Beautiful Day

Yup, today was an excellent day for a ride, sunny and warm! Did a short 30 minute ride of about 6.3 miles today to work on getting my legs back under me. Man do I ever need to keep riding. The route was a shorter version on my 7.5 mile loop which involves some gnarly hills and let me tell you that not sitting on a bike for a period of several months and then trying to just jump right back into it will prove to you just how fat you've become. I don't think I've been this tired since I started riding! I was so tired on my final hill climb that I didn't think I was going to make it. Thankfully I did and I'm absolutely wore out!

In other words, get on your bike as often as possible to keep your stamina and body acclimated to riding!

A good reason for winter riding gear!

So today looked to be the first nice day to get out on the bike that I've seen in several weeks. It was nice and sunny and looked warm...but alas it weren't meant to be! Around 1:00pm I got my gear on went to the garage and pulled the bike out. My first clue should have been the whirling wind when I opened the garage door. And when I stepped out of the garage to realize it was bit chillier then I had realized.

Bearing that in mind I decided not to attempt my 7.5 mile loop but rather just a quick flat out and back of 4.7 miles. And I am damn glad I chose that option. Because it got damn cold damn fast! I still don't think my balls have come back down! The temp was 55 when I started with a nice 5-10mph gusting wind! By the time I finished 17 minutes and 35 seconds later the temp had dropped to 48. Needless to say I will be looking for arm warmers and leg warmers and a riding jacket. It was a beautiful day to ride but not without the right gear!

Not cycling...Running!

Since the daylight is beginning to wain in the early afternoon I started back to jogging at least once a week. Hopefully the jogging and then some weekend riding will help me maintain my endurance levels and maybe keep my weight from climbing anymore than it already has.

Today a coworker and I decided to run the 3 mile loop in Homewood. Part of the Wednesday's Trak Shak runs. We ran a total of 2.74 miles at a 10:58 pace. Overall, not a bad time considering both of us hadn't really done any running in months. Cycling has definitely helped keep my endurance up as I was feeling really good at the 2 mile mark but hit a wall at about 2.25, never the less I was able to push through without letting up.

Winter Cycling

This will be my first winter to ever trying riding significantly so I'm hunting down whatever helpful information I can find on how to prepare and dress for cold weather riding. The video below is by a few guys in Tasmania and the tips on the clothing are good to know.

What a ride!

So yesterday was my 42 mile ride at the BBC Century in Springville and it was just Jim and myself riding. We got started around 9:20 and set out for a smooth steady ride so as not to wear ourselves out. We took turns pulling each other which probably was one of the best things we could have done. It allowed each of us to rest while maintaining a good steady pace.

The scenery on this ride was awesome once you got off Hwy 11. The back roads we were on were pretty good pavement wise, and the terrain was demanding. On the way out it was pretty much a steady climb with small drops scattered through out. So needless to say we were looking forward to the return ride. In fact, we trimmed about 20 minutes off our time on the return trip.

The most difficult aspect of this ride was not the distance or hills, it was the head winds. They were brutal, it seemed like every time we got to a level section or even a downhill we were hit with pretty strong headwinds. Other than the wind the weather was perfect, it was overcast and cool.

During the ride I felt pretty good the whole way. It wasn't until the last 10 or so miles that I was really ready to get off the bike. I could feel I was running low and my butt was starting to hurt. So when we reached Homestead Hollow I can say I was never so happy to get off a bike as I was then.

I'm really proud of the fact that for the longest ride I have ever ridden I probably had my best average speed and one of my best paces!

Maybe next year I'll be up for the 68 mile ride!!

Ride Time: 2:28:39
Total Time: 2:38:11
Total Distance: 42.11 miles
Average Speed: 17 mph
Max Speed: 35.3 mph
Ride pace: 3:31
Max Grade: 11.4%

Here is the elevation profile.


Here is the map player at Motionbased.com
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/player/6951220

Tomorrow is my longest ride ever!

Yep, Saturday morning will bring the BBC (Birmingham Bicycle Club) Century at Homestead Hollow in Springville. The 42 mile loop will be the longest ride I have ever attempted and I must admit to a bit of nervousness and excitement. I don't know what to expect and that I plan to go out and finish!

