Root River Ride

The last few days have been pretty uneventful as far as training goes but I've been super busy at work and at home. I had to work at 6:00a.m. on Friday, today and also tomorrow so that is really cutting in to my sleep time and I'm only getting about 5.5 - 6 hours of sleep which isn't enough for me. Friday night I didn't do any riding or lifting as we went out to dinner with friends and we were out pretty late. It was a normal scheduled rest day anyways so I really didn't miss anything. I probably didn't help myself though either with those 5 beers and the fish fry. Saturday we had to be at a wedding in Wausau by 1:30 so I was up early and we were on the road by 10:00 and didn't return until 1:00a.m. Sunday morning. I got to set the clock back though to midnight so I did get an extra hour of sleep which I really needed. Sunday morning I was up really early and did a ride through the Root River Parkway and brought the camera with to take some pics of the nice fall colors....what's left anyways. Here are some shots from Sunday....

Today I did some weight work, 4 sets of 15 reps on the leg press, leg extensions, and leg curls. I'll do that 3 days a week for 4 weeks and then I'll move on to a heavier weight and less reps for another 4 weeks and then finally I'll go to heavy weights and low reps to build strength. Tomorrow the plan is to do a 1.25 hour ride and I believe I have to do 5 sets of 3 minute Fast Pedal exercises. MI3 just came out on DVD so I'll have to go rent that and watch Mr Katie Holmes blow stuff up. Should be a good time. Adios, until next time..................

Riding The Knobbies, Kind Of........

This time of year is pretty boring as far as life goes, so it is even more boring to write about and for anyone who has to read this. There are no bike races here or abroad, unless you like reading about the results of the latest cyclocross or 6-day race. Although I have to mention that I have been getting hooked on checking cyclocross results just to see if Ryan Trebon won again. That guy is like 6'4" tall and just full of raw power. It's been an interesting battle between him and Tim Johnson this year but Tim isn't doing so good right now. That should change once the weather gets worse as Tim is more of a technical rider and should be able to handle Ryan in the snow and on the more technical courses. I'm looking forward to the National Championships, should be interesting to see who pulls that off. I'm also excited to finish my own little cyclocross setup with my old Pinarello that I mentioned the other day. It really isn't a cyclocross setup but more or less a road bike with Hutchinson Cross Pro tires, which I have to say look pretty cool on the bike. I put them on last night and they are 700x30 with knobbies to give that motocross look and surprisingly I have plenty of clearance with my standard road fork and chainstays. I got a new chain the other day for the 8-speed setup and am waiting for my new 8-speed cassette to arrive any day now. Once I get those on I'm just waiting for a little snow so that I can go fly around the yard, all I need now is some barriers so that I can do some dismounting and running. Now I can ride year round and on limestone trails as I don't have a mountain bike and was too nervous to take my skinny 700x23s on limestone before. I did buy some Conti hybrid 700x32s last year but they didn't work so well on some trails that I went on in West Bend. Now with the knobbies I am good to go. I can't wait to do my first tail slide.
Other than that, I've been riding as scheduled but missed my weight day yesterday due to some scheduling conflicts with family activities. I will make that up by lifting tonight in addition to my 1.5 hour ride. Tonight, as mentioned, is a 1.5 hour ride on the trainer and I will be throwing in 5x15 second Stomps to help build power in the saddle. Basically you start at 15-20 mph and then just mash a huge gear (53x12) for 15 seconds, recover 5 minutes, and then repeat. Hopefully there is something good on TV tonight otherwise I'll have to go get another movie at BlockBuster to watch during the ride. Tomorrow is supposed to be another weight day but I'll skip that and just do some stretching instead. I'd rather lift on a ride day because I actually feel better on the bike after lifting so that will help with tonight's ride. My wife and I are also supposed to go out tomorrow night for dinner with some friends so I have to be home right away after work and won't really have time to lift. Saturday we are heading to Wausau at 10:00a.m for my cousin's wedding and I'm not sure if I'll squeeze in a ride before then, although I will try to get up and get at least a 2 hour ride in before we leave. If I have too many beers Friday night then that could be troublesome. Sunday's weather is looking decent so I should get in my 2 hour ride with no issues. Well, that's it for now, until next time..................

