Last night I spun the legs out on the road bike for about an hour and a half and they felt pretty good. I'm still a bit sore form last weekends ten hour race. The legs feel okay but I'm pretty sure I've got a case of the bruised ribs. I took two pretty good falls during the race that set me back a bit, but I'm assuming the adrenalin kept me from thinking about the pain. The day after I was a bit sore but I expected that. Now, five days after, when ever I take a deep breath I still have a nasty pain in my side. Regardless, what I really wanted to get at was how enjoyable a recovery ride can be.
I like to spin the legs on the road bike. What makes it even better is when you have no agenda, no time limit or route, you simply peddle because it feels good. Cyclist can come and go. You don't chase anyone down or hammer any climbs. The thought of "training" is so far from your mind it's quite peaceful.
Being in such a blissful state can be a great thing. What's even better is that during this time of the season, it's quite possibly the best training you can do. When you find yourself racing every weekend, and sometimes once or twice during the week, you're body needs to rest. Time off the bike can help, but not too much. Time on the bike at a very moderate pace, with the cadence high seems to help me the most. When you're racing at such high intensity and so often, sometimes the best thing to do is just rest. Take that opportunity to ride because you love to ride, not because you have to train for another race.
I've always understated my training and for the most part, have done just enough to get by. The past few seasons, I've put in a lot of hard, inconsistent efforts to try and make up for lost time in the saddle. This season has been much different. I started pretty early and tried to get in some easy base miles. When the benches began to dry up, I pulled out the MTB and spent 98% of my time on that. I did a lot of short (because of my lack of time) hard rides, focusing more on higher watts. I continued this through most of the season and I think it's kept my fitness fairly stable. Unlike years past, I've put very little time in on my road bike this entire season and it feels good. I'm happy to have more hours on the mountain bike because it still makes me excited to head out this fall on a few epic five to seven hour road rides, or even better... five hour MTB rides.
Though it's currently all in Swedish, Forsman & Bodenfor's innovative site for its continuing campaign for native furnishing operation IKEA is still visually pleasing and audio-friendly enough for anyone in the world to enjoy.
It's 10:30 p.m. and I'm just sitting back down in front of the computer to work on a few design projects. The weekly lawn mowing this evening was yet again interrupted and once again, goes unfinished. Reflecting on this I have friendly neighbors and the best of friends to credit for my unfinished work. I feel very fortunate to be surrounded by so many wonderful people. In all reality, I could care less about my lawn because a visit with these wonderful people and their big goofy dog means a whole lot more to me.
Ryan and I gave it our all on Saturday for 10 hours, and despite how I feel today, it was worth it.
A few facts: Park City Perfect 10 mountain bike race was held at Deer Valley. The course was seven mile loop with just under 1,000 feet of climbing. The race started at 7 am and stopped at 5 pm. the format... do as many laps as fast as you can within that time. the person or team with the most laps and fastest time wins. By the end of the day Ryan and I both did nine laps each for a total of 18, for a total of 126 miles of sweet, super fast single track.
The moment the race started it never let up. Ryan and I were battling it out with the top four teams until the clock stopped. Because our lap times were much quicker than we expected, we started off the day doubling up our laps. Not a bad strategy really, but after a few, we decided to swap out every lap. With shorter recovery time in between laps it was a bit harder to put in the food and drink before you had to go out and do it again. But it seemed to be working. Near the end of the race we put two minutes into second place and made up a little time on first. Our last tow laps we brought a six min lead back to two and gained four more minutes on third. Unfortunately we were never able to bring the first place team in but we gave it everything we could and we're pretty happy about that. Both Ryan and I put in a good race and made it through with only a few cuts and bruises and no bike problems. And thanks to SDAY, my father, and Ryan's wife Carly, who all worked very hard to keep life in the Kuhl tent upbeat and always ready for our arrival. We most certainly couldn't have done it without you. Check out MTB Race News for more information on the race and here for more photos.
I think I've solved the problem though and it's a good thing that Jake Pantone answers emails at 12:30 at night. We're going to have a look at it to see what we can come up with. I'm racing the Perfect 10 this weekend with Skid and I'd really like to keep rolling on the same carbon wheels that I've fallen in love with.
