S/M

Well, plans to ride with anybody fell through on Sunday so I settled for Hanna Park. I didn't look forward to riding there because I knew there would be a lot of yahoo traffic from the holiday weekend. I also figured the sand factor would suck, but I was actually wrong. Apparently the rain we got Friday night was enough to get the trails into decent shape. I had a 2:15 ride scheduled so I treated it sorta like a race since that is about how long most races take. I didn't stop (only slowed for bottles) and kept the pace steady, but not race pace for 6 laps around the south loop. It ended up being a really good ride, keeping my pace at 22:30 t0 23:00 for each lap. My bike worked, my legs worked, my body didn't breakdown so I should feel ok going into the Bump n Grind next weekend...

Monday morning Char, Avery and myself met Brett, Raina and their 3 youngins (Halia, Kai and little Brett) in Green Cove Springs for the Memorial Day 5K. The setting on the river and the festival atmosphere makes this a cool event. While Char, Brett and Raina ran the 5K, I entertained the kids at the playground. After the 5K was the kid's 1 mile run, which we all did. Avery set a PR in the mile so she was excited and I was proud. The little rivalry that her and Halia have going in running is entertaining and something that I hope they keep for years to come. We then hit the local church for a pancake breakfast and headed home toget ready for the rest of the day.

After getting cleaned up and changed, we all met back up at Tinseltown to see Speed Racer. The movie was ok, if anything it was very...colorful. After the movie, we all decided to cook out at their house back down in St John's County. We had already gotten everything necessary to cookout at our house but all we ended up taking with us to their place was watermelon and beer. Anyhow, we had a good time with those guys- talking, drinking beer, eating Raina's awesome food while the kids ran around and played. We had also taken Mayfield with us to let her meet their dogs, Daisy and Tuko. After Daisy established alpha status, they all just chilled too. That night we were all pretty worn out and I think we all passed out watching TV. If the worst thing I did was gain a few (3) pounds, then I think it was a pretty good weekend. Actually, I hear that quite a few people put on some weight over the holiday weekend...

This week I'm taking it easy on the bike, making sure I'm well recovered for the race this weekend in Birmingham. The course is very tough and very long. There is quite a bit of climbing involved, which is one of my biggest weaknesses. That may be due to my height to weight ratio, but I'm working on that. Actually, I weigh about the same as what I did when I graduated high school. I weighed 167 when I went into boot camp, got up to almost 220 when I was pursuing bodybuilding and now after cycling the past 4 years, I am down to 170. I'd like to get to 165 but I have to do it smart and slow in order not to lose any power on the bike. I shouldn't have a problem getting there if I ever decide to stop eating so damn much!!

Sizaturday

Man, this weekend couldn't get here fast enough! Last week was rough at work with some long days. After back to back 12+ hour days followed by a day where I had to ask to leave after 10 hours so I could go ride, Friday I was leaving on time come hell or high water! I will say this- sometimes with industrial machinery it is very difficult to determine if a problem is mechanical or electrical...

Anyhow, Friday I took my road bike to work with me so I could ride from downtown right after work. I had a short Zone 1/ Zone 2 recovery spin to transiton me from Thursday's intervals to Saturday and Sunday's hard rides. After my ride I stopped by the shop to get my mtn bike, but the shop had closed early for a wedding so I headed home to do some serious cleaning on the ol' Madone. I can't belive how nasty road bikes can get! My garage is such an awesome little get-away... I can tinker with the bikes while I blast the stereo and visit the beer fridge for hours!

Saturday I got up early to do the Open Road ride. Its probably the fastest group ride in town with an 'A' designation and speeds at a constant 25+. I had intervals scheduled for the day but after talking to Drew, I could get them done during the group ride. My plan was to stay towards the front and work- work by taking good pulls and even go out on a little solo break away if possible. I felt good at the start of the ride and the tendonitis in the back of my right knee hadn't bothered me the last 3 rides. After the warm up, the ride kicked up and I stayed towards the front working with the select few. I did manage to go out on a short-lived solo break away, took some good pulls and covered gaps twice. Covering gaps is what always wears me down the most. Towards the end of the 41 mile ride, I sat in as much as possible in order to be fresh for the sprint. After the final turn headed back, I was looking around at the heavy hitters- there was at least 1 pro, a few 1/2's, Rad and several other studs so I knew it was going to be a hard, strong finish. As the speed picked up and people started peeling off and the peloton was dropped, I was in a great spot but seemed to be barely hanging on. When the sprint took place, I dug deep, jumped out of the saddle and pushed it to the max- taking 4th in the sprint! Not bad. I spent over half of the ride in Zone 4 and 5 and in the sprint my HR peaked at 186 while my speed maxed out at 34.9. Man, I love thise rides. Its like an actual road race every week!

