"Training Log" 07/05/2015-07/11/2015

This week consisted of my daily commute to work and a couple runs to the local stores.  Sunday however I completed a 200k, more to come. 

By Bike: 103 miles
By Feet: 0 (Training for PBP, all spare time has been devoted to the bike)

"Training Log" 06/28/2015-07/04/2015

This week consisted of my commute to work of 72 miles plus a 105 mile ride on Saturday to MMF (Morgan Monroe Forest) and back home.

For the ride Saturday I wanted to ride the bike set up for PBP.  I've done this a couple times and I'm making slight changes for the better I hope.

I tried to ride every hill climb I could find for the route and with 5200 feet of elevation gain in just 100 miles I think I found the good stuff.  It's easy to find hill climbs in this section of Indiana, just search out every road that has a lower, low, or hill in the name.

I started at 3am for two reasons, first to give me some more night riding and second so I can get back home and still have time to hang out with the family.

  
As the sun came up I was able to start taking pics.  We've had a lot of rain this year and creeks have been up.

Here at the turn around point heading back home. 

So far

After 3.5hrs of riding in the dark on rural roads I was happy when it became light.  But its a love hate relationship.  When the sun came out the cars came out. 

Breakfast stop for a re-fuel. 

Since this ride was an out and back on the return I was able to see what I missed when I rode through in the dark. And I rode through some beautiful country.

A favorite of mine, Link observatory.

Gear:

       Bags:

• Arkel handlebar bag.  It's small, but small bags force you to pack less.  In this bag will be a a quick access puncture kit, tubes, and some quick nutrition. 
• Revelate seat bag.  This bag will have cloths, other tools, and the remainder of the between controls nutrition. 

      Cloths:

• Frogg Togg shell (I take everywhere) Waterproof and warm. The shell doesn't compress well so I strap it to my rear rack.
• Wool short sleeve shirt. 
• Bike shorts
• 3 pairs of socks.
• A pair of wool gloves with a couple pair of rubber glove shells. 
• Long tights
• Reflective vest and ankle bands
• Light cotton long sleeve button shirt  
• Bike gloves

      Tools/tubes:

• Multi-tool
• adjustable wrench
• allen set
• spare crank bolt
• 2 tire levers
• pump
• 2 spare tubes
• patch kit
• 2 chain links
• rag
• zip ties
• spoke wrench
• duct tape
• plastic bags

      Accessories:

• 2 red lights
• 1 dyno front light
• 1spare battery front light
• 3 water bottles 
• rear rack
• 8 spare AA batteries
• 6 spare AAA batteries
• zip lock bag for phone, wallet, and brevet card
• Laminated cue sheet
• GPS with French maps and route
• 200 Euros
• sunglasses and clear glasses
• cycling cap and helmet
• head lamp

      Food:

• 15 Cliff bars/block combo
• 20 recoverer drink mixes 

     Things to do:

• Install new tires
• Install new shift cable and housing
• Install new brake pads
• Look into new dyno hub
• Buy and install new chain
• Buy French maps for GPS
• Doctor PBP cue sheets 
• Look into batter USB backups
• Bubble wrap for bike transport
• Eye droppers for chain lube
• Butter container 
• Tums

Week totals

     By Bike: 157 miles. 

"Training Log" 06/21/2015-06/27/2015 24 hours of booty

This week consisted of my 72 mile weekly commute to work. Sunday I had a couple around town trips and a 20 mile ride to the in-laws.  Friday and Saturday I participated in the 24 hours of Booty.  This is a 24 hour bike challenge to help raise money for the IU Cancer Center. 

http://www.24hoursofbooty.org/events/indianapolis/

For the 24 hours of booty I basically wanted to do it as a training ride for PBP (Paris-Brest-Paris). I'll need a couple 24 hour rides in order to complete PBP.  I also wanted to ride my bike set up as I'll have it during PBP.

The weather forecast for both days of the event was grim, strong thunderstorms and rain, but it didn't turn out too bad.  Actually the only complaint about Saturday was the wind.

