Posts Tagged ‘Paris Mountain’

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Seconds Per Pound

Thursday, September 24th, 2009

I am somewhat of a data weenie.  Now, probably not as bad as Boyd Johnson, but I do like pouring over my power files and ride data.  This interest got me thinking of my ride up Paris Mountain the other day.

There are two ways to go faster up the mountain.  1) increase power and 2) decrease weight.  Of course, the more weight you have to pull up the mountain, the more power you will need to do it.  The less amount of weight, the less power you need to reach a goal.

Taking the power out of the picture and just looking at time and weight, I came up with my Seconds Per Pound ratio for my personal best time.  Basically, at 170 pounds, it took me 4.09 seconds per pound to make it to the top in 11 minutes and 35 seconds.

So, right off the bat, that tells me that by losing 5 pounds, I should be able to turn out the same average power (346 watts in this case) and reach the top in 11 minutes and 15 seconds.  Of course, the SPP goes out the window unless I maintain that same power.

What I need to do is build a formula that incorporates 1) weight, 2) power, and 3) time.  I can then change the variables to see what would happen if say I lost five pounds and increased my average wattage by 10 watts.  Then it is just a matter of finding out how to put that data into practice.

I’m just a tad under 6’2″.  I weigh in on average around 170.  Sometimes I dip down to 168 and when I’m really fat, I might reach 175.  Mostly, I’m between 168 and 172.

It wasn’t always that way.  In junior high I was 5’11″ and weighed 145.  I was a stick!  Even in college I was 6’1″ and 155.

I remember one summer working at a camp located on a ridge above Lake Jocassee.  I was a cook.  One of my fellow cooks was quite the exercise nut.  We would do over 150 push ups each night and a number of pull ups.  I would then run each day to a water fall near by.  Then on the weekends, I would run down to Lake Jocassee and back.

It took me nearly the whole summer to be able to run all the way down and all the way back up.  However, I did it.  Did I mention I was a cook?  Well, by the end of that summer I was a pretty hard 165 pounds.  I thought I was a big dude!

What that tells me is that I probably have some weight to give.  Before I started riding again in 2006, I had reached 180 pounds.  Much of the 170 I now carry is the muscle I have built up in my legs (= where my power comes from).  There is one spot I think I definitely have some to give.  It’s that hardest spot to lose – my, as Steve Sperry would say, “budda belly.”

So, could a 2010 goal be a five pound weight loss along with some increase in power for the end result of a sub-eleven minute personal best up Paris Mountain?  I’ll find out what my new coach has to say about it.  Sure is a tempting target!

8 days left to help me raise $5000.
$1115 raised so far to fight cancer.
Give to my fight today!

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Posted in Training | 4 Comments »

11:35 or Thank you, Boyd Johnson

Friday, September 11th, 2009

Funny.  Just yesterday I was talking about how I was about to go into hibernation.  That post finished with me saying, “Sometimes all it takes to get you back going is a good ride.”  Well, I can definitely say I had a good ride, but I have to give the credit to the guys who made it happen.

First I was just hoping it wouldn’t be raining.  It was cool but a little humid.  There had been times of very light rain through the day, but for now it was holding off.

Then I was hoping people would show up for the ride.  As I pulled up to the parking lot, I didn’t see anyone or the cars of the typical members of this ride.  Maybe tonight’s ride would be solo.

I went inside and found Billy White.  He was putting down a Powerbar and looking around probably wondering the same thing I was… “Hey, where is everybody?”  It was good to know that there would be at least two of us.

Boyd Johnson rolled in about the time I was getting my Powerbar finished.  The three of us went out to check the parking lot one last time.  There we found Strad Helms.  Four is definitely better than one.

We headed out at a pretty nice clip.  I was talking with Boyd about his plans to import frames and build up his own brand of bikes.  We also had some of our usual unusual sightings.  One guy passed us on a moped and he had a huge knot on his head.  Another time we saw a guy out running – sweat dripping off him – with a beer in his hand.

It was a pretty typical ride until we made a turn onto a road and I went to put weight on my right pedal.  I heard a twang and felt my leg spin around with no resistance.  My chain broke.  Of course, none of us had a chain tool.

The good news is that we were very close to Boyd’s house.  We removed my chain and I remounted my bike.   Boyd then commenced to push me the distance to his street.  Before long, I was back together sans a couple of chain links.  John James happened by.  Now there were five of us and we were back on the road.

That road led us quickly to Paris Mountain.  We started up and I could sense John had designs to get to the top a bit faster tonight.  Billy and I tucked in behind the three other riders and tried to hang on.

