Monday Night

Left at 6:09 pm. I rode to catch the waning rays while the dark encroached upon the day. Not many evenings left. Even with the new night light.

Double Double

It was a glorious weekend of riding. Friday the three of us Steve, Bill and I had a leisurely ride to the shed. Quiet road. Very few folks coming or going. Warm weather with sun and blue sky. A very even tempo to activate the muscles without over exerting Steve before his Sunday LA Triathlon. Rock on Steve.

Saturday was diametrically opposite to Friday. Overcast, cool. Plenty of folks coming and going. Faster pace. Marty of Riverside Bicycle Club caught me about two miles into the mountain and then kept me challenged to shed. Awesome ride, chatting, catching up on life and the challenges that the Fall season brings. Excellent time to shed. It's great to have camaraderie that keeps you up beat, up tempo and concentrating on conversation and not the muscles.

Thinking of fall, those of you who like the comfort of indoors may heed the lure of the track at the Velodrome. RBC is looking for folks who would like to take the certification class. The more the merrier, and the price of the instructor goes down as well. Just drop Marty an email.

Thinking it was a perfect ride, all you have to do is sail home, you meet a legend. A survivor of unbelievable odds. John who flirted with destiny on 04/25/2010 at mile marker 10.20 where he collided with a car travelling 45 miles per hour while he was doing 25 miles per hour. Amazing recovery, I see John ride every Saturday morning. John - Peter - Melissa - Tammy.

More coming.

Back to Back

Bill rode around Bonelli this morning capturing the beauty of the birds.

I decided to ride a second day in a row. Not far. Not fast. Just do it!

Ride with Steve

Note the stylish new gloves that Steve bought at Incycle for 15% off today. Incycle has a great end of summer sale so check it out and stock up.

My triathlete brother-in-law Steve is in town for the LA Triathlon. He is fit and ready to race. Delayed by traffic coming home we started at 6:05 pm. Burning daylight. It needed to be fast and furious. Then I thought when is Steve going to slow down? Never! It was a fast paced ride and my best ride for the year. Cool temperature. No traffic for our leg of the mountain. I did run over a small snake on the way up. I didn't see it until it was too late. I looked for the snake on the way down and couldn't find it. Perhaps I was light enough that it survived and wiggled away.

Ecstatic. Euphoric. Elated. Energized. Ebullient. and Exhilarated. Enough! I had a great ride.

Fall

You can feel it in the mornings and the evenings. The sun is rising later and setting earlier. The marine layer lingers longer and the daylight is dwindling faster. It is a time of change. the colors on trees and the headlights on the bike. Autumn. A season of change. Lance Armstrong's coach Chris Carmichael - Trainright has tips to approach the new season:

1. All the fitness, none of the pressure: Think about your fitness right now. You’re strong from a season’s worth of training and racing, you can go faster and further now than you could in March, May, or even July. But if your big goals were in the summer, it’s likely they’re behind you now. That means you’re in a sweet spot as an athlete – you have the strength and stamina for high-quality training, and you don’t have to worry about the intricacies of balancing competitions with training. As a coach, that’s why I look at this time of year as a huge opportunity. I use this time for blocks of training that are often too big to fit into the typical race-and-recovery cycle that athletes get into during the height of the summer.

2. The runway is as long as it’s going to get: To improve from year to year, you have to take time to address your weaknesses. If you wait until January, you’re addressing your weaknesses at the same time that you’re counting down the weeks until you have to be ready to race. It’s better to work on pedal stroke, climbing technique, aerobic endurance – or whatever your season review reveals as your weak link – now. Get it done in the Fall so you can focus all your pre-season energy on maximizing race-specific performance.

3. Everyone else is watching football: Everybody trains hard in January and ramps up for the season in the first few months of the year. Not everyone trains through the fall. If you want to make real progress, you can’t afford to give up 30% of your fitness and power by sitting on your couch or exercising casually through Christmas. Tired of the regimen of structured training? The athletes I coach sometimes feel that way, too. But the answer isn’t to walk away from training; my job is to utilize varied training experiences to refresh their enthusiasm for training while simultaneously keeping their fitness level high.

Comments from the Gallery

Protec Helmets after reading the Race Across the Sky 2010challenges me to:

It is great to have the opportunity to read a good quality article with useful information on topics that plenty are interested on. I concur with your conclusions and will eagerly look forward to your future updates. Thanks a lot and keep on posting more valuable information.

Bicycle racing in Colorado had great coverage this year with the US Pro Cycling Challenge with three podium from the Tour de France: Cadel Evans, Andy and Frank Schleck along with top tier American cyclists, Levi Leiphiemer, George Hincapie, Tom Danielson, Dave Zabriske, Christian VandeVelde, and TJ Van Gardener. The folks at Versus showed the most scenic venues in Colorado. I kept asking myself why I am still in southern California.

I do have to admit that the charm of the periennial Leadville 100 will always have a unique spot in my memories. The folksy charm of a small town and its friendly residents. The heady heights of 10,152' above sea level, the swooning from just walking the town and rubbing elbows with racing elites like the Fat Cyclist. Protec I must admit check out Fatty who lost his fat and kept his sly sense of humour. That's a great website to follow.

Now since my energies are currently being directed to employment, I am going to challenge you, Protec, if you have great content send me an email I will consider publishing it.

I try to pay attention to what is happening on the road. Crashes, Trashes, Coyotes, Deer, Bunnies, Pot Holes, Emergency Vehicles, Friends from the "slow lane".

Monday Afternoon Bliss

The day started off on the wrong tooth. I flossed a cap right off. I spit it out and saved it for the dentist who squeezed me in this afternoon. The dental appointment allowed me to get on the road with half a mouth functioning but a great way to work off the local anesthetic keep my mind on other parts of the body.

Ron enjoyed his ride to the top of Monroe. We sat and we waited for the elusive Ray Clone. The sun rapidly dwindled and our wait cut short.

It was a strong ride for me tonight.