Previous race, upcoming race

I haven't posted since my last race in the middle of June.....well, because I am just about finally recovered from it. I wish I could say it took me a long time to recover as a result of the hardest effort I have ever put in, resulting in a win.....but sadly that is not the case. I arrived on the morning of the race to light showers (it had been raining most of the week) getting my pit set up in a primo spot right on the course. I was feeling awesome after having a good taper and just felt like I was ready to dominate. I had my prerace pasta breakfast about 2 hours before the race began and just chilled out. After a short warm up I headed down to the start line. At this race there is no lemans start.....just a traditional race start with people on their bikes which suits me just fine. I was about 1/3 from the front and was off to a comfortable start. Everything is pretty slow for about 10 minutes as the field sorts themselves out. Once things were strung out I really started motoring. I was feeling great and riding about 3rd in the solos. I actually thought to myself...."man we are going fast, faster than normal"....but I was feeling good and not overextending myself. I figured it was just that I was in good condition and since I didn't have a lot of time on my mountain bike I just wasn't used to the speed. We continued along into the newly cut section of the course. It was in much better shape from the rain compared to the pre-ride when it was very soft and sandy. I was pleased and had just made it through a section I was having difficulty with during the pre-ride. I think my confidence was a bit too high. I came around a corner and was going down a steep hill with a bit of a compression dip. I was looking ahead at the small rock garden ahead looking for my line when I hit the dip.....I didn't have my weight back far enough and over the bars I went. Actually I stayed attached to my bike. I went straight into the rock garden and landed on my head and shoulder. I lay there a little dazed (still clipped into my bike) and tried to assess the damage. The worst thing was my shoulder. So bad in fact, I couldn't put any pressure on it to push on the ground to get up. I knew it wasn't my collarbone but I was having a lot of trouble moving my arm. Another rider kindly helped me get sorted out and I was on my way. Only problem was I couldn't hold onto the bar with my right hand. I knew my race was done. As I watched all of my competition pass me for the next 15 minutes I could only think what could have been. The best shape of my life only to crash 40 mins into the race by a stupid mistake on my part. I got myself back to the start/finish and went to first aid. They put me in a sling and sent me to the hospital thinking I either separated my shoulder or broke my scapula. Luckily, after 6 hours in the ER, I had no broken bones....just severe deep tissue bruises and an sprained shoulder. I am now fully recovered (still some occasional stiffness) and have been riding a fair bit on the road.

This weekend I am going to race in an 8 hour MTB race at Hardwood Hills. I'm not sure how I will do....don't think I'm quite in the condition I was in June as I am rebuilding towards another 24 hour in mid August. So this race will be more of a training race than anything. Then I will take 4 days off to go camping with my family. The following weekend will be highlighted by another 8 hour ride (not race) followed by 2 weeks of long, high intensity training. Then I will taper down to be ready for the 24 hour where I hope to seek revenge.

I hope to post a report shortly after the 8 hour.

Steve

Long time, no blog

So I've been neglecting the blog lately....to busy with work and riding. So here is what has happened since late April:

Had two bouts of illness - a cold and an upper respiratory infection - a real drag on training
Big crash on the road while doing a group ride...bike unscathed, concussion for the rider :)
Much work on my climbing...but still needs improvement
My longest training ride ever - 7.5 hrs / 220km
A ton of long rides - over 3000 km in May and start of June

One thing I've been lacking lately is riding my mountain bike. As a matter of fact, I've only used it 3 times since the 24 hour race in February.

I've been feeling pretty good during my rides lately....less and less fatigue when doing back to back to back 100km+ rides. I've even done a few 2 a day rides.

My first big race of the year is on June 18/19 for the 24 Hours of Summer Solstice which is in Ontario, Canada. The race is sold out and there are an expected 2500 riders. There will be about 50 solo riders (that is the max they allowed) and there should be a ton of competition to make things interesting. I have several friends also doing solo so I'll be in competition with them as well as the rest of the field for a good position.

I'm in taper mode right now, but I don't like to ease up too much. Seems like my body prefers to ride everyday vs taking days off. Trying to just cut down on the mileage so I am still riding on my same schedule, but just shorter distances. I'll be taking a few forced days off next week (Monday & Tuesday), do about 3 hours on Wednesday, Thursday off, and about a 60-90 minutes on Friday just to keep my legs fresh. Then race on Saturday.

The long range forcast for the race is rain on the Saturday, sunny on the Sunday, but significantly cooler than the heatwave we're having right now. Let's hope the rain goes away and the temperatures warm up a bit. Last year the night time was in the low 40's which was a bit too cold for me. Particularly when you are starting and stopping (for food)....the sweat gets cold fast!

I'm planning to preride the course this weekend. I've heard there some new singletrack which is very technical. I'm not sure if they'll put it in on race day as the organizers need to cater to the average rider which might not be able to handle the new track.

I might post one more time before the race....otherwise watch for a race report the week after the event.

Cheers!

