New Shimano Ultegra 12-27 (10 speed) cassette

After discussing the route for the MS ride and the hills it includes, I decided to add two more teeth to my largest cog on my bikes rear cassette. It doesn't sound like much but it will help. Unfortunately I had to replace the entire set of 10 cogs to get the one that had 27 teeth instead of 25 that I have now. Not cheap!
I can't wait to try it out! I'll report back after I've installed and rode the local hills since I have a good idea of the hills that we will be climbing on October 10th. I also found out that the first day of riding will be about 105-106 miles. We won't even hit the hills until about mile 65, so I have not only committed myself to getting, installing and training with the new cog set; I am also committed to losing 15-20 more pounds before October 10th. That may be my biggest challenge yet without losing any muscle mass...

Great ride and new MS ride buddy source

Yesterday I started my day early, once again, at 5am to be on the bike path by 6am. There's nothing better from my perspective to start your day this way. This early the breeze that is typical on the first 7-8 miles of my ride are non-existent and really gives you an idea what your top cruising speed is without a head wind and doesn't drain me before my ride has even really begun. I ended up riding all the way down to Torrey Pines and up the hill to the state park, which was more difficult than I thought but rewarding nonetheless.
I did have one issue with a peddle cleat mating correctly, but I figured that out after two or three attempts to fix them incorrectly. Once I got that corrected I found some serious speed, which I will be trying to implement with the other side of the crankset.
I ended up meeting up with another rider that will be in his fifth MS ride this October. He rode with me all the way to the end of my ride and we discussed routes and prep and a ride that 8-10 of us will be riding on September 12th that entails the northern route from Huntington Beach to Solana Beach. This will cover about 80 miles of the MS bike route. I'm grateful for meeting up with riders that have this perspective of the ride and how to prepare. We are less than two months away and I feel confident but a little intrepid about my first century ride. Im hoping that I can ride with these guys during the MS ride to help with the moral support and pacing, but if not Im sure I'll be surrounded by others who are just as supportive. I'm really looking forward to it...
Oh yeah, almost forgot. I rode 61 miles yesterday.

Donate to help finish MS: http://www.biketofinishms.com/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=304333&supid=259559506

Wednesday evening ride 8/12/09

I rode 46 miles last night with full night riding gear. I didn't need it though as I returned to my car by 7:45 and didn't feel like riding any longer as traffic is just getting out of control in these waning days of summer. Rush hour mixed in with tourists trying to squeeze as much out of their summer vacations as possible and quite honeslty are not watching the road, pedestrians and riders, especially on PCH. If I don't return for a ride one day, you might just find me strung out on the cement on PCH in Luecadia. I'm going to have to change up my training schedule a bit because of these dangers. I won't do a weekday evening ride until September, which might bring down my average miles, but I'll combine my early weekend ride with some weight training. Summer, summer go away!!! Or should I say tourists???

Want to help eliminate MS?: http://www.biketofinishms.com/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=304333&supid=259559506

Self Tune-Up and Night Rides Preparation

Yesterday I completed, what I thought, was a pretty good tune-up on my bike. It has not even been a month since I took it in for service, but the chain, cassette and deraillers were really getting gunked up with road residue and caked on chain lube.

After a good 3 hours of general frame, wheel and components cleaning, I removed the rear wheel cassette and chain and degreased them.

The more I ride, the more I see bikes that really should look and run a lot better than they do. In my earlier days I detailed cars and attention to detail for cleanliness has really stuck with me to this day on cars and now to bikes. I see some newer bikes out there that just look "ratty" and not taken care of. Maybe I'm missing something and the "ratty" look might just be a badge of honor...? I had one guy, not too long ago mention "Did you get yourself a new set of wheels?" I don't think it was a question as much as a poke at how clean it was. I'm not much in to changing out bikes once they get so dirty and un-maintenanced that they don't work the way they were intended. If you care for your investment and maintain it the way it was intended, it will reward you with many miles and years of service. That is my goal and why you just might see this type of post on a regular basis.

As a side note to this post, I also wanted to mention that I adapted the bike to night rides, if neccessary. It is almost dark/dark by 8pm now and I don't want to get caught out in the dark again with no lights like I was last thursday evening. I use "Super Flash" by Planet Bike for my rear light: http://ecom1.planetbike.com/3034.html

and the "Hi-Flux LED" by Cygolite for my headlight in situations where I know I'll be out later than usual: http://cygolite.com/products/new/HiFlux2/HiFlux2LED.html

Despite another flat, it was a great ride!

