Life in the Fast Lane

I want to ride faster – I go through this EVERY year around this time. This urge to ride faster – to ride with the faster riders – I want to ride faster!

Problem is I’m slow. I have a heavy touring bike. And I’m over weight. The truth doesn’t look very glamorous in black and white does it?

Each spring I loose a little more weight, add more miles and ride harder. Sometime around April or May [when I'm still averaging 13 - 14 mph] I give up on “going faster” and resign myself to just getting out there and riding. This is fine – and comes to me through several juicy rationalizations about what’s really important – why am I out there anyway – and “no really – I like to ride alone”.

The trouble is seeing things like this video, and riding brevets, and dreaming about the feeling of freedom I believe is attached to being able to “keep up”. Anyway – that’s how I feel about it.

Rapha Rides The Tour of California from RAPHA on Vimeo.

Progress Update?

Wow

Back in November I “set a program” for myself”. I wanted to lose weight, get fit and get faster on the bike. Below is an excerpt from that post and my goals.

Here is the Program

• Monday – Ride the Trainer 60min
• Tuesday – Weight Train
• Wednesday – Ride the Trainer 60 min
• Thursday – Weight Train
• Friday – Ride the Trainer 60min (or) Weight Train
• Saturday – Take a ride 30 – 60 miles
• Sunday – Off

Here is my Current Condition

• Age: 43
• Height: 5’6
• Weight: 162.4
• Average Speed: 13 mph (stop laughing… this is personal)

Here are my Goals for this Season

• Age: 44 (April)
• Height: 5’6
• Weight: 130
• Average Speed: 15 – 16 mph

I will lay out my program as I go and post my progress. Here’s hopen’ for the best!

Progress…

So let me start by saying – cross out that whole first section. I did NOT do anything remotely resembling that weekly schedule.

Second section up date is as follows:

Current Condition

• Age: 44 [it happens]
• Height: 5’6
• Weight: 146
• Average Speed: 14 mph (depending on the bike I ride)

So I’m not feeling too bad about this. I have 16 pounds to go and I think I can reach that goal. I have lost 50 lbs so far. I started in January 2007. I could have done it faster but I am OK with my progress.

As far as the training schedule goes I am completely off that. What was I thinking? I love to ride my bike. I do it as often as possible. But anytime I try to get myself “on a training schedule” all my enjoyment flies out the window and I’m dragging myself out for rides I don’t want to take. It’s not for me and I know that. I just keep trying to regulate myself that way… I keep trying to put myself into the cookie cutter cyclist mold. The one in bright tights. I’m wondering why that is. It’s not the way I ride… go figure

I am going to keep on going with the weight and the riding. I’m done with trying to up my speed… that was just to be able to ride club rides. Not something I am doing anyway. It’s out for a long day ride or camping overnight for me.

Maybe I’ll try and start a “no Lycra allowed” riding group

100 of anything is a lot

February 9th 2008

I got everything ready the night before. I have found it’s the only way I can make it out the door on time in the morning. Why does it always seem like my bike needs what is close to a complete overhaul before a long ride? I’m talking about swapping bags.. changing fenders… adding or removing other components. It’s not like I have that much stuff… I just seem to always be striping the bike down and putting everything back in one form or another. My son once said to me “Mom, you’re always working on your bike… but each time you finish with it, it looks just the same.” I’m not sure if this is normal behavior or my own special brand of neurosis.

This was going to be my first century ride. I’m looking forward to doing my first Brevet in early March, a 200k, and thought it might be a good idea to see if I can ride a 100 miles before I try 124 with a mountain thrown in to boot.

As the days are still short and:

1. I have no proper lighting
2. I’m slow as molasses

I thought I should start with the sun. It was my plan to head out at 7:00 am and have a full 10 hours of light to reach my goal. (no laughing… this is personal) I’d go as slow as I wanted and not worry about time off the bike at all. That way if I made it in time I thought I would most likely be OK on the Brevet.

I got up at 6:00 and my DH got up with me. He made me a breakfast burrito while I got ready and checked my tire pressure. Fed, watered and at full PSI I rolled out at 7:00 am sharp.

The forecast was the best it had been for quite a while. It was going to be sunny with little wind, (we’d been having gales almost daily) and rising to 60 degrees. I felt great and was striping most of my winter gear off in the first 10 miles.

I rode into Ridgeway, the first little town of the day, and cruised straight through. My next stop was Blythewood at 18 miles. Here I stopped at a convenience store for a quick pit stop and some “nutter butter peanut butter sandwich cookies” Love Um!

