I went out on a great loop with some of the guys from the shop. Claire was out of town, so she missed the fun. The weather was perfect, it rained right at the beginning and right at the end. It was A2’s first ride on his new LeMond Sarthe road bike. I was a little worried when at the start when it started raining, but A2 was game. I was a bit more worried when we had to pedal through 2 feet of water out near Starr Road, but except for some cold wet feet, everyone was happy. A1 and Jimmy Neutron were also along for the adventure. It ended up being almost exactly 40 miles. We downed some homemade sourdough toast and granola afterwards and stood around the woodburning stove warming up.
I think I finally found a third person for the 3 for the price of 2 sign up for the Vineman. I will hopefully be signing up today or tomorrow. I need to do it before the end of the month to save a couple of dollars. I also need to sign up for the Death Ride. Claire is unsure of where she stands on that ride this year.
I have been running a couple of times a week and feeling very good. I have some tightness in my calves that I need to work out, but probably nothing that some good stretching won’t take care of. I did an hour run on Sunday around my Scenic loop. I felt terrific. All my runs have been timed out to be right around an hour. I probably need to bring that up to maybe an hour and a half. I will try to get out today from the shop. I have a fun loop around Cypress/Poplar that is just over 8 miles.
The bike shop is going great. Business is very good considering the time of year. I actually have enough tune-ups to keep me busy everyday. We are also at an all time high with our employees. I think we have the best staff we have ever had. It makes it fun to be there.

Claire and I went out today and did a great loop on our old Ibis tandem. We put on some worn out mountain bike tires, and parked down in Duncans Mills. You can check out the loop at this link. http://www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=188849

We are going to be doing a longer version of this on Monday with the employees from the shop. I hope they know what they are in for.

I have been running and doing some riding on the rollers. About an hour a day 4 or 5 days a week. The Grasshopper race series starts March 1. Aaron and Claire have both expressed an interest in doing some of the races. On Monday we are going out over Old Duncan Road, which is part of the first race.

I haven’t signed up for the Vineman yet since I am waiting for a third person to commit to the race. They have a special where 3 people can sign up for the price of 2. I am definitely planning on doing it though. 196 more days. It is getting late right now, so that is it for now. I will update more often with my increase in training.

Well, it is January, and the rain has been coming down. I have been able to get in some short workouts, mainly just hour runs and hour roller rides. We will be heading up to Tahoe for some cross country skiing, so I will get some good exercise there. It is 132 days till the Auburn World’s Toughest Half Ironman, and 208 days till the full Vineman. I am sure the time is going to pass very fast. I will be signing up for the Deathride in July, and I am considering the Terrible Two which takes place in June. I figure I have about a stone and a half to lose before the World’s Toughest.