It wasn’t uncomfortable.  I felt I was on the edge of too much, but not quite.  When we reached halfway, I knew why.  We reached that point in just around five and a half minutes!  Hmmmmm, this could be interesting.

As we moved past that point, John eased off to join a rider we were coming around.  As he did so, he said to Strad, “Fall back and let Jonathan on your wheel.”  Strad was a bit confused about John’s intentions and ended going behind me.  It was just Boyd’s wheel ahead.

I figured he (and Strad) would end up riding off to leave me in the dust.  However, I was staying with them.  The difference was I was laboring a bit and they weren’t.

We reached a point where I thought I was going to have to ease up a bit and at that point I realized these guys weren’t going to leave me.  They had plans to coax me to the top for my personal best.  Boyd turned around and coached me to shift down a gear and encouraged me to keep going.

We were at the dreaded blue post section of the climb.  It is the point where I normally begin to lose my rhythm.  However, the realization that I had a couple of guys expecting me to give my best motivated me to do just that.  I didn’t want to let them down if they were going to be there for me.

I settled down and just tried to get some oxygen in me while concentrating on trying to avoid gaps forming between me and the riders ahead.  No doubt those gaps would have come, but Boyd and Strad were keeping the pace just high enough to push me but not drop me.

“Keep your head up,” I heard Boyd say.  “Don’t look down.  It will defeat you.”  I jerked my head up to look at the road ahead of me.  I know it is psychological, but he was right.  I concentrated on keeping my eyes focused on the road ahead instead of myself or the bike — especially the computer!

“Two minutes to go!”  Boyd and Strad were now turning around to check on my progress and push me when they noticed me begin to ease.  My spirits lifted when Strad called my attention to the fact that we were nearing the yellow turn sign that marks the beginning of The Wall.

“Forty-five seconds…” Boyd called, “you’re going to have to stand the whole finish.”  I obeyed.  “Shift down,” he instructed and I put on more resistance.  “Good,” he said.  “Now, stand.”  He had to remind me one or two more times to get off the seat, but for the most part I was pushing hard for the top.

Strad now moved behind me and I could hear Boyd ahead and Strad behind.  They were willing me to the finish.  There was no way I was going to sit up at this point.

“Fifteen seconds,” Boyd was counting the time.  “You can do anything for fifteen seconds.”  I still had enough pride left that I didn’t want to sound like I was dying – even though I felt like I was.  I tried to contain the grunts and whimpers that I felt trying to come out.

Pride be hanged!  I was riding with a guy who just days before had raced up this mountain as part of the professional peloton during the USA Cycling Professional Championships.  Of course I was going to have a harder time making it to the top!  Then there was Strad still calling encouragement from behind.  He races with the Hincapie Development team and my guess is it won’t be long before you’ll find him on one of the teams now racing in the Tour of Missouri.

I let out a grunt and what probably could be classified as a whimper.  That kind of whimper that comes from a kid getting beat up by bullies.  However, I stepped on it and attacked that last kick up to the finish.  Only once did I drop to my seat, but I was immediately up at the command from Boyd.  Finally, I pushed that infernal bike across the line.

It took awhile for me to see the computer screen in front of me.  I’m sure my blood pressure was through the roof.  As it came into focus I saw 11.  That was awesome!  However, I actually felt a chill as I noticed what followed the “:” – it was a “35″!  I had crushed my best time by 30 seconds!

I didn’t know what to think.  A goal I had been trying to break for two years fell on a night when I had no intentions of trying.  The thought crossed my mind what my time could have been without the two nearly full water bottles.  Then I wondered if I could really claim the time since I got it by being paced up the mountain.

I’ll take it.  I worked hard enough to get that time.  Take off 20 seconds as a penalty for pacing and I’ll still have a sub-twelve minute climb.  Of course, as Boyd told me as we eased up on the other side, “The bad thing about this is now you know you can do it.”

I kept waiting for some sort of feeling of elation to come over me.  It never did.  It was more of a matter of fact feeling of relief.  There was no immediate feeling of, “Okay, now I need to get an 11:30!”  No, for now I am happy with having broken 12.

As I helped my six year-old break into the bathroom that had been inadvertantly locked so he could get the all important reach extender so he could rescue a toy out of a hole, it crossed my mind how much more time and devotion it would take to knock off another 10 seconds.  “Thanks, Dad!”  Hey, it is just a number.  If it comes, it comes.  If it doesn’t?  There are more important things in life.

