188 pounds....
At least I broke that 190 pound barrier again. I will be working on my diet again the rest of this week. The key things are eating good foods and not eating way late into the night.
Yesterday was a good workout day. I did about 3 hours on the tandem solo. I know, you're thinking, yeah, so what. The tandem weighs in at about 42 pounds. The other thing is that it has a new Brooks B17 saddle on it. I rode out in the Holy Hill area so I did some climbing, just what the legs needed. It was also hot and humid, so that I get ready for RAGBRAI. The new saddle didn't kill me too bad, but I can tell that it's new compared to the one that is on my Roubaix. Probably the funnest part of the ride is some of the looks that you get when you are solo on a tandem. People do double takes.
Off to work and riding later with Barb on the tandem. I got her a new iPod Shuffle so that she can listen to music while on the back.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Monday, June 25, 2007
Oink, Oink
190 pounds....
I am a pig and I am feeling it. Hopefully I can get this eating back under control and at least get back to under 185. This week will be an interesting one.
I did get out and ride this morning. I put about 2 hours in and rode up Hillzilla. The big hill in our area. It kicked me pretty hard and I was able to make it through though. I thought my head was gonna explode for a bit, but it didn't. It did hurt like hell though. He's the Cycling Peaks from the Power Tap data.
Otherwise things are well. The NASCAR races this past weekend were good. Hopefully will have a picture of my Dad and brother from the Victory Club soon.
I am a pig and I am feeling it. Hopefully I can get this eating back under control and at least get back to under 185. This week will be an interesting one.
I did get out and ride this morning. I put about 2 hours in and rode up Hillzilla. The big hill in our area. It kicked me pretty hard and I was able to make it through though. I thought my head was gonna explode for a bit, but it didn't. It did hurt like hell though. He's the Cycling Peaks from the Power Tap data.
Otherwise things are well. The NASCAR races this past weekend were good. Hopefully will have a picture of my Dad and brother from the Victory Club soon.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Getting the Lead Out
184 pounds....
Down some, good eating habits help in that area. I'm also wondering if I was holding a bunch of water after this past weekend and doing the Liquid Endurance load for the HHHs (Horribly Hilly Hundreds).
I did get down to the bike shop on Tuesday and Alan checked out my rim, tubes and tire. He put new rim tape on and replaced the tire and a tube. Overall, once again they were very nice and worked with me on this.
I'm also getting a rear rack ordered up for the tandem. And a Yakima tandem bike rack has been put on hold for me down at the bike shop here in Brookfield.
Yesterday morning I ran 3 miles in under 35 minutes. Which is pretty good for me. I did this before work. Then after work, Barb and I put in about an hour and 30 minutes on the tandem. We are getting better on our starts and stops, but we still have some communication issues. Hopefully we will be able to work through those.
Today I got out and did some bike riding with Dave before my massage. Here is what the ride looks like in Cycling Peaks.
Overall, not a bad ride. My legs were heavy and sore, but that was to be expected. I tried to keep up with Dave as best as I could. He climbs much faster that I. So I have a tendency to be in catch up mode quite often. There were times though, I stayed with him and I think that took him by surprise.
The massage afterwards was well needed. My quads are sore to the touch so I guess they will be getting stronger. What's the old saying, No pain, No gain. If that's the case, I should be gaining a ton.
Well off to finish up the day. This weekend is the NASCAR weekend at the Milwaukee Mile. Tim and Vinnie are heading down for the races so that should be fun and interesting.
Down some, good eating habits help in that area. I'm also wondering if I was holding a bunch of water after this past weekend and doing the Liquid Endurance load for the HHHs (Horribly Hilly Hundreds).
I did get down to the bike shop on Tuesday and Alan checked out my rim, tubes and tire. He put new rim tape on and replaced the tire and a tube. Overall, once again they were very nice and worked with me on this.
I'm also getting a rear rack ordered up for the tandem. And a Yakima tandem bike rack has been put on hold for me down at the bike shop here in Brookfield.
Yesterday morning I ran 3 miles in under 35 minutes. Which is pretty good for me. I did this before work. Then after work, Barb and I put in about an hour and 30 minutes on the tandem. We are getting better on our starts and stops, but we still have some communication issues. Hopefully we will be able to work through those.
Today I got out and did some bike riding with Dave before my massage. Here is what the ride looks like in Cycling Peaks.
