Rain - Will It Ever Stop?

This short boring video is a reflection of how exciting it really is sitting on this and pushing yourself for an hour. Unlike riding outdoors for many miles and hours the minutes seems to tick away very slowly while sitting on the trainer. Winter is coming I better get used to it. There will be many winter hours to endure and push the intensity.

Ride: We had planned our annual (would have been my 2nd time) trip up to Mineral Bluff, Georgia for the 3 State Fall Colors ride. A great 64 mile ride with about 6,000 feet of climbing, but once again rain moves into Georgia for Saturday. The ride is postponed until Sunday and I attend church so I will not make the trip this year. I will miss the gang this weekend.

Trainer: Early this morning I woke up to the sound of rain on the roof so I knew I had to get myself psyched up for time sitting on the trainer. My goal before the ride was to try 3 sets of 20 minute intervals on the Kurt Kenetic trainer. The first interval my legs felt pretty good. I was well within my upper L3 zone for the first 20 minutes. I am not sure what happened on the next 2 intervals. Maybe it was overheating and lack of fuel because I was going on virtually an empty stomach, but the next two were a real struggle. Kind of embarassing to post my WKO+ data so I am not going to post it this time around. I suppose at the end it was still a decent workout.

I hope to get out for a Sunday afternoon ride tomorrow.

Rod's Rome Ride

Today's Ride Leader - Rod Dubois

Mapmyride Route Link
Garmin Connect Ride Data

The Ride: There was a good group that showed up for this ride starting at Armuchee Middle School. Rod planned the route on roads that were new to me. The first half of the ride was on some of the best scenic roads with the leaves changing colors. The bright burning oranges to deep reds, creeks that paralleled the roads and some bridges. I am typically a guy that has my eyes down on the pavement, but today I was sitting up and taking notice because nature was demanding some attention. Even though it was lightly raining on us the climb up was enjoyable. Edgar and I were well off the back of the group because we could not remember if we shut the car trunk so we went back to check and lost the group. As we turned on Fouche Gap Road NW the road pitched upward again and the real climb started. It was short an intimidating to look at but the effort was not as bad as I had expected. As we climbed around a switchback and looked down at the road below I felt just that much more good about how my legs were holding up.

At mile 25 we had a glimpse of the group ahead. Fortunately they had stopped at a rest stop. When we caught up to them I was glad to be in the group. The pace seemed to pick up a little more compared to what Edgar and I was pushing, but no problem sitting in the group for a little rest and then going up to the front.

At 40 miles we stopped at the store and the light drizzling rain started again. I was getting cold and most of the group was in the store so I decided to go ahead. Gary and Mike decided to go with me. A few more miles down the road and my tire flatted as the main group approaches. I gave them the signal to keep pushing ahead and not stop for me. Fortunately my tire just felt low as if it had a slow leak. So I just had to add a little air and back on the road. I noticed that Bill, Gloria, Nancy, Tom and Neal had stopped for me. We all pushed ahead, but was off the back of a faster moving main group. Again my tire lost pressure and I lost the small group, but noticed Tom was there. Tom and I caught up to Damian and finished the remaining miles at a calmer pace.

This route highly qualifies as a Favorite Ride category.

Group: Probably around 25 people (guys and gals) at various riding levels. Most of the group were the brew crew and who I am accustomed to riding with.

Route Description: Rolling hills, flat sections and one moderate climb with a technical descent.

Nutrition Intake During and after the Course: (1)24oz. bottle with Hammer Heed/10grams Glutamine and BCAA's, (1)Cliff Bar, (1) Hammer gels, (1)Post Ride 30gram whey protein drink (unfortunately since I did not eat enough on the ride I stopped and got a hamburger at McDonalds for the drive home, plus 2 glasses of chocolate milk at home and feeding frenzy continues)

Weather: Cloudy and cool at the start, light rain about mile 11 to mile 25 back to heavy clouds and cool breezy air.

Training Goal: Enjoy the weather and the group. Stay at a moderate intensity level.

Physical Condition: Started with some muscular soreness and tightness in both quadriceps and hamstrings. I thought my hamstrings were going to cramp on the first few miles. Not a good sign when starting a 67 mile ride, but everything went okay throughout the ride.

Bike and Gear Used: LOOK 585, Garmin 705, Powertap Power Meter.

Power Data:
Entire workout (141 watts):
Duration: 4:12:44 (4:32:56)
Work: 2120 kJ
TSS: 234.2 (intensity factor 0.748)
Norm Power: 172
VI: 1.22
Distance: 70 mi
Min / Max / Avg
Power: 0 / 670 / 141 watts
Cadence: 22 / 244 / 77 rpm
Speed: 2.3 / 31.7 / 16.8 mph
Pace 1:54 / 26:06 / 3:35 min/mi
Hub Torque: 0 / 395 / 64 lb-in
Crank Torque: 0 / 1004 / 163 lb-in

Gary Quellet

Keith and Glenn

Mick Quick

Target Ahead

Garmin Connect Ride Data

The Ride: The first few miles were tough as my legs were very stiff and a little sore from riding on Saturday. I had hoped to warm up a little and then try to end with a 0.65 IF, but not only did I push the pace a little harder in solo mode things really picked up once Dave caught up with me.

It was within the last 10 miles from the finish that I passed by three cyclists standing on the side of the road. These guys looked the business, but I just pushed ahead at a moderate pace. There was a part of me that felt as if I had a target on my back and it was a few more miles down the road when I saw at least one of the guys narrowing the gap. Once I turned right onto Cass Pine Log Road I could hear the free spinning of a hub and knew at least one of them was on my wheel. I started picking up the momentum gradually and as I shifted up I could hear the rider behind me shift up. I was trying to hold about 26 mph and between the slight incline in the road and pushing against the wind I approached my threshold. I gave the signal and pulled off to the left.

