Within about 12 hours of returning from Ashland, I set out to my new town of Louisville, KY. Its a move I'm making to be with my girlfriend, to get away from Fort Wayne, IN, and to be in, as I see it, the 'cross capital of the midwest. Its not uncommon for the Wednesday night 'cross training rides to have 60 or 70 riders. Its also got great training grounds for road and mountain stuff too. I discovered Cherokee Park yesterday. It is a massive park east of Downtown, and right across the street from my new shop. Its called the Cycler's Cafe and it is a pretty cool little place. Great burritos, good coffee, and great bikes. Its tailored to established cyclists, and is a great environment for any cyclist to be in and around cycling culture. We sell BMC, Felt, Kona, and Santa Cruz for the most part, but Orbeas are also on the menu. I've started this week, and its really a nice change from my old shop, Summit City bikes in Fort Wayne. There it was not about culture, but just making money. The staff at Summit are some of the best bike dudes I know, but it is ruined by the owner. Well enough of that.
Back to Cherokee Park, it has a nice rolling scenic loop with offshoots that can link back up to the main loop in any way you want. There are a few steep climbs off of it, and a bunch of nice long gradual climbs. My favourite climb is Maple Ln, its kinda rough, narrow, and is bordered on one side by rock faces, and on the other by a small river, and woods. There are also some fun little descents as well. The best so far is coming down a road to the dog park. It is great smooth road with big sweeping right, a switchback to the left and then a tight switch back onto the scenic loop. According to the guys at the shop, there is also about 15 miles of singletrack in the park too!
Well, I think that this will be a great move for me, and I can't wait to get an apartment lined up.
But I may be flying different colours for the road and mountain season down here. We'll see what happens.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Ashland
Well, Ashland was once again a fabulous place. I flew in to Portland, and made the scenic drive down to Ashland on the Sunday before class, and it was simply awe-inspiring. Keep in mind that I really hadn't seen sun for weeks, and there it was, beaming down for the whole trip. Driving through the mountains just made me want to steal someones bike and climb all around me.
When I made it to the hostel, everything just felt great. I was in a place where the pace is identical to my own, and all was well. We had pretty good weather the whole week, it would rain a bit in the mornings, but would clear up in the afternoons. I was lucky enough to borrow a bike from one of the instructors (Thanks Steve) to spin about on for the week. It was a nice little fixie that really tested my leg strength on some of the hills leading to the mountains surrounding the town. It was the most I'd been on any fixie for a while, and made me remember why I spent so much time on them a couple years ago.
Well, this trip really can't be summed up in words, so I'll have pictures to post from some of my rides. But it was genuinely a great trip, and thanks to the graciousness of a few friends, I had a bike, and I had a place to stay in The Republic of Portland on the way home.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Winter in Indiana
So this past week, I got two good rides in before the weather turned absolutely frigid. My training week started with trainer and roller rides, and then finally got outside. My first ride, I managed to get about 3 miles away from home, and with my training tubies, managed to flat both of them. I had some Pitstop, so i sorta got them sealed up to roll home. I managed to get about a mile, before the walking ensued. Well that took up about an hour of my time. I tossed on another set of wheels and headed out. I got a good 3 hour low intensity ride in with some different territory than I usually ride. It was definitely a mood booster to make it outside, I hate inside days.
Now for Friday. This was to be a glorious ride. I set out northbound and hit my favourite strip of brick street in town, and made my way up into the Northeast part of our county. Up there it gets nice and rolly, and there are some good overall routes. I turned west and stopped at one of my favourite cafes' for some soup to warm up a bit. That was about 3 hours into it, and I planned to be home in an hour or so. Unfortunately, well for some, a lot of the paved roads have been flooded over in the area I needed to go through. I was one of those folks who took pleasure in that. Mainly because of the "forced detours." I had a blast ripping down muddy, rock strewn roads, and I felt like Johan Museeuw was chasing me down. It was great. Its been a little while since road riding has brought a smile to my face, and it took riding through the mud to make it happen. So, all of the detours added up to about 13 miles, and about 10 of those were basically mud roads. So my 4 hour ride turned into a solid 5 hour, Roubaix-style fun fest.
