A the lack of riding continues the time was easily filled in with other to do's. Cleaning and tuning bikes has seemed to be at the top of the list. A close second is weekend prep, normally I'd be planning for a long ride at the 24 hour instead its for a short camping trip with a long hike mixed in. AWI racing takes on Silver Peak in Killarney this weekend where some of us will show off our upper body strength and some won't during the couple hours of paddling and portages. Life on the bike will return when we return..
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
where it's at
So where am I at? It's day by day on what will happen for the rest of this season. Aft a double treatment from two smart people and a list of what to do's made up from them and me the hip is feeling a bit better. The first thing on the list for this week, no bike. A full rest week away from e two wheels, I haven't done this since, ummm, hmmm. last October. Of course that no bike thing doesn't start until today because last night was the perfect night for a MNS ride. I'll post a classic picture of one of my teammates antics and McGyever repair for a broken helmet.
Next on the list, an excessive amount of stretching, yoga, relaxation and some other means of movement to recover. This weekend has us north bound with a canoe and some hiking trails, this week may be some other form of strolling. I've told myself that no decision on racing will be made until next week. I don't expect the body to be fully cured in 5 days but as long as I see progress and can start training again comfortably the fall 8 hour is the last focus for this year.
Think I'll pour another cup of coffee. I've got some time
Next on the list, an excessive amount of stretching, yoga, relaxation and some other means of movement to recover. This weekend has us north bound with a canoe and some hiking trails, this week may be some other form of strolling. I've told myself that no decision on racing will be made until next week. I don't expect the body to be fully cured in 5 days but as long as I see progress and can start training again comfortably the fall 8 hour is the last focus for this year.
Think I'll pour another cup of coffee. I've got some time
Monday, August 22, 2011
Mountainview 9 hour
So what happened? I myself am still trying to figure it out. Things just came to a screaming painful halt on Saturday. The normal start to everything, Mr Watson and I were babbling smack talk at one another before the race, Jacob was mixing in his comments also. It was going to be one of those days, it should have been a fun one of those days. The Mountainview 9 hour is nice and low key, even the start. Nobody lined up until literally one minute to go. No elbows through, fighting for a spot at the front. Go.
It didn't take me long to know something was a little off, I just didn't know what. First lap and second lap had Mr Watson leading the solo's with Jacob and I together. Of course I worked a lot harder to keep the same pace. It wasn't that I couldn't keep up, it was that I kept hitting things. One part of me wanted to go one way another a different line. With every bobble I worked a little bit to catch back on. Mountainview is one of those very unforgiving places, you need to stay smooth. I normally don;t have a problem with that, until now. At first I thought it was tire pressure, then was it my suspension, I started to over analyze everything as I continued to ride like a rookie. I was confused, I was also starting to become very tight on my right side.
I caught up with Jacob on the 3rd lap and stayed with him on the 4th, even he made the comment about my inability to avoid things or to roll over the simpliest root. At the end of the 4th lap my back was very unimpressed with me, I stopped for a second, lowered the rear suspension pressure a little. I was looking for anything at this point. The next lap was slow, very slow. My pedal rotation had become notchy by the 2nd lap and on the 5th looked like I was taking a break on every rotation. Crossed the line after the 5th and took off my helmet. No defending the solo category for me this year.
Spent the next couple hours doing a little support when Mother Nature decided to remind us how small we are and shut the race course down with style. The old man sedan became a popular place with Top Gear playing in the dash. After the restart and some rest I opted to try and ride again. 3 more laps but by the end things again were feeling like crap. Some more sideline cheering.
So what's going on with my body, lots. Currently my right hip hates me. It's very much muscular, the hard part is figuring out where it's starting from. I'm currently shorter on the right side and also twisted a the waist. It explains a lot, I've always had a bit of a problem with my right side being tight but this went to a new level and shut me down. It has me wondering about the rest of the season, this week will be spent away from any type of intensity. The padded room will be a popular place also with some serious stretching time put in. The fall 8 hour is still 6 weeks out, the fitness is there, I felt amazing last weekend at Sir Sam's. We will see what comes of the body over the next couple weeks.
There were some highlights for me during the 9 hour, some life related, some bike related. It was still a good day besides the frustration. Sunday was spent cheerleading Shannon at the Xterra where she finished 5th. Not bad for someone who hasn't trained much. Life moves on, I see Dr. Bill tonight, hoping for some simple miracle cure for my body. Hoping!
