This weekend was the BlueBonnet Express bike ride. This is the spring ride hosted by Northwest Cycling Club. Vanessa was the registration coordinator this year, so that meant that I also had to help. Funny how that works. Our plan was to go for a short ride on Saturday then work packet pickup, but based on how packet pickup went on Friday, we changed our minds. So no Saturday ride.
Sunday came, I was driving the Uhaul truck with all the packets and equipment for the ride. We got up at 4:00 am to get to the start by 5:45. We had to set up for registration which was to open by 6:00. registration went pretty smoothly. We got everything done and put away by 9:00. Ride started at 8:00. Shortly after 9:00, Vanessa and I headed out for our ride. One of the ride marshals who was planning to ride the short route, asked if Vanessa wanted to ride with him. Once she said yes, I was able to ride the 62 mile route.
Off I go trying to make up for the late start since I knew that I would not have anyone to draft off of. All the way to the first rest stop, I had nobody in sight. As I was approaching the first rest stop, I saw two riders leaving. I did a quick pit to fill water bottles and eat a few pretzles, then out again. I caught those two riders within 2 miles. I ended up passing 15 people before stopping to help three different groups on the side of the road. I resumed with the same pace I had before. I got to rest stop 2, talked to some of the volunteers, and resumed. When I got into Waller, there was a train across the road, no problem, I headed up old 290 until I could get around the train. Once I crossed the tracks, I did not check to see where I was, so I turned right. Picked up 5 extra miles by the time I got back to my correct turn. It all worked out. I was making good time so it was ok. By rest stop 3 was was catching many more people, and was alway catching and passing someone. The last rest stop was still pretty full when I got there. All in all it was a very good ride. I finished 67 miles with an 18.5 mph average. Not bad for a 100% solo effort. I had no one to draft off of, and no one latched onto my wheel.
Tubeless tire update
I love these things. I swear that they roll faster with less effort than my previous tires. They are still holding air well. every time I put air in them, they are around 80 PSI. I wonder if that is how much air is lost when the valve stem gets depressed putting the pump on the tire? So far they have been worth the money. I think it is a technology that will make mainstream. I felt really good after 67 miles. Next weekend, 100 miles on these tires at Space Race.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
Tubeless Tires Ride report
Well, the first two rides are in and the initial report looks good. Vanessa and I needed to kick in the training since the MS150 is less than 4 weeks away. This gave me two good days of riding to get some experience with the tubeless tires.
Saturday we got a late start. Vanessa and I headed out to Zube park and did the 30 mile route. Since I had stay up late putting my tires on, and I had to be at Sun and Ski by 1:00 to get ready for a group riding skills class, we arrived at Zube about 8:45, and left by 9:00. I decided to try running the tires at 95 psi for their first run. The tires rolled well, but the first thing I noticed is the tires have a deeper sound to them as you roll down the road, almost like the low hum that a large truck tire can get when compared to the sound of a car tire. I also noticed the tires had better grip, or at least I felt more confortable in the corners. I have nothing to provide solid proof of a better ride, I can say I liked the way they felt. The 30 mile route includes some nice mix or road surfaces from chip and seal to smooth pavement. The tires do a good job of smoothing out most moderately smooth roads, especially chip and seal roads. Near the finish I decided to sprint out and see how the tires do at speed. Again, no solid proof, but they felt fast.
Sunday was the Tour de Houston. I was intending to ride a fast 70 miles to see how thing go. Instead, we got up early so we could get a parking space. We arrived about 5:30 am to start getting ready. Where we parked was a couple blocks from the start point, so I waited until about 6:20 to head over toward the start. Vanessa and I were both working as ride marshals. After the meeting I went to the bathroom, then to the start to find Vanessa and JC. They lined up right behind the start. We were so close that we were in the second wave to riders to get let out. I was faster than most riders at the start, while I was able to ride with a few people, most were riding slower than I was. I ended up finishing the first 10 miles mostly solo with a 19.9 average. As I rolled through the first rest stop, I caught up with a couple guys who were planning to do the 40. I did not know that, so I jumped on their wheel and went all of two blocks before seeing the 70 turn off. again I was mostly solo. I was riding along and a large group who I reconized as moslty racers came by me at about 28 mph. They had picked up a few people just trying to hang on. I figured what the hey, and jumpped in. I hung with them for a few miles. At one light they pulled away a little and I let them go. I stayed in with the others who broke off from the larger group and kept pace until the second rest stop. I stopped to eat a banana and get some water. I headed out and started out solo for about a mile. As I got passed by a 3 person group, I jumped on the end. We were doing near 21 mph following a guy on a tri bike. I just hung on the end until we got around to the next rest stop. Most of the group pulled in. After a little more food and water, I headed out again. I was starting to struggle a bit on this leg because the wind was now in our faces. I got caught by two guys. As they passed, I again jumped in. We took a few turns pulling around 20-21 mph. We ended up dropping the third guy. Which worked out ok because we started seeing more traffic as we rejoined the rest of the routes. I was thinking about the time, that this will not be a 70 mile day. Turns out I finished with a 20.01 mph fro 46.5 miles.