After the ride I helped Rad out with his road rash he suffered from a crash he had after the ride from some bozo on a department store bike being an idiot. Actually local pro Katie cleaned him up while I made jokes to divert the attention from the blood so Rad wouldn't faint. Ok, so I wouldn't faint. From there I stopped by BE and got my mtn bike, chatted with the owner Mike for a bit and headed home to get started on all the crap I needed to do for the rest of the day- like clean the house.

Char had a very long brick workout (3 hour ride/45 minute run) and after my morning ride and then cleaning the house for a few hours, we were both too spent to go to Katie's party. We decided to focus our efforts on dinner and then getting everything ready for having Josh & Bobbi over for UFC on PPV that night. We still needed to get appetizers, more booze from Total Wine and order wings from Dick's. So...jumping straight to the UFC- we had a good time. We had Josh & Bobbi over for a low-key evening. We always have such a good time with those guys. The fights were very good- Wanderlei Silva knocked out Keith Jardine, Machida got a decision over Tito Ortiz and BJ Penn totally worked over Sean Sherk. The fights on the undercard were also pretty damn exciting with a few KO's...

So here I am now, waiting on TJ and Rad to go ride the mtn bikes up at Ft Clinch State Park in Fernandina. I'm anxious to get back on the mtb considering how much time I spend on the road bike every week. Plus, I need to make sure everything is dialed in for the race in Alabama next weekend. Hell, I actually need to burn off some of the calories I consumed yesterday eating like a glutton...baby back ribs for dinner, Dick's wings during the fight, BIG desert before bed....

This and that...

Standby while my ADD steers this post...

So the NBA conference finals started last night and I watched part of the Celtics/Pistons game. Good game that ended with the Celtics holding home court advantage. Besides the Hornets doing well, the finals panned out how I thought they would with the Lakers and Spurs out West and the Pistons and Celtics in the East. Even though Boston struggled with Atlanta and Cleveland, I think they can take the playoff savvy Pistons in 7. Out West, the Lakers are going to have their hands full with San Antonio. Again, I think this series will go 7 games with the Lakers meeting the Celtics in the Finals. For the most part, the home teams have dominated the playoffs. BUT, it could very easily be a Spurs/Pistons Finals, which will draw some seriously low ratings due to the "boring" style that both teams play and the lack of star power.

Don't look now, but the Cubs are still at the top of the NL Central...

College Football is so incredibly awesome. But why can't they get the BCS crap right? I mean, all major sports have a playoff system except college football. Why? Money. Plain and simple. The bowl games generate so much money. They even added a few more bowl games for next year, which means there are close to half the teams in Div I playing in bowl games. And now the conferences voted against a Plus 1 to settle on a true champ. Ugh. Its sick that formulas are used to pick the BCS matchups and every year there is controversy when the BCS announces the matchups and the champion. I think the BCS system has even gotten its contract extended and I'm sure TV deals will soon be extended too. But the crazy thing is that college football has never been more popluar, successful and profitable...

Bike stuff- Its funny how a ride can be greatly affected by new music in my mp3 player. I downloaded some of my old alternative rap/rock stuff and some old rap into my techno-laden player for Sunday's long ride and it was a huge boost! Its also funny how you see dudes out on the road and as you pass you nod or wave, but they don't acknowledge you. What is that? Not cool. I don't really care how cool you think your kit is or how expensive you carbon boutique road bike cost...give a little to our small cycling community and acknowledge other riders out on the road!

