LIVESTRONG Philly

Hello again friends!

When I first started training for the MS 150, I came across an event for LIVESTRONG Challenge in Philly. I've been a big fan of LIVESTRONG since I started cycling, because of it's ties to cycling in the first place, but also because of their awesome website www.livestrong.com (not to be confused with livestrong.org), where I was encouraged to eat properly and make better lifestyle choices.

So when I saw the event, I felt like I had to ride it. I told Sarah, and she asked me to wait and see how I felt after the 150, to make sure that I would be up for something like LIVESTRONG. I promised that I would wait until the 150 was over, and then make my decision. (This was all an act. I knew I was going to ride from the beginning, I just wasn't saying anything until the 150 was over.)

And so here we are. I felt like I had an amazing ride at the 150, and more importantly, I feel like I have even more amazing rides in me. So, on August 21st, my Roadkill Warriors team mate Travis and I will drive to Philly to take place in the 70 mile challenge. Once again, we'll be raising funds for LIVESTRONG, and the minimum donation is $250. I went ahead and set the goal at $300, just to be a bit over-the-top.

I know many of you have given generously for the MS 150, so if another donation is a hardship for you, know that I will gladly accept your prayers and your encouraging comments here on the Crankset. However, if you're able to give even just $5 or $10 donations, I would be extremely grateful! I'm pretty sure we will have no problem meeting our goal of $300 in just a few short weeks!

Thanks so much for your encouragement and support! Let's keep the wheels spinning!

Godspeed,

Jason

MS 150 Day Two

Hello again friends!

For the second day of the MS 150, I woke up with a bit of pain in a place I hadn't expected. I'm still not sure what I did (it still hurts actually), but I think I slept on my finger wrong throughout the night, and led to some stiffness and soreness. Not a good way to start the day, but it was what it was. We grabbed some breakfast, snagged our bikes from the bike storage room, and made our way back to the road.

The first leg of the journey my team mates showed me some of the finer points of drafting. It was an overcast and dreary day, with a lot of headwinds coming right at us. So ducking behind my friends afforded me the ability to punch the gears, and just go full gas for the first leg of the trip. We did a 15 mile stretch with a close to 20 mph average. I've been riding for a long while now, and nothing was more fun than that.

The second day's terrain was nothing like the first day. There was one hill that seemed a bit monstrous, but even that was pretty quickly conquered. After that last big hill, we got into my favorite kind of riding, long and flat. When I have the ability to set a tempo, and stick to it, there's very little that can stop me. This was that kind of riding, and I enjoyed it immensely.

We stopped at the Ohio state line for the picture you see above. At that point, there were only about 10 miles left. When we came into the town right by the lake, folks had come out to sit on their porches and cheer us on with cowbells and horns and signs. It was delightful. We crossed the finish line with a total time of 9:30:17, which was way faster than I had anticipated finishing. We actually beat Sarah and Jackie to the finish line! We had a celebration meal, complete with ice cream, before we all changed and made our way back home.

I feel like I am a completely different person having finished the MS 150. It was a worthy challenge, and I think I accomplished it swimmingly. More than anything, thanks to your support and contributions, we raised over $1000 to fight MS. That's real money that will go to real people and provide real relief, and so on their behalf, may I again say thank you! This was a total team effort, and all of you are a part of the team.

As I mentioned in the last post, we'll have an exciting announcement today (though I think the blog is already giving it away), so stay tuned!

Godspeed,

Jason

The MS 150 (Day One)

Greetings friends!

Wow! Where to even begin? We've been on this journey together for quite some time, and it all came to a close on Sunday afternoon at Lake Erie.

First thing first, if you contributed to my efforts, or prayed for me, or offered your support in any way, shape, or form, thank you from the bottom of my heart! I was basked in support from friends, family members, and the Westminster Family. So thank you so much!

Friday night we had a dinner for the team, where we heard from a few team mates and friends who have MS. Up until that point, I was really only riding the 150 as a physical challenge. But man, the importance of this ride is so under stated, or at least it was by me. Every dollar we raised together goes towards making new strides in medications to make the disease more manageable, and of course is one step closer towards finding a cure. At the moment, I give you the following numbers to celebrate:

• Together, we raised $1100 for my ride. This blows my mind, as I thought raising the minimum of $250 would be a challenge. You folks are crazy!
  