With that being said I've read a little bit about how to prepare for long rides and little tips that can help you along.

Since I've slacked off on the bike maintenance tips recently, I figured I would post this article regarding long rides and preparation!

Article here.

A weekend of riding!

Saturday and Sunday both yielded rides that varied greatly. Saturday I only had about 20 minutes to squeeze a ride in before heading off to watch Bama barely beat the UK Wildcats. What I got was a 4.73 miles with a down hill that was the roughest pavement I have ever ridden on. Last time I road it was on a mountain bike and so I had no idea it was that bad. Needless to say my down hill section was terribly slow.
Quick facts on that ride:
Pace: 4:34
Time: 21:40
Max Grade: 15.9%


Sunday Jim and I decided to head out to Oak Mountain to get in 30 miles before the 40 miler next weekend at the BBC Century. This was my first trip out to Oak Mountain, so I had no idea what to expect really. I have to say, it was a brutal ride for me. I sprinted up one hill and that took just about everything out of me until I got back into a grove on our return. Then we decide to take a small water break at the club house and that little stop damn near ruined us. Our legs were dragging and I couldn't get back into a good pace for several miles. And I swear those hills just kept getting longer and longer on our final return trip. Plus I think I started to get a bit a heat exhaustion out there. I kept getting a random chill that I couldn't determine if was caused by the shade or not because it would occur at different times. Plus my arms where completely dry, only a little bit of sweat on my chest. Never-the-less I finished.

My stats were:
Pace: 3:50
Total Time: 2:05:37
Moving Time: 2:00:03
Total Distance: 31.20 miles
Average Speed: 15.6 mph
Max Speed: 38.5 mph
Max Grade: 13.9%

BOT Date 09.30.2008

Today's BOT ride was just like any other...just me and Michael and the random other cyclist who still show up! However there was one slight difference in today's ride versus others. The scenery was outstanding, probably the best we've had on these rides! Those of you who chose not to come certainly missed out.

Anyways, Michael and I decided that the 18 miler out and back was the best ride considering time restraints and darkness. However on the return I asked Michael if he was up for a little detour. Basically on the ride back we turned back through Mountain Brook and headed over to the Mountain Brook Country Club to hook up with Mtn Brook Parkway and ride into Mtn Brook village that way. The end result added just around one mile.

Total Distance: 19.05 miles
Pace: 3:56
Average Speed: 15.2 mph
Max Speed: 36.5 mph
Max Grade: 13.9%

Elevation Profile:


Here is the map of this ride.
Clicky

Thursday Ride

Yesterday evening I decided to get a quick ride in around my house. I just did my typical 7+ mile loop. The ride was a good one but my thighs absolutely were killing me. That 1.5 mile run yesterday is really hurting. I've never had my thighs this sore after a run and now after a ride. I didn't have a chance last night to download the date from my Garmin, so I'll have to post up all the information later.

I won't be riding this Saturday as I'll be in Atlanta driving NASCAR stock cars. Should be fun!

More Bike Maintenance Tips

Chain cleaning and lubrication!

No ride today...

But I did decided to get back to some cross training. I managed to run 1.51 miles with an average pace 9:51 and burned 268 calories! To be honest I didn't think I was going to be able to even run a mile, but I surprised myself and squeezed out an extra half mile. I have to admit though that I was really feeling it when I got done.

Today's BOT

Today's ride was just Michael and myself. We got out of the parking lot around 5:30 and hoped to get a jump on the big group that was getting ready to leave. But we only got to the first stop light before they caught us! Guess we weren't fast enough. We pretty much hung with them for the first 5 miles or so. We hooked up with another guy (Chris) who was just getting back on his bike after 3 months off. This was also his first run on the BOT ride, so with that in mind we all opted to just get the 18 mile out and back ride in.
Which is becoming one of my favorite rides! It's a good route that gets a decent distance but allows you to really push yourself. My times were a little screwed up this time because rather than stopping at the turnaround, I opted to just kinda pedal around the parking lot while we all talked! This really shot my pace and averages out the window! So no need to rehash those crappy numbers.

