Last ride of the year...

Another ride with Sergio...lol  Well the roads have been pretty bad lately, we have had a combined 7 flats in the past two weeks!  I had three this week alone...  Sergio had two today but that is expected of him.  We did our usual loop from Starbucks to La Feria and back.  First flat came after the bridge in Mercedes a short time after Sergio completely showed Mike that no matter how early of a jump he gets on him on the sprint, Serge can still whoop him. We dropped Mike off at his house and wanted to add an extra 16 miles.... Well before we got to another bridge PFFFSSSTTTT!! Boo, flat number two.  Called up for a ride and went home with our heads down. lol....  It's ok! It's the last day of the year, new and better things await for us in the future!

 

Mike striking a pose

Sergio fixing his first flat of the ride.

This ride has defeated Serg... second flat.

Picture of me ecstatic about waiting to get picked up lol...

Food choices - KFC...

Look at him... His devilish grin... His soul piercing stare...
He hides behind the illusion of health pretending that the grilled chicken is good. Don't let him deceive you. He will rob you of your dreams. He will inject you with fat. He will control you!!

But today is our day. We must unite and see that he can no longer shorten our lives. Today we must leave George Washington and his five buddies in our pocket. Today is our independence day!!!!

As soon as I finish this last chicken strip.....lol

Chinese 12k / 3k Carbon Triathlon Time Trial eBay frames, Are they good?...

Been trying to get some info on these time trial frames that have been selling on eBay for quite a while.  First of all they look awesome!  And for under $600 they are a steal!  Well I'm a true believer in "get what you pay for" and well whenever you look at a deal that is too good to be true... it usually is.

It sort of looks like a Trek up front and a Specialized transition in the back.  Not a bad combo.  From what I've been reading, pretty much there are only three factories that make frames for all the major brand bike companies.  These come from those factories so I assume that they have the same quality control as the likes of Trek and Giant.  One could argue that they do not have the R&D that the other companies have put into their frames, such as wind testing and weight reduction.  But I am not THOR, I'm do not really mind losing half a second on my TT due to the drag. Must keep researching but damn it's tempting....

Most random chase down!!!...

Just got home from my morning ride..... you would expect a dog to chase you, or a cat to cross your path and make you fall...right.....one of the most random animal almost knocked me down on the way home. A PEACOCK! I would never think I would see a peacock chase me down and cross my path! long tail and all lol!!! too funny!  How can a bird so glorious be so mean lol!

PURE EVIL!!!

Savory Perks....

I love a morning brew. This is the spot to chill and talk bikes other than Starbucks. We just finished a good 30 mile endurance ride and I'm blogging from my iPhone. Got myself a cool blogger app and seems to be working pretty good.



Serge tried to challenge my speed this morning, this is what happens when you mess with the beast lol. He is still trying to prove himself to Mike. Another successful day in his mind!

Location:S Texas Blvd,Weslaco,United States

Getting the week started right!...

Or so it seemed...

 I believe that there are days when you are not meant to ride.  Days that things just don't go right.  Every hint is presented to stop and not go but we keep on.  Well today was one of those days.  Woke up in the morning, got my gear on, filled the water bottles and went outside to see that it was drizzling... sign one... Ehhh, just a little water!  Took off to Starbucks where we meet up to start our ride. At Starbucks I notice that my back tire is bouncy, boooo a flat.  We pulled over at a bank drive-thru to switch out the tire. Tube was changed, aired up and off we went on our endurance ride.  Serge wanted to prove a point to Mike today that he is not a weak wheel-sucker so he attempted to drop us at mile 3!!! We just looked at that loser and rode behind letting him pop his collar all he wanted lol...  Everything was great, my shoes were soaked but the rain had stopped.  On mile 26...bouncy rear tire AGAIN!!! Pulled into the police station parking lot to change tube again.  All hope was lost when I found out that my pink gay wheel lever lived up to its gayness and broke  while trying to remove my Maxxis Refuse tire....some of the hardest tires to get on and off a rim in my opinion. Well called it a day at this point and called up my friend Cindy to come and pick me up. Two rides in a row that I have call the ride due to a flat....better not become a habit!!!! 