Memorial Day weekdend is coming up. I plan to hit the Open Road ride Saturday morning and then head to Katie's annual bicycle bash with Char later in the day. I think we may try to line something up for the UFC on PPV Saturday night. Not sure if we'll go out and watch it at a sports bar or have a little something at our place. Sunday I intend to get on the mtn bike. I had thought about going down to Santos but I may end up at San Felasco or Fernandina. I would ride Hanna but I know that the trails will be crowded with puds and the sand is ridiculaous right now. Monday we are supposed to meet Brett & Raina's gang at the Memorial Day 5K out in Green Cove. Its a cool little picnic type event where the adults will run the 5K and the kids will run the mile. I plan to run the mile with Avery to help erase her bad run from last year. Afterwards there is an awesome breakfast that we'll have at the local church. Fun times!

T minus 10 days til the Bump n Grind...

Weekend Review

Man, what a busy weekend! It started early Saturday morning with the sprint triathlon. Char, Avery and I got up super early and headed down to Ponte Vedra Beach for the 1st race of the 3 race Beaches Fine Arts Series. It is a great event and an awesome atmosphere. While Char wasn't thrilled with her 5th place finish in her age group, I was sure proud of her. I think she will gain some serious ground with her strong training schedule.

Here's Avery checking out the beach...

The start of the swim...

My woman finishing strong...




After we got back and took a solid nap, I headed back down to the beach for a 2 hour interval workout on the road bike. It was hot and windy but I had an awesome ride as I hit some long Zone 4/5 intervals. I sure hope this hard work pays off when I start hitting some races...


Little Miss Spotty Body got a bath later that afternoon...she really gets amped up after her baths and is ready to throw down...



We watched the Preakness Stakes Saturday evening to see if Big Brown would live up to his hype. He went into the race at 1:2 odds and by the start the odds jumped to 1:5. What is that? 500% chance to win? Is he that good or is the competition that bad? Anyhow, he once again smoked the field and looks to be the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978. I heard that a stud horse is being brought over from Japan to challenge Big Brown in the Belmont Stakes in 3 weeks. I can't wait...




After the Preakness we hit the driveway for some sidewalk graffitti. Sidewalk chalk is still just as fun as it was when I was Avery's age...especially after a few oat sodas...

Sunday I got up at 6 to hit a 3-1/2 hour (70 mile) road ride so I would have plenty of time to get things ready for Avery's birthday party that afternoon. We had the party at the pool in our place, which worked out perfect. The weather was awesome! The party was a great time as we all played in the pool, ate pizza, enjoyed some sweet cake, opened presents and then the girls played in the pool some more. Solid party.

The trainer is fun

NOT!

So it worked out that I rode the trainer the last 2 days. Luckily I had plenty of UFC on the DVR. I guess its not so bad sometimes but I am eager to get back on the road this weekend. After going to the Baches Fine Arts Series sprint triathlon with Avery to support the Chargeant tomorrow morning, I have quite a bit of riding to get done this weekend...

Happy Birthday Avery!

My little pumpkin-pie turned 8 yesterday! She woke up to a few surprise presents, like an outfit with all the accessories to wear to school. Her mom delivered cupcakes at school then picked her up afterwards for dinner & presents. She came back to our place with a surprise in her bedroom- new bedding and matching decorations. And to end the evening she had her own ice cream cake with those dern candles that you cannot blow out! Not a bad birthday at all! Sunday is the party at our pool with a Hello Kitty theme. Fun times!

Scientific Training

Sunday we headed down to Bike Route in Gainesville to meet coach Drew for Lactate Threshold/VO2max testing. I was pretty anxious to see my true numbers considering the only thing I knew was my LT, and that was an estimate from average HR during races and TT's. For those of you who are not cyclists and have no idea what LT and VO2max are, I'll give a general explanation. Lactate threshold is a measurement of fitness and endurance performance. When you exercise, your muscles produce lactic acid. In order to keep exercising, you body must remove the lactic acid and if it cannot, you have to slow down to recover. The threshold is when your body cannot remove the lactic acid as fast as it produces it. The idea is to sustain this threshold during a race to ride as fast as possible for as long as possible. There a a few ways to measure LT, such as in the lab or out in the "field"- but the most important thing to know is that this value can be trained to go higher. VO2max is maximum amount of oxygen that your body can use for energy. It is also considered the engine that you were born with because it is mostly genetic. Anyhow, to summarize the testing- it went well for both of us and now we know where we are, where we need to get and Drew will no doubt figure out how to get us there.

Loaded up for the trip to Gainesville...

Testing in progress...



