2009, a summary

Crash, misfortune, crash, crash, crash.

Then some downtime, then very good news for the future.

2009, you kind of sucked a bit. But I'm glad you were around. It can always be worse. And 2010 is going to be better.

Happy New Year, folks. Stay safe out there.

The long winter is upon us

Since I started at the bike shop, Mark and Chris have been warning me about how horribly dull January and February are. Days of $6 cash deposits are in store, along with -- maybe -- a day of zero sales.

Sweet. Of course, that makes up for the days in the summer when it's balls-to-the-wall crazy all day on a Saturday. As in there are people at the door at 9:45 and we're clearing the last customers out 45 minutes after close. Those days, believe it or not, are kind of fun.

And when you think about it, those 4- and 5-hour rides in the summer, when you come back with salt crusted on your brow, empty bottles and a raging hunger, are pretty fun, too.

Those rides are the reward for getting through January. Base 3 starts next week. Longer rides, longer intervals ... it's less than thrilling. But after that, the fun begins. The next two phases feel like you're really getting ready for something. Sprints, power climbs, killer TT intervals. Those feel like racing.

Base 3 doesn't much feel like racing. Kind of like staring out the front window for long stretches of time doesn't feel like selling things.

Let's go to a race. Right now.

In years past, my Christmas list would be littered with cycling gear -- gloves, shoe covers, socks, etc. -- that I didn't want to pay for myself. I mean, $60 for a pair of gloves? Yikes.

And after a few years of that wish list, I have pretty much everything I need. So I've just been asking for money. As a shop employee, I can make money go so much farther than someone who has to pay retail.

Case in point: the bag below.
This is the Bontrager team duffel bag. It's gigantic. It costs $110. I did not pay anywhere close to that. However, after messing around with it, I'd consider spending $110 on it. Seriously.

First, though, read the description on Bontrager's website. What a horrible description. It nails the basics, but not much else.

Here's what it misses:
The bag is huge. There's easily enough room for everything you'd possibly need for a two- or three-race weekend.

The wet bag is also huge. And it basically folds itself flat in one end of the bag when not in use.

The shoe pocket is nice, but the straps are completely unnecessary. The pocket itself keeps the shoes where they need to be.

There's a fleece-lined pocket inside the bag for sunglasses and bike computers.

There are two pockets on the opposite side that I managed to stuff with four water bottles and a lot of food.

There's a small pouch behind the shoe pocket that I'm guessing was supposed to be for a helmet, but neither of mine fit in it (Giro Ionos or Bell Volt).

The toiletry kit is pretty awesome.

There's another pocket on the outside of the bag, on one side. I have no idea what I'd put in it that couldn't fit inside, but it's there.

See? That's a better description. And it makes me want to go to a race, like, now. I'd get drilled, though, so for now I'll just load up my stuff, walk around the house and then unload it. Maybe I'll stop halfway and freshen up with the toiletry kit.

Merry Christmas, everybody

Trying to get a 2-year-old to say something adorable on camera is like trying to herd cats. Your intentions are good, and you think the elements are in place to get it done, but in the end ... sigh ... it just doesn't work.

But unlike herding cats, which just ends up with a bunch of cats wandering around, ignoring you, a 2-year-old going off-script is comedy gold.

Here's Jack, wishing you and yours all the best for the holidays.

The next addition

We've established, by now, that bike shop guys get good deals on things. It's a fact of life. You get paid ... umm ... less than great, but you get pretty crazy pricing on everything. In short, the things I had on my list for 2010 are all but taken care of, and for very, very little (at least compared to retail).

And with those things out of the way ... behold: Trek's Second District. There's a new Trek EP program available that knocks the price down on a number of bikes. The prices are pretty nice across the board, but this one is the clear winner. The price is so low that even a poor schlub like me could probably do that after about a month of being thrifty.

Why do I need this bike? Who said anything about need? It would be a fun work bike, and it would be a nice change of pace on a rest day. Now, to clear space for it in the garage ...

First of the year

It's still December, but in my mind its 2010 -- at least for racing.

