Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Change of Venue

This will be new news to some, and old news to others. In September I’m going to be moving from Seattle, WA to Corvallis, OR, to start a Masters in Bio-Mechanics at Oregon State University. I’m really excited about the change. After right around nine years in Seattle I’m excited about getting to know a new community, returning to Oregon, and university life.

This last week end I was down for the final NWTTS race, then it was out to Corvallis to find an apartment. It turned out that Sunday, isn't the best day to go apartments hunting in Corvallis, for 99.9% of the apartments are only viewable M-F. That said the day wasn't a total loss as I was able to scope out a number of possibilities, get a feel for the neighborhoods etc. Then on Monday, I was back at work made some phone calls, and my parents (Super Crew), went back down to actually view the apartments, and found a place that was close to the university, and seemed good over all, so I just phoned up the manager and took it.

Now physically moving my stuff, bikes, jerseys, bikes, pasta, bikes, has all gotten a little more complicated. I had thought, I'll just rent a U-haul, pack my stuff up and drive it south. Well, that whole plan seemed good till I looked into the rental rates, the vehicles rent for around $30 a day, and then charge around $1.00 a a mile, on top of gas! Making a round trip rental from Seattle, well over $500.00! Going one way, is over $400. This option wasn't going to work. I looked at the trailers. Some of the U-haul Trailers are huge, and rent for a flat rate of $30.00 a day, with no mileage charge. Just by chance my parents just purchased a new van with a toe hitch, since they were more then willing to help me move this was a much better option. Renting the trailer one way from Seattle -> Salem, worked out to $180 thus, the best option was to round trip the trailer from Salem, renting it for two days for a total of $60.00.

I can't thank my friends, Senior Sheppard, and Miss Chelan Kelley* HCM, for offering to come over and help fill the trailer Saturday morning.

Friday, August 19, 2005

Yesterday I was feeling a little sore from the TT last Sunday, and my constant training since then. What is one to do with an important TT on Saturday? Easy answer, two days off and get a massage! I went in feeling a little sore, and like my legs need a small jump start on recovery. What I got was a great massage and a scolding, from my masseuse. You see, I’ve been trying to cut back on living expenses since RAO and one of those expenses was my twice a month massages. Since RAO, I’d just had one massage and in between I’d done lots of training miles, three TT’s, and the Fireweed 400. On the table I hopped and in response I almost got a, , “I cannot work on you, you are such a mess, go away!”. Well, in all seriousness, after a light scolding, Elizabeth, did work on my legs and at the end of the session and commented how every time I come in there is always a lot of work to do.

Events:
- NWTTS, Less then 24 hours away!
- Ring of Fire!

It’s Tartan Time!

Monday, August 15, 2005

Weekend Update

This last week I did a smattering of training rides, roller miles and what not. With only three weeks to go before ROF. My fitness won’t be like it was for RAO, but hopefully it will at least be good enough for a decent finish.

Saturday, after attending a friends wedding, I hit the road for a quick loop around the lake Washington to loosen up the leg's before the team TT on Sunday. I did the 60 mile loop in about three hours, just riding light tempo, and trying to make a effort never to go too deep. The whole goal today was to loosen the legs for the TT on Sunday.

Sunday, was the Team TT, some how I’ve gotten a very bad habit of getting inadequate sleep before nearly every TT I’ve done this year. With 6 hrs in the sack today’s was no different. Jay’s wife, Amy was absolutely fantastic and shuttled Jay, Ben, and I down to the TT, this was really helpful as it enabled me to snag another hr of sleep on the way to Elma.

Down in Elma, we went into the TT, with the ambition to snag top spots on the podium. Unfortunately things didn’t go off quite as planned, leaving the podium spots just a few seconds out of our reach.

Before the TT, the team, Jay, Matt, Ben and I had a great warm-up. Then on the line, there was some confusion as to the start format. We all false started costing us a 5 second penalty and a few extra seconds in lost time due to organizational problems. The start left us all shaken and it took us just a few seconds longer then it should have to group up. Then on the road things started to gel, we putting out strong efforts rotating through the line. Then I made the mistake, of upping the tempo, to my ITT tempo. The higher tempo was a little much and caused gaps in our line to form. Rotating off the front, I’d try and fill the holes and take extra pulls but this wasn’t enough.

Then about 2/3 the way out after one of my pulls we lost one of our riders. This really shook us up. In hind sight, it’s obvious what we should have done, the rider was having difficulty holding our tempo and we should have just continued on as a team of three, the minimum number needed for an official finish. Our plan had been to ride it as a team, and finish strong with all four riders. With this in mind after my pull I hit my breaks and slid way way back to pace our now blown rider back up. Sliding back, the blown rider yelled just go! Go! At this point it clicked and I attacked back up and hooked up with our other two riders making a team of three, and we continued on. I’m sure this total F@#$K Up cost us at least a minute.

Once we were a team of three I began to take longer harder pulls and the miles flew by. At one point we caught a team of four women riding for group health, we passed them on the flat doing about 28.8 mph.. Yeah we were cooking. Then a few miles from the finish, we were cut off on a corner by a truck, causing us to loose a little time, then it was down a quick decent, where we hit ~30 mph and with a big scream into the finish line.

We ended up finishing 4th, with an average speed of ~25.5 mph for 30+ miles. We missed 3rd, by 2 seconds, and 2nd by around 12, and first by over a minute. In our minds we know we were strong enough for at least 2nd place, but unfortunately that’s not how the cards fell today.

