This past Saturday I decided that I was going to go out and spend sometime in the saddle. Since we only have 7 weeks to the MS150, I planned a route from my house in Wentzville, to my Mom & Dads house in Lake St. Louis. The route came out to be 50 miles, and had 935 ft of climbing. Which is just a few hundred feet short of the amount of climbing that we will do over 100 miles when we ride the MS150.
So I got up early because it was going to be one of the hottest days of the year. I had a quick bite to eat, and off I went. The ride was pretty uneventful. I was glad to see how many people were out riding even though it was insanely hot! The only down point was that it seemed like every time I was climbing a hill, the wind was blowing straight in my face. That made for a long day!! All that wind blowing in my face finally caught up to me at mile 40. Both of my legs started cramping, in the same exact spot. So I got off the bike and did some stretching and kind of just relaxed for a few minutes under a big shade tree. Once I got back on I was ok, and I finished up my ride at a pretty easy pace. It took me about 3 hrs and 20 min. I had fun, but riding is definitely better when there is a group to help drag you home!
Monday, July 26, 2010
Peach Pedal ride in Marine, IL, gravel and water...
I decided to do the Peach Pedal Trailnet ride in Marine, IL on Sunday. It was a good way to get in 53 miles and the day did not look to be too hot. Unfortunately for some people, the heavy rains on Saturday night put a bit of a challenge into the ride. There was gravel on a lot of the turns, that had people a bit upset. I figure if you slow down and are aware of the situation there is nothing to worry about. No issues here! The bigger obstacle was water across the road in two spots. The first was a low water bridge crossing that looked to rarely get wet. The water was 6" to 8" deep and moving fast. Plus there was mud on the road on both sides of the bridge. Most people turned back to look for an alternate route, we picked up the bikes and walked across. It was a good way to cool off. We came to the second one at about 40 miles. The water was across the road between two corn fields, again about 6" deep. I did not get off the bike for this one, just pedal across, like I was a kid again riding after a good rain. I got just as wet as walking since me feet would go into the water at each downstroke of the pedal.
53 miles in just under 4 hours of riding, we had a 13.5 average. I felt good, but could not imagine that being the halfway point of a century. I better log some serious miles before the MS!!!
53 miles in just under 4 hours of riding, we had a 13.5 average. I felt good, but could not imagine that being the halfway point of a century. I better log some serious miles before the MS!!!
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Hot weather
The past few weeks have been tough to get out. Since Makenzie is here I have to maximize my ride time. I have been hitting the Thursday Momentum group ride almost every week. The past few days I have gotten in some good ride time. Thursday momentum, Friday Babler hill training, Saturday Schlafly group ride, Sunday MTB ride with Aaron.
The Saturday Schlafly group ride was good. It consisted of Jeff, Aaron, Doug, RJ, and myself. The goal was to take and EASY 30 mile ride. Well Doug wanted to push the pace so of course I had to. We ended up backing down a bit and enjoying a beautiful morning in St. Paul. 30 miles at 17mph was a decent day, sort of relaxing for me since most of my rides lately are 30 miles and at least 22-23 mph.
Friday i went out to Babler park by myself to put in some torture. The hills out there are sweet! I only rode two laps, had a long tough day at work and was walking up and down hills all day. HUH what a great time to ride hills after a hard day at work! Ended up hitting 49.8 mph down hill. I still want to hit 50 there!
Sunday, this morning, Aaron and I went out to Indian Camp Creek for what was supposed to be a good MTB ride followed by a good easy road ride. the roads out there are very nice and very little traffic. Well about 10 minutes left in the mtb ride the thunder and lightening started rolling in. The rain started coming pretty good but we were in the tree packed trail. Once in the open field I turned on the afterburners and sprinted to the car trying to get out of the nasty weather. That was the fastest myself and Aaron put our bikes on the rack and we said "see ya later" and got the hell out of there. Usually we sit and bullshit for a long time after a ride, but today it was a matter of seconds.
keep riding!
Jay
The Saturday Schlafly group ride was good. It consisted of Jeff, Aaron, Doug, RJ, and myself. The goal was to take and EASY 30 mile ride. Well Doug wanted to push the pace so of course I had to. We ended up backing down a bit and enjoying a beautiful morning in St. Paul. 30 miles at 17mph was a decent day, sort of relaxing for me since most of my rides lately are 30 miles and at least 22-23 mph.
