Surviving strength training

The late fall-early winter doldrums had arrived. Working too late most nights, not having the time or energy to plan healthy meals, time in front of the TV, and dark mornings with no energy to drag out the rollers resulted in lethargy, weight gain, and general malaise. Does this sound familiar, or is it just me?

I can’t remember what I initially thought when I saw the information about Upper Echelon’s strength training classes. I read about it on the website, talked to people I knew had taken the classes last year, and procrastinated. I knew I had to commit to something, because the old routine wasn’t working. My biggest fear: making it blatantly obvious how out of shape I really am by demonstrating that I don’t belong in a class full of bike racers. My biggest worry: what to wear? After all, the class involves both gym work and on-the-bike training. I had to get organized.

I tried not to think about it. I told Russell Cree that I was pretty sure I would die in the class, even though he had no idea what I was talking about. He just said I’d be fine. But I was dreading that first night, Monday December 7th. I thought of what could go wrong. I planned how to make sure I had enough time to get ready after work including time to grab a quick dinner.
I showed up. After all, 99% of the challenge is showing up. Right, Einar?

I immediately liked Lara Brown, the coach, and tried to put out of my mind what I imagined she was thinking when I introduced myself. Generally I don’t care about making an impression or what people think of me (those of you who know me will agree) but I would bet she was wondering what I was doing there, with my $129 set of Advance Minoura rollers, shebeest knickers and slightly worn North Wave shoes. Most everyone else had on their team jerseys, brought trainers and looked like they belonged. I chatted a bit with Lara, who reminds me a lot of a friend of mine who was once on the National Cycling team and came very close to qualifying for the 2006 short track speedskating Olympic team. I got on my bike and managed to stay upright on the rollers for the warmup, thanks to the strategically placed table (for my towel & water bottle).

Warmup over, time to do some “dynamic strength work”. This consisted of light jogging & doing various warmup exercises in laps across the room – knee-ups, lunges, etc. Then, the coordination drills. Lara lays out a “ladder” on the floor and shows us the hop-scotch-like drills. At first it’s easy, just run with knees up, one foot in each square, like football players running in tires. Then it becomes more complicated, this is where the “coordination” (or in my case, lack thereof) comes into play. Lara hops lightly and effortlessly as she demonstrates each combination drill. Javad quickly imitates precisely what she has demonstrated, and everyone else follows. Then I attempt the drill, and sometimes can’t get my brain to stop the negative “you can do this, klutz!” thoughts so that my legs & body can actually perform. At least I try, and hope nobody is laughing, but I am amused at my own clumsiness. So be it.

Time to get on the bike. Lara brings out a chart which I can’t read, because I am so focused on staying upright on my rollers that I don’t dare look up. At the beginning of class during warmup she had us introduce ourselves and I did so without looking up, but managed to shoot a quick frightened glance at Lara, and heard a few chuckles. I paid my money like everyone else, and I need to be here, I thought. I am out of shape, so what if I’ve got 10 or 20 years on these “real” racers. I just want to ride my bike and not die.

Back to the chart. I can’t focus on it, but Lara is saying something about “power 1” and “power 2”. I interpret this to mean “pedal hard” and “try not to puke”. These are my goals. I manage to accomplish both, for the most part, though Lara does have to say “get your cadence up there, Linda” quite a few times. I try not to watch the clock. Lara says “throw your knees up over the handlebars” and I picture parking my bike somewhere and just reclining with my legs draped over the bike. Not exactly what she meant. I realized that the coordination and warmup drills are intended to simulate the pedaling motion (at least the running knee-ups, anyway) so I find that if I just concentrate on pretending there are wires on the ceiling attached to my kneecaps, they will pull them up repeatedly, allowing me to somewhat resemble an actual cyclist on rollers.

I survived the first class. Even though I ate before the workout, I was ravenously hungry when I got home at 9pm. Note to self to bring snacks for the ½ hour drive home. I even went back for 2 more classes in December. Then the holidays came. I had to work up my courage all over again to return to class on January 13th. In place of Lara, who is out of town, Chris put the three of us through a similar warmup and more core workout, which I badly need. The spinning portion of the class was much harder – 120 rpms? Are you kidding me?
I’ll get there. I may not ever be an actual road racer, but I am determined to regain the fitness I’ve lost, be able to pedal more efficiently, not get dropped on rides, and most importantly, fit into my jeans.