I got started today at 5:00am and on the road by 6:15am from the bike trail off College. I was going to go to the coast and take Cannon Road to head inland from there to train a bit on some rolling hills to prepare for the MS ride, but decided to go down to the Del Mar train station and back. While heading back north, I caught up to a large peloton(50-60 riders) and have to tell you it was so much fun knowing I can keep up with the club riders and maintain in a large group of cyclist with the same interest in bikes that I have, until I got the flat. It did turn out to be a slow leak which was nice, so it gave me plenty of warning and another cyclist noticed it too so I pulled off out of the peloton to fix the flat. I carry plenty of equiptment to change a tire, but did almost find myself in a pickle because the first tube actually had a pinch in a location other than where the nail was sticking out my tire, so I had to replace the flat with a new tube, which wasn't a problem but I only had enough air to refill that tube with about 40 lbs of pressure instead of the 140 I usually ride with. This happened because I use a CO2 cartridge to fill my tubes back up and not a traditional bike pump, which will get me in to trouble one of these days. Hmmm maybe I should look into getting a pump... They say flats like these come in streaks...
I decided to make a "B-line" home, which still ended up being right around 53 miles round trip, but would have been nice to take the inland route home to test my training development. Despite the flat and slow pace home, I was still making good time and the ride was extremely rewarding once again.

Great ride last night

The ride yesterday evening got off to a late start. I had to get Sereina to her swim lesson, which didn't end until 4:30. I got on the bike right around 5:30 and planned to ride until 8:30. I'm glad that I decided to turn around at Swami's last night because it gets dark a lot sooner than it did just three weeks ago when I was out that late. I got back to the park at College at about 8:10 and it was nearly completely dark. I might just have to get the night riding equipment out already.

The ride was a nice 42 miler. As you can see from the video that the turnaround point is a nice spot to take a rest and a drink for 5-10 minutes or so. The north to south headwind was a bit much but made for a good physical ride back from Swami's. I'm also posting a new picture of my bike and the new Michelin Pro IIIs I just installed. So far, the best tire I have ever been on. The red, grey and black doesn't hurt either... Have a great weekend!

I rode up Torrey Pines grade today...

I put my new tires on yesterday and the red, black and grey matched my bike to a "T"! Looks great!
This morning I was up before the sun was and was on my bike by 6am. I set off for Del Mar. I ended up going south of Scripps Hospital on N. Torrey Pines Road to Genessee. I really felt good about getting up Torrey Pines grade and back down(top speed 40 mph). Until I got about 10 miles from home. I guess the one serving of lasagna wan't enough to keep my energy up. I pretty much bonked, but made it back to the park from where I started. Average speed slumped to 16.5 mph though... Nutrition will have to be one of my priorities when planning these long rides as well as for the MS ride in October. Im sure there will be stations to refuel along the way for the MS ride, but don't want to have to depend on that.
Despite the sluggish end, the ride was a success because of the hills climbed and 65 miles. That's 105 miles in 48 hours. I'm feeling more confident to knock out the century rides at this point and I still have over two months to prepare for my first in October.

Christmas is just around the corner...

(Click on the title) I'm only dreaming at this point, but I'm sure this would be exactly what the doctor ordered for enhancing my training and ride focus... WOW!
Anyone reading? Christmas??? My Birthday is in September...

Blown Tire!

Well, just beyond the 1300 mile mark, my front tire decided that it couldn't take it anymore and blew up. I thought somebody was shooting at me with a .22 until I remembered I was in Encinitas. Luckily it gave me a fair amount of time before it took it took a turn for the worst. The bead on the tire actually came loose from the wheel. Probably too much pressure. One of the unfortunate evils of being a heavy rider on a bike that was designed for riders almost half my size is that tire pressures have to be high in order to reduce another type of flat(the notorious tire/wheel pinch). I planned ahead and already have a nice set of Michelin Pro IIIs to replace the original tires I have had since I purchased the bike back in December. I'll probably ride these same tires right through the MS ride and change shortly after based on the history and longevity of the last set.
Other than the blow-out, it was a nice 42 mile ride down to Swamis and back.(my favorite ride) This ride has much of what I'm going to expect on the MS ride.

Sunday July 19th Ride

What a perfect 60 mile bike ride! Woke up at the crazy hour of 5am to start my ride by 6:10 so that I could get a nice long bike ride in before the day even started for most of the family. Once I was pretty excited to get out today so waking up was not a problem. Working in retail for so many years made it a little easier as well.
Rode from the bike trail at College to the coast and down and back from Torrey Pines State Preserve/Reserve... Overall great ride! Will have to tackle the infamous Torrey Pines grade sooner or later. It will be part of the MS ride and probably my biggest obstacle right now. I'll get there.
We're having a four year birthday party today for my baby girl Sereina! Happy Birthday to you Sereina! Daddy loves you!

