More info on the challenge: LINK TO STRAVA 15 HOUR CHALLENGE (
02/25/2013
—
03/03/2013)
Signed up for this knowing a big winter storm was gonna sweep through! Luckily I got in some good hours so far - 4 hours 26 minutes as of today. As long as the snow doesn't pile too high (it might!) I should be able to get those 10.5 more hours by the end of the week. I should/could just slow down... but... :)
I hope I can pull it off!
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I did it! After some lengthy rides this weekend I pulled it off! Interestingly enough, when I arrived home from my bud's house in the burbs... I had about 1 hour 15 minutes remaining to get to the full 15 hours.
Went out for a ride... rode for about 1 hour and 15 minutes... got in, loaded up strava and thought I had made it... but I was 2 minutes short!!! So I took a quick spin up and down the street and squeaked past the full 15 hours.
Monday, February 25, 2013
One of My Fav Runs
From friends house to friends house, I've been doing this ~7 mile run for a few years. Most of the time I was on my old Roadmaster Mountain bike (the first time I could barely make it without stopping.. lol..). Now this feels more of a "sprint" rather than the "long ride" it used to be.
Since getting a road bike I've made the run a few times. I don't live in the burbs anymore so I don't get to ride it very often. This is my best time from Matteson to Homewood so far - consider it was midday with a handful of stops for traffic, and I'm comparing it to when I used to run it at 2am specifically to avoid the traffic, and my best time before was closer to 22 mins and I had a nice tailwind. Today a slight/chilly headwind. (42 degrees - 6mph NE wind)
At night I'll definitely get under 20 mins, my goal is under 18 mins... which one warm spring/summer night I should be able to pull off.
Since getting a road bike I've made the run a few times. I don't live in the burbs anymore so I don't get to ride it very often. This is my best time from Matteson to Homewood so far - consider it was midday with a handful of stops for traffic, and I'm comparing it to when I used to run it at 2am specifically to avoid the traffic, and my best time before was closer to 22 mins and I had a nice tailwind. Today a slight/chilly headwind. (42 degrees - 6mph NE wind)
At night I'll definitely get under 20 mins, my goal is under 18 mins... which one warm spring/summer night I should be able to pull off.
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Continental Attack/Force Tire Combo
Excellent tires!!!!
Swapped from Kenda Kontender 26c's and I *could not believe* the difference! I decided on these after much research.. reading rolling resistance and puncture resistance tests. I don't have these bookmarked, but if you seek you will find.
Not only did I pick up some speed, but the ride is so so so much smoother, truly the best of both worlds. Before, I could feel every bump in the road, now lumpy passages are easily passed... and there are plenty of them around Chicago!
I would not have completed my first century ride with my old tires... I couldn't say the same for my clipless pedals (105's), or my longer stem. These tires have so far been the biggest upgrade I've made, very very worth the relatively high cost.
The puncture resistance is amazing as well! The Kenda Kontender's had a so called puncture resistant layer, but it was useless... my first 2 days on the bike I got 2 flats from 2 of the smallest pieces of glass - and then I had to drop in Mr Tuffy's to compensate. The Tuffy's kept me without flats, but roughened up the ride to bone jarring levels... the Kontender's already were not very smooth - even at the "larger" 26c size.
I was nervous about going to such a small tire set given I'm not the smallest guy (when I bought these tires I was about 185) and I ride on some of the roughest pot hole infested roads out there + I ride a 26lb bike.. but they have held up very well. 2 pinch flats later I've run higher pressure and had no issues. I run the rear @ about 115psi, the front at about 105psi... less than that is where I had problems. The case is so supple, I can fill both to 120psi (max rec'd) and still have a much smoother ride than my old setup.
Very happy, if pondering buying these, definitely do.
Swapped from Kenda Kontender 26c's and I *could not believe* the difference! I decided on these after much research.. reading rolling resistance and puncture resistance tests. I don't have these bookmarked, but if you seek you will find.
Not only did I pick up some speed, but the ride is so so so much smoother, truly the best of both worlds. Before, I could feel every bump in the road, now lumpy passages are easily passed... and there are plenty of them around Chicago!
