Getting Funky On The Bike Like an Old Batch of Collard Greens

Two hours on the YCX course today. Emphasis on attacking the hills, and smooth riding. My dismounts still suck. Mah. Also figured out it's actually far easier to dis/remount on the right (wrong) side on the big run up. That way the remount is with the bike below on the slope, rather than trying to hop on with the saddle chest high!

I probably saw ten different people riding during my time out there. Looks to like the trails are becoming quite popular. That's good! I hope it brings out more folks to the races.

It was quite warm today. I've never been as ready for fall as this year. This summer's heat is one to be remembered.

Pushing the Thresholds

Today's ride is designed to push the threshold up just a bit. The cooler temps are really nice! Only 85F at ride time today!

The days are getting shorter. And I'm preparing. The PowerTap display has no backlight. Riding intervals afterdark is tough business. You can only check your power whenever you pass under a street light! The Garmin 705 has a backlight, and can read a 2.4+ PowerTap. My rhode PT is 2.4; meaning it can't be read... until now.

I ordered an updater from Saris. This updater upgrades the PT hub to ANT+ so the Garmin can read it. They send the updater and a new cover. The only change to the new cover is the label. It says "2.4+", where as the original says "2.4". Silly to me. I don't really care what it says!

Real simple upgrade process. Remove the cover. Pull out the battery basket. Plug in the updater. Throw the switch. Remove it. Put the battery basket back on.

Then put the cover on. I like to use a bit (and just a bit) of silicone grease on o-rings to ensure a weatherproof seal. The update the computer head firmware and it's done. It immediately paired on the Garmin. Now I've got backlit power display! One step closer to being ready for the fall.

30-30s

Peeking out my window, the pavement's dry. But the radar's painting rain. There's little doubt about what my future holds...

I prefer the mountain bike in the rain, so I take it. I do 3 sets of ten 30sec on (30sec off) intervals. Usually this more of a lung workout than a leg workout. But with the revolt still ongoing, the legs end up cooked!

Tomorrow's CX race is now definately downgraded to a maybe ...

Fizzle.

Tough intervals tonight. Not sure what's going on with my body right now. It seems to be in full revolt. I plowed through well enough. But I'm really hoping to break out of this funk soon.

Multi-Goaled

Today's goal was 2-hours of tempo work on dirt. I also wanted to pre-ride our modified CX course. The solution? Two hours of tempo work on the CX course, of course!

There's a new run up on the course...

A new route to avoid construction on the bayou trestle bridge...

And a new return loop that avoids the flood control district's easment. They objected to the races. All I can say is that with rain predicted for Tues/Wed this will be a challenging course. It's laid out great. Tough, but not in an unpossible way. It seems super hard when you're poking along, but at race pace, it's easier. Just right!

It's nice to have this just a few blocks from home. I started out on the mountain bike. I was able to ride for a bit over an hour, run home, refill water bottles, and then get some more laps in on the CX bike. Good stuff. I'm starting to think this course may be faster on the MTB...

Maintenance Day

Brutal describes Friday's training ride. By the end the accumulated week's fatigue rose to the forefront. After some R&R Friday evening, I delcare Saturday a maintenance day. Mostly I rode my couch. Watch college football. And replaced a bottom bracket that was victim of Huntsville's sand.

Tomorrow is some tempo work. The legs are feeling ready after today's rest.

There's Nothing Like A Race

Only a race can truly reset one preceptions about how fast one can ride. Both good and bad. It's exposed the slack in my training the last month or so. The upside, my fitness has improved since the spring season. Definitely not satisfied yet. Will I ever be?

This evening was awesome. Only 78°F at ride time. On the downside... the days are getting noticeably shorter. I ordered a updater today from Saris, so I can use the road bike PowerTap with the Garmin. Soon I'll need the backlight as all weekday rides get pushed into the darkness.

Howabout a simple meal? Step 1, grill some chicken...

