I got a later start than I wanted for the ride, instead of being one of the first on the route I ended up being one of the last. I did my registration, safety training, and fastened my number to my bike and headed out on the route. A couple miles from the start I missed a bike path cut over between roads and thus detoured to a dead end at the wildlife reserve in Newington which added a couple miles to my day. The route I took started near the Red Hook in Newington, looped out through Greenland and North Hampton, to the beach, then traveled along up to Wallis Sands.

Then the route cut back inland to a loop around New Castle and through downtown Portsmouth crossing into Kittery and up to Fort McClary. After a mandatory check-in the route followed Rt103 up to York and along the coast to Nubble Light and though short sands. The last leg of the route traveled the road that passes by the Cliff House and Perkins Cove ending in Ogunquit on Rt 1. As last year the support staff and organization of the event was exceptional. I covered the 58 miles in just under 3 1/4 hours which I am happy with considering my knees quit at mile 50 and I fought a wind which was never to be at my back all day. All things considered it was a glorious day and a ride that was certainly a memorable one. Thank you all for the support and supporting such a wonderful cause!!

In an effort to have goals and make fun of the workouts I have thought of raising the bar and making them Training. I am currently looking to enter a Duathlon where I can -  run / bike / run.  This differs from a Triathlon where one swims, bikes, and runs. The swimming would be the most challenging for me, I have shoulder tightness and no wetsuit which is really needed for the cooler waters. The most basic of these events is a Sprint distance which is like 1/2 mile swim, 12.4 mile bike and 3 mile run. The Sprint events typically finish with times a little over an hour and 10 minutes. The next major race lengths are Olympic, Half (70.3), and Full or Ironman with each race being about twice the distance of the previous. A Ironman is 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile run.

I am no fool, and don’t intend on being the first overall or even first in my age class. To me it is a more personal journey of being healthy and living healthy. This is something I would have never really done in my early days, but I have really wanted to do it the last few years. I see it as a way to focus my workouts to training and I am competitive, so it all kind of fits.  If I survive and have some success I probably would do another.

Presently I am leaning to starting with the Pirate Tri held on Sebago Lake at the Point Sebago Resort June 13, 2010. It is a sprint length with proceeds going to benefit Sunshine Camp. A camp for kids that are less fortunate. Here is a Link to their information.

I will post my progress here as I head down this path to competition..

This is the 25th year for the tour that has so many wonderful volunteers and has done so much for fighting such a horrible disease.

The ride will start in Portsmouth and travel down to Hampton and along the New Hampshire and Maine cost ending in Qgunquit. I did the ride last year and raised nearly one thousand dollars! This years route is 56 miles

You make the donation and I will do the work. Help put an end to Lung Disease. If you would like to ride with me or volunteer that would be great too.!

Here is my Donation Page ! http://www.breathenh.org/Page.aspx?pid=692&frsid=267

The Trainer I purchased was a Kinetic Trainer, by Kurt and the model is the Road Machine. In looking through all the research and comparing the units in person I decided on this unit for three main reasons in no particular order.

1. The heavy weighted flywheel. In my experience using a Lemond Spinner in the gym,  the weighted flywheel helps smooth peddling out a bit and gives a good feel to peddling. If you pause effort slightly you get a coast effect like you would on the road.
2. Sealed unit, No drive seals to leak – I have read numerous stories of other brands having seals leak over time, in some cases not much. Understanding how many hours I would train, the heat and abuse the thing would likely take a sealed unit just seemed practical.
3. Value – The model i purchased was priced in line with competitors products but the unit seems more rugged, is easily stow-able and movable, has quick release, has a larger diameter contact shaft for the tire and overall seems less like a toy.

I unpacked the unit, it came mostly assembled. I installed the the resistance unit and tensioner in about 10 minutes without tools. Placing the bike in the unit is easy simply align it to the middle of the roller and tighten the clamps. a couple turns of the resistance unit and your ready to go. Very simple….once set if you want to take it out, simply turn resistance unit two turns and backoff of the holder and press the quick release. The quick release is great and makes going from street to living room and back again painless.

I went out a did an afternoon ride out side and when I returned home placed the bike in the trainer and did about 12 miles indoors. The feedback on the trainer is remarkably good. There is no resistance setting on the unit. You control effort via your gearing and speed. The faster you roll the unit the more the resistance increases. It seems weird but in practice it is really intuitive. Let me tell you it doesn’t take long to work up a great sweat and although i haven’t really had much time with the unit could see how intervals will be awesome. Reviews on the web explain it works for power tap equipment so if you have that gear you should get accurate results. I simply use sweat and high heart rate as my indicators and the unit makes a lot of both.

