I’m quite tired, but my legs sure aren’t

Let me explain. The weather has been getting nicer and nicer. I’ve been riding a lot, for me at least, in the last few weeks and getting into some good shape and really putting in a solid set of base miles. It’s really been working, because I’ve been feeling motivated, excited, and most importantly like I’m making solid steady progressions in my fitness. Especially in the last couple of weeks, I feel like I’m getting on top of the pedals more and feeling good about the coming year.

To top off that already great news, last weekend was my birthday. I was hoping to say thank you to everyone individually, but it never happened so I guess I can do it here. Thank you to everyone for the birthday wishes. With the weather as nice as it was, I think I would have had to try pretty hard to have a bad birthday. But as it was I couldn’t think of anything that would make it better, save seeing my parents. On Saturday morning we set out for a long ride in a sturdy wind. We started with a big group, but it was split after one of the climbs when there was some confusion as to whether we needed to wait. But I wasn’t paying much attention, my head was down and I was driving on trying to catch the guys that beat me up the climb. I caught them and continued in the wonderfully warm spring air.

I remember feeling such profound happiness when we were cruising along on a plateau. The grass was beginning to change back to green from brown and the air smelled like spring time in Wisconsin (ie cow shit). The late winter clouds began to burn off and unlike just a week ago the views were so much clearer. You could gaze across from one hilltop to the next and see that the weather was just as nice over there. The group ended up splitting again and it was just Skip and myself who brought it home for what turned out to be a long ride. 110 miles, about 6 hours and 26 minutes, and of course over 6,000 calories burned.

I was beat, but not finished. I was happy to feel like although I was tired and worn, I was still awake and felt like I could keep things moving. I made some food and showered, then got read for the evening. The Cycling club was holding a party at our place for my birthday. I’ll be honest, I struggled with how hard I should go in the paint, because there was at least 4 more hours on tap for the next day. At the end of the day, maybe I should have taken it a little bit easier, but that would have been way less fun. Plus I think I might have replenished a solid portion of the calories burned earlier, if thats even possible. But certainly one of the best birthdays I have had in recent memory. Again, thanks to everyone for it!

And that brings me to today. On this fine Tuesday afternoon I sit here at my desk at work. Everyone else has left and it’s after 5. I’m staying late because I need to make up the work I missed while I did my 2 hours to Belleville. I started the day tired, certainly from a lack of sleep over the weekend. Motivation was not too high, but I pushed myself to get out and ride like I told myself I would. Worried I might be over training, I took it easy for the first 10 minutes. But to my surprise, I didn’t want to take it easy. I twisted the throttle and ended up riding tempo the whole time. Something I wasn’t expecting.

And this brings me finally to my point. I am sleepy. I want to sleep and rest and close my eyes. But not my legs, oh not my legs at all. I was yawning on the ride, while pushing 38kph into a head wind. The legs felt rested, but I didn’t. This is really cool, to see my form coming along like this. But beyond this it is really interesting to feel and be aware of these happening with my body.  Now I’m not saying I’m some super human guys, but it reminds me of the short film, “World Record” from the Animatrix series. It really expresses another part of athletics beyond that primitive thrust for competition. It expresses how sport can help you understand the world around you in a different way. Feel free to watch it, and if you have any comments about it, I always love to talk philosophy.

The Seasons are Changing

As I sit here on this rainy Wednesday evening, I have a chance to look at the last couple of weeks. Everything is beginning to change, transitioning from bitter winter to joyous spring. Along with the weather taking a turn for the better, I’ve loved every minute of the last few weeks.

It’s hard to remember that just 2 weeks ago I was suffering through some pretty brutal 4-5 hour rides in sub-freezing weather, with snow everywhere. The last two days have been in the 50s and the roads have been dry. It seriously feels like last summer never left, because I’m right back where I was. And considering how well last year went, that’s a good place to be.

The warmer weather hasn’t really made me faster. A quick look at power numbers and if anything, I’ve slower. But I honestly don’t mind, because I feel like when I push on the pedals, the road takes notice and I am propelled forward. The hours have been adding up, and while I’m still getting in the groove, I can feel it getting easier, I can feel the fitness coming back strong. Besides the riding, a lot of other things have changed. The biggest one is my diet. As a Wisconsin boy, I love my dairy and meat. While I’m still eating dairy, I’ve started to reduce the amount of meat I’m eating. This is really an effort to lose some weight, but also to clean out the system. While meat is delicious and has a lot of good things in it, it has a lot of bad too, so I’m just trying to keep it in moderation. I’m also working on getting the weight down. I’ve almost hit my goal already of 160, and I think I’m going to go lower. We’ll see in time.

Finally some news for the future. I’m proud to announce that in addition to my already sick road bike, I’ll be on a Trek mountain bike as well. More details in the next few weeks, but it definitely is a sweet rig. I cannot wait to get out on the dirt! Time for bed, hopefully the rain washes all the dirt off the roads and dries up before tomorrow’s ride. And hopefully the rain clouds take all this insane wind with them.

sick whip

They say if you gonna ball, you gotta keep a sick whip. When I wanna ball so I keep a sick whip.

