World Cup VIP

This past week I had to replace the bottom bracket of my bike. There are bearings on either side of the bottom bracket that support and allow the crank to move freely when you pedal. One of my bearings was starting to go bad. I knew something was wrong when every down stroke with my right foot would be accompanied by a grinding sensation.

The bottom bracket is inside the housing.

Luckily World Cup Ski and Cycle fixed me up. They ordered the new parts, faced and chased the housing, and installed the new bottom bracket so I could ride smoothly again. These guys have really helped us out over the past few weeks. If you live in Camp Hill, and need a bike these are the guys to see.

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!

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)

Hot Wheels

My new BFF

Earlier this week I had the sheer pleasure of picking up the beauty you see to the right.  She is a Cannondale Synapse 5 105.  To be honest, I still don't really know what that means.  What I do know is that my bike is pretty. :)  It's different shades of purple with some white and silver accents - it has girl written all over it!  


To those of you that know me and the current level of my cycling ability, I realize this bike ride might sound a little crazy; slightly insane perhaps.  As I've started telling people that I signed up for America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride with Team in Training, the conversations have gone a little something like this:


Me: Hey, Jer and I decided to sign up for a 100 mile bike ride!
Them: Wow! That's pretty far. You must be a serious cyclist.
Me: It definitely is far... but no, I'm not a serious cyclist. I haven't been on a bike in years.
Them: *Weird look on face* Oh, have you lost your mind??

Measurements at my final fitting

Again, I realize it may sound a little rash to some. Let's consider the facts: I haven't actually ridden a bike in years; I don't know how to change gears, when to change gears, or what gear to be in when; I'm scared to be clipped into the pedals; I'm a little nervous about going crazy fast downhill; and when the bike shop owner explained the difference in Carbon vs Alloy frames and Compact vs some other kind of gear system I totally tuned out... however, I have serious motivation.  My motivation is this: to help better the lives of the individuals who have been diagnosed with blood cancers, to support their families, to help raise money to find a cure, and to finally one day rid the world of these diseases.


You may be asking, just how does a 100 mile bike ride do that?  WELL... along with the training it will take to get ourselves to be able to ride that distance, we are also fundraising for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society.  Our goal is to raise $8,200 that will go toward the fight.  We won't be fundraising alone either - the entire Central PA Team in Training group will be fundraising as well (along with all the other Team in Training chapters across the country).  As a team we will bring in tens of thousands of dollars for this cause.... and that's what this bike ride is really about.


So, while we will blog here about our training and our rides, we will also be introducing you to our honor teammates.  We will be riding for them - as they have already fought, or in some cases are still fighting, some type of blood cancer.  I look forward to those posts!  I also look forward to our final post... once we have completed the ride... and telling you all, that with your help and support and donations, we did it!


Here we go!
Jenelle
Believe deep down in your heart that you're destined to do great things - Joe Paterno


P.S. - This blog was originally going to be about my experience getting fitted for a bike, picking one out and all that good stuff.  I got a little off track... I guess we'll save that story for another time. :)