TdF

Sorry I haven't been posting much but I had to drop a quick note about how much I'm enjoying the Tour de France this year. It has been an extremely entertaining race. I'll write a real post soon....

Sharing

I thought I would pass along a couple of item I have been enjoying. Fair warning though, both contain, shall we say, colorful language. So if that type of things offends you maybe you pass on these, but if not, enjoy!!

First is a blog called Slam That Stem. It is a blog dedicated to just what its title would indicate, slamming of stems. For those of you not familiar with the term, slamming a stem is placing a stem as low as it can go the steerer of a fork and thereby removing ALL spacers. This look is very "pro" and I personally think, is more aesthetically pleasing. The guy who curates this blog (curates seems like the right word because is is really a collection of beautiful picture of bikes) does so with a sense of humor that I really appreciate.

Second is Flammecast and more specifically, their podcast which can be found on iTunes. Well done cycling podcast are exceptionally hard to find and one of the creators of Flammecast was part of a podcast called Velocast that I found and enjoyed right as it went off the air. This new podcast was recommended to me by a teammate and it has not disappointed. I would highly recommend it if you enjoy passionate discussion about pro cycling mostly but also a smattering of general bike stuff and nonsense. Unfortunately, just after I found Flammecast, John (who also did Velocast) encountered some health issues that required him to step away and it looks like it may be at an end. They have since released anther podcast and John, if you ever happen to read this, best of luck in getting past whatever you are dealing with. Selfishly, I hope for a quick recovery because I would love for you to come back and do more of the Flammecast.

I hope you enjoy these. If there are other cycling resources that you enjoy, please pass them along.

4th of July

Enjoyed a long holiday weekend and did 3 consecutive 2+ hour rides with a couple of my teammates Paul and Mike. The Sunday ride was one of the most enjoyable rides I've ever had. Tons of great conversation, meaningless attacks and taunts, and great urban roads. It feels great to be free and alive on the bike again. It's appropriate also that we recognize and remember our country's freedom today. A special thanks to anyone serving in our military preserving our amazing freedom. Happy 4th of July!!!

The Armada

So here are updated pics of the bikes. There have been some changes including going from SRM to the Quarq on the Fuji, dropping the stem on all three to move my position a little more forward and down, and changing the hoods on the Van Dessel. The pics of the TT bike are waiting for the new disc wheel that should arrive by the end of next week.

Red Rice Rocket

Tidy Whitie

Belgian Tri-Color

I Can Do This....

After the I found that riding could be fun again, I decided to throw myself into the fire. The following Thursday I had the day off so I did my first Driveway crit. The Driveway is a weeknight crit that is held at a local race track and has grown into one of the biggest weeknight crits in the nation. I did the 3/4 race and it easily had 50+ starters. It was hot (100+ degrees) and it was hard from the beginning. I was quickly finding that my recovery wasn't very good but I was hanging on. Then a crash through a corner created a large gap from the field and from that point it was a solo ride. I finished but that was about all I could say for that race. At the same time it felt good to race again.

The following Tuesday I did the local monthly TT put on by All Sports Timing. This is the second one of these I've done and it was blisteringly hot this time. My Garmin recorded a temperature of 104. I'd still been tinkering with my position some so I tried to focus on pacing and good form on the bike and not push to hard in the heat. The result was a decent ride but it was a little slower then normal.

Finally, I played with my road bike position this past weekend after a very strong TT training ride and then decided to do the University Oaks crit Sunday since I was going up to San Antonio for work anyways. I did the 3/4 since it was the first race and quickly went on a break that didn't stay out long due to the strong head wind on the finishing drag. I got back in the field and recovered (haven't done that in a while) was able to attack and go on a second break and then get back into the field after I was reeled in and recovered again (who is this guy?) and finally covered a move by one of the other teams and worked the front of the race for 3 laps leading into the 2nd to last lap. Finally at that point I was cooked and thankfully a teammate attacked and I pulled out of the way and finished behind the field on the last lap. It was the best I've felt in over a year and was very encouraging. I felt no pressure and it was great just racing for fun. Now I'll see if I can keep building this form for State TTs that are coming in about a month.

Yup, I'm pulling a face...

Back On The Bike

I haven't posted but to be honest I haven't been riding. Recently my wife and I had an opportunity to make a dream come true and went to Peru for a couple of weeks. It was an amazing trip and I managed to keep fitness by hiking at altitude including a 4 day hike on the Inca trail to Machu Picchu. It was an absolutely amazing experience and it also meant almost 4 weeks off the bike. I didn't even sit on one for the longest period since I started riding about 5 years ago.

Today was my first time back on the bike and I did the local Dam Loop which is almost a 60 mile loop from the house. I started off and quickly found myself in the hurt locker and riding sucked once again just like when I left. It had turned into almost a necessary evil that allowed me to race which also kinda sucked in a way. Then, I had an epiphany. I've been reading Born to Run by Christopher McDougall and it is the story of a people in Mexico who are tremendous distance runners and the journey to finding joy in ultra long distance running. As I sat on the bike I begin to question why riding has to hurt and suck and I decided it doesn't. Now you may say that its not that simple to decide that, reality is still reality. However, I decided to separate my mind from the pain in the legs and think on the beauty of my scenery and the many things I've been blessed with including the experiences of our recent trip. All of a sudden I was free from the hurt locker and riding was fun again. It was incredibly freeing. I've been riding so long and trying to continually move up the ranks that I've forgotten that riding can be fun and only thought about "workouts" and "getting stronger". If I didn't feel the pain I told myself I wasn't working hard enough and I believe was focusing so much on the pain that I was actually holding myself back. I would be lying if I said that at the end of a long ride after time off I wasn't tired and sore but it was a good ride for the first ride in 4 weeks and the first "free" ride in I don't know how long. It's good to be back on the bike and free.

Balance

I thought this was the year that cycling and racing would return to normal. I was mistaken..... Everything that has changed at the end of last year; a new city, a new commute, our first house, and a renewed effort to make family the first priority; has completely shaken my cycling routines. It's still hard to find time and energy to train. The racing has been limited but also led to a lot of feelings unfulfilled potential since it wasn't backed by good training. What makes it worse is I now live in the best cycling city in Texas that also has some of the best racing thanks to the Driveway which could be the top weekday crit in the nation. The temptation of cycling is constantly there.

All this has created an inner struggle. I'm not under any misconception that cycling is or ever will be anything more than a hobby that allows me to stay healthy. At the same time, I love riding and racing and have a competitive and slightly obsessive personality. I've loved the time I've had for things outside cycling but the lack of cycling compared to what it could be has grown to the point of frustration verging on very mild depression at times. Thankfully, I have a very understanding and supportive wife and I'm confident that I will find a balance of cycling that I'm at peace with and fits my life. I just don't know what it looks like or when it will happen.