Not posting often

Just trying to work (keep my job) and ride every chance I get. Seems that's about all I do these days. Email at 5:30 am and calls at 9:30 pm. I am not complaining! Too many good people I know have been laid off, RIF'd, let go, whatever you want to call it.

Yesterday was sinfully beautiful for February, low 60s and sunny!. I took a long lunch and rode to Iroquois, climbed the hill and back for 19 miles. What a fantastic way to get invigorated for the afternoon! Work, well I need to find a way to be more productive and get some enjoyment back. Today I drove to Oli's and we rode through the parks to River Road and did hill repeats on Indian Hills. Good stuff! She even complimented me on my sprinting ability. But I still suk big time on hills! So much work to do there.

We went to Shenanigan's for food and beer. Met up with a couple of ladies that are triathletes. I'm so much older than these guys, but it is refreshing to be around people of all ages and from different walks of life. Keeps everything so much more interesting.

Gonna get cooler and maybe snow flurries on Sat morning. It is still February! Time changes in a week. More daylight after work hours to get my workouts on the road!

Such a dunce in personal matters. Anything I try to say in explanation sounds pathetic. Leave it be

Training

A friend lent me his copy of "The cyclist's Training Bible". Good stuff so far, but I've only scratched the surface. Get plenty of rest and take a nap each workout day. No problem, got that down pat! Starting to realise a few things. Wonder about other ones.

Very tired of my ribs still hurting. Each time I inhale my Advair they pull and sting. I can't lay on my left side comfortably.

I rode the trainer today, rain didn't come til mid afternoon. Should not have listened to the weather guys. But saved drive time and think all in all worked out for best.

First race in 3 weeks. Wonder how far I will go in 30 minutes? I need to ride some hills! sigh

It's not enough

I got my racing license last night from USA Cycling. I'm on a team. I've been training and riding 5 or 6 days a week. I got an overall plan from a friend right at a month ago that made me gulp big time. 250 miles a week. But had a few conversations helping me understand that I need to build to that amount.

I'm nervous. I've raced once and that was in September against women my age or older. The first race is March 14 and I will most likely be the oldest in the field. Seems I've not been putting in enough mileage, time, effort. I crashed a little over 3 weeks ago, but shouldn't let that be an excuse. I have so much work to do. We'll see what happens

So the 3-hour ride wasn't a total bust

But it wasn't 3 hours either. We met at 8 am at Seneca bathrooms. There were 7 of us. Headed out to Massey and Blankenbaker for points east. They were hammering from the start, hitting 20 mph with no warm-up. I'd drop and then catch up at a light or down-hill. I have no problem pouring it on downhill and passing on the left. I knew before we hit Blankenbaker I wasn't going to hang. B was going to hang with me, but I said go. I am not going to mess up someone else's workout, I'm a big girl. Once we hit River Road I grabbed onto B's wheel and was fine til Glenview, but my thighs were lead. I motioned and pulled left and off. They said grab back on, but I just didn't have it. I rode to Harrod's creek bridge solo. By that time my legs finally warmed up and my thighs weren't feeling quite so heavy. I came back River Road and took Glenview through St. Matthews and back to Seneca where I looped the field a few times for some easy mileage. My cyclometer has decided it doesn't like temps below 30, actually I think it's the battery. So I didn't get a good reading on mileage at all and forgot to check the HR monitor too!

I laid back in the car and listened to music and tried to warm up. A couple of the cyclists came back by and tapped on the window. Asked if I wanted to join them, but I'd already pulled off my wet clothes and was finally getting warm. Made plans for lunch so while they continued I went to Heine Bro for hot chocolate. More warmth!

Spent a lazy afternoon, lunch, shower, nap. Then went to a cycling bud's home for a wine tasting party. What a great time! Met some new people and chatted with several of the cyclists I've just met and have been riding with. My world is growing again. There are so many good and interesting and funny people out there!

Today was holiday, so no work. Well almost no work. Still put in about 2.5 hours and had a thirty minute call with Australia tonight. I finally wrapped up and took my bike to Long Run park. This is where the first race is going to be. I should spend next weekend riding and riding and riding it to get stronger. I got in 3 laps and the noise my bike was making was driving me crazy! So, I put it on the car and drove it to Clarksville Schwin. They said the rear derailleur was out of alignment, the chain was worn out (original) and suggested a new cassette, too. I waited while they worked and then they came and said the rear brake pads were worn out. Glad I took it in and they could get to it.

