Hi All! How are you? Good here. It's another beautiful day in sunny San Diego! I hate to rub it in to others who may not be so fortunate to have the weather we have here, but it really has to be the best in country. Of course there are downfalls to living in this paradise, it comes with a cost, literally! Anyway, on to the reason for this post...
I have my first race of the season this Sunday, the 30th, up in Palos Verders. It's a 6-mile, uphill TT, and even though it's really only a "C" race on my personal calendar, I'm still itching to pin on a number and give it a go! Six days after that, February 5th, is when the the action really heats up. Boulevard!!!
This blog really serves as an outlet for me to keep a journal of sorts, documenting my racing, training, and just overall general experiences on the bike. After my interval session yesterday, I was sitting in a chair in my backyard reflecting on just how much I love the sport of cycling.
It's really difficult to put in to words...the sights, sounds, smells, and sensations that I've accumulated through the last ten years in this sport have been priceless. I'm not a religious person by any means, but I do believe in God, and have always thought that it doesn't require going to church and sitting in a pew every week to truly appreciate the life we've been given. My pew? The saddle of my bike. My church? The roads I pedal on. I NEVER take for granted what I've been given, and more often then not, find myself in complete awe at the wonderful things I witness on my rides. There are rides that to this day will stick in my memory forever. Rides I wouldn't trade for anything.
The wonderful people I've met through this sport have been nothing short of life changing. You can't put a price on friendship. There's something really special about a group of people who share a common bond, something that is appreciated and loved with a passion. There is so much mutual respect for one another in cycling, the knowing wave of a hand, or nod of a head as riders pass each other. Words aren't needed.
I truly hope that I'll never lose the passion that I have for the sport. That after I've decided my days of competing are over, I'll still want to get out and hit the roads, if for anything, just to enjoy why I began riding in the first place. If anyone out there reading this has never given cycling a try, please do. Go out, rent or borrow a bike, and see what all my fuss is about. You may find it's not your cup of tea, but I really doubt you'll regret giving it a chance. And if you need someone to guide you along the way, I'm always more then happy to share my enthusiasm! Until next time...
Hi All! How ya doing? The week in review...
Monday: Rest and run errands. Check!
Tuesday: 2x20 FTP intervals. Check!
Wednesday: San Elijo/Twin Oaks hill repeats. Check!
Thursday: VO2 Max intervals. First night of school. Check and check!
Friday: 60-minute recovery ride. Check!
Saturday: 4:30 hours. Hard, hilly ride. Check!
Sunday: 2:15 hours. Easy, coastal spin. Check!
The good news is, I managed to get all the required workouts completed. The bad news is, I also managed to pick up a small head cold from my wife. Ahhh! It was just six weeks ago I was sick! Needless to say, I'm doing everything in my power to prevent this head cold from moving to the lungs. If I can do that, the next two weekends races are a go.
I hope you all had a great week, and weekend, and have an even better one coming up. Until next time...
Hi All! How's the week treatin' you? Well, another excellent week of training in the books! Week two of training with a purpose as I like to think of it, is done, and I'm ready to dive in to the third week. I've never been this structured this early in the season, actually I've never been this structured with my training, but after getting on a program this last summer, and seeing the results at the Death Valley Stage Race, I'm convinced it's what's needed to be a factor at the races.
I took Monday completely off the bike and gym as usual. I use Mondays to get caught up on as many errands and things I put off as possible. Tuesday it was back on the trainer for a round of 2x20 FTP intervals, then Wednesday a short, but hard 1:15 on the bike. Thursday I planned on hill repeats, but didn't have enough time, so it was another short but hard ride around town. Friday was the usual 60-minute recovery ride out to Carlsbad and back. Nothing out of the ordinary, but the weekend...
