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| It's all about the hair. Seriously. |
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
The LA look
This is just how we roll here in LA. No-No! Too sexy! Paparazzi beware.
Monday, August 9, 2010
One Hour
**note to reader: this is my first blog in a while. I might be a little nervous. Things might end too soon. Other things might be left unsaid. Don't fret. I'll get better with practice. Trust me. There will be more practice.
One Hour: What can it do for a guy?
Well, it can inspire a loooong overdue blog posting. What's a 14 month dark period between friends? One hour can help a person get things back in focus. One hour can also be spent commuting everyday. A person could spend that short 60 minute window making dinner, reading, snoozing during an "important" meeting, writing a report, or watching TV. In my case, one hour allows me to get to quiet places that people don't normally associate with Los Angeles. It also allowed me to press reset. I promise that I will write more about my break from writing and some new and exciting ideas that the wifey and I have about a new blogging adventure. Tonight I want to focus on what 60 minutes can do for me and my bike.
Earlier this year (I tragically can't remember when exactly) I went out for a long ride with my friend Paul. We decided to head up Angeles Crest Highway shortly after it had been reopened. This road was ground zero in a manner of speaking for the devastating forest fires last winter. The "forest" looked like a moon scape. Right around an hour into our climb up the mountain I came across a wonderful thing: life in a place where there wasn't much. The image spoke to me. This one image made me realize how amazing mother nature can be. If you push away all the distractions of your daily life and take a second to really see something real you can find balance and purpose. Oh god. that was over the top mellow dramatic. I hope the picture conveys what I'm trying to describe.
The second ah-ha moment came this weekend during my virgin trail ride on my new cyclocross bike (yes - I caved and purchased a wicked new ride for my next racing adventure. I'm sure there will be plenty of posts this winter.) Similar to when I climbed into the Angeles Crest National Forest, within an hour I found myself in the middle nature without a soul near me. This time my route took me into the heart of the Santa Monica mountains. I just followed the road up through one of the nicest parts of Santa Monica until it ended in dirt. Amazing really. I have really been struggling at work and at play lately. Getting off of the paved road and away from the agro drivers and snobby cyclists was a needed reset. I realized that I hadn't been off road on my bike for 16 years. Holy cow! Seriously? It's true. I forgot how nice it is out on the trails. I am a bit of a scaredy cat; however, I'm sure the skills will come back. I leave you with this snapshot and the promise of more to come; both with these cycling updates and exciting new adventures with the wifey.
The means of transportation
Sunday, July 5, 2009
S.L.O. Down
Hi all,
Rachel and I are back in our lovely town house with our butts firmly planted on our couch. This is our usual Sunday night ritual. This time of year, however, it's Tour de France time! wahoo. I love not having to plan out my TV watching for 3 weeks. Every morning I can switch on the tele and watch live coverage. Every night provides a chance to watch the "enhanced" coverage. You owe it to yourself to catch some coverage between 5pm and 8pm. Bob "BobKee" Roll is one of the most entertaining color men in all of sports. You will get a much deeper understanding of what life is like in the peleton ... I swear! You also might want to check out his book. Very funny!
As some of you already know, Rachel and I drove up to San Luis Obispo (SLO) to a) get me to a bike race yesterday; and b) have some down time in a lovely little town. The bike race was on a National Guard base outside of SLO. The roads were pretty cruddy and the course was really tough. Pot holes and steep climbs never stopped us crazy little bike riders. Bike racing is kinda like football; the weather doesn't cause cancelations. The race was interesting. I have really backed off my training and I think it has helped - sort of. My legs definitely feel more rested. Unfortunately, I think my endurance and race fitness have perhaps flagged a bit. It's so hard for me to really understand what's going on in my body. I suppose that is one of the magic intangibles that seperates the winners for the losers. I'm working on it. Can anyone make it easier?
