Cycle

july 6, 2009

2009-07-06T08:34:00.000-07:00

have done 3 races in the past week or so. felt good and the results show it. first was the tour of flanders tt on 6/28. this was a difficult course with a climb in the first 2 miles. grades on the climb got up to 18% which was nice. even though i know i picked up time there i didnt go out hard enough in fear of blowing up. this may have cost me in the end. finished 7th one second behind nick which angered me. did finish in front of 10 or so cat 3 riders. it was great we were both in the top 10 and expecially ahead of a rider alex was in competition with for the tt cup. overall im satisfied and i feel like my tt ability is getting better.

then on wednesday 7/1 did the frenchtown route 29 tt. this was a 10 mile course that was a straight show down 29. is advertised as flat but is much like chatsworth being false flats. after not going out hard enough at flanders i knew i had to make up for it and shot out of the start. barely into the tt i was going crazy. breath was heavy and fast paced and even thought about stopping but i went on. ended up taking my category (even though it was only me and one other rider) but overall finished well. 17th out of 46 riders and in front of some cat 3 riders. this course was great and i felt great knowing i went all out. after the race rode back with alex and toby hanna who is a tt animal. drank from a natural spring which was cool.

then on the 4th was the hearthouse grandprix. this was my first crit being a cat4. the race was a cat4/5 but i still felt it was something new. alex and i did this race and it was great. stayed protected for the most part then moved up about halfway through after realizing i was on the small ring the whole beginning! alex was a madman. he was at the front for the whole race working. with 7 laps to go a 2 man break went and stayed away for a while. alex took the lead and shot out to draw them in. when he went, we rubbed wheels which was a nervous moment but lead to nothing and everyone stayed up. apparently the rider behind me rubbed my wheel but i didnt feel it. with less than 2 laps to go a rider whos team mate was infront in the break tried to block and alex went crazy. i followed his lead and we came around in the final lap. after the last turn i started to churn up and began to make an error by sprinting alone into the wind. but within a second maybe less i tucked back behind another rider and allowed him to lead me out. i shot around him when ready and blasted by 5 or 6 other riders to take second by only half a wheel! i was pumped and felt mad! alex and i were excited since 'the plan' finally worked. we are going to be a force soon.

reconed the freehold tt course after that but felt weak. then did a relaxing 30 miles with alex yesterday so today i have off.

now getting ready for the giro del cielo, a 2 stage race with 3 stages. going out to the tt course tomorrow to recon it. will see how it goes. i feel strong.

june 20, 2009

2009-06-20T05:51:00.001-07:00

alot of riding has been happening this month. done some good rides on the trainer too since

IT WILL NEVER BE SUNNY AGAIN AND ALWAYS BE RAINING!!!!!!!

so, a bunch of new guys are now riding with us which is great. nick, oj, mark, rich, and a few more who havent shown their faces yet. we are making a strong showing at almost every event we do and it is become more and more fun each time. cycling now is carrying over more into my personal life which is great.

after the chatsworth tt i knew something had to be done to reverse my bad eating habits and so far its going well. lost weight and feel stronger on the bike and just better overall. started eating more "natural" foods after rides and also going back to the diet i was on a few years ago. fried chicken!! shit makes me go mad when im riding.

already on pace for a 400 mile month which is my goal usually. keeps a good balance of enough riding, but not so much that it drowns me. since not riding to work the bike feels more fun. last year once living in summit riding to work made the bike feel like a chore and not a hobby that is for enjoyment. so i have found a great balance.

after chatsworth there was the watermelon crit which i placed 6th in. last year came in third but the race was not as hard an effort and there were far less riders. this year was great as we had 7 guys in the race. our plan didnt work out in the end but we all rode well and had a good time. i felt great in the race and had a fun time launching attacks trying to set things up for nick.

then there was the 2009 criterium new york. this day began like a mess. i overslept and thankfully alex texted me that woke me up. we got there with not too much time to spare but as luck would have it the event orgnizers were late setting everything up so we all got to warm up. this was a cat 5 race only and we owned the field. we had 5 racers out of like 20. we set a plan up and this time it worked perfectly. halfway through the race the group split with oj and mark in the back group. so ken, nick and myself were in the front and we played it smart letting the other riders do all the work. with 4 laps to go ken attacked and split the field again. he flatted and then another rider attacked. i stayed on his wheel and nick and me were in the final group with maybe 3 more riders. once nick went with 2 laps left a gap formed and it was me nick and one more rider. the other rider pulled us around and then with half a lap left i launched and had a gap which i took to the line winning the race!

that week i upgraded to a cat 4! with 5 first place finishes, and six other finishes in the top ten i knew it was time to move up. i feel more comfortable on the bike and know i will have fun racing with alex until the other guys move up.

so now propeller is a strong team with almost 15 racers. this time last year it was only 3 riders and 1 who didnt live in nj. i have just under 1500 miles in for the year and more miles are being put up so i know i will do well. but this year they are more quality miles instead of last years quantity.

may 31, 2009

2009-05-31T14:26:00.001-07:00

have done some good riding the past month and a half. a few time trials and crit. no crashes to report but no flat out wins either. definitely behind the form i was in this time last season. heavier too. i need to kick my ass in gear so the whole season isnt blown. fuck me for eating like shit.

did the state tt today and it was grueling just like last year. though i pushed myself and feel it now the first third of the tt could have been done harder. cost me cause my time was 21 seconds slower than last year at 1:02:30. differences could have been in the bike; on a road bike with tt bars instead of the plasma in the same setup. the weather; rain and cold.

so thats that. am kinda ok with my results today. i was in a different category and though i know i didnt come in last since i passed the guy in front of me dont know how i did overall. we will find out.

april 11, 2009

2009-04-12T17:24:00.001-07:00

did the readington time trial today. second race of the year for me which is a great start to the season. was happy with my effort. finished in the middle of the group tied for 21st out of 45 racers. alex won which was a great way to finish a rainy cold day. nick did well too after missing his start by nearly a minute. i was almost late but ran to the line and rushed to get ready which ended up in me not taking a hold. at the turn around point my brakes didnt hold and ended up going almost 20 feet past the cone!

although the rider behind me passed me we ended up sprinting to the finish in which i won out. uphill efforts prove to be something i enjoy and am good at :)

next week is rahway. this is a key race which comes early in the season. a team win would be great since we will have a nice outing. but im looking for another first place.

april 7, 2009

2009-04-07T18:37:00.000-07:00

rode in rahway park tonight though i didnt want to. took convincing by ken but eventually i headed over there and was semi miserable for the warm up. once the race started though i felt better. made some good moves and got in a 4 man break that was after the lead chase group. feel out of the group at one point and clawed my way back but just couldnt hang. eventually ended up in the main field and hung out there for the rest of the race. another rider went just before the last turn and i decided to go as well. caught him and pretty much rode in with him for the remainder.

good ride. always glad when i ride hard after not feeling like it to begin with.

april 4, 2009

2009-04-04T10:52:00.001-07:00

did my first race of this season today. the sandy hook tt. PUNISHING! was fun though. met alex, ken, nick, and matt down there and we all warmed up on trainers together. did 45 mins on the trainer which felt good. went off 6th with alex right behind me at 7th position!

right off the bat the race was crazy! in the first mile due to the 20+mph head/side wind all the riders were greeted to a face washing with sand coming off the bay side beach. fucking hurt! after the punishment of the first half of the ride the turn around welcomed a tail/side wind that carried me back. finished 25th out of 65. dont know how i did in the "be like eddy" competition (no aero equipment). will find out in the next few days. but had a good ride. after though i think i could have pushed a little harder on the way back in. oh well. still am happy with how i did. and i didnt crash!!

oh and alex passed me in the first 2 miles!

march 29, 2009

2009-03-29T14:33:00.000-07:00

did the crca hill climb time trial today. this was a race i wanted to do last year but decided to run into a parked car instead. anyway. i did very well and am happy with how i did. second place by only 4 seconds! long hill rd i was 3 seconds behind. montgomery rd i was 7 seconds behind. if i wanted to blame me coming in second on anything it would have to be the second climb half way up. trying to get into the big ring the chain wouldnt go so i had to switch back to the small ring and go up gears in the back. definitley cost a few seconds. on the last hill though i was first by 6 seconds. awesome. after passing the rider in front of me he stayed on my wheel for 30 seconds or so. after giving him numerous looks i brought the pain. clicked up a few gears and took off!

felt good though. this was a great warm up to the season. a reminder of the wonderful pain of racing.

march 22, 2009

2009-03-24T18:26:00.000-07:00

rode out to hillsborough with alex today and showed him zion rd. had a great time climbing up it. i was looking back screaming and waving him on to work harder! cars were driving by and one started honking at us. it was fun. but now, i feel like a mess. monday i was dead tired in the legs and today i just feel spent. i want to ride tomorrow but feel like i will jsut hit the y and do a recovery ride.

i need to cut my food intake down. bottom line.

march 21, 2009

2009-03-21T13:00:00.001-07:00

rode to the great swap and down to westfield today. got up tracy drive in 03:23 after over 40 miles in the saddle. got heart up to 184 while climbing. awesome ride just a little chilly on the toes.

46.7

march 18, 2009

2009-03-19T14:17:00.001-07:00

did a hard ride yesterday which involved intervals and hill repeats. the weather was so nice i didnt want to just ride around in circles or just do hill repeats. went to tamaques park and did all out 1 minutes efforts then a lap recovery. got a little screwed up though when a cop showed up. didnt want to be flying around the park and get a ticket. after the park headed back and decided to do hill repeats up tracy dr. pushed myself and did 3 times. legs were cramping the last one but it felt great.

