No problem, Croyden - appreciate that you took on the job of doing the updates. How's your running going? Are you back at it again?

No problem, Croyden - appreciate that you took on the job of doing the updates. How's your running going? Are you back at it again?

Hey Chenille. The running is going OK. Not as well as I would like. It's just so easy to skip a couple of days, then two turns into three, then I don't like to run after a hard ride. I'm full of excuses. Thanks for asking. Sorry it took me so long to answer. Looks like your running is going well and you fought off a few on your half marathon earlier this month. I noticed you were using a Garmin. Which one?? I have a Forerunner 101 and I love the auto lap feature. I like to run "willy-nilly" and let it tell me how far I went. That way I'm not riding the bike on my running routes and stopping every mile to spray paint a dot on the road. The one feature I would like is the ability to upload runs to the computer. Mine was a gift so I won't complain. I would post some vacation pics if I could find the camera!! I hope its in a side pocket in one of the bags.

Well done Eternal Rookie and Hokieesq for beating both bunnies. Last week went "mountain biking" in Norfolk the flatest county in England with Mrs Jules, I fell off on a flat concrete road and gave my right thigh a real smack. At first I thought I had broken my it and I broke out in a sweat and nearly blacked out. The new bike has now got some battlescars and the rear hanger is bent. Still suffering a week later and the irony is that I have had to cancel my physio appointment as I was having my right thigh treated for a previous injury and I'm not sure if that has gone or not as the new one prevents me running! Hope to go out in a day or so. Cycling doing well ( crashes apart)

Jules - is that what breaking in a new bike means? Seriously - glad it wasn't worse - are you doing better this week? Hope you can get back to running soon. Congrats Eternal Rookie and Hokieesq ! Nice work to be ahead of both bunnies!

Decided to try a different approach and run slower and only short distances but more regularly I have just done 5 straight days which I have never done before but only 18 miles but is got to be better than no running at all.

glad that you are back out there - keeping my fingers crossed that this works for you and that you will be able to get back where you were before too long. btw...I wish I could run as "slow" as you do! I know, I know it's all relative....

OK guys. Here's the latest. High five's to Eternal Rookie, hokieesq, and pfriese for staying ahead of both bunnies. Congrats to hokieesq and Buzz 63 for passing the 1000 mile mark in the running category. Hope everyone had a nice summer. It's still pretty hot around here but should start cooling off soon. Can't wait. The totals as of 9/8/08: Mileage Totals as of 9/8/08 Google Docs: Year to date totals edit: I always forget to change the date on the link.

Additional congrats to hokieesq for beating both pace bunnies to the 1000 mile mark. Paul

Ditto, this!

Quiet around here lately. I had an interesting ride last weekend in Sylva, NC. Sylva is about a 2.5 hr drive. Three guys from the local cycling club and myself decided to ride the Tour de Tuck. The weather was perfect. We went up Fri and stayed in a local hotel to make the 7:30 Sat start. Within the first three miles your climbing. After 20 miles you turn onto the Blue Ridge Parkway and start a nine mile, 3250 foot climb. At the top your rewarded with a four mile descent before the next five mile climb. Then an eight mile descent that is fast and fabulous. The fun is over when you start the next ten mile climb to the highest point on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Once we reached Richland Balsam gap we thought we were home free. Down hill from here. After hours of climbing at 7-8 mph we're ready for this to be over with. Never mind we're only about half way to the finish. The ride director drives up and offers something to eat or drink, he was stocking the aid stations, and I get another peanut butter and jelly sandwich, I had about six of those that day, and I topped off one of my bottles. While talking we asked about the rest of the course and he floored us when he said "your just starting the hard part". You could hear our chins hit the pavement. He went on to tell us that the remaining climbs were not long, most a mile or less, but very steep. We set off and were OK till we met the infamous Charley's Creek hill. Almost a mile at an 18% grade. About two thirds the way up the road levels enough that we think we can get going again if we stop. So we stop. We just stood by our bikes a few minutes looking at each other and shaking our heads. There is still 30 miles of this ride left. The next 20 had it's share of tough hills, though not as bad, and the last 10 we counted down the miles. The finish was a most welcome site. With 125 riders starting the century and 70 finishing this was one tough ride. Here's the update. The totals as of 9/29/08: Mileage Totals as of 9/29/08 Google Docs: Year to date totals