Beagle's Blog

What Happened to the Biking Blog?

2011-12-22T07:37:00.000-05:00

Hi Everyone. No, I didn't drop off the face of the Earth... perhaps the face of the biking world, but not the face of the Earth. I've just been doing a miserable job of getting back on my bike in recent days. There are never enough hours in the day, and I've been prioritizing other items over biking. Since the last post on this blog, my daughter has taken up much of my previously free time, and has taken a strong #1 priority over all else. In addition, in those remaining spare moments I've written two physics books (second was just published last week), and am excited to report that child #2 should be arriving in about two months.

I'm hoping that as the kids get older I can attach a child carrier to my street bike and get back into biking, but for now, family is taking precedence. There might even be some opportunities to get in sporadic rides this summer, but I don't see the daily multi-hour rides coming up again in the near future, a trade I'm more than willing to make for more time with my family.

Best wishes to all on a tremendous holiday season!

Equipment Failures

2009-06-14T17:17:00.000-04:00

Nice day last Sunday, hoped to get in a little ride in a feeble attempt to regain some level of fitness. Half the ride was terrific, the other half, well... my pump broke before I ever even got out of the garage. Not to be deterred, I tried my emergency hand pump -- it would hardly work at all, so I used a CO2 cartridge and got the tire filled up. Still had one more CO2 cartridge, so I felt safe embarking. Halfway through my ride, my front derailleur stopped working. Before I could find a good spot to pull over and attempt some on-the-fly repairs, I dropped the chain. OK, these things happen. Spent about 15 minutes stopped with the bike upside down and was able to get the chain back on, but only the large chainring would work, and derailleur adjustments were beyond my control. Headed home on just the large chainring (thankfully had picked a flat route for the day), and got the bike into the shop. Should have the bike back sometime middle of next week. Oh well, that'll teach me to skip the beginning-of-season tune-up.

Distance: 15.22 miles
Time: a leisurely 62 minutes
Speed: 14.7 mph
Avg HR: 150
Calories burned: 939

And a new season begins!

2009-04-25T14:55:00.003-04:00

Beautiful day here, 80F in April, so pulled out the bike for the first time this year and took a nice loop out east and back. Wind was about 15mph from the west, and I felt SOOOO out of shape, but the grass was green, sun was shining -- a nice start to a new season (and boy could I use the exercise!)

Distance: 13.15 miles
Avg. Speed: 14.3 mph
Max Speed: 23.5 mph
Avg. HR: 162
Calories Burned: ~800

Fall Looks to be Over

2008-10-25T11:00:00.003-04:00

Well, it's been quite a while since I've been on the bike, as my new job has been eating up just about all of my free time. However, I've made friends with a co-worker who is getting into biking and we're talking regularly, so I'm hoping after I get a year of curriculum "down pat," I'll have more time in the spring and summer to go riding, especially with the added encouragement of a friend to bike with.

Getting to be about time to move the bike down to the trainer in the basement, as I saw snow fall for the first time this week, and as much as I enjoyed my attempts at winter biking last year, the trainer in the basement was considerably more enjoyable.

Make it a great day!

Easy Evening Ride

2008-08-04T21:21:00.002-04:00

Back on the back this evening, about 4.25 miles with Mrs. Beagle as a warm-up, then rode through some developments before stopping to chat with some friends for a few minutes, then up to Lake Ontario for a couple miles before repeating the loop just in time to pick up Mrs. Beagle at the end of her activity and enjoy a nice cooldown ride back home. Sunset was beautiful, temperature was comfortable, and the company was perfect.

Distance: 22.5 miles
Avg. Speed: 13.7 mph (lots of stops)
Calories Burned: 1,283
Avg. HR: 128
Max HR: 179

Long time no post...

2008-07-28T18:17:00.001-04:00

Well, as I'm sure you've noticed, my posts have become non-existent since completing the century ride back in early June -- this doesn't reflect a shift in interests by any stretch, but rather a change in priorities as I have recently switched occupations, and will begin a new career as a full-time physics teachers this fall. In the meantime, most free moments have been spent preparing curriculum items as I embark on a new adventure...

Although I do imagine I will get back to this blog, for the near future I feel comfortable that the bikebeagle blog has successfully accomplished its two primary goals -- first, to introduce me to blogging (in anticipation of this career change), and secondly, to track and document progress toward completion of my first imperial century. Thank you for your support toward both these ends!

Sunday Jaunt

2008-06-22T13:20:00.002-04:00

Went out for a short ride this morning to get some exercise, enjoy the sun, and do a little mental planning. Winds were out of the south west, so I headed south first out of Webster down toward Fairport, with temperatures just perfect for a ride. Scenery was very green, traffic was light -- just a nice day out. Started seeing some darker clouds to the west about the time I hit Whitney Road, so I headed west from there, then turned around and came home north up 250, always a nice flat ride that goes quite quickly with a strong tailwind.

Ride Statistics:
Distance: 22 miles
Time: 1:18:01
Speed: 16.4 mph
Calories: ~1338
Avg. HR: 144

Hermano Ride

2008-06-16T21:45:00.005-04:00

Was down in Pennsylvania visiting my folks last weekend, and managed to sneak in a quick ride with my younger brother. He has a new Lemond Alpe d'Huez, so we decided we'd do about a 25 mile ride, hoping to sneak it in before the rains hit. I was sneaky, and pretended I didn't know where we were headed so I could draft off him on the way out and perhaps give the illusion I was a strong rider (he's young, he can take it). He took it easy on me, however, and eased up on the pace as we cruised along at about 17-18 mph.

The ride out was uneventful. We started on top of a fairly large hill, coasted to the bottom, then headed out about 13 miles before turning around and coming back. A few minutes after turning around, however, we got absolutely drenched. Since little bro had a battery-powered light on the back of his bike, I took the lead and he brought up the rear to help cars see us in the heavy rains as I pulled through the torrential downpour back into town. Sure could have used some windshield wipers on my sunglasses. The rain abated as we pulled into town.

We took a different route back up the hill to avoid the highest grades, but still had a substantial climb at the end of the route -- it was about all I could handle (and I still need to get a 12-27 installed for my rear cassette). He thought it was fun, though -- and even practices the hills over and over. A good thing to do, I can't argue, but does he has to be so jovial and happy about it? Lightweights and hills. Grrrrr.
Overall, though, it was a great day for gentle 27-mile loop and I very much enjoyed my first ride with my brother.

Ride Statistics:

Distance: 26.97 miles
Speed: 15.9 mph
Max Speed: 30.1 mph
Avg. HR: 146 bpm
Max HR: 192 bpm
Calories Burned: ~1664

Century Ride I

2008-06-09T21:35:00.013-04:00

The 2008 Tour de Cure event is finally over, and I'm quite proud to say that I completed the century, realizing a goal set more than six months ago. It seems a little bit strange now, after focusing on this event as a primary goal for so long, I have no idea what to answer when people ask "so, what's next?" Or the ever-popular question, "would you do it again?" At this point in time, I'm not certain. Perhaps right now, some of the more difficult (i.e. painful) parts of the ride are a bit too fresh in my mind. Regardless, I am glad to have had the opportunity to participate in the event, very glad to have finished the 100 miles successfully, and thrilled for all the support from friends and family, without which I couldn't have been successful.

There's no doubt in my mind, the first 50 miles of the ride were all about cashing in on my six months of training. The next 28 miles were all about not letting my friends and supporters down. The following 14 miles were all about riding on heart and love of my family. And the last 8 miles I attribute to a couple sprinklers shooting out over the road, a bit more shade as we re-entered Mendon Ponds Park, and most importantly, a gentle push from God.

Pre-Kickoff:

Mrs. Beagle made up a very nice carb-loading dinner the night before the event, with some potato gnocchi, a garden salad, and some chicken parm (she even made mine without cheese -- true love!). All day I pushed fluids, attempting to pre-hydrate before the big event, expected to be a scorcher. I got up at 5:30 the day of the ride, hopped in the shower, got dressed, and ate a banana for breakfast as well as downing a glass of water. Drank a bottle of 50% Gatorade/50% water on the way to the ride.

I arrived at the start of the ride just before 6:45, registered at the tent (very straightforward and easy), and returned to my vehicle to unload my bike, attach my ride number, pump up my tires, and make sure I had on plenty of sunscreen before we left. We were informed that we could get started as soon as we wanted, as the high heat and humidity for the day would likely slow us down, and it would be wise to get as many miles in as we could as early as we could. I was also advised that the tour directors were pushing folks toward the metric century (62 miles) instead of the 100 mile route due to the weather, but after all my training, there was no way I was going to admit defeat and do the metric before I even got on the bike.

I verified I had all my equipment -- sunscreen, cell phone, ID, insurance card, camera, GORP, GU Energy Gels, Clif Shot Blocks, Sport Beans, Camelbak (full), helmet, gloves -- yup, as good as it gets! Initially I'd figured I was hugely on the overkill side with my packing (4 Gel Paks, plus a bag of shot blocks and sport beans?) By the end of the ride, though, I determined I had brought JUST enough to get by, and probably should have taken a bit more. A terrific partner in crime tossed me one last carb-loaded Gel Pak on the last 10 miles that made quite a difference -- I was out of gas!

My riding and training partner, Target, hadn't arrived yet, so I took the opportunity to take a picture or two of the riders milling around, stretch out, continue to pre-hydrate, and generally stand around nervously saying hi to people I'd never met. Target arrived shortly after 7, registered, got set up, and we were on our way by around 7:15, 15 minutes before the official start time.

Stage 1: Mendon Ponds Park

The first 14 miles of the century ride is a loop around the rolling hills of Mendon Ponds Park. Perhaps we should have taken it as an omen, but the opening route out of the parking area (through a gate covered with celebratory balloons) was a fairly steep hill to begin with, but not very long. As we got to the top, a tour volunteer was holding up traffic and pointing us in the correct direction, and I thought to myself: "Wow Self, with support like this, today should be a truly amazing ride. I've never seen anything like this." From there we went through a number of rolling hills. I certainly wasn't pushing, but there were enough other riders in our vicinity that I was spending the extra ounce of energy or two to close gaps and suck their tire, allowing their draft to pull me along and ultimately save me energy in the long run.

I think Target started having some mechanical troubles here. Although I don't have much experience riding with others, his experience is even more limited, and it didn't look like he was comfortable getting close enough to the riders in front to gain any benefit from the draft, so he was pushing a bit harder than was probably wise. He dropped his chain right around mile marker 7, at which point I realized why he was having trouble and we agreed to slow down and go at a slower pace. Note -- by this time it was already over 80 degrees outside, with a ~15 mph wind out of the southwest. Pic on right is Target coming up the road after a chain drop.

Going through the park, I inadvertently altered my nutritional intake plan by eating more than a couple bugs. Crunchy -- check; high in protein -- check; tasty -- not so much. Plus, I didn't eat them so much as inhale them. Thankfully, the density of bugs dropped around mile 10, and never really picked up too badly again.

Target dropped his chain twice more before we reached rest stop #1 at about 14 miles. We took a very quick break to refill our drinks bottles (I carried a Camelbak with 100 oz. of water and 2 bottles of 50% Gatorade), I ate another banana and an apple slice, then off we went.

Stage 2: The River Road

Not 200 feet from rest stop #1, Target dropped his chain again, which repeated a couple more times before we got to the second rest stop at 26.4 miles. Each time, of course, it appeared to happen as he shifted into his smallest front chainring, usually coming up the hills, so he lost all his moment on the rolling hills and really had to toil up the hills the hard way. I'm guessing he was having trouble with cross-chaining, combined with an "opportunity for improvement" in his derailler alignment, but we pushed through (with lots of folks making sure we were okay as the side-of-road chain re-alignments were completed). Terrain was basically gentle rolling hills for this stretch, as we headed west into the wind for about 5 miles, before turning southwest directly into the wind, which seemed to be picking up a touch. Target actually started to get his bike legs on this stretch, and we pulled into rest stop #2 at 26.4 miles in fairly high spirits.

The staffers at rest stop #2 were just tremendous. Despite being very crowded, I had help refilling my Gatorade bottles, my Camelbak (which was more than half empty already in the heat!), ate another half a banana and an apple slice, and even talked one of the staffers into taking a picture of Target and I (right, I'm in yellow, Target in blue). After a quick trip to the bathroom, we were on our way again. Although I look a bit rough in the picture, at this point I'm still feeling pretty strong, although it is getting pretty darn toasty outside!

Stage 3: York

Leaving rest stop two, we turned west for about 5 miles across rolling hills, directly into the headwind. Uphills didn't seem too bad into the wind, but the downhills sure sapped speed. I kept up a reasonable spin downhill which carried me up quite a bit of the uphills, saving me energy, but many of the riders coasting down the hills had to work pretty hard to get up the next one, and I could really tell the heat was getting to Target. He started cramping up on one hill, gave it another go, but within a mile or so, he was off the bike with both a calf and a quad cramp at the same time. He tried to stretch it out and keep hydrating, but it wasn't to be. We stopped across from a dairy farm, and within a few minutes we had two SAG wagons helping us load up Target's bike, and the driver even agreed to return Target up the route about 6 more miles to his parent's place (our own personal rest stop)! I continued on, agreeing to see him in a few minutes at his parents'.

A mile or two down the road, we turned south onto some gentle rolling hills in some fairly open plains. At this point, the wind was strong enough to cause some veering, the sun was gone, and it was just gray and dreary. Having lost my riding buddy was certainly weighing on me as well, but physically I still felt good. Going through the town of York I saw quite a few fans along the sides of the route cheering me on, which does wonders for picking up your spirits. I stopped for just a minute at the rest stop to use the facilities and grab a banana.

Stage 4: Geneseo

Within a mile or two of the stage 3 rest stop, I came upon Target and his family, all out at the side of the road to greet me. I was able to trade my banana peel for a reload of ice in my Camelbak (WONDERFUL cold ice), cheered to see Target was looking in much better shape, if ambling along with a bit of a limp. I was later to learn he was basically sidelined all day, as the knots in his leg had him fairly sore. I was wished luck on the hill I'd see just prior to the next rest stop in Geneseo, and off again, now as a solo rider.

Our exploits with the bike chain and the SAG wagon had taken their toll, and by my reckoning I really had to keep pushing if I was going to complete the 100 miles by the strictly-enforced 4 p.m. deadline. Originally I'd hoped to take a 20-30 minute lunch break to stretch, relax, and generally recharge. Given where I was, all rest stops were going to have to be just a couple minutes unless I made up some serious time (something the wind was certainly NOT helping me with)!

Went another 4 miles south before turning southeast into the flats of Geneseo. The downhill was nice, but once again, the wind made the flats much more difficult than I would have hoped. Cruised into Geneseo and I could see the hill we were climbing -- by far the largest, steepest hill of the day. Quite a few cyclists were off their bikes and walking at various stages of the hill, with another large contingent taking a breather at the top. I put 'er into the granny gear and made it up, but it was quite a struggle, and I was fighting off leg cramps by the top. In hindsight, I might have been wise to join the other cyclists and walk up the steepest part, as I burned too much muscle energy here that I wished I'd saved for later.

Coming out of Geneseo a mile or two from the hill they had our fourth rest stop (45.1 miles in), which was fairly crowded and didn't have a restroom, but they did have water, Gatorade, and bananas. I reloaded my Gatorade bottles, and ate a half a banana before pulling out. Didn't think to refill my Camelbak as it had just been filled with ice, but this turned out to be a mistake, as I ran out of water on the next stage. Thankfully, still had plenty of Gatorade to drink.

I also noted in this stage that I started to feel a bit off -- My body wasn't absorbing the liquids I drank as fast as I was sweating them out, I could feel my leg muscles tightening, and the energy stores were starting to deplete. I'd have to keep a close watch on my nutrition from here on out. Also, breathing started to get a bit labored, and deep breaths caused just the slightest sensation of nausea (which would stick with me the rest of the ride). Regardless, it was time to hop back on the bike and head northeast!

Century Ride II

2008-06-09T14:59:00.005-04:00

Stage 5: Avon

Pulling out of rest stop #4, our route took us northeast (finally a tailwind!!!) on generally flat to gentle rolling hills up to the town of Avon. Scenery to the east was generally plowed farmland, but looking over the valley we had just climbed out of to the west was gorgeous. I felt a brief sprinkle for a minute or two before the clouds cleared up and the sun came down. At first it was pretty. Then it was just plain hot.

