The day was beautiful for the sport riders!
I started out my morning by squeezing in a pre-ride just before the Kidscomp and First Timers went out on the course. Now that I have been riding most of these trails for 4 years now I don't always think I need to pre-ride, but I was glad I did. I always seem to remember the fun easy flowing sections, but I forget about the punchy little uphills and the roots and other things that tend to slow me down when I don't know the trail. So the pre-ride was good, because it reminded me of the trail and let me make a few adjustments on my bike before my race.
I always do better in a race with a longer warm-up, but I was done with my pre-ride at about 9:45 and my race did not start until 11. I made the mistake of not getting back on my bike again before the race to warm my legs back up. I was going to and just before our race started it rained for just a couple minutes. I really have no excuse, we'll just call it a lesson learned.
Generally I'm a pretty good hill climber. At the start of the race I got a very good start, there were only 2 women ahead of me and then I quickly started to fade. Suddenly I looked and ladies were passing me left and right. Then I heard one of the ladies getting quite a bit of encouragement from her dad, and it sounded like she was about to pass me too. So I dug a little deeper and sped up a bit. I was able to pass a few people up the second hill after the turn and then I was off. I looked ahead and I saw 6 women ahead of me and I was gunning to pass as many as I could. throughout the first lap I was able to pass 3 of them. So I thought that left me in 4th position. The first lap went great, the pre-ride helped immensely. I was able to shift correctly to get up most of the punchy uphills and I knew when I could kick it for a time because the trail was nice and flowing for awhile. I was happy to not have to walk any of the long uphills and I had no crashes.
I passed by the water tent and grabbed a couple of glasses and drank some and dumped some on my back, Matt was waiting for me just passed the water tent to do a hand off. I drank a bit more from my water and grabbed my Acclerade for the last lap. Then Matt proceeded to spray my back with my bottle, which surprised me a bit because it was so cold but it felt great. He then let me know I was in 5th place. I was confused and I said no I think I am in 4th, he said 1 lady was way out front. So I was a little bummed, because generally the faster women in sport are the ladies who are 35+. So the only thing I could do was ride strong and hope to catch some of them.
The second lap went well. After the hill and then there is a small downhill which leads directly into a steep uphill, I made it up about half way then I had to walk the rest. It's not a very long hill, but just before I hopped back on my bike I glanced behind me and noticed one of the ladies I had already passed was right behind me. I shifted down a few gears and took off, I did not want anyone I had already passed passing me back. A little bit later I caught glance of the next lady in front of me, although she was riding strong and I was never able to catch her. I continued to pass guys who were falling back and I never was passed after the initial climb on the first lap. The second lap was much like the first I stayed strong, my legs felt good, and I was flowing through the trail well.
I ended up with 5 overall for the ladies out of 12 and 2nd in my age group out of 5 and 55 out of 97 for the overall Sport category. I didn't recognize any of the 4 ladies ahead of me 1 of them was a Duluth native I always give expect they will beat me. But I googled some of the others after I got home. Kelly Skillicorn was the 1st overall lady and when I looked up her info I found out that earlier this year Kelly won the American Birkebeiner (a 53 kilometer cross country ski race with over 9000 participants the male winner was from Russia) and the rest of Kelly's info told me she has been an elite athlete for years. The other 2 ladies also had athlete backgrounds including winning or coming close to the top in their racing careers also. So then I didn't feel so bad.
Lately I've been feeling like I just don't have the same strength as last year, and I probably don't many rides have been skipped due to moving (twice), the end of school, a cold spring..... But I have been fairing quite well in the races considering, my singletrack riding has gotten faster and flows more smoothly, but my hill climbs have gotten a bit slower I feel (I have no data to back that up, it's just how I feel as I climb). Matt tells me I'm probably more tired on the hills now because I can push it faster through the rest of the race. I hope that's why. I am now back to keeping to my riding schedule as much as I can. Many Saturday rides still get missed, because of traveling to races and Sunday's being races I usually don't get my long endurance ride in for the week (I think that hurts the most). Last year we started our training just before Thanksgiving and this year we didn't start until after January 1st so we were still in our build phase when the race season started. This year I think I will start again near Thanksgiving, if nothing else it helps the body during all the big eating events that happen that time of year.
Mt. Du Lac gave me back some of my confidence though, I remembered how to push hard to try to catch people and how to keep the ride clean to stay ahead of people. I'm looking forward to Mt. Kato this weekend, it is one of my favorite trails.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
MNSCS #3 Dirt Spanker Classic
This year continues to be a struggle, but I can sense my fitness starting to turn for the better. Things have been very busy this spring with the move and combined with the cold spring the training is a little behind. Either way the season is long enough and there is still time to finish strong.
I really like the course at Mt. Du Lac and it fits my riding style very well. I can climb well and ride the technical sections efficiently. My plan was to get a decent jump off the start and settle into a rhythm on the long first climb. I lined up in the second row directly behind Chris Fisher with the Moore brothers, O brothers and Paul Hanson on either side of Chris. In the typical pre start chat between riders many of the discussions were about tire choice and the threat of rain. Barry Tungseth, who was lined up on my left, made the comment that if it did rain it would be short lived and pass quickly.
