Tuesday Team Ride

Tonight's ride was another new route, out 52 east to Lunken Airport, a couple laps around the airport and then back. after the ride I did yesterday, I was glad to try a much easier route. It was just Jim, Eli, Matt and myself on the ride tonight. If there had been more people around, I'm sure we would have done Rt. 8 west again. we are trying to get some hills in because we will have some monsters to tackle during the Pan Ohio.

Milford to Morrow II - 51miles

Today being Memorial day, I actually had the holiday off. So I rode Milford to Morrow II. A total of 51 miles on the trail. Yet another distance PR. I'm going to try and get in the habit of setting a new distance every week on one of my off days. With 8 weeks to go, I want to get to the point where I am comfortable riding 75 miles a day at least a few days in a row. I feel that if I can make it to that point, I can push the extra 10-25 needed during the Pan Ohio.

30 mile Sunday

Tonight after getting home from work, I went out for a 30 mile ride. I didn't want to tackle the Richardson Rd. hill two days in a row in this heat, so I decided to do a little exploring. I've been everywhere on this route in the car before, but this was my first time on most of these roads on a bike.

It was a good ride, coming in at just under 2 hours and with an average speed just over 15. Since it was a Sunday evening, traffic was light. I don't think I would try this route earlier in the day or any time that the roads are busier.

Riding from home.

I need to be getting out and riding daily, just two or three times a week isn't cutting it. So tonight, I rode 17 miles through Erlanger, Ft. Mitchell, and Ft. Wright. I rode Turkeyfoot to Dixie to Kyles Lane, down Highland Avenue to Rt. 17. Rt. 17 to Richardson rd and back to Turkeyfoot.

Going down the hill on Highland Ave was much easier than I thought. I hit the brakes before the curve because I was a little unsure, this being my first time down the hill. Still, I hit a top speed of 39.9mph. Next time I'll try for 45.

Going up the hill on Richardson was really tough. I had to stop a few times and rest for a minute or two. Being 90 degrees out probably didn't help, although I need to be used to the heat since the Pan Ohio is at the very end of July.

Pan Ohio Hope Ride

I am participating this summer in the Pan Ohio Hope Ride. It is a 328 mile bicycle ride over 4 days to raise money for the American Cancer Society.

I am riding for my best friend Ed Wieland. I was the best man at Ed’s wedding, less than a year ago. For the last 8 months I have watched as Ed struggled with Colon Cancer. First surgery to remove the cancer then multiple chemotherapy treatments. Thinning hair, extreme sensitivity to heat and cold, in addition to numerous other side effects.

On Tuesday May 1st, Ed was given the dreaded news that his cancer was back and had spread to his lungs and liver. He has to endure 6 more chemotherapy treatments before the next round of tests. Hopefully, these treatments are successful and he will have a clean bill of health by the time we ride in July.

Too many people have to face the beast that is Cancer. I have seen many people in families around me deal with breast, skin and bladder cancers. I myself have Crohn’s disease and because of that, I am at increased risk for Colon Cancer.

Please donate and help those that have cancer to get healthy, help families cope when loved ones are affected by cancer, and help to find a cure so that future generations do not suffer from this dreaded disease

Rt. 8 west.

I have been forgetting to take my garmin along on some of the training rides, but I remembered tonight! We rode out Rt. 8 west. It is has much more rolling hills than going east. Last week we started off going up the monstrous hill into Devou Park. That was probably a mistake. While Jim and I made it a total of 30 miles, we were seriously lagging behind the rest of the group.

This week we skipped Devou and went through Ludlow and on out. Still covered 26 miles, but this week was much better as far as speed and keeping up with the others. I wasn't as exhausted at the end either.

Milford to Morrow and back. 45 miles.

Today I rode from Milford to Morrow and back. This is my longest ride to date. 45 miles. It was on the Loveland Bike Trail again.

Riding the trail with Dad

Today I rode on the Loveland Bike Trail with my dad. It was his first ride of the year so we took it pretty easy. 26 miles may seem like a lot, but on the trail which is an old railroad bed that has been paved over, the miles come fairly easy. any hills are extremely gradual.

Riding Solo

Tonight I decided to go out on a solo ride. I started out in Bellevue again. This time I took route 8 east as far as I was comfortable before turning back. It was a good ride. I was pretty tired at the end. I made it out past St. Anne's Convent where part of the movie Rain Man was filmed.

When I did get back to the truck I decided to treat myself to an iceball from Schneider's Sweet Shop down on the avenue. I haven't had one in a couple years. they have some new flavors now. I'm going to have to go back a few times this summer.

Not the start I planned.

Its a good thing I ate breakfast this morning. I wasn't feeling good enough to run, but I managed to eat some Cheerios and a Banana before heading out to work. I wound up getting stuck on a call for 5 hours and not getting a lunch. I finally made it home about 9pm.

I totally missed our 2nd group training run which was supposed to be this evening at 6:30. I'm going to run more the next few days to make up. Good news though is I'm feeling better now. Tomorrow WILL go better.