Saturday, April 28, 2007

Saturday SS Salsa ride

DEA and I got out for a nice Saturday MTB ride. It was pretty cloudy and looked like it could rain at any time. Lucky for us it held off.



We were both on our new Salsa El Mariachi's. mine in blue and DEA's in green. Couple a wicked sharp looking bikes I must say. We got about 20 miles on the dirt in which was nice. SOme mud but not too bad considering the rain we've had recently.

Garmin Edge Summary Data
Total Time (h:m:s) 3:02:26 8:41 pace
Moving Time (h:m:s) 2:21:00 6:43 pace
Distance (mi ) 20.98
Moving Speed (mph) 8.9 avg. 30.7 max.
Elevation Gain (ft) +1,569 / -1,568

Avg. Heart Rate 137 bpm Zone 3.4



DEA in full Team Bikeman.com kit calling A1 to see if he wants to meet up to ride with us.


JJ sucking wind.



JJ

Friday, April 27, 2007

Can't Get There From Here

Went out this afternoon to try and connect the last section on top of Rock House Mtn. that DEA and I couldn't find last death march. Parked at the top of Dolloff Hill and went up the logging road that drops back to Eaton Village. Rode about 1/4 mile in, really wet and muddy, then turned off onto the other logging road which I thought went to the top of Rock House Mtn. and would connect the two. It climbed for a mile or so and finally I crested and thought I was in the meadow, only to find I could see the top about one mile west and no trail. So there doesn't appear to be a connection from the top, oh well riding Moddock Hill to Colby Hill connects and we don't lose elevation for the ride, and keeps us on logging road instead of gravel.

Decided to ride down Dolloff Hill then turned around and rode back to the truck. Pretty steep 6/10 mile climb. What made it worse is it was raining and the gravel was really gooey and they had also just put new stone down like the backside of Davis Hill which made it really sloppy. Decent ride although I got thoroughly soaked.

A1

Thursday, April 26, 2007

Death March Part 2 - Pick a weekend

Went out on a recon ride tonight, got back just at dark, good thing since I didn't bring a light. Wanted to ride one new piece for the TWAF Death March. DEA and I rode it last XMAS but I've figured a way to add 15+ miles and about 4-5K feet more of climbing. Tonights ride was about an hour of singletrack, a section to connect us to some of the other trails added, that's basically untouched and none of us TWAF fools have ever ridden I'm guessing. First 1/2 mile was steep technical climbing, but 100% ridable, although my legs and lungs were both screaming by the top. Few spots I had all I could do to turn over the pedals on the SS. Then it rolls for the remainder until the other new section, then will climb again. So lets pick a weekend and get word out, it's all 100% ridable gravel, logging road and singletrack. I'm guessing we'll end up at around 50-55 miles and somewhere around 7,000 feet of climbing.

Got out for an hour with DEA last night checking out Pine Tree loop. Got back about 10:30, put the Stoufers pizza in the oven took a shower and sat down with a High Life. Good times.


A1

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Team Bikeman.com kits have arrived

The UPS man arrived at work today and delivered the Team Bikeman.com kits. I rode home from work today and wore the kits to see how it fit and felt. I must say that I guessed right on as far as sizing. The jersey was a nice fit while not skin tight. Since I don't have six-pack abs I don't think I need to be wearing anything too tight. The bib-shorts we also nice. Chamois was top quality and quite comfy on my rear end. Socks were also good. Overall I think its a wicked sharp get up.


Please pardon the pics as I asked my 8 year old to shoot them and the subject it limited as well.



JJ

Ok I'm poaching JJ's post but since he's looking as sexy and svelt I thought I'd post this JJ classic:

later- DEA (the post poacher)

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

improvement

New England has seen a drastic improvement in the last week. We went from a deadly Nor'easter to temps in the 70's and 80's with plenty of sunshine. Can't complain about that!

