Autumn Focus

It's hard to believe that it's been 3 weeks since the start of the Ride to Remember.  After a big event I typically end up spending a couple of weeks trying to regain focus.  I don't find this to be a big negative, as it gives me time to reflect and determine what is important.  During the months leading up to events like RtR, AOTC and AOMM I find myself getting consumed in the preparation.  Training rides, ramping up efforts, making sure I am as ready as I can be to put out a good effort.  I can very easily get sucked in, and it consumes most of my energy and time.  The reality is that I cannot sustain the "ramped up" state for extended periods of time, as it just isn't healthy for myself or my family.  Having reset time always helps.

With Autumn quickly approaching, and most of the big events for the year now in the rear view mirror, it is a good time to look at where I am with my goals, and what I should be focused on.  Earlier in the year I wrote about my goals for 2014:

Events - I originally posted about 3 events:  The Assault on the Carolinas, Beech Mountain Metric, and The Ride to Remember.  I did not complete Beech Mountain because of travel conflicts, which was rather disappointing.  The Assault on the Carolinas was as awesome as I had remembered, and the Ride to Remember was an incredible experience.  I plan on having both of those events return for 2015.  

Goals -

• Complete a training plan - I completed the plan on Training Peaks earlier in the year, although I did not complete every workout.  This is going to be an ongoing goal, and working out how to mix trainer workouts with road workouts will be an important step.  The big improvement here has been learning how to utilize Training Peaks.  
• Quality over Quantity - the original goal for 2014 was to spend less time on the bike, and to make every workout count.  So far I am actually above the pace I set last year, although I'm still working on keeping from riding on both Saturday and Sunday.  
• Balancing Bike & Family Time - this is the area that I still feel is a work in progress.  Hopefully as the fall progresses I can make more of a habit on finding ways to mix my bike and family time, such that we can spend more time together on the bike.  

While I am not exactly on target for most of my major goals, I still do not consider them to have been poor choices.  Each of my non-event goals were specific, measurable, trackable and relevant.  They may have been a little bit off on "attainable", which leaves me room to grow in the process of setting bike-related goals.  It'll be interesting to see where I stand with in regards to these goals at the end of the year.

Avoiding Derailments

This is going to be a bit of a "double entendre" post, although the message really is the same for me. With just over 6 weeks left before the Ride to Remember, it's important for me to remember that the goal is not to just "go fast", but I'm preparing for a big effort in an event situation. This means being smart about my training and avoid unneeded injury. At this point I'm not going to make any major jumps in fitness before RtR. I have to listen to my body, and not necessarily push through pain. While Jens Voigt is famously known for the saying "Shut up Legs", I need mine to tell me where I am. Last month I took on a large increase in volume, as part of testing where I was fitness-wise for the Ride to Remember. My time in the saddle, as well as my mileage, ballooned well beyond what I had been doing previously this year. While I'm glad that I was able to complete several challenges, a first for me on Strava, it also came with a lot of risks. My knees already are a weak spot for me. By pushing myself above my previous training volume, I risked aggrevating old injuries on my patellar tendons. Typically it just means tendonitis, and being uncomfortable while riding for longer distances, or doing a lot of climbing. As a precaution, I'm following the "R.I.C.E." strategy (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation), minus compression. Stretching and quality time with my foam roller to keep everything limber will be on the schedule as well. I have two events this month that I'm intending to do (Ride 4 Animal Care, Bee Buzzin' Bicycle Tour), along with one last super long training ride scheduled for the end of the month.

Approaching SRT tracks

The other side of not derailling my efforts is making smart decisions on the bike. This means not taking unnecessary risks, especially around railroad tracks. I learned the hard way late last year that tracks are not something to toy with. I was lucky that my injuries were minor, and I was able to ride away. If you talk to folks that have been riding for a while, a majority have stories to tell about railroad tracks. Works like "fracture" or "crack" are often used in combination with "clavical or hip". Just this spring I've had multiple friends end up off the bike for extended periods of time while their injuries heal. These are folks with tens of thousands of miles on the bike; I've riden with them on events like the Assault on Mt Mitchell. These aren't novice riders that didn't know how to handle tracks. 

After my encounter, I felt like I had just been body slammed by a professional wrestler. One moment I was crossing the tracks, the next I was picking myself off the ground. There wasn't a moment of "I'm going to fall" or "oh this is going to hurt". Anything that happened between when my wheel caught the rail and I went down was done purely on instinct. I had to have landed on my right arm, as it was tender for several weeks afterwards. If I had more time, I probably would have had worse injuries, as I probably would have attempted to put my arm out to brace myself.

After my tumble I take a lot different attitude towards tracks: unless I'm confident that I have a good angle to cross (close to, if not, perpendicular), and the conditions are good, I'll unclip and cross with one foot on the ground. Folks probably think I'm out of my mind when I reach the tracks on the Swamp Rabbit, but I unclip every time I cross those. The angle is poor, and the spacers are wooden (and thus have a chance to be rotten). The honest truth is this - I've been on an almost constant training routine for almost 3 years now, between just getting into shape and preparing for various rides. I don't need to take the risk that today is the day that the tracks are a little bit slippery, or my judgement is off on what angle is going to get my wheels safely over the gaps. No Strava segment, or draft advantage in a group ride, is worth being sidelined waiting for bones to mend.

16hours, 250mi, 5 days

With 2 months left to go before the Ride to Remember, I've been refocusing my efforts on making sure that I can complete and enjoy the 3 day trip.  With back to back to back days of riding across South Carolina, it's going to be a completely different level of challenge to what I've trained for in the past.  For rides like the Assault on  Mt Mitchell, the effort is contained in a single day.  The concept I used was the train to be prepared for that one huge day of effort, and then take 2 or 3 days off afterwards to recover.  Now I need to be able to put out large efforts multiple days in a row, conserving and refueling appropriately to be able to complete mile 250 over 48 hours after I start mile 1.

