So, umm... yeah...

I was right, dammit- crazyass week this week. I would say "I told you so", but it's not like there was any argument about it.

The week was a blur... a very busy, Technicolor blur.

Monday I spent the entire day working on a presentation for our new VP of Sales and his trip to Australia to see our distributor there and show them a sneak peek at our 2011 bikes. (No, you can't have one... yet... )

Tuesday was spent getting our demo trailer cleaned out and repacked with bikes for our trip next week to Boulder City, Nevada. All of the bikes were tuned and prepped for the drive and the waiting riders.

Wednesday was spent in the field visiting local retailers and launching the new in-store POP displays we have created for all of the Haro/ Masi brands. This was one of the highlights though- I love being in the field- whether working with retailers or getting to spend time with consumers... I'm a "people person", so I enjoy getting to interact with people.

Thursday and Friday both consisted of attempting to build the presentation I am giving next week, except for that it is still not finished and I really should be working oin that right now... but that's what midnight at Sunday is for, right? Thursday was also my wife's 2nd doctor visit/ baby check-up. The baby is doing fantastic and so is my wife, though she is a bit anemic (which I knew was the case) and is now taking iron pills... which she sincerely hates. Still, overall, it was a very good visit with the doctor and very reassuring as well.

Today I got out for Weekend Worlds again. Unlike last week, I didn't win the final sprint, though I did get 3rd. The legs were just too tired after working too hard on a couple hills before the sprint. My legs never felt all that great this morning to begin with, but I wanted to try to be a little more "well rounded" on the ride today so I rode hard on the few good hills we have on the ride. I made it over the 1st hill with the leaders- since it is a fairly short one- and made the top 20 on the second, more difficult climb which is actually more of a series of stair step climbs. I was far from being a super star, but it was nice to be a little bit more aggressive and not just sitting in for the sprint. The recovery between efforts is getting better and giving me hope for the February 7th Red Trolley Criterium. If I can maintain my form next week while on the road, I'm really thinking I might do the race and get 2010 racing off to a good start... hopefully.

Today was also spent walking the tide pools with my 3 girls. We're having some awesome low tides right now, so it was really great to get to walk around exploring with my girls. I love time like that with them. I also got a nice surprise visit from my step-son. Since the divorce, I don't see him nearly as much as I would like to (which is really very hard for me to accept). He's got his first ever job down the street from my apartment now, so he stopped by on his way home after work. I can't remember the last time I was so happy to have an unannounced guest! I love that boy and miss him more than a few lines in a blog can explain.

Another highlight of the day was getting to record a podcast interview with Josh Boggs from Veloreviews.com- it should be posted pretty soon, so keep an ear out for it. I've "known" Josh for years it seems, but this was the first time we've actually ever spoken! Thanks again to Josh and Veloreviews.com for having me!

Tomorrow consists of finishing my presentation, doing laundry and packing and trying to get in a ride. Monday morning I leave for Nevada until Friday and will be getting to do some nice riding in Boulder City again around the Hoover Dam. Part of the perk to this trip is leading group rides along the lake and down to the dam. If I have to be away from home for the week, it's good to at least get to ride a lot!

Alright... time to finish this off and prepare for some sleep so I can get up and ride in the morning.

Tim

The sun came out today!

Today was one of those glorious SoCal winter days that people dream about- it was warm enough to wear a light jacket/ sweater with a t-shirt and maybe even shorts, if you're the shorts type. The skies were insanely blue and clear- if you looked to the east/ northeast, you could even see all the mountains capped by snow. The air was crisp and clear, as only a winter's rain can provide. In short- amazing.

You can't really tell from the photo, but there is snow on the distant hill tops

I snuck out for a 1.5hr ride today, after Ann came home from her swim at the YMCA- 6.5 months pregnant and still swimming 1500M in the pool nearly every day! I left home with legs that felt a lot like wood, but they slowly warmed up gradually and I found myself pushing my pace. The first part of the ride was largely a headwind, so I had no choice but to push... but as I warmed up, I wanted to push. The first real hill kicked my ass and the pain from the day before was lingering in the legs. As I reached the top, I forced myself to not relax and kept pushing to the stop light at the top of the hill before turning left for the second climb heading out to the Cabrillo National Monument. As is my tradition, I stopped at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery to say hello to my grandparents before motoring on to the end of Point Loma and heading back toward home. I rolled the hill pretty good and zipped through Pt. Loma and then raced back by the airport before hammering through downtown and up the hill to home- never letting the pressure off the pedals the whole way.