At the start, the leaders quickly jumped to the lead and by the first steep section had a 8-10 bike lead. I held my position in the middle of the pack until the second steep section before the turn where I started to fade towards the back of the pack. The legs were burning and I had to slow a little to not completely "blow up". On the shallow climb after the turn I allowed a few more riders by, but regained a few positions on the final steep section before the top. The first section of single track I was riding behind a group of 6-8 riders but they slowly pulled away because I was still recovering from the initial climb. I was able to recover slightly and started to regain a respectable pace in the single track and could see the large group in front of me. Things were flowing nicely and I was settling into a decent pace and I could see nobody behind me. Then the rain started to fall, easy at first and we probably all thought it would be very short lived. The rain, however, was not short lived, but rather started to fall harder and the trail started to fall apart quickly. The open sections were starting to get greasy and by the time I hit the back side climb I spun out and had to run up the steep sections. As I started the second lap the rain continued to come down even harder. It was getting difficult to maintain traction on the punchy uphills.
As I approached the third down and up section I heard Eric Guse yell as he was picking himself off the side of the trail. "The downhill section was as slick as glare ice." I tapped my front break to line up for the downhill and skated straight toward the trees on the right. I went OTB instantly and landed with the bike on top of me. Eric and I struggled to push our bikes up the greasy hill and once back on the flat I couldn't get clipped into my right pedal. I stomped hard a couple of times thinking it was simply mud clogging the pedals. A closer look, however, revealed that the cleat was still attached to the pedal and had ripped out of the bottom of the sole. I was thinking how far I needed to ride to get back to the start/finish line and dreading the last climb with only one foot clipped in.
As I have stated before, I hate to DNF and I really love the Dirt Spanker course. I made the decision to make the best of it and finish the race. The rain slowed then stopped and for the remainder of lap 2 the trail started to improve. Not being clipped in was difficult on the technical sections because it was hard to keep the foot on the pedal.
Lap 3 went well and I was able to catch back up to the trailing experts and pass a couple before the start of lap 4. On the final lap the rain made another appearance and by the end of the lap the downhills were almost unrideable again. It was halfway through the final lap that Troy caught up with me. He had been closing the gap for a while and there was nothing I could do to pull away. I had to jump off on one of the steep climbs and he was able to motor on by.
It was good that I finished, but I was a little bummed at the dumb luck I seem to have.
I look forward to next weekends race at Mt. Kato.
I really like the course at Mt. Du Lac and it fits my riding style very well. I can climb well and ride the technical sections efficiently. My plan was to get a decent jump off the start and settle into a rhythm on the long first climb. I lined up in the second row directly behind Chris Fisher with the Moore brothers, O brothers and Paul Hanson on either side of Chris. In the typical pre start chat between riders many of the discussions were about tire choice and the threat of rain. Barry Tungseth, who was lined up on my left, made the comment that if it did rain it would be short lived and pass quickly.
At the start, the leaders quickly jumped to the lead and by the first steep section had a 8-10 bike lead. I held my position in the middle of the pack until the second steep section before the turn where I started to fade towards the back of the pack. The legs were burning and I had to slow a little to not completely "blow up". On the shallow climb after the turn I allowed a few more riders by, but regained a few positions on the final steep section before the top. The first section of single track I was riding behind a group of 6-8 riders but they slowly pulled away because I was still recovering from the initial climb. I was able to recover slightly and started to regain a respectable pace in the single track and could see the large group in front of me. Things were flowing nicely and I was settling into a decent pace and I could see nobody behind me. Then the rain started to fall, easy at first and we probably all thought it would be very short lived. The rain, however, was not short lived, but rather started to fall harder and the trail started to fall apart quickly. The open sections were starting to get greasy and by the time I hit the back side climb I spun out and had to run up the steep sections. As I started the second lap the rain continued to come down even harder. It was getting difficult to maintain traction on the punchy uphills.
As I approached the third down and up section I heard Eric Guse yell as he was picking himself off the side of the trail. "The downhill section was as slick as glare ice." I tapped my front break to line up for the downhill and skated straight toward the trees on the right. I went OTB instantly and landed with the bike on top of me. Eric and I struggled to push our bikes up the greasy hill and once back on the flat I couldn't get clipped into my right pedal. I stomped hard a couple of times thinking it was simply mud clogging the pedals. A closer look, however, revealed that the cleat was still attached to the pedal and had ripped out of the bottom of the sole. I was thinking how far I needed to ride to get back to the start/finish line and dreading the last climb with only one foot clipped in.
As I have stated before, I hate to DNF and I really love the Dirt Spanker course. I made the decision to make the best of it and finish the race. The rain slowed then stopped and for the remainder of lap 2 the trail started to improve. Not being clipped in was difficult on the technical sections because it was hard to keep the foot on the pedal.
Lap 3 went well and I was able to catch back up to the trailing experts and pass a couple before the start of lap 4. On the final lap the rain made another appearance and by the end of the lap the downhills were almost unrideable again. It was halfway through the final lap that Troy caught up with me. He had been closing the gap for a while and there was nothing I could do to pull away. I had to jump off on one of the steep climbs and he was able to motor on by.
It was good that I finished, but I was a little bummed at the dumb luck I seem to have.
I look forward to next weekends race at Mt. Kato.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Late evening ride a Murphy
We packed the family in the van and headed over to Murphy for a nice trail ride. Unfortunately we got a fairly late start because of my commute home and the now routine stop at Home Depot for more "house stuff".
We arrived in the parking lot a little after 8:00 PM and it took a few minutes to get all 6 bikes either off the top or out of the van. Andrea, Jordan, and myself set off leaving the kids to tear around the beginner loop for a while. Part way into the intermediate loop, however, Andrea had to turn around because we heard one of the kids crying. I found out later that it was Devon and he was upset because he didn't want to follow Taylor any more around the beginner loop. I think he will be spending the morning in his room for that one.
