Not a great season

First of all I would like to apologize to those that have followed this blog for the lack of posts this summer. The start of the season started quite well and I was looking forward to a great season of Keeping the Rubber Side Down with friends.

I had a regular doctor's appointment earlier this season and received some less than stellar reports. Within a few weeks of the news I went into surgery. After some recovery time I started to feel better and actually got back on the bike a few times. It wasn't long before I found that the surgery procedure needed to be supplemented with some treatments. I'm currently finishing the second of three and can't wait for it to be over.

I had a really hard time with the news when I received it and if it wasn't for family and friends I don't believe my recovery would be as strong as it has been. I will be back on the bike and when I start cranking those pedals again, I'll have all those that have stood by my side with me.

Keep the Rubber Side Down my friends.

Good luck and have fun

Just wanted to put a call out to Donald who is riding in the 24hrs of Booty starting Friday at 7pm. This ride is in support to raise money for cancer research and survival. Donald will be trying to complete as many miles as possible within 24hrs.

Please stop by his blog and wish him luck. Thanks for doing this Donald, it means a lot to me and countless others.

That's two this year

Much to my embarrassment I was involved in another bike accident last week. I was making a left turn with a car in front and a car behind me. I didn't think of looking to my right as I was the fourth in line for the advanced green and all traffic had stopped at the red. I should have looked because a fellow cyclist went right through the lights and into my leg with his front tire.

It all happened pretty fast and all the traffic stopped. I was on my feet pretty fast and when I realized what happened started to get really mad. The guy that hit me kept saying how he needed to go and do something. Police and ambulance showed and after questions and statements from witnesses the other rider was at fault for going through a red light.

After speaking with the police they informed me that the man who hit me had some mental challenges. They got in touch with his counsellor and we all agreed that having him charged wouldn't help anyone. I just hope his counsellor helps him understand that going through a red light regardless how late you might be is the wrong thing to do.

My leg is a terrific colour of yellow and purple but for the most part alright. I was riding the hybrid so it took the crash with grace and sustained no damage. The one thing I realized once home that was missing was my sunglasses. In the grand scheme of things that's not too bad. I have now ordered some new one's from Oakley and they are on the way.

Trying to get better

I thought I would put down a typical week in my struggle to be a better cyclist. I typically workout in the gym 4 days a week but due to work and life I don't have designated days in which I do certain days. Some days I'm in the gym at 10am, while others are 11pm. Most of my 'training' rides start at 4:30am and the goal is for 3 of these every week. I'll focus on my gym time workouts as myself and my coach are still working on the mechanics of my 'training' rides.

DAY 1

Tricep pulldowns 20% max 4x25 reps

Dips 5x25 reps

Pushups reg. 3x20reps

incline 3x20reps

decline 3x20reps

Ball trunk lift 4x 20reps

Side to Side trunk lift 3x20reps

Ball Pass 2x20reps

Reverse Crunch 3x25reps

DAY 2

Leg Curl 20% max 4x25reps

Ball Hip extension 3x25reps

No weight slow squat 4x25reps

No weight Lunge 3x 20reps

Power jumps 2x 12reps

No weight Side Lunge 3x 20reps

Step-ups 3x15reps

Reverse Crunch 2x30reps

Day3

Barbell Pullup 2x25reps

Shrugs 10% max 3x25 reps

Barbell Row 10% max 2x 20reps

Standing Calf Raise 3x20reps

Standing Long Jump 1x25reps

Ball Pike 3x 12reps

Oblique Plank 2x15reps

Pushups reg. 1x50reps

Incline Pushups 1x 30reps

DAY 4

Ball Crunches 4x20reps

Side to Side trunk lift 2x20reps

No weight Slow Squat 2x20reps

Lunges 1x20reps

Step ups 2x30reps

Power jumps 1x20reps

I try and get to the yoga studio once a week in which I'll normally replace 'Day 4' with an hour of yoga. I of course try to be on at least one of my bikes everyday, except of course when a fellow cyclist blows through a red light and slams right into me. We'll save that one for another post.

