24: The Booty Season Finale

First things first, I've posted pictures here on my flickr page. The last photo is a scanned image of my Bicycling magazine profile if you haven't seen it yet. Click for all sizes and choose large, I think it'll be big enough to read.

(And now, the exciting conclusion to 24 Hours of Booty)

I woke up about 10:30 on Saturday and I could tell I had done 70 miles the night before. I was moving a little slow. I gathered my stuff and started getting into my bike gear while I watched the end of stage 19 of the Tour. I got back out to the Booty a little before noon and ate some food. I really didn't feel like eating but you don't have a choice when you're trying to keep your body going. If you don't, you just lose all your power and get all woozy. It's funny, because at the start of the 24 hours everything looks great. There's every kind of snack bar and drink you could ever want. But after a while you just want something hot or to just stop eating altogether.

I got out and did a few solo laps. Then I found my friends Franco and Liza who came out to ride and visit with everyone. At one point I went out with Steve, Luke, Franco and Liza but it was so crowded at the entrance to the lap we soon were all split up. I really wasn't feeling very fresh at all. I was pretty much dragging. I think part of it was I'd done so well the day before about eating, scarfing down a bunch of pancakes hours before the ride started. But Saturday I slept too late and seemed to be playing catch up after that.

At some point Tom and his wife, Katie, came by with their two kids PJ and Emma. They were cracking me up. Tom played hide and seek with them. PJ kept hiding behind the mangled frame of our tent and Emma always decided to hide behind her big brother. PJ also showed off his Batman bike and his sweet aerodynamic riding position, which Tom swears he didn't teach him to use. After a bit Katie walked back to the car with Emma and Tom helped PJ ride his bike a roundabout way back there.

I went and did a few laps with Steve and he said he was starting to get burned out. We went back in to freshen up some and he said he was thinking about calling it a day, he had 120 miles in already. I told him I was getting tired too and wasn't sure how much longer I'd go. There was some kind of miscommunication because he thought I was ready to head home. When I said I was going back out again he said "Well, I'm not going to be the first to quit!" So we went back out for another 3 laps. After that he was so close to 150 he could taste it.

We chilled with Franco and Liza for a bit. Steve found some ice cold cokes for us. I never realized how many carbs are in coke. It proved the perfect thing for me since I was having to force down food. Franco agreed to go out and try to speed through some laps with Steve. Liza and I went out and did some laps at her pace. She impressed me. The last time she was on a bike was last year at the Booty when she did 100 miles! And she was doing all this on some old bike of Franco's that he tried to make fit her the best he could. We chatted about this and that. Steve and Franco blew past a couple times. Then she decided she'd had enough and pulled off.

I went out for one more lap and just killed it. I was flying up the hill and down in my best time trial position most of the way. I think I knew it was my last lap so there was no reason to leave anything in the tank. Franco and Liza cheered for me as I came in. I went back, grabbed a snack and drink. I came out to the roadside to cheer everyone on. I yelled "Ramble on!" as Luke and Tom rode by. Luke stopped to talk with me and see where I was at. I said I was at 130 miles and calling it a day. There was about an hour left. While we chatted Steve came up the home stretch and we cheered him as he reached his goal of 150. He swung back around and talked with us. Then Tom came back around again and Luke chased after him to ride some more.

Luke's computer had crapped out in the rain. We pretty much did the same amount the first night, so we knew he was over 100 miles for sure. Last year Luke did 150, this year he just decided to ride as much as he could and not worry about a number. He said he really felt relaxed this time around and he still got a ton of laps in. I went back to the camp and Steve and I broke apart the frame of his tent and trashed it. Luke and Tom came back and we packed everything up. We rode back to the start/finish just in time to watch the last few people come in as the 24 hours came to a close. I rode home with Tom and Steve while Luke drove to drop off all our chairs and bags and stuff. I dumped a bag of smelly stuff in the laundry room and took a shower. I was exhausted.

I'm in day two of recovery now. On Sunday I got about 5.5 miles of riding in. I've read it's better to ride again the day after a ride to help clear out lactic acid in the muscles faster than if you just rest. Ever since the ride I've been hungry all the time. I think my stomach got bigger! I've also been tired and kind of look like an old man when I walk around, especially going down stairs.

Some final thoughts

I had a lot of fun being stupid in the rain, but I wish I could have had the two hours we were not allowed to ride back. I know I could have done even better than 130 miles. But it made for a good story and that's what counts. On the other hand, I'm actually kind of glad that bat hit me in the head. Otherwise I would have been out even later and not gotten much sleep and had a terrible second half of the Booty. And it too made one heck of a story.

I spent a lot of time reflecting on how things went this year compared with last year. I had no idea what my fundraising goal should be and set a pretty low one last time around. Going into last year my longest ride ever had been 30 miles. I had never been in any organized cycling event. I was riding a bike that was about 3 sizes too big from the '80s that I got from my uncle Mark. That thing was creaking and croaking the whole time so people could hear me coming from halfway around the loop. Not long after the Booty, one of the pedals would snap off while I was riding up a hill.

Last year I was wearing my first cycling jersey I'd ever owned, which I bought just for the Booty. At the ride I had no clear plan of attack. I drank mostly water the whole time and sometimes didn't eat when I took breaks. Later in the night I started eating and only after the first bite did I realize how famished I was. I was gasping for breath on the first hill and almost every time up I thought I couldn't make it around for another lap. I ended up doing 65 miles the first night. I had to work the next day so I only rode out to cheer on the team for a couple hours.

