2011 3 State Fall Colors Ride

Ride with GPS Data
Garmin Connect Data
Summary
Moving Time: 5:27:59
Distance: 63 miles
Avg Moving Speed 14.5 mph
Elevation Gain: 5,682 ft

Group:  Gary,  Mike, Ron, Neal, Glenn, Keith, Alan, Jamie, Peter, Craig, Don, Bill, Joe, Elizabeth  and me
Goal: Enjoy riding with friends on this annual group ride at a fairly casual pace

The Ride: Each year a group ventures to north Georgia to do a recreational type ride starting from Mineral Bluff, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and back to get a view from the bike with the leaves changing color. I have not attended since 2008 and almost wondered if today would happen with a storm front moving through last evening and stiff winds in the morning as Gary drove Mike and me up to the ride. Thanks to Gary for getting the ride notice out and sticking with the plan despite how the weather appeared and it did not seem to scare off too many since we had 15 cyclists show up. Great to see a number of people that I have not seen for weeks and months for some. Glad to have Alan join us today.

The ride, the route and the people made this a memorable day. The ride did not disappoint for the color of leaves. I am not sure if we hit the absolute peak, but there were several spots that had the group slowing and taking it all in. The route has it's fair share of challenges with one hill after another and a few of them quite steep. The people? Well to me the gang that I am privileged to ride with are a great group of strong cyclists. For the most part we stayed together and at times had some spirited moments. It was a joy to share this day with this group. It was also a longer day away from home than our usual local rides and a bit slower, but well worth the trip and worth taking our time meandering through those back country roads.

Nutrition Intake During and after the Course: ~40 oz. of water with Hammer Perpetuem, BCAA's, Gluatamine  (2) Cliff bar (1) 30 gram Whey protein post ride recovery drink

The Weather: Sunny, Start @ 39 degrees, End @ 60 degrees, breezy to gusty wind at times

Bike: LOOK 585, Garmin 800, Powertap SL+, Contour GPS camera

Overall Power Data:
Entire workout (127 watts):
    Duration:      4:28:12 (5:28:06)
    Work:          2047 kJ
    TSS:           325.1 (intensity factor 0.854)
    Norm Power:    175
    VI:            1.38
    Distance:      62.626 mi
    Elevation Gain:        4954 ft
    Elevation Loss:       4956 ft
    Grade:         -0.0 %  (-9 ft)
        Min    Max    Avg
    Power:           0    712    127     watts
    Cadence:         8    239    80     rpm
    Speed:           0    48.7    14.0     mph
    Pace             1:14    0:00    4:17     min/mi
    Altitude:        1459    2146    1702     ft
    Crank Torque:    0    1323    145     lb-in
    Temperature:     35.6    62.6    46.7     Fahrenheit

Comet - Tempo

Ride with GPS Data
Garmin Connect Data
Goal: Tempo Effort for 2 x 60 minutes.

Ride Notes: Very nice to be out on the bike and for various reasons, mainly tired from yesterday's ride, I did not hold my zones all that well. I saw Paula and David zip past me going the other way and they had big smiles. That is what biking can do for ya!! Big smiles even when training doesn't quite go the way I would have like it still brings big smiles. Perhaps my wife may not agree, but I think cycling is a good addiction.

Nutrition: ~30 oz water, BCAA's, Glutamine, (1) LaraBar

Weather: Sunny 70, slight breeze

Training Summary:
Total Distance: 40.6 Miles
Total Moving Time: 2:16:37
Total Avg. Moving Speed: 17.9
Total TSS: 142 (0.78 IF)

Interval Power Summary 
 Interval 1:
    Duration:      1:06:58
    Work:          647 kJ
    TSS:           76.9 (intensity factor 0.833)
    Norm Power:    171
    VI:            1.06
    Distance:      19.988 mi
    Elevation Gain:        394 ft
    Elevation Loss:       247 ft
    Grade:         0.1 %  (138 ft)
        Min    Max    Avg
    Power:           0    451    161     watts
    Cadence:         19    225    79     rpm
    Speed:           0    24    17.9     mph
    Pace             2:30    0:00    3:21     min/mi
    Altitude:        864    1073    971     ft
    Crank Torque:    0    1459    178     lb-in
    Temperature:     60.8    68    64.2     Fahrenheit

Interval 2:
    Duration:      1:05:14
    Work:          558 kJ
    TSS:           60.8 (intensity factor 0.748)
    Norm Power:    153
    VI:            1.08
    Distance:      19.466 mi
    Elevation Gain:        211 ft
    Elevation Loss:       392 ft
    Grade:         -0.2 %  (-185 ft)
        Min    Max    Avg
    Power:           0    355    143     watts
    Cadence:         7    225    79     rpm
    Speed:           0    27.3    17.9     mph
    Pace             2:12    0:00    3:21     min/mi
    Altitude:        820    1073    936     ft
    Crank Torque:    0    1171    160     lb-in
    Temperature:     62.6    75.2    65.0     Fahrenheit

