Directions

Up in the air with some things in my life (Not going into detail) but I had a moment to post a picture of the Vandy. Since the last pic I have added a carbon seat with the signature titanium Van Dessel seat. Looks pretty sweet. Wheels should be on by next week. I want to get over that hurdle as soon as possible. I also found a sweet deal on carbon flat bars and plan to order three sets. One for each of my Van Dessel mtb bikes for the future. Once I get over the hurdle of the wheels, it will be time for the drive train and brakes. I am pretty excited about those additions because they are a lot more easy to obtain. $200 is a lot easier to spend that $500. I want to do Hayes Stroker Carbon brakes. In a perfect world, I could be riding Vandy by next month at this rate. So far it weighs in at 17 lbs. Maybe, just maybe I will have my 25lb FS. ;) Time will tell.

I am also putting the ex girlfriend's Cannondale Rush up for sale once Vandy is built. I plan to take the funds and build the HT Jersey Devil. Once again, wheels and front fork will be where the money will go. I know that I can build a 25lb HT. The Van Dessel is perfectly suited for a F29 fork and stans wheelset.

Training was shitty last week. I had a stressful workload and it cut into training. I plan to change that this coming week somewhat. Tune it back in case I can snowboard at Wolf Creek. Snowboarding has taken on a greatly enjoyable perspective this year. I can't say why but I have just had a really good time. Enough about that for now.

Cross training

Spent the last two days snowboarding. One day at Breck as a bonus and one at Winter Park. Breck was horribly crowded and commercialized beyond what it was like when I ski'd there my last season. They might as well have put billboards on the mountain to make some extra cash. It was good though to do some teaching which is why I was there in the first place. Winter Park was another animal altogether. I rode some extreme terrain and pumped through some jumps to boot. Even mixed it up with some intense mogul riding. No crowds, a few colds beers, and good company.

My legs feel so strong this year. I have stomped some short landings and walked away solid. In fact, outside of the expert pass terrain park, I hit every jump today at Winter Park. Pretty good feeling. I am so ready to get on my mountain bike. In fact, seeing it sitting on my couch without wheels is a major point of spite for me right now. Or bitterness.

Tomorrow it is back to the gym. I have spin class and hope to hit up my core routine as well. If I can do core Tuesday and Thursday, then mix it in with arms on Wednesday, I should be solid. Swimming will be Wednesday and Friday. If any steam is left in the tanks, I will cram in 7 miles of running during the week. I plan to do spin class on Saturday as well.

So that's all for now. Pretty lame entry but sometimes it is the lonely passage that one must travel in order to achieve a goal.

To note: I pretty much aced my workout routine this past week. And for the first time in 5 years, my body lines are returning. Eat your heart out Brad Pitt!

Rest

Long week. I was pretty burned out by yesterday. Seems like all I do is drive, work, and workout right now. I can't wait to move down to Littleton. I am going to gain a lot more sleep in my routine as well as have an added opportunity to commute by bike to work. Can't wait until April.

I worked out a lot this week. Swam 3 days, ran 7 miles, lifted weights, did core training, and 4 sessions of spin class. Very busy indeed. I am not going to make the first Leadville snow race. I blame this on my lack of planning with the Van Dessel. It is truly a lot of work to build a bike or for that matter the one that you want. I digress. Aluminum/alloy frame with carbon components. Isn't that supposed to be easy?

So for now, it's work, work, work! Time to train, swim, and get it done!

This for that

Just decided that I am going to Jazzfest in New Orleans. Conflicts with my North Carolina trip to race the Uwharrie Xterra and visit Jordan. I cant fit anything really into the slot for the prior weekend, except maybe a road race in Boulder. I am not ruling out at least one road race for 2010. Good cross training and I already have a sweet road bike. I am still at odds with the idea of crossing an Xterra off my calendar however. This has led me to consider racing the Xterra Marathon of Trail Races.

I think racing the Xterra marathon would be a novel idea to begin ramping up to Leadman in 2011. I am however worried that it would hurt my chances of doing well in the Xterra World Championship in Hawaii. I don't want to be run down for that race. Stress fractures aren't cool going into a triathlon. I just can't really peg how long it took to recover from Colfax. I know it was a couple weeks but how long exactly, not sure. Must think this one over.

