Thursday night EXPO Time trail series

Well three weeks ago I did my first ever TT . I don't have a fancy TT bike nor do I think I will ever buy one but I'm out doing my thing.

The cool thing about TT's are it's only you . You race against the clock.

My first week ( I'm told we had a tail wind ) -> time 15:47

Week 2 calm -> time 16:07

Week three ( last night ) Headwind -> 16:56

What I'm not getting better each week ????

This is still hard but different . More on these after I do some more ..

Bla Bla bla bla bla

The East Hartford Crits started . Well sort of -> Week one rained out -> Week 2 we raced week 3 rained out.

As far as week 2 I wanted to go off the front and see how my legs would feel this night but our team was in a break away so I couldn't go play. So round & round we went, till late in the race and the break was way out front so I said screw it and took off on one of my test your legs & blow up flyers.

I went off the front getting yelled at from a team mate but till later did not know what the yelling was about. Hell I can't go the pace the fast guys go I just want to test myself. This is a training crit. But some folks take this stuff way serious. Any how I went off the front and then faded back happy I got to do my thing.

After the race I was scolded for my actions - Again opps - But I want to play too.

nuff on that

Take the time to read this

If you have 5 minutes, take the time and read up.

http://fakeplasticfish.com/2010/05/brand-new-plastic-free-vegetarian/

Blue hills road race MAY 2/2010

Bla bla Bla I had a bad day.........

Quabbin 62.5 mile Road Race Sunday 4/25/2010

Results :

Cat 3 winner 2:41

Cat 4 winner 2:43

Cat 5 winner 2:54

35+ winner 2:40

45+ winner 2:38

55+ winner 2:53

My class was 55+ - Last year I did not do as good as I wanted + got 21st, with a time of 3:13.

This year I had a bad day and got 31st with my time @ 3:26. Not one bit happy as I trained special for this race, and my main goal was to do better this year. Oh well with bike racing you just have bad days where the body / legs just are tired. I did what I thought was a good taper week with a few days off and two easy rides Thursday & Sat. but it did not work.

I will just change up my training and see what happens for my next road race. I’m going to miss Sterling 5/8 & Lake Sunapee 5/22 with family commitments. So it looks like my next road race is June 26 three village that will give me some time to adjust things.

I will start the EH Crit series & I may try another mtn Bike race late June. Time will tell on that.

Back to the drawing board.

Race reports : April 3 - April 10 & 11 - April 18

Race reports: April 3 - April 10 & 11 - April 18

I have been so busy with yard work, racing, training & real work, to keep up with my race reports.

So I will do my best to try and remember some of the high points of the last 4 weekends and 6 different races.

April 3

I went to Plainville to see if I could help teammate Steven Youmatz with holding on to his series lead in the 39+ Cat 4-5 class. He had told several of us at a ride or team meeting he was going to miss the last two races and could use some help to maybe take some points away from the competition to help him save his series lead in his April 3 race & if anyone could race April 10 + 17 to try keep some points away from the competition.

I did the CAT-4 race as a warm up with full plans to jump out 5 laps before the end and stretch out my back and get ready for the main event. The 3-4 race was fast it was my first time ever racing with CAT 3’s so I was a little gun shy. The race started out OK it was a little fast but Plainville is flat so I was able to hang on and was having a lot of fun. About ½ way into the race I started to get tired so I just let the pack go and soft pedaled for 2-3 laps. When the group came past I jumped back on for about 10 laps then just pulled out like I planned. This was so many weeks ago I can’t remember many details.

Ok so on to the main event Cat 4-5 39+

I just don’t remember what happened ……….


April 10 - Cat 4-5 39+

I went to Plainville on April 11 with full intentions to bury myself and do whatever I could to get some points to help teammate Steven Youmatz keep his series lead. At the start of the race the guy in 3rd in the series, Jim the promoter & some other guy took of in a break away right at the start. I was like I should jump with these guys but I didn't I was saying we will pull them back no big deal. As the laps went off no one wanted to work, nothing was organized at all so I went to the front and buried myself for a few laps. Nothing happened, so I floated to the back and recovered for 3-4 laps. I did this Again & Again - 5 times total and could not get anyone to work and try to bring the break back. Finally near the end of the race the 3 guys lapped the field so we were all racing for 4th at this point. I was like OK I will just do what ever to get 4th. I think the W/H guys and some of the other guys knew what I was up to because when I would float up front & try to get a wheel these guys we blocking me so bad. I never had issues getting back in the group. Not this day things were different with 3 laps to go I think I fought for two laps out in the wind. I was finally on a wheel on the last lap and up front where I wanted to be the three guys who lapped the field were sticking out front so I just worked as hard as I could to get behind them. But I burned so many matches sitting out in the wind for close to two laps I was worried what I had left. On the final corner I was in 4th - 5th wheel where I wanted to be but two of the W/H guys I had been fighting for a wheel got past me in the last corner as I'm sprinting towards the finish line John K gets past me. He got 6th & I got 7th. . Not sure what this did to help Steve Y but that's my story . I never worked so hard in a race but I learned I had some reserves I did not know I ever had.


