Motorpacing......a hay trailer?

I've been getting some good riding in recently. About 10 hours over the past 4 days (in 3 rides). Yesterday was 4 hours and was really good....a little cool when I headed out at 8am but manageable until it warmed up a little bit. The wind was biting but for some reason it really wasn't bothering me too much for the whole ride. This was my climbing route....basically incorporating everything long climb I know of. Makes for a slower ride but hopefully will improve my climbing in the long run. Finished it up feeling pretty good.

Went out again today planning for about 2.5 hours. A little colder than yesterday and a lot more windy. Unlike yesterday where the headwind began the ride (which is what I like), I had the tailwind at the beginning. Once I started working my way back home I realized how strong the wind really was. Luckily just then a tractor pulling a huge trailer full of hay went past me. He was moving at a good pace so I decided to try and hang on. After all it provided great wind protection. It turned out to be a pretty good workout.....I followed him for about 40 mins and got a good work out. Down hills I was braking but on the flats I was getting a good consistent pace....a little faster than I would normally go. Once he turned away I got hammered with the wind and dragged myself home for the remaining 20 minutes....I sure was going slow.

Only about a month to go until the 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo.....still trying to decide which bike to take. I'd like to take the rigid Niner as the course is about as perfect as you'll get for this type of bike. But I'm wondering if I'll appreciate the comfort of the full suspension....my back is still getting a little stiff and sore these days.

Steve

In an attempt to beat some of the rainy weather that was supposed to hit this afternoon I got on my way around 8:30am for what I hoped to be a 3-4 hour ride. Things were going smoothly....feeling pretty good. Roads were clear of snow with only the occasional spot of snow/ice near the shoulder. As I got further north those spots became a little more frequent. It eventually got to the point where I was riding more on snow than pavement. Now normally I wouldn't mind that at all but the problem is there was rutted ice patches beneath the snow. The roads I take are not too busy but when they did come along I had to get even further into the deeper sections of snow and control started to become and issue. Needless to say I eventually turned it around and headed back. On the way back I was pummelled with ice pellets which wasn't too much fun. But I still got 2.5 hours in which isn't too bad and I felt pretty good the whole ride. I just want to get mileage going....not too worried about structure....that will come after Old Pueblo.

Today I registered for the lottery to get into the Iceman Cometh which happens in November in Michigan. I've read about the race many time on-line and lots of big names come out to race. It is a typical MTB race of about 40KM, not enduro, but it is on November 7 so the weather is always up in the air. But it looks fun. The wife and kids are entered in the Slush Cup (a shorter distance) so it is going to be a family full of racing (I hope). Now I have to see if we get in.

Not too much riding happening these days, but hopefully on the weekend and next week with the thaw. I laid out my training plan which starts in earnest on March 1st and takes me all the way to Summer Solstice. It is pretty aggressive with a mix of of a bunch of different ideas I have gathered from learning about what other people do. We'll find out if it works in late June.

Steve

Sure is nice to actually be on the bike outside. Two days in a row no less. About 2 hours on Friday. 3.5 hours on Saturday. Saturday's ride was really nice. No too much wind. Roads were clear, but a little wet from melting snow. I ended up getting a little wet from the spray but never got too cold. I started feeling pretty tired with about 45 mins to go. I guess riding this much back to back is something I'll need to get used to again. Hopefully over the holidays. Anyways got home, did a few things with the kids and passed out for 2 hours. I couldn't believe how tired I was. Oh well. Good training....hopefully I can keep it up so I have some sort of conditioning for the 24 hours in the Old Pueblo in February.

I found this old photo from many years ago. Anyone guess from what race it was at? Hint....my best ever 24 hour solo result. Hopefully my form this year will help my replicate that result.

Steve

Went away all last week to San Diego for work. Now that is the place to ride. Weather was amazing. Flying in I could see trails going for miles. Pure heaven. Unfortunately I barely saw the light of day with the seminars I had to attend. But I did come home with a new gadget called the HP iPaq 510 smartphone. Should be fun to play with.
Didn't get any riding in and of course I came home with cold. Feel awful today. Maybe I'll get something in tomorrow. Going to the Leafs game with my son tonight.....kids night out they call it. For $120 you get 2 Leafs tickets, hot dogs and drinks for 2, plus 4 Marlies tickets. Pretty good deal. Hopefully they win.

So I was spending one of my favourite past times on MTBR and came across a post about a Shimano skewer snapping while attached to a bike. Turns out certain skewers made after November 1 2005 can fail randomly. Of course I happen to have a set of XT Skewers that might fall into the recall. The problem is they came off a wheelset that I sold with a bike (with different skewers) and I can't remember what version of XT hubs the wheels had. I'm pretty sure they were pre 2005. I don't have the bill for them either. Not sure what to do. 90% sure they are older that Nov 1 2005. Here is the recall for those who have Shimano skewers. It affects a whole range of skewers (only front)....XTR, XT, Dura Ace etc.

http://bike.shimano.com/publish/content/cycle/sac/us/en/news_and_information/news0/front__quick_release.html

In other news, got some solid riding in over the weekend. Got over the flu thing and felt okay riding. A short ride on Saturday and a long one on Sunday. I was slowed down by the Milton Santa Claus parade a bit....I usually cut through town to avoid a few busy roads but ended up in the middle of the parade. I thought about riding along the parade route since I was wearing my colourful red Hammer Nutrition jacket and might fit in....but since I can't do any wheelies I figured I'd be worthless entertainment and found another route to bypass the whole thing.

There's a guy in Oakville who just rides around town all day doing wheelies....he's known by everyone as wheelie guy....maybe he could teach me?

Steve

Got the flu shot a couple of weeks ago. I have the flu. But it is not completely debilitating, just fever, chills, upset stomach, etc. Only dry heaves. Oh well, weather is crappy outside anyways.

The weekend looks a little better, but the trails will probably be wet so they'll be out unless they are frozen.

Thinking about getting a seasons pass to the Halton Region Conservation Areas which will allow me to ride at Kelso and Hilton as much as I want. I'm not one to go in a back route and ride. I've asked for the family pass for Christmas which basically gets a carload of people in so now all of us can go. We were up at Mountsberg a couple of weeks ago to do research on the Snowy Owl for a project and took a bunch of pictures. I really liked this one in particular of the eagle. All of these birds are rescue birds. Also, nice thing about Mountsberg is they have a couple of bike trails which are perfect for the kids....about 10km long which is just right. The pass gets us in here as well. Lots of good hiking too.