rewards of winter riding

Maybe we should put baskets on everyones' bikes.

12.30.07 endurance ride

Good ride today from the Bethlehem park and ride. Mid 30s, overcast. About 35 riders.
Here are the stats:


Andy Guptill (COLAVITA/SUTTER HOME) joined us for the ride before heading to team camp tomorrow. Of course he had been riding all morning already and intended to ride until dark - what are you doing for base miles?

One reason to get a gym membership,

this machine. Of course nothing substitutes for squats with free weights and the leg press sled is good too but this machine really delivers a hellish burn. It mimics a lunge move or step up and really activates all of the quad. Plus you can pile on more weight than is convenient with dumbells or a bar.

We have been pushing one leg at a time, 12-15 reps, 3 sets.

pumping iron?

First off, who's going to the gym right now.

What type of workouts are you doing? What exercises, sets, reps, weight...

I'm trying to get a handle on how everyone's working out in the off season and want to see how people are pushing their weight around.

For instance, James and I have been honing a workout that focuses on muscle hypertrophy, muscular balance, and core strength. A typical workout looks like this:

- 10 minutes on the exercise bike to warm up.

Weigths:

all Exercises 3 sets with 12 reps with muscle failure at the end of set

- Squat rack: 275lbs
- Single leg Hamstring Curl 55lbs
- dumb bell chest press - 30 pound double in each hand.
- Single Leg Seated Squat Machine- 180lbs
- Back Row - 70lbs
- Single Leg Lift - 55 lbs
- Assisted Pull Ups - with 70 lbs aid on the machine
- Assisted Dips - Same 70 pounds aid on the machine
- Lunges - with 30 pound dumb bells in each hand

Core:
- stability ball crunches - 3 sets x 15 reps with butt balanced on top of the ball, feet flat on the floor and knees at 90 degrees. Bring chest from horizontal to 45 degrees and back.
- medicine ball 1 - balance on tailbone with feet in the air and knees bent to 45 degrees. take medicine ball and move it side to side between chest and knees. 3 sets times 30
- medicine ball 2 - have partner sit 5 or 6 feet away from you. Balance your on your butt with your feet in the air. throw medicine ball at each other. do it as many times as you can. then rest and do it again. try not to get hit in the face...
- back extensions - 3 x 15
- Leg lifts - 3 x15

That's what I'm doing. James does pretty much the same thing. It takes about 70 minutes total including the warm up on the bike. We don't waste alot of time chatting, and move from machine to machine pretty quick.

Please comment on the plan- what are you doing different, the same, etc. What have I been doing wrong...

I can't guarantee I'll be faster on a bike, but I hope to be so huge I get confused with the governor of california.

Off season training

The spin room - do you have one?















No need for a fan in this room.

















Here are a few goals for 2008 that were mentioned at the Cat4 organizational meeting:
Win a JonnyCake race.
Top 10 GC at Syracuse.
Contest the sprint in 5 crits.
Upgrade to Cat3.
Climb with the pack.
Several top 20 finishes.
Podium finish.
Top 10 at Capital Region RR.
Improve TT skills.
Top 3 at Chris Thater.

CX energy bars

What are you eating for breakfast?

Empire state games day 2

Full reports will come in time, but here is a quick rundown of the action at empire state games so far.
At the end of the second day of racing, our Adirondack team is sitting in first by a narrow margin over the central region. Tomorrow is the points race, which as far as I can tell, is a 25 mile crit with sprints every 5 laps. It will hurt.
Today's road race was the hardest I've ever seen, but great rides by everyone helped us keep our narrow lead after the time trial. Great job By Beth Miller to take the gold (for the second day in a row), and James Morrison for taking the bronze. Everyone rode great.

Here are some quotes from the first two days:

"those two are a hurricane of mojo"
-Chuck Q refering the Eric M and little Rob dressed up for some big pimping in the cafeteria.

"that is the longest crit course I've ever seen"
-Coach Chris McB on the road course, which was crazy technical
-p!

Owasco pics

Pics are posted now at
http://www.photoreflect.com/scripts/prsm.dll?eventframe?event=02ET004H

Can't tell from these fab shots that I (we) was crushed like a bug.

Good luck to Pete and crew in the Empire State Games this weekend. Rock on. I'm off to Tejas for two weeks. See you at the Capital Region Road Race.

-dg

prototype disc spotted at Owasco stage race

bike friendly town

Virginia Beach, VA. Check out the sign.





















The only other place I saw more bikes lined up was at cross nationals along the side of the beer tent.















Monkeys, what else can I say?

Pete and I did a follow up to Saturday's pain bucket ride, over the escarpment. It was a good pace.

http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/ny/albany/525701611

6/23 Pain Bucket Ride

The train leaves from the tennis courts in Washington Park at 7:30 am, sharp.

Harlem Skyscraper Crit

Ah, to be racing in the City again. Tho I once lived nearby for some time, this is the 1st time I raced in the NYS Crit Championships in Harlem. Danny G, Eric Schou & I made the 3hr Trek from Albany. We wanted to be good & early. Early race organization left everyone wanting, but the races themselves did not disappoint.

