Busy, Busy, Busy

Been a busy few weeks. My brother's been in town, works been very busy, which is a good thing. Bought a new car last weekend (BMW M Coupe). Through all of this, I have still been riding on a regular basis, just not as many miles as I'd like.

The Madone is all dialed in now with all Campy Record on it. It was pretty finicky to get everythinig just right. I had to order a new front derauiller since my old one had a different downtube size. So much for the swap of parts from the broken frame to the new one. I ended up spending about $800 in parts, but it's well worth it. A unique bike to say the least.

Great mountain bike ride this evening. Two loops around the local TW. One clockwise, the other counterclockwise. These loops have gotten easier, as mentioned in the first post. I did switch to a 32 from a 34 rear cogset. I have seen pretty good improvement in my strength since this change. I didn't think that the change would be significant, but it was a huge difference the first couple times out.

I am doing the Tour de Poway this Sunday. A few guys from North County Cycle Club are joining me to do the metric century. I would've actually preferred the regular century, but others want to do the shorter one, so we'll all stick together. Something like 5800 feet of climbing. Should be a hoot. Hopefully we'll get some good pics to post up.

Haven't had much time to think about the final destination, but just keeping busy and putting in the miles to prepare for whats on the horizon.

A week like this past one will make one wonder how they could possible have enough time to get a few regular rides in, let alone something epic. Really busy flying, but did manage a ride this morning (Sunday) with Chip. Just 40 miles at a 15.1 average. Pretty slow, but Chip had already done a hard ride on Saturday. This week shouldn't be so hectic and can get back to getting creative.

A busy week at work, so not much thoughts to put down. This was just sent to me by a buddy of mine, Jim Rench.

http://raceacrossthesky.com/

Pretty amazing race, can you imagine running this same course? That's what friend of my brother's did. I can't imagine running 100 miles, but he did. Great balls of fire Ken.

Anyway, I'm planning on racing the Whiskey Off Road, a fifty mile mountain bike race in Prescott, AZ. It's a lot more technical than the Leadville 100 and not so far away. Maybe in a couple years I'll do the Leadville race.

Be back soon. It's a great day for flyin!

Had a great ride this morning. Headed up Poway Road into Ramona, then out Highland Valley to 78. Back West on Del Dios through Rancho Santa Fe and back home on Camino Del Sur & Camino Del Norte. It was just over 60 miles. Pretty similar to the Tour de Poway Metric Century ride that I will be doing with NCCC at the beginning of October. I was riding solo and managed a 17.0 mph average. Spent a lot of time thinking about this EPIC ride thing.

Would have to average almost this pace for 400 miles to qualify for the RAAM. Now, I had 4800 feet of climbing in today's ride. Still doesn't seem reasonable to me at this point. One things for sure. I really enjoy being on the bike, solo or with a group.

I took two bottles with Gatorade and water and two bars. Probably not enough food or drink. I was planning on hitting a 7/11 or something, but passed up am/pm at the 15 crossing by Lake Hodges and that was the last one that I saw. I didn't bonk on the way back, but probably couldn't have done too much more climbing with much energy. I passed quite a few solo and double riders today. I usually catch everyone on the hills. Great feeling.

Anyway, I have a busy week at work coming up. Hopefully, I will get a few rides in. Time change this week as well. That should be good for getting up early to go ride. Talk soon.

Well, here's what I have come up with so far as the Epic thing goes. I'm thinking of the Race Across the West which is a shorter version of the famous RAAM (Race Across America). In order to compete in this race, I will need to qualify. This consists of completing a 24 hour bicycle endurance event. I will have to ride atleast 400 miles in 24 hours. I figured that out to be an average of 16.66 mph for 24 hours. That's pretty quick. My usual group rides around so cal (very hilly) are in the 17-18 mph range. I would assume that most of these qualifiers are of the flatter than so cal type. I'll have to do a little more research on this. I can't imagine averaging almost 17mph in hilly terrain. There is no drafting allowed so you are alone in the wind for the duration of the event. Almost sounds like an aero bike would be neccesary for the flat lands.

