Biking to Work

My office is too far from home to commute by bicycle very often.  However, once a year during National Bike to Work Week is manageable.  I started this tradition for myself two years ago.  This year I expanded my bicycle commuting as part of my RAAM training, riding to and from work once a week for six weeks.  Today was the last time on my training schedule.  Although it’s been a slight pain (getting up even earlier than usual, taking extra food and clothes to the office the day before, etc.), I’m kind of sad that it’s over until next year’s National Bike to Work Week.  So, a commemoration is in order.

I take a different route to work via bicycle than by car to avoid the heaviest traffic.  By bicycle, it’s 36 miles from home to work and 44 miles from work to home.  That’s because I always get lost on the way home.  Ha ha!  No, actually it’s because of River North, a gated community a few miles from my office.  The entrance on my morning commute has a guard gate with no guard, making it easy to ride through the gap at the crossing arm.  Coming home is a different story, however.  The end of River North closer to my office does have a guard on duty, who won’t let cyclists through.  We’re such riffraff, you know.  River North has one of the few bridges across the Ocmulgee River in the vicinity.  Because I can’t go that way on the ride home, I have to take a different route – 8 miles longer – across another bridge while still staying off of the busiest roads.  It’s not that I mind the additional mileage so much; it’s the principle of the thing.  Oh well, a little extra training never hurt.

I have to leave home before sunrise:

My randonneuring gear comes in handy to ride safely in the dark and at twilight: front and rear bicycle lights, reflective vest, and reflective ankle bands.  Soon after I begin riding, the sun comes up.

I’ve come to particularly enjoy my morning bicycle commute.  It’s so peaceful, and the roads have little traffic.  This is my favorite time of year, too.  The morning sunlight through the lush greenery; the songs of various birds; and the scents of honeysuckle, magnolias, mimosas, and gardenias are a feast for the senses.

My morning route also has a little adventure – a two-mile dirt section:

It’s a relatively easy section for a road bike, definitely worth it because the rest of the route is so good.

It takes me slightly over 2 hours to reach my office.  I eat a Clif Bar on the way to keep my energy up, and I drink a bottle of Heed.  Interestingly, I’ve noticed that I have to stop for nature breaks at almost the same points on my route every time.

A few highlights from my morning commutes:

• Making the mobile speed detector in River North flash one time because I was exceeding the speed limit (31 mph in a 30-mph zone)

• Hearing train whistles.  I only got caught by a train one time.

At the end of the work day, I leave as soon as I can after 5:00 because it takes me about 2½ hours to get home, and I want to arrive before sunset.  I have another Clif Bar and bottle of Heed for the ride home.

Although my afternoon route is longer than my morning one, it takes me through the beautiful Piedmont Wildlife Refuge (PWR):

I commonly see songbirds, turkeys, turtles, and deer on my commutes, but I had an especially memorable encounter a couple of weeks ago.  I was pedaling on Round Oak-Juliette Road, the main paved road through the PWR.  A deer began running parallel to me and then crossed the road just a few feet in front of me.  I slowed down, looking for a second one.  Sure enough, here came her friend.  The second deer ran even closer in front of me, her eyes wide as saucers in fear.  She was so scared that as she approached the far side of the pavement, she tripped and tumbled down the embankment!  Fortunately, she was OK and scurried off into the woods.  I had no idea that deer could be klutzes, too.

Other views from the ride home:

Railroad as seen from Highway 11, taken from my nature break hidey hole

Mimosa, Queen Anne's lace, and another wildflower in the fading evening light

A few times Robert (sweet husband) has ridden from our house until he meets me, accompanying me on the rest of my route.  That always makes for an extra good ride.

The sun is sinking as I finish the last few miles.  It’s kind of cool to get to see sunrise and sunset on the same day from my bicycle.

Giro d'Italia Dinner

For several years I have enjoyed making a Tour de France dinner for Robert and me during July.  We savor an array of French dishes, like Poulet à la Basquaise (chicken in the Basque style).  It's gotten to be an annual tradition that I really look forward to!  Last summer it finally dawned on me that I should do the same thing for the other two European Grand Tours.  Thus, I cooked us a delicious Spanish feast late last August during the Vuelta a España.  Tonight it was finally time for our Giro d'Italia dinner!

I have a confession to make: I've been so busy training that I haven't actually been following the Giro d'Italia.  I'll use any excuse, however, to celebrate - especially when it involves Italian food, Robert's and my favorite.  I cook Italian food for us at least once a week.  That certainly often includes pasta of course, but not always.  As I considered what to prepare for our Giro d'Italia meal, I decided on antipasto.

