Road Work

Boxers and fighters know all too well about road work.  It is often tedious and lengthy.  A couple weeks ago I had other commitments that kept me from riding for six days.  I was just getting comfortable enough to start serious climbing.  Upon getting back on my bike I did an early morning climb that is usually hard, but not to the point of frustration.  This didn't go well and kind of got in my head.  So..............hit the road.

This morning was my fifth morning of fairly hard, unrelenting riding on the road.  As with any "road work", you can milk it, or make it as hard as you want.  These rides where mostly all the same, a mix of quick hills, rollers, long flats, corner to corner sprints and so on.  This morning I pushed it a little harder, took all the hills along the way and started without any nutrition.  At 50 minutes I sucked on a single CLIFF Shot Block.  At the turn around point (Cemetery Point), I didn't slow down nearly as much as I usually do (they post it to only 10 MPH) and gassed it out from the gate to retrace my route back home.  At 95 minutes I put down another Shot Block and stayed in the harder gears back to Wolf Creek, up a quick 10% grade.  The last four miles home are always a struggle, with a constant grade pushing back the entire way.  Two little hills before the last tall grade make for an often brutal combination.  Because I need to really make large scale improvements, I again chose to take an extra mile loop with an exceptionally hard "spoke-bending" hill right at the end.  I was pretty wasted, having been on the bike, at rate, for three-hours non-stop.  It put me right on the edge of the dreaded "bonk".  A good finish for five sessions of road work.  I'll give it a B- for the past week.

Saturday is the return to extended climbing.  Not sure which way to go, but I'm kind of leaning toward Monte Cristo.

Peter Green sums it up nicely.  Enjoy the classic riff and trail-off.  "Oh Well"

 Click Here - Oh Well

Ride Hard..............................

Gotta Start Somewhere....................

Mid-Season and a lot to do.

Every year has it's struggles.  This year has been no different, trying to fight off another "five year curse", but I'm not superstitious.  I'm little behind on miles, dealing with a few minor mechanical issues and general conditioning...........well, there is a lot yet to do.  Fundraising is another story, but even more pathetic to date.

As always, there have been too many new reasons to join the fight with Huntsman Cancer, but I won't dwell on them this year - in the blog anyway.  It is still my personal motivation that I will keep to myself for the most part.  

Now that you are here, I will focus on the over weight, over aged, over ambitious sorry excuse for a bike rider, that is trying to train for the one big race of the year - LOTOJA (Logan To Jackson).  For some of you, this will be familiar as you may be a rider, or former rider yourself.  For others, it will be foreign, to the point of what may otherwise appear as self-deprecating stupidity.   Regardless, follow along with somebody who really has no business being on bicycle, trying to make it another successful year both riding and fundraising.

Blog Disclaimer

I'm not very good at this - any of it, whatever it is.  I'll do my best to make the pages easy to use and perhaps leave comments.  Be prepared; as a terrible writer I'm bound to drive many of you literary types crazy with my "pigeon" grammar.

To date I'm at a paltry 1200 miles, about 17 pounds over budget and lacking motivation.  The one advantage I do have at this point; a ton of experience.  Now I just need to plan, focus and execute.  Staying healthy is also key, like not over doing it, as I did tonight.  But like the underdog fighter that staggers back to the corner at the bell, after having the crap kicked out of him, would say; "I've got him just where I want him".

Ride hard..........................