The cycling blog is done, but blogging about cycling will continue.

Where?

Good Question.

The new Adventure Guys blog.

In this new blog, Adventure editor Jeffrey P. Mayor and I will write about our adventures, misadventures and insights in the outdoors, keep you up to date on the latest news and answer your questions.

Talk to you over there,
Craig Hill

If you haven't noticed, this blog has been retired. The plan was for this cycling blog to run for the duration of our STP Project, which painfully concluded in July.

But stay tuned. A new blog from the Adventure team is coming soon.

Thanks for reading,
Craig Hill

My body on Saturday night around 7 PM quoted Dirty Harry again and said “Do you feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?” I had an answer for it after the crazy day our team experienced. I said “NO.” Kenny was done due to a fever, and my body was just done. We decided to stop with 38 miles to go. The question that was asked by everyone was - Could have you finished the ride? After spending a night in the hospital last year, I never asked myself that question. Here were the questions I did ask myself and answers that went through my mind:

Q - What would best serve my wife and kids?

A – Stopping – No more trips to ER proving I can do it.

Q – What is my body telling me?

A – GET OFF THE BIKE!!!!!!

Q – What does the team need?

A – To not wait for me to recuperate and to get their butts to Portland.

Q - How about getting some sleep, water, and food plus come back on Sunday to finish?

A – Sounds like a plan.

As we loaded our bikes into Kenny's truck and headed to Portland, I thought about finishing the ride on Sunday. I woke up on Sunday morning, and asked my wife. She said, “I thought you might want to finish.” I called Kenny and asked if he wanted to go, “No, I still don’t feel right.”
Craig gave me, Russ, and Scott a ride out to the spot I stopped. These guys and our families were highly supportive because this meant a whole change in plans. The moms on the team (5 families – 18 people) had to do some juggling of the schedule to make it work. Russ and Scott took their tender spots and sore muscles and helped me finish the ride. We rode the last 38 miles in around 2 hours and 15 minutes. I felt great getting over the finish line and buying my STP finisher shirt.

As I sit here Monday morning, I am glad I finished. I don’t feel any regrets having done STP in 2 days. As we look to maybe riding it again, I doubt I will ever attempt to do STP in one day. I did STP twice in 1 day, and I have more fun doing STP over 2 days.

I want to thank the team for all their work over the past four months. They worked their butts off getting in shape for the ride. The fun we have as we razz each other and bike together is either highly dysfunctional or highly intelligent;
only Dr. Phil or Oprah could help us figure it out.
The nicknames piled up this year – Double Dutch, MC Hammer, Deep Throat, Flowmax, Muffin Top, Barbie, Cialis, and the Yankees.

I want to thank our wives and families for all their support on both days of the ride. Keeping 8 kids between the ages of 6 and 13 busy is a miracle while their husbands spend a whole day riding their bikes. Thank you to our families who get excited about us finishing, and the hotel pool.

I am thankful for Craig Hill for the risk he took in going with four guys he didn’t know to attempt training and riding with them over four months. He kept his journalist distance while meshing with the team. I want to thank him for the opportunity he gave me to write on the blog which fulfilled a
life dream of writing something for public consumption. His boss has given him the assignment to ride next years STP in 2 days. If he is looking for a group to ride STP, I have an idea of some guys who would love to ride it with him.

Be safe and have fun riding - Rick B

If you didn't see today's Adventure section, you missed some tips for handling riding with the masses in Saturday's STP and a good tip on dealing with the sun from the Gear Guy, Douglas Gantenbein.

Click below to read the Gear Guy's advice on UV protection.

=> Read more!

Women and cycling will be the focus of a daylong festival on Sunday. Women’s Cyclefest will be from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Seattle REI store, 222 Yale Ave. N., Seattle.
The event is designed to outfit, educate and inspire women in their cycling adventures, especially as more women take part in the sport, organizers said. According to a study from the National Sporting Goods Association, 16.1 million women took part in bicycle riding at least once in 2006. That was up 1.3 percent from 2001, the report said.

The day’s activities include a bike safety check station conducted by REI’s cycling staff, free clinics and a community group/vendor exposition.

Among the clinics that have been scheduled are basic bicycle maintenance for women at 11 a.m., fitting your bike at 1 p.m. and preparing for a big ride at 2:30 p.m.

The groups that will be on hand include the Cascade Bicycle Club, Backcountry Bicycle Trails Club, Group Health Women’s Bike Racing Team and LunaChix Road Cycling Club.

For information, call 206-223-1944.

The is some truth to the rumor that ace TNT reporter Craig Hill jumped out of his car on Thursday morning saying “Ice cream ice cream cherry on top how many friends do you got 1,2,3… “ The cause of his singing was his choice of items to tie down his bike. In his haste to make the morning ride, he picked up his daughter’s jump rope to tie down his bike. Our group of guys are a safe group to make mistakes around – yeah right – Russ Meyers, Kenny Espionza, and I jumped (No Pun Intended) him asking if “He stole it from her in mid jump,” - “Did the lunch duty know he took it from the play ground?” – “ Was he planning on Double Dutch on the ride?” We are such a mature group.

We rode 30 miles, so after 30 miles on Tuesday and 50 on Wednesday, I felt little of the rust I felt the previous days. The break for one week from the bike alleviated a bit of fatigue I was feeling towards training. Normally I love working up a sweat and getting after it, but I started to dread the bike a little bit. The forced break helped either my over training or staleness from the same routine.

As STP approaches watch the signs of over training – a cold that won’t go away, a feeling of fatigue, no joy in training, ect. One of my goals is to enjoy STP by training enough to endure the discomfort that comes with pushing yourself to ride 202 miles, but I found I can do this by using common sense with my training. I utilized one of the many guidelines on the amount of miles to ride to be ready for STP, and the team has talked about how much we need to ride. This approach has helped us get ready without over doing it.

Have fun and be safe riding – Rick Beitelspacher

There are bike shops and then there are bike shops, so I haven’t had an exceptional experience with many shops; however, Ken Espionza raves about the Bonney Lake Bike Shop of Sumner. He has had two broken spokes in the past two months, and the shop owner Paul Qualey fixed the bike within the hour. The shop charged a fair price for the repair, and more importantly left Kenny feeling like he was treated with extraordinary customer service. We don’t have enough of those kinds of experiences and I think I know where I will be going to get my next repair.

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.

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.

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.