Intro to the 2015 Ride to Remember

Intro to the 2015 Ride to Remember

Training Update: 2015 Ride to Remember

Recap: 2015 Ride to Remember

In the past, I have always participated in one fundraising ride each year.  This has always been the annual Tour to Tanglewood which benefits the National MS Society, and ultimately helps to find a cure for my Mother who has MS.  This year, I am doing something completely different as part of my entry back into the world of cycling after about 10 months away.  As part of a promise that I made to my wife Toni before buying a bike, I will be participating in a ride to benefit Alzheimer's research.  Why would this be a part of the deal you might ask?  Well, while MS has touched my life, Alzheimer's has touched Toni's life.  Her Grandmother Maybel died with this disease.  Toni remembers her as being the single most important person in her life growing up.  She credits Maybel with doing the vast majority of her raising.  This impact on her life was had before Toni reached middle school.  Her Grandma passed away in July 1988 because of this disease.  In addition to her Grandmother, Toni's Aunt Margaret also currently suffers from this disease.  While she is still alive, the disease has caused her to have to leave home in favor of going to a nursing home which is better able to meet her increasing needs.  As if that wasn't enough, Toni's Mother is also starting to show signs of this disease.  While it has not been diagnosed, it is safe to say that the evidence is there to support that Alzheimer's runs in the family.

Margaret Stout-Brandon 2012
She needs your help, please donate today

So, with Toni's family representing two, and possibly three of the roughly five million who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's in the US, where does that leave us?  The law of averages would suggest that Toni, will at some point, develop Alzheimer's disease.  We talk about this frequently, most of the time in a joking manner.  Its not that we find it funny...quite the contrary in fact.  Its a big elephant in the room that we just don't know what to do with.  At 39 years old Toni has to ask me in a most serious way whether or not I will still love her if she gets Alzheimer's.  This is just not something that a person of this age should have to consider.  My answer is always the same to her.  Yes, I will still love you and care for you even if you don't remember who I am.  I mean that with every fiber of my being, and fully intend to do so.  Even with that conviction, its a little terrifying to me to think that at some point I could be looking into my wife's eyes and seeing an emptiness where I used to always see a love shared.  Just my mere presence could frighten my beloved bride because she thinks that I am a stranger there to hurt her.  In her mind, she could be trapped in her childhood which was a very scary place to be.  All of the wonderful things we have experienced as a family could be locked away, hidden from the very brain that possesses the memories.

Yes, I have given this a lot of thought, and my only conclusion has been...Yes, I will still love her, and I will care for her to the best of my abilities no matter what happens, good or bad.  It seems like a bunch of reactive lip service though.  Its easy to make promises now when you can still hope that it won't happen.  I've never been much of a fan of being reactive when I have the ability to do something about a potential problem.  I call it stacking the deck in my favor.  How do I stack this particular deck...well, when I was riding to support the NMSS I was raising a lot of money to fight a disease that my Mother has.  Toni and I spent a good bit of time looking for something similar that would benefit the Alzheimer's Association in our neck of the woods.  Sadly, there were no bike rides, only walks and runs.

Mary Belle Ellis Stout circa 1979
06/1921 -- 07/1988
Please donate today

While I was in the middle of my cycling sabbatical, I started seeing some posts on Facebook from a friend of mine about a ride that he was riding in.  It was called "A Ride to Remember" and he was participating in the month of July.  I only half paid attention to the posts until I realized that it was a ride to support Alzheimer's research.  I was too late to make a donation, but I started to read about the ride and found that it was a total of 252 miles in length.  Wow!!!  that's a lot of miles for a single ride.  Then I realized it was spread out over three days with the first day only 67 miles, the second 85 miles, and the third a full 100 mile century.  That is still impressive with the progressive distances.  I found myself wishing that I had known about this ride when I was riding a bike before.  It would have been a great ride to participate in!

Oddly enough, shortly thereafter, I got bit by the cycling bug again and found myself back in the local bike shop buying a new bike.  I had already made the decision that I would ride and train like I had in the past because that was the only way I can truly enjoy cycling.  Unfortunately, that meant a lot of hours away from home, and away from Toni.  She was fine with that because she wants to see me happy and enjoying life.  However, I really wanted her to see some form of benefit from my riding again.  Of course, A Ride to Remember popped right into my head.  I discussed this briefly with her and said that if I did get back into cycling, I would strongly consider doing this ride in Grandma Maybel's memory, and in Aunt Margaret's honor.

