Beachgrad05

I plan on signing up for the century but not adding the “free” jersey. I have no need for it. I have one from 2015 that I’ve worn maybe twice. Now to get my endurance and fitness back.

Erwin8r

Hey! I resemble that remark...

This Tour De Palm Springs thing--are you riding a century or the half? Relatively flat? I might make it a goal... But a half--not ready for a full 100 yet.

Beachgrad05

The ride is one of the flatter rides you will find. About 2k feet. And most is at start last time I did ride 2016.

Tho not sure if route is different as I did not ride last year and I understand they moved start out of Palm Springs to Palm Desert.

They had an option to follow the 50 if you changed mind from full century prior to that escape turn off.

You have two months to get ready. You can do it.

Erwin8r

Sweet! Thanks! Are you doing it?

Beachgrad05

I’m signing up. Knowing there’s the escape route is nice. It’s good incentive to get me back into shape from my hip surgery

jsigone

meh I'm supposed to do the Rock Cobler in Bakersfield that weekend. 90mile dirty ride on the CX bike

TrojanHorse

WTF, you're going to voluntarily drive to Bako to ride your bike?

Crazy.

Erwin, it's flat and easy - you can do it. Just make sure you ride 200 miles in December and Jan and you're good to go.

Erwin8r

Sounds good. Not to highlight it, but maybe your hip tenderness might allow me to keep up... Lord knows it was all I could do to keep up with you when we rode down GMR that one time. I have to hand it to PJ and TH--they waited for me at every rest stop on the way up to the shack... All 2 dozen...

Beachgrad05

Just ordered 2016 Wahoo KICKR $799 Black Friday deal. Will put my Kurt Kinetic road machine dumb trainer up for sale after it gets here.

Beachgrad05

Well that time up GMR was when I was in better shape and weighed less. And it helps riding GMR to know what to expect and that was your first time.

tunavic

They never changed the start. It was an idea they floated but it still starts in Palm Springs.

100 mile route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/11646465

Beachgrad05

Im glad. My uncle lives near start of route. I can ride to start.

dagray

Beachgrad passed me today in Zwift while I was catching my breath. https://www.strava.com/activities/1290493655I hope she is enjoying her new trainer.

I finally got rid of a knot that was plaguing me from climbing stairs when the elevator at work broke.

Beachgrad05

I’m still on my dumb trainer. Kickr not arriving til next week. I saw you on side of road when I passed you. My hip is holding up well. I just need to improve my fitness

Erwin8r

We can ride with each-other via trainer?? I had no idea.

dagray

Yes, all of the riders you see in Zwift are real people represented virtually, and my BKool app/program also allows multiple riders, and voice communication on rides.

It is great to get on the trainer at a scheduled time and ride a pre-scheduled route with the guys at the bike shop while I pedal in my living room. Oh and you can race each other too.

The Zwift and BKool platforms allow drafting so your resistance decreases if you are drafting another rider.

Both can be used with a dumb trainer and sensors (cadence, power, heart rate, speed), or a smart trainer. I still use cadence, power, heart rate with the smart trainer. Smart trainers have the advantage of having the resistance controlled by the trainer simulating gradient of road.

PhotoJoe 

40% off PI cycling apparel at Amazon through midnight. I think you may need to go through the Daily Deal link to get it to work. I’m not sure.

jimincalif

Rode all 4 days over the long weekend, my YTD stands at 6,029 miles and 271K feet in elevation. That's the good news. The not quite great news is I'm 1,000 miles and 48K feet short of my 2016 totals. It's unlikely I can log this much riding in December, so I'll be a bit under last year's totals.

Not complaining, I feel very fortunate I've been able to do this. And I'll beat my 2015 totals of 6,120 miles and 272K feet. Interesting that over 3 years my elevation to miles ratio is very consistent right around 45 feet per mile.

Beachgrad05

Holy smokes that’s a ton of miles. Impressive on both miles and elevation. My best year was 4000 miles in 2013 (unsure elevation that year)

DrIsotope

Some dumb bastard with two thumbs (this guy) broke his own hand in March and spent 7 weeks off the bike (not counting Zwifting) which when added to the ~8 days lost to a broken frame and ~4 days to a busted wheel puts me 42 rides, 1,600 miles, and a full 50,000 vertical feet behind 2016. I mean, I missed 12k in 2016 by less than 200 miles, but that's neither here nor there. I set a goal of 10k miles at the beginning of the year, and even with all of the down time, I've (mostly) clawed back to within striking distance.

