Tag Archives: Hill Training

Fun Saturday Ride

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I meant to publish this earlier, but got pretty busy, and didn’t get around to it. Better late than never, I sometimes say.

On Saturday, my flat-inducing buddy and I rode out from his driveway on a 40 miler from Liberty, to Excelsior Springs, back through Kearney, and then on back to Liberty. It was a fantastic, scenic, mildly hilly, and altogether peaceful ride.

Some highlights include the fact that no one yelled at us (nope, not once), neither of us had any mechanical difficulties (perhaps Jon’s Flat Tire Curse has abated?), and the scenery was gorgeous.

In Excelsior Springs, we stopped at a Subway for a refueling at the 20 mile mark. Neither of us were really tired, but we were both getting a bit peckish. The real, if all to brief highlight was there. While we were eating, we noted a rather stout teenager sporting a purple close cropped pointed mohawk come in with his Mom. As we were gathering our gear to leave, he asked us how far we’d gone. A short conversation ensued through which he was very clearly and boldly impressed by what we’d done so far.

Encouraged by his lack of derision and open admiration, we chatted with him for a while, and assured him that 20 miles isn’t that hard if you build up to it. Start with a mile. Then 2. Then 5. Then 10. Slowly, but quicker than you realize, you’re pulling 20 miles, then 40, then metric centuries, and finally centuries. With any luck at all, his admiration will turn into inspiration and he’ll find his way onto a saddle with a water bottle in hand and a granola bar, rather than on the lounge chair with a XBox controller in hand and a bag of Doritos.

Not that those are bad things, mind you; I do love me some gaming and salty preservative chiplets, but there’s gotta be a balance.

We left him, and wished him luck and good fortune, and were back out on the road for another 20 miles.

All in all, a fantastic ride.

Bikes at the Garage Door. The weather was a fantastic 72°F and we were ready to go. Well… I was, you can see all his gear next to the garage door anxiously awaiting him.

My Bike Computer. HR is a little high for just standing around. Though the driveway was a little steep, so I had to work to keep my balance.

Jon’s Bike Computer. The two bike computer pictures were taken seconds apart. There must be some sort of End World-esque time distortion going on to have them show such disperate times. I’m sure that’s it… it’s the simplest explanation.

Jon in front of a Great View. This photo really doesn’t do it justice. It really was beautiful.

Just around the corner from the aforementioned Great View. This one is a better representation, but still doesn’t do it justice. Though you can’t see it, waaaaay off in the distance is Kearney.

Off the Route. We took a detour past Excelsior Springs to enjoy a fantastic twisty turny windey downhill run through a tunnel of trees. It really was awesome. It resulted in having to recalculate our route, and then immediately making a several hundred foot climb over the course of several hundred yards. It was definitely worth it, though.

Jon in the Distance. You can’t see him, but he’s back there.

A Little History.

A Nice Home Nestled in the Trees.

End of the ride stats.

Hills Not So Bad. Also, I Have to Get on the Sidewalk Now

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Before going to see Resident Evil, my flat-inducing buddy and I went out for a quick ride last night. I excised a substantial chunk from our previous route in the hopes of saving some time, but underestimated the mileage. I figured it would be ~17 miles, but ended up being over 27. Well. There you have it. Don’t hire me to guess the mileage of meandering routes. I’m apparently not very good at it.

What I’m getting better at (again) is hills. While my average pace last night wasn’t much to speak of in terms of improvement, my energy level throughout the ride, and afterwards, was. I’d ridden all the same hills, at a comparable rate, and had more than enough energy for a quarter mile all-out sprint at the end of the ride to my house. If we didn’t have to rush to make the movie (due to my aforementioned apparent inability to gauge distances), I would have stayed out, though the darkness threatened to envelope us in it’s sweet, but not terribly sticky, embrace. Alas, time was short, and it was time to call it a ride.

Oh, and no flats!

I’m still very obviously lacking the leg strength to maintain a decent pace up the 12-15% grades on this route, but if energy levels are any judge, then improvement is already showing.

