And so it begins... Day 1.

For 6 Months..... har.

Well the season officially ended for me in July, technically after that I was damaged and had pretty much all the wind I could have taken out of me. It sucked. I did PDE 2012, 30km course. I did well and rode fairly strong but I didn't by any means race it. I did ride it with a friend of mine as well. I don't care much about the placing at all. I was just happy to ride.

On the other hand I was abhorring training entirely. My body shows it. I'm not quite as thin *if I ever was really* as I was in July, and the pants are a little tighter then normal.

By no means am I blaming anything but myself. I've spent a bit too much time eating food I shouldn't and not enough time eating foods I should, I've also spent too much time using some videogames as a crutch to get over my shoulder, and not enough spending time with my bikes to get over it... blegh anyway.

I've come to the point now where I've gotten mad enough to start training again with a mission.

My mission this 2013 year is 3 things. 3 Races spaced over a bit of time (competitive, the rest of them are for funsies and challenges of different types.... also more designed around not having to plan much for them)

1. Paris to Ancaster (I'm not going to talk about my mechanical here because its not important, it happened, I'm over it.)

Its the race I love to hate. Last year I started strong and rode like I was possessed. I pushed myself hard and wondered how long I could hold the pace. It wasn't my legs that gave out on me during that race, it was my back down the rail trail section of the course. It slowed me down quite a bit. I figured I had enough power for Martin hill as well at the end of the race. While this may have been the case, the problem I might have had with it, is that I forgot how rough it is leading into the actual climb. Noteworthy for next year.

I'll make sure to strengthen my core this winter while on my plan. There are structured sections in my plan to "wildcard" it up. During the wildcard times I'm going to work my core out with off days doing upper body. On light days where the weather is good, I'll go hiking at Heber to strengthen my legs a bit.

A stronger core, warmth on my hands and feet will carry me a lot farther and allow me to keep the power on rather then having to slow down and work kinks out of my lower back. The warmth will also allow me to be able to switch gears rather then having my fingers so cold I can't put any pressure on them.

2. Dirty Kanza Long Version

I've come to really like P2A even though after the race I always hate the repair bill on my bike. The DK takes it to another level with a 320km race. I'm not sure what to expect from it other then its long, gravely, and looks mad painful. I don't have much to say other then I look forward to training for it.

3. HANSOLO.

This year at the Hot August Nights I'll be looking to ride that solo. The HAN course usually seems to be fairly calm compared to some of the other courses that Chico puts on. Which is fine, the Summer Solstice course this year was hella fun. A bit more technical then anything I've seen them do, but it was loaded with fun things to do while riding without feeling like it was a chugging nasty chore to finish.

At this point, its a chemical experiment starting with the Kanza.. if I can pull the Kanza off.... then HANSOLO should be little more then going once more unto the breech.

I'll also attempt the 100km PDE SS and such, since really why not. That and I like PDE quite a bit but thats just a completion thing :)

Anyway

6 Months
1800 calories a day
Recording everything / with pics, here.
Drop weight, up wattage, get faster, get meaner.

Day one begins today.

2012 is behind me... I must accept it is over.

But that doesn't mean... I can't train for 2013.

Summer 2012

  

Winter 2012-2013 Addons

Paris to Ancaster 2013

Looking forward to P2A 2013. Squeaking in at just over Clyde weight, with a massive engine. I did well last year, but took my gains for granted and slacked hard later in the summer resulting in my complete derailment at the Summer 8. This will not happen in 2013....

HEY WHA HAPPEN?

HEY..?

Well the 24H race happened. We lost Bill for it and took on a newbie to racing. Some early morning shenanigans left 3 of us in a 5 man team racing, it wasn't optimal. Next year I'll have a better plan. I'll shoot for a team of super keen riders and go from there. My lap times were decent and my Highball held up seriously well. Easily my favorite bike now... minus a set of good rims. Though the Ikons are super easy to take off and put on... this helps with tire changes if i need them... on the otherhand... this would also lead to my downfall..

After the 24H was over I ramped up riding quite a bit getting in lots of 40K rides as well as the odd 60K when I had the time. Sufferfests were put on the backburner as I would take my cross bike out and fireroad as fast as I could to get speed and power up in prep for CTS.

I was also putting in longer rides for the 24H in NY.

But first... the Summer 8.

