Three days before Kyle and Doreen arrive to do some snowboarding as well as checkout Colorado with intentions of moving here in May. Super excited since we are going to most likely be roommates. Really excited and I cant wait to show them a good time.
Just put on my carbon Titec Pluto stem. Looks really nice. Now, all I have to do is chase down a carbon post and handlebar to match. Titec makes such beautiful stuff but it can be a pain in the ass to find. I already find myself extremely happy with my purchase and I haven't even ridden the Van Dessel. I am going to get a signature Van Dessel seat soon to match so I will bid farewell to the Titec Pluto seat. It was a great seat for my hardtail but a used VD seat is similar enough that I think I can pull it. Plus, they pop up on the internet cheap.
I pulled out my road bike today and spun it up and down the parking lot at the trailer park. Cant believe it has been 3 weeks since I actually got out and rode. Not just spin class but actually enjoying the wind in my hair. Spin class is enjoyable but it feels much more like absent minded practice for the real thing. January will be my first race and first time back in the saddle. Combined with a completely new bike, should make things interesting.
To make a long story short, my weekends have been spent resting and snowboarding. Weekdays in some form or another are spent at the gym. This will change but for the moment, it's the life I have to live. I am really looking forward to moving closer to my job, pending I get my review in January. I really want to be able to commute to work on a bicycle as well as cut down on time spent driving. My morning routine could lose an hour or more if I lived closer. That would be nice.
Finally, Free Wheel Coffee is moving along. The website is up as a word press blog but that will change soon. The big hurdle is over with registering the domain. Now it is time to let my artistic creativity flow some. I will have a blog on the website but initially it will only encompass a merchant interface. It's the first and most important step.
Well, that's all for now. Lots of work to get done before bed time. Spin class in the morning.
Friday from work!
Finally Friday!
First blog from my office as I try to get out of here on a Friday. Hell of a deal. Training went well this week and pending I can make spin class tomorrow morning, life will be good. Hard to believe that next month my first race will be on the schedule. My Van Dessel FS isn't even built yet but it will get put at the top of my priority list come the first of January. Looking out over the horizon, I am excited to see what it will feel like to ride a FS 29er. My very own FS 29er. :)
Otherwise, got some swimming in and my to do list seems a lot smaller as the weeks tick by. I need to up my workout routine and stay consistent with the diet. I felt like I didn't have any steam in the tanks yesterday at the gym. I need to focus on changing that before I begin questioning how much I can lift or how far I can ride my bike.
I am also mapping out a financial strategy for traveling this coming year. Of course, Hawaii is going to be the most expensive, however flying home once for the WV ACE Xterra and the Uwharrie NC Xterra will cost some cash. Factor in a drive to Spearfish SD and one to NM again and it won't be cheap. I don't want to bite off more than I can chew but it is a formidable goal. But hey, I have my bike and that was the big hurdle. First check on my list of priorities will be finishing the bike followed by reserving a ticket to NC in June.
I am also working on figuring out some way of building this blog to focus around the next 2 years of racing and training. My ultimate goal is to cross the finish line as a Leadman in 2011. That is such an intimidating thing to consider because of the 100 mile run. I just need to wrap my hands around that one. I figure that there is no way to actually recover from the Leadman series and each event will wear you down more than the last one. Burning 12,000 calories in 6 hours or 40,000 in 28 is never good. I had very little energy left over from this past season. 50 milers, Xterras, and back to back weekends burned me out. When I enter the Leadman, I need to be completely focused on that series with 100% health. Going to be strange with the gaps leading up to Leadman in comparison to a steady turn on of racing like this past season and the one to come. I am not one to train an entire season for a few select events but this will require that kind of commitment. But enough about 2011, let's focus on 2010.
