The Tour de France is well underway and there have been some interesting developments in the first week of riding.  Fabian Cancellara has grabbed and held onto the yellow jersey since stage one.  He seems strong and has ridden very well.  Mark Cavendish has put on an impressive show of raw power for almost every daily sprint to the finish line.  If he didn't have the strength to stand behind his big ego (and all green attire as points lead), his boastful post-sprint commentary would be more than a little annoying.  Alberto Contador even started out strong with several seconds on his team mate (or team lead???), Lance Armstrong.  Then, in stage three experience proved more valuable than the exuberance of youth when Lance jumped on an unexpected breakaway that took off after a sharp turn into a cross wind.  If there was any question about Astana working together as a team, stage four dispelled that when they dominated the team time trial.  Their late start helped them avoid some of the tough turns that seemed to wreak havoc on the earlier teams that lead to multiple crashes and time penalties.  That impressive run pulled Lance even with Cancellara for the overall individual time.  Today's stage was somewhat uneventful except for a 4 km sprint by Thomas Voeckler from a six-man breakaway that went unchallenged to the finish.  Most stages thus far have been relatively flat, but soon the mountain stages begin.  I had some doubts about Lance's condition last week, but with him breathing down Cancellara's neck now, Fabians days in the yellow jersey seem numbered.  One or two more seized opportunities may put Lance back in yellow.  Team Columbia has been putting on a strong, organized team showing in the peloton and may still be a force for team Astana to reckon with.

    I wish I could say I was ready to ride the Tour de France myself, but my time for riding has been sidelined by the holiday and job hunt activities.  I did a couple short rides last week and a long 55 mile ride on Tuesday this week.  I had wanted to do a longer ride Tuesday, but the heat and humidity were really sapping my strength.  I felt staying out longer would only lead to dehydration and little improvement in my stamina.  Maybe, if the weather cooperates, I'll try another long(er) ride this weekend and start earlier to avoid the heat.  Group rides are out for me until I have stable income (and health insurance) again.  I signed up for COBRA (thanks to a little help from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act premium reduction), but no need to risk a long term injury that will keep me out of work even longer right now.  If anyone out there can help me past the HR brick wall at a renewable energy company or power engineering firm, throw this old dog a bone.

    The extreme heat of the past week has caused me to start icing down my three bottles for my 35 rides.  It takes all three to keep me hydrated and cooled off (on the head, thanks James) to make it through my routine.  Even though my HRM numbers say differently, I don't feel I'm getting a good workout.  I avoid efforts that might cause me to overheat and focus more on efficient use of my energy.  It seems like since the summer soltice, the weather pattern has changed overnight.  Now, we are getting almost no rain, high temps and almost no wind.  If this continues, HHH is going to live up to its name this year.
     I did three short rides last week and put in an 80 mile ride on Sunday.  I joined a group ride and thought that riding with some others might take some of the drudgery out of riding in the heat.  It did, but it also highlighted the risks of road cycling and whether I'm prepared for those risks....especially with my health insurance about to lapse.  All I can do is try to manage those risks and try to be prepared for them the best that I can.
     Tour de France is just around the corner.  I think it will be a good race this year.  I'm not sure that Lance is going to pull off another victory.  Based on my experience as a cyclist, I know it has taken me several years of consistant riding to become a strong rider.  He was off his training for several years and had a recent injury so I suspect he is still not at his peak performance.  It is also uncertain how his relationship with Carlos Sastre, last year's winner, will play out for team leadership.  If I had to hazard a guess I would look at one of the strong riders from the Giro to take the TdF this year.  I also heard that a couple stages will be without radios so it will put more strategy in the hands of the riders.  I think those will be some very interesting stages to watch.

     I've continued to ride at White Rock Lake, generally, three times a week.  However, my job search and re-training for "something else" seem to be taking priority more and more often.  I did three rides two weeks ago and had to cut my long weekend ride short at 50 miles so I could drive to Houston that same day for a week long course on Solar PV design and installation.  I've had an interest in solar and wind energy for several years, but just never seemed to have time to pursue it.  Since I've decided to redirect my career towards the renewable energy field, I've made it a top priority.
    This course, offered by Adven, was pretty intense.  It was five full days of class and then nightly reading and homework that took about four hours every night.  So, there was little time for anything else besides class, eating and sleeping.  The week culminated in an exam for earning a NABCEP "Certificate of Knowledge".  (NABCEP= N. American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners)  With this certificate, I have the basic qualifications to work as an installer.  After I design and install at least two systems (one has to be utility-connected), I can sit for a full certification exam.  Installers don't make very much and I'm getting a little old to be crawling around in hot attics and on steep roofs, but it's a foot in the door.  Ultimately, I'd like to do system design and inspection for commercial/utility-level systems or own a residential business.   I think if the tax credits and state rebates continue to hold, this will be a fast growing field.  Right now, there are barely 600 certified NABCEP professionals in the US, so I think if I pursue it I'll be getting in on the ground floor.  I might have a couple of leads already so we'll see if I can take advantage of my new expertise soon.
    The training last week took it's toll on my health.  I managed to run a couple miles on the hotel treadmill one night and then developed a sinus infection....I may have caught it from the guy next to me who kept coughing and sneezing all week in class.  I haven't done much until today when I took a 35 mile ride.  It was hot and I didn't feel very strong by the end.  It makes me wonder if I'll be ready to ride a full century at HHH in August if I can't keep up my training like I used to do.

