First Fall

It finally happened... my first real fall on my bike. I expected this to happen at some time but when it does, it is pretty shocking. I am OK and more importantly my new bike is fine with a few scrapes. I did crack my helmet so I am out another $100 to pick up a new one.
So the day started with a quick ride to Boxborough to meet up with the guys. We were out on the road by 7:15 and heading to Wachusett Mountain. This is fast becoming my favorite ride. A lot of hills and great roads to ride on. The ride to the mountain was uneventful. We weren't riding that fast but just clicking off the miles. The climb to the mountain was tough but nice. I really do love climbing. On the way back we ran into a couple of rain showers. We actually missed the showers but came upon the wet roads. We were riding down Rt 62 and came up on some railroad tracks. The tracks were at a 45 degree angle to the road. I always try to cross tracks perpendicular so I tried to swing a little to the left to get the correct angle. At that time I saw someone in front of me going down. Before I knew what happened, I hit the tracks and then hit the road. My front tire must have slide across the tracks and caught in the grove between the road and tracks. I somehow flipped over landed on my hip and smashed the back of my head on the pavement. Luckily no cars were coming or we could have gotten run over. We got up and checked ourselves and our bikes for any major damage. We seemed OK so we headed home. My hip was definately banged up so it was tough going for the last twenty miles. I am glad to say that a day later it is still sore but much much better. For the day we got in 76 miles, burned 4300 calories, averaged 15.7 mph, and climbed 5400 feet. Not a bad day.
Later that day we headed to a WSC pool party. It may have been the best thing for my hip. I spent about 6 hours standing around in the pool, shooting the breeze and playing with Jordan. Thanks to the O'Neill's for a great time.
No riding on Sunday, still feeling the affects from the fall. Hope to get a little ride in during the week.

Gotta love Don Henely

So it has been a few weeks now since the B2B. I recovered nicely and have to admit only ran one day last week and no bike riding for seven days. Sunday I finally headed back out for an easy 30+ mile ride with newly engaged Tom Campbell. We rode around Acton, Stow, Harvard and Littleton. A lot of good climbs and at a conversational pace. Sunday afternoon Annie, Jordan and I went to look for an upgrade to my trusty Specialized. When I first got interested in the PMC I realized that I would need a bike (pretty obvious). I headed to the local bike shop and the choices were overwhelming. Annie and I decided to get a lower end bike and if the PMC and biking in general became a passion, I would upgrade. Our rational was that we didn't want to spend too much in the beginning, find out that I didn't really like to ride, and have a really expensive piece of carbon decorating our shed walls. Well, here we are two and a half years later and I have to admit that I love biking more than I ever imagined.
So off we headed to Wheelworks in Belmont. I had my eye on a new Specialized but once we got there I found an incredible deal on an Orbea. I will post pictures later this weekend. Looks a lot like my old bike. I also put my old bike on Craigslist and sold it for asking price in three days. I am very excited to go out tomorrow and test my new ride.
So this week so far I have gotten in 4 runs. A couple of 4 milers and a couple of 8's The eights were in Lincoln around Walden Pond. If you are into nature at all you should go check out Walden Pond. The water level is incredibly high and a lot of the trails around the pond are closed. Today I went out behind the pond in Walden Woods. Thanks to Don Henely there is a beautiful layout of trails along the Sudbury river and over to the pond. I might have to go home and listen to a little Eagles tonight in Don's honor.

B2B 2.0

Last weekend was my second B2B which is a ride from the Harpoon Brewery in Boston to the Harpoon Brewery in Windsor Vermont. Here are the stats:
147.8 Miles
8:22 on the bike
17.7 MPH average
44.7 MPH Max speed
7500 feet of climbing
Average Heart Rate 141 bpm
Max Heart Rate 169 bpm
Calories burned 8900