I let Jordan lead the way and she was moving nicely through the single track. There are very few weaknesses to her riding. She views the trail very well reacts to the changing trail conditions with ease. She maneuvers through the turns quickly and maintains here momentum. She is learning to stay seated a little more on the extended climbs to utilize all of her leg muscles, but still knows when to stand to get that extra effort when cresting a hill. She could have a little more endurance for the longer races, but for 10 years old she is flying.
1 full lap at Murphy without pushing too hard in 1:01. We will see how she improves as the season progresses. Still trying to keep things simple and let her enjoy all that life has to offer.
We arrived in the parking lot a little after 8:00 PM and it took a few minutes to get all 6 bikes either off the top or out of the van. Andrea, Jordan, and myself set off leaving the kids to tear around the beginner loop for a while. Part way into the intermediate loop, however, Andrea had to turn around because we heard one of the kids crying. I found out later that it was Devon and he was upset because he didn't want to follow Taylor any more around the beginner loop. I think he will be spending the morning in his room for that one.
I let Jordan lead the way and she was moving nicely through the single track. There are very few weaknesses to her riding. She views the trail very well reacts to the changing trail conditions with ease. She maneuvers through the turns quickly and maintains here momentum. She is learning to stay seated a little more on the extended climbs to utilize all of her leg muscles, but still knows when to stand to get that extra effort when cresting a hill. She could have a little more endurance for the longer races, but for 10 years old she is flying.
1 full lap at Murphy without pushing too hard in 1:01. We will see how she improves as the season progresses. Still trying to keep things simple and let her enjoy all that life has to offer.
Monday, June 09, 2008
Live and Learn!
Note to self: After a long couple of weeks ending in a move to our new house followed by a week of little sleep, poor nutrition, and a complete absence of time on the bike... DO NOT RIDE THE SINGLE SPEED, especially at AFTON.
OK, I am done making excuses. I will say that dropping out of a race for non mechanical reasons doesn't sit well with me and this is the first time I have done so. I will use this feeling to be better prepared for the next race at Mt. DuLac.
I knew it was going to be a long day when I started to feel a little dizzy before the race. The first lap started out fairly controlled and although the leaders got a fairly good jump they weren't that far ahead before the pill up leading the first section of single track. I managed to get by 4 or 5 riders on the low side before ducking into the single track. I managed to muscle the single up the rubber tread on the bridge loop but had to dismount on the step switchbacks leading into shady lane. I soon found out that I neither had the gearing nor the legs to handle the steep climbs out at Afton. I found myself using so much effort to simple keep the legs turning over that by the end of lap one I felt like I had rode a complete race. I stopped near the water tent after lap one to grab a hand off from Andrea and contemplated my choices. I decided to push on for one more lap and see how I felt. Although I didn't feel any worse on lap two, I also didn't feel any better. I was walking most of the steeper climbs which helped the legs out a little, but I could feel them starting to cramp up when I would stand and climb. After lap two I decided to shut it down and watch the "true" experts finish.
Great job to all those who pushed on and raced a long race.
Andrea, also had bummer luck by flatting only 15 minutes into the race. Since I haven't had time to apply the Stan's to her tires yet and she didn't carry a tube and pump meant she was out for the day. She is really bummed because Afton is one of her favorite courses. Crazy nut!
On a brighter note Jordan had a very good race easily finishing first overall for the citizen women. She made the comment after the race that the race was too short, finishing up with a time a little over 54 minutes. Despite the slick conditions she keep the bike upright the entire race and finished strong.
OK, I am done making excuses. I will say that dropping out of a race for non mechanical reasons doesn't sit well with me and this is the first time I have done so. I will use this feeling to be better prepared for the next race at Mt. DuLac.
I knew it was going to be a long day when I started to feel a little dizzy before the race. The first lap started out fairly controlled and although the leaders got a fairly good jump they weren't that far ahead before the pill up leading the first section of single track. I managed to get by 4 or 5 riders on the low side before ducking into the single track. I managed to muscle the single up the rubber tread on the bridge loop but had to dismount on the step switchbacks leading into shady lane. I soon found out that I neither had the gearing nor the legs to handle the steep climbs out at Afton. I found myself using so much effort to simple keep the legs turning over that by the end of lap one I felt like I had rode a complete race. I stopped near the water tent after lap one to grab a hand off from Andrea and contemplated my choices. I decided to push on for one more lap and see how I felt. Although I didn't feel any worse on lap two, I also didn't feel any better. I was walking most of the steeper climbs which helped the legs out a little, but I could feel them starting to cramp up when I would stand and climb. After lap two I decided to shut it down and watch the "true" experts finish.
Great job to all those who pushed on and raced a long race.
Andrea, also had bummer luck by flatting only 15 minutes into the race. Since I haven't had time to apply the Stan's to her tires yet and she didn't carry a tube and pump meant she was out for the day. She is really bummed because Afton is one of her favorite courses. Crazy nut!
On a brighter note Jordan had a very good race easily finishing first overall for the citizen women. She made the comment after the race that the race was too short, finishing up with a time a little over 54 minutes. Despite the slick conditions she keep the bike upright the entire race and finished strong.
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Update - We are in Transition!
If we been a bit out of touch - like Matt saying we had a little 3 weeks until the Spring Cup when it was actually a little over 2 weeks - it's because we are in transition. We sold our house and the 6 of us along with 10 bikes are now cohabitating in a 2 bedroom townhouse. (We do not have a garage.)
