Got my lazy ass out of bed this morning at 5:00 AM and went for a ride. It was 48 degrees. About perfect for me. A beautiful clear, crisp sky with a full moon rising through the morning fog. Perfect. Makes me wonder why and the heck I don't do this everyday!
Happy training
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Sunday, September 23, 2007
I just got my ass handed to me!
Last night Tammy and I had her coworkers over for the fire pit and it was a blast. What fun people! Of course, now that Fat Tire is in Iowa I had a couple of helpings of the 22 oz bottles. Then, I met a few of my past coworkers at a sports bar in Des Moines for lunch today. Another few glasses of the good stuff went down. Then, I met up with Cory and Alex for a couple of laps at 7 Oaks. Ouch! I just don't have the horsepower to ride out there with a single speed. I love it, but for me it is just too much work to go fast. I am nearly always grinding away when I am naturally a spinner. My lap times are seriously about 15 minutes slower for the same effort I am putting in compared to my geared bike. I think if I had another couple of cogs on the back I think that it would be better as I am just hardly ever getting over the top of the gear. Of course, I am loving the Flight and I like the work out of the single speed, but it is tough. I am nearly maxing out my heart rate if I go for broke on some of the climbs. Hopefully my horse power problem will change, but with the little riding I have been doing it isn't going to change unless my training changes.
Work is going fantastic though. %^)
Work is going fantastic though. %^)
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Priorities and Discipline
I have been riding about an hour a night, but still feel out of shape. I need to get my ass to bed earlier so I can get up early to start riding during the early morning. After going through some old pictures of the from 2004 when I was in the shape of my life I have found that I need to get back at it. I am only 7-8 lbs and some conditioning away, but from this vantage point it looks like a 1000 miles.
Rant off.
Rant off.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Not much going on.
Work and volleyball. That pretty much is my life now. Tammy and I are both busy putting in long hours and we also go to all of my freshman daughter's volleyball games. Her team is not doing well, but Paula is doing great. We are very proud of her. She is having a tough season with all of their losses, but she will make it through.
I still have been biking for at least an hour every day. I ordered an 18 tooth cog, but now wish I would have gotten a 17. I think an 18 will be too easy as well. I guess I will play with it a bit and see how it goes. I am spinning quite a bit at 12 mph on the pavement and to go 12-14 I really have been spinning. That is with a 20 tooth. That just isn't much fun.
On October 6th I am organizing another scholarship fundraiser at my school. We are having a pancake breakfast from 8-11 and there is also a 5K run at 9:00 am.
I still have been biking for at least an hour every day. I ordered an 18 tooth cog, but now wish I would have gotten a 17. I think an 18 will be too easy as well. I guess I will play with it a bit and see how it goes. I am spinning quite a bit at 12 mph on the pavement and to go 12-14 I really have been spinning. That is with a 20 tooth. That just isn't much fun.
On October 6th I am organizing another scholarship fundraiser at my school. We are having a pancake breakfast from 8-11 and there is also a 5K run at 9:00 am.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
smooth
This past week has been a good one. School has gotten off to a great start. Things are flowing well. I have made some changes in how I do a few things at work this year and all is well. This summer I took a stress management class and I learned a great deal about how I stress myself out with certain things to the point that I put them off and that just stresses me out more. What I needed to do was learn a new system of doing what I was putting off so that it was more effective. Walla. Things are much better so far. Anyway....
This past week I have been getting in a good hours worth of riding each night. I am loving the single speed Flight, but I had to order an 18 tooth cog. The 20 tooth makes me spin just too much and I can already do that. I need something that can push me a bit more. Paddy's probably wondering why I still have that 32 tooth ring up front and not a 42!. I do need my knees!
A big shout out to my alma mater University of Northern Iowa for dominating Iowa State University this weekend! I had the luxury of going to the game! Luckily I wasn't pounded out back by an angry Cyclone fan!
Tammy and I cleaned the garage and the basement this weekend! While it wasn't that much fun it was nice working with Tammy (slave driver) and having our house back to being as clean as my wife's standards! Jim and Jerry... you would be impressed that my garage actually looks like a garage should!
I am sure you know, but you should definitely be checking out Trans Iowa V.4! I am sure it will be another brutal sufferfest to be had come April. I know I will be there!
This past week I have been getting in a good hours worth of riding each night. I am loving the single speed Flight, but I had to order an 18 tooth cog. The 20 tooth makes me spin just too much and I can already do that. I need something that can push me a bit more. Paddy's probably wondering why I still have that 32 tooth ring up front and not a 42!. I do need my knees!
A big shout out to my alma mater University of Northern Iowa for dominating Iowa State University this weekend! I had the luxury of going to the game! Luckily I wasn't pounded out back by an angry Cyclone fan!
Tammy and I cleaned the garage and the basement this weekend! While it wasn't that much fun it was nice working with Tammy (slave driver) and having our house back to being as clean as my wife's standards! Jim and Jerry... you would be impressed that my garage actually looks like a garage should!
I am sure you know, but you should definitely be checking out Trans Iowa V.4! I am sure it will be another brutal sufferfest to be had come April. I know I will be there!