• As a team, RKW raised over $43,000. That is even crazier to me!
  

(It's worth mentioning, if you have intended to donate either to me personally, or to the Roadkill Warriors, there's still time to do so. I'll leave the link on the left up on the Crankset as long as Bike MS will accept a donation.)

Saturday, Travis and I woke up at the obscene hour of 4:45 AM to drive to Cooper's Lake. At the starting line, I was forever grateful for participating in Pedal Pittsburgh this year, as there was really not a whole lot to rattle me in terms of getting signed in, registered, and all that goes with the start of the event. But before we even knew it, we were rolling out on day one of riding.

I had been aware that day one would be significantly harder than day two, so my focus was on finishing day one strong. The course started with a series of rolling hills, which made it very hard to get into my usual rhythm. But after a few miles, my legs settled into a good pace and we got things going. We rode hard the first fifteen miles into the rest stop. So well in fact, I was strongly considering passing the first rest stop, were it not for the fact that mother nature had been calling me since mile one.

The rest stops were paced about 12-15 miles apart, so we were really just going in short spurts. After the second rest stop, we were traveling at a pretty good pace of about 15 mph, which was surprising for everyone on the team.

I started to notice my training on hills throughout the course. I went into the MS 150 knowing that I wanted to attack each hill, try to sprint to the top, and recover on the downhill on the other side. Hills have never been my strong suit, but I was finding a power and comfort on hills that hadn't been there before. It was amazing!

The only trouble spot on day one was immediately after lunch, where we were met with a massive hill. After eating a full lunch to try to replenish some of the calories that were burned along the ride, I was really in no place to climb a big mountain. So unfortunately that was a hill I would have to walk the bike, so as to avoid throwing up. Luckily though, it was the only time my feet would hit the ground.

Crossing the finish line on day one was an amazing feeling. The faster members of our team were waiting for us at the team tent with food and beer, and we were even met with some of the folks we were riding for. I took advantage of a massage, which felt amazing! We went to bed rather early, ready to tackle the less intense course of day two.

This post is already plenty long, so if you stuck with me this long, I'll let you know that I'll post the recap of day two tomorrow. Also, a big announcement on Thursday (HINT: Cycling season isn't over.)

Godspeed,

Jason

For all the marbles.

Hello friends,

Tomorrow at 7 am (why does it have to be so early?) I will put to an end a journey at least a year in the making.

I've been thinking for a while about what I was going to say in this post. First of all, I need to say thank you to the people who have supported me. Of course, to those who have supported the Bike MS cause financially ($755 as of right now...but there's still time :), but also to all of you who have told me I could do it.

Truthfully, when I first started training, I had some doubts about my ability to finish. But as I was packing last night, there was no doubt in my mind. Yes there will be difficult stretches of ride tomorrow and Sunday, there will be things I'm sure that push me to my limits, but I have zero doubt that I will finish the race.

But no matter how long it takes, no matter what goes on during the ride, I think just getting here has made me a significantly better person:

• I have lost 17 pounds so far. I have 30 more to go to reach my over-all goal.
  
• I've learned how what I eat effects a ride, and how most of what I was putting into my body was garbage. (Sometimes it still is, but I try to make it less and less)
  
• I joined a gym, and became comfortable sitting in a sauna or whirlpool with really old guys who like to complain a lot.
  
• I learned from sites like Livestrong.com and Trainingpeaks.com how to best train for a ride like this, and what a season should look like from start to finish.
  
• I learned that recovery is every bit as important as training.
  
• My commute from work went from 15 minutes on a mountain bike to under 5 on a road bike.
  
• I bought my first road bike.
  
• I commute to as many places as I can by bike now, saving who knows how much CO2 and putting more money in my pocket.
  
• I learned more about the city I live in because I've been lost on my bike in it, and was forced to figure things out.
  
• I took my first group ride, and learned how to support a team.
  
• I have taken the first few fragile steps towards not being afraid of hills. Some day I will look forward to the pain they bring.
  
• I took my face from this:
  

• To this:

I'll have my iPad with me, so hopefully I'll be able to hop on the Crankset and update you guys from the race tomorrow. If not, follow me on Twitter (Freyer28) for updates from each rest stop. And most of all, I covet your prayers. It's supposed to rain at least a little bit tomorrow, so pray that everybody stays upright on our bikes.

