New comparison photos

These are super late – Taken on November 24…sorry for the delay!

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Since December 2

It’s been a little bit since I’ve posted, so I thought I might do a good summary post to ensure my loyal readers that I am not deceased.

Rule of V’s

First things first, I’ve been reviving my lost connection with the sport…no, not sport…life of cycling. If you’re a cyclist, you know. If you’re not a cyclist, why are you here? If it’s to see someone else transform their life, fine. But go do your own transformation. We are all on this planet to improve ourselves to see the most perfect version of what we believe is our true self.

Some people buy into capitalism and seek the almighty dollar. Others seek spirituality thru God, Allah, Christ, Krishna, Buddha and the likes as a means to become more perfect. There’s everything in between as well; family, friends, cars, computers, gaming, sports.

But I’ve learned something profound about myself over the last week. I’ve learned that I seek perfection thru V. No, not V for Vendetta; not the female you-know-what; not the letter. V as the Velominati would keep it. V is the Roman numeral for 5. Rule 5 – Harden the fuck up. VV or Rule 10 – It never gets easier, you just go faster.

Crappy iPhone shot of “The Way of the Cycling Disciple: The Rules” Click on the pic to buy – trust me, it won’t disappoint!

 

As of late, I’ve been slacking. Once I completed the century, and even a bit before, I had been taking it easy on myself. And while easy rides have their place in a cyclist’s routine, they should never be the only element, nor the element that is most common. All it took was reading The Book once and my whole attitude has changed.

Too tired to ride after work? Cyclist’s work days don’t end at 5, they begin at V. Too cold out? Put on some warmers and make sure you get a headwind to start your ride. Rain? We welcome the new challenge that riding on slick tarmac brings.

This used to be my attitude back in college. I even got a dose when I began this blog. But for whatever reason, my V-Bank refused withdrawals. Now, it’s open for business.

Follow up?

All that being said – I feel like I need to explain my blog to those familiar with Merckx’s Disciples (no, that’s not Eddy Merckx above, but He definitely had moments like the one pictured in his career). I am here to catalog my road to fitness. I take pictures of myself and compare them to older ones, and do the same with data on my rides. This blog is in no way an attempt to brag about my comings and goings in cycling. I know I suck. I will not always suck tho. When it seems like I’m bragging or attempting to Talk It Up (Rule 81).

One side effect that I knew might come along with trying to be fit, is a cycling addiction. No, addiction isn’t the right word, that makes it sound negative. Let’s call it a cycling love affair (Rule #11 – Family does not come first. The bike does).

Rules As They Apply To This Blog

From now on, I will be posting on these rules for many reasons. First, they reinforce what I already know but sometimes need reminding about cycling. Some of the rules are completely hilarious to me. Nevertheless, I will explain them in some sort of way that pertains to my cycling. Be prepared for hilarity as well as some learning points.

What I’ve Been up to

I’m supposed to be writing about my experiences, and this is one of them, although I clearly didn’t say much about the book other than I read it. Suffice it to say, this book awakened the love affair I have with the sport. So, that’s what I’ve been doing – I’ve been having a love affair with my bike and cycling. Sick? Hell no. HTFU and get on yours.

2,000 miles!

I didn’t even realize it when it happened, but I passed 2,000 miles cycled since July 6!

Thanks for reading about it!

The Ride to Varn Park

Let me first say this: this ride was the most amazing thing I’ve done in a very long time. The route, my newly rebuilt rear wheel (who cares that the front wheel doesn’t match?), the distance, the breaks, and last but not least, my family in tow. The only thing it lacked was a worthy ending. I’ll get to that.

• Start time – 0730
• Temperature – 72ºF
• Humidity – 85%
• Winds – <5 mph

Where is my Mind?

Even the stoic Bambina looks on in anticipation!

 

The Pixies definitely rang thru my head at the start of this ride. What was I thinking? I rode 82 miles in a previous ride, but I was a wreck at the end of it. I had my doubts before but they were quickly snuffed out before the day arrived. Now, being in the saddle was a different story. The ride thru The Villages, all I could think of was my potential failure. 100 miles? No way.

In any case, I did actually keep my head straight at the start despite its betrayal. My wife helped me by creeping off to the side of my route as I passed by my parents’ neighborhood. All I can ever do is smile in her presence.

Onward!

