2008

There is a new computer in my studio and the sound of the fan has managed to drown out the sounds of the garbage man and cars in the morning. Maybe my ears have adjusted to the city sounds, but I no longer sleep with ear plugs. There are a lot of changes on the horizon and it's going to be an interesting 2008.

The main goal for 2008 is to achieve a balance of work and racing . This will be my first year of road racing and the winter training is moving along - literally. The rain has ruined a few of the weekend rides, but the rock climbing has taken over as my cross training. Another plan is to spend some time on slopes at Alpine Meadows.

Also, I plan on spending some time in Europe and visiting a friend in Germany. There is a cyclocross racer in Belgium as well and I would like to spend a few days in their village learning about Euro Cross and the off-season training.

OK - I need to get some sleep now since I went home sick this evening. I woke up last night with a high fever and did not sleep for most of the morning hours. There is something going around and I cannot risk getting sick again for work or cycling. This evening I woke up at 9pm and had chicken soup, salad and a large glass of orange juice. I can only hope to wake up feeling 90-100% tomorrow morning ;)

The image above is my cyclocross dream ride :)

Thanks for reading.

Amazing

I watched Robbie Maddison jump a football field last night on television and he set the world record at 320 feet - it's an amazing feat on a modified dirt bike.

WATCH HIS JUMP

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