boomana

Nice rides, everyone! And good to see Dan rocking the Road Holland shirt. I can promise you it was absurdly hot and humid out. Mid 90s and so freaking steamy, my glasses were fogged up most of the ride today, even in the sunshine. Drove home in an all out thunderstorm. You guys are all going to kick my ass when you come to Sebring first weekend in December. When I said I can't do hills, what I should have said was I am really really pathetic on even our version of hills. I huff and puff, and my heart rate soars up insanely and it takes me a lot of time to recover. If there are more than a few hill in a row, I bonk. That's what happened yesterday. I know the heat didn't help, but I'm really really bad. I suppose I could do bridge repeats, but I don't even know if that would help. On the good front, my leg muscles are a bit tight/stiff, but that's the extent of any damage from this weekend, which I'm attributing to how great my bike fits. Also, I did learn two things: 1) I can do miles, even if not well, and 2) I'm going to piss off my co-worker and cancel my participation in the Smart Ride this year. 63 miles = fun. 163 miles = not so much fun. Maybe in another year, but I don't feel strong enough yet to have that distance be enjoyable, and I don't want the pressure of training for something I don't want to do. I have enough stress in my life. I need cycling to remain fun. Anyone want to go for a short ride this weekend?

Have fun. Did 62 miles today, but managed to stay with a group the whole time, which was much nicer. Since everyone was tired from yesterday, they went at a pace I could handle. Total for the weekend: 231 miles. Glad I accomplished what I wanted to do, but I don't think I'll be doing this again any day soon. I'm tired.

Thanks, guys! It wasn't boring (I like boring); it was hard. Between the hills, the wind in the flat sections, and the heat, I really would have loved to tuck in with a group and get carried a bit. Waiting for the thunderstorm to stop, so I can go eat. Maybe it will be cooler tomorrow because of it. Oh... and Mike, stop all the rucking around and get back on your bike, at least a little bit. December should be fun, but not if you haven't been riding at all.

Mistakes were made. 1) I probably shouldn't have done my first century in 95 degree heat plus humidity today. 2) I probably shouldn't have done my first century in an area with hills (yes, I know they don't count for most of you), since I have zero experience, and apparently suck at them 3) I probably shouldn't have done 63 miles yesterday. 4) I probably should have waited to have someone to ride with me That said, I did pretty well, all things considered. I actually kicked ass until mile 42 when the predicted hill got me winded, and I got dropped, ending up riding for the next 45 miles by myself, which kinda sucked. I had a serious bonk between miles 60 and 80, when it was uber hot and i ran out of water, and there was nothing around. I was going about 11-14 mph. Was tempted to call the SAG wagon, but then saw the rest station (there was a 27 miles break between rest stops and it was just too hot). I originally wanted to do about 17-18 mph, but that's when I thought I'd be riding with a group. I did join up with the group that dropped me with 15 miles to go. They were at gas station trying to cool down. Did 106 miles in 6 hours 16 minutes. I'm going to call it good. What's really good is that I feel freaking great! My legs and ass muscles are tired, but that's it. Zero issues with hands, shoulders, back, bum, ankle, etc. throughout the ride. This bike so fits perfectly, and rides so smoothly, even though a good 50 miles was on crappy roads that shook the whole bike, nothing hurt on the ride or hurts now. I'm also in love with the Selle Anotomica saddle. I need to improve, but nice to know the bike doesn't. I wouldn't change a thing. That's all for now. I've been hanging out with new friends downstairs, since I was abandoned by my old friends. Gonna go make some dinner plans.

Going for it. Send me tailwind wishes

So here's a map. I think I'm going to do it. http://ridewithgps.com/routes/1358883 Oh...and on a side note, for those of you who also like gloves with no padding, I picked up a pair of Pearl Izumi P.R.O. Pittards® Glove at my shop prior to this ride. Love them. Not my hand, but:

Well, I'm looking at the maps right now. The metric is hilly all throughout, and the century (actually 106 miles) looks relatively flat minus two nasty-ish hills around mile 43 and 53, with a rest stop in between. The last ten miles look about the same as the last ten miles today, but....it's the last ten miles....I could crawl in if I wanted. My legs and tush feel fine. Gonna go see if I can find some people to ride with.

Well, I've been gabbing with a bunch of people. They're all trying to talk me out of doing a century tomorrow, saying it's just too hot out, and I should wait until December. They do have a point. Predicted 93F with 40% chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon, meaning a humid 93.

I just won a Road ID bracelet (gift card) in the raffle. Yay!

