BUSY

Yes, I am away…

Yes… I have little fitness AND little motivation… (a perfectly balanced combo – goes great with 16 hour days, no sleep, and heavy dinners… try it for a while sometime!)

Hope you are enjoying the battle of the thursday crits and the early season racing. If you have form, for chryssake, make it count. It’s fleeting, and fragile… for us un-gifted mortals, anyway. Especially for the sub 8 hours a week crowd.

Lots of people looking fast at the *one* crit I saw this year, I don’t count myself among them. The pretentious ones, well, they look the same. But you can read how wonderful they are… or better, you don’t even have to ask them, they lead with it. (Results/time on the bike) tell all the story.

This year seems to be consigned to either the “lost season” or the “come in to form late” category. I was really hoping for the last month to be leaning towards the latter. Now I’m leaning towards the former with a medium dose of “don’t really give a shit”. Heavy stuff, I know, and likely heretical for some of you.

Surprising, no commentary from me on Tommeke’s spring. No gushing needed, the rides speak for themselves. No surprise on the sour grapes from the Gypsy… called that one when the coverage came on channel 604 and Tommeke was already well clear at le Enfer du Nord. Yeah, he does have a younger wife, but at some point you gotta swing over and give the next generation their dues. And how can you not like Tommy B after the cocaine, Lamborghini (even if it is an S6-engined Gallardo) incident, and canoodling allegations. Great story, more so with a dominant cobbled spring. 11/10.

Some fun on the lunchrides of late, some tension… alas, better left uncommented on. If you don’t have the form to do anything about it, best to try to smooth it over, offer guidance, and if ignored, just shut up. That is my category, seemingly, in 2012.

I go back to, if you have form, use it. . .

Back on the Chain Gang

Well, after multiple muliple weeks off, knee finally feeling better. So hit up lunch rides tuesday and wed, after a first easy spin for 40 minutes on monday. Feeling total lack of fitness after basically doing nothing since 4 Feb (and actually doing nothing, zero, just putting weight on, since 27 Feb – finally sunk in after the MRI and all the advice that Tendons need rest to heal…. to effing listen); however, not so much a surprise.

Naturally, first day back, the gaggle rolls up mountain road. That was wonderful. About two risers too many. But good to be back on the bike, and also good to be at least mid pack on the first day out. Had ‘fitness’ at least the feeling of such (HR not obscene, breathing not outrageous)… but no power. Big gears, small gears, didnt matter. Re-introduced to the God of the Spring Crosswind.

Similar story today, although we did dream home. At the end it was yours truly, the Prez, Tommy, Mig, and BSK (he pulled the ripcord but would have made it otherwise)… with me and the Prez short pulling. A nice long block, and measuring out the bullets… only issue is I was carrying a .22 (just for you, JR) while Tommy and Mig had a .50 cal.

Anyway, it’s a long season, and I actually enjoyed WATCHING the A race on sunday, I forgot an important piece of equipment to go with the beers, that being a lawn chair. If I go next weekend or the following, I won’t make that rookie move again.

See you on the road. Hopefully fitness is no more than a month or so away, and racing a little further than that… and the knee stays in good shape.

Isn’t it funny…

So I “rested” my knee for a couple days…. then hit up some intervals on friday and magically it did NOT feel any better. Seems like a couple days of half-assed rest is not enough. So I took the decision to take sunday thru thursday off (part of that is not hard – flew sunday night to Brussels and here until thursday – so just didn’t pack the workout stuff to avoid the temptation). What’s funny – and maybe this applies to you, maybe it doesnt… is how a little thing like that, if you let it, will drag down and overshadow everything else good in your life. I caught myself feeling pissy and grumpy about it… and it’s like, as much as we all love it… it’s just bike riding. It’s not what puts food on your table or takes care of your family or anything…. So I am chin up, this too shall pass and working hard on winning a piece of business this week. Knee will feel better when it does, and if I lose some fitness over it, so be it. It’s a long year.