As I exited the retirement compound, my mind and my body went into super-ride mode! I don’t know how it happened but I just had a rush of energy that would keep me going until my first break. Highway 42 is an amazing road to ride, mostly due to it’s abundant foliage and resulting shade. By the time I hit this road, the temperature had already risen, but the humidity was staying strong, so the shade was most welcome. The heat kept rising, but it was still bearable. But, I could feel that it would make itself a force to deal with soon. Then, the family came!

I don’t think there’s anything better than seeing your wife’s vehicle covered in shoe polish-written words of encouragement. After seeing this, I couldn’t help but feel better about this ride. Energy wave #2!

Smiling at my wife’s car.

 

As I pulled into my first break at mile 37, I was feeling great. My pace was above what I had expected to maintain, but I felt much better than expected. Not tired one bit. The constant nibbling on Cliff Bars, a Cliff gel every 45 mins to 1 hour along with a Salt Stick pill helped immensely. So, I enjoyed a refreshing 15 minute break with my wife and my mom, who came along for the ride.

The next portion of the ride would be all uncharted territory for me (on a bike). But, the Ocala National Forest proved to be everything I hoped for in the end. There were nice, clean shoulders to ride on, and very smooth asphalt the entire way thru.

Grumpy-Joel. Not really, just a bad picture. I was stoked at this point of the ride.

Near the exit of the Forest, I received a nice welcome to my long break at mile 60. Chairs, a small meal (PB sandwich and a banana), and cheers from the family! It was perfect timing too as my rear was starting to get sore. But, I took about 45 minutes here, mostly to allow time for the fuel to hit my body. Then, I headed out once again.

The damnedest thing happened too. I somewhat sensed that I might need some high sugar intake at some point in the near future, so I asked my wife to buy some Coke. Do I drink it?

It wasn’t Part of the Plan!

The East portion of Ocala National Forest is pretty amazing. It’s a different kind of Forest than I’m used to (which consist mostly of pine and aspen trees). There’s broad-leaved trees everywhere…and armadillos. In any case, the other thing it is, is flat and straight. So, I basically zoned out for quite some time, aided by the numbering system spray-painted on the shoulder (I counted from 460 to 783). This was bad. By zoning out I had neglected my nourishment and forgotten to drink and nibble on a Cliff Bar 4 or 5 times as well as forgotten a Salt Stick pill and gel. So, my sugars dropped pretty heavily right around mile 85.

Coke! It does a hypoglycemic body good!

Ashamed, I drank some Coke. There’s nothing like pure sugar to get your sugars back up to normal. It was a well-needed boost and the rest of the Eastbound route flew by.

I could tell the coast was coming by the increasing cars in Ormond Beach, but it seemed like an eternity before the big bridge to the barrier islands came.  This climb was enormous for Florida standards (it’s a draw bridge that allows very large ships under it). Unfortunately, I didn’t record it, but oh well. It was a great climb, and considering how tired I felt before it, I flew up it and came down a more healthy, energized man.

Take a Coast up the Coast – The A1A

There’s something amazing about the ocean. Just seeing it made all my fatigue go away. From here on out, it was one hell of a ride. The ocean on my right, my steed below me and nothing but the sound of waves crashing onto the beaches in my ears – that and the 20 mph side-wind.

Despite the winds, the A1A was such a great stretch of road to be on. But, as you can see to the left, clouds were rolling in and the much anticipated torrential downpour of rain was steamrolling its way to the east coast. I was so into the scenery and the fact that I was at mile 90, that I didn’t even realize how little space on which I was riding.

I also didn’t notice how rough the A1A is either. Not until I tried to take a bite to eat and almost dropped my food! I tried several things to get out of the funks that now became apparent to me. First, I slowed the pace, then tried to go to the walking path on the other side (which turned out to be more windy and bumpier). It seemed that I would end on a more difficult note. It still wouldn’t be a bad note, right?

Into Each Life, Some Rain Must Fall

And fall it did. It started slow, slow enough for me to keep going. At mile 98, I felt the urge to scream at the sky for ruining the end to a perfect century ride. Maybe the sky heard me…the rain kept falling, but didn’t really get bad. Mile 99…still going, still semi-blind from the water on my glasses. Mile 100! Get me into a car!

My wife had kept on stopping throughout the ride every 10 miles or so, just to make sure I was still alive, I suppose. She had stopped to take some pictures right around mile 90, when the rain started to make its presence known. So, I figured it wouldn’t be long now.