That bee meant business!

If you haven't been stung by a bee or haven't in a long while let me throw a bit of advice your way. If you have been so unlucky to have been stung by a bee and are able to see or reach the spot where the bee stung you don't panic. The pain you suffer initially is nothing compared to the pain you will feel later if you don't do what I suggest here... In the past several years, I have been stung in places that are unreachable or not visible. In the middle of my back or top of my head where I'm not apt to make a mistake after the bee stings me. Once stung, I usually ask someone to help out by taking the stinger out. In those cases, those individuals must have known what to do in these cases. First of all, never use your fingers to pull out a stinger. After reading the different techniques to remove a bee stinger and post bee sting preparation I realized I did everything you shouldn't do and that which could cause the most damage from that initial bee sting. I used my fingers to pull it out, apparently causing as much "bee venom" to be squeezed into my left quadracept. I can tell you from experience that this muscle does more for a bike rider than any other. I continued to ride my bike for another 25 miles or so spreading the poison deeper into the muscle tissue. By mid morning yesterday, my left quad was twice the size of my right quad muscle. It hurt to stand on as I could feel all the blood rushing to that spot of my leg. It was physically warmer compared to my right leg and harder from the swelling. I have never had this type of reaction from a bee sting, but wanted to warn those of you who inevitably will get stung by a bee and how to remove a bee stinger. The steps are pretty simple really. You take a credit card or drivers license(something everyone has on them at any given point in time) and scrape the stinger off with the edge of the credit card. This will minimize the amount of venom that is released into the muscle tissue and blood stream. If you have available an antiseptic cleaner or insect bite cream apply that asap and cover with a bandage for 20-30 mintes and remove so that the bite area can breath.
I've learned my lesson. I will be carrying with me some bite cream and antiseptic, which doesn't take up much space at all.
I am sidelined from a bike ride today simply because I don't know how my leg will react to swelling once I elevate my heart rate. The swelling seems to be subsiding today, but reports that I have read say 48 hours to one week before swelling subsides. It has been about 40 hours since the sting. Im really anxious to get out and ride, but want to play it safe. I will update tomorrow and hopefully will be reporting on how great the ride was in the morning.

Ride on July 16th

Last night I took a late afternoon ride and in my haste, I did not nutrition/carb up enough to get me through a good ride. Poor planning and I was excited to try the tuned bike.
I also rotated my tires from front to back for the first time. I have a new set but dont want to put them on until just before the MS ride. These tires are not cheap, but you can not pay for safety and puncture resistance, so I don't skimp on tires. I have put almost 1300 miles on this first set and have a had no flats on either tire. Really amazing if you consider where I ride, my weight and the hazards that I have run over. I would highly recommend the Micheling Race Pro IIs. If you can't find these, get the Pro IIIs. Feedback and reviews have come back just as favorable.
I can't end this post without mentioning the bee that stung me on my ride. Four miles into the 31 I rode I was stung by a bee. I stopped took the still wiggling stinger out of my leg and kept on riding. I probably should have stopped and rode back from there, but I didn't. My leg started to swell up after the ride. This morning it just feels hot and itchy, but no worse for the wear. The funny thing is I was stung in the same spot just about one month ago in the same ride location. I was stung on the top of the head that time. The little bugger got stuck in my helmet and decided to sting his way out. If this is all I have to deal with as far as bike injuries go, I'll take a bee sting...

I got my bike back!

I picked up the bike last night. It was in for a much needed tune-up. I havn't taken it out for a ride yet, but it looks brand new again. I maintain and keep it pretty clean, but I took it in looking pretty beat up after that brutal bike ride on Sunday and the guys at "Bicycle Warehouse" did a great job as far as what the bike looks like. I can't wait to see how it handles as far as how precise the front and rear derailers go.
My plans for a ride tonight are sidelined until tomorrow. Martha has an association meeting. I probably need the rest anyway. Plans for rides the rest of the week are Thursday and Saturday. Anticipated total mileage for both should be around 75-100 miles depending on how early I can get up Saturday morning. It is supposed to be hot again this weekend and I don't want to be out any later than noon.

How important is the MS bike ride to me?

When I planned the MS bike ride, I was so excited that I could do something that I really enjoyed and could help with a cause that has affected my family and me in personal ways.

