Aggregation of Marginal Gains

In the last few years, I have focused on a few limiters and worked hard for large improvements.   It has helped me get better but I am feeling like the strategy is less effective for where I am now.  Team Sky has put a new name on an old idea and adapted it to cycle racing.  Aggregation of Marginal Gains is 'Harvard Speak' for doing a whole lot of things a little better.

The Japanese refer to this concept as Kaizen and they almost took over the world of manufacturing before their competition caught on to the concept.  In American business, we called it CI (continuous Improvement).

Big gains in a few areas may work well for beginners but many of us have been doing this a long time and some of us are hitting a plateau of improvement.

Teenie has taught us how to use the BALANCE WHEEL for our cycle racing.   In that exercise, we list 8-10 spokes of the wheel that constitute our efforts.   You know.......training, nutrition, recovery, skills, etc.   My plan is to make 63 (my race age this year) small improvements of 1% or more in elements of my balance wheel spokes.

Nutrition is one I am working right now and I will BLOG on it tomorrow.

63 small improvements may add up? I am counting on it!

What does it take to be GREAT?

I came across this cleaning out my email.  So the story goes:  

Three of these guys went on to greatness.  I know you know the name of two of them....how about the 3rd guy?   The forth guy beat the other 3 up every climb.  He won every training ride but when the chips were down....well let's see if anybody knows his name? What does it take to be GREAT?

Oh, and how do like the hair?

updated by Bird (01/02/2012)

Bicycling magazine - Jan/Feb 2012

I tried to get the links on line but there are 2 items of real interest:

Page 56 - REINVENT YOURSELF - Highlights and quotes from our own Catherine James.  How cool is that?   (try clicking here)

Page 92 - POWER: WORKING AT YOUR SPEED - All about power meter options......darn good information if you are moving that way.

You might want to pick up a copy if you do not subscribe?

Good stuff, Catherine.

Podium Shoes

Bake has nothing on me.   Teenie suggests when one sets a goal to 'act as if and prepare for.'

So, I got some PODIUM SHOES!  See what I am goal setting for?

Clip in.....

Getting ready for winter training....

1 hour trainer workout... High HR/Power...... (click here for copy)

Great article on MAP testing by Ric Sterns... Click Here  you will have to DOWNLOAD it after you get to Google Docs...

DOGS

The DS got a lesson today.   I am not sure what DOGS stands for but for me, today, it was Dangerous Old Guy.   It was my second ride with the DOGS and I was hoping for a good one.   In the first ride, I had spotted some terrific masters who ride 5-6 days a week.........some guys with time and ability.

It was a Starbucks ride slated for 55 miles and Reg, the leader, had told me it would be fast.  He was no liar.   A guy, who looked to be mid to late 30's, jumped on the front and pulled for the whole 55 miles.  I would later learn he was Darien Newman (I think I have this right?), the Mt Graham Overall State Hill Climb Champion.  Funny they call it a 'hill', when it is 6000 feet of climbing!

About 8-10 miles in, one of those serious masters guys, Greg Howard, reintroduced himself to me.   About 2 minutes later, I put him on the pavement.   Of course, I was down also.........not really even sure what happened?  I stood out of a turn.  My left foot came unclipped and struck the pavement.   At 18-20 miles per hour, this was devastating.   Greg rode back bruised and cut.

I continued, thinking he was still in the ride.   "Maybe, I can save a little face if I can ride well?"  That was about the most positive self talk I could come up with at the time.  New guy takes our regular ride stalwart.  It's gotta suck to be leper!


Here is how it unfolded:

*  First selection climb - I was off the front 3-4 guys but they let us regroup.
*  After the turn around - We headed up Twin Peaks (3.5 miles/2%) - I barely hungg on the second little 3 man grupetto and couldn't pull, AT ALL.
*  We were in a paceline on Moore for about 4 miles - Darien paced so fast I was redlining in the draft.
*  Last little climb on La Canada - I did 480 watts for more than 1 minute.  Hello Hurt Locker, but there's more.
*  The run in on Ina - We caught the 3rd or 4th light as my prayers are answered.  I was seconds from snapping if it stayed green.
*  I stumbled in with Darien, Reg and a guy from SW Hand TEAM.  A couple of other guys had pulled off in the last few blocks.
*  I did not pull one second of the 55 miles.

The rest of the group ...............??

It would be nice if my road rash had limited me but that would be a thin excuse.  I got my Starbucks,  hoping someone would talk to me.   They did, as the rest of the folks straggled in......... I tried to mostly listen and ask questions even though I was still very anxious.  Reg took me to CVS and turned me onto J&J Tough Pads for my road rash.  This is a great invention...I hope somebody got a raise!

Sent Greg an email tonight to make sure he was OK.  He was very gracious.


Miss you guys a lot.........I am headed back to Greenville tomorrow but first, I am going to have some dessert, HUMBLE PIE (a large piece).  Then I gotta look at the calendar to see when I can make my next DOGS ride.

Decoupling Graph

per DS's lesson below...my steady state wind trainer workout...this is using speed/cadence/HR as my parameters.... WKO+ (warm up .. get HR up then hold pace.. the spike is standing up ... or I will go crazy)

AET Followup

After a big winter storm kept me off the bike for 2 days, I was ready to go today.   Under still ominous skies,  I decided to use my rested legs to do a 2:30 AET Test.   This Test was described in yesterday's post.   Below is my HR distribution:


I was able to stay in Z2 for 2:21 of the 2:30.  My HR avg (130 bpm) and Power avg (210 normalized watts) were both in the middle of Z2 for me.

Key point, addressed in the previous post, was the decoupling:  0%..... zero %.   Good news.

These test results provide me with confidence during this period of 'final preparation', that is preparation for training.

When I resume training in January, I will be able to focus on Strength (force) and Muscular Endurance.   My limiters are 1 minute CP (Critical Power) and my FPT (Functional Power Threshold).   My FPT is now 300 which seems pretty good, but I am big guy.   Joe estimated in some recent discussions, that I need a 20-30 watt increase to meet my goals.   I will address the CP1 much later but January and February will the time to address my FPT.

See ya out there soon.

BASE TRAINING

Most of us will be entering the BASE TRAINING phase after New Year's.   The purpose of this post is to address AET (Aerobic Endurance Training) and how to measure your progress.

AET is important in the BASE phase for any endurance athlete and is the source of cardio fitness.   These workouts build our capability to transfer oxygen to our muscles and carbon dioxide out of them.   This fundamental capability must me developed before training other systems is beneficial.