Support my ride by donating today

After just a couple of months back on a bike, the registration opened up for the 2015 Ride to Remember.  It was time to put up or shut up.  This was going to be a large scale undertaking for our family.  First off, it was going to be an entire weekend where we would be involved with the event.  Since it was out of town, we were going to have to spend nights in hotels, and with this being a stage event going from one side of South Carolina to the other, we would be in different hotels each night.  Toni, and our daughter Sierra would be bringing the transportation for me and my bike which meant that they would be following along the way.  Logistically, this was going to be a more involved event than my one day ride to the NC coast for a double century.

I started to have second thoughts about this ride, not so much because of the distance, although, that is a lot of miles for just three days.  It was the cost for hotel stays, food, and travel expenses.  Not to mention time away from work, and the training needed for a ride of this scope.  I really thought that it was going to be too much of a drain on our family resources.  Honestly, it will be....but I was losing sight of why I was wanting to ride this ride in the first place.  I was tired of be reactive to a disease that might be getting closer to Toni as we speak.  Almost overnight, my attitude changed, and I decided that I was going to do this ride one way or the other, and I was going to give it my all.  I will ride the 252 miles across SC while Toni and Sierra volunteer along the way.  As a family we are going to make a stand against Alzheimer's disease!  If just one of those 252 miles is the one that allows Toni to remember her own life, then every pedal stroke will be worth it.  Of course, without your generous donations, those 252 miles will just be for my own health.  It is your dollars that make my miles worth it.  Lets stack the deck in favor of beating this disease, and raise as much money as we possibly can!

In April, a slight change was announced to the second day's route.  No longer would it be 85 miles, we would now be riding 88 miles through the heart of South Carolina.  This is getting dangerously close to being a second century.  Oh well, I'm committed, and a few extra miles won't keep me away!

2014 Ride to Remember

Ride details for each day.
July 17 Route--67 miles, Simpsonville to Newberry
July 18 Route--88 miles, Newberry to Orangeburg (Updated)
July 19 Route--100 miles, Orangeburg to Charleston

Please donate by clicking this link, any amount is greatly appreciated.


My personal challenge for fund raising...

What have I done to make this a ride to remember?  Well, I decided that I would do a little challenge to help motivate some donations.  I had set an early goal of $1750.00 for this ride, and saw that I was getting close to it.  In order to possibly set myself up to surpass this goal, I offered up a little personal challenge.  If I could reach that goal by March 1st, I would shave my legs.  Simple enough, and something I had been toying with for a while now.  It was what a proper cyclist is supposed to do, and I also know first hand how bad pulling a bandage from a hairy leg feels.  I figured that if I had enough donations, I would go ahead and make the plunge.  Well, I got the donations needed and that sealed the deal.

The last time I rode a bike with hairy legs

Yeah, I used one of my daughter's disposable razors, but not quite yet.

First, I had to take the clippers to my legs, much like they do to sheep.

Then it was time to shave.  This is not fun at all, is it ladies?

In the end, I had smooth legs, ready for a bike ride.  All in the name of raising money!

So, what exactly is Alzheimer's disease?

Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia which is a general term for memory loss as well as other intellectual abilities.  The result is enough to interfere with a person's daily life.  Typically, Alzheimers represents between 60-80% of the dementia diagnoses.

Alzheimer's typically affects those who are ages 65 and older, however, it is not a "normal" part of aging.  There are up to 5% of cases diagnosed as early as the 40's which is referred to as "Early Onset Alzheimer's".  Alzheimer's is a progressive disease which means that the symptoms gradually worsen over time.  In the early stages, memory loss is mild, and could actually go undetected.  In the late stages though, its not just memory that is affected.  Patients will lose the ability to carry on a conversation and even the ability to respond to their environment.  Even though Alzheimer's is most widely known for the memory issues, it is also the sixth leading cause of death in the US.  The average mortality rate of those diagnosed with Alzheimer's is roughly eight years after the symptoms become noticeable.  However, survival can range from four to 20 years depending on age and other health factors.

