NH Cyclist Returns to “World’s Toughest Bicycle Race”

New Hampshire cyclist Brett Walker is returning to the prestigious and arduous Race Across America (RAAM). RAAM has been called “the world’s toughest bicycle race.” Created in 1982, it is the world’s longest-running ultra-endurance cycling competition. The 30th edition will begin on June 15, 2011 in Oceanside, California and finish over 3,000 miles away in Annapoliss, MD.

Brett is the former UMCA, North American 24-hour champion and is not new to the RAAM. In 2007, he finished 9th, crossing the country in 11 days 11 hours, even though a serious illness forced him to interrupt the race and spend a day in the hospital. In 2009, Brett also competed on the winning 4-man team, Team Strong Heart.

This year, Walker will be competing in the grueling solo division. Solo competitors ride nearly continuously in all weather conditions and terrain, typically sleeping only one-and-a-half to fours hours each night. Even so, very few finish within the allotted time of 12 days. Brett hopes to complete the race in less than 10 days.

In 2011, he starts the RAAM to raise money and awareness for the Special Olympics, in honor of his 14 year old son and Special Olympics athlete Noah, who was born with a brain injury and Camp Odayin, a residential camp for children with heart disease.

Brett has made the Special Olympics athletes' oath his own:"Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt."

To follow Brett and support him on this race of a lifetime, please go to his blog: www.teamstrongheart.com and/or Facebook page: Team Walker RAAM 2011. You can also get live updates during the race at www.raceacrossamerica.org.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Well I am heading out to AZ on Saturday to do some soft peddling in the desert heat. This will/may be the last entry in my blog until after RAAM.

If you are interested in keeping up on my progress during the race, you have two good options:

- Visit the forums section of www.teamwalker07.com, you can get there from the home page or click here: http://teamwalker07.com/forums/. You can read the postings on the forums, but if you want to post you will need to registers (this is different than signing up for the email list.) We hope to have regular updates throughout the race, but as the webmaster, BG is on the crew and will be in one of the support vehicles, how often will depend on time and access to the internet.

- The other option will be to visit the RAAM website at: http://www.raceacrossamerica.org/. There you can track my progress as I pass thru each time station.

Also, I will be on WMUR TV tonight, on their 6 pm news broadcast. If you don’t catch it live. It will be posted on their website http://www.wmur.com/sports/index.html under the hometown hero section.

Brett

900 Miles in The Bag

3,044 miles to go!

Last weekend was my official training peak. I started my training year back in October, with the goal of, one month before the start of RAAM, doing three back-to-back 300 hundred mile rides. Last weekend was THE weekend.

I took a winding 300 mile loop, that went over to VT, up the Connecticut River Valley and then east into the White Mountains, climbing Pinkham’s notch, the Kanc and the ever popular Gonzo's Pass. Click here to see the route: http://teamwalker07.com/twphotos/Training%20in%20NH/photos.htm

I rode the 300 mile loop unsupported on Friday and Sunday. Saturday was designated as a crew practice day. Brian G, Patty, Brad C, Lisa and my mom took turns following me, navigating, handing off food bottles and driving the RV. The crew practice went well and it was quite the luxury not having to carry 18 hours of food, spare tubes, and tools. I had two flats over the 900 miles, one on Friday and one on Sunday. Just as you would expect, on Saturday with a crew behind me carrying spare wheels, I did not have a single flat.

(Patty putting a fresh bottle on the bike)

On Friday I had more than just a simple flat. With 100 miles left in the day, the sidewall gave out on my rear tire and I had to complete the two biggest climbs (and decents) hoping that the duct tape repair would hold. It held and I finished the first day at around 9 p.m. (All hail the mighty duct tape.)

Saturday morning I was up and on the road at 2 a.m. The first 105 miles was a chore, as there was a steady headwind out of the North, doing it’s best to slow my progress. The rest of the day went well and I was home, once again around 9 p.m.

(Lisa filling up the cooler)

Day three, I was out the door at 2:20 a.m., not a good start to the day. Starting late meant I would be on the road until 9:20 that evening. Throw in a flat tire, stronger headwinds, fridged temperatures (mid 30s), and I wouldn’t finish the day until after 10 pm. (For a short video clip of me going over the kank on day 2, about mile 530, click here http://teamwalker07.com/twphotos/Video/slides/White%20Mountain%20Training%20-%20Kangamangus%20Hwy,%20NH.htm)

Overall a successful training weekend, I kept myself evenly paced throughout the three days, completed the planned workout and felt pretty good all three days. My nutrition was spot on, the crew did a great job and my legs never refused any request.

Now starts the most important and in some way the most difficult stage of training – taper. During the final four weeks leading up to RAAM, my main goal is to rest and recover, doing just enough riding to maintain my fitness. It’s too late to worry about what I could have or should have done. The dye is cast and we will find out on June 10th whether I followed an appropriate training schedule or not.

Last night, the RV left with my bikes, spare wheels, parts, and supplies. I spent the last two days, sorting, cleaning and packing everything up. In two weeks, I fly to AZ and meet up with the camper. I will spend some time soft peddling in the desert, in hopes of acclimating to the heat. As predicted in my RAAM bio, we haven’t had any real warm days here (well maybe one.) While training I have risked hypothermia much more than heat exhaustion.
I am both happy and sad to have completed my training. RAAM has been the biggest focus of my life for the past year and a half. Now that it is almost completed, I am not sure what to do with myself. I also look back with some guilt at the time (and money) I have taken away from my family. Thank you Lisa for your patience and support. I definitely couldn’t have done this without you.