While waiting for Cindy to come by I decided to take some pics of my bike, like I always do... All of a sudden two police cruisers surround me and the cops get off and start questioning me.  They ask what was I doing...What is that a "bike?".... "Weird of you to be taking pictures of the police station"...."Drop your pants"... well not that last one! but they did harass me for a bit accusing me of planning up a terrorist plot! CRAZY.  A terrorist in tights! Yea Right! lol

After that we went home. Cleaned our bikes. Shed a tear.

Mike fixing my wheel at the bank.

Second flat on side of frontage road. Were Mike abandoned me.

My cheap lever. homo!

My bike in front of the police station. Right before I got accused of being a terrorist.

Serge happy that he showed Mike he is not a wimp today. He was fist pumping.

Me sad that a police officer patted my tights down.

Made serge clean the bike... He really thinks I will give him a dollar.

Rest Day...

I sooooooooo needed this.  For the past week my legs have been feeling like Jello. The exact same feeling you get when you try running as fast as you can in the sand but you don't get anywhere.  That has been the way it has felt the past few rides.  Even though I know that I need some well deserved rest, and know that the reason my legs feel like concrete blocks is too much riding... I still want to get out there everyday and get some miles in.  Well since today is Monday, my planned rest day, I am going to just sit around and chill the whole day.  No cycling, no running, no games, no walking fast, nooooo nothing!

So since I am not riding today the next best thing to do is surf the web and look at bike stuff.  I already ordered three pairs of awesome Castelli cycling socks from Bonktown.  Really thinking about ordering the red white and black Castelli jersey to go along with it but I'm trying to resist the urge!  My finger is getting itchy! aahhh oh well...lol

Lets tackle the levees...

I'm gonna stop planning rides... for some reason planned rides never go as...planned! We got the great idea of riding the caliche roads following the levees from Raymondville back home.  We had said we were gonna take off at 6:15 in the morning and be done before 10 am giving us the rest of Sunday to do whatever we want to do.  We loaded up the bikes, headed out, fueled up with some tacos and coffee and got dropped off in the middle of nowhere.  First of all, we should have never even started this ride because it was a blistering 31 degrees out there and I dressed for 60 degree weather!  My hands were frozen trying to pump up the tires, what was I thinking trying to tackle 2 to 3 hrs out there lol!  

Nonetheless we clipped in our shoes and rode away, leaving our SAG and our only hopes of backing out behind us!  I began breathing hard, my legs started burning, my heart rate elevated, I had a frostbitten face and then 2.4 miles into the ride there was a gift from God! My front tire went flat. lol!  Since we are NOOBS in the cycling world, we only took CO2 tanks without tubes!!!  YESSSS! We could abandon our trip without being douchbags and quitting!! lol...  

We had to call up our SAG to come back for us. I encouraged my friends to keep going, but they were to weak and pathetic to continue! lol. 

Mike is the most flamboyant biker there is with his custom made scarf made from baby alpacas that were taken away from their mom while feeding and slaughtered for the hair around their butt hole... the softest part for the scarf that goes around his neck and mouth.

When we got home Sergio decided that he did not have a great workout so he went at it with the shake weight for three hours!  Really a pro!

His brother was cheering him on!  Great family!

Christmas ride...

Spent last night with the family. We opened gifts, ate some food and looked at some lights.  This morning I felt like getting on the bike to do a couple of miles to burn off the 3 cookies I ate last night.... those cookies were made with chocolate chips and a stick of butter... I think that was all the ingredients lol...  Well Sergio gave me a call and we did a tough 24 miles in the gusting wind.... that seems to be a common factor now a days!  We had set out to do a good 40 miler but my legs were not cooperating so I kept on making Sergio say he wanted to turn back... Well he gave up first and I guess I had to follow lol... We kept the speed at 24 the whole way back. We planned for a good mountain bike trip tomorrow.  Lets see how that pans out!

My body keeps saying go but my legs are saying NO!  Looking forward to Mondays break.

Getting out there...

