January is down the tubes:

Tonight is the Pro Bowl. Tomorrow is February. A week from today is the Superbowl. In 2 weeks Valentine's day is here. This year is moving right along, with 1/12 of it history already.

I've been outside for two rides this new year, and with only two rides outside in January, it's been the horrifying spectre of trainer riding. As insane as that thought is, I'm actually happy to say that I've been seeing some improvement in my fitness and because I've set a target date for my first training peak I'm actually enjoying my indoor rides. What? Yes, that's entirely correct, I've fallen completely into the pit of despair and forced myself to enjoy trainer rides so that I'll have some fitness by April 18th.

Surfing around the web looking for races in the area turned up a criterium about 10 miles away from me that looks quite fascinating. I've toyed with the idea of racing my road bike all throughout this past year, but just never committed to it (not to mention that I had that little thing called the Livestrong challenge looming large.) So, a criterium sounds like a good way to start the adventure. 1.2 mile laps, 10 laps in total. The weekend after the Tour of the Battenkill (which I'll be going to, of course) it has a taste of the best of the European classics. It features a sharp climb, speedy descent, wicked corners and cobbles. Yes, COBBLES! Awesome!

With that news on the table, the pre-season has been great. I've upgraded from a compact double to a standard double (roadie speak) and worked on technique and form over the off season. I should be in pretty good shape come April, and I'm looking forward to my first experience on the road (and cobbles.)

The mountain bike? It hasn't been touched. With hunting season still in effect here in NY, frigid weather (4 degrees Fahrenheit), a distinct lack of daylight and a wedding to plan all sucking away my time and motivation for riding, the mountain bike has been hung in the garage for the winter.

Of course, there is always the newly built cyclocross bike...

Ahh, I'm pulling myself in too many directions. One day I'll have enough time for all this riding I need to do.

And on another note, I'd just like to say Happy Birthday to Mountain Bike Tales. Five years of writing, reviewing, editing and answering questions and MBT is the best it has ever been. Thanks to all the people behind the scenes who make it happen and to all the writers, editors and development folks who bring it to the forefront. Happy fifth, and many more!

And a month later...

Here I am again.

Forget updating ever couple of days, I can't even remember to check my bank balance that often. No, I'm kidding. Actually, the real difficulty in updating very often lies in the fact that life (which includes cycling, imagine that!?) has been interfering with...well, life.

Here in the northeast we've become mired in that awful beast known as "fall" in which the sun drops below the horizon early in the evening and leaves us stuck on stationary trainers or bundling up and donning lights to stick out a few miles in the chill of the evening air. It's an ever-present dilemma that anyone in a New England state will have to come to grips with early in their cycling experience. Gone are the long lazy evenings of tooling along trails and less traveled back roads. Those carefree summer days are replaced by worries of darkness, fallen leaves hiding slippery roots or potholes in the road, and the creeping chill of the coming winter.

Not to fret: the weekends are prime time to spend with the rubber side down. Knobby or skinny, mud or tarmac, spinning or mashing, climbing or descending, it is all good. It's just the exhilaration of the ride that makes the week's troubles melt away. It is worth all the time spent in the office, in meetings or on the phone. And it's one of the only escapes from reality that allows us to focus on the next obstacle in front of us without any thought of the consequences lying down the trail.

Wouldn't it be nice if life was just as easy?

Baby it's cold out side...

Oh man is it. There's been only indoor riding recently since the temperatures here in the northeast have dipped yet again into the sub-freezing realm, and we've been subjected to a couple more ice storms. It's bad enough to wake up to ice on the car, but it's further demoralizing when you were hoping for some good weekend weather to get out and have a nice, relaxing (but brutally hard) road ride. It really doesn't bode well when you can't walk down the side of the road without feeling like you're walking across the ice at a (insert your favorite hockey team)'s game.

On the other hand, it's easy to do structured workouts on the trainer. The Power To The Pedals program from Roadbikerider.com is a great program, and it's so easily done on the trainer as well. It's actually funny, when you think about it. We derive no joy from riding indoors on a trainer, since you really don't go anywhere at all, yet doing a workout program like that, in conjunction with watching some good TV (like last year's Giro) can make the hour go by incredibly fast.

Oh, and some good company helps as well.

Just think, mountain bike season is almost here.

After moving and all that funk...

...it's time to get back on the bike. I'll be starting work soon, I'll be getting a good schedule down soon, so I'll be able to actually ride my trainer on occasion. Actually, I'll have lots of time until I get TV and intarweb access in the new place, although those are coming soon.

