How we brought home our tree

This morning had recovery ride written all over it and Mel had the perfect idea. We were going to pick up our tree by bike. It is great to be married to someone who really understands how much fun it is to use your bike as transportation as much as possible.

To make this successful I modified the BOB trailer to accomodate a tree.

Then we bundled up and headed out to Holcomb Farm CSA to pick up a locally grown tree. We also get vegetables from the farm every week during the growing season. It is wonderful to be able to pick up vegetables by bike and give Lars his tractor fix at the same time.

At the farm Lars spent a bunch of time playing with Bruno, a black and white cat, while we picked out a tree. We all enjoyed hot cider and gingersnaps from Lost Acres orchard.

Once we pick out the tree, Patty helped me tie it up so that it would fit on the trailer and then I used several tie down straps to securely fasten it to trailer. Mel got Lars back in the trailer and we headed out on our adventure home. It was fun to see the responses of passing drivers and people in their yards as we rode by with the tree.

It was a bit of a challenge to ride with the tree. When the tree swayed the bike was tough to control. We did make it home safely and were pretty excited to have gotten our tree without using the car.

Baystate Cyclocross Day 1

Yesterday the Roti family headed up to Sterling, MA for day 1 of the Baystate Cross races. As always it was sure to be an adventure. We packed up the stroller and Lars' bike and my GTR Cross Bike and made the 1.5 hour drive to the race. Lars took a short nap on the way up, which was good as he stayed up pretty late the night before playing with Noah from across the street.
If you live in the east you know that it was extremely windy and cool yesterday. As much as the wind can be a real challenge to ride into it was certainly welcome as it rained all day on Friday.
I lined up for the 35+ race with about 70 other racers including the National Champion and 3 of my road teammates from the Horst-Benidorm-Property Research Corp. team. The course had lots of wide open stretches that would work well for the extremely fit racers and not so well for those (like myself) that have good technical skills and not enough fitness.
Needless to say the race started off fast on a cinder track for almost a whole lap and then we headed up a muddy run-up. The Horst toes spikes came in extremely handy for this. I was able to make up ground on this section every lap as I did not slip at all. After the run-up was a fast downhill that led right into a horse jump that was about 2 feet high and then into a twisty section. This was the best part of the course for me. After that there were several sections of longer wide open stretches where I really struggled between lack of fitness and the wind. Thankfully in between the wide open sections were some more technical twisty and hilly sections where I could make up time.
Even though I didn't feel perfect it was a fun race and helped me work on my top end fitness.
Lars and Mel got to see the start and then he wanted to retreat to the car to warm up and as he told Mom, "stay in the car and play trucks all day." Even though they didn't get to see too much of the race it was great to have them there to support. I may do one more race next week depending on how training and the first week back at work from a week and a half off go.

2 Races in two days!

It has been an extremely busy fall thus far. I have really been focusing on using my time wisely so that I can get in better shape and actually be more competitive when racing. I am happy to say that all those rides pulling Lars in the trailer and early morning treadmill runs seem to have paid off abit. Last weekend I raced the Cheshire Cross race in Cheshire, CT and then the Spooky Bikes Cross Race in Easthampton, MA.

The Cheshire race turned out to be a blast of a course. Several people called it a mountain bikey course. It must have been because alot of the course was in the woods. I absolutely loved the course as it was a bike handler's course and there were two sizable run-ups. Hunter did a great job with the course. I loved the way he made the twisty stuff in the most technically difficult areas such as on a downhill that was both muddy and covered with pine needles! In the most recent races I have been close to last or last but on Saturday I managed to pull 12th place.

On Sunday the Spooky race turned out to be a similar course in terms of the twisty aspect. There was not as much elevation change which did not play in my favor. The guys with lots of gear grinding power fair much better on these courses. I did like the course. The barriers and run-ups were put in strategic areas that I never really got the right rhythm on. I spent most of the race playing cat and mouse with Dan C. He had my strengths and weaknesses figured out. I had been struggling in the sand section the whole race and he attacked me in the last sand section of the race to get a gap. I think that he was just plain stronger than me anyway!

We capped the weekend with lunch in Northampton with some friends at La Veracruzana Mexican Restaurant.

I will have to work on my cross technique some more for the remaining races this year and of course make sure that I keep up my early morning exercise during the week. It really makes a difference both mentally and physically.

