This was a good week on the bike and more fun at work. We all spent Monday at OB12OLD's place, eating and riding. Craigus took another ride with us as part of his cycling merit badge requirements. We hit 15 miles and I asked him if he wanted to take on the 25 mile piece. He kindly declined the offer, stating the terrain was much too hilly. He'd complete the 25 miler back in Newberg and through the flat Willamette River valley. Touche! At least he is riding.
We also spent time watching the Giro. What a race this year! Incredible speeds, awesome climbs, awefully competitive, and scenic views of the country. The race was all that and a bag of chips. By watching the Giro, talking about it with Craig, and his little bit of riding, we might have given birth to another cycling fanatic in the family. Time will tell if we have been successful. He has since been on several more 15 mile rides and has a few more planned this week. Time...
As for me, four rides this week with mileage over 170. It was a good week on the bike. Monday was riding in Washington with Craigus and OB12OLD. Tuesday and Wednesday, due to me working in Tacoma, I did not ride. This made Thursday a ride after some rest. I felt great on Thursday. Haugen road was less challenging than usual and the ride home was a new route up to the green house and over Gibb cementary. The legs were in great form. Maybe it was all the protein from the food at the my parents home or maybe it was just the rest. All in all, Thursday and Friday I pushed hard up and over various climbs. By Saturday, I was feeling it but had a great tempo ride on Saturday, hitting my STP speed target over the four hours of riding. The ride was out to Cornelius, around Haag Lake, out to Yamhill, and back through the valley. I felt all the work today as I sat through church. It was a good feeling. This next week will be challenging to get it all in as I will be traveling again.
As I have increased my crank arm length, changed from a compact to normal crank, and ride with an 11-23 cassette, on climbs I have changed to a high cadence climbing style. It really keeps my legs fresher in the long run. Saturday's ride confirmed this as there was plenty of rollers and a few climbs to get up and over. By spinning at the higher cadence, at the 60 and 70 mile marks, I felt good. As a point of reference, at last week's century, we averaged 16.78 MPH. This week, I hit 18.2 MPH average. The combination of the century work last week and the hills this week, I am starting to "sharpen" the fitness. I can feel it getting better. STP is only a few weeks away.
Finally, I just wanted to send a shout out to JD who is heading towards Deutschland this week. May the road rise up to meet you and safe travels.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
As heard on the bike...
During my ride, several concerned citizens (as Mark put it), slowed down and let us know exactly what we were doing wrong. I just love these concerned and caring people. The only thing is that they are wrong.
The first occasion was between Gaston and Yamhill. Mark and I were riding two abreast, talking and on the shoulder. The driver slowed down and while other drivers behind him honked, he yelled at us "single file, you have to ride single file." We just said thank you and waved and he went on his way.
The second occasion was between Lafayette and Dayton. The road had a painted white line but no real shoulder. We were riding single file at the time. The driver slowed down and shouted to us, "Hey, you can't ride a bike unless there is a shoulder. No shoulder, no bike ride. You can't ride here." Again, we thanked him and waved as he went on his way.
Finally, my neighbor across the street got stopped while riding in our neighborhood and told that he was riding too fast and had to slow down. Cars drive 25 mph in the neighborhood but a bike is too fast riding at 18 mph. Wow!
I will say that second to Cali, Oregon has some of the most bike friendly drivers - although misinformed and willing to show their ignorance - yet friendly and kind to cyclists.
The first occasion was between Gaston and Yamhill. Mark and I were riding two abreast, talking and on the shoulder. The driver slowed down and while other drivers behind him honked, he yelled at us "single file, you have to ride single file." We just said thank you and waved and he went on his way.
The second occasion was between Lafayette and Dayton. The road had a painted white line but no real shoulder. We were riding single file at the time. The driver slowed down and shouted to us, "Hey, you can't ride a bike unless there is a shoulder. No shoulder, no bike ride. You can't ride here." Again, we thanked him and waved as he went on his way.
Finally, my neighbor across the street got stopped while riding in our neighborhood and told that he was riding too fast and had to slow down. Cars drive 25 mph in the neighborhood but a bike is too fast riding at 18 mph. Wow!
I will say that second to Cali, Oregon has some of the most bike friendly drivers - although misinformed and willing to show their ignorance - yet friendly and kind to cyclists.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Century
It has been good to be in town all this week. There is nothing like home sweet home. It was a good week on the bike - 4 days of riding, almost 12 hours, and 190+ miles. Monday and Tuesday were climbing, Wednesday was time trial and tempo, Thursday and Friday were rest days, and Saturday was a century with "Time to Bleed" Mark. The weather has been nice and today did not disappoint either. The sun was out and their was only a slight, cool breeze. What was really spectacular was the red clover. It was in full bloom. There were fields and fields of red. Wow!
My schedule gets hectic for the next month or so with traveling to other window locations. It will be tough to get the time in on the bike but I will figure it out. What is nice is that my focus will be changing here a few weeks to getting the speed up so the hotel bikes will work fine for doing just that. The STP is less than eight weeks away.