It didn't take me long to know something was a little off, I just didn't know what. First lap and second lap had Mr Watson leading the solo's with Jacob and I together. Of course I worked a lot harder to keep the same pace. It wasn't that I couldn't keep up, it was that I kept hitting things. One part of me wanted to go one way another a different line. With every bobble I worked a little bit to catch back on. Mountainview is one of those very unforgiving places, you need to stay smooth. I normally don;t have a problem with that, until now. At first I thought it was tire pressure, then was it my suspension, I started to over analyze everything as I continued to ride like a rookie. I was confused, I was also starting to become very tight on my right side.
I caught up with Jacob on the 3rd lap and stayed with him on the 4th, even he made the comment about my inability to avoid things or to roll over the simpliest root. At the end of the 4th lap my back was very unimpressed with me, I stopped for a second, lowered the rear suspension pressure a little. I was looking for anything at this point. The next lap was slow, very slow. My pedal rotation had become notchy by the 2nd lap and on the 5th looked like I was taking a break on every rotation. Crossed the line after the 5th and took off my helmet. No defending the solo category for me this year.
Spent the next couple hours doing a little support when Mother Nature decided to remind us how small we are and shut the race course down with style. The old man sedan became a popular place with Top Gear playing in the dash. After the restart and some rest I opted to try and ride again. 3 more laps but by the end things again were feeling like crap. Some more sideline cheering.
So what's going on with my body, lots. Currently my right hip hates me. It's very much muscular, the hard part is figuring out where it's starting from. I'm currently shorter on the right side and also twisted a the waist. It explains a lot, I've always had a bit of a problem with my right side being tight but this went to a new level and shut me down. It has me wondering about the rest of the season, this week will be spent away from any type of intensity. The padded room will be a popular place also with some serious stretching time put in. The fall 8 hour is still 6 weeks out, the fitness is there, I felt amazing last weekend at Sir Sam's. We will see what comes of the body over the next couple weeks.
There were some highlights for me during the 9 hour, some life related, some bike related. It was still a good day besides the frustration. Sunday was spent cheerleading Shannon at the Xterra where she finished 5th. Not bad for someone who hasn't trained much. Life moves on, I see Dr. Bill tonight, hoping for some simple miracle cure for my body. Hoping!
Friday, August 19, 2011
The day before the day of a long day. I'm doing my normal prerace prep of a pot of coffee to hydrate, over eating every high calorie thing I can find and washing it all down with some dark beer as the pain killing anti inflamatory . It has worked in the past, don't change what works. Being stuffed and drugged before the race is sometimes what is needed before hand, it's the only way to get someone to roll up to the start line for 9 plus hours of abuse. Distraction works, at least on me, for a moment or two. Race rundown Sunday. Promise.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
A change of scenery
I've hit that point in the season that a bit of change is needed, not dramatic but just something to stir up the regular routine. The miles have added up and the scenery has not changed much. Yep it's that time that road rides are all the same if there shorter than 3 hours. I've ridden every paved road in a 50 km radius so often that I'm bored of them. This usually happens at this time of the season and I'm left with a couple options, one is to just shut up and pedal and remember that you have some of the best road riding in Ontario in your backyard so quit your whining. The next is to put the bike on the car and drive 15 minutes in any direction and start there. Of course this would be a last resort. Instead I pulled out the best option.
Some quality time was spent last night on the cross bike riding gravel rail trails, gravel roads and even a small section of atv trail. It was what I needed, I think it will be something I may do a little more often for the rest of the season. As much as there are some great low traffic paved roads in the area being out on a road where there may be one or two cars a day traveling on it is amazing. I know I made a couple people shake their heads last night. Riding past a few homes where most a shocked to see a car on their road, seeing a cyclist go by is almost as strange as seeing a ufo land and put crop circles in their fields.
Weekend is shaping up, legs feel like crap, the rest of the body feels about the same, pretty much the norm so not stressing about it. It's just a long bike ride with others. Mother Nature is looking like she's in a good mood, this should keep the riders in a good mood. Fun times ahead.
Some quality time was spent last night on the cross bike riding gravel rail trails, gravel roads and even a small section of atv trail. It was what I needed, I think it will be something I may do a little more often for the rest of the season. As much as there are some great low traffic paved roads in the area being out on a road where there may be one or two cars a day traveling on it is amazing. I know I made a couple people shake their heads last night. Riding past a few homes where most a shocked to see a car on their road, seeing a cyclist go by is almost as strange as seeing a ufo land and put crop circles in their fields.
Weekend is shaping up, legs feel like crap, the rest of the body feels about the same, pretty much the norm so not stressing about it. It's just a long bike ride with others. Mother Nature is looking like she's in a good mood, this should keep the riders in a good mood. Fun times ahead.
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