Winter Sports

When the snow and holidays arrived my cycling came to an abrupt and well deserved halt. Since then days have passed, cabin fever has subsided, and the “Arctic Blast!” has been shoved aside. I admit that have been tempted to head out into the rain and muck to train but I have been pleasantly distracted by other options winter has to offer, namely skate skiing.

Over X-mas it was off to Bend Oregon to immerse ourselves into this winter wonderland. We (my wife and I) started each day with a back-country snowshoe or cross country ski with the dog on some lower more dog friendly area, typically in close vicinity to the snow mobiles, cough, cough “WHAT DID YOU SAY?!”…. But, thankfully, this did not matter too much because Bend is, as I mentioned, a wonderland of snow and trails for everyone. After the wearing-of-the-dog-out, as well as ourselves a tad, we’d continue up the hill to the Nordic center to learn and practice our skate skiing. By the time we got back to the hotel we’d do nothing but eat, read and nap. A perfect Holiday.

Then today. Teacup had it’s annual teaparty which means lessons and cookies. We’ve done classic that last two years and have always been impressed by the caliber of skiers who come to teach this day. This time we were there for the skate lessons and had Jason Lemieux who used to race with the Subaru team and turns out won the Cross crusade B’s this…last year(08). Watch out single speed seems he may be eying your group in 09.

Skate Skiing is, as I’m learning, a subtle technical sport. Someone like myself can brute force it along the trails but compared to someone with the technique wherewithal it becomes quite graceful and relaxed. Each time go I feel moments of this grace mashed between my stumbling and panting and I want more.

Cycling? Um, I just looked out side and it’s snowing again!

Pleasant suprises

I didn’t race this past weekend but instead went for a ride that would be longer then 60 minutes. I wasn’t sure how I’d fair but rather than go out with caution I pick on of the few rides I know that would pit my fitness against numerous hills and provide me little opportunity to turn back. Logie has always been a hard ride for me even on the best of days.

It turned out to be a great day. No rain, some sun, some fog, light traffic, no flats, and best of all no bonking. I learned two things though.

First, it turns out I’m in better shape than I thought. I actually came home and wasn’t “dead” as my wife had expected….well I did need a quick nap…but only for 1/2 hour.

Second, Cross saved my life! I’ll explain…heading home (55miles later), I was tired, a bit hungry and ready to be home. I rode up on the sidewalk heading towards the steel bridge when my tire started to grab what must have been a section of the sidewalk sticking up. The sidewalk tried it’s best to pull me down but I managed to resist it’s grab and rectify the situation only to now find myself precariously off balance, still surprised and with a tree now in my path. I made a quick second adjustment just missing the tree as it reached out it’s spindly twigs to take a swipe. I rode through it’s only patch of dirt and out the other side. Unscathed and feeling pretty darn proud I kissed my thumb and pointed a steely finger to the sky. To the gods of Cross I thank you!

On to the next one

The sting from my wounds received at last weeks cross crusade race have withdrawn deep beneath the skin. All that remains are the visible reminders of race best forgotten. I managed one ride this week, a few loops in and around the West Hills. Today? Maybe a short run with the dog in Forest park.

I look forward with much delight towards Rainier as it is certainly one of my favorites. I do however hope for a bit more rain before Sunday.

Lackluster week of training

Hmmm, not such a good week in training. After my awesomely spectacular 34th place in the Masters A I was a bit sore commuting to work the next day. Tuesday was a bit better aside from the odd calf cramp which is to this day a bit sore still. Took Wednesday completely off and just rode the bus to work to let things rest. Did you know it was 2 BUCKS for a 1-2 zone ticket?! This seems high to me. Anyhow, on Thursday I finally got do do some sprint work on the soccer field after coaching my U10 team, but that was only about 20 minutes before it started to pour down a bitter cold rain. Today? I have all my riding gear in my bag and am hopeful to do a longer ride in the west hills or maybe I’ll just take the long way home out spring water.

Still recovering

It’s hard to believe but I was sore from Barlow and I can still feel my lungs a bit. I’m still going through my head all the possible things to blame for how I felt at Barlow. I mean, I expected a bit of a hurt but I felt so so much worse. It reminded me of my first cross race ever back in New Mexico sometime in the 90’s, you know, with that metallic taste you get in your mouth which from what I’ve heard is blood from your lungs??