Step 2, deglaze the pan with marsala wine and throw in some mushrooms...

Serve with some corn and mashed yams/steen's syrup/nutmeg/cinnamon...

Fall Race #1

I jinxed it. About 40min till start I checked the Blackberry. No rain on the screen. I mentioned it to the guy parked next to me. And within a minute... it was pouring! It poured up till the start.

It's hard to think of a lap around Huntsville as epic, but this one had it all. Rain, a cramp, a fall, a mechanical! Yeeha!

I didn't pre-register. First time that I didn't pre-reg and it sucked. I pre-staged in the back. At the start, I was dead last. Just before the single track narrowed, I realized there were only 4-5 in front, then a gap... I decided to try to move up. I picked up a couple of spots, but *poof* blew up by the first road crossing. Crap. After the short climb I got a cramp in the outside of my left leg. Ugh. Nothing to do but spin through it.

I started feeling better. And remade contact with my group around the spillway. After sliding down the trail at that point, my right cleat was no longer working. (It wasn't until cleaning up at home I discovered a cigarette butt of all things caught in the cleat!) The long CCC climb was supertough without being clipped in. I thought about stopping and cleaning the cleat. BUT! I wasn't about to try to get restarted in the silty-sandy-clayey slop. By the time I got back to the Chinaquipin cutoff, I managed to get clipped in YEAHHA!

From here, I was alone. Knowing I wasn't going to catch anyone in my class, I simply enjoyed the ride and intensity of racing along the trails.

I haven't seen the results. But I'm sure I was way OTB. I'm a bit frustrated. I ridden way faster on that course. Today was slow for me. I'm capable of better; I've done better! It was raining, afterall. Maybe that made some difference. But honestly, the rain packed the sand down. And I don't remember being that bothered by wet trail. The grip was amazing in most spots.

All of this isn't to say it wasn't a fun ride. It was an absolute blaaast! The most fun I've ever had at Huntsville! And definately top-five all time cycling experiences. Those trails got better with the rain!! The holes filled with sand washed; and the sand packed in. The turns burmed up, too. Just wish I'd had the motor to do it all justice!

One dirty bike! I'm still flossing sand out of my teeth!

The Pre-Excuse is in!

A racer without a pre-excuse is an unprepared racer!

pre⋅ex⋅cuse [n. pri-ik-skyoos]

1. an explanation offered as a reason for performing poorly in a race, specifically, before the race actually happens; a plea offered in extenuation of a fault or for release from an post-race smack talk, heckling, shame, etc.: His pre-excuse is lack of sleep last night due to a rock under his sleeping bag.


2. a pretext or subterfuge used to lower expectations before a race.

There's nothing funnier than listening to all of the pre-excuses at the start line of a race. You'd think it was bunch of 80-yearolds that had never trained before lining up with all of the moans and groans.

Consider this my pre-excuse for Huntsville: I've barely been on the bike over the last two weeks. My legs felt feckless on last night's ride. I'm not expecting a miracle by tomorrow. None-the-less... I AM looking forward to it! Even bad days on the bike are good days!

I Need a Manager

Today I woke up to the second workday of the week. Quick, what day is the second workday of the week? Right Tuesday. For me today was Tuesday. I did my normal Tuesday things at work. I ate my food off Tuesday's training plan. I even rode my scheduled Tuesday ride. BUT IT'S WEDNESDAY! And I missed my CX Race!! GGGHRRRRH!

Life with Hard Labor

The storm is over. The last two weeks have been... in a word... tough. Work intruded into training. A temporary situation that is now complete. Time to return to normal with nearly two weeks off of the ol' trainig plan. Restarting is always frought with uncertanties. How much have I lost? Jump in, or ease in? All questions to be answered over the next couple of days. Although, there isn't much choice! Cross racing on Wednesday and an XC race on Sunday.

Fast eating.

Tonight's CX race makes me feel fat and slow. Atleast I can be fast in the kitchen! Lettuce, cherry tomatoes, deli chicken, cucumber slices, blue cheese, dash of vinegar. Wrap. Done. Takes like 45sec.