For years, athletes both running and riding, thought this was accomplished by LSD (Long Slow Days) or group rides.   I think you can get there that way.  However, steady state intervals are the shortest route to the goal.   These are simple.  You ride at Z2 HR for about 1-1:15 hours and progress to 2.5 hour intervals, for most of us.  You must pick a fairly flat route with few/no stops (or a trainer if you are crazy).   WARNING: THIS SHOULD BE DONE SOLO TO BE EFFECTIVE.   These workouts can create great progress in just 3 weeks.  I have reasoned that this is because so much time is logged in Z2 as compared to group rides.   These rides (again, AET rides) are a really efficient use of training time.   While they take focus, the pace is fairly comfortable.   Little fatigue occurs and one can recover, usually in 24 hours.  You see, riding the UWBL going like hell, does not HURT you but if you are in Z4 or Z5, you ain't in Z2.  If you are in the bag for two days, you can't do another quality AET ride or might even get the flu or something worse?  Of course, some of us may be so strong, that the UWBL does not effect us this way!

Later, we will move the training to Z3 but that is another phase.

Weinacker, Perry and anybody else doing long distance racing, will find this type training even more valuable.   They will likely want to extend these intervals to as long as 4-5 hours.  They might do very little training above Z2 if they were only doing Ironman distance.  Perry, is a great source of info on this subject.  There is Wikipedia and then there is WikiPerry..........and I am not kidding.......the dude is amazing.

So, one might ask, "How long do I do this type training?"  Answer:  It depends.  If you are 'off the couch' or in your first year or so, it might be 8-10 weeks.   If you are an advanced athlete and have been active in the off season, you might need little of this other than maintenance.

What is cool is that Coach Joe and WKO+ have devised measurement methods to test your aerobic fitness.  Here are a couple of terms you need to understand:

Cardio Drift - When an endurance athlete maintains a steady state effort, his/her heart rate will rise over the course of the effort.

Decoupling - The measurement of cardio drift, described in percent.  In cycling, it can be measured as Power:HR and in running it would Pace:HR.

WKO+ automatically calculates decoupling but we can do it manually and without a power meter or WKO+.  A HR monitor and speedometer is required.

Joe believes that when you can perform these AET workouts with less than 5% decoupling, you are aerobically fit.   This means more time to work on Muscular Endurance, a limiter for almost every athlete.   The athlete/coach monitors decoupling as the season progresses and if performance degrades,  the athlete can return to 2-3 weeks of these intervals (likely one per week) to reestablish fitness.

A great thing for those of us without power meters, would be to set up these tests on the computrainers at the EDGE.  I will stay on the road as I just can't ride a trainer that long....even with friends suffering along side me!   I could set up the test protocol.  

In my next training post, I will address computing decoupling with an HR monitor and speedometer.


 

You have the "Power"

Happy Holidays to all my fellow teammates. I know everyone has thoughts of sugar plums and Santa and his reindeer dancing in their heads. Through the blurry vision and current sugar high we should all be kicking around some ideas of training and goals for the 2012 season.

Jon and I had a great conversation yesterday about some of the tools that are available to insure proper training and assist in achieving the level of performance you may be striving for this season.

There has been a lot of talk about "power". In the past everyone would use Heart Rate Monitors to evaluate where their fitness was on the chart. The issue with heart rate training is that when you are fatigued it can give you some numbers that are not accurate, causing your peaks and valleys to become larger than they should. The great thing about measuring your Power output is the numbers DON'T lie. By utilizing Power you can actually chart out your "A" races and really gage your success with fewer road blocks. As some of you pointed out in recent posts people don't stay on plan. A lot of athletes train by how they feel. Early season everyone is rested and feeling great. The workload over time is what causes early season burn out. It's fine to do a group ride in the winter for fun, just not all the time.

With power you can physically see that you are in zone 1 or 2 during those times of the year that you should be. So many people wonder why they can't get faster. The main reason is called "gray zone" training. In simple terms what that means is you are going to hard to be resting and not hard enough to be training. This is where the specific training should be your #1 goal. Power can be your guide and help you understand when you are riding too hard or not hard enough.

There are a few Power tools available on the market. I encourage each of you to check out the ones that are available. The main brands are:

Powertap- This system goes in the wheel so you can swap it from bike to bike. Add a bit of depth to your training and also get a wheelset that you can race as well. Part of the benefit of training with power is being able to analyze your race data. By going with a carbon clincher wheelset and powertap combination you can have a wheelset that you can train and race with. Choose from the new G3 hub or the classic Powertap Pro design. Add a Garmin or Powertap head unit for a complete solution.




SRM- The PowerMeter consists of the crank, chainrings and measuring unit. The measuring unit is located between the crank arm and the chainrings and is made of a high-strength, specially tempered aluminum alloy: a computer-designed torque transducer industrially manufactured to highly accurate standards of quality. The power measurement is reactionless so no energy is lost. The Powermeter is temperature compensated, 100% linear and waterproof.






Quarq- Measures Power at the Crankset

The Quarq CinQo is a bicycle powermeter that is integrated into the crankset of the bicycle. Specifically, the CinQo is a instrumented crank "spider" that mounts on specific production cranksets.

Hopefully, you all know that we have a team discount with Boyd Cycling. If you are interested in Powertap we can offer the powertap hubs and build into any of the wheelsets we offer at a 20% discount. If you are interested in the SRM I know Randy at Carolina Tri would be able to assist you. It's not too late to get your list to Santa. He is working overtime this year!

If I can help you can reach me anytime at 864-715-9877 or by email nicole@boydcycling.com.

Cheers,
Nicole

New Shoes

When you’re part of a team, it’s important that you conform to the uniform rules set forth by the team management. Not only is it a rule, but it looks good too. It looks totally pro to have everyone wearing the same uniform. And, everyone wants to look pro, even if the only thing you do at the pro level is wash your bike or mix your Cytomax.

Like many other popular teams, Team Headstrong has some specific uniform requirements for riders. We all have to wear team jerseys and shorts, socks and various accessories when you’re in the saddle, but the official uniform rules stop there. Even though we don’t have requirements for off-the-bike apparel, many riders still like to accessorize with items that match the cycling uniform. Glasses, helmets, shoes, etc. can all be sourced in matching team colors if you look around hard enough. Along these lines, I took a nice step this weekend towards completing my 2012 podium outfit.

Check out these babies! I scored some awesome black and green (sorry, citron) running shoes that are going to match great with my new team clothing. Yeah, I know you’re jealous. I thought I would jump in with both feet on the team color plan. For those that are interested, these are addidas Marathon 10 trail shoes and I snagged the laces separately just to put them over the top. I’m stoked that these are going to look great on the podium. Even if I don’t make the podium, they will look great taking your picture on the podium.

While I’m on the subject of accessories, I thought I would share a sneak peak at the new Team Headstrong helmet. Check it out! Who’s in? Well, wait a minute. We better hold off until I find some adult sizes for these jewels. I’ll get back to you on it.