Sunday, September 2, 2007
12 hours of Iowa report
I just couldn't wait any longer. I drove down to Des Moines and picked up the Flight around 8 pm Friday night. I rode around town a bit and felt like everything was dialed in at least a bit. Jim McGuire, Jerry Boran and I met up with Matt, Cory, Emily, and Nick at the Grove Cafe for a great breakfast. Within an hour we were setting up our gear. Jim announced that he had to be in Minneapolis by 1:00 pm on Sunday so he probably save my liver from some damage as I brought far more beverages than I really needed!
We started out at noon with the goal of having fun. I wanted McGuire to come down to ride this course as he had never rode it before. You see, on our climbing adventures it was always Jim that had a nice 5.4 short cut to the 5.6 route we had planned on climbing. Of course the 5.4 short cut was always unroped. So, I wanted to give Jim a good spanking and I think he got it! %^)
My first lap was around 1:03 with about 5 minutes on the sidelines tighting up my slider bolts. The pace was nice and comfortable, but a few of the hills were a bit tough for my VERY OUT OF SHAPE body. I took a 7 minute break and was back at it. My next lap went okay, but I was feeling the heat. It was pretty warm out I thought. I then took a break with Cory and friends and ate a bit. I was in no hurry. I went out for another lap and this lap actually was feeling a bit better. Took another break and chilled. I was pretty sore and feeling the single speed. Took off for another lap and was actually feeling pretty good as the temps were going down. Took another break and this time I almost fell asleep. Finally pulled myself up cramping and grunting in pain (my back was killing me and I was cramping like crazy! Serves my lazy ass right!) Off for my 5th lap and felt pretty good. Things were really flowing. It wasn't fast at 1:07, but I was feeling better. Things were getting dark at this point and I was pooped. I decided to call it a night as Jim wasn't even feeling up for driving home. Jerry was doing great! This was his second mountain bike race ever and he did a superb job!
So, I finished 5 laps in just over 7 hours. I was probably off the bike for a hour and 20 to an hour and 30 or so. If I had actually been in shape I think I may have done 8-9 laps in the 12 hours, but that certainly doesn't mean shit.
The Monocog Flight 29er ruled. I actually felt like I was riding a real bike. I did miss the suspension at times, but over all it rolled over things very nicely. The major difference I felt with the 29er was that it just kept on moving. My 26er would have died on many of the little inclines at Seven Oaks, but the Flight just kept on rolling. It was amazing. I am SO happy I got it.
Matt and I are already working out some plans for making it a great Trans Iowa machine.
Now, if getting a new bike doesn't get my out the door in the morning nothing will!
I want to say Congrats to Squirrel for his win at the 24 Hours of Iowa. I had the luxury of meeting Squirrel last March when he came up for a ride. What a great guy. He certainly deserved the win! Congrats again brother!
We started out at noon with the goal of having fun. I wanted McGuire to come down to ride this course as he had never rode it before. You see, on our climbing adventures it was always Jim that had a nice 5.4 short cut to the 5.6 route we had planned on climbing. Of course the 5.4 short cut was always unroped. So, I wanted to give Jim a good spanking and I think he got it! %^)
My first lap was around 1:03 with about 5 minutes on the sidelines tighting up my slider bolts. The pace was nice and comfortable, but a few of the hills were a bit tough for my VERY OUT OF SHAPE body. I took a 7 minute break and was back at it. My next lap went okay, but I was feeling the heat. It was pretty warm out I thought. I then took a break with Cory and friends and ate a bit. I was in no hurry. I went out for another lap and this lap actually was feeling a bit better. Took another break and chilled. I was pretty sore and feeling the single speed. Took off for another lap and was actually feeling pretty good as the temps were going down. Took another break and this time I almost fell asleep. Finally pulled myself up cramping and grunting in pain (my back was killing me and I was cramping like crazy! Serves my lazy ass right!) Off for my 5th lap and felt pretty good. Things were really flowing. It wasn't fast at 1:07, but I was feeling better. Things were getting dark at this point and I was pooped. I decided to call it a night as Jim wasn't even feeling up for driving home. Jerry was doing great! This was his second mountain bike race ever and he did a superb job!
So, I finished 5 laps in just over 7 hours. I was probably off the bike for a hour and 20 to an hour and 30 or so. If I had actually been in shape I think I may have done 8-9 laps in the 12 hours, but that certainly doesn't mean shit.
The Monocog Flight 29er ruled. I actually felt like I was riding a real bike. I did miss the suspension at times, but over all it rolled over things very nicely. The major difference I felt with the 29er was that it just kept on moving. My 26er would have died on many of the little inclines at Seven Oaks, but the Flight just kept on rolling. It was amazing. I am SO happy I got it.
Matt and I are already working out some plans for making it a great Trans Iowa machine.
Now, if getting a new bike doesn't get my out the door in the morning nothing will!
I want to say Congrats to Squirrel for his win at the 24 Hours of Iowa. I had the luxury of meeting Squirrel last March when he came up for a ride. What a great guy. He certainly deserved the win! Congrats again brother!
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