Mike's Bike Blog

Winner, winner, chicken dinner! The race on RoadBikeRides is over and I'm the winner of the Orbea Orca!

I'm not sure yet on the particulars on the prize, all I know at this point is the value is set at $5,400. I'm hoping I get to use Orbea's made to order web app to put the bike I want together.

I gave Smokey Valley another ride today and I'm happy to report I was able to breeze up it without resorting to zig zagging at the top. Here's the evidence:

Once I got to the top of Smokey Valley I turned right on Ladera Norte and proceeded to the top of it. I then went back down and then back up. In all I climbed Smokey Valley, Ladera Norte, Far West, Cat Mountain, Mt. Bonnell, Lookout Mountain and Mesa. It came out to be 2255.5 feet in this 14.47 mile route.

::See the route::

For today's lunchtime workout I did my Greystone/360 route as a 30 minute Time Trial effort. The time trial starts after I cross Mesa Drive on Greystone. For the 30 minutes I averaged 18.14, my normalized power was 292, average power was 258.

The only notable thing on the ride was when I was heading down Mesa towards the end of the Time Trial, I see a rider ahead of me which gave me a nice carrot to chase. As I was approaching the light at Spicewood Springs he slowed at the red light and then ran the light. The rider nearly got run over as he went right in front of a car making a left hand turn who had the turn arrow. I caught him shortly on Mesa, get this he was in full Garmin/Chipotle kit. Not only was he in full kit, but he had a team issued Felt along with a Garmin 705. I was going to say something to him about the light, but kept on going as I was still going on my Time Trial effort and passed him at 23 mph so didn't want to slow down to chat. He did sure look the part though, besides the fact that I caught him and passed him. You never know the pros might be in town for the Tour de Gruene. Word has gotten out that local rider Lance Armstrong is signed up for the team time trial this weekend.

On further investigation it could have been Garmin-Chipotle rider Pat McCarty who resides here in Austin. Pat if that was you, don't run red lights, APD is out enforcing bike related traffic infractions plus it's dangerous and gives us all a bad name. Second if you want a rematch let me know, however I prefer it be on your recovery day.

On Monday I did the entire length of Mt. Bonnell. It was my first time on Mt. Bonnell heading toward 2222, I've gone the other way heading down Balcones and catching Mt. Bonnell near the park and going down it. This time I wanted to go up it. This is a fun route and scenic with some great views of the river and the 360 bridge.

The entire route is only 9.55 miles, which is good for a lunch time ride, it gives me time to get a shower in before getting back to work. The climb isn't overly difficult at all either, the total route is only 862.7 feet of climbing. There is a steep section with a 17% grade at mile 4.6. At mile 7.4 there is another steep section with a 15.4% grade. As you can see there are 2 distinct sections to Mt. Bonnell, the first one is down by the water treatment plant is only .4 miles in length with an average grade of 10.3%. The second section is on the other side of 2222. It is .7 miles from 2222 to Mountain Villa Drive with an average grade of 3.8%. The climbing isn't done once you turn onto Mountain Villa, there's another .6 miles with an average grade of 3.8% with a max of 10.7%.

At this point if you need another climb turn right and head down Mesa and come back up. Like I said this is a nice little ride, next time I'll go in reverse, I think going counterclockwise will add more climbing.

View Route

In a surprising announcement today it has been revealed that popcorn can enhance your recovery time after an endurance event like cycling. My sources also tell me that for the most benefit the popcorn sold by Cub Scouts offers the most benefit. I'm also told that in some people that consumed the microwave light version they lost 5 pounds.

Just by chance my 2 cub scouts are selling popcorn as a fundraiser for their pack.

You can order your popcorn online at orderpopcorn.com, be sure to use TEQ1FWG as the affiliate number.

DISCLAIMER: These claims have not been evalulated by the FDA nor is there any scientific evidence to show any superhuman benefits to consuming Cub Scout popcorn after endurance events or at any other time.