I would not have completed my first century ride with my old tires... I couldn't say the same for my clipless pedals (105's), or my longer stem. These tires have so far been the biggest upgrade I've made, very very worth the relatively high cost.
The puncture resistance is amazing as well! The Kenda Kontender's had a so called puncture resistant layer, but it was useless... my first 2 days on the bike I got 2 flats from 2 of the smallest pieces of glass - and then I had to drop in Mr Tuffy's to compensate. The Tuffy's kept me without flats, but roughened up the ride to bone jarring levels... the Kontender's already were not very smooth - even at the "larger" 26c size.
I was nervous about going to such a small tire set given I'm not the smallest guy (when I bought these tires I was about 185) and I ride on some of the roughest pot hole infested roads out there + I ride a 26lb bike.. but they have held up very well. 2 pinch flats later I've run higher pressure and had no issues. I run the rear @ about 115psi, the front at about 105psi... less than that is where I had problems. The case is so supple, I can fill both to 120psi (max rec'd) and still have a much smoother ride than my old setup.
Very happy, if pondering buying these, definitely do.
My 50lb weight loss in 6 months
 | |
| 175lbs - today |
How? Well, 1000+ miles of bike riding in the winter helps, for sure... but my diet has been the biggest boon to getting into what I'd consider is the best shape I've been in.
Though I've been vegetarian for about a year now - I was big on cheese pizza and buffets... my 225lbs was distributed evenly so I didn't care too much... but after getting into cycling (see the first post of this blog) I realized just how out of shape I was... and thought about what I COULD do.
First the goal was 200lbs... which I easily dropped to after cutting out so much cheese pizza - I was eating alot of spaghetti at this point, it was probably 75% of my diet. Alfredo sauce, parmesan... I was still layering it on but I was riding alot so I felt justified. I hovered in the 200-210 area for a month or so... then I thought about getting into some racing.
I read how skinny some of the top racers were, and how this gave them an advantage. I learned about power to weight ratio and how important this was. I got dropped by the random roadies I would run into, over and over... and I'm not one to blame the bike - I knew it was me that just wasn't there yet.
So I set a goal of 180, and it was easy to do, I was still riding quite a bit (at least 100 miles a week, some weeks over 200)... but my diet topped it off.
I started to have Garden of Life Raw Meal for one meal of the day. Expensive.. but still way less than even a tank of gas! I started eating more fruit and salads and nearly cutting out spaghetti (definitely no more alfredo sauce!)... this got me down to 185 without much trouble, and from then I've lived fairly vegan. The only meat I eat is sushi on rare occasion and I seriously avoid cheese. I make alot of my own meals - including these energy balls I take on the road... a blend of oatmeal/dates/flax meal/almond butter/trail mix (no chocolate etc) and some fresh squeezed orange juice to make it interesting... eats kinda like a sesame ball and is curiously satisfying.
Eating more often but smaller meals helps ALOT as well, this way I'm always satisfied but never overly full.. keeps the fire burnin.
Right now I'm right around the 175 mark, with 170 being the goal. I'm in no rush to get there, but I think simply sticking to the diet I'm on and putting in the miles will be plenty.
The best part is that I've dropped all this weight, but my legs have definitely gotten stronger in the process. With less weight came much more endurance, and overall I just feel better. I've done a few century rides and though I was tired at the end, I could have kept going if I had to.
I chalk it up to the near vegan diet... its more of a natural way of eating, and inherently offers a balanced nutrient rich diet that enhances mind as well as body. I had my doubts of being vegetarian, but after just DOING it, and exploring the great variety of meals that don't include meat + feeling the difference... I have no desire to ever eat cows or pigs or birds ever again... and I feel strongly that my diet is a big big part in how I can now ride *so much* harder and longer than I could even just 2 months ago.
I wish these concerns were greater with the population in general, so many ailments can be resolved by merely paying attention to what is consumed and what the results of that consumption are... and I'm not just talking about food.
My First Thoughts of Strava
After finding out about Strava I did alot of research and really wanted to get in on the action. I'm very competitive, and the whole KOM thing sounded like fun.