I noticed in this stage of the ride, although I was consciously taking it easy on the bike, I was still passing quite a few riders. A few were century riders, but it appears many of them were on the metric century route. On the downhills, even without pedaling, my bike seemed faster than many others (without any drafting), and knowing how much farther I had to go, I certainly wasn't going to put on my brakes on the downhill portions of rolling hills. I continued to throw in some on-bike stretches as time allowed, and pedaled softly on the downhills to keep my legs moving. Although my stomach was a bit queasy, overall this was one of the nicest stretches of the ride, which I attribute strongly to the tailwind.

Stage 5 concluded with a relatively steep but short climb into the town of Avon, where rest stop #5 waited in a firehall at the town circle. As I pulled around the circle, a ride volunteer was standing out front cheering the cyclists on, which lifted my spirits as I pulled in with fairly dead legs after the climb. I used the restroom, refilled the Camelbak, and ate a banana. Unfortunately, the rest stop was out of Gatorade, and I drank most of the two bottles I carried during the last stretch. Guess I was running on water alone for the next stage. I also was led to understand that they had lunch for those doing the century at this rest stop, but either I completely missed it or they'd taken it back inside by the time I arrived. Stretched my legs again, started on the shot blocks and a single Gel packet, munched on some GORP for the salt, and thanked the designated "cheerer" before pulling out back onto the road.

Stage 6: Eastward Bound

Leaving Avon, we had a gentle climb out of the village before the road flattened out for a couple miles. I found myself passing a few folks, but basically keeping up with a group of 6-8 cyclists all in team jerseys who really looked like they knew what they were doing. The heat was really starting to take its toll, and I was down to a bare maintenance energy level (knew I had to keep eating, as any delays or skips would have me bonking). Following these guys for a while was fun, until I saw them go straight through an intersection which had a sign pointing to the right (south) for the century riders.

Gut check time. Having lost Target early, I'd lost quite a bit of time, and continuing on would require me to keep up a speed on the order of 15 mph to get to the finish in time. I could certainly follow the metric route from here on in without having to push my pace, and that'd be a lot safer, especially in this heat. Grudgingly, however, I turned south to continue the century route, hoping the SAG (Support and GeAR) wagons would patrol this part of the route as well, as I began to worry that perhaps this ride was beyond my current capabilities.

As I turned south, I was further disheartened to see a very wide, busy road (Route 15), that appeared to go on and on forever. I knew from studying the map previously that I would reach the lake (and the next rest stop) in 5-6 miles, but the open plain, strong headwind, strong sun, and humid conditions just sapped the life out of you. After a mile or two it didn't help that I began to see many of the century riders coming up the OTHER side of the road, having already completed the added extended century loop. I was pushing the clock, and they were 30+ miles ahead of me. I was going to be very upset if I pushed to do the century, got mighty close, and was pulled off the course due to the enforced time limit. I even began to start thinking up plans of how I could do laps around the neighborhood at home to get in any last miles if I got pulled off the course.

About the time I'd thoroughly disgusted myself with all my whining, I realized that not finishing wasn't an option. I had people counting on me, expecting me to do this, and there was no way I was going to let them down. Friends I'd see at the post-event picnic. Family both riding other routes and keeping me in their thoughts and prayers from a distance. Target, who was so excited for the ride but had to bail out early because his leg gave out -- how could I face him with a bail out when my legs were still working?

So, I started singing the Finding Nemo song in my head "just keep swimming--- just keep swimming..." until I made it to Lakeville at the north end of Lake Conesus and another rest stop.

This rest stop was jam packed with riders, although I believe many of them were on their way OUT of Lakeville as opposed to in. I saw one rider I knew from a local bike club ride I'd done previously, who was having his pulse taken by an EMT, and the grass in front of the firehall was littered with bodies taking short naps or just resting their eyes for a few moments. As tempting as it was to join them, I was on the clock. Quick trip to the restroom, another banana, and another water refill. Uh-oh, no Gatorade. Already knowing I was in the high probability arena for cramps, just drinking straight water for ANOTHER stage didn't seem like a good thing at all. I ate another gel pak, finished the shot blocks, and got back on the bike. No time to loiter!

Stage 7: East Side of Conesus Lake

Started down the east side of Conesus Lake on a fairly narrow two-lane road with minimal shoulder, not helped by the popularity of the lake leading to many cars parked on the very edge of the road, and many pickup trucks pulling large boats in trailers. I didn't feel unsafe, but by all means this was a stretch that required strong attention to the surroundings and continual re-evaluation of bail-out points in case something did go wrong. The wind off the lake (with minimal blockage) was a mixed blessing -- the breeze was slightly cooler than I'd been used to, but once again, I was headed south INTO the wind.

The lake seemed to go on for quite some time, but there were a few cyclists in my same vicinity that would stick within a couple miles of each other the rest of the way. I was starting to fade again toward the end of the stage, so managed to suck the wheel of another rider for the last mile or two into the rest stop. By now the nauseous feeling was getting stronger, and I could readily tell that drinking just water was not the answer. I needed something with some salt and electrolytes.

Made it to the rest stop to find more water and some very helpful people, as well as some half strength Gatorade. Refilled my bottles, ate another half banana, Gel-Pak, and some GORP, ran to the restroom, and came out just in time to see the strong winds pull the entire tent out of the ground and blow it into a group of arriving cyclists. No injuries, and with all the talk about whether it was possible to finish in time, I didn't stick around to see the aftermath. Hopped back on the back and headed north up the west side of the lake.

Stage 8: West Side of Conesus Lake

Heading back up the lake on the west side, traffic was much lighter, the road had a better shoulder, and congestion was much lighter in general. The heat was really starting to affect me now, as I was sweating profusely, but couldn't seem to absorb the water and Gatorade I was taking in quickly enough. This was also the first time I started noticing that my heart rate was peaking out much lower than it usually does. Typically I try to keep my HR in the 140-165 range, but going up hills and in tougher areas will see it spike into the 180s. Currently, it appeared my HR was capped at around 150. Not sure what that meant, just found it interesting.

Still feeling a bit queasy, the hills to the west of the road blocked much of the wind for the first part of the stack, which certainly upped my spirits. Now I was really leaning on my friends and family for support from a mental perspective, especially toward the end of the stage which involved a fairly long (but relatively low grade) climb. As I crested the top, a pair of cyclists passed me, noting that the descent into the next rest stop was fun. Unfortunately, we'd lost the hills to the west, and even though I was headed basically northeast, the wind appeared to have shifted to the west, making the descent relatively slow. I took the opportunity to rest my legs and stretch them on the bike, which brought me back into Lakeville at rest stop #8 (same as rest stop #6). Still no Gatorade, and quite a few folks at the rest stop, including seeing some folks just starting around the lake loop. There were quite a few riders significantly behind me!

This rest stop marked mile #78, and my legs were feeling like cramps were coming on again. They did have potato chips out at this stop. I grabbed a bag and tried to eat a few, but they were too crispy and hurt my throat. Instead, I settled for licking the salt off a couple (gross, I know, but effective), then went back to my GORP, another banana, and a Gel Pak. I really had hoped to have time to lay back and take 15-20 minutes to recharge here under a shady tree, but time was getting really tight. It was just after 2 p.m., I had 22 miles to go, and I was seriously worried about leg cramps coming up hills slowing me down. I called my support group (as I'd promised to do near mile #80) to appraise them of my status, then headed back north. Of course, up a hill.

Stage 9: Back on the Beaten Path

Heading north up the same road I had come down as I started my loop around the lake, it was still hot, humid, and windy, but at least some component of the wind was from the south, although it didn't feel like it was giving me much help. I made it up the gentle grade away from the lake, but following one or two steeper rolling hills, my whole body seized up in a cramp halfway up the climbing side. I started to feel it coming and was able to unclip and get myself off the side of the road (JUST before a major highway intersection) while both my calves, both quads, my left hamstring, and even my TRICEPS cramped up all at once. Not good. I'd learned during my training how to baby a calf or a quad and keep going, but this full body cramp was new, and I was short on time.

I tried to stretch out my left leg, but if I straightened it to stretch out the calf, my quad or hamstring would cramp. Try the opposite, and the calf would cramp. So, I just sat there in between positions for a minute, downed as much fluid as I could stomach, and though my stomach was too queasy to eat solid food, I licked the salt off the peanuts in my GORP pack. A couple minutes later I was able to stand. I walked the remaining 50 feet to the top of the hill, then not knowing what else to do, I hopped back on the bike, put 'er in granny gear, and VERY gingerly continued north, trying to do some on-bike leg stretches anywhere I could coast.

At this point, I was so close I could almost feel it. No more heading directly into the wind, relatively flat ride to the next rest stop, and I knew stage 10 had quite a few more trees for shade. But just about any output of power in my legs beyond a VERY easy spin threw my legs into cramps. Nothing to do but keep trying, so I started singing the 'just keep swimming' song to myself, along with a silent prayer or two asking if He could just help keep me from another serious cramp for the last 20 miles, I'd find the strength to keep spinning the pedals.

I made it back to the Route 15 turnoff without further incident, then turned east toward the next rest stop. Unfortunately, there were one or two reasonably-sized hills in the way. I made it up the first one, but less than halfway up the second I could feel my leg starting to seize again. I hopped off the bike on the run, and walked the bike up the hill, taking long strides to stretch out while I kept moving. Couldn't afford to sit and stretch, time was running out. Got to the top of the hill and coasted down the other side, and with some light pedaling while drafting a couple of other riders I'd managed to catch up to (how in the world did THAT happen???), pulled into the final rest stop. Went straight to the restroom, splashed some water on my face (the mirror in the rest room did not paint a pretty picture of my condition), came out, ate a half a banana, and went to refill on liquids. Once again, only water. I split what little Gatorade I had left in one bottle across the two, and refilled them the rest of the way with water. You do what you can. I also refilled the Camelbak to about 30 ounces to last me through the end of the ride, and pulled out right behind a fella I'd been talking to and roughly hanging with over the last 30 miles.

Stage 10: Homeward Bound

By this point, my new buddy and I were both pretty spent. He mentioned he'd done a metric two years ago, and last year did the century after training for months, but this year was trying to do the century without any specific training. Needless to say, he was having trouble with cramping to. Going up the first hill I saw him pulled over on the side, asked if he was OK, and said yes, just cramps. So I continued on another couple hundred feet before I felt that evil little twinge and hopped off the bike again and did my little walk/stretch routine to the top.

We joined up again within the next mile or so, and he offered me a packet of an orange/vanilla flavored gel that was carb full and supposedly had quite a bit of sodium. I graciously accepted (my first time passing food and eating on the bike at the same time) and we continued on through a small village as he talked about the motivational signs he'd seen the previous year on the home stretch. Signs that said things like "You Can Do It," "Don't Give Up," and "Victory is a State of Mind." When he stated that he'd kicked one of them over as he walked up the last hill the previous year, I couldn't help but laugh, and both our spirits picked up as we knew we were going to make it, although we were both glancing nervously at our watches.

Another mile or two up the road he cramped again going up a hill, and I couldn't afford to lose my momentum at this point, so I continued on with a wave, knowing I'd see him at the finish line. Made it up the hill (barely), and coasted down the other side until I was hit with a small miracle... someone had been kind enough to set up a sprinkler in the front yard, aimed directly into the street in the path of cyclists. That micro-shower felt awfully good and sure lifted my spirits. Hadn't seen any fans in quite a while, but when you're tired, sick, and desperate, you'll take what you can get for a psychological boost. One more big hill ahead, and I again made it about halfway up when the twinge told me to get off before I fell off. I did, stretch walked to the top, and was passed by a tall rider in light blue. Again, my bike proved an excellent steed as I caught up to him within a mile or so, and we stuck together for the last few miles. He stood up on the downhills to stretch, while I knew that would have been the end of my quads, so I broke my rule of "brakes are for sissies" and just tucked in behind him until we reached the park we started from.

Once in the park, I stuck with him for a while, but at about mile 98, after a few rolling hills, I took a brief 2-minute stretch break under a tree at the side of the road. I could have kept going, but knew if I went much further, when I crossed the finish line I might not have been able to stop and dismount with causing a scene. I had 20 minutes until the end of the race, plenty of time, better to take a moment and get myself right and not scare anyone.

After a moment, another swig of water, and a chorus of "just keep swimming," I was back on the bike, with the end of the ride in sight within minutes. As I pulled into the descent to the official finish, my support group was there with video cameras in hand cheering me on! No more peddling required (a good thing). I rode the brakes down the hill, stopped at the ride checkout, and promptly handed off my bike as I collapsed in the grass to breath for a minute, stretch out, and avoid throwing up. I'd done it, 100 miles!

The Aftermath

I apparently didn't look very good at the end of the ride, so an EMT came over to check on me -- he talked to me for a moment to make sure I was coherent, then left me in the capable hands of my wife and father, who helped me load up the bike in the car and we were on our way home.

Of the 10 riders in our "Beats Running" team, all had completed their rides and goals with the single exception of Target, who was forced off the course by his non-cooperative leg. Pretty great performance, given the later rumblings of 1200 riders signing up for the event, with only 700 actually finishing, and many of the experienced century riders opting out and going to the metric century.

Mrs. Beagle and her supporting crew had a great picnic lined up for our team back at the house, complete with a signature team cake! I wasn't quite up for solid foods yet, so upon returning to the house we unloaded the bike, I staggered inside, was handed a mighty cold Coors Lite, and I headed for the shower, turning on the water, laying down in the tub, and cracking open that mighty tasty can. I could only drink about half of it, but it sure tasted good to me.

Took me a little while throughout the evening to get back to solid foods, but eventually I was able to work through a hot dog and hamburger, which did wonders for improving my state. I was asleep shortly after 9 p.m., and feeling pretty darn good the next morning, if a bit tired. Went into work for a few hours (had originally taken the whole day as vacation), but was out of gas late in the morning, so I went home, took a LONG nap, and got up in the afternoon in time to get cleaned up before heading off to my night teaching job.

Came home after class, had some leftovers from the picnic for dinner, then it was upstairs to start writing this report. All is normal, first century complete, the team did an amazing job and raised more than $3500 for the American Diabetes Association.

I am truly blessed with an amazing cast of family and friends, and am very proud of their performance and support as well as my own. The century was certainly a challenge, one that I'd trained and prepared for as best as I knew how. The added complications of the heat, humidity, and wind transformed it from a challenge, however, to a test of heart and determination. Although it was mighty close, I passed (barely) -- due to the support and caring from friends as well as more than a touch of help from above. Thank you.

Sunday's 2008 Tour de Cure Century Ride in Rochester, NY was a good day.

First Century III

2008-06-09T14:00:00.000-04:00

Tour de Cure 2008 Century Ride Statistics:

Distance: 100 miles
Time Moving: 6:45:55
Avg. Moving Speed: 14.6 mph
Fastest Speed: 33.1 mph
Avg. HR: 149 bpm
Max HR: 187 bpm
Avg. Temp: 86°F
Calories Burned: ~ 5,844

Shakedown Ride

2008-06-07T17:29:00.003-04:00

Well, one more day until the big event. Went out and picked up some SportBeans and ShotBlocks for emergency energy, then took the bike out for an easy shakedown spin of around 12-14 miles (no bike computer), just an easy pace to make sure all was well (and it was).

Got home and checked out the weather forecast, as rumors of thunderstorms have been circling for some time. Despite the standard response of "I think they'll be later in the day," it appears the storms should start about the time we get on our bikes, and stop about the time we get off. Wonderful... But, I suppose there's nothing I can do about it, so no sense in worrying!

I've decided to take my Camelbak along for the ride. As hot as it's going to be, I'd rather have the security of my Camelbak which I'm used to drinking from regularly as opposed to forgetting to drink from the bottle on the bike. Also, it'll allow me to bring a fresh pair of socks or two in case they get soaked and uncomfortable early in the ride. Have also packed up a packet each of SportBeans, ClifShots, GU Gel Paks, and three bags of GORP. I know there will be food along the way, but as much as possible, I want to stick with the foods I've been training with, as I know they don't upset my stomach if I eat them at the intervals I'm used to.

Bike is loaded, have a few more details to get ready before heading out tomorrow morning, but I think this is as ready as I get. Here's hoping the lightning holds off tomorrow, the bike behaves well, and if it's not too much to ask, a gentle tailwind would certainly be appreciated! All else failing, I plan to hold to my overall strategy for this ride -- ultimate goal is to keep the bike between me and the asphalt at all times.

Anticipation

2008-06-05T23:58:00.000-04:00

Well, we're closing in on the home stretch. Only a couple more days to the big event, and already I'm getting nervous. I'm feeling better about my knee having given it a few weeks off to heal, but am definitely concerned about the other side of the knee improvement -- what have those few weeks off done to my conditioning?