April 11 - Betel – Masters 45+ & Cat 3-4


Ok so my new plan for this weekend was to race my normal Masters 45+ class in Betel then help out Team Mate Aki in the 3-4 Class again. So off the Masters class goes. It seemed real fast this week not good as I was also doing the next race with no rest time. Ok maybe I will bail out with 5 to go like I did in Plainville two weeks ago. The race goes on and I’m having a lot of fun I was not out front with the real fast strong guys but I was having a blast. SO I decided to do the full race and not pull out.

Pis from Chris Adams BLOG ( SOC )

The race starts and on lap 3 or 4 of 30 I had a mechanical I was not sure if it was a bump going up the hill but all of a sudden my chain kept falling off to my small ring. So I soft pedaled around a lap kicking my front derailleur. Finally I got off the bike and kicked & bent, took off and it was still not working correct. I worked on it one more time and then attempted to get back on the train. No way - my tired worn out legs from the previous race were cooked. After working for two laps fixing the bike my legs just turned to LEAD & I could not ride. I was done I pulled over at the start finish line and just watched the race. Oh well next week I will have a different plan only one race.


April 18 - Betel –Cat 3-4

Add team Pic Again from SOC BLOG ( Chris Adams)


This was the last race of the series and Aki had to win or beat the series leader by a few places so we had a big group of 9 guys to work and chase down all the breaks. I did my best to hang on and did not help at all two laps from the end I was cooked and fell off the back. AKi got 2nd ans won the series so good stuff for sure.

2010 Bethel CDP Gold Race – Sunday March 28 2010

Bethel CDP Gold Race – Sunday March 28 2010





CAT 3-4 race

The boys in the BAND ( Team Expo - Superior Energy / Manchester cycle)

This was my third week racing the Bethel Crit series and for my first time ever I was racing the CAT 3-4 class. This is no big deal for all the guys who do this race but for me I was a bit nervous to say the least. I had never intended on doing this race content with the Masters 45+ class with some safer older guys and me a relative new racer. I started racing in the fall of 2008 with two races and maybe 20 -25 races last year mostly training crits. I have more fun doing these races and will continue to focus on what’s fun for me. After reading one of my teammates ( SOC’s ) Blog last week - living the race as I read I decided I was going to join teammates supporting team Expo in the CAT 3-4 race.

To all the riders in this race it was no big deal they have all done this before so I line up near the front and off we go. The pace was not blistering as I assumed it was going to be and I ended up on the right side maybe ½ way into a pack of 60 ish guys & a few gals. I moved around a bit and then got on the right side for a few laps I was feeling good I only did 50 easy miles sat vs. the 70 harder miles I did the week before so in my square head I was going to be ok. One other thing I didn’t know about or plan for was this race was 30 laps vs. the 23 I had been doing. So those extra laps had me a bit concerned during the early part of the race.

When the group would slow up on the hill I would just ease off save my legs and keep rolling along testing what I was made of. Once during the race I ended up way up front and not wanting to take any hard pulls or needing to do any help at that time I eased back to the middle of the pack.

I was having a lot of fun my nervousness was way down, and I started thinking ok where is my teammate Aki. I moved up a few times so I could ride near him and pretend I was a real racer helping out my teammate like we watch on TV during the Tour de France. I was having the time of my life (OLD FART racing with a bunch of young guys) and I was still staying with the bunch and not my normal self…. You know off the back !!!

I need to find the WEB site for the photographer guy on the scooter as I think he got some pic’s of me when I was on the outside for quite a few laps.

