June 5

We departed Lake Tahoe after a long, but enjoyable weekend. On the way home we decided to take the route that travels south through California along I-395. This allowed us to pass Mammoth Lakes, the ski resort we frequent in winter. It also allowed us to take a short detour to Yosemite National Park.

We drove all the way up to Tioga Pass, the gateway into the park, before we stopped at Ellery Lake. We could go no further as the road was closed due to snow. Taking my cue from mountain climbers who say they did it because it was there, I decided to attempt the descent back down from the lake at 9,538 feet to the town of Lee Vining at below 7,000 feet. The road down was narrow and hugged the side of the mountain as it wound down tight switchbacks overlooking deep drops. Adding to the excitement was the lack of guard rails and a fair amount of falling rock from above. (Don't try this at home, kids.)



Michelle and her mother provided support by following me in the Sequoia. We maintained contact via our race radios. I could hear their excited voices in my earpiece, checking my status as I started down from the lake. All went well for the first mile or so as I dropped 1,000 feet on an 8% grade. I quickly accelerated up to 50 mph. To put this in persective, the best descenders among the top pros - like Discovery Channel's Paolo Salvodelli (Il Falco) - descend the mountains of Europe at speeds ranging from 50 to a little over 60 mph. Suffice to say I was flying. But as my speedometer clicked over 60, stiff crosswinds suddenly caught my bike. I struggled to maintain control as the wind twisted my frame and wheels as though they were made of flimsy plastic. Using a combination of air braking and brake feathering, I struggled to bring the bike back under control and down to a safer speed of 38 mph.

After rounding the next switchback and satsisfying myself along the way that my bike was alright, I dropped back into an aero position to continue the descent. But as I topped 48 mph, another crosswind caught me. This time I barely managed to keep the bike on the road. The bike shuddered and wobbled uncontrollably. Although I managed to keep my wits about me, at one point I started to think about the best way to crash.

Stopping at such high speed, even with air braking and feathering, still results in over-heating the wheel rims due to friction from the brake pads. This added the concern of a heat blow-out to my already precarious situation. Such a flat would leave me riding on bare rim and almost certainly send me tumbling.

But fortune smiled on me again as I managed to hold onto the bike, slow it down, and roll to a safe stop just yards from the edge of the next switchback. Had I failed to stop any later, I would have gone over the edge of a thousand foot cliff. Getting off the bike, I realized I hadn't heard from the ladies back in the support vehicle during the excitment. Turning around, I saw them sitting white-faced in the truck a few yards back. As I stood to examine my bike for damage, I realized that my hands were still shaking, not from fear, but from the vibration of the handle bars due to the wind effects.

Having watched my bike bend in unnatural ways and then seeing the concerned faces of my support team, I decided to call it a day after making it more than 1,500 feet down the mountain. In retrospect, I am pleased that I never panicked. Had I done so I surely would have crashed. But fortunately I kept it together and I'm still in one piece. I now have an even greater respect for the professional riders who climb, then descend the Apls, Pyrenees, and Dolomite mountins during the tours of France, Italy, and Spain.


June 4

We did it! Both Michelle and I completed the America's Most Beautiful Ride century in Lake Tahoe. We covered the 100 miles in 6.5 hours riding time. My average speed was 15 mph. That's not bad when you consider the steep climbs and all the less experienced riders we had to navigate past. We started at about 6:45 AM. A few groups got off ahead of us as the race features a staged start. After riding with our local TNT friends, Michelle and I broke away and started to bridge the gaps between the earlier groups.

As expected, our trial run up the first mountain really paid off for us. We saved our energy in the lead up to the climb, then took the switchbacks perfectly to climb past dozens of riders to the top. I dropped Michelle about halfway up, then sat up to wait for her at the summit. After a few minutes, I dropped her again on the descent. About halfway down, I narrowly missed an inexperienced rider who foolishly rode her brakes and suffered a blow-out. Shortly after all traffic came to a halt for an accident that saw a rider crash, then tumble over the side of the mountain. A helicopter had to be called for the rescue.