Saturday was a little different. The weather was turning, so the temps were dropping and the winds picked up a bit. It was supposed to be a little group ride with my team director and a few other folks. Well, he couldn't escape the floodwaters, so it turned into a four man fight with the wind. It was the most miserable 3 hour ride I've had in a couple years. I pulled for most of the way out, and at the turnaround, the other guys shifted into their big rings, and just left me. They sat on my wheel for almost 2 hours, and instead of just gradually picking up the pace with the tailwind, they dropped me. They had time for food on my wheel, they drank, they had the whole way to recover. I had no time. This just reaffirms my position on group rides. To train effectively, you must think about yourself as the only one that matters. Making it back was not fun, I had cross winds, and dropping temps, and by the time I was able to eat, I had already bonked. This ride was just miserable. But afterwards, I was able to feast on a delicious veggie burrito, that raised my spirits a bit.
As I mentioned before, I have a training camp in about a month, and I'm beginning to dread its approach. I want to ride in the mountains, but that also means that I'm riding with people that don't get it. They don't understand the aspects of cycling style and class. They don't understand that you don't make a teammate was themselves on a training ride. They don't drop them on the turnaround either.
I'm sick of riding with some of these folks that don't understand:
Alright, enough of that rant, for now, I'm inside for the next few days because of single digits and negative windchills. Hopefully I get all my stuff for my embrocation so I can start on that.
Now for Friday. This was to be a glorious ride. I set out northbound and hit my favourite strip of brick street in town, and made my way up into the Northeast part of our county. Up there it gets nice and rolly, and there are some good overall routes. I turned west and stopped at one of my favourite cafes' for some soup to warm up a bit. That was about 3 hours into it, and I planned to be home in an hour or so. Unfortunately, well for some, a lot of the paved roads have been flooded over in the area I needed to go through. I was one of those folks who took pleasure in that. Mainly because of the "forced detours." I had a blast ripping down muddy, rock strewn roads, and I felt like Johan Museeuw was chasing me down. It was great. Its been a little while since road riding has brought a smile to my face, and it took riding through the mud to make it happen. So, all of the detours added up to about 13 miles, and about 10 of those were basically mud roads. So my 4 hour ride turned into a solid 5 hour, Roubaix-style fun fest.
Saturday was a little different. The weather was turning, so the temps were dropping and the winds picked up a bit. It was supposed to be a little group ride with my team director and a few other folks. Well, he couldn't escape the floodwaters, so it turned into a four man fight with the wind. It was the most miserable 3 hour ride I've had in a couple years. I pulled for most of the way out, and at the turnaround, the other guys shifted into their big rings, and just left me. They sat on my wheel for almost 2 hours, and instead of just gradually picking up the pace with the tailwind, they dropped me. They had time for food on my wheel, they drank, they had the whole way to recover. I had no time. This just reaffirms my position on group rides. To train effectively, you must think about yourself as the only one that matters. Making it back was not fun, I had cross winds, and dropping temps, and by the time I was able to eat, I had already bonked. This ride was just miserable. But afterwards, I was able to feast on a delicious veggie burrito, that raised my spirits a bit.
As I mentioned before, I have a training camp in about a month, and I'm beginning to dread its approach. I want to ride in the mountains, but that also means that I'm riding with people that don't get it. They don't understand the aspects of cycling style and class. They don't understand that you don't make a teammate was themselves on a training ride. They don't drop them on the turnaround either.
I'm sick of riding with some of these folks that don't understand:
- that you don't use white bar tape before Memorial Day
- you don't show up with Nashbar or Performance stuff
- you don't rock pro team kits on training rides
Alright, enough of that rant, for now, I'm inside for the next few days because of single digits and negative windchills. Hopefully I get all my stuff for my embrocation so I can start on that.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Readying for the year..
Hello folks,
I'm starting this as a way for me to keep track of myself, and for a way for our teams sponsors to check up on me.
This past cross season marked my first full season of cross, and just like a lot of people; I'm hooked. So in turn, I'm cutting back my mountain bike racing, moving to Louisville, KY (Cross capital of the midwest), and focusing all of my resources on the upcoming season. I'm still just a Cat 3, but I should be a Cat 2 after the first couple races of the season. This past season I had a few pretty good showings, but most of it was a learning experience.
