ASPHALT JUNKIES Summer Bronzing Crew - CLOSED (Page 44)

Warren, that is very scary! So glad you are okay.

I did my ride this morning on some roads with very little to no shoulder too, but thankfully everyone was patient when passing me and gave me plenty of room.

Quick check in, I'll catch up after while but wanted to let you all know I will not be making the trip to Indy for the race. Originally we were supposed to have a family reunion but that has fallen through due to my 96 year old (and only living grandparents) poor health. Then my sister and her family who live in Oklahoma decided to come visit anyway that weekend so I figured I couldn't make it and now I just heard from mom that Hospice thinks Grandma only has a day or two left at the most.

My parents have been really worn out and not themselves for the last few months while trying to cope with Grandma's declining health and the realization that she may not be getting better. Please any prayers are appreciated.

Checking in!  I'm finally back from my camping vacation!  It was super fun but now I need a vacation from my vacation!

I did a sprint triathlon the first weekend we were gone.  It was the 8th time I've done it.  It's a tradition now.  I placed 2nd in my age group on a hot and miserable day.  Aunt Flo was an unwelcome houseguest, dehydrated, overheated, super bad headache.  I did not try my best.  It was pure survival.  I won the best ever 2nd place goodie, though!  A beer growler!!!!  I promptly had it filled with kombucha!  (Don't get me wrong.  I LOVE beer!  The kombucha was calling my delirious brain!)

The rest of our vacation was at a family reunion.  It was hot.  Enough said.

I'm so glad to be back home so I can get back to regular training!

Originally posted by wbayek Two things from me. First, I'm doing Timberman as a Make-A-Wish racer. And yes, I'll be plugging for donations soon. But the news is that Andy Potts is racing, and he's the Wish guest speaker Saturday and he'll be hanging out with us for a few hours. Can't wait to meet him! Anyone have any advice you want me to pass on? Second, I now know my max heart rate. On my ride today, I was finishing up and coasting down a pretty step hill. There is absolutely no shoulder in this part - the white line is the edge of the road. Anyway, I'm going 33-35, and a tractor trailer is coming up the hill. Meanwhile, an SUV behind me decides he can't wait 13 seconds to pass and pulls up next to me. There was no extra room, the wind was blowing, and a gust pushes me a few inches left and the car actually bumped my leg. I served to the right but not off the road, and somehow didn't wipe out. The car zipped off. Heart rate hit 203, highest legitimate reading I've ever seen . Guess 220-age is wrong or else I'm 17. Be careful out there everyone.

Andy Potts Huh?  Let him know that I think he should work on his swimming.  If he were to train a little bit on his swim he might make the podium a little more often.  You can give him my phone number if he would like any personal advice.

You ride sounds like someone could use a lesson earned with a baseball bat.  I have had similar types of passes where I can hear a vehicle behind me and they see oncoming traffic and wait for just long enough to begin their pass to make things interesting........or STUPID.  I'm happy to announce I've never had anything as close as you've had.  The closest I came was when she decided to pass on a road with no shoulder in oncoming traffic at a somewhat slow speed.  As she began her pass there was a car oncoming that had to get off the road and head toward a ditch.  No birds were flying on my account but I cannot say for the driver of the other vehicle.  I was too busy keeping my bike on the white line or the 2 inches of asphalt on the field side of the line.

Besides your ride, it seems yesterday was a bad for most everyone while riding in traffic.  It's good to hear nothing happened to anyone and that must be from the mad bike skills everyone possesses.  Keep safe out there and ride defensively.

This household will be praying for your family as you prepare yourselves for what appears inevitable.  Enjoy your visit with your sister while she's in.  As we've always said; Family is more important than the Junkies.

The weather here has been really mild too.  As I headed out for my ride this morning the temp was a brisk 56 degrees and a wind of 10MPH making for a really cool first few miles.  The humidity is still up but you can't really tell it when it's that cool.  It was a great day for riding but really hard to believe it's late July.