This year, I rode a new bike I got in March that fits me perfectly. I trained on hills to get used to the two gentle climbs on the Booty loop. I didn't count miles because I didn't have a computer on my bike. Instead, I focused on how much time I spent riding and what type of riding I did. Coming into this year's ride I'd completed a 100 mile ride. During that ride I under trained and experienced suffering I didn't know I was capable of riding through. It was really rough, but it also showed me I could take a lot more than I thought.

This year, I used a Camelbak hydration pack I got for Christmas and filled it with Gatorade so many times I lost count. Every time I came in I was eating and drinking everything I could get my hands on. I also learned that I needed to ride at my own pace and not go into the red zone at the start, using myself up and being useless for the rest of the day. It was night and day going up that hill. Almost every time I made it up I thought "that wasn't so bad."

And this time I tried a little experiment: I pretended I was riding a single speed bike. I didn't shift once the whole time. This put a ceiling on how fast I could go down hill, but it also ensured I had a minimum speed I couldn't go below when riding up the hills. Most of the ride I repeated a pattern of being passed by riders when we were going down hill and then later, as things went back up hill, I'd slowly climb past them. I know I lost efficiency and speed with my approach. But for me (and to paraphrase Sheldon Brown), cycling isn't always about going as far and fast as I can with the smallest possible effort. Along the same lines, I didn't draft that much. I chose instead, when possible, to ride alongside people and have conversations. I could have saved energy by constantly latching on to another person's back wheel, but the time would have passed so much slower for me. And I wanted to know that I wasn't leaning on anyone blocking the wind for me to get the ride done.

So I did 130 miles in 24 hours in one gear. When I told Luke, he said I have to go single speed now. And I think I agree. I'm not going to be racing ever. I don't plan on riding up mountains any time soon. If I ever decide to enter other rides it'd mean I'd have to train much harder. And I think I'm OK with that. If I end up losing 20 pounds and getting faster, maybe I'll change my tune. But now I think I'm ready to take the plunge to one gear.

One last thing. I really appreciate every one's support. All the friends who came out to the ride. Everyone who donated. And everyone who dropped me comments or e-mails, letting me know they were reading this silly blog and interested in my progress. I don't know why I should be surprised by every one's kindness, I've seen it firsthand so many times before. These last couple weeks have been great. I was part of almost 1,400 riders who raised more than $650,000, and donations are still coming in. The best part is participating in this event just makes me feel good.

My friend Priscilla asked me what my next project is going to be. She knows how I get so obsessive about something and really focus on it. But right now, I'm not sure. I don't feel burned out on cycling like I did after the century ride. My plan is to keep riding a couple times a week and get back to weight training at the Y. Maybe I'll look for another bike event to ride in before it gets too cold. But maybe I won't. If I do, I won't be fundraising again like I did for the Booty ride, but I just might have to bring this blog back.


Mission accomplished.

Booty Ride Part 2

So after we got all dried out and they reopened the booty route (and we had our fill of watching the crappy remake of The Longest Yard) Luke and I went back out. We were both drowsy and about ready to call it a night, so we knew we had to get a move on. We moved our trashed tent to the side and I got out towels I'd brought and started drying things off. We stocked up on food and drink and got back out on the course.

It took a couple laps but we started waking up and getting back into a grove. We knocked out another 20 miles and then I got a call from my friend Hank. Luke and I pulled over and I called him back, he and Mary Ann had come out to visit and cheer us on. Just as we pulled over we saw Tom. We had been wondering when he was going to show up. It turns out he'd been riding for a while and we just didn't find each other. The three of us continued the lap and I came really close to crashing. I let my tires slip off the road and on to the shoulder a bit, I'm still not sure how I stayed on the bike and didn't slam into Luke and Tom. It was a pretty careless mistake on my part. As we pulled around to head back to the camp area and meet up with our friends we saw Steve had arrived as well. Tom decided to keep riding and we told Steve to catch him. So those two went out for more laps and Luke and I took a break.

After a while we went back out, we found Tom and Steve and decided it was time to ramble! The four of us make up a bike gang. We call ourselves the Midnight Ramblers (which was also the name of the Observer's booty team). We did a lap together but soon Steve took off and I didn't even try to fallow. Luke did though. So Tom and I went at a more "comfortable" pace (that means slow). We rode a couple laps and then Tom needed to stop to fill up his bottle. I decided to keep going and went out solo. But Luke and Steve were waiting for us at the start/finish line. Steve went back with Tom and Luke chased after me. It was crazy how the riding partners kept switching up, but that's good. At an event like this one of the biggest obstacles is just trying not to be bored out or your mind. Good conversation is a must.

Luke said he tried to catch me on this climb and almost had me at the top, but I poured on a couple little accelerations and he said "screw that." He caught up with me a bit later. That made me feel really good to hear because Luke is an animal on the climbs. He rides a single speed fixed gear bike. Here's what that means to non-bike geeks: He has one gear and can't shift to an easier one on hills, and if his bike is moving his pedals have to move, no coasting allowed. So knowing I was going up the hill fast enough for him to say it wasn't worth the effort to catch me really did mean something. Luke and I did a couple laps and then needed to stop for a "natural break" as they call it in the Tour de France. Tom and Steve had gone back out on the course by the time we took our breather. We were at about 65 miles. I wanted to try and hit 75 before calling it a night, but Luke was done and went into chill mode.