OK back to the race – the race went along and I was feeling real good, I guess my training so far this winter + into race season is working this year. Several more laps then were getting to the point where the 45+ race ends 23 laps and I still have legs Cool. This is getting even better and it’s not a total suffer fest ( YET ) . A few more laps and I’m getting a bit tired then the pace ramps way up and I’m hanging on by a thread for a lap or so. As we go up the hill one more time I hear the bell ringing ( this tells us one lap to go). Wow that’s it last lap I look back to see how far from the end of the group I have slipped to and I am the end of the group. Damm and my legs are TOAST – Gotta keep with the group only one more lap. Well after the race talking with Jeff M from the ( IRS Medic team), I found out why all of a sudden I was not able to hang on. Jeff said the guys up front were drilling it hard and I popped . I still had ½ a LAP to go but the GAS tank was DRY. I was still very happy I raced with 7 team mates, I did my TINY part to help mostly just showing up , but it was a great day and I will race this class 4/11 & 4/18 the last two races in the series for sure.

RACE REPORT - March 21 2010 Tour de Kirche

RACE REPORT - March 21 2010 BETHEL Tour de Kirche

This week’s race was nice / warm and dry; I did the Masters 45+ again ( 23 laps) , big field about 60-70 guys. Today was a test for my legs as I did 67 miles Saturday and I had no idea how I would feel. The race started out and the pace was A-OK, I was moving back and forth left to right as I could and even got deep in the center a few times. I’m still nervous being this tight going over 20 MPH. As the race progressed I did a few stand up sprints up the hill to see how I felt and all was going fine. I also did 20+ minutes on the trainer before the race to warm up, I normally just ride around prior to the race. My legs and all felt fine so far, so I start thinking time to move up in the group. I ended up front in the wind once and wasted a bit of energy maybe on LAP 10 give or take. Then I just was trying to stay out of the wind and out of trouble. Somewhere mid race a guy crashed in the corner right after the finish line, I heard a guy came up on the inside and did not hold his line and hit this GUY. That’s the stuff I don’t want to happen your doing everything right and you get taken out. But that racing anything can & will happen. OK so were getting down to maybe 5 laps to go and the PACE which was already quite fast was wicked up even more and the pack strung out to a single line. ( we averaged 25 MPH for the full race ) that’s fast for me!! All of a sudden I’m struggling to even hold a wheel and not get dropped, I look back and am still mid pack but loosing spots quite often as everyone is itching to get up front . I do a hard effort up the hill on the right side to attempt to get closer to the front and now I’m gasping for O2 and feel my legs are toast. I hang on the back section and the next climb up the hill I’m close to done. We still have 2 laps to go and I’m shot. Guess I should not do BIG SAT rides ??? I do everything I can to hang on and finish up MID pack maybe 30th.

So should I not do training rides on Sat before a crit ?? My worry is I have a Masters 55+ 65 mile road race in 5 weeks and I need to not only get back into racing ( hence the training crits), but also get in the BIG miles so I can go at race pace for 65 miles @ Quabbin 4/24..

Decisions decisions !!

Well whatever I end up doing is all good and hopefully make me stronger.

Race report - March 14 2010 - 2010 Ris Van Bethel

Race report - March 14 2010 - 2010 Ris Van Bethel

After an off week with travel Monday & Tuesday and working way too many hours the rest of the week and no time on the bike at all, I was not sure I was ready for my first EAST COAST race of the season.

I woke up Sat with that feeling of I’m getting a cold and it was crappy & rainy out side so that makes one who was expecting to get out and ride a bit unhappy. I sort of wrote of the Sunday race as it was forecasted for heavy rain all day. So I moped about all day not certain what do. I effectively wasted the complete day and I was OK with that as I was telling myself I’m sick and need to rest.

Later in the day I start reading E-mails and several teammates are still planning to race and others are also talking up the SUNDAY CRIT. So just in case I went down cellar and cleaned up the trusty Cannondale Crit bike. I don’t think I rode it for almost a month, it was dirty salty and a general mess. That’s what winter riding in Ct is all about, lots of work keeping the equipment in good working order. So I get Bike all ready to race then start getting all my clothes and other stuff ready.

I get back on E-mail and Face book read a bit then remembered we loose an hour sleep Sat night, so I rush around like a nut and try to get my 8 hours min sleep I attempt before a race. I think I got 7.5 hours not the best sleep but felt OK in the AM. I run down to computer and shoot off a few E-mails read that others are already in transit and AKI was going to have the race -> course in good shape. So that’s it I’m going to RACE !! Decision made now it’s time to get my collective shit together and get going in less than an hour.

I did good hit the road and figured out how to get to the industrial park in Betel where the race was going to be A-OK. I only forgot my trainer so I rode up and down the hill to try to loosen up my legs. I have not been on a bike since Sunday in Calif with Gary & the guys @ Training camp. So I was a bit worried but what the hell this is a training Crit and lets just see what happens and how I feel.


