IGVENTURE

I don't know much about bike training but that looks to me like a strong training week for the middle of the race season. If you keep this going you're going to start the season really strong.
 
Saturday-1.5hrs xc skiing. Yes snow is back. Mixing it up with skis and bike is awesome. XC skiing is a great load bearing exercise that works the whole body. Youcandoit!

Sunday
- heading to the Watchung Reservation for more XC ski goodness.

Yes and yes. I went out both days too. My legs are tired and sore in ways they haven't been in a long time. Hay is for horses and snow is for skis.
 
I agree Eric, XC skiing rules. My HR stays in aerobic mode when I xc ski but my legs get such a work out, its like the opposite of cycling. Cycling my HR is working harder then my legs. Load bearing exercise vrs non load bearing exercise.

Back on da Tempo Beat

Went out for a tempo ride this morning. No work for me today thanks, I have to take my dad to the Dr. so taking advantage of the day off. It's a fine day to be off. Its like 70 degrees out. Today's tempo seemed effortless compared to battling the wind last week, I went out on the windiest day Wednesday. Today was awesome, I hit the magic 20 mph avg. for 2 solid hrs. I still can't work the garmin well with gloves on but its in there, 2 laps avg.'ing 20.2mph. This makes me happy. I think it was this song that did it.

I put my hand up on your hips-when I dip you dip we dip. I was singing this out loud on Washington Valley road.
 
I may have to give XC skiing another chance...my only experience (10 years ago) was horrible...but my trips to VT/up north are dwindling due to time and $$...
 
Why was it horrible?

I was heavier/out of shape, I couldn't keep up with the others (who were veterans who skated the entire time) and got frustrated...this was about 10 years ago when I lived in Maine.

And I fell. Think of the kid in Christmas story who "couldn't get up".
 
Yeah just like cycling you have to go at a pace your comfortable with, even if it means going out alone. I enjoy the calmness of being out alone in a snow covered woods.

And just like cycling take baby steps until you can go out for longer treks. When it comes down to it its about having fun, so make it fun for you.

I xc skied flatter terrain of golf course's for years before I attempted any single track or elevation runs. Most golf courses won't kick you out for xc skiing, just don't ski up to them and give them the opportunity to kick you out.
 
we used to have to XC ski in HS gym class when I lived in utah.....Which usually meant one or two laps around the frozen football field, then jump building and who could huck a 720 on xc skis. I wouldn't mind giving it another try one day.
 
Most kids want nothing to do with xc skiing. Its too much work and too slow for them. My kids laugh at xc skiing.
Its an acquired taste for sure. I am more excited about heading up north to try out my skate skis at a groomed xc ski center then I am to downhill ski.
 
When I was younger I was into downhill skiing and then snowboarding. I would never have gone xc skiing, and I'm sure I thought it was pointless and stupid.

Now I am older and am just looking for exercise and being in the woods. I bought some skis in November and finally got out on Saturday and had an awesome time. It's really great exercise, and I am still sore. I have been hobbling around for the past few days. Now we just need more snow!
 
we used to have to XC ski in HS gym class when I lived in utah.....Which usually meant one or two laps around the frozen football field, then jump building and who could huck a 720 on xc skis. I wouldn't mind giving it another try one day.

I remember a few years ago Fischer skis introduced "Jibskate" skis to their line. Twin tip skate skis for just that sort of thing. The marketing copy and amped up adrenaline fueled videos on their website were predictably awesome. The product line died shortly thereafter. I bet there are some great videos of siberian orphans stomping out some straight-crazy jibskate tricks on the youtube.

There's always cross country snowboarding:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4w7sVSMbjyM
 
Great to hear that you are taking advantage of this nice weather Iggs!

I like Xc skiing too. It is a nice way to mix up winter activities. Setting out into the woods on skis is pretty close to mountain biking as far as mental enjoyment. The skate ski or groomed skiing seems a bit more like road riding, but that may be just my take. I have all 3 kinds and tend to use standard XC the most.

By looking into the woods today up at Harriman, it looks like we may have to wait for more snow. However riding road bikes in 50 degrees is pretty nice too. 🙂
 
I have always lusted a pair of Karhu back countrys, maybe next year. Bindings blew up on my trac skis so I have been missing, glad the winter of '12 is barely...
 
Most kids want nothing to do with xc skiing. Its too much work and too slow for them. My kids laugh at xc skiing.
Its an acquired taste for sure. I am more excited about heading up north to try out my skate skis at a groomed xc ski center then I am to downhill ski.