This will sound funny too… the flight over here is too short! By the time you work a little, eat dinner, pop the pill, watch a movie a bit… only ~3 hours to sleep! Did NOT get the upgrade, but had a window seat in Economy Plus with no one next to me, so could spread out a little. Zero degrees C here at landing and foggy/misty. So basecamp is the Mercure Brussels Center Louise for the next couple days… Close to our office and looks like a decent high end district within walking distance for restaurants and the like.

If you’re in the IN crowd, watch out for some apres-dinner Belgian ale photo texts. It might happen. I’m just sayin…

Crap week

So I twisted my left knee pretty good last saturday, did nothing for a couple days… hit up the grannybike in the gym yesterday, and it’s still pretty, um, tender. Kind of like the rest of my personality. So we’ll see how that goes… probably a couple days off not the worst thing. Timing fit as I was in MX and heading home today. Home for a couple days and then leaving for Brussels on sunday night until late next week. Agenda is packed with no free time, but hopefully at least some decent chow and, of course, beverages. Why couldn’t this trip be a month or so later? As much as it would be nice to, can’t plan work around what would be nice to do from a riding/watching standpoint.

That’s all I got… enjoy your fitness.

All systems go… rut, roh, George…

(no disrespect intended for Georgeous)

http://www.usacycling.org/events/index.php?event=430

Pain cave is coming. Break out the fast wheels, you’ll need them after such a light winter. Hope I can get in more than 23 hours of additional work prior to 4th March. So how many hours of exercise do YOU have in thus far, in this very young 2012?

Forecast for March 4th already posted… pain, in economy sized packages. Go for the $20 bundle. You know you want to… Seeing that email this morning was enough to make me get off my ass and renew my license… so all systems go.

January is in the rear-view…

And that’s a good thing. So compilied my hours of effort for January… and came up with a meager 23. Of that, 1:45 was outdoors (1 ride), the balance indoors. I would have rolled with the gaggle today but for a lunch meeting… bummer. A little concerned over weight and lack of hours… but in my hard training days (I know, so pedestrian) I am still putting up numbers I’m happy with. Have to see how that translates onto the road at the right time.

Whither the March series? Anybody hear anything?

And where did this month go, anyway? And why don’t we have winter anymore?

Ciao,

LR

Stuff

1037 on sunday. Going over for more today but not feeling “it”. Was shelled yesterday, big number day hangover.

Kudos to Graham at SMC for reverse-engineering/fixing my Fulcrum 5 back wheel. Really? 2 round spokes on the drive side of the back wheel, that are unobtainable without buying enough spokes for the whole back wheel? Wonder why I quit campy years ago in the syncro days… Plus Italy is going broke… not that we as a nation are much better off, national debt now >= GDP. That’s ok, keep spending Congress, and keep giving yourself gold plated benefits. Wish Christie was in the running, that guy is knocking NJ into shape.

Stealth trip later today on corporate aircraft. Home late tomorrow night.

that’s all I got, gang. Keep the faith.

Stupid is…

…as stupid does.

Why? So, if you are jammed and only drink coffee in the morning, and then go over to do death intervals at lunch… chances are likely that you will cramp in one of your calves… at least if you are me. Since you are not me, this may not be a constraint of yours. But don’t be stupid, do as I say, not as I do.

Lots of folks indoors today… although some went out. Seems winter is finally here. ’bout time.

Enjoy your weekend.

Greetings From Mexico

Quick trip, surgical strike, in and out. Landed late last night. Home late tuesday night – technically it will be early wednesday morning. Up and at it on the hotel grannybike at 6am…. only way to fit anything in at all… guess it’s official, holidays are over and back to the grind.

Rolled a while – 1hr 45, so long ride, on saturday, on the old yellow bike. Still feels good and quick… drivetrain is a little loose and grotty though… funny how flexy and small diameter the old bars/levers/stem combo feels… but if I put new/newer stuff on it, certainly no reason it wouldnt be rideable. Finest mid 1990s technology.

Team kit order time!!!! Thanks to Dean for pulling that all together – new stuff with new sponsors looks really nice. And it’s blendable with the 2011 kits.

Have a good training week – will be back in pocket and ready for some more intervals later this week.

Belated holiday message for the more pretentious of you…

You know who you are… YOUR gloves are from Dromarti, Rapha, or Assos… certainly NOT Craftsman!