Wilkommen! Since I get an off season, so do you. It's like those shows you watch on the tele when you've just finished watching the season finale and you're waiting for the premiere of season 2, consider this your teaser.
After the Eugene Celebration I solemnly swore I wouldn't touch it for an entire month. A whole month you say?!? How can that be, sacrebleu!!! The reality was it took me a week before my friend Dave texted me about going for a ride. After that I was resigned to the couch to find a TV show on Hulu to power through. Another two weeks and I find myself riding again...damnit! I can't commit to quitting, this is a dependency. I rode yesterday and again today...slowly without any computer or sense of training. I even made a playlist titled 'slow the F**k! down,' so that anytime I feel like pushing it, I shift up and change songs. I'm that guy singing alongside the road as you drive by. People look at me funny...what's new...
I've been making the most of my time off, scheming about our new English bikes, watching tv, looking at bikes, drinking hard cider, more scheming, more tv, more food, a little riding. I stumbled upon the TV show 'Merlin,' it was a mid-budget BBC show. Who doesn't like 5 seasons of some good ol' King Arthur, dragons, knights, witches and wizardry? The bonding that's been going on with the cat has been pretty intense as well.
Lauren and I have taken this time to relax, decompress and reflect on the season. We've also been looking at houses in Salem, perhaps that's a bit more important, but I'm going to talk about this past season anyway.
After the Eugene Celebration I solemnly swore I wouldn't touch it for an entire month. A whole month you say?!? How can that be, sacrebleu!!! The reality was it took me a week before my friend Dave texted me about going for a ride. After that I was resigned to the couch to find a TV show on Hulu to power through. Another two weeks and I find myself riding again...damnit! I can't commit to quitting, this is a dependency. I rode yesterday and again today...slowly without any computer or sense of training. I even made a playlist titled 'slow the F**k! down,' so that anytime I feel like pushing it, I shift up and change songs. I'm that guy singing alongside the road as you drive by. People look at me funny...what's new...
I've been making the most of my time off, scheming about our new English bikes, watching tv, looking at bikes, drinking hard cider, more scheming, more tv, more food, a little riding. I stumbled upon the TV show 'Merlin,' it was a mid-budget BBC show. Who doesn't like 5 seasons of some good ol' King Arthur, dragons, knights, witches and wizardry? The bonding that's been going on with the cat has been pretty intense as well.
Lauren and I have taken this time to relax, decompress and reflect on the season. We've also been looking at houses in Salem, perhaps that's a bit more important, but I'm going to talk about this past season anyway.
Here is the season overview:
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- Jack Frost TT- 4th
- Tuesday PIR- 6th
- Oregon Grand Fondo Team Classification- 1st
- Oregon Grand Fondo Age Group 19-29 - 3rd
- Baker City Cycling Classic GC- 55th
- Tour de Aufderheide - N/A
- OBRA TT - 3rd
- Eugene Celebration Stage 1- 5th
- Eugene Celebration Stage 2- 13th
- Eugene Celebration Stage 3- 4th
- Eugene Celebration Stage 4-19th
- Eugene Celebration GC - 7th
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- Crashes - 0
- Flat tires- 0
- Equipment Malfunctions- 0
- Forgotten race items day of race- 0 (thanks to Lauren)
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- Confidence is on the rise.
- I know my fitness is where it needs to be to upgrade.
- Life is finally settling down and stress is manageable.
- I have a cat.
- I've been steering further away from energy gels and supplements for training and use them exclusively for racing.
- Eating better.
- Discovering more of my strengths and specialities as a rider/racer
- I'm a bike mechanic wizard.
Looking ahead toward next year, Lauren will be in grad school, we'll be a bit further south and living in a house (which neither of us have had since we left our parents house when we were 18 so it's about damn time we live in a house because we're sick and tired of apartment living). This next year I'll be continuing with English Cycles. It's been an excellent fit for myself and Lauren. Rob, Misha, Lee, Adam and Helen are amazing people, and it's been a privilege getting to know them as friends. I'll be on my own custom English bike (Lauren will have one of her own to match) and finally have enough kit to wear for a weekend without having to do laundry (wahoo!).
In terms of training for next season, I'm going to get back to basics and take more of a drivers seat on my training program. I'll be selling my power meter and having a go at making my training plan. To get to this point, it's been pivotal to have someone helping me along, planning workouts and dissecting my power data for interpretation. Also until this point, I've had some lofty goals and ambitions about the type of bike racer I wanted to become. This season has given me a new perspective toward racing and I'm quite happy with that.
In terms of training for next season, I'm going to get back to basics and take more of a drivers seat on my training program. I'll be selling my power meter and having a go at making my training plan. To get to this point, it's been pivotal to have someone helping me along, planning workouts and dissecting my power data for interpretation. Also until this point, I've had some lofty goals and ambitions about the type of bike racer I wanted to become. This season has given me a new perspective toward racing and I'm quite happy with that.
Until now, I've been yearning for my Cat 2 and ultimately my Cat 1 upgrade. I wanted to try my hand at serious bike racing in big events knowing full well that I'd be chewed up and spit out the back end. After my crash last March (of which I'm still working through) and Rob's tumble this season, I began to question at what cost do I want to continue pursuing this. I have reassessed and concluded on the following goals for 2015 and beyond:
- I will obtain my Cat 2 upgrade...We'll see about my Cat 1...
- This is my hobby and it's fun, my profession is a master bike mechanic and that's also fun.
- Bike racing, cycling and fitness is a lifestyle for myself and my wife.
- I've finally found an amazing team with English Cycles and I want to continue to invest my time & energy into it.
- I will listen to my body more with regards to training.
- I will make smart choices with regards to racing.
That last one is important and here's why: ever remember me mentioning about how I am not a criterium racer? I understand that the majority of bike racing in Oregon (or the U.S. for that matter) is business park crits. Some are fairly benign while others are super technical with hairpin corners, open roads and giant ass pot holes (that's a technical term for man-eating holes in the ground). While some folks love that kind of stuff, threading the needle at 40mph, it's not for me so why would I put myself into that situation where I'm overly stressed even before the race begins? I'm more likely to make a mistake and either be involved in a crash or instigate one myself. Spreading my scarred thighs across yet another stretch of asphalt and inevitably braking some part of my bike doesn't seem worth the $30 to suffer for an hour; even if I had the chance at a free pizza from Papa Murphy's. I'm not writing off criterium racing nor am I saying I will never do a crit again, but from now on I'm going to be more selective at what races I choose to participate in.
Know this: when I do sign up for a race, it's because I'm there to compete so hopefully you've brought your good legs because I'll make sure Lauren packed mine.
Well folks, that's all you're going to get out of me for now. I'll be hashing out a training plan soon, we've nearly figured out the build spec for our English Bikes and I'll be sure to share that. Before the weather turns sour I'm going to try and take Lauren down to Eugene to experience some real road riding. Plus I've got to try and get some time on the water, in a canoe and that will include some photos as well. Stay tuned!
Share this thing, comment and share some more!
Until next time!
Cheers,
-Andrew-
Know this: when I do sign up for a race, it's because I'm there to compete so hopefully you've brought your good legs because I'll make sure Lauren packed mine.
Well folks, that's all you're going to get out of me for now. I'll be hashing out a training plan soon, we've nearly figured out the build spec for our English Bikes and I'll be sure to share that. Before the weather turns sour I'm going to try and take Lauren down to Eugene to experience some real road riding. Plus I've got to try and get some time on the water, in a canoe and that will include some photos as well. Stay tuned!
Share this thing, comment and share some more!
Until next time!
Cheers,
-Andrew-