Add another 44 to the ride log. Getting the miles done in chunks now-a-days. RIDE RIDE RIDE... Feeling real good.  I made this blog to show people what it takes to get better in this sport and my daily activities to shed the pounds. As you may notice, it just takes work.  You have to put in the time, the miles, the sweat and at times the pain on the saddle lol... but it will pay off!  I have made this part of the day my routine.  Once you make it a routine, it feels weird if you don't get it done.  

Tomorrow is Christmas, I love of the gift that I have already received...

Ride Log blog 2...

Went out with Sergio against the wind again for 45 miles.  Good ride!

Ride Log blog...

20 miles. Good afternoon workout battling the gusting wind. 74 for the week. 226 to go.

Soup and Salad please!!...

Coffee and salads....salads and soups... Got to watch the weight this holiday season...so many happy people around me, and when I say happy I really mean FAT lol..... my cure is eat light, drink water and coffee, and do lots and lots of miles... well I got to keep reminding myself because for some reason there is an abundance of sweet cakes and platters everywhere. They are nice gifts but very dangerous. MUST RESIST!!!!

Think of all the riding you have to do to burn an empanada!!!

Don't stop on a sprint...

If you get tired, get out of the way!!!!

Canon run...

Great way to keep those pounds off is to keep on my bike.  Yesterday was a well deserved break that I took full advantage of by keeping myself from doing any activity.  I get the itch to exercise but I must resist....lol too funny!  Well today my week began and we started it off with a good 50 mile ride to the canon and back.  Serge, Tom and I did an awesome job of sharing the pulling duties never letting the speed drop under 20 even though the wind was blowing us all over the place.  Was a good high pace ride and I kept on concentrating on keeping my heart rate and breathing calm.  Ended up with 54 total miles.

Again?...

Put on the cool gear, strap on the helmet, pump up the tires because it's time to ride again.  Just because I just finished a 117 mile ride yesterday does not mean I can take it easy today.  This is a mental game, you have to train your mind not to take it easy and keep up your schedule of rides.  Having no order will lead me back down the wrong road.  Well I don't think one day will mess it up but I have stressed dedication and I'm determined to keep going the way I have been. Mike texted me that he was going to do some interval training today and no matter how tired I felt I still said yes.  Went out to military road where you have smooth, long pavement with no stoplights, a perfect spot to do timed intervals.  We did three Time Trial pace intervals.....not fun after the long miles but did them strong.  30 miles later and I was home eating some breakfast. Not bad.  

Monday is a well deserved rest day.  Ended up this week with 327 miles.......

Pico de Gallo 100 mile ride...

100 miles.  100 miles. 100 miles...  Thats a large number that many cyclist prepare the whole year to tackle.  Its a feat that not many cyclist dare to attempt.  Today I went on a 100 mile ride with Cindy Billy and some friends that I have met though my cycling.  It's is such a great feeling completing 100 miles and today I went out there to encourage and make sure my buddies would get it done.  The day was long,  the wind was brutal, the miles never ending but they pushed on and on and on.  Cindy had not ridden a bike in a couple months now so that goes to show how much hurt she was feeling. NEVER GIVE UP... She, Rosalva and the others proved that today.  Excellent job to the new centurions!  Now keep it up so next time we wont have to see the sun go up and come down on one ride. lol...

I ended up with 117.5 miles for the day... All my riding is paying off because that was 7 hrs on the saddle and I still feel I could do 50 more.  AWESOMENESS!

A little bit about base miles...

Danica and I spent a good three hours together this morning out in the back roads of the Rio Grande Valley.  It's off season for racing and we got to put in some good base miles before the real training begins next month.  Long slow rides are just something that you have to do if you want to get good in this sport.  This is the time to put lots of miles and build your endurance so you can go the whole way during a race without running out of energy.  The bad part is that the only way to build the endurance is get out there and do the long hours.  This is a great thing for me also because my heart rate stays in the high calorie burning zone the whole way. I have been doing more than 250 miles a week so it is helping a lot.  Tomorrow I will do my third century of the year, I have done many 70-80 mile rides but I just seem to never get the 100 done as often.  One reason being that it takes forever, and I hate doing those super long rides on my own.  I was checking my Garmin and it looks like with tomorrows ride I should be at 315 miles for this week.  That is awesome.

