Spooky 2

In reply to Grog's comment on the last post, it was definitely an interesting ride. It's actually a great place to road ride because there is almost zero auto traffic. In the daytime on weekends I've seen people using the uncleared lots as place to ride atv's. Some that are more open were being used as airfields for remote control airplanes. The only thing that concerned me that night was that I could picture these remote areas as being the perfect place for kids to party. I could see myself stumbling past one of these redneck drunk-fests in my matching spandex. At that point my overactive imagination envisioned them releasing their pack of rabid pitbulls (the official dog of rednecks in FL.) to run me down. I was calculating in my head how long I could ride at 30 mph and at what point I would hear the low rumble of Super Swamper tires on a jacked up pickup truck with cherry bomb exhaust as the chase began in ernest. 

Like I said, overactive imagination. I will ride there again, especially when the time change goes into effect. Either that or with my HID headlight.

Spooky

I rode 18 miles last night in the dark on my road bike. I stopped on the way home from work and bought a small LED headlight, more for safety then for illumination. I rode on these back roads that have no houses and no street lamps. Man, it was SPOOKY. I haven't been back there much and in the dark, your senses get a little disoriented. On top of it, this area is so void of development that most of the streets don't have street signs. I had to kind of ride around until I found a bigger intersection that had signs so I could tell where I was at and which way to go. I might not do that again. 

I am trying to be newly inspired and prepare myself for road season. It seems however, more and more difficult lately to find the time to ride during the week.

Back in the saddle... Again

Finally got back on the bike after a prolonged recovery period. After the 12hour, I just didn't have the energy or ambition to ride. I made it worse by staying up way past my bedtime on several nights. Today I did the saturday morning road ride with the Cycle Haus group. These guys are Fast!!!! But that is where I aspire to be. These guys will crank it up to over 27 mph and then start going fast. Seriously, when I was doing 27, they flew past me at the sprint like I was stopped and changing a flat. I got dropped several times and finally gave up and headed home. The last 6-10 miles home were brutal, with an intense headwind and no help. I finally pulled in my driveway with 65 miles, well worth the suffering. I'll be back with them next week.

No camping

Our camping plans for this weekend are a bust. The two places that we wanted to go are both booked full. We didn't want to travel farther than about 1.5 hours from home. Oh well, we will try again soon.

12 Hour Results

The twelve hour results are up on goneriding.com. We finished in third place for the co-ed division. Not a bad comeback for us considering I had a flat that I couldn't repair on the very first lap and had to run with my bike for 6 miles. That definitely cost us second place. All in all, I had a good time and our team was really strong. 

I'm now focusing on ramping back up for my first road race in march. It's called the Webster-Robaux. It is supposedly a good race for a first time road racer.

We also plan on doing a camping weekend this coming saturday. I think we are going to Alafia to camp and ride.

Rain, Rain

A much needed rain fell yesterday, destroying any chance for riding. We are in desperate need of rain but it seems to come at inopportune times. More rain is scheduled for today. I guess I would rather it rain now then on the weekend. I Hate riding in the slop! Racing in it totally sucks. 

Gearing up.... Slowly

I'm finally feeling better from this cold but I continue to have an annoying cough from time to time. Everyone I've talked to who has had this cold says that the cough lingers for up to three weeks. Great! I've recovered from saturdays' road ride and will ride again tonight. That may be the only riding I get to do before the pre-ride on friday. If I have time, I may try to run on thursday. I'm looking forward to the race and hope we do well. We have a very strong and experienced team this year, I just hope we are fast. It would be nice if Grog and Lori were able to make the race. I'm under the impression that is is still a very faint possibility.

Still Recovering

Well I finally got back on the bike today. I've been sick for over a week. I rode fifty miles today but it took all I had. I gimped home the last six miles with my legs just aching. I'm also about 5 pounds lighter then I should be. I've found out through trial and error that my body performs it's best at about 180 lbs. The 12 hour race is next saturday. I hope I'll be ready for it.

Triathlon Complete

Well we finished the triathlon in pretty good shape. My wife completed the entire event but once she finished said, "Ok, I'll never do that again." She did well but she just reaffirmed her lack of competitiveness. 

I, on the other hand, suffered immensely.  My head and lungs were very congested and I had a very difficult time getting enough air in, especially during the swim. Even the bike portion wasn't as pleasant as I had hoped. But I finish in 1hr 15min. 

One thing I have to mention is the positive review of Hammer's "Heed" sports drink. In the morning I asked my wife if she wanted some gatorade in her water bottle. She said sure. I looked but couldn't find the powdered mix I thought we had so instead I mixed her some Heed and didn't tell her. After the race she asked, "did you put some of your stuff in my bottle?" I cautiously asked "why?", worried that it may have upset her stomach or something. She answered, "I thought so, that stuff works awesome!" Apparently about two miles into the start of the bike, my wife's body was asking her "What, are you crazy!!!?? What do you think you are doing to us!?!?" She said she even thought about quitting. Instead, she just relaxed and started to drink some of her bottle while she pedaled easy. A few miles later it just kicked in and she said she felt full of energy. She said her legs "just wanted to GO!" Afterward she was very thankful that I spiked her drink.

T - minus 12 hours

Well the race is tomorrow and my health will definitely be in question. I changed medicine to something that is specifically designed to drain the pressure in my head. I took one dose and a nap and I feel a little better. I could actually breathe out of one nostril. 

I'm looking forward to the race but I found out today that it will be a lot less "organized" then I would have liked. There will be no bike racks in the transition area so we will have to lean our stuff on trees, fences, etc. If they have a full 200 entrants, then that will be a lot of bikes laying around. I'm just spoiled by the fact that most race promoters whose events I go to really have their act together. When I go to one outside of that circle, it's a high standard for comparison and I usually have something to complain about. My wife just says it's because I'm an elitist snob.

My wife seems unnerved by the fact that it is 12 hours away.

Medical Degree? Who needs it!!!

Well probably contrary to all medical advise, I spent $30+ dollars on my sisters chemical concoction for fighting colds. I took it throughout the day yesterday and had a good full 8 hours of sleep last night and I must say that the symptoms are slightly starting to subside. I will continue to take it today and tomorrow and hopefully by sunday I will be fine. I haven't trained at all since tuesday. I have just felt weak and wednesday my joints ached. I've never had a cold that made my joints ache before. I do plan to race sunday no matter how I feel.