100 MILES! Tuesday, February 28, 2006

That's a cumulative 100 miles. Over the course of this past month, I've logged over 100 miles on my bicycle -- 109, to be exact. So, on June 4th, I'll ride in one day the same mileage that it has taken the entire month of February for me to accomplish. I'm not worried. Things are actually getting better and I'm learning a lot. Did you know that it's easier to ride when it's above 40 degrees outside? This is truly a relief for me. This afternoon, I took a 10-mile spin over to Druid Hill Park for a few laps around the lake. It was about 42 degrees outside with a wind speed of 16 mph WNW bringing the temperature down to about 35 degrees. But it was sunny and Druid Hill Park is beautiful with downtown skyline vistas to the south, rolling green hills to the west and geese on the lake. There isn't much in the way of hills for climbing on that ride, but I rode some hills this past Sunday when I conquered 22 miles by taking on Baltimore's famous Hillside Ride. My average speed was up over 11 mph on Sunday and above 12 mph today. So, things are looking up. I'm not getting too comfortable, though. The rides get longer every Sunday. This week, the Team in Training is scheduled for 30 miles -- killer hills guaranteed. But I won't be starting from scratch, I'm in training.

WHO'S IDEA WAS THIS? Sunday, February 19, 2006

The way the training schedule works, the team adds five miles to the cycling distance every Sunday. Then there are shorter, mid-week rides to let your muscles recover from Sunday's exertion. Well, last Sunday, there were two feet of snow on the ground. So, there was no ride. And because it took a few days for the snow to melt, there were no mid-week rides. That meant that on Sunday, February 19th, 10 miles were added to the distance after not having ridden for 10 days.

Those of you who ride regularly and, perhaps, those of you who have never ridden at all might think that this is no big deal. O.K. Maybe it's not such a big deal. But let me say that when I left the house on Sunday morning to ride the scheduled 20 mile loop -- the thermometer was yelling at me, "It's 18 degrees outside. What are you thinking?" When I returned to the house after finishing the ride, the temperature had risen a whopping 10 degrees to a balmy 28.

There was no hydration going on during the ride. The water in my bottle was frozen. It was so cold, that when it came time to fly down the hill on Falls Road just past St. Paul's School, the exposed skin on my face felt like it was going to crack off. I'm not even going to talk about going up the hills. I'll save that nightmare for a future posting.

I did finish the ride, averaging 10.7 mph. This is not fast. I have been told by the Team in Training coach that the minimum average speed necessary to finish the 100 miles in Tahoe is 10 mph. So at this rate, I am at risk of being picked up by the sag wagon on June 4th before the setting sun throws the route of America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride into darkness. And me along with it.

TRAINING BEGINS Sunday, February 5, 2006

Team in Training -- Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Maryland Chapter -- North Baltimore Cycling Team -- First Meeting

There are about a dozen members of the team, plus a handful of mentors and a coach.

That's me in the bright green jersey in the middle of the group. I figure that by wearing bright green, the team will be able spot me when they look back over their shoulders during the ride. Someone needs to keep an eye on the Goldwoman.

We spent the first part of our first meeting learning the 72 different ways cars can knock you off the road and into a ditch leaving you there with multiple broken bones. It was an inspiring film that left me questioning my decision making abilities. We then took to the road.

The first left out of the parking lot pointed me straight into an oncoming gale force wind. I battled the wind bravely, suspecting that I was gaining absolutely no ground. I'm sure I was standing still, perfectly upright and not falling over as my team mates passed me by urging me on.

I did manage to finish that first group ride. Only to learn that winter had not yet really arrived.