Plenty to catch up on!

Sorry, life has been a bit busy these days with my free time being consumed with the final preparations for my 100K MTB race next weekend. After hearing many different good and bad stories about the race as a whole, I think I have done everything I could/should have to be ready. Could I have done more, sure. But, I could be a lot worse off right now. I've been working towards this goal since I registered in January of this year. I'm confident in my skill and knowledge of my body, diabetes and training. I simply need to relax and put all of that to work, I know easier said than done.

Last weekend I had the pleasure of riding from my house to my old diabetes camp in Newbury, OH. A mere 30+ mile trip one way. However, since I was hungry for more I decided to cut down into the valley on my way home to add a few more hills and miles. In total the trip became 86.9 miles and I was able to keep a 15.6 mph average over that distance with all of the hills.

Here's a pic of me in front of the diabetes camp:

MIA

Hi everyone, sorry I've been MIA. I've been riding and working out a lot. If the rain would let up I could get out more and ride vs. opting for the gym. Starting tomorrow I should be able to get some great riding in.

My blood sugars have been out of whack to. It seems that my body has become used to working out. Before my sugars were going hypo, now I can't get them out of the upper 100s and lower 200s so I've gone back to my pump settings that I used pre-working out. It has helped so now I'm back to small tweaks here and there. It's amazing how difficult it can be to figure in diabetes to all of my riding and training.

I rode a lap at Mohican last weekend which was awesome!!! The course is wicked tough, it will be very interesting to see how much more difficult it becomes when you add 400 additional racers on the course. It took me about 2:45:00 to complete the 24+ miles. I couldn't fathom that it only takes the pros 1:20:00 to cover that course. AMAZING!!!

I've been upgrading equipment, new shorts, new tires, new PowerBar nutrition. I've been getting used to all of the pieces and parts before the race on the 5th.

In the meantime I've been working, hanging with my beautiful, supportive and very understanding girlfriend and raising money for my Tour de Cure ride on the 13th of June.

It's been busy to say the least, however, that is no excuse to neglect my blog! Back at it!!!

Mountain Bike Magazine Article

There's a great write up of the Mohican 100 I'm riding in on June 5th. It's a little disconcerning that Tinker Juarez and Floyd Landis have both DNF'ed this race in the past. Here goes nothing!!!

New Stuff

I tried out the Sigma BC 2209 MHR Triple Wireless Cyclecomputer this weekend! It seemed to work beautifully for the most part! The feature list is below and all functions worked except the Altimeter We had some crazy storms passing through the valley and it was making the pressure crazy. Also if anyone knows how I can find the distance above sea level please let me know!

The triple wireless means the speed, cadence and HRM are all digitally coded for my computer and no wires are necessary! I put 40 miles on before the rain set in, I felt god for the ride and look forward to hitting the bikes hard this week! I'll get some pictures of the computer installed this evening for all the interested parties. Set up and installation was incredibly easy and painless! I'll explain why with the pictures.

Here are the features of this computer:

General Functions:
Auto start/stop
Auto conversion between MPH & KMH
Large display with easy to read icons
7 available languages
Integrated storage chip for data backup
Low battery indicator
(computer head & transmitters)
2 adjustable wheel sizes
Automatic recognition of bike 2
Backlight
Current temperature
Compatible with wired speed harness
(sold separately)
Weatherproof
PC compatible

Bike Functions:
Current speed
Average speed
Maximum speed
Trip distance
Current/Average speed comparison
Total distance bike 1, bike 2 &
bike 1+2 (not shown while riding)
Current and average cadence
Programmable trip section counter;
up & back

Time Functions:
Ride time
Clock (12/24 hr)
Stopwatch
Countdown timer
Total ride time bike 1, bike 2 &
bike 1+2 (not shown while riding)

Heart Rate Functions:
ECG-precise
Current heart rate
Average heart rate
Maximum heart rate
Calorie counter

Altitude Functions:
Current altitude
Day's climb/descent (programmable)
Day's maximum altitude
Total altitude uphill bike 1, bike 2 &
bike 1+2 (not shown while riding)

Hiking Functions:
Hiking Time
Stopwatch
Target Time (countdown timer)
Clock (12/24 hr)
Current temperature
Current heart rate
Average heart rate
Maximum heart rate
Calorie counter
Current altitude
Day's climb/descent (programmable)
Day's maximum altitude
Total day's climb
Total hiking time