After the testing we headed to San Felasco to do some mountain biking for a few hours. I was eager to get on the MTB considering how much time I spend each week on the road bike. I was also eager to check out how my bike was going to ride after having the new drivetrain installed last week.


The smile went away when I had to spend a lot of time making bike adjustments that should have alreay been made...


Felasco is one of our favorite places to ride. Its less than 2 hours away and offers more trails and more challenging terrain than anything around here. There's always several deer sightings every ride...

Overall Sunday was a great day. The testing was exciting and it was cool hanging out with Drew and Martin at the shop. The ride at Felasco was also a good time and the excited puppy that greeted us at home and the excellent Moe's for dinner ended the weekend on a positive note.

Thursday Throwdown

After a fun (fun because it was short) interval session down at the beach on the road bike Thursday evening, Char and I headed to The Baseball Grounds for a Suns game against the Carolina Mudcats. For you living outside of Jax, the Suns are the AA affiliate of the LA Dodgers. Thursday Throwdown is a promo night where they have 2 for 1 bottled beer and $1 Buds. We didn't quite realize that the beer was limited to Bud, Bud Light or Miller Lite. Good thing I enjoyed some of the good stuff before I left...


This Dogfish Head Aprihop is SOLID! sbc introduced this beer to me a few weeks ago and I must say it is mighty tasty! Anyhow, unless you like Budweiser and tons of annoying college kids, Thursday may not be the most ideal date night at the ol' ball park. We had good seats right behind home plate so that made it easy to enjoy the game and atmosphere. But it seemed like a good portion of the people just go for the social aspect and pay absolutely no attention to the game. There were close to 8,000 people at the game and most of them were hanging out in the breezeways sporting their trendy apparel and sunglasses and pounding the Buds. I must be getting old because I couldn't tell if half the kids were in college or high school...

The view from our seats...

...and here's us after downing a few Bud Lights and stellar $6 brats...

Last night after my long 12 hour work day, we met sbc & Steph at Cantina Laredo for dinner at the TownCenter. Cantina Laredo is a gourmet Mexican restaurant in the upscale Phase II section of the TC. We got there a bit early to get our names in because this place has very long waits on the weekends. The magaritas here are outta control (I think I had 1 too many...) and the guacamole that they make fresh at your table is superb! This restaurant is a great joint to meet friends for dinner & drinks with its sophisticated atmosphere and excellent dishes! It is also another reason why it is so cool living in the TownCenter. Anyhow, we always thoroughly enjoy hanging out with S & S.

Cinco de Rock Band

For Cinco de Mayo Char and I were invited over to our friends Josh & Bobbi's for some fajitas and drinks. Char had told me that Josh was an excellent cook and had been to culinary school and had been a chef back in the day. Man, were we in for a treat with his homemade salsa, guacamole dip and then the awesome fajitas! This dude can cook! To top it off there was plenty of Coronas, margaritas and martinis. After dinner Josh busted out the game Rock Band on his PS3. Now I had heard of Guitar Hero and Rock Band from various people and how unbelievably fun and addictive the games were...BUT this stuff is no joke! Josh had all of the equipment- the guitar, the drums and the microphone. I wasn't sure how Char and I would be as far as letting go of our inhibitions and grabbing the guitar or the mic but once we started playing nobody wanted to stop! And the fun and drinks just kept flowing! The game puts you into a virtual band and you play the notes or sing the words as they scroll down the screen. There is so much that you can do with this game it is kinda beyond me to explain it all. But I will say this- If you have not seen or tried this game, check it out! One more thing (for the adults)- I recommended enjoying this game with your favorite adult beverages!

New Parts = Recharge

Its amazing how simple things like new bike parts or a clean bike can pump you up to ride. When you ride 6 days a week, its easy to lose a little excitement and enthusiasm. But anytime something new comes into the picture, you can't wait to get on the bike. Let alone if you get a new bike then you have the whole "new bike psyche" going on. But this past week I got new tires, new bar tape and I cleaned my road bike and I felt a total "recharge" when I rode Saturday. This week I'm getting new drivetrain parts for the mountain bike (cassette, chain & chain rings) and already, I cannot wait to ride it!