I would also like to thank everyone who has stepped up to help me. This has been a true team effort, with people chipping in to do what needed to be done: from crewing, to writing press releases, designing our logos, maintaining our website, providing advice and guidance, and the many product and financial sponsors.

(Brad ready for a shift change, sorry mom and Brian G no pic)

I would also like to thank those of you that have donated to our charity, Special Olympics NH. We have raised $8,466 so far for this great cause. If you are interested in contributing click here: http://www.firstgiving.com/TEAMWALKER07.

Thank you Team Walker 07!

Brett

The end.

Return to: http://teamwalker07.com/

It’s Only Rain, You Won’t Melt

But you might get hypothermia and die.

As Steven Tyler would say “I am back in the saddle again.” After skipping one set of long rides a couple weeks ago, I returned to my training program last weekend. My plan was to do three 250 mile rides on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

As might be expected, the weather forecast was for rain, occasional showers, followed by water falling from the sky. I pushed my rides back one day, starting the trio on Saturday instead of Friday, as the forecast was for 65 degrees and sunshine on Monday. As you will read below, this was a mistake.

I left my house on Saturday morning at 2:30 a.m. on an actual road bike, no cross bike, no mountain bike, an honest-to-goodness road bike. Although we had the predictable nor’easter that inevitably blows through on my long training weekends, the temperatures were too high for the snow and ice I have come accustomed to riding in.



I was really looking forward to riding up to the White Mountains and climbing all the notches, not just Gonzo. As it turns out, Saturday was a great day on the bike. I was feeling much better after taking it easy for a couple of weeks and it never really rained. It was kind of wet and drizzly all day, but it that was the worst of it. I rode 265 miles, a great start to the weekend.

I had to make one change in my planned route. Bear Notchis not maintained for winter travel. I had hoped it would be open by now, but it wasn’t. I rode up to the gate, it was closed but the road beyond it looked clear. So I hopped over and figured I would get the next 15 miles without any traffic. I only made it about a mile and had to turn around. It seems they had been doing some logging beyond the gate and had plowed the first mile for the logging trucks. Beyond that the road was covered with ice and snow. I turned back and headed to Conway. That added about 30 miles to the loop, but I needed to extend the ride anyway.


Sunday I was once again up and out the door around 2:30 a.m. Unfortunately, the weather forecast for Saturday was more accurate. It rained off and on all day (mostly on.) Even with the rain, I actually felt better on day two than I did on day one. My speed was not as fast but I felt looser and had fewer little aches and pains. Another 250 miles down.

Monday was supposed to be the nice day…Wrong! When I left the house that morning it was a good bit cooler. It felt more like fall than spring. The good news was it wasn’t raining. I had a nice ride up to Lincoln, turned east and headed up the Kanc. About half way up the climb, the skies opened and it stated to pour. The more I climbed, the heavier the rain came down and the more the temperature dropped. I got to the top of the gap and it couldn’t have been more than 35.

I pulled into the hut at the top of the Kanc to zip up and delay the inevitable. I knew the next 22 miles to Conway were going to be painful. I was soaked to the bone, it was cold, and as soon as I started to descend I was going to get colder. (As I hung out in the hut, I notice a board describing “A raindrop’s journey” after it fell on the Kanc. Oddly enough, it ignored the possibility of a raindrop being absorbed into the pad of a cyclist’s shorts and ending up in a clothes drier in Salisbury.)

I finally left the hut and started down. The cold air quickly cut through my clothes and the pain started to creep into my hands and feet. It wasn’t long before I started to shiver. I was squeezing the brakes, for fear of going too fast and going down on the slick road and to reduce the cold wind that was eating me alive. I was torn, if I slowed down it wasn’t as cold but it would extend my suffering by making the trip to Conway that much longer. (Well Ollie, here’s another fine mess you’ve gotten us into.)

After an hour of near hypothermic suffering, I finally reached the end of the Kanc and the safety of a convenience store. I got a cup of coffee and a muffin and sat down. I spent 40 minutes shivering in the store, trying to warm up and figure out what I was going to next. (The women working there were very concerned about me and didn’t seem to mind mopping up the puddle of water that flowed off of me.)

I was only 100 miles into my ride, but I knew I couldn’t continue up into the mountains. If it stayed that cold and continued to rain, I was going to end up in a very serious situation. If I turned north, I would have no options, as the earliest opportunity to head south again would be in Twin Mountain, 40+ miles away. So I decided to turn south instead (turning around and heading back up over the Kanc was NOT an option.)

I rode another 100 miles, but decided I wasn’t going to reach my goal of 250 for the day. I felt good at the start of the day, and my speed was a little higher than it had been on day two, but the decent off the Kanc left me drained and exhausted. The rain did eventually let up, but it seemed that as soon as I started to warm up another shower would come through and soak me down again. At 200 miles, I called it a day.

Next week is my final big training weekend before I start to taper for RAAM. The plan is three back to back 300 mile rides. So be prepared, I am predicting a hurricane or maybe three feet of snow.