All joke aside, I have been incredibly fortunate this year with bikes. KS EnergyServices/Team Wisconsin has a new deal with Trek and Emery’s bike shop in Milwaukee to keep us on hands down the nicest frames out there. First off, the new road bike. It almost hasn’t set in yet, but this is a sick whip. It’s 2012 Trek Madone 6.9 SSL with a sweet red and white paint job. It’s been built up with the new Shimano Ultegra grey which takes this otherwise bright frame back a little. The more subdued look is much more my style, and between the frame and components it strikes a nice balance. Enough talking, here are some pictures!

First off, the bike as a whole is pretty fun. I've had a few rides on it when the weather was nicer, and I'm pretty impressed. The seatmast works really well. You can actually see it flex a little while riding, which scares you a little at first, but you can really notice the comfort benefits. It's also pretty stiff drivetrain wise. I haven't really put any serious power down on it yet, but at the very least it's on par with my old Cannondale, which was very stiff. But above all, I am blow away with the steering precision. I've taken it down a few winding hills and it really is point and shoot. The confidence it gives you helps you push the limit. Combine that with good road feel and you can take it right up to the line of grip. It corners just as well, but with all the sand on the roads I haven't really taken any risks yet. 

Riding on the Fizik Arione CX once again. Hands down my favorite saddle. Comfortable and light with tons of space to move around for when you're climbing versus putting the power down on the flats.

Shimano Ultegra grey grouppo for the drivetrain. While it's not the lightest group, the shifting quality is amazing and the whole thing is affordable too. Which will come in handy when I start replacing worn parts. But the thing that really caught me off guard was just how good the front shifting is! I never imagined being able to shift while putting the power down. Plus it looks elegant and clean. What more could I ask for?

Yea, SSL baby!

Aluminum 110mm RXL stem from Bontrager for stiffness and 44cm carbon RXL bars for comfort. I'll probably be switching to a longer 120mm stem soon.

 An interesting camera angle, but check that out! CycleOps wheel set! Thats right, I'll be on CycleOps new carbon PowerTap wheelset, 45mm deep clincher. The really sick part is that at only 1,540g I can have power data from all my races without taking a weight penalty. Plus the Enve Composite rims are stiff and durable.

 WISCONSIN REPRESENT! Proud of that right there for sure.

 The wheels will be wrapped in Bontragers new R4 tires. Haven't ridden them much yet, but from what I hear they are super grippy. I'm looking forward to seeing just how much grip there is out on the mountains.

Training is really starting up in earnest right now. After a few weeks of building up the volume I'm starting to feel like I can put some real effort into the rides. Come March I'll be in full swing. That's all for now. Thanks for reading.

Getting back at it

I’ve been riding a lot in the last few weeks. With last year’s huge amount of racing stretching all the way into January, I decided to take more time off than I did the year prior. I have yet to really understand what the extra time off the bike will do to help or hurt me, but I know a few things for sure. First of all, Motivation is way up there right now. The last few weeks have flown by. I’ve been building up the hours trying to get fit. But unlike last year, I’m taking recovery and general health a lot more seriously. I’m trying to eat better and making sure that I’m flexible. I’ve lost a few pounds already just by eating healthy, and the weight seems to be dropping off now that I’m actively keeping the calorie intake in check, eating quality nutrient rich foods and just enough to keep me going.

A pretty big change this year will be my schooling. I’ve ended up getting a co-op with Saris Cycling, a company which I have done part time work with for the last year and a half. The job will let me make some cash to help pay for school, while giving me a little break from school to train and get ready to finish school. And the day in day out 9-5 schedule works really well for me. Being the creature of habit that I am, It’s easy to plan my days around work and riding to get in a lot of hours while still doing all the other things around the house that need doing.

Finally, the coming racing season is shaping up to be something special. With KS Energy/Team Wisconsin moving to Emery’s and Trek, I’ve been able to get my hands on some pretty sick whips and the folks at Emery’s have been really quick to help out; check them out, and if you buy anything mention my name. I just got my new road bike all up and running and it is on another level from my old bike. I was lucky enough to get a Madone 6.9 SSL with a full Ultegra Grey Component setup. Man, putting miles on that thing has been a joy. So far the thing that has impressed me the most is the handling. It goes downhill with such precision that you have the confidence to push the tires right to edge of grip. It’s also pretty comfortable, considering I have yet to get the fit fully dialed in. The flex in the seat mass keeps the bike stable and comfortable. Overall so far, very happy, hopefully I’ll have some pictures soon. The paint scheme is really sexy!

And the good news kept coming this spring so far. I’ve got some other cool things in the works, and I’ll have more on them when they actually happen. But long story short, this whole bike riding thing is turning out pretty well. But like anything else there are tradeoffs.

This brings me to the one thing I really wanted to express in this post. I’m getting anxious. With each passing year I have put more and more in to racing and working towards making a living racing bikes. I still don’t know if it’s a realistic goal, but let’s be honest; if you could get paid to ride you would. I think it’s worth it to know you tried. But it makes me a bit nervous to know that it might actually happen. I talked to my dad about it the other night. He had few words, but they were powerful. So I’m not too worried now, but now I’m more excited to really see what I can do. 

2012: It has begun

After some time off, 2012 is here, in a big way

See you on the roads