The Training Log

To Train or Not To Train?  That is the question.

I don't think that I want to spend the first week in misery, so, I guess I'll do a little riding before setting off on this journey.  My location lends itself to some pretty good terrain.  Lots of hills and altitude to get the heart racing, lungs burning and legs pumping...

Lookout Mountain outside Golden,CO

4/4/2019     17.3 Miles, 11.3mph avg, 800' vert, full load
4/5/2019     17.3 Miles, 13.1mph avg, 800' vert, no load
4/8/2019     31.1 Miles, 11.1mph avg, 2400vert, full load  -  over Lookout Mountain
4/9/2019     20.1 Miles, 12.0mph Avg, 1050vert, full load
4/20/2019   19.0 Miles, 10.9 Mvg Avg, 1:45 Mvg Time, 8 mph Avg, 2:23 total time,
                    950'vert; Shannon did part of this ride (strengthening her ankle...) and
                    of course we had to stop and visit the chickens in Golden...
4/21/2019     31.1 Miles, 10.9mph avg, 2400vert, full load  -  over Lookout Mountain


Keepin' on grindin'...

Where I'm Headed...

This will be a West to East traverse on the Trans America Route.

For an interactive map, click here...

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1uYnNJhVrgr___Zwr4IZjZH64iPBNgulE&usp=sharing

For those less technically advantaged....

Maiden Voyage 4-4-2019

4-4-2019
17.5 Miles
11.3 Avg speed

I found out today what it is like to ride a bike with a load and a light one at that.  I think I have somewhere around 30lbs between the two panniers, the tent, and handlebar bag.  Pretty light considering what a lot of people carry.

The first thing I noticed was that it does handle different. Not horrible, but I couldn't imagine more weight especially with front bags.  It's just a little slower to respond to left & right steering but pretty good.  Brakes were awesome (discs) and I'm glad I have a couple spare sets if they need to be replaced.  I also noticed that this bike now is slower going up hills or I'm not in shape (could be...).  Rolling along this thing is like a giant heavy flywheel, it just keeps going, if it's flat.

Today's journey took me around Golden, CO.

The good news - Nothing fell off.

1976 and the Bikecentennial

1976...  I was a 14 year old freshman in high school, who for no lack of a better term was scrawny.  I never really liked the stick and ball team sports all so popular in schools, but bicycles were a form of  freedom for us kids back then and for me it started me biking.  I doubt that any parent today would let their kids just leave home after school on their bikes and ride into town or wherever, but at that time it seemed the normal thing.   And then there was riding in the mud, wheelies and jumping stuff.  I broke frames, hubs, but surprisingly not any bones, or my head (no helmets) although some may disagree with that statement.   Kids....

1975

1976

Somewhere around 1976/77, I began riding primarily on the road.  I bought a Schwinn Le Tour II and rode this bike for over 11,000 miles in a couple of years.  Some of that on rollers in our basement due to our winter climate.  I sold this bike in 1979 I think.

The Schwinn Le Tour II,  ~ 11,500 miles circa 1978/79

 I started racing/riding a little bit with the Genesee Valley Cycling Club, but was never much of a sprinter, time trial rider or really a racer for that matter.  Distance seemed my event though.  I replaced the Le Tour with a Windsor Competition which was then stolen in 1990.  I bought an used Lemond Alpe D'Huez after the Windsor was stolen.  I still have that bike today.

These are some photos from a race around Canandagua Lake in 1980.  Yeah, that's me, all 120lbs of grizzle and bone.  But I was a good climber, light weight + "streamlined"...  There was a big climb out of the lake early in the race and I came off the top in the second group and finished the race mid pack.  Mr. average...

Start of the Canandagua Cup  1980
with the 68 Olds in the background

Top of  "Millers Hill"

So in 1976, someone organised a ride called Bikecentennial.  This was the Bicentennial of the US after all and in honor of this historic event a national bicycle tour was created to cross the united states.  Bikecentennial began in Yorktown, VA and ended in Astoria, OR  traversing 4200+ miles across the US passing many historic sites along the way.  Being the youngster I was at the time, there was no way to join this event, so it went on the bucket list.  Now, 43 years later, the route still exists and so it's time....

Let the fun begin...