This is a special update for Gina di Bari and my brother Ken...
Just wanted to let you know that I've fulfilled your pledge contracts by hitting 154.4 lbs. w00t! That’s 28.6 lbs in 5 months.
That’s good news for me. Since I get to hang on to that $300, I'll actually be able to eat while I'm in France.
And to give you an idea of what a huge difference that will make for me when I'm climbing on the bike, try this. Take 18 24-oz water bottles, fill them, and put them in a backpack. Go for a bike ride up a hill. Then take the backpack off and try the same hill again. There's the difference.
Downsizing
Financially speaking, one of the negative aspects of losing weight is that your clothes no longer fit. Jes had been making fun of me for more than a month, saying I looked like a little boy trying to wear his father's clothing.
Jes insisted that I should post photos of me in the old clothes vs. me in the new clothes, so here they are:
For those of you who still want to pledge, there's only today and tomorrow remaining. I might be able to handle a few Wednesday morning, but we have to leave for LAX by noon and we’re going to be a little busy... :)
Thanks to everyone who's helped get us to our current total of $9,517! We’re almost there!
The Welcome page has been updated with the new fundraising total.
There are new quotes on the Guestbook page.
There are new pledges on the Pledge List.
We've broken the ten-day barrier...
It's been a busy, exhausting, emotionally draining week and a half.
My last day of hard training was yesterday and I'm now in the beginning of my taper.
Training ended not with a bang, but with a whimper. I have been shorting myself on sleep all week trying to take care of all the final preparations for the trip. I knew I was starting to run down, so on Tuesday I decided that I would not go out to Mt. Baldy on my final hard climbing day. Climbing Baldy takes extra logistical work, and I just didn't want to have to deal with it along with everything else. Besides, I figure Mt. Baldy will still be there when I get back.
My scheduled workout was a hard ride to Mt. Wilson. I only slept about six hours Tuesday night. I hung on with the group just over half way to Clear Creek but then began to allow myself to fall slowly off the back. I knew I wasn't at 100% and there was no way I was going to hurt myself further by pushing it. I finished the day at Red Box (the turnoff before Mt. Wilson). Not the best finish, but I can live with it.
Now the tough part...resting while I get everything ready to go. I'm still exhausted as I type this, so I'm going to have to rest as much as I can over the next week.
We leave for France on Wednesday, July 18th.
As of this morning, I'm at 155.4 lbs. I expect a spike after this, so it's still not sealed. I've got six days to make it to 155.0 lbs.
A big thank you to Dr. Allen Lim of Slipstream Sports for his help trouble-shooting my on-the-bike diet issues.
The Welcome page has been updated with new Pro Cycling news and the new fundraising total. We're at $8,717.
There are new quotes on the Guestbook page.
There are new pledges on the Pledge List.
Wood Family Chiropractic and Rick Zaidan Photography have been added to the Links page.
A strange moment on my ride this morning...
Approaching an intersection, I saw two of the lanes were blocked by a fire truck. It was diagonal across the two lanes and pointed towards oncoming traffic. I slowed to merge into the remaining lane with traffic. We hit the light, so I unclipped and stopped. As I waited, a fireman got off the truck, looked in my direction, put his helmet on and began walking towards me. At first, I thought he was going to help with traffic. Then I realized by his very solid stare that he was coming over to me.
About all I could muster mentally was "Uh...."
He stopped in front of me and paused, still staring. "You're about to ride past the reason you wear this," he said. He punctuated the sentence by rapping his knuckles on my helmet. He held the stare for another beat, then turned and walked away. By the time traffic was moving again, he was gone.
Temptation or not, I'm try not to gawk at an accident. This is out of respect and for safety reasons, especially when I'm on the bike. No way I couldn't look after that, though. I rode slowly through the intersection, stealing a single glance. There were three paramedics attending to someone on the ground; I couldn't see the accident victim. I could, however, see a mangled black bike about twenty feet behind those paramedics.
Yeah, a helmet is a good thing.
I hope whoever it was recovers.
I was feeling almost 100% by Saturday morning, so I went ahead and did my planned ride of 7 hours and 120 miles along the Pacific Coast Highway. Since this was supposed to be an easy climb, I kept my heart rate during the ride at or below 75% of my LT and I averaged 17mph for 7 hours riding solo. Not phenomenal, but with 5000ft of climbing in there, not too bad, either.
On my way back I got to ride alongside a pod of dolphins. Awesome.