1. 03:39
2. 03:41
3. 03:36

march 9, 2009

2009-03-08T05:39:00.000-07:00

rode out to liberty corner and through the great swamp today. had a good ride and was well hydrated and fed which made things go much better towards the end. felt a little sluggish towards the end but was able to put in a good consistent effort throughout the ride with a few small exceptions. at one point was riding with another rider side by side and a cop pulled us over! this was a first. he told us how he gets complaints from cyclists and cars and i guess he was sick of it? oh well. he seemed like an ass so i just kept my mouth shut and moved along. did 46.6 and will be going out tomorrow before heading to the tree walk. so nice that it was 65 today and i didnt have to wear 5 layers of clothes!

february 26, 2009

2009-02-26T17:07:00.000-08:00

got out after work today for a little over and hour. rode to tamaques and came back home going up tracey dr. stayed seated which is actually an accomplishment since id rather climb standing. but it was a good ride. had decent sustained pace all the way through too. also stopped at a small fitness center in mountainside to enquire about teaching spin classes there. will see where that goes. and i have a meeting with the group ex director at ballys in clark on tuesday. fucking ymca just doesnt seem interested. oh well i will cancel my membership if i have to.

february 21, 2009

2009-02-22T11:45:00.000-08:00

did hills today. this was the first time this year i really put in a hard effort. went up tracey rd 4 times and beat my old best time. new best time 3:23. after tracey i decided to push it and go up summit rd. made it up after throwing up in my mouth a little bit and having a screaming incident as well! but it felt good. i hope to start getting in some real miles in the next week or two and then start a riding schedule.

february 15, 2009

2009-02-15T13:53:00.000-08:00

went riding with alex today in the reservation. mostly did a moderate pace ride but we did a couple hill repeats at the end up tracey rd. was a good ride and ended up doing a little under 30 miles. my legs felt pretty good. at times i definitely felt the extra weight i have though. hope to get out and start riding after work since the sun is setting a little later.

february 14, 2009

2009-02-14T07:09:00.001-08:00

got to the y today to do a endurance spin. tried to keep my HR in the 130s and maybe do a couple hill sims. i got certified to teach so im running though some routines i could do during classes. but the spin felt good.

january 25, 2008

2009-01-25T12:56:00.000-08:00

havent done any riding since the other day but have been taking at least two spin classes a week. been reaching some pretty good heart rates and even got into the 180s once. i also have been doing some weights as well. i focus on legs but am also doing some light to moderate upper body stuff. feels like it has been working and i am definitley feeling better about myself.

also have some great news. i registered to be a spin instructor! going to go on feb 7th. after speaking with the "wellness director" at the y she kinda agreed to give me a position there after i complete the class. it will a real relief getting the membership for free. and, teaching classes should be a good experience. im looking forward to it.

thats all for now. soon i may be starting to incorporate some outside riding as well to all the stuff at the y.

january 13, 2009

2009-01-13T08:54:00.000-08:00

hello.

not much to report in terms of rides. did one with ken and alex the other day in rahway river park. had a good time doing some good paceline tempo riding. did 33 miles and felt good after it. i wanted to push the ride harder but they wouldnt let me. saying i didnt want to end up a "january champion". makes sense though. i feel as though i did peak early last season and lost steam as the year went on. may had to do with the crashes but who knows.

this year i joined the y with stacey and am making a return to the gym for my offseason training. the y has a spin room with a lot of classes. took 3 so far and am enjoying it. hope to be in better shape than i am now for the start of the season but it is going to take more discipline that i have been having. feel better about myself but still slip from time to time and endulge in snacks, and candy.

stacey got me new shoes for my bday and im looking forward to having a right shoe that has an attached sole! might make a big difference. got them off chainlove for a rdiculous price.

have not ridden them yet but am very excited. am also getting a new pair of grad prix 4000s from my mom. looking forward to having a nice set of tires back on the bike. next i have to get some training wheels to replace the ones that got ruined.

so, my miles for 2008,

4329. im happy with the time i spent on the bike but didnt reach my goal of 5000. maybe this year. so, this year. my goals;

1. try not to crash
2. win more races
3. have more fun on the bike and not make it a task to ride.
4. go to one of the hardest climbs in nj from the list i got (maybe fiddlers elbow)
5. upgrade to cat 4 when i feel the time is right. not when i am pressured into it by alex and ken.
6. keep riding to work.
7. become a spin instructor.

2008-09-25T07:30:00.000-07:00

blogging about my rides has certainly become extinct this year. i became way too focused on miles, average speeds, heart rates, and watts and forgot about the real fun of just riding to ride. im sure this had nothing to do with the unfortunate luck i dealt with during the year, more to come on that. but it made the year feel more incomplete.

so lets see. since my last post in june....

i had another first place finish at the fourth of july race. awesome. broke away on the last lap and was able to cross the finish line sitting up pointing at stacey. that was great. after that it went up and very down. july 27 i crashed and destroyed the scott plasma. this happened only 3 miles from the finished line! i was on the yellow line and another rider was trying to come into the line and cut me off. thing was, he was outside the line which wasnt allowed. i put my elbows out trying to establish my position and he lunged in at me. i then pushed my arms further out and he forced his was into me knocking me over and i pancaked into the ground. i should have just let him pass me but in the moment you dont think like that. 3 months on that bike and it was gone. almost a full crack through the top tube

one of the seat stays was also badly cracked as well. i sustained some pretty bad damage too...

after that alex was great as a friend and team mate. oh yeah! forgot to mention i was asked to be on a small team, propeller racing. small group of guys who are fun to ride with and all very nice. alex is cat 4 and ken and i are cat 5. also raced with marco from rahway river park and good old mike from out in somerset county.

once alex lent me his GT i was able to get back on the bike and win another race! the zeppelin crit. and this was the first time i was paid! so now im a pro! ha!!!!
this was another great race. and i felt my tactics were starting to come out. there was one racer who i felt was strong and knew he would be someone to contend with in the final sprint. he and i with 3 other broke away with 3 laps to go and worked together to make a nice gap. on the final lap i waited until he was at that back of the pace line then exploded with about a quarter lap to go. 3 turns later i was ahead and finished again sitting up. this time, very angry and feeling lethal!

notice the torn left shoulder of my jersey from my recent crash. classy.

my next race was on august 9th which i felt was one of my best races even though i didnt win. the tour of vernon was a hilly 33 mile course that really tested me. this was a great team showing for us. we had four racers. ken, marco, mike, and i. the course was an 11 mile loop so we encountered the same hills 3 times. on the first climb the group seperated and i stayed in with the lead group while ken, marco, and mike stayed back and blocked. it worked and the lead group stayed away. at one point me and one other guy broke away for almost the whole second lap until a car slowed us down before we got caught. we would have gotten caught anyway i think but the car didnt help. on the last climb me and one other rider battled it out but he was too strong for me and pulled away. i finished second, totally exhausted and feeling like i just rode 200 miles.

some of the rides i had done solo in the time frame between the races dont even come back to me now. this is the sad part of not blogging. i remember climbing warrenville road again. and remember some of my rides out to hillsborough. but after that they all blur together. races stick out more for me because that was my focus this year.

i felt that after the tour of vernon my power and desire started to diminish. my legs started to ache, and i didnt totally feel into it like i had earlier in the year. to further that on august 24 i had what was my most ridiculus crash. yeah, another crash. at the state crit champs mike and i were racing together and i just blew it. with 2 laps to go mike fired off the front as planned and the whole group bit. i stayed in the pack and waited. with about half way to go the pace started to fire up then the sprint started. the sprint was between 3 guys that i was included in. i geared up and started to pull away. the finish line was in sight then i look up and bang! right into the curb i didnt see and forgot was there since i wasnt looking! i bit the dirt and was so furious. i could have held my breath and walked to the finish it was so close. ended up with these...

thankfully i didnt sustain any road rash or major cuts in my upper body since i was half on the road and half on the grass by the curb. the bike was fine as well. so now i was very down. i felt like i shoudnt be racing and was just not cut out for it. i had the strength and endurance. but my wits were not enough to do it. i needed a pick me up. something that would remind me of how much i liked to ride and how racing wasnt what defined me as a cyclist. so i bought another new bike! my third bike this year. a scott speedster. picked up the frame on ebay and pieced it together with the left over components from the plasma.

i want to pick up a different stem but it rides nice. it has nearly the same geometry as my cr1 but is aluminum with carbon only on the fork. after the money i have spent on carbon seeing how it cracks i dont think i will be riding it anymore.

im happy with this bike. it feels nice and im not scared to have it banged up a little bit by an accidental drop or a possible scratch.

so here i am. 3543 miles since 01/01/08 and feeling good about the fall. my attitude has changed since the beginning of the year and i feel good. moved to summit where my commute is the furthest since riding to work. 14 miles round trip with 500 feet of climbing. feel like it is going to make me very strong and can tell its helping me stay in shape. :)

september 25, 2008

2008-09-25T06:49:00.000-07:00

blogging about my rides has certainly become extinct this year. i became way too focused on miles, average speeds, heart rates, and watts and forgot about the real fun of just riding to ride. im sure this had nothing to do with the unfortunate luck i dealt with during the year, more to come on that. but it made the year feel more incomplete.

