Seventh Group Ride (Spooner Jr)

Saturday's group ride was postponed to Sunday due to an ugly rainy forecast. I'm so glad that it was, Sunday turned out to be a beautiful day in Boiling Springs. Jenelle and I went for the longest ride yet, a 36 mile loop that took us up to the King's Gap Mansion.

This week we had the opportunity to ride with our good friend, Chris. He is training for a 500 mile ride that goes from Virginia, through West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, ending in New Jersey. He kept us moving the entire ride, and at times I struggled to keep up with him. I certainly would not have finished as quickly as I did if it wasn't for Chris creating a nice draft that helped pull me back to the parking lot.

King's Gap Climb

This ride was intended to prepare us for Spooner in Tahoe. King's Gap is a 3.5 mile climb to the top, while Spooner is a bit steeper, about twice the distance, and occurs at mile 81 on the course. Gulp. After this gruelling ride, its hard to believe we'll be climbing the mountains of Tahoe in 61 days.

We are making progress on our fundraising for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. We knew going into this, that fundraising $8,200 would be a tall order. As of this morning, we only need to raise $1,700 more for the LLS. Thank you everyone who has helped us get to this point! We know its not easy to write that check, and we appreciate all of your generous donations. We need to meet this minimum before the end of May! So, if you haven't donated yet, please do in the next couple weeks. Click here!

Gabriela at King's Gap

Coach Kui

Enjoying the view after a long climb

Boiling Springs

Click here to see the route!

Ride Stats
Total distance: 58.14 km (36.1 mi)
Moving time: 2:23:36
Average moving speed: 24.29 km/h (15.1 mi/h)
Max speed: 48.00 km/h (29.8 mi/h)
Elevation gain: 722 m (2369 ft)

Sixth Group Ride

TNT 2012

This past Saturday afternoon we went out for our sixth team ride... it's hard to believe we only have eight more to go before the big day. This was a special group ride because all of the TNT 2012 members (cyclists, runners, walkers, and triathletes), met in Colebrook for some group training followed by a picnic in the park.

We hit the road quickly and headed to Mt. Gretna, and unfortunately the rain started shortly after. It was our first time riding in the rain and it was a learning experience. The first thing we quickly learned about "wet riding" is that you cannot draft in the rain.  If you are drafting all you get is a face full of water and dirt from your partner's rear wheel. Second, don't slam on the breaks. You need to ease onto the brakes and give yourself plenty of time to come to a stop. Third, make sure you bring food with you. Luckily our friend Denise was kind enough to offer me her Luna bar during our short break at a random stop on the side of the road.

The rain kept coming during the entire ride, and only decided to stop once we got back to the cars.  It's hard to tell in the picture below, but we were drenched!

Click here to see the route!

Ride Stats

Total distance:  44.90 km (27.9 mi)

Moving time:  1:56:10

Average moving speed:  23.19 km/h (14.4 mi/h)

Max speed:  61.00 km/h (37.9 mi/h)

Elevation gain: 683 m (2242 ft)

This week we already did two shorter training rides in our area. Both were roughly 13 miles long, and took us through the local farms along Limekiln and Sheepford roads close to our house. We even had Kui and Shelly join us for one of these rides. One of the benefits of riding is getting a chance to see beautiful farms along the way.  I never would have known that these guys live just a few miles from us if it hadn't been for riding. 

During on of the shorter training rides I managed to avoid a catastrophic crash. I was cruising down Slate Hill on Lisburn road going roughly 35+ mph, when my front wheel began to shake uncontrollably. I almost lost control completely. I instinctively veered off into the grassy field. If I was going to crash I wanted to do it in a field, not on the pavement.


My decision to go off-road turned out to work very well. The long grass in the field slowed me down and I was able to regain control, without crashing at all. It all happened very quickly, but needless to say it was extremely frightening since I was moving so fast. At first I thought I blew a tire/tube, but there was nothing visibly wrong with my bike. After a slow restart, everything seemed fine. I took my bike to World Cup today, and it turned out that my tires needed to be re-seated and the wheels weren't exactly true. They fixed me up right away and now I'm ready to go again on Saturday when we will climb (and descend) King's Gap!