The dog is the only lucky one - she went to live at grandma's until we move into a new house. Which if all goes well will be very soon. We found another house in Savage MLS # 3518513 and after going back and forth with the seller for a week we now have a signed purchase agreement and a closing date of May29th. It will be nice to not share 1 bathroom and not sleep in the living room.
Matt and I finally were back on the bike last week for the 1st time in 17 days for Matt and about 2 weeks for me. We went out on the road for 1 1/2 hours for an endurance ride. Then Sunday we were able to get out and pre-ride at Harmon Park. Yesterday was a day off and today we had an hour ride of jump sprints. It has been nice to finally get back on the saddle, I'm a little worried about Sunday's race considering we have only been on the dirt once. We will see. Although, as of right now we are planning on getting to Buck Hill on Thursday, that will probably give us some indication of where we stand.
The dog is the only lucky one - she went to live at grandma's until we move into a new house. Which if all goes well will be very soon. We found another house in Savage MLS # 3518513 and after going back and forth with the seller for a week we now have a signed purchase agreement and a closing date of May29th. It will be nice to not share 1 bathroom and not sleep in the living room.
Matt and I finally were back on the bike last week for the 1st time in 17 days for Matt and about 2 weeks for me. We went out on the road for 1 1/2 hours for an endurance ride. Then Sunday we were able to get out and pre-ride at Harmon Park. Yesterday was a day off and today we had an hour ride of jump sprints. It has been nice to finally get back on the saddle, I'm a little worried about Sunday's race considering we have only been on the dirt once. We will see. Although, as of right now we are planning on getting to Buck Hill on Thursday, that will probably give us some indication of where we stand.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
I think I'm in trouble
I just realized today that the first race of the MNSCS series is a little over 3 weeks away. Unfortunately with all the activity over the past few weeks I have found little time or energy to train. The house has "officially" SOLD. All we have to do now is find a new place to live, make sure it is in "move in" condition and move all our stuff. Hopefully I can get back into training and still have enough time to ensure that I don't get lapped by the leaders. We will be back in town this weekend looking at few more homes. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and the trails will be dry enough to bring the family out for some excitement.
Friday, April 18, 2008
April 18th - Andrea's Training Log
4:30 came mighty early this morning, but I did it I got out of bed and finished a good ride. My ride this morning was 5 - 6 minutes cruise intervals after a 20 minute warmup and then followed by 25 minutes at an endurance ride speed. The intervals all felt great and they got better as I went.
I don't know how much riding I will get in this weekend, we have a full weekend of fitting everything from our house into a 48 foot trailer.
I don't know how much riding I will get in this weekend, we have a full weekend of fitting everything from our house into a 48 foot trailer.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
April 17th - Andrea's Training Log and Ramblings
Well today's ride was suppose to be yesterday's ride, but instead of hitting the snooze button I turned the 1st alarm off and woke up at 5:45am instead of 4:30am, which is much too late to get my 1.5 hour ride in before my daycare kids show-up. So I took my day off early this week. My work out for yesterday consisted of non-stop packing and the only time I sat down all day was to eat.
So today, being my day off from work, I got on the trainer at 5:40am and had a 1.5 hour endurance ride. My legs felt sore and heavy for much of the ride, but the rest of the day they felt great. Then the rest of my day was again non-stop packing and I ended the day helping take down the kids play-set, this is no small play-set we are talking about.
Ours is in the foreground.
Tomorrow is my last day of doing daycare and then I will be unemployed. I don't know how I feel about that. In some ways it will be back to normal after 2 1/2 years, but in other ways I think I may get a little antsy to be doing something. I'm sure for the summer I am going to enjoy the time with my kids tremendously and just concentrate on biking and biking trips, and hopefully finding and getting ready a new home. But then in the fall when the kids go to school and Wyatt starts kindergarten, what will I do? I have a bachelor of science degree in Management Information Systems from 12 years ago that I never used except for a college job, I now fear that my degree is outdated.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
April 15th - Andrea's Training Log
I figured the only way I am going to stay accountable for my workouts is to write about them daily on the blog.
I have finished all my base miles by completing the 3 base phases and now I am in week 3 of the build 1 phase. I generally like to get up early and ride, but this morning I just couldn't pull myself out of bed. As I laid there this morning I felt my legs still sore from Sunday's endurance ride and Saturday's anaerobic intervals and I stayed up way too late last night. So after we got all the kids to bed tonight I hopped on the bike about 8:30 for my ride. Tonight's ride was a P1 for those of you familiar with Friel's Mountain Bikers Training Bible, it was a short 1 hour ride which consisted of a 10 minute warm up, and 25 jumps - in sets of 5 - each 1 minute apart with 5 minutes in between. The 1st set was rough, I was not warmed up enough and my legs still felt dead from the weekend. The next 4 sets went much better and my legs felt good after the ride was over.
I have finished all my base miles by completing the 3 base phases and now I am in week 3 of the build 1 phase. I generally like to get up early and ride, but this morning I just couldn't pull myself out of bed. As I laid there this morning I felt my legs still sore from Sunday's endurance ride and Saturday's anaerobic intervals and I stayed up way too late last night. So after we got all the kids to bed tonight I hopped on the bike about 8:30 for my ride. Tonight's ride was a P1 for those of you familiar with Friel's Mountain Bikers Training Bible, it was a short 1 hour ride which consisted of a 10 minute warm up, and 25 jumps - in sets of 5 - each 1 minute apart with 5 minutes in between. The 1st set was rough, I was not warmed up enough and my legs still felt dead from the weekend. The next 4 sets went much better and my legs felt good after the ride was over.
