Archive for Cycling
RAGBRAI For Dummies
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This year we did it! The Cycling Pigs are registered as a Group yipppppeeeee! After last year’s misadventure in getting our Cycling Pigs group signed up I figured it out finally. You know it always makes sense to read the directions carefully especially when doing something new for the first time. You see I did not do that last year and we all ended up registered as individuals. Not a good thing for the group. We all had to scramble to get week long passes which did take a little toll on our patience.
This year we may have eight. Exactly double the number of riders that went last year. Will Eight be enough? We will see in Michael comes on board for the ride of the summer. Now we have other worries like who is going into what tent! If this is all that we have to worry about then we are Golden! So follow along with us and check out last years pictures. I will try to get Russ’s photo collection up to flickr soon so there will be more to drool over.
The last few days have really been warm and the riding great. Juli and Michael did the Palm Springs Century and had a blast while I was tied up with home chores. I did get out for a great ride Sunday and today rode with Stan around the Santa Fe Dam so the training has started! Stay tuned.
Cyling Pigs Ride Again
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The Register’s Annual Great Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI) is coming up in July and the Cycling Pigs are again ready to ride. Last year the Fiersom Foursome, Nancy, Russ, Juli and myself were the Cycling Pig ambassadors from the San Gabriel Valley. We did a pretty good job of representing our area. As many of you know Lance Armstrong and the Live Strong riders were there is force. Iowa will never be the same.
This year the Cycling Pigs are at it again. So far there are seven riders who will be enjoying themselves for the week long ride across Iowa. The route is out and from what I hear will be a little hillier than last year with a total of 22.,000 plus feet of climbing over the seven day period. Again, the total millage will be just under 500 miles which will make for very pleasant days on the road.
Yesturday I finally uploaded the pictures from last years RAGBRAI adventure to flickr. You can see all of the pictures here.
This year I promise to keep a regular log going over the week and post pictures as they happen. I have bee taking a break as you can see from all of the blogging but will never the less keep up with this event.
For a full report on all that is related to the Cycling Pigs, check out their website from the link above or just do a Google search. Ciao!
RAGBRAI Lottery Results
Posted by: | CommentsNo joy in Muddville! I goofed it up this year with our little cycling group the Cycling Pigs. As it turned out I did not submit all of our applications waivers and fees at one time resulting in chaos. No SMURSH is not on the rampage it is just that we ended up as individuals rather than as a group. One of the five of our little Cycling Pigs was selected in the lottery. How are those odds?So what happens to the rest of us after the lottery is more chaos. Well maybe not the appocaliptic variety just hastle. Stephani dropped out and the rest of us have been on the hunt for wrist bands on sale for transfer. As of this morning we all have wrist bands except Russ who should be in line for getting one soon.
My new waiver in posted in the mail this morning so the transfer of my new shinny wrist band should be official next week some time. Now off for more training!
Pork Belly Ventures Second Letter
Posted by: | CommentsThis is the year of the Golden Pig so it is only fitting for us to don our golden jersey’s for our bicycle rides this year. My wife Jennifer is still in China visiting with her family for the New Years Celebration. Thankfully she will be back home this week. To have her month away is a long time for this little piggy. From what I understand this year will be a very auspicious year to have children. According to an Ecconomist.com article the Asian birthrate should really be high this year.
I just received this update from the great people at Pork Belly Ventures. These are the people that we are traveling with for our ride through Iowa latter this summer . For very resonable rates they are picking us up from Omaha and setting up our camp spot each night of our RAGBRAI ride. All of the group from Cycling Pigs that is going this year is encouraged to call Pete immediately for a spot with their tour if they have not done so already. The Cycling Pigs will be traveling with these folks so if you plan on coming with us it is not enough just to register for the RAGBRAI ride. Please call me directly if there is any question about this. From what I understand the Pork Belly Venture tour will be full by the end of March so rushing to call them would not be too fast if you want a spot in our camp. Otherwise you are on your own folks. Whatever happens it will be fun so stress out not so we can relax later is what my Papy always used to say.
March 4, 2007
Greetings, Porkers!Yesterday, there was a big parade in San Francisco celebrating the Year of the Pig. In fact, there is speculation on whether this is an ordinary Year of the Pig or an extraordinary “Golden Year of the Pig.” Given today’s news about the RAGBRAI route, we vote “golden.”
The Route Detail:
Richard Doak and Brian Duffy, Des Moines Register Staff Writers, say that no stretches of gravel are planned this year (good news for skinny-tire folks) and the steepest climb you’ll encounter on Day 3 is the approach to a bridge over I-35. Despite other factors which will almost certainly have a bearing–wind, precipitation, and temperature–it looks pretty wonderful. Daily mileage, shorter as the week goes on, is as follows:Sunday, 75.7 miles 5 pass-through towns
Monday, 77.4 miles 9 pass-through towns and the Karras Loop
Tuesday, 71.1 6 pass-through towns
Wednesday, 68.2 5 pass-through towns
Thursday, 62.9 4 pass-through towns
Friday, 64.7 5 pass-through towns
Saturday, 56.6 5 pass-through towns
Training For RAGBRAI
Posted by: | CommentsI have taken the liberty of reproducing Brian Duffy’s Personal Training Tips and posting them here at CyclingPigs.com/. The link below is to the RAGBRAI web site where this article is taken from. Enjoy and be safe out there!
Personal Preparation Tips from RAGBRAI Host Brian Duffy
Personal Preparation Tips from Register Host Brian Duffy
For those of you who have not heard, RAGBRAI Co-founder John Karras penned his last postcard from the ride in 2000 and retired as a co-host. John assures us that he will still be riding RAGBRAI but he has joined the ranks of cyclo-tourist whose only worry will be what type of pie to have. I am the front-page cartoonist for The Des Moines Register, and was named as a co-host of RAGBRAI in 2000. I have ridden and drawn cartoons on the ride since 1988, so I am not brand new to RAGBRAI.I have dabbled in every type of cycling from criterium racing to a few ultra-marathon events. It was through the ultra-marathon experience that I discovered riding 400 kilometers in a day can make the hands go numb and that is not a good thing for someone in my business.
In addition to the host gig, I have inherited Karras’ traditional training tips column. For those of you who live in Iowa or other northern climes, our winters are not conducive to outdoor riding. Many of you are forced to sit on a trainer, rollers or take spinning classes to get your cycling fix. I’m sure one thing that you have found is how exceedingly difficult it is to force yourself to sit on a trainer for an hour, even with a whole library of old Tour de France tapes to keep you pedaling. The key to indoor cycling workouts is to vary the types and intensity. One day a week, work on hill climbs doing a group of steady efforts lasting five to seven minutes a piece. Another day, work in an easy gear and concentrate on your pedal stroke. Another day, practice short hard intervals that get you close to your maximum heart rate. If you feel nauseous or light-headed while doing a workout, stop immediately. Read More→
Patric O'Brian
Radical Brewing
