5/29/06

Tom, Greg, Dave, and I drove over to the Little Miami Scenic Trail today. A word to the wise: don't drive to Milford - the parking there is practically nonexistent. After spending roughly 15 minutes looking for parking, we got off and were flying. Unfortunately, our average never reflected the fact that we were cycling above 17 mph the whole time since there are about 54 stop signs/road intersections on the trail. We stopped for a quick break in Loveland, and then headed to Morrow. In Morrow we grabbed some Gatorade at the BP, then some lunch at the ice cream shop. Another word to the wise: that woman is CRAZY. After waiting for awhile to get our food, and after eating our food, we headed back to Milford. I felt pretty good for the most part (it is pretty flat, after all), but noticed my neck was really getting sore around mile 30. Hopefully that will strengthen up here soon. Also, I learned to ride with no hands for an extended period of time. I remember being little and riding my huffy with no hands like it was nothing. Now that I'm older, it takes a bit more practice and skill, but I'm going to try to ride the bike path mainly with no hands a couple of times to get some good practice. I think it will come in handy on the MS150 when I need to stretch my back and shake out my arms.

M: 47
MTD: 346
ML: 654

5/27/06

Alright - so my toughest ride yet came today and, while I didn't totally bomb on it, I definitely felt like I really need to step it up a notch to get ready for the MS150. We (Dave, Jim, Tom, Steve, and I) started out at 9:30am from Tom's house and rode down (34.4 mph!) into Camden, made a left turn and headed about 6 miles into Sommerville. This portion of the ride was easy, and Steve and I picked up the rear while we chatted about various things. Then, Dave and Jim had to cut their ride short due to an obligation, so Steve, Tom and I headed towards Seven Mile. By the time we got there we had gained back most of the elevation that we dropped going into Camden and I was feeling it. We headed out of Seven Mile and turned onto Cotton Run Road, which probably should be called Uphill Run Road since it was mostly uphill for me. At about mile 21 I stopped, dropped my bike, and laid down. I was GASSED. Steve waited for me for about 5 minutes, then we rode to catch up with Tom. Steve and I decided to head home, while Tom decided to stick to his "35" mile route he had planned - more on that later. So Steve and I head back to Tom's and around mile 26 or 27 I catch another wind and start feeling much better. We stopped in West Elkton for a spell, and Steve, using his pastor charm, got us some fresh water from some nice woman's home. Finally, we headed back through Rush Run, down and up, and back to Tom's. Total mileage (even after cutting it "short") was 35 miles. Now the loop that Tom had mapped out turned out not to be 35 miles, but rather around 45 miles. I'm glad I didn't stick it out with Tom, because all I wanted to ride today was 35 miles. And I did so.

M: 35
MTD: 299 YES! Broke the 300 mile mark! *edit* due to an adding error this statement is wrong
ML: 701

5/23/06

Dave, Jim, Greg, and I rode the bike path (BIG SURPRISE, right?) What was interesting about this trip though was about 2 miles in I can't see Greg anywhere behind me, so I turn around and come up on him. He's sweating his butt off and looks like he's ran a marathon so I ride next to him and hear a scraping/scratching noise. Turns out his front wheel was on skew and his brake pad was rubbing the rim the whole time. We fixed that and made it to the turn at about 14.5 mph, so I really kicked it up on the way back and finished strong at 15.6 mph.

Tomorrow (Sunday) I face my toughest challenge yet: 35-40 miles around Preble County. I'm hoping Tom has a decent loop with not a LOT of elevation change picked out. Everyone looks to be there: Dave, Jim, Greg, Steve, Tom, and I are all planning on riding. I'll post a report on the ride tomorrow, if I'm still able to walk.

M: 12
MTD: 264
ML: 736

My last 3 rides

Okay, so it's been awhile. Unfortunately final exams, my mom visiting, and my dad's surgery kept me from riding for the past couple weeks (alright! my laziness did more damage than any of the above three - so sue me!). But, I'm back, popradrider readers (say that five times fast), and hopefully I haven't completely shot my chances at 1000 miles.

5/3/06

Rode the bike path. I started off strong, following an older woman (heh- like she could keep up with me!) and ended up gasping for air at the half-way point while she kept riding. Then, the last 6 miles sucked because I had used up all my energy trying to keep up with the wife of the Juiceman.

M: 12
MTD: 215
ML: 785


5/20/06

Tom, Dave, and I rode 25 miles in Preble County. We started off at Tom's house, rode down into Camden and headed north, I think, and then east towards Gratis. We stopped in Gratis for some duct tape for Tom's meijer water bottle holder, then headed towards West Elkton. On the way, Tom lost Dave and I, so we just wandered for about 2 miles trying to figure out if Tom had kept going straight or if he had turned. Turns out he went straight. Anyways, after 25 miles, many hills, and 2 hours later I realized I've really hurt myself not riding the past few weeks. But I did average 15 mph, so that was good.

M: 25
MTD: 240
ML: 760

5/22/06

Dave and I rode the bike path today. I'm still sore from Saturday's ride so I rode along at a leisurely 16.2 mph pace. Nothing real interesting, other than the fact I saw the pink shirt dude today. This guy had to weigh 300 or more pounds, and all march and april I'd see him riding past me in a huge (think XXXL) pink shirt that he barely fit in. He also was balding and had a grey beard, so I'd guess this cat to be around 50 or 55. Today I saw him, and he had a bright neon yellow jersey on and looked like he'd lost 50 pounds since I last saw him. I passed him, then he passed me, then I passed him, and he commented on the wind (it was not a good wind), and that was it, but I wished I would have told him to keep it up. Very inspiring that a guy his age and weight can be motivated and keep with the exercise. Hope to see you soon Pink-Shirt Dude.

M: 12
MTD: 252
ML: 748