I Love Rain and Wind!

Yeah right, I hate rain and wind, but it seems there is a lot of both lately and according to the forecast I have some more of the same to look forward to in the next 10 days. My work schedule prevents me from getting home and riding outside as it's dark about 20 minutes after I get home so I've been stuck riding the trainer and rollers during the week. I though that this weekend would be good enough for me to get in a ride outside but when I woke up this past Saturday at 6:30 a.m. to go ride I guess I didn't realize that it's still dark out at that time. I had some coffee and a bagel and waited until about 7:45 to make sure that it was light out and then I threw on all my cold weather clothes and headed out for what was supposed to be a 3 hour ride. I got about 10 minutes down the road and it started to rain, being the wuss that I am I decided to turn around because there was no way I was going to ride in upper 30 degree temps and rain for the next 3 hours. I'm a bit of a wuss now as in my old riding days I used to ride for 3 or 4 hours in a constant downpour and didn't mind a bit. Now if it even looks like rain I stay inside and ride the trainer, it's part of getting older I guess. I'm not getting paid to ride and it's supposed to be fun, so I can pick and choose my riding days now, not like before when I had to ride no matter what the conditions. Anyways, I got back and rode for 2 hours on the trainer with about 60 minutes of Race Simulation thrown in to break up the monotony. I was supposed to ride for 2 hours yesterday as well but my mom had already bought tickets for the whole family to Fright Fest at Six Flags so we headed down there at 9:00a.m. and didn't get back until 7:30p.m.. I was so tired and nauseous from flying sideways, upside down, and well, every other direction on the roller coasters that I didn't get my 2 hours in before bed. I had scheduled today as a weight lifting day and as a rest day on the bike so now it will be weights and then 2 hours on the rollers instead. Tomorrow I'll do my normal 1.5 hour ride on the trainer with a few Stomps thrown in as well.
Here is a random thought....I was reading an article today from Ron Kiefel on Pezcyclingnews.com and for those of you who don't know who he is, he is a former 7-11 racer from the 80s and also rode for a host of other teams in the early 90s as well. Well anyways, it wasn't the article that caught my eye but the pictures of the bikes that made me think about the good old days of steel frames and 32-spoke wheels. I have a Pinarello Treviso Columbus SL frame with Campy Omega 32 spoke rims (maybe 36?) and I love riding that bike because it is so comfortable. It is equipped with Campy Chorus 8-speed (15 years old) but right now it's having a little trouble shifting due to some worn out cogs on the cassette. I just ordered a new (old stock) cassette for it and a new chain so that I can ride it over winter so I don't mess up my good bike. I also ordered some 700x30 Hutchinson Cyclocross tires for it as well so that I get some good traction in the snow if needed. Soooo, here's my thought, there should be at least 2 or 3 road races or crits during the year that are "vintage" races in which everyone brings their crappiest pre-1990 bike if they have one and they can't be fixed up, you have to ride them as is, no greasing them up or anything, and we go race them for like 20 miles. Mine only shifts in to two gears right now, 39x12 or 53x12 so that is how I would have to leave it. I want to hear all the squeaks and crunches as we all ride them. Dry chains, tire rot, frozen rusted cables, it's all good. The best part is, if the steel stem and seatpost are rusted and now bonded onto the frame, you can't adjust them, all the better for everyone else. I know some of you may not have a "nice" crappy bike like my Pinarello so Sears Free Spirits and the like are more than welcome. So get out your old Motobecane, Eddy Merckx, Fuji, Bianchi, Masi, Raleigh, or Pinarello and let's go ride some time. No lubrication or non-steel parts allowed, cause that's how I roll. Until next time.........

