Redneck in Spandex

Author: Chad

  • Athens Trail Ride

    resting in front of a sign on the Athens Trail
    resting in front of a sign on the Athens Trail

    Today was my first trail ride of the season.   I started at Grover Center and rode through campus to the Bike Path.   I then took the Bike Path to Sells Park (about 2.8 miles).   I decided to take the Rockhouse Trail to the Athens Trail, down to East State Street, back to the Bike Path, and back to Campus.   There were several places that I had to get off and walk on the Rockhouse Trail.   I’m needing to ride a lot more to get my lungs in a bit better shape.   While I’ve been doing interval training at the gym, I still got really, really winded on a few of the hills.   Also, with the spring rains, a few places on Rockhouse were quite boggy.   Next time I may just stick to the Athens Trail, unless we’ve had dry, sunny weather for a good solid week or more.

    I also got a nice flat on the ridge just past the Rockhouse/Athens Trail intersection.   I must have landed a nice thorn, as air was spewing out of my tire.   I also apparently broke a spoke.   Thanks to my Eagle Scout tendencies, I had a spare tube and a pump, so I fixed the tube in about ten minutes.   I’ve had quite a bit of practice changing flats in the last few months, so I’ve got the routine down.

    The entire ride was about 12 miles round trip, with about seven miles on pavement.   I thought I would try the route to see if I could get over the the trails on my lunch break and back in an hour.   With the flat and my walking, it turned out to be two hours.   I guess that gives me something to work for.   Next time I’ll try the Athens Trail and loop back to Sells Park via one of the bailout trails.   That would make the ride shorter, but perhaps make it easier to get back under 60 minutes.

  • Good list of Steel Road Bikes at Urban Velo

    Urban Velo has created a good list of Steel Road Bikes.

    The list appears to be fairly comprehensive, and folks are adding additional suggestions.   If steel is your thing, check out the list of bikes.

  • Today’s workout

    This morning I did a half-hour spin on the trainer while watching Heroes on Netflix. I mixed it up a little with a couple of fast sprints, but nothing too crazy. It’s only the second time I’ve used a trainer, and it’s kind of odd having to pedal for 30 minutes straight. It’s a pretty decent workout. Seeing how it’s tough to get as many miles on the bike as I want to, the trainer may be the best approach for getting my legs in shape for the longer rides.

    I also spent 30 minutes this afternoon on the eliptical trainer at the gym. I tend to enjoy doing the interval mode, as it simulates hills to a certain degree. The work and recovery helps to really get my heart rate going.

    Current weight: 211

  • Upper body weight routine

    Today I did an upper body routine with mostly free weights.   Since cycling season is upon us, I will likely forgo a leg routine for some time. Most likely my legs will get plenty of work on the bike.   I did the same upper body routine last week, and it seems to fit nicely in within my 30 minute window.   Here’s the routine:

    Dumbbell bench press 3 sets of 10

    Dumbbell rows:   3 sets of 10

    Seated dumbbell military press: 3 sets of 10

    Incline dumbbell flyes: 3 sets of 10

    Lat Pulldown: 3 sets of 10

    Dumbbell curls: 3 sets of 10

    Tricep push-downs: 3 sets of 10

  • Winter riding blues

    There is honestly not much to report on lately, as I haven’t been able to ride in quite some time.   The weather is supposed to be in the high forties to low fifties this weekend, so I’m hoping to be able to get a ride in.   I’d like to crank out about 20 mile at the very least, but I only need 8 miles to take me over the 900 mile mark for the year.

    In other news, I had a decent lunchtime workout on the cross trainer today.   30 minutes of intervals.