Night Rides...

I did two this weekend. 

With my training buddy of course, as I wouldn't have done this route without him I don't think.  

Too freaking scary/high traffic.

A friend of our's was having his bday party in Tampa at his apartment.  I figured it would be a GREAT opportunity to ride at the perfect time here in the Tampa Bay Area.  When it's dark (no sun exposure), cooler, and a bit less humid.

And yea, those factors were fine..and made the ride great. 
However, the route on a Saturday night??  Was a bit terrifying in sections on the way to Tampa.  Not so bad (interestingly enough) on the way back.
We left my house at 10pm (in Largo) and headed to the BaySide Bridge.  That was ok.  Bayside Bridge, the wind pushed it to our destination, which I am thankful for since the ride OVER the COURTNEY CAMPBELL CAUSEWAY was into a headwind, coming from the Southwest with gusts. 
Lucky for us, there's a side road on a majority of that bridge, where people go to fish, enjoy the water, and on Saturday night meet up for motorcycle races on the actual bridge, and cars as well.  It's basically a service road, but I learned it's a huge place for people to hang out with on a Saturday night.  And why not?  It's a pretty view of the Tampa Bay Area. 
The Service Road was not the problem.  We thought that leaving at 10pm would be the perfect lull time..and late enough where most people were at their destination for their drinking/Saturday night fun.
That was/is not the case.  I completely forgot about the people that wait until 10pm to head to Tampa/Ybor for drinking. 
Now, traffic doesn't bother us so much.  We're used to that.  However, the median to get over the two humps on the bridge, are no where near as big as the Gandy Bridge.  So going over that hump with only oh..about 30 feet??  Or less, maybe a little more?? As a Median was terrifying.  My ride buddy was worried as I usually am behind him and he couldn't tell where my headlight was and where the cars headlights were (checking on me as you do with a buddy system). 
When that hump was over, we promptly got back on the service road..and battled the headwind, cursing it at this point.  But at least we were in Tampa by then.

Tampa has provided a new service road called Bayfront or something.  Which takes us to a small trail to avoid traffic and to get us to Memorial Drive. ..which worked out perfectly.  Memorial we stayed on the sidewalk for all of a mile (maybe less) then turned to our friends house.

The party was great. No drinking, but who the hell needs to.  And it was great to see everyone in Tampa as I hadn't seem them in a few months.

The ride back we were dreading.  Bars get out here about 3am..so we knew we needed to get on the road before that, so as not to deal with more terrible traffic.  It was agreed that we would stop if it got to be too much with the traffic..and just enjoy the view from the Causway of Tampa Bay.

We left the party in the hour of two (I think it was closer to three) and we were both dreading it. 
We should not have. 
It was the best ride I have been on in awhile.

We learned that the other side of Courtney Campbell's bridge (the side heading towards Pinellas)'s service road is actually longer, bigger, and easier to get to.
Traffic was practically nothing compared to everyone getting to Tampa earlier.  We were able to cross the largest hump with little or not effort..and only about 3 cars passed us while we were doing so. 
And the headwind we dealt with, became a tailwind.  We were flying.

It was fun!  It was enjoyable, it was nothing dreading about it.
Now, getting back on the Bayside Bridge was a little much for me.  We had a headwind there as on the way there, we did not.  My legs had had enough of tailwind, but at the same time I needed the training.

And the fact that we can cut through a neighborhood (as we can use the exit near my old job whereas it's harder to do that on the way to the party) helped immensely.
Got home about 4am, little or no traffic.  Tired, but felt accomplished.
And got the milage for the day I needed to get done. 
40 miles total for the ride.
I also figured out how to get myself to sleep in...by doing night rides obviously.  Only downfall is that I missed out on Lenny's in the morning, woke up too late and it would have been too busy at that point in time.  Went somewhere else for Brunch and it was still delicious of course, but I had my heart set on FRENCH TOAST.  :D

But this has caused a new...craving in me.
I loved how I felt on the bike late at night, I loved how it looked outside, I loved how energized I felt and how I wanted to keep going ...that feeling that doesn't happen too often during the day as the heat, humidity and sun just get to you on the bike, and can make it brutal in this area. 
So I think, I am going to start riding at night now...one night a weekend instead of focusing all my attention's to early morning rides. 
And then, that will also enable me to sleep in on a weekend as well. :)

Six Gap Training Rides Started Today

As well as better eating habits.  I ate for the first time (well I'm making this one the first time since the actual first time ended in a wreck) before I ride today and ate as instructed by the Cycling Bible.
I'm tired..but it's been a bit since I've been on the bike and actually didn't just do a fun ride (went to Tarpon two weekends ago).
It was hot(er) than usual for an early ride.  I think this summer is going to be brutal. 
Started at 6am and done about 8:30ish..did the intervals like the training stated ..
Man I'm hungry..and need food.
Another ride tomorrow morning.  Yea..this feels good.

