Category: Training

  • Cheaha Weekend Kickoff

    Kristine is working this weekend in Anniston, and the kids both have sleepover tonight and tomorrow night – so that makes for the perfect getaway weekend for some training in the mountains of east Alabama. After class today, I headed on a climbing route along the Shades Mountain ridge northeast of Birmingham all the way…

  • Hoover – Vestavia Hills 10,000ft

    Annotated panoramic view from Vestavia Hills Baptist church (click to zoom in and read the captions) Garmin elevation profile – 60 miles,10,000+ ft of climbing Garmin – max speed 57.5mph(South Cove Dr) Out of the three 10,000ft rides so far this week (Red Mountain 1200s on Tuesday, South Shades Crest climbs on Wednesday), today was…

  • South Shades Crest climbs

    Overview map showing the entire Shades Mountain ridge line highlighted in red (click to zoom in) Complete Shades Mountain topography annotated (click for super-hi res 12MB version) Shades Mountain is one of my favorite mountains in Birmingham. After climbing 10,000 ft on Red Mountain yesterday (Tuesday), I didn’t want Shades Mountain to feel left out…

  • Red Mountain 1200s – revisited

    After riding out to see firsthand yesterday’s tornado damage, I decided to go climb my favorite spots on Red Mountain that have an elevation greater than 1200ft because I spent a lot of time yesterday looking at the topo maps of the far northern end of Red Mountain near Chalkville and Clay. I call all…

  • Chalkville Tornado Damage

    Red cross shelter information here: http://newsroom.redcross.org/2012/01/23/press-release-red-cross-assessing-damage-from-severe-weather-overnight/ Donate through the red cross “donate now” Or I saw a drop-off location for donations in the K-Mart located just off I-59, exit 141, turn left, K-mart parking lot on the right as you are climbing the hill on Chalkville Rd Tornado sirens went off at 3:30AM this morning…

  • BBL power records

    Today’s BBL was quite a ride … Strava marked it in the “Extreme” category, and I set two new power records. Ironically, they both came in the first attack zone where I went too early and got caught in the last 50m before the line. The power map is quite colorful in the attack zones…

  • Sweet Home Alabama

    It was an awesome trip to the midwest to visit Kristine’s family and enjoy a brief winter vacation, but now it’s back home to sweet home Alabama. Our long road back home started with a 9 hour drive from Shell Lake, WI to La Porte, IN. We went right by Madison, WI where cyclocross nationals…

  • 18,000 miles for 2011

    Today was my last ride for 2011, and it just so happened to take me over the 18,000 mile mark for the year. I had originally thought I was going to be short of 18,000 miles, but I noticed after my ride on Monday that I was reasonably close to try and make it there…

  • 83 miles of epic snow biking

    Another amazing day of riding up here. This time I braved the snow-covered roads leaving the Telemark resort having gained confidence riding in the snow yesterday for a mile or so. It was well worth it to be in such a remote location on winding, hilly, beautiful roads and trails that pretty much paralleled the…

  • Adventures riding in the cold northland

    Wisconsin Divide, a set on Flickr. We had an inch and a half of new snow last night so today’s ride was again on the mountain bike. The snow is perfect depth and texture for good riding as I discovered today since the road to the ski resort was completely covered all the way back…