Well, January is almost over and I've not got the miles in that I wanted to have, but as Martin said in a comment, maybe it's best that I don't put so much pressure on myself to get a certain amount of miles in per month...The pure enjoyment of cycling will be lost if I do - BTDT. :)
So, I had a 2.5hr ride to do today (Sunday) and an hour on Saturday. I switched them up because it was so much more warmer yesterday and I'm not much on riding in coldish temps and wind. Seems like the wind is always from the S-SSW and I should ride into the wind for the first part of the ride, but I'm not as familiar with those roads heading to the south of my house, so I suck it up and take the tailwind out and of course get the headwinds on my return trip.
I headed out towards Archer Lodge and and made a nice little loop that included the hills on Covered Bridge (near Dallas' house), the climb up from the Neuse on Covered Bridge, O'Neil Street and then the nice little short climb by West Clayton Elem. Ended up with 42 miles in 2:45hr. Fairly slow for the overall average, but I don't suppose that really matters at this time.
Today I'll probably just do an easy trainer ride with a 10min TT effort somewhere in the middle and some core workout. As for the rest of the day - I do need to clean the backyard up, fill in some trenches that Taylor has made trying to get the moles in the yard, and then spraying to kill grubs/bugs and weeds. Hopefully, that will make the moles leave the yard and go to the neighbor's yard. :D
218 miles for the month so far. I might be able to get to 250 miles total in by Tuesday, but we'll see. Either way, 218 miles is far better than 0 miles any day! :)
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Feeling Better..
Meh...I didn't ride at all last week. :(
1) I think I had the beginnings of an ingrown hair in my arm pit and I shaved and it became grossly infected. Talk about a huge bump and extremely painful! I NEVER want to have that happen again. It left me feeling a bit sick over the weekend of 1/14 & 1/15. So much so, that I really didn't feel like riding - I did pretty much nothing but sleep and lay around the house that weekend.
2) I moved my Dad back to Greenville, SC on Monday (1/16) and was down there until Wednesday of last week.
I didn't ride yesterday because it was rainy and I'm pretty much a fair-weather rider at this point. I hope to get back to the point in my cycling where I won't let a little bit of rain or wet roads or winds stop me from cycling. Maybe by the end of the year I will have reached that point. :)
But, I did put in my Tough Love Spinervals dvd before lunch today and managed to stick with it for an hour. I felt well enough that I probably could have gone on for at least another 30min or maybe an hour, but the damn saddle on the Fuji has the nose up too high and it was really becoming a pain. Eeked out 15mi in an hour.
I puttered around the house this afternoon - cleaning up the floors after the dogs, washed some clothes, watched a bit of the boob tube, fixed some supper and decided I would give the trainer another go-round. Put in the easy Aerobase Builder IV, but the damn saddle was just making it very uncomfortable, so I only rode for 30min - 8 miles.
I need to fix the saddle position tomorrow and maybe do the Aerobase dvd again tomorrow, but we'll see how I'm feeling....
23mi/1.5hr.
MTD: 175 miles.
Plan on taking the bike with me to work on Tuesday and riding during lunch, not sure about Thursday as right now it looks rainy. I'm going back to Greenville on Friday and I'm going to take the trainer and bike for riding on Saturday. The one thing I'm not going to do any more is skip my rides on the weekends when I go to Greenville....
1) I think I had the beginnings of an ingrown hair in my arm pit and I shaved and it became grossly infected. Talk about a huge bump and extremely painful! I NEVER want to have that happen again. It left me feeling a bit sick over the weekend of 1/14 & 1/15. So much so, that I really didn't feel like riding - I did pretty much nothing but sleep and lay around the house that weekend.
2) I moved my Dad back to Greenville, SC on Monday (1/16) and was down there until Wednesday of last week.
I didn't ride yesterday because it was rainy and I'm pretty much a fair-weather rider at this point. I hope to get back to the point in my cycling where I won't let a little bit of rain or wet roads or winds stop me from cycling. Maybe by the end of the year I will have reached that point. :)
But, I did put in my Tough Love Spinervals dvd before lunch today and managed to stick with it for an hour. I felt well enough that I probably could have gone on for at least another 30min or maybe an hour, but the damn saddle on the Fuji has the nose up too high and it was really becoming a pain. Eeked out 15mi in an hour.
I puttered around the house this afternoon - cleaning up the floors after the dogs, washed some clothes, watched a bit of the boob tube, fixed some supper and decided I would give the trainer another go-round. Put in the easy Aerobase Builder IV, but the damn saddle was just making it very uncomfortable, so I only rode for 30min - 8 miles.
