I'll gladly pay you Tuesday.....

Finally!!! I've figured out what I want to be when I grow up. It's not something completely new. I toyed around with this idea about a year ago, but was turned off to it by the amount of schooling it involved, and I couldn't see myself waiting that long to begin working in a new career. What you ask? A librarian. I know, that sounds a little soft for a male, but it actually encompasses everything I like, well almost everything. I love to read, I love books, I like a nice peaceful environment, and enjoy researching and helping people. As I was searching the internet a few days ago looking for a career for my sister, I somehow stumbled across a link that involved library technicians. What's that I asked? Apparently it's a job in a library that works under a librarian, and only involves earning an associates degree to begin work. And Palomar College offers that. Perfect! And from there one may advance to a librarian and obviously more money if so desired. That's all the rant on the school side of life. On to more great news. I've been waiting around three weeks now to see where I placed within my category at the Mt. Charleston Hill Climb. I knew I finished 46th overall, but was much more interested in where I finished in "my" race. My goal going into the race was a top-ten finish. Last season I managed to finish 24th in Cat 4, so I was setting my sights higher this year. Well as it turned out I did............6th place!!! I guess all that ass-busting Palomar Mountain repeat work paid off. Fortunately for me I enjoy training almost, well maybe just as much as racing itself. I'm thankful for that, otherwise who knows how long I'd keep this up. Off topic, but interesting. I'm on a training ride this last Sunday heading down the 56 bike path towards the ocean when who do I spot heading up the opposite way moving very fast with a bobbing head.....none other then Thurlow "Turbo" Rogers! Had to do a double take on that one. First, what is Thurlow doing this far South on a training ride? Second, what's he doing blasting up a public bike path of all places? Who knows??? That's all, until next time.....

Weak

Weak. That is how I felt today on a training, (I need to quit using the word training, since I'm not racing at the moment), on a ride today with a teammate. We ended up logging sixty-five miles for the day, most of those climbing miles through the hills of Poway and Ramona. I did manage to get nine hours on the bike this week prior to the ride today, but they weren't "hard" miles so to speak, so I'm not sure why I felt so weak on today's ride. The powermeter on the other hand tells a different story. Watts are watts, they don't lie, as Lance Armstrong once said. I was frequently checking the wattage I was putting out on today's ride and noticed it wasn't any lower then most of the rides this teammate and I do on a regular basis. I was having trouble keeping up with him today, thinking I was weak, but based on the data, I have to think he was just riding that much stronger then usual. Another benefit of training with power! On to a topic that does have me concerned. The compact cranks. I've been riding on them all week, but as I mentioned, those rides were really low on the intensity scale. Today was the first ride of any intensity that allowed me to really experience what the compact's felt like. The verdict is out. I feel as though I've picked up two gears on the lower end while using the 34-tooth sprocket, and feel like I only lost one gear on the 50-tooth sprocket. What concerns me is the shorter crank arms. The length on my standard set was 175mm, while these compacts are 172.5mm. In theory I believe this should allow me to spin even more, but it feels strange, and my heart rate seemed abnormally high today. I'm hoping they're just going to take some time to get use to. If anyone reads this who has some knowledge on this subject, please feel free to comment:) Until next time.....

Ramblings

Hi All. Nothing really new and exciting to tell you about today. I'm three weeks into my English 202, Advanced Literature class so far, and I'm loving it. Although I must admit, it is a bit more difficult then I thought it was going to be. The teacher tells us there are no wrong answers in a class like this, but it sure seems as if I'm finding them! Work is work. I have been extremely unmotivated to go to work lately, more so then ever. It's not the restaurant business as a whole that's bothering me, it's the environment within my restaurant that's bothering me. I'm not speaking of the customers when I say this. I've been running the restaurant for a little over six years now, and in doing this I've learned to appreciate working for myself so to speak. What I've learned to dislike very much over these last six years is having people work for me. It's a never ending theatre of drama!!! Rarely is everyone getting along and just taking care of business, leaving their problems at the door. I've been racking my brain lately try to come up with an alternative to working in a restaurant. This frustration is the driving force behind me returning to school after all these years. In the meantime, if I could find an occupation that paid the same or more then I'm currently earning (that wouldn't be alot), I'd find someone else to "tend the shop", and I'd be on to a new challenge. Time will tell. Meanwhile, on the biking front. Nothing new to report, I'm actually having a little difficulty adjusting to not having to train for a race that's right around the corner. I do plan on competing in two more TT's (Santiago Canyon), and I figure I'll pull out the ol' TT bike a couple of weeks prior to those races to get familiar with it again, but right now, I'm forcing myself to relax, and enjoy some long, slow rides. I'm even having trouble trying to allow myself to indulge in some foods that I've been denying myself most of the season! I know, a rough struggle, poor me!!!! Until next time.....