I'll leave you with the video I've watched before every training ride this year. Something about this just gets my heart racing and makes me want to be on a bike.

Godspeed,

Jason

What I learned at Pedal Pittsburgh.

Greetings friends!

I meant to post this a while ago, but Blogo, the software I use to update my blogs, has been cranky this week. Given the weather we've had, I don't know that any of us could blame it!

On Sunday I participated in Pedal Pittsburgh, my first official ride. I had been waffling back and forth on what to call it. It wasn't just a ride, because I do those every weekend, and it wasn't a race because no one was racing, so we'll go with official ride. I chose to do the 50 mile option, because I thought that it would do the best job of preparing me for the MS 150, or at least giving me a good guess as to where I stood in my training.

Registration was at 6:30, which didn't make either me or Ian happy. But we got there on time, got all set and registered, and then rolled towards the very un-ceremonial starting line. Rather than an official start, it was more of a "go when you want!" deal, so we took off.

I meant to map a ride, but I completely forgot. Forgive me.

To the best of my memory, the route started out along the trail by the river, which is completely and totally flat. I'd say at least the first ten miles were super easy, and we kept a pretty good pace the whole way. When we rounded the corner and started up Troy Hill is when I began weeping a little bit. Actually, that hill was nice in that it curved around itself a lot, and I had no idea what I was getting myself into until I was already at the top. I've said it before, I'll say it again, hills are 80% mental.

After a quick brake for cookies at the top of Troy Hill, we went for what was probably the most soul crushing portion of the event. The hills were all over the place, and some of them were long stretches of slight up hill, the worst kind! I don't really know where all we went at this point, because I was too busy panting and feeling as though I might die.

After a second rest stop for gummy bears and gatorade, we took off for a slightly flatter section of the route. I started to get a bit more steam in my legs at this point, and really crushed it up a couple of hills, including the one I was most nervous about on the trip, One Wild Place. It is worth mentioning that when climbing a hill, monkey poop is not exactly what you want to be smelling.

After our last pit stop at Highland Park, we cruised down the rest of the way into the South Side. Actually, I somehow accidentally finished 10 miles ahead of schedule after getting lost from Ian at a red light, so we called each other and met up to finish the last ten miles. And then, because my wife and Ian's mom are awesome, we stopped to have a glass of victory milk:

(Me, accidentally finishing)

(Me and Sarah at the finish line)

(Me and Ian at the finish)

(Victory milk!)

All in all it was a tremendous ride! As we ate lunch after the event, I started to ask myself if my legs had more ride in them for when I would have to do 100 miles, and I think they did. Plus, I don't believe I'll have to tackle anywhere near the number and severity of hills that I had to tackle in the 'Burgh, so that would be even a bit easier on me.

I do think I'll be doing Pedal Pittsburgh for years to come!

Godspeed,

Jason

Race Day Traditions

Hello friends!

Sidney Crosby has a hat each and every year that he wears before and after games. He never washes it. As the season goes on, the hat gets nastier and nastier, riped, torn, and sweat stained. I heard that equipment managers try to convince Sid to wash his hat every now and again, but to no avail. This is his game day tradition, and it will not be broken.

Tomorrow, I will take part in my first ever official ride. (I've been waffling back and forth between calling it a race, which sounds more official, but truth is no one will win and there are no prizes, so we'll go with "official ride.") It's called Pedal Pittsburgh, and it's a 50 mile route through a lot of places downtown. I circled it on my calendar a few months ago, knowing that it will be a good indicator of my preparation for the MS 150. Plus, it will help me sort out what I need to do to prepare for an official ride, like the 150, like what to remember to bring and how to prepare for all the weather situations that might come my way (it's Pittsburgh, so literally every weather scenario is on the table for tomorrow!) I think it's gonna be a great warm up ride.

