NYE 2007 - 2008

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Climbing 101

We managed to climb for several hours at Mission Cliffs this evening to avoid the rain and cold conditions on the roads. The climbers had to pass a mandatory belaying and knot course before anyone could begin and I learned a trick from the instructor. I hope you enjoy the pictures ;)

Weekend Rides

The winter has finally arrived and the cold is beginning to make the morning rides interesting. The wind has a way of finding the smallest cracks in the stitching. Last weekend I had to rummage through a storage box for neoprene booties and full-leg riding pants. Also, I started wearing a wool cap under the helmet to protect my head from the wind chill on descent. Our winter training has begun and the HR zones will not exceed 150 BPM (beats per minute) until the racing season. Here is a sneak-peak of last weekends ride based on the Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS unit (a Christmas gift from my parents). The plan is to build a solid base this winter for road season and bring the fitness to cyclocross in 2008 - we'll see how things turn out.

Thanks for reading and good night.

Brilliant Cones

Took a picture of these cones while waiting for the BART at San Francisco Airport.

Cross Training

It's time to hit the climbing gym for some cross training

Santa Claus in London

This is how Santa rolls in London



Merry Christmas and happy holidays!

Happy Holiday

Good Morning

Just finished a bowl of cereal and decided to skip a ride to Marin with friends. My knees were feeling sore this morning from the last two days of training and it's probably a sign to rest and avoid any stress or injuries. Angelo, Vince and I started our winter training program over the weekend and hope to build a solid base during the next 3 months. I received a nice Garmin Forerunner 305 (GPS) as a Christmas gift from my parents and the device will be used to monitor my riding stats such as heart rate, cadence, time, speed and other useful data. My brother and I might ride our cyclocross bikes on Christmas day, but we'll have to see how everyone is feeling in the morning. Last week our company met some deadlines and the week ended with a nice lunch at Grand Pu Bah Thai restaurant in the Design Center of San Francisco (where our company is located). This week I plan on updating my blog site with a new look and adding some images from the past month. Also, I need to look into purchasing a UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) license for a race in Los Angeles next month, so I can race with the Category A (professional) cross racers. It will be an honor to race with some of the best professional racers in the world and to learn how things unfold on the elite level. It's been a dream to race cross with the best and I plan on training properly this winter to make a strong showing in 2008. Well, I need to finish some Christmas shopping before taking the Caltrain to the South Bay. I hope everyone has a nice holiday and I look forward to posting some new images and data from the Garmin 305.

Thanks for reading.

Cross at Coyote Point

Woke up on Sunday morning and listened to Muse while eating a bowl of Swiss Muesli and a table spoon of organic (chunky) peanut butter.

Sat in my living room and thought about the final cyclocross race at Coyote Point and the mistakes I made on the same course the previous season.

During my shower I visualized the race course and thought about the key sections such as the beach and the switchbacks in the eucalyptus grove.

Thought about my childhood fishing trips (with my father) to Coyote Point and the time I watched the planes overhead with Z.

All of these memories made a complete circle and I realized the day was going to be beautiful with or without a bike race.

It is amazing how 600 acres (2.4 km²) of land can produce so many beautiful memories.

Sims and Cereal

Where to begin? The past two weeks have been a whirl wind of conferences and races :) Our company went to Orlando (Florida) to show the latest version of our simulated environment at the I/ITSEC conference. The conference was held at the Orange County Convention Center and was across the street from our hotel. The humidity was a bit too much and I spent my evenings at the pool with co-workers (drink in hand). The simulators and gadgets were impressive and it was nice to see other companies products as well as the latest in motion capture devices. Motion capture has become a useful technology in the world of cycling. Many teams use this technology to optimize the rider position for maximum output in watts.

What else?

Our team had an excellent race at Golden Gate Park and we managed to dominate the overall standings in the B category. Jeremy and I worked together at the end of the race and began pulling away from the group on the second to last lap. The course was dry and fast with a long sand pit and aggressive run-ups. The turn-out was amazing (122 B riders) The race ended with a sprint to the finish line...

Bay Area Super Prestige - Golden Gate Park

Interesting Project at Work + Training at Night + Warm Cereal = Balance

Now to grab some milk at the market downstairs ;)

Got Milk?