Today I woke up promptly at seven, my head aching, my bedroom messy (normally it's not like that), and my helmet missing. How does one conquer a hangover? Hammer Heed! How does one know one is getting in better shape for cycling? When 3 Jack and Cokes give you a hangover!
After chugging a bottle of Heed, I slept until ten and woke to a beautiful day, lots of motivation to ride, and no more headache! After taking the Simply City to Ground Zero, I began to get philosophical about riding bikes. Buckle up, kiddos...
Who inspires me to ride? Let's start with my coach, Aaron Whalen. Whale dropped his entire life in Madison on 24 hours notice to move to Colorado and pursue racing. He knows a thing or two about sacrifice, and when I'm feeling conflicted about racing, he always has good advice.
Next, Doug Swanson. He's fast as hell, he's a normal guy, and even though I've only met him once he impressed me with how down to earth he was. I would love to be half as fast as he is and still have my head on that straight.
Chris Shaw. Yes, Shawzam. I've known the guy for about a year, and one time he said something that I repeat to myself during every race. We were talking about using the brakes as little as possible on singletrack, and I asked him how he manages to descend entire sections without the brakes. Did he take the roughest line, or accelerate less? His response was no, "Sometimes you just gotta go for it." or as I paraphrase "You never know what you can't do until you crash." This year I've had some really good bails, and a few solid crashes, but I am way faster in singletrack than in my more cautious riding years' past.
Oh, and Shaw introduced me to Tony Chachere's, which has become a staple of my training diet.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
passive voice and passive training.
I have been training. Or to use the passive voice, "Training has happened." The passive voice feels more appropriate, however incorrect, for the fact that I don't have a plan, and I've been riding without serious concern for where I'm going. I have been riding passively, so the passive voice can happen.
It's wonderful; I've simply been riding for the sake of riding.
A new favorite loop at Jim's, which I call the figure-8, rides as follows: Ascend The Old New trail, descend New New trail, ascend back up Old New, and then descend Five-Layer Cake and The Switch. Rinse, repeat, rip it.
I've been riding enough lately that I can drift the tires a bit in corners again. This is a skill I hope won't disappear with the leaves over the winter months. Gotta love gettin' loose.
Cyclocross? Maybe. Still a definite maybe.
It's wonderful; I've simply been riding for the sake of riding.
A new favorite loop at Jim's, which I call the figure-8, rides as follows: Ascend The Old New trail, descend New New trail, ascend back up Old New, and then descend Five-Layer Cake and The Switch. Rinse, repeat, rip it.
I've been riding enough lately that I can drift the tires a bit in corners again. This is a skill I hope won't disappear with the leaves over the winter months. Gotta love gettin' loose.
Cyclocross? Maybe. Still a definite maybe.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Calling it a season
Today we discuss the effective end of my season.
I haven't raced since Alterra, and won't be racing again until Chequamegon, which is at the end of September. It will probably be my last race of the year. I've achieved what I'd hoped to do, which was to upgrade to cat. 1 (I'll do that once the season is over) and got 5 top 5 finishes.
The last month has been a hard one for training and racing. I was sick for about a week and a half after Eau Claire, and the past week has been occupied by the Trek dealer show; I simply had no time to ride. Then at the end of the week I got a nasty head cold, from which I'm only now recovering.
Tough month. And frustrating.
My hopes for the rest of the year involve increased bicycle commuting, improved training, more mountain biking, and perhaps even trying out cyclo-cross.
I also have a freeride bike for sale if anybody is interested. I built it this spring and haven't used it yet, so it's gotta go: Gary Fisher Kingfisher with upgraded suspension and an LX/XT drivetrain. Bontrager Big Earl Wheelset and Hayes disc brakes. $600 OBO.
I haven't raced since Alterra, and won't be racing again until Chequamegon, which is at the end of September. It will probably be my last race of the year. I've achieved what I'd hoped to do, which was to upgrade to cat. 1 (I'll do that once the season is over) and got 5 top 5 finishes.
The last month has been a hard one for training and racing. I was sick for about a week and a half after Eau Claire, and the past week has been occupied by the Trek dealer show; I simply had no time to ride. Then at the end of the week I got a nasty head cold, from which I'm only now recovering.
Tough month. And frustrating.
My hopes for the rest of the year involve increased bicycle commuting, improved training, more mountain biking, and perhaps even trying out cyclo-cross.
I also have a freeride bike for sale if anybody is interested. I built it this spring and haven't used it yet, so it's gotta go: Gary Fisher Kingfisher with upgraded suspension and an LX/XT drivetrain. Bontrager Big Earl Wheelset and Hayes disc brakes. $600 OBO.