The last week of watching the Giro has been great. The stage 12 TT was amazing. The scenery was incredible and the riders really pushed themselves. It was nice to see Levi and Lance do well. Let's hope that this last week Levi can get aggresive and pull off the win. He's got a great team to help him. Let's go Levi! If you have a moment, check out Lance's videos from the Giro at www.livestrong.com. There are a few hilarious ones.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Tacoma
I spent all last week in Tacoma facilitating a Kaizen event, working with the team there to increase capacity on our energy efficient, insulated glass unit production line. The events are always different and have their own challenges. This event was unique since we had people from our three plants in the region. Through the team's efforts, our initial estimates is a 20% improvement. I think there is more there but the line needs to get used to the changes and the leaders need to step up and be leaders.
Enough about work - on to the riding. Although I was in the hotel all week, I still got in 5.5 hours during the week and a 3.25 hour ride in on Saturday. This was difficult to do since I was gone all week and it was our 17th anniversary. I really appreciate the C letting me spend some time on the bike with my dad. All in all, this was the most miles in a week for the year. It was a fast week. I spent a lot of time at threshold for extended periods of time. On Saturday, I felt great riding up on the hills and around Newberg. I would say that I am close to be ready for my 12 hour goal of STP. The legs feel strong and are getting stronger. I can relate to Lance in that he is riding himself into Tour shape. I am riding myself into STP shape. The hills, the rollers, the miles, and the time will all pay dividends in July. I hope to reach my goal, much like I hope Lance reaches his in July.
This week summary - 5 rides for a total of 170+ miles at almost 9 hours on the bike.
We spent Saturday night watching Cassie swim, putting on a show for us and putting up some of her best times. I was so excited for her and proud of her. This meant that she had been working hard in practice, pushing to get better, and it paid off for her. In the picture, she is the one in the lower left of the pool hanging on to the side, looking at the camera.
While Cassie was swimming, Craig was at a camporee. Out of 28 troops that attended, our troop came in 3rd. Craig said he had a great time doing all of the scout tasks and camping. At tonight's court of honor, Craig received his Star scout rank. He is 6 months from being a Life, one step from Eagle.
I am so blessed to have two such incredible and dedicated children - my heroes.
Enough about work - on to the riding. Although I was in the hotel all week, I still got in 5.5 hours during the week and a 3.25 hour ride in on Saturday. This was difficult to do since I was gone all week and it was our 17th anniversary. I really appreciate the C letting me spend some time on the bike with my dad. All in all, this was the most miles in a week for the year. It was a fast week. I spent a lot of time at threshold for extended periods of time. On Saturday, I felt great riding up on the hills and around Newberg. I would say that I am close to be ready for my 12 hour goal of STP. The legs feel strong and are getting stronger. I can relate to Lance in that he is riding himself into Tour shape. I am riding myself into STP shape. The hills, the rollers, the miles, and the time will all pay dividends in July. I hope to reach my goal, much like I hope Lance reaches his in July.
This week summary - 5 rides for a total of 170+ miles at almost 9 hours on the bike.
We spent Saturday night watching Cassie swim, putting on a show for us and putting up some of her best times. I was so excited for her and proud of her. This meant that she had been working hard in practice, pushing to get better, and it paid off for her. In the picture, she is the one in the lower left of the pool hanging on to the side, looking at the camera.
While Cassie was swimming, Craig was at a camporee. Out of 28 troops that attended, our troop came in 3rd. Craig said he had a great time doing all of the scout tasks and camping. At tonight's court of honor, Craig received his Star scout rank. He is 6 months from being a Life, one step from Eagle. I am so blessed to have two such incredible and dedicated children - my heroes.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Numbness
When I first started riding, my right hand would go numb. In talking with a bunch of people, I came to believe that I needed more padding to help with the numbing. So I bought some gel gloves in hope that my numbness would go away. It did work to the extent that my hands took much longer to go numb - but they still went numb. For several years, I just thought I had to live with it and I did. I'd pound my hand against my leg every so often, keep changing my hand position, and continually stretch. Not all bad ideas to do on a long ride but the numbness was still bothering.
What I have found out lately is that less is better in my case. I have some padless, fingered gloves I began using in cold weather. I have noticed that my hands don't go numb when I wear them. On my two hour ride home on Friday, I didn't wear any gloves and I had no problem. Cool! So, if you have a numbness issue and haven't tried to ride with less, give it a shot and see what happens. You might just learn that it does the trick.
Riding was good this week - a year best total time riding for the week. It was a lot of time but a lot of time on the hills so the mileage was not as much. My view is that it is all about time on the bike and it will pay off later. On Saturday, I headed out early to ride a loop I outlined online. The gravel road proved to be awefully difficult as the back wheel would slip as I stood up and pushed. The first hill wasn't too bad, but the subsequent series were a difficult on the legs but good for them. Later, I rode with a few triathletes and we pushed 40 miles in about 2 hours. We had the hammer down a few times, pushing 25 - 27 MPH. I will say this, the combination of the climbing and the speed work, my legs were toast when I was done. It is good to be relaxing today.