Friday night, my good friend and training partner, and now also a working partner with Bailey Bikes, Mark Palmer, shot me an email saying he was going to be hitting up the Swamis Ride in the morning. The Swamis Ride isn't my favorite, but I did do it last week, and figured the fast group ride would be good for me to get my racing nerve back before Boulevard arrives. The first few road races of the season are always a bit nerve racking for me, and I'm assuming a lot of other racers, because we've been away from the action for a few months, and most of our training is usually done solo, or in small groups, so when you find yourself surrounded by 99 of your closest racing friends, things can get a little sketchy to say the least!
To make a long story short, Saturday's ride was kick ass! As it turns out, Mark's coach, none other then Chris Horner himself, was at the ride, then when the ride reached the church in Escondido for the regroup, Mark, Horner, myself, and two other riders, both pros, one from the Jelly Belly Pro Cycling Team, and the other a friend of Horners, spent the next 2-hours riding throughout the hills of North County. All in all, 101 miles, 5:35, and an 17.9 average! When I peeled off from Mark, Horner, and the other two riders at the 4-hour mark, we had an average speed of 18.6! One of the toughest training rides I've ever been on, but one of the best too.
Today was me, myself, and I out for 3-hours of mostly easy riding, just recovering from yesterday's big effort. What a wonderful weekend of weather to be outdoors! I hope you were all able to take advantage of it too! Until next time...
Hi All! Well, this week kicked off the first official week of training with some structure. Tired, tired, tired, that's the best way I can describe how I felt, at least on Friday. Monday was the prescribed day off, then it's six days on the bike in doing some kind of workout. Tuesday was 2x20 ftp intervals on the trainer. Wednesday, a 1:15 tempo ride. Thursday, a 2-1/2 hour endurance ride. At work Friday my legs were literally locking up as I walked around. Just tight, and feelin' like two lead weights! Friday thankfully, is recovery ride day, so I hopped on the trainer for 30-minutes of easy spinning. The weekend, well that was not so easy...
Saturday, I rode down to Nytro early to meet up with the Swamis Ride. Thurlow Rogers and his Amgen crew were there, along with Karl Bodine, so I knew this particular morning would be especially brutal. To make this short, I pulled up to the church in Escondido about a minute behind the lead group, not bad, I was happy. From there, I branched off and rode another 3-1/2 hours through Poway, RB, PQ, Del Mar, and on up the coast to Carlsbad for a coffee and bagel break, then home. 91-miles in 5:15 with a 17.5 avg.
Today I drove down to Mira Mesa to meet up with the SDBC 3-4-5 team. The route was up Scripps Poway Parkway to Highway 67, down Highland Valley Road, and back to Mira Mesa via Pomerado Road. 51-miles. A great day in the saddle, and it was good to see some old teammates. Great group of guys who appear to be a force to reckon with this season!
Hope you all had a great weekend! Until next time...
This could be fun. I registered this morning, figuring what the heck, if I decide at the last second to not make the drive that morning, it was only $20. If anything I thought this might be a good little tune-up the week before Boulevard...
Peninsula Clif Climb
Hi All! How ya doing? Things are good here, a little hectic, but good. Well, the holidays are official over, and I must say, I'm glad. It's not that I don't like them, I do, but when all the hustle and bustle is over, it's nice to get back to a little normalcy, peace, and quiet.
This last week marked the end of my of base training, and I'm feeling ready to get back to a set training schedule that includes some intensity, ie...intervals, tempo rides, endurance rides, etc. Boulevard is coming up in just a little over a months time (February 5th), and I'd like to be more fit then I've been in the past.
This last weekend I managed to get in a really solid base training ride Saturday, by myself, 5-1/2 hours, 91-miles, 6000ft, and 2800 calories. I was whipped when I got home! Actually, I felt pretty good for about an hour after getting home, but started feeling really fatigued shortly after that. The wife, roommate, and myself headed out to Famous Dave's Legendary Pit BBQ to put on the feedbag, and boy did it taste great! Of course, after logging almost six hours in the saddle, anything does!
Today I logged 2-1/2 hours of moderate-to-hard riding, the last 2-hours with
John Bailey and his pro mountain biker friend, so there was some good work being done in that ride!
Hope all is well with everyone, until next time...