Michelle rejoined me during the wait and we both made the next climb together, once again passing dozens of riders. Our training in the hills around Las Vegas really did the trick for us. At the 32 mile point, our course left the lake to head out to Truckee, California. This was necessary to make up the 100 miles as the lake loop covers just over 70 miles. On the way back from Truckee, we latched onto a paceline of riders from San Jose and drafted them back to the lake.



We nabbed some lunch at Kings Bay at mile 71, before taking on the day's final big climb up to over 7,000 feet at Spooner Junction. We reached the top at mile 89, then started the descent back to the finish line. We still had to climb three more hills, but after Inspiration and Spooner, they were nothing. About three miles from the finish, I stopped to help a rider with a mechanical problem. This allowed Michelle to rejoin me again. After just a few minutes we were on our way to the finish where hundreds of cheering spectators greeted our arrival.

June 3

After driving north all day through Nevada, Michelle and I arrived in Lake Tahoe last night for the charity century. Lake Tahoe lives up to it's reputation. It is absolutely gorgeous. Words can't do it justice. This morning, we collected our race credentials then decided to take a 25 mile reconnaissance ride to check out the first big climb of the course. On the way out to the hill, we had a good laugh at the hundreds of fools in costume for the renaissance fair taking place in the forest near the lake. But our laughter turned to concentration as we approached the climb. Beginning at about ten miles from the start of the race, the climb goes up to 6,828 feet and includes several steep switchbacks. After a lot of sweat, huffing, and puffing, bothof us made it to the top. From there we could check out the descent to Vikingsholm (a replica 12th century castle built by an eccentric Swede) and the secondary climb back to 6,800 feet. Now that we've conquerd arguably the toughest part of the course, we should be in good shape for the race.

May 30

As planned, Michelle and I did a training ride on Mount Charleston over the weekend. Several TNT riders joined us on a beautiful Memorial Day for the ride. At 11,918 feet, the mountain provided us with some valuable experience at altitude. The course was almost all uphill with two significant climbs of approximately 2000 feet. Michelle and I were the first to reach the top of both climbs. I particularly enjoyed bombing down the hills at the end of the ride. I reached speeds in excess of 40 mph on the technical descents through the forest that covers the mountain. After the ride, we enjoyed a cold beer with our fellow riders.

May 21

We did a 35 mile training ride that took us down to the base of the Las Vegas valley (Green Valley) then back up to the highest point in Anthem in the Black Mountains overlooking the city. The ride included approximately 1,800 feet of climbing. This sort of practice is critical in preparation for the ride through the mountains around Lake Tahoe. We plan to join some other members of TNT to climb at altitude on Mount Charleston over the Memorial Day weekend. Located just 35 miles from Las Vegas, Mount Charleston rises to 11,918 feet. So while it will probably be close to 100F in town, we'll be pedaling at a cool 65-70F.


May 17

Michelle and I took part in the Ride of Silence commemorating cyclists who have been injured or killed while riding on public roadways. The course was just ten miles, but we rode to and from the start point to make it a 20 mile training ride.

May 14

Michelle and I rode to Jean, Nevada on Saturday. It is an out-and-back course that covers our normal Seven Hills route before heading out St. Rose Parkway then Las Vegas Boulevard toward California. Jean is little more than two old casinos that straddle the interstate halfway between Las Vegas and the Californial-Nevada border. We started around 8:00 AM and faced a strong headwind on the way out. Combined with the shallow, but steady climb out of the valley, the wind kept our averages speed down.

Halfway to Jean we started seeing members of Team In Training engaged in a training walk. We shouted encouragement to them as we passed. When we reached Jean, we were pleased to be greeted by the administrator of the local TNT office, Judith. She invited us to refill our bottles with ice cold water and Gatorade. Given the high temperatures, this was very welcome.

Although the wind died down a bit, the ride back was mostly downhill so we were able to cover the distance in about half the time it took to ride out. But by the time we reached the final climbs back into Seven Hills, it was around noon and the temperature was around 100F. We were glad to get home and into the shade.

Today (Sunday) we rode through Anthem. Although we kept the ride short because Michelle is heading out of town on business today, we made up for it by climbing some steep hills. We plan to add these hills to our regular rides over the next two weeks in preparation for the big climbs in Lake Tahoe.