I figured for the Summer 8 I would join a 5-6 man team and just do 2 laps and enjoy the day. Except since I was only doing 2 laps... I figured I'd go hard. First lap I didn't warm up properly and red lined the first lap hard trying to stay with the fast group. I still pulled a 38:30 starting lap or so. Not fantastic, but still way faster then last year. I rode everything well considering I lost my bottle like 2km in. Dumb move but whatever that happens.

Second lap I was much warmer and ready to rock. I rode fairly fast, and was enjoying the race now that the pack had dispersed and had more room to ride how I normally do... which is without any style at all. I was really hammering through and got to the end... about 200m from the finish there's a ditch... its not big by any means, but it's a lot wider then I thought... anyway, coming out of the bush I was big ring mid cog... I geared down a bit and thought to charge the last 200-300 meters at full hammer.... I totally forgot about the ditch, I saw on my GPS I was heading for a sub 33 min lap... so I was pretty stoked.... and I forget my golden rule this year.... don't crash.

Oh shit ditch.... well I'll just wheelie through it. Oh shit my bike is really light... guess this is going to be a bunny hop... oh shit i am off kilter like a bitch... .. oh shit... my shoulder doesn't seem to be in the same place it was about 1 second ago.

Game over. My front tire blew off the rim on  landing sending me down to the ground directly... the angle must have been about 90' since I didn't slide forward at all and was unable to roll into the crash at all.

Get up, shoulders out of joint... takes about a minute, slides back in, can't move my arm without it sending stars to my eyes. Tire is off the bead... I'm bleeding and have a serious amount of trail rash on my arm.... at this point there are people all around me asking me if I'm alright. My pride was destroyed I think more then anything followed closely by my shoulder.... then I start panicking because I want to finish my lap.

I grab a medium specialized Stumpy and hobble my way to the finish.... 37:40. They were yelling at me to get off my bike coming through... till they saw me covered in blood, then they weren't so eager to be sonsofbitches to riders.

Game over. I put my contacts back in their case.... and suddenly my shoulder snaps... and a major wave of relief sweeps through me as the pressure seems to dissipate... and is now just a massive throbbing ache.

I manage to drive home.. and shower.

Now... I have dirt and shit inside this trailrash.... so I put that underwater not thinking....

Its the first time I've wished I could cut off an appendage...

Yeah pain.

Anyway let me coles notes the rest of the summer till now for you.

1. Went up north
2. Came back down
3. Cancelled Crank the Shield
4. Went to doctor
5. Got ultrasound.
6. Stay off the bike for almost a month.
7. Eat like shit in my sudden onslaught of mild depression as I realize my season is over.
8. Gain 10lbs.
9. Get pissed I gained 10lbs.
10. Get cleared to get back on the bike.

I'm currently Sufferfesting myself back to an acceptable race form for the 60K Ganaraska romp.

During this time nearing the end of my self serving depression and reluctance to do anything... I came across something.... something...  of masochismic sexyness that I didn't know existed apart from P2A.

Gravel Crushing.... there are races dedicated to this...

Dirty Kanza 200?

....... well then.

Now I have a goal next year.... along with a Solo 24 in August which is purely for giggles.

First get Ganaraska out of the way, then look forward to 2013's race season... regaining the full use of my shoulder. A bunch of upper body strength training to help keep me upright, for these kinds of races... and a focus on my P2A rematch before going full bore on Kanza.

Full Metal Niner

This is my Singlespeed. There are many others like it, but this one is mine. My Singlespeed is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. Without me, my Singlespeed is useless. Without my Singlespeed, I am useless. I must mash my Singlespeed true. I must mash harder than my opponents, who are trying to beat me. I must mash them before they mash me. I will. Before God I swear this creed: my Singlespeed and myself are defenders of my trails, we are the masters of our opponents, we are the saviors of my life. So be it, until there is no competition, but podiums. Amen.

Its like that... Mansfield 8 H

That's the starting hill? Shiat....

8 Hour is done. Total laps for the team 14. Total laps for me 5. Total fade from first lap to last lap 5 min. Best lap 33 min, worst lap, 38. Sub 35min lap....... mission accomplished.


BILL
MIRO
MIKE

1: 29:16
2: 33:19
3. 43:19
4: 30:17
5: 35:04
6: 43:39
7: 30:57
8: 35:44
9: 46:36
10: 31:54
11: 36:22
12: 32:47

13: 38:38

14: 33:54

1 under 35... and I blame the 35:04 on the fact that the card readers were being bitches... so yeah 2 sub 35s. Now I'm not sure exactly how fast that is when you compare it to say... the riders this year. Bill pulled a 29 min lap, which was pretty incredible, musta been motoring. I was happy with my first lap of 33:19. It wasn't far off Bill and he put in some really competitive times...