I was pretty confident after the last metric century, although that was on fairly flat, level ground, done at my own pace, in great weather. For this Sunday's century, we're estimating close to 6000 feet of climbing, by far my longest ride yet, with many other riders, and the weather guesser is predicting temperatures in the low 90s with scattered thunderstorms throughout the day. I'm not worried about completing 100 miles -- if I have to walk a portion I'd do it -- I am concerned, however, about the time limit imposed by the event. Riders start at 7:30 a.m., and must be off the course by 4 p.m., for a total of 8.5 hours. That seems reasonable as long as breaks are kept fairly short, but weather complications could certainly complicate matters.
Here's hoping the weather guesser is a bit off and those scattered thunderstorms are very scattered!

Training Sunday, 6/1/08

2008-06-01T11:06:00.005-04:00

With the century coming up in a week, I want to make sure I keep my knee in good shape, so I decided on a short, hard 1-hour interval workout today by riding up and down some hills along the lake, then a hard push with the wind at my back toward home. (Winds out of the west at 15-20 mph).

Knee started hurting a bit toward 10 miles, so I eased up a touch at the end and settled on just a 12.4 mile route for the day. Weather has been ugly last couple days, so not many other chances to sneak rides in, and with my second job (evenings) kicking in starting Monday, I may be in a forced taper getting ready for the big 100 mile ride.

Distance: 12.44 miles
Speed: 17.2 mph
Fastest: 23.7 mph
Avg. HR: 161
Max HR: 182
Calories Burned: ~ 800

Route has been posted for the upcoming century:

Detailed Topo7 maps (w/aerial imaging) are available by clicking on DeLorme Mapshare.

Elevation Profile:

Climbing Elevation: 5105.7 ft

Training Sunday, 5/25/08

2008-05-26T07:53:00.008-04:00

Second Metric Century Complete!

Sunday started off with a plan to bike east along Lake Ontario to Sodus Point and back, a relatively flat 50 miler to get me some easy saddle time after yesterday's battle with the hills, and see how the knee felt the next day. Weather was supposed to be 70 degrees and sunny, with winds from the NNW. Given that winds out of the north cross Lake Ontario and tend to be mighty chilly, I planned a route that kept me a mile or two inland to avoid the direct breeze from the lake for as long as I could, which added about 6 miles in total to the round trip. So, at roughly 11 a.m., I hopped on the bike with my 100-oz. Camelbak full of water and was off.

The first 15 miles or so went without incident, as I was far enough off the lake that the slight non-frigid breeze felt great, the grass and trees were as green as could be, birds were chirping -- you could have pulled the scene straight from Song of the South and sang Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah along with the Uncle Remus and Mr. Bluebird. I pushed past Pultneyville at about mile 16 and eventually stopped at a parking lot in Williamson around mile 23 for a five-minute stretch break, snack, and big gulp of Gatorade.

From here, my route to Sodus Point forced me north onto Lake Road (interestingly enough, right beside Lake Ontario), at which point that nice gentle breeze became a frigid wind. Thankfully, it was only another four miles or so (mostly downhill) to the point, where I stopped at a picnic table near the 'Point Hots' establishment for a bio break, warming session in the sun, another swig of Gatorade, and a red-hot at approximately 1 p.m.

Turning around for the return trip, I wasn't really looking forward to the climb up out of Sodus, but still imagined it had to be easier than yesterday's climbs. And it was. The climb out of Sodus also helped keep me a bit warmer as I had to follow Lake Road for a spell before I could turn inland again. Afer about three miles I turned south away from the lake, and resumed my trek westward back toward home at a much more comfortable temperature. By this time I'd put about 30 miles into the trip, and after the climb up from Sodus, my legs were feeling a bit weak -- I was fine from an aerobic and energy standpoint, but could tell that my leg muscles needed a bit of recovery time. I'll have to watch out for this during the century, and try not to burn up my muscle stores early in the ride, staying in the aerobic zone and spinning at higher candences as long as I can.

I continued west at a fairly leisurely pace, still sipping from my Camelbak regularly, and had a couple of fruit newtons while on the bike to provide a bit more energy. Despite my weak legs, I started convincing myself that I was fine, this was a normal feeling I should get used to, and I had a nice long flat ride back home to recover on. Seemed to work fairly well, and although I never really recovered the leg strength on the ride, I wasn't in bad shape by any stretch. At mile 47 I found another little turnoff in the woods for a bio break as well as a chance to finish up the Gatorade and have another snack (GORP). Once I hopped back on the bike, I started doing the math in my head and realized I should get home around mile 56. That seemed like a bit of a waste. I was in very flat territory, still feeling pretty good, and was going to come home just 6 miles short of my second metric century? Couldn't let that happen, especially when I knew the area very well and could easily avoid any hills. So a few miles before home I decided I'd hop on the town bike trail (at a very easy speed, of course -- don't want to run into any joggers) and head west across town to recovery, then hope back on one of my favorite roads with the wind slightly at my back for the last couple miles back east, which should put me right at 62 miles.

Right after I'd decided that, I took a swig out of my Camelbak and finished my 100 oz. of water I'd carried with me. Out of fluids, I figured I was fine to complete the last 9 miles without another stop. Perhaps not my brightest move ever, but it wasn't a problem.

Got on the Multi-Use Path (MUP) and coasted west for a couple miles, which drastically brought my average speed down, but certainly improved my leg strength. Came across a few families on bikes, including one with a father at the front of the pack completely oblivious to all traffic and ability to control his bike -- he literally rode me off the MUP into the grass (but did apologize as he struggled not to fall). His wife, at the end of the pack, was having trouble staying on the bike too, but only because she was laughing so hard.

Hopped off the MUP at Five-Mile-Line Road, cruised north to Klem, and turned easy for the last leg of my journey. No problems, feeling good. Cruised into the driveway a short spell later, with a total distance of 62.39 miles at a moving time of 3:59:13 for an average moving speed of 15.6 mph.

Ride Statistics:

Distance: 62.39 miles
Avg. Speed: 15.6 mph
Avg. Speed: 14.0 mph (w/stops)
Max Speed: 25.9 mph
Avg. HR: 147 bpm
Calories Burned: ~3823
Time Moving: 4 hours
Total Climbing: 2,123 feet

Training Saturday, 5/24/08

2008-05-25T09:56:00.010-04:00

Following the recent knee troubles, I took an entire week off hoping to get all my parts back in better shape. By Tuesday my knee felt much better, but by Thursday middle of the day it was hurting again. Definitely seems to come and go, either on or off. By Saturday morning it was barely noticeable, and I didn't think I could put off training any more, so I hopped on the bike for an easy 40-mile spin. Knee was fairly well behaved most of the ride -- I could feel it and had a bit of pain, but nothing that couldn't be dealt with.

My mistake, however, was in not mapping out my route directly, and instead picking some general directions without regard to topography. I started off at a nice leisurely pace, and even explored a couple neighborhood developments as a meandered around before getting serious about getting somewhere again.

About 20 miles in I encountered a hill just south of Egypt (Egypt, NY). {skipping the lame jokes here, they're just too easy...} The climb past the stop light looked reasonable, and with the many trees around the area, I couldn't see that the climb continued. And continued. And continued. Each bend was more higher-grade climbing. I made it to the top, but I'd really burnt myself out, and was sorely wishing I'd taken my bike in previously to swap out the rear cassette for one with an easier gearing or two (currently the Felt has a true 50/34 compact double on the front, and a 12-25 on the back. Pretty sure I'd best get at least a 12-27 if I want to save my knees in the long run). Had been trying very hard to stay seated and avoid excess knee pressure, but when the grade started showing as 10-12%, it got to be too much to do comfortably.
Once I reached the top, I found a nice spot of grass to take a break in, drink some Gatorade, and munch on a banana for a few minutes. From there, the descent was rapid, exciting, and a bit cold (all that sweat from the climb dried out in a hurry at 33.5 mph -- and I was riding the brakes). Once I got to the bottom, I had a brief spell of flat land to enjoy, and followed another rider until I saw a familiar road -- turned on to Valentown Road with the intent of starting my way back, and as I turned north toward home at the next intersection, I ended up with the thrill of another steep climb.

Distance wasn't quite as bad, but my legs still hadn't recovered from the last climb, and the grade was just as high if not higher. I made it roughly halfway up the hill and pulled over to take a breather and convince myself that hills weren't evil, but should be thought of as friendly training opportunities. Despite the little voice in my head telling me to walk the bike up the hill (how embarrassing!) I turned my attitude a bit more positive, hopped back on the bike and continued up the hill out of the saddle for the half the distance, then sat down and pushed the rest of the way up in my 34/25 easiest gear, again wishing I had something easier on the rear cassette.

Made it to the top, and had a beautiful view to enjoy while I 'cruised' along the peak in my granny gear, as that was all my legs could handle for the moment. I turned off the peak toward the west, climbed the small remainder of Turk Hill Road south of Fairport, and from there took Turk Hill Road all the way back to Penfield on my way back north. I figured the hills on Turk Hill Road would be difficult, but was quite pleased to find that due to the rolling nature of the hills, in most cases I had plenty of speed on the downhill swing to make the uphill journey on the opposite side fairly easily. These may look like big hills in a car, but compared to the grades I had dealt with previously, they were relative 'cake.'

Once I got back to Penfield I could tell I was still a bit low on energy, and was fighting a 10mph wind out of the northwest, but I wanted to get at least 40 miles in, so I zig-zagged through Penfield and on into Webster, leaving my last few miles a straight eastward journey down flat, smooth, friendly Klem Road before turning for home.

A post-ride review of my route shows that pre-planning my route would have allowed me to avoid the high-grade hills fairly easily, but twice I made "less than optimal" choices that led to the big climbs. However, for future reference, I've found two great hills for challenging climbing practice.

Ride Statistics:

Distance: 43 miles
Avg. Speed: 14.6 mph
Max Speed: 33.5 mph
Avg. HR: 151
Max HR: 191 (on the hills, of course)
Climbing: 2331 feet
Calories Burned: ~ 2544

Training Saturday, 5/17/08

2008-05-17T09:12:00.000-04:00

Got up early in an attempt to get some miles in before the thunderstorms hit... turned into a bit of a rough day, however. With a temperature in the mid-50s and a 10mph south wind, I headed south into the wind to start the ride. Before I got half a mile from the house, my knee was giving me trouble. Five miles into the ride, I was almost in tears from the pain (despite taking a VERY easy pace). I could only manage about 12 mph on the flats, spinning at a cadence near 100.

I kept pushing as best I could, mostly because I didn't want to have to call anybody to come pick me up -- I turned around at the first convenient spot that would allow me to avoid any climbs, and by mile 15 I was either used to my knee hurting or it wasn't quite as bad, because the flat route north on 250 with the wind at my back had me at an average speed over 20 mph -- knee still hurt, but wasn't as bad. And I wasn't pushing hard at all. Got home with a total distance of 21.5 miles (avg. speed 15.9 mph), and decided this just wasn't going to work. Not quite sure what the next steps are, but I don't want to repeat a ride like this anytime soon... at a minimum will skip the Sunday ride.

Distance: 21.55 miles
Time: 1:21:04
Avg. Speed: 15.9 mph
Max Speed: 28.3 mph
Avg. HR: 146 bpm
Max HR: 174 bpm
Calories Burned: ~ 1331

(Re)-Introduction

2008-05-15T21:43:00.001-04:00

Seeing as it's been a few months, I thought it might be helpful if I provided some background on what this Blog (weB LOG) is all about for those readers who are new to this site. You see, last year my lovely fiance (now wife) talked me into training for and running in a duathlon -- a 2 mile run and 10-mile bike ride, followed by another 2-mile run. So really, if we want to be honest with ourselves, all that follows is really her fault.

I enjoyed the training and getting in shape, and got quite a kick out of the biking, although still can't say as I'm a fan of running. But as I started using the bike to get in shape, we made a deal -- if I stuck with it, ran the duathlon, and put in a certain number of miles on my flat-bar bike, I was allowed to buy a road bike. Well, we did, and I did, so I did, and ended up purchasing an end-of-year demo-unit Felt F75 road bike.

On to 2008. Since 2007's goal was to compete in the duathlon, I decided I wanted to set an ambitious goal for 2008. My twin brother has run a marathon (a very impressive feat, but as mentioned before, I don't like running unless it's to chase down the ice cream truck). What could I do that would be the equivalent on the bike, something I enjoy? A century, of course! And as much as I wanted to pick the metric century (100 km), which is quite an achievement in its own right, goal setting after New Year's is all about setting truly challenging goals, so I decided I'd do an imperial century. (Not to mention my little brother just completed his first imperial century today... sneaky little goober!)

Next question was, how would I accomplish this... initially I planned on doing a solo century toward the end of the summer after I'd had all summer to ride and get in shape. When I learned about the American Diabetes Association's Tour de Cure here in Rochester, however, I saw an opportunity to not only help the community and fight a disease that affects several members of my family, but also a chance to pull in my friends and family as we worked toward a common goal. Since then, our Tour de Cure team, "Beats Running," has grown to 10 riders, with team members signing up for the whole range of distances, from 15 miles all the way to two of us attempting the 100-mile route! This blog, then, is my training journal to prepare for the event, including fund-raising, team training, nutrition, and other 'excitement' that pops up in our quest. I'm proud to say that I can already feel a difference in my overall health since I started the program back in January, having lost 14 pounds (out of a goal of 21 lbs.), re-acquainted myself with the weight set at the local gym, and had a great time doing it.

For those who are interested, the actual ride is on Sunday, June 8, starting from Mendon Park, NY (south of Rochester). Our team is still looking for riders who would like to join us for a fun day of biking and community service, as well as sponsorship (see link here to join our team.)

To date, we have raised $2370 for the American Diabetes Association, which I consider an excellent achievement from a team of complete rookies, and I'm quite proud of every single team member as they've truly stepped up to the challenge. As part of my training, I've already completed the metric century (actually went about 67 miles), and am starting to believe I may actually be able to finish the 100-miler in a few more weeks!

We have more work to do, but so far things are falling into place nicely. Wish us luck!!!

Training Thursday, 5/15/08

2008-05-15T21:05:00.004-04:00

Went out on an easy training ride, hoping to rehab my knee a bit and see how it would hold up. Took a 2-hour loop through Webster, into Walworth, west to Penfield, then back to Webster on a nice sunny 58°F afternoon. Knee held up fairly well, but I did struggly a bit coming west on 441 on a series of hills -- even spinning in my smallest gear I had trouble getting up a few of the hills, as I was trying to avoid standing to reduce knee stress. Once I got back to Penfield, however, it was pretty much a straight, flat route back to Webster.

Ride Statistics:
Distance: 31.3 miles
Time: 1:56
Speed: 16.1 mph
Climbing: 378 feet
Max Speed: 32.5 mph
Avg. HR: 153 bpm
Max HR: 203 bpm
Calories burned: ~ 1941

AND, congratulations to my little brother on completing his first Imperial Century. Awesome job, Squab!

{Next morning update -- knee is NOT behaving at all. Gonna be a long day at work!}

Sawbones Update, 5/14/08

2008-05-14T19:22:00.006-04:00

Well, caved in and went to see the orthopod around my hurting knee. After waiting for a long long long time, he took a look and confirmed it appears to be a torn meniscus (issue previously known about due to an MRI six years ago), and that I'd probably aggravated it again. Said when it got too painful, call in and get an MRI done and they'd clean it up arthroscopically, but until then, I wasn't going to damage it any worse, it might get better/go away as things settle in my knee, and any physical therapy he'd prescribe would involve me sitting on a bike anyway, so...

1) Keep icing/elevating at night.
2) OK to keep riding bike.
3) Take ibuprofen.
4) Avoid knee twisting/turning for a spell (i.e. volleyball, basketball, running).
5) May want to try a compression sleeve -- helps for some people.
6) Consider trying glucosamine/chondroitin supplements -- helps for some people.
>6) Call doc again when it gets so bad I'm ready for more drastic (i.e. surgical) measures.

Training Tuesday, 5/13/08

2008-05-13T19:43:00.002-04:00

Well, I've been off the bike for more than a week dealing with some pretty rough knee pain (the usual -- Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation). Pain was mostly gone by Monday, so I tried an easy training ride Tuesday afternoon (following a bike fit review with the cycling physiologist), and it didn't take long to flare up again. NOT encouraging. On the bright side, the week off gave me plenty of time to get the bike tuned up prior to the century ride on June 8. Sounds like it's time to visit the Doc, while making sure to stock up on ibuprofen for the long ride in June...