Fifth Group Ride

This past Saturday afternoon we went out for our fifth team ride (only nine more to go), affectionately called the Cornwall Cannon Ball loop. According to coach Tom, the name has something to do with the fact that George Washington's cannon balls for the Revolutionary War were made along the route. I was a little curious if he was just making it up, so I checked it out on Wikipedia (also an extremely valid source). It turns out that Wikipedia backs him up, apparently Cornwall Furnace was operated during the revolution and was a major arms providers to George Washington.

It truly was a beautiful day in the Palmyra and Lebanon area. With temperatures around 70, and the sun shining, it was great to get out there and enjoy the summer weather in mid-March. We were missing our good friends Kui and Shelly but they were in D.C. with TNT running a Saint Patty's day half marathon. Luckily for them and for us, the chance of thunderstorms didn't materialize and I actually got a slight sun burn during the ride. You typically don't think about needing sunscreen in March, but we do this year.

We rode through acres and acres of Pennsylvania farm land. The smell of the freshly plowed soil was in the air, which brought back memories of living on the old farm growing up. Some of my first memories are from living in the Fisher-Crouse house in Hanover. It was right in the middle of a large farm at the end of Wilson Ave. Anyway... back to the ride. Farmers were plowing their fields using equipment from another era. As we rode past the fields, every so often you could hear a large stone hit one of the tilling discs.

Thankfully there were no major mishaps with our ride this week.  Jenelle's bike is running smoothly again. No matter how hard I tried to lose her every time I turned around to check on her she was right behind me, except in a few instances where she ended up in front of me. I have no idea how that happened. :-)

I can really say my only issue was a mild sunburn. Don't forget the sunscreen next time!

Click here to see the route!

Ride Stats

Total distance: 52.77 km (32.8 mi)

Moving time: 2:19:34

Average moving speed: 22.68 km/h (14.1 mi/h)

Max speed: 52.00 km/h (32.3 mi/h)

Elevation gain: 608 m (1996 ft)

Fourth Group Ride (The ride that wasn't)

Yesterday afternoon Jer and I met the team at Fort Indiantown Gap for our fourth official training ride.  It was the coldest day we experienced yet, with highs only in the upper 30's and a little wind to boot.  Thankfully the sun was shining.  We arrived at our meeting point earlier than usual and team members and TNT alumni started pouring into the parking lot.  By the time we were ready to leave we had around 15 people with us, our largest group yet.

We started off at Memorial Lake, and the plan was to meander our way around the Fort Indiantown Gap and Jonestown area.  I realized early on in the ride that my bike was making some new noises from the rear gears but I was determined to keep with Jer this week and ignored what I heard.  I just kept pedaling (I'm proud to say that I was staying with the fast group) through the hills and was figuring out how to shift properly during the elevation changes.  I noticed when I was going uphill that my gears weren't exactly cooperating with me and finally about 10 miles in, my chain came off the rear gear.

Now, for those of you who have read previous blog posts you will know that I have a little problem when it comes to stopping.  I must have made some progress though, because when I felt all my bike gears seize up I quickly unclipped and came to a stop without crashing. :)  Up until that point I was hanging tough with the lead group and I was so disappointed that I was now going to fall behind.  My friend Adam stayed with me until our mentor Chris arrived a few minutes later.  He checked things out, made a quick adjustment, and off we went.  The rest stop in this ride was only a couple of miles down the road so when we got there we caught up with the fast group and all was right with the world again.

Fast forward 2 miles: my bike went crazy.  Even though we thought the adjustment Chris made earlier would work, it wasn't meant to be.  My chain dropped again, and Chris fixed it again.  After another mile, my chain starting moving gears on its own.  So I stopped again, and Chris fixed it again.  After about another half mile, my chain started skipping (acting like it wanted to change gears, but it wouldn't).  So I stopped again, and Chris fixed it again (starting to see a pattern here?).