The blame comes down to the obvious, little to no training for 5 weeks, to the not so obvious, jet lag and mild dehydration. I can only hope that I feel more myself this weekend. But I’m going to go out on a limb and say that it’s going to take a couple more weeks to feel right again.

Cyclocross on the horizon

100+ degrees one day and cross weather the next. Oh boy did it get me thinking. I glued my new sew ups on to my new rims (nothing fancy) and checked out the smack talk on the cross crusades site (nothing super note worthy, everyone is still being all gushy and pleasant)

As for training, I hit a slump a few weeks back and slowed down a bit. Work had picked up and I was, maybe, a tad burnt out from riding. But once August hit I pulled myself up by my spandex and headed back into the gym. My theory is that what I’m lacking now is strength, then as September hits I’ll pick back up the riding with a ton more intervals. I’ve also been running and will soon start sprint work. (I coach a U10 soccer team and will end each practice with voluntary participation in my sprint workouts…should be a hoot)

There is one hitch in my plan…work and vacation. Work is sending me to Germany for a week where it’s unknown how much training I’ll get. Then in September I’m off on vacation to…can you guess?…Germany!! This time for two weeks where I know the extent of my training will be long walks and some hikes. I hope to get some runs in but not much else. I will essentially be returning a week before the first Cross race. No worries though, because I think it sets me up for a late season peak.

The twilight aftermath

It has been said that to win the twilight you need luck, skill and strength. Here is how I fared in each.

Luck
Apparently it’s important to line up in the front. So much so that people where already lining up at 6:10. The OBRA Official moved the group along which started a game of cat and mouse. People would race around then approach the start attempting to stop but would get chased off by the official. Some then started lining up 30 yards away thinking they would be safe thee. Soon the street almost blocked other than a thin corridor which was also slowly filling up. The official turned back and walked towards the front the mass followed her…very funny. Anyhow I was in about the third row back dead center. A very unlucky place to be in my opinion.
At the start the guy just to my left in front of me couldn’t clip in…unlucky. Several laps into it I was pretty far back (see skill below) and came around a corner with lots of commotion. A wreck! I swerved and went around…luck (for me). Several more laps on the first corner, more whistles and commotion bodies everywhere. Lucky..again.
Overall luck kept me safe and that was important to me going into this race. Mission accomplished.

Skill
I was worried about skill. I trust my skill, although very rusty for these types for crits, but I do worry about others. To be honest I was scared the first 10 minutes, which pushed me slowly to the back (which in turn probably saved me from the wrecks). I started to get my nerve back remembering how to corner, learning my pedal distance etc. My rear wheel kept bouncing out from under me which was very unnerving but soon recalled some technique I had learned to smooth out my cornering. I felt good about avoiding the wrecks, I’ll take some skill points there. One corner in particular (the last leading into the finish) I was following someone when they suddenly lost control of their rear wheel. They saved it, but the whole event managed to push me wide. As I was heading towards the curb I realized I wasn’t going to make it. I had to jump the curb and ride the edge for a short distance then jump back onto the race. A team mate not racing got a shot (I’ll post soon). More points for skill.
Overall I felt good about my skill but suffered because it took me so long to get my nerve up to speed.

Strength
Hard to say. I was certainly slow early on but that was more fear than strength. I started to get into the groove and had caught a group of riders. At this point I have no idea who’s where or what group this was, I was just happy it was a big group. I though maybe we could catch the lead group as I heard a spectator yell “8 seconds!”. I worked my way up to about 3rd in the this group just when we were pulled. hmmmm? Seemed a bit early to get pulled. As I pulled off it was a while before the moto came around. oh well. For strength I say good, but not tested.

In the end it was 20 minutes of racing. That’s about a dollar per lap. I was bummed it was short but was pleased to be safe and to have gotten that crit “feeling” back.