Weekend Update

Saturday morning started early for all of us as Char and Avery met Raina and Halia and headed to the Fernandina Shrimp Festival to do some running and girl-day-type-stuff. I took Mayfield down to sbc's so she could hang out with her doggie buddy (older boyfriend?) Taj while we hit a 3+ hour spin that included the Lodge Ride. Again, we intended to sit in for this ride but it never seems to work that way. After a good warm up and a slow start of the ride to the 210 bridge, sbc attacked going up the bridge and I jumped on his wheel. By the time we got to the top, we had opened a nice gap on the group but after we turned around and attacked going back up the other side of the bride, the break away was on! Normally 2 man break aways don't stick so we figured we'd hold it as long as possible. Man, I thought I was going to drop a lung holding sbc's wheel and then taking pulls! We held our speed around 25-26 the rest of of the ride (while my HR stayed between 177 and 180, ugh...) and the group never caught us! I was surprised that we held the main group and the stragglers off the whole ride but we worked our a$$es off in doing so. We cruised on down A1A to the Gate station and back to sbc's to end the ride. Solid ride my man!

Me & Mays heading out before sun-up...

Saturday afternoon Avery and I watched some pre-Derby coverage while Char was out doing a brick workout. It was cool seeing all of the stars at the Derby and seeing all of the stuff going on in Louisville. Char got back in time for the Derby so we all gathered around the big screen to cheer on Big Brown and the rest of the field. The race was exciting and Big Brown won big, but it was after the race ended when the mood went down hill. In an eariler post, I had mentioned the filly Eight Belles as a possible surprise finisher. She ran an outstanding race, finished 2nd, but as she trotted after the finish, she went down with 2 broken front ankles and had to be euthanized on site. It was horrible news and a sad end to an incredible race that had a crowd of 157,00+.

RIP EB...

Sunday we slept in, finished cleaning bikes and then headed to the beach. BTW, I really don't like the beach but Avery was excited to go play in the ocean and Mayfield was just excited to be in the car going somewhere...

Anyhow, Char had some ocean swimming to do so we packed up and headed down to Ponte Vedra. This was our first trip to the beach with Mayfield so we were curious to see how she would react. Besides not liking the deep water and waves too much, she did fine. I usually cook within an hour (even with sun block) and I am usually over the beach in less time than that so we bounced...

White dog and hot girl...

White dog and white guy...


Tonight the NBA Playoffs continue with some 2nd round matchups. Boston, Cleveland, Orlando and Detroit have all advanced in the East while LA, San Antonio, Utah and New Orleans are still playing out West. I'm still waiting for that Boston/LA series to unfold...

2nd Grade Shows are cool

Last Thursday evening Avery had her 2nd grade show at Pine Forest Elementary. It was the 10th year of the 2nd grade show and it was a great time! The show was about a new 2nd grader who went to the library but didn't like books or reading. The librarian introduced her to the magical world of books and gave her several well-known books that would "come to life." Avery had a solo scene introducing the Dr Seuss book, Green Eggs and Ham. She was also in 2 dancing scenes. I know she's my kid and all, but I have to say she did a fantastic job!

Daddy and his superstar...

KY Derby 134

Damn, the 1st Saturday in May is already tomorrow. I really need to get back home and go to the Derby- I have not been since high school. I'm not sure if it is a good idea to kick it with the locals in the infield or try to actually get some seats. I may need to research that. Anyhow, I need to make a prediction. I usually keep up with the horses going into the Derby but I have slipped over the past few years. Looking at the entrees and post positions, I was going to pull for Pyro because his odds aren't bad at 6-1 and his name is cool. Then I thought about Colonel John at 4-1 and his choice lane position in the middle next to Pyro. But I think I'm going with Big Brown at 3-1 way out on the outside in lane 20. Big Brown won the Florida Derby from the outside post a few weeks ago and has crushed the competition in his 3 total starts. Its not too often an undefeated favorite wins the Derby. And even though a filly has won the Derby only 3 times, look for Eight Belles at 20-1 as a sleeper. The last filly to win the Derby was Winning Colors in 1988 but not many fillies enter the Derby. Sometimes the boys let the gals go... This year the field is maxed out at 20 horses and the purse is a little over $2 million. The race is on tomorrow night at 6:00. You gotta love "the most exciting 2 minutes in sports!"

Dear Motorist

Please look out for us cyclists and please, SHARE THE ROAD.

Thank you.