After only a short break I thought it'd be better to get back up and knock out the last few laps before I got too tired. By that time Tom had come back. He said he'd ride with me as long as we didn't go fast. I was more than happy to oblige. We went up the little hill and I felt really good at the top. We didn't go fast, but it was a consistent pace and my legs didn't burn much. I thought I'd get those last couple laps easy. But fate intervened.

It was past 3 a.m. by this point and we noticed there were bats flying around the street lights. Probably to get at the bugs flocking to the lights. I was telling Tom about the time a bat got into my bedroom in college and thwacked against the wall by my bed. It fell on my pillow and I crawled out of my room screaming. Tom and I were discussing whether or not it was an army crawl when BAM! A bat flew right into the top of my head! This was too crazy to believe. I kind of swung my hands all around my head to make sure it was not stuck to my helmet. How was I able to stay upright and not crash? I don't know. We looked at each other and agreed, "That's it! Riding is done for the night."

We went back in and told everyone what had happened. Steve decided to pound out a couple more laps to reach 50 miles on the night since he had been at work for the first couple hours and got a late start. Tom and I rode home. We kind of forgot that a massive storm had moved through just a couple hours before. Once we were on neighborhood roads off the booty course we remembered though. Hundreds of cyclists hadn't been riding on these roads to smash up all the fallen sticks and branches. On the trip home we saw a guy who runs with the Lucky Cycles crowd. He was walking back after doing some crazy number of laps. He recognized us as "the Observer guys."

We ride past Lucky Cycles bike shop every night and in the summer there are sometimes late night gatherings going on there. I once was at a stop light next to this cyclist and he asked me if I was one of the guys who rides by Lucky late at night. After I confirmed I was he asked what the heck we were doing out there. Ever since I told him we were commuting from the paper those guys yell "Yeah, Observer!!" when we ride by.

Tom and I turned up another road and were almost home. We saw a car ahead heading our direction. We went single file and moved to the right as much as we could. All of a sudden we noticed a big branch had fallen in the road and we were headed right for it. The headlights from the car had made it hard to see and we didn't realize the branch was there until we were almost on top of it. Tom slammed on his brakes and moved left. I was behind him and pretty much copied him. Again we were lucky and didn't crash.

It was pretty much smooth sailing after that. After a shower I went to bed. It was well after 4 and my body was happy to stop moving. (to be continued ...)



That's me re-enacting what I looked like when the bat hit me.

Booty update!

Everything was going great. I was cruising along, chatting with people, laps were flying by. Then the heavens opened up and it started to pour like I haven't seen here in a long time. It was crazy out there. Luke and I were about to go in and grab some food, but when it started to rain we just had to stay out. So we rode. Everyone was leaving the course. They were taking side roads to get back to camp. We started singing songs. "I can see clearly now the rain is gone! I can see all the obstacles in my way!" Or "Here I go again on my own! Walking down the only road I've ever known!" Then just screaming crazy stuff. "Allez, Allez, Ariba Ariba, Andale Andale." It was pouring so bad I couldn't see anything. There was so much water. It was like riding in a river. The water was getting to be ankle deep, even on the bike. Finally the police on duty made us stop riding and leave the route. We went back to camp and found our tent had collapsed. The rain had built up and was too much for the polls. They had broken in a couple spots. Luke and I rigged it up so there was enough room for the two of us to sit under there. Then we went to the food tent with literally a thousand other people and ate a burger. We called around and found out the rain wasn't going to let up for at least an hour. With us being soaked and not riding any more we started getting cold. So we decided to head back to my house. Which is where I am now. We tossed our stuff in the dryer and are getting ready to head back out. 30 miles down and a lot more to go. More later.  

The big day is here

The past couple days I've finished up most of my final preparations. I got a couple short rides in and am feeling pretty good on the bike. Everything seems to be working smoothly. That picture is all the stuff I'm going to toss in my bag. Socks, jersey, shorts, long sleeve jersey in case it rains, heart rate monitor and watch, extra batteries, mosquito repellent and candle, sun glasses and cliff bars. That doesn't even include a towel, my helmet, camelbak, sweatband, hat and shoes. So much gear!

I went out to Bootyville, which is the athletic field at Queens University where all the riders set up camp. Luke and I found a great spot and set up a tent and table and chairs for all the people who will come to hang with us later. We put up this big Ramblers sign that Luke made, but the tape wouldn't stick to the tent that well. We tried to compensate by using about half a roll.

We were sweating like mugs out there. It was 88 with about 50 percent humidity. The Forecast: Should be almost 90 at the 7 p.m. start with humidity at 60 percent and climbing. There are supposed to be "isolated thunderstorms" with a 30 percent chance of rain. For those of you not living in Charlotte that is pretty much the forecast for every day in the summer here. Some days it rains, most days it doesn't, so we'll see. After sundown the temps are supposed to drop into the 70s but humidity is going to climb into the 80s. It's going to be pretty much the same for tomorrow but in the afternoon chances of rain climb to 50 percent. Well, I'm not worried. I'm going to be sweaty and disgusting any way so what's the difference? I'll just have to take the corners a little bit slower.

