Remaining Dynamic

Well, I got everything that I wanted for weather today, cold, snowy, and just wet. Unfortunately, I didn't get the race I wanted. I was into bed early last night, slept great. Up early today, had my steel cut oats and was ready to rip of the Koppenburg. After getting essential fuel at WiNot Coffee in Niwot I headed down to Superior. On the way to phoned up the team I was going to race for today and got word that the promotors had cancelled the race. Reason? Too much snow on the course. I thought this was CO, the home of the hard core outdoor enthusiasts! Well, they did the same earlier this week to the Rond de Koln in Germany. Race cancelled b/c of snow. Last night I prepped the Cento for utter brutalness in the mud. Put on my SPD pedals and got the Sidi dominator mtn shoes ready for the chaos. I was really looking forward to it. But the arm throw glory of winning will have to wait another day. Going to put in some hard race-type intervals today. Roads should be dry but I will likely be relegated to the lower elevations. Just a recap, yesterday was sunny and in the upper 50s/low 60s. So by now, I am understanding the weather program here on the front range. If we get beautiful weather on Saturday in the winter/spring then its likely to be nasty the next day. You had to expect it b/c the winds were howling yesterday with lots of people complaining about getting blown off the road. Its definitely hard to ride in the high winds but will make you hard when it gets bad in racing. I was really relishing the nastiness that was expected today. I was super stoked and ready to throw the arms up after laying the field into submission.

Next weekend is the circuit race at Colorado School of the Mines. Should be good...

Chow,
Matthew

Colorado Phenomena

The longer I have lived here, the more I realize that anything is possible here in Colorado. Case in point, yesterday we had bright, sunny skies with temps in the upper 60s. Lots of wind, damn systems from WA! Woke up this morning @730 after a brilliant night of sleeping to look out the window and see the white stuff. Not its coming down pretty good. It won't last and the roads will be eerily dry. But it puts a giant cblock in my planned motorpacing with shawn this morning. Now I could be a hard-a beligian and go out and ride 5hrs. But I'd prefer not to get sick right now. Will hit it up later today for some tempo riding.

My form and fitness continue to improve. I've been pretty tired lately but I'm still able to put in solid workouts. With Gila being the first big objective of the year, I will be taking a lighter week prior to the start on Apr 30. If my past experience of resting tells me anything, we should time it perfectly to peak. Yesterday, Shawn had me mix up the threshold intervals with changes in power throughout each 20min interval. It was different than my prior intervals but was good. I felt better throughout the interval and was able to keep my overall power higher for the 3 intervals with only a 2w decay b/w the first and the 3rd so the intervals were pretty spot on. I spoke with her and we both agreed thata next week we will kick it up a notch but also throw in surges in the interval to mimic attacks. Which is where I have usually had trouble with on the crit scene but will pay dividends in the hills.

The winner from Sunday's criterium was none other than Henk Vogels of Toyota-United. Found out later that there were 100 in the field. Not bad for a sunday afternoon criterium. They still don't have results up. It will probably be another Metro State deal which charges you to race then gives you no results. Damnit I want my prizes that i won b/c I know I killed the tt and was a top-3 if not 1. Probably a lost cause with these college teams.

Last night I got my Julia Child on. Originally I was going for pumpkin scones but then i found this cake baking pan in the cupboard and decided i will make a cake instead. Cake being the british term. Its not "american" style cake, but more of a moist bread goodness. Pretty healthy with no butter but still incredibly moist and fluffy. It reminded me of my lunch at my british friends house in Le Rivier de Ornon, ie the King of the Mountains crew.

Matthew's Pumpkin Bran Cake
2 cups of whole wheat flour
1 tsp of baking powder
1/2 tsp of baking soda
1/3 cup of molasses(or use brown sugar)
1 tbs of pumpkin spice
1 cup of non-fat vanilla yogurt(i prefer dannon b/c low sugar)
1/4 tsp of salt
1.5 cups of raisin bran cereal
1/2 cup of skim milk
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1 cup of pumpkin puree
Secret ingredient: 1/2 cup of coconut milk
1/2 cup of egg wash

Combine dry ingredients, molasses and spices and fold together thoroughly. Should form small clumps. Combine pumpkin, milk, and coconut milk and stir together. Fold wet ingredients in and stir together. Don't overstir. Brush tops with egg wash. Place in cake pan or roll out into small biscuits and cook for 20min in a preheated 400deg oven.

