Renegade Trainee Jack

March 31st - Last day of the month - finished it off with the normal commute. Felt pretty good, even at the end point which is the short but steep hill on River Rd. Well, thats not really the end but I'm not far from there. On days where I have enough energy I try to TT from the top of the hill the house. I noticed today that I was getting higher speeds in the drops. Not aero enough in the bars yet, I suppose.

March 30th - After work went to Old Mill Park to practice being more comfortable getting bumped while riding. I'm wondering what aspects we'd be able to incorporate into an E ride. Nice to see Gus, too. Maybe next time we can find a little longer stretch of grass of dirt road to practice on. It would also be interesting to see some of the smaller riders practicing with the bigger ones - the dynamic would surely change.

The shaved legs take a little getting used to. In the daylight I noticed all of the spots I had missed, so tonight was touch up time.

Thanks Bill for the water bottle. I'm still thinking about how you said the pros would stop riding if they got dropped. Jinks said that maybe if they had all stayed in and formed a peloton they might have been able to do some damage . . . . I wish I had been there to see it.

March 29th -

After the ride I decided to shave the legs. I may need to go to the ER later for a transfusion to replace all the blood I lost. How do you shave behind your knee? Anyway, the next time has to be easier.

As for the ride I had alot of fun. The few sprints were pretty vicious,(for me), especially the first one the Steve led. There are still alot of things I need to work on, i.e. not accelerating when coming to the front of a paceline, higher cadence, not standing up in a paceline, etc etc. Big thanks to Steve for all the new gear - it was like Christmas!

March 28th -

Messed around with the rear shifter cable and frayed it . . . . long story but really frustrating because I don't have another one on hand. Ride wise I took it easy at first because I thought it was going to be a fast ride tomorrow. When everyone started posting that it was going to be a E ride I went and put in some more miles. See everyone tomorrow.

March 27th -

Felt good riding today. My thoughts veered towards not riding at all bc my stomach still felt strange, but on the bike my legs felt strong. Guess all of those carbs did some good after all. Had to tell stop myself from riding too hard once or twice because I didn't want to be over exerted for the weekend. Really hoping the weather holds out for Sunday - a fast ride would be nice. I'll ride tomorrow, but keep it in the E range.

March 26th -

Got a call before riding in this morning, "Hey, its raining, you might want to leave a little early . . . . ". Looked out the window, wondering how hard it was coming down. Just a drizzle, not a dismal dash type of rain. So into the rain I rode, arriving in Stafford waterlogged and well hydrated from consuming a full camelbak on the way. Started to really drag ass at work, so I caught a ride back, intending to finish the day with some time on the trainer. Stopped by GNC, just to see what was new, decided to pick up something to put some carbs and protein in my system. Bought a drink I've never tried before, but it promised 197 grams of carbs, so I was game. Guzzled the drink down on a fairly empty stomach, and jumped on the trainer at home. Mistake. The carbohydrate filled drink was rebelling within my stomach, inciting diarrhea as it worked its way through. So, I would ride for 10 minutes, hit the latrine, resume riding, latrine, etc etc. Finished the ride and am now making sure I replenish all the lost fluid.

March 25th - Didn't have to work til later today, so I left the house early and got in a good ride just shy of three hours before work. Rode a lot of hills, and found myself pretty worn out at work. Someone in an SUV charged around me as we were headed uphill, barely escaping a car coming down the hill from the opposite side. I can't but wonder what would have happened if he/she had been going a little bit faster. Probably would be posting from the hospital.

Whats up with the weather? It needs to go ahead and get warm . . . . I was thinking about shooting over to the park to see if anyone was still around after work, but it started to sprinkle, plus it was getting late.

Good luck to everyone racing this weekend.

March 24th - Shorter ride today, just to let everything heal a little bit so I can work harder later in the week. Spent the time I was riding practicing riding in the drops (Bill) and doing full circles (Ben). They're giving out free samples of some endurance/recovery drinks at GNC, so I've been doing my best to get as many as I can. The mix they have this week is called Intravol, and it has no caffeine, if anyone is interested. Maybe it is a placebo effect but the spring seems to come back into my step a little bit quicker if I drink some. I was drinking some mixed in the camelbak during my sunday ride, but I didn't finish it all. So today when I went to take a sip . . . surprise! . . . . some sort of strange fermentation was occurring.

March 23rd -

Great day weather wise. A little cold in the morning, but it warmed up later. Big thanks to Bill for my official Hammer Nutrition kit. After I got home yesterday I put it on and walked around the house, feeling more like a cyclist than ever. Now I've just got to shave my legs, but I'm not sure I have a razor that is strong enough. Come this weekend we'll see though . . . . .

