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Injured… :(

Anyone out there know where I can get two new feet? ‘Cause mine are messed up. Turns out I have Morton’s Neuroma which obviously is doctor speak for pain that feels like a nail being driven into my feet!

I’ve tried a couple of things like getting a cortisone injection in my left foot (which helped some) and wearing metatarsal pads to help alleviate the pressure in the area. But those pads don’t work on longer distances, in the rain or when I sweat a lot because the pads slip.

So my friend Larry has suggested Spenco shoe inserts (www.spenco.com). So I’ve researched those and have order the Polysorb insert that you can custom make with a heat gun. If that doesn’t work, looks like I may be scheduling surgery later this year to have the nerve removed.

So for now, I’m mixing up my active lifestyle with 4 spin classes/week that I teach, and this weekend I will be doing probably a 50- or 60-mile ride, kayaking and geocaching, which is my newest hobby.

Refocused and recharged…

A nagging wrist pain and a little bit of burnout prompted some time off my bicycle that my friend Larry named, “Blue.” So Blue has patiently sat propped up in my garage waiting for my sore wrists to heal and for the burnout to dissolve. And thanks to Larry, he’s helping me try to solve the wrist pain dilemma by flipping my bike stem and possibly switching handlebars to something that better fits my itty, bitty hands.

Originally, my plan was to be heading to Virginia this week for the Shenandoah 1200k that starts on June 10. But I’ve decided to not do that ride and instead I’m refocusing my efforts on a 1000k ride this Fall. But until then, I have some hills waiting for me in the North Georgia Mountains, a round trip ride from Georgia to Cashiers, NC in a day, as well as a return to the Cartersville Century on June 26. Last year, I got my fastest time ever at this ride with a total time of 5 hours, 20 minutes! So I’ll use that century ride for short, speed work (which I need!) before heading to North Carolina the following weekend for a 600k (375 miles).

But now I need to go because Blue is calling. We’re going for a ride and getting my sights set on new goals. It’s hard for me to ride without a purpose or specific rides planned. So I have a full year’s rides on the calendar – some have been scratched off while others have been penciled in. Either way, I’ve got goals to work towards which keeps me rolling.

Adventure awaited us on the TN 600K

Life got in the way and I was finally able to get this ride recap posted. Go to the Ride Recaps link or click here.

A break in the action…

After completing one of the toughest brevets in Georgia (the 400k out of Dawsonville) in one hours, 36 minutes faster than my best time, I’m taking a break. I have ridden a 300k, a 400k and another 400k in the past three of four weekends. So this weekend calls for some easy foundation miles, and some grillin’ and chillin’. One thing I’ve noticed about my training this year that has helped me, is that I take breaks and reward myself with rest and relaxation and finding my own Zen, instead of constantly adding on the miles. Plus, I’ll be adding on the miles next weekend with my first 600k of the season – 375 miles.

I plan to ride next weekend in a relaxed pace and stopping to take pictures of the 125-foot curtain of water at the Cumberland Falls State Resort Park in Kentucky.

Cumberland Falls State Park in Kentucky

This will be my first time to do this ride. Last year it came one week after the toughest ride around – the GA 600k Longhammer – which left me with tight, painful quads, burning knees and super-low heartrates for nearly two weeks! One thing is for sure, no other brevet is as tough as that ride in Georgia, so I should be fine with this ride in Kentucky.

“May Madness” continues with lots of climbing…

I put my bike up for sale on the first day of May Madness, after riding 250 miles from Augusta, GA in 16 hours, 45 minutes. Not a good sign for my May Madness Adventures. But heck. The only energy I had left after that ride was to hold my cell phone in my shaking hands and clumsily tweet the bike sale.

But by Tuesday I was feeling OK and then by Wednesday, I was ready to rock and roll! Yep. I’m back in the saddle again and fired up for this Saturday’s 257-mile course.

