Made A New Friend Today

Jeret Peterson stopped by the shop today.  I got him hooked-up on a spanking new 2010 Cannondale CAAD9 1.  Jeret is going to be in town for about a month.  He will be at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista working on strength training.  Of course with his new steed he'll also be working on his cardio!

Don't know Jeret Peterson?  Well I didn't either..until TODAY.  He is a two-time Olympian Aerial competitor.  He's a real chill guy and you'd never guess he's a bad-ass trickster.  Check out this video and his fan page!  Let's wish him lots of luck at Vancouver!!

Como Street Training Ride

90 miles 3,000 feet of gain. An urban ride and still averaged 20 mph for the day -- that's total time not rolling time. I'm quite proud of that.






First things first-- The ride starts at 800 am NOT 830am as I have seen on some websites. I left the house at 7:26 and had to hammer out of the gate to make the meet. I was aching from yesterday's Food Park ride. So I didn't get the benefit of an appropriate warm up.

I got to the start at 805am and I could see the the mass of riders overflowing from the bike lane up the road. I had to make the decision then and there will I chase and totally smoke myself even if I get on? Or just let them go and do my own thing. I decided to chase because I could see a rider about a block away and the pack was at least 3 blocks ahead of him. I caught him and asked, "YOU WANNA CATCH COMO?! THEN LET'S WORK TOGETHER!"

We worked well together and we caught the main field. I thanked him for his help and he looked at me and said "there is no way I would have caught them alone no Thank you!" And just like that I had made a friend for the day LOL!

The ride was fast (my perception). I just don't ride that hard alone. But I need the intensity this month and next. I was hanging tough and then we hit Santiago Canyon. I got dropped. I then got on with some stragglers and rode hard with them to the finish. Someday I'd like to hang in to the finish but it's probably not likely. I'm going to have to come to terms with that when the time comes that I know I'm as fit as I can be and the pack is still going up the road away from me.

I also want to send a shout out to Jamie Paolinetti. At the end of the Como Street Ride I asked to take a picture for my son. As I mentioned yesterday my son has been watching the Hard Road DVD for about 1 1/2 years. I can't wait to show him the pictures of both Jason Bausch and Jamie. And then totally unexpected Jamie gave me a copy of PRO isn't that freakin' cool? Yes it is. Thanks Jamie!!!



Jamie Paolinetti




Entire workout



Leaving home late and chasing the main field



Como Street Detail



Extra miles after Como Street

SCREEN SHOTS FROM MY POWER TAP POWER METER DOWNLOAD ON TRAINING PEAKS SOFTWARE

Food Park Training Ride

I had a good day on the bike. The last half of August and September is about intensity as I peak for Furnace Creek 508. I did Food Park for the first time. There were a few sketchy riders and they ran a few stops signs in the residential area. In my opinion, the right turns on red were questionable as well. I do have concerns about the overall safety of this ride. I am a huge proponent of safety on the bike. When riding alone I stop at EVERY stop sign and every light. I have an internal conflict with the way groups ride in urban areas. On one hand, I don't want to be unsafe and on the other I don't want to get dropped or cause a crash if I'm the only one stopping at a traffic control. I guess that's why most weekends you can find me riding solo in the mountains.

As an Ultra cyclist I don't ride in packs. Many of my races break up pretty early and the other races are non-drafting. I felt my pack riding skills were fine. In other words I felt comfortable and not the sketchy rider people had to yell at -- "hold your line!". My sixth sense for the flow of the pack was spot-on. I didn't miss a thing. I ignored many attacks that I sensed wouldn't amount to much but wasted energy.

What helped the most was marking Jason Bausch the whole ride. His experience helped me make efforts at the right times and conserve at others. Even when attacks went up the road he was steady. I learned a lot from him today.

JB was gracious enough to take a picture with me. I took the picture for my son. My not quite 5 year old son has been watching the Hard Road DVD for about 1 1/2 years. He loves the soundtrack and always remembers the roll call of the teams-- Mercury seems to stick out for some reason.

