Ole!!!

It's been a while since I have felt skinny but actually a couple days ago I felt that way again, I even felt like I looked skinny. But at this moment I am not feeling that way at all. Emma is spending the night with a friend and Brady and Jonas are spending the night with my parents so Molly and I went out to eat at El Toro's. We are limited to where we can eat since Molly has Celiac's but I don't think either of us would turn down El Toro's.

It seems I usually do the same thing, I pretty much fill up on chips and salsa before my meal ever arrives (which usually doesn't take very long). And I always get a 1/2 order of Nachos Supreme (I would hate to see a full order, a 1/2 order is pretty big) and then I tear through it like I haven't eaten in a week. It's so good...and then the bloated feeling sets in. I guess I will have to ride my bike now (oh darn)!!!

Interesting To Watch

As some already know we don't have cable/satellite television at our house, it just seems too expensive especially when we only watched a few channels anyway. Instead we subscribe to Netflix, we are signed up to get 2 DVD's at a time and I think we pay $15/month. Along with the DVD's there are a lot of items we can watch on our computer or straight on our tv using the Wii system that are streaming through the net. There are a ton of kids shows for this and that works great at my house, the kids like them too!!!

I recently got the DVD "Off Road To Athens" which was produced by Gripped Films, same group that made "24 Solo". It was a documentary about pro mountain bikers (men and women) trying to get a coveted spot on the USA Olympic Team. Only 2 men were allowed to go and only 1 woman. The selection was based on UCI points and they had to travel and tour around Europe because that is where the most points were available. It showed footage from each race along the way and how the mental and physical fatigue really set in from racing to the stress of trying to make the team to the fact that these individuals where away from home and family for such a long time. It also showed a disappointing fact that USA cycling really didn't have their "ducks in a row" in the selection process and the women's spot was decided in court.

I personally really like watching documentaries, strange since I had a hard time staying awake when teachers showed them in school. I guess when the subject matter is of interest to me it makes a big difference, I really thought this was a good film to watch. It was amazing to watch some of the best that the USA has to offer really get the butts handed to them in some of the races, Europe has some super strong mountain bike racers. I knew there were strong riders over there, especially in the road racing circuit but I really hadn't given it much thought when it comes to mountain bike racing.

On The Road Again

Yesterday I took advantage of some good weather and got to get back out on an actual road ride again. I didn't think I was going to be able to go but work was pretty slow so I left a bit early and was able to get in a few miles. Not much else to say, good times.

WANTED: GOOD SENSE!!!

I guess that is what an ad should say for some of us, not sure what kind of response you might get to that. I do know that if you ride your bike on snow covered gravel to Laredo in 20 degree weather and stop at a store to eat a candy bar, someone will ask you "Where is your good sense?". I thought it was a silly question because I didn't know I had any. Luckily Coach was there to take that question by the horns, Denny and I got a good chuckle from that one!!!

Snow Much Fun!!!

Well today was the day, I finally got to get back out and ride my bike and it was great. It wasn't an interval training day or a speed workout but it was some quality time in the saddle. Today was more about just riding and having fun, well trying to ride some of the time. The snow made for some challenges but for the most part wasn't too bad.



I opted to ride my single speed today because I thought the idea of constant pressure on the pedal was good particularly during climbs, of course after getting up to a certain speed the pressure was gone and it was a spinfest!!! Plus I have some knobby Kenda Nevegal's on my single speed and that was a great tire choice today. I had a 32 x 20 gear ratio set up but changed it out to a 32 x 18 and early on I was wishing I had a 16 or 17 tooth rear cog but it didn't take long for me to realized that for today at least an 18 tooth cog was perfect. Like I said it wasn't a fast ride but it was a great time.



I did get to wear some of my new gear today, I was very impressed with my new thermal jacket and it was so warm.



Fairly early in the ride I was cruising along just listening to my music and all of a sudden a dog was on my wheel (still didn't see it yet) and started barking at me. Well Peek A Boo it scared the crap out of me, I swerved all over the road. I told Molly that if anyone was looking out their window at that point then they got a good chuckle from that one. Had a couple other dogs come out toward me today, Mark I'm still not sure how that bacon in my rear pocket is suppose to keep them away but I will keep doing it since you said so.

I did get in a little over 21 miles of sliding/riding and it was a lot of fun. I would have like to stayed out a little longer but I needed to get back home, I finished my workout when I got home by shoveling the driveway and sidewalk....again!!!

This Is For Me

Frustration is a common emotional response to opposition. Related to anger and disappointment, it arises from the perceived resistance to the fulfillment of individual will. The greater the obstruction, and the greater the will, the more the frustration is likely to be. Causes of frustration may be internal or external. In people, internal frustration may arise from challenges in fulfilling personal goals and desires, instinctual drives and needs, or dealing with perceived deficiencies, such as a lack of confidence or fear of social situations. Conflict can also be an internal source of frustration; when one has competing goals that interfere with one another, it can create cognitive dissonance. External causes of frustration involve conditions outside an individual, such as a blocked road or a difficult task.

