Into Mass...

Yesterday afternoon, right after work, I road the Farmington Canal Trail up to Mass from Avon, about 28 miles or so.  Before the ride I had to adjust the seat AGAIN!  Might need a new style of seat post...this 3T doesn't seam to hold my weight.  Really a great ride, for a trail.  I much prefer the road, but this ride was nice after the hard ride with Tom on Sunday.  A bit longer, and more aerobic base building.  I left the Open Pro's on for the end of the season, knowing that my new bike will require my Dura Ace wheels.  They were great on the flats, and the Ultegra Hubs spun nicely, but were noticeably harder to maintain a spin or cadence over time.  That is another great summer ride, with most of the ride being in tree cover.  I tried to concentrate on proper posture and pedal stroke, when I remembered.  It is getting easier to hold positions as I get stronger in the core from Cynergy Class.  Bring me back again to Cynergy tonight.

After riding I went to a Tai Restaurant for dinner, and had noddles and crispy chicken...Not impressed.  Probably will not be back there, but who knows. 

Following dinner I went to Harbour Freight to get a 1/4 to 3/8 female to male adapter for my torque wrench so I can build my bike when it comes.  My brother Nick would never leave this place.  I bought a new Allen Socket Set in Metric, the converter, a set of Pen Magnets, and a Hand Blower for cleaning between brakes, derailleurs, bottom bracket, and crank. It all cost 20 bucks, total.  I will be back, as they were closing when I left, and could have spent hours looking around.

Tonight I am going to go to Spin and Cynergy classes.  I am going to class CC to see if Dan, Dave or Saunder are going to attend, as I have gotten them free passes to try it out.  I am hoping this will convince them that we need Monday Night workouts at RH.

Nick is excited about building his bike, about like I was my first time through.  It gets addictive.  Love doing the research myself, so actually completing the bike is somewhat of a let down.  So this time I have left parts to replace so I can upgrade and continue the fun.

32 MILES SLOWLY!

After yesterday's ride in the hills of Marlborough, I thought I would take it a bit easier today, but put on e moderate miles.  I road the Meriden Mountain Route without the mountain, and adding some miles through Newington into Hartford.  Altogether the ride was about 32 miles of beautiful back roads.  The leaves are beginning to change and the weather was absolutely perfect for riding.  No wind and temps at about 80 with no humidity.  My lungs said thank you to the gods. 
I stopped at Newington Bike to say hello to Dave and check out some gear. The fall/winter fashions are out, and I could spend my whole paycheck on the stuff.
I am really beginning to appreciate the Dura Ace Wheels, as they roll so nicely, and spin up wonderfully.  The Tommaso is riding so wonderfully, I feel a bit disloyal looking for a new frame for next year.  Maybe I'll just buy the tommaso carbon version with the high end fork and call it a day. 
I need to go and make my chilli now....Yummy!

Hills of Marlborough..25 miles

Yesterday, Nick and I road out in Marlborough, through Hebron and Colchester and then back to Marlborough, about 25 miles of hills.  It took me a good 10 miles to get all the crap out of my lungs, as the polen count must have been high.  Once we got into Hebron, we took off, doing around 25 down rt 85.  We road back the back side and back up where Nick usual leave me to ride up a tough hill.  I decided to give it a try.  Took it really slowly, and did fine.  We then cruised up the tough little hill just south of town, and back to his house.  The dura-ace wheel were very stiff and I could definitely tell the difference on the hills, standing especially.
Nick and I went back to the barn and smoke a Diesel with some scotch, pretty good combo.  Not a smoke I would buy again, but decent. 
I came home to my homemade soup and a ham sandwich...NICE!  I had made the soup in the AM after buying a 10 pound lot of chicken at D&D.  They sell 10lb lots of boneless skinless chicken breast for a great price.  I always cut it into strips and freeze it in seperate 4-6 once packages for stir fry or to have chicken in my salad or pasta dishes.  I use the trimmings to make soup.  Yummy!  I also bought a 5 pound lot of hot pepper and spinach chicken sausage....awesome!
Today I am making my 3 bean chilli with ground turkey.  NICE!  I will then freeze that in small containers for starter sause mix, or just to have chilli over rice for dinner. 
Going for a long recovery ride today before the games.  Yesterday's hard ride must be avenged.