Today's slow and easy ride stats:

Distance: 14.44 miles
Time: 52:52
Speed: 16.4 mph
Avg. HR: 141
Calories burned: 902
Weather: 63°F and sunny

First Metric Century!!!

2008-05-04T20:27:00.004-04:00

So I set out on my first metric century this weekend. The local bicycling club had scheduled a 42-mile ride on back roads through some moderate hills, and I figured that would be a good training ride. Realizing the start of the ride was at a school only 12 miles from my home, why not bike to the ride, and then back home, make it an even 66 miles? Seemed like a good idea at the time... I loaded up the bike with 100 oz. of water in my Camelbak, a banana, two small bags of GORP that Mrs. Beagle had kindly packed for me, six raspberry newtons, a 16 oz. bottle of the local Gatorade look-alike, and a packet of raspberry Hammer Gel.

Headed out around noon to fairly ominous skies, 55 degree temperatures, and 17-20 mph winds out of the west-southwest. Heading basically southeast to the start of the ride, the 12 miles from home to the starting point was quite easy -- wind made keeping a line a bit challenging, but sure was no problem with speed, and I made it to the starting point with plenty of time to spare despite taking it really easy. Got off the bike and quickly realized how cold things were when you weren't moving, so I huddled in a doorway at the school until it was time to go again (and was never again cold on the ride).

Some last-minute route adjustments were made by the ride leader to avoid some heavy traffic construction areas at the southern-most tip of our route. As we took off at 1 p.m., I had initially planned to stay in the middle of the pack, but was actually having trouble going that slow up the hills, as my bike only has a compact double, and those with the triples were able to meander more slowly up the hill, while I was almost falling over and having trouble pushing my smallest gear while seated, and couldn't go that slow standing. After trying about two hills that way, I saw a group of five riders out about a quarter mile in head of us, and was easily able to join up with them thanks to a couple downhills (my bike seems to like going down hills, and I don't mind so much either).

Once we joined up, our group of six stayed together for about 6-8 miles, before one of our group peeled off to take a different route that took him near his home. Our lead rider set quite a pace, but as we were going mostly south, we weren't headed directly into the wind, so didn't have too bad a time of it. By the time we turned east a few miles later, we'd lost one more of the group, and were down to a foursome. As I we turned east with a nice tailwind, I enjoyed talking to a new friend who had been riding about 15 years. We were riding at a challenging pace, but no so hard that I was worried about burning out. A nice group challenge pace. This worked fine until we hit our next turn point, a long loop to the south and west directly into the wind. At this point, our lead rider kicked it into gear and really pushed us through the wind for the better part of 12 miles. Throw in some hills and this tough pace, and my new friend and I were starting to get worried about pushing too hard, and definitely thinking it was time to hop off the bikes for a quick stretch and something to eat from our packs for energy. Unfortunately, we didn't want to lose the group, so kept pushing. We dropped my new friend around mile 10, and I waited for him at the top of a mild hill, taking the opportunity to pull a banana from my pack and start replenishing my energy, as I was worried I'd start to cramp up soon.

We joined up from there and he and I and pushed to catch the leaders, who were taking an on-bike breather and route check about a half mile down the road at a stop sign. As a group we took about two minutes to breath, I finished my banana, drank about half the sports drink, and off we went again. This break did us all good, as we were able to keep up with our ride leader (who again pulled our group of 4 well over 75% of the time, even though all of us TRIED to take our turns pulling). After about 5 miles, my new friend was again having trouble keeping up, and I could tell he was out of gas, and I wasn't very behind. At this point our route turned east again, with the wind, but unfortunately this was the hilly portion of our ride. Nothing too terrible, but each descent was followed with an even bigger hill, which gets a bit challenging on already wobbly legs. I made it most of the way up the top of the second hill when both of my legs started cramping (quadriceps) as I had to stand to make it up the last few feet of the hill. Was quite worried about falling over while clipped in my legs were in such bad shape, but I was able to get off the ride, unclip both feet, and get my rear on the ground before I got in serious trouble. It wasn't graceful, but I was in the grass with no further damage.

There I decided it was time I took that break I'd been needing for a few minutes. Drank some more sports drink, had a bite of GORP, two newtons, and waited for my buddy to catch up. He was in similar shape, and worried he might cramp up too, so we both took a minute breather there on the hill before completing the remaining hills. At this point my left knee started hurting. Nothing too bad, but it didn't feel quite right.

I made it over the next two hills, just barely reaching the top of the final hill (and the two cyclists who were leading our mini-group) without cramping again. Once there, we spotted the slower contingent we had pulled away from at the beginning of our ride. They'd taken a shortcut and were now back in the midst of everyone. We hopped back in the middle of the group, but somehow our group of four found itself out in front again after a few miles. I stayed with the two leaders for a couple more miles, but quickly lost my buddy again. I tried keeping both groups in site for a while, playing intermediary, but finally gave up and pulled over in a nice field for a few minutes to eat some more, stretch out, and try to regain some strength. Didn't want my new pal to get himself in trouble on his own, and I'd said earlier I wasn't going to leave him as that just didn't seem very nice. Tried out my first packet of gel -- not very tasty, but it certainly helped. Finished off the sports drink, had a few bites of GORP and a couple more newtons, then packed everything up just in time to head off with my friend again.

We only had a couple more miles before the route turned back toward our original starting point. Given that I was struggling at this point, and I knew he was too, I made the call that I was going to split off and head west toward the main route back to my house instead of east back to the school. Wouldn't cut too many miles off the trip, but in case I did get myself in trouble and started cramping again, it was a main route my wife would know how to find me on fairly easily if I did have to call in support. With the slower group coming up behind, he felt safe that he had support if he needed it, so we said our goodbyes and took off on our different directions.

As I set off on my own, I planned to take it easy, ride at my own pace now, and really "test my mettle" to just keep on going. I didn't want to have to call in support, no matter how bad I was hurting, and realized this could be a huge milestone for me -- my first metric century, and a good test for my upcoming century in June (I've heard that if you can do 1/2 to 2/3 of the 100 miles comfortable, a full century is no problem). Well, I wasn't comfortable, but I was still moving!

As I cleared the first small hill on my way to the main thoroughfare home, I think I cussed out loud when I saw the larger looming "double-hill" up in head of my. Darn, I'd forgotten about that sucker! Well, the hill wasn't getting any smaller by baring my teeth at it, so I got my speed up on the incoming downhill, then pushed up as best I could, standing on my way up until just before I thought I might cramp up, then setting and hitting my smallest gear again for the last 20 feet or so. Once again I thought how nice a triple might be right now. I cleared the top of the hill, pulled off to the right, and took a moment to eat my last two newtons and drink some more water before heading into the town of Fairport.

One minor hill in Fairport, then a straight shot north on Route 250 about 10 miles home (most of it flat after two bigger hills). Still fighting cramps in my legs, I wasn't so fond of being on a road with more traffic, but it had a wide berm, and other than about a quarter mile of big intersection, it'd be fairly easy to keep myself toward the edge of the road in case I had to bail. Thankfully, I made it up both hills and breathed a huge sigh of relief as I was even starting to get a touch of energy back. Now, by no means was I in good shape, but other than feeling a bit weak in the legs and my left knee starting to ping a bit more loudly, I was starting to think I really might make it home on my own.

Went about five more miles north (fairly flat), and took a pre-emptive stretch break along the side of a road near a gas station. I knew the rest of the way by heart -- flat, straight, wind abreast -- I could do this! Finished the last few miles on autopilot, then looked at my cycling computer -- only 58 miles! I couldn't go home THIS close to a metric... so I made a couple-mile loop around the neighborhood to get over 62 miles before coming to rest at the front door, completely exhausted, sore, and by now limping pretty well due to the left knee. But I made it. It was only later in the evening that I looked at my route (Garmin Edge GPS) and saw that it had turned off and cut the route over a stretch -- I must have turned it off for a minute waiting for my friend at one of my stops, and forgotten to turn it back on for a while. Thankfully, the part I missed made a right triangle, so with just a touch of help from Pythagoras I was able to determine I had actually gone 67 miles.

Looking back, I don't think the 62 miles would have been nearly as bad if we hadn't tried to keep up with our group pacer for so long (and I know he was trying to take it easy on us). Should have let myself get dropped back when I could tell I was going to burn out, but I wasn't experienced enough to realize how debilitating that effort to keep up would turn out to be, and wasn't confident enough to finish up alone that far from familiar territory. Things to know for next time. Also learned, without a doubt, when I do the century, I want to stop every 10-15 miles, eat something stretch, and in general keep my energy up. When my body tells me "hey, you should rest and stretch for a spell, and perhaps refuel a bit," I should listen to it -- it seems to be smarter than me.

I am concerned about my left knee hurting as badly as it does. I pushed a week ago and had some left knee pain that took two days to subside, and I'm definitely in worse shape now (left knee, left side of the knee cap). Hoping it comes from pushing too hard, and isn't something I'll have to fight for every longer-distance ride.

Anyhow, final ride statistics are below:

Distance -- 67 miles
Avg. Speed -- 15.4 mph
Max Speed -- 28.8 mph
Avg. HR -- 152
Max HR -- 181
Calories Burned -- ~ 4000

Woohooie, 1st Metric Century Completed!!!

Nutrition:

Breakfast -- scrambled eggs, 4 pieces bacon, 4 pieces wheat toast, orange juice, water
Lunch -- 6 raspberry newtons, banana, GORP, Wegman's MVP Sports Drink, 60 oz. water, raspberry HammerGel
Dinner -- gnocchi in red sauce with gourmet-chopped red and green peppers

Training Saturday, 5/3/08

2008-05-03T19:58:00.000-04:00

No biking today, instead joined up with my friends for a 4's volleyball tournament. We played fairly well on the day, coming out first in our pool, getting a bye through the first round of playoffs, winning our way to the finals in the second round, and then getting a solid education in the finals. The opposing team was definitely better than us and should have won, but as in all cases, we had plenty of opportunities that we missed and mistakes made we'd like to do over. All-in-all, though, a successful tournament and a fun day with friends. Back and right shoulder were slightly sore at the end of the day, but nothing serious.

Training Sunday, 4/27

2008-04-27T19:24:00.003-04:00

Went out for my second group ride today, this time just two of us as my friend Target joined me for a 33 mile trip out to Pultneyville and back. We started off slow and easy into the wind, at about 15.5 mph, hanging out a couple miles off the lake. Sun was out, but wind was just a bit coolish off the lake, still quite beautiful however.

We avoided traffic by taking back roads, and caught up on recent news on the way out. Started having a bit of knee pain at the front of my left kneecap about five miles in, but nothing too terrible, so we kept up our pace, and I focused on keeping my cadence up in the 95-105 rpm region to avoid stressing my knee too much further. Took a five minute break at Forman Park out in Pultneyville before turning around for the trip home. With the wind at our backs, we were a bit faster on the return trip, including pushing a bit on the last mile or two (I didn't tell Target, just wanted to see if he could keep up). All in all, a very nice training ride.

Ride Stats:

Distance: 33.4 miles
Avg. Speed: 16.2
Avg. HR: 139 bpm
Max HR: 166 bpm
Calories Burned: 2072

Post-ride notes: Gave my left knee the RICE treatment (rest, ice, compression, elevation) in the evening, but it's still a bit painful on stairs. May need to take it easy for a day or two (which coincides with some ugly weather).

Training Saturday, 4/26/08

2008-04-26T14:47:00.006-04:00

Joined up with some members of the Rochester Bicycling Club for a nice jaunt from Webster Park over to Pultneyville on back roads, then back again. My first time riding any distance in a group, so it was a completely new experience. Living within a couple miles of the park, I rode down to the lake and met up with the group. I found everyone there friendly, if a bit shy, and promptly joined a group talking, kept my mouth shut, and listened for a bit to see what I could learn. Introduced myself around, and met some other newcomers who I tried to buddy up with.

Shortly thereafter, we took off, and quickly subdivided into three groups. Officially the ride is a "Sweep" ride, which means that the ride leader rides at the back of the group and makes sure nobody gets left behind. I figured it was a nice intermediate ride to start out with, meet some people, and see what sort of level I could join in with while avoiding "holding back" any riders.

The group started out strong, and quickly segregated into three groups, a faster, medium, and more relaxed group, with the faster group going a bit farther before turning back, medium group going not quite as far, and the relaxed group cutting back at 15 miles (for a grand total of 30 round trip).

I initially started out tailing one of the more experienced riders, and before I knew it, found myself up in the faster group, bring up the rear along with another of the new riders, a nice young lady on a one-week-old Surly Long-Haul Trucker! We stuck together as rookies for most of the ride, managing to hang with the fast group all the way to Pultneyville (although I did see my heart rate a bit higher than I normally would have expected, in the 171 bpm range). Once we got to Pultneyville we pulled over in the park to enjoy the Lake Ontario scenery for a bit before turning around for the trek back to Webster.

Trip back to Webster went fairly well, and either the group slowed down, or I was less anxious about riding in a pack, as my heart rate subsided considerably. Hit more back roads on the way home, but finished up with a pretty high-speed descent down the last 1 - 1.5 miles on Holt Road, doing everything I could to keep up with the pack leader. Our average speed was around 22 mph down the road, but I was glad we hit the lake (and the end of our route) when we did, as I couldn't have kept up that pace for much longer.

Overall, a very nice ride with some welcoming folks, and I learned that riding in a group can be quite a bit of fun (and sure helps the miles fly by).

Ride Statistics:

Distance: 44.77 miles
Avg. Speed: 16.6 mph
Avg. HR: 161 bpm
Max HR: 186 bpm
Calories Burned: 2820

Training Thursday, 4/24

2008-04-24T20:23:00.000-04:00

Took some time off for a relaxation ride with Mrs. Beagle this evening. We went out for a nice easy hour ride, enjoying the first hints of spring, eating a few bugs, and in general just enjoying the warmer temperatures. Ride stats: 9 miles, 385 calories burned, average speed 9.6 mph.

Nutrition:

Breakfast -- FiberOne oats/chocolate bar and large decaf coffee
Lunch -- bowl of pasta/sausage/tomato soup
Dinner -- pizza!

Training Tuesday, 4/22/08

2008-04-22T16:50:00.003-04:00

Went in to work wicked early, but also got out early, so came home and hit the road on the bike. Figured I'd head out to Pultneyville and back, a trek of around 30 miles, then perhaps, depending on how I felt and the weather, consider another 12-mile loop around Webster.

On the way out I ran into a strong headwind heading north to the lake, with the wind coming at about 15 mph from the northeast. This changed the temperature from the weather-guesser's predicted 74 degrees to what I imagine couldn't have been much more than 60. I was glad I only have a long-sleeve jersey, as I was pretty cold. Fighting the wind all the way east with the chill wasn't especially fun, and I struggled a bit with some pain in my rump. Originally I thought it was the seat, but when I took a break in Pultneyville to stretch, I realized it was tight upper leg muscles.

I'd planned on grabbing something quick to eat at the ever-famous Pultneyville Pickle Company, but a sign on the door stated the company had gone out of business in February. Bugger. So I took five minutes to stretch before hopping back on the bike for the trip back west to Webster. Needless to say, the trip to Webster was MUCH more enjoyable with the wind at my back. Didn't seem as cold, either, at least once I reached the halfway point, although I was getting much slower.

Apparently the wind gods decided I'd been bad this week, because the wind shifted and started blowing from the southwest (like the weather guesser had originally predicted). Now I was warmer, but the wind was BACK in my face. Grrrrr. Made it back to Webster for a total distance of 30 miles and an average speed of 16.7 mph, but decided to skip the add-on Webster loop as I was out of water, and also worried I'd bonk if I didn't eat something (had been a bit light on meals all day, intending to grab a slice of pizza in Pultneyville).

Overall, however, another good training ride. 30 miles, 1:46:44, 16.7 mph average, top speed of 31 mph, and an average heart rate of 149 bpm. I was pleased to see I kept my max HR down this time, at about the 168 bpm level. Calories burned: 1,865.

Now, off to find something to eat!

Nutrition:

Breakfast -- FiberOne oats/chocolate bar and large decaf coffee
Lunch -- bowl of pasta/vegetable soup
Dinner -- pizza

Training Friday, 4/18/08

2008-04-18T17:09:00.003-04:00

A beautiful day here in Rochester, with temperatures touching the 70s and a ton of sunshine. Snuck out of work a tad early in order to get a short ride in before guests arrive for the weekend. Took it slow and easy on a 15-mile ride along the lakeshore, 15.2 miles, 15.8 mph average, and an estimated calorie burn of 934. Average HR: 143 bpm. Even managed to spot a few turkeys in one of the front yards along the lake!

