7/19/09 – San Clemente Ride
Good morning Sports Fans:Yesterday’s ride went from Villa de la Valle up to San Clemente for a total of 85 miles roundtrip. Not too many hills, but the group I was in held a 20 mph pace, which, by mile 60 or so, definitely takes its toll on the quads. The 80+ degree weather in some of those parts didn’t help either!
Today’s tip of the day is a lesson in sharing. I know it sounds completely “kindergarten”, but the fact remains true when it comes to group riding. During the San Clemente ride, I decided to stay at the front of the pack and held the majority of the pulls through windy Camp Pendleton. While I definitely felt like Rambo helping my teammates through the hills and windy spots, it definitely took its toll come the last trip up the coast as my quads were absolutely shot. So, the lesson is to take your turn at the pull, but make sure to hang back and give everyone a shot as well!Next week, we’ll be climbing Palomar Mountain which will be anything but fun.
Stay tuned for next week’s update!
-BB
7/14/09 – Eliminations Day!
Good morning friends!
Just letting you know that thanks to your votes, I made the TOP 15! Congrats to Joy Muehlenbein for walking away with the top votes and claiming the Immunity Pump!
Thanks to everyone for supporting me through this and I’ll keep you updated every week.
-BB
7/12/09 – Del Dios SLR Ride
Good morning Sports Fans:Here’s the update on the XX 1090 Qualcomm Million Dollar Challenge for week 6!
Sunday’s ride started from Solana Beach, went all the way to Escondido, up to Fallbrook, through Bonsall, to Oceanside and back down the coast to Solana Beach for a total of 70 miles. Not a particularly hard ride, it had its moments with hills on Del Dios Highway, but the big kicker was that it was about 90 degrees and above when we passed the Escondido area, which makes everything so much more difficult.
Even more than that, is that yesterday marked my eighth straight day of training (whether it be running, cycling or even helping friends move), so today will be a nice day to relax.
-BB
7/5/09 – Velodrome Track Cycling Clinic
Good morning Sports Fans! Here’s the update on the XX 1090 Qualcomm Million Dollar Challenge for Week 4!
This Sunday, we took a break from the regular rides and had a Velodrome Track Cycling Clinic. Track cycling is so completely different from anything I’ve ever done before. Imagine riding on a single-speed bike that has NO BRAKES and taking it up to 30 mph on a track with a 45 degree bank. And what’s even crazier is that the bike is fixed gear, which means there is no coasting on the bike, your pedals keep on moving!
Overall, the experience was amazing, learning paceline skills, starting and stopping skills, sprinting, all that stuff. We even had two races, a 200 meter race and a full lap race. For all of the tall, long legged, rail thin cyclists, it actually worked in my favor that I’m 5′6″ and I ended up cranking out the 3rd best times in the class. Us little guys can sprint too!
Did a nice long ride on Friday from Chula Vista to Oceanside and back for a total distance of 112 miles. Not too much traffic and the winds were relatively mellow, which made for a good ride. We tried to keep a 17-18 mph pace and finished the ride in about 5 hours and 34 minutes.
Stay tuned for next week’s update!
-BB