The bike is both friend and enemy right now. The act of riding feels emotionally healing and psychologically restorative, but my rides leave me physically worked over, napping for hours afterward, shivering from chills. And I’m not just talking about hard rides. The easy rides, too. The no-effort 1.5 hour spin. Demolished. Ker-plow! I took [...]
Continue ReadingCircling the Wagons
I try to stop. I try but I can’t. The sun. The blue sky. Swooping roads. An attack of medium-sized black birds with red shoulders. A lake. A glisten. Hills and green. According to my schedule, I’m supposed to turn around right now. I should go back home, duckwalk into the garage, pull off the [...]
Continue ReadingMadera Canyon Death March
The wheels are coming off and it’s not pretty. There are 17,000 feet of climbing already in my legs and 3,000 more to go today. I am writing the script of my imminent demise as I turn the pedals over in wobbly, jagged squares: She was found 500 feet from the base of the climb. [...]
Continue ReadingDay Two: Gates Pass Throwdown
Soft-pedaling at 37mph on Sal’s wheel. That may be the best vacation moment ever. I run out of gears. Ty Lambert opens up the throttle and I am out of gears. The compact crank – a blessing and a curse. In a heartbeat, Sal comes through to my left – in the drops and grinding. [...]
Continue Reading7 Tips for Endurance Nutrition
Training camp isn’t just all long rides and sunshine. The beauty of being at the Cycling House is that the staff is a sweet, little band of pros and former pros – and they’re eager to share their knowledge. Night time means cozying up in the living room for talk-time. It’s kind of like singing [...]
Continue ReadingVitamin D Therapy: Training in Tucson
I don’t even know how this happened. I’m going to go ahead and blame my coach because it was his idea. Secondary blame goes to Sal, whom I allowed to make the final decision for us, since I was on the fence: “Sicily or training camp in Tucson?” “Training camp in Tucson.” I know, right? [...]
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