Cheese Ball Production Is UP!

Anna is making Cheese Ball's like mad. The orders are coming in. Please keep her busy. I really do appreciate those folks who have ordered, Thank You! 100% of the proceeds are going to LAF via donations to my Livestrong Challenge Page. Other's please buy one of Anna's Cheese Balls they are very good.

On a training note, riding inside on the trainer is not much fun, but I guess it beats getting rained and lightninged on.

Shots from the weekend.

Rainy since I have been home. I had to ride the trainer inside for the first time in months. I seem to go through more water on the trainer, and Anna is very nice when I yell out of the office that I have run out again and need more. What would I do without her?

There were lots of Mountain Laurel and Rhododendron in bloom on the ride, was very pretty to look at over the weekend.

Mountain Training

In the mountains training climbing hills this weekend. Rode yesterday for almost 3 hours and covered 29 miles. 4,000 ft of climbing in. Felt good and saw hardly any cars. Great fire road up here and the mountain laurel is in full bloom so lots to look at. Encountered a woman practicing yoga in the middle of the road, new one on me. Just a quick stop in to say Hi. Blue Valley overlook in the photo.

Cheese Ball Sales

The Cheese Balls are selling well. Should have alot more donations coming into the LAF site soon. I took a sample to my work. The sample did its job and quite a few people ordered right after tasting. Please email me at (davidallencaton (@) yahoo.com ) for details if your interested.

Here is a photo from the sample:

A package came from Leadville: The racer info COOL :

Rode 54.5 tonight. Felt ok, not great. All training has it's ups and down.

Tour de Lions and Cheese Balls

Today I did the Tour de Lions. I rode the 75 mile route and felt good till just before the end. I started with the front group and stayed with what was a pretty select group for the first 15 miles. They were averaging 26 miles an hour and the turns got to be pretty dangerous, I exited the group and spent the next 5 miles or so in no man's land. Then the second group came along. I stayed in this group for the next 45 miles. My average in this group was 22.5 miles an hour. The Tour de Lions has excellent rest stops, but the group choose not to use any of them. This I think was my down fall as the last ten miles were on my own with the tank starting to show empty. I limped it in and had a 20.6 miles per hour average over the whole 75 miles.

I think the training is coming along nicely. I have had several people who ride with me and know me say that they can tell a difference in my training this year. They say I am riding better than I have in a long time. I just hope I can keep this base going and reach a good peak right at the Leadville Race Across the Sky. I have made several trips to the mountains and spent a good deal of time climbing a 10 mile section of Forrest service road that climbs about 3,000 ft. It's a good climbing workout. The Tuesday / Thursday battle rides are great for the training. The average speed is up this year and I am getting as much as 57 miles on a week night after work which is great.

The fundraising is going well. $2,465.00 to date. I want to thank everyone who is donating to my Livestrong Challenge page, if you have not yet donate please help me fight the disease that affects so many people. We all know someone that has been effected by this disease. The link to my page is in the side bar. I'm not just riding the Livestrong Challege in Austin, but also trying to raise funds by challenging myself by riding Leadville Race Across the Sky.

My wife Anna has been doing lots to help me with training and trip planning. I could not do this without her support, she is a wonderful teammate in helping me raise funds in the fight against cancer. She is going to help even more by making her famous cheese ball. This cheese ball is so good that its one of the first things gone when put out during the holidays. Speaking of holidays Fathers Day is coming up, and this would make a great gift for dad. Please email me at (davidallencaton (@) yahoo.com ) for details if your interested.