I cleaned my drivetrain the other night; put a fresh new 10 speed chain(stripped of the factory gunk) on, cleaned the rings, cassette... everything (cleaned off the pulleys... didn't feel like stripping them). I wish I had taken a picture... it was CLEAN! It sparkled, and boy did it feel good during Tuesday morning's cruise intervals.
Hmm... as for Jeff Cup; not much to report. I made it until the 3rd lap when I got gapped on one of the hills. After getting popped, I dropped out, as I didn't feel like rding two more laps off pace. The race was fast... but I wasn't drifting from the front to the back effectively on the climbs.
Allergy-wise, I seem to be getting back on track. After a week and a half, the allergy medicine is finally kicking in; I feel much better. The past couple of days' workouts have been outstanding... I'm once again crushing the intervals. Watch out.
According to the rumor mill... junction will be opening for Agents of Good Roots in Charlottesville this June. Both bands reuniting for one night? I'll have to make a call or two.
Tyson's Corner this weekend.
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Agents of Good Roots
Did anybody else have trouble sleeping last night? I sure did... I slept like a rock for a few hours, and the tossed and turned for the remainder. I decided to procrastinate on my workout today... instead of riding the trainer doing sub-thershold intervals this morning, I'll do them tonight. Not really looking forward to it... but it's a trainer specific workout. I'd love to have a trainer with built in programmable power so that I could set it at the right output with no deviation. But I suppose riding the trainer with a PT is better than nothing! I've just got to keep a keen eye on the power output. We have a CompuTrainer here at work that would make a great tool; sometime I'll make use of it. I look forward to running the SpinScan sometime soon; I scored pretty well last time, and hopefully well show improvement next time. I finally feel like I'm getting smooth on the bike again... I was a little rough for a couple of weeks.
I rediscovered on of the greatest bands ever a couple weeks ago. I've never forgotten about them; I just had not been relying on CD's while driving. Agents of Good Roots. That's all there is to say. One of, if not the best and most talents acts to come out of Virginia. Unfortunately they disbanded a few years ago. They were briefly signed to RCA, with some success on Modern Rock and Adult Alternative Contemporary with two completely different songs. It was their live show that really made AGR. Completely different from night to night, with no telling what to expect from show to show. I know I must have seen them at least 80, if not 100 times... never once was the show the same. It's not like some Phish or Panic thing either... they weren't really a jam band, although it was easy to label them as so. They were very much a jazz induced rock band, and definitely not strangers to improv. The amount of musical talent on stage was astonishing, and very complimentary... it was musical magic in the making. Their final album, recorded for RCA but independently released, was a definite show piece for what they could achieve. Needle and Thread is amazing, "Shotdown" brings back memories of Wednesday nights at Alley Katz... I've NEVER heard a band capture the live feeling of a song in the studio! Simply amazing. I often though Agents of Good Roots were at least 5 years ahead of their time, listening to Needle and Thread, I found myself thinking, "This stuff is pretty relevent now!" Not that their music was ever irrelevant (although a stint with a different bass player made them more a jam band briefly)... but I think the album could be successful finally in 2006; it was recorded in late 1999. If you see a used copy at a music store or online, snag it.
Where'd you get that vibe?
I rediscovered on of the greatest bands ever a couple weeks ago. I've never forgotten about them; I just had not been relying on CD's while driving. Agents of Good Roots. That's all there is to say. One of, if not the best and most talents acts to come out of Virginia. Unfortunately they disbanded a few years ago. They were briefly signed to RCA, with some success on Modern Rock and Adult Alternative Contemporary with two completely different songs. It was their live show that really made AGR. Completely different from night to night, with no telling what to expect from show to show. I know I must have seen them at least 80, if not 100 times... never once was the show the same. It's not like some Phish or Panic thing either... they weren't really a jam band, although it was easy to label them as so. They were very much a jazz induced rock band, and definitely not strangers to improv. The amount of musical talent on stage was astonishing, and very complimentary... it was musical magic in the making. Their final album, recorded for RCA but independently released, was a definite show piece for what they could achieve. Needle and Thread is amazing, "Shotdown" brings back memories of Wednesday nights at Alley Katz... I've NEVER heard a band capture the live feeling of a song in the studio! Simply amazing. I often though Agents of Good Roots were at least 5 years ahead of their time, listening to Needle and Thread, I found myself thinking, "This stuff is pretty relevent now!" Not that their music was ever irrelevant (although a stint with a different bass player made them more a jam band briefly)... but I think the album could be successful finally in 2006; it was recorded in late 1999. If you see a used copy at a music store or online, snag it.