After reviewing some of the KOM's I came to realize that some segments are clearly dominated by people who caught just the right sort of weather... a KOM for one small hill climb I roll through often was set a few days ago when there was 23mph south winds with big gusts - a day I was thoroughly enjoying cruising through traffic at 35mph (until I turned... lol)... and this puts a question upon overally validity, but I guess anyone could have gone out there on such a windy day - "it is what it is".
There is a greater concern of safety, is it REALLY safe to go 37mph on a bike path? I guess thats up to the rider in the situation... I'm not one to tell someone to slow down or be careful, I myself have a tendency to be... "adventurous" when it comes to my cycling... I take responsibility for my actions and assess risks accordingly, I hope others do the same.
With that said, I really LOVE the service! Its cool to gauge my progress as I go, I've setup a few segments around my area where there were none before... and to my surprise others had ridden them - though I am the KOM for the segments I put up (we'll see how long that lasts!).
I like the ability to review other people's performance - and I follow some pro's as well to see at least a portion of their training.
Its really early, but I can see this helping to get me into some structured intervals and get me into some routes I wouldn't have tried before. Generally I just ride long and hard, and cool off when I feel like it.... but with Strava I've already had a few efforts that were well beyond what I would generally do - and it has helped to build my confidence!
One is a particular hill climb (really short hill). Its a segment I didn't start, but its a hill I'm familiar with. Generally I just chug up the hill at a reasonable pace and continue on... but to get the KOM I went a bit down the street - turned around - and hammered it up the hill. This is the first time I actually accelerated the entire way up this little (but steep) ridge, which helped me to maintain my speed to the end of the next segment. I didn't get KOM because the others who had done it entered the segment going a higher speed (though I finished at a higher speed), and the second stretch I slowed down before the segment was over, thinking I had passed through the end of it, which hurt my time just enough to land me second in both.
Now I have something to shoot for, and climbing being my worst asset right now, doing some hill repeats trying to get a KOM or at least a PB definitely won't hurt me. In fact I might setup a hill repeat loop on some quiet streets farther north on the ridge mentioned above after trying to top myself in a sprint I setup.... right now :)
I'm outta here!
After reviewing some of the KOM's I came to realize that some segments are clearly dominated by people who caught just the right sort of weather... a KOM for one small hill climb I roll through often was set a few days ago when there was 23mph south winds with big gusts - a day I was thoroughly enjoying cruising through traffic at 35mph (until I turned... lol)... and this puts a question upon overally validity, but I guess anyone could have gone out there on such a windy day - "it is what it is".
There is a greater concern of safety, is it REALLY safe to go 37mph on a bike path? I guess thats up to the rider in the situation... I'm not one to tell someone to slow down or be careful, I myself have a tendency to be... "adventurous" when it comes to my cycling... I take responsibility for my actions and assess risks accordingly, I hope others do the same.
With that said, I really LOVE the service! Its cool to gauge my progress as I go, I've setup a few segments around my area where there were none before... and to my surprise others had ridden them - though I am the KOM for the segments I put up (we'll see how long that lasts!).
I like the ability to review other people's performance - and I follow some pro's as well to see at least a portion of their training.
Its really early, but I can see this helping to get me into some structured intervals and get me into some routes I wouldn't have tried before. Generally I just ride long and hard, and cool off when I feel like it.... but with Strava I've already had a few efforts that were well beyond what I would generally do - and it has helped to build my confidence!
One is a particular hill climb (really short hill). Its a segment I didn't start, but its a hill I'm familiar with. Generally I just chug up the hill at a reasonable pace and continue on... but to get the KOM I went a bit down the street - turned around - and hammered it up the hill. This is the first time I actually accelerated the entire way up this little (but steep) ridge, which helped me to maintain my speed to the end of the next segment. I didn't get KOM because the others who had done it entered the segment going a higher speed (though I finished at a higher speed), and the second stretch I slowed down before the segment was over, thinking I had passed through the end of it, which hurt my time just enough to land me second in both.
