Big update today

The season is nearly in full swing and I've been really busy lately. I've been riding like a maniac compared to my riding level to get in shape for my first race. This season my first race is the Hell's Kitchen race in Hogeye, Arkansas. The race is TOMORROW!

The club group rides have started back up and the ride on Tuesday was a total blast. Everything started pretty tame at first, and going home we were going to have a tail wind all the way back, but the wind shifted on us suddenly. I don't remember looking down at the speed, but we must have been pacing around 30 when the "wind" felt like it stopped, and then suddenly slapped us in the face with a cold, strong headwind.

A few minutes after the wind shifted, only three of us were keeping pace when we got pelted in the face with heavy rain. I was cold when we pulled into the parking lot but I actually had a lot of fun coming back in like that. I'm not sure if we got hit by any, but driving home I drove through some pea-sized hail.

Oh yeah, I GOT A NEW BIKE! I finally bought a Time Trial bike. So far, I really like the thing, but it's going to take some training and seat time to get used to it. The seat tube angle is a different so you use a slightly different muscle group which is hard to explain. Basically, you feel the same burn in a place where you're not used to feeling it. I don't want to release any details about the bike onto my blog yet(not like anyone reads it other than me) because I don't have a wheelset for the bike yet. I don't really want to take pictures, nor create a bike profile in my bike garage for the bike until it's complete. That means getting at least a rear wheel and some pedals.

Speaking of wheels, the rear wheel on my race bike failed on me. I'm riding on a pair of Neuvation Aero4 wheels right now. I was a little bothered that the wheel failed me so close to my first race and I was worried about getting another wheel before this weekend. HOWEVER, Neuvation has amazing support and they shipped me a wheel as soon as they got my email. I've already had the wheel a couple days and it's ready to go.

I also had a problem with my left 105 brifter. I wasn't planning on upgrading the shifters on my race bike yet, but all the local shop had in stock was an Ultegra brifter. Oh and I put on a new Dura Ace chain. I just finished cleaning my bike a few minutes before I sat down type all this out and right now the bike looks really sleek. :)

I'm a little uneasy going into a race with three brand new parts on the bike, but I think everything will be fine. I'll post an update when I get back from the race tomorrow.

Today's Ride

I rode the Jasper Disaster course today; nothing special aside from a creaking noise coming from my headset. I'll have to strip it down and check it out. The ride today was considerably easier than when I rode the same course last week.

Ah almost forgot. I'm still testing out Nate's saddle. The 65 miles I rode today felt pretty good. I'm pretty sure I want to get my own Arione saddle now :P

I guess that's it for today >_>
I'm hungry

Super nice weather today!

I rode my bike to work again today. I'm wanting to ride everyday, but I've been unable to lately. Today was fairly decent this morning at 42 degrees. Coming home though, it was a nice 66 degrees with only 3mph wind! I really wish I could have stayed out longer.

The saddle I bought before my wreck has been bothering me lately. It does a good job at relieving pressure (which is what I bought it for), but I've been having problems getting a comfortable position to alleviate the pain on my right sit bone. I'm borrowing Nate's extra Fizik Arione saddle to try it out. The round trip to work and back felt really good on the saddle. There is a sweet spot the takes the pain away once I find it.

I only rode 23 miles on it, but I think I'm going to buy my own. The last 500 (926 total) miles I put into my Avenir Sprint Master have been gradually getting more painful. I think the saddle got broke in after those first 400, and the saddle just rides poorly.

I took a quick picture of my bike locked to the awning at work with my phone but it seems like the picture didn't save for some reason. Aw well, maybe next time :P

Commuting

I commuted to and from work today. It's about 17 miles round trip, nothing special. I wish it wasn't so darn cold because I really hate having to wear so much gear. It was about 22 this morning which meant that after about 10 minutes, I couldn't drink from my water bottle. Thanks weather.

Running

I've started running in order to get myself into a higher all-around condition. I could run a good while but I'm starting out with shorter distances for now. I have to build my joints and muscles up for running before trying to kill myself on a 10-15 mile run.

Shoes are always important for running so I bought a new pair. They're super hot Under Armour Spectres in yellow.


You can pick up a pair here if you want. I'd really recommend them.

Oh yeah, I ran a mile today and I'm going to bed early so I can ride my bike to work. Cheers :P

The season is almost here!

I rode 64 miles today since I had the day off and it was nice enough to be out for a while. I'm still out of shape but I'm getting back in it fairly quickly. I'm still looking at Time Trial bikes and I've been checking Ebay waiting for a sweet deal to come across.

I've started compiling a 2009 race schedule, and right now I'm sitting at 17 races this season. A lot of events aren't on the schedule yet and there's no telling what might happen, so I expect the schedule to be changed or altered. I'll post the list later when it gets closer to races.

Also I'm about to start doing regular updates, not daily ones mind you, but more frequently than I am now. I'm thinking 3-4 or so a week if I can manage it.

Days are warming up! (and so are my legs)

I was able to get out with Brittney and Nate today and take some pictures of the Tour De Hills race our club is going to host again this year. I wasn't really on the bike that much but Nate and I hit the steeper climbs of the course and then some. I'm a little sore from doing just over 8 miles of climbing after sitting around inside the last week.

Speaking of last week, I couldn't get out at all with the temperatures in the teens, the ice and gravel on the road, and the trees and debris all over the place. I guess Northern Arkansas and a few other places in the country got hit by the same front and it put us in a national disaster area. Being out of power for a week was a real bore. Sitting on a trainer and staring at candles in the dark was a lot worse.

I've got my bike in shape with my new wheelset. I sat down yesterday and took an hour to clean the bike and lube the chain and derailleurs. It was nice having a clean bike again but it's too bad that it's already dirty. I'll probably wipe it down real fast and throw some pictures up in the Bike Garage just so I'll have some updated pictures of the bike to flaunt about.

Just a little note: I'm going to get a time trial bike in the next month or two. I really want a full schedule this year and squeezing a few time trials in there would really break up the road races. Time trials would also help me focus on breaking my mental walls and enable me to really push myself in other races. Right now I'm almost sure that I'm going to go with a Leader 735TT frame and build it up myself. It should be a fun learning experience.

That's all for now.