Please don't let me be DFL.

I will not translate this acronym for my non-biking readers other than say the L = Last. Why did I choose to title this post this way? Well, I officially lost my mind tonight and decided to enter the Mountaincross race series being hosted by Bedford County Parks and Rec. The catch? I'll be using my single speed mountain bike for this challenge. Never raced it and never really had any intention of doing so. Problem is Ritchey is still broken, and I don't feel like trying to figure out gears, etc if I have to hop off and jump over stuff in a race. It's going to be challenging enough to get off and on without killing myself or looking like a complete and total moron. I'm clumsy enough as it is, so this should be a real riot. I decided to go ahead and enter as Sport class so this will give me 46 minutes to complete as many laps as I can. The course may be around 1.7 miles long. Hopefully someone will be there to take some pictures of this... I can't wait to give it a try. I haven't ridden much at all lately, so it may be a major ordeal for me. We'll see - I'm just going to go have fun. I'm sure I'll be posting about it come Sunday evening.

Yesterday...

It was January 23, and it was 60 degrees. Where was I? At work. I always have to work until 5pm on the gorgeous days; and when I'm the early person, it's fugly outside. My workday sucked in so many ways, it's almost hard to put in words. So when it got close enough to 5, I was thrilled to get out. 5:01pm the weekend began! WOO!

I got home, debated going to see my friend and her new 11lb baby boy, but decided that since she was probably covered up with visitors I'd wait. Besides, I had had enough of hospitals for one day. So doing what every self-serving, selfish bicyclist would do, I texted my friend Tim to see if he was still planning to ride at 7pm. He was running late so 7:30pm became the target time. I ate a nice dinner then yanked my road bike out of the trainer, pumped the tires full of air, grabbed my bike light and assorted accessories and jumped in the Jeep and headed to PH.

Once there I dressed for the occassion. It still about 54°F, so I opted for bike tights, shorts, my warm shoes, sleeveless baselayer, shortsleeve jersey, armwarmers, my Gore windstopper jacket, my warm gloves and my favorite beanie. Stuck my new light on my helmet, made sure it was secure (needs one more piece of velcro for the cord); added the taillight and made sure my shoes were going to work ok with this bike. I was riding in the parking lots when Tim arrived a short while later. We waited a short while for his chatty friend, Floyd. Once he arrived, we headed out.

We cut through some streets in Grandin Court and Wasena then took the RR Greenway to Walnut Ave. There we began to climb, I didn't know which way we were going and groaned when Tim turned up the old road. I haven't climbed it from bottom to top on my road bike in a long time. I've done sections of it on both mountain bikes. I was quickly left behind by the two stronger, roadies. Oh well, I was just out to have fun. When it got really hard, I stood up a bit. Then I reminded myself that I had done this on my Single Speed, so there was absolutely no reason this had to be hard. I ended climbing pretty well for me I think. I also think it suprised Tim that I got to the star as quickly as I did. HA!

It was fun to ride at night! I wasn't worried as much as I thought I would be. It was creepy though when we started up Mill Mtn, and it got really dark. My light is great and lights the way quite well. I don't think it was completely charged either! It was however very cold along side the river as we pedalled back to PH. Funny thing is there were little sections where you would ride along and suddenly it would be warm. Kind of reminded me of walking in front the clothes dryer's outside vent. =) Tim said, "it's kind of like pee-ing on yourself." I laughed, but had to agree.

What a great way to end the week. All of work's frustrations were erased just like that. I had a good fitness week too. 4 days straight of strenuous activity - Tuesday - RPM class, Wednesday and Thursday training at the gym and last night's bike ride. Today I plan to do some stuff here then take my dog for a hike on Mill Mtn. I was going to Lynchburg, but that will have to wait. =) I will get there soon.

Nothing to see here, move along...

Boring blog lately, sorry. Not much going on to blog about. I went to the gym three days this week. Tuesday, after prying myself away from the TV; I went to RPM class which was almost brutal. It is so hot in the room they have it in. I can keep up pretty good with the class except for all the standing sets. One I don't trust my shoes are going to stay clipped in and that my balance will hold out; and two, I'm just not used to riding standing up. I enjoyed the class very much and was soaked with sweat by the end. I will be going to a two hour spin class on the 4th, so that should be interesting. The instructor says, "it's more like an outdoor ride..." I'll get back to you on that.

The other two days I've worked with my trainer. I ache right now. My arms and shoulders are tired from tonight. My legs were fine all day at work until I went to go up some steps and my quads were like, "eeeeek, what are you doing?" It's been a fun few visits recently because we get to play with all the new stuff before everyone else, so we've been using the "Total Gym"-like machine. It's like the one Chuck Norris is selling on TV. Looks a lot easier on TV! You actually get a pretty good workout from it. I like it.