Right now there is no cure for Alzheimer's and there isn't even anything available to stop its progression.  What is currently available as a treatment option is designed to slow the progression.  This is just a temporary solution for those who have the disease.  For the most part, once you are diagnosed with Alzheimer's, it really is just a matter of time.  It is only through your donations that research can possibly find a different way of fighting this disease.  Of course the goal is to wipe it out completely, but just think how the quality of life for the patients would be improved if the progression of the disease could be halted at an early stage.

The 10 signs and symptoms of Alzheimer's

1.  Memory loss that disrupts daily life:  This is the most common sign, and typically deals with forgetting recently learned information.  One can also forget important dates or events which can lead to asking for the same information over and over.  The responsibility for remember things starts to fall on notes, electronic devices, or family members when they used to be able to handle these things on their own.

2.  Challenges in planning or solving problems:  Some patients experience changes in their ability to develop or follow through with a plan.  They also can develop difficulty working with numbers.  Just following a recipe or keeping track of the monthly bills becomes troublesome.  Concentration suffers which makes normal activities take longer.

3.  Difficulty in completing familiar tasks:  This might be something like remembering the rules of a game, managing a budget, or driving to a familiar location.

4.  Confusion with time and place:  The simple passage of time might be lost with a patient with Alzheimer's.  They can lose track of dates, and even seasons.  If an event is not happening currently, they may have a difficult time fully understanding what is going on.  Sometimes, they might forget where they are and how they got there.

5.  Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships:  Those with Alzheimer's might have difficulty reading, judging distances, and even determining color and contrast.  Obviously, this could be problematic with those who are still driving.

6.  New problems with words, whether spoken or written:  Those with Alzheimer's may exhibit problems following or joining in with a conversation.  This could cause them to stop in mid statement and pause, or start repeating themselves.  They could also have problems finding the correct words to use, and could call things by the wrong name.

7.  Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps:  Typically, those with Alzheimer's could put things in unusual places.  They have difficulty going back over their steps in order to find the item again.  This can result in the person accusing somebody else of stealing the item.  Over time, this will increase in occurrence.

8.  Decreased or poor judgement:  Those developing Alzheimer's could experience a change in their judgement or decision making ability.  This could result in the person falling victim to money scams and giving away large sums of money.  They could also pay less attention to their own personal hygiene.

9.  Withdraw from work or social activities:  A person with Alzheimer's may start to neglect their hobbies, friends, social activities, or even work activities.  They may develop difficulties keeping up with a favorite sports team.  The changes make it increasingly difficult for them to be social and discuss these interests with others.

10.  Change in mood or personality:  Somebody suffering from Alzheimer's can become confused, suspicious, depressed, fearful or anxious.  They can appear to be easily upset when they are out of their comfort zones.

Please donate by clicking this link, any amount is greatly appreciated.

Grandma Maybel with family that she no longer recognized

Toni's story

What does a disease like Alzheimer's do to the loved ones?  Like I alluded to before, Alzheimer's is a disease that has personally affected Toni at a young age.  I wanted to put a little bit of her story in here to show just how important A Ride to Remember is to us.  Toni would spend her Summers with her Grandma Maybel.  This was a time to look forward to, not for being out of school, but for the time with her Grandma.  This was a bit of an oddity to others because Maybel was very strict, and would not give Toni any breaks.  It was this structure that Toni wanted and needed though.  She learned so much from her Grandma in her early years, and became very angry when Alzheimer's took Maybel away when she was just 13 years old...the most crucial time in a child's life.  This was a trigger for many of the negative things to come.

It was not just this premature exit from Toni's life that affected her, it was the decline in Maybel's life that deeply impacted her view of the entire family.  During the decline, Toni watched the whole family distance themselves from Maybel which was confusing for Toni who has always had a very strong sense of family and what that unit stands for.  Maybe it was the fact that the only person that Maybel would remember was little Toni, her Brown Sugar as she was called, while she could not remember anyone else in the family.  That, of course, made the bond between them so much stronger as the disease progressed.  There were times when she wouldn't recognize Toni, but those were fleeting times, and Grandma would return again.  It made Toni angry the way that everyone treated Maybel and she just couldn't understand why they were being that way.

Toni still feels to this day that her Grandma was the only one who truly loved and cared for her.  She knew this because Maybel would show it through her actions as well as her words throughout their short time together.  There was always a very special connection between them, and to pay tribute to that, our daughter's middle name is "Belle" after Mary Belle Stout.  Toni still visits her grave regularly, and she talks to her when she is needing advice and guidance.  I can only imagine what an impact Maybel would have had on Toni had she had the opportunity to be there all through Toni's teen years and young adulthood.

