Jacks December

Cross is over, but the riding isn't. I got out too late from work on Wednesday to make the powerstarts . . . . so I'm waiting for Sunday to really get back into the groove of things. I loaned Joe the powertap so that he could get a feel for it and do his test. This week has been pretty simple for me - I wake up and ride to the park, ride the first half of it, and then back into town and to work. This portion has been slower and for my is akin to E miles. Then after work, if I get out early enough, I do the same thing backwards. If I get out late, I've either done hill repeats, or gone home and done an upper body workout.
So the motivation is there, but the intelligent approach most likely isn't. Sunday will be my day to see everyone and get my plans squared away.

Dec 12th - Rode down to meet Joe at the shop for an 8am tempo ride. The hardest part about the whole thing was getting there maybe 10 minutes too early - I cooled down a little bit and it really seemed freezing when we started again. Our conversation was limited to the weather, the next race season, and later on in the ride all of the female joggers who smile and wave at Joe. For some reason I received no such attention . . . . We did close to two hours, and then I had to head off to work.

Dec 13th - I tried to get an E ride in outside, but with the precipitation and cold I had to speed it up at times. I've looked everywhere for a pair of waterproof socks . . . . no luck. Andre suggested I just use plastic baggies to wrap my feet - like kids do when they go in the snow. I used some duct tape to seal the bags against my calves, and then applied a thin layer of vaseline to make sure no water leaked through. It worked, but I chose a heavier, supposedly waterproof set of gloves to ride with . . . . they ended up being semi warm but filled and quite heavy. Felt like I had soggy boxing gloves on or something. Once home I made sure to take plenty of vitamin C and then lounged out while I warmed back up.
Hope to see some team guys soon . . . .

Dec 15th -
In the morning I did a light spin to workout any residual Heineken damage . . . . then later on I was with Jinks for a quick workout . . . . the first part consisted of a moving a cumbersome Italian leather couch from the garage down up to his living room . . . . after that I rode the rollers for my first time while he was on the fixie trainer. He dissected some of the Milan - San Remo race for me . . . . it was a good way to end a long day. I remember seeing Greg warm up on rollers before the Dismal Dash TT last season . . . I had no idea it required that much concentration . . . .

Dec 16th - Maybe racing the last two cross races on the ksyriums wasn't such a good idea. My family was going to capital ale house about the same time that the team was set to meet for powerstarts . . . . just as we were stopped at the light at Hyperion we all heard a loud bang - I thought a tree branch hit the top of the car or something. Then, seeing a group of kids outside the coffee shop, we thought they threw something. But they looked innocent enough, so we pulled over to inspect the truck. Not wanting to be late for the powerstarts, I got out as was set to ride to the shop. I saw that the noise must have been a front flat which left everyone relieved. But when I get to the shop and check the wheel - ???? - part of the rim had blown out. Big thanks to Andre for loaning me his wheel . . . .

The powerstarts themselves were cool in more ways than one. Seeing all of the guys for a workout was nice too - its just too bad that it was so bitterly cold. Hopefully the weather will be better next time, so we can develop some devastating Cavendish like sprints . . . . .

17th - Recovery day. Tomorrow Jinks and I plan to ride in the AM, so I'm off to bed early. Although I'd love to see a little snow come tomorrow evening, I'd rather do without so that the Saturday and Sunday rides will go on . . . .

18th - Jinks and I suffered the cold this morning on a commute from Stafford back to the burg. It wasn't too bad once the blood got flowing - it seemed I was layered well enough, but at points I wished I had an insulated jock strap.
After work I did some hill repeats near the hospital, but once the snow started to fall I made a hasty retreat home.
Tomorrow was supposed to be the big testing day but unless I can do it on skis it'll have to wait . . . . .

19th - Almost got on TV today . . . . !

20th - Upper body workout - low weight and high rep. It went quite smoothly, but now I'm quite stiff and sore. Plus when I had to move all the weights from the garage to the attic (to avoid the fumes from a kerosene heater) I forgot part of the ceiling hangs at about eye level and ran right into it. So in addition to being sore I've got a nice lump on my head!

Dec 24th - Merry Xmas to everyone . . . . Jinks and I plan to ride out at Quantico at Saturday at 9:00 . . . . The roads look a lot better than they did earlier in the week . . . if they forecast this kind of snow anytime next year I'm going to be first in line to buy studded tires. Between work and commuting I'm pretty beat . . . .

26th - Woke up with a dry mouth and a headache . . . . An hour later I was in a light rain with Jinks up at Quantico. We kept it in the E range for three hours, which seemed to cure the hangover and lift my spirits at the same time. The riding is nice out there with the decent sized rollers and the lack of car traffic . . . . we did come across a few lost hunters though. Next time I'm at Quantico I'm dressing in blaze orange and taking a shotgun . . .
Jinks had closer to four hours because he rode to and from his house . . . . and I did a short commute home after work. All in all it was a good day - hopefully it will only get better tomorrow!

27th - It was an epic ride . . . . . its always nice to ride into places that I haven't been before. Using the heavier gear ratio for the first half was interesting too . . . . . I like to think that training like that will have me better prepared for those upcoming crit finish sprints. It felt funny being able to use all the gearing afterwards though . . . . so much so that I decided to snap a shifter cable right before the KOM portion. Andre worked a little magic so that I would be in the 53 x 16 and not the 12, and from there I was good to go. The KoM's themselves were a beast . . . . towards the end it was all I could do to hold Bills wheel. He explained afterwards that if we were totally secure in out breakaway effort I would need to pull through much more smoothly. But I was quite fatigued - he held out an outstretched hand for a hive five right before FCS hill and I barely had the juice to lift my arm from the bike. The pull back into town was quite intense too . . . . I thought maybe someone had received an emergency phone call and had to get back home. Joe bested me in the final sprint . . . . as usual.
I like the format of the 4 hour ride . . . . if time permits I'd like to get in as many of those as possible.
Between the excursion with Jinks yesterday and todays all day effort I'm grabbing a protein shake and then some sleep . . . . . see you all New Years . . . !

12/28 - Riding in the torque mode really did me in. Well, it must have been a combo of that and the KoM's . . . . I rode a little bit before work just top loosen up and then did some cornering practice after work. Tomorrow will most likely be a rest day bc I plan on taking a girl out for a few beers. I don't want to train hard beforehand and then be half asleep during the date . . . . .

New Years Eve - Hopefully the rain won't turn into snow . . . . and hopefully the rain doesn't freeze like crazy so we can ride over the weekeend. Tonight is supposed to be the night to go and party . . . . I'm going to get to and from work as quickly as possible, ride the trainer to warm up, and call it a night.