The Broken Spoke

That sounds kind of like the name of a bar.. doesn't it? Anywho.. Tuesday was the group ride in Marmora.
The ride started out great, and I was with the group well onto Head of the River Road.. But then I heard a slight pinging and looked down to see what it was. When I did that I lost contact with the group and try as  I might (for a good mile I stayed just 30 yards behind them) I could not bridge, so I trucked my way back to the parking lot alone. Once I got back I went to load the bike and noticed that I had broken a spoke.
Here is the data, even after having lost the group and rode alone for 14 miles back to the parking lot.

Wednesday I had intended to ride to Stockton so I ran to a local shop to have a new spoke put in and the wheel trued. But when I got home I noticed that the wheel was still out a bit and was even pinging under my weight.. So instead I drove upto Beacon and had it trued and tensioned fully. Then I met Shannon and we had dinner before coming back home. 

Now, as far as donations go, I am currently sitting at $3,171 which is $1,329 away from my goal and I only have 55 more days! So please, if you can take the time and goto www.bikeandbuild.org/rider/5565 and donate I would really appreciate it so much. Anyone who does donate will get a postcard from me, and a hug the next time I see you!

Thank you!

Time trials and fundraising

Friday I did a nice quick ride through Stone Harbor and then over the NWW bridge..

Saturday was spent at the track for LeMons and then a Titanic themed party for Pete's birthday.

Sunday was also spent at the track, no riding on these days.

Tuesday I did a Tuesday Night World group ride, Lou and I were dropped just before Woodbine and rode in together after everyone else. I have to keep fighting to get my stamina up for these Tuesday nights.

Wednesday I took a break and spent it hanging out with Mommom.

Thursday I took a short loop down Bayberry to Shunpike and then took the cycle path home.

Friday was a night off with Pete, Nat, Cassie, and Nate coming down for some games with Shannon and I.

Saturday we headed out to the Cape May Brewery where I did just over 2 and a half hours on a stationary trainer to raise some money, all in all it was success. We took a poster that Shannon made for me, which looked like this:

And here is the data, I rode slowly so that I could talk to everyone without being a mess.

And finally for this week, Sunday was the Cape May Time Trial, it was my first time trial. I competed in the Eddy class and came in 7th in class. Mike started 30 seconds behind me and finished directly on my tail, which should have pushed me to pick up the speed more than I did.. But that was an experience and I really want to do more TTs.

Oh yeah, It was also raining pretty bad during the TT also..

After the TT, Shannon and I went out to breakfast with Mommom and Poppop. The rest of the day was  just spent resting and preparing for the upcoming week!

Until next time.

Easy weeks

So I ended up doing a pretty easy week these past 7 days,  Last Friday I decided to just do an easy 11 miles.

Sunday was an interval day, Started and did a warmup to Shell Bay and then across the parkway, then a 3 minute interval to the light past the High School, a short recovery and then a 30 second interval into the 25mph headwinds back home.

Monday I did an easy paced ride up to Rt 83, and then back down Rt 9 and through the Zoo. The wind wasn't bad until I turned back onto 9, The ride was good if short, my legs would not wake up.

Wednesday was a ride to Stockton to see Shannon, the ride was good with a chance of rain, but I missed it only getting hit by a few drops just after leaving my house, and just before arriving at Stockton. After the ride we went to the Post Secret show and then home. 

Thursday was a rest day just spent hanging out with Shannon at home, I will be riding on Friday but this weekend will be spent at the Track for LeMons and Pete's birthday. Saturday night is our Titanic Party.

Should be a fun weekend. Also, I am still looking for 51 more people to donate $20, I please ask that if you can afford it that you goto www.bikeandbuild.org/rider/5565 and donate $20! I swear I will personally thank you with a post card during my ride! If I can get 51 more donations of $20 my participation is pretty much guaranteed!

Thank you everyone who has already donated!

Sometimes you just need to ride all day

Fundraising is going well, I have passed the dreaded $2,000.00 mark and am now well on my way to being done!

My current endeavor is to get 60 people to each donate $20, currently I have 59 more to go, so please, if you read this goto www.bikeandbuild.org/rider/5565 and donate $20! Anyone who does will be getting a postcard or present from me while I am on the road!

You could pack your lunch for a few days, walk/ride instead of driving to work, sell a game you don't play, or collect some change around your house. It is all for a good cause, and I would really appreciate it!

And now, onto the rides.

I did a reverse Shunpike/Bayberry loop on April Fools Day just to shake out the bugs for the rest of the week.

I also kept it short so that I wouldn't burn myself out before Monday, I had my dad drive me upto the house of a co-worker of his so that we could do a long, easy 15mph paced ride up there with the plan of riding home.. We ended up doing just around 57 miles up to Wharton State Forest before getting back to his house where I rested for a little bit. Then it was off on the 35 mile ride home.

All said and done, I arrived home after 94 miles and 5 hours and 47 minutes. On the way home I tried to pick up the pace a bit, but I started bonking about halfway through and sucked down the little bit of food I had with me, Luckily right before the turn onto my road I saw someone else turn down. It turned out to be Steve, so he kept me going for the last 4 miles until we hit my house. 

That was a great day, I haven't done distance like that since September!

However, I bonked pretty hard and my legs were toast, so I skipped the Tuesday night ride and instead on Wednesday, after I shot an assignment over at the Technical High School, I took a 15 mile ride into Stone Harbor and back, fighting the wind most of the time.. 

After the ride, I hustled upto the rest stop on the parkway to meet someone who was interested in buying my Trek, which is now sold. That is a big load off my shoulders.

And thats all there is.

Getting closer everyday

Thursday I did some intervals in Stone Harbor/Avalon. Started off with about 4.5 miles of warmup, then did 2x2:30 intervals with 5 minute cooldowns. After that I rode home but the wind was super intense throughout the entire ride. But all in all the workout was great and really difficult!

Friday was an off day, and Saturday I did a quick ride down to the high school and back, then upto the bridge to do some photos with my friend Mike Sperlak of Mike Sperlak Photography which was an awesome time, the weather today was crap but that made the photos even better!

And here are some of the photos Mike did of me:

Now we are only 80 days from the first day of Bike & Build NUS 2012 and I have $2,892 more to raise before that time! So please, take a bit of time out of your day and a small amount of money out of you wallet and goto http://bikeandbuild.org/rider/5565 and donate some money to help those in need!

Thank you, and until we meet again.