It’s the end of training season and I lost 10 lbs after riding 74 miles under nearly hundred degree heat wave on Saturday! Oh yea, by the time you read this email, it’s my birthday!
I think the hot weather on this past weekend was beyond words can describe, you wouldn't know it unless you were under the sun for 7 hours like us. While most of you staying indoor with ac on, I continue riding my bike, hoping to put in more miles before the end of training season.
Saturday and Sunday was this year’s popular Santa Barbara ride, a lot of riders and training ride leaders participated in that event. I did it for the last two years but decided not to this year. So I end up leading a ride from the Rose Bowl, together with co-TRLs Pedro, Fiona and Alan, Steve, Mark & Alison who were also in town. To my surprised, we were the ONLY training ride in LA on that day, so I got over 30 RSVPs for the ride, the biggest ever turn out in our area.
We rode from Rose Bowl to the Claremont with 2 water stops at Goldstein’s Bagels and San Dimas Canyon Park before lunch in Claremont. It was really hot. By the time we made it to the half point, everyone was exhausted. No one could stand the heat. The fast riders turn around to complete the ride without stopping long, while I stayed with the slower rides at the back.
Third water stop was at Sierra Madre’s. That was when we came across all the fire engines rushing to the Santa Anita Canyon brush fire. We saw heavy smoke from the north. Our common goal was: get back to the Rose Bowl as soon as possible. However, our legs and bodies didn’t move as fast as we wish for.
About 10 of us at the last group decided to cut the ride short, skipping Altadena Drive climb, instead we took Orange Grove, the flat road. I was really tired because of the heat. After sending all the riders home, I drove home with empty-stomach, I was starved to dead.
When I got home, I weighted myself. I lost 10 lbs from this heat-ride. While it seems like the “biggest loser” I was more worried about my body. I kept eating and drinking and decided to take a quit nap. I woke up later, probably around 8pm, and ate more. By the end of the day, I gained back 5 lbs.
Never had such an experience. It was tough, it was hot. Together with the 50-mile ride I did with Fiona on Friday, I put on 124 miles this past weekend. Oh yea, ALC 7 is 4 weeks away, why my training ends so early? That’s because I will be out of the country visiting my family in Malaysia for 3 weeks. I will be back a week before the Ride. I will not have access to road bike while I am abroad, however, will try to stay fit and try not to eat too much food that I dearly missed (I know it will be very hard).
Last but not least, I turn 32 today (Monday). I hope everyone is happy and healthy, I pray for world peace, and I look forward for your sponsorship. I will have limited computer access in the next 3 weeks, but will try to send out updates whenever I can. Take good care of yourself.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Bicycle Diaries the 3rd - Is it hard to ride 80 miles? Oh Yea!
2 minimum goals met, the real challenge is still up.
Saturday was our “Day on The Ride” event, more than 400 riders showed up on the cloudy-overcast morning. DOTR let the riders, especially the newbies, experienced how the actual Ride would be, with fully support teams of pit stops, SAG vehicles, road signage and massage crews.
There were two routes to choose from, 40 miles and 80 miles. I chose 80 because I need the long distance training that I lacked so far in this training season. I rode with Suzann and George, another buddy Khoa is vacationing in South America (lucky him!). This was my 3rd DOTR and the route remained the same as previous years, from San Monica, we went down to PV and San Pedro.
I didn’t train as much compare with two previous years, I knew it wasn’t going to be easy and I was right. I was doing well for the first 40 miles, where we stopped for lunch. CLICK HERE to see my happy face.
I wasn’t sure if it was the food or just my body, the next 20 miles was a disaster. A simple climb seemed like a mission impossible, the rolling hills seemed like endless. Thank to the support from Suzann and George, I was able to hang on. I kept telling my “ride on your own pace…this is a ride not a race…take one mile at a time…” I was really glad to make it to the 4th pit stops. How hard was it for me? CLICK HERE to see my painful face.
After some rest and stretches, some food, I told myself it was not a time to quit, so we hit the road to complete the last 20 miles. Luckily this part of the route is mostly flat, about 8 miles on the bike path along the beach. With the help of tailwind, I paddled as fast as I could, overcoming the pain, both physically and mentally. We finished the ride before 4pm. Our event sponsor Bike Attack hosted after ride party at the parking lot, pizza and energy drinks never tasted so good before.
This was the longest distance training ride of this season. I did a 40 miles ride with co-TRLs Eric and Fiona on Friday. We were supposed to meet at 8am at the Arcadia Park, but I overslept! I was late for 45 minutes and so we had to cut the ride short.
On the fundraising part, it’s getting a little better, donations are coming in, thanks to those who made their contribution. I’m now officially meet the minimum goal which is $2500 for all riders, but still a distance behind my $8080.80 actual goal. I hope you, your family and friends will sponsor me, any amount welcome, and if you donate at least $100, you will get a donor t-shirt. I’ve ordered 50 of them, I love the new design and hope you will be one of the new owners to wear them.
So, 2 goals met: minimum fundraising goal, long distance ride goal. Yet the real challenge is riding 7 days in a row, plus raising more money to help fight AIDS.
