The Ultimate Vampire Resource and Directory

Today was the last day of the month and therefore, my last chance to get in those final few miles needed to top 400 for the month. While I used to try to average 400 or better, (usually around 525), I've been very lazy this year so this was my best month and the first time I've even come close to my 400-mile target.



At the end of my last ride I had 383 and my standard ride is 25.5-miles so it should have been a simple thing. Unfortunately, some people don't see to care what kind of debris they sprinkle across the roadways as they drive their construction vehicles back and forth. My rear tire found a drywall screw and it penetrated completely through the tire. I usually carry two spare tubes but this morning I had only one spare which blew as I tried to inflate it. The screw had punctured the side-wall of the tire enough that the tube squeezed out, formed a bubble, then blew.



So I attempted to apply patches to the inside of the tire and the tube itself. Unfortunately, the hole in the tube was too large and the patch let go at about 60 psi (the tires are rated at 116 psi). After about half an hour of trying to patch first one tube, then the other, I gave up and started walking. I was offered a ride by a fellow cyclist who happened by in his pickup so I ended up walking less than 200-yards. But my chance to ride is gone and I'll have to settle for the 4-miles I made it before the flat.



Now $350 later and I'm waiting for my order; two new tires (About $60 each), 10 new tubes, 10 new patch kits and 2 new pair of shorts (it was time).



*sigh*



Filthy screws! Filthy screws!!

COMMENTS

-

---

Joli
21:37 Sep 30 2008

HA! You sound like an inmate. :P

---

Beastt17
22:49 Sep 30 2008

How kind of you to notice! :)

---

Silverbow
18:37 Oct 06 2008

Suck.. I am feeling you on the replacing of the tires and tubes. At least you got it done though and hopefully this coming month will be a good one for you.

---

Beastt17
20:46 Oct 06 2008

The tires are ordered but unfortunately, back-ordered as well. I re-built the tire casing on the inside using "Shoe Goo" and a non-stretch fabric. It's working so far. Today gave me a 20.07 mph average on a 25.6-mile ride. T'is good despite the minor personal melt-down last night. I need to get over people who have done nothing to earn my respect.

---

Silverbow
07:52 Oct 07 2008

You are a good guy. :)



Now.. I need to teach a little girl how to properly inflate a tire, I think making her pay for the replacement might be needed. Think it will work?

---

Beastt17
11:04 Oct 07 2008

Well, assuming you're talking about a "little" girl and a bicycle tube or tire, it's certainly worth a try. And thank you for the encouraging words. I've never known you to be other than a genuinely caring and sincere individual. (A pump with a built-in gauge might help.)

---

POST COMMENT

Yesterday was a rest day and it did what it was intended to do. I was 26-seconds ahead at the one mile mark and feeling none of the ache and fatigue from the last ride.. Another half mile and the winds began to cut in to tax my profits. At three miles I was still a full 21-seconds to the good and the first climb sat as a welcome challenge as I pulled away from a truck to get to the start.



I tried to hold a steady speed but the winds are always stronger at the top. When the road peaked I dropped back to the saddle, visibly gasping like a dying man in a vacuum. I let a cog go and just held my pace until the cool blue oxygen brought color back to my face.



The rest of the ride had moments of l'Alpe glory and moments of deathly black fatigue. Overall I felt strong. The last long stretch before turning back dealt several blows -- literal blows as the wind from the side picked up and peeled away my progress. I had hoped for a sub-43 at the turn but had to settle for 43:02.



Coming back the wind was worse as it shut me down to a 35.8 on the descent. In the lower sections of the valley I held 33 with more protection from the wind.



Approaching Cornville Road the light turned red several hundred yards from the intersection. Cars streamed by to take their place in line, followed by a flat-bed semi that seemed like a train as it rumbled past a few feet to my left. Approaching the light I was still holding 20-mph and I picked up the green. I checked off the semi, then a sedan, a pickup and two more sedans as we crossed the intersection. At 27-mph I dropped back into the saddle and all of my victories sailed past with their first good breath of air.