Nutrition:

Breakfast -- FiberOne oats/chocolate bar and large decaf coffee
Lunch -- Turkey sandwich on wheat w/lettuce, onions, pickles, Italian dressing; chips
Dinner -- burger and fries

Training Thursday, 4/17/08

2008-04-17T23:00:00.000-04:00

With sand volleyball on the evening docket, made today a rest day from the bike. Temperatures got up into the mid-60s, the sun was out, and it felt great to be playing in temperatures that didn't have your toes wishing for socks by the end of the match. As soon as we finished our first match (3 games), I was asked to hit outside as a sub on another team, so I got in six fairly good workout games in a row for today's exercise.

Nutrition:

Breakfast -- FiberOne oats/chocolate bar and large decaf coffee
Lunch -- Turkey sandwich on wheat w/lettuce, onions, pickles, Italian dressing; chips
Snack -- Coors Lite
Dinner -- chicken breast, rice, broccoli

Training Wednesday, 4/16/08

2008-04-16T14:42:00.001-04:00

After 26 miles yesterday, I thought I'd take today to do a shorter distance, but go a bit harder and throw in some interval training, using tomorrow (volleyball day) as a recovery day. With the sun out, 60 degree temperatures, and a moderate wind of ~ 15 mph out of the SSW, it seemed an opportune day to run the standard 12-mile loop in Webster, pushing at a moderate pace for the first half, and using the second half hills along the lake for some tougher hills. It was also a good chance to hook up the refurbished cycle computer, which arrived today as a warranty replacement.

Winds weren't in the direction I was used to, so the first half of the ride, into the wind, wasn't quite as fast as I'd hoped, but I got my average speed back up to 18 mph by the time I hit the 10-mile mark. Unfortunately, there I hit a wall. Heading up an average 1.5% grade into the wind the last two miles, I just couldn't maintain the 18 mph, and saw my average speed drop to about 17.5 mph by the time I reached the turnoff for home. Still not bad, considering my all-time best average speed for this loop is 17.9 mph, set last September after four days of rest. Average heart rate for the ride, 160 bpm. Max HR, 184 bpm. Calories burned: 743.

Nutrition:

Breakfast -- FiberOne oats/chocolate bar, large decaf coffee
Lunch -- hot dogs on wheat rolls, salad
Snack -- chips and peach salsa

Training Tuesday, 4/15/08

2008-04-15T20:36:00.004-04:00

Got home and the sun was out, hip flexor was feeling better, so loaded up the bike with water and went out for a nice training ride. Unfortunately, it was colder than I anticipated, and I wasn't but a mile or two into the ride before I realized 49°F with a strong wind wasn't as comfortable as I'd hoped in my current garb. I kept going anyhow, though, hoping as I warmed up my muscles, I'd get used to the temperature.

It turned into one of my best rides so far. Although I was cold the entire time, I made great time down to Fairport, averaging close to 18 mph without too much effort, and handling a couple mile stretch at well over 20 mph at one point. The stiff backwind certainly helped. As I made the loop in Fairport, though, my left hip flexor started to ache a bit, and I was worried I was going to cramp up. I quickly got some more water in me and made a conscious effort to spin and not hammer on the pedals for a bit, then took a two-minute off-bike breather in Penfield to stretch on the grass before continuing home. No more issues.

The trip back home was relatively uneventful, still a bit chilly, but again I was able to maintain 16-20 mph most of the way, although I did seem to hit every single red light. All in all, a good training day. Ate a couple raspberry Fig Newtons along the ride to see how they sat in my stomach (no issues -- not sure why, but bikers recommend Fig Newtons, so gave it a try). Also found I could deal with an almost-cramped situation and continue on. Dealt with numb toes partway through the ride, but was able to get some feeling back. And I managed the whole 26 miles without any finger numbness. Definitely an improvement and I can see the training paying off. Estimated calories burned -- 1500.

Nutrition:

Breakfast -- FiberOne oats/chocolate bar and a large decaf coffee
Lunch -- turkey sandwich on wheat w/lettuce, onions, Italian dressing; chips
Dinner -- hot dogs on wheat buns, big salad with lots of veggies, lite Italian dressing

Training Monday, 4/14/08

2008-04-14T21:15:00.002-04:00

Woke up and was limping around a bit today, think I strained my right hip flexor sometime over the weekend. It was pinging pretty good Sunday night, and again this morning. It got better by the end of the day, but with cold temperatures once I got home, decided it was wiser to take an evening to stretch and hop on the bike tomorrow when it's warmer... Probably a good decision, as it started hurting some more later this evening (hmmm, perhaps when the ibuprofen I took at lunch to help a minor headache started wearing off?).

Nutrition:

Breakfast -- FiberOne oats/chocolate bar and a large decaf coffee
Lunch -- turkey sandwich on wheat with lettuce, pickles, Italian dressing
Dinner -- beef and chicken stir fry over rice

Bird Gets Jiggy

2008-04-13T11:30:00.003-04:00

This is just cool -- Snowball the dancing cockatoo...

Training Saturday, 4/12/08

2008-04-12T11:39:00.005-04:00

Hopped back on the bike this morning in the couple hours the weather guesser predicted wouldn't be quite as rainy and cold as the rest of the hours in the day (around 40°F). Started out heading south toward Penfield, then continued past yesterday's turn-around point and into Fairport, making a bit longer loop before turning back north toward home. Was running low on fluids, so stopped at McD's at the turn for a lemonade (diluted in half in the two water bottles) and a sausage biscuit with egg for a bit more energy. The ride from Penfield back to Webster was straight, fun, and fast again with the wind somewhat at my back (SW wind at 10-15 mph). Probably averaged 18-19 mph, and was even overtaking a couple of other rode bikers I saw in the distance until they turned off in Webster Village.

This was the first time I'd attached a rack to the road bike, as I wanted to carry some heavier gloves, face mask, and rain poncho just in case it got even uglier. Ended up switching to the heavy gloves and face mask, but never had to pull out the poncho. The rack certainly adds considerable weight to the bike (noticed when picking it up to get started), but I didn't feel much heavier on the road. Will plan on continuing to train with it on the bike, with the hopes of not needing it come century time on June 8.

Overall, felt pretty good. My lower back was sore after volleyball on Thursday, and Friday night and Saturday morning even more sore, so I was a bit worried about how far I should go today. Initially I wanted to go ~30 miles along the lakeshore, but switched to an unknown route down to Fairport and back. Was even considering heading out for a longer period, but with the weather guesser predicing thunderstorms around noon-time, I'm pleased to say it was the threat of weather and not soreness, exhaustion, or lack of motivation that sent me home at the end of the ride. Total distance -- 22.5 miles. Calories burned -- ~ 1250.

Nutrition:

Breakfast -- small decaf coffee and bran/raisin muffin.
Lunch -- sausage biscuit with egg and a lemonade
Dinner -- hot dogs on wheat rolls with fixins

Training Friday, 4/11/08

2008-04-11T18:33:00.004-04:00

Got home from work and it stopped raining, so jumped on the bike for a pre-dinner loop down to Penfield and back. Started out with a bit of a tough time into the wind as I headed south, but sure made up for it on the way back (was a piece of cake -- added at least 2 mph to my average pace!!!). In the middle was a bit of a nasty hill -- 6 degrees of grade elevation, minimal berm to ride on, and lots of traffic both directions. But, got through that area and everything was downhill and downwind from there! Last two miles the temperature dropped like a rock and the wind picked up -- not sure if a front rolled in, I got closer to the lake, or a combination, but it was definitely time to get home. Total distance, 19.5 miles; estimated calories burned: 1157.

Nutrition:

Breakfast -- large decaf coffee
Lunch -- hotdog, potatoes, beans (work special)
Dinner -- spaghetti and meatsauce

Training Wednesday, 4/9/08

2008-04-10T21:14:00.001-04:00

Took the bike in to a local bike shop, Full Moon Vista, this afternoon to get the back tire replaced (replaced the tubes while I was at it), refill on CO2 cartridges, and pick up two spare tubes for future flat troubles. Folks there were quite friendly and it was a slow day, so they even offered to assist a bit with bike fit given my problem with numb fingers after ~30 or so miles. As they did the fitting, it didn't take long for 'em to realize that all my weight was on my hands and shoulders, which they adjusted by pulling my seat back considerably and tilting the nose up a touch. Still not a perfect fit, but they said 90% of the way there, could make it a touch better by replacing the handlebars, but I'd already spent enough money for one day on the tire, cartridges, and tubes, and thought I'd see how the new fit worked out.

Interestingly, they said the bike as purchased was probably not an optimal fit, something I was worried about when I purchased the bike last year and specifically asked several times to make sure the fit was optimal, including test rides. Grrrrr. Anyhow, got home and the sun was shining, so snuck in a late afternoon ride to test out the new bike fit. Picked the standard 12-mile loop I prefer for shorter rides, and started off pretty well. Definitely have more control over the bike with my weight back, and the hand numbness improved, but still wasn't perfect. Last couple miles fought quite a headwind, but instead of pushing hard, I used the opportunity to play around a bit more with hand positions. Eventually I'm thinking I may want to pull the handlebars back, as fingers are still tingly, but overall, a big improvement.

Cycling computer was sent back a few days ago for warranty repair, so no official numbers on speeds/heartrates/etc., but I estimated the trip at ~ 12 miles, completed in 45 minutes, for an average speed of 16 mph.

Nutrition:

Breakfast -- large decaf coffee
Lunch -- barley/vegetable soup
Dinner -- pasta with meat sauce

Training Thursday -- volleyball night, start of a new session!

Training Monday, 4/7/08

2008-04-07T20:53:00.002-04:00

Beautiful afternoon today, with temperatures in the low 60s. Haven't had a chance to replace the back tire on my bike yet (hoping to get that taken care of Wednesday afternoon), so I took Cricket the WonderDog on a jog around the neighborhood after work. She did pretty well for our first time out, although was a bit disconcerted by the garbage cans at the end of driveways in preparation for garbage pickup day. As always, she stuck beside me most of the time, and took off and tried to pull me when she was cheered on. The last couple months of workouts on the bike must have me in better shape than usual for this time of year, because Cricket ran out of gas before I did, and we took a few breathers to walk toward the end of our adventure (it's also her first time out running this year, and she is 20% heavier than she was last summer!).

Nutrition:

Breakfast -- Large decaf coffee
Lunch -- Chicken sandwich w/lettuce, onion rings
Dinner -- Hot dogs, baked beans, broccoli, leftover pizza (hodge podge of items and leftovers while meat in freezer defrosts)

Training Saturday, 4/5/08

2008-04-06T15:00:00.001-04:00

While out of town for a fun baseball-filled weekend in Toronto, Mrs. Beagle and I worked out in the hotel gym for a bit Saturday morning. Nothing too exciting, a 10-minute warmup on the exercise bike, followed by some chest exercises with dumbbells as well as leg extensions and curls on a universal gym-type machine.

We did get to see two great baseball games at the Skydome (errrr, Rogers Centre) with the Blue Jays hosting the Red Sox for the season opener. Saw Wakefield pitch on Friday night, and Sunday we were right down at the field level behind 3rd base just a few rows back -- all I can say is, Frank Thomas is a big big man, and gets even bigger the closer he gets (go figure!)

Saturday night we took in a show at the Canon Theatre -- We Will Rock You, based on the music of Queen. I wasn't quite sure what to expect going in, but we had a great time. The story was based around a variety of Queen songs, which made for a bit of a corny theme throughout the show, but the writers used the corny story to poke fun at the show itself, much as Queen has done in a number of their hits (i.e. the final words of One Vision are "fried chicken.")

Sets were OK, but the music was truly outstanding. The male lead, Galileo (3rd from left), was absolutely tremendous, as was the other primary male vocalist, Hillary Duff (left-most actor in picture at right). Scaramouche, the female lead (second from left), was also a terrific singer, although her on-stage presence wasn't quite as strong. The numbers Under Pressure, Who Wants to Live Forever, and I Want It All were all amazing. The only numbers that were iffy were those sung by the "bad guys," Killer Queen and her lackey, and thankfully, they were typically fairly quick. Choreography wasn't overwhelming (I'm not a dance fan, but I recall the dancers at Billy Joel's Movin' Out stealing the show). Overall, tremendous show, and the band playing for the performance was outstanding. Hate to admit a theater show was even better than the baseball game, but the music sure made it close!

Training Friday, 4/4/08

2008-04-04T10:30:00.006-04:00

Got up this morning and thought it's been warmer the past few days, why don't I get on the bike and get a good ride in... I know the weekend's going to be very busy, let's get a jump on the workout. Then I looked outside and saw it raining. OK, I can deal with rain as long as it's not too cold. Then I got outside -- probably mid-30s with a 10 mph wind out of the southeast. Well, I'm out here anyhow, might as well keep going.

Got about four miles into my ride when I realized I should have worn full-fingered gloves, it was just a bit too cold for the light gloves I was wearing. Another couple hundred yards and I remembered I hadn't brought my cell phone just in case I ran into 'complications.' Then, of course, Murphy's Law hit -- my back tire blew out.

Pulled over and took a look in the rain and muck, and found that not just the tube, but the tire itself had a 1-cm gouge. Yikes. New tire time. Couldn't find the offending object, so I went right to practicing my flat tire repair skills, and didn't even bother trying to patch the tube. Installed my spare tube by myself (first time ever) on the side of the road in the cold rain, got it pumped up to a decent (albeit slightly low) pressure with my CO2 cartridge, and re-installed the back wheel.

By this time I was pretty cold, wet, extremely muddy, and had lost most of the feeling in my fingers. Also wasn't sure how long the tire repair job would hold, given the gouge in the tire. Decided to head home (a bit easier with the nice backwind) and call it a day. Total distance traveled -- 10.35 miles in 45:07, average speed 13.8 mph, calories burned 598, average heartrate 143 bpm. Flat fix-it time -- about 5 minutes.

Nutrition

Breakfast -- FiberOne oats/caramel bar, 4 ibuprofen (wicked headache this AM), water
Lunch, Dinner -- TBD.

Training Wednesday, 4/2/08

2008-04-02T21:11:00.003-04:00

Had an extra-special early morning at work, followed by lunch out with the guys before heading home early for some paperwork, an attempt at a nap (pager and phone made sure that didn't happen), then some dinner before hitting the bike trainer in the basement while watching the Blue Jays / Yankees game. A.J. Burnett was making a strong showing to open the season -- I gave up when the Yankees changed pitchers in the top of the 6th after 58 minutes on the bike trainer, 15.5 mph average, distance just over 15 miles, average heart rate 142 bpm.

Nutrition:

Breakfast -- Fiber One oats/chocolate bar with medium decaf coffee
Lunch -- Cheeburger hamburger with a ton of unhealthy fixins (and water)
Dinner -- Two chicken breast sandwiches on wheat, broccoli, cauliflower, and pickle slices (and water)

Training Monday, 3/31/08

2008-03-31T23:59:00.001-04:00

After a weekend away, made it out on the bike for an hour before dinner (in light rain). Ran the usual 14-mile circuit in just over 50 minutes. Fairly uneventful, but nice to be outside and certainly beat another training session in the basement. Spring is coming quickly now!!! Garmin didn't record data correctly, but estimates are average speed about 16.5 mph, calories burned ~ 800.

Nutrition

Breakfast -- FiberOne oats/chocolate bar and large decaf coffee
Lunch -- turkey on wheat with pickle and chips
Dinner -- shrimp scampi

Training Tuesday, 3/25/08

2008-03-25T21:44:00.002-04:00

With the phone going off fairly regularly after work, was hard to get a good workout in (should have let it ring). Did manage to get in roughly 30 minutes on the elliptical machine, but not much else...

Nutrition:

Breakfast -- FiberOne oats/chocolate bar w/large decaf coffee
Lunch -- Taco salad, apple
Dinner -- turkey, mashed potatoes, corn, gravy

Training Monday, 3/24/08

2008-03-25T21:37:00.003-04:00

Today was a weightlifting day, starting with chest and shoulders and throwing in a little bit of leg work. Finished up (as always) with abs. Exercises: inclined bench press, bench press, leg curls, leg extensions, hack squats, toe raises, triceps (rope), shoulder pull, chest press, inclined dumbbell press, bicep curls, and abs.