The race played out as I might have suspected. Each successive lap got a little hard. Lap 5 of 7 turned out to be the breaking point for most. I knew it was going to happen and I positioned myself upfront as any smarty pants would do. The strongest climbers just up'd the speed and I couldn't match the increase. I felt my legs start to cramp (big surprise) and made a decision to notch it back. The lesson in all of this is that I might have ended up placing better if I risked a bit more on the 5th time up the climb. I dropped off the back of the lead group and then spent the better part of 3 miles turning myself inside out to catch back up to the group. Could i have survived the pace up the climb and had enough in my legs to hang on? I will never know. If I cramped up, well, my day is generally done. The energy I spent catching up cost me on the 6th ascent. I popped like a balloon at a dart game. The lead 12 guys started charging up the hill and I simply couldn't get any more torque out of my legs. I backed way off and just climbed at my own pace ... after I gathered myself. Popping usually involves some time going really slow and feeling stupid as people pass you :-) I recovered and picked up the pace. I hooked up with 3 other guys as we crested the hill and shot back down the other side. Our group became 6 on the way back down the hill on the last lap. I had no idea where we really sat in the overall scheme of things. I honestly thought we were about 30 back. 2nd or 30th didn't really matter to me as we rounded the final corner and stared down the final 400 meters to the finish line. I had a plan to give the final sprint everything that my non-sprinting legs could muster. My beautful wife had been sitting in the sun waiting around for 2 1/2 hours. I needed to put on a show! I hope the tickets to the show were cheap. It lasted all of about 5 pedal strokes. I got out of my saddle and tried to sprint ... my legs more or less locked up and I promptly sat back down. Realllllyyyy nice work eh? To honor the 4th of July I will give you a holiday inspired analogy. I lit my fire cracker and waited with anticipation for it to make a magnificent crack. All I got was a little fizzle. LOL. I am no sprinter and suffering over 7 climbs ensured that I wouldn't be one yesterday. It just gives me some more to work on next year. I came in 18th out of 90+ riders. I'm happy with that, although I believe I can contest for the win once I figure out my issues. Onward!
Picture of the course:
One side note to all of my shenanigans. I posted something a few blogs back about the problems and risks pro cyclists have when it comes to health care. I read something troubling this evening. Justin Williams, the Criterium National Champion for Under 23 riders, crashed hard last weekend at Manhattan Beach. The very same sketchy and crash-tacular race that I finished. He smashed his face into the stem (the metal extention that holds the handle bars to the bike frame) during his crash. He broke out his front teeth. He doesn't have any insurance even though he rides for one of the top US continental teams. It's ludacris! The local cycling community is trying to raise money for him to fix his teeth. I can't even image. Scary. Sad.
Anyhoo, that's about all I have for you tonight. toodles.
Will
Rachel and I are back in our lovely town house with our butts firmly planted on our couch. This is our usual Sunday night ritual. This time of year, however, it's Tour de France time! wahoo. I love not having to plan out my TV watching for 3 weeks. Every morning I can switch on the tele and watch live coverage. Every night provides a chance to watch the "enhanced" coverage. You owe it to yourself to catch some coverage between 5pm and 8pm. Bob "BobKee" Roll is one of the most entertaining color men in all of sports. You will get a much deeper understanding of what life is like in the peleton ... I swear! You also might want to check out his book. Very funny!
As some of you already know, Rachel and I drove up to San Luis Obispo (SLO) to a) get me to a bike race yesterday; and b) have some down time in a lovely little town. The bike race was on a National Guard base outside of SLO. The roads were pretty cruddy and the course was really tough. Pot holes and steep climbs never stopped us crazy little bike riders. Bike racing is kinda like football; the weather doesn't cause cancelations. The race was interesting. I have really backed off my training and I think it has helped - sort of. My legs definitely feel more rested. Unfortunately, I think my endurance and race fitness have perhaps flagged a bit. It's so hard for me to really understand what's going on in my body. I suppose that is one of the magic intangibles that seperates the winners for the losers. I'm working on it. Can anyone make it easier?
