It wasn't all climbing and skiing for me! When I got back my cycling schedule picked right back up ...
I had committed to do Strawberry Fields Forever on May 19th in Watsonville, CA with a bunch of TOSRV friends and The Wife's cousin from San Francisco, Alexander. We signed up for the 65 mile route and I figured I could do that with no problems! Riiight.
Our plan was to meet in SF airport, rent a big van for all of our bikes and gear, and head over to Watsonville, CA for some good eats and a bicycle assembly party. Mark rented a tandem that he rode with his son Gabe, Vivek brought his bike and we had our two bike boxes plus all of our gear.
Getting to the starting point of this big adventure was the biggest problem. The wife and I were flying Virgin America from D.C. directly to S.F. and scheduled to land late AM. Our flight was going along nicely and we were just north of Denver, CO. when an inconsiderate passenger had the nerve to get seriously ill! The pilots hooked a left and landed in Denver where the sick passenger deplaned (we heard some lame excuse about congestive heart failure).
This is where the fun begins. The flight was full and I guess the plane needed to be re-inspected prior to take-off. First off, Virgin America does not have a presence at Denver International Airport so we had to wait for Northwest to clear a gate. Second, no other airline that does have a presence there flys the same aircraft as Virgin America. The re-inspection had to be coordinated between Northwest ground crews and Virgin America remotely.
Suffice it to say that we were significantly delayed getting out of Denver.
While we were delayed, Mark & crew picked up van and drove to the bicycle shop to pick up their tandem. They also loaded up Vivek and his ride. After retrieving us from the airport we drove directly to Watsonville, CA.
The ride was very nice and well organized. I especially like to detour to a rest stop where Craig Calfee runs his shop. My other bike is a Luna Pro. Beautiful views of the Pacific ocean!
My least favorite part was the last ascent before the long descent back into Watsonville. It was brutal to my East Coast training regimen where short and steep is all we have. Oh, the pain! The descent however was worth it!
Back at home, I started preparing for Bike MS: Beyond the Beltway, a charity ride which supports multiple sclerosis research. The ride is listed as moderate, but 100 miles of rolling hills is difficult especially when followed by 50 miles the next day.
The scenery however is wonderful!
I had committed to do Strawberry Fields Forever on May 19th in Watsonville, CA with a bunch of TOSRV friends and The Wife's cousin from San Francisco, Alexander. We signed up for the 65 mile route and I figured I could do that with no problems! Riiight.
Our plan was to meet in SF airport, rent a big van for all of our bikes and gear, and head over to Watsonville, CA for some good eats and a bicycle assembly party. Mark rented a tandem that he rode with his son Gabe, Vivek brought his bike and we had our two bike boxes plus all of our gear.
Getting to the starting point of this big adventure was the biggest problem. The wife and I were flying Virgin America from D.C. directly to S.F. and scheduled to land late AM. Our flight was going along nicely and we were just north of Denver, CO. when an inconsiderate passenger had the nerve to get seriously ill! The pilots hooked a left and landed in Denver where the sick passenger deplaned (we heard some lame excuse about congestive heart failure).
This is where the fun begins. The flight was full and I guess the plane needed to be re-inspected prior to take-off. First off, Virgin America does not have a presence at Denver International Airport so we had to wait for Northwest to clear a gate. Second, no other airline that does have a presence there flys the same aircraft as Virgin America. The re-inspection had to be coordinated between Northwest ground crews and Virgin America remotely.
Suffice it to say that we were significantly delayed getting out of Denver.
While we were delayed, Mark & crew picked up van and drove to the bicycle shop to pick up their tandem. They also loaded up Vivek and his ride. After retrieving us from the airport we drove directly to Watsonville, CA.
The ride was very nice and well organized. I especially like to detour to a rest stop where Craig Calfee runs his shop. My other bike is a Luna Pro. Beautiful views of the Pacific ocean!
My least favorite part was the last ascent before the long descent back into Watsonville. It was brutal to my East Coast training regimen where short and steep is all we have. Oh, the pain! The descent however was worth it!
Back at home, I started preparing for Bike MS: Beyond the Beltway, a charity ride which supports multiple sclerosis research. The ride is listed as moderate, but 100 miles of rolling hills is difficult especially when followed by 50 miles the next day.
The scenery however is wonderful!
The roads go ...
on forever.
I wonder where this leads?
At a beautiful rest stop!
It is horse country.
During the Summer, I decided to build a PowerTap wheel and start training to improve my cycling. The idea of doing the Wintergreen Ascent TT came up at this time as a sort of carrot to work towards. So with that in mind Kirk at Velo Works drew up a training plan based on power.
I worked on intervals and continued to ride on the weekend shop rides out of Spokes, Etc. on Quaker Lane in Alexandria. My fitness level was improving to the point where my resting heart rate was ~46bpm. Every time I went to donate blood I had to get a waiver due to my low heart rate. This is good!
Anyways, this regimen carried me through to Fall and Winter. During this time period, the casual riders tend to fall off unless we get a rare nice warm weekend. Mostly, it's the hardmen of Belgian descent, riders so conditioned to the fierce conditions of the lowlands that our relatively mild Winters here are nothing more than an irritation. Were talking about people like Gordon and Toren. I bow before them!
By spring my waist was shrinking and my shirt size had gone down from XL to merely L.
So, I finally stepped onto the scale in Dr. Johnson's office I just about passed out when the nurse read the results ...
So, I finally stepped onto the scale in Dr. Johnson's office I just about passed out when the nurse read the results ...
192 lbs
That's like 87 Kg, 13.7 stones!
Entirely too fat for this sport!