I've updated the play list with some of the tunes I'm grooving to. Track 16 is one of the best for some climbing fun.

Keep the Rubber Side Down!

Out of the Loop but getting back in

The past few weeks at work have been really hectic and I'm not going to bore you with the details. My time outside of work has been limited and as such I've been using it to ride and hit the gym and not writing about it.

In the past few weeks, I've had some great solo rides. The one's in which it's just you, your thoughts and the bike. Some have been a quick 30km while others have clocked 160+km. I've also been hitting the gym and incorporating some new exercises to help get me back to the level I was this time last year. Lots of lunges, squats, lifts and curls. This time though I've been doing some single legged ones and I'm really loving it.

I'll be starting up with my trainer again next week and no doubt she'll be kicking my ass eight ways to Sunday. I'm really looking forward to the 4:30am training rides(don't tell her) as I find they really start my day off right.

You've probably noticed that there is a music player on the blog now. Each week I'll try and copy the playlist I'm using during my rides in it.

Keep the Rubber Side Down my friends.

Lucinda

Lucinda is the newest member of the family and all have welcomed her with open arms. Even though she is taking the place of a sister who had an unfortunate accident with a cab, she is her own bike.

I'm sure that she will be steady and swift when needed and enjoy long casual scenic trips.

May the roads be hilly, the sky blue and the wind behind you.

Welcome Lucinda.

The Ride

Now that a few days have passed since my Ride for Heart, I think I'm able to give a bit better insight on what it was like for me.

The night before I ended up working until midnight which meant that when I got out of bed at 5am on Sunday, I had only slept for a little over two hours. I checked the weather  and found that rain was still very much going to be a part of the 75kms.

On my way to the EX, one of the only concerns that kept nagging at me was if I would be warm enough. I decided to stick to my shorts, short sleeved wick shirt, long sleeve wick shirt, jersey and wind vest. It may sound like a lot but all the layers on top are thin and the temperature is all over the place.

I met up with the rest of my group at the gates and we made our way to the start for the 6:45am. The chatter was light and fun until about ten minutes until start time. The leader of our group conveyed the 2hr goal I had and everyone nodded their heads, gave me a pat and told me they would do whatever it took to make it happen. A brief shudder of fear welled up inside of me when thoughts of being the weakest link in the group flashed in my head. The thoughts quickly dissipated when I saw marshals starting to move out from the front of all the riders waiting for the go ahead.

There were many groups like ours that launched off the front and all had an agenda. We quickly formed our pace line and we were off. I made it a point to cover my speed, distance and time before leaving the house. All I was aware of was my cadence. The rain started shortly after the launch, died away and came back. Keeping the pace line was difficult as the rooster tales from the rider in front reduced almost all visibility. 

I believe somewhere around the 45km mark I could feeling my strength starting to waiver. The leader of the group noticed and took me off of pulling duty for 6 turns while I ate and recharged. I was embarrassed for having to take a 'break' but as they all rotated around me they gave me words of empowerment and encouragement. My strength started to come back and soon I was back in proper rotation.

Within about 10km to go, the leader who was behind me in the line called out that an attack was happening and I was to chase it down.

'Rabbit loose!'

'Pedalman, chase him down and bring him in!'

The rabbit of course was him and I needed to get on his wheel. He shot past me and I launched my chase. As I cranked the pedals and started to speed away from the pace line keeping the rabbit in my cross hairs the group shouted words of encouragement to me.

I reached down and hit play on the Ipod. I had yet to turn it on and knew that I would need the extra motivation at this point. Moby's 'Lift Me Up' was like nitrous to my legs and I remember saying 'Got ya' before the song ended.

When we crossed the finish line, the last thing that was on my mind was if we had made it under my 2hr goal. The leader came up to me slapped me on the back and told me that maybe next year the goal should be changed a bit.

'1hr:57mins:41sec

He suggested the goal be changed to 1hr45mins next year. I can't repeat the suggestion I gave to him in response.

I want to thank all those that supported me on this ride. Without you guys in my corner, I wouldn't have had a shot.

Thank you my friends.