Fat Tires and Dry Trails

WOW, it is sad that I can't honestly remember the last time I rode on dry trails. I can't remember how long it's been since I rode my mountain bike. Sad, but with the rain we had for days (now in the 13th day in a row without); and vacation I just didn't get to ride. Tonight was the weekly Chicky Ride at Explore Park. Yet again it was just me and Paula. I really enjoyed the ride tonight. At times, it was difficult, but more often it wasn't. I did enjoy the route we took tonight and put in a decent effort. The Explore Park is ok, but as typical of places with few trails, it offers few options to link trails together. Oh well. Next Tuesday, we're heading to the Cove to pre-ride the MTB race course. The race is July 19th. I'm probably going to race Sport, but actually entertained the thought of racing Expert? HUH? Yea, that was a moment of insanity I guess.

Anyway, I have no idea how long we rode or how far we rode. My Garmin is broken, and I haven't bothered to get the new one out of the box yet. We did ride the Beginner trail to the Intermediate trail to the Endurance Loop. Endurance to the Inner Loop then Outer Loop. Did the lollipop loop across the road then back up the road to the parking lot. We probably could have ridden more, but we stopped to chat after hike-a-biked up the rooty part of the Lollipop Loop. Oh well. It was a great night to ride, glad I went. I really enjoyed it.

The weekend looks to be busy. I will be helping with the ID3 races on Friday and Sunday. I have plans for July 4th. I missed all of the fireworks last year due to family circumstances, so this year I want to see a nice display before going on call at 11p. HAPPY 4th!!!!

UNBLOCKED

Sorry for the recent inconvenience of having my blog blocked. It seems the Roanoke Times decided to take it upon themselves and list my blog on their website. They didn't seek my permission to do so, and quite frankly it irritated me. I think it's flattering that anyone finds what I have to say interesting, but I really didn't like the idea of being so easily found. I'm sure that Google plus the right words will find me. Anyway, after emailing a couple of folks at the Roanoke Times, both links have been removed from the website. I've waited a few days and now I give you my blog back. I guess if it happens again, I will find another host for my blog. Blogger has some good qualities, but somethings I definitely don't like. We'll see.

Meanwhile, I've been at the beach since about 10p Friday. It got up to 102 here yesterday. It was 100 at 6pm (a record for Myrtle Beach) if that gives you any idea. That's just a tad too hot for me. It was too hot on the beach and too hot by the pool. I elected to just stay inside or in the shade most of the day. Today is supposed to be equally as hot, however there is a nice wind today. I was awakened by my dog at 6:15 for his morning potty ritual, so after his business was done, I headed back out to the beach for a walk. I walked and jogged a bit down the beach and back. It was probably 2 miles total. My back started hurting on the way back. I've scoped out some places in the campground where I can do some other exercises and may do that later once the sun sets.

I've had fun so far. Have a few more indoor things planned for today since we're headed towards the upper 90's again. Vacations are nice!!! Also, best wishes go out to Davy and Kelly as their bike shop was destroyed by fire yesterday. THAT SUCKS!!! I'm sure Blackwater Bikes will be back and better than before. You can check the local news sites for pictures and more information or go here.

Races, they are a coming...

I will miss out on racing at one of my favorite places Saturday. That is Bedford's Falling Creek Park. This is the rain date of the Fat Tire Frenzy. I'm the defending Sport Women 18-35 Champ (I won by 3 seconds!). I will surrender the title this year in favor of going to the beach. Tough decision, but a much needed vacation awaits.

So what does that leave me??? Races, of course. Got a note from Kenny P. today tipping me off to an update on the Bedford Trails Event Page. I feel better now knowing that I have four races to work towards when I get back from Myrtle Beach. Here's my list:

Sunday July 19th - Commonwealth Games Race @ Carvin's Cove
Saturday September 26th - The Southside Scramble in Danville, VA
Saturday October 10th - Montvale Mayhem in Montvale, VA
Saturday October 24th - The 2nd Assault on Liberty Mountain in Lynchburg, VA

I can't wait. The goals are set now. Once I get back from vacation, it's time to get serious about the fall races. July 19th will be a test of patience if they keep the same Sport course, and if it's hot and humid bodes to be a sufferfest. It was +90°F for this race last year, and I skipped it.

Ok enough rambling, I need to take care of some stuff.

