Boring Ride

Plan: 2:hours endurance pace.

I roll out to do my "In the loop, loop". It's roughly the West End Bicycles shop ride route with some modificaiton. It's a nice day. The ride is completely unremarkable. Other than I forgot my front light. River Oaks is daaark at night. Just causes me to take a bit more care. And absolutely do not depend on cross traffic stopping.

Careful nutrition has paid off. Despite calorie deficits. Didn't bonk yesterday or today. It's all about the afternoon snack! PB&J scarfed down between afternoon meetings was the snack of choice today.

Heat's Back.

Today's plan: 4x 7'min at 110-120%FTP with 3-5'min between.

Triple digits today. Heat index is 105°F as I roll out. Twenty+ knot wind as well. It helps with the heat some. As I ride to the Froot Loop I'm feeling weaker than expected. Maybe not unexpected. It's the heat, right? As I get closer... it's clear it's not the heat. I'm in a full blown BONK! Weak. Lightheaded. Nauseous. Shakey. Headachey. Immediately I hit the gas station. Potato chips, half of a coke, nutter butters, and aboot 15'minutes in the shade. I'm better. Not sure if I can do this today, but might as well try, right?

I barely make my power target on the first interval. Barely. It's clear... I'm not meeting my target today. That's OK. I do the best I can. I manage to keep 90%FTP or so. Not what I want, but time is more important than intensity at this point. Back to the house for some reflection on this one...

BONKs! are always a serious training mistake. I'm relieved in a way. My body is letting me know it's running at a calorie deficit. I'm not over-eating. I'm under-eating. I'm trying to do that, as I'm trying to drop a few pounds. BUT... if I don't get through my workouts... it's not worth it. Getting the training in carries much bigger benefits than losing a few pounds. It's a fine line.

Today... my food timing needed to be better. The idea is to run a deficit over the entire day, but... during training time. Skipping my afternoon snack did me in today. Will do better tomorrow...

Leaks, Roots, Dust, Batteries

Three hours on trail at endurance to tempo pace.

Simple plan that turned more complex.

Some background. I recently developed a loud skreeeeetch on the front brake along with a loss of braking power. I swapped the brake pads front-to-back and the noise transferred with it. My suspicion was that somewhere along the way I contaminated the pads. Then this thread showed up with reports of leaking hoses on M985 XTR brakes. I carefully checked, but saw no leak. Until today.

Right as I rollout a quick glance and I see a teeny drop right at the hose crimp on the banjo fitting. I press on. Shortly before arriving at the trail... the PowerTap goes wonky. Dead batteries. Bummer. I wanted to really keep a consistant effort level today. I press on. The trail is in really bad shape. The drought's effects are showing up as stress on the trails. There are parts of the trail that have lowered six inches over the last few weeks. Unfortunately, the roots have not dropped.



The dirt is... like baby powder, only finer. Moon dust. The stress on the trails is really showing. The fact that these are the only trails in a city of two million people doesn't help. And the crowd is thick today. I meet an oncoming rider about every 100 yards it seems. There is just no rhythm or flow today.

All together it's a frustrating day. But I do my best. And I get about two-and-a-half hours of riding in. While I don't think my effort is that good... the fatigue I feel later suggests otherwise. This is why I like the PT. It keeps me honest.

The day ends with some maintenence items to be done and some rest for tomorrow.

Rebounding

POD. Approx 1:hour ride not exceeding reocvery power level. Keep cadence high today. Light, but fast pedal stroks. Concentrate on keeping cadence greater than 90RPM.

With tight and somewhat sore legs from yesterday's ride, going for another ride today seems counterintuitive. But following up a hard ride with an easy ride really speeds the recovery, releases the soreness, and helps flexibiliity.

Rolling out... keeping the low power goal -easy. Keeping the cadence up -hard. I do my best. Sure enough as the ride continues, the cadence comes easier. The legs start to come alive again. Before I know it, it's time to go home. Short ride. But not before swining by Freebirds for a monster burrito. Yum.