What does our independence mean to you? I'm hoping that for the next few days we can all step away from our political differences and spend some time, united as Americans, celebrating our independence and those who have given their time, talents and even lives for our country.
It's unfortunate that we're constantly bombarded and exposed to the downfalls of our current economic status. Every where we turn, someone has something bad to say about how this country is being run, and the mistakes that we and our leaders are making. Sure, we the people and our leaders can always improve how we live, the decisions we make and the way we conduct ourselves as Americans, but we have strong opinions and they need to be heard. Right? Hopefully not.
Hopefully we can set aside some time to think about the events that led to the establishment of our country, the authors of our Declaration of Independence, that fateful day in 1776 when it was signed (only by John Hancock. It wasn't until August 2nd the remaining 55 other delegates began to sign an engrossed document.) and those who gave and continue to give their lives in honor of our country.
I'm proud to be an American and thankful to those who have devoted their efforts to make this country what it is today. I wish you all a happy Independence Day and hope that you can find it within yourself, if you haven't already, pride in our country.
So don't actually own a gaming system but I'm always up for playing. Not too long ago I was visiting my sisters house and found my nephew rocking out with Guitar Hero. I gave it a shot. Beginners luck? Not at all. I was terrible. Today, a rather savvy accordion player in the office notified us of this.
I'd really like to see my nephew jam the accordion like he did with the guitar.
I tried my hand last night at the weekly race series at Solitude, and came up a bit short. I was feeling pretty stacked while warming up and wasn't expecting much based on the way my legs felt from my commuting adventures earlier that morning, but it's always worth a shot. The conditions were perfect and the company couldn't have been better. I felt really slow from the start but despite that, I felt like I could work through the heavy legs and make my way through the pack. In my efforts, I somehow managed to get slow leak in my rear tire again. I soft pedaled the first lap DH and stopped in the parking lot at the bottom to grab a little more psi. I figured 45 would do... about 20 min. after that, my 45 psi turned into about 15.
I made my way down the course and posted up to watch and cheer everyone else on. It was actually a lot of fun. All in all, even thought I beat myself up a bit because I wasn't feeling great and that I'm dealing with more flat tires, I had a great evening. Finally caught up with Kris, chatted with Mark about his Clarks TT course, and thanks to Bob, I now have a new Ninja suite. I'm hoping to debut it next Tuesday night.
So after a pretty mellow weekend I've not been feeling pretty mellow myself. Seems like since my little episode back in March with Labyrinthitis, every time I get even a small headache or upset stomach, it comes right back. No where near as sever as the first time but it's enough to put me out. Believe it or not though, after trying to get some much needed rest yesterday afternoon, Shan and I decided to take Kashi for a walk and after about 20 min. I started feeling much better. Hopefully I can clear it all out of the system for the weekend. Deer Valley Nationals are upon us and despite my attitude toward the National race scene, I find myself yet again, registering for the event. If anyone is interested, Shan will be in the feed zone for the Pro XC race, Sat. afternoon, and has an open feed spot auction. I won the first bid so the next one is up for grabs. Good luck!
Best advertising ever! When I got home from work yesterday this is what I found hanging on my door. If only I was going to be around to buy a few drinks.
Torn in half, 8.5X11 sheet of paper, taped to my door with masking tape.
After yet another 2 am work session last night preparing our financial statement, the last document in our adoption paperwork process was turned in this morning. Hopefully by about noon today, Shannon and I will be in the books and available for birth mother viewing. Sounds a bit weird I know, but it's a good feeling. I'm yet to make much progress on our external profile site, but have been gathering some good ideas for how I'd like it to work. Again, I'll provide a link if and when it goes up.
Along with burning the midnight oil on adoption paperwork, I also finalized a few freelance projects and whipped out some delicious Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. After Shan and I BBQ'd some chicken, sting-beans and pineapple I was left craving something sweet to top it off. I got the recipe from Eat Better America, and it's fantastic! note: I substituted the 2 cups Curves™ Whole Grain Crunch cereal, with some good old fashion Granola
I caught up with Fox yesterday while on my way to a photo-shoot for work. He was rolling around town on the Vespa, so we worked a little on my motor pacing skills. Unfortunately he wasn't headed to 7200 south but it was nice while it lasted.
