Yesterday I went for a ride to test my new tires on the tarmac. I knew they are fast (as I said here) but I wanted to see how fast they really are. I went for a ride to Acatari, about 20 kilometers with two climbs. The tires are very fast, my average speed was 27 km/h and the maximum speed was just above 60 km/h.

Before the last climb I saw two bikers folowed by a yellow car with a LIVESTRONG logo on the trunk. I think this is what you can call riding with style :)

Group training

Group rides are FUN. It is a pleasant way to do some training rides.

It also helps you to learn different skills like how to follow a rider closely and safely, how to expend less energy. You can go very fast with the help of a friend if you take turns in front. I went for a ride on Sunday with a friend and my average speed was 29,4 km/h (on 40 km) and we didn't even go with full speed :)

(picture from gzcycle.com)

Another benefit is that you can go out with friends and have a great time.

Bike love

More bike love pics here.

MMM 2010 - Medieval Mud Marathon 2010

Saturday was race day. It was a very hard race so it was a big satisfaction to finish it.

I had some bad luck before the race but I was glad that I could get there. It was raining a lot before the race  so I had to buy some new tires. I bought a pair of Race Kings (2.2) which are not exactly good for mud but they are better than my old tires. When I was changing the tires the tube from my back tire had a hole. I had two spare tubes but both had holes. :(


I wanted to go to Tarnaveni and from there go to Medias the next day but it started raining and I had a flat tire. My father came after me and took me home :)


Saturday morning I bough some tubes after I got my race number and I fixed my tire. My bad luck didn't end there, I left my bottle in the car so I had to buy a new bottle.


It was very hot when the race started and a thunderstorm was coming :)


I started the race on the back of the pack but the first kilometers were in the city so I passed at least 100 people. Then on the first climb we got muddy. The mud was so bad that even if I pushed the bike it stuck to the tires and the tires were getting blocked so I had to carry the bike on my back. When I got to some grassy roads I cleaned the bike and got on it. In the forest I tried to push the bike on the leaves so the tires could spin. I had to clean the bike a few times and I was getting tired of pushing. When I finally got to the climb on the field where the road was on grass I was very happy that I could ride on the bike. People were amazed that I was still on the bike because it was a hard climb but I was just happy that I could finally stay on the bike. The mud wasn't so bad after the first climb, there were some nice road on grass and some roads  in some villages and I really liked my tires, they were great on grass and country roads and even on light mud. The Race King is a very fast tires and it gets clean very fast in light mud. But on heavy mud it's not good so I felt down in a muddy corner :(


At about the half of the race some small muscle cramps were starting to bother me so until the end of the race I had to stay focused to avoid some serious cramps. I had to clean the bike a few times but the mud wasn't so bad and I could go fast. At the last checkpoint were we could get some food and water I had some serious cramps but after a short rest and a lot of glucose I could attack the last climb. The last climb was another pushbike section but it wasn't so muddy so I only had to fight my muscle cramps. I finish the race about 10 minutes before the thunderstorm started :)


Stats(these are not exact because I carried the bike a lot):
    - time: 3:54:29
    - distance: 48,7 km
    - average speed: 12,4 km/h
    - max speed: 49 km/h

   - actual time: 4:24

   - average heart rate: 176 bpm

   - max heart rate: 201 bpm

It was a very hard race, the hardest so far but I was very happy when I crossed the finish line. I will be back with more pics.

New tires

I bought a pair of Continental Race King tires for the race tomorrow.

They say that the track is wet, but there are a lot of country roads, some roads on grass and even some paved roads in the race so I hope I've made the right choice. I will test them today on some bad paved road when I will go home to Tarnaveni.

Summer salads

I love summer because there are a lot of fresh vegetables at the market. This week I made two kind of salads, one with a yogurt dressing and one with lime juice.

I use the yogurt dressing for every salad that doesn't involve fish. For example in this salad I had some left over grilled chicken. You can use every vegetable you like, I chopped up some cabbage, cucumbers, carrots,  tomatoes and onions. I like to make my own dressings, I usually use one big cup of yogurt and some herbs and spices like parsley, oregano, basil and salt (maybe some paprika for color). I chopped up a few leaves of mint to but I didn't really like it.

I like to make my own croutons also. I toast the bread and cut it up in small cubes. It has a really good taste when you rub some garlic on the bread before you cut it up.

The fish salads are easier to make because you just chop up the veggies, put the fish on top and squeeze some lime juice on it. Then throw on some croutons and some herbs (basil, parsley) and enjoy :)

This is what keeps me from going crazy :D

What keep you sane in this fast moving world filled with stress?

This is my medicine, about an hour of riding relaxes me. No mater how tired or stressed I am it always helps. Exercise in general has been shown to decrease anxiety and stress levels, and bicycling is a fun way to exercise. Another benefit in stress reduction is that it keeps you out of traffic jams :D

Any regular exercise can reduce stress and depression and improve well being and self esteem. Cycling outdoors is also a good way to be one with nature and to feel the breath of the earth. It takes one’s mind out of everyday-life stress and rejuvenates his soul.

Other health benefits of cycling:
1. Promotes a Healthy Heart
2. Improves Blood Chemistry, including HDL, “good” cholesterol”
3. Lowers Blood Pressure.
4. Decreases Risk of Cancer.
5. Builds Stronger Bones.
6. Reduces the Chance of Diabetes
7. Promotes Greater Muscle Strength.
8. Reduces Stress.
9. Decreases Chronic Pain (arthritis, back pain, and more)
10. Improves digestion, lung function and joint flexibility

I was inspired by experienceplus.com and adultbicycling.com.

Preparing for the Medieval Marathon from Medias

This weekend I'm going racing to the Medieval Marathon from Medias (also known as MMM).

The 2009 edition was my first marathon. It was a very nice race, the view was beautiful and the weather was great. I wasn't going so well because I didn't have enough training but I've finished in 32th position in my age group (crossing the finish line as a knight :D)

I like this race because it is close to my hometown and it was my first marathon. Last year was very hot and I got a little dehydrated and I had some bad muscle cramps too but this year I'm feeling more confident, I have more experience and more training. It looks like this year the track will be a little wet.

My goal is a top ten finish :) I think It will be hard because it is a very famous race and there are already more than 300 people who have already payed the fee, this is a first in this country, and they are expecting about 400 racers :)

You can find all he pics I have from last year here.

I love all you can find scrambled eggs

Usually Saturdays I make scrambled eggs for breakfast. I put everything I can find in the fridge (that fits) in the pan and pour the eggs on it. I like the summer because I can make some really good salads for the eggs. This is my breakfast from last Saturday:

In the scrambled eggs I've put:
 - sausages
 - tomatoes
 - garlic
 - green onions
 - green chili
 - black olives
 - cheese
 - salt, pepper and paprika
 - some wine
 - eggs
 - chopped parsley leaves on top

The salad:
 - green onions
 - tomatoes
 - cucumbers
 - white radish
 - salt and vinegar
 - chopped basil on top

How many calories is your diet?

A regular person who exercises a bit every day consumes about 2,000 calories.

As I always said keeping your weight or loosing some weight is just a simple math problem. If the result of the difference of how many calories you eat and how many calories you burn is negative you loose weight, if it is positive you gain weight and if it is close to zero you maintain your current weight. But, there is always a but, for example if you reduce the intake of your calories drastically your body reacts and reduces the calorie consumption.

Some athletes have a very high calorie diet, for example Michael Phelps has a 12,000 Calorie Diet!