Wednesday, October 13, 2004
Pre-Ride Assessment
I am leaving for Israel, B'ezras Hashem, on Sunday evening. I will be doing three days of business in Tel Aviv and visiting my daughter during the first week. The ride begins Sunday morning, October 24th.
My bike is already dis-assembled and packed. The mechanics in Israel will put it back together for me when I arrive. I hope to get a couple of early morning training rides in next Thursday and Friday.
I have raised almost exactly $10,000 for the hospital. That was my goal even though the hospital only asks you to guarantee $2K (and they target a $5K average for North American riders). My friends and family have been very supportive.
I've lost about 12 pounds during my training although I haven't tried to lose an ounce. I have not weighed this little since I was a freshman in college, over 30 years ago. Conventional wisdom says that the ideal weight for endurance riding is 2 lbs. per inch and I am extremely close to that level.
During my training, my anaerobic threshhold seems to have increased by about 9 bpm to approximately 165 bpm, an extremely high number for an alter kocker like me. When I started training, my resting heart beat was around 43 and I don't know whether that has gone down because I haven't tested it since.
I have improved my form considerably, most noticably in my ability to pull the pedals up, not just push them down. My speed and power have increased but I'm still no speed demon.
I really don't expect the bike tour to be particularly difficult despite the fact that we cover 300 miles in 5 days and despite a few really nasty climbs. I want to enjoy the tour as much as possible so I don't feel like being sore and I am hopeful that my (over)training has prepared me enough so I won't be. I think a lot of the riders, particularly first time riders, have no idea what they are in for. There will be a lot of ice and Advil use.
I am psyched beyond words. I am really looking forward to seeing my daughter and I am really looking forward to the ride.
If I can figure out how to post from the road, I will. Otherwise, I'll write when I get back.
My bike is already dis-assembled and packed. The mechanics in Israel will put it back together for me when I arrive. I hope to get a couple of early morning training rides in next Thursday and Friday.
I have raised almost exactly $10,000 for the hospital. That was my goal even though the hospital only asks you to guarantee $2K (and they target a $5K average for North American riders). My friends and family have been very supportive.
I've lost about 12 pounds during my training although I haven't tried to lose an ounce. I have not weighed this little since I was a freshman in college, over 30 years ago. Conventional wisdom says that the ideal weight for endurance riding is 2 lbs. per inch and I am extremely close to that level.
During my training, my anaerobic threshhold seems to have increased by about 9 bpm to approximately 165 bpm, an extremely high number for an alter kocker like me. When I started training, my resting heart beat was around 43 and I don't know whether that has gone down because I haven't tested it since.
I have improved my form considerably, most noticably in my ability to pull the pedals up, not just push them down. My speed and power have increased but I'm still no speed demon.
I really don't expect the bike tour to be particularly difficult despite the fact that we cover 300 miles in 5 days and despite a few really nasty climbs. I want to enjoy the tour as much as possible so I don't feel like being sore and I am hopeful that my (over)training has prepared me enough so I won't be. I think a lot of the riders, particularly first time riders, have no idea what they are in for. There will be a lot of ice and Advil use.
I am psyched beyond words. I am really looking forward to seeing my daughter and I am really looking forward to the ride.
If I can figure out how to post from the road, I will. Otherwise, I'll write when I get back.
