One Week Later!

Only one week after my race and the only long term effects are a sore lower back (it is really sore though). I know that I will do this again. The race was great, and I feel awesome for having raised money for a great cause.

There were over 9,000 riders in the El Tour de Tucson, and I came in 3,000something. I feel pretty good about that. Of the 9,000, 500+ were riders from Team in Training riding for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. We raised over $2 Million dollars for Leukemia and Lymphoma while in Tucson!

I have to go and watch Tom Osborne's press conference. At least I am having a better day than Bill Callahan :)

I did it, and I am home!

It is 1:20 am on Monday (the 19th) and I just got home from my trip to Tucson. How do I look? Tired? Anyway, I will post more pictures and more stories later, right now I just want to go to bed.

I did it!

Kissing my Silver medal!

Beckie and Chad

Beckie and Chad surprised me and came to my race!

Crossing the Santa Cruz

Ready To Go

It is 6 a.m. And we are ready to go. I am wearing my Nebraska socks
and have my reminder of why I am doing this on my arm... In memory of
Aunt Sandra.

Made it to Tucson

Having supper on Thursday night. Left to right: Jess, Stacia. Erleen,
Brent, James, and Me.

This is what I am in for...

Here is a picture from a previous year's El Tour de Tucson. Our coach, Brent, sent this to us so we will have an idea of what we are in for. There are two places in the ride where we have to dismount and carry our bikes. From what I have read, this creek crossing is about 12 miles into the ride. It looks like fun.

Here is the address for the tour's web page: http://www.pbaa.com/!ETT/ETThome.html

Check out the pictures, it looks cool. Also, here is the address for the maps... the elevation map has me a little nervous: http://www.perimeterbicycling.com/!ETT/eltourmap.htm

All boxed up!

Tonight, I drove to Omaha and boxed up my (Abel's) bike. I met up with my team and we took our bikes apart and boxed them up for shipment. They will be waiting for us when we get to Tucson next week. We fly out next Thursday (Nov 15) and we ride our race on the 17th.

We are supposed to spend this week hydrating and keeping active. No big rides, but we can't sit around and eat pizza all week either. I think a few leisurely bike rides will be nice after having to ride 50, 60, 70 miles at at time.

I plan to blog a little from the trip, so check back for updates and pictures.

I don't even know where to start...

Another crappy weekend ride. I am borrowing Abel's bike (thanks again Abel!) and when I was riding home from teaching class Halloween night, one of the spokes in the back wheel broke. I took it to Bike Pedalers (I love those guys) and got a new spoke put in. They told me that they tried to break the other spokes and couldn't, he said that they looked pretty good. But, he did follow up with, "after one spoke goes, they have a tendency to keep breaking". But he thought they looked good, so I didn't think much of it.

Saturday morning I drug myself out of bed for my final long ride (85 miles) before I have to ship out my bike to AZ. I got on HWY 77 and my plan was to ride to Beatrice and then come back. Well about 20 miles into the ride, another spoke broke and took out my back derailleur, which is the "transmission" for the bike. So I was stuck half way to Beatrice waiting for Beckie to pick me up.

We took the bike to Bike Pedalers (www.bikeped.com) to get new wheels. They didn't have the wheels in stock, and would have to order them. I made a few other calls to other shops in Lincoln and same story... would have to order the wheels. So here is the current game plan. Bike Pedalers is currently rebuilding my back wheel and putting on a new derailleur. The bike will be done Wednesday morning, which is good, because the bike has to be boxed up to be shipped Wednesday night. Basically, I will not get an 85 mile ride in before the ride in Tucson. It seems that I have had a streak of bad luck, or some bad bike karma. I hope my luck changes before Tuscon. Wish me luck.

It is getting close!

One more large ride this weekend (85 miles) and I am ready to go! I think my bike gets shipped next Wednesday. I am getting pretty nervous! I will post a few times before I go and hopefully be able to post from the ride itself.

Good ride last weekend

I met up with the Omaha riders at Mahoney State Park last weekend and went for a 60 mile ride. It was a good ride with lots of wind and hills. I hated it while riding, but in hindsight, it was a good ride and a good eye-opener for me.... I can do this if I put my mind to it, and I need to keep up with those long rides otherwise I will die in Tucson.