A thousand mile month isn't impossible, man-- just try not to climb every single day (which you do now,) do the Rapha Festive (500km between Xmas Eve and New Year's Eve,) and throw at least one imperial century in there. I have at maximum 28 ride days left in 2017, which would only be 35.7 miles per ride to get 1,000 in by the end of the year. EASY PEASY. Good thing I only need 818 to make 10k. Whooooooooo!

SethAZ 

Speaking of the Festive 500, am I the only one who goes out a few minutes past midnight on Christmas Eve and sneaks in a 50-miler, then goes to sleep, then wakes up and rides again later on Christmas Eve? I've done it twice now, though it's usually pretty effing cold even here in AZ at that time. Like, riding in the low 30s or so (the horror!).

I like doing that because it sneaks in an extra sleep cycle during the time of that challenge, somewhat easing the mileage/sleep ratio required to complete the challenge. That's important to me because 312 miles in 8 days is around twice the 150ish miles/week I'll normally get in, so recovery is a big deal.

DrIsotope

For some reason, the two times I've done the Festive, I did it in 5 days both times-- which is, as you can guess, +100km per day. This year, I am making a conscious effort to ride at least 6 days. The first year I did 115 miles on December 30th, and it took me from sunrise to sunset, as I had to stop and eat twice, and had picked an absolutely idiotic route.

As to doing a double ride on Xmas Eve, if my wife heard that I was even thinking of such a thing, I would get kneecapped. She doesn't like me riding at night as is (I do not fault her for worrying, if the situation was reversed I would worry even more) and if I tried hitting the road in the dark the night before Santa arrives, she'd make sure I couldn't turn the cranks.

jimincalif

Yeah, 1,000 miles is possible, but not for me in December. I design, set up and consult on tax deductible retirement plans. IRS deadline to set up a plan is Dec 31 for a 2017 deduction. Busiest time of year for me.

Glad you'll make your 10K!

SethAZ 

I totally hear ya about the night riding. I've ridden quite a bit at night, though, and since I started riding again in August I've probably averaged 1 to 2 night rides per week. Often it's a result of not getting up early enough to get my ride in before work, but then wanting to get a ride in that day, so I go out at night. When I do go out at night I try to keep it fairly local. I've got good lights, and I have reflective dots all over my helmet. Night cycling, like night scuba diving, is one of those things that scares the crap out of me when I think about it, but I totally enjoy when I don't think about it and just do it.

I had to go look to remind myself what years I did the Festive 500. It was 2012 and 2013. I got deployed in 2014 so it wasn't an option, and then I didn't cycle for two years after I returned, so this will be my first stab at it since 2013. I did the midnight ride both times that I did it. That extra sleep cycle really helped out.

I did the Spring Classics challenge in 2013 and 2014, and that was actually quite tough as well, because it required something like 200 miles per week. It was like adding an extra long ride per week, and recovery was noticeably a challenge for me. I bonked once during the Spring Classics challenge one of those years because I was riding so much, while also trying to lose weight at the same time. My glycogen was very depleted and this one ride I went out on an empty stomach with insufficient stores and bonked like 22 miles into the ride. Not a good experience. I ended up buying some Ovaltine and combined it with protein powder and milk, sometimes even dropping in a little Herschey's syrup, to ensure that my post-ride recovery was more effective. Sounds a little overkill, but it did help.

I do think my endurance will be significantly better this Christmas time, so the Festive 500 ought to be a little easier on me. I'll plan on doing the Spring Classics again too if they still offer that one. I'll plan on doing my midnight ride again. It usually requires a little planning on my part, because it's almost always the coldest ride I'll do all year, and when it's down in the 30s my normal cycling garb is simply not sufficient.

ill.clyde

Well, I'm either finally getting the hang of Zwift group rides, or I'm getting a bit stronger on the bike (likely a mix of both).

Had a great group ride today, 23+ miles when all was said and done, AND I didn't get spit out the back.

Don't think I'll make my 300 mile goal for the month (I need 33 miles and I'm not sure I have the time available to devote to it), but I'm definitely riding more, and harder, than I have in months.