Ten years ago we celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary with a bicycle tour of Tuscany.  It was fantastic!  Our main souvenir was a custom made platter, perfect for serving antipasto.  It consists of several sections that fit together.  We chose an animal pattern and even got to select the specific animal for each section:

For the center we chose a rooster, the quintessential symbol of Tuscany.

According to legend, a black rooster determined the boundary between Florence and Siena, who for centuries fought for control over the Chianti Classico area.  One horseman from each city was to set out early in the morning when the rooster crowed.  Wherever they met along the road between the two cities would determine the boundary.  The people of Siena chose a well-fed, white rooster, while the people of Florence chose a very hungry, black rooster.  On the day of the event, the Florentine black rooster began crowing long before sunrise, but the Sienese white rooster didn't crow until sunrise.  The horseman from Florence started much earlier than the one from Siena, covering more distance and thereby claiming much more of the Chianti Classico territory for Florence.

Two other animals we selected for our platter also have special Tuscan significance.  One is the cinghiale (pronounced chin-GAH-lee), which is Italian for wild boar.

Cinghiale is used in the delicious cured meats of Tuscany.  Robert and I even got to see a live one (from a safe distance) from our bicycles one day.

The other particularly Tuscan animal we chose is the upupa (pronounce oop-OOP-ah), a beautiful bird with a distinctive crown of feathers.

The other animals on our platter are common both here and in Italy: donkey, fox, rabbit, and snail.  I was going to post closeups of them, too, but Blogger kept rotating those pictures sideways or upside down, and I couldn't figure out how to make them right-side-up.  Anyway, I would hate to cover up the artwork if the food weren't so delicious!

Ack!  Still sideways

One thing that's wonderful about antipasto is that you can customize it for your particular taste.  I found a recipe in the newspaper some years ago that I really like.  In the center I place tuna, Genoa salami, and Provolone cheese.  Then, I place a different item in each of the six outer sections of my platter.  Tonight's selection was typical: hard boiled eggs, Greek olives, pepperoncini, roasted bell peppers, tomatoes, and mushrooms.  Over everything I drizzle a marinade of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, fresh basil, fresh rosemary, red pepper flakes, and Dijon mustard.

I also made a salad with the fresh greens from our CSA (community supported agriculture) and dried figs:

Figs remind me of the early days of professional cycling.  Racers back then didn't have things like Clif Bars, and so they often ate figs for an energy boost.  This salad has dried figs simmered in balsamic vinegar with some lemon juice, salt, and freshly ground pepper stirred in.  A few shavings of Romano cheese round it out.  The recipe calls for paramecium (Parmesan) cheese, but I usually use Romano in place of paramecium because I like Romano's sharper flavor.

We also had some five-grain Italian bread from my local Ingle's.

I've been obsessed with this bread for the last few months - it's so good!  Some olive oil topped with freshly ground black pepper was perfect for dipping.

Of course the meal wouldn't be complete without some Chianti:

I served it in the Periodic Tableware glasses I got for Robert for our anniversary a few weeks ago.

Ciao!

Riding in Tandem

Today is a national holiday at our house.  It’s Robert’s and my anniversary!  Yea!  And not just any anniversary – it’s our 20^th!

What a fun ride it’s been!  We even left our wedding reception on a tandem bicycle:

(Yes, we changed clothes before riding away.)  My sister did a great job decorating the tandem, didn’t she?  We borrowed the tandem from one of my coworkers, who happened to live only a couple of miles from our reception venue.  Robert and I simply rode from the reception to my coworker’s house, where we had parked our car.  I had to talk Robert into the tandem idea (like I do with many of my ideas!), but he was glad we did it.

For years we thought about getting our own tandem, and we finally did about nine years ago.  We got a Burley Rivazza:

Burley quit making tandems about the time we got ours.  In fact, ours was on the production line when all of the tandem constructors were laid off.  Management had to come in and finish our order.  Robert and I have the distinction of having the last Burley Rivazza ever made.

Although we mostly ride our single bikes, we enjoy the tandem a lot, too.  One of our favorite tandem events is the Georgia Tandem Rally (GTR).  Held in mid to late May, GTR draws over 100 tandem teams from several dozen states.  It’s a long weekend of great riding and fun social events.  The host city varies each year.  Robert and I are really looking forward to GTR 2015 in a few weeks, which will be in Macon this year.

