 400 miles along this road, and each team will get at least one shift on this road. Some teams – Purple Power I think, will get two shifts on this road.

As we rode today, Lisa, Kelly and Taylor caught up with us. Lisa took many photos as we rode along in our little formation. Then, Taylor slowed down the van (I happened to be on the front of our peloton) and she told me that she wanted to do a short interview with each rider. The question she wanted answered was “Why are you doing the ride?”

One by one, we each pulled up next to the van and Lisa was hanging out the window with her video camera. I was not able to hear what my team-mates said, but my response to that question was along these lines:
I am riding for my many friends, family and loved ones who have suffered from the effects of cancer and for those who have lost the battle with cancer. And, because I can.

This occurred many miles into today’s shift. By this time, we were feeling the effects of our efforts. This means our legs were feeling a bit sore, and mentally we had to work hard to maintain our efforts. To help the team stay motivated, Brandon told a motivational story, then a little later, I had one of my own. These stories were based on our own personal experiences and certainly could help with motivation, however, a little while later, Ed gave us the best motivation – “This hurts a lot less than Chemo”.
As a cyclist, there are a lot of really cool aspects to this ride that I could write about, but that would be missing the point of our mission out here on the road. One very cool aspect that translates to both the cyclist in me, and the guy who is working to help find a cure for cancer was the teamwork.

The Dots really came together today, even more than we did yesterday. Everyone did their share of the work for today’s ride, just the same as we all worked hard to raise money to fight this disease. With teamwork like this, I am sure we can make a big difference.

A beautiful ride through the hills of Tennessee

2011-10-11T22:17:00.000-04:00

A quick note, this was written on Monday 10 October, but I did not get a chance to post it, so take that into account when you read it.

After last night’s dinner at one of the last restaurants on Hwy 76 in SC, the Dots decided to travel to Cleveland Tn for some rest. We arrived at the Jameson Inn where the night Manager Jackie took really good care of us. As with many people we meet, she has also been affected by cancer. She has lost several of her close family members and her sister had been recently diagnosed with breast cancer. We had her create several magnets that we have now added to the van.

We finally climbed in bed around 1230 with alarms set for 4am. Wouldn’t you know it, I couldn’t sleep. Too many thoughts of all the people for whom we ride. I think I finally dozed off around 2am. The phone woke me at 345am – it was team Momma Jen – The Dream Team was already outside the hotel!

It turns out that Team Purple Power really rocked their shift and put us ahead of schedule by quite a few miles. Doing some quick calculations, Team Livelong would be doing the first of the big climbs that in the past two years have been the exclusive domain of the Polka Dots.

Thanks again to Jackie, she opened up the breakfast service and we had breakfast around 430 after turning the rooms over to the dream team. We rolled out and headed for Dayton, Tn, where we had heard Team Livelong was headed for after crossing the Tennessee River around 430am.

At 510am, we got the word that they were in Dayton, and we knew for sure they would be doing the first climb. We passed them around 540am and they had rocked the climb! We pulled a short distance ahead of them, and pulled over to get ready for our first 6 hour shift.

Compared to the past two years, The C3 team was about 15-20 miles ahead of the planned schedule. Knowing this, the Dots decided to enjoy a great ride through this VERY beautiful country. Of course, picking up the baton from Team Livelong, we still had plenty of climbing to do, they had done the first 3ish miles of climbing. The rest was up to us.

The route is gorgeous. Rolling terrain that I have been referring to as the Tennessee Walking Horse country. I say this only because of the massive open fields where I imagine beautiful horses frolicking. Actually, we saw only a few horses and lots of cows.

In fact, we travelled the ‘Trail of Tears’. I know very little of the actual story behind this, but this was the route travelled by the Native Americans as they were displaced from North Carolina.

Our climbing route took us up two excellent climbs, and three descents (Team Livelong stole the first climb, but we got the reward of the descent). After that last descent, the route remained rolling. Being so far ahead of the planned route, we took our time, relaxing with a number of quite long breaks.

We stopped at a small motorcycle repair shop to allow traffic to pass, and ended up with another extended stop. At this point, we were about 5 hours into the shift and had covered about 62 miles. The Lemon Bonkers were rolling up behind us, and met us there for a few minutes. We asked them to go about 15 miles up the road and we’d transition with them there.

Again, the roads we travelled were just awesome. More rolling hills through farmland. Many very cool barns and silos and really just outstanding beauty. We arrived at the transition at exactly noon – The lemon bonkers were ready to roll, and we cheered them on after some quick hugs.

And what about Flat Stanley? Stanley was a big help today. He helped us with Transition by helping Cara do a little driving. After the ride, he met with the Dream Team for a quick introduction before we all headed to lunch.

After lunch, Stanley helped Siddens navigate, he even climbed up on a cotton stalk when we stopped for a break. I believe he’s enjoying his little adventure out here on the road. Most importantly, I think he is beginning to appreciate what the efforts of this little band of cyclists and team managers are trying to accomplish. We’re trying to make a difference in a horrible disease by helping as many people as possible.

Team polka dot picks up a stow-away

2011-10-11T22:13:00.000-04:00

We’re off! Today the Challenge to Conquer Cancer team assembled to make our departure from the Cancer Center at Greenville Hospital system’s Memorial Campus.

The departure is always a very emotional time. Many friends and family stopped by to see us off. There were so many cameras! People were snapping photos left and right. Of course, the polka dot team was fully outfitted in our dots. We made quite the spectacle!

I met one of the people for whom I ride today. Marty’s friend Mike is currently undergoing treatment, and I ride for him. It was great to see him out chatting with the riders and taking in the scene. Great meeting him. Nice to put a face with the name on the magnet.

As we rode out from the Cancer Center, the emotions are always running really high. There are so many people who are suffering or have suffered with this disease. Meeting their friends and family and seeing their appreciation for what the C3 team is doing is really amazing.

So, what about this stow-away? Well, a cousin of mine’s daughter Skye, is participating in the Flat Stanley project. Skye prepared a Flat Stanley and put him on a plane to come out with us, but I thought he never really arrived.

To my surprise, He did! There he was as we were doing the final preparations with the van! He even helped mount the rack on the roof! When I asked him what delayed, he stated he heard he was going on a bike ride, and had to stop for a change of clothes.

So, he jumped on the van with Jen and Cara and rode along. Here we are at dinner after the first shift!

3 days and counting

2011-10-06T00:12:00.000-04:00

We’re down to 3 days before our departure. It’s an incredible feeling to be so close to such a grand adventure. Bonding with the people associated with this Challenge to Conquer Cancer has been a big highlight of the last several years.

It is amazing to meet such a group of selfless individuals. Many of the people associated with the Challenge to Conquer Cancer spend A LOT of hours preparing for fundraising events. Of course these folks have families, jobs and other activities they are involved with. It just happens that fighting cancer is something they have a passion for, and they are tireless in their efforts.

Tonight we gathered at the Brown Street Club for the Jazz Jam to Conquer Cancer. Of course it was an excellent time, and Montana Skies rocked the house. It was really great to see everyone. We are so ready to make this journey.

I hope everyone follows along with these blogs. And please, make comments on the blogs – it really means a lot to us when we hear from you.

Next post will be from the road. See you there!
jd

A letter to my Challenge to Conquer Cancer Sponsors

2011-09-25T16:12:00.003-04:00

We have only 2 weeks before the Challenge to Conquer Cancer team departs from the Greenville Hospital System's Cancer Center. We will roll out at 3pm sharp! Here's a map of the GHS campus with some info on our assembly area and route.

Directions:
Take Faris Road to Doctor's Drive and turn towards the Cancer center. In year's past, the parking area up and to the right has been opened for family and friends to park while sending us off. I believe that will be the case this year as well. We'd love to have a big sendoff, so please mark your calendars to attend.

Our training rides are starting to wind down. Yesterday (Sept 24) and Friday (Sept 23), Most of the teams went out and got a good ride. I joined several others for a 75 mile ride from Furman to Saluda and back. We included a number of fun climbs along the way - Packs Mt, Callahan Mt and the watershed. These are very classic climbs for this area, and we enjoyed ourselves along the route. With the beautiful fall weather we had, we saw many other riders out on the road. It was a great day of riding. I think all of the riders are physically ready for this ride.

Last night, we had a team meeting where everyone got together to talk about logistics, the route, packing lists and various other topics. The route will be similar to the route we rode in 2009, although there was some distance added in 2010, and some other small modifications for 2011. I'll try to find a link to our route and send it out when I do.

Another big highlight of last night was the distribution of the team jerseys. Every year the jerseys have a similar look to maintain some continuity, although each year there are small changes to make the jerseys uniquely identifiable for the year. This year, we have a Texas flag on the back, and a SC flag on the front. Also, to memorialize a very good friend who passed away in 2010, we have a small polka dot on the collar with his initials. It is a good looking jersey and I'll be proud to wear it to Texas this year. In the link below, I've included several photos of the jersey.

A task that I've performed for the last couple of weekends is preparing the magnets for your loved ones. A few of the local folks have taken magnets home with them to personalize. PLEASE get these magnets back to me before our departure. I've included photos of the magnets (along with the jersey) in the link below:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2212243278255.116606.1612725450&l=091ead4471&type=1

If you have asked me for a magnet and do not see your loved one's name in the photo(s), PLEASE contact me so I can make sure I honor or memorialize your loved one. I try to keep things organized, but I'm human, and mistakes are possible. Please contact me If I have missed a name.

Fundraising; I've nearly reached my goal. Thanks to the awesome generosity of my family, friends and co-workers I am only about $150 short of my goal. There is still time to make a donation, and I encourage you to make the donation you may have intended, regardless of how much I have remaining to meet my goal. Remember, your donations go towards cancer research and survivorship programs on both a local Upstate South Carolina (Greenville Hospital System and Anderson Cancer Center) as well as a national (The Lance Armstrong Foundation and Amgen's Breakaway from Cancer) level. Meeting my goal simply ensures me a spot on the ride to Austin. Your donations mean a whole lot more to the many folks who benefit from these programs. So, please take a moment and make that donation you would like to make - remember, even a $5 donation helps.

Donate through this link: http://goo.gl/5fwwV Thank you!

Blogs: Folks have started blogging on the www.ridetoaustin.com blog. You'll start to see more and more as we get closer, and once the ride starts, there will be a big increase in participation. Please follow us through the blog. You'll also see a 'Where are they now' link to the upper right - this is a 'SPOT' tracker that we'll carry along in the bus. That tracker will be active when we depart, and will stay active throughout the ride to Austin. It will stay with the team that is riding throughout the trip.

I'll also post to my personal blog all of the entries I make along the way. You can follow me at http://windinmyhairbugsinmyteeth.blogspot.com/

Again, thank you very much for your generosity, it means a great deal to a lot of people, especially to me.

jd

2011 - A new Challenge to Conquer Cancer

2011-07-04T15:24:00.003-04:00

Two years ago, I signed on to participate in an incredible event. I became a fundraiser for a local Greenville 501C3 charitable organization - The Palmetto Peloton Project (P3). P3 raises money that benefits local Upstate Cancer research centers as well as National efforts to battle the effects of cancer.

The way P3 raises money is through cycling events. Every year since 2008, one of those cycling events has been the Challenge to Conquer Cancer. Five teams set out on an October Sunday from Greenville Hospital System's Cancer Center and ride relay style to Austin, Texas. Bikes are on the road 24 hours a day. The point is to raise awareness and money to help in the fight against cancer.

When I rode with this group in 2009, I had never really done anything quite like it before. It was a challenge, but perhaps not for the more obvious reasons. Those being the challenge of riding my bicycle in 6 hour shifts for a week or raising the funds required to participate. No, the biggest challenge for me was dealing with the emotions experienced throughout the journey.

Well, I've committed to riding to Austin again for 2011. I've spent some time thinking about why I am doing this. I have only one answer. I can. In fact, this is a quote stolen from one of my 2009 team-mates. I ride because there are others out there who cannot.

In 2009 I didn't really have a personal connection to Cancer. Really, what that means is I didn't have any immediate family or very close friends who had suffered the effects of cancer. Well, in 2011, that is completely changed. Many of my very best friends are battling cancer, or have a loved one who is battling cancer. Some of those friends (or their loved ones) have been lost to cancer since my 2009 ride.

Here's my list of who I will be riding for this year. I hope this list doesn't grow, but I know it will as this journey continues:

In Honor of the following Cancer Warriors:
James (10yo son of a friend)
Jeni (riding partner and friend)
Kathy (riding partner and friend)
Rene (riding partner and friend)
Dustin (riding partner and friend)
Marty (co-worker, riding partner and friend)
Jeannette (Aunt)
Valorie (co-worker and friend)
Rachel (co-worker and friend)
David (co-worker and friend)

In Memory of:
Donna (co-worker)
Pip's dad Bill
Kip's uncle Bob
Bo's Uncle Buddy
Jeni's Aunt Barb

Because I can, I'll also ride in honor of or in memory of your loved one. Help me raise my funds and I will be his or her representative on this journey. Here's a direct link to the page where you can donate towards my fundraising goals: http://goo.gl/5fwwV.

The total amount I need to raise is $5250. I have already donated $250 as part of my registration as a rider. I am committed to personally donating another $1000 towards my goal so that 100% of your donation goes towards the battle against cancer.

After you make your donation in my name, please let me know the name of your loved one (send an email to me: madworks@earthling.net). If you donate $100, I will put their name on an 'In honor of' or 'In Memory Of' magnet which will be placed on our team van. Your loved one will ride to Austin with us.

Thank you for supporting a great cause.

Assault on the Carolinas - 2011

2011-04-09T18:05:00.002-04:00

I've ridden these roads before, many times. Today I did it from a little different direction. The assault on the Carolinas is a benefit ride where the monies go to various charities in Transylvania county. It really turned out to be an awesome day for a ride, I'm glad I signed up. It didn't hurt that the metric century(ish) route included Hwy 178 from the NC side, and Caesars Head from the SC side.

There were about 800 riders present amongst the three rides (100k, 60k and 40k). Of course, I did the 100k ride to make sure I was able to get in the climbing. It was a great ride, a large pack lead the route for most of the ride. I dropped off the back on the first climb - a short but steep bump on Walnut Hollow Road. I hooked up with a number of guys and we set off in pursuit mode. Wouldn't you know it, we caught the pack just before they turned on to Hwy 178 (and more climbing).

I set my own pace up the climb, staying near some of the guys who chased back on with me. When we got to the Continental divide, a clydesdale got out front and started pushing the downhill pace. This happens to be an awesome descent, and when we went through a couple of turns, I could see that he wasn't quite as good in the turns as I am - you know I had to pass him!

The descent was AWESOME! I did have a couple of guys follow me into the first turn after passing the clydesdale, but by the 3rd turn, there was no longer anyone behind me! I love descending! Bending through the turns just makes me smile HUGE!

It flattens out a bit (well, it rolls really), and the group started to re-form. We rode a paceline until we got to the next descent section, and of course, I was by myself after a couple of turns. But of course, they caught me when the terrain went back to rolling. No problem, I fell in with the small pack (maybe 10 guys) and we went to work.

We could see the big pack ahead of us as we rode along hwy 288. We just about caught them as we started the ascent of Caesars head. I helped in the chase, but as we got close, I backed off a little as I knew they were going to leave me on the climb. Better to save what I could for the climb I thought.

Although the climb started around mile 42 (and 42 hard miles it was), I am still pleased with my 42ish minute ascent to the state park. A little slow compared to my best, but considering the terrain we had already covered, I feel good about it.

Some folks passed me on the ascent, and I passed some others. At the top, I ended up riding by myself for quite a number of miles. Just as we turned off of Hwy 276 on Barclay road, a small group of about 6 (who I had ridden with earlier in the ride) caught me. I grabbed on to their wheels and we rotated for the last several miles.

I feel pretty good about the 3hour, 21 minute time for the 65 miles that this ride covers. Me and a number of peeps rode hard and the climbing was tough. The organization of the ride, the volunteers and the SAG stops (although I didn't take advantage of them) were awesome!

I met a number of guys who had been riding in the area for the past week. This was their last ride before they got in their cars for the ride back to New Brunswick (Canada!). A bunch of great guys, who can really ride a bike.

Hard to beat a day like today. Hope everyone else had a great day as well.

Spinners Represent @ SCTAC for opening night!

2011-03-22T22:58:00.002-04:00

Sounds like it was a great ride tonight @ SCTAC for the peeps in the A
group. I spoke briefly with Randy after the ride and he said that
there was a number of Spinners out there including him, Allen and
Abhay. Sorry if I have forgotten someone, but sounds like the A race
contingent did well with a strong showing.

Brian F, Bo Z and I took on the C1 country loop. The
pace always starts fast in this group, and Bo, being the consummate
gentleman, stopped to help a damsel in distress when she had a mechanical about 10 miles into the ride, thus having the luxury of riding the remainder of the ride with two lovely
ladies (that's not to say they didn't push it, they worked hard to try to regain the group).

Meanwhile, Brian and I continued on with the group. This is not a 'no
drop' ride, so whatever happens, happens. Brian did some monster
pulls out there, and drove the pace when it was necessary. Seems like
there were some folks a little timid about getting out in front.

We had an awesome time throughout the ride and especially on Holly
Road. This is a narrow, twisting road through some beautiful farm
country. About 3/4 of the way through the road, there is a very steep
drop follow by a short (but steep) climb. Almost immediately after we
turned onto this road, he waved me up next to him and said "trade 10
second pulls with me". Hell, I'm game, so I told him to go.

We began trading pulls and quickly pulled a gap on the rest of the
group. At one point, about half way along the road, as I was pulling
alongside to take my turn, I told him I wasn't sure I was going to be
able to keep that pace. Thankfully, he still had his head on straight
(because I was totally red-lined and no longer thinking straight), and
told me to bring it back a notch. I did, and we continued trading
pulls.

I hadn't really looked back once we started trading pulls, but when we
got close to the dip in the road, I did look back. We had pulled a
pretty big gap on the field (about 8-10 guys or so). After descending
into the dip in full race mode, we practically coasted the remainder
of the way to the stop sign (about a 1/4 mile or maybe a little more)
and were still in front of the pack. We killed it! Such a great
time.

Our average over the 30ish miles was 21.5 mph. Perhaps not a
staggering figure by any means, but part of the pride we take in this
particular ride is the stopping at the stop signs AND carrying this
average speed. We finished with 8 or 10 guys out of about 20 to 25
who started with us. The decelerations and re-accelerations really
take a toll on the average speed. I've seen as much as 0.3 mph change
in average speed in a single stop sign! It takes one hell of an
effort to bring that average back up.

So, great seeing a number of my Spinners team-mates and many of my peeps out there tonight. Congrats to the A group contingent for an excellent showing and Thanks to Bo and Brian for helping me represent on the C-1 group.

finishing

2011-03-05T17:04:00.002-05:00

Finishing a race, sometimes that is all one can hope for. That was my day today. Today was Race 5 of the Greenville Spring Series and it was held @ the River Falls course. This is a great course, but today was a horrible day for bike racing.

The forecast called for about a 40% chance of rain at Noon as of last night. I thought "well, that means 60% chance of no rain!". We got the 40% all right, in fact, it rained for the entire cat 4 race, and it seemed that it rained for all the previous races as well (and the following!).

The Greenville Spinners Racing Team had a great showing in the peloton today. Seven of us (Randy, Peter, Brian, Abhay, Plantec, Moser and me) lined up for the start. We had a plan and the goal was to put Randy or Peter or Brian on the podium. We all had assignments, the question was how well were things going to play out?

The start line for this race is at the top of a hill, so of course you go downhill almost immediately. Worse, at the bottom of the hill there is a right hand turn that seems to be more than 90degrees. Worse than that, add in wet brakes that really weren't working at all going down that hill and you had a recipe for disaster! Thankfully, no-one went down and the peloton made it through unscathed.

Almost immediately, there were attacks off the front. All along Devils Fork Road there was a group attacking the front. Abhay was up there in the mix and Peter and Randy were playing it safe near the front of the main peloton. I was a little further back in the peloton with Brian, George and Plantec.

Devils Fork Road rolls alongside a river. It has a couple of rolling hills but overall you are descending from the turn off of Gap Creek Road (at the bottom of the hill). As we came down from the first of the rollers, I found a path towards the front along the right side of the road. I took advantage and advanced many positions. I was now in front of Peter and Randy, and could see Abhay working the front, trying to establish a break.

The peloton was not letting a break get away, so we were slowly gaining on those 5 or so individuals who were trying to break. We pulled them back in as we came up to the Tankersly Lake. I had a clear path, so I took a lead position. I was surprised to be pulling away slightly, so after the right turn onto River Falls Road, I put down the hammer a little. I began to pull a gap. I was pretty surprised by this, my intention was not to make a break, but to push the pace.

However, since I was out there, I decided to make them work for it. I did my best to stay out front, and soon Peter came up behind me. We worked together for a ways, and as we neared the right turn for Gap Creek Road, another rider came up next to us. He got in the mix and did some work. We were quickly approaching the 1/2 mile climb up to the start / finish line, and I knew I didn't have the fitness to stay with them. I watched as the peloton swallowed me, then quickly closed on Peter and this other guy.

The pack set a solid pace up the climb, and I didn't have enough to hold it, despite my efforts. I fell off the back and briefly thought my race was over. I wasn't going to give up this time, after all, the conditions were really nasty, and I kept thinking to myself "This is Ranger weather"!

I chased, and chased and chased. I could see the pack again when we got to the rollers on Devils Fork Road. They were mostly together, but there was a small group of about 6 who were falling off the back. I managed to get in with them, and a couple of guys in there worked a little harder, then the peloton slowed to turn onto River Falls Road. We caught back on to the pack.

I worked my way up in the pack until I got up next to Brian. If nothing else, I wanted to offer encouragement to those guys. I didn't have enough in the tank to get out and drive the pace, but if I could show them I was still in, maybe it would help. No clue if it did anything for those guys.

Peter and Randy were looking strong in the pack as we rolled up and over the climb for the 2nd time. Brian was still in the mix, and I think I saw Abhay mixing it up at the front! Over the top, and descend to turn right on Devils Fork Road. I dropped back in the pack as we came up the climb, but managed to stay on the tail end of it as we descended.

It actually takes a lot of effort to stay at the back of a peloton. The constant accelerations due to the accordion effect play hell with you. If you are already hurting, these accelerations slowly break you down. I was at the back as we turned onto River Falls and was watching as small gaps opened up in front of me, only to be closed with another acceleration. I was back there with Brian and Abhay. I think George and Plantec may have dropped back by this time.

As we made the 3rd lap turn onto Gap Creek Road and approached the ascent, I worked my way back up near Peter and Randy. Again, I wanted to give those guys some encouragement. This time, I was able to chat briefly with them. Of course, the pace had picked up as we began the climb, and I quickly fell towards the back.

I tried to stay with the pack. My poor legs just didn't have it. Those guys were blistering up that hill, and despite my best efforts, I couldn't hold the pace. I could hear Duke (moto-ref) behind me, and finally, I waved him around. Thanks Duke for the kind words as I dropped off the back of the peloton. I was hoping that Randy and Peter were going to be able to stick with the pack - they were our remaining hopes for a good result.

Although I was no longer in the mix, I decided that I was going to finish the race. No dropping out like I did last week, if I was going to suffer, I might as well get a workout! At the top of the ascent, I got into the drops and into the big ring, and started in my time-trial mode.

The next three laps was all about me and finding the zone. I stamped out a solid cadence and tried to keep anyone from passing me. In that I was successful - I passed maybe 4 or 6 other guys who fell off of the back, and no-one passed me.

It was cold out there. I was having trouble shifting with how stiff my hands had become. I could barely wave as I passed the corner workers. I knew it was just as bad for the other guys in the peloton.