Team Dynamics

Well, I got back from Florida and rode on Sunday, Monday, and yesterday evening to make up for my lost time when I was down enjoying the warm weather in Tampa. I actually didn't get to enjoy the weather that much as we had to work from about 8 until 6-6:30 every day including Saturday. I gained lots of weight as well, eating all that great seafood and desserts. I certainly can't turn down free dinners, so I made the most of them, eating all that I could. Anyways, my rides have been fairly short, 1-2 hours, and are basically maintenance rides to keep up the fitness through October. I still throw in the Fast Pedal sets, and some Race Simulation on Saturdays just to keep it interesting but for the most part it is easy pedaling. I am also playing with my foot/cleat position to alleviate some leg length discrepancy and supponation. I have some Lemond Pedal Wedges that I use between the cleat and shoe to either add height or straighten out my leg motion, and so far it is working well. I also think I have a hip alignment issue in that my back muscles are pulling my right hip forward a bit and I have read some things on that and can probably alleviate that by tilting my seat a bit to the right but I should probably go to a chiropractor as well to straighten myself out. I didn't have these issues in the past but I'm sure it's just part of getting older and sitting in a chair for about 7 hours a day. Soooo, that aside, the plan for today is to do some weight work, 3 sets of 12-15 reps, all leg work as I get plenty of arm work doing stuff around the house and I don't really want arm muscle anyways. I won't ride today but will be riding tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday. Tomorrow I believe is a 1.75 hour ride with some Fast Pedal sets and then Saturday is 2.75 or 3 hours with 45 minutes of Race Simulation and Sunday is 2.25 or 2.5 hours, can't remember exactly as I don't have my program here at work. I'm feeling great, I'm plenty motivated and lovin' riding right now.

In other news, there are some changes on my current team, Team Wisconsin, that have impacted some decisions I have to make for next year. I don't really want to say too much about it now but basically some of the team has split to form their own team which I don't think will impact the core group too much as it appears most of them are mountain bikers. If most of the core group stays which it appears they will, then the decision is a no-brainer, I'll definitely stay with the team. If some of them leave that helped to get me on the team in the first place, then I'll have some decisions to make. I really like the direction we are heading for 2007 with the new sponsor Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare so if all stays kosher, it should be a good year. I only did two races with the team as I signed up late in the year but the team seems really well organized and has some riders with great potential. I know for one that I will be training lights-out this off-season in order to be competitive in the Master's 1/2/3 category by May or June. I'll be waiting to see how things play out in the next couple of weeks and then we have our team banquet on November 4th so we'll get to learn a little bit more about what's planned for '07. The next few weeks will be pretty interesting on the bike and off the bike...........Until next time.

Off To Florida....for work :(

It was a busy weekend and I got in a couple of rides and also did about 15 hours worth of house work, mostly on Sunday, which of course was a beautiful day. Saturday I had to do some work on the driveway, coach my son's soccer game, which we won 6-5 after being down 5-2, and then I finally rode about 2.5 hours. It was a sunny day, temps were probably upper 60s and the wind wasn't too bad. It was an EM day with about 30 minutes of Race Simulation which basically consisted of a couple of 2 minute intervals simulating a breakaway, about 10 telephone pole sprints and about 3 or 4 hill sprints, well, almost sprints as one of the hills I do is about 3 minutes long. I felt pretty good overall as being the "offseason" I didn't really try to push it too much and I kept the cadence high and tried not to wear out the legs too much, mainly working the lungs. Sunday was another sunny day, definitely a bit windier, but that didn't take any of the fun out of what may be the last nice day of the month. I rode for about 2 hours, and just kept it at an easy Foundation Mile pace, no big hills and no sprints or anything like that. It was a very enjoyable ride and I just checked the 10-day forecast and it looks like it may have been the last nice weather ride as the temps are going to dip and they are even calling for snow showers on Thursday with lows of 28 degrees. Fortunately for me I will be in Florida, leaving here at 7:00a.m. and arriving in Tampa around 11:30 or so. It is going to be in the upper 80s and low 90s the whole time I'm there until I leave on Sunday. The unfortunate part is that I'm going on business and won't have my bike nor will I have a chance to work out as the suite complex that we are staying at doesn't have a fitness center. My company is paying for a nice suite with kitchen, couch, big bathroom, king bed, etc., but the dang place has nowhere to work out, which is just crazy to me in a place like Florida where everybody has to be skinny to lay on the beach. Oh well, can't do much about it, but I'm pretty disappointed that I will miss 3 riding days and 2 weight days. Maybe I can put the coffee table or something over my shoulders and do squats for a weight workout, and even though I hate to run I can bring my running shoes and jog around the parking lot. The only thing they do have is a basketball court and in that heat 30 minutes of hoops is a pretty good workout, so that could be good cross-training. I'll figure something out I guess.....in the meantime, I hope you all enjoy the Wisconsin weather, I can't wait to come back to it on Sunday...yeah right. Until next time.........