Thus when I saw that Strava had a riding challenge sponsored by Scratch Labs that was designed to be done as a multi-day effort, I figured it was a good opportunity to test out my current fitness level prior to the Ride to Remember.  The Scratch Labs Stage Race Challenge was set around the 8 days of the Amgen Tour of California, and required you to log 16 hours of moving time during the event.  Doing some quick napkin math, I realized that if I averaged at least 15 miles per hour during the time period, I would also end up riding a cumulative total of miles as I would experience on the Ride to Remember.  It was going to take efforts every day to finish with enough time (and miles) logged.

Monday - with the first day lost to a mechanical issue, I decided that I needed to ride on what is typically a rest day for me.  With my new Garmin 800 in hand, I decided to try out a different route than I typically take.  It would give me a chance to learn more about the bike computer, and give me some time on the bike.  The ride was very successful, and I logged in my first solid ride of the week.  2 hours down, 14 to go.

Tuesday - looking ahead on weather sites indicated that I was going to have to compensate for at least 1 rain day during the week, which meant figuring out when I could get in more and/or longer rides.  With a 20% chance of rain Tuesday afternoon, I had to make the decision to ride at lunch to make sure I got in time, or decide to risk riding in the afternoon.  What I decided to do was make it a potential "2 a day" scenario:  get in an easy ride during lunch, and if the weather held out go out again to SCTAC for additional time/mileage in an easier group than I'm used to.  The lunch ride went without a hitch, and I let my cycling clothes dry during the afternoon in preparation for the evening ride.

Evening came around, and the weather looked favorable.  After a ride around the SCTAC airport known as the "Perimeter Road Loop", I went out with the 16mph group.  I just wanted to sit in and have a somewhat easy ride, although very early on I could tell that the group wasn't going to end up being a pace that I'd really enjoy.  Thus about a quarter of the way out I decided to go out on my own ahead of the main group, and bridged over to another group ahead of us.  With Tuesday in the books, I was at 6 hours and 92mi completed.

Wednesday - originally on Monday when I decided to ride, I scheduled this to be a recovery ride day, knowing that Tuesday evening was probably going to be difficult.  When the forecast started showing an extremely high chance of rain on Thursday, I knew I had to move up my timetables and use Thursday as an off the bike recovery day, just in case of bad weather.  Thus instead of just a single extremely easy ride, I ended up completing yet another "2 a day" workout.  Ride #1 was another 30mi long loop, using the same route that I had taken Monday.  

The evening ride ended up being the original intended recovery ride.  At this point I had to say that my legs were extremely tired, but I was happy about my ability to set an effort level and keep to it given additional efforts ahead.  At the halfway point of the week I was just under the 10 hour mark.  The goal was in sight!

Thursday - the weatherman didn't disappoint.  With rain pretty much all day, many of the group rides were canceled.  I kept looking at the after work forecasts to determine if there was a glimmer of hope of getting in a quick ride, but the wet roads and radar reports didn't make it look very promising.  By about 7pm the roads were looking relatively clear, but the sky still looked threatening.  I wasn't too concerned with 3 days of riding left that I could get the time in.  

Friday - I had already been figuring out what I wanted to do for rides over the weekend, and I came across an older 80mi route that I had been really wanting to try out all spring.  Looking at the forecast, it was going to be cool but nice, and it would give me over 4 hours of time in the saddle.  For the ride on Friday what it meant was that I had to make sure to get in time Friday, but definitely not overdo it.  While longer than the recovery ride Thursday evening, it was a shorter effort than I had been doing most lunchtimes thus far.  I was now just over 4 hours left to finish the challenge, with a big 80mi ride the next day!

Saturday - I have to say that building up an epic week of riding like this has a way of really testing if you are able to stick to your game plan, as well as keep each workout within reason so you can maintain your effort.  With a seemingly monsterous route ahead of me, especially solo, it was going to be a good dry run of my ability to keep to my game plan.  Without the distractions of keeping with a group, it was up to me to make good sound choices on fueling and pace.  After a good breakfast, and a little bit of a late start, I got underway.  I ended up needing arm warmers, as the weather was cooler than expected at the start of the ride, and I packed enough water and food for at least 2/3 of the ride.  I already knew in my head that I'd probably be stretching that to be for the entire ride, but I had made this route with at least 2 known good rest stops along the way.  Of the 80 miles that I was going to ride, there was probably only about 10 or 15 miles of it that were new roads to me.   That meant that at any point I could decide to change the route up if I felt that things were not going well.

During the route I did extremely well at making sure to have fuel, and taking my time when I needed to.  The hardest parts to deal with really were the climbs.  Up until this week, the largest effort week I had done was 171miles and 11 hours.  This meant that by Satuday I was into uncharted territory for how much energy I'd have left.  I was having to make sure to conserve energy whenever possible, allowing myself the chance to recover on downhills and setting an easy pace on the uphills.  The goal wasn't to set any personal records, but rather to get a solid effort in and have good time in the saddle.  

What I wasn't expecting was that the weather was going to show signs of turning.  The weather reports had said a 30% chance of rain on Sunday, and clouds in the afternoon Saturday.  By the time I was just about home on the route, the winds started to pick up, and if I was back Florida I would have expected a severe thunderstorm within the hour.  I worked my way back to the house, and completed the course in just over 5 hours of moving time.  16 hours completed, and 252miles traveled.  This turned out to be a good strategy, as Sunday ended up being washed out all day long.  The weather finally cleared late in the afternoon.  For me it ended up being a great afternoon to catch up on some rest and spend some time with the family.

