Commuting Again... or... F**k Red Lights

So I left a full hour before needing to be at work today and only got to work 5 minutes before opening... All because of red lights. I caught not one, not two, but EVERY red light between my house and BP Mandarin. I swear...

Ride wasn't too bad... pesky pain in my right inner thigh and that area in my back started acting up again... I might need to get re-fitted again. Here's to hoping that clears up.

In other news I broke 1000 miles on my bike today! Hooray for me! I must've looked crazy as I pumped my fists and let out a primal roar on San Jose.

Anyways, today's stats so far:

Total time 52:55
Total mileage 15.02
Avg Spd 17.0
Max Spd 23.7

I might be riding home... maybe not. I dunno. I'll update again if I do!

Today's Stats

Had a great ride this morning, felt strong and my back decided to behave and not cripple me for the rest of the day, so that's good. Here's the stats:

Total Time: 1:10
Mileage: 19.13
Avg Spd: 16.5
Max Spd: 21.5
Zones 1+2 (mostly 2)

Next ride, I hit the magic 1,000 mile mark on my bike. Hooray!

Tonight is the Art Walk downtown! My wonderful g/f Bri will be showing her art, so head down there if you can!

Back From the Dead

So...

It's been awhile. My band, Anderdown, has been building quite a rapport in the Jacksonville area, and have even had offers to tour Florida. While this may not be possible to do right now, we definitely have had a lot of fun bringing new music to the area.

What does this have to do with bike racing you ask? Well, it takes a lot of effort and time to get a band going and to keep the momentum, so my fitness got obliterated. Gone. Everything I worked for, toast.

So where do you pick up again?

At the beginning.

Bri and I are into our third and final nominal month of P90X. We're definitely seeing results (especially in my arms) and it has served as an awesome muscle builder and definer. If I'd followed the diet a little closer, I might have lost a little more weight, but as it stands, I'm at around 190 now. Perfect for losing some more!

I have decided to do the Horrible Hundred event in Clermont, Florida this year in November. For those that don't know, it is what's known as a century ride (100 road miles), and it also features the seven "mountains" of Central Florida. So, rolling hills : D. Actually, there's about 2000 feet total of climbing, and that's a challenge I've never quite tackled. I'll need to be fit, and I'll need to be light.

I have a plan.

Starting last week, I've started to implement the first phase of periodization training, also known as the base phase. In this time (around two months) you take easy to moderate distance rides to build an aerobic "base" to build from, kind of like a foundation for a house. A great side effect of riding in heart rate zones 1 and 2 (never above 75% of your max heart rate) is that your body burns fat instead of carbs for fuel. Basically, you get leaner, at least in theory.

I'm aiming to lose 20 lbs in the next few months, and I'll be updating this blog with ride details and my weight.

Wish me luck!

-Daniel

Preparation

As I write this, I'm eagerly watching the clock tick down to 1700 so I can hop in the van, head back to the house, run my checklist 17 times, and wait for everyone to arrive so we can leave for Deleon Springs. I've been fighting a crippling nervousness that is frightening and exciting at the same time. I know it'll all melt away when I line up for the race, but until then, I'm gonna be jittery and stressed lol.

We'll be taking lots of pictures and video and will have plenty for you to look at when we return, so keep an eye out!

Wish me luck.

RACE WEEK!

YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

I'm excited for my race this Sunday at DeLeon Springs. Had a good workout this morning, will post stats later in this post. Sometimes I'm surprised I'm doing this, like waking up from a really long dream. Of all the things to try to do, bicycle racing. Geez.

Anyways, left the house, east on Beach to St. Johns Bluff, south to Town Center Pkwy, east to UNF, around the loop to Kernan, north on Kernan to Kensington, through Hickory Creek to Mathew Unger, north on Kernan to McCormick, east across the Wonderwood Bridge, U-turn to hit the Wonderwood going west, south on Girvin to Atlantic, west to Kensington, back to Kernan, south to Beach, west on Beach to home.