Steve

The latest

Been awhile since my last update. Things have been really busy lately with work, but I've been able to get in some quality riding lately. Did an awesome road ride today. It is a group ride called the Donut Ride. It is one of the oldest rides in Toronto and starts from what used to be a Donut shop. It quickly heads North out of the city and into quieter roads. With it still being early in the road season a lot of people come out.....like over 100 riders. I would say there was about 120 riders today. You feel like you are in the peleton of a Pro Tour race. Only problem is you get riders of varying abilities which makes things sketchy at times. The group usually stays together for the first 30 minutes while we head out of the city and then things really open up. Guy (and some gals) are trying to show off their early season fitness. I managed to hang on to the main pack doing 45km/h until we hit the big climb of the day. It is probably 10kms of a gradual 5-6% grade but I am just not a great climber due to my body structure. I'm a big boy designed for power climbs, sprints and pacemaking. As soon as a long uphill comes I'm toast. Anyways as usual I fell off the back which is okay with me and hooked up with another group more my speed. After the climb we hit the midway point of the ride and the point where we take a brake a Mama's bakery. Everyone takes a bathroom break and fills up on pastries which gives a chance for the group to reform. Then were off again. This is where I started to feel really good. The group was cruising along at about 40km/h when we needed to make a right turn onto a busy road and then a quick left. Unfortunately there was a lot of traffic which slowed some people down an dsplit the group into two. Anyone who has done group riding knows it can be tough to bridge to a peleton with the slow half of riders of about 60 people. I was stuck at the front of the second group and really wanted to get back to the main pack. I dropped the hammer and for the next 20 mins clocked about 50km/h hoping to get some assistance with the pull but there were no takers. I finally took a look back to see what was going on behind me and to my surprise I only had about 7 guys still with me. Pack #2 had disintegrated. I led all the way back to the main group feeling really good. After another 30 mins the main pack slowly parted ways to head home. This left my friend Mark and I wondering about Chris who was along for the ride. We pulled over at a bus stop and sat waiting for about 20 mins before he finally showed up. In that time many riders passed by who were originally part of that ride. I'd say only about 30 people actually finished in the main pack. Probably my strongest ride of the year so far. If I could only become a better climber!

Training camp is coming next week for 12 days so hopefully I can build on my fitness, work on my climbing, and drop some weight. The goal is to put in about 1200kms+ or at least 50 hours of riding. I'll post after the camp to report my results!

Kaboom!

Well, it happened. Went on another 100km+ ride yesterday and my rear wheel finally had it. I managed to make it home but my wheel sounded awful. I pulled it completely apart last night and greased everything I could. Put it back together and took it for test spin. Same thing. So it has to be the bearings. This morning I put it on the roof of the car to take it to the shop and then noticed one of the nipple holes has a crack in it. So that wheel is completely fried. I told the shop I need it back by next weekend or they'll have to lend me a wheel to use. We'll see.

Steve

It's been awhile since my last update. Training has been coming along a little slower than I would like. I wake up to go out and there's always a bunch of snow on the ground! It is getting frustrating and I've had it with the trainer. I've put on my regular road tires now so I don't want to chew them up on the trainer. I have been able to get out for many 100km+ rides recently so that is always a good thing. My time right now for a specific route I do which is 102km is as fast as I was doing it last summer so I'm feeling like my fitness is ahead of last year. As I build up to my training camp in mid April things should be really good.

My biggest problem right now is the rear wheel on my bike is just about ready to fall apart. It makes a terrible racket as I am riding. I've pulled the whole thing apart, lubed and reassembled without much luck. I think the bearings might be done. I bought my road bike (Specialized Allez Elite w/ Alex A-Class 330 wheels) last April and I have about 6000km on the bike so I guess the wheel is just worn out. The bike is great, but the wheelset is kind of cheap. I think I will pick up a new set very soon. Any recommendations from anyone? I don't want to break the bank....I'm looking to spend around $500-$600.

Adios!

Steve

Welcome to Miami

Just back from my trip to Miami for a little fun in the sun and relaxation. Really it was a business recognition trip for the top sales people at my company so there was a lot of things going on the whole time.

I won't bore everyone with too many details, but I will say Miami is one helluva interesting place! If you like people watching this is the place to be. I managed to get in about 90 minutes of walking on the beach each day. My legs are actually quite sore from that walking as walking on a beach is much different than on pavement. My neck also got a good workout from checking out the sites on the beach. Let's just say there was lots of silicon getting a tan.

Temperatures were warm...about 80 d F. I was able to do an Everglades Adventure which was cool riding on an airboat and seeing aligators in the wild. I also managed to get in a round of golf, shooting an excellent 83 (on a par 72) especially since I only get in about 5 rounds a year now (I used to play a lot more in my mid 20's).

The airlines managed to lose my luggage again, this time it was American Airlines. That's twice in 2 weeks I've had luggage lost.

The weather here in Oakville is damn cold so I am going to delay the start of big mileage until next week when the weather warms up.

Steve

Recovery from the race and the flu

Recovery has been very interesting since I came home from the race. Wednesday night I came down with a nasty case of the flu. Really nasty. I was in bed all day Thursday and most of Friday trying to get better. Not the kind of illness you want to get just after racing when your body is already run down. I started to feel better Saturday, just in time for the rest of my family to get the flu. I barely slept Saturday or Sunday night taking care of everyone. Needless to say I feel really run down and I have done no riding or any other excercise since returning from Arizona. I might try to spin on the trainer for a bit in the next day or two since riding outside will be impossible due to the snow storm we'll be having for the next few days. Oh well. Just resting is a good thing anyways.

I'm off to Miami/South Beach on the weekend for a 4 day mini holiday. This is a recognition event for work and I'll have a bunch of friends going down so it sounds like it will be a huge party the whole time! Not sure if I'll be able to handle too much of that....I need to get some quality relaxation! I get to pick from a bunch of activities....I'm going on an Everglades Adventure on one of those boats with the big fan on the back that skims across the water. It sounds like a lot of fun. The next day I was planning to go deep sea fishing, but I don't want to ruin the evening in case I get sea sick, so I opted for a relaxing game of golf. It will be a short trip but hopefully the weather will be warmer and sunnier than in Arizona. I can't wait!

When I get back from that trip the heavy training will begin....hopefully getting long hours in the saddle (as long as the weather is reasonable). I need to step up the mileage and get some longer intervals going than what I have been doing. I also plan to focus on my climbing which is a weakness right now.

Steve