Working out on vacation – Tuesday – I worked out my thumb and index finger at a local casino pushing a button on a penny machine. I reached my target heart rate after a jackpot of forty dollars with forty cents invested; however, I was out of the zone within twenty seconds! I guess I call Tuesday a day off.
Today – Wednesday, I went to a local fitness center slapped down seven big ones, and I jumped on the stationary bike. I rode for fifty minutes, and I missed the wind in my face, the joy of the outdoors, and my buddies giving me grief. As I rode for the stationary bike, I loved watching Sports Center, reading the paper, and NOT hearing my buddies give me grief.
Where do you go when you are out of town and you need a workout? Many nice hotels furnish fitness centers for their guest. Of course unless you are on my budget and Motel 6 doesn’t have a workout center. A pair of nice running shoes and a sidewalk can provide the motivated with an opportunity to sweat and workout.

As Craig enjoys a week on a cruise, I start a week away from my bike due to family vacation and my bike getting an overhaul. My goals for the week are to not gain any weight, and to workout five of the six vacation days. I will need to be a little creative so I don’t lose my level of fitness.
How have I loss a high level of fitness in the past? My two favorite ways to lose my level of fitness are overeating and not working out. When I go on vacation, I find plenty of time to do both :) My plan for this vacation look like – I plan to eat less by eating a few more salads, no car treats, and only one helping at meal time. The food thing is tough because my mother - in - law likes to feed me and is a great cook; I love to eat so we both end up happy. I plan to workout by getting up one hour later than I do now - 6 AM instead of 5 AM. I will use the time to do something to get my heart rate up and break a sweat. I love working out so that will still feel I am on vacation. I need some accountability so who will I spill my guts to if I flake out? You will be that someone for me. Maybe I could go on Larry King and tell him I plan on turning over a new leaf… but someone is already planning to do it. Today’s fitness workout golfing 18 holes and eating at a salad bar. Write you on Tuesay ... I hope.

After riding a century last weekend, our 51-mile ride today was a breeze.

Half the team was missing for various reasons. While Rick Beitelspacher, Scott Wagar were strong for the entire ride, for me, at least, the missing teammates was a nice a reminder of how important the team will be in getting us all to Portland.

A three-man pace line is still effective, but with less time to rest the ride was clearly more of a workout that it should have been. Not that I'm complaining. I'm starting to feel like I might actually be able to do this.

Good thing, because my training faces a major obstacle the next few weeks - vacation. I'll be away from my bike (Beitelspacher will be blogging), and certainly my fitness level will take a hit.

I'll only have 10 days left to prep for the STP when I get back. This, of course, means more pain on the big day. Oh, well, too late for me at that point.

"The next three weeks are going to fly by," Wagar said.

I got a cool gift for father’s day from my wife and kids. A Washington State University cycling jersey.
Just one catch, my wife said, “you’re going to have to find it yourself.”
While the Seattle-based Adrenaline Promotions manufacturers the jerseys, she couldn’t find them in any local stores. I called John Ambrose, the company’s owner, who said Rainier Cycle Sports is the only shop in Tacoma that carries the jersey. I picked it up today.

But as I chatted with Ambrose, he let me in on an interesting bit of information regarding his business.
While REI carries his product, the Seattle store placed an interesting request this year.
They ordered Huskies jerseys but declined to place an order for Coug jerseys.

Vs.

Seemed a bit surprising to me considering, the Coug fan base seems more interesting in displaying it’s school pride. For example:
1. Space Needle painted Crimson and Gray a few years back.
2. More WSU license plates sold than any other specialty plate.
3. Hijacking a recent UW Alumni online survey asking which school had more pride.

So, what’s the deal?
- Do Cougs not cycle?
- Does REI have a warped sense of reality being located just a few miles from the UW?

By the way, the folks at REI say if you want to request they carry a new item call their corporate headquarters at 253-395-3780 and ask for the merchandising department.

Here's what REI carries: UW, Cal, Texas A&M, Oregon, Wisconsin, Michigan, Notre dame and Texas.

As for school spirit, here are the top three selling jerseys.
1. Texas

2. Wisconsin

3. Iowa

The rumor I want to start is “The STP sold out early due to the STP Project.” Like most rumors it rarely is true such as “Paris Hilton is not an alien” or “Michael Jackson really is Diana Ross.”

