The inside grind

It has been too long again. I just can’t seem to find time to update lately.
I have been stuck inside on the trainer and rollers. This is the first year I have tried rollers. They are quite an eye opener. I usually use them for my warm up then do the hard work and intervals on my trainer. I did have to upgrade my trainer. I had a Blackburn Ultra TrakStand. It started giving me problems and Blackburn was NO help at all. RUN from that trainer. Don’t buy one. DO, however, buy a Kurt Kinetic trainer. I got the Rock n Roll through the bike shop wher I work. This trainer allows the side to side motion that most trainers don’t. It is very smooth and challenges me much more than any other trainer I’ve owned. I upgraded to the Pro model which has an additional 12 pound fly wheel making it turn a total of 18 pounds. This is the best fluid trainer I have ever used. My last fluid was a CycleOps. There is just no comparison in the quality and smoothness. Get a Kinetic.
See the Kinetic Rock and Roll in action:

I have been doing a 12 week off season plan and will be heading into the 10th week on Monday. I have dropped a couple of pounds, but I have to really get more serious about my nutrition and drop another 8-10 lbs.
I have held my fastest time in the roller races. No one has threatened the time yet. I am going back next week to see if I can get a little better time.
The weather this weekend looks promising for a long ride outside Saturday afternoon. We haven’t seen 50 degrees in forever. I can’t wait to get out on the road.
I will give a ride report over the weekend.

Road Ride, Really?

Really! I finally got out on the road Saturday afternoon beneath threatening rain clouds and 51 degrees. It was nice, yet an awakening. It's been almost 6 weeks since I got in a real ride on the roads. I am pretty sore from the ride, the roller races and from strength training on Sunday. I just got in 28 miles, but I put in a good effort and, of course, went far harder than I'd intended. It just felt good to be on my bike, on the road and not on the trainer with a fan blowing on me. I was dressed for the weather and the only parts that got a little cold were my feet. That was my fault for not using chemical heat packs inside my shoes. I did a familiar route from the bike shop to a one lane bridge, out and back. An hour and 35 minutes for a 28 mile ride is not too bad for a winter outing. The temps are supposed to be in the 50s again this week, but there is a chance of rain almost every day. i will probably still be confined to the trainer most of the week. Hopefully I can get in a long ride Saturday. 3 hours would be a nice start.
Until next tim, keep spinning your wheels.

Roller Racing, OMG!

I did my first roller races last night at the bike shop where I work part time. It was very different than anything I've ever done on the road. Power and strength are not factors in this type of racing, only leg speed and control matter. The 2 bikes are fixed gear bikes with the same gearing. They are connected to a computer that tracks the progress of each rider on a virtual 500 meter sprint. Riders start from a dead stop to all out dprint. Speeds can reach over 50 mph per the computer program. I have only reached those speeds once on the road in real world conditions. I am proud to say I won all my heats and took the overall win. My best time was 21.57 seconds. I got this time in my second heat. Funny thing is, in that race, my saddle was not tightened properly and was slowly sliding down, getting lower and lower as the race progressed. Strange that I got my best time under those conditions. My other times were very close to this, none the less. I am posting a video of the "best time" race. I am the rider on the left. Not really a "pretty" race, but no matter I still won. This race was a preliminary test fo the system before we kick off the series next week. My prize was a pink glass with the shop's logo and, of course, bragging rights. Surprisingly, I am very sore this morning from those heats. Walking a little funny. It was all worth it though. Looking forward to next week's racing and hopfully a real ride outside today as the weather is finally nice and not blistering cold with snow on the ground. You can see more of the races on YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drLS-55D8Ik

Until next time...

Back at Last!

It has been quite a while since I posted here. I apologize for the laspe. It has been a challenging winter so far. My holiday schedule at work was just not condusive to blogging, training, or much of anything else. I have spent lots of time on the trainer and doing Cyclo-Core training. I will be updating more often now and hope I can keep up with the posts.
If you are looking for some core training and indoor workouts both on and off the bike, visit Cylo-Club. I am posting a banner/link to get a free cycling e-book if you are interested. There is no obligation to join the club, but I think you will see the benefits once you check out the book and the site.