Wow - summer's almost over and here I am wondering where it all went! Funny how easy it is for a full racing season to go by so quickly when you're training, traveling, racing, working (yes, I have a real job) and trying to recover all while attempting to have a personal life. I did a fair amount of road and track racing this season and am not finished yet - I will be doing a cyclocross season, though not near the level that I did last season where I traveled a bit for some UCI racing. Oh, and soon I'll be hitting the driving range with some regularity.
Last weekend was some track racing in Kenosha - a velodrome I've not ever raced on. Whoa - it's significantly more steep than Northbrook and made me pretty nervous! That said, I did a decent 2K pursuit and jumped into the points race to mix it up with the guys. It was truly a lot of fun - we had excellent weather and the vibe was so mellow it was almost like I wasn't racing. Well, I take that back. I was 'slightly' tense before my pursuit.... The guys had an impressive team pursuit performance - fast and smooth. It was cool just to watch them.
'Cross for me this year will be totally without stress - no anxiety and just try to have fun. It's not going to be about winning but instead just staying fit and being positive. I'm going to try my best to avoid having the ever-present right calf bruise courtesy of regular pedal smacking this fall. Cross is dirty and well, I don't like dirt. And I really dislike mud. Anyone who knows me is aware that when I was a kid I was a really good softball and volleyball player but never played basketball. Why? Because it made my hands dirty. Beyond that, the risk of breaking a nail is ever-present and my risk-averse nature just begs me to keep things low-key and safe.
Coming up is the state time trial championship - something I've been looking forward to for a while. It'll be a fitting end to the 'formal' road season. I'll be doing some local small races later in September with the guys but other than that, it'll be cross until I can no longer stand the freezing coldness.
What have I been listening to? Lots of stuff. Here's a sample:
Gamma Ray - Beck
Electric Uncle Sam - Primus
Only - Nine Inch Nails
The Fool and Me - Robin Trower
Driven to Tears - The Police
Murray - Peter Yorn
Original Fire - Audioslave
The Hives Meet the Norm - The Hives
Every Day I Love You Less and Less - Kaiser Chiefs
Juicebox - The Strokes
Deep - PJ
Jane Says - Jane's Addiction
French Fries With Pepper - Morphine
Get off This - Cracker
Temptation - The Tea Party
Nothingness - Living Color
Sweet Wine of Love - Robin Trower
Right Place, Wrong Time - Dr. John
March of the Swivelheads - The English Beat
Thanks for checking in - I hope to have some good news to share post-TT this weekend!
Last weekend was some track racing in Kenosha - a velodrome I've not ever raced on. Whoa - it's significantly more steep than Northbrook and made me pretty nervous! That said, I did a decent 2K pursuit and jumped into the points race to mix it up with the guys. It was truly a lot of fun - we had excellent weather and the vibe was so mellow it was almost like I wasn't racing. Well, I take that back. I was 'slightly' tense before my pursuit.... The guys had an impressive team pursuit performance - fast and smooth. It was cool just to watch them.
'Cross for me this year will be totally without stress - no anxiety and just try to have fun. It's not going to be about winning but instead just staying fit and being positive. I'm going to try my best to avoid having the ever-present right calf bruise courtesy of regular pedal smacking this fall. Cross is dirty and well, I don't like dirt. And I really dislike mud. Anyone who knows me is aware that when I was a kid I was a really good softball and volleyball player but never played basketball. Why? Because it made my hands dirty. Beyond that, the risk of breaking a nail is ever-present and my risk-averse nature just begs me to keep things low-key and safe.
Coming up is the state time trial championship - something I've been looking forward to for a while. It'll be a fitting end to the 'formal' road season. I'll be doing some local small races later in September with the guys but other than that, it'll be cross until I can no longer stand the freezing coldness.
What have I been listening to? Lots of stuff. Here's a sample:
Gamma Ray - Beck
Electric Uncle Sam - Primus
Only - Nine Inch Nails
The Fool and Me - Robin Trower
Driven to Tears - The Police
Murray - Peter Yorn
Original Fire - Audioslave
The Hives Meet the Norm - The Hives
Every Day I Love You Less and Less - Kaiser Chiefs
Juicebox - The Strokes
Deep - PJ
Jane Says - Jane's Addiction
French Fries With Pepper - Morphine
Get off This - Cracker
Temptation - The Tea Party
Nothingness - Living Color
Sweet Wine of Love - Robin Trower
Right Place, Wrong Time - Dr. John
March of the Swivelheads - The English Beat
Thanks for checking in - I hope to have some good news to share post-TT this weekend!
