Well, it's been a few days since the race, but I thought I would type something up anyway. This was a beast of a race for the first one back. 30 miles with 1800 ft of climbing per lap. That's what the website is, but those guys always exaggerate. My dad did a lap, and his computer said 9 miles with 1500 ft of elevation gain. Either way, that's a lot of climbing in a short distance, which means all the climbs were steep. Not my forte. Steep climb, short descent, steep climb, short descent. Not much rest.
All things considered, I guess I did ok. I wasn't terribly happy with my time, but I did it a little faster than I did a few years ago. I didn't fade on the last lap like I have had a tendency to do in the past. In fact, I think I made up a few places on the last lap. I ended up 9th with a time of just under 2:55. I definitely expected a lot more, but I guess I shouldn't since all the other guys had race fitness and I didn't.
The new Yeti did ok. I wasn't horribly happy with the way it was riding, but that isn't the bike's fault. I rode it more in the race than I had at all before. I need to get the fork and shock dialed in and it should be like butter. I think I have the air pressures right and just need to mess with the rebound. Either that or they just need some breaking in. All in all, it's a great bike. Can't wait to get it smoothed out.
This coming weekend is the Eldora race, which, matches my strengths a little better. Short climbs, steady climbs, some flats, and fast descents. I had a pretty good race there last year, so with a race under my belt and a taper week, hopefully I'll see this coaching and training come together.
Pretty dull post. Sorry, I'm tired.
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Sunday, June 26, 2005
Long time no post
Well, I haven't updated this thing in a while, so I'll bring you up to date. I haven't been doing much really. Just working and riding a lot. Last Sunday, I got my first "race" under my belt. I don't know if you would call a Cat. 4 crit a race since it's more like the chariot race scene from Ben-Hur. Imagine if you will, 70 guys lining up for a race. One quarter of those guys know how to actually ride a bike and ride it fast. 50% just know how to make it go fast and can't make a straight line through a turn to save their lives. The last quarter of guys have the misguided belief that because this is the lowest class in Colorado road racing that it is for beginners. Sorry guys. No such thing as a beginners road race here. These are some pretty fit fuckers. I just kept praying I wouldn't be eating asphalt. One guy went down, but luckily he managed to land his face plant in someones front yard. I've read that if you do crits, it's not a matter of if you will wreck, but when you will wreck. Here is a good definition of a criterium. The Cat. 4 crits around here are 45 minutes.
Long story boring, I gut cut off by one freaking guy 4 times and a couple of other times by some other guys. How did these guys get so fast on a bike without learning to ride it. Bottom line, I got cut off by the one guy with a lap and a half to go. It was only a .7 mile circuit with 6 turns. With a lap and a half to go everyone is balls to the wall. If you have to tap your breaks, which I did, consider yourself relegated to the back of the pack. I managed to pass a handful of guys on the final sprint, so I wasn't quite DFL.
I need to get to bed, so I'll have to update you later on my first post-surgery mountain bike race that took place Saturday in Crusty Butt.
Later Aight.
Long story boring, I gut cut off by one freaking guy 4 times and a couple of other times by some other guys. How did these guys get so fast on a bike without learning to ride it. Bottom line, I got cut off by the one guy with a lap and a half to go. It was only a .7 mile circuit with 6 turns. With a lap and a half to go everyone is balls to the wall. If you have to tap your breaks, which I did, consider yourself relegated to the back of the pack. I managed to pass a handful of guys on the final sprint, so I wasn't quite DFL.
I need to get to bed, so I'll have to update you later on my first post-surgery mountain bike race that took place Saturday in Crusty Butt.
Later Aight.
Saturday, June 18, 2005
I'd Like To Thank You All For Nothing, Nothing, Nothing At All
Wilco, Red Rocks. Need I say more? Red Rocks does something to the bands that play there. They always step it up a notch. I don't know if I can say it's the best Wilco show I've seen (mainly because most of them are a blur), but it was damn good. They definitely surprised me by busting out some oldies, and they even closed the show with Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers' Something In The Air. Hell of a show, and I got a nice buzz off of two beers. All the pot being smoked around me could have had something to do with that.
Looks like I'm going to do a race this weekend. Just a crit on Sunday. I've been feeling a little off these days. Seems like the day I got off the trainer, I started feeling borderline overtrained, so I haven't spent much time on the bike lately. I had a pretty tough workout yesterday, and I was hurtin a little bit today. Looking at my average speeds for those high end intervals definitely makes me appreciate what those guys in the pro peloton are able to accomplish.