As I approached the final climb, a single rider - a pro /1/2 rider, turned around in his warm-up to ascend the hill. I used him as my rabbit to keep me motivated up the hill. I don't think he was going all that hard, although I was pushing for everything I had. I wanted to finish this race, and I was going to do it as if it really counted.

Welcome back to racing - in a big way!

2011-02-27T19:26:00.003-05:00

Today was my first race for the season. It was my first race since my surgery. I'm just over 5 weeks out from the surgery, and only about 3 weeks of getting in some hard riding. I had to get out there today as I was going nuts watching all my team-mates mixing it up. My plan today was to just hang in the pack and ride it out, but like most plans, it just never seems to work out that way.

I was a little nervous as we lined up behind the Pro 1/2, and the Cat 3 peletons. Big George came out again to give the Pro 1/2 group some lessons on how to race. Man can that guy ride. Great to see him out there rubbing elbows with the common man.

Poppa gave us his speach, with plenty of seriousness and a little humor thrown in for good measure. We waited a few minutes after the Cat 3 peleton before he set us off. Immediately, two guys went off the front. The peleton reacted, but it didn't seem to be a serious threat.

I was lined up pretty far back, further than I had really planned, but again, plans don't ever seem to work out. No problem, we set off with a pretty good pace and the pack got strung out through the rollers leading up to golf course hill. I took advantage of this and moved towards the front. The only place to be in a race is near the front. Otherwise, you're like a sitting duck, the front is where everything happens.

At the top of golf course hill, we absorbed the two guys, and the pace continued at a serious clip. Not at all unmanageable, but a little faster than a 'group ride' pace. As we rolled along the back side, I tried to stay protected from the wind and stay near the front. Because I had done a full lap of warm-up, I knew where the wind was blowing and I knew it would be coming directly into our faces as we turned to go up 3m hill.

The wind was a factor today. For sure. On the back side, I stayed to the left side of the peleton to take advantage of the protection and while we ascended 3m hill, I moved laterally across the peleton to the center. As we neared the top of 3m hill, I was positioned pretty well - on the right side (for wind protection) and in the top 10 (to watch / cover any breaks).

Sure enough, as we rounded the corner at the top of the hill, two guys went off the front. I don't know if it was the same two, but they hit it hard and a number of us set off in chase. We had a bit of a cross, but slightly tail wind as we went through this section. I was pushing hard, and calling out to get the guys around me to organize to chase the break.

It was working. Several of us started to get organized, although some of them dropped off pretty quickly. A two person chase group had now gotten a little gap and I was in the 2nd chase group (which was pretty much the entire peleton). Granger came up and gave me a good pull to help me get closer to that second chase group that were gaining on the 2 man break. I sat on his wheel for a little while but came around and started to chase on my own. Granger told me later that he sat up after I went around, as the entire peleton was on his wheel.

I was able to bridge up to form a 3 person chase group. I thought I was sitting pretty - the three of us were bridging up to the breakaway and we were working together. Each of us was taking a short pull before we handed it off to the next guy. We switched off a number of times, and we were making great progress when a fourth guy pulled into the chase group.

By this time, I was really starting to feel it. Although I don't have a heart rate monitor, I could tell I was at or above redline. I tried to stay with these guys, but couldn't hold their wheel when I switched out after a short pull. I kept pushing, some crazy belief that I might be able to bring them back. A couple of other guys pulled up alongside and I tried to catch their wheels, but alas, I was burning matches left and right and I was running out!

As we crossed the start / finish line at the end of lap 1, the break had about 6 guys, I was behind about 20 yards and chasing and the peleton was getting shattered behind me. I made the right turn at the stop sign and looked back. I needed the protection of the peleton, I was out of gas.

They absorbed me as we rolled through the terrain leading up to golf course hill. At the top of the hill, I was a bit disappointed that the pace seemed to slow. It almost seemed like this was going to turn into another group ride. I was still recovering, so my heart wasn't too broken by that!

As we came through the rollers on the back side of the course, I felt several times a handlebar rubbing me on the rear end. That is real racing. Nobody got upset by it, and the racing was clean. I was trying to stay near the front again just to see if there was something I could do.

As we approached 3m hill, I had had enough of the group ride pace, so I attacked - uphill and into the wind. How smart is that? I did open a bit of a gap, but my match supply was really low, and I had just burned a couple that I didn't really need to burn.

The attack did what I wanted it to do - drive the pace. Once they re-absorbed me, the pace was brutal! I stayed with the pack, now strung out single file for the rest of the 2nd lap. I was basically just hanging on for dear life! Remember that cross / tail wind (seemed like more cross than tail!)? It was really taking it's toll on me.

I was with them through the start / finish at the end of lap 2, and stayed with them through the rollers near the golf course, but I popped about half way up the golf course hill. I just didn't have anything left. So much for staying with the pack, although there was nothing in my plan about trying to chase and grab that break.

I'm certain that is what did me in. Although, I do feel that is what I needed to do. Even though it was just my first race back, and I knew my fitness was in question, I needed to see what I had in the tank. Now I know.

What I am really glad of is that I have the instinct to see things forming at the front. Not only to see them, but I also feel I have the ability to react to them. I'm totally comfortable to ride near the front of the pack and to make things happen out there. Now I just need to get my fitness up to speed so I can stick with it through the entire race.

So, I didn't race my plan. I had to improvise on the fly. I feel I reacted well, although with my current level of fitness it definitely turned out to be the wrong move. Next time, I'll stick with my plan!

Milestones

2011-02-05T13:39:00.006-05:00

Mirriam-Webster defines milestone as "an important point in the progress or development of something : a very important event or advance". What's this got to do with me? Two things really.

First, as I have mentioned in my blog, I recently underwent some surgery as part of my total orthodontic treatment. That has left me with some residual pain and more discomforting - some numbness in my chin and lower lip (some might say in my skull... ;). This numbness was causing some pretty serious discomfort if I put in any strong effort while riding my bike on the trainer.

Last tuesday, I decided to push myself a little harder than I had been (on the trainer). It didn't take long for this discomfort to cause me to make the decision to let up and scale back the intensity. I just wasn't ready for it. It really makes my face feel like it is starting to swell up pretty badly.

Two days later, while again taking a trainer class from Jeni (www.roadwaves.net), I decided to push it again. This time, the discomfort didn't manifest itself in the same way, and in fact seemed to be a bit reduced. I was able to keep up the intensity for the entire hour and 20 minutes of the trainer class. That was a big deal for me as I really don't want to be too far behind in my fitness and my training once the spring riding season begins in just a couple of months.

The second milestone - that's a much bigger deal for me. This has to do with my big goal for the year. That being of course to change my body composition. If you have been following along, you know that I am tracking my weight and by % body fat. Today marks the 10th consecutive day that my 7 day average weight has been below 170 lbs. That, for me, is a very significant number.

Why is it so significant? Well, I haven't seen that number on a scale for a long time. Probably the last time I saw a weight below this number on a scale was when I was in the Military. I got out of the Military (about) 24 years ago. It is a big deal for me.

Of course, my jaw surgery and the diet I'm forced to be on has helped, but interestingly enough, I really have only lost 5 lbs before my weight stabilized. You'll see it in the chart I'll post at the end of the blog. It was the first few days after the surgery that I had a significant drop in my weight. Since then, as I have already said, it has been 10 days that my 7 day average has been below 170.

Now I have to keep that up, especially once I can go back to a more 'normal' diet.

Something else I should comment on. My last blog talked about how I switched my scale to the 'athlete' mode for measuring % body fat. Well, as you might imagine, the numbers changed radically. It immediately went from an average of 25 to an average of 20.2. the % stayed at 20.2 and has varied only slightly since I made that change almost 2 weeks ago. One thing I really like about this setting - it seems to have less variance in the day to day measurement. Perhaps that has something to do with my diet, but I don't really know.

So, my numbers (7 day avg) as they fall out today are: 168.5 lbs and 20.1% body fat.

And, since it has been a few weeks since I made the body measurements, here they are as of this afternoon (baseline measurements in parenthesis) :
Chest: 40.625 (43.625) inches
Waist: 36.75 (38.5) inches
Hips: 38.625 (40.0) inches
Thighs: L: 22.625 (23.875) R: 22.5 (24.0) inches
Calves*: L: 16.125 (16.125) R: 16 (16.375) inches

*still not too sure about my calf measurements. I'll keep on posting them, but I'll have to keep an asterisk on that measurement until I have more confidence. Maybe I should just get a tattoo around my calf at the measurement point...

Total inches lost: 8.9

So, here's the screen shot.

Do I need to make a correction?

2011-01-24T18:11:00.004-05:00

After my last blog, a friend of mine chastised me for my measurement techniques and the way I was reporting my weight and body fat percentage values. Of course, if you read my early notes on my measurement techniques, you'll remember that my goal is a relative change and I'm not terribly concerned if my absolute reported value is a few percentage points off. However, she really got me thinking, and I decided to try to learn a little more about a few things.

First thing I needed to do was to understand the different techniques for measuring body fat percentage. Of course, you know I simply went and asked my good buddy Google. He returned all kinds of interesting and informative articles on the different measurement techniques and their relative accuracy. Here's one I particularly liked. That site also has a number of other interesting articles on body composition as well.

Of the different measurement techniques available, there are a few that are more accessible to you and me. I hear that there is a hydrodensitometry weighing tank here in the upstate, there probably are a few, but this is not readily accessible to me on a regular basis. This method is all about measuring the body's density. This comes from the volume displaced by the water, and the weights taken while both in and out of the water. This seems to me the most accurate, but read the articles - no single measurement method is the best.

I'm certain that much more accessible is the use of body calipers. I know that Coach Jeni has a set. She and I will be scheduling a measurement in the near future. In this method, a caliper is used to measure the thickness of a pinched skin sample in 3 or more places on the body. A complex set of formulas is then used to calculate the estimated percent body fat. If you have a buddy and a set of calipers, here's a cool site I found with the calculations already programmed, you just enter your specific information.

Perhaps the easiest and most accessible method for estimating body fat percentage is through the use of Bioelectrical Impedance. This is where a very small electrical signal is passed through the body and the computer calculates the body fat percentage. This is the method I've been using with my Taylor model 5598 digital scale. Turns out, this isn't necessarily the best method. Worse, the reviews I've read recently on my particular scale are not very positive.

One thing I've learned from this research - I should have been measuring myself in the 'athlete' mode. The scale has two settings according to your fitness or activity level. Wow! What a difference when I switched from the 'non-athlete' mode to the 'athlete' mode. I think the difference has to do with fat that could be contained within the muscles - an athlete is going to have less fat within their muscles than a person who does not exercise.

Yesterday is when I made this switch. In the morning, I was not pleased to see that my weight had continued to drop (down to 167 from what had been an average of 173.5), but it was showing my body fat percentage near 27%! I imagine I am losing some muscle mass while I am on this liquid diet, but sheesh! it can't be increasing my body fat percentage by that much!! So, after that research, I went in and changed the setting on my scale. The Body Fat reading? 17ish percent. Wow, now what?

So, what I'm saying is be very careful and do a bunch of research if you decide you are going to invest in a scale that measures body fat percentage.

Here's an article on body fat measuring scales: http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/bodyfatscales.html
That same site has a great article on using the skin fold calipers: http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/bodyfatcalipers.html

For my purpose, I'm going to stay with the 'athlete' mode on my scale, continue to gather the data and I'll continue to report. However, as mentioned, I'll be making an appointment with Coach Jeni to get the calipers out and make some measurements there.

A couple of other points that I found pretty interesting. Among the methods used to estimate body fat percentage there are a couple of simple methods that use only a tape measure and some calculations. Here's one site that requires some very simple measurements and returned for me a body fat percentage of 18.3%. I'm taking it for what it is, but it will be interesting to see how that number compares to the caliper method and the new readings from my scale in the 'athlete' mode.

I also found this other site that takes you through the method used by the US Navy to estimate body composition. I have not completed these steps yet, but will try to do that today as another estimate to add to my dataset.

So, what is my corrected body fat percentage? I have no idea. However, using the most recent data, I'm thinking it must be closer to 20% than to 24%. The most important thing I found in all of these articles is the same as the approach I have been taking all along - use the numbers as a reference and look for the change in value, not specifically at the absolute value of the number.

Update on body measurements, and how I am going to cheat on my plan...

2011-01-22T13:43:00.004-05:00

So far things are going pretty well in changing my body composition. I'm not perfect by any means, however, I have made some very positive steps and I feel really good about the way I am eating and what I am eating.

The best part is that I really feel like I am eating more than I was before. I guess the important part is that the meals are better balanced and I'm eating in good quantities. A huge difference is in the mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks. These make a difference as those are normally the times when I would be going for the reece's cup or whatever other evil chocolate that would be found nearby.

So, let's get down to the numbers: Recall, I am reporting only 7 day averages for weight and % body fat. Here's how they work out with today's calculation:
weight: 173.8
% body fat: 24.8.

In comparing those numbers to the numbers I posted previously, those changes are worth 7.2 lbs (down from 181) and 2.3% bf (down from 27.1%). It's not going fast, but I don't expect or really want it to go too fast. I want positive lifestyle changes that will keep me around for a long time - and in great shape for a long time!

Here's a screen shot of my charts:

I decided also to take my body measurements again this morning. I'm including the last measurements as well for quick reference.

Here's how they fall out:
Chest: 41.625" (down 2" from 43.625")
Waist: 37.125" (down 1.375" from 38.5")
Hips: 39.0" (down 1" from 40)
Thighs L: 23" (down 7/8" from 23.875) R: 23.125 (down 7/8" from 24")
Calves** L: 16.375" R: 16.5"

Not counting the calves, that is a total of 6.125" lost in just under a 2 month period. Funny how quickly it adds up when you are making multiple measurements.

I've put asterisks next to my calf measurements because they are actually showing bigger than the last measurements. It is easy to get a variation in my measurement of them with just a small change in tape placement. Quite a bit of taper on the calves. I will have to work on my measurement technique I suppose.

So, how am I cheating? A couple of days ago I did the most invasive part of my orthodontic treatment. In order to make my teeth straight, not only did I need to have the braces, I also had to have my jaw position corrected for an overbite of about 10mm.

How do they correct for an overbite you ask? Well, to put it in laymans terms, they broke my jaw in two places (near the hinges), moved it out by the necessary amount and then put three screws in each side to hold in it position while the bone heals.

What this means for me is that I am on a liquid diet for a minimum of 2 weeks, then I might be able to start chewing soft stuff. All depends on how well the healing goes and what the Dr. says. I dropped 2 lbs after only one day in the hospital. Thursday the 20th I ate no food whatsoever. Lots of liquids through the IV and cool water with small ice chips.

I don't think it's going to be a major problem though. I have lots of good ideas for liquid (or no chewing required) meals. Including smoothies, protein shakes, applesauce, pudding, soups, etc. Today is my first full day out of the hospital and I feel just as full as if I were eating 'normal' food. Maybe I won't lose any weight after all!

I'll keep an eye on it and keep you posted.

The value of exercise...

2011-01-16T10:05:00.004-05:00

This can't be a blog about all the great things that exercise brings to you, there are too many benefits to list! I do know that for me and most of my friends exercise is a big part of our lives and I'm confident that without it we wouldn't have the great lives we have.

This blog is just to note an interesting observation I've made over the last week. Exercise has a very direct effect on my weight (duh)! Here's my most recent weight and body fat percentage chart:

Note the little up-swing towards the last data points as I have circled on both charts. These data points happen to correspond to a period of several days where Upstate South Carolina was shut down with the snow and ice. Of course I was not getting out on my bike, with those bad conditions. In fact, I wasn't getting out of the house at all for a couple of days. When I did finally decide to get out of the house on the wednesday to go to work, the roads were still horrible and that meant another day of no exercise.

If you count the number of data points, you can see there is 3 data points that create the upswing. Those are the three days I didn't exercise. When I finally was able to get in a run on the fourth day, you see that the corresponding data point goes back into the downward swing.

So, there you have it, documented proof that exercise is good for you! (as if you didn't already know that!)

Ok, so the next question you're going to ask is about the big gap in the middle of all that data, and why does the bf% jump after that gap? Well, that was over Christmas with family. It's a dark period in my efforts to improve my nutrition and change my body composition.

All I remember is there was lots of cookies, a number of different types of beer and more food than I've seen in a long time. That's all I am going to say about that.

Trending down!

2010-12-21T03:34:00.005-05:00

Although I awoke this morning to watch a lunar eclipse, because of the cloud cover, I am simply getting ready for work. I'll go in early and try to get out a little early. Since I'm up though, I thought I'd make a quick update.

The weight and body fat % is trending in the direction I have been hoping - DOWN! Here's a quick screen shot of my charts:

An interesting note: My Body fat % seems to vary much more than my weight in the day to day. This is reflected more in the chart for BF%. As you can see, the slope is not as steep and in fact it had a little upwards trend for a couple of days. I think the BF% is more dependent on my hydration level at the moment I step on the scale.

The food is making all of the difference. I'm really not exercising any more than before, just making much better choices with the food I'm eating. Perhaps the biggest change is the variety of foods I've been eating. I didn't realize that your body gets used to what you eat, therefore your metabolism becomes complacent. WHO KNEW!

Well, between Coach Jeni's advice and the meals from e-mealz, I've been eating a lot more variety. Not only is that good for my body, it's also good for my head. The best part, I feel satisfied (as in I'm not feeling starved throughout the day) with the meal plan I've been working with.

With the last round of Holiday meals coming up this week, it will be interesting to see how next week's chart looks!

Progress?

2010-12-12T08:34:00.003-05:00

Progress, moving forward, keeping goals in sight and working towards meeting them. It's important that we can see progress being made. Progress comes in many forms, for some of my friends, it is in the form of completing a half or full Marathon. This weekend, MANY of my friends went to Kiawah and met goals they had been working towards for many months.

For some it was their first half or full and that was the goal. For others it was to set a new personal best. Congratulations to all of them for their efforts. Some perhaps didn't do as well as they'd hoped, but all were pleased with their result in the end. And, I suppose that counts big - one must be able to look oneself in the mirror and truthfully say 'I gave everything I had'. Kudos to all of them!

It's been a week since I posted my tale of the tape. Not a long time really, but progress towards the goal is being made, bit by bit.

So far, the changes are not big, but I'm not worried about how fast things change, only that they are changing and going in the right direction. Recall that my reported numbers are a 7 day average value. In fact, I don't calculate a value unless there are at least 5 data points.

Of course, being an Engineer, I keep all of this data in a spreadsheet and I have a little chart that shows the (5 to) 7 day average values. This allows me to watch the overall trend. I know, NERD!

In my spreadsheet, I actually started recording data points on November 3rd. Because of a couple of business trips in November, I have a bunch of days where I did not have the opportunity to obtain my weight and % body fat. I did have two points that I could count, as those first couple of points are actually 6 day averages.

While I posted last week's numbers in my tale of the tape posting, I should use that first point from November 10th as my starting weight. That value was actually 181 lbs (6 day average calculated on Nov 10, 2010). It shows up in my spreadsheet and in my chart, so it will be visible to me. The point in last week's tale of the tape was to report the information all at once - including the body measurements.

I did weigh myself on November 20th, but it is not a 7 day average (or 6 or 5, it is only one day) and that day's weight was 182.6 lbs! Since this is not an average value, it is not counted and not shown in my weight chart.

So, what do my weight and % body fat charts show? Here's the screen shots:

Yes, you can clearly see a downward trend in both the weight and the % body fat. I like that. That is progress towards my goal and it gives me motivation to continue.

What other progress have I made? I suppose it is visible in the chart above, but in my head it feels like a huge deal. I've been able to resist that stupid bowl of chocolate that lurks at my office! This has been the bane of my existence for a while now, and I knew it was not helping me one bit. We've moved into our new offices this past week, and that bowl is even further from me than before - that is a great thing!

The other big deal for me, I've been really good about the liquid carbs. Yes, I still like to have a beer (or two or three...), but I've pretty much kept that at bay even when I go out to a social event. Not totally, as I do enjoy a quality beer (for example a recent Pizza party I attended), but I'm making much more intelligent decisions about what and how much I eat and drink.

And speaking of eating, the funny thing is I feel like I am eating more food now (and losing weight / % body fat!) than before! I certainly do get hungry, but my plan says I should be eating a mid-morning and mid-afternoon snack! These are the times when that bowl of chocolate usually began calling my name. Instead, I have a healthy snack that tides me over until my next meal. It is awesome!

There it is, progress is being made. I will watch as those charts continue to show a downward trend over the next months. I do have some significant challenges ahead - Holidays with the family is going to be tough. Then, in January, I have to have some surgery as part of my orthodontic treatment. I'll be eating soft foods for a month or more. These will be challenging times to maintain a healthy balance of nutrition.

I've made it successfully through the Thanksgiving Holiday, so I have confidence going into the next phase of holiday parties. I've started the trend towards my goal, now I need to continue to progress!

The Tale of the Tape

2010-12-05T21:41:00.002-05:00

So last week I wrote about goals for 2011. I also wrote that I would be taking some measurements and putting them out here for the record. I’ll tell you how I take the measurements.

Weight:
My scale measures both weight and % body fat.
Each morning when I awake, I take a quick trip to the restroom before stepping on my scale. I take the measurements while wearing my birthday suit. The best I can hope for is consistency in my procedure. Because my weight can vary from day to day, I use a rolling 7 day average for both weight and % body fat.
My base weight: 178.7 lbs, 26.4% (seven day average taken from Nov 30 to Dec 5)

I took some body measurements so I could establish a base. I used one of those cloth measuring tapes and made the measurements in inches.

Body Measurements
Here’s my baselines for the following:
Chest: 43.625”
Waist: 38.5”
Hips: 40.0
Thighs: L: 23.875”, R: 24.0”
Calves: L: 16.25”, R: 16.375”

Interesting that my legs are not symmetric. Not a big difference, but a difference nonetheless. Hopefully, I’ll end up losing only the fat and not any muscle during the next several months.

With my baseline established, I guess I can now set a specific goal for a percent body fat reduction. Since the ‘healthy’ body fat ranges I found in my internet search fell around 14-18%, It makes sense to target something in that range.

It’s interesting, if I multiply the weight above by (1-0.264) it should give me my lean body weight, right? The result of that equation is 131.6lbs. If I then take a ‘healthy’ body fat percentage of 16% (might as well target the middle I guess) and re-calculate a corresponding weight (using the lean body weight from above), I get a weight of 153 lbs.

I can’t imagine myself at 153 lbs. Even when I was in the Military, I weighed between 160 and 165. Thankfully, since I’m not targeting a weight but my body fat percentage, I’ll just monitor my weight and see how things go as the BF% drops.

It will also be interesting to see how things end up with the body measurements. I’ll post occasionally and re-take those measurements to see how it progresses.

Wish me luck.

Facing Challenges and setting goals for 2011

2010-11-25T15:11:00.007-05:00

It’s interesting this time of year. So many of my friends are athletes. The great part is that while they are not ‘professional’ athletes, they are certainly more than ‘weekend warriors’. These friends of mine have set some pretty lofty goals for themselves. Because I know them, I have full confidence that they will meet those goals. Several of my friends are setting their sights on Ironman triathlons while others have goals associated with racing or charity events.

2010 was my first year of actually setting goals of this type for myself. I was pleased and a little surprised at how well I did. I definitely met my racing goals. It would be easy to argue about whether I met the goals for the Assault on Mt. Mitchell and Six Gaps. I feel good about my performance in both of those events despite the fact that my finish times were slightly longer than my specific goal for each event. Truthfully though, I hate that I have to put an asterisk next to those events.

So, what about 2011? There are a lot of things out there that I could challenge myself with. Removing the asterisks from the Assault on Mt. Mitchell and Six Gaps are certainly on my mind. I’ve been nominated to take over as Captain of the Greenville Spinners Racing Team so there will be some team goals along with my own racing goals. However, I have something else in mind that should actually help me in meeting those other goals.

