Bonus Ride in January

How can you pass up a near 70 degree day in January? I didn't. I was back on my home territory for the first ride of the year. Down the Parkway bike path to Route 123 and then along its bike path to Occoquan Regional Park. A short stop for liquid refreshments, and then back home along the same route. I use this route for a lot of my training, I can add mileage by repeating the Route 123 segments to add another 20 miles. The park has rest rooms and water available, but you pay for the facilities by climbing the hill as you exit the park. It seems that nothing is free. Bike paths are generally safe, but you have to be careful when you are riding against traffic. A driver in a car waiting to turn right, may have all their focus on traffic approaching from their left, and not see you at all approaching from their right. Unless you make eye contact, assume they don't know you exist.

My indoor training has been going well, didn't miss a weekday class until today

Training Advice

It didn't take long for some good training advice to arrive. I thought I would share it with anyone following my journey or contemplating one of their own.

Joel,

I saw your training plan this morning - looks great, a nice gradual build up.

Couple of thoughts from what I learned from my endurance training that may be helpful:

· Make sure to have a cool down week (or two) before the start of your trip; this will give your muscles a chance to recoup before you start your big journey. I'm not sure when your trip actually starts but let's say it is two weeks after your 240-mile week. Following the 240-mile week you may want to consider a 180-mile week two weeks out and then a 100-mile week the week before your trip.

· Consider doing very short (~10 miles), very very low intensity (not letting your HR get above Zone 2) rides (or spins on the trainer/spin bike) on days you are not doing long rides; this actually helps prevent lactic acid from remaining in your muscles from the long rides. It sounds counter intuitive that you would ride/spin on a "rest day" but it helps to flush out the remaining lactic acid and better prepare your legs for the next long ride.

· On your long rides, try to do the majority of the ride in Zone 2; this is the fat burning zone (Zone 3 burns more carbs/sugars). And on endurance rides (what your trip across country will be) you'll want your body to burn more fat than carbohydrates as fat takes longer to burn that carbs which will increase your daily endurance on the bike. At first riding for 50/60 miles in Zone 2 will feel like you are moving at a snails pace, however, over the course of your training you will build up speed while being able to remain in your Zone 2. Be patient with this, but one day (several months into training) you will realize that you are cooking and still remaining in Zone 2.

· I would highly recommend getting your personal HR zones calculated.This is very important as people can vary dramatically - the stuff that is on the Internet is very general and may be off for your body by 10 beats or more which can absolutely negatively impact your training, especially if you decide to follow the previous bullet point. You can get this done for around $100 and will make a very big impact on your training, especially as you are diligent with tracking your numbers (which is great). However, I would not just go to the local shop to get this done. I would shop around and seek out a shop that is very well versed in this stuff (often triathlon focused shops because their customers tend to be on training programs that require HR zone workouts). Often these are folded into packages where you find out your VO2 max, etc.

· Nutrition is key for long rides. If you don't eat right and drink right long rides will be painful, not fun and can rough up your body.But eating and riding is not always easy. You should be finishing one tall water bottle per hour, and the longer the rides it is more important that what is in your bottle is not just water - you'll need things like electrolytes, carbs, proteins (which help with muscle recovery), etc. I used a company that made custom powder specifically formulated for me - which I dialed in over the course of a month or so of using it - each batch I would talk to the owner and tell him about my rides, how I felt, etc. They were able to adjust protein levels (I had some bloating from too much protein), adjust carb levels and all the other needed nutrients down to the mg (and can even adjust the flavor level - weak to strong - to none). The powder contained everything I needed (and was still as thin as water when mixed) so on 7-8 hour rides I literally never ate anything just drank which makes digestion easy. I'm not suggesting that this is the only way to go but may be helpful as you venture out on long rides where eating solids can be difficult after a while. And it is relatively inexpensive as you consider the cost of bars, gels, goo, etc. We can talk more about this if you want.

· Finally, have fun with this. When it's not fun then it becomes work. With that said, do ride on super cold days, in light rain (when it gets warmer) when you have a scheduled ride days. On your trip cross country you'll have to ride in all conditions regardless, therefore, best to condition your body to this now. If you have the right gear, riding in all types of weather isn't bad at all (only the first 15 minutes until your body warms up!).

Hope these insights help. There was a lot of trial and error on my part and help from a professional coach to understand the value of some of the items that seem counter intuitive.

Happy to talk through any of these bullet point if you'd like.

Training Plan

I guess I can't just show up in Oregon untested and out of shape. I need to have a scientific plan to get ready without over doing it. OK, the plan is to be riding outdoors in March and scale up the miles from one hundred a week to two hundred forty the week before leaving for Oregon. I hope to be on the road at least three times a week. We will see how hard core I can get, when we have a couple inches of snow on the ground when March rolls in. Twenty five hundred miles should get both my legs and butt in shape for the trip. Check back to see if I am being overly optimistic on my ability to stick with the plan. If you have a better idea, please let me know.