Who’s accessorizing with team colors this year? Are you planning your own podium outfit?

Jeff Foxworthy

If you ride up a big mountain for 12 miles, climb 3500 feet through snow and ice, descend at speeds up to 70 kph, and your hands get so cold you can't feel your handlebars, YOU MIGHT BE A CYCLIST!

Clip In....

The science of training has come a long way since I first read Eddie B’s Bicycle Road Racing.  Power meters and training by power has replaced the focus on heart rate and rate of perceived effort (RPE).

I still train by HR…old school or too cheap, but I use the same concepts and more importantly the same  software for analyzing my training (WKO, Training Peaks, Golden Cheetah (freeware), Polar Protrainer, etc). 

Some key points

Everyone is different…. when it comes to heart rate.  Power does not care.. it is absolute (pwr/kg).   An example of this is… Beth and I both rode Alpe d’ Huez in 59mins… generating 3.9watts/kg (220 vs 320watts) but average HRs of 167 and 154.  She weighs about 125, me.. 180.

In my view the advantage of Training Peaks is that it evaluates your rides with a training stress score (TSS) and an intensity factor (IF) and has Performance Management Chart that shows you trend lines.   TSS is a combination of duration and intensity…  IF is how hard the session was..   (for a quick tutorial see.. http://home.trainingpeaks.com/articles/cycling/normalized-power,-intensity-factor,-training-stress-score.aspx ).

As we are all starting or about to start our early season training and the UWBL has started up, I think a few comments are in order.  Below is a chart of mine from last year’s UWBL.   This was a “sit in” ride for me and I did not “contest” the final run in, but did rev it up for the other sprints sitting in.   With an IF=.69 this classifies as the top end of a recovery ride; according  to the document above… (I disagree with this.. for me recovery rides are < .65).  It is more of an endurance ride with a few efforts thrown in, and with a TSS of 230 it would classify as a moderately hard ride

.

But this is for me.   Probably easier for OTF (Brian), but harder for, say, Teenie.  UWBL does get too long and too hard for what I want to be doing as the winter progresses, but I find it a challenging ride and helps me hone my pack skills (awareness, avoidance, accelerations) for the upcoming season.   

So it is important to determine whether this is a ride for you or not. As Steve said in his comment… to many egos drive the pace … which maybe a “deal breaker” for your plan.  And the goals of UWBL are more conducive to men’s Cat3 and above (distance/pace/time of the season).  For those thinking of Masters Nationals it is awful early to be ramping up too fast.  [I will let DS weigh in on this]

Which brings up, do you know where you stand physiologically.  FTP? LTHR? CP60? maxHR? Watts/kg?  The science behind this is what coaches use to assess you and layout a training a plan.  The more you know the more it will mean and pay dividends in attaining your goals. So here is a good tool from Dr. Lim .. it is amazingly accurate.....

PowerProfiling …   ( powerprofiling.xls ) on file in google docs.. download this…. enter your weight in red box at the top and see either where you rank or what your output needs to be, to be competitive.

So… Saturday…. UWBL or do we do a Team Ride?  And let us all hear about your training... concepts, questions, myths... 

The Silly Season

There has been a lot of great talk lately about training.   The value of rides like the UWBL are being discussed.

I and 3 of the athletes I am coaching, will resume training in January.   One athlete has already started but I am very slow to want to get out of the blocks.  September is long way off.   Eight months is a long season.

Teenie and I have been using the time for unstructured riding, racing El Tour and doing some serious group rides.   We did the Shootout last Saturday and I have attached the file below.    You will note that it looks nothing like what Joe Friel suggests is a good winter base type ride.

We can enjoy this now but come January we will be out of this game.   Right now, we are goofing around and having fun.   When the training starts, we will be focused and having fun.

It is great that we are discussing training like we have never done before.   Training and riding are two different things.  If you want to race, riding will only take you so far.   I feel all this talk is caused by us maturing as a team.

Count me out on the type ride you see below when January comes!

Basic Safety

As most of you know, one of our new teammates Camille Hood was taken down during the UWBL ride on Saturday. We were 3 hours into a 4 hour effort with about 200 other “A” groupers when a rider suddenly went left across her path, taking out her front wheel. I’m very pleased to report that we avoided total disaster and Camille suffered no broken bones in her crash. Hopefully, she will heal quickly and be back in action soon.

The crash this weekend was a poignant reminder to me and many others that cycling is a dangerous sport. Luckily we do not think about the danger most of the time. If we did, it would be crippling. The constant fear would make it almost impossible to get out there on the road to pedal all those miles every week. Instead we compartmentalize the dangerous thoughts and tuck them neatly away behind our comfort zone boundary. Instead of riding with the continuous thought of impending doom we are free to experience the joys of cycling with our friends. The crash did bring to mind some important issues, and I wanted to remind everyone of some basic actions we can all take personally to help us remain safe in the saddle.

1. Be Alert: This is even more important when you’re riding with a large group of people you don’t know. Sometimes accidents are unavoidable (like Camille’s incident Saturday), but staying aware of what’s around you at all times always pays dividends.
   
   
2. Point Out Obstacles & Communicate: This is one of the most basic forms of group riding etiquette. It’s common courtesy to point out obstacles to the riders behind you. I’ll go farther and say that this is not just a courtesy but an obligation you have to those around you. You must point out obstacles and dangers in the road as soon as you see them. The person in front of you should be doing this for you and you should be doing this for those behind. Pass it on through the pack no matter where you are in that pack. This goes for signaling turns as well. Give people enough notice by signaling your turns safely in advance.
   
   
3. Practice Fundamental Bicycle Handling Skills: I am a firm believer in developing excellent bike handling skills as a foundation for safe cycling. You have to learn the basics and practice the fundamentals BEFORE you are called on to use the skills in a competitive situation. If you learn to avoid situations or adjust to things in the pack before they become large safety issues, we will all be safer. (I will be doing my part to help every teammate learn more fundamental riding skills through some basic skills clinics I will be leading very soon. I promise that everyone will learn a lot no matter what your competency level is already.)
   
   
4. Learn Basic First Aid: There will be times when accidents happen. At those critical moments, it’s important that we all make the right decisions quickly to avoid making things any worse. Every one of us should learn basic first aid so that we will know what to do in the event of a crash. Thankfully, most crashes are minor and don’t require any critical care. However, like Camille’s crash this weekend, sometimes things get more serious. If you learn the basics, you can be an asset in the situation and possibly prevent further injury. Basic First Aid is taught locally or you can just read up online. Even if you’re not officially “certified” you want to make the right decisions quickly.
   