This past Sunday I had 75 miles on my RAAM training schedule.  With all the miles I’m putting in, I’m trying to visit some new and interesting places on my rides.  I decided to ride to Rock Hawk, the perfect distance fit for my plans.  Then, I realized that it was also time for us to take the tandem out for a spin in preparation for the upcoming GTR.  Robert gamely agreed to join me on a tandem ride to Rock Hawk.

Rock Hawk is an effigy created by Native Americans thousands of years ago.  It’s actually one of two effigies in neighboring Putnam County.  The other, better-known effigy is Rock Eagle.  Both are piles of rocks placed in roughly bird shapes.  I had been to Rock Eagle a number of times, but this was my first visit to Rock Hawk.

An interpretive trail leads to Rock Hawk.  Signs along the trail give some natural history of the area.  An observation tower provides an overall view of Rock Hawk.  Even from the top of the tower, however, it’s difficult to photograph the entire effigy:

What a beautiful afternoon!  This is my favorite time of year.  Everything is so green and lush, and many of the seasonal flowers are white.  This yucca, the first one we’ve noticed blooming this year, particularly caught our eye:

I love white flowers.  We used all white flowers in our wedding, which were lovely amidst our other wedding color, emerald green.  One way we celebrate our anniversary each year is by providing the flowers at church on the first Sunday in May.  This year I wanted to do something extra special, and so I had the local florist make an arrangement of 20 white tulips, commemorating one of the signature flowers in my bridal bouquet:

All these white flowers and our tandem ride gave us an early start to this year’s anniversary celebration!

When we ride the tandem, Robert is the captain (the front rider), and I’m the stoker (the back rider).  Although it’s not an exact parallel – we certainly view ourselves as equals! – riding the tandem is kind of like being married.  When we got our tandem, the first thing we had to learn was simply how to coordinate our balance.  You have to adjust your focus from being completely independent on a single bicycle to working together on the tandem.  Robert said that it felt like he was driving a cattle trailer (ha ha!).  He didn’t mean that unkindly; he grew up on a farm and knows what it feels like to drive a shifting, live load.  As for me, I had to get used to not having any steering, gears, or brakes because Robert does all of that from the front.  I soon learned, however, that that freed me up to do a lot more sightseeing than I get to do on my single bike.

Pooling our resources on the tandem has other advantages, too.  Because one tandem weighs less than two single bicycles, we can go faster with the same power output.  In geek terms, the tandem gives us a better power-to-weight ratio.

It helps to have similar preferences.  Both of us start with our left foot clipped in, and we have similar cadences.  If such things were wildly different between us, it would make for a much more difficult ride.

One thing we practiced over time was standing together on the tandem.  Standing makes climbing hills easier.  At first, Robert would stand while I remained seated.  This worked OK, but we couldn’t generate the power and rhythm we wanted.  It seemed like we weren’t making much progress, but then one day it kind of clicked.  We finally were able to stand together.  These days, I can usually anticipate when Robert will signal he’s ready to climb.  He counts down, “Three, two, one,” and – smooth as silk – we stand in unison.  He sits when he’s ready, and I simply follow suit.  It’s a good system.  Furthermore, we’ve learned how to hold onto the tandem while we’re standing.  We can’t be too tense, but we also can’t hold on so loosely that we throw the bike around too much.

I love my tandem/life partner.  Ride on!

Ode to BRAG and Pimento Cheese

Well, it's actually a haiku to BRAG because that's the only kind of poem I can write (see below for haiku to pimento cheese):

Two-wheeled adventures

The best way to see Georgia

Gotta brag on BRAG

The Bicycle Ride Across Georgia (BRAG) will always have a special place in my heart because it laid the foundation for my cycling journey over the past few decades - with all its joy, friends, and challenges.

BRAGing Through the Years

I first heard about BRAG when I was a teenager.  I was vaguely aware of an epic ride from Atlanta to Savannah, something that seemed almost too monumental to accomplish.  Cycling always appealed to me, but I had no idea how to really get into it.  Robert opened that door for me.  When we first met in our early 20s, he was into triathlon.  I don't exactly remember how it went, but somehow that led to us deciding to do BRAG together in 1994.  We had so much fun that we did BRAG in 1995 and 1996 as well.  By the way, my teenage impression of BRAG always going from Atlanta to Savannah was incorrect.  Robert and I rode across South, North, and Middle Georgia, respectively, in those three years; BRAG goes all over the state!