Two shops ride...hard.

22 miles in the books on a beautiful evening solo ride.  Road pretty hard most of the ride at about 16 mph.  Hard heavy winds coming in held me back some.  Stopped along the way to see Dave at CC to have him take out a shim in the right shoe, and it felt much better.  I also have been having trouble with my wind, but had no such trouble today.  I think it is due to pollen or spoor counts on humid days, in difference to today being winding and dry.  I enjoyed today's ride very much.  For some reason I enjoy my time along on the bike as much, if not more, than group rides, or even rides with my brother Nick.  I think it helps me clear my head, and gather my thoughts, getting ready for a new day.  Maybe it is because I always road alone, very seldom riding with anyone else.  Well whatever the reason, it is just great to be on the bike riding hard again with NO PAIN!  (Knock on wood). 
Tomorrow is a group ride in RH at CC at 5:30.  No Nick, so I think I will ride there early, and ride the B group ride, of course this depends upon how I feel tomorrow. 
Love to ride outside, and will do so as long as I can this fall, but I always have my backup plan...HealthTrax.
Chinese mixed veggies and white rice coming for dinner....to lazy to cook.

Berlin Cycle training ride...22 miles...Moderate pace

After the long day yesterday at the Tour of Hartford, I wanted to get a ride in on my Tommaso.  So I went to Berlin Cycle and then down rt 99 in Cromwell to Old Wethersfield and back up Nott Street back home.  22 miles of varying intensities, but I was trying to keep the pace moderate, and my heart rate below 150.  Turns out I could not regulate intensity by heart rate, due to the fact that my HR monitor was not working properly again.  I think I need a new battery for it.  I kind of did intervals, or farklick training.  I work hard for a while then rest and recover, then work hard again.  All in all good workout.  Because it was so humid, I had a hard time breathing.  The polin and mold spour count must be pretty high.  My nose was runny the hole time.  I am sensitive to mold, so whenever the spour count is high I get like this, usually before and after raiin, or high humidity.
On another note, the tommaso is riding beautifully.  I can definitely tell the difference, and it is a joy to ride.  Now I have no excuses, top of the line components, now my only excuse is me!  I am good with that.
Making Spegettti with black bean burger sause...Nice!  The last of my peppers are in it too...Yummy!

RI ride and CC Newsletter...

Well I was able to get in about 70 miles this weekend, between a pre-ride marshall training for the Tour of Hartford next weekend, to my ride with Nick in RI.  I also plan a few miles this afternoon to check my new front D that Nick bought me, a change from Ultegra 6601 SL to Dura Ace 7900.  This one change will make me much 'Faster'...maybe.  Also noticed my rear D wasn't shifting well either, so adjusted that as well.  Both still might need some tweaking.  The new wheels are rolling fantastic, and even in the wind was able to average 17.3 mph for 30 miles yesterday with Nick...FAST for me.  My AvgExHR was 138 and MaxExHR was 159, which means I was near my anaerobic threshold for the entire ride.  It was a great ride, and a good workout.  I love those flat rides.  The whole ride was less than 1000ft of climb, nice!

Not sure if is the placebo effect, but I haven't had a cigar in 5 days, and feel good.  I was worried that smoking too much was effecting my respiration during exercise, leading to premature fatigue.  I am not sure yet how this will work, but couldn't hurt.

Cycling Concepts did me the honor of putting my story in their newsletter this month, so if you haven't read it, and would like to, here is the URL:
 http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Cycling-Concepts-E-News---Sept-2010.html?soid=1102839656125&aid=DAo1bctU1Hc

Those of you who have been following "The Thinning of a Fat Man" know the story and have lived the quest!....:)
Ate too much chinese food for lunch after mowing the lawn.  Need a nap now...