On Friday I got out with Michelin Mike after work, we spun up to Thorne and back down into town, a short but punchy ride. He's got some power and on the flats it was fun to sit behind him and just get sucked along. It'll be fun to get him out with TWAF on some longer rides both in the dirt and on the pavement. Saturday didn't see much riding action, I did get Abe's brakes installed, my new chainring for the SS installed, and got out for a test spin (still have some work dialing in the brakes). Then the rest of the day was spent at a birthday party for my youngest (A1 was there as were JJ's kids and wife- but he had scored a hall pass and was out for a ride). Sunday I snuck out for a couple hours, spent the first hour with JJ and then the second was solo. Felt pretty good. Then the past couple of days I've been able to commute so since Friday I've picked up about 6.5 hours of saddle time. I'd love more but it's a start!

Team Bikeman clothing should arrive tomorrow (UPS sent it to MA first so it's running a day late). I'm excited to see it.

That's it at the moment.

Ride on.


DEA

Monday, April 23, 2007

Sunday Ride & Monday Commute

DEA and I got out for a short ride (shorter for me) on Sunday morning and tackled a few hills getting ready for Crank the Kanc Hillclimb TTT coming up on May 19. It was nice and as usual DEA got all the lines without much trouble. I have realized that I might have a flaw in my riding/sprinting technique. Apparently when I stand up I slow down and when I sit back down I accelerate. Sorta makes my sprints for lines somewhat counterproductive when I try to stand and sprint with the fast guys. I basically become slower and an obsticle should anyone be behind me. I guess I need to work on that minor issue. Well here's the nmbers from Sunday

Garnim Edge Summary Data
Total Time (h:m:s) 1:20:50 3:53 pace
Moving Time (h:m:s) 1:20:02 3:51 pace
Distance (mi ) 20.77
Moving Speed (mph) 15.6 avg. 38.9 max.
Elevation Gain (ft) +1,862 / -1,981

Avg. Heart Rate 139 bpm Zone 3.5

Temperature (°F) 61.4°F avg. 64.4°F high
Wind Speed ( mph) NNE 1.5 avg. NNE 4.6 max.


I rode in to work this morning and was all ready to ride home the normal (shortest)way when at 3:40PM I was reminded of a PT appointment for my shoulder. I quickly donned the lycra and hit the road to MCPT for some shoulder therapy. I got done about 5PM and called DEA to see if he wanted to meet up for the ride home. We ended up meeting basically back at my office and then began the ride home from there. We kept a pretty nice pace and it was a good ride. I need to work on my drive train as it's really f'd up right now. Either way I ended up getting a nice 30+ miles today and that makes a nice even 80 miles over the last 3 days. Guess the miles are coming. Just would like to see some dirt soon.

Garmin Edge Summary Data
Moving Time (h:m:s) 1:44:25 3:18 pace
Distance (mi ) 31.53
Moving Speed (mph) 18.1 avg. 35.0 max.
Elevation Gain (ft) +1,992 / -1,989
Avg. Heart Rate 141 bpm Zone 3.5
Temperature (°F) 79°F avg. 84.2°F high
Wind Speed ( mph) S 7.3 avg. S 12.6 max.


No commute tomorrow as I have to head to Manchester to Fed. Ct for a couple hearings. Yipee. Maybe I can sneak in a ride after work. We'll see.

JJ

Saturday, April 21, 2007

Customization in progress

Well I started the conversion of the El Mariachi to a SS. Pulled off the rear der. and Sram shifter. Put on a nice new Surley 20T cog and new chain and its ready to go.



I also took the very nice Salsa bar off and replaced it with a funky On One Mary Bar. I then put my Ergon grips on. It does look pretty unconventional, but that is fitting with the whole bike.

The trails around here are all still very wet and some still have snow covering them so all the riding I have been able to do so far has been on pave. Oh well it will come.