Those laughs would change to trembles of fear if we had some GoPro of what we did to 6Mi that day:getsome: That will always be on my "best days ever" list😀
 
XC skiing is great fun but if you don't live in an area with a healthy dose of snow in the winter the sport can be unreliable. The good things about NJ is you can bike year round on trails or roads. There are probably only 20 days out of the year when its either just too cold or just to hot to ride. If there is snow on the trails...ski. If there is no snow...bike.

Fine Tuning & Upgrading

This is a good time of year to fine tune the equipment and make upgrades. The bike shops are not as busy so now is when you want to bring the bike in for that service you've been putting off, or build up a wheel set.

Stan's w/XT hubs

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After dropping Jamie off at soccer the other day in Morristown I stopped in at Marty's so they could measure my ass. 143, I am not sure what this means but I was told that this saddle is my size...that's good to know. I was using the stock saddle on the bike for about 2yrs when I figured it was time to get serious. I must say that on my first ride it does feel more sporty then my cheap saddle. Its very responsive, kinda like a race car. My other saddle was too soft and squishy.

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I scored big last week in the shoe department as well. Segundo's buddy was selling these in my size. I always lusted after these shoes cause all the cool guys wear them. After putting them on and using them I quickly realized that these bad boys aren't just for ballers. This is my first pair of carbon soled shoes after riding on a pair of very worn out road shoes. The difference was amazing. Everyone talks about the stiffness in a crank setup on a bike and the importance of the power transfer of your foot to the cranks but without a good pair of carbon soled shoes your losing power to flex. I'm not sure if I can go any faster in these shoes but they sure do feel great.

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Totally random shit...Fred doing his spider man dance.

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Interesting that you would have a 143 ass with a 10.5 shoe. According to my calculator you can fit 13.6190476 shoes in your butt in case you were wondering.
 
Interesting that you would have a 143 ass with a 10.5 shoe. According to my calculator you can fit 13.6190476 shoes in your butt in case you were wondering.

with sidi's you have to use the european scale so my shoe size is 45. that means i can only fit 3.17 shoes.
 
Where I'm At

I feel like I am on point with my fitness over the winter on the bike. Last year I was off the bike for like 2 months due to snow. At that time I honed my xc ski skills and enjoyed the snow. Getting back on the bike in late February was tough, I felt like I lost my spin. It came back but I do remember some 2hr rides feeling awkward.

For me the key to training weekly this time of year is to have the ability to get in a 3hr. ride during the week and squeak in a 2hr. tempo ride after work one day. That gives me 5hrs. On the wknd. I can easily put in another 4-5hrs and I can hop on the rollers during the week as well to round out the total to 10+ hrs of training. I started doing the tempo thing again a few weeks ago. 2hrs of tempo isn't going to kill me but it keeps me just sharp enough to be ready to launch an attack on my training once late February rolls around.

That's kinda my plan, it feels right for now. I'm not sure how I'll do at Battenkill , its my first time doing this race so I don't have high hopes. I'll approach this as more of a training race and set my sights on Bearscat as a peak race. I am always reluctant to call something a peak race because of the choke factor or a mechanical. But hey there is always another race, I'm gonna keep it fun and not get too caught up in peaks.


Cruel Shoes



Totally Random Shit
Mooch Madness 45+ Winners

Terry Blanchet, Paul Wojciak, David Clapp

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Maintenance

I feel like I've been dumping a ton of money into the bike's lately. It's been wear parts like gears, bearings and shock. But now is the time to take care of it and not when race season is here. My bikes are maintained a lot better then my cars that's for sure. My power steering pump has been leaking like a sieve but haven't brought it in for repair. Every time I bring my car in its like $400 bucks. My car my ride like shit but my bikes kick ass. At least my car doesn't run as bad as Utah's 3 cylinder Saturn.

The Lefty getting packed up to send away for service.

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Da more bikes you have da more money you gonna spend. I'm gonna keep it at 3 for now. The SS, my hardtail cdale flash and my old roadie.

40 Miles of Ramaho

Saturday and Sunday I did back to back rides from Skyline to do the Cannoball run. Its a 20 mile loop that offers some great mtbing, I'd say this is my favorite trail in NJ. Its easy to do your favorite trail 2 days in a row and not be bored with it. I've always enjoyed going down warm puppy but I have grown fond of the uphill challenge as well. So much good stuff here and so many fun people to ride with; Kirt, Woody, Utah, Norm, Fred, Falco, Luke, Joquim, Bill, Kevin.

TRS

Did you know that leather Tuscadero sang this song? This song is gay and the video is even more gay...but I still like the song. Its a 70's thing.

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