Hartford Cross

What a great day for a cross race. Last night we had torrential rains that made for an extremely tough race. I got down to the course at 7am to make sure the course was in order after last night's rain. We set up most of the course yesterday. This was a smart move as it made it a whole lot easier to focus on registration.
As of last night we had 78 people preregistered. We ended up with about 180 people racing today.
The course turned out to be a good blend of muddy sections to grind (literally) through and fast smooth. It turned out that the rain did little to the course.
For the first cross race of the year for me, I felt OK. Especially since I got home at 11am yesterday after flying all night Friday to get home from Mexico in time to set up the course.
I will post some pics as soon as I get them.

Hike in the Whites

This past weekend Mel and Lars and I were up in Maine for a wedding. The day before the wedding I had the chance to do a hike in the White Mountains of New Hampshire with a couple of college friends, Pete and Greg.

We started in Gorham at the Appalachia trailhead and headed up the Airline trail. As it turns out the Whites were true to their name and it had snowed a couple of days before. This made for slow going. There was just enough snow to make it slippery and not enough for crampons or the like.

We covered Mt. Adams and Jefferson and then came back along Randolph Path.

With the snow walking downhill was even more treacherous that up. We put on our Yaktraks for the decent. These are a great tool in these conditions. We were all wishing that we put them on earlier in the day. However the rocky trails were not kind to them. I ruined mine and so did Pete. Luckily for Pete, he had just purchased his so he would be able to return them.

All in all we returned to the trailhead 9 hours later tired and happy.

Hartford Cross

Come check out or race at the Hartford Cross race this Sunday. For more info go to:

http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=8721

CTNEMBA Fall Fiesta

On Sat September 19th CTNEMBA held its annual Fall Fiesta at Gay City SP in Hebron CT. This event is our big fall event and also the annual meeting where we elect and/or elect the board.

It was a perfect day. It started out a chilly 45 deg. but ended up being 70 deg. We had several rides including a long ride that explored both Gay City and Case Mountain. We had 14 people on the ride and got to experience some of the best singletrack in the area with some dirt road sections in between.

The event also had rides for all abilities that were marked with arrows in the park and a skills clinic by Salem Mazzaway. Everyone came back with smiles on their faces.

The event concluded with a pizza lunch and then a raffle where almost everyone won something. We even had a raffle for a GPS.

The existing board was reelected. However, due to term limits, we will be changing some of the officers. I am at the end of my term and look forward to serving on the board next year in another capacity and also helping the next president be successful.

Once the cleanup was done a group headed out for a second ride! They were also gracious enough to take down the arrows. It is important to leave the park as we found it.

Our next event will be Take A Kid MTB day at the West Hartford Reservoir on October 3rd.

Check out http://www.ctnemba.net/ for more information.

Landmine Classic MTB

Two weeks ago I did my final single bike MTB race of the year. It was the Landmine Classic in Hingham, MA. After an extremely rainy Saturday the race promised to be wet. We had stayed a friend's house near Boston the night before so we didn't have too far to travel. So after a fantastic breakfast of pancakes and coffee we headed out. We got to the general area with enough time but the Google directions let me down. So after about 30 minutes of going by gut feel we got to the race with just enough time to get ready and line up.

The race course was a single 25 mile loop. I like this format. It helps keep the different classes separated better. We started out in the usual fast pace and quickly settled in as we reached the single track. The first part of the course was fast singletrack that was moderately technical. As the race progressed we got into some terrain that had relentless roots and rocks. This part, although I really like this kind of riding, really took its toll on me. Did I mention the hub deep water also? It made for some really tricky lines through wet roots and slimy bridges. Fortunately, I was able to keep the rubber side down for the whole race.

I didn't feel great on this day but sure had alot of fun riding this course. I will be back next year and maybe if I can find the fitness I will do the 50 miler.

Mel and Lars also had a great time riding the roads and dirt roads of the park.

