Sunday, February 28, 2010
racing tandem
eric is exhausted after a long ride with a couple on a tandem. he talks with mike about his idiocy. (this story is based on a true one told to the "real" mike while on a ride with a 70-year-old south of branson, missouri.)
my worst injury
john of dailymile said that today is the day we're all supposed to share our worst injury stories, so here is mine.
not too many years ago, the highway dept was repaving the highway through town. at the time i was often riding early in the morning with headlights while it was still dark. it was cooler then and the wind was less violent.
the lines had not yet been painted along the edges of the road and beside the hardened surface, the crews had dumped extra asphalt which was not compacted.
so one morning, riding at high speeds, i cut the corner from the highway onto my street. because i could not see the line between the hard and soft surfaces, my front wheel hit the loose asphalt and i went sliding. i slid clear across the street and hit the curb on the opposite side. my shoulder and knee were shredded. my bike was okay. all it lost was a front reflector. my derailleur was spared since it was on the top side during the slide.
i lay on the street for a few seconds. some nearby joggers asked if i was okay. i stood in response to their question, righted my bike and slowly rode home. a friend who was an EMT at the time saw the wounds a little later that morning and dressed them properly.
not too many years ago, the highway dept was repaving the highway through town. at the time i was often riding early in the morning with headlights while it was still dark. it was cooler then and the wind was less violent.
the lines had not yet been painted along the edges of the road and beside the hardened surface, the crews had dumped extra asphalt which was not compacted.
so one morning, riding at high speeds, i cut the corner from the highway onto my street. because i could not see the line between the hard and soft surfaces, my front wheel hit the loose asphalt and i went sliding. i slid clear across the street and hit the curb on the opposite side. my shoulder and knee were shredded. my bike was okay. all it lost was a front reflector. my derailleur was spared since it was on the top side during the slide.
i lay on the street for a few seconds. some nearby joggers asked if i was okay. i stood in response to their question, righted my bike and slowly rode home. a friend who was an EMT at the time saw the wounds a little later that morning and dressed them properly.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
the race to rose hill
the race to rose hill began for me just before 7:00am. the car was to begin the chase at 8:30am.
so i pushed it hard at first, riding into the slight northeasterly breeze. i was at 17.1mph by the time i was just three miles from town. my average climbed to 17.3 by five miles and then it started to drop. not sure my legs were completely recovered from the torture session i put them through yesterday. that and the wind conspired against a top notch effort.
so, did i beat the car to rose hill? no. did i win the race? well, sort of. i won and i lost. the car caught me before i got to rose hill, but not before i'd covered over 3/4 of the distance. i felt good about that considering the dull pain in my legs and lower back.
the ride could've been better...could've been worse. i'll take it! (40.93 miles @ 15.3mph)
so i pushed it hard at first, riding into the slight northeasterly breeze. i was at 17.1mph by the time i was just three miles from town. my average climbed to 17.3 by five miles and then it started to drop. not sure my legs were completely recovered from the torture session i put them through yesterday. that and the wind conspired against a top notch effort.
so, did i beat the car to rose hill? no. did i win the race? well, sort of. i won and i lost. the car caught me before i got to rose hill, but not before i'd covered over 3/4 of the distance. i felt good about that considering the dull pain in my legs and lower back.
the ride could've been better...could've been worse. i'll take it! (40.93 miles @ 15.3mph)
Friday, February 26, 2010
race day
saturday is race day. i am leaving home as soon as there's enough light to see by. over an hour and a half later, our car will leave and follow the same route i'm taking. my goal is to get to the final destination before the car catches me. the driver of said car will be cheating and driving 55-65mph, so we shall see.
not feeling it
bike ninja's student does not want to ride. he is just not feeling it. bike ninja advises him on what to do when there is no want to in the student's heart.
step anaerobics
yesterday after my ride i decided i had enough steady state miles under my legs to form a good base to build on. so today i began work on one of my weaknesses. despite my xtranormal video alter ego's overdeveloped bravado, i have a few things that have held me back in past group rides. the main problem: i cannot accelerate with the pack. those silly 20-year-olds leave me in the dust when they pick up the pace 7 or 8 miles into the ride and i'm left struggling in the wind alone.
so today i worked on sprinting in an anaerobic state. i left my driveway around 7:30 (thankful the predicted snow missed my neighborhood entirely) and took it easy for the first two miles of my ride. i wanted my legs to warm up before i began to torture them. at two miles out, i leaped out of the saddle and sprinted for a quarter mile. i sat back down and spun for the same distance. then i was out of the saddle and sprinting again. this time i pushed it hard for a half mile. that done, i rested for a half mile. i continued on up the ladder. three quarter mile sprint. three quarter mile rest. one mile sprint. one mile rest. then i started down. i was back down by the time i reached mile ten. from there i rode an easy one and a half miles and turned around.
at mile thirteen i started over. same ladder. it was easier this time since the wind was at my back rather than in my face. i was able to push it up over 30mph several times and maintain almost 20mph during rest periods. when i got back to the bottom of this ladder, i did repeat quarter mile steps until i got back to town. that added up to four extra sprints.
i ended my ride an hour and a half after i started it. i had just under 25 miles under my belt. i averaged 16.6mph. i am now 1,000 miles ahead of last year's mileage. on february 26, 2009, i had only ridden 188.62 miles. today i am at 1189.66 miles. that many miles last year was august 3. (24.96 miles @ 16.6mph)
so today i worked on sprinting in an anaerobic state. i left my driveway around 7:30 (thankful the predicted snow missed my neighborhood entirely) and took it easy for the first two miles of my ride. i wanted my legs to warm up before i began to torture them. at two miles out, i leaped out of the saddle and sprinted for a quarter mile. i sat back down and spun for the same distance. then i was out of the saddle and sprinting again. this time i pushed it hard for a half mile. that done, i rested for a half mile. i continued on up the ladder. three quarter mile sprint. three quarter mile rest. one mile sprint. one mile rest. then i started down. i was back down by the time i reached mile ten. from there i rode an easy one and a half miles and turned around.
at mile thirteen i started over. same ladder. it was easier this time since the wind was at my back rather than in my face. i was able to push it up over 30mph several times and maintain almost 20mph during rest periods. when i got back to the bottom of this ladder, i did repeat quarter mile steps until i got back to town. that added up to four extra sprints.
i ended my ride an hour and a half after i started it. i had just under 25 miles under my belt. i averaged 16.6mph. i am now 1,000 miles ahead of last year's mileage. on february 26, 2009, i had only ridden 188.62 miles. today i am at 1189.66 miles. that many miles last year was august 3. (24.96 miles @ 16.6mph)
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