Patience is the state of endurance under difficult circumstances, which can mean persevering in the face of delay or provocation without acting on annoyance/anger in a negative way; or exhibiting forbearance when under strain, especially when faced with longer-term difficulties. Patience is the level of endurance one's character can take before negativity. It is also used to refer to the character trait of being steadfast.

New Colors

Well this year I decided to make a change, I will not be riding for Cycle City but instead I will be riding for "Team Hammer Nutrition". I have nothing but great things to say about Joe Fox and Cycle City and I appreciate the opportunity to ride for that team, and I will continue to shop in his stores. I did decide that since I am a person that talks up Hammer products so much then I figure I should put my money where my mouth is, and that is why I have decided to ride for Hammer this year. Last year when I started riding for Cycle City I was concerned that I wasn't good enough to race for a team, I didn't want to wear their team kit and not represent them well. I have to say that I am feeling those same feeling again, but I guess I will just get over it again.

I am pretty excited because my team kit should be here on Wednesday, I feel like a kid in a candy store....or for that matter, me in a carbohydrate store!!! Just to throw this out there too, if you have never ordered from Hammer Nutrition you can save 15% on your first order by using me as a referral. You can do this a couple of ways, the simplest is just by clicking on the Hammer link on the sidebar of this blog, that will take you to the Hammer website and gives you my referral number. Or you can call Hammer at 1-800-336-1977 and give them my referral number when placing the order "107465". I know that some have already done this in the past and saved some money.



Yesterday was the start of preregistration for the Dirty Kanza 200, I jumped online and registered right at 5:00 a.m. It was fun to sit there and hit the refresh button every few seconds and watch the "Registered Riders" list grow. Last year the rider limit was 150 but there ended up being 157 starters because the promoters allowed some of the Salsa staff to enter as well, I thought that was really cool. This year the limit went to 300 for the race and 25 two person teams for the non competitive portion (still no small task). My last check there was 313 total entries and 18 of these were 9 two person teams so there is only 5 spots left in the race, it is amazing how fast this race is filling up. I think I have probably forgot more about the DK from last year than I actually remember, it is funny how fast your mind forgets just how painful it can really be. My goal this year will be to finish, I had some amazing results last year and it's our nature to want to better our outcome every year. I would love to do better than last year and I will try but this race is so long with so many variables that I am going to just go out and ride my own ride. As far as variables, the weather alone can make this a day of pure hell with heat and wind. You just never know what you are going to encounter out there and there is plenty of opportunity for WIND!!! My back and butt were in some serious hurt last year because obviously 200 miles is a long way to ride, not to mention the toll that the heat had taken on my body. When I got to the last checkpoint and sat down inside that gas station my hands were shaking so bad I couldn't hardly drink my water, I think more got on me than in my mouth. That's enough of about that because I am going to do the best I can.

I did notice some very talented riders on the confirmed riders list, I am really excited to see how Stoney does this year in the single speed class. Stoney took second place last year and wasn't too far from first place. Also I am so excited that Tim and Mark are teaming up for the two person relay, these guys are no strangers to gravel. Also Coach is signed up as well, I am sure we will see great things from him at the race.

Stupid Waffles

Okay okay, I went out and rode trails today and I was starving when I got home. I ate a banana and drank some water but made the kids (myself included) some waffles for dinner and let's just say I like waffles. Probably should go out and ride some more now!!!

Riding today was great, even though it was cold outside and fairly windy in the open areas I stayed really pretty warm and was out of the wind on most sections of trail. I started at the campground and did one lap for a warm up and then did an out and back and finished with the campground loop. Then I rode over to the boat ramp lot and back a couple times to get some more miles in. Obviously the trail was frozen and was like a speedway. On the trip North I came flying down "False Hope" and actually was going so fast I shot thru one of my lines, part way down a rock bounced up and smacked my big chain ring with enough force to rattle the bike. Once I got to the bottom I checked it out and it had broken 2 teeth off and bent one over, I need to try and bend it back a little but I'm sure it will snap off. Not sure what I will do with that, I will need to ride some with it to see how it functions. I guess worst case is I will just put a new big ring on...but I don't want to have to do that.

If anyone needs some confidence on taking turns with speed I would highly recommend doing it with trail conditions like it was today. With the trail frozen solid, a tire with any kind of side knob is going to bite on a turn. I couldn't believe how responsive my tires were on the trail today and I was running a low profile knob.

I'll have more to report....but later.

She Didn't Show Up In The Photo

I went out for a short night ride last night and I didn't realize that I would have company while out on the trail. It all started on my first night ride, Mark took me out to ride and while riding he asked me if I saw the lady in the white dress along the edge of the trail. We were joking back and forth about it and then the more we joked the more freaky it was, finally I told him we had to stop joking about it because it was really freaking me out.

While I was riding last night I stopped to take a picture of the trail, it is the picture below.