That was the first long ride I had taken on Abel's bike and it worked pretty well. I am not used to his saddle and it practically wore a hole in my butt. I may need to buy a different saddle. I am going to let this heal up and see how it goes.

I plan on doing laps around Branched Oak Lake this weekend and clock 65 miles.

Back on Track!

Abel was nice enough to let me borrow his bike to keep training for my big ride. Thank You Abel! I haven't heard back from my insurance company since the middle of last week. If things keep going at this slow pace, I may end up riding Abel's bike in the race too (Abel, I hope that is OK :)

Anyway, I went to Omaha Thursday night and got the bike. It is a good fit, same frame size as my stolen bike, and he already had SPD clip less pedals, so I could clip right in. I took it in for a tune up, got the tires up fixed, and now I am riding again. I went to Branched Oak Lake on Sunday and rode that twice. I am not completely sure how far that is as I haven't gotten a computer yet. If anyone knows how far it is around BOL, let me know. I will record my mileage. It was windy and hilly, and it sucked. But I guess that is good for my training!

Here is a pic of Abel's bike. I am going to write down the serial number just in case!

The more I think about this, the madder I get..

The more I think about this, the madder I get and the more determined I am to ride this century. I am not sure how I will do it, I may have to beg or borrow (you will notice I didn't say steal!) a road bike, but I plan to ride the whole race.

Here is a picture of my bike with its new wheels. Look for it on the streets of Lincoln. Call the police if you see it! :)

Bad news...

I haven't blogged in a while and have been doing really well on my rides. A couple of 50 mile rides, and some of those in a good wind and in the hills. I took a 40 mile ride yesterday morning. It was hilly and windy and I felt pretty good after.

When I got home from my ride, I locked my bike to our porch and then Beckie and I helped a friend move, ran some errands, bought some beer... you know the important things. I got up this morning an Beckie asked me if I heard the dogs bark at 4am. She said someone was on the front porch. Well guess what... my bike was chained the the front porch. Well, it isn't chained there any more. Some jerk stole my bike!

I am not sure what this means for the Tour de Tucson. I can't afford another decent road bike, and there is no way I can ride 108 miles on my mountain bike. I may take my mountain bike, and ride the 50 or 60 mile route.

The police came and told me that there isn't much they can do. I need to find the serial # for the bike and then they can keep on eye on the bikes that go through the pawn shops.

Stuff like this makes you lose your faith in people!

Labor Day Weekend

I got two good rides in this weekend. On Saturday, I rode to Eagle and back. I out on "O" Street, but brought the MoPac trail back. Round trip was about 30 miles. Today, Labor Day, I rode south on HWY 77 and went to Hickman and back, it was about 40 miles. All in all, it was a pretty good weekend of riding.

Branched Oak Lake

Beckie and I rode around Branched Oak Lake this morning. It was 15 miles of really pretty scenery and hills. Beckie wasn't too prepared for the hills... I don't think she will go out there with me again any time soon. I liked the ride, an easy way to get 15 or 30 miles in. No pics... I forgot my phone.

30 Miles, I think

I took the MoPac trail east to Eagle and then back to Lincoln this morning. I think it is about 30 miles, but don't know for sure as my bike computer had a hiccup in the middle of the ride. So my 30 miles is a guess, but I think it is pretty close.

New wheels this time!

Had a good ride Saturday morning with Michelle, we went 25-30 miles (we aren't sure as both of our computers are on the fritz). Anyway, while on the ride I noticed a funny creaking noise coming from my crank (the peddle area). I took my bike to the guys at Bike Peddlers on 33rd and A. The called me about 45 minutes later and said I had a minor problem in the crank that they fixed. On my way down to pick my bike up, they notice a more serious issue. My back wheel was falling apart. A few of the spokes were pulling out of the rim. I don't know how I made it through a 25 mile ride that morning without a flat or my wheel falling apart.

So here is a pic of my bike with new wheels... don't ask how much they cost. It may have been cheaper to put new wheels on the Golf.