What will happen due to the race being sold out? Some people will ‘poach’ the ride. Poaching means going on the organized ride, race, run, or walk and not paying the entry fee. I can say I have never done it and don’t understand someone who does. Why is it wrong? 1) Many events are put on to support a worthy cause i.e. cure for cancer, children’s hospital, or AIDS 2) To pay for at least part of the ride, the cost of the event is rarely covered completely by the fee. 3)It is disrespectful to those riding the event or putting it on. It is disrespectful to those riding the event or putting it on. Most of us are going to pay our own way; when you get the impulse to say “Forget it,” don’t listen to it.

The STP sold out earlier this week, the first time it has sold out in expanded format (9,000 riders instead of 8,000).

If you want to try and buy a registration packet from a registered rider you'll want to check out the Cascade Bicycle Club classifieds.

At a party this weekend, a woman just getting into cycling asked me about a little chaffing problem she has when she rides.
Actually, she was the second rookie cyclist in three days I gave this advice: Don’t wear undies under your bike shorts.
I mentioned a recent blog entry that pointed out wearing undies as one of the most common mistakes made by novices.
She thought that advice was for men only. “You know,” she said. “Women’s anatomy is different than men’s.”
I do vaguely recall hearing something about that in a college anatomy class, but I told her I was quite confident the rule applied to everybody. Just to be sure, I said, I’d check with a bike shop.
So, today I talked to Alex Warren of Rainier Cycle Sports in Tacoma. Sure enough, he concurred.
“Whether you’re a man or woman,” Warren said, “your chamois should be touching skin.”

Good News

I followed Craig’s advice and ate close to 70% carbohydrates four to five days before our ride on Saturday. I felt at the top of my game for most of the ride except when we missed a water stop or should have stopped to pick up water – more about water later. I didn’t think eating carbohydrates that many days in advance would make that big of difference – Wrong; it made a huge difference. My energy level was high most of the afternoon. The Flying Wheels 100 is a tough century. I say it is tougher than the 2nd half of STP which I find challenging. Since I felt good for most of the ride, I will follow the same eating pattern before STP.

Bad News

About ¾ of the way through the ride, I was close to being out of water, and a couple of the other guys needed water. I personally go through one bottle every fifteen miles, and as we rode through a town, we were thinking water was right around the corner. Right around the corner came about fifteen miles later, and I knew I needed to stop in town at the nearest gas station. I felt a headache coming on and the other guys were complaining of cramps and sickness. Being a man (Read Idiot), I thought I could make it ten more miles instead of stopping at a food mart and buying a gallon of water. At the water and food stop, I consumed a peanut butter and bagel with two water bottles, and with my body and vigor revived, I felt great. I had energy for the rest of the ride. The question for myself is why do I need to be reminded to do the right thing? I have to remember to stop drink and eat before I need to do it.
Many website give the following symptoms for dehydration - thirst, fatigue, irritability, headache, weakness, dizziness, cramps, nausea, decreased performance. Dehydration of just 1%-2% of body weight (only 1.5-3 lbs for a 150 lb athlete or 2 to 4 lbs for me) can negatively affect performance. The way I check to make sure I am mentally with it and not fighting fatigue or dehydration is to play “Slug Bug.” Russ, Scott (Barbie), and I call out VW bugs and keep track of the score. When I have a tough time keeping my mind alert, I need to start eating and drinking fluids.
On my rides, I bring five dollars to buy water and food if I need it. I put the money in my pouch in the back of my saddle with my tools. I hope this suggestion helps, and I will listen to Kenny next time who said “Let’s top off on the water anytime we can.” Remember to drink before you are thirsty and eat before you are hungry.

Have fun riding and be safe – Rick B

The STP Project team got its first big test Saturday when we pedaled the Flying Wheels Summer Century.
The course is considered an ideal training ride for the 203-mile STP even though it’s only half the distance because it is considerably hillier than the STP.
All five of us have at least two centuries under our belt, so we knew we’d all finish. It was just matter of how we’d feel when we were done. We were pleasantly surprised.
Russ Meyers was strong for the entire ride and reached speeds of 28 mph on the flats in the final five miles. He also pulled the team for five miles in the middle when a 41-mile stretch without a stop left us running low on water and energy.
Kenny Espinoza was also strong after struggling to warm up early. This was particularly surprising because he hadn’t been on his bike for two weeks because of business travel.
Rick Beitelspacher was giddy all day and said he still felt good when the ride was over.
Scott Wagar and I, however, seemed to have the most problems.
Wagar was constricted early because he mistakenly wore his daughter’s undershirt. And at the 70-mile mark he had run squarely into the wall and told us he was on the verge of puking. Always compassionate, Kenny readied his camera phone for the hurl that never happened.
My problem was my left quad, which started cramping at about 55 miles. I guzzled energy drinks and water and stretched when I could. This all worked pretty well, but on occasion my leg would cramp when I stood up and got out of the saddle.
This made me pretty nervous when we approached the 80-mile mark, where the sadistic route designers planted a torturous 3-mile climb up to the Issaquah Plateau.
As Russ pointed out, the tough thing about the hill wasn’t that it was long, but in many places it was also steep.
As I pedaled, I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was tempted to get off and push. Especially when I saw several who were doing just that. But Beitelspacher, who’s not shy about setting goals for other people, had informed us our goal was to reach the top the hard way.
So I locked my sites on a group of six cyclists in front of me and pushed myself to reel them in. My cramping thigh didn’t like this, but the mid-hill push rejuvenated me a bit.
When we finished the ride, Rick, Scott, Russ and Kenny felt good enough to down a polish sausage. I couldn’t eat and for about five minutes I was the one who felt like I was going to spew.
But by Saturday night I felt great. Whether or not I could have pedaled another 100 miles, well, let’s just say I’m glad we have another month to train.