You can also drizzle sugar or maple syrup on the top before cooking for a little glaze look and added sweetness, I did =) I also added vanilla protein powder(1cup) but that can be omitted, thats for the training cyclist in me =)

Chow,
Matthew

Crit'n it in Boulder

Today I rolled down to CU for the p/1/2/3 criterium. I was planning on racing the 3/4/5 earlier in the day but race filled up. Little bummed b/c I was going for it today. But nevertheless I had a sick experience in the p/1/2/3 field. 70-80 starters. I got a real good warmup riding in from niwot and then doing some high intensity sets on Colorado Ave before rolling down to the start. I figured this being an in-town crit and Boulder being the capital in the US for top professionals, I was going to be in for a good ride. I wasn't disappointed. Toyota-United was the main protagonist. I think they had 8-9 riders, including the rainbow wearing UCI-B world champ and all-around race animator, Ivan Stevic. Also, former top-10 Paris-Roubaix and 3rd in le etape du tour du france. Basically, sick firepower. Also had the likes of all their other top-domestic riders. Tom Danielson of Slipstream-Chipotle along with Healthnet, Jelly Belly, and THF. Local amatuer squads well rep'd were Rio Grande, Vitamin Cottage, Horizon Organic.The course was good for me, no sharp turns which means the pace would stay high the entire time and likely keep it together for the most part. There was a slight SE breeze so I made sure to position myself accordingly. Pre-race chat with Shawn went well. She kept me assure of myself and my skills. the plan was to always exploit and only try to follow a serious move. The responsibility to shut down the low moves were on the hands of the bigger teams. Riding as an independent has its advantages and disadvantages. With no teammates and with several big squads rep'ng then the burden falls on them. I prerode the course when the 3/4/5 went out so I knew what to expect. When the allowed us on the playing field, I went right to the line. I've had bad lane assignments for a while now. If you want to race great, you must give your best prep and your best in the race this includes a good start position. The pace I knew would be going from the gun. No sunday chatting for us. And it didn't dissapoint.

We rolled out and I immedaitely got into a top10 wheel. Toyota rolled around and I started following some Toyota wheels. I knew these wheels would be good. Slipstream rolled up shortly later and caught onto TD. The first 15min were pretty hard. Not sure how much we shelled but I think it was probably a good number. After 15, 3 toyota riders were off the front with Jelly Belly and Healthnet. This was good. Slipstream tried to bridge along several VC and Horizon guys. Nothing was able to stick. Toyota was covering everything and was damn good at it. It was educational to watch. B/c there would be two toyota riders and a rider would go up the gutter and immediately the toyota rider would drill it. peloton would react and it would be game over. With several toyota riders in the peloton they were able to counter most moves. Racing was pretty tight. Got some good bumpage and a little yelling at me when i opened a gap. I think it was a a pro. I can understand but he makes the money and I don't so...Pace never dropped. I was pretty anearobic the first 15min but afterwards I found a good rhythm and was feeling good. No problem staying connected. With 2 laps to go I started making my way up front. Unfortunately a dude slowed on the last lap's backstretch and I had to re-plan my attack. Able to make it to the inside of the sweeper and came out with good position. Just needed and extra 100m and I would have picked a lot more riders off. Finished top-25 i think. Passed a toyota rider at the end.

I was really stoked about the ride. Definitely a little nervous at the beginning but once we were racing, legs took over and I knew I belonged. Thinking about the training ride I did the other week with Randy and the pros gave me added confidence. I heard that it was a pretty hard ride so I'm confident in my skills and progression. Mixing the training up a little bit this week. Going to work more on burst efforts within threshold intervals. Should give me some added ammo for those surges in the crits and attacks on the climbs.
Race data:
60min
296 avg watts
28.7mph avg or 46.2km/h
Definitely the fastest I've ever done but i really felt good the whole time, never in the red. good things to come?