Did spin class today and had a good time. I like the instructor since she mixes it up. I also enjoy these sprint classes. I never really understood how to approach a sprint class. In reality, I think it is an element I have been missing for a while. If I want to beat Tommy O at Winter Park this year, I need to have lightning bolt starts and consistentcy across the board. What can I say? I can't wait!

In the AM. Spin class, arms, 3 mile run. Busy, busy, busy.

Swimming

Went swimming today on my lunch break. Was blown away by some guys who were on a swim team that were running laps. I take it they were from some local high school in the area. Wish I could swim like that. I mean they were across the pool and back with 2-3 gulps of air. Simply amazing. I have done some rough calculations for the pool at 24 Hour Fitness.

It is 25 yards long. Out and back it is 50 yards total. This is translated into 45 meters. There are 1,609 meters in the swim at the Xterra World Championship, or in simple terms, 1 mile. 1,609/45 = 36 laps in the pool. That's what I need to be pulling to survive the championship. Right now, I am pulling a lame 10 laps and they are inconsistent to boot. Tomorrow I am going to go swimming again. The goal 16 laps. Halfway there.

On the agenda also is spin class, pushups, situps, and 3 miles on the treadmill. Need to get on that. My goal for base miles this week is 7. Nothing too bad but I gotta fit it in.

Really looking forward to taking the Van Dessel into Treads this week. They are going to spec it out with some nice SRAM components to get me started. I really want to get this bike ready for the Leadville race in 2 weeks. I know that is quite ambitious so time will only tell. I think it is safe to say that it is time to buck up the money and finish the job. Kris has gone too long without his singletrack fix. :)

Busy day in the AM. Goodnight.

Wheels to pavement.

First weekend back with the Treads crew. Glad to finally be rolling along with things. I kept mid pack today. Not great but not horribly bad. I was pleasantly surprised. In fact, planning to hit the gym next to get some swim time. I am learning my technique more and more with swimming. When I hit that first Xterra of the season, I don't think I will be the fool again.

Dropping off the FS this week. In a perfect world, I will be running this bike for the first Leadville snow race. Cant wait!

I am off to work on the Free Wheel webpage.

It's Going to Be a Busy Year

Just spent the past afternoon searching for some parts for the Van Dessel. Nice to be so close to finishing the build as well as just have a down day. I just wish I knew what type of brakes to go with. Decisions, decisions.

Looking at my itinerary for 2010, it is going to be extremely busy. And you know what? It's going to be like that for a while. Almost the entire schedule works pretty good. I may encounter a problem with the Spearfish South Dakota Xterra. AGAIN! (Insert irony) If I can make it through with only one scheduling conflict, I can survive that. As it stands, there will be a ramp up of ultra endurance/xterra events followed by my return to Winter Park. Then, it will be two races, some down time to recover for Hawaii, and boom I am done.

Two races which I think are important but questionable. The Rocky Mountain Half Marathon and the Breckenridge 100. I want the B100 pretty bad and think I can do it with the Jersey Devil FS pretty effectively, however it will do a lot of damage to my internal fuel tanks. That kind of race eats up my energy reserves and screws with the metabolism for a few weeks. When I finished Leadville, I was pretty messed up. I have heard the Breckenridge 100 is harder than Leadville. With more racing on the itinerary and the Xterra world championship in November, I have a lot to ponder on whether it would be wise to fit it in. It's an important training piece for the Leadman series in 2011 so time will tell. I hope to run the Rocky Mountain Half Marathon also, pending that it is offered and I can fit it. Colfax was hard last year but putting a half marathon into the mix would be a good idea for the summer.

As for my bike situation, the Jersey Devil is in the next to last stage of completion. Once the wheels are on it, I will most likely hand it over to Treads to finish the build of the drivetrain and brakes. In a perfect world, I could potentially have it ready to roll for the first Leadville race on the 24th. I don't foresee building the HT for a while because I know I can't build it up in time for Battle of the Bear, however there will be quite a stretch before I need it due to riding the FS during the Winter Park race series. My resolution.... Build it over the summer when time permits.

Concluding thoughts. Hard to believe it's 2010, ski season is halfway over, and my first bike race is coming up quickly. I am in better shape than last year. I attribute that to good music, good friends, and decent nights of rest. It's the start of a good life. Lots of work to be done.