5 posts tagged “cyclling”

Today, I continued my summer streak of leaving the car at home and riding my bike 15 miles to work. Felt pretty strong today on the way in. On the return trip home, I was running a little late and picked up the pace more than usual.

It turned into a rocket ride!

Maybe it was the geniuine full sugar Coca Cola I drank around 4.30 or so. Maybe it was simply the desire to get home as fast as possible. The I-90 bridge was stacked with traffic worse than usual. Nothing like stopped traffic to make me feel fast.

I ended up only about 10 minutes late for Amy and the kids, making it home in well under an hour.

Also, today is our 8th wedding anniversary. We'll be celebrating this weekend.

Getting close to winning is almost worth more than winning when it comes to being motivated. For a brief moment racing Cat 3 at Sequim last week, I had a real gap on the field -- breaking free with about 2 miles to go, crossing the 200 meter mark in first place, only to see about 10 guys pass me by in the final 100 meters of the 60 mile race. It was as close as I've come to winning and I probably altered the outcome of the race.

One of my teammates -- Alex -- earned 5th place and later said something like that was "the only way to beat that guy" -- Venable from the Carter team, seen by many as the strongest man in the race. It was Venable, who 600 meters out, started his sprint to catch me and also pulled much of the pack with him. It was a do or die effort for him and by the time he caught me he was too tired to fend off the handful of guys around him including my teammate.

After the race my teammates all come up to congratulate me. It was probably the first time I made a recognizable impact on a race. Getting close to winning is relative of course. Many riders lament over losing a race by half a bike length. I wasn't nearly that close but it felt like it to me.

So even getting close has led me to ask what else I can do to narrow the gap on guys like Venable. There's always the option of throwing more money at the challenge. Yesterday, I turned to none other than Lance Armstrong's coach Chris Carmichael. Chris was incredibly personable and motivating -- for a $20 DVD:) Still, the video workouts are right on the money and I need that kind of structure to do the interval workouts. There's some pain and hopefully a sliver of gain.

Then there's the issue of diet. Not exactly my strong suit being an ice cream lover and all that. But this was what I needed to get more serious. At least for now, no ice cream, very limited alcohol, no bread, no egg mcmuffins, etc. I do have a diet that's worked before -- one full of grains like Quinoa, steamed vegetables, tofu products, lentil soup -- all that good stuff.

But I have limits on the amount of money I can throw at this. I started talking to a nutritionist who told me if I really want to lose weight fast in a month, I should sign on to a full meal delivery plan customized to my requirements. But at a cost of $40 a day, I need to reserve this as a last resort:)

One of the mental challenges here is being able to amp up the effort and keep expectations in check. I have to be able to throw everything at this but still be content if it amounts to little or nothing at all. At least I'm having a go. And if I can help get my teammates over the line to win or place then that would be victory. 

For the first time in several years, I made it to the opening race of the Washington state bike racing season Saturday March 1. Pledging to my Garage Racing teammates that my goal was just to show up, I rolled my bike to the line with minutes to spare. It helped a little that I had done some winter riding out at Mason Lake across the Puget Sound from Seattle. But this time I would be riding with "Cat 3" riders, freshly uncaged from a winter without racing. Would it be a hammerfest from the start? Would I survive maybe a lap or two and have to pull out of the race, as I have done on several occasions in the past?

Turns out I felt pretty good and was able to accelerate through the field at times. Nor did I feel in danger that I would get dropped during the five-lap, 60-mile race. One of our teammates was in a break during the last third of the race, which put the onus on other riders to chase them down (which we did in the last 200 meters).

After the event, several teammates noted I look strong, seeming maybe a little surprised. After all, I didn't show up on any team rides over the winter, which is usually interpreted as a sign of disinterest in racing. But this year, I needed to try a different strategy than simply riding with the team every weekend. I can get pretty competitive out there. Or maybe it's simply a point of pride -- I'll want to go toe to toe with riders from the rest of the team, which consists of some state champions in the Cat 1 and 2 divisions, the top echelon of amateur cycling. This group consists of any young rider trying to be the next Lance Armstrong as well top notch racers in their 20s or 30s who might otherwise rie for a semi-pro team. So as you imagine going on training rides throughout the winter with these guys might hurt more than it helps. At least that's my excuse for missing all those team rides:) 

Instead, I've ridden solo -- on the indoor trainer, some commuting to work, and the occasional long ride. Hopefully, this turns out to be a recipe to actually do some decent racing for a change -- to at least match the uncaged animals! 

Then there is the issue of my wife Amy who doesn't exactly want me gone on long rides every weekend. Now that the season has started, my solution for this problem is refreshingly simple: throw money at it. We now have a team of professional nannies lined up to work various Saturdays. Cost? I'll just have to order fewer lattes;)

lance93

Last Sunday, I settled on a ride indoors to avoid the Seafair crowds. I found a copy of the 93 world championship race, popped it in the DVD player, and started riding. I knew nothing about the race except that Lance won and that not many people knew about him, at least in Europe.

It's one of the best races I've seen.

Pouring rain, almost the whole time. So many crashes, you would think this was just a crash highlights DVD. For most of the race, you just never see Lance. He's in the pack somewhere, but no one focuses on him.

Finally on the second to last lap, Lance emerges in a break and you can see he's going for it. Back then few knew who he was or they simply did not consider him to be a threat. Others in the race who avoided crashing included 5 tme TDF champ Miguel Indurain, 96 TDF winner Bjarne Riis (since "stripped" of his title due to drug admissions), and Giro winner Andy Hampsten.

So many riders went down in this race and the footage is brutal. Makes my bike accidents look like a scratch on my finger!

On the second to last lap, lance is in a break. Then he loses contact with the break and you would figure it's over for him. On the last lap, he bridges back to the break during a climb, then gains about 7 seconds at the top of the climb. It's not much, but the other guys couldn't pull him back. Lance then extends his lead to about 20 seconds and holds it into the finish.

What are the life lessons here?

There may be plenty of favorites, plenty of others expected to do well. But those people may skid out of contention and blow the field wide open. When that happens, seize the opportunity. Make it happen!

This video shows the greatest rider of his generation bursting onto the scene in a backdrop of driving rain, crashes, and mayhem.

Okay, so at least I made it down to the training camp this year, featuring the backroads of southwest Washington. Great cycling country with few cars and plenty of rolling hills. I was mostly able to hang with the group and a few teammates commented that I looked strong. It was definitely a tough ride and I was pretty wiped out by the end of the 88 miles. They say part of having experience is listening to your body and my body said one day of this was enough as i was even limping a little. Plus I didn't sleep that well and was fighting off a cold. So I had to skip the second day of the camp. And it was raining too. Darn:) Still I was glad to have made it down, ridden with my fellow teammates, and stayed at one of the coolest placest around, the Olympic Club Hotel. 

Eating with the team, drinking beers, and then watching the Departed in the free cinema there is definitely one of the highlights of the year so far. Do we have the coolest team or what?