New day, new week

Even though I had a long day ahead of me, on Saturday I woke up early to get an AM ride in. It was pleasant out, which makes a good case for doing the bulk of one's riding in the mornings. Except for being dead tired later on in the day, it was a wise decision.
The last two days have been R&R days, due to some much needed rain. Tomorrow should be the last ride on my old hardtail. The plan is to pick up the new road bike tomorrow. Yay! It's about time. The HT has served me well, it's been a great bike. Since December of last year I've put almost 3000 miles on it. Time for it to be retired.

It's H-O-T!

Mid 90's today, with a heat index around 105. That's not fit for man, nor beast. No riding today.

Smellin' the roses

After two hard days of training, I decided to take it easy today and ditch the scheduled road miles in favor of the group mtn bike ride. The legs were feeling lifeless, so the thought of hitting the road for 2hrs didn't meet with much enthusiasm.

If this ends up being true (and I don't think it is), then I'm done caring one way or another about pro road cycling.

That's it, I've had enough

Gawd almighty it was hot & nasty today. 95 degree temps weren't bad enough, no sir, we had to get gut kicked with humidity that was equally as high as the temperature. I made the Phi Beta Kappa decision to ride at 2pm today, and that has to be the most tortuous ride I've done. When I was done, I couldn't have been any wetter had I jumped in a pool. I prevailed though, and despite the awful conditions I got a fairly decent workout in. Mark my words though...Sean will not go riding at 2pm again until the max daytime temp is no higher than 70 degrees. I'll ride in the early morning, late afternoon, or not at all.

What a Tour!

This year's Tour de France was one for the books, in more ways than one. It was a roller coaster of a ride.

First off, Ivan Basso and Jan Ullich are excluded from the Tour due to their possible involvement in the Spanish doping scandal. Alexandre Vinokourov became an unfortunate casualty of the purge. The yellow jersey was switched up more times than I change socks. We have; Thor Hushovd, George Hincapie, Tom Boonen, and so far we're just up to Stage 3! Sergei Gontchar, Cyril Dessel, Floyd Landis, and Oscar Pereiro. Due to the intensity of the race, there were a number of crashes. GC contender Alejandro Valverde went down on Stage 3, and CSC's ad hoc team leader (after Basso's ejection), Bobby Julich took a painful fall during the Stage 7 TT.
Floyd Landis' Tour experience is the definition of "roller coaster". Mishaps in the prologue and Stage 7 TTs, taking the yellow jersey in Stage 11, his heartbreaking meltdown on the slopes of La Toussuire, and his awe inspiring ride the very next day, then taking the big prize 3 days later.

It was one of the best Tours in years. Congratulations Floyd, you earned it!

Got game

I've gotten back to my full training routine, finally. Today I got a good 2hrs in, complete with 50 minutes of Tempo riding. I was on today, everything was clicking. Maybe I was inspired by Floyd's legendary ride yesterday...whatever it was, it was a good day for riding.

Ride time: 2hrs
Distance: 40.5miles
Avg Speed: 20.2mph

Only a couple more weeks, and I can retire my old hardtail. Soon I'll be able to rip it up on my new road bike. Yippee!

I'm speechless!

Wow! What a day for the Tour de France...and Floyd Landis. After that atomic sized meltdown yesterday, everyone thought Landis was out of the running. Well, evidently someone forgot to mention it to Floyd.

What a stunning ride! Floyd deserves every accolade he gets in this Tour.

Rock on Floyd, rock on!

If you're gonna go, you might as well go big.

Strike a pose

This picture is just too funny. Frank Schleck doing his best Hulk impression...

Hulk mad, Hulk smash!