The RACE:

Masters 40+ guys all get 5 ish laps around the course to warm up, for me this was my first time @ Bethel so I have to figure out the course also. All looked great no real sharp corners after start a sweeping right hander down hill then it just sort of keeps sweeping to the right till the hill back to the start. I was very concerned with a hill in a crit as I have not done a lot of crits in my short tenure road racing. The hill turned out to be a non issue at least this week, let’s see what I say after next weekend.

So about 30-35 - MASTER 40+ guys all line up, I like this class as I see lots of gray hair and don’t feel out of place like I do racing the CAT 4 class with all the younger guys. We also had 2 junior riders in our class and they hung with the group just fine the whole race. The whistle blows and off we go I try the inside, the outside kinda like I did @ Plainville last year and just get comfortable with CRIT racing again after a long winter.

Training CAMP in Santa Barbra helped with this a lot as I did the Sunday Worlds and the Tuesday & Thursday same ride a total of 6 times in camp this year. This ride sometimes has a easy 50+ riders so I was getting in tight and in a race like group quite a few days already early in the season.

Back to the race, it’s raining a bit but with the lack of tight corners like Plainville or Hartford the wet road was not an issues or concern at all. We all went round and round and I look up and 15 laps out of 23 to go. I’m still feeling real good (Thanks Training Camp), some surges were a bit hard but I hung on moved around in the group. I always worry in a race I will do something stupid and get yelled at or worse cause a crash or just crash. Had a few bumps and guys passing on the right in the gutter real close but all A-OK so far. We get to 5 laps to go and I’m like where did the last 10 laps go, guess I was in the zone. So I’m still hanging in and we get to 3 laps to go the pack is getting nervous guys jockeying around for positions. I just try to get to the mid section of the front ½ of the group, I work up the right side on the down hill and the pace gets fast, I saying save some for the sprint … Going up the hill on the 2nd to last lap the whole group almost stopped brakes grinding and bumping on both sides what the heck, were going uphill why am I hitting the brakes. I thought I was going to get knocked over I lost a few spots and it was the last lap PANIC riders were wicking up the speed the stronger guys all up front I was not positioned as far up as I wanted but as we came around the final sweeper and up the hill it was an all out sprint for the finish line. Last year in the sprints I just did not have the GAS to keep pushing, not that I’m that much stronger this year but I could feel a difference. A few got past me & I passed a few guys and went over the line. Wow what a BLAST cool down lap and then it was over. I pull up to see my team mates all warming up for the next race get my rain coat ( Thanks DAVE ), and start violently shivering. Now It’s time to hit the Van & change out of this soaking wet gear and get dry clothes on. I was asked how I did and said I may have gotten about 15th when results went up shortly thereafter I was 15th. This was a good result for me and I will work to improve over the next 4-5 races in this series.

Training CAMP final update

Training camp UPDATE # 7 - 2010- Santa Barbra

Training camp UPDATE # 7 - 2010- Santa Barbra

Day # 10 Monday - 3/1/10
Easy solo recovery ride out along ocean to Carpentaria.

Day # 11 Tuesday - 3/2/10
Worlds loop & ride around Santa Barbra nice day !!! Then more work in Garden & guys showed up so another ride up in the lower hills.

Day # 12 Wed - 3/3/10
Figaro climb – Guys all rode I drove car to Los Lovias, I did not have legs for 10,000 feet of climbing and a plan of 110 miles. I ended up doing 4000’ climbing and 40 miles, that was more then enough. I froze my ass off and suffered most of the last ½ of the climb.

Day # 13 Thurs - 3/4/10
I planned to do worlds loop with guys swing home get food & water then hit Gibraltar for a killer climb. Legs too shot. Called it a day after worlds loop and worked in Garden some more.

Day # 14 Fri - 3/5/10
This was an EPIC day for me we rode up the mountains to Solvang for lunch then back another way sorta around the mountains riding on Pacific coast Highway.

How do I best describe the day -> FAST PACE & Suffering, Pain, Good Friends, Scared silly on Route 101 decent, Destroyed, But fun day.

Day # 15 Sat - 3/6/10
Recovery ride with Dave H & Cliff . Then off to watch Gary race in local Goleta CRIT. I was planning to do this but thurs PM showed sat as a total rain out so legs used up on Friday. No way I could race sat. Gary did real good got 2nd in P123 race. Right after race it poured .....

Day # 16 Sun - 3/6/10
Worlds loop and maybe one last big climb will have to see how legs feel. Then wine tasting & pack up.

