Another short but hard ride from Oakland to the Bay Bridge to El Cerrito to the Berkeley Hills to Home

Distance 40.9mi
Moving Time 3:18:05
Elevation 1,404ft
Avg Speed 12.4mi/h
Max Speed 33.6mi/h

Cyclist Rep Meredith Slater asked that I send her pictures in my Windvest, so I share them with you. Cyclists who hit the $3000 fundraising minimum by March 15th win the official AIDS/LifeCycle Windvest! So I have a couple of selfies (one on the Bay Bridge - but the bridge is overexposed) and one that John took. I have you to thank for helping me get the vest on January 31, only 5 days after I registered for the ride. I'll have another post dedicated to the $5k and $10k incentive kits fashion show. Thanks so very much to everyone who donated, we accomplished $5k on February 3rd and $10k on February 13th.

Today's training was short, but a hard ride towards the end especially going up steep long hills to Grizzly Peak. In case Martin Dishman, makes another observation about a gap from the starting point to the ending point, this was a full loop starting from home and back.

Individual training and appreciating each ride

Distance 26.6mi
Moving Time 2:06:27
Elevation 1,263ft
Avg Speed 12.6mi/h
Max Speed 31.1mi/h

I'm finding on individual training rides, I have the freedom to cycle anywhere, so I'm not always looking at a route map. But if not for the AIDS/LifeCycle group training rides, I wouldn't know some of the trails/paths I'm riding. Today was a short ride because, because, because of life.

While training is of the utmost importance to be able to enjoy the ride in June, I still have responsibilities like Facebook, Twitter, and Blogging. Seriously folks, I appreciate the loves of my life giving me the support and time to train, but I gotta get back home, at least during weekday rides, to get lunches and dinners ready - and I do have day-to-day obligations.

I enjoy the meditative state that I experience while riding. When I'm not thinking, "How the f--- am I going to get up the hill?",  "When does this f---'in hill end?" and "How much more time left until I'm f---'in done?" I start to meditate. I first correct such statements with, "Climbing these hills gets easier after each training ride.", "I feel wonderful when I finally get to the crest of the hill" and "My, my, this ride seemed so short." These long periods of training gives my mind the freedom to focus on the now and my surroundings - very Zen.

Oh, and yes, a new toy - Strava for iPhone; hence, the new map and graph.

How much fluid does one need in one hour of training/riding?

Last Friday, I tried to determine my fluid needs for training and the 7-day ride. Because I had not done the test correctly, I did the test again today. You can check Friday's post for details on how to determine your fluid needs. I weighed in at 153.5 lbs before the vigorous exercise, which was a spinning bike, and after 1 hour, my weight was 149.5.

What does this mean? 4 pounds of insensible losses and sweat. I will need 4 x 16 ounces = 64 ounces of fluid per hour of training. You shoulda seen that puddle of ... under the bike.

I carry two 24-ounce water bottles while I train. The fluid calculation as mentioned indicates that I need to consume the water/electrolyte mix in both bottles and then some basically every 12 to 15 miles. During my last few training rides, I've been drinking an equivalent to 1 bottle every rest stop. WOW 64 ounces! That seems much, but I'm sure on hot days, I won't have any trouble finishing my required intake.

Way to go supporters! Because of YOU, ...

we have donated $16,735.00 in only 5 weeks. Thanks so very much.

Fun facts on donation milestones.

Our donation goes towards supporting vital services such as prevention, care, gay men’s health, syringe access, substance abuse & mental health, education and advocacy. To read more, see San Francisco AIDS Foundation Fact Sheet.

The costs associated with medical care and treatment for a person with HIV are about $20,000 per year. Access to life-saving drugs, clinical trials and state-of-the-art treatment helps those with the disease live a longer and better quality of life. AIDS/LifeCycle will help those living with HIV/AIDS gain greater independence and get the treatment and care they need. Prevention services geared towards high-risk populations will ensure that future generations will not experience the same level of loss that we have faced in the last two decades.

What to do when you've trained in the rain

So what did I do after riding in the rain for almost an hour? Well ... shopping - for cycling stuff. The best buy was changing out my tires and saddle (the old one was soaking wet) for a better ride and performance for the Jamis Satellite comp 54cm Blue. I share the photos of my purchase. The post is more for the cyclist enthusiasts.

The rain did stop us ... Castro to a little bit

Ride Time: 55:02
Distance: 10.91 miles
Average: 11.90 mph
Fastest Speed: 21.30 mph
Ascent: 614 feet
Descent: 573 feet

I was so looking forward to a 72-mile training ride with Facilitator: Joseph Collins and Co-leaders: Buz Miller, Chuck Louden, Lee Hawn. About 40 of us were so ready and we did ride out at 8am with a bit of drizzling and then the ride was stopped about 20 minutes into the ride, shortly after I was almost hit by a driver running a stop sign - IN THE RAIN. When training was called off because of the unsafe conditions cold, windy rain would pose for us on the Golden Gate Bridge, a group of us decided to go on (Jose (Pepe) Sanchez, Terry Beswick, James Casad and Andrew). As you can see, not too far. But still kinda, sorta had fun biking in the rain and being wet and feeling puddles in ones shoes with each down stroke.

AND, why, oh why didn't any seasoned cyclist ever tell me that when one rides in the rain you get a simulated enema with the water splashing, not on, but almost into the crevice of your derrière - what a feeling!

See I was in the rain ...

Even the rain won't stop our training ... Orinda to Blackhawk

Ride Time: 3:17:17
Distance: 47.6 miles (includes biking to MacArthur BART)
14.07 avg
35.95 Max

Thanks so much East Bay Wildcats!

I wasn't sure we'd be cycling this morning since the weather forecast called for thunder showers around 9am, but we forged ahead with Facilitator: Mary Vencill and Co-leaders: George Head, Steve Wedgwood, Don Brown, Greg Nichols, Susan Fish, Arjan Bok, Dawn Tso. Monster Mike, again, took the lead and following him and trying to keep up with his pace was a good challenge. In our last leg, Arjan kept up with Mike and I trailed each and every time. We finished as the weather stopped giving us its sunshine and started pouring rain 2 minutes after returning to our starting point - what luck.

Thank goodness Mike offered me a ride, which I quickly accepted. When I got home, I rushed into Tip Top and Richard cleaned my chain, gave my bike a quick tune-up, adjusted my saddle height for a better bike fit, tightened my clips - how lucky is that?! I also talked with him about getting a new saddle and better tires. No need to make the change before tomorrow's 72-miler, so I'll get the new stuff installed Monday and I'll be a better, faster, smoother rider - oh, yeah!