Now I've been a hockey fan all my life, and I've even dabbled in playing hockey every now and again, so I'm quite used to the superstitious nature of the hockey world. Every hockey player has a little game day tradition (or seven) that they take part in before the big game. As I'm sitting down after finishing my last training ride of the week, I'm starting to wonder if there are any quarky little traditions I should adopt for the ride tomorrow. Some sort of good luck charm, some sort of comforting ritual. So far some thoughts have included:

1. Washing and lubricating my bike, in a particular order, with a particular rag just before bed time.

2. Some sort of pasta dinner, to be consumed before every major event.

3. Chocolate milk before and after race day (ok, this isn't a tradition so much as a reality, it's what happens before and after every ride)

4. Like Sid, wearing my LIVESTRONG hat before and after the ride.

5. Traditionally having no traditions.

If you're a cyclist, or really athlete of any kind, what are some of your game day quarks? And would you mind if I stole some of them?

Godspeed,

Jason
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Happy Bike To Work Day!

Hello friends!

For the last two years now, I've been celebrating National Bike to Work Day! Really, almost every day can be bike to work day for me, as I'm only 1.5 miles away from the office. But all the same, today is the day where everyone is encouraged to trade in four wheels for two.

I actually feel like I did a better job of celebrating yesterday, which wound up being a 21 mile day. I've actually loaned my car to a friend, and so I'm going with pedal power for probably the rest of the week or so. At first, I was a bit freaked out by this. You can claim with everything you have that you are a bike commuter, but the rubber actually has to hit the road when you have no other choice. As was the case yesterday, as I had a meeting 5 miles and two HUGE hills away, and no other mode of transportation to utilize.

But it should be mentioned, there is no better feeling than sitting at the summit of that hill that's been buggin the heck out of you, the one that you have feared for an unhealthy amount of time, and you realize you have just conquered it. That feeling is something a person could get addicted to!

Then the day was capped off with a 5ish mile ride home in the darkness with Ian. Night riding was another of those things that really scared me when I first started out, but now I'm absolutely in love with it. It's so peaceful, so beautiful, and so refreshing. Plus, my new rain jacket flaps in the wind in a way that kind of reminds me of Superman's cape, so there are just perks everywhere!

Maybe you're like me, and the idea of using a bicycle as your primary mode of transportation seems kind of daunting at first. Today is a great day to get out and get on the bike. Heck, make it super rewarding, and use your bike to go grab an ice cream or a cup of coffee! But take some time today to experience the freedom and the joy that is being on a bike. You'll be glad you did!

Godspeed,

J

The two types of riding:

Hey friends,

In my world, there are really two types of riding that occupy my time. I know there are countless other types, but these are really the only two that I've ever had a heart for.

The first type is what this blog has really been about the whole time, which is training for a race-type event. Sure, none of the events I'm participating in are actually races. No one will win them, and no one besides me will be keeping track of my time. But it requires athleticism and focus, and all of that comes with training. And I love it! I never thought I would, but I absolutely love it.

But today I'm realizing I'm falling in love with the second type of riding all over again.

It's what got me into this mess in the first place, and that's riding as a means of transportation. I'm at point A, I need to get to point B, and my bicycle is the only way I'm getting there. I love this! There's such a challenge in it. How do I get all my stuff there? How do I dress appropriately for the ride while also being socially acceptable when I arrive at the meeting/work/grocery store. I love getting groceries by bike. It's such a challenge! And it's so rewarding. I feel alive being out in nature, even if "nature" means the busy roadways of Route 19

This week, my bike has sat in the driveway the entire time. It hasn't left since Sunday for church. To get to work, I rode the bike. To get to a meeting at the mall, I rode the bike. To get to breakfast at Pamelas, I rode the bike. Now I'm staring Friday in the face, complete with predicted thunderstorms, and I'm thinking an unbroken 7 days of riding would be an accomplishment worth the discomfort.

Are there any fellow commuters out there? And if so, as I'm thinking about tomorrow, do you have any suggestions for rain gear? :)

Godspeed,

Jason

Training Ride Episode 5

Hello friends!

Today was another great training ride! What made this ride even more memorable was that my good friend Ian was home, and we did this ride together. He bikes significantly more than I do, and so he had a lot of great tips to offer me, particularly when it comes to climbing hills and not suffocating!

The best news was that mother nature has finally decided to play along. And even better than that, it looks like she plans on playing along all week! Although, as a form of payment for the beautiful day, I was under attack by the bees of South Park all day! Ian and I were engaged in a nerve racking few hundred feet as a bee was stuck to my jersey, and Ian was trying to swat him without pushing his stinger into my arm. I escaped un-stung, only to have a bee fly into one of the vents of my helmet, and get stuck in there. I hit the brakes hard enough to almost flip off the bike, threw my helmet to the ground and release the offender. Scary times people.

