Another good week.

This week was pretty good one for riding. The winds were not that bad and we got to change the riding up a little. I was off work Mon & Tues so I did a couple of solo rides earlier in the week and joined the lunch crowd later in the week. I put in nearly 120 miles thru four days and on friday, for a change of pace, I did two laps at the Brig Trail. My first lap was with Michael and my second lap with John. Both were fairly easy laps, but enjoyable and a good change-up from the road rides all week.

Also, on Thursdays ride Lloyd and I were joined by a couple on vacation from ATL, Brandon & Kristina. Brandon's a Cat 1 rider and Kristina said that they really enjoyed our 20+ mile ride with no stops. They said the rides in ATL are mostly from light to light. Lots of stops and quick accellerations to get back up to speed. I guess we are lucky in that respect. Just about all of our riders are on some of the backroads where there aren't any lights at all. Glad that they enjoyed our rides.

Ride On!

No ride today . . .

. . .But yesterday was the Tour de Femme(60M) in Cary and I enjoyed the ride immensely. The ride was for women only but I was invited to do the ride as a support rider, taking pictures and helping with mechanical problems. Unfortunately I ended up dropping my camera at about 12 miles and my photo taking job was done. So at the first rest stop I was recruited to chapperone one of the young riders. None of the women enlisted to ride with her could keep up, so I ended up riding the remaining 45 miles of the ride with 13 year old, Michelle Svarovskaia, from Cary. She was an awesome rider, for her age. I was shocked that she could ride so hard for so long. Not that we were too near the front, but she led the pace and she kept an 18-19mph pace for 50 miles She did not get passed by a single rider until the last 3 miles, and that was only because of the traffic lights. Otherwise she would have easily caught and passed the other rider. She slowed down around the 50 mile mark for about 10 minutes, probably just to catch her breath, then she motored on. She would have finished very strong had we not had to go thru all the traffic lights near the end of the ride.

Thanks to Bicycles Spoken Here and the staff and supporters for a great ride.

Ran again . . .

Decided to go for a run this morning to the pond. The tempertaure was so-so and I had a decent run.

After work I rode out to Swan/Belgrade on Parkerton Rd, did a hard interval to Riggs(4M/9:35) then easy to smith and strong back home(3M/7:31) into steady wind.

GOOD week!

Well, I had a pretty solid week of riding since I didn't get any last week. I decided that I wanted to ride the CFC TT later this month so I'm putting in some hard solo workouts. I did 170+ miles for the week and today I put in a couple of HARD TT workouts. I ride out to Hwy 24 and then to Belgrade at about 19 mph to get really warmed-up. The return was considerably harder. I was going to do a 20 min TT, followed by enough rest and two 5 minute TTs. I ended up pushing the 20 minute TT out to 9 miles since I was over 8.5 in 20 minutes. My 9 mile time was 21:28. That's over 25mph. Pretty decent! I rested a while before pushing the 5 min TT. I don't know how far, just pushed for 5 min. Again I got enough rest then finished the final TT. I did 4:50 down Riggs Rd, but I was bushed and that was as hard as I could go.

Ride On!
-Super Dave

Back from Cali . . .

It was a good week off the bike but I'm glad to get back on and get a good ride in. Unfortunately, no one joined me thes last two days so I was forced to do a couple of solo rides.

Monday was just a fwe trips around the golf course but today I decided to head out Lyman Rd and down Hwy 172 to see how next years TT route would feel. I enjoyed it even though it rolls a lot more than Lyman does. There was very little traffic so I didn't worry much about where I rode. I didn't get a time so I'm not sure how hard I was going but I pushed a bit and enjoyed a steady pace.

Ride On!
-Super Dave

Before my week off

I got a good week of riding but not as much milage as I had hoped for. I did most of the mileage this weekend(90+) and only a few rides during the week. But since I'll be out for a week, I really didn't care.

I did a short TT on the way home from Belgrade, 3 miles in 6:50 and Thursday I had a good sprint down Stone St. Most of that distance I was over 25 mph and feeling kinda relaxed.

So later today I am off to th airport and to Cali.

See you next week.

Ride On!
-Super Dave

Going back to Cali

Just learned that I will be in California for a week and I won't have the oportunity to bring my bike. I guess that I'll have an easy week next week.

