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Gear makes a difference

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When I first started riding last year, it would have been pretty hard to convince me that I need all sorts of crazy gear in order to do the BikeMS ride. Then I started training. I couldn't go more than 10 miles. So, I changed the tires to road tires for my mountain bike. Then when after I did a 30 mile ride and the saddle I had was so horrible on my man parts that it basically numbed all of it and I wet myself after getting off the bike... I got a saddle that had a ditch in the middle of it to help fix that part. Then I got gloves because my hands hurt. Then I got bike shorts because I needed that extra padding. Then I got a bike jersey with pockets in the back because I was going longer distances and wanted to carry some snacks and stay cool. The under armour just wasn't cutting it. And last year I did my ride. With running shoes. And I hated myself. A lot. I had it set in my mind that by the ride next year I would have new pedals, clips, and shoes. Everyone said I...
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Gearing up for the big ride!

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Wow! Time flies. We're only one week away from the ride and I'm ALMOST ready for it. I have already picked up my registration packet (number #440 this year, watch for me if you're out on the route!), I have been doing 10/20/50 mile rides and those are going quite well this year. The next things were to make sure I'm all set with all the OTHER stuff for the ride itself. I was going to replace my saddle again this year, but I think I'm going to be just fine with that one. I've figured out a great solution to my seat post sliding issue and it was worked great ever since implementation. I've got my jerseys, my shorts, socks, helmet, gloves, sunglasses, water bottles and cages, and cell phone holder. I just need to get a few more things. Last year, I'm pretty sure I only survived thanks to those awesome Clif Shot Bloks. I had them again this year on my 50 and I can feel the energy difference when I have them. So, I need a few of those for Saturday a...
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My first long distance ride of the summer.

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My view at the 25 mile mark. I'll admit it, I've been slacking a bit this year on the training. With everything that has been going on in my life as of lately, finding time has been a fun one. My wife busted up her leg so I need to be around more for that. I'm playing guitar in a band that has a show on July 22nd. With that, I've had to learn 12 songs in less than a month. Figure out guitar parts, practice nightly for about 2 hours, and get together 1-2 times a week so that we can get our groove matched up right and have a solid performance. Good times. TOO SLOW. MUST TRAIN MORE! Well, this past Saturday I went and did my first 50 mile ride of the season. It was great outside. Under 70 when I started and I was at my 25 mile marker by 9:30 AM. I had thought that this was late in the season for me to get my first 50 mile ride in, but looking at my app I track my rides with, I am right on schedule! The ride back was a little more intense. That break actually ...
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A small taste of what life COULD be like.

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What the fall more than likely looked like, but with more flailing. Almost 4 weeks ago my wife took a nasty spill in a moment of grace while stepping over our indoor dog fence that keeps the pups confined to the areas we want them to be in. Right foot went over, then as she lifted up her left leg to get over the fence and head to the kitchen... disaster struck. The foot caught the fence on the way up, she lost balance, and landed face first on the floor. In the process, she tried to stop her fall by grabbing on to the kitchen counter top and a close-by dining room chair. The result: she bashed her left knee in to the floor of the apartment and immediately heard a pop and was screaming and crying in pain. I've been there. I've had my moments with this fence. We've done battle. I almost landed face first in to the glass top coffee table we own because of the kite eating  fence. It has no remorse and it gets you when you least expect it. Funny part is, it has a door on ...
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We already hit LAST YEAR'S goal!!!!

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Really, this is amazing. We are 50 days away to August 5th and already we have met LAST YEAR'S goal of $1000. The support you all have given me this year is amazing and I truly can not even begin to thank everyone properly for donating to the ride. I'm training like mad, we're making progress, and I might even have an actual TEAM this year riding with me. Hopefully in the coming years, Team Bruised Apple can be a contender for BikeMS and we can top $10,000 as a team in the very near future. As always, if you haven't donated yet or signed up to volunteer yet, links are all below! Donate to the team Join the team and ride with me this year! Volunteer and help BikeMS!
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Oh the things you'll learn...

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Last night I did a short 10 mile ride to go get my Metallica tickets from a friend for Sunday's concert at Soldier Field. I made it ALMOST all the way home before my grip shifter for the front derailer decided to break internally while on a hill. The shifter pretty much ate itself. Internally, there was a lot of broken stuff going on. Plastic literally flew out of the casing when I got it open. Luckily, I have a second bike that has the exact same shifters on it. What does that mean for me? I got a crash course in bike repair. First I had to get the grips off. I don't wish this on anyone. It wasn't easy at all. Once that was off, on each bike, I had to unlatch the cable from the derailer, get the cable off the bike, and remove the shifter itself. That's when the fun started! I took the bad shifter off the current bike, pulled my old shifter from the Mongoose that gets zero love these days, and... the cable was too short. Great. Now I'm thinking I have to get...
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When life gets in the way of training.

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Sometimes life gets in the way of training. I found that out the hard way last week. My wife tripped over our dog barrier and ended up messing up her knee pretty bad.   Luckily, a friend of mine has an indoor trainer for cycling. Kind of like the one that's pictured here. I used to have one, but I rarely used it with the mountain bike tires that I had. They were knobby tires and would sound like I was revving up a chainsaw in the basement. That's no good when you're trying to be discreet and others are sleeping in your house.  This will be my way of making sure I get some sort of ride in every day. And, hopefully I can have the will power to get out of bed early and get a good 50 minutes in every morning (I average a mile every 5 minutes, so this shouldn't be an issue.) Bike MS should be a breeze this year if I can get the conditioning up. If you haven't donated yet, here are all the links you need to donate to Team Bruised Apple: Donate to the team ...
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