Distractions...

Hello All! Have you ever felt that your life just isn't going smoothly, and nothing feels right. Turmoil, that's the word!!! I've decided to back out of the Mt. Charleston Hill Climb this coming Saturday. With this economy the way it is, our restaurant has taken a big hit in sales, but the problem really lies in our food cost going up exponentially over the last year or so. Anyone who grocery shops knows this to be true. This is one of many pitfalls in the restaurant business, food costs literally change on a daily basis, and you're not able to change your menu to reflect those changes!

So, with the business struggling, I'm forced to work more hours, and my priorities have shifted considerably. I couldn't figure out why, for the longest time (almost this whole race season), why I couldn't get motivated to train properly, or even race for that matter. Now I know. Oh well, this is life, ups and downs, ebbs and flows. It's how we deal with it that matters most.

So for now, the racing takes a back seat to more important matters, but I will continue to log as many miles as possible on the bike. I'm determined to not lose too much fitness, because we all know how much more work is required to get it back:)

Hope all is well with you all. Until next time...

Yo...

Hello All! How's everything going out there? Not a lot new to report here. Work is work. We could be busier, wish we were, but who doesn't these days! I've been training my a#$ off for the last two months trying to be prepared for the Mt. Charleston Hill Climb coming up September 19th. Unfortunately I was training a little too hard and paid the price for it.

Two Fridays ago, I attended my nephew and niece's "End of Summer" party at their pre-school, and woke up Saturday morning with a cold. Imagine that! Well, like the fool I tend to be when it comes to not listening to my body, I went out with the team Saturday for a hard training ride throughout the hills of San Diego county. Needless to say, I awoke Sunday morning with a bad pinched nerve in the left side of my neck, which affected the entire left side of my upper body. Couple that with the cold I already had, and what do you get? A forced time off the bike:( I ended up taking one week completely off the pedals, which I realized after riding both days this last weekend, didn't really set me back at all. In fact, I felt really strong on the bike. Maybe a little rest isn't such a bad thing after all!

Hope all is well for everyone out there, keep your heads up, work hard, and play harder. Until next time...

An actual update!!!

Hi All,
Sorry for the huge gap in between entries. Truth be told, I've come to realize that blogging takes some commitment, and I've managed to place quite a few other commitments ahead of this one. I was out on a ride last week, working my way through the hills of San Diego County, when a thought occurred to me...instead of blogging about just my training, or my races, (which these days have been few and far between), why not write about what I see, or what I experience while on my bike. So here goes...

What made me think of this, was an incident that happened soon after I pulled out of the Chevron off the 15 and Highway 76, next to Nessy Burger. I decided to head straight down the 76 East and make my way to Cousar Canyon Road. As I made my way down the highway, I came up on a large construction project, (I believe they're widening the Highway). There was a construction worker standing in the middle of the road holding one of those "Stop/Slow" signs, with the "Stop" side facing me. I rode to the front of the line, to let my presence be known to the cars waiting to proceed down the road.

As the worker flipped the sign, I clipped in and took off. Now mind you, this section of road was slightly downhill, and within a few seconds I was cruising along at 25-28mph, trying to keep my speed up as not to hold up traffic. There was no shoulder in this section of road, just cones on the right-hand side. I was riding as close to the cones as possible, noticing that not far up the road the cones ended, and then I'd be able to get out of the way, and let the cars pass.

Well needless to say, some jackass in a large, black truck, decided he didn't want to wait and gunned it by me. I knew the truck was coming, I could hear the engine rev. At that point, I moved over as far right as I could, uncomfortably close to the cones as the truck sped by. As soon as I thought I was clear of the truck I just began to move back over, when all of a sudden I noticed he was also towing a trailer with a dune buggy on it! I just manged to veer right, and I swear I felt something solid brush my left shoulder! Hands down the closest I've come to be taken out. I had to laugh to myself when I looked up and noticed the "Jesus is Lord" sticker dominating the guys rear window! Yeah right!

