The final conclusion: I didn’t finish due to a mechanical–a thrown chain that refused to let go of the gap between my hub and cassette–five miles from the finish. Five miles that are going to stick in my craw for awhile. But in the meantime I had an unbelievable time and loved every second. My […]

I’m humbled and I’ve decided right now, I’m Before 2.0. As I’ve chronicled, not only was the Livestrong Philly ride the hardest I’ve ever done, I did not finish due to a mechanical just about five miles from the end, just as I was able to clear the last psychological barriers to finishing. I am […]

My apologies for thre longer than expected absence. Philadelphia proved very entertaining and the Livestrong Challenge proved more than challenging (but that’s a tale for another blog). My thanks to Team Fat Cyclist Philly, especially my captain the amazing Philly Jen, roommate Tommy, and teammate Philly Maggi. I wish you guys and the rest of […]

I’m a little reassured. It’s been a tough couple of weeks but I think I’m just fine in terms of my training. Even though I’m tired and beat up, I’ve been able to ride without pain for hours at a time–which is exactly what I’m going to need in Philadelphia. It’s still going to be […]

I’m nervous. I’ve been riding but the long rides have largely escaped me, in part due to weather and in part due to the craziness of the last few work weeks. But I’ve put in a lot of miles and I think I’ll do fine. There’s still a lot of things to do before I […]

I’m resting, maybe too much. It was such a hard week last week that Saturday I could barely get any exercise in–I was in a catch 22 of feeling so tired and weary I didn’t have the energy to ride, but in order to get more energy, I had to work out. So I finally […]

When it comes time to build mileage while training for a ride or a run, there’s no substitute for it. Yes, there is cross training, and there is treadmill running and stationary cycling, but these things are not the same as being out on the road in the sport you’ll be competing in. I can […]

Saturday’s long ride this week was in excess of 70 miles. And although I planned to tackle this ride in the early morning, since I had a birthday party that night in the same area of the island I’d be beginning and ending my ride I decided that logistically that wasn’t the best plan, so […]

Or at least I hope it’s coming together. A sixty mile ride Monday, another sixty on Saturday, then a 75 for two more weeks and maybe an 85 after that ought to have me fully in century mode. For the biggest century in my life. While I haven’t been able to follow my training schedule […]

I’m down to my last few weeks of training, and I’m about where I need to be. Just based on my long rides coming up, a sixty on Monday, a sixty on Saturday, then two weeks of seventy fives and a week of an eighty five and I’ll be good to go. At least I […]