March 21st -

Good ride with Ben. Started off a little chilly, but the exertion warmed me up. For some reason I felt un necessarily worn out after the ride. Ben said that right now I'm a biker, and under his tutelage one day I'll be a cyclist. He compared it to boot camp in the marines, and how before the crucible they are recruits, but afterwards marines. I didn't ask if whether or not he was going to put em through some super difficult cycling test . . . . . I think he was talking more about the small things i.e. coming to a ride with proper equipment, cycling etiquette, etc . I do need to work on pulling through though . . . . I found myself zoning out and missing the elbow signal. But all in all, a good ride. Looking forward to the recovery ride tomorrow.

March 19th -
The plan was for this to be a longer riding day, but somewhere along the line it turned into a recovery day. With no powertap I can't tell how many watts I couldn't produce today, but my game was really off for some reason. So I rode to Brocks to apply for a new job and back, and sat around planning to do another ride . . . . . didn't happen. Maybe it was all in my head . . . ? I was a Borders reading a cycling magazine and it had an article about amino acids and how they were better for a cyclist than protein powder. Over at GNC they said it was common practice to take both, but the magazine said that the protein powder might deliver too many calories for cyclists looking to stay lightweight. Since I ran out of protein today I'm going to give the amino a try.
Massaged my legs for a good thirty minutes to facilitate recovery. The magazine also showed some space legs compression system . . . . if I hit the lotto I'mma buy one.

March 18th -

Today was a really great day, riding wise. Since I haven't given Ben his clip on TT bars back yet, I'm pretending every ride is a TT. Not really much to report. Tomorrow will be hopefully alot longer day riding - even though I feel improvement I want to be the best Cat 5 that I can be, maybe place in the top three in an event this season.

March 17th -

Anyone have some old rollers they want to sell? I spent the day on the trainer, which in itself was fun, but too monotonous. I'm guessing with the rollers at least I'd have the added excitement of falling off from time to time (until I became more skilled). Watched the biking portions of all the triathlon shows I taped. Towards the end of the day the weather was looking good, hope it gets better tomorrow. Whats everyone doing for the weekend? My schedule is still up in the air . . . might go with Ben if everything falls into place.

March 16th -

Either I was dehydrated after yesterday or I'm losing weight - weighed in 3 lbs lighter today than normal. Went for a ride outside to warm up the legs, but the after feeling a bit of a chill I came back and finished inside. Proved to be a wise decision bc it started raining after I was indoors . . . . Nothing too interesting today. I'm looking forward to the summer when all complaints will be about the heat, sunburns, etc.

March 15th -

Dismal Dash - Having never TT'd before I thought it went well. Big thanks to Ben for letting me use his clip on bars - spent 90 percent of the time down in them. I enjoyed this one more than the training race, even with the rain.

Started strong enough, but I could have been smarter with the warm up. My inexperience showed when I showed with no trainer. But, lucky for me, BWR showed up right as I was about to go on, which gave me a reason to abort the warm up.

About the time my glasses fogged up I started to hit a nice rhythm. This continued uninterrupted til later into the ride when my gouch and feet started to tingle. So I forced myself to do some out of the saddle efforts to restore circulation. As I began it was interesting to watch the grimaces on riders faces as they were close to finishing their rides. Shot a couple of them who looked like they were really suffering a thumbs up. Ben was all smiles as we passed one another.

Nice to meet your satellite member, Jordan. And sorry Greg if I disturbed your rhythm when Ben and I rode past . . . . got a good pic of you though.

March 14th -

GNC had a free sample day, so naturally I was there. Tomorrow is the big TT day - stopped by the shop and asked Andres advice. Ben, see you tomorrow morning man . . . .

March 13th -

Slow day, bit of a taper in the commute so that I will be rested for the TT. Whats up with the snow? I was pretty psyched with the warmer weather earlier this month. Nothing to do tomorrow except buy a spike shooter for sunday and relax.

March 12th -

No morning commute bc I wanted to see my sister before she went back to VA Tech. Forgot my gear bag in the car when I was dropped off this morning - so the only thing I had was the Sidis, no jacket, helmet, gloves, etc etc. So, after work I threw on an old hoodie that wouldn't zip up and a grimy pair of gloves, encrusted with old ham fat and sugar. After tying the hood string tight I realized it created a "little red riding hood" effect. Riding wise I felt fine though. I was gonna shoot over to the park because its seems like alot of guys are training over there, but I'll wait til I'm properly equipped. Looking forward to the TT this weekend - any prediction as to what the fastest time will be?