On the training front...I've been working my ass off in preparation for the Mt. Charleston Hill Climb. Hands down, one of my favorite races of the year. Weekly Palomar repeats, yes I did say Palomar repeats:) Dieting and getting the weight down as much as possible. I have to say though, I'm getting tired of always being tired. This level of intensity in my training leaves me little energy for anything else.

Nothing to report on the racing front, seeing as how I haven't raced since May! I can't wait to pin a number on, I just hope the lack of competition doesn't hurt me too much come race time. Hope all is well out there! Until next time...

Long time, no talk...

Hi All,
Happy 4th! Hope everyone has a great day, and enjoys the freedoms this great country has to offer. No place better! Sorry for the big gap between entries. I've come to realize that maintaining a blog is a lot of work, and often difficult to remember it even exists. I just returned from vacation on the 30th. Seventeen days of vacation to be exact, the longest I've ever taken. I had a GREAT time! Managed to see Yosemite, Crater Lake, and finally arriving in Astoria, OR to prepare for the reason for taking the trip in the first place. Riding down the Oregon coast to San Francisco with my father-in-law:)

The trip was absolutely beautiful! I have to say, the roads in Oregon, and the scenery, make the rides around here in So Cal pale in comparison. I had to keep reminding myself there was a dark side to what creates that beautiful scenery. RAIN!!! Fortunately for us, we only experienced one day in the nine that we rode, that was really wet. Other then that, the rest of the trip was on the cool side, but highly enjoyable. Our ride numbers...Nine days of riding, 639 miles total. Other then a pair of sore kness, everything was perfect. Not even a flat tire between us!

On to the racing...WHAT'S THAT??? I haven't raced since the State TT Championships back in May!!! I'm getting a little nervous that I won't remember how when I do finallly get ack in the action. My next race will either be the Sisquoc RR, or the Mt. Charleston HC, or both, or neither. To be honest, my focus has faded from the race scene this season. Not that I'm not enjoying it anymore, just have other things I've been focusing on, and life has stepped in the way more then once this year. I've learned to be OK with that, reminding myself racing is what I do has a hobby, not as a living. Well that's about all for now, until next time...

The Change...

Well as you can see, there's been a change not only to my blog header, but to the team I race for now. This is sort of a homecoming of sorts. I started racing with Team Ranchos back in 2007, and have now returned. Nothing against SDBC at all, one of the greatest teams out there, full of guys who I thoroughly enjoyed racing with. Sometimes a change is what's needed to further one's progress in the sport, and sometimes that change involves taking a step back. I have absolutely no regrets about racing with SDBC, and no regrets about leaving Ranchos back in 2007. Had I not done that, I would probably have never met the people I now call friends on SDBC. Until next time...

A change is gonna come...

Hello All. Writing to you from beautiful, sunny San Diego! Man what a nice day! Got out on the bike today for a good 3.5hrs, moderate-to-high intensity, just trying to clear the legs out some after yesterday's State Time Trial Championships. 40k, in the high desert, my goal, break an hour. This was my first 40k time trial so I had no idea on how to pace myself, so I played it smart and rode within myself for almost the entire distance. 55:20 is the time I ran, so the goal was met. Next season, a 54:00 flat. I'm finding out that any race with a "championship" designation really brings out the big guns. I had a vision of cracking in to the top ten, but even running a 55:20 only netted me 28th! Next race on the calendar, the State Road Race Championship. This race is an "A" race all the way for me, and I'm hoping the form I had out at San Luis Rey is still there come June 7th. As for the change is gonna come title of this blog, more on that when it happens. Until next time...

SLR

San Luis Rey! Damn fun race! Entered this race with the intention of getting a great workout, not to place high. That's exactly what I did. I didn't think I'd have good legs for this race, after my miserable performance at Punchbowl, but guess what! To keep it short, it was sooo easy to get to the front, and even attack at will. One of my attacks actually succeeded and I managed to get about a 40-second gap on the field. Rode solo for almost 8 miles! Good fun:) Next up, Fiesta Island TT this Sunday, 40k. Wish me luck!!! Until next time...