I finally got my new mountain bike on Wednesday. Thanks Yeti! Thanks Joe @ Yeti for tolerating all my phone calls, and thanks to everyone at Yeti for the helping hand. I sure am ready to hit the dirt and do some racing on the dirt. My first mountain bike race of the season will be in Crusty Butt (Crested Butte) next weekend. That's a hell of a race for the first one, but it's a fun course. I hope to stick around to get some riding in on the day after the race. If you haven't ridden there, the trails are absolutely epic.
I'll try to get some pictures of the new ride up as soon as I get it together. I guess I need to link up Yeti under the "sponsor" column.
Just one quickie. How about Chris Horner pulling of the stage win at the Tour de Suisse. I'm not a huge fan of his due to his big, whinny mouth, but he backed it up that day. I'm glad to see he is going to make Saunier Duval's Tour team.
Happy Birthday Cannibal! He's 60 today, and if anyone tries to tell you Lance Armstrong is the best cyclist ever, you tell them not to forget Eddy.
Looks like I'm going to do a race this weekend. Just a crit on Sunday. I've been feeling a little off these days. Seems like the day I got off the trainer, I started feeling borderline overtrained, so I haven't spent much time on the bike lately. I had a pretty tough workout yesterday, and I was hurtin a little bit today. Looking at my average speeds for those high end intervals definitely makes me appreciate what those guys in the pro peloton are able to accomplish.
I finally got my new mountain bike on Wednesday. Thanks Yeti! Thanks Joe @ Yeti for tolerating all my phone calls, and thanks to everyone at Yeti for the helping hand. I sure am ready to hit the dirt and do some racing on the dirt. My first mountain bike race of the season will be in Crusty Butt (Crested Butte) next weekend. That's a hell of a race for the first one, but it's a fun course. I hope to stick around to get some riding in on the day after the race. If you haven't ridden there, the trails are absolutely epic.
I'll try to get some pictures of the new ride up as soon as I get it together. I guess I need to link up Yeti under the "sponsor" column.
Just one quickie. How about Chris Horner pulling of the stage win at the Tour de Suisse. I'm not a huge fan of his due to his big, whinny mouth, but he backed it up that day. I'm glad to see he is going to make Saunier Duval's Tour team.
Happy Birthday Cannibal! He's 60 today, and if anyone tries to tell you Lance Armstrong is the best cyclist ever, you tell them not to forget Eddy.
Sunday, June 12, 2005
Cranial Numbness
Damnitalltohell. It started raining last night, and it hasn't freaking quit. I live in Colorado for chrissake. You wouldn't know it from the last few weeks. Reminds me of a winter back in Georgia. I didn't mind it so much when I was stuck on that godforsaken indoor trainer, but now I'm good to go. Good to go and it's wetter than a, well it's freaking wet outside.
I guess that's ok since it's kind of a rest week for me this week, and I've felt like ass this past week. Up until yesterday that is. Now, I'm really wanting to ride.
Maybe I'll watch this basketball championship game. It's the funniest thing you've ever seen. Looks like they are playing on artificial turf and have shoulder pads on. There aren't any hoops either. Strange.
If you are looking for some good reading, check this blog post out. I'm not the biggest fan of Mr. Dean and unlike this guy, I think his yelp was a legitimate campaign killer. However, there is some truth to this post. Most everyone I know thinks politicians are worthless snakes in the grass, but the same people aren't willing to admit that it is them as part of our current society that has created today's politician. If people don't want to really hear the truth, they aren't going to get it, and then you get these mannequins that spew out line after line of sanitized blather.
Wait a minute. I thought Colorado's basketball team was the Denver Nuggets. Who are the Colorado Crush?
I guess that's ok since it's kind of a rest week for me this week, and I've felt like ass this past week. Up until yesterday that is. Now, I'm really wanting to ride.
Maybe I'll watch this basketball championship game. It's the funniest thing you've ever seen. Looks like they are playing on artificial turf and have shoulder pads on. There aren't any hoops either. Strange.
If you are looking for some good reading, check this blog post out. I'm not the biggest fan of Mr. Dean and unlike this guy, I think his yelp was a legitimate campaign killer. However, there is some truth to this post. Most everyone I know thinks politicians are worthless snakes in the grass, but the same people aren't willing to admit that it is them as part of our current society that has created today's politician. If people don't want to really hear the truth, they aren't going to get it, and then you get these mannequins that spew out line after line of sanitized blather.
Wait a minute. I thought Colorado's basketball team was the Denver Nuggets. Who are the Colorado Crush?
Coach Phil
Can I just say that I have a great coach? I sent him an e-mail a few days ago because I was concerned that I may be getting close to being "overtrained." He called me back last night, and it wasn't even during his "office" hours. Cool guy. Thanks Phil! If anyone out there is looking for a good cycling coach drop me an e-mail.