Training camp UPDATE # 6 - 2010- Santa Barbra

Day # 9 Sunday - 2/28/10

KENDA CUP WEST SERIES – SAGEBRUSH SAFARI 2-28-2010 -

This race was 40 miles east of San Diego out in the desert very close to the USA border to Mexico.

Today was my first Mountain bike race since 1996, I’m out west with son Gary for 2 weeks and this was in his plans so he borrowed a Mtn Bike for me and we raced today.

I was all nervous this am for some reason but once the race started I was doing OK. The first two miles were tar sorta flat slightly uphill for a mile then the road kicked to steep uphill for about another mile. I was feeling good and stuck with my group of guys for the first mile then it was a row of riders all strung out up the hill. We were mixing with some of the classes ahead of us and all bets off keeping track of my group. I felt real good for climbing (this is not normal for me) Maybe the 10+ hours sleep last night? Anyhow I moved along real good and was passing people all the way to the top then the FUN began.

Wha hooooooo the trails were hard packed sand with some mud but not as bad as expected considering all the rain sat. The trails were quite a bit down hill remember the mile climb uphill. This was some fast stuff, banked berms swinging left & right over & over you could just rail these corners real fast. I was having so much fun every once in a while you would catch up to a pile of people going way slower and have to pick a spot to pass. My Mtn bike rock skills from Ct. were very helpful as I could tell a lot of these folks are not used to flying thru rocky steep trails ( this is what we ride in Ct) and I was having a good day so more passes in these sections . The punchy climbs were short so I could keep my speed up. About this time I was running at or over my threshold and I was wondering how long I could keep this fast but real fun pace going. I was breathing so hard sometimes I was scaring myself. I worked it out with short recoveries and hard efforts and got into a good rhythm. After quite a few miles the tight trail opened up to a Crazy fast downhill dirt road with very deep eroded ruts for the rain Sat. I went a bit faster than I should have but was having a lot of fun. The road flattened out then started climbing again, OK now I’m getting tired, I heard a few miles back from some guy we had gone 8 of the 18 miles. So I ate a GU (basically a 100 calorie pack of sugar syrup like stuff). This did nothing for the next 15 min’s of climbing but I keep up the pace of the riders around me. Then came the un-ride able wall ( OR as the promoters called it the HIKE a BIKE section). This was a HUGE traffic jam with 20 maybe 30 riders all struggling up this loose sandy rocky steep climb, good thing I had the GU earlier . I get to top & this younger guy goes flying past me so I say I’m going to let this guy be my rabbit and chase him. He was fast but I worked a bit harder than I was riding and hung with him for a few miles. It really worked out as the large group on the hike a bike section was never seen again.

The trail turned to TAR again and UP up we go again (time for the 2nd GU) . This section was not as steep as the first tar climb of the day and I picked off quite a few more riders ( again cool). All of a sudden some fast riders went past me (I saw Sid Tabelary one of the Pro's fly past) and I figured the Pros were doing another lap of what we just finished. So every so often a few guys would go past me like I was standing still. At the top of the tar section a bunch of folks were handing out water and telling us it was all down hill to the finish. Cool it was more of the fun fast stuff but a lot more mud & deep ruts and I was getting tired. Some more PRO’s passed me, you hear a bike getting close and the rider yelling Pro on you left. You get the hell out of the way fast and let them pass you. A few sketchy downhills a lot of whoops & rollers then three DEEP river crossings another mile in the sage brush and it was over.

I had no Idea how I did I looked for Gary talked to a few of his friends and he rolled in. He did about 8-9 more miles than me and finished only a few min’s after I did he was flying & also had a great time.

Gary won his class Cat 1 35-39 and I also won my Cat 3 55-59 class.

GOOD DAY for a father & son outing …….

Gary at start .

We got two of these !

Training Camp UPDATE # 5 - 2010 - Santa Barbra

Day # 7 Friday - 2/25/10

Today was get used to the borrowed Mtn bike day . No road bike at all.

After my two hours of an easy noodle fest riding Mtn bike along Ocean - Gary shows up and the pace tripled. I kept hearing in the distance go faster ( BIG RING - BIG RING ). I just dripped sweat all over myself ... I did have a blast Mtn bike trails at local park up up then rip down thru switchbacks / repeat ...

Pic from Summerland south of Santa Barbra..

DAY #8 - SAT - 2/27/10

Wake up to grey skys & stiil raining, it started last night around 10:00. Sun pops out then back to rain plus all kinds od CRAZY weather warnings :

Tsunami :

Issued by The National Weather Service West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Center, AK 9:04 am PST, Sat., Feb. 27, 2010... A TSUNAMI ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT WHICH INCLUDES THE COASTAL AREAS OF CALIFORNIA - OREGON - WASHINGTON - BRITISH COLUMBIA AND ALASKA FROM THE CALIFORNIA-MEXICO BORDER TO ATTU ALASKA...

