Sunny, Warm, and NO SCHOOL

Wow, what a day. I slept in until 8, ate some oatmeal and a bagel, then sat around and streched until 10. I took the YETI out for a nice 40 miles ride from home to ILRA and did a double B/Y, then back home. My bike was responsive, the lockout was sweet, and my legs were snappy. I ended up with a 17.5mph average, which made my next ride look bad. I rode home, grabbed a powerbar, re-filled bottles, then headed off for a long road ride. The wind was nasty out of the south, so most of the ride to ILRA I was battling wind. I rode to the back of ILRA, then around to Kensington, and just as I was making my return trip to ILRA, I flatted. I put a new tube in and went off. I rode into the ILRA parking lot to look for someone with a pump so I could check my pressure, but WHAMM. I flatted my front tire again. I was out of tubes and air, and 10 miles from home. Luckily, my mom had just ridden and was only 7 miles away. A guy from D&D who had seen me go by him the other day said he had tons of tubes and he was trying to give me one. I new I was probably going to flat again since there was probably a problem with the wheel.

After I got home, I had 68 miles in and it was gorgeous out. I went outside and cleaned my YETI which really needed it, and I also cleaned off the drivetrain of the road bike. I called Glen to get him to go ride since he has been stuck at work lately, and I went out on the SS to ride with him. It ended up being a great end to my day and my legs felt awesome after the spin. I forgot how fun the SS is to ride and how fast it is up the hills.

Thunderstorms tommorrow show a good recovery day for me, then back on the road bike for a 60-70 mile ride in Ann Arbor SAT after I put new rim tape on to cover an exposed spoke hole.

New Lockout=Ride

I got home from school and noticed I had a package from UPS. My Manitou Click-It lockout came, so I ran downstairs and installed it on my YETI. After I made it work, I went out for a nice 29 mile backroads ride over to ILRA for a ride on the blue and yellow loops. The trails were really dry except for one 10ft long section on blue. I ended up riding for 1:49 and averaged 157 heart rate which is about 7-10 beats lower than race pace. I felt good and am looking foreward to more single track.

I am off school tommorrow and the MI weather looks like it is cooperating, so I am looking at a nice long road ride and probably a mountain bike ride thrown in later in the day. I am looking at riding around 70 miles in the 60 degree weather tom. then recovering while it rains Friday and hitting it hard again Sat.

Another Road Ride

I am racking the miles up. Last year at this time I had 190 miles of easy riding and not many hills. This year I have about 600 miles in the saddle and it consists of mostly hills or long rides on the road bike with a few snow and backroad rides thrown in.

Today I hopped on the road bike for a nice double loop around ILRA and Kensington. Yesterday I did hill repeats, so today I just rode for time with a higher heart rate. I ended up with 41 miles over 2:06, which is around 19.5 mph average which wasn't too bad by myself with the slight wind. I felt great and am looking at a recovery ride on the back roads with the SS tommorrow if it doesn't rain too much. Yankee is less than a month away and I am already feeling up for it. I can't wait.

MTB and Road Ride Today

I got a call this morning for a ride out at Highland. I hurried up and rushed out the door to go. The trails were in really good condition with only a few soft spots and slick areas on a few backsides of hills. I was surprised at how well the trail was. The Yeti was screamin' fast and I flew through the A loop like it was nothing. I think I got a little stupid over winter since I was riding the downhills and technical sections faster than ever. It is a good thing, that means I will go faster until I crash bad and decide to start braking a little more. Riding singletrack, especially Highland felt soooooo damn good.

I went from Highland over to ILRA with my dad to go for a little road ride. The temperature dropped significantly since I wore knee warmer and an underarmor baselayer with a jeresy while MTBing. My clothing of choice for the road ride was tight, booties, jacket, fleece winter gloves, and a headband. I rode theFarm center hill, little puke, and big puke I rode 3 times. While riding back into ILRA my legs started to burn a little on the hills. All I did was push harder. I ended up with 10miles (A & B loop) on the MTB and 30 miles of some good riding and efforts on the road. Can't wait for tommorrow when it will be 50 degrees(hopefully).

New Map

Thanks to Dan S, I decided to try the gmap-pedometer program to map out my routes better than Microsoft Streets and Trips. The program is sweet. I mapped out my ride from yesterday and it shows about the same distance as my other map(I didn't include my 1.5mile warmup around my sub on either of them). This Google program also lets you see your route on Satelitte image and it also shows your altitude change. For a free internet program, this is awesome.