Overall, not a bad ride. My legs were heavy and sore, but that was to be expected. I tried to keep up with Dave as best as I could. He climbs much faster that I. So I have a tendency to be in catch up mode quite often. There were times though, I stayed with him and I think that took him by surprise.
The massage afterwards was well needed. My quads are sore to the touch so I guess they will be getting stronger. What's the old saying, No pain, No gain. If that's the case, I should be gaining a ton.
Well off to finish up the day. This weekend is the NASCAR weekend at the Milwaukee Mile. Tim and Vinnie are heading down for the races so that should be fun and interesting.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Horribly Hilly Hundreds Recap
187 pounds....
I must stop the sugar train that I am on or I will have worked to lose all this weight for nothing. Time to get off the train and back on the wagon.
The Horribly Hilly Hundreds were this past Saturday in Blue Mounds. I was able to convince Barb to let me stay over Friday night in Mount Horeb. Which worked out well, the place was a dive, but it was nice to be able to get up at 5:00am, get ready, pack the gear and drive over to the park. At this point I was feeling good. All prepped up and ready to go. I grab the bike off the car and start putting things together. I get to the point to air up the tires and I finally notice that the rear tire is flat. shit.... I hit it with the air pump and nothing. crap.... a fucking flat. No problem, I tear it all apart and think I find the hole. Check the rim and tire and find nothing. Replace the tube and put things back together with no problems. I ride down to the start, still all prepped and ready to go. But at this point, I only have 1 tube left. No problem, the rear has been fixed. So nothing to worry about.
Stage 1: 7:00am comes and off we go. I'm starting in the middle so as not to be a problem. The start is great, no issues. The first major climb comes, a 3 mile grind and that pretty much thins out the group. All I know is that it is a long climb and things hurt all over. But I'm still in it. This is the type of stuff that we ride through for the next 25 miles until the first rest stop. 45mph downhills with twisting, bending roads. It was really nice. The first downhill was touch and go because of the people around me. Too much brake being used by everyone. Once I got around them and out in the open, off to the fast descents I went. 15 miles or so in, John calls on the cell phone. While going to answer it, I didn't notice that my Brooks saddle cover goes off into the wind when I opened the Bento Box. Needless to say, I was kicking myself later on this. The first rest stop has water, food, the usual stuff. All I was after was water since I was on a Hammer Perpetuem/Sustained Energy fueling strategy for the entire ride with Hammer Supplements on the top of every hour. Overall I was still feeling pretty good at this point.
Stage 2: The next section added in more grade. I was still moving along pretty well. Some of the hills were requiring me to climb out of the saddle since they were steeper than my body wanted to do sitting down. Getting up, out of the saddle really let me know how hard I had been working my legs so far. The first up and out hurt pretty bad but I was able to work through it. The second and third time, was just just plain nasty. I hit the water stop to stretch and make sure I have enough water since the temps are in the high 80's. Before I know it, I'm at the next water stop which is just up the road from the second rest stop. I stop and top off my water and stretch some.
Stage 3: I blow through the rest stop since I don't really need anything there. At this point we are about 3 hours in. I ride up to the next road to go down and go straight instead of turning. I was confused about the last minute detour that the route would be taking due to construction. After riding about 2 miles and coming up on a road that shouldn't yet be on the route, I dig out the map and see that I should have turned back there when I didn't. crap.... I turn around and start heading back. I notice the ride isn't quite right and sure enough, I have a flat back tire. So I tear it all apart and think that I have found the hole in the tube again and still can't see anything on the rim or tire. Maybe next time I'll bring my glasses too. The last tube goes in and away I go. Guess what, the next stage has hills on it, too. The next out of the saddle hills really sucked. Hurt like hell, but I didn't give up and was able to climb them and not have to walk them like some riders were. There was a section of gravel on one of the roads that I gladly walked since my legs and back needed the stretch. I was able to do the dreaded long climb into Barneville and then guess what, the rear tire was flat again. So at that point, I decided to call it a day. As my father would say, I came in on the hook. The SAG guy came and picked me up and hauled me back to my car. He was really surprised to see that I had a Brooks saddle instead of one of those gel ones. I told him that I had tried many different gel ones and I ended up on a Brooks. So while in the SAG wagon I crossed the finish line at 5 hours, 32 minutes.