Although this was my last single bike race I will be racing the VT50 on a tandem for the 3rd year on Sept. 27 and then look forward to a handful of cyclocross races.

happenings as of late

After my trip to Guaymas for work I have been flat out between work and NEMBA events.
I did race at Hodges Village Dam in Oxford, MA 2 weeks ago though. It turned out to be an extremely hard race for me even though there wasn't too much climbing. If you haven't ridden there it is great fun. The trails are not super tech and flow really well. This was the longest race of the year for me. It was 25 miles. Needless to say, after 18 miles I started to cramp up a bit and then by 22 miles I couldn't stand up anymore or my legs would cramp. It took me 2.5 hours but I finished and was happy just to complete the race.
The real highlight of the weekend was that my son Lars did his first kids race and had a great time. We had to hold him back at the start. He wanted to jump the gun! Apparently the race was too short for him as he had to keep riding for quite awhile after the race. It was great to see the excitement in his eye about racing.
Last weekend we hosted the IMBA Trail Care Crew in Milford, CT. Joe Woyciejes has been working hard to get the town's permission to restore a shared use trail system at Eisenhower park in Milford. It has been a challenging battle as there is no real precedent for what he wants to do and there are many groups with interest in the park. Kelly and Collins Bishop from IMBA and I sat down with Joe and put together a proposal for a pilot project to demonstrate NEMBA's skills in restoring a shared use trail. Then we met with Mayor Richitelli and several town committee members to discuss our proposal. The meeting went extremely well and the Mayor asked us to select the area for the pilot project and make it happen. It was a great success.
Even with all of this going on I also managed 2 group rides and to commute by bike 2 times this week. Tomorrow I look forward to riding the Tandem MTB with my tandem partner Mark to prepare for the Vermont 50 and then riding with Lars and Mel. On Sunday I will ride from Granby to Springfield and race the first cyclocross race of the season on my new GT Type CX cross bike. It built up nicely and came complete with the correct size bars and cranks. I sometimes have trouble with this as I have shorter legs and a long torso. Kudos to GT for thinking of me.....
Next week I will again commute to work at least 2 times.

Off to Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico for a week of work. Monday morning I hit the road early to visit our manufacturing plant in Guaymas. It is not the most fun time of the year to visit. The temp was in the mid 90s all week with high humidity. You don't want to be outside.

I spent my time catching up with my General Manager and reviewing the progress of the plant.

I did get in some exercise also. I opted not to bring my bike this time as it is just too hot late in the day to ride back to the hotel from the shop. Instead I figured that it was time to start doing a little running. As I sit here in the airport on Friday night I remember how painful it is to start running again after not for awhile. I keep vowing to maintain some running but I just love riding too much. Oh well....

I also went to visit a customer in Tijuana. The plane flight from Guaymas to Phoenix to San Diego was uneventful. The transition between flights wasn't. We arrived in Phoenix about 45 minutes late. I had about 40 minutes to get off the plane, get my luggage, pass through customs, go back through security and get to my gate. I ran the last stretch to the gate. Boy am I glad that I did! I got to the gate and the door was closed. I jogged up to desk and commented in a sad tone that I missed the flight. The flight attendant looked at me and said "I will open the door if ou run down the jetway and jump in the first available seat." I made it! That was the closest that I have ever come to missing a flight. I wish that I knew the name of the USAirways attendant to send a note to the company telling them how much I appreciate what she did.

I did have a nice view from my hotel room in San Diego, albeit I got to the room at 11pm and left at 6am.

I can't tell you much about Tijuana as we took a shuttle straight to the factory and then back across the border. It looked very similar to Nogales. Lot's of people and activity.

I was able to spend the late afternoon in San Diego's Gas Light Quarter and walking along the bay. It is a nice city. I would like to come back and explore southern California someday.

GT Force 1.0 | Cyclingnews.com

GT Force 1.0 Cyclingnews.com

Just saw this on Cyclingnews.com. Nice review. It has been quite awhile since I last posted. I have been laying low and trying to train. The only race I have attempted recently was the one at Domnarski Farm (www.domnarskifarm.com). It was an awesome course. I wish that I could say the same for my body. I did one lap of the two lap race and was totally exhausted. I began to wonder if I had contracted lyme disease or something. It turns out that I was just on the verge of getting sick. I had a cold the entire following week.

The next race that I will get out for is the Hodges Village Dam race. This is another really fun course. Here is the link about the race http://www.root66raceseries.com/page/10-winstead-woods-short-track.

I still have to post some pics of Mt. Rainier and will sometime soon.