I biked 25 miles to the event from my house.  I left the house a hour later than I intended so I could try and catch a break in the weather, luckily I stayed dry.  We started under cloudy skies and by about 10pm the rain unloaded on us.  The roads became flooded in parts, it became difficult to see, but I trucked on.  Even through the rain there were fans cheering us on.  Some people had food and drinks available to the riders. Yes even one guy was giving out beer.  There was lemon aid and cookie stands hosted by kids, there was a pancake stand too.  The community really comes out for this.  It was a lot of fun riding down the road giving high fives to kids while they ran alongside you and your bike.  

I rode with a fellow Indiana Randonneur and together we both trucked on.  The heavy down pour finally subsided and gave way to a constant rain shower which lasted into the next morning. We bared down and knocked out laps.  I kind of zoned out for a while, just grinding away at the time.  This event was quite different than a distance event where you can pedal harder and finish quicker.  No matter how fast you are at the 24 Hours of Booty it's still 24 hours of seat time.  

About 5am we broke for breakfast.  I became cold, so cold that I couldn't hold my coffee because I was shivering and shaking. The guy I've been riding with decided to take a nap, I decided to grind on.  Riding warmed me up thankfully.  Lap after lap after lap went by.  Before long others began to notice that I was on the route a lot.  Some realized that I rode the entire night.  From what I heard I was the only rider to ride straight through.  I began to gain some fans and they began to cheer the guy on that rode throughout the night. This was a nice boost I needed to finish strong.

I finished with 270 miles and rode the entire time.  The guy I rode with finished with around 260 miles.  From what I heard we were the highest in miles and seat time. 

The Bike: (fully loaded with water comes in at 50lbs)

Surly Cross Check.  I love beating this bike.  30 speed downtube shifting with a alfine generator hub and revo light combo.  During the ride a someone yelled out, "here comes the guy with a light of 1,000 suns!"  That about explains the power I have.  

Day before the ride I noticed my cassette was wobbly.  I took it apart Thursday morning and noticed the cassette freewheel was cracked.  Some calls to the local bike shops I finally found one.  I installed it and made adjustments.  Ended up going to work on 2 hours of sleep because of bike maintenance, but my ride to work was wonderful on a machine that functioned properly.  

Gear: 

       Bags:

• Arkel handlebar bag.  It's small, but small bags force you to pack less. 
• Revelate seat bag.  This bag will have cloths and tools excluding tire repair kits which will be in my handlebar bag. 

      Cloths:

• Frogg Togg shell (I take everywhere) Waterproof and warm. The shell doesn't compress well so I strap it to my rear rack.
• Wool short sleeve shirt. 
• Bike shorts
• 3 pairs of socks.
• A pair of wool gloves with a couple pair of rubber glove shells. 
• Long tights
• Reflective vest and ankle bands
• Light cotton long sleeve button shirt  
• Bike gloves

      Tools/tubes:

• Multi-tool
• adjustable wrench
• allen set
• spare crank bolt
• 2 tire levers
• pump
• 2 spare tubes
• patch kit
• 2 chain links
• rag
• zip ties
• spoke wrench
• duct tape
• plastic bags

      Accessories:

• 2 red lights
• 1 dyno front light
• 1spare battery front light
• 3 water bottles 
• rear rack
• 6 spare AA batteries
• 4 spare AAA batteries
• zip lock bag for phone, wallet, and brevet card
• Laminated cue sheet
• GPS with French maps and route
• 200 Euros
• sunglasses and clear glasses
• cycling cap and helmet
• head lamp

      Food:

• 8 Cliff bars
• 18 Cliff Blocks
• 20 recoverer drink mixes

I maybe forgetting something, I'll update as I remember. Also future PBP training post will have a revised list I'm sure.

By bike: 395 miles
By feet: 0 miles

"Training Log" 06/14/2015-06/20/2015 BikeRafting Alpacka Raft and Raliegh Twenty

This week consisted of my 72 miles commute to work and a 10 miles pedal for a bike rafting ride in White Lick Creek. 