The race played out as I might have suspected. Each successive lap got a little hard. Lap 5 of 7 turned out to be the breaking point for most. I knew it was going to happen and I positioned myself upfront as any smarty pants would do. The strongest climbers just up'd the speed and I couldn't match the increase. I felt my legs start to cramp (big surprise) and made a decision to notch it back. The lesson in all of this is that I might have ended up placing better if I risked a bit more on the 5th time up the climb. I dropped off the back of the lead group and then spent the better part of 3 miles turning myself inside out to catch back up to the group. Could i have survived the pace up the climb and had enough in my legs to hang on? I will never know. If I cramped up, well, my day is generally done. The energy I spent catching up cost me on the 6th ascent. I popped like a balloon at a dart game. The lead 12 guys started charging up the hill and I simply couldn't get any more torque out of my legs. I backed way off and just climbed at my own pace ... after I gathered myself. Popping usually involves some time going really slow and feeling stupid as people pass you :-) I recovered and picked up the pace. I hooked up with 3 other guys as we crested the hill and shot back down the other side. Our group became 6 on the way back down the hill on the last lap. I had no idea where we really sat in the overall scheme of things. I honestly thought we were about 30 back. 2nd or 30th didn't really matter to me as we rounded the final corner and stared down the final 400 meters to the finish line. I had a plan to give the final sprint everything that my non-sprinting legs could muster. My beautful wife had been sitting in the sun waiting around for 2 1/2 hours. I needed to put on a show! I hope the tickets to the show were cheap. It lasted all of about 5 pedal strokes. I got out of my saddle and tried to sprint ... my legs more or less locked up and I promptly sat back down. Realllllyyyy nice work eh? To honor the 4th of July I will give you a holiday inspired analogy. I lit my fire cracker and waited with anticipation for it to make a magnificent crack. All I got was a little fizzle. LOL. I am no sprinter and suffering over 7 climbs ensured that I wouldn't be one yesterday. It just gives me some more to work on next year. I came in 18th out of 90+ riders. I'm happy with that, although I believe I can contest for the win once I figure out my issues. Onward!
Picture of the course:
One side note to all of my shenanigans. I posted something a few blogs back about the problems and risks pro cyclists have when it comes to health care. I read something troubling this evening. Justin Williams, the Criterium National Champion for Under 23 riders, crashed hard last weekend at Manhattan Beach. The very same sketchy and crash-tacular race that I finished. He smashed his face into the stem (the metal extention that holds the handle bars to the bike frame) during his crash. He broke out his front teeth. He doesn't have any insurance even though he rides for one of the top US continental teams. It's ludacris! The local cycling community is trying to raise money for him to fix his teeth. I can't even image. Scary. Sad.Anyhoo, that's about all I have for you tonight. toodles.
Will
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Wheels on the bike go round and round
Hi all,
It's time for another scintillating blog about bike racing and other crud that comes into my mind during this little typing session. Let's start off with some commentary about what rachel and I are watching on TV. "Blood, Sweat and Gears" which is a documentary about Team Garmin Slipstream's journey to the tour de france. It's very well done and quite interesting. Apparently, your not a real cyclist unless you break your collar bone. Let's hope I stay fake! Interesting stuff.
MS side note: I found an article about a new treatment being tested. It sounds promising.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/06/23/2606392.htm
Now then, I also wanted to give a quick update on my race Sunday. I participated in the Manhattan Beach Grand Prix. The race has been running for 34 years. It is also a NRC (National Racing Calendar) race, which means that it is very high profile. Why is it that high profile always equals sketchy? Who knows, but it is what it is. This race is always a crash fest. Sunday's race was no different. we didn't even make it 3/4 of a lap before 40 people were wiped out by a big crash. It's pretty sureal when you are flying along at 30 mph and then you here a crack, then a person's toosh is higher than it should be, and then it sounds like someone set off a brick of firecrackers. Carbon cracking everywhere - people hitting the deck left and right. It's nutty and scary as hell. The crazy thing is that I was actually relieved that there was a big crash. The field thinned out and it was easier to move around.