Where'd you get that vibe?
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
5x5's
Today marks the first Wednesday of the year I've done intervals. Today's prescription was a 5x5 workout, with 4 minutes of rest between the five intervals of five minutes. It was downright cold this morning. As usual, I watched the temperature drop from 32 at 6:30 this morning to 29 when I left at 7:30. I still haven't completely figured that one out... since sunrise is a bit before 6:30 these days. The high winds skewed the tems even more... with a frigid windchill.
I tooled around town a bit, just warming up before heading over to the Hanging Rock area. Kessler's Mill Rd. and Rt. 311 were to be the battlefield for the intervals. The first two were directly into the wind. The wind definately made things frustrating, as I was in my 39t cog, going 16-19mph at 330 watts. It almost made me laugh. As I reached the approach up Catawba mountain, it was time to ride with the wind. What a difference a friendly breeze makes, I was flying... much much faster. It felt pretty good, although it was definately chilly!
At the end of the 3rd interval, I almost witnessed a horrible accident. Traffic was stopped on 311 (a two lane road) for a turning vehicle. A huge pickup truck didn't see the brake lights and stopped cars, forcing him to thread the needle. He slammed on the brakes, swung off the road, onto the shoulder (skidding a bit), and then continued on past the stopped cares on the shoulder. Quite the impressive display of last second handling, but something a littlle bit of attention would have prevented the situation entirely. After some hindsight, I am glad I am not one of those riders that squeezes past stopped cars on the shoulder... had I continued on the shoulder this morning, I would've been lucky to be in Intensive Care. A little courtesy and patience on the road goes a long way.
The final two intervals were tough, but completed nontheless. No big drama, no excitement, just a lot of focus and some minor drooling. Today I eschewed monitoring my heartrate during the efforts (although the PT was recording HR), just focusing on Time and Power. I also audtioned some of the new team clothing. I'm glad I ended up getting the thermal jacket... it may not be the most techincally advanced, but it kept me warm and looks good. The bib shorts remained the same; although the jersey seems to have a bit more room in the torso. I'm beginning to look forward to Sunday's Jeff Cup, making my Cat 3 debut. That's all for now.
Get the dirt off your shoulder.
I tooled around town a bit, just warming up before heading over to the Hanging Rock area. Kessler's Mill Rd. and Rt. 311 were to be the battlefield for the intervals. The first two were directly into the wind. The wind definately made things frustrating, as I was in my 39t cog, going 16-19mph at 330 watts. It almost made me laugh. As I reached the approach up Catawba mountain, it was time to ride with the wind. What a difference a friendly breeze makes, I was flying... much much faster. It felt pretty good, although it was definately chilly!
At the end of the 3rd interval, I almost witnessed a horrible accident. Traffic was stopped on 311 (a two lane road) for a turning vehicle. A huge pickup truck didn't see the brake lights and stopped cars, forcing him to thread the needle. He slammed on the brakes, swung off the road, onto the shoulder (skidding a bit), and then continued on past the stopped cares on the shoulder. Quite the impressive display of last second handling, but something a littlle bit of attention would have prevented the situation entirely. After some hindsight, I am glad I am not one of those riders that squeezes past stopped cars on the shoulder... had I continued on the shoulder this morning, I would've been lucky to be in Intensive Care. A little courtesy and patience on the road goes a long way.
The final two intervals were tough, but completed nontheless. No big drama, no excitement, just a lot of focus and some minor drooling. Today I eschewed monitoring my heartrate during the efforts (although the PT was recording HR), just focusing on Time and Power. I also audtioned some of the new team clothing. I'm glad I ended up getting the thermal jacket... it may not be the most techincally advanced, but it kept me warm and looks good. The bib shorts remained the same; although the jersey seems to have a bit more room in the torso. I'm beginning to look forward to Sunday's Jeff Cup, making my Cat 3 debut. That's all for now.
Get the dirt off your shoulder.
Monday, March 20, 2006
implosion!
