Made it close to 70 miles today on my road bike before the weather closed in. Sad to cut the ride short. The bike paths of Denver make for some epic riding. I will return to bag that ride again later, perhaps even Thursday or early next week. I am going to be turning off the road rides for a few weeks to concentrate on running laps at Bear Creek park for the Battle of the Bear. My goal is to run 45 minute laps consistently for the three that I have to complete. Last year I deviated by 6 minutes on the Front Range 50. Not good. I also swam 1/2 mile tonight at the gym. My little beer belly is quickly fading. I am also going to step back from road riding to await the arrival of my new factory road bike from Cannondale. Can't wait to try running a full carbon frame. I am on the fence as to whether or not I will like it as much as aluminum, however I remain positive since carbon is still the top choice in the Tour De France.
Where I am at physically is pretty solid so far for this year. Now, I have to work on staying healthy, avoiding beer, and making in roads to break barriers with distance racing. Leadman is ever closer and I think I have a lot of fuel in the tanks leading up to something of that nature, however there is no time to sit on my laurels.
The last parts are on order to finish up the Van Dessel by next week. I plan to use a shop bike to run Bear Creek this weekend. It is a Gary Fisher Hi Fi 29er Deluxe that we have in the demo fleet. Should be a sweet ride. I have had a lot of good vibes exploring full suspension 29ers. I still love and prefer the hardtail 29er for racing but you can't beat the smooth ride of a full suspension setup, especially when you're deep in technical terrain.
That's enough for now. Going to brave the elements to see Sweatshop Union tonight.
Riding on Rails of a Divine Wind
Just getting my day underway. I rode pretty hard yesterday in a manner that was reminiscent of spin class. Still love my Cannondale Six13. It just rails so fast as if it is on a Divine Wind.
But enough about road biking, I haven't drank a single beer since Saturday. I know it doesn't sound like much but it is a small victory considering that I knocked back quite a few while I was unemployed. The bike shop is helping me along with my life. Gave me an anchor to work from. Sometimes that's what you have to do.
The Vandy is almost done. All Sram XO, Stans wheelset, tubeless, carbon to the max. It is going to break the 25lb mark, however it is definitely not going to weigh much more. Maybe 26lbs. I can't wait to get it out on the trail. Seeing it come together has given me a great deal of personal satisfaction. Crazy to think it will travel with me from West Virginia to Hawaii this year with me. I love this bike so much. It is honestly like I finally got the exact bike I want. Rare, special, and built for me. The only question mark on my mind is the gearing. I think I can handle the super hard setup but no doubt the likes of the Breckenridge 100 could change that. All the other races on my schedule don't really bother me with this setup.
So in less than 2 weeks, I plan to call up a friend or two and go out to take Vandy on it's maiden voyage. I am thinking it should be an epic ride like a day at Buffalo Creek or something totally new. Either way, it's gotta be special.
A day of rest
Next four days I have to work so I decided to do an off day. Was planning to go snowboarding but my body is in a state of disarray. On one side, I have my old self returning in regards to being in shape. On the other hand, I am very sore from my 78 mile adventure. My lower back hurts a good bit and I think that is from the race oriented position of the Six13. I love that bike, however I am at a point where I either need to upgrade the parts or sell it and trade up. I like the Six Carbon frames Cannondale is producing right now. They seem like a further step up the ladder in exceptional performance thanks to the BB30 and full carbon option. The Six is not exactly a Liquigas Hi Mod bike but beautiful nevertheless. And of course color doesn't count but I love the black color scheme of the Six 5 version. (The man in black style) Decisions, decisions.
Alright, back to training and cleaning. I am going to go to the gym today and get some time in the pool. Last night I swam 6 laps and it felt really good. With Xterra ACE in less than 2 months or so, I need to get up to 35 laps a day. Plus, it is low impact until my body catches up.
Off to do some job search stuff as well as clean up my place. I want to move in June but it's going to take some work at this point. A lot of stuff is going to be sold off to simplify my life.
Alright, back to training and cleaning. I am going to go to the gym today and get some time in the pool. Last night I swam 6 laps and it felt really good. With Xterra ACE in less than 2 months or so, I need to get up to 35 laps a day. Plus, it is low impact until my body catches up.Off to do some job search stuff as well as clean up my place. I want to move in June but it's going to take some work at this point. A lot of stuff is going to be sold off to simplify my life.