so lets see. since my last post in june....

i had another first place finish at the fourth of july race. awesome. broke away on the last lap and was able to cross the finish line sitting up pointing at stacey. that was great. after that it went up and very down. july 27 i crashed and destroyed the scott plasma. 3 months on that bike and it was gone. almost a full crack through the top tube

one of the seat stays was also badly cracked as well. i sustained some pretty bad damage too...

after that alex was great as a friend and team mate. oh yeah! forgot to mention i was asked to be on a small team, propeller racing. small group of guys who are fun to ride with and all very nice. alex is cat 4 and ken and i are cat 5. also raced with marco from rahway river park and good old mike from out in somerset county.

once alex lent me his GT i was able to get back on the bike and win another race! the zeppelin crit. and this was the first time i was paid! so now im a pro! ha!!!!
this was another great race. and i felt my tactics were starting to come out. there was one racer who i felt was strong and knew he would be someone to contend with in the final sprint. he and i with 3 other broke away with 3 laps to go and worked together to make a nice gap. on the final lap i waited until he was at that back of the pace line then exploded with about a quarter lap to go. 3 turns later i was ahead and finished again sitting up. this time, very angry and feeling lethal!

notice the torn left shoulder of my jersey from my recent crash. classy.

my next race was on august 9th which i felt was one of my best races even though i didnt win. the tour of vernon was a hilly 33 mile course that really tested me. this was a great team showing for us. we had four racers. ken, marco, mike, and i. the course was an 11 mile loop so we encountered the same hills 3 times. on the first climb the group seperated and i stayed in with the lead group while ken, marco, and mike stayed back and blocked. it worked and the lead group stayed away. at one point me and one other guy broke away for almost the whole second lap until a car slowed us down before we got caught. we would have gotten caught anyway i think but the car didnt help. on the last climb me and one other rider battled it out but he was too strong for me and pulled away. i finished second, totally exhausted and feeling like i just rode 200 miles.

some of the rides i had done solo in the time frame between the races dont even come back to me now. this is the sad part of not blogging. i remember climbing warrenville road again. and remember some of my rides out to hillsborough. but after that they all blur together. races stick out more for me because that was my focus this year.

i felt that after the tour of vernon my power and desire started to diminish. my legs started to ache, and i didnt totally feel into it like i had earlier in the year. to further that on august 24 i had what was my most ridiculus crash. yeah, another crash. at the state crit champs mike and i were racing together and i just blew it. with 2 laps to go mike fired off the front as planned and the whole group bit. i stayed in the pack and waited. with about half way to go the pace started to fire up then the sprint started. the sprint was between 3 guys that i was included in. i geared up and started to pull away. the finish line was in sight then i look up and bang! right into the curb i didnt see and forgot was there since i wasnt looking! i bit the dirt and was so furious. i could have held my breath and walked to the finish it was so close. ended up with these...

this ended my season. in addition to the cuts, i broke my pinkie and also did some unindentified damage to my index and middle finger on the opposite hand.

after this i took a week off to think things over about racing. i relaxed. started to ride again but at a nicer pace. enjoyed my time on the bike without worrying about how fast or what my heart rate was. i still enjoyed knowing i was capable and when the riverhorse ride happened mike and i still chased down other riders despite it being a charity event. but the race thing just didnt seem worth for me.

so i needed a pick me up. something to get my riding gears going again. so i bought something!

june 17, 2008

2008-06-17T16:47:00.000-07:00

wow its been a long time since posting. was logging my miles in 3 different places and ended up not having the energy to poast about every ride i did. lame since this is the most beneficial place to look at my rides. so now im posting again :)

since my last post a lot has happened. lots of miles, 2 races, and the 100k ada ride this past weekend. first, the miles,

total monthly miles for may-537.
year mile mark at the end of may-1661

so my two races. after winning my first race i wanted to do a time trial. something more than the 7.25 miles that century holds. after talking with austin at century he convinced me to ride in the us time trial open championships. a 40k(25miles roughly) course that was mainly flat. this was an awesome experience. got to really see what i could do over a long period of time and see where i stood against other riders through out nj. i finished 127 out of 317 and 27 out of 33 in my age category(which was 19-29). my time was 1:02:29 and average speed was 23.98mph. WOW! this was a really good effort by me and i could tell since the rest of the day i was a wreck! no energy and felt like i had been hit by a car! i will definitely sign up for this again next year.

after that was the watermelon crit held by rutgers. unlike my first race in somerville this race combined the cat4 and 5 riders for a larger field of about 50-55. like somerville i stayed towards the front and felt good for the race. this was longer being about 18 miles instead of the 10 on the first race. there was a solo break away with 25 minutes left and no one seem to want to do any work to catch him. was really annoying but oh well. i was very happy with my finish here, 3rd. had a powerful sprint but was overtaken at the last second by another rider or i would have gotten second. but this was another great race.

one thing i have been doing alot of is riding at rahway river park on tuesday nights. im not there tonight for various reasons. tired, knee hurts, tired, need some rest. but last tuesday i did some impressive riding by catching a two man break away with 6 laps to go and then putting out another powerful sprint to overtake the field. too bad this race isnt official! rahway river park is great training for me. much more aggressive than crca, closer to home, and a larger field to ride in. helps me get comfortable riding close to others and also gives me a place to test strategy.

the ada 100k ride was a good time too. not like my other events this year which were races and high energy rides. this was just 63 miles for a good cause. of course mike and i turned it into much more wanting to finish first among the riders. we started late though so that didnt help. also i had some mechanical problems. tire and chain. was proud of myself with the chain problem. a link was millimeters away from breaking and i got my hands on a chain tool, popped out two links, put the chain back together and was on my way! finished the ride very strong and was happy with the ride. think it took a little out of me since i had not done any ride over 48 miles all year but it was good. helped build some distance for me.

in other news, i broke the 2000 mile mark on saturday. way ahead of when i did last year. feel like im on track to easily pass 3000 at this rate. but this week i think ill keep it easy. ride to work, maybe go out to tamaques and do an hour, then pick it back up this weekend. dont wanna let the weight get back up!

may 25, 2008

2008-05-25T07:33:00.000-07:00

well after my back wheel mishaps i ended up buying a new set of wheels. got them from effingers for $150 and am happy with them. good training wheels :)

ive been riding to and from work and a little after work and actually felt like i was loosing my edge a little bit. that was erased yesterday.

entered my first u.s. cycling race and won! sprint finish at the end and ended up taking it by a wheel in a photo finish. awesome feeling! came around the corner in the last lap and poured it on outsprinting the four guys in front of me. nice to have this feeling and get my juices brewing again. nice as fuck out today so im going out for a ride.

pics from yesterday..

may 14, 2008

2008-05-14T17:17:00.000-07:00

fucking back wheel. bought it to cranford to get trued and sure enough about 45 minutes into the ride i hear that wheel rubbing the frame again. i was riding hard too having a good time. so then i bring the bike to jays in westfield and mark trues the wheel again so this is the third time the wheel has been trued. and 10 minutes into their wednesday night ride the wheel is out of true. fucking piece of shit. ride;

t-1:00:55
d-18.86
as-18.6
ms-32.3

may 13, 2008

2008-05-13T17:04:00.000-07:00

went to rahway river park to ride the group race there today. this was awesome. about 30--40 riders. all fast, riding in a tight group. this is definitely a good place for me to practice race techniques. the bad part though, my back wheel became really untrue about 18 mins into the ride. fortunately i got some miles in before it happened but man that really stunk. this means i wont be doing my tt tomorrow night with crc. oh well. shit happens. ride;

t-1:14:29
d-21.87
as-17.6
ms-30.6

may 11, 2008

2008-05-11T11:09:00.000-07:00

t-1:00:00
d-18.36
as-18.3
ms-?

may 8-9, 2008

2008-05-09T15:27:00.001-07:00

did the crc rr last night(8th) but wound up crashing again. :( this time wasnt so bad at all. my rear tire ended up blowing out and the bike fished tailed making me lose control. ended up bumping another rider who thankfully didnt fall and then falling over into the grass. almost ended up going all the way down the embankment into the swamp but luckily didnt. walked away with a very out of true back wheel, and some scraps on knee, arm, side of body.

so then today(9th) i got a schedule in the mail from frank at crc. he wrote a note on the top of it, "paul, congratulation on start of a good season. 1st place in t.t. - the "race of truth". please consider getting a racing license. F."

well that inspired me enough to sign up! im now officially licensed through USA cycling. i hope to race this year for the first time. posted a message on the crc forum to see if anyone will go with me so we'll see. im excited!

may 7, 2008

2008-05-07T18:45:00.000-07:00

time trial tonight. accidentally wore a yellow jersey and caught some comments from the club members about it. it was all in fun though. got to start last tonight and ended up finishing second. but with an awesome time. rode for the first time without a water bottle and definitley felt it. just like last week though i should have started sprinting earlier. next week i will start before the last little hump in the road and hopefully can sustain until the end.

at the end of the ride i found out who i lost to was a cat 2 rider. frank came over to tell me how excited and proud i should be finishing just 13 seconds behind him. he also mentioned he used to take him to belgium to race against european riders. WOW! thats pretty awesome if you ask me :)

ride;

t-55:45
d-17.16
as-18.4
ms-?

tt time - 17:39*

*another goal for 2008 achieved!