I need to start with this: I HAVE NO DOUBT that I can complete any physical challenge I put to myself. Obviously, I’m not saying I could go out tomorrow and complete an Ironman - I would have to find a training program and apply myself to that program. In fact, I think the biggest challenge in completing an Ironman would be finding the time to do all of the training necessary.

Generally, when folks (me included) do something for the first time they have a 2 part goal. Part 1: Complete the event. Part 2: Meet some time goal they have selected based on their ability. This is pretty much how I set my first goals for the 2009 Assault on Mt. Mitchell. I had no doubt whatsoever that I could complete the ride. My only real question was whether it would take me 12 hours or 8 hours. I set my time goal at 8 hours and was pleased when I beat that goal.

I have a problem though. I’ll never really take training for an event like that totally seriously. I like spending time with my friends and enjoying a number of social activities. When it comes down to it, I’m pretty unlikely to do a 100 mile ride if all of my friends are only doing a 60 mile ride. Or, if I am scheduled to do a 20 mile run and none of my friends are running that day, I’d probably choose to join them on a bike ride. I want to hang with my friends during and after whatever activity we choose.

Part of the reason I would not take a training plan totally seriously is because I really have no doubt I can complete the event. Don’t get me wrong, I am absolutely NOT saying that {name the physical challenge here} would be easy - I know it wouldn’t be easy. Also, This is not pure arrogance on my part. What it is, is a statement about how well I know myself.

I’m sure it goes back to my Military days. There were days that really sucked. I can’t even put into words how bad some of those days sucked. Days where I was lucky to have 2 or three hours of sleep, one meal, carrying a 80 plus pound rucksack (along with assorted other gear weighing upwards of 20 plus pounds) up and down mountains, through swamps, at night, rain, snow, you name it. If there was a mission to accomplish, we were out there. In fact, we had a saying - if the weather was really bad (and worse was better), we would say ‘This is Ranger weather’.

Obviously when it came to the weather conditions, There wasn’t much we could do. When it came to the mission, the only things I could do was my job. Sometimes I had input on how, when and where we moved, but even then, I’d take bad weather over good weather any day. The enemy is a lot less likely to detect you when they are trying to stay warm or dry or awake. So, we put ourselves out in the worst conditions imaginable. Yeah, we could and did complain about it, but that was usually before or after the fact. During the time when it sucked so bad we usually had a strange smile on our faces. You learn to adjust your attitude about what you are physically experiencing when you know you are the baddest MFs in the jungle (or mountain or swamp or whatever).

Not surprisingly, that ability to cope (and sometimes thrive) when the conditions suck the most has stuck with me. That is why I have no doubt about completing an event (given an appropriate level of preparation). So, when I consider these types of events (half or full Ironman, marathon, others) the level of challenge I feel is a little diminished. So, what am I going to do?

I thought about it a lot. For all of the challenges I considered, only one gave me pause. In fact, in my mind, I question (still, even after several weeks) whether I’ll be able to attain the goal. I’ve fought this feeling of doubt about this goal for a long time. My whole life probably.

So, what’s the goal? The goal is to bring my body fat percentage down to a level of what is generally considered healthy. I haven’t picked a number yet, but according to what I can find, normal male body fat levels should range between 11 and 22 % (One site says 11-22%, another I've found says 14-18%). I’d rather find myself nearer the lower end of that scale than the higher end.

This is really not just about some level of vanity I have. Of course, I want to look more like the cyclist I really am, and certainly I want to be more of an animal when I climb. Most importantly, I want to make a positive change in my lifestyle that hopefully will provide me with a long and healthy life. This has to come through a healthy nutrition plan - something at which I am NOT good.

Where am I today? Well, I’m above the ranges listed above for body fat percentage. This Thanksgiving holiday hasn’t helped, nor has 2 weeks of business travel leading into this holiday. Worst perhaps is this crazy problem I've been having with my left calf when I run - keeping me from getting out and running as I would like to when traveling.

When I get home, I’ll post up ‘the tale of the tape’. Taking some general body measurements (weight, % body fat, some measurements - stomach, thighs, chest, etc.) and posting them up. As much as I am embarrassed by it, I’ll even post a photo. I'll also give details about how I'm making these measurements.

I need the help of my friends. This challenge intimidates me more than any physical challenge I’ve ever considered. I’m really nervous about whether I can do this. Help me stay motivated and on track with my eating - also, help keep me accountable for my food choices. A big thanks to Coach Jeni for putting up with me already.

There it is, it’s in writing so it now becomes even more real.

Giving Back

2010-10-12T20:22:00.004-04:00

Giving back. To a cause - any worthy cause is the greatest gift one can give to his brothers and sisters. And, in some strangely selfish way, one of the greatest gifts you can give to yourself.

You might wonder why, I certainly did. It was about a year ago that I was in final preparations for a life changing experience. That experience was the Palmetto Peleton Project's Challenge to Conquer Cancer. Last year was the 2nd annual, so of course this year it is the 3rd annual.

Because of other personal commitments, I opted out of the experience this year, but many of my friends have dedicated themselves to the cause. They have worked tirelessly to raise awareness as well as funds to meet their individual goals. The riders - the ones with the easy job - had to raise $5000 each while the Team Managers (a much more fitting name than 'support' as they have been called in the past) had to raise $2500.

I have missed many of the training rides for the C3 team this year, participating in only a few. It is amazing to me that so many people of such different backgrounds can gel as completely as this group of incredible individuals. It shouldn't be, as I've seen it first hand.

Riding with them a few weeks ago, I could feel the sense of purpose they had. Each individual is motivated in different ways, but each individual has been affected in some way by cancer. Some are warriors themselves - currently battling the disease. Others are survivors - those who had their major battles years ago and came back as a stronger and more determined self. Others have lost loved ones - maybe a relative, maybe a friend, but always someone for whom they cared deeply. All of them now working together with a common goal, a true sense of purpose.

It's that sense of purpose that brings all of them so close. They are a family already - the training, the fundraisers, the meetings have done that for them. As they depart on this awesome journey, those bonds will form into an unbreakable chain. They will forever be linked together by their shared experience and passion.

Its funny how things work out that way. You can try many things over many years to find that sense of belonging. You don't find it in individual pursuits - things that most likely benefit only yourself. You find it when you take yourself out of the spotlight and bring that worthy cause to the forefront.

This is the strangely selfish part of giving back. A group of individuals came together with a common purpose to give everything they can to knock out cancer. What they gain is a tremendous family. A family that will welcome them and love them for the remainder of their years.

So I have to ask then, what better gift can you give to yourself than to join in giving back to a cause for which you have great passion?

Follow along on the C3 ride at www.ridetoaustin.com
Don't forget, if your hectic schedule doesn't allow time for participation, you can participate by making a donation. Pick a rider or just give to the general fund. It's a great cause, and you'll become part of the team.

I couldn't close this post without wishing that family (my family too!) all the best for their upcoming voyage. All of you are an incredible inspiration. You'll be in my every waking thought until you are safely returned to your homes. Enjoy the experience and PLEASE write about it. I'll be living vicariously through you! Safe travels to each of you.

jd

visiting an old friend

2010-10-03T20:40:00.004-04:00

It's been a long time since I saw this old friend of mine. I don't recall the date of our very first meeting, but I do recall it was love at first sight. She was really hard on me that first time, treated me like a complete rookie. Stripped me down and beat me - like the bad boy that I thought I was. It was a little different today though.

How was it different? Well, mostly because I knew all of her tricks. I was not going to be so easily seduced by her beauty this time. She wasn't going to leave me breathless and spent when we finally met at the peak. This time our satisfaction would be mutual.

It all started innocently enough - I drove over for a relatively early morning rendezvous. She likes it early I think - she is fresh in the early morning. Later in the day, the tempests rise around her and she is not as accommodating. Arriving around 9am, I thought things looked perfect for us to find the bliss we both needed so badly.

After all I've written about bicycling, you'd think that is what I'm talking about. No, in fact, this is another mistress completely. It's been a long time since I had fallen to her seduction, but today was the day for me to make it up to her. I was ready - you don't know how ready I was.

After 6+ grueling hours at the six gap century last week, I was feeling the need to mix things up a bit. With many mistresses to serve, you'd think it would be a difficult decision, but she was not to be denied - I'd been dreaming about her for a couple of months lately. It had to be soon or I would burst!

As I made the drive over to her place, I reflected a bit on our shared experiences. She's taught me a bit about myself, and she's punished my body when I deserved it most. She'll do that to you because she can. She's a demanding bitch sometimes.

As I got closer, I glimpsed her in a new light. Yes, I've seen her over the years since my last visit, and I've felt the guilt of not paying homage to her. Today, I would do my best to make it up to her. She and I would become one once again.

Today I saw her in a new light. I hadn't ever seen her this way. It was kind of a surreal experience. She exposed herself to me and it left me breathless. What kind of mistress was this who could demand such a reaction? On such a fine autumn morning, she welcomed me as if I had never strayed.

Yes, Table Rock is the mistress I served today. She and I had an incredible experience that left both of us fully satisfied. She gave to me those things I had been missing since I'd last seen her and I gave to her my heart, lungs and legs. As I lay spent, relaxing in the late morning sun overlooking the Piedmont, I found myself content. While she demanded my best, she gave to me her very best.

At the overlook, I had 30 minutes completely to myself. Ample time to enjoy that late morning sun and to watch in wonder at the birds on the thermals. It was so peaceful. It was a visit that was a long time in coming, but as with any old friend, it was as if no time had passed at all.

HARDEN THE F*** UP!!

2010-09-26T15:53:00.005-04:00

So, the title is a reference to a video posted on none other than youtube. This Aussi dude is telling Australia to HARDEN THE F*** UP!! Here's the video, then I'll tell you what it has to do with me. NOTE: This video is NOT work friendly, NOT kid friendly, and if you have sensitive ears, you probably don't want to watch it. But it is pretty damn funny, so enjoy.

What's it got to do with me? "Harden the F*** up" became my little mantra today. Today was the Six Gaps Century out of Dahlonega, Ga. I'd been looking forward to doing this century since I heard about it last year. I signed up pretty early, and friends of mine made arrangements for us to spend the weekend in this awesome cabin for the entire weekend (fri, sat, sun nights). Really cool.

Most of us arrived on friday afternoon and we went to downtown Dahlonega for a great dinner. Saturday was a beautiful day of sunshine and we got out on the bikes for about an hour. Just a nice easy spin to get the legs, lungs and heart working.

The clouds started moving in last night and the rain began sometime around or after midnight. When I woke briefly around 2am, the storm was in full force with plenty of lightening. This didn't bode well for good riding conditions for the Six Gaps.

When I awoke around 5am, it was still raining. I hate starting a ride in the rain. We were all checking our portable devices to see what the forecast was supposed to bring. The forecast called for rain, so I told myself to HARDEN THE F*** UP! and I got my gear together, packed up the car and headed to the start / finish at the high school.

I sat in my car and posted to my facebook page "...its raining cats and dogs". Further, there was plenty of lightening. Definitely not a good day for a ride. I thought about bagging it and heading back to the cabin, but my mantra rang repeatedly through my head. HARDEN THE F*** UP!

So, of course, I got my gear together and mounted my trusty steed. This year, they were staging those riders who were a shoe-in for beating 6 hours at the very front. Earlier this year, I had targeted 6 hours as my goal for this ride. However, despite my recent post, I really wasn't feeling it in this torrential downpour. However, I did line up near the front of the 'normal' pack.

As I rode out, I chatted briefly with a guy whose target was 7.5 hours. I told him my target had originally been 6 hours, but was not sure how things were going to shake out - not the best motivation and bad riding conditions sure can mess with one's head.

It didn't take long for me to start hearing that dude say "HARDEN THE F*** UP". So, of course I started stamping out a strong cadence to pull myself up further towards the front.

I grabbed on to probably the largest lead pack. I'm thinking there was probably a smaller pack off the front, but this pack was perhaps as much as 75 or more riders. I hung at the back as we rode through a bunch of rollers on our way to Neels Gap. As we rode, more and more riders were being spit off the back and I moved up as possible.

As we got into the heart of the climb to Neels Gap, I too got spit off the back of this pack. No problem, I was just trying to stamp out a nice tempo pace - on the climbs as well as on the descents, flats and rollers. In fact, although I lost touch with the big pack, I managed to gain sight of them a few times between Neels gap and Hogpen gap. I never really caught them again, but I was surprised to see them.

Another interesting thing - because I was just stamping out a tempo pace, I managed to ride really strong in between the hills. I was a little surprised by this. Except for the hills, my legs were just moving and keeping that steady pace. I felt good.

As we rode through Jack's Gap and Unicoi Gap, I would be passed or left behind by other riders on the climbs, only to reel them back in and pass then in between the climbs. Many times today I looked back and found a pack of wheel suckers just hanging on behind me. Pretty funny and I really didn't care. I was out there by myself, so just holding that pace was all about me. In fact, with the wet roads I preferred to be out front - that rooster tail from riders goes right into your face if you are following in these conditions.

For a while, we actually had some good weather - for parts of the Neels gap climb, all of the Jack's Gap climb and I think all of the Unicoi Gap climb. However, as we finished the descent of Unicoi gap, the rain started again. It stayed with us pretty much for the rest of the ride. We had to deal with some pretty hairy fog conditions out there as well.

Hogpen Gap was as hard as I have heard. It was steep, and it was long. I found myself standing up quite a bit up there. As we approached a flat area very near the top of the climb, another rider who knew the route rode up next to me and said "200 yards - then we get a break". Man was I glad to hear that! It gave me a little boost as we rode that 200 yards and I rode next to this guy for a little while. As we rode through this little false flat, we chatted briefly. He knew the route pretty well, so he gave me some hints about what to look for. Appreciate that guy - he helped me a lot when I really needed it.

The descent from Hogpen was pretty hairy. Even in good conditions, it would be a tough descent. With rain, fog and traffic, it was horrible. Most of the riders were taking it a lot easier with these bad conditions. Eventually, I ran up behind some cars who were having trouble getting around another cyclist.

In good conditions, I would have considered passing these cars and putting the hammer down. However, with the conditions we had, I had no interest in endangering others or myself by trying something like that. A pretty big peloton formed behind these cars until they finally got around the other riders.

The next climb was Wolfpen gap. This climb seemed about as steep as Hogpen gap, but several miles shorter. By this time, I was really starting to feel the effects of the efforts I had put out. I still felt pretty good on the descents and flats, but I was losing steam on the climbs. The top of Wolfpen is about 78 miles into the ride. I kept hearing that dude say "HARDEN THE F*** UP!!"

I was glad to crest Wolfpen as I knew that was the end of the really hard climbs. There was still one gap to go, but it would be relatively mild in comparison to Hogpen and Wolfpen. Check out this elevation profile. To review, the order of the gaps is: Neels, Jack's, Unicoi, Hogpen, Wolfpen and Woody.

Once past Wolfpen Gap, I was pushing myself. I still had some chance to hit the 6 hour goal. As stated earlier, I was good on the descents and flats, but the rollers and hills were the challenge. I tried to push hard on Woody Gap. When I crested Woody, I tried to hammer the descent (as much as weather conditions would allow), but again, I ran into a train of cars having trouble passing some bicyclists. This really has everything to do with the weather conditions. Fog had rolled in and the descent was treacherous!

My buddy Bo had said sometime yesterday that the last 10 or 15 miles sucked the most. Well, it is TRUE! By the time you have covered that 85 or 90 miles, you're just beat down. Thankfully, there is some descents that allow you to drive your average up, but for me, the rollers were killing me! I pushed as hard as I could, got into a little rotation with a couple of other guys who were trying to catch the 6 hour goal. They ended up leaving me on one of the rollers, but they didn't really get all that far in front of me, I could still see them when we made the final turn back into the High School.

As I made that final turn, I was thinking I was way outside of my 6 hour goal. I was pleased to see the clock ticking through 6:10:?? (don't know what the seconds were when I passed).

So, despite not really meeting the 6 hour goal, I'll take it. with the conditions today, I can honestly say that in dry conditions, I would have definitely have beat that goal.

The final words I can say is HARDEN THE F*** UP!!!

The South Carolina State Road Racing Championships

2010-09-19T04:46:00.003-04:00

were held September 18th at the Fork Shoals road racing course. This was the same course we used for the Spring series earlier this year. I knew the course well, but took advantage of several opportunities to pre-ride the course with my friends from the GHS Every Woman Cycling team.

Although my race was not scheduled until 2pm, I arrived at the venue early so I could cheer on those very same friends. The Cat 4 women's race started at 840 and I really wanted to be there to give support to them. I'm glad I did - my friend Courtney ended up crushing the field to take the win. She'll be crowned today during the USPro cycling championships. Congrats Courtney!

With lots of time to kill between the women's race and my race, I did my best to relax and not think too much about my race. As I got suited up and started on my warm-up, I found I did have some butterflies floating around in my belly. I felt good, but a little nervous.

For the most part, the race was a typical cat 5 race. A few guys got out and did the bulk of the work. I did my share with several pulls on the first lap, but I limited my exposure. The pace wasn't bad, but it seems like we were in for a group ride that was going to end in a sprint. On the first lap, team-mate Dave got out and drove the pace for a while. This was the catalyst for the entire field to pick up the pace. Great job Dave!

I did my best to keep a position near the front and was successful for the entire race. I felt really good and my bike was performing flawlessly. I had full confidence in every shift and she didn't let me down. I even dropped to the small ring on some of the hills just to try to keep the legs as fresh as possible. She did everything I asked of her.

As we made the right turn onto dunklin bridge road on the second lap, a guy attacked. The peloton set off in chase, but when the guy out front started to tire, no-one pulled around him. I was back in about 8th wheel and had a clear opening to the right side, so I made the move to bridge the gap. I got into my time-trial position and stamped out a strong cadence and quickly bridged the gap. This guy I passed and kept pulling for a short distance before relinquishing the lead to someone else.

Shortly after, another guy attacked and opened a slightly larger gap. Again, a similar thing happened. The peloton was chasing and closing, but no-one pulled around as the leader tired. I came around I think on the left this time and pulled us up to the attacker. He had a pretty good pace, so I didn't feel the need to go around him. Plus, I wasn't going to spend too much more time out there. I needed to have something left for the finish.

There was no other attacks after those two and the peloton continued at a strong pace as we turned onto Cedar Falls road and headed into the last stretch of rolling terrain. There are two hills on this section that have potential to string out the field. The first isn't too long, but it does take some effort. I stayed in the big ring for this one and for the descent leading up to the next hill.

This final hill really has potential to break the field. However, the pace we set up that hill was not as strong as it could have been. We were definitely in for a field sprint. I crested the hill and made the left turn onto Turner road in 3rd position. I was good with this position, and held it until the guy I was behind started stamping out a strong pace and began to stretch out the field.

He pulled us all the way up to the 200 meter mark where I decided to make my move. I came around him, but I made a critical mistake - I didn't grab a couple of gears. What this did was cause me to have to let up a little while I was in full sprint mode so I could grab another gear or two. This cost me.

One guy came around followed closely by another. I had lost enough momentum that a third guy was approaching fast. He and I crossed the line side by side. A true photo finish. I knew how close it was, so I could only wait for the official results to be posted.

I was at the trailer when the results came up. They scored me in fourth. Since I knew they had the video camera, I decided to protest the results. I wanted to ensure they used the camera when they scored the race. It's my right, so I informed the judges.

Wouldn't you know it, the official camera had malfunctioned and they didn't get the video. They told me to find the guy and they would ask him. He was nearby and of course he contends that he beat me. Hey, if the roles were reversed, he would have probably contested the results the same as I was and I would have said the exact same thing.

While I was standing there, many others came to protest the results. Without the camera, they only got the first five across the line and the results pretty much put everyone else in numerical order based on their rider number. Bummer for those guys, but one guy's girlfriend or wife had a few camera shots showing the finish.

In one photo, she had captured the 2nd place guy and the photo finish. Unfortunately, her perspective was head-on and all we could say for sure was that it was a photo finish for me and the other guy. The space between his front wheel contact patch and the line appeared to be the same as that same spacing for me. When we zoomed in on the photo, it didn't clarify anything except that the only way to know with absolute certainty would have been with the video for the offical camera. I really wish I would have asked her to send me that photo.

Since this was the only photo evidence available, I withdrew my protest and accepted 4th place. Not a bad finish on the day.

My emotional state

2010-09-19T04:00:00.002-04:00

is directly linked to the mechanical condition of my bicycle. It's funny how it could possibly be this way, but I have clear evidence (at least in my head) of that now.

For the last couple of months, I've been a little off in my confidence, in my ability to stay focused and just feeling a little run down. It seems like it started when I crashed my bike the week before the French Broad Classic road race. I didn't know it at that time, but in that crash, I picked up a few gremlins - mechanical and emotional.

The mechanical gremlins are the easiest to describe, because they affected every ride I did since that crash. Shifting problems in the French Broad classic wore on me a little, and those same shifting problems followed me for nearly two months until I finally broke down and ordered a new crankset.

I spent plenty of time trying to diagnose the problem whose symptom was the chain coming off the pedal side of the crank when I shifted from the small ring to the big ring. In fact, it even happened several times where the chain came off when I shifted the rear derailer while riding in the big ring. On one particular ride, I nearly threw the bike into the bushes along the side of the road.

During this time, I still felt that funk. Although I was riding well, I was feeling exhausted at the end of the weekly C-1 ride at SCTAC (the ride which I have been leading most of the summer) . Not just physically exhausted, but a kind of mental exhaustion that really wore on my confidence in my ability to ride. I found that it also extended to other parts of my life - affecting my personal relationships as well as work.

I finally put my engineering head and my dial indicator to the issue. Even with new chainrings, the problem was occurring. Obviously, it wasn't just about the chainrings. When I measured the lateral run-out of the big ring, I found it to be 0.035" at the gear teeth, and about 0.020" at the bolts. This didn't seem like much, but I had another crankset I was borrowing (standard gearing - 39/53) that wasn't having any shifting problems. Thus, I knew this runout was an indicator that the spider arms on the crank were bent. The only solution was to buy a new crankset, so I went over to Sunshine Cycle and picked one up.

The next couple of rides worked out pretty well. I no longer had the problem with the chain coming off the big ring, but I just didn't seem to have that same precise shifting that I had grown so accustomed to. I played with the rear derailer to improve that, but still, no real improvement - in the precision of the shifting or my mood / emotional state.

Normally, I have a little stand upon which I put my bike during maintenance. This stand is nice, but it is home-made and only lifts the bike off the ground by about a foot. Even when sitting on my little workstool, the rear derailer is still well below my line of vision.

Then, last weekend, I needed to do some maintenance on my bike, and decided to put the bike on the Jeep's bike rack to work on it. With 35" tires and 5 inches of suspension lift, the arms of the Yakima rack that hold the bike are above my head. Of course, this puts the rear derailer just below my eye-line while I am standing.

With the bike in this position, I could clearly see that the rear derailer hanger had also gotten bent during that crash two months ago. I wasn't able to get to the bike shop to pick up a derailer hanger until Wednesday or Thursday of this week, so when I finally installed it, the only chance to ride before Saturday's State Road Race Championships was Friday evening.

WOW! What a difference! The precision shifting was back! as I rolled around Cleveland park, I had such a big smile on my face. Strangely enough, it was during this easy roll around the park that my belief in my riding abilities came back to me. As I said, I had been riding strong these past couple of months, but I didn't feel it mentally. That feeling came back to me as I pushed myself up the small hill near the baseball fields. Good timing for sure - the very next day I would be contending for the Cat 5, 35+ State Road race Championship.