Monday, April 14, 2008
So, maybe we didn't buy a house!
Well the paperwork fell through and the bank considered our offer a contingent offer so they would not accept it, even though the banks real estate agent said they did accept the offer. So we are back to square one.
We are still moving out of the house in Hutchinson on April 24th and from there we will go to a rental town home until the end of the school year or until we find a house, whichever is later.
After the closing is said and done then we will start looking again. We are concentrating on the Savage/Shakopee area. We'll keep you posted.
I hate moving!! But I really want to be back in the Twin Cities.
We are still moving out of the house in Hutchinson on April 24th and from there we will go to a rental town home until the end of the school year or until we find a house, whichever is later.
After the closing is said and done then we will start looking again. We are concentrating on the Savage/Shakopee area. We'll keep you posted.
I hate moving!! But I really want to be back in the Twin Cities.
Friday, April 04, 2008
We bought a new house!!
We just sold our house here in Hutchinson and found out today that our purchase agreement was accepted on a house in Savage. We will only be 2 1/2 miles from Murphy.
We close on the house in Hutchinson on April 24th and we close on the house in Savage on May 1st. We will be staying here in Hutchinson until the end of school year so the kids can finish out the year. That will give us a chance to go to the new house on the weekends and do some cosmetic updates. We will probably move in Memorial Day Weekend.
We close on the house in Hutchinson on April 24th and we close on the house in Savage on May 1st. We will be staying here in Hutchinson until the end of school year so the kids can finish out the year. That will give us a chance to go to the new house on the weekends and do some cosmetic updates. We will probably move in Memorial Day Weekend.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Are You Sure Spring is Only 3 Days Away?
The saddest thing in the world happened yesterday. Wyatt our 5 year old came downstairs yesterday morning and melted in a heap of sad sobs when he looked outside and saw all the snow. After tearing around on his bike continuously for the previous 2 days the sight of the snow was more than he could handle. He tearfully asked, "Mommy why did it have to snow?" Then his next slightly angered question was, "So when does Spring start?" I told him 3 days and he looked at me like I was out of my mind. I knew how he felt, Spring break started on Monday and with 6 kids here all week I was so looking forward to them being able to spend a lot of time outside. But with this weather there is absolutely nothing they can do outside without getting totally wet and muddy. The roads appear to be drying out and hopefully tomorrow they can venture out.
As for me it needs to be above 40 degrees for me to venture out, so for now the trainer and I continue to spend quite a lot of time together.
On a happier note we have a signed contingent offer on our house and we have another couple coming to look at it for a 2nd time tomorrow, so with any luck we should be moved to the Twin Cities by the beginning of summer.
Happy Training Everyone!!
As for me it needs to be above 40 degrees for me to venture out, so for now the trainer and I continue to spend quite a lot of time together.
On a happier note we have a signed contingent offer on our house and we have another couple coming to look at it for a 2nd time tomorrow, so with any luck we should be moved to the Twin Cities by the beginning of summer.
Happy Training Everyone!!
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Nice weather! I can hardly wait
I know that it is only March, but I can hardly wait for the snow to go away and the trails to dry up. The knobbies on the new Fisher Rig have never seen dirt and are itching to be pushed through some twisty single track. This year I hope to get out on the trails much more than last year, hopefully the move back to the cities will happen sooner than later.
Last night Devon and I worked on his bike to get it set up to handle the single track trails better. He has a Redline mini racing BMX bike that is very light (16+ lbs) but it is geared really tall 37x14 and has 1 1/8" racing tires on it. We changed out the tires to 1 3/8" knobbies, added a 16t rear cog, and replaced the chain to accommodate the larger cog. After the upgrades he took it out for a trial. I was surprised that with the lower gearing he didn't loose any top speed, but gained a great deal of acceleration. The new tires added some stability without sacrificing much rolling resistance and will be much better in the dirt. He is going to tear it up on the beginner section at Lebanon Hills.
Wyatt also got out for a ride and is sporting a new helmet. With the way he rides I am sure it will get used.
Training is going well, but I have a touch of a sore throat and I hope it doesn't turn into something bigger.
Last night Devon and I worked on his bike to get it set up to handle the single track trails better. He has a Redline mini racing BMX bike that is very light (16+ lbs) but it is geared really tall 37x14 and has 1 1/8" racing tires on it. We changed out the tires to 1 3/8" knobbies, added a 16t rear cog, and replaced the chain to accommodate the larger cog. After the upgrades he took it out for a trial. I was surprised that with the lower gearing he didn't loose any top speed, but gained a great deal of acceleration. The new tires added some stability without sacrificing much rolling resistance and will be much better in the dirt. He is going to tear it up on the beginner section at Lebanon Hills.
Wyatt also got out for a ride and is sporting a new helmet. With the way he rides I am sure it will get used.
Training is going well, but I have a touch of a sore throat and I hope it doesn't turn into something bigger.
Friday, March 07, 2008
Yes, we're are still here!
I know it has been a while since the last post and shame on me for not keeping this updated. In my excuse we have been a little busy over the last couple of months.
We recently put our house up for sale and will be looking for a home in the twin cities (Eden Prairie, Bloominton, Minnetonka). If anyone is looking for a really nice home in Hutchinson, please feel free to give us a call.
MLS# 3500221
Although the move will put us closer to exerted family, the primary reason is to be closer to good mountain biking and the friends we have met the past few years while racing. The move will not be without any drawbacks, as the commute will be about an hour each way from the western edge of the cities to Hutchinson. It will be a small price to pay, however, to live in a place that we can call "home". Last summer we were home only 1 weekend the entire summer, the remainder were spent at either one of our parents or in a hotel. We are now playing the waiting game to see what interest there is in our house.
