Man...just when I thought the season was over and I could go into "weight-loss" mode (euphamism for slowing it down), the Superdrome sucked me back in :)
Rode in the "Dollar night" and "Festival of speed" events this weekend. Shall we say I have not been doing high RPM and sprint training in quite some time. My results showed it. I'm quite sure I got last in my group on Dollar night...and got 8th out of 10 or 11 on Saturday night.
But!
Both were fun and I got to watch a junior I am coaching improve. Results were the same as the previous week, but he rode smarter and stronger.
Even worse, the 'drome will be running a fall "endurance series" all the way through the end of November.
So my season is now 11 months long :)
Side note: the aging cyclist hits 40 tomorrow. Rub a bald head or pot belly for me, wouldja?
Cyclist to pray for: Stephen W. and family
DallasBikr
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Well, shoot.
I've been looking forward to an event for a year now...the 12 hour race at the Texas Time Trials in Cleburne, TX. I was hoping to be able to best my personal record of 156 miles in 12 hours which I set long ago in a different (thinner/younger) body.
Last Friday's ride proved to me that there was no way I was going to be able to hit 160 miles in 12 hours, since I can't even do 2 hours without low back pain. So I dropped my expectations to doing the 6 hour event and justified that the logistics were much easier this way.
Looking at the entry form this morning, reality set in. $95 entry fee, plus a $20 late fee = $115.00 for a self-supported century. Too much. If it was supported, maybe. But I can essentially do the same thing by doing a 20 mile loop starting and ending at my house...free. Without having to drive 90 minutes to get there.
Understand this is no knock on the promoter...they have every right to charge what they want and I respect that. My job is to decide if I am willing to pay it.
Nope.
So...on the flip side, I will go do 2 track races that weekend for Texas Cup points and have a good time. I may decide to do the "local 6 hour" this weekend, just to say I did it.
Aging Cyclist lesson: None of us are as young as we once were, and we have to be relistic in our goals.
Cyclist to pray for: Gabby (she just got her first new MTB)
DB
Last Friday's ride proved to me that there was no way I was going to be able to hit 160 miles in 12 hours, since I can't even do 2 hours without low back pain. So I dropped my expectations to doing the 6 hour event and justified that the logistics were much easier this way.
Looking at the entry form this morning, reality set in. $95 entry fee, plus a $20 late fee = $115.00 for a self-supported century. Too much. If it was supported, maybe. But I can essentially do the same thing by doing a 20 mile loop starting and ending at my house...free. Without having to drive 90 minutes to get there.
Understand this is no knock on the promoter...they have every right to charge what they want and I respect that. My job is to decide if I am willing to pay it.
Nope.
So...on the flip side, I will go do 2 track races that weekend for Texas Cup points and have a good time. I may decide to do the "local 6 hour" this weekend, just to say I did it.
Aging Cyclist lesson: None of us are as young as we once were, and we have to be relistic in our goals.
Cyclist to pray for: Gabby (she just got her first new MTB)
DB
Monday, September 8, 2008
Ahhh....life.....
Hazards of being responsible :)
I was hoping to get in a 6 hour ride this Saturday, doing various 20 mile loops startnig and ending at my house, which would have left me no more than 10 miles from my house at any given time. This was for two reasons: Refueling, and I was on call.
A side note about my job: I am an escalation engineer in the IT world, and am on-call every third week for 7 days, 24 hours. Then off-call for the next 2 weeks. If a "Severity A" call comes in, I have 30 minutes to be in front of a computer. "Sev B" I have 4 hours. 99% of the time, this is not a problem as Sev A calls are rare.
So Saturday I'm on my first loop, really just getting good and warm on an out and back. Went out 12 miles and turned around. 4 miles later, the phone rings and I actually hear it! Missed the actual call but dialed up the office to find out I've been hit by the 1% of the time something serious has blown up. So...back to the house. Got there in exactly 30 minutes.
An hour and a half later, problem solved so I head back out to go try to salvage some of the ride. Of course I'm completely cooled down and momentum is shot but I need the miles. Head down the road to do a 15 mile out and back (different from the previous one) that I generally do as a time trial effort. I get all the way to the far end and the phone rings again. Call the office and get voice mail. Nobody is willing to claim having called me, one dude won't even do me the coutesy of asking the guy next to him, and nobody left voice mail or sent an email. Crud. Back to the house.
Get to the house and there are two more calls I didn't hear. This time they actually left VM, and it is something I could put off a few hours. But my ride is toast.
Got in 40 miles, 2 customer issues and lots of frustration. No more calls the rest of the day.
Didn't even bother to ride Sunday.
Aging cyclist lesson: Sometimes the job gets in the way of training, but the job pays the bills and that's part of the game until you get that "Master's pro" contract ;)
Cyclist to pray for: Stephen W.
DB
I was hoping to get in a 6 hour ride this Saturday, doing various 20 mile loops startnig and ending at my house, which would have left me no more than 10 miles from my house at any given time. This was for two reasons: Refueling, and I was on call.
A side note about my job: I am an escalation engineer in the IT world, and am on-call every third week for 7 days, 24 hours. Then off-call for the next 2 weeks. If a "Severity A" call comes in, I have 30 minutes to be in front of a computer. "Sev B" I have 4 hours. 99% of the time, this is not a problem as Sev A calls are rare.
So Saturday I'm on my first loop, really just getting good and warm on an out and back. Went out 12 miles and turned around. 4 miles later, the phone rings and I actually hear it! Missed the actual call but dialed up the office to find out I've been hit by the 1% of the time something serious has blown up. So...back to the house. Got there in exactly 30 minutes.
An hour and a half later, problem solved so I head back out to go try to salvage some of the ride. Of course I'm completely cooled down and momentum is shot but I need the miles. Head down the road to do a 15 mile out and back (different from the previous one) that I generally do as a time trial effort. I get all the way to the far end and the phone rings again. Call the office and get voice mail. Nobody is willing to claim having called me, one dude won't even do me the coutesy of asking the guy next to him, and nobody left voice mail or sent an email. Crud. Back to the house.
Get to the house and there are two more calls I didn't hear. This time they actually left VM, and it is something I could put off a few hours. But my ride is toast.
Got in 40 miles, 2 customer issues and lots of frustration. No more calls the rest of the day.
Didn't even bother to ride Sunday.
Aging cyclist lesson: Sometimes the job gets in the way of training, but the job pays the bills and that's part of the game until you get that "Master's pro" contract ;)
Cyclist to pray for: Stephen W.
DB
Friday, September 5, 2008
How to feel young again....
...ride with a kid.
I spent an hour riding all over the neighborhood last night with a 12 year old and his 10 year old brother. We played follow the leader, slow race, drag race, etc.
More fun than I've had on a bike in years :)
Cyclist to pray for: Landon.
DB
I spent an hour riding all over the neighborhood last night with a 12 year old and his 10 year old brother. We played follow the leader, slow race, drag race, etc.
More fun than I've had on a bike in years :)
Cyclist to pray for: Landon.
DB
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