I'm not sure if I could have made the final 2 monster climbs or not. The 3 mile climb that we started out with was coming back up and then the final monster into the park that is probably the steepest climb of the day. I guess I will have to go back on another day and do this ride again and prove to myself that I can do it.
After packing things up and changing clothes, I enjoyed the food that they had for us. Also talked with some people that I met along the way. Even a mountain biker or two that was there. I guess I could always try this ride on my Epic to see how it would climb those big ones.
Here is what the Cycling Peaks of the HHH ride looked like.
I must stop the sugar train that I am on or I will have worked to lose all this weight for nothing. Time to get off the train and back on the wagon.
The Horribly Hilly Hundreds were this past Saturday in Blue Mounds. I was able to convince Barb to let me stay over Friday night in Mount Horeb. Which worked out well, the place was a dive, but it was nice to be able to get up at 5:00am, get ready, pack the gear and drive over to the park. At this point I was feeling good. All prepped up and ready to go. I grab the bike off the car and start putting things together. I get to the point to air up the tires and I finally notice that the rear tire is flat. shit.... I hit it with the air pump and nothing. crap.... a fucking flat. No problem, I tear it all apart and think I find the hole. Check the rim and tire and find nothing. Replace the tube and put things back together with no problems. I ride down to the start, still all prepped and ready to go. But at this point, I only have 1 tube left. No problem, the rear has been fixed. So nothing to worry about.
Stage 1: 7:00am comes and off we go. I'm starting in the middle so as not to be a problem. The start is great, no issues. The first major climb comes, a 3 mile grind and that pretty much thins out the group. All I know is that it is a long climb and things hurt all over. But I'm still in it. This is the type of stuff that we ride through for the next 25 miles until the first rest stop. 45mph downhills with twisting, bending roads. It was really nice. The first downhill was touch and go because of the people around me. Too much brake being used by everyone. Once I got around them and out in the open, off to the fast descents I went. 15 miles or so in, John calls on the cell phone. While going to answer it, I didn't notice that my Brooks saddle cover goes off into the wind when I opened the Bento Box. Needless to say, I was kicking myself later on this. The first rest stop has water, food, the usual stuff. All I was after was water since I was on a Hammer Perpetuem/Sustained Energy fueling strategy for the entire ride with Hammer Supplements on the top of every hour. Overall I was still feeling pretty good at this point.
Stage 2: The next section added in more grade. I was still moving along pretty well. Some of the hills were requiring me to climb out of the saddle since they were steeper than my body wanted to do sitting down. Getting up, out of the saddle really let me know how hard I had been working my legs so far. The first up and out hurt pretty bad but I was able to work through it. The second and third time, was just just plain nasty. I hit the water stop to stretch and make sure I have enough water since the temps are in the high 80's. Before I know it, I'm at the next water stop which is just up the road from the second rest stop. I stop and top off my water and stretch some.
Stage 3: I blow through the rest stop since I don't really need anything there. At this point we are about 3 hours in. I ride up to the next road to go down and go straight instead of turning. I was confused about the last minute detour that the route would be taking due to construction. After riding about 2 miles and coming up on a road that shouldn't yet be on the route, I dig out the map and see that I should have turned back there when I didn't. crap.... I turn around and start heading back. I notice the ride isn't quite right and sure enough, I have a flat back tire. So I tear it all apart and think that I have found the hole in the tube again and still can't see anything on the rim or tire. Maybe next time I'll bring my glasses too. The last tube goes in and away I go. Guess what, the next stage has hills on it, too. The next out of the saddle hills really sucked. Hurt like hell, but I didn't give up and was able to climb them and not have to walk them like some riders were. There was a section of gravel on one of the roads that I gladly walked since my legs and back needed the stretch. I was able to do the dreaded long climb into Barneville and then guess what, the rear tire was flat again. So at that point, I decided to call it a day. As my father would say, I came in on the hook. The SAG guy came and picked me up and hauled me back to my car. He was really surprised to see that I had a Brooks saddle instead of one of those gel ones. I told him that I had tried many different gel ones and I ended up on a Brooks. So while in the SAG wagon I crossed the finish line at 5 hours, 32 minutes.
I'm not sure if I could have made the final 2 monster climbs or not. The 3 mile climb that we started out with was coming back up and then the final monster into the park that is probably the steepest climb of the day. I guess I will have to go back on another day and do this ride again and prove to myself that I can do it.