The gym is fun - I really enjoy my time there. I miss riding my bike though - I may try to ride on Sunday. For now, I'm sleepy. Bye!

#44

New start, optimism, hope...

Ummmm, Brrrrr, No Thanks.

The wheels on the bikes won't go round and round. It is just too cold for me. I'm not a hearty soul like Warren. Our overnight low was 1.8°F according to my thermometer. I don't see us getting some sort of heat wave today, and I seriously doubt it will get out of the twenties today. Therefore, my bikes will stay cuddled up together in the basement this weekend. I feared for their safety in their storage trailer this week and brought all of them inside. After all, the "experts" urged us to bring our pets indoors this week. =)

With that said, let's move on to bike racing thoughts. In light of an email received this week, there will no longer be a Derailler Series. I had heard rumors that it was falling apart. There is a chance that there will be individual races still. This email hints that Danville, Bedford, Franklin Co and PoMo will still host races. In that list, there is one location I said I would race at again - Bedford. It is my hope that they have a race or two in Roanoke this year and hopefully in Lynchburg again. Who knows. There is a race series in NC that has several venues, but I'm not sure that I want to drive all that ways to race in unfamiliar places. I just don't know.

Oh well, it's not as if someone is telling me I have to do anything. I'll just sit and enjoy the rest of my evening. I've been pretty lazy for the past two days - haven't felt like doing much strenuous activity. I'm getting back to it tomorrow though. Going to the gym and spin away in the RPM room. CardioCoach is my friend!

Excuse me while I go buy lottery tickets...

Since I'm the fortunate recipient of two inauguration tickets, (out of what 200,000 available); I'm going to go buy some Mega Millions tickets. Wouldn't that be cool to win???

As for the inauguration tickets, I'm passing them up since I gave up my motel room weeks ago and it now looks like it will be rather frigid.

I hope whoever gets them has a good time. I'm going to get my Mega Millions tickets now. =)

I miss my gears...

I need to get Ritchey to the shop. Although, having it on Injured Reserve has forced me into riding my single speed if I expect to ride. I got out and about again today on my SS. Instead of riding down to Mill Mountain, I drove so that I could ride longer. I have no idea how far I rode as my Garmin would not stay on. I ended up stuffing it back in my camelback. I rode for a little over two hours meandering here, there and everywhere on the mountain. It was a fairly nice ride. The weather was pretty good actually. I had on a baselayer shirt, a longsleeved jersey, my Gore Windstopper Jacket with my Patrol jersey over top of that. My fleece lined tights were perfect for the day as were my smartwool socks and PI boots. Very difficult for me at times. I ended up walking some, but oh well. Not sure how people ride single speeds all of the time. I've gained more respect for them through my recent adventures. I rode the following route:

Ridgeline > Riser > Big Sunny > Old Road (up) > Ridgeline > JP Fish > Woodthrush > Virginia Pines > up the old dirt road > Virginia Pine (I got back on it near the skinny) > Woodthrush > Star Trail (walked up to the intersection of Monument > Monument > Ridgeline

I really like Virginia Pine and I liked linking it with the old road...I guess this is a good way to make a side loop off of Woodthrush - will try going down the old road sometime and up Virginia Pine, but I'm thinking I'll wait until I have gears. Meanwhile the weekend coming up sounds like winter will arrive. Will figure out what to do when it gets here. It's not like the weathermen are right half of the time. I'm thinking of going to a spin class tomorrow night. We'll see about that.

Enough for now! BYE!

Urban MTB Ride - single speed style

I went to bed disappointed last night because they were calling for rain. I had ridden my single speed to and from the gym Saturday, but that was just not enough riding for me. I hoped to be able to ride today, but had come up with an alternative plan just in case it was raining. Imagine my surprise when I woke up and there was blue sky! I enjoyed a good breakfast then changed into bike clothes. I debated on whether to drive to Mill Mountain and get in a long patrol ride or go crazy and do an urban-style mountain bike ride. The catch to the whole day is that Ritchey, my geared bike is ill and unable to go out and play; so I would be riding Copper, my single speed.

Since it was in the upper 50's and very nice out, I decided to go for the urban-style bike ride.

So off I went. After crossing Williamson Rd, I headed for the parking lot of Crossroads Mall so that I could hit the light at Rutgers Ave. Meandered through the neighborhood and over to Huff Lane Park. I cut through on the sidewalk at Huff Lane and rode along the fence line not realizing there's a new gravel path at the very end of the park nearest IHOP. After riding through the parking lots, I arrived at the light in front of Target. Waited on green then headed down the Lick Run Greenway - the first of many Roanoke City Parks and Rec properties I'd visit today.

