The latest cycling happenings......

Hello again!
I haven't had much cycling oriented stuff to write about lately. Actually since starting this blog I've come to realize that I really don't have much to say! That said, I've made my hotel reservations for the Fiesta Island time trial on May 10th. Which also happens to be my birthday weekend....whoopie. http://www.fiestaisland.com/. I also signed up for the Great Western Bicycle Rally in Paso Robles set for Memorial Day weekend. http://www.greatwesternbicyclerally.com/. I'm mainly going for the time trial on Saturday, but myself and a friend from work are heading out Friday and camping on site Friday night.
Closer to home I'll be attending the Fresno Cycling Club's monthly time trial on Thursday April 16th. Here is there website, http://www.fresnocycling.com/. I'll post my before training base line that I received this past October. I can't remember the actual time, but the average speed was 22.4 miles per hour. I'm hoping to best that and am hoping to break 25 miles per hour by the end of the season. I'm not sure that will be possible, because that is really starting to fly, but we'll see! Hmm, what has come in the mail recently.
I received my replacement chain and eccentric bolts from Van Dessel yesterday. I can't say enough about the Country Road Bob that I make my 14 mile commute or the company themselves. I'll try real hard to make my road bike a Van Dessel
if I can round one up cheap enough! Here is a link to Van Dessel, http://www.vandesselsports.com/. Oh, I also ordered a pair of race tires for the time trial bike. Hold on to your seat... they cost me 180.00 with the glue and valve extenders! That's a lot of cash! I know car tires that cost less than that! It is actually possible to get an entire bike for less than that, but I wouldn't want to ride it. Since I'm not the flashy type, I went for the blue and yellow Tufo Jet Special tires. I figure blue and yellow tires will blend into the background nicely.
Well, I've got to head to work which will be real fun after the intervals I did on the trainer this morning!
Darren

I Love Fridays!

Fridays give many people lots of reasons to love them. I'd like to highlight some of the reasons I love Fridays. There are a couple reasons that Friday isn't great, but they are far outweighed by the pluses.



1. Friday means getting off of work usually before the sun goes down, at least since the time change! This is good for me because I don't even have to turn on the lights on my bicycle commute. Of course traffic if the worst on Friday evening, but that's okay.



2. I go into work earlier on Friday, so the workload is shared by us night shifters, and the day shift. So, plenty of people for the amount of work. Plus you get to shoot the bull with day shift guys before they leave for the day.



3. Barbecue! Well this isn't a Friday given, but it can be a regular thing at work. Of course today will be a shop carnitas day. (also known as pork ball day).



4. The weekend is starting! Do really need to explain the merits of that?



5. I actually get to see my wife before she goes to bed! We work opposite shifts during the week, so getting home before her bedtime is the best!



6. Eating out! I can ruin my weight management for the entire week, by celebrating the weekend with pizza, or burgers, or Chipotle, or some other sort of guilty pleasure that I don't get to do during the week!



I think I could go on, but it is Friday and that means I have 3 less hours before work than usual...........ugh.....man, I hate Friday!!

Back in the saddle......on the saddle?

Well, I got back on the trainer today. I think I may know a small part of my motivation problem. I believe that the work involved in order to actually get going on the trainer may discourage me from working out. If you'll notice the first picture my workout space is covered with 2800lbs. of Zanzibar red Boxster. After I get decked out in my riding clothes minus the shoes, I have to go out and take the Boxster off the battery charger (that's how little it is driven anymore). Then hop in and pull it out of the garage, and set up the bike on the trainer. I have to check the air in the bike tires, set up the ladder, which serves as a shelf for various objects like kitchen timer for the intervals, water, and of course phone. I never hear the phone, because of the ear buds at such decibel levels, but I can see it fall off the ladder when it vibrates itself onto the floor. Of course I can't forget to set up the fan on the car wash bucket. Then it's back inside to grab Bonham's blanket and toys, so he'll stay occupied while I'm pedalling. Of course he's trying to bring me and the blanket down as I carry it outside. Back inside again to grab the Heart monitor, water, gloves, Ipod, and put on the shoes. Once all of that is done you get the next picture: Darren's Elite Full Service Time Trial Training Center! Of course you will notice that such a place requires it's own security force, the famous Bonham the Boxer mailman bouncer!