BikeRafting with my Raleigh Twenty.  This is prep from the night before.  The Alpacka Raft is in my Osprey backpack and everything is ready.  We’re expecting another storm early in the morning so this should  make an already fast White Lick Creek faster.  This will be my first time in the raft so quick moving water with a bike strapped to the top of it should be ample training. The plan is to leave from my house, head up to Washington park in Avon, launch my raft with my bike attached in White Lick Creek, and paddle back to Plainfield.  

 The open road. Heading north to Washington Park in Avon to connect with White Lick Creek

I love this rail bridge in Avon. 

As good as a spot as any. Time to unload everything, inflate the raft, strap the bike onto the raft, and paddle back to Plainfield. 

Inflating the Alpacka Raft.  

Loaded up. 

Water was up and running fast.  The Alpacka Raft handled like a dream, it eats the rapids up.  I hit plenty of holes and submerged the bike a couple times, but it was definitely worth it.  What a great time.

First Portage of two.  I'm not a very experienced paddler so I played it safe. 

Second portage.  There was nothing I could've done here.  There was a large fallen tree blocking the entire creek.  This is a 40+ year old bike I have tossed in the tall weeds.  Poor bike. 

Paddling home on a beautiful day.  I don't think it could have gone any better.  I had some stressful moments on the account of trying to control the vessel in the quick moving water, but I worried more than needed.  A trip I'd love to do again. 

By bike: 82 miles.

By raft 7 miles. 

"Training Log" 06/07/2015-06/13/2015

I did it, I qualified and registered for PBP (Paris-Brest-Paris).  Below are the qualifying brevet medals.  I usually don't do medals, but the 400k and 600k were difficult and I was proud that I completed the Super Randonneur series. 

http://www.paris-brest-paris.org/index2.php?cat=accueil&lang=en&page=edito

This week consisted of 175 miles Sunday from the Columbus 600k, my regular commute to work of 72 miles, a 20ish mile ride to the chiropractor, and a 20 mile ride to the in-laws on my beloved Raleigh Twenty.

By bike: 286 miles. (Sunday was a continuation of the 600k)
By feet: 0 (Still haven't ran... I miss it.)

"Training Log" 05/31/2015-06/06/2015 Indiana Randonneurs Columbus 600k

This week consisted of my weekly work commute and Indiana Randonneurs 600k Saturday and Sunday starting in Columbus Indiana.

Here is a pic from the start.  A couple of hard core riders here.  A few riders will earn their first SR (Super Randonneurs) series and qualify for this years PBP (Paris-Brest-Paris). 

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/7472430

http://www.rusa.org/

https://sites.google.com/site/indianarandonneurs/

Receiving instructions.

My plan was to take it easy. Soak in the scenery, eat plentiful, and drink that extra cup of coffee.  I finished with 2 hours to spare so I think my plan worked pretty well.  The plan for sleeping was to ride the 400k portion, there is a 400k loop and a 200k loop, in under 24hrs, take a 3 hour nap in the car, and finish the 200k portion after the nap.  My thinking was that once the 400k was finished the 200k with a relatively flat route would be easy work.

Sun coming up on my way to the 1st control.  My legs were feeling okay, I commuted 80+ miles prior to this ride and last weekend I went up to Michigan for the Detroit Randonneurs 400k. I was worried about recovery, but I felt pretty good until I woke up for the 200k portion.

I finally made it to the 1st control, a McDonalds in Trafalgar.  Throughout the ride I wanted to make sure I was eating enough and since I can carry only so much on the bike the majority of my eating was going to come from controls.  At the Mcdonalds control however, I was still full from my wife's awesome breakfast burritos, so I stuck with water and a hash brown.  After a short stay at Mcdonalds Bloomington was my next target.

 Bloomington was an open control and when I saw Subway I had to attack.  A foot long with chips and lemon aid hit the spot.  Pulling out of Subway I saw a fellow Randonneur eating a sandwich at Scholars Inn, so I decided to stop for my extra cup of coffee and see how things were going.  After Bloomington the next control was a Starbucks in Bedford, a chance for another cup of coffee and a sandwich, so far so good.