Tour de Hartford - PreRide for Marshalls...40 miles slowly

Thursday evening I received an email from one of the members of our wethersfield commuting group about needing marshalls for the "Tour De Hartford" next weekend, so I decided to sign up.  I will be working the 25 mile loop starting at Bushnell park.  Very slow going with all the lights and traffic, so I will be riding my Sirrus not my Tommaso.  I did ride my Tommaso today, and it's like riding a thoroughbred horse on a roundup.  The last part of our ride went through Keney park and down past Clark Elementary School in the north end where I taught during the 90's.  The area has changed quite a lot, with all new homes, no tenaments.  Most are two family dwellings and beautiful streets.  Much has changed.  We then took the river path from north to south and back up to Main St.  I left the group there and road back home via Maple Ave.  The whole trip was about 40 miles at around 11 mph or so.  A perfect pace for my Sirrus.  I think I will put on my old Open Pro's with Gatorskins for the ride next week, just to be sure.
I am starving as I did not have breakfast, and 3000 KCals are calling my name....Eat ME!

CC Group Ride to Reservoir

Tonight my brother and I road with Cycling Concepts out of Rocky Hill to the New Britain Reservoir, 25 miles at 16 MPH, fast for me...I managed to stay with the group for most of the ride, except the very toughest hills.  I did manage to catch them on the flats, however the did "Wait" for me at the top of the hills.  Nick says it was just an excuse they used to rest, but I think he was just making me feel better. 
Before the ride, Dave put some pedal extenders on the bike to align my feet, knees and hips, so I could stay more round in my pedal stroke.  I have noticed a difference in my ability to maintain a higher cadence tonight on the hills. 
NIck broke away ahead of the group on the last bit of hills and finished a couple of minutes ahead of the rest.  His avg HR was 130 while mine was a bit higher at 136. 
We went to Michael Angelo's for whole wheat pasta and veggies in a red sauce after.  I had 3 miller lites.
Going out to Avon tomorrow to get my schedule and meet with my student teacher to look over the facilities, and talk about what we need to to for the first day of school on Wednesday next week. Afterward I am gong to ride the Farmington Canal Trail again.  Should be fun.

First Bike Commute to Work...36 miles round trip!

So not being a regular work day, I decided to ride to work and back today to see how the trip played out.  I got on Google and drew a Bike Route, and then transposed that onto http://www.mapmyride.com/ .  The saved the file as a garmin file and uploaded to my Edge 305.  Went out about 10 this morning, and off I went.
Google took me through Hartford down New Britain Ave way, mostly side street which I had to do very slowly, probably less than 10 mph until Old After Farmington.  Then cut across West Hartford, and up Rt 4 to Talcott Notch Rd., Should call it Talcott Notch Hill Rd.  Then to Rt 10 in Farmington to Old Farms Rd to Rt 10 in Avon, and then to school.  17 miles or so. 
Really took my time going out, but pushed it coming back a bit.  When I got to West Hartford, I decided to go to Newington Cycle to see John and Jeff, my winter workout buddies, so I took South Main Street cut across to where Newington High is, and then up to Main Street where the shop is.  Hung out with John talking Celtcs for about 15 minutes, and then road UP Cedar Street Hill, slowly. I took my time, and really did not get too fatigued.  My HR stayed down below 150 and I just cruised up the hill.  Got home for a 36 mile Round Trip at about 14 mph or so.  It was probably more like 12 or 11 out and 15 or 16 coming home.  Three great rides in a row, and m legs feel great!  Not too much fatigue as compared to the beginning of the summer.  Will get to ride alot next week as we have training that starts at 8:30 am but gets out early at 2 pm...NICE!
When I got home, I dump some chilli in a sause pan, added a can of diced tomatoes, cooked up some whole wheat pasta, and am eating it now...Bye!

New Tires and wheel trueing.

