Rock N' Road's Diva Night, and a jog

Last night I had the honor of speaking at the Rock N' Road Diva Night event in Mission Viejo in front of a lot of amazing women! I really enjoyed seeing such a great group of ladies getting together for some food, drink, and conversation and totally excited about cycling!

Justin was nice enough to shuttle me over after work and help me by working the computer during the presentation.

Thanks to all the divas (and devo's) that came out!

I don't have any shots "during", but here's what he was able to get during the festivities!







Here's my current dream bike :drool:



Really hope I'm able to make it west for the next one since it was so much fun!

Also, haven't done much riding this week (weather, gym, life, etc.), but I talked myself into a JOG...



Stoked I wasn't too sore, either.

Looking forward to this weekend since we've got a big Sunday ride on tap and Luke's wedding to attend tomorrow!!

Happy Friday!

(Big) wheels keep on turning...

Finally got back on dirt this weekend! Even though I felt like I had a boat anchor attached on Saturday, it was great to get dirty again. I miss long days in the mountains, and always enjoy the extreme fatigue and mental un-acuity that come with many hours in the saddle.

A small group of us (Justin, Eric, and Joy, with honorable mention to Al who joined up after climbing up the highway from Redlands) took off from just above Mentone for the climb up to Angelus Oaks on Saturday. Sky was gorgeously blue and clear, and the temps were pretty perfect for a day in the mountains.







Fall leaves. Yes, in So Cal. Crappy pic.



Big wheels, part 1.



Lunch



Courtesy of Justin:







I've determined that Armadillo Captain 29er tires do not really roll. I mean, they do, just with extreme effort.

I hadn't ridden a 29er in awhile, really, nor had I done a long day on the bike, so I wasn't sure if it was the slowness of the big wheels (haha), the fact that I was somewhat fatigued from the gym, or just general lack of fitness that left me feeling winded on every slight incline.

I somewhat redeemed myself on Sunday pushing my new SS gear (29x18 - bitchin') with faster tires and had a blast.

See you beeshes later.







He sings the songs that remind him of the good times...he sings the songs that remind him of the better times



It's about time



Single and lovin' it.



Big wheels, part deux



Going...down?









Killer weekend on the bike(s). I realized on Sunday that I love the Santa Ana's, and that singlespeeding is a total blast. I was pretty worked, but it just is so... je ne sais que. I don't want to say "pure". But, it's just the rider, the bike, one gear, and brakes. You can sit, you can stand, and you can brake. It's just you, the trail, and sweet, sweet suffering. I hated and loved every second of it.

No SS for me any time soon, though. Gotta train my mind and body to get ready for my next big off-season project.

BTW, can you over-reach in the off-season? No, really?

Happy Monday.

Transition

Well, so it's that time of year. For most racers it's "that time of year, again". For me, not ever having trained before, I've never had an off-season. Or a period of transition. Last year I went right from my 12 Hour race to prep and then base shortly after to get ready for 2009.

Transition has been...weird.

Justin and I took a full 6 days off the bike. Instead of catching up on sleep and doing a lot of relaxing, I drank too many beers, too much wine, and fell behind on sleep and rest!

Sunday we got back on the bikes, and also rode Tuesday, Wednesday, and today. The weather has been pretty good this week (low 70s), but windy as all get out!

Monday we picked up some brews from BevMo



I'm ready for my close-up



We chilled and opened the Stone/Ken Schmidt/Maui Kona Coffee/Coconut Porter/Macadamia trilogy Monday with dinner



Now, I'm not a beer connoisseur, so excuse my terminology, but, here goes:

First draw of the acronym from hell beer was...lackluster. For a $7 12oz I expected a lot more. It was smoothe, sort of like a pale beer, and wasn't bursting with flavor. Needless to say, I was somewhat disappointed. I sat mine down and went back to work finishing up dinner prep. Justin continued to sip at his, and offered that it got better after a few tastes.

He was right. As we got deeper into it, it did evolve and wound up quite flavorful and tasty. Became much more rich and deep as we drank and savored the small 12oz bottle. No, it wasn't becauase we were getting drunk, either, even if it is 8.5%, in 12oz that isn't enough to buzz Justin!

We did get a bit of a laugh about it, since I was asking Justin if "okole" meant "butt" (as noted on Pua's Okole Stuff chamois cream). He asked why, and I said the writing on the back of the bottle ended "Okole maluna" and I couldn't figure out what they were saying "butt" about. He was like, "What are you talking about? Mine ends with cheers." Well, it seems that every bottle has one of 3 text's on it (I'm guessing).



I google'd it, and it actually translates to "Bottoms Up!"

I did very much enjoy the beer when all was said and done, however, at the cost, I think I'd probably choose something else for the next go.

I was sad to find on Tuesday that Costco was out of blueberries. So, back to strawberries I went. Not my first choice for breakfast fruit mostly because they require a lot more prep work than blueberries (rinse and store vs. rinse, chop, clean up chopping materials, store).