The air quality was incredible and clear for miles.

I didn't feel great or ride with inspired legs, but I rode happily through the stiffness and made myself feel the burn of the tired legs... because I could. I rode the scandium frame again and really relished the stiffness of the frame- it's so nice to dig way deep and feel the frame not relent at all. Carbon has a special ride to it, but I love my non-carbon bikes a lot too. It wasn't an epic ride and I only won sprints where I was beating myself... but it was a nice ride in the sun and cool winter air. Not a bad day at all.

Happiness is being on a bike... well, it's one form of happiness anyway...

This week is going to be an unholy busy mess as I prepare for a week out of the office 2/1- 2/5 in Boulder City NV again. The yearly tradition continues this year, so we'll be heading out for a demo event for one of our major retailers. It's the 3rd year for me and I look forward to it... because, rather selfishly, I get to ride every day while I am there! The roads around the Hoover Dam are not the best roads, per se, but the riding itself around the area is really a lot of fun. I am hoping that being in Boulder City will mean some good training while I am there. This week, however, is going to be pretty much the exclusive territory of roller riding at night in the driveway. After the last week I've had, it will hopefully be good leg speed work and help me regain some of my pedal stroke. Sunday, 2/7 is one of my favorite crits of the year and I am giving really serious consideration to being on the start line for the Masters 35+ race. It's 50min long- about 45-48min longer than I really want to be pegged at anaroebic threshold... but it's a great course with a short power climb to the finish. The course has always treated me well in the past, so I hope it will again. But first... this week.

I have a couple PowerPoint presentations to create, some research to do and a bunch of demo bikes to build and tune up before packing the trailer full on Thursday. It's gonna be one helluva week... so don't be surprised if I happen to get quite here on the blog for a bit. I'll be back... eventually.

Tim

2 outta 3 ain't bad...

Today's lunch ride ended up being dry! Admittedly, I was a little bummed- I've been enjoying the hard man/ nutjob reputation I've been building (further) in the office. The past 2 days were very rainy, cold and windy. Today was just cold and windy. I finished the ride with a nice hard sprint up the short hill that leads into our parking lot. It was kind of an afterthought, after struggling up the earlier hill toward the office into a crazy-strong headwind, but I was very pleased with the sensation of power getting to the rear tire. I felt strong. I liked it.

Heading out the door...

Standing in the warehouse freezing like a drowned rat...

Part of the power I felt in the sprint no doubt came from the frame, which is the same Scandium prototype I've been riding for more than a year. It's now my "rain bike"- with a blend of Ritchey WCS parts and SRAM Rival drivetrain. The frame is super stiff- lending to that stiffness is the fact the 60cm frame uses the chainstays of a 58cm, so they are super short and keep the rear end MEGA stiff. The frame is an absolute missile! Also lending to that stiffness is the Ritchey WCS Zeta wheels- which I have mentioned before. I love these wheels- sincerely. They are among the best wheels I've ever ridden that weren't built specifically for me. The low profile rim paired with the spoke pattern creates a super stiff wheel that just rails. In the insane winds I was in today and earlier this week, the low profile helped me keep the wheels under control and the bladed Sapim spokes sliced through the wind just fine. All in all, the wheels and frame create an awesome riding machine when stiffness is the order of the day... and chugging into some mean headwinds requires stiffness!

208lbs. That seems to be my current baseline... 208lbs. Now that I'm back on the bike regularly, it's time to start getting serious about my diet again. I've dropped nearly 10lbs since Christmas, but I'm still a few pounds away from that 195 goal and I know I can get there... since I was just there as recently as September. My wife, who is beginning to look HUGE these days, has been very encouraging and has continued to push me to ride and train. I'm enjoying the feeling of getting some power back- all things being relative, 'cause it ain't like I'm about to win le Tour. However... still kicking around the idea of buying the racing license online soon so I can race the Old Guy division of the local crit on 2/7... so we'll see.