Week Ending	Goal	Ave Day	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thur	Fri	Sat	Sun	Total
1/8/2012			SPIN	SPIN	SPIN	SPIN	SPIN
1/15/2012			SPIN	SPIN	SPIN	SPIN	SPIN
1/22/2012			SPIN	SPIN	SPIN	SPIN	SPIN
1/29/2012			SPIN	SPIN	SPIN	SPIN	SPIN
2/5/2012			SPIN	34 mi	SPIN	SPIN	SPIN			34mi
2/12/2012			SPIN	SPIN	SPIN	SPIN	SPIN
2/19/2012			SPIN	SPIN	SPIN	SPIN	SPIN
2/26/2012			SPIN	SPIN	34mi	34mi	SPIN			68 mi
3/4/2012	100	33.3	34mi	SPIN	SPIN	34mi	34mi			102mi
3/11/2012	110	36.7	SPIN	SPIN	38mi	SPIN	38mi	38mi		114mi
3/18/2012	120	40.0	40mi	SPIN	40mi	40mi	SPIN			120mi
3/25/2012	130	43.3	30mi		41mi					71mi
4/1/2012	140	46.7			50mi	50mi			50mi	150mi
4/8/2012	150	50.0	35mi		50mi	50mi	34mi			169mi
4/15/2012	160	53.3		53mi		34mi		53mi		140mi
4/22/2012	170	56.7	57mi			57mi		57mi		171mi
4/29/2012	180	60.0		60mi	34mi		34mi		60mi	188mi
5/6/2012	190	63.3			66mi		66mi	66mi		198mi
5/13/2012	200	66.7	66mi			47mi		66mi	50mi	229mi
5/20/2012	210	70.0			70mi		70mi		70mi	210mi
5/27/2012	220	73.3				82mi	30mi	79mi		191mi
6/3/2012	230	76.7	80mi		80mi			80mi	31mi	271mi
6/10/2012	240	80.0	80mi	31mi	80mi	31mi	80mi			302mi
TOTALS										2733mi

ACA Blue Ridge Bliss 2010

Goals for the New Year 2012

My years in the Federal Government have ingrained in me the need to set goals for the coming year. It became an annual battle with my last boss, as we negotiated the language of my goals. A battle I usually lost, but no one is dictating to me here. We will see how I score on these next New Year's Eve. Maybe Peggy will give me an annual performance bonus, or a "hall pass" for another trip in 2013.

Cross Country Cycle Trip
2011: I did walk up part of a few steep hills in Vermont this summer.

• Outstanding: Ride every single inch on the bike
• Excellent: Walk a few hills, but be self propelled the whole way
• Satisfactory: Bike 99%, accept help when I need it

Biking
2011: I rode 1531 miles at an average speed of 13.4 mph

• Outstanding: ride 7000+ miles this year
• Excellent: ride 6000+ miles this year
• Satisfactory: ride 5000+ miles this year

Weight
2011: After pigging out the last three months I close the year at 235 lbs

• Outstanding: weigh < 215 at years end
• Excellent: weigh < 225 at years end
• Satisfactory: weigh < 235 at years end

Spin Class
2011: Spin Class 134 average heart rate, 15 hours per month, Road Bike 139 average heart rate
(I don't want to measure myself by the number of times I attend spin class, as everyday in spin class is one less on the road. This year I found myself too willing to ride indoors.)

• Outstanding: Average Heart Rate > 137
• Excellent: Average Heart Rate > 134
• Satisfactory: Average Heart Rate > 130



Accomplishment for the Year 2011: I did weigh 216 on Labor Day

Guaging your workout

One of the difficulties in training indoors on a spin bike is gauging your effort. When cycling outside you measure yourself with speed and time goals over a set course of terrain. The resistance on the spin bike is controlled by an uncalibrated knob, that you turn clockwise to increase resistance and counter clockwise to decrease. I have used a heart monitor pretty much from my start in spinning. It allows you to monitor your heart rate and increase or decrease resistance to push yourself harder or ease off. For the past few months I have been using a Garmin FR60 Heart Monitor that constantly records my heart rate allows me to upload the data and view a graph of my heart rate during my workouts. Quantifying your effort allows you to set goals and hold yourself accountable for them. My goal for this week was to reach the 1000 calories burned level in a one hour spin class. I was able to reach that level on Friday for a successful week of training.

It Starts At My Local Bike Shop

All cyclists need a LBS (Local Bike Shop), yes you can buy most things online or through a mail order catalog for a dollar or two cheaper. But when you need expert advise, a small but essential part at the last minute, or a free drive train adjustment to save your ride on a beautiful day, your LBS will come through for you.

My LBS is The Bike Lane of Springfield Virginia. I purchased both my current bikes from them and they have managed to keep them in running order. Thanks again Todd, Sean and Kristopher.

The Bike Lane, 8416 Old Keene Mill Road, Springfield VA



An assortment of Cycle Clothing

My Trek Hybrid getting a little TLC from a Bike Lane Technician after I abused it on a recent ride.





Spin Zone

A few people have asked me how I am preparing for my cross country trip. Well on nice sunny days I do ride outside, but if its chilly or wet or I don't have a whole lot of time for an outdoor ride, I try to make it to the South Run Recreation Center for a Spin class. We have regular group of about ten that attend the 9:00 am classes on weekdays. A few others fill out the class of fifteen. Four different instructors teach during the week, with each having different tastes in exercise, stretching and music. I wear a Garmin FR60 Heart Rate Monitor in class to gauge my exertion. I try to get my heart beat up to at least 80% of my MAX and then keep it there for as long as I can. Here is a graph of my Heart Rate for today's class.




Getting my heart rate up!