First ride with my summer riding partner

It's Sunday morning, the sun is up and the heat is starting to build for the day.  The forecast is only to hit 103, unlike the 113 we hit last week.  My riding partner is finally up and we are ready for a ride about 8:30.  Jacob and I head out to the garage to check the air in the tires and get ready for our first ride of the summer.

He feels his tires and declares them OK, but I know better.  I put on the pump and show him the gauge which reads about 18 lbs.  I ask him how much air they should have and he doesn't know.  I show him how to figure it out by reading the sidewall of the tire.  His require 35 PSI max.  We pump them up and then attend to mine.  Once we are all aired up we put on our helmets, open the garage door and head out for our ride.

The sun is warm, but not oppressive as we pedal west.  We stop a few houses up the street to adjust his seat as it was too low for him.  It seems he may have outgrown his 20 inch bike he just got at Christmas.

I show him the new wall on Quarterhorse where the desert has been hidden and new houses are being built.  We head uphill to Pebble and he mentions that his legs are already getting a little tired.  I use this to pitch finding a larger bike for him with gears.  He says he doesn't like gears, but by the time we are done with the ride, his opinion will change.

Once we get to pebble, we can then head down to Durango with  the slight down grade all the way.  He notices the lack of pedaling on my part compared to all the work he is doing and decides that gears and larger tires wouldn't be a bad thing.  So now I'm in the market for a used 24" bike to get him some better gearing for the road.

Once we hit Durango I instruct him on the proper etiquette and riding position as it can be a fairly busy road and there is a section about 30 yards long where the shoulder is only about a foot wide.  He is excited about having ridden on his first "road ride" and when we get back is eager to go on more over the course of the summer.

We didn't go far, just over 2 miles, but it was a great ride.  No we have to work on building his strength and stamina and get him more experience on the road.

RTC Viva Bike Vegas 2013 Gran Fondo Pinarello

Looking ahead to the fall and my second "big" event of the year, which will be RTC Viva Bike Vegas 2013 Gran Fondo Pinarello.  Last year I did the 17 mile ride and had a blast!  Read about it here.

I've been thinking about doing the metric Century  but am still not sure as I've heard some rumblings from a family member or two that they might head here to ride as well.  That would be totally AWESOME if they did!  Since they aren't up to riding the longer distances, I would then ride the 17 mile route with them.

I truly enjoyed this ride last year.  It was an early start, but that was so we could ride the Las Vegas strip with all of the lights on.

Anyone else want to ride the strip in September????

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100 Miles Of Nowhere...

Ok, here's the story for this:

(Fat Cyclist 100 MON)

I was competing in the 100 Miles of Nowhere Las Vegas Block edition. As I posted here, I signed up for this for the first time this year back in mid-April.  I figured I would have lots of time to train, get my stamina up and be ready to go.  While i had the time, things didn't quite work out as well as I had hoped in that regard.  My longest ride leading up to this event was only 20 miles.

My swag showed up 2 weeks ago.  Great swag from all of the sponsors.  Here is my race plate.

As I planned my event I decided to use laps around my block as my course for the event.  From training and testing ride I determined that it was approximately .47 miles around the block.  Doing the math that meant I would need to do 213 laps to hit 100 miles.

One concern I had was with the forecasted temperatures for June 1st.  !0 days out the forecasted high was 101 degrees Fahrenheit.  Way too hot to ride in all day.  Since a lot of my training is done before work when it is nice and cool, I decided to start my ride nice and early in order to try and beat the heat. So my plan was to get up and be on the bike by 4:00 AM.

As I posted yesterday here, I had just changed my seat and did a quick shakedown ride to check the position.  Friday night I washed my cycling attire, laid out all my supplies for before and during the ride, set my alarm for 3:30 AM and went to bed early for my at 9:00 PM.

The alarm went off, what seemed like way too soon and it was time to get up and get going.  I got dressed, headed downstairs and had a banana and some Oreo vanilla cookies washed down with a bottle of Starbucks Vanilla Frappacino.  I then aired up the tires and opened the garage.  I was relieved to feel the cool air come in as it was only about 65 degrees.  I turned on my Garmin and my lights and off I went.

The first lap wasn't too bad except for the 10 to 15 mph wind from the west.  This meant that I was pushing into the wind on the uphill prat of the lap.  Not bad, but I started thinking that it might prove to be a problem later on.  One lap down and a whole bunch more to go.

Very few people were out so early so i basically had the streets to myself  It was relatively peaceful and quiet.

I got into a pretty good rhythm and the laps started going by.  I kept a count of laps in my head and the goal was to complete at least 45 or 50 laps before I took my first rest.  As I rode along I noticed that the sky to the east was getting lighter and eventually at 40 laps I noticed the sun on the mountains o the west.  A few more laps and I actually saw the sun over the houses to the east.

As the laps were adding up, my saddle area was getting a little tender.  Let's face it, I just didn't have enough saddle time leading up to this ride.

I hit 53 laps, which was 25 miles and decided it was time for a rest.  I checked my Garmin when I went in and noticed that I had completed the 25 miles in 1:55 which equated o an average speed of 13.0 mph.  I was right on the pace that I had envisioned before the ride.  I knew I needed to get hydrated and eat some calories or I would be in trouble.

So, some powerade, more Oreos, a couple of fig newtons and I was back on my way.  As I rode the next laps, the neighborhood started waking up.  People were walking their dogs, backing out of their driveways and starting to do some work round their houses.