Friday, August 7, 2009
pedalhing hard(er).
Tuesday I did a two-hour coffee ride on my road bike. This means that I rode my road bike for an hour or so, stopped for coffee, and rode home in about 40 minutes. My legs were still a little tired from Sunday's race, but not bad.
Wednesday I rode two very fast laps at Jim's trails. I felt somewhat on, but the dirt was so dry it was dusty and difficult to really dig the tires into it.
Thursday I rode for a little over three hours on my road bike. I went to the hilly area southwest of Madison and made sure I kept a good pace on the ride. By the end my legs were smoked and I was a bit sunburned.
Then I went to a trailday at Jim's and got to add a feature to the new trail called Trad.
Tonight: if there's no rain there will be more Jim's trails riding.
Wednesday I rode two very fast laps at Jim's trails. I felt somewhat on, but the dirt was so dry it was dusty and difficult to really dig the tires into it.
Thursday I rode for a little over three hours on my road bike. I went to the hilly area southwest of Madison and made sure I kept a good pace on the ride. By the end my legs were smoked and I was a bit sunburned.
Then I went to a trailday at Jim's and got to add a feature to the new trail called Trad.
Tonight: if there's no rain there will be more Jim's trails riding.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
The Alterra MTB race
Today's post is about not having a strong sense of what to do next:
After getting sick, getting better, moving, and not riding a whole lot, the Franklin WORS race felt like a mysterious mountain looming in the distance.
It turned out to simply be the trash heap that is the Crystal Ridge ski area, where the race is hosted. This year we climbed up the start hill, hammered around to the singletrack, and then dove into tight, twisty hardpack. Once you were in the woods there was no hope of passing, so a good start was important.
I missed my pedal, got bumped, clipped out, clipped in, and then realized I'd missed the boat. Most of the field was ahead of me. Going into the woods in nearly last position was frustrating, so I resolved to do the only thing I could do:
Save my energy for when I could pass and attack like a demon once I got the chance. The first lap was a waste, with a few complete stops in the singletrack for people who couldn't steer. I just kept my breathing under control and had some snacks while we were stopped.
On the second lap things started to open up, so I made up a few spots here and there. It wasn't until the final lap that I really started jamming and got a gap at the start of the singletrack. It was time to open it up, and boy howdy did I rip some singletrack.
After riding through most of the singletrack alone on that last lap, I caught Bruce Lagerquist (Trekie) as he rode behind a junior. Once we passed the junior, we were nearly at the long climb up the hill. I knew this was it, so I let it all hang out on the climb. After dropping Bruce, I quickly caught John Fang.
Coming off of the switchback sections near the peak, I dropped John and had a gap by the time we got to the last steep final climb. I gunned it and opened up the propedal for the descent.
I only caught and passed a few people for the rest of the lap, and rolled in for 6th. Not bad, considering I was almost last when the race started on a course with little passing room.
No more racing for this guy for a month. Work is busy, but I'll be busy training.
After getting sick, getting better, moving, and not riding a whole lot, the Franklin WORS race felt like a mysterious mountain looming in the distance.
It turned out to simply be the trash heap that is the Crystal Ridge ski area, where the race is hosted. This year we climbed up the start hill, hammered around to the singletrack, and then dove into tight, twisty hardpack. Once you were in the woods there was no hope of passing, so a good start was important.
I missed my pedal, got bumped, clipped out, clipped in, and then realized I'd missed the boat. Most of the field was ahead of me. Going into the woods in nearly last position was frustrating, so I resolved to do the only thing I could do:
Save my energy for when I could pass and attack like a demon once I got the chance. The first lap was a waste, with a few complete stops in the singletrack for people who couldn't steer. I just kept my breathing under control and had some snacks while we were stopped.
On the second lap things started to open up, so I made up a few spots here and there. It wasn't until the final lap that I really started jamming and got a gap at the start of the singletrack. It was time to open it up, and boy howdy did I rip some singletrack.
After riding through most of the singletrack alone on that last lap, I caught Bruce Lagerquist (Trekie) as he rode behind a junior. Once we passed the junior, we were nearly at the long climb up the hill. I knew this was it, so I let it all hang out on the climb. After dropping Bruce, I quickly caught John Fang.
Coming off of the switchback sections near the peak, I dropped John and had a gap by the time we got to the last steep final climb. I gunned it and opened up the propedal for the descent.
I only caught and passed a few people for the rest of the lap, and rolled in for 6th. Not bad, considering I was almost last when the race started on a course with little passing room.
No more racing for this guy for a month. Work is busy, but I'll be busy training.
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