Return to: http://teamwalker07.com/

Friday the 13th

Good Luck, Bad Luck You Decide

It’s 2 am on Friday the 13th, I am up and out of bed ready for my next series of triple long rides. I am out the door at 2:30 am, riding my mountain bike through the fresh deposit of yet another spring nor’easter. The plan is three consecutive 16 hour rides.

It’s fun riding on quite back roads in the fresh snow, but I’m not pushing myself. I am tired and I am just putting in the time. I start thinking about my training over the last month or so and I suspect that I am in a state of over training.

Here are the symptoms I have observed:

- Waking up tired in the morning. I am in bed by 9, up at 6 and I am still tired in the morning.

- No superman days, you know those days after you have recovered from a big workout. You can’t go hard enough. No matter how hard you push it, your legs respond with “give me more.” I haven’t had one of those days for 5 or 6 weeks.

- Feeling ill, for the last 2 weeks, my stomach has been bothering me and I have had a reoccurring bout of the Alabama quick step.

- Poor attitude, I have not had much passion for my workouts for several weeks.

- Not able to finish my planned workouts. Since the HOS500 I have put in all my scheduled time, but I haven’t done any specialty workouts (hill repeats, interval, and speed work.)

- Inability to get my heart rate as high a normal.

- Slow recovery, I look at my training diary and it is taking me longer to bounce back from big efforts.

So to make a long story short (too late) I decided to pull the plug on this weekend’s workout. I finished up with 5 hours on Friday morning and will do a couple of shorter rides, but I think the risk of overtraining is a greater risk than missing these long rides.

I haven’t missed a single workout so far, the base is built. In a month, I will do the final triple 300 mile rides, but what I do between now and then is still up in the air. I may feel fine and return to my original schedule or I might follow a reduced schedule for the next month.

Return to: http://teamwalker07.com/

Heart of the South 500

Lots of Hills, Dogs and a Raccoon

The HOS 500 was a challenge. The 504 mile course is set in the rolling hills of eastern Alabama and western Georgia. It included a total of 35,000 feet of climbing, including Fort Mountain (ala the Tour de Georgia) and Cheaha Mountain, the highest point in Alabama.


The only thing the course had more of than hills, were dogs. Everywhere there were free roaming packs of nasty Alabama dogs. They could obviously smell a Yankee and were hoping to exact some revenge for their confederate ancestors. It was only the aggressive blocking action of the follow van that prevented them from tearing off a limb or two.

As mentioned on the community form, there was also a rebel raccoon who obviously didn’t like cyclist. I am pretty sure his screech of “aaaaaaakkkkk” was the raccoon equivalent of “get out of the road you idiot.” I felt his rough fur on my ankle as I swerved and barely avoided crashing into it.



I did manage to win the race but it was not a great race for me. I had trouble staying awake and my time of 33 hours 7 minutes was much slower than the 29 hours or so I was shooting for.

For the first 300 miles I was right on schedule to reach this goal but by mile 330 I was struggling to keep my eyes open. I generally don't have any trouble riding through the night. I think there are several things that contributed to this, the race start time of 8 pm, which required riding two consecutive nights without sleep, a late night and early morning before the race and an overall high stress level. I don't want to make excuses, I wasn't prepared and that’s why I didn’t meet my goal.

As far as it being a practice run for some of my RAAM crew, this race was a smashing success. The best way to learn is by making mistakes, and they learned a lot. I had some idea of what we were in for at the first turn. They were telling me to go right, while the arrows on the road pointed left. This race was a wake up call to all, rider and crew, letting us know that we still have a lot of work to do before RAAM and we only have two month to get-er-dun (I learned that in Alabama.)

Thanks to Terry, Dave and Brian for crewing for me. I know you guys had the hardest job.

The End.

Riding the Nor’easter

More like pushing against the nor’easter

This past weekend was another tough weekend for RAAM training. Winter took off the months of December and January but has decided to fully participate in February and March.

I had three consecutive 14 hour rides planned for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Unfortunately, a late season nor’easter blew in Friday night and dumped 12-14 inches of new snow. I was just finishing up my first 14 hour ride when it started to snow a strange mix of snow, sleet and ice that was unrideable. Within an hour the road was a slippery mess.

After falling for the second time, I decided to call Lisa for a rescue. I really didn’t want to call, mainly because I didn’t want her to have to drive out and get me. I had already seen two cars off the road and felt really guilty about asking her to come out during the storm. If something happed to her or the kids I would feel horrible. I finished up the day with 90 minutes on the trainer.

Reluctantly, I took Saturday off. Competing with the cars for a few inches of road is difficult enough when the roads are clear, give them a good covering of fresh snow and the competition could become deadly. I made up the missed ride on Monday, and hope that the added intensity/speed from being rested will make up for the gap in the spacing.

Even with the new snow I saw the first real sign of spring. No, it wasn’t a bright red robin in a tree or flowers sprouting from the ground; it was a winter starved skunk standing in the middle of the road at 4:15 am feasting on some unfortunate victim of a hit-and-run. I had just enough time to dart to the other side of the road and pray they he didn’t feel the need to spray.