It all started at about 3 am. I woke up to the sound of rain and immediately checked to see if Shan brought Kashi in. Nope! Neither of us thought rain was in the forecast and he's petty content sleeping just about anywhere. I opened the back door and the poor guy was standing there, waiting, wishing, hoping, that someone would let him in.
I got him all situated and sat there for a few minuets trying to imagine how the race was going to turn out. I figured that there may be another chance that an ICUP would be postponed again. If so what would I do with my day? A few hours later and after a few phone calls, It was confirmed that the race was on.
As it turns out, I don't think the majority of the course could have been any better. There were obviously a few greasy spots but they were mainly due to the snow drifts still on the mountain.
My performance in the race was much better than last weekends struggle at Sundance. I was able to keep up the intensity from the start and pretty much fight the entire race. Shannon Boffeli and I stuck together, just off the back of Bart, then on the second lap I came down with a semi-flat tire. At first, I figured I was maybe a little hot in the corners and was slipping out a bit, but soon realized that I was running extra lean on air. Finally, at the bottom of the decent, when I just about threw in the towel, it seemed to seal up enough to make a final push for the feed zone. At the start of lap 3 I stopped and put about 40psi (just in case) then got back on the horse to try and limit my losses to Boffeli. Unfortunately I couldn't catch him, but I was pleased with my efforts in doing so.
Because of the snow pack, the Solitude race this weekend has been postponed. So instead the KUHL team will be riding support for the Tour de Cure in Brigham City.
Back in the early to mid 90's the Intermountain Cup race series or Cannondale Cup, hosted a race called Dino Trax, located on the upper rim of Flaming Gorge. It seemed to be a pretty fun race, mainly because of the first section of single track that weaved in and out of the camp ground, on the rim of the gorge. With all eyes on the trail I didn't get much of a chance to take in the view, but after the race my father and I decided to go check it out. He snapped a few riding shots on the trail and then noticed a very nice rock overhang, that created an even better photo opportunity. Againsed my mothers will, my father sent me out on the rock for a few quick photos. While we were there an older man showed up and asked if he could snap a few photos as well. He explained to us that he was a professional photographer and that he was on an assignment to shoot photos of the area. He art directed the shot for about 20 min. then was on his way. I think my dad gave him our contact information but we never heard back.
About five years later my father was passing through Evanston, when he noticed a billboard with an image of Flaming Gorge. As he got closer he realized it was a photo from a few years back. Since then, we've been seeing the photo pop up randomly in magazines and newspapers around Utah.
This morning I was pedaling through the city when up rolled a UTA bus. I quickly noticed the bus-board on the side... There I was again. Perched on the rock with my baby blue Specialized Stumpjumper M4 and my Binghams jersey. Then I began to think about the photographer who snapped this shot. I decided to do a little research to see if he was still around. It didn't take long, and he's close. If you have a minute, check out his site. There's a lot of great local shots. I wonder if I could work out some type of "talent release that I never signed" payment for my mad modeling skills.
If any of you enjoy throwing it down on the BBQ, I defiantly recommend checking out the latest issue of bon appetit. I'm no master of the Q by any means, but I do certainly enjoy an evening in the back yard and something straight from the grill. In fact, as I've mentioned before, a hearty burger and some veggie filled pasta salad is for me, an excellent pre-race meal. Go figure.
Thanks to Kevin and Robbie for snapping a few photos at Saturdays race. They did a bang-up job and because of it, you can hardly tell that I was totally blown. Two rough weeks of spotty riding and being busy with numerous other tasks took it's tole on me, but I'm feeling fresh and ready to jump back into the swing of things. A big thanks to Shan for the professional feed and pretty face on each lap. Taylor, Jonny and Jake for lighting a little fire under me on lap three and Chuckie G, on the final mini lap. And to all those on the sidelines who shouted encouraging words. Maybe I should have brought my road bike and pedaled the Alpine Loop with Kris, for some extra training. Looked like a lot of fun.
I'm planning on riding DV Tuesday night and I'm hoping to make it up to Heber on Wednesday evening for a little bikes and guns race. Then it's back to DV on Saturday for the ICUP. Today will be a nice stroll on the SLC bench for lunch to see if I can shake out a few kinks.
As for last week and our home evaluation... We passed. We plan to have our profile up and rolling in two weeks. I'll keep you posted as to when that happens and if you're interested, how to check it out.