I'm not hearing voices in my head yet (well, new ones), but we've gotten tons of the rain we so very desperately need here in SoCal over the past few days. I'm not sure if I've seen heavier rains here since moving to San Diego in 1986, but I know that my drive home tonight was the most challenging one I've had since '86! Wow... tons of standing water on the freeway and nobody sure how to drive in it. It was chaos. If it rains like this for much longer, I'm collecting lumber and animals...


Tim

Day 2 of 2 hour rides

I guess 2day was my 2-fer, of sorts; my 2nd day of 2hr rides... although 2day was more like 2.5hrs (2:22:45), but who's counting? (Aside from me, that is.)

I got another 43.59mi in today, mostly along the coast before the rains began to arrive. I first left the house without my arm warmers, but had to turn around and get them as the temp began to drop as soon as I rolled out the door. The winds were beginning to pick up and the temp was dropping, but the tunes were playing and the legs were turning. Yesterday's ride just never felt quite right, with the hear rate too high and the lungs not feeling all that lung-ish. Today was not a 180 degree reversal, but it was a big difference- even riding solo in the wind.

Yesterday, I just never felt like I was getting things to "click", but today was different. The wind was a real battle at times, but overall I felt so much better and more fluid. The pedals didn't feel like they were fighting me and I felt like I was able to sustain power longer, though I still felt like an old-fat-outta-shape-guy when going uphill. At more than 200lbs, it's clear that I am not in my earlier mountain goat shape of (many) years past. BUT... it was good to feel like I was giving power to the pedals from the base of the climb to the top of it... well, mostly.

The best feeling was that I was able to recover from a less than stellar day yesterday and ride a lot better today. That gives me hope. Maybe, just maybe, I can return to some level of fitness this year. Not feeling completely like crap has me considering racing at one of the local crits- which I have won in the past- on February 7th, 2 days after returning from a week long trip to Nevada, where I will be riding while working. It might be a great way to test how far off the back I am, compared to all those who have been training hard all winter. Luckily, I know the course really well and have a good record of placings there, so I can ride the race more on brains than legs... if I focus. However, sadly, it's a 50 minute race (which I am not prepared for) and it's a 1/2/3/4 field... which means it's gonna be damned fast!

We'll see...

I spent part of the day working with my daughter on a school "Biomimicry" project for Science Night. It's an inventor's project, where you are only limited by imagination and not reality. The assignment was to "invent" something that mimics nature, but does not necessarily have to be "good for the environment"... but is not allowed to be destructive or gross. Easy enough! So, Punkin created Robo Turtle; it's a mechanical turtle that patrols the forest at National or State parks eating litter and transforming it into toys for kids that can't buy their own. The shell is made of solar panels that supply power and recharge a master battery. When it is full, it returns to the home base to be emptied and then returns to look for more litter. It also has sensors to alert the Rangers if there are forest fires. This way, less privileged kids can have free toys, the rangers can concentrate on real work and the parks can stay clean and trash free! (Is it any wonder why I love this kid?)

Tim

And so it goes...

Yes- for those keeping score, I fell asleep again last night before I could get on the rollers. There... I admit; I'm getting old. Time for dinner at 4:00, re-runs of Matlock and Murder She Wrote and bed by 9:00. I guess it's all down hill from here... well, until the baby is born.

So, umm, yeah... I was asleep by 9:00, but at least this time I managed to make it to my bedroom first. My neck was killing me, so I tried to lie on the bed with my head hanging to the side- turns out that was kinda comfortable. Oh well.

Today I took my daughter to her dance and guitar lessons- the punkin is too damned cute! Her mother is the one who has set up both the dance and guitar lessons, so I can not take any credit for being anything other than a chauffeur and bystander. Still, it's amazingly cute to watch a room full of 5-9yr old girls doing tap and jazz dance. How I don't get caught giggling is beyond me.