   
5. Carry ID (& Insurance Information): You should never ride your bike without some form of ID. I use a Road ID bracelet and I carry a copy of my driver’s license and insurance card in my saddle bag. You might be with others when you crash, but chances are that none of us know your insurance information. The hospital can find out a lot about us by using our driver’s license.
   
   
6. Cell Phone: I have to admit that I don’t always ride with my cell phone, but it’s a good idea to have at least one with every group. In the event of a critical incident, you will want to get help quickly. Having a phone with you can greatly reduce emergency response time.

Some of you might be thinking that I’m exaggerating to make my point, but I can honestly say that every single bullet point above has come in handy for me or someone else I’ve been riding with in the last 12 months. These basic precautions are excellent safety tools for all of us. At the very least, you will be a little safer and smarter in the saddle. At most, these could save someone’s life.

2012... Clip in...

It's that time of year, as DS posted earlier.   Time to think about your goals, your strengths, your weaknesses, and layout a plan for 2012.

You might want to read Joe Friel's blog (click side bar or here) about early season training.  With some of us looking at Masters Nationals it will be a long season and you might consider a strategy that does not burn you out before the 2nd half of the year... below is what he would expect an athletes power (or HR) distribution to look like at this time of year..  


also in case you are interested you might find his training plan worksheet (click here) a useful tool (.xlsx) in laying out a training schedule .  You can refer to his training bible or look it up on the web for explaining the columns..

Cross Training in Tucson

After El Tour, the kids have all been in and with Thanksgiving, Teenie and I have gained a little weight.   With Linz help, we have started some cross training which includes Sumo Wrestling.

We hope to get a few pounds off before camp.

See ya out there soon!

Winter Camp

That's Pusch Ridge towering above the Maddox's Casa del Tucson site of our January winter camp with elevations rising to above 9,000ft.   It was a great weekend of riding in Tucson culminating with Teenie's first place female over all finish in the El Tour de Tucson 60 mile event (over 1,600 cyclists in the 60 miler alone..and a total of 6,000 riders doing the 111, 85, 60, 42 mile events) a truly epic event.   Our plan was for Randall, Mark (Kansas City Headstrong affiliate rider) and myself to ride for Teenie delivering her to take the Queen's crown..

Race start..... 2 miles out a rider hits a road barricade on the left careening through the pack creating a domino effect taking DS out and stopping T and Mark in their tracks as the lead group is charging up Swan Rd.  (DS may very well take the team asphalt award... although I may be a close second)

Well as Winston Churchill said "no war is won without a plan, then again, no war is won according to that plan".  I am in the lead pack wondering who went down when a rider tells me DS went down.... Where's Mark? T?  hold pace ... some serious little climbing efforts in the first 15 miles at race pace.... hold on... mass of riders bad traffic miss the break at a turn across a 4 lane... sit up and wait for team.... the Maddox's neighbor, Roger Kennedy, team comes up and I get with Allajandro (Dominican Republic Pro) to help set pace...no T, no Mark... work with Allahandro...like moose and squirrel... 6'3" and 5'3" rotating at the front  (riding with Giselle has prepared me for this).... keeping Roger focused and out of the wind for his goal of winning the 60+... after 24 miles I am spent and sit up spinning thinking that Mark and Teenie should be coming up if they did not go down and just like that I hear "bird!"... Mark is at the front of a large pack pulling T along in second position..I slide back and check the pack and see no woman who is doing the 60..ride back up to the front . "T you OK.... I'm GOOD!"  GAME ON.... back on plan... (I had seen no woman in the front pack and there was no one my group so we just need to deliver T to the finish.)...

Mark is controlling the pace, no one coming around... I sit in and then head to the front to relieve Mark and send them back to rest for the final run in...... 1.5 miles to go we execute the plan as defined.... leading up to the final turn, Mark going to the front setting the pace, then I go and accelerate Mark and T on my wheel til I see the banner then pulling off with Mark taking T all the way to the banner...... perfect....... one for all, all for one.......awesome.... T left no matches in the pack on this one.....

Mark demonstrated a true team mate with his unselfish work at the front for so many miles.   If was a victory for all of us.... I would recommend Mark be added to the Headstrong race team roster as a Headstrong Remote Racer....

Congratulations to Teenie for a herculean effort and for being at the top of the podium.....

Teenie Wins Women's Overall - El Tour de Tucson

The results have been corrected and Teenie has won the Women's Overall!!

You rock Teenie!

Rain Rain Go Away

Cycling is a hard sport. It requires you to push yourself beyond reason to reach your full potential. You have to ignore the pain in your legs and explore the depths of the unknown to maximize your performance. The sport is full of hard-nosed athletes that are willing to brave the elements no matter what Mother Nature has to throw at them. I’m not one of those…ha ha.

Sure, I like to push myself to the limit, and I know how to dig deeper than the next guy to get the most out of my body. I love the thrill of competition and that dog-tired feeling you get after a super hard ride or workout. But…ahhhh…well…not if it’s raining. Yeah, I’m definitely a fair weather rider.

I am comfortable with my reputation as a wimp in bad weather. Most of my teammates know that I hate getting wet on the bike. I love this sport as much as the next rider, but I do this for fun. And it’s not fun for me if it’s raining. Especially in November when most of us are not “training” yet and we’re just riding for the pure enjoyment of riding. So, when Sam and I were heading downtown for the 2011 Ride with George Hincapie to raise money for new MTB trails to be built in downtown Greenville (near the YMCA and Cleveland Park) and I had the windshield wipers going on the Suby, I knew it was going to be a miserable day in the saddle. We quickly decided to donate our money for the trails and do an indoor workout on the computrainers at the Edge.

Brian T. and Debbie S. joined Sam and I for our indoor hammer-fest at the Edge and we had a nice time. We tried to get in touch with Giselle and Mel who were both scheduled to be at the ride, but we were unsuccessful. Thanks to some help from Debbie, we were able to load up our bikes and start pedaling on the computrainers.

If you’ve never done a computrainer class, you should check them out this winter. You plug in your weight and functional threshold power and the computer does all the adjustments for you during your ride. You hold your cadence and the machine varies the tension on your bike to match the action on the big screen TV. We chose a “Spirited Club Ride” for our session, and with almost 2 hours of zone 3-4 work, it was definitely spirited. I think we had fun, but I will say that it was a pretty hard workout.

After the ride, we headed over to mingle and eat lunch with those that braved the rain. There was a silent auction, food and beer from Thomas Creek Brewery. Big props to Brian Myrick for hosting and executing the ride and celebration afterwards. If you still want to donate money to the fund to build trails on city land downtown, send it to Brian.