On the training front, this year is going much better than last year. The first week of base 3 has just begun and more intensity has been added to the steady diet of endurance and spinning. I like this point in the training because I start to get some indicators of performance. For example, earlier in the week I performed a set of low cadence intervals lasting 1.5 minutes each on the trainer at 360 watts. The important take-away from that session was the fact that I was able to hold or exceed the ave speed of each successive interval. In comparison last year I was able to start out a little over 23 mph but the speed of each successive interval dropped and I had difficulty completing the workout.
Tonight I have a set of cruise intervals (4 x 6 min). Last year I was able to hold 290 watts. This year I will shoot for 300+ watts and try to maintain that level on each of the intervals.
We recently put our house up for sale and will be looking for a home in the twin cities (Eden Prairie, Bloominton, Minnetonka). If anyone is looking for a really nice home in Hutchinson, please feel free to give us a call.
MLS# 3500221
Although the move will put us closer to exerted family, the primary reason is to be closer to good mountain biking and the friends we have met the past few years while racing. The move will not be without any drawbacks, as the commute will be about an hour each way from the western edge of the cities to Hutchinson. It will be a small price to pay, however, to live in a place that we can call "home". Last summer we were home only 1 weekend the entire summer, the remainder were spent at either one of our parents or in a hotel. We are now playing the waiting game to see what interest there is in our house.
On the training front, this year is going much better than last year. The first week of base 3 has just begun and more intensity has been added to the steady diet of endurance and spinning. I like this point in the training because I start to get some indicators of performance. For example, earlier in the week I performed a set of low cadence intervals lasting 1.5 minutes each on the trainer at 360 watts. The important take-away from that session was the fact that I was able to hold or exceed the ave speed of each successive interval. In comparison last year I was able to start out a little over 23 mph but the speed of each successive interval dropped and I had difficulty completing the workout.
Tonight I have a set of cruise intervals (4 x 6 min). Last year I was able to hold 290 watts. This year I will shoot for 300+ watts and try to maintain that level on each of the intervals.
Andrea's training is going strong and she is confident that she will do extremely well racing in the sport class. The endurance is there and her technical ability is now very good. One thing that she needs to work on is her aggressiveness during the races. In the past she had made many comments about getting stuck behind slower riders and being held up. She needs to be a little more aggressive at times to push ahead and gain as many positions as possible when the conditions are right to make a pass. I think working on some short sprints will be beneficial.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
The plan (Hillside Sunday Morning)
Andrea and I plan on going out for a wintery trail ride at Hillside tomorrow morning. Hopefully the trail is still in great shape. It got a little warmer today, but not so much that the trail would get affected (I hope). I have little to know experience trail ridding in the snow so it should be interesting.
Andrea will be riding her Supercal FS and I will be taking out the new RIG on its maiden voyage. Every time I sit on the Rig it feels even better, but I will hold out judgment until I actually put it through its paces on the trail.
We plan on getting out just after the sun comes up. Hopefully the temps will remain mild over night, because I have a hard time staying warm when it is cold out. I will try to pust up later tomorrow with an update of the trail and the bike.
Later
Andrea will be riding her Supercal FS and I will be taking out the new RIG on its maiden voyage. Every time I sit on the Rig it feels even better, but I will hold out judgment until I actually put it through its paces on the trail.
We plan on getting out just after the sun comes up. Hopefully the temps will remain mild over night, because I have a hard time staying warm when it is cold out. I will try to pust up later tomorrow with an update of the trail and the bike.
Later
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Training
Training is going really well for the 2008 season (So Far)
As stated earlier, my training focus has changed from last year. I am trying to be more realistic in terms of the time and energy I have to devote to training. Last year I trained too hard and tried to make too big of gains in the attempt to compete in the Expert class after moving up from sport. This effort left me felling tired and worn-out going into the races and I was not happy with my results. More importantly I was not having as much fun as I would have liked. It got to a point where I did not care if I raced or not, but I always enjoyed watching the other family members race.
This year the goal is to go into the races rested and refreshed both physically and mentally. In order to achieve this I have lowered the overall hours on the bike and plan my weeks to allow sufficient rest periods between critical workouts.
I have completed the first two weeks in the Build 1 phase and have one more week of increasing volume before a rest week with some testing. The first two weeks have gone really well. In general the legs are feeling really good and starting to feel fairly strong despite any significant intensity. My endurance has come back quickly and despite starting training almost 1.5 months later my efficiency during the endurance rides is ahead of last year. I was fairly consistent with the weight training during the Prep phase, but I have missed the last couple of weeks. I am having trouble working in the weight work (especially legs) and allowing enough recovery. I might see if I can work one good leg workout and two upper body workouts per week
This week coming up may be a little difficult because I need to find a way to get all the workouts in and we have company coming for Wyatts 5th birthday. I think I should be able to shift things around a little bit to make it work, but it may require getting up early for a ride or two
I hope everyone else is having a good start to their year.
As stated earlier, my training focus has changed from last year. I am trying to be more realistic in terms of the time and energy I have to devote to training. Last year I trained too hard and tried to make too big of gains in the attempt to compete in the Expert class after moving up from sport. This effort left me felling tired and worn-out going into the races and I was not happy with my results. More importantly I was not having as much fun as I would have liked. It got to a point where I did not care if I raced or not, but I always enjoyed watching the other family members race.
