Tour de California

A good field of athletes this year.

Mmmmm..... Hammer Gel

A view of yesterday's ride
I hit the mtn bike today for a 2 hour easy ride in my suburban loop. I have to admit that I have grown fond of hammer gel lately, the stuff seems to propel me farther than other stuff I used to eat (clif, granola bars, etc). I usually roll with a banana and a few hammer gels, along with Nuun in the water bottle since it has been a little hotter the past few days. It was a brick day today, so I immediately ran for 30 minutes right as I finished the bike.


Did some weightlifting early this morning, saw my Dad pumping iron also before he was going to work. The man can sure lift, I always feel like I am not holding my weight when I see him start doing should shrugs with tons of weight.

The 24 hour race was in the AZ Daily Star today. Good read. I have to buy some more biking shorts, some reflective tape, and some Gold Bond before the big day this Saturday. Everything else is slowly coming together, now the only question I have to ask myself is can I ride 24 hours?

Downtown Tucson on the road bike

Headed out today on the road bike for a quick 2.5 hour jaunt near 4th Avenue and the university. Here are a few pictures from the day.

Very nice trash can art


And the great bike pathway art
It was a pretty slow ride, I was just out to get the legs spinning before this weekend. Here are the stats:
37 miles
2.5 hours

I swam super early this morning and the plan is to do some stretching and lifting this evening after work, assuming we do not party for Carl's birthday at OPG of Fox.

Bike-sharing programs in Tucson

This is good news for an already friendly-biking community like Tucson.

Picacho Peak

It's Sunday, so it was time for my long ride on the road bike. After a few eggs and toast, I headed out with a banana, clif bar, a bottle of HEED, and 3 hammer gels at 1ish.. The 4 hour ride was at tempo, just fast enough to get back before the sun started to set. I love long, solo tempo rides; I'll probably will start road biking a little more as the weather warms up in the next few months.

The frontage road west bound had very little traffic, maybe 10-15 cars passed me. I stopped at the Dairy Queen (nudging my way around 20 people in the DQ line) below Picacho Peak and headed back to my parent's house, then back to mine to cook some rice, veggies, and orange chicken.

Mileage: 64.2 miles
Time: 4 hours

Shot of the frontage road


I'll be doing my road rides this week in order to increase my base miles every week.

Today's playlist: Format, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Cheville, and 311

Schedule

I had two weeks off before Christmas and a week of snowboarding last week. It was a rest that my body needed, although to be honest, I was reluctant to do.

Today, I decided it was time to hit the pool and bike again, and hit it real hard. Did about 1 hour strength pool workout and 1.5 of strength. I decided that this year, unlike previous years, I am going to start to make a real workout plan. We will see how long this lasts, but my hope is to curtail unnecessary workouts, focus on strength and endurance, and really get organized with all my escapades.

With my first solo 24 hour race in less than a month, I will be focusing mostly on biking, although I still plan on swimming M, W, and F and doing yoga M and F. Hope to

More road bike

Jumped on the road bike again today for a 2 hour, 29 mile jaunt through Tucson on River Road.

Total Mileage: 29 miles
January Mileage: 148 miles

Results from Mt Lemmon Time Trial

MT Lemon Time Trial Results from yesterday.

A good article about racing bikes in the NY Times today. The most notable quote is:

“Real bike racing is a rich man’s sport,” said Mike Dee, a messenger and an organizer of the race, called the Staten Island Invasion. “This is like the bike race for the rest of us — people who like to drink a beer in the mornings.”
NY Times Article

A little food for thought as I decided which races I am going to do in the next few months.... freebies or $ registration?

Catalina State Park Morning Ride

Total Mileage: 22 miles

I had a quick road ride today before the Mt Lemon Time Trial that is on Sunday. I met some triathletes (Leo and Tony) on the ride. I met them before I did Mountain Man in Flagstaff, so we had a little post-race discussion. Both were on tri bikes, going at it with a descent, tamed pace. I turned into Catalina State Park to see all the new green from the rain.

I am excited about the TT. I am hoping to finish in 1.5 hours even though Mike seems to think that I am going to be ahead of him. Tobi, Mike, Max and I are all doing the race.

Flyod Landis in the NY Times

Here is a very balanced article on Floyd Landis that was in today's newspaper NY Times

Sentinel Peak Solo Ride 8/2

Rode up to Sentinel Peak on the road bike today at 530am. I managed to crank out 36 miles by doing a tour downtown and at the U of A. On the way back, I saw my friend Nick the firefighter on the road, my cousin Jennifer Urias and kids, along with Michael F, and the typical crew at Starbucks. Great ride with two loops on the top of A Mountain before heading back down Mountain Road.

Off to the gym before work, then going to buy some slicks and a new chain for the bike tour.

Total Mileage: 36 miles

New Bike

Well, the time trial bike that I looked at last week was a little too big, so I decided to buy a quick, cheap road bike. This is what I came up with. Rides great. I have a ride this Saturday with the gang on the road bike. Then I am headed to Starr Pass with the AZT 300 Race Crew (Zach and Tim).

Tour de France

The Tour de France started last Saturday with an amazing time trial prologue in London. Today, the racers are on Stage 3, crossing the border from Belgium into France. Those looking for some great road action, tune into the Versus channel every morning.

I finally caught the "roadie" bug. Instead of buying a triathlon bike, I bought a road bike yesterday from craigslist. I had a great ride today to Sabino Canyon and back, stopping at Starbucks to yuck it up with some other roadies. I must admit, I really enjoyed the ride. You might see me a lot more on the road bike than the mt bike in the next few months.