The Leadville Winter Bike Race. I have no reservations that something could go wrong with the Van Dessel. It's going to be cold, the altitude is pretty high, and the bike will have less than a week or two of use prior to the race. Factor in the absence of studded tires, hydraulic cables, air chambers, and tire sealant which can turn to solid chunks and I have a lot working against me. Did I mention that it will be very very very cold? So yeah, a lot working against me. Here is my check list, pending the weather forecast is as bitter as expected.
1. Inner tubes if possible in my wheels.
2. Use insulated water bottles filled with boiling hot Accelerade.
3. Leg warmers.
4. Pearl Izumi Jacket and possibly my North Face or Columbia Jacket in some sort of combination.
5. Cycling cap.
6. 686 Boarding gloves.
That's what I got so far.
First blog from my office as I try to get out of here on a Friday. Hell of a deal. Training went well this week and pending I can make spin class tomorrow morning, life will be good. Hard to believe that next month my first race will be on the schedule. My Van Dessel FS isn't even built yet but it will get put at the top of my priority list come the first of January. Looking out over the horizon, I am excited to see what it will feel like to ride a FS 29er. My very own FS 29er. :)
Otherwise, got some swimming in and my to do list seems a lot smaller as the weeks tick by. I need to up my workout routine and stay consistent with the diet. I felt like I didn't have any steam in the tanks yesterday at the gym. I need to focus on changing that before I begin questioning how much I can lift or how far I can ride my bike.
I am also mapping out a financial strategy for traveling this coming year. Of course, Hawaii is going to be the most expensive, however flying home once for the WV ACE Xterra and the Uwharrie NC Xterra will cost some cash. Factor in a drive to Spearfish SD and one to NM again and it won't be cheap. I don't want to bite off more than I can chew but it is a formidable goal. But hey, I have my bike and that was the big hurdle. First check on my list of priorities will be finishing the bike followed by reserving a ticket to NC in June.
I am also working on figuring out some way of building this blog to focus around the next 2 years of racing and training. My ultimate goal is to cross the finish line as a Leadman in 2011. That is such an intimidating thing to consider because of the 100 mile run. I just need to wrap my hands around that one. I figure that there is no way to actually recover from the Leadman series and each event will wear you down more than the last one. Burning 12,000 calories in 6 hours or 40,000 in 28 is never good. I had very little energy left over from this past season. 50 milers, Xterras, and back to back weekends burned me out. When I enter the Leadman, I need to be completely focused on that series with 100% health. Going to be strange with the gaps leading up to Leadman in comparison to a steady turn on of racing like this past season and the one to come. I am not one to train an entire season for a few select events but this will require that kind of commitment. But enough about 2011, let's focus on 2010.
The Leadville Winter Bike Race. I have no reservations that something could go wrong with the Van Dessel. It's going to be cold, the altitude is pretty high, and the bike will have less than a week or two of use prior to the race. Factor in the absence of studded tires, hydraulic cables, air chambers, and tire sealant which can turn to solid chunks and I have a lot working against me. Did I mention that it will be very very very cold? So yeah, a lot working against me. Here is my check list, pending the weather forecast is as bitter as expected.
1. Inner tubes if possible in my wheels.
2. Use insulated water bottles filled with boiling hot Accelerade.
3. Leg warmers.
4. Pearl Izumi Jacket and possibly my North Face or Columbia Jacket in some sort of combination.
5. Cycling cap.
6. 686 Boarding gloves.
That's what I got so far.
A long road is about to begin
First night that I have had to myself to really get down to the metal about some things on my mind. Most specifically, this will entail the coming preparations for a 2 year project involving layered steps to major achievements in life. What I am inferring is not only the value of these words or the physical exertion neccessary to achieve the lifestyle that requires this kind of devotion to achieve a goal. I am 25 years old and soon will be 26 this coming April. As best as I can determine, I am at the pinnacle of youth, equipped with a good education (which has taught me a lot), and a vague but promising future. Where I go from here, the world only knows. However, amongst the spinning dice of uncertainty on this roulette table of chance, I have some immediate goals to address. I have typed my top 5 below.