I caught green at the next light and sailed through holding with the crowd at a bit over 30-mph. A mile-long rise on the final stretch left me staring at a dark silhouette, distant and climbing the hill. It was another cyclist but this one on the sidewalk. I set an impossible target of reaching the top of the hill first. The impossible was made possible as he came to a red light. I saw him negotiating the side street as I crossed the intersection and stood for the next 100-yards trying to work on momentum.



SETUP:

Bike: GT ZR-1.0

Departure: 08:19:57

HRM Duration: 1:18:36.9



THE DATA:

Distance: 25.50 miles

Average Speed: 19.84 mph

Duration: 01:17:07

Maximum Speed: 35.8 mph

Odometer: 18619.6 miles

Climb Timer: 07:36.3

Climb Distance: 1.76

Climb Avg Speed: 13.9

Climb Max Speed: 20.0



HEART RATES:

In Zone: 62:04, 162

Above Zone: 05:04, 176

Below Zone: 11:28, 140

Heart Rate Recovery: 01:29

Low: 106

High: 180

Avg: 160



CHECKPOINTS:

Bridgeport Bridge: 07:39

Oak Creek Valley Road: 25:06

Page Springs Road: 31:26

Pass above Page Springs Road: 35:38

Turn above Dry Creek Bridge: 43:02

Nothing but fatigue greeted my morning as I forced myself to abandon sleep in favor of a ride. From the first step of the day I've had that tired, hollow, ache that signals over-training but I had hoped I could ride it off. It didn't work.



I was 5-seconds down at one mile and 12-seconds behind at the 3-mile mark. From there things just got worse. The first climb seemed to take several minutes, though it's really only a few hundred yards long. The fatigue never left and by the third check-point, I had resigned myself to a finishing average of under 19-mph.



The climb barely came in under 8-minutes and taking all else into consideration, that was a welcome surprise. The final stretch to the half way point convinced me that the light winds were working against me. As soon as I turned, they would become an advantage. But once again I was fooled and as soon as I turned the winds felt stronger and more purposeful in restricting my forward progress than they had before.



My top speed was a lowly 35.0 and it didn't occur at the usual point. I found a bit of shelter from the wind at a lower position along the route and spun the bike up to 35.0 coming into a flat section. The rest of the ride home was a constant contest against the wind.



I checked my time as I started the final 2.5 miles and realized there was a small chance of maintaining a 19.0 (or better) average. I let the heart rates go as high as necessary in that pursuit and obtained some reward for the effort.



Tomorrow I'll be sleeping in rather than riding. Though it sounds like and joke for anyone riding at my level, I need to give the legs a day off to recover from the over-training. The low heart rates confirm the full-body fatigue and need for rest.



SETUP:

Bike: GT ZR-1.0

Departure: 08:50:34

HRM Duration: 1:19:54.9



THE DATA:

Distance: 25.56 miles

Average Speed: 19.31 mph

Duration: 01:19:24

Maximum Speed: 35.0 mph

Odometer: 18593.9 miles

Climb Timer: 07:58.8

Climb Distance: 1.76

Climb Avg Speed: 13.2

Climb Max Speed: 17.7



HEART RATES:

In Zone: 61:58, 161

Above Zone: 00:52, 175

Below Zone: 17:04, 137

Heart Rate Recovery: 01:11

Low: 104

High: 175

Avg: 156



CHECKPOINTS:

Bridgeport Bridge: 08:12

Oak Creek Valley Road: 25:33

Page Springs Road: 32:05

Pass above Page Springs Road: 36:39

Turn above Dry Creek Bridge: 44:04

Three hours slipped by unnoticed amid a dreamless night's rest. Then the alarm and the denial; just one more minute and I'm up. The minute passed into several before the second alarm jerked my head from the pillow.



He's a millionaire; set for life, and he's out of retirement. I guess I can at least get out of bed. One eye open and I'm in the chair with the LCD display offering the counter-points to engage. What was the topic again?



Oh yeah. A few Einstein quotes and it's time for some toast, a bit of lube (for the bike, the toast was for me), and enough air to give the tires that rock-hard touch.