Winter is back! Just in time for Spring. Today is chilly and overcast... tomorrow low to mid 30's with a broad range of precipitation: rain, freezing rain, snow, and sleet. The weather for my rest week could not of been much better for this time of year (go figure it was a rest week!). Tomorrow it looks like I'll be a slave to the trainer. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for epic rides in extreme weather conditions; but I've already had my taste of warm weather, and my body no longer accepts the cold and precipitation.
Yesterday I did the 1:00 group ride. I imploded. It could've been due to the fact that it was faster and more climbing than I'm accustomed too at this point in the year; although i suspect it may be allergies. The symptoms seem to be the same every year, unrecoverably high heart rate, sinus crud, breathing difficulty, and a few others. Oh well, the trick is to try and get things under control... the key word being "try". Hopefully it'll work out. It is kind of ironic though... during interval workouts I have been having trouble getting the heart rate up... now it just goes up and doesn't come back down very easily!
Yesterday I did the 1:00 group ride. I imploded. It could've been due to the fact that it was faster and more climbing than I'm accustomed too at this point in the year; although i suspect it may be allergies. The symptoms seem to be the same every year, unrecoverably high heart rate, sinus crud, breathing difficulty, and a few others. Oh well, the trick is to try and get things under control... the key word being "try". Hopefully it'll work out. It is kind of ironic though... during interval workouts I have been having trouble getting the heart rate up... now it just goes up and doesn't come back down very easily!
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
weekend update
Finally, a chance to sit down and type a blog. This weekend went pretty well; as I returned to my flatlandish roots.
Saturday was supposed to be a quasi-lazy day for me, a chance to catch a mid-afternoon nap and recover from a restless week. It started out with a bang... the Saturday morning ride out of Kiln Creek featured a brisk and steady pace. After emerging on Cool Rd, I turned right as the group turned left... a few, including Pete and Pat, joined me. No regrets on turning a steady temp ride into a conversation pace ride-if only for a few minutes; we eventually were reintegrated into the group. I did get a couple good sprint-like jumps in Saturday morning, which did inspire some confidence for Sunday's race. On the downside, my HR did have trouble recovering after efforts on the ride, I casually chalked this up to lack of sleep the night before. Also of note, I tried the Jelly Belly Sport Beans... although they are very tasty, and definately provide a confectionary treat... I found myself with a bit of a sugar rush not long after consumption; better stick with the Hammer Gel (and the occasional Enervitene when push comes to shove).
As for the rest of Saturday, it was filled with good cookin'. For lunch, I met Jeff at the Mongolian BBQ in Williamsburg. What a delight... it was the best it's been since I can remember. Definately a bonus, as Jeff and I (and several others) used to raid that place on a regular basis in high school (especially on half days). Between the ride, a haircut, and lunch, an impromptu appearance at BB in Kiln Creek helped burnt some time I had to kill. I found some pretty smokin' Pearl Izumi RED shoe covers using their "Aerosensor" material. DW figured I'd be among the first to buy; he was right... he had just put them out on the floor that morning. Fortunately, I was able to dodge Gilly Garlow's marriage advice 101 this time. Oh yeah... they also updated the layout of the store... it looks great. I was very impressed. After lunch I stopped in to see the 'BurgBeat people, then home to wash the car and bike, and eat dinner with the parents and bestman Matt.
So Saturday turned out to be a marathon. Fortunately I was able to get a full night of sleep... made even better with the window open. Sunday turned out to be a hot 80-something degrees with relatively high humidity.
Chris and I met at Kiln Creek to carpool down to Chesapeake for the Snowball Crit #2. We had a good team meeting and warm up. I was able to secure a front line starting position, and the the race was off! Whoa... man, is my HR really that high!? "Uh oh..." is what I was thinking fairly early on. The 3/4 race turned out to be a bit faster than the previous Snowball, but that wasn't the problem, my HR would not recover! I repeatedly tried to move up to the front, and try to join my teammates in taking turns at the front, but I just couldn't move up far enough! It was even more frustrating when I was struggling just to hold the wheel in front of me! I finally shifted up a few gears to lower the cadence and thusly try to lower the HR; eventually I started to feel a little more comfortable... although I still had trouble moving up in the pack.