Last Monday, I finally got my Litespeed frame back. The damaged tubes were removed, new ones welded on, and the frame was sent back through the entire quality and assurance pipeline. It is literally as good as new.
I figured Tuesday was going to be an awesome riding day for me, back on my bike. It wasn't; it was the worst day I've had in four months. The bike felt awful, the legs felt awful, and I couldn't find good gearing. In a group ride where I typically finished toward the front on the tough hills I was dropped almost immediately on the flats. This was my first overload day of training, and it hit me hard.
Overload isn't fatigue; it's not long lasting if you manage it correctly and can sometimes be as short as a day. It was rough emotionally, though, because there was that fear that I'd slid significantly backward or that I'd pushed too hard. This is the kind of day that can shake the ego, and that's not a good thing in sports. Ego here means self-confidence, not arrogance. You don't have that confidence, you're done.
I want to succeed for the scholarship, I want to succeed for everyone that has pledged their support, and, yeah, I want to succeed for myself. You only get so many opportunities like this and I don't want to screw it up. Of course, thanks to an almost insidiously slow pressure build, I was (and probably still am) in danger of doing just that.
Jes pointed out that I hadn't been feeling 100% for a few weeks. On the bike I'd felt fine, so I'd likely been ignoring it. After speaking with David, my rematch with Mt. Baldy was postponed indefinitely.
It took three days to fully recover from Tuesday, both physically and emotionally. I took a lot of extra naps and rested. Turns out my position on the bike was wayyyyy off, too. I hadn't taken correct measurements from the loaner before I returned it, so I ended up improperly positioning the seat when I put it back on my Litespeed. Whoops.
That...that says 'July' up there, doesn't it?
Oh, boy.
I finally completed Mt Baldy on Saturday, but it wasn't the authoritative effort I wanted. About midway up my rear tire flatted, which meant about ten minutes off the bike (in the shade, at least). To disrupt things further, I hit the climb with two water bottles and no support. Mt. Baldy is not two water bottle-climb; I needed to stop to refill as I neared the summit. It was just too damn hot and I'd been without water for too long.
I wanted to take another shot at it Saturday, but by the time I got back to my car to refuel and try again, the temp was over 100 degrees again. It was a tough call, but I didn't see the wisdom in another climb that day. I don't really have the feel of the mountain yet, so I'll be going up again on the 4th with four water bottles on the bike. There's a rumor that I might even get to do the climb on my repaired Litespeed frame...
Although I didn't have a camera along for the Baldy ride, I do have an artist's interpretation of my relationship with the climb:
What? Obsession isn't necessarily a bad thing...
The fundraiser has passed the $7,000 mark! We hit $7,307 last week! Thanks, all!
In other fundraiser news, I wanted to post part of an email I received from Bridgett Ford. Bridgett is the KSU Foundation Senior Development Associate responsible for coordinating and managing the Dylan Fitzgerald Carlton Scholarship Fund.
I have been thinking about where I would like to give my annual KSU gift this year. I have been giving to my former college on campus but after meeting you, Donna, and the fraternity I would like to give part of my annual gift to the DU Carlton Fund. The story and the love that I see from everyone involved has truly touched me. I work on many scholarships similar to this one but this one is special to me. I would like to add my standard pledge of $100 to your goal. I know it is not much…but as I tell all of my donors, every bit helps. I shared this project with my colleagues in Annual Giving at our monthly staff meeting and they love it! They ask how you are doing all of the time. You have a few other fans cheering you on that you don’t know about.
Cool, huh?
My weight hit 157lbs last week. I might still make 155lbs. Either way, it's going to be close.
The Welcome page has been updated with the new fundraising total.
The Challenge page has been updated with the full list of ProCycling's '50 Greatest Climbs'. You'll find the link right before the article thumbnails.
There are new quotes on the Guestbook page.
We've got several new pledges on the Pledge List.
TTR Shipping and Slipstream Sports have been added to the Links page.
Hey! How's it going? Got a joke for you...stop me if you've heard this one before. So a guy goes riding up Mount Baldy and...
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Yeah, so it was another one of those weekends on Mt. Baldy; another implosion on the first ascent. Didn't make any stupid mistakes this time, but got decimated by two things. First, I'd likely not yet recovered from an aggressive, 4 1/2 hour Wednesday climbing session. Second, while the temperature was reasonable for the intensity of the ride's first five hours, once I hit the Baldy climb I was dealing with 103 degree heat and a much more intense workload. I did my best, but my body shut down after an hour in that heat. In certain conditions, your body initiates mechanisms that are designed to keep you from seriously hurting yourself. Sometimes you can override those mechanisms but not without consequences. It's not time for that yet.