DEA's youngster had a birthday party today at McDonalds but I was able to get a hall pass and went for a ride instead. I got a text message while riding from him saying bad things as he and A1 were rolling around in the ball crawl together eating their Happy Meals. I did a nice 27 mile loop and pushed pretty good.
Garmin Edge Summary Data
Total Time (h:m:s) 1:28:54 3:17 pace
Moving Time (h:m:s) 1:27:32 3:14 pace
Distance (mi ) 27.06
Moving Speed (mph) 18.5 avg. 34.2 max.
Elevation Gain (ft) +1,659 / -1,655

Avg. Heart Rate 158 bpm Zone 4.6

Temperature (°F) 71.6°F avg. 71.6°F high
Wind Speed ( mph) SE 9.2 avg. SE 10.4 max.



Hope to get out together with TWAF tomorrow and hit the roads for a spin.

JJ

Friday, April 20, 2007

Mission Accomplished

I got up nice and early this morning to get in a road ride on the new wheels. They roll nice. I still need to tweak the shifting as I was having some minor issues. I was not dressed properly and froze my toes. I had to stand in the shower and let the tub fill with hot water and just stand there to thaw them piggies out.


After that I set out for this place:

Bikeman.com World Headquarters

It was a nice drive and took a little less than 2 hours. Its a pretty cool shop with even nicer folks. I met Big Al and his wife Darcy. Nice people. So I spent some time checking out the El Mariachi's and took a little parking lot test ride and it felt nice. So after getting the rest of my Bikeman.com order together I was on the road with my shiny new snazzy Superior Blue Salsa El Mariachi.

El Mariachi

One big bonus was that I was anticipating gettin a bike in a box and having to build it this weekend. Lucky for me Big Al was willing to let me take the one he had built of the showroom floor. Dope man! So now my only project with it is to throw on the new On One mary Bars and the Ergon Grips. We'll have to see how the Mary bar and Ergon grips work together. Then I need to strip off the cassette and rear der. and put on the single speed cog and spacers, adjust the EBB and I'm good to go.
El Mariachi


Can't wait to get out and ride.

JJ

The weekend

Ahhh, the sun is out. Rode into work in knickers and no shoe covers. It was a bit chilly so I ramped up the effort to get warm- that did the trick. We may sneak out for an afternoon ride with Mike we'll just have to see how the day plays out.

JJ is on the road to Team Bikeman World Headquarters to pick up his new Salsa. A1 is setting up tents or delievering chairs, me I'm at my desk looking out the window at white capped mountains and blue sky. I'm in a much better mood now that the sun is out!

Looking foward to riding this weekend. Not sure what the schedule will be, we've got a b-day party for Emma (a week late but that's how it is these days) and my Grandmother's 85th! Happy birthday Grammy!

With the temps heading up we may see some trails be rideable in about a week- we'll have to see. I'd say we could head south but with all the flooding they saw near the coast I'm guessing that while not snow covered the trails down south are super wet. But soon, very soon.

That's it from here. The final parts for the Salsa road bike should be coming back with JJ today so maybe I'll start in earnest on that project.

later,


DEA

Thursday, April 19, 2007

New Hoops have arrived



Christmas in April, well at least there was snow on the ground, but its April and the FedEx/Santa showed up at work today with two nice boxes. Each containing a new Neuvation Cycling wheel. They are wicked perty.



I stopped by DEA's and showed him one of them and we were impressed as we inspected them. I then went home and began to tear down the C-dale and clean it up a bit, which it sorely needed. So after tearing the wheels off and stripping the rubber I pulled the drivetrain apart and began cleaning and putting it all back together. I started with the front wheel and put the new skewer in and put the rim strip on and put the tire and tube on. It was a real f*&%ing bear getting the tire on, but once it was there it looked nice. I need to get tubes with longer stems now cause these rims are much deeper than the prior set.