    Job hunting activities have kept me from doing any rallies so far this season.  The costs can add up too since most have a 30 dollar registration and some take a half tank of gas to reach round trip.  However, I finally got tired of riding solo at White Rock Lake and decided to go to the Mesquite Rodeo Ride today.  It's nearby, is a good, flat ride and provides a good value for the buck.
    I arrived a bit late so I was rushed to get through registration and then get back to the car to "suit up".  They were out of t-shirts so I didn't get one.  Too bad, they had a good design this year.  I could hear them playing the national anthem as I was just about ready to roll away from the car at 8 a.m.  So, I didn't get a starting line pic.  By the time I rolled across the line they were already started.  I had to carefully work my way past some of the slower, shorter distance riders.  I wasn't really in a hurry so I tried to pass cautiously.  I had to chastise myself for forgetting to put bananas in my pocket in my rush to leave the car.
    This ride hasn't changed much in the last couple years.  They do a great job of organizing it.  The national guard directs traffic to the parking lot.  Police direct traffic at all the intersections.  The course is well marked with arrows and paint on the hazzards.  Rest stops are well supplied.  They have roving SAG and ameteur radio ops keeping everyone informed.  The route is mostly flat and smooth except for a few rollers at the end.  If you get in with a fast pack of riders one can easily make a 20 mph average.  Today, however, most of those riders must have started up front because I didn't find a consistent group to pace with in the windy conditions.
    I planned to stop for bananas and a pit stop at 20 miles, but was with a small pack of guys making good time so I put that off until the 30 mile rest stop.  With the mild temps I think I could have ridden it non-stop on just three bottles I had with me.  The course kind of zig zagged to the south and rarely seemed to head down wind.    I seemed to be riding into wind solo about half the time, but drafted when I could to save energy.  I didn't catch a tailwind until near the end of the course.  Then I was able to pick up my pace and use the rollers to pull my average up to 19.5 mph even after a slow start.
    Back at the arena, they had water, Fuze, chips, cola, Whataburger chicken sandwiches, ice cream and massages.  I ate my helping and then worked out the kinks in my neck before grabbing a popsicle for the walk back to the car.  I met some friends from work on the way and ended up going back to the arena to chat with them a bit before heading home.  Overall, it was a great ride.

    I spent this past week with my kids here in Dallas since my job outlook (and time off for visitation) is still uncertain at this point.  As a result I haven't been able to spend much time on the bike.  I only hit the lake once this week for a short ride (35 mi) and was finally able to take a long ride today (63 mi).  With the calm weather, sunny skies and reduced training, the heat really sapped me by lap 6.  I took three bottles and had to refill two of them just to make it home.  I ate two pre-ride bananas and had two more during the ride.  I started strong the first three laps, but by the end I felt like a limp noodle...no energy whatsoever.  With temps hitting the mid-90's and little margin for the body to cool itself, I think it's time to start icing down the bottles again....
   In addition to the heat, I've been having more close encounters with the area wildlife lately.  Over the past three weeks I've nearly hit three snakes on the trail between W. Lawther and the dog park.  One looked like a garter snake at least 3 ft long.  The other two were bright green and scaly over 2 ft long.  I think the recent rains and mowing has brought them out of hiding.  Today, I was nearly dive bombed by a snowy egret.  I saw it flying low towards me and I no sooner said to myself, "You better not shat on me" and he let loose.  Fortunately, the wind was at my back and so he missed the mark by 5 ft.  The next encounter was with a squirrel I thought I was about to pass as I was taking a drink.  The wierd thing is I had already started to roll past him and he ran forward to get past my wheel.  Most of the time if they see you coming they head the other way.  I think people around the lake are feeding some of these squirrels and they've lost their fear of humans.  It's a shame, too, because it only makes them dependent and unable to survive on their own.