I got my 5 laps in, but I still had legs for a 6th, and I'm pretty sure it coulda still been 30s.

But lets take a look at last years times for me... on a course I considered easier.....

41:15
43:55
43:11
47:40

Yup... not one 40 in my entire day of racing.... how you like them apples?

Anyway.. RRRRRRRRRRAcereport.

On Friday I spent the morning getting everything ready and packed up. Lawn cut bike cleaned etc etc. Done and done, and was out of the house by about 2:30 for a 3-4pm arrival at Mansfield. Good times except for the heat was really bad, and the sun was getting a bit relentless. Met up with Bill who was also setting up with his sons. Once the tent was up, I took the bike out, got all my stuff into the shade, blew up my friggen mattress *Who does this now anyway? Why don't I have an electric air pump yet?* Threw that in the tent, threw the blankets into the tent, got into some relaxed riding gear, waited for Mike to show up, and took a pre ride lap around the course.

First thing: They changed the hill up. Instead of the long road grind they now have a steeper hilly climb where you go up more but get a few places you can gun down really quickly to get some sort of momentum into the next climb.... trolled you right from the start.

Kinda like this...

Once we were up the hill, the usual wasn't really that bad. Some really sweet single track and a bunch of sand... oh yeah sand. Everywhere.

Mike, Bill, Bill's sons, and I head back to camp after a leisure ride make dinner then close up shop for the night.

Usually when I camp I don't sleep super well unless it gets cold, and with the heat all day I wasn't really anticipating a good nights sleep after melting in the sun, but I figured it was worth camping over given that I'm not a morning person and driving to Mansfield wasn't exactly my cup of tea at like 6am sans coffee. I was super happy to find that the temp dropped so much that I was able to get a really decent nights sleep and was super happy to get woken up by my alarm rather then randomly through the night.

Boom Mansfield pancakes and some snausages, couple of bagels, a fresh DD from Tims, a Gatorade pre game, and I'm wired.

Bill started off the day with a 29 minute lap and our transition was pretty smooth. We were ahead of a lot of riders and I had a good chance to ride without getting caught behind people.

The first part of the course I rode at what I felt was near redline. Nothing really to report on. The tricky sections were ridden well, and I don't think I made any mistakes. I made sure to power out of corners, take good lines and oh hay whats this... false flat into zac's revenge... well that ain't no false flat, thats just a plane old hill....

First hill and into Chewbaccas. Pretty fun actually. Last year Chewbacca ended up putting me on my ass because I had no idea what I was doing. I was too far over the bars and ended up eating dirt where the trail dips down. After looking at it a bit, you could ride the right side and avoid the bad stuff and just keep moving at a good pace... so thats all I did all day.

Zac's revenge was completely unrideable for me. I didn't even attempt, I would take a running start at it, try to get as far up as I could, dismount it, and then run. I rode the top, then would dismount again over the top part, remount and get going as fast as I can.

As much as I wanted to ride it, I found myself passing people on foot too. Fine by me.

Down the final downhill and out into the sand for a sprint finish hoping for the best, I powered through my first lap pretty hard. I was a bit worried about my time till I went to check it out at the tent... 33min.

Actual sub 35 Victory Dance

The rest of the day saw me race around the same pace with a fade of about 5 min from my first 33 min lap to a 38 on my 5th.

I have to admit though, for my 4th and 5th laps I rode a geared bike.... and I kinda liked it. I'm not quite sure how to take the times. They were slower then my SS, but something tells me that had I rode my SS I would have put in worse times just on account of fatigue.. I'm not sure but I may investigate this geared thing more.

I need to get that SS silent though, its such a massive distraction when riding, I always think I'm 1 or 2 mashes away from breaking my cranks again I donno.

Anyway, back to training, with eyes forward to the Summer Solstice in June.

Mansfield 8H Round 2.... fight.

My wife made me shave that beard off yesterday...

 

Here we go.

Back at Mansfield this weekend with another round of "who thought it'd be a good idea to ride a the massive hill before you get to do anything fun in an xc race"... or otherwise titled "every XC race I've done".

Over the winter I swapped my frame from the Kona Big Unit *I think I bought it more for the name* out for a Niner One Nine, and have moved to a 34/18 up from a 32/19 setup. The move hasn't been that bad so far though I do notice there are more hills that I can't clear as clean as before, but I'm noticeably faster everywhere else. I'm also in much better shape right now, and have no problem jumping off the bike and running up a hill with it on my shoulder. So I guess I can just look at everything as a CX race... right? Right.

