So, this is a new record for me. The amount of outdoor riding is better than the riding I have done in summer months in previous years. I am at 435 miles, with really only one more planned ride before the end of month. If I don't hit that mile marker, its ok, I have also been doing quality indoor spinning 1 or 2 times a week at the Buccellato training facilities and one easy 30 minute recovery spin at the gym (when I can). As long as I do not over do it, it looks as if my Barry Roubaix race will be a good one. March 5th the family and I will head back top Georgia for a week of hill training. After that I will have 2 weeks to get ready for the race. The plan this year is to include more Addison Oaks and Stony Creek riding. Yes, I have a plan, but getting a certain number of miles is not a major aspect of my plan. Having fun is the first item on the list.
My Strava stats: https://www.strava.com/athletes/594245
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Looking forward to looking forward.
2014 was a fun year, I discovered late in the season that I am capable of working harder while having fun. My 2014 Strava story. I was able to get in just over 4,800 miles! Looking forward to some good things, already in the right direction.
Monday, November 3, 2014
Thankful for good riding buddies this year.
I am not very good at keeping up with blogs, beause if I have even 2 people read these, they probably find these posts boring. But I wanted to mention that the few years I have been racing, I usually rode my bike by myself, and the intensity was usually very low. Group rides are fine, but its important that you don't allow yourself to be limited by the ride that the group is capable of doing. I have done group rides that were slow and long on days where I should have rode harder for a shorter distance. There were group rides that treated the ride as a stop and eat tour type ride. All group rides have their purpose, but its important you match up your rides with your specific needs and goals. I decided to do that this year, which is something I have never done before. The reasons for not doing many group rides before are many, maybe I was too slow for some group rides or I was too fast for others. Here is an example if what I did this year:
Tuesdays: TNT (Tuesday Night Taco) ride: 37.5+ miles with 2,000 feet of climbing. This ride started out moderate, but as the season progressed it would reach fast paces. Rides would include Joe Brzuchanski, Mike Simonson, Jason and Cameron Buccellato, and the pace would be as high as a 20 MPH average!
Wednesdays: Ice Ice Baby ride: 36-50 miles (depending on where one starts the ride). This ride doesn't start until sometime in at the end of September (I think) and goes until Iceman. It's like a mini-race and at times (on the CRT) scared the hell out of me. But good for an intense "pissing match", I managed to keep up with the "A-Group" on most rodes.
Thursdays: Thursday Nights @LOHS ride, just a slow first lap and an optional second lap. This ride can be useful as an interval ride, once the "No Drop" lap is done... I got in good rides with fast guys on this ride, but many more times the rides were slow. Thats ok, because not every ride can be a hammer-fest. I did manage to get in good ride with Christian Tanguy on a Thursday morning, he even insisted on a reverse lap. Other good riders that opted for a fast second lap were good guys like Alex and Greg Schultz, Justin Kreger and Kyle MacDermaid.
Saturdays/Sundays: Saturday Imlay City Taco ride, this can be anywhere from a 55 mile ride, to 85 miles. Depending on the group, the ride usually never got faster than a 16 MPH pace, but on the longer and warmer days, I would throw in a lap at LOHS or Addison Oaks to finish up the ride. Also included in this group is the Greg Kuhn Hammer rides. These rides include two track and single track with dirt roads. I always felt sore the evening following these rides. Yes I did a few other rides like Bob's Iceman training rides (one of these), and other George Inghram Epic rides and the O2 Exhale ride (awesome pace). I also did some rides with other riders, thanks to Jason Buccellato for riding with me on a few rides. One of these rides was so tough I almost puked when I got home. This could have been a combination of near dehydration and sheer power output with minimal rest.
...looking forward (after Iceman) are the WRCS rides, these are mostly paved road rides, I hope to continue these this year, with an occasional weeknight ride along with the Saturday/Sunday editions of the ride.
The whole point of this post is to point out the usefulness of group rides. I used these group rides to force myself to commit to either a distance for that day's ride, or a pace that alone I could not have achieved. As of this writing, I have in over 4,000 miles and looking to at least get in 4,500 miles before the end of the year.
What I learned this year was from conversations on the rides and the rides themselves. It sometimes makes sense to ride with other riders. I hope to do more of this next year.
Tuesdays: TNT (Tuesday Night Taco) ride: 37.5+ miles with 2,000 feet of climbing. This ride started out moderate, but as the season progressed it would reach fast paces. Rides would include Joe Brzuchanski, Mike Simonson, Jason and Cameron Buccellato, and the pace would be as high as a 20 MPH average!
Wednesdays: Ice Ice Baby ride: 36-50 miles (depending on where one starts the ride). This ride doesn't start until sometime in at the end of September (I think) and goes until Iceman. It's like a mini-race and at times (on the CRT) scared the hell out of me. But good for an intense "pissing match", I managed to keep up with the "A-Group" on most rodes.