Last Saturday one of our teammates showed up to the 6 AM ride and announced that he had to head back home to help his mom with setting up his son’s gradation party. None of us harassed him although it was a first. Why? The reason can be found in the time we left to ride – 6 AM. We leave that early because most of us usually have some type of family commitment. Many times we get home after a ride to find the family still in their PJs, and I find that OK because I never feel like I am choosing cycling over my wife and kids. Some people have no trouble leaving their family for two to three hours almost every day to train for STP. I can’t make the choice or feel like it would be a wise one for me. Does that mean I only get to train once or twice a week? NO – it means I ride my trainer twice a week, ride Saturdays early, and before church on some Sundays. I try to ride four times a week for my own sanity, and I want to make STP enjoyable enough so that I want to do it again.

POSTED BY RICK BEITELSPACHER

If it works for you, good. And if it sounds over the top,
maybe it is.

This will be the third time our team has done STP in a day. One thing that
has evolved with our team is the idea of roles. Russ is our strongest
rider so he will take longer pulls from the front as well as help
struggling riders keep up. If one of our guys falls way back, we send
Russ to go help him catch up. Craig writes on the blog. Scott keeps
track of time as we take our turns in front of the line. Scott also
makes sure we don't spend all day at a food stop - eating forever. Craig
writes in the newspaper. Kenny helps another guy keep track of water
consumption and eating on the ride. Kenny is also the truth-teller if
something is going wrong or needs addressing; he will bring it up. Craig
goes to Moab mountain biking then he writes about it on the blog and in
the newspaper. I am part coach, part encourager and the biggest smart
aleck (Trust me though all of them have shut me up more than once). I
try to keep track of how guys are feeling and making sure everyone keeps
track of each other. When guys are hurting, I remind them that EVERYONE makes
it to Portland no matter how long it takes for us to get there. I remind
guys that it is a team, not a collection of guys, but a group of people
working together to reach our goal (Finish in one piece).

Cycling can be such an individual sport that I love the team aspect. I
have the privilege to hang out with some great friends once or twice a
week as we get after our training or just riding and ribbing each other.

Have fun riding and be safe * Rick Beitelspacher

When I injured my knee two months before climbing Mount Rainier in 2004 all I could do to train was ride a bike. Not to worry, climbing guide Alex Van Steen told me, that's the second best thing you can do train for a climb (the other would be climbing.) He was right. I trained on my bike and made it to the top.
So, using that logic I decided to shake up my bike training yesterday with some mountain climbing.
I definitely got a workout as I climbed Mount St. Helens with a group of USGS scientists, national monument officials, climbing rangers and others. Whether or not it will pay off on the bike, I'll find out this weekend when I do the 100-mile Flying Wheel with the STP Project team.
Even if it doesn't pay off, I highly recommend St. Helens as a workout, geology lesson or any other excuse you can come up with to make the 10-mile (roundtrip) trek up 4,500 feet to the crater.
Click here for climbing info.

A climber takes in the view from the crater rim of Mt. St. Helens with Mount Adams in the background.