Also the bike feels totally different and so much more rideable.... I've been doing some really silly things on it and getting away with it.... I want to claim skill building over the winter.... but its really how good the bike feels. I finally feel dialed in.... only took a year and a half.. fuuu..

The Goal:

Sub 35min laps

Reasons I Can:

I should be able to do this. Last year I was running high 30s times, then I crashed, and started pulling low 40s. The course also seems shorter.. I donno if that's true, but I'll know when I pre ride on Friday. Also my riding has changed since last year. I now value the power of momentum, and that you can't be a pussy when you ride a SS otherwise you're only doing yourself a disservice in time lost. You must grind, and you must keep that cadence up.

Skill is also up, I now brake less, and power out more in corners which is honestly almost a second more time in each corner as compared to last year. I move around a lot more on the bike to get weight shifted around in areas where I need, and topping that all off I'm down about 25lbs from when I raced at Mansfield last year.

Finally... I trust my bike a lot, so I'm a lot more willing to take chances with it.

Reasons I Can't:

I'm fighting a really tight muscle behind my right knee right now. I know that some stretching and biking will warm it up, and once the adrenaline starts flowing I won't notice it.... so really minor.

What I'm Going To Do:

This year I'm on a team of 4. There's no reason not to unzip and go balls out. I need to attack that first hill like its going out of style, and then I need to recover by spinning out at the top. I've had a bit of time off the bike to recover from the savage beating I gave them last week. They don't feel fresh, but they do feel good. I'm pre riding on Friday so I know what to expect.

I also expect myself to take all limiters off much like P2A and just go for it. Barring mechanical issues, I should be able to go all out and recover before my next lap by hydrating and eating properly.


Gold Star: All Laps under 35min.
Silver: Half laps are under 35min.
Copper: 1 lap is under 35min.
Angry: No laps under 35min.

Really been looking forward to this race. Hopefully no issues all day and no problems. The Fall 8H was rife with some bad news and ambulance trips. Hoping this one is clean and fun for everyone.... okay not so much clean, but fun.

Paris to Ancaster 2012. Now fortified with naturally occuring minerals.

Alright, we'll call it a draw.

Paris To Ancaster this year was an interesting day. Here's the Garmin Data:

P2A DERP

Anyway, RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRACEREPORT


I met Bill in the parking lot around 8:30 or so in Paris and got registered and threw our plates on the bikes. We loaded up all of our equipment and set off.

First thing:

P2A's logistics are kinda messed up, so you go register where you finish and start in another area you need to drive to, then ride back to the finish then drive back to the start where you pick up your gear then drive to the finish to celebrate with people who were smart enough not to race this monster in the first place...... got it? Alright then.

Anyway, in my infinite wisdom, I pack all my gear into Bills truck.... which means I packed my clothes I was hoping to have at the end of the race, and brought them to the start. Where they would uselessly be waiting nowhere near where I was finishing. Bravo Miro. *Golf Clap*

As we're driving we discuss our riding plan and I try to remember really shiatty parts of last year's ride and try to warn Bill about what to expect during those moments.

These are what came to mind from last year:

- The first gravel climb.
- The brutal tarpit single track sections, where the mud is like soup and its like riding through glue.
- The ditch. Don't try to ride it. Hike a bike and be done.
- The soul sucking field. 1KM of 4" heavy mud.
- The mud chutes.
- Martin Hill

We unpack and get ready to rock and it starts to rain. Just a bit at first almost kinda enjoyable. Eventually it got so bad that it forced us back into the truck to wait the sudden deluge out. At this point I realize that its going to be a rain jacket ride. Rain stops, and we head out to warm up a bit and to find Mike who was racing with us. During warmup I guess we lost track of time as while we were heading back to  line up apperantly Wave 1 was unleashed.

I got to experience what a massive start of furious riders is like. Its loud and pretty intense. Very cool if you're ever looking to experience the kind of thundering power that humans in mass quantity can produce.

After they passed by, we hurried down to the start and jammed up into the front of Wave 3 by sneaking in near a gate.

Wave 2 leaves and we line up. We wait... and we count down. During this time we discussed how we'd lead out. We figured we'd hit up the right hand side of the road right away and grind up letting faster people by. We both decided it was a good idea. What we didn't know was that this was going to be the best start of a race we've both ever had.

