It's official...

I am no longer a Beginner. Last night I upgraded my USAC license to Sport class.

I love it when a plan comes together

I'm within striking distance of my weekly goal. I've racked up 5hrs of the 8.5hrs I need for the week. My plan is to get an hour and a half in today, and 2hrs tomorrow, so that I can have New Year's Eve to just kick back and relax.

Last night I rolled with the usual suspects on the Thursday mtb ride night time edition. Although I'm not a big fan of night riding, it's always fun getting out on the mtn bike.

Back to business

Today I got back to my routine. It sure was nice to have a simple bowl of cereal for breakfast.

Yesterday Base 2 got kicked off, and despite it being Christmas day I still managed to log 2.5hrs. Combine that with the hour I got in today, and I'm off to a good start. The amount of mileage and distance that I've racked up since getting my road bike has been substantial. I remember when 2.5-3hrs on my old hardtail would totally kick my butt. When I'd step off the bike I felt like I had been run over. Since that time I've gotten a lot stronger, but the more comfortable road bike has no doubt played a big part. If I get my hours in this week then I'll finish with 600+miles for the month of Dec... the training is, so far, a lot more focused and structured than last year at this time.

Making Merry

I hope everyone had a great Christmas, hopefully Santa brought you some nice stuff. I got some good stuff, including this.
I love Christmas, but I'm glad it's over... there were too many good things to eat, things that are not exactly what you would call nutritious.

Merry Christmas!

Besides getting a couple hours of saddle time in this weekend, I'm in total holiday mode. I might go for 2-3hrs on Christmas day, just so I can eat guilt free.

Anyway, things are gonna be quiet around here at least until Dec 26th...so have a Merry Christmas, and be safe.


I'm outta here.

Battle Royale

In an interesting twist, both Lance Armstrong and Floyd Landis are going to do the Leadville 100 next August. It's not everyday that you can say that you lined up for a race, with two TdF winners on the line as well. For those in attendance, it'll make the race that much more memorable.

I wonder if I could handle 14,000ft of climbing?

I'm impressed!

Frenchwoman Jeannie Longo has her eye on the 2008 Olympics....which would be her 7th! She is 48yrs old, so she'll be 50 when the Beijing games open. My hat goes off to her, as she's been competing longer than most of the current pros have even been alive. That just goes to prove the old saying "age is a case of mind over matter...if you don't mind, it don't matter." Full Story

She is proof positive that it is never too late to go after what you want.

Dopey

I have had an epiphany.

When the word "doping" comes up, most people connect that to an athlete using chemical/pharmaceutical means to cheat, but I've come to the conclusion that "doping" means dealing with the USADA/WADA...they're the biggest dopes around.

I've been following the Floyd Landis case/details over at the Daily Peloton forums, and it is quite apparent that the the powers that be are more than happy to bankrupt Floyd to get their win. Now, there are many who consider Floyd to be guilty, and if he gets off it'll be on a technicality. Which is a shame for Floyd, as his reputation is essentially trashed. Now, if you're one of the ones who thinks that Floyd is guilty, then perhaps more concrete proof of the USADA's inane tactics can come from Jason Sager. Jason has been suspended for missing a post race test...which was the fault of the USADA personnel on site.
Since I feel that Floyd is in fact innocent, it is my opinion that both Floyd and Jason (and others) are victims of a deeply flawed system...a system that while created for a noble cause, is not interested in the athletes. They (USADA/WADA) are operating under the credo that "if you've not been sanctioned by us, then you just haven't been caught yet".

It's a load of crap!

My biggest hope is that Floyd wins and it brings to light the flaws in the anti-doping authorities' modus operandi.

Takin' it easy

I kicked off my final week of Base 1 with a 1:20 recovery ride. I was thinking of taking the day off, as my legs were a little sore after yesterday's ride...which was kind of strange as I didn't go all out, in fact my Intensity Factor for the ride was 0.76. For 2+hrs of saddle time that's not an overly high IF number. In any event, it left me sore, so after thinking about it I decided that some active recovery would be better than totally taking the day off.

It was indeed a recovery ride...my avg watts for 1:20 was 183. We'll see tomorrow, but I think it was just what my legs needed.

Nothing like a little Christmas decoration sightseeing while riding.

All quiet on the western front

Things have been kinda quiet lately...not a whole lot to talk about. It's that time of year where schedules become hectic. Tomorrow starts my final week of Base 1. This past week I didn't get my hours in that I had planned, due to Mother Nature having some plans of her own. Today was the only long ride I managed for the week, and it clocked in at just over 2hrs. As of today I've logged 2000 miles on the TCR... that averages out to 500 miles per month.

In other news, I finished reading The Tour, and you need to do yourself a favor and read both The Race and The Tour. Dave Shields has crafted a wonderful story that begs to be read.