I did make it up to the White Mountains and over Gonzo’s pass all three days. I have been hoping to ride the loop and hit all five gaps, but it occured to me that Bear Notch isn’t open during the winter. That little oversight could have added a big loop of bonus miles to my ride.

I think I am running out to things to say to myself during these rides; my internal dialogue has been reduced to lines from old movies. I spent at least an hour mulling over a line from Spinal Tap, “Our amps are better mate, they go all the way to 11, 11 is better than 10.” And in the movie Zulu, the Welch solders start singing Men of Harlech to counter the chants of the Zulu warriors.

“Men of Harlech onto glory

This shall ever be your story

Keep these burning words before ye

Welshmen will not yield”

This chorus (or some mumbled version as I didn’t remember all the word) looped through my head for a good two hours. A warning to the crew, if I start singing this song during RAAM, I may be preparing for a Zulu charge.

All in all it was a successful training weekend. I completed all my scheduled rides and my legs felt good. Unfortunately, I think I got a sinus infection from the road salt. On Sunday the roads had dried and they were covered with a fine white coating of salt, and every time a car or truck would drive by, they would kick up a big cloud of salt dust. At the end of the ride my sinuses were on fire.

We have TW07 gear on the website. If you’re interested in ordering go to http://teamwalker07.com/gear.htm. We will only be taking orders for a couple of weeks (and there won’t be a second order), so don’t wait if you would like some TW07 gear.

To date we have raised just over $5,000 for Special Olympics New Hampshire. To donate go here http://www.firstgiving.com/TEAMWALKER07

Return to: http://teamwalker07.com/

All Signs Say it's Still Winter in NH

(Thank You Sir, May I Have Another!!!)

This past weekend was another of my long training weekends. My plan was to ride on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I had a total of 38 hours planned for the three days, but an early winter storm rolled in on Friday and covered the roads with 8-10 inches of fresh snow. I decided to push my schedule forward by one day, riding instead on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. (I rode a 13, 13 and a 12)

I was also going to try and meet up with John Jurczynski, the cyclist from Holderness who is also doing RAAM this year. But the roads were pretty slick all weekend, so I decided to use my cross bike instead of my road bike and keep my loops a little closer to home.

(Top of Gonzo's Pass, Day 3)

I did make it up to the Whites on Monday. I rode up to Lincoln and then climbed up over Gonzo’s pass. How many cross bikes do you think have made that trip? My mind is a little foggy (38 hours in the saddle will do that to you) but here are a few incidents that I do remember:

-Even with the cross bike, I managed to crash once. On Saturday morning I was riding on back roads to limit the odds of getting run over by drivers maneuvering thru the fresh snow. At 5 in the morning, the snow covering the dirt roads was firm and great for riding, but by 11, it had warmed up and the once hard riding surface turned into a slippery mess. I skidded in the loose snow and fell off the bike, landing with a roll that could get me a job on The Fall Guy. No real damage to me but I did break my good Lume Light (hope it’s just the bulb.)



- I was riding up North Rd, which is a dirt road that runs from Warner to Sutton. A Lexus SUV with Rhode Island plates was coming the other way; it stopped and the driver leaned out the window and asked “Is this Route 100?” North Road is a fine dirt road as dirt roads go, but it’s still a dirt road so I’m not sure how he thought it was a state highway. I couldn’t even think of a Route 100 anywhere in the area, so I asked him, “Where are you trying to go?” He replied “Stowe.” To which I asked “VERMONT?” I told him how to get back to the interstate, and it wasn’t until he left that I realized I had missed my first and only opportunity for a real Bert and I moment. Instead of giving him directions, I should have simply said “Oh, you can’t git tha from he’ah.”

(That's why I ride. Like my new wheel set in the backgroud (low spoke count)?)

- On Monday evening, I was 37 hours and 40 minutes into a 38 hour planned workout, 20 more minutes of peddling I would be home. A pickup trucked passed me, and then pulled to the side of the road. I watched as the driver got out, came to the back of the truck and watched me approach. I thought here comes another confrontation with an irate driver. He asked me “are you from Salisbury?” I stopped and told him I was. He then asked me if I was that guy doing that big race. Apparently he had heard the story on NHPR and figured I must be the guy. He wished me good luck and told me to “give em hell.” I rode the rest of the way home with a smile on my face.

- I got home at the end of day one, rode up to the side door of my house and stopped. Unfortunately, my left foot wouldn’t clip out and I fell over and landed in the snow.

I have decided to go to Alabama at the end of the month to race in the Heart of the South 500. It will be another good test of my fitness and it will be a good opportunity for some of my RAAM crew to get some practice. Terry, Dave, and Brian G are coming down to crew. Thanks guys.

In two weeks it will be triple 14 hour rides.

Return to: http://teamwalker07.com/

Sebring 12/24 – On the Road to RAAM

(Look kids... Big Ben, Parliament)

This past weekend I decided to head down to Florida to race in the Sebring 12/24. I entered the 24 hour non drafting division, a RAAM qualifying race.

For those of you not familiar with this type of race, the objective is to cover as many miles in 24 hours, the racer that covers the most miles wins (only complete laps count).

I won the 24 hour non drafting division, covering 467.5 miles in 23 hrs 54 min, besting the nearest competitor by 30 miles. I also achieved a personal best time for a century, covering the first 101 miles in 4 hrs 40 min, an average speed of 21.64 mph without the benefit of drafting.