This is a pic of the B-line trail in Bloomington.  Some was gravel, a lot paved.  Very nice trail, and nice not to worry about cars.

Here I tried to justify some of the hills I was climbing.  To this day I've never been able to snap a picture of a hill that expressed the pain it gave me.

Here at Bedford.  My phone doesn't have cell network capabilities, so while on Starbuck's WiFi I figured it was a good opportunity to show I pic to the social media world.  Here is my beast waiting for more punishment.

After Starbucks came the section of the route with the most climbing.  I even walked up one hill.  Usually my "man hood" would prevent me from walking up a hill, but recently I feel if you're climbing at a walking pace might as well get off the bike and walk, you'll save energy and plus it's nice to take a break from the saddle.

Next stop: a filling station in Jasper.   

I love bridges.

It may be hard to make out, but this is a little Painted Turtle I found in the middle of the road.  I couldn't leave him there so I carried him to the side of the road. If ever you're in this position move the turtle to the side of the road it's facing, if not the turtle will just turn back around and try to cross the road again.

Big open roads on the way to Jasper.  The route was terrific.  Once at the Jasper control my stomach started to not agree with me so I didn't eat much.  I filled up my water bottles, drank a vitamin water and a chocolate milk, and headed for Seymour, the last control before the hotel and a nap.

Riding through French Lick I caught a pack of riders. They were stopped at a Dairy Queen, which looked tempting but it had a long line and I didn't feel like waiting, so I powered on. Eventually that group caught me and we finished the 400k portion somewhat together.

 Sun setting out of French Lick. My photos cease when it gets dark because of poor quality, so this is the last pic until I start my 200k leg of the trip.

We finally pulled into the Seymour Control.  I got my Vitamin water, chocolate milk, and filled my water bottles.  Here our group split up.  One guy was falling to sleep while riding his bike so he decided to stay at the control and take a nap, another guy didn't waste time at the control and left alone, and the third guy was a little slower than me so I rode most of the way back to Columbus by myself. Once I got to the hotel I got my card stamped, ate a couple oranges and bananas in the car, and took a 3 hour nap.  All that was left was 200k and I was feeling pretty good.  

Good morning.  The first leg was a 50 mile ride to Batesville Steak n' Shake.  A control with food, I love these controls.

That sun became very hot.  The trip from Columbus to the Batesville control and Batesville to the Seymour control was each a desolate 50 miles with no stores, no place to refill water or grab some food, and I ran out of water on each of these stretches.  I was hot, tired, and at some points miserable.

  I guess this is why the road is called Indian Underpass Rd. The Batesville control is right around the corner.

 With a cherry on top. A much needed feast and break in an air conditioned restaurant.  The heat outside was increasing, I've been out of water for the last couple miles, and the headwind was strong.  As I was leaving I saw another Randonneur pulling up.  He was a veteran randonneur and a very good rider, he said he didn't think he'd finish and he didn't, this ride wasn't easy.

After the Batesville control I quit taking pictures.  My morale was sinking along with my energy.  It was another 50 mile pedal to the Seymour control.  A 50 mile hot pedal battling 15-20 mph head winds in a farming area without trees to give relief from the sun and wind.  Again I ran out of water, this time with about 15 miles before the control.  There were no filling stations or stores along the way, just farm fields and residential houses.  About 20 miles before Seymour I saw a randonneur on someones front lawn, he stopped and asked a local for water, which I never considered.  He caught up to me and we rode together for a few.  About 5 miles to the Seymour control I caught another group of riders at a locals house.  Two of the guys were working on a bike and a third guy was on the deck drinking water and talking to the kind lady that was helping them. I was introduced to the lady, Cindy I believe, and she filled my water bottles and we chatted for a few.  The break in the shade drinking ice water allowed me to ride onto Seymour refreshed. Another added boost was the fact that I was almost done. 