POSTED BY RICK BEITELSPACHER

Get your registration for STP in by the deadline of June 14 or it will
cost you ten more dollars.
Website to sign up - www.cascade.org/Home/

Have fun and be safe - Rick B

This morning’s ride was anything but memorable.
Cold weather and a steady headwind left several of us – mostly me – feeling nasty and we cut our planned ride from Sumner to the Carbonado Bridge short.
After gauging the team, Rick Beitelspacher made the call to turn us around in Wilkeson, pointing out that suffering for an additional 10-12 miles was going to make or break our training.
“We don’t need to do junk miles,” Beitelspacher said.
So we called it a day after 40 miles.
The biggest problem seemed to be my upset stomach (Apparently a plate of brownies isn’t good carbo loading). Russ Meyers had a tight leg, but he worked it out on Tubbs Hills in South Prairie.
Beitelspacher and Kevin – an occasional guest rider with the group - also felt pretty sick during the 15-mile ride to South Prairie because of the headwind, but they felt much better on the 20 miles home.
Scott Wagar, on the other hand, felt strong and was asking to keep riding at the end of the day.
The chilly morning wasn’t a total loss. It gave me the chance to practice my farmer's blow technique.
Like any sport you do in cold weather, you have to know how to blow your nose without effecting your performance.
Think I’m joking? Watch the sideline next time you are at Seahawks' game. Cameras caught Tiger Woods going tissueless at a golf match earlier this year.
There’s an art to the farmers blow, especially when you are traveling in a pace line with somebody just a few feet behind you.
Beitelspacher almost clipped me with a snot rocket this morning, and I soiled a sock with a misfire of my own.
There are two techniques worth considering. The over-the-shoulder farmer’s blow and the under-the-armpit blow.
I usually go over-the-shoulder, but occasionally have to clean my jersey after rides as a result. And I can usually only do this when I’m at the end of the pace line because spraying boogers at 20 mph makes quite the snot comet.
Beitelspacher says he prefers the under-the-armpit approach. Going under the armpit decreases the time your nasal discharge spends in the air and, unless it’s really windy, the folks behind you are normally safe.
But like most things, go with what works best for you.

Check out this text book farmer's blow from a woman cycling in Portland.

If you are, don't cross at the Peace Arch. The crossing is closed for the Hands Across the Border celebration.

Of course, if you are Whistler regular you know better than to cross there any time of year.

Questions and Maybe Answers

Here are some random cycling questions – I would love your input.

1. Why is talking about getting a flat tire off – limits? It is cycling’s version of baseball’s no hitter. If you don’t talk about a flat tire, some how you won’t have one.
2. Why is the guy who throws stuff at you, honks his horn at you, calls you names or flips you off - seem like he is always driving a 4 X 4 truck, wearing flannel, and looks like he is a candidate for DUI school? Why is it never a stress out minivan mom with four screaming kids in car seats under the age of 7? She should be the bitter one; I would be mad at someone who is outside on a quiet solo ride with no one throwing crackers at their back.
3. Why does it seem like the guys I train with all hit the wall on STP at different spots? Scott hits it in Spanaway. Russ hits it at the state line in Oregon. I hit it around Kelso. Kenny hits it at Husky Stadium.
4. The 4X4 guy part 2 – Why is his truck jacked up? Does it have something to do with his height?
5. Why does it seem like I can always get my bike shoe out of the clip – in pedal except when I am at a major intersection with all by buddies watching?
6. Why does Craig Hill only mention the group’s nicknames and never his own? He has some fun ones – Parachute Boy, Water Boy, and Slacker (He calls our STP training work time).

I recently received an e-mail from Paul Payton, director of communication for the American Lung Association, informing me of yet another local couple planning to leave on a cross-country pedal this month.
Greg & Trish Dimmitt from Orting are leaving June 25 to ride their tandem with 40 other people in the American Lung Association's Big Ride Across America.
Payton writes: "The Dimmitt's love to ride their tandem together, but they are also very involved with raising funds and awareness about living with lung disease, as they have lost loved ones to the diseases.  To date, the Dimmitt's have raised more than $17,000 with the support of family, friends and probably many in the Tacoma and Pierce County area."
The Dimmitt's and the other riders leave from Seattle and will ride to Washington D.C.

Is your riding or training becoming stale? The answer to stale riding is to mix it up. If you only ride alone, go on a group ride (check out this website www.cascade.org/Home). If you are always with a group, go ride a trail by yourself. If you only ride your road bike, take a day to try out a mountain bike by trading with a friend for a day or so. If you are Joe Fast, take your kids out around the block on their bikes, and slow down to their speed.

My favorite mix it up riding is to go on an organized ride. My next organized ride will be Flying Wheels, which is next weekend. This is a great ride to see just where you might be as you prepare to ride STP in one day. The ride has 25, 50, 65, and 100 mile loops. If you want to ride STP in a day, give the 100 miler a try to see where you are at with your training.