The tubeless tires felt so good, that I ended up ordering a set for Vanessa's bike. They should be in later this week.
Saturday we got a late start. Vanessa and I headed out to Zube park and did the 30 mile route. Since I had stay up late putting my tires on, and I had to be at Sun and Ski by 1:00 to get ready for a group riding skills class, we arrived at Zube about 8:45, and left by 9:00. I decided to try running the tires at 95 psi for their first run. The tires rolled well, but the first thing I noticed is the tires have a deeper sound to them as you roll down the road, almost like the low hum that a large truck tire can get when compared to the sound of a car tire. I also noticed the tires had better grip, or at least I felt more confortable in the corners. I have nothing to provide solid proof of a better ride, I can say I liked the way they felt. The 30 mile route includes some nice mix or road surfaces from chip and seal to smooth pavement. The tires do a good job of smoothing out most moderately smooth roads, especially chip and seal roads. Near the finish I decided to sprint out and see how the tires do at speed. Again, no solid proof, but they felt fast.
Sunday was the Tour de Houston. I was intending to ride a fast 70 miles to see how thing go. Instead, we got up early so we could get a parking space. We arrived about 5:30 am to start getting ready. Where we parked was a couple blocks from the start point, so I waited until about 6:20 to head over toward the start. Vanessa and I were both working as ride marshals. After the meeting I went to the bathroom, then to the start to find Vanessa and JC. They lined up right behind the start. We were so close that we were in the second wave to riders to get let out. I was faster than most riders at the start, while I was able to ride with a few people, most were riding slower than I was. I ended up finishing the first 10 miles mostly solo with a 19.9 average. As I rolled through the first rest stop, I caught up with a couple guys who were planning to do the 40. I did not know that, so I jumped on their wheel and went all of two blocks before seeing the 70 turn off. again I was mostly solo. I was riding along and a large group who I reconized as moslty racers came by me at about 28 mph. They had picked up a few people just trying to hang on. I figured what the hey, and jumpped in. I hung with them for a few miles. At one light they pulled away a little and I let them go. I stayed in with the others who broke off from the larger group and kept pace until the second rest stop. I stopped to eat a banana and get some water. I headed out and started out solo for about a mile. As I got passed by a 3 person group, I jumped on the end. We were doing near 21 mph following a guy on a tri bike. I just hung on the end until we got around to the next rest stop. Most of the group pulled in. After a little more food and water, I headed out again. I was starting to struggle a bit on this leg because the wind was now in our faces. I got caught by two guys. As they passed, I again jumped in. We took a few turns pulling around 20-21 mph. We ended up dropping the third guy. Which worked out ok because we started seeing more traffic as we rejoined the rest of the routes. I was thinking about the time, that this will not be a 70 mile day. Turns out I finished with a 20.01 mph fro 46.5 miles.
The tubeless tires felt so good, that I ended up ordering a set for Vanessa's bike. They should be in later this week.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Mid Week Riding & New Tires
Well the rain went away and we had beautiful weather this week. What better time to get back on the bike and continue the training for the MS150. We are now 1 month away from the MS150.
Since the rain cleared up on Sunday, the hope was that the trails would be dry enough to ride on Wednesday at Cypresswood. NWCC was having their weekly mountain bike ride after work. So I took my bike with me and rode with the group. I got in a good 11 miles and got in just at dusk. The last few miles I pushed it to get in before dark. Since part of the group took the road back to the car, I did not push it to hard.
On Thursday I talked to Mike and Juan and we decided to take a quick 28 mile loop that Juan rides from the neighborhood. Overall the route is on some decent, but busy roads. Luckily people were nice and passed with space. The most interesting part was the initial sprint up 249 between our neihborhood and Boudreaux Rd during rush hour. We left the house about 6:15. I was glad I took my lights since it was just turning dark when we got home. I finished a 32 mile ride with a 18.4 average. 20 mile of the route I registered a 19.9 average. Overall not bad. After the ride we went to get something to eat.
