This morning I joined Marco, Barbie, Bob and a couple of his friends on a 41 mile training ride for the Valero MS-150. It was an incredible workout with a great group of riders.

I’m not cycling in the MS-150 this year but am happy to join my friends that are. Marco will be making his third appearance if I’m not mistaken. I will definitely do it next year but decided to pick and choose my cycling events with some consideration that I have a beautiful, six-month-old daughter that values my time.

The ride this morning started fast and cool. Very nice temperatures and the rising sun made for quite an experience. We were really moving!

At one point Marco asked why my GPS kept making noises. The noises seemed to occur as we climbed hills and I tried to keep up with him. I solved the mystery by telling him that I’d programmed my Garmin Edge 305HR to sound a warning anytime my heart rate entered Zone 5 – the maximum heart rate zone. It did that quite a few times today!

On the ride back, Marco suffered a flat tire but in just a few minutes he was rolling again thanks to an efficient tube replacement. Marco getting a flat tire is actually a very rare event. He cycled over 1,000 miles without a flat last year!

The last three miles or so of this ride were difficult. The fuel tank was empty and no amount of Clif Shot Blocks or Sport Beans were going to save the day. When it was all said and done, however, it was nice to see the numbers. An average speed of almost 17 miles per hour and almost 2800 calories burned.

Nice!