I need to fix the saddle position tomorrow and maybe do the Aerobase dvd again tomorrow, but we'll see how I'm feeling....
23mi/1.5hr.
MTD: 175 miles.
Plan on taking the bike with me to work on Tuesday and riding during lunch, not sure about Thursday as right now it looks rainy. I'm going back to Greenville on Friday and I'm going to take the trainer and bike for riding on Saturday. The one thing I'm not going to do any more is skip my rides on the weekends when I go to Greenville....
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Not this week
I didn't make the 100mi for the week this week. :( A turn to cold weather and high winds caused me to wimp out. I should have gotten out though - I went visit my Dad around 1pm and didn't leave till around 3pm...I realized that I should have sucked it up and saw my Dad earlier, as it was decent that afternoon - would have been good riding.
Oh well....and next week is going to be hard too - I'm moving my Dad back to SC on Monday, so I won't get to ride again after tomorrow until next Thursday. Guess if I'm going to get 400 miles in January, I best get out tomorrow and put some miles in! :)
Otherwise, an uneventful day today...worked with Tucker and Tiger again and it is working little by little. Tonight, Taylor is sleeping under a blanket on her pillow by the couch, Tiger is on a blanket on the chair, and Tucker has finally settled in his crate. One day, maybe I'll be able to have all of them co-exist without having to crate anyone! :)
Oh well....and next week is going to be hard too - I'm moving my Dad back to SC on Monday, so I won't get to ride again after tomorrow until next Thursday. Guess if I'm going to get 400 miles in January, I best get out tomorrow and put some miles in! :)
Otherwise, an uneventful day today...worked with Tucker and Tiger again and it is working little by little. Tonight, Taylor is sleeping under a blanket on her pillow by the couch, Tiger is on a blanket on the chair, and Tucker has finally settled in his crate. One day, maybe I'll be able to have all of them co-exist without having to crate anyone! :)
Friday, January 13, 2012
The Week's Almost Up & There Are Miles to Be Ridden...
And, to top things off, it's cold and windy. I may have to suck it up and ride the trainer 2 times sometime tomorrow. Maybe once in the morning and then in the afternoon.
Thursday - I got out for an hour's worth of riding during my lunch - heading into the wind on the way out and getting a nice tailwind on the return trip. Just the way I like it! :) Rode from work out to Garner (Creech Road), took Old Garner to Jones Sausage/New Hope, then to Poole Road/back to work. 15 miles.
Today is a planned rest day.
So far this week, the miles are 21.5, 13, and 15 for 49.5 miles for the week. 50.5 miles left. Damn. That's going to be hard to get just riding on the trainer. Maybe I can get bundled up and get some outside, but probably not. I'd at least like to get close to 100mi this week...
Thursday - I got out for an hour's worth of riding during my lunch - heading into the wind on the way out and getting a nice tailwind on the return trip. Just the way I like it! :) Rode from work out to Garner (Creech Road), took Old Garner to Jones Sausage/New Hope, then to Poole Road/back to work. 15 miles.
Today is a planned rest day.
So far this week, the miles are 21.5, 13, and 15 for 49.5 miles for the week. 50.5 miles left. Damn. That's going to be hard to get just riding on the trainer. Maybe I can get bundled up and get some outside, but probably not. I'd at least like to get close to 100mi this week...
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
More of the same...
Yes, more of the same. Same damn wind. I do hope that 2012 won't be as windy as the last year, but it's not looking too good. Oh well, wind is good training. :)
Didn't feel really like getting out on Sunday, but I need the miles & time in the saddle, so off I went. Only 21.5 miles cause I really was feeling the effects of being sick for the last several days plus the miles (102 for the week). I think I went from 0 miles to 102 - probably should have eased into it a bit, but that's not how I usually roll. :)
Monday was definitely a needed rest day and I took full advantage of it. :)
Today, I took my bike with me to work so I could ride during lunch because it was going to be pretty nice. Didn't ride as far as I wanted (a co-worker went with me and I figured he needed to get on back), but it was better than 0 miles. 13 miles in 45 minutes. 34.5 miles for the week so far, 66 to go! :) I'll probably take the bike with me on Thursday and ride for at least an hour, maybe 1.5 and again on Friday before taking the car for an oil change that afternoon.