Last night's rain has left dirt, rocks and other debris on the shoulder but there are clear veins meandering through. Only 19.4 on the first flat stretch but my heart is humming leisurely at 137. A few cars pass and the numbers on the Flight Deck click to 21.0. It's the wind. There is no harshness but likewise, playfulness is absent. It transmits an aire of dignity with no desire to dance, bob or weave. Lacking all intent there is only the message; like the calm words of Vincent Coccotti; "what I have to offer you... that's as good as it's going to get".



In one mile I'm lagging by 5-seconds. A slight rise in the road sends cars streaming by and in their slipstream I'm up on the pedals, 26 mph and staring down a green light. Through the intersection and I'm heading due East. The bridge lies at the bottom of a slight decline and then the road tilts up; the only place it will be going for the next 9.8 miles. The bridge tells me that I've gained back my 5-seconds and claimed another 4 over that. I'm at 7:56 and the burn is staring me in the face.



This is the first real climb of the ride; only a few hundred yards but by the top legs are spent, lungs are shredded and heart rates have nearly peaked.

Half way up the hill I notice another rider a hundred yards behind me and immediately, my intent is to show them nothing but my shrinking back wheel. By the top I've gained perhaps another 100 yards. Over the song from the MP3 player there is another musical scale. It's familiar and the only time the ringing of a phone lifts the corners of my mouth... stopped, timers are paused and now comes the short struggle to remove my pack, open it, extract my phone and answer before the final ring. The conversation is brief but welcome. A word about Lance, an offering of pride and an urging to get going again before the cyclist behind me becomes the cyclist in front.



Back on the bike, the left pedal wants to catch, then slip; anything but locking around the cleat. I watch the other rider slip by. Thirty to forty yards stretch out between us before I hear that reassuring click that tells me I'm locked in and ready to go. Twenty to thirty seconds later he's fading behind me as I start up the next rise. He didn't even struggle as I slipped by him holding 19 as we headed up the rise. I'll not see him again.



By the next checkpoint I'm lagging behind the last ride by 24-seconds. As I watch the seconds change from 41 to 42, it occurs to me to just claim the 42. But no; not today. I'm giving up nothing that I've earned. I have a mile before the climb and the breeze is directly in my face.



The first third of the climb starts easy. Then it begins to lift with purpose and just as it starts to bite the road tilts another two-degrees and begins to shred muscle. Today my mind is on images of the Tour, of the 7-time winner and that mechanical cadence that can force a mountain range the size of the Alps to play the submissive to the 1-inch tire of a bike. Pulling up on each pedal, forcing down on the other, twisting the ankle at the bottom and the first third slips by. But I'm spent and this is the faster section. The section that leads to the steepest third and the hope of crossing the peak with less than 8-minutes showing on the stopwatch.



The rhythm is set and the winds have been cut by the mountain attempting to block my path. There's the marker by the side of the road. Two cogs, standing, aching and then I drop like a wet doll into the saddle to try to spin to the marker; 7:59.5. Barely! My mind drifts back to the second I nearly gave up.



Turning to head back I'm looking at 44:23, more than a minute behind my last ride. It's okay. I'm under eight and the road back is offering no special resistance. The rest is uneventful; 37.3 on the descent and I'm heading down the final 2.5 miles at 1:11:11. The last two miles are always hard. It can make or break the whole ride after 70-minutes of continual pain. That final 5 or 6-minutes is the hardest and only when the asphalt ends can the pain be allowed to subside.



Lance Armstrong announced he was coming out of retirement on Tuesday, September 9th and already he is inspiring others to wake, to try and to recognize that improvement is always possible.



SETUP:

Bike: GT ZR-1.0

Departure: 08:12:36

HRM Duration: 1:19:51.9



THE DATA:

Distance: 25.54 miles

Average Speed: 19.45 mph

Duration: 01:18:48

Maximum Speed: 37.3 mph

Odometer: 18440.0 miles

Climb Timer: 07:59.5

Climb Distance: 1.76

Climb Avg Speed: 13.2

Climb Max Speed: 18.3



HEART RATES:

In Zone: 64:44, 164

Above Zone: 06:13, 178

Below Zone: 08:54, 137

Heart Rate Recovery: 01:47

Low: 92

High: 180

Avg: 162



CHECKPOINTS:

Bridgeport Bridge: 07:56

Oak Creek Valley Road: 25:41

Page Springs Road: 32:33

Pass above Page Springs Road: 36:38

Turn above Dry Creek Bridge: 44:23

A bit of a dodgy day with a fickle set of breezes, more interested in the dance than my ride. They rolled and twirled, dipped and crossed paths playfully despite my more serious intentions.