Total mileage: 29.45

Total time: 1:49:45

Avg Speed: 16.0

Max Speed: 35.7

Odometer: 612 miles

A couple of things are notable today. First, over 600 miles yay alright! Second, the max speed for today WASN'T on a downhill. That was my flatland speed in my run-up to the first part of the Wonderwood Bridge. That breaks my old record of 33.5 and gives me a little hope in my sprint for the race this weekend. The third thing is I did the Wonderwood Bridge TWICE. Back to back. That hurt. Really bad.

My average speed was a little low because I granny-geared it home after the bridge, and was fighting a headwind the whole time. Sucked.

In other news, bike is back from the shop (duh) and is performing great! Especially the brakes lol.

Will post more later this week! Wish me luck!

CRASH!

Ugh.

So this morning I awoke at the beautifully dark hour of 0630 to shower and pack for my first ride with the Velobrew guys. After dropping off some stuff at my mom's, I headed further into Orange Park and waited as the 0815 start time came and went. Thankfully, we did get wheels up right before 0830, and managed to get a couple miles in before I made a complete fool out of myself.

The guy in front of me signaled a right turn as we were descending a small hill, so I took my right hand off to signal. Well, I misjudged the distance between me, the guy in front of me, and the car we were pulling up to, so I panicked and grabbed a fistful of rear brake. Excellent. The rear tire locked up and the back end started to come around. In slow motion (doesn't it always happen in slo-mo?) I pointed my front wheel to the right of the guy in front of me, into the gutter. Still trying to brake with my front brake, the tire hit the slime in the gutter under pressure and locked up. So now I'm hauling ass into a curb, basically hydroplaning at 13 mph. I hit the curb and flew, still attached to the bike, into the muddy section between the curb and the sidewalk.

Before anyone could ask, I was on my feet, saying "I'm good" over and over. Damage assessment:

a) handlebars - tweaked ~40 degrees off center

b) front wheel - wobbling like a Jello square

c) rear derailleur - bent into my rear wheel

Wonderful.

After some MacGuyver-ing, we managed to get back on the road and put in some good miles. Around 23 more, in fact. I managed to stay with the group on uphill sprints (and staying with a Cat 3 and Cat 1-2 isn't too easy... they must have been toying with me) and actually came from behind to pass two of the guys on a steep uphill, hitting around 28 mph in the process. Needless to say, I'm proud of myself.

One thing I didn't expect though: how much of an advantage drafting is. I thought it was all good, being second in the paceline and maintaining 22 mph behind the leader, when suddenly he waves his elbows (kinda like the Funky Chicken, which made me laugh). That's the signal that he wants to rotate to the back of the paceline and someone else should take a pull. I was already there, so I said, "What the hell. I got this." As soon as he pulled off, the wind hit me like a hammer. HOLY CRAAAAAAP. I managed to up the pace to 24 mph, but didn't last too long. That put me in my place, for sure.

So I called Champion on the drive home to ask if they had some free time to straighten everything out, and was asked "Is this the guy with the orange F95?" ...Okay. "Yeah, that's me" "DUDE! Of course we have time for you! Bring it in ASAP, we'll have you ready for that race!" I was taken aback. Well. I assured them I would bring it in later. I'm lovin' this VIP treatment.

Well anyways, my knee is a little tweaked, my legs hurt from the sprints, and I got a little scraped up on my side. My back hurts like hell, and I have a tiny limp, but I'll be ready. I'm feeling a little more confident now.

I'm gonna whup some ass at Deland. Watch me.

Stats From Today's Ride

17.03 Miles

56 Minutes Flat

Avg. Speed 18.3 mph

Max Speed 24.5 mph (in a headwind, no less)

Minutes per mile: 3.20

Not too bad. New tires are awesome. Vittoria Rubino Pro III's FTW.