Well, the universe just worked enough for me that day. Now it was done. Mile 101, the winds picked up and the rain started falling harder. Mile 102, harder. Mile 103, lightning. Mile 104, torrential downpour.

I immediately stopped and frantically tried to use my phone to dial my wife, who was waiting about 2 miles up the road at Varn Park. Turns out, iPhones don’t recognize your freezing, wet hands in the rain. So I’ll try voice activation. All the noise from the wind and rain make it impossible for the phone to recognize anything I say.

Until, I finally get a call from her. We figure out where I am, and she came to pick me up. Ride’s over. I’m sopping wet and freezing cold. The only thing I can think of is how much awesomeness I missed out by actually ending my ride where I planned to do so – Varn Park, with my wife, dog, mom and dad waiting for me.

I guess you can’t have everything, right?

The worst ending that doesn’t involve injury. Sopping wet and freezing cold. Still, there’s a smile on my face for a reason.

104.5+ miles in one ride. So much fun!

Turns out my wife had banners made up and streamers to throw in my face as well as silly-string to cover me with. What a woman I married – almost as excited as I was to finish.

Summarization

I know it’s not a word. Neither is stategery, but a president used that word.

I’m starting to really feel like a cyclist these days. All I talk about is cycling (and some video games), all I do is cycling (and play some video games) and all I can think about is cycling. This ride was sort of a testament to that fact. I can’t go a couple minutes without thinking about getting on my bike and it’s starting to show in my rides. Not only is my stamina a hell of a lot better than it was 4 months ago, but my enjoyment level is thru the roof. This ride was no exception. Completing it is the most incredible thing I’ve done…ever.

 

 

 

 

 

 

First group ride in a loooooong time

Santos Group

I got invited to ride with a small group of people from Santos Bike Shop last weekend. It was a great experience, but man do I need some practice.

It was 42ºF when I arrived at the shop. Not just cold, but biting cold because of the humidity. But, with all the warm gear I had, I was determined to finally ride in a group, especially after being snubbed by The Villages group. All of these guys were very welcoming right off the start. I had only talked to one of the guys a couple times before, so this was a relief. After some jokes about ebola, we set off!

Oops!

The ride wasn’t difficult on a physical level at all mostly because I never had to pull the group. Three of us would be riding a century within 2 days and another had been off the bike for a couple weeks and was sick to boot. As a result, the route was fairly flat and the pace was moderate.

For the most part, I think I did OK. I did play a small part in dropping the sick guy early on (I felt awful about this). I allowed a small gap in front of me and didn’t correct it quickly enough so it became a large gap (the pace had picked up and I wasn’t prepared). So, our sick compatriot wasn’t in the condition to correct the big gap like I was. Being new again, I wasn’t in the mindset to check back to make sure we hadn’t dropped anyone, so he fell back quite a bit before anyone noticed. Luckily we did notice and we caught him back up.

Still, I felt bad and it was difficult for me to express my apologies adequately to a new group of guys. He was pretty frustrated with me (and the rest to a lesser extent), but later in the ride we talked about it and quickly made amends. I’ll come back to him later.

The rest of the ride went well, but I must say dropping our sick guy was a rude awakening to how out of it I was. For the rest of the ride, I was somewhat paranoid about leaving gaps and probably caused some headaches with my braking and my silent rear hub.

At the end I got my first real taste of the sprinting skills of some of the guys. I wasn’t really prepared for it, but I took off anyway. It was an uphill sprint, so I was definitely at a disadvantage there as my hills suck at this time. But, it was good to get out of the saddle with the others. The guy who ended in front was also the guy who had pulled a good portion of the ride, so that was interesting.

The group is a good group of guys who were more than accepting of my faults, for which I am very grateful. In the end, I was invited back to future rides and I definitely plan on going again once I get another Saturday off.

Back to the Shop

We ended up back at the shop at the end of the ride. Chris, the owner, and I had talked previously about the centuries we’d both be going on in the next 2 days. What started out as a simple question from him turned into a very long discussion with him and the sick guy, Jamie.

“So, what are you taking for nourishment?” These guys knew their stuff. Each had a very different take on what’s best. Chris aims for gels and electrolyte mixes, Jamie goes for foods, bars and Salt Sticks.

Having never ridden 100 miles in one sitting, I didn’t know what I’d need. But talking with both these guys set me up for success. I tried out some new things on the century ride, which I’ll discuss in my next post. But, these guys certainly helped me complete the century, for sure. For that, thanks a million, guys!

