Van Dies - But Cycling Lives...

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Is my Van Dead?

3:30 PM - Rode cycled for 33 miles with Marc today. We started out in the van toward the Factory Road Bike Path to ride to Xenia and back, but the van stalled and died at a traffic light. I turned the key and nothing happened. So there we were, stuck at a two lane busy intersection like a couple of doofs. I called Doreen who got there pretty quick. Then we called the cops so they knew we were blocking traffic, then AAA to get a tow. The police came, and it was a good friend of mine who I just drank beer with last weekend. He parked his cruiser behind my van and we just shoot the breeze until the tow truck got there. We took it down the street about 2 miles to a garage and dumped the thing off in the parking lot. I've loved that van. We've had it since 1993, and it's showing its age with rust and all. We were just talking the other day about selling it and getting a more fuel efficient vehical. Guess this may be a sign.

Well, once we dropped the van off, we took the bikes out and proceeded to cycle 33 miles in town and country. Man was it windy today (18 mph) so we had to work when heading into the wind.

Getting Stronger - Sleep Helps

June 23, 2008 Monday

Englewood 22 mile Course...

7:45 AM – Road Biked 22 miles (1 hr 15 min; 75 minutes)

I can tell better sleep sure helped with how I felt in my ride tonight. I cycled my Englewood Reserve course tonight, and although I endured some southwesterly wind (about 8-10 mph), I managed an overall 17.7 mph average. But I was going 19-20 mph on the way home. I’m getting stronger on the climbs though, which was dropping me pretty hard in the beginnings of my comeback. I’m still staying in my smaller chainring for 90% of my rides. Until I can get better quad strength, that’s not a bad thing. Today was one of my better rides with less fatigue.

Sleep: 7

Recovery Day

June 22, 2008 Sunday

Walking Can be Good...

Hiked 4.5 miles (90 minutes)

Took today to recover and went on two separate walks of 2+ miles each, both with Doreen. It doesn’t hurt to have Toto here ‘cause Doreen wants to walk more. I had a tough weekend in regard to eating. We went to Gary Doll’s 40th birthday party at Frickers where the beer and food were pretty obtainable, but I survived it. I’m down to 178.5 and it shot me up ½ a pound, but I’ll get it back this week. I’d like to hit 177.5 by week’s end. Got some sleep last night. That’s always a good thing.

Sleep: 9

Detours Suck!

No "triple" Today

June 21, 2008 Saturday

11:45 AM – Road Biked 30 miles (1 hr 53 min; 113 minutes) and Ran 2.1 miles (20 minutes)
Total: 32 miles (2 hr 13 minutes; 133 minutes)

My goal was to pull a “triple” today, but had to settle for double. What’s a triple? It’s when I go out and accomplish three aerobic events (can’t count lifting weights) back to back. Anyway, my goal was to pull off a run – cycle – kayak. I got through the run and cycle, but ditched the kayak ‘cause I was wasted at the end of the cycle. I think the mountain bike and lack of hydrating from yesterday evening hurt me a little. It could be that I only got 4 hours sleep last night too. I still feel good about what I accomplished today, but I hate not accomplishing what I set out to do. But I’ll give myself an “A” in the common sense category. Today’s stats – ran 20 minutes and cycled 30 miles…ditched the kayak.

On a final note, I WILL NOT be cycling on the Dayton portion of the bike path for awhile to come. There are so many detours around the bridge work going on down there, it’s ridiculous. I understand progress, but why do they need to close the path down in THREE locations? I’m done whining.