The last thing before riding this weekend, I installed my new tires. I was doing some research online about my tubeless wheels. After having problems with my valve stems on my mountain bike last weekend, I went to www.notubes.com. I saw that they had a road tubeless kit to turn any 700c wheel into a tubeless setup. after doing some more research, I decided that this may be something to try. Since I was due for new tires before the MS150 anyway, it seemed like a good time to try it out. They arrived Friday, so who was I to wait. I came home from dinner and proceed to convert my current wheels to tubeless. Overall I was quite impressed, the whole process was not to bad. After taking off my old tires, tubes and rim tape, I noticed some dirt in the rims. After a quick cleaning, I proceeded to install the rim tape provided with the kit. Next I instaled the old tires and tubes and inflated them to set the rim tape. Once that was done I proceeded to remove the tires and tubes. Install the new valve stem, and mount the tires, soap the bead and pump it up. At this point I noticed that my rims were not welded but seated rims. even with the new rim tape, I could hear the small hiss of excaping air. Even with the his, I could hear the bead was holding. That was good. So I removed the valve core and installed the Stan's sealant, and proceed to inflate the tires again. This time I put the small leak at the bottom and rocked the tire side to side. In no time the his got less and less. I slowely rolled the tire around rocking it as I went. All hissing stopped and the tires held air. I followed the same process with the other wheel and all is good. I am looking forward to riding them tomorrow to see how it goes. The big test will be on Sunday when I do a long ride on them. With any luck I will get a smooth ride and a really good tire life. I will keep you posted on my thoughts.
Since the rain cleared up on Sunday, the hope was that the trails would be dry enough to ride on Wednesday at Cypresswood. NWCC was having their weekly mountain bike ride after work. So I took my bike with me and rode with the group. I got in a good 11 miles and got in just at dusk. The last few miles I pushed it to get in before dark. Since part of the group took the road back to the car, I did not push it to hard.
On Thursday I talked to Mike and Juan and we decided to take a quick 28 mile loop that Juan rides from the neighborhood. Overall the route is on some decent, but busy roads. Luckily people were nice and passed with space. The most interesting part was the initial sprint up 249 between our neihborhood and Boudreaux Rd during rush hour. We left the house about 6:15. I was glad I took my lights since it was just turning dark when we got home. I finished a 32 mile ride with a 18.4 average. 20 mile of the route I registered a 19.9 average. Overall not bad. After the ride we went to get something to eat.
The last thing before riding this weekend, I installed my new tires. I was doing some research online about my tubeless wheels. After having problems with my valve stems on my mountain bike last weekend, I went to www.notubes.com. I saw that they had a road tubeless kit to turn any 700c wheel into a tubeless setup. after doing some more research, I decided that this may be something to try. Since I was due for new tires before the MS150 anyway, it seemed like a good time to try it out. They arrived Friday, so who was I to wait. I came home from dinner and proceed to convert my current wheels to tubeless. Overall I was quite impressed, the whole process was not to bad. After taking off my old tires, tubes and rim tape, I noticed some dirt in the rims. After a quick cleaning, I proceeded to install the rim tape provided with the kit. Next I instaled the old tires and tubes and inflated them to set the rim tape. Once that was done I proceeded to remove the tires and tubes. Install the new valve stem, and mount the tires, soap the bead and pump it up. At this point I noticed that my rims were not welded but seated rims. even with the new rim tape, I could hear the small hiss of excaping air. Even with the his, I could hear the bead was holding. That was good. So I removed the valve core and installed the Stan's sealant, and proceed to inflate the tires again. This time I put the small leak at the bottom and rocked the tire side to side. In no time the his got less and less. I slowely rolled the tire around rocking it as I went. All hissing stopped and the tires held air. I followed the same process with the other wheel and all is good. I am looking forward to riding them tomorrow to see how it goes. The big test will be on Sunday when I do a long ride on them. With any luck I will get a smooth ride and a really good tire life. I will keep you posted on my thoughts.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Wet Week for Riding.
This has been a rough week for riding. I did get in a few miles on the mountain bike on Tuesday. Since the forecast looked like rain for the rest of the week. I figured I would get in some mountain bike miles while I could. I rode around the drainage ditches in the area. It was around dusk so I had my front and rear lights on for visibility. I finished with about a 10 mile ride right at an hour. After the ride I noticed that my rear tire was low on air, so I decided it was time to put in some new sealant. I think I finally figured out why. My valve stem was not properly seated so I was losing air slowly. Hopefully that is done.
Saturday was a busy day. We had a wedding to attend, plus it was raining almost all day. So I decided it was time to fix the mountain bike wheels, and ride the bike on the trainer. So I loaded up the 23 mile route for Montgomery, TX on the computrainer and decided to ride 10 miles of the route. This gave me a good solid 30 minute high intensity workout. Sunday I decided to forgo any training and spend time with the in-laws since this will be the last weekend they will be with us.
