Bad start to Dec . . .

. . . And a bad way to end the year. It's 6 Dec and I haven't been on the bike in over a week. And the worst part is I don't know when I'll get a chance for a good solid ride anytime soon. Maybe Tuesday afternoon at best, but other than that it looks like I'll have to drag myself out the door at 7am for some quick and cold 20 miler before work this week. If that is even worth it. Probably is. After the first time, it'll be a piece of cake. Hopefully the weather will clear up and warm up some in the next few weeks. I've ridden in worse, but I've always had lots of time to ride, now I have to squeeze rides in before and aftr work.

Wish me luck.

Ride On!
-Super Dave

DOWN, Down, down . . .

That's what my mileage has been these last two months. The weather was a big factor in Sept. Lots of rain throughout the month and I got caught out in it a couple of times. Nothing really bad. It's rejuvinating sometimes to ride in the rain. Makes you feel like a kid again. Unfortunately, it does nothing for the bike, except give me an excuse to clean it. October, on the other hand has been busy. I started working at the begining of the month and took up a second job later in the month. Trying to squeeze rides in before or after work has been tough. I tried, but it wasn't easy. November will be an easier month. No mileage goals for the rest of the year and into 2010, so I can just ride and relax.
Ride On!
-Super Dave

Rain . . .

Lots of rain this week and not a lot of riding. I've gotten out sparingly, but at least I've gotten out. Tomorrow morning I'll try to get to Java Junction for the Britton Bikes ride . This'll be my first ride with a group other than the Wheelmen. Something between 31 & 53 miles.

Driving home

WOW! I thought that the TdG was supposed to be tough. Try driving from J-ville, NC to Slidell, LA in one day, alone. Then driving from LA to Cibolo, TX two days later. The drive to LA took me 14 hours. I'm sure that it would have taken much longer had I not been by myself(so maybe I shouldn't complain). the biggest problem was boredom. Just driving and listening to the radio and driving and listening and driving and . . . you get it.
But at least I got to stop at my moms and get some down home cookin'. Wayne made Dirty Rice w/ sausage and ground beef on Friday and I went to dinner w/ Greg, Michelle and Hannah and had Red Beans & Rice with Catfish fillets. An odd combination but GOOD none-the-less. But, I had to sleep on the couch and that hurt my lower back some
The Saturday I drove from LA to Cibolo. Not as long, but still a long enough drive
with a sore back. It's good to be home, but it was relaxing being away from the stress here.
-David

Tour de Gaps

SSSSSSSSSSSSWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEETTTTTTT!
That's what the Tour de Gaps ride was like. I had such a great time that at times I forgot that the ride was supposed to be tough. From the start I was up in the lead group with Matt Hawkins, Steven Walker and Rod Brewster just riding like it was just a regular Saturday ride.
Unfortunately, Rowdy didn't have such a good ride. He got dropped from the lead group of 8 and couldn't get back on. Matt, Steve, Rod and I stayed on their wheel until the start of the first gap and then we decided to let them go. For me, I think that the first climb was the toughest, probably because we pushed up it harder than the rest. Steve beat me to the top followed by Matt & Rod. Larry tried the gap, but he started cramping half way up and turned around. On the way down we caught sight of Steve Mangiacaprie, Jim, Alison and James giving it a try.
After the first climb we decided to take it easier and concentrate on finishing more than on what time we finished in. The second and third gaps were great and of course between the two was Schoolhouse Rd(pictured). It's about a 1/4 mile climb that peaks at 23%. Tough for all, impossible for some. I know the pic doesn't look that bad, but I was well prepared. Coming down the second gap I misjudged a tight turn and almost went over a guard rail. Luckily, I managed to right myself in the grass and continue riding, otherwise it would have been a long drop. Of course, Steve beat me to the top of both gaps.
At the base of the last climb wer were all together ready to take it on. We were warned that it was the hardest of the four, either because it is steep early or because it's after all the others. I led Steve up about 90% of the climb, but it leveled out some towards the top and he caught and passed me. I didn't care or even try to catch him. My goal was to get to the top. Once there I knew I had conquered the ride, FINALLY!
We rode together the rest of the ride taking turns on the front, but enjoying the smaller climbs and knowing we were nearly finished.
Everything seemed surreal once we finished and part of me was ready to get some food in me, while another part of me didn't want the ride to end. My only dissappointment was that everyone wanted to leave right away and we didn't stay for the rest of our riders to finish.
I would like to thank Matt, Steve & Rod for riding with me, Larry Morton for driving me up and back, Rowdy Spuesens for letting me stay at his house for the week and Alison Seipker, Jim Blattner, William Hornback, Kendra Kane, James McLean, Seth and his friend. Also, congratulations to Steven Mangiacaprie for completing the ride for the third year in a row.

Ready for NC & TdG

Well, I know that I said that I would post after I returned from NC, but I decided to post today, before I leave. I completed my rides for the week. I hope that they have prepared me for the TdG on Saturday. I put in 180 miles since Sunday with some hard hill sessions and some solid rides.
Unfortunately, I got some bad news about this weekend, my friend Michael e-mailed me to let me know that he wouldn't be able to go to the TdG and that is a bummer for me. I probably won't get to see him until Monday at the club meeting now.

