So about that training...

Last week I felt like anything was possible, but this week was just too crazy to let me keep that feeling. I had an exam on Monday, a presentation on Wednesday, and paper due on Wednesday and a problem set due on Friday. I also have a problem set due on Tuesday (which I'm taking a break from to write this). This semester is insane!

I only got 10 miles of biking in this week. I did, however, get my shoes and installed the cleats and the clipless pedals. They're awesome! Its great to get the energy of pedaling throughout the whole rotation and not just when you're pushing down. Too bad I didn't get out to use it very much.

Since I refuse to wimp out on my new training goal (and honestly can't afford to), I'm going to give myself weekly minimums that will make me reach the 800 miles before May 27th. I should have done this last week, maybe then I would have done more then 10 miles!

Miles to go: 473
Full Weeks: 8
Miles per week (on average): ~60

Here they are (Monday - Sunday):
March 29th - April 4th: 90 (Easter weekend)
April 5th - April 11th: 65 (Home for the weekend)
April 12th - April 18th: 85 (Team CBC Ride - hopefully the 72)
April 19th - April 25th: 75 (Burnsville Metric Ride with Kate)
Estimates (not sure about rides/events):
April 26th - May 2nd: 15 (exams!!)
May 3rd - May 9th: 15 (exams!!)
May 10th - May 16th: 60
May 17th - May 23rd (Happy Birthday to me!): 70

Total: 475

So now that its Spring...

Spring has officially begun. I really don't know what happened to January, February and now half of March! It is just a blur of school, stress, fund raising, bikes and then the relief of spring break (followed by more stress!).

The weather has been amazing in Chapel Hill though! I had a weekend full of B&B preparation. On Saturday I volunteered with Orange County Habitat for Humanity, and yesterday I did my first ride on my new Giant Avail 1. I did 43 miles with Team CBC (http://www.teamcbc.com) accompanied by both of my parents on their tandem. It was great! My new bike is not only a beautiful tangerine color, but more importantly it fits perfectly and rides really well! I definitely understand why B&B suggested I get a new bike and not attempt my trek across the country on my entry level Fuji (which is a great bike for riding around town, but not built for something as extreme as B&B). The gears on the Giant switch so easily, and I think I gained a lot of speed on this bike too. I'm hoping some of that is due to getting into better shape, but I'm sure a lot of it has to do with riding a better bike as well. I'm still slow, but its nice to be making noticeable progress.

photo from bokoobikes.com

I'm still waiting to receive my bike shoes in the mail from performance bikes (they didn't have my size in stock). Hopefully they will come sometime this week and I can try them out in cycle class on a stationary bike before I ride this weekend. I'm pretty nervous about using the clipless pedals and falling off the bike (appearantely everyone does).


Goals Update:

Fund Raised: $2,330 /$4,000
Miles Biked: 317 /800
Sweat Equity Hours Completed: 4 /8


The SUS group leaders have organized a "Training Challenge" for miles biked before we leave on May 27th. They have uped our required 500 training miles to a desires 781.25 miles (a group total of 25,000 miles). I'm not that competitive of a person, but I certainately don't want to let my subgroup (South SUS) down! So, I've upped my goal to 800 miles, a nice round number.

A goal like this is key to my success over the summer, and I know that if I plan around it that I can do it! I have 483 miles left and 65 days to complete them. Within that I have 9 weekends available to do longer rides like I did yesterday, and I commute by bicycle to and from school so that should help too!