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Posted in Rides | 10 Comments »

Watch that pound cake!

Monday, September 7th, 2009

Sometimes riding your bike is a labor.  Other times it is as though you are floating in the air.  This past weekend gave me an opportunity to experience both.

Friday I went out for the very first time on my new frame.  That also meant it was the first time back on two wheels in about a week.  While spinning through Cleveland Park, I decided to give my hip a try.  I sprinted up the entrance on Woodland Way.  It put me back in my seat real fast.  The hip wasn’t ready for that kind of effort!

Saturday I rolled out of bed feeling pretty sore.  I decided I would go on the Sunshine Cycle Shop ride.  Thankfully, by the time I reached the shop, I was starting to loosen up a bit.

There was a very good group on hand.  However, the ride took on a different feel than normal.  We had riders leaving and joining us throughout the route.  There wasn’t anything real eventful other than the snake that was in the middle of the road at one point.

The worse thing about the weekend (physically) was bowling with my family Saturday afternoon.  My youngest wanted to bowl for this birthday.  We ended up doing three games.

I couldn’t bowl traditionally.  This first time I tried it, I dropped to the floor in pain.  It took me a whole game to alter my approach and release.  That first game I got beat by a 6 year-old.  Thankfully, I worked things out by the last game so that I reestablished my dominance within the clan!

A little bit of exploring.

A little bit of exploring.

Sunday’s ride was much better.  However, I got started on it right after a wonderful lunch at my in-laws.  Dessert was a scratch pound cake swimming in lemon sauce.  Yep, I ate it with a cup of coffee.

Rather than tearing it up, I decided to just go out and take some roads less traveled.  My plan sent me through some sections of Greenville that I had not been through.  I think everyone should do this in order for them to see all facets of our city.  My heart went out to some of these folks.

Going this route through west Greenville put me out on Agnew Road.  I’ve often heard of this street, but had never driven down it.  I wound through several different streets like this until I came out at West Parker.  This took me into more known territory and finally to one of my favorite roads – Old White Horse Road.

By this time, I had stopped feeling my pound cake.  Climbing up Keller Mill Road was a pleasure.  Then is was time for some more exploring as I took some unknown roads to cut back over to Old White Horse and then tried to work my way toward Paris Mountain that loomed in the near distance.

It was on one of those roads that I found that feeling.  It is that feeling that comes when you completely forget about the bike.  The bike really seems to be a part of you – as much as your legs are when you walk.  You’re not thinking about the effort.  You’re not thinking about the mechanics.  You’re not thinking about steering.  You just are.

The roads ended up leading me to Travelers Rest and the Swamp Rabbit trail.  I hopped (no pun intended) on it and headed toward Paris Mountain.  Going over would be my fastest way home.

Reaching the base I started up at a leisurely pace.  However, I soon realized that this pace was not really that slow.  By the time I reached the mid point of the climb, I was only 15 seconds over 6 minutes.  Plus, I was feeling pretty good.

You guessed it.  I picked up the pace just a bit.  I figured if I was feeling this good at this point, maybe I could make up that 15 seconds and get a good finishing time.  I wouldn’t say I was putting out more than 85%, but I was giving it a decent attempt.

I reached the yellow turn sign that I use as my The Wall marker at 11 minutes and 30 seconds.  I stood and attacked the climb.  That lasted for about 15 seconds and then the body just shut down.  I went from sprinting to sucking wind in those few seconds.  The pound cake was reminding me that he was still around.

I’m not exaggerating.  I reached the top in 13 minutes and 15 seconds!  That, my friends, is called bonking!

Still, it was a great ride.  My attempt up Altamont wasn’t something I planning for.  What I wanted was a good ride out in the country without pain in my hip.  I got that and then some.

After training and racing, it does a body and mind good just to go out exploring.  You never know what incredible road you might find out there.  I’m certain you’ll always find a good time.  Just watch out for the pound cake!

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Where did the pros go?

Thursday, August 27th, 2009

All this talk about the USA Cycling Professional Championships got me looking back at some old posts I have about the course.  I found the following video of the climb up Altamont Road on Paris Mountain.  It was my very first video to post to YouTube.com (and you can tell it). Still, if you are not familiar with the climb, this gives you a blow by blow view.

I did make it on my bike yesterday.  First, it was the mountain bike.  Much of my afternoon was spent trying to mark out a course for a 5K run.  I kept trying different configurations to come up with the proper distance.  It was pretty frustrating and I was dripping with sweat.  So, when I got home I figured I would just jump on the road bike and cool down.

