should have been magic but......MEH??

Made a last minute decision this a.m. to come home from the cottage to putter around and get a ride (to be determined) before spending the majority of the time on the road en route to Ottawa and Northumberland this week...little time for riding.

Cut the grass and tidied up the GArage...put on some apple radio and voila some motivation for a mt. bike ride. I don't remember the last time I rode sooooo mellow. Just a straight b line out to trails, small loop and b line back..a good sweat but am quite content to say.....I'm ready for a new activity/passion and season. DO have a trip planned to Stowe where the theme of the day is climb, climb, climb.....

On the lookout for some new running shoes..do some trail running ;) also look into a gym membership, get this almost 40 yr old frame back into some defined check a chekah!!

Stats...just to prove how ridiculously mellow this ride was....:

55 min???
136 avg, 181 max hr
in zone for 51 min above 4 min
570 Kcal
15 k
avg spd 15.8 k/hr, max 45.3

yawn....i'm feeling more like a bear looking forward to hibernatin' than anything else right now..craving a nap.....hmmmmm let's see

Paul's Dirty done!

Call it a benchmark for next year. That's the only way to spin a good perspective on the experience. Maybe it had to do with the fact that I hadn't been on the bike for over a week and I have been enjoying the red liquid nightly for over a week. Expectations to hammer out the entire 60 k quickly came to a halt after 45 k in. The legs were just not reacting and the brain was also fading quickly. Luckily I had the pleasure of riding most of the route with the Wildman JC!! So to keep it frank....60 k in 4 hrs....BEAUCOUP climbing and even more descending!! Perhaps a pic to come. OVerall result was 25th...can only get better next year. If you happen to read this Bowen...good on ya for looking strong the last 10 k ;)

Have put some thought into next year...thinking more group vs solo races, upgrade bike to something a tad lighter as well, and Ocup races to work on more high intensity short duration vs slow burning endurance.

Fall is Here..NIGHT RIDING!!!!!!

Paul's Dirty Enduro is just around the corner..enterred the 60 k vs the 100 k so I could really just have FUN, while trying to beat the likes of Tommy and Fil in the process...that's right tommy...you're marked man ;) Getting in the necessary ride time this week has resulted in charging the lights and making the day longer to accomodate :)

Let me just state that MAN I like Night riding! Hooked up with Mr. Weima and Armstrong for a sweet little tick tack ticianing around the rocky and technical trails of Kingston. Great to ride with Shaun as he only has one speed.....fast....I decided to play it safe and just ride my own ride while letting shaun spin wildly in front and then into the distance for most of the ride. As the eyes and confidence returned....forgot how mellow the riding style gets when all you ride is 24 and 8 hour course (tame)I decided to chase his ass for the last technical section....FUN...Looking forward to doing this tempo throughout the whole loop. Loop was pretty mellow all in all, but a good night for it.

A little tired as I said yes vs my characteristic..."naaaah...I gotta get up early" to the idea of a beer on a patio at 11:30 at night...1:30 am came quickly.... :)

So plan is pretty simple....Get another mellow ride in Thursday and esseentially hammer as hard as the legs, lungs and psyche will allow on Saturday...starting at 8 am.

Goals are.....shifting....

Weather is beginning to become chillier and wetter. Signs of fall around the corner and the XC skiis are looking more and more appealing. I've enrolled in the 60 k distance for the annual Paul's Dirty Enduro. Looking forward to this race. Heard great things about it. As for any other events...not enterring. Need to close cottage the weekend of the Fall 8 so...that's a no go. Decided to jump on board with an opportunity to ride Stowe Vermonts roads and make a trip to Kingdom Trails on way back in October.

Overall...the fire fueled desire to race is more of a flame than a bonfire now. My mindframe for next season.....more trips vs races....spend race entry fees on camping fees...more social rides vs training rides....yeah, that sounds about right. We'll see how long that lasts ;) I think it is time to get reconnected with my DH skiing vibe this season...bring on the white stuff.....Thank GOD for 4 seasons!!

Reaping the benefits!!

It appears riding for 20 plus hours straight does have it's advantages for fitness. Other than a short run and mt bike ride last week, my activities have been mellow due to the need for recovery. Fil returned back from the mutha land and a ride (rain or shine) was had. A quick 50 plus k rip around the old stomping grounds provided some great feedback for the legs and body.

The hills that used to produce oxygen debt burning and suffering no longer was painful.....tight....would be the word. Essentially, just feeling the wall of the physiology. Continue with rides road or mountain every second day up until the 17th for Paul's Dirty Enduro. Also in process of booking a weekend in Vermont to ride stowe and Kingdom Trails Oct 14-17....a great fall in the mix. Now to have some of my wifes homemade pasta sauce en pasta :))

There!! Recovered!

Amazing how the body can tolerate friction for 20 plus hours of saddle time. Chose to get back to some kind of huffing and puffing on Thursday with a slow 5 k run. Friday was the time to return to the saddle and go for a tour of the local trails. Pretty mellow 21 k with the legs feeling strong and body accepting the fact that I was back on a mountain bike.

Weekend included operating the cottage boat for everyone to get their wakeboard on..no boarding for me as the alternate wheelman is sipping vino in France. Plan is to get together with the good doctah tomorrow and get our groove on with the road bikes. Stats from Friday's mt ride far from impressive but here goes:

1 hr 11 min
149 avg to 179 max HR
In zone 1 hr; above 9; below 2 min
868 Cal
21.3 km
avg spd 17.8; max 36

Change in plans. Closing cottage wknd of 8 hr therefore, just registered for Paul's Dirty Enduro 60 k. Have been told its a must do...so DO I will