TT bike? Maybe next year.

Well, the weather cooperated and the morning was sunny and calm (but cold @ 37 degrees). There was a gentle breeze in the form of a tailwind for the start of the race and I pushed myself very hard, managing to average 24 mph over 21 miles, giving me a time of 52:37. That felt good for me and I recorded the tenth best time (of 64 entrants - one of the nine that beat me was a woman and she set a new women's record of 50:53) but there were some speedster's out there and a new course record was set at 46:00 flat. That's just a tick over 27 mph! My friend Tony has me thinking a lot about how much time I could save with an actual time trial bike with a disc rear wheel and a deep dish front wheel, but it's all about the money and those exotic rigs cost a pretty penny. Maybe I'll get a paper route and save money to get one next year. Until then, I'll just have to try to pedal harder and faster.

Roll the Bones

It's been a few days and the time since has been filled with activities, appointments and spring rides. This time of year always gets me excited for the long daylight hours and the increasing amount of fun that we fit into each day. Tomorrow morning is the Seward Highway TT from Bird Point to the base of Turnagain Pass. It's 21 miles of mainly flat road but in the end, whether the effort proves to result in a fast time depends on how hard and in which direction Mother Nature chooses to blow her wind. The road is notoriously windy but the wind usually picks up later in the day so, with the race starting at 9:00 (ish), hopefully she will not have woken up yet to let out a blast of cold wind from the east. I've been feeling pretty good on the bike recently and have set my mind to push myself as hard as possible while at the same time working to pace myself so that I have virtually nothing left to give when I hit the line... but trying not to run out of gas before I get there. Right now the sun is still high in the sky and the winds of the day are getting ready for bed. I hope they sleep in until, say, noon or so. Either way, I'll be out there to roll the bones and see what I come up with.

Busy Saturday

My nerves didn't keep me up too late last night and I managed to get some sleep. I woke to cloudy skies and cool tempuratures in the mid-30's. Any left over nerves were obliterated by my favorite security blanket - RUSH. I cranked the medley that opens the R30 show (best opener... ever) as I pulled away from the house and, as always, got lost in their intelligent arrangements, rocking power, and intricate transitions. PCF, baby. Pure Canadian Fury. But I digress... I got out to Moose Run and there were loads of people and with this being the first race of the year, the registration took longer than anticipated. I ended up going out onto the 10 mile, slightly hilly course a bit after 11:00 am with a few snowflakes falling from the sky and melting on the road. I hit the turn around at 12:13 and that made me happy - but I could feel the lead beginning to fill my legs and I knew that I still had a bit of climbing to do on the way back. I was only able to muster a 14:43 for my return trip for a grand total of 26:56... 59 seconds slower than I was last June. I'm looking to break into the 24's by June so I've got my work cut out for me... But I'm looking forward to it.

Following this event, I went directly to meet my family at another event at the Kincaid Chalet where the Alaskan Winter Olympic athletes were honored again and the Mayor presented the permit to begin work on a new biathalon course, improved ski trails, and new soccer fields among other improvements to be made with some big bucks coming from the state and private contributions.

In addition to this busy morning, my wife, my oldest daughter and I had an indoor soccer game at 4:00. Our team won 5-4 with one of the goals being a sweet shot lobbed over the keeper's head by my wife and another being sweet cross shot to the corner of the goal by my daughter. NIce moves = proud husband/daddy. We have another game tomorrow at noon and then I'll go for a ride.

Tonight is "Game Night" for my wife and her girlfriends which means I'm bailing out faster than October geese headin' south. Peace... I'm outta here. 5000, G... 5000.

Nerves of Canned Asparagus

Yes, the opposite of steel. For one reason or another the first bike race of the season (either a tt or a hill climb) makes me nervous, even if I already have an idea of the outcome based on how much time I put in over the winter and how many unnecessary lbs. I have yet to rid myself of from the dark months. It makes me nervous because the truth is about to be told and although I have an idea, I still don't know for certain... The good thing I have been telling myself is that even if I'm off of my desired pace, it's only April and by June I'll be feeling much stronger and hopefully faster. Of course, this is something I try to get myself to start thinking in December or January but somehow the time seems to drift with sporadic focus. This year I'm trying to focus on the long view and aim for my fitness (and confidence) to consistently increase throughout the summer, fall, and into the winter, unlike in years past where I've had a good June and then let all the miles and hard work fall away by August. So, nerves or not, I'm still going to go out and have some fun... 'cause that's really what it's all about and even though I've got the uncertain-night-before-nerves, once I'm on the road and the clock is tickin', the fun has begun.