And a big thank you to my roommates, Kelly and Kelly along with Pre and Aggie. They all showed up and watched. Kelly and Kelly are #2 and #3 for fans/friends who have come to watch me race, thats not counting the crusty dude from Beligian who took my photo at the race. So everyone needs to step it up and check out my race calender. Its great having people around to watch and cheer you on. They also took these great pictures for me. I'm still rocking the Bike-Rx kit.

chow,
Matthew

Welcome Spring!

It has finally arrived. Weather report today for Boulder looks pretty sick for some riding, low 60s. On the plan today is some race efforts up Left Hand Canyon. Basically ride threshold, then throw in some short attacks and back to threshold. Will be hard but set me up for the Gila.

Last week I started working at Full Cycle Bikes. Its a fun gig. Days are rather long since I am on my feet most of the time. But I sold my first bike on the 2nd day of the job. Its cool seeing someon so excited about getting a bike. Standing up all day definitely has taken a toll on my pelvis. I have to massage it out throughout the day and try to sit as much as I can. I'm finding though that working in a bike shop is not the best way for recovery. My body will become accustom to it but this past week has been a little off for my training with my new work and some early mornings with my nanny gig. I'll have it figured out in a few days times.

Well enjoy the first day of spring! I know I will riding up LHC.
Chow,
Matthew

A Day with the Pros

Yesterday met up with a friend of Shawn's husband, Randy R. I've been trying to hook up with him for a ride since arriving and yesterday I wasn't disappointed. We met up at Spruce Confections on Broadway in NoBo(North Boulder). Apparently this is where are all the pros sip cappos before heading out for a day's work. I drank my black coffee. Randy and I were going to go out for 4-5hrs endurance pace. Randy is a cat 1 and damn strong. Then we had Frank Pipp(healthnet), Johnny Hilton(Toyota), Garrett Pendanton(Bissell), and Nick of Jelly Belly. And then there was me. We rolled out shortly after cafe time. i already had 45min in my legs so I was appropriately warmed up and well nutriented after my successful bonk from the day before. The bonk was caused by eating too far away from training. So yesterday I had my peanut-butter/toast/banana sandwich which is awesome, 4 eggs, and a homemade oat/banana/pecan scone. Packed two scones and a banana in the pocket. It took me 30-45min to get into the swing of things and kill the nerves. For me the ride was awesome. I don't remember working so hard for so long in a training ride. Pace never seemed to drop. After 1.5 hrs it was just me, Randy, Frank, and Garrett. We were riding 2x2 with equal and proper pulls(5-10min). I never skipped a pull and always kept the pace even. the last hour was tough with the head/cross wind on the return. Garrett stuck me on the inside into the wind. They gave him shit for not taking the windy side. I told him I needed more kjs for the day. Midway through the ride we stopped for refuels. Sat down and enjoyed my first coke in a long time. Those 20oz never tasted so good and I had a snickers almond bar. They all ate the same. Chocolate and coke are probably the best bike food ever.

On the return we rolled right up near my house on niwot rd which was convenient. At the end, it was 163km for me at 4:48 ride time which included the 50min of me riding easily to the cafe. Basically it was the fastest I had ever ridden that distance. Legs feel pretty good today despite 3 hard days in a row. Looking forward to doing some more training with these guys before they head off for Tour of Georgia.

