The Waterbottle Shuffle

A valuable skill for any cyclist training in sub-freezing temperatures. You roll out of your driveway for a 5 hour ride with 3 waterbottles. 2 are in your cages and 1 takes the seat of honor: In the back pocket closest to your body. It's covered by at least one layer and steals some of your precious body heat to maintain its liquid form. 30 minutes into your ride you notice the bottles in your cages are begining to take solid form. At this point you must begin the waterbottle shuffle. Switch a bottle from the cage with the one in your pocket. Isn't that comfortable? That chuck of ice on your back... stealing your body heat? Continue switching and swaping frequently for best results. The longer you wait, the more uncomfortable that next bottle on your back will be so keep practicing the waterbottle shuffle and stay hydrated.

Oh, my lactic test was "very good man." Right on track and ahead of schedule.

Tag, I'm it?

So my bro from Boulder, Allen Krughoff, sent me a message saying that I've been tagged, which means that I'm supposed to list 5 things you may not know about me and then tag 5 other people. I usaully don't participate in these kind of chain mail experiments but hey... it's an easy blog. So:
1. I hate chain letters
2. I got involved in cycling because of the Make-A-Wish Foundation
3. I dropped out of U of M with a 3.8 GPA (I do plan on attaining a degree before I die)
4. I can pour the best latte this side of the Mississippi
5. I only have 5 friends and they have been tagged, so I guess the chain ends here unless...

The first 5 people with blogs who read this are tagged. Please leave a comment stating so.

Other News
Doing a lactic test this weekend... sweet.

What I do

My time during the winter is spent building my sword. Sometime I spend 5 or 6 hours a day building it. The edge and point are not that sharp right now but I don't care about that. It's only November. I want to get my sword really strong and big. Then, at the end of January or maybe the begining of February I'll start sharpening it. The sword building is going great. Sometimes I feel like I want to start sharpening it but I hold back and keep building. After I'm done building for the day, I put it in it's scabbard to rest. It's already pretty big and by May/ June/ July it's going to be one seriously leathal weapon. Image from Wikipedia

Oh so true

"The early days in Belgium must have been lonely, but he did not let that get to him. He was there to learn a trade. He trained and rode hard; went to bed early; spoke on the phone to his girlfriend (later to be his wife) back home. He was in Belgium to do one thing: to become a professional bike rider, and nothing else must be allowed to intrude. It's an attidue, a monkish approach, which doesn't sit well with many young riders contemplating the demands of the sport nowadays."

-Author Graeme Fife refering to Sean Kelly in his book Inside The Peloton.

fall training in Michigan isn't so bad

It's just the winter I don't like.

It takes a break...

After a few weeks off the bike, doing little more than working and walking my dog, I am once again back in training. The end of the season break came a bit early since I had no races after mid-September. So I "got it out of the way" and have returned to training a little earlier than I have in previous years. The end of the season break is an interesting phenomena. You look forward to it the last month (maybe more) of the season but when you're in it, you long to ride again. I feel once again "at home" while on my bike and find purpose to my life while pumping iron in the weightroom throughout the winter. It feels great to suffer the aches and pains of training, the fatigue of winter training ride, the refreshment of a hot shower and an evening on the couch. My legs are clean shaven and I feel like a bike racer again. Still have plenty of work to do before the team training camp in late January, but I'm ready. I guess it takes a break to truely recognize my love for this sport.

Winding Down

Although cyclocross is tempting, it's time for a little break. the last few races of the season went ok but bad luck struck again with an untimely flat in the Tour de Leelanau. The peloton was broken up but I managed to get back into a group that finished, albeit outside the time limit... still top 40 (tough race) . I got 10th the week before in the Grand Rapids Criterium, not a bad day at all. There's something about bike racing though... unless you win you could have done better.

I'm working once againg at Starbucks and looking forward to a good winter of training. I hope to escape the brutal Michigan winter after the holidays. And before you know it I'll be in Albuquerque for training camp. The Cycling Center has some big things in the works for next year so I'm already motivated for next season and I haven't even taken my break!