Season Essentials

This cold weather has me thinking about what clothing is truly important. Whats the stuff that I’ve come to find makes the difference between an awful ride and bearable one. Whats the difference between comfortable and uncomfortable? Beyond winter, whats the most essential piece of clothing for each season, what could I not go without? It’s tough to narrow it down to just one, but here goes.

Training Routines

A dimension I’m looking to add to my blog is some training advice. Now, if you want to the point, personalized training advice, then I am a coach and I suggest you check out my page on that, but if you’re looking for some “lessons from the trenches” so to speak, then this is your place to go. Little things.

So the first thing I wanted to talk about is the importance of establishing routines. I’ve always been on the fence about regimenting myself too much. Every cyclist knows that person who is so highly regimented that one little thing goes wrong and the train comes derailed. I never wanted to be that type, so high strung, so stressed out about little things. But as a reaction to that I had become too unregimented that I couldn’t count on my body, myself, or anything to be a certain way. I had no base line. So one thing I’ve learned is to fine the middle ground and use what works best for you. For instance, I started with one thing every morning. Then added more and more until I was doing everything I needed for the day. But not just getting it done, doing it consistently, on purpose, in a focused way.

The Big Move

So I’m excited to say I’m moving out to Pullman, WA. As I said earlier today a lot of people knew this was coming, but I’m happy to make it official. A few things are still up in the air, but plans are to be leaving the last week in January. Pullman is a pretty small town on the border between Idaho and Washington about an hour south of Spokane. It’s mostly a town built around Washington State University, but it’s also got some pretty good riding both locally and in the area. But that’s not why I’m moving.

I’m moving first and foremost, to be with my girlfriend. But that’s not the only reason. I was faced with the end of college this year and where I was going in life. I saw two paths to follow; professional cyclist or professional engineer. I really love engineering and I know that it will be there when I stop racing, but I’m young and talented enough, and driven enough that I wanted to take a stab at racing my bike for living. Moving away presented an opportunity to jump in, take the leap, and race my bike.

There is a part of me that is terrified to be moving. I have made a pretty good life for myself in Madison; I have a ton of good friends and have a good job. Madison is a pretty awesome place to be, but I feel that as a cyclist, I’ve grown about as much as I can here. One of the pillars of my personal philosophy is to never stop growing by always challenging yourself and by always pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone. I’ve grown comfortable in Madison and it’s time to break out and scare myself a little. So yes I am a little nervous, but I am by far more excited in what the future will hold.