I won't have another opportunity before I leave for Europe to try to finish a full 120 mile ride with two ascents up Mt. Baldy. I do have a few more 5+ hour climbing Saturdays left and I plan on changing them from Little Tujunga Canyon to Mt. Baldy. I will keep throwing myself at that mountain until I beat it.
Again, special thanks to Jessica Forsythe for providing ride support and getting some great photos.
I've added the current fundraising total to the Welcome page. The total is $6,257.
The Training page has been updated with images from the 2nd assault on Mt. Baldy and with a new layout.
The Pledge List has beed updated.
The fundraising total it at a whopping $6,237! Thanks, everyone!
The Challenge, Training, Pledge List, and Guestbook pages have all been updated.
Added Google Earth files for Stage 14 and for three of my climbing rides to the Training page. You can also get to from right here.
A personal side note on improvements in my climbing...
When I first climbed Mt. Wilson back at the end of March, it took me 3 hours to get to the summit. I've been doing a lot of other climbing in the meantime, but hadn't returned to Mt. Wilson until today. This time, in just over 3 hours I'd not only made it to the summit, but I was nearly back down to the bottom of the entire Angeles Crest climbing route. That works out to doing another 20+ miles in the same time. Yowza!
It's funny; climbing really never gets any 'easier'. Yeah, you're able to find your rhythm faster and feel more comfortable under the same work load, but you still constantly push yourself to that same edge, that same level of acceptable, sustainable punishment. It just comes down to how many climbing miles you can chew and how quickly you can chew them.
Yesterday was a busy day ! We rocketed past the goal to hit the current total of $5,702!
AMAZING!
I was thinking, though...
There are 37 days left before I ride stage 14 of the TDF. I still have more than 1,000 miles of training to log, not counting the stage itself. I figure if I'm still working on the bike...well, why not keep everything going? Besides, I think I seriously underestimated the generosity of everyone involved. You've all shocked me by stepping up so quickly to help the Dylan Fitzgerald Carlton Scholarship Fund.
With that in mind--and it just not being my nature to coast the rest of the way--I think it's time to reconsider the fundraising goal. We've reached our current total with just 29 pledges; many others have said they will soon be adding their names to the list.
It's ambitious, but you've inspired me to change the fundraising goal to $10,000.
When I first conceived the idea for the fundraiser, I wondered if $5,000 was too ambitious a goal. Again, I obviously underestimated your generosity. I can't tell you how happy and proud I am that we've already hit that original goal. You guys are incredible, and you've shown me that we can do a lot more than I imagined. And even with the new goal of $10,000 I think you'll surprise me again.
Remember, I'm not just asking for your help alone with donations. With the current pledge contracts, if I don't make weight and fail to complete the stage, $982 of the $5,702 is coming out of my pocket. So, by adjusting the fundraising goal, I'm opening myself up to even more financial pain to complement the physical pain.
And if you want to hear the sound I was going for with the giant 'GOALLLLL' up there, click here. :)
I had a disappointing weekend on Mt. Baldy. You can read a description and see photos on the Training page.
I want to thank Jessica Forsythe and Jessica Schaffner for taking time off from their Paris Hilton suicide watch this weekend to provide support for me on the Mt. Baldy ride. A rider can't do these kinds of miles alone.
And another big thank you to Alan Precourt, who not only let me use his new Sony HDR-HC7 HiDef camcorder to document the Mt. Baldy climb, but has generously offered to let us use it for the TDF trip. Thanks, Alan!
The Pledge List page has also been updated, as has the Guestbook.
Also, I spoke with Litespeed late last week and was told it would be another 17 working days before my frame was repaired. Ouch! I'm in contact with the California Litespeed rep to see if anything can be done to shorten that.
Fundraising update!
As of today, we've rasied $3,892 for the Delta Upsilon Dylan Fitzgeral Carlton Scholarship Fund. You can see the list of new donors on the Pledge List.
Just another $1,108 to go with...oh, man, is that countdown timer right? I've got less than 50 days until the TDF stage ride! Yikes!
I've added a "Phase 2" section to the Training page. There are photos of some of the climbs in the Malibu area. If you've got to suffer, you might as well do it in beautiful mountains.