That means that I can get a few good strong rides in this week without worrying about being exhausted later.

Bike MS in New Bern . . .

. . . this past weekend. The rides were great and the riders were even better. Kim and I were joined by a handful of friends from DEC to complete Bike MS. Our original plan was to ride the century ride each day, but the heat didn't cooperate and everyone had to modify their plans. All together we had 9 riders and between us we rode about 875 miles in two days. 3 riders completed the century ride on Saturday, but because of the temperature we decided to ride the 75 miler on Sunday.
Kim and I spent the entire weekend there riding and hanging out at the park. We ran into some old friends(Trish G & Ron) and met some new ones(Trish, Debbie, Kathy, Dave, amongst others). We did LOTS of riding and enjoyed the company of the other riders. The ride route were super and each of the rest stops provided some of the best support that you could ask for.
I rode 175 miles during the weekend and most of it was with Trish G & Trish M. We got together aroung mile 20 on on Saturday & Sunday and rode the rest of the routes either together or with a few other riders. The entire weekend was a blast and I wouldn't have passed it up at all.

Ride On!
-Super Dave

DEC Time Trial

SWEET, SWEET, SWEET, SWEET, SWEEEEEEEEET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You ask why? Well, we finally put together an team strong enough to win our TTT. Thanks to Steve, Shawn, Rowdy and Frank for all the help! We did 11 miles in 26:56. That's 24.5 mph, which isn't all that great, but we did beat the next team by 60 seconds.

Also, our club riders were able to take 8 of the 15 podium positions. That's also thwe best showing that we have ever had. I hope that this means that we are going to stay serious about defending our race. I wish I could be around for next years race, but I'll be in SA hopefully getting ready for a new slate of rides/races.

ALSO, another GREAT job done by our support staff. Everyone is really stepping up. This should prove great for the upcoming 12 hr Endurance race and the MTB race series next year.

Above is a picture of Shawn Kane. He blasted the course in 25:42 to easily win the Expert class.

So, just when I thought I could relax, next weekend is BIKE MS in New Bern. Two days, 200 miles?!?! We'll see!

Ride On!
-Super Dave

Hot100 & DEC Fall Century

Nearly 200 miles in 2 days.
Sunday was the Hot100 in Currie, NC put on by Cape Fear Cyclists(CFC). The ride certainly lived up to it's name. It had to be about 95, but thankfully, it wasn't too humid. The ride was made up of four 'loops' of 18, 25, 27 and 30 miles. Ride all four and you'll get 100, or you can do any combination and ride whatever distance you choose to. Kim and I rode two loops, about 43 miles together, but the heat got to her and she decided to call it a day after that. I ended up riding another 48 miles solo and finished just before a serious downpour started. The guys from CFC gave us lots of goodies to bring up to J-ville with us for the DEC Fall Century.

The century was great. We had 23+ riders at the start and with riders joining and dropping off we ended up finishing with 21. 19 riders completed the entire 100 mile route. The first 30 miles, thru Swansboro and up to Atlantic Beach was pretty windy. But once we made it to Morehead city we turned our backs to the wind and had some relief for a while , at least. Kim, Rachel and Michael provided some excellant supportfor all the riders and only three riders had any troubles while riding. We thought that we were going to have a serious headwind headed out to Maysville for the 4th leg of the ride, but the winds ended up being just a cross-wind and it wasn't too bad. Rowdy, Chuck, Steve and I were the lead four, but Steve couldn't hold the pace and had to drop off. Chuck and Rowdy started getting pretty tired about 7 miles from Maysville, so I did a good deal of the pulling. There was any sprint at the end. I was by far the strongest rider that day and I decided just to pull them in and they elected to just ride trail and get to the rest stop. After we regrouped, everyone remounted and we headed home. Great job to everyone that came out, especially the support drivers. Without them we would have had much more problems than we did.

Time to get ready for the ITT & TTT this weekend

Ride On!
-Super Dave

Busty time ahead . . .

It's raining today so I don't get to ride. I haven't ever gotten used to riding the trainer.

This week and next are seriously busy. I have the Hot100 in Wilmington at the end of the month. The DEC Fall Century the next day(1 Sept) that I have to prepare for. Then the following week(Sept 7) is the DEC Individual and Team Time Trial. Not much prep for it, but I still have things to do and I'll be riding either the individual or team, if we can get one together.