I was inspired to push harder by two incidents last night. I will tell you about them now. Here they are, then.

The first, more inspiring and less humorous, occurred on the 2nd of the two sisters on Johnson drive (I’ve mentioned them before, they’re between Mid America Sports Complex and Renner Drive). As I was nearing the middle of the 2nd sister heading east, I saw the lengthened shadow of someone behind me, as cast by the setting sun, and soon thereafter heard a remarkably polite and casual “On your left.” The rider passed me easily, and we exchanged pleasantries.

As he sped off, up the steep incline, in the same manner that I would speed off down and equally steep decline, I noted that his speed was obviously aided by the thick bands of rippling muscle in his calves. “Eee Gads, I thought. Look at those ripping muscles in his calves!” Now, lest you think that sounds rather… uh… gay, allow me to remind you that I am an artist at heart, if not in practice, and appreciate beauty in many forms, male and female. It was pretty hot, though. Not as hot as my wife, mind you, but hot in it’s own way, nonetheless. So… *ahem* how ’bout them Bears? Wanna beer?

Suffice to say, his clear lack of struggle and the ease with which he made that climb was inspiring.

The second incident was inspiring not for it’s athleticism, but because it was hysterical. I was somewhere on Midland Drive between I-435 and Shawnee Mission Pkwy when I was passed by a small, rusting, late-model white sedan of some sort. I have no idea who was driving it, but the passenger, an upstanding young man of about 16-17 years of age leaned out the window and yelled “Get on the f*cking sidwalk, a**hole!” I immediately started laughing. Loudly. I couldn’t help it! Perhaps not the smartest thing do to if one wants to avoid confrontation, but I couldn’t help it! It just struck me as incredibly funny. And laugh is what one does when struck by Teh Funny.

Then, to throw fuel to my little fire, he flipped me off! A true sign of intelligence and even wisdom, it was. That, my friends, really set me off. I nearly had to pull over to the side of the road. To add yet another bit of funny to the incident: there is no sidewalk anywhere near that stretch of road. Nowhere. Now, I’m sure the kind young sir meant a sidewalk on another road, somewhere very far away from where the car, which he wasn’t even driving, was located, but still, at the time, the irony struck me, and out popped loud laughter.

I started to worry that maybe my laughing at him, for truth be told, I was laughing AT HIM, would inspire some sort of retribution, and that I would come to find him waiting for me up ahead somewhere. That sobered me a little, but not much, and he clearly had more important things to do than hassle some defenseless cyclist, as I saw him none the more.

To be young and enlightened.

All in all, a fantastic and inspiring, if shorter, ride.

As for the movie. Meh.

Hills, Now with A Heavier Rider!

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Today, I thought I’d try my hill training route I rode when at the height of my Triple Bypass training. Now, I’m not saying it was a mistake. No, I’m not saying that. But I’m not saying it was my most brilliant move, either.

First, Matt, yes, we do have hills in Kansas. Anyone who has ever said Kansas was flat didn’t ride a bike through it.

Second, I did it. I rode the whole route. I also barely made it up some of those last hills on Johnson Drive. I didn’t get off and walk the bike up, but it was a close call a couple of times. Knowing that i’d done this before, and simple stubborn pride were really all that kept me in the saddle. Having climbed so many hills in the previous two hours, I’d say I did OK. I’m pretty proud of myself for tackling the task, and getting it done.

Hills I Conquered* Today:

Even with the inclusion of the nasty (if short) hill on 91st off Woodland Drive, I still made it to the halfway mark in good time. When I’m in somewhat lack-luster shape (today, for example), I’ll take this opportunity to take a break, take a snack, and take stock. I’ll decide here if I want to tackle Johnson Drive or not. It’s not a final decision, as the point of no return is still a mile or so out. My thoughts here today were along the lines of “Sure, why not?”

