I hate to admit it, but I'm tired. I'm hurting. I've had a rough year.
I'm now a business owner, and that's tiring.
I've crashed twice. I've broken my hand, 8 ribs and collapsed my lung. I've spent about 9 days in the hospital and had two surgeries.
I lost my Dad to cancer. He was young and strong. I wake up thinking about him because he's always the last person I think about before I fall asleep. I hope that still happens for a long time, but it means I dream and toss and turn and now I'm so, so tired.
I've dug deep, trying to hold things together. Riding is still my outlet, but it's not enough. I just can't seem to pound the pedals hard enough. Not this year anyways.
I'm going to race again next year, but I'm not sure how. I don't have much fight in me right now, but I hope it'll come. I'm just not sure of it.
9:00am at the Bean this Saturday. 3 hours in the rain.
Thursday
Friday
Saturday morning, sunny but cold
9:00am at the bean. If it's real nice, we'll go for a long one. I'm thinking Horseshoe bay, deep cove, then SFU. SFU will be the first stop, so bring food.
These sunny winter days don't come round here too often, so make the most of them.
Thursday
Rainy Sunday Ride
Aaaahhhh shit.
It's going to be wet this weekend, lets just face that. Because that's what we have to do. Abandon hope, the sun is gone. Accept your fate.
And once you do, it's not that bad. It's the hope of sun that makes riding in the rain so hard.
Accept your fate. Sometimes it rains, sometimes for months.
Fenders please. Sunday, 9:00 at the Bean on Cornwall.
It's going to be wet this weekend, lets just face that. Because that's what we have to do. Abandon hope, the sun is gone. Accept your fate.
And once you do, it's not that bad. It's the hope of sun that makes riding in the rain so hard.
Accept your fate. Sometimes it rains, sometimes for months.
Fenders please. Sunday, 9:00 at the Bean on Cornwall.
Halloween ride
This Sunday is halloween.
We're still riding, hung over or not. Lets meet for coffee at 9, roll out at 9:30.
Bean around the World, 9:30 leave time.
We're still riding, hung over or not. Lets meet for coffee at 9, roll out at 9:30.
Bean around the World, 9:30 leave time.
Sunday
The Intangibles
I'm not a retrogrouch.
There it is. I just want to put that out there before everything else. I'm not a retrogrouch.
I've got a real nice heart rate monitor/speedo/cadence thingy, but it hasn't seen handle bars in a while. I'll probably put it on soon so I can make sure my heartrate doesn't stay in the lazy zone too much, and so I'll know when i've been riding for 4 hours and it's time to head home. A clock is nice too, but mine rarely shows the right time.
It's not that I don't understand the watts & zones and all that jazz, but it sure doesn't interest me. Here's why:
Bike racing is not watt racing. Bike racing is about the intagibles.
The ability to suffer. Withstanding cold. Heat. Tempering desire with patience. Confidence. Charactar. Panache. Patience some more.
Get off your trainer.
You will reach 95% of your wattage potential by riding in all sorts of weather with all sorts of folks, but you will reach none of your intangibles potential on the trainer.
There it is. I just want to put that out there before everything else. I'm not a retrogrouch.
I've got a real nice heart rate monitor/speedo/cadence thingy, but it hasn't seen handle bars in a while. I'll probably put it on soon so I can make sure my heartrate doesn't stay in the lazy zone too much, and so I'll know when i've been riding for 4 hours and it's time to head home. A clock is nice too, but mine rarely shows the right time.
It's not that I don't understand the watts & zones and all that jazz, but it sure doesn't interest me. Here's why:
Bike racing is not watt racing. Bike racing is about the intagibles.
The ability to suffer. Withstanding cold. Heat. Tempering desire with patience. Confidence. Charactar. Panache. Patience some more.
Get off your trainer.
You will reach 95% of your wattage potential by riding in all sorts of weather with all sorts of folks, but you will reach none of your intangibles potential on the trainer.
Friday
Lets resume, shall we?
It's been a while.
Well pardon, but I've been healing. I feel better now, so lets go riding. New meeting location: Bean Around the World on Cypress. It's more central, and the coffee is better than 'bucks.
9:00 Sunday morning, rain or shine.
Lets keep motivated in this rain, next season you know you'll be happy you rode. 3 hours this week (plus a stop), but lets work up to 4 or 5 hours.