March 11th -

Commuting in the morning was nice because of the tailwind. After work washed the bike and got an out of true wheel fixed. Rode around downtown fred for a little bit, then headed back to River Road. On the top of River Road spotted a nice cell phone on the ground in its holster . . . . I don't know much about phones but it was pretty high speed - touch screen, internet, camera, all the latest gadgets. As I was examining it someone called and told me they dropped it while riding a motorcycle to Central Park. Long story short I dropped it off at his job - I was hoping for a reward so that I could get a spike shooter or cliff bar, but no joy. Looking forward to this weekends event. I have some family in Suffolk, and because of the race and a sick family member some other relatives may show, kinda like a informal family reunion. Anyone have an old jersey they are willing to sell? I could wear my signature gold shirt but it'll catch too much wind . . . . .

March 10th -

Nothing too special, mostly trainer time. I really didn't ride smart on Sunday - I should have eaten more and paid closer attention to hydration. I'm not feeling bad now or anything, but I don't want to jeopardize any forward progress. Haven't heard from anyone ina while . . . . where is everybody? Perhaps I've been ex communicated from the Fred riding community . . . . if not see you all this weekend!

March 9th -

Felt tired riding today. Stopped by GNC since I haven't been in a week. Sat in the massage chair for a while. Nice slow recovery day. My back actually felt a little tight after the ride with Ben and the ride from up north. I was wondering if I should do like Steve and pick up some Arnica oil.

8th -

Since I had a good weekend vibe going I tried to go out with a bang and put some in some work in the capital. When I realized that you can't drop off a rental car at a different location unless you pay an additional fee, it was off to Fraconia Springfield metro to see my friend off in DC. Rode around DC for a little bit, saw some guys with the liquigas kit riding in Georgetown . . . . as it got later I realized that I would have to at least take the metro back to Springfield so that I could be back in Fred before dark. Rode back to Rossyln, metro to Springfield . . . . time to head back to Fred. Nothing to special about the ride back . . . . . wish I had thought to bring some chamois cream . . . . .

Good luck to the BWR crew and Renegades in the upcoming week . . . . . .!

March 7th -

Nice ride with Ben. Started at Hyperion, where the Fred running club didn't seem to appreciate out presence. I had taken it easy with a short ride on Friday in order to spend time with my friend who came to visit, so Saturday I felt pretty fresh. I need to get a new mouthpiece for my Camelbak now that the weather is getting warmer. Ran out of water on Sat, and tried to get some from some "deliverance" type county store, but they refused to help me get hydrated. Stopped by Bens and topped off the bottles - thanks for everything Ben. All in all it was a good ride which put me in a good frame of mind for my weekend.

March 5th -

Didn't go north because my friend doesn't get in til quite late . . . . rode back from Stafford and then around Spotsy for a while . . . . towards the end saw a rider in Central Park, going at a good pace. I gave chase, but was too far behind to start with. Rode home on the verge of bonking . . . .

looking forward to the weekend . . . . is the fast ride from last week carried over?

March 4th -

Nothing like being a renegade. Actually, its been a bit lonely, not riding with anyone else . . . . people driving keep me amused with the awkward looks they cast at me. Not sure how what the temperature was today, but the sun felt good. Not too windy, either. Good friend of mine is coming down from NYC . . . . . . I might be up in DC tomorrow to meet him, so if you get a chance pray for a strong wind blowing north . . . .

Whats the game plan for this Sunday? And when is the next race that BWR will be going to?

Tuesday March 3rd -

I really felt all the trainer time from the past few days during this mornings commute. I knew it was going to be cold, so I chose to not check the temp before leaving. Mentally this helped, as did the sunshine. When its sunny sometimes I can fool myself into thinking its warm. Wind was strong, but not too too bad. I had to cross a snowy patch, and after a bot of snow got into the bottom of the shoe it became difficult to clip in. I ended up solving spraying it down with Accelerade to loosen it up. Upon arriving at work I realized I had neglected to let the dogs out, so after work I caught a ride back to Fred. Back at the house I jumped on the trainer to get a few more miles.

On another note, can you wear skins compression tights like regular tights after they wear out?


Sunday I went out for a quick ride in the morning before the weather got too bad. Snapped the left shifter cable and rode home in the small ring in style. Fixed the cable and finished on the trainer.

Trainer time today, plain and simple. Interesting reading the comments about the "old man" tights - Bill was right in saying that they are a pain to wear for more than a couple of hours. Often after putting them on before bed I wake up after an hour or two and wrestle them off, then return to sleep. Wish there was something more interesting to post, but everyone knows what being on a trainer is like. Looking forward to warmer weather this week, and a group ride filled weekend. Tomorrow post will surely be more interesting as I'll be taking to the streets. Be safe everyone . . . .