Events:
NWTTS in only 5 more days!
Ring of Fire 9/10

It’s Tartan Time!

Labels:

Monday, August 08, 2005

New Adventures!

No its not a cycling adventure, I'm excited to announce that in September I'm going to be moving to Corvallis, Oregon to start Masters program in Bio-Mechanics at Oregon State University. I'm quite excited about this new adventure. I know the program is going to stretch me in many new ways. This week I need to finalize my schedule for fall term, and then all I need to do is find out what I need to do to try out for the OSU cycling team. Hope I can make the cut.

OSU Tartan: http://www.hhs.oregonstate.edu/dhe/tartan.

Its Beaver Time..

Updates

Friday:
On Friday, after work I hopped on the bike and zipped around Mercer Island, 1hr 45 ride. On getting back I put in around another hour on the rollers riding to a Metallica DVD.

Saturday,
It was out to the State Team Time Trial course for a practice/reconnaissance session. Jay, Ben, and I road the 30+ mile course, we road out at a base tempo and then turned around and zipped back at TT speed. I think in the process we learned quite a bit, both about the course, and how we could most quickly negotiate the course. Why are all TT’s on bad chip seal? Between the chip seal and the headwinds, and tempo, the course felt more then challenging. I really hope we can do well as a team next Sunday.

We continued on after riding the TT course climbing up by the unfinished nuclear cooling towers just outside the course. Very cool. All and all the milage today was small but the intensity was high and some how my legs were toast by the afternoon.

Sunday,
The plan was to do some big miles, but for a number of reasons I didn’t get out the door till after 2:40. Still, I figured I had time to ride down to Enumclaw and back. But on reaching Leshi, I realized I’d forgotten my bicycle pump. An hour later, I was back in Leshi, this time with my bicycle pump. I continued on down south, on reaching maple valley instead of continuing on down to Enumclaw, I turned and road back north around the north end of the lake. I did flat once, which made me quite glad I’d gone and retrieved my pump. I returned home to a message on my machine that a buddy was having a burger barbeque. Back on the bike and too and from Kyle’s gave me a respectable mileage for the day of 120 miles.

Events:

1 Week till the State Team Time Trial
2 Week's till NWTTS
3 Then its time for RING OF FIRE, I hope I have decent fitness for this event.

It's Tartan Time!

Thursday, August 04, 2005

Rollers Last Night..

Seam's like time is just evaporating. At work things are in a constant oscillation, when something comes in we work like mad, other times we just sit around and wait. So goes the ship cycle. I'm going to be moving at the end of the month, more news on where to and why, some time next week. But in part because of that I'm trying to make progress to be ready to move out of my apartment. Last night, it was pasta, I washing the floors, and midnight rollers..

Late, Last night, 11:00 PM - 2:AM, I did yet another roller workout, things felt good, and I was just beginning to get my groove on by the end. I road to the DVD, "Million Dollar Baby", if you’re like me and have missed the movie up until now, I highly recommend it.. Its good and at least the first 2/3 are very readable. Yes I rate DVD’s based on how well I can ride to them. The fast and the furious, is a 4 star movie if you’re on the rollers, and unwatchable if your not. This morning, I did another 30 mins before heading in to work.

This weekend the team, is getting together to practice for the, the team time trial two weeks away. I'm just going to treat this race as a training race, IE no-taper, cause less then one week later I have the final NWTTS, and I want to melt the rubber here.

I feel my fitness is ok, fine in respect for these short time trials.. But I'm beginning to feel a little worried about the upcoming Ring of Fire 24 hr race. I feel like I need a camp to really be prepared for it which I don't have the time to do right now. Oh well. I guess I will just train as much as I can and go for it. I just wish my prep was going a little better.

On the Team Tartan front, I've really been lagging here, yes were still working on write-ups for fireweed.. With any luck they will be out by next week.. I know, I know, I've been saying they will be out for awhile.. But well, when ever I have time to write, I say to myself, why write when you can ride!

Monday, August 01, 2005

Weekend Update:

For Seattle, the weather this weekend was hot, in the high 80’s. With no rain, and no major events what’s a roadie to do? Lots of core fitness & base miles. On friday, Rhae had emailed Ben and I saying she was going to do a 6hr ride, and wanted to know if we’d like to tag along. Do beavers smack their tails?, Hell yes we’d tag along.

The plan was to leave Leshi, at 9:30, but we were a little late as I was ~1/2 hr late getting out my apartment door. Half an hour later I was in Leshi, then it was another 6hrs on the road, with a half hour back, making it a fairly good 7 hr day. Where can you go in 7 hrs? Nearly anywhere you want, in our case the route was north from Leshi, up around the north end then out to the falls, back from the falls, down around the south end and back to Leshi. All and all it worked out to a good century+.

Sunday, I was on my own as Rhae had to run, and Ben had to work. I couldn’t quite make up my mind where exactly I wanted to go. I ended up heading out to maple valley and then looping around the north end of the lake. After getting back, I stopped off at the Ballard farmers market, picked up some flowers for my grandmother, who will be celebrating her 90th birthday soon and dropped them off with her, rolling in with another century. Then it was in for a quick shower, and off to the Ballard neighborhood seafood fest. Gota love the seafood..