Rolling Right Along

Well, I am rolling right along this week, on the bike, and well, on my fatty stomach as well. I've biked 3 times this week so I'm sticking to my schedule but I've also eaten way too much this week. I think I've gained 5-7 lbs. but my scale is broke so I don't have the luxury of checking, oh darn hey? Training on the bike will be easy over the winter, but I think some natural hibernation instinct is kicking in and I'm starting to store fat for the winter, honestly!! I'll really have to try to cut back on the food, otherwise my training is doing me no good at all. One of my weaknesses this year was hills as I did lose about 27lbs after I started training, going from 210lbs to 183lbs, but that still was a little too heavy. I want to be at 173lbs to start next year, and if you add the increased power that I'll attain over the winter my power-to-weight ratio will be waaaaaaaayy better than this year. I was 183lbs and in all honesty, 5-6 months of training doesn't really build a lot of power, not enough to race any higher than Cat 4, that's for sure. With this year's base of 5,500+ miles and counting and all the weight training and riding that I'm starting now, I'll be at a much higher level next year, definitely capable of competing as a Cat. 3 or higher. By 2008 I fully expect to be back to where I was when I quit cycling in 1996, although I'll be 12 years older so that is a negative, but hey, there are lots of 30+ guys kicking butt out there. Cripes, Lance is my age and he could probably win another Tour or two if he wanted. I'm looking to win a WI Cup race, so that's comparable right, well o.k., a little bit less difficult I guess....but not by much. Anyways, it's getting late and I'm pretty tired already and have to get up at 7:00a.m. on a Saturday to work around the house, I have lots to do before I have to go coach my son's soccer game, and it's team picture day so I have to actually shower before going. After the game I'll be doing my scheduled ride of 2.5 hours, it looks like it will be a beautiful day for a ride, can't wait. Until next time..............

Riding For 2007

Well, it's been a pretty uneventful week, and I don't have a lot to say since my last post since I haven't really done much in the last week other than gain some weight. I am finally starting to feel better as I had been feeling pretty fatigued and just plain under the weather the last 3 weeks. I attribute a lot of it to the below normal weather conditions we've been having and I think I was a bit rejuvenated by yesterday's beautiful, sunny day. I actually got out and rode for about 2.5 hours which is more than I've ridden in the last 2 weeks combined. It felt great to be out in the sun again and the warmer temps but it doesn't appear that it will last long as it was already storming overnight and it looks like quite a bit of rain and some cooler temps later in the week. Next weekend looks o.k. though with temps in the mid to upper 60s as of right now, so I should get out for a couple of longer rides Saturday and Sunday.
As for my training for 2007, I've officially started it today and will spend the next 16 weeks in the Foundation Period basically building up a good aerobic base for the harder training that will follow. Today I will do some light weight work, basically just maintenance work, as unfortunately my first day of the program starts with a rest day on the bike. Tomorrow will be my first on-the-bike day and then Wednesday will be weights again. I will be doing light weights for 3 days and riding for 4 days for the month of October, then I will switch to riding 5 days in November and then 6 days starting in December for the remainder of the Foundation Period. My weight work will gradually increase throughout the period as well going to higher weights and less reps as I progress. I'm really looking forward to see how I progress for 2007 versus this year as I now have a good base whereas I had exactly 0 miles to build on last year. I'd really like to do well in the first few races of 2007 so that I can upgrade right away to help out the team, as the majority of our team will be in the Master's 1/2/3 category. We'll see how that goes I guess.

Well, I did celebrate the last day of my "off-season" yesterday by consuming 3 bratwurst loaded with onions, ketchup, mustard, and lots of kraut. I also had almost a whole bag of Doritos, 4 beers, 2 shots of whiskey and some other miscellaneous chips and dips. I figured I was going to start my healthy eating today so I had to splurge yesterday so I wouldn't binge during training. Other than gaining about 4lbs. and feeling a little hung over this morning, I think it was a good year-end feast. From now on it will be good wholesome food...and a little bit of beer as that has carbs in it right? Until next time...........


I do love the bratwurst...mmmmmm...