Today was one of those great days on the bike, being better than just a good day.  The day started off at 2 am with a SERIOUS hunger awakening.  I’m usually one to sleep soundly all night before enjoying breakfast, but something strange happened and I woke up in the middle of then night absolutely starving. I snuck out to the kitchen and prepared the biggest bowl of Kashi I could manage.  After the snack it was another five hours of sound sleep before breakfast.

Everything seemed normal until I got on the bike when I really noticed that I was going well. I did the same ride as last Tuesday, the 38 miles down to Parker and then back up to Havasu.  This time I did it twenty minutes faster while riding at the same heart rate and perceived effort.  I was doing an extra 20 watts the entire time! When I got back after the four hours I felt as if I could go do it all over again.  Using better judgment I decided against this and will wait until tomorrow to repeat it.  This must mean that my legs are coming back… For about six weeks, training was hit or miss at best, so all the crud is getting blown out of those metabolic pathways. Maybe that third patch I put on my punctured tube last night was a lucky one. Whatever it was, it better continue!

It sounds as if the hard-cores of the Midwest are braving the cold for some serious miles as well. A hardy bunch of athletes for sure!  We will represent in full force at the nationals! Rumor has it that Sova has been riding with Hanson on the iPod lately. What’s up with that?   -TJ

Another sunny day here in Arizona. Today’s high only got to 72 so I went with the long sleeve jersey. Actually it was just in the upper 50s when I left so that’s why I had the sleeves on. The helmet strap tan is loud and clear now. After a couple more weeks I’ll have to post a picture of that on here.

The highway up to 40 has some nice grades for climbing fast, but when it splits to two lanes the shoulder is only about six inches wide.  When it’s single lane traffic the shoulder is about eight feet, so no complaints then. At least I made it through the sketchy spots alright.

Once back into town I started to feel a squishy flat on the rear. I thought I had a flat, then I didn’t, then I look down at it, then I thought it was ok, then it felt soft again. This thinking went on for about a minute, just as long as it took for the thing to go completely flat.  I found a side street and pulled out the wheel, leaning over to get a good hamstring stretch. I found the little thorn that was messing things up and somehow got it stuck into my thumb before I threw it to the ground. It wasn’t about to stop making pain, one way or the other… I got what I thought was a descent amount of air in there with my mini pump and back at it. I noticed the seals on the pump weren’t so tight anymore and it was leaking about half of what I was putting in so it took awhile.

Now about two miles from home after three and half hours of riding I see this guy on a road bike ahead of me. Most of the riders here are 60+ so there’s no problem blazing by them (none are as fit on the bike as my grandpa is). Just as I pull even with this guy I slam my wheel into a rock on the road. Pssssssssssss, I continue to coast around the front of him over and drift over to the curb. He just looked and kept going, what a nice guy…. I had the patch kit along, but I wasn’t about to mess with that so close to home so I just rang up Grandma who came to my rescue with theTaurus. At least I still got in the ride goals, but it’s a bummer not to finish the ride on two wheels. I guess a new pump goes on the list, or some new seals for the one I’ve got. I wonder what trouble Sova is causing in Eau Claire?

Today’s ride kind of took it out of me.  It started with a field test on a climb here in town. Yesterday I did some scouting and this one will be a good way to test my progress that I make.  With a week of riding in my legs I felt ready to get the baseline numbers. The results were nothing spectacular, but higher than I’ve ever started building the foundation from any other year. I’ll repeat this test once I’m done with each training block to confirm my progress along the way.

Getting this test done took about 1:15 of riding and after that I was out of town getting in the workout.  I put in a solid five hours and felt pretty good until the last 30 minutes. It wasn’t a full-on bonk, but definitely right there at the limit.  Had I of done this same ride in the Midwest it would have been a bonk for sure. Somehow the cold or damp air takes that much more energy to overcome. I rode down to parker dam then up the California side of the lake to this little landing/campground at the end of the road. It was perfect that they had a little market there as I reloaded with Gatorade and Nature Valley bars for the ride back home.  The climb out of the landing area was a solid four miles on some seriously rough pavement. Going up it wasn’t so bad as the trip down. My teeth were rattling!

The picture looks kind of dull, but the lake was a nice view actually…

Its red potatoes, fish and fresh green beans for dinner, I can hardly wait! I should be set to do all of this riding again tomorrow.  The tan is already starting to show up so I’ll be nice and dark by spring time. Have a good one,  TJ

Life as a professional has been excellent thus far. I’ve gotten in all the essentials:  I’ve done some long base miles. I’ve gone to bed very early. I’ve assisted on several household projects, the latest being an installation of a new dishwasher in the kitchen.  My stress is essentially zero and I’m starting to realize how nice life can be without the stresses of college. Not that they were all bad, but it was a pretty major stress none the less.

I say essentially zero stress only because today I’ve found out that USA Cycling has yet again changed the NMBS series calendar. How many times will they do this and when will it officially be official? I’d like to know when and where I’ll be racing and how much money it is going to be costing me. Now the first race has been bumped back two weeks and another California venue has been thrown in, sandwiched between two Utah events. Whatever, odds are I’ll be wherever and whenever the racing is.

Being away from the snow and cold I’ve quickly forgot how miserable things used to be. I haven’t had to cut any rides short due to frozen limbs or snow/ice covered roads this past week.  The only concern I’ve had is whether to go with the long sleeve jersey or the short sleeve with the arm warmers.  It’s been between 60 and 75 the entire time and I haven’t seen a cloud yet. The mirrored lenses are finally being used for the first time ever. My only minor complaint would be the the often 20+ mph winds, but it is monsoon season after all…

So training days #1 through #6 have gone off without a hitch. Some numbers to start you with: six times across the CA/AZ border, 250 miles, and 8400 Calories in just over 15 hours or riding. Nothing too serious yet, but I’m getting my legs back underneath myself. This weekend there’s a big BMX competition in town that I might have to check out. Next thing you’ll know I’ll be buying a BMX bike to work on my jumping skills for my recovery days… Reports will be more frequent. I’m not going to say daily, but a lot closer to it. Enjoy the sunshine, or frozen limbs.  -TJ

I’ve made it to Lake Havasu City Arizona and the weather is excellent. The only thing I’m missing as of yet is a solid Internet connection. Once that is set up you can expect daily reports following everything that’s happening here.  Right now I’m poaching some wifi from the Sprint phone store so I won’t make this long. I’ve already gotten in a couple of good rides and I don’t see any excuses that will prevent me from taking the training to the next level. All for now. Expect a legitimate writeup next time. TJ