Time in Seattle

I just got back from 2 weeks in the Pacific Northwest. What a great place for cycling! We had 2 weeks of sunny skies also! I guess that is completely unheard of at this time of year. Anyway, It was some good R and R. I spent the first few days with Lars while Mel was at the ACSM conference. We brought our bikes and the trailer with us so we would be able to explore without a car. In fact we did not even rent one until we left Seattle on the weekend.
Lars and I had a great few days exploring the bike paths of Seattle with a few breaks for parks, the Seattle Aquarium, REI (with a 4 story climbing wall), lunch with friends at the conference. We rode for at least 2 hrs each day.
On Saturday we headed on down to Portland, OR to visit one of Mel's college roomates. We had a great time hanging out with them and once again using our bikes as the main mode of transportation. Portland beats Seattle for a bike friendly city. I just couldn't get used to motorists giving cyclists the right of way. I found myself trying to wave on cars many times when I should have been going. We also visited many parks and had some great food in the local restaurants of Portland that serve dishes made from local produce primarily. It was nice to eat out with some great food and not the airport travel food.
On Monday we headed out to Mount Rainier and I will leave that for another post. Ok, one little teaser, there was 10 feet of snow at the Paradise Lodge where we stayed.

UMASS MTB Race

Training is starting to pay off. I felt pretty good last weekend at the Orchard Assault race. I beat a few people that had beaten me previously. My training method of riding to work and one MTB ride on Wed night seems to be starting to payoff.

I also think that riding with Lars in the trailer up 7 mile climbs tends to help also! It also takes your personal best time on the climb and almost doubles it.

Looking forward there are some great events coming up. CTNEMBA is hosting a trail school on Saturday May 16th in Redding, CT. See www.ctnemba.com for the details. On Sunday is the Winsted Woods race. This is one of my favorite races. It has some great technical sections. The GT Zaskar Pro will handle them perfectly. I really love how nicely the lightweight carbon frame handles the technical terrain.

Tomorrow night is the CTNEMBA board meeting at CFPA headquarters in Rockfall, CT. See our website for details. We will be riding at Wadsworth falls before the meeting and then meeting around 7 pm.

Time flies

I can't believe that it has been two weeks since I last posted! It has been a busy two weeks. I have been doing the usual training by riding to work and the weekend family rides.

Last weekend I raced the Winding Trails race in Farmington, CT. Lars and I got there early to get a good spot for the Dirt Coalition tent. We were 100 feet or so from the start line. Once we got the tent set up we camped out under it and had lunch. As usual Lars used his outgoing personality and smile to draw people over to the tent. We talked to several NEMBA members about the goings on in their area of the state and fielded a bunch of questions about GT. As we reached the hottest point of the day (92 degrees!) I got ready for the race. When Mel arrived (she rode from home), I headed for a lap of the course. It was in good shape and would be a fast day. The race started out quickly. During the second lap of the race the heat started to take its toll on me. I was going through the usual thoughts of dropping out but that wasn't going to happen today. As I was descending one of the final hills of the course, I could see Mel and Lars in the corner and Lars yelled "Go Dada!" That is just what I needed to get remotivated and recharge for the remainder of the race. All in all I improved over my finish at Hopbrook. I came in 18th. If I can maintain my steady climb in finishing spots I should be in the top ten before the season is out.

Cat 1 Start H3 | Root 66 Bunny Hopbrook Dam on CyclingDirt

What a race! I guess that it is fitting that the Connecticut MTB season would start with an epic race. It was not epic by distance but by conditions. On Saturday night the forecast was calling for the rain to stop late morning. The forecasters really missed this one. The roads were almost dry mid morning and the rain started again just as we got to the race course. It was 43 degrees and pouring rain as the racers gathered!

About 25 racers lined up for the start in the Cat 1 30-39 age group. Even with the weather it looks like attendance will be up this year. I had heard rumors from others that MTB is getting more popular again.

You can see a video of the beginning of the course at the link below:

Cat 1 Start H3 Root 66 Bunny Hopbrook Dam on CyclingDirt

Posted using ShareThis

It didn't look to bad in the video but it got slicker and slicker. The soil on the course had a fair amount of clay in it making for a very slippery race. Considering the amount of high intensity training that I have had this year I felt pretty good. I ended up 21st. Now I have a baseline to improve upon. It has been several years since I last put in the miles necessary to finish in the top 5. I am now figuring out how to balance work, family with a young child, and riding. I can do it but I will have to manage my time well.