Okay, I admit, I was kind of hoping to run across some pros.  I heard that Ted King was in town and had been riding with George earlier.  One guy mentioned how as he as going up Paris Mountain a rider in a Cervelo kit came flying around him on the way to the top.

I did see a couple of riders as I was making my way through downtown.  However, once I got on Old Buncombe (following the USPros course), I didn’t see another cyclist – on a bike at least – for the rest of the ride.  There was one time just before turning up Altamont Road that a truck slowed beside me and kept pace with me.  “What’s up with that?” I thought and looked over.  It was a local rider with a phone camera.  He snapped the picture and said, “Gotcha’ Pait!”

This time I was saving my legs.  I eased my way to the top with a 16 minute time.  The pros are going to come pretty close to halving that on Saturday.  Word is that George Hincapie just recently had his best time up the hill.  That would be somewhere around 8 minutes and 30 seconds.  Even the pros getting shelled out the back on the climb are going to be putting out times around 10 minutes.

The human body is pretty amazing.  I try to imagine having the power to do what those guys do.  To me it would be almost like sprinting up the road!

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Posted in Events, Rides | 7 Comments »

Three measly seconds

Tuesday, August 25th, 2009

One thousand one… One thousand two… One thousand three… the time it took you to read that is how close I was yesterday to climbing Paris Mountain in 12 minutes flat.  That is the goal I set for myself over a year ago.  I’ve never been able to best it.  Last night I got really close… I got a personal best at 12 minutes 3 seconds. It will fall.

Now, Saturday there will be guys riding up that incline that will make a 12 minute climb look like a snail assault.  I regularly ride with guys who bust out sub-twelve climbs.  That time on the venerable climb is not that special… except to me.  Forgive me while I dissect my ride again.

It started with an easy ride up to the top.  I took my time to enjoy that day.  Too often I’m just riding with my head down with some goal in mind.  I don’t look around and enjoy the scenes.  This time I even stopped to take some video with my iPhone.  I need to go back with a better camera!

I knew that I could get a good time because when I reached the other side and turned around, my legs were feeling good.  I put my bike in a very easy gear and started up spinning at a higher cadence than normal.  My plan was to take it easier in the first half and then attack toward the end.

It seemed to be working.  Through the first three minutes – that would take me up to the water tower section – I was averaging 330 watts and hit a high heart rate of 174 bpm.  Still, I was maintaining a 10.5 mph average.

The next three minutes of riding brought me to the midway point of the ride.  I was pretty happy to reach that section at almost 6 minutes on the nose.  The better news is that I had been able to pick up some more speed and was still feeling pretty good.

That section after the water tower is a 5.3% grade.  I was able to average just under 12 mph while putting out a lower average wattage of 314.  My heart rate did climb to a high of 179, but I was still averaging 176 bpm.  When I looked down to and saw 6:00 on my Garmin, I knew I stood a chance!

I stood and started to attack the next 6 minutes.  I planned to attack, recover, attack, recover, and then let it all hang loose on The Wall.  Things got a little tougher in the next three minute section.  The average grade was now 7%.

My body was showing some strain as well.  My heart rate climbed to a high of 186 and held an average during that section of 183 bpm.  I was riding in my red line.  Still, I was putting out an average of 343 watts and holding an average speed of 10.6 mph.  It was during that section that I looked down at my computer for the second time in the ride and saw 10:00.  I knew I was close!

I’m about to hit The Wall.  The average grade over the next three minutes was 7.4%.  I settled in for a steady push in the early part of this three minute section, but stood to give it all I had toward the end.  This averaged out to be 361 watts for the just over half mile section.  My heart rate was letting me know we were near the end by peaking at 190 bpm and averaging 186 in that section.

However, it was the easy start and the driving finish that made it work.  I bet I covered the hardest portion of this climb faster than I have ever done in my life.  The average grade over this 650 feet is 10.4%.  My average wattage over this section was 507 watts.  That garnered me a 10.5 mph average for that distance.

The entire climb’s numbers looked like this: Average – Power = 336 watts, Heart Rate = 177 bpm, Cadence = 78 rpm, Speed = 10.9 mph; Maximum – Power = 641 watts, Heart Rate = 190 bpm, Cadence = 100 rpm, Speed = 17.5.

It will be a while before I’ll get a chance to try this again.  However, I think I’ve found the keys to making it work.  I just have to be sure I’m in good shape when I try it.  My guess is that when the temperatures begin to drop, I’ll start to see myself regularly breaking the 12 minute mark when I give it a try.