Toni remembers very well the loss that she endured when Maybel died, and the void in her life that it left.  She is now seeing her cousins going through the same thing, only at a much older age with her Aunt Margaret.  She was diagnosed about three years ago and has since been placed in a nursing home to care for her needs.  Toni stays in contact with her cousins and hears the stories about how Margaret doesn't remember either of them, and in some cases is frightened by their presence.  This brings back all of the memories from what she remembers about her own Grandma Maybel.

Aunt Margaret and Grandma Maybel together

We can make a difference, in the hopes of preventing stories like this from happening again and again.  Please donate to show your support by clicking this link.  Your sponsorship is greatly appreciated, more than you know.

Media Attention

Jan 1, 2015, I was featured in the Kernersville News on the front page, with an internet reprint a week later.
Mar, 2015, There was a small story in reference to my participation in this event.

Thank you to all who have donated in support of this cause!

Intro to the 2015 Assault on the Carolinas

Intro to the 2015 Assault on the Carolinas
Training Update
2015 AOTC Recap

For those who have been with me for a while, you will probably remember this ride from when I rode it in 2013.  I had a lot of training to do because all I knew about this ride was that there was going to be a lot of climbing in it, and quite frankly that kind of scared me.  Since the ride happened at the beginning of Spring, I knew that I wouldn't have a lot of time to prepare after a winter of not riding.  I decided to make use of the trainer that Toni had gotten me in the late Fall of 2012 to keep my legs in shape over the winter.  As it turned out, the trainer did the trick, and when I was able to ride outside again in March, I was able to do a little bit of hill work.  When it was all said and done, I was ready for the AOTC and conquered the cat 1 climb known as Caesar's Head which is 2000 ft of climbing in only seven miles.

That was then....this is now.  Why do I need to do this ride again after completing it in 2013?  Well, its kind of a litmus test for me to see how my training is coming along after 10 months off of the bike.  Unfortunately, my entry back into the cycling world comes at a time when the weather is getting colder and the days shorter.  I have a lot of rides planned for 2015 which will tax my endurance and abilities, and I now know from 2013 that the AOTC is a great way to open up the season and build confidence in myself and my machine.  I'm not looking for a repeat of 2013 though.  In fact, I am looking to do better in 2015 across the board.  I learned a lot from my first go at Caesar's head and the rest of the 100K route of the day, and I plan on using that knowledge to have a stronger showing this time around.

This is "Flo" which I will be riding in the 2015 AOTC

So, what kind of things am I planning on changing this year.  Well, the first change was the bike.  That was less by design, and more due to circumstances.  The bike that I chose to ride just happens to be one of the top tier Specialized Tarmacs, although I would have been happy with a lesser ride.  The only glitch was the drivetrain options.  The only way to get a Tarmac with a SRAM groupset was to spec it out with the Red 22 groupset which only came on an S-Works level bike.  The bad part of that was the price of admission.  Lets just say for what I paid for this bike, I could have paid for many...MANY sessions of therapy to determine why I paid so much for a plastic bicycle!

The good, however, outweighed the bad for a ride like AOTC.  For starters, this is the stiffest carbon fiber frame that Specialized makes and is a world class climber.  It is also very light at approximately 14lbs.  While I am not a weight weenie, I do respect the part that weight plays in cycling, especially when it comes to hills.  This bike is also outfitted stock with near bulletproof carbon fiber wheels which are quite light as well.  The wheel hubs, along with the drivetrain bearings are all ceramic which make for much less friction in the moving parts.  In short, this is a race bike designed for climbing quickly.

The rider plays a huge part in the climbing as well, and that is where my training comes in.  Much like in 2013, I find myself needing to drop some weight to get down to what I consider a decent power to weight ratio.  The difference is I was at about 187 lbs at this point in my training before.  When I started cycling again this past September, I was tipping the scales at 205 lbs!!!!  To make matters worse, there is a term for a cyclist that weighs over 200 lbs.....A CLYDESDALE!!  That doesn't sound like I will be able to do much climbing, so the weight was going to have to drop off.  I set a goal for myself of 180 lbs which was about where I was when I stopped riding at the end of 2013.  Twenty-five pounds I was going to need to lose before I had a chance at riding the AOTC with legs that were not used to turning the pedals anymore.  To make matters worse, I was going to be doing this training in the winter months with a bike that should never be put on a trainer.