Post-Cycle Oregon Syndrome

Wow, it's been a long time since I posted on here. Or at least it seems like it has. Sometimes I'll draft a post in my head and then later can't remember whether I actually typed it out & posted it or not. It's hard to think of anything unique or interesting or humorous that relates to me riding my bike. So I'll just kind of review what's been going on.



I haven't been riding outdoors during the week, now that it's dark at 5pm. Occasionally I'll make it to spinning class or drag the rollers out for a 45 minute or 1 hour spin. It's not much, but I always feel better for having done it. Hopefully I can get some motivation back and with consistency, find that fitness I had earlier this summer.



Brian Collie calls it "post Cycle Oregon syndrome". He said that on a day after the group waited for me to slog up Jackson Quarry, which really isn't a tough hill, but for some reason the last time we rode it on a Saturday, my legs were lacking the energy to ride any faster. Last Saturday we rode up Pumpkin Ridge, and then around Jackson School Road. The group I was with hesitated and considered going straight to West Union, skipping the short but steep climb up Mason Hill. After about 10 minutes of debating, I said the hell with it and turned to go up Mason Hill. I felt great and was so glad I did it. Jackson Quarry looked slick with leaves but we weren't really descending, it's just a winding road and before we knew it, we were back at Longbottoms.



Saturday the 7th was like the rainstorm from hell. Starting out wasn't too bad, but once we got to Verboort, site of the locally famous Sausage Festival, the car traffic forced us to stop for about 15 minutes before we could turn onto Porter. By that time it was pouring and getting colder by the minute. The wind was whipping around and the rain was stinging as it hit my face. I thought I'd dressed appropriately, but the Santini clear rain jacket did nothing to keep me dry, only made me wet and cold. Shoe covers and wool socks couldn't keep the toes from going numb, and my glasses had fogged and then gotten splattered with so much rain & road grime that I couldn't see. Quickly I scanned my brain to think of who I could call to come get me. Just like when I'm on the rollers and the idea of "time to stop, screw this!" pops into my brain, I couldn't let go of the idea. I know, I thought, I'll call Dean! As we crossed Highway 47, I spotted a huge tree in front of a house and knew it was time to pull over and make a phone call, waving everyone else on & telling them I was done. Sure enough, I reached Barb and told her I was miserable. After about 20 minutes of running in place and waving my arms around to keep warm, Dean showed up with towels, laughing and calling me a drowned rat. Needless to say the coffee and bagel sandwich tasted extra good that day, and watching Bigwood shiver for about an hour reminded me I'd made the right choice.


This Saturday for some reason my legs were again devoid of energy. Starting out down Evergreen, I noticed my computer wasn't registering speed, which seemed appropriate, as I felt like I was going backwards as I watched the group pull away from me. Talking to Elena, we found we were in the same mode - she didn't want to be an "anchor". I assured her that was not the case. Tim waited for us at Mountaindale. Frogger wasn't bad at all for a change (crossing Highway 26). Once we got to Banks, it seemed a good idea to stop at the drive-through espresso stand. Refueled, we agreed to bag Cedar Canyon and go back to meet the group. I was fine with skipping Stafford, though I knew I'd feel wimpy about it. Oh well, I'll make up for it next time. At least for once it didn't rain sideways and we had a good social ride. I just don't believe in pushing myself beyond what I feel like doing sometimes.

Yesterday I actually did another cross race. Well, I don't think I'd actually call it a race. Considering there were a few "DNFs" and I only did one lap, it was pretty dismal and pathetic, but for the most part, I had fun. I showed up at Kruger's after the deluge and it was sunny and getting warmer. Too bad it didn't dry up any of the MUCK on the course. I thought my mountain bike's new super-fat tires would eat up the mud, but in fact it was the opposite. It was like thick, gummy peanut butter that had been left in the freezer and taken out to thaw. There were also leaves, sticks and grass caught in my brakes, chain, derailleur, and about 15 pounds of muck clinging to my bike and shoes. This made my attempts at pseudo-running quite comical. I even ate it a couple of times, but I didn't care. I made no attempt to go any faster than I was capable of and told myself one lap was all I planned to do. Coming around the corner, I heard Luciano say "and you're done, Ladies!" Perfect timing. Who cares if I was DFL? That course was the most sloppy, slippery, slickery, sticky, mucky, goopy, impossible-to-ride-in mud I've ever seen. And yet I attempted it. Now if I could get the mud-stains out of my knickers, I'll be happy! Washing off the bike was not too bad, washing the car seemed like the right thing to do even though it's going to just get dirty with winter almost here. The hot bath though... that was a pretty great idea.

Harvest Century

I totally forgot to post about this ride, over a month ago - October 10. I decided at kind of the last minute, and showed up super early, between 6:30-7:00am, not sure whether I'd even do the full 100 miles. I agreed to ride with Martin since he was committed to ride the full century, but I could decide at mile 43 or whatever. It was still dark when I got there, and cold, about 37 degrees I think I heard. Yikes. I had my new fleece-lined bib knickers on and figured a vest & arm warmers would suffice. Definitely full-fingered gloves were in order.

After signing my release and paying the $55, we were off. Oh, wait - blue rooms. Then we were off. Rode through some quiet Hillsboro neighborhoods and wondered why everyone was still asleep on what was sure to be a beautiful fall day. Martin and I decided people should be awake since we were, so we didn't make any effort to lower our voices as we rode down the street. Within the first mile or so, we had already lost track of the orange pumpkins painted on the road to indicate our route. We weren't the only ones, either. Not enough coffee, maybe? Finally a group of us followed Martin, as he was familiar with the way to get us on track.

The ride was perfect, for a century at least. No major climbs, not too many rest stops, but just enough to stop & refuel. Sitting in a school cafeteria scarfing down sandwiches at 10:30am? Okay, sure. Then back on the road. Made it to the cutoff for the shorter routes & decided to go for the full century. Why not? It was a beautiful day, and warmed up enough for me to change gloves & shed the vest. Even the ride on the Canby Ferry was fun, though the hill climb afterwards had me briefly out of breath. A few more rollercoaster-like hills and we were on our way back towards home. Roy Rogers Road offered a wide shoulder, fast traffic and some quickly tiring riders. I somehow had plenty of energy left to pedal ahead for a bit, and we stopped at the last rest stop for smoothies before charging on towards home. I didn't take any photos but there was one I found on the event website somewhere, I'll have to find it. All in all, a great ride, and I'd do it again!

Autumn

A few weeks ago I took the old mountain bike out for a spin. Got brand new tires on it (thanks to Marc A.) and put a different saddle on. Much better. Went up Leif Erikson, and realized I haven't ridden or walked up there in years. It's beautiful! I really should do that more. It was fun. But have I ridden it since then? No. Even schlepping the bike in my car all last week, I couldn't manage to get out early enough to get in a short ride before pitch darkness set in. Lately, that's getting closer to 6pm.

I haven't ridden a lot since Cycle Oregon last month. Wow, it was almost a month ago already? I have ridden on Saturdays and most Sundays.

I still can't believe I did it.

I never thought I'd ride Cycle Oregon, let alone finish it. I'm still thinking about how much fun it was, what I'd do differently, and whether I'll do it again.

Actually, Cycle Oregon was a blast. Once I got the routine down in the morning, it was great. I'm a bit groggy without an initial hit of caffeine right when I wake up though. So, the first day was a bit of a struggle, but it turned out fine. We were camped at a huge park in Medford, and I didn't sleep all that much, it rained a bit that night, but cleared up in the morning. Packed up, went to get breakfast & at 8am, we were told they were shutting down. What? No breakfast? No coffee? They had food left so we got to eat, (whew) but I had a tiny meltdown about no coffee until I found the Nossa Familia booth and went running over to buy a cup. Day #1: Medford to Yreka - The first day's route was TOUGH. Went through Ashland, and the first rest stop was at Lithia Park. A few more turns, and then began the climb. It went on and on and on. Then downhill and into California where we spent some time on I-5 which had a wide shoulder & it was coned off for us. Not too bad but the draft from those big rigs is a bit scary not to mention the crosswinds. And it was an overcast & windy day. By the time we saw Mt. Shasta I was unimpressed, and all I wanted to do was get to camp. On the endless rollers into Yreka, my bike was getting tossed around like a paper airplane. It was tough - riding into a gusty 30mph wind! But I made it. Got to camp where an irritated KRhea had argued with some lady about reserving space for our tents. She had a 6-person circus tent for herself & her husband. It all worked out, and they took their tent elsewhere. The wind died down and we spent a decent night at the fairgrounds in Yreka. There were even flush toilets. Yay. We took out the Barbie that Dean had stashed in his bag and carefully sat her upon the saddle of KRhea's Colnago.