After about 1200 miles of riding, my Gatorskins are ready to be retired.  The rear tire is loosing some of its wall thread, and it is wearing down flat in the middle.  Only one flat in 1200 mile is pretty good.  I put on new tires, Vittoria Open Corsa EVO CX 23 mm.  The gatorskins I had were 25 mm and very heavy.  I had the Open Corsa's left over from the winter refit, so I decided to give them a whirl...  They are supposidly the best clincher tire on the market for rolling resistance, and can take very high pressure for racing.  I am going to run them at about 125 or so at first to see how they react.  I like the gatorskins, but they were very hard, and did not offer a cushie ride even at 25mm.  The Open Corsa are suppose to be comfy and roll smooth.  We shall see tonight when I ride the CC group ride out of Glastonbury.  The best thing about the open corsa's is that they have a white stripe down the middle of a black tire...NICE!

After our ride to RI and the rough roads, my rear wheel had gone out of true for only the second time.  I first checked the tension on each spoke and tried to tighten them down evenly first.   Then went through and trued and balanced the wheel.  I am very particular about this, and it took about 1/2 hour or so.  Now it spins evenly and true once again ready for another 1000 miles.  For winter maintenance I will take the tension off every spoke and retighten to the same tension using a guage.  Then true them to spec.  Did not quite feel like going through that today, but maybe should have. 

Took out some chilli and a black bean burger for lunch...Yummy!

Small Gears are Spinning...

Today was a recovery day, so I just road to the shop and back using only small gear chain in the front. I also tried to keep the cadence up above 85 - 90 rpm's.  The ride was only 10 miles and my legs felt fresh, but it was hot and humid out there.  The ride provided me with a big sweat even though it was a short one.  At about 800 KCals it also provided me with enough of a calorie burn to eat my 3 bean chilli with rice this afternoon.  Yummy!
Tomorrow was going to be a big day, as I was suppose to get fitted to my bike again tomorrow, and go to ECSU to meet with my supervisor. However, CREC called and said I have Orientation tomorrow, so I had to reschedule my fitting appointment to Thursday, and my other to whenever.  Dave cheered when he thought I was going to cancel. 
The reason for the bike fit is that I bought a new seat post some time back, and the seat rails were not tightened down enough, and the seat slid back on the rails.  This caused a feeling of being almost recumbant on the back, and not over the peddles enough to get leverage on the hills.  I also feel that my fitness has improved and was to change my attach angle a bit.  This will allow me to spin longer on the hills without using my BIG ASS muscles, thus reducing fatigue, HOPEFULLY.  We shall see what the numbers say.
Also, tomorrow Nick wants to ride with CC out of RH, which is always such a joy for me...OUCH! Group rides are not my favorite thing to do anymore.  I like solitary rides at my own pace....a bit of a loner I think.  Mainly because I like a more relaxed pace, and longer rides.  They also HURT LESS.  Paul Budney, an HS and College Roomie is meeting us a Eli's in Middletown afterwards at about 8:30, so you are welcome to come join us for a beer or two.
After I shower, I am going to make chilli with rice (Turkey version). 

HOT RIDE, slow pace...

My ride today was mid day in the heat!  35 miles in an oven.  I could feel the road smoking under my tires.  Once at a stop light I thought I smelled rubber burning from my tires, but it was only the pavers down the road.  Stopped 3 times for water, and I carry two bottles, for those of us from Valley, that's 6 bottle of water in 35 miles, man. 
Came home a passed out, and then woke up with my legs swollen...A couple of Siera's fixed that though.
Well the buzzer on the stove is ringning telling me my pasta premavara is done!
Ciao.

Short slow recovery ride....