Dave (as I found out his name later) took the pull and I thought maybe I could get a slight rest in the draft of his power tap equipped Cervelo time trial bike, but he was tucked deeply into an areo position and kept pushing the pace a little harder and making me work instead of draft. My legs were starting to burn pretty good when the road pitched upward a little more and Dave sat up and geared down. I also geared down and hoped the lactic acid in my legs would dissipate quickly. We turned on Grogan, which is a great short fast descent and by the time we hit Busch Drive we were within the last 2 miles. I thought, "one more time" and the guys followed suit. I held the front as long as I could and pulled off again to get in Dave's draft.

One last push to the end.

Most of the time I am looking for the target ahead, but this time it was me and I have to say to Dave, Matt and Ryan thanks for a great end to a great Sunday ride.

Solo: Solo cycling until Dave, Matt and Ryan mixed in within the last 10 miles.

Route Description: Marked BBC 31 mile course with rolling hills

Nutrition Intake During and after the Course: (1/2) 24oz. bottle with Hammer Heed/10grams Glutamine and BCAA's, (1) Hammer gel, (1)Post Ride 30gram whey protein drink

Weather: Partly cloudy with a slight breeze. Great day

Training Goal: I was a bit stiff from riding yesterday so my goal was just try to get in 30 miles at a moderate pace, but once Dave caught up with me the pace picked up a bit.

Bike and Gear Used: LOOK 585, Garmin 705, Powertap Power Meter.

Power Data:
Entire workout (162 watts):
Duration: 1:45:38 (1:51:11)
Work: 1015 kJ
TSS: 115.1 (intensity factor 0.813)
Norm Power: 187
VI: 1.15
Pw:HR: n/a
Pa:HR: n/a
Distance: 31.2 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 / 620 / 162 watts
Cadence: 29 / 209 / 81 rpm
Speed: 2.4 / 36 / 17.9 mph
Pace 1:40 / 24:46 / 3:21 min/mi
Hub Torque: 0 / 343 / 66 lb-in
Crank Torque: 0 / 828 / 180 lb-in

Keep Those Legs a Churning

Rain predicted for our usual area, but Edgar and I headed south to avoid it.

Garmin Connect Ride Data

The Ride: Like the old days Edgar and I pushed the pace at the Comet and if were not for the foot traffic and road crossings we could of had a fantastic finishing average in speed. I still ended with an 18.9 mph speed and a 0.85 IF, which is pretty good in my view and is a bit more intense effort that I typically do on the longer group rides.

Group: Me and Edgar

Route Description: Flat pedestrian and bike path

Nutrition Intake During and after the Course: (3/4) 24oz. bottle with Hammer Heed/10grams Glutamine and BCAA's, (1) Accel gel, (1)Post Ride 30gram whey protein drink

Weather: Heavy clouds to partly sunny with a slight breeze. Very slight sprinkles of rain, but barely enough to get the glasses wet.

Training Goal: Since the threat of heavy rain was in the forecast I was just happy to get outdoors for a ride and was very happy with the intensity effort.

Bike and Gear Used: LOOK 585, Garmin 705, Powertap Power Meter.
Entire workout (171 watts):
Duration: 1:33:59 (1:39:22)
Work: 948 kJ
TSS: 111.2 (intensity factor 0.85)
Norm Power: 195
VI: 1.14
Distance: 29.15 mi
Min/ Max/ Avg
Power: 0/ 569/ 171 watts
Cadence: 29/ 244/ 76 rpm
Speed: 0/ 27.9/ 18.9 mph
Pace 2:09/ 0:00/ 3:10 min/mi
Hub Torque: 0/ 263/ 61 lb-in
Crank Torque: 0/ 1033/ 198 lb-in


Dirty from the path............................A little cleaning afterwards


Ready to be put on the rack until tomorrow's ride

Brewery - Calhoun - Fairmont

Garmin Connect Ride Data

The Ride: We had about 14 guys show up for the ride. The pace was brisk and even though I crafted the route for today, it was a pleasant route on roads that were new to me. Some of the guys that joined us today were also a bit new to our group. At mile 22 there was a small crash that caused some of the guys to have flats and that used up some time, but after the flats were fixed the group split almost in half. The pace of the front group was too much for what I had planned so I was content pedaling in the back group and it was a great day to just savor the surroundings.

Group: 14 Guys

Route Description: Fairly flat route with some small rolling terrain.

Nutrition Intake During and after the Course: (2)24oz. bottles with Hammer Heed/10grams Glutamine and BCAA's, (1)Cliff Bar, (2) Hammer gels, (1)Post Ride 30gram whey protein drink

Weather: Heavy fog at the start but once the sun burned through it was absolutely beautiful. No clouds and calm air for the most part.

Training Goal: Enjoy the weather and the group. Stay at a moderate intensity level.

Bike and Gear Used: LOOK 585, Garmin 705, Powertap Power Meter.

Power Data:
Entire workout (137 watts):
Duration: 3:20:00 (4:01:21)
Work: 1618 kJ
TSS: 190.4 (intensity factor 0.76)
Norm Power: 175
VI: 1.28
Distance: 57.5 mi
Min / Max / Avg
Power: 0 / 678 / 137 watts
Cadence: 30 / 244 / 83 rpm
Speed: 2.4 / 35 / 17.5 mph
Pace 1:43 / 24:46 / 3:26 min/mi
Hub Torque: 0 / 361 / 58 lb-in
Crank Torque: 0 / 886 / 149 lb-in