    I watched the time trail of the Giro d'Italia today.  I think whoever planned the zigzag route on greasy, wet cobbles should be flogged.  With the spotty rain it made for a very hazardous stage.  Most riders were not able to showcase their TT talents because of it, opting to take it easy to avoid a crash that might derail the plans for the rest of the season.  In fact, Denis Menchov who had a comfortable 30 sec margin for the overall lead had a heartpounding spill just about a kilometer from the finish.  If his crew hadn't been on the ball with a new bike, he might have lost it to Danilo Di Luca.  I had hoped that team Astana might do better on this stage, but I think they decided to err on the side of caution to avoid injury.  My guess is that their focus is on winning the Tour de France later this season.  Popovich did manage to put on a very respectable run with a 4th place stage finish, though.

    I'm not very happy that I've had to cut some of my cycling activities this week.  I missed the Wildflower ride on Sat due to bad weather (the only day last weekend we had rain).  Under the economic circumstances I didn't really want to pay to have my bottom bracket drained if it decided to pour.  I did manage to do a long 63 mile ride on Sun instead and two shorter rides during the week.  My biker tan is really coming along.
    I also missed the Ride of Silence on Wed night to attend a networking event.  I read in the paper they almost had to cancel it due to lack of police escort.  They said with almost 2000 people it was considered an organized event and they needed the police presence.  That sounds like a crock to me.  Does that mean all club rides are "events"?  If we are riding within the law, I don't care how many people are taking part.  They shouldn't need the police escort.  That seems to kind of defeat the purpose of demonstrating our right to ride on the roads so motorists get the message.  I wanted to ride it this year because a significant number of cyclists were killed or injured last year by motorists.  I've finally stopped riding across the Mockingbird bridge because Paul Jerde was hit there and may never fully recover.  Fortunately, we are very close to having a 3' passing law passed in Congress.  Keep up the fight!
    One advantage of being off work is I can watch the Giro d'Italia on Universal Sports.  I've managed to catch parts of it about every other day.  Those guys make it look so easy, but it is really hard to tell how fast they are going or how steep some of those hills are on TV.  Lance has been putting on a mediocre performance, but he broke a collarbone not long before the event so he may not be peaking.  Levi Leipheimer kicked butt in the time trial today.  He took second and is within striking distance of an overall win.  It will be interesting to see if he can pull it off by May 31.

    I probably won't be able to post next week so I just want to remind everyone to remember those who have given their lives for our freedoms this Memorial Day weekend.  It's not just another day off work....

    The Larry Schwartz Award that I earned from the Ultra Marathon Cycling Association last year finally arrived in the mail today.  I earn it by riding at least one century in each month of the calendar year for 2008.  My paltry 1246 miles for the year was peanuts compared to the top riders who rode something like 17,000 miles.  That's about 325 miles per week on the bike.  Assuming about a 17 mph average that's 20 hours a week or a half-time job!  And I thought _I_ was investing too much time on the bike....





    Although I was hoping for a hat pin to add to my collection of MS150 and century ride pins, I'm fairly impressed with the medal.  It's of substantial weight, fairly ornate and the lettering is engraved, so not too shabby. 

    This year's Sam's Club MS150 was a bitter-sweet experience.  It's a ride that I train for and look forward to doing all year long because I understand what it means to my friend, Rebecca, who has been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.  I know that the donations I raise will go toward improving treatment and, hopefully one day, finding a cure for her and the over 400,000 other Americans afflicted.
     This year's event was marred by the threat of Swine Flu and bad weather.  Based on a single death in Texas from Swine Flu, the city of Fort Worth decided to cancel all public events in the name of public safety.  The MS Society, much to their credit, quickly managed to re-route 66 miles for day 2 of the event to finish outside of Tarrant County and the paranoia of it's politicians.  Unfortunately, an unstable weather system blew through late Saturday afternoon and caused the MS Society organizers to scrap those plans for the physical safety of the riders. 

     As I said, my preperation has been a year-long routine of riding to maintain my strength and endurance for this event.  I usually ride two short rides (35 miles) and one long ride (50-65) miles each week.  I try to get enough sleep and watch what I eat (minimize cholesterol, fat, salt, processed sugars) and eat more fruit and veggies (fiber) and lean meats.  The night before this ride I had some extra carbs in the form of some beef lasagna with bread and peach cobbler.  I made sure I was well hydrated, too.  Unfortunately, I didn't sleep too well....not out nervousness, but because of odd hours I've been keeping during my job hunt.  I arose at 5:30 a.m., had a banana and a little more cobbler with some coffee before loading up my freshly oiled and cleaned bike on the car.  I arrived in Frisco in the dark and dropped my luggage off at the support truck before heading over to the starting line to line up with Team Bikemart.
    The weather was in the 70's with a light breeze out of the SE and low clouds, however, with a low pressure system in the area, there was no guarantee those conditions would last.  I snapped a panarama of the start (below) while they announced our teams and had a young lady sing the national anthem.  No flyover this year, but then I don't think we could have seen it with the clouds.  Team Bikemart started behind the Sam's Club riders again this year because we were high fund raisers last year.  The Feisty Devils started just behind us and I suspect they may start in front of us next year if their fund raising continues to climb.



