The Evolution of a Cyclist

If you have been following this blog for a while, I'm sure you have noticed this picture in the upper right column.  It's one of those graphics I found funny a long time ago and added here because I was essentially documenting my own evolution.  You may recall reading a post where I detailed many of the changes that my first bike went though back in 2012.  When I wrote that piece, I had only been a cyclist for about a year.  I had learned a lot about the equipment needed, but honestly had just started to understand what I needed as a developing cyclist.  Looking back, I can tell that as with so many other riders, I was an equipment junkie.  I liked getting gadgets, and dressing the bike up.  There is nothing at all wrong with that, but my own performance on that bike was a secondary concern all too often.

Since November, 2012, I have learned a lot about myself as a cyclist.  I have grown, and developed into something that I would have never considered possible.  It's no longer about the bike (although, I still get a lot of joy dressing it up), it's about the engine that motivates the bike.  This post will hit the highlights of that very important evolution, the evolution of the cyclist.

2011

It has been said that it takes three years for a cyclist to really come into their own.  I am pretty sure that I subscribe to that concept, as I've seen the theory play out in my own riding.  However, that three year tenure had to start somewhere.  For me, it was in June, 2011, that the seeds for cycling were planted.  I needed to find a way to help teach my seven year old how to ride without training wheels.  Since I was not really able to run after her so she could keep pedaling, I decided to get a bike to ride with her.  Not knowing anything at all about cycling, I went to Wal Mart and got the only bike that would fit me.  I was the proud owner of a 29" mountain bike.  I proved that I had not forgotten how to ride a bike (just like the saying goes), and I went out several times a week with Sierra to help her get accustomed to riding.

As I showed her how to get started, turn, and stop, I found that I was starting to feel like a little kid again.  I was looking forward to getting on a bike after work and playing for a bit.  The basic handling drills were helping me out as I started to remember how a bicycle handled.  Hey, it had been some 20 years since I had last ridden one.  I thought I was doing good not to fall over.  Circles around buildings turned into rides around the neighborhood.  Eventually, I was wanting more than what Sierra was interested in doing, so after I spent some time with her, I would set out on my own to explore other neighborhoods.  I even found that some of the construction sites in a neighboring community made for some really fun off road adventures.

I enjoyed playing in the dirt, but somehow felt a little unstable when I was on the rutted ground.  I would experiment with different speeds over different terrain and found a good bit of excitement in these rides.  However, after some time, I started to feel a little silly riding in the dirt.  I felt that it was time to try some road riding again.  When I was about 13, I got my first 10 speed bike, and rode all over my Grandfather's neighborhood and I wanted to experience that again.  For that, I was going to have to venture onto some of the secondary roads beyond the neighborhoods I had been riding in.

We live off of a pretty major road, but there is a secondary street that runs out of the neighborhood into Walkertown which looked like my best bet for a road ride.  One evening, I filled a water bottle up and started off down the street.  It was slow going, and I felt very exposed out there on the street with traffic whizzing by at near 50 mph.  There were hills I had to climb (well, they felt like hills), and what seemed like many miles to ride before I got to my destination.  There was a school about 2 miles down the road where I had planned to turn around at.  I'm not sure how long it took me to get there, but I recall it being a significant amount of time.  Once I arrived, I remember having to get off of the bike and sit down on a bench to drink my water.  I used that time to call Toni and let her know of my accomplishment and the fact that I had to go back that same distance to get home.  That seemed like a such a long way to go, and I was already tired.

I made it back and didn't pass out.  Over the next month or so, I added to that mileage and was riding 10 miles routinely, several times a week.  It would take me about an hour to do, but I found that I was having a lot of fun doing it.  I was starting to explore different roads, and was even starting to climb some hills that I had looked at and thought "OH HELL NO" just weeks before.  It wasn't long before I was riding into Kernersville on the weekends, and even did a 32 mile ride into Greensboro.

Wedding day, 01-11-2011

One thing that I really hadn't considered was the potential weight loss with riding a bike.  I had not started this with any intention of losing weight, but I was noticing that my clothes were starting to get looser, and I was feeling better.  I'm not sure exactly what was going on with the weight, but I know that the last time I had weighed myself at the beginning of the year I was at 238lbs.  This had come as a complete shock to me when I weighed in.  I knew I was a little over the 190lbs mark I had been the last time I weighed myself, but this was well beyond what I would have thought.  When I saw that number, I tried to cut back on some of the junk food I had been eating, but never really saw much difference.  After riding a bike for the better part of two months I was finally starting to see a difference.  I don't know what the numbers showed because we didn't have a scale at the time, but I was feeling much better, and I liked that feeling!

By the end of July, I had pretty much decided that I was going to really give cycling a good try.  I was loving everything about it.  I had also left the dirt trails behind and settled into being a roadie.  Being a pavement pounder was not easy on a heavy mountain bike, and the general quality of the Wal Mart bike was lacking for the use I was throwing at it.  The decision was made to upgrade to a new road specific bike.  On my first ride, I immediately reaped the benefits of the lighter frame, and more speed oriented design.  I managed to go 50 miles my first time out, beating my best distance by 18 miles, and doing it at an average speed of 16 mph as opposed to 13 with the mountain bike.  I was sold!

2012

2012, was my first full year as a cyclist.  It was full of wonder and excitement.  It was also full of hard lessons that had to be learned.  If there was a basic mistake to be made, I think I made it.  It was months and months, maybe even a full year before I figured out what the little ring was for on the crank.  I had strong legs, and I wanted to push big gears.  All I did was eventually blow my knee out, kill a cassette prematurely and wear out a chain in under 900 miles.  Sometime at the end of the year, I finally allowed myself to use the little ring for warming up and for climbing.  It did make everything much easier, and strangely enough, my average speeds started to climb into the 17's.

One of the biggest areas where I faltered as a newbie cyclist was in my pedal choice.  As many others do, I had a fear of falling because my feet were trapped in the pedals so I resisted making the move to clipless pedals until many thousands of miles had passed under my bike.  At first, I wasn't really sure that I had made the right decision to move to clipless, but in time I started to develop different muscle groups in my legs which really took a lot of strain off of my overworked quads.  This allowed for better climbing, more efficiency for longer routes, and after some time, my speed really did improve.  Yes, I fell...twice as a matter of fact due to the pedals.  It took a few months before that happened after making the switch, and I can only assume it was when I started to get comfortable with them and stopped thinking about them as much.  At any rate, I was one of the statistics now.  When you go clipless, it's a matter of when, not if, when it comes to falling.