My speeds started well (for me). Nothing special but certainly encouraging. The first mile clicked by at 3:01 and the bridge followed exactly 5-minutes behind which spreads 3-miles across 8-minutes. It's a reasonable start but that's there the road begins to gain altitude and it keeps gaining for the next 9.8 miles until I'm looking back down the 700-feet to where I started. (It's really just a slight rise but some states don't have mountains that high.)



At 7.7 miles I was starting to feel encouragement but still forced to balance the efforts against the pain. At any point I could lift my speed but the goal is to be able to lift and maintain. Across the finish of the inclines it was a matter of trying to close my ears to the scream invoked by lactic acid injections with every stroke. But assuming I didn't have an invisible wind behind me, the times were telling me to go.



Rolling into THE climb I felt my speed start to drop off dramatically. I held my place in the saddle until I couldn't support 15 mph, then stood and focused on the patterned blur of the asphalt just 10-feet in front of me. I tried to think of nothing except the tedium of the splashes of tar-soaked gravel. Topping the first third of the climb I was 2 - 3 seconds short of what I used to consider a good average. But my speed across the faster center section wasn't what I needed for a proper introduction to the final and steepest third of the climb. I dropped my chain to the small ring and grabbed another cog; 1-4, ready to spin across the apron before standing for the final assault.



Nearing the top I was focused on maintaining the spry dance that climbers use to set their rhythm; the lie betrayed by a twisted face. I remained bent on ignoring that slightly sick feeling from the over-worked muscle center-chest pitted against the panic of lungs denied their base necessity. The road begins to flatten with still a minute of riding a rise until it finally shows its mercy -- Seven, forty-nine point five! Then a minor decline in altitude: not enough to drain the acid from the muscle but enough to let the cries of bursting lungs fade to the background.



Months... years ago, 34-minutes at this point meant a good ride. Today I would be happy with my 35:54. It meant a shot at one of my better recent rides. Of course that assumes that the wind wasn't slipping a hand onto the saddle; an invisible fan giving a little shove up the hill. I reached the mid-way mark at 43:15 -- better than my most frivolous hopes had allowed.



The shifting of the ether for the next 13-miles would decide the speed of the clock. Coming back down the steepest section, crouched and peering from under the helmet's visor, the foreground flashed a 35.54; not enough for a good run but perhaps the speeds would seek some consistency. The top of my final hill showed me a "58:" something -- good enough for a best run of the past two months. But the final 2.5 miles plays a cruel game of morphing rules, bluffs and lies.



Ready to turn, to play out the final stretch as were the cars linked in a long chain waiting for green. The narrow stance of the bike let me slip up to third in line as the light dropped the flag and I glued myself to a bumper as we went through the intersection, made the turn and jostled for position. I held my own until 21 mph. Then the cars began to flood by but I was well clear of the intersection and into the final test.



At this point I'm afraid. I've worked and earned the gains but my body is paying for all of the effort. In the final measure, I'm a dry leaf in a gale should the weather turn its most sadistic card. Waiting for the winds to wash me aside, to slam into my face and bring me nearly to a rest, I can do nothing but try and hope. The display is still urging me to go. Right index finger on the trigger... one... two... three; the chain rides down the cogs and I'm out of the saddle.



The incline is conservative and I'm running up on it at 21 mph, hoping my rhythm won't slow as the asphalt points to the sky. The light at the top is watching with interest as I approach and there are cars waiting on both sides. Rolling across the top at 18 mph, the last thing I need is to coast to a stop while crimson beacons display their mastery and their amusement, only to force me to re-earn my losses in answer to the green. But the light isn't playing today and it lets me slip through. Just six-tenths now and the last car nearly rubbed my left brake hood. Out of the saddle for the final stretch and everything hurts. Everything is tired. Everything means nothing if I stop now.



