As The Days Go By

The days have been blending. Is it Tuesday, or Saturday? Does it matter? What does the training schedule say, oh yeah, train harder. Ride more and do it again today. Double days of riding multiplies the laundry load, I had to write home for extra chamois. The legs are finding their rhythm again as the training ramps up. Strange tan lines are reemerging and so is the 5,000 calorie diet.

Whitey Debroux has developed a must have for every cyclist - a high quality crash n burn kit for road rash. Many of you remember Whitey from racing WORS in Wisconsin a few years back. Now he lives the "pro" life in Boulder, racing for Team Einstein, running the cool new cycling website yourcycling.com, and shipping boxes of Whitey's Crash & Burn kits around the country.
Whitey crashed hard at a race in Mexico almost a year ago and had some serious road rash which he had no idea how to treat. Through that experience he's put together one of the best kits you could have for a similar situation with instructions and everything Whitey found works the best for the most comfort and fastest healing.
I have always carried a homemade kit of my own when I go racing and it's come in handy more than one time. Whitey's Crash & Burn kit is way sweeter than mine and I would suggest picking one up and throwing it in the duffel bag, you'll be glad you did sooner or later. You'll be bummed you don't have one this summer when your dripping blood on the inside of your car and have nothing to clean and sooth the wound with as you drive two hours home from the ride.
Get one!

Dialed In

Today was an interesting day for me. A couple months ago I made an appointment at the Boulder Center of Sports Medicine and today I went in and had a 3D bike fit done by Todd Carver. I've had some small issues bothering me for a while, and as my dedication to cycling has grown these last few years it was finally time to make sure everything is as good as it can be for maximum performance and comfort.
They set you up with special nodes on your legs and the movement is recorded using infrared cameras to a computer where it can me measured to the smallest of degrees. Adjustments are made, and then a second recording is done to see the results and changes from the initial setup.
We made some adjustments which turned out to be exactly what had been bothering me so hopefully after a couple weeks in the new position I see some definite changes.
Something like this can definitely get pretty techy when you're just listening to it being explained, but when you actually see it on paper and can see what is going on it makes a lot more sense.

I left feeling a lot more confident about my position and riding style as a whole which was a really good feeling. When you spend as much time in the saddle as I do, and dedicate so much to the sport throughout the entire year, it's a small price to pay to get that much more confidence and an extra 5% efficiency.
I'm hoping for the same effect Gunn Rita Dahle had after she left, I don't think she's lost since.

It's Getting Serious Now

All that money I won at the Gravel Rouser was burning a hole in my pocket so I drove to Boulder, CO. With gas at $2.50 a gallon it got me all the way to Dixon, IL - home of former President Ronald Reagan and ex Trek Midwest rider John Devine.


The first day in shorts and short sleeve jersey is always one to write down in the training diary, skip the part of Nick Martin dropping me like a true flatlander that I am though. Read about that here if you'd like. March 25th was also "relize how pasty white your skin is from the last 6 months not seeing sunlight."
I was OK until we got up to 8500ft, at least it was warm up there. 5000ft of climbing the first day in was a good way to get the legs opened up from the last 4oo miles across Nebraska.


Sitting on the back porch with a water bottle in hand trying to rehydrate the first night in is a great way to start the serious part of training. Can't beat the view though.
Out

That Was So Last Week

Yeah, I know, that was last weekend, but there's not that much to put here lately as the training begins for real, and I'm still finding decent pictures so...
The first mtb ride of the season leaves me wanting more.

Not Pro

Pro
Keeping your feet dry when it's 35 is key

$10, free hotdogs at O'betty's, and a blue ribbon was all I needed for motivation to take the stage win. Riding home with dry feet - priceless.

In With The New

I started the training out for 2007 the fun way - by racing into shape. 4 days of the Gravel Rouser classic. It was as low key a race as you can do, but everyone had a blast as we all rode at our own levels and enjoyed group riding 4 days in a row. Gravel roads that only the locals knew were the main ingredient for the weekend as we rode to the different race courses.
I definitely overdid it a bit for the first real weekend back. Increase training time and intensity together right??!!