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

Today... the plan is a 2:hour Tempo paced ride. I'm feeling pretty frisky today. I think I'll pin it to the top of the Tempo power range. As the ride proceeds... indeed I'm keeping this ride pinned. I constantly nibble at the bottom of the threshold zone. The legs feel greeeeeeat. The lungs are clear, and the heart rate seems pretty normal (not sky high like yesterday).

Today's ride is under an unusual atmosphere. Tons of nearby wild fires. Blowing smoke abounds. The sky is gray, but not with clouds. Can't really smell the smoke. But... from time to time invisible particulates waft into my eyes. It makes them tear up. Burns. But it isn't gritty like when sand blows at the beach. The ambient light is sooper warm. A photographers dream. In fact, I saw two out shooting architecture photos. This is a rare event, to have rich light like this. So rare, I paused to take a few snaps with the P&S myself...











...would have like to taken some better set up shots with the DSLR.

Some time on the foam roller completes the day's training.

A Fresh Start

I lost my computer. Left it in my suitcase. Sitting on the street. Where I placed it while I loaded my bike in the rack. I drove off without putting it in the truck. Also in suitcase... my thumbdrive with all of my training data. Four years worth. Because of the likelihood of losing a thumbdrive... I *did* keep a back up of the information on it. On the laptop. That was in the suitcase.

So... I've been busy rebuilding my training spreadsheet. My training log has evolved over the years. It is designed to minimize the time spent typing in stuff. I'd rather do other things than type stuff in to a computer. I like the presentation of the data. It's simple. And mostly graphical. Because I'd rather ride my bike rather than pour over numbers. I was tempted to chunk it. I use WKO+. But several times I've discovered trends, or patterns, or diagnosed training mistakes with it more easily than I ever could with WKO+ or Training Peaks. So reconstruct... I shall. And make a few improvements along the way.

Back to regular business... the weather is also off to a fresh start. After weeks of record heat... we are challenging overnight low... yes low... temperature records. As I set out on my ride tonight... I'm feeling... different. Not run down. Not beat up. It's a mere 88°F. It feels wonderful.

Nothing special tonight. Just a simple 4x 5'min set at 90-110%FTP. Not sure why but my heartrate is sooper high tonight. I hit my (theoretical age-based) maximum tonight. The intervals don't feel that hard. It may be dehydration. I didn't drink much water today. The air is dry too. We'll see what happens over the next few days...

Today's trace.. isn't a 'pretty' as those done on rollers...



... but a heck of a lot more fun!

Historic Heat

Oh enough! This summer has been epic. We're breaking records from the summer of 1980. Though I was young... I remember that summer. I played outside constantly. But returned inside each day at lunch to watch the weather with Rob Robin on KPLC. to see if we'd broken a record. I remember him talking about the extensive drought in Texas, which seem so far away. This summer was the exact same weather pattern, exact same results.

I'm officially tired of it. Today I simply don't feel like fighting it. Just as well, as there is work to be done. The HighBall is filthy. Gritty. With the dry weather, comes dusty trails, leads to gritty bikes. It's been a while...



...there is Colorado dirt, Houston silty moon dust, and Texas hill country lime powder on there.

The cleaning goes well. With some additional steps. I've had the freehub not, errr, free a few times on the trail. Not consistantly, but every now and again I'd stop pedaling but the chain would keep going. Given that this rear (PowerTap) hub is a couple of years old, investigating is in order.

I'm a bit nervous about this. I generally avoid freehub internals. Throwback to childhood, when my dad once warned never to take that apart or I'd never get it back together. Naturally, I took it apart. And quickly discovered my father (like most things in life) was right.

Freehubs are much simpler today. So before I wrap a brand new XTR derailler around my spokes and take out a seat stay... I dig in. As I put the cone wrench on the axle... it's loose. Not even finger tight. Hmmm. It all comes apart easy. Here's the culprit...



Some cleaing, degritting, regreasing and all appears mostly well. The pawl seems to 'catch' a bit. Maybe replace soon? Reassembly is easy. Just crew on the axle flat, preload the bearings, ready to go. It's a lot quieter now too. We'll see how it holds together.

Sunday on Trail

Sunday's plan is a 2-3:hour tempo ride out at WCP. I got some solid rest in on Saturday and an ready to go as I roll out. Things are great on trail...



