Moments of Clarity

2 Milestones

This is my 500th post since starting this blog approximately 2.5 years ago.  Thank you to all for making this blog an extension of me.

My wife rode 30 miles with me to Newport Beach and back yesterday...her longest ride to date (by a good margin).  She did great and I'm proud of her.

First Century Ride...Executed.

Wow.  That's about all I have to say about that.  The "Track and Back" ride took us from downtown Des Moines (El Bait Shop Bar/Grill) to the Iowa Speedway and back.  In between, we spun laps on the awesome 7/8th's mile track.  I spent 8 full hours on the bike spinning hard.

Here's what I learned on this ride that was essentially as hilly as days 5 and 6 of the 2006 RAGBRAI (if you did these, you know what I mean).  If you didn't ride those days...that I refer to as, "the time I almost died on a  bike"...they were brutal, incessant hills with headwinds to rob your downhill glory.

1. The first 50 are tough but people really expend a lot of energy trying to "knock out the miles" and get there.
2. People rest far less than I expected.  (Total rest time during front 50 was about 5 minutes for me and I had to keep up with others).
3. On the way back, the hills seemed much harder.
4. Mile 51 was the "Please get me to the blood  doping tent or to the Doctor performing ass/quadricep transplants"
5. Mile 60 was the "Why did I do this @#$%@ride.  In the name of all that's @#$@$%^#@^" milestone.
6. Mile 75 was the "Can I think of a good reason that can get me out of this...but not appear that I have given up?" milestone.
7. Mile 85 was the "Hummm, I may just make it without becoming a news story" milestone.
8. Mile 89 is where I crested a hill and saw downtown Des Moines and I had a burst of ATP that feed my legs.
9. Mile 99.9 is where I knew that I was about 2.5 minutes away from a massive cold beer and a pork sandwich..and although I was completely wasted and burnt to a crisp...I was proud of the accomplishment and wondered how it compares to most other century rides. 
10. 120 minutes after the ride and feeling devoid of life force, I sent my wife to McDonalds and she returned with a Filet'oFish Meal with regular coke, a double cheeseburger, a large milkshake and a cheeseburger for the kids.  After consuming the entire allotment (including some of the kids burger) in 5 minutes, I began to feel somewhat human again.

Pictures posted of the track laps soon.

Trek Tour...In Pictures

Kawasaki has a great post on his tour of the Trek Bike Company's facility in Wisconsin.  I am proud to ride a Madone bike, Trek's full carbon bike.  (My bike is named Carbon Positive"). 

My favorite way to describe my ride, "It weighs less than my left thigh".

RAGBRAI - day 3 - and summary

Day 3 was "light" by the previous days' standards.  At 56 miles, this final trek into Bellevue, IA was pretty short.  We had some pretty killer hill climbs this day...and there was fallout everywhere (people off the bikes and walking).  I powered through the burn and stood up and climbed the hills...pumping the pedals hard.  I was proud of my performance.  For a moment in my delusion of endorphines...I felt like part of the Tour de France.

This was the day our group met the Mighty Mississippi River!  After our beautiful wives welcomed us into town, we packed up and started the 3.5 hour drive home. 

The ride was great.  I got to spend time with friends and get to know Gerard's very serious better half.  I must say that our host family on the last evening deserves major kudos for hanging out with us, having a few beverages, and making us feel like we were at home.  I slept much better without trains, headlights from other teams, torrential down pours, and odd host family behaviors (no shower, bathroom only open between 8-5, etc.)

Day 2 of Ragbrai - for us (day 6 for everyone else)

    Day 2 was great.   It was about 60 miles and we're all pretty fresh.  Tonight, we're staying at someone's house just past the town of Dyersville (think Field of Dreams).  These nice folks are hosting 3 teams and they have 2 acres worth of back yard where we're all pitched for the night.  We just had our first real shower and WOW was that worth its weight in gold.  We're about to head into Dubuque for dinner and back to hang with the other teams.  What a difference this year is compared to last.  I never thought I'd say that "60 miles is no big deal" but I'm ready for more.  Pictures will come soon.

Take care. 

Ragbrai - Day 1 - for us at least

Day 1 is under our belt.  We headed out of our friends parents house in Elk Run (Waterloo) at about 7:30AM on bike with about a 15 mile ride to get to the RAGBRAI  start.  Total miles today were about 78.  We averaged 14.7 mph all day...a stellar day.  I'm uploading pictures soon and I must say that we all did very well.  We'll head out tomorrow and crank out another great day.

Highlights include rib eye sandwiches, great gyros, smoothies in the middle of corn fields, and a few adult beverages.  Tomorrow, we're on "mission imPIEssible.  Rhubard-Strawberry for me please.

Until tomorrow.  Ride safe.

Off to RAGBRAI tonight!

Well...months of preparation have led up to the next 3 days.  I will log about 180 miles on my bike, which I've just named "Carbon Positive"..and have a heck of a good time methinks.  The wives will be the set up/chase crew providing our tent set up and beer chilling services well ahead of our arrival. 

Grandma and Grandpa are here to watch the kids for 3 days by themselves for the first time ever.  Of course, as most parents know, the kids are gems for others and only torment mom and dad so I won't lose a wink of sleep over that.

I'll be blogging (and probably video blogging) via air card from the base camp each day so stay tuned!

If you don't want to pay to get your bike fitted to your body and quirky ways...read this

This is a Bicycling Magazine piece on fitting your bike to your body.  It addresses some key areas that may cause you pain and provides fixes.  I already solved my toe numbness with this one since my custom fitting didn't involve adjusting my cleats. 

RAGBRAI fun facts: It's Next Week!

I find it interesting that last year, I was a three point one percenter in the mountain bike category.  It was truly a rookie move to think that in my body's state of disrepair that I could make it on a mountain bike (no matter how sweet the mtn bike is).  This year, I shall dominate the road with legs made of carbon fiber and aluminum abs. Ironically, I'll be responsible for bringing along a bit of the California contingent this year too.  Isn't it interesting that double the people come from CA than come from Kansas. 

SOURCE:  www.ragbrai.org

I made the Kessel run in less than 12 parsecs!

OK so I made it to Adel, Iowa from my house on my bike in 42 minutes...let me have my Star Geek moment.  Actually, true star nerds know that a Parsec is a unit of distance...not of time...so Han is actually bragging about how he cut off distance for the Kessel Run...not how fast he went.  Hum...time to warp back to reality.  See you at Mos Eisley.

This is a shot from the trail.  I actually went well past Adel on this fine day.