Thursdays: Thursday Nights @LOHS ride, just a slow first lap and an optional second lap. This ride can be useful as an interval ride, once the "No Drop" lap is done... I got in good rides with fast guys on this ride, but many more times the rides were slow. Thats ok, because not every ride can be a hammer-fest. I did manage to get in good ride with Christian Tanguy on a Thursday morning, he even insisted on a reverse lap. Other good riders that opted for a fast second lap were good guys like Alex and Greg Schultz, Justin Kreger and Kyle MacDermaid.
Saturdays/Sundays: Saturday Imlay City Taco ride, this can be anywhere from a 55 mile ride, to 85 miles. Depending on the group, the ride usually never got faster than a 16 MPH pace, but on the longer and warmer days, I would throw in a lap at LOHS or Addison Oaks to finish up the ride. Also included in this group is the Greg Kuhn Hammer rides. These rides include two track and single track with dirt roads. I always felt sore the evening following these rides. Yes I did a few other rides like Bob's Iceman training rides (one of these), and other George Inghram Epic rides and the O2 Exhale ride (awesome pace). I also did some rides with other riders, thanks to Jason Buccellato for riding with me on a few rides. One of these rides was so tough I almost puked when I got home. This could have been a combination of near dehydration and sheer power output with minimal rest.
...looking forward (after Iceman) are the WRCS rides, these are mostly paved road rides, I hope to continue these this year, with an occasional weeknight ride along with the Saturday/Sunday editions of the ride.
The whole point of this post is to point out the usefulness of group rides. I used these group rides to force myself to commit to either a distance for that day's ride, or a pace that alone I could not have achieved. As of this writing, I have in over 4,000 miles and looking to at least get in 4,500 miles before the end of the year.
What I learned this year was from conversations on the rides and the rides themselves. It sometimes makes sense to ride with other riders. I hope to do more of this next year.
Thursday, July 17, 2014
I have my legs back!
Finally after a inactive & miserable winter, I think I have my legs back. I had a great TNT ride this past Tuesday and just improved my KOM time on the "Dragon Chase" segment at LOHS tonight!
Monday, March 24, 2014
I hope this late start to the season pays off this year...
Last year was a long and tiring season. It started right after the 2012 Iceman and end at the finish line of the December 8th, 2013 CX race at Addison Oaks. Then what followed is a first for me in 14 years. I got the Norovirus around the time of the Oakland County Wrestling Championships (so I missed this), then I got a very bad cold 3 weeks later and this lasted at least 10 days. After the cold cleared up I had a bad allergy / sinus issue. Then about a week ago my son and I were wrestling and I believe he either cracked one of my ribs or dislocated it. So riding has been low on the list of things to do. I am slowly starting to get back into the old schedule. I am including some running to help accelerate my fitness and recovery. I hope to get in a few rides out at Pontiac Lake Rec. Area trail this week. We will see but I am hoping to do the Pontiac Lake Time Trial and then have my son do the Beginner class race there.
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Monday, February 25, 2013
The Measure of a cyclist?
How to measure a workout is key, and its one of a few changes for me this year. There are a few metrics to consider when collecting data. According to Christian Tanguy there are 3 main points:
Workout Duration was something that I have recorded in the past 2 years, albeit in-directly. I say indirectly because I measured in miles, and not actual time which could be an indicator of intensity in known routes. workout intensity (& type), is a new data type that I will include, but hope to keep a consistent schedule. Every workout has to have a purpose. Weight? That's definitely new to me. I have been trying to keep the weight I lost in 2012 down, but this item Christian mentions confirms my suspicion that weight does matter. No not the weight of the bike, but weight of the rider. I used the weight of 2011 Iceman (178lbs.) as a baseline to work from in 2012. I knew I had to not only increase my strength but power-to-weight ratio improvement also had to come from losing body weight. I basically lowered my carbohydrate consumption on the non-training days and raised my protein consumption. I achieved a weight loss of 14 pounds by 2012 Iceman (164lbs.). I am currently at 165lbs. with regular weight training and running I am becoming a more efficient fat burning machine. So now as part of my regular training record keeping, I will keep track of my body weight for that workout, which could be useful in determining work-load.
Its almost time for Barry Roubaix 2013, so its time to step up the pace.
- Workout duration
- Workout intensity and type
- Weight **
Workout Duration was something that I have recorded in the past 2 years, albeit in-directly. I say indirectly because I measured in miles, and not actual time which could be an indicator of intensity in known routes. workout intensity (& type), is a new data type that I will include, but hope to keep a consistent schedule. Every workout has to have a purpose. Weight? That's definitely new to me. I have been trying to keep the weight I lost in 2012 down, but this item Christian mentions confirms my suspicion that weight does matter. No not the weight of the bike, but weight of the rider. I used the weight of 2011 Iceman (178lbs.) as a baseline to work from in 2012. I knew I had to not only increase my strength but power-to-weight ratio improvement also had to come from losing body weight. I basically lowered my carbohydrate consumption on the non-training days and raised my protein consumption. I achieved a weight loss of 14 pounds by 2012 Iceman (164lbs.). I am currently at 165lbs. with regular weight training and running I am becoming a more efficient fat burning machine. So now as part of my regular training record keeping, I will keep track of my body weight for that workout, which could be useful in determining work-load.
Its almost time for Barry Roubaix 2013, so its time to step up the pace.
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