Tanasi Challenge- Race Report

The Tanasi Challenge was the 8^th stop on the South Eastern Regional Championship series. The Tanasi trails are located at the Ocoee Whitewater Center (which was the kayaking venue for the ’96 Olympic Games), just outside of Ducktown, Tn. The decision to do this race was kind of last minute. My first ‘A’ race of the season was the “Showdown at Sugar” NORBA event in June, and then I was going to have 3 months before my next race. I figured it would be good to add a race in there, instead of 3 solid months of boring training.

Coming off my win at Sugar Mtn I had some confidence built up, but could I make it two for two? There are some great riders that compete in the regional races, so I knew I was gonna have some serious competition.

This race would be my first time riding these trails, so I was hoping that there wasn’t too much of a learning curve on them. On my pre-ride I was pleased to discover that Tanasi is not too technical, just lots of flowy singletrack, and some pretty good climbs at the beginning. Ohh, and I can’t forget to mention “Thunder Rock Express”. Clear weather meant that the trails were in great shape. If it had rained, then it would have made sections of the course very technical. There was one dark spot on an otherwise good pre-ride though… I got stung by a friggin’ Yellowjacket! Thank God I’m not allergic, but damn, that hurt like a mother.

The day of the race I was up early, as I was hearing all kinds of sounds in the motel…people upstairs walking around, TVs playing, coughing, creaking, dripping, you name it (Editorial note- Don’t try and get any real sleep at the Ramada Limited in Blue Ridge, Ga.). After my normal pre-race breakfast of pancakes, it was off to the event.

My wave didn’t go until 11:30am, so I had plenty of time to hang out and get warmed up. Getting warmed up took on a new meaning today. It was hot, with a capital ‘H’. Temps were expected to be in the mid 90s with some nasty humidity. As a Floridian, I’m no stranger to riding in hot temperatures, so I wasn’t expecting the heat to be a factor, or at least not too much of one. With the Ocoee river right there, you certainly had a place to cool off afterwards… which more than one rider took advantage of.

After a 15 minute delay, they called up my class, Beginner 30-39. We were doing 1 lap of the 11 mile course. As always, one of my goals is/was to be in the top 4 or 5 upon hitting the singletrack. I never know if I’ll be able to achieve it, but it sounds good, right? The whistle sounds and we’re off! On top of having to watch out for fellow racers, we also had to look out for bystanders. The first part of the course was on some paved trail that bordered the river. This section of trail is used by people watching the kayakers and rafters. Needless to say, it made for some interesting obstacles. When we got to the singletrack, I had the position I was looking for…I was sitting in 4^th. With all the climbing ahead I felt that I was in a good position to be able to attack on the climbs and keep anyone from getting too far away from me. The guy in 3^rd fell of the pace almost immediately, so that put me in 3^rd. Not even 10 minutes into the race and I’m in 3^rd, so I’m feeling really good about my chances. The good feeling was short lived though. On one of the climbs, I lost momentum trying to go over a particularly big root (due to picking a bad line...but lets keep that between us.). I got one foot unclipped, but I didn’t get the important foot unclipped. The foot that was still clipped in was on the side that all my weight was on when I came to a stop, and I fell over… again, not a big problem by itself. A tree caught my fall, so all I had to do was stand up and be on my way. Wrong. When the bike fell over the back tire got wedged in the same root that that I got hung up on. So here I am leaning against this tree, and I can’t get unclipped because I can’t get the bike up because the wheel is wedged. One guy goes past, and I'm still fighting to get my foot unclipped and get the bike upright. I'm frantic as it appears if the whole damned field is going past me, and I'm floundering on the side of the trail like a fish out of water. In a move that would make a yoga master proud, I twisted my free leg around the front of the bike where I could get some leverage and finally get my trapped foot free, and I get the bike up and get going again.

Until I saw that only 1 guy had gotten past me I was in the throes of a panic attack over the mishap. It takes me a couple minutes to get out of my funk, but once my head is back on straight I pass the guy for the second time and I'm back in 3rd place. I'm finding my rhythm again, and I make a move for 2^nd as the second place fella is having some bike problems. I’m right on the wheel of the leader and when we enter a doubletrack descent I get around him and put it into high gear to try and create a sizeable gap that I can work off of once the climbing starts again.

