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Ore to Shore and More

Yesterday at lunch we discussed with JJ the preparation that he needed to do for Ore to Shore.  He signed up for the Shore Rock this year which is 10 miles and not an easy 10 miles.  I made a deal with him that if he trained with me 3 times a week I would ride with him and pace him for the race.  So today we started the training.  We would ride to his girlfriends house and Michelle would meet us there.  He could then ride home with Michelle or ride back with me.
 
 
A quick lesson on the shifters on the cross bike.
 
 
A quick photo.
 
And we're off!
 
We took a direct route to Kayla's house which ended up being around 8.3 miles.  JJ did really well until the final stretch when everything he had for dinner caught up with him.  His stomach was not feeling good.  But he got his first ride of the year in.  We will be riding home from church tomorrow.  I will make the ride as short as possible for JJ. We will take it slow for the first week and then we will build on that.  I would like to see him doing 20 miles by week 3. 
 
So JJ decided to ride back with Michelle and I got back on the bike and started for home.  My plan was to put in a few extra miles.  I had also did some work on the Gravity SS and wanted to test it out.  The first thing I did was remove the bash guard from the crank and replaced it with tabs to make a clean single ring look.  This shaves a little weight and does make it look good.  I then had changed to an 18 tooth cog in the rear to give me a little more gear.  The last thing I did was to add a chain tug on the drive side of the rear wheel.  I had experienced a little bit of wheel slip when I had did my rides during church camp.
 
The ride home was easier as the wind was at my back for over 90% of the ride.  I got into a few hills and did some standing climbing.  No wheel slip, problem solved.  I am really liking this bike for a beater.  It will be my go t bike in bad weather.
 
I will also be incorporating some mountain biking into our training.  Brendan needs to get some riding in to get used to the distance and to his new bike.  I will have to work with him on his shifting as this bike has a triple on the front.  My plan here is for JJ and I to ride to the Birch Run Park which is about 6 miles away.  Michelle and Brendan will meet us there via van and hauling their bikes.  They can do laps with us at the park with JJ and I.  JJ and I will also add in the hill climb at the park which will be good training.
 
So that should get us up to date on our prep for Ore to Shore.  Till next time, get out and ride!
 


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