And in 2010, things have gone well. I feel fast(ish), strong and smooth. I'm getting back to normal.

I've been more diligent about hitting the numbers on workouts, too. I know where I should be, and I'm making sure I'm doing the work required.

But not every day is a good day. That day, for the first time since cranking it back up, was today.

The goal: an hour of HR zone 3 work on the TT bike. After last week's crushing of the 45-minute effort, I was pretty pumped up for this one.

It didn't quite go as planned. I had no trouble getting to the zone right off the bat, but my legs felt heavy, tight, sore ... . The rate of perceived exertion was off the charts compared to the results.

In short: something seemed amiss. And after struggling with finding the tempo for about 40 minutes, I pulled the plug. I stretched, I did some core work, I called it good ... enough. No use beating myself over the head if it's not doing what it's intended to do.

Tomorrow's another day. The page will be turned.

The fine art of suffering

Let's get this out of the way right now: Yes, I know it's only December. Yes, I know I'm not supposed to be fast right now.

But that doesn't mean I can take any comfort in being slow. In the state road race, way back in September, I felt good at a steady tempo, but had no high-end go at all.

Three months later, the story is the same. I can hold HR zone 3 tempo all day. I've actually been really pleased with that. But when tempo gets hot -- like, say, into a biting headwind on a wide-open plain -- I'm hurting. Short pulls, no staying power in zone 4.

Yes, I know it's December. But still.

The Big Puma and I got out for 3+ hours on the road yesterday. The dialed in Madone is exactly what I hoped it would be: comfy and quick. The Force gruppo continues to impress as well.

For the most part, I did perfectly fine. But the last stretch of headwind hurt a lot. I could feel myself being ground into paste stroke by stroke. Ouch. And then that hill. Puma was being nice to me as my HR climbed into bigger and bigger numbers.

So, yeah. Work to do. It will come around. I know it will. But that doesn't solve the problem of right now. Maybe I'll go look at the Jawbones again. (They're completely awesome, by the way. Well worth it.)

Trashy, but the good kind of trashy

So, the Jawbones are here. As a guy who's had very, very plain sunglasses (black M-Frame, non-mirrored lenses) for a very long time ... yikes. The Jawbones are a bit much. I designed them on the Oakley Custom builder, and I designed them to be pretty plain, considering the myriad color options.

Here are the gray (Black Iridium) lenses. I got the vented version because of how tight the glasses are around my face. I figured that way they won't fog.

The alternate lens (you get two when you go custom) is orange. I was aiming for a light brown, much like I have on my M-Frames, but ended up with orange. The end result is the same, regardless: they brighten things up on those partly sunny/cloudy days.

Another bonus: the hard case. Considering how these things will travel (stuffed into a bag with a bunch of other stuff), a case is a necessity. Oakley Custom glasses come with a case.

So, yes - they're very cool. Yes, they're very loud. No, they're probably not "me," exactly.

But you know what? Everything else is changing -- team, bike(s), career -- so why not image as well? I'll still be me. I'll just be wearing trashy sunglasses while pedaling a trashy bike. It's gonna be pretty awesome.

Yep. Parenthood.

We were out of town yesterday, traveling through the hinterlands of Iowa for the funeral of Chris' grandpa. (You can read about him here.)

As such, I missed a day on the workout plan. That happens sometimes. And it was a three-hour ride that probably would have been done on the trainer. So, really, no big loss there.

Today was a two-hour ride, with some light spinning and technique added in. It was going to be a nice recharge after a short trip that seemed long.

And then Jack got sick. So he stayed home from daycare, which canceled today's workout, too.

It happens, I know. Not the biggest deal in the world. But it's kind of funny - I nailed last week's plan down to the minute. This week, I've missed half of the workouts and won't come close to the plan as written.

At least it's only December. And at least Jack isn't really, really sick. Just sick enough to keep me off the trainer. That, actually, could be a good thing in terms of mental health later in the winter.