Week Totals
Time Training: 9:14:43
Distance: 154 miles
TSS: 622
Kj: 4729

Brewery to Salacoa with Johnson Mountain Road

Ride with GPS
Garmin Connect
Summary
Moving Time: 3:46:13
Distance: 60.8 miles
Avg Moving Speed 16.1 mph
Elevation Gain: 3,287 ft

Group:  Gary,  Mike Q., Mike K., Keith, Jack, Edgar and me
Goal: Enjoy riding with friends

The Ride: Very nice to roll out with the guys on what was supposed to be more of a winter conversation group ride, but as things go with seven guys there were a few moments of chasing, sprinting small rollers and other shenanigans. Very enjoyable horse play on the bike and we pretty much held together as a group until the last few miles.


I was eager to see how responsive my legs would be doing the couple mile climb up Johnson Mountain since I have been training mostly flat roads lately. I really did not try to hammer up with the guys and just went my own pace. Everything felt okay and with the shorter hill sprints those felt okay as well. From my perspective it appeared that everyone had a solid ride. After a week of good training, today was a nice break and a fun day out on the bike with friends. I hope there is something left in my legs for tomorrow's intervals.

As a side note the area around Johnson Mountain Road looks so different now with many of the trees gone from the tornadoes.



Nutrition Intake During and after the Course: ~45 oz. of water with Hammer Perpetuem, BCAA's, Gluatamine  (2) Cliff bar (1) 40 gram Whey protein post ride recovery drink

The Weather: Sunny, Start @ 39 degrees, End @ 67 degrees, very mild wind later in the ride

Bike: LOOK 585, Garmin 800, Powertap SL+

Overall Power Data:
Entire workout (124 watts):
    Duration:      3:54:52 (4:12:12)
    Work:          1745 kJ
    TSS:           265.5 (intensity factor 0.825)
    Norm Power:    169
    VI:            1.36
    Distance:      60.756 mi
    Elevation Gain:        2669 ft
    Elevation Loss:       2677 ft
    Grade:         0.0 %  (2 ft)
        Min    Max    Avg
    Power:           0    757    124     watts
    Cadence:         7    246    82     rpm
    Speed:           0    40.9    15.5     mph
    Pace             1:28    0:00    3:52     min/mi
    Altitude:        691    1282    890     ft
    Crank Torque:    0    1298    135     lb-in
    Temperature:     39.2    68    52.6     Fahrenheit

Comet - Tempo

Ride with GPS Data
Garmin Connect Data
Goal: Tempo Effort for 2 x 60 minutes.

Ride Notes: Before I left the house I had almost talked myself into training indoors. The skies were dark and dreary looking and the tree tops were bending over from heavy gusts of wind. It looked as if the skies could break open at any moment with rain, but I loaded up my gear and rolled the dice. Between feeling very tired from yesterday's ride and thinking about having to battle the winds again I was not that excited.

Yesterday, and all week for that matter, I struggled in performance, but today oddly was quite different. What I thought was going to be a dreary performance to go along with the looks of the skies turned out to be an excellent day on the bike. I started from the zero marker and immediately had two guys on my wheel as we weaved our way around the slower foot traffic. I picked up the pace more and they were with me still. I thought maybe I should back off some because the pace may be too intense for the fatigue I was feeling so I signaled and they came around me.

Less than a minute and they were out of my sight, but I noticed the pace I was holding was above my normal for Sunday and it felt good. A few minutes later I spot those two guys in front of me and the next thing I am mixed in with them again. The three of us held between 22 to 27 mph until about Hiram (15 mile marker) and I dropped off again, but still ended the 20 mile, 1 hour interval at 19.2 mph for an average. Not too bad considering how tired I felt and how many intersections plus traffic killed our momentum at times.

Coming back was a different story. I used up most of what I had tagging along with the two guys and did not have much left for the return. I ended the second 60 minute interval with a 17.9 mph average. I was very happy how the day turned out and very surprised to boot.