I'm pretty much ready now. I still need to run to the bike shop and get a cheap computer and stick it on my bike. I think I might also try and find some place that's still serving pancakes and have some flap jacks for a late lunch. Perhaps the International HOP? Then I'm heading on over about 6. I'm taking my camera so I'll have to get some pictures for you all to see and I write another post to let everyone know how it went. My record for most distance is 104 miles. I think I'm going to be able to beat that this time. I'm really excited, feeling relaxed and confident. I've raised $647 and there are a couple people who said they still may give. Just awesome.

Damn you Vino

When Alexander Vinokourov was coming into the Tour he was the strong favorite. So of course there were rumors he was doping. His team was stacked with dominate riders, some who weren't allowed to start the Tour because of their own positive tests. I started out wanting anyone but him to win the Tour and hoping the winner would come from another team. When he crashed and struggled so much and then came back with 2 wins in 3 days he started sucking me in. I knew he wouldn't win it all, but I started feeling happy that he could at least win a couple stages. I guess the only thing positive I can take from this is that he was caught. But it sure makes me wonder about Rasmussen and Contador and whether they're clean. Well, now team Astana has pulled out with Vino's positive test and they're taking with them two riders who were in the top 10.

Another perfect day

The weather was amazing again. Not too hot, not too cold. I got out and rode for a couple hours. I drank my entire CamelBak pouch. I think it's a liter and a half. I actually probably should have drunk more.

Since I got my new bike Silver I've pretty much always stayed seated when going up hills. I'm not sure why. I guess because I always had to get out of the saddle on Mr. Fuji when climbing before. But today I tried to get up and dance on the pedals a little bit and it seemed to work well. At first I was climbing like I normally do, in the seat, trying to have a smooth, complete revolution. But then one time going up a hill a car passed me only to stop to turn left once it was in front of me. So I was half way up the hill with no momentum. At that point I had no choice but to get out of the saddle just to get moving again. I didn't stay up the whole time but I made it to the top faster. Another thing that I noticed was my heart rate was dropping lower faster after the climbs. I don't know much about heart rate stuff, so I'm not sure what that means. Maybe your heart rate drops back faster after you've been riding for an hour. Maybe I was just tired and not pushing myself as hard.

In preparing for previous rides I always thought of my training in terms of how many miles I put in before the event. This time around I didn't have an odometer on my bike so I tried instead to focus on how much time I spent on the bike. We'll see if that works out. And I'm also still trying to learn the best uses for my heart rate monitor. Now I know what my max heart rate is and can see what my average rate was during a ride, but I don't really know what those numbers mean. I'll have to do some more research.

During the ride today a mom asked me to stop for a minute. She was in the park with her two kids. She said someone had broken into her car and taken her purse and some other bags. She asked me to keep an eye out for the bags or any stuff that might have gotten tossed and to turn it into the park station. I don't know if it's all cyclists or just me because I look so nice, but people are always stopping me to ask stuff like that. Once before a grandfather with two grandchildren asked me if I knew where a nature museum was. And people are always asking for directions. Another time, a couple from Canada asked me for advice on what to do and see while they were in Charlotte.

I was nice and sore after the ride and really wanted a nap. Instead I got to sit at my desk for 8 hours. After work me, Steve and Tom rode by the Chipotle going up down the street. There were two guys inside who acted like they didn't see 3 dudes ride up at 1 in the morning on bikes covered in flashing lights. We know you can see us! There was a giant sign confirming that it is indeed opening Friday. Yes!

With the tour having a rest day Tuesday I'm going out to hit the links. It's been a while since I went golfing. I've been doing mostly bike stuff in my free time these days. But even with the golf I imagine I'll get out for at least a short ride. That just leaves Wednesday and Thursday, which I'll probably ease off on so I can be nice and fresh when the Booty rolls around Friday. I was talking with Luke and we agreed the Booty is properly named since with such a long ride your booty is going to be sore no matter what. Accepting that pain or the pain in my hands is probably going to be the toughest part of the ride. At least that's my guess. Unless of course it ends up raining, then rain will be the worst part of the ride. I'm just hoping this awesome weather holds out until the ride is done.

What a day!

What a great stage today at the Tour. Going in there were 6-7 guys with a real shot at winning it. And those guys were duking it out on the mountains. One after the other just kept trying to crack the others. And gradually they started falling off the back until it was down to just 2 guys. I noticed two things that I thought I'd mention.

First, I find myself getting mad at America's best hope, Levi Leipheimer, for never attacking and never exploding up the mountains. He just goes along trying to hang on to someone's wheel. After the stage he said he just doesn't have that kind of acceleration on the mountains and is most concerned with not cracking himself and riding his own race. Then I realized I kind of ride the same way. OK, I'm clearly no Tour rider. What I mean is I don't explode up any hills either (note that I ride hills and not mountains). I just get going at my own pace and get to the top when I get to the top. It's not really cool or anything to brag about. Which kind of describes Leipheimer.

Second, I loved the teamwork by team Discovery today. People will remember Contador winning and Leipheimer gaining time on his rivals, but they were set up by American George Hincapie and Ukrainian Yaroslav Popovych. When you ride behind someone you save about 20 percent of your effort. When you're behind two guys it jumps up to about a third less effort. These guys went all out and gave everything they had, basically cracking themselves so that Contador and Leipheimer would be at the front and ready to go for the win. There's a lot of teamwork in cycling and a lot of strategy too.