In the end I feel like my training is in a good place as the time draws nearer for the Ride to Remember.  My goal for the ride isn't to go with the A group and ride like crazy each day, but rather to enjoy the experience and ride with friends and teammates.  The ride profile should work well to my personality type on the bike, as the majority of the non-flat riding ends up being late on Day 1 and early on Day 2.  As long as I am able to "ride my ride" during the event, and force myself to stop when I know it's appropriate, I should do fine.

Mountain Training

Oh, these vast, calm, measureless mountain days, inciting at once to work and rest! Days in whose light everything seems equally divine, opening a thousand windows to show us God. Nevermore, however weary, should one faint by the way who gains the blessings of one mountain day; whatever his fate, long life, short life, stormy or calm, he is rich forever.  - John Muir

Just a week ago we were facing record-setting amounts of snow and ice in the upstate, and trainer rides were the name of the game.  Getting out for a ride once the temperatures warmed up was a nice "change of pace", even if it was a windy and you still had to be on the lookout for remnants of ice.  

Hard to believe that this was less than 2 weeks ago

The wonderful thing about winter in the upstate is that snow melts quickly, and the ice and snow gives way to clear skies and dry roads.  Saturday the forecast was for highs in the 60's.  Time for some climb training in the mountains!  Up until now most of my training this year has been focused on trainer sessions and hill repeats at best, so I wasn't really sure what my legs were going to give me.  In fact, just two days before on my training plan I was doing 3 minute hill climbs up the back side of Paris Mountain.  A big personal goal for me this year is to train "smarter" by keeping to training plans, instead of just blasting away miles and pushing myself in haphazardly before events.  Since I've signed up for the Beech Mountain Metric this May, I need to keep myself focused on steady amounts of climbing.  

The route that was established brought us up one of the more favorite climbing spots in the upstate:  The Greenville Watershed.  This route is a gradual continual climb, and you can chose to go to Saluda or Tuxedo.  We started in Tigerville SC, a popular starting point for groups on any given clear Saturday.  In fact, as I parked at the meet-up spot I noticed the cars of several friends I typically ride with who obviously were already out enjoying the day.  We started out by climbing up Callahan Mountain, which is a notoriously steep climb, averaging around 9% grade for about 1 mile.  On the way down towards the watershed we stopped at the Poinsett Bridge and took a few pictures.  Created in 1820, it's one of the oldest bridges in South Carolina. 

Poinsett Bridge

Upon reaching "the Watershed" we met up with several groups of cyclists out for their day in the mountains.  While some were heading to Saluda, many were heading up to Tuxedo today. The Assault on Mount Mitchell training rides were even heading this direction today.  We kept the pace on the easy side, as our goal wasn't to set any personal records but rather to get in good training miles.  Regrouping at the top, we then turned off onto Mount Olivett.

This is another popular climbing area, although this is the first time that I had a chance to attempt it.  While not as long as the Watershed (3.6mi vs 6.4mi) the average grade for this section is steeper (6% vs 4%).  Adding on Mt Olivett to the climb was definitely a great test of the legs this early in the season.  What I was really pleased about was that I was able to climb it at a relatively relaxed pace, and not feel like I had to kill myself just to stay upright.  The view at the top was definitely worth the time climbing up.

Views like this never disappoint

At the top of the climb we intersected with Pinnacle Mountain Road, and made the turn to descend back to Flat Rock for our Bakery stop.  The trip down was much more technical than the climb, and I was glad to have upgraded brakes.  While this wasn't as exciting as coming down Skyuka Mountain Road, it definitely was challenging, especially at the bottom.  With no major incidents descending, we moved on to the most important part of the ride:  The Bakery!

While getting a chance to ride in the mountains is reward enough, there is something to be said about getting to stop at the local bakeries.  The stop for today was the Flat Rock Village Bakery, where we enjoyed a snack and some time off the bike to relax.  With a snack, a pit stop, and fresh water in our bottles, we were ready to head back.  The trip back was a straight shot down 225/old-US25 to the Watershed.  At the bottom we decided to go past Hotel Domestique, owned by retired pro cyclist George Hincapie.  This also adds another few shots of climbing which is always a little bit cruel, since you end up descending for  long enough to let your legs cool down prior to getting to these hills. 

What I was very pleased about for this ride was the ability to ride in a comfort zone, keeping a consistent effort for more than 3 hours in the saddle.  I'm so used to trying to "keep up" that I end up spending an entire ride in harsh heartrate zones.  Having an endurance/tempo pace was refreshing.  While I still need to work on more effective fuel strategies for both during and after the ride, keeping myself in check is important.  As I look towards the Spring, I think I'm going to be in a good place to be strong and have a lot of fun without worrying about getting dropped.

The best laid plans

As a part of 2014, I realized that I had to do something different than 2013 to meet the goals that I had laid before me.  For 2013 my big goals were to complete the Assault on Mt Mitchell and to ride at least 400mi/month on average (but aim for 100mi/week average).  I completed all of these goals, riding over 5,400 miles and completing the Assault as my first English Century.  What I realized is that without a comprehensive training plan, I was expending a lot more work than I should have needed to in order to complete the first of these goals, and by having goals that were distance-based I was setting myself up for always feeling like I had to be on the road gathering miles.  I signed up for 3 "major" events for 2014, which I will consider my "hard goals", and I'm working on the "soft goals" for additional requirements along the way.  The events that I've signed up for at this point are:

• The Assault on the Carolinas - 62mi ride in the early spring that was one of my favorites from last year.  Starts and ends in Brevard, NC and benefits the Rotary in Transylvania County.

