Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Three Days to Go!

Yesterday was the final training ride before the Davis 12/24 Challenge. It was the usual Monday night Sacramento Wheelmen ride and Kenny and I put on a clinic. We took care of our club buddies and destroyed all haters and ride crashers. It was methodical, almost surgical, and we did not say a word to one another until Kenny said "that's all I got." I jumped with 400 meters to go and was drinking Gatorade by the time I crossed the line. Most of the time we just try to make it safe and competitive, but when some meathead crashes our ride and tries to dictate, look out. We can, and will, work you! hahaha!

Saturday we did the River Ride plus 20 miles. I went 38.5mph in the final but was coming from too far back. But hey, 38.5 on a 50x12? I'll take it! Anyway, I don't feel so great off the bike or even on the bike at recovery/endurance pace but when I dig in and motor I feel really strong. It reminds me of what Horner told me about coming on form. I asked him if he feels fatigue when he's going good and he laughed and told me that when he is on form he feels tired off of the bike and the legs even burn when going upstairs. He said you will feel good for about three hours a day. You'll feel like shit for the first hour and then you'll feel good until about the four hour mark when you will feel like shit again but you will be in the front group with a shot to win. Everybody suffers, the guys that do their homework suffer at the front. I think I'm about ready to race!

They are calling for a chance of rain Saturday. When I started training for this race six months ago I said more than once that if it's raining I probably won't finish, but now that the work is done I must say it will take a medical emergency to make me quit. I am totally focused, have great support, and am racing to win it! The worse the weather, the better my chances! I've come a long way in a short time and am really excited about the rest of the season!!!

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

form finder

On April 11th I ended up skipping Copperopolis, my favorite road race, in favor of riding 400K solo. The goal for the day was to do the Davis Double Century loop from my house. Nothing special, just going out and putting the time on the saddle.

I awoke at 4AM and was on my bike shortly after five. I rode the flat 45 miles straight through to Lake Solano, at a conservative pace, where I filled my bottles and topped off my Camelbak. From there it's 95 miles with 8000 feet of climbing before decending back into the valley for the long slog home.

I don't know what my problem is with Cobb Mountain but by the time I got to Hobergs I was ready to get in the car and scrap the whole ultra-endurance project. Good thing I had a couple of hours to get my shit together. Not sure why I was having a hard time as I was riding well within my limits all day but bad patches are bound to come and go so I rode through it and lived to tell.

Katie met me on Ressurection with food, drinks, and a change of clothes. By this time I was piecing the ride together telling myself I just had to get to the top of the DC then my day would be a success. Next it was I just need to get back to Winter's and then I'd know what to expect for the 24 Hour Challenge. By the time I got to Winters I was finding my rhythmn and was hell bent on finishing the whole ride. I even caught a second wind on Putah Creek Road. There is good mojo on that stretch that invites the you to rail it!

From Stevenson bridge to home was a total slogfest due to not being able to hold a steady pace through the urban jungle. I think next time, that's right I said next time, I will head south on Stevenson and make my way around to Mace, skipping the trek through Davis.

Other notable rides in the last three weeks are two trips to the track for omnium style racing where I held my own with the A group as well as can be expected, a really strong sprint workout, and two local race rides. I think I should be able to transition from this ultra phase right into summer racing. I'm looking forward to the Nevada City Classic, the AVC at Hellyer, the AVC at Alpenrose and most of our district championship events. But meanwhile it's ten days to the 24 Hour Challenge and I'm feeling pretty good!