One last thing about the Tour. It seems like Wednesday's stage, the last one in the mountains, could be the deciding stage of the tour. If you've been paying attention here and there this is the one to watch. It's got a brutal climb at the finish. The time trial later could be key too, but my guess is after this one we'll have a pretty clear leader.

So after the Tour I went to brunch with my two Amy friends. That was fun. I had the shrimp and crab omelet special. Mmmmm. We wanted to sit outside but all those spots were taken. It was amazing out today. Not too hot, nice breeze, low humidity. It couldn't have been much better. After brunch I got on the bike and rode to the post office. I dropped a couple things in the mail box (I knew where to find this one). Then I rode off to this cemetery uptown (where I got caught in the rain before). It's pretty big and offers a nice place to just do some loops. It's a popular destination for Steve, but I didn't see him there today. He told me he was planning on doing a longer ride today and the cemetery was not in his plans. I rode around in circles, getting my heart rate up on one half of the loop, letting it come back down on the second half. After about 30 minutes I was in a really good grove. I don't know if I was getting to the top of the climbs faster, but I felt like I had a little bit more left in the tank each time I reached the top. I felt like I could have stayed out there forever. Alas, I had to head back and shower before work.

Friday's coming fast. I think it will be an interesting booty this year. Last year I didn't really know what I was doing. I spent as much time socializing as I did riding. This year I think I'll try to have a clearer idea of what my plan of attack is. I don't have a computer on my bike right now. The one I bought is a piece of junk and doesn't work. I don't really want to buy a new one. But having one is by far the easiest way to keep track of how far you've gone. I've toyed with the idea of getting one of these and sticking it on my bike. Of course at some point I'd probably start forgetting to click it. But it'd almost be worth it to see some of the incredulous looks I'd get (I imagine some of them would come from my own teammates). Of course, I have no idea where to find one so I'll probably just end up with another cheap bike computer that'll last 2 months.

Mixed results

So with the bike seemingly in working order I was able to get a nice little ride in on Friday before going into work. It was mostly more trips up and down the hills around my favorite park. Everything went well and I felt pretty good at the end of it. But work called. Back home and showered I was trying to decide what to do for a late lunch. My roommate Fiscus was starting work at the same time as me. She agreed to grab me a sandwich and bottle of water on her way in while I rode to the library and returned Ten Points.

Ten Points is a memoir by the editor of Bicycling magazine about the season he tried to earn 10 points at the weekly bike races in Emmaus, Pa. The book had an excerpt published in the same issue that my profile ran in. The funny thing was it mentioned my step mom's brother as one of the other guys in the weekly races. Crazy! The book was a pretty quick read. Some cool insider type scenes of what it's like to race in a pack and to just be hanging on for dear life. The author also gets into his childhood and abuse at the hands of his father. It's pretty heavy. For cyclists I'd say it's a good read.

So I dropped that off at the library downtown. I really had a lot of fun on that short ride. It was pretty busy and it felt like I was riding through an obstacle course. I'm sure some people much prefer to have nothing in the way and want only to worry about keeping the bike moving. And I like that too. Especially when I'm riding a longer distance. But sometimes it's fun to watch out for car doors or the person about to step off the curb in front of you because they're on the phone and not paying attention, or the guy moving his hot dog stand into the road, etc. I really felt at ease and comfortable on the bike. It really made me think of how different I feel from even a year ago when I was still riding Mr. Fuji. My new bike is 5cm smaller and it makes a world of difference. On the old bike I never really felt balanced. It was hard to stay on the seat and really pedal. And I did 65 miles on it at last year's Booty!

At the end of work I did my best to race Fiscus home. But my chain got all fussy on me. It couldn't decide which gear to stay in and it seemed like it wanted to be somewhere in between. I had to shift to an easy gear and spin like crazy to get going at all. So that was annoying.

Today, after watching the tour (nice work Vino btw) and mowing the lawn, I got Silver up on my car rack. I was messing with the shifters when Steve rode by. He'd just been out for about 2 hours and was sporting his Blazing Saddles jersey. He offered the use of his work stand down at his house. Like most bike problems I've ever had, this one took longer than expected to fix. And the air was soon filled with profanities. I had to head to work and left Steve to figure things out. But luckily things are back in order, which is good, cuz I need to be riding!

Frustration

I had some bad luck the past couple days. On Wednesday I was all set to ride. I was heading out the door when I noticed the mail had come. I pulled it out and saw jammed in the bottom of the mail box a bill and netflix dvd I had put out 2 days before. I guess they fell in and then got jammed down by the new mail. I grabbed them and figured I'd just ride to a mail box somewhere. There used to be one around the corner from me, but it got moved when a developer started work on a Lowe's/Condo project. I had seen a mail box at the end of my street, so I rode up that way. But the street was closed off for construction. After looping around I found the mail box at the end of my road wasn't there any more. At that point I really couldn't think of where there was another one close by. I decided to head for a main street and on my way I got a flat tire. Great! So I walked the bike back home and decided someone really didn't want me to mail that stuff. I realized I was kind of short on time and needed to get to a haircut appointment.