Once at the Seymour control I got some liquids and ice cream, hopped back on the bike for the 20 mile tailwind induced ride back to the final control.

This ride was a battle.  There are few rides in my life when I actually felt like getting off my bike and not riding anymore.  At certain points, though just for a few seconds, this thought crossed my mind.  But I powered on, just kept grinding at the pedals and was rewarded with a Super Randonneur title and a chance for PBP.   

Bike: (as always)
Surly Cross
Downtube friction shifting
Full fenders
Shimano Dyna hub
Revo light
GPS
Arkel Handlebar Bag

 
Gear:

Shorts
My long sleeved cotton button down shirt (a staple in my cycling wardrobe for sun protection.)
3 pairs of socks
Keen sandals
short fingered gloves
Frogg Togg outer shell (I carry on all my rides)
Plastic bags (Now another staple. After the Michigan ride I stuff a couple plastic bags under my saddle.)
reflective vest and ankle bands

Less gear than I used for the Michigan ride.  The weather was more promising and about 40 degF warmer.  


Food: (Not including what I buy at controls)

Cliff Bars
Cliff power blocks
Recoverer power electrolyte for water bottles
Water
All other food/water I buy at controls.

By bike: 205miles
By feet: 0miles

"Training Log" 05/24/2015 - 05/24/2015 Detroit Randonneurs "Thumbs up 400k"

This week consisted of riding my bike to the in-laws on Sunday for the annual Indy500 cook-out, my weekday commutes to and fro work, and this weekend I was able to make the Detroit Randonneurs "Thumbs up 400k". 

http://detroitrandonneurs.org/

Bike: (as always)
Surly Cross
Downtube friction shifting
Full fenders
Shimano Dyna hub
Revo light
GPS
 Arkel Handlebar Bag

Gear:

Shorts
Nylon short sleeve shirt
long sleeve merino wool shirt
3 pairs of socks
Keen sandals
Long leg tights
wool buff
wool long finger gloves
bike short fingered gloves
Frogg Togg outer shell (I carry on all my rides)
Plastic bags, plastic bags, and plastic bags (for the feet)
Rubber gloves (wear over my wool long finger gloves)
reflective vest and ankle bands

Food: (Not including what I buy at controls)

Cliff Bars
Cliff power blocks
Recoverer power electrolyte for water bottles
Water
All other food/water I buy at controls.   

This was my makeup for the missed Indiana Randonneurs 600k.  The ride was to start perfect.  Temps in the 50s, sneaks into the low 60s, but then the rain comes in around noon and temps drop, and drop they did.  You have to love Michigan weather in late May.  I also have to add that the wind was treacherous the entire day.  The best part of the wind is when we were headed southwest the wind came out of the southwest and when our route changed to the north the wind, you guessed it, switch and now was coming out of the north. It was a constant 16mph wind with gusts in the 30s.  Absolutely brutal riding into 16mph winds for about 170+ miles.  Add in the rain and temperature drop only made things more interesting.

The rain started in Frankenmuth, but it temps were in the mid 50s, so not bad.  We got within 50 miles from the Sebewaing control and I donned my Frogg Togg shell.  At the Sebewaing I added leg tights, wool long fingered gloves, rubber gloves over the wool gloves, and plastic bags over my socks inside my sandals.  Yeah, I looked great, but was warm enough.  Battling the wind to Port Austin was draining and bitter, but we made it.  At Port Austin we had dinner, drinks, and tried to warm up, it was really cold at this point.  When we left Port Austin we had a great tail wind to the finish but we were very cold and drained from battling the wind.  It was a miserable ride to the finish.  Only article of clothing I wish I would have brought was my waterproof shoe covers, I would have been a little more comfortable, other than the shoe covers I think my clothing choices worked well, with the help of the plastic bags of course.

Next week is the Indiana Randonneurs 600k... Scheduled too close?   We'll find out.  If completed I receive Super Randonneur status.

By bike:  304 miles
By feet: 0 (Saving legs for Rando series)