1 in 3

three rides yesterday totaling almost three hours, i wish i could do it all at once. two of them in the rain, i love monsoon season. it makes me think of cross. good washing of the bike and a new chain this week and i'll be all brand new. maybe some wheels for good measure. today i almost got hit by a trash truck, saw a car drive on the path, and almost hit two dogs. all in less than an hour. some commutes are just different from others. fresh shorts do wonders for saddle sores. different chamois hits the spot near instead of on. mmmmmm festering chamois. response this week is good, dealing with training, the work that i need to do to be better, maybe i can get one in three this year, one down two to go. 80 on the fourth, proper work.

bike to work day

the biggest saddle sore right now is about the size of a good 'n plenty, is that bad? i guess it means i'm riding just not as clean as i should be. better that than fat, i guess. rolling better now than in the last few weeks, i think i got over whatever it was that was nagging me. chilly ride that got warm this morning, wet ride that got dry this afternoon, what about tonight?

c50

catching up is always tough, one or two down days means three or four to get back to where i was. i can pull back on the bars again, that's nice to climb properly again. we'll see what sunday and tuesday bring. two different efforts, hard to have two more varied races than a crit and a 50. bananas.

sore

i won't go on about how sore 30 minutes of wakeboarding made me, it just made it clear-er how much i have set my body up to do one thing. i can do almost anything and the body is sore, old and tired i guess. ride a bike for 4 to 6 hours and the body is good. lately there has been talk of this so-called cross training phenomenon, maybe i should get out of my bubble more often and try it. oh, bikes are better on the environment, i'll stick with that. lake loop to get to work today, i like that, couldn't climb out of my own way b/c without arm strength to pull back on the bars i couldn't go uphill very well but the lake sure was calm at 7 am. lunch ride to copper and better legs still, thanks.

weak

boring details of training aren't important, i rode loveland pass pretty well, better than i think i've ridden anything in a while. the legs were turning over well, i need more food, starting to think brian the tapeworm is back.

fry

better stomach than i've had in two days. singletrack to work today, the bike is feeling better, one or two spills make me realize that the big wheels aren't the same as smaller ones. changes in riding style are in order, sooner the better. the one today knocked most of the wind out of me, the full-on ughhhhhhhhh, lung emptying spill. a few more longer rides and i hope to be learned. slow as i am it shouldn't take too long. the streams were full today, rolling over the bridges and across the high meadows made the commute easy to take even though a fair bit of climbing. pictures below: more later.

#3

it comes back as fast as it leaves, lucky i don't make snap decisions. tomorrow will be good whether i am or not. an hour plus of work, results matter less this time of year, it's all pedaling, just has to be your day to take it. maybe tomorrow is mine, maybe not...

number 2

the rides are getting easier after a few days of pretty crappy legs. i'm amazed how a longer day clears the shit rather than adds to it. the head is a different story, negative thoughts are on the bike not anywhere else, i like that a lot. better to take my hits on the bike than anywhere else, always get over a crappy ride, the rest is more important. ghosts aren't waking me this week, letting me rest and get over the negativity. solstice tomorrow, are you ready? i may try for the stoolstice. i feel like george, always looking for the perfect bowl.

4-5

i can almost see it today, the light has the feeling but i'm up way too early to enjoy it. i prefer to feel the ink when i regularly wake up, not now. old habits die hard, 4 years of 5 am can't go away in three weeks. it gets better but i need the rest, slow remember?

cup

i am very happy the world cup is on and watchable from the states, the last one cost me way too much sleep, trying to watch matches from the far east. before DVR life and the world cup were at odds.

a.m.

too much daylight these mornings to appreciate the beauty of the early part of the day, it may as well be noon when i do the commute. at least it's long enough now to get in a block of work with a warm up. next week i'll try singletrack to get to work on time. suffering in the wind is getting easier, i think the wind is losing strength as the week wears on, i know i'm not getting stronger. not enough food these days, if i'm not hungry i'm thirsty, this training stuff is rough. maybe there is something to the whole 5-6 meals a day thing. great way to get poorer though. more trips to the buffet when they are foolish enough to let me in. binging without the purge, that makes me faster right?

#2

i get the better side of the coin these days, not the top shelf always but the better of the two if that's all there is. i wonder if i can hold it up to cross, lucky better than good? maybe the luck hasn't kicked in yet, does power better luck? rolling along, better each day. life is good.

spoiled

i know that i'm spioled right now, the weather is perfect and i got to ride to work today while eating a bearclaw. then i sipped my coffee out of the mug with the secure cap that was in my jersey, i think i saw jody foster walking around town as i started the commute. odd. i wonder if she ever listened to JFA, if not she needs to. the bear claw was really good and cinammon-y.

numbers

new digs, no new blogging. i guess this cuts down on the tripe. the week of racing that began in the sauna 9 days ago on the mtb finished on the shaded streets of fort collins on sunday on the road bike. 3 events in 8 days. less bullshit, more pedaling. third in the sauna on the mtb at the dillon landfill summit county world cup on a day where i was capable of 10 second bursts and nothing resembling a sustainable effort. then on to world cup #2 wednesday night at the nordic center where better weather made a better ride. got away early and held onto about 90 seconds at the line. then a new belgium sponsored beerfest crit in old town got the legs going the way i like them to. 6 of us got away 2-3 laps in and then after getting it whittled down to 4 riders we sat up to not lap the field. fought it out fair and square, i couldn't get around the big gun in the sprint, second on the day. good results, a 1-2-3 week or 3-1-2 in order. road bikes and singlespeeds go well together, no matter what all the pundits say it is all racing the bike, no matter what you have under you, just what you have in you. i'm lucky.

commute

getting around to feeling human again. better legs today, the commute is better when it's longer. legs come around quicker. early isn't as early as it used to be. seeing friends while i ride to work that talk and ride instead of the animals going to sleep is odd. i miss the fox, porcupine, deer, bear and the octopus that woke me from my rolling sleep on the older shorter commute. sleep is less of an all-you-can-eat, now it's more of a slow, 5 course meal. no more get in and get out. better this way. i like it.

hit

harder hits were there on sunday, i swallowed them whole. better next time. bike and body were out of sync. fighting every step to get the project done. at least it was hard. i like getting the tank empty, it seems to fill better for the next test that way.

"I still feel that variable gears are only for people over forty-five. Isn't it better to triumph by the strength of your muscles than by the artifice of a derailleur? We are getting soft...As for me, give me a fixed gear!" - Henri Desgrange, L'Equipe article of 1902

thanks for the quote, dusty.

night is right

my first local mtb ride and it was at night, not a bad way to explore. my eyelids feel like they are covering sandpaper, glasses would have helped. no wildlife out there that i saw, no mud but a fair bit of snow. i wan't ready to throw down but night rides really don't have that anyway, with the other three on geared dualies, i was ok to sit up and enjoy the plodding pace. i survived at my own pace. as usual up was fine, down was slower than the rest, whatever.

changes

yesterday was one of the best daylight commutes that i have done, i miss the solitude of the early ones but i know i'll get them back at some point. the quiet is different two hours later, more peaceful but more to see. i enjoyed sneaking in under the inky blue. seeing friends doing what i was made it more fun. no tight schedules to fill, just get down there when you do. different and better.

while

the wheels roll better when they have somewhere to go. better overall and better views too. i thought i saw a bear pushing a shopping cart last night, in color. but it didn't look like a bear more like a cow/bear. any ideas? first test sunday, i hope i pass.