THat drops the number of riders down to 12 from J-ville and me. It should still be a blast of a ride for the rest of us. Here's hoping that I can ride that whole route. Pictures coming.
Ride On!
-Super Dave

SAWMen Cibolo Ride.

Today we(Kim & I) did the San Antonio Wheelmen Cibolo ride. I did the 50+ mile and Kim did 32. The pace was somewhat slower than last month, but there were six riders that worked well together to finish. Dale & I did about 80% of the work in the first 10 miles. He had to get back early and took a shorter route, so I let some of the others do their fair share of the work the rest of the way. We all did our pulls and finished strong in just under 3:00 with a stop at 25 miles.
Thursday I leave for NC and the Tour de Gaps on the 29th. It looks like there will be about 14 riders coming from J-ville and that is a great mark. Last year we had 11 riders, but to bring 14 is awesome.
My next update will be after the TdG and I'll let everyone know how things went.

'Til then,
Ride On!
-Super Dave

A tough ride

What a day for a ride. Everything started out pretty good, but a few miles into the ride, I hit something and flatted my front wheel. Dale stopped to help out but together we had to play catch-up to the group. I tried my hardest to keep pushing, but I quickly tired while pushing into a stiff headwind. Thanks to Dale for dragging me to the water stop, because I was whipped. I recovered somewhat but I still wasn't feeling that good. After a while I ate my br and started feeling much better. Towards the end, I did a lot of the work, but admittedly, the pace was somewhat slower. In the end I finished with 57 miles, and I felt like it.
Kim did a great ride also. She planned on doing 25, but ended up doing 36, because she missed her turn. She enjoyed her ride and also met another rider.
'til next time,
Ride On!
-Super Dave

Still riding

Well, as luck would have it, I didn't get to pull of the 40/50/60 milers in three days like I planned, but I did get in some excellant rides in the last week.
It's been tough getting ready for my morning rides when I can't get enough sleep. Tuesday night, I went to the regular ride and did a lot of work. I pulled hard for about 30 of the 35 miles. Wednesday and Thursday I did a couple of good solo rides and felt great. I decided to take a day off on Friday, but I find that after a day off I do not feel or ride as good as I should.
Two more weeks until TdG and I am hoping that all the hill work that I have been doing here helps me to do a great ride.

Ride On!
-Super Dave

Back on the Bike

Well, I had to take another day off. I wasn't feeling all that great this past Saturday so instead of pushing it I decided it would be best to stay off the bike. I helped out a friend put together a couple of bookcases for their new entertainment center. That took up most of the day, so I didn't have much time to miss riding. I think the time off will help out. Tonight I went out and did an easy 35 from the house to Marion and back. The wind was really strong so I had to work harder than I wanted, but I still took it easy.
The next three days I plan to do a 40, 50 & 60 miler. The 50 will probably be broken up into two rides, but I have to log some longer rides to get ready for the TdG at the end of the month.
More updates to come.
Ride On!
-Super Dave

Time off.

Today was an unscheduled day off.
I was out the last two days(Wedn/Thurs) and had a couple of miserable rides. Wednesday, I rode my new 40 mile course, but I did so after 3pm and man was it scorching HOT. It had to be over 103. The wind was so hot and bad that it was burning my eyes to ride into it, and I had on my shades.
Thursday, I decided to go out and do an easy 35, but I had to turn into the wind at mile 13 and it was over from then on. I eased up somewhat to conserve energy, but the wind just continued. I stopped for fluids at 20 miles, but no matter what I was cooked. I still had at least 12 miles to go so I decided to ride straight back home at an easy pace and hope that I didn't overdo it.
More fluids after I got home, nothing seemed to work, so I ate and decided to take a rest day.
Not that I got much rest. I ended up working in the garage and attic for about 6 hours today.Hopefully tomorrow goes better.
Ride On!
-Super Dave

Changed mind

Today I was set to do a 40 mile ride that I had just mapped out on Mapmyride.com and I wanted to see what the roads looked like. Well as luck would have it I got to chatting with a friend on Facebook and got fired up about riding that when I left the house I immediately changed my mind and headed out for a 60+ miler.
The winds were at my back going out so it made the start a bit better, but of course, they also picked up on the return.
I ended up riding 64 and change from the house in Cibolo out to the Sattler SacPac and back. On the return, I decided, like always, to take Green Valley instead of the access road. It's a little farther, but much more sceanic than riding next to the highway.

New Posts from Texas!!!

It's been a while and a lot has changed. I am now retired from the Marine Corps and living in Texas. We moved in June and settled in a small town called Cibolo, just northeast of San Antonio.
I have been riding daily on my new Jack Kane custom carbon bike that my wife bought me for a retirement gift. Last month I logged over 1100 miles, mostly on the Kane, but some on my Cannondale Synapse carbon.
Later this month I'll be headed back to NC to join some friends for another Tour de Gaps ride in Mt. Airy.
I 'll try to keep the blog updated from now on.
Ride On!
-Super Dave

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