Things are going to be busy. Stay tuned for more.


Ride On!
-Super Dave

Tour de Gaps

WHAT A GREAT RIDE!!!

The day turned out to be one of the best for riding that I have seen in forever. It was in the high 70s to low 80s with overcast skies in the morning and sunny in the afternoon.

11 riders from the J-ville area went up to Mt Airy to do the ride. Me, Rowdy, Ty, Dani and Greg did the 50 mile route(5200+ feet of climbs), Steve and Frank did the entire 82 mile route(11000+ feet of climbs) and Larry, Michael, Geoff and Alison did a couple of climbs but not all four. Kim went up with us but she was there just provide support for everyone from the club that was riding. Most of the group stayed at the same hotel the night before, we went out to dinner together and then mate for breakfast. I had a couple of stacks of hotcakes, knowing that they wouoldweigh me down and would give me quite a bit of fuel. The ride started out pretty good. I stayed about 1/4 way back from the lead riders, but close enough to see them until the first hard climb. At that point I just settled into a steady pace and kept climbing. I was feeling great and with the weather, I thought about trying the long route, but decided that I would stick with the short route and see how quickly I could ride. By the first checkpoint, Kim had driven ahead of us and let me know that Rowdy was a solid 5 minutes up on me. I doubted that I could catch up to him since there was no one between the lead 5 riders and me. I turned my MP3 player and started riding at a solid pace, just wanting to get to the finish. Nothing much to say about the rest of the ride. I just kept pushing myself up and down the hills to the finish. I didn't catch Rowdy, but did break the 3 hour mark and that was good for me. After the ride, Rowdy and I hung out around the area, ate and watched most of our friends finish. I talked with the ride coordinator, Carol, afterwards about this years and last years rides and the difference in them. I let her know that even though I will have moved prior to TdGs 09 I would try and make it back and ride the 82 mile course. All the DEC riders had a good time, some realized that this was a very difficult ride, but they all finished. Kim returned with some great pictures from the ride and most of us have made plans to return next year.

'Til next time.
Ride On!
-Super Dave

50 mile route
Pl Name Time
4 Rowdy Spuesens 2:45:38
6 David Guillory 2:56:09
15 Tyron Steele 3:52:09
16 Gregory Droba 3:56:59
21 Danielle Anton 4:55:50

82 mile route
Pl Name Time
36 Steven Walker 6:03:26
37 Frank Manfre 6:03:27

Variation
Pl Name Time
5 Lawrence Morton 4:21:17
8 Alison Siepker 4:41:20
9 Geoffrey Siepker 4:41:22
15 Michael Clay 5:02:03

Cape Fear Cyclist Time Trial

Sunday, 17 Aug 08

Instead of riding the DEC TT course to get ready for our time trial next month, Rowdy, Larry & I decided to go down to Hampstead and ride the CFC TT . They were putting on their first time trial and they invited all their members and guest to come out and race. We wanted to give it a try and see what we could do in an actually race against lots of other riders. We decided that I would leave first that way I wouldn't have to pass either of the other DEC riders. I was still a bit unsure how I was going to ride. I was still a little tired from yesterdays ride, and from staying up late watching Phelps on the Olympics. While Rowdy warmed up on the trainer, I stood around talking and handed out the flyers for our time trial. Once I got ready and jumped on the bike I had about 10 minutes to warm up and line up for the race. I did about a 1/2 mile of spinning then lined up. Not much of a warm-up if you ask me, but the riders had already started and I was set to go out just after 9:13am, 30 seconds after the previous rider. My 30-second man didn't didn't look like much of a speedster, so I decided to start the race as hard as I could and see how fast I could catch him. Sorry Jim, but that's the way things go. I caught him inside of the first mile and just kept pushing at about 90%. It took me most of the first half of the course to catch my minute man(lady), Liz and after that I set my sights on her husband Wayne, he was easily 30 - 45 seconds away, but I was closing on him. We made the turn and headed back to the start/finish with a slight tailwind, so I shifted gear and picked up the pace a little. It took me a few minutes to start catching riders, but once I did, I was catching them quickly. Each time I passed a rider I could see another rider just ahead, so I set out after that next rider. That worked out fine, until about 1.5 miles from the end. By then I couldn't see anyone up ahead so I just put my head down and hammered to the finish. My goal was to break 30 minutes, but I thought that would be tough to do. I figured that if I made it to the turn around in 15:30 or less, I could cut 30 seconds off my time with that slight tailwind. Well, as luck would have it I made the turn in 15:30 and with the push back I crossed the finish at 29:49. Good enough to finish 7th overall and in the process I ended up beating a few notable riders. I personnally was a little surprised, but I knew that I pushed myself as hard as I could and I'm sure that made the difference. Rowdy and Larry finished well, but they couldn't crack the 30 minute mark. We all enjoyed ourselves and each had a better day than planned.

