Commitment and Reward

Winning solo in a bicycle road race is the ultimate prize in the sport.  It demonstrates all the values that define an admirable road racer - courage, daring, commitment, belief in one's ability and a plain willingness to just "give it a go". Every cyclist fantasizes about such a moment in his or her career but few realize the glory.  Luck plays a big part in the successful solo bid.  The right combination of circumstances need to conspire in one's favor for the soloist to be blessed with success.  I have never tasted this sweet but rare fruit.  The opportunity has presented itself a time or two but the proximity of approaching teammates has always coaxed me to hesitate and wait for the help.  So much for courage and daring.

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Off-Season Rando Training

I received an email from a reader with whom I have had a discussion regarding training for ski mountaineering racing.  I thought it would make a nice jumping off point for summer training for a winter sport.

Brian,

Hope your season went well, and the spring is moving along.  

I had another rando training question for you.  After a good strong first season, following your training advice from the fall, I am ready to start a new year now, to be ready for next year.  I will continue to do Long Slow Distance primarily for my cardio, lots of walking up the mountain with ski poles, but am curious to know what I should be doing for strength training.  My understanding is that I should use spring as a time to build muscle, the early summer to work with max strength, and late summer/early fall power, with a bit of endurance through the whole summer.  I am lost for what kind of exercises or training regimes to do.  I do know that core work is really important, but how I design my routines I am not quite certain.  Any thoughts on this? - Alex

The first thing to note here is that Alex is a single sport athlete right now, at least that is what I'm getting from his email.  This allows him the luxury of periodizing his preparation for next season.  Since I bike race in the summer, my approach is different by necessity.  I continue to strength train during the summer but my time in the gym is short and aimed at holding on to my form and some of my strength so that next fall is not so painful.

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Racing Again

A smart friend of mine who has a business that uses internet blogging as one of his vehicles told me that the key to a successful blog is to update it regularly.  Well, I have failed miserably on that front lately.  Makes me wonder how many curious readers I have lost.  Onward...

The transition from rando racing to bike racing is complete now.  I have not been on skis since the last week of March.  The weather, as many of you know, has been shit in the mountains lately, at least for cycling.  Lot's of storms and a generally wet flow pattern that refuses to let go.  I was down in Boise recently where things are decidedly different.  It was great racing and training in shorts for a change.  It's gotta change here eventually, right?

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Rocky Mountain Road Racer

During my ten year hiatus from competitive cycling I swore I would never ride in shitty weather.  Too many soggy rides in the rain and snow when I had to go out to contemplate doing so for fun.  Well, with the acceptance of my new racing license those days are officially over.  I got smarter in my old age, however, and built a bike with a single speed and full fenders.  I used to think fenders were for pussies but one ride in the rain with them and I thought differently.  I was actually staying pretty dry.  I stepped up for some all weather paneled tights and now I fear nothing.  The main reason for all this is that I want to avoid the indoor trainer at all costs.  The single speed is nice because there are fewer moving parts to gum up and subsequently clean. Very sweet!

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Redemption!

I've been dabbling in ski mountaineering racing for 3 seasons now.  Unless you are supremely talented, the sport takes some time to figure out.  It's true that the winners of the gene pool lottery, the guys who get out of bed with a VO2 max in the 80's are going to have an easier time.  But if you can't get down the descents on tooth picks without stacking heavily or transition smoothly without dropping your skins in the snow, you're going to be playing catch up.  And if you aren't one of the aerobically gifted, you can make up some time on those guys by being better in the other aspects of the game.

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