Here is the elevation profile of the 18 mile out and back:


FYI, the max grade is 12.4%

A Satuday Ride

This Saturday after a location mix up with Jim I ended up riding a new loop from my house. I combined parts of my normal Queenstown loop with some of the Tuesday Worlds Loop that we did last Saturday with Floyd Landis.

This was one brutal ride. The wind was insane, 10mph average with 15 mph highs, talk about buffeting! As I rode and the wind was always coming as either headwinds or crosswinds. It made flat sections feel like I was climbing! My bike started feeling really heavy around mile 17.

This loop had me leaving my house, heading out Floyd Bradford to HWY 78 and climbing Cemetary Hill (which by the way hits a 22% grade at one point), then hooking up with part of the Tuesday route that runs through Irondale and connecting with Ruffner road, out to Derby Pkwy and then onto Alton road until hooking up with Queenstown and heading back home.

Overall it turned out to be a pretty good route, reaching a distance of 25 miles.

Even though it was a brutal ride, my performance wasn't bad. A 3:45 pace, 15.9 mph average, 1:34:14 total time.

Here is an elevation profile.


Here is the map:
Click

Road my home loop

Today I decided to get a quick ride in when I got home this afternoon. I decided I would just do one lap of my 7+ mile home loop. It had been a while since I had last ridden this route so I wasn't sure how well I would do.

The last time I road this route was on 8/4/08 and my stats were:
7.29 miles
30:21 total time
4:09 pace
14.4 mph average
42.4 mph max
705 calories burned

Today my stats were:
7.30 miles
27:42 total time
3:47 pace
15.8 mph average
41.5 mph max
677 calories burned

It's nice to see the improvement even when I haven't ridden the route in over a month.

Here is a graph of the elevation changes!


The steepest grade I climbed was 16.2%. The graph below shows the elevation changes from above with the grades shown also.


The pie chart is very interesting, it shows the percent of the total distance I spent climbing, descending and riding on flat terrain. This route is pretty evenly set up!


And this one shows the percent of time in each aspect.

Maintenance Tips

Here is the 2nd video. This one touches on common tools for bike maintenance.

Hard pushed BOT ride!

Today is was just Gregg, Michael, and myself at the Botanical Gardens. We started out around 5:20 today with intentions to get as much distance as we could before it got to dark. We never really made much mention of what type of ride we wanted today but the silent feeling was to push hard. For the first half we had caught up to one group and rode with them up to Hwy 78. They had been moving a steady pace, but when they hit 78 they decided to pick it up a bit. Gregg managed to hook onto their tail and stay with them through the rest of the distance. I fell back on Old Leeds road, but ended up hooking up with this one rider who had blown by me at Grants Mill. I pretty much to stayed in her draft till we got to the big down hill on Old Leeds. At that point I had started to drift back but I caught her down the hill and then passed her on Cherokee road. It was at that point that I wanted to really push hard through those series of hills and keep my speed up. By the time all was said and done I had finished only 8-9 minutes behind Gregg and Michael was only 3-4 minutes behind me.

We pretty much pushed ourselves and came away feeling great!

In total it was 20.45 miles with a total time of 1:19:13 with a pace on this ride at 3:52. My average speed was 15.5 and I maxed out at 35.4. Burned up 1718 calories!

If were lucky and can keep leaving as early as we were able to today we might be able to squeeze in a few more 20 milers.

Rode with Floyd Landis

Today Cahaba Cycles & Homewood Cycles had a Saturday morning ride with Floyd Landis. It was a 25+ mile loop that took us from Homewood, out to Derby Parkway, and then back through Mountain Brook. I have to say this was probably the fastest ride group I've ever ridden with.

Initially the ride started fairly slow and leisurely. Mainly because we were all packed up into one big group. But by the time we got to Ruffner Road the packs started forming and different paces were being created. At times the pack I was riding with was easily averaging 20-25 mph at times. I'm used the 15-20 mph. Needless to say there were sections were the hurt was being put on me. But while I may have dropped back a times I was able to keep them in sight and when traffic lights allowed I was able to get back with them and keep up on the final leg.

