Whats there to say, long climbs, litteraly breathtaking views! The hotel options have been great, and camping sucks. Today is a day off with a massage scheduled.
Roark
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
600k
A few of you have asked me how the 600k went, so I thought I'd give a quick post. All in all it went pretty well. 600k is about 375 miles, and the time limit is 40 hours. I was with 1 other guys most of the time, and 1 other guy kind of cat and mouse. For the most part we finished togehter in 34 hours 32 minutes. I finished 3rd a couple of minutes behind the other 2 because I wanted to pull my own way in down the stretch. Not a bad time considering we were in Anna, Il for almost 9.5 hours not pedaling.
Nine or ten riders started in Edwardsville on Saturday at 4am and rode east for about 40 miles, then mostly south in a round about way. We made it to Anna Illinios that day at 6:30, which was 227 miles give or take. This qualifies as my second double century, and we did the 200 miles in 12 hours 15 minutes, which was about 15 minutes faster than my previous double. If you've never been there, Anna is about 15 miles South / Southeast of Carbondale. It gets pretty hilly down there too, so the last 40 miles of day one, and the first 60 miles of day two were fairly hilly. Not as hilly as west county, but hilly enough considering the miles in our legs. Saturday was a pretty good day for biking except that it did get pretty hot from about 1pm to 5pm.
On Sunday we again started at 4am. This meant me and one other guy who stuck together into Anna had gotten about 6.5 hours sleep, plus time for dinner and winding down the night before. Keeping a good pace the first day is a good thing because it allows for more sleep time before you have to get going again. We saw some of the other riders on day two. One group of three had riden about 260 miles on day one, but got to their hotel around 2am, and then only had 3 hours of sleep. One other guy who was in the back of the pack rode straight through, and we didn't see him in front of us until about the 310 miles mark. He looked like hell too, and was moving at about 11-12 mph. Day two wound up being about 152 miles for us due to a couple of small wrong turns. So in the end I rode about 379 miles, even though the ride was only supposed to be 375. Sunday was considerably cooler too. I had a wind vest on all the way until noon, which by that time we only had about 40 more miles to go. I'm not 100% sure, but I think our riding time was right around 20.5 hours, so our average speed on the bike was somewhere around 18.5 mph. The guy I was with most of the time was a real tank. We pulled 50 / 50 for the first half of both days, but by mid day it was starting to be more him than me. By the end of the second day we split up a bit because I told him I didn't feel right following him pretty much 100% of the time. I was fine to ride, and was not having any real difficulties, I just couldn't ride at his pace.
I learned quite a bit about long distance riding too. A race bike is good for speed, but not so good for comfort. It is now 3 days after and the tips of some fingers are still tingeling, but they are almost back to normal. No saddle sores, although my sit bones were pretty worn out. My neck was worn out too, but I could have riden the next day if it had been an even longer ride. I'm pretty sure another bike is in my near future. Probably something with a more upright position, and maybe a steel / carbon frame for more comfort. I also think it will be a triple, and it may even have a rear rack for gear. Too much junk in your jersey pockets really adds to fatigue. Plus starting at 4am and riding through the heat of the day is very challenging when it comes to managing your gear.
The good news is I know I'll do these again next year, and I'm pretty sure Paris-Brest-Paris is still on the radar.
Talk to you all soon,
Mike
Nine or ten riders started in Edwardsville on Saturday at 4am and rode east for about 40 miles, then mostly south in a round about way. We made it to Anna Illinios that day at 6:30, which was 227 miles give or take. This qualifies as my second double century, and we did the 200 miles in 12 hours 15 minutes, which was about 15 minutes faster than my previous double. If you've never been there, Anna is about 15 miles South / Southeast of Carbondale. It gets pretty hilly down there too, so the last 40 miles of day one, and the first 60 miles of day two were fairly hilly. Not as hilly as west county, but hilly enough considering the miles in our legs. Saturday was a pretty good day for biking except that it did get pretty hot from about 1pm to 5pm.
On Sunday we again started at 4am. This meant me and one other guy who stuck together into Anna had gotten about 6.5 hours sleep, plus time for dinner and winding down the night before. Keeping a good pace the first day is a good thing because it allows for more sleep time before you have to get going again. We saw some of the other riders on day two. One group of three had riden about 260 miles on day one, but got to their hotel around 2am, and then only had 3 hours of sleep. One other guy who was in the back of the pack rode straight through, and we didn't see him in front of us until about the 310 miles mark. He looked like hell too, and was moving at about 11-12 mph. Day two wound up being about 152 miles for us due to a couple of small wrong turns. So in the end I rode about 379 miles, even though the ride was only supposed to be 375. Sunday was considerably cooler too. I had a wind vest on all the way until noon, which by that time we only had about 40 more miles to go. I'm not 100% sure, but I think our riding time was right around 20.5 hours, so our average speed on the bike was somewhere around 18.5 mph. The guy I was with most of the time was a real tank. We pulled 50 / 50 for the first half of both days, but by mid day it was starting to be more him than me. By the end of the second day we split up a bit because I told him I didn't feel right following him pretty much 100% of the time. I was fine to ride, and was not having any real difficulties, I just couldn't ride at his pace.