Nace/Lithia (again) =)

YAY ME!!! Despite my Garmin's efforts to not measure my ride distance today, I'm estimating the ride was 54.2 miles. That would make this my longest road ride ever. Too bad, I can't "document" it with the Garmin, but the idiot thing wouldn't stay on. Even now after a hard reset, tapping the back of it causes it to shut right down. Oh well. It's at least 3 years old and has probably taken a good beating considering I take it mountain biking in all sorts of weather and have used it on the road quite a bit. I think it's really goofed up too as today's ride data only contains the part of the ride from my house to Hotel Roanoke where I met Paula, yet the map and profile shows 32 miles of the ride. Weird.

Riding with other people sure helped the time pass by, but I surely couldn't keep up at times and felt bad about that. I tried to do my best and pull on occassion, but I'm truly clueless about how to ride in a group. I also haven't mastered the art of riding right behind someone. I thought I was going to take P out as we descended Nace Road, luckily I just swung around her without plastering my friend. Then on Rt 11 nearing the congested area, I just about ran off the side of the road. I kept it right on the edge as I leaned left to gradually bring the bike over. YIKES! Hope no one saw that. Of course, we had had blast before that in our paceline of three (we had met up with Warren on Lithia Rd)! ZOOOM. Would love to know our pace on that section, but of course Garmin is all jacked up.

I am tired tonight. My legs were trash when I got home. We didn't stop much today, so my quads were like WTF are you doing? Anyway, they feel better now. I see a metric century in my future. Yup, that's 100km or 62.137 miles. That would be great. After that I'm aiming for 75 miles then you got it a CENTURY!!! Hopefully I get to ride some at the beach next week, then I really want to get some MTB time in when I get home. I've already said, I'm ready to ride at night to get it done!

Today's Route: Home, Valley View, Lick Run Greenway, Wells Ave, Plantation Road, Hollins Road, Sanderson, Read Mountain Road, Rt 11, Nace, Lithia AND BACK.

Let's see this week I have the Tuesday Chicky Ride, Wednesday and Thursday at the gym then leaving for the beach after work on Friday. After that, it's vacation time, so we'll see how much fitness I get in next week. =)

Decisions, decisions...

I'm doubting that I'm going to have time to ride today (Saturday). There's just too many things to do here to get ready for vacation. I leave next Friday, but most everything needs to be done this weekend as the week ahead looks to be busy already. My delimma is do I ride road tomorrow for the third Sunday in a row or do I go do a long mountain bike ride on Mill Mountain? Here's the thoughts on each.

Road Ride

• this would be the third week in a row
• won't be home for the next Sunday (@ the beach, will ride road there)
• the following Sunday is traveling
• not sure where I want to ride tomorrow if I do go for a road ride (30-40 miles)

Mill Mountain MTB

• trails at the Cove by all acccounts are a disaster area (mud, ruts, etc.)
• trails at Mill Mountain handle the rain very well and are likely rideable
• trails at Mill Mountain are either all up or all down
• to get a long ride in there would be repitition of trails

I really want to get in a MTB ride, but I don't particularly want to muddy the bike up too much as there isn't time to clean it up before leaving for the beach. I guess I could just do another road ride. After all, it's probably doing more for my cardio than anything right now. The rain is killing me during the week. By the time I get home from work, it rains and I don't get to ride. I had hoped to ride after dinner recently (even in the dark) on Mill Mountain, but I swear it's rained every day that I've not had gym time scheduled.

Thinking ahead to racing, I guess my next race will either be July 12 in Charlottesville, VA or July 19 at Carvin's Cove. I could do the Mill Mountain Time Trial, but do I want to do that with racing Sport on the 19th? Sheesh. More decisions.

I think I'll go back to packing and cleaning now.

I want this...

Life is Crap video.... FUNNY STUFF =)

Solo Fifty

Woo hoo!!! I planned to ride 50 miles today, and I did it. All by myself, but I did it. No one to draft off of, no one to pull along, no one to talk to. Just me, the bike and the road. For my previous 50 mile ride, I was accompanied by my very good friend, Tim; so today's solo attempt was all about me. I could either make it and be happy, or quit and be extremely angry with myself. I'm glad I'm happy!