Tucson Ride

Here is a link to the El Tour de Tucson Century bike ride. Scroll down a little and look at the elevation map... I think I need to start training on some hills :(

I'm back and back at it

As you can see from my mileage chart I took some time off. We went on our annual camping/tubing trip on the Niobrara river. It was a great time. I am back and riding again, and I think that is the only weekend I will be out of town, that was probably my last weekend off.

We set up our tents and then waited at the Prohibition bar in Springview (my hometown) while tornadoes and heavy rain went through the area. Luckily our tents came through unscathed, but even better was the fact that we waited out the storm in a bar and drank a little beer. I dont' have any pictures from biking this week, but here is a picture of some pickled eggs. Our friend, Kirk Carter, ate an even dozen of these while we waited the storms out. These are the last 4... he had already eaten 8 at this time.

My First Boo-Boo

Even though it isn't a big one, it is still my first battle scar from training. I went for a ride with Michelle (my TNT mentor) this morning, and when we were about home, I caught a little edge on the sidewalk and fell right over. I wish I had a better story for my scrape, but that is it. Regardless we got 20 miles in this morning.

In the groove again

I am back and getting back into the swing of riding. I actually got up this morning and rode at 5:30! I plan to do this often, but most of the time I just can't get out of bed... and it is too hot to ride after work, so that only leaves the evenings. So, I feel good that I actually got out of bed this morning.

Here is a picture of my new biking shoes. My old ones were/are falling apart. These are road biking shoes, so they are not nearly as comfortable as my mountain biking shoes. Walking in these is like walking in ski boots.

Back in Town!

I am back from holiday/work trip to Los Angeles/San Diego/Boston. I am tired, but glad to be home. I have been riding a lot the last month or two (but not at all in the last week), and this was perfect timing, as the official training set up by our Team In Training coach starts tomorrow.

I added the expected mileage assigned by our coach to my mileage spread sheet. The gray column to the right of each day now contains my expected/assigned mileage. I think it will be pretty easy going for a week or so, but as the mileage ramps up, my schedule gets a lot busier. I think my biggest problem will be the Wednesday rides. Once school starts I will be teaching a Wednesday night class, so I will have to get up early and ride, or ride after 8:30 p.m. That won't be too bad for a bit, but will be hard to accomplish once it starts to get a little colder... wish me luck. One of the reasons I have posted the expected mileage for each day is to keep myself honest. You all can keep track of what I am doing and drop me an email if you see me slipping.

Won't get much riding done this week...

We are going to California at the end of the week for a wedding, and then I am flying straight to Boston for a conference all next week. I doubt that I will get much riding in the next week. I may rent a bike one evening in Boston, or something like that... who knows. I may have to run (I hate running) to stay on my exercise regime while gone... I hope not. Anyway, I will not have too many posts for the next 12 days, but I will log any mileage that I get in on my chart.

25 Miles and NO flats!

I was tempting the gods of flat tires today when I decided to ride east on the MoPac trail. The first 4 miles were paved, but the trail turns into a nice packed limestone (I think) after that. I figured that would be the best place to get a flat, but I can get a flat riding down the street, so what did I have to lose? I rode 16 miles on the dirt trail and did not have a single problem. I guess I was lucky, or I have already had my share of flats for the summer.

I planned to ride 12.5 miles out and then back to make a nice 25 mile ride, which I did. When I got home and looked at a map, I realized that I stopped and turned around a mile or two short of the town of Eagle. I wish I would have know where I was then I would have ridden on into town and said that I rode to Eagle... oh well, next time!

Here is a picture of me on the trail. This is where I turned around... just short of Eagle.

20 Miles, and NO Flat Tire!

Put in 20 miles today. Left work and went south on the Salt Creek Spillway trail to Van Dorn street. Then I went west to Pioneers Park. I rode around for a while, got a little lost, so I did one loop twice before I figured out where I was. The biking trail there is really bad, bumpy, poorly maintained, with a lot of turns.... it really beat me up. But I did ride on the road there and that was an awesome ride. A lot of hills, it was nice and smooth, and it was a great day!

Sorry, no pictures lately. I take my pics on my phone and the last couple of days the pictures on my phone have not been downloading. I need to trouble shoot that and get some pictures back up.

Keep in touch, I am planning another good ride on Saturday!