More about the CX racing after next week's race. Need to do this right before I form any opinions...

Saddle Therapy

Tough day today. The kind of day that reminds me that working for pay does not equal making a living. This was not the day to go out and push myself. The heart and will just weren't there. That said... riding the couch wasn't an option either. Instead of taking the night off and wallowing in my day; I rode. No training plan. No goals. I put the PowerTap head away into my pocket.

Days like today remind me why I cycle. What did I do before? Sometimes it feels like there are two parts to my life. BC- before cycling and AC- after cycling.

Good Luck!

Wednesday I traveled to Aransas Pass for the christening ceremony for the hull I've been working on for the last few years. It's almost impossible to capture the scale of this thing. That photo is taken from almost a mile away. Here are some pictures I took in August of 2007...





We've come a long way. The champagne bottle broke and we all wish the hull the best of luck.

I have my own story of good luck from today's ride. Meet the Topeak Mirco Rocket.

This is a tiny air pump, that about the diameter of lipstick and not very long. I don't typically carry a pump on in-town rides. But it was laying in my helmet, so I picked it up and tossed it into my jersey pocket, rather than put it up. Good thing.

About an hour into today's ride I have a flat. Quickly I have the new tube in. Hitting it with the CO2 only results in a *KAPPOW*. Uhoh. I carry patches. But if you've ever tried to find a hole in a deflated tube... it's umm... hard! But. After hitting it with the tiny air pump, it's really easy! Patch on. Take off and back to work!

Sensory Saturation

Yesterday's long road ride gave my mind some time to drift. One thing that bounced around my noggin are the diffrerences between road riding and mountain biking. What makes them so different?

Having time to have wandering thoughts is the main difference. Going down the trail there ton's of things happening that keep the mind filled. Picking a line, reacting to the bike, looking ahead as far as possible. There's so much stimulation flying toward you, you don't even think about them. There is no think on good singletrack -- only do. The senses saturate and all the tensions, stress, problems all fall away. They have no space in the mind crowded by fun.

The road experience is nearly the opposite. It's solitary. Hours in the saddle are lonely. An iPod, my shadow, and a loooong straight line are my only companions. My mind has time to wander. There's time to think: "doG dammit it's hot. Or "is my saddle too high?". "is that brake dragging?". "need to get XYZ done when I get back.". "did I leave the oven on?". "*yawn* how can I yawn while on a training ride?". "what's for dinner?". "how long can I stay on the lane stripe?". The physical act of riding is only a tertiary part of the experience. It's a more cerebral experience.

I suppose I could say that mountain biking is about absorbing stimuli. Road biking is more about how I manage my thoughts, and an unending search for stimuli from the music in my ears, the scenery, or if I'm luck enough a riding partner.

... just some rambling thoughts for a rest day! I need some singletrack!

I Made A List and Yet...

I left something critical at home this morning. I check my list twice and set out for Waller County for a long country road ride. As I arrive at my parking location, I realize I forgot my cell phone. Meh, no need for it unless something goes wrong with the new bike.

As I take my key off the ring and go to put in the my seat bag... it's not there. I haven't put it back on after the build. That means no spare toob, no CO2 carts, no tools. Hmmm. No phone. No spares. Nearly deserted roads in the middle of nowhere. The prospect of any mechanical issue morphing into a 10-mile walk... in bike shoes... doesn't seem appealing, even if odds are remote. So back to the house, grab the bag, and back to the parking location! I forget the phone. Again. But I've got my tool, spares, and should be AOK.

This is a new route for me. This photo pretty much sums up the back roads of Waller County. Flat. Free of traffic. Some nice countryside. Reminds me of where I grew up!

I try to draft the hay-hauler, but he is just a leeeetttle bit too fast!