The addition of the new pedals brought to light another problem that I had been ignorant to until my feet were planted on the pedals.  My fit was way off, and I was now developing some pretty significant knee problems.  It was time to get a professional fit to establish a proper position in the saddle.  In short order, my knee got better and I found a much higher level of comfort on the bike.  All of a sudden, I was starting to feel like a "proper cyclist."  I had the funny clip clop shoes, the little pedals, I was concerned with the degree of my knee bend, as well as endurance vs performance rider positioning.

An interesting aside from my bike fit was a bit of extra knowledge that I picked up while talking to the fitter.  He had been instrumental in getting me to go into the little ring for warm ups and significant climbs, but now he was taking it a little bit further.  Since I was using a Garmin computer with a host of sensors, I knew that my cadence had been averaging about 60 or so rpms.  As part of the fit, I had to share that bit of information.  I had heard that proper cadence was usually around the 90 rpm mark many times, but when I had tried it, I felt like I was going to spin right off of the bike.  However, since I was having knee issues prior to the fit, my cadence was really brought under scrutiny.  Essentially, I was putting a lot of stress on my muscles and not relying on my cardio system to motivate me down the road.

I was under strict orders to increase my cadence to take some of the stress off of my legs and knees.  Despite feeling like I was going to spin the pedals straight off of the crank, I worked on this for the remainder of 2012.  I got into the 70's really quick, and then managed to average in the low 80's by the close of the year.  My speeds were slowing it seemed, but my legs were feeling better overall, and my endurance was starting to improve.  Slowly, I was starting to get my original form back.  The awkwardness started to dissipate and my speed and power started to return.

One other benefit from my fit was learning the importance of stretching after my rides as part of recovery.  I had always read that your muscles needed protein to help rebuild after a hard ride.  This was only part of the formula though.  To help the muscles repair and speed recovery though, stretching needs to be done after a ride as well.  It's amazing how tight your muscles get after several hours of riding.  You don't really notice it, but when you are trying to stretch, you can really feel it.  By stretching you actually seem to calm the muscles down, and usually avoid major stiffness after a workout.  With the protein, and lots of water added to the stretching, you are typically ready to ride the next day.  This was a change from before when I would have to rest a day after every ride, or risk feeling very bad on the bike.

Probably the best bit of knowledge that I took from 2012 was pacing myself, or as a friend would say, "riding your ride."  I found that despite how far I was riding, or the terrain, I would ride the same way.  It wouldn't be flat out, but I was always looking to squeak out just a bit more speed.  This is fine for a short ride, but looking back at my splits, I could see that my averages would drop through the course of a ride.  By the time I got finished, I would be nearly limping in with nothing left in the tank.  It wasn't that much of a problem until I rode on the Blue Ridge Parkway for the first time.  For the first time on this ride, I found out what it meant to totally burn up midway through.  I had never done hills like this before, and I was having fun going up and down.  The only problem was I was burning up every bit of my energy and left none for the big climb of the day which I had a terrible time completing.  The return leg was a constant struggle and I was seriously concerned about whether or not I would make it.

A few months would pass before I had the opportunity to tackle the Parkway again.  In October, I went back with a couple of friends and put some things to the test to see if I had actually learned from my earlier mistakes.  The theme for this ride was to ride my ride and control my pace.  I saved my energy for the mountains, and didn't stress myself on the easier sections.  Sure, my speed was well below what I wanted to see, but I was climbing bigger hills than before with none of the pain from last time.  I had proven to myself that picking the proper pace works wonders, not only for climbing, but also for endurance rides.  This single epiphany prompted two of my bigger goals for the following year.  The first was a 65 mile ride in NC and SC mountains with a category 1 climb, and the second was a single day double century ride to the coast of NC.

2013

This was the first year I considered myself a "serious cyclist."  Now by serious, I don't mean one that rides for long distances, or is faster than a regular cyclist.  What I mean by this is I was looking at riding much more scientifically than I had been.  I had a good idea how to ride, and I knew a good many things that I should be doing, I was even incorporating most of them on the majority of my rides.  What separated 2013 from the previous years was I set out at the beginning of the year with three major goals.  Each of these goals would require work and training to accomplish.  This was going to be a year of training, not just riding...and trust me, there is a difference!

My three goals were simply to ride a 50 mile route with an average speed of 20+mph, Complete the Assault on the Carolinas, as well as complete Double Down to the Beach.  Honestly, I thought that the first goal was going to be the easiest to achieve.  At the close of 2012 I was averaging around 19mph on a 50 mile route so I was very close.  Well, my assumption was very wrong.  There was not a single time in 2013 when I achieved that goal.  I just couldn't make it happen no matter how hard I tried.  That was my only failure in that year though.

My next goal was to complete the Assault on the Carolinas 100K route.  It was not the distance I was having to train for, but rather the arduous climb up Caesar's Head.  This was a seven mile long, 2000 ft climb...otherwise known as a category 1 climb.  Since it was in April, I would not have much good weather outside leading up to the event.  That forced me to embrace the stationary trainer.  I was fortunate that Toni had surprised me with one of these little satanic devices in the closing months of the previous year.  It was not long before I was doing interval workouts while it was snowing outside, or very cold, or wet...or just not fit for cycling.  These workouts were not fun, but I was feeling improvement as the weeks went by so I continued on with it.  By late March, I was getting some road time back and I was actually seeing improvements in both my speed and endurance from the previous fall.  I actually had not only maintained my fitness from the previous season, I had built on it in several ways.  This marked the first "training" that I had done on a bike.  I was no longer riding, I was looking for specific performance gains.

Thanks to my work on the trainer and a short amount of time on the road, I was able to complete the Assault on the Carolinas and prove to myself that I could actually climb a category 1 climb!  This was incredible considering how poorly I had done on my first ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway not even a year before.  I was well on my way to improving as a cyclist and I was gaining confidence in my personal training programs.

My last major goal for 2013 was to complete a double century ride known as Double Down to the Beach.  While I had completed around ten century rides since I started riding, a 200 mile ride was a huge step for me.  It was so much more than just conditioning on the bike.  I had to learn my body all over again and figure out just how to fuel it for a ride of this magnitude.  I experimented, read many suggestions, and fine tuned what worked for me.  I was learning how to be an ultra endurance rider.  I wish I could say that all my preparation for this event worked out flawlessly, but I can't.  I found out that I didn't quite know myself as well as I thought, and that knowledge kicked in around 135 miles.  I finished, and I finished very strong, but there was about 20 miles or so when I was really worried that I would not be finishing.