More next week after the TdG.
Ride On!
-Super Dave

One week to go.

Next week is the TdG and I think that I am doing pretty well. Looks like there will be about 8 - 10 of us going to ride. It has been a busy week. Trying to stay in shape for the TdG and also get ready for the DEC Time trial. I have not put in as many miles as I had been putting in, but all of them have been quality miles. Sunday, Tuesday & Friday were intervals and Monday & Thursday were long rides. I am using the same principal as BSG and hoping that it will work. Next week I'll do some long rides and some easy 20 milers between Monday & Thursday and try and keep active on Friday without riding. Then Saturday morning at 8am the TdG starts. 50+ miles later I should be finished and feeling much better than last year.

Trainig rides

Well, back to the grind after a week of off & on riding. I didn't ride as much as I wanted this past week because of my work schedule, but today we had an excellantly tough group ride. 6 riders started a strong group ride at nearly top speed and pretty much didn't let up until we had a malfunction at nearly 30 miles in. The weather/temperature was pretty nice today, so that made for an all-aroundguiaeghd better ride. Once regrouping we decided to cruise in the last 5 miles or so. After the early pace that was set, no one was in a hurry to push the pace any harder.
Tomorrow, we'll be working on our Time Trialing. We have a TT coming up early Sept. Our course is 11 miles, out & back, so we'll we'll be working on maintaining top end speed. We'll probably warm up, then do a couple of intervals, long & short and then head out on an individual TT. This year we should be able to make a strong team if we try, otherwise, we will have some excellant riders doing individual races.

Ride On!
-Super Dave

Two solid weeks . .

. . . of riding adding up to over 400 miles while at Ft Bragg. Not too bad if you ask me. Some solid rides getting ready for the TdG. I wish that I had time while I am back home to get some of these rides in.

Anyway, upcoming for me in the next month are TdG(23 Aug), CFC Hot100(30 Aug), DEC Fall Century(1 Sep), DEC Time Trial(7 Sep), BikeMS(13-14 Sep) and probably the Cherry Pt Duathlon (Relay)(20 Sep). That's 5 races/rides in 21 days and probably a sixth a week later.

We rode a mock TT last weekend to see how good we felt on the DEC course. I easily rolled to a 28:21 for 11M. That also wasn't too bad. I caught my minute man by the half way and then his minute man with about 1/2 mile to go. I'm not sure how the firt two riders did, but I doubt that they were more than 3 minutes ahead of me. All that without aerobars and on a carbon bike. I might end up going for my buddies TT bike if I could cut another minute off my time.

More later.
Ride On!
-Super Dave

Back to J-ville

Well two weeks at Ft Bragg were definitely a good deal. I road Monday thru Thursday for about 1.5 to 2 hours a day. The hills were not as tough or as big as I thought, but the were MUCH better than what we have here in Eastern NC. I rode them twice a week and rode out in the boonies the other days. The club in Fayetteville, C4, was pretty good. They gave me a few good, hard, long rides out behind Ft Bragg and a route to do on my own near my hotel. We'll see how those hills affects my riding in ENC since I am now back home.

The good news is that I was also able to keep my traing on track for TdG next month.

This past weekend was also a great riding weekend. I got in a 50+ mile day on Saturday and nearly a 50 mile day on Sunday.

Ride On!
-Super Dave

Ft Bragg

I'm off for two weeks in Fayetteville at Ft Bragg. I hear that they have some rolling hills out there that should make for some good rides. I guess I'll update my progress when I get back.

