Saturday was the first scheduled work day for the new Red (advanced) trail at the Mt. Dora Mountain Bike Park. After trying on a few different names for size, such as “26er’s Revenge” and “Fart Church” (don’t ask), the trail was officially christened “Helter Skelter”, which I think is a perfect name for this short, but very challenging, trail. This trail has an interesting backstory, and that story starts with a guy named Mark Pettengill…. [Read more]
Added Tuesday, April 9, 2013 by John Stone
Madone is fixed, happy with Trek and David’s World Cycle.
I was going to talk about Saturday’s trail work day this morning, but I’ve decided to push that subject off until tomorrow. This morning I’d like to wrap up the latest (final?) chapter in the Madone bottom bracket saga. If you need to get up to speed, give my April 3, 2013 blog a read. First of all, after taking my bike to the shop I contacted Trek directly about this issue. I contacted Trek… [Read more]
Added Monday, April 8, 2013 by John Stone
2013 maintenance weekly progress report: week #13
Week #13 of my 2013 maintenance program is complete, and it’s time for my weekly progress report. My scale weight this morning (as measured by the ) is 174.0 pounds. That’s a 1.6 pound loss since last week’s weight of 175.6 pounds, and a 0.4 pound loss from my initial 2013 weight of 174.4 pounds. My 7-point body fat reading this morning (as measured by the is 6.8%. That’s a -0.4% body fat change since… [Read more]
Added Sunday, April 7, 2013 by John Stone
Tough training ride yesterday, interesting results.
Yesterday morning the weather was extremely gloomy: it was dark, windy and raining, and I did not want to ride. I was trying to talk myself into going, but I looked out back, saw the rain dancing off the surface of the pond, and thought, “OK, I’ve got a lot of work today anyway. No ride.” I sat down at my desk thinking about how I took Thursday off from riding, and that I would… [Read more]
Added Saturday, April 6, 2013 by John Stone
Trail work day at Mt. Dora tomorrow – come help.
I’m very excited about tomorrow’s work day at the Mt. Dora MTB trails. We’re going to be working on the making the difficult “Red” (Advanced) trail even better! Up until recently this trail was… well, let’s say “hidden”, and not exactly approved by the city (which owns the land). Thanks to the efforts of Mike Simmons and Rob Ern, we were able to get the city’s stamp of approval on the new trail. So now… [Read more]
Added Friday, April 5, 2013 by John Stone
Excellent training ride yesterday, couple new PRs; Trek Madone update.
With my Madone out of action again, my training options are limited at the moment. I decided to load up my Fuel and hit Wekiwa State Park for an 18 mile training ride. The trails were as dry and sandy as I’ve ever seen them. I knew I was going to get a great workout in if I pushed the pace, and I did. I decided for my first lap to do the “Big Loop”,… [Read more]
Added Thursday, April 4, 2013 by John Stone
Madone bottom bracket update.
I want to follow up on yesterday’s blog, and the ongoing issues with my Madone’s bottom bracket. I called the bike shop yesterday morning, and was told that the Trek factory representative, who only comes to the shop every two weeks, would be there that day. I guess the timing of the re-emergence of the problem couldn’t be better, as I’d rather have someone from Trek look at the bike instead of just the shop… [Read more]
Added Wednesday, April 3, 2013 by John Stone
Tough cycling workout yesterday (w/ analysis); Madone BB issue returns.
Yesterday I was still not 100% recovered from the 43 mile mountain bike ride I did over the weekend, and so I was on fence about doing a cycling training workout. The next workout in the training program I’m following is not just tough, it’s very tough. And long. The workout is called “Tioga“, and it’s a 1.5 hour/25.9 mile slug-fest. “Tioga” includes 5×9 minute intervals spent slightly above or slightly below Functional Threshold Power… [Read more]
Added Tuesday, April 2, 2013 by John Stone
Saturday’s 43 mile “Epic” MTB ride at Santos: report, pictures, video.
On Saturday morning Mike Simmons, Paul Lewis, Mark Huff, Daniel Cleaver, Jim Beyer and I arrived bright and early at the Landbridge Trailhead in Ocala, Florida. Landbridge is just one of several trailheads along the incredible and mammoth (nearly 100 miles of trail, and growing) Santos MTB mountain bike park. Our plan was to ride a slightly longer version of the OMBA/IMBA 42-mile “Epic” ride. The forecast was calling for an absolutely amazing day, clear… [Read more]
Added Monday, April 1, 2013 by John Stone
2013 maintenance weekly progress report: week #12
Week #12 of my 2013 maintenance program is complete, and it’s time for my weekly progress report. Note that I was on vacation from Saturday March 9 through Sunday March 24th, so these stats will be compared to the Sunday progress report before my vacation, which was week #8 (March 3rd). My scale weight this morning (as measured by the ) is 175.6 pounds. That’s a 3.4 pound gain since week #8′s weight of 172.2… [Read more]