Base miles aren't fast, but they aren't slow either.
Wednesday
A simple training plan for the rest of us.
I've done okay at a couple races this year, and I'm confident enough to say that I can hang in there in a cat 1/2 race. "Hanging in there" shouldn't be any one's idea of success, but it is a stepping stone. Start celebrating stepping stones, or you won't last long in this sport.
It took me a while to get to this level. I hacked it out for a few years in Cat 4 and a couple in Cat 3. Now I'm in Cat 2.
There aren't a ton of guys like me. Instead, in any given race, I'm surrounded by guys who either started the sport as a teen, have an elite sporting background, or have a naturally "big motor". These guys tore through Cat 5,4 & 3, while I struggled at every step, scraping out top tens, then top 5's, then top 3's (and not many of those), until I had enough points to start the process all over again in the next category.
This post is a training plan for riders like me. I'm not a coach. If you can justify the cost of one, get one, and ignore weird guys who post stuff on the internet. If you can't, and you can't be bothered to read all those books on training that are out there, this is what you can do:
1. Hours.
This is probably the most important part of any training plan. If you want to get fast, you need to put in the hours. Nothing fancy here: Ride 8-10 hours every weekend, and 3-8 hours during the week. Take Mondays off to recover from the weekend, and Fridays off to get ready for it. A day off is a day off. No bike. No weights. Just drink beer and entertain your girl. Make up for the fact that you aren't going to see her before 2pm on weekends for a long, long time.
2. Weights
Everyone always talks about power to weight ratio in cycling. Don't worry about the weight part, you won't be racing in the Alps.
But you do need more power, I guarantee it.
Once or twice a week, go to the gym and use the leg press. Work your way up to doing 3 or 4 sets of 8 repetitions of big weights. While you're at the gym, you can do other weights and stuff, but if you don't feel like it, go sit in the sauna instead.
You can stop weights during race season, but you don't have to. Try riding up Cypress in your big ring. Yes, really.
3. Eating
Eat lots. Stay away from fatty crap. Eat steaks. Beer is good. If you're fat, eat less than you do now. If your not, don't worry about it.
4. Specifics
Sometime During your 11-18 hours a week, make sure you do these intervals:
2 X 30 minutes
5 X 5 minutes
10 X 3 minutes
Do them hard in the winter and harder in the summer.
5. Get bike fit.
This one is new to me. After five years of fiddling with adjustments myself, I got fit professionally. What a difference. Don't spend money on lightweight crap for your bike if you haven't had a bike fit. Mine was done at La Bicicletta, and they blew me away.
6. You don't need a watt meter.
If you have one, great, but you don't need one. And for god sakes, don't race with one. Those things suck the fun out of cycling. Besides, all that time you spend downloading data, looking at data, and analyzing data is time you could be spending riding.
That's it really. If even that is too complicated, just do this: ride everyday but monday and Friday, do weights on Tuesdays, and eat lots, especially steak.
It took me a while to get to this level. I hacked it out for a few years in Cat 4 and a couple in Cat 3. Now I'm in Cat 2.
There aren't a ton of guys like me. Instead, in any given race, I'm surrounded by guys who either started the sport as a teen, have an elite sporting background, or have a naturally "big motor". These guys tore through Cat 5,4 & 3, while I struggled at every step, scraping out top tens, then top 5's, then top 3's (and not many of those), until I had enough points to start the process all over again in the next category.
This post is a training plan for riders like me. I'm not a coach. If you can justify the cost of one, get one, and ignore weird guys who post stuff on the internet. If you can't, and you can't be bothered to read all those books on training that are out there, this is what you can do:
1. Hours.
This is probably the most important part of any training plan. If you want to get fast, you need to put in the hours. Nothing fancy here: Ride 8-10 hours every weekend, and 3-8 hours during the week. Take Mondays off to recover from the weekend, and Fridays off to get ready for it. A day off is a day off. No bike. No weights. Just drink beer and entertain your girl. Make up for the fact that you aren't going to see her before 2pm on weekends for a long, long time.
2. Weights
Everyone always talks about power to weight ratio in cycling. Don't worry about the weight part, you won't be racing in the Alps.
But you do need more power, I guarantee it.
Once or twice a week, go to the gym and use the leg press. Work your way up to doing 3 or 4 sets of 8 repetitions of big weights. While you're at the gym, you can do other weights and stuff, but if you don't feel like it, go sit in the sauna instead.