You guessed it

Had a good morning today. Michelle (Team in Training Mentor) and I left Lincoln at 6am to go to Omaha for a Nutrition clinic, and a bike ride. It was a great ride up and it was good to get to know Michelle. She has ridden in three Century races and has run two marathons for TNT, so she has a lot of good experience and pointers. I also met coaches Mike and Brent, as well as the cyclists from Omaha. I think it is going to be good.

The nutrition clinic was good and we sampled some Power Bar products, then it was time for a bike ride.... well you guessed it, about a mile into the ride I got another flat tire. I am thinking I am cursed. The team went on with their ride, and Michelle hung back with me while I fixed it. So I didn't get a ride in this morning, but I met everyone and it was a good experience.

This was a brand new tire and tube, so I will take it back to Monkey Wrench and see what they think, maybe there is something wrong with the rim itself.

A HUGE flaw in my plan

My plan was to get up early this morning and ride at least 15 miles. The huge flaw in that plan is the fact that I don't like to get up early... so I slept a little later than I should have and didn't have time to ride 15 miles. I did get 11 miles in, so I should get about 15-16 in for the day.

21 Mile Day

A total of 21 miles today. Rode to work this morning (2 miles), took the long way home from work (15 miles), and then Beckie and I rode down to Jazz in June to eat good food and listen to music (2 miles each way). If I am doing my math correctly, that is 21 miles today. Not bad.

It was a beautiful day and Jazz in June was great. A great night.

Finally!

A tube, a new tire, and $38 later (those Monkey Wrench guys do good work), I got back riding. I went east on the Dietrich bike trail and popped out on 84th street. I was North of Adams, up by the Lancaster Events Center. Then I went south on 84th to the Mopac trail, and then home. A total of 17 miles. It was a pretty good ride, but it was 90 degrees and very humid... it took a lot of out of me. Regardless, I am back on the road. No pictures for this post, I am too tired!

Flat Tire!

I was trying to ride the Dietrich bike trail on the way home last night and got a flat tire. I was about 7 miles into the ride (which I am guessing will be about 20 miles) when I got a flat, and of course the extra tube I had in my backpack was for my mountain bike. Beckie had to pick me up.

I fixed the tire and was ready to go today. About a block away from home, I got a second flat. I am taking my bike to Monkey Wrench today to see if there is something wrong with my tire, or the rim. I just hope they can fix it today so I can ride tonight.

Only 18 Miles this morning

I got up early to ride so I could beat the humidity... it was still pretty sticky out at 7:30 am. My goal was to keep my pace at 15 mph, that worked for the first 8 miles or so. Then I turned and headed east along Old Cheney Road... it is pretty much uphill from 14th to 70th street... so there I was content to keep a pace of about 10 mph.... at least I got 18 miles in.

Only 12 this time

Only 12 miles last night... but 6 of it was riding into a pretty serious headwind... so I don't feel too bad about it! Hopefully I can get out to ride around Branched Oak Lake this weekend. I will post more from that.

1st After Work Ride

So my plan is to take a long ride home from work 2-3 times a week. As some of you know, I already ride my bike to work almost every day (unless it rains, or snows, or is just too cold... then I take the bus), but I live only 2 miles from work. That doesn't make for a very good ride if I am trying to prepare for a century (100 mile) ride.

So I plan to take the long way home from work occasionally. I got on the Salt Creek trail just west of Haymarket Park and rode south to the Southwest High school area, and back home. The total was 20 miles. Here is the proof:

Here is a picture of me enjoying myself on the trail by Wilderness Park:

My First Post

As 2006 was drawing to a close, I set two goals for myself in 2007: to become healthier, and become more involved in community activities. People from all over the United States work in teams to train for a specific athletic event and raise money for their state Leukemia an Lymphoma Society.

I have two specific goals; raise at least $4,500 by September 14th and complete the Tour de Tucson Century Bike Ride. This 100-mile bike race will be held in Tucson, AZ, on November 17, 2007. I am asking for your help to achieve my first goal of raising at least $4,500 for the Nebraska Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The best thing about Team in Training is that every penny raised goes directly to medical research. All of my expenses for the bike race are covered by corporate donations.

You can donate to the cause at http://www.active.com/donate/tntne/heath_tuttle

I will be updating this blog with pictures and posts so you can track my progress.