If you braved the rain on Sunday, I commend you. If you didn’t, I certainly won't make fun of you. Thanks to Sam, Brian and Debbie for helping me get my ride in without risking the rain. Give the computrainers a try if you want to really tune up your performance this winter. It’s never raining inside at the Edge Endurance Training Center.

Edge Open House and Plank Off

We hosted our official Open House at The Edge Endurance Training Center on Saturday night and we were pleased with the turnout. We wanted to do something to open our doors and invite people to come meet our staff and see what we were all about. Quite a few people stopped by to enjoy the fun.

Since Team Headstrong has adopted The Edge as its official team training headquarters, the business has been growing steadily. Now that daylight savings time has limited the sunshine most of us can experience, our facility has become a valuable asset for every endurance athlete. Computrainer classes are filling up and our group strength and conditioning classes are becoming more popular as well. If you haven’t stopped by to check out the amenities, please do so soon.

Our main goal with the open house was to show off our facility and our staff. People got a chance to see what we do and talk to us about how we do it. One of our fun activities for Saturday night was a Plank Off. I’m not talking about the kind of plank that the pirates make you walk. I’m talking about the basic core strength builder that benefits every athlete regardless of age and activity. We invited everyone to hold a plank as long as they could for a chance to win a new foam roller and a 1 hour sports massage with Samantha Smith. Team Headstrong planked better than any.

Sam was the judge to make sure everyone held their form. Everyone was welcome and we had a nice mix of ages and genders for the competition. Rules were simple. Hold the plank for as long as you can. Heckling and cheering was legal so the crowd got into it as well. After a couple minutes the beginners realized how hard it is to hold that position for any significant length of time. Somewhere after 3 minutes I was toasted myself, so I started cheering on the other candidates.

Team Headstrong’s Catherine James and Joe Lehner were looking rock solid right on through 5 minutes. Catherine has been doing lots of group classes at the Edge and Joe has just been doing super secret training on his own. 6 minutes in and we lost most of the other competitors. At 7 minutes is was down to just Catherine and Joe. As Sam called out 8 minutes, beads of sweat started falling off their faces. The crowd was cheering loudly now, egging them both on into new territory. Finally (maybe mercifully...ha ha), somewhere around 9 min 30 sec, Catherine claimed victory in the Plank Off! Even after all that, she had the strength to hold her hands up in victory. Ok, maybe it was just one hand, but she had proven her metal. Catherine, you’re one strong gal.

Overall, it was a great evening of food, fun and conversation with some of the area’s best athletes and coaches. Thanks to everyone that attended. Thanks also to everyone that has been spreading the word about our facility. We love helping people achieve their performance goals. With a little work, we can all be as strong as Catherine and Joe.

EL TOUR DE TUCSON RESULTS

It was a beautiful partly cloudy day with perfect temps and 15-18 mph winds.   A record 1600+ turned out for the 60 mile event.   Mark Schleish, a big TEAM supporter who many of you know, joined us for the big event

We arrived 1.5 hours early to get a spot up front.   We had two goals:
#1 - Take Teenie to the Women's Overall Championship.
#2 - All finish in the Top 10.

The start found us in great shape with me setting pace up the initial climb but 2 miles from the start the course of the race changed fast.   To my left a rider center punched a road barrier causing him to careen right and take out 6-7 riders.   I went down immediately but Teenie stayed up even though she ran over a man on the ground.  With a broken cleat, I was finished.   She and Mark, collected themselves for the chase to get back on the lead group.  Bird was ahead as I headed for the car and then a mid point on the course.

Mark and Teenie spent the next 45 minutes on the rivet, getting very close to the lead pack untila red light stopped them for over 1 minute.

At mile 27 the race passed me with Bird 2 minutes off the lead in the second grupeto and Teenie and Mark in the 3rd, another 3 minutes back.   I saw no woman in front of her.   I yelled and headed for finish.  Mark took almost all the pulls with Teenie on his wheel and a large group of wheelsuckers behind her.  Bird dropped back with about 18 miles to go and took some work.   He also thought Teenie was in the lead!

At the finish the leaders crossed.  Again, I saw no woman.  Soon I saw the TEAM coming up the long straight away with the distinctive kits.  Mark pulled away and Teenie sprinted across the timing mat.

UNBELIEVABLE:

ELAPSE TIME: 2:44 and change
COMPUTER TIME: 2:42:12 (bike time without the stops)
Speed: 22.6 MPH

We hugged........we laughed.

Soon the computer chips times came up.   Teenie was 36th overall and 2nd in the Overall Women.   She will receive a commemorative 2nd place medal for accomplishment.   I guess I just missed the woman leading?

With the crash and two long stoplights, this was a great individual and TEAM accomplishment.  Mark was a great team mate, giving up what could have been a top finish.  Bird overcame injuries of  the last weeks just to be here.   I am bruised and cut but not broken.

And Teenie, well, she IS the TEENZANATOR

I was proud to wear the jersey today as I am every day.

El Tour Recon

I  know you are asking, why all the hubba hubba about a cookie ride?   Well, all I can say is this ain't no ordinary cookie ride.   Just in our group, we have people coming from SC, Kansas, Ontario, CA, Florida, NY and Colorado.....you get the idea.

Teenie, Roger, Craig and I rode over to the Start today as it presents the first selection on the 60 mile course.   We go up into the foothills on Swan Rd.   A 2 mile climb of 300 vertical feet makes about a 2.8% grade.   The climb starts about 1/2 mile from the start line.   We will be at the start at least one hour prior to start time to get our spots up front.......yea, no warm up.  Urg!

As in any event like this, the start brings crit like speed.   The four of us hit the little climb pretty hard today and it took about 7 minutes at 17+ MPH.   I am sure the peleton will move much faster but we will enjoy more draft.   Teenie looked very strong as she allowed us guys to set pace and hit the last pitch standing.  She got away from us a little.....not any big deal, but showed me she had powder left in her gun.

The course rolls for about 12 miles to the Rancho Vistoso area near where we live.   Then, there is a 4 to 5 mile section that rolls mostly uphill.   This section will be a big separation area as we will face several testers.   We are going to ride this Thursday.  Although we ride it often, we will be thinking 'race' on Thursday.

Friday, I hope to look over the finish which is about a 1000 meter straight, flat runout.  Barricades were set up last year and there might have been 20,000 people at the finish.......biggest thing I have ever experienced!

We heard today that the winds were forecast to be high on Saturday....just a rumor at this point.   This should help us, as we will be well organized and the roads are wide enough to set up echelons.   Last year we were blessed with a 20 mph 'breeze'.

Plan, plan, plan...........you know me, I love the run up to something like El Tour as much as I do race.  Make no mistake, for 15-20% of the riders, this is a race.  We have some great dinners and festivities planned......it won't be all racing.   You guys know, you gotta talk a lot about the race, before and after!   That is what bike racers do.