Sleep: 4

Headin' Into the Weekend

Single on the Singletrack…

Friday, June 20, 2008

08:00 PM – Mountain Biked 10 miles (58 minutes) and Ran 2.1 miles (20 minutes)

After a fairly normal work week (2 rather long days) I was able to bolt out of there on a Friday at 4:30 PM and head home. Doreen took off to Columbus with Linda to spend the evening with Bethany doin’ girl things and leaving me single for the night. I kicked back a few hours before loading up the mountain bike and heading to Huffman Trails. Hitting the trails at about 8 PM made for a little cooler evening. I did 10 miles on the various trails, but hit “Hawk’s Lair” for the first time, which is rather knobby (rocks) in the beginning portions and a good variety of turns, dips, bridges, and switchbacks. It’s challenging in terms of keeping and kind of speed, but good for technique. I had to stay in lower chain ring for most of the ride to keep a good balanced spin. I blew a couple spots when there was a tight turn and a quick up with rocks and roots. I hate it when I don’t anticipate correctly and have to pull out the foot out, sometimes even dismounting ‘cause I lost momentum. I found myself getting the shoe back in the clip while moving on the trail several times, which is not always an easy task.

After finishing up, I pulled the running shoes on and ran 2-miles completing a “brick” for the first time this year. It was a good start to the weekend; something I tend to look forward to now since it’s tough to get consistent workouts in every day of the week.

Sleep: 7.5

June 18, 2008 Wednesday

Running with Doreen…

06:30 PM – Ran for 5 miles (50 minutes) and Hiked 2 miles (27 minutes)

I got out and did a 5 mile run while Doreen rode the bike with me on the run. I did the 2 miles as a cool-down. I’ll take what I can get training wise and I needed the running miles to help me increase my cross-training goals.

Sleep: 7.5

June 17, 2008 - Tuesday

Tough to Train on 2 Hours Sleep

I’m finding I need two days a week when I need to put in work hours to keep up and free up time to get out and train. Those days are usually Tuesdays and Thursdays. Unfortunately that means little to no training on those two day/evenings. That’s okay though if I can do 5 good days of training out of 7.

Sleep: 2

June 16, 2008 - Monday

Tired Legs – but ran anyway

06:30 PM – Ran for 4 miles (40 minutes) and Hiked 1.3 miles (26 minutes)

Sleep: 7.5 Pulse: 42 Weight: 179.5

I tipped the scales this morning at 179.5, which is the first time in about a year I’ve been below 180. That makes me losing 9 lbs so far with 16 more to go to meet my 25 lb goal. I’ve been at this about 5 weeks, so I feel pretty good about it and plan to keep going. I think to lowest I’ve been in quite some time is 178, so I’m looking forward to that 176.5 mark.


June 15, 2008 - Sunday

Homeward Bound #1

06:30 PM – Road Cycled for 31.75 miles (2 hr: 21 minutes)
Today’s Total: Road Cycled for 31.75 miles (2 hr: 21 minutes)

Had a pretty good day at Mom Grassle’s today. She’s been a stoic lady knowing this is the one year anniversary of Dad’s passing. We cooked out and watched a video of him from 10 years ago. Eric didn’t come ‘cause he was sick. We went out to play some cornhole, but Kelly’s tire was flat (nail), so we spent over an hour trying to get the spare down from the under-carriage rack, but it was STUCK. After a neighbor and me finally un-jammed it, we finally got it change. The stupid tire did come down on my head killing my glasses. No cornhole.

I rode about 7 miles with Doreen and Beth on the bike path toward Springfield (nice path) then took off toward home (24 miles) into a 10 mph headwind (bummer). It made me work though, which I need to get my legs stronger. I was really tired at the end, plus the fact I’m losing the weight. All in all, it was a pretty good day.


June 14, 2008 - Saturday

Ridin’ with Marc...

10:30 AM – Hiking 4 miles (1 hr: 25 min or 85 minutes)
04:30 PM – Road Cycled 35.75 (2 hr: 20 min or 140 minutes)
Today’s Total: Hike 4 mile and Cycled 25.75 miles (3 hr: 45 minutes or 225 minutes)

Marc stopped by about an hour before I was planning to go and do about 40 today. He’s borrowed a bike from his boss and is planning to ride a MS-150 weekend ride. I helped him change out his tire tubes and gave some tricks of the trade. He asked me about riding and I agreed to go out and do 15-20 with him then finish up the rest on my own.

