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..