The Sebring 12/24 is raced on three circuits. The first, a 100 mile loop that all competitors complete once. You then move to a 12 mile loop and continue until just before dark, at which time the race moves to the final circuit, the 3.7 mile Sebring International Speedway. You lap this 3.7 mile race course for a mind numbing 12+ hours. I managed to complete this lap 60 times.


It was kind of a last minute decision to go to Sebring, and I didn’t really have any specific goals for this race. I mostly wanted to test my training to be sure I was on course for RAAM. I am happy to say that my training is right on track.

I got to measure myself against a few future RAAM competitors, including John Jurczynski of Holderness who won the 12 hour drafting division. I was ahead of him at the 12 hour mark by 7 miles (252.5 vs. 245.5), I hadn’t been drafting all day and I had another 12 hours to go.

Had I done a bit more planning, I would have know that the age group record was 470.3, and with just a bit more effort, I could have completed one more lap and set a new record.

Night time pic, courtesy if JB at http://love2ridezzzzz.blogspot.com/

Another reason I went to Florida was that I was hoping to get in some warm riding. With this goal I failed miserably. It was cold and windy.

When the race started, it was below freezing and we had a steady 10-15 mile an hour wind most of the day. This was one of the coldest times I have had on my bike. Not that the 30s are all that cold, as you know I ride in single digit weather. But I was not prepared; I didn’t have long finger gloves, a warm hat or tights. I really suffered for the first hour or so. To top it off, it started to pour with an hour and 45 minutes of racing left. (The rain really cost me the record.)

I would like to say thanks to my folks, Anne and Ed for crewing for me. Sitting around in the pit area, I think they were colder than I was, not to mention their thinning Florida blood.

Return to: http://teamwalker07.com/

12 + 12 + 12 = 36

This was a big weekend for me. I did my first big triple ride, 12 hours each day on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. They only get bigger from here.

I was scheduled to only do 12, 10 and 10, but I have decided to go to Florida in couple of weeks to do a 24 hour road race. That is the weekend I would have done 12, 12 and 12. So instead of missing that ride, I bumped up my schedule by one cycle.


It was definitely a wintry weekend. It snowed Friday night and was very COLD on Sunday morning. Because of the snow, I had to do one day on my mountain bike; the other two days were on the cycle cross.

Overall it was a successful weekend, I felt pretty good all three days. Actually I felt better on days 2 and 3. The first day, I didn’t keep up on my nutrition and my attitude and motivation were low. Keeping up on my nutrition is a lesson I have to learn and re learn all the time. I guess riding a bike isn’t like riding a bike.


Here are a couple of my favorite moments from the weekend:

- Watching the big orange moon rise on the far side of the valley as I climbed Raccoon Hill (last climb of night #2).

- A big helping of shepherd’s pie, at the end of day 1.

- The order from Hammer that showed up on Saturday morning. I had just used the last of my Sustained Energy, and wasn’t sure what I was going to use for Sunday.

- The look on drivers faces when they saw me.

- Knowing that many of my future RAAM competitors were on a spin bike somewhere.



Here are a few of my least favorite moments from the weekend:

- Two flat tires.

- Eight degrees on Sunday Morning.

- Finding out that the leftover shepherd’s pie I had been fantasizing about was gone.

- Dogs in the dark. They are a lot scarier when you can’t see them.

- Slush

A Road Less Traveled

I have done a lot of riding over the last three days. Actually, I am supposed to be riding right now, but they predicted horrible weather all weekend including snow, gusting winds and freezing temperatures. So I jumped the gun and did a long ride on Thursday.

I got a little nervous looking at the weekend weather forecast, as I had three long rides scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday (a 12 hour ride, a 9 hour ride and a 6 hour ride.) Hoping to get my scheduled ride time in, I went out on Thursday for 6 hours, figuring that I would only need to do 6 hours on Friday during the snowstorm, which I could split between the mountain bike and the trainer.

Well they got is partially correct. We had gusting winds and freezing temperatures but no snow. So I did my 12 hours on Friday and 9 on Saturday. I am taking today off (well maybe an hour or two on the trainer to loosen up.)

I did all my riding these past three days on the cycle cross bike and I stayed on back roads. What a blast, finding new routes to familiar destinations. All those dirt roads we avoided all summer on our road bikes are new passages just waiting to be explored. And the best part – no traffic. There were stretches where I would go hours without a single car passing me.

It has been cold. Some of the days started (and ended) in the single digits and I don’t think it ever got above 20 yesterday. The only things giving me any trouble are my feet. When it’s in the teens and 20s, my feet start getting cold after about three hours. The only solution I have figured out is to keep my loops to about four hours, coming home to thaw them out and have a snack.

I have made some alterations/additions to my riding kit. I added knee warmers and a pair of wind resistant hiking pants to my bottom layer and replaced the fleece vest with a fleece jacket.

This week marks the end of one training cycle and the start of the next. This was the end of base building and the start of intensity. The next four months will focus on triple consecutive long rides, spaced every other weekend. As this was a transition week, I did a mini triple. In two weeks I will do a 12 hour, 10 hour, and another 10 hour ride.