The rest of the race was great tactically. I stayed in the top 10 to 15 all race. I was agressively fighting to hold my position at the front of the race. I even had a plan to try and win this sucker. Easier said than done. Cycling is like basketball in some ways at least if you wanted to take my Dad's view; it's no fun to watch until the fourth quarter. The fourth quarter happens to be the last lap. I was sitting pretty going into the last lap. I made the 2nd to last turn in 7th wheel. My position was great. My plan was to make an attack about 100 yards from the last turn and try and hang on for 600 yards. My plan fell apart as soon as we got around the turn. The pace slowed way down and everyone started to bunch up. The front of a bike race is like a river; the water just flows freely and swarms the slower moving objects. I was the slower moving object. I got pinned behind other riders and that was that. My race was over. 43 minutes of great racing and 45 seconds of mistakes. Bummer!
The good news is that I am riding less and feeling better. I have one more race this weekend and then it might be time to sit back and get some perspective. Daddy like the idea of that.
Until I blog again.
Willy.
It's time for another scintillating blog about bike racing and other crud that comes into my mind during this little typing session. Let's start off with some commentary about what rachel and I are watching on TV. "Blood, Sweat and Gears" which is a documentary about Team Garmin Slipstream's journey to the tour de france. It's very well done and quite interesting. Apparently, your not a real cyclist unless you break your collar bone. Let's hope I stay fake! Interesting stuff.
MS side note: I found an article about a new treatment being tested. It sounds promising.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/
Now then, I also wanted to give a quick update on my race Sunday. I participated in the Manhattan Beach Grand Prix. The race has been running for 34 years. It is also a NRC (National Racing Calendar) race, which means that it is very high profile. Why is it that high profile always equals sketchy? Who knows, but it is what it is. This race is always a crash fest. Sunday's race was no different. we didn't even make it 3/4 of a lap before 40 people were wiped out by a big crash. It's pretty sureal when you are flying along at 30 mph and then you here a crack, then a person's toosh is higher than it should be, and then it sounds like someone set off a brick of firecrackers. Carbon cracking everywhere - people hitting the deck left and right. It's nutty and scary as hell. The crazy thing is that I was actually relieved that there was a big crash. The field thinned out and it was easier to move around.
The rest of the race was great tactically. I stayed in the top 10 to 15 all race. I was agressively fighting to hold my position at the front of the race. I even had a plan to try and win this sucker. Easier said than done. Cycling is like basketball in some ways at least if you wanted to take my Dad's view; it's no fun to watch until the fourth quarter. The fourth quarter happens to be the last lap. I was sitting pretty going into the last lap. I made the 2nd to last turn in 7th wheel. My position was great. My plan was to make an attack about 100 yards from the last turn and try and hang on for 600 yards. My plan fell apart as soon as we got around the turn. The pace slowed way down and everyone started to bunch up. The front of a bike race is like a river; the water just flows freely and swarms the slower moving objects. I was the slower moving object. I got pinned behind other riders and that was that. My race was over. 43 minutes of great racing and 45 seconds of mistakes. Bummer!
The good news is that I am riding less and feeling better. I have one more race this weekend and then it might be time to sit back and get some perspective. Daddy like the idea of that.
Until I blog again.
Willy.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Back in the big ring
Hi all,
It has been a couple of weeks since my Bakersfield experience - ah the memories. I have really come to terms with the race and how it unfolded. I mentioned in my previous post that one has to roll with the way the race unfolds. I should consider myself fortunate to have reconnected with the main group. At least I had a shot at placing well. That's generally considered a goal for most :-)
I think our little excursion to catalina really helped reset my brain and my body. I didn't realize how burnt out I was on racing. The pressure I put on myself doesn't really jive well with inconsistent results. This post isn't about the past - I'm feeling good and that's important. You should know. It's my job to keep you informed. So Here is the quick Sunday update for my lovely friends and family.
- training update: I've been taking it easy and that = sweet!