That being said, check out the Road Bike Rider E-bookstore and pick up some training info for the coming season. Sure, there's lots of ways to train, including the "just get out and ride for a bit" but I think this year I'll actually have to structure things a little more than I have in the past. I'd like to enter a few races this season (you know, since I have a nice light bike that I can use for racing) and do some longer rides and events. Hell, I might even give a 6 hour or 12 hour event a try. It might be fun, who knows?

Anyway, no outside riding to be had any time soon. Only trainer time. Damn the snow and ice. I'm just dying to get out on the local mountain bike trails, and I'm dying to try my new Garmin 705 on an actual trail. Imagine that.

I guess I'll have to "suffer" with the Tour of California for the next couple weeks. That's going to be a great race, with an incredible field. Here's hoping to some epic early season duelling on the climbs and time trials. And let's go Garmin, let's flex those argyle muscles.

Just one of those weeks...

...where you have to run yourself into the ground in order to move, finish getting together your life so you can start work, and of course, try to go for a ride. Yeah, right.

I haven't been on the trainer in about a week and I have about...oh, maybe 4 or 5 days to get my base miles in before I need to start the 12 week power program. Yes, there's a race in May that I'd like to be in some kind of shape to ride without dragging my balls behind me. I'm not expecting much, and the fact that I'm in the middle of a move and starting a new job doesn't help.

Blah. I'm rambling. Off to watch Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations."

Just a quick note?

Moving sucks. That's a foregone conclusion in most circles, but it's always magnified when you're the sucker that's sucking up a move. Coordinating help, dealing with surly family members who don't want to be bothered to help you move the mess that they partially helped create, and ever-present issues with landlords (both new and old) and utility companies all combine into a vicious stew of suck that is necessarily consumed only to cause an epic case of "life diarrhea." That's right, you become "ol' gravy legs" in an instant when you sign about 4 months of your life away and commit to this atrocity of human existence. I'd prefer to slam my face in a garage door given the chance, but I suppose it is all part of the ebb and flow of life.

That being said...I'm going to sit down, immerse myself in articles about the Tour Down Under and try to forget this truckload of life-poop that's been shoveled into my lap.

Oh, and for the record...

FUCK THE EAGLES. McNabb, you inaccurate son of a whore, get out. Now. And take fatso Andy Reid with you.

Oh god, I need to ride the trainer and get some anger out...

Oh the things you'll eat...

So for the past week or so I've been attempting to log my diet using fitday.com. Holy shit, says I. I can't believe some of the stuff I actually stuff into my face with just a casual thought of its utterly abominable dietary contents. Yet amazingly, since I'm polishing off chocolate mousse pie, cookies, soup and other sundry junk food that's leftover from the holidays, I've actually managed to lose the few pounds I put on since Thanksgiving. This is of course no small miracle considering my time on the trainer has been limited by things like finding a place to live and moving. Such is life.

In other news, the Wii Fit is actually a really cool little gaming item. I may actually use the yoga included therein, and I might actually be able to touch my toes by the end of the summer. That would be something I haven't been able to do since I was five. Imagine that.

Oh, and yet more snow here in the northeast. I'm really getting sick of this (and having to fight to break cars free of snow drifts). Show me sun! NOW!

I love William's Sonoma

What a great place. I'd love to have one of these for the wine snob in me, or perhaps one of these for the post ride entertainment.

In cycling news, it looks like the ice storm here in the north east will as yet prevent any outdoor riding. So that means I'm surfing Velonews and found this gem:

In a year of the comeback, perhaps it’s inevitable that Michael Rasmussen will join the band of riders pedaling back into the fray.

So "pulled from le Tour because he lied to his own team" is expecting that someone will come back and sponsor him? I can't believe that he's expecting to have an easy time coming back. I mean, it's one thing if you're someone like Ivan Basso, who served his two years and was a main rival of the top tier riders when he left the scene, but Chicken wasn't a huge winner of anything except the unlucky lottery.

In fact, he know this:
“It all depends on who wants to have me and where I want to be employed. It doesn’t make sense for me to sign with an Italian team if I want to race the Vuelta. My main goal is still to race the grand tours and we’ll see if I can find a suitable employer. I am confident.”

You keep being confident, Chicken. I'm sure you'll end up with some continental team, and have all kinds of chances to win Grand Tours.

On that note, time to go find some non-William's Sonoma produced coffee.