Now I have something to shoot for, and climbing being my worst asset right now, doing some hill repeats trying to get a KOM or at least a PB definitely won't hurt me. In fact I might setup a hill repeat loop on some quiet streets farther north on the ridge mentioned above after trying to top myself in a sprint I setup.... right now :)
I'm outta here!
How I Found My Love for Cycing!
Last September I got a job that required me to go all around the city of Chicago to different retail stores. The pay was (is..) not phenomenal, and given the locations of the stores a car was totally unreasonable....
So, public transportation? No way, too restrictive, too slow, and then I'm bound by wherever the CTA/Metra goes.
Walking wasn't happening, so... a bike! Sure, I love biking (not cycling at this point!)... I'll get a bike and cruise around to these stores, the farthest being about 18 miles... I'm in decent shape (lol...) I can make it and I'll get in even better shape!
At this point I had an old roadmaster mountain bike that I broke the crank arm off and it was never the same .. it was *not* suited for anything more than a few miles - even with the cool slicks I had put on to lower rolling resistance.
So, I got my first road bike. A 70's'ish Schwinn Traveler... 62cm frame which was WAY too big (the price was right and the guy lived within walking distance). The much too large frame actually worked to my advantage, though!
Anyway, at this point I'm around 225lbs, 6'1", and my longest trip on a bike had been around 20 miles - I remember on this "long distance adventure" I ran into a roadie and tried to keep up... my roadmaster totally ran out of gear (~20mph?) and I could only stick with the roadie for about .5 a mile.
I struggled on the big frame, I wasn't used to the stretched out leg position. I felt it was too big, but something told me this was the way I was *supposed* to be riding, so I learned to stretch my legs out. Learning the bullhorn handlebars was an experience as well - this old bike was not made for riding on the hoods, so I spent just about all my time on the drops after the very first few rides being on the bar tops. My first commute was only about 7 miles... and I was definitely tired, but at the same time felt so invigorated - I felt as if I won the Tour De France by beating google's estimated travel time... lol...
The first time I hit the store that was 18 miles away was when hurricane sandy hit New York. I rode right along Lake Michigan and the wind was tremendous! I could barely move forward, I thought of turning back many times but I pushed on. The beauty of the rough waters kept me going - I've never seen the lake so choppy before! This day I was late and dead tired, and on the ride back I just wanted to fall over and die - it was ROUGH! But I did it, and I felt amazing for completing such an odyssey!
Fast forward into late November and I'm really learning the bike.... very comfy low in the drops and the stretched out legs feel great. I'm now really getting into the sport of it, and studying all the elements of cycling... getting to be a "cyclist" at this point =). This is about the time where I started being able to keep up with the roadies I would happen upon on the lakefront path for at least a mile or 2, and by this time I was around 210lbs.
In December I felt it was time to get a new bike - I wanted updated components, particularly to brifters... I had previously been using only the front derailleur as it was too much hassle to deal with the rear + it never stayed in place anyway. I wanted to get myself on a more modern frame so I could have ready access to upgrade parts.
So, on Christmas Eve, I found the bike that fulfilled my needs at a price I could afford... it had the basic components I wanted, was a smaller frame, not too flashy so as to attract thieves, and had a good overall geometry for my needs. A used KHS Flite 220 - 2010 model courtesy of Craigslist.
Wow, its only been 2 months that I've had this bike????!!! In this time I've grown so attached, it feels like I've had it forever!
At this point I was around 200-205lbs, and had decided to get down to 180 after studying the weight of many great cyclists.
At the start of the new year I went clipless (Shimano 105 SPD-SL), and a few weeks later I got a longer stem and dropped the bars as low as I could/cut the fork down. This is how the bike is now, and at this point I can get into a really nice aero position and hold it - which I am accustomed to after being forced into the drops on my schwinn! I also swapped the Kenda Kontender tires to Continental Attack/Force - WOW what a difference!
At the beginning of February (after having already dropped to 180, I was serious about that weight loss!) I went on my first group ride. An ambitious endeavor, my longest ride was 65 miles a few weeks prior and it really killed me (butt more than anything)... I was riding often, definitely over 100 miles a week between commute/leisure, but the rides were not continuously long (winter played a part, this is when it started actually getting cold).
