Hi All! How's life? Things have been good here. For all the readers (reader! LOL!) of my blog, you'll know I competed in the Death Valley Stage Race last weekend. I've been waiting to post a race report, (along with pictures and videos), until I receive the official results, and unfortunately, I'm still waiting for them! I don't want to jinx myself, so I'll reframe from providing any information on the event, but I will say, what an incredible race! I'll definitely be back for more, and plan on keeping my focus next year strictly on RR's, and include more "climbing" focused events such as the Death Valley races, Everest Challenge, etc.
Stage 2 of the race was last Sunday, and I haven't ridden my bike until today, this Sunday. Don't worry, I planned to do that, just to give myself a physical and mental break from all the training in preparation for the Death Valley event. It's been a nice break this last week, but I'll tell you, my life's routine really gets out of whack when I disrupt it with something like taking the bike completely out of it. It really has made me realize just how much of an integral part of my life the bike is! Kind of scary!!!
As I mentioned, I did get back out on the road today for a little over two hours, with no real purpose, other then just riding. That's probably what the rest of this month will be in the way of riding for me. Wherever, whenever, and with whoever, just go with what life allows me in the way of riding right now. My priorities right now are family, cafe, new business, bike. Pretty much in that order.
Wish I had more to tell you, and I promise I'll provide the race report as soon as it's in stone. Hope all is well! Until next time...
Hey All! Well, the countdown has begun! Less then a week now until I head up to Bishop to compete in the Death Valley Stage Race. There's a very good chance this will be my last race of the season, and judging by the past write ups on this event, and given its location, I think it's going to be high on my list of favorite events.
So far there are only three of us Cat 4's registered, and I'm desperately hoping the other two racers are guys who love to climb, and excel at it. I'm not assuming I'm going to walk away with a win, but because of the extremely small field size, it's not going to be difficult to keep track of the comeptition and know how well they're doing.
So, I leave Friday morning for Bishop, spend both Friday and Saturday nights there. Day one of the race starts just outside of Big Pine, and day two starts smack dab in the middle of Lone Pine, and then proceeds up the hardest rated climb in California, Onion Valley Road! I've never ridden up in that area, but if time permits, I'd like to drive Onion Valley on our way to Bishop. It's always a good idea to recon the course before you race it.
This weekend I managed to get some fairly good training in, but truth be told, my body is getting tired of all these hard workouts, even after a rest week not too long ago. I left the house Saturday morning, and made my way up Highway 395 to Rainbow, then down Rice Canyon Road, up Cousar Canyon Road, up Valley Center Road, down to Escondido, then through Elfin Forest, and finally up and over San Elijo Road. I made the fatal mistake of not consuming enough calories on the 2300-calorie ride, and paid the price coming in. I weighed in at 151 when I left, and 142 when I returned! Not good!!!
Needless to say, I still felt the effects of that ride this morning, so I headed straight to the coast via Palomar Airport Road, made my way down to Solana Beach, then headed inland home, via Rancho Santa Fe. A good ride, pushing it in places, but not too hard.
This week is going to be all about short intense efforts, keeping the legs moving and tuned up. A nice "opener" here Friday morning before we get on the road, then race Saturday and Sunday. I'd really like to end this season with a win, so wish me luck!
Hope all is well, until next time...
Hi All! Well, the weekend has come and gone, was it long enough for you? Never is for me! This last week, I managed to get myself back on track with my training, after a rest week that lasted a bit longer then it should of, but ultimately, probably did more good then harm after all the extremely hard workouts I completed prior to it.
After a week of trainer interval workouts, and a week of extremely high temperatures around San Diego, Saturday's plan was to head out to Palomar for some repeats, but the forecast of possible thunderstorms with lightning, put an end to that! I decided instead to take a ride down the coast to La Jolla and back. I rode at a fairly good tempo pace, and as usual, came across a few riders who, as I was passing them, always latch on to my wheel, and sit in my draft. Most of the time this doesn't really bother me, but as I was approaching the base of the Torrey Pines climb, this one particular rider who had been cat & mousing me all the way through Del Mar, running red lights just to stay ahead of me, proceeds to sit on my wheel right up until the bottom of the climb, then decides to shoot around me as the road pitched up.
I could tell by this guy's build that he wasn't going to be able to hold the pace he was setting up the beginning of the climb, so I just sat on his wheel and waited for him to blow up. Before this happened, two riders came up on the outside of us, one a rider from UCLA, and the other a Swami. They went by us a good 4 or 5mph quicker then we were, and I immediately jumped in behind them, but intentionally staying a good twenty feet back.
It didn't take long for the Del Mar wheelsucker to blow up, then it was just the two other riders and myself. About halfway up the climb, the UCLA rider went around his Swami friend, and up'd the pace even more. The Swami rider had a climber's build, but the UCLA rider looked more like a sprinter. He was putting out some serious power, and I just kept hanging on. Not long after, the UCLA rider pulled off, job done, and the Swami kept the pace up, climbing hard! I just kept my distance, but not losing any either. I looked down and noticed my heart rate was at 182bpm, and I was definitely feeling the hurt!
A couple of times, I had the urge get out of the saddle, and attempt to overtake the Swami, but the level of suffering I was experiencing was just enough to keep me at bay. We both reached the top, still twenty feet apart, and as my heart rate settled back down, I smiled. There's nothing like a good battle up a climb to get the blood pumping! All in all, a good day on the road, 48-miles, 3600ft, and 1400 calories.
Today, a new PR of sorts. Again, I skipped Palomar because of an unfavorable forecast, but still wanted to get some good climbing in, so I decided that hill repeats would be the plan for the day. San Elijo and Twin Oaks. Great weather for repeats, overcast, high 60's, a light wind, bring it on! 8x San Elijo, and 2x Twin Oaks. Pushed fairly big gears, and kept the heart rate between 150-160bpm for the 2:45 ride, and another 1400 calories. Legs are feeling heavy tonight!
Thirteen days until the Death Valley Stage Race! Can't wait! Hope you all had a great weekend, until next time...