More to come!

In to the gym!

Hello again friends!

After about a month of just miserable weather here in the 'Burgh, and realizing that working out only one day a week was just not going to get it done, I decided that I needed to do a better job of spending rainy days in the gym.

At the start of the year, I joined Bally's specifically to start getting in shape for the MS 150. What's hilarious is that one of the things that attracted me the most to Bally's was the pool, and I don't think I've used it more than three times! Much more lately I have loved using the indoor track, which is a bit more fun for me than running on a treadmill.

So two days into this week, and I've been to the gym both days! On Monday I worked through a routine that Ed taught me from Men's Health. It's a crazy workout, but it's really good fun! Tonight I didn't feel like going to the gym at all, so I did a lighter workout just to make sure I went. I started with a few laps around the track, and then busted into Lance's workout. I finished up doing lunges around the track with 30 pound weights in each hand.

The moral of the story (at least for me) of gym training during these rainy days is to just try to keep everything where it is between rides. I was really bummed with my performance on the training ride on Saturday, so I want to try to avoid that happening again.

The fun part is that the best day in terms of weather this week is going to be Thursday. My busiest day a work? You guessed it!

Thanks for reading along and for the support! See you all soon!

Godspeed,

Jason

Fundraising Update

Hey friends!

Just wanted to keep you up to date on things with the MS 150. Last week I mentioned that it was Team Week, where various incentives were up for grabs for the team who raised the most money in that week. I'm happy to report that we found out today that my team the Roadkill Warriors are the winners of Team Week! This is super exciting! Thanks to the efforts of folks like you who have donated, we will have our own team tent and a big olde celebration! So thank you very much!

After some thought and consideration, I decided to raise my fundraising goal to $500. I know it's weird to keep raising the goal like this, but I had no idea how successful we would be together! So right now, I'm looking for $75. If you could pitch in and give even $5 or $10, that would be an amazing thing!

Also, the Warriors are a little less than half way to our team fundraising goal. If you give something to my personal efforts, it goes towards our team goals, so you're really helping two efforts at once!

A huge thank you to everybody who's pitched in so far! The 150 is only 39 days away! The end is near!

Godspeed,

Jason

Training Ride Episode 4

Hey everybody!

Well, the weather in Pittsburgh has been less than cooperative these last few weeks. I've had on average one sunny day per week, which is just not getting it done. The trainer would be a solid option, but it lacks the joy of being on the bike. So this week, I must confess I fell behind in my training.

Which made what I attempted to do very foolish!

I set out with the goal of getting 50 miles under my feet. I even feel like this would have been possible, but when I hit the 17 mile mark, my lungs were just on fire. I think the combination of a week or so off the bike and the cold-ish air wrecked havoc on my insides. Still, it was a pretty decent ride. What we've learned here is that on the rainy days, I need to do a better job of making my way to the gym to keep on top of things.

Thursday looks like it might be my day to be on the bike. See ya then!

Godspeed,

Jason

Shock and Awe Part Two

Hey Friends,

We've once again done it! Just a few short days after raising the fundraising goal from $250 to $400, we've hit the ceiling! I cannot tell you how much I appreciate all of you who have helped to support this amazing cause!

This week as it would turn out is a roadkill warrior fundraising week, and each dollar we raise is applied toward different incentives, including team tents and rest areas that are fully stocked. Simply put, your support this week not only supports the fight against MS, but it truly and deeply supports the ride for me and my teammates. If you have been considering giving to our team, but just haven't been able to yet, I strongly encourage you to click here and make a donation today.

Tomorrow I'll be back on the road and hitting up some training, so be sure to tune in for another exciting training day episode!

Thanks again for all your support and encouragement! It means the world to me!

Godspeed,

Jason

Share the Road Episode One

Hello friends!

I was thinking about the Crankset, and what all it could be and what all it is. I was thinking that it would probably be pretty lame if the blog only consisted of my training routine, exhilarating as it might be!

So one of the series I'd like to work through is "Share The Road", where I'll post stories I see of cyclists involved in accidents with motorists. The idea here is not to point fingers or to assign blame, as I think that both groups (motorists and cyclists) do some fairly unintelligent things on the roadways. So I think these articles A) have a lot to teach us about how to better share the road and B) offer us a chance to lift up folks who have been in these accidents in prayer, again, both the cyclist and the motorist.

