Lame Duck Flu

Well, I did the hill climb on Friday night. Then I missed out on the XC race. It rained the night before and Angie had to go to a graduation which ment I was to be a dad that day. So, I stayed home and played and packed with my boy.

After that, I have this totally terrible head cold that is kicking my butt. I haven't been able to walk up the stairs without getting winded. It started on Sunday and has gradually been getting worse. I think I'm finally on the downhill slide though. I'm ready for it to be done so I can go ride again.

We're a week away from moving into our new house. Lots of packing and hauling to be done this weekend.

If you're not busy, stop by.. .lend a hand. I'll have beer.

Pre-ride

I was going to pre-ride the course yesterday but ended up going for a 10 mile spin. Not real far. I'm up in the air if I will be able to do the race tomorrow. Angie has to be at NAUs graduation at 10 and that's when the race starts. That's not going to work very well having a small dude in our house. So... my race is up in the air.

I do plan on riding the hill climb tonight. I can't be sure how prepared I am. I'm probably not in super good climbing form, but I'll try it anyway. How will I know unless I try.

On the home front, we really really need to start packing. It's terrible. We move in 13 days and we have so little done. It's hard to pack when you might need the stuff. We won't, but that's our mentality.

If you're in Rapid, shoot me an email and I'll see if we can meet up.

Now, get out and ride.

Upset

I'm so mad. This morning I was supposed to go for an hour long spin. I didn't get up in time. I slept right through. Now I'm trying to figure out when I'm going to get my ride in. I could go for a quick 3 mile run instead. I might have to do that immediately after work.

I have the hill climb tomorrow at 6. I'm not sure how difficult it will be. If I remember right, last years winning time was around 8 minutes. Average was about 15. I wish I knew how long it was and where exactly it goes.

Since I run and ride, I was reading Runner's World yesterday and it was saying how if you were to run a 5k race once a week, it would improve your performance. On top of my riding and running, I might give it a shot. Go out and pound out a fast 5k and see how I do. I think my best time ever was about 18 minutes. Can't say I could do that now.

I'll also need to be ready for the xc race on Saturday. It runs 15-20 miles on alot of new trail on M-hill. It's going to be a good one. I usually stay fairly conservative in my race strategy. I treat it more of a leisurely ride than anything. This time, I plan on racing and putting myself into the red. I'd like to see how hard I can push it. I don't want to burn out too early, but I want to keep a high pace. I'll use my heart rate monitor to judge my efforts. I think my legs should be strong enough to withstand a good deal of stress. We'll see.

Day off

I'm taking the day off today as far as workouts go. I need the rest before the hill climb and xc race on saturday. My legs are pretty tired.

Not much else in the way of news. We're making very little progress packing for our big move. I did get the majority of bikes moved from the garage to a storage shed so I know they're safe. I did keep the two I ride frequently at home so I can keep an eye on them.

One quick tip. If you have quick release wheels on your bike, make sure before every ride they are secure. I didn't have one fall off, but after my ride yesterday, I was pushing my bike to the garage and heard a rattly noise. I checked the wheel and sure enough, the quick release was very very loose. I'm sure if I would have had to pop a wheelie, the wheel would have fallen right off.

So, check those wheels.

Get out and ride. And if you're not doing that... help us pack!

Tuesday AM

Rode St. Martins this morning. It was an easy 5 mile spin with no real rips or roars. I went with a buddy of mine who rode in the Gut Check 212 with me. We also took our doggies with us. Chassis (my dog) was super tired today and really didn't want to go. That surprised me alot. She's always bitting at the bit to go for a run or bike ride. Not this morning.

I stumbled across this Web site yesterday. It's very green and cool.

Get out and ride!

Ride Report

Ugh.

I rode the Bulldog trail yesterday up by Sturgis. The trail is super fun and is part of the centennial trail. I believe it was a 4 mile climb followed by a 4 mile decent back to the truck. Since I broke my shifter on my Bone Collector ride, I had to ride this one all in the middle ring. I did pretty good holding a fairly high cadence even with pushing a higher gear.

I forgot my camera so I don't have any pictures.

If that wasn't enough for my poor legs, I got up and ran 3 miles on Skyline this morning. I'm definately feeling quite fatigued now. I might have to do an easy spin tomorrow and not work myself too hard.

This weekend is the fat tire festival. I'm hoping to do the hill climb on Friday and the xc race on Saturday. I know I'll suck at the hill climb but it will be a good test of fitness and endurance for me.

It's a great day to ride.

Did you bike?

Did you ride your bike today? It's bike to work day so I sure hope you did.

I had a good ride last night. My shifter broke though which irritates me slightly. Kelly and I rode Bone Collector and South of Heaven, then rode up a 3-4 mile climb on a logging road. Then down the switchbacks we went up. It was a super fun ride. I did my first drop in a while. Not real big, maybe looking at a 1.5 foot drop. The entrance is pretty sketchy which made it nerve racking for me.