Chow,
Matthew

A Tale of a Bonk

The Bonk. The most feared sensation of any cyclist. It's basically the body telling you: "I have no calories to burn." And your mind telling you, "Legs you must move! We still have more to go." After a hard VO2 workout yesterday, I was eager for the 30min threshold intervals today. You say, 30minutes! Yep, we all have those workout that we like or prefer. For myself, I would rather go all-out for 30 minutes up mountains or into the winds than go for 2min max efforts. Call me weird, but there is something about long threshold pedal turning that I prefer. I kind of get a high from finding that intense zone just below blowing up. yeah you are exhausted at the end but the endorphins that are released make up for it. which is what all endurance junkies like myself seek. My first interval up Left Hand Canyon went well. I felt real good through 25min then the pain started setting in. The wind made it a little difficult with fluctuating power efforts. I have been striving in all of my interval workouts to have positive concavity in my power curves. Yep, I'm getting mathematical on you all. In all my training over the years, I have always started out hard and power has declined. In races, the one with the strongest engine at the end typically wins so I'm hoping my training will pay those benefits. Now after the first interval, I did a 20min recovery spin. As I began the 2nd interval, that dreaded feeling set in. The shakes, the feeling of "ohh sh** things aren't good." My body saying, "yo why didn't you feed me some fuel?" Yep, I bonked, and bonked hard. Well, I pressed on like any aspiring top-comp rider would. It was definitely a hard effort. Still managed a good effort just 6watts off my first one. On the return ride home i had a banana but I had already gone past the point of no return. Those tailwind kms home were some of the toughest tailwind kms. But I made it b/c i'm writing about it now.

When i go out training, I have always been the one to pack less food than I probably should. This has lead to many bonks in my day, the most brutal was the bonk on le Col du Galibier which made me conjour thoughts that I might not make it up those last 3kms to the summit. The next worse is probably the final climb up Vaujany in the Vaujany race. I was killing it the whole way up to the base of the final climb. But I hit the wall hard. upon finishing I just sat down at the table. I wasn't interested in food which is how bad the bonk was. All I ingested for the next 30 minutes were cokes and more coke. I probably drank 2L of coke before I settled for some food. no the ideal way of a recovery drink but practicality goes out the door when you are in post-bonk. I have ridden with a lot of people and i think that most take on too many calories during training. The combo of energy drinks and bars usually leaves people with a net zero caloric balance. Meaning they ingested as much as they digested in work. Bike food gets old which is why I prefer to leave it for the racing. I have always believed that if you train at caloric deficits, you teach your body to survive longer and use the fat as fuel. B/c in a race, you might not get that feed so its important you know how it feels to be at the end but still know you can go further. Its going to hurt but its still possible. So what do i do to stay fueled? Well, i only drink water. in the summer months, I will take a low-calorie electrolyte drink b/c thats all you need. Electrolytes will keep you from cramping. no need for liquid calories in training. For solids, i prefer bananas. They are like the perfect bike food b/c you can safely trash the peel and know that it will decompose in two weeks. no trash in the back pockets. i also like bringing some carbs in the way of homemade granola/energy bars. usually pretty dense but not all sugar like most energy bars. in fact, tonight I made some banana-maple-walnut scones. They should be awesome on my long endurance ride tomorrow. Rolling out with a Vitamin-Cottage rider. Shawn hooked us up. Hopefully it will open some doors to teams for me or atleast he will be someone else i know here.

Onto other notes, I start work on Friday at Full Cycle(http://www.fullcyclesbikes.com), a velo shop here in Boulder. I'll be a sales guy. So if you need a new bike, come and see me. i will set you right.

Chow,
Matthew
P.S. here are some pics of the p/1/2 crit on sunday at the Denver City Park North. Yeah, just a sunday crit with toyota, rock racing, thf realty, jelly belly, vc...check out thamilton. I've seen him a few times around town.

Tragedies in Our World

I was going to write about my weekend's racing but this morning I discovered two cyclists, one which I knew, in California were struck by a vehicle on Sunday morning while training. Both were killed. Matt Peterson was only 29 and Christy Goff was 30. I can't begin to think how difficult it is for their families during this moment of loss. I ask that you all remember these two.

When I found out who these riders were, I felt sick to my stomach. I was going to go out for a short spin but the desire to ride had left me. My own auto striking hit me really hard this morning. It very well could have ended in the same way. It makes you think why? Why was I spared? I still have very little memory of being hit. Only the ensueing aftermath of pain. But this morning for the first time, I consciously remember the feeling and sound of the truck's metal body hitting me. I can describe what it felt like, but I remember the sound and the initial feeling. I'm not sure if more will come back later.

I want you all to follow the link below to read about Matt Peterson.
http://rememberingmatt.blogspot.com

You also read the CyclingNews story on these two amazing people.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=features/2008/police_california_deaths08

The world lost two great people yesterday. May their lives be remembered forever.