Whether at night or by day, smiles are everywhere if you look closely...



It's unbearably hot. I can fell the heat of the air filling my lungs. No cooling even in the shade. I cut things off just shy of my time goal. The thermometer tells all...



Still a good day on trail. The end of my day, however...

And the Heat Goes On

Plan: 2:hour trail ride, tempo or better pace. Pin it for some short sprints.

What happened: Early, I did the missed interval ride from yesterday. Indoors. On the rollers. I really appreciate the intensity one gets from the rollers. And the cool environment.

The heat has been epic. Yesterday we broke the record for most days over 100°F. Previous record was 1980, and we've got almost an exact duplicate weather pattern this year. May break the all-time high temperature this weekend. Forecast is 106°F.

The planned trail ride wasn't possible. Last night's rain had the trails closed. So... it was an hour on the road bike with some sprints mixed in for fun.

A good day, but looking forward to some longer riding this weekend.

Natures Disco Lights

Plan: Early session of 7'min intervals at 110%FTP. Afternoon tempo ride on the trail.

What happened: Early ride didn't happen. Work emergency. The afternoon ride is... errr. delayed. Nearby thunderstorm make the go/nogo decision tough. I watch the radar. The storm is intense. But isolated. And looks like it will pass just to the west of my route. Screw it... I'm goin'. I'll deal with whatever comes...

The wind is so strong, and so dry and dusty visibility is only about 3 blocks. Crazy. By the time I reach the trail head it is dark. Tons of lightening, but far enough away not be a bother. Into the trees. Let's go...



The lightning makes an eerie strobe effect. Like a highschool dance. Lightening. Dark. Alone. In the woods. Creepy yet relaxing after a hard day. This always look just a liiitle different at night...



I stay dry until the very end. Just light sprinkles, but as powdery as the trails are right now... I dont't want to get caught out. It will be soupy. The raindrops are cooling. Welcome this time of year. Home. Shower. Sleep.

Rest.

Plan: Nothing. Just some QT with the foam roller.

My Favorite Nut

Plan: Ride 2-3:hours. On trail. Tempo pace. Emphasis on technique.

Result: Walnut Bend was the trail of choice today. Before I begin... prepare for heat.



Essential cold for a hot day. Good shade out here, tho...



Bone dry. Luckily there is enough natural lime in the soil here to keep the dirt from turning into powder...

The creekbed.

I take a brake to fill bottles and my stomach.



Potato chips taste better during rides. Fact.

It's a great ride today. Good emphasis on technique. My main focus... using Keith Code's recommendation of completing turns in one move. No mid-course corrections. This is not easy. Have you tried it?

This is cool...

Our understanding of how something as (seemingly) simple as a bicycle, is actually quite poor...

Double Up

Plan: Another split ride today. Early session is short intense intervals. 5'min x 110%FP, 3'min recovery. Later session is trail ride at a medium pace about 90'minutes.

Result: I jump on the rollers to avoid the major heat of the day for the first session. The nice thing about rollers, is the ability to keep the pace absolutely consistant.



Even nicer is doing it in the living room when it's like a blast furnace outdoors. All is well. Routine.

The afternoon session is outdoors. There is no avoiding it. It's H-O-T!



No meowing, I set off in the heat armed with four water bottles. The ride to the trail is the worst part. Concrete. 104 ° F. Treeless Houston. This was a welcomed site. Shade.



I must be crazy to be out in this heat... the normally crowded trails are almost empty. For some reason I'm in tune with the trail today. The human-machine-trail interface is all in tune and flowing (as best as possible at MP). The legs are bit tired from the earlier session. That's good, making what little elevation change MP offers into a challange. The roller work appears effective.

Only squeeze in about 40'minutes on trail, and I'm out of water. Four bottles in an hour. I divert to my nearby office, which luckily has this...



If it were big enough I would jump in. I settle for stuffing bottles with it. The respite from the heat was needed. It doesn't take long and I'm back to the house, and off for an evening of travel...

Crosstraining

Plan: Do a variety of exercises for hips, abdominals and lower back muscles.