Nutrition: ~30 oz water, BCAA's, Glutamine, (1) Honey Stinger waffle

Weather: Partly cloudy 70, Stiff winds but did not seem bothered by it for the most part

Training Summary:
Total Distance: 40.4 Miles
Total Moving Time: 2:13:32
Total Avg. Moving Speed: 18.2
Total TSS: 153.4 (0.83 IF)

Interval Power Summary 
 Interval 1:
    Duration:      1:02:30
    Work:          629 kJ
    TSS:           83.7 (intensity factor 0.9)
    Norm Power:    184
    VI:            1.1
    Distance:      19.984 mi
    Elevation Gain:        434 ft
    Elevation Loss:       242 ft
    Grade:         0.2 %  (188 ft)
        Min    Max    Avg
    Power:           0    622    168     watts
    Cadence:         11    231    85     rpm
    Speed:           0    29.8    19.2     mph
    Pace             2:01    0:00    3:08     min/mi
    Altitude:        748    1009    867     ft
    Crank Torque:    0    1681    176     lb-in
    Temperature:     64.4    71.6    66.0     Fahrenheit


Interval 2:
    Duration:      1:04:35
    Work:          566 kJ
    TSS:           63.7 (intensity factor 0.77)
    Norm Power:    158
    VI:            1.08
    Distance:      19.257 mi
    Elevation Gain:        224 ft
    Elevation Loss:       336 ft
    Grade:         -0.1 %  (-120 ft)
        Min    Max    Avg
    Power:           0    463    146     watts
    Cadence:         14    239    80     rpm
    Speed:           0    29.2    17.9     mph
    Pace             2:03    0:00    3:21     min/mi
    Altitude:        838    1019    919     ft
    Crank Torque:    0    1337    162     lb-in
    Temperature:     66.2    71.6    68.3     Fahrenheit


Week Totals
Time: 9:12:04
Distance: 154 miles
TSS: 593
Kj: 4705

Brewery to Salacoa - Plus

Ride with GPS Data
Garmin Connect Data
Summary
Moving Time: 4:09:47
Distance: 67 miles
Avg Moving Speed 16.1 mph
Elevation Gain: 3,222 ft

Group:   Jamie, Chuck, Diane, Edgar, Tim, Peter, Gary, Rod and me
Goal: Enjoy riding with friends

The Ride: What a great surprise to see Peter back with us today. I wasn't expecting his return from a recent shoulder surgery for a few more weeks, but it was great to see him back with us. From what I could tell he did not look like he lost much fitness. Welcome back Peter!!

It was also great to roll out with the 8 cyclists this morning. We had a few stops along the way, but as usual the pace on Salacoa Valley was brisk. I was somewhere in between a group up front and a group behind. At the store stop I was hoping to get in more miles so I took off solo ahead of the group so I am not sure how the rest of the ride was for the gang. Except for dealing with another day of wind the weather felt perfect and it was good to be out on the bike. I did not hit the training goals I had for today, but that is okay. It was just nice to be out and enjoy the day before the weather changes.


Nutrition Intake During and after the Course: ~26 oz. of water with Hammer Perpetuem, BCAA's, Gluatamine ~15 oz. water with BCAA's, Gluatamine (1) Cliff bar (2) Hammer gel(1) 40 gram Whey protein post ride recovery drink

The Weather: Sunny, Start @ 57 degrees, End @ 82 degrees, 10- 15 mph winds from the east

Bike: LOOK 585, Garmin 800, Powertap SL+

Overall Power Data:
  Entire workout (124 watts):
    Duration:      4:15:21 (4:30:22)
    Work:          1891 kJ
    TSS:           248.4 (intensity factor 0.766)
    Norm Power:    157
    VI:            1.27
    Distance:      67.042 mi
    Elevation Gain:        2451 ft
    Elevation Loss:       2459 ft
    Grade:         -0.0 %  (-1 ft)
        Min    Max    Avg
    Power:           0    712    124     watts
    Cadence:         7    231    80     rpm
    Speed:           0    38.2    15.8     mph
    Pace             1:34    0:00    3:48     min/mi
    Altitude:        691    1205    867     ft
    Crank Torque:    0    1543    139     lb-in
    Temperature:     57.2    82.4    68.2     Fahrenheit

Comet - Tempo

Ride With GPS Data
Garmin Connect Data
Goal: Tempo Effort for 2 x 60 minutes.

Ride Notes:Felt pretty good considering how much the 80 mile yesterday took out of me.

Nutrition: ~35 oz water, BCAA's, Glutamine, (1) Honey Stinger waffle

Weather: Partly cloudy 66, Stiff wind but seemed protected at by the trees

Training Summary:
Total Distance: 40.32 Miles
Total Moving Time: 2:20:21
Total Avg. Moving Speed: 17.2
Total TSS: 133.8 (0.75 IF)

Interval Power Summary
Interval 1:
    Duration:      1:13:16 (1:21:45)
    Work:          632 kJ
    TSS:           73.7 (intensity factor 0.779)
    Norm Power:    160
    VI:            1.11
    Distance:      20.211 mi
    Elevation Gain:        400 ft
    Elevation Loss:       291 ft
    Grade:         0.1 %  (110 ft)
        Min    Max    Avg
    Power:           0    556    144     watts
    Cadence:         8    239    80     rpm
    Speed:           0    24.4    16.6     mph
    Pace             2:28    0:00    3:37     min/mi
    Altitude:        795    984    883     ft
    Crank Torque:    0    1765    160     lb-in