Friday i went out to Babler park by myself to put in some torture. The hills out there are sweet! I only rode two laps, had a long tough day at work and was walking up and down hills all day. HUH what a great time to ride hills after a hard day at work! Ended up hitting 49.8 mph down hill. I still want to hit 50 there!
Sunday, this morning, Aaron and I went out to Indian Camp Creek for what was supposed to be a good MTB ride followed by a good easy road ride. the roads out there are very nice and very little traffic. Well about 10 minutes left in the mtb ride the thunder and lightening started rolling in. The rain started coming pretty good but we were in the tree packed trail. Once in the open field I turned on the afterburners and sprinted to the car trying to get out of the nasty weather. That was the fastest myself and Aaron put our bikes on the rack and we said "see ya later" and got the hell out of there. Usually we sit and bullshit for a long time after a ride, but today it was a matter of seconds.
keep riding!
Jay
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Well Makenzie is here! She was born Tuesday June 15 at 5:53am. She has taken up quite a bit of my time and I wouldnt change it for the world! I have managed to get in some quality bike rides. I have raced 3 times since and had a few good Momentum training rides.
I tried to race the Missouri State MTB championship race. I was at the start line and felt great. The horn blew and up the steep ass hill we went right off the start. My Heart Rate went throught the roof very quickly. This was my first cat 2 race on the mtb and I was pumped. I was trying to mash it up the first hill and tried to recover on the flats just by the start line. We headed up Grotepeter and i turned the corner to head up the steep technical climb. I shifted down to and easier gear and started cranking on the pedals. About 5 turns of the cranks and BAM there goes my chain. Damn thing snapped and my race was over. 1.4 freakin miles into it and I was done. I had nothing to fix it with so I rode back down the hill and watched the rest of my Momentum team try and finish the race.
Next race was my first ever road bike race. It was the Tour de Grove. A 3 mile circuit race. I was nervous as hell not knowing what I was getting into. the horn went off and there we went. The pace was very very slow off the start. I told myself to let some other idiot do all the work and lead the pack. Well I didnt follow my plan. I ended up out front for a good portion of the race, doing a lot of the work and spendning all my energy. Ryan, Dogfish Racing and member of Schlafly, went out on a break at just the right time and passed me while I was trying to rest. I tried catching him but my legs were not there. I ended up finishing 8th out of 16.
My next good ride was the Thursday momentum group ride. I was up front the whole ride with the crazy fast cat 3/4 guys. My average speed was 23.4mph for 30 miles.
This past sunday I raced in the Webster Groves Crit race. The field was bigger and pretty fast. I was seriously sore from the past few days and I could not get my legs to feel good or loosen up. About half way through Brad rode up next to me and asked how I was feeling. I told him I feel like SHIT!!!! Then we passed the start finish line and they said 3 laps to go. All of a sudden I felt good again! I went out on a solo break and got caught very quickly! I just used up a ton of energy for nothing. With 2 laps to go, 3 of us Momentum guys went out together on a break and the same damn thing happened. We were spent. With about a 1/3 lap to go I passed a lot of people on the backstretch and ended up in 8th place out of 30. Not a bad result considering my legs were fried at the start line! By the way they still hurt now. I think it has to do with very poor nutrition before and after my hard rides. I used to eat and drink a lot right after the ride and everything would be fine the next day, but the past 3 rides I didnt eat or drink anything and I am paying for it.
Keep riding and updating!
Jay
I tried to race the Missouri State MTB championship race. I was at the start line and felt great. The horn blew and up the steep ass hill we went right off the start. My Heart Rate went throught the roof very quickly. This was my first cat 2 race on the mtb and I was pumped. I was trying to mash it up the first hill and tried to recover on the flats just by the start line. We headed up Grotepeter and i turned the corner to head up the steep technical climb. I shifted down to and easier gear and started cranking on the pedals. About 5 turns of the cranks and BAM there goes my chain. Damn thing snapped and my race was over. 1.4 freakin miles into it and I was done. I had nothing to fix it with so I rode back down the hill and watched the rest of my Momentum team try and finish the race.
Next race was my first ever road bike race. It was the Tour de Grove. A 3 mile circuit race. I was nervous as hell not knowing what I was getting into. the horn went off and there we went. The pace was very very slow off the start. I told myself to let some other idiot do all the work and lead the pack. Well I didnt follow my plan. I ended up out front for a good portion of the race, doing a lot of the work and spendning all my energy. Ryan, Dogfish Racing and member of Schlafly, went out on a break at just the right time and passed me while I was trying to rest. I tried catching him but my legs were not there. I ended up finishing 8th out of 16.