Tomorrow, back to work and then Trainer Tours! I have so much to do to get ready for this race. I need to do hill repeats in the worst way!!!!!!

What a great ride

Still lots to learn as I go. Rode with new Rogue team members, et all. Route changed at breakfast. Oli fed us very well with biscuits, sausage, bacon, eggs, freshly roasted ground coffee. YUM! Rode to JMF, first time I'd been in the forest, though I've been to Blevin's Gap. Mitchell hill kicked my butt. But it is the easiest of all of them out there. They were planning on riding Pendleton, but the ice and wind storms wreaked havoc and trees were down and the hill/road was closed. I was going to wait for them.

Wound up with 50 total miles. Rode the last hour alone as the rest wanted to do Iroquois. I was wiped and still had an hour to get back. Would've been faster with them, but I didn't want to stop that long and get cold.

8am tomorrow for 3 hours. Then a party tomorrow late afternoon. Always something going on it seems.

What a week!

Saturday night was a blast and I didn't get in til 1 am. That's late for this old lady! Good music, tastey beer and great company with fellow cyclists/musicians. Sunday morning was with Mom. I called her while driving to pick her up and take her to church. That's when she said that she wasn't going to church, but would go to the store instead. That's my Mom for ya.

I rode the Heine Bros ride in shorts and short sleeves, it got to mid 60s. It was zero last week! Had a good ride, but after 50 on Sat, and being off the bike so much with my rib I just didn't have the juice to hang. Stayed with the faster boys til Jefferson, but they dropped my a$$.

I had a call on Sunday and Monday night for work. My Tuesday started at 7 am for a 3 hour call that lasted 4 hours and 15 minutes. It was tough, but one of the better calls I've ever had. We accomplished quite a bit.

My boss has been in town all week. I have a 8am meeting with him in the morning one on one. Then will be together til 1:00 except for an hour. This has been a long week and it's only Wednesday. I'm so glad that this will be a 3-day weekend for me. I will ride whether it's outside or indoors. There are 4 weeks to the first race of the season and I'm not feeling ready.

Rogue Racing Project 502

Fellow cyclist, Oli had this idea of forming a new team for cyclists. She started talking to people, several of us got together in early January. One of the guys had this nice presentation and idea all ready to go. Several weeks have passed and the logo is ready. Several of the women met for dinner and beers last night. I only knew two, but met 5 more. All totally cool ladies. All significantly younger in age.

Tomorrow I will ride with several members, both men and women. I'm nervous as I'm still working on speed, skills, etc. Most of these guys having been riding for years and have raced for years. We getting together for breakfast and then riding. My ribs are still sore at times. So I'm hoping the adrenaline kicks in and I can stay with the rest of the group.

Tomorrow night one of my cycling buds is playing out with his band. Hope to meet up with several friends and rock.

The temps got to 58F today and 60s tomorrow. I took my car to the carwash and sprayed it down. It needs a good wash, but with the bike on the car will have to settle for the rinse.

Back to normal? What is normal?

I had a fantastic day on Sunday. It warmed enough to get out and ride with the fast boys. The temps were high 40s and most of the roads were just wet. There was quite a lot of slush still in Cherokee park and some places still a couple of inches of slush where you couldn't find any pavement for your tires to ride on. I got dropped on Jefferson early, but caught back up to them and hung until 4th street. Then they took off, I sprinted and kept them in sight all the way back to turning onto Brook on Market, but I'm just not fast enough. It was a fun ride, spray and mud in my face for the first 8 miles anyway.

Most people have their power back, with several exceptiions.The temps dropped all week, this morning they said it was 9F, but my car read 0F. The trainer tours got cancelled due to the church losing power. I've ridden my trainer, but ribs still have a tender spot and have difficulty standing in the pedals and working hard on intervals.

Last night I went to watch the Roller Race Championships. Talk about fun times!. Everyone asked where my bike was and I said I'd never ridden rollers before. But then discovered that several of the racers were novices and still raced. They had spotters holding them on the rollers while they spun like mad. Met several new people and learned a few new things, too.

I'm excited about going to Oli's after work for a spin session. I am hoping I can get the interval work going, I need to work these legs and sweat. Afterwards we are joining some other girls for bison burgers and beer at Cumberland Brews. Temps are going up for the weekend and I am going to get some road miles, rain or shine!