Prologue

For inspiration at the outset of the Second Annual "50% Of The Miles, 100% Of The Effort" Tour de France Challenge I went to a local race to cheer on fellow riders Darin and The Boss. They both dispatched the duties of their posts with dignity and flair. Here are a couple of photos;

Darin charging up the hill

The Boss controlling the peloton

In exchange for this shout-out I expect Darin and The Boss to do a few of the Tour Challenge rides with me. They're both great guys and I know I can count on their support.

For today's ride I just needed a measly 2.17 miles in a time trial format. I rolled out of the garage with my nose into the 30+ mph winds for a 10 mile warm-up (even though it was 90 degrees out) and then turned to ride the short time trial into a cross-wind, figuring that neither a headwind nor a tailwind would provide a fair result. 2.17 miles in four minutes and thirty seconds, 29.2 mph average. A solid start. Did a total of 22 miles.

One of the things that I learned from doing this thing last year is to eat and drink on an almost continuous basis. Both on the bike and off. I handled the drinking on the bike part well last year but usually didn't take enough food along. This had the bad effect of delaying my recovery time and when you're riding once and sometimes twice a day short recovery times are critical. So unlike last year when I would take one power bar and two gels on each ride, this year I'm going to pack along one banana, two bars and four gels. I'll try to figure out a consumption schedule as soon as possible and I'll let you know what works best.

The fluid intake is something I have down to a science, as any of my friends who are constantly waiting around as I take a pee break will tell you. In short, you need a minimum of 24 ounces of fluid for every twenty miles of riding. Pack what you can (I usually leave the house with two 24 oz. bottles on the bike and a 16 oz. bottle in my pocket) and make the necessary stops along the way. There is no shame in stopping for five minutes to pick up some water and Gatorade at the nearest filling station. This is part of the "100% of the Effort" business. There are no team cars or domestiques to take of these details. You're on your own.

At my official weigh-in this morning my vitals were; 163.8 pounds, 8.6% body fat. Both of these pieces of information come from a digital bathroom scale made by Tanita. I believe the weight is accurate, the body fat measurement I just use for comparison purposes. I'll keep you posted on how these change during the three weeks.

You can also keep track of how well I'm meeting the mileage requirements by clicking on "Tour Mileage Chart" in the column on the left of this page.