One of the best decisions I made was to get my derailleurs setup and buy some cycling shorts the day before the group ride. Smooth shifting and comfort go a long way!
My first group ride went extremely well, I hung with the group and even took some pulls up front! This was after riding 20 miles to the meetup spot, and then 30 more casual miles to the splitting point, and then I went with the more serious drop ride. When we were about 15 or so miles from the original meetup spot back in Chicago, I was relishing in the fact that not only did I hang on for all this time, I wasn't particularly tired... and POW a flat and I got dropped. I wasn't too upset though, I had made it through about 90% of the ride and would have easily finished with the group - I had proven to myself that I could hang. This turned into my first century ride as well! At the end of the day I pulled right about 110 miles total. I was beat at the very end - this is the day I learned the wonders of drafting!
The next week I went back determined to finish the ride... it was even colder now - high of about 20. The group was much smaller, and only 2 others wanted to go the long route. I went with them, and this time the pace was higher! The riders were smaller, and I had on more/baggier layers PLUS I had to go to work after, so I had my backpack full of tools AND a change of clothes AND shoes! I still held on! I've never suffered so much, but I was determined.
The lack of drafting/me being less aero/the weight on my back made this the greatest suffering since dealing with the high winds of Sandy when I was in much worse shape. My legs were burning and my back was killin me, but I hung on! In the home stretch back to the cafe where the ride had split between shorter/longer... the pace went WAY up! We were cruising at 26-28mph and at this point I was absolutely giving it my all to hold on, but I was holding on! I was so happy, even through the pain and misery, that I was holding on.... but my joys were cut short by my baggy pants!!!!
My pants leg got caught in the front derailleur and I had to stop to fix it... I yelled out, but they kept going. It was bent, and it took me some time to jam it back into place (at least I had my tools... lol). After this my spirits were down, and I was totally unsure of how to get back... plus it was freezing cold! I knew I was close to the cafe, and I knew what turn was next, but once I got into town I wasn't sure which way to go - so I headed south and figured I'd wing it.
I did find my way back, after getting plenty lost and riding on a stretch of Sheridan road that is forbidden to bikes.. coincidentally it was the coolest little stretch I've ever ridden on - A short steep/twisty decent and a short steep/twisty ascent, dangerous with traffic though - I can see why its closed off. This ride turned into another century plus, not sure of exact mileage I was on 65 or so when my pants caught the derailleur - I set my bookbag on the top tube and I guess it caught the reset button on the computer... after that I was suffering so much I didn't care to check the mileage... and then I had to go to work!
That was just last week! I decided to skip the group ride this Saturday (today) after the heavy snow... I probably could have made it, the streets aren't as bad as I thought they would be... but I'm also whipped after having such fun with my latest purchase...
A Garmin edge 200! I'm so in love with Strava right now, after just a few days (see widget). I can't wait to try to top myself on all my favorite haunts - and I really want to get the KOM on a loop near the town I grew up in! I know I can do it!
Also I JUST ordered some pants tights... no more parachute pants catching the air and my chain! Also I JUST ordered a 12-23 rear cassette to replace my 11-30. The wide gearing kills me in the hills and flats alike, its hard to stay in my optimal cadence range - plus I've never used the biggest cogs on the rear cassette anyway... I only have a 50/36 up front.
Cant wait to have nice tight gears and I yearn for less leg and wind resistance that I hope tights will offer. I've learned so much and come so far in what seems like a long time, but it really hasn't been! I really can't believe I've only been on this bike for 2 months, and been riding clipless for a little less than that. I've become quite obsessed, but that's just how I am.
My hopes for the future are to enter and win a cat 5 race or 2 this year, and I'd like to make it to at least cat 3. If I can go higher I will strive for it, but now I'm just focusing on doing my best from diet to getting in the miles.
So here I am today, 27 years of age and 6'1" 175lbs of disproportionate mass (body builder legs and wimpy top according to my sister). I'll be adding to the great cycling blogosphere, and hopefully someone will enjoy reading what will hopefully be an interesting journey!
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