Success! On my second try I completed all five climbs of "El Muertito" in 5 hours and 7 minutes! Final numbers for the ride: 63 miles and 10,600ft of total climbing.
I nearly doubled my typical caloric intake on the bike to get through it; I consumed over 2500 calories in the five hours...and it still almost wasn't enough.
Although the "El Muertito" ride isn't nearly as long as Stage 14, the total climbing ascent is comparable. I might just survive the TDF stage if I can keep this up...
Made my first attempt on a climb the locals call "El Muertito", or "Little Death". You park at the top of a mountain near the Pacific Ocean and decend five separate routes in succession. I bonked (ran out of energy) about 3/4 of the way up the fourth climb. Not what I was hoping for, but maybe a good thing in the long run. This is going to force me to rethink how I approach nutrition on the bike.
The weight is down to 163lbs. I've dropped 20lbs, but I have to admit I'm not so sure I'm going to make the target 155lbs. With the mileage increasing, it's getting tougher to run a calorie deficit every day.
Phase 2 of my training begins today. This marks the shift from lots of miles on average-grade climbs (4% to 6.5%) to lots of miles on painful-grade climbs (8% to 20%). Wednesday and Saturdays are now officially days of torture: Wednesdays are filled with the modest suffering of 4 hours of climbing, while the Saturday suffering soars to 5 to 6 hours.
The integrity of the frame was compromised, so it has to go back to Litespeed. It should be back and good as new in about three weeks. In the meantime, Bicycle John's in Burbank is going to set me up with a loaner Look carbon frame so I can keep training. It will be a couple of days before I get the loaner, so I guess I'll break out the inline skates.
CRASH! Yesterday I entered my first race in 17 years. My showing was a lot better than I expected; I was in third place going into the final sprint (I'm the blurry guy in yellow on the far left; there are two guys in front of me, out of frame). Unfortunately, the guy behind me went down and his handlebars wedged into and locked my rear wheel at about 35mph. Amazingly, I didn't hit the pavement; I managed to stay up and wasn't injured. However, when the wheel locked the force of the impact dented and bent my frame.
A couple of items...
I've got my first pledge contract from Eric Schmitz! Check out the Pledge List page for details.
This week I finish the current phase of training and get ready for the next with a week of active recovery (on the bike). The last 4 weeks have consisted of sprint intervals, a 50-mile climbing day, hill intervals, and a 60-mile, face-paced group training ride in a single week (sometimes with an additional 20 miles of climbing tacked on afterwards).
The new phase of training will likely include a change of training venue. I'm going to be looking for terrain that's a better match for the two big climbs waiting for me in France. One likely candidate is an Azusa Canyon climb. Some guy named Armstong used this climb to prepare for his Tour de France rides. I'll post photos of the new training grounds once they're finalized.
Finally, I've had some requests for additional info on the site about my bike and even about what I'm listening to on the long rides. If I can find some time I'll try to add some of this to the site.
Thanks to everyone who has already pledged!
Weight Update: Weighed in at 166.2 lbs this morning. It coming off, but a little slower than I'd hoped. Still, I'm on target for 155lbs before the stage ride.
Shocking! Astounding! Amazing! Los Angeles has regained it's title as the most polluted city in America! I figure that training in the most polluted city in America is good for a sympathy pledge, right? Anyone? Hello? Is this thing on?
Someone recenty asked me about the elevation change during the ride. I said that it wasn't just the elevation change, that it was the overall ascent that was the real issue. That's when I realized I hadn't checked to see what the overall ascent really was: over 12,000ft. The most I've ever done in a single day is just over 8,000ft, and that was with multiple stops. Crap in a hat.
Well, I'm not a designer but I wanted to give the site a facelift before switching to the new domain and releasing it into the wild. Hope you like the new look.
After several months of prep and planning, the Tour de France Challenge kicks off!
I've got a lot of work ahead of me and need a lot of help to hit the goals. We've got our first donation of $105 but we still have $4,895 to go to reach the goal of $5,000.
Some not-so-inspiring current stats from my training:
Current weight: 170.8 lbs
I'm actually on target with just under four months to go, but I still need to shed between 16 and 26 lbs. Anyone see where I left the potato chips...?
Current climbing range: 60 miles
I'm going to need to find a better way to communicate my rate of progress, but this will do for now. I need to at least double this range before I leave for France. Ouch.
The Tour de France Challenge receives its first donation before the challenge is actually even launched! Thanks, Reanna!