I’ve been absent here for a week or so while I launch an affiliate website but that doesn’t mean I’ve stopped riding. On the contrary, I rode pretty hard last week and had a good ride last night.

After some of my recent problems riding down at White Rock Lake (rude cyclists and races) I’ve done some riding around the loop we use for our Monday evening training rides. It is kinda boring but there’s no traffic and the only real hazard is gettingtaken out by an airplane. The picture below is of some of the flowers on the loop. It’s actually quite pretty and is like that for the entire .8 mile loop.

I decided last week that I needed to step up my efforts in my rides because I felt like I was becoming accustomed to what I was doing. The first big change I made was to start riding on the big ring. I’m not exactly sure why I haven’t done this before now. I think I was holding back because of the hills (that I’m not used to). After the Monday evening training ride last week where we actually did some big ring work I felt more comfortable turning it.

Wednesday last week instead of doing my normal hill repeat day I decided to head to the loop and see how hard I could push myself. I did a warm-up of five miles that was probably in the 14 mph range followed by a hard 15 miles where at times I was averaging well over 20 mph a lap. In the end I rode the 20 miles at a 16.2 mph average which is huge for me.

Because the holiday weekend was over I decided to head down to White Rock Lake to get a ride in. I, again, wanted to push myself hard to see what I could do around the lake since I was riding a bigger gear now. The wind was supposed to be around 10 mph out of the SSE with gusts to 15 mph but an approaching thunderstorm had the gusts probably close to 20 mph and a steady wind of 15 mph. That’s all headwind on one side of the lake depending on the direction you ride. I rode into the headwind for the first half and pushed myself pretty hard all the way around staying in my 52T ring the whole way. All told I rode about 15 miles with a 15.2 mph average. I believe my previous best average around the lake is in the neighborhood of 14.5. I wanted to do another loop but the approaching thunderstorm didn’t look pretty.

I have to say the biggest change I’ve seen is my riding on the hills. I am now able to ride up them easier and more aggressive (I actually try to think of attacking them before I get to them). In fact, I rode all the hills last night in the big gear which really surprised me. I think I can contribute this to a couple of factors:

1. I’m getting used to the hills.
2. My fitness may be starting to improve.

I expected #1 to eventually happen but I think my biggest surprise is #2. Looking at the speed I was able to carry on the two rides I talked about above, along with the improved hill riding, I think my fitness maybe starting to turn around and be on an upward trend.

One of the biggest changes I’ve seen though is actually on my belt. I have been doing more riding the past 1.5 months (probably averaging about 70 miles a week) and have really tried to control my diet. There are days that my diet lapses but for the most part I’ve been very strict with it. I just need to tighten the belt (pardon the pun) and stick with the diet better.

Like I said, the biggest change I’ve seen is on my belt. I’ve already had to tighten it two holes and only have one left to go on this belt. When I moved out here from Florida I intentionally brought two smaller belts I’ve had for a while with every intention of being able to use them. I might be able to reach that goal in the next couple of months.

Well folks, it’s been a while since I’ve written but that wasn’t my plan. I’ve had lots of things going on and haven’t even gotten back on the bike even though I had every intention to. I had actually planned to ride today but getting sick over the weekend wasn’t in my plans. Unfortunately, a sore throat, stuffed up sinuses, fever, and ear ache put a damper on my riding today. Dang! I really need to get back on.

Not sure if I mentioned this in a previous post but I did get the job in Dallas and will be moving out there later this month to start work. It looks like I’ll be living in Plano which is on the North side of Dallas and I’ll only be about 3 miles from Plano Cycling & Fitness which came highly recommended as a good local bike shop.

Lastly, I received the most recent issue of bicycling magazine just have only made it through the first ten pages or so but wanted to share a video with you. The video is about a lady named Staci Merriott and how she lost 184 pounds by riding her bike. The transformation is absolutely amazing and something that I hope to accomplish someday. Staci epitomizes the Biking To Live mantra. Here’s the video.

If you’re going to be at the Tour of Utah this week you’re not going to want to miss this opportunity. Rock Racing will be at Contender Bicycles in Salt Lake City on Saturday, 16-August. Tyler Hamilton and Fast Freddie will be there signing autographs. Thanks to Cycling Fan for making this info available.

Well, I’m sure many of you have been asking where I’ve been. Maybe not “many” since I have about ten readers but you know what I mean. As you know, a few weeks ago I burned my right hand pretty bad and couldn’t ride for a week. Then, on my first ride back I had a horrible time due to a calamity of events resulting from a flat. That debacle can be found back in Ride 21 and 1/3. Then, last week was a total scheduling mess.

