Tips for Traveling

With the summer time here, so is the travel. Whether you’re traveling across the state, or traveling across the country, it’s going to be a departure from your normal training routine. Here are my 5 top tips for making travel a little easier on you.

11      Pack as efficient and light as possible. The more stuff you bring the more you’re going to have to worry about. But at the same time, you want to make sure you have everything you need. So how do you reconcile these two? Do what you can to use as much as you can for multiple purposes. Separate all your stuff into groups; essential stuff, things that would be nice to have, and things you don’t need. If you don’t need it, don’t bring it. If you need it, bring it. But you’ll find that most of what you bring falls in the middle. And things in that category can usually be consolidated. A good example is a pump. You don’t need a pump, but it would be nice to have. What’s the compromise? Bring a frame pump or small pump and a digital pressure gauge. It’s much smaller than a floor pump, but you can still set your tire pressure just as well. So what are my essentials? Helmet, shoes, bike glasses, gloves, kit, socks, food and water.

22   Bring a piece of home. As much as you want to pack light, on longer trips comfort becomes an issue. So make room to bring a small piece of home with you. Something to entertain you, or something that comforts you.

33     Keep you daily routines consistent. Your body works best when you keep a consistent time schedule so do your best to maintain your normal rhythm while on the road. Try to wake up at the same time, get to bed at the same time. And do the same things you normally do when you wake up, and the same things you normally do before going to bed. Keeping that consistency will help you save energy and keep calm.

44     Keep your motivation by keeping it fun and exciting. Traveling is a lot of fun, but it’s also a lot of work. Make sure that you enjoy it as much as you can because when you’re having fun, you’re going to go fast. The excitement will help you stay focused and stay motivated.

55     Have your schedule planned out. As much as you want to keep it fun and spontaneous, make sure that you have the important stuff, the race, the drive, the reason you’re traveling in the first place, all planned out. Not having to think too much about making plans will help keep your mind clear and keep you relaxed. If you plan things out well, it will help you relax and it will help you have more fun.

Racing in the Southwest, Part 1

I’m sitting here in the back of an SUV, next to my bikes and bags, getting ready for bed. It’s at the end of a long road trip and it’s got me thinking what the heck am I doing here? Tonight, and for the next 4 nights I’ll cuddling up with carbon, as I sleep in the back of a car, to save some cash. I wouldn’t say it’s ideal, but there is something about it that gives me a sense of commitment to my goals.

At the end of long training blocks, or long racing trips, or anytime that I’m specifically tired, I get very thoughtful. Sometimes it’s with a big grin on my face, thinking, “how in the hell did I manage to have such an awesome trip”. Sometimes it’s a little less enthusiastic, “how did I mess that up so bad?” This time it’s somewhere in between, fitting, because I’m somewhere between where I was and where I’m trying to get to.

Repairing ESI Grips

I’ve talked about ESI grips on this blog before, so you know that I’m a huge fan. I’ve been running the grips for as long as I can remember, and I wouldn’t run any other grip. And now that they’ve come out with their road tape a few years ago, you can bet that all my road bikes will be decked out with ESI as well.

Big Day in the Sky

Short post today, about today's ride. It's been a while since I've really felt complete pain and fear on a bike and Saturday's ride had both.

https://www.strava.com/activities/279420975

Here are the numbers

172.4 kms
5:38:10 time
2028 meters elevation gain (6653 ft)


A big day for sure. But the real lessons had more to do with the location. I left for the ride from Pinetop, AZ, a town at about 7,000 ft. I've been staying here with a friend and getting some training in between US Cup races. The ride took me up to about 9200 ft give or take (google and strava say different things). I've been up to 10,000 ft before and my body didn't like it much. But I've been ok here at 7,000. Number were low all day, as expected from the elevation. But when I got to the Mexican Hay Lake Climb, it was something different. The climb started just outside of Eager, AZ at 7,040 ft. It was an amazing climb. I didn't get a chance to get any pictures. I was pretty focused on my 2x20s up the climb. But as I went up, up, up, the legs started to really hurt. More than I thought they could. But it wasn't just my legs, my whole body was getting weak. I went into survival mode. We all have our mountains to climb and Saturday, mine was literally a mountain. When I got to the top, I felt relieved, only to find that there was a strong head wind across the top. The next 25 miles, I pushed through the wind that felt like I was riding through thick sludge. When I finally made the turn, I had 15 miles of cross winds to deal with.

Introducing my 2015 Racing Program

With the move out to Pullman, leaving Saris, Wisconsin, and my race team for the past 3 years , Team Wisconsin, a lot has changed. But change doesn’t have to be bad. It’s been a good amount of work, but I’m happy to announce some details about the coming season!

Before I do, it’s worth acknowledging how much of an amazing opportunity it was to ride with KS Energy Services/Team Wisconsin. Without the support and their belief in me, I wouldn’t even have dreamed of where I am was possible. When Dave Eckel talked to me a little more than 3 years ago at State CX champ in Hales Corners, I had no plans for racing in the future, but though it would be so amazing to get to race all the time. So thank you to that team, and the people that made it up.