After my epic 75 mile ride to Essex yesterday, I road a slow recovery ride of 10 miles this morning to Cycling Concepts and back.  My legs feel loose but still a bit tired now though.  I kept looking at my HR and each time it was bellow 100 bt/min.  Just goes to show how ones body accommodates to exercise over time.
Full day off tomorrow, maybe, and then another long ride Monday.  My strategy of one hard/one recovery ride has worked so far this summer.  I feel fit and healthy.  Two more weeks of hard riding left before I go back to work, and I look forward to every moment.
When I stopped by Cycling Concepts in RH they were taking pictures for the "Ride for a Reason" wall.  I actually knew this before hand, and wore my CC Team Shirt.  Had my picture taken, and wrote a quick note: "To be Fit and Happy".  I really ride just to be on the Road.  I do not ride to be fast. I do not ride to climb hills.  I do not ride socially.  I ride because I love to ride.  I do not ride to get ready for an event or race, although I like to participate in them.  I ride to be fit, healthy and lean.  I really don't care if I am going 18 miles an hour or 12, I enjoy both types of riding.  Although I hate hills, I still enjoy the ride, just not the pain. 
Made a Tuna Sandwich for lunch, and will make 3 bean turkey chilli for dinner over pasta...Yum!

Recovery ride...

Today will be a SHORT recovery ride to loosen up the legs after a long 75 Miles yesterday.  Last night my legs were very sore, but not too bad today.  After burning over 7000 KCal, I was surprised that I was not more hungry all night.  Ate a 1/2 rot chicken and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  I did hydrate and eat along the ride: GU, Trail Mix and Cliff Bars (2).  I also used recoverite after the ride, which I will continue to use after long rides of over 30 miles, as it seams to help.  Ride the flats today.
I am going to make my Three Bean and Turkey Chilli this afternoon to go with my Black Bean Burgers...NICE!

Recovery Ride in the books...

Today was a recovery day for me, after yesterday's Meriden Mountain ride I needed it.  Road 18 miles at 13 MPH, nice and easy with an AvgExHR of 105.  Road the flats of Cromwell just to stretch my muscles a bit, and rid them of any lactic acid build up, and OH YA to burn some fat and KCals, (About 1400 or so). 
Tomorrow I plan to ride to Essex and Back, at around 80 miles, just to say I did it. Of course this depends on my legs recovering properly.
I was doing some research on bike fitting, because I noticed I road more comfortably on the front of the saddle on hills, so I moved my seat 2mm forward and up, (up to compensate for the seat tube angle.).  I snapped the Thompson seat collar clamp, so I had to buy a new one, and was carefull to not exceed 9 nanometer of tension this time.  Not sure if that will be enough, but will move again at Clark Cycle if necessary.
I made some Black Bean Burgers for lunch today, and man were they good with a couple of slices of tomato and onion on top along with BQ sause and Tabasco, (well it was Pete's but ya know).  Have 4 more in the freezer for another day ready to go. 
Just keepin' those wheel turnin'

2 shop ride through Cromwell to Berlin...Slowly

This morning I road my recovery ride along the flats of Cromwell, rt 99, then through the hills of Berlin past the fair grounds, and back home. I call it my two shops ride. Stopped at CC to see Dave after his vaca in France...Lucky man. Road very slowly trying to keep my HR down under 130 as often a possible, although some of the hills required a bit over that, but nothing over 140 bt/min. AvgExHR was around 110 bts/min. Road about 25 miles all told. My legs were a bit tired after yesterdays fast ride out to Meriden and back, but it was great to be in the saddle. Base recovery rides are wonderful for building endurance, and burning KCals, about 2000 of them today.
Before leaving I put rice to cook in my rice cooker, (great device), and put my 4 bean chilli (vegan) on top when I got back from my ride. I think I will grill some veggies for dinner tonight on the grill, with some of more rice.
Going to see King of Leon with Nick tomorrow night, and hoping to ride with him before hand. This means a hard ride for me tomorrow...NICE!

