WOW, it seems spring may have finally shoved winter out of the way here in eastern North Carolina. There were two spectacular weekend days and a pretty good Friday. I enjoyed logging over 115 miles over those three days. One of the other great thing this weekend was the beginning of my 2009 cyclist tan. You know, the one that looks like a farmer tan only way cooler, right? It's also daylight savings time now, meaning an extra hour of training time!
Friday was a fairly normal ride other than almost getting t-boned by an idiot, which was not the name I thought of at the time, in a Mazda 626. She decided to cut in front of me on a left hand turn close enough for me to see what color her hair was as I felt the breeze from her car blow past. I looked behind me for a split second to see what the car situation was there and nearly ended up wearing a Japanese sedan to Friday night dinner with the family.
Why do people in cars do this stuff? On more than one occasion I have put my hand out on a car to keep from hitting it after locking up my breaks. I've been clipped by side view mirrors-twice. The first time was like being hit suddenly from behind and pushed forward. Luckily I managed to stay rolling and not splattered.
The second time I was not so lucky. I got clipped by a Tahoe's side view mirror with such force it put me in a ditch and threw my bike 10 feet away from me. I still don't know exactly what happened. One minute I was riding, the next I wasn't. I was only bruised and my bike wasn't hurt beyond changing some bar tape. The maddening thing was the guy got out of the car and didn't ask me if I was ok. Instead, he asked me if why I hit his truck. Those that know me best can predict my response to his question and it wasn't to wish him well on the rest of his ride home. The silver lining in that accident was the whole thing happened in front of a doctor who saw it all and checked me out before I rode home. Guess what? He was not just a doctor, but also a cyclist. Thank God for the little things in life. I knew that he wouldn't let me ride if I was too messed up, so I trusted him when he said I was ok to get home on my own if it wasn't too far.
This was a bad weekend for gear, which was the only bad thing. I lost not one, but two saddle bags with a spare tube, tire wrenches and a CO2 inflator. Grand total: nearly $100 when you add it all up. I think the lesson is to check the security of my saddle bag every once in awhile to make sure it's there. I guess a couple of good bumps knocked both of them off. So it's another trip to the bike shop to reload again. Sure as the world I'll blow a tube if I don't.
I need to give a shout out to my wife, the lovely and ever tolerant Deborah, for cutting me loose with time for my best ride of the year on Saturday. I did 73.06 miles at 18.5 mph, which is pretty darn good for this point of the season. The first 35 miles were biased nearly all uphill, the next 15-20 were sharp rolling hills and the rest was nearly all down hill. I'm not crazy! I felt awesome the last 10 miles and still had something left to drop the hammer.
Today was payback time. Deborah and I went for a recovery ride for me and her first ride of the season. I checked her bike out, made sure her iPod was juiced up, loaded some new music as a surprise and we were off. We rolled wherever she wanted to go for about an hour and a half until it was time to pick up one of our daughters. My legs felt better to spin some of the stiffness out and she loved the workout she got. It was nice on a day to ride as the temperature broke above 80 degrees again.
Tomorrow I head off to one of my sponsors, the Human Peformance Lab, for endurance testing. I can't wait to get a baseline of where I am now and to get some coaching on how to improve. One of my questions is going to be how to best lose the 15 lbs I don't want to take with me on rides. I'm not too chunky at 173 lbs and 5'9", but I'd like to be closer to 155 than I am now. I'd need to be 140 if I was racing in Europe. Last summer I got down to 158 for a bit and felt great. The goal for this year is to get below that quicker and stay there.
The European race season began in earnest today. It was really inspiring to watch the first stage of Paris-Nice. Contador absolutely slayed it with an average speed of over 30 mph on a 9.3 mile course in the rain and with temperatures in the forties.