Quite different from last Saturday’s flat and gentle rollers, this Saturday’s ride begins just outside of the North Georgia Mountains. If it’s like in year’s past, we’ll roll out at a conversation pace, catching up with each other’s training, goals, etc. before the climbing frenzy begins in Dahlonega. As soon as the Wal-Mart sign appears on the right, there’s a downhill followed by climbing for the next eight miles or so on “Wal-Mart Gap” (an unofficial gap, but still a climb) and continuing up Woody’s Gap.

Next up are Wolfpen Gap (three-mile climb), Jack’s Gap (five-mile climb) and Unicoi Gap (two-mile climb with a fun six-mile descent!). Then from there we’re heading to the some climbing and rollers near and around Lake Burton, then Clayton, then War Woman Road (yes, that’s the actual name of the road). By this point, I will be 118 miles into the ride and ready (hopefully) to tackle the 12-mile climb to Highlands, NC.

Then I’ll head to South Carolina, then back into Georgia in Toccoa, Demorest, Clermont and back to Dahlonega with more climbing and a slight uphill back to the finish. And how could I forget one of the steepest climbs on the whole ride? Belton Bridge Road. It’s a short, steep climb that occurs somewhere around 218 miles. When I did this climb a few weeks ago, the pain and suffering only lasted two minutes, eight seconds. But this time I will be climbing that at night! So it’ll feel like eight minutes, two seconds!

As with all of my rides, my goal is to finish it faster than in year’s past. So here are my previous finish times:

2006 – 23 hours, 10 minutes – got caught in rain, thunder, lightning and hail sometime around 1 a.m. and took shelter for several hours in Wal-Mart
2007 – Still scared from last year’s chaos, I opted out of this ride
2008 – 22 hours, 54 minutes – got lost as hell!
2009 – 21 hours, 41 minutes – finally had a ride with no issues

So the goal for Saturday…20 hours (or less!). My plan is to ride consistently, stop briefly and get this dang ride done so I can continue to a break in May Madness with an easy weekend next weekend.

Wish me luck!

The calm before the storm…

This weekend’s plans call for rest, rest, an easy 60-miler, and more rest.  The reason? May Madness!  How about two 400Ks (250 miles each) and two 600Ks (380 miles each) for training?  Yep, the brevets are stacking up now and building to an intensity to where every ride is epic and every ride I set out to reach a new goal.

The time in the saddle and the climbs in my legs are training events for an upcoming 1200K.  I got hooked on the 1200k brevet after riding my first one last year – the Colorado Last Chance 1200k.  750 miles of fun, adventure, hallucinations and sleep deprivation.  Oh the joys of endurance cycling!

256 miles (400k) up next!

While I’ve done several 400Ks, it’s still exciting to know I’ll be riding more hours than I’m usually awake on any given day.  OK.  So you may be thinking, “Why is that exciting?” The best way I can explain it is that I love the challenge and the adventure.  And a ride of this distance is going to be epic just because of the mileage and time in the saddle. 

Speaking of time, I did this ride last year in 20 hours, 32 minutes.  So my goal for this year? 20 hours, 31 minutes.   Seriously, though, I spent a lot of time sightseeing, picture taking and saving the planet (2 turtles) that I think I can knock off an hour.  So the first goal is obviously to ride safe and finish.  The second goal is to finish in 19 hours, 32 minutes (or less!).

This is one of the most scenic rides I’ve done.  And there’s plenty of challenge with seven big climbs with one of them  at mile 200!

One of the long climbs of switchbacks.

Here are a couple of pics from last year’s ride. 

One of the turtles I rescued from the road.

Welcome to my cycling adventures!

This year promises to be full of exciting rides all over the Southeast including the challenging and hilly terrain of north Georgia. Follow my progress as I train for my second 1200k event, a 750-mile bicycle ride I plan to do in less than 90 hours!

Next on the training calendar is a 100-mile ride in the stunning, but punishing north Georgia mountains.

My favorite place to ride...