On Thursday I finally had time to fix my flat. Everything was going along great. I thought, "Wow, this is going to be my fast change ever" (Kinda like Ralphy's dad in A Christmas Story). But I wasn't being that careful. When I pumped up the tube it must have been pinched between the rim and the tire cuz it popped. Bang! It was very loud. I thought back to the bike shop when I had first gotten this bike. I told the guy I wanted 3 extra tubes. He convinced me I really only need one. I don't know why I listened. I got busy with a few other things and set my wheel aside for a while. My friend Henry went to bike shop with me later (one that would happily sell me 3 tubes). I put the new tube on and got the rear wheel back in place, lined it up and realized for some reason my brakes were super tight. This is the exact problem for which I had just taken the bike to the shop to have fixed. Argh! Well, I just adjusted them myself this time. Finally I was ready to go! Too bad it was dark outside. Some day off! But I'm about to get a ride in today before work. I worked 6 days last week and am working 6 days again this week. They're both part of swaps I worked out. Now someone else will work my Saturday shift so I can be at the Booty for all 24 hours this year. The ride is a week from today and I'm getting pretty excited!

That's just bad luck

Last day in the Alps and another crazy day on the Tour. I can't believe team T-mobile's luck. After the first week they had a rookie rider Mark Cavendish drop out. Then a rider on their team took over the yellow jersey on Saturday and things seemed to be looking up. Not so. The next day their Captain Mic Rogers crashed into a guard rail coming down the mountain, another guy next to him went over it and into the trees! Rogers rode on for about 20 kilometers with a separated shoulder until he couldn't go on any more. I felt terrible for him as he broke down just balling his eyes out. You train for 6 months for one race and then you don't even make it to the last week. The same day their rider Stuart O'Grady touched wheels with someone coming down the mountain at about 45 mph. That's a sure way to fracture vertebrae and ribs and puncture your lung. Ouch! But that's not all. They had another rider crash into a spectator. He broke his cheek and the spectator ended up in a coma. By that point I was thinking they just can't catch a break. 3 riders in 1 day Maybe this is all payback for looking the other way all those year's while Jan Ulrich was doping. But then today things just went too far. A dog walked on to the course and riders jerked and weaved out of the way, except for one poor guy, Marcus Burghardt of T-Mobile. He hit a dog! What the heck? That team is cursed.

Once the coverage wrapped up I grabbed the bike and rode for 90 minutes. Yesterday, I lubed the chain back up after the big rain storm. I took it in to the bike shop and got my brakes adjusted. But my bike was still squeaking. I figured out that my seat post was making all the noise. Well, I put off taking that out and wiping it down and today the noise was gone. I guess whatever moisture that was in there evaporated. I rode out to my favorite park. There's a nice short hill there to get the heart pumping. I'd ride it and be all huffing and puffing by the end, then take a lap around the park nice and easy. I'd work on riding with no hands (a skill I'm still trying to master), then I'd head back up the hill. Around and around I went until it was time to head home and get ready for work. Boy was it hot today. I could not get cool. When I got in the shower I just kept turning the knob more and more toward the cold water. It felt great, but Steve told me he heard your body actually tries to heat up when you're in a cold water. Who knew?

I'm going to try to remember to bring my camera with me more on these rides. There's just so much funny stuff I see.

What a day

I was really pumped by the first really tough climbs on the Tour today. Afterward, I couldn't help but jump on the bike. I grabbed my bag, tossed in some extra clothes for work and went cruising around the hood. It was great. At first I was back on the neighborhood roads. I was seeing more bikes out than cars. But after a while I went uptown so i could ride around some cars. There's something about riding around vehicles that just makes me want to go faster. I don't know if it's because I feel like I need to stay out of their way or if I just want to show how fast I can go. I always kick it up without thinking when cars are around. But traffic was really light and I pretty much had a whole lane to myself today.

I rode past my old place uptown and then swung up to a cemetery. I did about one or two laps before it started sprinkling. I looked at my watch and figured I didn't need to start heading toward work for another 5 minutes. I was hoping the rain wasn't going to be that strong. I was very wrong. It started pouring! I was soaked within 2 minutes. By that point it was pretty pointless to rush to work so I just took my time and was careful not to crash. People were giving me some pretty strange looks but I just laughed. It actually felt really good, I was cooled off in a flash.

Luckily, I had a whole set of clothes in my bag. I rolled into work just about the time Tom rode in. He had a rain jacket on but was pretty well drenched. We walked into the building, making loud squishing sounds with every step. My clothes in my bag had stayed pretty dry. I changed in the bathroom. I took a roll of paper towels back with me and crammed my shoes with wad after wad. This was a tip the guy at the next desk suggested. He's always out biking or running and has been caught in the rain a good bit. For the record, the tip worked pretty well.

It had dried up outside by the time I rode home after work. Tom and I talked more about the Tour on the ride home and about how wide open and crazy it has been this year. Then I got home, grabbed a rag and wiped down my bike chain. Got to take care of my baby. I plan to ride Silver over to the bike shop tomorrow so they can adjust my brakes. They're squeaking really loudly these days and had actually been rubbing the rims they were so tight. I thought about adjusting them myself but remembered I have free lifetime adjustments at the shop since I bought my bike there. Might as well have the pros do it, right? I've been thinking about taking some bike maintenance classes. I know a lot of basic stuff, thanks to Lennard Zinn, but it'd be cool to learn some more complicated things. Then maybe I can build a single speed and join Luke on some one gear rides.

New toys!