I also ran tonight...2.25 miles in 22 min. Tomorrow is yoga night. :)
Didn't feel really like getting out on Sunday, but I need the miles & time in the saddle, so off I went. Only 21.5 miles cause I really was feeling the effects of being sick for the last several days plus the miles (102 for the week). I think I went from 0 miles to 102 - probably should have eased into it a bit, but that's not how I usually roll. :)
Monday was definitely a needed rest day and I took full advantage of it. :)
Today, I took my bike with me to work so I could ride during lunch because it was going to be pretty nice. Didn't ride as far as I wanted (a co-worker went with me and I figured he needed to get on back), but it was better than 0 miles. 13 miles in 45 minutes. 34.5 miles for the week so far, 66 to go! :) I'll probably take the bike with me on Thursday and ride for at least an hour, maybe 1.5 and again on Friday before taking the car for an oil change that afternoon.
I also ran tonight...2.25 miles in 22 min. Tomorrow is yoga night. :)
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Ride The Wind...How Appropriate.
Yes, how appropriate the title of my blog is. I do believe all of 2011 for every ride I did, I faced the wind. Mainly headwinds. Seems like I can never catch a break and have more of a NNW instead of a SSW wind when riding from my house. Oh well, working hard in the wind just makes you stronger.
I had contemplated riding with my friend Dallas this morning, but when I woke up, the chest crud was back and I felt crappy. Also felt that I might should wait till later in the day when it was a bit warmer than 53F....later on it was 20F warmer. :)
Headed out from the house, headed towards the north (Poole Road area) and of course, I had a nice tailwind. At least for the first 15 miles. The other 16 miles was into that same wind. Struggled. Seemed like I had no energy at all...but, I am battling this chest/head cold, so I guess that could be expected.
It was a beautiful day out today - saw about 4-5 other cyclist out riding - making great use of the great weather!
31 miles/2:03hr.
January, week ending 1/7: 4 rides, 102 miles, 6:48 hours.
I had contemplated riding with my friend Dallas this morning, but when I woke up, the chest crud was back and I felt crappy. Also felt that I might should wait till later in the day when it was a bit warmer than 53F....later on it was 20F warmer. :)
Headed out from the house, headed towards the north (Poole Road area) and of course, I had a nice tailwind. At least for the first 15 miles. The other 16 miles was into that same wind. Struggled. Seemed like I had no energy at all...but, I am battling this chest/head cold, so I guess that could be expected.
It was a beautiful day out today - saw about 4-5 other cyclist out riding - making great use of the great weather!
31 miles/2:03hr.
January, week ending 1/7: 4 rides, 102 miles, 6:48 hours.
Friday, January 6, 2012
Another Day, Another Ride
Finished up at work around 1:00p and headed home - not feeling great, I've picked up a bug this week and I've been fighting it, but I needed to get in a ride today. If I didn't, there's probably not much of a chance I would have been able to ride 55 miles on Saturday. I suppose I would have tried though....
Headed out at 1:30p and just did the regular loop from the house, out to Old Baucom, then back into/through town, Ranch Road & back. Lots of wind in my face, yet again, from the 10mi point near Old Baucom. The wind, plus not feeling well took it's toll on me, slowing me down considerably. Oh well, I'm not really concerned about the time, but more on how much time I get in the saddle and miles in the legs. The speed will come later....
Finished up with 25mi in a very slow 1:45hr. See? Told you the wind was tough. :)
Supposed to ride with Dallas (& probably some of the other guys) in the morning...not sure if I will be able to keep up with them, as they've been doing a bit of mountain bike riding and I'm slow right now. Guess I can always go out and try! :)
70/6000 miles
4:45hr/500hr (I think the hours will be whatever they will be based on the mileage - I'm more concerned with getting 6000 miles ridden this year than I am on ride time).
Headed out at 1:30p and just did the regular loop from the house, out to Old Baucom, then back into/through town, Ranch Road & back. Lots of wind in my face, yet again, from the 10mi point near Old Baucom. The wind, plus not feeling well took it's toll on me, slowing me down considerably. Oh well, I'm not really concerned about the time, but more on how much time I get in the saddle and miles in the legs. The speed will come later....
Finished up with 25mi in a very slow 1:45hr. See? Told you the wind was tough. :)
Supposed to ride with Dallas (& probably some of the other guys) in the morning...not sure if I will be able to keep up with them, as they've been doing a bit of mountain bike riding and I'm slow right now. Guess I can always go out and try! :)
70/6000 miles
4:45hr/500hr (I think the hours will be whatever they will be based on the mileage - I'm more concerned with getting 6000 miles ridden this year than I am on ride time).