Next week is time in Tacoma and anniversary Saturday.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Coral Creek
After not spending a lot of time on the bike this week, I was in need to relieve some stress on Wednesday night. On the drive home, there was a break in the weather so I got on the bike and headed to the hills. It was up Springbrook and up to Gibb Cementary, back down and out North Valley to Tangen. On the way around Newberg, I decided to hit Coral Creek. I just needed another hill to complete the ride. I've described Coral Creek before - it is a 5-6% hill at almost 2 miles - a good training hill. I headed up it with no intent on pushing, just trying to stay on top of the gear. Near the top, I looked down and noticed that I was on pace to match my best time of 9 minutes. At the top, 9 minutes but with so much less effort. I was amazed. Why you might ask? I think it is the changes to the bike as well as the increased miles.
I just love to ride my bike.
I just love to ride my bike.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
TV and Cycling
Just a quick note, while I was in Tacoma a few weeks ago, an early Saturday morning TV show came to our plant and filmed a spot about energy efficiency windows. I missed out being on TV since I was out of the office but Glenn, my boss, got to be on camera. I'd like to say he did an excellent job. Here is the link - http://www.fusionnw.com/thisweek.htm - check it out and see all the plant all stars that make the best vinyl window on the market.
On a cycling note, Levi takes the Tour de Gila with Team Mellow Johnny. It was fun reading and watching the videos from the event. The availability of information really makes you feel connected to the event. Cool stuff! This week starts the first of the Grand Tours - the 100th racing of the Giro de Italia starts on Saturday. Lance, Levi, Chris, , George, Dave, Christian, and other American cyclists will be there to ride. It should be a fun race to watch and with all the web access, it will be fun to be a part of.
The ride on Saturday was a tough one - a few hours of all out pushing after a week of riding hills. This is all part of the plan for the STP - to ride the hills during the week, gaining leg strength, and then riding rollers or flat on Saturday at near max effort for an extended period of time to get the speed I need. This Saturday was the near max effort over rollers. On the way out to Gaston, I was hitting 22 to 25 MPH. There was some wind pushing me so I thought, given the speed, that it would be a painful ride back into the wind. As I turned back South, trying to beat the downpour, the wind hit me in the face. I just got in the drops and kept the pedals turning over. I was amazed at the speed I was able to maintain coming back in - between 17 and 19 MPH. This is the benefit for riding hills for an extended period of time. The suffering lasts for a long time or at least till you get to the top of the hill. Some of the climbs are 30 to 45 minutes long so riding into the wind for that period of time was much the same. This was the good news from the ride. The bad was riding out in decent weather, sweating a bunch, and then the skies let loose and the temperature dropped quickly. I got real cold as I didn't have the right gear with me. I don't think I have been that cold before. After I got home, I sat in the hot shower for an extended period just trying to get my core temperature up. Luckily, I didn't get sick and will ride another day. All in all, a good week of riding. April was a good month, averaging 8 hours a week. The hours jump up to 10 this month. A little harder task but doable.
Until we meet on the road...
On a cycling note, Levi takes the Tour de Gila with Team Mellow Johnny. It was fun reading and watching the videos from the event. The availability of information really makes you feel connected to the event. Cool stuff! This week starts the first of the Grand Tours - the 100th racing of the Giro de Italia starts on Saturday. Lance, Levi, Chris, , George, Dave, Christian, and other American cyclists will be there to ride. It should be a fun race to watch and with all the web access, it will be fun to be a part of.
The ride on Saturday was a tough one - a few hours of all out pushing after a week of riding hills. This is all part of the plan for the STP - to ride the hills during the week, gaining leg strength, and then riding rollers or flat on Saturday at near max effort for an extended period of time to get the speed I need. This Saturday was the near max effort over rollers. On the way out to Gaston, I was hitting 22 to 25 MPH. There was some wind pushing me so I thought, given the speed, that it would be a painful ride back into the wind. As I turned back South, trying to beat the downpour, the wind hit me in the face. I just got in the drops and kept the pedals turning over. I was amazed at the speed I was able to maintain coming back in - between 17 and 19 MPH. This is the benefit for riding hills for an extended period of time. The suffering lasts for a long time or at least till you get to the top of the hill. Some of the climbs are 30 to 45 minutes long so riding into the wind for that period of time was much the same. This was the good news from the ride. The bad was riding out in decent weather, sweating a bunch, and then the skies let loose and the temperature dropped quickly. I got real cold as I didn't have the right gear with me. I don't think I have been that cold before. After I got home, I sat in the hot shower for an extended period just trying to get my core temperature up. Luckily, I didn't get sick and will ride another day. All in all, a good week of riding. April was a good month, averaging 8 hours a week. The hours jump up to 10 this month. A little harder task but doable.
Until we meet on the road...
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