As I rode and flashed my smile at every passing pedestrian, runner, biker and dog walker it really felt as if the black cloud that I had been under for the late part of the summer was lifting. Not only was my belief in my riding abilities coming back to me, but a sense of clarity about some personal stuff began to come to me. It was an incredible relief.

I would never have really thought my emotional well-being would be so closely tied to my bicycle. These past couple of months seem to indicate she is part of me - a very integral part. When she is hurting, it is reflected in all I do. I better make sure to take good care of her. Not only does she heal my body and make it strong, she also heals my mind.

You have a training plan??

2010-08-07T15:58:00.002-04:00

yep, it's true. Had you asked me several months ago about having a coach make a training plan for me, I would have told you it's not worth it. Partly because deep down inside, I know what I need to do: More core work, more upper body, eat better, etc. If I'm not doing that on my own, why would it change if I had a written plan?

Why? Because now I actually have something that challenges me and interests me. On my own I would have been going to the Gym and lifting weights. I would have gotten some benefit from it, but very unlikely that I would really make huge gains with it. The fact is, I really don't like working out at the gym.

So, what's the difference now that I have a plan? The difference is in the interest I have in the program I have been assigned. There is the Ab workout, two different upper body workouts, a plyometric workout and a stretching program. Most of the workouts are about 1 hour. Except the ab workout - it is about 20 minutes. Probably the toughest 20 minutes of all the workouts.

Part of the interest is because I can't do some of these moves (and I'm always up for a challenge). Thankfully, my coach Jeni is way smarter than I am when it comes to exercise. She showed me a few ways to improve my performance and actually be able to complete the exercises. Pretty simple solution, but until she showed me, I was simply clueless.

Another part of my interest is that I can do it right in my living room. No travel time to a place I really don't like to go anyway. I can get up in the morning and get all or part of the day's workouts in before work.

Finally, the workouts are designed to work together to address the complete body. This is something I would not have gotten by working by myself at the Gym. Yes, I could have paid someone to develop a plan for me that included gym workouts, but I like this solution better.

The other thing she has put on my plan is two runs per week. The short run on Monday is 3-4 miles. The longer run ranges from 5 miles to 8 miles. Admittedly, I'm not as strict on meeting the requirements she has laid out for these runs. I do the mileage, but she has specific time goals that I am not really abiding by.

Similar with the bike. She has distances I'm supposed to meet, but I really haven't necessarily paid attention to them. I mean, on the weekends I'm getting in solid 4+ hour rides. Sometimes (like a couple of weeks ago with my Spinners Team-mates), they are pure hammerfests. How do you balance a distance with intensity? She hasn't really indicated intensity on the rides at all.

To be totally honest, the most important thing for me on the runs and the rides is that I enjoy myself. I have to admit, I'll never be a pro biker, runner or triathlete, so keeping it fun must take priority. If that means going hard when I feel like it, or taking it easy because I'm not feeling it, that is what I am going to do.

That being said, having a written training plan is making a noticeable difference in the number and quality of my off-bike workouts. And, I'm actually enjoying it - all of it!

Giving back to the community in support of young athletes

2010-08-01T09:14:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was a really fun day for me. It started out at Furman University relatively early in the morning. I was there to volunteer for the 'Tri to Cure' youth triathlon.

I was placed as a course marshall on the bike course. If you know Furman University, you'll know the mall area and you'll know the footbridge that crosses the road near the music building. I was stationed just uphill from this footbridge. The riders would be riding up the hill as they passed me.

I didn't really think about the significance of this hill - for me and most of my friends who ride from Furman frequently, this is not something that we even think about. However, I was to find that it is a significant challenge for some of these young athletes.

Since the athletes are staged and released for the swim based on their swim times, the first athletes I saw on the course were in the upper end of the 6-15 year age requirement. Many of these young athletes surmounted this little hill without difficulty. Some of them were truly flying up that hill. There are some talented athletes coming of age here in the Upstate of South Carolina.

I had brought my cowbell and had decided to cheer on every athlete as they passed my station. I had a great time doing this. My calls of 'GO GO GO GO GO GO!!!!' and 'GET MEAN WITH THAT HILL' and my personal favorite 'YOU'RE AN ANIMAL!!!!!' received looks all the way from 'is this guy crazy or what' to huge smiles that seemed to say 'thanks for cheering me on'. In fact, I might have had more fun than some of the athletes!

As the athletes passed my post, their ages got younger and younger. The hill was posing more and more difficulty for them so I continued with my cheering. I had two very memorable experiences out there.

The first involved a young girl who had to have been just at 6 years old. I think her bike had 12" wheels - she was a tiny little thing! She was near the back of a small pack of riders (and the younger kids were pretty much all over the road!) as they approached the hill. A couple of riders passed her as the grade increased and I watched as her speed dropped further.

Not quite half way up the hill, her speed went to zero and her eyes filled with tears. I felt so bad for her. I went over and gave her some encouragement (with my indoor voice of course) while giving her a little boost as she pedaled up the hill. As she got further up the hill, the crying stopped and she built momentum such that she no longer required my assistance. I sent her off with more words of encouragement and turned to cheer the next group of riders up the hill.

Not long after, I saw perhaps the coolest sight of the day. Here comes a little guy on training wheels! Again, this little guy must have just made the minimum age for the race. It must have been his mom jogging beside him giving him encouragement. As he started up the hill, of course I was there to cheer him on as well. As with the young girl, as the grade steepened, he lost momentum. However, his mom coached him to get off the bike and push. So here he is, this little guy pushing his bike up the hill.

That was really cool. I'm really glad I took those 2(ish) hours to help out with this event.

French Broad Road Race - calling all climbers!

2010-07-17T15:57:00.004-04:00

This weekend is the French Broad Cycling Classic held up in Marshall, NC. They actually have three races - last night's Cane Creek time trial, today's Liberty Bicycles road race and tomorrow's City of Asheville Criterium.

While some of my Greenville Spinners Racing Teammates are going for the omnium, I participated only in today's Road Race. This is a very hilly 40 mile route

Several of my teammates ride in the Cat 4 group. In chatting with them briefly after the race, it seems they felt pretty good overall, but each was challenged on the most significant climb of the day. The best result was a 15th place for Peter with Brian, Kirk and Randy coming in 33rd, 37th and 41st respectively.

I'm still riding cat 5, and this makes my 6th race. A few more and I won't have a choice but to cat up to 4. No problem, having fun is what it's all about anyway. Today Allen joined me in the Cat 5 group. He made a difference for me in the beginning. I really felt like he was watching over me because of my shifting problems. Probably my imagination, but hey, I was glad he was there. Allen pulled a 16th on the day so a great result for him.

The ride actually starts off flat for about a half mile. Wouldn't you know it, as we turn on Marshall's main street, I shifted up into my big ring and the chain popped off the pedal side. Bummer, I pulled to the side (but kept rolling) to get it sorted out and had a super nice guy ride up next to me and push me for a moment. I said thanks to him, but that I had it. He continued and I got the chain back in place.

The route turned up pretty quickly for some big rollers - I would almost say these were bordering on actual hills based on the length of these things. I did my best to stay with the lead pack and found the pace to be hard, but manageable.

Shifting was a big problem for me today. Obviously, I damaged the big ring in last week's crash. Every time I shifted from the small ring to the big ring (near the top of the climbs of course), I had to be super careful. I found if I shifted while in the biggest cogs, it wasn't too bad, but if I was in any of the 4 or 5 smaller cogs, the chain wanted to go over to the pedal side of the chainring. A number of times I had to use my foot to insure the chain stayed on the ring. Things worked out ok, but it took energy that I needed for the climbs.

Around mile 13 or so, the road turns up for the first part of the biggest climb of the day. It's really two climbs with a descent in between. The first climb is not too bad - the grade is manageable and the pace was not crazy. I managed to stay mostly with the lead pack. Occasionally, a gap would open (as normal) through turns between the riders at the lead and the riders further back. I tried not to let this happen, but I was staying away from the very front - probably in the top 20 riders or so. That far back, the accordion effect is pretty pronounced. Burned some energy pulling back up to the pack when that happened.

As we finished the descent from that first part of the main climb, we entered into a relatively flat and very straight section of roadway. Wouldn't you know it, a crash occurred about 10 bikes in front of me and I had to take evasive action.

Thankfully, I heard after the race that no-one was hurt, but I watched one guy go over his handlebars when he hit the guy in front of him. Unfortunately, a very strong rider I know and who I have ridden with several times got caught up in the crash and it took him out. Not because of injuries to his person, but to his bike. Bummer as he was riding really strong today.

For me, my evasive action put me into the grass. I kept the bike upright and got it stopped in time, but that was the problem, I couldn't go around the crash due to the terrain - I had to stop. Meanwhile, the lead riders who were in front of the crash kept going.

I quickly dismounted and brought my bike back around the other side of the riders who were now untangling their bikes and bodies. I re-mounted and took chase. I caught up to a 2nd group that was chasing the lead group. One guy commented to me "I guess they're not going to wait up". "Nope", I said, "they're going to make us work for it".

Then, the gradient increased and we were into the largest climb of the day. Not the steepest, but certainly the longest. It was about 5 miles long and as I rode up the early part of the ride, I managed to gap that 2nd group I briefly rode with, but the lead group was gapping me. I did not push hard enough to reel the leaders in.

I did manage to collect and gap a number of riders on my way up, but one rider who I have ridden with in the past caught my wheel as I rode past him. He and I worked together on the climb, then we collected Senior on the early part of the descent.

As we passed Senior, I called out to him "Come on Senior!", and sure enough, he grabbed our wheels. The three of us worked together as we rode through the very beautiful North Carolina countryside. It was mostly a descent, but the grade was not steep. Still, we could carry (relatively easily) 25 - 29mph in most places. Senior and Tom would pull for long distances in the beginning, but as we all began to tire, they slightly shortened the time they spent out front. This left a little more load for me, but I was feeling pretty good (and if you know me, I love to get out and pull anyway).

As we started the final 2 mile climb of the day, Senior called out his thanks and began his own pace. Tom and I tried to keep a solid pace up the hill. It was funny, because as with other riders I have known, he was commenting on his physical condition. I actually told him he can't look at it that way - it is self-defeating to talk about how tired or sore or how badly your legs want to cramp.

In fact, my legs were getting pretty tired by that point as well. I kept it to myself and as the grade was not getting any easier, I kept up my pace. Tom did a great job of staying with me, and in fact several times he pulled slightly ahead. But I knew based on the way he was talking that I would be pulling a gap on him later in the climb.

Sure enough, with a little over a half mile to go, the gap started widening. We thanked each other for the work as we rode along the river, and I started to slowly pull away.

There was no other Cat 5 riders close to me, but I continued to pass the stragglers from the womens / masters / cat 4 group that started in front of us. I crossed the line by myself thinking maybe I got lucky enough to make top 15, but surely I got top 20.

When I pulled up the results, I was quite pleased to find that I actually crossed the line 10th for the 50 rider Cat 5 field. That makes me feel pretty damn good!

Reviewing the race after the fact: I felt good and did well up until the crash. I was riding with the lead pack and even with the shifting problems, I felt like I could hang with them. When the crash occurred at the base of the most significant climb the lead group gapped me.

The question I ask myself - would I have been better off to bridge up to that lead group? I had been keeping with them for the entire ride to that point, but once the gap formed, I went into my climbing mode - not necessarily my race mode mind you. I went into my little zone where it is me, my bike and the road. I could see those guys for a while, but it got a little confusing as we were catching up on the tail end riders from previous groups who set out before us.

Had I bridged up to the lead pack, I may have pushed myself a little harder on the climb which could have resulted in a better finish.

However, they obviously were good climbers as they were pulling a gap on me as I climbed. It is also possible that I could have blown myself out on that first climb and had nothing left for the relatively flat descent along the river. I suppose I'll just have to keep working on my climbing and try again next year. Until then, I'll have to accept the 10th place.

Going in hot (too hot in fact)

2010-07-11T19:59:00.003-04:00

Another great weekend of riding here in the upstate. It started with a ride from Tigerville, over Callahan Mountain, up the watershed, along Mine Mountain and then up a dirt road past Pearson's Falls. That road brings you out right at the Bakery in Saluda. From there we went out Holbert Cove Road and circled around to climb the switchbacks on Green River Cove Road.

It was a great ride with a bunch of good guys. Four of my Greenville Spinners Racing team-mates met up with a half dozen or so guys from the Cyclists Against Cancer team (formerly Myers Center). With these guys it is always a hammerfest.

I felt pretty good going into the day - managed to stay in the top third or so for Callahan Mt and the first part of the watershed. Kirk and Randy and one of the CAC riders (Joe) were riding really strong on those climbs and pulled a pretty big gap on me.

At the right turn for the second part of the watershed climb, Kirk, Randy and I waited for our team-mate Abhay before we set off in chase of the CAC guys. They blew past us as we circled around for Abhay.

Kirk set a blistering pace up the road. Even on the steepest section, I was working my tail off just to stay on the wheels of those guys. Eventually, he pulled off the front and I expected him to tag right on to the back. Unfortunately, Randy kept up that blistering pace and Kirk didn't have anything left to grab our wheels.

After a little while, Abhay had enough and pulled out of the line. I grabbed onto Randy's wheel and he kept up the pace. With Kirk's blistering leadout and Randy's diesel motoring up the climb, we had the other guys in sight. I recognized the signs of fatigue in Randy, so I pulled up next to him to take the lead.

We weren't that far away and I love a good chase, but unfortunately at the state line, I was still about 8 bike lengths back from that group. A little more distance, or maybe if I would have sprinted I could have caught them, but alas, I didn't quite make it. It was a blast hanging on Kirk's then Randy's wheel before making the final bid.

I stopped at the state line to wait for those three while the others kept on rolling. We set off in chase, but didn't catch them until after we made the turn onto Mine Mountain road. We all played racer along Mine Mountain, but when the time came to make the turn, they turned right to climb the grade, we turned left to climb the dirt road.

Once at the Bakery, we convinced them to follow us along on the Holbert Cove / Green River Cove Road ride - it would add about 20 miles to the ride.

The last time I rode this section of roads, they had just re-done the chip/seal paving on Holbert cove road. As we made our way along it this time, the amount of gravel was significantly reduced. I was pleased as this is a really fun road with some hard rollers that are almost real hills (relative to the effort you have to exert to get up them).

Pretty early along the road, Randy set a blistering pace. At the top of one small climb, he and I were at the front, but he had about 4 bike lengths on me. As we crested the top, I saw him shift and knew he was going for the break. I briefly considered sprinting to catch him, but I had a line of riders behind me and that would defeat the purpose of Randy's break attempt. So, I actually backed off slightly and let Big Mike come up to the front. It was my job now to simply hang with these guys and respond to any attacks they might make.

Randy built a sizable gap pretty quickly and was soon out of sight with all of the twists and turns this road takes. As we road along, I remembered a pretty wicked hairpin turn right at the bottom of a pretty steep little hill. I warned those guys about it as we approached, but we still went in pretty hot.

I was behind Big Mike and Will was behind me. Scott and Joe were also riding along and I think they were behind Will. Bringing up the rear was Abhay and Allen. As we all braked for the hairpin turn, I watched Mike roll across the other lane and into the grass. I had managed to bring my speed down pretty well and was able to roll through the turn. When I looked back, I saw that both Will and Scott (and perhaps Joe) had gone across the other lane and stopped in the grass on the shoulder.

Of course, being in a racing mindset, I saw this as a great opportunity to go for a break. I went through a couple of other turns, and then I came upon another right hand hairpin. Unfortunately for me, I wasn't fully prepared for this one, and despite my best braking efforts, I couldn't get slowed down quickly. Compounding the situation was some areas of gravel that caused me to get the bike completely sideways at least once.

It was this sideways action that made me fully realize my error. It was then I knew I wasn't going to be able to make the turn. Unlike the first hairpin, I didn't see any run-off area by going straight ahead. So, I simply increased the radius of my turn while I continued to scrub as much speed as possible. I crossed over the other lane and went into the grass just past mid-way through the turn.

Of course, I was at a pretty good lean angle (even though I had straightened up as much as possible due to the gravel) so about as soon as I went into the grass, I went down on the low side.

Of course, the low side is generally much preferred over the high side, so I was pleased about that at least. I was also pleased that I was completely off the pavement before any part of my body or bike hit the ground. However, I saw the right shifter / brake lever jam into the ground pretty hard and the bike did actually do a 180. I had to roll my body along the ground as my right foot was still clipped in.

When I came to a stop, I took a brief moment to do the self-check - no broken bones, no head injury (didn't even hit the ground), untangled myself from the bike and stood up to assess the damage.

The chain had come off, and there was damage to the hood on the right shifter / brake lever. This caused me some concern, but the only way to check it was to ride. Of course, as I was checking out the bike, here comes the rest of the crew.

I got the chain in place and set off to keep with them. It was then I realized I sprained my left thumb. It hurt quite a bit and I couldn't shift to the big ring with my left hand. I also realized the right shifter was a little out of wack. It wasn't shifting cleanly and didn't seem to be returning all the way after I used the brake.

I played around with it for a while and it seemed to start shifting a little better. Because my hand was sore and I was unsure of the damage to the rear brake lever, I tried to stay out of the rotation and at the back. Last thing I wanted to do was to cause an accident while riding in the pack.

We continued along Green River Cove Road holding a pretty good pace. My shifting seemed to get better as I used it. Made me think that there was probably some grit down there and through the use it was getting worked out.

As we got closer to the switchbacks, Randy and Allen made a break and opened a sizable gap. Nobody responded, and I was still riding near the back. I was starting to feel better, so eventually, I managed to open a gap as well. I overtook Allen before the switchbacks, but Randy was going strong.

As we started climbing, I could see Randy as he was generally on the same switchback as I was. I worked towards reeling him in, but was watching behind.

Sure enough, Big Mike was powering up the hill like a madman! He pulled past me looking really strong and overtook Randy pretty quickly after that. Joe was coming on strong behind him, but I managed to hold him off for a little while. I can't recall now if I passed Randy before Joe passed me or not, but eventually, it was Big Mike, Joe, Me, Randy and Scott. The order after that was unknown to me. I tried to stay on Joe's wheel, but he was pumping away and I just didn't have it to stay with him.

We took a store stop and decided the best course of action would be to head back along the traditional bakery route (essentially straight down the watershed). The fun part was riding through town - the Coon Dog Day Parade was going on and we managed to ride through as part of it! Big fun!

Going down the watershed was as fun as going up it. From the state line, Randy set a hard pace and we had a short line of bikes rolling behind him. It ended in a sprint to the 'stop ahead' sign where Randy inched me out (dammit!).

We made the turn for the final descent down to Dividing Waters road. This time I took the lead and started at a reasonable pace, but gradually wound it up as we descended. As we approached the turns, Randy came flying by followed closely by Scott. Of course I took Chase! Randy and Me against one was better than any one on one!

We rolled through the turns and ended up in a 3 bike rotation. Randy took the first pull and gave a great effort. I did my best to keep up the pace and did my share of the work. As I dropped off to give the lead over to Scott, Randy said to me "let's take it all the way to the line". I wasn't sure exactly what line he was talking about, but I thought what the hell - I'm game!

When Scott took the lead, we were maybe a mile from the intersection of Callahan Mt Road - this is the line Randy was talking about. As I rode in formation behind Randy, I saw him tap his thigh. Obviously he was about to make like a rocket!

No doubt - he stood up and hammered it! Had he not warned me, I would never have been able to respond. But, because he did warn me, I was ready for it. I stayed on his wheel as we flew past Scott. After a moment, I looked back and saw Scott trying to respond, but our attack was so swift and we opened a gap so quickly, he had no chance.

I stayed behind Randy until I sensed he was starting to tire. At that point, I pulled around him and kept on the gas. As I approached the Callahan Mt road intersection, I looked back and Scott was still well behind Randy who had let up a little after I came around him.

Despite going into one corner way to hot, it was a super fun ride with some great peeps. We worked ourselves pretty hard on the climbs and on the descents. When I was loading up my bike, I pulled the hood back on my right side shifter and found a rock wedged between the brake lever and the hood!

I rode again today and the shifting was no problem - at least until the cable broke. But that is a tale for another day.

l'Alpe d'Huez Individual Time Trial - last chance for Glory!

2010-06-29T12:21:00.010-04:00

Today was my last day of riding here in les Alpes surrounding Bourg d’Oisans. It’s been a great week so far and the weather has been unbelievable! Ironically, as I sit in the community area of the B&B, I’m watching it rain like hell outside.

In fact, the rain started earlier today – I had already done my ride and turned in my bike. I sat down at a restaurant in downtown Bourg for a great meal. I seldom take photos of food, but when this salad was delivered – I had to!

It’s called a ‘salade dauphinoise’. It seems it is a local specialty. I’m really glad I took the photo – not only because it was presented well, but also because my taste buds were truly on cloud 9! I mean I seriously was thinking about how happy my mouth was as I ate this thing. I could have stopped there, but it was followed up with a great fillet, some grilled veggies, some great squash and scalloped potatoes. After all that, I had to go with a Dame Blanche (vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup). It was the best lunch I’ve had since I’ve been here. I’m glad it was on my last day in the Alpes!

So, back to the rain. As I was finishing up my dessert, I looked out the windows across the restaurant and saw water dripping from the awnings. I was really surprised because it had been so beautiful when I went into the restaurant. I double checked out the windows to my rear and sure enough, the road was wet. First rain I’d seen since my arrival a week ago. Awesome that it happened after the bike was already turned in.

I arrived back to the B&B to sunny skies and dry weather. It stayed nice, although it seems the clouds started building as I packed my bag for tomorrow’s departure. When I sat down outside to write my blog, I got a few sprinkles, then in about 15 minutes, the skies opened. Thankfully, I got myself and the laptop inside without any trouble.

So, where did I ride today? Of course, it started with the time trial up l’Alpe. I’ll get to my effort on l’Alpe, but first I’ll share some photos I took today.

To descend from l’Alpe, I selected a different route that took me through a small ville called Villard-Reculas. Thankfully, it was pretty much a descent along this route, as I wasn’t really interested in pushing it hard by that time. What made it best was the different perspective I got as I stopped for photos of the switchbacks leading up to Alpe d’Huez.

Here’s a view of a small ville called Le Rosay-Chatelard (it might be La foret de Maronne??):

Another view of that same ville, but now you can see the switchbacks and a little more of the terrain.

Here’s a view of Bourg d’Oisans in the valley, the mountains surrounding it. Look to the left side – you can see the first couple of switchbacks heading up to l’Alpe.

As I continued past Villard-Reculas, the road continued to descend towards the town of Allemont. We rode through this town on our way up to Croix de fer, and I took (I think) a photo or two of the lake in this next photo. The sky is really beautiful – I wish I had the skills and equipment to really do this view justice.

Not sure of which ville this is, but I really thought it was cool with the church standing out so prominently (it was actually more prominent in real life).

The ride was really easy back into Bourg d’Oisans and the guy at Au Cadre Rouge gave me a 10% discount on my week long bike rental (155 euros for the week).

So, what about the individual time trial? I had to see if I could better my previous time (set on the first day of riding) of 1:07:39. To put things in perspective, Marco Pantani holds the course record with a time of 36:45 and Lance Armstrong did it in 37:36 in 2001 (5th fastest).

Here’s a link to the top times up l’Alpe.

I knew beating my own time was my goal, so as I rode the 5k to the base of the climb I tried to get warmed up. Of course, it would have probably been better to do more warm up than just 5k, but hey, I am who I am, and I decided that 5k would be enough.

As I passed the start line, I reset my computer on my bike. This would make it much easier to get my final time at the top – usually, I just mark the time and do my best to remember it. This can be a little difficult if it is an odd number of seconds. Today, there would be no mistake.