Probably the biggest thing that I took away from this ride had nothing to do with riding a bike, or how to fuel myself for an ultra endurance event.  The most important thing that I took from this ride was when my body feels like it has to quit, and I don't think I can muster any more effort, my desire to finish what I've started will take over and pull me though.  Obviously, I had the physical ability to complete this ride, but I learned that with cycling, among other things in life, it's mostly mental.  I learned that I can quiet the negative voices in my head, and pay more attention to the positive ones...those are the ones that will get me through the rough times.  

As the year drew to a close, I made another trip to the mountains of NC, and I made one last century for the year.  Neither of these rides I would have been able to complete at the same point in the previous year.  With over 7000 feet of climbing over 65 miles, I felt like I was in my element in the mountains for the first time.  It was a smooth ride and I actually enjoyed the straining as I crested each climb.  The Carolina Century, while just another century (11 for the year), was probably the most miserable ride I had taken.  I would venture that 80% of the ride was in the rain, some of that was heavy downpours.  I was cold and wet because I didn't dress appropriately.  Even though it was miserable, I can't help but look back and see that I was conducting myself as a "real cyclist."  Yes, I was cold, yes, I was wet, but I did ride the route and make the full 100 despite all of the hardships.  You see, bike rides can't all be sun and fun.  It's the hard ones that define who you are, and I felt rather defined after this ride.

By the end of 2013, I was really feeling like a cyclist.  A friend of mine told me that he had always heard that it was the 3rd year in the saddle when you really come into your own as a cyclist.  Doing the math (carry the 1, thumb, pointer, middle finger), 2014 was set to by my year!  I should have been excited, and I was, but I was also burned out, and I had no more big goals ahead of me.  Did this mean that I would stagnate, and not live up to the third year charm?  I actually started putting a lot of thought into that, and was thinking about it more than normal on a early November ride.

It was windy, and I was really starting to ask myself why I was putting myself through this physical exertion over and over.  What was I training for, why was I riding?  I told myself that I was riding to remain fit, and I was very happy at around 180lbs which was some 68lbs lighter than I was before I started cycling.  Even that wasn't much of a motivator for me though.  I wasn't sure how my cycling would progress into 2014, but by the end of the ride I had my answer.  It came in the form of a gust of wind from behind a U Haul truck.

I had ridden for over 12,000 miles at this point in my cycling tenure and had never had a major incident.  I was very lucky, but on November 3rd, that luck changed.  As the U Haul passed me, I got pushed over to the edge of the road and as it cleared, I started to move back to a more comfortable distance from the edge.  However, once the box truck stopped blocking the wind, it caught me just as I was starting to move to the left.  The bike shifted to the right just a few inches, but enough so that the front wheel left the asphalt.  Since I was already in the process of moving to the left, I didn't have time to correct and stay off the road, but found the bike trying to hop back on the pavement.  This is what causes cars to flip when they run off the road, and essentially that was what happened to my bike.  The wheels came out from under me and down I went.  My left side was covered in road rash, but I had nothing major as far as injuries.  I was able to limp the bike back home as well.  From this, I figured that my evolution as a cyclist was finished.  I had accomplished all that I set out to accomplish with the exception of the 20mph average.  I was busted, the bike was busted, it was time to hang up the helmet and quit while I was ahead.

2014

Yes, I realize that I just said that my evolution was complete.  I guess I lied a little bit to myself.  Between November, 2013 and July, 2014 I had steadily lost my fitness and started putting weight back on.  I found out that getting old sucks (previous link) and I didn't like it.  I also did a lot of evaluating of my life and why I was going through some of the issues that I had been dealing with recently.  What I ultimately determined was that I was far from done with cycling.  I actually needed it in my life and was really missing it much more than I could have ever imagined.  Emotionally, I think that this was probably the pinnacle of my evolution.  I was no longer wanting to ride for distance, or for accomplishments.  I was wanting to ride for myself, and my own well being.  I just hoped that I wouldn't have to start from ground zero again.

On my first ride after getting my new bike, I found that I had not lost everything I had worked to get, but I had lost a significant portion and I had a lot of work to do in order to get back to where I once was.  On the brighter side, even struggling with a maiden 50 mile ride, I was having a blast and truly enjoying being back in the saddle again.  I was far from the svelte rider I once was now topping out at 205lbs, but I knew that I would be able to whittle that down in time as I had done once before.

I started work on finding my form once again.  After being sedentary for about 10 months, I was willing and ready to spend some time on the bike.  I was starting to find my stride again and started getting optimistic about regaining much of my previous performance in short order.  Then it happened...another flippin' crash!  This time, it wasn't the wind that knocked me down, it was the side of a Dodge that turned in front of me that I hit.  This really should have been the end of my cycling as I'm pretty sure somebody was trying to tell me something.  However, after so much soul searching about why I needed to ride, I actually just viewed this as a minor hiccup in my return.  I was very fortunate that the driver's insurance really came through and made me whole again.  I was only down and out a couple of weeks before I had my crashed bike back and mounted to the trainer once again.

2015

As the year opened up, I was firmly committed to riding the indoor trainer.  Maybe I should have been committed because it is totally absurd to spend 6 out of every 7 days on a stationary bike grunting and sweating like I was doing.  I was starting to see results though.  My legs were feeling much more like what I remembered, and even better, my numbers were starting to mimic those that I had been producing at the peak of my previous cycling career.  I was very excited that I might actually see a return to my former performance before my estimate of a year was up.  My interval sessions were showing higher speeds, and more power with each passing week.  As I was looking at the numbers, and figuring out the rough conversion from what I had seen before, I was starting to expect that I could ride on the road at a relatively comfortable 20mph pace.  Wait a minute, what's that?  The elusive barrier of 20mph?!?!?  If you will recall, that was the one goal that I had to abandon in 2013 because I could just not break that wall.  Here I was still in the off season development stage looking at a very real possibility that I could finally see that goal happen.  I think that motivated me to push even harder, and harder I pushed.