Flying

Tonight I was able to go rip around on my road bike for an hour or so before picking up my daughter from soccer practice. I spun out the Old Seward past the relic sign that still stands in the parking lot that was The Rabbit Hutch restaurant and as I was approaching the base of Potter Valley road, I saw an old friend playing with his bike computer on his Cervelo tt bike. We caught up on old times for about 30 seconds and then hopped out on the Seward highway back toward town. We had a brisk tail wind and as I drafted the man on the tt bike, we went 33... 34... 35... 36... 37 mph! That rush lasted for about six minutes until we wrapped around the marsh and started climbing the off ramp for another lap. As we chatted, we were again simply amazed at how fast the pro's are and that they time trial that fast WITHOUT a tail wind. Animals.

One Little Victory

Last Friday night my son and I pulled into the parking lot of the neighborhood pizza place. I went in to pick up our order but it wasn't quite done yet so I went back to the car to kill the three to five minutes. I was shuffling through too many mix CD's trying to find something for us to listen to and he says, "Dad... does that sign with the blue arrow on it say 'Please Use Other Door'?". I said, "You know it" and he says, "Yes!" and I got to thinking about how cool it is from my perspective being able to watch him learn how to read and get excited about it... for him beginning to make sense of all the seemingly jumbled letters that are everywhere. Last year in kindergarten he knew all the letters/numbers/colors/shapes/sounds, etc,. This year he doesn't have to say, "... but I can't read". He just needs a bit more assistance and before you know it, he'll be a readin' menace.

Turnagain

Last night I went for a ride on my road bike and part of it was on the lovely Turnagain Arm out to Rainbow. I rode up Rabbit Creek and down DeArmoun with the sun in my face and although the average temperature of my ride was only 44 degrees, the sun warmed me inside with the promise that very soon I would be able to ride without arm and knee warmers and big shoe covers to keep me toe-sies warm. Get out and go for a ride.

The Creeper

"You're in for surprise... you're in for a SHOOAAACCKKK!!!" Right now the days are getting longer by almost six minutes... The sun is now setting close to 9:30 p.m. It's this time of year when, although there is increasingly more daylight, the season seems to drag. There's more light but no leaves, green grass, or other signs of the new season to come. It's creepin' and all of a sudden - bam... everything is green and growing out of control. It's coming soon and I'll do my best to keep my sanity while I observe... and never turn my back(ack, ack, ack) - on The Creeper... The Creepaaaaah!!

p.s. 25 Rocker Points if you can name the band/song I vaguely referenced

Getting back in the time zone

I landed in Anchorage last night after 10+ hours of travel and had some fantastic sleep in my own bed. Today, though, I've been struggling a bit to get my clock back together after 10 days in the EST zone. But it's like what the monkey said when they cut off his tail: "It won't be long now"... Tomorrow I'll be back on the bike and it won't get dark until about 9:30 so I'll be sure to get in a good ride after work... and speaking of riding, tonight when I was unpacking my bike and putting it back together, I felt a pang of emotion when I saw a spattering of red, Georgia clay on my downtube and thought of the timeless vacation I spent with my younger sister... eating, drinking, riding, walking, laughing, napping, and laughing some more... everything was perfect for me and I can't thank her enough for the time we spent.

Learning

I'm starting to get the hang of this and with some help, I turned on the comment option... hooray for me. Comment if you wish, please. Good day.

Silver Comet

Good day today... Maigh dropped me off at the start of the Silver Comet trail (a defunct train rail that is now a nice, paved path) around 4:00 and off I went. Out 21.5 miles and back the same to make 43 miles in 2:15 @ 19 mph... 78 degrees felt great when I read in the paper today that it was 28 back home... Then it was up to The Mc's for a delicious dinner of salmon, crab, steamed broccoli, bbq'd corn on the cob, baked potato, and wine with a bonus of freshly baked brownies for dessert... Ahhh... great way to finish the day.

APB

A big "thank you" to the guys from the APB team for the rides around Atlanta... You've helped make my time off much more enjoyable... Good luck this weekend in Gainesville!