tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78877918518489312142024-03-05T09:38:48.498-08:00The Uninteresting TouristJust another Blog, because every thing I say is important.
Julian Santanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09175075911493601694noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887791851848931214.post-77765627648412269292011-04-16T19:13:00.001-07:002011-04-16T19:20:53.101-07:00Tour of the Tucson mountains ride report.I DID IT!!!<br />
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Ok 73 miles isn't much for some, but I'm stoked, tired but stoked.<br />
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As some of you know I have been training for this for the last 2 months. Training started out great until I found full time employment. Even with weird work schedules and every thing I continued to build up my miles but I never got much more than 50 miles.<br />
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Fast forward to this morning. I woke up at 4am to have Oat meal and a sports drink. I had gotten every thing together last night So all I had to do was get dressed and roll out. I got to the start area at about 5:30. It was a cool 50 degrees so I hung out in my car for half an hour. With a 6:30 start time that gave me time to talk to other riders which was cool cause I never get to do that.<br />
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Over all I took it pretty easy the first half of the ride. I played it safe since the start seemed to be the most dangerous time, actually saw 3 crashes in the first 10 miles. At about the 10 mile mark we hit some of the harshest roads in town, I call them the Tucson cobbles. There were some hills further into the ride but it was pretty flat.<br />
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After heading to the south side of town we took a right turn onto Ajo way. This road is flat and straight. I was able to really pick up my speed. nothing really to report here. <br />
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After Ajo we finally start heading north again. it is at this point I finally stop at an aid station to get more water. This is were I learned a lesson, the profile that was sent out by the organizers made it seem like the last 25 mile stretch was down hill for the most part. Well it wasn't. it was a solid 15 miles of uphill. ever so gradual with some rollers. this is were I cooked myself. I went to hard and alone. I could have hung on with a group and paced myself but they seemed to be going to slow for me, needless to say the passed may with 10 miles to go.<br />
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By the time I hit level ground I am at my limit. keep in mind 63 miles is already 13 more than I have ever done. every thing was going wrong, feet started to hurt, I was on the verge of cramps the rest of the way and I was beat. A few times I just thought about stopping to take a break but I didn't let myself, I had a goal I still wanted to fight for. When I got to the finish line I had to stop to hand over my time chip and I kinda cramped up when I unclipped, kinda embarrassing cause I let out a little whimper. Soft pedaled to my car, changed shoes and walked over to the results tent.<br />
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I was really sure that I had passed the 4.5 mile benchmark but when I showed them my number the handed me a silver medal(given to riders who complete the course between 3 and 4.5 hours)<br />
I was over the moon cause that was my goal to get the silver. I also raised $265 for the charities. <br />
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All in all not a bad experience. I will do something like this again but maybe not in the near future. I earned some valuable experiences and lessons and also kinda surprised my self that i could do it.Julian Santanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09175075911493601694noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887791851848931214.post-10157378620737015832011-04-10T18:50:00.000-07:002011-04-10T18:50:20.817-07:00What a day.Fucking tragic. I was feeling good today. 27 miles in todays ride I crossed a damn fault line in the road. immediately blew the rear tube. change the tube and l keep going on my way. 48 miles in I am feeling great and planning on doing another 15 miles. then I look down and the tire is flat again(i put the new tube in badly)<br />
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At this point I am 10 miles from home and cant get a ride so I start walking home in cycling shoes. after 2 miles some one finally stopped and gave me a ride in the bed of a pick up truck but couldnt take me all the way home. then I had to wait to till my brother can come pick me up. what a day!Julian Santanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09175075911493601694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887791851848931214.post-33711912314890289832011-03-22T19:34:00.000-07:002011-03-22T19:34:42.528-07:00Half Way PointWeek 4 of my training plan is over. Since my last post I finally found a full time job. Because of said job I have really had to make sacrifices in my riding. Weeks 2 and 3 coincided with training at work which meant I did some riding after work and then did my big ride on my day off. Week 4 on the other hand saw only 2 days of riding, but both days were big days totaling 105 miles.<br />