This had to have driven a dagger into the heart of all his would be challengers because they know how devastating he is in the mountains and there are 4 mountain stages out of 8 in the race. Alberto had something to prove from last year and I think he made a statement today that might have already ended the race in the rain just outside Paris.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Indoor Intervals Before the Weather Warms Up
I'm sure I'm not too different from other cyclists in that I have a love-hate relationship with my indoor trainer at this point of the off season. I have a nice CycleOps trainer that wasn't cheap so it's a great training tool, but I lack any enthusiasm to get on the thing now.
This week I have been hammering away on my trainer doing intervals to try to boost my VO2Max capacity and breath control in general. Necessary?Yes. A good training exercise? Yes according to all the cycling mags that had various iterations of this type of training in their November though February issues. Mind numbing? Totally. I have ridden with my iPod and set the trainer up in front of the family room TV, but in the end I'm ridding my bike inside and it's gotten stale. Give me 90 degrees with 80 percent humidity over winter any time. I'm ready now!
Last weekend when I had tons of time the weather was aweful. I got mad enough to ride any way, but about froze my hands off. This weekend is going to be spectacular weather and I don't have half the time I did the weekend before. The week started in the 20's with 1-2 inches of snow, which shut the city down. This is a total joke to people that relocate here from places that get real snows. The week will end in the 70's. In like a lion and headed to being a lamb is what March may be about this year. Weather in the Carolinas can be wickedly cruel this time of year, so that's the way it goes.
The good news this week is that I've scheduled my time to go to the Human Performance Lab here in Raleigh to get my pre-season/post race one baseline. I'm looking forward to meeting the team there and getting a better sense of where I am now and what they think is possible. The staff at the HPL are all athletes themselves so they can relate not just test.
The best thing to look forward to this weekend other than the weather, is daylight savings returns! A full hour more of training time no matter what. Another thing to look forward to is the Spring Classics kick off with the race to the sun-Paris-Nice. It should be a good test to see how the big teams and best riders are going to fair this season. It's also been a barometer of who could be on track to win the Tour in July. It should be fun to watch!
This week I have been hammering away on my trainer doing intervals to try to boost my VO2Max capacity and breath control in general. Necessary?Yes. A good training exercise? Yes according to all the cycling mags that had various iterations of this type of training in their November though February issues. Mind numbing? Totally. I have ridden with my iPod and set the trainer up in front of the family room TV, but in the end I'm ridding my bike inside and it's gotten stale. Give me 90 degrees with 80 percent humidity over winter any time. I'm ready now!
Last weekend when I had tons of time the weather was aweful. I got mad enough to ride any way, but about froze my hands off. This weekend is going to be spectacular weather and I don't have half the time I did the weekend before. The week started in the 20's with 1-2 inches of snow, which shut the city down. This is a total joke to people that relocate here from places that get real snows. The week will end in the 70's. In like a lion and headed to being a lamb is what March may be about this year. Weather in the Carolinas can be wickedly cruel this time of year, so that's the way it goes.
The good news this week is that I've scheduled my time to go to the Human Performance Lab here in Raleigh to get my pre-season/post race one baseline. I'm looking forward to meeting the team there and getting a better sense of where I am now and what they think is possible. The staff at the HPL are all athletes themselves so they can relate not just test.
The best thing to look forward to this weekend other than the weather, is daylight savings returns! A full hour more of training time no matter what. Another thing to look forward to is the Spring Classics kick off with the race to the sun-Paris-Nice. It should be a good test to see how the big teams and best riders are going to fair this season. It's also been a barometer of who could be on track to win the Tour in July. It should be fun to watch!
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Rain rides prior to March's Lion-like Start
Weather in eastern North Carolina can be unstable and volatile to say the least. Earlier in the last week of February saw temperatures in the low to mid 60's. Today, Sunday March 1st we're expecting 2-4 inches of snow, sleet and ice. I think every parent in the area is expecting to have kids at home tomorrow. What about next week? Monday should be in the 30's and the temperatures should rise about 10 degrees a day through next weekend. In like a lion, progressing like a lamb.
