Summer has arrived

Hi, Greetings from the heart of summer here in Tucson. It has been over 100 deg. F for most of the past two weeks. That means it has been hot. I can hang with it till about 105, then it really gets to me. The other problem has been that it has also been humid getting ready for the monsoon. That means I am twice as drained. Mostly menas you need to learn from the lizard. Lay low during the day and be active from dusk till dawn. Only problem here is that I need to do stuff during the day and sleep at night. Good think dawn comes early here. In Arizona we don't do day light savings time, so the sun is up around 5:30am or sooner. And then it is hot by 6:30 or 7:00 so that getting up takes on some extra urgency to avoid extreme heat stress and dehydration. My person favorite is getting dehydrated.

So inspite of the obstacles, I have actually gotten out and ridden quite a bit lately. Something interesting about being out there early and alone in the heat. Kind of fun. I've even gotten some intervals in. That is hard though, because I am usually so thirsty by the time I get home I end up spending the next four hours drinking constantly to try to catch up. Mind you I ride with a 100 oz Camelbak and usually drink though that after two and a half hours. There is an interesting article in the latest Bicycling about the differing technology approaches of various teams competing in the Tour de France. Allen Lim with Garmin talks about how much energy is used to stay cool and that to speed recovery you need to cool down quickly after riding. I usually hop right in the shower with only the cold water on. It works OK, but the water isn't really cold. It is ground temperature so it is coolish, refreshing but certainly not cold. I am considering how to build an ice vest to aid cooling my core down. It hasn't been perfected yet. Maybe soon.

Speaking of Rodale press, the last issue of Mountain Bike had a review of the GT FORCE CARBON. http://www.bicycling.com/gear/detail/0,7989,s1-16-84-2212-0,00.html They like it a great deal. Doesn't surprise me, since my Marathon Carbon is fantastic and I imagine the Force is more of a good thing. I am considering if I need one. I would love to see how it rails around the local trails.

till next time

Flagstaff Finale

The last race of the Arizona Series was this past Saturday up in Flagstaff, AZ. Great riding up there at 7,000 feet. Up there being the operative word here. The course was on the Dry Lake Hills and Ft. Valley Trail systems, in the Coconino National Forest. This is easily the best race course of the entire series. Just fantastic riding and super fun. Technical descents, long climbs, twisty single track, it had it all.

The race started at an hour early at 10:30 AM to avoid the expected heat, but it was cool around 70, unlike in years past. It was still the right decision with what the course had to offer. I got the GT tent set up at the entrance to the venue next to the kids race course. Great location:

I was really hoping for a top 5 for the last race of the series. I positioned myself on the front line before the start and felt pretty decent. I had felt horrible the whole week before, so this was a relief. Once we got started I was able to sprint into the lead which I know would be short lived. It was an uphill start into the wind, so others were happy to let me lead. Then once it turned away from the wind I was swarmed and passed by 3 people before the first single track that lead to a rock desecent then a slight uphill to an even longer uphill. After the single track there was a fire road climb. I'm unsure of the distance, but it was about 45 minutes of climbing at that point in and out of the sun. Even thought it was cool, I was sweating pretty heavily. I felt descent, but couldn't bridge up to those ahead of me. Unfortunatley everyone wanted top 5 this race. After the climb there was long off camber descent with big drops. The Marathon Carbon ate it up with ease. Man that bike just rips descents. I was able to pass the guy ahead of me, and make up a place, but there was another hour of racing to come. There were more climbs and more descents, but I never made contact with the leaders again. I actually started to feel strong toward the end, but I didn't have enought left to make to the top five. I had to settle for 10th. A bit of a disappointment, but I guess that's racing. I did the best I could, and that is how it shook out. I need to find some more long climbs to train on to prepare for some more high altitude races later this season.

Wish me luck with my training, because I really want that top five somewhere......

White Cycling Shoes - Redux

I got my new pair of white cycling kicks this week. What can I saw, they are WHITE! Wow, I was a little surprised when I opened the box and they were just so, so, WHITE. But it's what I said I wanted so no backing down now. As you can see I decided upon the Sidi Dragon. They fit very well and are comfortable, so that is awesome. They are also a bit dirtier then this picture indicates, so that is good too. I'm excited to have them for the race next weekend. It is the final in the Arizona Series and in Flagstaff again. Different course, but more similar to the Flagstaff Frenzy of a few weeks ago. I'm glad it wasn't today. I felt pretty tired when I rode today, so hopefully I will be feeling more energetic next week. ..... we shall see.