Forward: This week's post is coming from our head sogineur (and resident super model) Lauren Goss. I am supposed to write a forward about her amazingawesomeness in some eloquent form but I'll tell you right now she is a much better and more profound writer than I can ever hope to be (she may even take over this blog one day). So here you go folks, this is what it's like (in her very own words) living with someone who has an unhealthy cycling dependency and a cat addiction. I give you Baptism by Chamois, enjoy!
Barreling down the backside of Forest Park, hands gripping the handlebars, legs burning with lactic acid, road obscured by shadows in the late afternoon sun. 98 miles completed with 2 left to go, and I am wondering what the hell I've gotten myself into. I finished those 100 miles of the Portland Century and between the pain, fatigue and dried sweat, I felt a sense of accomplishment. Up until that day in August, 40 miles had been my upper limit. Honestly, I had only ridden outside on the roads a handful of times, even fewer with my clip-in shoes. Who knew what would happen in those unridden miles? Not to be horribly cliche, but stepping, or riding in this case, into the unknown and seeing what happens along the way is not what people normally do. Yet, this experience got me thinking: how many times throughout the day do you take a chance, move outside your comfort zone, try something new? I had no idea how I was going to finish that day, but I made a deal with myself that the only way I would cross that finish line was on my bicycle.
Fast forward a few months, and Andrew and I are now training on our bicycles. Well he trains, I ride my bike on a increasingly frequent basis. When the weather was nice this summer, we rode together around our neck of the woods. It was reassuring to have someone with me as I hit 40 mph for the first time on bicycle. Granted, we had to figure out how to combine his decade of riding experience, and my newbie status. Nevertheless, we both really came to enjoy spending time together in the Oregon sunshine. With the weather turning toward the 9 months of rain and gloom, combined with my 50+ hrs work week, I now ride my bicycle almost completely on the trainer. Riding my bike is crucial to my sanity and nothing feels better than an endorphin kick at the end of the day. So far my goal is to ride 4-5 times per week and to see improvement in my speed and consistency in my cadence. Training on my bike is the one thing during the day that I am completely in charge of. I decide how, when, and why to ride, and there is a direct relationship between what I put in and what I get out of the workout.
The lifestyle of a dedicated cyclist rubs off on you in a one bedroom apartment. From loading the dishwasher with water bottles, to discussing the newest bicycles, to listening to terms such as "power to weight ratio" or "normalized power". Not to mention the winter riding clothes overflowing the laundry basket. Did I mention dragging the laptop into bed at 5 am to watch the latest bicycle race as it finishes live in Europe? To be honest, I love every minute of it. I grew up watching the Tour de France, and eagerly anticipating those 21 stages in July. I remember setting up the VCR (so retro!) to tape the 1/2 hour daily coverage on ESPN. I was enthralled watching the cyclists suffer (the level of suffering is now mitigated by the excessive doping of the late 90's) up the mountain climbs of the Alps and Pyrenees.
Racing season consumes this household. Between the one day road races to the weekend stage races, our weekends are booked starting in mid-February. We have our race day routine: setting up the alcove tent, pinning race numbers, taking wheels to and from the spare wheel pit, gathering last minute clothes at the start line, and Andrew starting the recovery process as I drive home.
It always has been in the back of mind that it might be fun to race someday in the future. I think an individual time trial might be my cup of tea. We'll see what happens in 2014. If both of us race, who will drive home? (this has yet to be decided).
Some day I will beat Andrew on a climb and everyone will know about it for eternity. Until then, I've got a lot of riding, and maybe some racing to do.
Stay tuned next week for another exciting episode of Podium Spot!
Cheers,
-Andrew & Lauren-
Barreling down the backside of Forest Park, hands gripping the handlebars, legs burning with lactic acid, road obscured by shadows in the late afternoon sun. 98 miles completed with 2 left to go, and I am wondering what the hell I've gotten myself into. I finished those 100 miles of the Portland Century and between the pain, fatigue and dried sweat, I felt a sense of accomplishment. Up until that day in August, 40 miles had been my upper limit. Honestly, I had only ridden outside on the roads a handful of times, even fewer with my clip-in shoes. Who knew what would happen in those unridden miles? Not to be horribly cliche, but stepping, or riding in this case, into the unknown and seeing what happens along the way is not what people normally do. Yet, this experience got me thinking: how many times throughout the day do you take a chance, move outside your comfort zone, try something new? I had no idea how I was going to finish that day, but I made a deal with myself that the only way I would cross that finish line was on my bicycle.
Fast forward a few months, and Andrew and I are now training on our bicycles. Well he trains, I ride my bike on a increasingly frequent basis. When the weather was nice this summer, we rode together around our neck of the woods. It was reassuring to have someone with me as I hit 40 mph for the first time on bicycle. Granted, we had to figure out how to combine his decade of riding experience, and my newbie status. Nevertheless, we both really came to enjoy spending time together in the Oregon sunshine. With the weather turning toward the 9 months of rain and gloom, combined with my 50+ hrs work week, I now ride my bicycle almost completely on the trainer. Riding my bike is crucial to my sanity and nothing feels better than an endorphin kick at the end of the day. So far my goal is to ride 4-5 times per week and to see improvement in my speed and consistency in my cadence. Training on my bike is the one thing during the day that I am completely in charge of. I decide how, when, and why to ride, and there is a direct relationship between what I put in and what I get out of the workout.
The lifestyle of a dedicated cyclist rubs off on you in a one bedroom apartment. From loading the dishwasher with water bottles, to discussing the newest bicycles, to listening to terms such as "power to weight ratio" or "normalized power". Not to mention the winter riding clothes overflowing the laundry basket. Did I mention dragging the laptop into bed at 5 am to watch the latest bicycle race as it finishes live in Europe? To be honest, I love every minute of it. I grew up watching the Tour de France, and eagerly anticipating those 21 stages in July. I remember setting up the VCR (so retro!) to tape the 1/2 hour daily coverage on ESPN. I was enthralled watching the cyclists suffer (the level of suffering is now mitigated by the excessive doping of the late 90's) up the mountain climbs of the Alps and Pyrenees.
Racing season consumes this household. Between the one day road races to the weekend stage races, our weekends are booked starting in mid-February. We have our race day routine: setting up the alcove tent, pinning race numbers, taking wheels to and from the spare wheel pit, gathering last minute clothes at the start line, and Andrew starting the recovery process as I drive home.
It always has been in the back of mind that it might be fun to race someday in the future. I think an individual time trial might be my cup of tea. We'll see what happens in 2014. If both of us race, who will drive home? (this has yet to be decided).
Some day I will beat Andrew on a climb and everyone will know about it for eternity. Until then, I've got a lot of riding, and maybe some racing to do.
Stay tuned next week for another exciting episode of Podium Spot!
Cheers,
-Andrew & Lauren-