I'm still in the thinking about this stage, but a tentative plan if I choose to do this would be to qualify in Spring of 2010 and either race in June of 2010 or 2011. Once qualified, I can race within three years.

I've thought about many other options, including local bike races (club criterium races, etc). Although challenging, they really don't fit the "Epic" definition by my standards. I'm a very goal oriented person, so something that would be as much mental as physical is probably where I'm headed with this.

That should give me plenty to sleep on tonite.

Cannondale Black Lightning Special Edition

#4 out of 300

Rear triangle kinked due to chain breakage

and derauiller damage.

Meet the Cannondale's replacement.

09' Trek Madone

Campagnolo Record 10 speed

Garmin 705

Taking a day off the bike. I did pick up my Trek from the bike shop. They had swapped over all of the Campagnolo Record parts off of my Cannondale (the Black Lightning came to quick demise a few weeks ago on a ride in Ramona). I'm planning on 80 miles tomorrow, so I will atleast take the Trek out this evening around the neighborhood to make sure everything is set up properly. I've been riding the Trek for a few weeks with Shimano Ultegra on it. What a difference the Campy makes. It was hard to pinpoint when I first got the Trek. But since the Campy is back on it, it feels so much more responsive on the cranks. I guess that old saying "You get what you pay for" is true in this case. I've always liked to have unique things, thus the Cannondale Black Lightning, #4 out of 300. When I got the Trek, I decided that I would buy the Madone 5.2 instead of the 6.9. Same frame as the 6.9 (159g heavier), just cheaper parts (Shimano Ultegra). Since I knew that I would be putting the Campy Record, I thought it would be a great chance to have something unique again. The only way to get a Trek Madone with Campy on it is to order it through Trek's Project One custom order program($10k +). So, it's all done and the bike looks great and rides great. I'll be riding it over to the group ride in the am, do the ride, then ride home. Should be around 85 miles or so. The Garmin 705 will keep track of my progress. I'll post up some pics of the bike and try to import a few of my rides from the Garmin.

September 11, 2001

Eighth anniversary of the September 11th attacks. September 11th was definitely one of those days that you will always remember where you were and what you were doing. I had gotten up early, 5:00am West Coast Time. I had a phone appointment with an interview prep service. I had lined up an interview with Southwest Airlines and was set to go over a mock interview on the phone. I turned on the news when I got up just in time to see the second plane fly into the tower. For obvious reasons, I cancelled the interview prep and stayed glued to the tv. Daniel did go to school that day, but not before he watched both of the towers fall.

I'll be taking a moment of silence today to remember the fallen. RIP.

MTB Ride Tonite:
Just a one hour tour of my favorite riding place, Ted Williams. I usually warm up for one 35 minute loop, but had a guy behind me coming down the single track, so I pushed it on my warm up lap to stay in front of him. Just killed the second loop and third was non-existent.

I've found that as my performance level has risen, a good warm up is absolutely neccesary. This didn't use to be the case. I could unload my bike, hit the trail as hard as I wanted and maintain my usual level of exertion. This definitely changes as your fitness level goes up. Twenty minute minimum warm up.

The guy behind me eventually passed me after one of the steepest climbs and proceeded to spank me up the rest of my warm up loop. He was one of those twiggy types that probably weighed in at 150 lbs. I've seen him out there a few times, definitely a racer. See, there's always someone quicker.

The Beginning....