We started from home and got on the bike path and did the normal path to Ross/Canal Road, but instead of going all the way to Tipp, we turned left on ---, headed back to Hyde and worked our way back to the path. I warned Marc of the downhill, which I have named Adam’s Hill due to infamous crash there, and he did with caution. I could tell he enjoyed it. The pace was comfortable ending in about 15 mph.

As Marc turned to home at the Rip Rapp parking lot, I continued to Dayton and stayed on the newer section of the path. It’s nice, but as usual, the path ended abruptly at a construction area. So I had to wiggle my way on side streets to Dixie, Keowee, and Webster Streets to the path again. I jumped on it and made my way to Eastwood Park then home via Quail Hollow. That was a climber through there. I was definitely tired at the end of the day. Doreen and I cooked some steak out and enjoyed an outdoor fire with some Bailey’s Cream and guitar. Smooth.

Johnny's New Bike

Went to Columbus to meet up with Bethany & John at Dick's Sporting Goods. John bought a new bike. It's an entry level mountain bike "Diamond" with spin shift and level 2 Shimano gearing. He'll have fun on it doing some basic trails and pavement. I'll have to encourage him to go to JB or Huffman to turn him on to some single track.

Mud Dobber, Huffman Trails, & Chinese Chain Challenge

June 9, 2008 - Monday

The Chinese Chain Trick

06:30 PM – Road Cycled for 22.75 miles (85 minutes)
Today’s Total: Cycled 22.75 miles (1 hr 25 minutes or 85 minutes)

Took off from home in 90 degree heat and hit the Rip Rap bike path south to Needmore Road. In that little section I came up on two guys and I split down between them only to see it was Mark and Matt! I looked back and yelled and they responded with a little surprised look. I mean, here I am at 52 cruising along as I normally do. I don’t think they realize that the ole’ man can still crank it. That nourished my ego a little even though I wasn’t trying to impress anyone.

I took a left to head to Eastwood Park and my chain jumped the chain ring and got really screwed up. I had to dismount and work with it to get it untangled. I thought I was going to have to call Doreen and abort the ride ‘cause it was really a mess. It reminded me of one of those Chinese puzzles. I got it undone, and to this moment, I really don’t know how I did it. My hands were a mess so I was glad I had on black shorts.

Once my hands were fairly wiped off, I mounted and continued, soon to be hit with a half mile climb to the old Meijer store. I cruised from there somewhat cautious of the cars. The road was fairly busy with little to no birm to escape the idiots.

I was battling a head wind of about 12-15 mph so my mph was around 17.3 (not shabby). I got a little frustrated because of all the stop lights that took forever to go green! I finally got to Eastwood and jumped on the Mad River Bike Path and headed to Dayton. Did some goofy turn around at Riverscape and crossed the bridge (not sure – maybe Webster Street) and got back on the path on the opposite side of the river. I had to dismount at the construction zone under I-75, which was another delay and rhythm killer. Then the wind picked up and a cool front came through with no wind. The temperature dropped about 15 degrees and it shifted coming from the SW to NW. Of course, that’s now the direction I was heading home in! It really made me work because along with the long climb on Needmore toward Rex Hill and my legs beginning to fatigue, my mph really slowed down. I really didn’t care though since I wasn’t time trialing or anything. It was a good ride considering a few of the obstacle I had to confront.

June 8, 2008 - Sunday

Huffman Mountain Bike Trails No Longer a Mystery

10:30 AM – Mountain Trail Cycled for about 7.5 mile (47 minutes)
05:00 PM – Walked with Doreen 1.5 miles (30 minutes)
Today’s Total: Cycled 7.5 miles; Hiked 1.5 miles (1 hr 17 minutes or 77 minutes)

Well, at least two of the six trails are no longer mysteries. This was my first visit to the trails, which is somewhat embarrassing. I mean, they are only a twelve minute drive from home! It was about 10:30 AM when I started with the both temperature and humidity high for this early June day (91 degrees). The trails were greasy with the rain from yesterday. I rode my ole’ faithful Raleigh since my Trek Y5 is sitting on the rack at home with two flat tires. I have to admit, the 20 year old Raleigh always seems to come through. I’ve lost some knob tread, so I was sliding a bit here and there, but managed it okay. I could tell I was a little trail rusty ‘cause there was no way I wanted to go much faster than 6-8 mph. In fact, I have no clue my speed or distance since I had on cyclometer (go figure).