I am feeling great today and think I could easily go out and do a 10 or 12 hour ride. I could, but it’s not on the schedule, so I won’t. :)

Ride on!!!!!

Return to: http://teamwalker07.com/

There is no such thing as bad weather – only bad clothing.

It appears that I was a little premature in calling the demise of winter. The cold air that we have avoided so far this winter has finally arrived. With the cold weather comes a question; It’s 14 degrees outside and you have an 8 hour ride planned, what do you wear? (I will ignore the fact that most of you are saying “I’m NOT going for a ride!”)

Last Thursday, I had to answer this question and I had to get it right. If I didn’t, I was going to be cold and miserable. Here is an inventory of what I wore:

- Craft undershirt with nylon front
- Tour de Stooges cycling jersey (gotta have pockets and a sense of humor)
- Cycling jacket
- Fleece vest
- Ski jacket
- Cycling shorts (need the pad)
- Two pair of tights (one with wind resistant front)
- Two pair of socks (1st layer for wicking 2nd for warmth)
- Cycling shoes
- Chemical warmers (better living through chemistry)
- Heavy booties
- Balaclava
- Ski hat
- Brain bucket
- Lobster gloves (my hands have never gotten cold with these on)

I know that I have a lot of layers on top but I find that if I keep my core warm, my hands and feet will be warm. If your core isn’t warm, your body will sacrifice your extremities.

Although I didn’t have it for last Thursday, my latest piece of cold weather gear is my Surly cross bike (THANKS BIKEMAN.COM!)


I had a box of spare parts and components sitting around and decided that a cycle cross bike would be perfect for winter training, so I ordered an inexpensive frame and fork set from Bikeman, and Brian Rossignol put it all together for me.

This bike is a blast and it’s comfortable. I have a set of low profile cross tires on it, so the bike zips along on the pavement but has enough traction to handle dirt roads, mud and snow. I have been exploring and have found some great new places to ride. It has a much further range then my mt bike and isn’t restricted to the pavement like my road bikes.

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A Short Winter!!!!

Who would have thunk it, almost 70 degrees in the first week of January. Does this look like your typical New England winter scene?

(Brad Cilley and Mike Munson, riding up into Canterbury Shaker Village)

If there were a year to live in New Hampshire and train for RAAM, this is it. So far this has been one of the mildest winters on record (I’ll take it!) In the back of my mind, I keeping thinking there will be payback. Does this mean we will have three feet of snow in April? Hope not.

(Me riding up into Canterbury Shaker Village)

This is a recovery week for me, so unfortunately I have not been able to take full advantage of the great weather. I was out for short fun rides, just trying to enjoy myself. On Saturday, Mike Munson, Brad Cilley and I took a nice 40 mile spin. We went up through Canterbury, to Belmont and back over Loudon Ridge Rd. Lots of climbing – Lots of fun.

(Brad and Mike on top of Loundon Ridge)

This upcoming week it’s back to the grind. I have an 11 hour ride followed by an 8 hour ride on the next day. Temperatures are expected to fall but still stay in the 40s. They can keep the Artic air up in Canada.

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Last Road Ride of the Year

I haven’t blogged for nearly a month and now two blogs in less than a week. I thought you might enjoy my last road ride of 2006

I had two long rides on my RAAM training schedule this weekend, 11 hours on Friday and 7 hours on Saturday. I was really hoping to get 300 miles between the two days, but Mother Nature had other plans. To be more specific – Winter.

Just as planned, I was on the road early Friday morning and it was cold. As I started out the temperature was only in the high teens. I was on my way to Conway, planning to ride over the Kanc and Gonzo’s pass. Did I mention it was cold?

About an hour into the ride my food bottles had all turned to slush (maybe Hammer slushies will be the next big thing at 7-11, flavor plain.) Within another 30 minutes they were solid. As I peddled north, the roads were getting slicker, and the Sherpas were urging me to turn back. So I decided to do just that, instead of lugging a gallon of frozen Hammer up to the White Mts, I made a loop back home to reprovision.

This first loop took about 3 hours; I got home had a hot cup of coffee and a snack, and then headed out for a 5 1/2 hour loop. This time with my food bottles tucked into my jersey pockets to keep them from freezing. I returned from that loop, had some more coffee and some soup, and then headed out just as the sun was going down for my final 2 1/2 hour loop. I finished the 11 hours, completing a painfully slow 172 miles and am pretty sure the temperature never got above freezing. Welcome to NH - Live, Freeze and Die.

On Saturday the weather people (gotta be politically correct) predicted a cloudy day with an occasional snow shower. Wrong, it snowed. Now I know that a couple of inches of snow in New England are no big deal, but when you’re an hour from home on 700x23c tires and there are a couple of inches of snow on the road, it’s a big deal. After a slow and slippery ride home, I threw the studded tires on my mountain bike and headed into the woods to finish up my 7 hour training day.

Happy New Year and a RAAM 2007!!!!

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Return of Pinky and Chief

Well it has been a while since I updated my blog. So I thought I had better take a minute and let you know how things are going. So here are a few of the highlights and lowlights from the last month:

Dave Wentworth (aka Pinky) and Terry Roach (aka Chief) were in town over the Christmas holiday. I was able to get together with both of them and take a couple of rides before Terry headed back to Texas and Dave returns to California. It was just like old times. (Ask me sometime about the jackass that tried to run us off the road in Dunbarton and then stopped to let us know that cyclist don’t belong on the road. I wanted to rip his head off.)