I then began working on the rear wheel and I put my shiny new Ultegra cassette into place and then put the rim strip on and then began to wrestle with the new Michelin tire I had just gotten from DEA. Wow that is some stiff rubber. After much swearing and breaking a tire lever I finally got it in place. I inflated them and they held air, and it was all good.

I finished by cleaning the cranks and chainrings and topped it off with a nice new Sram chain. I threw them on the bike and opened the garage door to give them a test roll and was greeted by more rain failing from the sky. Oh well, this morning it was nice and sunny and is supposed to be 50ish. Brought the bike to work and hope to get out on a ride sometime during the day.

Thanks again to John at Neuvation Cycling. He set me up with a great looking set of wheels. I'll give some updates as I get some miles on them.

JJ

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Strange Thing in the sky

I saw it, it was overhead briefly and it was bright and warm. I heard an old timer call it "the sun". Then it was gone. So with the nicer day today (no rain) I got out for a spin after lunch. Old Mill to Mill Street, then east on Hampshire Road (153) To Old County. To the top of Old County (ouch) spun around back to Hampshire Road (west) rode out to the state line, turned around and then back to Mill Street and home.

The route had quite a bit of climbing, probably about the same as our ride this weekend (3,000ish feet). I got to enjoy the climbs both ways on Mill Street, the Old County Climb, and the climb before the State Line on the Eaton side. Sweet. The rain washed away about 100 ft. of Old County at the base and as DEA mentioned Mill St. got it good too, I was careful not to get close to the shoulder.

Here's the ride numbers:

Time - 1:39
Miles - 25.6
Avg. Speed 15.4
Max. Speed 36.4

A1

Playing Catch-Up

The ride we (JJ, A1 and I) did on Sunday was great and it made me realize I'm way behind in fitness, so despite this Nor'easter I descided I need to get out and start playing catch up. Usually I commute to work at least two or three days a week starting in March and this year that just didn't happen for a host of reasons- and I wasn't making up that lost hour of saddle time a day- so needless to say I wasn't doing much.

Yesterday I got home from work, did a quick round of dumping buckets around the house (my redneck version of gutters) and applied for a quick hall pass. Part of the plan was to ride to JJ's house to pick up a DVD of PRB that he had so kindly burned for me. I snagged the Cross-Check from the basement that has been doubling as a pool as of late, geared up in my best snivel gear and headed out the door. Into the second song on my shuffle the battery died (reminded me of A1 only charging his light once every six months) oh well no tunes, but plenty of rain and roaring brooks to listen to. Actually I was sort of glad as the sound of all the running water was pretty wild.

Headed out to the Maine line on Mill Street and was surprised by how much damage had been done by the run off. Large sections of Mill street were in danger of falling into the abyss and had me riding at times damn close to the yellow line. I got to the Maine line and the road looked real nasty so I spun around and headed for the backside of Davis hill to see what that looked like.

As A1 had mentioned the town had dropped some large scale gravel on the parts of the road- I was glad I was on cross tires but was still waiting to feel a soft wheel. It never came but the climb did and up I went. I was surprised how firm the road felt, maybe because all the fines had washed away and I was riding on bedrock. It wasn't quite that bad but there were sections that were pretty gnarly.

I got to the top and began rolling down the dirt towards JJ's house and a truck rolled up behind me. I wasn't too anxious to get right on the side of the road but I pulled over to give him plenty of room but he wouldn't come by, I waved him to come by and still nothing. I wasn't sure what to think and the road was rough enough that I was keeping my eyes on where I was going. Finally he came up next to me and started by just as a big gap in the road appeared. I jumped for all I was worth (about 2 cents) and cleared the first three inches of the hole- but managed to land completely in it. I thought about how much fun it was going to be to hit the ground but amazingly I managed to roll out unscaythed (spelling?). I will chalk that up to pure luck as skill was sadly missing.