32 Miles at 15 mph---HILLS Even.

Today, I thought I would ride a bit of a hilly route, not having ridden any hills for more than a week. I looked up the Meriden Mountain Ride from the cycling concepts version on www.mapmyrides.com . Turned out not to be the group ride, but a shorter version without the Mountain, ("probaby a good thing").
As I was coming toward Meriden through Berlin, I slowed a bit so I would have enough left to take the mountain. When all of a sudden a lady goes wizzing by me, so I caught her, and asked her why I had not yet got to the mountain, and she said that I had to go 5 miles the other way. Not having it on my Garmin, I thought better of it, and we finally split up. I picked the pace back up, and finished the 32 miles at 15 mph, pretty good for a 50 year old fart. I might have done the route faster even if I had known there was no mountain, but alas...
Going to eat some of my Vegan 4 bean chilli my Dad and I made last week, over pasta for dinner...NICE!

Hills....I hate hillls...Again!

Yes I do...I HATE HILLS!  Went to Marlborough for 20 miles of hills.  Tonight Nick and I road with Scott Sieka, one of Nick work buddies.  He is doing the Block Island Tri next weekend, so as part of his training, Nick wanted to get him to ride with us.  He did quite well, being new to cycling this year.  He is tall at about 6'2", so hill are about as much fun for him as for me.  Being alot younger though, he managed them better.  I still managed to run away from both of them on the flats...NICE!  I did manage the hills better today, averaging 14 MPH which is a personal best for me on that route.  The 3 mile hill near the end of the ride felt better than the steep rollers in the beginning.  My one pet peave on that ride is there is no warm up, it is about a 1.5 mile hill right of the bat.  Although not steep, it still gets my heart rate in the red, which puts me at a disadvantage right of the bat, and don't recover until much later, making the middle of the ride slow. 
We went to Loco Noco (or something like that) for blackened chicken Fajitas.  I ate two of the 4 and brough the rest home for tomorrow breakfast with eggs...Yummy. 
Recovery ride tomorrow on the flats to get rid of some lactic acid built up in my legs.  I need to go out early before the rains though.

Lymann Orchard Ride...HOT!

Today after taking my daughter cloths shopping, I road out to Lymann Orchards in Middlefield 36.52 miles according to mapmyrides.com.  I still don't have my Garmin so I do not know more stats than that.  It was a HOT HUMID ride, so I stopped 4 times along the route to get cooled off: Twice at Cycle Concepts (once going, once coming home), at Lymann orchards where I had a freshly picked peach, and at Pedal Power to dunk my head. 
Going out the wind was briskly in my face, but many hills made that OK. Coming home along route 3 was very fast.  With the wind at my back, I could maintain a high cadence and speed...Fun!  This would be my second longest ride to date, since my re-emergance, and it felt great.  My legs now are tired, but not spent.  I hydrated well, and was able to keep cool by dunking my head and cleaning my headsweats at each stop along the ride.
I came home and had my three bean chilli over rice, yummy.  Made it with 99% lean ground turkey this time, needed the protein. 
Tomorrow is a rest day as I am headed to RI to finish fixing the Egg.

Long slow two shop ride...

Today I road my two shop ride, but extended it quite a bit, about 30 miles or more, (no garmin so I could not tell speed or distance; left it in RI).  This morning I drove to Newington Cycle to get a few things, and to see about getting a Fixing Bolt for my Crank.  Hopefully they will remember to call.  Bought a chain cleaner with degreaser for the next time I clean the chain.  I then road to Cycle Concepts and had Zander re-wrap my handlebars with Bontrager Tape (White).  I went from there to Cromwell near the TPC, out to Berlin Cycle.  There I saw Scott, who is a racer, and the man who did my bike fitting this spring.  Road fromt there back to Cycle Concepts because I forgot my headsweats sweatband.  Dave had thrown it out because it was nasty dirty.  I knew I had left it because the sweat was just pouring down my face onto my glasses on the ride to Berlin Cycle. I love those headsweats!  I then road to Rocky Hill Center, down to Old Wethersfield, and finished by going up NOTT STREET.  Wow.  Actually a good thing not having my Garmin along.  I was able to ride by feel, and felt better in the long run. 
I think I am going to make some chilli today. I have to get some turkey breast through, so I will be off to the store soon.
Tomorrow is suppose to be hot and humid.  A morning ride no doubt.