Have fun riding and be safe - Rick Beitelspacher

I have the honor of filling in for Craig Hill, and I like to keep the expectations low so my only hope is to not screw it up. Thanks, Rick B

On Monday as I looked out of my classroom window, I asked the question “To ride or not to ride?” (Okay, we are studying Shakespeare in class) When looking at a rainy day, many riders face this same dilemma. A good rule of thumb is to plan for any type of weather when preparing for STP. If you are thinking “Sure, but it is July,” remember all those Fourth of Julys that you spent indoors wrapped in a blanket with the heat blasting because it was rainy and cold outside. Good coaches have their teams practice in whatever condition they will face, therefore, practice or cycle in the conditions that you will face on the STP which could be rain, wind, or heat.

Some ideas to keep in mind when riding in the rain: 1) Watch out when crossing railroad tracks because they are very slippery. The same goes for cornering on the pavement after an extended dry time and the rain starts to fall. When in doubt, slow down; this is not a race, but a ride. 2) Keep in mind the air temperature. If you are soaked to the bone, and the air temperature drops, watch out for wind chill issues. Okay, maybe not in July, but the low for Thursday is supposed to be 47 degrees. If you ride at a speed of 15 MPH, you are looking at 40 degrees. Add some wet stuff and, you are looking at a bad combination.

Here is a website for ideas and gear info on equipment for riding in the rain:

www.ultracycling.com/equipment/foul_weather_gear.html

Have fun riding and be safe – Rick Beitelspacher

I get so many letters and phone calls from people who want me to write about them riding across the country that the accomplishment hardly seems newsworthy any more.
That's not to say it's not impressive. It's an amazing accomplishment, something I'd like to try to do some day.
Hopefully this blog will give me a chance to give more of these people a little attention.
While I can't write about everybody who tries this, because I just mentioned an Olympic snowboarder who leaves today to ride from Anacortes to Maine, I figure I better let you know that four students - three from WSU and one from the UW - leaving Seattle tomorrow to pedal to Washington D.C.

Click below to read the press release from ride organizers:

=> Read more!

Jayson Hale of the U.S. Snowboarding team will bike across the U.S. in 60 days starting from Anacortes. His trip will be filmed for a documentary.

Here's the release from U.S. Snowboarding.

=> Read more!

I'm heading east this afternoon with photographer Peter Haley for a 12-day tour with a McChord C-17 crew. We'll be visiting Germany, Krygyzstan and Afghanistan and, needless to say, I'll be getting very little riding in the next two weeks. (Although I did ask if I could bring bike.)

Soon, a guest blogger will be taking over in my absence. Rick Beitelspacher, whose team I'm following as as they train for the 203-mile STP, will bring his cycling knowledge to this blog for the next few week

If you want to check out my dispatches from Afghanistan, check out our military blog starting tomorrow.

The team seems to be getting stronger with two weeks to go until the biggest training ride (the 100-mile loop of the Flying Wheels).
After riding 58 miles last week then 66 miles Monday (with the exception of Scott Wagar and me who couldn’t ride Monday) we took our customary 30-mile Fruitland Loop this morning.
The loop is highlighted by a 40-plus-MPH drop into Orting on Military Road and a 1.2-mile climb up Fruitland Hill in Puyallup.
Everybody was in good shape when he finished up in about 1:50 just before 8 a.m. We all could have taken another lap or two, but busy weekend schedules called for a short day.

Banner Forest near Port Orchard is a great place to spend a few hours on your mountain bike - if you can find the place.
The web of trails is well known among locals, but if you've never been there getting good directions can be tough. First timers who get their directions from the web natoriously get lost on their first trip.
I found this out the hard way earlier this week when I visited the trail three friends. We followed the bad directions from usually dependable DirtWorld.com. Apparently, these faulty directions have made their way to other mountain biking websites. We ended up driving past Trophy Lake Golf Course about half way to the Pacific Ocean, before we realized we were heading in the wrong direction. After s stop at the golf course for updated directions and we finally found the trailhead.
We rode for about 90 minutes on trails with names ranging from the inviting ("Donald Duck") to the intimidating ("Pulverizer") before an injury to the youngest member of our party - 14-year-old Luigi Devereux of Puyallup - forced us to call it a day.
The trails are well worth the drive from Tacoma or Puyallup, even though you won't find much that is super technical.
IF YOU GO, USE THE DIRECTIONS BELOW REGARDLESS OF WHAT ELSE YOU READ.

DIRECTIONS TO BANNER FOREST
- From Highway 16 take the Sedgwick Exit.
- Drive EAST on Sedgwick for six miles.
- Turn RIGHT on Banner Road.
- The trailhead is marked on your right after about a mile.