At Brown-Robertson Park, I saw some neat artwork, so I rode over to it and took some pictures. Shortly thereafter I continued down the greenway to BT Washington Park. After crossing Orange Ave, I headed toward and passed through the Hotel Roanoke parking lot. Then over the bridge next to the obnoxious Taubman space ship. Went through the Market area then cut through Elmwood Park to the Mill Mtn Greenway next to CHRV.

Soon after suffering would commence. I turned and went up Walnut Avenue, one block at a time. I'd ride, take a break, ride, take a break, etc. Sylvan was nearly my undoing. I finally just got off and walked to the first switchback. Got back on and rode towards Monument Trail. This too would also push me to my limit. I stopped many times, walked plenty. I was able to ride some sections. The downhill section was fun! I stopped at the Monument for a long break and to take a few pictures.

Eventually continued on towards WoodThrush. Zoomed down it carefully. Walked a bit near the bottom in the rocky section. It was tossing me all over and with the one speed, I couldn't keep enough momentum to safely ride it.

Got to the water tower and headed down towards the parking lot. Crossed Riverland and down the gas line right of way. At the Roanoke River Greenway, I stopped to move my front brake cable. The greenway was busy today. I got off of it at Peidmont Park because I wanted to go back across Walnut Ave Bridge without crossing traffic there. Headed back home by way of Elmwood Park then took the pedestrian bridge across to Hotel Roanoke, back up the Greenway a bit to the Civic Center. Cut through the parking lot to get to Williamson Rd.

I took Williamson Road home. Cut back into the neighborhood at Breckinridge. I stopped at the library to take a picture of some more artwork. Not long after this I would be rolling back into my backyard. I rode 19.5 miles in a bit over 2.5 hours. I guess had I not stopped for pictures so many times, I could have cut about 30 minutes off of the ride. And perhaps if I were in better shape for one gear, I could have shortened it more than that. Oh well, it was a great ride. I got to see stuff that normally I don't pay attention too. I also got to utilize many of the Roanoke P&R sites. It was a great ride. I look forward to doing it again sometime. With and/or without gears. Hopefully I can get Ritchey to the bike shop next weekend.

New Year's Resolutions

I don't typically make New Year's resolutions. I set goals periodically and will work to achieve them, so if those are resolutions then I stand corrected. My immediate goal for 2009 is to get into a regular routine. It feels like I've not had a set plan for two months. The holidays have screwed up timing of things I want to do. Work has screwed up things I want to do. Now that the holidays are gone, I can once again take control of what I want to do and need to do.

I have some things that I need to do personally and will take care of those soon enough. In terms of fitness, riding, etc; that's a different ball game. I am at a good weight and BMI. I don't need to lose weight and likely won't lose weight. In fact, I've gained weight the past few times I've done an assessment. This is probably due to lean muscle mass gain. My goals now are to continue to tone up more - I'd like to see some changes in my abs as this is where I carry my fat. My shoulders and arms are noticeably different. My legs, particularly my calves have always been a goal to maintain. They are looking pretty good. I've gotten physically stronger, now if I can add some cardio endurance to it; I'll be incredibly pleased. I want to continue to get stronger too! It's just fun, and it has been nice to see the changes. I previously discussed my biking goals for 2009. They are a work in progress.

One of the biggest things I hope to do in 2009 is to eat healthier foods. The picture at the beginning of this post is a salad I just ate. It was delicious and has been my lunch two other times this week. One hurdle I'm sure to have to jump here is getting rid of some of my junk foods aka comfort foods. I love my potato chips and snacks, so I'm going to have to figure out which ones are best for me and limit their quantities. I've already cut out soft drinks for the most part. I do not drink them at home at all. I will have the occasional one when I go out to eat and every now and then at work because water just won't quench my thirst. I'm already a very picky eater so altering my food won't be easy. We'll just have to play it by ear. I'm not going to get all in a knot over this one.

Finally, one other thing I need to do is get more sleep. I've had a weird schedule this week, so my sleep has been all messed up. I am pretty good about getting up between 5 and 530 everyday regardless of my work schedule, but I'm really bad about going to bed. I usually don't get in bed until 11 or 1130 which equals 6 hours of sleep. Over the course of the week, this adds up and I begin to feel it on Friday. Next week, I'll try to get in bed at 1030 as a start. This week has been so screwed up that there's no point to starting this plan now.

Anyway, I need to stop spending so much time on the computer too, so hopefully I can find a good book to read. With that said, I'm out of here!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Happy 2009!!!