In subsequent years, Robert and I started taking cycling vacations in other states and even a few other countries.  Even though we haven't done the full BRAG since 1996, we are grateful to BRAG for opening our eyes to just how wonderful it is to travel, learn, and have fun by bicycle.  Also, we've enjoyed participating in other BRAG events since then, including the Spring Tune Up (STU), the Georgia Bike Fest in the fall, and a ride on the Silver Comet Trail a few years ago.  Robert and I even joined a BRAG group that did the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI) in 2007.  RAGBRAI is the original cross-state bicycle ride.  It's an almost indescribable rolling party of 10,000-15,000 people - something every cyclist needs to experience at least once!

Interestingly, I believe 1994 was the first year that BRAG offered the STU.  Robert and I rode in it to help us get ready for our first BRAG.  I’ve enjoyed riding in the STU many times since then, particularly with it being held in Madison in recent years, just up the road from our home.  This year’s STU was as fun as ever, and it fit perfectly into my RAAM training schedule.  And not only did I get in some good mileage, I got to reconnect with a number of old cycling friends.

Saturday

Rain threatened for much of the day this past Saturday, but thankfully it mostly held off.  Despite the gray skies, I was glad to be riding, especially since Robert joined me!  I wouldn’t have minded grinding it out by myself on the century option, but he made it a lot more fun (and faster).

Because we were riding at a training pace, we didn’t stop at every rest stop.  When we did stop, however, the Powerade, pimento cheese sandwiches (more on that below!), snacks, and friendly volunteers were greatly appreciated.  At the stop in Good Hope, I was so happy to see Bonnie, a former coworker at Law Engineering from way back during my college years.  I was a co-op student at Georgia Tech, working and going to school on alternate quarters, and Bonnie was one of the drafters at Law.  I have very fond memories of those days and how everyone was so kind and patient with the young pup that I was.

Incidentally, I reconnected with Bonnie a few years ago thanks to BRAG.  She had posted a beautiful picture of a canola field on the BRAG Facebook page.  When I saw Bonnie noted as the photographer, I commented that I knew her.  She saw my comment and sent me a friend request.  We’ve been back in touch ever since.  Here’s a pretty picture of a canola field that Bonnie took this year:

Also at Good Hope, I caught up with my longtime BRAG friend Jerry, current CEO and former Ride Director.  Every BRAG rider must know Jerry, and we all appreciate his enthusiasm and hard work for so many years to help us enjoy cycling and our beautiful state.  I also got to thank Jerry in person for BRAG’s donation to my Sorella RAAM team :)

Since the STU has been held in Madison, it has developed a great tradition.  In addition to the several official rest stops, there is one unofficial rest stop.  It’s at the Oreo Farm outside of Rutledge.  The Oreo Farm has Belted Galloway cows, commonly known as Oreo cows, which are black on both ends with a white stripe around the middle:

This photo is from the Internet because the cows at the Oreo Farm were grazing out of sight on Saturday.  Fortunately, though, the other attraction of the Oreo Farm was easily accessible: Oreos, beer, and bloody marys!

This was at mile 86; I was very relaxed for the remaining 16 miles.

After showers and a light meal in downtown Madison, Robert and I headed over to BRAG happy hour at the Brady Inn.  We enjoyed catching up with Ken, a riding companion on a previous STU, and Janet, who was part of our RAGBRAI group in 2007.  Robert and I also found a quiet bench in the Brady Inn’s lovely garden, where we tried to identify all of the herbs and other vegetables:

We went back to the BRAG campground to listen to the Georgia Flood (band), and then we drove home.  It was as enjoyable a day as I can remember in quite a while.

Sunday

Robert decided not to accompany me again on Sunday, and so I drove back to Madison by myself.  The chance of rain was much greater that day, but I was determined to ride regardless.  RAAM training must go on!  It was raining lightly as I headed out, but it wasn’t too bad, especially since I have a good cycling rain jacket.  Most of the other riders had opted out for the day, and so I had the peaceful roads pretty much to myself.

Although the initial rain didn’t last that long, the bottom fell out around mile 45.  I was glad for my bright yellow rain jacket and blinking rear light to make me more visible to cars.  The longest route for the day was 56 miles.  Somehow, however, I had gotten it in my head that there was supposed to be a 62-mile route, and so I was determined to do a metric century no matter what.  After completing the designated 56-mile route, I did an out-and-back for an additional 6 miles.  Yes, I’m crazy, but if I hadn’t done those extra miles, I would have missed this sign:

Hilarious yet disturbing.  Sometimes it’s like living in a Flannery O’Connor story around here.

