HEATHER'S FIRST TIME IN THE ROLLERS

Today Heather had planned on riding to work .. but time got away from her.. so no ride.. so I put her on the rollers when she got off work... she was impressed with how much of a work out it was.. "way harder than riding on the road" says Heather...
Heather also said she can see how the rollers can make you a better rider.
We have a set of e-motion rollers... it's a cool system that give you real road feeling.
You are not locked into a stationary trainer so you have to balance, and you take the chance of falling... which I have already... not fun... but when you get on the real road it is really easy to hold a nice line and makes it easy to ride really close to other riders, because you don't have much room for error on the trainer.
Good job Heather .. you didn't even fall... and you got a good sweat going....

POP'S BIRTHDAY

HAPPY BIRTHDAY POPS
Today is pops birthday. He would have been 83 years old today. This was our first Christmas without him. It was a very lonely Christmas even though we spent it with all of our family.. there was something missing... POPS.
we went to visit Pops at the cemetery in Hayward today. Lacey had to bring Hammie her new Christmas hamster with us to show Poppy. They talked about the hamster before he left us. It was nice visiting Pops, it re-energized our training, and gave us the lil oomph we needed to get going and do this century ride as well as we can. He would want us to kick some butt and finish the ride as fast as we could even though its not a race.. that's how Pops rolled... do it fast !!!!!
We are happy the holidays are over so we can stop eating all the sweets... man we took the week off our diet and training.. and we both feel like crap. I jumped on Sammie today on the roller for 32 minutes and sweat out the cheesecake and pumpkin pie I had during Christmas. Looking forward to hitting the road Monday and Tuesday and the Team in Training ride this Saturday...
We are also hoping Heather can get rid of the cold and cough attacks she is battling right now... it's hard to ride any kind of distance and intensity while coughing up a lung... but she is a trooper and will get through it...

Buddy Dam Ride

Heather and I love how big the sport of cycling is... It is cool how you always see racks on cars or your eye catches a road bike going by somewhere and you have to stop and watch it go by and try to make out the make and what wheel set and groupset he has on it... and it's nice that there is always somebody to ride with. The other day Heather and I planned a quick ride to the dam while Mikey watched the store for us. So we thought it would be fun to ask Amy to come with us.. she just bought a bike from
Brentwood Bike Co. She is doing a Tri in 2010. Amy is the one posing with Heather in the last post. And then Don Williams asked when we were riding via facebook and we set up a meeting place on the loop...I was looking forward to riding with Don because before I even bought my bike we were talking about the sport and how he trains and his rides and the power tap.. that will be my next post.. cuz santa won me a power tap on ebay... :)
So we got to a late start on our ride because of the store... missed our meeting with Don but I figured we would see him at the dam. Heather was looking great on the Old Blue.. her form is really coming in and is getting faster every ride... and climbing better each climb. It was fun to help Amy learn the sport, shifting strategy etc. I just hope we can be half as good as the people that taught us.
We ran into Don , he was already on is way back .. but turned to do another trip to the top of the dam with us...on the way up the dam climb .. we wanted the girls to go first but of course nobody wanted to go first.. Heather finally said forget it and took off... then Amy... it was hilarious watch her try to clip in going up hill... nice and close to falling over..but nope she stayed up ... then Don and I took off side by side.. knowing he ad to be be a lil billy goat I figured he would work me to the top.. but he spit his chain.. off.. I was happy.. I said in my head ok I got this guy now....I caught Amy first... her heart rate was like 196 ish.. she was nice and redlined about half way up.. look over my shoulder and guess who is closing fast.. yes the billy goat after putting on his chain... I was like great.. whatever I'm gong after Heather... When Don caught me (yes he is 70 lbs lighter than me lol) I said damn we aren't going to catch Heather.. that's all Don needed to hear.. he jumped out of the saddle shifted up a gear and was gone... Yes I chased using the same technique but my legs were rubber.. Don beat us all to the top .. on his second time up mind you .. Heather second me third and the lil engine that could Amy made it to the top with a heart rate of 202... nice...Heather said she wouldn't have let Don catch her if she knew what was going on behind her...she said she had some left.. that's the first time I ever heard Heather say that after climbing...
The ride back to Loard's was nice.. Heather and I practiced some pacelining and finally got Amy to lead for awhile ... the loop was 21 miles and loads of fun.
next time hopefully Chris (Amy's husband) can make it and would love to ride with Don again. It would be nice to get everybody together for a Brentwood Bike club ride on Sat. morning. I'm So thankful for the hours that I work at Fedex.and that our 13 year old is mature enough to run the store.. makes it so much easier to sneak a ride in with the short daylight hours that winter brings.

