Snow

This past weekend was full of fun, but hard riding and skiing.

Saturday some of us went out into the snowstorm on our mountain bikes and did some dirt road riding. The snow was coming down hard and fast and the roads were impossible. It was very difficult to stay in a straight line, and just as difficult to stay upright on the bike on some roads. There were some sections that were so icy, that if you went down, you slid for a long time. The first time I crashed, I just started laughing. But even funnier than when I fell, was when others went down. We ended up going only 18 miles in 2 hours, but it was one of my favorite rides to date.

After the ride, I ate some lunch and then Brendan and I went skiing in the Arb. We were out for a little over an hour and half. There were some really fun downhills and some good uphills that helped build up my confidence on the skis. After the two activities, I was pretty tired, but quite happy with a day full of snowy fun.

Sunday, Steve and I went skiing at Brighton. The trail was actually pretty hard packed and fairly well groomed, so it was a really good time. I only crashed about two times, so I am definitely improving. This day was also pretty tough, though. There were some tough uphills, one of which my heart rate got over 180.

So, instead of years past when I got upset when it snowed, I embraced the snow this weekend and had a lot of fun. I think it is supposed to stay cold and keep snowing all week, so the fun isn't over yet.

2008

I thought I would put down the numbers from 2008 really quick. I ended up with 395 hours, 5129 miles, about 2000 of which was on the MTB. Half of my time was spent on the MTB- hopefully I can step that up a bit more this year.

With 5 race wins and the State Championship, it turned out to be a really good year. Collegiate season was pretty anticlimactic after such a good summer season, but with my training plan this year (a lot more base), I think that shouldn't happen next fall (of course if I go out east or out west, I am probably going to get my butt kicked anyway).

So now it is time to ride lots. Last week I put 15 hours in, with 200 miles outside. This week has been a little harder to get outside, but I am still putting a good amount of time in. (Yes, I cracked and started riding inside- there are some days it just isn't worth it to freeze my butt off.)

Hockey

After skiing for five days in a row, and because the weather is pretty nasty outside, I decided I would go play hockey. It is kind of a ritual for me now to go play once a year to remind myself that it is a pretty fun sport.

It is a lot different from mountain biking. I thought for sure, since I ride so much and am in such good shape, hockey would be no problem. But sprinting from one end of the ice to the other still makes me have to take a little breather. My feet were hurting most of the time, and I have blisters on my heels now, most likely where calluses used to be.

I was a little worried at first that I would have forgotten how to skate and handle a puck. It came right back though. It just like riding a bike (although that phrase has a different meaning now).

Anyway, it was fun to play again and I hope that there is intramural hockey wherever I go to grad school, but after all this skiing and hockey, I am very excited to get back on the bike for the long cold rides of January.

First time skiing

I went out XC skiing for the first time ever today. It was a lot of fun, but challenging.

I ended up falling about 7 times, one of which was a pretty nice face plant into the snow. I will say that falling on skis is a lot less painful then crashing off a mountain bike. It is a lot harder to get up though.

I haven't ridden much since Iceman because school has been quite busy. (That's just my very good excuse- I actually have enjoyed the time off.) I am excited to get back into it, though. Now that school won't be busy again for a while, I don't have an excuse, but I don't think I will need one.

I have gone on a couple bike rides this week with very cold temps and wind chills. Frozen water bottles and frozen sweat on my glasses seem to be quite common now. Can't wait to start doing it everyday...

XC Skiing

Yesterday I bought some cross country skis. They still have to come in, but I am very excited to give new sport a try, since I haven't done any sport but cycling since high school when I played hockey.

And now I have decided not to ride inside once this winter. Either ride or ski.

Back on the Bike

I made my return to biking today after a 2 week hiatus. It was a nice three hour local loop ride with Steve. With the exception of no feeling in my tarsals, it was an awesome ride.

I got to try out some singletrack I have never ridden before. It was pretty technical and was tough enough that Steve and I had to walk a bit of it.

That is all...I just wanted to share my excitement that I am riding again. It is colder now, but it is still great to ride. My knee is feeling a lot better now, too.

So here goes the start to a couple month long base mile period.

Blog

It has been a long time and a lot has happened since the last time I posted on this blog. Since I got back from Florida, I have raced 14 races and only won one (out of 1 racer). This last half of the year didn't go as well as the first year as far as results are concerned, but it was still fun...at least most of it.

The Tailwind series ended with Stony Creek XC. It was one of the muddiest races I've done (until the next week at MSU- where I lost all braking ability). I got 1st place out of 1 in the race, which clinched my overall series championship. So, I was this years Expert Men 19-29 State Champion. Plus I got a free Iceman entry out of it.

Collegiate season was really long. We raced 6 weekends straight and it took its toll on my body. Combined with my way too serious attitude about race during the last half (which goes against everything I bike for), my form declined more and more each weekend.

After having a great race halfway through the season at Lindsey Wilson, where I was sitting 2nd almost the whole race until I crashed with a couple miles to go, then rapidly declining, I decided not to go to Nationals. It gave me a much needed month off from racing before Iceman a couple weeks ago.

Iceman went very well. I got fifth, but I still had a lot of fun and was in the lead for most of the race despite having crashed in the first couple miles and losing touch with the leaders.

One aspect of my racing that has improved the most this year is my starts. I have gotten very good at starting and was able to be in the top three for almost all collegiate races this year going into the woods, with a couple hole-shots. Starting better has had an amazing impact on my racing. Going into the woods third position at Lindsey Wilson definitely was a huge factor in my being in second place for most of the race.

The collegiate season marked some ups and downs. After Lindsey Wilson, I started taking racing too seriously and it started not being fun. Here is a picture of me being too serious:
During the third lap at regionals, I finally started having fun and enjoying myself. I rode out the rest of the race with Chris and Jon, and we were just chatting the entire race (mainly bashing Union). Here is a picture of me being not-serious (a fake sprint with Chris and Jon, we let Chris win since it was his birthday):

The best thing about this season was getting Kelly Bartlett into it. She started out already awesome...there must be good cycling in the Bartlett genes. She won 3 out of the 4 races she did. Her skill improved rapidly in just the few weeks she started riding. She bought a bike only two weeks into it and raced her first race only three weeks into it. Here is Kelly looking awesome going up a hill.
Unfortunately, she broke her collarbone and Team BCB won't be able to ride together again until spring. Team BCB is Kelly, Steve, and me. It is our super-cool team created once we got kelly into it.

I think I will start writing again, since Mike has a new blog (which means I will get some traffic again).