Three measly seconds.  Man… soooooo close!

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From the Red River Gorge to the French Broad River

Friday, July 17th, 2009

There is some interesting Tour news today. You can go to any number of sites to read about it. I can’t talk about it here. I’ll just say, “Bummer, Levi, heal soon and come see us at the USA Cycling Professional Championships.”

Here is another update on the Hincapie Development Team that today will be finishing up their Tour of the Red River Gorge UCI Invitational.  They have to be super pumped right now and who knows what will happen going into tonight’s criterium.  Good job guys!

In the 91 mile road race a break of about 20 riders formed and built a two minute gap on the field.  HDT made the break.  It was Ty Magner who made the winning break and with 2K to go there were 13 of them. Unfortunately, he got detached in the sprint at the finish and was 11th.

Tyler Karnes was in the next group and finished 17th while Strad Helms (34th) and Blair Turner (51st) were in the next group.  A.J. Meyer broke a pedal but still managed within the cutoff. Aubrey Moore was ahead of him in 58th.  With the solid finish by the team, they moved up a spot to 6th in the team classification.

Of course, what might have been of more interest to them was the fact that they are sharing the facilities at the University of Kentucky with a bunch of cheerleaders who are there for a camp.  1300 of them to be exact! That could explain the look on Tyler Karnes’ (front) face in the below photo. Blair Turner is seated behind him.

Photo by Joan Hanscom

Photo by Joan Hanscom

I’m leaving today to head up to Asheville for the French Broad Cycling Classic.  I hope to catch some of my teammates participating in the time trial and then take a car along tomorrow’s route.  I hear it is super tough.

I do believe I am ready to give it a go.  Last night I went out for a ride with friends along the base of Paris Mountain. It was hard to hold back at times, but I knew I couldn’t push myself.  Just once did I get in behind Louis and unwind it a bit. Still, by the time we started up Altamont, I was feeling pretty good.

On the mountain, I simply tried to find a cadence that would allow me to keep a steady tempo.  Tyler was right on my wheel talking smack.  I just grinned to myself and keep going.  He stopped talking, but I could glance back and see his wheel right off of mine.

Then I heard him start breathing. I did my best to control my breathing. I wanted him to think I was breathing easily through my nose.  Still pacing myself I kept the pressure on him.

Then I heard him exclaim, “Pait!” I knew I was dropping him at that point.  Soon I was alone with the main group behind and only Art in front of me.  Since I wasn’t pushing it, I figured Art would be waiting for me at the top.

Well, coming around a corner near the top, I saw Art going into the next one.  By the time we reached the yellow sign that marks the beginning of The Wall section, Art and I were on the same straight.  I figured I just needed to keep the same pace and I could get him by the end.

Once on The Wall, I realized Art had picked it up a bit.  I had to stand and pick it up myself if I hoped to match him.  We went into the final pitch upward near neck-and-neck.  Finally, I inched ahead and came across the line.

The climb gave me lots of confidence going into the race Saturday.  It wasn’t my best time (13:29), but that is only a minute and fifteen seconds or so off my best.  The good news is that except for that final 20 meter push, I had kept my heart rate at a reasonable average on the climb and really did not feel I worked that hard.  I’m happy with the base of fitness I have.

My WKO+ seemed to confirm this.  The ride put my the graphs on my Performance Management Chart into positive territory.  If the chart is telling me what I think it is, I should have a good day tomorrow.

Here’s hoping! Of course, there will be a report here at LowCadence.com.

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On some wheels and a hope

Tuesday, July 14th, 2009

Sunday I determined that Monday evening would be an assault on the mountain.  What that means is there would be an all out effort to reach the top in under 12 minutes.  If you’ve read LowCadence.com for any amount of time, you are familiar with this Don Quixote effort undertaken by yours truly numerous times in the past.  This time I had a new weapon.

Since I was out of town for the weekend, I left my bike at Sunshine.  So I sent John a text asking him if the test wheels they had were available and if I could use them for my attempt.  He responded that they were available.  He also let me know that my replacement shifter was in.  Now I should be all set for the climb.

The wheels are Shimano’s RS Eighty carbon/alloy.  This would be my first ride on carbon wheels.  It was my hope that the wheels would either 1) actually help me go faster up the mountain, or 2) make me think I could go faster up the mountain.  Supposedly the light wheels should spin faster and give me an edge.

I started off and immediately got caught in a downpour.  The rain continued until I was a quarter of the way up the State Park side of the mountain.  At least I felt a bit cooler – even if a bit soggy.

