Wednesday April 25th

My legs, although they seem to have a pound of acid in them, feel okay. The knots have calmed down although it doesn't feel 100%. I will drink a ton and get my legs massaged again tonight.

Tuesday April 24

Tuesday April 24

Road ride - Pink Lake / Camp Fortune loop
Average speed 27km
Max Speed 67km
Distance: 55km
cadence --
watt --- avg
approx --:-- mins

What can I say - this was the hardest ride of the year and probably the most fun. It was hard because of the usual pain I have with riding right now, hills. Adding to the difficulty of those hills were a group of really good riders pushing up the hills. Pink Lake was slow for me this time. I started out at around 17km/hr but by the top I was reduced to a measley 14km/hr. I was sort of pissed at that. That climb left some burn in my legs - enough to make the next few climbs painful. It was when we arrived at the base of the Fortune climb, that I was able to remove the pain from my mind. I still hurt a lot, but metally I just ignored the pain. I was fairly happy with my climb. I have to say though the best part of the ride was when Candace, Mark and myself settled in, we were actually riding pretty well and working together really well. I should have been on the front a bit mre, but in order to survive the pace we were going, I needed to be cautious about how many times I took to the front. I did, but I should have been working more.
It was fun because of the people that I rode with. They are all such fabulous riders and very supportive.

On my way home the cramping I ended up with on Sunday, came back to haunt me. I lost the use of my left leg for a couple of kms. Strange as I drank approx. 20 water bottles since Sunday. I had a massage and noticed that I had two golf ball sized knots in both of my quads. Ouch. It really hurt having them being worked on by a couple of hands.

Sunday april 22

Sunday April 22

Mountain bike ride
Kanata Lakes
Average speed --km
Max Speed --km
Distance: 2.5 hours
cadence --
watt --- avg
approx --:-- mins

Fantabulous! After deciding against riding the Roubaix for slightly political reasons - I decided to gather up a clan to hit the trails. We were all a little skeptical about how the conditions would be but I was shocked at how fantastic they were. I can honestly say perfect. No bugs, the ground was dry but not dusty and there were only few swampy areas.

We were all conscious of wanting to to an easy ride, so we did.

Saturday april 21

Sunday April 21

Road ride
Pink Lake / Camp Fortune
Average speed 26km
Max Speed 62km
Distance: 38km
cadence --
watt --- avg
approx --:-- mins

Another glorious day which allowed me to strip down into my summer frock.
The ride started well including Pink Lake climb - I managed to keep an even 16km with peaks into the 16.5 area.

Right after this climb, I tend to forget that there are a couple more climbs and I tend to lose my focus on these. I need to start focusing more on these hill as much as I do on the pink lake climb.

The finish was great, mainly because it was flat. I felt strong and not tired at the end of the ride.

training route - Thanks Rodd

change of scenery

Wednesday April 18th

Wednesday April 18

Road ride
Pink Lake / Camp Fortune
Average speed 25km
Max Speed 62km
Distance: 46
cadence --
watt --- avg
approx --:-- mins

It was a glorious night for riding. The best day so far this year. Sunny and around 14 degrees.
Overall it was a mixed ride and hard to explain. The pace was slightly faster then I am used to so it hurt more on the hills.
This is due to not having a great fitness level and to being 20 pounds over weight. I can see I am getting smaller in my legs and arms but I just cant lose the gut. I used to be a hill climber and mentally thats what still I am, but when I hit a hill, I get erratic, feel uncomfortable, and am really slow. I hate it. That hate drives me though. Once we reached the flats and rough sections in the road, I was happy to up the pace and felt very comfortable doing so. Near the end of the ride, I felt way better then the start, and I need to find out why. Was it food, warm up, does it take my mind time to get used to pain? Probably all of these examples and more.

It's time to get more consistent with my riding, focus my attention to those hills and weight loss. How does that tart Paris keep thin?

fat

I did not ride tusday night which makes me more fat then monday night. I lost some fat around my legs and arms, but not my belly. Oh how it grows.

Monday Spin

Monday April 17

Road ride

Average speed --km
Max Speed 66km
Distance: --
cadence 92
watt 202 avg
approx 45 mins

I just purchased a Tacx real life training video and was desparate to try it out. So I did.
Its way harder than the videogame part of the tacx. The hills really hurt as it felt much more like real life. I honestly was shocked. I was doing the Tour of Lombardy. I can't wait to get on it again. I have just purchased Alpe d'huez but it hasnt arrived yet. That should be nice and hard.

Saturday, April 14

Saturday, April 14
Road ride

Average speed --km
Max Speed --km
Distance: 45
cadence --
watt --- avg

The ride started out fairly well but I made the mistake of eating a delicious breakfast minutes before stretching into my lycra.
Once warmed up we began picking up the pace a bit but on the first basic climb I could feel those eggs trying to hatch inside me. I was struggleing to get a spin. THe faster I spun, the more cramping I had to endure. I was gobbling at my waterbottle to try and help with digestion but it was only adding to the side panel pains. We were getting nearer to the pink lake climb and I was slightly concerned. I was holding pace but Pink lake could be the decision maker on whether my ride would be a good one or bad. As I approached the hill, I was holding a reasonable pace at about 19km/hr but I just couldn't hold it. I ended up settling for about 15km which really pissed me off because it was my food that was holding me back. For the rest of the ride my spin was erratic. Fast and then slow and I was not super comfortable in the cockpit. Once we arrived at the turnaround spot I started feeling better. Although I was attacking every hill up to this point, I felt like wet, soiled bog roll. I continued to attack. I felt better afterall and that was cause for celebration.

Overall it was a mixed up ride. I was still leading the group and hiding the fact that I hurt badly, but continued to fight the pain and eventually won the battle. I will prepare better for tomorrows' ride.

Sunday Ride

Did 40km to the Alymer beach.
Mainly flat and he pace was very slow.
I felt good though and I feel my spin is getting more comfortable and natural.
Here are some pics from the day.

Fixed gear bike so far...

I spent all day stripping the frame down to its bare essentials. It literally took 5 hours. I think it looks beautiful now and if I could keep the polished look without it rusting I would, therefore I am now considering my paint options. I can spray it myself, o I can spend money on it. So far I have spent nothing on it but I will be building a nice set of wheels up maybe next weekend. I have some hoops which are Mavic cxp 33's which I will place on Shimano 105's from 1992.

Great weekend

Saturday I when out for a ride on a meandering and eventual loop which ended up being approx. 1:15 mins. Nice, easy and pleasant. Again my focus was purely on spinning. My speed was quite low.

Sunday was a pure result. I was out for a 45km ride including pink lake climb. I went out to Meech lake and back home. Again practicing my spinning, I upped my speed and power and was pleasently surprized by my fitness. As I went up Pink lake, I held back from ripping up and instead, decided to hold a steady pace. All the other hills I set the pace and tried to pull the entire time. I attacked 2 times on the group and was able to keep the distance. On the second attack, I counter attacked to help my recovery get stronger. I held my attack. I was happy. I truly believe that my weight has a lot to do with how I feel. I feel lighter in the pedals and have the energy to flick the bike around. My exeleration rate was much higher and the best part of everything was my concentration was high. I was able to focus for much longer periods of time. Mentally, I felt very positive.