STOLEN BIKE.... THEN BLACK DIAMOND MINES

Our Sunday coffee ride started out in a bad way.. our friend's bike was stolen from in front of the bike shop as he walked in to sign the riding waiver. I feel really bad for him he just put on a new set of wheels. It could have been our bikes there was 4 bikes outside at the time. That would have been devastating to us, we have really grown to love our new bikes and our new hobby. So after the bike was stolen we all broke off and scoured the area along with the police, no luck. His last words as he left the shop was "I'm going home and bury myself in some food"
After we all gave up looking we took off for a ride to Black Diamond Mines. There were 4 of us. Me Mike and two club guys .. both fast and one is a cat3 racer from New Jersey. I hung tuff with them for the first 40 minutes on the flat stuff but when we got into the rolling hills we lost touch with them and then got lost, because Mike has only been to the mines once.. but we made it. We hope they didn't go looking for us, because we didn't see them at the mines. oops. Once we started the climb Mike was great he talked me up the hill the whole way... probably talked too much because it makes me mad that he has enuff breath to talk at my pace and I'm breathing to hard to talk .. damn him. he weighs 80 lbs more than me and still can out climb me. Now I have to tell on Mike like he told on me the other day. I felt like I was going to die right at the end of the climb, so I grabbed a tree and stayed clipped in my pedals, this caught Mike off guard cuz he was following me too close, so he stopped and couldn't clip out and fell over and rolled on his back with the bike still clipped to his feet. He was on his back and the bike up in the air like a turtle .. why couldn't I get my phone out for a picture before he popped up. Good thing he is amazing or he coulda got hurt. Well once we got to the top I felt really good about myself, I only stopped twice and didn't walk at all. I can't wait to do it again.. no stopping next time. I'm going to learn to climb if it kills me. I just mapped out the climb to Black Diamond Mines on ridewithgps.com. The numbers don't seem as impressive as it felt lol. 2.2 miles and 523 feet elevation gain. The ride back to the store was a little struggle for me, I think I burned myself out up the hill and trying to keep up with the fast guys at the beginning of the ride. Even though I was struggling and hurting on the way home I pushed through it, pain is temporary, well that's what coach Wayne says, and I was happy Mike stopped at Starbucks and we got a peppermint mocha thing, I have been wanting to do that since I started riding with the club. What a great weekend. 2 back to back 30 mile beautiful rides. I'm going to take Monday and Tuesday off let it rain and then hit the road. I'm looking forward to our day after Christmas ride, maybe Santa will bring me a new toy for my blue. hint hint

HEATHER'S RIDE IN NICASIO

I have never even heard of Nicasio.. and now I can't wait to go back. It was a long drive for me but it was well worth it. It was 83 miles from our house in discovery bay. Nicasio is so beautiful that it didn't even seem like we were working out, the 30 mile ride seemed to short. Today was my first group ride with out Mike. Even though he wasn't with me, he set me up good. Mike had blue all prepped and loaded on the lil ghetto box , all my clothes together, and all my water and nutrition set up for my ride. I'm starting to notice my training is paying off.. I felt really strong on the ride today. I'm starting to climb better, still not the best and have a hard time controlling my heart rate but I'm making it up whatever hill is in front of me. We rode a total of 30 miles today. What a great place to ride. There were groups of riders everywhere, big groups , fast groups , girl groups. Team In Training is going back to Nicasio later in the season when the rides get longer and I can't wait to ride with Mike out there, he had to work today, the one Saturday a year he has to work at Fedex because of the Christmas rush. We practiced pace lining today.. I hear Mike and Chris from Brentwood Bike Club talking about it all the time and how to do it. This is when your group rides in a line about 18 inches from the back wheel of the bike in front of you. Everyone takes a turn pulling (the first rider in line breaking the wind and pulling the group) this technique can make a long ride seem like a short easier ride or a short easy ride seem long if it's not done correctly.
So anyhow, it has to be predetermined how long and how fast each pull will be. So if the pace is 18mph and 90 second pulls, you hold a 18 mph pace and after 90 seconds you peel off to the left and let the group pass you and fall into place at the back. In the back you can relax a little bit and recover for your next pull. This is when you would drink. We have a little practicing to do. I've seen Mike and the club do this out at the dam and wow you can really move working as a team, but you have to be a team and keep the same pace, not drop anybody. The idea behind pace lining is to draft and conserve energy when not doing your pull. I can't wait to get this down it will be fun to do it right and be like a race team... lol. I know it was a great day because I came home and crashed on the couch...Sunday I'm looking forward to our club ride with Brentwood Bike Club ... the Sunday coffee ride, we will probably get another 30 miles in, then Monday will be a recovery day. I want to say good job today Team in Training, today I felt we rode as a team and it felt good, and thank you coach Jim for a great ride. That's me and coach Jim in the picture.

