Training, new team, and Belgium preperations

After a rest week from my 3 week block that included the California trip, it was back on the bike Sunday for an endurance ride.  The weather was fantastic, about 55-60 and sunny, which is typical for late January to early Febuary, then it will dump on us till May-June.  The weather and upcoming racing season must've prompted people to ride at a ridiculous pace.  Despite the fact that I didn't have legs, I was sitting in the group just fine, taking my turns at the front every now and again.  About 1/2 way into the ride the pace ramps up and I head to the back.  Even though racing in Oregon starts mid February, this is no reason to "light matches" just now.  The season lasts until September, and I'm traveling to Belgium, where I'll need those "matches" in June, so going hard in a non-race environment is exactly what I don't want.

Needless to say I'm at the back of the group having this great mental discussion with myself, when we get to a particular section of the course that is part of the first race in February.  Right when we turned on that road it was as if there was money on some imaginary line, and everyone took off.  Finally getting my bearings I sat up, content with having a "nose breathing" ride home, enjoying the weather.

Ranting aside, I mentioned earlier that I am traveling to Belgium in June to race bikes until September.  Graham, from the California trip, told me he wants to come.  Having an ex-pro racer come on a trip like this, where my ultimate goal is to get a contract is a huge help and resource, not to mention a hell of a fast bike rider!  Graham and I have decided that the best way for us to prepare and travel over there is by creating our own team, just for the two of us, and try to attain sponsorship and support.  Though we would be racing under our own team in Belgium, the autonomy isn't a bad thing as we would be the "unknown" riders, which could ultimately help.




In preparing our sponsorship proposal I've stumbled across a few cool photos during a criterium in August last summer, take a look.

California Training Camp

Two weeks ago I embarked on a training camp in Ojai, CA with Graham Howard and Ross Brody, of my new team based around the local charity Bikes for Buddies.  In addition to Graham and Ross we were joined, or rather we joined, the Willamette University Cycling team.

The drive down was split (unnecessarily) into two parts with a stop in Davis.  Though driving straight to Ojai made more sense, we were able to meet a few of the riders in Davis for a morning group ride on Monday.

After arriving in Ojai and getting settled in, Graham, Ross, and I had 5 uninterrupted days of riding, though I took a break on Thursday, giving me 2+2.  Repeated 4.5-4.75 hour days felt great, especially with the usual 4-5k ft of climbing per ride.  Not a mountain of climbing, but enough to feel it.

One death march in particular found us riding through a loose definition of road, most of it dirt, and overgrown.  Granted we were following one of those little lines on Google Maps, it turned out to be quite the adventure straight over Sulfur Mountain.

Here's Ross and Graham going up the "road"

Saturday being our last day of riding, we went up HWY 33, which the WU boys had been doing all week.  The guys had been doing an out and back on 33, and we did the same, but rather than finish the ride to the 5100ft summit, Graham and I turned around halfway to ride down to the beach and through Ventura for some nice 80 degree weather.  Here's a shot of Ross and I at the halfway point on 33.

After close to 20 hours of great training, we left Ojai at 8pm for a drive through the night back to Salem. As you can see Graham was pretty tired from all of the riding...

Until next time!

2011 Oregon racing

Today marks the end of an intense training block, and starting a rest week. Racing starts in the middle of February, so after this week the training will get more intense, and races will become a part of the training program. During this rest week I'll have some time to update the blog with my bikes and recent California training camp.

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Alaska

I've traveled home for the holidays, back to the "last fronteir" they call Alaska.  Normally bike riding isn't something one associates with Alaska, especially when the show falls, but due to an increase in snow bikes people are changing their tune.  There are two shops up here that have started producing their own fat tire bikes, and the cyclists are going nuts for them.  It's so great to see small shops create a new niche and help keep their lights and heaters on during the cold months.  Coming from a motorcycle shop background up here, I'm more than familiar with the issues and stresses of running a seasonal business.  The ability to branch into once before uncharted territory for boosting profit margins, is a huge win, especially when there is no transfer or scale costs.  Those shops are still selling bikes, therefore the tooling is the same, the knowledge is similar, and come spring, they just change to road/mtn bikes, albeit with most of the same customers.

I don't own a fat bike primarily because I'm seldom in Alaska, but I did build a snow bike of my own to leave up here.  I was able to pick up an old Klein Rascal mtb frame for fairly cheap, and it came with wheels.  The frame is structurally fine, but has plenty of nicks and scrapes.  I used parts laying around, and a few purchased to make my own winter cruiser.  I already had some studded tires so the project went together pretty easily.  The fat tire bikes are great for fresh snow, but they don't make studded tires for them.  Most trails in Anchorage, especially after a cold spell, are cleared and frozen, thus making studs a wonderful option for some winter training.  Granted it's not the same as riding with my coach and a couple local motors on my road bike, but in a pinch it'll do just fine.

Training and Bikes!

Too much time has passed since I last posted. I have since recovered enough to start riding, and continue my therapy with some mild lifting in the gym. I have a few new updates to the herd, and some great training stories, stay tuned!

car 1, B 0

Last Wednesday I embarked on a training ride with a couple of teammates.  These guys are pure motors and know every gravel road in a 200 mile radius of Salem, so usually I hang on for dear life.  We rolled out of town around 9:30, and about 20 mins into the ride, while passing an intersection to a park, a lady decides to gas it through the intersection we've just entered into, making a left hand turn from oncoming traffic.  She clips the rear wheel in front of me, and the Scion Xa and I become fast friends as I slam into the side of it.  After careening off the car I land in the road clutching my shoulder.  There were a few other cars that got a front row seat to the action as they were stopped at a red light. 

After a short ambulance ride, xrays show a stage 3 spearated clavicle, and a compressed rib cage. 

A visit to an orthopedist results in a sling for 4 weeks, no surgery, and lots of pain during sneezing, coughing, and laughing.

It's now the end of October, been off the bike for over 2 weeks, slowly losing my sanity.  Though I've been racing since Febuary, I felt itchy to get back on the bike after only a few days, 4 weeks is torture.  Coach says to use the time to get a nice mental break, then back at the base miles...he's always right.

Since I was on my cross bike, my only geared bike, during the crash, it's toast, and now I'm waiting on a 2011 Specialized

shoulda, woulda, coulda

I have learned many things from my dad over the years, but there are a few gems that stick out.

In my life, I have participated in two motocross races, both times finishing mediocre in the novice category.  After the last of the two, I was recounting the race for my dad, when I remarked that there seemed to be many people afterwards who kept playing out hypothetical race situations based on assumptions.  For instance "if only he hadn't cut me off in that turn, man, I shoulda just taken the inside line, I woulda passed him, and I coulda gotten on the podium."  The response from my dad was simple, "Ah, I see you've found the 'shoulda, woulda, coulda' racing team, there's a few members at every event."

 That was in 2008, and I have not been on my dirt bike since.  I took up cycling that summer, and have just completed my first season road racing.  I'm not quite sure why that thought stayed with me for so long, perhaps it's because most people have a tendency to use the 'SWC' in times of race reccolection, no matter what the dicipline. 

At any rate, I obviously intend this blog to cover my coming 2010 cyclocross season, as well as any racing from here on out.  Hopefully I won't 'SWC' much and rather say 'thank got he didn't do that, and I get to keep my top spot on the podium.'

Thanks for your time.