Ann went swimming before the classes, so after we got home from the lessons, I hopped on the bike for a 2hr-ish ride. The weather is starting to turn, since there are storms coming, so the wind was a little bit of a factor... though not that much. The skies were cool and grey, so the temp was beginning to drop as I headed out around 2:00. My legs felt ok- the power was there when I was trying to push the pedals, but I never felt very good overall. My heart rate was consistently too high and I always felt a bit short of breath. Just felt "off" the entire time. My neck and shoulders were unhappy, the cardio systems was wonky... but the legs didn't seem to mind the work. So, who knows... we'll see what happens tomorrow morning when I get out again. Stats; 1:56:32, 17.6av/33.9mx MPH, 34.33mi, 75av/128mx RPM- HR was somehow lost... but the numbers were not favorable anyway. It was nice that I didn't feel even worse after 2 days of not riding and the little bit of leg weights I did yesterday. Maybe I'll survive after all... maybe.

I began the day around 207lbs and was down to 203.8 after the ride. Still not close to my fighting weight... but closer than I was a few weeks ago!

Tim

On a roll(ers) still...

Today was another very busy day, of course, especially after being out of the office the past two days. The highlight of the day was having a "working lunch" with Lance Camisasca and Chad Battistone of Lifeboat Events. Sure, getting to have sushi for lunch was a big part of it, but I sincerely enjoyed the lunch that Jill Hamilton (Haro MTB/ Adult Brand Manager) and I got to have with Lance and Chad. It is the people you meet and get to know in this industry that make all the difference. Truly. The sushi was good, but best part of all was the conversation... and we all know that I live for conversations.

Since today was such a busy day and I had to leave the office early to get Masidaughter 1.0 from school, there was no lunchtime ride. This meant hitting the rollers tonight, which I haven't done- apparently- in a couple months because I was suffering like a pig! The short 45 minutes that I managed to survive was anything but pretty. The first 10min were bad and I really had to talk myself into staying on the rollers and getting the ride done. My goal going outside tonight was 40min... hoping I'd go to 45, which I did. So, small victory... of sorts. Riding the fixed, I was able to lay down the following- 46:11, 19.0av/ 39.0mx MPH, 14.68mi, 86av/ 178mx RPM, 125av/ 162mx HR. Nothing spectacular, by any means. The first 40+min were pretty easy and I kept things as smooth as I could. Spinning 46x16, holding a cadence of 90RPM was the goal, but I was just short of it. I finished up with one good hard effort and seated sprint... then I rolled up and down the street for a few minutes to cool down a bit. The legs were stiff and heavy at first and finished stiff and slightly less heavy feeling... but it was a good starting point and momentum keeper.

Some stupid stats; weighed 210.6 before the ride and 209.6 after, quads 25" and calves 17.5".

Tomorrow morning is the rescheduled doctor visit for my wife and I. Her first US doctor visit and our first visit with the doctor who will- hopefully- be delivering our daughter... Masidaughter 2.0. We're excited, of course, and a little apprehensive... but we're more excited than not. I have to admit that it's awfully "cute" to watch my 5' wife slowly adapt to being pregnant with the child of a 6'3", 200+lb bike nerd. She's got a slight "waddle" now (and she'd kill me if she read this) and is just beginning to strain to sit down or stand up... but she's still in the pool at the YMCA every single morning. She looks as fit as ever... just a LOT rounder in the middle.

I will leave you with this, since it played on my iPod tonight during my roller ride and is one of my all-time favorites...


Rock on!

Tim

It's Friday... YIPPEE!

It's Friday- do your happy dance!

This has been a long week and my brain is cooked to a crisp... crispy enough that I have a headache that feels like it might crack my head open. I did however manage to get out of the office long enough for a short lunch ride today, after missing my ride yesterday. I struggled a bit to find my rhythm, but I did eventually find my pedals again and was able to salvage my short spin and enjoy my time in the sun.

Tomorrow morning, while my wife is at the pool swimming, I'm going to head out for the weekly group ride again and see if I can make it a little longer this week before I pop. No promises...

Speaking of my wife... tomorrow is also her birthday, so please feel free to leave her a birthday comment here.

Alright- my vision is getting blurry from this headache so I think it's time to unplug for tonight.

Tim