Blood, Sweat & Gears

WOW!!!
What an awesome ride. I was feeling better than I have ever felt for a ride or run. I went out to meet and ride with a couple of friends from the club. Unfortunately we weren't able to get together before the ride so I figured that we would meet on the course. I started out almost at the back of the 1200 riders, hoping that my size and training would allow me to catch up to them. After a rather slow start, I decided to pick up the pace a bit and keep it up until I hit the hills or caught one of my friends. I ended up catching up to Sean about 10 minutes into the ride and eased up some. I was content with riding with him until the end. We settled into a good pace and on the flats and in the hills. About half way up the hill we caught up to Larry, who wasn't doing so hot. He was lightheaded and his pulse was HIGH. I stopped with him for a while to see if he might feel better and keep going, but he wisely decided to call it a day and head back down the hill. I, on the other hand, had been back there quite a while and would have a long road ahead of me to catch back up to Sean. Sean isn't fast but he has the power and stamina to keep going and going up the climbs, so I figured I would catch him, it was just a matter of time. Once I did we rode together to the finish. I had a fairly easy ride. Cruising up the hills at such an easy pace that I didn't ever come out of the big ring. Speaking of the hills, there were over 23 miles of climbing and most of it was constant, just climb, climb, climb. The climbs were great and the decents were something else. I couldn't beleive the speed that we were getting coming down some of those hills. I wasn't too hot on those descents especially the finally. The road was winding and it had some sharp turns. We had to hold the breaks most of the time and by the finish our hands and feet were cramped just from trying to hold the bikes upright thru the turns.

So, in a word the BSG was just GREAT. I had a Super Great time and ride. Next up is the Tour de Gaps in Mt Airy(23 Aug). 50 miles and another 5k of climbing. But first I have to go to Fayetteville for a couple of weeks. At least I'll get a few rolling climbs in while I'm there.

'Til next time . . .
Ride On!
-Super Dave

Getting ready for Blood, Sweat & Gears.

It has been a pretty good 11 days. I have ridden every day, working on my time in the saddle to get ready for the BSG. With no hills of any kind in the J-ville area, I've had no choice except to get in some long rides and try and get myself ready for 3 - 4 hours of riding and climbing. Nearly 385 miles in the last 11 days, but lots of good miles. I had some interval days and some long saddle days, but every day has had purpose. These last few days have been interval and easy days with just a touch of out-of-the-saddle riding. One more day, but no riding, just a six hour drive ahead of us. Kim and Rachel decided to come with me and provide encouragement. I'll repost after the ride and give update all on my status.

Wish me luck.

Ride On!
-Super Dave

Back to riding.

Well, the week before last was kind of a down week for me, but last week I got back to riding. 160+ miles for the week and some good training rides with Myk & Mike. I almost have the IBike working, but it is still giving me troubles. I think that the cable is somehow broken. Tomorrow I'll get another sensor and see if it works any better. If not, I guess I'll have to buy another power meter for myself.
Anyhow, Larry and I just signed up for Blood, Sweat & Gears in Boone, NC on Saturday 28 June 08. I am happy to be doing this ride, because last time I rode a ride similar to this, I didn't fare so well. This time I hope things turn out differently. I intent to get out to the bridges and do some climbing this week. Maybe Wednesday, Friday & Sunday plus I'll work on some intervals throughout the week. I also have a new bike to climb easier with, the SD1!!!
Obviously, I'll update the blog afterwards and let you know how things went. But I'll probably drop a post or two between now and then for updates on my interval training.
See you all on the flip side.

Ride On!
-Super Dave

FINALLY!!!!

I found a seat for the SD1. I though that I never would. Actually, I just swapped the seat from my Cannondale Synapse. What a difference a seat makes. Last week I tried out two other seats, a Specialized and a Arione ProWing, and neither felt good at all. So I decided to swap bike seats and see if it was the seat or the bike. Well, it wasn't the seat. Now I have to go buy a new seat for one of the bikes. I can get a new white one for the the Jack Kane or a black one for either bike. I'll worry about that later, though. I also just bought the new Shimano 220 shoes and I am trying to get the iBike that Michael let me use to work. I have seriously cut back my riding this last two weeks. Only 130 miles in two weeks as opposed to 140+ miles a week for 5 of the last 6 weeks. I'll get my milage up there. A bunch of the regular roadies are preparing to ride the Peidmont Triad Omnium in mid-July. Three races in three days. A Friday night crit, a Saturday morning road ride and a Sunday Time Trial. I doubt that I'll do the crit, but I am definitely game for the road race & TT. I am hoping to improve on my TT time from Mebane a few months back. 'til next time

Ride On!
-Super Dave

Thank God for small favors.