My next good ride was the Thursday momentum group ride. I was up front the whole ride with the crazy fast cat 3/4 guys. My average speed was 23.4mph for 30 miles.
This past sunday I raced in the Webster Groves Crit race. The field was bigger and pretty fast. I was seriously sore from the past few days and I could not get my legs to feel good or loosen up. About half way through Brad rode up next to me and asked how I was feeling. I told him I feel like SHIT!!!! Then we passed the start finish line and they said 3 laps to go. All of a sudden I felt good again! I went out on a solo break and got caught very quickly! I just used up a ton of energy for nothing. With 2 laps to go, 3 of us Momentum guys went out together on a break and the same damn thing happened. We were spent. With about a 1/3 lap to go I passed a lot of people on the backstretch and ended up in 8th place out of 30. Not a bad result considering my legs were fried at the start line! By the way they still hurt now. I think it has to do with very poor nutrition before and after my hard rides. I used to eat and drink a lot right after the ride and everything would be fine the next day, but the past 3 rides I didnt eat or drink anything and I am paying for it.
Keep riding and updating!
Jay
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Update
Well the baby has not arrived yet so I have been trying to get in as much riding as possible. My training level stepped up quite a bit lately. I have been able to push harder and hold that for longer distances. I reached my max mph average last thursday at 22.6 mph for 30+ miles!!!!! Hopefully I can continue some sort of training when I can, i wont have the unlimited amout of time anymore.
I hope everyone is riding or doing something to better their fitness, not much time left before the MS 150. 100 miles two days in a row!
My goal for the ms150 is to ride the first day hard, maybe not stop unless i need to fill up water and get a quick snack. Goal is to finish day one in 5-5.5 hours. Hopefully hold a 20+mph the entire time.
Day two will be a complete group ride. I will stay with whoever wants to ride together, no time limit or goals, just to help anyone finish!
Goals may change, just tentative plans!
I hope everyone is riding or doing something to better their fitness, not much time left before the MS 150. 100 miles two days in a row!
My goal for the ms150 is to ride the first day hard, maybe not stop unless i need to fill up water and get a quick snack. Goal is to finish day one in 5-5.5 hours. Hopefully hold a 20+mph the entire time.
Day two will be a complete group ride. I will stay with whoever wants to ride together, no time limit or goals, just to help anyone finish!
Goals may change, just tentative plans!
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Rest day
Today was a rest day for me. I had been riding pretty hard for the past 10 days. I rode 7 out of 9 days, and yesterday was a recovery ride for 30 minutes on the rollers trying to get some fresh blood into the leg muscles without getting tired. Ever since I bought the new bike, I have been riding the hell out of it! We finished a 66 mile ride on monday with just shy of 19mph average. Not to bad this early in the season, with some big hills also! Not to sure of my riding schedule for the next few weeks, any day we will be welcoming in our daughter to this world. We cant wait!
Monday, May 24, 2010
Monday Mueller Ride
Today was my 3rd monday mueller ride. My goal is to one day keep up with the very fast race pack, the cat 1-3's. Once you hit about 5 miles it is hammer down. I made it today till mile 8.5 and slowly fell off. It was hot as hell and I had been working out in the sun all day. Not an excuse, but I was tired. I tried talking myself out of riding today but figured dont be a pussy and get my ass off the couch and go ride. I feel much better now.
It started off absolutely no wind at the start. It continued with very little wind until about the half way point. Then the wind kicked up to about 15-20 mph, either head wind or nasty crosswind. I had a terrible time, by myself, trying to get to 16 mph into the wind. The few stretches the wind was at my back i was cruising at 25-28mph. wow what a difference. Ended up today with a 20.2 average. My worst out of the 3 times but it was definitely the hottest and windiest conditions yet. So I will take it.
It started off absolutely no wind at the start. It continued with very little wind until about the half way point. Then the wind kicked up to about 15-20 mph, either head wind or nasty crosswind. I had a terrible time, by myself, trying to get to 16 mph into the wind. The few stretches the wind was at my back i was cruising at 25-28mph. wow what a difference. Ended up today with a 20.2 average. My worst out of the 3 times but it was definitely the hottest and windiest conditions yet. So I will take it.
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