The founding member of the Blue Star Fan Club
Nola Kitten
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Lots of Riding
Not much happening. I've been logging some quality saddle time. 16 hours last week, thanks to some decent weather. THayes and I got out on the MTB's on both Saturday and Sunday for some solid offroad mileage. This week is time for some recovery to allow the legs to adapt from the stimulus of the previous weeks training load. Upgrading to semi-pro will require some more watts. I hope the legs and lungs have gotten the message from my brain: More watts please...
Maxxis is on board again for next year. Phew! Now I can rest easy, because I can satisfy my tire fetish as needed. I love experimenting with tires. Different conditions require different tread designs and rubber compounds. I really enjoy finding the right tire for the course. A tire won't win a race, but the wrong tire can lose you a race. I can personally attest to that based on my experiences last year at Fontana and Park City. Superlight does not equate with durable. Striking the right balance is the key.
Up next: California training camp, then some early season races.
Blue Star
Maxxis is on board again for next year. Phew! Now I can rest easy, because I can satisfy my tire fetish as needed. I love experimenting with tires. Different conditions require different tread designs and rubber compounds. I really enjoy finding the right tire for the course. A tire won't win a race, but the wrong tire can lose you a race. I can personally attest to that based on my experiences last year at Fontana and Park City. Superlight does not equate with durable. Striking the right balance is the key.
Up next: California training camp, then some early season races.
Blue Star
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Trainer Day
27 degrees, snowing, and icy roads,
means I get to spend some time here...
means I get to spend some time here...
Maybe after a few more shots of espresso, I'll get motivated. At least I can watch some basketball and football, while I pedal fast to nowhere.
Blue Star
Friday, January 12, 2007
Training, Bad Weather, Travel Plans & Sponsor Renewals
Last week's recovery block has come and gone. It was good to rest and relax for a week with only minimal riding obligations to attend to. I also kicked out a solid CP30 effort on Sunday, which bodes well for the coming build phases of my training. My goal this year is to put out 305 watts for 30 minutes. We'll see if my engine is capable of such prodigious power outputs. With an eye on that objective, my training for the the next few weeks transitions to more intense efforts with some long intervals just below threshold and some low RPM (~60 rpms) force intervals to transition the strength I have developed in the gym over the past few months into usable strength on the bike.
The weather continues to surprise, baffle, and astonish. This week we were hit with "Arctic Blast 2007." Gotta love the spin (read, hype) the media outlets use. Snow and temps in the teens. Again, the worst of it hit during rush hour so people were abandoning their cars on I-90 in the Issaquah area. It's times like these I absolutely love my trusty (for the most part) Jeep. I'm also glad I grew up in the snow-belt in Ohio (did I just say that?) and am comfortable driving in adverse conditions. The snow and less than optimal riding conditions will make training this weekend a creative endeavor that may involve some mix of the trainer, mountain biking on snowy roads, and hopefully some frozen singeltrack.
I've also been working on my travel plans for the upcoming season. Lining up flights, hotels, transportation, etc. I'm hoping I can save some coin this year by getting stuff booked early. I stumbled upon a useful site that predicts what airfares are going to do and provides a recommendation of whether to book now or wait. It is called Farecast and can be found at www.farecast.com The NORBA dates are posted, but the event schedules are not available yet. It makes it tough to book flights when you don't know if the XC race is at 8am on Saturday or 12pm on Sunday. Frustrating. I do know I'm doing all three endurance events at Sea Otter including the XC, Short Track XC, and, my personal favorite, the Time Trial. I am really looking forward to Sea Otter this year. First, because SLR is coming with. Second, it is an absolutely huge celebration of all things bicycle and is really something that all bike junkies need to experience at least once. I have my fingers crossed that mother nature will bless the weekend with good weather unlike last year. Plus, I think I will have paid my dues by enduring this rough winter in the NW.