Luckily, I was at the Cherry Point Triathlon this past Saturday, because on our regular Saturday morning ride there was a pretty bad crash that I am sure I would have been in had I been there. A small group of rides was finishing up a super strong sprint about 20 miles into the ride when, Rowdy had a malfunction and his rear rim just snapped. It caused his tire to blow and with the speed that they were travelling caused him to swing right, then left. He tried to recover, but couldn't and ended up on the ground. The wreck was pretty bad and he ended up with lots of road rash to his right side and unfortunately a broken collarbone. The bike didn't fare to well either. Mostly scratched up on the right side, but also a cracked seatstay. Needless to say, the frame is busted. He also took down another rider, Michael Clay, who ended up with a few bumps and bruises, but made it out without any major damage. I have kept in touch with them both this last week and they are doing fine. Rowdy will end up having surgery on his collarbone some time next week and Michael will take a few more days to fully recover, but we rode today and except for a sore bumm, he's doing OK!
Be careful out there riders! This was a random event and could happen to any one of us.

Ride On!
-Super Dave

After a week in Vegas . . .

. . . I arrived back in NC late Friday night and had to get up early for the Cherry Pt Tri on Saturday. The race started out kinda slow. We stood around a long time waiting for the swim. I was midway thru page 2 and I didn't jump into the pool until 8am. The swim for me was tough, because I didn't get enough reps in the pool, especially this last week, and it showed with my 10+ minute swim for 400 meters. Once out of the pool, my personal race started. After a so-so transition, I jumped on the bike and rode as hard as possible. I was out of the saddle from the start and started passing riders at about 1 mile into the ride. I continued passing riders constantly, until the last 2 miles. Not that I slowed down, there was just no one in sight at that point. The bike course wound through the base for the first 5 miles then turned back onto itself and headed back to the start. There was a headwind going out, but of course a tailwind returning, that I used to my advantage. I'm sure that most people weren't hammering as hard as I was, but I know my cycling/running limitations and I wasn't even close. I had a quick bike to run transition, but I started the run cautiously because I didn't want to burn out. After a few minutes into the runI was passed by someone from one of the relay teams. I started running step for step with him for about 1/2 mile then backed off a little and decided to just keep him in striking distance, just in case I got a surge of energy. Anyway, I ended up keeping a strong, steady run pace fast enough not to get passed again. I finished in a solid 1:03:27. About 3:30 slower than my goal time of 1 hour. I did have a great time and so did the other athletes from Down East Cyclists. I am just sorry that Rachel was sick and didn't get to race. She's the whole reason that I was there, but she didn't get to go.

Still getting ready . . .

. . . for the Cherry Pt Tri. I have a little over a week to go, but I will miss 5 days on the bike next week because of a business trip to Vegas that I have to take. I know it sounds tough, but it has to be done. I have been working hard on all three abilities. I have only taken Sundays off for the past three week. Otherwise I have been swimming, running and/or biking every day. Next week I'll only get to run and hopefully swim some. The pool looks big enough, but it's one of those curvy, wrap-around pools, so we'll have to see. The bike has been good to me, but I am still trying to find a seat for the SD1. Michael has loaned me a few to try out. Whether I find one or not the bike portion is only 10 miles, so like I said last week, I'll be hammering from the get go. No cycling next week but I'll post right after the tri and let everyone know how we did.