You can stop weights during race season, but you don't have to. Try riding up Cypress in your big ring. Yes, really.
3. Eating
Eat lots. Stay away from fatty crap. Eat steaks. Beer is good. If you're fat, eat less than you do now. If your not, don't worry about it.
4. Specifics
Sometime During your 11-18 hours a week, make sure you do these intervals:
2 X 30 minutes
5 X 5 minutes
10 X 3 minutes
Do them hard in the winter and harder in the summer.
5. Get bike fit.
This one is new to me. After five years of fiddling with adjustments myself, I got fit professionally. What a difference. Don't spend money on lightweight crap for your bike if you haven't had a bike fit. Mine was done at La Bicicletta, and they blew me away.
6. You don't need a watt meter.
If you have one, great, but you don't need one. And for god sakes, don't race with one. Those things suck the fun out of cycling. Besides, all that time you spend downloading data, looking at data, and analyzing data is time you could be spending riding.
That's it really. If even that is too complicated, just do this: ride everyday but monday and Friday, do weights on Tuesdays, and eat lots, especially steak.
Thursday Night Rides
La Bicicletta is hosting training rides every thursday night at 6:00pm. I'll be there helping to lead the ride. You should be there to be the ride.
There might be confusion about when the ride leaves. I'll be ready for 6:00pm, but for all I know, we'll leave at 6:30. Come at 6 if you don't want to miss it. Come at 6:30 if you're a gambler.
If I have my way, we'll mix it up out to Horseshoe bay. I'm thinking crosswalk points race.
La Bicicletta is on Broadway a couple blocks east of Cambie, on the North side of the road.
See you there.
There might be confusion about when the ride leaves. I'll be ready for 6:00pm, but for all I know, we'll leave at 6:30. Come at 6 if you don't want to miss it. Come at 6:30 if you're a gambler.
If I have my way, we'll mix it up out to Horseshoe bay. I'm thinking crosswalk points race.
La Bicicletta is on Broadway a couple blocks east of Cambie, on the North side of the road.
See you there.
Monday
It's Always Sunny in Tsawwassen
I bet the last time you rode in Tsawwessen was July 11&12th.
Well, there's more to this little town than the Tour de Delta. There's cranky old people, a ferry terminal, a major port, and miles upon miles of the sort of roads that are just right for winter training.
Long rides are better with a destination. This one is no exception. Petra's is Tsawwessen's best Coffee shop. A dubious distiction, but worth the ride.
So lets all ride to Petra's.
This is going to be a 150km ride. We'll leave at 8:00 from Cornwall and Cypress, ride Cambie to the new bike bridge, through Richmond, over the Alex Fraser, and along River Road. We'll stop at Petra's in Tsawwassen for a coffee and snack.
We should be home by 2:00, but I'm not going to guarantee that.
See you then. Tell you friends.
Well, there's more to this little town than the Tour de Delta. There's cranky old people, a ferry terminal, a major port, and miles upon miles of the sort of roads that are just right for winter training.
Long rides are better with a destination. This one is no exception. Petra's is Tsawwessen's best Coffee shop. A dubious distiction, but worth the ride.
So lets all ride to Petra's.
This is going to be a 150km ride. We'll leave at 8:00 from Cornwall and Cypress, ride Cambie to the new bike bridge, through Richmond, over the Alex Fraser, and along River Road. We'll stop at Petra's in Tsawwassen for a coffee and snack.
We should be home by 2:00, but I'm not going to guarantee that.
See you then. Tell you friends.
Thursday
January 9th
Note: we didn't stop for coffee. Booo.
In most cities, 15-20mm is not considered light rain.
Welcome to Vancouver.
I'm on a rest week, so the ride starts at 9:00, and will be a fairly leisurely jaunt to Steveston and back. If you want to hammer, I'll sit on your wheel.
We are most definitely stopping for coffee.
9:00am, Cornwall and Cypress.
In most cities, 15-20mm is not considered light rain.
Welcome to Vancouver.
I'm on a rest week, so the ride starts at 9:00, and will be a fairly leisurely jaunt to Steveston and back. If you want to hammer, I'll sit on your wheel.
We are most definitely stopping for coffee.
9:00am, Cornwall and Cypress.
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