44, 41, and 7....

Oh yes, another year older...
Late December is kind of a big birthday time on Penny Lane, not only do Don, Easton (my nephew), and I, all share the same birthday (the 30th). The Doc's son, Jarad, is on the 29th and Don's wife Dawn is on the 23rd.

It's a long running joke on the Lane that Don and I both had deprived childhoods and fell victim to having our birthday stuck in between Christmas and New Years...therefore we never experienced having a birthday party or a birthday cake for that matter. The Doc in an "honest" effort to rectify this injustice that we've been dealt produced the following birthday cake:

While there are those who may think the "Jeff & Don" banner was perhaps an afterthought and has an "added on" look...I'm not seeing it! It was a beautiful thing! THANKS DOC!

The week in review:

I've been off of work since noon Tuesday, and while I love my job, the last few days have reiterated how being independently wealthy and not having to work could be a cool thing.

Wednesday: Char and I did the Yousef route on River road, very windy but a good ride...as an added bonus (speaking of independently wealthy) we were passed by three Ferrari's and a Lamborghini Murcielago...VERY COOL! Made a quick run to the mall and hooked up with David, Amy and Ryan for a great visit and meal at India's. Unfortunately, due to the limitations of my camera phone and the low lighting of the restaurant, Ryan's first trip to India's will fade away into history as undocumented...

Thursday: Slept late, Short ride, went eat out with "most" of the family (19 of us) at Hymel's in convent, which was quite the experience. If you've been to Hymel's you know what I mean, if you haven't, I can't explain it.

Friday: Started my day at Alliance Therapy and treated myself to an hour massage from Laci...AWESOME! Hit the barbershop for a much needed haircut and then met Don, Doc and Ward for a birthday lunch at "The Big Burrito Place", my name, not theirs. Good food, Good company and Ward treated...what more can you ask for?

Saturday: projected RIDE...Any takers?

iFartlek...

OK...
As with all things cycling, I need look no further for inspiration than SuperDave. So needless to say when he mentioned his iFartlek training the other night on his blog it jumped to the top of my "Things to try" list.

Understand, my method was somewhat modified...for safety reasons I can't bring myself to ride on the open road with headphones. Admittedly it's arguable whether I'm actually safer because I'm more aware of my surrounding by not impeding my hearing, or just more naive for thinking that's the case...

Anyway, I digress...

My iFartlek session was done straight from itunes on my computer, in my study, while I put in some time on my rollers. Overall I liked it! I'm not a "huge" music fan but it did make the workout interesting and help the time pass. While I'm all for staying abreast of current events somehow riding rollers to Special Report w/Brit Hume on the Fox News Channel doesn't bring the workout to the same level. My one major complaint is the feeling that shuffle isn't random at all, but instead the itune gods F#cking with me. Something about riding recovery to Disease by Matchbox Twenty and then trying to push hard during an interval to Son of a son of a sailor by Jimmy Buffett just seemed real wrong. It stands to reason that this would happen from time to time, however, it seemed like a constant pattern. It was so bad I debated doing consecutive songs for interval or recovery to try and break the rhythm, but I knew this was exactly what the itune gods were trying to make me do so they could reverse the pattern and really get a good laugh. Therefore I never gave in! I just continued riding recovery to one great upbeat song after another while working hard on intervals to the likes of Simon and Garfunkel! I SHOWED THEM! :)

I'm totally new to this whole iworld but one small suggestion to the folks at Apple...it would be nice if you could flag all your songs as either upbeat or not and then on shuffle, have an option to not allow back to back play of the same "type" of song. Maybe there's no other reason for this logic but it would make the iFartlek concept a lot more appealing...

I guess the next best option is to design a playlist with alternating "types" of songs to accommodate the workout. No doubt this would work but I think the workout would lose something without the "random" unknown factor of what's coming up next.

Even with all my complaints...I Can't wait to do it again!

Char's PR!

Had a great Christmas day yesterday, even though it would have been a beautiful day for a ride and I didn't manage to get one in (hey, it was Christmas!). Had Char's family over during the day, Charlene baked an excellent ham while her brother and brother-in-law fried a killer turkey...throw in countless side-dishes and desserts and follow it up with my sisters Seafood Gumbo last night.... and I was in serious need of having to burn off some calories today.