I learned quite a bit about long distance riding too. A race bike is good for speed, but not so good for comfort. It is now 3 days after and the tips of some fingers are still tingeling, but they are almost back to normal. No saddle sores, although my sit bones were pretty worn out. My neck was worn out too, but I could have riden the next day if it had been an even longer ride. I'm pretty sure another bike is in my near future. Probably something with a more upright position, and maybe a steel / carbon frame for more comfort. I also think it will be a triple, and it may even have a rear rack for gear. Too much junk in your jersey pockets really adds to fatigue. Plus starting at 4am and riding through the heat of the day is very challenging when it comes to managing your gear.
The good news is I know I'll do these again next year, and I'm pretty sure Paris-Brest-Paris is still on the radar.
Talk to you all soon,
Mike
Team Prices on Accelerade, Endurox, and Accel Gel
All,
I have the order form from PacificHealth Laboratories for the team prices on Accelerade, Enderox R4, and Accel Gel. (If you want to see a product comparison on the gel, you can look here....http://www.accelgel.com/pages/comparison.html)
I'd like to get a count of who all would interested in ordering any of these. We have to order them by the case.
Accelerade comes in a case of six. Each 56-serving container comes out to $20.50.
Endurox comes in a case of six. Each 28-serving container comes out to $27.00.
Accel gel comes in a case of four boxes. Each 24-count box comes out to $16.15.
These prices do NOT include shipping yet. Shipping is between $11-20 per case....or free shipping if we order six cases.
I'm double-checking, but I think that a case needs to be all one flavor.
Accelerade flavors: fruit punch, orange, lemon lime, blue raspberry, and lemonade (new).
Endurox flavors: fruit punch, tangy orange, lemon lime, vanilla, and chocolate.
Accel gel flavors: vanilla, strawberry kiwi, cholocate, and citrus orange (new).
I'm in for two Accelerades and two gels. I'm ok with any of the flavors (for Accerade and gel), but since I've been drinking only the fruit punch Accelerade for a while, I may be ready to switch.
Let me know within the next couple of weeks.
Cheri
I have the order form from PacificHealth Laboratories for the team prices on Accelerade, Enderox R4, and Accel Gel. (If you want to see a product comparison on the gel, you can look here....http://www.accelgel.com/pages/comparison.html)
I'd like to get a count of who all would interested in ordering any of these. We have to order them by the case.
Accelerade comes in a case of six. Each 56-serving container comes out to $20.50.
Endurox comes in a case of six. Each 28-serving container comes out to $27.00.
Accel gel comes in a case of four boxes. Each 24-count box comes out to $16.15.
These prices do NOT include shipping yet. Shipping is between $11-20 per case....or free shipping if we order six cases.
I'm double-checking, but I think that a case needs to be all one flavor.
Accelerade flavors: fruit punch, orange, lemon lime, blue raspberry, and lemonade (new).
Endurox flavors: fruit punch, tangy orange, lemon lime, vanilla, and chocolate.
Accel gel flavors: vanilla, strawberry kiwi, cholocate, and citrus orange (new).
I'm in for two Accelerades and two gels. I'm ok with any of the flavors (for Accerade and gel), but since I've been drinking only the fruit punch Accelerade for a while, I may be ready to switch.
Let me know within the next couple of weeks.
Cheri
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Bicycle Fun Club Ride
The Bicycle Fun Club Ride this Sunday June 11 is only 40 miles, if anyone is interested we could meet in Alton and ride about 13 miles to Brighton for 66 miles or for those who want more miles meet at Lewis & Clark in Hartford for 82 miles.
Friday, June 02, 2006
Sunday June 4 Pancake Ride
Looks like I might be doing this one alone. There is a 100k and 100 mile option. The ride starts from New Baden IL City Park between 6:30 and 8:30 AM. It costs $30 and includes lunch. I am confirmed and preregistered. If anyone else is interested we can carpool or agree to a meeting time.
Brian
Brian
Greg's 100 Miles Loop Through Calhoun County via The Golden Eagle Ferry!
! CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE MAP!CLICK ON LINK FOR CUE SHEET ON ROUTE
Up for your consideration next Saturday, June 10 (not this Saturday Ron). A Century ride over in Calhoun County via the Golden Eagle Ferry. This is a ride Greg Hobson suggested, and worked with me to create. There will be lots of hills once we get to Calhoun County. How many hills, and how much climbing I can't say for sure. It will be a new ride for all of us. If you think next Saturday would be a good time to try this ride let me know.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)