Trainer time...

Ho hum, more time on the trainer. It does give me time to think anyway.

What does one reflect on while pedaling for an hour and not moving a millimeter (unless you get over-exuberant and the trainer slides an inch to the left?) Well, there's the obvious thoughts of how nice it would be to hit the paved streets, put fat tires to dirt that's not riddled with frost heave, or even breath fresh air instead of recycled canned air. On the other hand, you can think about the New Year's resolution(s) that you've already broken or are in the process of breaking. And then again, you can simply meditate on the trainer until the incessant beeping of your heart rate monitor jolts you back to reality.

Really, how do you pass the time on the trainer without wanting to slit your wrists or auto-erotically asphyxiate yourself with your heart rate monitor strap (now that I write that, I'm slightly disturbed that I came up with it.) A training goal helps. So do some Tour videos or Giro videos. Or you could brave the cold and ride outside.

Nah.

Time to set goals and order race videos I guess...

Happy New Year to all!

Happy 2009 blog-monkeys.

Notes to live by in the new year:

1. Champagne is probably the quickest way to get drunk as a skunk, especially after killing a growler of exceptionally potent beer. For those looking for some kind of comparison, try drinking a half gallon of gasoline and chasing it with a double shot of acetone. Ok, I don't really know what I'm saying, but you get the idea.

2. I hate the trainer, but it is a necessary evil. I need to shed those extra pounds that, no matter how carefully you watch what you stuff into your face over the holidays, seem imminently attracted to my mid-section. As I said, necessary evil.

3. Have a goal. Mid May race date, which means I need to be finishing my 12 week power intervals by the first of May. That means...I need to be starting those in February. Wonderful. See number 2 above. Oh well, that's what goals are for.

4. I hate the trainer. Still.

5. Watch what you eat. It's all too easy to spend the day foraging and eating crap. Five or six small meals throughout the day are the ticket, and healthy snacks of fruits, veggies, low fat yogurt, etc keep you from getting the munchies. If you're a mountain biker and a big pot-head, this need not apply.

6. It's too cold for mountain biking, but damn do I miss it. I can't wait for the snow to be gone. I really can't.

7. I hate the trainer. Did I mention that?

8. Have yourselves a happy, stress free and bike filled new year. You owe it to yourself.

Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle...bollocks.

Snow. Snow snow snow SNOW! I'm sick of the snow.

12 inches of the white powdery stuff makes it nigh on impossible to plan for a new year's ride (although my typical schtick of crashing and hurting myself would be significantly damped by a mantle of white padding) and pretty much restricts life to the trainer. Blargh. Although, there are some reasons to consider the trainer at this point in the year:

1: I've GOT to get rid of some excess holiday inches. I'd like to really cut the fat this year, so to speak. Since I'll be starting my job somewhere in the middle of January, I'll have to really make the most of the little bit of training time I'll have.

2: I need to relieve some stress, and that's a pretty solid way to do it.

3: May marks the return of the William's Lake mountain bike race. Not that I'm even expecting to come close to winning it, but I'd love to at least be in somewhat good shape at that point in the year.

4: What the hell else will I do with all this time off?

So that's about the half of it. Work, moving (we did finally find a house to move into, and it's a beauty) and the eternal struggle to pedal. What a life, eh?

Oh, and yes. The photos on the best of the year post are awful. Next time, I'll make sure to hunt for .jpgs instead of .gifs. Pieces of junk...

Welcome to December...

So it's been more than a month since my last update. Let me explain why...

I don't usually talk much about my personal life here, but this time I think it's relevant. I've spent the last 3.3333 (ad nauseum) years in a frozen wasteland known as Seneca Falls, NY. I've been spending most of my time attending New York Chiropractic College, working towards a doctorate degree. As of 11/24, I officially finished up and graduated as a Doctor of Chiropractic. All the final things I needed to do, job interviews, resume work, etc etc are all behind me. Now I need to seal the deal on a position and then I'll be set to move and start a new phase in life.

That being said, I've been doing little riding lately. I seem to have some kind of cold induced asthma (which can only be diagnosed after a ride in the cold, which it WON'T go down below 30 degrees here for me to do that) that has limited me outside. I've been riding the trainer while watching Giro d'Italia reels on cycling.tv, but that can only do so much.

Maybe some cross training. Yeah, that's it.

I'll be back later with my thoughts on the best gizmos of the year, for all you Mountain Bike Tales readers.

Peace.