Talked Char into attempting the Loop, which is about 70 miles...her longest ride thus far had been to the Mobil @ 74/30, which is about 53 miles. Char was a little hesitant but after riding so strong Saturday, I knew she was ready! I promised I would bring the pace down a notch or two and she would be fine, so she was game to give it a try. Left the house about 11:15 this morning, SAG'ed at the Mobil on the way out and Yousef on the way back, the weather was great, and she did awesome, 71.3 miles, a new PR! A JOB WELL DONE, I was very proud of her!

Not sure if it was our late start or what, however, only saw 5 other cyclist on River road...two people riding solo and a group of three... With such a pretty day and a so many people off of work...thought there would be more people out...who knows?

And then...there were Three!

Just got in from my mom's doing the family Christmas night and a good time was had by all, but it's been a long day. Having Char's family over for Christmas tomorrow so the last thing I need to be doing at the moment in blogging...however, saw that SuperDave's "Merry Christmas" post had a mention of the "grand G-town ride" so I figured I would give a quick recap.

It was going to be a beautiful thing...a good little 50 mile training ride that everyone was going to be able to make. Unbelievable, Waldon (not working on a Saturday), BBT in from Austin, Ward on the mend, Nixon "the new guy" coming out...It looked like we had a solid Eight.

SuperDave calls Friday evening and says he and BBT are out because of Christmas and spousal training conflicts...down to SIX!

Later Friday night Ward comes by to enjoy a few WAM's (Washington Apple Martini's) and leaves with a "I might make it, but don't wait on me"....down to Five!

We're all set for a 0900 hrs departure, 0730 hrs Waldon calls with a relapse on his stomach virus...down to Four!

0900 hrs - Me, Char, and Nixon are ready to roll, just waiting on the Doc...so I call to check on him...he's sleeping in...down to Three!

13 miles in, Nixon is hurting because he hasn't been able to ride much recently, so he heads in...down to TWO!

Weather was coming on quick so we decided to SAG at Yousef instead of the Mobil @ 74/30...still got caught by the rain on the way home. Not quite the ride I had envisioned but all and all still a good ride.

Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!

Stupid Human "training" tricks....(update)

From the world of hands free roller riding - in an attempt to fight the boredom of a super easy recovery ride this morning I decided to up the stakes. Therefore, I was attempting the hands-free, eyes-closed maneuver...not sure what I was thinking, probably a Star Wars flashback and I was trying to "feel the force" or something.

NO! I didn't go down, but lets just say it was plenty close enough to cancel any further attempts of this particular stunt.

On a more positive note...I've been dabbling with the "standing on the Swiss ball" workout. I've reached the point where I can go 10 minutes without going off. The concept of being able to do squats while on the ball is still very very distant. As a matter of fact, the effort reminds me of learning to ride rollers, it requires 100% concentration and pure focus, no looking around or watching T.V.

Weekend recap....

A good weekend, even though it consisted of much too much eating and not enough riding. Ended up skipping my roller work Friday that I had planned...thinking I would squeeze it in on Saturday, which didn't happen. It's the first time I skipped riding on consecutive days since I started back riding 9 weeks ago...figured the legs deserved a little break even though I've just been riding relatively easy base miles.

Really enjoyed the Christmas party at my mom's Saturday night but I'm afraid I didn't do real well at following all the good advice offered in the Carmichael article. Had a nice cycling contingent at the party and enough Cheaha horror stories were told to get everyone thinking about starting training for this May. Somehow Amy has pulled the hat trick and has produced a valid Cheaha excuse for the third year running.

Donna and Byron crashed at our house instead of making the drive back to Breaux Bridge in the rainy weather. We woke up, had a nice visit and Char cooked us a slamming breakfast. Donna and Byron were headed off Christmas shopping so it was at this point that I planned the perfect day (nap....bike ride...nap), which I almost pulled off. Caught a good nap and Char and I headed out about 1:00 to the Mobil at 30/74. So much for feeling good after a couple of days off, I was flat and pedaling squares and the wind was not cooperating so we decided to cut it a little short and just went as far as Yousef. Skipped the second nap and headed down the road to eat more of the party food, which I had already eaten too much of the night before....