The sun was out and a beautiful day was on its way. I headed down the road to Lake Monticello. As I neared Jenkinsville I started hearing a rattle each time I turned my wheel. I picked a dirt turn-off and checked out my front end. Nothing… I continued on and the rattle or vibration I should say became more pronounced. I hoped off the bike and really examined the front wheel, rack and fender. I found the fender stays were not tight and took care of that. I passed the BP near the lake (about mile 40) and stopped for a bathroom break. They had a Tupperware container on the counter with a bunch of hard boiled eggs in it. (I love the country) They were still warm and I picked up two and more water. I stashed the eggs with my lunch and cruised down (up?) the road toward Little Mountain.

I don’t mind the rollers at all between Monticello and Little Mountain. They are long and gradual. At the halfway point you come down a long decent and cross the Broad River. Up the other side you pass near the tiny town of Peak.

My front end vibration was still with me and getting worse, but I couldn’t find anything wrong at all. I was feeling a little hungry so I thought I’d just pull over at the top of the rise near Parr Reservoir and eat. As I enjoyed half my sandwich and one of my eggs four BIG trucks with trailers pulling lots of ATVs pulled in. They were waiting for a fifth SUV with trailer to catch up on their way to their idea of a great day in the country. It looked like they had everything they could possibly want with them. I was thankful they had passed me stopped by the side of the road. There are really no shoulders on the road sides in the South Carolina and they were a truly impressive sized caravan.

They motored on and so did I.

At the next rise I tried again to find the source of my front end noise. I thought it must be the fender and just decided to remove it! I did, and stashed it in the grass by the road. I would pick it up on the way back. The next stretch of roadway is some of the prettiest SC has to offer, and that’s saying something. A winding country road past farms, fields and woods up into the town of Little Mountain. A couple other riders heading the same way passed me on this road. Little Mountain is a popular turn around for Irmo and Columbia area riders.

I stopped and chatted with the riders a minute and headed down SC20 toward Lake Murray. The State Park on Dreher Island was going to be my turn around for the day. I had been feeling fine the whole time. I was beginning to understand that even if I “wore myself out” on part of the ride, I could still recover on the bike and keep on peddling. I rolled down the other side and around to the lake. About 13 miles from Little Mountain.

The park ranger let me ride through. I found a nice picnic bench to finish my lunch and have my last egg and cookies. I was shocked at all the boats on the lake in February. It was a great day and they were all out fishing. Lots of people were fishing from the shore as well. A good time was being had by all. The sun was shining on the lake and there wasn’t a jacket in sight.

I didn’t want to leave the park. I wanted to just keep cruising around it. Looking at the lake and campsites and woods. I loved it… Everyone was enjoying the great weather, and I was on my bike. I’m a rambler – cyclotourist at heart, but there were miles to go and I had no lights, so I took off for home.

My front end was still vibrating and it was starting to truly worry me. I knew my tire wasn’t going to fall off or anything, but every time I turned my wheel while moving the front end was making a vibrating noise. I stopped again on the way back to little Mountain. This time it occurred to me to smack my front wheel to see if I could hear anything. I did and the the wheel vibrated. I did it several times before I figured out it was the reflector! between the spokes that was no longer wedged tight enough. It then came to me that I never really see these reflectors on my friends bikes. I must be the only one that leaves them on.

any-who…

I pushed it back into place and headed on thinking of my poor fender that got the blame stashed in the grass miles away.

I am amazed by hills… why is it I can motor up some hills and barley spin up others? The title “mountain” is a little overkill for Little Mountain. Big Hills would be more accurate… but they didn’t ask me… I rode through without stopping and back down the other side to my wrongly accused fender. I re-installed it and headed back over the Broad River to Lake Monticello. Here I was going to head the opposite way I had come from back into Winnsboro.

I rode up 213 (the only road with much traffic) and turned off onto the old road past the granite quarry. There are many old granite homes on this road and a historical landmark as well. A granite wall, not a straight wall but curving and winding in an “S” pattern over and over. It is worth seeing. I have been told South Carolina is the only place you can get blue granite. There are lots of old homes in the area made of it.

I was getting near home now and pushed on up reservoir rd. I don’t really like this road. I think it’s because my home is near the county air strip. (the highest point in Fairfield county) So… the end of every ride for me is a climb. Not step but rather long false flats. I think I’d rather have a hill and be done with it.

As I made the last turn my odometer read 99.2 miles… OH NO! I took a turn down the airstrip road just to be official… then rolled into my drive at 100.24 miles.