I built on my lead over the next few climbs and for almost 10 minutes I ride by myself except for passing the occasional rider from a different class. Almost out of the blue a guy from my class shows up on my wheel and manages to get around me, and leads for the next few minutes. I am stronger on the climbs so I am right on his wheel anytime the trail goes up. After hugging his wheel for a bit he announced that he had blown and that I could get passed. I gave it all I had to create a big gap while he was trying to recover, because I didn’t want to have to be playing that same game near the end of the race. I was now starting to pick off more riders from other age groups. I'm past the halfway mark, so I’m just trying to keep up a steady effort, but at the same time not make any stupid mistakes. As I mentioned earlier, this is not a technical trail, but if you don’t pay attention it can take a bite out of you, especially Thunder Rock Express.

A long jeep road downhill tells me that the end is near. The only challenge left is Thunder Rock Express. Thunder Rock Express is a fun, and at times steep, downhill filled with rocks of all kinds; loose baseball sized ones, half buried monsters, jagged tire slicers… all of them waiting to take out anyone but the totally diligent.

If you make it down Thunder Rock Express unscathed then an easy gravel road downhill awaits you. All that was left was the run for the finish, which is on pavement. I get on the pavement and click into my highest gear and floor it for the finish line. There is one last potentially tricky section though. The final stretch of the race takes you through the Ocoee Whitewater Center parking area, across a bridge, and to the finish. The bridge is the tricky part, and that’s because of people. Despite signs that say “Caution! High speed mtn bike race in progress”, people would routinely walk down the side of the bridge designated as the race lane, or just stand in the way of the entrance to the bridge. If anyone was in the way I was prepared to put a shoulder into them if I had to. Thankfully my way was clear and I made it across the finish line with no problems.

Almost there...

If, like Ichabod Crane, I can just get across the bridge safely.

I thought I had done well, and even won, but I couldn’t be certain…not after my hang up on that blasted root. I didn’t know for sure if someone had gotten ahead of the pack without me knowing it. I grabbed some recovery drink, and then I went and cooled off/cleaned up in the Ocoee. I wish I could describe how good it felt.

Of course it always takes forever to post the results, and after a long wait I found out what I had hoped for. I took first place. I finished 2:22 ahead of second place. Along with the medal, the race promoter supplied a bottle of burgundy champagne.

While on the podium I was tempted to open it and give it the ole shake and spray, but I didn’t think it would be well received.

This was a first.

This was a great result for me, as it tells me that I’m more or less on the right track with my training.

I’ll enjoy this win for a few days, and then it’ll be back to the daily training grind. I gotta be ready for the Florida State series.

I do want to give some props to the folks at River City Bicycles for sponsoring the Tanasi round of the SERC series, and offering up some shwag to the winners. I do have one thing to ask whoever fixed up the award bags though… what the hell am I supposed to do with one tire? That’s like getting one shoe, or one glove.

My winnings.

Also, I want to give a shout out to my sponsor, the fine folks at SixSixOne.

Tanasi

I made it to the race venue, finally. The race takes place on the grounds of the Ocoee Whitewater Center, which is where they held the kayaking during the 1996 Olympic Games.
I got a lap in on the 11 mile course, and I have to say that it is a great trail. Reminds me a bit of Tsali. The only downside was getting stung by a effing yellowjacket not 5 or 6 minutes after starting my ride. Thank God I'm not allergic!

I was hoping to take some pics, but damned if I didn't leave my small camera at the motel room. I'll snap a few pics of the race tomorrow, but for now you'll have to use your imagination. Look for an audio update after the race, and a full race report in the following days.

