Photo Update

Oh me oh my, it has been a while.

I've been distant. I know, and I want you to know that it's not you... It is me. I've been so busy these past months that it's been hard to maintain our relationship. I know you have been seeing other blogs and I want you to know that it is okay; I understand that you have needs...

School has been out since the 15th of December. Since then, I've celebrated Christmas, went to Aspen for New Years Eve, and I have now been in Michigan for almost a week. On Thursday I go back to Colorado Springs, and I start my winter semester on the 20th. Surprisingly, I'm ready to go back to school. I'm ready for new books, classes, professors, and a fresh outlook on things. This month off has really been great, but I'm looking forward to "real life" again.

I've been off the bike for about a month. I've gotten in a couple rides and a short run since I've been on break, but nothing substantial. As far as workouts go, November, wasn't heavy either. I hit the gym a lot, but not much bike. I'm excited to race again, and start my late (it's late right) base training... I really hate the cold though (it seems like last winter the temperatures were much milder than they are now.) I'm not too concerned about the lack of mileage recently because I feel that I came out of last season strong. I had changed my training up a bit and was seeing definitely improvements. I did deal with illness in November and late September, but overall I would like to think that my fitness there was stronger than it was in July. If I can take what I did in the late summer months and transfer it into this season, I should be riding well... Damn this cold... I'll have gained momentum by the end of this month.

It is late. I'm stopping this mid-thought because I'm really tired. I'll decipher what I've scratched down tonight to make it coherent, and also pick-up where I left off, tomorrow (or next week or month).

November Update.

The long-awaited kits for the UCCS cycling club arrived on Matt Lorenz's doorstep yesterday morning. I'm excited to rock them in the early spring. I think they look pretty fly, and I'm sure they'll look even better from the competition's vantage point--from behind.

I got a e-mail today from a Twin Peak's team member stating that Toyota-United team will not exist in 2009 and that the team is selling all of their equipment. I remember the cool gear Disco had up for grabs when the team disbanded, so I decided to check it out... Basically, EVERYTHING the team owned is on the market. Everything from Dominguez's rig to the trailer hitches and TomTom they used in/on their team car. Sweet right? Well, this is even sweeter: they're selling their time trial helmets. If you don't remember what TT helmets they used, let me give you a hint... The brand starts with a "S" and ends with a "pecialized." Last year they used Specialized TT helmets, and as far as I know, they are not sold to the public yet. If you want one this might be your chance. Click the big Toyota-United logo to go to the page with official details.



That's about it for November. Nothing too exciting bike-related going on. I've been doing some gym work and have been on the bike whenever weather has permitted. The Fall semester is almost over. I have a major research paper I don't want to do, but other than that, all is well.

Update.

The moisture in the air is so thick today. There is a frozen mist hanging over the bluff and the mountains to the West.

I've been off the bike since last Wednesday. I was leaving for a group ride and discovered that my bike had a flat. I threw a new tube in, but the valve stem broke as I was pumping it up. Bummer. When I finally got on the road I notice that I couldn't shift my rear derailler. The thumb lever would not engage. I messed around with it for a few minutes, until I decided to just ride downtown in my 53x23. I maybe got 2 miles out and became really frustrated. I called my expert mechanic, Eileen, who was in Monument park at the time. She gave me the diagnoses that I had a spring out of place, or broken, in my lever. She also discovered that the bolt holding the spring on my rear brake was broken, which meant I was riding around with added resistance.

The parts are in, and I was going to do a XC mountain bike race this weekend, but didn't feel motivated. Instead, I've been hitting the gym. (Stay away from the hip abductor machine, it's a forced to be reckoned with.) The time off has been nice, but I'm looking forward to getting back on the bike even though winter seems to already be setting in. I want to ride as much as possible in the off season.

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