Cruel Cruel PIR

Here is the low down of the Masters 123. It was a calm warm evening and the mood was somber and a bit edgy as the riders queued up for the start. I heard some chatter but not much. Our team (Specialized River City) had about 5 people. The first few laps seem so long ago a foggy video in my mind that skips and pauses. I was in a break early on with three other guys that lasted a good 4, maybe 5 laps. One of the three was the alpha rider. Each time he’d get in front the speed would jump to 30, with me I was able to maintain about 27, another was about the same and the last was slow. The pack would gain, then speedy would do a pull and the pack would drift away. The slowest of us dropped off and it was three for another couple of laps. I complemented speedy on his stellar pulls which garnered a reply of “Well, if we want to stay away that’s what it’s going to take”. A true statement, who was I kidding we had a lot of laps to go. But I guess the point was to set up an attack for my team mates.

Which is how it happened. Sometime after we got sucked back there were some attacks here and there, which I’d chase down (can you tell I felt good). Then a sizable group got off which had one of our better teammates (Karsten of course). Gary and I ended up in the front and nobody seemed to want to pull so we hung out there for quite a while going just fast enough not to cause alarm, but enough to let the group get along down the road. And away they got. This was the packs big mistake.

A chase formed and for about 3 laps I wedged myself at about second or third. When the rider in front of me seemed to fade and begin his motion off for me to pull I stuck to his wheel. At some point people behind would realize, pass and I’d move back into third or second. This little game went on for about 4 laps. One guy seemed to give me a “look”, it was mild so I couldn’t tell what his statement was. Which brings up a good question, what is the protocol for me working for my teammate who is in the break? My theory is that if I’m in front it’s up to the pack to decide if I’m pulling hard enough or not. If I was to completely sit up I could see people getting a bit peeved, so I try and go a comfortable pace that gives the perception that I’m pulling but doesn’t go so far as to chase. I’d be interested in what people think…

On to the finish. Somewhere around 8 to go a nasty wind picked up. The race went from fun hard to ouch hard. With 2 to go I was in the back. I worked my way to front and settled in at around 5th. One lap to go – On the back side of the track I chased two others down and ended up with a gap from the field. But they sat up and seemed to give up. I figured, what the hell, so I buried my head, dug deep down and hammered. I was in pain, spitting and grunting, the field was gaining but I was alone in the last stretch. Holy Crap! I might just pull this off!! GRUNT! PANT! Ignore the pain!….

01….The sign said 01! A guy was ringing a bell…a BELL!? The pack passed me, some seemed as bewildered as I, but most seemed to be smirking, knowing that even though I was correct in my lap count they must have given us an extra lap…something about maybe preventing us from sprinting into the just finished breakaway. I over heard someone say “It’s not the final lap until you hear the bell”. So true, so true.

Needless to say I was jello. I did try…honest, I worked my way back up and chased some wheels seeking a good spot heading into the sprint. Into the long stretch with the sun low on the horizon, little cotton balls dancing around the racers head, I watched as one rider after another passed me. I was in slow motion even sound had slowed. I passed the finish and rode in silence. That was a hard race.

I felt good though, I worked hard, and felt strong…even if the results are lacking.

Logie Trail…on a TANDEM!

Would you believe this was my wife’s idea?! When she mentioned it I thought, “hmmmm Logie, I like logie, and the Tandem is always fun”. In my lapse of reasoning I failed to consider the finer points of the ride itself. I love logie, its essentially 50 miles of hills, just hills. Oh there are some descents smattered about but the ride is an unholy trick of deception and cruelty as what you see before you is nothing like what your legs feel.

The forecast called for 75 later that day…but tell that to my nipples as I recoiled opening the door to test the “current” situation (somewhere in the 40’s!). We headed out Hwy 30 in solid Fall weather gear and had to strip down at the top of Newberry on Skyline. The rest of the ride was a series of granny grinds followed by big gear scream sessions. A blast for sure…but I’m not sure I’ll do that again.

Co-motion tandem race here we come.

May numbers

May was my birthday and started with a relaxing trip to Santa Fe where I marked the end of my month of being sick, it was symbolic.

Week Race Ride Commute Run Weights Other Total
Week 1 (29-3) 0 0 1 0 0 1 3
Week 2 (4-11) 0 4 4 1 0 0 9
Week 3 (12-18) 1 7 5 1 0 0 14
Week 4 (19-25) 1 3 5 1 0 3 12
Week 5 (26-1) Bonus! 0 8 3 0 0 0 11