Yoga sucks

Tiring morning. Susannah and I went out for a ride before it got hot and started at about 8am. I went 22.04 miles. Susannah was a good supporter and rode a good distance herself. There were people from team in training working out at our normal starting point, so we found the entrance further up. As I passed the training people, I saw they all had yoga mats. They were seriously doing yoga before their run. I was a bit confused, but more than that, I was annoyed because they were actually using the trail to do this yoga and they were right in the way!

I want a big house

Yesterday Susannah and I took a 30 minute training ride on the American Tobacco Trail. I went 5.5 miles and took a little side trip to visit a neighborhood off the trail which is really nice. It has 3 homes on the Parade of Homes which did really well in the competition. I want one! I would settle for anything on that road, convenient access to a bike trail, near nature, near city... I could be a yuppie and be happy. Anyone wanna spot me $700,000 so I can be happy?

15 miles

The ride should have been yesterday, but I was way too partied out thanks to the Kappa Psi gang. Great party though.

Well, I didn't think I was going to be able to do 15 miles when I started, but it was on the training schedule so I put my head down and just kept pedaling. 15.07 miles total in 1 hour 18 minutes with only one 30 second stop.

I almost go into a wreck with a family on bikes. I was cruising toward the end at about 18mph and this family on these lame parent/child bikes was swerving all over the trail. I call out "on your left", the normal trail signal for move your ass to the right and let me pass. The mom swerves again, this time to the left so she can look over her shoulder. As I am already almost off the trail to pass them and give them lots of room, she almost ran into me and came to a complete stop at the same time. Then she made some upset groan because I almost hit her. Dumb ass parents shouldn't procreate...

MD ok's me to go

Woo Hoo! Yesterday I got the ok from the doctor to do the ride and train. She wants me to lose weight to help protect me from diabetes and hypertension and thinks this exercise program will go a long way to help. First thing I did was go to the trail and ride my 30 minute training ride before I went to class. I also played softball yesterday and will be playing tonight before the play.

A little unplanned fitness training

So last night Susannah and I planned our anniversary dinner. I worked all day so I was a bit tired, but I picked Susannah up and we started driving. A bit more than a mile from home we heard a loud thunk near the trunk. It seemed strange so I stopped to check it out. The back tire looked a bit low so Susannah poked it. The tire then flattened almost immediately. She called a tow truck and I started hiking back home. The walking was a little more than I wanted the day after a ride, but a little extra training never hurt anyone... much.

Today, I did cardio training in the garden for about an hour. I put in some posts and dug up some misguided grass growing in the middle of the garden. Slow weekend, but I'll pick it up this week.

OK, time to start the training

I went out with Susannah to hit the American Tobacco Trail, no not a place to go smoking, its a trail that follows an old tobacco railroad. We weren't sure where it started, but from our beginning spot, we went to the trailhead and then backtracked and continued past our starting point. In all I went 9.73 miles today. Not bad for my second ride after not really riding for a few years.

Now for something that bugs me. Pooper un-scoopers. So there was this couple I saw walking their dog in my neighborhood as we were heading out to ride and they stopped and let their dog crap on another neighbor's lawn and then just left it. On the Tobacco Trail they have signs to pick up poop and provide bags for you, it's pretty nice. I hate dog crap, it's one reason I don't have a dog, so it's nice to see signs having people clean up their messes. As I was riding and saw the bags for dogs, I realized, that's a little crazy having dog owners clean up messes and NOT have horse riders pick up theirs. There are HUGE piles of crap all over the trail from horses, but none from dogs. Just something that bothered me, offer some big bags and have signs for getting rid of the huge piles of crap.

Welcome to my tour Blog

Hey Ya'll,

I appreciate your interest in my quest toward completing the Tour de Cure's 150 mile bike riding challenge with team Campbell. I'll do my best to update you on my progress through training and keep you updated on everything that has to do with the tour.
I am riding to raise money to help find a cure for a disease which affects many people, including several who are very close to me. I hope to help raise awareness of diabetes through my efforts on the tour. I also intend to help improve my health and prevent a future of diabetes for me.
If you'd like to help me in supporting this cause, please visit, my tour website.
Thanks for your support!

Rich