Result: Done. Good benefits for bike handling and injury prevention.

Had It With The Heat

Plan: Two rides today. A session of four five-minute long intervals at 110%FTP early in the day. In the afternoon a tempo paced trail ride.

Result: It was 102° today. Simply no way to do any intensity in this heat. So... it's the aluminum highway...



The second ride was in the afternoon, on trail. During a "cooler" part of the day. It was only 96°. Luckily much of the trail is under tree cover. Helps. But shields the breeze.



It's all roots and powder today. We really could use some rain. Bad.

The split day worked well. Got the intensity, got the duration, avoided the heat. This is going to be the pattern for next few weeks.

Seven Weeks

That's all I've got until the first fall race. Fall in seven weeks? One can only hope.

The races:

10/2	Huntsville Classic, Huntsville TX
10/16	Piney Hills Classic, Ruston LA
11/13	The Tyler Race, Tyler TX

The next seven weeks will be pretty intense. My goal is to come away from the fall season satisfied that I've pushed my body, improved my skills, and honed my racecraft in some significant ways.

IM Boulder

Jane had a great race! I took a lot of pictures.

Colorado Riding, Day 2

Day starts out with a futile ride around Boulder. I get lost. While I could probably quickly relocate my destination, I enjoy a ramble around the city. I ride through the downtown area, the historic district (really nice), and out to Colorado University area. All nice and very different parts of town.

I finally arrive at my destination, a camera shop, only to find it is closed. Fun exploring anyway.

The altitude hasn't bothered me. Not a bit. And I'm surprised. Home elevation is 50 feet. Boulder is 5,300-ish. I run the numbers on density altitude. I'm surprised... despite the 5,000+ ft of elevation... because of the lack of humidity, the density altitude is actually lower than what I've been riding through in Houston.

But the day isn't over. I return to Valmont for another dose.



My technique starts getting sloppy. And I'm deadmanning the bars. I'm tired.

Only some minor riding tomorrow for photo ops during the IM70.3 race.

Colorado Riding

In Boulder Colorado supporting my lady for Ironman 70.3 Boulder. No self-respecting mountain biker would visit Colorado and not spend some time on the bike. My goal was to get out and ride some terrain that I don't get to in Texas, and perhaps expand my abilities on that terrain.

Boulder isn't known for it's singletrack. Poking around I discovered most of the singletrack is a good drive away. But I programmed the closest one that's barely bikeable to into the Garmin. Then a bit of fortunate luck struck.

I've been reading Lee McCormack's Lee Likes Bikes for years. Great blog that's been a great source of biking tips. I learn something every time I read it. Lee wrote the book on bike handling skills. No really, he wrote the book. I think every mountain biker buys this book at some point. Anyway... I was browsing my blog roll, and came across this post. Lee is offering skill clinics at Valmont Bike Park. The name "Valmont" struck a bell. Hey, isn't our hotel on Valmont Rd?

Sure enough, the park where Lee was teaching a clinic, lies just a mere quarter-mile away. Tally up another thing I've learned on Lee Likes Bikes.



I immediately email Lee to see if I can get into the clinic, and head over to the park to check it out. The park is amazing. HERE is the website. It doesn't do the place justice. The park ranges from the very basic skills loop, to a nice skills area called "Dirt 101", to some fun, swoopy single track ("The Glades"), to dirt jumps, to dual slalom downhilling. It's like an amusement park for dirt riders of any age, type, and skill level.

There are a good number of features, both small and large.







The loop format, gets repetitive. This does two things. First it gets a touch boring. And it builds confidence. That combo, leads to bravery. So I tried features I'd have never even attempted.

I even tried some jumps. Not these, but the smaller ones behind!



After a day of challanging my skills, I didn't do the clinic. Dearly wish I'd had a place like this to ride as I was learning. Well... I'm still learning, and I learned a lot today. Certainly fulfilled the goal of riding something we don't have in Houston, and improving my abilities.



One can forget this is just on the edge of town. With temperatures in the high 80s falling to the low 70s by dusk... I'm glowing and beaming!



Truly a beautiful place.