I am anxious to see how I ride in comparison to last year.  These events are good benchmarks and my perceived level of fitness is high right now.   Our main goal is to place Roger in the Top 10 overall (13th last year) and place Teenie among the top of the women's field.  About 1:30 PM Saturday, all the planning and racing will be over.....only celebrating left.

Bird hits here tomorrow just after lunch.........I will report back.

Forgetting Something?

After our super-fun trip to DuPont last weekend, Ray and I were keen to get back to the promised land on Saturday. We hooked up with Brian and my buddy JJ and headed north for some fat tire fun. We got a late start, so we were greeted by sunshine and warm temperatures at the Reasonover Parking Lot. We made good time out of Greenville, even though we didn’t use Brandon’s dirt road short cut.

We all pumped up, suited up and started to discuss our route for the adventure. Most of us were ready to go when we heard Ray utter the dreaded, “oh no!” When you hear a fellow cyclist speak those words, you immediately go through a laundry list of things in your head that you think they forgot. Sure enough, Ray had forgotten his helmet. We quickly decided that it was not smart for him to ride without it. If it was a road ride, maybe, but an MTB ride with rocks and trees and slippery surfaces…not so much. I must say, he took it pretty well. I would have been jumping up and down, punching at the air and using every nasty word I learned from my high school football coach. Ray was one class act while facing a lonely, solo drive back to town.

Just as we were putting Brian’s stuff in my car so Ray could go back to Greenville and play with one of his other 2-wheel toys, we noticed a couple guys unloading a bunch of kids from a truck. The light bulb went off. Ray asked if they had an extra skid lid he could buy, rent or borrow. They had one! Not only did they have one, but they had one that matched his kit perfectly! It wouldn’t have mattered what it looked like, because Ray was determined to tuck his locks up under that hard hat and head out with us. They gave him some redneck instructions to put it in the bed of an old pickup truck parked by the back porch at Mother’s restaurant…and don’t pet the dog or something like that. We were stoked…but more importantly, we were riding.

We knew it was going to be an awesome day after the helmet gods smiled on us. We set off on our four hour tour hitting every cool trail we could think of. We rode lots of stuff we love and found some new stuff we could learn to love with a little more practice. I won’t bore you with all the crazy details of jumping off this or bombing down that or carving around here or climbing up there. Let’s just say it was AWESOME!

I would like to propose that all of us join the Friends of DuPont Forest to help support the trail system up there. They do an amazing job of maintaining the trails. Whether you ride bikes, horses or like to walk in the woods, DuPont is an amazing asset to everyone. And, if you’re interested in scoring a sweet new purple helmet for the upcoming season, check out these options from Bell, Giro and Specialized. Or take your chances with the mutt guarding grandpa’s truck out behind Mother’s restaurant in Cedar Mtn.

Cats Away Mice Will Play

Sam took a trip to Ft. Lauderdale, FL to see some friends, leaving me to fend for myself for the entire weekend. I can take care of myself ok, but I took the opportunity to invite a few of my new soon-to-be Cat 3 teammates over for some Friday night food and fun. Our plan was simple. Eat lots of yummy food and watch a totally, ridiculous movie. We succeeded on both fronts.

I immediately put Ray in charge of the meat. (You can’t have a man’s meal without some sort of tasty meat.) I knew that Ray would opt for something a little off the standard path. I was thinking he would choose grass fed beef or maybe some organic chicken, but he wowed us with some very nice Bison NY Strip steaks. If you’ve never tried it, give it a go.

I baked up some sweet potatoes and lightly stir fried some veggies to accompany our kill. The boys agreed with me that they were great, because there was not a single morsel left when we finished our feast. I think we even won a few races during our meal. At least that’s how it felt as we discussed tactics and told stories between bites.

Brian was assigned desert and he took up the assignment with the great enthusiasm. After consulting his personal recipe vault, he showed up with all the fixins to make Rice Crispy Treats. Yum! Half way through the preparations we called and audible and added some dark chocolate chunks into the mix. Man, you want to tune up those regular old RCT’s you have been making? Throw in a few chocolate chunks to upgrade your squares. They were awesome.

After dinner we burned off a few of those calories rolling with laughter as we watched Step Brothers, starring Will Farrell and John C. Riley. It doesn’t get much sillier, but it kept us in stitches half the time. Sometimes you just want to laugh at some stupid humor and these guys can deliver.

Following the movie we made our plans for hitting the trails in DuPont on Sunday. Good food and good friends equals good fun in my book. Best of all…we still have some of those Rice Crispy Treats left for the ride on Sunday!

It Never Rains in California

Not sure if the title is true but it would make a great name for a song!   It certainly does rain in Arizona and all day long.   The desert has been charming today as clouds hung over the Catalina and Tucson Mountains.    It rained most of the day and sometimes hard!   I know, is this a big deal?   Well, this is not Greenville.

We had a great day hangin' out  today after Teenie double flatted in the Shootout yesterday.  She started as the only woman in about a 80 person pack.   About 12 miles in, she flatted on the front.  We changed it and thought we would cut across and pick up the peleton but after about 2 miles her back flatted....oh well!

That pretty much finished us for the day for bike riding.

We are headed thru Gates Pass tomorrow.   This takes us out by Old Tucson Studios where most of the Western films were shot until about 1980.   We then pass through Saguaro National Park West.   You will make this ride if you attend camp in January.   It is an epic 70-75 miles depending on the exact route.   Roger the rocket is going and sunny skies with temps of 55F-65F are forecasted.

The whole town is getting excited about El Tour de Tucson, next Sat the 19th.   Bird hits here Wednesday to assemble custom made bunk beads and ride in El Tour.  Team friend Mark Schleish, from Kansas City, will be in Thursday.   Roger has a total of 8 riders.   We will have several thousand other 'friends' joining us.

We are in the house and comfortable.   There is long punch list, furniture is still arriving and we are fine tuning things.   We entertained last night and had a wonderful time.

Hope to see you out on the bike soon!

 

DuPont MTB Fun

This is one of the most beautiful times of the year to be in the woods. It really doesn’t matter if you’re hiking, riding a mountain bike or just standing still. The air is crisp and clean and the leaf color is beautiful. With this philosophy in mind, Ray, Brandon and I hit the trails for some fat tire fun at DuPont State Forest.

I won’t say which one of us screwed up the time change “move your clocks back” thing, because it really doesn’t matter. That’s one of the most enjoyable things about mountain biking to me. People are far less hung up on times, speed, distance, so a little delay in the plan is taken with a smile.

