My name is Bejan Abtahi I will be posting for Kevin during RAAM along with a few other members of the crew. I am a Spring 2010 graduate of the University of Georgia, and I'm looking forward to providing you all with some truly epic photos and videos of Kevin's big ride.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Friday, May 21, 2010
Sunday, May 16, 2010
The Big Push
Last year I took a week of vacation about 1 month before RAAM. The idea was to get out in the sun as much as possible and try to get acclimated to the summer heat. I have a nice, cushy air conditioned work environment which does nothing to help me get ready for the desert. My mind and body were screaming for some time off work earlier in the year, but I knew that it wouldn't be hot enough in March and April. Anyhow, I had a double cross Georgia record attempt scheduled for the end of my vacation week, so I primarily took it easy on the bike. I remember spending at least a couple hours each day programming the RAAM route into my laptop while I sat in the sun.
I had the same plan this year for my week of vacation, as it seemed to work for me last year. However, my plans for another cross state record to cap off the week did not work out, and in hindsight I think that this was for the best. It takes a lot of planning and effort to orchestrate and attempt something like that, and I was afraid of spending too much nervous energy trying to make it go well. Instead, I devised a plan to be on my bike for about 120 miles on each day of my vacation. This would simulate 2 time stations on RAAM, and hopefully would kick start me into shape in a similar fashion that BRAG did in my early days.
John Hughes revised my plan in a masterful fashion. Instead of steady efforts each day, he wanted me to ride long some days and ride hard other days. I would still do plenty of distance, but he wanted speed on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The net result was an awesome week as follows:
Saturday: 270 miles on the North Georgia 400k. Absolutely mountainous (19,000 feet of climbing).
Sunday: Nada. I meant to do a recovery ride, but I was tired and got home late.
Monday: Visited the doctor and got good results. Did a 1 hour time trial (22.1mph, HR 152). Very windy conditions. Total of 40 miles.
Tuesday: Rode 120 miles before attending the Augusta Sports Council awards ceremony. Got to shake hands with Cal Ripken Jr.
Wednesday: Rode another 1 hour time trial, very windy conditions (21.7mph, HR 148). Total of 40 miles.
Thursday: John Hughes saw my time trial numbers and decided I was over training. I did a casual 40 mile ride.
Friday: 12 mile easy ride.
Saturday: Rode 180 miles. Most of it was with Gator Knievel until he decided to do a no-looking front flip over a speed bump at 21mph. He made it about 1/2 way. I think there's a reason 50 year old guys don't do a lot of BMX.
Sunday: rode 100 miles.
Week Summary: The final total for the week was 800 miles. I was motivated to put in a strong week and I think I did it. The temperature never got above 90 degrees, but I can't do much about that. I did get in just about every type of riding possible, including mountains, rough roads, and speed work. In a perfect world I wouldn't have to pay bills and could do this all the time, but I think I've prepared about as well as I can under the circumstances.
I had the same plan this year for my week of vacation, as it seemed to work for me last year. However, my plans for another cross state record to cap off the week did not work out, and in hindsight I think that this was for the best. It takes a lot of planning and effort to orchestrate and attempt something like that, and I was afraid of spending too much nervous energy trying to make it go well. Instead, I devised a plan to be on my bike for about 120 miles on each day of my vacation. This would simulate 2 time stations on RAAM, and hopefully would kick start me into shape in a similar fashion that BRAG did in my early days.
John Hughes revised my plan in a masterful fashion. Instead of steady efforts each day, he wanted me to ride long some days and ride hard other days. I would still do plenty of distance, but he wanted speed on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The net result was an awesome week as follows:
Saturday: 270 miles on the North Georgia 400k. Absolutely mountainous (19,000 feet of climbing).
Sunday: Nada. I meant to do a recovery ride, but I was tired and got home late.
Monday: Visited the doctor and got good results. Did a 1 hour time trial (22.1mph, HR 152). Very windy conditions. Total of 40 miles.
Tuesday: Rode 120 miles before attending the Augusta Sports Council awards ceremony. Got to shake hands with Cal Ripken Jr.
Wednesday: Rode another 1 hour time trial, very windy conditions (21.7mph, HR 148). Total of 40 miles.
Thursday: John Hughes saw my time trial numbers and decided I was over training. I did a casual 40 mile ride.
Friday: 12 mile easy ride.
Saturday: Rode 180 miles. Most of it was with Gator Knievel until he decided to do a no-looking front flip over a speed bump at 21mph. He made it about 1/2 way. I think there's a reason 50 year old guys don't do a lot of BMX.
Sunday: rode 100 miles.
