Thursday, April 23, 2009

No Time

This has consumed all my time.....thoughts racing through my head at 3:30am full days of work, very little riding after last weeks 18 hours. I was blown out anyway. Needed a rest. Thinking about racing this weekend at Evergreen. Probably on the cross bike with slicks. Time to go home and hang with the god....Maybe I can breathe for minute too...

The goods are rolling in though...two sets of pedals,two pairs of shoes, and a Fuel should be here soon!

Monday, April 13, 2009

Re-Cap


I like Paris Roubaix because the strong man wins. It's more like a Mtn Bike or Cross race. The stongest, smartest, and most skillful win with a little luck! My friend Raul Jiminez was right on picking J.A.F. , but he didn't have the skills(maybe JAF should ride with Hermida who won the first mtb World Cup in South Africa go Spain), nor did Hushovd. Hincapie once again didn't have the luck...but could have recovered...he integrated but didn't get back to the front fast enough....maybe his new technique should be "panic" if something goes wrong. Instead it was stay calm and have the team pace him back to the front.....Boonen was back to the front instantly after his mishap. It was fun to watch...I ordered a pizza and watched in Hi-Def at the in-laws after a 4:00 ride, in once again, frigid temps. I wonder if the Belgies could handle Sheboygan's weather?

I finished up the week with 16 hours on the cross bike. Hopefully soon I'll get a road bike and my new Fuel. Andrea is arriving home from Tucson today and will be surprised when she see's her new ride in the living room!


















Defintitely lighter than previous Fuels, but I think it needs the Carbon wheels to get closer to that 20 lbs mark.

This week I am shooting for 18 hours on the bike...hopefully the weather cooperates. Then I'll have a solid month of riding and will start looking at the race schedules! My two new favorite websites are cyclingdirt.org and freecaster.tv .... check 'em out.

Wednesday, April 08, 2009

I'm back....

Back in the saddle again! It's a little colder than it was in Tucson, but I got some good solid riding in a very short time frame. Andrea had a follow up at Foot Fitness yesterday and received her custom orthotics! She said the Dr. added another 2mm under her shoes and she feels great! I am pumped after riding behind her for the last 10 years watching her ankle, knees, hips, and back do all sorts of crazy things. The doc is also making some orthotics with a lift for her walking and running shoes....I'll update in a month and we'll see how much more comfy she is....

As for me it's back on the bike in WI with lots of layers of clothing. Also back to helping Dano paint the new bike shop. Staying busy has been the name of the game....

Although I did have a relaxing Sunday afternoon and watched Stijn rip up the Ronde for the 2nd consecutive year! I heard he ate a Ham & Cheese at the 4:00 mark in the feed zone....his secret was mustard!


















Any predictions for P-R this Sunday....I heard Hincapie was out eating Ham & Cheese with the same Mustard that team Quick Step uses....

Predictions:

1. Hincapie
2. Boonen
3. Pozzato

Thursday, April 02, 2009

Aaahhh Tucson

Loving it the past few days in the sunshine and mid 70's. I keep asking myself why I left this place??? Day 1 was a 2 hour ride from the house to the 7 mile mark up Mt. Lemmon. It was pretty sweet to run into the ACE and have some company most of the way up the hill. I met Jon way back in the day and we always bump into each other in the most unexpected places. Here Jon was reminding me that Mt. Lemmon goes up.























Day 2 was a bright and early ride to Saguaro National Park followed by a very educational trip to see Bill Peterson at Foot Fitness. It turns out Andrea had a 9mm leg length discrepancy. So the doc is going to make some custom footbeds and add 7mm of lift under her left cleat. You could tell an immediate difference in her pedal stroke with just the lift. She is going to ride for a week and try to lose some of the bad muscle memory of being imbalanced and then the footbeds should be ready to rock. A follow up visit and possibly some adjustment to the lift height along with the new footbeds and she should be riding pain free in a very short amount of time! We also spent a little time over at Trek Bicycles of Tucson meeting Candice and Dave and getting a few ideas for the new store.




Today was my first real training ride out here. I put in a solid 60 miles out to Colossal Cave and then to Sahuarita Rd. and back through Rita Ranch. It was an awesome ride and I hope to get 2 more rides in just like it before flying home on Sunday. I sure am going to miss this place...