This is my first and only trainer and so far seems excellent. I don’t have anything to compare it with except for the Lemond Spinner at the gym, but the Lemond has a 45 pound flywheel, is single speed and has a horrible seat. My bike is much more comfortable and i seem to sweat just as good in either setting.

The Kinetic Road Machine is fairly quiet in operation at 14-18mpf kinda of a whir and at the 23-26 area is a bit more noticeable.  It does get louder as you go faster, but to me is quieter than a busy highway i have to ride along at times. I can watch TV without issue, but others in the room may consider it a bit bothersome especially for long periods.

I notice during my indoor rides I focus more on better pedaling technique and immediately see the difference in the feedback from speed and reduced effort. I can see how this can measurably improve my riding. Indoors since there is less to focus on you can really see feel the impact subtle changes in pedaling have. It is quite remarkable.

The trainer instructions recommend NOT using a dual compound tire. So if you have one it is your call. I am assuming the trainer generates a bit more friction than the road so probably see wear more readily.  I am using a dual compound Michelin Lithion now and it works fine for indoor / outdoor use,  but obviously if your on the trainer mostly, like in the winter, then it makes sense to get a cheap fatter slick. I didn’t notice any crazy slippage, obviously if i wanted to make it slip i could but it became non issue when i started riding.

At this point I would recommend the product. It is a trainer, it isn’t going to be as fun and enjoyable as the road, but the Trainer can do just what is says, train if you use it properly.

I will report back after i get many more hours on the unit, but right now it will be off an on until the real winter weather hits.

Well in looking through my workout logs, I just crossed 1000 miles for the season! I know the Tour de France covers some 2300 miles is 21 days, but I am no Lance Armstrong. I find it a bit remarkable looking back over the months and seeing my progress. Not only do I feel stronger physically but I know my heart and mind are all the better for it as well. I don’t have any aspirations of racing or anything like that although a Duathlon is surely in my future. I have had some issues with tweeks to the knee but overall I get stronger and faster every week and amazing enough a little lighter as well.

I didn’t set out with any specific goal other than to be active and continue to improve my health each and every day. Cycling to me was a way to extend my excersise activity outside and it has far less impact on my joints than running. I further like the true speed at which one can cover ground versus running or mountain biking. I started using a Lemond Spinner at the gym which has a weighted wheel. This stationary bike could be adjusted to fit and always provided a high sweat factor for the effort. Cycling was just an outdoor extension of that workout but is so much more enjoyable.

I can’t reccomend cycling enough as a means of exercise and fun….

Posted via email from stadig’s posterous

This was the first event of this kind I have ever participated in and found it very well organized. Everything from the fundraising help online, through registration, and support on the routes was outstanding and top notch. Due to everyone’s kind and generous support I was able to raise $691.00 for the organization, and I am so very grateful for all your support and I thank all of you who helped!! Overall the bike tour raised nearly $35,000, you can see there website here.

BreatheNH Bike Tour - Getting Started

My chosen route was 43 miles, but my bike odometer was telling me I covered 45. I began in Pease and rode down through Greenland to Rye beach and up to Wallis Sands. Then the route went inland and down pass BG’s Boathouse out through and around New Castle and back to downtown Portsmouth. I crossed river over to Badgers Island and down through downtown Kittery and around to Fort McClary. The route followed along to York and along Long Sands and up to Nubble Light. They had a photographer taking pictures of the riders and will post as soon as I get it. From there it was up to Short Sands and up along the road that passes by the Cliff House to downtown Ogunquit. I ended at the Seafarer Hotel on Rt1 to much fanfare.

In for the Finish

Being a newbie to cycling I didn’t want to push it to much and chose the middle length route. I rode the legs to Fort McClary (25 mi) with various other riders at a very casual steady pace. The balance of the ride I rolled on my own and pressed quite hard. This later section was also much more hilly so there was more climbing and downhill sections. The ride took about 3 hrs including the many stops at the checkpoints for provided snacks and water.

I thank all of you for your support in the event and helping such a worthy cause

The whole experience is so different. The shifters, the position, the speed…it blows me away how you can roll along the road.

I covered 34 miles this past weekend which is awesome for me being a beginner. At this one point I had a long climb to the top of blueberry hill on depot road where I could see the mountains. I decided to turn around and downhill (2 miles)  when last I checked my speed it was 46 and I know I went faster than that. It was a bit windy and i was getting blown around a bit so I actually was on the brake a bit as i moved more to the center of the road. I started to get paranoid of flatting and wiping out and the whole logical side of my brain started chiming in. It was so much fun though. I could picture what it would be like trying to ride in a pack at those speeds like the pros do.