So this is parenthood

When I was a kid, it seemed like the vast, vast majority of presents under the tree were for us. GI Joe stuff, Transformers, gigantic Lego sets ... we were taken care of.

But I also noticed how our parents kind of got hosed. Slippers? Socks? A sweater? Plates? Of course, my memory could be fogged up from the GI Joe battle that inevitably took place every Christmas morning, but it seemed like they didn't leave the day with a whole lot of stuff.

Twenty-five-plus years later, I know that leaving the day with a whole lot of stuff isn't really that important. In fact, I was just thinking about what I put on my Christmas list ... umm ... not much. I have a pair of these coming:


So that will be nice. My M-Frames (which are 9 years old) actually broke during the April crash, so they needed to be replaced at some point. I'll probably keep them around, if only to use the clear lens (which is reasonably new) on rainy days.

After that ... I got bottle cages and a new travel bag for races. That's pretty much it. Maybe I'm old, maybe I have too much stuff already, but I'd rather see Jack get cool stuff. He has no concept of Christmas, gift-giving or even sharing, but it's going to be way more fun to watch him with his presents.

I say that now, but wait until I pack up that race bag. There's a toiletry kit, a wet bag for nasty race clothes, a helmet pouch, a shoe pouch ...

I have no proof of this

Today was a zone 3 tempo day on the TT bike. 45 minutes. The total workout was slated for 90 minutes, allowing a good, solid warmup and a good amount of time to regain consciousness.

Last week I was kind of all over the place on this workout, and only for 40 minutes. Today, though, I drilled it. 45 minutes, zone 3. Every 10-minute stretch featured 2 minutes on the base bar, rather than on the aero bar -- because I'm still getting used to that position.

And just like that, it was done.

Where last week seemed like a struggle, this week was smooth sailing. No, that doesn't mean it was easy, per se, but I wasn't praying for death 20 minutes into it. This leads me to believe I'm getting faster again. Finally.

More testing needs to be done, however, Because while I may be getting faster, I did have a pop tart for breakfast before hopping on. It could well be that I was just a little wound up.

The long haul

After it snowed (a lot, by the way) last week, I was looking forward to the traditional four or five days of melting. During that time, the streets in town are still sloppy, but the country roads are generally OK.

I figured it would be like that for yesterday's ride. Maybe a little damp, but OK. After getting groceries and examining a couple of the likely roads I'd ride on, I changed my mind. Inside. Too sketchy for me.

And so I reached the point -- already -- where every minute of last week's plan was done inside. A guy can generally count on a good chunk of January to be inside. Maybe even February. But this feels early.

Looking at this week's schedule, time is going to be tricky again. Everything until the weekend will have to be inside, too. Unless we get some warming followed by a dry week or two, I have a feeling the Madone is going to be inside for a while.

Not the ideal way to get used to a new sidekick, but the end result is speed. Can't argue with speed.

Sinking to the depths

At one point or another, I'm fairly certain everybody in my audience has heard me say something like this: "Carbon-fiber bottle cages are the dumbest thing you could possibly buy."

For weight savings, it's a pretty dumb investment. For aesthetics ... well, that's a bit different. After spending way too long last week modeling my bike with the bottle cages on hand, it turned out that the best-looking cages were the most ridiculous.

This would be the new Bontrager Race X Lite cage. Full unidirectional carbon. Very Euro-trashy. And a dead ringer for the clear-coat carbon on my bike. With a couple of tweaks, it's the same design as my preferred Bontrager Race Lite cages.

Bottles -- especially (and ironically) the Specialized bottles I use -- are held securely. But the flexing design on the wings makes it easy to get a bottle in or out. And yes, I rode around the parking lot pulling bottles in and out of the cages to test them before I bought them. (Yeah ... I know.)

So here I am, partaking in the hypocritical "I have new carbon cages" contest. But my bike looks pretty kick ass. Plus, the white Race Lite cages didn't match. I do have an image to uphold.

Sweet, snowy domination

Sometime late in the summer of 2008, we got a snowblower. One of Chris' friends was moving and getting rid of it. $150. After shoveling out our two-car driveway and digging out cars from snowbanks, we'd had enough.