Regrefully,
Matthew

Kind of a Big Deal

I just read a comment on my last entry from a local Colorado blogger. I guess you can now say, "i'm kind of a big deal." Aside from my close family and close friends, I always wonder who reads my ramblings, who even cares what I have to say.

The other day I opened a new bank account because my old bank which I have been using since the 80s has decided Colorado is not worth doing business in. So that left me with quiet a dilemma. One thing I have always hated about banks is the usage of fees. A fee for this, a fee for that. Before you know it you are dropping serious coin just to have the priviledge of cashing a check for money owed to you and the crazy idea of getting your money when you want it. Banks never seem to lose except a few that were stupid enough to lend billions out to those who had no way of ever paying back those enormous mortgages, but I have digressed.

So during my account opening session, I was presented with their most popular account, a savings and checking combo. Great, I can have two accounts that are linked together. This is what I wanted. If you have paid attention to the radio or tv in the last 2 years you will remember a program started by BofA called Keep the Change. It works like this, spend $1.25 on your debit card(which is your checking account) and BofA will round that amount up to $2.00 and put the extra $0.75 in your savings account to help you save. WTH?! There is no savings, b/c the net is zero. They are just taking money from one account to the other. You save nothing. Then when your checking account goes below your low-balance threshold they charge you a $10.00 low-balance fee because that money you thought you had in your checking account got to "keeping the change" in your savings account and now the bank is decreasing your account by $10 because they say your account went too low. So this "personal banker" who was helping me told me about this great savings plan. Ohh goodie I thought. Before this guy could finish, I unleashed a fury of questions and comments deploring this idea of "savings" that the bank machine told him to say. I don't think he ever met someone so passionate about this. I'm not really passionate, I just think such things are stupid. Its really all a way for the bank to put you into a position to pay an additional fee when your account goes to low-balance.

Now back to some good stuff here like cycling and cooking...Yesterday was my first "full-day" of nanny duty and personal assisting. I provided breakfast, school drop off, errand running, my own training, school pickup, house work/duties, dinner prep, dinner cook, dinner eat and cleanup, then home. It was fun. For dinner we made teryaki chicken stir-fry with lo-mein noodles. He helped with vegi prep. Gave him some knife skill pointers. Food was pretty tasty. I'm thinking next time I will have to show him how to make chicken tikka masala. Since they have an outdoor grill it should be good. The morning was pretty hectic because the snow was coming down pretty good and the Diagnol(Hwy 119) was jammed. Not being totally knowledgable yet on the roads I wasn't as crafty about circumventing the traffic. Nevertheless, we made it to school in time. Pickup in the afternoon was a breeze. I feel like my life has gone full circle now. It wasn't too long ago when I was the one getting picked up at school, now I'm the one doing the pickup. When did I grow up? Leaving school yesterday morning, I heard something very bad on the radio. The host was talking about dating and the use of phone/email in dating. One caller said its okay to email. The host disagreed and said that maybe this new generation is okay with it. But our listening audience is of an older crowd, the 25-40 yr olds. WTF!? I'm now part of a labeled crowd!? No!! I will not be labeled =)

With the wicked winds and snow yesterday morning, I subjected myself to the rituals of winter training, the Cyclops Fluid Trainer. Previously, my trainer usage was limited to recovery efforts of 30-60min. But I needed to do some threshold work before this weekend's time trial and criterium. I mustered up all my psychological strength for this one. Fortunately, I had The Weather Channel's "When Weather Strikes" and the Food Network to keep me occupied. And a nice cooling fan to remind me of what going fast meant. Warmed up for 20min then proceeded to do two 20min LT intervals. Lactic Threshold(LT) as I have mentioned is the max effort you can sustain for 15-60min before lactic acid buildup in your muscles causes you to painfully retreat. LT is also one of the primary tools to measure your fitness. Its very trainable unlike VO2, which is largely limited to genetic code. Since moving to altitude, my LT is slightly lower but has been rising over the last few weeks as my training is paying off and I am acclimating. Now back to the workout...Since Saturday is the TT, I worked on staying in the aero bars for the entire workout. Riding flat out for 20min on aero bars is tough for most but adding it to the trainer I knew it was going to be tough. At the end I was pretty satisfied with my workout. Legs felt like they got worked over pretty good and I put out some good numbers. Of all the interval workouts, LT workouts are probably my favorite. Although they are long, I like finding that rhythem and getting into the zone of nearly blowing and trying to hold it.