As the laps progressed I was thankful for the Garmin as I lost count and had no idea how any laps I completed.  fortunately I had my distance traveled on the Garmin. 

One thing to note is that during this stage I actually had a dog chase.  On the opposite of our block a woman was putting her 3 dogs into the car as I rode by.  I was almost by when the largest of the 3 dogs spotted me and all 3 took off after me barking.  The woman called after them and within a house or two they decided to listen and turned around.  

At approximately 12 miles I passed the house and my wife was there cheering me on!  Thank you dear! I completed the next lap to make 12 1/2 miles in just under an hour and it was time for my next break.   I had just under 3 hours seat time and a total of 37 1/2 miles so far.  My saddle area was also quite sore.

A banana, a powerade, some pringles and a couple of fig newtons and I was back on my way.

My wife took a picture of me during the ride:

Not much to remark on for this segment of the ride.  I did a bunch of laps, the sun was out and warming things up and surprisingly my legs didn't feel much worse for wear.  My saddle season was another matter, though.  I was getting quite sore.

Just after the 50 mile mark it was time for another break.  Still maintaining about the same pace as these miles took just under an hour as well.  Here I was at 50 miles and 4 hours into my ride.

More powerade, a Honey Stinger Blueberry Buzz bar, a few more pringles and some oreos and I was on my way again.

I noticed that I was slightly slower and this was due to shifting my position on the saddle looking for some relief.  It wasn't to be found, though.  I toughed it out to 62.5 miles and decided that was it for this event.  I had completed the 100 Miles Of Nowhere Las Vegas Metric Century around the block edition.  I was pleased to have made it that far since this was 3 times the farthest ride I had taken in the last 3 years.

Now for a nap, some sushi and Cold Stone Creamery.

May ride #13

Today is the last day of May.  I had hoped to get in 23 rides this month, but sadly my number is only 13.  Of course if I compare where I am this year versus last year it looks a bit better or not. :)  Last May I got in 20 rides for a grand total of 176 miles.  This may my 13 rides total only 104 miles.  What has improved is my total mileage for the year which is at 347 miles this year and only 286 miles through May of last year.

Today's ride was a short one as a check and adjustment of seat position in preparation for the 100 Miles of Nowhere I am riding tomorrow.  As such it was a successful ride as I believe I have the new seat dialed in and the bike is ready to go.  Now let's hope that I am ready for it.

If all goes according to plan, and let's face it when it comes to these things that is a rare occurrence, I should start about 4:00 AM and finish up between 2:00 and 3:00 pm.  I am being very conservative with my speed estimates and generous with rest stops - about 10 minutes every hour.

Look for an update either tomorrow afternoon or on Sunday.

May Ride #12

I had been planning a longer ride this morning and I actually got to execute the plan.  I got the bike ready and rolled away at 8:40 or so.  There was little wind, bright sunshine and temps in the 70's - a glorious day for a ride.

I headed out Blue Diamond road with a slight tailwind.  I was feeling fairly strong and I just spun away.  I made it out to the Gypsum mine in 35 minutes.  Made it to Bonnie Springs in just under an hour.  I continued on to Spring Mountain ranch.  It was a hair over 10 miles from my house to here.  I stopped and drank some powerade and decided that was far enough for the day.

Truth be told, I was feeling a bit saddle sore and decided it as prudent to head home.  I turned and started back down towards home.  The effort of riding uphill on the way out was rewarded with the lovely downhill ride on the way home.

I was coasting and floating down the road towards home and it was wonderful.

When I got home I uploaded the data from my Garmin to the various sites including Strava, where I learned I had set a personal best.  I hadn't been trying, but having everything working well and not mechanical issues allowed this to happen.

Where did the wind come from???

My plan this morning was to get up at 4:00 and ride my usual 10 miles or so before work.  I had the alarm set, went to bed by 10:30 and was prepared to do just that.  The only issue was that the wind was a steady 26 mph with gusts in the 40's.  According to Accuweather this was supposed to subside and only be a 10 to 15 mph wind by morning.

Accuweather was a bit off on the timing.  The 40+ gusts lasted all night.  In fact there were a few well over 50 mph.  I made the executive decision at 3:18 am, after waking up for the 3rd time due to the wind and checking the current conditions, that I wasn't riding this morning.  In order to make my goal, I'll do a quick ride this evening and then a long ride tomorrow.

May Ride #11

So I got up at 4:00 am,got into my cycling clothes, got my piece of gum, pumped up the tires and was on the road by 4:20.  I noticed right away that there was a Southwest wind again this morning.  This meant extra resistance on the uphill part of my lap around the block. Checking out the official weather after my ride it shows 20 mph with gusts to 26. Just another spring morning in Las Vegas!

I was feeling pretty good the first few laps, but about lap 6 It was getting tough to make the pedals turn.  No sure why, but I powered through.  One thing I like about the laps around the block is I generally  get to coast for about 20 to 30 seconds each lap.  I use that as recovery time.  Its almost like doing interval training.

After powering through 3 or 4 tough laps, its like my body decided to quit protesting and just get it done.  It never really became easier, but it wasn't as hard either.  I suspect the wind and my mental state towards it was as much to blame.  Once I accepted that it wasn't changing and that I was just going to do it, it felt easier.

Somewhere along the way I must have lost count and skipped a lap number since I finished at 9.97 miles and not the 10.47 I had thought.  That means I did 21 and not 22 laps.