I have to compliment GT bicycles for making an awesome product. The Carbon Zaskar that they gave me when I signed on to the Dirt Coalition team handled flawlessly considering the conditions. I do not miss my full suspension bike one bit. It is extremely light and nimble. The carbon does a nice job of damping the bumps while still being stiff.

I did have one mechanical issue. The front Deore XT disc brake kept intermittently losing pressure. I have to look into this today. It slowed me a bit during the race but certainly my fitness is the limiting factor.

The next race is at Winding Trails in Farmington, CT. Come out and see the Dirt Coalition team members and check out an awesome venue for a MTB race.

Now with a beautiful day off from work I need to get outside for some active recovery.

Help my Dirt Coalition Clothes have been stolen

I did find the culprit!

recovery from hiking in the Whites

After the hike in the Whites I was pretty beat up. Carrying a 40lb pack and hiking is quite the departure from cycling. I did still manage to get right into my spring routine. I rode to and from work on Wednesday (45 mi.) as my first commute to work after the time change. It really changes your mindset when you get to ride home in the daylight. Even though I was tired when I got home I had certainly decompressed from a day of lengthy management meetings.

Friday night the GT clothing arrived and Lars promptly took his stab at wearing my clothing. The jersey was abit big but he seemed to like it.

Then on Sat morning at 7:29am the bike arrived! Not that I was tracking it at all. By 10 I was on the bike putting it through its paces. Nice bike! I will have to put a longer stem and riser bars on it to make it fit perfect. It sure did ride well.

On Sunday it was Lars and I together all day so we spent some time playing in the yard and cleaning the garage. After lunch we headed out for a good road ride. I put him in the trailer and spent nearly 4 hours pedaling. Great training. Nothing like an extra 40 pounds behind you as you are going up hill.

Tomorrow I will head out on the GT again to test the new bar combo.

Weekend in the White Mountains

Last weekend, a good friend of mine, Tim Rourke and I headed up to the White Mountains of New Hampshire for a weekend of backcountry hiking and camping. We both left work early on Friday and headed up to Pinkham Notch to stay at Joe Dodge lodge (one of the Appalachian Mountain Clubs lodges, http://www.outdoors.org/). Since Tim had never seen the Mountain Washington Hotel we made a quick stop there so he could see it. It is a pretty amazing hotel as well as being historically significant. It is the site of the Bretton Woods monetary conference in 1944 when the World Bank was created (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Washington_Hotel). After that we made a quick stop at the Highland Center in Crawford Notch. It is another of the AMC's lodges. It was built with the environment in mind. You can see more about it on the AMC website.

We eventually got to Joe Dodge lodge around 6:30 pm and checked into our room bunk room and went to dinner. After dinner we reviewed our gear one last time to make sure that we had everything and chatted with our roomate who had summited Mt. Washington and come back down in the same day. This is a strenuous hike in the summer let alone in the winter.

Saturday morning we went to breakfast at the lodge and then headed out on the trail. We chose to follow the Lost Pond trail from Pinkham Notch to the Wildcat Ridge trail which would take us up and over all 5 Wildcat peaks and eventually into Carter Notch where we would spend the night in a hut. The lost pond section of the trail was pretty mellow. That all changed as soon as we hit the Wildcat Ridge trail. We had to stop at the first pitch upward to put on our crampons. The snow is still about 5 ft deep with a crust that will sustain your weight on top. As we clawed our way up the first section of trail to Wildcat E we came across a group that was also climbing up except they also had their cocker spaniel. He had not problem with the steepness and ice!

Once we got over the first peak the trail rolls up and down for several miles with some great vistas of Mt. Washington and the rest of the Presidential range. It was strange to hike through the woods for several hours and them pop out at the top of the ski lift for Wildcat ski area. Not only was it strange but there is also an old lift house at the top of the mountain that looks like an abandoned building. Its too bad that it has not been taken down. We quickly got through this section on to more pleasant trails. After about 6 hours we got to a vista where we could see the Carter Notch Hut in the valley below. It is quite the sight as there is also a sizable rock slide called the Rampart almost next the the hut.