SETUP:

Bike: GT ZR-1.0

Departure: 08:48:52

HRM Duration: 1:18:01.2



THE DATA:

Distance: 25.60 miles

Average Speed: 19.80 mph

Duration: 01:17:35

Maximum Speed: 35.5 mph

Odometer: 18414.2 miles

Climb Timer: 07:49.5

Climb Distance: 1.76

Climb Avg Speed: 13.5

Climb Max Speed: 19.6



HEART RATES:

In Zone: 61:21, 165

Above Zone: 10:35, 177

Below Zone: 06:05, 138

Heart Rate Recovery: 00:54

Low: 92

High: 182

Avg: 164



CHECKPOINTS:

Bridgeport Bridge: 08:01

Oak Creek Valley Road: 25:07

Page Springs Road: 31:33

Pass above Page Springs Road: 35:54

Turn above Dry Creek Bridge: 43:15

COMMENTS

-

---

Joli
06:28 Sep 09 2008

Look at that climb! Holy crap. And your average kicked ASS! Scary HR, but odd how it averages well. And I loved: "A bit of a dodgy day with a fickle set of breezes, more interested in the dance than my ride. They rolled and twirled, dipped and crossed paths playfully despite my more serious intentions."



You poetry peddler, you :P

---

Beastt17
09:55 Sep 09 2008

Having someone with your ability even use the word "poetry" in regard to anything I write is a bit like referring to the MS150 as a "trot around the block". None the less, I do appreciate the kind words.



The heart rate is actually more of an indication that I've accumulated too many tree rings. I haven't seen 190 since January 19th, and it's nothing like a few years ago when I'd see 195, 196 or 197 when climbing the 9.2% grade in Jerome on my way up the mountain.

---

POST COMMENT

From the first foot-step onto the asphalt the wind was in my face. This was already showing that it would be a day of accumulated losses. Starting conservatively I was rolling along the flat at 17.7 feeling the light wind in my face holding me back from my more usual 19, 20 or 21 mph. In the first mile I lost 14-seconds and the losses were only starting to accumulate.



By three miles I'd executed a turn that put the wind at my side but my time loss was already at 25-30 seconds and the side-wind, while less detrimental than from the front, was still eating away at my efforts. At the next checkpoint I was 58-seconds behind my time from the day before with a long descent waiting in front of me. On the descent I backed off on my rhythm when I noticed I was only holding 22 mph. At the bottom of that section, I'd increased to just over 27 mph with the climb directly in my gaze.



The climb, as compared to the day before, claimed another 16-seconds and by the half-way mark where I turn and head back, I was a full 1:50 behind and the wind was still coming from my side. The steepest portion of the ride back found me rolling at 35.8 mph as opposed to the prior day's 38.1 so there was nothing to indicate any chance of re-gaining any losses on the way back. My only hope was for the final 2½ miles where the wind had been in my face going out. And since most of that section would be a climb coming back, any gains would be very minimal. In the end, I finished at 1:20:59, a full 2:06 slower than the day before and well out of the 19s for the average.



SETUP:

Bike: GT ZR-1.0

Departure: 08:29:26

HRM Duration: 1:22:12.3



THE DATA:

Distance: 25.59 miles

Average Speed: 18.96 mph

Duration: 01:20:59

Maximum Speed: 35.8 mph

Odometer: 18388.5 miles

Climb Timer: 08:16.9

Climb Distance: 1.76

Climb Avg Speed: 12.8

Climb Max Speed: 16.8



HEART RATES:

In Zone: 67:39, 164

Above Zone: 03:49, 177

Below Zone: 10:44, 139

Heart Rate Recovery: 01:01

Low: 105

High: 177

Avg: 161



CHECKPOINTS:

Bridgeport Bridge: 08:27

Oak Creek Valley Road: 26:12

Page Springs Road: 32:58

Pass above Page Springs Road: 37:42

Turn above Dry Creek Bridge: 45:20

COMMENTS

-

---

Joli
23:08 Sep 06 2008

Even such wind and you fly compared to my averages. I dreamed of my bike today. *hug*

---

Beastt17
08:48 Sep 08 2008

Dreams can become a reality... when the time is right. I'm trying to recall if you dreamed about it while it was still nothing more than a dream.