May 10

I've been suffering through a sinus infection that has hindered my training. I started getting sick during a training ride ten days ago. I sensed something bad in the air. My eyes started watering and my nose started dripping. Not pretty. A friend who works at the Nevada Test Range hinted that they were testing some chemical agents around the same time. Las Vegas is down wind, so you just never know. At any rate, my training time has been limited. I've managed to get out for some rides, but most have been limited to 15-20 miles over courses that include fewer hills than normal. Hopefully I'll feel better this weekend and be able to pick up my training again. I have a new set of Hutchinson race tires (bright red) coming in today. I plan to put them on and break them in before the big ride in Lake Tahoe.

May 6

One of the benefits of my cycling training has been an improvement in my hockey game. For those of you who don't know, I play goalie for a local ice hockey club. I play in the open "B" level division. In hockey terms, that means I play with guys who played top level junior hockey (the leagues from which the NHL drafts,) college hockey, or in a few cases minor league hockey. Although I'm considerably older than most of my teammates (their average age is 25) my constant conditioning over the years has enabled me to remain competitive. In the case of goalies, sometimes experience and patience are as valuable as speed. But in my case, thanks to cycling, I still have speed too. All the pedaling has helped me build leg strength and cardio capacity. It has also built up my knees, enabling me to move up and down fast. As a result, I've been able to help my team win the regular season championship while setting the league's lowest goals against average. Not too shabby for an old fart. Learn more about my hockey team at www.lasvegashookers.net.

April 23

Michelle and I completed the 80 mile Tour de Summerlin. The course took us from roughly the middle of the western rim of the valley to the far north end, then back through Red Rock and out to the far south end at Blue Diamond before returning to the starting point. Michelle showed excellent form in the early going, jumping onto a fast lead group and hanging on for quite a while. While it took some effort to join the group, once we were on board we were able to share their wind draft and reduce our effort. We lost our group after waiting for some TNT teammates at the first feed zone (yum - bananas.) This slowed our pace a bit, but nothing compared to the headwind we faced as we entered Red Rock Canyon. I took the lead to give Michelle a draft through the worst of it. After passing through the feed zone in the village of Blue Diamond (yum - more bananas) she returned the favor on the way back enabling me to rest a bit. We finished in the first third of the group that rode the entire 80 mile course (a lot of riders opted to ride shorter distances.) With this long ride under out belts, we both feel confident that with continued hill training we will easily complete the century in Lake Tahoe.

April 19

Work has conspired to keep me off the bike during most of the weekdays recently, so I've been training extra hard on weekends. Lots of twenty mile rides at high intensity over our Seven Hills-Anthem course. This route includes some killer hills, but also at least one really nice technical descent (try hanging on around turns at nearly 50 mph!) These rides combined with my cross training (two nights of hockey each week) have me in good shape for the upcoming Tour de Summerlin. Speaking of shape, I'm taking a page from the George Hincapie training book (he's one of the top riders on Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team and Lance Armstong's longtime first mate.) I've watched my diet and trained hard to drop ten pounds from my 6'1" frame over the last month. I'm now at 190 and intend to get down to 185 for the big ride in June. I don't want to carry any excess baggage up the mountains at Lake Tahoe.

April 8

We set out on a training ride with the TNT group. The planned course followed part of the Tour de Summerlin route including a scenic ride along the road to the outpost at Blue Diamond. Halfway into the ride I left the group with one other rider to take on the Red Rock loop. This narrow, winding, very hilly road runs through the Red Rock National Conservation Area. Two of the hills we climbed were similar to "the wall" at the Cactus Hugger. Argh! Midway through the loop we came upon a wash where the road was covered with debris. I barely managed to slow down enough to cross. After completing the loop we pedaled on to the outpost where we rejoined the rest of the group. We then rode back toward Summerlin to complete a ride of 56 miles.

April 2

Michelle and I followed up our ride in the Cactus Hugger with a rest ride through Zion National Park. We've been camping and hiking in this beautiful park over the past few years and have meant to ride it for some time. We took advantage of a beautiful sunny day to finally tackle it. Because it is still early in the season, the park was fairly empty so we had the roads more or less to oursevles.