The first part of the climb – maybe the first two switchbacks are pretty long and pretty steep. It pays (as with any time trial) not to go out too hard, so I tried to simply set a solid pace. I had immediately switched down to the small ring to prevent losing my chain (as I did on the first attempt). I also changed the view on my computer so I wouldn’t be watching the time – I ended up switching it over to the total mileage on the year. Thankfully, I didn’t take note of what the odometer said, so I didn’t distract me during the climb.

After the first two switchbacks, the grade eases a little, so I tried to kick it up a gear or two whenever I could. I also kept from tracking my progress by not really looking at the signs on every switchback.

These signs are pretty cool actually. I took a couple of photos of the signs as I walked down from the top yesterday. Here’s one of them:

This was one of the few that actually has a US rider on it. Many of them actually had names of guys from the Netherlands.

I did my best to maintain a strong effort. If I felt my respiration / heart rate was dropping, I kicked it up another notch. As my friends know, I don’t use a heartrate monitor, so it is really all about my perceived effort. Somewhere there is a balance between going as hard as possible and having enough left to finish the climb. I tried to find that balance.

Somewhere maybe around switchback 9 or so, I started feeling it in my legs. This was good and it was bad. It was good because it took this long before I started feeling it. That means all that walking I did yesterday (maybe 12 miles I walked yesterday) didn’t have a super negative effect on my ride thus far. It was bad because of course I still had 9ish more switchbacks to go!

I did feel things were going well – at times I had kicked a gear or two (and sometimes 3) and stood up to gain more speed where I could. Of course, that was generally on the easier grades (generally, ‘easy’ on l’Alpe is about 7%)

I knew I was getting closer when I saw the first photographer on the course. I think he sits around switchback #4. From there, I did start watching the signs because I wanted to be ready for that last switchback and the final stretch home.

The second photographer was at switchback #2, and she got a couple of good photos of me.

See if this link works for the photos (look for photos 7606 – 7611).

I was feeling pretty good at this point, and I knew I didn’t have a long way left. The photographer wished me Bon Courage! as I passed. I had one switchback to go, so I kicked it up a couple of gears and stood up. Of course, I couldn’t go the entire remaining distance in that gear and standing up, so I sat back down, selected a gear to give me a high cadence and kept pushing.

As I rounded the last switchback (or the first – depends on who’s counting), the road gets really steep. Here’s another photo I took yesterday on my walking descent:

Not sure the photo does it real justice, but you’re really feeling it at this point. I stood up again and pushed. I passed a number of people as I came up this section. I was still feeling good. The section is long, but it crests about 100 ft before the finish. I pushed to the finish and as I crossed the final few feet, I switched my computer over so I could see the ride time.

It was pretty good – I did manage to beat my previous time. You always hope you’ll do better, but when I do the calculation, I trimmed nearly 6% from my previous time. Interestingly, the seconds rolled up to 0 just as I crossed the line. Of course, that meant the minutes increased by one. The final time: 1:04:00. It will have to do for this trip. The distance for the climb is 7.5 miles (12.1km).

What’s left to say as I prepare for my last night here in les Alpes? It really has been fun. I’ve enjoyed the people I’ve met, I’ve had incredible weather and the scenery is amazing. I’ll miss it, but perhaps I’ll have another chance to make a visit sooner than later.

Next up – a couple of days in Paris before my return home.

La Berarde

2010-06-27T12:13:00.004-04:00

What is ‘La Berarde’? Here’s what my little guidebook says about it:

“This route will take you to the village of La Berarde, an old shepherds’ village, which is at the end of the road and literally at the end of the world! You will be cycling along an extraordinary road in the midst of a high mountain landscape! The silhouette of the peaks which stands out against the sky and the pure fresh air will invite you to put your feet up and just revel in this indisputably great natural wonder.”

It was a great little ride – 68km (42.3 miles) with 1000m (3280ft) of climbing. The climbing came in several forms. In some areas, it was a relatively gentle grade winding alongside the glacier fed river. In others, it steepened to quickly gain altitude. The guide book also says:

“After Bourg-D’Arud, a slope of 11% incline over 3km will lead you to the ‘Plan du Lac’ and the ….”

This was the steepest part of the ride, and I was testing out my knee a little. I didn’t push it too hard though. It felt ok, but I am really, REALLY, glad I have a triple on this bike. While these climbs are certainly doable with a compact crankset (and as Jamie proved also with a full crankset – if you are something beyond human), with my knee, I was glad to be able to take some stress off by using the small ring.

Here’s a few photos from the ride up

I did pass through several small villes on the ride. These little villes are very cool. Buildings are situated at the very edge of the very narrow road. In some cases, there is a traffic light on each end of the town (we saw this on yesterdays ride in fact) and only one direction of traffic can pass through that section at a time. In these small villes I passed through today there was no lights, but the streets were that narrow.

Sometimes too, the ville is located directly on the slopes of the mountain so the road switchbacks through the town. Really cool. Saw this today as well.

There were a lot of riders out there today. There was some kind of big event for cyclists who had come up from Grenoble. I chatted with one woman (in French of course). They had started in the small ville of Rochetaillee with a turn-around in La Barade. I am really having fun being able to converse with people here.

I had other opportunities for conversations as well. Most others were rather short, but it felt good to chat with these nice folks. It is even more fun I think when I have a chat with a person in French, then I hear that person talking to someone else in English.

At La Barade, I found a snack bar and had a croque monsieur (a grilled ham and cheese sandwich) and a portion de frites (fries). Of course, I sampled a couple glasses of ‘pression’ (draft beer) with the sandwich and fries while I read my book.

Once I finished my lunch, I found a shady spot near the river where I could sit and read a few more chapters. The water in these rivers out here is just awesome! The color is almost a teal color as it comes directly from the glaciers / snow banks high on the mountains above. I tried to capture it in some photos, but they just don’t do it justice.

Like many of these rides out here – especially out and back rides like this one, the ‘out’ is uphill, while the ‘back’ is downhill. This ride wasn’t all up on the way out, so it wouldn’t be all down on the way back. However, the up on the way back was nearly not even worth mentioning. In sections, I could just coast down the mountain without even touching my brakes. In other sections, where there were switchbacks, I kept my head about me to make sure I can ride another day.

Tomorrow I’ll re-visit l’Alpe d’Huez. This time, I’m going to take a shuttle to the top (without my bike) and find some trails to do some hiking. It should be fun.

An 'easy' 100km

2010-06-26T12:26:00.007-04:00

Actually, it was a little over 100km and in fact the term 'easy' is completely relative to the other rides that are in this area.

Yesterday was a complete rest day. After la marmotte, I felt is was necessary to kick back and relax for the day. I found a great place right downtown Bourg d'Oisans next to the river to sit and write about la marmotte.

It was super peaceful. One pretty cool thing - as I sat there writing my blog, I watched a guy in the river removing trash. This is something I don't see in the US (at least I haven't seen it). I thought it was really cool that the town would take such pride in their natural surroundings.

It took a while to download all of the photos for la marmotte, but I think in the end, that ride deserved all the time I spent working on the blog. Can I say yesterday was an epic day of writing???

Today Jamie and I took off to do part of a sportive called la Vaujany Sportive. In france, the organized group rides are called Sportives - although much like la Marmotte, it is also timed so I'm sure it ends up being a race.

La Vaujany Sportive has three routes. I had thought I would do the Parcours Master which is 173km, but after our loop of la marmotte (almost), I decided that the Parcours Senior is more interesting. In fact, we didn't do the complete senior route, we did a more scenic and slightly easier route called 'Le tour du Matheysin par Laffrey'. This route is listed in my little guide book as being 93km (looping out from BdO) with an elevation gain of 1250m (4100ft).

Because we are staying at the B&B which is 5km outside of BdO, of course we have to add 10k to that distance. No real change to the elevation gain though. Our hosts suggested we do the loop backwards from what the guidebook indicates. This allows us to start and finish on a descent! How's that for great? The other advantage is it puts us descending the busiest road early in the ride rather than climbing it at the end of the ride.

Nothing exciting about the descent of that busy road. The scenery is great, but no real time for photos when we're trying to stay out of the way of the cars. The descent was probably close to 15 miles. The road was pretty straight, so again, nothing super exciting about it.

Once we found our left turn through Sechilienne, the road turned up as we knew it would. This was perhaps one of the easiest climbs I've done. Reminded me a lot of Caesar's Head. Similar in distance and similar in grade. One big difference - this climb pretty much kept that same grade the entire distance to the town of Laffrey. I felt pretty good after my rest day, and kept the bike in the middle ring for the entire climb. I stopped once for a photo before resuming the climb.

After Laffrey there was a little more climbing, but not bad. Then, we ended up in this beautiful rolling countryside for a good number of miles.

This was the easiest riding I have seen since I've been here. Still, the rollers were there and they were a little bigger than what you might find in Greenville county.

We finally made the final turn for the col d'Ornon and started our final climb of the day. Like the earlier climb, this was a constant grade that was relatively easy. Again, I kept it in the middle ring, but Jamie set the pace all the way to the top.

A brief stop for a couple of photos before we began our descent. The descent was something on the order of 8-9 miles and it was a great descent. As per everywhere you go out here, the views are awesome. Here's a couple of shots:

I like how the little village is set right on the side of the mountain. Also, in the last picture (click on it to enlarge) you can actually see the line of the road built right into the edge of the cliff. It is near the top. Awesome.

One problem for me. My right knee gave me a couple of shooting pains today. A little ache I can deal with, but these were not good signs. I'll have to take it easy no matter what ride I do tomorrow. There is a relatively easy ride of about 52km (32 mi) with only (remember, it's all relative!) 1000m (3280ft) of elevation gain. It is out and back, so I figure if my knee starts to hurt, I can always turn around.

la Marmotte (almost)

2010-06-25T09:29:00.016-04:00

So, what’s la marmotte (a marmot in english)? What I can say it is a pretty cool looking little animal that you can read all about here. However, there is also a ride (or more likely a race since it is timed) also called ‘la Marmotte' (sorry, best link I could find on quick notice). If you go to the link you’ll find this ride covers the following: Col de la Croix de fer, Col du Telegraph, Col du Galibier, Col du Lauraret AND l’Alpe d’Huez for a total distance of 174 km (108miles) with 5000meters (16,400ft) of cumulative elevation gain.

I’d like to say I rode the complete Marmotte route, but in fact, myself and my new friends Thijs and Jamie rode the loop part not including l’Alpe d’Huez. We were advised by our hosts Alan and Lynne (of le velo jaune) to get a relatively early start as it is a long ride with a lot of climbing. They prepared an early breakfast for us and 7 of us set off.

From left to right: Adam, Peter, Andrew, Thijs, Jamie, Representing the Greenville Spinners Racing team – me, and our host Alan

The plan for the group was to start with the 27(ish) km (17ish miles) climb up to Col de la Criox de Fer. From there, Alan would turn around with Andrew, Peter and (maybe Adam) to find another interesting route to return to the B&B, while Jamie, Thijs and I would continue on La Marmotte route.

From the B&B the road goes down past Bourg d’Oisans until Rochetaillee, then it starts a gradual ascent through Allemont and past Lac du Verney. From there it begins to get steep. I’m talking Paris Mt from the furman side steep (and more in one or two short places). If I recall correctly, that Paris Mt climb gains you about 240m (800 ft) in 4km (2.2 miles). To get an appreciation of the climb to Criox de fer, you have to stack about 6 Paris Mt climbs on top of each other. That’s to say you gain 1550m (5085ft) in that 27ish km (17ish miles).

At one point, you actually have to descend from the small ville of le Rivier d’Allemont to cross the river therefore losing precious elevation. Of course, the steepest part of the climb is coming out of that descent so you better take full advantage of your momentum! We stopped to refill water bottles and re-group at this small ville. I snapped a few photos while we were there.

From there it is all uphill with no breaks – in fact, in that last photo, you can just see a small section of the road going back up after the descent. Some variance in gradient but it stays somewhere in the 7-10% range (I’m kind of guessing here based on conversations with our hosts and the effort required to complete the climb) until you arrive at the switchbacks below the dam at Lac de Grand Maison.

Once you arrive at those switchbacks, the gradient lets up a little and thankfully, I was able to reel Adam and Thijs back in. I had been watching their backs for the entire climb.

As far as Alan and Jamie – they were gone. I mean seriously gone. Alan was a machine riding up at a very quick pace, then descending to check on everyone. Jamie just put her head down and motored those big gears up the mountain. That is until we stopped to re-group at the other side of Lac de Grand Maison – then she went back down to check on the others.

Some images from the area around the lake

Thijs and I took a short break until everyone caught up, then the group finished the last 5k (3mi) or so to the col. Again, it got steeper, but not quite as bad as earlier in the climb. The terrain changes as well as you now are beyond the treeline.

Gaining the Col was a great feeling. Partly just because it was a tough climb, but also for the view.

We took a pretty long break at the col – partly to fill water bottles, but also because Adam had to make his decision whether to continue along La Marmotte or head back with Alan, Andrew and Peter. His decision was to head back and later he said he was glad he did.

Of course, that left it to Jamie, Thijs and myself to make the descent of Criox de fer into the ville of St Jean de Maurienne. This was one hell of a descent. All total, I think the descent was about as long as the climb (again somewhere in the 27km – 17mile range). I didn’t snap any photos, but this road took us along the mountainside with an overlook of an incredibly deep gorge. It was one of those times where I couldn’t really look to the right – I have this crazy terror of one day driving (or riding) off the side of the road!

We made our way through St Jean, then we had to get on a major route through the valley. Thankfully, there is a bike lane, but when the big trucks are passing you at 70 or 90kph (45-55mph) it is a little disconcerting. However, these folks are actually accustomed to sharing the road with bicycles so it really wasn’t a problem. The fact it was also downhill was helpful as we were able to carry some speed.

We finally arrived at our turn in St Martin d'Arc to begin the ascent to Col du Telegraph. When we talked about this to Alan, he said “Telegraph is not even worth talking about”. So, we thought it would be a relatively easy climb.

Boy were we wrong! This climb begins immediately as you exit St Martin d'Arc. We went from flat (in fact downhill) to 8+% grade immediately! This climb did not let up at all until 12ish km (7.5miles) later. In that distance, we climbed to 1566m (not sure of the elevation of the town). So much for ‘not worth talking about’!

As with everything, what goes up, must come down and before we could begin the climb to Galibier, we had to descend into Valloire. As you can see from the previous image, we descended from 1566m (5138m) to 1430m (4692ft) before climbing 1170m (3840ft) to Galibier which sits at 2600m (8530ft). Recall, this is after already cumulating something on the order of 2700m (8860ft)! This ride was definitely turning into the most epic ride I have ever experienced.

After the descent into Valloire, the road turned up again. We were surprised that it wasn’t more steep. We had expected the first part of it to be quite steep but none of us were complaining. The distance from Valloire to Galibier is on the order of 17km (11miles), but not near as difficult as Croix de Fer. What made it difficult is the distance and climbing we had already done.

Of course, there’s the elevation. Sitting at 2600m (8500ft), the air was getting pretty thin as we made our approach. I haven’t really said much about this during my trip, but it has to be the reason I don’t feel the power in my legs that I feel at home. Perhaps my muscles are starving a little for oxygen thus making them feel weaker than normal. Hey, sounds good to me, so I’ll stick with it!

As we made the climb, Thijs and I ended up riding together. We had some great chats along the way and made a few stops for a gel or just to simply rest for a moment. I have to say Thanks to Thijs and Jamie for riding along on this ride. Their presence made a huge difference. Not only for the company, but also because they shared some of their food with me. The PB&J sandwich on Telegraph was excellent!

Here’s a couple of shots on the approach and at the Col:

Check the look on my face – do you think I was hurting a little?

Some more views from the Col:

One of the interesting things about that altitude was also the temperature. The sun had hidden itself behind some clouds as we got close, and the wind had picked up a little. It was cold even though we were putting out a lot of effort on the climb. Of course, poor Jamie, she arrived at the top long before we did and we found here tucked away out of the wind (as best she could get) just shivering her butt off!

I had thought we had one last climb to get to Col du Lautaret. You don’t know how happy I was to find we descended directly into Lautaret!

That means from Galibier all the way to the B&B (with one short exception) it was all downhill. That is about 42km (26 mi) and 1900m (6230ft) of descent!! You can bet we made good time for that 26 miles!

We arrived back at the B&B and Lynne put together an awesome dinner of Pasta for us. We were starving and the food is (and has been) excellent!

Ride summary: ~10.5 hours total time, ~8:20 ride time (confirmed from my computer), 162km (100.6 miles) and 3900m (12,800ft) cumulative elevation gain.

So, in my last blog, I asked if I had bitten off more than I could chew? Well, as you have read, it was a mouthful, but I did manage to chew it, however, at the finish it felt more like it had chewed me!

Climbing THE Alpe (d'Huez)

2010-06-24T00:15:00.006-04:00

Today was the first day of riding for me here in the french Alpes. It started slow, but built momentum throughout the day. After a great breakfast @ Le Velo Jaune, Alan dropped me, Thijs (pronounced like nice with a T) and Adam (new friends I met here at the B&B) into town to pick up our bikes. I picked up an aluminum frame bike and brought it back to get it outfitted and ready to ride. The most important part was to tie my little polka dot ribbon on the bike so Perry could ride along.

As I was preparing the bike, Thijs and Adam came rolling up and we chatted about the ride plan. Turns out, they were planning on doing the same ride I was planning. Along with Jamie who had brought her own bike.

We finally got away from the B&B just before noon. Our destination – Alpe d’Huez. I was very excited about doing this climb – mostly because it is so famous from the Tour. I didn’t really know what to expect, but I was as ready as I could get considering I had not been on a bicycle in a little less than two weeks.

As we rode from the B&B to the base of l’Alpe, we enjoyed a slight downhill. One right turn and the fun began! Of course, the fun I’m talking about is the climb. Jamie, Thijs and Adam made a quick stop, but I had checked my time at the sign and decided to keep going. I thought all of them might catch me anyway, so I thought no harm.

The climb starts pretty steep. My rental bike has a triple on the front, but initially I wanted to be stubborn and stay in the middle ring. HA! It only took me until the first switchback (number 21 – they are numbered from the top starting with number 1) before I realized the futility of that stubbornness. As I rounded that first switchback, I dropped it down to the small ring and got my cadence up where I like it.

The climb is relentless for the first several kilometers. Of course, when it finally lets up, it is still a tough climb. The distance is 12km (just under 8 miles) and the elevation gain is 1100meters (just over 3600ft). There is absolutely NOTHING in the Greenville area that I have ridden with this much elevation gain in such a distance. IT WAS INCREDIBLE!!!

One of the things I love about climbing is how I find myself in a zone – it becomes nothing but me, my bike and the mountain (and of course Hotel California rocking in my head). I approach climbing with a very specific focus – to maintain my rhythm with my cadence and my breathing such that I make solid steady progress. Not always the fastest guy up the mountain, but just very steady and usually with a respectable pace.

I found this zone today – in fact, at some points I had to drag myself out of this zone to take a look at the incredible mountains surrounding us.

Somewhere along the way, I saw a rider coming from behind and pulling a pretty good pace. It took a few switchbacks before she caught me, but sure enough it was Jamie. Based on the brief conversations I had with her, I knew she was a strong rider. When she came past me, I picked it up a little to match her pace. She happens to be riding a full size crankset – amazing!

We rode together and at times, I picked up the pace a little here and there. I was hoping I could help her with her time up the mountain (because she caught me, I knew she had several minutes on me already). Lynne and Alan have a board where they list all of the people who have timed themselves up the climb. The fastest woman this year came in at just over 1 hour (1:00:28) and the fastest man has come in at 49ish minutes. Alan himself has completed the climb in 52ish minutes.

As we cleared maybe switchback number 3, Jamie started to pick up the pace further. I couldn’t match it, but I did my best to stay as close as I could. It seems the last two switchbacks are about as steep as the first, so I was feeling it for sure. As the finish banner came into sight, I tried for one last burst to finish strong. 1:07:38. I was hoping for better, but I didn’t count on how truly difficult the climb really is.

Jamie finished in front of me with a time near 1:02. Her computer didn’t show her the seconds, so that is the most accurate she could get. What’s even more incredible, she got up this morning and ran 6 miles.

We descended back to check on Thijs and Adam. I missed Thijs as I descended, but found Adam riding alongside Jamie who had also descended. We rode along with Adam for a while before Thijs came down and joined us. We stopped for a ‘team photo’ at a large Alpe d’Huez sign.

We made our way to the top and decided to have lunch. A great sandwich at a little bar and a little shopping at the bike shop – of course I had to have a jersey that said ‘Alpe d’Huez’ on it!

After that, the ride continued with a descent down to switchback 16 where we took a left turn and rode up another climb (maybe 500m (~1640ft) and Adam continued his descent for the direct route back to the B&B (to catch the US in the world cup). This road took us along a shear cliff – It is amazing how they cut this road into the cliff side.

Here’s a few shots from that road.

From there, a great descent to the town of Freney d’Oisans then another climb of about 1000 meters (3280ft) up to les duex alpes. This was a tough climb and I didn’t really take care of my nutrition properly. Jamie and Thijs stayed together, while I let them go. About 6k from the top, I had to stop and eat one of my energy bars. Too little, too late, but it did give me enough boost to finsh the climb. At the top I met back up with them and had my second bar.

From here it was all downhill to the B&B. The route we took sent us along another incredible road cut directly into the cliff face. Look closely at this photo – the cliff overhangs the road!

We finally arrived at the B&B shortly after 6pm. Just over 6 hours of total time with ride time somewhere in the 4:40 range. The distance – 49 miles and the total approximate climbing was 2600m (8500ft).

Tomorrow – the Marmot route but not including Alpe d’Huez. I estimate the distance at just around 100 miles. The climbing - Croix de fer, Telegraph, Galibier and Lauteret. Have I bitten off more than I can chew?

Les Alpes!

2010-06-22T12:47:00.003-04:00

Today was a tiring day. I travelled across the country by train, then by bus to arrive in Bourg d'Oisans in the Alps. What an incredible place this is. I'm sitting on the deck of the B&B where I'm staying and have a killer view on every side.

I arrived in BdO on the 3pm bus from Grenoble. However, the journey started at about 7am from Caen. I jumped on a very full train to Paris. This was a nice train ride and since I was in first class it was pretty comfy despite how full it was.

In Paris, I had to take a metro over to a different train station to catch the truly high speed train from Paris to Grenoble. This train was capable of 320 km per hour. That translates to just short of 200 mph! It didn't do that speed the entire way, but it definately knocked the miles out quickly.

My seat was facing backwards, so I had to turn around to see what was coming. As we got closer to Grenoble, the Alps came into view. Stunning! They were breathtaking even from miles away. Of course, it only got better.

Arrival in Grenoble just before 1pm to pick up a bus to Bourg d'Oisans. The views just got better and better. Not too many photos today although I did take a few. Perhaps the most interesting at this point is the view from the deck. Here are two.

One to my front:

and the view from behind where I am sitting.

Tomorrow I pick up my bike and the first ride will include Alpe d'Huez!

Pointe du Hoc

2010-06-21T15:20:00.005-04:00

. Yesterday was an amazing day. I visited the American Cemetary at Omaha Beach and Point du Hoc. As I said, words really cannot describe the feelings I experienced during those visits. Today was a much less demanding day from an emotional standpoint. My goal today was to visit Utah beach and the Ranger museum. Those plans got a little derailed, but it was an interesting day nonetheless.

. I'm going to stay in order (of my visits) here, because it's my blog and I can. The last visit of the day yesterday was Pointe du Hoc. This is a spit of land that has an overlook of the (water) approaches to both Omaha and Utah Beaches. Pointe du Hoc's view is attributed to the 100 ft cliffs upon which it sits.