Click this link to see the map and altitude.

A Strange Backroad Ride

With the weather coaperating in the upper 30's, I decided to go for my dirt road ride that I had planned. I was going to ride out to Commerce and ride THE HICK, but I made a wrong turn. There were no road signs on Garden road which pretty much turns into two-track and goes through Proud Lake. I ended up on Burns Road which I had remembered from the map I looked at. So, I rode down Burns Road until I hit Commerce. I looked around and realized that I knew where I was. Som since I had no idea where Garden road went, I decided to take Burns road down to Cooley Lake to Beaumont Rd which goes through Highland Rec. I decided to hop off the bike and check out the D-Loop of Highland Rec to see how the trail was. Since it drains well, the trail was pretty good, just a few softer spots on the top 1 inch do to the overnight freezings. Once the temp stays above 32 at night, then it is ridable, so most likely next week when it might hit mid 50's!!!!! Total miles was 33 over an exact 2 hr ride time on the Yeti. I put in some good intervals and hard efforts between different streets and crossroads, or on long sections of hills. All in all, I felt great and my legs started to burn on the last few hills I hammered up. My heart rate was an average of 157 which is only 8-10 beats lower than race pace. Here is the map of my ride that I actually road.

Recovery Day

I trained hard this past week, so I am recovering harder today! I went to Physical therapy and the guy showed me a good exercise to strengthen the LOWER abs which support the lower back. Just doing the exercise the first time I could tell it was what I needed. I realized I couldn't even keep my lower back pressed against the ground when extending my legs out. Therefore, I need to strengthen the lowers and help out my back. I was excited that there was nothing wrong in my x-rays and that I can fix my problem. I saw a box from BROWN on the porch today and realized it was my new Specialized Body Geometry Gloves. They have a really nice BG padding to support the ulcer nerve so that your hands don't go numb. They are also extremely breathable which caught me by surprise. I can't wait to use them. They will be a definete go for 24 Hours of Boyne and Founders Lumberjack 100.

Tommorrow I am planning on running the mile at school for a fitnes test, and then coming home to ride. I think I will hit up a backroads ride from Buno->Old Plank->Garden Rd->Through Proud Lake->Glengary Rd->The Hick to ride some singletrack!!!!! The Yeti is going to see some more miles getting ready for Spring, Spring Break out West, and YANKEE SPRINGS TT.

Recieved my Team Novara Uniform

Well, today I picked up my bibs and jerseys from REI and they are sweet.

Front of Jersey

Back

Bib shorts

They come with an awesome comfortable and colorful chamois too!

After I tried on the clothes, I gave riding the trainer a shot. I rode the Sprinting DVD which felt amazing today. I did a new Pilates tape later on that works out more back muscles than my normal tape. I have to go to the Physical therapist tommorrow to try and fix my back. Hopefully I will get some good exercises that help fast. I will use tommorrow as recovery then hit the back roads on the Yeti on Thursday and Friday before I jump on the road bike for the weekend.

MI weather Sucks again

First day of Spring, and low 30 temperatures. This blows. I went out for a road ride today, but I didn't realize how cold it was until my cold-dtricken lungs were burning. I decided it would probably be better to go home and ride the trainer where it was warm and I could hopefully get over this damn cold. So, I rode a whoppin 8 miles outside, then rode for an hour later on inside on the trainer.

Looking ahead, I plan on riding the trainer tommorrow when it will be chilly again, then hitting the back roads again for another 2hrs or 30 miles on Wednesday. Thursday and Friday also look good in the low 40's, so a roadride could be possible. I should be getting a Click-It Remote Lockout and a crown lockout for my forks on Monday courtesy of Bobby at Manitou! Maybe now my fork will unlock.

First Ride of the Year for the YETI

Finally, after a long 4 month wait of not riding my Yeti, I took it out for a ride. I was informed that the dirt roads were in good condition, so a back roads ride I went. The weather was low 40's but I sweated my ass off in tights. I knew I should have worn knee warmers. The bike felt great except that the cable housing for the remote-lockout is so friggin' long(Manitou is sending me a click-it lockout) that after I locked my fork out 3 times, it didn't unlock. So I rode 29 miles of loose gravel and some washboarded roads rigid. Not too bad since I road 700 miles on a SS rigided out last year. My cold felt better today, so I hope the riding won't hurt it. I also got in some Pilates work this morning and looked at the calender only to realize that I leave for Fruita in 3 Weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm Sick Again

I knew it. Last weekend it was 70degrees and then the weather took a 35-40 degree drop. The change in temperature always gives me a cold. I have a bad cough, runny nose, and a headache. This sucks for my training. I was going to go ride today since I took a recovery day yesterday. It was around 30 today, so I stayed inside, rode the trainer, then went off to work to skate for three hours. The burning lung sensation is not something I enjoy. Oh well, the weather looks dry for the next few days, so maybe the trails will be ready soon.