April 1

Michelle and I rode in the Cactus Hugger Cycling Festival in St. George, Utah over the weekend. We drove to St. George on Friday night and stayed at a nice condo courtesy of our friends, the Stacy family. (Be sure to visit their site at www.adwearinc.com for ad specialties.) We got up at 5:30 AM on Saturday to eat breakfast, then check in for the event. The ride began with a group start in downtown St. George complete with police escort. We elected to ride the 54 mile course in preparation for our 100 mile ride in June.

After riding through the business district and passing through some very cool adobe subdivisions, we reached the outskirts of town. The course then took us through a state park that featured towering cliff walls and fast running water falls. At one point we passed between some small ranches and were confronted by a cowboy on horseback hearding several head of cattle. I'm not sure who was more surprised - us or the cows!

About 20 miles into the ride we reached the first serious climb. It was about a half mile long, but very steep. Michelle and pedaled a high cadence and easily passed everyone ahead of us (much to their chagrin.) At the 30 mile point we saw the second major climb known simply as "the wall." The approach was a series of switchbacks that led to a long, extremely steep climb. Countless riders stalled on the hill, forced to get off and walk their bikes. But I managed to stay in the saddle, stopping once to allow my heart rate to drop a few beats before continuing to the summit. There I waited for Michelle to rejoin me before continuing.

After refueling at the next feed zone, we fought uphill through some brisk wind before passing through another incredible state park. This one featured the kind of scenery you only see in movies such as vibrant red rock formations and sand dunes. We desended into the park and eventually emerged near the outskirts of St. George. Another technical descent took us down to one of the main roads into town. Upon reaching the finish line, we sat on the grass and enjoyed a well-earned lunch.

March 23

I felt like I had good legs today, so I took a solo ride on our Seven Hills/St. Rose course. I set a personal best with a time of 1:06:29 over the 20.25 mile course. My average speed was 18.3 miles per hour, while my average heart rate was just 143 beats per minute. At that rate I can ride all day.

March 15

Michelle and I will be heading out of town this weekend, so I decided to ride the team's planned weekend course in advance on my own. The ride took me through our usual Seven Hill course, then out St. Rose Parkway to Las Vegas Boulevard. I then rode south on Las Vegas Boulevard into the desert toward Jean. The town of Jean consists of two casinos that straddle the interstate in the middle of nowhere. The entire ride covered a distance of 50.68 miles. It took me 2 hours and 56 minutes pedaling at an average speed of more than 17 miles per hour. Considering that I took it easy on the way out, I am comfident that I can cover the same course in about 2.5 hours.

March 5

We joined a small group of TNT riders at the Lake Mead ranger station for another endurance ride. Five of us rode the hills of Lake Shore Drive, a winding road that skirts the east end of the lake on a path toward Lake Las Vegas. Because the road is inside the national park there is little traffic. The scenery is fantastic with lots of great lake overlooks, desert vistas, and colorful mountains. Our ride covered about 25 miles. Afterwards we all went to a cozy bistro in the little town of Boulder City for sandwiches and a well-earned beer.

March 4

We got up early to meet the TNT group for an endurance ride. The team set out from a shopping center a few miles from our home. Our course took us east as far as Lake Las Vegas. For those unfamiliar with the area, this scenic resort community is adjacent to Lake Mead. The course featured a lot of long climbs. When we reached Lake Las Vegas we encountered a water truck that was washing construction dirt off the road. All it accomplished was creating a few miles of mud. We had no choice but to ride through. All of our bikes were caked with mud. We covered more than 37 miles on the ride. This was a personal best for Michelle, who rode with strength the whole day. I spent a couple hours washing and lubing our bikes when we got home.

February 28

Today was just about ideal for riding. Sunny and fairly warm with little or no wind. Since I was riding solo (Michelle is still in LA) I decided to get back into the swing of things with some climbing. My course took me around our regular Seven Hills loop, but with a set of steep climbs up in Anthem tossed in for good measure. For the most part I kept my heart rate at a reasonable level. However, I did nearly max out at one point on an especially steep hill. But the upside (no pun intended) of the hill was a fantastic descent upon which I was able to try my technical skills. After starting the descent by pedaling hard on the big ring, I slid back, hunched down, and placed my stomach on the saddle. In this way I was able to get extremely aerodynamic. The result was a top speed of over 45 mph!

