The Road to Somewhere

xc62701

Well-Known Member
Since Saturday it's been the usual chore list but I actually rode 3 days in a row! I'm liking this leave of absence thing...well minus not sleeping. I broke the streak today though as I had way too much house work going on. I had to clear 2 rooms of the carpet and padding and prep them for the new carpet which meant removing a million staples and emptying a 5 lb box of screws on order to minimize the floor boards creakiness. Thankfully I finished just before the installers came.

I took a brief nap and then went to work on the railings for my deck. They aren't horrible but do benefit from a second set of hands. I dropped a few good f-bombs and got the hang of it now. My back is shot, I'm overly exhausted and I'm missing my buddy Lucky today. It would have been his 43'rd birthday. I'm having a few beers for you buddy!
 

xc62701

Well-Known Member
Riding has stil been spotty but if anything I have been doing home chores like a boss. I think this is my version of nesting and that part has been going well. Riding and racing has not been on the front of my mind.

With that note I'll be racing tomorrow. I'm only guaranteeing a shitshow. Hopefully I'll remember how to pedal but if there is a mandatory section where you have to stop and do chores I can dominate. Riding bikes alone will not be my strong suit. Pain will be mandatory. Beer will be guaranteed. At least I'll be riding the fatty which will be fun in any manner.
 

xc62701

Well-Known Member
Well it wasn't a total shitshow but pretty close. I got there and indicators were already showing how out of it I was. I forgot my Garmin, my heart rate strap, my socks, and as I would find out a bit later my legs. The warmup was ok but damn it was hot out. I was not ready for the heat and humidity. I didn't ride much as I was afraid of being more dehydrated and tired. So I hung close and waited for the start. The weather in addition to being heavier than I want would not help for a hot race like this. Oh and lets not forget the lack of riding and sleep that I've had lately with baby number 2. If you want to go fast on a bike - don't have kids.

I knew it was going to be hard but it turned out harder than expected for sure. As the gun goes off Elias takes off like he usually does and puts a little gap on the front of the fat race. I don't worry about this and I take my time to real him back in over the next few climbs. Passing people is taking it's toll but I do get back to him and ride his wheel for the middle portion of the lap. On the one steep up before crossing the fireroad back by the campground Ara hits it hard and says come with him. He goes around and I have nothing to match him. Nothing. I did my cruising speed and watched him and Elias walk away. I was hoping to keep my pace and they would blow each other up and I'd see them later. This was not the case. As we got further into the lap I couldn't help but feel tired, with no attack in me, and just hoping to ride the rest of the race smoothly. I did that but was fighting to stay on the course a lot. Conditions were good but I have no tread on my tires. Usually this is ok but I was pushing out and having my tires jumping all over. I did add 1 more psi so maybe that hurt but who knows. Any any rate I will put some tires with tread on my bike for the next race to be able to actually ride confidently. I was hoping the race was going to go better than that but in hindsight that was ok given my current riding/sleeping/chore schedule.

I'm going to try and get some more riding in and less chores and see if I can make a better ride happen for Kittatinny. If I can get a good ride schedule going and stop eating everything put in front of me I'll hopefully have a better race. On the other hand it's so much easier to golf, fish, and stuff my face. That's kinda tempting.
 

xc62701

Well-Known Member
So now it's July and I actually had a good week of riding this past week. Well yes and no. I went to jungle early in the week and was having a decent ride until I went OTB and ripped open most of my forearm again. This is forearm damage #3 in the last 2 months. Plus it aggravated an already sore back which didn't help. I tried to keep my bleeding at bay while avoiding 2-3 bears on the way out which made it more funner.

Anyway after that I've been sticking to the road a bit and got back in the woods yesterday. Arm is feeling better and the legs are feeling better. I've been working on this diet thing and that helps as well. I realized that I had a lot of things going against me for the LM race and I want to try and correct them for Kittatiny and leading into CX season. Yes cross is coming and I need to bust a move now if I want to have any fun this fall.

In the meantime I've been enjoying a lot of good family lake time too which has been fun. We've gotta do something to survive this heat.
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xc62701

Well-Known Member
So I decided to jump in the Halters 31 days of July challenge and so far so good. Day 5 was today and it’s just fitting nicely into my regular schedule that I need to get motivated to do and stretch it a bit. So far 8:46 of riding time and 107.1 miles of dirt road and gravel.

I’m hoping this helps me get some fitness for next weeks Kittatinny race and Port Jervis before CX season. That’s around 2 months away now. Scary.
 

xc62701

Well-Known Member
I type this as I’m once again not sleeping as my almost 2 year old is deciding to start screaming in the middle of the night. This is complemented by my newborn being fussy and doing the same but smaller scale. Why was this a good idea? Holy crap. I need some consistent sleep. Anyone want a kid or two? I know it’ll get better but it takes its toll. Especially when I’m getting up early. That is all. Rant over.
 

xc62701

Well-Known Member
I needed this ride to de-stress. I’m still utterly exhausted. I hope I can get a break later and get a good nap in.

July total: 14:21 hours 184.0 miles
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xc62701

Well-Known Member
July total after day 10:
17:13 hours and 219.7 miles.

Legs feel good and I’m feeling some of the juice coming back. Endurance is getting better but stress and sleep are still rough at home. It’s a work in progress.
 
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