I got to JJ's and dripped on his floor while I talked to he and his wife while his kids looked at me like I was some sort of freak. I then realized I was getting warm and had better head out or else I'd be pretty misrable getting cold again. I snagged the DVD and headed out the door. I got home and the girls had already eaten so I snagged the leftovers. I got cleaned up, put the girls to bed and sat down with the sole beer left in the fridge (poor planning on my part) and put in the newly minted DVD of the 2007 PRB with CSC taking the win yet again. The anticipation built, the surround sound was cranked, and the player wouldn't read the disc. Damn. Try again, nothing. Ok that player is a piece of crap- it might be because Emma thought that a fruit rollup would work well as a DVD. So upstairs I went, hell it's kinda like porn so why not watch it in the bedroom! But again- no go. So over to the computer- nope. Damn!!!! So I still haven't seen the footage. Looks like JJ is going to have an uninvited houseguest soon.

So that was my afternoon. This morning I rode into work, fairly dry. A1 tried to hit me with a snowball as I pedaled by and JJ drove by and didn't give me a good draft- but at least I got in some saddle time today.

that's it from here.

later,

DEA

Monday, April 16, 2007

Wet

I'm glad we got out yesterday morning for a ride as the weather is just a big bag of suck right now. But if anyone want's to come over and go for a swim in my basement later on today it should be good and full. Ahhh the joys of home ownership.

It felt good to get out yesterday. I'm way behind the eight ball right now and need to step up my game if I want to have any chance of staying on JJ and A1's wheel at Crank the Kanc. At this point I'll be taking 20 second pulls while they're taking 2 minute pulls. Yikes.

The Salsa El Mariachi is all built up and looking pretty. It needs a shake down cruise and some work on position, maybe I can do that later in the week. I be honest I'd like to take it out on a dry day for its virgin voyage. I haven't even started working on the road bike yet. Maybe I'll start this week. The Cannondale is still treating me well and with this crap weather I'm not so keen to take a brandy new road frame out for torture, especially a steel frame with the salt that is still on the roads.

I didn't see it (maybe I'll connect with JJ and watch it at his house) but read about Stuart pulling off the PRB win- makeing it two years in a row for CSC. That's a race I'd love to see in person. It was interesting thinking of the weather they were having- 80+ degrees. Maybe they can ship that over this way with a case of good red wine.

That's it at the moment.

Stay dry out there!

DEA

Sunday, April 15, 2007

TWAF sunday morning ride

After my solo ride yesterday we were able to get together for a ride this morning. So at 7am we rolled out for a relatively unplanned route and ended up doing a ride that A1 had done solo recently. Sad thing is I think he had better numbers speed and time wise for his solo loop than the three of us did this morning. We started out at a pretty reasonable pace and got warmed up well on the first climb. Of course there were plenty more climbs to come. Sad thing is A1 was schooling us on the climbs and had his rear brake dragging so much you could hear it pretty well riding beside him. I wish I was 19 again like him.


Ride Elevation

DEA and A1 each got a State Line to their credit and they also split the town lines as well. I was bringing up the rear as I am now confident that I am not a sprinter, not really a climber either. Maybe I belong in a team car or something like that.

Garmin Edge Summary Data
Total Time (h:m:s) 2:37:13 4:09 pace
Moving Time (h:m:s) 2:34:24 4:05 pace
Distance (mi ) 37.79
Moving Speed (mph) 14.7 avg. 40.4 max.
Elevation Gain (ft) +3,166 / -3,222

Avg. Heart Rate 138 bpm Zone 3.4

Temperature (°F) 36.5°F avg. 37.4°F high

Here's a shot of A1 (closer) & DEA (further) as we were bundled up for the chilly AM ride. As you can see we still have plenty of snow on the ground from the last storm.

DEA & A1


SO the weather situation has not gotten any brighter. This is what is heading our way. Oh joy. Here's what the National Weather Service is saying right now:

A WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM EDT MONDAY.