I could have easily gone farther this day but not having had that much time in the saddle I figured best to ease into things. I wanted to be sure I wasn’t going to have any knee, back, saddle, or hip pain. As it turned out I feel fine today so my bike fit must be good. Previously I was getting a lot of painful numbness and tingling in my hands from my mountain bike and I experience very little on the new bike.

The Shifters are interesting if you haven’t seen a road bike in a few years. They are part of the brake lever and to change gears you merely tap them to the left to upshift and an inner lever taps to the right to downshift. You want to move up two gears quickly tap it twice. The chain indexes immediately and quietly…I love engineering.

I ended up transferring my rear rack from my mountain bike along with the pack. I like being able to carry a spare tube, tools and essentials. It is also great for extra water, rain coat, snacks etc. It makes the bike look slower and adds some weight which to a purist is probably crazy, but it is practical.

This weekend I also christened my knees with my new clip in pedals. I was riding and talking with my wife and playing with my dog, when I went to turn and leaned accidentally to my out bound, cliped pedal and tipped over, doing a somersault of all things with the bike. I scrapped my knee but was no worse for the wear. It was actually quite funny and an experience Rosie will remember for a while.

I have about 5 weeks to prepare for my Breathe NH ride. If you haven’t contributed I would appreciate any and all donations. Every dollar counts. See the article on this website and or go to Breathenh.org – bike event.

My dilemma was i wanted to be able to mount my GPS to my bicycle in a solid way to provide navigation as I cruise some of the lesser know by-ways and towns. I also wanted something that would be solid as to not shake, adjustable and be easily removable for when it was not needed.

The Ram Mount product has been fantastic. They are modular so purchased a U-Bolt mount for my bicycle handlebar and suction mount for my car. The GPS cradle and the adjustment stem make up the other two parts and easily transfer between the bike to car. The adjustment stem operates with a single knob and tightens the mount in any position desired and all the parts are powder coated aluminum.

The suction cup base for the car will lock to any flat surface with a twist and keeps very still. I have a car mount already but the unit shakes a bit and makes noise…not so with the Ram Mount.

Ram Mount makes similar mounts for Cell Phones, Laptops, fishing poles, cup holders,  almost anything…

I road tested it this weekend on a 23 mile ride over smooth and pothole terrain and I couldn’t be happier.

Before buying I checked reviews online and they were all extremely positive explaining the bike was a light, fast,  comfortable ride that climbs like a goat. The bike shop explained it has a slightly longer rake than some bikes so it would be less twitchy, a bit more stable and comfortable particularly on long rides. The headstock is fully adjustable with an extra knuckle allowing for it to be lowered and provides a lot of adjustment.  The bike shop fit the bike for me and changed out the seat from a Bontrager spring casual seat to a Fusik racer. I went with a recommendation of a friend and purchased clip pedals and shoes. I was a bit worried about the pedals fearing the obvious (forget to unclip and fall) but riding last night it was second nature and the disengage motion is easy. I particularly like the fact they ensure my feet stay in proper position, but also allow some wiggle room while pedaling.

I likely will move my rear rack from my mountain bike over to it. I like the idea of the rack and pack to carry spare tube, pump, and other stuff. A rear fender doesn’t hurt in the rain either. Although I may end up using my camel back for carrying water along with trip odds and ends. The Lemonde brand is designed by legendary Gregg Lemonde and was manufactured by Trek.

So I am officially in training for my first century and crusing the tarmak!….Lookout!.

Since I have volunteered to do the hard work, I am asking my family, friends, coworkers, and business associates to sponsor me in my efforts on behalf of a great cause! I need to raise a minimum of $350.00; however, my goal is $1200.00!!    Every single dollar counts!

Anyone who pledges me $20.00 or more and enters their pledge online via credit card will be entered in a raffle for three great raffle prizes!

Winners will be notified by June 16, 2009.

Prizes will be listed shortly on the Seacoast Bike Tour page of the Breathe New Hampshire website at www.breathenh.org

Contributions may be made by check (made out to Breathe New Hampshire), or credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express). I will gladly pick up any contributions. For your convenience you can also pledge me directly using your credit card by going online to www.breathenh.org and visiting my official Bike Tour site at http://www.breathenh.org/stadig

If you are unable to sponsor me for this event, but would like to support Breathe New Hampshire, I would be glad to provide you with other opportunities such as volunteering or joining my team. I am really looking forward to participating in this fundraising event and will let you know about my experience when it’s all over.

Your support is greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Glen R Stadig