Monday, January 2, 2012
45/6000
Wasn't feeling too great this morning, like I might be coming down with a cold; didn't feel much better after lunch either. But, I surely wasn't feeling bad enough not to get out for a short ride this afternoon. :)
The Fuji seemed to be having some shifting problems the last time I rode it on the trainer, so I talked with Dallas and we decided to bring it over around 2pm. While out at his place, I wavered on riding - the wind!! It was biting and I really didn't want another ride in the wind. But. I want to get the miles/time in this year and I'm not going to get that accomplished sitting on my ass inside. Sitting on my ass inside just makes my ass get bigger and I want it to get smaller. :D
So, I left Dallas' and headed on home to change into the warmer cycling clothing. Just a little short jaunt from the house, through downtown Clayton and out to Guy Road. Wind. Wind in my face pretty much all the way until I reached Guy Road. The last 7.5 miles wasn't too bad - a bit of cross/tail wind.
Finished up with 15mi/1hr of riding. Tomorrow is a run day and the next ride isn't supposed to be until Thursday. The run tomorrow will be pretty dang cold, as the temps are barely going to get above 38F and it's going to be pretty windy....
The Fuji seemed to be having some shifting problems the last time I rode it on the trainer, so I talked with Dallas and we decided to bring it over around 2pm. While out at his place, I wavered on riding - the wind!! It was biting and I really didn't want another ride in the wind. But. I want to get the miles/time in this year and I'm not going to get that accomplished sitting on my ass inside. Sitting on my ass inside just makes my ass get bigger and I want it to get smaller. :D
So, I left Dallas' and headed on home to change into the warmer cycling clothing. Just a little short jaunt from the house, through downtown Clayton and out to Guy Road. Wind. Wind in my face pretty much all the way until I reached Guy Road. The last 7.5 miles wasn't too bad - a bit of cross/tail wind.
Finished up with 15mi/1hr of riding. Tomorrow is a run day and the next ride isn't supposed to be until Thursday. The run tomorrow will be pretty dang cold, as the temps are barely going to get above 38F and it's going to be pretty windy....
Sunday, January 1, 2012
31/6000 miles today
Yes, it's true. I got outside and rode my BMC for 31 miles today. The temps were actually pretty nice - mid 60's, but the wind!!! The wind was brutal, at least on the return leg of the ride. I had a nice tailwind for the first hour and managed to average 17.5mph. When I turned to head back towards home, though, I of course hit the headwind, all 17+ mph of it. The return leg was also mostly uphill, on average, so uphill and into a brutal headwind. :)
Finished up the ride with a 2mi bit of tailwind to the house. A bit tired this evening, but I really feel pretty good about starting 2012 with a ride. I'll ride again 2 or 3 days this week plus a long ride on Saturday (2.5-3hr). Yes, 2.5-3 hour rides are "long" rides for me at this time. I'd like to up to around 5-6hr for long rides by the end of the month so that I might be able to get my first century ridden by the end of the month. :)
That's all for tonight!
Finished up the ride with a 2mi bit of tailwind to the house. A bit tired this evening, but I really feel pretty good about starting 2012 with a ride. I'll ride again 2 or 3 days this week plus a long ride on Saturday (2.5-3hr). Yes, 2.5-3 hour rides are "long" rides for me at this time. I'd like to up to around 5-6hr for long rides by the end of the month so that I might be able to get my first century ridden by the end of the month. :)
That's all for tonight!
What to do?
Do I sit here and write about how awful my year has been with regards to cycling or just in general? Do I write about all the troubles that have filled my life over the last 1.5yr, with regards to my Dad? Na, but maybe a Readers Digest version. :)
Decided to train for AoMM Feb 15, 2011, worked out the training plan, based on previous training schedule and was ready to tackle it head on. Feb 16, 2011, Dad fell and broke his hip. Surgery, rehab, moving him to Greenville, SC, give up on AoMM (as far as any actual training), decide to do AoMM 3 weeks prior. Completed 80mi of AoMM with a handful of rides in my legs.
Dad does well in Greenville. I hire a cycling coach to help me get to Blue Ridge Breakaway in August. Ride Roan Moan in July - have the worst cramps ever at the top of Carver's Gap. Finished 75mi of Blue Ridge Breakaway - skipping the last 27mi of riding on the BRP. I haven't ridden on the BRP or in the mountains since probably July 2009. I miss the friend and riding I used to do in the mtns.