AOTC 2013 finish line

• Beech Mountain Metric - this is a new event for 2014, and is a metric century event in Beech Mountain, NC.  Starts and ends at ~1mi above sea level, this is going to be a challenging climbing event.
• The Ride to Remember - this is a 3 day event where riders travel from Simpsonville to Charleston, SC.  Proceeds from this ride benefit the Alzheimer's Association. The lengths increase from 60mi to 80mi and culminating with a 100mi ride to the coast.  240mi in 3 days will be a real challenge, and will test my ability to recover and prepare.  This is also a fundraising event, so I will be working on creative ways to gather support for the ride.

Beyond the planned events, I have a few other goals I would like to cover in the process.  

• Complete a training plan -  This one sounds easy enough, but sticking to a 10-12 week plan is very challenging.  It means finding a way to ride when riding is the last thing you want to do.  It will mean NOT riding when I should be resting, and preparing myself mentally and physically for the rest of the year.  So far I am working my way through a training plan using Training Peaks right now that will finish right before the Assault on the Carolinas.  It is going to be very challenging, but I think it will ultimately be very beneficial.

  

  Feb 3-9 training log.

  
  
• Quality over Quantity - Instead of just putting in miles all the time, I'm focused on my rides having a purpose.  If this means spending an hour with The Sufferfest to get a workout to target certain aspects, or just following the training plan, giving my workouts a purpose should allow me to do more with less time on the bike.  

• Balance Bike & Family time - last year to meet my mileage based goals I ended up riding on both Saturday and Sunday ... a LOT.  This meant taking time away from my duties as a husband and father.  This year I am looking to balance that out, making sure to not rush out on the bike when I don't need to, and getting my other goals accomplished around the house.  I'm hopeful that this can extend to finding a way for the whole family to spend time on the bike together as well.

Taking a Water Break

With focused goals that are within my own ability to control and manage, I think 2014 will be another good year on the bike.  

The Weather outside is Frightful...

Last week was one of the coldest weeks in decades for many cities across the US.  For me personally, it was probably the coldest week that I had experienced in over 20 years.  There something about highs that are not above freezing (and lows in the single digits) that didn't inspire me to go out for my typical lunch rides to get base miles.  Instead, this was an opportunity for me to do more testing on how I can (and will) use the trainer this winter.

During the fall I wrote about getting a trainer, and using a couple of different software solutions to record and evaluate my workouts on the bike.  Both TrainerRoad and GoldenCheetah were successful in recording a workout, but the larger obstacle  that I ran into was wanting to complete the workouts.  Watching TV (or Netflix as the case may be) while grinding away on the bike just really didn't motivate me to give my best efforts, even when I had instructions in front of me.  Over the course of the last 6 months I had gotten a couple of different trainer workout demos free to try out, so with the week of bad weather I figured it was worth giving them a shot.

I completed 4 rides on the trainer this week while evaluating videos from 3 different companies:  1 from Endurance Films, 1 from Carmichael Training, and 2 from The Sufferfest.  All of these were downloaded files on my laptop that I had integrated into Golden Cheetah to sync/record my efforts while watching the video.  The actual data gathered was Heart Rate, Speed, and Cadence from my ANT+ meters I use with my Garmin 305.  Beyond that GC has an option to estimate power based on my trainer (Cyleops Fluid 2) and speed.

screenshot of Golden Cheetah playing The Sufferfest Downward Spiral

The first video I checked out was the Demo of RIDES: Florida - Paradise Road  from Endurance Films.  This was a BRO (Big Ring Only) Interval set, and the demo video included the first half hour of the workout.  This includes a single interval set and a warm up period.  Overall I liked the layout of this video, and at some point I will look into getting the full version of this particular workout.  The workouts were simple to follow, and it had great video footage along with good music to keep you entertained throughout the workout.  The goal of this workout was base strength, thus attempting to hold a low cadence (under 60 rpm) at a relatively high Wattage.  As a downside, most of the RIDES series is DVD (not download/mp4) and the pricing was not inexpensive.  There are 3 of their videos that are download friendly and run $19.95.  The DVD videos run approximately $29.95 + shipping from their site.  Currently they are running a promotion with the demo video to get 25% off your order when you use a code provided at the end of the video, though.


  RIDES Florida FREE Workout Interval from Endurance Films on Vimeo.
The second video I used was from Carmichael Training.  CTS is famously known for training many major pro cyclists, and for getting results.  They run several "Bucket List" rides throughout the year, including rides that follow the Tour of California and the US Pro Cycling Challenge in Colorado.  I have getting "Bucket List Certified" on my goals list for the future, as I'd love to ride the Pro courses at some point in the future.  The video I demoed was from a Strava challenge during the summer, where by participating I was able to get the video for free.  The title is "Threshold Power", and as the name implies the goal is to increase your FTP.  This is a full hour long video, going through multiple intervals.  While this video had a lot of great instruction, there wasn't much to see on the screen except for other folks on trainers with the occasional outside training ride shot, and very little music to keep you grooving.  Thus time didn't move very quickly.  I did find that their instructions for how to find your goal range, based on % of Power as well as HR or RPE to be effective at helping me zero in my goal range.  CTS has download options, as well as DVD options, for all of their videos, and the pricing starts at $9.99.