After hiking for several hours, the downhill to Carter was pretty tricky. The snow was extremely deep and both of us would occasionaly break through the crust and that leg would sink into the snow up the hip. This is called postholing. It gets old quickly... We made it down in one piece around 5pm. Just in time for dinner. The hut is full service in the summer. In the winter guests are free to use the stove to cook their own dinner. We had some wonderful pesto pasta that Tim had cooked up. The dining area is a great place to hang out after a long hike with a wood stove warming the area and all kinds of interesting people to talk to. One group had a whole gourmet dinner going complete with steak and tofu dishes and wine!

After a restful night sleep in the bunkhouse, we had some oatmeal and coffee, took a few pictures of the hut and the sunrise and headed down the 19mile brook trail. We opted for the easier hike out after our somewhat epic hike the day before. It took us about 2 hours to get to the trailhead on Route 16. Since there was no one around in the parking lot to hitch a ride up to Pinkham Notch with we started hitchhiking. After about an hour with no success, George who is the caretaker in Carter Notch came down the trail and gave us a ride back to Pinkham. Thanks George!

We got changed and then headed to the Flatbread Pizza Company in North Conway to top off our trip with some of the best pizza that I have ever had.

On the way home we drove the Kancamangus Highway over to I-91. The Kanc is a beautiful drive, especially in the winter. We saw a couple of cyclists working their way up the lengthy climb. Normally, I would have been a bit jealous but with miles of hiking behind us I didn't care.

In Woodsville, NH we stopped for a cup of coffee just in the nick of time. The Dunkin Donuts was in the process of closing for the day because they did not have enough employees to stay open all day. You would think this would not be an issue given the state of the economy.

All in all it was a fantastic weekend. The weather couldn't have been better with temps in the 20s and brilliant sun with no clouds. A perfect way to move into spring.

spring is almost here

The past couple of weeks have been really hectic. I have been able to continue my weeknight combo of Wii and trainer and weekend hikes and rides. This past weekend was a mixed bag for me. On Saturday, CTNEMBA host a chainsaw safety course. It was a really good session. I was bummed about the fact that it was 65 degrees and could not ride but the quality of the training made up for it.
Sunday was a tough day for me. We had to put down one of our cats. Monty was a great cat and quite the trooper. We had been treating for cancer for the past 4 years! He was my first pet after getting out of college. Fortunately, I was able to get out for a hike and then 40 miles on the road to help clear my head and give me some good training.
I saw that our bikes will be shipping soon. I am really looking forward to that. The race season is coming up quickly. The first race is April 11th. I hope the mud is gone by then.

GT contract arrives

I received my GT contract today. It is pretty exciting. I have never had a contract like this from a bike company before. I am really looking forward to representing both GT and NEMBA at the races this spring and summer. I can't believe that the first race is April 11th! Here is a pic of the bike that I will be riding.

I have been a bit lazy with the blog posts recently. Things have been extremely busy at work. Last week my Sales Manager was on vaca and this week my Quality Manager is at our plant in Mexico. Needless to say I have still been getting in the time on the bike. After my epic day a couple of weeks ago I have spent a bunch of time on the trainer and hiking. Two weekends ago I did my normal combination of walking a bunch of miles with Lars in the stroller and then an intense workout on the trainer for an hour. However, that Sunday I ventured out for some time in the hills also. I live at the base of a seven mile climb. It is a great way to humble yourself. It took me about 2 minutes longer than normal to reach the top but I blame it on the cyclocross tires on my bike. Either way it felt good to get a nice long climb in my legs.
This past weekend I worked most of the day so I had to scramble abit to get a workout in before our friends that own Tolland Bicycle came over for dinner. I did get in about 4 miles of walking with Mel and Lars and then a 1 hour trainer workout. It is nice to see the power output going up every week. Yesterday, I headed out into the woods at the Maclean Game Refuge with on of my best friends, Ted D., for a cross country excursion. We do these awesome hikes that end up being a combination of trails and bushwhacking. They also end up being very hilly. He knows how to get into shape! Even though my legs were a little tired I geared up and hit the trainer as soon as Lars went down for his nap. Another good hour.
Tonight I tried something new. Mel got the Wii Fit for her birthday from her brother Mike. It is really cool. I am not a video game person at all but with the training side of it I am a bit of a convert. It will also be a bit of a competition with the Wii age. I have lost 4 lbs in the past week and my Wii age is down to 39. I need to do more cross training...

