It’s a slippery slope I ride

Monday January 21^st through Sunday January 27^th

This past week I attended 4 spinning classes, did one short outdoor ride and rode my trainer 1 time for a total of 92.38 miles.  I’m still on I-76 approaching Washington, PA.  I should be able to work my way into Ohio by next week and leave Pennsylvania behind!

Progress Status:  Ahead of schedule

Total Miles Rode:  348.2
Miles Remaining:  2407.1

Ride Notes:  My legs must be getting used to riding this much as I feel good and my legs aren’t as tired as they first were when I started.  I’m very happy with my progress and I am about 150 miles ahead of schedule!

This past Friday I had to go into work at 5:00am so as a result I was able to go home by the early afternoon.  The temperature was a balmy 48 degrees for January and I was ready for another outdoor ride.  I got not more than a mile into my ride when I realized it probably wasn’t going to be a good idea.  I ran into a few lightly snow covered areas that were in the shade.  Those areas of the trail did not bother my riding.  However, where the snow had melted and froze again across the trail was the real problem.  The first patch of ice I encountered got me worried, but I thought to myself that I would probably only run into one or two more of these.  I was wrong.  It seemed like about every 100 feet of trail there was 20 feet of ice.  I turned around and cut my ride short.  I’m hoping for more warm weather to melt this damn ice!

Facing your fears on a Mid January bike ride

Monday January 14^th through Sunday January 20^th

This past week I attended 3 spinning classes, did one outdoor ride, and rode my trainer 1 time for a total of 76.81 miles.  This puts me just east of Bedford, PA.  From the street views on Google maps, this looks like some very beautiful country side to be riding through.  I’m still heading west on I-76.

Progress Status:  Ahead of schedule

Total Miles Rode:  255.83

Miles Remaining:  2499.44

Ride Notes:  I took it easy, and only rode 5 days this past week and did not double up on Saturday or Sunday like I usually do.  I’m still making great progress.

This past Saturday my wife and I attended the 5^th annual Polar Pedal Bike ride.  This is an annual social gathering of bike riders that do a short 10 mile “party” ride on one of the MUP’s here in Omaha.  The weather was much warmer than in past years so the turn out was quite large for a mid-January ride.  This was a special occasion as this was the first bike ride my wife has done since her accident back in July of last year.  She said she was frightened a few times crossing some bridges that were similar to the one she had her accident on.  But in the end she faced her fears and pedaled on.  I am so proud of her!

Turnout at last stop.

Trucking along I-76

Thursday January 10^th through Sunday January 13^th

I had one spinning class and rode 3 times on my trainer for a total of 55.62 miles.  This puts me at a total of 179.02 ridden so far and plots me on the map at about 8 miles past Harrisburg, PA. I'm still heading west on I-76.

Progress Status: Ahead of schedule

Total Miles Rode: 179.02

Miles Remaining:  2576.28

Ride Notes:  I’m happy with my progress thus far and am way ahead of schedule.  My legs are feeling good and I am finding myself in the saddle a bit longer on my trainer than I normally ride.  I want to start working on increasing my pace and put my average speed to well over 16 mph on my trainer.  My plan is to start pushing bigger gears to build up my leg strength.  I may take a hit on average mph at first, but in the long run I think it will pay off.  My endurance seems to be strong, and if I had the time I could probably at my current pace ride for a good 2 to 3 hours at a time.

This past week I finished the rebuild of my single speed mountain bike.  The goal of that project was two fold. 

First I wanted to have my frame powder-coated to make it look better as the paint job was a wreck and was showing the 20 years of age it had on it. 

Secondly, I wanted to build my skills as a bike mechanic. 

It took watching several YouTube videos, asking several questions on http://forums.mtbr.com and buying the correct tools, but I was able to finally strip my bike down to the bare frame, have it powder-coated, and reassemble it.  Both of my goals were realized and I am happy with the end result.

If the weather cooperates I will be able to take it out this coming weekend for the 5^th annual Polar Pedal bike ride.  You got to love riding in the middle of January in the Midwest.  This would be my first outdoor ride of 2013.