This is "Snoopy", which is only trusted on the trainer

The answer to my biggest problem happened in a very unlikely way, in the form of a crash.  I now had a bike to put on the trainer.  I started to do intervals six days a week.  After about two months of doing intervals, I had dropped a huge chunk of that weight and as of this entry was down to 186 lbs.  This gives me a fighting chance to get below 180 for the AOTC, and while the weight is dropping, my performance is increasing thanks to the intervals.  Having finally received my replacement bike, I have completed both a 62 mile ride and a 100 mile ride, both of them as fast or faster than I was riding them at the peak of my fitness before.  Of course, part of that is due to the new bike, but it will always be my legs turning the cranks, powered by my lungs and heart.

So, I'm addressing both the bike and its engine to get the most performance out of both that I can muster.  I also know that there will be a lot of tactics involved in this ride thanks to my experience before.  Having never rode this ride before, I listened to what I had been told about the importance of riding in a pack with the others to share the energy.  I thought I was going to be in a bad way when I was dropped from the group I was riding with.  However, what I found was that I was able to ride my own ride, which resulted in a very strong climb up Caesar's Head.  I will take this personal knowledge with me in 2015 and will not get caught up in needing to be with a group.  Sure, I would love to conserve as much energy as I can by hiding out in a peloton, but I think riding at my comfort pace will serve me much better in the long run.  Since most of my rides are solo, I view riding in groups as a luxury for the most part.  I'm much more comfortable relying on myself over the course of a ride.

Elevation profile from my 2013 experience

My trusty steed atop the category 1 climb

Totally worn out, but exhilarated from climbing the cat 1 

Unlike my first attempt at the AOTC, I'm not really worried about not finishing or having to take my bike for a walk up Caesar's Head.  I am curious as to how my performance will compare, and fully expect a stronger ride since I know more about the demands, and at least right now seem to be in a better place physically than before.  With five months to improve on where I am now, I think I will be able to really put a hurting on the big climbs of the day.  This will be a big achievement for me since I have never been a particularly good climber, and by all rights, after so long being away from a bike, I should be struggling to ride anywhere near the level I was at before.

My triumphant finish in 2013 with a 16.9 mph avg speed

The Proof is in the Pudding

Just a quick synopsis of how things have been going since August, 2014, to get things started.  First of all, after about nine months of not riding, I decided that I actually needed cycling in my life because, let's face it...Getting old sucks!  I then found out that I was quite impatient waiting on my new 2015 S-Works Tarmac to be built and shipped to Paul's so I could get back in the saddle.  September 4th was an awesome day as I finally took possession of my new bike and went out the very next day to ride a painful, and slow 50 miles.  I had ridden the miles, but I could tell I was out of shape really badly and was going to need to do a lot of work in order to get back to where I wanted to be.  I rode the following three days at lower mileage with increasing speeds.  On the fifth day, I set out to ride a 100k route.  I was expecting to be tired at the end, but I felt fairly confident that I could pull it off.  However, at just under eight miles, a Dodge had other plans for my day.  Now I owned a bike that was less than a week old, and had been crashed with about 140 miles on the clock.  Thanks to the folks at Progressive insurance, I was able to come out of the crash with some very positive outcomes.  First and foremost, I was able to use the crashed bike as a trainer bike.  Having used the trainer in the past with great results, I had high hopes for an off season of interval training.  Even though my replacement bike wasn't due in until early to mid November, I wasn't concerned because I had pretty much written off road rides for the remainder of the year at this point.  My goal was to concentrate on doing intervals.

November 3, 2014 (one year to the day from my first crash)

So, that gets us caught up on the soap opera that has been my return to cycling in the past two and a half months or so.  Its been a bumpy ride for sure, and one that has had more twists and turns in it than a mountain road.  I had pretty much settled into a five week program on the trainer which was doing wonders for me.  I was getting faster, more fit, and losing weight like crazy.  I had completed the first four weeks of the program and was cleaning my bike up, and servicing the chain when I got a call from Jimmy.  Now, Jimmy is the lead mechanic at Paul's.  I wasn't really expecting a call from him, so I was a little surprised to start out with.  What he told me next was even more surprising...my new bike had come in earlier that day and he was about done building it.  Wait.....What.......Huh?????  Last I heard from Dale was about a week ago saying that they had gotten the order confirmation from Specialized which would put the delivery out about two weeks or so.  Here I was getting told that the bike was actually here....now.....almost ready to pick up!