Last week's training

I managed to get in two nights on the trainer last week even though I had daddy duty for a good part of the week. I just felt motivated. In fact I was so motivated that I got on the trainer at 8pm on Thursday night to ride. I usually go to sleep around 9 :30....

I had planned to get in a good ride on Sat with nice weather and all. It did not happen. We were doing some server upgrades at Horst Engineering that took longer than expected. They were successful though.

I made up for it on Sunday. I had to go into work again for Kevin to get in and finish the updates. I figured that I would maximize my time and ride to and from the shop. Sounds like good time management right? Well, just as I left home it started to sprinkle. I figured that I would just tough it out. The forecast was for the low 50s and sunny. Plust, it was only a few drops and the road was wet from melting snow anyway.

Wow! I was wrong about that. About 20 minutes into my 1:15 ride to the shop the rain really started to come down. I was beyond the point of turning back as I had to meet Kevin at 10am and it was 9:15 already! I just kept pushing along. When I got the the I291 bridge where I usually take the bike path across the Connecticut River, I discovered that it had not been plowed. Since we still had a good 8 inches of snow I had to find an alternate route. I put my navigation skills to work and headed into the North End of Hartford taking turns where they seemed right. They were! Kevin had just pulled up when I arrived soaking wet and freezing.

Fortunately, we have a shower at the shop. I took a hot shower and got some tea and oatmeal while Kevin got to work. I attempted to dry my clothes with a portable heater while we were there. About 2.5 hours later he was done. Now it was time to put on damp clothes and head home. The sun had come out and it had warmed up nicely. It should be a nice mellow ride home...Not!

Since the storm pushed through the wind had kicked up. I was headed north and the wind was out of the north at about 20mph. Now, this ride was becoming a mini epic. I finally made in home in 1:45. It normally takes about 1:10. Everything was still dry and my feet were numb. I quickly got in the shower to warm up. My feet stung as the hot water hit them. I guess this is what it takes to get fast again.....

I managed to get in another hour on the trainer yesterday. I noticed that I can ride at a higher power output than a week ago. I guess the limited training must be working.

Unexpectedly, I also got in a 4 mile walk with Lars after riding. He has been under the weather and really wanted to ride in the stroller. I seized the opportunity and walked to the health food store and the library. I would have ridden but the roads are treacherous for a bicycle right now.

Today, after a long day at work, I was motivated to ride the trainer so I did another moderate spin for 30 minutes. We are supposed to get more snow tonight so it will probably be the trainer for me for the next few days.

Training and traveling

I have committed to training or should I say riding more than last year. This opportunity to represent GT/NEMBA is both exciting and motivating. Lars is now old enough that it is becoming easier to get out and get exercise on a regular basis and I am finally learning to be better organized about training. Last week I was in Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico to visit our plant that is in the midst of moving from Nogales to Guaymas. I figured that since it would be nice and warm I would bring my travel bike. I got in 50 miles of MTB in the 3 days that I was there. Apparently there is quite a network of trails there. Now I have a bigger incentive to learn spanish.

Over the weekend I spent several hours on the trainer as it was in the low teens. We also did a family hike.

This past week I didn't get much opportunity to exercise. Catching up from a trip is always difficult. For me it usually means working 60-70 hours.

I am making up for some of it this weekend though. Yesterday we did a hike at McClean Game refuge. It was strenuous to say the least. I was pulling Lars in the chariot with the skis on it and the 1inch of icy crust on top of 10 inches of snow made for a great workout. It is great training and Lars absolutely loves being outside. I also had a chance to get on the trainer for 1:15hrs when Lars took his nap. It was a good chance to catch up on some of the week's episodes of the Jon Stewart show on hulu.com. I was definitely tired from the hike but still had a good workout.

Today I plan on hiking for and hour and then hitting the trainer again. I checked out the roads abit yesterday and there is still quite a bit of ice here in Granby. I am sure that it is worse in the hills.

First Post of the year

I have been reading several blogs for a quite awhile now and finally got an incentive to start my own. I will be racing mountain bikes for GT bicycles Dirt Coalition Team this year and will need to provide race updates on a regular basis. This will be my first time racing directly for a bike company. I have been racing for shops since '92. It was the incentive that I needed to get in race shape again. I spent the past year or so riding with my now 15 month old son, Lars, in the trailer on the back of my bike. It has been great fun and you can be sure that I will incorporate it into my training.