RAAM training is progressing very well, although last week was a struggle. I had a small cold and I didn’t feel really sick but it did take a toll on me when I would go out for a ride. Last Friday I rode from my house to Conway, over the Kanc and Gonzo’s pass. It is a 174 mile loop that in the past I have done in just over 10 hours, but this time because of the cold it took me over 11 hours to complete the loop. It was a long slow slog and I was happy to get home that night.

I am feeling better and plan on riding the same loop this weekend. If I’m not riding/feeling any better it may be a sign of over training and I will need to adjust my training plan.

The Y-foil is together and tuned up. It is a sweet ride and I think it will be the perfect addition to the RAAM arsenal. I have included a picture. It is not the clearest pic and when I get a chance I will post some additional shots on the pic page.

I went over the 12,000 mile mark for the 2006 calendar year. I think only 6,000 of them count, those are the ones going up hill. The other 6,000 are all down hill.

I saw three moose on one of my trips over Gonzo’s pass. That is only appropriate as Gonzo goes over Mt. Moosilauke. I was descending at about 30 mph and passed a bull and two cows standing next to the road. I didn’t really notice them until I was right next them. It gave me a little scare; I slowed down a bit (not too much) and decided to keep a better lookout.

There are just over five months left before the start of RAAM. Plans are progressing well. Most of the crew positions are filled; I have reserved the rental vans, hotel rooms and a camp site at the start line, and submitted my application.

The weather has been great and I haven’t missed a single scheduled workout. I have only ridden the trainer twice and both times it was raining and 40 degrees out. I don’t mind riding in the cold; I don’t mind riding in the rain, but I hate riding in the cold rain.

Well I guess that is about it. I have an 11 hour ride and a 7 hour ride scheduled this weekend. It looks like it will be a little chilly but dry so I am going to head back up to the White Mts.

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Just Call Me Sisyphus

Only 6 months until RAAM (5 months to train and 1 month to taper.) Training is going well; I am right on schedule and feeling strong. Although winter has not even started, June 10th is just around the corner.

I officially started training for RAAM 07 on October 15 th. Below is a chart showing my mileage for each of the past 7 weeks. (This pic is a little hard to read so here are the numbers: week 1- 205.7, week 2-234.8, week 3-260.9, week 4-191.5, week 5-278.3, week 6-300.3, week 7-317.9) Total for the 7 weeks: 1,789.4 miles.

Looking at this chart, I can’t help but think of Sisyphus, the character in Greek mythology who was forced to endlessly roll a huge bolder up a hill, only to reach the top and have it roll back to the bottom. I work through each training period, increasing my hours from the previous week until I can cut back and recover in the 4th week, only to have it start all over.

At least Sisyphus didn’t have to roll the bolder up a hill in the pouring rain. This past Friday I had a 9 hour ride on my training schedule and a 5 hour ride for Saturday. When I went to bed Thursday night, they were predicting showers all day Friday, so I decided to flip my Friday and Saturday rides. Five hours in the rain sounded like less misery than 9 hours in the rain.

When I got out of bed on Friday I was surprised to see that it wasn’t raining. I pulled up the radar map on my computer, and it looked like I might just be able to get in my long ride without drowning. The storm was passing north and south of the Concord area, and it looked like if I headed south/southwest I could avoid much of the rain. Besides it was going to be in the 60s!!! Doesn’t this radar map make you want to ride your bike for 9 hours?

I headed south, to Dunbarton, over Mills Hill and into Goffstown (via Gorham Pond Rd.) My plan was to take route 13 over to New Boston, but I must have missed a turn, and I ended up on 114 in Bedford. The nice thing about being on a 9 hour ride, when you’re only a couple of hours into the ride and you’re lost, you don’t need to panic, you have plenty of time to adapt. Besides, I wasn’t lost, I just wasn’t where I had planned to be.

I didn’t have a map of the area with me, but I roughly knew where I was, so I just kept going. As I heading south on 114, I spotted New Boston Rd; Figuring it would take me to New Boston (made sense to me) I took it. It was a nice road with some really nice climbing and it did go into New Boston, but then it wound south into Antrim and dumped me out on 101, probably the busiest road in the state. Now I decided my best bet would be to ride to Milford and take 13 north up through Mont Vernon to New Boston, then head west to Bennington and Antrim. This is a really nice area for cycling, lots of rolling hills and old New England towns.

After about 6 ½ hours of riding, I had worked my way back up to Henniker. I still had 2 ½ hours to ride, so I decided to head up to Bradford, through Sutton, to New London and then Finally east and home. This is just about the time that my pleasant 60 degree ride, started to get ugly.

On the way to Bradford, it started to rain. No big deal, I put on my rain jacket and kept on keeping on. I have ridden in the rain plenty of times. Then the rain turned into a down pour. No big deal, I pride myself on being tough and little rain wasn’t going to stop me. Then it happened, my chain broke. There I was, standing in a puddle by the side of the road, with rain running down my neck, trying to fix my chain.

