Riding the wave

8
Jul
0

It’s been a really long up and down week. I hung out with my friends a lot this week and just spent hours in each others company.

Monday and Tuesday were tough. I was tired from 188 mile ride weekend. The STP is coming up and I wanted to make sure that I can finish 200 miles in two days worth of riding. I’m sure I can do it now, but I need to learn how to not sprint ahead and control my pace. That’ll definitely help out the tired feeling at the end of the rides. I seem to burn as much energy as I can on the practice rides so I’ll be ready, but in doing so, it does not help train for an at-pace ride.

Wednesday was the 4th of July. It was hot. My apartment was hot too. I ended up going into work to get at least some of that AC blowing around. I ended up working (at my choice) to catch up on some board level tests. It was actually quite relaxing. No one else was around to take away my scopes, or other lab equipment that I had setup in my area. It was great. I headed into Portland later that night to meetup with everyone (Chantelle, Christen, Katie, Josh, Steve, Troy, and Ty) for a BBQ and we watched the fireworks. That was really cool. Someone made a comment as to how the majority of our core group of friends are still from Franklin. I find that truly amazing.

Thursday started out alright and I went biking with Connie. We completed a 21.84 mile ride. That was pretty fun, and I got her a new Facebook picture! After the ride, I came home, and things went down hill. Marvin passed away July 5th. I’m still having a hard time trying to comprehend that. It’s not fair how you can talk about someone one day, and the next they’re gone. Services will be held on Monday, and i’m going to take the afternoon off to attend that. Rest in peace Marvin.

Friday – Steve got into town. We hung out at Produce Row and went to the Alibi. I got home at 3am and went to sleep at 4am.

Saturday – I got up at 8, went to REI to pickup my STP packet. I also went to Erin and Geoff’s wedding. It was really good to see them both. Went to the Blues Festival too and we watched Porky’s afterwards at the place that Chantelle is house sitting for. It was a nice place. I got home at 3am again. It’s now 3:34am and I’m realizing that my complete thoughts have translated into really short sentences. I’m done. I’ll edit this later.

I Reached the Beach!

20
May
1

I completed the “Reach the Beach” ride with Angela and Simon, and I feel great! The ride was 100 miles from Portland (Scholls Elementary in Beaverton) to Pacific City. I made a map of the ride, and it can be found [here].

The Road to RTB and the STP

26
Apr
0

This page is no longer maintained. Please see my Biking Log. I moved it to its own section. See: http://thomasng.net/?page_id=1152

This is a comprehensive biking log as I train for the Reach the Beach (RTB) – 100miles on May 19th – and the Seattle to Portland (STP) – 200miles – on July 14th/15th! The list will be updated on a regular basis :)

Riding with my mountain bike, knobby tires to begin with, then swapped to slicks

March 30th: 12 miles; 1hr 10 minutes; avg speed: 10.29mph
March 31st: 21.2 miles; 1hr 49 minutes; avg speed: 11.67mph
April 4th: Registered for the Seattle to Portland! – 2 days, 200 miles.
April 10th: 29.2 miles; No ride time recorded
April 15th: 34.04 miles; 2hrs 49minutes; avg speed: 12.09mph
April 20th: I put away my snowboard for the season, the RTB and STP training really begins!
April 20th: 23.37 miles; 2 hours; avg speed: 11.69mph
April 21st: Registered for Reach the Beach! – 1 day, 100 miles. Help me out, donate to the American Lung Association of Oregon!
April 23rd: 17.92 miles; 1hr, 14minutes; avg speed: 14.53mph
April 24th: 40.19 miles; 3hrs, 2minutes; avg speed: 13.25mph
April 26th: 50.17 miles; 3hrs 35minutes; avg speed: 14.00mph – HALF CENTURY MARK!
April 27th: 22.63 miles; 2hrs, 0minutes; avg speed: 11.32mph – Conquered Washington Park

Got my road bike!

