Tour is done - Discovery wins!

What a tour it has been this year. With all the allegations of doping, the dopers themselves, the expulsion of the yellow jersey wearer, it still was a magnificent event. An article on www.bicycling.com asked if people still believed in the tour. I'd say, definitely yes! Perhaps the bigger question is why? Monday night I got on the bike and headed towards the hills. I did not feel exceptionally well but took up the five mile challenge. It was painful but I pushed harder than I had in the past. I kept the cadence high. What a sight from the top of the hill but also what a wonderful journey to get there. I still believe in the tour for that reason. I can partake of the pain and the joy that these riders feel. I don't know what it is to run a 4.2 40 yard dash or to block a 320 pound defensive lineman or to dunk over Ben Wallace. I do know what it feels like to suffer on long climbs (see the Col de Hamilton in San Jose, CA) or to feel the rush of riding along at 25+ MPH. I can do what these pros do with the same equipment, just not with the speed. I do love the Tour and have ever since seeing Greg pull back 50 seconds in 1989 in the final time trial.

Congralutions to Alberto Contador, Levi Leipheimer, and all of Team Discovery for the success that they all have had in this year's clockwise stroll around France. Contador was spectacular in the mountains and Levi was superb in the time trial. It is hard to believe that the three weeks have already past.

Back to Oregon, I rode over 100 miles this week - a stroll in the hills, some rolling hill work, and two flat episodes - C joined me for 85 miles of the journey. The legs are feeling good as I am starting to see some real decrease in my weight. With continued effort I will get down below 200 pounds in the next few weeks. Yoda better watch out! Under 200 means I might starting running again!

Work is rolling along. This week was catch up for being out so much the previous two weeks. Last night, we went to Old Fashion Days in Newberg. They put on quite a show with a lot of music and spectacular fireworks. I was impressed and glad that we fought the bugs and late night to watch the full moon filled night sky light up with the fireworks.

Finally, just a reminder - Please notify WADA, the UCI, and your team of your whereabouts, you'll never know when they'll come knocking to collect a sample.

Phoenix and back

After such a great ride last week, this week was followed with almost no time on the bike as I spent the work week in Phoenix at Kaizen training and events. The highlight of the week is being able to stop in at JD's new Boar's Head hangout. Nice crib! We spent the evening talking and watching guys in spandex ride over dogs and other high hills. The Tour is on... One word to describe the time ... comfortable. Thanks to JD, Kristin, and family for letting me hang out. It was great! I really enjoyed it.

I realized with my week in Phoenix how well I tolerate the heat. Getting up in the morning it was usually 90 degrees, hitting highs in the one teens. Even with a lot of time on the plant floor, it was that bad either. I am not complaining because I do like Newberg but the heat felt more like home to me.

A week of no riding was insane for me. My legs kept wanting to get out and I had to stay in. The hotel did not have an exercise bike and I was not ready to run. On Saturday, that all changed. We got up and saw Cassie throw down on some water polo. She is a fish and swims well. I get tired just watching her work so hard. She is the only 7th grader on the team of high schoolers. The coach calls her his next Olympian. Next was time on the bike - Christine and I headed out to ride a portion of the Vine Ride that we will be doing in a month. It was 42 miles of rolling hills of fun. Great stuff for legs to build strength on. There was little rain and only a few patches of wet concrete. We finished in 2 hours 40 minutes. As I rode down the street to our house, the ride felt incredibly short, especially taking into consideration last weeks 11 1/2 hours in the saddle. Time on the bike is all we need to be ready for the Vine Ride - the hills are the necessary pain.

Time to bleed...

Let me take you back a couple of days to lunch on Friday. The plant safety manager came off of vacation on Friday and we had a lot to cover so we went out to lunch. In looking at the menu, it hit me, "I am riding 200+ miles tomorrow!" I got the Southwest Chicken Pasta to aid in my carbo loading regime. The next four hours were tortuous, trying to focus on work and not about the ride. All I wanted to do was ride. At 10 to 4, I get a call from the front desk, "Your wife is on the way up to your office." Salvation had arrived.

We fought the traffic to get downtown, picked up some food at Chipotle, figured out where to park for the train station, checked-in for the Cascades 508 train, and boarded the train. Rumors were rampart from the other train riders about the time we would get to Tacoma. The information online was saying on-time while many of the riders were saying two hours late. I believed the online information and should have believed the riders. After four frustrating hours on the train, we finally disembarked in Tacoma and began moving towards the hotel in Seattle. I got to bed at midnight, tired, anxious, and hoping to not sleep through my alarm.