You can watch us take off here. I'm the monster in the front row. Bill is the guy that takes off right away.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USZLUrSsLkc

Bill bolts right away. Thinking he was going to grind the hill out, I wasn't expecting his crazy jump so I spin out and gear up to get beside him. I yell out that I'm with him up the hill and we push the pace right away leaving the congestion far behind, and forming our first group into the gravel.

During the first part of the gravel run, I started passing people. Not really out of necessity, as having a draft woulda been great, but rather because I was eating mud spray directly into my face if I tried to hold anyone's wheel. One guy I passed I said "oh man I can't handle that spray!". He promptly tells me to stop drafting him. Kinda what I was doing with the pass there, but hey don't let reality bother you too much there big dog.


As I was pushing my pace I started to think about burning myself out and not being able to keep this up. Bill and I are motoring at a really solid pace and my Garmin was obscured because of the mud starting to cake on it already, so I had no idea how fast I was going, other then I was in a bigger gear then normal and my legs felt really good. I left the Garmin alone till I heard a pace beep, which I was using as an indicator to drink. *Every 5km the Garmin tells me how much time it took me, I really like this feature for reminders.* I tried wiping off the screen to see what was going on didn't realize I had held 29km/h to start for over 10km, I had actually missed the first 5km beep.. a welcome surprise, but somewhat worrying.

At this point I'm also worried I'm going to ingest enough mud to fill a sandbox every time I get near someone, so the only option is to..... ATTACK.

The first Gravel hill climb was super soft. The first guy turned into the hill and his front tire got sucked in causing him to dismount. I somewhat anticipated this happening so I dismounted right away and started running up the hill with my bike. Bill and I were still together at this point so we just ran around people till we got to a spot we could re mount and continue up the hill. Mission accomplished and we're back up and running. 

Through some gravel road at speed where I can and we turn into the first part of why everyone loves to hate P2A.

The singletrack is muddy and at this point people are already off the bike and walking. I'm still pushing what I can through the singletrack trying to avoid getting dismounted, or walking any hills. I have to pick my path properly. Though I did cause some lulz when I hit a small patch of solid ground and said "yay solid ground" somewhat sarcastically under my breath. People are walking, I'm still grinding and riding. I'm pushing a massive heart rate at this point, but I actually feel really good. Breathing is solid, legs are warm and awake but not complaining at all. Bill and I make it through till the hills start.

Dismounted. You can't ride them, the congestion is terrible. On the otherhand.... we're now into the green plates.... or Wave 2 riders, and we're both running around people up the hills to get up there asap.

I get out onto Howell Road, and I'm under pace, so I decide to push. I max out at about 44km/h here trying to get my pace back up. Successful push is sucessful, and I ended up passsing a lot of riders here. Then into the singletrack part 2.

Once I get out of the second section of single track its honestly just grind grind grind. I won't bore you with the grind, but here's some highlights.

- I lost Bill once we got onto the road after the second part of singletrackhell, he slowly crept into a faster group and went with them. No problem, we're racing our own races, so I wish him luck and carry on.

- Some guy telling me to "go eff myself". I'm not sure what caused it, but I passed him fairly quickly so he musta thought I was a wheel sucker. That sucks to have 2 people be dicks to you for no real reason. If you're not happy riding in this, there are marshals everywhere for you to quit.

- Pushing hard through mud, just absolute 100% freight training through it.While not as fast as some guys, I am faster then last year by a truckload.

- Passing through the aid station screaming for a Banana. The guy beside me wasn't able to grab one, so I offered him half. He noticed I was riding for Evo and asked me about Tristan and where he was. I joked that he was probably done already. Many luls.

- Yelling "WHAT UP HORSES" when I was all alone passing the horses in the field. The grind will get to when its not scenic or when you're suffering a bit, they seemed interested in what I was doing so why not.

- The soul sucking field wasn't so soul sucking.... the gravel driveway though... was. I'm not sure if they put down fresh gravel for everyone to ride over just for the lulz, or if was just coincidence. I'm going with lulz as there was a fairly large group of people watching.

- Getting stopped at the top of a hill due to a massive crash at the  bottom. We had to wait to get all the bikes and bodies off the road.


What got me at this point was that for the duration of the 30-40km after the initial hard push, I felt.... in control and powerful. My body didn't reject the pace I was at. I also didn't reject pushing past people, or standing and cranking through more higher wattage situations. There were no cramps, I drank well, and where I knew I could, I would push hard and try to keep the pace of 24km/h..... and it was working.

We got to the Powerline Mudchutes

At 53KM is where the race blew up for me.

