Dawn Patrol

Dawn Patrol cockpit with optional "critter bell"

I pulled myself out of bed at 4:30am this morning.  Just like I have been doing regularly 3 times a week since late August.  With rare exception (today being one of them) I have been riding the same route every morning on my single-speed.  With the kids starting back to school the first of August I had to keep riding time on a tight leash.  It also felt good to have the training pressure off and drop back into a holding pattern of sorts, almost mechanical in nature, and something I could repeat with timely accuracy to keep my spirits up, legs fresh, and family routine on schedule.  I have grown to tolerate early mornings over the past 2 years.  I say tolerate because I do not enjoy getting up anymore than the next guy but I do it out of necessity.  Over time it has become mechanical and sometimes I don't remember the specifics of leaving the house, just that I'm on the trail riding.  My body comes alive and faculties engage.  There is a relaxing simplicity in riding without shifting gears,  taking the same route, no need to think too hard, just pedal and drift off where the mind wonders.  Indeed, I've had some of my best mind sessions cranking away with headlights showing just enough of the trail to keep going.

It's therapy for me, the sun yawning as the first light crests over the horizon,  Deer eyes reflecting in my headlamp,  Coyote howl, and the winding trail.

Binary Logic

There is a common tactic in sales when a sales person want's to close a sale.  To get the deal done they must maximize efficiency and remove unnecessary confusion for the buyer.  That is to limit the number of choices for a buyer to choose from.  Limiting to 2 or 3 rather than 10 makes it much easier for a buyer to narrow it down and make a decision. When there is only 1 choice it is all the better as the buyer is left to decide between buying and walking away, doing or not doing.  I'm no salesman, far from it in fact, I'm an an ADD plagued computer geek.  If there is a shiny object,  I'll be the first one to drop what I'm doing and check it out.  Give me 10 or 20 choices and I'll waste a lot of time getting to the bottom of the decision.  Now to the photo above.  Choices? One.  Actually that's not true.  Before setting out on the trail I had 3 options at my disposal: 17T, 18T, and 19T.  Once on the trail, I was left with 2.  In some cases those were "pedal" or "push" and other times "stand" or "sit".  The whole riding experience was reduced to binary logic: On or off, do or dont, 1 or 0.  Contrast that with the riding experience on a geared bike and you are now up to 20+ choices of gearing alone (2x10 drivetrain).  My Superfly 100 has been torn apart in the Garage ever since my last STXC race in August and I've been riding the Niner shown above regularly since then.  I can't say I miss my geared bike, in fact, I am seriously considering dropping gears all together for 2012.  Why? I've been drawn in by the illusion or reality of simplistic bliss that comes with one gear.  On a single-speed I don't have to think, just ride.  If I can't ride, I walk.  If I walk, it is probably too steep to ride anyway.  Really those walking times are rare.  There is one secret the geared-bike-riders-that-have-never-ridden-a-single-speed types don't know... but I'll give you the inside scoop now.

It's not as hard as everyone makes it look.

That's right, those big hills you see ss'ers mashing up at 10rpm hunched over the top tube?  They aren't working much harder than you are,  just slower.  I constantly surprise myself with what I can climb using only one gear.  I'm starting to think one is all you need... I'm (almost) sold.

Crazy Flying Dreams

For as long as I can remember I have had at least one or two dreams a year about flying.  Most of the time I am soaring over forests, through canyons, and over valleys but occasionally I'll be "flying" under water (isn't that called swimming?).  They usually end with me loosing altitude and floating to a standstill.  I always wake up a little disappointed that it was all a dream and I really don't have super-human flying / swimming powers.  I'm not really sure what all of that means but this video pretty much captures the essence of those dreams. This one is pretty crazy as well.

Dropping A Few Gears

Wednesday's short track race was probably my last competitive race this year.  Reluctantly, I am going to have to pass by the Park City race in September due to my work schedule ( if you want in, please let me know!).  Disappointed? of course I am because it is an awesome course and I've been racing pretty well this year.  The singletrack is amazing and the organizers are top notch people.  In fact, I remember seeing Jay Burke, the big man himself, out on course last year asking each racer how the course markings were as we rode on by.  Clearly this is the mark of someone committed to providing the best race experience possible and I am sure that will hold true for this event.  I'm also disappointed I won't have a chance to ride with Adam, Keith, and the rest of the Utah riders I've made friends with over the past year or two.  This year has taken a lot out of me with training, racing,  job changes, and a multitude of other things so I'd be lying if I didn't admit to some degree that I am ready to throw in the towel on structured training and competition this year.  I'm satisfied with the Hundo, and Breck 100. Short Track is a new found addiction, and I get to do it all over again in one capacity or another in 2012.  So just like that, my Superfly 100 is retired, hung up in the garage, and  waiting a good overhaul.  My Niner SS is enlisted back into service and on the bike stand getting a face lift.  After throwing on some new Stans ZTR Crest wheels and swapping out a light seat, seat post, and bars I almost have it down to racing weight.

Racing weight?  Ok I may have one more Winter Park race left in me... but it will be on my SS.  I'm dropping a few gears for the rest of 2011.

CU Short Track and Strava

I finally made it back to some high intensity racing/training Wednesday for the 2nd to last CU Short Track race series.  The last two races I attempted were canceled due to rain so I was determined to race this week and talked the student organizers into letting me race the men's B and the men's A.  Crazy I know but there was no way I was going home empty handed this week.  I raced conservatively in the B race finishing up in 10th place.  After a 25-min rest and a quick spin around the course again, I lined up at the back of the A race.  I put in a strong effort but burned out on the last few laps failing to reach my one and only goal which was to avoid getting caught and lapped by Mike West, Bryan Alders, or Brady Kappius.  Last time I succeeded, this time I didn't.  In the end I pulled off 14th place.  

In other news, I've been using connect.garmin.com for over a year now as a way to store, manage, display, and track the metrics from my Garmin Edge 705.  I ride with this device and a HRM almost religiously and it has been a great tool to compare training and racing but there were a lot of things missing from the Garmin website.  Enter Strava.com.  I have had my eye on this site for a few months but I was initially turned off because you had to pay in order to upload more than 5 rides a month.  Until now.   They opened the site up and uncapped the upload limit so I uploaded some rides and took a closer look.  Here are a few things I found that I love about it.

My Men's A race.  Notice the 170w average power?  I don't have a power tap!  Strava calculates an estimated power output based on HR and other available data.  Pretty cool.

Ever wonder how you stack up against other riders on the same trail?  Here you go!

And if you want to watch yourself race the fastest guy on the course?

Or up Boreas Pass on the Breckenridge 100?