Preview of CTS training videos on YouTube
The last two videos I used during the week were part of the Starter Kit from The Sufferfest.  This is one of the most popular of the trainer series that I see my friends posting about online.  Ranging from $5.99 to $14.99 they for the download videos, you can get DVD backups of the videos for a fee.  The names on these videos are interesting, and descriptive.  With  names like "the Blender", "Revolver", and "The Downward Spiral", you can tell that the folks that created these videos definitely are a creative bunch.  The HUD on the video is very minimal, it's like they are expecting you to be using another program like TrainerRoad or GC to integrate your efforts, and they put the extra time into making an interesting video experience instead of a detailed HUD of your workout.  The two videos that I have used from the Starter Pack so far are "The Downward Spiral" and "Extra Shot: The Long Scream".  Both of these workouts left me tired and drenched, but with good video and music, the time passed relatively quickly.  I say relatively, because when you are working at threshold for 30 minutes on a simulated time trial, I'm not sure you can call any time passing "quick".  Of the 3 different series, this is the one that I would gravitate towards using regularly.  


Preview of "The Downward Spiral" on Vimeo

One of the big advantages that The Sufferfest has over the other training videos was that I was able to easily find and import ERG files to use with GC for the workouts.  This allowed me to have a "target power" number to try to hit to stay in my effort zones, based on a FTP workout, instead of having to guess by my own perceived effort or heart rate.  I tend to push way too hard early in effort levels, as can still be seen in my workouts on the trainer, and thus I cannot push at a level for nearly as long as I can if I know where my target is and my target is realistic.  I'm sure I can find or create ERG files for the other videos, but having them readily available just made it easy.  

After spending 4 days on the trainer, the weather was finally to a point where I was able to get out on the road and ride with some friends on Sunday.  This was the first "checkpoint" on if the trainer sessions were going to translate into actual gains while out on the bike.  For 2 years I've mostly attempted to figure out efforts effectively based on RPE, or perceived effort.  The problem I've had with that method is that I overexert too early in the effort, as I don't have a good feel for experience I should have at a given effort level. What I was focusing on was not jumping out to too big of an effort early to just be reeled back in late.  While I didn't get Personal Records on the route, I did feel like I had success in my goals.  I can see if I spend time on the trainer focusing on knowing what an effort feels like in my legs, and not just training myself on perceived effort, I'm going to see a big difference in long efforts over time.  

Two Years

September 2011 was a time of rather large changes for me.  I took a new job which meant moving, and at least for the first couple of months it meant being away from my family for an extended period of time.  I had lived in Orlando, FL for 17 years, so moving to Greenville, SC was a big change in atmosphere (and altitude), and it was time for some fresh beginnings.  One of my friends that had moved to the area years before had been telling me about the cycling scene, but I didn't really have a frame of reference on what that would really mean for me.  After my first day of work, he took me out on a bike ride, letting me borrow his mountain bike to ride in the area around where he lived.



This was the start of something new and fun.  It was a lot of work, but I enjoyed the ride.  The second night he introduced me to the Donaldson Center scene.  I borrowed a road bike from another friend of his, and we rode around the loop that the racers ride.  He also let me borrow a heart rate monitor so I could see how much effort I was exerting.  While I don't have the HR data, I do remember something about seeing 200 as being a bad thing...



That was all it took to get hooked.  That weekend I went to the local bike shop and bought my first road bike, a Scott S40.  In the 24 months that have passed I have ridden 8,693.0mi while finding a hobby that has brought me into better fitness and health.

My family has since moved up to the area, and we all are leading healthier lifestyles.  Our "new normal" has brought about changes for all of us, and for me it saw my weight go from a peak of 262lbs in 2011 down to a low of 204lbs this year.

September 2011 - seems like a lifetime ago

Assault on the Carolinas 2013

I have managed to tackle new challenges both on and off the bike, but the challenges on the bike are more quantifiable.  My first challenge was just traveling the swamp rabbit trail.  I used Strava segments to quantify my improvements.  From there I set my goals to complete the Stars and Stripes Challenge, which was a cancer fundraiser that was held as a part of the US Pro Cycling Road Championships when they were hosted in Greenville, SC.  In order to complete that challenge I had to be able to make it to the top of Paris Mountain, which was the featured climb of the route.

Notice "you made it!!!" behind me

At this point I had been selected to be a part of a local radio show weight loss competition known as "Rob's Big Losers".  Having focus on my cycling goals, as well as the competition, allowed me to set sights on lower my weight and getting my overall fitness improved on a grand scale.  In the 12 weeks of the competition I lost over 40 lbs, climbed local route known as "the watershed" and completed my first 5k.

Without a doubt, I was hooked.  Since then I've completed my first metric century (2012 Wheels for Meals), completed the Stars and Stripes Challenge, climbed Ceaser's Head Mountain, Green River Cove, Skyuka Mountain Road, Hogback Mountain, and Mt Mitchell.  I completed my first century as a part of the 2013 Assault on Mount Mitchell.  I've continually set new challenges in front of me to spur me on to reach new heights.  

Looking back at the last 2 years, I started out the ride yesterday to follow the same route that I took around Donaldson Center in September of 2011.  It was windy, and a bit chilly, but it was amazing to think back and realize how far you can go with a lot of faith and determination.



I've climbed the segment known as "the last little hill at Donaldson" 29 times prior to last night, but this ended up being a personal record, beyond efforts I've done while in a group.  Being able to look back gives me a lot of pride in how far I've come, but it also makes me realize that I'm not done yet.  There are so many other challenges out there, and so many things I hope to share with my family as we continue on our journey together.  While none of them have quite gotten bitten with the cycling bug the way I have, I hope to one day see their faces when they scale Paris Mountain.

My current goals are to continue to see fitness improvements, and get better as a climber.  I'd love to see my time on the steep side segment of Paris Mountain at about 15 minutes, and to be able to complete the Hincapie Gran Fondo route (also known as the Marquis de Sade by locals) in under 6 hours.  I have also verbally committed to riding in the 2014 Ride to Remember for Alzheimer's awareness.  This would be my first "multi-day tour", as the route spans over 250 miles from Greenville to Charleston.  I'm also hoping that I can start budgeting for more events further from home.  My long term goals are to get strong enough to be "bucket list certified" such that I could do the CTS challenge in front of the Tour of California.  All of these new challenges are cumulative  and build on the efforts I've already put out.  They won't happen overnight, but having goals, and a sport that I truly enjoy, is what keeps me going out on the road.