About one year ago I decided that it was time to get back in shape. When I graduated college in 94' I weighed in at a hefty 255#. I had bought a Bridgestone Mountain Bike from a bike shop in Prescott, AZ just before I graduated and moved back to San Diego. When I got to San Diego I started riding up behind our house in a natural area that I still ride to this day. It was pretty rough going. Mountain bikes didn't have the gearing that they have today and I was pretty out of shape, both physically and aerobically. I had never been involved in physical fitness as a kid. I played a year of football and baseball when I was younger, but fitness wasn't a priority. It took about 4 months to lose 55#s. I cut out every bit of fat in my diet. Didn't care how many carbs and didn't know anything about protein at the time. I lost weight so quick. Since I cut out all of the fat, I started to get dry skin, my hair was dry. All kinds of strange stuff. But I felt great out riding my Bridgestone up this hill from our house to an old WWII lookout to the Pacific. I can remember being able to ride up that trail non-stop in 17:30 minutes. I was 205# and was feeling great. Not long after that my career got going. Being a pilot, I moved all over the country. I was what you would call an aviation whore (excuse my language). If I could build more flight time and fly bigger planes and eventually work for a major airline, I would've sold my soul. As to be expected, my exercise and healthy (not really) eating habits went away pretty quick. I managed to get back on my bike again in the late 90's and early 2000's. I bought a road bike back in 96 and rode for a 1000 or so miles. But, being a pilot and staying or getting in optimal shape just wasn't in the cards for me. Fast forward to right now, September 2009.

I did manage to keep my career moving and get back in shape. I opened up Jet Aeronautical, LLC, a corporate pilot training facility in San Diego, in 2005. One year ago, I finally got to a point where I could manage the business, family and dedicate time to getting back on my bike. Although I had been getting out of shape for a number of years, I always knew how to get back in shape, I just needed the motivation and the opportunity.



Being off your bike for long periods means lots of pain when you get back on usually. I still ride the same trails that I did back in 94. So letting my weight get back up to 235 + was gona cost me when I went back to the trail behind the house. I live a couple miles from that old house now, but still ride that trail. I still have my Bridgestone, but ride a Turner Flux off road now. My Bridgestone became a classic soon after I bought it, as Bridgestone no longer imports bicycles to the US. I've dedicated quite a bit of time to riding during the last year. Road and Mountain bikes. That hill behind the house now takes 12:30 on a warm up. I've got my weight back down in the 180s. I quit checking weight now and am more concerned with body fat. My fitness level is so far above anything I've ever seen in my life. I ride my road bike with North County Cycle Club every Saturday. I've went from not being able to keep up to being able to lead the ride when I want(I hope those guys don't read this). Anyway, it's an amazing feeling when you get in good shape. Maybe not that special for someone who has been athletically inclined their whole life, but for someone like me, it's awesome. That's where I'm at today. I'm happy with myself, mentally and physically. My family is great. My priorities have always been family first and I won't be shy about saying that my wife, Inna, is spectacular. Our son, Daniel, is an amazing individual. I live a gifted life when it comes to my immediate family.

So, I find myself secure with family, secure with my business(sometimes) and looking to push myself. My family and business have always caused me to push my hardest. Not saying I don't have a lot of work left with family and business, just that I have a desire to seek something additional now.

What does epic really mean? At this point in my life it's going to be physical. I've checked quite a few boxes along the way, including flying jets, racing cars, riding dirt bikes, etc. So, I'm really looking for something epic, not just exciting. I haven't decided what it is yet, but I'm going to start preparing for it. I've got a couple of century rides on the calendar, a double century next March and the Whiskey Off Road MTB race in Prescott, AZ April 2010. What am I preparing for? Maybe the RAW or RAAM. I'm not sure yet. Race Across the West seems pretty reasonable to me. Probably not to most. It's a 1000 miles from Oceanside, CA to Taos, NM in under 92 hours. Race Across America is extreme. 3000+ miles from Oceanside to Annapolis, MD in under 10 days. Just thoughts at this point, but I'm researching and wanted to get my thoughts down, so I have something to look back on to keep things going straight. Thanks for following. Your comments are always appreciated. Coming next..... My inspirations!

Contemplating something epic!

Greetings! Contemplating something epic!