Training Ride #2 and Trail Run

This past Wednesday night we went for a short but fast ride after work. We had the pleasure of being joined by Old Man Brantley and the sweetheart of sales Geoff "Mad Dog" McDowell. We headed out towards Gilbert with a strong headwind and then the attacks started. Most of you don't know Brantley but he WAS a very strong rider. Well after listening to Glory Days by The Cougar he decided to try and get young again. The old man tried to leave us numerous times until he realized that turkeys will never fly like eagles. After that fiasco we finally got into a pace line and headed back towards home before dark.

The tables have turned. Yes we are training to cycle across the country but Jesse and I decided to do a 40 mile train run to really test ourselves. Actually we made this decision before we made the choice to ride cross country. We are not trying to win the run but more or less just finish with dignity. This past December Jesse actually qualified for the Boston Marathon and has still been putting in some good running miles. So with that in mind I paced us to a moderate 14 mile run around Harbison State Park. The run is next weekend on May 9th. So please make sure you say a prayer for us every hour from 7:30 a.m until about 2:00 p.m.

Sorry we have been short on pictures. I forgot to put the memory card in my camera. We will hopefully have some for next time.

Bike Route

This will be the route that Jesse and I will be taking. Sorry it is not very detailed. We will be putting up each day on google earth so you can see the towns that we will be riding through, and the monstrous mountains we will be climbing.

In about a month we will be able to post all of our training data as well thanks the the Sigma Rox 9.0 computers, (more about those later). But you will be able to see our elevation, speed, heart rate, cadence about a go-gillion other pieces of information. Well we will be doind a short ride tonight and will be sure to have some pictures up.

Pedro's: They Keep it Rolling!

As Jesse had mentioned, our first ride was pretty much monsoon the entire time. Mixed in with the sandy terrain our bikes and drive trains were caked with the nastiness. But thanks to Bert Low and the gang at Pedro's , we were ready to clean the bikes accordingly. Step 1: Take off the wheels and spray a tiny bit Oranj Peelz on the cassette and let sit.

Step 2: Spray Green Fizz on the the bike frame, fork, brakes, EVERYTHING! Once you have done this, simply take a clean cloth and wipe the bike down.

Step 3: If you want the bike to have a nice bling/sheen factor to it, spray a little bit of Bike Lust on the frame and fork, (try to keep away from brakes). Bike Lust is great for UV protection. If you do this regularly it will make your bike easier to clean. Also for our MTB readers, Spray some on your tires and it will help protect against mud build up.

Step 4: Once your Oranj Peelz has been on the cassette take a Pedro's Tooth Brush and scrub away! After scrubbing you can blast away the rest with a hose. If you choose to use a hose be sure to dry off the cassette and wheels as soon as you can. You can also use the Tooth Brush on cassettes, chains, cranks, and derailleurs.

Step 5: Once you have put the wheels back in the frame, grab the Green Fizz again and either apply directly to the rim or spray some a towel. Once applied, you can scrub away all the dirt, grit, and grime from the braking surface and spokes. Step 6: Take your Pedro's Chain Machine Kit and put some of the ol' Oranj Peelz in it. This will make the chain shine like a new diamond ring.

Wipe of the excess cleaner and apply the Pedro's lube of your choice. With rain not on the radar until next weekend we have decided to use GO! . This is great for clean riding conditions and will penetrate well into the chain pins.

Please check back later to see how our training has been going. Thanks again to Bert and Pedro's for all your support. This ride and experience would not be the same with out it.

First training ride complete!

Writer: Jesse
Training miles: 40

Training Day 1: Rain, kinda cold, felt extremely hard core. There are a few things I learned from the first day of "real" training...I've got a long way to go. We pretty much have 5 months until we start and I have to get to a point where i'm riding over 100 miles every day. The challenge is exciting but that excitement dwindles when you hit a hill and you are out of breath and it feels like you are going to fall over because you are going so slow. At one point i thought to myself it would be much better just to get off the bike and run up the hill, it would be faster. What's also bad is as I'm going up these hills and gasping for air my friend Tony is having a nice conversation which ends up being a 1 person conversation because i can't find the oxygen to suffice my burning legs and lungs. Anyway, looking forward to training and getting in form.

T minus: 154days!

Our Bike Sponsors!

Thank you to all of our Bike Sponsors.

These companies have generously donated items that have helped us build the best bikes possible to ride across the country. Please support them by checking out their website!