7/29

I know I did some good work yesterday because my legs are really tired today! LOL. Yesterday was a windy ride home and the wind really gets me. Hills are a little different because there's an end to a hill but the wind continues... I had a rough ride getting to my hills just because of the wind. The ride down the hill was a little interesting because of the cross wind. But the climbs felt pretty good. I was huffing and puffing at the top of the big hill but I got a drink of Gatorade and slung myself back down the hills and did the climb a second time. I managed to make it up the big hill the second time without even using my granny gear. I felt good when I got home. I'm really looking forward to the pancake breakfast on the 9th.

7/28

The training ride on Saturday was really fun. I had a really good time. Charley and I took off in front of everybody else and managed to make some pretty good time. It was nice to have a riding partner and we managed to push each other. Charley dubbed me the new king of the hills but I don't think I've de-throned him yet. He had been sick earlier in the week and I don't believe he had recovered yet by the time we rode on Saturday. Funny that we were the only ones that didn't get lost (or at least side-tracked). There was an unmarked road where we needed to turn. Strangely enough the two lead guys in the group were the only ones to stop and ask for directions. Yes miracles do happen. Of course the young guy in the pick-up truck that we asked gave us some really strange looks. I don't think he runs across too many guys in biking shorts in Ashtabula county. So we ended up doing the 35 miles and averaged 18.1 MPH.

Yesterday I had a really nice ride after work. I rode from downtown and met Debbie at Shaker Lakes. We rode about 10 miles around the lakes and surrounding neighborhoods. It's nice to have good company on a ride. I do most of my training alone so I really appreciate her meeting me there. I ended up riding for about 3 hours after work but still felt pretty good when I got home. Of course I didn't really get dinner until 9:00. Speaking of dinner, my garden is starting to yield some veggies. Last night I had some zucchini, yellow squash and cabbage from the garden as well as some spinach. Still waiting for the beans, tomatoes and corn. They all look like I'll be eating them soon.

Today is my designated hill day. I plan to really push it today. I'm going to try to do the hills in Vally View twice after work today. We'll see if the weather (and my legs) cooperate.

7/24

Exciting news! Tammy is riding again. She sent us all a message to say that she rode 18 miles yesterday. So cool! I look forward to seeing her on one of our group rides. This week has been a little bit of an easy week. Did my hill day on the same day as going to the dentist. Been having some troubles with cramping. (I've always had troubles with cramping even when I don't ride) I make sure that I'm well hydrated. I'll have to do some research to see what some other possible causes are. I'm looking for some new routes to take for my rides. I go the same way to and from work every day and that's about10 miles. My regular training rides are venturing in the 15-20 mile range that I prefer to incorporate into my daily commute. The problem is that there doesn't seem to be many good roads to ride coming directly out of Cleveland. I'll keep searching though. Fundraising is at a virtual standstill. I have a pancake breakfast coming up in Chagrin Falls at the Federated Church. It'll be from 11-1 on Sunday, August 9. Hopefully we have a good turnout. Looking foreword to our group ride tomorrow. It starts in Chardon and goes for 35 miles. That's pretty much all I know. I figure after the ride I'll stop by Shari's garage sale and maybe have lunch with her.

Ice Cream Ride

I've been a little busy in the last few days and have been unable to update as often as I would prefer. This past weekend along with other members of our team, I participated in the Medina County Cycling Club's Ice Cream ride. We received disturbing news about Tammy one of our team members with chronic Leukemia. So we all rode for Tammy that day. We're all praying for you Tammy! You're going to beat this thing!!! The ride was a scheduled 66 miles through the hills and farmland of Medina county. I say scheduled because I encountered a small problem on the very start of the route. This was the first of these that I've done and didn't know how the roads/turns were going to be marked. So I missed the first turn, but managed to get back on the right road almost immediately. Then I missed the second turn which took me WAY out of my way at which point I started to get pretty upset that the roads weren't marked. (little did I know that they were clearly marked with bright orange paint on the roads!) So I pulled out my map and managed to get back on track. When I saw the actual first turn and the orange markings on the pavement I felt a little foolish. There were a couple of rest stops that include free ice cream, cookies, bananas, fruit, Gatorade and water. I tell you at the 30 mile mark I was grateful to get a little nourishment and a minor respite. I took off again through the beautiful country roads of Medina county. The weather cooperated on Saturday and it was a beautiful day for riding. Nice and cool and sunny. The wind got to be a little tedious at times but overall it was a pleasant ride. I managed to miss another turn right near the end of the ride. It was clearly marked and I saw the markings but the turn appeared to lead you into a small parking lot and I could not for the life of me figure out why we would go into a parking lot. When I got to the top of the next hill and to a stop sign I read my directions and figured out that apparently there is a path at the end of that parking lot (which there is). So I turned back around, found my way to the path and made it back to the finish. So in typical Bill fashion I managed to turn a scheduled 66 mile bike ride into a 73 mile bike ride. I was extremely pleased that I manged to average 15.9 mph on the ride which is pretty close to my goal of 16.6 for the Sea Gull. I think riding on a flat surface will help my speed a little. I also believe that the more hill riding I do will help my speed so I fully intend to kick up the hill rides a notch. The rest of my weekend was pleasant too. Got the lawn mowed and the garden weeded and taken care of. Went to my parent's house for my dad's 74th and the family was there. We had a good time and I was certainly ready for bed when I got home.