Pimento Cheese

Pâté of the South

Pimentos and cheese - heaven!

Store bought?  Heresy!

Pimento cheese deserves its own mention because it’s one of my favorite foods (I could wallow in it!), and there are always pimento cheese sandwiches at one rest stop during the STU.

Photo by Bonnie!

On Saturday Robert and I scored pimento cheese sandwiches at not one, but two rest stops!  A volunteer at an earlier rest stop had begged for some of the pimento cheese, and so she was given a small portion of the main batch.

As I’ve gotten into randonneuring over the past year or so, I’ve become much more attuned to my nutrition during long rides.  Although I’ve had pimento cheese sandwiches on previous STUs, it never occurred to me until this past weekend that they make such great bike food.  They have protein and fat, they provide a nice contrast to the many sweet offerings, and they are easily portable.  I’d be hesitant to pack pimento cheese on a brevet in July because of the mayonnaise, but what a perfect option for a cold weather ride or at an event like BRAG where coolers are available.

I must specify, however, that not just any pimento cheese will do.  Store bought pimento cheese is like congealed insecticide, an apt description that I once read in a newspaper column.  Also, even if it’s homemade, as it should be, it shouldn’t be too gloppy; mayonnaise should be minimized.  My mother’s basic pimento cheese is delectable: grated cheddar cheese, pimentos that have been drained and chopped, a little mayonnaise, and lots of black pepper to taste.  Many people have their own variations.  The Atlanta Journal-Constitution did a feature on pimento cheese some years ago in its Food section.  It had several outstanding recipes, but this is my favorite, which I’ve been making ever since:

Georgia Quilt Project's Favorite Pimento Cheese

8 oz. extra sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely grated

8 oz. pepper jack cheese, coarsely grated

2 T coarsely grated onion

1 7-oz. jar pimentos, drained

2 jalapenos, seeded and chopped

4 T mayonnaise

Cayenne pepper to taste

Combine cheeses, onion, pimentos, and jalapenos in a medium bowl.  Add enough mayonnaise to bind, about 4 T.  Add cayenne pepper to taste and stir together well.

I’m so obsessed with pimento cheese that I have sought other incarnations:

• Pimento Cheese Toast – Put some pimento cheese on a slice of bread and stick it under the broiler until the cheese melts.
• Pimento Cheese Burgers – I can’t believe it’s only been in the past few years that I’ve discovered how delicious pimento cheese is on top of hamburgers.  The Rookery in Macon, renowned for its hamburgers, features pimento cheese and bread and butter pickles on its Johnny Jenkins Burger – outstanding!

I'm glad the extra mayo is on the side - don't need that!

• Twice-Baked Potatoes – Bake a potato at at 400° for about an hour.  Cut a thin horizontal slice along its length.  Scoop out the insides, leaving a thin shell with the skin.  Mash the scooped out potato with a few tablespoons each of grated cheddar cheese and chopped pimentos, salt and pepper to taste, and a few teaspoons of milk.  Place filling back inside potato shell and bake at 400° until golden, about 15-20 minutes.
• Pimento Cheese Pizza – Brush pizza dough on both sides with olive oil and place in pizza pan.  Top with grated cheddar cheese, chopped pimentos, chopped onion (preferably Vidalia), and hot banana peppers.  Bake at 500° until golden, about 10-15 minutes.  FYI, I’ve never been able to make a decent pizza crust from scratch, and so I use a loaf of frozen bread dough.  I put it out to thaw before work, and it’s ready to use that evening.  (Place frozen dough in loaf pan coated with nonstick cooking spray and cover with plastic wrap that has been coated with nonstick cooking spray.)

I need to come up with a macaroni and pimento cheese recipe, too.  If you have any other pimento cheese deliciousness to share, please let me know!

BRAG and pimento cheese: two things that make life good.  Ride on!

Athens 300K Brevet

I don’t know that you could ever call a 300K easy, but Saturday’s Athens 300K was about as good as 193 miles can get.  The main contributing factors were beautiful weather (woo hoo! warmth after all that winter cold!), a fantastic route, and – as always – great companionship.

Brandon, Daniel, Ed, Ian, Robert N., and I rode together for about the first 50 miles.  We lost Ed and Robert after a while but later picked up Dick.  For the entire day, Daniel really pushed the pace.  After a fast, early stretch where he pulled most of the way, he said that the rest of us would start putting a hurt on him.  Ha – that never happened.  It was almost comical.