1. Race and successfully finish the Leadman Series in 2011.
2. Race and successfully finish the Xterra World Championship in 2010.
3. Race and successfully finish the Xterra National Championship.
4. Complete every Winter Park race in the 2010 series.
5. Complete at least 4 Xterras in 2010.
These are formidable tasks which require extensive planning. They also represent the top of the class in terms of competition, challenge, and tenacity. I don't doubt that I may fail the Leadman Series in 2011. I don't doubt that a mechanical error could kill my shot in Hawaii. I don't doubt that my body could fail on me. I don't doubt that to some extent, certain people may consider these challenges lunacy. Perhaps they are.
Outside, it is 5 degrees in December. The heaters in my dilapidated trailer can barely keep up. Yet, as I lay in my sleeping bag and look out over the cold ground which lays outside my window, I know that it makes me hard. That's what these past 3 years have been. Hard years which age people all too quickly. There will be time for rest, just not now.
From here on, this blog will serve as a foundation for my commitment to achieving these goals effectively. It will take money, lonely nights at the gym, and countless laps in the pool. Still, with these challenges, time will reveal a life story worthy of reflection. So it begins now.
Week 1 and 2.
I made it to the gym consistently this week and the last. Ramping up my training and working to hammer down some approach to support the needed changes. Training through the winter is a first time thing for me. I have usually taken the past two years off to pursue snowboarding and drinking. Now, I am faced with the challenge of how many laps swam, how much protein consumed, and how many miles ran while the December air bites at my mind. I hate and love winter in Colorado. I used to love it a lot more. Now, it represents an added challenge that I must overcome. And so I do.
I also took order of the last and final bike frame which I intend to use over the course of the next four and a half years. It is a Van Dessel Jersey Devil HT and it will be leaving the east coast soon en route to Colorado. The HT is a rocket ship which will be geared for long climbs, lots of Xterras, and perhaps even the Leadville 100 someday. I loved my Cannondale 29er hardtail and would still be riding it had it not met an untimely fate at Leadville. I am sure it wasn't the only bike Leadville had claimed. It is also a 29er but what separates it from the Cannondale lineup is the weight and carbon seat stays which soften the ride ever so slightly. For me, that is just enough to make it worthwhile. It is what I believe a 29er made by Yeti would have embodied, if it had in fact been built. I believe a 29er is the ideal bike for my 190lb build. Originally I thought it was a Yeti ASR but time in the saddle proved otherwise. I believe that a FS 29er, a HT 29er, and a rigid 29er will be all that I need to play these cards. Combined with my Cannondale Six13 road bike, I am good.
Picture is attached below. I am off to rest. Tomorrow I am going to get into the gym early and hit upper body, finish legs, and spin for a bit. Should be fun. 
Made it in many ways.
I made it! Got into Maui. Yup. I have a lot of work ahead of me for 2010. That includes finishing the Vandy build asap! That way, I have at least one bike in my quiver to start training. I think I have even chased down a frame by the way. More to come on this later.
Other business. http://www.freewheelcoffee.com/ is registered and parked by my domain registration service. I should have the basic format of my website up within the week. When I say "basic," I truly mean it. Right now there is nothing on the page at all, except a blank sheet saying that the site is owned. Ideally I want to just get it launched. Second step will be to make it possible to process an order. I don't doubt that I will find myself playing with layout schemes throughout this time period. What can I say? I am more inclined as an artist at times.
Last matter of business. In preparation for the 2010 bike season, I also got a new set of Oakley Half Jacket glasses. Should have them by the end of this week or the next. They come with extra lenses which are crucial for Winter Park which can go from sunny to overcast quicker than you can blink. I have always used safety glasses from Koppers to ride my bike. Having a nice set from a sponsor is really something I appreciate. The only outstanding piece of cycling apparel that I need for 2010 is a good set of shoes.
Anyways, back to working on the website and my laundry.