may 5, 2008

2008-05-05T18:03:00.000-07:00

really hard interval ride at tamaques today. started off by myself but then another ride joined in and we traded off laps. felt strong as hell today. ride;

t-1:53:38
d-37.16
as-19.6
ms-33.6

may 4, 2008

2008-05-04T18:14:00.000-07:00

the weather people just keep getting the predictions wrong. every weekend they say its going to rain and it ends up being great out. needless to say i gotu out for a ride today. but it took a little self motivation to end up in the saddle. after sitting around most of the morning i took a stpe outside and was amazed at how nice and warm it was. a big difference from the previous day. so i headed out for a ride that took me to zion rd and down 603. got some nice speed up in the later part of the ride. wind kept hitting me head on right until the end though. cant wait for a day i have a tail wind the whole time! ride;

t-1:40:49
d-32.2
as-19.1
ms-44.1

may 3, 2008

2008-05-03T11:05:00.000-07:00

got out today despite it looking lousy outside and a chance of rain. got in a nice 2 hours and felt pretty strong for most of the ride. there were a few moments i felt gassed especially on some of the climbs. may have been the chilly weather and the headwind for most of the ride. found the crca's road markers for the 100k they did last weekend and decided to ride it out. took me to liberty corner and down to mount hoeb. after crossing 22 and not knowing how much further the ride would be i stopped at a farm stand to get a snack and a bottle refill. while there i got a carrot apple juice made fresh by the guy there. that was a nice treat around the end of my ride. hopefully the rain holds out tomorrow and i can get in an hour or so. ride;

t-2:03:16
d-38.56
as-18.7
ms-38.2

may 1, 2008

2008-05-01T19:51:00.000-07:00

had the crc rr today. despite clouds and predicted rain i went out and road anyway. got placed with the B+ group which was the highest group i have been in there. road with some guys who last year i knew were on a much hugher level than me. but it felt good. did 3 laps and they were all very friendly and helped me out. i talked with all of them before hand so they knew i wasnt as experienced as them. but i felt good. my legs were tired, especially in the last couple miles. ended up taking 5th though and out sprinted one guy in my group at the end. the wet road made it cautious though. overall though this was a good ride. acheived a goal in not getting dropped after having a good tt the day before. ride;

t-1:13:04
d-24.28
as-19.9
ms-35.8

rr time;

t-57:09
d-20.09
as-21.1

april 30, 2008

2008-05-01T19:48:00.000-07:00

one of my top goals for this year, accomplished!!!

tonight i won the clubs wednesday night time trial!!! this is something i have been working for over the past 2 1/2 years!

it was kinda chilly and definitely windy. almost the entire ride there was a head or side wind. only until the last half mile or so was the wind at my back. even with these conditions i ended up beating out the next fastest rider by almost 30 seconds!

after the ride i heard mike izzo say that i had won but at that time i didnt think it was true. even though i rode under 19 minutes it didnt dawn on me to think i was the fastest rider that night. but then frank announced "there is a new sheriff in town, paul". i was stunned. but i got my bottle of wine and felt great. now, i have to defend my win! its going to be a tough season!

tt time - 18:34
place - 1st
conditions - cool/head side wind.

total ride;

t-44:34
d-15.09
as-20.3
ms-36.4

april 28, 2008

2008-04-28T17:42:00.001-07:00

rain today so i put in a good session on the trainer. did an hour and was able to push myself in the second half. here is the session...

10 min warm up
15 min 1on 1off
5min spin
15 min 1on 1off
5 min sprints on the min
10 min cool down

felt good. im going to destroy my old tt time this year!

april 27, 2008

2008-04-27T11:07:00.000-07:00

didnt get out for the century clubs 100k ride today. kinda bummed out about it but made up for it with my own ride later in the day. let the clouds clear and the roads dry up before heading out and then took a good ride in that led me to the tt course. blew up one or two times on it which makes me wonder what gearing i should use. but overall i think my gearing will be near the same. know i pushed really hard on my way there so my legs werent as fresh as they would be in a normal tt.

on my way back i got into a great spinning tempo. kept great speed and felt very strong. was able to boost my a.s. up from 19.9 to a final 20.1mph for the ride. this may have been one the strongest rides i have had all year. ride;

t-1:52:26
d-37.66
as-20.1
ms-34.7

april 26, 2008

2008-04-26T12:22:00.000-07:00

rode to work 3 more days this week.

d-22.2

april 25, 2008

2008-04-26T05:47:00.001-07:00

went out with mike who i met at tamaques. he wanted to do some climbs so i basically went the same route as yesterday. didnt climb as much though which was ok with me. wanted to have a nice recovery ride from the 2 rides this week. i did however feel very strong up tracy. had a nice rhythm and spun in a low gear. doesnt feel like there is a difference climbing in the plasma from the cr1. may feel a little stronger. ride;

d-19.31

april 24, 2008

2008-04-24T16:56:00.000-07:00

went out with johnny pi after work. decided to do hill repeats and it ended up being a crazy session. went up tracy rd 3 times, summit rd once, then ackerman once. climbed about 900 total feet. nothing compared to some rides last year but its a decent amount for me this time of year especially after the accidents. felt strong on the climbs and the bike handled well. met a guy who is training for a tri so got his number and know he will be down for some heavy training. things are shaping up for me to have a great summer. ride;

t-1:30:00
d-23.44

april 23, 2008

2008-04-23T16:34:00.000-07:00

didnt have the odometer and went around tamaques i dont know how many times. rode really hard and did sprints, and track starts, and intervals. so overall i will be generous but reserved and say i average 19-19.5mph and rode for an hour and a half. so that would make about 25 miles or so but it felt more like a ride near 30. so, 28 miles it is. had a good ride though. talked with other riders and did some pace line stuff with them. good shit. ride;

t-1:30:00
d-28

april 22, 2008

2008-04-22T15:24:00.000-07:00

just wanted to say , this year, i am logging all of my commute miles. so, it2 3.69 each way. at the end of the week im just going to post how many days i rode during the week and add up the miles from there. so,

d-14.76

april 21, 2008

2008-04-21T17:44:00.000-07:00

went out with johnny pi after work today. put the aero bars on wanting to go to tamaques but he wanted to do shunpike rd so i sgreed with him. havent done climbing around here in a while so figured it would be good. started off ok, but my legs and ankles felt sore and tired. dont know how much of that was from work or the accidents. either way i felt tired.

it was a good course. but i know all the horrible eating ive been doing has been damaging me. also, maybe i should have lifted this off season. my legs just dont feel as strong as they did. i have spurts where i feel great but then there are the days i dont have any sustainable power. who knows. had a lot of trauma to my legs these past 3-4 weeks. may just think im over it when im not and need more time to heal.

one thing that made me feel better though. i got home and took the aero bars off. they were pinching the brake cables! especially the front brake. when i squeezed it, the brake stayed closed. that may have been causing friction and the slow feeling. i hope so. ride;

d-25.87

april 19, 2008

2008-04-19T13:43:00.001-07:00

great ride today. went out with mike and rode the plasma for the first time. felt really good. only thing that i feel could be changed is either the stem angel, stem length, or where the shifters are. where they sit now i have to bend my wrist in order to shift gears/brake. not a big deal but would be great to have them right there.

so, the one thing that did happen on this ride that wasnt good. i crashed. again. fortunately not into parked car though. was climbing and just rolled to the side of the road and hit the drop off. the bike is fine. im slightly banged up but nothing major. the pedals hit the back of my legs. left leg in the calf, the right leg under the calf. and have some road rash on my right leg and my back. just grazed my helmet so no damage to the head again.

i got VERY nervous though. but overall its ok. just some cuts and bruises and a ding or two on the bike.

what a first ride! ride;

d-39.04

april 17, 2008

2008-04-17T17:37:00.000-07:00

didnt ride today but wanted to update on new things. 1. im getting a new bike. 2. im riding to work starting tomorrow. 3. will wants to get a bike.

1. with the death of the cr1 i had some options. i could replace the frame for around $900 and then pay for labor, and sometime this year probably have to start getting new components. marc offered me a killer deal on a new bike after we negotiated and settled on a price for new scott. a 2006 plasma. its a time trial frame but im going to convert it into a road bike by using a longer stem, risers in the headset, and dropping the seat down to the level i had it on the cr1. hopefully this works out good. if i feel like i did on the plasma like on did on the cr1 im going to explode this summer.

2. starting tomorrow im riding to work. with the cost of the new bike using my legs instead of the car will save me money on gas. this is going to set me back quite a bit so everything is going to get tightened up this summer. no new clothes unless on a crazy sale. no new jerseys for sure unless they are less than $20. yeah, gotten pay this shit off.