The wheels were okay.  There did seem to be a difference between them and my normal training wheels – a set of Ksyrium Elites.  It is true that the wheels seemed to “spin up” more quickly.  They also seemed stiff enough and the ride was smooth.

My only negative was that the rear hub was making annoying noise.  Of course, this being a test set that had been ridden before, I figured there might be some wear.  However, it did make me wonder about the longevity of the construction.

Soon I was over the top and starting down the Furman side.  That is when I really noticed a difference with the wheels… and it scared me!

I’m not sure if I am describing this correctly, but when descending the wheels made me feel top heavy.  They were definitely faster than my Mavic wheels.  Several times I felt as though the bike was running away from me and going into the turns I didn’t feel the same level of control.

Now, I’m not saying that is a bad thing.  It is just different.  It was something I had to adjust to.  Frankly, I was surprised, because I was counting on the wheels making a difference on the climb — not the descent.

Then it was time to turn around and start back to the top.  I set my Garmin to read from the Quarq CinQo only the Average Watts, Current Watts, and Average Speed.  I knew I would need to average somewhere near 330 watts to make my goal.

Click picture to enlarge.

Click picture to enlarge.

As you can see from the graph, the first two-thirds of the climb I was able to keep the wattage up.  The places where it dipped during that period were spots where the road leveled out a bit and I was spinning at a higher cadence, but still getting more speed.

Where things went south was in that last third of the climb.  I had lost my ability to accelerate and settled into a steady output.  I was still averaging over 300 watts during this section, but it was still pulling down my overall average.  Of course, I wasn’t really paying attention to the computer at this point.

You can see that I gave it a bigger effort as I hit The Wall.  In that 700 feet section, I climbed over 70 feet in elevation with an average of a 10% grade. At the very end it kicks up to a 16% grade.  It took 52 seconds to cover that 700 feet.

My new wheels and the hope that they would help carry the day came up 18 seconds short.  That puts me right up there with my best times (best time so far is 12:05 with many other attempts landing in the 12:15 range).  If I compare my times on my best wheels (Ksyrium SLs), then the carbon Shimano wheels would come in about even.

I think I’ll stick with my Mavic wheels.  The RS Eighty wheel set looks nice.  The wheels ride nice.  However, I don’t think they really made me any faster than I go on my SLs.  Plus, the Ksyriums feel a little more stable to me.  Perhaps it is just the comfort of the known, but going into a turn on a fast descent I’d prefer the feel of my wheels.  On the climbs?  I really did not notice that much of a difference between the Eighties and the SLs.

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Posted in Review, Rides | 3 Comments »

What a relief!

Friday, July 10th, 2009

When I left the office and headed home to get ready for the Thursday ride, I was feeling pretty apprehensive and yet excited.  Excited because I was going to get to ride after being off the bike for two days and apprehensive because I wasn’t sure how my shoulder would react to the effort.  The ride would tell the story.

I stopped into Sunshine Cycle Shop to pick up my new helmet before heading out. Steve Baker came in while I was there to interview John James for a story he is putting together for GO Magazine.  I won’t give away his subject, but I’m pretty excited to read it when it comes out.

When I brought my bike up to the group, I was happy to see there were a number of riders there.  It was a good group of regulars.  It was good to see Rob back out.  Anthony was also there.  Speaking of Anthony, turns out he was the Barley’s rider that was telling me to pull through at the last Donaldson Center ride I rode.

We pulled out and I was feeling pretty good.  I had rubbed my shoulder down with some Biofreeze and it felt downright normal.  Word was we were going to go on the Hour of Power route.  That sounded good because there would be less climbing.  Then I heard that we would be tacking Paris Mountain onto the end of it!

The first test of my shoulder would be the Meece Bridge Road sprint.  As we approached the attack zone, John moved over and Anthony moved to the front.  I moved onto his wheel.  It was pretty much he and I as we neared the rise that starts the run in to the finish.  He shifted to gain more speed and I shifted two and jumped.  He let me go.

Then it was time for a little climb.  This would put a different strain on my shoulder as I would climb the quarry road.  I let the group go on ahead.  My plan was just to ride up steady at my own pace.  I had already told John that I wasn’t going to go for it.  He would have to fly the POA banner on this one.

Well, what do you know.  By the time we reached the false flat I was sitting on the wheel of Art who was in the lead at that point.  I just kept tapping out my cadence and moved to the front.  There was no doubt that John was back there and soon he would be coming around to take over.   My plan was just to keep spinning and keep the force in my legs and avoid pulling on the bars. Sure enough, John came around and took the finish.