Oh yea, some of you have been sending best wishes for Richard, our rider who fell of his bike last week. He had a C1 vertebrae fracture, plus 3-4 fractured ribs, however no head or spinal injury. He’s in good spirit and will get daily home therapy. We all wish him speed recovery.
Saturday was our “Day on The Ride” event, more than 400 riders showed up on the cloudy-overcast morning. DOTR let the riders, especially the newbies, experienced how the actual Ride would be, with fully support teams of pit stops, SAG vehicles, road signage and massage crews.
There were two routes to choose from, 40 miles and 80 miles. I chose 80 because I need the long distance training that I lacked so far in this training season. I rode with Suzann and George, another buddy Khoa is vacationing in South America (lucky him!). This was my 3rd DOTR and the route remained the same as previous years, from San Monica, we went down to PV and San Pedro.
I didn’t train as much compare with two previous years, I knew it wasn’t going to be easy and I was right. I was doing well for the first 40 miles, where we stopped for lunch. CLICK HERE to see my happy face.
I wasn’t sure if it was the food or just my body, the next 20 miles was a disaster. A simple climb seemed like a mission impossible, the rolling hills seemed like endless. Thank to the support from Suzann and George, I was able to hang on. I kept telling my “ride on your own pace…this is a ride not a race…take one mile at a time…” I was really glad to make it to the 4th pit stops. How hard was it for me? CLICK HERE to see my painful face.
After some rest and stretches, some food, I told myself it was not a time to quit, so we hit the road to complete the last 20 miles. Luckily this part of the route is mostly flat, about 8 miles on the bike path along the beach. With the help of tailwind, I paddled as fast as I could, overcoming the pain, both physically and mentally. We finished the ride before 4pm. Our event sponsor Bike Attack hosted after ride party at the parking lot, pizza and energy drinks never tasted so good before.
This was the longest distance training ride of this season. I did a 40 miles ride with co-TRLs Eric and Fiona on Friday. We were supposed to meet at 8am at the Arcadia Park, but I overslept! I was late for 45 minutes and so we had to cut the ride short.
On the fundraising part, it’s getting a little better, donations are coming in, thanks to those who made their contribution. I’m now officially meet the minimum goal which is $2500 for all riders, but still a distance behind my $8080.80 actual goal. I hope you, your family and friends will sponsor me, any amount welcome, and if you donate at least $100, you will get a donor t-shirt. I’ve ordered 50 of them, I love the new design and hope you will be one of the new owners to wear them.
So, 2 goals met: minimum fundraising goal, long distance ride goal. Yet the real challenge is riding 7 days in a row, plus raising more money to help fight AIDS.
Oh yea, some of you have been sending best wishes for Richard, our rider who fell of his bike last week. He had a C1 vertebrae fracture, plus 3-4 fractured ribs, however no head or spinal injury. He’s in good spirit and will get daily home therapy. We all wish him speed recovery.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Bicycle Diaries the 3rd - Blood Beats Heat
OK, I’m physically and mentally exhausted.
Why? On the physical part because I co-lead the 45-mile ride on Saturday that went up to San Gabriel Mountain, of which about 15 miles of incline and climb.
While for the mentally part, one of our riders went down at the down hill and he was airlifted to the county hospital trauma center. The good news is he’s in stable condition now.
It was the beginning of the record breaking heat weekend. We started at Stan’s Bike Store in Monrovia, it was around 66’F. By the time we get to climb the mountain, the temperature went up to the 90s! We were toasted under the no shade mountain road.
There were many cyclists out there during the weekend, most of them belong to different cycling clubs or training groups. We were also joined by some motorcyclists who speed up the hill and left us plenty of polluted gas.
After catching our breathes on top of the mountain, we took off for the 10-mile down hill. While Eric and I were in the front, Fiona and Richard followed behind. We came across fire truck and ambulance right before we hit the bottom of the hill, something must have gone wrong.
We waited and waited, still no sign of Fiona and Richard. We started to hope that the ambulance was not for them. Eric’s phone rang and it was Fiona calling, “Richard went down.” We learn that he fell on his forehead but didn’t get more details. Richard was later airlifted to county hospital near downtown. We transported his bike back to Stan’s and waited for the police to contact his family. We’re still trying to find out how and why did he fell.
I went to the hospital in the evening hoping to see him. However, due to several hospital procedures I wasn’t able to do so. I left him a note with best wishes and pray for his speedy recovery. We were glad to learn that he’s in stable condition now. Richard did 11th AIDS Rides. He’s totally an inspiration to all.
Oh yea, while I was waiting at the emergency room, there was a lady accompanying her son to visit his girlfriend. According to her, the 15-year-old girl was hit by car while riding with her dad in the neighborhood. She was airlifted from Chino. I believed she’s doing OK with some broken bones.
That’s right, there’s always a risk when we ride on the road. I hope we all will ride safe, drive safe on the road, for the safety of our own and those we love.
Why? On the physical part because I co-lead the 45-mile ride on Saturday that went up to San Gabriel Mountain, of which about 15 miles of incline and climb.
