Mad Cow Ramble TT # 2 - Mooooo!

 

Sunshine & 83 degrees. The wind was howling. Possible rain with changing wind conditions forced a change in plans. We opted to go early afternoon. Winds 16-17 mph out SW when we arrived. It shifted W SW riding to the start though. First 4 miles was tail / cross wind going North on Alcony - Conover. On to Bollinger then Loy Rd.West back to AC finishing off the first half of the TT at 28.5 mph avg. I headed South with a howling wind for a mile. Then 3 miles West on Peterson. It was tough, but I felt great. I made the turn South for the last mile on Lost Creek Rd. I left it all out on the road. Crazy I averaged 22.6 mph for the last 5 miles. That's how hard it was. 25.2 mph avg. That time was damn good compared to everyone who raced at the same time. Sean & Thom went later with faster conditions on the 2nd half. I raced the fatty at 19.2 mph avg. Yeah! I was faster on my fat bike on two roads than my tt bike. haha The last mile was 25.6 mph on the fatty vs 23.5 mph on tt bike. What a change. Sean killed it no matter the conditions at 28.7 mph. Wow! Great job everyone. Silver Bullet felt incredible. Great bike! So awesome getting in 2 TT's this month. Fun stuff!

Venga!

Egg

Friday & Saturday

Road bike fun in Medway Friday for a 30 miler. Awesome weather for the first day of Spring. Another good one in Cow Country Saturday with T.Bolt. 32 miles on great roads. Widner & SR 201 Rollers South to finish up. Yeah!

Venga!

Egg
 

Tuesday - Thursday

Winter returned after Sunday. Wow! I climbed the Cipressa & Poggio on Rouvy Tuesday. 185 miles with 1,447 ft. of climbing. Wednesday I did some unbound gravel on Rouvy with 1,400 ft. of climbing. Last day of Winter today. Sunshine & 70 degrees. Nice. fun 35 miler doing Big Tim Tuesday loop backwards. The Emonda ALR is getting dialed in. 95% with just a few more minor tweaks. Good stuff!

Venga!

Egg

Weekend Wrap Up

Chilly & busy Saturday. I found time for a 22 miler on Rouvy on Paris - Roubaix course. 600 feet of climbing. What a day today tho. Sunshine & 75. 37 mile fatty gravel ride in Chillicothe with Joshium, Buz, & T.Bolt. Love them roads. 4,000+ ft. of climbing. The legs felt good. What a week. 12 hours 24 minutes with 9,713 ft. of climbing. Glad to get on some climbing and a Mad Cow Ramble TT in. Yeah!

Venga!

Egg

Rouvy Friday

1 hour on Rouvy with some gravel fun. 1,100 ft. of climbing. 

 Venga!

Egg

Fatty Thursday

Brrrrrrr. Back at it after a rest day. Sunshine felt great, but man was it chilly. Another good fatty hill ride from Union. 1,371 ft. of climbing. I'm still freezing as I type this. lol 

Venga!

Egg

Fatty Hill Ride / MCR TT Vid

Cow Country Tuesday

40 mile recovery ride in Cow Country. I headed East then North through New Carlisle, Christiansburg, Casstown, & back. The 2nd half was all headwind. hehe Cow Hill, Hammerhead Hill & Rudy in the wind. Oh yeah! So many great battles on those hills. Another killer day. The legs felt great. Mooooo!

Venga!

Egg

 

Double Monday / Mad Cow TT # 1

What a day! Ride # 1. Big Tim, Buz, & T.Bolt joined me for a fatty hill ride from Union. 24 miles with 1,300 ft. of climbing. 2 hours in the legs then do a time trial. haha The Beast, Buz, & I got it done. MCR TT # 1 7.67 miles. Sunshine & 73 degrees. SW wind 15+ mph. First 4 miles were tailwind. Today was a big test. New front end aero bars, base bar, drive chain, & helmet. I started fast. The bike felt great. My helmet was a newer model. It was too tight on the warm up, so I loosened it. Well, it started sliding down. Arggg. I pushed it up every 10 -15 seconds. 30.8 mph avg for the first 4 miles. I held back just a bit since the rest of the tt would turn epic. Left onto Loy Rd. The crosswind was howling. I stayed in the bars hammering West. Great test of the new cockpit. I passed Buz cheering him on. I had to slow with 2 oncoming cars turning on to Lost Creek - Shelby. .8 to the finish line. Wow. As the guys said....demoralizing. haha It was tough. I gave it all I had to the line finishing 2nd with 27.3 mph avg. Oh yeah! Great way to kick off TT season. Sean crushed it at 28.8 avg. Buz did well on the fatty at 17 mph avg. The other guys were missed. Next time! 

Venga!