EXPECT A TOTAL OF 10 TO 18 INCHES OF SNOW ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS OF WESTERN MAINE AND NORTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE... WITH 6 TO 12 INCHES IN THE FOOTHILLS. SNOW WILL OVERSPREAD THE REGION THIS AFTERNOON... AND BECOME HEAVY AT TIMES TONIGHT. SNOW WILL MIX WITH RAIN AT TIMES MONDAY. EXPECT UP TO TWO FEET OF SNOW IN ELEVATIONS OVER 1500 FEET.

IN ADDITION...WINDS WILL GUST TO 40 MPH TONIGHT AND MONDAY MORNING. THE COMBINATION OF A HEAVY WET SNOW AND GUSTY WINDS WILL CAUSE SIGNIFICANT POWER OUTAGES.

THE COMBINATION OF STRONG WINDS... HEAVY SNOW...AND DOWNED TREE BRANCHES WILL MAKE TRAVEL VERY DIFFICULT TONIGHT AND MONDAY.

What's coming our way

I can't wait. Looks like I'll be off the bike for a few days with this coming in. My legs will thank me so its all good. Next weekend is looking good, as long as the roads are not all washed out or covered with trees and debris.

JJ

Saturday, April 14, 2007

Pre Nor' Easter Ride

So we're supposed to get another f'ning snowstorm tomorrow. Weather Channel is saying another 10-18 inches on top of the foot we got Thursday night. The roads got cleared off well enough that I got out for a descent ride solo today.




Garmin Edge Summary Data
Total Time (h:m:s) 1:54:44 3:42 pace
Moving Time (h:m:s) 1:52:26 3:37 pace
Distance (mi ) 31.00
Moving Speed (mph) 16.5 avg. 31.4 max.
Elevation Gain (ft) +1,948 / -1,966

Avg. Heart Rate 145 bpm Zone 3.9

There's talk of a ride tomorrow morning early with DEA & A1 hoping to beat the storm and get a couple hours on the bike. Maybe DEA will have one of his new bikes built up by then to ride. GUess we'll have to wait and see.

JJ

Friday, April 13, 2007

One down, one to go

So I sold my 29er Singlespeed today. As a result I now have the clearance (and the $$) to buy another bike.



Going to be placing my order with Bikeman.com for a new Salsa El Mariachi 29er. Comes as a 1x9 but has an ebb and I plan to run it as a single-speed.

KHS Pro ST is still available if anyone is in the market.

JJ

Quick Spin

Nikki and I are going to a party tonight so I decided to pick her car up at the salon so I can pick her up tonight and only have one car. I had no ride agenda other than end up there at some point. Headed down 302 to 113 to Wallie World and then up the north south road to the village. Pretty mellow just spinning the legs out. At Carrier's a backhoe pulled out and I realized it was a freind of mine who plows our driveway. Decided to catch up and passed him on the little hill, and thought I was clear of him. He decided to pick up his pace and started catching up, which I couldn't let him do so I took off, we raced for about 1/2 mile at about 23 mph, until we got to Kearsarge Street, thankfully I was going left and he went right. So the easy spin turned into a short sprint, which was good since I beat him by about 100 feet. Time to buy a faster tractor Mike.

Thought about the Jackson loop and thorne, but decided on Upper West Side, which when I turned on found it really sandy. All the other roads were great but they must have sanded West Side last night. Turned around and decided to head to the salon. Very short ride.

Here's what I got:

37:58 Minutes (wow)
9.2 Total Miles (sweet)
14.5 Avg. Speed
31 MPH Max. Speed

A1

Thursday, April 12, 2007

New Road Wheels on the way....