I started the weekend looking forward to being alone for 48 hours with the kids being away and Deborah taking our oldest to Myrtle Beach for a soccer tournament. I even planned a 90 mile plus ride for the occasion. I knew I would have to mount a stuffed animal rescue trip to Greensboro, and I had Girl Scout cookie booth duty on Sunday, but I couldn't wait! Make plans and God laughs. I gave Him plenty to chuckle at this weekend.
Friday was in the mid 50's and I watched all afternoon as a wall of water move from west to east. I went home for lunch to fill my Rocket Bottles (love these things!) lay out my clothes, and top off my tires. I was ready! All I would need to do is get home change and roll. With all that preparation, I was determined to go regardless of the rain. The rain broke until about half way through my ride the rain came back. I didn't care!
My replacement Garmin had arrived, but I decided to roll rather than diddle with the settings. That would wait. It was a great ride. My pedal strokes seemed to be effortlessly transferring power to the bike. As the sun set and the light was disappearing, I returned home feeling great. My clothes were damp, but my legs felt great!
I got up on Saturday to the sound of a steady rain. There was a chance that it would let up. At least that's what the weather geniuses had said. It was 55 degrees outside, but heavily raining.
Ok time to mount the teddy bear (Beary) and penquin (Penny) rescue and recovery effort. The trip to Greensboro was 2 1/2 hours round trip including the stop at the hotel to get the animals. Normally, I wouldn't blow a tank of gas to get any stuffed animal, but Beary was special. He's the animal that made it ok for my youngest daughter to come stay with me when I separated from her mother. Kendall said she missed Beary with a tone of saddness at something special that was missing. That was enough for me. I was going to go get Beary if at all possible.
I got back at 3:30 and the rain had let up a decent amount, but the temperature dropped 10 degrees. I said to heck with it, I'm going. I geared up with my my Windstopper gear and the rain jacket my wife got me for Christmas. I wanted to go at least 20 miles so I knew I would be cold and soaked at the end, but I wanted to hold it off as long as I could.
The first 5 miles or so were easy. The wind was whipping and the rain stung, but the rest of my body was in good shape. The rain started seeping into my shoes slowly, but noticeably. Hmm, why was that happening. I had neoprene shoe covers. Damn, I forgot to put some plastic on the inside of my shoes to cover the vents. Note to self: next year get winter shoes for riding. For the next several miles the warmth of my feet kept up with the water coming in, so it wasn't too bad.
I noticed my shins were the next to be soaked and get cold. I was trying to stay out of puddles, but the water was being flipped up everywhere. Now I understood why the rain jacket had a flap that dropped off the back and below the saddle. Detachable fenders might be a good investment too.
I made a concious effort to drink at stop lights. I noticed my speed and comfort actually got better into the ride. My legs were warm and my speed picked up. Then the next weak link started to be a problem-my hands. I had Windstopper gloves and liners that kept them warm, but they weren't waterproof. Third note to self: Warm waterproof gloves would be another good investment.
I made a decision to turn back at the 10 mile mark. I stopped for a drink and to put something in my stomach. I noticed that my index and middle fingers were the coldest probably because they were the ones in the wind the most. The gloves weren't soaked through yet, but they were close.
Ok, it wasn't getting any warmer, so I headed back. My hands were completely frozen by the 14 mile mark and my thighs where wet to the skin too. I started watching the Garmin more often to check the distance ridden and picked up speed towards home.
I walked in the door and all I wanted to do was get all my wet clothes off. I got most of the clothes off and my hands in my warmest gloves to warm them up naturally and slowly. I waited on a shower until my hands and feet were nearly normal.
I felt great about going out in the wet and cold to do a decent ride-19.75 miles at about 15 miles an hour. It wasn't like stages in the Tour of California where riding in conditions worse than that for over a 100 miles seem to happen every year. The next two days are going to be icy with snow, so it looks like it will be time on the trainer.