It was a great day. Up at three am to get ready. Left Boxborough heading to Boston at 4:00. Once I got settled, signed in, and parked the car we were on the road at 5:15. Being my second year I had a much better idea of what to expect so I was much less nervous. The wild card this year was that the temps were expected to be in the high 80's and I am not happy in the heat. We had a great group of 5 of us that rode the first 25 miles together and then I got a flat. By the time I realized what was happening everyone was to far in front of me to call for help so I had to stop and change the tire alone. Changing the tire was no problem but then I was on my own to try to catch back up to the group. I rode for about 10 miles alone and then a group came along that I was able to tuck into the back of. I got to the first rest stop and connected back with our group. Right after the first stop is the first big climb of the day. This is out in Ashby Mass and it is really two climbs back to back with a 150 yard downhill in between. I felt excellent on the climbs. At the top of the climb it was 50 miles down, 100 to go and I was feeling great. The next section is basically 40 miles of rolling hills on Rte 119 into New Hampshire. This section was boring but pretty easy. At the end of this section, I texted Annie and told her I felt great and the heat wasn't bothering me at all.
Then came the second big hill. This is where I started to fall apart a bit. The hill isn't really that steep but it is long and you are exhausted from the previous 90 miles. I got in my lowest gear and ground it out up this hill. After the top it was lunch time. Lunch consisted of Powerade, some cookies, and believe it or not some pickles (for the salt). After lunch we headed north towards the Brewery. Somewhere during this next stretch my stomach told me that maybe the pickles were not the best idea! The good thing about riding for 8+ hours is that you go through stages where you feel great then bad then good again. Soon the 'sour' stomach feeling passed and I started counting down the miles to the last rest stop. The last stop is at the perfect location. 20 miles to go. We stopped there, ate a little and got more fluids. After that I suddenly felt much better. The last 20 were a breeze. Once we got to the Brewery it was a couple of Harpoons, a great chicken dinner and a bus ride home. I was amazed last year that I couldn't sleep on the bus and the same thing happened this year. On the way home I stopped by my parents house to see their Canadian visitors and went to bed around 11:30. A 20 hour day with 150 miles of bike riding. Not to bad. Best part of the whole ride was Jordan waking me at 5:30 on Father's Day. She wasn't very impressed with my bike ride but did paint me a wonderful birdhouse!!

Here is why we ride!!

Oil Burner and a surprise ride

Woke up this morning to no hot water. Doesn't bother me much since I usually shower at the gym but Annie was a little disappointed. I scooted into work to get a few things taken care of and was back home by 9am. Luckily the oil burner just needed to be cleaned out a bit and we are back in business. I decided to go out for a ride to Wachusett Mountain. It's a little lonely going out that far alone but I had a great ride. It was about 70 miles round trip with 4300 feet of climbing. That should pay dividends in two weeks at the B2B. I also finally got my bike GPS working which makes these long rides a little easier because I don't have to worry as much about getting lost. The ride took about 5 hours. It is nice to get in a ride on a day that you had no intentions to.

Buddy's Bash and some riding

Buddy's Bash finally happened and it was a success!!!
We raised over $500 on the raffle. Thanks to Colonial Spirits, Littleton Sub Shop, RJ Bradleys,Wachusett Brewing, Nashoba Package Store, The Daigles, Main Streets Cafe, Scupper Jacks, & The Crossroads. Special thanks to Jim's Wicked Awesome Garage Band. The band rocked and everyone had a great time. Here are the hosts.

I haven't written about riding much lately but I promise there is a lot going on. Buddy's Bash weekend I got in a couple of days in. I have been averaging around 100 miles a week so although I always wish I was riding more I am doing pretty well.
Fundraising is over $3,000 and still going.

A strange week

It was a strange week of riding. First I was able to get in a nice 43 mile ride on Wednesday. It felt great to get out mid-week with minimal traffic and a nice sunny morning. My legs feel excellent and although I would like to have more miles in them by now, I can't complain with how they feel. I did get a nice 7 mile run in on Friday morning. I remember when 7 miles was nothing but lately it has been a reason to celebrate!! The weekend was a bust for riding. It rained on and off all Saturday and Sunday the constant winds just sapped my motivation. I did manage to pick up two more raffle prizes, from RJ Bradleys Ski Shop and one from Wachusett Brewery the raffle should be a success. Happy Mothers Day to Annie, Mom and all the mothers out there.

Quick Update

Went out last night on my way home to gather raffle prizes Buddy's Bash. So far we have Gift Certs from Littleton Sub Shope, Marx Running in Acton, and Main Streets Cafe in Concord. Check out their websites. Good stuff. Off to see the Sox tonight, hoping the rain holds off. Maybe a ride tomorrow morning.