Team Skinny Day #3

Yesterday was my 'off day' for the week.
Weather does not look to be very promising for the next couple of days (something about a cold front...or maybe a hurricane...whatever, it's Florida).
Humidity is terrible right now. If I just STOP on the bike to take a breather, it envelopes me and thus makes it where the sweat doesn't dry up.
Meh.
Luckily, Dimitrios bought us a trainer last year...




One of the best trainers on the market actually.
So he set that up for me last night - in front of the computer.
I can happily watch Hulu now in the mornings and catch up on my TV programs I like to watch while getting my hour in the morning.
And 30 minutes in the afternoons.

Biking and Six Gap

I've started biking into work again. I missed it - two times these past two weeks. that's pretty good - next week I'm going to strive for three weeks - my body has totally missed it so it's definitely something I'm going to get back to. The afternoon showers after work are hitting me as I drive home, but that's ok. Makes the drive less humid/gross feeling.

Going to Tallahassee tonight to drop Dimitrios off with Brendan for the ride up in Six Gap I was going to participate in this, but something has come up with my grandfather, so I'm using the weekend as a weekend to visit him and possibly do some riding around the Tallahassee area for a bit. And do homework. It'll be a quiet/private weekend for me and it's something that's definitely needed for me.

At some point I'm going to start attempting to go back to the weekly ride with The Skirts Sadly with the way it's looking, it might not be until I'm 100% done with school, and then I'll only be riding with them until we move out of state in May :(. I miss seeing them though.

Going to also start on a training schedule for the rider with little time (see book below). Plans for that are to be in October that I start doing that.

And Im getting a new bike soon. Details to follow on that when I get it.

RAIN RAIN GO AWAY....

The Rain has kept the riding down a bit this past week/weekend, it seems to be leveling out, but it's now doing it's 'afternoon thunderstorms' ordeal (what it usually does in Florida this time of year). Which is ruining the riding chances 'The Skirts' are having on Tuesday evenings.
We tried to ride last night, and ended up just getting rained out/on.
It was still nice to see the ladies I ride with (hadn't seen them the week before due to schoolwork and selling the Honda), and I 'engaged'/committed myself to some 'Skirts' events that are coming up so I'm pretty excited about that.
They're also going to start doing training rides on Sunday afternoons @ 5pm. I'm going to try my best to go/attend as many of those as I can. Starting with this Sunday. It will be a 'drop' ride (meaning if I don't keep up, I off the group ride), but that's good too as I need to learn how to properly ride with a group that does that. And get my bearings when I do get lost/learn my way back to..my house or where-ever.

Rode the Miyata into work today. It's the first day I woke up and it wasn't raining in over a week. Forgot how heavy that bike is after riding the Trek during all the non-rain days. Will probably get rained on today on the way home, but that's ok. That's what the rain gear I got is for.

If none/any of you have nothing to do on Saturday - FloridaCycling is having Criterion Races on Saturday all day starting from 8pm - 6pm. Dimitrios WILL BE RACING AND WILL BE IN THE CAT 5 Category. I know we're going to get there early to hang out, oogle bikes and watch some of the Pro Categories so text me if you like and I'll let you know what time we're heading out to Tampa. We'd love to have you.

Here's more details on it if you like...

D's race starts at 5, but we'll be there earlier.

In other news on Cycling...I'm doing it!!
Well, ok, I know you guys KNOW that I'm cycling, but with the weather over the past two months going from nice to FRIGID...I wasn't doing it NEARLY as much as I would have liked (yes, I'm a pussy). But this week is the THIRD WEEK IN A ROW that I have ridden my bike to work 3 days a week (Wednesday-Friday)!! I've even found a new route to go that makes me NOT have to go home on East Bay at all (unfortunately I can't use it in the mornings as the road is a ONE WAY / from McMullen Booth, but still)..it's made the right a LOT more enjoyable in the mornings and I I think even shaved off some time since I no longer have to follow/weave around like East Bay does.
I've also started riding on Sunday mornings super early. That's 'MY' ride time (Dimitrios does his on Saturdays, but I like being able to go out on my own on Sundays and do my thing). This month I'm only doing about 20-30 miles each Sunday, and then I'll increase it to 10 next month.
I'm also looking at joining the group ride that Dimtirios goes on Tuesday nights. I'm still chickenshit about this group ride thing. Why?! Insecurities mostly ...and the fact that ..unlike the rest of the group cyclist I WON'T run a red light when the group is going through it (Dimitrios has told me that cyclists do this a lot just so that the group won't get split...but see...I think that's DUMB because if you're on the street - YOU NEED TO FOLLOW THE RULES OF THE ROAD. Him and I both agree with this. He says that he has stopped before while with the group and while passing him they all stare at him like he's nuts, but he doesn't care. He refuses to become THAT BICYCLE GUY that doesn't follow the rules of the road. And I personally don't blame him one damn bit as I would be the same.
But his said this new group that he's found to ride with on Tuesday nights are nicer and they have a girl's group. So when/if my study schedule CALMS THE HELL DOWN (grrr) then I think I will suck it up and go with him and see what it's like.
We also got this book from the Paperback Swap web-site that I'm a part of we've heard NOTHING BUT GOOD THINGS ABOUT THIS BOOK and how it's got all sorts of training ideas, tips and techniques. If I follow this book and the book regime..who knows, maybe by my birthday *I'll* be doing races as well!!