Day #2 - Yreka to Happy Camp - was a gorgeous day along the Klamath River - mostly downhill, which was great after the previous day's climbing. We arrived in the town of Happy Camp where we stayed at a school. I had my first post-ride smoothie. Had to hike a ways down to the dining tent, etc. so we asked around & scoped out a breakfast spot in the Frontier Cafe for the next morning. Enough waiting in lines for us! By then we had the routine down - get up before dawn, pack tent & get dressed, have bags ready for pickup by 7am, then off to breakfast, and rollout on bikes by 8am. Perfect.

Day #3 - Happy Camp to Lake Selmac - Had a great breakfast at the Frontier Cafe. From Happy Camp to Glendale was a bitch of a 20-mile climb that started literally right as we left town. It was just a continuous grind, much like High Rocks. Once I reached the summit (of course KRhea, & "toofastforyou"Phil were nowhere to be found) the view was amazing! Had a rest stop at a snow-park complete with live music. The descents were awesome too. Then as I was hanging with Cary, we hit the wall at about oh, mile 65 or so. On the map it showed some &*$#^()&*$# type of thing so we thought "oh shit". It was indeed a wall and some people were walking, off their bikes, and as I approached I yelled "walkers right please" as I really wanted to ride past them, but didn't have enough room to get by as it was a really narrow road, so I had to get off and walk for a bit. Got back on after it leveled off, and made it to the top where there was a drumline pounding out a rhythm to pedal to and Dean waiting to snap my photo. It was a great day - but to have such a brutally steep climb at the end of an already long ride was a bit cruel!! Ouch. Jonathon Nicholas joked about it that night at announcements like it was funny. I hope he enjoyed the climb! (Not really, actually I hope he suffered like the rest of us did!)

Day 4 - Lake Selmac to Glendale - was a beautiful ride along the Rogue River. The last couple of miles was a nice ascent along I-5, kind of deceiving as it looked flat but certainly didn't feel like it. I was really tired when I finished that ride! It was muggy, and we all got some pizza in the beer garden before getting ready for dinner. We were camped at the high school, a strange building, but at least our tents were far away from the stage so it was relatively quiet.

Day 5 - Glendale to Grants Pass - we started out having breakfast at this pizza place in Glendale. We were fascinated that they had ziploc bags with pennies & water hung above the front door to keep the flies away. Never heard of such a thing! The ride was really nice, along the Galesville Reservoir, and we had a rest stop in a beautiful park. Then we wound along farmlands for what seemed like endless miles!

Day 6: Grants Pass - I had no energy for a ride that day, and thankfully I wasn't the only one. Plus, I had washed some laundry the night before, and no way was I going to put on wet & cold shorts that morning to go ride. Ugh. So we slept in, had breakfast, read the paper, and went for a walk in town. It was a warm day, and I was envious of the people who went kayaking or on jet boat rides on the river. We had Mexican food for dinner at the restaurant across the street and scoped out our breakfast destination for day 7.

Day 7 - Grants Pass to Medford - the day started with a beautiful sunrise, and a delicious breakfast in downtown Grants Pass. Then the inevitable - getting dropped by KRhea & Phil, as Dean, Cary & I slogged towards Medford. Eventually I left a not-feeling-so-great Cary at the Fiasco winery rest stop and opted for the longer route into Medford as the rest day had done wonders for my legs. Made what I thought was pretty good time, rolling in around 1pm. Dean & Barb were waiting!