3:30 AM came earlier than expected. I got up, dressed for a day of riding, and got down to 2OLDS's room to make sure we got out in time to pick up my bike from the Vitamin Water bus. The Vitamin Water team is a group of 18 riders who had invited me to join them for the ride. Since C was riding the second half, I told them the first century would be great and thanked them for the invite to be a part of the group. We got to the bus in time, got ready, and headed to the start line. At 4:45 AM, we rode across the start line with about 150 other one day riders. The first 50 miles was uneventful (about three hours of riding) as I got to know the group. After waiting for the team to hand out Vitamin Water at the 50 mile rest stop, we hit the road again. Then it happened - after riding through the city with all of the stop lights and slow downs - we got in a pace line and began to work. After an hour of steady work at 20 MPH, Mark, the Ironman triathlete, rides up to me and says, "time to bleed." Quickly I knew what he meant. He rode to the front of the pace line and lifted the pace to 24 to 26 MPH. We bounced between 22 to 25 for the last 30 miles as the team worked together to keep up the pace. The last 50 we covered in 2:19 - very fast. Bleed I did put I didn't notice at the time nor know the impact (a little foreshadowing). I had just ridden my second fastest century. There was much celebration in Centralia, probably too much.

After 30 minutes of lunch and rest, it was back on the bike. I bid farewell to the Vitamin Water team and the C and I set out. The pain train was about to leave the station - with a new conductor. The first couple of miles of the second century indicated that I was in trouble. It was no longer easy spinning for me, my legs burned, my back ached, and the sun was in full force. The first 20 miles of the second century I was hemorraging and there was nothing to stop the bleeding except quitting and that was not going to happen. We stopped briefly for a bio break at mile 120 only to get back on the road. We continued on to Lexington, the 150 mile mark. The new conductor was merciless as she put the pedal down and made me work furiously. Christine had ridden away from me as the rollers got the best of my legs. She provided me the motivation to step up and catch here. After a few minutes of hard riding, I caught her right at the entrance to the rest stop. I was going to need help to get into Portland. We got some food, took a break, lied down, spoke to the team manager (my mom), picked up some more gels and life savers, and hit the road again. We stopped only one more time before getting to Portland. After 11 1/2 hours in the saddle, it was good to get off the bike for good - joyous to be in Portland and arrive with the C at my side.

The last 50 was made possible because of Christine. She pulled me, talked to me, and provided the support that was needed to get it done. The hard riding earlier in the day had done me in. I understand quite a bit better how it works in TdF to put riders into pain early and what that means late.

The C finished her first century with style. Congratulations! Way to go! She would have finished much faster if I had not been her anchor. She will have another chance to show her stuff in a month at the Vine Ride in Newberg. I am excited for the ride. It will be a good time with some serious pedaling. I mentioned in an earlier post the fear of her catching me and proving me the poser that I am. The time is here. Next year, she can join the group and pedal the full 200. Pictures will follow as we get them.

Century #4 and #5 complete - three more to go this year.

It's time

A good solid week on the bike - 140 miles in the books. We rode 5 days this week and completed the preparation for the STP. It looks like some 20+ folks from our stake will be at the starting block for the STP. At least there will be a few familiar faces along with 2OLD but they can't replace all the time on the bike spent with JD or the interaction of Trickle. I'll be missing them - a little gatorade on the asphalt for them.

The 4th was a great ride through some hills in Northwestern Washington. It was a clear, warm (by Washington standards), and fresh day to ride. The Olympic mountain range was an incredible sight as it's snow capped tops peaked through the tall, green pines as we rode by. Deer came out to see us on several occasions. A set of 8 point buck stood within 10 feet of us at one point. Wow!

Saturday, after a quick 32 miles, we headed to pick up our packets for the STP at the REI in Portland. Thanks to Christine who checked out packets before we left and noticed that my name had changed. We went back and we got the right packet for me. After an hour of driving, we got some food at the Tillamook Cheese factory and then found a nice patch of sand and hung out watching the waves flow in. Before we started playing, I put on the running shoes and ran about a mile with Christine. I remembered why I don't run - talk about bodily pain!

STP in 6 days...we are ready!

2 Weeks to 200

The next big ride is almost here. Two weeks to go for the STP 2007 version. Right now, it isn't about being able - it is about how fast. I have been averaging around 80+ miles a week for the last 20 weeks. I was going to get out last Saturday for a century but only got 21. I had planned on getting up at 4:30 AM to be riding by 5. Colin changed my plans so I ended up lying next to him and helping him get to the toilet. At 8, I headed over to Olympic Bodyworks to help them move to a new location. The move was part of a community service project that we did for work. I ended up helping there til 2:30 PM. I was tired. I got home, changed, and got on the bike. I started with the notion of putting in some serious time. My body had a different idea. "No mas" is all I got. The hills were difficult. The flats were difficult. The down hill was difficult. I turned it off at mile 15 and suffered the other 6 miles home. I was exhausted. Not eating all day didn't help either.

My nephew was here all this last week. It has been good to have him here. Alex has helped us be motivated and do some cooking as well as just be good to have around. We cooked up some Salmon on the grill. It was incredible. Christine spiced it up nice. The grilled cooked it up perfect. Today, we did up some "beer" can chicken on the grill. If you haven't tried it, it is an easy way to cook some chicken that tastes great. The chicken was the third component of the trifecta. We hit up some pork ribs on Friday night. It is good to have a grill again (my father's day gift).

Two weeks to go to STP. Time to ride...