My online donations have topped my goal, I'm now at 106 percent! Wooo! Now I just want to see how high it will go. With the goal met, (and some complaints about too much money talk and not enough bike stuff) it's time to get down to business. I busted out the camelbak and gave it a good cleaning tonight. In case your wondering, a camelbak is brand of backpack that holds a water pouch in it. I really like using mine when I'm out for a longer ride. I find I forget to grab my water bottle and stay hydrated sometimes. The camelbak is so easy for me though, just grab the water tube next to my shoulder and drink! Cleaning it out is a pain sometimes, but you can't let it slip because you don't want mold to start growing in there. I'm told a good practice is to clean it out as soon as you're done with your ride and then stick it in the freezer, cuz ain't nothing going to grow in there. My problem is the first batch of water from the pouch after its stay in the freezer always ends up tasting kind of like Stouffer's French Bread Pizzas. And though they are delicious, they do not taste that refreshing. I'm sure I'll get it figured out one day.

On top of the cleaning I also got a new gadget. I bought a heart monitor to wear while I ride. Because as I always say, you're not hardcore unless you live hardcore. This means soon I'll be that guy who is jogging and then gets caught at a red light and keeps running in place to keep his heart rate in the "target zone." Only I'll be doing the equivalent on my bike. I'm not really sure what that looks like, but I bet I find out real soon and that it annoys drivers. I've never trained with a heart monitor before, but it really appeals to me. I love totally geeking out on my bike and fitness stuff, and this is the logical next step in fitness dorkdum.

I was really frazzled on my ride in today. I was running late and forgot my keys. Unfortunately I leave one of my bike locks locked to the rack at work so I don't have to cart it back and forth all the time. (That's bike tip No. 2 of the post) This usually is a good practice, but not when you don't have the key to unlock it and get it off the rack. I wrapped a chain around my bike to make it look like it was locked and then went to pop off my front wheel, after all, what's the point in quick release wheels if you never use them? Only problem was, my brakes were adjusted to be so tight, even when I flipped the quick release switch the brakes were still to close together to let the tire fit through. What a pain! I remember the mechanic bragging to me about how tight he'd adjust my brakes when I had ol' Silver into the shop for a tune up, but dang, I need some breathing room! Steve and Tom took a look with me. Tom chained my bike to his so the wheel operation became moot anyway. But I imagine I'll want that sucker off for reals real one day. Then the whole ride home from work I was convinced that my brakes were rubbing my rim. It was totally distracting.

Hi Again

Sorry for the lag, but I was in Omaha visiting my bud Elfrink over the holiday. And though there was much talk of taking a group run or using Elfrink's Giant for a couple rides, I did almost nothing healthy. Well, unless you count ordering a steak salad instead of a steak as something healthy. It was a great trip and I saw lots of cool things: a German beer house that sold beer in giant glass boots, a really worn-out driving range named Schmidy's, another bar that had kegs of champaign on tap, fireworks, and I even got to go cover a plane crash with Elfrink on the first day of the trip.

So after all that fun I got back to find, holy cow! I'm 95 percent to my goal! And a few of you have told me your sending me checks, so soon I'll be over the goal! Sweet. That coupled with the start of the Tour de France has me flying high these days. I've been in total geek mode since Saturday. I was flying back and trying to learn time trial results on ESPN News in the airport during one of my layovers. I might have been the only person in the airport who cared. The feature they used to introduce the highlights sure made it seem that way. It was all about how no one in Europe even cares about the Tour any more. Then I get home and learn a million people lined the streets of London just to watch the time trial! That was not a part of their report. Oh, well.

I'm so happy to be at my goal already. Last year I hadn't even started fundraising at this point. I'm super excited and I owe you all big time. Thank you!

Gut Check Time

My fundraiser goal is clearly in sight now, 78 percent complete! I'm constantly checking up to see how close I am. I feel so lucky to have family and friends supporting me like this.

With the heat dropping into the 80s and humidity down to the 60s it was a perfect day for a ride. I even busted out a dorky bike jersey. Thanks to it's form fitting design it was pretty clear I could shed a few pounds before the Booty rolls around at the end of the month. I need to look trim for all the ladies. I love reading bike magazines and message boards about the best $2,300 "entry level" bike out there. A lot of that money goes into making the biker super light. It seems like the cheapest way to get faster is to get in better shape. You don't have to pay anything to make yourself lighter.

My most common ride follows a bike route in my neighborhood and I pass this crazy tree. It's been trimmed so that the branches grow around the power lines. Check it out, isn't it goofy looking?

Good News Everyone!

My buddy Luke found an August issue of Bicycling magazine, and yes, I'm in it! It's in the spin section right after Chris Carmichael's feature. It seems appropriately nerdy, so I am pleased. Unfortunately my write up is a magazine exclusive and will not be found online, otherwise I'd have a link for you all.

What I don't understand is why Bicycling is previewing the Tour de France in the August issue. I mean, it starts July 7th and is over before August even begins. I understand that magazines come out early, but wouldn't you still have your July issue preview the Tour? I'm sure there's lots of research that shows planning your August issue around July events and publishing it in July is the way to go.

I'm still trying to decide who to pull for in the tour. I think Vino and the Astana team look the strongest, if only because they have the most doping rumors flying. Of course I'll pull for all the American riders, but I just can't see Levi winning it all. I'd be cool to see Li Fuyu win a stage, just because I don't think there's ever been a Chinese winner at the Tour, but that's a long shot. Any recommendations would be welcome, preferably someone not French, perhaps Belgian.