LAZY FRIDAY

What a nice day... we had nothing to do today but clean Heather's bike for the Saturday Team In Training ride in Nacasio. We also helped our friend Amy put some clipless pedals and her polar computer on her bike... she didn't even fall on her first trip and she went a whole 3 miles. She is training for a triathlon, so its kinda cool that her and Heather can ride together... they did a 13 mile ride Thursday.
Sorry I have to tell on Heather.. when we were showing Amy how to do the new pedal thing... she fell over... and said don't do this on her way to the ground...
After Heather got off the ground we went to the marina to take some pictures for our thank yous to our sponsors...
Now we are just going to set Heather up for her ride.. this will be her first group ride without me... I'm sad.. I have to work .. this Sat. we have one mandatory sat. a year and this is it....
Thursday was nice.. I was able to meet Heather at Loard's and we rode home together.. and she got to watch me change my tire... terrible timing because we were running late and had to be home by a certain time and the sun was going down.. So Heather rode like a maniac and pushed the pace all the way... I was impressed
So tomorrows post will be by Heather and her ride... with Team In Training.. good luck Heather....

HOW FUNDRAISING LOOKS IN MIKE'S HEAD

Me and Heather hate asking for money even though this is as great reason... and it means so much to us .. so it's a little easier .. but this is how it looks in my head ... ready?
So we each need to raise $2500 by Feb. 25 to be able to ride with Team In Training in the Solvang Century... sounds like alot right?... but really its not that bad...
each one of us has at least 100 friends on facebook alone... so if each one of our facebook friends gave just $25 then we would be done.. bammmm just that easy...
so in my head I have 100 blocks that get marked off as soon as its filled with $25
so as of right this second .. this is how my head looks....in the fund raising section

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
x x x x x x x x x x x x x o o o o o o o
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

so the x represent the $25 blocks filled and the o represent the blocks still waiting to be filled...
so we still have a long way to go... so if you haven't donated to our adventure already... please do so... so all my blocks can be full and we can concentrate on training... and even if you have donated already... donate again.. .its fun...

CHALLENGES CHALLENGES CHALLENGES

I'm glad this adventure has so much meaning for me behind it... because it would be easy to say forget it and I'll just hit a different century later in the year.. I don't need to get in shape right now .. I'll wait till after the weather gets better.... we are running into lots of challenges now that the new excitement has wore off....I'll just sign up for the summer cycle team in training... but I believe in things happen for reasons and it must be my time to do this... so I will push through all these challenges and raise money for LLS and have a great ride in solvang....
1. its cold outside
2. its raining on the days that I want to train
3. fighting off the flu
4. it gets dark way too early
5. I want to take a nap on the couch in the afternoon .. not go ride in 40 degree weather
6. kids schedule... running around like crazy even without the training...
7. getting the right combo of winter clothes... too hot now I'm sweating .. too cold now I'm miserable... oh now its raining .. i don't have rain gear yet...

but all this being said.. .the little note on my handle bars that says im riding for pops go team ... along with all the names of the people who have donated to LLS to support me and the peoples names that are suffering from or were taken by leukemia or lymphoma make it all worth while... ...

THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS WITH OUR FRIEND

A FRIEND OF OURS THAT WE MET THRU TEAM IN TRAINING HAD AN ACCIDENT ON THE GROUP RIDE THIS WEEKEND... THANKFULLY SHE IS ALRIGHT. WE WEREN'T THERE DURING THE RIDE BUT IT SOUNDED SCARY. SHE SAYS SHE WILL BE BACK ON THE BIKE .. SHE WILL NOT GIVE UP... AND I'M SO PROUD OF HER FOR THAT. THE PAIN WILL GO AWAY BUT THE MENTAL PART WILL TAKE LONGER TO GET OVER... I RACED CARS AND HAD A FEW SCARY ACCIDENTS THAT I PLAYED OVER AND OVER IN MY HEAD FOR MONTHS AFTER THE PAIN FROM THE ACCIDENT WENT AWAY...AND I ALSO CRASHED MY FEDEX TRUCK ON THE FREEWAY...WAY SCARY WHEN YOU SEE THE WALL COMING AND CAN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT... A VERY LONG FRACTION OF A SECOND.
I'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT OUR ADVENTURE... AND SOMETIMES MY HEAD PLAYS TRICKS ON ME.. LIKE THIS ISN'T A BIG DEAL WHAT YOUR DOING... 100 MILES ON A BIKE...SO WHAT..PEOPLE DO IT ALL THE TIME... BUT IT IS A BIG DEAL... WE ARE STEPPING OUT OF OUR OF COMFORT ZONES... MAKING SACRIFICES WITH OUR FAMILY AND TAKING SOMETHING ON THAT CAN BE VERY DANGEROUS. BUT ITS FOR A GREAT CAUSE THAT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO ALL WHO ARE TAKING THE CHALLENGE ON...THAT'S WHAT KEEPS US GOING TO KEEP TRAINING WHEN ITS COLD.. AND GO OUT OF OUR WAY TO SQUEEZE TRAINING IN WHEN IT WOULD BE EASIER TO JUST SAY FORGET IT...I'LL TRAIN TOMORROW. I'M SO PROUD OF OUR FRIEND TO KEEP GOING AND NOT LET THIS HOLD HER BACK...
THIS WEEKEND OUR DAUGHTER HAD HER JUNIOR OLYMPIC MEET IN PLEASANTON... SO WE DIDN'T RIDE SATURDAY ON THE GROUP RIDE...SO SUNDAY WE BROUGHT THE BIKES WITH US TO THE MEET AND WENT ON A 20 MILE RIDE DURING THE LUNCH BREAK... THANK YOU TO OUR FRIENDS WHO TOOK THE KIDS TO LUNCH AND GOT THEM OUT OF THE COLD WHILE WE RODE...
WE HAD A BEAUTIFUL RIDE AND DEDICATED TO OUR FRIEND ... THE WHOLE TIME JUST BEING THANKFUL THAT SHE IS OK...

Thursday 12/3/09 day 19 of 119 days till solvang

Thursdays are our team in training group workouts at diablo valley college
so its about a 45 min. Drive for us... We work out from 6:30 till 8:30... So that's my nite nite time but its fun and me and heather get to do it
together. Wayne our head coach is great... Good speaker and really knows how the body works..and he is a iron man .. So he knows about endurance training..... It was cold... We walked for ten minutes to warm up... Then did some core strength training...planks and lunges... Then we ran 1/2 mile .. Then stretched...... And of course the group cheer at the end......... GO TEAM...that's my favorite part. Then everybody meets for dinner.... But I can't go because ...3 am comes way too quick. When I got home I was all excited about doing reverse lunges...so I shared with our 10 year old brooke...miss athlete.... She laughed...and was like is that an exercise..... I said go to bed ....lol. Heather must of had a good workout she was sleeping hard when I went to work.....
sorry gary (our mentor) I have to tell on you... He has a great specialized bike. And a cute lil mini cooper ... He transports the bike via roof rack.... Do I need to go on..... Well he drove into a parking garage..... No more bike..... Crazy I didn't know that stuff really happened.... He hit the bike hard enuff to break the frame and tweak the roof rack and car roof a bit... But its ok insurance is paying for some and he has a new frame coming..and john buckley is loaning gary his back up bike for the group ride sat.
its funny because last week coach wayne was telling leah to not put a roof rack on her mini.... So be careful all you roof rack people...it really happens

