Hard week of riding

We had a good and bad week. We were able to ride outside every time this week. Vanessa and our neighbor Gary met me up in The Woodlands and we did a 20 mile ride around The Woodlands. Vanessa got a flat and had problems with her Garmin Edge 305 bike computer. It turned off mid ride. She had been having problems with it not picking up her cadence sensor, and it was auto pausing even while riding at more than 3 mph. I called Garmin and they said I would would need to send it in. They will look at it and repair or replace it. So Vanessa is feeling bike computer withdraw. I had to go get her another cheap computer so that she can still log her miles.

Thursday I took the bike to work and decided to ride around the woodlands again. I got in trouble since I did not call Vanessa and let her know I was riding. Any way I left from the office and was heading down New Trails and saw The Woodlands cycling club race team. I turned around and caught up to them. We rode down 242 and 1488 at 27 mph. What a rush. I could not keep the pace the whole time so I rode twice around the circle and headed back. I stopped to help a guy with a flat tire, then finished at an easy pace. My training plan was interval day so the hard ride was called for.

Saturday we met up with 2 guys from work. Vanessa, Gary, Jordon and I rode from 2920 and 2978 up to the woodlands and met with Chad and Michael. We set a good pace and helped Michael get his legs back. I waited for Gary, Vanessa, and Jordon at Woodlands Parkway. I was following Vanessa at the end of the pack. We were about 4 miles to go when Vanessa slowed down quickly and fell. Her bike went right in front of mine and I fell on top of her. She banged up her bike and helmet, and got some road rash. I let my legs steady, realized I was lucky (no road rash) and then rode back to get the truck. Gary stayed with Vanessa. When we got home I rushed the bikes to the shop, headed to my ride marshal meeting and Vanessa took the bikes back home.

Sunday we rode the bluebonnet bike ride. Vanessa was planning to do the 45 mile route, but ended up doing the 26 mile route instead. I rode the 63 mile route and had a blast. I worked as a ride marshal and stayed with several people with flat tires, the results of 1 accident, and one rider who just was done. I was very happy with the ride. I was effecivly riding by myself and held an 18+ mph average. Not to bad considering the amount of wind and hills on the route. I like this year's route it was much nicer than the last time I did this ride.

Ah a Training Schedule

This week was much better. I ended up riding 4 times this last week. I was actually able to ride my harder workouts also so that will help my recovery.

Monday I rode 30 minutes in zone 1
Tuesday I rode 40 minute of over under intervals
Friday I rode suprathreshold intervals Zone 5 x 2 min
Today I got to ride out side, short 20 mile bike ride

Today, I also played in a golf tournament. First time I did that. It was fun.

Back on the Trainer again.

After only riding on the trainer one day in February, I got back on the trainer this week. I got in two short rides. I have to ride the trainer for the next few weeks since the in-laws are here. We have other plans on the weekend.

Got the house back together also so it should be easier to follow my training plan. We shall see.

We are about 6 week until the ride. Time to get back into gear.

Tri County Hill Hopper

OUCH!!!!

I did not ride last week, and Saturday I worked on the house. Not quite done, but I did not let that stop me from riding Sunday. The Tri-County Hill Hopper started from the Big Red Barn out in Round Top, TX on 2/25/07. This is a nice challenging route with lots of nice hills to climb. Check out their web page for more info. www.hillhopper.org

It was about 40 degrees when we got to the ride. It warmed up pretty quickly once the sun came up. By the time I got to the first rest stop, I decided to take off my jacket. It was a little cool standing around, but once on the bike, I was nice and warm.

Vanessa decided she was going to skip the loop and turn the 76 mile route into the 60 mile route. I worked this ride as a ride marshal also, so I stopped to help 2 people on this ride. The first was a flat tire between two nice hills. It was about 6-7 miles into the ride. I caught Vanessa at the first rest stop.

We left the rest stop and I was talking to another ride marshal when we noticed a guy that seemed to be hurting a little. We pulled over and helped him raise his seat a little. It must have worked because he took off and it took a few minutes to catch him. Making that one change seemed to make a huge difference for him.

So off I went again to catch Vanessa since she kept riding. Turns out she followed Sheldon and realized she missed her turn to skip the loop after she got back to the first rest stop. Needless to say I made the turn. I waited for a few minutes at the 3rd rest stop, then decided I can wait at the car for her. Sheldon's friend, Pat, was at the rest stop and was ready to leave. I decided I would ride with him for the rest of the route.

Off we headed. Down about a mile or two from the rest stop, there were two calves out of the fence. They were standing in the ditch minding their own business, then one of them started to walk towards me. I moo'd loudly and the second calf started to run. First he turned to the fence, then he turned around and headed into the road. Right in Pat's path. We both got a good laugh about that.

We finished up the route. I like this ride, it is a nice challenging route with nice roads and nice hills. Great training for the MS150.

Bulldog Ride and other Training

This week I got one ride in on the trainer. I got an hour in and boy did it feel good to get back on the trainer. Unfortunately that was the only weekday I got to ride. So much for my training plan.
I worked my first training ride as a ride marshal. Saturday 2/17/02, Vanessa and I did the Bulldog Ride. This ride is put on by the Waller Jr High School. It was a good route. Vanessa was able to keep up with me on several of the hills. The morning started out in the mid 40s but warmed up to the upper 50s. We fought the wind for the first half of the ride. But as we headed back down 362 into Waller, we flew. At one point I was holding 27-30 mph. What a rush.

Sunday morning we rode with Gary, JC, and Mike on 2978 and did the 30 mile loop. It was pretty uneventful. I realized it has been a while since we rode on 2978. It was a good riding weekend. Not a lot of miles, but at least they were good.

Just simple rides

After doing two organized rides the last two weekends, we decided to join our team on Saturday 2/10. Team BTX met at Charm & Charlies at I-45 and SH 242. We rode up to Conroe and back. It was good to ride with the team again. Since the last time we rode with them was before Christmas. This route was about 40 miles. The temps were in the mid 40s and did not warm up much before we were done. I did attack one hill and decided to not give up until I had no more to give. I saw a new personal high HR. I hit 199.

On Sunday we met Sheldon in Katy again. He was riding a route with another Team Spoken member. It was a nice route out through Fulshear, Brookshire, and back to Katy. Over all it was just over 40 miles. Not bad.

After skipping my training plan the last few weeks. I need to get back on it. Not likely to happen soon because I have to do some repairs on the house. Maybe I can sneak in a few weekday rides.

Big Chill Bike Ride

We headed to Katy on 2/4/07 to ride in the big chill bike ride. This was the first year Vanessa and I did this ride. It was fun. Pretty well organized and supported. It was also a very nice route. For the second week in a row the weather was cold and windy. The wind was out of the south this week and the ride started around 42 degrees. Luckily as the day wore on it warmed up to the upper 50s.

We rode with our friend Sheldon and some of his friends from Team Spoken. This ride was a lot smaller than the Frost Bike 50 so it did not take nearly as long for everyone to be out on the course. We ended up doing the 45 mile route which took us from Katy, TX to Monaville, TX and back. After making good time heading out, we turned around and found out the return trip was a little more difficult. It was a good ride. Just what I needed after not riding for the last week.