Well I guess the Point to this is, in order to train for 35 minutes minus warmup, I need to spend 35 minutes getting ready. Also everything that I did to setup has to be reversed before I can go in and take a shower! So, if I can come up with a way to streamline the process, maybe I'll be more apt to keep to the schedule, and not miss workouts! Maybe it's time to get rid of the Boxster!!

Ride Fast!

It's a Problem of Motivation

As an aspiring time trialist, I've spend a lot of time and virtual miles on the trainer in the garage. It isn't because it is terribly cold, but the training is terribly specific and most times can't be duplicated on the road. In the begining of my training regime, (October) I had no problem keeping to the schedule. During the winter months when steam would rise from my skin, no problem there either. Now that it is sunny and perfect weather, I can't bring myself to make it into the garage set up the trainer and get moving! Maybe it's because it is so nice out, and I'd rather be out enjoying the weather, then why do I not leave the house? The Ipod has helped for quite some time now, but now it does nothing. I was very motivated until my first time trial of the season, which was the PIRU time trial in southern California. http://www.uncletren.com/ This time trial attracted some very fast people and although I finished 2nd. out of four in my class (35-45 year old regular people without licenses). My "victory" was blunted by the fact that I was a full minute out of first, and only 2 seconds out of 3rd. So it was a middle of the pack run made difficult by watching the categorised racers motoring past me. What made it worse, was the 71 year old that bested my time by more than a couple seconds! So I'm wondering if I've given up so as to not be humiliated at the next time trial? I don't know. I promise to get back onto the trainer and keep it up for the next one which is April 16th. put on by the Fresno Cycling Club. http://www.fresnocycling.com/ Plus the bonus is even if I start my training with fury, I can always blame the couple weeks off I took this month! Yes! I have an excuse! Of course I'm sure it will be windy that day too......head winds really can suck the speed huh! Is that two excuses? All right! Good to go!

On another note, here's a picture from our shopping this weekend. That's a lot of water! I've got to figure out where to put 10 more cases of water while rotating stock to use the other 10 cases of water before these! What is it with bottled water? Well for me it's the taste. I can't stomach Fresno tap water. Also I'm pretty particular about the brands of bottled water I will drink. Odd I know, but I'm sure I'm not the only one! By the way, these pictures are all just snapshots taken with Carolyn's point and shoot and not the awesome D-300 that my best bud got me such a great deal on when Circuit City still was a store!

Speaking of my best bud, I'm really trying to get him riding with me even if it's just low speed riding. Maybe if I call him out publicly he'll get out with me huh?? Well until next time......Ride fast!

My first post!

Hello All! I'm not sure what to do, so I guess I'll introduce myself and my family. I'm Darren, a civil service technician residing in the great central valley of California. I'm most happily married to Carolyn. She is a professional business person and student. She is the best at whatever she decides to do and I'm grateful she picked me to marry! Here are a few pictures of us, and our two "children" Bonham, and Bubba. Bubba is the ferocious Chihuahua and Bonham is the happiest Boxer on the planet.

I'm going to try to keep this blog about cycling, cars and photography, but I'm sure this will ramble a bit based on my ever changing obsessions...er...interests. See I'm the kind of person that will pick up a new hobby or interest, and obsess about it singularly until one day, it becomes old mews in my mind and have to find a new obsession....er...interest. Cycling, sports cars, particularly Porsche, and photography are the most current interests, although the cars are quickly taking a back seat the the bikes. Even though I have a Porsche, I've managed to put at least twice as many miles in the bikes in the last year than the car! the worst part is I've also managed to put twice the money in the bikes as the car! As for the bikes, I'll get the pictures of them up soon, the fleet is growing rapidly including two single speed "commuter" bikes and a time trial bike. Hopefully soon I'll add a proper road bike, and will be looking for suggestions!

The first single speed bike I bought was an 06 Giant Bowery. It has proven to be a great ride and I managed to put about 3,000 miles on it this past year. The latest addition to the bike fleet is a Van Dessel Country Road Bob. http://www.vandesselsports.com/crb.html. This ride is awesome! I love the bike although there were a few teething problems. Broke the first chain commuting to work after about 20 miles on the odometer, but the nice folks at Van Dessel are sending a new chain out and it should be here soon. Last but not least is the time trial bike. This bike is a real kick when I want to fly, and it has helped me in my budding super amateur career as a time trial specialist. More on that later! Well this should be enough for the first post. I promise more cycling and non interesting stuff about me soon, so until then RIDE FAST!