Back to School/First Ride

I'm back at school, about to finish my first week of classes tomorrow. Such a relief to be back and see all of my friends, including my teammates. Speaking of which.......

On Wednesday I went out for my first ride since coming back to school with two of my teammates. I was not ready for this ride... I got dropped on all the hills and mountain climbs, my left knee started to act up, and I basically just BONKED! But, I'm glad to be back and riding with my teammates again.

I know I promised a few pictures of my bike in my last post, but I just didn't have time to set up my bike and take a picture, and I've also forgotten my camera at home so when I go home this weekend I'll bring it back and take some pictures of my bike in my dorm room and then post in one of the next few posts. Keep checking back!!

12 weeks = ENOUGH

12 weeks is enough to get you out of shape. But today, I finally had my first training ride since the crash, and I felt good on the bike. Despite knowing I've lost shape and gained weight, I was just very happy to be back on the bike. Unfortunately with the losing shape and gaining weight, my MPH average dropped to about 11-12 MPH, when I was able to do 14-18 MPH in September and October prior to the crash.

I was out for an hour and a half (1:30) earlier today, just a basic training on some old familiar roads I usually go on. Monday I hope to have a better training session, and I may give this new route I came up with a try.

Pictures of my bike will post tomorrow, be on the lookout for them!!

Tryin' to catch me ridin' dirty

Finally, it's here! I have brought home my Trek 2100 D from the bike shop and what better timing, TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY!!!

As soon as I brought it home, I put my bottle cages on, my Shimano pedals on, and put my new cleats on the shoes. Then I took it up and down the road for a quick test ride, and man, it rides really nicely! I may need to do just a bit of adjustment to the pedals (because of the new cleats) and the front derailleur that is a little choppy. I just had the bike set up on the trainer in my bedroom to do a workout while watching TV, and I can tell you that this bike is definitely a nice upgrade from my Trek 1000! Tomorrow, I go out for my first real ride since my car/bike crash 12 weeks ago today. I will update, and I will soon be putting some pictures up, hopefully in the next post or two.

2007 Reflections - Part 2

Just a few more reflections I feel I need to talk about.

Looking back to 2007 and with the start of my cycling career, I've learned a lot just from the bike alone. The bike is my best teacher in other words... what I mean is that I've learned time management, responsibility, determination and how to just deal with stuff that is beyond your control. To elaborate a little more, I've learned time management in that I had a summer job over the summer, 40 hours a week working 7 to 3:30 Mondays through Friday. I got lazy at the beginning of the summer and let my training slip... by the 3rd or 4th week of the summer I finally decided that I needed to find a better way to train and still work 40 hours a week, and I've come up with a weekly schedule that worked for me. No more staying up until 2 in the morning talking to friends over AIM, no more taking afternoon naps on a bad day, etc. I would also sometime go into work at 6 in the morning (as some of my co-workers did) and be out by 2:30 so I could have more time training in the afternoon. Either way though, once I get home after work, I'd grab something to eat, maybe take a quick nap, get dressed and get on that bike. This also helped me with my responsibility and determination aspect, in that I've learned that in the end I am responsible for my own training, and I'm the only person to force myself out there on the road.

I view 2007 as my "trial" year for the cycling season. I've gone to races clueless of tactics, skills, etc. and I would always learn from my mistakes that would often put me near last place, if not last. Like at the Allentown Sportsfest criterium race, we had like 15 laps and I was doing really well sticking with the peloton, no one was leading and no one was dropped yet. However, I made a stupid mistake by becoming greedy and wanting to get towards the front of the peloton and made the mistake of jumping on a hill too early on the 4th or 5th lap which killed my legs and I ended up getting dropped with someone else and came second to last. I believe I could've gotten top 15 in that race if I would've waited for a better time. Mistakes like those are very valuable in the first year or two. Hopefully there won't be as many mistakes this year, and I will remember the mistakes I did make last year.

I've also learned that you could be the best darn cyclist in the world, but all it takes is one bad driver who fails to see you determining whether you make it home or not. My friend and I were in a motored vehicle/bike crash within two months of each other. She got run over by a tractor trailer that cut her off, and I slammed into the side of an SUV that cut me off at an intersection. Motorists are just sometimes so oblivious to cyclists. I'll be the first to admit I used to be before becoming a competitive cyclist and riding more roads than I did as a kid. Where I'm from, cyclists are rare. Very few people are seen in spandex shorts and jersey riding a road bike. Most of the "cyclists" around here are moms, dads, kids, etc. out for a nice stroll in town on single-gear or mountain bikes. There is a really good 15 page article on this topic of cyclists getting hit and injured for life or killed by drunk drivers, cellphone users, etc. that I read in the January/February edition of Bicycling magazine. Read it, it is an interesting article! You can also find it at http://www.bicycling.com

That is pretty much for my reflections of the year 2007. I can finally say goodbye to 2007 and hello to 2008.

Tomorrow is my 23rd birthday (YAY!) and I hope to get my Trek 2100 D from the bike shop. Hopefully it is built by now, but if not I will ask them to build it by noon or 1:00 so I can get it and go out for a quick slow ride around the neighborhood. I cannot wait, the anticipation has been killing me. Tomorrow will also mark 12 weeks since my car/bike crash, which means 12 weeks I've been off the bike.

2007 Reflections - Part 1

2007 was pretty interesting. I considered it to be the year where my life started for real. It's the year I found my true passion for cycling, and realized I want to have my life around the world and sport of cycling. That's whether it's me racing all my life, working for a cycling facility or team after I graduate with my Sport Management degree, or watching cycling events all around the world once I retire. Back on subject, 2007 is the year I started racing competitively on the bike, albeit the fact that I've ridden a bike for most of my life, even got off training wheels quicker than my older brother with no help from my parents (sorry for the embarrassment, Ben)!! Long story, I'll just end with that fact and spare further embarrassment of my brother, haha.

With the cycling, I've gained a lot of confidence, lost weight and started to tone up. Unfortunately I've gained weight and lost my achieved tone-ness after my car/bike crash about 12 weeks ago, but I should be able to get close to where I was prior to the 2008 spring collegiate season once I get my bike in the next few days (fingers crossed). I've also made great friends through the sport of cycling, my teammates and my "opponents". Most importantly I've made a great friend, pro-cyclist and Olympic hopeful, Kim Geist. Formally a TEAm Lipton rider, she helped to develop the cycling team at DeSales University, as well as "recruit" several students to join regardless of riding skills. It's how I joined, when I saw the opportunity. The only experienced I've ever had with being on a bike was mountain-biking with my friends for fun and fitness, but never raced. It was a whole new world to me and despite my bad results for the first year, I LOVE it, and will do keep riding and racing until they bury me 6 feet under.

Other reflections... I learned that nothing comes easy. As Greg LeMond once said, "It never gets easier, you just go faster". It's so true. I've ridden my bike almost, if not more than, 1000 miles over the summer (about 3 months), and it is still not easy. Whether you're me or Lance Armstrong, climbing the hills is NEVER easy. You just learn how to pedal better, tolerate pain, and ride efficiently. The word "easy" just does not exist in cycling.

One last reflection for this post (more in a later post) is that I've set a true lifetime goal. Some may say I'm crazy, some will say I don't have the body built for it, but if there's only one goal in life I'll get to meet, I want it to be this one. I want to go Semi-Pro by the time I'm 35 years old. Yes, I know it will be hard work, but I'm going to work my butt off for that goal.

Stay tuned for more reflections in a Part 2 that will come soon.