Back in the saddle, for real?

This was the final step toward truly getting back in the saddle. Before it had just been boredom and a need for weight loss. After this ride, I felt like I was a cyclist again. And it feels great!

Thanks again to the Santos crew for inviting me. I look forward to contributing in any way I can in future rides!

Some updates on the century ride…

I updated the century page with more of the logistics. Click to visit the page!

Jitters

As I wrote 2 ‘how to’s’ on the century, I think I’ll be adding a third – dealing with the jitters.

5 days to go…

I’m starting to get excited and nervous. I keep on saying things along the lines of, “I can’t believe I couldn’t ride 5 miles at once only 4 months ago.” The excitement of completing my my first century is starting to hit me.

Looking back to my metric century, I was nervous, but I sort of knew I would make it. However, I was naive as to what would result emotionally once I hit the 100 km mark. Having gone thru that ordeal, now I am feeling the intensity of the excitement rise, waiting for that high once I reach 100 miles.

Can’t wait!

Century ride – The logistics

So, your route is laid out. Now comes the pre-fun! Planning out your century logistically can make or break you when the day comes. So, here’s a few tips I’ve come up with to help you on your way.

hydration, hydration, hydration

Any cyclist can tell you, hydration is by far the most important part of endurance rides. Nothing else out there can make you hit the wall faster than the lack of water. So, it would behoove anyone to plan out how much water they should be drinking on a ride as long as this.

A quick note – water is by far the best hydrating liquid. However, each person may or may not need some extra harrumph in their chosen liquid. Depending on whom you talk with, energy drinks are a blessing and a curse. The blessing comes in the form of newly (and quickly) found energy for your legs. The curse comes from the fact that the energy comes from mostly sugar. Why is this bad? Sugar and water are buds. The more sugar you intake, the more water your body will need (on top of regular fluid replacement). So, be careful with those energy drinks. If all you’re looking for are electrolyte replacements, they make those without sugar and might be a better alternative to energy drinks.

Another quick note – caffeine is a substance that is highly argued over by some people in the athletic business. As a nurse, I can tell you one important fact about caffeine: it aids in your body’s ability to burn carbohydrates. Why am I bringing this up in the hydration topic? Carbohydrates (sugars), as I said before, are very buddy-buddy with water. It is, in fact, important to burn the carbs we no doubt will consume on our ride so that our bodies don’t need more fluid. Caffeine, therefore is something that I’m beginning to appreciate in my cycling meals. Coffee before the ride, caffeine additive in your gels/bars, anything…give it a shot, thank me later. I immediately noticed an improved energy level as well as diminished hydration needs once I started consuming caffeine during my rides.

So, now that I’ve cleared the air some, let’s really get down to business. You need water. Lots of it. I’m not going to split hairs about ounces or sips or what not. Your body will definitely let you know if it needs more water. Hopefully you’ve figured out where your hydration needs have been before you set out on a century. Again, each person will be different, but the same principle applies – you need to continually be taking in water throughout your ride. Century rides can take a long while. I am planning on mine being somewhere just under 6 hours. I’m expecting to drink a lot of water over those 6 hours.

A good rule of thumb – drink a bottle each hour. If it’s hot, drink more. If you’re working against a head wind, drink more. If you’re solo, drink more. If you notice your mouth is dry, drink more. The trick is spreading it out. I have a hard time with this when I’m really getting into my ride. So, I set a timer to vibrate my phone every 10 minutes to remind me to take a drink. Figure out a way to keep the water coming in steady. Fail to do so, and you could be hitting the wall very hard.

Foodstuffs

Food is a close second to water in importance. If you watched the Men’s Elite Championships, you probably remember seeing the pros munching on food even with less than 20 km to go in the race. Us amateurs are no different. In order to keep your energy levels up, food should be regularly consumed every 45 mins to 1 hour. Many different options are out there from energy bars to homemade recipes. For those of you who are lazy like me, I’ll get some Cliff Bars, granola bars (not the crap kind) and some energy gels. The occasional banana is a good thing to eat as well.

As with water, it’s important to not engorge all at once. It’s completely alright and recommended to take a nibble every half hour. On a century ride, it’s a must. Allowing your body to deplete its energy stores is a tough mistake to mend. So, remember to get a good mixture of foods with some carbs and small amounts of protein. If you’re not using electrolyte replacements in your water, remember to pay attention to those things in your diet and compensate as needed. As I mentioned before, caffeine may be something you want to look at as well.