Egg

Cow Country Sunday

Hello Daylight Savings Time. Fun 40 miler on the new Emonda ALR in Cow Country. I rolled out from Bethel H.S. again. Sunshine with temps around 60. SW wind around 10 mph. I rolled the same way as Friday over & down Rudy. I took Elizabeth - Bethel / Gearhart road combo. Up to Casstown via Hufford & McCandliss roads. Casstown - Sidney North to Loy.  Due East to Elm Tree. Loy's pavement is killer these days. I had a cross tail wind, but good tempo. Now it was time to head home into the wind. Elm Tree to Christiansburg. The legs felt great tho. I passed by the Old General Store. Many Sunday rides would stop here back in the day. Good stuff! Addison - Carlisle & Dayton Brandt back. 19.1 mph avg with 1,100 ft. of climbing. The Emonda felt great. Love the paint job too. Big day tomorrow. Hill ride then first MCR TT of the year. We will see how the new bars  / position feel. Mooooo!

Venga!

Egg

Rouvy Saturday

 

Fun 16 miler on Rouvy with 1,800+ ft. of climbing. Rode one of the Strade Bianche gravel routes. Good stuff!

Venga!

Egg

Cow Country Friday

 

Quick Rouvy 20 minute spin in the morning then a 28 miler in Cow Country. What a day with sunshine & 75 degrees. I took my 2010 5.9 Madone out. I rode from Bethel H.S. Rolled out easy via Agenbroad, Pisgah, & Studebaker Roads. Down Rudy with many memories in my head of days gone by. So many great battles this time of year. I loved working hard all Winter to crush the opening week's of March. I enjoyed the tailwind North. Good tempo up Jay's Climb, Heart Attack Hill & up Walnut Grove. Nice crosswind. I loved finishing there back in the early 2000's. Keith was always so strong on those finishes. 

Over the top then worked my way turning North on Alcony- Conover. Nice tailwind. It's been a while since I've ridden Casstown - Clark. East of Alcony - Conover is a old chip n seal with a few false flats. Crosswinds make it fun. Through the S turns to Addison - Carlisle. Headwind back, but the road runs down hill. The legs were feeling great. Right turn on Dayton - Brandt. Freshly paved road from last Fall was a nice surprise. I had a huge smile. The way back on DB was all headwind. The legs were great. I passed by Keith's old house. Still miss that guy two decade's later. Mini Rollers to 571 were fun.  I rolled back with just a enough light. What a ride. Riding certainly keeps you young at heart. It's 2026 yet I felt like I went back in time 20 years. So many characters in my head from those years. As I said earlier this week, I miss those battles. I wish everyone well wherever you are in life now. Man I love riding!

Venga!

Egg

Double Ride Thursday

Snuck out in the afternoon while it was dry. Fun 19 miler on the tt bike. I made a few minor adjustments from last week's ride. The bike felt even better. Crazy I'm riding a new old stock 2011 aluminum Speed Concept. I miss my 2019 black GEN 2 Speed Concept. Still bummed that frame cracked sliding in my truck when a person pulled out in front of me which sent the frame crashing forward in my truck bed. Oh well, I won 2 state TT's as well as many TT's on my old Silver Bullet. I'm happy where I'm at. The power numbers look good. Now to suffer on some longer efforts. Looking at Mad Cow TT # 1 Monday. That will show how the position & fitness are progressing. 

Ride # 2 on my new Trek Emonda ALR. 11 speed Ultegra. I loved my Madone SL6, but the 58 cm was a bit small. Nice 10 miler until dark. Beautiful bike. Couldn't pass up this price for a frame that fits. Bikes are so expensive now. Found this frame on sale at Trek for $550. Normally $2500. Madone's are just out of my price range now. Glad I have 3 New Old Stock Madone's to ride though. Moooohahaha 

Venga!

Egg

Indoor TT Tuesday

A mix of Rouvy & Zwift today. 30 minute session in the morning. Afternoon warm up followed by 3.2 mile Zwift TT. 150 ft. of climbing. It's March. Staying on a trainer isn't fun. The engine needs work tho. I felt pretty good. Very steady effort. 4th place at 339 avg watts.  6 weeks until the first Blue Streak TT.  Looking forward to outside MCR TT's. 

Venga!

Egg

Rouvy Monday

Another busy day. 1" of snow in the morning wow! I hopped on Rouvy. I love the 9.64 mile Turkmenistan dirt / gravel route. 225 avg watts. I rode it again at 255 avg watts. 1,108 ft. of climbing. Looks like quite a few days indoors, but that's okay. Zwift TT this week. More climbing planned too. Mooooo!

Venga!

Egg

 

Weekend Wrap Up

Busy day Saturday.  I hit Rouvy for 30 minutes in the am then a fun Fat Bike afternoon ride. I put in some good intervals. Power numbers looked good. 61 degrees. Yeah! Chilly Sunday. Howard & I kicked off March with a fun fatty hill ride. I miss the opening days of March. We reminisced about the old Ramble days. Some great memories. I do miss it. Great ride today!

 

Venga!

Egg