Just after I took the picture I heard something in the tree above me and to my right, it was her!!! She slowly started to descend down in front of me....I didn't know what to do so I snap a picture.



Once she got in front of me she kept moving to my left but she never took her eyes off of me, I was wigging out but I was able to take another picture. I thought for sure I had her caught on film but it only turned out like a vapor.



Then she drifted off to the left of the trail and vanished into thin air....HOLY CRAP I couldn't get out of there fast enough.



Just before getting back to the truck I stopped and took my own picture, not sure why because I was ready to get out of there.

It's A Challenge

Well the GHTA Challenge is underway and I have signed up for 4 categories: 2000 Road Miles, 1000 Gravel Miles, 300 Singletrack Miles, and 300 Single Speed Singletrack Miles. I was a little hesitant to sign up for the gravel category, even though I race the Dirty Kanza I still don't ride a lot of gravel. It isn't that I don't enjoy gravel I just seem to find myself climbing onto my road bike, in fact I was somewhat concerned last year before DK because I didn't have very many miles on my cross bike.

I still want to ride my bike everyday but of course that isn't always possible but I have to be smart about it also. My plan was to ride a moderate amount yesterday and then get in a long ride today, I rode just shy of 35 miles yesterday so today would need to be bigger. I raced fon New Years Eve and then on New Years Day I took my mountain bike up to N. Poosey and did a lap plus some extra gravel and my legs hadn't felt fatigued from the race until I hit the first climb.....Son Of A #$%#$, I can feel it now!!! The next day I went on a road ride and made it short because my legs were exhausted and the strong wind was not helping them out at all. Yesterday my legs felt okay, not great but okay, but they are pretty fatigued this morning. That isn't my big issue, I am having a little bit of a hard time breathing and my nose is congested so I am toying with the idea of not riding and trying to get some rest. But then I feel like a pansy and usually end up riding anyway....I don't know what to do!!! I have a project I am working on at home right now so I will probably continue on it and see how I feel later this morning or this afternoon. The rest of the week I probably won't get much riding in due to work schedule so really want some miles today. I'm sure that anyone that decides to read this will be thinking "What is wrong with this guy?". Jury's still out on that one!!!

Cross Eyed Fun!!!

It only took me til the last day of the year to get a cross race in but I finally did it, I really wish I was able to do more but I will take the one I got. Friday was the Cross Off The Old Year Cyclocross race in Shawnee, KS and it was bitter cold with winds blowing about 27-28 mph. This was only my second cross race ever so I haven't seen a lot of courses (obviously) but this course seemed very simple and fast. I was really hoping to race a course that would need more bike handling skills because I feel that would play to me well. This course didn't have a lot of twists and turns like the previous course I had raced but it did have a long run up hill that proved to be my downfall in the race. It didn't help that the last time I ran my bike was my only other cross race in September of 2009!!! There was a fun downhill with a couple slight turns and then launched you on the side of a hill so you were riding an off camber section, it was a hoot.

Since I have so little experience in cross racing I had absolutely no game plan other than ride as fast as I could without actually puking (I will say I came close). On the start I was in the middle of the pack but was able to bridge up to the lead group and shortly after the barriers I was able to make a move and jumped up to 4th place. I made a mistake here, I should have settled in and let someone else do the work for a little bit, the pace seemed a bit slow so after a couple turns I made a jump and got into 2nd place. I quickly found an outside line and went around the leader and hammered into the lead. The pic below is me leading on the first lap as we came around where most people were standing and cheering. It didn't take long for the lactic acid to build up and I was really feeling the burn, I was concerned prior to the race about not getting a lot of riding and not much interval training and it showed rather quickly. I led going into the run up but was passed by 3 or 4 going up the hill and then passed by some more shortly after and I found myself in 8th place...OUCH!!!



The leaders kept increasing their lead on me, I wasn't surprised since I was battling the wind alone and they were in a group but I kept on plugging away. On the fourth lap I was caught and passed by another rider so now I was running 9th but when he went around he seemed to slow down, James told me to stay with him and use him. I sucked his wheel for almost a full lap and then bolted around him and created a huge gap, tucking in on his wheel allowed me to recover a lot.



It wasn't long and I was right behind 2 more riders in my class, I waited for a good place to pass and then went around both at the same time. I surged in front of a single speed racer just before a turn and the 2 riders I had passed got stuck behind him. One of them was spent and quickly fell off but the other stayed on the gas and got around the single speeder and was right on my wheel when we got to the hill. He passed me up the hill but I was riding the downhill better than him so I was able to reel him in on that section. I stayed right behind him in the narrow section and then did a slingshot around him as we sprinted it out. With only one 180 degree turn left and then about 100 yds of pavement left I came into the turn too hot and didn't get the best line. I jumped up and started sprinting and was really hurting, at the last second he came around me and passed me with only 2 ft from the finish. I was upset he got around but I had nothing left, it was a great finish. I ended up 7th but not sure how many were in my class, Molly thought there was about 15. All in all it was a lot of fun, I wish I had done a couple things different but live and learn!!!