Mtn climbing

Today I gave another shot at making it all the way to the Cataloochee Resort. A put a mtn cassette on the HT and that made all the difference in the world. I stayed in the middle chainring till about the last 1/2 mile of the climb(which was also the steepest section), and I even had a little gas left to shift into a higher gear and crank up the RPMs for the last 100 or so ft. I climbed over 1500 ft in about 2.5 miles. Whew!
If I climb that well on Sunday I'll be VERY pleased.

Ohh, and HUGE props to Floyd Landis!

That's it for now, gotta get some rest.

Prepping

I'm up in North Carolina, where I'm gonna get a little altitude acclimatization and some climbing training in prior to my race on Sunday. I'll probably do an hour and a half or so tomorrow, and then on Friday I think I'm gonna make another attempt at riding all the way up to the top of Cataloochee Mtn.

Gone Riding did have most of the Florida State Championship Series dates posted, but darn it to heck, some of the locations are back listed as "TBA". They're making it damned difficult for me to plan my calendar.

That's more like it!

I got my planned ride in. I stepped it up a bit from the planned recovery style workout, since my legs felt pretty good...which was quite a change from earlier in the day when the legs felt like crap.

Stats:
Time- 1:15
Miles- 24
Avg speed- 20mph


What do you think? I think Floyd gets the badass of the peloton award for that.

Change of plans

After Saturday's tempo ride, the legs were toast on Sunday. Even today they're not feeling really great. So...time for a change of plans. I think I'm gonna go for a 1 hr-ish recoveryish kind of ride. If the legs are better, then tomorrow I'll hit some higher intensity stuff. I'm prepared to go VERY low-key this week, if need be. I don't think I'm going to make any huge strides in fitness in the week before my race, so no use wearing myself out.

I had to get some new rubber for the HT today, which kind of annoyed me as I was hoping not to spend any more money on the old cow, since my road bike is forthcoming in a few short weeks.

I gotta have something to train with until I get the road bike, so I just gotta deal with it.

Hmm...

Well, doesn't that suck?
Floyd just ain't havin' good luck with TT's in the Tour. He's got some mad skillz though...changed bikes and STILL managed to take 2nd place. If he can do well in the mtns I think Landis will get the yellow jersey. Go Floyd!

Pulled a 2hr session this morning, complete with 40 minutes of tempo riding. Whew... I'm beat.
I forgot to charge my ipod, so I had to listen to the wind whistling thru my helmet straps. What do you do when you don't have some music to pass the time? You take pictures of yourself.


I know. It's lame, but you gotta do what you gotta do. Right?

It was a good ride today, but doing Tempo on a mtn bike is rough. I just don't have the gear to do it properly. The workout calls for a cadence of 70-75rpm, and I couldn't get it down that low unless it was up a hill. For the 40 minutes I probably averaged 86-88rpm...and as a result of that cadence, I couldn't get my HR up to where it needed to be. The only thing I can say is, it provided a good muscular workout.
Depending on how frisky I'm feeling tomorrow I might head out for another 2hrs and some of the dreaded Power Intervals. If I don't get a long session in tomorrow, then I won't be doing any 2+hr rides until after my race. This coming week I'll be switching to shorter rides with higher intensity...at least that's the plan.

Goodies

The brown Santa paid me a visit today. I got my order from my sponsor, the totally awesome folks at SixSixOne. I got me some totally cool looking gloves, the Nytrate.

I've only had an opportunity to try them on, but they fit extremely well. They're light and offer a lot of dexterity. My first impression is that they're going to be one of the best pairs of gloves I've ever used. I'll let you know how they feel in action.