Half way down a mud chute I'm keeping my balance and letting my bike wander through the mud finding its own natural path.... and WHAM. Or rather, more like crunch, then a sharp pain in my calf.


I steady myself through what I thought was going to be an epic bail as I lurch forward.. slam the brakes and stop to check out what I thought was my deformed wheel. What I see is my derailleur hanging by its cable, and a downed rider. He looks young but I'm not sure he's covered in mud. He looks at me, looks at my bike, picks his up, and continues to careen down the hill.... no sorry, no nothing.


After some choice words and reminding myself that assaulting people is not bright, I start trudging down the rest of the way, thinking I can get through this, I got my tools on me.

I get out of the mud chute and examine the damage. Broken derailleur, but everything else is fine. The rear wheel is warped a bit, but workable, and my calf is throbbing where he hit me, but its just a small scrape so nothing to write home about.

I figure its time to break a chain and rock Martin Hill single speed style.

Chain breaker... check.. chain still good, check... powerlink...... powerlink.... ...... you're serious? I forgot it? FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU no SS finish for me.

RAGEMODEENGAGE

At this point I'm angry, and 7km out. I debate finding a marshal for about 5 seconds. I realize my legs aren't sore, and I know I can run. So I run.

For 7k.... with a bike on my shoulder. I did jump on the bike and coast down hills where I could. This probably saved me some time here, but I knew my chances of being better then last year were now slim to none as I watched my average speed slowly slink down to 18.2 as the blisters started to form.

I got to Martin Hill and trudged up slowly, stopping to take my cleats off half way so they'd stop rubbing on my heels. My hamstrings started to burn pretty badly at this point. Though there were many people who were cheering me  up the hill, telling me that finishing with a mechanical was awesome. I jumped on my bike at the end to coast, and someone ran out and pushed me over the line. So thanks for that. I appreciated it whoever you are.

But I finished that sumbitch Terminator style. DNF really wasn't an option for me at all after putting in that kind of effort.... so I figure this quote was apt:

That Miro is out there. It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until this P2A is finished.

Overall... I'd give the race and performance a 7/10. I was on pace for a 3rd place clyde finish with an average speed of 23.9km/h when I was hit. This is actually almost 5km/h faster then my pace last year. Even with a 7k run, I beat my time from last year as well. I actually had a lot of fun and look forward to sorting out my beef with this race in 2013.

On the Agenda:

Repair my CX bike..... this sucks, as its my go to trainer, and while I love my SS, I get better punishment through videos then I do when I head out on my SS.

April 28th is the learn to race clinic in Mansfield. So a day on the bike in Mansfield. I'm going with Mike as it'll be his intro to racing in the bush. Mostly I'm going for the enjoyment and to get a bit of a read on the Mansfield course for the 8H.

May 26th is Mansfield 8. 4 man team... of 3 guys.

I'll jump out on a ride tonight just to get the legs working and such after I bring the CX bike in for repairs. Hopefully I can get the cross bike back before the weekend so I can do a Saturday / Sunday grind fest, and start back in on the Sufferfest videos as soon as possible in prep for Mansfield.

I'm closing in on my goal weight for CTS. Hopefully I hit it before the 24H in June so I can shift focus to training for power.

Choo Chooo.... mofugga.

Paris to Ancaster is tomorrow.

So is a 45KM/h wind, and thunderstorms all day long. Remind you of last year a bit? Sure why not... minus the frozen fingers and shiat. Thunderstorms don't bother me really... its getting hit by lightning that'd be a bitch.

Anyway,

Today I'm at work for a few hours, then home. Its supposed to rain this afternoon, but I need to get out on my cross bike and make sure the left crank isn't buggered up. The stop bolt on it seemed to come loose. I greased it back up a bit and tightened it down pretty hard. There isn't any play but it still bothers me.

Apart from that, small tweaks to shifting and I should be fine. The tape on my bars seems to be coming apart, so I'm going to hockey tape them down for the ride, and replace once P2A is over.

Apart from that, out of all 3 bikes I have, my CX bike easily has logged the most KM... so I think it may be time for a maintenance run on it anyway, though I'm not sure how much damage I've done to the drivetrain... I'm sure P2A will make a good argument to replace a lot of parts. Balls.

The Goal:

2H 30M. This would be me 45min faster then myself last year. Over 60km.