Your HR will definitely be lower when the weather's as cool as you mentioned.  One thing to keep in mind about training long on the bike for IM, make sure you stay in the right zones.  You'll want to practice riding easy to set yourself up to ride properly at B2B in October.  If your HR is climbing a lot during your long rides you are wearing yourself down more quickly. 

Tony is a big user of Infinit but I have never really tried it.  Well, except for my first 70.3 last season.  It seemed to work alright for me during the race but it's not a good idea to use something new on race day if you're more sensitive to changes in your GI system.

That sounds like an interesting ride changer......Copperhead biting you on the leg, the onset of delirium, a ride to the hospital in an ambulance and stories for a lifetime.  Sounds great!  I posted a pic of a deer crossing my path on my facebook page a month or so ago.  I was the only one around for that one and if the deer had been much, much closer and taken me off the bike no one would have found me for hours.

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I had another great riding weekend!  Yesterday was long riding day and I wanted to get at least 80 miles in the saddle.  I headed out from home to ride to the meet site for the group and got there in the planned time averaging just over 20 MPH.  Nothing hard but the wind was calm for the most part and I stayed slightly under threshold. 

Once the group took off a couple of the fasties took off like it was a race and I wondered how this "easy" long ride was going to play out.  These guys set the tone for the entire ride.  We settled into a pace with the light wind at our backs and a fast pace, averaging at or over 21 MPH for the first 21 miles. 

We got about 3 miles from the halfway point and I was just pulling into the front position.  Riding in a double pace line, I looked over at a fellow rider and asked if he was "ready."  I was just kidding but he apparently didn't think so and he bolted!  I laid the hammer down and promptly caught and overtook him and never let up until we were about a quarter of a mile from the meet.  Those 3 miles averaged out to be just over 26 MPH and no one was catching me.......So much for riding easy!

At the turning point we stopped and refilled water bottles and discussed the rest of the ride.  Most of the guys wanted to cut the mileage down to 42 over the planned 48 and so we went short.  Now that's not to say we headed out easy.  As  matter of fact we kept the hammer down as we headed back into the wind.  This time we formed a single pace line and took turns grinding out the pace.  I pulled another long pull at a much lower effort but still managed to pull for a shade over 2 miles at 22.5 MPH into a 10 MPH wind.  We finished the ride with a 21.9 MPH average (according to another rider) for 42 miles.  We were just ripping along!

Once back at the meeting site where we took off from I took a few minutes to recover and headed back toward home.  I had another 20 miles +/- that I was looking to get in but this time I would be facing some crosswinds all alone as I headed south.  By now the winds were a little bit gusty but only to around 14 or so, not too bad.  Luckily I knew I was going to be getting the benefit of a tailwind for a little over half of my miles back into the house............

........I ended with an eaverage of 21.5 MPH for the entire 82 mile ride.  A good ride.

Then today, without going into all of the details, I rode with the TT national champion again today.  This time was with a larger group of people but Gary laid the punishment down!!!  I was above 100% MLSS for a short stretch and above threshold for much of the 30 miles back to the meeting site.  There was a long sprint at one point that I Gary was putting the pedal to the metal and dropping us like school kids on walmart fixie bikes.  I sprinted ahead and was able to catch the one guy that was able to stay o his wheel for a minute.  Then, not more than 10 seconds after I got David's wheel he could hold no longer and he pulled out..........And I had just gotten there and was hoping to recover.......Not a chance!!  Another great weekend ride!

All in all during my normal 3 day weekend I ran 18 miles in 3 days and rode almost 160 miles.  This is my interpretation of a great weekend!

Sounds like yo had an enjoyable trip.  Welcome back! 

An AG placement makes for a good race.....ALWAYS!  The beer growler would be a best award for me too.  I have gotten tumblers as swag from a race but I like the sounds of your award better.