The Georgia Guidestones made a unique information control.  Consisting of granite slabs that came from nearby quarries, the Guidestones have words of wisdom written in various ancient and modern languages.  Their origin is mysterious; an anonymous person or persons obtained the land and had the monuments constructed.  I visited the Guidestones 19 years ago during the 1996 Bicycle Ride Across Georgia (BRAG), the last time I did BRAG.  It was fun to go back.  The Guidestones still look like a cross between Stonehenge and 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Soon after the Guidestones, we passed a huge turtle in the roadway.  Its carapace was at least 12 inches long.  I forgot to take a picture, but this is what it looked like:

Common snapping turtle

Whether I’m in my car or on my bicycle, I always try to stop to move turtles that are trying to cross the road.  Always move a turtle to the side toward which it’s heading, or it will just try to cross the road again.  Although I’ve moved many a turtle out of the road, this is the first time that I’ve come across one that was parallel to the white line!  I assumed it wanted to be on the side it was closer to; I hope I made the right choice.

Canola farms have proliferated in northeast Georgia in recent years.  Used primarily to produce cooking oil, canola covers acres and acres with a profusion of yellow blooms this time of year:

Photo by Kevin Kaiser during pre-ride the previous Monday

I’ve always thought canola blooms are really pretty.  Therefore, I was somewhat taken aback when Ian commented that he thinks they are ugly.  Really!  It’s interesting, though, to consider something from someone else’s perspective.  As I thought about it, I conceded that yes, they are unattractive from a monocropping standpoint.  I still think the flowers are pretty, though.  I joked with Ian that he must hate the opening credits to Little House on the Prairie.  Living in his native England in the 1970s, he wasn’t familiar with this particular slice of Americana.  When I described those yellow flowers to him, however, he said that those would be OK since they grow naturally on the prairie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKVvZhTQl0k

One hallmark of Saturday’s brevet was the generous hospitality.  In addition to Kevin and Chris taking their usual good care of all of the riders, Jim Shanni provided support.   Jim really went all out!  First, he parked his vehicle at the control at the Richard B. Russell state park office, offering us drinks and snacks.  Then, after the ride, he had pizza for everyone!  All of this was greatly appreciated.

We also had a wonderful, unexpected oasis thanks to our fellow randonneur David Nixon.  David didn’t do Saturday’s ride with us, but we rode right near his farm between Royston and Jefferson.  He parked his truck along the route and had water, Cokes, snacks, and sunscreen available for us.  That was incredibly thoughtful regardless, but he happened to be at a particularly opportune location, along one of the longer stretches between controls.  My companions and I had discussed looking for a church or fire station to replenish our water, but David made that unnecessary.  Thank you so much, David!

Jim drove by to check on us later in the ride and let us know that a train was blocking the tracks at an upcoming railroad crossing.  When we arrived at the crossing a few miles later, Chris was there to direct us around the end of the train, which fortunately was only tens of yards past the crossing.  Having to take our bicycles off road seemed a fitting tribute to yesterday’s Paris-Roubaix race.

Our group was making good time, but we had to encourage Daniel to take it a little easier on the rest of us.  Toward the end of the ride, he started having severe cramps.  You never would have known it from the way he rode, though.  Of course, we didn’t want him to be in pain, but it almost seemed like he was sandbagging.  I’ve never seen anyone with cramps ride that hard and fast.  If we had been in a Nancy Drew mystery, the plotline would have been, “The ruse worked!”

With about 15 miles to go, we all were tired and anticipating the finish.  Daniel started talking about how hard the last 15 miles of the Dublin 600K were two weeks ago.  I had read his ride report, which was quite descriptive of that particularly tough brevet.  However, I really didn’t want to think about that just then as I was battling my own fatigue with more than 175 miles in my legs.  I jovially told Daniel that I’d much rather talk about bunnies and rainbows.  He laughed, and we all continued on.  Then, with about 5K to go, Daniel started telling us about a bluegrass song called “There’s Always One More Hill to Climb.”  He claimed that it’s an inspirational song.  I yelled “Bunnies and rainbows!  Bunnies and rainbows!”

Thanks again to all my rando friends who made it such a wonderful day, either by riding with me or providing support.  I really enjoy these brevets, and they also work well with my RAAM training schedule.

