cycling
It's been a long time since I've gone on a real ride. Very long. So I've set two goals for myself. On a short term, I have challenged myself to ride 300 miles in 30 days. Yes I'm starting slowly, but like I said earlier, it's been a long time. So long, that after two comutes home, my butt is sore for the first time... Well, ever.
I almost understand what all of those customers at the bike shops were complaining about. Almost. I'm riding a road bike with a Ti Flight saddle that's as hard (if not harder) than a rock. I'll get over the soreness in a few days as my calice begins to form. ;)
The commute home is 2 miles, but I've found a few routes that have extended the ride to 7.72 and 10.86 miles. Next week I'll try a 15.3 mile route. This one includes an overpass up and back. Let's see if I can still climb at a decent pace. I've already charted a 25 mile weekend route with two causeway crossings. Maybe in February. Surprisingly, on the second day (10.86 miles) I was able to maintain a nice 16mph pace. Thank God for muscle memory.
My second goal is more long term. I'd like to get back into racing. So far, my sight is set on the FSC series in September 2010.
Wish me luck. I know I'll need it.
I was watching mountain biking on the Olympics this morning and from the very begining I bitched. The course was under three miles and there were no real obsticles. Then, toward the end of the men's race one of the comentators asked: "what happened to US mountain biking?"
I'll tell you what happened. European cycling happened. All of the rejected roadies decided to take an easier rout. Then they realized that MTBing was dificult, so they bitched to the UCI and all of a sudden ex-roadies were placing in off road races.
The trail in Beijing did have two rock gardens and a set of small ledges. But the gardes were down hill and the ledges were six inches tall. There were no rythm sections, no DH swithbacks, no jumps, no river crosses, no log jams and no rollercoaster sections. And WTF? A pit section with tools and spare parts? Can this be any more of a road race? This trail might as well have been on a park with ducks and the Muppets singing while riding beach cruisers.
US MTBing didn't die. The racers just didn't become roadies. And I'm ok with that. I enjoy getting dirty on the trail.
