Alabamer Cruisin

Hit the course today after breakfast.  Fun and fast, it's just that simple.  Really looking forward to tomorrow after a great pre-ride.  While out riding, got to see some of the real Pros and ride with them.  Very cool watching them ride through the trails and getting to trail along.  The heat may play a factor tomorrow, as I noticed some riders talking about it.  It doesn't seem to be bothering me, and I'm staying on top of my hydration.  Bike was working great!  The Racing Ralph's were the right choice of tire, amazing combination of speed and grip on the trail.  Will lower the tire pressure a tiny bit for the race to hit the fast roots a little smoother and take the load of my back.  Now it's time to continue to rest and get some good stretching in before dinner.  Toodles!

Alabammer + 4, then + 1

In the hotel room in Alabama after a 15hr drive.  The Twins and I made smooth work of the drive too, not too stressful.  Martin and Matt were here already, in bed.  The room is a tad small, but there's just enough free oxygen to keep us alive for the duration of the stay.  The Annanator should arrive early tomorrow, which will make for some more fun and entertainment.  Tomorrow's plan:  sleep in, eat, pre-ride, rest & recover, and eat some more.  I'll snap some pics of the course while I ride.  

Long week done to Alabama

25 hours in the saddle over and done with.  It was a great feeling unclipping on Sunday, knowing that I completed a long and solid week of training without hesitation and giving it 110% the entire way.  Even the Plateau ride was bigger and better than normal, with a longer course that required even more focus and attention than normal.  Big props to Big Ed for putting that one together!  Har-har even stopped by for a few cheers with Girtie.  

Saturday I did a sweet solo ride in Michaux State Forrest, my old stomping grounds.  It always feels like I'm doing secret training there, as it always seems to be a breakthrough type of ride.  This time it was hill repeats on Dead Woman's Hollow that really got me going.  After turning my legs to jelly on that climb, I went straight for 3-mile trail to see if I could ride it 100% clean, which I almost did save for one dab.  Then I hit grave ridge trail which I also rode fairly cleanly.  Sunday was a relatively chill road ride through Jersey around Washington's Crossing, Stockton, and Lambertville.  It was hot this whole week and tough to stay hydrated, but I feel like I managed well.  

For the holiday I actually did NOTHING!  What bliss it was!  Strolled through a local fair for some beer and hotdogs, grabbed some soft-serve at Rita's, met my good buddy Brad for a slice of pizza and to talk about his latest dating experience (quite the entertainment).  Now it's time to start the routine for getting ready to leave for Alabama on Thursday.  Staying at the Oak Mountain State Park campground, weather looks decent for the weekend!  I'm really focusing on my recovery this week and am aiming for a good result this weekend.  I'll try and throw up a post once I'm down there, but no promises!

Until next time, keep it hebrew!

Come Visit Beautiful Tymor Park, and Alabammer ahead.

There's something to be said about racing a great mtb course, no matter how bad you feel physically, it keeps you going mentally.  That was the type of course I raced yesterday in Lagrangeville, NY.  With a ton of old trails, everything held up great to the rain the night before/morning of the race and helped seperate the skilled riders from the bunch.  Even though I ended up a distant 11th, I saw myself ride smooth and consistent and make few mistakes on a course that saw some people flopping about like squids on ice-skates.  After a long week in my final block of intense base training, I'm more than happy with that.  And I know that once I start race-prep my high end will wake up and I'll be able to match some of the harder accelerations that seperate the front from the rest.  

On tap this week is 24hrs of road and mountain biking.  No race for me this weekend, as I'll need to concentrate on putting 100% into this final base period in order to make sure my engine is as solid as can be this year.  Then it's on to race prep workouts and monitoring improvements and weaknesses up until the Mount Snow/Windham back-to-back weekends.

In it's middle phases are the travel plans down to Birmingham, Alabama for the Bump-N-Grind, stop #2 of the US Cup East.  This one should be a doozie with a lot of fast riders and a large(r) field.  The timing is good, as I'll have just finished up with the previous mentioned looooong training week and will be recovering the week before this race.  A few edits to the training plan and I should be snappy and ready to go!

Aside from cycling, I'll also be back on the Farm this week to help with more planting and such.  I'll be limited in my abilities as I have to make sure to stay rested, but it's so much fun hanging on the farm and working the earth that it's hard for me to stay away.  More from the Farm later!