John Simons

Riding, June 1, 2006 - Thursday Night

Still trying to get caught up here.

I rode the Thursday night ride on June 1.

Stats:
1:36:35
25.64 mi.
15.9 mph avg.
30.6 mph max.

Riding, May 29, 2006 - Clermont, Hills, and Dehydration

I am behind on posting my rides. It is time to get caught up.

On Memorial Day, I drove down to Clermont to ride a route down there that is used for some of the longer triathlons. It includes several good hills. I figured that it would make for good training to prepare for BRAG. I brought along several bottles and tried to drink regularly. I thought that I was doing well, as I had to stop and relieve myself several times during the day. However, before I got back to the car, the hills and the heat got to me. I was either dehydrated, suffering mild heat exhaustion, or some combination of the two. I wound up getting off the bike to walk up one short hill, stopping frequently, then finally, I just laid down in the grass in somebody’s yard, under the shade of a small tree. I finally got up the energy to finish the ride, and I was glad that it was over.

Along the way, I did see some very beautiful scenery, including the Monteverde school, Howey in the Hills, and some nice lakes and hills.

Stats:
4:31:22
56.01 mi.
12.3 mph avg.
39.3 mph max.

I have a GPS file with the hills and the map. Maybe I will create the images and post them in a few days.

Riding, May 18, 2006- Thursday Night

It has been a week since I last rode–at the Thursday night group ride. I stayed with the B group early on, actually the B+ group. After we turned a corner and started riding, we realized that three of us had dropped the rest of the B group. After the next turn one of the other two decided to fall back to the B group. I and the other guy kept going. On the second hill, we were caught by a third guy, who set the pace the rest of the way to the high school.

At the school, I realized that my computer had reset. The mount had come loose on the ride, and I had been fiddling with it so I could monitor my speed. I must have accidentally reset it. So, I reset it again to track the speed going back.

The pace going back to the start was slower. It was probably a better pace.

The stats coming back were:
15.45 mi
0:58:51
15.6 mph avg.
24.3 mph max.

Total stats (approx)
30 mi.
1:48:00

Tags: cycling, bicycle, training, Thursday night

Riding, May 16, 2006 - Tuesday Night

I was back out with Bob on Tuesday night. We rode west on Hwy 27, back toward horse country, but we turned around at about the spot where the scenery would have turned really nice. We still had a good ride and a chance to enjoy some conversation. We also got in a couple of good hills.

Stats:
30:08 mi.
1:55:13
15.6 mph avg.
26.0 mph max.

Good ride.

Tags: cycling, bicycle, training, hills

Riding, May 13, 2006 - Horse Country and Hills

On Saturday morning on went on a little longer ride. I didn’t get off to as early a start as I would have liked, so I didn’t have time to ride as far as I would have liked. I did get a chance to ride through horse country, and through some nice hilly areas. The hills are good training for me.

Some of the scenery was fabulous. However, parts of the ride were strewn with litter. What a shame that such a beautiful county is ruined by all the litter.

Stats:
42.39 mi.
3:00:32
14.0 mph avg.
28.0 mph max.

HRM stats:
3:13:57
132 avg. HR
Max HR was thrown off by radio interference again.

In zone: 1:09:55
Above zone: 0:33:19
Below zone: 1:30:43
I had the zone set at 132/145, which is all sublactate.

Tags: cycling, bicycle, training, hills