Having made that decision, I came across road construction. Damn. I’d forgotten about this. It only adds a couple miles to the route, but given that the goal is to climb hills today, I would have rather done without. Oh well… it did add some rolling hills I wouldn’t have seen today, and at least they’re putting in a roundabout. We really need more of those.

Speaking of intersections, I don’t think I came across a single lighted intersection through which a driver didn’t plow through against the red. I realize I’m preaching primarily to the choir here, but for all those a-hat drivers that complain about cyclists “never” obeying the rules of the road, I say tend they own garden first before thee looks to the weeds in another’s.

But that’s beside the point. The point is that I finished the route, even if with slightly less exuberance than in previous rides. That’s pretty cool. Now that I know I can, I’ll probably back off a little and cut a corner or two while I climb slowly back into shape again.

* Word is a gross exaggeration

Hill Training Begins. Again.

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Perhaps a bit late in the year to start, but whatever. I rode a pretty decent route today around Shawnee, taking advantage of the rolling hills of Renner, and the brutal hills of Johnson Drive. It wasn’t easy going, and I’m still suffering some a distinct lack of strength, but I’ll get it back. The excess weight will fall away, and the muscles will rebuild. I’ll retool this ride to include the hills of Prairie Star Parkway, Woodland, 91st off Woodland, and 87th back towards Renner to maximize the hill workouts. That’ll be a butt kicker, if it do ya, but it’ll be fantastic!

The only problem is on those Johnson Drive hills, my Garmin keeps auto-pausing because I keep falling below the speed threshold. I’m going to have to drop it down below 3mph! LOL

Unwelcome Visitors in the Middle of the Night

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I went to bed a few nights ago, as is my habit so that I might wake up the next morning, having slept the night before. This night, last night, was different…

You might recall that all of last year, or most of it, I rode my bike whenever possible to and from work, and many other miles besides. Logistically, this hasn’t worked out since about mid October. Furthermore, I’ve avoided pretty much any riding outdoors on account of the cold. I proved I could do it last year, and I realized I didn’t enjoy doing it (having forgotten that I already realized it back in my college years when I didn’t own a car). So this year, I’ve spent nearly all of my riding on the rollers. While they do make for a fantastic work out (once you start pedaling, you don’t stop until you’re done – there is no coasting downhill, there are no stops at intersections… it’s all on or all off), they’re also fairly boring when compared to the glorious outdoors.

So, my bikes have been been rather neglected, rejected, and ignored. They made this known to me on this night. I don’t know if it was a dream or not. I don’t typically remember dreams with this (or any) level of clarity. This felt real.

I awoke from a deep sleep, and was immediately startled into complete wakefulness by the horrific sight of two angry bikes, leaning threateningly over my bed. Their frames contorted in barely contained outrage, their cables seething with frustration, their chains grinding with resentment, and their brake levers pulsing with indignation, they lorded over me like cobras. My heart racing, I tried to scramble to the opposite side of the bed, but was caught in the sheets unable to move. Their cables, once smooth and lubricated nicely within supple housings, flayed about like the many heads of a hydra, and with evil and deadly purpose wrapped themselves around me, cutting into my flesh, and pulling me towards them. I was helpless against their will.

“WE HAVE WATCHED AS YOU CLIMB INTO THAT MONSTROSITY IN THE GARAGE, IGNORING US, WE WHO HAVE BROUGHT YOU TO NEW HEIGHTS OF GLORY AND FITNESS! WE SAY UNTO YOU NO MORE!!! WE WILL NOT REST UNTIL YOU HONOR US WITH THE MILES WE DESERVE!!!”

With a final tightening of the cables around my arms and legs, they let me go, and walked… yay walked out of the room. All was silent.

I lay there, bathed in the cold sweat of terror for what seemed like hours, but was likely only a few minutes. You know how time stretches in the quiet of night. Anyway, I eventually fell back asleep (or dreamed I was falling back asleep – whatever), and awoke to the normal alarm. The sheets were rather ruffled about, and the area rug near my bed in complete disarray. The bikes, however, were as I’d left them the night before, or should I say, weeks ago…

Let it not be said that I heed not the warnings presented to me so clear! Saturday morning I took the Dew Drop out for nearly 30 miles over some of the better hills northwest Johnson County has to offer. The Drop was happy. I was happy. I expect to sleep well and undisturbed tonight.

