hour of power.

Yesterday club 84 struck out to christen Pete's new carbon Fuji with the for the Hour of Power to the Tower. The basic challenge is getting from Washington Park in downtown Albany to the top of Pinnacle Rd where the various radio and weather towers sit above Thatcher Park in under an hour. We took the longer way out Krumkill and were at the top in about an hour and 10. Not too shabby considering we stoped to buy Gatorade at the Stewart's in Voorheesville.

I would have rather been at Palmer avenging last years flat tire, but instead I was hitting the books in a Con Law review just about the time the race was going off. Fun... When I think about how wildly different my training style and general lifestyle is in school versus when I worked at the bike shop its hard to believe I even pedal a bike anymore. Actually, I do hardly pedal a bike now. We'll see how that works out at Jimminy Peak.

Today was 10 intervals at 30 secs at 560 watts at the office campus. A good way to make your legs sore. For reference 560 watts = about 31 mph for a 185 pound rider on the flat office campus loop. Its fun to go blowing by rec riders with their kids and have them think I'm all pro. Actually, they probably just think I'm a jerk head who needs to slow down.

My mountain biker friend Sam asked me why I go hard all the time. He said he likes to look at the scenery and chill out and not breath hard. He has the right idea.

out.

Back on the bike (indoors)

This weekend was tough, I really wanted to be riding and racing.

Saturday, Club 84 Willett (Pete, Jim, and Eric) assaulted Pinnacle Saturday afternoon. It was a nice day, party cloudy, not too windy, 60s - perfect for a good training ride. I think Pete was testing the new carbon Fuji.
Sunday, half the team was duking it out at Palmer. Last year Pete, Eric, and I had a pretty good race and were looking to do well this year along with the rest of the team. Looking forward to race reports.

Since my shoes and helmet are busted I decided to get back to training on the indoor bike. I set the bike in the trainer and put cleats back on the old shoes - don't need to worry about dizziness when the bike is clamped in place. 45 min. zone2/3, felt ok, it's good to get back at it. Here are a few pictures of the 'training room'. Our apartment has an extension for storage off the back. I only anticipated being stuck out there during the winter.

Rain Delay

Well, wet roads and possible showers are no good for a team practice focusing on lead-outs and sprinting. We will wait for dry roads to work on those skills.

An insurance representative wanted to meet me and my bike at the shop for an appraisal today. I was worried they would be tightfisted and reluctant to replace the bike. When he asked if the cracked carbon fiber frame could be repaired I knew things would be ok. Especially when the follow-up question was, "so that bike is not safe to ride?".

Good luck to everyone going to Palmer.

pics

06 Cross Natz. Pacman was there.

Stephentown Cyclocross. aka: Meet Your Maker Cross.

Mini Rob shredding it at Cross Natz.

that's all for me for tonight. No bike riding happened today due to rain, looking at a way too expensive apartment, and actually studying for 14 hours. ouch.

collision

Here are some pics of my bike after the accident. I cannot believe the crank arm bent that way and I made it through with no broken bones. The impact knocked me out of my left shoe.
The driver failed to yield the right-of-way while turning left and plowed into me as I was going through the intersection. My head took a hard hit but I am thankful to the people at Giro for making a strong helmet: the Atmos. The driver was a 22 year old guy who actually dropped a get-well card into my mailbox and rang the doorbell to express his concern and regret for not seeing me. I told him we were both lucky.

James

Nice to meet you.

Capital Bicycle Racing Club, aka CBRC is a group of racers, promoters, coaches and officials who live the cycling dream life after their 9-5 (or 8-7) day jobs let out. The team is comprised of a wide array of riders whose experience and abilities range from beginner to seasoned racer. This blog is the forum of the racers who train and compete together regularly, are dedicated to team racing and tactics, and enjoy wearing spandex in unexpected public places (law school library anyone?).

I am acting president and a cat four team member looking for those elusive upgrade points. My main motivation for upgrading is to avoid having to race at 8am all the time. I also enjoy running with my bike on my shoulder, unnaturally difficult- man vs. nature style riding, and peanut butter sandwiches.

You'll see many of the team members posting here with unique stories of death defying anaerobic efforts and near miss pothole incidents. I'll let them introduce themselves, but you can be sure they will provide unexpected perspectives on leg shaving vs. waxing, recovery beer, and occasionally, racing.

All in all, entertaining internet scribble for the Lance in each of us.