This year the goal is to go into the races rested and refreshed both physically and mentally. In order to achieve this I have lowered the overall hours on the bike and plan my weeks to allow sufficient rest periods between critical workouts.
I have completed the first two weeks in the Build 1 phase and have one more week of increasing volume before a rest week with some testing. The first two weeks have gone really well. In general the legs are feeling really good and starting to feel fairly strong despite any significant intensity. My endurance has come back quickly and despite starting training almost 1.5 months later my efficiency during the endurance rides is ahead of last year. I was fairly consistent with the weight training during the Prep phase, but I have missed the last couple of weeks. I am having trouble working in the weight work (especially legs) and allowing enough recovery. I might see if I can work one good leg workout and two upper body workouts per week
This week coming up may be a little difficult because I need to find a way to get all the workouts in and we have company coming for Wyatts 5th birthday. I think I should be able to shift things around a little bit to make it work, but it may require getting up early for a ride or two
I hope everyone else is having a good start to their year.
Monday, January 07, 2008
As Promised (but late) Pictures of the new Rig
2008 Gary Fisher Rig
It seems as though some people are a little impatient. I think it has to do with it being winter and wishing the weather was warm and the single track was dry. Anyway as I had promised here are some pictures of the new 2008 Fisher Rig. The bike doesn't have the "bling" factor of many of the new 29ers, but the build is a solid platform. The frame is all new for 08 and incorporates the new G2 geometry which is designed to offer quicker slow speed handling while preserving the beneficial traits of 29ers.
It seems as though some people are a little impatient. I think it has to do with it being winter and wishing the weather was warm and the single track was dry. Anyway as I had promised here are some pictures of the new 2008 Fisher Rig. The bike doesn't have the "bling" factor of many of the new 29ers, but the build is a solid platform. The frame is all new for 08 and incorporates the new G2 geometry which is designed to offer quicker slow speed handling while preserving the beneficial traits of 29ers.
Fork
The bike also comes stock with the new FOX F29RL fork which is fairly light and very stiff. At my weight, I will probably not notice the stiffness, but the fork is supposedly very plush and tracks extremely well. I will have to wait and see.
Drivetrain
The drivetrain is fairly straitforward. The crank is a single speed ISIS drive bontrager with a 32t aluminum chain ring with an aluminum bash guard. The rear cog is a 18t steel. The 32/18 gearing with 29" tires should work fairly well on many of the relatively flat trails but will be fairly tall for racing.
I am up in the air at this time if I am going to race this bike next year. The original plan was to just have a single speed to bring back some of the fun. To ride in its purest form.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
New Ride!
I got an early Christmas present. Satuday morning I recieved a phone call from Outdoor Motion, the local bike shop in Hutchinson, that my bike had arrived and was ready to be picked up. I was really surprised because it was on backorder and the anticpated ship date was some time in February. The 2008 Gary Fisher Rig is a very nice looking bike with a decent component group considering the price. The bike comes stock with the new Fox F80RL 29er fork, tubless ready wheelset and Avid BB7 brakes.
I haven't had a chance to take it out for a ride yet, but the bike feels very comfortable and the cockpit feels spot on. The only changes I have made are a Bontrager X lite carbon flat bar (with less sweep) and I removed the spacers under the stem and placing them on top. Compared to the Supercal FS the bike is slightly more upright and the bar to saddle length is nearly 2 inches shorter. Despite the larger wheels the bike feels surprisingly compact. I can already sense the benefit of the larger wheels and their ability to roll over obstacles with ease. When I ride into the family room from the kitchen down the two stairs, the bike rolls almost effortlessly. In contrast, the 26" wheels are noticeably rougher down the same stairs.
The bike is no lightweight, but considering the components not too bad. The bike stock comes with realatively heavy Bontrager ACX 2.2" tires and I currently have my old Time ATAC aluminum pedals on. In the current state, the bike still weighs a respectable 25.8# (size medium 17.5"). Interestingly that is the same exact weight as my Supercal FS. In comparison my race HT weighs about 22.5#.
I haven't had a chance to take it out for a ride yet, but the bike feels very comfortable and the cockpit feels spot on. The only changes I have made are a Bontrager X lite carbon flat bar (with less sweep) and I removed the spacers under the stem and placing them on top. Compared to the Supercal FS the bike is slightly more upright and the bar to saddle length is nearly 2 inches shorter. Despite the larger wheels the bike feels surprisingly compact. I can already sense the benefit of the larger wheels and their ability to roll over obstacles with ease. When I ride into the family room from the kitchen down the two stairs, the bike rolls almost effortlessly. In contrast, the 26" wheels are noticeably rougher down the same stairs.
The bike is no lightweight, but considering the components not too bad. The bike stock comes with realatively heavy Bontrager ACX 2.2" tires and I currently have my old Time ATAC aluminum pedals on. In the current state, the bike still weighs a respectable 25.8# (size medium 17.5"). Interestingly that is the same exact weight as my Supercal FS. In comparison my race HT weighs about 22.5#.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Nice Weekend for a Ride!
Andrea and I spent the Thanksgiving extended weekend at my parents in Cottage Grove. We had an enjoyable thanksgiving weekend and even got out for a couple of rides.