Reasons I Can: I can hold a 25km/h pace. I've done it before, and I can push that pace for 3h on the trainer at home with some really solid resistance, and while constantly under power. I know P2A from last year has a couple of places I can really push down hills for added speed to help me pad the number for 25km/h. Also this is about the speed I'd require for any shot at a podium finish for P2A in clyde. Also during my Tour De Buttertart ride I pushed fairly hard and even with the breaks in there it was a 20km/h pace, including the crazy initial climb and some fun hills thrown in later. I have the legs and lungs for it when healthy.

Of which I am right now, and it feels good, given that 2 weeks ago I had the worst reaction to a cold ever.

Reasons I Can't: I can hold a 25km/h pace easy when I'm sitting next to a near infinite source of Gatorade, food, towel, music, and nobody is watching me. I'm inside, I'm not in any wind, and I'm totally content and warm. When you add in the "Have you HTFU'd?" question is where things get debatable. I did the ride 2 weekends ago in the cold rain and snow in Uxbridge, and got 60km out of it. I was also starting up what would be a hurricane of a cold in my chest. I pushed through. Believe me though, there were demons; lots of them once the gravel and sand started. It was a casual ride for sure, but Bill and I were pushing pretty hard to try to get some quality mileage in. Average speed over the crap.... 20km/h. No hills, flat ground, just rough trail, and 2 stops for a broken zip tie and a GPS recalibration. Once I was done the ride, I was cold, and had a massive fever. Looking back, my legs were still primed for riding. I was just getting very sick, and it was getting hard to breath.


What I'm Going to Do: Push. As hard as I can without killing myself but knowingly burning matches to stay with groups and to push up hills where my speed starts to drop a bit. I'll set an average speed window on my GPS and make sure that I'm pushing over 25km/h, and if it drops under, I'll push to make sure I'm over.

There are also area's last year where I did some dumb shit like try to ride the ditch, easily 5min of crashed time spent on the ground checking my bike and wheels. Losing a water bottle and continuing on like I'm some sort of professional with a team car... that was the biggest derp moment I had... then followed that up by stand and mash on every hill because I could, which ended up with me cramping. Just really dumb inefficient riding that I've gotten better at after a season on my SS, and actually taking the time to learn about the best way to ride for me.

Also, find a 24km/h group and stay with them. I'll be riding with Bill who can easy to hold that speed. The problem is he's 150lbs and I can't draft that, but it'll be good to have someone to ride with to push eachother.

Also, no cramps for about 2 months of really pushing myself, but once I start to cramp up, its effing game over. I do not recover from cramps well. Its just a fact. So I need to avoid that like the plague.


So really:

1. Good hydration and fueling.
2. Set the GPS for average speed.
3. Ride smart, ride S-Mart
4. Push. Its a race, and you have goals. Completion is so 2011.


If a 240lb'r can rifle through in 2:30min...... we'll give a gold star.

Tertiary goals.

Sub 2:45... *I'll be okay with 2:30-2:45 actually, 2:30 is extremely lofty*
Sub 3H.... *if I'm here, I'm going to be pretty pissed, unless I accidentally mechanical the entire thing*
No Crashes.... *That means you powerline mudpithellhole*
Accidentally all of Martin Hill

..... CHOOO CHOOOOOOO.

Liquid2 Rough Wattage Estimates... nothing to see here Citizen.

Speed	Speed	Power
kph	mph	W
0	0	0
1	0.6	6
2	1.2	11
3	1.9	17
4	2.5	22
5	3.1	28
6	3.7	34
7	4.3	40
8	5.0	46
9	5.6	52
10	6.2	58
11	6.8	64
12	7.5	71
13	8.1	78
14	8.7	85
15	9.3	92
16	9.9	99
17	10.6	107
18	11.2	115
19	11.8	123
20	12.4	132
21	13.0	140
22	13.7	150
23	14.3	159
24	14.9	169
25	15.5	179
26	16.2	190
27	16.8	201
28	17.4	213
29	18.0	225
30	18.6	237
31	19.3	250
32	19.9	264
33	20.5	278
34	21.1	292
35	21.7	307
36	22.4	323
37	23.0	339
38	23.6	356
39	24.2	373
40	24.9	391
41	25.5	410
42	26.1	429
43	26.7	449
44	27.3	470
45	28.0	492
46	28.6	514
47	29.2	537
48	29.8	561
49	30.4	585
50	31.1	611

Endure all the Things 2012

Well now.

I stopped blogging after October as I really didn't have anything to report on. I wasn't racing anymore, I pretty much dropped training till January during this time. I did get on my bike and ride for total enjoyment every once in a while, and even got on the trainer a few times to just squirrel away a few rides to make it seem like I was doing something.

