It's been a mintue...

I owe a post, it's been way to long! I was able to get out on both Saturday and Sunday for rides, that makes me feel great!!! Sunday I put in 40 miles riding through the valley and out Ira into North Bath. Holy crap! Those houses are massive I took a picture of one on my phone (see below). Also, another nice surprise was finding a bike race going on in the valley! I watched for a few laps before the dreaded climb up Ira road, it feels like climbing to heaven I think. Around every twist the road keeps going straight up! Well look for more posts coming soon as events and riding continue to pick up.

Side note, I can't believe I've almost ridden half of my total miles from 2008! Who knows where I'll end up at the end of 2009!

A group of riders in the race


another larger group


Our future house in North Bath! lol

Fun

A pic of Molly and I last Friday checking out Virginia Kendall Lake. The weather was beautiful!!!

Vulture's Knob Pics

The long road there, yes I drove fast through here. :)


Serious driving look


The Knob entrance!


Action shot!


After my endo


I nice knee bruise as well.

Ouch

That's pretty much how I felt this morning. A big thanks to Molly for coming over to take care of me last night. The good news is I finished the race, the bad news is somewhere right around last place. Little did I know that this course is the most technical course in Ohio! I was proud of finishing. After all I've only ridden off road once since I got my new bike, before that it was 10 years since I had been off-road. I look at it as a learning experience! There are some things I can work on, obviously, but some other tweaks to make to my bike so that I'm more comfortable. It's mostly a pedal deal, you can ride all day on the road with you feet positioned incorrectly with minor discomfort but that is magnified by 1000% off-road.

Lessons Learned:
1. Don't quit
2. Drink more water days before and leading up to the event, it's easy to get dehydrated
3. Off road miles equal roughly 10 road miles
4. Ride off-road more
5. Last place is better than DNF
6. Type 1 diabetes can be well controlled during extreme physical efforts with the proper planning
7. Don't quit
8. Fill Camelbak up to the limit before a race
9. Off road riding is a freaking blast!
10. Don't quit

I have a few pictures that will be posted soon!

So......

my mind has been a million places over the past week or so. I have a race coming up at Vulture's Knob that will be fun but I wish I had a little more technical off-road practice ahead of time. Oh well, what's the worst that could happen??? :) I wish the weather would let up, no more rain. I wish work would let up, this is supposed to be the slow season but we keep letting new product launches creep ahead of schedule and now it's time to get crack-a-lacking on planning and execution.

Most of all I wish I could fast forward to next Wednesday and get the all clear from my mother about my brother. He goes in for his first post-cancer scan on Tuesday. He's doing great and getting back to all of the procrastinating a 20 year old should be doing, but the what-ifs still keep me awake at night. Why do I have to be a worrier??? Sheesh!!!!

Well wish Kevin luck next week and me luck this weekend!!! I'll try to do everyone proud! :)

Stairway to heaven???

Nope that's just Ira road!!! I was feeling a little guilty for not getting out at all this past week. So I decided to punish myself a bit by taking my route backwards and adding in some hills. The moral of the story is, if you are ever riding through the valley and you are cold, try climbing Ira road. It's a good length and practically straight up! I'm sure the locals know what I am referring to. The good news is however, I made it up without t much trouble and on my MTB which is a solid 13.5 lbs. heavier than my road bike!!! I'll be all set for the Tour de Cure Championship route when that comes around! I finished my ride by riding up Boston Mills road which I normally ride down. Again a bastard of a road but felt really good and strong on my way up! Happy riding!

Goodbye Sun

Well, I was able to get out and enjoy it while it lasted. One nice sunny day! Upper 60's, I didn't have to pile on the layers. Just my new FOX shorts, thanks Molly, and a jersey. I've been riding the new MTB the past few times out. I need to get used to pushing the extra weight. My ride yesterday had an average just a hair below my average on the road bike. I figure once I get back on the road bike I will fly!!! The MTB is roughly 12lbs. heavier. Also, I have my first race on the 18th at Vulture's Knob!!! Yesss!!! I can't wait! I'm going to try to get out there to ride next weekend to see the course and get some technical riding in. Maybe I'll hit up Ray's at some point as well.

In other news, check my miles ridden thus far this year on the sidebar here. As you will see I've already matched 1/4 of my total miles from 2008, time will tell how many miles I will rack up this year!!! :)