The new bikes are showing up one by one. The only part that is isn't fun about getting new bikes is setting them up. Why is that after every little thing is measured out exactly like the old bike so that they should be exactly identical, you sit on it and it feels way messed up? The first couple rides on a new bike are always stressful as things never feel quite right and the ride is always interrupted with stops for adjustments. But, eventually everything gets ironed out and you don't think of it again until the next bike comes and you do it all over again. I will say how sweet the new Fuel 9.9 is though, out of the box - 22lbs - rad!!
Time to go somewhere warm again so I can shred some trails and see how it works.
Tristan

Athens Gun Show

Today was stage 3 of the Gravel Rouser here in Athens. So far I haven't scored a stage win yet, but there's still one stage to go tomorrow. Yesterday's "Grab n Git" hunt wasn't so hot for the out of towners

Race director Joey grew a neck beard just for this occasion, he's been scaring kids with it for 3 months now. Half man or half beast, it's undecided - the stray dogs don't even chase this guy.

These two have been battling tough all weekend. The hocky mullet with matching helmet is rad.

I've been training for the next Rambo movie and decided today was the day to show off the guns after the last few months of push ups.

Then I got caught sitting in the car warming up as we waited for the days festivities to start.

Tomorrow is the Coolville Cooldown circuit race, I'm hoping for a victory yet this weekend.

Back to the gym, time to do more pushups.

Superstars Training The Hard Way

Mugging.
Took a little road trip to do some riding somewhere else besides Sheboygan county. I tend to forget how straight and flat the roads are until I leave. I also tend to forget that around Athens, OH they have roads that are "no ice control" which are gravel and filled with potholes. 5 flats later and I'm just lucky Brian had a patch kit or I'd still be walking. Yardsale #1. Yardsale #2.
I think my frame pump saved me about 10,000 strokes on Brians mini pump though. Around here the frame pump doubles as a dog beater so it's actually got two good reasons to be handy on your bike. We clocked one German shepherd in at just under 32mph, good thing it was on the downhill or I'd have been dog food.
Brians got one of those new Garmin GPS units, it's pretty rad. Check out the ride today, although the MPH is off my normal pace since I was riding with Brian.

Four day stage race this weekend, looking forward to opening the throttle again - check it out.

More Fresh Powder

The last few days have been spectacular skiing and I've been taking advantage. I didn't think I'd get any skiing in this year, but instead of riding the trainer I've been hitting the trails and getting some great workouts in that way.

Last night we got 3 more inches of fresh pow and this morning I was the first one out after the groomer went through, it was sweet. Sometimes I think I'd rather ski for three hours over riding for three, but maybe that's cause I don't get to do it much. There's something about skiing though, hearing nothing but the swish of the poles and the steady glide while cruising down the trail, it's almost peaceful - right up till you step on your pole cause you quit paying attention.

After that it's straight to the garage and putting in a new valve cover gasket. Seems the old one had a leak that let oil drip on the hot manifold, that smelled good while sitting at stop lights. Should be good now though.

All or Nothing

I did my first elite WORS race back in 1999, The crusty bluff hunkerdown. I still remember the torrential rain, the mud, and pushing the car out of the field afterwards.
It sure is interesting going back and looking at results from then and seeing names that have long disappeared, and other names that are a surprise. Back then I was so inconsistent, one week I'd be 14th, the next week 2nd, the following week 18th, and I never knew what I was doing wrong or right week to week to get those results. I remember being super pumped after getting that 2nd place behind some New Zealand guys later that year, and then coming home totally bummed the next week after getting smoked in like 18th place again.

Each race back then I'd do everything to make the front group and then I'd usually blow up and finish in the second or third group if I didn't bonk, but my main goal was always to ride in that first group. Eventually I was able to hang longer and longer and then I remember eventually winning my first WORS race at the Wor at Wilmot WORS race in 2000. All of a sudden riding at the front was easier, the races seemed easier, and I was consistently up near the front of races and winning more often. It just clicked at the Wor at Wilmot. The next two seasons I won the WORS series twice and have won 18 WORS races since.
My point is that at every level there is a time when something just clicks and it becomes "easier" to ride at that level. Jeremiah Bishop was telling us last year how he was struggling for top tens at NORBAs for years and then he did the trans rockies one year and all of a sudden it just clicked and he felt comfortable riding at the front of big races. I think the last few years I've been racing NORBAs trying to get top 50s, then 30s, now 20s and never forcing myself to ride to the front like I did years ago at WORS races. I think without at least riding at the front a little each race, you never will, but looking back at my early success, it came after many failed attempts to ride at the front - but eventually it catches up with you - that's when it clicks. This is my goal this year at the NORBA series, to ride at the front for a long as possible, possibly forfeiting a top 15 for an all or nothing attitude like back in the day.