MSers In Training 2011

[AMFADVENTURES]

2,500 Miles YTD

I've logged 2,500 miles on the bike so far this year, shooting for 5,000 by the end of November.

I was more angry than disappointed with the "Triple". A lot of things outside of my control went wrong in the weeks leading up to the event. My training plan got screwed up pretty badly and my psyche got screwed up even worse. I figure all you can do is shrug it off and keep going. My buddies aren't even giving me a particularly hard time about it, must have been some legitimacy to the circumstances!

Got a set of intervals in this week. Managed to hit mid to upper zone 5 HR, 5 X. Only spent 2 hours doing it including 20 minute warm up and 20 minute cool down. Couldn't hold zone 5 HR very long but that should improve. Learned that you need to go into the intervals pretty well rested. Still riding 4 to 5 X per week but except for the intervals, not pushing very hard, just enjoying the rides.

Pell, I'm very impressed you guys are doing so well riding with the "A" group. Have you started competing yet? What’s the plan there?

Larry

[pawpaw]

Larry, Glad you have shrugged off the Triple. Stuff happens.
We rode single bikes yesterday, and I am hopeless. I had cramps, GI issues, etc. We did 31 miles at 15.5 and I was pretty tired. Really a decrease in fitness and performance.
Today we did a 33 mile ride on the tandem and neither of us had legs. We rode at only 18.3 and that was all we had. We plan to do a 40 mile ride tomorrow.
So, it appears I need to ride the single bike much more to try to recover some speed. I definitely need to do an interval ride once a week. I think I may have burned out with all of the training during the winter.
Right now the competing is on hold as we learn to communicate better and resolve some shifting issues. We will ride any local time trials that come along. We also want to lose about 16# as a team, so I am trying to ride more, eat less.

Pell

[Roo]

Hi everyone,

Sorry it's been a while since I've been here. June was a crazy month and I was going about a million miles a minute with barely enough time to catch my breath, so internet time was dramatically reduced.

I wanted to let everyone know that (happily) I survived the Colorado MS150, I didn't finish in as good of time as Larry....but still a respectable time in the middle of the pack.

Day one was pretty easy...I have to say. I was really worried about it, because my training suffered a little due to business trips and things going on at work, but it was an enjoyable day. Day two was great in the morning. I actually had some nightmares about the Horsetooth hills in the morning because I had heard so much about them, but really....they weren't that bad. I will do more hill training for next year so I can say they were easy.

I agree with the lady who was talking to Larry about the "I ride with MS" jersey. I wore mine, and not only was it pretty cool to have so many riders on the route thank me for riding. But, I wanted to prove that MS is just a diagnosis, that's all. I can do anything, anyone else can do...and want to show the riders on the course that. We can be athletes too! Below is a picture of my father in-law and I Saturday morning before the ride. I'm wearing my jersey (for those who wanted to see it) and he's wearing our ultra cool team Left Hand jersey (which won best jersey this year)

Next, I am currently training for the Venus de Miles century August 28th and then I will head to Northern CA for the Waves to Wine MS150 ride, September 17th and 18th. I think I officially have the cycling bug!!

Larry, we still need to get together for a ride!

[AMFADVENTURES]

7/17/2011

Congratulations Joey, sounds like you got through the ride in remarkably good shape. The first day was pretty easy thanks in part to favorable winds but I’m duly impressed by how well you took the Horse Tooth Hills from the Ft. Collins side the second day. You might put the 2nd day century in the back of your mind for next year, a couple of MSers tearing up the century course could be a lot of fun. We do need to schedule a ride, give me a couple of weeks and I’ll drop you a line.

Hey Pell, hope your weekend rides are going well, got to say, you do sound like you might be suffering from over training a little. Maybe a couple of days on a beach somewhere are in order. I’m enjoying my riding even more since I stopped pushing so hard and it hasn’t affected my time on the bike or my speed much. I can only do it when I ride by my self though, something I don’t quite understand. Also took a hint from you and started carrying a camera. Now I just need to take it a little easier yet and look for stuff to shoot. Hang in there Pell, it really is all about the training, we don’t have to get super competitive.

Next up for me, RAGBRAI, a 16,000 strong rolling pub-crawl across Iowa. Heat and humidity look like the biggest issues on this one.