Saturday, June 11, 2005
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
I'm baaack in the saddle again!
Just like Steven Tyler once sang. Well, I'm not back in that saddle quite yet. Rachel is in Africa, but the Doc did give me the go ahead today. It was nice to put some pressure on the pedals and actually have the bike go forward. I kept seeing images of a TV in front of me, but none were there.
Man it felt gooooooooood. Kind of funny how a couple of hours of intervals will make you want to get off the bike even after riding indoors for 7 weeks. Especially those overunder intervals. Those damn things worked me over. Basically you spend 8 minutes just under your lactate threshold power (or heartrate) and then 2 minutes just at or over. However, the kicker to these intervals is you don't get a break before the next one. It's back down to just under LT for 8 minutes and then back at and over LT. Let's do one more and then you get to take a 5 minute break! After the break, it's back to another. I only got 2 in on the second set. I'm going to say I ran out of time for the 3rd one. I swear it had nothing to do with me wussing out.
Later Skater
Man it felt gooooooooood. Kind of funny how a couple of hours of intervals will make you want to get off the bike even after riding indoors for 7 weeks. Especially those overunder intervals. Those damn things worked me over. Basically you spend 8 minutes just under your lactate threshold power (or heartrate) and then 2 minutes just at or over. However, the kicker to these intervals is you don't get a break before the next one. It's back down to just under LT for 8 minutes and then back at and over LT. Let's do one more and then you get to take a 5 minute break! After the break, it's back to another. I only got 2 in on the second set. I'm going to say I ran out of time for the 3rd one. I swear it had nothing to do with me wussing out.
Later Skater
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
Uh . . . um
So that is what all those uh and ums mean.
http://www.whitehouse.org/news/2005/060105.asp
http://www.whitehouse.org/news/2005/060105.asp
Friday, June 03, 2005
Need to post
I need to post something, but I don't have anything on my mind at the moment. I'm tired as hell because it's been a busy last couple of weeks.
I go to the doctor on the 8th. That's a week before the six weeks I was told that I wouldn't be able to ride outside. We'll see if he lets me back on at that point. I think that I've been pretty damn motivated and have done a hell of a job getting my riding in on the trainer. It's been about 6 weeks since I've ridden outside. I haven't been on the bike that whole time. Some days were missed for various reasons. My motivation hit a brick wall this past week. I had a good ride on Tuesday, but entered exhaustion on Wednesday. Too much working, riding, drinking booze, and not enough resting. Took Wednesday off and got back on yesterday. That took some major self-convincing. There were a lot of things telling me not to get on that godforsaken trainer. I did and got some good intervals in at good power outputs. Now I'm back to tired again.
I keep getting teased by the manufacturer of my new bike. I ordered the damn thing back in February and I still don't fucking have it. A month ago I was told it would be ready two weeks ago. Two weeks ago, I was told that I would get it last week. Yesterday, I was told it would be next week. I'll not mention the name of said manufacturer because I still want this bike. I know I'm not at the top of their list for getting a bike, so I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt. They don't have to do this at all,.
I feel like I'm fighting off a cold, so hopefully a good night of rest will fight this off. Every person that I come in to contact with has had the freaking sniffles.
That's all for now all my many faithful readers.
I go to the doctor on the 8th. That's a week before the six weeks I was told that I wouldn't be able to ride outside. We'll see if he lets me back on at that point. I think that I've been pretty damn motivated and have done a hell of a job getting my riding in on the trainer. It's been about 6 weeks since I've ridden outside. I haven't been on the bike that whole time. Some days were missed for various reasons. My motivation hit a brick wall this past week. I had a good ride on Tuesday, but entered exhaustion on Wednesday. Too much working, riding, drinking booze, and not enough resting. Took Wednesday off and got back on yesterday. That took some major self-convincing. There were a lot of things telling me not to get on that godforsaken trainer. I did and got some good intervals in at good power outputs. Now I'm back to tired again.
I keep getting teased by the manufacturer of my new bike. I ordered the damn thing back in February and I still don't fucking have it. A month ago I was told it would be ready two weeks ago. Two weeks ago, I was told that I would get it last week. Yesterday, I was told it would be next week. I'll not mention the name of said manufacturer because I still want this bike. I know I'm not at the top of their list for getting a bike, so I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt. They don't have to do this at all,.
I feel like I'm fighting off a cold, so hopefully a good night of rest will fight this off. Every person that I come in to contact with has had the freaking sniffles.
That's all for now all my many faithful readers.
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