Had a really fun rmetric with Raffy this morning. We managed to get in with some good groups most of the way, so had a fairly easy time of things until mile 52.8 (I remember it well) when I proved, yet again, my cardio conditioning ain't up to hills, even Florida hills. Maybe had it come earlier, I might have recovered faster, but I came in feeling pretty toasted, but good. Raffy kicked my ass the last two miles. I do, however, have abandonment issues. John didn't make the trip, Mike had some lame/good excuse about his wife's birthday, and Raffy decided he doesn't want to ride tomorrow and went home. I'm all alone. I'm going to talk to some folks and see if I can find a group that wants to do the century tomorrow, but at an 17/18ish mph pace. The groups today were much faster, except in the windy sections, which was fine for 63 miles, but I don't want to get dropped and ride alone for the last 20 or so miles tomorrow because I burned out too early. I know I'm not up for that. We rode today for a bit with a couple from Lake Charles. They were in their 60s and put me and Raffy to shame, but I know the woman wants to do the century tomorrow, and I'm pretty sure they'll go slower and about what I think I can do.

Cool, Chris (Pars)! Chris (Dreadhead), Sebring in December is definitely happening. A meet in Spring would definitely also be fun. If anyone is interested in Sebring, and wants to stay at the crappy hotel, which I recommend due to ease, book it as soon as you can, since you can always cancel, but it's doubtful you'll be able to get a room close to the event. It's the first weekend in December. We're off!

In Sebring with Raffy. John's still wounded from mountain biking, so sadly won't be joining us. Just ate too much chicken mole at Don Jose's (really good Mexican restaurant) and got take out tamales for breakfast tomorrow. We're doing the metric. It looks like the weather will be great, and as a real treat for me, there's no wind.

When I was a kid, I thought Santa was a giant, like 10 feet tall. Don't know why I thought that, but it seemed right at the time. Now, I don't really think about Santa at all (sorry).

^ I think we all would! So, I just got in. I've been riding around since 9:30 this morning, taking a few breaks for lunch and visiting the shop to get my garmin issues resolved. I'm tired, sunburned and very happy.

I am so done buying things for awhile.

Took the bike back to Tune today for final touches and tweaks. I'm happy to say that right now, I wouldn't change a thing.

Bah. Late again. I hope you had a wonderful birthday!

^ Congrats!

Got in 21 miles. Bike does not disappoint. The weather, however, does.

Uh.....Calfee is staying. I love that bike. The new plan is to upgrade the components sometime next year, and probably throw some flat or mustache bars on the Gunnar. 51/52 is a good starting point, but it depends on a few things. I'm 5'5" with a 29.5 inseam. My Calfee is a 52, and slightly too big, but made it work, though not aesthetically pleasing (short stem and seat post). My Gunnar has a 49 ST and 51 HT, and my Kirk has a 46 ST and 51.5 HT. All fit. Different geometries. Go try some bikes. On the good front, the 2014 bikes will be out soon, meaning big sales on 2013s. Wow, Shelly. You've had a really rough go of it. I can only do that for a few seconds, though I can ride without my hands on for awhile if both the bike the road is right. I think that ability comes from my commuter days. I used to ride with a huge bag of laundry on my lap to the laundromat as well as lots of groceries looped over the bars. I had no rack or panniers 'cause I was poor. I got good with balance. You know you want a new bike. I've made the commitment to not get another for at least three years. Getting ready to head out for a short ride. I've got to get an electrician out to the house this morning or I'd try something longer. Hopefully, I can get out again this evening.

Probably both, but I'm going to blame the storm. Hoping it clears up tomorrow.

Right before my 10-minute fitting. Moved the saddle back a bit, and made one small adjustment to the bars. Rode around near the shop for a few minutes, and I'm kinda really shocked on how perfect the fit is, as well as how smooth it is. It feels like my Calfee with ride. I get noticeable vibrations with the Gunnar steel fork. No so with this bike. I managed to get in a nine-mile ride on A1A before the thunder and lightning scared me back in. I had to do my version of a sprint to make it back home, and actually managed three miles at 25 mph in a headwind (note to self: cardio conditioning needs massive improvement). I made it to the end of my street right before it started storming. The whole house is shaking right now. Though I need to obviously get in more miles to know anything, what jumps out is: 1. Love the hoods (fit my hand perfectly) and shifting of the new Dura Ace. Also like the mid compact. Was laughing while spinning up a bridge. 2. The fit of this bike needs no adjustment that I can tell. I feel balanced and strong with no weight on my hands. 3. This Selle Anatomica is comfy comfy comfy 4. This bike feels so much smoother than I expected. I'm not sure what I expected, but I guess I was going off the feel of the Gunnar. Also feels really stable. Right before I turned around to do my little scared sprinting thing, I was drinking from my water bottle, sitting up with no hands on the handlebar. 5. According to my bathroom scale. It weighs 18.2 pounds. Since I need to lose about that much...... 6. I look forward to getting a real ride in, hopefully tomorrow. I'll take more pics Wednesday when I go back to get the final touches (bottle cages with little red buttons, different bar tape).

I posted one on fb when I was there at noon. Go back at 3 for fitting and RIDE!