It proceeded to not get tuned up until a month or so ago. Yeah ... it didn't get used last winter. And, really, we didn't need it.

So, of course, it stands to reason that when it looked like we would definitely need it this year, it was incapacitated. Cheap wheels don't hold tires on well. And I couldn't get the bead to seat on the wheel. So on Tuesday, with snow falling and doom on the horizon, I took it to the small engines place and got it fixed.

And after that, the snow in our driveway didn't stand a chance.

This could be the point, by the way, when you say, "It's called a core workout. Shovel it, wussy."

And this is where I remind you that I'm only a few months removed from a broken back. So shut up.

Anyway, when the wind died a little yesterday, I attacked the driveway and sidewalk. And, just for good measure, I took care of the neighbors' sidewalks, too. You know, because I was already out there.

20 minutes later, it was all done. I'm hoping to work up to my dad's status someday: baked goods from the neighbors. I figure I've got time.

There aren't really off days

Wednesday is my day off from the shop. Unlike normal people, who have an actual weekend, shop guys have split days off. So Sundays are open, along with Wednesdays.

The similarity to normal people comes with the time you have on your off days. For example, while I'm not working, I still have plenty to do. This morning I'm going to get some writing things lined up for upcoming stories, then ride, then clear snow, then clean.

Meanwhile, Chris and Jack are in full-on snow-day mode. Nowhere to go, nothing to do. I haven't been in education for years, and it still feels like days like this are made for absolutely nothing. Maybe that comes from growing up with a teacher mother, then also marrying a teacher.

Of course, there's a good chance Chris is going to go crazy today. Because it's not just a 2-year-old and a bunch of snow. That's easy, actually. It's a 2-year-old and wind chills well below zero. So no outside play. And this house isn't big. And there's a bike on a trainer in the basement.

Could be a long day.

The part I've been waiting for

If you've ever built a training plan that includes base-building, then heavy stuff, then sharpening, you know about the drudgery of the first phase.

Base-building is boring. Lots of steady, easy riding -- all in the name of more miles under the belt. With a few technique exceptions, that's all Base 1 (in the Friel plan) is. I'm happy to say I survived it.

Yesterday brought the beginning of Base 2, which builds upon the long miles of Base 1 with some higher intensity stuff. Thursday is 3-minute climbs, so on the trainer it's basically big gear, lower RPMs and grinding it out.

Today was 90 minutes on the TT bike, which included 40 minutes of Zone 2/3 stuff. Yeah, it hurt a little bit. The plan is thus: all longer intervals will be done on the TT bike. I want TTs, now that I have a bike, to be a major strength. You know, since I suck at crits. I gotta be good at something.

So that was today. Tomorrow is a long day, but it'll obviously be done inside (for those not in Omaha, we're in the middle of a rather large storm). Lucky for me, I have three grand tours and about a dozen classics that haven't been watched yet.

Light it up.

Firepower

It's here.

Just after lunch Friday, our UPS guy tossed a box out the back -- no, really -- and the build began. It took about five minutes to get the frame clear of packaging and wrapping and up in the stand.

Instantly, the paint was impressive. Click the picture for the full-size photo. The orange is the same as the bike I wrote about here. Even better, the little accents on the wings of the saddle (in the silver parts) are also orange. On stock saddles, that part is red.

The black is, surprisingly (and delightfully), nude carbon. I knew the colors would match the nude carbon on the SRAM Force gruppo, but it's even better than that. The bar is also carbon -- the Race X Lite Blade. It's a wing-shaped bar that feels very, very good. Not nearly as wide as the FSA Wing Pro bar that was on the Felt, but it feels better.

I got out yesterday for a shakedown ride. It was cold, windy and semi-unpleasant, but it was better than the current weather situation (snow, a break and then more snow). Probably because it's a 58, it felt a little snappier than the other Madones I'd been on (both of them 60s). Basically, it was a lot like my Felt, but quite a bit smoother.

