So is sounded like a great idea at the time. Ride 100 miles for a good cause and a way to make myself get into shape faster. So I signed up for the Fat Cyclist’s 100 miles of nowhere. Ride on a trainer or a small course for 100 miles. Then came spring break, followed by rain and general everyday business and somewhere along the way I forgot how important training for a century can be. Finally this week I googled “How to train for a century” and up popped a nice 10 week plan. Looked easy enough except that I only had 4 days before my ride. So this week I tapered. One ride of 20 miles followed by a couple laps of my proposed course to make sure it was still in good condition.
I have never been a much of a long distance rider, it is not that I don’t like long rides (I don’t) but they take a lot of time. I would rather ride 20 miles fast and typically do. My every day loop is a nice little loop near my house that I have a goal of working up to 22mph average. 22mph undrafted on a semi hilly course is fast. Maybe not for Lance Armstrong but it is fast for this 40 something year old body with stop signs and a couple of short wicked up hills to deal with.
To be honest I am not too worried about the fitness part, I am sure my legs will hold up I am used to suffering, I spent 3 months in the Wind River mountains when I was younger and survived without too much difficulty. I am worried about saddle sores and eating enough. I know, I know TMI. Hopefully my fancy new cycling shorts along with some of the goodies that the Fat Cyclist sent me will get me through without too much pain. The eating part will be interesting. I am used to parking on the couch and stuffing my face after a ride. Eating during the ride will be something new for my body.
Oh well, the day has come and it is time to get ready. I moved up a day after looking at the forecast, high 50º’s-60º’s and sunny looks much better than windy cold and thunderstorms forecasted for tomorrow. I invited an old friend that used to ride with me back in the day so I will have someone to suffer with. I think his training has been similar to mine. At least 20 years later we have nicer bikes.
If you aren’t doing anything today swing by and ride a couple laps with us or point and laugh. I am sure anything will be a welcome distraction.
I will post a followup later tonight or whenever I am capable of typing again.
Update We finished here is the map and with all the details.
So after an hour or so off the bike I am feeling better than I thought I would. I went faster than I thought I would be not as fast as I could have. I played it safe so that I didn’t bonk at mile X and not be able to finish the ride. The things hurt that I thought would but my muscles feel pretty good and were never really an issue. I am sure I will be a little tender in the seat area for a while I am sure.
The course and the weather were ideal. We had one stretch of the rectangle that was mostly flat with a little up hill that consistently had a pretty good headwind that switched from North to North West. But the temperature was nice. Cool enough that I never really broke a sweat and now have a nice tan.
I was hoping not to have any mechanical issues and by in large things were fine other than Andy’s left crank coming off at the 15 mile mark. Luckily it was a two minute fix and we were back off again. We got to know the area painters and lawn guys. Some asked how far we were going and others ignored us as they went about their business. We heard some good stories from people we know in the neighborhood about calls from cleaning ladies about strange guys riding by their house many times. 142 to be exact!
My wife Katie did a great job of occasionally stopping by to make sure we had plenty of water, a peanut butter sandwich or chocolate chip cookie. I was amused when she tried to give us two bananas in their peal inside a giant freezer bag. She quickly learned that simpler is better and didn’t cause too much drama during water bottle handoffs.
My kids were more excited about this ride than I was before the race but quickly lost interest after a couple tortoise and hare moves by us. I think they made it about 5 laps over an hour or so. They weren’t exactly they great domestiques I had hoped they would be but not a bad distraction at the 80 mile mark. Another little surprise at the 85 mile mark was a news crew (1 guy) sent to the scene at the request of my loving wife. Just what we wanted at that point in the ride. The joke was on her though since we were riding, she had to do the entire interview. Look for film at 11 on WNDU.
Here we are on the news “joined by other riders” (my kids)
More than halfway with a long way to go. Today was about small victories.
So yesterday I signed up for the Iceman Cometh Challenge. November 6th in Northern Michigan. The race starts in Kalkaska, Michigan and finishes twenty eight miles later at Timber in Traverse City, Michigan. The course consists primarily of dirt roads, two-tracks, abandoned railroad beds, and the world famous Vasa Nordic ski trail. It crosses only one paved road as it winds through the breathtaking terrain of the Pere Marquette State Forest. In 2009, Iceman attracted 4,586 competitive cyclists from 38 states.