PERSONS IN TSUNAMI ADVISORY AREAS SHOULD MOVE OUT OF THE WATER... OFF THE BEACH AND OUT OF HARBORS AND MARINAS.
TSUNAMI ADVISORIES MEAN THAT A TSUNAMI CAPABLE OF PRODUCING STRONG CURRENTS OR WAVES DANGEROUS TO PERSONS IN OR VERY NEAR WATER IS IMMINENT OF EXPECTED. SIGNIFICANT WIDESPREAD INUNDATION IS NOT EXPECTED FOR AREAS IN AN ADVISORY. TSUNAMIS ARE A SERIES OF WAVES POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS SEVERAL HOURS AFTER INITIAL ARRIVAL TIME. ESTIMATED TIMES OF INITIAL WAVE ARRIVAL FOR SELECTED SITES IN THE ADVISORY ARE PROVIDED BELOW.

FLASH FLOOD WATCH:

FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR THE RECENT BURN AREAS IN SANTA BARBARA COUNTY IN SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA INCLUDING THE JESUSITA... LA BREA... GAP... AND TEA BURN AREAS.
* THROUGH 9 PM PST THIS EVENING
* SHOWERS... HEAVY AT TIMES... WITH ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THIS EVENING. THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR RAINFALL RATES TO AROUND ONE INCH PER HOUR... WITH INTENSE SHORT DURATION RATES OF A HALF INCH IN 20 MINUTES POSSIBLE WITH THUNDERSTORMS. THESE RATES ARE IN EXCESS OF THRESHOLDS DETERMINED BY THE USGS TO BE SUFFICIENT TO CAUSE FLASH FLOODING AND DEBRIS FLOWS IN AND BELOW THE RECENT BURN AREAS.
FLASH FLOODING AND DEBRIS FLOW WILL BE A PARTICULAR THREAT IN ANS BELOW THE RECENTLY BURN AREAS OF SANTA BARBARA COUNTIES.

Coastal Flood Statement for Santa Barbara County South Coast, CA

... ABOVE NORMAL SURF FROM SATURDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SUNDAY EVENING...
ALTHOUGH WIDESPREAD SURF OF 7 FEET IS NOT EXPECTED AT BEACHES ON THE SOUTH COAST OF SANTA BARBARA COUNTY... BREAKERS OF 4 TO 6 FEET WITH MAX SETS TO 7 FEET ARE POSSIBLE FROM THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH SUNDAY EVENING. THIS INCREASING SURF WILL PRODUCE DANGEROUS RIP CURRENTS WHICH CAN MAKE SWIMMING CONDITIONS HAZARDOUS FOR ANYONE.
More Information
... A HIGH SURF ADVISORY FOR THE WEST AND NORTHWEST FACING BEACHES OF SAN LUIS OBISPO AND SANTA BARBARA COUNTIES...

Training CAMP UPDATE #4 - 2010 - SAnta BArbra

DAY #6 Thursday 2-25/10

Today was a double ride day -- Whew......

First I started out doing the same ride as Sunday Worlds , It was like Tue meet @ the fountain near the warf @ 8:00. Gary & another Steve & I all went off with the group ( I'm thinking 30+ again ) unlike Tue I could not hang with the group today . Some Guy named Gary was off the front with a few other guys which in effect picked up the pace so the OLD Man could not hang on. I did the last few miles of the first half of the ride alone, then rejoined the group for the ride back. Gary was kind and gave me a few pushes so I could get up the small hills & hang with the group with my tired legs. I hung on for the rest of the ride and GAry did @ ITT to get to work and I went to the house to get ready for ride #2. ( ride #1 -40 miles, a little over 2 hours & 1850' of climbing .

Ride #2 I put on a dry set of riding stuff ate a apple , some nuts, and stuffed a few bars and a gu in my yersey. Up up and MORE up .....

This is where I'm going .. Into the clouds I head & it looks like these shots below...

Three miles from house and several hundred feet of climbing and I'm @ Gibraltar Road. Till I hit 4000 feet above sea level it's all uphill about 10 miles - Fun fun fun & some serious sweating.

So @ 1200 feet up I take another pic of the ocean .

Ok I had to smeel the flowers also ( I am on vacation).

Next stop 2100 feet, 7 miles up.. :

From the TOP looking East to the next Mtn ranges.