Everything but the Toes…

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… was nice and toasty warm on this, my first ride of 2009.

Starting out at around 50°F, and closing out at around 40°F, I was wearing long leggings, a wicking base layer and a windbreaker up top, my Salsa N’Agua gloves, and plastic baggies between my wool socks and shoes. As I said, everything was nice and toasty except my toes. I think it was a combination between poorly set cleats and the cold, but my toes were all numb from the cleat down by the time I hit mile 20.

I took the Kona out. It’s very nearly as heavy as my old Fire Mountain, though the 700c wheels and 37mm tires are better suited for roads than the 26″/2.5″ set up was on the old one. Hence, my low average speed (13.8mph) combined with the relatively high top speed (38.1mph).

I can tell it’s been a while since I’ve really ridden. My HR was generally high the whole time, topping out at 202bpm, and the hills were especially taxing. Still, though I could feel it fading towards the end, my recovery was still pretty strong after completing a climb.

The highlight of the trip was the gorgeous sunset I saw as I was heading west on 83rd. One thing that Kansas has to offer is it’s sunsets. I *wish* I’d brought my camera. It would have been the perfect time to break it out while on a ride.

Oh well… next time.

Nice Little Ride and Persistent Flats

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So, by way of clearing my head and getting some miles, I took off last night on a quickie 33 miler over some of the best hills that Johnson County has to offer. At least, insofar as I know. If you know of others that aren’t on this route, please… do let me know.

Due to some aforementioned chaos, I wanted to get out and clear my head some. Unfortunately, before I could clear my head, I first had to fix (yet another damn) flat. They’ve been plaguing me lately. It seems every time I want to get out and ride these days, it’s either one tire or another, on one bike or another. It’s tiresome. Last night, it was last-straw sort of frustrating. I found the hole, didn’t find anything in the tire, replaced the tube and admittedly amidst a small amount of cursing, finally got out the door.

It didn’t take long for my mind to turn away from flats to the issues at hand, and turn it did. Over the course of the 33 miles, I did exactly what I set out to do…

1) Get miles in. Not many, but every little bit counts.
2) Confront my current personal demons. Again, not many, but they’re mean and they have spiky forearms and big horns.
3) Deal with those demons and claw my way out of the dark place I’d found myself in.

All three goals accomplished, insofar as one can over the course of a couple hours, I rolled slowly into the driveway, tired from pushing the hills and in a much better place.

The rest of the evening was relaxed. I had dinner, watched Heroes, and played with my online spreadsheets a while before heading to bed. For some reason, I went downstairs again and looked at the tires to make sure they were still pressurized. Nope. The previous flat had returned.

You have got to be kidding me. Again?! Another?!

That was it. I was done with it. I wasn’t going to stop until I find the culprit.

Filled up the sink with water. Aired up the tire and spun it in the sink until I saw air bubbles. I found the hole, stripped out the tube, and *very* closely examined the tire this time for little poking things. I was in a rush before and didn’t notice, but sure enough, there it was… a *tiny* little metal fragment buried in the tire. The pressure of the tube was enough to cause a puncture, but otherwise, it was all-but-invisible.

I got that little demon out. It took a while and I had to dig deep to get it, but I got it out.

Triple Bypass Week, Friday – Warm Up Ride, More Fantastic Dinner and Final Preparations

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Matthew had scheduled a paintball session for Friday afternoon, but my brother and I were really too concerned with making sure we were prepared for the Big Ride, and requested that it be rescheduled for Sunday (we were banking on not being too tired). He was agreeable, and so my brother and I drove down to Bergen Park (again) and met up with the rest of the “Warm Up” ride participants. While we were waiting, we noticed (how could we not) a silver Porsche Carrera drive up with a bike rack on top carrying a nice Scott. We couldn’t help but make a little fun of it. I mean, seriously… a Carrera, with a bike rack? C’mon. Turns out that it’s the Team Evergreen Club President!