Today...

This picture was taken the summer of 09.  We had gone on a weekend trip to San Antonio with our family and went to Fiesta Texas to get on the rides. Great times.  Or was it.  Looking back there is a big problem with this picture....I'm not in it... The weird thing is that when you are a bigger person you don't see yourself big, I guess you figure ways to make excuses or manipulate your thought into thinking its cool..  Actually the reason why I was not on the ride and in most of the fun that day was because my back was hurting.. The rides  ups and downs would hurt my back.   The main excuse that I would alway use was that it was because of an old football injury and every now and then my back would start hurting, but noooo it was that extra 100 lbs! I look back at that day and realized that I missed out.  Good thing I decided I did not want to miss out anymore.  

What I'm trying to say is that you just have to start TODAY! Don't make excuses for not doing it, because you will miss the best things in life for one reason or another.  You don't even have to be that big to start, get it done, make the commitment to change next year! The only thing that you will get out of it is a better you.

Today as I rode my bike on one of the hardest training rides we have done in a while I was thinking to myself why do we do this?  Why are we enduring this pain? Why do I make myself wake up at 4:30?  Why am I pushing myself when no one is making me do it?     It's just something you have to do. I made the decision to change.  You just have to motivate yourself, set goals and never quit.  Sometimes when you feel like quitting just keep on pushing, at times you will be left behind, at times you will feel like you can't no more, but it is that wall that you need to jump that will make you a better person.

So people from the bike and weight loss forums that subscribe to my blog, and there are a bunch of you.  You have chosen a great way to shed those pounds, keep on doing what you are doing.  We all can set goals but how many people get up and do something about it. 

Here is an embarrassing video of me. laugh lol..

Prepare to get blown away by the cheesy 80's music...

Here is a pretty cool history/training video of cycling in the awesome 80's style. This is back in the day when my riding partner Mike was in his 30's, his prime, blasting some REO speedwagon from his Trans Am, rocking a sweet mullet and some sweet faded jeans! Haha just kidding. But this video is from the 80's and has just the right amount of cheese. Check it out and learn, also see how different cycling has become!

Wonder who is the "squirrel" in our group lol

Motivation...

It's December... It's going to be cold in the mornings, nothing we can do about that. We just got to get out there and train because the race season will be here quicker than we think.  Good to have riding partners that will get out there and suffer the cold with you... it's just sometimes you need to push them a little to get going!

Did a good 30 miler this cold morning with a quick stop for tacos at the halfway mark. Rides are great with tacos!

Got to keep getting those miles...

I've always loved the cold weather, the best time of the year!  Here in the valley we do not get more than two months of cool weather and I have always been the person that could not wait for these times to come.  These are the times when I would love the smell of hot chocolate, pan dulce and tamales in the mornings, those made for unforgettable years.                
                                                       

Times are different now...  This morning the first thing I did was check my Iphone weather app to see that the temperature read "TOO COLD!"  Being that we had planned a good 30 miler today I went outside to check if my phone was lying..... too bad it wasn't.  As soon as closed the door I received a text from Sergio "Dude it's 39!!"  I texted him back "So you wanna ride?" (I never want to be the one that backs out of a ride lol!) Sergio texted back immediately "NO PLEASE :("  Too funny, he even included a sad face. lol  Either way I was still gonna say lets get some extra sleep and ride tomorrow. 

I had to get some miles in today so I set off to do the 30 miler that we had planned anyway in the afternoon.  Just me, my bike, and Pandora.  It was a good long endurance ride doing my old mid valley loop that I used to always do when I started out riding countless mile by myself.  I go down 493, turn on Military Road, go north on 1015 and back home through the back roads. I got home as the sun went down. Felt good. Burnt calories.

Only set back of the ride was that my Millon Cygolite broke off its base.  This is the second one that this has happened to. This is a factory defect for this model and its mounting system.  I would not recommend this light to anyone.  It is awesome and bright but the company needs to solve this problem. I have broken two and I believe Micheal has lost two also.