When I put the white saddle on my bike, I immediately decided that the black hoods would have to go. Luckily, SRAM sells both red and white bartape/hood combo packs. For now, I’m just going to stick to the hoods…
Training
Mmmm… Heat!
It’s 100 degrees Fahrenheit right now & I’ll be heading out in a couple of hours to practice my hill tactics then join up with the 6:00 Bikes Plus group ride.
Why do I ride in the heat? Acclimatization!
The more time you spend in it, the more tolerant your body becomes. Apparently the race organizers in my area think it’s fun to schedule the women’s races in mid-day time slots. Example: state championship RR this weekend- 11:55 start time followed by a 4:00 time trial. It’s cool, guys… we don’t need time to eat, rest, and rehydrate, or anything…
At least the guys get some heat payback the next day when the pro 1/2 men get to race in their crit at 2:10 :)
State Championship Time Trial
No fun! Somehow this course got billed as flat to rolling, but after reviewing the elevation profile, Ryan figured out that there was about 1000 feet of climbing on the 24.something mile course. I honestly don’t remember a single flat spot other than the approx. 1/4 mile stretch before the turnaround (which was just over the crest of one of the course’s many hills.
Anyway- I hadn’t trained for a 40K time trial on any terrain, so the hills were no excuse for a less-than-stellar performance. Kirsten Sass is a monster- she turned a 1:00:01- landing her the championship as well as in 21st overall out of 104 people. My teammate, Lori Jug also kicked some butt and picked up the silver medal with a 01:03:03.
I finished 4th with a 1:05:30. I was pretty bummed because it was 8 seconds slower than the 3rd place finisher. I’m pretty sure I lost that time when an SUV pulled around me just before a blind hill and curve in the road and decided they couldn’t get around the slow guy I was preparing to pass, so I was forced to slam on my brakes and wait for what seemed like an eternity for the car to figure out when it could safely pass a guy going about 20mph (I was railing down the previous hill at about 35 when they passed me). LAME! That was at nearly 5k to go, and really took what little wind I had left in my proverbial “sails” at that point.
Oh well. At least my bike was awesome…
I got right back to training this morning with a 72 mile trip to Shelby Forest and back. My legs actually felt pretty damn good considering the effort I put in yesterday. Maybe I’m destined to be a stage racer :)
Human Cannonball Device
It’s finally complete…
Coming Soon
Blue T16 sporting some SRAM Red and Zipp carbon fiber components.
Be afraid. Be very afraid.
Photos to follow :)
Trek Demo Day
I found out last week that Trek was holding a demo day at a nearby park. So, after Ryan and I got home from the Outdoors group ride, we grabbed some lunch and headed out. Last time I tried riding off-road, I ended up falling off of an over-tree ramp/platform and coming face to bark with said tree. I was convinced that my off-road skills were just bad, but I was riding a heavy, rigid-frame Univega MTB purchased sometime in the early 90’s…
Enter the Trek Fuel EX-
Hey- I was curious to find out just how much of my bad off-road skills were due to a pretty crappy bike, so I asked which one of the many they had out there was the best. Ryan tried out a full suspension Gary Fisher 29er, and we headed out on the 6 mile Herb Parson’s Lake loop. Before we left, the woman at the demo trailer let me know that “this trail doesn’t do this bike justice”
Well, I don’t think I really did the bike justice because I chickened out more than once with log/bridge crossings, but what I DID realize was that (chickening out aside) I’m not that bad of an off road rider. I could definitely get more skilled with a decent bike. Riding off road really appeals to my ADD personality, so I’ll probably end up getting one for winter training/general shenanigans. Will it be a top of the line carbon rig? We’ll have to see about that…
Longest Ride Ever…
I’ve been riding for about two years now, and I’ve never really felt the need to seek out very long rides, though I’ve done a couple of solo and group 70-75 milers without too much of a problem. Today I went out with the RB’s cyclery B group (which now includes other racers who are looking for a long, slow base ride). I swear that Ryan and I started that trend…
So Rod, the shop owner/ride leader mapped out a 75 mile route (he’s trying to help people prep for the upcoming MS150 ride). We rode to/from the ride and ended up clocking 87.5 miles- making today’s venture my longest one yet. Other than having a sore backside, I felt good at the end.
306 miles this week, and I feel better than I have in a long time! Time for another 75 miler tomorrow :)
P.S. I also found out today that David Lacek, a well-respected local, also has weapons-grade sweat. We talked about how to deal with it until he got tired of the sketchiness of the group and took off on his own. I don’t feel so bad now.
So I’m a biological weapon now?
I like riding my bike in the heat. It suits me because I sweat like crazy. There’s only one problem…
My sweat makes stuff rust. Casualties of summer so far…
Bottle cage and brake caliper bolts
Headset bearings/races
Brake/shifter cables inside the housings
Worst yet… parts of my bottom bracket :(
Luckily, I caught the BB before any permanent damage set in (not the case with my headset, which I had to replace). Good thing, because it’s one of the badass ceramic bearing GXPs that came with my SRAM Red group. Looks like I’ve got a long summer of lubing/greasing ahead of me…
2 days, 132 miles
…and I feel good :)
After trying to race hard/recover for 3 weeks then traveling for a couple more, I was feeling a bit out of form. So, I’m skipping the race in Huntsville to train & prepare for the last part of the season. The state TT is in a little less than two weeks, but I’ll most likely train through it so that I can be fully prepped for the state RR on August 2nd and the BMW Omnium (River Gorge) later in the month.
Right now, I love training. I’m so happy to be back into it after spending so much time taking it easy between races & travel, etc. I rode a hard 70 miles Sunday & an easy 62 yesterday, and, although both rides revealed some weaknesses brought about by the last month’s activities, I’m looking forward to working on them.
See you at the races!
Read Joe’s Blog
New blog of awesomeness… Joe Daddio
Visit and see the greatness of Joe’s beard. You can read his training stories & stuff, too.
A preview: