A Crack in the Road

So I just ate 1.3 cookies from Paradise Bakery. One oatmeal-raisin and 1/3 choco-chip. I wanted some free wi-fi and I already had enough koffe this morning. Feeling a little guilty. I'll get over it. Simple pleasures as the Russians will say.

so I am sitting here at Paradise outside. It was all nice and quiet until what I think is a work group from a salon rolled in. Pretty ******* obnoxious. They were sitting out in the sun then moved into the shade. The girl who is refuses to eat, not b/c she is "trying to be healthy." Wait, she is eating a banana. But the comment out of her which is definitely the line of the day..."If i was in shorts and t-shirt, it would be okay to sit out here. I'm in work clothes, I don't want to go back to work glistening." Yep, no "glistening" for this beauty queen.

My visit to Denver has been going great until these shmucks showed up. Now they are trying to make sure they didn't get charged more than they should have for their lunch.

Wait...update on their jobs. They look to be workers at a dept store. One of the guys has a jean jacket with sparkles on the back which read, "totally"

And that pretty much wraps up this entry...
chow,
Matthew
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Whoa...Two Ramblings in One Day

Training agenda for today was threshold. Most amateurs don't train this aspect enough. Probably because its a more time-sensitive workout. Threshold can be trained to a much higher level than the VO2 stuff which is limited highly to genetic code, not to say its not trainable. But lactic threshold can see more substantial gains. Your lactic threshold, LT, is basically the highest power you can sustain for a period typically greater than 10min. Anything less taps to much into anaerobic. So why train LT? A good LT will allow you to ride in higher "race" zones w/o going into the red too early. Its also super important for solid climbing and especially time trial efforts.

I decided to roll up to Left Hand Canyon for my 3 20min efforts. I was hoping for light winds, but my hopes went down the drain when I rolled out the door with a nasty 15-30mph breeze from the W-SW. It basically doubled my warmup but thats okay I guess. When i rolled onto Left Hand, which is probably one of the more popular climbs, i thought the canyon would provide some relief. Well, it provided relief only to b-slap me around unforseen turns. I was working on keeping my power decay negative, or zero power decay with the last effort being the highest output. I was doing really well keeping the efforts in check w/o blowing too early. I've been working on pacing myself better and trying to maitain a flat to upward power curve rather than a downward sloping. On the last one, I laid it all out and buried myself. The winds made it difficult b/c I was constantly shifting up or down. Not cog to cog, but 53 to 39 with a 15 to 19. The gruppo held up but its not so good for avg power. I did what i could and left it all out on the road which all one can ask for.

Tomorrow is a "feet up" day as per my Director Sportif, DS, Shawn. I'm going to use the nice day to explore Denver a little bit. I'm going to do the green thing and take the bus. Should be fun. Hopefully i will get some nice photos.

Chow,
Matthew

Daily Musings...

Topic: Body Cleanses
Definition courtesy of Wikipedia: "Body cleansing or detoxification is a treatment in alternative medicine which proponents claim rid the body of accumulated harmful substances that exert a negative effect on individual health. Critics argue that such cleansings are often unnecessary, and are based on questionable or disproved scientific claims."

My thoughts: Basically, people who want a cleanse are hoping to rid themselves of toxics in their system. Fair enough. But the means they go through with it are quite bizarre and not healthy in my humble opinion. Doing a week-long, tabasco/cinnamon/water cleanse is not my ideal way to rid my body of toxics(and yes, I know someone who did this). I asked her how she felt..."I was a little weak the first few days but afterwards I felt good." Okay so hunger pains set in, then your body went into conservation/survival mode. Not what I deem as healthy.

My suggestion and this goes to all of you out their struggling with dieting as well. Diets are worthless in the long term. The best way to lose weight and keep it off is to increase muscle and aerobic capacity. But the ultimate key is the idea: "Calories in are less than Calories Out." So if you eat less calories than you burn, you will lose weight. I think everyone struggles with weight at some point in their life. I think about it. Now, you think ohh you can eat all you want. Ohh contraire, being a top-competition rider requires one to manage weight properly. In cycling we have this magic number. Its called Power-to-Weight. Its the power in watts that you can create per kilo of weight. Its not as significant on the flats but as soon as the road goes up, its huge. Without the benefit of draft, you are at the mercy of fundamental physics, gravity. The key for cyclists and for others is to find their lowest weight w/o sacraficing power. Its difficult and takes lots of time to figure out. I had dinner with Shawn and Karl last night. We were looking over my old training files. In April 2005, at that time I was 77kg. Last night I weighed in at 73kg. My power has increased by over 100 watts. Its not a world-class p-t-w but I know i have a lot more considering the power numbers were much higher last may. For cyclists, you can either increase power or decrease weight. Both have limits so its better to find a combo.

Okay now back to cleansing. Its stupid. The vast majority of those who enter cleanses go right back to their old habits days or weeks afterways. Sure you get that "ohh I feel so healthy and proud of myself" feeling but its all temporary. What one needs to do is make a life change. I started giving up stuff with lots of sugar in it. I think its definitely helped shed pounds and I also focus now on eating plenty of high-fiber and greens along with fresh fruit. Is it easy? Hell no! I like to think of my daily food intake as equally important as a hard training ride. I wouldn't botch a ride so why should I botch food? But I do sometimes slip. I'm a foodie so its my cross to bear I guess. But its okay to occassionally slip. Otherwise you would lead to deprivation then to overconsumption. So the key is moderation. Now when I was in Europe I wrote a lot about the food. Everyone thinks Americans are overweight. They are compared to the rest of Europe. But its not what we eat, its how we eat and how much of it. In France, portions are small, but caloric/fat density is super high. They also walk more and don't eat as much on the go. So you want to maintain the foodie lifestyle? Cut back on the serving size and walk to the store rather than drive.

Ohh and get on your bicycle, its faster and more healthy =)

Chow,
Matthew

Sun, Snow, and Wind...Just Another Colorado Day

After putting in a pretty big week already, today was suppose to be an endurance ride day of 4 hrs. My plan was to do the GS Boulder group ride that leaves out of Niwot Cycles. After thoroughly doping myself with Allegro coffee at Eye Opener, I walked out only to find a few riders, and no GS riders. I chatted for a bit, and we finally rolled out. I stayed on the front b/c I wanted max workout and I prefer leading than following with riders I don't know too well. We did the Fruit Loops route out to Lyons. Its basically an hour out. At that point they decided to rest and were going to return. I was craving more. So I did want anyone one craving some good saddle time would do, i started climbing to Estes Park. I took the Hwy 36 route. There was considerable traffic and very little shoulder. Next time, i would take Hwy 7 which is a little more protected and rolls through the canyon. As I went higher the long sleeve jersey got unzipped and the gloves came off. I was settling into a good climbing rhythm with pretty good power. The wind finally showed its face and up'd the ante on the entire climb. Bascially, I rode as hard as I could and did my best to hug the inside hoping for some relief. Wasn't much. Climbing with headwinds is pretty damn hard. Riding with any headwind is damn hard for that matter. Just look at those pros at the Tour of California. I think Thursday's stage will probably go down as one of the hardest days on the bike for any of those riders. Brutal headwinds and rain for 135mi. But I digress....

So I'm pushing hard on the climb and making pretty solid time. I really had no idea what to expect which is pretty much what I experience on ever ride now. So much exploration. I soon begin to feel a little colder. When you are climbing you tend to stay warm b/c there is not much airflow and you are burning lots of kcals. Then I saw this little white flake hit me. Sure enough it was snowing. I had visions of the 1986? Giro d'Italia when Andy Hampston killed up a huge climb in blizzard/whiteout conditions. Now it wasn't that bad but it definitely peaked my interest to keep going higher and see how much snow I could face. Up ahead i could see it was coming down pretty good. So I made the "smart" decision to turn around just have mile marker 4 which is also the top of the climb before descending into Estes Park. I also decided it was probably a good idea to zip up and put the gloves on. When I turned around, I was gifted with a nice descent, tailwind and snow. I thought I was pretty cool as I was rolling down at 68-72km/h with snow covering my jersey and just churning the pedals with sweet rhythm. As I got lower, the temps climbed and I got the most enjoyable thing of making some fast turns with gnarly side gusts. You can see the trees and shrubbery up ahead being toyed with by the wind so you can kind of expect a little something. But, I must say its pretty stressful descending with winds that want to throw your bike from under you. You just have have to manhandle the bars and continue to pedal which keeps the bike balanced.

When i got back to Lyons, i rolled out towards Carter Lake. Its a rolling route but today I had 30-40mph side and headwinds. I can't imagine running a deep dish set out here. My ksyrium elites felt like they were going to be blown away. On the way back, I was feeling jumpy and just threw it in the 53 and started hammering. Surprisingly, it worked really well in the sidewinds. I got tucked into super aero mode and just churned the pedals. I think I probably surprised a lot of people but riding tempo with heavy sidewinds was the go-to play for today. Finally, I made it back to Niwot Rd and took a left to ride the tailwind 1.5k back home. It was a solid 4.5hours. Not so much an endurance ride, but it was a solid day in the saddle.

Tomorrow is a no-saddle day. I think it will probably be my first day off the bike in 3 weeks. This week was good training. Rest and recovery are also part of a good training week so I must adhere =)

Now hopefully I can fall asleep soon. I got a good deal on Raisin Bran yesterday and its wrecking the GI =) As I learned in economics, "There is no such thing as a free lunch."

Chow,
Matthew

Carter Lake Ride...Ohh the sketchiness

Plan for today was to do the Carter Lake ride. This is a popular Sat group ride which rolls out at 10am and from Boulder to Carter Lake. Just about 105km. Shawn got me all the logistics for the ride so I rolled out and when i saw the group approaching I was blown away. There had to have been close to 100 riders rolling down Hwy36. I jumped in. Lots of pros and amateurs. Ivan Stevic was rollin' in his UCI B Rainbow kit which is pretty cool. This guy is always killing it in the races. Several other Jelly Belly, Toyota-United, BMC, Successful living guys.

As for the ride, it pretty much sucked. It was up/down for the first 45min. Then they group made a huge swing across the road in front of traffic and then it opened up. Now, I am all for cycling and cycling on the roads. But based upon past experiences, I know that cyclists never win. The pace picked up and instead of keeping it all together, the group was taking up the entire right lane and others were rolling up the left side. Completely sketchy. Now if there was a rolling enclosure that might be different but even then s*** can still hit the fan. After being a little sketched out, all the sudden everything went crazy. A car comes rolling up on the left going pretty fast and then all I hear are horns and brakes screeching. Nearly a head on collision between this car and truck with some 60riders right next to it. At that point, I dropped back. Its not worth it. I ended up hooking up with 5 other riders and we rode in a proper 2x2 formation. None of this whole lane bs. When the climb came, I started off a little easy just to see the others, then I opened it up. Felt good to open up and beat those altitude guys to the top. Altitude is still keeping my hr up but every day is getting better. I presume I will be solid in another 2-3weeks. When I was in Phoenix last weekend, it was amazing b/c I could actually breath. So I am pretty excited about seeing the gains I will make when I finally get acclimated, continue to train hard, and then head to lower levels. Should be good.

Now, a little more updating. I've been training like a mad man. Next month, i start my part-time gig. I'm getting a Charles in Charge gig for all you 80s tv fans. Yep, I'm going to be a nanny for an 11.5yr old boy. I'm really looking forward to it. It should be a fun gig, allow me to train a lot, and it will be cool to hang out with the kid going mtn biking, cooking, homework, etc. I am also going to be starting my new coaching job. I will let you all know the complete details in the coming weeks. It should be good.

If you are interested in coming to Colorado to ride, Shawn and I are working on putting together a Colorado climbing/training camp. She ran one last year in Sept and it was a great success. I will post the information in the coming weeks as Shawn and I hash it out.

Tomorrow I'm doing a endurance ride with some local club. I'll probably tack on a few extra hours. Hoping to get 5-6 in the saddle tomorrow. Weather is suppose to be phenomenal, upper 50s and sunny. Perhaps a big vertical day =)

Chow,
Matthew

Back to Training

I'm sitting here watching Le Tour de California. BMC is totally killing it. You have to love the protagonists as the euros call it. I did my best today to not follow the live text feed from Velonews b/c I wanted it to be all surprises tonight. Rock Racing is throwing out all the stops with their advertising. Nothing like some skeletons on your team kit.

BTW, if anyone in the greater Boulder area is reading this and on a team, I'm putting myself out there...ie I'm looking for a team still. What will you get? Someone who will work their ass off, travel to all the races, be a good citizen, and cook up some great food. Enough of me pimping myself out...

After a good weekend of racing at VOS, it was time to get back to some proper training. Yesterday I did some peak power outputs or PPOs. These are intervals that are basically all out from the start which leaves one gasping and throbbing with lactic acid through the entire body. These are great for training b/c they train your body for high intensity and get your used to the pain. Today's workout was a little different. Today was all about the high cadence and sprints. As I have mentioend before, the high cad stuff is great b/c it trains your legs to spin and develops fast twitch which are great for accelerating on a climb or busting out of turn belgian style. Ended the day with some track stand sprints. By the end I was totally cooked and struggling to feel my fingers due to the Colorado cold.

On a racing note. I saw my belgian buddy, Alex Coutts, had a great performance at the Tour de Langkiwa in Malaysia. He got 16th overall which is a sick result. Glad to see he was able to get a ride with Team Giant Asia after his DFL squad went kaput. Look for this guy to continue to make some good results. We did some great training rides together in the Ardennes.

Chow,
Matthew

VOS 2008

Well, 4 burritos, 3 days of racing, lots of cereal, and now I'm on a jet plane back to Denver. This weekend was all about getting some racing kms, getting back in the game, and proving anything is possible with determination, hardwork, and help from friends and family. Today's criterium was 40min in length. It was a fairly tight figure-8 course with a few nasty little bits in the turns. After the first loop, as you make your way to the second loop there was a concrete median with a few haybales. I was hoping they would have put a flag up to mark the bales b/c it was sometimes hard to see. Even the Belgians have flagwavers when the road splits, but racing is a little more proper in Belgium in my humble opinion.Having no racing kms in the legs prior to this weekend, my pack positioning definitely needed a little tune-up. I had a hard time following wheels in the beginning, but I guess it doesn't matter where you are until the last few laps. Except that its less energy usage while riding from the front. So with 4 to go, i made a sweet move up the ride side when the field slowed. Looking back perhaps I should have just gone for it from there. I was sitting good on 3rd wheel with 2 to go and thinking in my head, I'm going to make a move but I just needed a little bit more speed to spread the field out some more. I watched the sides and had elbows out and shut doors on people to preserve as much as i could. But the left side filled in and I saw my sweet position and options lessen. Trying my best to push my way through, I didn't get what i needed. So i lined up for the sprint but just didn't have the speed to get it. I'm pretty confident I was around 12th but race officials had me at 17th. Unfortunately, the VOS officials weren't good about getting results up too quick and by the time I was able to check it, they were official and no changes could be made. Whatever, I had a great weekend, and I proved a lot to myself about what is possible.

Now, getting back to what is possible and some of my race commentary and observations. On July 26, I used ever ounce of energy to pull myself out of the ditch, get up, and hobble towards the road hoping i would see Diana. It was one of those moments in life where you muster up some unbeknown strength. This weekend I did so much for myself and hopefully others by racing hard and getting back to the sport i love. I always said, "All great champions must face their worst before they can display their best." Laying in Westchester Medical Center with my family nearby, I was clearly at the bottom as far as I have experienced. My comeback began when i made those first steps out of the ditch and this weekend's racing proved I'm on the right track to do something amazing. For all of you out there who have gone through something lifechanging, I hope you continue to improve and I want to share all my success this weekened and this year with you. Because its more than just about me, 1000s of people go through recoveries or tragedies every day and mine is no worse or more shocking than anyone else.

To some racing commentary...I continued to overhear riders in the peloton today talking about how much wattage they had to just put out or how much they did in the sprint. Okay so maybe its cool to see a new max effort, but racing is about making your bike go fast and minimizing your efforts while exploiting others. so if you had to put in 500watt 10sec effort to get back on, what the hell where you doing to put yourself into that position. Now crashes and mechanicals are one thing but losing focus on the wheel in front of you isn't. I'm not saying i followed wheels perfectly today, but I did make moves when i needed too and minimized my efforts. Focus on the race, not on the power meter, your heart rate or your speed. Those are all distractions. you don't see many pros with all the gadgetry in the races. The biggest difference between racing here in the 2,3s vs belgian kermesses is that everyone here thinks they are a sprinter and no one wants to take any chances. Racing is up and down and the field stays together. In Belgium, the race would have been shredded to 10-15 riders in the lead group from the start of 100. today, we had nearly every one of the 100 starters finish. its the lack of attacking and the large teams not wanting to do anything. if you have a large team, I would be really pissed as a director if my guys didn't make shit happen. Sitting around for leisure rides is stupid.

Okay now to my stupid comment of the weekend. A rider from NorCal says that he didn't start the crit b/c he didn't want to have his poor results from stage 1 or 2 to go on his record. now, I am sure they will still show up. But my point is WTF are you racing for if you are too damn scared to get a less than perfect placing. This kind of attitude totally sucks and I would never want to be associated with anyone that takes on that philosophy in any sport or job. Not every race can be won. Every race you should learn something and eventually, things will come together for you and you will rock it. Taking this attitude will never lead you to greater results or performance. I worked my ass of to get back to where i am, and here is some kid who is so damn focused on his permanent record that he would stop racing just so it didn't tarnish his average palmares. People just don't get it sometimes. If you ever feel I am leaning that way or sympathizing then tell me its over and I will no longer be a bike racer. It reminds me of being at Cascade last year. I totally screwed the crit by crashing then got sick. Do I stick with it and finish? Hell yeah I do. I learned so much about myself that last day when i got dropped on the first climb on sunday and crawled my way around the next 59 miles by myself. I finished 22min off the lead. Shitty result, but who cares. Everybody has their bad days. but its the worst days that stregthen you more than your good days. b/c on good days, its easy to ride. But on your toughest days, those are the days when champions shine.

Chow,
Matthew

Sprinting!

Today at the Valley of the Sun...goal: be near the front to follow the moves and be smart. Well, I accomplished that and more. Going into the final lap I knew the final climb and 1k to the finish at the summit people would blow and it would be hairy and fast. Well it was all that. I positioned myself well protected from the wind but keeping my options of escape open in case I had a weak rider in front. Well when it got to the summit I kept pushing harder and making my way up. Then with about 200m to go I knew it was going to be time. I saw a move go on the left and I liked it, and immediately a hole opened and I took it and powered away. Behind I could just hear bikes crashing and wheels being torn, the effects of being in the back of a sprint. I kept pushing and sure enough it worked, 4th! I am totally stoked right now. It wasn't a excessively fast race but the pace put the hurt on everyone. I kept feeling better as the race wore on, which is typical of me. Today was probably the most tactically sound race I have ever ridden. I knew that I had to be savvy b/c my fitness is still coming around. Well, I surprised myself and put some doubts away. Bike racing is so much more than just power. Sure you have to make the wheels go fast but a less fit rider who is smarter can make up for lack of fitness. I watched a lot of stupid moves today. Made huge gains on turns and saved energy b/c I wasn't having to break like others and just didn't do stupid shit. I also stayed hydrated which is one of my prior weaknesses.

One thing I heard a lot of riders talking about while racing were their wattages. I disagree with watching the numbers and thinking about it. Either you turn the pedals to stay with the peloton and make the moves or you don't. Wattages don't matter. What matters in a race is your speed, your positioning, and your smarts. All else is for the birds. Sure I like to see what I did on the SRM, but thats for after the race. I don't even think I looked at the damn thing all race. And I advise the same for everyone else. Either you make the race or you don't.

Today was a great day for me. Again, I want to stress to all the aspiring bike racers out there....don't put yourself into a category "climber," "sprinter," "crit rider," or "road racer." Everyone needs to try to excel and train for all races unless someone is paying you a nice salary to do otherwise. Every race has opportunities for every rider. Today I made the most of it. Tomorrow, I'm looking to do the same.

Chow,
Matthew

Lining Up and Number Pinning

Well, after almost 7 months, I made it back. I started my first race, The Valley of the Sun! When I was pinning numbers on my jersey last night it was weird b/c the last time I did it was in July at Cascade. Madey me reminicse of my days sitting a curb at the Belgian kermesses pinning numbers on and nodding to the old belgian dudes as they checked my bike out and my legs. The latter for purposes of whether I was a good bet for the day or not.

Well, today was the 22km time trial. Weather was pretty much not "Valley of the Sun" with lingering light showers and cold air. The goal for the whole weekend was just get some good racing kms in and enjoy racing the bike. I did just that. But I'm not one to just roll up and not throw down. My ride was middle of the pack. Without any aerobike and only one day of race intensity since July, I was pretty satisfied. I kept power high and managed to get the tt drool, ie foaming from the mouth from exhaustion. TTs are a unique animal. I spoke with Shawn afterwards and we are going to work on getting a tt rig and putting some needed tt training in. Hopefully using one day a week devoted to TT. So much of stage racing in the US is accomplished through a great TT. So putting myself in GC position, i need to get better TT power which will help me translate into becoming the top competition rider I dream about.

Now, when i think I have seen everything, I was doing some riding around Tempe yesterday and i rolled up behind this guy who was riding his bike and simultaneously taxing his plan. Yep, he was taxing his remote plan on the street while riding with traffic. Now, I'm a pretty good bike handler but I'd be pretty hesitant about taxing my remote control plan with one hand on the bike and one on the controls. As you can imagine, one erratic move and the plane is crushed. Werid, but its AZ =)

Tomorrow is the road race, 115km. Plan is to ride near the front and follow the moves. Something will happen hopefully, and I will be a part of it =)

Tonight, we ate at a local italian landmark. The Rock Racing team was next too us. They are pretty much the super gucci squad. They roll in $200 jeans and Cadillac Escalades to the races. Well, my subaru foresters is better and I roll with Patagucci...Boo Yah!

Chow,
Matthew

"So What's in Your Bag?"..."Carbon Tubing."

Q&A with the USAirways agent. The art of travelling with a bicycle is drenched in mystery, luck, and obscurity. One must be coy, assertive, and risk-taking. Why? B/c one shouldn't have to pay $80 fees to ship a bicycle when its underweight by 11lbs.

The key to success is packing the bag lighter than the limit, answering as few as questions as possible and only using basic terms in those answers, and using the kiosk to check in. All of these steps help to minimize face time with the agent. Which is the critical component to getting your bag checked without fee. Of course situations can arise where one must pursue alternative pathways.

B/c my bag is filled with "carbon tubing" I'm not technically lying. Its not really a bike when its not put together. So always be prepared for advanced questions.

Things almost went awry when another passenger asked, "carbon tubing? I thought it was a car part." Idiot! This guy is trying to be involved at 530am and possibly wrecking my entire check-in. Be careful of these people, for they could spoil your plans.

Lastly, be ambitious and risk-taking. You will never know what can happen with a little mysteriousness...

Chow,
Matthew

Riding the Slipstream...

Shawn and I finally made it out today for some good ol' motorpacing. With all the wind we have been experiencing on the Front Range its put a little damper on the high speed times in the slipstream. Yep, we did 1.5 hours of training today with about 1hour behind the car at 33-40mph. Motorpacing is serious fun, highly intoxicating, slightly dangerous for the untrainined, and the best damn race experience w/o racing.

Being in Niwot, getting to some good motorpacing roads is super easy. Ideally you want long, uninterupted, and rather traffic-free roads. Starting out just getting the legs going with some high-cad spinning then Shawn radio'd me up that she was going to pull ahead and for me to drop into the sweet spot. Now, I have done my fair share of illegal motorpacing behind trucks, buses and scooters(Belgium) but today was the first legitimate, ie driver-aware session. And it was goooood...

So why motorpace? Isn't it better to train in the wind? Well, with motorpacing you can simulate race speeds you wouldn't otherwise be able too while on your own. Every time you back off, you fall out of the stream which motivates you more to stay in the groove despite the lactate pumping. Just like in a race, you are doing every bit to not do any excess work which means you are staying on a wheel and drafting as much as possible until the g moment comes and you make your move. With Shawn radio'ng me when cars were approaching or what turn she was going to make or to relax more or to just dig dig dig!

Today was probably some of the best training I have done in a long time. Very focused and intense. The perfect recipe to open the legs up before this weekend's VOS. For the first time since Belgium, I felt the desire to vomit from exhaustion. That's a good thing =) Spent some time in the aero-bars working on some positioning for the TT. Having Shawn in the car radio'ng up how I look and making adjustments was so key to today's training.

Well, tomorrow I'm doing some high cadence "driving" as the Belgians call it. Finally tune up for VOS. Now the plan for the weekend is to have fun, play different options and just get back into racing after a 7mo hiatus and 7 fractures later.

I'm dedicating my comeback race this weekend to all person who have been injured or killed by autos/truck while on their bikes. To be able to line up to race is something I have dreamt about since July. It didn't look too promising those first few days in Westchester, but hard work, lots of prayers, and support from friends and my great family are all making it possible. Watch for the pics and the daily updates via Bomb This Hill!

Chow,
Matthew

Today's Training

Grimpeur'ng

French for climbing...today was a climbing day on the bike. I rolled out after getting fully intoxicated with caffeine from Eye Opener in Niwot. I waited till about 12:40 to depart b/c it was so cold this morning. It warmed up to the mid-upper 40s when i rolled out. I headed up Lefthand Canyon to Ward. This is a very popular climb. Wicked long and pretty quiet. Roads were mostly dry with an occasional water/snow on the road. Starting out at the house at 5200ft, Ward is 9300 ft so quiet a bit of vert...4100ft! Lungs felt good. Then it was a long cold descent to Lyons about 30mi of descending. Looking forward to some warmer weather w/o the wind to really push the hill bombing. By the end, my fingers were completely frozen. Good training though and the views were just absolutely spectacular. I should run a climbing camp for my old buds in CA this summer. Keep your plans open in July/Aug for a CO climbing camp =)
Chow,
Matthew

Wind...ohh the Wind

Thought I was in Belgium along the coast today but I just had to look west and see the snow capped Rockies to remind me, I'm landlocked. We have had two straight days of crazy breeze here. I suited up to get a solid 2 hours in today. Still taking it easy to adjust to the altitude and recover from the driving. I'm feeling quite good. Altitude isn't bothering me as I had imagined. I rolled out today and just headed west then went south towards South Boulder. Saw my first pro, a Toyota United rider on the ride up to Baseline. There is still some ice patches so you have to be johnny on the spot with ice watching. After rolling through downtown, which was quite hectic. I think b/c I don't really know my way around too well, and I'm not sure of what the protocol with bikes on roads. Boulder has an extensive bike route system with lanes and paths. But the problem is I paths stop and start and there isn't really much signage to let you know where to go. Then I'm rolling on the road and cars aren't giving you a cm of room and at pretty high speed. I thought moving to the pro athlete capital of the US, I would find more conscious drivers. Well, I'm dissappointed. When there aren't any shoulders, cars are just flying by. The road gravel they throw down during the snow is still all over the road. Which means little rocks spitting at you as the cars zoom by. Then the wind...ohh the wind. I thought I experienced wind in Chicago, but nothing compared to today. One moment, I'm 53'ng it up a hill at 46km/h then the next turn i leaning sideways i I try to keep it upright then a another turn and I'm pushing over 300watts and going 18km/h and facing a 50km/h headwind going uphill. yeah, it was good mental training. My fingers were cold but i stayed pretty warm. Tomorrow and sunday should be awesome, 50s, sunny and light winds. Doing 3-4hrs tomorrow then motorpacing with Shawn on sunday.

On a culinary note, i made a sick tomato-chipotle black bean soup last night. It was super tasty and spicy.

Things to ponder: I stopped in Petsmart yesterday b/c I was waiting for an appointment. On a few of the fishtanks were signs that said, "Price reduced." There was also language saying they are getting rid of the fish and will no longer stock them. I wondered, what does it feel like if you are being priced low to get rid of like these fish are? Its kind of a sad predicament for these fish right? I asked the attendant and she just said they no longer want the fish and need to get rid of them. Glad I'm not a fish...