Week Summary: The final total for the week was 800 miles. I was motivated to put in a strong week and I think I did it. The temperature never got above 90 degrees, but I can't do much about that. I did get in just about every type of riding possible, including mountains, rough roads, and speed work. In a perfect world I wouldn't have to pay bills and could do this all the time, but I think I've prepared about as well as I can under the circumstances.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Sacrificing my health for RAAM?
Customers where I work often hear about what I've done on the bike and make comments like "you must be in really good shape." I never know how to respond; I am very active, but I have no doubts that pushing the limits for RAAM is not exactly healthy. In fact, I sometimes think that it's a little closer to an Evil Knievel type health plan. I would liken my training to that of a boxer - most of the training is very good for me, but then there's the 3-4 big events a year that are not doing my body any favors.
All that said, I've been feeling pretty tired and run down lately. I train hard, so I was having a difficult time trying to determine if it was just a result of all that training or if I had some other underlying condition (anemia, thyroid issue, etc.). I hadn't been to the doctor in 6 years, so I thought it would be a good time to get checked out (especially since I have a hereditary leaning toward heart disease). The results are in:
Blood pressure: 120/80
Weight: 160
Total Cholesterol: 174 (under 200 is good)
HDL: 62 (over 40 is good)
LDL: 84 (under 100 is good)
Hemoglobin: 14.3 (normal)
sugar levels, thyroid Levels, ferratin levels, electrolytes, kidney, and liver tests were all normal.
Long story short is that I'm in pretty good shape and ready to give this race another try.
All that said, I've been feeling pretty tired and run down lately. I train hard, so I was having a difficult time trying to determine if it was just a result of all that training or if I had some other underlying condition (anemia, thyroid issue, etc.). I hadn't been to the doctor in 6 years, so I thought it would be a good time to get checked out (especially since I have a hereditary leaning toward heart disease). The results are in:
Blood pressure: 120/80
Weight: 160
Total Cholesterol: 174 (under 200 is good)
HDL: 62 (over 40 is good)
LDL: 84 (under 100 is good)
Hemoglobin: 14.3 (normal)
sugar levels, thyroid Levels, ferratin levels, electrolytes, kidney, and liver tests were all normal.
Long story short is that I'm in pretty good shape and ready to give this race another try.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
"Bicycle Dreams"
I want to thank everyone who came out to see our screening of "Bicycle Dreams." I had never been to the new Columbia County library or their Jabez Hardin Performing Arts Center, but it was a beautiful venue. Thanks to our Columbia County Commissioners, expenses were minimal and 100% of the money brought in was donated to the Golden Harvest Food Bank. This charity is very proficient at stretching the value of each donation received.
I want to thank Gator Cochran for all of his hard work at making this a reality. I came up with the idea, but he's the one that ran with it and made it happen. We had a varied mix of people in the audience, so I hope everyone enjoyed the film and took some satisfaction in knowing that their attendance supported a good cause.
I want to thank Gator Cochran for all of his hard work at making this a reality. I came up with the idea, but he's the one that ran with it and made it happen. We had a varied mix of people in the audience, so I hope everyone enjoyed the film and took some satisfaction in knowing that their attendance supported a good cause.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Confidence for RAAM
Last year at this time I rode a strong 190 mile ride on Saturday and followed it up with a 4.5 hour century in Augusta on Sunday. This gave me confidence going into RAAM that I was physically about as strong as I was going to get. This weekend gave me similar satisfaction.
My friend Gator and I started a 250 mile ride Friday afternoon at 3pm going from Augusta to Hartwell and back. My primary goal was to ride within myself and not suffer from the digestive issues that I get when I ride too hard. I can't say that it was a perfect ride, but I broke even with weight gain/loss. The route isn't as hilly as the North Georgia brevets, but we certainly had our fair share of climbing. We finished in just over 20 hours including downtime, so I got a better chance this year to get some sleep before Sunday's Dam Ride.
I biked 13 miles from the house to the start of the Dam Ride, and then settled into a nice 5 person group (including Glen and John - two local tough guys). The pace seemed to be just a bit easier than the previous year, but I was cautious that my energy might give out early. Though I did get a little tired along the way, I always felt like I had a little left in the tank for a surge if it was needed. The net result was a 4:45 century.
I felt much better than last year on my 13 mile ride home. I think the slightly slower finish time and the extra sleep before the ride helped, but I did bike 62 more miles this year. All said, I'm confident that my training has brought me close to my potential, and now we just have to keep working at it and hope that it will be enough for June.
My friend Gator and I started a 250 mile ride Friday afternoon at 3pm going from Augusta to Hartwell and back. My primary goal was to ride within myself and not suffer from the digestive issues that I get when I ride too hard. I can't say that it was a perfect ride, but I broke even with weight gain/loss. The route isn't as hilly as the North Georgia brevets, but we certainly had our fair share of climbing. We finished in just over 20 hours including downtime, so I got a better chance this year to get some sleep before Sunday's Dam Ride.