Now I was toast. To say my legs felt like Jello wouldn’t be a good description.  Do you remember Stretch Armstrong – those dolls that you could stretch for unnatural distances?  Well, that is what my legs felt like – gooey but hard.  It didn’t help that Bob and I got caught at an intersection and had to chase back to the group just before we turned to go up Altamont Road.

Again the rest of the guys started up ahead of me.  I was about 30 seconds behind because I got caught up in some traffic at an intersection.  I figured some of the riders would come back to me, but there were several I knew I wouldn’t see again until the top.  Anthony had gone home, so I knew he wasn’t ahead.

Passing several riders I came up on Bob and Tyler.  I was surprised that I caught Bob just before the halfway point.  However, I couldn’t get past them.  They sped up a bit and I slowed some.  We continued this way for some time.

It was on this climb that the ache in my shoulder became more noticeable.  It was probably because my body was just getting tired.  I was also rocking on the bike a bit more causing me to pull on the bars.  It is a good training mechanism to cause me to focus on using my legs more instead of burning energy in the rest of my body.

This post is getting long enough.  There were lots of other things that I could write about – like the time Bob and I went into an unfamiliar corner way too hot and nearly came to grief together.  There was the race between Tyler and I to see who would be back to the shop first.  There were plenty of little odds and ends that make these rides so much fun.

I just hope that this time McPain will read this before Gunny calls him.

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The promise of the rainbow

Tuesday, July 7th, 2009

Yesterday I pulled myself onto the bike to head out for some laps in Cleveland Park.  The desire to do so was pretty neutral.  Still, some things you need to do.  However, my plans got changed when Matt Tebbetts’ name appeared on my phone.  I rode straight on through the park and meet him at the intersection of Buncombe and Shaw.

I’m glad he called.

We headed toward Green Valley by way of Furman – much like my Saturday ride started out.  As we were crossing Hwy 25 the rain began to fall.  It was one of those instances where you get hit by huge raindrops (enough to make it sting as you ride through them), but the sun is shining at the same time.

Matt commented, “We should see a rainbow at some point.”  We continued riding to get to Green Valley country club so we could find some shelter. With cellphones in our jersey pockets, we needed to find a dry spot.  As we headed there we kept our eyes open for the rainbow.

Just as we were passing by the club house, the rain eased up.  There in front of us was the rainbow we were looking for.  We were able to see both ends of it.  Through the clouds beneath the arch we could see the outline of Paris Mountain.

The rainbow at Green Valley

The rainbow at Green Valley

There was hardly any rain now as we started off again.  The conversation had turned from talking about that certain race in Europe and race tactics for the POA Cycling Summer Series to rainbows and wet cellphones.  Most of all, I felt refreshed from the rain and my spirits were lifted.

The rainbow was following us as we returned home – or we were following it as it always appeared just before us.  Several times it looked like you could ride right up to the end of it, but of course when you neared where the colors met the earth it would always move.  Guess we’ll never know if there is a pot of gold there!

We were treated to one more really neat scene as we neared our turn onto Old Buncombe.  Up ahead we would see the end of rainbow coming down onto Paris Mountain.  I have a picture, but it really doesn’t do it justice.

Rainbow over Paris Mountain

Rainbow over Paris Mountain

As we headed home we were pushed along by a tailwind. The rainbow stayed visible off to our left for some time, but by the time we reached home the sun was shining through a partly cloudy sky. It had been another incredible ride in the Upstate of South Carolina.

I was reminded of the Biblical story of the rainbow. The rains of the great flood had ended and Noah and his family came out of the ark. God showed Noah the rainbow and let him know it was a promise that He would never destroy the world again by water. More than that, it was a sign of God’s grace and mercy.

Things have been pretty tough on some levels for me recently. With the car break ins, wrecks, and deadlines it is easy for me to feel overwhelmed – like a flood is washing over me. However, I know that God’s grace is there to help me hold up against the waves. He will not send anything my way that I cannot bear.

My ride turned into a spiritual lesson for me. That rainbow was sent for me.

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A tale of two rides

Saturday, June 27th, 2009

I woke up before the alarm went off.  The light of the already rising sun was coming through the window.  Over on the dresser were the various items I would need for my morning ride.  After a bit of psyching myself up, I rolled out of bed to get ready to head out to Sunshine Cycle Shop for the Hour of Power.