MS150 update:
Fundraising is going slow, but progressing. My personal goal is $1000. Last year I personally raised almost $850. If you would please consider a donation, even as small as $5 or $10 will help. I support this cause because I am thankful that I can enjoy my time on the bike. A diesese like MS could take that away from me, like it does so many others. I ride to Austin to suppor those who can't. Please consider a donation via the "support my ride to Austin" link to the right, or via the link below
http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/sabeard
Thank you for reading my blog, and your support on the MS150.
Saturday was a busy day. We had a wedding to attend, plus it was raining almost all day. So I decided it was time to fix the mountain bike wheels, and ride the bike on the trainer. So I loaded up the 23 mile route for Montgomery, TX on the computrainer and decided to ride 10 miles of the route. This gave me a good solid 30 minute high intensity workout. Sunday I decided to forgo any training and spend time with the in-laws since this will be the last weekend they will be with us.
MS150 update:
Fundraising is going slow, but progressing. My personal goal is $1000. Last year I personally raised almost $850. If you would please consider a donation, even as small as $5 or $10 will help. I support this cause because I am thankful that I can enjoy my time on the bike. A diesese like MS could take that away from me, like it does so many others. I ride to Austin to suppor those who can't. Please consider a donation via the "support my ride to Austin" link to the right, or via the link below
http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/sabeard
Thank you for reading my blog, and your support on the MS150.
Saturday, March 07, 2009
Tough day on the bike
Well, this week is a lighter week on the bike. I rode to work on Thursday. Pretty uneventful 34 mile route trip. The commute trips really help out with the miles but they can get tough carrying all my stuff back and forth. I left home at 6:03 am, and got to work about 7:30. I left work at 6:00, got home a little past 7:30.
I was planning to ride on Friday, but ended up sleeping longer than planned. So I worked it out to ride with the FMC team today. They were hosting the ride at Montgomery. I worked the start so our team captains could drive sag. This meant that I was one of the last few to leave. I was planning to ride at least the 47 mile route. So after a short warm-up in the first 3 miles, I took of and kept a comfortable pace. I ended up holding a good average, around 17 mph, for the first 10 miles. The second 10 I was smoking it up. I completed the second 10 miles with a 21 mph average. I caught quite a few of the riders in front of me. Which makes sense when you are among the last to start. At Richards I decided that it would be best to do the 47 mile route instead of the 69 mile route. After leaving Richards I realized why I was moving so well. I had a nice tail wind, which was now a head wind. I caught a rider in front of me and the two of us decided to stick together. We stayed together for about 10 miles. Then I could not keep the pace and slowed it down a little. I ended up finishing with 47 hilly miles with a 17 mph average. Not bad considering the head wind we had.
I was planning to ride on Friday, but ended up sleeping longer than planned. So I worked it out to ride with the FMC team today. They were hosting the ride at Montgomery. I worked the start so our team captains could drive sag. This meant that I was one of the last few to leave. I was planning to ride at least the 47 mile route. So after a short warm-up in the first 3 miles, I took of and kept a comfortable pace. I ended up holding a good average, around 17 mph, for the first 10 miles. The second 10 I was smoking it up. I completed the second 10 miles with a 21 mph average. I caught quite a few of the riders in front of me. Which makes sense when you are among the last to start. At Richards I decided that it would be best to do the 47 mile route instead of the 69 mile route. After leaving Richards I realized why I was moving so well. I had a nice tail wind, which was now a head wind. I caught a rider in front of me and the two of us decided to stick together. We stayed together for about 10 miles. Then I could not keep the pace and slowed it down a little. I ended up finishing with 47 hilly miles with a 17 mph average. Not bad considering the head wind we had.
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Friday commute, and MTB on Saturday
Friday I rode to work. It is not a tough ride, nor to long, but two 17 mile rides in a day add up over time. I can tell when I have to carry my laptop with me on the bike. The added weight does slow me down. But hey, it is good training. I figured that I needed to ride the bike since I was only going to get one day of riding on the weekend.
On Saturday the wind was bad, constant at 15 mph with gusts to 25-30 mph. Time to hit the mountain bike trails. I met my neighbor and we hit the trails along Cypress Creek close to the house. Gary had not been on those yet, so it was fun. We covered most of the trails, the area at the YMCA has not been cleared out since Ike. Also we found out that they closed off the gap in the fence that let us get out when we followed the trail through there. So after a little back tracking, we ended up with a 22 mile ride. The wind was tough on the way back home.
On Saturday the wind was bad, constant at 15 mph with gusts to 25-30 mph. Time to hit the mountain bike trails. I met my neighbor and we hit the trails along Cypress Creek close to the house. Gary had not been on those yet, so it was fun. We covered most of the trails, the area at the YMCA has not been cleared out since Ike. Also we found out that they closed off the gap in the fence that let us get out when we followed the trail through there. So after a little back tracking, we ended up with a 22 mile ride. The wind was tough on the way back home.
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