Tired Legs

Well, back to riding today after a nice rest day yesterday in which I also had off of work so I did a lot of running around to get some things done. Today I was scheduled for 1 hour and 30 minutes and I did complete that but it was a little difficult as I was generally feeling fatigued. I was up approximately 10 times last night for no reason and woke up feeling extremely tired today. The lack of sleep led to a tired mind and body so after about 45 minutes today I felt like quitting but I found motivation through the yellow "LiveStrong" bracelet that I keep on my left wrist. Lance Armstrong found himself capable of riding at least an hour a day even when he was going through chemotherapy so if I think about that I'll be damned if I don't complete the rides I schedule, especially when I have no illness that prevents me from doing it. I was going to say that I was proud to finish my ride, but pride doesn't really factor in to it, more or less I should say that I'm glad I wasn't too lazy to finish. On a funny note, 15 seconds after this picture was taken by my lovely wife I completely wiped out in to the curio cabinet behind me and fell flat on the ground in about 2 milliseconds, I was too busy thinking about how cool I looked in the picture to keep my eye on the rollers.......

Winter in Wisconsin

Dressing for 14 degree wind chill
Another cold day today, 26 degrees with a 14 degree wind chill, and definitely less sun than yesterday. The weathermen said that is was supposed to be warmer today than yesterday, boy did they lie. Anyway, I got in a ride of 1 hour and 40 minutes, which is a little less than the 2 hours that I had planned but once I got home and realized I was going to be short my options were to head inside or ride around the block for 20 minutes. I decided to head inside.......of course! The one thing about riding outside in this weather is the pain of thawing out, no hills hurt me more today than the pain of my big toes thawing out, now that is painful!! Well, it's supposed to be warmer this week but of course I work until 5:00 so I won't be able to enjoy the good weather outside. Next weekend it's supposed to be 40 on Saturday and 45 on Sunday but also a chance of showers. Wednesday is the 1st day of March so the tunnel is there, I don't see any light yet, but it's getting closer anyways. Can't wait for the warm weather. Until next time........

Baby it's cold outside!!

It was a cold one out today, about 28 degrees with a 16 degree wind chill but I still managed to ride outside for 2 hours and was so glad that I got to get out of the house. It's days like today that really improve mental toughness because if I can ride outside in 20-25mph winds on a cold day then most other training rides in the Winter and Spring will seem easy. Not to mention that I know that there are other guys riding outside today and mentally I have to know that I'm keeping pace with them and not just spinning away on the rollers. Tomorrow is supposed to be about 31 degrees with winds of 5-10mph so it will be easy to get out and might even seem warm! I suppose I should include a picture but I have none of me riding today as my wife had the digital camera all day in Chicago, so here is a picture of my racing jersey and helmet.......

So far, so good

I'm just getting this started so I have some catching up to do, actually I have to catch you up on what I've been doing. I started my training program on December 1st and have ridden or tried to ride 5 days a week with 2 days of weight training on Tuesday and Thursday. So far I have ridden 1,041 miles and unfortunately most of those have been on the rollers with only 5 days of outside riding. This week is a regeneration week so tomorrow I'll only be doing about 2 hours and another 2 on Sunday. Monday is a rest day and then I ride 1.5 hrs Tuesday, 1.75 on Wednesday, 1.5 on Thursday, rest day on Friday, 2.75 on Saturday and finally 2.5 hrs on Sunday. Again, most of those hours will be spent on the rollers and by the end of the week I'll be delirious with cabin fever, something like this......

Sooo...I'll be updating my progress this week and hopefully I won't end up in the crazy house. :)~

Here I am!!! Again!!

Well, this is my first post and here's a little about me to get this started. I'm a former bicycle racer that used to race in the Pro/1/2 category and after 10 years away from the sport I have decided to get back in to it and give it another try. I will be starting over as a Category 4 racer and hope to just finish most of my races this year as I don't think I'll have what it takes this year to win a race, but who knows??!!!! This web site will chronicle the the year as I train to become a top racer once again. I'll write about all my trials and tribulations and hope to convey the dedication and sacrifice that it takes to be a bicycle racer. I'm 32 years old so I'll be doing mostly Masters 4/5 races with some Cat. 4/5 and citizens' races thrown in during the year. I'll also be juggling time for my family as I am married and have a 12 year old son so I'll have to be very efficient with my schedule in order to get in cycling time and family time. Well, that's a little bit about me and there will be lot's more to follow...............