The more I saw performance increases, the more I started to think about setting goals for myself once again.  When I got back into cycling, it wasn't going to be about the same types of goals that I had once chased after.  I was going to be happy just being able to ride at a respectable pace.  But this is where my competitive nature comes in, and I was seeing that I would not only match that fitness level, but surpass it very soon.  I wanted to put my body to the test and see just what I was capable of doing.

It seemed only logical that my first goal would be to complete a 50 mile ride with an average speed of 20+mph.  Yeah, I've tried that before only to be disappointed, but I had a feeling that I would crack that barrier at some point in the season.  My second goal to make a repeat appearance at the Assault on the Carolinas and climb Caesar's Head one more time.  I would follow that up with another go at a double century with the Double Down crew.  You may be wondering why I chose to do these two repeat rides since I have already conquered both of them previously.  The answer is actually rather simple.  I wanted to be able to make direct comparisons to known quantities to gauge exactly where I am in my training.  Beyond those two events, I have chosen to ride in a multi day event that is similar to my previous Tour to Tanglewood rides, but has an extra day, and about 90 more miles to it.  This is "A Ride to Remember" and I'm expecting it to tax my body due to the increasing distances each day (67, 87, 100 miles) and the fact that it is in the middle of July in South Carolina.  This is the unknown of the year, and what might actually prove to be the most difficult for me.

As of the writing of this entry, I have made some headway on my goals.  First of all, I cracked the 20mph barrier on Jan 1st.  I clocked a 50 mile ride at 20 even!  I followed that up with a 64 mile ride in April at the same average.  Just to be sure I wasn't seeing things, I did a repeat performance in May with a 71 mile ride with an average speed of 20.6!!!!  I think we can safely say that I have finally achieved my long standing goal of a 20mph avg speed ride.  While not a huge deal overall, this was a huge boost to my confidence on the bike.  I really felt like I was riding at a different level than before, and it came in what could only be described as my third year on the bike.  There might just be something to that urban legend.

In April, I had my second meeting with Caesar's Head.  It was all too familiar for me, but I could tell quite a few differences.  The final numbers actually look very similar to each other, but I was able to look deeper into the ride when I was examining it.  The first 40 miles of the ride this year were actually harder due to so many cyclists on the road.  It was darn near impossible to get around them to find a patch of open road to "ride my ride."  That kept my averages down lower than 2013's averages.  That didn't really bother me since my main purpose for doing this ride was the climbs.  The first big climb of the day went very well.  So well, in fact, that I found myself actually passing other cyclists on the road and being able to accelerate at will.  I wasn't expecting that, but I was sure happy to see it.  By the time I got to the cat 1 climb, I found that I was able to climb it a touch faster than before, and without feeling like I was going to die.  I felt so good by the top of the climb I didn't even take advantage of the rest stop, and just continued on to the finish.  Even though my numbers looked very similar, the way that I felt on this ride was worlds apart from my 2013 experience.  In short, this ride was not that taxing on me.  No matter how you look at it, I came to the party in better shape in 2015 than I did in 2013, and I rode much smarter to boot.

April, 2015

I have mentioned my weight a few times in this entry, but don't confuse that as being the evolution I have been talking about.  Weight is more a piece of the puzzle when it comes to cycling than a primary focus.  It stands to reason that the more you weigh, the harder you have to work to maintain a given speed, and the more power is needed to climb hills.  When I started riding in 2011, I was around 238lbs.  When I stopped riding in 2013, I was around 187lbs, and had been as low as 174lbs a few months before.  By September of 2014, I was back up to 205lbs.  When I rode in the AOTC I was around 168lbs which was the lowest I had seen in 16 years.  In fact, I had done some research of my "ideal" cycling weight in 2013 and found it to be 167lbs.  Granted this was an estimate and far from exact I'm sure.  However, I had tried to reach that weight before and never could get there.  Now, without really focusing on that number I had managed to basically get there.  Pretty cool I thought.  Here we are at the end of May and I am staying consistently at 165-168lbs and I have to admit, it does make riding much easier.  This was never an official goal, I had just wanted to get healthy.  I feel better than I've ever felt before, and I feel better on the bike than I have ever felt before.

Here we are at the close of May, and I actually feel like my evolution has been completed.  There will still be improvements along the way, but for the first time, I feel like an honest to goodness cyclist.  Also, for the first time, I think that I'm becoming an all around cyclist.  In the past, I had only been about endurance rides.  I was unable to sprint, I was marginally fast, but in the eternal "B group" it would seem.  When it came to climbs, I could do them, but they hurt me, and I didn't like them.  Here we are in cyclist 2.0 territory, and I still have my endurance legs (4 full century rides, 2 additional 200K rides so far).  I've also added a good bit of speed to my repertoire making my official training pace 20mph.  Heck, even my centuries are in the 19's now!  When it comes to climbing, I have almost gotten to the point that I enjoy them.  The short ones, I try to sprint up in a big gear just for fun.  The longer ones, I will take at a more comfortable pace, but I still push myself to get better times in the climbs. Thanks to all the time on the trainer, I have learned about active recovery which allows me to recover after a strenuous effort while still riding and making good time.  This allows me to attack the climbs, recover, and then hammer the flats all without taking a break.

There are now 16 days left before I tackle Double Down to the Beach once again.  Of course, I can't look into the future to see how that will go, but I know that I have really ramped up my training compared to 2013 and based on everything that I am seeing so far, I fully expect to turn in much better numbers this year, and have a stronger second half.  My centuries are faster, have less breaks, and are more consistent across the splits now than ever before.  A good many of my centuries and 200K's have even shown noticeable increases in pace with each passing 25 mile block.  I expect this training to transfer over to my three day ride as well.  I'll have to work on a few things before so that I don't burn out before starting the century, but I have the basic fitness and endurance to get me through this ride as well.

So, there you have it...from June, 2011, to May, 2015, my evolution as a cyclist.  When you take out that 10 month break, I am in my third year of riding.  At 41 years old, I can't imagine how I am able to do the things that I do on a bike.  Had I been riding all my life, that would make sense, but I haven't.  What I am accomplishing has taken place in just three years.  I think that I was meant to be on a bike, and when I am on a bike, I feel more like "me".  

