STRAVA - What???

If you are not familiar with STRAVA, have a Garmin GPS, iPhone, or Andriod "smart phone" and run, cycle, or even ski (either XC or downhill) and want to manage your personal fitness, hopefully you will like this post.

Ever wonder whether your performance along a particular section of challenging road (either cycling or running) Is getting better or worse? With STRAVA you can tell at the click of a button.

What is it? The answer is not simple:
A website, a social fitness portal, an "app", and a great means to track and manage your training and fitness. In my opinion, it is the biggest "game changer" in tracking how well you are doing fitness-wise in the last 15 years, and probably ever. Full disclosure: for the past 15 years I have tried to be at the bleeding edge of technology when it comes to tracking fitness with gadgets: P-brain bike computer in the late 90s (a bike computer that also monitored heart rate and altitude along with distance and speed); Polar 725 wrist watch that did the same but had a much better ability to upload and track performance on your computer; and now a Garmin 800 GPS that is a bike computer, HRM (heart rate monitor) and GPS all in one small package.

I had heard about STRAVA about a year ago, but was slow off the mark. I thought the Garmin was all I wanted.

Everything changed about 6 weeks ago when I dipped my toe into the STRAVA pool, and registered (for free) on STRAVA.com. Have a look, try it, you won't look back.

Excuses? We don't need no stinkin' excuses!!!

OK another obscure reference to a movie - this time The Treasure of the Sierra Madre - if you haven't seen it watch it - a Bogart classic.

Thought it was time for an update on my progress since my last posting, after having miserably failed to avoid the "Winter 10" - or more like the Winter 15 in my case.

This time I can claim success.  In the 30 days of April, I logged 32 rides and 624 miles - full disclosure - I did not ride on April 11th - something about a raw throat and full sinuses, but I did manage to get out every other day (and made up for the "miss" with a couple of days where I rode twice) and every day so far in May.  My most adventurous ride was on April 22nd - 43+ miles, with lots of climbing. in the pouring rain with a temperature of 42°F - reminded me a lot of the climb up Rogers Pass on the ride across Canada.
My attitude that day was:
1) It's only water.
2) Cycling is an outdoor sport, no?
3) Once you are soaked, you can't get any wetter.
 I rode the Piccolo Fondo route out of Morristown, and at the half way point registered for the Miles for Matheny ride so I could get a hot lunch to refuel.  I managed to get a wickedly cool registration number for the event.

MOOOOWAHaHaHaHa!!!

When they handed me the Bib at the registration table I said "Wow, that is ominous!"  They looked at the number and asked if I wanted to return it for another to which I replied "No this was a keeper!"  Two hamburgers and a hot dog later I was back on my bike for the final 23 miles in pouring rain watching the temperature drop steadily.  By far the most memorable ride of the last 5 weeks.

The stats so far are 36 rides in 34 days, 695 miles and 8 lbs lighter than on April 1st.
I am amazed at how good I feel and I am slowly working my way back to the weight I was when I finished my ride across Canada. (another 12 lbs to lose.)

I am also amazed at how the body and mind react to regular aerobic and anaerobic exercise.

I feel very confident that barring injury, I will be able to complete my 10 weeks of riding daily.

Fun rides coming up:

May 8th: Marty and I are in NYC riding a tour of the bike shops to promote Gran Fondo NJ 2012, and attend the NYCC meeting.
May 9th: I am riding my 2nd Commuter Challenge on May 9th - a 5 mile "Time Trial" against an electric bike, a Toyota Prius, and a Train/folding bike.  I rode a preview of the route on this evening's ride and managed a 22 mph average.  Should be fun to see the results next week.
May 20th: I am riding in my 5th Montauk Century - the first big ride of the season through the mansions of  eastern Long Island.

Some parting words to think about - "My therapist is 4 years old, weighs under 20 lbs and cost less than $4,000." Get out there and enjoy your bike, however far you ride.

Serge and PA, you continue to inspire me!!!

"You had me at 39!"

So what does a borrowed line from Jerry Maguire, in reference to a speeding ticket have to do with cycling?

Bear with me, I’ll get to the point eventually, and remember it is not the destination but the journey that is interesting.

A few months ago, I was pulled over in my driveway by a local policeman who had clocked me doing 39 mph in a 25 mph zone.  He asked me if I had any excuses, and my response was “Well, I have plenty, but they are just that,  excuses - the simple fact was that I was doing 39 and was inattentive to the speed at which I was traveling - and if you have in you any leeway, I’d appreciate any lenience you could steer my way.” After a return to his car, and a check for my non-existent rap sheet, he returned with a warning and no ticket.

At the end of March, I was reflecting on an abysmal past 6 months of cycling, more accurately "lack of cycling". I came to the conclusion that my biggest enemy was creating and accepting as valid excuses for not riding (It is cold – or only mildly warm as was the case this winter/I am tired/I just don’t feel like riding/I rode yesterday/etc. etc.) Wah! Wah! Wah!

I decided to shake up the game and try and ride practically every day (or at least 90% of the days) for 10 weeks straight.  After all I did that in the summer of 2010, when “excuses were not permitted” – whether you rode or not that day, the truck carrying your gear, and to some extent your dreams, was heading 70 – 100 miles east.

So how am I doing so far?   I am 10 for 11, with two rides planned today – my attempt to ride the Wednesday evening shop ride last night was thwarted by a business call that went into double overtime, and a wicked chest and throat cold that I managed to get once this pathetic excuse for winter (I am an avid skier) was over.  

 I have also learned from "my summer behind bars" that your Power to Weight Ratio is key to climbing – I knew that before, but never really experienced it – drop 20 lbs (or 80 sticks of butter as I like to think of it)  and even the slightest increase in power will flatten out all but the toughest hills.  I started my “training diet” 5 weeks ago and have dropped 12 lbs of the “winter 10” that I thought I could avoid in December.

Now get out there and ride. If there is an excuse interfering with your decision ask yourself this question; "When was the last time I finished a ride and did not feel better about myself at the end  than at the beginning?"
Cheers,
Bill