After my shower and my recovery meal it was time to put on my Skins Travel and Recovery tights. I'm planning on doing Como Street tomorrow. A fast recovery and fresh legs will be necessary to keep up with those boys.











TRAINING PEAKS SCREEN SHOT OF MY POWER TAP DOWNLOAD-- 534 WATTS FOR ONE MINUTE

149LBS OR 67.59 kg my

7.90 w/kg for one minute a new PR.

After looking at the graph I am quite sure that my 1 min number would actually be higher than 534 depending on the situation. I remember distinctly what happened. There was an attack which I didn't follow so I surged but backed off. Then I saw JB go and that was the right time to go. As you can see there was

an initial surge to 672 watts

then a pull back down to 240 watts

then another surge up to 885 watts with 10 sec avg at 743 watts

then the last 30 secs (when I should've been fading) I still put out a 553 avg.

ALSO HAD A MAX SPRINT OF 1077 WATTS OR 15.93 w/kg and a 5 sec of 995 watts or 14.72 w/kg good for mid cat four on the Power Profile chart.

Jure Robic stops by...

the shop. Team Race Across America (RAAM) starts Saturday June 17th. Come down to the start line and cheer them on. The start line is the pier in Oceanside California. I'll be there with my son. Would it be corny to wear my RAAM finisher's jersey?

Jure Robic has been stopping by the shop the last three years. Funny how he always remembers I did 2 person relay RAAM back in 2007. Jure is a four time winner of RAAM. I wish him luck and nice tailwind.

Here is Jure Robic's blog

Floyd at the shop

Floyd Landis stopped by today. I told him he got a raw deal! I also told him that I still believed he was clean!! He said he appreciated my sentiments. I am so excited to see him race again!!!!

Training for Funace Creek 508 Update

Training for the 508 is coming along nicely. I have extended my commute to 45 miles each way. That's 90 miles a day (with an 8 hour work day in between) and 270 miles for the week before the weekend starts.

Today's commute was plagued with little annoyances. The morning started off great. I got enough sleep the night before and my legs only ached a little from the Tuesday night Criterium I do in Long Beach. One hour of high intensity effort. So less than 12 hours later on the bike again.

1. I drive 20 miles to my commute start point. I really needed to go to the restroom and didn't have any idea where to pull over.

2. Well as I am thinking about where to pull over I realize I LEFT MY BIKE AT HOME!

3. My iPod wasn't working yet it was fully charged

4. I had a headwind and warming up I said to myself "oh this is going to be a long ride"

5. I have four saddle sores now and they began to cause discomfort right from the start of the ride.

6. I flatted on Interstate 5 South from Las Pulgas to Harbor Drive in Oceanside. First time I have ever flatted on my commute on the 5 freeway.

But the day got better. On my way through Oceanside I ran into Steve Hegg . Then I ran into my friend Jason. We rode together and he gratefully listen to me whine about my ride. I then get to the start of the "Camp Pendleton Ride" and see some other friends Kenny Souza and John Howard.

As I'm shaking John's hand he says "Hey Mr. Ultra Distance Cyclist!" I was stunned and humbled by his comment. I replied "John you are the the Ultra Distance Cyclist." Then we got into a discussion of when I was doing RAAM Solo and why I didn't participate in 2008 RAAM. It was good talking to one of the guys you started this whole crazy RAAM thing. He is really a down to earth guy.

Anyway I eventually made it to work and then the doldrums of the day began for sure. Except when Scott Tinley came in for a bike fit.

If you have read this far I am beginning my search for crew members for Furnace Creek 508. If you are interested send me a line.

ALSO IF YOU SUBSCRIBE YOU WILL BE KEPT UP TO DATE ON MY DOINGS!

Tinker Juarez Sighting

While Brandy and I were training on Glendora Mountain Road (8 mile climb avg 5.8%) We ran into Tinker Juarez climbing the same climb that I was training--how cool is that?