Day 11 - Rapha Rising

TODAY'S RIDE

5.5 miles, 910'
TOTAL:
120.1 miles, 14660'
TOUR DE FRANCE Stage 11: Andre Greipel beats Cav for his first Tour win.  Thomas Voeckler in yellow. 

After yesterday's ride, my legs were tired.  No surprise since it was only 12 hours ago.  I was supposed to go to work today but the train got cancelled since a semi got stuck before it got to my station.  Looks like I will go to the office on Thursday.

Everything is getting more dried out.  No longer my spring flowers.

Day 10 - Rapha Rising

TODAY'S RIDE

6.0 miles, 871'
TOTAL:
114.6 miles, 13750'
TOUR DE FRANCE Rest Day: Thomas Voeckler in yellow. 

Today I tried out Strava for the first time and saw my neighbor was on the first page of results.  Of course, that meant I had to try and beat it.  Not as easy as it seems.  His average speed is about 0.5 mph faster than me and that's substantial.  I did this ride at 5:30 right before dinner and just had 30 minutes to squeeze this in.  Since tomorrow I'll be at work, it will be a rest day for me.   

Day 9 - Rapha Rising

TODAY'S RIDE

22.6 miles, 2170'
TOTAL:
108.6 miles, 12879'
TOUR DE FRANCE Stage 9: Luis Leon Sanchez wins from the breakaway and Thomas Voeckler gets yellow.  Lots of crashes that took out Vino (broken femur), Zabriskie (broken wrist), Van den Broeck (broken shoulder blade) and more.  A crazy crash from a french tv car that also took out Flecha and Hoogerland in the breakaway.  Not worried about Voeckler in yellow but Sanchez is now 0:37 in front of Cadel.  Considering he's done well in other grand tours, they better watch out for him.

I had to do some work today but the nice weather and being a Sunday, I got out for a bit.

The weather finally cooled down so I was a bit chilled when I started.  Once the hills started, that was no longer a concern.  

I definitely will not be able to complete this challenge.  The last month has been super busy at work so I've been working 50-60 hours a week.  On top of trying not to spend too much time away from family, there's not much to give.  This year I realized that I can get away with 2.5 hours of exercise a week (20 minutes a day minimum) to balance family, work and my sanity.  Last week, I worked out 6:16.  Back in my younger days, that would be just one day but now that is too much time away from family.  I'm really torn.  Today, I can feel the benefits of the last 9 days but at the sacrifice of my family.  I think I have two options.  Ride less or ride before they wake up.  Let's see what I come up with.

Did I mention I love the wide roads of Thousand Oaks area?

Day 8 - Rapha Rising

TODAY'S RIDE
10.8 miles, 2064'
TOTAL:
86.0 miles, 10709'
TOUR DE FRANCE Stage 8: Rui Costa wins after a long day in the breakaway and Thor amazingly stays in yellow.  Thor stays with Cadel who took 3rd in the first mountain stage.  Amazing what the power of the yellow jersey can do.  Horner drops out after a severe concussion and a broken nose.  Cadel stays 1 second down on GC.

A good ride and still getting to know Mama Celeste.  She's a great bike.  Handling is spot on and can't imagine wanting any different.

Hmm, which way to go?  Left for the big hill or right on the short hill.  Left, of course.

Started riding a little later than usual and the sun is already pretty high but not so hot yet.

On this stretch there was no wind and I was debating about turning around but couldn't since that is the only way I can get more climbing.

I love the hills in my backyard.

Day 7 - Rapha Rising

TODAY'S RIDE
5.8 miles, 880'
TOTAL:
75.2 miles, 8645'
TOUR DE FRANCE Stage 7: Cavendish and Thor stays in yellow.  Cav wins 2nd stage of tour.  Wiggins crashed out, Boonen stopped from his injuries on Stage 5, Horner and Levi crash.  Horner loses over 12 minutes today and I was hoping he'll do well too.  Damn.  Cadel stays 1 second down on GC.

Short riding day but first ride with Mama Celeste on the dirt.  Just getting acquainted with each other.  I think this is the start of a beautiful relationship.

First ride with Mama Celeste.  On my road rides the bike felt a bit twitchy.  Well with cross tires on dirt, it handles perfectly.  The reactions are great, not too fast and not too slow.  Even going slow uphill, the handling is stable (much better than the Surly).  Descends well and when climbing out of the saddle, it goes and just wants me to go faster.  Balance real well and added bonus is no toe overlap.  Can't believe it since I'm a midfoot cleat rider now.

Mama Celeste in her element.

Day 6 - Rapha Rising

TODAY'S RIDE
Rest day.  I had to go to the work office and left at 5:15am and got home at 6:00pm for dinner.  No time for riding.TOTAL:
69.4 miles, 7765'
TOUR DE FRANCE Stage 6: Boasson Hagen and Thor stays in yellow for a Norwegian win.  First Tour win for EBH and more importantly, first Tour win for Team Sky.  After all the hype, they really needed this. 

One of the benefits of going to work is getting kbbq from the korean market.  It's close to my office.

A beer was sure tasty after my 3 hour commute home after only going 86 miles.  That's what I get for having to cross all of Los Angeles county.

Day 5 - Rapha Rising

TODAY'S RIDE
8.1 miles, 1074'
TOTAL:
69.4 miles, 7765'
TOUR DE FRANCE Stage 5: Cavendish and Thor stays in yellow.  Cav gets his first win this Tour on a crash filled day.  Brajkovic & Boonen both went down hard.  Not sure if they will be riding tomorrow.  Cadel stays 1 second down on GC.

Today is another hot day so I'm only doing hill repeats but only got 2 in before the heat got to me.  Also checked out the difference between Mama Celeste and Luigi.

Mama Celeste in road mode.  RL is more reactive than Colnago and accelerates really well (of course, RL was designed for dirt with 32 tires, not road tires).  On hills, it feels like flying and you can climb longer standing up. 

The first downhill.  This isn't so bad...

This is my road bike.  A 1990s Colnago Master Competition called Luigi.  I've wanted a Colnago since high school so a couple years ago I found the frame and fork on ebay.  As you can tell, I like steel bikes.  Comparing the ride between Celeste and Luigi, this feels more comfy and seems to be a better longer (3+ hour) ride bike.  Doesn't accelerate as well and not as reactive but not in a bad way.  In the way that after a long day in the saddle, when my mind wanders, I won't crash.  Not sure if it's more flexy but when climbing up hills I can't stand as long and tend to sit earlier.

Wide open climb.  If there was more shade, I could have done a couple more repeats but I didn't have the time to do it.  Busy work day and I had to get started.