Friday, April 24, 2009

End of Year Recap

When thinking about your accomplishments in fitness this season:-What one word describes your 2008 season?Accomplishment - because this year I did everything I wanted to do except race, but I did work on it.-Does it match what you said last December in anticipation of this year?Yes and No! I participated in a Tour, a Metric 100, a 100 and attempted 7 - 100s of those seven three of them were completed two of them in personal record time the best being 5:46. On the last one I also managed a 50 Mile PR of 2:46-What one word comes to mind when you think about your 2009 season?Endurathon - I look forward to working on a randonée for the first time. (FYI-Paris-Roubaix started out as a randonée.-Did you race any new distance this year or try any new type of racing or sport?No, only tried to improve my Century time!-What was your greatest thrill or joy this year from training or racing?PRs of 40 plus minutes and 30 something and also big tours such as the Wildflower.-What was your biggest disappointment this year from training or racing?Not averaging above 18 MPH on any event or training session in its entirety-What was your favorite race in 2008?Favorite event was the Wildflower-How important was the social aspect of your sport in 2008?Extremely! I know I'm a social being and enjoy the social aspect of everything that we do.-If you had to name three people that made a difference in your training this year who would they be? Larry O'Bryan for the wheels that make me fly, Patty Clark for the motivation, and Joe Montagna for being a constant companion!

New Caloi TT Rig

Dude, I've only had the bike since New Year's Eve, but have already logged six workouts with the new rig. Almost 100 miles! Dang! http://www.cyclelogic.net First time to own a dedicated TT bike. My wife and I decided that we would build up the caloi frame to a time trial rig (TT) that I got when I cracked the other one and build up the litespeed after we get all the caloi sh!t back on the new caloi. I used an Airstryke aero set up with the T2 Wing from http://www.performancebike.com plus the little knobs to put all the computers and HRM sh!t on from http://www.brittonbikes.com and to be fair to everyone that I do business with :-) the tubes were from the Broadway http://bikeworld.com and the Gator Skins were from http://www.charlesajamesbicycle.com peace and love to all you guys in the new year.I don't know if it's because I've been riding the MTB for the last few rides before the end of the year since everything else was in the shop at Cycle Logic with Allen, but the new rig feels so freaking lite or maybe it's because I'm heavier due to the festivus celebrations :-) or is it the celebration where everything is decorated in red and green! Ha!Caloi no longer has a presence in the great US of A so the frame came straight from home in Brazil. How would my life have been different if I had ridden a Caloi as a kid in Brazil? Beats me, but I'm loving it now. Allen says it's the first in TX or US can't remember. He still has the connection as a dealer here in the states.Don't get me wrong the tight geometry and responsiveness of the Litespeed is phenomenal and I wouldn't have it any other way for a crit set up. Why does a quality wheelset have to cost freaking 2grand? It wouldn't be quality if it didn't right?!I know I'm being very random. BTW anyone up for a 100 miler down to Pleasanton (that incredibly does not have a bike shop in town)? If I'm training for Triathlons and also training for a randonée I need to start or get back to it. I attempted 7 100 milers with the Litespeed and finished five of them the last one in 5:46 woo hoo for me at least. I wonder how the slipstream of the TT set up will help in those efforts. Since we are being random why do Randoneurs ride touring or audax(whatever that is) set ups? It must be about smelling the roses for them and just finishing. But I thought there was a time cut off? Anyway see you guys out there! Thanks Allen!

The Caloi TT Rig Follow-up

Well, it's been a couple of months and the results are good. I've read in http://www.roadbikerider.com that big guys can really push on the flats and I'm proof of that. Recently on a short stretch of road that I regularly push myself on to see how fast I can go by a predetermined point, I reached 34.7 MPH. The fastest I had reached on this particular stretch on other bikes was 27.X so I know there is a difference with this bike. At the same time I'm thinking team strategy and what's that going to help with unless I'm in a team time trial. Anyway, I'm feeling really good about the help the Caloi Strada is providing.On my longest ride this year which was also my first attempt at 100 it was evident with the right factors happening in my favor I would be able to do some damage with this machine. 82 plus miles in 5:12. It could have been better if I hadn't had to suffer so much on the first half of the trial. The 20 MPH winds and gusts of more than that had me going the last hour of the three for the first 50. I had averaged 15.5 through two hours, but then my pace dropped off as I became more exposed on the route. My split at 50 was less than three hours so I knew I could get close to my PB but things did not all go rosy. The only thing that I can atribute it to is traffic on a Saturday as Kathy out by Thelma said "Saturday traffic!"On the randonee front I spoke with a guy of some notoriety here in South Texas because he commutes 120 plus miles a day round-trip regularly. He wants to do a 200 mile brevet sometime this Summer. I would love to go with him since it includes a loop that I have wanted to do for some time: The Mo Ranch loop up by Hunt! Turns out I know his girlfriend and she's Brazillian and I grew up in Brazil. It was really cool to meet a guy that this past year in a six month period only used one tank of gas. Talk about going green! He was living it daily!

PRs Broken with TT Rig from 2 Years Past

Multiple PRs broken today! Woo hoo, let's see if I can remember 'em all. First to the railroad tracks by division south of town PR by 3 minutes in 31. Then PR by 5 minutes to San Jose in 42. Then I got to Espada or 17 miles by 58 PR by two minutes I think. Made it to the 21 spot by 1:15 or 1:16. Took some salt at 30 then turned around at the Valero on 181. Back at the Missions I hit 50 in 2:55 and then hit 52 in 3:00. Finished 64.5 in 3:48 Nice! Final average including cooldown 16.9. Maximum average out to San Jose 18.6 Dainnngguh. Average to 17 or Espada 18.3. All this with a bit of a strained calf from Thursday nights speed fest.