USGP Louisville Cat 4- 2nd Place Both Days
Indiana State Championships Cat 2/3- 1st
DRT Consulting Cat2/3 Hamiltion Park - 1st
Those were my best results, but really don't show how well my year went. I had the fitness, and the skills to place high in Cat 2/3 races, but I lacked some of the patience that i needed. A few of my downfalls were some crashes where I was trying to push too hard instead of waiting for the right time to attack. But my season ending race was the last race of the USGP series in Portland. Everyone has heard about how crappy it was out there, and I managed to get crashed out in the first slight bend. I was sitting around 12th and some dude came in on me from the inside and just careened right into me. The result was that I rolled my front tubi and slid on my back at 20plus. I was done, I was pissed, and I was hurt. Luckily I hadn't gone out there strictly for the race. For the two weeks after, I spent in the awesome town of Ashland. Its a little Euro town dropped in the middle of a small mountain range. There are miles and miles of trails and fireroads that keep you entertained, and then road miles too. Its a super progressive, cultural town, and it felt like every town in my opinion should. I only wish i could stay.
I got great training in there, with climbing from 1800 feet to around 6000 about 4 times a week. Most of my training intensity came from my frustration at being crashed out of the USGP by some random guy. So in turn, my fitness has continued even now. I've been throwing down on training rides, and I've got some great 4 hour rides in the Floyds Knobs in S. Indiana.
This week marks my fourth full week of training since the new year, and I'm trying to find my first peak for the season. This past year I started with a couple of spring road races, but we'll see what happens. I only wish we had true "Spring Classics", cobblestones, dirt road races, something more interesting than a flat road race or four corner crit. My team (DRT Consulting) has our first training camp in Fontana, NC in March, and I really want to throw down on the climbs. It should be interesting to see how my fitness has continued.
I'm heading to the beautiful town of Ashland, Oregon in two weeks to get DT and suspension certified, and can't wait to ride out there again. The way it sounds, there is a good amount of snow there, so maybe xc skiing is a more likely option.
I'm starting this as a way for me to keep track of myself, and for a way for our teams sponsors to check up on me.
This past cross season marked my first full season of cross, and just like a lot of people; I'm hooked. So in turn, I'm cutting back my mountain bike racing, moving to Louisville, KY (Cross capital of the midwest), and focusing all of my resources on the upcoming season. I'm still just a Cat 3, but I should be a Cat 2 after the first couple races of the season. This past season I had a few pretty good showings, but most of it was a learning experience.
USGP Louisville Cat 4- 2nd Place Both Days
Indiana State Championships Cat 2/3- 1st
DRT Consulting Cat2/3 Hamiltion Park - 1st
Those were my best results, but really don't show how well my year went. I had the fitness, and the skills to place high in Cat 2/3 races, but I lacked some of the patience that i needed. A few of my downfalls were some crashes where I was trying to push too hard instead of waiting for the right time to attack. But my season ending race was the last race of the USGP series in Portland. Everyone has heard about how crappy it was out there, and I managed to get crashed out in the first slight bend. I was sitting around 12th and some dude came in on me from the inside and just careened right into me. The result was that I rolled my front tubi and slid on my back at 20plus. I was done, I was pissed, and I was hurt. Luckily I hadn't gone out there strictly for the race. For the two weeks after, I spent in the awesome town of Ashland. Its a little Euro town dropped in the middle of a small mountain range. There are miles and miles of trails and fireroads that keep you entertained, and then road miles too. Its a super progressive, cultural town, and it felt like every town in my opinion should. I only wish i could stay.
I got great training in there, with climbing from 1800 feet to around 6000 about 4 times a week. Most of my training intensity came from my frustration at being crashed out of the USGP by some random guy. So in turn, my fitness has continued even now. I've been throwing down on training rides, and I've got some great 4 hour rides in the Floyds Knobs in S. Indiana.
This week marks my fourth full week of training since the new year, and I'm trying to find my first peak for the season. This past year I started with a couple of spring road races, but we'll see what happens. I only wish we had true "Spring Classics", cobblestones, dirt road races, something more interesting than a flat road race or four corner crit. My team (DRT Consulting) has our first training camp in Fontana, NC in March, and I really want to throw down on the climbs. It should be interesting to see how my fitness has continued.
I'm heading to the beautiful town of Ashland, Oregon in two weeks to get DT and suspension certified, and can't wait to ride out there again. The way it sounds, there is a good amount of snow there, so maybe xc skiing is a more likely option.
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