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Last Thursday I did 54 miles, my longest ride to date. It was a horrible ride. I started to late in the morning and ended when it was already at its hottest(did I mention its already getting well into the 80's here). on top of that I had to deal with construction. By the time I got home I was over heated, dehydrated and sun burned! I learned lot about Cycling that day and a lot about my own needs. WAY MORE WATER!!!<br />
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Fast forward to Sunday. I planned a different 50 mile route. It was another out and back that was in part a preview of the first 13 miles of the of the 73 mile charity ride I am training for. As it was my day off I woke up early, by 5:30 I was eating oatmeal and drinking water, by 7 I was on my way. This ride was a lot better on all fronts, even though I did end it a little dehydrated.<br />
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Right now I am into week 5 and I will only get in about 75 miles, 55 on Thursday and 20 miles before work on Sunday. Week 6 on the other hand, if all goes to plan should see me putting in a total of 135 miles with one ride being 60 miles long.<br />
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I am already thinking about what I will do after this charity ride. I defiantly want to work on my speed and lose some more weight. Maybe my next big goal will to ride the 105 mile El Tour de Tucson. <br />
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Ill just say its great to finally be working a full time job. Its a reliable source of income and I always found that a job help give life some structure. That said its not a dream job. Starting next fall I will finally be taking classes in avioncs and once that is complete I hope to get my dream job.Julian Santanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09175075911493601694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887791851848931214.post-40254432414577186932011-02-27T14:15:00.000-08:002011-02-27T14:17:06.282-08:00Fueled Up!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5216/5483644378_ded8565d35_z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5216/5483644378_ded8565d35_z.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I am ready to put in a whole lot of miles.<br />
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First week of training is over. A total of 66 miles for the week. I feel good, ready to ride if the weather wasn't so bad. As far as contributions go I am up to $245 out of a goal of $350.Julian Santanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09175075911493601694noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887791851848931214.post-22871713365457309402011-02-20T14:22:00.000-08:002011-02-27T09:34:29.634-08:00All about Cycling.Just finished up my volunteering stint at kona Bikes 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo. its a 24 hour charity Mountain bike race/ride. I spent about 13 hours over the weekend handing out packets to riders and then working in the exchange tent taking riders in and out times. Here are a couple links that go into detail and also the race results: <br />
<a href="http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/thousands-head-to-konas-24-hours-of-old-pueblo">Kona's 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo</a><br />
<a href="http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/24-hours-of-old-pueblo-ne-1/results">Results</a><br />
And here is a short video I took in the exchange tent:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/SYzRJQiZMqI?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
Also I am riding in the <a href="http://www.pbaa.com/%21TTM/TTMdedication.html">Tour of the Tucson Mountains </a>. Its a local 73 mile charity bike ride April 16th. I have been working on getting the fit of my bike just right and wrote out a 8 week training schedule to get me ready for this. So far I have $220 in pledges and I hope to get some more by April 15th.If you want to make a pledge let me know.<br />
<a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/2391431">Route</a><br />
And my training plan:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUUeRbS4GnoCtxz1Oj34iOSzY1iKPgHImq9EhueYHPRNzppKM1mhdXOO2xrJCuzbgCEx0AUjnlwSqq23dDWLAF2yS-Tk1SroKLf5sHLtJG6jZ498EjdGhSajiDj_RQPCIlenbwuLLueCU/s1600/171870_1680414564218_1053159693_31502611_1081412_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUUeRbS4GnoCtxz1Oj34iOSzY1iKPgHImq9EhueYHPRNzppKM1mhdXOO2xrJCuzbgCEx0AUjnlwSqq23dDWLAF2yS-Tk1SroKLf5sHLtJG6jZ498EjdGhSajiDj_RQPCIlenbwuLLueCU/s320/171870_1680414564218_1053159693_31502611_1081412_o.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>Julian Santanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09175075911493601694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887791851848931214.post-19879759454388469352011-01-30T16:29:00.000-08:002011-01-30T16:34:19.759-08:00This is one way to ruin a good ride.So this morning I went out and bought a new pair of cleats. Put them on my shoes, got the bike ready. I was feeling ambitious. Went out to the main rode and headed north. first 22 miles was a constant rise, a total of 2000 feet, I just plugged away. At the turn around point I got some water and ate a cereal bar.<br />
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I figured the ride home would be easy. It was but I encountered a stiff head wind that would slow me down even going down hill.<br />
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Then with about 10 miles to go I must have come to stop light and when it was time to get going again I got out of the saddle to pedal and was hit by a sharp pain in my toes. Those ten miles were torture. By the end I was whimpering at every little bit of pressure on the pedals.<br />
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But I did break my personal distance record(modest as it is) by putting in 44 miles.Julian Santanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09175075911493601694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887791851848931214.post-164826267819431752011-01-26T17:13:00.000-08:002011-01-26T17:13:26.522-08:00Pushing The LimitsI hit the rode today getting in a whopping 37.33 miles. I felt good for the first 30, but then it was tough going after that. I hope to have the energy tomorrow to go on a shorter recovery ride.<br />
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I definitely need to get a good pair of cycling gloves to help take the stress of my hands and shoulders.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/hs279.snc6/180785_1646992408685_1053159693_31448022_5835246_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/hs279.snc6/180785_1646992408685_1053159693_31448022_5835246_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Happy Riding...Julian Santanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09175075911493601694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887791851848931214.post-18989400347654285052011-01-22T19:37:00.000-08:002011-01-22T19:37:28.431-08:00Movie fiendI wanted to catch up on some movie watching so I spent a few days at the theater. I saw The Green Hornet, The Fighter and True Grit.<br />
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The Green Hornet was cheesy movie that offers nothing more than some brainless entertainment. Seth Rogen just plays the same character he always plays, himself. Jay Chou was at least a fresh face in a Hollywood movie and I hope to see more of him in the future. Don't waste your money watching it in 3D.<br />
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The Fighter was a damned good movie. Christian Bale was amazing. The guy can really act, his physical transformation was impressive as is his willingness to make these transformations. Wahlberg did a fine job portraying<span class="similarsDdWrap"> Mickey Ward. </span><br />
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<span class="similarsDdWrap">True Grit was another amazing movie, the Coen brothers killed it once again. Jeff Bridges really shows true grit in this movie as does </span>Hailee Steinfeld and Matt Damon. Like most Coen brother films, the dialogue is whip-smart and very memorable. Cinematography and pacing is top-notch. A must see movie.<br />
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Maybe next week I will get a chance to check out Black Swan.Julian Santanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09175075911493601694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887791851848931214.post-5399199925651423322011-01-11T15:44:00.000-08:002011-01-11T15:44:10.999-08:00A great day for a ride.Ok so the first week of the year was a little slow going. I put in less than 20 miles on the bike. In the two months since I came back from Italy I have been rather stressed about a number issues, including not having a job or any money, and that stress had a real impact on my desire to ride. Thats part of the reason I set the goal of 2500 miles.<br />
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Today was different. I was much more motivated! I got in a 18.5 mile ride this morning and its only Monday. It was a cool day, maybe 42 and sunny when I started, but not to bad. Its the first time I have been on the bike with such low temps. This bodes well for getting back on track this week and its a huge confidence booster. The plan now? keep riding.<br />
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On another note I finally found a job. Its just a part time gig but its a huge load off my shoulders. Also the Avionics program is a go in March.<br />
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Till next time...Julian Santanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09175075911493601694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887791851848931214.post-6950201765876662132011-01-01T09:00:00.000-08:002011-01-01T09:02:48.639-08:00Happy New Years.I hope every one had a great new years. I know I ate way to much. Every year you always hear about people making goal for the new year. This year I decided to make one the relates to my bicycle. My goal is to ride 2500 miles in 2011, that might seem like a lot but it's only 50 miles a week. I have my nifty bike computer to keep track of my miles on a per ride basis and I have set up a spreadsheet to keep track of my miles as I go. Also I set up a ticker that you can see at the top of the page so any one who reads this blog can see my progress.<br />
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I was hoping to get a ride in today but its only about 25 degrees outside, so I'll have to wait till it gets a little warmer. Until then I will be working out on my trainer to get to a higher fitness level.<br />
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Ok that's enough for now. Happy New Years!Julian Santanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09175075911493601694noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887791851848931214.post-72589674104518966332010-12-28T14:49:00.000-08:002010-12-28T14:49:24.520-08:00First TimeHello every one. This is my first Blog and I plan on using it to talk about a variety of things that I am interested including sports, books, movies and also what I am up to from time to time and posting pictures.Julian Santanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09175075911493601694noreply@blogger.com0