. The mission of the 2nd Ranger battalion was to scale those cliffs and neutralize the guns that were providing covering fire to those beaches. The mission was accomplished, however, the Germans had moved the guns an additional 1km inland, so the original positions on Point du Hoc were not utilized.

. Despite the fact the guns had been moved, the Rangers did recieve strong resistance from the German troops stationed at the Pointe. Not only did they receive heavy resistance, they were not relieved until June 8th - 2 days after they had successfully assaulted the Pointe. In fact, the Rangers were down to only 90 peeps capable of fighting (out of the original 225 on 6 June) when the reinforcements finally arrived. The most incredible part of this is the Germans were on their way to finish off the Rangers. If not for those reinforcements, the story could have been very different.

. The 2nd Ranger Battallion was the unit I was assigned to when I served between 1984 and 1987. To stand on the ground those brave men fought so valiantly to secure was amazing. I can't imagine how difficult it was for those guys. Here are some images I took.

. Part of Presedent Reagan's speach on June 6, 1984.

This is a reproduction of an intelligence map of Pointe du Hoc. Note it is classified 'Top Secret - Bigot'. This is the English version of absolutely top secret - eyes only.

A view of the craters atop Pointe du Hoc as well as the crane that is working to make 'repairs' to the cliff face. Erosion is taking the cliff away and for historical reasons, it is valuable to keep the cliff secure. Unfortunately for me, the repairs to the cliff prevented me from seeing the Memorial to the Rangers. The primary reason I came to the Normandie Region.

A view of the cliffs climbed by the Rangers. Imagine climbing those cliffs while taking fire from the enemy... The respect and admiration I have for the guys who made this assault has increased tenfold after seeing what they were up against.

Hoot stands at the edge of one of the MANY bomb craters at Pointe du Hoc.

Hoot checks out one of the gun emplacements.

That's me standing in the ruins of a German Bunker. The bunkers were amazing. I can't imagine how this may have looked in the weeks leading up to the assault.

One of the gun emplacements that actually had a 'dummy' gun made of wood. The Germans had actually moved the guns 1km behind the emplacements at Pointe du Hoc.

Another view of the landscape atop Pointe du Hoc. Look at the devastation caused by the bombings - again evidenced by the number of bomb craters visible in this view.

One of the more intact bunkers that remain on the site.

Photos cannot express the power of these historic sites

2010-06-21T03:25:00.005-04:00

Yesterday my friend and I visited some of the WWII sites in the Normandy region of France. Specifically, we visited Pegasus Bridge. Read the book by Stephan Ambrose if you haven't - an incredible story of some of the first troops on the ground shortly after midnight preceeding the amphibious assault 6 June, 1944.

After, we made our way along the coast to stop at Omaha Beach, the Big Red 1 Monument and the American Cemetary. The photos will have to do my talking because I don't think I could possibly write anything that could convey the power of the emotions I felt as I walked those hallowed grounds.

This shot is of the hillside that the Americans assaulted from Omaha Beach. You can clearly see two big gun emplacements in the center of the image and slightly right of center. The obelisk on the left is the memorial to the 1st Infantry Division (The Big Red One).

Hoot Stands inside one of firing positions we found on the hillside

The view from inside one of the big gun emplacements. A very commanding sector of fire.

Hoot stands next to the Big Red One Memorial. Three names were listed as winning the Medal of Honor.

The American Cemetary was the most powerful site we visited yesterday. Here are some images I shot there.

View from the main monument towards the cemetary.
Standing at the opposite end of the reflecting pool looking back at the monument.

Perhaps one of the most powerful parts is the special recognition the Jewish soldiers received with their grave markers.

This is just a small part of the total number of crosses.

One of two Medal of Honor recipients (that we saw) to whom we paid respect.
On the left side of this image is a row of MANY graves marked with the words "Here rests in Honored Glory A COMRADE IN ARMS known but to God". There was so many of these out there - there is also a tribute to other soldiers who were never recovered. I have a video of that I'll have to post later.

I did find one marker for PFC Howard Bowens from New Jersey. He fell while assaulting Point du Hoc with the 2nd Ranger Battallion on D-Day.

The other of the two Medal of Honor recipients we found.

We descended to the beach by a different route - here is another shot of the terrain those troops had to face on their assault of the beachhead.

That is what I have time for today. I'll continue with photos of Point du Hoc, The Ranger Museum, Utah Beach and Pegasus Bridge when I have more time.

Out and about in Clermont-Ferrand

2010-06-18T14:43:00.003-04:00

Ce soir, mes vacances commencent. Je suis tres enthousiast! Il y avait une bonne semaine, mais le travaille est termine et la fete commence!

I finished work today a little before 6pm. The guys I have been working with and I went to a Moroccan restaurant for lunch today. Quite interesting and quite good! The interior of the restaurant was actually a tent. Once inside, it seriously was an actual desert tent.

Last night there was no sight-seeing because of the rain and because I was very tired. I walked to the nearest restaurant and had another great meal of salmon followed by an unbelievable Moelleux au chocolat noir.

This evening, I actually had dinner in my hotel room. Which, by the way, is much larger than the one I had in Paris. This one actually looks more like something you would find in North America. I won't take any photos of it, because my stuff is completely spread all over the place. Maybe after I get packed or before I take off in the morning.

While that sounds particularly boring, in fact, I did go out this evening. I travelled nearly all the way to one end of the tramway. This is pretty similar to a metro train, but runs at street level. The stops are maybe every 1/2 to 3/4 mile and there is a bunch of them.

That is one thing about France I really like - the public transportation. It is cheap, it is (relatively) clean and it can be relaxing (although at times it gets horribly packed, it is far better than battling traffic in a car). So, what is the big deal about that? Nothing really, it was just a cool way to get out and interact with the local population

In most places - the hotel, the restaurants, at work, many people speak some level of english. Often, if I ask them to repeat something they said to me in french, they will immediately repeat it in english. Very kind of them for sure, but often, the reason I ask is because I don't have the best hearing and I simply did not hear what they said (or didn't hear it clearly enough to understand it).

What took me out to the far reaches of the tramway? I needed to purchase a messenger bag so I can carry my laptop to the cafe while I am in les alpes. That's my plan - ride all day, shower then head into Bourg d'Oisans for a beer and dinner. While there, if I'm not chatting with the locals (or the other tourists), I will write whatever will get posted to my blog that evening.

The store I went to is called Decathlon. It is a sporting goods store much like Academy Sports, Sports Authority or Dicks Sporting Goods. I was told by a guy I worked with that I could purchase some good maps that would allow me to find the good routes in the alpes. Also, I figured it was a place to find a messenger bag.

As usual, I walked the store and didn't see what I needed. So, what's a guy to do? Well, I did my best and asked where I could find the maps.

Regarding the language. I'm doing pretty well. At times, I'm sure I'm torturing some people with my lousy grammer, pronunciation and vocabulary. However, most of the time, I find that I can communicate my thoughts quite clearly, although I'm sure my vocabulary keeps it quite simple. I really think it depends on how tired I am getting.

Tonight, I feel I did well. First I had to ask about les cartes ou guides pour trouver les bonnes routes pour faire du velo dans les alpes (the maps or guides to find the good routes for riding my bike in the alpes). I had a brief conversation with one woman who sent me to the appropriate section. Once there, I had another conversation with a guy who pointed me to the maps. Unfortunately, they didn't have the maps for the region in which I was interested, but it was fun finding my way using those language skills I have.

After, I had to find a messenger bag. Once again, I had to talk to a couple of people who finally got me to where I needed to be. Ironically, I came all the way to france to buy a bag that was made in the USA!

So, it's been a lot of fun getting around so far. I'm looking forward to the next couple of weeks where I really will be on my own.

Photos from Paris and Clermont-Ferrand

2010-06-16T16:21:00.005-04:00

This post is mostly going to speak for itself. Starting with some photos from Paris on Monday eve:

My friends enjoying a beer before heading to dinner.

We took a route to dinner that included this great view.

Photo turned out great!

Spectacular at night!

Now a couple of photos from Clermont Ferrand this evening.

View from the bar I stopped at for a beer before dinner.

One of the streets in centre-ville.

Walked past this very cool old spiral staircase!

The Cathedral in Centre-ville.

It's been cool so far. Looking forward to more good times!

Work day in Paris

2010-06-14T12:42:00.007-04:00

Today was a work day as will be every day this week. This is the reason I have come to Paris and it was a very interesting day. We spent the day at the Eurosatory Exhibition. This is an exhibition for Military suppliers of all types from all over the world. Anything from munitions, small arms, optics, hydration systems, tires, wheels, clothing....the list could go on for pages! Again, since this blog is not about my work, but about the personal side of life, I'll tell you about some of the interesting things I did today.

One interesting thing was to take a shower. You didn't expect that did you? The hotel we are staying in is called Hotel Muguet. It really is a nice place, but it is very different from what you find in the US. In the US the rooms are actually pretty big with large bathrooms and space enough to spread your stuff out. Here in Paris it is considerably different.

The room has a full size bed. I don't know of anyone who has less than a queen size bed unless they have children (and a single bed) and I'd be willing to bet that even some of their kids have queen size beds. So, the bed is comfortable enough. However, I'm 5'5" and I wonder how comfortable this bed would be for someone who is more than a couple of inches taller than me.

The bed pretty much takes up the entire room. There is room to maneuver on either side of it and there is a desk at the foot of it. But, there really isn't a lot of room that is not bed. If I am sitting at the desk and I get out of the chair on one side, but need to go to the other side of the chair, I need to push the chair in. It is small!

So, you can see it. Pretty cozy, but hey, the most i'm doing in this room is sleeping and jumping online now and then. Most of my time is intended to be spent either working or seeing stuff outside the hotel.

So, why did I say it was interesting to take a shower? Because the bathroom is small and the shower stall is even smaller! It is interesting just to reach down to wash my feet and lower legs because the space is so limited. Here's a couple of photos of the water closet. .

You can see that the bathroom and the room is really nice (it is!) but it is so different from what you become accustomed to in the USA.

Once Paul and I got back to the Hotel in the afternoon, we found his wife Jenn downloading the images she took. She spent the day at the Louvre. As we sat there, this dog was wandering around. Friendly little guy! Apparantly she belongs to one of the hotel staff.

Another interesting thing I did was to use both the Metro and the RER (regional train service). These are trains like you would think of a train - NOT a metro or subway or whatever. The metro (subway) gets pretty packed, but that train was horribly packed at times. Pretty fun way to get around the city for a guy making a visit, but I' could not deal with that every day!

That's the update for today. Now it is time for a beer!

Arrival in Paris!

2010-06-13T15:20:00.007-04:00

What a long day! It is really two days, but who's counting! I began the journey yesterday afternoon finally departing Greenville about 1.5 hours later than scheduled. Then, during the layover in Atlanta, the Paris flight got delayed about a half hour. We finally departed Atlanta about 930 Atlanta time.

It is a long way to Paris. Something around 9 hours of flight time. I watched 'The Book of Eli', then crashed out for a while. I slept pretty well until I woke up wondering who had the lights on. It wasn't the lights in the plane though, it was the sunlight! We were flying into the sun, so what should have been 230 am greenville time, was daylight in Paris. I wrapped my blanket around my head to cover my eyes and went back to sleep. Thankfully, I did get a good amount of sleep on the flight. We arrived in Paris around 1140am Paris time.

The line through customs was not long, and the wait for baggage wasn't too bad. Then, it was up to me to find my way to the hotel Muguet. First stop was a distributeur de billets for some Euros, then I stopped in to the bureau de tourism.

I was a little nervous asking the best way to get to Paris. Two reasons really - it would be the first time ever for me to have a conversation with a French person living in France, and the other reason is because she was wicked cute! I was terrified I would make a fool out of myself with my 3rd grade French.

I was surprised! I made it through the conversation, bought the 3 day metro, RAR, BUS pass and was on my way. I felt pretty proud of myself. Two years ago, had someone told me I was going to be able to have a conversation completely in French I would have not believed it. I'm sure I made some mistakes, but hey, she understood me and I understood her - that's a win in my book.

I decided to make my way into Paris via the bus. It was a fun ride. Got to see a little of the city and the traffic wasn't bad. The bus dropped me off at l'Opera and I had to then search out the metro station.

I had to stop and snap a photo of L'Opera. What an amazing building! gotta love this stuff.

Once I found the metro stop, I descended into the station and found my metro train. A quick ride and I was in the vicinity of l'Ecole Militaire. This of course was also the vicinity of my hotel. The map I pulled from the office of Tourisme did not have all the detail it needed, so I couldn't find the street with my hotel. Once again, I stepped into a hotel and asked the receptionist 'pourriez-vous m'aider?' I needed help finding the street on which my hotel resided.

He gave me directions and once again I felt some satisfaction in being able to communicate in a different language.

Here's an image of the street. My hotel is called Hotel Muguet and has a vertical sign in dark color with white lettering on the right side of the image. I was surprised that the street was so narrow.

As soon as I got to my room, I called my friend Susan who is in Paris for 5 weeks. She is a French lecturer @ clemson and each year brings a group of students to study in France. It was great to be able to meet up with her.

Once again, I had to get back on the metro and find my way to Place St. Michel.

Check out the cool fountain and the chick with the sword dominating the dude.

Susan and I took care of priorities first - we sat down for a refreshing beverage...

Check out the size of that beer - 100 centiliters so the menu claimed - I think it was bigger than that, but it sure did taste good!

After a lot of chatting and the one beer each, we headed over to a small street just a couple of blocks away and had some great french food. It was a great day. Finally, I started to fade and decided I needed to head back to my hotel. That required two trains and a 5 minute walk.

It was a fun day. It is still light out as I write this at 10pm local time. I really need to get some sleep!

let the adventure begin

2010-06-11T22:29:00.002-04:00

Friday evening and ready for bed. Today was a long day. At work by 7am and finally closed the door on the office just after 7pm. I got what I needed to get done, so that lets me breathe a little easier.

One fun part was in setting up my voice mail - I now have a message in both english and french. Have had this for over a year, but it is a new challenge every time I leave the office - coming up with the new message's french version. I have to admit, before I recorded the message today, I actually wrote it down. I had more trouble with the english version than I did with the french version (of course the written version was in french).

Once home, I had to get some food, then it was on to the errands. The cats need taking care of so I coordinated with my excellent neighbors, then out to the pet store to pick up more food and litter

Money is transferred to the accounts in which it needs to be and all of my bills are set up for electronic pay. Copied the necessary files from my home computer to my work computer so I'll be able to make sure those bills do get paid.

Most of my stuff is sitting out ready to be packed. Just a few things still hanging in the closet. No sense in putting wrinkles in them too soon. Had to pull the pedals and the computer off my bike. I'll pack those along with me so I can keep track of my total mileage on the year. So far something around 2500 miles I think. I hope to put on some good mileage in the alpes, but we'll see. There are a lot of long climbs out there.

I'm packing two digital cameras along. One is more compact so I can pack it on my bike and actually access it while I am riding. The other is a little more complex and requires two hands to use. It takes better resolution photos than the compact one so I'll want that along for the really scenic shots.

I will be carrying a fair amount of biking gear. Two full kits (jersey, bibs), two jackets - one that converts to a vest with zip off sleeves, one that is a little lighter weight. Arm warmers and leg warmers just in case it gets too cold out there (hey, I'm a grown up boy-scout ok!), helmet, shoes, multi-tool, co2 inflation tool, mini-pump, tire levers....etc. I was planning on carrying a spare tube, but turns out I gave my last new tube away last night! Will buy one at the shop when I pick up the rental bike and I'll have to order more when I get back.

Currently waiting on some laundry to get finished then I'll be hitting the sack. Next time you hear from me, I'll be in France!.

Getting stoked about France

2010-06-09T20:39:00.002-04:00

So I've been planning a trip to France since about January. Really started the planning in late March and early April. I've been very lucky that I have an opportunity to visit France on a business trip. That business trip will take me to Paris (2 days) and to my company's Research and Development center in Clermont-Ferrand (3 days). Of course, I'm pretty excited about being able to meet with my European counterparts. There is a lot to be gained in a face to face meeting. However, this blog is not about my work life, it is about my personal life. To that end, the more interesting part of the trip is going to be the 2 weeks of vacation I'll take while I'm over there.

Saturday the 19th I'll be arriving in Caen to spend several days in the Normandy region. This is going to be a very powerful part of my trip. I will visit the historic sites in that region with a concentration on world war II. I recently read a book by Stephen Ambrose called 'Pegasus Bridge'. A great story about the first Allied troops to set foot in France in the very early morning of 6 june, 1944. This will be a site on my itinerary. The other site that I will not miss will be Pointe du Hoc.

Pointe du Hoc is the cliffs up which the Rangers of the 2nd Battalion climbed. The 2nd Battalion is the unit I served with in the mid-'80s and I heard about Pointe du Hoc, but didn't really fully understand the significance of the place. After reading a number of books and articles on it, I am almost afraid of going there for the emotions it might bring to the surface. Thankfully, I got way past the fear of openly showing emotions when I did the Challenge to Conquer Cancer last year.

After 3 days in Normandy, I will spend a full day traveling from Caen to Bourg d'Oisans where I will spend 7 days and 8 nights. The plan is to ride a bunch of kilometers on a bike I will rent from a local bike shop. I've found a great little B&B at which I'll stay for the entire time. It is quite cool because the proprietors are cyclists and skiers. Although I've purchased some regional maps, they'll know a bunch of roads and routes that I might never think about riding!

So, the plan for each day in les Alpes is to get some kilometers on the bike, then take my laptop to a local cafe or bar and sit down to download photos and update my blog. I'm really looking forward to this trip!

The Assault - 2010

2010-05-24T20:31:00.002-04:00

There it is - the 2010 edition of the Assault on Mt Mitchell is in the history books. What can I say other than Wow! It was an incredible ride. As proven to me last year, the Mountain does not surrender - it is a battle all the way to the top.

Perhaps this is why they call it the 'Assault'? I was wondering that as we drove home from Marion this evening. Those who come to make the Assault are ready for this battle. For all it is a physical battle, for many it is as much mental as physical. It is that way for me.

A number of times today the Mountain played with my head - psy-ops (short for psychological operations). It all started at the very beginning.

The way the line-up was supposed to work was those who were targeting 6.5 hours or less were to line up in the front, the hard-core recreational riders behind them followed by the increasingly less hard core riders. Like many running races I have entered, it sounds good on paper, but seldom works in reality.

This was the mountain's first play - The clock released us and I immediately started chasing. I probably passed over a hundred people who I probably should have lined up in front of. There was a number of riders playing the same strategy as I, working their way through the crowd chasing after the lead group. That lead group fired off the line like a round from a howitzer - they immediately launched their attack - no warm up necessary.

As we began to clear the slower riders, a second group began to form. I got out with many others to do the work trying to reel the lead group back in. We busted our tails launching our own attacks, but alas after 10-15 miles, it was obvious that we weren't going to be able to reel them in. Our pace was at 24 mph and we were just keeping them in sight.

I think it dawned on the group about the same time - we needed to settle down and do our best to hold a steady pace so we would be able to fight back when the Mountain began it's attacks later in the ride. We began to get a little more organized and our pace started dropping - slowly at first, then more as we began to get into the rollers.

As we continued to roll through the country, one of the lady riders called to see if anyone wanted to take a nature break. I was ok to stop if there would be others who I could work with to reel the group back in. So, I stopped, but only about 5 other stopped with me. Oops, that may have been a mistake.

I did my business as quickly as possible and started riding again. I chased down a couple of other riders and we started to get in a rotation, but I left them when we got to a roller. I was actually very happy to see the rollers - I was catching the group, and I knew the downhills would be my chance to reel them back in

There is a wicked downhill with a super sharp hairpin turn that is always well marked. I was beginning to reel the group in, and I took full advantage of this downhill to make the final bridge. I was alone when I flew through the hairpin, and sprinted to catch the tail end of the pack. I was quite relieved to have bridged back up.

On Bill's Hill the group fractured. Two small groups went off the front while a group containing me, Jim Cunningham, several of the Lady riders from Headstrong (including our own K. Wienaker (sp?)) and a number of Cyclists against Cancer riders continued at a steady pace.

We kept this pace, and actually reeled in the 2nd of the two groups. We were about 15 miles from Marion and I found my self at the front quite a bit. After a number of pulls where it seemed I would rotate back only to find myself in the front within a few minutes, I decided this was not for me. I dropped back in the pack and decided I had done enough work for a while.

Jim Cunningham did some major pulls for us during this period. Another who did some major pulls was a blonde woman riding for the Headstrong team. She was on her way to Marion and all these guys just kept doing token pulls while she would be out there rocking it for some super strong pulls. I believe she was the first of the Marion Riders to finish.

As we made the final turn alongside the Tom Johnson Camping area, I pulled off the pack and stopped to say Hi to Yukie - my friend who is Married to Kip who was also riding today. She is awesome! She dropped us off in Spartanburg, watched the start, then drove to Marion to meet us and provide us with a water refill and some of the most awesome cookies I have ever eaten (I saved mine for the summit). I made a brief stop with her, then filled my other water bottle at the official SAG stop.

I was now pretty much on my own. It was me against the Mountain and I was as battle ready as I could be. My quads were talking to me a little - I think the early effort to reel in the lead group was a bad idea - especially because I spent a fair amount of time at the front of the pack. Each time I stood up, they would talk to me a little and I had to use a very deliberate pedaling motion to keep the cramps at bay. No problem really, I just had to be conscious of them.

It was here that the Mountain started playing with my head. I had though we would arrive at the switchbacks relatively quickly, but in fact it is about 7 miles from Marion before you hit the Hwy 80 switchbacks. It is a beautiful 7 miles however.

When I started the switchbacks, there was markings on the ground every half mile starting at 3 miles from the parkway. At first, I didn't like that, but in fact once I got to the 2 miles to go point, I decided it was showing me progress. The Mountain was relentless in her attacks - now I had some muscles talking to me that I have never felt before - on the upper quad. Perhaps some of my flexor muscles? I don't know. Also, my inner thighs began to talk. This is the Mountains strategy of course - slowly wearing your body down bit by bit.

As I ascended the switchbacks, I came upon Jim with his client Gene stopped on the side of the road. Jim had worked really hard on the way to Marion, and when I stopped to see if I could do anything for them, he said that both his hands and his face had gone numb. He needed water, but I only had powerade or whatever the SAG stops were offering. It was a little scary, but after 30 seconds or so, he said he felt better and for us to continue. I was glad to see him at the summit later in the day.

I was quite happy to see the SAG stop at the parkway. I decided to stop as I had drank all of one bottle and most of the 2nd in that (short?) 10 miles since Marion, and I needed food. I had consumed about 5 of the go packets but thought it would be good to have some other food. I also wanted to get my muscles working in a different motion so I set my bike off a ways away from the tables and walked around a little to include a nature break.

I took off from the SAG stop and began my Assault on the parkway. The Parkway is an incredibly beautiful ride, but the ascents are continuous. There are a few spots where it lets up a little, but mostly it is climbing. I was generally riding between 7 and 10mph on these long ascents on the parkway. I felt pretty good about that - certainly faster than last year's assault.

I was passing folks and folks were passing me. We got some light rain, but it got heavier as I approached the SAG stop before the 2 mile descent. I stopped again at this SAG stop and had (for the first time ever!) one of the 'uncrustables' PB & J sandwiches. This is a food that will now be a 'must have' for all future rides! That sandwich made me feel better than any other food item I took in. I should have had two of them. I started the descent in a driving rain, another volley from the Mountain - looking this time to weaken my spirit. However, I was in 'Peanut Butta Jelly time' mode. I mean seriously, that PB&J put a huge smile on my face as I made that very cold and very wet descent.

After the descent, you are something in the range of 8 miles (give or take) from the summit. In looking at my ride time, I felt sure I could beat 7 hours clock time. The problem was I had no idea how much time I had spent in my several stops. Not quite my revised goal of 6.5 hours. Was this another volley by the Mountain?