I didn't actually get to ride with Floyd, I saw him at the beginning and I was behind him. Then I dropped my camera and had to loop back to it and let the other riders by while I put it back together. At that point I was at the back of the pack and never really saw Floyd for sure until the Homewood Cycles parking lot. At which point Floyd was inside the store posing for pictures and chatting.

Based on what I saw and how he interacted with everyone, Floyd seemed like an appreciative and friendly guy. When I did get to meet him and shake his hand he was appreciative of my comments and well wishes!

Good luck in the Tour de France in 2009, I'll be pulling for ya!

Today's ride covered 27.83 miles and lasted 1:50:31. I had an average speed of 15.1 mph and my pace was 3:58. My max speed was 36.7 mph and I burned 2,652 calories!

Here is the ride on Motionbased.com
Player

Now, how about a few pictures.

Some of my favorite pictures!!!

Cycling Tips

I'll try to post a regular weekly tip with regards to cycling, be it maintenance, riding, or whatever else is related to cycling that I think is worth while.

Today I'll start with an interesting video about why you shouldn't use WD-40 on your bike!

Good BOT ride today

This will probably be the last 20 mile BOT ride we do this year. It's just starting to get to dark by the time we end. So we'll probably be able to squeeze a few more out and backs (18 miles) in before it's just to dark to ride.

The ride was good although the weather looked ominous at times and my damn shoes did not want to lock into the clips several times. I need to get better at getting them in and locked quickly. It caused me a few problems at intersections and it didn't matter left or right.

The ride it self was pretty fast paced, no lolly-gaggin through the neighborhoods like last time. Brian and I pushed pretty good up 78 and along Old Leeds! We even hooked up with a group that was running a good 20 mph average.

I had about 2 servings of my Hammer Gel with me that I downed at the gas station on Montclair and this time I feel like I felt it. I'll keep trying and drinking that nasty shyt until it's gone. Although I have to admit it didn't taste as bad as it did Sunday. Maybe I'll develop a taste for it...like beer...nah!

My distance was 20.65 miles, total time was 1:19:28, average pace was a strong 3:50 with an average speed of 15.6 mph. All totaled I burned 1761 calories!

Now I'm going to put all those calories back on by eating this Krispy Kreme donut!

Lance Armstrong to ride again!

According to Velonews Armstrong is joining up with Team Astana to compete in 5 races during 2009 including the Tour de Georgia. Apparently, he is going to ride for no salary nor bonus and post his blood tests online!

In my opinion this is definitely good for the sport, regardless of your feeling towards him.

Here's the article.

Rode the Mtn Bike today...

Probably shouldn't have as I was much more tired than I had expected. But I guess that shouldn't be a surprise after riding nearly 30 miles the day before.

My goal was to get about an hours ride in today under moderate strain. I did manage to do that, but I was noticeably slower on climbs and a couple of times I just dismounted and walked up a few hills because my legs were so dead.

I was able to ride for 1:02:08 covering 5.47 miles at an average speed of 5.3mph, at a 11:21 pace. Everything with the ride was going about as good as I could have expected until I started down this long steep and rough down hill section that leads strait to a rough climb. Just as I started to pedal up the hill my rear derailleur jammed on me and stuck in 8th gear. I was 3.16 miles into the ride and about .6 of a mile from my car when the derailleur jammed and I didn't want to have to walk it back. So I messed with it for about five minutes and managed to get it stay in 4th gear. I was able to carry on for another 2 miles before it jammed again. Thankfully at that point I was just up the hill from the car and I was able to coast back with out any real issue.

When I got back to the house I was able to re-tighten the cable to the derailleur and get it functioning like normal. But talk about a pain in the ass on the trail!

I also tried out some Hammer Gel that I picked up at Cahaba Cycles yesterday. This is the kind that you mix with water in your water bottle. The flavor I got was orange and I have to say...I don't know where in the hell they get their oranges, but I have never tasted an orange that tasted as bad as this stuff does!!! I mean, I know that stuff like this isn't necessarily going to taste good, but if you say it's going to taste like orange, it should at least have a hint of orange in it. This stuff doesn't even smell like orange, nor does it even have an citrus taste to it at all!!! Never the less I did drink my whole bottle with the hope it would give me energy like it's says it will. To be honest, I couldn't really tell if it did or didn't. I pushed through at times when I could have quit and I had the energy to climb some sections, so I can't really say it did or it didn't. I'll just have to keep using it and see how I feel on some road rides where I know when I normally get tired.

