I have been training a LOT this month. Most of it's been inside stuff, some have been quite long. Some workouts totally blew and some felt like I could keep going forever. I've also had a lot of time with Kelley and the kids, and overall a much better month than I was expecting. There was some time in the repair shop though.
BikeFest = trouble. August 7th I was supposed to be riding a metric century, but it got kind of nuts. I've been riding since 2008 and never had a flat tire. 5 miles into this 62 mile ride I got my cherry popped. And by cherry I mean my back tire. I was doing pretty good for the first five miles though. Of course I had no spare tube and no idea how to change a tire anyway. So the SAG wagon came and took me up to the first aide station where the on-site mechanic was.
This was about 25 miles into the course, and we had to stop several other times to help others. That experience by itself really makes me want to volunteer to ride a course in a sag van. It was so cool getting to see the other riders and help out when we could. very cool
The onsite mechanic was kind of an ass though. It was supposed to be a $6 charge for a new tube, and turned into a $25 tune-up. By this point, I was at the back of the pack. Most of the riders had already cleared out, including the guys I started with (from work). The people on the route were the back of the packers, and they had 20 more miles on the legs than I did. So I started at mile 25 and rode well. It was so cool to be passing people in bunches. I wasn't in a paceline, I was passing whole pacelines like they were standing still. That was fantastic.
Then the $25 tuneup came back to bite me. Actually, going up a hill I shifted into the biggest gear in the rear cassette. The plastic disc that keeps the chain from rubbing the spokes (called the dork disc lol) got caught in the shifter. It then shredded, bent, and caught the chain and rear deraillieur and flipped the whole thing upside down. So now the rear der is on top of the back gears instead of below them, the chain is twisted around and the back tire won't roll.
I made it a total of 30 miles. 5, then a flat, then 25 more. The entire set of pacelines that I just blew past came right back past me again. I was just stuck on the side of the road waiting on the sag wagon again. I swear cyclists are the nicest people you will ever meet. I even had cars with bikes on the back that were not associated with BikeFest or the Tarwheels at all stop to see if I needed anything. I got tired of waiting on the sag wagon, and wrestled my chain free to let the wheel turn again. I then walked (in road cycling shoes, not an easy task) towards the next aide station. This is when my buddy Kyle (who was 89 miles into the 100 mile route at that point) even stopped to see if he could do anything. Eventually a volunteer for the race found me and gave me a lift.
I did call Kelley from the side of the road. We couldn't find a babysitter for the night, so she stayed home and I was riding this one solo anyway. So she packed up both kids and drove the 45 minutes into Hillsborough to get me. Of course Bigun threw up three times on the drive out there. She had to bring cash so I could pay the on-site mechanic (he held my car keys as collateral). He even tried to sell me a new rear der when I went back to pay him! what a jerk. Paid up and got the hell out of there.
I ended up taking the Jamis into the shop too, it had a series of very small repairs needed that came up to about a c-note. Took Roberta the Cannondale to several shops about the rear der and ended up leaving her at the shop I bought her from back in Greenville SC for $151. Some tuneup. So BikeFest totally blew. Too bad, it was a great route. I'd gladly do it again next year. But I've never had a DNF like that, mechanical failure. boooooooooo.
The Jamis to show where the parts should be on the back of the bike. See that thing hanging down and keeping the chain at bay?
Roberta post muck-up. The hanging down part is now up. and the chains is all twisted around everywhere in lots of places it shouldn't be.
I had an awesome workout on Sunday. Started out with 60 laps in the pool. The swim felt fluid, but I'm still trying to get my groove back after taking the time off for the tattoo. My form was kind of choppy, but it was still fun. Then I went upstairs to the cardio cinema and rode the stationary bike for an hour and forty-five minutes while the new GI Joe movie was playing. The movie kind of stunk, but I was glad to get the time on the bike. Could have gone 2 hours solid but I was starting to get hungry. So it was time to head downstairs and get on the treadmill. Ran 4 miles with relative ease. Still hungry, but I took a gel before starting. I could have run longer, I was just trying to cover miles LSD style. Another good run ruined by poo.
The Patriots half ironman is only three saturday's away. I am feeling prepared, but you never know what will happen until you really get out there. Sunday's brick is a great start, but I need more long workouts like this. I was planning on doing at least two 60 mile bike rides, with one of them being the BikeFest. With BikeFest blown and the bike still in the shop the second 60 isn't looking much better than the first.
We are adding a new race to the schedule too! I'm very excited about this one. The Biggest Loser is putting on a 5k in Myrtle Beach! Kelley and I are both running it. Being a BL event it is timed, but the goal is to finish. There are no age group awards. Trainer Bob Harper is going to be greeting people at the finish line, and there will be other contestants hanging around for photo ops. Of course NBC is going to be there, and it's going to air sometime in November, I suppose on an episode of BL. Race is September 25th, come on down and run it if you're a fan of the show. Maybe we'll end up on national TV!