I adopted another dog (Miniature Pinscher) who made my life hell for about 2.5 months. His name is Tucker and he's turning out to be a pretty good doggeh. :) Taylor (my first Miniature Pinscher) had knee surgery in September. She's all better now, thankfully. :) She & Tucker get along just fine.
Oh, and back in May, I adopted a cat. Crazy. Got the cat for my Dad, who couldn't take care of her, so I had to take her. She, also, has turned out to be a pretty good kitteh. But a mean girl at times...Siamese can be that way, though. Her name is Evie.
Dad moves back to Raleigh area in November, but is moving back to Greenville this month. It's just way too much for me to do and I have no one here to help me. I have help in Greenville from a very good friend, one that really likes/cares about Dad and Dad likes him. Hopefully, that will work out.
Not much cycling to mention - tried to do all that the coach gave me but when the days got shorter and rides needed to be on the trainer...I hate that thing, so I didn't and haven't done all I'm supposed to do. I guess this is where I write down what I want for next year, eh?
I have 5 rides I want to do this year: AoMM, Cherohala Challenge, Roan Moan, Blue Ridge Breakaway, Six Gap Century. All freaking mountain rides of 100+ miles. This means I must get my ass in gear, starting today and do the riding I'm supposed to do (and maybe a little more). I'm looking for 125+ miles a week to start with, working up to 150mi, then maybe 200 in the summer. Hopefully, I'll be ready for each of those rides with that kind of mileage. Hopefully, that kind of mileage and eating properly, will help me drop this weight I have regained.
I suppose that's about it...maybe go hiking over a long weekend with a good friend from Georgia, maybe try a few TTs at Charlotte, maybe have a love life that's local instead of 4hr away....
Can't say that I'll write here a lot, but maybe I will. Maybe I'll use this venue, once again, as a means to record my training for the various rides I want to do this year. Maybe it will help, who knows. :)
Decided to train for AoMM Feb 15, 2011, worked out the training plan, based on previous training schedule and was ready to tackle it head on. Feb 16, 2011, Dad fell and broke his hip. Surgery, rehab, moving him to Greenville, SC, give up on AoMM (as far as any actual training), decide to do AoMM 3 weeks prior. Completed 80mi of AoMM with a handful of rides in my legs.
Dad does well in Greenville. I hire a cycling coach to help me get to Blue Ridge Breakaway in August. Ride Roan Moan in July - have the worst cramps ever at the top of Carver's Gap. Finished 75mi of Blue Ridge Breakaway - skipping the last 27mi of riding on the BRP. I haven't ridden on the BRP or in the mountains since probably July 2009. I miss the friend and riding I used to do in the mtns.
I adopted another dog (Miniature Pinscher) who made my life hell for about 2.5 months. His name is Tucker and he's turning out to be a pretty good doggeh. :) Taylor (my first Miniature Pinscher) had knee surgery in September. She's all better now, thankfully. :) She & Tucker get along just fine.
Oh, and back in May, I adopted a cat. Crazy. Got the cat for my Dad, who couldn't take care of her, so I had to take her. She, also, has turned out to be a pretty good kitteh. But a mean girl at times...Siamese can be that way, though. Her name is Evie.
Dad moves back to Raleigh area in November, but is moving back to Greenville this month. It's just way too much for me to do and I have no one here to help me. I have help in Greenville from a very good friend, one that really likes/cares about Dad and Dad likes him. Hopefully, that will work out.
Not much cycling to mention - tried to do all that the coach gave me but when the days got shorter and rides needed to be on the trainer...I hate that thing, so I didn't and haven't done all I'm supposed to do. I guess this is where I write down what I want for next year, eh?
I have 5 rides I want to do this year: AoMM, Cherohala Challenge, Roan Moan, Blue Ridge Breakaway, Six Gap Century. All freaking mountain rides of 100+ miles. This means I must get my ass in gear, starting today and do the riding I'm supposed to do (and maybe a little more). I'm looking for 125+ miles a week to start with, working up to 150mi, then maybe 200 in the summer. Hopefully, I'll be ready for each of those rides with that kind of mileage. Hopefully, that kind of mileage and eating properly, will help me drop this weight I have regained.
I suppose that's about it...maybe go hiking over a long weekend with a good friend from Georgia, maybe try a few TTs at Charlotte, maybe have a love life that's local instead of 4hr away....
Can't say that I'll write here a lot, but maybe I will. Maybe I'll use this venue, once again, as a means to record my training for the various rides I want to do this year. Maybe it will help, who knows. :)
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