Maintenance Needs

Any ride needs tools. For a century ride, you may want to double check your equipment to make sure you’ve got exactly what you need. Here’s a quick list of things you may want to bring along.

• enough storage to fit the food/water and the stuff listed below (under-saddle bags, jersey pockets, frame attachments)
• helmet
• gloves
• other clothing (depending on where you are, you may need arm/leg/head warmers and another set of gloves)
• tail light and charger cable (regardless of time of day, I always put my tail light on) – I use a chargeable battery to cut down on space/weight.
• 2 spare inner tubes (or at least 1 and a patch kit)
• 2-3 tire levers
• 1 hand pump
• 1 multi-tool
• long piece of duct tape (I wrap this around my hand pump – you’d be surprised what you can fix with duct tape)
• cell phone
• identification – in case of an emergency – always keep on you, not on the bike!
• credit card – for monetary emergencies

For those that can pull it off (yours truly), get someone to loosely follow you in a car if you’re solo. They can top off water bottles, hand you food, charge batteries, take your trash, etc. Thank the maker for spouses!

The Action Plan

Time of departure, speed and effort are some things to consider before the big day. Don’t expect to get your top average speed on this ride, and don’t plan on riding your current average speeds. This ride will take it out of you. But, it’s important to know exactly how to ride for your style. I’m a more slow at the start, burning legs in the middle and a slower burning legs at the end kind of guy. To each their own. Figure how to best utilize your style of cycling into the century. When are your energy levels highest? Will your food intake be better at a certain point of the ride? Think of these things before the ride and during to make sure your body can handle what your asking it to do.

Planning when and where to take your breaks as well as what to eat/drink during those breaks is a bit of guesswork if this is your first century (as it is mine). Again, don’t drown yourself with liquids or over-indulge on foods during breaks. Be smart when it comes to the breaks, stay loose and keep moving. Sitting down is fine, but don’t just stand up and hop back on the saddle right away. Long stretches and breathing exercises go a long way to better cycling. When you’re good and stretched, get going slow to warm up just like the beginning of another ride. Working too hard too quickly can quickly turn into anaerobic exercise and very sore legs.

The End to a wall of text

I tried to find video of this year’s Men’s Elite World Championships (eating on the road) so this wasn’t such a long wall of text, but alas, I could only find the last 10 km. These guys rode for over 6 hours and went a lot further than 100 miles. Someday… In any case, here it is:

Goals update

I’ve never taken the chance to use posts to update people on my goals progress so, here it is!

October 2014

The link above shows what kind of a month October was for me. Four of seven goals completed…yuck! In retrospect, the 150 miles/week goal is just too much now that my job is in full swing and I am absolutely unable to ride 3 days a week (13-18 hour shifts is a bitch). Still, 3 for 6 on my weekly distance goals wasn’t bad considering I had yet more work done on my bike and the new job. I’ll be cutting down the mileage goal for the upcoming months.

November 2014

125 miles/week, English century and a 19 mph weekly average. Should be pretty fun trying the last two. Remember the links above are in the Goals menu if you feel like keeping up with progress and such.

The English century ride I’ll be going on is featured here. That page will be updated with highlights and other goodies about the ride once it’s completed.

the future of goals

I’ve been trying to come up with a format for these goals that will continue to push me to improve. In all honesty, I think the goals I set will probably be setting me up to fail at the start (my first speed goal is 19 mph, and I’ve been only sometimes getting above 19 mph on my rides, whereas most of my rides are just above 18 mph). But, I think that failing these goals might be better for me than just making up some easy to obtain one (look back to August and September 2014).

Yes, I was able to pedal out 150 miles/week, but those were exceptional weeks aided by unexceptional work weeks. Now that the former is less likely due to the latter being extinct, it will be impossible to ride 150 miles/week until I get my speed up (making rides shorter) and my endurance increases (making longer rides possible). So, until possibly Spring, I’ll be keeping my distance goals around the 125 mark and looking to improve on speed and weight loss (hard to do since I have no scale).

It should be an interesting Winter. I’m fortunate to be in Florida, where I don’t have to worry myself with cold weather conditions too often and definitely don’t need to worry about snow. Here’s to a productive and eventful winter on the bike!

1,000 views!

I forgot to mention this last week – but I’ve reached 1,00o views!

Thanks for coming to read stuffs!