Overall a good ride that had me burning 1239 calories!

A good Saturday Morning Ride!

Today I met up with a new cycling friend to have a good 25-30 mile Saturday morning ride. Jim and I had decided to meet up at the Winn Dixie in Cahaba Heights and ride from there to Sicard Hollow Road, then Rex Lake, up HWY 78, on to Old Leeds, down onto Brookwood Road and ride through Mtn Brook on our way back to the WD.

When I left the house this morning around 8:15 it was really overcast and had started that misty rain as I drove to Cahaba Hts. The rain pretty much held off during our ride today, but it stayed overcast the entire time. Which was a good thing, as it kept the temp in the low 70's. The weather was nearly perfect for a long ride.

The ride was great, the elevation changes were pretty stout at times, but nothing we didn't overcome. Jim's a better climber than I am, I struggled on a couple of hills that I just wasn't prepared for. The irony of those hills was that they weren't very steep, they were just gradual climbs. I was just spent when I would come to them.

As we were riding down Old Leeds Road we had a pack of about 5 cyclist (some were part of the Tria Market team) who appeared to be doing some training as they would swap leaders and let someone else pull over certain stretches. Well, I decided I wanted to catch up to them and see what it felt like to be on the tail of a speedy group. So I pushed myself pretty good to try and reel them in, and I was...till I ran out of steam. But I was able to roll at a pace in the low 2 minutes when I was trying to catch them, I can only imagine what kind of pace they were consistently riding.

Jim and I finished up the ride with a good little stretch through Mtn. Brook looking at all the enormous houses in the area.

We did have one little scare on HWY 78. As we were climbing that long grueling hill just near the cemetery we got passed by a pickup truck in the far lane when all of a sudden this huge charter bus passed us in our lane. We had no idea he was there and he made no attempt to give us room. Had I lost my balance and had to correct I would have been drilled. It was so close the wind off the bus nearly pushed us off the road. Absolutely unnecessary, just like the guy in the Jeep that honked at us and then flipped us off when I raised my hands in a "what the hell" gesture! Needless to say, be on your toes out there!

Overall I rode 29.62 miles, with a 4:01 avg page, 14.9mph avg speed, I reached a max of 37.1mph. Our total ride time was a hair under 2 hours at 1:58:59. All while I burned 2981 calories!

Helluva ride!

Here's a link to the Motionbased Website that will show the info from the ride.

Map Player

Dashboard

Elevation Profile

Belt Drive Bikes

They've become commonplace on motorcycles but now it looks like the tech is making its way in the bicycle world. In fact Trek is introducing 2 bikes that run belt systems.

It looks like they are currently just single speed bikes, but I wonder how it feels to pedal them!

Check it out.

The Trek District


The Trek Urban

BOT Ride

Today's BOT ride was just Michael and myself and we set out today to get a good lead on the pace group so that when they caught up to us we could try and hang with them. And at about mile 5 they caught us, but they didn't leave us...till we started the climb on HWY 78. At that point we had to deal with traffic and other issues that kept us back.

Once on 78 I started to pull away from Michael a bit as I was challenging myself to keep up with some riders that had passed me just before the hill. By the time I got up to Old Leeds Road I had hooked up with 3 other cyclists that I used as pace guages. I hung in with them for the rest of the ride running around 20 mph on the flat stretches.

I forgot to start my Garmin at the beginning of the ride so I don't have real accurate numbers. But my bike computer showed 20.4 miles over 1:19:59 which works out to just under a 4 minute pace. Of the 10.64 miles that I did have my Garmin on, I road at a 3:32 pace with an average speed of 16.9 and a max of 36.1.

Overall I really enjoyed this ride, although it did get a bit dark towards the end but I had a group of about 10 cyclists I was finishing up with so it wasn't too bad and the traffic for the most part was good.