And lastly, if anyone is interested in seeing Dimitrios's race results for the two crits he was already in:
They are here
http://floridacycling.com/results/ResultsViewer.asp?popup=&view=79&cat=708&eVclass=720
and here
http://floridacycling.com/results/ResultsViewer.asp?popup=&view=83&cat=725&eVclass=737

He's motivating me to race, that's for sure
(sidenote: His photos are in my flickr account. Ask if you would like more details on how to get to them :-)).

My minimum speed is picking up. When I started, i was all puny like - down to 12-15 mph was fast to me. Now? My warm-up speed is about 15mph and my kick it into high gear is up to 19-20mph. I'm quite impressed with this :-). Maybe with the training stuff I'll be able to catch up to Dimitrios and be at 25mph in no time!!

2009, First Ride - San Antonio, Florida - 40 miles

I had slacked this week with the riding. Today I made up for it.
Dimitrios and I went on a 40 mile ride in San Antonio, Florida. Yes, a town in Florida exists as well as in Texas. It's about an hour away on I-75. It's small and very rural and has THE MOST F**K**G HILLS I HAVE EVER DEALT WITH ON A RIDE IN MY ENTIRE LIFE.
Which made it cool, and also made it the DEATH of me.
The cool thing? Going downhill on a rural road where only orange trees are on both sides of you, continuing to pedal, which in turn, makes your speed go up to 38mph (yes, you read that right...38 MILES PER HOUR). Not only does the pedaling make you go faster, but you also gain enough speed to kind of propel yourself forward on the next upcoming hill and then the hike up that beast is not as bad.
The bad?? Hill after hill after hill that will knock you down to 8 miles an hour and make you feel like your lungs are going to fall out of your chest. No matter how slow you go, that incline just wants to destroy you.
I did good with hydrating and wasn't really fatigued until about halfway into it, then it was my foot's fault (so to speak)...my cycling shoes are new and with the socks I had on, the seams rubbed my big toe til I had to pull over and twist the sock around for it to not run. That also happened with my mountain cycling shoes and after a few wears, they stopped doing that/got broke in. I also got some shoulder and neck fatigue, but that's usual for me as I scrunch up on the bike when I shouldn't. But no dehydration, no starvation (Cliff Bars to take a bite out of while riding every 30 minutes and drinking water every 15minutes mixed with a sports drink). I think I finally found my 'fit' on the bike AND my regime to stay in the game.
Dimitrios helps too. There were a couple of times on those blasted HILLS where I would have just stopped if I was on my own and sat down and threw in the towel. With him there goading me on....really did help.
We started at 12pm and ended at 4pm. Awesome day.
I took the camera, but I didn't get any photos as I was too busy RIDING. my point-n-click is just too heavy for me to wear in my jersey pocket on my back. Gotta maybe get a handlebar bag like D had so I can just grab it when necessary and toss it back in there. Putting it in the saddlebag, doesn't quite work as well.
I think we're going to do this ride once a month so that my stamina on hills gets better, and continue to add miles to it each month like I had planned. By the end of the year, I should be putting in about 750 miles in just training rides (IF I stick with the plan that is). And with my 40 a week (10 miles a day) for every week....that will be 2080 miles in that. Granted, I'm sure the Florida summers are going to mess those numbers up (RAIN), but that's the goal anyways.
On the way home, we stopped in Tarpon for Greek food, a small walk (as that's all my legs could take) and home to shower and now...to collapse on the couch.
The 40 miles made up for four days of slacking. Tomorrow I will do 20 and then be caught up to have an 'off' day on Sunday OR ride 10 miles...however I choose.
Now, to the couch. I still need to post a lot more, but my hour of being on the computer for the day is done (sticking to only two hours a day on the days I'm NOT at work).
Happy New Year's everyone!

Riding this week has been postponed due to Womanly Failure

Yea, getting on a bike today would be a bad idea for personal reasons (that, thankfully only come every three months).

Riding on Friday will be safe, so I will ride that day and probably Saturday and Sunday as well to make up for it. Thinking of maybe doing an actual 'training' ride on Sunday and not just a commute ride only (ride will probably be a 30 mile to the beach and back).

Weather seems to be holding up for the most part when the hurricanes are not in effect (there are three right now they are watching), which makes me think the rainy season of the year is over and the riding more than three times a week will be in effect as well.

This tri-monthly situation however, is making me wonder...what can I do on days like this if I am carless?? Will need to figure out a solution soon cause when the car dies, I am going to go completely carless for at least six months. OR if I move to where mass-transit is savvy, then I will be selling the car. That's for sure.