Training and Working

Now that the House playoffs are in full swing at the hockey rink, I am working a lot. All I think about is how nice it is to be able to skate (which along w/ XC Skiing is the best cross-training) get paid, and train all at the same time. Yesterday was sunny and 40 degrees, therefore I got a nice 1:45 ride in at Kensington and ILRA. The wind was still gusty at around 20mph, so it was tough but always fun and good training.

COLD, WINDY, ahh Trainer

Woke up to sore legs again from the weight training I did yesterday. This is a good thing because it means the weights are working. I looked out the window and it was snowing. The temp was 30 degrees. That is only a 40 degree drop in temperature from yesterday. This weather sucks. I decided to ride the sprinting tape on the trainer today. The hour spin felt great, and will be just enough to do before I go out and ride tommorrow. The weather looks like SUNNY and mid-40's tommorrow, so the road ride looks like a good option.

WINDDDDY

Today we had a tornado watch just about all day in Livingston County. It was about 70 degrees, but I did not feel like getting blown off of the road with constant 40mph wind gusts. I rode down the street a few feet and got blown all the way to the stop sign a little ways down!!! I decided to do PILATES and some weight training before going off to work to skate. All in all it was a good but fairly laid back day of training. Tommorrow is back to crap weather with a high of 30 or 35 degrees. SWEET, I can't wait. Meechigan SUCKS.

Hines Drive is All Mine

I went out to ride with some friends today out at Hines Drive in Wayne County. I rode with them a while, and had a few hard efforts where I dropped them. I was riding with them when a guy flew by us, so I was pressured into passing him. BIG RING, DROP, and HAMMER. I flew by him easily, then kept on going until I saw a group of people that I waved to. The people turned out to be fellow Team Novara riders, Josh, Brian, and Paul. I stopped and talked to them a while with Danielle, then I went on again. I rode with Danielle another few miles out to Outer Drive until she told me to go since she was riding zone 3 for 3hrs. Again, I layed down the hammer and was going from 24-26mph all the way back to Haggerty road, where I caught the rest of the group who was a long ways ahead of me when I turned around. I was able to go so fast and pass people easily since the road was shut down for flooding. The flooding was less then an inch of water under the middlebelt bridge. The road was quite nice to have to myself without asshole drivers honking their horns or squealing their tires. After re-grouping, Kevin, El, Craig, and I went out to do the 5 mile hill and down Sheldon back to Hines.

I came out with 34 good miles of easy riding, hard intervals, and longer distance efforts. All in all it was a sweet ride. I will go ride again tommorrow and then have a day off on Tuesday when it might not even 30 degrees. Today was almost 70 and tommorrow will be the same. Spring is Coming(I HOPE).

Good Weather is HERE, Well at least for a few days

I have been riding the trainer for the past two weeks and I am starting to really get sick of it. I logged 7hrs on the trainer doing intervals last week and I have put in 3 hrs on the trainer this week. I got outside to ride when ot was around 44 on Wednesday and had a nice little ride with short intervals. I have also been working quite frequently since the hockey season is coming to an end.

Yesterday was awesome. It was supposed to be 55 degrees and I think it made it there. I was at the ILRA trailgead going out for a ride when I met up with my Ford teamates from last year. I rode 4 sets of hill loops at Kensington with them and a little more riding at ILRA. It was an awesome ride. I guess we rode like a bunch of MTBers like we are since we were just cruising on the flats, and then hammered to the top of hills. I got my highest heart rates getting chased up the hills since the ICEMAN. After the group dispersed, I decided to ride back home and ride with Arrivo until I had to turn off. My total mileage was 43 miles of some great hill climbing.

Today is supposed to be in the upper 50's and I will probably go ride once the ground sucks in all of the rain water. I am thinking of meeting up with a few people and maybe going to ride the GM loop to change it up a bit and get away from the normal ILRA/Kensington.

The weather looks like mid 60's and great for a road ride tommorrow. Unfortunately, I WILL get a cold since the DAMN Michigan weather is going from mid 60's to mid 30's over 24hrs. SWEET, more trainer time!!!