Friday’s recovery ride had my body feeling pretty good.  The calf that has been giving trouble still hurt slightly, but not nearly as bad as the morning before.  I figured after getting a bite to eat, I would be ready for some fun sprinting.

As I pulled into the lot, I could see a good number of riders.  A quick glance showed that the normal sprinters weren’t around.  Luis was the only one I could see.  Bob sometimes mixes it up, but there was no John, Tyler, Tony, Peter, or any of those guys.  Hmmmm, this could be interesting.

Then Mike came out and announced that we were going to do the traditional route backward.  I guess there would be no need to have anyone there going for the sprints – we wouldn’t know where to attack.  Suddenly, my morning was taking on a whole different feel.

Turns out it was okay.  It was a pretty good workout.  You think that the route will be easier because there are so many long climbs going the traditional route.  However, what goes up must come down.  The difference is that the backward route has more short “popping” climbs.

The one negative was that our stops to wait for the slower riders were much longer.  It was much harder to get the feeling of a sustained effort.  Most times it was Luis, JWinn, Billy (who joined us after the ride started), and myself building a gap and then waiting.

I’m pretty sure that if we hadn’t had the down times I would have averaged some solid wattage for the entire ride.  What that means is that this route is not easier.  As a matter of fact, my average wattage was 189 watts for the entire ride.  Compare that with 162 watts of one of my recent Hour of Power rides.  The climbing?  This morning we climbed 3038 feet cumulative.  The traditional route takes us over 3020 feet.  This route is looking harder all the time!

Still, it just didn’t seem as fun and it didn’t seem to be as good of a work out.  For most part, though, it was good to mix things up.  I’m sure we’ll be doing it some more in the future.

Once back at the shop I hung out for a bit, but I was feeling like I needed to get a bit more in on my legs.  I mentioned to Bob that I was planning on getting in some more miles and he decided to go with me.  It was a simple ride, but it was a great one.

It wasn’t the route.  It was basically an over and back of Altamont Road.  The one change was that Bob decided to take us on Audubon Road.  Other than that we headed over to Furman to cool down in the shade before heading back up to the top and then returning to the shop.

First, it was fun to hang out with Bob.  It seems like a long time since the old crew had been together on one of these rides.  With just the two of us it was kind of like old times.  We were taking it easy, so there was time to talk.

After cresting the top, I started down at an easy pace.  Bob followed.  The air was cool because of the shade and the wind created as I descended.  Over to the right I could see out toward the mountains in the distance.  The bike shifted easily beneath me as I carved my way through the curves.

It was during this section that I got hit with that thought.  It is a sensation that every cyclist experiences.  It is that almost giddy feeling that comes to your upper chest and pops up on your face as a smile.  I call it the “everything’s right with the world” feeling.  You might want to call it a “Now THIS is why I ride my bike” experience.

Of course, we had to turn around and head back.  As we started up Altamont, I told Bob I wasn’t going to press my lap button to time the climb.  This one was going to go unrecorded.  We discussed what we thought our times might be.  I guessed it could be anywhere between 16 and 18 minutes.

What a difference it makes riding with someone!  The climb seemed to go much faster with someone to talk to and get encouragement from during the hateful sections.  As we neared the top, I saw a lone rider ahead of us.  It was an encouragement to keep my pace up and perhaps we could catch him before the top.

He must have heard us talking because he picked up his pace.  As we neared the wall I said to Bob, “He can have it.”  Then we turned onto that final climb.  I put my head down and just began to pace it up.  When I glanced up, I saw that the rider ahead was much closer now.  Then I went around him.  Whew!  He was suffering!

At the top I glanced at my computer.  Yes, I didn’t use the timer, but I couldn’t help but notice the time of day as we started the climb.  Turns out we covered the two miles in 15 minutes and 30 seconds.  That really wasn’t so bad for not trying.

Right there at the first turn from the top was a dad and his two daughters with a lemonade stand.  The Life’s Little Instruction Book says to always stop and buy lemonade from these young entrepreneurs, so we pulled up and got a couple of cups.  Wow!  That was some great lemonade!

From there is was an easy ride back to Sunshine Cycle Shop.  That second 22 mile ride took as long to complete as the earlier 28 mile one.  We climbed nearly as much, though we didn’t work quite as hard.  If I had to rate the two, I’d have to give the second one the higher score.

Overall it was a good day – and a good week.  I’ve finally started getting in some +100 mile weeks.  Yep, I haven’t had a 200 mile week in ages.  This month has been my biggest month yet for the year with over 450 miles.  In the past, July has always been a good mileage month.  I’m looking forward to it.

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