February 27

I returned from our trip to Los Angeles where Michelle and I saw the final two stages of the Tour of California. The weather on the coast was perfect for racers and spectators alike. On Saturday we headed from LA to Thousand Oaks to see the final few miles of the race. The stage covered a little over 90 miles, finishing with three incredible laps around the Amgen headquarters complex. Amgen was the title sponsor for the race. Michelle and I found positions just after a turn where we were able to get within inches of the peloton as it zoomed past. The suction of the peloton's draft was unbelievable!

On Sunday we headed over to Redondo Beach where the final stage was contested on a circuit course consisting of ten laps of a nine mile course. Incredibly we found a little beach-front hotel that had an elevated patio overlooking the finishing stretch. From a cozy table just a few feet above the crowd, we were able to watch the race unfold in style. What a day!

Back here in Las Vegas, however, the weather wasn't bike friendly. The wind was blowing hard all day and it was wet, so I had to take a pass on my training ride. Hopefully, the wind will be calm down tomorrow. Special thanks to our friend Jeffrey for giving us a place to stay during our trip!


February 24

Got a quick ride in today prior to heading out to the coast to see the final two stages of the Tour of California. I would like to have taken our bikes along with us so we could ride some of the tour route, but Michelle needs to stay out in LA next week so we're taking her car. That means the bikes stay home and I won't get to ride until I return. But we are both looking forward to seeing all the top pros race, as well as catching up with some of our friends.

F ebruary 20, 2006

Today was supposed to be a day away from the bike, but I woke up feeling strong and decided to take a solo ride. I averaged 18 mph over our 12 mile hill-filled short course despite chilly temperatures and a gusting wind. My average heart rate was 157 and my average cadence (rpm) was 84. That means I rode a fast time and still had some motor to spare. Not bad. Now I just hope I didn't burn myself out for tonight's hockey game.


F ebruary 19, 2006

We were scheduled to take a ride at Lake Mead with the TNT group on Saturday, but high winds resulted in a cancellation. Michelle and I were already up and preparing to go at 6:00 AM when we got the call. A quick check of the weather in our immediate area revealed that the wind hadn't reached us yet. So we set out on a ride around our local training course. It was pretty cold, but we managed to get in some miles before the wind kicked up.

Sunday saw a rare overcast day in Las Vegas. The roads were wet early (there were even reports of snow on our Blue Diamond route,) but by late afternoon it was clear enough for a training ride. We rode about 20 miles over our Seven Hills-St. Rose Parkway route. The thermometer said 45F but it felt more like 35F. At the end of the ride we stopped at our local coffee shop, It's A Grind, where we posted a sign explaining our TNT mission and requesting contributions. Enough regulars have seen us there over the past year in our bike clothes to recognize us. Hopefully some will join our race.

Some unfortunate news on the racing front: We've cancelled our plans to participate in the Zion Country Century next weekend. We hoped to make our season debut in this race, but scheduling issues arose with work. It may be for the best. Although I'm confident that I could go the distance (we were planning on riding the half century,) Michelle still needs some more time to build up her base conditioning. Instead of Zion, we will focus on the Cactus Hugger Century at the end of March. All in all probably a more realistic plan.

February 16, 2006

It was pretty cold today, around 45F, so Michelle and I kept the ride short - about 45 minutes. I have a hockey game tonight, so I'll get plenty of exercise. There's a TNT happy hour scheduled for tonight at a bar near the rink. Some of the TNT group may stop over to see my hockey game. I'm looking forward to some noisy fans. Two of Michelle's family members made big contributions to my fund raising site today. Thanks to their generosity I'm now over the $1000 hump just a week into the process.

February 15, 2006

It looks like we won't be able to ride today due to high winds in the valley. Gusts are around 35 mph with steady winds around 20 mph. That kind of wind will knock a rider off his or her bike. So it looks like we'll cross train today with weights and perhaps some time on the stationary bike or stair stepper.

