Recap, Week One

I was informed on 7/9/09 that I would be training for an actual 100K race in October (the Condor Classic in San Juan Bautista). I've been biking off and on for exercise for the last seven years, with a year and a half off due to a back injury. I started back bicycling in 3/08 on an Electra Townie, and eventually I wanted to get a more aggressive bike. My back seemed happy with a hybrid bicycle, so a co-worker (hereafter known as T) who races bikes loaned me a road bike for some serious riding.

7/11 -- 26.28 miles on the Bianchi in 2:06, including breaks. Apparently, the Cateye Mity 3 computer doesn't stop timing when you pause to munch a granola bar & desperately suck down water at every drinking fountain on the path (at this time, I still had no bottle cages on the Bianchi). I amaze myself by doing the first 14.1 miles in 49 minutes. Then my form/speed go to hell and I stagger home.

7/12 -- 14.05 miles with two 2.5 minute "sprint" intervals on the hybrid (yes, it's the heavier bike by far, but my seat is so raw from riding the Bianchi...). Try not to die. Go to bike store & hardware store for supplies to install bottle cages on the Bianchi. Also pick up Louis Garneau multi cycle shoes.

7/13 -- 26.28 miles on the Bianchi in 2:??. Front tire pressure starts going low with 10 miles to go and cornering becomes a religious experience, and not in a good way ("Oh God, oh God, don't let me crash!"). I get panicky when I have to take any kind of turns and have to stop every 2-3 miles to pump up the front tire. Get home in one piece after short panicked call to T. Check the tire when I get home from work: flat as a pancake. On the upside, the new bike shoes make a huge difference when riding with clips. Much easier to clip in/out than with my clunky Cannondale MTB shoes.

7/14 -- 28 miles (Really? It's the same route I took on the Bianchi. Stupid cheap bike computer...) on the hybrid in 2:20? This ride was interrupted to stop to call the police to come help a transient passed out under his bike near the I St bridge and again to answer a call from my doctor's office. I'm still paranoid about steering around corners after my experience yesterday. Go back to bike store for new tube, threaded CO2 cartridges, presta floor pump and to exchange the LG shoes for T-approved road bike shoes (Forte).