Bike checkup day

Today both bikes got a bit of work done. The QRoo got the race wheels put back on along with a "K Guard" to prevent a dropped chain to the inside -- as I had last Saturday for the first time ever on this bike. I could probably blame poor shifting as I came too fast into a stop sign, but this small piece is good insurance for a race.

The Jamis road bike got the rear wheel trued up.

The QRoo rides inside the van, safely nestled between the front and middle seats. The Jamis rides behind the van, exposed, on the rack. I do feel a little bad about that inequity. 

Steve, owner of Just the Right Gear, and original owner of my QRoo, does great work and I just love his shop. It's simple and unassuming from the outside, but very well-stocked, organized, and full of collective wisdom. It doesn't matter what day of the week or time of day I am there, it's always a hub of activity. I just happened to snap the pictures without people in them.

Just the Right Gear was named a "Top 100 Bike Shop" by Bicycling Magazine last year and it's easy to see why.

I very much appreciate Steve's generosity and support of this race season!!

Attending to the QRoo

Sorry to leave you hanging out there, Jamis, I love you too!

Verifying his work with a quick spin on his old ride!

Family resemblance

The wind-induced "helmet mohawk" can't be very "aero".
Then again, it doesn't seem to slow Grant down.

Weekend workouts and season's firsts

This weekend provided a much-needed shakeup to the regular routine for both the family and the workouts. The kids' last day of school was Friday and we were all ready for a bit of a blowout. We enjoyed the elementary school spring festival Friday, a cookout at the new creekside neighborhood fire pit Saturday, a meetup at the New River Sunday, kids farmed out for sleepovers, and dinner with friends Monday. Thankfully the weather more than cooperated.

My normal eating habits got a shakeup too with some ummm "adult beverages" in the mix but I'm back on it today. Race day is looming with the local Salem super sprint on Sunday (300y pool swim, 15k bike, 5k run).

Workouts have been fresh and fun with lots of season's "firsts"  --

• Thursday - First double-brick of the season (ride-run-ride-run) with the second ride at sprint intensity and then "ripping" the first mile of the second run. I love that stuff -- wondering what you might have left at that point and then just digging in and leaving it all out there!
• Friday - First lap swimmer of the season at the outdoor pool. I know this because there were no lanes up initially, they had forgotten!!
• Saturday - Wilderness Road Ride.
• Sunday - Off day that turned into season's first swim in the New River with my 10-year-old. The river was pretty brisk and I was hesitant to go all the way in, but this is the kid that is good at "daring" me and then joining in. Together we swam/waded/dolphin dived upriver and down - twice - about 1200y total. It was one of those really special mom-and-son times, I sure do love my kids.
• Monday - First speed work on the track in probably a year (related to injury and risk). Intervals and speed work are typically built into my road runs but there is something very raw and exciting about a track workout. You can't blame terrain or elevation -- it's just your effort and toughness pitted against time. There is nothing like the track to make you feel like a serious runner -- and to make you appreciate just how fast a 4-minute mile really must be! I'm hovering just over 6 and would very much like to log a 6-minute mile (or sub) at some point.

Grant warming up in the sun after our second swim upriver (his third)

The rest of the week is a bit of a taper with a focus on stretching, nutrition, and rest. Have a great week everyone....and it's Tuesday already!!

Wilderness Road RIDE...not RACE

I rode the 58-mile Wilderness Road Ride for the third year in a row (write-ups from 2010 and 2011). It's cool to be to a point where I am doing races and rides for a third time, and I pretty much recalled the whole route and knew where I was for once. Conditions were perfect and the company was great!

My instructions on Training Peaks were "have fun, that is the only goal today." This was followed up by a more direct email that said "keep the ride social and fun tomorrow...it’s not a race."

Yes, yes, I know. It's a RIDE with convenient friendly refueling stops. This is one of the few times a year where I eat and enjoy peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, cut into four of those perfect little white bread triangles! YUM!

One of the PB&J stops!

I met up with friends Mark, Mike, and Tim for the ride. I did the best I could to not "race".  But who is not going to drop down a mountain as fast as they possibly can, or take advantage of a smooth and straight stretch of road to whoop it up a bit?  Plus we did a fair amount of talking (and smack talking, haha), so there's no possible way it could be "racing," right?

With 3000'+ of elevation change there were plenty of nice descents to enjoy. Here's the full Garmin map and data.

Tim and I turned out to be a pretty good match so we decided to push on and regroup at the support stops. (Mike was just coming off marathon training that ended with a fantastic Boston Marathon so his bike mileage hadn't been built up yet.) From mile 20 on Tim and I cruised about 19 mph and my average heart rate was still in the aerobic zone, so clearly, this was not "racing" -- but it sure was "fun"!

Me with Tim

At several points during the ride we passed by cemeteries, and spotted people placing wreaths and flowers for Memorial Day and my heart ached a bit.

The ride was safe and uneventful other than dropping my chain coming into a stop sign. Tim showed me a trick to use a stick to get the chain back on without getting grease all over my hands.

Mark is a character!!

I sure do love this ride that supports FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) and brings us through quaint little towns circling Claytor Lake - places like Snowville, Newberne, and Rogers. Mark is the Outdoors reporter for the Roanoke Times so he knows a lot about the area (see Mark Taylor's Wild Life) and he shared stories of a 10-day cycling and canoeing trip through the area, and the poor town of Rogers that got dropped off of the map! We sure are fortunate to live in such a beautiful region that offers so much in the way of outdoor activities with rivers, lakes, mountains, and valleys.

Have a great Memorial Day weekend everyone...a time to remember those who have died in service to our country.

My one-of-a-kind cycling jersey

Look what came in the mail today!!

This is quite a departure for me. All my other cycling jerseys (total=3) are very plain (unlike my running shoes). This is my first one that says stuff! And cool stuff -- with my sponsor logo and some customization on the sleeve. Can you read what it says??

Hopefully folks will see this and think about pedal power AND sustainable energy options...we've got to drastically slow down the rate at which we are using coal, oil, and natural gas. I'll spare the diatribe, but it's scary, getting harder to ignore, and politicians and lobbyists are screwing us over.

Solar Connexion was ahead of its time, launching its solar energy contracting business over 20 years ago.