I want to be a bike club president if it allows me to afford a Porsche!

He gives a bit of a speech to us, talking about the origins of the ride, and how it’s turned into one of, if not The premiere single day event in the country. He wishes us all the best of luck, and we all click in and set out….

…on a hard ride with some seriously confidence busting hills.

Triple Bypass “Warm Up” ride

It turned out to be a much more difficult ride than either of us imagined, or hoped it would be. We made it, but we were a lot more tired than we should have been after 16.5 miles. The altitude wasn’t affecting either of us as much as we expected it to, but the ride leaders set a mean pace. Naturally, we had to keep up. Dropping simply wasn’t an option.

That night, the GF made another dinner. This time she made home made Scallop and Shrimp Alfredo with Angel Hair pasta. It was an another amazing dinner. That GF of mine can cook, and loves to do so. Everyone who’s had anything she’s made loves that she loves to, as well.

Taking a lesson from our bike commuting experiences, we packed all our gear after dinner, knowing that in the morning we’d be too tired to be sure we’d gotten everything. Then, a couple of glasses of wine settled our nerves and we went down for an early bed time around 9:30pm.

Neither of us slept that well. We were anxious and nervous and excited all at the same time. We’d been preparing for over 8 months in our own separate ways, and as difficult as it was to believe, it was almost time…

Triple Bypass Week, Thursday – High Climbing, Wolves and Prime Rib

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After the success of the previous day’s ride, my brother and I wanted to ratchet it up a notch on Thursday. Not a huge notch, mind you, we were still cognizant of working ourselves too hard too early. We didn’t want to come down with altitude sickness, or stress our bodies too much before the Big Ride on Saturday. But we were also very pumped up. That meant more climbing and at a higher altitude.

This time, Matthew took us down to Bergen Park again to pick up my bike, and a few other odds and ends, and drove us all the way up to Echo Lake at the foot of Mt. Evans Road. Matthew drove back down to Bergen Park to wait for us. What a star!

Echo Lake to 12,000ft and back to Bergen Park

The climb up Mt. Evans Road is, all and all, a little steeper than up to Juniper Pass from Bergen Park. Combine the additional grade with the additional altitude, and we were working harder. But the extra effort was well worth it. It’s absolutely gorgeous up there. Made all the more compelling by having gotten there under our own power. All the pictures we took simply don’t do it justice… if you’ve not seen it, you owe it to yourself to head up thataway sometime.


At 12,200ft or so, we had to turn around in spite of a strong desire to continue on. Hunger pangs started to hit, and that’s a sure sign that it’s time to reduce effort and refuel. So turn around we did, and enjoyed yet another fast downhill run back to Echo Lake where we grabbed a light lunch and proceeded to climb back up to Juniper Pass before throwing it in neutral and letting gravity have her way with us back to Bergen Park. We didn’t sprint downhill like we did the day before, but it was still a blast!


While heading back, we stopped to check out one of the “scenic overviews.” While there, we met a local couple who were all to happy to help out a couple of flatlanders with a picture. Our camera batteries were dead, so she took this one and e’mailed it to us later.

Also on the way down… we saw a short (what appeared to be) Mexican man walking two wolves up towards the pass. I’m not sure if they were pure bred or mixed, but they were huge, they were gangly, they were grey, and they were gorgeous. If the camera batteries weren’t already dead, I would have stopped to take photos.

That night, the GF cooked up a fantastic meal of prime rib, roasted fennel, and crab cakes. Mmmmm…. is there anything crab cakes can’t do? It was so good, our hosts thanked *us* for the dinner, never mind that they were putting us up for the entire week free-of-charge.

After dinner, my brother found an organized warm up ride for the Triple Bypass being put on by Team Evergreen. It appeared pretty low key, and more of a tour of the Bergen Park area than anything, so we committed ourselves.