Down With the Sickness

I have been laid up for two weeks with a bad cold. I'm still coughing a bit, but not too bad. I got some antibiotics after 10 days of not getting any better. Now that I've come to, I see the weather has turned rather nice. I started my bike commuting yesterday. 15 miles each way makes for a pretty good daily workout. During my 2 week cold, I did practically nothing .... except brew!

Coming soon: JDAs' Belgian Ale

Feeble End to a Solid Month

Last month was a good, hard training block. I was really feeling the fatigue after my ride on Sunday. I'm liking the Monday hot yoga routine. Though it's technically a workout, I always feel fresher after than before. This week is my rest week, which I'm taking extra serious, since I'm sick as a dog.

For the last couple weeks, my MPLS to Orono ride has been clear. Unfortunately, the path from Wayzata out along the north side of lake Minnetonka has been impassible, even on a mountain bike. This blocks my way from Orono to Excelsior, and forces an out-and-back route. At least it's outside. The transition from cross training to actual riding is nice.

In: bike rides, yoga

Out: racquetball, XC skiing, weights

I recently made some upgrades to my foul weather bike (left). I scored some 2.25" Trailbear tires at the bike swap for a great price, and added some Planet Bike fenders. The new fenders work ok, but the front one rattles a lot when I take a hand off the bars. I'm not sure what to do about that. Currently, this bike is a really weird mix of bargain basement and high end parts. Hopefully, it can still be re-tooled as light race bike if needed.

For your viewing pleasure, I leave you with this excellent video:

2009 Chicago Cyclocross Cup from Heather Jurewicz on Vimeo.

January - February Training

As I did last year, I started my serious mountain bike training ridiculously early. The less ridiculous part is the nice variety of activities I've been getting in. My weeks have been going something like this: Monday yoga, Tuesday racquetball, Wednesday 1-2 hr trainer ride, Thursday weights (very heavy, low reps), Friday off, Saturday and Sunday skiing and trainer time depending on weather. I capped it off today with satisfying 5 and 20 minute time trials (testing protocol per Coogan and Hunter).

I think I really let my self go, relatively speaking, during the cyclocross season. I was trying to mix it up with the Cat 3s in the B races, but I never came away with great results. The training was really slack at that point. After that, I rested for a couple weeks, then got serious again.

Playing with the new (used) PowerTap has been fun. I ride so much on the trainer, that in the past I was able to gage my output level by the speed on the computer. To do this, mount the sensor on the back wheel. It helps to look up the power curve for your particular trainer.

My most significant accomplishments for this training block have been: 1) Creatively modifying my schedule - I got sick Tuesday the week of the city of lakes loppet, then, instead of powering through a hard week, I decided to make it a rest week and get recharged for that race. The following week (ending tomorrow) was then to be a quasi-rest, quasi-on week. I feel great for the nice result at the COLL and for my good trainer ride today. 2) Squatted 255 lb. 8 reps, 6 sets, with lots left in the tank. This is a big improvement over last year in terms of reps. 3) Hitting my workout time goals without dorking up my personal life. 4) Had a great 5 min. time trial today according to the benchmarks in the Coogan/Hunter book.

We'll see how things shake out as I enter the base 2 period as defined by Friel. Here's some good reading for the self coached mountain biker:

Joe Friel, The Mountain Biker's Training Bible

Coogan and Hunter, Training and Racing with a Power Meter (useful even if you don't have one)

www.mtbr.com XC training forum

2010 City of Lakes Loppet

Photo from skinnyski

I did the Loppet again this year. I beat last year's time by 10 minutes (2:07 -> 1:57). Unlike last year, I rested up for the race, had good wax, better luck getting through traffic, and no equipment issues. Last year my speed lace boots untied themselves at the top of the first hill. I snipped those off, now I just tie them like normal shoes -- perfect! The snow was really fresh this year. I used the Swix HF7, but it didn't seem like $70 worth of glide to me. Oh well. I still got my ass kicked on the lakes, where the big guys flew passed me. I might have done just enough to sneak into wave 1 for next year.

Turning Over a New Leaf

I'm re-tooling this Mofo with some focus. Expect more regular posts. Cheers and happy 2010!

The MNSCS

In May, I got yet another lesson in mountain bike race starts.  Start fast.  Period.  Even if it hurts.  At Eriks, the old me went for the usual overly cautious build up start.  The result was me rubbing wheels mid pack, and having to pass lots of people to end up in 31st place.  In the June races, I sped up my starts and went on a three race age group winning streak.  I'm well on my way to reaching my goal of becoming Expert class pack-fill.  Nice.

Thanks to Dana Schoppe for this and all the series photos.  They are really fun to look at!

What Kind of Road Cyclist are You?

Squirrel?  They are often quick, indecisive, skittish, oblivious to danger.  The human equivalent would be rookie cyclists out for a spring ride, blowing stop signs in urban areas, riding on roads and paths unaware of anything or anyone.  Children and university students also qualify.

Deer?  Unyielding to larger, faster vehicles, and tending to not care what part of the road they occupy.  Fast moving and confident, morally superior, with the utmost confidence in powers greater than them such as Jesus, the Wheel of Life, and the municipal legal system.  This guy is a deer.  Actually, I see a lot of deer.  The human-deer equivalent will assert his or her right to the road NO MATTER WHAT.  This seems like a bad idea.  Sometimes people don't see them, and therefore can't provide them their rights.  Sometimes people in cars don't know that you actually have rights.  Mostly, because you can't communicate with drivers, you should give them space.

Tasmanian devil?  Downright mean.  These creatures cruise the bike paths bowling over little kids, Burleys, old ladies, little dogs, and wild animals in their quest to maintain speed and deliver chaos.  I'd say, this type of cyclist would be a better deer.

How about a crow?  A crow is road savvy.  A crow will grab his meal (road kill squirrel?) and fly away well in advance of oncoming traffic.  A crow is smooth, patient, and predictable.   You don't see too many road kill crows.

Unfortunately, cyclists are prey animals.  We should be smart ones, like crows.  Please stay safe, be nice, and have fun.