Next Scheduled ride: Jan 14^th.  Spinning Class

Banking Miles and Tired Legs

Weekend Jan 5^th & 6^th

This weekend I put in just over 36 miles in 3 rides on my trainer.  I’ve passed Allentown, PA still heading west on I-78, making my way towards Harrisburg, PA.

Progress Status:  Ahead of schedule

Total Miles Rode:  91.2

Miles Remaining:  2664.1

Ride Notes:  As I was typing this, I should have planned better and downloaded the Billy Joel song Allentown and played that once while riding.  On second thought that would be $0.99 and 4 minutes of my life I would never get back.  My time was better spent watching Storage Wars recorded on my home grown DVR/Media center.  The Brooks saddle is feeling good, but had to adjust the seat angle as I found myself sliding forward when I sat upright without holding the handlebars.

Next scheduled ride: Jan 7^th.  Spinning Class

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Monday Jan 7^th

I rode for 60 minutes in spinning class for a total of 16 miles.  I’m inching my way closer to Harrisburg, PA and am still on I-78.

Progress Status:  Ahead of schedule

Total Miles Rode: 107.2

Miles Remaining:  2648.1

Ride Notes:  My legs were feeling a bit tired in class today.  I’m currently ahead of schedule, and its tempting to hold back. I know that things will come up that will prevent me from riding in the future, so I push ahead.  Its better to have the miles in the bank than try to make them up down the road.

Next Scheduled ride: Jan 9^th.  Spinning Class

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Wednesday Jan 9th

I rode for 60 minutes in spinning class for a total of 16.2 miles.  I'm about 60 miles outside Harrisburg, PA and am still on I-78.  I hope to be past Harrisburg by this time next week.

Progress Status:  Ahead of schedule
Total Miles Rode: 123.4
Miles Remaining 2631.9

Rode Notes:  I had an awkward work schedule Tuesday as I had to get into work at 5:00am for a change at the call center.   As a result I was a bit tired in class today, but managed to push through it will almost maximum effort.  Cathy slipped on the ice at work and hurt her knee yesterday.  For the next week or so I will be without her at spinning class. :-(

I finally received all of the parts I need to complete the rebuild of my single speed bicycle.  This weekend I should have it all put together.  This was a really interesting project for me and my knowledge of how to work on bicycles has grown greatly.  I will dedicate a post just for this over the weekend.

Next Scheduled ride: Jan 10th.  Spinning Class

Happy 2013! Week 1

Happy 2013!

Jan 1, 2013

I’ve started 2013 with a great start to my virtual bike ride across America!  On January 1^st I did two indoor rides of 12 and 10 miles to work my why out of Manhattan and onto I-78 west. 

Progress Status:  On Target

Total Miles Rode:  22.33

Miles Remaining:  2732.67

Ride Notes:  I ordered a new saddle for my single speed bike project I’m working on.  It’s a Brooks B17 classic in black.  In order to break it in for spring riding, I’ve put it on my road bike which I’m using on my trainer for winter riding.  When I first opened the box and felt the saddle I thought it may be a bit hard, but after a few hours of riding on it, it’s surprisingly comfortable.  I will have more thoughts on this as I spend more time on it and break it in.

Next scheduled ride:  Jan 2^nd (spinning class)

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Jan 2, 2013

Spinning Class was a tough one for me.  I seemed to spend more time in Zone 5 than I normally do.  This must have been a side affect of riding twice yesterday.  I spent 55 minutes spinning for a total of 14.66 miles.  Still working my way west on I-78.

Progress Status:  On Target

Total Miles Rode: 36.99

Miles Remaining: 2718.01

Next Scheduled Ride Jan 3^rd (spinning class)

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January 3, 2013

I took it a bit easy in spin class tonight, and slowed down every time I approached zone 5.  I spent 67 minutes spinning for a total of 17.86 miles.  Still working my way west on I-78

Progress Status:  On Target

Total Miles Rode: 54.85

Miles Remaining 2700.45

Nest Scheduled Ride – Saturday and/or Sunday