Visions

This upcoming race in Tn was kind of spur of the moment and wasn't on my initial race calendar. I decided to add this race as part of my plan to get as much racing experience as possible so that I can go into the more intense racing that is sure to come next year. I know that at my current fitness level I'm not gonna choke in this race (short of a flat or mechanical), so all I should be concerning myself with is getting more racing under my belt.
At least that is what I was thinking when I added this race to the schedule, but a strange thing happened... as the race has gotten closer my desire to win this race has grown and grown. Now I'm thinking, "Hey, if I'm going to the trouble of strapping a number on my handlebars then I'm gonna throw down as if it was a national event." It's like the old saying, "if it's worth doing, then it's worth doing right."
Every time I picture this race in my head, I visualize winning it. I've not thought about 2nd,3rd,4th or lower.

I just need to reel this attitude in, and keep everything real. I just have to focus on racing MY race and letting everything else fall where it will.

Since I started training I've tried several different sports drinks. I started with Powerbar Endurance, and then I got hooked on Hammer products and gave HEED an extended trial period. After running out of HEED, I got hold of some Cytomax.
Here's what I've come up with...
All 3 of these drinks work. I've not suffered any leg cramps or gotten seriously dehydrated after a workout while using these different mixes. Hammer speaks out against using simple sugars in performance fuels, but I'm not totally sold on that concept.
Taste has been the main factor for me. Powerbar Endurance and Cytomax beat HEED all to hell in the taste category. HEED doesn't have a strong flavor to it, but it has a taste that becomes more noticeable (and less appealing) as your drink warms up. For my money Cytomax is the best tasting... I've been using the Tangy Orange flavor, but I'm gonna pick up a can of Peachy Keen to try some other flavors. If the Peach one is good then I'll probably stick with Cytomax for a while.
One plus for HEED is that with its mild flavor you can mix a double batch in your bottle and it still be relatively mild tasting. I'm sure that both Powerbar and Cytomax would be WAY too sweet to mix a double portion. That said, I'm still gonna go with Powerbar or Cytomax.

Picking up where I left off

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July.

I've been getting some good saddle time in, but not the hours I've wanted. I even rode some yesterday...how's that for dedication, huh?
Today's supposed to be a rest day, but after eating more than I should have yesterday I'm thinking of getting some riding in, even if it's just a recovery ride.

My next race is fast approaching. It's only 11 days until Ducktown. I'm feelin' good about my preparations so far. I finish this week really strong and I'm gonna be good to go.

Independence day

Happy 4th of July!
Have fun today, and be safe out there.

Clickin' off the miles

Another 25 miles is in the books. My carefully laid plans went up in smoke, as I only managed an hour and a half today. At least I got some descending intervals (75sec/60/45/30) in. I didn't get the full number that I wanted, but a string of stop signs and traffic put the kibosh on the second set.
I have finally gotten enough money down on the new road bike to safely say that I'll have it in my hot little hands sometime in July. I won't be getting rid of that old hardtail too soon. That thing is an effing buffalo.The road bike is gonna weigh in the neighborhood of 12 or 13lbs less than the HT. I'm not gonna know what to do with a light bike. Tuesday group ride, here I come!

Close, but no cigar

I managed to get that afternoon ride in, but I got a late start and didn't get the full hour and a half I was hoping for...still, I pulled off 30 miles for the day, so that wasn't too bad.
It's just over 2 weeks till my next race. This coming week I'll be in training overdrive.

Doin' the Tour thing

I've been trying to get my longer rides in during the morning hours when it's not so blasted hot out. This morning though, I just didn't have the drive to go out for 2hrs and change this morning...I was kinda tired. Instead, I took the opportunity to Do the Tour. It's a series of audio workouts that in a small way, are meant to emulate some of the TdF stages. Today's stage was a 10 min time trial...a sampling of the Tour prologue. It made for a decent ride. This afternoon I'll probably go out again for about an hour and a half or so.

Speaking of the Tour, the first day is in the books. Thor Hushovd won the opening time trial, but the big surprise is that George Hincapie smoked it and finished 73/100ths behind Hushovd. Way to go George! The other big surprise is that Floyd Landis was late for his start, and it cost him eight valuable seconds.

Come on Floyd, don't do this to me...I'm rootin' for ya.