I got my chain back together and continued on my way just as the sun was disappearing. As the sun went down so did the temperature. The mild 60 degree day turned into a chilly, soggy evening in the mid 40s. To add icing to the cake, my light wouldn’t work. Every time I hit a bump it would turn off, and thanks to the NH DOT that was about every 10th of second. Cold, wet, and blind I finished the ride at 8 hours and 55 minutes. I know I was 5 minutes short but I just didn’t care. My average speed, which had stayed around 17 mph during most of the day, plummeted to just over 16 mph. Another 147 miles in the bank.

To date we have raised $3,555.00 for Special Olympics.

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Return to Gonzo’s Pass

Last week was about riding in the rain. Speed bursts in the rain, hill work in the rain, and recovery rides in the rain and I was prepared to spend 7 hours riding in the rain on Friday. When I went to bed Thursday night they were predicting showers for Friday morning. I had a long ride planned and I was going to do it, regardless of the weather.

I woke up Friday morning and was pleasantly surprised to find that the storm had moved out quicker than expected and now the day looked dry and more importantly warm. What a joy, riding on dry roads in 60 degree weather. I decided to take advantage of this treat and headed north, up to the Whites. I peddled up to Lincoln on the rolling roads that parallel interstate 93 (127/132/175), then headed south on 118 over Gonzo’s pass. (As Phil would say this is a “bread and butter” route.)

Here is the Route: Over Gonzo's Pass

I enjoyed the climb up Gonzo, but something didn’t seem right without Dave Wentworth along for the ride. Before Dave ran away to California, he and I climbed Gonzo many-many times. Every time we would promise each other that we wouldn’t sprint for the town line at the top of the pass, (who would want to sprint after a 5 mile climb?) but every time, one of us would make a move and we would expend whatever energy we had left trying to beat the other one to the green sign. I am happy to say, I did get the town line on Friday.

I am convinced that the cold takes a big bite out of my speed. I have been struggling to average 16+ mph on many rides these past few weeks. I don’t know if it’s the extra gear I have on, breathing the cold air, or some other factor, but the cold definitely slows me down. With the mild temperatures on Friday, I was able to complete the 127 mile loop in 7 hrs 5 min, at an average speed of 18+ mph.

My RAAM bike arsenal is complete. I recently purchased a Trek Y Foil from Bike Man and I think it is the perfect bike for RAAM. The Y Foil is an all carbon, beam style bike (it has no seat tube). It is very aerodynamic, light and comfortable. Trek only made these bikes for two years before they were outlawed for racing by the UCI. I will post photos of the Y Foil, as soon as Brian is finished tricking it out with new aero bars, double crank set and carbon seat post. At least I will look fast.

The off the bike RAAM stuff is starting to come together. I have most of the crew signed up, although we do have room for a couple more. I have reserved the vans that we will use for follow vehicles, and hotel rooms at the start of the race. My brother in-law and sister in-law (Kim and Ed) have agreed to drive the RV out to the west coast for me. I will meet up with them a week before RAAM in Arizona, so I can spend some time easy peddling in the desert, in hopes of acclimating to the heat. Lord knows we won’t have had any hot days here before June 10th.

Getting corporate sponsors is going slowly. I have sent out a bunch of letters and emails. Most have been completely ignored; some have received a polite “thanks but no thanks.” I have just decided to not worry about it. I will send out the letters. If something comes of it great, if not, so be it. I will be on the start line on June 10th no matter what.

The one big exception is BIKEMAN.COM. Davis Carver, owner of Bike Man has offered me anything on his website for cost. This is huge, as it will allow me to get properly equipped for RAAM. I encourage you to check out Bikeman.com, their prices are very competitive and they are just a great group of people.

So far we have raised $2,905 for Special Olympics New Hampshire. There is still a ways to reach the goal of $25,000 so please give early and often.

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Extreme Week

This has been a week of extremes. At the beginning of the week, I was in Phoenix, Arizona for a conference. Where I had the opportunity to go mountain biking, I also rented a road bike so I could keep up with training.

My training week started on Sunday with a road ride, with two other Commonwealth reps, Charlie Hoffmann and Jim Butler (I will put their picture up once Charlie sends me the file.) Thinking about taking a cycling vacation around Phoenix?...Don’t. It’s straight, it’s flat and the only thing to keep you awake is the constant stream of SUVs and pickup trucks passing within inches of your left elbow. If that’s not enough to entice you, try the five flats we got from cactus needles on our 60 mile loop. A good time was had by all.

I will say the mt biking was better than the road riding. At least it was more fun. I rode with Peter Wheeler, Chris Cole, Dan Tucker, and a fourth whose name I have forgotten. We rode in the McDowell State Forest (didn’t see a single tree.) The trials are not at all technical but they did provide a bit more variety than the roads.

I flew home early in the week and finished up with a 102 mile loop here in New Hampshire. It was 27 degrees and there was snow on the ground. BTW: I rode back up to Eastman Hill (the hill Phil and I found a couple weeks ago) so I could ride is North to South. It’s no Lincoln Gap but it is comparable to the first mile of Mt. Kearsarge. A good time was had by all.

Here are the important stats for the week:

Highest Temp: 93
Lowest Temp: 27
Total Hours: 16
Total Miles: 261


More pictures from Arizona will be posted on the picture page of teamwalker07.com.

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