R28 Aero's

My rear wheel on my C-dale is sorta square these days and has a nice little hop in it when you get moving over about 14pmh. Fortuantely I am usually plodding along at much slower speeds, but from time to time I am coaasting downhill and hit the high teens. I have had these wheels trued too many times and it only lasts for a few rides before it's no longer round. (Maybe I need to lose some weight??) As a result I was in need of a new rear hoop and had heard very good things about Neuvation Wheels. After consulting with their owner, John, I ordered me a set of his R28's. I also go a new Ultegra cassette and chain from Bikeman.com so I should be good to go once the wheelset arrives. I love getting new stuff.

If anyone is interested in a couple bikes I have a Redline Monocog 29er in nice shape for sale and a KHS Pro ST for sale as well. Both medium sized frames.

Time to go dig my car out.

JJ

Pics from yesterdays Ride



Here are a few shots from my spin yesterday. The view from the top of Leavitte of Mt. Washington makes the climb worth while, and I actually remembered the camera. I think today is the 73rd anniversary of the highest recorded wind ever on Mt. Washington, 231 mph I believe. DEA would know if I'm right or wrong? Second shot is about half way down Potter, most of the road was muddy and snow but this section was pretty good.

It's snowing hard out, this sucks.

A1

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Thorne Hill Loop

Got out for a lunch time ride to Jackson up and over Thorne Hill Road. It was one of those days when you hit the top you taste blood. Such a great lunch. Thorne is a nasty climb that goes up without a break until you hit the top.



Summary Data from the Garmin Edge 305
Total Time (h:m:s) 0:53:24 3:57 pace
Moving Time (h:m:s) 0:53:25 3:57 pace
Distance (mi ) 13.47
Moving Speed (mph) 15.1 avg. 35.3 max.
Elevation Gain (ft) +1,244 / -1,245

Avg. Heart Rate 151 bpm Zone 4.2

Not looking forward to the forecast for 6-12 inches of white stuff being called for tomorrow and a possible Nor' Easter coming on Sunday. When's winter gonna end?

JJ

Why is it going to snow again?

So with today's nice weather and tomorrow looking like another 6-10 inches of snow I decided to head out for a little spin on the SS. Same loop up Davis to Gulf, Leavitte, Greeley, Potter, Mill St. past Pine Tree to 302 and home. Gravel was gooey and heavy. Greeley had a nice patch of mud on the descent. Nice to get and and spin on gravel again.

About 15 miles and 1 hour 12 minutes. Good ride. Legs felt pretty good after yesterday's ride and the Energease and Recoverease seem to be working well. Took a few pictures I'll post soon.

A1

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

First Ride with Numbers

So after 4 months I finally put my computer on my bike (I got it for Xmas). Headed out and did the same loop as DEA and JJ did Saturday (I think, if they did the same one DEA and I did a few weeks ago), except at Crystal Lake I took a left and headed south on 153 instead of North. Rode down to King Pine and turned right onto East Madison Road to the end then up 113 to Conway village and home. I don't have the elevation capabilities that JJ has so I have to get him to ride that route cause Eat Madison Road climbs, a lot. First 1.5 miles is pretty much staright up then it climbs again at the end and the first half of 113. I would say based on his numbers from the other day this ride could be around 3,000 ft. of gain?

Here are the numbers from the ride.

Total Mileage - 35.2
Avg. Speed - 15.4
Max Speed - 39.9
Total Time - 2:17

A1

Sunday, April 08, 2007

Pre-Easter loop through Snowville

DEA and I went out for a chilly 25 mile ride Saturday. It was good to get out knowing I would be eating very badly on Easter.



Numbers courtacy the Garmin Edge 305
Summary Data
Total Time (h:m:s) 1:41:21 3:59 pace
Moving Time (h:m:s) 1:39:59 3:56 pace
Distance (mi ) 25.37
Moving Speed (mph) 15.2 avg. 39.2 max.
Elevation Gain (ft) +2,147 / -2,158

Avg. Heart Rate 142 bpm Zone 3.7

Temperature (°F) 35.6°F avg. 35.6°F high
Wind Speed ( mph) SSE 3.8 avg. SSE 5.8 max.