     I decided (wisely) not to carry the helmet video cam this year because of the threat of rain.  We were told not to ride more than two abreast, but that is very impractical given the number of riders and the broad spectrum of fast/slow riders.  Police on motorcycles were telling riders to get out of the left lane, but I don't think they understand the dynamics of such bike ride.  There is always a lot of passing in the beginning and there are many inexperienced riders that don't allow others to pass in "two abreast" fashion.  So, I started out slow until I started seeing Feisty Devils whizzing past me in the left lane and decided it was time to start moving up.  I waited for the lane to clear before passing slower groups of riders.  By the time we reached 380 west, it had thinned out enough that I didn't need to pass too many more times.  With the wind mostly at my back, I was able to start building my good pace. 
    We followed the same route for day 1 as last year.  I found myself mostly riding solo or passing other riders over the first 25 miles.  Then, I rode up behind a fellow doing about the same pace, and he and I worked together taking turns pulling as we turned more into the wind toward Sanger.  As we neared Lake Ray Roberts, a large, mixed group of riders crept up behind us and passed and we jumped into the back.  They were hammering hard is if they wanted to be the first ones to reach the lunch stop.  I was just about red-lining trying to hang on the back, but managed to just keep up until we reached Sanger.  Had the route been much hillier, I'm sure they would have dropped me.
   Sanger was my one and only stop (at 45 miles).  I had a banana on the wheel at mile 25 and was carrying three bottles so I wouldn't have to waste much time on the side of the road.  I refilled two bottles in Sanger, ate a turkey sub sandwich and mashed a bag of corn chips to crumbs to speed up consumption.  I washed it down with a bottle of water and was back on the bike in short order.  I rode out pretty much alone.  Most of the riders I had arrived with seemed to still be eating. 
    It wasn't too far down the road with I found myself behind these guys below from Rockwall Cycling.   They were holding a good clip and I was able to hold the back of their wheel except when they sprinted for the town limit signs.  They were doing a rotation and I hesitated jumping in because some teams don't like it.  Others, expect it.  I did manage to do a few pulls for them when they were all tired from the sprints and just before the finish at Texas Motor Speedway.  I had to push myself to stay with them a few times, but I didn't want to let them get away since we were riding into the wind.  I have no doubt they helped me achieve the 20.1 mph average I had for day 1 and made sure I thanked them for letting me sit in. 



     At Texas Motor Speedway I picked up my bag and made my way to the Bikemart tent.  I drank some Endurox recovery drink while I waited for lunch to be served.  I had some au gratin potatoes and a BBQ beef sandwich.  After resting a bit and having a much needed shoulder massage, I headed for the shuttles around 1:30 p.m.   They were supposed to start running at noon, but there weren't "enough people" so I had to sit and wait.  As I waited, the air suddenly turned cold and started blowing from the north.  That wasn't very comfortable in my wet biking clothes.  They eventually had enough riders to shuttle us to several different hotels just before the rain started falling. 
    I cleaned up and tried to set up a dinner with one of my other MS friends, but that plan fell through.  I ended up going to dinner with three close cycling friends who were staying at a nearby hotel.  I was starving and devoured my spaghetti and meatsauce with garlic bread.  It was delicious....I think.    Storms were popping up and raging to the south and east of us, so I expected day 2 would be a wash.  My suspicion was confirmed by 6:30 p.m. on the Sam's Club website.  Unfortunately, their announcement was scarce on details for what we needed to do....when/if shuttles would be running, what would happen to our bikes, when/if busses would take us back to Frisco.  They had a number, but when I called it just rang and rang.  I couldn't even call the shuttle to come get me at my hotel.  I ended up walking about a half mile to my friend's hotel the next morning where the shuttles were picking up other riders.  Here I am waiting patiently for the shuttle.



     I was a bit disappointed to missing riding day 2, but glad I didn't have to do it in the rain.  While I didn't get in 150 miles, the 83 I did the day before was a pretty good workout and I was happy with my average speed.  I was even a bit stiff the next day since I hadn't ridden that far in a while.  My friend, Rebecca, had planned to meet me at the finish, but we ended up meeting for lunch, instead, after I bussed back to Frisco and stowed my gear at home.  In the end, I think I will exceed my goal of raising 500 dollars in donations.  With some luck in my job hunt, I'll be able to stay near Dallas and do the ride again next year.