Weather

I'm trying to psych myself up for some hills tonight. It's very dreary: 40's, cloudy, windy and the threat of rain and/or snow. Tonight's ride better pay off during a race sometime later this year...

Urban Loop

I think I finally found a reasonable route to St. Paul and Minneapolis from my place. Traffic wasn't too bad until I hit Minneapolis. I couldn't take the Main St. shortcut under 35 since the bridge is under construction. So, from campus to the other side of Central was a bit heavy. But, you could ride across the river and use River Road up to Broadway, then cross over.

No Road Bike

Frame is on the way to Orbea for repair. Note to self, and anyone else who owns a Starship: do not use on a trainer. Apparently this is what causes the stays to work loose. Did 35 miles on the mtb today. Good ride, just not the same.

Houston, we have a problem...

When you're on the trainer and you smell smoke and suddenly come to a screeching halt, that either means your brain has finally fried from boredom or something has seriously malfunctioned. The carbon seatstays have pulled out on both sides. Just in time for spring. At least it happened in the basement and not during a race, or the seatstays aren't the only things that would have separated.

March Madness

Saturday was nice, yesterday it was in the 50's. I got about 55-60 miles in outside this weekend. Today we are supposed to get 8 inches of snow. When will it end? I could really use a Moab trip right about now...

On the road again

Got out for the first time on the road bike this year. Despite the 25-30 mph winds, it felt good. Legs still aren't close to being there, but they'll come around. I've still got a month and a half until race day.

Trainer

I just started my Build 1 phase this week. I cannot wait to be done with the trainer -- my mind is officially numb. I really can't crank out the watts indoors while watching tv. I need a rabbit to chase and I actually need to be moving to stay focused and motivated. I just can't get a true feeling of my fitness level on the trainer, so I really don't know where I stand right now. Desperately need a group ride, outdoors, soon.

Whrrr whrrr whrrr

2 hours outside on the mountain bike today. Wasn't too bad. Toes got a bit cold and I was a bit tired towards the end, but considering yesterday was a pretty hard day, not too bad. Long way to go before race day, but getting there.

Snooze Intervals

Nothing like crawling out of bed at 5:45, slamming down some toast and oatmeal then jumping on the bike for 45 minutes of cruise intervals. Ouch.

2 days in a row

Got out again yesterday for about an hour and a half on the mountain bike. The whir-whir-whir of knobbies on pavement kind of puts you in a trance. The big meats came in handy: major ice and slush everywhere. With all the potholes, sand, snow and ice, an already crowded shoulder (or extreme right side of the lane) gets even smaller. On the mtb you can plow right through it and stay to the side, instead of having to swerve into the lane on a road bike. Even with the fat tires my average speed was only slightly lower than it would have been on the road bike.

Thought about a group ride but this time of year for me it's about base miles. The "easiest" group rides always degenerate into a hammerfest. That and the constant sludge in the face from the bike in front of you makes going solo worth it. Back to the trainer for the next 5 days or so.

Outside

Got out for about an hour on the mountain bike this afternoon. Mostly spinning and tempo, with a couple of hill repeats. Sucks riding knobbies on the road, but better than riding in the basement. It would have been a crashfest on a road bike, lot's of ice and major puddles.

Getting tired of the trainer...

I'm getting really tired of riding in the basement. Spring cannot arrive too soon, but it's Minnesota, so that could be 2 months from now. Unless the weather goes completely pear-shaped this weekend, I'm riding outside, even if it's on my singlespeed on the road.

Base Week 3

Started Base 3 today. I missed the last week of Base 2 due to illness. That was followed by a recovery week, so basically, I haven't ridden much in two weeks. I tried to do a 30 minute power test on Saturday and felt like I was going to die, so I bailed. Patience, young grasshopper.

Let Levi Ride

I think the ASO and Tour organizers are sick of American podium dominance since 1999, and figured one way to keep it from happening again is to not invite the American with the best shot at winning. To ban Astana and not ban Cofidis, Rabobank or any of the other teams with past doping scandals is nothing short of hypocritical. But, in a country where Richard Virenque and Christophe Moreau are heroes, what else would you expect? Bob Roll has a great article on this here.

Training

Only managed 2 out of 8 scheduled hours this week. I'm hoping this is the last time I'm sick for a long, long time. Then, I hit it a little too hard yesterday and tweaked my back. This next week is a recovery week, I need it.

FA Cup

So I didn't get to see the game I wanted to, Man Utd vs Arsenal, but I did see one hell of a match between Liverpool and Championship side Barnsely. Injury time winner for Barnsley at Anfield to send Liverpool out of the Cup. Awesome. This is a team in the bottom half of the division below the Premiership, taking out one of the world's big clubs. This is why the FA Cup rules.

Top that off with a 4-0 thrashing of Arsenal by Man U, and it was a great day for football. At least for me. If Chelsea had lost it would have been the hat trick. I'm just guessing Man U and Chelsea will get drawn in the quarterfinals. We'll see.

TDF: Here we go again...

Already banned from the Giro d'Italia, Astanta and others may be watching the Tour instead of racing in it. Is it a case of the sins of the father being visited upon the son? Or is it a sign that promotors are serious about cleaning house?

Obama

Of all the candidates out there, he would truly be a change for the better. I've been going back and forth between Obama and Clinton. I'll vote for whoever ends up with the nomination, I'm just hoping it's Obama. Throw away voting records, experience, rhetoric and soundbites, and give me someone who can inspire others. Hopefully Bush won't issue an executive order making himself president for life. You know he's got at least one last major kick in the groin of the Constitution before he's done.

Brutal

This bug is brutal. I got it 3 weeks ago, lasted about a week and now it's back again. Owen's sick too.

Sick, again.

I haven't had the stomach flu for over 5 years, but I've had it twice now in the last 3 weeks. Good times. No ride today, but I'll count the "ab work" towards my core strength workout.