Winter is coming

It's hard to make this statement in the middle of September, but the honest fact is that the short days of winter are approaching.  I've been lucky this year and have managed to ride almost as much as I wish to without being forced to resort to the enemy of all outdoor cyclists - the dreaded trainer.  These torture devices make a routine that seems barely worth putting on the bibs to go do into an ordeal of epic proportions.  You can ride 8 hours on the road, but 45 minutes on the trainer and you feel like you've been kicked by a mule.

Cold Days are ahead

For preparation for the winter, I've been trying to put together a better training plan for 2014.  Going into 2013, I had the primary goal of completing the Assault on Mt Mitchell, and as a biproduct of that I had placed goals to increase my base mileage on the bike from ~4,000mi in 2012 to 5,200mi+ in 2013.  This equates to averaging 100mi a week.  I'm definitely ahead of schedule to meet the challenge, but the problem with this type of challenge for me is that I focus too much on the numbers, and not enough on enjoying the experiences. Beyond that, I don't believe just having an ever increasing base mile number as my primary cycling goal will get me to a place where I'll be happy with my own fitness or cycling ability.

For 2014 my planning right now is to focus more on performance and less on pure mileage.  Without having concrete plans written down, I want to feel like I can continue to improve my form and overall fitness without feeling like I have to put in a monstrous number of base miles.  Having a few focused plans to work on key areas of my development is going to be a big part of that.  I already have a few workouts that I bought last year in preparation for the 2012 Gran Fondo Hincapie that I'd like to make a dedicated effort to complete, and I'd like to take the time to get in an 8-week CompuTrainer class from Greenville Cycling Center.  These types of workouts should help me to continue to quantify my current fitness, and give me more concrete numbers to understand where I am as far as cycling fitness.

Part of doing any structured workout routine is managing how to get in the workout on the wet/cold days, when leaving the house just isn't a good idea.  I recently got a second hand trainer from one of my friends, so I now have some options.  I took my spare wheel and I've set it up to use on the trainer with an older tire and my old cassette. This way I'm not putting undo stress on my good rear wheel, nor excessive trainer mileage on my tires.

Once I had the basic hardware worked out, I started trying to figure out the software.  While poking around, I had run into both Cycleops VirtualTraining and TrainerRoad.com.  Both of these have the promise of allowing you to ride along a pre-established venue on your computer, while mystically using your speed/cadence sensor to estimate your power and adjust your time on the course accordingly.  They even show virtual cyclists racing with you and attempting to steal your KOM!  These looked fantastic, and I thought they would be a great option for keeping the time on the bike interesting, as well as allowing me to virtually work on some of my rides while indoors as a change of pace.  The first problem is that to even see how well these programs work, I'd have to plunk down between $10 and $15 for a subscription to their service.  I am always nervous about "buy before you try", and in this case it was probably warranted.  I went so far as to install the base software for Cycleops to try out their demo routes, but I ran into technical snags getting my PC to connect to the speed sensor using their software.

The problem, after much searching I found out, is that the USB ANT+ stick that came with my wife's Garmin watch, is a "1.0" varient.  This means that it can only read 4 different ANT+ sources at a time.  The Cycleops software was originally designed to be used with their higher end trainers, and as such required more than 4 sensors to work properly.  Thus Cycleops requires you to use an "ANT+ 2.0" adapter.  This is a road block to me, as I didn't feel that I needed to rush out and spend $50 for a new USB adapter so I could spend money on a monthly service to ride indoors.  It looked like the holy grail of affordable computer-based training would be elusive.

While searching out solutions to my USB adapter issue, what I did find was reference to an open-source training option known as Golden Cheetah.  While the software is not as wiz-bang as the pay for play options, it does have a lot of really nice features and supports older "1.0" ANT+ adapters.  I was easily able to input the make and model of my trainer, and pair up my heart rate and speed sensors to the software to try out a workout with estimated power.  I was able to export the workout to a TCX file and upload it to Strava manually, as the hooks in the software to upload it automatically were having some problems with my Strava account.  I was able to upload the workout directly from GC into TrainingPeaks, though.

The Import of Data into Strava

There do seem to be several features that the pay-for-play software guys have an advantage, though.  For example, while it will play a video while you are riding, it really doesn't have a way to have your telemetry data show up as a HUD on top of the video (that I can tell so far).  I'm also not sure if it will let you simulate riding famous courses (or even a GPS route you upload) at this point, either.   I've only gotten a small amount of time between the trainer and the software, but there is promise that I can get some solid structured workouts set up.  The documentation in general is a little bit sparse as well.  Going through the user's guide there are several sections, especially in regards to live data, that had empty entries.  The wiki was likewise slightly sparse.

As the software started out as a way to gather data from the seldom-standard power meters 6 years ago to analyse and upload to various training software, what it does as an open source product is quite amazing.  I'm intending to spend more time with it during the upcoming months as the weather turns cooler, and hopefully I can post updates as well as tips and tricks.  The idea of riding on a trainer still doesn't instill a lot of joy in me, but having a distraction and data to play with definitely will help move it along.

Riding throughout the summer

Each year it seems that I'm learning a lot about what I didn't know about the previous year in regards to cycling.   This is not unexpected, but at some point I have to take a step back and look at where I am versus where I was previously and take stock of the changes.