After packing things up and changing clothes, I enjoyed the food that they had for us. Also talked with some people that I met along the way. Even a mountain biker or two that was there. I guess I could always try this ride on my Epic to see how it would climb those big ones.
Here is what the Cycling Peaks of the HHH ride looked like.
I worked on all the tubes when I got home and I have found that they all have a hole in about the same spot. So after inspecting the rim and the tire, I think I have a tire problem. There is a blemish on the inside of the tire that might have been the culprit. I will take everything down to the bike shop tomorrow and ask Alan to take a look at things and get his opinion.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Horribly Hilly Hundreds Tomorrow
186 pounds....
I have been preloading with Liquid Endurance and have gained a pound or two. Hopefully that means I will be ready for tomorrow's ride through the hills.
Things have been busy and I haven't posted much lately. I need to tell you all about the past couple of weeks races and rides. Hopefully I can get that all done this weekend and following week.
Later......
I have been preloading with Liquid Endurance and have gained a pound or two. Hopefully that means I will be ready for tomorrow's ride through the hills.
Things have been busy and I haven't posted much lately. I need to tell you all about the past couple of weeks races and rides. Hopefully I can get that all done this weekend and following week.
Later......
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Quick Recap of Some Things
185 pounds....
My weight has stabilized some. I have been working on getting my diet back under control. Sugar and caffeine are my enemies since once I get them I keep on wanting them.
Let's do some quick talking about the WORS race.
This was Barb's first race so we were all packing things up to get going. In my haste, I forgot the spare wheel set with the mud tires on. This proved to be an issue since the weather wasn't looking well. I figured out my mistake about halfway there. Since it was only Saturday, we turned around and went back for them. This proved to be a very smart idea. It added a ton of time to getting to Nine Mile to preride, but I was thanking myself on Sunday. The bad thing about this was that Barb missed the preride for the Beginners. Which I was really hoping she was going to be able to do so that she felt more at ease with the course and race. She did get a lap in on Saturday and so did I. The course had a lot of fire roads and ski trails. Some single track, but not really too bad. There were some climbs that would be challenging, but overall I found it fun.
My weight has stabilized some. I have been working on getting my diet back under control. Sugar and caffeine are my enemies since once I get them I keep on wanting them.
Let's do some quick talking about the WORS race.
This was Barb's first race so we were all packing things up to get going. In my haste, I forgot the spare wheel set with the mud tires on. This proved to be an issue since the weather wasn't looking well. I figured out my mistake about halfway there. Since it was only Saturday, we turned around and went back for them. This proved to be a very smart idea. It added a ton of time to getting to Nine Mile to preride, but I was thanking myself on Sunday. The bad thing about this was that Barb missed the preride for the Beginners. Which I was really hoping she was going to be able to do so that she felt more at ease with the course and race. She did get a lap in on Saturday and so did I. The course had a lot of fire roads and ski trails. Some single track, but not really too bad. There were some climbs that would be challenging, but overall I found it fun.
Friday, June 8, 2007
Life after WORS Marathon #1
185 pounds....
Food, food, food and more food. If I keep eating like this, I will be back to where I was at Christmas time. Yuck.
Sorry for not updating this week, been busy with things.
We did survive the mudfest at Wausau. I will post more this weekend on that.
Otherwise life is good at this point.
I thought I would just let you know we are all alive and well.
More later....
Food, food, food and more food. If I keep eating like this, I will be back to where I was at Christmas time. Yuck.
Sorry for not updating this week, been busy with things.
We did survive the mudfest at Wausau. I will post more this weekend on that.
Otherwise life is good at this point.
I thought I would just let you know we are all alive and well.
More later....
Friday, June 1, 2007
Getting Ready for WORS Marathon Race #1 - Wausau
183 pounds....
This week has been so, so food wise. Been eating too much ice cream and not staying away from things that I shouldn't eat.