2015 AOTC Recap

Intro to the 2015 Assault on the Carolinas

Training Update
2015 AOTC Recap

The day finally came, and to be honest, it kind of snuck up on me.  I knew that the Assault on the Carolinas was scheduled for April 11, but for some reason when I signed up for it in October, it just seemed so far away.  I was steady training for it throughout the winter months on the stationary trainer, and then when the weather started getting warm, I made it a point to go out in search of some different climbs near the house to really test my legs in a real world setting.  All of this was designed primarily to get me ready for the AOTC, but also was going to give me a jump start on the training for my other long rides later in the Summer.  The Assault was first on the list, and was happening right at the beginning of the typical riding season.  I knew that going in when I registered.  The odd thing was as March came to a close, I really didn't realize that April 11, was just around the corner.  By the time I really sat down and thought about it, I had about a week left to train.  Fortunately, I had been training since September, so that wasn't a big deal at all.  It was just the mental shock that hit me...."My first test of my return to cycling was in just a few days!"  Was I ready for it?

Obligatory picture at the top of Caesar's Head from 2013

The Assault was not a new ride for me by any stretch.  I had first ridden it in 2013, and had made it a success, even though I had some issues with my Garmin that deducted about a mile from my totals.  I had climbed a monster of a mountain (2000 feet in a bit over 6 miles), and proven to myself that I could do some serious climbing.  I had not really planned on repeating this ride because quite frankly, climbing wasn't my favorite aspect of cycling.  I didn't ride it in 2014 because, well, I had give up riding the November before.  By the end of Summer that year, I had decided that I needed cycling in my life, and picked it back up.  My immediate goals were just to lose some weight, and get some exercise.  However, in no time at all, I was wanting to do the endurance events again, and some more big rides than just riding around the house.  Since the bike I chose was a climbing bike by nature, it only made sense to give the AOTC another try.

For 2015, I wasn't riding for the same reasons I did in 2013.  This time around, I wanted to prove to myself that I still had it in me at 41 years old.  I also wanted to have a tangible yardstick by which to measure my training program with the stationary trainer.  Ever since Toni bought it for me in 2012, I have learned that it is a valuable training aide and one that I think has some very unsung benefits.  With a comparably short amount of time on the trainer in 2013, I was able to accomplish some big performance gains.  Since getting back into cycling at the end of 2014, I have done a great deal more time on the trainer than ever before.  I was trying to lose weight, which was going to be important for a climbing ride like AOTC.  My goal was to get down to around 180 before the ride.  Somehow, I managed to weigh in at 170 a few days before I went to Brevard.  I also wanted to invest the time on the trainer to get my legs back.  They had been more or less unused for about 10 months straight, and I had lost a lot of what I had worked to achieve.  I also needed to get my endurance back.  After 142 sessions on the trainer, I had accomplished every one of my goals.  I can honestly say that I prepared for Caesar's Head an hour at a time without leaving my office.  To put it in perspective, to complement those 142 trainer sessions since September, I have only ridden on the road a total of 27 times.

So, I felt ready for my second attempt at the Assault, and was actually looking forward to the big climbs of the day.  With just a few days to get my mind wrapped around the fact that I was going to be doing them again, I was almost excited instead of nervous.  Now, the night before, I have to admit I was nervous.  This nervousness, however, wasn't for the reasons you would think though.  I wasn't worried about the ride itself, I was worried that I would forget something important which would prevent me from riding, or that I would suffer a mechanical failure with the same result.  It had been about 18 months since I had last packed for an event ride, and I wasn't sure I would remember everything.

To make matters worse in regards to the packing, I had purchased a jersey with my registration that I was wanting to wear.  I was not going to be able to pick this up until the day of the ride though.  Then, after they posted the pictures of the bibs that went with the jersey, I decided I wanted the full kit.  Due to a glitch with the ordering software, I was unable to add these bibs to my original registration.  Of course, there would be no guarantee that they would have any left by Saturday morning, since they would be selling them at Friday's check-in.  My wardrobe choices were wild cards.  If I were to wear the AOTC kit, I would have to get dressed up there, and would have to do it in a place where I could wash my hands thanks to the Chamois Butt'r I use.  Just in case, since I was planning on getting dressed up there anyway, I decided to pack my own kit as a standby.  This was new for me because I typically get dressed at home for the ride, but that would serve me no purpose if I was going to wear a kit that was going to be picked up at check-in.

With the clothing issues settled, I moved on to stressing about the bike and my equipment.  After my last training ride on Wednesday, I had noticed a slight clicking in the rear of the bike.  When I was getting it all cleaned up afterwards, I took that opportunity to tighten things up.  Based on previous experience, I started with the rear cassette.  that was in good shape and did not need any tightening.  I then moved to the crank and checked for play.  It was tight with no movement.  The spokes were checked, and all seemed to be fine.  I did a quick tune on the rear derailleur just because I was back there, and tightened the quick release.  Between that day and the day I loaded the bike up, I went over every system in my head and made more and more checklists of things that I wanted to look at before I loaded it up.  It was a very good thing that I did this, because I did find an issue that could have been problematic.

You see, one thing that I hadn't thought to check since the bike only had about 1300 miles on it was the headset.  I really didn't expect this to be loose at all.  However, when I locked the brakes down and rocked the bike back and forth, there was noticeable play between the headset and the head tube.  This might have been the source of the noise, but more importantly, it could affect handling and wear.  I broke out the tools and did a last minute adjustment and tightened things down.  I got rid of the play, and everything still worked smoothly.  I can only guess that a couple of jumps over bad pavement had pulled the headset loose.  The last thing I needed was for the bars to come off of the steer tube.  Whether or not this fixed the noise was irrelevant.  It was an issue all unto itself.

The newly inspected bike was loaded into the bed of my truck and was secured in my locking cleat.  My bag was packed with my alternate kit.  I also decided that despite the warm temperatures forecasted for the morning, I would go ahead and throw in a pair of arm warmers and my long finger gloves.  I recalled my last AOTC where the morning was supposed to be just below 50, and it turned out that my bike had frost on it from the drive into Brevard.  Hey, I learn from my mistakes.  I was going to be prepared for colder than expected weather.

Let's forget about the part of the story where I went to sleep before my 10 year old and fast forward to 3am when I had my clock set.  Well, actually back it up just a bit to 2:30 when I woke up this morning.  Without the aid of an alarm clock, storm, or even snoring, I was wide awake, and there was no way I was going back to sleep for the last 30 minutes.  I did lay in bed though and run through all the mental checklists of everything that I needed, and everything that I had already packed.  I'm obsessive, I know.  Just before the alarm rang, I went ahead and got up to get the day started.  I had a three hour drive ahead of me just to get to Brevard, and I wanted to be there at 7 when check-in started in hopes that they had one more bib for sale.  I decided to have oatmeal for breakfast because it would be a slower release of energy, and possibly last me longer than my typical bagels.  I finished loading up the truck with cold water, food, and a recently checked cycling bag that had everything I could think of I might need.  I aired the tires up, and while I was doing that Toni came home from work.  Yeah, we have an odd schedule.  At 3:30 she's coming home from work, and I'm getting ready to drive to the mountains for a bike ride!  But I digress...