I'm also sad that my mug is half-size. Thanks to Jeff for thinking of me, but it seems that Yuba is out of mugs for the year! My loss.



Tuesday we did our normal hour loop. How do you ride when you aren't training? What HR zone do you shoot for? Should you keep your power numbers in the active recovery range? Does it even matter? Yes, I have asked Justin these questions about 10 times this week.



Suffering up a hill anyway



We busted into the Maui Brewing Co. CoCoNut PorTer a few days ago.



It is delish. From first draw it tastes great. Not too heavy like some porters, but definitely a good finish. This one didn't develop as it went on, however, but still highly recommended, and much more affordable than the Stone trilogy Maui Kona nut, etc.

Dinnah



This week we got back into the gym. I'm using Transition as a big building period for the legs. Some people think that weights aren't really that important, but believe me...if you can't one-legged leg press the sled with no weight you probably should be in the gym. Yeah. Sad. But, true.

So, I'm mixing up some plyometrics with some strengthing exercises, and doing a tiny bit of upper body and mixing up the core work as well. Once training starts back up the gym will for sure take a back seat, but for the next 4-6 weeks it's all about growth, baby!

Tomorrow I am finally getting back on DIRT. I haven't ridden off-road since 9/27 and it's about time. Will be on a new (TO ME) bike - Canzo 29! Looking forward to rocking the big wheels again for awhile since my Epic is taking a break from riding until we have a plan for next year. Sunday I think I'm going to see if I can still pedal, and then put more hurt on myself riding the Uno (Dos) Niner somewhere hilly.

I could really use a long day in the mountains to take my mind off some stuff. Hopefully it'll work!

And on the seventh day...

We rode.

Taking 7 days off the bike sounded like a fairly daunting task, at the time. However, after last weekend's race (that was only eight days ago? Seriously?) I was ready for some down time. We spent the first few days over-eating, and I had some over-drinking in there, and there was a lot of lingering soreness/fatigue in the legs. I don't think I've ever had my legs feel so categorically "bad" before for so long. Not even after the 12 Hours last November. It just wasn't dissipating! Couldn't have been the alcohol and lack of sleep?

Saturday we slept in, then headed south for a hike.

Weird to be going somewhere on a weekend to exercise without bikes!



It's my fault, because I wanted to do a local San Diego hike that we did a few times when we lived down there. It was sort of lame. There were like 300 people out hiking it. Not to mention that it left me really wiped out, and a little sore!



Was cool to see a tiny bit of the air show, I guess.





We spent the rest of the afternoon trying to do some "spring" cleaning. Justin spent a bunch of time in the garage trying to re-organize, and I managed to clean out a kitchen cabinet and drawer, one bookcase, and half of our den mess. It seriously felt like I got nothing done, though.

Sunday we slept in again, partly because we could, partly because we stayed up late, and partly cause it was going to be really cold anyway so what was the hurry?

We headed south to pursue a really tough hour climbing up Palomar. We took off from the taco shop like we were being chased, and despite the pain and burning we kept going from there. I couldn't hit the power numbers I was looking for after the first few miles and up south grade, but my HR was the highest it's been on any training ride all year. Not sure if that's some loss of aerobic fitness or what was going on, but avg HR was ridiculous for an hour fiften. Power #s were up from earlier this summer, which is awesome, especially after a solid 6 days with no cycling.

I was working too hard for pics on the way up, and too cold on the way down. I did get a few, actually, but left them at home, so

Imagine a picture of a Roubaix leaning up against a truck

Imagine a picture of Justin and Allison with half frozen faces

Literally, my face was frozen for half of the descent. Crazy thing, too... first time I've ever got to the top of a hill and literally been choking trying to breathe. I couldn't get any air. Felt like my chest was closing up. I struggled for air for a minute and was really kind of freaked out. Justin suggested exercise-induced asthma?

Lucky for me when I turned around to Justin as we sat cold on the steps outside of the market, "Please tell me we are not going for the double?" he concurred that we would just head back to the car.

Temps were decent down in the valley, and we headed home to get a few more things done around the house. I was super worked, even after just the two hour ride!

Looking forward to getting back on the bike in a somewhat more regular fashion this week, and will be hitting the weights!

Hope to SS the "Uno" Niner after work 1-2x, and hopefully this weekend at least once. Not sure if I am ready to tackle Saturday's planned ride PERIOD, much less with a SS that I've ridden once? Definitely can't with its current gearing of 32x18, but might try out 29x17. Otherwise, not sure what bike I should be riding. I may need my Epic to hold out for another season of racing next year unless we can find a way to afford a new bike!

Summer

Saw a post on empty beer about summer memories... I've been wanting to do a photo blog for some time about my memories of years gone by, but I figured a summer blog would be more fun. So... technically I'm starting with Memorial Weekend. Sue me.

Summer 2009!

























*ahem*

The actual start of summer