For instance, this evening (as I was procrastinating from writing tomorrow's sermon) I came across this article. I hope sincerely that everybody is ok, but I think we can learn a bit from this story. Even when I'm riding at high noon, I have my rear light blinking and always make sure to have my reflectors on my bike. It's also a pretty good idea to try to be as predictable as possible on your bike. Signal when you're going to make turns, that sort of thing, but also be predictable in terms of where you enter the road, which lane you're going to be in.

I believe with all my heart that cyclists should have the full rights and privileges of motor vehicles on the roads. But I also believe that if we're going to expect or demand those privileges, we need to act responsibly on our bikes.

But also as I mentioned up front, this is a good opportunity to pray. Not just for the young lady on the bike for a quick recovery, but also for the gentlemen who was driving. That cannot be an easy thing to deal with!

Let's all be careful out there, and share the roads!

Godspeed,

Jason

Training Ride Episode Three and Four: Against the Wind

Hello friends!


Sorry its been a bit since I've updated! I've actually taken two training rides since my last post, trying to get as many rides in between the raindrops as I can. 


My attention has been on working on hills, both uphill and downhill. Downhill because I'm a tremendous nerd who's afraid of biting it at high speeds. So I've been doing my best to leave the Montour Trail behind, and spend a bit more time in South Park, where the hills are a bit more challenging. 


On Sunday the 17th, I hit up South Park after my typical church activities. Now, I only managed to go for 13 some odd miles, because the wind was so unreal I was almost blown off the road twice. I had to stop at the top of the hill (by the Buffalo Pen, whose smell added to the experience) to hide behind a parked car to get out of the wind. I cut the ride short at that point, but 13 miles was nothing to sneeze at!


Today I was completely unprepared to ride. I had looked at the weather report last night, and was told that we'd be experiencing world-ending thunderstorms. When I woke up, the sunny skies begged to differ. So with absolutely no plan in place, my route looks a bit like a kindergartner went to town on the map with a Crayon. I really just hopped in the saddle and went for a ride. It felt like it would probably feel if you hadn't been on a bike or worked out in any other way for a week. My legs are crazy sore, but I still managed to swing 17 miles. 


We're still a little bit behind the ball on the new goal of $400 before the ride. If you haven't done so yet, please make sure to click on the banner to the left and make a donation. Even just $5 or something like that would be an amazing way to help support the team, and hopefully do away with MS. 


The weather says rain all week, but I've been lied to before!


Godspeed,


Jason

Training Ride Episode 2

Hello friends!

I completely forgot to take any pictures or video or map my ride. Sadly, I think we're going to have to get used to that being a reality!

My day started at 7:00 am with a ride to work. I'm actually always pretty thankful for the short little 4 mile trek to work. I used to do a 1.25 mile trip, down McMurray road and up the big hill at the high school. When I first started getting into cycling, I couldn't make it up that hill. I'd have to stop and walk my bike up while I wheezed and panted. Now, that ride is too easy, I get to work and barely feel like I've done anything.

So now I take a loop from my house, up Bethel Church Rd, and then down Fort Couch through the mall. All in all it's about 4 miles, with some minor hills. It's nothing amazing, but it's a really great way to start your day. The sun was just coming up over the hills, and it felt really great to be out and be on the road.

Later on in the day, Ed and I rode our bikes back up to the mall to hang out with some of our students on a field trip. Again, not much to write home about, but it was another two miles on the bike that I wouldn't otherwise have had. I would really like to get to a place where I don't use my car hardly at all, so it was a victory in that sense.

Then, to close the day I met up with some guys from the Fort Couch Potatoes for a training ride in South Park. I am a proud member of the Road Kill Warriors, but they're based out of Monroeville, so it's a bit harder to get out to do training rides with them, so I the guys from FCP were nice enough to adopt me for a day. Well, that's where the niceness stopped, because they kicked my butt all up and down the hills of South Park.

