Notes From Winter Training

Well technically it's not "winter" yet, but it seems close enough.

I got to ride in big snowflakes through the north end last week, which made me feel like Andy Hampsten on the Gavia, barely able to see through the thick whiteness of it all. Except the snow in Seattle wasn't sticking, so it made for a nice little ride.

(The ride was around the north end of Lake Washington - a nice hilly route including 5th Ave through Northgate/etc (hills), Juanita Hill, east side hills including the "col d'bellevue", that short-but-steep section leading towards I-90 off Main street.)

Start of Base Training

In other news, training for the 2011 race season is well under way! "Base" training (e.g. endurance-zone riding). A big part of my training plan is the commute to Redmond, about 17 miles over I-90 & Mercer Island, through Bellevue, or as I now call it the Belly of the Beast.

• Base 1, Week 1: 10 hours - commuting & a team ride on the weekend
  
• Base 1, Week 2: 13 hours - commuting & a team ride
  
• Base 1, Week 3: 16 hours! (probably the most I've ever done in terms of actual training)
• Base 1, Week 4: rest - just two rides on the weekend for a total of 6-7 hours
  

The pattern seen in Base 1 (three weeks of work, one rest week) continues in Base 2 and beyond, and after those two blocks I move on to the "Build" period - two more blocks of four weeks each, then it's time to shred some legs!

As a side-note, it's not just endurance rides I'm doing in this Base period, but also some "speedwork", such as spin-ups or low-gear sprints. I've been getting in the 34x25 gear and spinning out in excess of 160 rpm - the PT reported 218 rpm the other day but that seems crazy. By 180 rpm or so I'm bouncing on the seat, it probably looks interesting to anyone watching.

2011!

While the training hours can get tedious, and cold, I just try to think more about the upcoming 2011 race season in March.. it's not that far away right? Just 89 days away..

On The Road Again

Well the snow has finally melted enough to get out there! That is if you don't mind riding a little more left than usual, given that there's still a few inches of snow/ice on the side of the roads.

So I went out for a spin yesterday, figuring that if I stick to main roads they'll be more or less cleared up. 

You can see how messy some of the side-roads are (this is Thomas st) - unrideable on a road bike:

But the main roads are bare and wet, just how I like 'em:

Waiting for the bridge in the U-district..

Bryce Lewis (fallen cyclist) memorial on Eastlake: 

12th Ave, up near 75th St:

Today (Sunday) I went for another ride. While the snow is still melting, I'm pretty sure the I-90 trail is out of the question (which cuts out the Mercer Island option), and that the Burke-Gilman trail is probably in a bad condition as well. So I headed up north again, via 12th Ave, Roosevelt, and 180th/Perkins.

The Pacer on Perkins, way up in Lake Forest Park:

Icy Burke-Gilman Trail - I rode on it for about 25 meters before deciding it wasn't worth it..

Now headed back up Perkins Way/180th - lotsa snow:

Heading south:

A snowy shoulder up north:

Mileage

So the year is coming to a close, and my mileage stands at 12,417 km (7,715 mi). If I do a 200k permanent on Tuesday, I'll still be short of 8k miles! Oh well, I guess it's just an arbitrary number anyway.

The plan for next year is to do around the same amount of miles, or less - but at a faster pace. We'll see.

Getting Ready for Randoneuring in Seattle

My riding buddy reminded me that the Seattle Intl. Randonneurs are having a "meet the team" ride this Saturday, and it looks like we'll be there! We already do unsupported long distance rides, but this is basically taking it to the next level.

What the hell is this randoneer crap, you say? Basically it's all training for an insane ride called the Paris-Brest-Paris, that just happens to be 1,200 km (745 mi) long.. Oh, and did I mention you have to complete those 1,200 km's in 90 hours?!

But before you're even allowed to ride the PBP, you have to complete a series of 'brevets' - up to 600 km I believe.

And interestingly, it's supposed to snow on Saturday - I might be showing up on the miyata fixie complete with zipties on the rear wheel for traction, we'll see.

Anyway, I'm really excited to check out the SiR crowd and see what their rides are like. I just hope they aren't too anal, e.g. saying, "that's not a rando bike," or, "you won't/can't do PBP on that bike." Hopefully they'll be laid back, positive, and open to all types of bikes, including my fixie and my ciocc race bike. (And yes, I've got full fucking fenders on the fixie, thank you very much)