I was all set and ready to go.  I couldn't think of anything else I might need, and I knew that the time had arrived to head West and see if the confidence I had placed in my training program was well earned.  I was a little nervous, but not like the first time I did this ride.  I wasn't really worried about not finishing the ride, I wasn't even worried about how fast I was going to be.  My worry was that my bike would fall apart, or I had forgot something major, like shoes, preventing me from doing what I had set out to do.  I did remember shoes?  Right?  Yeah, I packed them in the bag.  For the next three hours, I would quiz myself on what I packed trying to find a loose end.  I couldn't figure out anything that I missed, so life was good, except I was getting sleepy on the long ride out to Brevard.

Somehow, I managed to pull in with both eyes open at 7am and found ample parking because there were only a handful of people like me that didn't value sleep on a Saturday morning.  I parked, and went straight for check-in with hopes of getting the matching bibs for my jersey.  I went through the assembly line of goodies where I picked up my swag bag, rider number, t-shirt, jersey, and even a pair of socks!  Then it was time to ask about the bibs.  There were some left, and lucky me managed to find the last pair of mediums.  Well, this day is going pretty good so far!  I went ahead and purchased them and took my now complete kit back to the truck to get what I needed to change.  Fortunately, The building where we were checking in had rest rooms, and I was able to change in more privacy than the towel around the waist method in the middle of the parking lot.  Yes, I was prepared for that, but wasn't happy at the prospect.

Does this mean I'm in "Almost Beast Mode"?

Funny thing happened when I got back to the truck though.  As I was opening the bibs, I looked at the chamois.  It didn't seem to be quite what I was used to.  Being a creature of habit, and not liking to try new things on important days, I decided to err on the side of familiarity.  I decided that I would go with the kit that I brought from home, just so I knew I would be comfortable for the entire ride.  There was a bit of a sentimental reason as well. You see, the last time I rode this ride, they did not offer jerseys, so I used one of mine.  It happened to be a skull and crossbones, and this new "One Eyed Willie" jersey was kind of similar.  Hey, I was going to ride this ride solo, that's kind of pirate-y isn't it?  I grabbed my Pearl Izumi bibs and the tube of Chamois Butt'r and headed back into the building to get my bottom half dressed.  Privacy was sure nice!  Then it was back out to the truck to finish getting dressed and get the bike ready.

In all of the back and forth, I hadn't really noticed, but it was actually quite cold!  There was no frost or anything, but it was enough to make me shiver.  I was very glad I had packed the arm warmers and long finger gloves.  That was going to be a mandatory addition for the morning.  After getting it all put together, I realized that I had, in fact, remembered everything.  That was one worry off my back.  I then rode my bike up to the starting area and found that it didn't fall apart, and everything was still lined up correctly as well.  It would seem that another worry was gone.  All that was left was the mass start which I have never liked, and the fast descents, which I don't really care for in unfamiliar territory.

An empty parking lot now, a bustling mecca of vendors in just a few hours.

It was just me and the volunteers for a while

Another early arrival

When I got to the start line, it was like a ghost town except for the volunteers.  There were only a few cyclists here and there, and things were still getting set up.  Yeah, I could have come a little later in the morning, but this way I had time to get my mind straight, and start focusing on the ride ahead.  Remember, it did sneak up on me and I hadn't really done the mental preparation I like to do for a ride like this.  I had one advantage over last time though.  Instead of playing all the information I had read about this ride back in my head, I was able to rely on my memories of how it actually was, based on my experience.  I could still hear the sounds in my head as I remembered Walnut Hollow Climb, and I could remember the switchbacks as we neared the top of Caesar's Head.

You can't tell it, but I'm freezing here!

I was in the shade and it was really cold as I waited for time to tick by.  I heard several people saying that it felt like it had gotten colder since they had arrived.  I agreed with them!  I also heard several of the volunteers saying that it would be hot at the top of Caesar's Head, which I knew to be accurate.  That was why I opted for arm warmers, because I could strip them off at any point.  However, at this point and time, I was cold and they were very much needed!

When the sun finally hit me, I started to feel better

Slowly but surely, more riders started to appear

See, I'm not the only one that stresses over last minute adjustments

Some riders even started to line up near the start line

The hour before the ride started seemed like it took an eternity.  Everything was in slow motion until about 8:40 when everyone started arriving.  Places were picked out in the starting order.  I tried to pick a place similar to where I began last time, but I think I got a little further forward. More and more people started to pile in and I started getting a little claustrophobic.  An introvert by nature, I get uncomfortable around large groups of people.  Add to that, I haven't ridden in a group ride in about a year and a half.  Getting started without bumping has always been a concern for me, and for some reason today, I was seeing bumping as a big possibility.  Oh well, "hike up the big boy spandex and work it out" I told myself.

Lots of room yet to be filled, but real estate is getting slimmer by the minute

This was the view behind me

This was right before the start.  The start line is that green banner!

With the road pretty much packed, it was time for the opening announcements and the count down for start.  Unlike last time, I had turned on my Garmin when I was well away from the others which allowed it to pair with my heart rate monitor, speed sensor, and cadence sensor.  All of these I did without last time because the computer couldn't determine which sensors were mine in a sea of Ant+ devices.  This time, I had all my sensors paired and I was ready to go.  This was a mass start, so as the cyclists up front cleared the start gate, the rest started to slowly roll forward.  It was more like riding a skateboard than a bike.  When time came to get in the saddle and clip in with the other foot, I was already moving which was not my normal state.  I tried to make things as smooth as I could, but I became very unsteady.  Thankfully though, I was able to recover enough grace to avoid creating a problem for other riders and managed to get on the saddle and get my left foot clipped in.  We were on the move!