We had contemplated going out early Thursday morning, but decided to sleep in instead. We decided our next chance would be on Saturday because Andrea would be pulling a marathon shopping spree on Friday starting at 4:00 AM. Unfortunately I made the mistake of not setting an alarm and we didn't get up until after the kids were running around. We didn't want to leave and let my parents take care of getting breakfast for the kids so we hung out until a little after 11:00. We made the drive to Lebannon Hills and met up with Dana and Jodi who had arrive shortly before we did. The conditions were near perfect with temps in the mid 30s with a slight breeze. The trail was in great shape with a light dusting of snow in a few areas not touched by sun. We rode the intermediate, X, XX, X, and intermediate to complete one lap. We stopped a few time so the ladies could build up enough courage to clear some of the larger log climbs and the camel back. Good job ladies! It was a fun ride and we would have liked to do another lap, but it was getting a little late and we needed get back to the house to relieve my mom.
Sunday morning we finally got up early and was at the trail a little after 7:15 AM. The sun was just coming up and the air was cool and crisp around 25 degrees. We started out fairly slow but soon picked it up to a reasonable pace. We rode the intermediate, X, intermediate-out loop in a little over 38 minutes. The conditions were perfect and the trail was in great shape besides being frozen. Andrea was pushing a good pace and flowing nicely through the turns. On the completion of the first lap we made one circle around the parking lot and headed back in for another lap. Andrea picked up the pace and was working it fairly hard on the first section especially on the climbs. part way through the lap we were both getting a little tired and our pace slowed slightly but we still kept a decent pace. After the X section we entered the "dream" section of the trail and I told Andrea to let the bike go and use the berms to carry momentum. We railed the entire section and had a blast. A little before the end of the trail after the intermediate section dumps out onto the beginner loop Andrea hit a small hidden section of ice around a turn and went down hard on her right side. The sun from the day before must have brought some of the frost to the surface and it refroze over night. After flipping the bars back around and straitening the stem we were back on our bikes. We made the decision ride the beginner loop to spin the legs out and quickly packed up the bike to get back for breakfast.
Great rides and some fun time with friends this past weekend. I hope the weather holds out so we can get out some more before the season ends.
We had contemplated going out early Thursday morning, but decided to sleep in instead. We decided our next chance would be on Saturday because Andrea would be pulling a marathon shopping spree on Friday starting at 4:00 AM. Unfortunately I made the mistake of not setting an alarm and we didn't get up until after the kids were running around. We didn't want to leave and let my parents take care of getting breakfast for the kids so we hung out until a little after 11:00. We made the drive to Lebannon Hills and met up with Dana and Jodi who had arrive shortly before we did. The conditions were near perfect with temps in the mid 30s with a slight breeze. The trail was in great shape with a light dusting of snow in a few areas not touched by sun. We rode the intermediate, X, XX, X, and intermediate to complete one lap. We stopped a few time so the ladies could build up enough courage to clear some of the larger log climbs and the camel back. Good job ladies! It was a fun ride and we would have liked to do another lap, but it was getting a little late and we needed get back to the house to relieve my mom.
Sunday morning we finally got up early and was at the trail a little after 7:15 AM. The sun was just coming up and the air was cool and crisp around 25 degrees. We started out fairly slow but soon picked it up to a reasonable pace. We rode the intermediate, X, intermediate-out loop in a little over 38 minutes. The conditions were perfect and the trail was in great shape besides being frozen. Andrea was pushing a good pace and flowing nicely through the turns. On the completion of the first lap we made one circle around the parking lot and headed back in for another lap. Andrea picked up the pace and was working it fairly hard on the first section especially on the climbs. part way through the lap we were both getting a little tired and our pace slowed slightly but we still kept a decent pace. After the X section we entered the "dream" section of the trail and I told Andrea to let the bike go and use the berms to carry momentum. We railed the entire section and had a blast. A little before the end of the trail after the intermediate section dumps out onto the beginner loop Andrea hit a small hidden section of ice around a turn and went down hard on her right side. The sun from the day before must have brought some of the frost to the surface and it refroze over night. After flipping the bars back around and straitening the stem we were back on our bikes. We made the decision ride the beginner loop to spin the legs out and quickly packed up the bike to get back for breakfast.
Great rides and some fun time with friends this past weekend. I hope the weather holds out so we can get out some more before the season ends.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Training?
I have been taking a "I don't care" attitude towards training the past few months. I got a little burnt out this last season by all the training and stress of moving up from sport to expert. For next season I am going to back down the training hours and focus on quality workouts paying attention to how my body feels. Last year I got into the vicious cycle of not pushing hard enough on the high intensity workouts and trying to make up for it by pushing my endurance rides too hard. Most of the time this last summer I felt tired and the legs never felt like they had a great deal of strength and endurance.
I have been toying with the idea of building up a single speed for next season for two reasons. One, to bring back some of the fun by riding a bike that needs very little attention and is simple by nature. Two, to build up the leg strength by pushing hard gears up the climbs. We will see what happens, I will probably need to save a few pennies before I can justify the purchase of another bike. If it does happen it will probably be this.
Andrea and I are going to try to get out Saturday morning for a ride at Lebanon Hills. It might be a little cold, but I am looking forward to a trail ride after all the racing this past year. If anyone would like to join us we should be there around 7:00 AM and will probably complete a couple of laps.
I have been toying with the idea of building up a single speed for next season for two reasons. One, to bring back some of the fun by riding a bike that needs very little attention and is simple by nature. Two, to build up the leg strength by pushing hard gears up the climbs. We will see what happens, I will probably need to save a few pennies before I can justify the purchase of another bike. If it does happen it will probably be this.
Andrea and I are going to try to get out Saturday morning for a ride at Lebanon Hills. It might be a little cold, but I am looking forward to a trail ride after all the racing this past year. If anyone would like to join us we should be there around 7:00 AM and will probably complete a couple of laps.
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