Since Ray and I are the least experienced DuPont adventurers, Brandon was keen to show us a dirt road “short cut” on the way to the venue. Let’s just say that was taken with a smile too. Big B swears it’s shorter, but, well, maybe if measured in MTB time. I will say that it was a very pretty drive and the road was totally new to Ray, so there was no reason to get excited. It also gave us time to scarf down a few more of Brandon’s pre-ride donut holes. Shhh, don’t tell coach we were eating donut holes. In the interest of full disclosure I should say that Ray resisted the little sweet treats the entire day. And me…well, I was forced to eat them by Brandon.

I was pleasantly surprised to find warm temperatures when we got to the Reasonover parking lot. Brandon was wearing shorts, but then again, he always wears shorts. I think it has to be snowing for him to wear knee warmers, so I was reluctant to take a bearing on how he dressed. I just couldn’t believe I could go without warmers on a November day in the mountains until I saw Ray rolling around with bare legs. You see, even after 25 years of riding and racing bicycles, I still take some cues from those around me when it comes to dressing for cold weather. You would think you could get it right after all these years.

We headed out in search of some gnarly single track and incredible scenery. I’m pleased to report that this is just what we found. The DuPont State Forest is an amazing place! The trails are very well made and taken care of. The trails are marked with attractive, easy to read signs that match the waterproof map you can get at any bike shop or ranger station in the area. And there are more beautiful sights and sounds to experience than you will have time to enjoy. If you haven’t been there, you have to change that soon. If nothing else, get your but to one of the many waterfalls you can get to in a flash on foot or on a bike. You’ll thank me when you get there.

Brandon led our adventure on his single speed 29er. That should not give you the impression that the trails are flat or easy. What you should be thinking instead is that Brandon is a beast on his S-Works SS! He’s like following a deer in the woods on that thing. Ray and I did our best to keep him in sight. However, back to that MTB attitude I mentioned before, no one really cared who kept up with whom. No one’s keeping score and we all had a blast in our natural playground.

Lunch was on our mind when we got back to the car and we had a plan to meet Sam and a friend at Hubba Hubba BBQ in Flatrock, NC. We packed up our stuff and headed back down the dirt road, but it was my turn to provide the “short cut.” I directed Ray to turn left on Pinnacle Mtn Rd. and we were off on our second journey of the day. Ray was stoked to be driving down another dirt road to an unknown destination, so we all just sat back and continued to enjoy the day. The cloudy morning had opened up into a bright sunny day and we were just continuing our adventure.

Eventually my short cut proved to get us where I said it would, but like Brandon’s route, we didn’t set any speed records on the way. No matter. This is mountain biking and we couldn’t think of anything better to do.

We met Sam and Deirdre in Flatrock to find the Hubba Hubba has adopted new winter hours and they are closed on Sundays. We instead ordered a couple pizzas from the bakery on the corner and continued to tell each other glory stories. We did take the more traditional paved way back to Greenville. We all had a fantastic time and I’m already thinking about my next adventure into the dirt. Thanks guys for an awesome day of fun and fitness. The question is when are we going to do it again?

Cross in the Park Race 2

Last Saturday Team Headstrong sponsor Carolina Triathlon hosted the second cyclocross race of its four race series at Cleveland Park in downtown Greenville. The weather was perfect with sunny skies and 60 degree temperatures, so Sam and I decided to pin on a number and make our cyclocross debut. It really wasn’t my first cross race, but I hadn’t raced a cross race in about 10 years. That’s a long enough time to remember how to do the skills and forget how bad it hurts. 2012 Teammate Debbie Gillespie (in her Kenda kit) raced also, but she’s practically an old pro at cross racing now.

Sam raced her mountain bike which is definitely recommended if you’re just getting into it. Having a special cross bike makes a difference on many courses, but you shouldn’t let the lack of a particular bike hold you back from exploring the edges of the sport. Cross bikes are lighter and therefore easier to carry over the barriers and up hills and obstacles too steep to ride, but mtb’s work well enough to have a good time. On some courses, they are rumored to be an advantage too.

Cyclocross racing is a sport made popular by road racing cyclists in the countries of northern Europe during the cold, sloppy winter months. It was a way of keeping fit and competing when the muddy dirt roads got covered with snow. It’s traditionally raced on a road bike with wider tires, lower gearing and cantilever brakes. It involves a mix of pavement and dirt, the latter often turning to mud in the wet winter months. Courses also typically include a few obstacles that can’t be ridden through or over. Stairs, steep muddy hills, logs, wooden barriers, etc. are all fair game for course designers. It’s definitely a mix of road and mountain biking and requires a fair bit of bike handling ability. It also requires some running and this is where the lighter, suspension-less, road-style cross bikes can provide an advantage.

Cross racers (and cross fans for that matter) are…well, fanatical nuts. They love the cold and mud. They love to make noise and cheer on the competitors. They sometimes dress up in funny costumes, and most of them enjoy beer. These are not requirements, but they certainly help make the racing fun. We didn’t have to deal with sloppy, cold conditions this weekend, but we were treated to some rabid cross fans cheering on the action.

I made my Team Headstrong debut this weekend in a borrowed kit and flew my new colors proudly. Neil Browne was nice enough to let me borrow his sweet Cannondale Optimo cross bike, so I didn’t have to lug around my mtb. This was an awesome decision until I started to miss the suspension comfort of my Giant Anthem while navigating the bumpier sections of the course.

Overall, it was a great day for Team Headstrong. We raced hard and gave it our all in front of the home town crowd. In the end, Sam finished 3rd in the women’s open race and collected a nice pair of DeFeet WoollyBully socks as a reward for her suffering. Debbie placed 2nd and scored some oversocks to protect her shoes. I had to settle for an inner satisfaction instead of a prize with my 5th place finish in the master’s race. It was a good effort and we supported Randy and Carolina Triathlon in the process. I encourage everyone to come out and enjoy the next 2 races in the series (Nov 12 and Dec 3 in Cleveland Park). If you don’t want to race, I know Randy can use some help with set up and tear down of the courses. Let’s hope for bright sunshine again for the remaining events.

Forethought in the Silly Season

Joe Friel calls this time of year, the Silly Season.  You may have fitness and you can enjoy it, just having fun.   This 'season' will last until January for most of us.   Forethought still comes into play if you are going to get out of bed in the morning and get going.  Here are just few things happening:

Nov 6 - Cross in the Park - Sam and Ray are declared and looking for support - go-greenevents.com/event/id/481

Nov 20 - Initial ROGCC Weekly Ride - http://library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1103244936438-24/ROGCC.pdf

Dec 3 - UWBL - initial ride on this perennial series.

Dec 9 - TEAM MEETING - Details to be announced.   UWBL ride on Sat after for you 'out of towners'.

Many TEAM rides are floating around on TEAM email!

So, use your forethought and come on out!