I'm a planner, so this threw my life into instant turmoil (in a good way).  I was technically off the next day, but I was scheduled to be in court for the vast majority of the day.  By the time I was supposed to be released, it would put me getting to Paul's at about 4:30 or so.  That was going to push it to get the bike finished (I had the accessories at the house) and fit to me before they closed at 6.  I could just wait until Wednesday to go and pick it up, but looking at the weather, I would actually have a really good day to go ride outside....OUTSIDE!!!  If I picked the bike up in the morning, it would be around lunch before I got home, and then I would have a lot of other things to do to get it ready for a ride...effectively burning all of my day, leaving me with Thursday which was supposed to be rainy.  This all would also mess up my last week of intervals training for this particular program I was on.  I was in a pickle!

November 4, 2014

I managed to get things sorted out over the phone the following day from court.  The plan was, I would bring my old bike to the shop so they could just duplicate the fit measurements from one machine to the next.  that would save a lot of time.  Even with that amount of work to be done, as well as installing pedals, bottle cages, etc, Dale told me that if I got there at 4:30 we should be OK.

When I left court, I made a quick trip to the truck (after answering a series of questions all the way to the parking lot) and headed home to change.  I put on some regular clothes and pulled my bike off of the trainer.  It was loaded into the bed of the truck as well as my bag of goodies I had for the new shoes.  Like I said, I had all of the accessories here.  I was bringing the pedals, footbeds, cleat stackers, and cages for the new bike.  After getting things loaded up, Sierra and I boogied down the road to Paul's.

When I got there, Jimmy took my old bike and put it on the mechanic's stand.  He said "are you sure this has been on a trainer?"  He was referring to how clean everything was on it, since trainer bikes are usually encrusted with salt, and everything is grimy.  Of course, I could never have a bike that wasn't clean and maintained, not even a crashed bike.  I had just done a full service on it, and a complete wipe down as part of my normal Monday "rest day" routine.

We started to talk about the new bike, and I told him that I was planning on swapping out the saddle for a new Romin saddle which would allow more blood flow to certain sensitive areas which contact the seat.  He looked kind of puzzled and asked didn't mine come with a Romin?  As I was saying no, Patrick pointed out that it was equipped with a Toupe' saddle.  Jimmy took me back to the rear of the shop and showed me that the new bike was, in fact, equipped with the Romin.  Bonus!!!!  It wasn't the team edition that I was wanting to buy, but functionally, it was exactly what I was wanting and it matched the bike just as well.  I also noticed that the seat post was different on the new bike.  It was a 0mm offset tube as opposed to the -30mm that my first bike was equipped with.  The -30mm worked, but the saddle was at the limits of the adjustment and there was a good possibility that I would be swapping it out for a 0mm when I had my first full fit with the bike.  So...DOUBLE BONUS!!  As if that wasn't good enough, I was also informed that this bike came with a Roval wheel bag which was something that I had wanted for a while with my other bike since I had two full wheelsets.  SCORE!!!!

Romin saddle with a nice large relief in the middle section

Wheel bag that will come in very handy in the event I get a second set of wheels

Jimmy started measuring everything out and getting the bike set up to my specs while I tracked down my new S-Works road shoes.  After test fitting them and determining that the 48's fit better than the 47's, I took them back to Patrick to get the cleats and the left shoe spacer installed.  Things were going well, and they were going quickly.  While I was there, I had Jimmy put on the bracket for the spare water bottles mounted to the seat post, and also bought a couple more cages to mount to that bracket.  Since he had the clamp loosened for adjustment that was no problem at all to do.

These look so impressive and fit like a dream

Things were going well ahead of schedule and since I had my original bike there to match measurements up with, there was no need to get on the trainer and get a basic fit done.  We knew that this would work fine based on my previous fit.  With time to spare, I was loading up my truck with not one, but two S-Works Tarmacs.  It was impressive...even Jimmy commented that it looked like a pro support truck all loaded up.  The only glitch in the visual was the red trainer tire attached to the old bike, which had been named "Snoopy" when I first bought it.  The new bike is affectionately called "Flo" after the Progressive spokeswoman (great idea from Sierra).

