Propulsion

I finally got out on the road yesterday, it's good to move forward than just spinning my wheels for hours on end. After reading a few other blogs I think it's time for me to step it up and get outside more. The cold isn't as bad as you may think, and I'm sick of the music on my itunes already...which is my only entertainment riding inside. I hope the next few days are above 20* or so...I'd really like to ride some gravel and log some longer miles. I'm really hoping this new bike and all the training I'm doing will make a difference next year, so hard to judge where you're at during the off season. I honestly can say I've never trained like this for anything since highschool/college basketball, it'll be interesting to see how it pays off. I wish I could use the same diligence and effort for other parts of my life, something to work on for the new year.

Off to Irwin's Christmas Extravaganza (ok maybe not that great) to get some food in my belly before my ride and see if my new Specialized frame is in...sometimes you have to make your own merry Christmas! ho ho ho ho ho ho.......

Ps...hope my family's jerseys are in that I ordered two days ago and paid express shipping for b/c I waited too long to xmas shop :-0

Training

I've been pretty consistent in the last 3 weeks putting in around 8 to 12 hours of training a week depending on my legs. This last Saturday I thought I'd enjoy a two hour spin while watching "There will be Blood." I was way off...I couldn't hear a damn thing, and my legs felt like bricks. I couldn't hold a 140 HR, and my ass hurt something horribly. What's the point of this movie, some people are too greedy, and others are a little too caught up in religion? Both suck. I did get my 2 hours in but I think my next long effort needs to be in w/ a group.

Today after a meeting I headed out to Denman's for a quick run through. I was pumped about getting in some mtb time b/c last snow I went out and had a blast, but I want to get better at that sport. I probably should have just gone out to Grey's Lake and rode around on the pond there. I think the whole trail was about 3 inches of snow w/ 5 inches of ice underneath...not fun. I did not go fast, I only really fell once, but it wasn't much of a workout. I was one of two other people out riding, and probably 3rd through the track since the snow...which wasn't as cool as I thought it'd be b/c of the aforementioned facts. Hope we lose that ice, or I won't be out there much this winter.

Went to train at Irwin's on the way back and Derrick split his wrist open, (no it wasn't b/c he's depressed) he fell on the rollers into a metal bike stand. That required 8+ stitches...good work! The movie was right, "there will be blood."

Not looking forward to roller races, need to work more on power, not fun...but then again, it's fun to go fast, maybe I should just shut up and ride!

A look at my G2 bottle after the ride...nothing like a G2 slushy after an hour ride in freezing temps!

Cup o' Mud

I'm pretty excited about this...give me a reason to get out and ride at least 4 hours a few times this winter...Gimme dat dere cup o Mississippi mud partna!

http://www.cyclingupdate.blogspot.com/

Jingle Cross Rock

What a weekend! I'm definitely falling more and more in love w/ this sport. It's funny b/c last year I did not even know cyclocross existed, now I'm not sure what else I'd be doing. I never thought in my 28 years of existence that I'd be looking forward to racing my bike in sub 32* snowy/wet/muddy/windy conditions.

Day 1
Steve drove over in the beautiful new lime green Honda Element. This baby is one nice ride...plus we can fit both our bikes in without taking off wheels, real nice. The morning of the race we arrive about 45 mins before start time to get ready and warmed up. After the first race gets over we go pre-ride the course and wouldn't you know it, we miss the "call up" for the start line and start out dead last. (On a side note, I didn't even know what a "call up" was, so I shouldn't get too upset at myself.) Conditions were pretty greasy and I got lucky and avoided a few crashes the first lap which set me up pretty nicely. On about lap 4 that luck ran out. I'm riding along the side of the hill with no one around and my back tire slips from underneath me and I go down, try to get up, fall down again. I try and pull my bike up the hill to get some traction and about 8 people passed me. I picked off a few but ended 27th out of 57. The race in general was a sufferfest and that run-up didn't help at all. My average heart rate was 188, maxing at 197...so it wasn't like I wasn't trying. There was always tomorrow...

Day 2
I woke up to 2 inches of snow on the ground. Usually when I wake up in the morning and look outside right away I'm skiing. This time, however, I was in Iowa and I was bike racing, yet still excited to see the snow. I've never ridden my bike in the snow so I was eager to see how I'd handle. Since I'm new to the sport, and young, I race in the "beginner" category. The thing about Jingle Cross that sucks is that they make the course easier and shorten the laps. We never got to descend Mt. Krumpit like the videos on youtube show, pretty disappointed but the race must go on. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mX5baTMfczE) Steve and I get our shet together and we are in line for the "call up." (so I'm 50% making it to the start line on time in my career, not a good stat.) What a difference this makes, someone said the start makes up 20% of your race. Well I went from mid-pack to top 10! I avoided a lot of trouble and stayed on my bike most of the race, which was key. I wish I would have really dug down and went for it a bit more, I think I could have cracked top 7, but I'm learning...only my 4th race.

Overall a great venue, Steve and I really seemed to improve this weekend. I'm thinking of Nationals b/c I don't want this season to end and it'd be fun to go and push it to see how much I've improved. I think we recruited 2 new riders next year, Ethan and his adventure racing friend, Vanessa. I hope I can continue to improve, and the sport continues to grow.

Extra special thanks to Ethan for the hospitality and Steve for driving...here's a good pic of my boys.