Monday, November 30, 2009

California Trip

Just got back from northern California, visiting family for the Thanksgiving week. Hopefully I managed to work off everything I gained from all the great food and beer!

Main event was a 56 mile road ride on my rented Specialized Allez. From Chico, I went up to Paradise via Honey Run road, through Paradise, down to Durham via Pentz rd, over to the community of Dalton and then back through Chico to my starting location. Got a some good climbing and descending in as well as some windy flatland riding. The flat stuff was a big change of pace for me. Riding 20 miles of almost perfectly flat road where you could really put out a consistent effort was new. Everything is rolling hills where I live in Georgia.

GPS track is here: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/19513850



Other big event was a Thanksgiving morning 5k (Run for Food). I'm not much of a runner and dispite not being in anything near peak fitness, managed to get a 5k PR. No doubt, this was due to my brother pushing the pace, he was trying to beat me.

distance 3.05 miles, time 23:14, pace 7:36, avg HR 181
GPS track is here: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/19642606

Also did a second 4 mile run, another ~70 miles of casual cycling and a yoga class.

Some riding pics:


My rented Specialized.


Honey Run Covered Bridge, at the base of Honey Run Road.


Honey Run road. A nice climb with lots of reading to do along the way.


Back in the valley, here is some of the agriculture that sheltered me from the wind.


My Father's sweet Motobécane that I rescued from a corner of the garage.


Quiet Chico streets. Perfect for cycling.


Post 5k. This was also the first 5k where Kristen ran the entire thing.

And here is some of the fun stuff:


Coffee and apple strudel at the Upper Crust Bakery.


Beer at Sierra Nevada Brewery.


Wine at New Clairvaux Vineyard.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Power Benchmark

Last night I went to The Sport Factory and did some power testing. My bike, their PowerTap wheel, a trainer and a guy yelling at me to dig deeper. Did the test during one of their spin classes. Riding with other people helped keep me motivated. Warmed up for quite a while then did a 20 min time trial.

Stats for the TT:
Weight - 157lbs
Avg HR - 183
Avg Power - 211
Avg Cad - 91
Power/Weight - 2.96

Hope to do another benchmark in a few months. Looking forward to improving on that power to weight ratio.