New Year's Resolutions.

I wonder if anyone has ever followed through with a New Year's Resolution and found success. 6 days in and mine is still in effect. Will it last? Stay Tuned!

Back in the Saddle, Again.

I think it's time to start blogging again since as of September I've been back in the saddle in what could potentially be called training mode.   You see, a couple years ago I broke my collar bone in a freak bicycle accident in front of my house and it kinda took away, or at least gave me an excuse, to stop riding, get lazy, fat, out of shape, or whatever.    Talk is cheap, riding with a fast group of riders and laying down the hurt, or at least not getting dropped is where it's at.   Let's Roll!

Lynskey Viale Review

Check out this review of the Lynskey Viale.  Looks like the ultimate commuter/touring/winter training bike to me.   Lynskey Viale

Remember When,...

Remember when Trek dumped LeMond for Lance?  Yeah that was funny.

Jens!

Jens Voigt won stage 4 at the Tour of Catalonia today. How could someone not be a fan of this guy? Nice job Jens!

Five Days in a Row?

Yep, the weather has been amazing so getting out on the road every night has been easy. Tonight I figured I'd end the weekend with a shorter ride. 31 Miles, but I went hard. Things went well for the first half but I ran out of gas on the second half. Still felt great to be riding in short sleeves and shorts again.

Longer Days, More Riding

Time to stock up on Bag Balm and hit the road for some long miles. Have fun out there. Now that the season is in full swing I'll try to update the page a bit more often.

10 Minutes is a Long Way.

I did my favorite 35 mile loop last night and after a day off Tuesday the urge to go hard got the best of me. A strong headwind greeted me when I made the turn onto Lyons Mill so it looked like it was going to be a hard going. At least a tailwind would help me the last few miles on the return I thought. Strong headwinds always make me think of the Netherlands in spring and how the real hard men of cycling never seem to complain. They just chew through it like snowplows through a drift. If you ever watched old footage of Eddy Merckx, or more recently, Tom Boonen, it's amazing how much time they will spend at the front pulling the Peloton in this weather. Its as if they are saying "I am the strongest here, try and hold my wheel if you can!" Class. I stayed in the drops almost the whole way with my head down, keeping a pretty good average speed and high cadence, but could definitely feel the burn.

Going hard on a familiar course is a pretty good indicator of fitness level, but it also is a cruel reminder of how far down from last summer's peak we are. Finishing 10 minutes off a normal fast ride for a 35 mile loop is an awfully long way. Greg LeMond had a great line for times like this. "It doesn't get easier, you just get faster." I'm not worried, faster will come in time.

Whaddaya Do on Bad Days?

I had thoughts of going long yesterday since the weather was perfect and the week's riding mostly consisted of enduring the trainer watching The Tour Down Under. Anyway I got out on the road around noon in deep blue skies and relative warmth but I guess my legs wanted to stay home and sleep. The next 2.5 hours was rough going but I survived. I spent a lot of time trying to concentrate on my pedal stroke and noticed that the rpm's tend to go up when I'm focused on it.

Looks like crappy weather today so it'll be back on the trainer. Too bad The Tour Down Under is over.

New Roads.

I found some new roads to ride over the weekend with some really great hills. The hills here in this part of Maryland aren't long, but they make up for it in steepness. I think the people who created them didn't even try to find a better way. They just go straight up and over. I'm looking forward to tackling them over and over in the coming months.