Also, getting back on a SRAM bike confirms what I've thought all along: SRAM is the future, Shimano is the past. Short lever throws, quicker shifts, great hood feel. Shimano has some nice stuff (I'm fond of its wheels, shoes, pedals, cassettes, chains, brakes, etc.), but the new stuff is not up to par by a long shot.

As for the wheels ... yeah, they're fast. A little on the heavy side (1,800 grams), but pretty aero. (Bontrager Aeolus 5.0 ACC - aluminum rim with a carbon shell. Like a Zipp 404 but a little heavier.) Once you get them up to speed, say, 25 or so, the bike just flies. Those wheels will do double-duty on the TT bike and probably come out for most road races and maybe a few crits. They're pretty stiff and have an aluminum braking surface, so I'm not too concerned about durability.

I still have a bit of tweaking to do -- the saddle setback doesn't feel quite right yet -- but after that the steerer tube gets cut and it's go time. Of course, it's hard to declare "go time" when there's snow everywhere and you're stuck in the basement, not really going anywhere.

But "go time" is activated in my mind. Base 2 starts this week. Time to drill it.

Ruminations

I had to come to the shop early today -- way early. Like, "three hours before I was scheduled" early.

We had a drain back up last night, and someone had to be here to let the plumber in. Why me? Well, I'm the boss, I guess.

It's weird, though. Had I been asked to report super early at this time a year ago, I probably would have been pretty pissed off. Now, even though it was a fairly inconvenient morning -- loading all of my work stuff with Jack and piling into the car at 7:15 -- I'm cool with it. It's my job.

And I like my job. I like it a lot.

I think last year I might have said something similar. But it took something like this -- a job that feels perfect -- to know that probably wasn't the case last year.

So, here's to this year. Even the crappy parts.

Could it be? Tomorrow?

Maybe. But not likely. My luck isn't good enough for a super-fast delivery -- not with the strain of holiday shipping on UPS. So it'll be Monday, most likely. Here's this morning's view:

Mine is the top line. Shipped and invoiced. Finally. In an act of boredom the other day (I got my list done early, I swear!), I rode that bike on the second line above. It's essentially the twin (non-identical) of mine. 58cm, Force, Aeolus 5.0 ACC wheels. Same stem length, too.

In short, it was fast. It's going to be a fun bike. And the sooner that thing gets here, the sooner the service course needs to get done. Commence storage issues in 3 ... 2 ... 1.

Done. Finally.

First off, the seatpost has been flipped around. So it's considerably less dorky. Also, the red tires and wheel decals are a one-time-only thing. It'll be black tires and white-and-silver decals. In other words, a bit ... less.

Otherwise, that's pretty much it. It's not terribly light -- the saddle is heavy and there are lighter carbon wheels out there. But on a quick spin after it was done, I could tell it's going to be pretty quick. And for having lightweight pro levers, the brakes are pretty solid. All in all, it's going to be a fun ride.

Of course, it's going to get cold here in a hurry. So ... maybe it'll be a while before it gets out on the road. Either way, it's done. So there it is. I promise not to ride it in the middle of a big group ride.

Super-deluxe bonus news: My Madone shipped this morning. And there's another treat coming, too. It's like there's a holiday that involves gifts, and it's happening early.

It continues

I mentioned a while back about how I'm writing things down now, because there's simply too much going on in this big brain of mine. I have a daily list of things that need attention, and I check them off as they get done.

Yeah, it's like I'm organized now.

But here's a new one: we had a neighbor (or maybe "person who lived near us," since they never made any attempt at all to speak with anybody) who moved out a week or so ago. They're gone, as are their dumbass labs who were never leashed, but their newspaper remains. Specifically, it's the Wall Street Journal.

If you've never read the WSJ, it's awesome. Easily more interesting for national news than the standard AP wire stuff. And, since I don't care about local politics (sorry, Maggie), Creighton basketball (most of the people at the games don't care, either) or the Huskers, it's a way better read than the newsprint that ends up in our driveway.

So, yeah. As long as the WSJ is in that driveway, it's mine. It's on the list.