I was so excited that I didn't even check my events calendar. I was going to do it!
Well, most of you know how much I love my NASCAR. The California race that I have been going to for years is scheduled the same weekend and it is the speedways first "chase race", which is like a playoff game in other sports.
When I realized this, I didn't even think twice about the MS ride. I am committed to this event 100%.
I do have 4 tickets to the NASCAR races for both October 10th Nationwide race and October 11th Sprint cup race and will be selling my ticket on Stubhub.com by August 1st so that the proceeds will go to the MS ride unless I get an offer I can refuse before then. I'm willing to take trades in kind as well for the remaining ticktets.

Thank you!

I wanted to take a moment to thank all of you who have supported me thus far so that I can do my little part in eliminating MS from our planet by doing what I love. Thank you for your support through my Facebook cause page at: http://apps.facebook.com/causes/309283/62360556?m=f3643606

Those of you who have shown support through this portal, please help me by passing this on to your Facebook contacts. We can use all the support we can get...

Don't forget to check out my regularly updated blog for my training progress and news here: http://mikewillbiketofinishms.blogspot.com/

With out my bike I don't ride. With out your support Multiple Sclerosis wins the battle.

Bike is in for a much needed tune-up

After yesterdays ride, I took my bike in for a much needed tune up. I got this bike new about seven months ago and started riding it regularly by mid february and have over 1200 miles on the bikes computer odometer. I know enough to get myself in to trouble when it comes to fine tuning a bike, so I'm leaving it up to the pros and hopefully it will be like new again when I get it back. It is supposed to be done by Tuesday. I'll go for my second ride this week either that day or Wednesday depending on the rest of the families plans.

Sunday July 12th

I was set on taking a nice long bike ride to Torrey Pines today to get a feel for one of the notoriouly tough hills that runs along the coast from North County to San Diego up the "Torrey Pines grade." My plans were sidelined somewhat with the triathlon that was being held on the coast in Carlsbad. I made it to Carlsbad, but had to climb over Tamarack and then up and down some pretty good sized hills to La Costa Ave, which was a bit of a challenge for this old guy that is not a hill climber, but I made it to Solana Beach train station and back the same route. Whew! 62 miles total.

Thursday July 9th ride

I got a little carried away and did 49.67 miles. Actually started from my house at the top of Old Grove Road and College instead of the bike path at College. This was a major step and hurdle for me as it throws new challenges like elevation gains that I have not done at my current weight and age. 20 years ago it would have been a challenge. I completed a 50 mile bike ride and the elevation gain at the very end of the ride. Sky is the limit! Let's go kick some MS ass!

Ride schedule changed

I did not end up going for a ride yesterday as planned. Martha had a meeting, so a little rearranging of the schedule here is in order.
Planned ride this evening - goal 30-40 miles and Saturday morning 45-60 miles. This weeks anticipated miles 120 - 145 miles combined with the 45 miles I did earlier in the week. Both rides today and Saturday will be "the bike path" from College to the coast and ride south no further than Del Mar train depot.
For longer rides, I'll push futher to the top of Torrey Pines and then to La Jolla and back, but for now these rides are what I am to expect as far as elevation changes on the MS ride.
If there are any riders in North County that follow here that would like to join me in a ride, please let me know.

Bay to Bay Bike to fight Multiple Sclerosis

Did I mention that I was doing this ride for charity???
If you can support my efforts to support the National MS Society please see my site here: http://www.biketofinishms.com/mikebike

7/6/09 - Rode 5:30-8:30 45 miles to Charlie's by the Sea in Cardiff from bike path at College. Average ride speed 17.5mph

Next planned ride 7/8/09 and 7/10/09 to make up for lost riding time during first week of July.

The training schedule has been rolled out from the first week of July 2009 to the first week of October. The Bike to Finish MS is schduled for October 10th and 11th. Relatively flat, coastal ride of 150 miles. There won't be one single day that I anticipate riding a century ride to prepare for this ride due to time and the lack of a support team or someone that can commit to the same 100 miles in a given day.
The planned training includes 75 miles, on average, per week in the months of July and August. September, I will bump this up to 120 miles per week to get acclimated to longer rides and pacing myself instead of going all out on typical bike rides. I also plan on taking the last 7 days leading up to the ride off as a "recovery period". Nothing does a body good like rest.

I'm confident that this ride will be a successful one for personal reasons as well as for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society from bikers like myself, "virtual riders" and support from friends and family that have supported all of the pieces to this puzzle. I'm also confident that with the collective support such as this our children and their children will only about Multiple Sclerosis by reading about it in a text book and never have to experience a loved one with MS or afflicted themselves with this debilitating desease.