Progress

Finally, I'm feeling a bit better. For the past few weeks I've been somewhat exhausted. Not certain exactly what it was, but I felt slow, sore, and generally lethargic.

Last Saturday I participated in a last minute race in Chula Vista - part of the International Friendship Games - at the Olympic Training Center. A pretty cool race - teams and riders from both north and south of the border competed. They closed down about 1.2 km of road and made an out and back course with about 160' of climbing per lap. It was much harder than I thought. I averaged over 320 watts for the 45 minute race and was pretty knackered by the end.

It was just what I needed.

Tuesday I did the morning sprint workout at Fiesta Island - need much more work in this area and then Wednesday did the Cyclovet ride. Climbing has been much easier as of late; as has any type of tempo riding. So my efforts going forward will be some sprint drills and anaerobic efforts.

I've committed to the Everest Challenge this year - more for the experience; I have no illusions about winning the California HC championship... can dream though.

San Luis Rey

So, SLR didn't go as smoothly as I would have liked. It was my first race as a 4 and the field was twice as big as my previous racing forays. Two laps in we were still 40 riders strong. If I learned one thing at this race it is to not hang out at the back of the group. Moving up on the climbs was all but impossible with the centerline rule in effect.

On the third lap a rider ran into me from behind... We both hit the ground, I thought he was the one worse for wear, but he managed to climb back on and scamper away. I, on the other hand, wound up walking my bike back up the hill, at least until my leg seized up.

The tally for the day: one broken handlebar, two out of true wheels, one deeply bruised thigh, one bleeding calf, and one defeated bike racer.