It's Not About the Bike

Teamwork is one of the qualities that is really hard to force on any group. It often has to grow out of a mutual respect and understanding between group members. Sometimes it works best when it extends beyond the core activity and develops organically through shared experiences. Last night we were working on a little Headstrong teamwork.

For those of you that don’t know, Cristina Lindsey is now a proud homeowner. Linz invited our expert chef (Ray) and expert eater (me) along with supporting cast members Emily, Brian and Sam over dinner last night and we had a blast. You know what they say…a team that plays together stays together…err, is that, a team that eats together stays together? OK, I made that up but you get the idea.

As I arrived at Linz’s house, I was seriously impressed that there was a sign in her yard proclaiming that her yard was the “Yard of the Month” in her neighborhood. I might be able to give Linz a few tips on the bike this season, but now I know that she can definitely give me some tips on yard maintenance and landscaping!

In the kitchen, Ray walked Linz through the preparation of his popular fish tacos and we all pitched in to lend a hand. Emily made some awesome guacamole for starters. Brian’s slaw was coming along great until he realized that his avocado dressing would have to be made using avo’s that were as hard as baseballs. He did not despair and hatched an ingenious plan to pulverize those little beauties in the blender. Let’s just say it wasn’t his best effort, but he made the avocado soup work in the slaw. I decided that instead of baking brownies at home I would mix up the batter, pour it into the pan and bake them at Linz’s house. Now that worked like a charm as the smell of baking brownies is hard to beat.

Let me just say that the meal was a huge success. Linz’s first attempt at fish tacos was very yummy and we all ate our fill. We ate a lot and laughed even more. We told some stories and relived some awesome experiences right there at the kitchen table. We were even treated to a retelling of Emily “The Hammer” Woods’ now infamous Mallet Wonking story from Master’s Nationals. That had us all crying just like it did in Bend. Man this is a fun group of people.

Headstrong Invades Issaqueena

The beautiful colors of the changing leaves always signal the end of the road racing season and the start of one of my favorite times of the year. Fall is here and there is no better way to enjoy the season than to hit the mountains.

Mountain biking is one of my all-time favorite pastimes, especially when Mother Nature kills all the bugs and poison ivy in the woods. Many Team Headstrong members enjoy a good dirt fest as well, so we all loaded up last Sunday and headed for the Issaqueena trail system in Clemson. Local resident Emily agreed to be our tour guide for the day so we wouldn’t get lost in the many miles of trails available. It was a fantastic day of riding.

Our group was about as mixed as you could get. Brandon showed us that he only needed one gear to blaze a trail on his tricked out 29er singlespeed. Ray, Brian, Randall & Nicole had new 29ers as well, while Sam, Debbie, John, Emily and I were on our trusty 26ers. It really didn’t matter what you were riding when the pedals started turning. We regrouped often and sampled an enormous selection of trails in the forest. Even after a flat tire, a few summer-salts, 1 or 2 missed turns and a botched stream crossing, we were all loving getting dirty.

I hadn’t ridden at Issaqueena in several years and I was pleasantly surprised to see that people have done some decent trail maintenance on some of the routes. While exploring the course normally used for downhill racing, we found some really cool man-made terrain park obstacles to ride…or should I say view, since some of them were a little intimidating for the average rider. My rule is that if you see man-made stuff, look first and ride second, because there can be some pretty insane stuff to ride. That didn’t stop several Team Headstrong members from showing their bravery in the saddle on some of the manufactured bits.

I wish we had more photographic evidence of our MTB adventures. It’s always a catch 22 situation. You want to ride and have fun, but you also want to document the experience by stopping to take photos. We didn’t do any stopping for photos this day. There was too much fun to be had by all. Maybe next time we’ll take a few shots for you. On second thought, just get a mountain bike and join us on our next dirt adventure.

Tucson Camp

This is the view that participants will enjoy on the veranda at Western HQ.   Teenie and I are bringing remodeling and furniture to a close.

Bird is completing bunk beds in spite of his bike crash and finger issue and will come out to assemble them in November.   Of course, he will take time out of these duties to race El Tour de Tucson with Teenie and I.

We have 13 team mates confirmed to take part in the  Jan 25-29 Camp in Tucson:



G
Bird
Emily
Wein
Linz
Brian T
Ray
Teenie
Bake
Sam
Nic
Schusler
DS (me)

The Camp will include 5 days of riding and 3 very epic rides:
*  Mt Lemmon
*  Gates Pass
*  The Shootout

We also shop, hike, learn some stuff and generally hang out!

Developing New Talent

Andrew Wambaugh is finding himself as an athlete at 12.   He is at Riverwood Middle School where he plays middy on the lacrosse team and cornerback in football.  He also plays the piano, snowboards and brings home a lot of A's.

In between he rides his bike.  Built a lot like Charlie Hough, Andrew sometimes he gets out on the street with his Dad or his Grandma!  He rides a mountain bike on local bike paths and trails.   We have our eyes on him for the future!

You might see him at SCTAC next summer!   Gotta keep the future in mind for TEAM headstrong.

STICKY BUNS AND ALL

The Saluda Bakery ride took us to sticky bun heaven. These sticky buns were large, layered with a thick coat of icing and cinnamon and made the plates they were plopped on look like dishes meant for a dollhouse. Now, Mel was a 'little' disgruntled because the sticky buns didn't undwind in a true spiral fashion, so he turned into Lady Mel Petit with his Halloween bonnet and fashionable pose. I heard he was going hunting after the ride??

The ride was a great time with teammates and friends. Sam and Steve, Debi and John, Mel, Emily, Brian, and I all enjoyed the beautfiul fall temperatures and the fellowship.

The question now.....Mel? Did you have a successful hunt after the ride?

A Life Style

Sometimes I forget that there are people who play sports and then there are people like Teenie, I and our TX kids who have chosen a lifestyle.

Friday
4:00 PM - We arrive at Houston IAH
6:30 PM - Aly (grandaughter) plays Lebarro on the Kingwood HS Volleyball team - wins 2-1 over Woodlands

Saturday
7:30 AM -  Teenie, Jim (son-in-law) and I take on the Starbucks Ride 3+hour ride.   Jim and I pull like crazy.  Teenie easily completes as the only woman.   They want to put her on the email list.
8:30 AM - Tammy (daughter) runs 3 miles and then attends a spin class.
10:00 AM - Andrew (grandson) has Lacrosse practice.
1:00 PM - Aly heads to HS for a pickup beach volley ball afternoon.
2:00 PM - Adam reports to HS for pre game.  He is outside linebacker for Varsity Kingwood Team and the Homecoming game is at 6PM.

We haven't even been here 24 hours!!

It is definitely a lifestyle that we have maintained for very long time.  Some people paint or play instruments???