Posts Tagged "Team Bikin"

Awesome training session last night

Posted by Bryan on May 19, 2009 in Blog, Cycling and Weight Loss Report, My Rides | 8 comments

With yesterday being Monday it was time for group/individual skills training with Team Bikin’. The weather was perfect and with 16 of us showing up it had the makings for a great evening of cycling.

After a four mile warm up we all gathered together in one of the large parking lots adjacent to the loop. For our first five laps the leader had us leave the parking lot and take the next half-lap easy (recovery) and for the half-lap back to the parking lot we were to sprint. Once at the parking lot we were to do six figure-eight drills for handling and then a quick-stop drill. After that we head back out onto the loop and repeat for four more laps.

We do have one stop sign on the loop that we do stop at. At the stop sign the group leader has got us practicing track stands in order to keep us from having to unclip at a stop sign. It was hard at first but I’m starting to get the hang of it. I can’t maintain it for long but I’m sure that’ll come with practice.

Once everyone was done with those five laps we re-grouped again in the parking lot to discuss the next five laps where he would have us work on pedaling out of the saddle.

For each of the next five laps he would have us do the following – one the uphill section leading up to the stop sign shift into the big chain ring and smallest cog for max resistance. Once shifted stand up out of the saddle and practice ‘walking’ up the hill. This is a deliberately slow pace to practice form out of the saddle including balance and spin. It actually takes an effort to not go fast despite the resistance from the gearing. Once at the stop sign we shift into a comfortable gear and for the next 3/4 lap sit 10 seconds in the saddle followed by 10 seconds out of the saddle. This helps get those riders not comfortable with this technique to practice being out of the saddle for a short period of time since this is the technique used to cross railroad tracks and cattle guards. The key was to mantain your weight back over the pedals so the front wheel remains responsive.

I’m very comfortable being out of the saddle for the 10 second obstacle crossing but am very glad we worked on going up hill out of the saddle since that’s a technique I really need to practice.

You’ve heard me talk a lot about how the terrain is different here in Texas than it was in Florida and that the hills have been giving trouble. I’m not talking big hills either. Most are, max, several hundred feet long and the grades aren’t severe except on a couple. I’m not used to them but I think my fitness has started to improve as of late and I’m wanting to ‘attack’ them now and I’ve seen better results. I think the ‘walking’ drill is going to help me take it up a notch in this area.

The last drill of the evening was five laps of two-person pacelines. Everyone was allowed to choose their own partner and it should be a slower rider paired with a faster rider. Since I still don’t really know anybody I just kind of waited for someone to come to me. I ended up paired with a guy named R.J. and we headed out.

Me being the slow rider led the first lap probably averaging about 15 mph. I could have gone faster but it was supposed to be a slow lap. R.J. took over for the second lap and took us around. I’m getting better at holding a wheel but felt we could have gone faster. I’m pretty sure he’s in much better shape than I am and he may have been taking it slow for me. On our fourth lap I was following again and he picked it up a little more. I looked once at the computer and we were going over 20 mph but I felt I had more to give. I’m sure that’s because I was drafting off him though. I felt we took the last turn perfectly with him leading in and me maintaining about 12 inches off his wheel at a fast pace. We came out of the turn and I was still nicely tucked in and on his wheel. That felt great.

We didn’t get the fifth lap in since the group had gathered up near the stop sign to call it a night. I felt it was a very good night of training and am glad I’m doing this. I think it’s helping a lot. I road two more laps by myself to push myself over the 20 mile mark for the night.

Next Monday, due to the holiday, we’re meeting early and planning a 3 hour training session. Can’t wait.

Almost Taken Out By An Airplane

Posted by Bryan on Apr 20, 2009 in Blog, Cycling and Weight Loss Report, My Rides | 8 comments

Tonight I had my first group/training ride with Team Bikin’. It was they’re Monday night training ride on a .8 mile circuit only about 5 miles from where I’m staying. I’ve been looking forward to this all weekend.

When I showed up there were a few Team Bikin’ people in the area I was told they parked in. There were also several other groups riding the circuit. It must be popular I thought. During my warm up laps Nearly Famous Fred told me that on Tuesday evenings they have crit races here. I checked on that when I came home and sure enough they do. The site is Dallas Crit.

After a few warm up laps the Team Leader, Mike, had us do four solo laps concentrating on maintaining a line and a smooth pedal stroke. He gave us a talk about controlling out balance to help maintain the line. After about three laps I had a close brush with an airplane.

The circuit we ride on goes around a large grass field. Some folks were using the field to fly their remote controlled airplanes. I hadn’t really payed them much mind except when I was near the guys flying them I would catch a glimpse of one or hear it buzzing overhead. On my third solo lap that all changed. I’m riding along, concentrating on maintaining a line and smooth pedal stroke, when one of the planes come crashing straight down into the road not ten feet from me. It smacked the ground pretty hard and I’m pretty sure it would have left a mark if it hit me. The next lap around the guy flying it apologized profusely. No harm no foul but I’ll have to watch out for those a little closer next time.

After our solo laps Mike paired a slower rider with a faster rider so we could work on paceline skills. The faster rider would lead two laps maintaining as good a line as possible. The slower rider would try and maintain position as well as possible while providing guidance to the lead rider about his/her pedal stroke and line. I honestly can’t remember the name of the guy I rode with. I’m terrible with names. Sorry. I think he and I worked together real well. He rode a great line with a smooth pedal stroke. When it was my turn he gave me some good pointers on my stroke such as keeping my heels down. After four laps of that we were put in groups of four to practice riding 2×2.