Thank you for the confidence builder. I was looking back through logs for the past 2-years and noted that I have quite a few rides where I'm below 19; far more than I remember. Maybe I'm doing better than I thought but the climb is still laughing me off.



Thank you for looking.

---

Beastt17
09:06 Sep 08 2008

As I recall my longest ride ever was only 68.2 miles while you did a ride that was 75-miles, then another 75-miles the very next day. If that weren't enough, you did it again the next year; 75-miles one day and 75-miles the next. And I still remember that smile as you held your first 17.0 average up to the camera. :)

---

Joli
06:26 Sep 09 2008

You'd better re-check that picture, dude. That was no smile...that was a grimace.

---

Beastt17
10:00 Sep 09 2008

The picture is etched into my mind (not to mention several hard drives and a couple of CDs), and it's a beaming smile of well-earned pride.



So Nnyyyaaaaa!

;)

---

POST COMMENT

"Dodging Worms" is an apt description of this morning's ride. The shoulder of the road was sprinkled with some kind of tomato horn-worm type creatures and they seem to have an unexplained attraction to the other side of the road. Since I don't care to have their guts on my tires or coating my brakes, I was watching carefully for them and weaving in and around them. To the best of my knowledge, I missed them all despite a few close calls. Most are a sort of burned-yellow color and with the sun shining on the opposite side of them, most of what you see is their dark shadow against the dark asphalt. They come into view maybe 30 to 40 feet in front of you and at 30 mph, that provides just under 1-second of reaction time.



Worms aside, the ride was pretty good. From my first step onto the dirt road that leads to the asphalt, I could tell there was a nagging breeze this morning. Temperatures are beginning to drop and I over-slept. I had to wait for the temperature to get above 60° F. When I first strapped on the heart rate monitor transmitter belt and started the heart rate monitor, I noted 55 while I was dashing about getting everything ready. The rates are beginning to drop as my ride frequency improves.



I started a bit more conservatively because my heart rates have been launching into the 150s in the first minute or two of my recent rides. They should be hovering around 130-140 for the first 4 to 5 minutes and I seem to carry strength longer if I don't launch right into 150s and 160s. So I started a bit less enthusiastically and allowed the muscles to warm slightly before starting the grind.



I got caught at reds for the first and second traffic lights. The third one let me right through and from there, it's 8-miles without an interruption before the turn that runs me back through in reverse order.



The climb starts when I hit a small bridge and I focused on keeping my speed high at the start, even though I knew I might pay for that later. As I crossed the expansion joint on the far side of the bridge I noted 11.3 on the stopwatch. That's a full second faster than average but at that point the climb is just beginning. By the end of the first third of the climb, I was 8-seconds below my average. I wasn't able to really pick up the pace but by the end of the climb I wasn't far from my immediate goal of staying under 8-minutes. I was over by almost a full second at 8:00.9.



On the straight leading to the half way mark I was trying to catch another rider whom I'd first seen as I approached the final third of the climb. They were maybe a quarter mile ahead at that point and had about half a mile of climbing in front of them so I knew I wouldn't catch them on the hill. As it turned out, I didn't catch them until about a mile after the climb. I said "good morning" as I passed and noted they were wearing headphones. They said good morning back, which I heard despite my ear-buds.



At the turn I didn't hold much hope for a fair overall average. I knew the breezes had done more to help me than to hinder me and I could expect the opposite on the way back. Despite having two minutes to play with, it wasn't looking good. My speeds were nothing note-worthy (which is why I'm noting them?), on the way back but they were fairly steady. When I came to the 1-mile hill, I was feeling fairly strong. By the mid-point of the climb as I was preparing to drop back into the saddle, I guessed I was worn down to around 15 mph. When I rejoined the saddle and took a look, I saw 17.4 which was slightly encouraging. One more hill and I was starting to have some hope as I crossed the top at 59:07. I usually figure 1-hour is reasonable for that point but I also knew there were some difficult sections ahead.



