An Update

I've been traveling quite a bit for work since mid November.  I'm growing more forgetful these days and have to resort to taking photos of things like my shuttle stop so I will remember where I got on and hopefully where I need to get off and find my car a week later when I return.  While some may revel in the traveling-for-work lifestyle, the frequent flyer miles, the exclusive airport lounge, and first class seating,  I don't care for it.  While it is a short-term necessary evil for work purposes, it increases my chances of getting sick (yes, I am that guy that runs the air full-blast into my face on the airplane), throws off my daily routine, makes me eat unhealthy food, and brings havoc to any sort of structured training.

The pain cave has new meaning after two weeks of nothing but low-end stationary bikes and free weights to work with.  I've been experimenting with new things this year during base training (base 1) for the times I have a real bike to ride.  Last year I did a lot of hours on the trainer in HR zone 2 which boils down to low intensity and long duration.  I watched a lot of movies and got to know my garage really well.  I think this really set me up well for long miles (muscular endurance) but I was not really ready for the first few races.  I had little in the power department as expected.  This year I am planning to fix that to some extent with a little experiment building muscular force during base 1.  During my travel, I used a combination of stationary bike and free weights.  When home, I have been throwing a few sets of what Joe Friel calls Force Reps (which he describes in this blog post) along with my longer zone 2-3 rides and various interval sets.  So far they have been working out well and I feel like I get a lot our of a 45-60min workout without having to do a straight up weight room workout.

Winter Cometh

Utah snow making an appearance in undisclosed location.

There hasn't been much to write about on the old blog.  I'm getting settled into my new surroundings here in Utah just in time for the winter storms to start pounding my Suncrest ecosystem.  I've ridden the new backyard trails enough to have a good arsenal of MTB training routes lined up for the spring.  I also pulled out the Strava iPhone app to log some elevation profiles of the road up both sides of the Draper hill.  I'm told the Tour of Utah comes right up the hill by my house so It looks like I'll not only have some aggressive training terrain but also a front row seat to the race in 2012.  For now, I plan to put the bike time on the back burner for most of November (but I'll keep the burner turned on) and focus on less exciting but more important things.  Like always, I'll continue to obsess about riding and set up some sweet training and racing schedules.  I may try to catch one of the last few UTCX Cyclocross races.

Here is a little sample of my new best friend for hill intervals next spring.  I'm looking forward to the convenience of getting the LWCoaching workouts in without too much wasted travel time.

Riding Fruita Colorado

South of Grand Junction riding the Lunch Loops

I've been back and forth between Colorado and Utah over the past few weeks and fortunately for me my route has taken me right through Grand Junction and Fruita.  Not only is this a good half way stop between my destinations, I have the added bonus of having a friend living in Fruita who has been kind enough to let me stay for a night two weekends in a row.  Doubling as a host and tour guide,  he gave me a tour of some of the favorite trails in the area.  Having ridden them now and knowing the goodness contained therein, it's a shame I've been driving by year after year missing out on these amazing trails literally in some cases right off the freeway.  I've heard many times that Fruita is as good as Moab and after experiencing a sample, I'd have to agree.

Lunch Loops trail system.

Kokopelli's Trail Loops

Lunch Loops.  You'll find chunky drops like this one around every turn.  Moab has nothing on this place!

Checking Out My New Digs

A quick break at Ghost Falls  on my ride in Corner Canyon.  I think I can get used to this.

The view around every corner.

Leaving

I have just given up my residency in Colorado for the second time in the past 11 years.  Last time the move was for a career-starting job in California.  It was a hard move for many reasons but the biggest one was simply that I (we) love living here.  Now years after my first farewell, I am again moving on for career advancement.  It is hard to drive westbound past that familiar sign on I-70 for  the last time with no certainty of return.  Over the years I've driven by countless times with little fanfare always knowing that I will soon be passing the east-bound sign welcoming me back to Colorado, back home.  Colorado has a way of placing a hold on it's residents that is hard... make that painful to break.  The state is rich in everything that makes life worth living and has given me experiences that will last forever.

Lloyd was in fact mistaken... John Denver knew exactly what he was talking about.

Stay tuned for my new adventures of riding fun as I mingle with the Saints one state to the west.