last week and yesterday

so i've been riding my bike to work recently, from SW mpls/Richfield to NE mpls. 12-15 miles each way depending on how much traffic i want to avoid. takes me between an hour and an hour a quarter or maybe an hour and a half.... i could probably do it faster. first day i went there and back, hurt my taint that ride. i've been getting a ride on some mornings and biking back home. today again we'll hit there and back again, let's hope it doesn't rain.

no photo

where do we go from here

on the new moon i like to crystallize my meditations.
here's the plan, endurance bicycle racing.

not anything epic or out-of-reach, just riding my bike for hours at a time, like 8 or ten...or 24.
first i need to get out for the slick 50(in march) and almonzo 100 in may. let's keep the enthusiasm in check. I may be riding a panasonic dx-5000, i'll keep you posted.

now to make that happen i will need to be a good commuter. yes,that means that i must get up early and ride when i'm exhausted. is there any goal worth reaching that is easy?

the road taken

i will ride my bike to work and home again at the end of the day. i am not a commuter.

newly fallen snow

gonna try this again....
cyclocross bike - snow
single speed - snow,snow
45 minutes around the lake of harriet - snow, snow ,snow
let it snow

the slow creep

if i don't get on my bicycle tonight i'm fucked..... may as well throw away the spring campaign. making thanksgiving dinner and housecleaning. how late is too late. 7am ride at minnehaha depot on turkey day beckons. maybe i can get swanson to autograph my helmet.

longer distances on the road past dark

if i'm going to put in a few 50 milers after dark i will need;

• headlight, white (blinky or more)
• food and water back-up
• extra clothes

i guess i'll re-mount the rack and panniers, roadside repair could be tricky if i do anything other than fix a flat, even then i'll need to be well out the vehicle right of way and carry sufficient light for the repair

preparation for ragnorak 105

time/speed (from last years results)
1st finisher at 3 hours 41 minutes ~28 mph
last finishers at 7 hours 9 minutes ~15 mph


http://www.ultracycling.com/training/preparing_for_12_24s_part1.html

where my head is ....

bike snob mpls: mental preparation

45 + begins now...

thought i had another year before i started breaking age group records.... oh, well no time like the present. what is the USACX standard for 45+ men on a single speed bicycle?

practice is exercise

if i have to read one more blog post about 'cyclocross practice'...... i'm gonna.... i don't know what i'm gonna do, but won't be pretty. I ride, i do not practice. the whole notion is an anathema. i ride and i race.

i understand the idea and the value of preparation. i ride hills, i throw a few run-ups into my ride, i do intervals of intense exertion, i ride long slow distances, and i can even fartlek. but i will never practice or workout. i try to condition my body and enhance muscle memory so i can dismount and grab my bicycle without thinking before i act. technique is what i'm talking about.

one cannot race without preparing for it. better racers have more experience, and better trained athletes have better results. but practice is bad, running up the same hill ten times in the same session teaches you nothing. I ride approximately the same route/course for 45 minutes to an hour 5 nights a week. every ride is different, i gauge my fitness by the time it takes me to finish and how i felt doing it.

racing or training or biking

if i drag my kid across town in the trailer for tuesday night cyclocross practice is that junk miles?...i would have the son in the trunk, not the junk.