Interval 2:
    Duration:      1:03:41
    Work:          520 kJ
    TSS:           56.7 (intensity factor 0.731)
    Norm Power:    150
    VI:            1.1
    Distance:      18.799 mi
    Elevation Gain:        240 ft
    Elevation Loss:       314 ft
    Grade:         -0.1 %  (-80 ft)
        Min    Max    Avg
    Power:           0    736    136     watts
    Cadence:         18    231    79     rpm
    Speed:           0    29.8    17.7     mph
    Pace             2:01    0:00    3:23     min/mi
    Altitude:        847    993    907     ft
    Crank Torque:    0    1577    153     lb-in



Week Totals
Time: 9:15:30
Distance: 160 miles
TSS: 612
Kj: 4785

Brewery to Cagle Road - Impressed, Impressed

Ride with GPS Data
Garmin Connect Data
Summary
Moving Time: 4:39:47
Distance: 81.8 miles
Avg Moving Speed 17.5 mph
Elevation Gain: 3,166 ft

Group:   Jamie, Chuck, Diane, Mike, Tim, Bill, Craig, Michael, Alan and me
Goal: Enjoy riding with friends

The Ride: Generally speaking I am very fortunate to have a good number of impressive cycling friends and though it seems that some days I end up with a different mix of those friends I am impressed by all of them.

This week I was impressed when I received an email from Diane stating an interest in my 80 mile route because I knew there was a prediction of heavy winds coming from the north and it was going to be a cool start. Sure enough 10 of us rolled out this brisk feeling morning with the winds seeming to be stiff and sustained, but no one backed away or griped about  having to push against those winds for 40 solid miles. Another thing that impressed me was the speed the group was going against the winds. Most everyone took good turns at the front and I know my times up there it was some really good training time pushing and pushing against that wind. Impressed with the group!

We did a store stop at the Marathon and our 40th mile with just about everyone looking forward to the potential tailwind on the return south. For a few of those miles we were getting hammered by the cross winds. I felt as if my bike was heavily tilted to the right to compensate for the wind. It was almost like leaning my shoulder against a wall a couple of times.

By this point I needed to go ahead of the group and try to make it on home so I set out on a fairly solid pace and even though the tailwind was helping I was still maintaining a solid effort and putting some torque on the cranks. Alan and Craig caught up with me. Impressed! The three of us had a decent rotation and kept up the sustained effort until the Sunoco gas station where Alan and Craig peeled off to get their bottles refilled. I pushed on without stopping and again kept a decent pace in solo mode.

But here is where I was stunned an amazed because about 6 to 8 miles from the end I look back and see a cyclist coming. I just thought it was another solo rider, but then I looked again and then looked again. I had to do a triple take because it was Alan coming up on me. I was so impressed that he did a store stop and still caught up with me. He said he had to work hard to catch me, but believe me I was not really slacking around. Alan is 69 years old and probably one of the most amazing cyclist I know and get to ride with on occasion. The two of us continued to push those final miles just about all the way to the end and then we turned around and headed back out to let our legs cool off and spin easy. I am very impressed with how Alan was able to catch up to me. I was also impressed how Bill, now in his 70's, did on our ride today. It wasn't long before the rest of the group rolled in. Mike, Diane, Jamie and Chuck stretching out the miles each week and increasing their speed and endurance. Plus we had a couple new visitors riding with us today. Craig also did a good bit of time pulling in the wind and was there with me and Alan at the finish.

Nutrition Intake During and after the Course: ~48 oz. of water with Hammer Perpetuem, BCAA's, Gluatamine ~10 oz. water with BCAA's, Gluatamine (1) Cliff bar (2) Honey Stinger gel(1) 40 gram Whey protein post ride recovery drink , grilled chicken sandwich post ride meal (about 1 hour after the ride)

The Weather: Sunny, Start @ 50 degrees, End @ 63 degrees, 10- 15 mph winds from the north

Bike: LOOK 585, Garmin 800, Powertap SL+

Overall Power Data:
Entire workout (134 watts):
    Duration:      4:44:10 (5:04:40)
    Work:          2293 kJ
    TSS:           312.1 (intensity factor 0.812)
    Norm Power:    167
    VI:            1.24
    Distance:      81.812 mi
    Elevation Gain:        2255 ft
    Elevation Loss:       2240 ft
    Grade:         0.0 %  (21 ft)
        Min    Max    Avg
    Power:           0    688    134     watts
    Cadence:         7    246    84     rpm
    Speed:           0    35.1    17.3     mph
    Pace             1:43    0:00    3:28     min/mi
    Altitude:        657    923    767     ft
    Crank Torque:    0    1398    145     lb-in