Nutrition:

Breakfast -- FiberOne oats/chocolate bar with large decaf coffee
Lunch -- Turkey on wheat w/lettuce and Italian dressing, chips, pickle
Dinner -- turkey, mashed potatoes, corn, gravy, and iced Easter cookies

Geocaching Saturday, 3/23/08

2008-03-23T10:26:00.008-04:00

Spent several hours Friday out back with a shovel moving dirt, cleaning up tree remains, etc. in the back yard, so I was pretty pooped (and back was a bit sore) by the evening. Made Saturday an easy workout day as Mrs. Beagle and I decided to head outside for an attempt at 'geocaching.'

What is geocaching, you might ask? Great question, I just learned the answer today myself. According to the Geocaching FAQ: "Geocaching is an entertaining adventure game for gps users. Participating in a cache hunt is a good way to take advantage of the wonderful features and capability of a gps unit. The basic idea is to have individuals and organizations set up caches all over the world and share the locations of these caches on the internet. GPS users can then use the location coordinates to find the caches. Once found, a cache may provide the visitor with a wide variety of rewards. All the visitor is asked to do is if they get something they should try to leave something for the cache."

What that means is, we basically took our little GPS system (typically used on bike to keep me from getting lost or stolen) out into the local park and searched for hidden boxes that others had left. The sun was out, the wind was mild, and the balmy 28°F made for a nice refreshing jaunt. Of the four caches we looked for, we managed to find three of them in our two hours outside, as well as doing quite a bit of ice skating on the trails.

Of the three caches we found, we especially liked the Christmas tree cache (easy to spot once you got close)

and the 'Council of Trees' cache, which was hidden at the base of one of a group of gnarley old trees about 100 yards off the forest path.

Our trek through the woods led us back near the car after about two hours, by which point we were ready to head home, scrape the mud off, and get warmed up in a hot shower. A nice way to get outside and off the beaten path a bit on a sunny day off when it was still a bit too cold and icy to get on the bike and go a reasonable distance.

Training Tuesday, 3/18/08

2008-03-18T22:00:00.001-04:00

Tuesday was an all-around rough day... you know, one of those days when, despite challenges throughout the day, you push hard and try to be positive but still get to the end of the day and say, "you know, this was one of those days where spending my waking hours attempting to herd cats would have been preferable to what I had on my agenda."

But, you meander through those days and move on. So, moving on...

Decided to suck it up around 9 p.m. and hop on the bike for an hour while finishing up the Star Wars movie. Didn't quite make it to the end of the movie, but with a very early morning at work coming up (i.e. alarm will go off around 4-ish), I decided to call 'er quits right at the 10 p.m. mark and get some sleep. Will make Wednesday a better day!

Nutrition:

Breakfast -- Fiber One oats/chocolate bar and large decaf coffee
Lunch -- taco salad and cup of hot tea
Dinner -- chicken fajitas on wheat tortillas
Snack -- very tasty mother-in-law oatmeal/raisin cookies

Training Sunday, 3/16/08

2008-03-16T23:59:00.000-04:00

Hopped on the bike trainer this morning for an hour while watching the first half of Star Wars II. Shoulder had been sore since last Thursday's volleyball match so I was taking it easy for a few days, but it felt really good on the bike for the whole 60 minutes -- back in business! Total distance, 14.9 miles, speed 14.9 mph (go figure), average heart rate ~ 140 bpm. Toes still go numb after about 30 minutes, still convinced it's too-tight shoes. Can't wait for spring to get here so I can get out of the basement and ride outdoors regularly.

Nutrition:

Breakfast -- Fiber One oats/chocolate bar
Lunch -- chicken breast on wheat roll w/barbecue sauce, red apple
Dinner -- gnocchi w/red sauce and peppers, golden apple

(PS -- Happy Birthday Corny!!!)

2008-03-12T23:59:00.001-04:00

Finally had the basement back in order, dry, and cleaned up, so took advantage of it and hopped in the exercise bike to work on my technique using the Spinervals 8.0 "Recovery and Technique" tape. For a recovery workout, it certainly had me struggling in a few sections, especially the 10x30s single leg high cadence spins. Not bad for the first few, but by the end I was struggling to keep the pedals moving on the 'pull up' portion of the pedal stroke. The experts on the tape were huffing and puffing too, which made me feel a bit better. All told, on the bike for 42 minutes, distance of 9.3 miles, reached a maximum cadence of ~165 rpm during the superspin intervals, and average heart rate of about 150 bpm.

Nutrition:

Breakfast -- FiberOne oats/chocolate bar with large decaf coffee
Lunch -- turkey sandwich with lettuce and Italian dressing, chips, pickle
Dinner -- pork tenderloin with brown wild rice, mixed vegetables, and a croissant

Training Tuesday, 3/11/08

2008-03-11T23:59:00.002-04:00

Decided to mix things up a bit tonight, as the basement exercise area wasn't put back together yet, so I went worked out with Mrs. Beagle in the living room to her Biggest Loser: The Workout exercise DVD. We started with the warm-up, then did the low-impact workout, concluding with stretching/cool down routines. It was actually kinda funny, and I liked it because the folks in the video were just as out-of-rhythm as I was. You've got to look hard to find someone who has less rhythm than I do!

Since I was then already sweaty, I went down to the basement and spent about 90 minutes cleaning up, rearranging boxes, and in general getting things back in order so that the exercise area is clear again. Was pretty impressed with the final look of the basement, and am definitely looking forward to getting back on the bike!

Nutrition:

Breakfast -- Fiber One oats/chocolate bar and large decaf coffee
Lunch -- turkey sandwich on wheat with lettuce and Italian dressing, chips, pickle
Dinner -- pork tenderloin, rice, and mixed veggies
Dessert -- Skinny Cow caramel ice cream cone

Training Monday, 3/10/08

2008-03-10T21:12:00.003-04:00

Another day with the basement in shambles as the dehumidifiers keep running and the fans keep blowing. Hopefully another day or two and the exercise area will be available for reassembly. In the meantime, I've started looking at backup sump pump system installations (a subject I had quite a bit of practice with due to a power outage at my previous abode), as well as finishing up my schoolwork and planning fence installation for the spring so Cricket the wonder dog can have free run of the back yard. Was considering doing the sump pump installation myself, but Mrs. Beagle highly recommended having it done by a professional. Although I believe I could make it work, she's got a good point that if I do get stuck, we could be without any basement drainage for a day or two while we try to get someone in house to fix my mistake, and one flooded basement event really should be enough excitement for one spring. And I don't really have the all-time greatest track record with home improvement projects... but I'm learning!

Nutrition:

Breakfast -- Fiber One oats/chocolate bar and a large decaf coffee
Lunch -- garden salad (with 'fancy' lettuce) and two tbs of fat-free raspberry dressing
Dinner -- pork tenderloin with rice and mixed vegetables.
Snack -- 'Skinny Cow' 150-calorie ice cream cone.

Training Sunday, 3/9/08

2008-03-09T17:14:00.005-04:00

Turned into a tough weekend for exercising. After work Friday, we went to calling hours for a fwe minutes before meeting some friends for dinner and a fun night out at the musical Avenue Q, a Broadway traveling show using Muppet-like charactes but with some rather funny and exceedingly crude humor. We all had a good time, but were pretty whooped by the time we got home.

Friday night the area got hit with quite a snowstorm which lasted into early Sunday morning. Sleet, freezing rain, and snow led to shoveling, snow blowing, and eventually a sump pump failure that left our basement flooded. This, in turn, led to considerable scrambling as we attempted to salvage what we could, got some dehumidifiers hooked up, hauled water-logged cardboard boxes to the garbage, and brought soaked carpets upstairs into the garage to drain and dry out.

Not sure what caused the sump pump not to kick on -- I was able to manually start it after rooting around in the well for a bit -- once it dries and warms up in teh basement, I'll have to explore further. In the meantime, we're hoping the dehumidifiers perform some miracles...

Nutrition:
Friday

Breakfast -- large decaf coffee
Lunch -- Healthy Choice meal, chicken, potatoes, broccoli
Dinner -- Beef on spinach with garlic mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables

Saturday

Breakfast -- cinnamon role and large decaf coffee
Dinner -- pasta with peppers, onions, and a baked chicken breast
Snack -- apple, chips and salsa

Sunday

Breakfast -- large decaf coffee, sticky bun
Dinner -- pasta with peppers, onions, and a baked chicken breast

Training Thursday, 3/6/08

2008-03-06T23:59:00.000-05:00

Can't say as today was a strong training day, but it was a volleyball day. After a rough day at work, headed out to Hotshots to play against our favorite team. We had all six of our regulars back, which is always a good start. First game started a bit slow, but we were starting to get back into form by the end, despite some erratic passing (what's new). I was having quite a bit of luck swinging hard cross shots, something the opposition adjusted to in the second game. Regardless, we won the first game, and switched sides for the second. Going into the second game, the opposing team was blocking me hard cross, so I made the fatal mistake of starting to think before I hit the ball, which led to a couple more blocked hits, although I still had quite a bit of luck with even harder cross shots. We won game 2. Given that the hard cross strategy was working, what would a wise man do in game 3? Now, who's writing this? Therein lies our problem.

Game 3 they adjusted their block over a bit more, but not so far that hard cross shots wouldn't have continued working. In my infinite brilliance, though, I got to thinking too much and switched over to attacking the line (something I'm usually pretty decent at). I even saw a GORGEOUS set come across from our setter with no block within 3 feet of a line shot. I turned my body, and promptly hit the ball a good yard or two out of bounds. Dummy. At this point I realized my approach must be off, because if I approach at the correct angle, it should be very hard to hit a ball out of bounds down the line. Started adjusting my approach, despite the fact that EVERY good coach knows "the approach to the ball should always look the same. " Things went kaflooey from there. Instead of staying behind the ball and attacking it, my approach turned into me running under the ball and hitting from behind my head. Of course, the ball started sailing up, and I hit a few balls out of bounds as well as getting blocked a few times before we dropped the third game to our friends. Oh well. Something to be said for not going mental in a volleyball game.

Nutrition:

Breakfast -- Fiber One oats/chocolate bar and large decaf coffee
Lunch -- bowl of chicken noodle/vegetable soup
Snack -- golden apple
Dinner -- bowl of vegetable chicken soup, TON of mixed vegetables (thanks Mrs. Beagle), and two leftover hot dogs on lite buns.
Snack -- Coors Lite at vball

Training Tuesday, 3/4/08

2008-03-04T21:54:00.003-05:00

Snuck in some weight work between all the other excitement recently. Focused primarily on chest, but also touched on legs for a bit. Upped my bench press weight by 10 pounds for both inclined bench and straight bench presses (3rd set was 10 instead of 12 reps). Was extra special productive today both at work and doing classwork... should be on the home stretch for my Drexel classes (a good thing, due to lots of upcoming excitement)!

Exercises:

Inclined bench press
Hack squat w/toe raises
Straight bench press
Leg extensions
Inclined dumbbell chest press
Leg curls
Cybex chest press
barbell curls
tricep rope
abdominals

Nutrition:

Breakfast -- Fiber One oats/chocolate bar with large decaf coffee
Lunch -- turkey sandwich on multigrain bread, chips, dill pickle
Dinner -- vegetable/chicken soup, hot dogs on lite rolls w/ketchup, apple

Training Monday, 3/3/08

2008-03-03T21:35:00.010-05:00

With the weather reaching up into the 50s this afternoon, I actually made it out on the bike for my longest ride so far, an estimated 35 miles. Grabbed a sandwich before heading out, then got dressed with bike shorts, tights over top, a cycling jersey, turtleneck, and windproof jacket over top. Temperature wise, it was just fine (although next time I'll skip the cotton turtleneck, all it did was soak up sweat and keep it there).

Started out heading north to the lake, where I felt really strong the first couple miles and averaged around 22 miles per hour. When I turned east along the lake, I quickly understood why -- there was a strong 20 mph wind from the south. Heading east, I had to fight the wind a bit, but for the most part it didn't come into play. Enjoyed the scenery, sun, and the warmer weather for the first 16 miles or so, stopping at the Pultneyville Pickle Company for a piece of pepperoni pizza and a slight breather. The Pultneyville Pickle Company is actually a small convenience store / deli that seems to be a favorite crossroads for cyclists (motorized and otherwise) due to its location on a scenic, relatively flat favorite biking road. By now I'd gone through my first bottle of Gatorade, and probably should have refilled at the store, but thinking I was basically at the halfway point, I didn't refill, trying to be frugal for the 2nd half of the journey.

From there, I continued through Pultneyville a mile or so, stopping to take a picture of Lake Ontario, before turning south away from the lake (again encountering the wind). By this time I was experiencing some numbness in my left foot, as well as the beginnings of some numbness in my left hand. I couldn't do much about the foot (I'm pretty sure my shoes are too tight), but I started playing with a bunch of different hand positions to get feeling back in my fingers, a battle I kept fighting right up until the end of the ride.

Heading south, my initial route planning was a bit off -- the crossroad I'd hoped to take when I turned back west toward Webster turned out to be a railroad track -- not really navigable on a road bike. I continued south to 104, hopping on the four lane briefly until I came back to some smaller roads that would take me home. It was on these stretches of relatively quiet roads that I saw some of the friendliest cows ever. As I road by the farm, five or six cows started following me, coming to the fence to see what was going on. Two of them even 'jogged' after me for a hundred feet or so. And folks say California has the happiest cows -- I'd have to say these seemed pretty darn smiley to me, at least as far as smiley goes in critters of the bovine persuasion.

About the time I hit mile 25 I really started to sag. I was running out of water, the toes of my left foot were completely numb, my left hand was so numb it was a bit tough to apply the brakes, and my right hand was intermittently going numb. If I'd been thinking, this probably would have been a good time to hop off the bike for a minute, take a picture or two, and give myself a breather. Not thinking, however, I figured I'd keep going and really push the training aspect of this ride.

Started feeling better again around mile 30, and was even tempted to continue on past my planned 35-mile route to add a well-traveled 12-mile route to the day's journey, for a total of 47 miles, which would have crushed my previous distance best. Around mile 32, though, the weather changed drastically, and a much colder wind started blowing from the southwest, gusting hard enough that maintaining control of the bike was difficult in a few places. The wind, numb extremities, and lack of fluids made me re-think my strategy, and I skipped the extra 12-mile loop, ending my ride with a grand total of 35 miles and an average speed of right around 16 miles per hour. Not too shabby for early March, but a LONG ways to go to get to 100!

Distance: 34.94 miles
Total Time: 2:11:17
Avg. Pace: 3:47 / mile
Avg. Speed: 15.8 mph
Max Speed: 28.2 mph
Avg. Heart Rate: 162 bpm (85% of max)
Calories burned: 2297

Nutrition:

Breakfast -- large decaf coffee and a Fiber One oats/chocolate bar
Lunch -- chicken sandwich on wheat
Dinner -- grilled chicken breast, mashed potatoes, broccoli
Other -- 32 oz. Gatorade on ride, 1 slice pepperoni pizza

Weekend Update, 3/1 and 3/2

2008-03-03T07:34:00.003-05:00

Had a tremendous weekend heading out of town to visit my family and friends, attend a fantasy baseball seminar, eat WAY too many tasty things, and avoid thinking for a few days. Training was non-existent, and I won't even begin to think about writing down my meal history for the weekend (let's just say that you can't go wrong with Delmonico steaks and mashed spuds), and as always, Madre made sure nobody left the table hungry. Had to work on Sunday, but as luck would have it, temperatures are supposed to reach mid-40s Monday, so I'm hoping I can get out early and get on the bike for a spell before the temperature drops again and work gets crazy later on in the week.

Training Friday, 2/29/08

2008-03-01T06:09:00.003-05:00

First, the business news -- I'm thrilled to announce that we have THREE new members of the BeatsRunning Team! The volleyball crew has increased its presence considerably, which brings us up to a very respectable 10 cyclists. Not bad for a bunch of rookies, huh? Total pledges are up to $895, and we still have three more months...

On a related note, given the general guideline that cyclists increasing mileage should increase no more than 10% of their long-distance-ride mileage per week, I've gotta kick up the training here pretty quickly. I want to do 70+ miles by June 1, which, backing off 10% per week, means I need a good 9 solid weeks of outdoor riding to prepare for the event. Given typical Rochester weather in April and May, most any non-snowy weekend I'll need to make a strong effort to get outside for longer and longer rides.