During 2012 my whole goal was to get stronger.  I completed my first big event (Wheels for Meals 2012), and was in the middle of my first big fundraising situation for an event (Stars and Stripes 2012).  By the summer I was into full mode of experiencing cycling from a group ride point of view, and trying to get stronger.  My routine was 3-4 group rides per week:  Donaldson/SCTAC on Tuesday, Bike Shop rides on Thursdays and Saturdays, and a local church ride on Sunday afternoons.   I'd go out with as fast as I thought I could keep up with at the front, working as hard as I could to stay with the group, getting dropped somewhere along the way, and working on my own back to the start point.  By the end of the season I was adding in additional days on my own training for the Hincapie Gran Fondo, but the routine was pretty much the same.

Over the winter and into Spring 2013 my routine changed a lot.  I was still going out 3 or 4 days a week, but the focus was all of the sudden on the Assault on Mt Mitchell.  I was working on base miles.  I was climbing Paris Mountain as much as possible to gain climbing strength.  I would go out for the training rides with the Freewheelers.  I had laser focus with a goal in mind.  By the time that the normal group rides started up in earnest I was already well into my established routines, and I really didn't enjoy going out as much.  I found myself in a strange location of wanting to ride with just specific folks, and not dealing with the group ride atmosphere.  The last month or so I've been riding mostly with friends and on my own, working on personal goals and needs, and just enjoying going out and riding.  I've found new routes out into the country north of the Swamp Rabbit Trail, and used older routes I have riden in the past to get in my miles for my goals.  The times that I've gone out on group rides, I've found them to be challenging effort wise, but not all that enjoyable because of the banter.  Instead of pushing myself into more group rides, I've been finding that place where I can ride a group ride when I want, but I get my workouts in when I need to.  

As the summer winds down, and many of the evening group rides fade off, the challenge of keeping up miles will continue.  By finding ways to keep my rides fresh, and new challenges to put myself through without relying on a ride leader to figure out a route each week, I think I can better meet my own personal goals, and be more prepared for a fantastic 2014 in the process.

Mitchell done, what now?

So the Assault on Mount Mitchell 2013 is completed, and I've had a week to rest and reflect.  I've spent the last 6 months laser focused on one goal, and I completed it with relative success.  The big question whenever I plan for an event is what to do afterwards.  All of my goals circled around completing the Assault, and completing the training to be prepared.  Now that the event is over, I have to re-shift my focus on new goals.  This is both a good and a bad thing for me.  Having a big goal always keeps me motivated.

Leg Check
I took a couple of days off after the Assault, and let myself just recover.  I had a chance to get my "victory wings" on Tuesday, and spend some time with the family.  Last weekend I got in a great solo spin and a tough group ride to test out the legs, and things felt good.  I then went to the weekly cycling event here in Greenville starting at SCTAC, and had a good strong ride.  It seems like the Assault didn't punish my legs too hard, so I'm going to start getting into a normal summer routine, if I actually have one.

Weekly Goals
My standing weekly goal for this year is to ride approximately 100 miles a week.  If I can average that over the course of the year, that gets me up to around 5,000 miles for the year.  This would be a 25% increase in miles over last year, and continue the fitness increases that I'm expecting.  This will become more challenging as the heat, summer trips, and weather impede my big riding days.  Early May was a great indicator of how weather can derail my schedule right now. 

Monthly Goals
My primary monthly goal is likewise mostly around miles.  I have a demand on myself to get at least 400 miles in a month.  This is lower than the 100 miles a week goal, but still keeps me on track for being near 5,000 miles for the year.  I feel that this goal is low enough to be attainable, even if weather messes up a weekend or two.  

Big Rides
Along with my standard mileage goal, I want to get in 1 big ride each month.  Whether it's going out on a charity event, or just planning some good old fashioned pain, I want to get in at least one ride of at least 60 miles.  Ideally by September I'd like to log in a couple more centuries, but this time maybe without 11,000ft of climbing involved. 

2013 Events 
I have plenty of events that I have on my riding bucket list, the problem I always have is working out which ones I can realistically do.  For example, the 2013 Bridge Challenge is the same weekend as the 2013 Preservation Ride.  The Jackson County Brevet looks really interesting, but I haven't really scheduled to do it yet and it's only a couple of weeks away.  There's the Hot Doggit 100 in July that looks interesting as well.  I'd also love to do a Beach Challenge, if I can find out about one early enough to plan it so I can realistically make a trip out of it with the family.  There is also the Hincapie Fondo in October to think about, along with the Leaf Tour in November.

Beyond
I don't have any "long range" goals that I feel like I can start scheduling at this point.  At some point I'd love to do a trip out West to ride in California, Colorodo or Utah to test my legs against higher climbs that I can do in the Southeast, as well as plan trips to do events up in the Northeast like the 200 on 100 challenge that Ted King sponsors.  There are also events in Texas, like the Hotter'N Hell 100, that I'd love to attempt sometime.  The problem with trips of this distance is budgeting for the family trip in both time and money.  I don't feel like I can realistically go do events this far away alone, and bringing all of us is a lot of expense.  

There are also multi-day events that look fascinating to me.  The Ride to Remember, Challenge to Conquer Cancer, and RAGBRAI all are events I'd love to take on.  These events have a unique issue of having to manage long rides on multiple days, as well as sleeping accommodations (camping, etc).  

Focus
The biggest issue for me is to keep focus on continuing to increase my fitness, and not get too big for my britches at this point.  With so many awesome events within driving distance, I could bankrupt myself (monetarily and fitness wise) trying to get them all in quickly.  I have to schedule and plan, and make sure the other facets of my life get proper attention as well.  I love to ride, but I need to remember that I don't have to do it every day.  