Yesterday was a day that won't be forgotten for some time. The Neon tried to commit suicide. The number 4 spark plug disintegrated, leaving only the metal core in the head. The car had been running rough the past couple of days and yesterday morning it started running really bad. The check engine light was blinking on and off and the car was not running real well. After my massage with Dave, I was just getting on to the freeway and all of a sudden something popped under the hood and smoke came out. The car sounded light a Farmall tractor. I quickly got the car off the road and shut things down. First off it sounded like maybe the timing belt was breaking, but luckily it wasn't that. I opened the hood to the find the spark plug wire popped out of the valve cover and steam rising out where it should have been. Not a good thing. I called AAA and got the car towed to the shop I always go to. They replaced the spark plug and wire and it fired right back up. What a surprise. Since they had the car, they did some other checking on the computer codes and did a tune up. Lucky for me it wasn't major or I'd be in a money pain cave right now.
This week I have been doing the Peak In Season Week and things have been going well so far. The race is on Sunday and think I'm as ready as I ever will be. We will be packing things up tonight and tomorrow morning. We hopefully will be to the course by 1pm Saturday afternoon so that I can do a preride lap. Barb will be doing the Beginners Preride at 3pm so that will help her out a ton.
I finally used my Mr. Clean car wash system last night. But not on my car, but on my bike. It worked really well and the bike came out pretty clean. I should have thought of using soap and water to clean it much sooner. It is much easier than trying to spray it all down with cleaner and then wipe it off. The only down side to water is the rust factor. Not a problem though if you lube things and keep an eye out.
Other things this week. I did hit up a regular Doctor about my neck and pinched nerve. X-Rays were taken and you can easily see the vertebrae that is out of place and the area that is pinching my nerve. His recommendation is to take 1 Aleve, twice a day for about a week. So far that has been helping out quite a bit. The subtle pain in my hand and arm has pretty much vanished. And I visited the Chiropractor yesterday and it seemed he got a better crack out of me which could be related to the Aleve.
Barb did the beginners ride this week at Hoyt Park. It is nice to see her excited about riding. The group there took very good care of her and taught her many things about riding. It seems it is easier for her to learn from someone other than me. That might be because I was never taught how to ride mountain bike, I just got on and went riding. Bubba and Coop took care of her and helped her through her falls and such. Hopefully this will become a weekly thing for her.
This week has been so, so food wise. Been eating too much ice cream and not staying away from things that I shouldn't eat.
Yesterday was a day that won't be forgotten for some time. The Neon tried to commit suicide. The number 4 spark plug disintegrated, leaving only the metal core in the head. The car had been running rough the past couple of days and yesterday morning it started running really bad. The check engine light was blinking on and off and the car was not running real well. After my massage with Dave, I was just getting on to the freeway and all of a sudden something popped under the hood and smoke came out. The car sounded light a Farmall tractor. I quickly got the car off the road and shut things down. First off it sounded like maybe the timing belt was breaking, but luckily it wasn't that. I opened the hood to the find the spark plug wire popped out of the valve cover and steam rising out where it should have been. Not a good thing. I called AAA and got the car towed to the shop I always go to. They replaced the spark plug and wire and it fired right back up. What a surprise. Since they had the car, they did some other checking on the computer codes and did a tune up. Lucky for me it wasn't major or I'd be in a money pain cave right now.
This week I have been doing the Peak In Season Week and things have been going well so far. The race is on Sunday and think I'm as ready as I ever will be. We will be packing things up tonight and tomorrow morning. We hopefully will be to the course by 1pm Saturday afternoon so that I can do a preride lap. Barb will be doing the Beginners Preride at 3pm so that will help her out a ton.
I finally used my Mr. Clean car wash system last night. But not on my car, but on my bike. It worked really well and the bike came out pretty clean. I should have thought of using soap and water to clean it much sooner. It is much easier than trying to spray it all down with cleaner and then wipe it off. The only down side to water is the rust factor. Not a problem though if you lube things and keep an eye out.
Other things this week. I did hit up a regular Doctor about my neck and pinched nerve. X-Rays were taken and you can easily see the vertebrae that is out of place and the area that is pinching my nerve. His recommendation is to take 1 Aleve, twice a day for about a week. So far that has been helping out quite a bit. The subtle pain in my hand and arm has pretty much vanished. And I visited the Chiropractor yesterday and it seemed he got a better crack out of me which could be related to the Aleve.
Barb did the beginners ride this week at Hoyt Park. It is nice to see her excited about riding. The group there took very good care of her and taught her many things about riding. It seems it is easier for her to learn from someone other than me. That might be because I was never taught how to ride mountain bike, I just got on and went riding. Bubba and Coop took care of her and helped her through her falls and such. Hopefully this will become a weekly thing for her.
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