Hot Hot Hot

So it has been a few weeks since my last post. Last weekend I got in a nice ride with Team Lick. We got about 40 miles in. Unfortunately Annie still has class so I was unable to get out for a ride on Sunday. During the week I got in three runs. I would like to start riding once or twice during the week but so far the weather and logistics have not cooperated. On Thursday night I went to the Harpoon Brewery. It was the first time there since last years B2B ride and it brought back some nice memories. We went to see Peter Gammons. He is an amazing story teller. He took questions from the crowd, mostly baseball related. I could have used help from Chris K. No questions from me but he did autograph a bottle of his own beer. Pretty cool night. Friday was my Mom's B-day. We had a nice dinner made by Annie and Jordan (I think Annie did most of the work). Good times!!!
Saturday finally came and I got out early for a ride. I headed out to Shirley and Lancaster. It was a nice 45 miler and a great day for it.
Sunday was the interesting day. Annie had class so I did not plan a ride, but she had her final so she was home early. I headed out around 4 so the temp had dropped to about 89. I only had a two hour window so I headed for some hills. What you can't cover in volume, make up with intensity!!!! Hammered some hills in Harvard for 33 miles and still made it home in one piece. I can say my legs are tightening up as I type. Could be a rough night for sleep.
On a more important note, I passed the $1,000 in fundraising mark this week. I am deeply appreciative of all who support me and/or the PMC. I was also able to shoot a PSA for Team Lick Cancer this week and should hopefully have it up on my blog shortly.

Meeting Charlotte

It has been a busy week so I apologize for the delay in this post. Last week was a good one for training. I got in runs of 4 to 7 miles three days and a couple of rides. On Thursday I was lucky enough to meet Charlotte O'Shea. Charlotte is the daughter of a High School classmate of mine. Charlotte also suffers from AT/RT, a rare pediatric brain tumor. She was diagnosed with this at 2 years old and fortunately she just celebrated her 6th birthday. Charlotte is the Team Lick Cancer's (the team I ride with)pedal partner. We also have targeted all of our fundraising money to go towards finding a cure for AT/RT. On Thursday we met Charlotte at a video shoot. The purpose of the shoot was to raise awareness of our team and of Charlotte. Once the video is edited (there has to be alot of editing to make us look good!), I will post a link. Charlotte was a pro with her lines and she is the best hulu-hooper I have ever seen.
Earlier on Thursday I got a little ride in with a teammate, "Realtyman". We rode from my house up into Harvard Center and back. We didn't have a lot of time but it was a nice ride.
On Sunday I got out for another 30 miler. I went the same loop as a week ago. The wind was strong in places so it was a much harder effort. I am going to shoot for three hours for the next one.

Quick after work ride

Untitled by sagaebel at Garmin Connect - Details

First Ride by sagaebel at Garmin Connect - Details

First Ride by sagaebel at Garmin Connect - Details

Here is the data from my new Garmin Edge 705 from my first ride. Too much data but kinda interesting.

Easter and my first real ride of the year

So yesterday was Easter and I finally got out on the roads. In the morning we had a little Easter breakfast and an egg hunt. Jordan was able to find all her eggs so I think the Easter Bunny will have to hide them a bit better next year. After the hunt I headed out. I had my new Garmin Edge 705 GPS on my bike so I was extremely anxious to see how it worked. It is better than I could have imagined. It measures speed, heart rate, cadence, evelavation gains and calories burned. Once you are done with a ride you can download it and hopefully post it to your blog. I am still working on the posting part. The basics of the ride were; 32 miles, 2 hours, 16.2 mph (not bad for a hilly first day), and 1700 calories burned. I have to say that I felt great riding, very surprising for the first day out. After the ride we went to Boxborough for another egg hunt, then on to Plymouth for yet another egg hunt with Jordan's cousins. Her cousins were very helpful and let Jordan find all the 'easy' eggs. I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter.

First Day Outside

Not the Bike I planned on riding today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



My co-pilot. I told her the ball was extra weight.

Finally.... First day on the bike outside. Unfortunately it was on Annie's Mt Bike with Jordan riding shotgun. We rode approximately 10 miles with a stop at "Grampy's" on the way. We saw some sheep (or Lambs as Jordan said). The best part of the ride was the last mile when Jordan fell asleep in her seat. I'm not really sure how that is possible but she did it.

Well I am back for another year of riding and raising money for the PMC. Yep, doing it again. I think that once you sign on, you are hooked for life. This year my team (Team Lick Cancer) is riding for a Charlotte O'Shea. Charlotte is a little girl from Harvard that is currently battling cancer. She turned six yesterday and had a big party! She is the reason we get on our bikes each week. She is the reason that we ride in the rain, that we knock on doors, and that we ask for your donations. We need to find a cure, quickly, so a six year old girl and her family can look forward to many more birthdays.

Tomorrow will be my first ride on my bike. I got a new Garmin GPS for my bike so hopefully I can download my ride to this blog.



Good night.