Neal we missed ya! But I'm glad you got some good riding in at OMSP!

Oh yeah, Michael should have an interesting picture!

My home loop

Michael,

Here is my 7+ mile home loop to which you and Neal are invited to ride with me once!



This is one of my other loops.

Whew! What a ride!

What a ride in several ways. I always look forward to riding a new route and today was no exception. I decided today that I would ride out to Rex Lake Road and Grants Mill Road to create a new loop for me. The ride wasn't lonely as I saw 4 other cyclists out at the same time on Rex Lake. I have to recommend Rex Lake Rd as a good road to ride. It's well traveled by cyclists so motorists are used to seeing bikes and give you plenty of room.

That being said, be leary of riding on Rex Lake heading away from Leeds. Reason being is that they are laying new drainage pipe on SW bound lane and it is incredibly rough. So just be aware if you intend to ride that direction.

My ride along Grants Mill was interesting. I hadn't anticipated the sheer volume of traffic on that road at 6:30 in the evening. It was a bit uncomfortable knowing that I had a line of cars behind me that couldn't pace due to the nature of the road and the amount of traffic. Even while travling in the 20-25mph range. What I hadn't realized was that today was Wednesday and that new megachurch on Grants Mill was having it's Wednesday service. I also didn't realize just how rough the ride on Grants Mill would be. I mean I knew the road was bad, but good lord I got my butt beat! Several times I thought I was going to get bounced right out of my clips!

Next time I ride this loop I'll try it in reverse and hope that the traffic is better and that the other side of the roads are a bit smoother.

The total distance was 23.18 miles, my average pace was 3:56 a personal best for this area. My average speed was 15.2mph with a max of 39.5mph, all while burning 2243 calories!

Not bad for not having been on a bike in 5 days.

A good Friday.....

But not a good ride.

I think I had a bit of a mental breakdown before I even clipped into my pedals. I had half a mind to just be lazy this afternoon but I thought better of it and rushed home so I could squeeze in some decent distance before dark.

I should have had a better attitude but I started off very sluggish and decided I would settle for a relaxed pace. I spent the ride fighting off a cramp in my right calf, which has been occurring the last few rides as I near the end. But this time it started within the first 5 miles. I also had to deal with some annoying numbness in the tips of my left thumb and forefinger. Needless to say I struggled with comfort on this ride and all the did was push my defeatist mentality harder.

Even with my piss poor attitude and discomfort I still managed to ride 21.96 miles with an average pace of 4:12 (pretty much my average) at an average speed of 14.2 mph. In the end I burned 1922 calories.

Based on those numbers I can't say I'm disappointed, but based on how I felt during the ride, I know I left so much out there.

Another Tuesday, another Botanical Gardens Ride

Today was my first day riding with some Shimano pedals and shoes. I've used clips on my mtn bike before but this would be my first experience with them on a road bike. And other than a few issues with trying get them to actually clip in, I had an overall good ride with them. Like anything new you just need time to get used to them.

Today I rode 17.74 miles with an average pace of 5:28 at a speed of 10.9 mph while burning 1471 calories. Neal and I slowed down the pace today to give him a good work out but not wear him out. We did get a good attack on Michael at one point though, hitting around 30 mph!

Overall a good ride. I'm hopeful I'll be able to squeeze another ride in this week but I'm not sure that I will be able too prior to the weekend. If not I'll just do some good riding Saturday and/or Sunday.

If you're up for a road to mtn bike ride either day let me know.

Wow, what a great day

Today was my longest ride yet. I rode a total of 36.84 miles at the North Harbor (Tuscaloosa) Hot Hundred. The day started off nice and cool and overcast with a slight chance of rain, but it held off and resulted in great riding weather.

I'm really proud of myself. I had my longest ride to date over fairly flat terrain, nearly bit it when my front tire hit a patch of sand and gravel, set a new fastest pace for me at 3:38, and burned a whopping 2810 calories! Oh yeah!

I felt great on the ride back to the finish; albeit a bit lonely! I felt I could have rode further had my ass not been hurting so bad. Gotta get my body used to these distances.

