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.

$100,000/second for this?

This year's Super Bowl ads are the worst I can remember. You're supposed to bring your A Game here. Most of these looked like they were dreamed up by a junior high marketing class. Racial stereotypes, more talking babies, and GoDaddy's Danicka Patrick "striptease" promo? A bloody human heart flying out of a woman's chest is supposed to get me to "follow my heart"? Smelling like Planters peanuts is supposed to get you some action? Craptacular.

The only ad I remember that didn't make me cringe was the Stewie vs Underdog Coke commercial. Coke then ruined it with the Carville/Frist ad, which has been done so many times already. I get it, they hate each other, but Coke makes it all good. Who approves this stuff? Puppy Bowl IV was more entertaining (and better branded, somebody gets it).

Watts

Been using the Powertap for a couple of weeks now. I need to do my critical power tests to get all the zones dialed, but I can already tell it's a pretty great training tool. This is the first week of my training plan with some actual intervals, and it's been interesting to watch the numbers.

Cold, with a chance of death

Statement as of 3:00 AM CST on January 30, 2008

... Dangerously cold wind chills continue through this morning...

A wind chill warning remains in effect until noon CST today.

Brisk northwest winds and bitterly cold air will persist across the
region this morning. Wind chills of 35 below to 45 below can be
expected.

A wind chill warning means the combination of very cold air and
strong winds will create dangerously low wind chill values. This will result in frost bite and lead to hypothermia or death if precautions are not taken.

This is why I laugh every time I read an article on "winter" riding or see "winter" cycling clothing in the magazines. All that stuff is aimed at California winter, where 60 is chilly. Come up here and test your equipment or go for a 3 hour training ride, then write your articles. Gotta love living in a place where the weather forecast includes a chance of death.

24 Hour race training secrets revealed

After a week of being sick I think I've stumbled upon the ultimate 24 Hour race training: NyQuil. Waking up with a NyQuil hangover and a head full of mucous at 6:00AM and jumping on the bike is a pretty good analog for that first night lap after you've had a chance to "sleep".

I managed an hour ride yesterday and 100 push ups/100 crunches + a spin this morning. Starting to feel human again.

Sick

I guess this is a good time to get sick, since it's my Base 1 recovery week. Hopefully I'll be able to do the shorter training rides this week and my critical power tests this weekend. Right now, I'm just hoping to have enough energy to get through the day. There always seems to be a hitch in the plan this time of year.

Hello Antarctica?

Vertblog now has hits from 6 out of 7 continents. Mexico City, Rio, Paris, Sydney, Taipei, Johannesburg, just to name a few cities. Anybody at the South Pole with some free time and internet access, start clicking.

2008 Training

So far so good. The early morning trainer action has been consistent for the last couple of weeks. Owen hangs out and watches SportsCenter while I ride. Even did a 4+ mile run with Zoe on Saturday and didn't totally hate it. Hopefully the Powertap will be ready to go soon and I start crunching the numbers. Next up? New mountain bike shopping. Looking for a full-suspension XC racing machine that climbs like a mountain goat. Have to wait and see what kind of team deals are out there.

R.I.P. Sir Edmund Hillary

With the commercial expedition situation on Mount Everest today, a guide will get anyone with enough money to the top. No experience required, a Sherpa will drag you up and back down (dead or alive). There's even a "reality" show on Everest now. When Hillary and Sherpa Tenzig Norgay "knocked the bastard off" in 1953, they may as well have been walking on the moon. I think it's hard for most people to truly understand what they did and how they did it. Most people today wouldn't go camping with the gear they used, let alone attempt something like Everest. I have enormous respect for Hillary, both for his achievement and his humility (he refused to divulge that he was the first one to the summit until several years after Norgay's death). As great as his mountaineering resume was, his work with the Nepalese people was even greater. A far cry from most of today's "extreme" athletes. Truly a legendary man.

Kramarczuk's

Go eat here. This is the kind of food that will get you through the winter. I hadn't been here since they remodeled the deli. Pretty sweet.

January Singlespeed Ride

After a week on the trainer in the basement it felt good to get outside for a ride on the singlespeed. It doesn't hit 30 degrees often in January in Minnesota.

StatCounter

I've been using StatCounter to track user info for my blogs. Pretty cool stuff. A map of recent visitors to Vertblog.