Tomorrow its a race tune-up workout. Hoping no snow tonight.

Chow,
matthew

Only in Colorado

Its been a few days since my diatribe on Denverites. Saturday was phenomenal with clear skis, light winds, and 74degrees! I was actually sweating sitting outside. I can't remember the last time I had that. Certainly not in San Francisco. In Tennessee, I sweat b/c of the awful humidity. But this is March and I am in shorts and tshirt baking in the sun. Got some nice color to enhance the bike tan i started at Valley of the Sun a few weekends ago. i did a pretty sick circuit course, Left Hand Canyon-Lee Hill Drive-Olde Stage Rd. Its a great circuit of steeps, canyon descents, and long climbs. No stops if you can time the rare car encounter well. Check out the route below. Pretty good profile. The plan was to do as many loops as possible in 3 hours. I rode tempo from the house, did three laps, then tempo home. It was exactly 3 hours. Shawn wanted me to save some ammo for Sunday's, MOB Cyclery, ride out of Denver. Saturday was a day to go long as the future would tell us.

Sunday I woke up early to get fed and to the ride start in Denver at 9am. I wake up with the stars still out but there is something odd. Its dumping snow! Yep, less the 15 hours ago it was 74deg now its dumping snow and already, accumulation is approaching 2". Road riding? No bueno...Kind of bummed b/c i had gotten all prepared to tackle the ground ride. I drank some Pinon coffee from New Mexico and got a little fuel in the belly and set out on the Titus Racer-X. I did some trail researching and opting to try out the Niwot trailhead which is more or less a dirt/gravel multi-use path just out the door. I went for about an hour and threw in some nice hard efforts then came back b/c my hands were pretty cold. Ate some lunch the recontoured my plans for an afternoon ride at the Left Hand Canyon trailhead. This place is just a few clicks away and will be great when its dry. I rode out into the snow and immediately my knobbies are completely covered with snow thus rendering any gripping specialities useless. Should have taken a hint when I realized I had no steering but that would be the choice of the less adventurous. I wanted more, i needed to test myself. Well I pressed on. Spotting some singletrack, i rolled through thinking that the dirt would provide more gripping action. NO BUENO. Strangley the dirt disguised itself. It was actually some ride-ending mud. Basically you would be going and start feeling the mud getting thrown up and it would get harder to push until the drivetrain was completely stuck with mud. No backing up or banging would stop it. So where does that leave me? well about 400m from my Forester and me dragging my previously spotless mtn bike along the trailhead. Yep, i walked out. no other choice. bike was immobile. Ohh yeah, I ate s*** a few times. Thats what mtn biking is all about though. My former fractured shoulder took one spill. Its still pretty sore. While trying to put the bike on the roof, I was reminded of my injury and just the general weakness in the left shoulder. Hopefully strength will come back eventually. But I'm going to be sticking to not riding in the mud for awhile. Its going to take a serious washing to clean that stuff off. But it was fun!

So today, did some "i want to throw up" intervals. Max wattage for 2.5min. Repeated 6x. Finished with an hour of tempo. Of course, the riding could only be hardened up with some nice 30-40mph cross/head winds. Gaining a little experience so when it comes time to echelon the peloton and ride the guys into the gutter I will be ready. Tonight its suppose to snow again before warming up into the 50s this weekend. TT on Saturday, Crit on Sunday.

Today i started my new "youth specialist/personal assistant" position. We went to soccer practice, did some grocery shopping and guy talk...lol. Its going to be a fun gig. Tomorrow I have a busy day of taking him to school, training, errand running, and school pickup with some afternoon activities. Should be good.

Chow,
Matthew