I probably had a slightly better pace for the overall ride but I decided to ride another 2 miles for a cool down and chose keep track of the distance and pace on my Garmin. But I do remember roughly crossing the finish line just a little over 2 hours with only one stop!

Congrats to Michael, Brian, Dave, and Greg for getting out there and pushing through their chosen distances! Good job guys!

Looking forward to Tuesday. But for now it's off to celebrate my Anniversary!

Another great day

Yup, it was another beautiful day for a ride!

My pace wasn't as good as yesterday's, but it wasn't far off. I ended up with a 4:04 pace averaging 14.7 mph over the 21.31 miles. Not to bad coming off yesterday's ride of 18+ miles. Burned a nice 1896 calories too.

Nothing of any real significance to talk about on this ride. Just some heavier traffic than expected and some inconvenient timing when I would come to intersections. Seemed like every time I rode up to one I had to get off the bike because of oncoming traffic. If it hadn't been for those few times I might have been able to reach a better pace...oh well!

Now I've got tomorrow to rest up for the Tuscaloosa Hot Hundred! Oh yeah!!!

A rainy lousy day

Yesterday was supposed to be our Botanical Gardens ride but the weather saw fit to put a damper on things. It turned out to be one of those lousy rainy days were it literally rained all day. So needless to say the ride did not occur.

So hopefully today will be better and when I get home after work I can breakout the bike and squeeze in about 20 miles. We'll just have to see.

UPDATE

Well today turned out to be a perfect day for riding. 79F degrees when I started and finished up at 73F degrees. Perfect riding weather. Today I was able to get my fastest pace to date. I rode at a 4:02 pace averaging 14.9 mph over the 18.61 miles. Overall I'm really happy with that ride. Traffic was heavier than I have seen before on the route I chose to ride so it was a little hairy at times. Now I just have to get myself mentally ready for my longest ride ever when I join a few friends on the Tuscaloosa Hot Hundred, where we plan to do a 34 mile stretch!

Also, if any of you happen to ride down Queenstown road in Trussville be alert for a pair of dogs that have no fear of chasing you. I was traveling west on Queenstown probably a 1/4 mile from the series of small lakes when a Chow mix dog lept up from a driveway and started chasing me in the middle of the road. About 100 feet away another dog from the other side of the street came out of nowhere to also chase me. This one looked like a cross between a pitbull and a hound. Both dogs chased me for about 1/2 mile in the middle of the road. I was finally able to pull away from them but it spiked my heart rate pretty good. Just a heads up!

Now that brings me to a little rant. Why is it so damn hard to keep you dogs in the backyard? I've been chased by so many dogs that I'm to the point of buying some pepper spray to take with me on my rides. Normally I can loudly and forcefully yell NO at a dog and they will relent. But these two just ignored me. It may have been enough to keep them at a small distance but it didn't stop their aggressive behavior. I have two dogs of my own and I know what it takes to keep an eye on them and keep them pinned up. But I can't understand the people who just let their dogs roam free. And it's especially bad in this area of Trussville!

Secondly, and I'm sure many of you cyclist can understand my point of view; but why are so many motorists so bloody stupid when it comes to cyclists. For example, not many drivers would pass a slower car in a blind curve. But yet 90% will pass a cyclist in a blind curve! Seriously, you can't wait just a few seconds. Also, why can't you give me a full lane width when there is a completely empty lane to be used? And I'm not talking about a standard 2 lane road, I'm talking about a 4 lane hwy. I've had so many drivers either barely move over or not move over when on a 4 lane hwy and no other traffic. Come on people. I have rights to the road too, I'm sorry if I'm a bit slower than you but that doesn't mean you have to damn near run me off the road! Especially when there is plenty of room.

Blah...enough ranting.

Be safe, watch for dogs and cars, and keep pedaling!

A little mountain biking today.

Today I had planned to get my mtn bike back out after a month or so of it just hanging on the wall. I headed over to the Trussville Municipal park to ride on the same trails I normally ride. Only today I was going to try and ride them in the opposite direction.

This started out all well and good till my lack of confidence on the trails got the better of me and I ended up off the bike several times, some by choice, some by force...

