Wannabe Training

Average Joe, amateur, master cycling wannabe training camp report: Arrived in LA Sat eve, stayed near the airport & then headed up to Solvang Sun am. Bike did not make it as scheduled so hit some wineries Sun afternoon. Bike arrived Mon. so quickly assembled & rode for about 2+ hrs in fairly crappy/rainy weather (including the worst hail session I have experienced). Tues got in 3+ hrs heading up north along a bunch of wineries (again in rainy weather). Weds was a killer day of climbing of 3 + hrs (but in the sunshine this time) – the climb itself was an hour of serious suffering. Thurs went down to Santa Barbara and rode easy for 2 hrs mostly along the rolling coast. Fri was the Solvang ITT (Tour of Cali) so did not ride. Got some great pics and was cool to see the atmosphere around town -- Some pics from the Solvang ITT are at Spokepost.com if you care. Dave Z is a real interesting dude. Someone asked him about DZ Nuts in the post race press conference and he noted with a smile that DZ Nuts held up well during the ride. Attended a dinner that eve where Bob Stapelton spoke – he wants to see Tour of Cali in April. Sat. got in 3+ hrs around Thousand Oaks – found a nasty climb and got lost but I was rescued by Ms. Drumroll. All in all the Solvang area is pretty incredible for riding and if you like wine, you can’t beat it…especially when you arrive home to 4 inches of new snow and a salty CX bike w/fenders.

"Proper MAINTAINTANANCE of the perineal area is essential during high level training and racing. Nothing can ruin stage race success faster than an infected saddle sore."--Dave Zabriskie

btw ... slightly used Bontrager rear disc wheel & HED tri-spoke for sale (see pic below) These are some "hot" wheels friends, picked 'em up in Cali, eager to sell!

Coincidence?

Drumroll is in California, Fed Ex botched a timely delivery of his bike, Astana had Lance's TT bike stolen. That can't be coincidental . . .

Popo: Mr. Drumroll, can you explain why you're riding Lance's stolen bike?

Drumroll: Uh, this is my bike . . .

Well, the weekend was cold but sunny. Got in 3:25 Saturday and 3:18 today. Spent today climbing a bunch of the local hills with Bob. The mission to not suck this spring is well under way. I'm well on my way to mediocrity.

How can you have any pudding if you don't eat yer meat?"

Rant warning .... How can I ride my bike if FedEx don't deliver? If FedEx don't deliver, how can I ride my bike. I wanna do a Sam Kinison ...aughhh, aughhh, aughhh.

FedEx sucks, plain and simple. Dateline April 2006: FedEx to ship bike to my brother's house in Charlotte so I can head on over to Asheville. Arrives 2 days late, delays my trip to Asheville. Dateline December 2008: FedEx the Christmas goodies to my nieces & nephews. Arrives 3 days after Christmas when it was sent 3 days before with 2nd day delivery -- Uncle Drumroll looking like a d-bag w/the late Christmas gifts. Dateline February 2009: FedEx my bike to hotel in Solvang. I was assured it would arrive Fri. (13th) -- I am to arrive Sat (14th) and psyched to be riding on Sun. (15th). Checked the tracking on Thurs. and looking good, scheduled to arrive On Fri. Checked again this morning -- arriving Mon. now. Now you may wonder why I keep using FedEx, well, cause we get a sizeable corporate discount but lesson learned I guess -- I keep thinking they can't possibly screw me again.

WTF here FedEx? You are just like the airlines now where time frames and deadlines are just approximate guidelines. When I asked the "representative" on the phone why it can't be delivered this weekend, she responds, "cause it's on the truck, we can't just stop the truck and unload it for your package". FU too honey and have a nice day. Oh, Happy freakin Valentines Day (dammit).

This time I mean it . . .

No more skiing, no more running, no more skipping work outs. If I'm going to suck this spring, it's going to be because I suck. Not because I didn't know what I was doing, not because I got a late start, not because I spent too much time doing other things than riding. That pretty much sums up my first two seasons and probably goes a long way to explain my love of CX. By the time CX rolls around I'm finally in shape.

Mental and physical time away from the bike after a long CX season was definitely needed, but now it's time to do work. The work started in earnest last week, and the Saturday ride that Drumroll recounted below was more than enough motivation to get my proverbial shiznit together.

I had contemplated writing a post about the Mormons that tried to hand me a business card at the tail end of the 3:50 thrashing I received on Saturday. How I hopped off my bike and put one of the suit wearing, name tag bearing wanders in a headlock since I was in no mood for a religious intervention. How I yelled at him that if there was a god I'd be faster. The wind wouldn't be in my face as I was starting to cramp. I wouldn't live on top of a hill. My job would be somewhere conducive to winter riding. My winter bike wouldn't weigh 29.5lbs. Anyway, the headlock part was a lie. There's no doubt that the thought crossed my mind, but in my weakened state I would have probably ended up giving the dude more of a hug than a headlock, and the last thing I need is to get busted by the cops for trying to hug a wandering Mormon while wearing head to toe spandex. That could only end badly. I'm not big enough to go to jail . . .

The Answer My Friend ...

..... is blowin' in the wind. Doh !

Homer (Odyssey 5. 291) "Poseidon massed the clouds, clutched his trident and churned the ocean up; he roused all the blasts of all the Winds and swathed earth and sea alike in clouds; down from the sky rushed the dark. Euros (East Wind) and Notos (South Wind) clashed together, the stormy Zephyros (West Wind) and the sky-born billow-driving Boreas (North Wind)."

Small group ride on Saturday -- Notos at around 15 mph for 3.5 hrs of fun with a tour of the windwills (translates to climbing in CNY bike-speak) thrown in for good measure. More joy on Sunday w/a slightly larger group but stayed mostly in flatlands. This time though, Boreas exacted revenge at 20+ mph for 3 hours. Felt like Cancellara w/the tail wind and a track sprinter going up Mt. Washington into the wind. We did get some periodic sunshine both days which always makes it all a bit more tolerable. Even though the wind did blow, it beat the trainer as we all know that can suck.

Punxsutawney Phil sees shadow; winter to continue

Well, that Phil can go ahead and suck it. Drumroll and I got in 2:30 yesterday and the temps were in the mid 30's. Clear roads, clear skies, cleared for take off. It was great to actually hit the pavement. Not that "The Wire" isn't entertaining and all, but I was WAY past ready to see the great outdoors (via bike). Nothing too exciting to report actually, it was just great to be outside riding.

Saturday was much colder and snowier. About 12-15 degrees at Highland. Drumroll, Dave F., Jeff W. and I hit the trails hard for a few hours. Actually, Jeff stuck around for another loop, so who knows how long that dude was out there. After 3 hours of chasing Dave and Jeff on their waxable ski's, Drumroll and I were pretty much wiped out from trying to keep up on waxless ski's. Drumroll wins the prize for hardest effort though since his ski's looked like they were bought at a garage sale from someone who stole them from someone who bought them at the Salvation Army. Great workout though. There's nothing like getting the top few guys from the local Masters CX races together off season. There's gonna be some hard efforts thrown down. I'm neither a Master or one of the top few guys, but I definitely got sucked into the chase. Good times.

The weather is looking pretty warm next weekend. Might be wet, but my winter bike could use a wash anyway. Anyone wanna ride? Bob?