Nobody Ever Drowned in His Own Sweat!

The way I see it, bikes are the modern day equivalent to horses.  That being said, I found a website dedicated to cowboy quotes and sayings (http://www.coolnsmart.com/cowboy_quotes/)!  Speaking of sweat, the last few rides I have come home thoroughly drenched in it, needing a shower to warm up fast.  When you burn that many calories in that short a period of time your metabolism goes a little crazy.  It's no different than needing to take care of a horse after a long run, the sweat cools you off, but as soon as you stop you need to get it off of you before you get too cold!  A trek teammate and I went on a 35 mile ride yesterday, it was his longest ride ever, and the longest ride I have done all season thus far.  We both did great.  I burned 1300 calories and came home a raging starving beast! I really feel like I am ready for the Trek Across Maine, and all my training from here until June 14th when we depart is all extra and will just make it that more enjoyable of an adventure.
Here is our ride from yesterday:



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We did two roads that had brutal hills in them, both roads had the word "hill" in them; Beech Hill Road in Northport, ME and Oak Hill in Swanville, ME.  We went through at least three towns, sometimes two passes through. I have almost officially reached my own personal goal of looking good in a bikini again, almost all of my belly fat is gone!  It has taken so much hard work to slim down, and belly fat is the hardest to get rid of!

A little update for our Athenahealth team, we now have 102 riders on our team!  Amazing!

I have reached my goal of raising $500, thanks to all who helped donate money!
I just need some new gear and I am ready to go.  Last year we borrowed small tent and things to sleep in, I have my LL Bean sleeping bag this year, it should be very comfortable.  So all I really need now is a new tent, a new pair of bike shorts and maybe some other new active wear, a couple pair of new shorts because I have none that I fit into, and some rain gear, a new solar charger for my phone, and all the little things like toiletry bags, and powerbars, powerade and other necessary things to fill my camelpak and just odds and ends.

Live Free, Ride Hard!!

 

Mountain Bike Tires Off, Racing Slicks ON!

Yesterday was the first really nice weather day we've had since our weird little heat wave back in early March.  It was a wet start in the morning from the previous nights' rain.  It was mild and partly sunny, perfect for riding in my book!  We went around Swan Lake again, it was very nice.  There are some extreme hills out there near Monroe Road, of which I didn't do so well the last time we rode this particular route.  This time however I was pushing it really hard.  I ride a mountain bike, and have so for pretty much forever.  I am starting to envy those with their hybrids and sleek looking road bikes, but I keep reminding myself that while it's very hard work hauling a heavy mountain bike with knobby tires and tools and gear up extreme hills is not only building incredible muscle but character as well.  I have thought of buying a new road bike next year.  I fell in love with a bianchi that I saw at my local bike shop a while back, we'll see.  While I was falling back on hills my cohorts passed me or were already ahead.  I worked so hard to keep up.  I kept noticing I would almost catch up on flats, or downhills.  My average speed yesterday was a little over 12 mph, which is incredible, it is the fastest I have gone since I have been keeping track. I got up to 45 mph, which is also the fastest I have gone since I have been tracking my stats!  I am sure I have gone faster even but wasn't tracking it.  I then proceeded to meet another fellow Trek Rider for yet another ride, with more extreme hills.  My muscles by then had almost just about had it, but I kept pushing through.  I am actually feeling like my muscles are growing more and repairing themselves today and have taken today off.  Needless to say, off with those damn mountain bike tires!  I put my racing slicks back on last night and was able to fill them up today. They are so beautiful and sleek with barely any tread on them, just little grooves so I don't hydroplane!  I can't wait to see the difference from riding with them last year to this year. I am so very much stronger!  I plan on commuting to work and back with training rides in between as much as the weather permits in the next few weeks.  It's supposed to be pretty nice tomorrow and Tuesday and I will be sure to take advantage of it.

A little update, our Trek Across Maine team for Athenahealth has reached it's goal of 100 team members!!  Absolutely amazing!!  Our jerseys have been ordered as well! I can't wait to see mine. I am working on getting a matching grant through a friend at Bank of America. They have a matching program there, so if it goes through, not only will I have raised my $500 minimum but about a hundred more on top of that.  Hell, I might just go for $1000 if I can!  If you want to support me in my effort follow this link to my personal page for the American Lung Association http://action.lung.org/site/TR/Bike/ALANE_New_England?px=4448937&pg=personal&fr_id=4000 Your donation is tax deductible and very much appreciated!

Here are our routes and stats from yesterday's rides:



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If click on view larger map, it will take you to the route on google maps and it shows all the stats from that particular ride.