Bike Masters First Anniversary Ride Report 12/13/08:

Bike Masters celebrated their first anniversary with a 10 mile ride today. Joel showed up at my house this morning and we rode out along the canal banks till we got to the store. We registered for the ride and were also registered in a chance to win a brand new Fuji Newest 3.0 road bike the bike store was raffling off.

I saw a bunch of friends had shown up for the ride and soon we were off. The route was nice and easy and had the Mission police department blocking off the intersections for us so we wouldn't have to stop at the red lights.

We got back to the store about an hour later and were met with tasty treats but the one thing that was on everybody's mind was the bike raffle. After raffling off a couple of water bottle cages it was time to announce the winning ticket number for the bike. I couldn't believe it when Jesus called out my number! How freakin' cool is that?!? And here it is, the new horse added to the stable:




A couple of people told me it was my lucky day and that I should buy a lottery ticket. I never buy lottery tickets but I did today! I'm playing the same numbers that won me the bike.

Vicodin, Joel's Sanction, and a GPS

I must have pinched a nerve or pulled a muscle while trying to straighten out the gasoline pump that was rammed into at the Valero in Harlingen. That had been the most strenuous amount of work I had done in a while. Or maybe it was all the times I fell off the bike while riding through unfinished trail the last time I rode with Joshua that did it. But to feel the pain more than a week later? "It happens", said the doc.

The good doctor prescribed some vicodin and muscle relaxers for my aching lower back. I decided to take the next day off. Joel came over to borrow Roam and I had to go to McAllen to get pricing on some parts for work so he tagged along. We ended up at Bike Masters to inquire about the GT Sanction he had ordered when there it was. Sweet looking bike. Joel was a happy man. The bike of his dreams had just come in. He took a spin in the parking lot but left the bike there since we were in my car and they were going to install some liners and pedals. He picked up the bike later and I met up with him at the trails. The first photo shows Joel and Mauricio from Bike Masters posing with the Sanction.




My Garmin Edge GPS had also come in. This thing has everything I need in a cyclocomputer. It measures speed, distance, heart rate, and cadence among other things. I had thought about getting a GPS after getting lost in Austin while riding the Tour das Hugel. The ability to download user created routes into the GPS was also very appealing. If I want to ride in San Antonio or Austin or anywhere I want, I could choose what routes I'd like to try by getting them from mapmyfitness.com. Theres also routes I'd like to try out that I have seen already next time I go to El Paso. It also comes with a training buddy which I just found out is really you, the last time you rode a course. I am my biggest competitor so this will definetely be an asset in my goal to be a better cyclist. And its also a pretty fun toy to have.

Mission Centennial Race Report 12/6/08:

The Panaracers had come in the night before and they could not have come any sooner. The tires I had on the Cannondale were the stock ones and were in bad shape. Especially the rear tire. Either way, I would have bought the Kenda Nevagals from my neighbor Lee if the Panaracers didn't make it before the race. I put on the Panaracers, aired up the tires, lubed up the chain, and made sure everything was in shape for the race the next morning.

It was a cold morning. But not cold enough to deter me from showing up and participating. Just put on my thermal top and I was good to go. Grabbed my camelback and I was out the door. I arrived and registered and saw some friends and waited for the race to begin.

There was about seven people racing in the clyde category. We were to race two 5 mile laps that included both off road and a paved hike and bike trail. After the expert and sports classes were released they lined us up. I lined up right in the front line. There were about 3 or 4 riders in the line behind us. The countdown began and we were off down a paved straight-away. The racer right next to me shot out like a bat out of hell and I wasn't too far behind. I looked behind me and the other riders were far behind. "Cool, second place so far. The road cycling has helped out" I thought. But how long could this last?

I caught up to the first rider right as we approached the entrance to the first part of the technical trail, Phase 1, but decided I would let him go first. I followed behind but he quickly left me behind again. I remembered some of the things Joshua had taught me a couple of days earlier while riding that same trail. Keep a comfortable pace where you can still push it a little bit more, enter a corner on the outside, exit on the inside, keep pedaling, stand while going over the bumpy sections. The last time I had gone riding with him I tried to pedal hard the whole way but quickly tired and began hurting. I did not want to go through that again since this was a race and would not have a chance to stop and rest.

A short while later I heard the huffing and puffing of riders behind me. They had caught up fast. "Whenever you have a chance", a rider shouted out requesting I let him pass once we cleared some of the tight singletrack we were in. I was holding them up but one rider did manage to get by me. We hit some straightaway on that trail and I motioned for whoever was behind that it was safe to pass. Nobody did, as I had picked up speed on this section I left them behind again.

As soon as we hit the technical portions again they had caught up again and others would pass. It was a cat and mouse game until all but one passed me. I later found out he had DNF'd earlier. I had trouble finishing up the first lap but I was determined to finish the race. "It will all be over soon", I thought to myself. As I was finishing up the first lap I saw another rider walking his bike back towards the parking lot. Another DNF. This could work to my advantage.

I entered Phase 1 again. This time I was warmed up. Something I should've done before I arrived at the starting line. I was feeling alot better this second time. I entered the corners and went over the bumpy sections of the trail. Even got a little bit of air on some of the jumps. I later ran into the first rider who had passed me during the first lap. I continued on and even passed a rider on the return section of the hike and bike. At this point I was in third place but still had one more technical section before the race was over. I tried to put a large gap between us as I passed him as I knew he would have the advantage once we entered the off road trails again. Pretty soon he had passed me up and I lost my chance at winning the third place medal.

I finished at 1:09'51. Fourty-six seconds behind third and almost a minute behind second. While I had the speed, I lacked the technical abilities my competitors had. A warm up before the race would've helped out more. It was a fun race. I plan to ride my mountain bike as much as I ride the road bike. The camelback was too heavy. The one liter bottle of cytomax I had would have sufficed for this race. A tube and CO2 pump stuffed into the jersey would've worked well in case I got a flat. I look forward to the next race. This picture is taken during the up and over return section of the race and was taken from the missiontrails.org website.

Thanksgiving Day Ride Report 11/27/08:

What better way to enjoy a day off during the middle of the week with a nice 35 miler ride. With little to no traffic, beautiful weather, and knowing I was going to indulge myself with a delicious meal later, this ride was a nice treat.

Originally I was going to meet another rider about seven miles into my ride but he had called me just as I was rolling out the driveway to inform me he was going to be unable to make it. Although the company would've been nice, it was also nice to ride alone, to go at my own pace and clear my thoughts and just ride. This morning was not about pushing it like we do on our Sunday morning training rides, it was about enjoying the morning, even stopping midway through the ride to eat a fruit bar I had taken along with me.

I finished the ride at right about 2 hours. Just in time for breakfast.