Doesn’t that sound fun? I was intrigued by the race after getting back into cycling last summer and mountain biking last fall. After watching Lance Armstrong in the Tour de France and the Leadville 100 in Race Across the sky I was ready. I wasn’t quite ready for the Leadville 100, maybe in a couple years. But 28 miles is doable and should be fun. Hopefully the weather will cooperate. Last year it was in the 60’s while I was in Mexico freezing in cold rain with colder temperatures than northern Michigan at the time.
Training begins now. I went for my first real outside ride today. Apparently upgrading your bike with various parts and pieces throughout the winter and thinking about riding doesn’t keep you in shape? Who knew? Anyway I wanted to get out in colder temps to see if I had the right gear for the challenge. The gear was fine, I was not. Even with the addition of a new saddle, carbon bars, grips with bar ends and a fancy cycling computer I still had to pedal my bike. I guess I should have spent more time on the trainer and less time scouring eBay for new bike parts.
Actually the ride wasn’t that hard. I just went for a quick 10 mile loop consisting paved and dirt roads. The temp was in the 30’s but it was sunny and not very windy. I wanted to start out small and have something to use as a benchmark so I can track my progress. The computer tracks all kinds of things including my heart rate. This should be good to test my fitness level as spring and summer progress. I figure I will come up with a 20 and 30 mile loops later to better prepare for the Iceman. Today I rode my mountain bike, normally I would ride my road bike. 30 miles on the road bike is a piece of cake. I will need to get used to the mountain bike for that long. Normally the longest I go is about 14 miles which is two laps of Potato Creek single track mountain bike course. A good fitness challenge but completely different riding style than the IceMan. Usually the trail dictates my speed more than anything. Too fast and you hit a tree. During the Iceman most of the time I will be the limiting factor of my speed. More like road racing.
The bike worked great. Not sure about the new saddle though. It felt just fine at the start but not so much at the end and afterwards. Seems a little wide. Other than that and maybe some different tires I should be good to go equipment wise and I am not even running my new wheels yet.
Here is my info from my computer today. I will compare this with the same course in about a month and see if I have improved. Pretty slow to start but I haven’t really ridden since November so I am not too concerned yet.
The Bahati foundation is producing an entertainment documentary series preliminarily entitled Bahati: Out of Compton.
This project captures the essence of the human condition, said Endure spokesperson Matthew Hall. [Rahsaan] Bahati’s story is one of hope, compassion and excellence. We use cycling as a backdrop to tell [Rahsaan’s] story, and weave the excitement of the sport, the passion of the events and celebrity cache for tremendous impact on the community.
The Santos Tour Down Under signals the opening to the pro cycling season. A nice distraction from the cold and snow of the midwest. This is the first outing for Lance Armstrong’s new Team Radio Shack and they look pretty good so far. While not on par with the Tour de France or other high profile races it is a nice race to get to know your new team and stretch your legs a bit in preparation for the season ahead.
Need to get paid but the dude that owes you forgot to bring enough cash? No problem, you can just swipe his credit card and square up. Square is a startup that has created a slick system for completing the transaction described above. Take a look at this quick demo from Kevin Rose.
It maybe time to sell your Garmin stock! Here is a look a the upcoming (free with the right phone) Google navigation. It has some great features. One major problem is that it requires and cell connection and I am guessing a nice speedy 3G connection at that to work. That could be a problem in many areas of the U.S. Still looks cool and points to the future.
American cycling seems to be stronger than ever these days. Yesterday Garmin announced they are extending their sponsorship of Garmin Slipstream team. Columbia continues with one of the top teams in cycling the Team Columbia – HTC or HighRoad team and some guy named Lance has started a team with Radio Shack that will no doubt be a force in their first year.
I was hoping not to have any mechanical issues and by in large things were fine other than Andy’s left crank coming off at the 15 mile mark. Luckily it was a two minute fix and we were back off again. We got to know the area painters and lawn guys. Some asked how far we were going and others ignored us as they went about their business. We heard some good stories from people we know in the neighborhood about calls from cleaning ladies about strange guys riding by their house many times. 142 to be exact! 
More than halfway with a long way to go. Today was about small victories.
Done and done!
Nice tan