- racing update: raced today and I felt pretty good. I didn't place well, but I tried to aggitate during the race. I tried to create a break away (failed but felt good doing it). tried to lead my teammate to the front on the last lap ... I blew up, but he was 5th. good. In case you wanted to know the pain I was in today check out the graph below. This looks like my heart rate, but it is just the up and down of the course. LOL.
- future races: next weekend is a biggie. Manhattan Beach GP. Very high profile SoCal race. I was 12th last year. Perhaps I can man up and repeat. July 4th and 5th I will be up in San Luis Obispo for a road race and a criterium. That will close out the racing for the season. I think that will be a wonderful thing.
- MS ride: October 3 & 4. fundraising ideas are brewing. I think we are going to do a fancy auction in a couple of months. I tried to pull together a tour de france themed party, but we just didn't have enough time. Next year it will be HUGE though.
- Other stuff: My wonderful wife has a blog of her own. You should check it out. She is very excited about her tomatos and lettuce. Man o man, we are gonig to be eating sooooo gud!
http://foodartandflora.blogspot.com
I'll keep you posted on the upcoming hammerfests. send me any ideas on fundraiser events.
will
It has been a couple of weeks since my Bakersfield experience - ah the memories. I have really come to terms with the race and how it unfolded. I mentioned in my previous post that one has to roll with the way the race unfolds. I should consider myself fortunate to have reconnected with the main group. At least I had a shot at placing well. That's generally considered a goal for most :-)
I think our little excursion to catalina really helped reset my brain and my body. I didn't realize how burnt out I was on racing. The pressure I put on myself doesn't really jive well with inconsistent results. This post isn't about the past - I'm feeling good and that's important. You should know. It's my job to keep you informed. So Here is the quick Sunday update for my lovely friends and family.
- training update: I've been taking it easy and that = sweet!
- racing update: raced today and I felt pretty good. I didn't place well, but I tried to aggitate during the race. I tried to create a break away (failed but felt good doing it). tried to lead my teammate to the front on the last lap ... I blew up, but he was 5th. good. In case you wanted to know the pain I was in today check out the graph below. This looks like my heart rate, but it is just the up and down of the course. LOL.
- future races: next weekend is a biggie. Manhattan Beach GP. Very high profile SoCal race. I was 12th last year. Perhaps I can man up and repeat. July 4th and 5th I will be up in San Luis Obispo for a road race and a criterium. That will close out the racing for the season. I think that will be a wonderful thing.
- MS ride: October 3 & 4. fundraising ideas are brewing. I think we are going to do a fancy auction in a couple of months. I tried to pull together a tour de france themed party, but we just didn't have enough time. Next year it will be HUGE though.
- Other stuff: My wonderful wife has a blog of her own. You should check it out. She is very excited about her tomatos and lettuce. Man o man, we are gonig to be eating sooooo gud!
http://foodartandflora.blogspot.com
I'll keep you posted on the upcoming hammerfests. send me any ideas on fundraiser events.
will
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Attack of the body snatchers
You know what, I was going to write something cute, funny, witty, and entertaining. Change of plans. Today I am gonna give it to you straight because I am too tired and too frustrated. Today was the big race - SoCal State Championships. I have had some issues over the last 6 months preparing for this race. I think we are all familiar with my propensity to cramp. I changed up my training over the last 4 weeks in an attempt to get things back on track. I believed that things were coming around. I had ridden hard and cramp free for the last 4 weeks - wahoo! Apparently, I was misled :-)
Today's race wasn't a climber's course; however, there was a big climb that could/should prove decisive. We had to do 2 laps of a 31 mile loop. The climb was just before the middle of the route. Well, the first lap of the race was pretty pedestrian. The group stayed together (80+ people probably) over the climb and I only had to dig deep at the bottom of the climb. We rolled through the start finish line in a massive group headed toward the feed zone. In a race of this length it is necessary to have a feed. The feed zone is total chaos. Imagine a real life game of frogger. cyclists are diving all over the road to either grab a water bottle or get out of the way. Rachel did a bang up job of handing off my musette bag. lap one done. feeling good. ready for the pain to start on lap 2 ... and start it did. for me anyway.