To get serious for a minute, I wanted to point out that if you're donating with a check, please make it out to 24 Hours of Booty and mail it to me. I'll turn it in at the event July 27th.

30 percent there!

More donations in and hey hey, I'm 30 percent to my goal. I'm pumped! I was looking around the official booty Web site and saw the overall goal for this year's event is to raise $500,000. WOW! That's a lot. This event has been around since 2001 and started with one dude who raised $6,000. Fast forward to April of this year and that same dude gave the Lance Armstrong Foundation $1 million raised by the 24 Hours of Booty. It's amazing how you can do so much when every one helps out just a little.

Biketown Nickname Update

So I got three name suggestions for the biketown bike, The Cruiser, Pimptown Bike (only if I add a cup holder) and Flint Ride (but I'd have to hurry up and get it rusting). I've really enjoyed riding it the past couple days and I think I'm going to give it another week or two. I like that I can jump off curbs and hit bumpy light-rail tracks and not feel a thing. The bumps just aren't as smooth on my Specialized road bike. But it's always fun to ride the slow bike for a while and then switch back to the roadie and see how easy it is to go 10 mph faster. It almost makes riding feel too easy!

Yikes! Pardon me

Speaking of light rail, I nearly came to a bad end tonight. On my way home we pass two intersections near the tracks for the future light rail. They've been testing the cars a lot lately because each one needs something like 1,000 hours practice before they can be used by real customers when it opens in November. Anyway, the tracks are parallel to the road I take home. So me and 2 of my Ramblers are at a red light when one of these test cars starts coming down the tracks a ways ahead. Part of the warning system was a green light with an X through a left turn arrow. For some reason the combination of the green and the idea that I couldn't turn left because of the train made me think I must be able to go straight. Wrong answer. I started riding pretty lazily until I realized the main light was still red, I had just run it and was now in the middle of the intersection with cars approaching. They seemed to slow down, likely cursing me as one more cyclist who ignores the traffic laws.

I really felt bad. I try hard to give people a good example of how a cyclist should ride and act. I think a lot of drivers assume cyclists don't pay attention, or think they're above the rules and that cars have to watch out for us. The thing is, I know the exact opposite is true. When I ride to work, almost the only thing I'm thinking about is how to stay alive and not get hit. "Is that car going to pull out without looking? Will they turn right without noticing I'm on their left? Is cell phone lady going to tag me when I pass this bus? Will that car roll stop at the sign?" The last thing I want to do is add to the probability that I'm going to become a pavement stain. Because no matter whose fault a wreck is, I know little ol' me is not going to come out for the better against a two ton motor vehicle. Oh well, I'll try harder next time.

One fun part of cycling

When you start riding a ton you get to a point where you can almost eat anything you want and still can't equal the calories you burn. I don't usually ride that much, but I ride enough to work up a pretty good appetite. Some foods are better than others to help your body recover more quickly. At least that's what this article in Bicycling magazine told me.

So figuring I'm going to be riding a lot more I thought it was a good time to get out and buy some of the foods in those recipes. Unfortunately for me, Coke Zero was not listed as a recovery food. And of course spaghetti makes the list, yuck! Anyway, I'm excited to fire up the blender and make some smoothies, but I've got to make sure I fire up the bike first!

The last couple days I've been riding my biketown bike to work. It's a hybrid with a top speed probably around 18 mph. OK, I hope it's not that slow. What it lacks in speed and any inkling of coolness it makes up for in comfort. It sports some nice fat tires and an equally fat seat. It's been the perfect bike for the combination of pot holes, construction and thunderstorms I've been facing the past couple days. It's that time of year in Charlotte when every day is sticky and humid and there's a 40 to 60 percent chance of an evening storm.

Sometimes I fail to give that biketown bike the proper love. It's not great, but shoot, I got it for free! Unlike Mr. Fuji, my old bike, or Silver, my new road bike, I don't have a nickname for this one. I'll have to think on that one. Any suggestions?

Ramble!

24 Hours of Booty

I decided to keep a blog about my preparation to this year's booty ride and keep everyone updated on how much I've raised. You can donate here.

Last year I was able to raise $430 with the help of a lot of generous people. I really was blown away at how much every one helped out. Some people gave a lot, some people gave a little, but it all added up to more than I ever imagined. I set a low goal of $100 and achieved that with the first donation! I'd like to shoot for $450 this year. Already in the first day I've raised $85, so we're well on our way.

If you've never been out to the booty event you are missing out. There are so many cool people with cool stories. A lot of people are riding for people they know who had cancer and some are even cancer survivors themselves. And the thing gets bigger every year! It's great when we all go out and do that first lap. You've got families with little kids out, companies with serious teams and lots of people who just want to have fun.

I went for the first time last year and had a blast. I could only ride the first day and had to go to work the second day. My cycling goal was to complete a metric century, which is 100 kilometers or a bit more than 62 miles. I ended up doing 65 miles the first day. I'm still not sure what my goal should be this time around. I completed a 104 mile ride last month. That was awesome, but also a lot of work. I have to admit, I've been slacking on the bike since then. (My recent venture into the game of golf has been stealing lots of my free time) But I still have a month to go before the booty ride. Right now I'm thinking of doing 100 to 150 miles over the 24 hours. But I'd love to hear what you guys think I should shoot for.

Ramble!