This was a rough start, and as we rolled out of town, it didn't get much better.  Everyone was all clumped up and I was a prisoner to their pace which seemed to be very sporadic, like an accordion which usually happens in large groups like this.  I tried to slow down to let them get ahead, but I would be overtaken by another group from behind.  I would try and pass, but would be cut of on the left by another passing cyclist, or the double yellow line.  This was how things went for the first 8 miles or so.  I just resigned myself to being in this group until Walnut Hollow when the steep ascent would break the group up for sure.  This was also the first major climb of the day, and has been compared with the six mile climb up Caesar's Head because of how steep it is.

Walnut Hollow starts out rather gradually, but then moves up to about an 8% grade, and then pitches up at the end to nearly 15%.  It is just over a mile long in duration which keeps its classification relatively low, but if you aren't ready for it, that last bit will darken your spirits.  The last time I climbed Walnut Hollow, I ran out of gears and had to struggle to get to the top.  Everyone passed me, and there was nothing I could do about it.  I was too busy trying not to stop before completing the climb.  I was hoping to do a little better today.

Somehow I manged to move past all these other cyclists during the climb
Courtesy Hank Birdsong

As we started to pitch up, I downshifted, but not to my lowest gear just yet.  I settled into a pace that was comfortable and found myself having to slow for other riders.  This was odd, but I decided that I must have it in me, so I went left and started passing people.  What?  Me?  Passing people on the same climb that nearly killed me last time?  Yep, with gears to go, I was climbing fast enough that I didn't have to worry about anyone behind me for once.  Near the top, I had to drop into low gear, but I still kept my comfortable pace and barely got out of breath.  This is not to say that it wasn't hard, I was just better prepared for it this time.

An interesting side note, as I was climbing, I heard a cyclist yell out "is that Greg?"  Well, since that is my name, it caught my attention.  I had remembered passing a familiar jersey, one that I had seen Brian Lube wearing in pictures from last year's A Ride to Remember.  I responded "is that Brian?"  He confirmed, and I said something to the effect of "I'd love to stop and chat, but if we stop, we might never get going again."  We both pressed on with the climb.

I crested the hill in much better shape than I had expected.  OK, that was a huge confidence booster, and one that I needed.  I knew the bike was up to this ride, and I knew that I was as well.  Not to mention, the large group I was in had started to break down.  I was free at last!

I continued on and found myself gaining on another large group which I managed to get bogged down with as well.  I had the same plan as before because we had another big climb in the near future.  While not as steep as Walnut Hollow, it was still a big enough climb that low gears were on the menu, and again the group broke up, allowing me to pull ahead a little bit.  Hey, this was working pretty well, and I was apparently doing well with the climbs today!

I was faced with smaller and smaller groups as we proceeded on, and I was looking forward to that moment when I would be in my solo rider world.  I recall that happening after the midpoint rest stop last time, and I knew that was not too far away.  We just had to do the descents into the SC lowlands first.  I was doing very well up to the descents and figured that I would probably maintain my position as we dropped a couple thousand feet...WRONG!

I learned something about me, my bike, and my training going down the descents.  I'm not good at twisty descents at full speed, that became glaringly obvious.  The bike feels stable, but I know that a gust of wind in the right direction will cause an alteration in course and stability.  I'm still getting used to riding a 14LB bike with aero wheels.  Because of that, I constantly wanted to keep my speed in check.  Maybe, I just have a new respect for mortality in my old age.  Either way, I'm glad I kept the speed reasonable because the road conditions were not all that great and there were several hazards I had to avoid along the way.  There was also a crash where a cyclist overcooked a turn and hit the guardrail.  He was fine and being tended to it appeared.  I also realized, that my training had been dealing with power output, and climbing efficiency.  At no point did I put much emphasis on speedy, twisty descents.  that lack of training showed, and every passing cyclist proved that I wasn't in the same class as they were.  They would whiz past me like I was standing still.  For the first time in my cycling life I caught myself saying "that's OK, I'll get you on the next climb."  Huh, who was that?  Can't be me, because I'm not a climber.  But today, I was a climber, I was in my element churning the cranks.  That was where I was doing my best work.

Once in the lowlands, I found myself bogged down with large groups again.  I would pass when I could, and hold my place when I couldn't.  We were approaching the 30 mile mark where there was a rest stop.  I didn't really need to stop, but I wanted to fuel up before the big climb of the day, and it was getting to be a good idea to take the arm warmers off.  I pulled over at the edge of the rest stop and took care of business.

Thanks to Brian Lube for this picture of the rest stop

Brian and I finally got to meet face to face

While I was finishing up with my break I happened to see that familiar jersey coming in.  Sure enough, it was Brian.  He came by before reloading his water and we finally got to meet outside of Facebook.  It was probably one of the more memorable parts of the day.  I'm looking forward to sharing the road with him again in July as we both ride in the "Ride to Remember".

When it was time for me to get rolling, I once again found myself faced with a large group.  It seemed that they were getting ready to roll out at the same time, and there were still groups coming in for breaks.  I positioned myself where I thought I could get rolling easy enough and I pushed off.  As I was getting stable and about to clip in, another rider came in close and forced me to slow down.  This got me unstable again, going uphill, with not enough forward momentum to clip in, but going too fast to just put my foot down.  Fortunately, I was in the seat and was able to power my right pedal up to accelerate (thank you one legged pedal drills on the trainer) and get the left foot clipped in.  I was off!

It seemed that for the rollers I was again in the same position as I was before with groups ahead of me, and more approaching from the rear.  I just don't remember it being quite this crowded for quite this long last time. I do remember eventually breaking away from the masses and starting to chase down other riders.  I saw two ahead of me and as I was approaching to pass, I saw a large yellow lab sprinting from a yard to the right.  This was odd for the AOTC as I don't recall seeing any unsecured dogs along the route before.  Anyway, there we were, three cyclists on the road with a 70lb dog rushing toward us. I was already in the motions of passing so I just upshifted a gear and did a quick sprint to outrun the dog.  The other two also managed to get by without incident as well.  Dogs and bikes just don't mix.

I was so happy to make it to the turn into Caesar's Head.  This climb would thin the heard for sure.  I settled into my comfort zone and began my ascent between 8-10mph so I didn't burn out too quickly.  I found myself in the same position I had been in all day long when it came to climbing.  I was passing more than my share of other riders.  This is not to say I wasn't working hard.   It seemed that for the 45 minutes I was climbing, my heart rate stayed around zone 4.4 with is my functional threshold.  Any more, and I would explode before reaching the top.  If I went lower, I could go much longer, but the torture would last longer.  I split the difference and stayed at or near my threshold for the duration of the climb.  Oddly enough, that seemed to work just fine.  I kept steady all the way to the top, and actually upshifted in the last tenth of a mile to crest the hill.  that meant that I still had energy left, and apparently did something right.