3. will wants to ride which i think is cool. its nice to see that im influencing others to live a better life style through cycling. hope he sticks with it cause it will be good for him i think. just have to get stacey a bike and we are set to go this summer!

new bike;

april 16, 2008

2008-04-16T19:12:00.000-07:00

wanted to get out and do some hill repeats but was just very tired. got out regardless and managed a couple burts of maintained speed but nothing that was heavy training. once at the park started to try on interval work but just didnt have the legs for it. ended up going home putting in just over an hour. not too glad about how i felt on the bike today but glad i got out regardless.

going to take a day or two off and wait for the new bike. hoping that the new bike is ready on friday. cant think of a third weekend without riding. ride;

d-19.1

april 14, 2008

2008-04-16T18:57:00.000-07:00

went out with johnny pi from work today. did a nice ride around tamaques. ended up doing a very nice interval in almost a time trial mode. ended up lapping but not to say i didnt work for it. he is a good rider for his age and especially for the bike he is on. good ride though. ride;

d-25

april 10, 2008

2008-04-10T16:58:00.001-07:00

twice up tracy then went to tamaques where i did some sprints and then short interval work. legs were cramping by then. ride

d-46.11

april 9, 2008

2008-04-09T14:24:00.000-07:00

YES!!!!!!

got out for the first time since my accident today. took the cannondale which was nice since i hadnt ridden it for a while. went to tamaques like planned and did some loops. one thing different from my plan was riding there instead of driving. and doing intervals! my leg was sore and my knee hurt too but i rode through it, hopefully that was the smart choice. had a nice time though. after an initial thought of should i ride or not after my leg hurt i pushed on and im glad thats what happened. ride;

d-16.35

*no computer

april 8, 2008

2008-04-08T18:16:00.000-07:00

great news. after a week and a half i was able to complete a pedal stroke for the first time today! after getting the stitches out i came home and balanced on the cannondale. took a little push and some minor discomfort but the pedals went around. tomorrow i plan on taking it out for a spin. maybe going to drive to tamaques park and do some miles around the park. nothing major. want to make sure no injuries happen coming back from one.

so my target for the april 30 time trial is still on. hopefully will be able to do a decent time. but even if im not, at least i will ride!

april 5, 2008

2008-04-05T07:42:00.000-07:00

man this sucks. no rides since the accident. have gained weight, am eating like a pig, and just am semi miserable. my injuries are getting better and apparently the scott can be saved which are both good news. so far with me my eye is healing well and have minimal damage left thats visable except for the bruising. my knee is going well too. the main pain im dealing with is in my right quads. feels like someone jammed a baseball into it and left it there. its difficult to bend my leg and yesterday was the first day going up stairs was semi manageable.

the scott was inspected by marc at efingers and he said there was no damage to the frame by some miracle. marc was able to get a crash replacement fork from scott that will only run $175. pretty good for a semi top of the line full carbon fork! after replacing that and fine tuning some other things the scott should be ready to go back on the road. but before that it needs to be reinspected by the guys in the cranford just for my piece of mind.

hopefully i can get back on the bike sometime this week. not going to go out and hammer obviously. just going to take the kona out most likely and spin around the back roads. just want to get the feel back into my legs and stretch out my leg a little more. as for a true 'comeback date' the 20th seems good for me. enough time to heal and come back to speed. going to ride on the trainer for a week before hand and maybe take the kona and cannondale out. definitely going to put the scott on the trainer and rock the shit out it though. much rather it fail on there than on the road.

looking to get back on the road!

accident damage to knee

2008-03-29T20:28:00.000-07:00

macrh 28, 2008

2008-03-29T06:53:00.000-07:00

CRASH! thats hw march ended this year for riding. no broken bones and am not bed ridden though thank fully. how it happened doesnt make sense to me but here goes. heading down orange ave i just went right into the back of a parked minivan. yeah, how many cyclists do you know who ride into cars? well it happened to me. dont know if the wind blew hard which made me lose control, if there was a groove in the rode that i hit, if i car going by came too close which made me swirve into the car, or if i just had a light headed spell that made me lose control. however it happened the back of the minivans window was taken out and the scott was cracked in half at the fork. :(

so here is what i remember....

seeing the minivan at the last second i applied the brakes and turned to roll into the car shoulder first. the brunt of the impact was taken by my helmet above my right temple. then i was on the ground rolling around trying to get up but having no sense of where i was, how i got there, and what was happening. stumbled onto someones lawn and think i knocked on their door. man came out and asked me who to call and i gave them staceys number. then the ambulance arrived and began care for me. was put on a back board and stabilized as a precaution since my head and neck had been jerked so hard from the impact. in the ambulance my clothes were cut open to allow access to a cut in my knee and minor cuts here and there. was questioned and started to get nauseas then was given oxygen which helped.

in the hospital was taken into the emergency room and then the drew blood, took an x-ray of my neck, chest, pelvis, and a cat scan of my head. also was given an ekg to make sure my heart was ok. after the x-rays i was allowed to be unstrapped from the neck stabilizer and was then able to stand. wow! i was destroyed! dizzy and weak and shaking. felt like ran into a car! up to this point i was nervous about any possible paralysis that may happen due to neck injury. but since i walked around and could wiggle my toes and fingers i figured it wasnt very likely. but in the moment, i did get very nervous. and the next nervousness was waiting for the cat scan. it came back fine but thinking of possibly getting brain surgery due to swelling or bleeding in the brain just sucked.

after being cleared of all the major injuries they took care of the cuts and stitched me up. 12 in the knee and two in the lips. this is where the most pain took place. taking off the tape for the i.v. they had in my arm sucked. i hate those things with a passion. every movement of my arm was accompanied by the feeling of a large piece of plastic under my skin scratching from the inside. yuck. and they gave me two for some reason! one in each arm. but that wasnt as bad as the numbing agent they put in my lip to stitch there. burn burn burn. but at least i walked out of there.

they put a knee stabalizer on me to prevent any bending in the leg that would cause the stiches to pop or tear out. and sent me on my way. sitting here now most of the pain and discomfort is in my leg. feels as though the handle bars went right into my quads even though there is no bruise there. but any movement is painfull there. the stiches in my lips arent so bad except while open my mouth wide to eat or laugh. but thankfully thats the most that bothering me.

this is another true testament to wearing a helmet. with all the research i still such riders who are racing around without one on. had i not been wearing one who knows what would have happened. but thankfully i was.

after recovering i promised my dad i will take my first ride with him. hopefully that soon!

ps- the staff at overlook hospital in nj was really good. everyone was nice and i got really good care.

ride;

t-5:12
d-1.41
as-16.3
ms-20.7

monthly mile mark-792.9

miles ridden in month-414.51

march 25, 2008

2008-03-26T14:47:00.000-07:00

went out after work today. it was 63 degrees!!! got to shed the booties, wear only a jersey and a base layer with arm warmers, and didnt have to wear a hat! felt nice to shed that extra clothing. what didnt feel nice was my stomach! :( i felt heavier and dont like it. so i headed to tamaques to do some interval work and sprints. went well and i did 2 sets of 3 hard loops then 2 sprints. then did the fast ride home down south ave. weather says rain for the next couple of days. if so, im getting the trainer out. wanna get this fat off me asap. ride;

t-1:16:19
d-25.14
as-19.7
ms-33.5

march 23, 2008

2008-03-24T13:41:00.000-07:00

successfully completed a recovery ride. rode from staceys to the 32 east mountain to see if i had any mail there. took a very nice slow pace and had a good time. got to just hang out on the bike and look around more rather than being focused on speed. felt good and my legs felt nice after the ride. this week is a recovery week. hope to get 50 miles in or so but am not going to puch it too hard. just want to ride around. probably going to take the cannondale and kona out this week. ride;

t-1:07:17
d-17.47
as-16.3
ms-25.7

march 21, 2008

2008-03-23T06:02:00.000-07:00

had the day off but didnt ride until around 5. did some stuff around the house and then headed over to staceys. after hanging out for an hour went to meet with eric for a quick loop. was very windy but i think the wind is something im used to. dont like it at all, unless its at my back, but i may be a little more used to it after this winter.

after meeting with eric we did a nice 7 or 8 mile loop around hillsborough. no climbs just some small rollers. at one point my luck on the bike helped out when eric and i came together because he was going straight while i thought we were making a right! came very close to making us both fall but neither did and we both headed home with no scratches and a good ride. ride;

t-1:18:21
d-23.49
as-17.9
ms-28.0

march 22, 2008

2008-03-22T14:34:00.000-07:00

went out this afternoon after spending the morning hanging out and relaxing. :) decided early on i was going to do the 3 climbs ride that century has planned on april 6th. up long hill, up montgomery, then up lindberge. this was a tough ride! dont know were exactly it happened but my legs crashed at one point. trying to hammer up long hill may have been the culprit. montgomery was a very slow crawl due to my inexperience with the climb and lindberge went the best out of the 3. riding to zion from long hill i knew it was time to head home. my legs were already burning and i still had another 10 miles! but my legs pushed through and i arrived back with a nice average speed and a good amount of time on the bike to show for the soreness. this was a good hard ride. felt like my fitness was a little higher despite the legs aching. may go out tomorrow for a recovery ride. this week is going to be a slower week with less miles. legs have been sore and want to rest them. ride;

t-2:24:31
d-44.75
as-18.5
ms-49.5

march 20, 2008

2008-03-20T15:15:00.001-07:00

spent yesterday maintaining the bike and picked up some tools for it. also picked up a tool box which i hope will be the beginning of me being able to maintain my bike. the bad news is ive been eating like a pig and it shows. despite all the riding im still showing love handles and a small belly. i know i should be eating more than i think but i need to make better decisions. anyway. went out after work today despite being tired and there being very high winds. just wanted to get in an hour or so to keep up on my fitness and help reverse the past week and a half of eating. ended up having a pretty decent ride and found a new place to do sprints/track starts. newly paved road up the street from me so it will be a nice place to go before i get home after a ride. i just rode around for the most part and ended up in tamaques. had a decent tail wind coming home and i hammered it so my legs got some slight burn. felt good and i hope today is the start of a new diet. ride;

t-1:07:10
d-20.20
as-18.0
ms-28.3

*reset odometer to 680.6. for some reason it keeps "spinning" after im off the bike.

