Vacation training #2: leg exercise.

In keeping with my on-going theme of not actually writing about training on a bike (Honestly forty mile training rides in the cancer chariot’s saddle are fairly uninteresting…. “Hey look it’s a squirrel!”), I’m going to let you in on a great Mt. Desert Island, Maine secret. The Perpendicular Trail on Mansell Mt. Great opportunity to get some good views, get some good hiking, and test your hyperventilation skills. It’s actually a perfect opportunity for quad and calf conditioning, because it’s straight up a mountain. Seriously. Its takes an almost direct route from the base of the mountain perpendicularly up to the summit. Follow the catchy trail name, now? Johnny Rockefeller figured it was a good use of manpower to enlist plebeians to quarry, shape, and place 1,000 granite steps on the side of an understated mountain. Good for him, and me, that he didn’t have anything better to do with his money. 950' of elevation in 1 mile. That's nearly 80 degrees. Straight up.

Base                                                                           Mid trail                                                                               Summit

This guy actually mapped the hike and denoted where his pictures were taken. Pretty nifty. I don't know who he, or Anna is, but technology lets me steal his link off the interweb.

Training continues. As does fundraising. Want to help? Support me here. I promise to write about cycling next time. Or at least cancer.

Training continues... blogging, not so much.

I have been training. I haven't been writing about it. I guess that's better than visa versa, right?

We spent some time on vacation a couple weeks ago and despite renting a mountain bike one day and doing some unintended hill climbs (wife was not happy with my choice of trails) I ddint spend much time in the saddle. However, with the holistic approach of just getting some exercise, I did pretty well.

In the name of keeping with family tradition, I was nominated to carry back a collection of rocks we found on a relatively isolated beach.

Fine, load me up like your own personal pack horse so I can help deface a national park. Being 25 pounds heavier, I slightly lag behind the group headed home. As their pack horse, I decide to canter to catch up. What the hay… Ill just keep going. After a half mile jog on a wooded path, laden with 25 extra pounds of contraband, I come to the trail head, sweaty and with a small flesh wound on my leg. Helga and Klaus (dramatic license), the German tourists, who I run into look horrified. Whether it is the blood, the amount of sweat a slight man could generate, or the idea of them having to do whatever I just did to see the National Park icon we are neighboring, the expression quickly dissipates when, through my best international sign language, I direct them towards the correct tourist path.

Vacation training: check.

I’m almost to my personal fundraising goal. Help me out and put some cash towards my efforts and towards cancer research here.

Fashion Forward

My company has graciously designed and produced cycling attire for our entire team. Unfortunately the team uniform is the traditional form-fitting, lycra, bike shorts and jerseys. I'm so excited to have my fellow employees, who I try to maintain a “mostly business” relationship with, see the crevasses and lumps of my chiseled form in HD, 3D detail. Fantastic.

Don't fret though, I did choose Option B in the shorts. Cycling bib shorts have always too closely resembled olde tyme, World's Fair weight lifters, for my taste. I don't have the genes to grow a handle bar mustache. Further, no one needs to see my body hair harvest. No one.

Your support will help me get over my embarrasment of wearing these things. At least at that point I will be doing it for a good cause rather than just to shdisplay my bod. Donate here.

I was pretty sure I was a badass.

Being several weeks into my cycling career I was pretty sure I was a natural, destined for road race glory. I was going to rival Lance. I've got the Big C story. I'm a cycling animal. The yellow jersey was in my sight. Then two things happened. First, I rode with some in-shape, competitive people. They totally dusted me. I saw them as we clipped in and started off and then only saw this:

Notice you can't even see the people I'm trailing.

Secondly, the Tour de France started this week. As with all honed athletes, studying video is imperative. I've been watching to note strategy, body geometry, gear, learn the lingo, etc. Unfortunately those guys are entirely not human so my point of comparison quickly vanished. Consider some of these stats from "You versus the Peloton":

• Average speed on flat terrain: 17–18 mph (you); 25–28 mph (pro rider) 
• Average speed on mountainous terrain: 9–10 mph (you); 21–25 mph (pro) 
• Estimated average watts at threshold: 170–220 (you); 405–450 (pro) 
• Miles ridden in a week: 75–140 (you); 700–800 (pro) 
• Calories consumed on a ride: 200–450 (you); 4,000–5,000 (pro) 
• Bottles of water consumed (three-hour ride): 2–3 (you); 4–20 (pro) 
• Hours of riding on a rest day: 0 (you); 2–3 (pro) 
• Hours of sleep a week: 40–50 (you); 70 (pro) 

They go 25 miles per hour. Up. The freakin' alps?! I must give myself some credit though. I could totally take on any one of those bike geeks in the hours of sleep per week category.

Considering I'm not going to be participating in the Tour de France 2013, help me at least be a badass in raising money for cancer research and give support here.

Hazards of Cycling: Wildlife

A few weeks ago a fellow employee who is on my Pelotonia team hit a gofer. While biking. Somewhat entertaining to consider, but understand he was going 18 mph and the gopher was supersized. It totaled his bike and he, in turn, totaled the gopher. Due to him being clipped in to his petals he spent a night in the hospital after going over the handlebars and detaching himself from the bike that, at that point, had a somewhat lucid, super pissed, supersized gopher, entangled in it. I bring this up because I thought it was ridiculous that 1) he didn't slow down when he saw a supersized gopher wandering about a bike trail and 2) he couldn't manage to miss it. However, I submit two pieces of evidence taken on a ride earlier this week with Eve and another fellow employee, that suggest I was wrong to judge him so quickly. He still should have slowed down.

Yeah. That's the bike path. Geese hiss and are apparently unhappy with their lot in life. 

That is a beaver. The size of a Labrador. Seriously.

Help support my ride, raising funds for cancer research. The beaver and patients everywhere will love you unconditionally. The geese will likely still hiss at you.

Motivation as Training

This past weekend, we engaged in a holistic training approach. I decided rather than spend time on an actual bike seat, I would harvest my inner motivation on why I value the Pelotonia (aside from the butt-load of money that is being raised… pun intended). This secondary motivation is exercise, regaining a better fitness level, and undoing 3 years of dietary debauchery in New Orleans. So we went to the beach. There may be nothing better than seeing Middle America, frying in the sun, drinking “light” beers, lounging in outfits entirely unfit for their body types, as motivation to get some exercise. My focus is renewed. As a side note and one that I am not the original author of: Drinking a Big Gulp sized Coke Zero while stuffing your pie hole with pork rinds is not going to help you lose that “winter weight”.

Support my ride here. 100% of your donation will go towards cancer research. 0% will go towards pork rinds.

Training solution.

You know that time when you are just getting to sleep or just waking up? That's the time I have my most ingenious thoughts. Last night was no exception. I thought of a way to not have to train anymore. Or at least make the training more entertaining. Since it was raining sideways today, I decided to test it out. Any attorneys know the open container law for a bike?