It was such a frustrating experience - I had been doing so well and I just wanted to keep up with the riders but I couldn't.  Over the next 7 miles Chris and I must have stopped and started 88 times... tweaking this, twisting that, trying anything to make my gear system cooperate.  Finally Coach Kui caught up with us and we all determined that I wasn't going to make it back without doing damage to the bike or myself.  Jer was basically finished with the ride at that point, so he came and picked us up on the side of the road and drove us back to the finish.  While we were waiting for Jer to come, I had some time to think about the ride and why I was there in the first place.  As frustrating as it was for me, I had to put it in perspective... it doesn't even compare to the frustration of those diagnosed with and undergoing treatments for cancer.  Or the frustrations their families experience.  And frustration isn't even the right word - what they go through is so much more.

When we got back to the parking lot we called World Cup right away and they told us to bring my bike right over and they would check it out.  I was hoping they would be able to fix it, so I could ride with the Lancaster team on Sunday and still get my training in for the week.  As soon as we walked into the store, they took my bike and came back with the diagnosis.  I had a trifecta of issues:  my wheel was bent, my chain was bent, and my rear arm hanger was bent.  Since they are SO AWESOME, they fixed everything right away and my bike is 100% ready to go.  Our best guess is that everything bent when I fell a couple of weeks ago coming to a stop.  Note to self: if I am going to fall, try to fall to the left side to avoid harming the gears on the right side.


On a positive note, for the first 10 miles of the ride I was hanging tough, I managed to stop quickly when my chain dropped twice without falling, and since I had to stop and start so many times when Chris was trying to make all of those adjustments I think I'm pretty comfortable with that process now.  OH - I also managed to drink and drive (see earlier blog post for explanation).  So, even though I wasn't able to finish this week, I definitely learned a lot and have even more admiration for my local bike shop. :)


A quick update about Jer's ride:  He finished our longest and hilliest ride with flying colors and still managed to come to my rescue by the side of the road.  Not too shabby.

Click here to see the route!

Ride Stats
Total distance: 44.76 km (27.8 mi)
Moving time: 2:01:55
Average moving speed: 22.03 km/h (13.7 mi/h)
Max speed: 55.00 km/h (34.2 mi/h)
Elevation gain: 600 m (1969 ft)

Spinnerette

Today we had our first Team In Training spin class at the West Shore Y. We've been frequenting the LA Fitness classes, but it was our first with other members of the team. It's great to meet other team members working to help the LLS. And of course, class is always better with Kui and Shelly. Last I heard, the number of people from central PA signed up for the Tahoe ride was 24 and growing. Its going to be a great year for the LLS.

Can I see your ID?

We got our Road ID's today (another Kui suggestion / requirement). These little tags have emergency contact information engraved, in the event that someone finds one of us unconscious on the side of the road. Let's hope we never need them, but good to have just in case someone needs to ID us. All kidding aside, it's important for emergency responders to contact your family in the event that you can't tell them whom you would like them to call, or so they know what medical conditions you may have. If anyone would like to purchase one, and needs a $1 coupon, give me a shout. They send you more coupons after you purchase anything. If nothing else you'll have your loved one's phone numbers handy when you lose your smart phone.

Specialized

Here is the bike I'll be riding over the next four months, a 2006 Specialized Roubaix.
Kui convinced me to buy this baby about five years ago. Looking back now, I know his plan was to one day get me to sign up for one of these crazy bike rides.
I've never ridden it more than ten miles at one sitting. I guess you could say I'm a newbie when it comes to endurance cycling, but I'm an expert compared to Jenelle.
We're picking up her brand new bike from the shop on Monday. This will be very interesting. I don't think I have ever seen her on a bike that was actually moving before (spin class doesn't count). Pretty soon she'll be riding around the neighborhood with me in sub-freezing temperatures.

Getting Started

Jenelle and I are starting an incredible journey together. This year we have challenged ourselves to ride a bike 100 miles around lake Tahoe on June 3rd. We are far from expert cyclists, so that will make this feat all the more amazing. To get to the finish line we will need all the help we can get: training rides, spin classes, cushy shorts, and some creative fundraising ideas. The 100 mile bike ride is a personal challenge, and a means to help raise $8,200 to help improve the lives of those affected by blood cancers. The donations we gather will fund the effort to find cures and better treatments for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma. It is our hope that by participating, we can help improve the quality of life for patients and their families as well.

I included a picture of Team Nace. From right to left, is Jeremiah Nace (me), Kui Kanthatham (cycling coach extraordinaire), and Jenelle Nace (my beautiful wife).