I have known since this race last year that the second time up the climb would put the proverbial nail in many coffins. I was ready. It was obvious early that I didn't have "it" today. I positioned myself well despite my lame legs. I think I crested the hill in about 20th wheel. All would have been well if there wasn't that last little kicker that put a nail in my proverbial coffin. I cramped up hard and had to ride really conservatively down the hill. I couldn't extend my left leg, which makes it really hard to take technical corners.
Anyway, somehow I managed to pull it together and jump into a group that worked together and miraculously caught back up to the lead group. Frankly, the people that I lost at the top of the climb should have have been seen again. The tactics of this race were lame. There is no way that we should have rolled toward the finish with over 50 people in a pack. No way. That many riders only leads to nervous energy and almost certain accidents. What do you know ... there were 2 big crashes within 1 mile of the finish. I think I managed to get into the top 20 at the end of the day, but only because of the 2 crashes. Good stuff eh? That's bike racing I guess.
I obvioulsy have some stuff to figure out. I don't believe that my pysiology is so screwed up that I always cramp. I can ride with much stronger people in training, but I can't do it in races. I am not happy with my performance today. I shouldn't have been in the top 20 let alone the top 40. VERY frustrating. Tomorrow is another day and I will be training :-)
love and kisses.
will
Today's race wasn't a climber's course; however, there was a big climb that could/should prove decisive. We had to do 2 laps of a 31 mile loop. The climb was just before the middle of the route. Well, the first lap of the race was pretty pedestrian. The group stayed together (80+ people probably) over the climb and I only had to dig deep at the bottom of the climb. We rolled through the start finish line in a massive group headed toward the feed zone. In a race of this length it is necessary to have a feed. The feed zone is total chaos. Imagine a real life game of frogger. cyclists are diving all over the road to either grab a water bottle or get out of the way. Rachel did a bang up job of handing off my musette bag. lap one done. feeling good. ready for the pain to start on lap 2 ... and start it did. for me anyway.
I have known since this race last year that the second time up the climb would put the proverbial nail in many coffins. I was ready. It was obvious early that I didn't have "it" today. I positioned myself well despite my lame legs. I think I crested the hill in about 20th wheel. All would have been well if there wasn't that last little kicker that put a nail in my proverbial coffin. I cramped up hard and had to ride really conservatively down the hill. I couldn't extend my left leg, which makes it really hard to take technical corners.
Anyway, somehow I managed to pull it together and jump into a group that worked together and miraculously caught back up to the lead group. Frankly, the people that I lost at the top of the climb should have have been seen again. The tactics of this race were lame. There is no way that we should have rolled toward the finish with over 50 people in a pack. No way. That many riders only leads to nervous energy and almost certain accidents. What do you know ... there were 2 big crashes within 1 mile of the finish. I think I managed to get into the top 20 at the end of the day, but only because of the 2 crashes. Good stuff eh? That's bike racing I guess.
I obvioulsy have some stuff to figure out. I don't believe that my pysiology is so screwed up that I always cramp. I can ride with much stronger people in training, but I can't do it in races. I am not happy with my performance today. I shouldn't have been in the top 20 let alone the top 40. VERY frustrating. Tomorrow is another day and I will be training :-)
love and kisses.
will
Monday, May 25, 2009
Some much fun stuff
Man o man! It has been a few weeks since I updated my blog. I should really be a more prolific blogger. Alas, I don't often have profound things to proliferate. C'est la vie as the French say. Please, readers, don't start demanding more frequent updates. My blog would turn into some insane stream of consciousness piece; part movie quote, part making fun of people, part dialogue between me and my imaginary friends, and a dash of poignant thought. The image of a train wreck comes to mind. You all would watch/read said train wreck, but you wouldn't like it. I hope you understand the pressure I feel to make this a blog-tastic experience for everyone. On ward and upward. There is much to tell.