Ride On!
-Super Dave

Too long between posts

Yeah, it's been a while since I wrote. 10 day, nearly 200 miles of riding, 15+ miles of running and 700 meters in the pool. That may sound like a lot of milage, but it really didn't feel like that much. I could have and should have done much more, but I have gotten used to sleeping in some days. I'm just glad that I enjoy exercising so much that I still get out and do it. You ask why am I doing this, besides the fact that I enjoy it? My daughter and I are getting ready to do a triathlon at the end of the month, 31 May. This will be her second tri and my, err, latest one, I guess. I'm not exactly sure how may this is. Somewhere around 6 or 7, maybe more. Last summer we did a short tri, 800 meter swim, 6 mile bike and a 2.6 mile run. She was the youngest competitor there and did pretty good. She's an excellant swimmer, but her bike and run requires some work. She hasn't done enough to prepare for this one, but I think she will realize that she has to work more to see better results. On the otherhand, I have prepared more for this tri than any of my previous ones. I don't plan on winning, but I do hope to lead my age-group and finish in under 1 hour. I don't remember the times from last year, but I know who won and I doubt that I can keep up with him. I should have an excellant ride because I'll be riding the Super Dave One (SD1) and it's only 10 miles. I will be pushing to have the fastest ride. I'll let you all know.
Until next time.
Ride On!
-Super Dave

Super Dave One . . .

. . .is on the road now. My very own custom built and custom painted road bike courtesy of Jake Kane at www.kanebikes.com. Check that bad boy out. Isn't that one of the sweetest looking bikes you have ever seen. I know it is one of the best I have ever seen, and it's mine. Complete with Ultegra SL components in the NEW Ice Grey finish. Makes the bike look just a little sweeter. It's an aluminum frame with a carbon seatstay and chainstay, as well as a carbon fork. It's bold blue with polished aluminum tribal designs in the top and down tubes. And, of course, it's got the builders logo embedded throughout the frame. Best of all, it is personalized just for me, Super Dave. It is one extremely awesome bike and it is SUPER FAST.

Thanks for the great looking bike Jack.

What a week of riding

This week turned out to be pretty good and pretty tough. it was raining Monday so we took a much needed day off, plus I was exhuasted from Sunday's race and 6+ hours of driving. Tuesday started off fairly pedestrian but we still had a good four laps at the Golf course, much of it into a steady wind.
Wednesday was the first of a couple of days of seriously hard riding. We headed out to Courthouse Bay with the winds again pushing us around, but this time we pushed back as hard as we could. It was a hard trip out and actually a tough trip back without as much tailwind as we thought we should've had. We managed to average 240+ watts for that hour of riding.
Thursday we again headed over to the golf course, but this time there was only a light breeze and for the most part, at our backs. We did some of the hardest intervals that we have ever tried. We hit the rollers at 22+mph on the first lap, 24+mph on the 2nd and 26+mph on the final two laps. We finished fast enough to put in an extra lap, much easier before heading to Stone St for a strong finish. Unfortunately, my legs were done by the time we hit the final climb.
I had the day off from work Friday, so I got to join the DEC weekday crew on their Friday ride. The day started off good, because I was able to put in nearly 12 miles to get to the ride start. I met up with the 6 regular riders and set off with just a light breeze at our backs. However, after 930 the wind really started blowing and once we made it out to the half way point, the trouble started. There was not an easy mile after that. We all worked as hard as possible pulling and pushing the group to the end. Once we finished the ride, I still had to get home. Thankfully the wind was at my back for most of the ride home. 52+ miles, 18.5mph avg, Not bad for a really windy day.
The best part about Friday was that I picked up my new Jack Kane custom bike. Stay tuned for more to follow on that subject.
Ride On!
-Super Dave

Map My Ride / Fitness Training group

Anyone interested in joining the East Carolina Riders & Runners training group as part of the Down East Cyclists, Map My Ride and local runners in Jacksonville, NC area, go ahead and visit this site.

Join the East Carolina Riders & Runners Training Group

Tell me what you think.

Time Trial at Iron Gate Winery

I have to tell you that the members of Tricyclists put on a GREAT Time Trail. Three of the riders from Down East Cyclist(myself, Larry Morton and Steven Walker) made the drive up to Mebane to race and I, for one, had a great time and an excellant race. I'm sure we all enjoyed ourselves, because we talked about the race and course for an hour afterwards. The race was a bit harder than we expected, but we knew that the lack of hills in the J-ville area would be a decidingly big factor. We all had to work hard from start to finish and I was nearly rewarded for my efforts. I covered the 10.75 mile course in 27:46 and finished 4th in my age group, with Steve just 5 seconds back. Larry started much later than we did, so he had the advantage of being well informed about the course. He had a good ride too, considering that he rode 70+ miles at the Tour de Pickle in Mount Olive the day before.
The race course was awesome and the support staff that they had was super. There were race marshalls at the start and finish and at each corner and they even police support. Thanks to the riders of Tricyclists for the awesome race. I already plan on going back and improving on my time and place.