Later,

[Stella]

Congratulations Joey, sounds like you got through the ride in remarkably good shape. The first day was pretty easy thanks in part to favorable winds but I’m duly impressed by how well you took the Horse Tooth Hills from the Ft. Collins side the second day. You might put the 2nd day century in the back of your mind for next year, a couple of MSers tearing up the century course could be a lot of fun. We do need to schedule a ride, give me a couple of weeks and I’ll drop you a line.

Hey Pell, hope your weekend rides are going well, got to say, you do sound like you might be suffering from over training a little. Maybe a couple of days on a beach somewhere are in order. I’m enjoying my riding even more since I stopped pushing so hard and it hasn’t affected my time on the bike or my speed much. I can only do it when I ride by my self though, something I don’t quite understand. Also took a hint from you and started carrying a camera. Now I just need to take it a little easier yet and look for stuff to shoot. Hang in there Pell, it really is all about the training, we don’t have to get super competitive.

Next up for me, RAGBRAI, a 16,000 strong rolling pub-crawl across Iowa. Heat and humidity look like the biggest issues on this one.

Later,

Hi guys,

I thought of you all when I saw this. Thought this might interest you:

http://www.proform.com/tour-de-france/

Sounds like a good plan Larry, good luck! Roo, you look great!

[pawpaw]

Joey, Great jersey and great ride!

Twice in the past week I have been struck down during a ride- leg cramps, stomach cramps, even an emergency pit stop. The first time I wrote it off to some food. Tonight I had some Shot Bloks, cheese and water about 90 minutes before the ride, so I doubt food is the issue. It was really hot and humid, so it may just be a heat reaction. I have ridden on many hot days, so it is a bit worrisome. Anyway, I really want to avoid another episode and this is starting to make me nervous about riding. We are leading a ride on Friday- luckily it is a morning ride so the heat will be somewhat less.
Will keep you posted....
Larry- are you actually slowing down and enjoying the rides?

Pell

[AMFADVENTURES]

Joey, how did you get the “I Ride with MS” jersey anyway?

Cool training bike Stella although it cost more than my road bike. Is that actually Lance A. on that thing? What do the folks on the other side of the Pond think of the Tour de France this year? I've kind of heard they're disgusted with all of the performance enhancement stuff that goes on.

Pell, I've been getting more cramps too, got to be the heat. When the feet and legs start to cramp I hit the electrolyte drinks .... then my stomach cramps. I've been trying to drop my avg. HR from mid zone 3 to upper zone 2 on most of my rides. Also been trying to spend less time in zone 4 than zone 3 and less in zone 3 than zone 2. Net result so far is only a .2 to .3 MPH drop in speed and a greater likely hood that I'll be eager to ride the next day. Of course if I go with somebody, that whole "I can ride better than you" thing pops up and it all goes to hell.

Off to RAGBRAI tomorrow. Heat index is running 115. If it stays like that I foresee riding a barstool in air-conditioned comfort a lot more than a bike. Hoping to stay saddle side up whatever I’m riding.

Later,

[pawpaw]

Good luck at Ragbrai. I am so glad we aren't going this year. We are off to Florida with our mountain bikes. I hope to ride from St George Island to Apalachicola. At least there should be a breeze.
It is really too hot to ride here.
Joey- Who did you get that jersey? It is very cool.

Pell

[AMFADVENTURES]

Good luck at Ragbrai. I am so glad we aren't going this year. We are off to Florida with our mountain bikes. I hope to ride from St George Island to Apalachicola. At least there should be a breeze.
It is really too hot to ride here.
Joey- Who did you get that jersey? It is very cool.

Pell

I like your plan better. Talk to you when I get back.

Larry

[Stella]

Hi Larry, I believe that is Lewis Elliott, Pro Ironman Triathlete and former U.S. National cyclist team. To be honest, I really haven't heard much about what people here thought of the Tour de France this year. There is a big phone hacking scandal going on at the moment and it has been occupying the news day in and day out. I do seem to remember hearing about a bike crashing with one of the cars following them and also seeing that video of that big crash where loads of bikes fell. By the way, the link I posted is an American link.

[Roo]

Joey- Who did you get that jersey? It is very cool.

Joey, how did you get the “I Ride with MS” jersey anyway?