There were a couple sections on South of Heaven I'm not quite prepared to tackle yet. For the most part, I was able to keep up. My legs are rather pissed at me since I had to ride in the middle ring the entire ride. It was definitely a good work out.

I have one picture of Kelly doing a good sized drop. I would have posted it, but I can't find my camera case with the cable in it. So, you'll have to wait.

get out and ride.

Race Report

I signed up for a couple races for the fat tire festival today. The hill climb and the cross country race. I know I won't do very well in them, but I want the challenge.

I will also be putting a couple bikes in the bike swap. 1 will be a 2006 Kona Dawg frame. The other might possibly be a 2006 Kona Coilair complete bike. No guarantees the Coilair will be in it, but a good possibility.

If anyone wants to shoot me an offer for either of those bikes, that'd be great.

Big Ride

To start off with, I went for a 2 mile trail run this morning. It went super good. I think yesterday's day off was a good idea to get my body rested. I haven't taken a day off of working out in about 3 weeks.

I'm going on a semi-long mt bike ride tonight. We're going up by Bone Collector and riding some switchbacks up, then cruising on Bone Collector, down South of Heaven then back up the switchbacks to the truck. I'm uber excited... I haven't ridden anything but M-Hill since November.

The Fat Tire festival is coming up quick. I don't know how much I'll be able to take part as my wife is leaving for Texas on that Sunday morning. I'll try to do something Saturday and maybe volunteer if they need help.

I need some new tires on the Coilair. Anyone have any good opinions on some good freeride tires? Looking at like a 2.4in tire.

The weather is beautiful. Get out and ride!

Morning

I didn't ride this morning. I planned on riding skyline with the dog. However, I was rudely interrupted with a sore throat this morning. Maybe I'll ride it later this evening. Who knows...

Yesterday I rode a total of 18 miles.

M-hill: 8 miles
Back and forth to work: 2 miles
To Acme and back: 8 miles

Not a bad day. My mileage will increase greatly when I move to the valley. It will be a much longer commute.

Quick Update

I'll do a quick update today. Rode M-hill this morning again. 7ish miles on all the new stuff that has been built. It's still super fun. I rode the hardtail today which made the trek up, much much easier, however, the down wasn't quite as fun. My wheels kept slipping out from under me. I'm not sure if I need to transfer my weight differently or what. It might be the tires or possibly the dry, loose ground.

Anyway, it was a great ride. I might do it again over lunch. Even though I need to possibly run to Acme and pick up a new quick link for my chain on my Coilair.

I need to start tracking my mileage. I don't know why, I just want to.

Go outside and do something!

Rides

I rode M-Hill with a couple guys on Saturday morning. There is a new section of trail that is just awesome. It climbs up to the top, then goes down, then you can turn around and go back up, circle around the top of M-hill then cruise back down. It was about 8 miles and every minute of it was stellar.

The main thing I noticed is how incredibly slow I am on a bicycle. The 3 dudes I rode with are great riders and completely fit. I thought I was going to be in pretty good shape since I've been running alot lately. However, I now realize that running does not equal fast on the bike. Fast on the bike equals riding the bike. So, I'm going to mix things up a bit and start riding in the mornings and running less.

I mean, I was spanked on the climbs and my handling was quite sketchy on the downhills. I kept up for the first climb, but after that, I was toast.

So, this morning, instead of doing my 2+ mile run, I decided to go for an hour mt bike ride on the road. 12.6 miles is what I accomplished. I think I still was able to average a little over 14 miles per hour. No, I didn't quite ride a full hour if you were doing the math.

I'll do another ride tomorrow... only on M-hill again. Come join if you're in town. 5:40am at the fish.

Get out and ride!

Weight and Training

Well, my weight has been slowly dwindling away. I'm down to 181 by my scale. I can't say for sure how accurate that is, however, it's good enough for me. My goal eventually is 170. 180 for the end of May. It shouldn't be a problem if I stick to my workouts and diet.

I've become obsessed with my 2 miles a day for 100 days. I think I'm on day 13 right now. I'm doing really well with it. I'm starting to feel stronger and I know my legs and lungs are getting in better shape. I rode M-hill on Tuesday morning with some friends and felt really good. I'm trying to get used to my lighter steed though. When I climb steep sections the front wheel comes off the ground and I loose control. I just need to ride more so I get used to the lighter weight.

There is a mountain bike race on Sunday at Storm Mountain. I'd really like to ride it but it's Mother's Day. I can't do that to my wife and mother of my children. She deserves a day of rest and packing.

House

Well, I'm pretty sure our house has already sold. It wasn't on the market for very long. And, we found a house that we like which we put an offer on and got. So, I guess we're moving. The 27th is the close date, however, Angie will be out of town that day so I don't know how that changes things. I guess we'll find out.

We have alot of things to do between now and then. It's only 3 weeks. 2 weekends since Angie leaves on the 24th. If you don't have anything to do and could spare some boxes, feel free to offer them our way. The bummer part is the Fat Tire festival is that weekend here in Rapid. I have a feeling I'll be packing instead of racing like I had hoped.

I guess there is always next year.