I couldn't have picked a better day or a better route. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride today - scenic Botetourt County would dominate the horizon today. Once I turned on Nace Road, I was treated to the beautiful farm lands and the sight of many types of animals. There were a lot of cows along side the roads today. I laughed at the ones who were standing in their streams or under trees. I loved seeing the green fields and red barns. I also got to see a fairly new horse as it stood beside the adults nibbling on the grass. It was so cute. I missed the picture opportunity as I was rolling along at a pretty good pace and didn't want to mess up my rhythm. I also got to see a group of sheep as they milled around in their muddy field. There were of course, many birds along the way today. The one thing I found most peaceful about my ride today was the stream that runs along both Nace and Lithia Roads. It was running pretty fast so the sound of the water cascading through the rocky stream bed was rather relaxing. I was tempted many times to stop and soak my feet, but since I'm highly allergic to poison ivy, and I hate ticks, I decided to keep going.

I was intrigued by the "communities" of Nace and Lithia. It appears as though they may have been established during the development of the railroad since the tracks slice right through both areas. As you ride you cross over the tracks at least a half-dozen times. There is a "siding" or switch track in Lithia with its requisite lights, and while I was riding today I noticed that one of the concrete culverts upon which the tracks run is dated 1941. I will have to look into this a bit more. I also noticed there were quite a few churches tucked away on these roads. They were also quite pretty to look at. I guess we're all in a hurry too often and don't stop to see what's around us; but today was a good reminder of the beauty of this area.

My goal today was to ride to the "swinging bridge" in Buchanan, walk out to the middle of it and take some pictures. I was able to successfully complete my mission. When I arrived at the bridge, I decided to give my feet a break from my shoes. I also thought it might be easier to walk on the wooden, swinging bridge without the clunky, slick bottomed shoes. I quickly discovered that my sock feet weren't much match for the steeply sloping bridge entrance. I slid sideways, but was able to maintain my balance. I walked out to the middle, took my pictures and had a granola bar. Enjoyed a drink of Gatorade and some Sharkies then back on the bike.

Now, it would be time to head back home. I had preplanned the route to take Rt 11 back to Roanoke. To put it honest, this sucked!!! There was more uphill than I anticipated, and I struggled terribly at times. I became unhappy with my feet as they kept falling asleep and my butt was hurting! I hit 40 miles somewhere near Troutville, so I knew I could do the last 10. I didn't anticipate that my back would start aching on Hollins Road and that my inner quads and hips would begin screaming at me as I approached Plantation Road. I only had 3 miles left, but they were the most agonizing. I wound up using neighborhood streets and the nearby nursing home in order to complete my 50 this week. I thought the ride mapped out to 50 without this when I planned it, but I guess not. Who knows! 50 is 50.

Anyway, like I said, I thoroughly enjoyed my day today. I look forward to being able to ride a mountain bike on a dry trail. This might happen this year. It might not. The way things have been going around here, it will be muddy until 2010. I just don't want to tear up trails, and I don't want to have to keep cleaning mud off the bike. This being said, the road bike will continue to be ridden as an alternative.

50.26 miles, 3hrs 13min 11 seconds, 15.6mph Avg, 141bpm Avg. =) GOOD TIMES!

That's the brakes kid...

Well after another few days of monsooning, I guess my mountain bike will sit again. The trails are bound to be wet, so I'm planning for a road ride on Sunday. I have another Saturday full of other stuff. All is well though. My legs are still so sore from the gym Wednesday, it's not even funny. Another day off the bike isn't going to kill me at this point. Besides, I'm not racing until July anyway.

In the meanwhile, my Jeep is now the proud owner of front brakes and rotors. I've been complaining for the the longest time about them, so finally had them checked. Good thing I did as they were BADDDDD! So the Jeep is happy with new front brakes, an oil change and that damn check engine light is finally off. The Mechanic Dude replaced the cracked hoses that were responsible for that too!! YAY!!!

ANNNNDDDD, for an encore I replaced the brake pads on Ritchey - both front and back. I'm quite proud of myself for doing this myself. I've got them adjusted good I think. Will find out whenever I get to ride it again. Funny thing is, the front ones were out of whack. I had found my front caliper loose a while back and tightened it up. Once I put the new pads on tonight, I had a terrible metal on metal clinking sound. I sat down in front of the bike and noticed that the rotor was actually hitting the caliper housing! YIKES!!! I went back to the previously loose bolts and noticed a wear pattern near them. I went ahead and loosened them slightly and adjust the caliper away from the rotor and voila, I fixed it! YAY!!!

I'm sure I'll play around with the brakes once I get the bike out and ride, but meanwhile I'll continue to plan for that road ride.