Almost a year now...

Well, it's a bit early for a year in review post, but it has been on my mind. Last year I had the opportunity to put together quite a collective of videos and photos from my year of riding. We'd done a lot of social events, recreational rides, and fun trips. This year has been a lot different. Not that it has been better or worse; just a lot different. As much as 2007 was about fun and games, 2008 has been about racing, competing, training, and trying to up the game. I spent a lot of time shuttling and riding downhill in the last half of 2007, and I got pretty good at it. 2008 I've gotten better at climbing, but worse at descending, and sometimes I'm downright scared and nervous. Funny how it changes.

People I thought I'd always be riding with don't even want to reply to emails anymore, and seem disinterested in trips (whether downhill/shuttle oriented or otherwise).

Lots has changed in 2008. 2009 will probably be a lot more similar to 08, but more so. More races, more serious, and lots more training.

I got my first bike in August of 2005, and by June of 2006 I had hit 1,000 total miles. It felt like a huge accomplishment at the time.
















I'm not a numbers person; never really have been good with them. But, I love information - even if that information is in the form of numbers. In 2006 I started keeping track of my rides through bikejournal.com. Still doing that today, while also trying to figure out the best way to keep a training diary for 2009. I've got about 3 ideas for that (2 different spreadsheets, bikejournal, and a handwritten log in a binder).

This year I learned that it's better to track hours on the bike than miles. Probably true, especially since sometimes I keep track of downhill miles and trainer miles (I'm even only using 75% of what the Garmin says on the trainer for mileage cause I know it's way off). But, the clock doesn't lie. An hour of riding is an hour of riding whether you go 6 miles or 17.

In 2007 I had just under 312 hours.

2008 isn't over yet, but I've got around 335 hours. I might even wind up with 400 hours this year.

2006 I had just under 245 hours.

So, I'm making progress. For 2009 I'm estimating (at a really conservative rate) about 550 hours on the bike. That's a lot. Doesn't take into consideration injuries, 12 hour events, or week-long vacations for riding.

The progression feels good.

Speaking of feeling good… I hope my legs have recovered from the weekend's efforts. If not, I might just have to decide between pushing through or taking it easy. I'd like to get about 1-1.5 laps locally tonight. Tomorrow is off. Saturday will be a 1.5-2 hour Z1/2 ride with some higher spin-ups to Z4. Not sure I can push it into Z5 in 30-60 seconds.

Did some core exercises last night, and my back has been feeling a tad better lately. Definitely better than it was a month ago. At race pace this weekend? Well, we'll see what happens. I'm shooting for 2 hours on the course, and assuming the course is fairly identical to last year, I should be close or below that. Er, also assuming I'm not plagued with another mechanical like the last two races. Here's hoping.

Aside from that all, I'm wondering if the state's "fever" has finally broke. It might not be 90+ again today. Ooh, though I forgot to bring any kind of warmers or base layer for the ride tonight.

Last week it was downright hot in a few spots, and about 45 in others. Explain that one! Two climate zones in about 10 yards. Wacky.

It's Thursday… you can see the weekend from here!