Dick, me, Ian, Daniel, and Brandon - good rando buddies

I was already riding a good bit before I even knew I'd be on a RAAM team, usually 8-12 hours per week.  At the beginning of 2015, I started training specifically for RAAM, setting a goal of gradually increasing my weekly mileage from January until June.  In January and February, I rode about 10-12 hours per week.  Since March 1, that's increased to about 15-20 hours per week.  As I push my physical limits, I find that I have to be more mindful of minor ailments that normally I hardly would think about.  That's because I don't want small issues to become big ones.

In the past week I’ve developed hot foot.  This is a common condition in cyclists in which the ball of the foot becomes sore, caused by the metatarsal bones squeezing the nerves between them.  My right foot was already sore before Saturday's brevet, but when I got home Saturday evening, the ball of that foot was pretty fiery.  I did a little on-line reading, and fortunately, this is not a fatal condition.  A few suggested treatments are loosening your shoe straps, particularly the ones near your toes; moving your cleats back on your shoes; and placing inserts in your shoes.  Of course, I'm implementing these recommendations, but on Saturday I was seeking immediate relief from the pain itself.  I love a good foot massage regardless, and so I was happy that my husband Robert was willing to oblige.  As he rubbed the sore ball of my foot, I fantasized, "I need a foot masseuse named Alejandro.”  Robert replied, "I need someone to iron my clothes named Helga.”  Bwa ha ha!  Robert actually makes a pretty good foot masseuse, and so I suppose I'll just keep him.  Between him and a soothing bag of ice, my foot felt a lot better.

Now about that ironing...

RAAM JAAM

Good Friday is a holiday at my office, and so I used my three-day weekend for some extra RAAM training.

Friday

I’ve been doing some RAAM blocks (sets of 10-20 miles with a 30-minute rest between each set), but Friday was the greatest number of RAAM blocks I’ve done at one time so far.  I did 102 total miles in five sets of about 20 miles each.  My initial goal was to ride all five blocks at 70% of my functional threshold power (FTP), the maximum power I can maintain for one hour.  This seemed like a reasonable target because during RAAM I want to ride as fast as I can, i.e. at the highest power I can, but it has to be a level that I can repeat time after time for about seven days.  Determining this level is one of my main training goals between now and RAAM.

Friday morning was beautiful as I set out on my first block.  I felt better on my bike than I had in a while; therefore, I quickly increased my goal for the day to ride at 75% of FTP.  That worked pretty well for my first three blocks:

By the fourth block my power started waning:

On block 5 I wasn't anywhere near 75% of my FTP:

It turns out that I should have stuck with my original goal of 70% of FTP.  This was valuable information – exactly what training is for!  Now I need to determine whether 70% of FTP is reasonable for multiple days.  My best chance to evaluate this will be in May when my three teammates and I get together for a 48-hour mini RAAM simulation.  In the meantime, I’ll keep riding as much as I can, including more RAAM blocks.

By the way, even though my 30-minute rest periods weren’t that long, I was grateful for even those short segments, which allowed me to do a little housework.  (These days, between work and training, I feel like I’m never home!)  It also made fueling easy because I could eat at home rather than on my bicycle.  I made sure to get some good protein during one of my breaks, fixing a fried egg sandwich with fresh eggs from my chickens – don’t forget the mustard!

Also, to make sure that I stayed on schedule, I set the alarm on my phone during each rest period.  The alarm sound I use is a dog barking.  On one of my breaks, I left my phone on the kitchen table while I was folding towels in the adjacent laundry room.  My greyhound Mr. Spock was lying on the kitchen floor.  When the alarm went off, he went nuts trying to figure out where that dog was!  First, he ran to the window and started barking.  Then, he ran down to the basement, out the dog door, and into the backyard.  He never did find that dog.

Saturday

On Saturday I was looking forward to another century, especially since I wasn’t worried about holding any particular power this time.  I was simply trying to get in miles.  Not that I was lollygagging, though!  I still tried to keep up as strong and consistent a pace as I could.

I kicked off my ride with a stop by The Vanilla Bean, my local coffee shop.  It’s such a wonderful place – food, beverages, atmosphere, etc. – but I don’t get to go very often because I’m so rarely in town during the hours they are open.  Although I had already had a hearty and healthy breakfast of oatmeal, fruit, milk, and tea that morning at home, some additional fuel was still welcome.  I had another cup of tea (ginger this time) and a slice of German chocolate cake.  As I was enjoying my treats, a friend stopped to say hello and asked, “You're out riding so you can eat that, aren’t you?”  I laughed and said, “No, I’m eating this so that I can ride!”  Truth.