I did the “Creekside Trail” first. It was a pleasant trail with rolling terrain, but I wouldn’t say hills. I kept it my middle chain ring form most of the ride and stayed in the saddle quite easily. I nailed the course in about 22 minutes or so and decided to go back out and do the “Twisted Trail”. I got a little frustrated when my feet came out of the clips and I had a hard time getting them back in with all the ups and turns. I finally had to just stop and hold a tree to insert them again. The mud caking in the clips and shoes didn’t help much.

I finished both trails in about 47 minutes, which was pretty slow, but again, I was exploring a lot today and the reduced speed helped me survive the heat and humidity (I was dripping) as well as the unknown territory.

I’m looking forward to doing the other four trails, which are the “Voodoo,” “Upper/Lower Stealth,” “Mr. Zig Zag,” and “Hawk’s Lair.”

June 7, 2008 - Saturday

Beat Thunderstorms but Not the Mud

08:30 AM – Ran 4 miles & Hiked 1; Total 5 miles (60 minutes)
05:00 PM – Road Cycled 18.5 in 18.1 mph then recovery cycled 6.5 miles @ 8 mph (1 hr 45 min)
Today’s Total: Run 4; Cycle 25; 1 Hike (2 hr 47 minutes or 167 minutes)

After one hell of a week at work, I finally got outdoors today. Unfortunately, when I dragged myself out of bed the TV was announcing huge thunderstorms on the way. Turning down a 10 AM ride by Dave who emailed me earlier, I decided to forget riding and laced up the running shoes and headed to the NE trail at Taylorsville. I didn’t waste time stretching, but hit the trail running to get as much in before the rain hit. The upper trail, furthest from the Great Miami River was wet, but the footing was okay.

Things were soon to change as I got closer to the river at about the 3 mile mark. We’ve had a lot of rain the last week and the river was swollen and moving along quite fast. I could tell it had been over the trail recently and the trail was literally one to two inches of mud. With the river to my right and thick woods to my left, I had no choice but to keep running (or sloshing) forward. I bit it once going down and sliding when the trail sloped and I began slipping toward the river just a foot from the trail. I figured it was better to avoid getting sucked into the flow. That made the adrenaline flow and I spewed out several swear words in my frustration to regain my footing.

Unfortunately, when you cuss in the woods, God still hears it. But He had to be having a good time laughing at me up there using nature for His own sense of humor. I found a creek flowing rapidly out of a ravine and forded it for about half a mile just to get further from the river. I came out on a trail heading north/south so I took it south knowing it would run along the river. I was doing fine until that stupid trail took me right back toward the river and mud after about a half mile of running. I finally found a second creek and did another creek run similar to the last and eventually got the hell out of there! I wasn’t expecting much on this workout today, but ended up having a rather fun adventure for about 5 miles. But hey…it didn’t even rain on me. I beat the thunderstorms, but not the mud. Today, it won.

Later in the day, I took off from home and rode to Tipp City at a good clip. Hills are still a challenge with the legs getting an early burn and breathing is obscene, but certainly better than a couple of weeks ago. I did my best mile per hour average at 18.1 mph. It’s more humid today, so had my biggest sweat in awhile. Although I did hydrate during the ride, I could have done better with two water bottles versus one. I cooled down with a 6.5 mile cycle with Doreen on the bike path. My legs needed that. I’m done for the day. Getting pizza tonight, but skipping the beer to keep the calories down.