All three raced the 4/5, a challenge just to avoid the sketchy riders. DG was looking typically strong near & at the front. He would place 12th on the day. He & I tried a minor attack, but found ourselves basically pulling the group along. We were top 6 going into the bell lap. Coming out of the last turn I began my sprint, then some clown smacked into the side of me, almost taking out my front wheel. He hit me right when my inertia was going the opposite way. I was fortunate to stay up; my front wheel will need some attention. Eric look very strong, & _almost_ didn't crash. Couple of dudes pulled a real bonehead maneuver in front of him w/ 1-1/2 laps to go; he was lucky to come away w/ only a small rash & bruise on his arm. And did I mention the three big pileups? Makes a good case for staying at the front. Would love to do another crit w/ larger team presence & w/ a better plan. Oh, the possibilities.

So, I had another race I had signed up for, the 3/4. What poise. Virtually none of the screaming, biting, yelling & kicking of the 4/5. And when a civilian chose the wrong moment to cross on a corner, the bunch just dealt w/ it. Alas, no teammates to ride with. But hey... Instant cheering section! And I could hang w/ the bunch. With ~4 laps, I bridged up to a group of three, figuring if I am gonna blown up, might as well do so doing something spectacular. The break disintegrated after about a quarter lap & I was sitting on the front riding sortof tempo. Not tactically wise, & I was starting to reach deep into the pain bucket. Ultimately, I finished somewhere in the pack.

My goal was just to sit in & make it around the course 25x. I did that, & more.

Then we had to drive home. Appreciated the company from Eric S.

-BK

2 fast, 2 furious, 2 wheels.

I participated in the latest edition of that famed street racing saga on the way to the ride tonight when a kid on an old Schwinn 10 spd came up to me on Washington Ave.
kid: "yo race me."
me: "we can't just race, we need a place to race too."
kid: "i'm going straight"
me: "me too, but I don't know if this is fair, I've got this bag, see." points to messenger bag full of stuff.
kid: "I'm wearing jeans!"
me: "okay, i guess its even then............ go!"
so we ride next to each other for a block then the kid sort of attacked me, maybe inadvertently, but I represented by countering, putting it in the big ring and dropping him. He caught back up to me at the next red light and announced, "nice job lance."


Here are a couple pics from a less successful racing attempt, the Nutmeg Crit in New Britain CT:

at the start.

chicane on the backside.

Its a fun course. There's no real sharp corners but it has multiple sweepers, a slight elevation change and a good 300m drag race zone for the finishing straight. It was difficult to move up once the bigger teams got control and I spent the whole race floating between 10th and 30th. I Narrowlly missed two crashes but didn't get to the front in time to contest the sprint and came in as pack fill. I'll be back when the run the same course July 8, hopefully, with a lead-out train.

Schillinger on TeeVee

http://www.news10now.com/shared/video/video_pop.asp?destlist=62195

just like Jens

I know now why Jens Voigt goes for it over and again. Because there is always the chance it could stick. Yesterday I pulled a total Jens, soloing off the front on the 1st climb of the 2nd lap at Balloon Fest in the Cat 5 race. I got sick of all the braking and negotiating in the main pack and attacked hard on the 1st climb the second time around. Nobody chased. I got to the top of the climb and looked back and I had what looked to me to be a full minute on the peloton. I put my head down and hammered the descent and looked back and they were nowhere in sight. Then I suffered in the wind on the flats for nearly 20 miles (though it felt like much longer) while spectators cheered me on with shouts like "its gonna stick man!" and "you got it!" I started to imagine rolling across the line uncontested in front of my girls. Then I noticed I was cruising at 31 mph and my heart rate was 168 bpm. Hmmm--I know durn well I can only do that for a little while. Wonder if I'm about to pop. Yep, here it comes--pop! Like a f***ing dragster releasing the parachute.

The chase group caught me at the top of the last climb just in time to motor hard into the last corner and into the finishing straight. I jumped on the last wheel of the lead group and took 11th place, barely. Club member Gene Primono worked hard to keep me in and I thanked him over and over after the race. A pretty crappy result for all that suffering, but honestly--it was the most fun I've had in a road race so far. Having kids run beside me on the climb, strangers taking my picture, and taking bottles from spectators while in my head Phil Liggett's voice was saying "...ah, its really a shame he'll get reeled in--what a heartbreaking effort..." Later a guy told me that if I had gone 2 miles an hour faster (easy for him to say), I would have stayed away. Whatever. Winning is hard, I guess. Now I upgrade and it only gets harder (though hopefully a bit more organized).

I cleaned myself up in time to watch my daughters Anna and Ella in their races. Neither were really prepared for actual competition, so they both took dead last in their age-groups. But they did it. And they finished and they didn't crash. Which is more than a lot of guys in my field can say.

Real pulled pork bbq and cold beer and carnival rides followed. A fun, fun day. Dieter and crew did an awesome job. This is one the team must not miss next year.

Congrats to Mike Fallone--coming back from a 4-year hiatus from racing to finish 21st in the 3/4. And Phil took 8th place in the 50+ race! Rock on Phil!

Of course, my hero is still Curtis White.

Photo from Ed Sharp Photography

-dg

mapmyride.com

http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/ny/delmar/462830914

So, Danny told me to check out this wicked cool website called mapmyride.com. It is a nice way to post and share training rides. It gives distance and elevation.

The link above is a ride Danny, Eric Schou, and I rode the day before ESG qualifiers. It was a good 55 mile loop. Some flats for fast paceline work on 9J, a few small hills on the ESG course itself, and rollers in between.

I'd like to see Phil post that crazy 6K+ elevation gainer he planned out in Schenectady.

Syracuse Race Weekend

I'mo let Schillinger give the blow-by-blow account, cuz he's so much better at that than any of us are.
I'll just post the pics I have.
Results are here.

-dg