Showered, ate, drove home. Unpacked, did laundry, rode 37 miles the next day, feeling great!

Overall: Some of the days run together. Lots of rest stops at wineries, taverns, churches, schools. I honestly had forgotten we had a rest stop at the cinnamon roll place (Heaven on Earth bakery?) as most of the time I would cruise in, fill my water bottles, grab a snack, use the blue rooms, and take off again.

As a first-timer, I thought the organization was great, waiting in line, not so bad, camping, not so bad, food, pretty okay, company, spectacular. Never laughed so hard in all my life. Would I do it again? Absolutely.

As for camp, I missed out on a lot. I never had time to find yoga, let alone take a class. I didn't do anything really all that exciting on the rest day in Grants Pass. I didn't visit the PT, take a bike class or have my bike cleaned by the Community Cycling Center. Guess I need to ride faster. There's always next year!

Crater Lake 2009

Another awesome ride. Just like in 2007, it was back-to-back weekends of long rides with tough climbs. Aug. 16 century, Aug. 23 70 miles with some ridiculous amount of climbing, and Aug. 29 Crater Lake, which is 61 miles roundtrip to & from Diamond Lake. I know it doesn't sound like much, but believe me, it's a challenging route.

On Saturday we woke up to VERY cold temps, after driving part of the way to Diamond Lake on Friday in pouring rain. The rain stopped fortunately when we arrived at the campground! Man, it was cold though. Got rolling about 9am, a bit late, and I think we were the last to leave camp. The climb is just relentless. With each turn you try to avoid looking up and when you do, thinking you are just about there, no, there is another turn and the road continues to point upward. It's just an endless grind. Then you arrive at the first viewpoint for some photo ops, quick rest, and continue to climb after that! Miles of climbs. Miles of fun screaming downhill on smooth pavement, then more climbs! Wow. Much more fun than when I rode it in 2007 because of my Tsunami! On the way down there were some brutal crosswinds, combined with a somewhat slick-newly chipsealed (but not loose gravel) road surface. We felt better hearing that everyone felt a bit uneasy on that stretch of road, but we all made it! EPIC. And the high temp of the day was probably 72. Perfect.

Sunday was MUCH hotter. Rode around Diamond Lake after packing up the campsite, but most people took off for other destinations. It was an absolutely gorgeous day. They really missed out! It's a flat ride through campgrounds on a bike path around the lake, but offers some gorgeous views. I was surprised not many people were there. This is really the ideal time to go camping there, as the crowds seem to be gone, and the weather is still good (though cold at night). I'd much rather go for a short, easy ride before sitting in the car for 4 hours to drive home than just packing up and leaving!

I'm so glad I went and did this ride again, and very glad that so many Portland people went along too! It was an awesome weekend with lots of laughs, great rides, and some great food!

A summer of climbs

The Tour is over, but there is still plenty of perfect summer weather left which should last the next few months. While I haven't done all that I planned to do this summer, one thing I have done plenty of is climb. It never seems like I ride enough days or miles, and the more I ride, the more I want to ride, so that's a good thing. But there is always some climb I long to do, some obstacle to overcome. What a summer of climbing it's been so far, but there are still more climbs to do. I haven't even ridden home over the zoo (on a path I call the Zoobaix) once this summer. That seems so lame while the weather is dry and warm, and it stays light so late, to drive to & from work. But there is always some reason why it seems more convenient - some appointment, errand or whatever. Still, lame. But the Thursday night SE rides have been great, taking me on some roads I never would have known existed, bike paths, and other assorted "urban assault" type shortcuts.

But the climbs. Every other Saturday, the routes take us up some new climb I haven't done before, and we ride up Clapshaw, or Rocky Point, or Old Cornelius Pass, or Skyline. Even doing familiar routes in reverse brings a whole new feel to the ride. I figure any day on the bike is a good day, time well spent. Climbs are easier than they were in the past, and descents are not so intimidating. The Portland Century was a tough one, seeming more like 200 miles than 100, but I managed to get through it with plenty of rest stops for food, and good company.

This weekend: Crater Lake. One of my favorites! I will have photos of that to post soon.

