Back To Our Regularly Scheduled Program

Having been side tracked for a while with things like divorce, school, the upcoming wedding, and a butt load of life's other crap, it's time to get back to what I really intended this blog to be about - health and bikes.

The Spring racing season got underway today with Juan Antonio Fletcha of Sky taking the first race, the Omloop Het Niewsblad. That's the first win for a Spanish rider ever. Tyler Farrar ended up in third place for Garmin-Transitions. With Heinrich Haussler taking second position for Cervelo Test Team, the big guns were shut out for podium positions. It's a great start of the season for the new teams, but with the big Classics coming up, I wouldn't read too much into it.

I like Sky's new kit as I hated the trend towards the light colored shorts that have been introduced in the last few years. Give me black for shorts any day over the light colors, which aren't too flattering in the harsh rain and snow races, if you know what I mean.

On the diabetes front, my a1c is up, my weight is up a bit, but my motivation is coming back. I may be able to get n insulin pump in the near future, and that would help a lot. Also, the weather is getting better, so riding season is just around the corner. School has side tracked my efforts at good control and exercise, but I'm adjusting to the routines and am able to fit in a program around my school work.

I think I'll hit it for about an hour this afternoon on my MTB, then the daily core work this evening. Every time I go to the garage, the bikes all stare at me like I'm some sort of traitor, but hey, they only have one function, I have many. So give me a break, they'll all get their turns in the rotation. I promise!

It's a sad day here at the Casa. Our little Simon passed away this morning rather suddenly. He was only three years old and so full of life, it's hard to believe he went so quickly. The hardest part was watching him take his last breath and not being able to help him. Rest in piece, Simey. We will miss you dearly.

A lonley, ice covered tree sticking out from the rest.

Here's my favorite photo from my first black and white digital photography class shoot. The lighting was perfect for capturing the trail and trees.

Update 1/29/10

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, but things have been rather hectic here at the casa. L and I are both hitting the books- and camera- hard at the start of the semester. The digital photography class I'm taking is very good. Lots of black and white pictures, Photoshop editing, projects, field trips etc. I took advantage of some of that stimulus money to upgrade the man cave a bit. A trip to Ikea netted a new desk and work table and cabinet, Sam's Club a new chair and computer. The Windows 7 sure is a lot nicer to work with than Vista, which will make school work much smoother. Not to mention a 25" high def monitor is much easier on the eyes than squinting at a 16" lap top screen. This makes Photoshop much nicer to work with.

As far as riding goes, I have not done much. Time and weather. Weird, I broke a spoke while riding the trainer. I've never done that before. Something tells me I need to loose some weight...

It's Trainer Time !

Now that I'm finally over the bug that slowed me down for a couple of months, it's time to get some sort of conditioning and weight loss program going again. This last summer/fall was great, losing 30+ lbs, getting a lot faster on the bike and so forth. After I got my new road bike, I set some personal bests for me lately. Not close to the old days, but I was much younger and stronger back then. But, I was still improving none the less.

When September came around, I felt a bit sluggish, even on the flats. Steeper hills were getting harder, my heart rate was running higher for the perceived effort, and I was getting slower. I started riding shorter routes than normal, and my motivation dropped. I wanted to ride, but I was just weak and lethargic. After a 30 mile gravel ride with Doug and Jeff, it took a full week to recover. My weight rose and my fitness hit the deck - hard.

I've started riding the trainer in the pain cave here at the BD hq. When I moved into L's house, the basement was more of a dungeon. At least the bathroom and shower were in decent shape, but the rest was a pit. The wind came right through the gaps and holes in the plate, cob webs and general grime was everywhere. We cleaned and evaluated the situation at hand. I foamed all the air leaks shut, added insulation to the plate, and installed 2 baseboard heaters. Had I mentioned it was cold? It was, but not anymore. My office area is cozy, L doesn't even mind venturing down to do the laundry. She used to hate it. I also added another electrical circuit so the vacuum didn't blow the breaker if anything else was on. The lighting sucked, so I put in several pot lights on a dimmer. A nice touch.

There was an older entertainment center that I cleaned up and set up the TV and DVD player in. My futon acts as a couch and my nice leather recliner has a spot again. Office, man cave, house of pain, all without much cost other than time.

I put in a nice 1 hour zone 2 effort yesterday and another today with some intervals, without much discomfort. My heart rate stayed in zone, good snap on the intervals, and my legs feel good, not like logs as they did last fall. I've got a library of cycling DVDs, several Spinerval and CTS videos to train by. I really need to get some studded tires for my MTB, but haven't taken the plunge yet. A cross bike is in the works if my secret plan comes together, and that would get studs. Logical, me thinks.....

I sure am glad we purchased a new snow blower this summer when they were on sale. You might not be able to find one after this latest dumping we've been cleaning up. This was at my parents's house. They got real snow, where as we got a slush/snow mix that laughed at snow blowers. I enjoyed blowing out my folks place, but that word can't describe the job at hand here at the BD hq.

Brooklyn, ready for a cold weather walk.

It's cold, even the dog needs some warm clothing. After a warm fall, this winter is in full deep freeze mode in these parts. You dance, you pay, as I see it. I haven't been in the bike for a while and I'm feeling with-drawls big time. I'm going to set up the trainer in the basement tomorrow and catch up on some on some of the videos I've burned lately. I wish we'd get enough snow to X/C ski on, but the bitter cold won't let that happen.

I'm all registered for school, which starts on Jan. 11th. One class that really has me excited is digital photography. I've always wanted to learn to shoot and edit pictures better, so why not get credits for it? Some of the student that have taken it said it was a very good class and they learned a lot. Can't hurt, that's for sure.