MIKE'S GIRLFRIEND

MIKE'S NEW GIRL IS A KESTREL EVOKE 52"... SHE IS ALSO A FULL CARBON BIKE LIKE HEATHER'S
JUST WAY COOLER... SHE TOO IS EQUIPPED WITH SHIMANO 105 COMPONENTS EXPEDO CLIPLESS PEDALS AND CARBON FIBER WATER CAGES.... SHE FIT ME PERFECT I MADE NO CHANGES TO HER... FUTURE PLANS THOUGH ARE AN UPGRADED WHEEL SET AND A POWER TAP. I USE A GARMIN 305 FOR A COMPUTER ... IT TOO HAS SPEED HEART RATE AND CADENCE.. AND ITS GPS... I WANT TO STEP UT TO A GARMIN 705 WHEN I GROW UP...

HEATHER'S RIDE

MEET BLUE... SHE IS A 53" FUJI CCR2 FULL CARBON BEAUTY...SHE IS FIT WITH SHIMANO 105 COMPONENTS. HEATHER MADE BLUE HER OWN BY PUTTING A SHORTER NECK ON .. ZERO SET BACK SEAT POST AND A CUTE LIL BUTTERFLY SEAT.. SO HER TUSHY WOULD NOT HURT ANYMORE. AND FOR A COMPUTER SHE HAS A CAT EYE V3 SO IT DOES SPEED HEART RATE AND CADENCE.... AND SHE HAS SHIMANO CLIPLESS PEDALS AND NORTHWAVE ROAD BIKE SHOES WITH CARBON FIBER SOLE...NICE...
I HAD MY EYE ON THIS BIKE FOR A LIL WHILE AT BRENTWOOD BIKE CO.... BUT IT WAS TOO TALL FOR MY LIL SHORT LEGS... CHRIS HAD A SALE ON HIS ROAD BIKES AND IT FIT HEATHER .... AND THAT'S WHERE THE JOURNEY BEGAN...

HUMP DAY

well its hump day... and tuesday was an off day for us... and i was supposed to do some preventive maintenance on the bikes.... and did nothing but check the air in the tires... i paid bills instead.... and cooked and drove kids to sports...
so anyhow humpday ... heather rode to work after working in lacey's class.. she left late so she had to be aggressive on her 10 mile ride... so her ave. heart rate was really high.
my ride was to the dam... its a 30 mile loop just under 2 hours... i changed my route a lil. to get some more climbing... i had a good ride ... my ave speed was up and my heart rate was down... im sitting hear typing my blog.. 6 hours after my ride and my legs are feeling a lil tired.... lol...
brentwood bike gave heather a nice surprise ... chris found an really nice top notch helmet in his garage he hasnt used in a while... it matches heather's blue gear.. so she now has a nice new helmet.. that makes mines look bad...lol...
yippee heather just yelled up to me that she got a donation... very cool... thank you theresa hedrick... and i got one last nite from linda miller .. thank you
it is exciting for us to get donations... feels good to know people care about us and our cause. well tomorrow is our track work out at dvc with team in training..

OUR 3 FAMILIES

we are blessed to be apart of 3 great families who have helped us on our journey...
the herbalife weight loss challenge started the ball rolling... thank you nicole for the great jersey
the brentwood bike club... got us hooked on cycling
and team in training the gel that brought everything together and gave this journey meaning....
we are happy and proud to wear each and every one of these jersey on our training rides....

Holiday Poem

I found this poem on our team in training website.. written by Melissa Cheung.. and I love it






FOR 16 WEEKS, IN THE FOG OR RAIN
ON MY BIKE I WILL TRAIN

SUPPORTING RESEARCH FOR CANCER'S CURE
HEAVING LUNGS AND HILLS I WILL ENDURE

MY GOALS ARE GRAND, BUT WITH YOUR AID
THE SOLVANG CENTURY AND $5000 CAN BE MADE

TO TEAM IN TRAINING , GIVE BIG OR SMALL
MY HOLIDAY WISH IS BLOOD CANCER'S END FOR ONE AND ALL

HAPPY HOLIDAYS