February 14, 2006

I stayed off the bike yesterday to give my legs a rest before playing hockey last night. But no rest for the wicked on Valentine's Day. Michelle and I rode the short version of our local course. I focused on keeping my heart rate in comfortable zone.

Maximum heart rates vary by age, life long conditioning, and genetics. Statistically a guy my age should have a max of about 172, but mine is actually a little higher. I've hit as high as 176 on steep climbs. When you max out like that your heart feels like it is going to jump out of your chest and your breathing becomes heavy. In that higher range is also the time your legs start to burn. The sensation is related to the build-up of lactic acid in the muscles. When your heart is over-worked it can't flush the waste and acid build-up out of your muscles fast enough.

In order to complete a long ride such as a century, one needs to find a comfortable rate at which they can keep a fast pace without hitting their lactate threshold. In training rides with Michelle, I'm usually riding at an average heart rate of around 135 and average speed of about 14.5 mph. I can ride all day at this rate. But I need to go faster. During a recent solo ride I sustained an average heart rate of 155 and average speed of about 17.5 mph without hitting my lactate threshold.

My goal is to get comfortable riding consistently at a heart rate of 140 - 80% of my maximum - and an average speed of around 17 mph. I want my cadence (rpm) to be around 75. This is called riding tempo. If I can do this I should be able to ride at or near the front through the entire race.

February 12, 2006

Today was an early riser - 5:30 AM! We met the TNT team at a middle school near Sunrise Mountain and rode a short loop course several times. I left the group briefly to take a climb up towards the mountain and managed to make the top without maxing out my heart rate (though it was pretty close.) Since we only rode 15 miles with the team, Michelle and I took a secondary ride over our home course to edge our total miles for the day over 25. That makes about 50 miles for the weekend. By the end of the month I'll need to be able to do that in one day.

February 11, 2006

This was the first week of serious training after taking a break of about a month. Last year I rode from late February through early December. Except for a few rides with Michelle while she tested her new bike, I didn't ride much in January '06.

I'm fortunate that the area in which I live is ideal for cycling. Here on the mountainside overlooking Las Vegas, there are miles of rolling hills and winding roads that are great for training. My typical training ride starts at my front door and rolls around Seven Hills (our subdivision) with a final climb up into Anthem (the neighboring retirement subdivision.) The average distance is about 15 miles, although I'll sometimes knock a mile or so off depending on how much time I have to complete the ride before work.

On weekends, I like to increase the miles. I usually do this by adding a six mile stretch of straight, flat road - St. Rose Parkway - which extends from the lowest point of Seven Hills out past The Strip to Interstate 15. This route includes the undulating hills of my normal course, but also allows me to get up into a high gear and really put the pedal to the metal.

When the weather is good, I also like to spend at least one day each weekend on a 20+ mile course that runs out from the little village of Blue Diamond. Nestled in a little box canyon in the desert south west of Las Vegas, this sleepy little one horse town (literally one horse and maybe a barking dog in the middle of the road) serves as a favorite rallying point for area cyclists. The road out from Blue Diamond is well paved with low rises, lots of long winding curves, and no traffic lights or stop signs. The best part is the scenery. It runs right through the famous Red Rock nature area. You have to see it to believe it.

Today I rode the Blue Diamond course. Michelle started out with me, but dropped back on a climb at about mile 7. She may not be as fast as me yet, but she never quits. Just after that a serious club rider passed me. I gave him about a half mile lead, then set my mind to catching him. It took about a mile and a half to reel him in and boy was he surprised when he looked back and found me on his wheel. We worked together, taking turns pulling at the front while the other drafted behind, for about five miles. In this way we were able to average a speed of around 25 mph. That may not sound like much in a car, but believe me on a bike on the flats that is cruising!

As we passed the entrance to the Red Rock visitor center, with civilization looming not far off in the distance, I bid farewell to my new friend and sat up to wait for Michelle. Together we rode the 13 miles back to Blue Diamond. Tomorrow we'll ride a new course covering between 20-30 miles with our Team In Training group. I feel good and am looking forward to it.