Sunday, February 24, 2008

Death Ride Training Season - 1st Month


OK, 1 month into the Death Ride training season, and so far it is going great!  We're doing a lot of the same rides as last year, and I'm in much better shape than I was (ok, last year's fitness level represents a pretty low base, since I was hardly on a bike for 10 years).  

Even the week 3 ride, covering some pretty good climbs on Palomares and Norris Canyon, was a great ride for me this year.  Last year, I sent out my infamous "Ouch ouch ouch" update after that ride - it was the first time I had ever climbed anything like Palomares, a 4.5 mile 1,200 foot climb that has been featured on the Tour of California several times.  The map above is the elevation profile to give everyone an idea of just how tough some of these rides are.

Speaking of the Tour of California, there was the debut of a very cool, new aerodynamic bike.  I want one! 
 Check out the Youtube video.



One cool thing - the team is larger than expected, and I've been asked to be a mentor to a few of the teammates.  I'm still fundraising, but I'll help them out with fundraising and any other issues they're having that aren't directly related to coaching.  As always, donations are for a great cause and help support my participation in the event.  My fund-raising website is here.

Want to create a little extra pain for me this season?  One of the things I'm doing is pledging to ride 1 mile for every dollar donated on my behalf.  If I do all of the team rides, that is about 2,000 miles.  That would leave me looking to ride an additional 3,000 miles if I hit my fund-raising goal of $5,000.  Go ahead - donate more!  Make me ride!

I almost forgot - we got a new dog!  We picked her up from a local shelter - a 2 year old mutt.  She's great with the kids, and loves exploring all the local regional parks (where she can be let off leash on the hiking trails).  She's deaf, which makes training interesting, but otherwise doesn't seem to bother her one bit.  Of course I have a couple of pictures.
















JB