The ride lasted 1 hour and 16 minutes and covered 6.26 miles. Not as far as I had thought I was going to ride, but needless to say it was a demanding ride for me. I rarely get into my 2nd bottle of water on a 20 mile road ride, but by the end of today's ride I was half way through my second bottle. I had forgotten how tiring a mtn bike trail can be. Especially when you've decided to try out a new trail that is head and shoulders above your skill level.

No major events on this ride other than the few falls and the frustration of being on a trail that required a higher skill level. Oh and I did get a bit of protein while on the ride when some sort of flying insect flew straight down my throut. I'm just glad it happened at a level area and not on a climb.

Anyways, overall it was a good ride but a bit frustrating at times. I was able to burn 1239 calories, so that's always a plus.

Next ride will be this coming Tuesday at the Botanical Gardens. See ya there.

Day 2 Blogging; Good Bike Ride

Today was a perfect day for a ride. I was afraid that the afternoon storm we had roll through would cause me one of two problems. First, that it would still be raining when I got home preventing me from riding. Second, that it would be so god awful muggy that my ride would be miserable.

To my surprise the rain cooled things off tremendously. I noticed on my drive home that the temperature was in the upper 70's. And that was confirmed by my bike computer, the highest I saw was 79. Slightly overcast sky, mild humidity and no heat! What perfect riding weather.

So I decided I would try to squeeze in as long a ride as I could. Basically that means 1.5 hours of riding because it begins to get to dark to be comfortable if I ride longer. Sadly that will slowly get reduced as summer fades away. I'll either have to start riding in the mornings ( a morning person I am not) or take my bike to work with me and ride as soon as possible after work.

Anyways, back to the ride. Today's ride was not my longest but a good distance with some decent climbs. My total distance was 21.05 miles riding along Smith Sims Road in Trussville, along Floyd Bradford to Hwy 78, to Old Leads, to Grants Mill, turning on Grantswood, then a right on Ratliff heading back to Hwy 78 and then back tracking to my starting point. Good climbs, nice flat sections and some speedy downhill sections. My time was just under 1 hour 29 minutes with an average speed of 14.2 mph. Not bad in my opinion. My pace was not the fastest I have seen, but on par with what I've typically done in the past.

Thankfully, on this ride I didn't have any inconsiderate motorists like I normally see along Hwy 78.

Enough rambling at this point. I probably won't get to ride again to next week, although I hope to squeeze in a moutian bike ride sometime on Sunday. Just have to wait and see what Sunday has in store!

Till next time, keep pedaling!

Day 1 of Blogging

So I happened upon this place because some fellow cyclists were using it as a way to track and record their progress at Cycling. So I guess I'm a lemming and have become a fellow blogger. But I'm ADD so I may lose interest in it! So don't blame me, it's not my fault, it's my parents, the food, the government, the media, the democrats, the republicans, the whoever I forgot to mention!

Any who, enough of the sarcasm. I'll try to maintain this blog and keep up with my rides and so forth for the throngs of fans I will accumulate who will want to read of my endeavors!

So, lets start!

Last evening I did my first Birmingham Botanical Gardens ride with a few guys I meet via www.bamabikechat.com; which by the way is a great place for local riders to keep in touch and organize rides. I met up with Michael and Neal at the BBG and a few other whom I can't recall their names (forgive me, I'm horrible with names). We decided to do the out and back 18 mile round trip ride. I had no idea what to expect with this ride as I'm used to riding alone in the Trussville area. Needless to say it was an interesting experience. There were probably 70+ cyclists all starting out at the same time, much to the delight of local traffic! Once the first few lights and miles passed the groups thinned out as the faster riders pulled away and us lowly newbies hauled in the rear. Overall the course was a relaxed and relatively easy ride, small rolling hills, mostly flat terrain and only a few inconsiderate drivers who view cyclists as demon spawn! However, I will forgive the one driver who nearly had Michael smeared on his windshield like a bug...we did turn the wrong way down a one way!

The ride was enjoyable and I was glad to meet some fellow cyclists who were on my skill level!

Next Tuesday I'll do it all over again, but I'll push for the 22 mile round trip!

Matt