I don't even t hink I was in the top 20 as we hit the bell lap... not where you want to be if you want to have any chance to sprint in the end. Fortuantely, I managed to find Chris' wheel with just about half a lap to go, "PUNcH IT CHRIS!" Next thing I know, Chris has delivered me right onto Steve Simet's wheel. Perfect! Rounding the final turn, I shot out wide, sheltered from the wind at just the right time. BOOM! The first (remotely) explosive sprint of the year for me! I was able to obtain immediate separation and handily took the field sprint for 2nd. However, I hate to admit, I did not even know that a guy solo'ed in by a large margin (refer to my inability to move up). Apparently the guy attacked on lap 20 of 35, and put 25 seconds on the field in two laps. Not to shabby considering we were flying and it was windy. I also hate to admit that I nearly dropped out of the race; although I was determined to not let my teammates down as they agreed to help me... a win would've secured my Cat 3 upgrade.
On a positive, the field sprint gave me a significant boost in confidence. It confirmed that I've been working hard, and that the power and drive is there. On a negative, I feel horrible for not pulling my share of the load up front during the race. I can't recall ever really suffering that bad in a crit before... and not having much to show during the race. The sprint was great... and as usually, after a good sprint I just want to see straight, not puke, and get off the bike. I'm looking forward to more suffering in races... although a lot more productive suffering!
Yesterday's recovery spin was maared by wind. The wind managed to kick a leaf up into my brakes as if I was mountain biking in the fall. I also tried the Gatorade Endurance Formula sports beverage (lemon-lime)... it was tasty and fit in my water bottle. I forgot my bottle before the ride... I think it's still sitting right where I left it (unless Target or Walker knocked it over)
Restin' on a Rest week!
Saturday was supposed to be a quasi-lazy day for me, a chance to catch a mid-afternoon nap and recover from a restless week. It started out with a bang... the Saturday morning ride out of Kiln Creek featured a brisk and steady pace. After emerging on Cool Rd, I turned right as the group turned left... a few, including Pete and Pat, joined me. No regrets on turning a steady temp ride into a conversation pace ride-if only for a few minutes; we eventually were reintegrated into the group. I did get a couple good sprint-like jumps in Saturday morning, which did inspire some confidence for Sunday's race. On the downside, my HR did have trouble recovering after efforts on the ride, I casually chalked this up to lack of sleep the night before. Also of note, I tried the Jelly Belly Sport Beans... although they are very tasty, and definately provide a confectionary treat... I found myself with a bit of a sugar rush not long after consumption; better stick with the Hammer Gel (and the occasional Enervitene when push comes to shove).
As for the rest of Saturday, it was filled with good cookin'. For lunch, I met Jeff at the Mongolian BBQ in Williamsburg. What a delight... it was the best it's been since I can remember. Definately a bonus, as Jeff and I (and several others) used to raid that place on a regular basis in high school (especially on half days). Between the ride, a haircut, and lunch, an impromptu appearance at BB in Kiln Creek helped burnt some time I had to kill. I found some pretty smokin' Pearl Izumi RED shoe covers using their "Aerosensor" material. DW figured I'd be among the first to buy; he was right... he had just put them out on the floor that morning. Fortunately, I was able to dodge Gilly Garlow's marriage advice 101 this time. Oh yeah... they also updated the layout of the store... it looks great. I was very impressed. After lunch I stopped in to see the 'BurgBeat people, then home to wash the car and bike, and eat dinner with the parents and bestman Matt.
So Saturday turned out to be a marathon. Fortunately I was able to get a full night of sleep... made even better with the window open. Sunday turned out to be a hot 80-something degrees with relatively high humidity.
Chris and I met at Kiln Creek to carpool down to Chesapeake for the Snowball Crit #2. We had a good team meeting and warm up. I was able to secure a front line starting position, and the the race was off! Whoa... man, is my HR really that high!? "Uh oh..." is what I was thinking fairly early on. The 3/4 race turned out to be a bit faster than the previous Snowball, but that wasn't the problem, my HR would not recover! I repeatedly tried to move up to the front, and try to join my teammates in taking turns at the front, but I just couldn't move up far enough! It was even more frustrating when I was struggling just to hold the wheel in front of me! I finally shifted up a few gears to lower the cadence and thusly try to lower the HR; eventually I started to feel a little more comfortable... although I still had trouble moving up in the pack.