Mrs. Beagle and I are on the road this weekend, taking off straight from work today to head southwest to visit my family for the weekend. The most direct path always leads us along the lakeshores of Ontario and Erie for a majority of the trip, which can lead to some rather interesting weather in the winter months (October-May). This trip was no exception -- we had near-whiteout conditions for about 30 minutes of the trip northeast of Erie, then icy conditions for our last 15 miles as the snow turned to rain and covered the ~ 3 inches of snow with a nice sheet of ice. Coming up the hills wasn't bad with all-wheel drive, but we did a wee bit of sliding going down the hills.

We all know I'm easily amused, but along the way one of the electronic road signs made me laugh. At about the point where I was considering pulling over because I could no longer tell the edges of the road, the sign advised passing motorists "Whiteout Conditions -- Slow Down." Now I'm all for public safety announcements, especially ones directed toward the lowest common denominator when it comes to situations that could involve my personal safety, but if you're driving in the northeast in the winter and need a sign such as this to provide you with velocity advice, I bet you're the same person that caused all the dessicant pack makers to label their product with safety labels such as "do not eat" and the fast food restaurants to place "Caution-Hot" labels on their coffee cups.

Anyhow, we made it, safe and sound, to the ever-friendly confines and warm reception of what will always be 'home.' Along with our dog, Cricket, we also had another Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and a golden retriever for entertainment as I enjoyed a celebratory malted beverage or two to reduce the 'white knuckle' effect of our drive, along with a much appreciated slice of pizza. Good stuff.

So we talked and kibitzed for quite a while, finally heading off to bed just shy of 11-ish, in preparation for a fairly early morning Saturday, as Padre and I are headed to Cleveland for a three-hour fantasy baseball seminar (not quite sure what to expect here) before heading back home for a nice family dinner, including an introduction to the newest member of the family, a pseudo-nephew who is very cute! No training at all today, just driving -- still feeling pretty good, only ache is what I expect is a slightly pulled abdominal muscle (really started noticing it Thursday night at volleyball), but it hurt a lot less today.

Nutrition:

Breakfast -- large decaf coffee, Fiber One oats/chocolate bar; large caffeinated coffee and 4 ibuprofen (lack of sleep led to quite the headache in the am)
Lunch -- turkey on whole wheat with lettuce, onions, and Italian dressing; pickle; 4 chips (lunch lady was a touch stingy)
Dinner -- 2 burgers from McD's in the car, slice of pizza, pepperoni from Mrs. Beagle's pizza, 2 Curs, and a slice of cinnamon toast bread

Training Thursday, 2/28/08

2008-02-28T23:59:00.000-05:00

Tonight was a late volleyball game (scheduled to start at 10:30 p.m.), so I decided to lay off the bike, weights, elliptical, etc. I don't even want to be awake at 10:30, let alone consider starting a volleyball match (and that's if everything is on time -- which it wasn't). Our match started a little rough -- I think I've got a slightly strained muscle in my upper abs, which was gettin' cranky as we started. Was a 5 vs. 5 match, which led for quite a bit of running (our setter probably ran a mini-marathon chasing down all our bad passes), but we ended up pulling out all three games, getting ourselves back in the upper end of the standings. Match didn't finish until midnight, so I'll be dragging a bit on Friday.

With February coming to a close, though, we're still doing well on our fundraising efforts for the American Diabetes Association. To date, we've raised $820 with seven cyclists on the Beats Running team, tremendous considering how early it is, and two of our cyclists haven't even started their fundraising efforts yet! Bodes well for a very successful charity effort. Allow me to once again thank you all for your contributions to this worthy cause, and for those of you who are able and willing to support us, we certainly appreciate it -- we're in need of sponsorships as well as more riders!

Nutrition:

Breakfast -- large decaf coffee and a Fiber One chocolate/oats bar
Lunch -- bowl of pasta/pizza soup (pasta, sausage, and some veggies in a red broth)
Dinner -- shrimp scampi over fettucini (tasty little shrimps), tossed salad with Italian dressing
Beveri -- a brewed adult libation

Training Wednesday 2/27/08

2008-02-27T19:08:00.002-05:00

Tried a one-hour combination bike/running workout today. Started out with 30 minutes on the bike trainer, average heart rate 141 bpm. After the bike, immediately jumped on the elliptical for 30 minutes and did a high level interval set, average heart rate 162 bpm. Right calf started feeling a bit tight about 10 minutes into the elliptical, but stuck it out then did some extended stretching afterwards.

Nutrition:

Breakfast -- large decaf coffee and Fiber One oats/chocolate bar
Lunch -- turkey sandwich on wheat, pickle
Dinner -- lemon chicken, rice, and broccoli

Training Tuesday 2/26/08

2008-02-26T23:59:00.001-05:00

Got busy with homework this evening, never made it around to the regular workout. Wednesday will be difficult as well with an evening online class project group meeting -- maybe I have a couple of built-in "recovery" days here this week before volleyball on Thursday, then driving to see my folks on Friday night after work. I guess you do what you can and get back to it when you can.

My biking teammate who is doing the 100 miles with me wants revenge. He's added a caveat to his "sure I'll do 100 miles" statement... ;-) In July, he wants a partner for a sprint triathlon. I looked up a sprint triathlon to find out what it entailed. Looks to me like it's about a 700m swim, 20K bike, and then running a 5K. Coming from a family of fish, I was surprised to see my greatest trepidation has to do with the swim, mostly because I can remember doing a portion of an outdoor triathlon where I was the swimmer with some friends down in Austin, TX. The amount of contact and battering in the water was not something I enjoyed at all. Throw in that I haven't done laps in a pool in a long time, and it's a touch daunting, but I'm sure doable. Probably a good challenge for the summer after the century bike ride. I feel pretty good about such a short distance on the bike (that's WELL under an hour -- no worries there), and although I truly despite running, a 5K (3.1 miles) is certainly achievable, even for a klutz like me. Putting them all together, though, could be interesting.

In last fall's duathlon, the hardest part of the race was the bike to run transition. During training, when I really pushed on the bike, the transition to running was a bit awkward for the first couple hundred yards. Once I got moving it wasn't too bad, but it took a bit of getting used to. I'm wondering if there's a similar effect on the swim-bike transition. Do triathlon swimmers swim any differently (perhaps using more upper-body and trying to save their legs for the bike and run)? This will definitely take some more research (thankfully I have a couple friends/co-workers who have done this before and will hopefully provide some advice)!

Nutrition:

Breakfast -- large decaf coffee and a Fiber One oats/chocolate bar
Lunch -- got busy and completely forgot about lunch
Dinner -- finished off the gnocchi in the fridge as well as the grapes, even dove into a bit of salad!

Training Monday, 2/25/08

2008-02-25T21:39:00.002-05:00

Pretty standard day, took my lunch hour to go lift heavy things and then put them down. I much prefer the 'putting them down' part personally. Exercises included:

inclined bench press
bench press
inclined dumbbell press
chest press
hack squats
leg extensions
leg curls
tricep pull (rope)
barbell bicep curls

Was up wicked early (wicked, in this case, meaning 4 a.m.), so I was a bit tired throughout the day, and took it easy when I got home. Spent most of the evening doing homework, along with a little bit of electronics repair work (fixed the digital camera!).

Nutrition:

Breakfast -- large decaf coffee, FiberOne oats/chocolate bar
Lunch -- turkey on a wheat/oat roll with lettuce, onion, Italian dressing, a couple chips, pickle
Dinner -- hot dogs on lite buns with ketchup and relish, and way too many grapes (I know, but I'd been doing so good for the past two weeks!!!)

Training Sunday 2/24/08

2008-02-24T17:24:00.002-05:00

Couldn't sleep well for some reason, so I woke up a bit tired. After breakfast and running a couple errands for Mrs. Beagle, I went down to the basement, put the bike back on the trainer, and started pedaling. Not as energized as I'd hoped, I only went for 70 minutes, but had a pretty decent workout during that time, doing some one-minute high gear intervals with two minutes of recovery after each. Got in a bit of a post-workout vacuuming, mopping, and running things upstairs and downstairs pursuant to my honeydew list in the afternoon, even if it doesn't sound as impressive as the biking.

Nutrition:

Breakfast -- oatmeal with a touch of maple syrup, decaf coffee
Lunch -- leftover clean up -- beef stew w/carrots, potatoes, celery; and pasta w/peppers
Dinner -- gnocchi in red sauce along with a mighty big salad.

Training Saturday 2/23/08

2008-02-23T18:58:00.012-05:00

After work on Friday, I spent most of the evening plugging away on a couple of assignments for my last teacher certification class. Took a break to have dinner with Mrs. Beagle, and, as Oscar season quickly approaches, we watched the Oscar-nominated flick "3:10 to Yuma." It was entertaining, but a little bit slow for my taste, although the final gun battle was a bit more to my liking. Amazing with ALL those bullets flying around, none of them seemed to land anywhere useful. After the movie, I skipped the workout in favor of cramming for my last teacher certification test, the Assessment of Teaching Skills -- Written, Secondary Level. After all that excitement, I could hardly keep my eyes open, so off to bed.

Saturday morning I got up dark and early, emptied the pup, got showered, dressed, and snuck out as quietly as I could for my trip to the testing center at SUNY Brockport. Although my entry ticket said show up no later than 7:45, at 7:40 the doors were still locked. They opened at 7:45 on the dot, and I was seated with all my materials by 7:50. In a flurry of activity and efficiency, the test didn't start until 8:41 a.m. Allow me to wipe the sarcasm from the screen before I continue... ahh, that's better. Anyhow, the test went fairly well (I think), and I got out of there as quick as I could, leaving my three sharpened #2 pencils behind for the afternoon session test takers.

As I got back in the car, I noticed my pager had gone off -- guess I wasn't going home quite yet. In to work for a couple hours, got some issues and people cleared up, then back in the car for the drive home. On the way home I noticed something very strange for February, however. The roads were clear, the sun was out, and the thermometer on the car read 28°F. And I'd be home by 3:30! This just called for pulling out the bike.

Grabbed a quick sandwich when I got home, unhooked the bike from the trainer, and got myself suited up. Wool socks under a pair of thick cotten socks, bike shoes, and thermal bike shoe covers. Padded shorts, pair of thermal tights, and a cycling jersey, followed by a cotton turtleneck, a wool over-sweater, and a bright yellow cycling jacket over top. Pulled on the balaclava, helmet, sunglasses, gloves, and I was good to go. Then I remembered -- the bike was in the basement on the trainer. Son of a puppy. Got half the stuff off, wandered downstairs, unhooked the bike, brought it upstairs, grabbed my keys, cell phone (just in case), and I was out the door.

Took a little while to get used to clipping in and out with the thermal boots on over my biking shoots, but I eventually got the hang of it -- this time without falling over in front of any neighbors. Then it was off on the standard 12-mile loop around Webster. First 5-6 miles went very well, as they always do -- heading west there's a very wide berm, the road's a couple miles from the lake, and trees protect you from the wind. Once I hit Irondequoit Bay and turned north toward the lake, however, I could see a definite change in the weather. Started seeing some patches of snow and ice on the road, as well as noticing more pronounced wind. Nothing too terrible, and the sun was still above the tree line, so I should have plenty of time to make it home before dusk hit.

Lake Road is always a little bit dark due to the large trees as well as numerous gulleys and dark asphalt, but by this time I'd been working hard enough that I was having trouble keeping my glasses from fogging over. The reduced visibility with the sun getting lower in the sky combined with the fogging made the faster downhill portions a bit dicey, but I just pulled down the glasses and looked over the top of them. Wasn't too long, however, before a thrill-seeker behind me decided to pass me on an uphill portion of the road with no berm by swinging blindly into the oncoming traffic lane. When I heard him coming around me, I immediately started looking for a bail-out spot to the right of the road, and as I crested the hill, I immediately took note of the pickup truck rapidly approaching in the oncoming lane. This was going to be close. I slowed down quickly and pulled out of the way as the truck hit his horn and slammed on the brakes. The car passing me JUST managed to avoid the truck and get back into the right-hand lane before the two vehicles became intimately familiar with each other. Whew! It certainly pays to stay awake on the narrow roads. The driver of the car that passed me didn't even slow down as it sped into the distance -- the truck on the opposite side, however, waited a moment to make sure I was OK (didn't ditch the bike or anything, but seeing as I was well of the road anyhow, I took the opportunity for a quick breather, glasses defogging, and a picture or two). We each then continued on, shaking our heads at the idiot who was in such a hurry he risked his (and our) lives to save 30 seconds.

Following the break, I continued to have trouble with my glasses fogging over, something I'm going to have to think about a bit more. After mile 10, some of the fingers on my right hand started going a touch numb, even with the gloves on -- I think perhaps in the previous excitement I forgot to keep wiggling them on occasion. Toes were just fine, however, indicating the overboots were performing as advertised. Got home, got everything put away, and hopped in the shower. Legs were a bit red and tingly (still need to find one more layer for my legs), but all in all, a nice day for a ride, especially considering how rarely we see the sun in the winter.

Ride Statistics

Distance: 12.59 miles

Average Speed: 15.6 mph (personal high for this route is 17.9 mph from last September)

Top Speed: 28.2 mph

Avg. Heart Rate: 160 bpm

Max Heart Rate: 182 bpm

Avg. Cadence: 73 rpm

Total Climbing: ~ 600 feet

Calories Burned: ~ 760

Nutrition:

Breakfast -- small coffee and sausage biscuit w/egg (McDonald's -- I know, but I had a four-hour test to take...)
Lunch -- turkey sandwich on wheat with pickles
Dinner -- shrimp and pasta with peppers, onions, and green beans
Snack -- Chex mix

Training Thursday, 2/21/08

2008-02-21T23:59:00.001-05:00

Tonight was the first time in quite a spell we had all six of our regular players back on the court together at HotShots, and it certainly showed in the energy level. Our match was against a team that was struggling in the standings to begin with, and our excitement at being back together combined with some pretty good '80s tunes led to a bit of a route. Typically we find a way to play down to the level of our competition, but tonight we started off strong and finished without too big a loss of momentum. Scores were 25-8, 25-7, and 21-7. Nice to have the gang back together...

Nutrition:

Breakfast -- large decaf coffee, FiberOne oats/chocolate bar
Lunch -- turkey sandwich on wheat with lettuce, pickles, and Italian dressing, handful of chips, pickle
Dinner -- cup of vegetable/minestrone soup, two sliced apples with caramel dip

Training Wednesday, 2/20/08

2008-02-20T23:59:00.000-05:00

Chest was a touch sore from lifting yesterday, but not too bad. Jumped on the elliptical trainer after letting a big (but mighty fine) dinner sit for a while. Did a 30-minute pretty hard (Level 5) interval series while watching '24'. Turned into a tough half hour workout -- average heart rate was near 158 bpm, calories burned: 587 (according to the elliptical).

Nutrition:

Breakfast -- large decaf coffee, FiberOne oats/chocolate bar
Lunch -- "seven-vegetable stew," corn, and broccoli
Dinner -- some very tasty chicken breasts, rice, and broccoli
Snack -- popcorn

Training Tuesday 2/19/08

2008-02-19T17:10:00.005-05:00

Went to the gym during lunch to lift, focusing mainly on chest given yesterday's leg workout. Exercises included:

inclined bench press
flat bench press
declined dumbbell chest press
Cybex shoulder press
Cybex rows
bicep curls
triceps (rope)
3 set of abs.

Demo: decline dumbbell chest press

I'm also happy to report that our team is up to seven members, and fundraising efforts continue to go well. We're currently at more than $700 in donations pledged to the ADA, with several months to go before the big event, and several more team members expected to join. Thank you all for your support!

Nutrition:

Breakfast -- large decaf coffee, FiberOne oats/caramel bar (not so tasty -- more butterscotch than caramel)
Lunch -- turkey sandwich on wheat with lettuce, pickles, and Italian dressing, handful of chips, pickle.
Dinner -- chicken and pasta leftovers, beef stew, picked on assorted fruits throughout the evening.

Training Monday 2/18/08

2008-02-18T20:11:00.005-05:00

After taking Sunday off, I had planned to hit the weight room at lunch today. An unexpected but pleasant guest for lunch, however, quickly aborted that plan, which led me to the backup plan. I needed a good hard workout to start the week, focusing on legs. So when I got home, I headed to the bike trainer in the basement and pulled out the VHS of Spinervals 11.0 Big Gear Strength. I hadn't been able to finish this workout in the past, usually running out of steam late in part 4 or 5 of the 5x50s standing intervals in the bike's highest gear. Finished the whole workout this time, although I was getting pretty wobbly by the end of the off-bike lunge set (and that was WITHOUT weights). Average heart rate for the 55 minute workout was 149 bpm.