Got word that both Tifosi Optics and Crankbrothers will be sponsoring me again for next year. Both companies make products that outperform the competition, while doing so at a lower price. Even if Tifosi didn't sponsor me, I would race in their Q3 model. They fit me like a glove and are bomb proof. Crankbrothers Eggbeater pedals are by far the best performing pedals in the slop and mud of the NW. This year I think I'm going to go with some Four Ti Eggbeaters to shave even more weight from my rigs. They are ridiculously light, coming in at half of what other pedals weigh. I am only waiting on one more sponsor and if they come through I will have the same lineup as last year. I guess that means I'm doing something right.
Blue Star
The weather continues to surprise, baffle, and astonish. This week we were hit with "Arctic Blast 2007." Gotta love the spin (read, hype) the media outlets use. Snow and temps in the teens. Again, the worst of it hit during rush hour so people were abandoning their cars on I-90 in the Issaquah area. It's times like these I absolutely love my trusty (for the most part) Jeep. I'm also glad I grew up in the snow-belt in Ohio (did I just say that?) and am comfortable driving in adverse conditions. The snow and less than optimal riding conditions will make training this weekend a creative endeavor that may involve some mix of the trainer, mountain biking on snowy roads, and hopefully some frozen singeltrack.
I've also been working on my travel plans for the upcoming season. Lining up flights, hotels, transportation, etc. I'm hoping I can save some coin this year by getting stuff booked early. I stumbled upon a useful site that predicts what airfares are going to do and provides a recommendation of whether to book now or wait. It is called Farecast and can be found at www.farecast.com The NORBA dates are posted, but the event schedules are not available yet. It makes it tough to book flights when you don't know if the XC race is at 8am on Saturday or 12pm on Sunday. Frustrating. I do know I'm doing all three endurance events at Sea Otter including the XC, Short Track XC, and, my personal favorite, the Time Trial. I am really looking forward to Sea Otter this year. First, because SLR is coming with. Second, it is an absolutely huge celebration of all things bicycle and is really something that all bike junkies need to experience at least once. I have my fingers crossed that mother nature will bless the weekend with good weather unlike last year. Plus, I think I will have paid my dues by enduring this rough winter in the NW.
Got word that both Tifosi Optics and Crankbrothers will be sponsoring me again for next year. Both companies make products that outperform the competition, while doing so at a lower price. Even if Tifosi didn't sponsor me, I would race in their Q3 model. They fit me like a glove and are bomb proof. Crankbrothers Eggbeater pedals are by far the best performing pedals in the slop and mud of the NW. This year I think I'm going to go with some Four Ti Eggbeaters to shave even more weight from my rigs. They are ridiculously light, coming in at half of what other pedals weigh. I am only waiting on one more sponsor and if they come through I will have the same lineup as last year. I guess that means I'm doing something right.
Blue Star
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Couch Bound
I was able to get in about 18 hours of saddle time from Tuesday of last week through Monday of this week. Some hours in the rain and some not so rainy. Definitely, a big training week for me that will hopefully serve as a good base for the fitness I hope to build in the coming months Training volume is very important, but recovery time after a big training block is even more important. Accordingly, the rest of this week has me allowing the legs to recover by sitting all day long at the real j-o-b while catching up on work (never straying to far from my Aeron chair) and spending some quality time at home on the couch. This weekend will entail a light ride on Saturday to keep the legs from being completely sedentary and a CP30 test on Sunday to see where the watts are these days. Off the feet...
With the time not spent training this week, I plan on starting my French lessons. It was a New Year's resolution a year or so ago to learn French. I even bought the classes on CD, but slacked on getting started and got wrapped up in the frenetic pace of everyday life. Masters Worlds are in the mountains of France for the next few years, so I figure what better time to learn. Not to mention, a dream of following the Tour in the Alps. Habitez pour le vélo.
Blue Star
With the time not spent training this week, I plan on starting my French lessons. It was a New Year's resolution a year or so ago to learn French. I even bought the classes on CD, but slacked on getting started and got wrapped up in the frenetic pace of everyday life. Masters Worlds are in the mountains of France for the next few years, so I figure what better time to learn. Not to mention, a dream of following the Tour in the Alps. Habitez pour le vélo.
Blue Star
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