march 17, 2008

2008-03-17T16:28:00.000-07:00

went out after work with the idea of getting in a good amount of miles. it wasnt as breezy as the weather report lead me to believe. this wind is getting tiring. every day feels like im pedaling into the wind whichever direction i go.

decided to head up into berkely heights. went up shunpike rd and decided to go up mount view rd. this extended my climb by a decent amount. at least it felt that way, my legs were tired! after getting up near overlook headed my normal route that carried me back into scotch plains. decided to go to my favorite place, tamaques! there was another rider there and we paired up for a few laps but nothing major. just rode around at a nice pace. headed home and had a great encounter. was going down south ave at about 22mph when someone in a car yelled something at me. my initial thought was to give them the finger but i held back and chose just to wave. up ahead, i saw they were going to get caught by the light so decided to sprint to catch them! got up to them and rolled up real slow. as i stopped next to them i looked in and pointed to my ear mouthing, "what did you say?" they exploded in laughter which made me laugh too. much better than the reaction had i given them the finger. good ride :) ;

t-1:55:57
d-36.04
as-18.6
ms-*

*funky odometer.

march 13, 2008

2008-03-15T12:12:00.000-07:00

had my first real training ride today. did hill repeats up tracy dr and some track starts. went up tracy 3 times and did some sprints up the rolling hills up there then down ackerman which dumps right out at the start of tracy. this is a great course for training. not much time for recovery and keeps your heart rate high. after coming down from ackerman headed to tamaques and did some fast loops keeping the intensity high and pushing a little harder each loop. decided to do some track starts which went well. did 8 starts 4 on each leg. am starting to feel stronger. ride;

d-29

*comp screwed up

march 15, 2008

2008-03-15T12:05:00.000-07:00

went out with mike today in hillsborough. felt good to get out there with him. seems like my best rides happen in mikes company. we rode around for a while just talking and adding on the miles. eventually decided to go up zion. started up and eventually got distance between us. once to the top we stopped as mike was going to go home. agreed to meet up this week if possible. i went down them up long hill and headed back to somerville. great ride. weather was nice and had good company. ride;

t-2:44:30
d-48.88
as-17.8
ms-37.2

march 10, 2008

2008-03-10T15:59:00.001-07:00

i rode today but didnt post it. found a saved draft that had no info. but i rode!

march 9, 2008

2008-03-09T18:03:00.001-07:00

got out in the hillsborough area today after sleeping over at staceys last night. wanted to get out and do a quick 45 minute ride just to stay fresh but that changed. originally was going to ride with eric but he fell out due to wind concerns. blah. mike also was a no call due to concern over ice on the road. there was ice, but very little and on the extreme sides of the street.

after getting to hillsborough and making my way to the road that would bring me back to somerville i encountered a closed road due to flood waters! not wanting to ride down 206 i turned around and headed a different way. decided then to stretch out the ride and my 45 minute ride more than doubled! encountered 3 more flood zone areas and rode through about 3-4 inches of water at one point which was a little stupid but did anyway. there was no current but im sure it wasnt good for the bike.

this was one of the windiest rides ive ever done. weather station out in hillsborough has the minimum winds at 6mph and the max at 21mph. max gust was 35mph. felt like every direction i was riding into the wind for about 85% of the ride. was good though. helped me burn off some calories :) ride;

t-1:46:41
d-29.69
as-16.7
ms-36.0

*these numbers may be off. something funny happened with my comp that i cant figure out.

march 6, 2008

2008-03-09T17:46:00.000-07:00

rode up to berkley heights today after work. took a route that had me climb shunpike rd and then ride through overlook hospital. got a little lost a couple times but had a general idea where i was due to driving around the area from work. overall had a nice ride though and got some good speed riding through berkley heights. heading home down south ave my legs let me know they were tired and i took it easier than most days. good ride though. exposed me to a new area to go on the bike where traffic is a little calmer around here. ride;

t-1:26:35
d-23.64
as-16.3
ms-?*

*computer flaw

march 3, 2008

2008-03-03T17:03:00.001-08:00

got out today after work despite being tired most of the day. may have had a slight cold but was able to get a short nap after lunch which helped. even though i went out with the idea of taking it easy and making this a 'recovery ride' it didnt happen. once my speed starts to stay constant and my legs feel good i cant stop going no matter how it feels. after riding around cranford i headed to tamaques park in westfield. this park is like a drug. went in with the idea of only doing maybe 5 laps. ended up being there for 45 minutes doing intervals and sprints. felt good though. tomorrow will be a rest day and wednesday may be as well. ride;

t-1:29:05
d-28.36
as-19.0
ms-33.2*

*sprint

march 1, 2008

2008-03-02T18:43:00.000-08:00

went to pick the bike up and a tune up at cranford bvike shop and decided to take it for a spin. wasnt sure where i would go but felt an urge to do some climbing. headed up new providence rd to attempt ackerman rd. only .4 miles long but a 7.5% grade. it was a nice clip. took some work but i was able to get up with not much of a problem. decided then to take on my new training hill. summit rd. a .9 mile climb and 10% grade. this is the second steepest rd i have climbed. took some time to get up it and didnt push the gears too hard to be safe. this will be a great road to give me power during the pre summer season. rode around a little more in the mountains then headed back home. road by work to see how far it was from home. surprised that it is just over 5 miles. that will make a nice loop for commuting in the summer on bike. but the key to this ride was summit rd. 10% grade and had no trouble on my first attempt. not like warrenville :) ride;

t-1:19:36
d-22.91
as-17.3
ms-?*

*computer messed up

march 2, 2008

2008-03-02T18:39:00.000-08:00

went out today in hillsborough for the first time since moving. was visiting stacey and bought the bike along. felt good to be able to ride on the roads i was more familiar with. less traffic, more scenery, and better bike lanes. amazing what a difference 25 miles makes in new jersey. farms and open fields compared to packed suburban streets with car and foot traffic everywhere. even though the wind was blowing most of the day it still felt good and i kept a nice pace. with the bike just being tuned up it rode very smooth. look forward to getting out in somerset county again soon. ride;

t-2:00:02
d-36.38
as-18.1
ms-32.9

february 29, 2008 (leap year!)

2008-03-01T10:37:00.001-08:00

february numbers...

t-6:28:50

d-109.20

as-16.8

monthly mile mark-378.39

february 25, 2008

2008-02-25T15:53:00.000-08:00

t-1:08:49
d-21.37
as-18.6
ms-29.5

february 20, 2008

2008-02-20T15:31:00.000-08:00

got out yesterday and today for a pair of nice rides. for some reason the roads out here (union county, cranford area) feel fast. maybe the wind is not as strong due to more structures. but either way im still getting in some good miles. headed around echo lake park area yesterday for a nice hour or so ride. today did a little less. wanted to just do a light recovery ride but i dont think the phrase 'recovery ride' is in my vocabulary. any time my speed starts to go above 20-22mph my legs start to crank and they dont want to stop! regardless the rides were nice. rides;

2/19;

t-1:04:19
d-19.43
as-18.1
ms-30.8

2/20;

t-47.25
d-14.26
as-18.0
ms-28.9

february 18, 2008

2008-02-17T15:15:00.001-08:00

been a while since i last posted. havent had as many rides this month due to moving and just generally being tired. but got out a few times here and there including today. despite being a bum most of the weekend getting out for a ride today was very important for me. having ridden so little over the past two weeks has felt odd and made me uneasy. felt like i was getting back to some old habits that made me a lot heavier than i am today. but after getting out those thoughts went away and i focused on some short intervals at tamaques park in westfield. this is a favorite place to cycle of mine. a short .9 mile loop pretty much closed to traffic. anyway, look to get out more this week. weather is supposed to be nicer and a little warmer. ride;

t-52:35
d-16.40
as-18.7
ms-27.7

*total odometer - 323.3

january 31, 2008

2008-01-31T15:19:00.000-08:00

got out after work today and did a good long hard ride. ended up sucking it up and did a hill repeat. up zion, down long hill, the up long hill. my legs are still sore from work this week and my left hamstring is bothering too. tomorrow will be a welcome rest day. very happy with the miles i put in this month. towards the end of last year it felt like the trainer was going to be the only place to ride during the winter. but maybe work has given me a new tolerance for the cold. whatever the case may be i feel good. at the end of the ride today, after coming down long hill and headed back up another rider was on his way down. i pulled over to say hi and we decided to climb up long hill together. ended up getting up to the top first and when he joined me he said, "well thanks for the ass kicking". my instant reply, "thanks for the inspiration". good end to the month. :) ride;

t-1:03:34
d-17.78
as-16.7
ms-42.6

monthly miles-254.68

year miles-254.68

january 30, 2008

2008-01-30T15:42:00.000-08:00

odometer malfunctioned towards the end of the ride. was a good ride though and although my legs were sore from work my ability to push myself was satisfying. oh, one word to describe this ride, windy. max wind gust today was 47mph! ride;