TTT

Hi All. Well yesterday was the Fiesta Island Team Time Trial. I may of made mention in an earlier post that I wasn't looking forward to competing in this event. I had commited to it a couple of months ago, and at the time was really pumped to do this race, seeing as how I love to time trial, but as the event drew nearer, my excitement began to wane. Alot of this was due to the fact that I was only able to get a couple of practices in where I actually drafted behind another bike in the aero position. For those of you out there who've never experienced this, let me tell you, it's a little unnerving at first. Couple that with the fact of my lack of motivation since the Mt. Charleston Hill Climb, and the 4am wake up call this race involved, and I was dreading it to say the least. So race day starts with the 4am alarm, I drag myself out of bed thinking, "didn't I just do this last week?". Grab a quick bowl of Muesli and a coffee, and head out the door at 4:45 for Fiesta Island. Skip ahead to the start. 7:07am, and we're on the start line. Oddly enough I'm feeling rather relaxed for sitting on the start line and about to begin an hour of extreme discomfort racing in a format I'm completely unexperienced in. The starter says go, and we're off! I immediately take my place in line and we go. I'm amazed at how quickly I adapt to getting on a wheel in the aero position and being totally comfortable doing it. Our race went soooo smooth. No mishaps, nice pulls, a good high pace for our collective abilities. Finished the 40km in a time of 57:14, for 5th place. Not bad for a team that didn't practice once together. My legs felt so good, and I'm sure I would of been able to go faster. That was the hardest part of the day for me, knowing that I could have picked up the pace, but in doing so, run the risk of breaking the group's flow apart, which would of lead to disaster. Needless to say, after all the grumbling about not wanting to do this event, as Arnold says, "I'll be back!" And what did I do to celebrate? In & Out Burger........a double-double, hamburger, fries, and a chocolate shake!!! Let me tell you, after eating healthy for a very long time, eating this kind of food to reward yourself is no reward at all. Sure it tasted good while I was consuming it, but I felt like crap immediately afterwards. Two races left on my calendar, both TT's at Santiago Canyon. First week of October and November, so this allows me a little time to relax on the training, and then get back on the TT bike a couple of weeks out and get ready to hit it. Compact cranks went on the road bike yesterday, and I'm anxious to get out today and see how they feel:) Until next time.....

motivation.....

Motivation. Something I could use a little more of right now. I think I trained so hard for Mt. Charleston that now that the race is finished, so is my motivation. Most of the guys on the team ended their season weeks ago, but I'm trying to push through to early November. The Team Time Trial is this Saturday at Fiesta Island, and although I was excited when I originally commited to it, my excitement has wandered. I have manged to get on the TT bike a couple of times this week to get reacquainted with the feel of it, but I admit, I am nervous about the prospect of drafting twelve inches off another teammates wheel without access to my brakes! I'll keep you all posted on the results after the race. Until next time.....

Las Vegas

Ah, Las Vegas. A town I love and hate all at the same time. A true-life love/hate relationship. Everytime (almost everytime), I've ever visited Vegas I've come away swearing I'll never visit again. The reason for this declaration usually involves large quantities of alcohol, and the hangover that accompanies that. Last year around this time was no exception. A friend of mine and myself loaded up the car and headed out to Vegas on a Friday morning for the Mt. Charleston Hill Climb. The race was on Saturday, and it was the primary reason for making the trip, but partying all night after the race was running a close second. Needless to say alot of alcohol, and a large amount of fun was had by all. As far as the race went I managed to finish 24th out of a full-field of Cat 4/5 racers, with a time of 1:44 and some odd seconds. I returned this last weekend to try and better that time and finish in the top-ten. I knew of at least one racer who was signed up for this race that specializes in hill climbs, so I had no delusions whatsoever of actually winning this one. 17.5 miles, all uphill, starting at 3300 some odd feet, and climbing to 8600 and some odd feet. Beautiful climb, and I must say, one of the most well organized races I participate in throughout the season. Needless to say, I managed to shave about four minutes off my time last season, finishing around 1:40:19. I'm still not sure where I placed, as we decided not to stick around for the unofficial results. What did I take away from this race? For starters, I know I can crack into the 1:30's. I think I let the HRM dictate how I rode most of the race, which isn't neccesarily a bad thing, but with 1km left and a group of three up the road, had I threw caution to the wind, and attacked, I'm almost sure I could of caught them. Second, I'm stating this now, for the first time in public so to speak.........I am finished racing crits! Ontario #5 was my last one. Why you ask? Try as I might, I still don't derive that much pleasure out of racing in a crit. Bumping bars, the yelling at each other, dealing with juniors or any bike rider for that matter that can't hold a line, and the constant fear of the inevitable crash, all add up to an unpleasant experience for me. The risk/reward just isn't high enough to be worth it. Not to mention the overall vibe at a crit as opposed to a road race is just worlds apart. The crit scene is just oozing nerves and attitude. Not necesarily a negative one, but there seems to be far more tension in the air then at a road race. Racing at Charleston this last weekend reminded me of just how much I prefer the road scene over the crit's. So, with that said, the bike will be receiving compact cranks at the end of the season, and my training will be tailored specifically to perform well in road races and time trials. Of course this means I'll be racing far less next season, but with school scheduled to take up a larger portion of my time, and the possibility of a part-time job soon, that's OK. Until next time.....