JJ

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Snow

It's April, it's New Hampshire, we live in a place refered to as the White Mountains- so it makes sense that we're supposed to get up to 10" of snow tonight.

I wonder what the real estate market is like down near Dicky?

later,

DEA

Monday, April 02, 2007

LSD ride of sorts

I called DEA and asked if he was up for an LSD ride Sunday as I knew he was kid free for the weekend. I had a 2 hour window and the weather was beautiful. I told him I wanted to do a flat ride and keep the HR down as I am still trying to put in some base miles. He was cool with that and we were set to go for 1:30PM. About 1:25 the phone rings and DEA's at A1's house putting cream on his shammy or something like that. Either way they were on their way once they were properly lubed for the ride.

Ride Elevation

Needless to say, the ride was very good. Not quite flat as the elevation shows. I can't complain too much as I agreed to the rout beforehand. It is also very tough to find a rout of any distance around here that is flat anyhow. As we approached the first state line which is atop the biggest climb the question was posed, "Are we racing for lines today?" I said I was out as this was an LSD ride and I was trying to keep my HR as close to 140 or less as possible. A1 wouldn't answer the question. He was quite the politician in dodging the question, as we got closer the question was answered by A1 taking off for the line with DEA in tow. A1 was all over the road trying to be as wide as possible to keep DEA from getting around him. A1 was looking back more than to the front. At the line however, DEA was able to slingshot around and get A1 by a bike or so. I was quickly off the back at this point. They sat up and I proceeded along at my tortoise like pace and caught the hares. This is how the entire ride went as we hit 4 state lines on the ride with DEA getting the first 3 and A1 snagging the last one of the day.

Ride Map

All in all it was a good couple hours on the bike. Here's the number from the Garmin Edge 305

Ride Time 2:02:46
Distance 30.77 mi
Ave. speed 15.1 mph
Max speed 38.6
Ave. HR 143
Elev. gain 2,130

I guess 2,100 feet of climbing is flat around here. So I have about 500 base miles in so far and was hoping to have 750-1000 in before ramping up the intensity but the nice weather and riding mates makes it tough to stay focused. The weather this week will definitely put a damper on riding outside. Oh well, spring in New England. Gotta love mud season.

JJ

Good weekend

Ahhh, a good weekend. Got out for 2:40 on Saturday solo and then rode with the boys on Sunday for 2:20. A total of 5 hours in the saddle- can't complain!

What great weather, but this is New England- so today it's snowing/sleeting/raining with temps in the mid 30's. That's the weather for the next few days so yipee!

The girls come back from Florida tomorrow. I'm ready to have them home, it's been nice to be able to sneak out for a ride at any time that I want but it's also too quite!

The new bikes are slowly coming together. I pressed the headset and put in the BB on the El Mariachi- on the road bike front I looked at the new frame and drooled.

I've got new disc brakes on order so I figure I'll wait for those instead of pulling brakes off of one of the other bikes. I'm still waiting for a couple other parts and the new BB tool for the road bike- but soon, very soon.

Back to yesterdays ride, it was great to get out with A1 and JJ. We're racing Crank the Kanc as a team time trial- so it was nice to get out and ride with the three of us. We didn't really do any TT specific work in terms of pull intervals, but A1 and I had some fun racing to town and state lines. A1 ended up winning the last sprint back into NH with a ballsy move into traffic. I'm fearful of when he finally figures out how to sprint cuz the boy's got power. So until that day I'll use every tactic and trick I know to try and rack up some points- because the day is drawing near when I won't be able to touch him in a sprint.

JJ showed composure as this was an LSD ride for him, so he hung back and noodled along while testosterone got the better of A1 and I when we would see a town or state line.

For those who aren't familiar with where we live, we're in NH but real close to ME, so it's not uncommon to cris-cross back and forth over the state line numerous times in a fairly short ride.

So that's it from me. Later- DEA