I also had a delightful conversation with Mr. and Mrs. Schrock, a very nice couple in my community.  They have always been extremely friendly and kind, and so I don’t know why I should have expected anything different from them this time, but I guess I thought they might look askance at me in my cycling kit.  That’s because they are Mennonites.  My spandex didn’t seem to faze them a bit, though.  We talked about my upcoming RAAM adventure, and they seemed genuinely interested and excited.  I told them a little about my training, the logistics involved during the race, and how my team is racing on behalf of Wellspring Living, an organization that assists victims of domestic minor sex trafficking.  As I was leaving, I wished them a happy Easter.  Mrs. Schrock said, “The Lord is risen!”  I replied, “He is, indeed!”  Ecumenism at its finest.  Maybe we don’t all worship God in exactly the same way, but we all are God’s children.  Amen.

A few miles down the road as I was headed to Macon, a car slowed down beside me.  It was the Schrocks.  Mrs. Schrock waved out the passenger side window and called out, “You go!”  That totally made my day.

The remainder of my route to Macon strung together some familiar roads, including the beautiful main thoroughfare through the Piedmont Wildlife Refuge and some Monroe County roads that I know from Peach Peloton.  Then, I had to wend my way through a few side streets to get to my downtown Macon lunch destination, Cherry Street Cycles.  They have just moved to an expanded location on Second Street, adding a small restaurant.  A barbecue sandwich hit the spot and gave me a little mid-ride protein.  Leaving Cherry Street Cycles, I rode a portion of the Ocmulgee Heritage Trail and headed back home through Jones County.

When I got home, I certainly was tired, but I felt pretty good for having done back-to-back days of 100+ miles.  The real fatigue had not yet set in...

Sunday

On Saturday night I didn't sleep as well as I expected.  I woke up a number of times during the night.  Although I went right back to sleep each time, I'm sure this was an indication that I'm pushing my body harder than it's used to.  That's exactly what I need to do to get fitter and faster for RAAM, but as Robert wisely reminded me, I also need to allow myself enough recovery.  The body actually grows stronger during recovery as it repairs itself than during the intense training efforts themselves.

After a magnificent Easter morning at church, I headed out for another ride.  Happily, Robert went with me!  My original plan was to ride about 50 miles, but I was pretty beat.  Robert talked me into going a shorter distance, convincing me that that would do me more good.  I did shorten my route, but I kept the main part of it, which included Rabbit Skip Road - the perfect road to ride on for Easter!  (I don't know of a Jesus Road.)

As tired as I felt during the first part of my Sunday ride, I can't believe how much better I felt after about an hour.  I still thought it was smart to stick with the shorter route, but if you had told me at the start that I would wind up riding 31 miles at 17.6 mph and an average power of 141 W, I would have told you that you were crazy!  Robert advised me to mentally file away this experience; if I'm feeling awful in the middle of RAAM, I just need to remember that I will start feeling better.

When I got home, I made myself one of my favorite recovery drinks, which is essentially glorified chocolate milk.  I added a scoop of protein powder; how had I forgotten that we have a huge canister of it in the pantry?  That's going to be my M.O. on all long rides - a recovery drink with protein powder.  I'm still trying to eat plenty of protein in my regular diet; the powder will simply be a supplement.  Protein is extra important in the type of training I'm doing.

Because I work full time, most of my riding has to occur on the weekends.  By default it's getting more intense as I up the mileage.  Based on my training this weekend, I've decided to take a slightly different approach to my remaining weeks before RAAM.  I'll keep going long and hard on the weekends, but I'm purposely going to take it easier on my shorter rides during the week.  Recovery is so critical, yet it can be so easy to overlook.

What great lessons on intensity, nutrition, and recovery from this weekend's training!  RAAM JAAM!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R044sleOW6I

This Yellow Stuff Is A-Pollen

It coats my screen porch.  It covers black dogs in a film of yellow, like a cross between a silent film and psychedelia.

Pine pollen.  The worst part is that it totally kills my eyes.  For two or three weeks this time of year when I ride, the pine pollen blinds me and hurts like crazy because of my contact lenses.  I alternate between excruciating pain, filmy vision, and blessed pain-free clear vision.

Electron microscope image of pine pollen or alien death start?  It's all the same to me.

Next year I'm definitely investing in prescription, athletic sunglasses.