Also, we have another team member joining Beats Running in the next day or two, and traveling a significant distance to join us at that... Our ranks continue to swell!

Nutrition:

Breakfast -- large decaf coffee, FiberOne oats/chocolate bar
Lunch -- turkey sandwich on wheat with lettuce, pickles, and Italian dressing, handful of chips, pickle.
Dinner -- casserole (noodles, peppers, onions, sauce, ground beef), a corn muffin, and a 0-calorie diet root beer.

Training Sunday 2/17/08

2008-02-17T23:59:00.000-05:00

Took a day off to recuperate, as I was just low on energy in general and felt a tad 'off' most of the day. Fundraising continues to go well, as today I met the minimum donation amount needed to participate, and the team as a whole is also doing well. Of course, we'll continue our fundraising efforts in order to support the whole team and continue to assist the ADA. Thanks to all my contributors -- I appreciate the support, and the ADA will put the money to good use in the fight against diabetes!

Nutrition:

Breakfast -- oatmeal with touch of maple syrup, water.
Lunch -- Fajitas (steak, chicken and shrimp) with peppers, onions, lettuce, and tomatoes.
Dinner -- Casserole (noodles, peppers, onions, sauce, ground beef) and a corn muffin.
Snack -- popcorn

Training Saturday 2/16/08

2008-02-16T23:59:00.000-05:00

Spent 110 minutes on the bike trainer, mostly maintaining an 80 cadence at a medium/high gear while watching the movie American Flyers (coincidentally, 110 minutes in length). Had to go refill the water bottles quickly about halfway in, but didn't do too badly for that long on the trainer (not the most exciting of training methods). Average heart rate was 144, average speed (take with a grain of salt -- based on trainer) -- was about 15 mph. Biggest issue was numb toes again -- it took 'em a while to gain feeling back afterwards, but they eventually did. AND, no soreness on Saturday morning.

Nutrition:

Breakfast -- oatmeal with a touch of maple syrup, water, green grapes
Lunch -- two small turkey sandwiches on wheat, pickles, vegetable/minestrone soup
Dinner -- beef tips over pasta in a red wine sauce, garden salad with Italian dressing, dinner roll
Other -- small piece of celebratory birthday cake

Training Friday 2/15/08

2008-02-15T20:41:00.004-05:00

Spent 50 minutes on the bike trainer, mostly just stretching and moderate effort (~80 rpm) spinning in medium gear, with a couple of high gear standing intervals and a few low gear high cadence superspins. Pretty tired after a late night Thursday, so generally took it easy. Toes are still going numb on the bike after about 30 minutes (especially left shoe, which is a touch thinner) -- I'm starting to think that perhaps my feet swell up a bit as I'm working out and my shoes are too tight? Will have to research this some more, as I can't imagine 7+ hours of numb toes is a good thing when it comes time for the Tour de Cure ride.

Nutrition:

Breakfast -- large decaf coffee, FiberOne oats/chocolate bar

Lunch -- two small turkey sandwiches on wheat (a touch of oil) grilled on the panini maker, seedless green grapes, a pickle, and water

Dinner -- chicken and pasta with peppers and onions (my concoction), along with a side of broccoli and some water

Dogs don't like crunchy snow...

2008-02-15T05:37:00.005-05:00

Earlier this week we had some rather strange winter weather. Following deposition of a few inches of light, fluffy snow, we had several hours of sleet and freezing rain, covering our winter wonderland with a thin crust of ice and leaving the yard with a couple of inches of snow capped with a thin layer of ice that easily breaks. For most northern creatures, this is but a minor inconvenience observed from time to time in the frozen tundra of upstate New York. For our 12-pound Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, however, few things in life (with the exception of squirrels, tennis balls, and remote controls) instill more fear. In case you're thinking my dog's a wuss, please keep in mind, the squirrels in our neighborhood are rather fierce, many of them sporting tattoos and wearing leather chaps.

As man of the house, it's typically my job to take the dog out first thing in the morning (or so Mrs. Beagle has led me to believe). We have it down to a routine. Alarm goes off, I bundle up, call the dog, and we both stumble/trip/fall down the stairs and out the back door. She does her thing, then I return indoors for a nice hot shower, while she cuddles up with Mrs. Beagle before the second alarm clock goes off. Crunchy snow, however, is a daunting obstacle. Little 12 pound dogs think they can walk on it, get a few steps, then watch a leg spontaneously sink three or four inches while the remainder of the dog splays across the ice. Given the temperature of ice is somewhere below 32°F, it doesn't seem to be a pleasant experience.

Cricket, being a dog of reasonable intelligence (tempering our expectations based on size, of course), realized after her first trip outside in the crunchy snow several days ago that the great outdoors was no longer her friend. This has caused a remarkable improvement in her capacity to "hold it." The next morning when the alarm went off she burrowed herself to the foot of the bed under the covers in a desperate attempt to hide from her destiny. Despite her best attempts, however, nature eventually won and the very full, nearly bursting dog finally found relief by learning to navigate through the treacherous outdoor terrain by staying in tire tracks.

This morning in my delirium, however, I took her out back. No tire tracks. She was hesitant, so I finally placed her in the snow in an area that had been 'de-crunched' by my wanderings over the past couple days. She did her thing, but had to figure out how to get back in the house, as I left her in her island of 'de-crunched' snow and was watching through the window from the much more pleasant indoors. This would be a true test of courage. Would this 12-pound wet nosed quadruped sit and shiver in the middle of the yard, looking pitiful and hoping for salvation from an external source, or would she brave the fearsome crunchy snow and make her way back to the porch and up the steps into the house? Initially she opted for the former, but as help did not arrive, tension mounted.

Cricket weighed her options further, and confronted her challenge head on. Valiantly she ventured a paw forward, testing her weight on the icy layer, pulling it back. Analyzing the situation, she tested the ice again. Gathering her courage, the daring little dog took another step, and another. She was doing it. Our fuzzy hero was almost to the patio when it happened -- all four paws sunk into the snow at once and she landed with a muffled thud and minor squeak, flat on her stomach on the ice. But the Cricket remained undaunted. Boldly pulling herself out of the holes in the frosty snow, she made a dash for the stairs and scrambled up the steps to safety, snagging her treat on the way as she raced back upstairs to the comfort of sheets, comforters, and a flannel blanket.

We all have days littered with crunchy snow. Here's to the courage to venture forward, pick ourselves up off the ice when we fall through, and continue through our challenges until we receive our rewards and return to comfortable, safe territory.

Late-Breaking Update: Mrs. Beagle reports that upon taking Cricket out again later in the morning, Cricket, with but a modicum of initial hesitation, had no issues in again venturing out onto the crunchy snow. The fear has been conquered!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

2008-02-14T18:39:00.007-05:00

So I started off today with quite a workout running up and down stairs at work from meeting to meeting (talk about a CRAZY day!!!), then home to tackle some homework before dinner. I was going to climb on the bike trainer for about an hour, but after reading an e-mail noting we would only have four players for tonight's volleyball games at Hotshots (and we're not off to our all-time hottest start this season), I figured I'd best leave the legs as energized as I can. I was right. With only four people (and, of course, our superb passing skills), we certainly got our running in. Took one game out of three against a team of six players, but had a great time despite the score.

Nutrition:

Breakfast -- large decaf coffee, FiberOne oats/chocolate bar

Lunch -- turkey sandwich on wheat with lettuce, onion, and Italian dressing; 1 cup chips, pickle slice

Dinner -- two pork chops, scalloped potatoes, broccoli (popcorn)

After vball -- Wegman's sports drink, lots of water, celebratory Coors Lite

I should note that Mrs. Beagle was extra special sweet tonight. Despite having a rough day, she had a travel pillow and bag (baseball motif) for Cricket, our dog, and I received a bag full of popcorn and a biking tie for Valentine's Day. What an awesome gal!!!

Fundraising Time

2008-02-14T17:33:00.007-05:00

Wow, who'd have thought we'd get off to such a great start??? We're already 28% of the way to our goal thanks to some VERY generous donations by family and good friends, we have several months to go until the big ride... and we've even got a couple more prospective team members looking into joining the "Beats Running" squad, including another potential 100-miler! The more the merrier, and thank you so much for your donations!!!

Training Wednesday 2/13/08

2008-02-13T20:30:00.004-05:00

Went to the gym after work to lift, focusing mainly on chest. Exercises included:

inclined bench press
flat bench press
inclined dumbbell chest press
hack squats
seated leg extensions
seated leg curls
Cybex shoulder press
Cybex rows
and a set of abs.

Nutrition:

Breakfast -- large decaf coffee, FiberOne oats/chocolate bar
Lunch -- large cup beef vegetable soup w/barley; cup of herbal tea
Dinner -- zucchini marinara appetizer; garden salad, Italian dressing; one dinner roll; lots of tasty little gnocchis; water

Another Century Rider!

2008-02-13T11:21:00.002-05:00

Woohooie! Target (aka Lunchbox) has joined the "Beats Running" team and is signing up for the century with me. That should allow us to push each other during training, and I'm also looking forward to learning how to ride with someone else, how to draft, pull, etc. Thanks Target, looking forward to it!

So what's this all about?

2008-02-12T20:31:00.009-05:00

I'm an engineer and part-time professor, a husband, a volleyball player, a rookie cyclist, and a student learning how to be a high school physics teacher. Yup, I agree, that's a lot. So when a recent Drexel University class assignment turned up to explore a field-component of multimedia and emerging technology in education, a light bulb went on in my head and said (in a rather scratchy lightbulb-ish voice),

"Why don't you save yourself some time, and create a blog detailing your bike training as you prepare for a 100-mile charity ride in June, which you can also use to satisfy part of your course requirements as you learn more about the technology?"

"Great idea," I told the light bulb, gently extinguishing its existence in my subconscious in a completely respectful and non-offensive, non-discriminatory, politically correct manner. The end result is exactly what you are perusing right now.

Last fall, my (then) fiance told me about a duathlon being held locally, consisting of a rather hilly 2-mile cross country run, a 10-mile trail and road bike ride, and a repeat of the 2-mile cross country course. Figuring it was something we could do together, we joined a local team coached by trainer-extraordinaire Frank (from Iron Butterfly) to train for several months before the big event.
Coming down the home stretch as a team!

An unintended outcome of the training, however, involved my getting hooked on riding my bike. I've never been much for running or jogging, but had a great time on the bike, and started biking longer and longer distances. My wife would join me for some of these, but I also had fun just hopping on the bike and going for a couple hours.

Realizing I needed something to keep me in shape besides my weekly volleyball game, and starting to get a bit long in the tooth to compete with the young whippersnappers in the weekend volleyball tournaments, I learned that biking was low impact, great for cardio, and also burned quite a few calories. I decided I was going to make it my "keep in shape" hobby, and struck a deal with the Mrs. If I biked several hundred miles in 2007 and completed the duathlon with her, I could purchase a basic road bike. We completed the duathlon together, had a great time, I picked up a decent road bike after some minor negotiations with the bike shop, and I set a goal for myself for 2008 -- I wanted to complete a century bike ride (100 miles in a day).

Initially, I planned on doing a solo century, figuring out a route that started and ended at my house, and just picking a day in the summer to give it a whirl. Some acquaintances from BikeForums.Net changed my mind, however, recommending I combine my goal with community service by joining in the American Diabetes Association's Tour de Cure to raise money to fight diabetes. Discussing it with Mrs. Beagle, we decided to start a team for this event, as we had family and friends from both our sides affected by this disease. She's wonderfully supportive in most all crazy things I push us into. Our next step -- recruiting.

We started off by running it past the fun and faithful volleyball team, not expecting a tremendous amount of support, but hoping a few would join us. To our amazement, the response was tremendous, and we had the beginnings of a large team already on the way. I should have expected such a response in hindsight -- the volleyball gang is really an extended family -- of course we pick and play amongst ourselves constantly, but we're truly blessed to have such great friends who have always been there when we've needed them. My brother-in-law, a great guy with an amazing sense of humor, also joined us right off. Our team, "Beats Running," was a go! Our next step -- fund raising.

And that, I think, is enough Beagle windage to set the stage for why we're here and what we're doing.

My first winter ride...

2008-01-19T11:26:00.002-05:00

I got up this morning thinking "the sun's out, the roads are dry, why don't I give this cold-weather riding a shot?" The extra motivation was my wife saying "why are you going to the basement to the bike trainer when you just spent money on cold-weather riding clothes?" Hard to argue with wisdom like that...So my first dilemma -- how do I dress for 20°F temperatures and 15 mph winds coming right off of Lake Ontario (and by right off the lake, I mean "oh look, there's Lake Ontario").

I didn't want to get so thick and bundled I ended up soaked, but also wanted to stay warm. So, figuring on a short ride looping around the house so I could always get home pretty quickly if I got too cold, I tried a pair of wool socks underneath a pair of polyester/cotton socks, standard bike shorts, polypro tights over those, a long sleeve lightweight jersey to wick away moisture, a cotton turtleneck, lighter sweatshirt, balaclava, and my biking rain slicker over top to hopefully help with the wind. Threw on my gloves, sunglasses, and expanded my helmet a bit to fit over the balaclava, and I was off. Well, not without a few choice snickers from my wife (and a request that I go out the back door so the neighbors wouldn't see me).

First couple miles were pretty uneventful. I was a bit chilly, but figured that was a good sign, hoping to warm up in the first couple minutes and then see how I felt. Was doing pretty good, although my legs were a bit cooler than I would have liked. I also noticed that I probably could have used just a bit more wind resistance on both my legs and my upper body. Feet didn't feel too bad, and gloves were working just fine (although it took a while to get shifting figured out).Went a few more miles along the lake, before I decided I'd had enough of that Lake Ontario wind and turned inland (south) for a spell.

As I moved inland, I tried to stay out of the harder gears and focus on spinning easily to start getting a feel for the bike again. It didn't take long to realize I was terrible at holding a line, which as much as I'd like to blame on the wind, might have had something to do with the rider. I also quickly learned that looking behind me was a bit tough with the balaclava, but by offsetting it to give me more space around my left eye, I was able to turn my head to check for traffic fairly easily. The sunglasses helped hold it in place, and thankfully, there were no issues with fogging.

A couple more miles and I was getting a good feel for the efficacy of my winter clothing. The balaclava/helmet/sunglasses combo was working well, the upperbody was OK, although I could have used another layer, the gloves were great, but my legs were still pretty cold (which I REALLY noticed on one hill that I had to stand to climb), and although my toes didn't feel cold, unfortunately there was an issue. My toes didn't feel at all. I'd initially figured I'd go out for roughly an hour just to try this winter biking thing out, and though I wasn't overly uncomfortable, caution told me I should head home, get warmed up, and make a few adjustments for next time.

Thankfully, I'd made this decision about a mile from my house, and as I took the turn toward home, it started snowing. Not a blizzard, by any stretch, but enough snow that it just started to stick on the roads and wet them, and it was blowing directly on my face, which certainly cooled things down a bit further. Pulled into the driveway, got the bike in the house, and hopped in the shower to find that my toes were pretty numb, and the top layer of my legs was a bit tingly. Good call turning for home when I did. All told, 8 miles, 30 minutes, experiment successful.

Learnings For Next Time
1. Cycling jersey as base layer was good, kept me dry.
2. Need another upper body layer, nothing too thick, but perhaps wind-resistant jacket instead of rain slicker.
3. Definitely need another layer over legs. Not sure what that'll be yet. I have warm-up pants, but they're the button-down kind on the sides, so minimal wind resistance, and they're baggy -- I'm worried they'll get caught in the chain.
4. Need to rethink toe warmth. Perhaps the two pair of socks, along with exploring options in whole-shoe covers?
5. Hydration -- I took along a water bottle with Gatorade (made with warm water), not because I'd need it for so short a ride, but to work out any issues for future longer rides. Found it wasn't easy to drink in the cold weather, almost felt painful, and the thicker riding gloves made using the bottle a bit difficult. Also, the Gatorado quickly became downright frigid, also a problem (but at least it didn't freeze). Might have to look into a small hydration pack or planning routes with indoor stopping places for future rides.

Overall, though, I was pretty positive on the whole adventure. I'd originally hoped to get back outdoors when the temperature passed 40-50° Fahrenheit (quite a ways away here), and am pretty sure there's no reason I can't get outside well before then. The sun shining off the patches of snow was gorgeous, and I even saw some wayward geese floating around in a pond in the few avenues that hadn't frozen over. Not a bad experience at all!