Me looking south west

Part of the road I came up is in this Pic I will be ripping down it shortly.




Oh Yea I did some hang - gliding today also ..

Training CAMP - UPDATE #3

DAY 5 - WED - 2/24/2010 -

COLD RAIN today so I went to next town north to get the Mtn bike I'm borrowing for the race in San Diego Sunday. ( Thanks MARCO )

That's all I did bike related today ..........

But I did some EARTHY stuff ........

I started a GARDEN for GARY, I got some plant advise from Marco and went to buy plants and seeds for my ( Wait ) Gary's & my project. Do you read that GARY !!

Yes those tiny green thigs are brussle sprouts ...... Left side is Parsley....

The back rows with the mulch pushed back are a row of Garlic and yellow onions.

These will go in the ground tomorrow after the ride and my hour + relaxing in the sun post ride . Should be high of 66 NICE....

Snap peas, other pea variety, radishes and bush string beans are some of the seeds I also got.

It almost time for Peppers, Cucumbers + Tomatoes - Maybe in 2-3 weeks . Wow so far ahead of Conn ( short growing season ) .

.............................

Oh yea were going to the Banff Film Fest. tonight can't wait..........

Muddy shoes & dirty fingernails & I hope a sweaty KIT tomorrow . Should be dry for the 8:00 am Thursday Worlds ride..

Training CAMP - Update #2 - DAY #3&4

DAY – 3 Monday – 2/22/10 - continued -> I checked my e-mails checked work e-mails and surfed for a while at local Santa Barbra Coffee shop Jitters ( What a cool name for a coffee shop ) .

State Street Santa Barbra just after leaving the coffee shop ..

A little history on the Santa Barbra wharf..

So I get back to house chill out in the sun for about a hour ( did I say vacation is good )then Gary shows up we get dressed up and get the bikes out my bike has a flat we fix it up and were off. Gary is going to show me around Santa Barbra a bit more, I need to know how to get to the OLD MISSION. From the old mission we take a few more roads – note it’s all up hill around hear unless you go down near the ocean. I wanted to learn how to get to one on the famous climbs called Gibralter Road, I think If I remember correctly it’s 8 or 12 miles of non stop climbing to the top of the beautiful Mountains just EAST of S.B. . So we get maybe ½ way up to the start of this road a few miles and I get another flat, we fix it and the tube was bad and blew . a HUGE hole. In goes the last tube and we decide to head back to house for more tubes, it’s down hill and fast . Some great roads out here I am having a blast. We get tubes and head down hill this ride to the ocean and ride along the beach, take a left and were climbing again. We wander here and there then get up on this ridge with what are some crazy expensive houses with killer PAcific Ocean views.

We have to get back to the house as I need to get Gary to the airport big work thing came up and he’s off for 48 hours. I drop him @ airport in Goleta then I hit bike shop for tubes & CO2’s. Then my favorite food store Trader Joes. With all this riding I need food I’m hungry.

DAY - 4 Tuesday 2/23/10 – Tuesdays in S. B they have a ride similar to the Sunday Worlds @ 8:00 so I got up @ 6:30 ( hey I’m on vacation what the heck) It’s Ok my body still is sorta on east coast time so it was like sleeping till 9:30 & I’m good with that. I wander down to the wharf where this ride starts and @ 7:57 no one is around Opps did I get something wrong ?? I wait a few min’s and riders start appearing cool … About 25 people show up, I guess no one works in SUNNY Southern Calif ???? Anyhow the ride starts and few more join in at various points along the way so we have 30+ The pace is way easier than the Sunday ride and I’m cool with that, I have been sick -still am & I’m a little beat so for day three after not riding for 12 days with being sick and the snow storms I needed a easy day. I actually stayed with the group , I skipped Gub ( a variation with a stiff climb) and hung with about ½ of the group that went the regular way I know. We got to the top of Bates and kept going for the extra loop around the highway. Out hear you can ride on the highways. So this loop goes down an entrance ramp rides on the highway for a ¼ mile then jumps off the next exit, and climbs back to the top of Bates . All the rides were hanging out some more showed up and off we went back to S.B. . About 5 miles from here I was in the back 1/3 of the group and no one yelled or pointed out a rather large long 2-3” deep and same wide POT-HOLE I hit it and double FLATTED. Good thing I chose to carry two tubes today I normally only carry one! END of my ride with this group as they keep going. I fix the two pinch flats and check my time and miles so far 25 miles out & I think I have about 15 miles with no more tubes. I get back to Gary’s house jump into a chair in the back yard and sit & enjoy the sun and remember this is what vacation is all about. No plans – no place to be for the rest of the day & it’s 11:00 am and I’m good with that.