d-14.9

january 26, 2008

2008-01-26T14:55:00.000-08:00

t-1:39:12
d-27.70
as-16.7
ms-41.6

january 21, 2008

2008-01-21T10:15:00.000-08:00

got out today for my coldest ride of the year so far. 22 degrees when i started, 24 when i got back. after taking a tip from a LBS guy about outer layers for winter riding i tried a new thing. wore a new base layer i got yesterday made of polypropylene and then my columbia wool base layer under that. mixed it with arm warmers and a regular jersey. what i did different came to not wearing my fleece and instead wearing my nashbar wind/rain resistant jacket. wow did it make a huge difference! without it i would have been near miserable. as always my feet were cold but the rest of me from my hands to my legs and head were all comfortable. this will make a big difference during the winter months. ended up riding for a little over an hour and had a good time. was windy but it was very sunny. it didnt keep my water bottle from freezing up though!
look to get out later this week. want to get back on the trainer too. need to do some interval work. ride;

t-1:09:56
d-20.39
as-17.5
ms-26.8

january 19, 2008

2008-01-21T07:31:00.000-08:00

got out today and did a nice ride. had thoughts of doing some hills but later decided to stick to flatter ground. my right leg has been bothering me this week since my last ride so straining it too much wasnt a good idea. went to the century tt course a did a hard effort around to give myself a base time to improve on this year. although my timing wasnt 100% accurate it ended up being just under 20 minutes. pretty good since i was sluggish and have not been riding as much. also didnt have the areos on so that surely made a difference. will head out again in about a month to time myself again. good ride though, going to head out today but waiting a little longer. the temp is 19.8! will see how long i last. ride;

t-1:16:48
d-22.80
as-17.8
ms-33.7

*didnt log my last ride. odometer is at 159.6

january 14, 2008

2008-01-14T17:29:00.001-08:00

t-2:12:22
d-42.12
as-19.0
ms-43.7

january 10, 2007

2008-01-12T10:57:00.000-08:00

got out again after work. temp was slightly cooler and the wind was calm. dont know if that or my tired muscles from the day before made me a little slower. but i still did a good ride. next week it may snow so my outside rides may be put on hold. but hopefully im motivated enough to get on the trainer. ride;

t-38:42
d-13.56
as-21.0
ms-29.2

january 9, 2007

2008-01-09T15:46:00.000-08:00

got out today for my first ride outside after getting out of work! from now on, as long as there is not too much traffic i can get home and head out for a nice ride. yay to less time on the trainer! did a small loop around my house two times. there were high winds but thankfully i didnt have to ride into them except on one short stretch. but when it was at my back i was flying! even when it was a crosswind my legs kept the high pace and the average mph up. ride felt good. hope to get out tomorrow! ride;

t-24
d-9.5
as-23.9
ms-32.9

january 6, 2007

2008-01-09T15:42:00.000-08:00

went out with mike today. did a nice ride with another nice day of with. only did about an hour and a half but kept a great pace the entire ride. felt a lot of power during the whole ride which was nice. even though my weight is up it seems my strength is up as well. hope to do more weekend rides but know a lot of time remains on the trainer. ride;

t-1:26:00
d-26.5
as-19.1
ms-?*

*forgot to reset the odometer

january 5, 2007

2008-01-05T11:24:00.001-08:00

went out for the first ride of 2008. wasnt 100% sure where to head but eventually did the muffin ride(without buying any muffins) and then a climb up long hill. had a nice strong finish that was motivating for my goals. hooked up with an older rider in the beginning of the ride but eventually he fell back and ended up going solo the rest of the way. didnt see any other riders today until going up long hill. surprised since it wasnt extremely cold. but it still was a chilly 42 although the winds were calm. took a good approach to eating this morning and am trying out my new recovery food. had coffee and half a granola bar before taking off. then came back and ate my normal breakfast of oatmeal with raisins and walnuts. think it is going to help to control my raging hunger and appetite that has been troubling me lately. anyway, hope to get out tomorrow as well for a little lighter ride. maybe mike will come along. ride;

t-1:44:21
d-31.10
as-17.9
ms-39.5

january 1, 2008

2008-01-01T18:17:00.000-08:00

goals for 2008

-win the century time trial
-do two centuries
-commute to work at least 2 days a week in the summer(new job that is further away and now i have a car)
-get licensed and enter 1 race (at least)
-climb above 1000ft starting from home(79ft)
-climb mount washington
-raise enough money to earn me jerseys at my charity events
-climb summit rd
-ride the century time trial in under 18:00

more to come!

december 31, 2007

2007-12-31T12:49:00.000-08:00

went out for the last ride of the year after getting out of work early today. figured i would get in a few more miles and burn some calories for the eating that would take place later tonight. headed out with the wind blowing pretty hard. decided on my way home that a good way to end the year would be to climb zion. despite being cold and the wind making the ride tiring my climb up zion impressed me. big wheel second gear. this was a gear that during the summer i was shocked that my legs could get the pedals around in. just shows me how far ive developed this year.

great year though. did a lot of tours, raised a good amount of money, accomplished all my goals, and did more miles than i originally wanted to by far. dont know what moment was my favorite but giving a quick thought id say getting to the top of warrenville rd and screaming "fuck you!!" as if the hill had personally offended me the year before when i had to walk up it. another moment was my exploding during my last time trial for century in the summer. something came out of me that day that i cant wait to build on. and another moment was sitting in the field at the rest stop during the covered bridges ride then at the end laying in the parking lot with mike and ed.

great ride, great year. ride;

t-1:06:00
d-19.87
as-18.1
ms-38.6

2007 miles ridden - 2952.36

december 29, 2007

2007-12-30T15:28:00.001-08:00

went for a nice ride this afternoon. did a nice loop around the course century uses in the summer. was glad to see the bridge was open since it had been closed since august. despite being under the weather the past few days since christmas i put out a good effort. didnt want to go to hard to cause my headcold to return. but after the ride i felt good. looking forward to jan 1 tt. hopefully the weather is nice and not too cold. ride;

t-1:13:50
d-22.31
as-18.1
ms-35.6

december 25, 2007

2007-12-26T15:36:00.001-08:00

spent the morning eating pancakes and lounging around. after getting some bike gifts i knew going out for a christmas ride was needed. headed out and did a nice hard pace ride. my odometer (gift :) was telling me my speed was fast and it suprised me. not sure if it is running high or if my speed was that fast! hopefully it was the true! eventually got home and felt good. also got a balaclava that worked great. kept my head, ears, and neck warm.

century has a time trial on new years day that im going to attend. its 15 miles that i hope to do well in. looking forward to it. ride;

d-14.84
t-46:01
as-19.3
ms-31.2

december 22, 2007

2007-12-22T11:50:00.000-08:00

been a month since ive ridden outside. started a new job and no longer have off during the week. with the short days that keeps my to riding on the weekends only or hitting the trainer. took me a couple weeks to get started since leaving sbux but eventually hooked the trainer up. decided that the best thing for me to do on it would be interval training. sit it in my room with no music, no tv, just a clock. this way my distractions were limited. so far its been going good just want to keep it up.

my eating habits have still been poor and not commuting to work has also slowed me down a bit. but with the new year a week away that is going to change (everyones favorite line). so today i headed out and wanted to put some miles up to add to 2007. road around with hope of heading up hollow rd but got a little mixed up and just went down 518 to canal rd. alaong the way paired with another rider who pulled and didnt seem to want to be pulled. whatever, the short break from the wind resistance was nice and helped me to finish my ride strong. ride;

d-29

november 22, 2007

2007-11-22T08:46:00.000-08:00

went out solo this morning. there was a chance mike would ride along and even that a century rider would join in too. but neither happened. didnt end up making a difference and even may have been better for me. went at it hard this morning doing a good effort for most of the ride. even felt as if i was in a time trial state of mind at times. havent kept my legs churning at that hard an effort in a long time. for the last 2/3 of the ride i was in a very high gear and slow cadence. just like when time trialling. being that my effort was far above what i expected out of myself it made me think of what made the difference in my ride today than other days. for starters it was warmer out today. riding on the trainer yesterday was a good tune up for today. and recently been doing a couple gym visits but havent gotten into a rhythm yet. could it be that cytomax makes a difference!? most of my rides lately my bottles have been filled with plain water. this time i chose to do 1 water, 1 cytomax. all those things added to a difference. but the psychological difference in drinking cytomax may help me in the future. especially during the long winter.

now to reverse my effort by gorging on a thanksgiving meal! ride;

d-26.6

november 20, 2007

2007-11-21T13:30:00.000-08:00

did a nice hour on the trainer. some good intervals. and some good climbing simulations. i hate the trainer though. hopefully i get out tomorrow.

november 17, 2007

2007-11-18T06:26:00.001-08:00

did a nice ride today that mike came along for. had about an hours worth of riding before mike joined me. by that time my legs were warmed up and i had done a few sprints. but the cold can suck the energy out you. a half hour into riding with mike my toes were coooooold!! this is something that need to be taken care of. either purchasing better booties or possibly getting hand warmers to put on my feet is going to need to be done. this will ensure my riding comfortably through the winter. ride;

d-51.6

november 14, 2007

2007-11-14T11:02:00.000-08:00

got out today despite the nasty weather. wasnt raining but there was a mist in the air and the temps were in the high 40s. stayed off the bike the past few days so to not burn myself out. went hiking on monday and ended up seeing a bear! after that my nerves wound up getting me lost. so im in the woods about 2 to 3 miles into the trail and there is a bear walking around the area! pretty scary stuff. had to call the local police for some help which wound up being the best idea. they located me via gps. after a few attempts to sound a siren from a squad car in the parking lot they told me to head towards the trucks i could hear from the 3M plant. headed that way and found the trail in a couple minutes. after that i headed out of there fast that bear had me spooked.