On another note, if you haven't seen it yet, check out the following story written by a Cat 3 rider who had the opportunity to take a training ride with Discovery...pretty interesting...

TGIF...

Thank God it's Friday!
Friday's are always "all good", not only is there the weekend to look forward to...It's also, albeit unofficial, jean day at work...Which as far as I'm concerned...runs a close second to a 4 day work week. Not to mention the work week is ending on a high note. I finally got our Trend Micro (anti-virus and anti-spam software) renewed, updated and working properly. This means come Monday not only will I not have 300 junk emails in my Inbox, I'll also be spared additional emails from users who feel it necessary to give me a daily count on how many junk emails they've received.

Won't be riding tomorrow...I have a funeral in the morning for my Uncle Allen who lost a long battle with cancer and an open house Christmas party at my Mom's tomorrow night (kind-of a strange combination when you think about it). Anyway, judging by the forecast it's just as well that tomorrow is a no ride day...80% chance of rain, OUCH!

Sunday on the other hand looks much more promising, a little on the cold side - but dry. Even though I complain about the cold, as long as it's dry, I can deal with it. On the other hand, cold and wet, NO THANKS! Any takers?

Word Art!

SuperDave commenting that he should charge me for the quality of his most recent comment concerning Cheaha brought back fond memories of this truly classic email from Dave.

The following email was received from David shortly after I took possession of my moots...to date it remains the best description of how I feel about my ride....


i can only assume that no written report on the first ride of the
Moots means that it's ride is sublime beyond words

that to qualify the ride quality of your new steed with crude
collections of man-made scribblings would denotate emotions in a way
akin to perhaps cave paintings in primeval days

and to stoop so low as to explain the quality of this bicycle in mere
words would be wrong, nay a disgrace, an evil so heinous that it would
require you to make a pilgrimage on foot to Steamboat Springs, wearing
nothing but sack cloth and your cycling cleats to appease the gods who
bent down and lit the welding torch and guided the hand of the master
craftsman who produced this latest Robert ride

i understand

...

i know it must be the greatest ride of all time

-david

Holiday eating advice...Cheaha Countdown!

Found a link to the following Holiday eating advice from Chris Carmichael on thepaceline. Most of it is pretty straight forward and it all falls under the heading of "easier said than done", however, I figured a little review is good for all.

Speaking of reasons for eating right and keeping the weight down...as of this posting, The Cheaha Challenge is only 20 weeks, 3 days, and 17 hours away, while that may sound like a long time to some, those who have met the mountain know better!

Raised Security Levels -

Not sure of the origin...
Had the following emailed to me and thought it was pretty good.

The British are feeling the pinch in relation to recent bombings and
have raised their security level from "Miffed"
to "Peeved." Soon, though, security levels may be raised yet again to
"Irritated" or even "A Bit Cross." Londoners have not been "A Bit
Cross" since the blitz in 1940 when tea supplies all but ran out.
Terrorists have been re-categorised from "Tiresome" to a "Bloody
Nuisance." The last time the British issued a "Bloody Nuisance"
warning level was during the great fire of 1666.
Also, the French government announced yesterday that it has raised its
terror alert level from "Run" to "Hide." The only two higher levels in
France are "Surrender" and "Collaborate." The rise was precipitated by
a recent fire that destroyed France's white flag factory, effectively
paralysing the country's military capability.
It's not only the English and French that are on a heightened level of
alert. Italy has increased the alert level from "Shout Loudly and
Excitedly" to "Elaborate Military Posturing." Two more levels remain:
"Ineffective Combat Operations" and "Change Sides."
The Germans also increased their alert state from "Disdainful
Arrogance" to "Dress in Uniform and Sing Marching Songs." They also
have two higher levels: "Invade a Neighbour" and "Lose."
Belgians, on the other hand, are all on holiday as usual, and the only
threat they are worried about is NATO pulling out of Brussels.

A little Christmas Humor!

A little Christmas Humor!