Being sick SUX!

I spent the first half of the week suffering with a bad sinus cold that had my head pounding. Monday, Tuesday and early morning Wednesday I just felt like crap. I missed a couple of training rides that I needed to get ready for the Time Trial at Iron Gate Winery Sunday. The good news from Tuesday was that Michael loaned me his TT helmet hoping that it helps me out for the ride. Wednesday I finally got back to riding. I did an easy 20 miles with Michael around the golf course. We kept it under 20mph because I still had some breathing issues.
Thursday, I did a solo TT on Lyman Rd. The wind was supposed to be minimal, but it was gusting crosswind and played havoc on my ride. I had to work hard to keep my tempo high and stay relaxed, which was made harder because of the fact that I still had some chest congestion. I did manage to keep rolling and not tighten up and actually had a decent time. 28:11 would have gotten me second place in the DEC Time Trial, last September, easily besting everyone but Patrick.
Friday, I got to do some good spinning on the Colnago, trying to keep the legs from tightening up any. It'll be an easy day on Saturday and then off to the TT Sunday. Steve and Larry should be joining me, and hopefully one of us will be bringing home some hardware. Details later!!!

What a wicked end of week and weekend of riding . . .

. . . but neccessary to get ready for next weeks time trial. I did some sprints on Thursday on the Colnago to get some hard riding in my legs. Friday was a nice hard trip around the Brig trail(MTB). Then after work we all headed down to Michael's for a ride and dinner. The girls did an easy, enjoyable 13 miles , while Michael and I pushed close to 20 miles in and around Hampstead, NC. Followed by an EXCELLANT seminar at Bike Cycle (Wilmington) on Motivation. Rachel learned a lot and hopefully this will help her out with her triathlon training.
Saturday was a hammerfest and I wasn't feeling 100%. About 9 good riders headed out for a strong run to Hubert into a stiff headwind. I lead out the entire route, but the return was too much for me to handle and the last 7 miles I got dropped HARD. Thankfully, I had a little company to assist me. After 1/2 mile or so I made an attempt to bridge the huge gap and got within 50 or so feet before the winds stopped me. After that I was done and I had to limp back on my own, a distant 6th. Took a much needed rest day Sunday and I'll be starting fresh next week.

Ride On!
-Super Dave

Two more days and two tough . . .

. . .rides. Again, the wind continues to blow like mad. The last two days Michael and I decided to take it easy and do a couple of laps at the golf course. Yesterday near the end of the second lap we ran across Chuck Long riding a Lemonds. He rode our last two laps with us and then opted to ride a few on his own. Hope to see him out riding in the future. Today we were blessed with Myk's presence on the ride. We haven't seen him out in a few months and it was good to have him riding again. Looks like with the colder months being left behind more riders will be out there.
Hope to see more riders on the next ride.

Ride On!
-Super Dave

Today's ride was a . . .

. . . tough lunch ride with Michael Clay. I didn't quite make it to the theater when I met Michael. I turned and we rode down to River Rd then through French Creek and out to Sneeds Ferry Rd. Past ASP and down Marine Way until LZ Egret where we turned around and rode the reverse route back. The winds seemed to be blowing from all directions. It was a tough ride out to the LZ and after we turned it was just as tough riding past the ASP. I pushed as hard as I could, trying to keep the pace over 20 mph at 105 rpms. Michael and I both worked hard and put in a great ride. Hopefully the wind will lighten up some time soon and we can enjoy some near windless riding.
Oh well, all we can do is keep riding.
Ride On!
-Super Dave

Riding 5k

Just starting this bike blog and wanted to start on a high note. Today, 10 April 2008 is a significant bike date for me. Today was the day that near the end of a 23 mile lunch ride, with a couple of friends, my bike(computer) and I flipped over 5000 miles together. I've been riding the bike just about every other day for about 14 months(I bought it on 4 Feb 07).

The Bike is a:
CANNONDALE SYNAPSE CARBON SL (17.5 lbs)
A 53/39 Crank & 12 - 25 rear cassette
Ultegra components and a Dura-Ace rear derailleur
Flightdeck 10 Cycling computer

Ride On!
-Super Dave