All of my daughters, and my wife, had an array of events going on that ate up all my time. I also had something eating up my time as well. What were those events? Well, the youngest daughter had ballet recital on Monday, the oldest daughter had choir practice every day for a week in preparation for a trip she left for on Saturday (no, I didn’t get to ride on Saturday either), and my wife started a new business which ate up a bunch of time. What business did my wife start? Well, she used to dance but hasn’t been able to for a year or so. She’s also very handy with crafts (i.e. scrapbooking, projects, etc.). So, she combined the two and now makes designer pointe shoes. What’s a designer pointe shoe? Well, it’s a ballet pointe shoe that has been modified to either match a dance costume or to resemble a character from a movie (Cinderella, Ariel, Snow White, etc.). Remember the recital I mentioned? Well, that was the debut of her shoes and it was a resounding success. She was busy for three straight days selling shoes to kids, parents, grandparents, you name it. She did very, very well selling many shoes straight off the table and taking orders for others. She’s been able to connect with a local dance store and has also started selling shoes through that store. Needless to say, she’s been busy. If any of you have someone that might be interested in something like this as a momento, or souveneir, here’s her website (still under construction): http://pointes4you.com

What have I been doing? Aside from my normal job as a project scheduler and cost analyst, I joined my father-in-law in a business venture. I’ve joined a company as a distributor for a new health food product that’s to be released in September. It is a network marketing gig but the potential of this product is unbelievable. The product is The Signature Grain and is a 100% natural, FDA approved food, that contains all the nutrients and minerals you need to live a healthy lifestyle. One of the big factors here is that it’s already received food status by the FDA. That’s something Flax hasn’t achieved in over 40 years of trying. Who is The Signature Grain for? It’s for everybody. Here’s a link to my website that explains all about it: http://pointe4you.lifemax.net. Like I said, the public release isn’t until September but the product is available now if you want it. Just contact me if you’re interested in either using it or becoming a distributor so you can earn some extra income. Also, if you want to learn more directly from two of the top men in the company, there’s a free webinar tonight from 9-10 PM. Just click the following link to register and then follow the instructions in the email you get. Here’s the link: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/733053465

Wow, I didn’t mean for that part to be that long but that’s what I’ve been up to and haven’t ridden much. I was determined to get back in the saddle though and did so this morning. I didn’t get much sleep last night but I wasn’t going to let that stop me.

As usual, the alarm went off at 5:00 AM. I didn’t want to get up. I rolled out, got dressed, and headed outside to gear up. I got off fine and it took me a couple of miles to settle in. I expected this after having not ridden in about 3 weeks. The hamstrings felt a little tight but loosened up after about 5 miles.

After about 20 minutes I started to feel pretty good and was able to open it up a little. At this pointe (pardon the pun) I saw the guy I normally see running and a short time later saw a rider up ahead of me pulled over to the side of the road. It looked like he was messing with his IPOD (or something similar). This guy was lite up. Jaxgtr, I think this is the guy Jim (the guy you met Saturday) was talking about. He was lite up like a christmas tree.

Anyway, I went by him and continued on trying to push a good pace. As I approached my turn around pointe (I know, I’ll stop) I looked over my shoulder to check for traffic before moving over to the inside turn lane. The christmas tree dude was coming up behind me. I turned around and headed the opposite direction. The other guy turned too but made a left into a business park.

That’s when I heard the gun shots. At first I thought it was maybe a car backfiring because I only heard one. Than I heard several more in rapid succession. No mistake, that was gunfire. Sounded like a small caliber. Weird place to be hearing gunfire though since there was nothing around but office parks, homes, and apartments. Weird. I’ll have to check the local news and see if anything was reported.

As I’m heading back I see another bicyclist up ahead of me at a distance of about 300 yards. I saw him/her turn the same direction I was going to go. This was awesome, a rabbit to chase on the way home. I continued pushing it in an attempt to try and catch him/her. By the time I got to the end of No Man’s Land I’m not sure I had closed the gap at all. I lost site of him in some turns but picked him up again as I entered the last long straightaway home. I shifted to the big gear and got up over 20 mph in an attempt to close the gap. I couldn’t do it. He was either too fast, too far ahead, or I just wasn’t ready yet. Maybe all three.

I see the rider move to the inside turn lane, and because of the location, I figured it was the guy on the recumbent I had seen before. Well, the rider did a 180 and started back toward me. As we approach I realize it’s the guy that I had passed earlier and who had turned left while I did a 180 at my turnaround point (see, I stopped). I was like, “What?” How did he get ahead of me? My guess is that the office park he turned into has a connection to a neighborhood that let him cut across in front of me. I’ll have to check that out sometime. Anyway, I slowed it down a bit and continued on home.

Well, it was great to be out riding again. I needed it. My body needed it. It felt really good and I turned in some good numbers. Here they are: 13.25 miles, 49:53, 20.7 mph max, and 15.9 mph avg. The 15.9 avg is a new personal best. Surprising after having not ridden for almost 3 weeks. I also broke the 300 mile mark since starting Biking To Live.

I just ran across a great post over on Cycle Pig about a family of four (Dad, Mom, and ten year old twin boys), and the family dog, that will be biking from Alaska to Argentina. When they have completed the trip, the boys will set the Guinness record for the youngest to bike the Pan-American Highway. They will begin their trip in June 2008. Here’s a link to Cycle Pig’s full article:

http://www.cyclepig.com/archive/family-on-bikes/