Lazy Sunday -

Char told me yesterday that she had plans to go shopping with her sister today, so I was free if I wanted to plan a "guys ride". I wasn't able to find any takers but I figured it would be a perfect day to get in a long solo ride of 70 to 75 easy to moderate miles. At least that was the plan...after waking up I quickly rationalized my ride plans away. Not sure if it was the cold weather or the fact that I was solo, or what?... But in a matter of minutes I found myself, first postponing getting out the door on my long ride, then changing it to something shorter, then deciding to maybe stay in and just do rollers, and finally, ....what the hell, I'm taking the day off!

The day wasn't a total loss, I decided to reorganize and clean my bike room/study. In the process of cleaning out my bike closet the ole Swiss ball showed up. Which reminded me of the picture I had seen of Vladimir Gussev of team Discovery working out at their training camp being held in Austin.













According to the article, he went 20+ minutest without going off. Well, I had to give it a try! Two things surprised me...Fisrt, I could actually stand on it after just a few tries (20 to 30 seconds) but hey! It's a start!
Secondly, after about a minute and a half, which was probably my max, my calves were ON FIRE and SCREAMING!...and I would assume it obvious- but just in case you're wondering...that's just "standing", no thoughts of "squats" involved.

Now Hiring....

A true Classic...I LOVE IT!

Yousef Grocery on River road

Carville, LA

Today's Ride --- COLD

In recent weeks due to the end of DST my training routine has been pretty constant...Rollers Monday thru Thursday, off on Friday, and on the road Saturday and Sunday. Everyone has been so busy as of late Char and I have been the only two constants in this routine, however, there have been some guest appearances from time to time, including: SuperDave, B.B.Taylor, Bruce Webb, Waldon, Nixon, and Chris a.k.a. "the Doc". The regular route which started as an out and back on River Road to Yousef Grocery Store (about 45) has recently expanded slightly further to the Mobil @ 30 and 74 (about 53) as the new norm. Anyway, while it appeared that it was going to be just me and Char today, the Doc was a welcomed last minute addition...due to time constraints Doc was going to cut it a little short and turn back at Yousef...due to the temperature and my flat legs, Char and I decided to join him and keep the group together. I was actually glad that we ended up SAGing at Yousef, it allowed for the following find... Apparently, Yousef (like everyone else) is looking to hire, however, in todays world of political correctness, I found his sign posted to the stores front door both refreshing and humorous!
It read:

Now Hiring
(must be 18) and brain must be working.

A true classic!
I actually got a photo with Doc's camera phone...if he remembers to email it to me, I'll post it!

Kreitler Rollers - Strange how things evolve....

Seems like just the other day that I bought a set of Kreitler rollers. Actually, my first "recorded" ride on them was September 11th of 2003, it lasted a total of 30 minutes and went for 7.6 miles. I was strategically wedged in the doorway of my closet...As I remember it, I spent as much time holding the door frame as my handlebars and reaching for a drink was totally out of the question. Well, since that day I've been on them another 177 times for 153.35 hours totaling 3,713 miles. (Note: All Stats made possible by my Polar 720i Heart Rate Monitor.)

Anyway, at some point during this 2+ years of riding my rollers off and on, I evolved from thinking I would never leave the comfort of my closet doorway to in recent weeks coming up with the bright idea of going hands free. Don't want to call any friends out by name..."Doc"...but there are those who have requested video proof (Special thanks to my nephew, Scott, for his assistance in "capturing the proof"...please excuse the quality, had to use "nightshot" mode on my digital camera to deal with limited lighting. And last but not least, to my wife Charlene...my apologies for not cleaning the study before shooting the footage!)

Newsflash...I'm a BLOGGER!

OK, I'm not sure whether to blame the down-time I had today or my buddy Super-Dave, a.k.a. the unfrozen caveman cyclist... I think I'll have to go with David on this one. After all, David is the person responsible for getting me into cycling...not totally, actually, it's probably both David and Lance, but i'd have to say 60-40 David! Anyway...this will be my attempt at a blog. Not sure exactly how this thing will develop, if at all, but for now I think it'll basically be my all around cycling reference page covering a little bit of everything.