Top of Caesar's Head, and still smiling
Courtesy "Eye on Brevard"

At this point, I was thirsty (still haven't relearned how to drink and pedal at the same time), and getting a little hungry.  I also wanted a picture next to the sign with my new bike.  When I saw the crowd there, and remembered all the riders coming up from behind, I opted to maintain my solo position and ride on through to the end.  This actually was a pretty big deal for me considering my experience last time.  I had stayed at the rest stop for nearly 45 minutes, if I'm not mistaken, just because I was hurting so bad from the climb.  Today, it was nothing to move back into the big ring and start shifting into higher gears.

This was my ride.  I set the pace, and I controlled just how hard to push it.  In the last 15 miles I had finally found my element.  This was the ride I had been looking forward to, and I finally had it.  I was enjoying it so much that I didn't even bother to stop for water or food.  I had only consumed about half a bottle of water at the 30 mile mark, and one waffle/Nutella sandwich.  By all rights, I should be bonking, or at the very least cramping due to dehydration.  None of that was the case, I was feeling strong and fast.  Again, the trainer has taught me how to actively recover while still in motion.

As Brevard, and the finish line crept closer and closer, I was monitoring my average speed. At the top of Caesar's Head, I was at 15.7, which was OK, but not quite as good as I was hoping.  As I took full advantage of my solo ride style, I fought the wind and watched my averages creep up into the high 16's.  My goal for today was to break 17mph and I was starting to see that as a possibility.  I hammered when I could, and dug deep in the last minor climbs of the day.  When I crossed the finish line, my average speed was dead on 17mph.  In my book, that was a win!  Not bad at all considering I have only been on the road 27 times since November, 2013.

The best bike taxi in the world!

After calling Toni and Sierra to tell them that I had made it, and had a good ride, I loaded up my bike and started to secure all of my cycling junk in the truck so I could go and get something to eat...and something to drink!  While I was loading the bike, I happened to think back to all my worries about mechanical failures before the ride.  They were all unfounded.  I had been all over the bike and addressed any areas of concern before the ride.  It performed flawlessly through the entire ride.  No noises, no complaining, just doing everything I asked of it.  I lost track of the mechanical issues I saw others experiencing along the route.  They ranged from dropped chains, broken cables, flats, etc.  In addition to those issues, I saw no less than three crashes, one of which almost took me out early on.  I'm constantly reminded how dangerous this hobby is, and how fortunate I am that I've been able to avoid as much of that danger as I have.


 

From my recovery ride the day after, showing off my new kit!

After completing my first official test of my cycling return, I have to say with no doubt, I'm not only back, I'm better than I was before.  In just seven short months, I've gone from a sedentary couch potato (for 10 solid months) to a slim and fit climbing machine.  I have to give credit where it is due though.  Had it not been for the trainer that Toni gave me years ago, there is no way I would be in this shape right now.  All those hours doing intervals has paid off.  I'm ready for the cycling season to get underway, and I have high hopes for all my future event rides. 

Elevation Profile With Speed Overlay

2015 AOTC, Training Update

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

As you have read in the intro entry, I have my work cut out when it comes to training for the Assault on the Carolinas after 10 months of being off of the bike.  As I had indicated in that opening entry, I was going to be leaning heavily on my indoor trainer to get my riding legs back, and drop some serious weight in preparation for climbing Caesar's Head, a category 1 climb!  When I signed up for the AOTC in November, I had only been back on the bike about two months.  I was at a still slightly heavy 189 lbs from a high of 205 lbs in that time.  When I rode in 2013, I was at around 183 lbs which was pretty close to my current weight.  The difference was that I was a much more seasoned cyclist with some very powerful legs in 2013.

In order to compensate for some amount of atrophy in my legs, I decided that I was going to try and whittle some more weight off so that moving my mass up the mountain would be less strenuous.  My plan was to log some serious time on the indoor trainer.  That is easier said than done though.  For anyone who has spent any time on one of these contraptions, you already know the volumes of excuses that you can readily come up with so as not to get on a stationary bike and pedal going nowhere.  I was motivated in November, and I knew that I would be able to stick with a training routine for a while, but for how long I wasn't sure.  I was hoping to drop down to about 180 lbs, which was less than 10 more from where I was already.

As you can see from these screen captures, I have stuck with a training program that is pretty much six out of seven days a week.  On occasion, there are a couple of rest days in a row, but those usually correspond with long road rides.  There are two different 100 mile rides represented here.  Each of the black entries are rides, and the yellow ones are scheduled workouts (Fat Frying Interval Program).  The green mark in April is the AOTC, so you can see how close I am getting to that date.  As of the writing of this entry  though, I have completed 144 rides covering 189 hours and 40 minutes, most of which has been inside.  I have increased my power output while conditioning my heart and lungs to be in better shape than before, and even losing quite a bit of weight in the process.

Considering that six short months ago I was a Clydesdale (200+ lbs), it is nothing short of amazing that I am now at a fairly consistent weight below 175 lbs.  Admittedly, one of my long term cycling goals was to get rid of the weight that had crept back into my body, but I wasn't planning on getting this light.  I'm ten pounds lighter now than I was on the day of the AOTC, and I really feel that my power output is dramatically higher than before.  For the next 5 weeks, I just have to maintain my weight and work on actual hill climbs rather than just interval sets to simulate the load on my legs.

In the little bit of riding that I have done on the road though, I know that my climbing ability is worlds apart from where it was in 2013.  Where I used to just spin up an incline with a high cadence/low gear, I am now able to sustain a lower tempo cadence in a higher gear for much faster speeds.  I'm blowing my previous climbing records out of the water these days.  While the short climbs around here don't compare at all to a cat 1 climb, I know that my legs have more strength and endurance in them than ever before.  I'm actually looking forward to Caesar's Head this year.  My only concern is that I go in too confident and blow up before I finish the climb.  I really think that it won't be a problem at all though, and memories of passing many a rider to the top in 2013 still makes me smile.  If I could do that then, I have no doubt I can do it again.

So, it would seem that my weight is down, power is up, and confidence is back in place.  Time will tell if I am a comparable cyclist to what I once was, but I feel pretty certain that I will be a much stronger rider in general.  Bring on the cycling season, I'm ready!!!!!