First off, I have to through out a Giro D'Italia centenary edition update. News Flash: real men wear pink as it turns out - in full spandex no less. Lance Armstrong is back in a Grand Tour after a 3.5 year hiatus ... and suffering. Levi Leipheimer, the great American hope, blew up today on a insanely grueling mountain stage with 17,000 feet of total elevation gain. The race is fraught with politics: Team "Faded" is the team formerly known as Astana (Lance's and Levi's team) is waiting on months of back pay from the Kazak government - the title sponsor - to the tune of a few million dollars. The riders decided to protest a very dangerous circuit race around Milan by not really racing until the last 10 miles of a 100 mile race. Incidentally, it is worth mentioning that the second place rider is on a professional continental team that doesn't get automatic bids to the big races: Tour de France, all the major spring classics that I mentioned in an earlier post, the tour of Spain (Vuelta). Heck, this guy won the Giro 2 years ago. He should be invited to all the tours. Golf does it. Cycling should too! Interestingly, the rider in question went to this smaller team because of the crazy rules the Pro Tour was mandating for the Pro Tour teams in the way of drug testing and such ... hmmm. Makes you wonder doesn't it? I have to assume he is clean at the moment because he is testing after every stage. I digress. There is one other thing that warrants mention. One rider suffered a horrific crash during a stage last week. He went over a guard rail during a very technical descent and plunged 70 feet into a ravine. It took rescue crews 30 minutes to find him once they repelled down the side of the cliff. The scary thing is that no one noticed he crashed right away because he was alone. It wasn't until a bit of time later (5 minutes maybe) that the team cars and medical caravan got to the site and noticed the bike. The riders are an amazing bunch. They ride with very little long term protection from their organization unlike the professional sports here in the states. They literally put their lives on the line every day. I don't think you will catch me going 70mph down a hill on a 15lb bike with nothing but spandex ... but they will. yikes!
On an unrelated note, Rachel and I had a lovely night last night. Met some friends for a little post bday celebration. beer. delicious sweet potato fries ... yum! We rounded it out with a trip to the movie theather to see Star Trek. Live long and prosper suckas! It was a fabulous theatrical experience. go see it. We also broke the apartment cocoon and went to a soiree at a fancy hotel to honor Phil Keoghan. He completed his ride across the US and managed to raise $475.000 for MS. I suspect he deserves a little pat on the back don't you?
Our dinner and movie excursion, plus our social engagement, were fitting adventures. The last few weeks for me have been all about shaking up the ordinary routine - on the bike - not the job :-( . I have put aside racing for a few weeks to try and tweak my "form." As you all know, my races have been, well, sucky. The modus operandi for the last 3 weeks and weekends was to increase my overall mileage and thrown in big days on the weekends. I think things have been going pretty well. There are only 2 weeks until the big race and I am hoping this work will pay off. I felt "good" on Saturday even though I was hurting. I never cramped up and that's a treat. I pushed as hard as I could on all the sections that warranted pushing hard. I blew up once and recovered, which is a good sign.
The summary of the last 3 Saturdays.
11,200 ft, 7,300 ft, and 7,000 ft of climbing during my 3 big rides.
78, 91, and 71 miles respectively
672 miles total over the 3 weeks
21 straight days of riding
hard climbing
pushing flats
not race pace, but good effort.
visualize my personal meat grinders...
"Bring the Pain" - rode with some very strong guys that pushed me to the limit.
"Wrong Turn" - we zigged when we should have zagged and went for a lovely detour. seriously :-)
"Simi-ngly easy" - this is the route many of the big name local pros use in Jan and Feb to turn up the heat. It was painful and good. I really put it out there to toughen up.
On an unrelated topic, my sister JoAnn just signed up for the MS 150 ride up in Seattle. That means that 2 of us crazy kids will be putting in some serious saddle time for MS (300+ miles if you were wondering). I am not sure what a reasonable rate per mile should be; however, expect to hear from us :-) Jo, maybe we could do some crazy double fundraising thing?
Alrighty kids. It's time to wrap up this memorial day weekend post. The mrs. and I are gonna get ready for the week ahead. Time for some ironing and lunch making. fun. Fun. FUN!
hasta luego.
w
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