The late start equates to heat. Lots of heat! The sun is beaming. The blast coming off the tarmac is stunning. Like a slap in the face. Even the cows are smart enough to seek shade! Are they mocking me?

The heat hurts my performance. The power's down and not to my target. Even carrying an extra water bottle to splash on the head, there's not much I can do in heat-of-the-day. This heat would take the fight out of Muhammad Ali. It's not the workout I wanted. I get the volume at least. At completion, a bad discovery...

Some bassterd would-be thief tried to break into my truck last night. This is not a surprise. My model of truck is the most burglarized vehicle in America. For good reason. It's real easy to get into. What I hadn't noticed... is that the key won't operate the lock because of the damage. Same on the driver's side from a previous break-in. I'm locked out. I didn't realize this, because I'd been using the keyless entry fob. The fob, that I don't carry when I ride. I take the key off. Uh-oh. No cell phone either!

Lucky, lucky me went back to fetch his bike tool! With much foolery, swearing, and brute force I complete the would-be thief's job! A Topeak bike tool isn't too good for burglarizing cars. But can work in a pinch. Good to konw. Time to fix some doors.

Crossovers

This frameset followed me home.

Can I keep it? Yup. Techincally, I have not bought another bike. This frame is replacing my current rhode bike. It's a little nicer than what I've got, but more importantly it's a size smaller. I'm a tweener on a road bike. I finished up the build on Friday. A long ride tomorrow will tell whether I'm satisfied with the fit. If so, I'll sell the larger frame. Or not.

Got out for a couple of rounds of disc golf at TC Jester with my friend TC. Been a loooong time since I've thrown and it felt good. Could this count as crosstraining? Nah.

The cross theme contined. We ventured over to Stude Park to check out the CX course. Here's a shot across White Oak Bayou...

From here it looks innocent enough. But upclose, it's a long climb that also steeeep. This course is gonna hurt. In a good way! Mostly it looks to be hella fun! I. am. excited.

New CX Bike

Meet the new bike. This is what I'm using to experiment with cyclocross this season. While not a pure cross bike, I like that this bike has great secondary use potential outside of cross season. It's going to see a lot of use. Better pics coming soon.

Two for the Road, Zero for the Bike

A notable weekend. I watched a movie. This is notable because I rarely watch movies. Like maybe three or four a year. Most of the time movies bore me to tears. I just end up falling asleep. My friend EG calls it cinematic narcolepcy.

Anyway... Two for the Road was the cinematic selection. the film stars Audrey Hepburn and a very young William Daniels. Audrey Hepburn is one of my favorite actresses. I've seen all of here movies now, except Breakfast at Tiffanys. Sabrina is one of my top-10 all-time favorite movies. Two for the Road is also excellent. Cars are featured prominently in the movie. But most of all, the movie is not what I expected. This one's in my top-10 favorite now, but I'm not sure how good it will be watching a second time.

Unfortunatly, I was stricken with a painful throbbing headache. I rode, but only a short junk-mile ride. The heart, soul and legs just weren't up to the aggressive program I had set out to do.

Sunday hasn't been much better. The headache returned and I slept in. Missed my opportunity to get out in the "cool" temps. The motivation to set out at the peak temps of the day for a 4-5hr endurance ride approached ZERO.

I'm in a bit of a funk. Bad timing too. Only 4wks until the fall season kicks off for me. I've got a bad feeling this upcoming week's going to be a bit of a struggle. One I'll get through but not easily.

Juggling the Schedule and Plan

More rain today. Acutally a pretty good storm. As soon as the lightening passes... I'm out the door, much later than I wanted. It's still raining, but it's cool. It feels greeeat. I depart with an alternate plan in mind. Originally tonight was to be a lactate threshold ride. But after the last two days of intervals the legs aren't capable of the duration. I can do the intensity, but not the duration. I take an alternate path. I go out for race start practice.

This works great. I get some great intensity. I get some threshold work in... though in short doses. Tomorrow and Friday are light days. Then some long mileage for the weekend.