I have no idea what kind of tree this is but it's sure different.

This house is across the street from Gary's House - Real nice - Lots of Mexican theme buildings around here.

Flower Pic’s from near the beach.

My Mom God rest her soul had this cool plant in Fla. at her house- Bird of Paridise

I have this in Andover in a pot in cellar ( waiting for warm weather) cause it will die if you leave it outside. I know I lost two of them 3 years ago.


Calla Lilies make mine look sick small.

Training CAMP 2010 - SAnta BArbra

Training Camp - Feb 20 – March 9, 2010


DAY 1 –Sat. 2/29/10 - Alarm goes off @ 5:00 am just 5 hours after I went to bed. Man I did not want to get up I snoozed the alarm several times. Finally I get up do my stretches and we get off to the airport. The trip was not bad I made up for loss of sleep with two snoozes one to Chicago for an hour and a two hour nap on the way to LA. My son Gary picked me up and we drove to Santa Barbra. Gary just moved to a new place just a few blocks from State Street SB .

Gary & I unloaded my stuff he showed me my room for the 2+ weeks, then I got to see his new 2010 SL3 ( for most of you that have no idea it’s a real nice race bike). We then took a walk a few blocks to the Natural Café as we were starving. After some good grub we walked back to the house and started planning week #1.

DAY 2 – Sunday 2/21/10 - I wake up @ 7:30 for our 9:00 Famous Santa Barbra Sunday world’s road ride. 7:30 was 10:30 to my EAST COAST body JET LAG STUFF , I get some chow and get outside to adjust Gary’s 2009 S-Works race bike to fit me( change seat height, & seat for/aft dimensions ), this is very important so I don’t injure myself. You see your body gets used to certain settings so I needed this bike to be set up just like mine sitting back in COLD CT. Now the best part is it’s Feb 21’s ( WINTER ) and I have been doing my Group rides back east on Sundays in 10- 20 degree freezing weather – It’s sunny and warming up fast by 8:00 I have my coat off and I think it hit 55 before we left on the ride.

The ride was a blast as usual, this is my third year doing a vacation in southern Calif . Back to the ride when I first did this ride 3 years ago I was not much or a road rider and it was real hard these guys & gals rip your legs off. This is my report the first year I was so far off the back I had no idea where to go and just wandered along till I found GARY again. They were all ready to head back to SB , and I got dropped again maybe a ½ hour later he came back to rescue me. Last year after a year as a road rider, I stopped mountain bike riding and rock climbing cold turkey for 2008 and just road my road bike. So I was a bit stronger but still got dropped just not as early in the ride. Well so how did I do this year after racing for a season and riding over 7000 miles in 2009. I still got dropped just a little bit later than last year. It was and always is a great ride, for some sections before the fast guys took off I was going 30 MPH and thinking # 1 I have been sick and off the bike for 12 days, I have been doing only base training rides in Conn all winter and this is above race pace for me !!!!! I was just hanging on for dear life, also of note my MAX HR I have ever recorded over the last two years as a roadie is 170 BPM. Well today trying to keep up I hit 179 BPM - WOW.. Anyhow the ride was great some Pro’s were present Tim Johnson and a few others I can’t remember the names. So from what Gary said the pace out front was WAY FAST.. Dave - Cliff – Scott – Tom-- BEWARE………

After most of the ride was done Gary and a bunch of teammates went off to climb up several thousand feet more . So I opted to head back with the group to SB. I’m getting to know my way around SB it was so nice some where in the 60’s I just rode all over the place for about a hour. I took some pic’s of the ocean and some plants & flowers we will not see in CT. till mid summer. I think I could live hear………

OK time for ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz……………..


DAY – 3 Monday – 2/22/10 - Gary has to work ½ a day so I plan to walk to the local Coffee shop and Dump this word doc on my BLOG , and check my E-mails .. We have a ride planned for 12:30 who hooooooooooooooo..

Last Nights ( 2/11/2010) Dinner - SLOP

I was a total experiment - ended up a bit bland Forgot something .....


It's a work in process - Will spice it upsome more tonight . Tofo chunks were browned up with lots of Cayenne pepper as were the veggies. Also added Oinion power Garlic chunks & Black pepper & salt to the whole mix .. Maybe the beans masked up all the spices ????

Thomaston Night climbing 2/3/2010

Thomaston Night ICE..........

Look Ma no hands

JDW doing the stem thing .........