I started the weekend looking forward to being alone for 48 hours with the kids being away and Deborah taking our oldest to Myrtle Beach for a soccer tournament. I even planned a 90 mile plus ride for the occasion. I knew I would have to mount a stuffed animal rescue trip to Greensboro, and I had Girl Scout cookie booth duty on Sunday, but I couldn't wait! Make plans and God laughs. I gave Him plenty to chuckle at this weekend.
Friday was in the mid 50's and I watched all afternoon as a wall of water move from west to east. I went home for lunch to fill my Rocket Bottles (love these things!) lay out my clothes, and top off my tires. I was ready! All I would need to do is get home change and roll. With all that preparation, I was determined to go regardless of the rain. The rain broke until about half way through my ride the rain came back. I didn't care!
My replacement Garmin had arrived, but I decided to roll rather than diddle with the settings. That would wait. It was a great ride. My pedal strokes seemed to be effortlessly transferring power to the bike. As the sun set and the light was disappearing, I returned home feeling great. My clothes were damp, but my legs felt great!
I got up on Saturday to the sound of a steady rain. There was a chance that it would let up. At least that's what the weather geniuses had said. It was 55 degrees outside, but heavily raining.
Ok time to mount the teddy bear (Beary) and penquin (Penny) rescue and recovery effort. The trip to Greensboro was 2 1/2 hours round trip including the stop at the hotel to get the animals. Normally, I wouldn't blow a tank of gas to get any stuffed animal, but Beary was special. He's the animal that made it ok for my youngest daughter to come stay with me when I separated from her mother. Kendall said she missed Beary with a tone of saddness at something special that was missing. That was enough for me. I was going to go get Beary if at all possible.
I got back at 3:30 and the rain had let up a decent amount, but the temperature dropped 10 degrees. I said to heck with it, I'm going. I geared up with my my Windstopper gear and the rain jacket my wife got me for Christmas. I wanted to go at least 20 miles so I knew I would be cold and soaked at the end, but I wanted to hold it off as long as I could.
The first 5 miles or so were easy. The wind was whipping and the rain stung, but the rest of my body was in good shape. The rain started seeping into my shoes slowly, but noticeably. Hmm, why was that happening. I had neoprene shoe covers. Damn, I forgot to put some plastic on the inside of my shoes to cover the vents. Note to self: next year get winter shoes for riding. For the next several miles the warmth of my feet kept up with the water coming in, so it wasn't too bad.
I noticed my shins were the next to be soaked and get cold. I was trying to stay out of puddles, but the water was being flipped up everywhere. Now I understood why the rain jacket had a flap that dropped off the back and below the saddle. Detachable fenders might be a good investment too.
I made a concious effort to drink at stop lights. I noticed my speed and comfort actually got better into the ride. My legs were warm and my speed picked up. Then the next weak link started to be a problem-my hands. I had Windstopper gloves and liners that kept them warm, but they weren't waterproof. Third note to self: Warm waterproof gloves would be another good investment.
I made a decision to turn back at the 10 mile mark. I stopped for a drink and to put something in my stomach. I noticed that my index and middle fingers were the coldest probably because they were the ones in the wind the most. The gloves weren't soaked through yet, but they were close.
Ok, it wasn't getting any warmer, so I headed back. My hands were completely frozen by the 14 mile mark and my thighs where wet to the skin too. I started watching the Garmin more often to check the distance ridden and picked up speed towards home.
I walked in the door and all I wanted to do was get all my wet clothes off. I got most of the clothes off and my hands in my warmest gloves to warm them up naturally and slowly. I waited on a shower until my hands and feet were nearly normal.
I felt great about going out in the wet and cold to do a decent ride-19.75 miles at about 15 miles an hour. It wasn't like stages in the Tour of California where riding in conditions worse than that for over a 100 miles seem to happen every year. The next two days are going to be icy with snow, so it looks like it will be time on the trainer.
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