They do look impressive side by side

Snoopy on the left and Flo on the right, framing my Specialized logo

One would think that after all of this I would be all set to ride.  Not the case, not even close.  The bike comes originally equipped with performance race tires which don't work well for my kind of riding.  With a tread life of only about 800 miles, I would burn through them in less than two months.  I have been a big fan of the Continental GP4000S II tires and that is what I installed on the rims for my kind of riding.  I also had to set up the Garmin GPS with the new sensors which are magnetless.  This makes for a much cleaner install, and gives me the ability to leave the standard sensors on the trainer bike so all I have to do is swap the computer between the two.  Speaking of which, I had to install the K-edge computer mount to the handlebar, as well as a headlight.  Yeah, I do all my riding in the daylight so a headlight isn't really needed unless it starts raining.  However, with my track record, I wanted all the visibility I could possibly get!

The Thunderbolt headlight fits nicely right beside of the Garmin and has a really bright blinker

It was time to turn to the rear for lighting and for storage.  Since my rides are all self sustained, I have to have a saddle bag to carry tubes, tools, etc.  I had been using a large bag on Snoopy, but decided that it was just too big to hang under the seat of this racer.  I opted to step down a size and Toni got me a smaller wedgie that fit perfectly under the seat.  Despite its small size, it holds two spare tubes, tire tools, and a multi tool.  There is also a hanger strap for a tail light which was exactly where I mounted my Niterider Solas 2 tail light.  Below the bag, I positioned the spare bottle carriers so they were out of the way of everything and didn't block the view of the light.

Everything fits so well

One of the nice things about this bottle carrier system is that it rides lower than the seat mounted one that I had on my red Tarmac before.  With them mounted to the seat I was constantly kicking them with my legs when I was getting on the bike.  They would also get bumped by my hiney when I was shifting in the seat from time to time.  It worked, but not well.  The center of gravity was also raised very high on the post.  I haven't had the opportunity to really test this out, but I think it will work out much better than what I had before.

My setup on my original Tarmac

In addition to getting all of these things done, I also had to strip the protective coating off of the chain and get it lubed up.  While I had the lube out, I decided to go ahead and lube up the moving parts in the driveline as well.  I checked the operation of everything and determined that both brakes had a hard time centering themselves.  After a quick search of how to address that problem, I made the appropriate adjustment and got them adjusted in closer as well.  Now I had a nice short throw on the brake lever and a full release of the pads when the lever was let go.

Everything installed, cleaned, and ready to roll out

The bike was now done, but I needed to lube the cleats on the shoes, especially since the springs were new and that would mean harder engagement for a while.  I flipped the shoes and started to lube things and noticed that something didn't look quite right.  I was seeing different parts than I was used to.  I knew that this was the V2 version of the cleat, but it didn't look right.  As I investigated, I realized that the spring retainer plate had been swapped left to right.  It was a quick and easy fix, but one that I'm glad I caught before trying to clip in.  There would have been no way to engage the pedals had I not caught this.  Within a few quick minutes, I had everything sorted out and lubed up.  I made a last quick test fit of the shoes and made sure that the footbeds and wedges were correct before putting everything up.  It was late, and I needed sleep before going on my ride in the morning.

November 5, 2014

The day had arrived.  Honestly, I was just as nervous as I was excited about the new bike.  I had been putting in many hours on the trainer and was expecting that by the time Spring arrived, I would be at a reasonable performance level.  I also knew that the last time I went on a road ride, I had crashed hard.  Just a year ago, I had suffered another crash. Out of my last 6 road rides, I had crashed out twice.  I wasn't liking the odds, not one bit.  I wasn't scared, but I was very much apprehensive about going out...especially since I hadn't really thought I would be riding any more until Winter was over.  I wasn't mentally prepared for this, but I was hoping that I was physically prepared for it.

After waiting for the temperature to get above 50*, I got dressed and grabbed some food.  To show how unprepared I was for this, I had two Smucker's Uncrustables which I had left over from an experiment as a possible ride fuel.  There was a single Cliff Bar in the cabinet and I had a few Slim Jims available as well.  That was pretty much my selection for ride fuel.  I really wanted to try for that 100K ride that was interrupted so quickly last time.  I loaded up my pockets with what I had and filled two water bottles.  This should easily last me the 62 miles, as long as my body held up.  I kept remembering just how bad I had started to feel in the last third of my 50 mile maiden voyage just a couple of months earlier.