I really enjoyed tonight’s training session and got 22 miles in over the two hours we rode. I’ve never had training or direction like that for my cycling and am really glad I’ve found a group that does this kind of stuff. All told there were nine of us out riding including two women. I really enjoyed the company and road several laps at the end with one of the women of the team and was able to find out a lot more about the rides they do. Turns out the Century I have targeted in September, the Waco Wild West Century, is one of the groups rides. Cool. I’ll try and take some pictures next Monday night.

New Cleats And Cement Legs

Posted by Bryan on Apr 17, 2009 in Bike Shops, Blog, My Rides | 4 comments

Well, yesterday was my first chance after getting back from Jacksonville to get back on the bike. I had to go by the Performance Bike store first to pick up some new cleats. I’m too embarrassed to say how long its been since I bought new cleats. Let’s just say I was long overdue.

Because of the trip to the bike store, and traffic getting home, I didn’t have much time for a ride. In fact, I only got one loop in around White Rock Lake for a total of 9.2 miles. I intentionally tried to take it at an easy pace because its been a week since I’ve ridden. There was a little wind out of the South as well which made a couple spots difficult. I managed the loop in 39 minutes which is an average of 14.1 mph.

For me that’s pretty good. Especially since my legs felt like cement blocks all the way around. On Monday I spent about 10 hours in my yard in Jacksonville taking care of spring lawn care that had gone neglected since I’m not there. Stuff like trimming the hedges, banana trees, and palm trees, pulling weeds (seven trash bags full), mowing and edging. It was a long day. The next day I could hardly move my legs because my hamstrings were so tight. I think I was still feeling some of those effects on my ride last night.

Having the new cleats felt weird. It’s been so long since I had changed them that I think I became accustomed to them being worn down. I use the Look Arc Delta cleats (red) and picked up the ones with the teflon coated surfaces for easy in and out. They feel a lot different than what I was used to but did the job. I just need to put in the miles and I’ll get accustomed to them.

After work today I’m driving up to my Mom’s in OK and it looks like the weather is going to be nice this weekend so I can take my bike. There’s some good roads accessible right from her house that I can ride on and I’d like to get 30-40 miles in on Saturday morning. Monday evening I’m meeting the Team Bikin’ group at their Monday evening circuit training session where they work on conditioning and individual/group handling skills on a .8 mile circuit. Reminds me of a criterium circuit. I’m really looking forward to the group training session so I can ride with a group. I know I won’t have the skills or fitness to hang with them for the entire session but it’ll be good for me.

Finally, to all those who sent the nice emails/tweets during my wife’s surgery I appreciate it. She’s at home recovering now. She’s still in a lot of pain from the surgery but we hope that will start to subside soon. Total recovery time is about 6 months.

My first group ride

Posted by Bryan on Mar 29, 2009 in Blog, My Rides | 3 comments

I was invited to meet up with Cliff and other members of Team Bikin’ as they did a pre-ride of the route for Tour Dallas next weekend. Tour Dallas is a ride put on here locally in Dallas and attracts as many as 3000-4000 cyclists of all skill levels. It’s not a race but a tour and is meant for every one to come out and have a good time. It’s been very successful in the past and promises to be again this year.

When I arrived at the designated meeting place Cliff was already there. A few minutes later Fred of Nearly Famous Fred showed up and we waited. Turns out we were it. I think the cold may have had something to do with it since it was only about 34F this morning. It was due to warm up later in the afternoon but it was a chilly start. I actually had to go buy a long-sleeve jersey yesterday since I didn’t own one. I just never needed one down in Florida.

This was the first true group ride I’d ever done. I did a bike trip from Connecticut to Ohio back in 1995 but I didn’t do any group training for that. Needless to say I was pretty nervous because I didn’t know what to expect.

We took off from a parking lot on the South side of White Rock Lake and Fred, who’s the route director for Tour Dallas, had us deep in neighborhoods in no time heading to downtown Dallas where Tour Dallas would start. The route wasn’t entirely flat either. I just need to get out more and start pounding these hills so I can get used to them.

The trip downtown had me totally lost but I really enjoyed exploring parts of Dallas I had never seen. There was very little traffic this morning which made it nice. The trip back to White Rock Lake was the same way. A lot of residential areas that had very nice homes and smooth streets. It was really beautiful.

As we re-approached White Rock Lake we started to see other cyclists who were out getting their morning rides in. When we started there were only a few runners and riders at the lake but the parking lots were full now with a lot of cyclists heading out for their rides. It was a great setting.

All told we rode for about 2.5 hours over a distance of 28 miles or so. I thought it was a fantastic ride. My nervousness about riding with someone new was unfounded as both Fred and Cliff made the ride an enjoyable experience. I really appreciate them making sure that I was doing OK because, let’s face it, I’m not exactly a prime specimen of health right now.

Over the last two rides both Cliff and I have started to here a creaking sound coming from my bike. We’ve had a hard time figuring out where it’s coming from so I’m going to have to take it to the shop to have it checked. I hope it’s nothing major but with the age of my bike I’m a little worried. I’ve kept it in pretty good shape and have had it overhauled a few times but over time things tend to wear out. And, unfortunately, with a bike of this age parts are a little hard to find so I’ve got my fingers crossed.

I’ll be unable to ride with the group again for a few weeks due to me heading to Jacksonville to see my family and be with my wife as she has a surgery. I plan on getting some neighborhood riding in on my Schwinn Hybrid that’s still there because I don’t want to stop right now. I think I’ve found a group to ride with and I think it’s going to do me good. I found myself consciously watching what I was eating and drinking on Saturday so I didn’t spoil the ride this morning. I can’t do much about my fitness right now except to keep riding but I can control what goes in my body to make sure I can ride as good as I can. I think the accountability of riding with a group is going to help.

Thanks to Cliff and Fred for the great ride today.