Cold is the Great Divide - My Denver Loop Adventure
What a great day. I woke up around 10:00 AM and was on my bike by noon on a short ride that transpired into an adventure on my Cannondale Six13. (I sure love that bike) Anyway, I started off from Westminster and soon hooked onto the Platte river trail after some traffic dodging and sprint warm ups. From there, I meandered through Lakewood and managed to stay on the path even though it would disappear from time to time thanks to a block or two misleading me from where the path stopped. I soon ended up in Golden an hour and fifteen minutes later for a much needed lunch break. From there, I climbed up to Red Rocks as an impending storm dropped snow on my shoulders. To make matters worse, I didn't have my CWX under armour on. (Muy frio) As I crested to I70, I was soon on a roller coaster ride all the way to Bear Creek Park. From there, I snaked all the way down C470 to Chatfield Reservoir. By now, it was 3:15 pm and I was quite worried that I would not be home by dark. Fortunately I put the pedal to the medal on my bike and covered 15 miles to Denver in no time at all. By the time I reached the Confluence Park by REI, I had an hour before sundown. I raced up the trail and was soon winding my way back to home. What was ironic is that I bonked 2 miles from home. True, my supplements were empty but it was odd that I was so kicked by then. So close to home.
My legs are kicked and I foresee some swimming and weight training tomorrow. Felt good to knock down 78 miles. Wish I could do that more often. Who knows, perhaps I will. :) Off to sleep.
My legs are kicked and I foresee some swimming and weight training tomorrow. Felt good to knock down 78 miles. Wish I could do that more often. Who knows, perhaps I will. :) Off to sleep.
Xterra ACE West Virginia - REGISTERED!
I guess I needed a little motivation to get my ass off the couch. Today I registered for the ACE Xterra in the New River Gorge of West Virginia. It has been way too long since I have passed through the New River Gorge area. Last time I was there, was before undergrad in fact.
Xterra ACE is the only offroad multisport event offered in the state of West Virginia. It has an intimidating 1.5 mile swim which even includes passing through a class 2 rapid. In addition, there is an 8 mile trail run with 1000 feet of elevation gain. Not for the faint of heart. To top it off, there is a 10 mile mountain bike race completely on singletrack. Rumor has it that ACE has some amazing singletrack in typical rooted, wet, and muddy east coast style. I am very excited to see some mud and slippery roots again. Riding the rockies has taught me a lot about traction in rocky and tight sections. However, nothing beats getting back to the kind of terrain I grew up riding. I am also excited about the opportunity to spend some time with the fam damily. My parents have never seen me race since I moved to Colorado. They will have two opportunities in 2010. Once in West Virginia and once in Hawaii. My mom and dad love riding bikes. Guess that's where I got it from. Having my mom handing off a water bottle would be a cool feeling.
So cheers to the second registered race on my schedule for 2010.
On the horse. Pronto!
So it is March 1st. Oh my god, I don't know how I am going to pull off racing in 2 months. Fortunately I am only 25 and can get up quick enough. I think.....
I just got hired by a bike shop here in Denver. It isn't the "career job" but it is a lot of fun. I finally have a close connection to the cycling world with great people from the shop that I got my start right here in Colorado.
So what is on the agenda? Honestly it is finishing the Van Dessel FS stat. I could have easily gone out and ran laps at Bear Creek Park today. It is dry and warm. Perfect!
A lot remains to be done but it isn't impossible either. I was halfway sold on the idea of just buying another Cannondale. Still, that doesn't exactly align with my strategy of sticking with Van Dessel for the next 5 seasons. I had to cut back the race schedule some but most of the races are still pretty intense. If I so desired the HT feel, I could just lock out the FS. So anyway....
So my plan? Buy the wheelset by this weekend and take my bike to work to finish the build as the parts roll in, pending it is okay to ride under this flag.
I just got hired by a bike shop here in Denver. It isn't the "career job" but it is a lot of fun. I finally have a close connection to the cycling world with great people from the shop that I got my start right here in Colorado.
So what is on the agenda? Honestly it is finishing the Van Dessel FS stat. I could have easily gone out and ran laps at Bear Creek Park today. It is dry and warm. Perfect!
A lot remains to be done but it isn't impossible either. I was halfway sold on the idea of just buying another Cannondale. Still, that doesn't exactly align with my strategy of sticking with Van Dessel for the next 5 seasons. I had to cut back the race schedule some but most of the races are still pretty intense. If I so desired the HT feel, I could just lock out the FS. So anyway....
So my plan? Buy the wheelset by this weekend and take my bike to work to finish the build as the parts roll in, pending it is okay to ride under this flag.