Cycling Darwinism

what is your role in a group?

I was introduced to cycling as a sport in late 2011.  Since then I have taken a liking to riding, individually and in group rides/events.  I've taken to following a lot of cycling blogs online to learn more about the history and lore of the sport, so I can be a better member of the peloton.  My Bike Law posted up an article titled "the lost art of the group ride".  I have gone back and read this article several times, and I always end up taking away something new from it.  The article used the phrase "Cycling Darwinism", and it has really struck a chord for me.  I think it may be multi-faceted, showing just how much cycling has changed in our society in 20 years as well as well as accurate describe the current toxic landscape.   

Growing up, the idea of a group ride to me was "riding with my friends".  I lived close to my K-6 school, and riding our bikes was the way that we commuted.  We would ride to and from school, the local "jiffy mart", the beach and/or river.  We were never introduced to endurance events back then, it was just transportation to us.   Even then, we had planned events at school where the police officers would come over and explain the rules of the road and give us "courses" to ride through to educate us on the proper way to handle ourselves on a bike.  We learned the rules of the road.  We enjoyed our freedom.  We rode our bicycles.

Over the past 20 years there has been an increased interest in the sport.  Cycling is gaining a lot of traction as a fun and accessible sport for a large number of people.  While it is not inexpensive, it's a great way to get out and enjoy the outdoors and have a sense of accomplishment.  Professional athletes like Greg LeMond, Lance Armstrong, and George Hincapie have increased awareness of the sport.  Similar to the effect that Jack Nicholas, Greg Norman and Tiger Woods have had on golf, more people are participating.  The problem is that as the scene increases in size, the number of leaders has dwindled.  The people that would have been leaders in the past are overwhelmed and burned out, and are not actively attempting to mentor new leaders.  This has created a vacuum in what the group ride knowledge, allowing for chaos to creep in.

In today's environment, information is not held in the hands of just like ride leader.  Similar to the effect of the Gutenberg Press, the Internet has increased the amount of information available.  This should be a mostly positive impact but what it does is allows folks, similar to myself, the ability to read up on massive amounts of information to distill it into something I can attempt to implement.  It makes me into a "paper ride leader", with little experience or period of mentoring to really understand all the concepts that I have studied.  Since there is a lack of true leadership and experience by these folks, when they are asked to lead they are uncomfortable with the role and often have bad experiences early on, leading them to not want to continue to lead.

Beyond this, Internet based services like Strava, TrainingPeaks and MapMyRide have introduced professional level terms and concepts into the average ride.  No longer is it about the ride and the people you are with that particular day.  Now you have a GPS-enabled bicycle computer and you are tracking your data against how you did last month.  Typically I hear this called the "Strava effect", because of the popularity of the site along with the controversy of the "segments" that it created.  Now people can indulge themselves to get a personal and/or overall record in an unusual (or unsafe) area.  The group has started to crumble as folks continue to chase after numbers on a screen.  Now the group ride looks more like an individual race, where the goal is getting a faster time or showing how much better you are than the rest of the group.  

Ever feel like this?

At this point, group rides in my area are commonplace.  On any given day I find around a half dozen different available rides within a 30 minute drive of my home.  Each of these rides will have at least a dozen cyclists show up.  The goal is seldom about the complexities of a group ride, but rather to be in a group ride for the expectations of that is what is done.  This may be due to a mix of the different factors, but more often the rides I experience end up devolving into races and power plays;  experienced riders wanting to put pressure onto younger rides to see what they are made of.  Younger riders wanting to cut their chops, get better, or prove themselves.  People looking to get a better time on the internet-based tracking service of choice this week. 

There are also the mystical "private group" rides, that are invitation only.  We know these exist, because there are indications of their existance, but it doesn't mean that you can (or want to) participate in them.   They wish to be left to their own little clique, and work to their own ends.  Just like a professional Team doesn't let anyone come practice, you shouldn't expect to get invited to these groups

I've now stumbled my way through a vast wasteland of potential and actualized issues in the current environment of the mutated cycling scene.  Darwinism states that things evolve and adapt to their environment.  Based on the original article and my own personal experiences, it seems that there is a current toxic environment versus the "golden age" of the group ride has created a beast that is not ideal both for the experienced rider, who remembers fondly what it once was, as well as newer members looking to connect to the heritage of the sport.  The largest question in my mind comes is "where do we go from here?"  We all ride for different reasons, but it seems that the collective idea is that we should bring those reasons to a group ride today.  Chasing a personal best, crushing our cycling nemesis, and riding intervals probably don't need to be goals for someone that is riding to their local shop ride on a weekend.  Learning to be a better group-mate, or teaching a green rider the ropes, may be. 

Which road do we chose?

At this point I think each of us that is searching for the ideal group ride needs to evaluate the local situation that we ride in, and determine if we are in the right environment.  I find just this  part a bit daunting. I am comfortable with the rides that I do each week.   This one act is going to immediately make me re-evaluate the very core of my cycling self.  What role do I want to be in a group?  Am I doing the things I should be in order to improve myself to handle that role?  Do I even know all the roles that need to be handled?  There's a lot to deal with.  I already know that I am not experienced enough to be an actual ride leader.  My cycling journey is young;  what I should be doing is looking to mentor with established leaders: understand the roles, learn the ropes, get stronger.  If I ever get strong enough to be an effective leader, then I should be actively seeking out future leaders to grow into the leadership roles.  

As it stands now I don't feel that the art of idealistic group ride is lost, but it's definitely endangered.  It will take a lot of effort by people that truly love the sport, and remember what these rides were about, to bring it back to life.  It will also take getting a new generation interested in more than just their suffer score, but how much greater of an experience they can enjoy if they work together for something greater.