While for the mentally part, one of our riders went down at the down hill and he was airlifted to the county hospital trauma center. The good news is he’s in stable condition now.
It was the beginning of the record breaking heat weekend. We started at Stan’s Bike Store in Monrovia, it was around 66’F. By the time we get to climb the mountain, the temperature went up to the 90s! We were toasted under the no shade mountain road.
There were many cyclists out there during the weekend, most of them belong to different cycling clubs or training groups. We were also joined by some motorcyclists who speed up the hill and left us plenty of polluted gas.
After catching our breathes on top of the mountain, we took off for the 10-mile down hill. While Eric and I were in the front, Fiona and Richard followed behind. We came across fire truck and ambulance right before we hit the bottom of the hill, something must have gone wrong.
We waited and waited, still no sign of Fiona and Richard. We started to hope that the ambulance was not for them. Eric’s phone rang and it was Fiona calling, “Richard went down.” We learn that he fell on his forehead but didn’t get more details. Richard was later airlifted to county hospital near downtown. We transported his bike back to Stan’s and waited for the police to contact his family. We’re still trying to find out how and why did he fell.
I went to the hospital in the evening hoping to see him. However, due to several hospital procedures I wasn’t able to do so. I left him a note with best wishes and pray for his speedy recovery. We were glad to learn that he’s in stable condition now. Richard did 11th AIDS Rides. He’s totally an inspiration to all.
Oh yea, while I was waiting at the emergency room, there was a lady accompanying her son to visit his girlfriend. According to her, the 15-year-old girl was hit by car while riding with her dad in the neighborhood. She was airlifted from Chino. I believed she’s doing OK with some broken bones.
That’s right, there’s always a risk when we ride on the road. I hope we all will ride safe, drive safe on the road, for the safety of our own and those we love.
Bicycle Diaries the 3rd - Chilly Chilly Pain Pain
Another lack-of-training weekend.
Three airlines went bankrupt this past week, I supposed I should be lucky "just" had to experience the delays and not having to find out flights were canceled in the last minutes. I flew with US Airways, on the way back to LA I had to transfer in Las Vegas. For an unknown reason, flight was delayed for an hour. So, I finally got home around 2.15am and went to bed at 3am (which is 6am eastern time!!!). I was really tired for the next two days and didn't train as hard.
I went to spinning class on Friday (instead of riding my bike) and kind of injured my back on the weight lifting machine (ouch!). I thought it would be a great excuse not to train on Saturday and I really did try hard. I slept till 9am. Not sure why, I told myself the ride is only 2 months away, I should train more or I will get more pain later. As a result, I rode by myself, started from my apartment and headed east to Arcadia/Monrovia/Duarte and did some climbs up Altadena and New York Dr. Under the cloudy sky and chilly wind, I did 43 miles in 3 hours.
I'm planning to do a century ride (mostly likely my ONLY century ride for this season before ALC 7 in June) on this coming Friday and will be co-leading a ride up to the San Gabriel Mountain (the one I did with fellow TRLs a few weeks ago). If you're up for these challenge, let me know.
By the way, I'm still in the process of uploading pictures from my DC trip. So if you haven't seen them, or if you would like to see what's new in the albums, CLICK HERE.
Last but not least, thanks for those who support my ride and hope the rest of you will be donating too (as you received your tax return/credit from uncle Sam). I've ordered special T-shirt for club 100 members (ie. those who donated $100 or more). Please help spread the words.
Have a nice day.
Three airlines went bankrupt this past week, I supposed I should be lucky "just" had to experience the delays and not having to find out flights were canceled in the last minutes. I flew with US Airways, on the way back to LA I had to transfer in Las Vegas. For an unknown reason, flight was delayed for an hour. So, I finally got home around 2.15am and went to bed at 3am (which is 6am eastern time!!!). I was really tired for the next two days and didn't train as hard.
I went to spinning class on Friday (instead of riding my bike) and kind of injured my back on the weight lifting machine (ouch!). I thought it would be a great excuse not to train on Saturday and I really did try hard. I slept till 9am. Not sure why, I told myself the ride is only 2 months away, I should train more or I will get more pain later. As a result, I rode by myself, started from my apartment and headed east to Arcadia/Monrovia/Duarte and did some climbs up Altadena and New York Dr. Under the cloudy sky and chilly wind, I did 43 miles in 3 hours.
I'm planning to do a century ride (mostly likely my ONLY century ride for this season before ALC 7 in June) on this coming Friday and will be co-leading a ride up to the San Gabriel Mountain (the one I did with fellow TRLs a few weeks ago). If you're up for these challenge, let me know.
By the way, I'm still in the process of uploading pictures from my DC trip. So if you haven't seen them, or if you would like to see what's new in the albums, CLICK HERE.
Last but not least, thanks for those who support my ride and hope the rest of you will be donating too (as you received your tax return/credit from uncle Sam). I've ordered special T-shirt for club 100 members (ie. those who donated $100 or more). Please help spread the words.
Have a nice day.
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