I really need to get stronger on hills, both up and down. Going up, I think I'm carrying way too much weight with me still. I felt better as the ride went on, but up front I was panting pretty madly again. Coming down the hills, I'm still not used to the massive speeds that a road bike is capable of reaching when you just let it go. Something in my brain tells me that there's no way those half inch tires can hold me up when I'm going 30+ miles an hour. So these are two areas that I want to work on, so I think I need to spend a bunch more time at South Park. The lack of cars there is nice!

All told, the stats of the day are:

18 miles
13.4 average mph.
1:20 on the bike.

Tonight, Sarah and I are going for a walk/jog around the neighborhood, and tomorrow (rain) I'm hoping to get to the gym to build a bit more strength in my legs.
More to come!

Godspeed,

J

Training Ride Episode One

Hey friends,

Every time I do a training ride, I'm hoping to blog a bit about it. So far, so good I suppose!

Today Training Peaks had me do an hour with a sort of light effort. So I took off on the Montour Trail with every intention of doing an hour of easy flat riding. But then I got bored! So I took the off ramp to 88, and climbed a hill that I don't usually get along with. In fact, today was the first day I could make it to the top of this hill without getting off and walking! I was pretty pumped about that. The course then takes a rolling couple of turns back into Peter's Township, and I hoped back on to the trail and made my way back up the slow climb to Al's Cafe. 

I felt really good about the ride, as I have for the last bunch of rides. I still struggle with climbing, so I'm hoping I can do a bit more work there over the next few weeks. Tomorrow if there's time after work, I'm hoping to put in about 20 miles. 

See you then!

Jason

Shock and Awe

This is crazy!

Thanks to some pretty awesome sponsors, we have already cleared the $250 level for the MS 150. In just three days! That's spectacular!

What do you say we go for more! I've moved to goal from $250 to $400. Again, the more people that chip in even just a little bit, the easier it will be to hit the goal.

If you are one of those folks who sponsored me in the ride, thank you thank you thank you thank you! I appreciate it so very much!

More to come today, including a video from the road.

Godspeed,

J

Rest stop

This was a photo I took at one of the rest stops on the Montour Trail, one of my favorite training areas. I love riding through woods like this!

It Starts

Hello friends,

A little over a year ago, I picked up my bike and dusted it off and started riding around town for little trips. It started with the 1.25 mile ride from my house to the church where I work. My Diamondback Sorrento (a gift from my lovely wife) struggled to support my weight as we attempted to summit the hill inbetween McMurray Road and the church parking lot. It was even worse when I picked up a rack, and started trying to do our family's grocery shopping by bike, at the Giant Eagle about 3 miles away. As the months wore on and on, I started to take longer and longer rides, just to be out on the road or the trails and feel the wind in my hair. I used to love cycling as a child, and so getting back to it just seemed to connect me to something from my past. I was starting to feel like a real cyclist.

That is of course until a very dear friend challenged me to do something spectacular: The MS 150.

At this point, I weighed 247 pounds. I could barely go 5 miles in a trip, let alone 150 miles in two days. The excuses started pouring in: I'm out of shape. I don't have the right bike. I'll never be able to raise enough money. Summers are always so busy. But instead of opening up with excuses, something (probably crazy) in me said "Yeah, I'll do that."

What have I gotten myself into?

So starting in January of 2011, I threw myself into training for the MS 150. I started reading great books about cycling training, and joined a gym to do some strength training in the winter. I bought a mag trainer for riding in the basement while watching episodes of Futurama. If the sun came out even for a couple of seconds, I was on the bike and taking a ride. I even rode once in a (not particularly vicious) winter weather advisory. I purchased a Trek 1.1, and promptly wrecked it learning how road bikes cannot overcome obsticles in the same way that a mountain bike could. And of course, I signed up for an account at livestrong to track my calories, and get advice on fitness and nutrition. In the process, I've lost 14 pounds, and I've started to feel much better about my appearence and overall health.

And so here we are, 60 days out from the MS 150. I want to do more than just ask people for money. I want to invite folks into the story with me. I'd like to post some blogs, photos, and even videos from my training, just about each and every time I set foot on a bike. If you can, I would encourage you to support me financially by going here and making a contribution. If not, I'd love to have your comments and notes of encouragement here on the blog. And of course, there will be other rides, other opprotunities to get involved, and more adventures to find ourselves taking. So keep checking back as much as you can!

For now, time to spend about an hour on the trainer!

Godspeed,

Jason

@freyer28