I don't even t hink I was in the top 20 as we hit the bell lap... not where you want to be if you want to have any chance to sprint in the end. Fortuantely, I managed to find Chris' wheel with just about half a lap to go, "PUNcH IT CHRIS!" Next thing I know, Chris has delivered me right onto Steve Simet's wheel. Perfect! Rounding the final turn, I shot out wide, sheltered from the wind at just the right time. BOOM! The first (remotely) explosive sprint of the year for me! I was able to obtain immediate separation and handily took the field sprint for 2nd. However, I hate to admit, I did not even know that a guy solo'ed in by a large margin (refer to my inability to move up). Apparently the guy attacked on lap 20 of 35, and put 25 seconds on the field in two laps. Not to shabby considering we were flying and it was windy. I also hate to admit that I nearly dropped out of the race; although I was determined to not let my teammates down as they agreed to help me... a win would've secured my Cat 3 upgrade.
On a positive, the field sprint gave me a significant boost in confidence. It confirmed that I've been working hard, and that the power and drive is there. On a negative, I feel horrible for not pulling my share of the load up front during the race. I can't recall ever really suffering that bad in a crit before... and not having much to show during the race. The sprint was great... and as usually, after a good sprint I just want to see straight, not puke, and get off the bike. I'm looking forward to more suffering in races... although a lot more productive suffering!
Yesterday's recovery spin was maared by wind. The wind managed to kick a leaf up into my brakes as if I was mountain biking in the fall. I also tried the Gatorade Endurance Formula sports beverage (lemon-lime)... it was tasty and fit in my water bottle. I forgot my bottle before the ride... I think it's still sitting right where I left it (unless Target or Walker knocked it over)
Restin' on a Rest week!
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
It's go time.
The race this past Sunday went well. I ended up 6th, not what I was hoping for, but not bad. I knew a break would eventually stay away, unfortunately I didn't make that particular break. Seigler Imports, Richmond Ciclismo, and Bike Works were very well represente din the field; launching several attacks until one stuck. Wade from NCVC and I tried to cover and stick to the dangerous looking attempts, but couldn't muster the energy to stick to the one that stuck. Oh well, Wade ended up getting me by half a wheel in the field sprint. Roger Hunt deserves a lot of credit for digging deep, bringing me up into postion with just a couple laps to go. Thanks again, Roger.
This weekend brings the last race before BAR time. The Snowball Crit #2. Looks like Casey Auto Group/JRVS will be extremely well represented in the 3/4 race. Unfortunately the strategy is classified; although I hope to reveal its success Sunday night or Monday morning.
that's all for now.
This weekend brings the last race before BAR time. The Snowball Crit #2. Looks like Casey Auto Group/JRVS will be extremely well represented in the 3/4 race. Unfortunately the strategy is classified; although I hope to reveal its success Sunday night or Monday morning.
that's all for now.
Friday, March 03, 2006
Thursday, March 02, 2006
thursday
It's 76 degrees outside... how nice it would be to be outside. Oh well, at least it's windy, so I'm not too jealous. Of course it will be cooler this weekend, but should not be anything like last weekend. I went to Walgreen's today to have a passport picture made... it's perhaps a marginal improvement over one I had made nice years ago. Other than that, not too much to report today, although I did finish my weight lifting (other than a few more heavily reduced workouts).
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Wednesday
It's Wednesday. I awoke this morning to a balmy 60 degrees. "Great" I thought, "It will be another nice arm ride," although the forecasted high for the day was in the 50's. Although my ride began at 60 degrees, the temperature dropped 13 degrees over the two hour period. It was a chilly (although still warm compared to most all mornings so far this year) 47 degrees. Strangely is was 70 degrees when I went to lunch, and 63 after lunch... strange.
This weekend's forecast looks to be much more comfortable than last weekend. The Sonny Hutchin's Memorial Crit is Sunday at the Southside Speedway in Midlothian. Hopefully I can improve on my result from Sunday. It'll be fast, and I hope it comes down to a field sprint.
This weekend's forecast looks to be much more comfortable than last weekend. The Sonny Hutchin's Memorial Crit is Sunday at the Southside Speedway in Midlothian. Hopefully I can improve on my result from Sunday. It'll be fast, and I hope it comes down to a field sprint.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)