So worn out I couldn't stand up any more

I had put over 600 miles in on the trainer so I felt much stronger than I did on that first ride.  My speeds had increased, and I was estimating that my road speed for 50 miles should be back up in the mid 18's to mid 19's based on my previous experience with the trainer.  That was when I was very fit though, and I didn't know if it would translate over to the current body.  Time would tell I suppose.

Here I am starting out, full of hope

If nothing else, I was fitting better in my kit this time.  The 17 lbs that I had lost really made a big difference, but I still wasn't at my previous riding weight.  I didn't know how that 8 lbs left would affect my ride, but my legs felt good, and had been resting for two days at this point.  I started my live tracker so that Toni and a few others could follow my progress.  I made a last minute check of all the things that I needed to have.  After determining that I had everything, I clipped in with the right foot (it worked by the way) and started off.

I wasn't sure of the route I wanted to take so I kind of pieced it together as I went.  I started out wanting to go to King, but decided that wouldn't give me enough mileage and the traffic might be an issue as well.  As I was rolling through Rural Hall, I was noticing that my speed was well into the 19's and I was loving how the bike felt on the road in the big ring.  Feeling confident, I decided to make a right on Hwy 65 and head out to Walnut Cove to tackle some hills.  However, the hills came after a gradual decent into a valley.  I was smoking going down the road and at one point, close to the center of Walnut Cove, I was averaging 20.7mph!!!  Holy cow!  Not only was I feeling good on the bike, I was doing this route faster than I had ever done it by about seven tenths of a mph.  Talk about fueling the fire within!

When my lap reminder clicked over at 25 miles (40K) I was at a solid 20.4mph which I knew right then and there was my fastest 40K time and would be a record for me.  Over 10 months off of the bike, and just a hand full of road rides...this was what I was able to manage.  I was elated to say the least!

When I hit the climbs on the other side of Walnut Cove, my speeds dropped below 20mph and settled in the upper 19's by the time I hit the 50 mile mark.  I had my answer about whether or not the trainer was working.  From a dismal 14.9mph average on my maiden voyage, I was clocking nearly 5mph faster on average with a tougher route.  My speeds were right in line with what I was expecting them to be from the trainer speeds.

Buzzing the house just cause I had extra energy

A much happier cyclist at the end of 62.2 miles than I was after only 50 miles

When all was said and done, I had completed 62.2 miles at an average speed of 18.8 mph!  On that ride, I had landed a record 40K time trial speed, as well as a second fastest time on one of the climbs on Hwy 65.  I had food left, water left, and energy left.  I think that this is undeniable proof that doing intervals on a trainer will not only keep your fitness level in the off season, it will increase it...and in my case it will take you from couch potato to an "A Group" rider in a very short amount of time.

Lets look at some quick comparisons for a minute.

Last metric century ride before quitting cycling was November 2, 2013
Distance--62.15 miles
Average speed--18.0 mph
Time--3:27

First ride on Snoopy was Sept 4, 2014
Distance--52.55 miles
Average Speed--14.9 mph
Time--3:22

First ride on Flo was a metric century on November 5, 2014
Distance--62.22 miles
Average Speed--18.8 mph
Time--3:19

Second ride on Flo was a full 100 mile century on November 12, 2014
Distance--103.24 miles
Average Speed--18.4 mph
Time--5:37

Comparison century ride from September 16, 2013
Distance--103.73 miles
Average Speed--17.7 mph
Time--5:52

As you can see, the times for metric centuries are all pretty close, but the fastest of the three is today's 100K and the 52 mile ride was very close to the time of a 62 mile ride from a year ago.  Since my original writing of this entry, I have completed a full century which I have listed above with a comparison to another century on the same route.  In 2013, I had been riding for a full two years and was at about my top physical shape.  However, after using the trainer, I have gone from warming a couch cushion to shaving 15 minutes off of my time for that same route.  The numbers don't lie...my performance has increased exponentially from working on intervals, and is at, or better than my performance from a year ago already.  So, what does this mean?  It means that 2015 will be a really cool year!