Truth in labeling

I was at a party recently, and as usual, there was the standard fare of potato chips and other fattening snacks (all the good and tasty stuff). I took particular notice of the new Lay's chips that are "made with 100% pure Sunflower oil". Combine that with the "0gs of Trans fats", and most people would consider those chips somewhat healthy. Ohh how wrong you are.


Take a look at that ingredient list. The first thing you'll notice is that Sunflower oil is not the only oil. Sure, the Sunflower oil they're using is 100% pure, but it is only one of several oils...and despite the packaging stating 0gs of Trans fats, the "partially hydrogenated Soybean and Cottonseed oil" says otherwise. That is not really Lay's fault there. The FDA says that if you have 0.5g (or less) per serving of Trans Fats you can say that you have "0g of Trans Fats" on your packaging.

Ok, so you have 0.5g of trans fats per serving, typically a serving of potato chips is around 12-15 chips...how many people eat the exact serving size? I'm thinking double or triple the serving size, and that 0.5g of bad oil multiplies, along with the other fats.

Why do I mention this? As more and more companies start offering "healthy" alternatives, it is still going to pay to look at food labels. I'm doing my best to stay away from foods with man-made ingredients in them. It can be hard...you've got the aforementioned hydrogenated oils, artificial colors, High Fructose Corn Syrup, and Aspartame, just to name a few.
I try to go organic when I can, but as I said, it can be a challenge.

Anyway, I was just really surprised to read those ingredients.

Change of plans

John Lennon said it best..."life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."
Yesterday I totally missed out on riding, despite my best intentions. I did get 2.5hrs in today, and I'll get 1.5hrs tomorrow so I'll only be an hour and a half off my weekly goal. Not too bad, all things considered.

Required reading

I've read my share of cycling related books, but they've all been works of non-fiction; training guides/reference, etc. I would like to recommend a book that is a totally fictional story. The Race, by Dave Shields. It's about the Tour De France, and it is one of the best books I've ever read (of any book). I couldn't put it down. I finished it in one day. As I finished the last page I wanted to grab my bike and get out on the road.
It's an extremely compelling story, with a sympathetic protagonist in Ben Barnes.

Whether you know a Peloton from a Trinitron, you'll enjoy this book.
Big thumbs up!

BTW, it is twenty-friggin'-seven degrees right now! I'm cold just thinking about that number. Brrrrrr.

Jack Frost nipping at my nose...

And ears, feet, and any other exposed skin.


It is freakin' cold today! As I type this, it is 35 degrees with a 15mph N wind. Yesterday it was a rather mild 58, but that was the most uncomfortable 58 I've ever experienced. Between the wind and dampness it was miserable. As a result, I bailed on riding yesterday, so now I'm left with having to ride today, tomorrow, and Sunday... regardless of weather. Tomorrow and Sunday won't be bad, but today is gonna suck.
We don't have these kinds of temps very often, but when we do get 'em I wish I had better/more effective cold weather riding gear. I'll be wearing every stick of cold gear I own, and I'm sure I'll still be a little chilled.

It's all about suffering for your sport, right? That's a load of bullsh*t, isn't it?

Brother, can you spare some warm clothes?

Week 2 of Base 1 got rolling today, albeit not exactly the way I wanted. I was hoping for at least 1.5hrs of saddle time, but I got a late start and couple that with the nip in the air and 1hr is the best I could come up with.
I'm glad I live in Florida, as I don't think I could handle really cold weather (at least trying to ride in it.). It was around 50 degrees with a 15-20mph N wind, and I was using all my cold weather riding gear and I still was a little chilled... I don't know what I'd do if I lived in Colorado or N Dakota.

Week's End

Friday night I attended the club's annual Christmas party. I think they probably should have made it mandatory for everyone to wear their helmets, as that is the only way I would've recognized most of the people there.
Anyway...other than the restaurant being overwhelmed by our group, the evening went well. After everyone was finished eating there was a "Dirty Santa" gift exchange. I ended up with a pair of books...which I'd ordinarily be thrilled with, but take a look at the covers of those books.

Can you say 'dated'?

The party was my only real social outing this week, as the rest of my free time was devoted to saddle time. Today I finished up the week with a 50 mile, 2.5hr ride and 8hrs for the week.
I'm looking forward to a day or two off the bike.

December already?!?

I can't believe it, it's Dec 1st. Even though my first race of the 2007 season is not until the end of March, the '07 season seems so close now. I'm almost done with my first week of Base 1. Only 7 more weeks of Base training.
During the 8 weeks of Base I'll log somewhere between 1100 & 1600 miles. My legs are sore just thinking about it. The good news to that is that I should have a sufficient foundation to build on as I get into the Build periods.