I biked 13 miles from the house to the start of the Dam Ride, and then settled into a nice 5 person group (including Glen and John - two local tough guys). The pace seemed to be just a bit easier than the previous year, but I was cautious that my energy might give out early. Though I did get a little tired along the way, I always felt like I had a little left in the tank for a surge if it was needed. The net result was a 4:45 century.
I felt much better than last year on my 13 mile ride home. I think the slightly slower finish time and the extra sleep before the ride helped, but I did bike 62 more miles this year. All said, I'm confident that my training has brought me close to my potential, and now we just have to keep working at it and hope that it will be enough for June.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Heart of the South
My work schedule opened up at the last minute to allow me to enter the Heart of the South. I've done this race many times, so I thought it might be a good indication of whether or not I've made any progress on the bike. The ultimate result was a DNF at mile 380. I probably rode a little too hard early on. Considering I slept 1.5 hours last year near the finish, I expect that I was on pace to finish about 1 hour slower this year.
I was a little disappointed to be starting the race with only 3 crew members, but that's what happens when these things get done at the last minute. Crewing is tough enough and I was afraid that I would scare these guys away from RAAM with a short handed effort. Roger, Danny, and Gator did great and will all crew for me on RAAM, so I feel like it turned out to be a very positive learning experience for all of us.
I made a ton of last minute preparations, which included a car rental, hotel reservations, mapping the route into our GPS, prepping the van for a race, getting a crew, establishing time off from work, and getting my bike tuned up. This race was not part of my training schedule, so I didn't do a proper taper leading into it and my sleeping was sporadic. I did get some good sleep Thursday night before the race, but I didn't sleep at all between 2pm and the race start (8pm).
I didn't do a very good job of taking it easy on this ride, and I probably would have felt better at mile 380 if I slowed it down 1-2mph. I also didn't take many breaks, my first of which came at mile 220. I was specifically told by my coach not to race this event (just ride it for training), but it was hard to resist when I was in the company of greatness (Paul Carpenter and Tony O'Keefe).
My digestion slowly became an issue starting around mile 300 and it gradually got worse until mile 380. This has happened to me many times on the HOS, but in the past I've gone on to finish without much consumption for the final half of the race. This time I decided that it might not be in my best interests of my training to continue. It was getting cold, I was sleepy, and I knew that I absolutely hated the next 50 miles of the route. I'm not saying anything bad about the HOS, but I've done it way too many times.
I thought about getting a room, showering, sleeping for about 6 hours, and then continuing. However, this once again might have put too much pressure on my crew chief that needed to be back at work on Monday. I decided that all in all, it was a good experience and I decided to save the real suffering for RAAM. I had a ride that went like this before RAAM last year, and I think ultimately it was a good thing because it kept me down to Earth for the big event. It would be much more scary to enter RAAM feeling strong and not respecting how hard of a race it really is.
I was a little disappointed to be starting the race with only 3 crew members, but that's what happens when these things get done at the last minute. Crewing is tough enough and I was afraid that I would scare these guys away from RAAM with a short handed effort. Roger, Danny, and Gator did great and will all crew for me on RAAM, so I feel like it turned out to be a very positive learning experience for all of us.
I made a ton of last minute preparations, which included a car rental, hotel reservations, mapping the route into our GPS, prepping the van for a race, getting a crew, establishing time off from work, and getting my bike tuned up. This race was not part of my training schedule, so I didn't do a proper taper leading into it and my sleeping was sporadic. I did get some good sleep Thursday night before the race, but I didn't sleep at all between 2pm and the race start (8pm).
I didn't do a very good job of taking it easy on this ride, and I probably would have felt better at mile 380 if I slowed it down 1-2mph. I also didn't take many breaks, my first of which came at mile 220. I was specifically told by my coach not to race this event (just ride it for training), but it was hard to resist when I was in the company of greatness (Paul Carpenter and Tony O'Keefe).
My digestion slowly became an issue starting around mile 300 and it gradually got worse until mile 380. This has happened to me many times on the HOS, but in the past I've gone on to finish without much consumption for the final half of the race. This time I decided that it might not be in my best interests of my training to continue. It was getting cold, I was sleepy, and I knew that I absolutely hated the next 50 miles of the route. I'm not saying anything bad about the HOS, but I've done it way too many times.
I thought about getting a room, showering, sleeping for about 6 hours, and then continuing. However, this once again might have put too much pressure on my crew chief that needed to be back at work on Monday. I decided that all in all, it was a good experience and I decided to save the real suffering for RAAM. I had a ride that went like this before RAAM last year, and I think ultimately it was a good thing because it kept me down to Earth for the big event. It would be much more scary to enter RAAM feeling strong and not respecting how hard of a race it really is.
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