I did some calculations in my head and thought I could actually get pretty close to 6.5 for ride time. All I had to do was maintain a 6mph average pace. At this point, 90 something miles into the ride 6mph on some of those climbs was about all my body could take.

I knew I had an opportunity once inside the actual park to pick up some speed, and there was one other chance just before making the turn onto the park access road. I put my head down and concentrated on my cadence. Occasionally I would shift up a gear or two and get out of the saddle to work the muscles in a different way. It helped a lot. I kept drinking lots of water as well.

When you make the right turn onto the Park Access road, it gets steep. Perhaps not as steep as Hwy 80, but pretty damn steep. Again, I concentrated on maintaining as close to 6mph as possible. I started to feel the Mountain's final blows - the altitude. Last year, I had to stop several times on this section of the course. Mt Mitchell had really weakened me, but that was last year. This time I was prepared for this volley and I fired back with some mental games of my own - yes, the Eagles were rocking Hotel California in my head the entire time. If any song can get me up a mountain, that one can. Mt Mitchell was no match for me and the Eagles!

I managed to keep my strong pace up this steep section and was very happy to see the park entrance. I knew there was a faster section coming up, so I geared up for it. More psy-ops from the mountain - this section was much longer than I remembered! It started to weaken me and I fought for the discipline to maintain my pace. It was clear now that I was going to be pleased with my ride time results. However, I was quite sure my clock time would not be meeting my goal.

As I made the final turn, and the clock came into view, I was actually very surprised! It was showing 6:31 (ish). I tried to make a final push, but I'm not convinced I really gained any speed. I crossed the line with the clock showing 6:33:11 (this should be the published results as they had them up back in Marion).

I knew there were many of my friends coming behind me- fighting their own battle against the mountain. I waited anxiously for them and was pleased (and not at all surprised) to see Courtney leading Kip across the line in 7:48 (ish - their final results were not posted when we looked in Marion).

Courtney called me a little while ago and said her computer showed a ride time of 7:14! This is a great result for her. I'm very proud of her. Another friend John had a great day, coming in just a few minutes after Courtney and Kip to show a Sub-8 hour ride. Great results for my friends. There were many others out there, but I was not able to chat with all of them.

So, now the question remains - with a clock time of 6:33:11 - did I meet my goal of 6:30? One could argue that I did indeed meet my goal if you count only the ride time. However, technically the goal is for the clock time. In considering all of this, I can only say one thing - 6:33 - I'll take it!.

The Assualt on Mt Mitchell - 2010

2010-05-16T20:41:00.002-04:00

Last year I did a lot of writing and not a lot of training for the 2009 edition of the Assault on Mt Mitchell. Here's a chronological list of the several posts I made about it:

Have you been training?
Getting Psyched for the Assault
Who Conquered Whom? The man or Mt Mitchell

It is interesting to go back and read those posts a year later. I was in such a different place last year. This year is a little different. I have been doing a lot of riding and not a lot of writing - especially about such a big event! The Assault and meeting this year's time goal is one of the big ones for me this year. I'm a little surprised that I haven't written something about this year's assault, but based on my post count for the year I shouldn't be.

To date, I have ridden a total of 1898 miles on my road bike. That is nearly double the mileage I had completed leading up to last year's Assault. It is an interesting number - with the 102 miles for Mt Mitchell, that will put me right at 2000 miles on the year at the summit of Mitchell.

Yes, despite the fact I currently show 1898 miles, I may not have an opportunity to ride my road bike again before the assault starts on the 24th. This week is a busy week for me at work, and I will have to substitute running in place of riding for the week.

Next Saturday (22 May) I won't be able to get on the road bike either - I'll be helping out with a charity ride to raise money for a flow park in Travelers Rest (www.gonnalovethisplace.com). That will be a mountain bike ride in Dupont State Forest - a really great place to ride. Come out and ride with is - meet at Sunrift Adventures at 9am to purchase raffle tickets for a 10am drawing, or meet us at Guion Farms Parking area (off of sky valley road) at 1130am (directions to Dupont Forest found here).

With the Assault just over a week away and with all of the riding I've been doing, I've had a lot of time to think about my goal this year. It started out that I wanted to trim an hour from last year's time of 7:55 (In all honesty, I would have been happy with anything less than 7 hours). However, with the riding I've been doing, and the climbing I've been doing, I've revised my goal for the year.

A few things went into this decision. My time for the 3 state 3 Mountain century was 5:13 (ride time 5:07). I rode wheel to wheel with my new friend John for the Saluda Grade Repeats. We finished the 84 miles and (approximate) 8400 feet of climbing together in under 6 hours (5:40ish I think) total time. A few weeks ago, on the Grey Ribbon Ride, I managed to crest the summit of the Green River Cove Road climb to take the KOM honors. I felt strong on that ride and we finished in just a couple of minutes over 4 hours for the 76 miles.

So, what is my new goal? John finished both of the last two years in around 6 hours (one year was about 5:55 and the other year was about 6:05). He (and many of my friends) are convinced I am going to be at the summit in less than 6 hours. I feel confident that I will do much better than my last year's time, but I am setting my goal for 6:30. I think this is a goal that will push me quite a bit. The key is going to be keeping with the lead pack until Marion.....

Because after that, it's all uphill.

More great riding in the upstate

2010-05-11T22:36:00.002-04:00

Wow,
Too many great opportunities to get out and ride and not enough opportunities to sit down and write about it. Since the 3 state 3 mountain ride, I've now done two tuesdays at SCTAC (formerly Donaldson) and one ride this past weekend called the 'Grey Ribbon Ride'.

The Grey Ribbon Ride was a great route set up by my P3C3 team-mates Keith and Tedd. This was a ride put together by Keith for the first time last year. It is one of the ways that he raises money for the Palmetto Peloton Project. For the first two years of the Challenge to Conquer Cancer, Keith rode along as support - working as the team medic.

This is one of those jobs that does not get the credit it deserves. While the riding teams were 'on' for 6 hours and off for 24 hours, the medics (Keith and Ruben) were 'on' for 12 and 'off' for 12. What does that really mean though?

What it means is these guys were awake when everyone else (except the riding team) was sleeping - these guys worked their tails off. The amazing thing is that Keith has signed up again for the 3rd installment of the Challenge to Conquer Cancer.

Another amazing thing about Keith is that he is both a brain cancer survivor and a testicular cancer survivor. I'm sure these are the reasons he is so dedicated to the cause. He's a tireless worker, and with Tedd's help, he put together a great route for the 'Grey Ribbon Ride'.

A very cool thing about Keith's ride is there is a little built in competition - the King of the Mountain. For this year's installment, there was three routes available. The KOM was only available for the two longer routes (53 and 76 miles). Both distances shared the same route for the first 21 miles.

The 53 mile route KOM challenge ended at the state line on the climb up the watershed. This is a very well known route to those of us local to the Greenville area. It is a great climb of reasonable grade for about 7ish miles. All I can say is we hammered it, and my Greenville Spinners Team-mate Tim hammered it to cross the KOM line first.

Unfortunately, it didn't really count for him because the state line was only counted for those riding the 53 mile route. It came down to my good friend Taylor and my team mate David. Unfortunately, I'm not sure who actually took the KOM for the 53 mile route.

Tim and I had a huge gap on all the others who were riding the 76 mile route, but we kept pushing the pace nonetheless. When we came up to the Green River Cove Road switchbacks, it was me and Tim. No-one else was even close to us. At the top of the green river cove road switchbacks, I managed to pull a small gap on Tim. In doing that, I was able to bring home the KOM for the Spinners.

The other opportunities I've had for riding is at the Tuesday night SCTAC (formerly Donaldson) country rides. Last week was a great ride, but tonight was the best (and fastest) ride I've had out there.

Tonight we started with about 8 peeps and at the end we had four. Everyone pushed the pace in a huge way tonight. It didn't take long before our pace was up above 21 mph. I think we were up above 21 within the first 5 miles.

We pushed the pace for the entire ride. We had a great dynamic in the group. Everyone was getting out and working as much as possible and our pace kept increasing. We peaked at 22.2 mph as we crested the hill on Holly road.

As we rolled along Reedy fork road, we dropped a couple others, leaving us with only 4. The four of us pulled hard, but we couldn't get the average up above the 22.0 mph that we had sustained for most of the ride.

The most difficult part of keeping that pace is the loss of speed when slowing and then re-accelerating from the stops. We lost 0.3mph (from our average) when we stopped at the Michelin Road stop sign.

That doesn't sound like a lot of speed, but trying to re-gain 0.3mph is a hell of a lot of work. What I'm really trying to say is the crew we had tonight did a superb job in keeping the pace. When we pulled back into the parking area, there was four of us. It was a great feeling to arrive in a group with that kind of average. That is some awesome team work.

It is really great to have such an active cycling community here in the upstate.

Three state, three mountians in Chattanooga, Tn

2010-05-01T16:53:00.002-04:00

Today was an awesome day for a ride. A HUGE group of peeps from Greenville headed up to Chattanooga yesterday to participate in today's 3 state 3 mountain challenge. This ride is a metric or full century put together by the Chattanooga Bike Club. It was a very well put together event and a great route.

Today was my first time on this route, and I have to credit my friends Nikki and Bo for suggesting the weekend get-away. Nikki did a great job hooking us up at the Doubletree hotel in downtown Chattanooga. We all drove out yesterday. Some arrived earlier than others, as some of us had to get some work done before heading out. Regardless, my friend Jeni picked up some awesome chow from Tony's and I happened to be pulling into the parking lot when they returned from the restaurant! Perfect, I just had to find a place to sit down to eat.

This morning, we all met for breakfast before heading out for the ride. Because I'm such an idiot at times, I left the hotel before our guides (Nikki and Bo) came down from their room. I went the completely wrong direction and ended up about 2.5 miles from the hotel with only about 15 minutes before the ride started. Thankfully, I realized my mistake and turned around immediately.

I retraced my steps and found myself pulling up to the starting line just a few moments before they released the riders. Since everything was so packed at the front of the group of riders, I decided to simply go forward on the route about 2 blocks. Once they released the riders, I pulled out and started riding. I was pretty surprised that the peloton was not going harder - I ended up leading the entire ride for about 3-5 miles. No problem really, I wasn't trying to do a breakaway, I just wanted to be near the front.

They finally ramped up the pace and caught me just a short distance before we started up the 1st main climb. I did my best to hold their pace, but wasn't surprised when a pack began to pull away from me about 2/3rds of the way up the mountain. I hooked up with a couple of other guys who fell off the lead pack's pace and we worked together to get up the mountain.

On the descent, we managed to reel in some others who had also fallen off the lead pack's pace, and I had an awesome time maximizing my descent skills to make that happen. It was a lot of fun. The descent was pretty straight, so I had to minimize my distance by trimming every corner. I had three or four guys in my sight, and by riding the white line for right hand turns and the yellow line for left hand turns, I was able to pull them right in.

What was the coolest, about the time I caught them, we entered a section with some tighter turns. This is where my motorcycle road racing experience came in handy. I actually managed to pull a gap through these turns. It was a blast, but of course, they brought me right back when we hit the base of the mountain and got into the flats.

Shortly after hitting the flats, we ended up with a group of maybe about 15 riders. Maybe 6 or 7 of these guys were from the local racing team Krystal. These guys were great riders and they really deserve the credit for keeping the pace high. The Krystal team came up on us like a freight train, and I simply jumped on to the caboose.

We rocked the flats between the bottom of the first hill and up until about mile 45 or so when the 2nd mountain began. Again, I did my best to hold the pace, but there was some really strong riders in this group and they began to pull away as we made the ascent. I made the decision to stop for a nature break about 2/3 - 3/4 up the hill, and thought I'd seen the last of them.

After that very short nature break, I got back on the bike and found myself reeling the pack back in. I worked as hard as I could and just managed to reach the tail end of this pack when we came upon the 60 mile SAG stop. I checked my computer and found that we had averaged exactly 20mph for that 60 miles. Of course that means we pulled into that stop at just about 3 hours. All of the guys who I had been riding with also pulled in for that stop.

After refilling my bottles and grabbing a half banana, I started off again. I expected this crew to catch me, so I just wanted to spin and keep the blood flowing.

Sure enough, it wasn't long before the Krystal team came by like a freight train. They still had a half dozen or maybe more other guys riding with them, so I pulled into the line and we started making rotations. We kept the pace high but started dropping some guys as the miles clicked away.

As we approached the 80 mile mark, which happened to be just before the final climb of the day. We still had about 6 or 7 Krystal guys, several others and me. As we turned onto the final climb, I actually thought I'd seen the last of them. Although I'm a pretty strong climber, those guys were stronger and I thought they would be pulling away from me.

The final climb was very tough. It was steep for about 2 miles, then it got even more steep in the last 3/10ths of a mile. I somehow found some strength to pull back a few guys in those last tenths, but was very glad to see a SAG stop at the top of the climb. We all stopped to refuel, and again, I headed out before the pack.

As I expected, here comes the freight train again. The Krystal team had a guy who I started to call 'Locomotive'. He was a bigger guy, so he was wicked fast on the downhills AND he had some killer bike skills on those downhills. However, so many times I saw him, he was out in front on the flats or the rollers pulling those guys along like a big diesel locomotive. He is a wicked strong guy. Once again, I latched onto the back of this freight train and tried to fit into the rotation.

About mile 88, my right inner thigh started to cramp. Unfortunately, it happened to be when I was in 2nd position with my pull rotation coming up. I had to get out of the line and let those other guys pull through. I dropped back a little while I tried to work out the cramps. By mile 89, I found myself pulling up to the back of the pack again.

We kept our rocking pace, which on average I found had dropped a little on that last climb to something about 19.3 or 19.4 mph. We were trying to pull that pace back up, and succeeding ever so slowly.

As we pedaled through the rollers, two riders had formed a break from our small pack. Although I had cramped a little before, I tried to keep a strong pace to stay with the pack. I found after a while that I had started to reel those two guys in. What I was most stoked about was I caught them just before we started on the last descent. I pulled out my descending skills and led these two guys down the hill. I even pulled a gap up to the point when we were back into town. At that point, we formed a small group and rode in together. The other Krystal guys were a little back from us - especially after that hill.

The three of us rocked the pace into town, and came in pretty much together. I crossed the line at 5:13 total time. My computer showed 5:07 ride time. I knew I wasn't going to beat 5 hours, but I feel really good about this ride today. My goal was to ride as hard and as long as I could. In the end, I managed to reel in the 2 man break and put a gap between me and the pack I had been riding. We averaged 19.5mph for the 100 miles.

It is probably the last hard and long ride I'll do before Mt Mitchell. I'll begin my taper, although, stay tuned, there is another ride scheduled for next week. That one is going to be a fundraiser for one of my P3C3 peeps.

Climb, descend, repeat - all for a cause

2010-04-14T19:54:00.002-04:00

You know I like climbing. I happen to do it fairly well for a guy who could stand to lose a few pounds. I actively seek out fun climbing routes and constantly measure myself against the mountains (and yes, having a serious competitive streak, against the other riders).

Saturday the 10th was an incredible opportunity for me to participate in an event that combined my love of climbing with the cause for which I raised money last fall - and rode to Austin with my Polka Dot team-mates. Of course, the cause I'm talking about is raising money for the Palmetto Peleton Project.

A few weeks ago, our Ride Captain Ron forwarded a message to the P3 crew regarding the '2nd annual Climb to Conquer Cancer'. The ride was organized by one of the most productive fund-raisers for P3. John Cash was active in the inception of the Challenge to Conquer Cancer ride to Austin and has been an active fundraiser for P3 for several years. The 'Climb to Conquer Cancer' consisted of repeated ascents of the Saluda Grade from Tryon to Saluda.

In John's brochure, he states "I am going to attempt 10 trips up and down the Saluda Grade...". I didn't know John well when I read that statement, but I knew of his riding skill. I also know myself, and this sounded like a great challenge.

I only knew of one person who was planning on participating - my friend Bo had mentioned it the week prior while we were enjoying Easter Dinner at Robin and Scott's. I was looking forward to the ride, and Bo and I helped each other find the starting place - The Tryon Youth Center.

John said a few words before we started out, and about 30(ish) folks lined up in the road to begin the challenge. I stationed myself near the front and I took some opportunity to chat with John as we headed out. Shortly after we started, I saw a number of other folks I know come down the hill to turn around and join our peleton.

The first two miles of the climb are up a relatively easy grade. John controlled the pace for this portion of the ride. It was cool to have the peleton riding together for this section.

As we approached the Pearsons Falls road intersection (where the grade increases significantly), John asked the folks up front if we were ready to kick up the pace a little. It was a nice warm-up, but now the work was about to begin in earnest!

We climbed together for a while before one of the ladies pulled out from the peleton and started building a gap. John mentioned she was only out for one repeat, and I told him "as far as I'm concerned John, you're the king of the mountain and all I have to do is hold your wheel!". She continued to pull away slowly but surely.

It wasn't long before my friend Will broke from the peleton. I was really tempted to give chase, but held back for a while. John and I continued to chat as the road twisted up the mountain. Perhaps 3/4 mile from the crest, the grade steepens a little more. I decided to catch up to Will and ask him about his collarbone which had recently been broken in a mt biking accident. He said he was feeling pretty well and that he had been back on the bike several times before coming out for this ride.

As we twisted through the curves, I began to really get my legs under me, and I started to find my groove. My pace was a little stronger than those around me, and I found myself reeling in the woman who made the early break. I caught her just before the crest, and began my descent.

The descent of the grade has to be as much fun as the ascent! The curves are mostly constant radius with slight banking in most of them. You can really fly down the hill if you put your mind to it. The competitive part of me sent me down the hill pushing my biggest gears. I was trying to pull a larger gap on the field.

I have to admit though, it wasn't just my competitive streak that was pushing me down that hill, I was well hydrated and needed to visit the little boys room at the youth center! I exited the building just as the pack was coming in to the parking lot to turn around.

I joined them for the second lap, and again found myself cresting the top with a small gap. I was determined to push my pace as long as I could. In all honesty, part of it was my competitive streak, but the other part was because I was using this as a training ride for the Assault on Mt. Mitchell. I hope to trim a bunch of time from my last year's result, so I need to work on climbing strong and fast.

I continued my pace down, then up again and again. Each time I passed other riders, I yelled out encouragement - especially when I saw John and his slowly diminishing peleton. He called out right back to me each time.

As I made ascent number 6, I came up behind two riders who when I first saw them I thought I recognized. Sure enough, as I got closer, I recognized April and Jessica! When I was close enough for them to clearly hear me, I sang out "Peanut Butta Jelly....". Jess was funny - she called out "The love of my life" - of course it was really about making her smile at that particular moment - we were well into the steep part of the climb, AND, she had gone down on the descent of Mine Mountain road. She was hurting a little, and as it had with another good friend, my rendition of the Peanut Butter Jelly Time Song brought that smile to her face. Even if it was just for a few moments.

As I rode with them for a few minutes, my friend Kip was making his descent from Saluda. He turned around to join me for the climb and we continued up. We passed two other friends - Kari and Alicia who were riding with April and Jess. Kip and I chatted on the way up - I was definitely feeling the effects of my efforts. My pace had slowed down significantly.

We made # 6 descent and Kip paced me for #7 ascent. I was feeling pretty good, but my pace had slowed. I was confident I could do the 10 repeats - however, I had to do them one at a time. Thankfully, I had found my zone and was living in it.

Somewhere on the steep part of the grade, Patrick, who I met recently on the tuesday at SCTAC (formerly Donaldson) rides passed us. He rode with us for a while and I told him what I was up to. He helped pace me to the top before he and Kip continued on to Saluda. I turned around to go back for another.

On the way down, I again saw John on his way up. This time was different from the previous - he was now alone. In fact, he and I were the only ones heading back for lap number 8. We had lapped a number of riders who were still out there challenging themselves. I continued to offer encouragement as I passed them on my descent.

I made the decision that I would rather ride with John for the last 3 laps than by myself. At the bottom, I removed a layer, filled my bottles and grabbed more gel packs. About the time I pulled up to the road, John was in sight and ready to turn around for number 8. He briefly stopped to grab a fresh bottle and off we went.

Number 8 was hard, but part of that was because my left inner thigh started to cramp a little on the easier (read faster) grade near the bottom. I was able to work it out, but it slowed me down for a short time. We held pace together all the way to the top. John and I chatting about various subjects.

When I turned around at the bottom, John came riding up with another rider - Dave. Dave had come out to join John for the last two laps. For number 9, he was pretty fresh and strong despite the fact he hadn't been riding lately. He had to slow up for us several times as we fought the mental demons trying to take root in our psyche.

On the descent, I slowed my pace and we rode in together before starting number 10. John was quite funny saying 'We can smell the barn now". We were both a little psyched up as there was no longer any doubt whether we would make the 10th ascent and as a bonus, we were going to beat the 6 hour ride time goal that John had set for himself.

Once again, on the flatter and faster section down low my left inner thigh began cramping. This time was worse than previous times, and John had to ask Dave to slow up a little. I was doing my best to control the cramps by resurrecting my little dance from last year's Assault. It wasn't long before I was back on John's wheel and Dave was pulling us along.

As we approached Pearsons Falls Road intersection, both John and I had found a new groove and our pace had picked up. Somewhere along the way, Dave dropped back a little while John and I drove towards the summit that one last time. John had said at the bottom that the last one was for his son Justin who had passed recently. I could see the determination in John as we came to a steeper section about 3/4 mile from the top. He was setting the pace, and I was letting him. It wasn't about me at that point. He was riding with his son, or his son was riding with him - whichever way it was, John was motivated.

We came around the Atkins apple stand and our enthusiasm grew. As we came through the final left hand curve, and the crest came into view, I held out my hand and said "Good Job John". He took my hand for a shake, and I felt a strong sense of brotherhood at that moment. I said "All the way to the top". We rode that way, side by side to the crest. At the top, we raised our hands in victory.

It was an incredible feeling. Last year he had done the 10 repeats. For the first annual, he was the only one to complete all 10. This year, while there was a number of folks who did 5, 6, maybe even 7 or 8, he and I were the only ones to do all 10. I'm glad I was able to share that with him.

We rode in to the youth center side by side by side. Me, John and Dave riding in to a small welcoming committee consisting of John's friends and family. As has happened to me so many times in the last 10 months (or so) since I met these incredible people associated with the Palmetto Peleton Project, there were many hugs to be shared. John and I, along with several of the other riders posed for photos before enjoying some fresh home-made pizza.

Like the ride to Austin, this small celebration gave me a great sense of peace and happiness. With all the bad things that happen in life, all it takes is a small group of people with a purpose to really make a difference. John later posted that he raised $5000 that day. I'm proud to be a small part of that effort.

.

Great riding in the upstate.

2010-04-03T19:07:00.002-04:00

Wow, a lot has happened since my last post. It's been difficult for all of us to accept that Perry is gone, but we all remember him in our own ways. My personal method of remembering him is to emulate him whenever possible. I call this emulation a "Perry". I've mentioned it before, but I'll describe it again (of course Perry isn't the originator of this move, but he showed it to me, so he gets the credit).

So, what is a 'Perry'? Perry was really good at being patient. He had the ability to restrain his natural tendency to hammer by letting someone else do the work. Specifically on hills. Perry would find a spot on the wheel of the leader or the lead pack for the majority of the climb, then, at the last second, when that leader was whipped from pulling up the hill, Perry would come around with a killer sprint to arrive first at the top of the hill (or the stop sign or whatever). It was pretty much guaranteed to work, and he was really good at implementing it.

So, how have I remembered Perry in the past couple of weeks? It starts with two awesome rides with the Myers Center guys from furman up and over Caesar's head towards Rosman, then back by Hwy 178 and Hwy 288. This is pretty much a hammer ride. These guys give no quarter and you better bring your A game.