Chow,
Matthew

Pactimo Performance Team Building Camp

The Infamous Drive from CA to CO...A Pictoral Legend

A Colorado Experience

Today, I met up with my coach Shawn for some hiking around Walker Canyon. I rolled up to her house way up in the mtns 9k". She showed me around her place and made me an espresso. It was quite tasty. We rolled out and were at the trailehead in 10mins. The loop was 7.2mi and over 8000ft the entire time with 1200ft of elevation gain. I'm not really at liberty to discuss the dangers, but just understand that we put Bjarne's and CSC's teambuilding camp to the test with our own Pactimo Performance team building camp. I felt really good and didn't have a problem with the altitude. I took some nice pics which I will get to you once I download. Its pretty tough hiking through snow, up cliffs and into 40mph+ winds. But let me say, CO is gorgeous and I am so happy to be here. Can't wait to test the legs on some sick climbs when the roads melt a little more. I should be hitting my first road ride tomorrow. This weekend doing some motorpacing with Shawn and her pro friend who rides for Cheerwine. Should be a good tuneup before Valley of the Sun stage race next weekend in PHX.

Chow,
Matthew

Fresh Pow Pow

Its a Blue Bird CO day...fresh 4" of pow yesterday and last night. Might try to go xc'ng later in the park. Yep thats right they have xc'ng in the park here. Boulder kicks ass for the outdoor guru. I did 1 hour on the trainer this morning. Going for another hour this afternoon. Still on the wifi at the EyeOpener. They have just some awesome coffee.

I'm still trying to figure my way around this area. yesterday was pretty hectic with the snow storm that I didn't really know where I was going. But I did recognize the falafal place I hit up 3 years ago on Pearl Street. So I the house I am in has someone shovel the driveway. isn't that crazy? The service is included in the HOA fees. I think the HOA fees also include water and other utilities. Not sure though. We are still getting free cable but we are planning on getting wifi/cable/phone in the house anyways.

The coolest things on american television was on last night. The Colorado State Cyclocross Championships! Thats right, we had bike racing on in the evening in America and it wasn't during Le Tour. I guess I'm in CO =) I'm totally doing cross next year. It looks super fun.

chow,
Matthew

CO Welcomes Me with Snow!

Well, day 1 of my new adventure in CO and its snowing. Expecting 2-4". Maybe some xc'ng is in the forecast for tomorrow. Today its the trainer 1-2hrs. My new place is huge! Once I get settled, i think I will be very happy. Niwot is a cute little town just north of Boulder. No urban riding to great training for me anymore. The town reminds me of Westmeerbeek, BE. I hit up Eye Opener coffee this morning. 4 flavors of kick ass coffee, free refills, free WiFi and just a few minutes walk from the house. Love it! The owner asked me how the WiFi was and I said it was good. Then he gave me permission to park outside his place and poach WiFi. This is crazy. Everyone here is super nice. For the first time ever, I met my neighbors and actually exchanged names. Now you think this is weird, but maybe it is. I guess being a renter, you just don't talk with people. But they are super nice, have two young kids. CO is going to be good for me. I can already tell.

Chow,
Matthew

500mi to Go

In Salt Lake City and just about to go. Getting some fuel for the ride, ie food at the great La Quinta breakfast.

Lots of interesting stuff on the drive from Reno to SLC yesterday. The most...signs that read:

"Picking Up Hitchhikers is Illegal. Prison Nearby"

So I guess, hitchhiking is okay or picking them up as long as you are not near prisons. Now if these prisoners attempted to escape they would probably die in the wasteland that is northern central nevada.


well, I need to jet. more details hopefully later this afternoon when I land in the Republic.
~Matthew

A Trip of Many Surprises

Where in the world is Matthew? Well, I'm pinned up here in The Biggest Little City in the World, Reno that is. The short of it, I ran into some detours, but not to despair. My trip to top competition cycling glory and training, and my new life in the People's Republic would not be complete without complete drama. Didn't get many fotos yesterday but I will upload a few hopefully tonight. My plan is to make it to Rock Springs, WY which is about 350mi shy of the homefront. No need to ironman. Muchas thanks to my loving parents for helping me out yesterday on the phone and the hotel room. And thanks to the crafty web searching by my brother, and #1 fan of Bomb This Hill!, David! You will all be rewarded some how.

Anyways, I am at Starbucks using up the remainder of my 24hr pass on the tmobile network. Hitting the road shortly. Hit me up on the mobile if you need something to do, b/c I will just be humming away on I80 =)

Chow,
Matthew