7/9

Things have been a little crazy around here. Luckily not relating to bike riding. I've been eagerly watching the Tour de France and rooting for cancer survivor Lance Armstrong. Live strong Lance! I had a good hill ride on Wednesday and another good 26 mile ride yesterday. I am very grateful for the rest day today. My legs are a little sore and could use the break. Charley won't be at the Saturday group ride so I'll have to take up the torch for him. :) Getting a little nervous about the fundraising effort. I figure I have about $883 left to meet my minimum which I would love to do by the July 29 deadline. I need to get involved in some actual fundraising activities. I'm excited about next weekend. I plan to participate in the Medina Ice Cream Ride which is 100 km (62 mi). I've never had the opportunity to ride my bike that kind of distance so I'm a little nervous but I think it'll be an excellent learning experience and I'll be able to see what kind of work I still need to do to be able to make it 100 miles (instead of 100 km!). I've been averaging between 15-17 mph on my shorter rides. I really hope to be able to make it to at least 16 mph for the Seagull Century. Somebody has to keep up with Charley!!!

7/2

Once again I have managed to dodge the raindrops. Today is a "rest" day so I didn't ride. Otherwise I would've been drenched on the way to work this morning. It seems that every time I drive to work I'm reminded why I love riding my bicycle so much. I could easily have been to work 10 minutes earlier today if I rode my bike. Evidently the police had somebody pulled over and everybody had to slow down to look. Frustrating.

It's a good thing today is a rest day because my legs are tired. I ended up riding 30 miles on a hill day on Tuesday. Then yesterday i took it easy on the way to and from work but then we did a buddy ride. It was me, Len, and Lori. We met at Squire's Castle and had a beautiful ride through the hills and valley of the North Chagrin reservation of the Metroparks. I have to admit Len did take it easy on us but I was completely wiped out by the time I got home. I think the ride last night should serve as a warning to the rest of my teammates. Once again on a ride, the person in front of me wiped out. First it was Rita then it was Lori. Thank goodness they are both OK. Lori's mishap was minor so I was relieved. It's good to have a rest day but I'll probably go to the gym after work today to get some work done on the rest of me!

7/1

I went on my "hill" ride yesterday. I ended up riding 20 miles after work. I rode in the park in Garfield Heights and went down one hill , up the next, turned around went back down then up again and kept doing that over and over. Boy am I feeling it today. I rode my bike into work today and really tried to take it easy because today is an "easy" day after all. I still made it to work in less than 30 minutes and also managed to dodge the rain once again. I know with all this rain my luck is bound to run out and I'll be drenched on one of my rides. :) I'm going to do a "buddy" ride today after work. We're meeting at Squire's Castle in the Metroparks. I know that will give me a lot of miles for today but I do most of my training on my own and it's important for me to ride with my teammates and get to know them.

It would seem that I've come a long way since I started riding to work back in February. (yes FEBRUARY!) It was a little chilly back then and as I recall it took me about45 minutes to get here in the morning. Now I take it easy and make it in 30. I learned an interesting physics lesson one day riding in the cold. Don't fill your tires outside. I filled my tires that day and rode into work. I work in a call center in a cubicle situation. I keep my bike next to my desk at work. I got up to get a cup of coffee and while I was gone one of my tires exploded! Everybody thought a gun went off. I let the air out of my other tire to protect it. So I change the tube in my tire and pump it up forgetting that I need to place the valve in a certain manner otherwise...guess what? BOOOM!!!! LOL yes I had 2 tires explode on me. Luckily Debbie was my savior that day. She was on the way back from a LLS event in Toledo and she stopped by a store and got me a couple new tubes so I could ride home.