Thanks for the compliments and inspiration. The Colorado MS150 ride has a cool program called, "I Ride with MS" When you sign up for the ride, if you say that you have MS, someone from the MS society will contact you and ask if and how much you want to participate in the program. Part of that participation is the free jersey. They also have a banner at the finish line with whomever wants to participate with their pictures and stories about what inspires them to ride. I said I would participate in everything, and got the jersey and was on the banner. You don't have to participate in any of it if you don't want to.

I thought this program was a part of all rides in all states, but when I contact the California chapter about the CA MS150, they said they didn't have jerseys or do anything like that.

I think it's a pretty awesome program and honestly, can say some of the extra thank you's during the ride helped keep me going. I wish all chapters offered it. Hopefully, it's in the works.

Joey

[Roo]

Off to RAGBRAI tomorrow. Heat index is running 115. If it stays like that I foresee riding a barstool in air-conditioned comfort a lot more than a bike. Hoping to stay saddle side up whatever I’m riding.
Later,

Good luck and I'll be sending cool vibes your way. Can't wait to hear about all of your adventures when you get back.

Joey

[AMFADVENTURES]

R A G B R A I 2011

Cycling across Iowa with anywhere from 6,000 to 15,000 other riders is an experience that can only be fully appreciated through participation. Although there is definitely an endurance aspect to the RAGBRAI, particularly the Southern route, I would say the predominant feature of this ride has more to do with amiable sociability. At NO point in the 7 days of this event did I ever hear a cross word uttered towards another cyclist. On the contrary, there was more of an air of setting a new standard in civility toward mankind. If there is such a thing as the power of the group mind to exert a positive influence over a mass of people, it was in great abundance at the RAGBRAI.

I could probably wax on about the social phenomena of RAGBRAI for a long time but I think right now I‘ll just try to hit a few highlights of this ride.

The first thing a newbie on the Southern route might notice is that Iowa is NOT flat. The terrain for the first 3 days in the southwestern quarter of the state was either up, or down. Those 3 days had me wondering if there was ANY flat land in Iowa. A cyclist really only needed 2 gears, one for climbing and one for descending. I really have no idea of how many 100 to 200 ft. ascents and descents we did. They literally were unending, there was always another hill in sight.

The main thing a Coloradoan might notice was the heat and humidity. 95 degrees in 100% humidity is HOT and that’s the way the first 3 days went. Like most MSers, I do worse in heat than the average person. My solution to this situation was to start by 6:00 AM every day, and to stop as little as possible. I made a point of finishing each day before noon, which usually put me a couple of hours ahead of the main body of cyclists. It wasn’t antisocial behavior, nor was it showcasing my doubtful cycling skills, it was merely self preservation.

I have never been greeted with the sincerity that those people in every town in rural Iowa that we passed through exhibited. They were genuinely welcoming. It was evident in each of the towns just how much heart and effort these people put into making the thousands of riders feel at ease, from the immaculately groomed lawns and clean streets to the thousands of slices of homemade pies they made available to the riders. Make no mistake, Iowa might be hot and humid at the end of July but it is undeniably beautiful and its people indisputably friendly.

My final thought for the moment is this, if there is not already a cookbook, something to the effect of “The Pies of RAGBRAI”, then someone could make a small fortune writing one. Those pies were fantastic, the variations on rhubarb alone would easily take up the first half. They got me through each day every day and never failed to give me the energy to get up the ever present One More Hill.

Long live the RAGBRAI,
THE social phenomena in cycling.

AMF

[pawpaw]

Great report, Larry. You almost make me want to do RAGBRAI. That is, until I think about camping with temperatures in the 80s at night. I think we will look into the use of host bedrooms along the route for next year. Either that or hire a kid to drive an RV support vehicle.
The social phenomenon is a very interesting aspect of the experience. Thanks for taking the time to chronicle your experience.
Off to my 40th HS reunion. We hope to ride on the Great River Trail along the Mississippi River on Saturday.

Pell

[Stella]

That sounded a lot of fun Larry. Thanks for the picture. It looked a lovely day! I have one question though, and I am not trying to be funny but what happens if you need the toilet? Ever since being diagnosed with MS I have to plan accordingly. Makes me wonder about people who do marathons or half marathons as well.