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