so, i think straying away from the bike wasnt a good idea! todays ride was a reminder of that. did a nice ride up zion and around neshanic station. did a good effort and wound up riding for a little more than an hour. felt good to get out. the past couple days have been long. getting cold in the house and am not really up to much. cycling is going to be the answer. ride;

d-18.8

november 11, 2007

2007-11-11T13:43:00.000-08:00

short hard effort today. did a small loop right before sundown. wanted to ride today but am still with my laziness battles. going out to play a round of disc golf got me inspired and i shot out right after getting home. ended up having a nice ride and tried out the leg warmers as well. id say they would be good down to 45ish before having to switch to the amfibs. but overall today was a good ride. not as long as i hoped but still nice. ride;

d-8.7

november 10, 2007

2007-11-10T12:47:00.000-08:00

took a nice long ride today. went out solo but it took some effort to get out the door. was going to wear the new leg warmers but after thinking twice i chose my amfibs. it ended up being the right choice with temps in the low 40s. not sure how much ive lost since gaining weight and not riding but overall i felt pretty good. headed down 601 towards 518. this was a nice stretch. had a subtly tail wind which made warming up much easier. after getting on 518 headed towards canal rd. saw another rider who ignored me after making an attempt at saying hi. this bugs me. part of me wants to just give up saying hi but i know its not the right thing to do. another thing, no helmet! why do people take this risk! oh well.

did the climb up 518 then got on canal rd. found the formula for figuring out the grade of hills.

grade = feet climbed/feet ridden. then move the decimal point two places to the right. so this climb is a 3.5% grade! woo! headed down canal rd and did two decent pace intervals. then back down 514 and home. great ride even though it was chilly it felt good to get out. ride;

d-30.2

november 9, 2007

2007-11-09T17:34:00.000-08:00

havent ridden at all. been to the gym twice today being the most productive trip. picked up leg warmers and a new pair of bottle cages for the scott. that should motivate me to get out and ride. if the rain holds off tomorrow i plan on going for a short nice ride.

october 31, 2007

2007-11-02T19:09:00.000-07:00

went out with mike today on the last of the month. we did a nice loop around the area. pretty windy out but it was great weather and the temps were high for this time of year. thats been the theme of the fall so far, warm. anyway, despite not riding and gaining weight and also eating like shit i felt pretty good! which is a good sign. just need to be better focused. and the focus seems to be lacking.

the ride was really nice though. rolled around a few areas where i had no idea where we were. did a sprint or two and did a nice intensity interval. was happy with this ride. although this month my miles have gone down id say the quality of my rides have been great. looking forward to november! ride;

d-25.6

monthly mile mark - 2730.44

october 28, 2007

2007-10-28T10:31:00.000-07:00

rode with mike yesterday. got out in the late morning into early afternoon. very windy and a little on the chilly side when the sun was behind the clouds. no having leg warmers was felt yesterday but it didnt hold me back. after meeting up we went up hollow and headed out west. while riding into the wind we were only going 15mph! and with the wind at our backs it was 25mph! big difference a 20 mph wind gust can make. did some hard peddling in the last 3 or 4 miles. my hamstring felt ok but didnt want to mess with it. im glad i got out. felt like a month or two since my last ride. hopefully this turns me around. ride;

d-26.8

october 25, 2007

2007-10-25T17:43:00.000-07:00

have been lazy lately. eating WAY too much which has ended up with me putting on some weight. that, having a slightly sore hamstring, and feeling like i work every day has equated to me not riding at all. want to get out in the next few days but it is supposed to rain. best bet for me would be to head to the Y to get in some weights or do the stairmaster. think once i start a routine there it will be easy to continue. maybe ill head over in the morning.

october 22, 2007

2007-10-22T06:07:00.000-07:00

had to ride home from dropping off the truck.

d-6.2

october 21, 2007

2007-10-21T10:10:00.000-07:00

great day outside today. i would not be a cyclist if i let this day go by without getting on the bike. 70 degrees, 46% humidity, and not a cloud in the sky. wanted to get in a good hard effort but didnt have a lot of time. terry and i are going to try and split as much wood as we can. went out and basically did a lite tt like effort. but halfway through hit a pot hole and my water bottle popped out then rolled down into a sewer! who does that happen to?! so the rest of the ride was waterless. put in a good effort though and did some short sprints at the end.

feel good. this week is going to be a turn around. have to get focused and be disciplined. ride;

d-15.3
?
?
?

october 18, 2007

2007-10-18T16:55:00.000-07:00

went out for a good ride after work. felt like i could have ridden a little harder had i warmed up correctly. after about 10 minutes had a flat which helped me cool down and warm up again. this was only the second flat ive had on the scott all year. anyway. went up long hill which felt pretty good. then did a fast loop around my short tt route. ride;

d-24.4*
?
?
?

*add 2.6 for ride into work.

total ride miles-27

october 14, 2007

2007-10-14T18:20:00.000-07:00

covered bridges ride was today. 63 miles around bucks county, pa. man this was a great ride. woke up before the sun rose and headed to mikes to meet up with him and ed. had about an hour drive there to drink some coffee and have a lite breakfast in the car; banana and a organic cereal and yogurt bar.

ride started very nicely. we spun slowly while the road climbed a little bit. but that was a sign of what was instore! 4000 overall feet of climbing! more than i have done ever. like going up zion 8 times in one day. this was a ride i definitely felt in the legs. thankfully the rest stops were great and allowed me a chance to relax off the bike and get some needed carbs.

although we only stopped at the mid way rest stop it was all we needed. not like the normal energy bars and gatorade these stops had great stuff. boiled red potatoes with salt and butter, home made cookies in all varieties, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, bananas, and other things as well. after having some potatoes half a pbj sandwich and an awesome peanut butter cookie i just sat in the middle of the field of the rest stop. since the ride was on the colder side it felt so nice just to sit there in the sun. did that for about 10 minutes until we were ready to ride.

the last half of the ride didnt have as much of the severe climbing as the first but it still had its share of hills. after hitting a flat with about 20 miles to go another rider zipped past me which suprised me. even though there were alot of good riders on the ride i hadnt seen someone with that 'next level' of riding. this guy hit a hill though and it allowed me to catch up. we played catch to each other back and forth and then finally i just sat in on his wheel and let him know i was there. too bad mike and ed werent along for the last 20 miles cause we went crazy! introduced ourselves and then we hammered. passed a bunch of riders and just were really aggressive. im glad todd and i rode together since i wouldnt have pushed myself as hard if we handt.

one of my favorite moments of the ride came with about 10 miles left. todd and i were making our run and then a biker gang of about 20 guys came into the road. since the roads were narrow and had alot of turns it didnt allow them to pass us right away. we ended up riding within the bike gang line for about 5-10 minutes! we could hear their radios and they just hung out with us. it was odd but nice to see how everyone on this ride, even the motorists, had patients towards each other. felt nice.

after the ride was over, which seemed to come up rather quickly. i hung out in the parking lot/park for a while waiting for mike and ed. while i waited a crc member recognized my jersey and we chatted. mike and ed rolled up and we just relaxed for a while before getting our finish line meal. we just all took turns laying down on our backs with our legs and arms sprawled out warming up in the sun. felt soooooo nice. we went over and picked up our lunch. kielbasi with sauerkraut, relish, peppers and mustard, cole claw, baked beans, pickled hot peppers, and carrots. then desert of cookies and peppermint patties. mike bought some beer and we all just sat in the field and had our lunch.

this was just an awesome ride. the food, the other riders, the course, everything. was a nice way to start the fall. ride;

d-63
t-4:10*

*im guessing this based off of mikes time.

check out this ride profile off of the central bucks bike club. it shows the evelvations...

october 10, 2007

2007-10-10T16:53:00.001-07:00

was going to stay at work longer today to pick up some hours. decided it was so nice out and i hadnt ridden in a while that i would leave and ride. headed towards the crc summer course. figured i would do a loop then head home for around 20 miles. on the way one of the club members was leaving their house and eventually we hooked up after coming to a closed road. he is one of the higher riders in the club. wins tt's now and then and i know he is in the higher group during the rr's. talked cycling and did a fast paced ride. definitely glad i ran into him. know riding with him made me push myself harder. ride;

d-22.4
?
?
?

october 7, 2007

2007-10-07T12:17:00.000-07:00

went for a good ride today. had plans to go up towards liberty corner taking a new route. after about an hour though i forgot the route number i needed to take. ended up heading to round valley but found a great climb route that never knew existed. actually ended up climbing over 600 feet for the first time. pretty neat :) went around the reservoir then chose to go to route 22 instead of turning back right away. ended up just riding down 22 for a while then turning off onto route 523. 523 was the road i originally wanted to take. would have been a very challenging ride which now is a goal for me to do this year.

headed back down dreahook and spun really hard. i was somewhat surprised how hard i went on the way home. maybe my rides to work this week are making a difference. been tt'ing to work and back each day and throwing in sprints as well.

but todays ride was nice. did a nice amount of miles and was out for just over 2 hours. ride;

d-37
?
?
?

october 2, 2007

2007-10-03T20:14:00.000-07:00

went out in the morning before work. did a nice little ride that had a small climb section. hollow rd is a good choice when i want to climb but have put out a hard effort recently. ride took around an hour. felt good to get out in the morning. just hard for me sometimes. ride;

d-18.7

september 30, 2007

2007-09-30T19:31:00.000-07:00

rode to staceys house.

d-8.7

monthly mile mark - 2488.44