Perry was also an accomplished climber. In both of the rides I did with these Myers guys, I set, then matched a new personal best up the Caesars Head climb. My measurement is from the intersection of Hwy 8 and Table Rock Road up to the big sign at the State Park. The first week I rode with them was the day after Perry's funeral. I think he was riding with me as I set a fast pace from the beginning of the ride and kept it (and both Kadien and Big Mike at bay) for the entire climb. I crossed into the park with a time of 39:20. My previous personal best was in the 43 minute range. I was really stoked. I think Perry was riding with me that day.

The following week, my friend John from Atlanta rode along with us. I know he is also an accomplished climber, so it didn't surprise me when he took an early lead up the climb. Kadien and I chased him with some excellent teamwork. It really helped me keep a strong pace to have Kadien riding along with me.

As I was leading the climb, I would begin to tire a little. Brian would come around me and would put in an awesome pull. I would maintain my motivation by telling myself I only have to hold onto his wheel. Then, as it usually happens, he would begin to tire and I would pull in front of him. He would grab my wheel, and the cycle would continue. It didn't hurt to have John up in front of us as the rabbit. We worked our asses off trying to catch him.

A short while before we got to the false flat, we actually caught him. I was pretty surprised by this, but there was no time to question what was happening. The game was on, and Brian and I were working well together. We continued switching off all the way to the top. We actually acknowledged it after we got a little past the false flat. We came across the line at the same time as the previous week (plus or minus a second or two). It was a great ride.

This past week, I finally had a chance to participate in the organized rides at SCTAC (formerly Donaldson). The first week we did the Missing Man Peloton and the second week, we did the Perry Peloton. Both of these were a great tribute to our friend.

This week, I opted to lead the fastest of the country groups. It was here that I implemented my Perry attacks several times. The group was strong, no doubt about that. However, though we started with 20+ riders, we ended up as only a pair.

Up until Holly road, the group was mostly intact. We had some fun on the hills of Richey Road and woodville road. In both of these roads Perry was riding with me. I didn't pull his classic move, but I managed to be at the front for Richey road, and managed to reel in the guy who was at the front on woodville road.

When we got to Holly road, the same guy who was out front on Woodville road passed me as we came out of the little valley. I did my best to reel him in, but though I caught him, I won't count it as a victory because he let off well before the stop sign. He had an awesome attack, so he deserves it.

When we turned on to Reedy Fork for the long pull, it came down to about 7 of us from the original 20 or so. It was really fun. We took turns pulling and I had an opportunity to pull a Perry as we approached Garrison Road.

We kept the pace high, and the further along Reedy Fork we got, the smaller our group became. By the time we crossed Blakely we were down to three.

The three of us took it easy for a short time, then we continued our strong pace. We lost number 3 at the top of the golf course hill on Perimeter road. I pulled a Perry on Erin somewhere along the back side. It was a blast.

Thursday was the first time I rode from Oakview for the year. It was a little bittersweet because Perry had introduced me to that ride. There were sections that were true hammerfests. I implemented Perry's wherever possible. In the end, I felt really good about the ride. Perhaps best of all, my friend Courtney was swinging some big hammers as well. She was really pleased with her ride as well.

Today a big group met up at Furman to ride to the Bakery. A big part of this group were from the P3C3 team. Perry would have loved this ride. Perhaps today I managed to pull the best Perry of all. Four of us - Nathan, Bo, Courtney and I were making the final climb before the descent into Saluda. Just before the crest, I hammered it to get out in front of the group.

I wasn't surprised to see that the three of them were right on my wheel. I expected that - all three of them are very accomplished riders. As I began to tire, Nathan came around me. I expected Bo to be right with him. I planned on grabbing Bo's wheel as he went by. I knew that Courtney would be a little behind us - she is at a significant disadvantage on the descents. Each of us weigh 40-60 lbs more than she does (HUGE advantage), plus, we were all swinging our biggest hammers on this descent.

After 2-3 bike lengths, Bo came around me. I grabbed his wheel and he pulled us up to Nathan's wheel. We still had a distance to go, so I just sat in. Finally, as Nathan began to tire, Bo went around him. I stayed on Bo's wheel just waiting for my time to strike.

Bo played it really smart. I began to come around him as we got closer to the final steep descent to the railroad tracks. I don't recall if I was side by side with him or just at the point where I was showing him my front wheel. At this point, Bo pulled up. A very smart move because sprinting down that last steep section to the railroad tracks can be quite dangerous. He admitted to me that I had him. It was truly a classic Perry move. I think Perry would have been proud of me for that one.

It was truly a great day of riding. The weather was just about right for all the climbing Courtney and I and our new friend Tom did. After a break at the Bakery, the three of us continued on to climb Green River cove Road and Mine Mountain before heading back towards Tigerville.

Courtney did an extra lap of Callahan Mountain before pulling out at Tigerville Elementary (where she started) while Tom and I continued back to Furman. I was definitely tired when we got back to the cars. We managed 82 miles on the day.

All in all, it has been a great couple of weeks of riding in the upstate. Still missing my friend Perry, but doing my best to remember him in my own way. Thanks for the ride Perry (and Courtney and Tom and Bo and Ron and Tedd and Beth and Amy and Missy and April and Jess and Rob and Nikki and Nathan and Parker and Toby and I hope I didn't miss anyone!! ;)

Perry's last ride

2010-03-21T12:11:00.005-04:00

Word got out quickly after a flurry of emails, facebook postings and blog posts about cyclists leading the funeral procession for Perry on Friday morning. Thanks to John Frame for initiating what started out as a discussion with Taylor that lead to that flurry. Thanks to Nikki for pushing the emails out to the group.

As I arrived for the church services on friday morning, you can imagine the sadness I was feeling. Perry is as good a friend as I have had since my return to Greenville 5 years ago. We had shared a lot of miles together in a relatively short time. Those miles started last year when I committed to ride with the Challenge to conquer cancer crew. It was early August before I met Perry and our first meeting was not even on the bike - it was at a fundraiser called "Comedy vs Cancer" put together by Bo and Nikki at Saffron's Sidewalk Cafe. He and his wife Toya had come to support Bo and Nikki's fundraising efforts.

As Bo said in his excellent memorial to Perry, "He was not the most demonstrative of men, so it took some time to get to know him, on and off the bike". As we were at a show, we had only brief opportunities to chat. He struck me as a good guy and I looked forward to riding with him.

The very next day, Perry, Jeni, Ed and I met for what turned out to be the first of MANY rides together. We rode the 60 mile route from the Simpsonville YMCA. Although Bo's comment is correct about Perry not being demonstrative, it was obvious on that very first ride that he did indeed have a competitive streak. It was also obvious that he was a lot smarter than me when it came to cycling tactics.

I learned a lot riding with Perry. That first ride began the lessons. As we approached a hill, the pace would increase and we would all begin to push. In my mind, I was stronger than the others because I would find myself out in front as we pushed through the middle of the hill. However, as we approached the top of the hill, Perry would accelerate around me to capture the hill first. This proved his strength, as well as his cycling smarts. A deep respect grew very quickly within me for him as a rider.

As the miles accumulated on that and many other rides, he would continue to suck me into these little competitions, only to overtake me at the end. I like to think I'm a pretty smart guy, but it took me a while to figure out what was happening. In fact, at the Donaldson Tuesday night rides, he would tell me not to spend so much time out front - sit back and rest for a little while. My hardheadedness would usually get the better of me and I would forget his advice at the very next ride (where he would pull another 'Perry' and hold my wheel until the very last second where he would accelerate past).

Throughout the training rides leading up to the Ride to Austin, I began to know him off the bike. His sense of humor and sly wit, the love he has for his family and friends. His dedication to excellence in everything he did. The respect I had for him as a rider quickly grew into respect for him as a man. We became real friends.

Perry and I, along with Jeni and Ed rode so many miles together, that as our departure date neared, our P3C3 captain Ron ended up putting us together as the Polka Dot team. We were all really pleased.

The trip to Austin holds a very special place in my heart. Seldom does it happen that such a large group forms with such focus and develops such lasting friendships. We had that focus and I am very proud of what we accomplished - the fund raising and spreading the message. I am very glad to have been able to share this with my Polka Dot team mates. And, with Perry's passing, it means so much more that I was able to share that with him.

Earlier this year, Perry and I met for a short ride from the YMCA - ironic that one of our last (outdoor) rides together would depart from the same location as our first ride together. I remember how great it was to see him. We chatted a lot on that ride, but we also fell right into the rhythm that we developed over those many training miles. I could always count on him to be smooth and steady in his riding. Whether we rode handlebar to handlebar, or in a small pace line, I knew exactly what to expect from him. It felt really comfortable. I told him at the end of the ride how great it was to ride with him again. I had missed it. And yes, he did pull a couple of "Perrys" on me that day as well.

With the cold winter, many of our more recent 'rides' were inside with the indomitable Jeni coaching us through a trainer session. The last time I saw Perry was during and after one of these sessions - the Thursday night before he passed. I got the news on Monday when Jeni called. I was crushed.

In hard times, family and friends come together. This amazing group of friends who I also consider family immediately reached out to each other to provide support. Tuesday was the Missing Man Peleton followed by a celebration of Perry's life at Dustin and Jessica's place. The house was packed and there was a lot of hugging. There were tears, but the overall was a very positive reflection on the man we all knew and loved. We shared stories and remembrances. Taylor was there and he shared with us as well. The love in the room far outweighed the sorrow. It was a very fitting event for a man who was always a very positive and upbeat person.

Thursday was the visitation and the line of people who came to pay respects was out the door of the church for hours. The P3C3 family was there in support with several people coming from far away to pay their respects. After, a large group of cyclists gathered at Senior Salsa's Restaurant (next to Ride-On Bicycles where we would go for dinner after the trainer sessions). Again, the show of support was incredible. We took up an entire section of the restaurant. At the head of the table, we left a chair and a beer for Perry. It was very hard as I happened to be sitting next to that empty chair.

It was during this dinner that John Frame approached me about doing something special for the funeral procession. He suggested that we ride our bikes from the church to the gravesite. We spoke to Taylor and made a quick announcement and immediately had more than a half dozen riders.

When I arrived at the church for the service, there were already more than a dozen bikes lined up along the front and side of the church. As we lingered outside the church, the number of bikes continued to grow as did the number of attendees wearing cycling kit of some kind. Perhaps fittingly, the largest number of jerseys to be seen were the Challenge to Conquer cancer jerseys. The family had come to show their support and pay their respects.

The peleton was 30+ riders strong as we made our way to the gravesite. It was a fitting tribute to our friend, brother, husband, father, fellow cyclist. I felt like Perry was riding along - one last long pull before going off the front.

Perry's Funeral Procession - a request

2010-03-18T22:58:00.001-04:00

Greetings,
If you are planning to attend Perry Lyles' funeral tomorrow morning at Crossroads Baptist Church (705 Anderson Ridge Road Greer, SC 29651-7639), please arrive at 1030am ready to ride.

What do I mean ready to ride? At a minimum, please wear a cycling jersey. Cyclists are asked to arrive at 1030 to be led into the Church and seated together. The service will begin at 11:00am

At the end of the church service, the cyclists will lead the procession out of the church and form two lines between which Perry will be carried to the hearse.

At this time, there is a contingent of riders (growing as the word spreads) that will be prepared to ride the 3.7 miles from the church to the cemetery.

When you arrive (hopefully slightly before 1030am), please stack your bike at the front (or along the side or wherever you can find space) of the church. After Perry moves through the lines of cyclists, we can break ranks and take a couple of minutes (seriously, we only have a short time here - 5 min or so) to get ready to ride. Please plan the way you will handle this - my personal plan is to have my bike shoes with my bike and only have to change shoes (ok, I will probably wear long pants over my cycling shorts during the service, allowing me to be ready to ride very quickly).

When you are ready, line up in front of the hearse. We'll wait for a few minutes to allow folks to get ready, but we need to leave before the hearse departs. I know the route and the Fire department will be blocking the intersections for the procession. Taylor Lyles will inform them that cyclists will be heading out in front of the procession.

As noted, the distance to the cemetery is 3.7 miles (thanks Nikki!) and we will take a pace that is very reasonable for all riders. Obviously we want the cyclists to stay together.

I am not positive of the exact location of Perry's gravesite, so we'll have to be a little flexible as we enter the cemetery. As we identify the location of his gravesite, we'll have to set our bikes out on the perimeter so everyone has opportunity to come in close during his final resting.

I do hope you can join us in honoring our good friend this way. Please let me know if you can participate.

thank you
jd

The Missing Man Formation

2010-03-16T23:04:00.006-04:00

What is the "Missing Man Formation"? According to Wikipedia.com,: "The missing man formation is an aerial salute performed as part of a flyover of aircraft at a funeral or memorial event, typically in memory of a fallen pilot."

What does that have to do with me? Unfortunately, it has more to do with a very good friend of mine than it has to do with me. I received word last night that my Polka Dottay team-mate Perry passed away.

This was unbelievable news to me, because Perry was the picture of health. He was an incredibly fit individual. I would not believe that his body fat was more than 12%, and I knew how strong he was on the bike. I was in shock when my friend Jeni called me to tell me of his death.

Perry was an incredible individual. His strength on the bike was matched by the love he had for his family and friends. He always had a smile and kind words for everyone - regardless of whether he knew you or not. His death has left a huge hole in our peleton.

In honor of him, I asked my P3C3 friends to join me in honoring him on this first day of the 2010 riding season - the first Tuesday after the clocks change - also known as the first day of riding at the South Carolina Technology and Avation Center (SCTAC - formerly known as Donaldson Center).

I was not surprised by the turnout. Perry was known and loved by many in our small community. As I watched his friends gather, I was filled with awe. To be loved by so many people - it has to be the goal of everyone.

The goal tonight was to honor Perry in a way similar to the military tribute of the 'Missing Man'. We departed the parking lot about 30 strong. We rode in a double paceline formation with the front left position held open for Perry.

I'm not sure about anyone else, but I could certainly feel him riding alongside us. It was an incredibly emotional experience. Perhaps the most difficult 2(ish) miles I have ever ridden.

Perry, you are already missed my friend. May you rest in peace.
Perry Lyles - 1963 - 2010
RideStrong my friend!

Spinners REPRESENT! Day 6 of the Greenville Spring training series

2010-03-07T17:37:00.008-05:00

Wow! What a great day of racing! The weather was nearly perfect (some wind late in the day) and the Greenville Spinners brought it to the table and kicked some serious butt!

I arrived at the final race of the spring series near the 2nd half of the Cat 4 race. There was three Spinners out there working the peleton - Tim, Clark and Robert. When I arrived, they were just coming through for their final lap.

What a sight when they came around for the sprint! Since I had been otherwise occupied in the morning, I wasn't sure who was out there, but what I saw when they came across the line was two Spinners' kit at the front! Clark and Robert brought it home for the top two podium spots! What a great job by those guys. Really great to see team-mates getting those podium positions.

The cat 4 race results from Day 6 of the Greenville Spring training series - Spinners Represent!
As for other races that the Spinners were involved in, the race in which I would normally be participating had just one of my Teammates representing - Ed (my Polka Dottay team-mate from the Austin Ride) rode to finish with the peleton.

Where was I? I was taking a chance that I would be able to stay in the Spring training series ominium top 10 without racing at Donaldson today. Instead, I represented the Spinners in an off-road triathlon.

These off-road tris are a little different from the traditional tri - the off road tri (of course) includes three events - a trail run, a flatwater paddle (kayak or canoe) and a mountain bike ride. I had signed up for this event weeks prior to signing up for the spring series, so I decided to get out there and have some fun. After all, there will be plenty of opportunity to get out and ride laps around Donaldson center this summer!

I loaded up my boat and my mountain bike saturday afternoon, so I was ready to leave bright and early sunday morning. I was about the 2nd person to arrive at the event site, and immediately met a first timer as she was off-loading her boat. She asked me a few questions, and we had a nice chat. She would be doing the 'sprint' event, while I would be doing the 'endurance' event. I outfitted myself in my Greenville Spinners Racing kit so I could represent the team.

What's the difference? The sprint event is a 3 mile trail run followed by a 2 mile paddle and a 7ish mile mountain bike ride. The endurance event is a 5 mile trail run, followed by a 4 mile paddle and a 12ish mile mountain bike. When I had checked earlier in the week, the field for the endurance event was only about 20 participants (women and men). When I asked about it during packet pick-up, they told me the field would be about 35 participants. A good number of peeps waited until the last minute to get signed up it seems.

The two events would start together and follow the same course for the first ~1.5 miles of the run (and the last mile), the early part of the paddle and parts of the mountain bike. This made it interesting as I was doing my event - At times, I wasn't sure who was doing the sprint and who was doing the endurance.

Another of my Spinners team-mates was also there at the off-road tri. Abhay came out with his rowing skull and his mountain bike to give it his shot.

The run started on an uphill, but thankfully, my buddy Pip suggested a warm up so I started off feeling good. By the time we crested the climb, a clear seperation had formed between the top 10 or so runners and me. My first mile was 7:24, which was a bit faster than I expected - especially with that hill. Pip was up in that front pack as they pulled away from me. I could hear some peeps behind me, but it was pretty spread out.

The run came through the transition area on it's way up to a trail called Grinder. You can imagine - this trail is aptly named. It is a long grinding uphill about a mile long. Not terribly steep, but you feel it - every step of it.

We came out on a paved road for a short distance before plunging back into the forest to run down the Clemson Freeride Club's downhill course. It's pretty fun to run down that course.

Before we arrived at the boat transition (about a 1/2 mile from the boats), the leader of the sprint race was already on his bike and heading out. Super strong effort from that guy (he did end up winning it).

I arrived at the transition with three other runners from the endurance race. The three of us ran together for most of the run. I got suited up with my camelback and my pfd and jumped in my boat.

I knew I had to make up some time on the boat - I would only be able to make up so much on the bike. As there were many peeps from the sprint event out on the boats for the first half of the race, It was difficult to tell who was who, although the speed differential was somewhat obvious.

The sprint boaters turned right at the 2nd bouy, but the endurance competitors kept straight to round a third bouy before turning back to the takeout. As I came around a point of land, I could see the endurance competitors spread out in front of me. I counted the boats and I found that I was in about 7th position (or 6th maybe). One of these peeps was the woman who was right behind me for most of the run. That put me in 5th or 6th place at the end of the boat.

I ran up to the bike transition and began to get myself squared away. The woman was staged just a few bikes away, and I saw her take off slightly before me. I got on my bike and gave chase. As far as I knew, no-one had escaped on the bike in front of me (from the endurance event - i.e. left the boat after me, but made a faster transition).

It took a few minutes, but I caught and passed the woman (who ended up winning first overall for the women in the endurance event) and kept chasing those in front of me. This first two miles was on a fire road and there was a good number of sprint event peeps out there. The only thing that made it obvious who was doing the endurance was their relative speed - we were traveling quite a bit faster than the sprint folks who were out there (because the fast guys / gals in the sprint event were already out on the singletrack part of the course).

I can't say for sure if I passed any of my endurance event competitors during this initial fire-road portion of the ride. I was tucked and in the big ring going about as hard as my legs and lungs would let me go. These fire road portions of the course had to be taken advantage of.

When I crossed into the singletrack and onto the Lawrence trail, I noted a rider behind me (to be called red shirt because of his red jersey). Anyone I saw on these trails was an endurance participant, so I knew I had to do what I could to overtake and prevent myself from being overtaken during these periods.

I learned a little about this guy on the climb up lawrence trail - I am a stronger climber than he is. I pulled a larger gap on him on this little climb coming out from the five forks intersection. He was a better mountain biker though as he reeled me in a little on the flatter portions of this trail.

There were periods where I was riding in the middle ring on the front and the smaller cogs on the rear. When I was in this configuration, I began to hear rattling from my rear hub! I was also having a bit of trouble shifting - thankfully, there was no ghost shifting, only imprecise shifting - I could live with that.

When we turned to go up collarbone, I could see two or three other guys in front of me. I was trying to count, but I was unsure of where I stood because of the confusion of the shared courses. These guys became my next targets and I dispatched two of them on this climb up collarbone. The third would fall (as in I would overtake him) as I rode down the dam road.

The Dam road was really fun. Once again, I was in the big ring and pushing for all I had. A big part of this fire road is downhill, so the speeds were probably over 30mph (maybe as much as 35mph). As I approached the intersection with the lake trail, I looked back to see two guys behind me - blue shirt who I passed on the dam road, and red shirt who had been following me since the lawrence trail.

Red shirt had passed blue shirt and began to gain on me quickly as we made our way along the lake trail. As he was getting close, I came upon a root system that stopped me in my tracks. I tried to quickly get out of his way, but was not able to. He had to stop, and because I felt I owed him, I told him to go ahead and pass me.

Luckily for me, his body chose that moment to cramp up on him. I waited for a moment, but when I realized he wasn't going to be able to pass, I continued on my way. I think blue shirt passed him at this point.

The rattling in my rear hub was getting worse - I can remember clearly thinking "ride it until it breaks!" The shifting was getting worse - It's critical to be able to cleanly shift into the proper gear when on a technical trail and I was fighting the imprecise shifting.

We were overtaking a number of the sprint competitors on this trail, and they were really great about moving off to the side to let us pass. since I was in the front of this little 3 bike train, I would call out "rider coming behind" and the would pick a safe spot to pull over for me (and the guys behind).

As we began to run out of lake trail, we came upon another root system that hung me up. Blue shirt was able to get by at this point, but I felt pretty confident that I could catch him on the fire road if I could just keep him in sight.

He exited the singletrack a few moments before I did, and red shirt exited a few moments after I did. I was in chase mode to catch blue shirt when red shirt pulled up next to me. We chatted for a short time before I let him pull a little in front of me. I pulled a roadie on him and began to draft. He pulled for a bit as we passed by blue shirt, then he pulled out to the side and told me "I think I'll let you pull for a while". Who was I to argue - turn about is fair play (only later did I talk to a friend of mine who told me that drafting was usually not allowed in traditional triathlons). I don't think it was an issue, I pulled him for at least as long as he pulled me.

I knew the course, and so did he. He had gone to school at Clemson and started mountain biking on these trails. I knew we had one final climb on this fire road before the trail went down hill to the finish.

I opened it up on him a little as we made that climb - the strength I have gained from road riding payed huge dividends here. As I crested the hill, I looked back to see I had pulled 10 or so bike lengths on him. At the top, I clicked it over to the big ring and started hammering. He was working hard to reel me in, but the gap appeared to hold steady.

I crossed the line with that gap intact. I was pleased. I felt I did well - perhaps in the top 5. Red shirt, blue shirt and I chatted a little as we made a cool down ride up the hill (same as where the run started). It was great fellowship.

When I got back to the bike transition area, I hung up my bike and started to get out of my biking gear. About that time, I looked up to see Pip crossing the line. He was about 5 minutes behind me. Great result for him.

Somewhere in there, I walked over to the folks doing the scoring. I asked how I did overall, and they said I was 29th overall (sprint and endurance competitors). She asked if I was in the endurance race, and told me that I might have gotten third place! Third!! I was stoked, but I was trying to keep myself from getting too excited before she finished with the official results.

Abhay came in while I was at my car getting my bike squared away. He had fun, but he had trouble with his racing skull that delayed him for about 10 minutes on the paddle.

We hung around for the results and I was super-stoked to find that I actually came in 2nd overall for the endurance event! What a great way to finish a race.

JD takes 2nd overall for the Clemson Off road triathlon!!

And what about the spring series for me? Without racing today, I dropped in the ominium standings from 6th to 8th place. I'll take that - a top 10 finish in my first ever road racing series, to include a win.

Cat 5, 35+ ominium standings as posted at Donaldson this afternoon.