May 5th: 14.42 miles; 56minutes; Avg 15.14 mph; max 29.05mph; avg cadence: 74
May 6th (morning/afternoon): 57 miles; 3hrs 46minutes; Avg 15.17 mph; avg cadence: 70 – Downtown Portland to St. Helens, OR via Hwy 30
May 6th (evening, cumulative total): 67 miles; 4hrs 46minutes; Avg 14.96mph; avg cadence: 69
May 9th: 21.81 miles; 1hr 29minutes; avg 14.68 mph; max 27.80mph; avg cadence: 72
May 12th: 100.55 miles; 6hrs 35minutes; avg 15.26mph; max 33.08mph; avg cadence: 76 – Downtown Portland to Rainier, OR via Hwy 30 [map]
May 19th: 100.35 miles; 6hrs 48minutes; avg 14.75mph; max 34.40mph; avg cadence: 73 – We Reached the Beach! Portland to Pacific City [map]
June 3rd: 27.7 miles; 1hrs 55minutes; avg 14.38mph; max 29.31mph; avg cadence: 70
June 10th: 23.14 miles; 1hrs 36minutes; avg 14.43mph; max 33.79mph; avg cadence: 70; elevation climb: 850feet. On West Union to Skyline Blvd.
June 16th: 29.82 miles; 1hrs 53minutes; avg 15.80mph; max 31.52mph; avg cadence: 79
June 17th: 28.32 miles; 1hrs 54minutes; avg 14.83mph; max 26.52mph; avg cadence: 70
June 22nd: 30.48 miles; 2hrs 16minutes; avg 13.38mph; max 26.03mph; avg cadence: 63; taking an easy ride tonight…. more rides tomorrow!
June 23rd: 33.94 miles; 2hrs 12minutes; avg 15.37mph; max 30.37mph; avg cadence: 62; MORE riding on Sunday! I broke 700 miles since this blog entry started and rode 497 miles on my road bike!
June 24th: 24.60 miles; 2hrs 1minute; avg 12.16mph; max 25.57mph; avg cadence: 57; it was pouring down rain this morning. It sucked.
June 25th: 9.16 miles; 0hrs 35minutes; avg 15.67mph; max 29.05mph; avg cadence: 70; a trip to REI and around Hillsboro stadium
June 27th: 40.11 miles; 2hrs 49minutes; avg 14.23mph; max 27.80mph; avg cadence: 65
June 30th: 101.00 miles; 7hrs 15minutes; avg 13.91mph; max 36.37mph; avg cadence: 65 – Started at OMSI, down the Springwater Corridor to Marine Drive to I-205 path, to Springwater Corridor, up through Washington Park, to 231st and Baseline in Hillsboro, to the Trimet Park and Ride by Nike World Campus, to Cedar Hills, to RadiSys Corporation, to Hillsboro Stadium, to Home.
July 1st (morning ride): 40.64 miles; 2hrs 26minutes; avg 16.73mph; max 31.22mph; avg cadence: 75. HWY30
July 1st (evening ride): 44.24 miles; 2hrs 48minutes; avg 15.77mph; max 31.23mph; avg cadence: 71. HWY30… again. I completed 92.94% of the STP (185.88 miles) in training rides in the last two days!
July 5th (evening ride): 21.84 miles; 1hr 29minutes; avg 14.61mph; max 27.02mph; avg cadence: 67. From Tigard to Beaverton to Hillsboro. [map] I completed biked 1010 miles now!

RIDE TOTAL AS OF July 5th: 1009.84 miles – equivalent to doing the STP 5 times! :)
More rides to come!

This Year’s Biking Events

16
Apr
0

I plan to do the following bike rides this year. If you’re interested, let me know and we’ll start up a biking routine! :)

Reach the Beach

  • Date: Sat May 19
  • Distance: 100 miles
  • Cause: This is a benefit ride for the American Lung Association of Oregon and is a great training ride for the Seattle to Portland. Proceeds will help prevent and cure lung disease and promote lung health through education, advocacy and research.
  • Notes: This event requires all riders to pay the registration fee as well as raising at least $50 for donating to the American Lung Association of Oregon. If you’re not riding, and would like you to help out, please donate money to the cause ($10, $5, even $1, every dollar helps!). My goal is to raise at least $50 for my ride - I’ll post the donation link after I register. Help out the research and donate online! (or via check!) :)
  • Registration fee: $25 + at least $50 in fund raising donations
  • Website: http://www.reachthebeach.org/

Seattle to Portland

  • Date: Sat/Sun July 14-15
  • Distance: 200 miles
  • Cause: Just for fun! or raise money for any of the following charities.
  • Notes: Rest stops every 20 miles; 2-day event.
    * Total distance (miles) 202.25
    * Uphill distance (miles) 30.87
    * Uphill altitude (feet) 1,951
    * Maximum altitude (feet) 463

    I already registered! Come join me!!

  • Registration fee: $75
  • Website: http://seattletoportland.com/

The Night Ride

  • Date: July 2007 (date unknown at the moment)
  • Distance: 15 miles
  • Cause: Just for fun!
  • Notes: Ride takes place at night; very limited road support. Bring your own repair gear. I finished this in 1hour 20minutes.
  • Registration fee: ~$15 (registration is not open yet)
  • Website: http://www.thenightride.com/

Providence Bridge Pedal

  • Date: Sun Aug 12
  • Distance: 36 miles
  • Cause: The Bicycle Transportation Alliance is one of the beneficiaries of Providence Bridge Pedal. Since 1990, the BTA has been promoting and protecting the rights of bicyclists in order to create safe, sane and sustainable communities in Oregon and Southwest Washington. The Providence Women and Heart Disease Program is also a beneficiary. One in every three American women develops heart disease, the leading cause of death among women in the United States. Women often experience very different symptoms than men do, and they tend to ignore unfamiliar symptoms. Providence is teaching women about the symptoms they should watch for and helping them receive needed care in a timely fashion from doctors who are experts in women’s heart health.
  • Notes: Free admission to The Bite of Portland afterwards!
  • Registration fee: $25; save $5 by forming a team. Join mine!
  • Website: http://www.providence.org/oregon/events/bridge_pedal

Salvador Mollys – Great Balls of Fire

24
Nov
1

This is part III of a three part series for the day. Part I and II are found here.

Apparently I passed out after eating that Great Balls of Fire. And this is what my friends do :-p

[ngthGallery year="2006" dir="20061124_3_salvador_mollys"]

Don’t mix with alcohol!