By the time I changed highways and headed south, I was cutting my time pretty closely. I kept my heart rates reasonably high and noted that I was comfortable holding 170 at several points today. That's a good sign. My heart's endurance is improving and it's working less hard to maintains sufficient blood flow.



Those last 2½-miles were taxing but worth the effort. Making the final turns -- a sharp left and then immediately a quick right -- I was limited to a narrow section of a lane and unable to see past a full-size dump truck waiting at the light. That light turned yellow as I entered the intersection so I was left hoping everyone would mind their manners but I couldn't afford to take my eyes off the line I needed to hold through the S formed by the two turns. After sweeping round the right it's back up on the pedals to rebuild some speed up a slight hill and then it's time to stop the timers.



SETUP:

Bike: GT ZR-1.0

Departure: 08:01:10

HRM Duration: 1:19:42.7



THE DATA:

Distance: 25.59 miles

Average Speed: 19.46 mph

Duration: 01:18:53

Maximum Speed: 38.1 mph

Odometer: 18362.7 miles

Climb Timer: 08:00.9

Climb Distance: 1.76

Climb Avg Speed: 13.2

Climb Max Speed: 19.6



HEART RATES:

In Zone: 67:47, 165

Above Zone: 06:29, 176

Below Zone: 05:28, 137

Heart Rate Recovery: 01:19

Low: 107

High: 178

Avg: 164



CHECKPOINTS:

Bridgeport Bridge: 08:02

Oak Creek Valley Road: 25:14

Page Springs Road: 31:52

Pass above Page Springs Road: (I honestly don't recall)

Turn above Dry Creek Bridge: 43:30

COMMENTS

-

---

Joli
06:31 Sep 09 2008

Reminds me of dodging grasshoppers *shudder.*



".9" hardly even a number, but it pissed you off, huh?

---

Beastt17
08:45 Sep 09 2008

It's enough. How many times did we watch time trials where the win was established by a mere fraction of that? It didn't really piss me off, though. It was still encouraging. It's just that I couldn't claim under-8 or 8-even with that ragged .9 hanging on the end.

---

POST COMMENT

This is what I get for not logging my ride data as soon as I get off the bike. I've been putting it off for days and finally decided it was time to dedicate the information to flux transitions. I picked up my HRM and the display was blank. A new CR2025 brought it back but I had to re-set the target zones, time, data, interval, HRR zone, etc. Everything it stored from the last ride is gone. It should be another 2 or 3 years before I have to do that again.



Having waited four days before logging this there isn't all that much I remember. The first thing I should say is, "IT WAS THE WIND! HONESTLY!"



A few rides back I was beaming to finally be back in the 19-mph range for an overall average and since then it's been a steady plunge to the point that on this ride, the average was a meager 18.32 mph. I did marginally better on the climb, covering the 1-3/4 miles in 7:56.5. I should be sub-7s but that will take time and more dedication than I've been demonstrating recently.



The most detrimental wind was on the way back where my top speed was a laughable 31.9mph into a headwind. Unfortunately, that likely explains why I did a little better climbing that same section -- I must have had the wind to my back.



Hopefully, the next ride will be much better and very soon. Since this is my "Friday" at work, I'm hoping to winch my butt out of bed between 4:30 and 5:00AM to get set, out and back, before 7:30AM. Then a shower, a nap, and I can maybe start my day unless I hear my cameras calling when I get off the bike.



SETUP:

Bike: GT ZR-1.0

Departure: UNK

HRM Duration: UNK



THE DATA:

Distance: 25.57 miles

Average Speed: 18.32 mph

Duration: 01:23:46

Maximum Speed: 31.9 mph

Odometer: 18337.0 miles

Climb Timer: 07:56.5

Climb Distance: 1.76

Climb Avg Speed: 13.3

Climb Max Speed: 16.9



HEART RATES:

In Zone: UNK

Above Zone: UNK

Below Zone: UNK

Heart Rate Recovery: UNK

Low: UNK

High: UNK

Avg: UNK



CHECKPOINTS:

Bridgeport Bridge: 08:08

Oak Creek Valley Road: 26:14

Page Springs Road: 33:52

Pass above PSR: 37:46

Turn above Dry Creek Bridge: 45:20