During October and November I actually got hammered with some chest infection as well which pretty much limited me to 1 hour rides at max. The coughing was out of control, and it seemed like any cold that was going around landed squarely on my doorstep making sure to stick around for as long as it could. It was a very long 2 months by way of colds. I did manage to shake it by about mid December.

As for January, I've been on the bike since January 1st. Only 1 rest day which was last Friday. 2Hs each time or more.

2 of those nights are spin for HIIT, the rest are all just endurance builds of riding at 65% of max for 2H while I watch a movie or something... so far Kung Pow has been the more enjoyable one.

The goal over now to Paris to Ancaster is to build up a fairly significant base to work with once P2A is over. The goal for Paris to Ancaster is to be a top 10 Clyde.

Last year: 3:15, this year 2h: 45m is the goal.

Things I learned last year that I'll use to improve all times this year:

1. Actually train... for everything.

Training for me was like a 1H ride last year. Some spin, and a big heap of "eat what I want". I never really broke it down into a science. I never really spent a lot of time on my bike apart from being all giddy about owning the bikes I had. Most of my endurance rides now in my basement are spent on my cross bike. Which I'll be using for P2A and most of my training this year.

Also this will be my most disciplined year of training. More so then when I was playing Rugby and Football. I refuse to walk around with the regret of not trying hard enough this year. Last year was a massive increase in speed and ability. Though looking back its probably because of the weight loss more then actual fitness. This year, a fairly significant volume of training while I drop weight. Once we get this baby to 230lbs, you're gonna see some serious shit.

2. Proper hydration/nutrition. 

Cramping really screwed me the first time around. Near the end of P2A, I slowed to a crawl as I tried to cycle through the cramps. The uphills felt like hot pikes were being driven from my knee to my hips down the center of my legs. It was possibly one of the most unenjoyable feelings I've ever had. I've been practicing on my rides. I need half a bottle of water every 30 min to maintain my pace. If I falter on drinking I really start to decline in performance. It was proven last August. I lost my gatorade bottle on my second lap of Canal Days. Once I stopped drinking it was game over as my legs cramped up on me and I slowed to a crawl as my body started to break down.

3. No more Mr. Nice Guy... sorta.

Single Track I would wait for people, or slow down to let faster riders by or whatever. On hills I would dismount instead of ride around people. I would let people draft me for god knows how long but they would never give me a draft at all. Not this year. I plan on running you over if you dismount, and if you get stuck behind me in what little single track there is,  you can effing wait. If you can't pass me using your own speed then we'll wait for the road or trail.

This will also apply to racing as a whole. I'll obviously move over for those who are faster, but I'm not going to sacrifice my times.

Also this is for you roadies.... if you come to a mountain bike race... and you shit all over single track but then try to burn me on double track, I'm going to ask that you let me into the single track first. If you don't then I'm going to pass you on single track... believe me, it will be videotaped for giggles to put on here later.

Its not like I'm going to be a huge douche the entire race, that's never my style. But I am going to serious a bit more while I'm on 2 wheels.


4. Ride like you mean it.. for the whole race, not just mini victories.

Ever do something you know you can do really well totally half assed? Say for example drawing a figure of a man. Draw a circle, a cross and a upside down V for legs and tada... you got a stickman. This is how I'd ride sometimes. I would ride well, but I never really went for it. The one time I did was my night ride at Hot August Nights, and I did fairly well.... I also stopped to take off my fogged up glasses, walked up a hill later on and took 0 hard sections. I had my best time at night. I didn't hammer, I just rode comfortably, smoothly, and concentrated on keeping speed up.

Yes, its fun to crush skinny dudes spinning in granny up a hill while you quadzilla your way up the same hill in a gear that's almost 3x taller, and sure its fun to hammer a tech section and watch them get further away, but you need to do this the whole race, not just when people are around.

The mini victory mindset means I'd slag off once I'd achieve one of these. Not this year. I need to look at overall time reduction over the course, not piecemeal everything out.

5. Crash Less... yes its funny, yes it hurts.

Crashing usually lead to skittish riding on my part. Or just damaging myself. This will be a big no no. Proper decisions and better skills trained over the winter at Joyride 150 will help fix this issue. Nothing can be said for really dumb tire washouts in Durham forest though. Effing sand.


So there we go. 2012 in a nutshell. Do everything like I mean it, train with passion, and pay attention to myself and my body on the bike.

Do this all the way to CTS.

Complete CTS....

.......... target BC bike race.