Is it time for Le Tour 2010?

Well, the 2009 Tour de France is now over, and I'm left with wrap-up articles, speculation on who will ride for which teams next year, and rumors about the 2010 route. It was really a very exciting Tour this year - it had it all, including soap-opera-like drama, crashes, unexpected stage wins, expected sprint finishes, brutal climbs, hot weather, rain, and wind.

I would have liked to see George in yellow, and come to think of it I would have liked to see Lance in yellow as well. To see him on the podium after his comeback was an amazing thing, and I am sure he was pleased with how well he rode. But to see him not on the #1 spot on the podium was a bit.. strange. This business about Contador going around trashing him and his team is unacceptable to me. I was just as supportive of Contador leading Astana as everyone else was after his unplanned attacks, and it's common knowledge that he is the world's best climber. But to win, and then turn around and whine about how there were "two Tours - one on the road and one in the hotels"? Come on. He's got many years of wins ahead of him, why not accept the pretty trophy and go enjoy the adulation of his fans in Spain? I could go on, but I'll be nice.

Speaking of nice, I think Lance was the gracious and sportsmanlike gentleman, refusing to comment on many of Frankie Andreu's questions to try and pry some of the controversy and drama that everyone was dying to hear. Lance even today has good things to say about Alberto Contador. I saw a video where Phil Liggett points out the obvious, that Contador is not a team player. Lance just posted on Twitter: "Seeing these comments from AC. If I were him I'd drop this drivel and start thanking his team. w/o them, he doesn't win." I have to agree. He should be thanking his team, not acting like a petulant and indignant teenager. He got his win. The team supported him. What more could he want? Lance didn't attack him on the mountains. Lance didn't drop his teammates.

Just think - if Levi & Horner had been there supporting Lance, things might have been different. Which brings me to next year's Tour. Wow, a whole year for the rumors to fly, the analysis to begin, the speculation on who will ride for which team. This to me is WAY better than the NFL draft. New teams, new kits, new sponsors. Such fun! And what if Lance decides to form the very first ever ProTour cycling team made up entirely of Americans? I don't know that he will, being as he has mentioned Andreas Kloden as one of the riders on his list, and I've also heard rumors of Cadel Evans riding for Radio Shack. But I still think it would be a pretty historic Tour to have a whole U.S. team - it just goes to show how far American cycling has become, because there are actually enough Tour-caliber pro cyclists to make up such a team.

So. Let's talk about me. I went for a ride on Saturday, a typical, perfect, cloudless hot day in Bend. Since seeing Chris Horner's "taxi" ride of another rider & bike up to the CCC stage finish at Mt. Bachelor last July, it has been my goal to ride up there and find out just how hard it is. I started out from SE Bend and made my way to the sign on Century Drive announcing that it was 20 miles to Mt. Bachelor. Twenty miles? I thought. That's not a problem. No big deal. I have driven this road. I know what it looks like. So I plugged along. I got passed by a few people who said hello and there was the usual cycling small talk about what a nice day it was. Cyclists on their way down buzzed past with slight waves or head nods. I envied them as I began to climb. The words ran through my head that Heidi wrote about Bruce: "when the road turned up, he grinned. When the rain came down, he laughed". I thought about how much Bruce loved to climb, and pedaled harder. I thought of how hot it was and wished I hadn't frozen my water bottles, as they were still too slushy to drink from, and I was thirsty.

The road turned up. I kept my head down to avoid thinking that the climb would never end. Was I out of gears? No, not yet, still got a few left. Good. Lungs felt okay despite the altitude. Overall, not bad. 20 mile climb? Psh. No problem. But it was getting quite warm. I scoured the road ahead for some shade but there was none to be found. I shook & squeezed my water bottles to get some cool liquid, ate some Clif bloks. Better. Rounded a corner, and there it was. My very own, personal, Le Petit Mont Ventoux.

So, long story short - I made it, and it was hot. Planned to ride up to the parking lot but the plan was to stow the bike in the car & head to Sparks Lake to kayak, which we did. I wanted to ride down afterwards but it was late, and hotter, and really, it's not 100% downhill all the way. Next time.