training n such

so i rode for 3 hrs on my road bike today, which equaled about 40-50 miles. i think im going to devote more time to road bike training, as ill probably get more mtb endurance if i get more road endurance (duh, right?). anyway, no compy, so i cant say for sure how far it was but it was decent. hills and more hills were on the menu. there were 4 very long (over 1 mile) and steep climbs. im excited for 6 months away when real racing begins again. time to go eat some hamburgers.

and i also decided i need a name for my mtb. ive given other bikes names, but they are now a)stoled or b)scrapped aka dead. i need an edgier name (cause im super badass) than just "the GT".

training ride

so my mucus has subsided enough so i decided to ride with a few Pitt riders. it was a bad idea for many reasons. i guess im still to sick to really push it. also, i had my big ol bag, and i never realized how big n heavy it was.
i have like every kind of body part warmer in there plus a tire and tubes and tubes and tubes and 2 pumps (3 after my friend returned a co2 pump to me today) and a bunch of food ( i had an entire box of mrs freshleys oatmeal pies) and i have like lotions and maps and all sortsa tool n wrenches and like 2 sets of extra platform pedals in case my eggbeaters explode on my fixed gear and i need a way to get home. heavy. it slowed me down big time. riding alone all the time i just dont realize how relatively slow i am going with my bag. my only legit excuse for going slow was that i did not know the trails really. i still like the bag because a) i spent a ton of money on it and i love to get use out of it and b) i am ocd only when i ride a bike and i tell myself i need all the shit in there. dumb, i know. anyway, i think it makes me stronger. ive realized that if i alway ride with 20 extra pounds on my back it makes me way way faster (or at least i think im faster because i dont use a compy) when i ride sans big ol baggy. lets hope it does. either that or im just real slow. its probably the latter.

sick again

over the last 3 days ive gotten a bunch of riding in- 24 mtb miles and 70 road miles- and my legs have been killing me. im officially starting my training plan and my coach says he will make my peak around late spring= mtb season= success. the problem is im sick again and probably cant ride for a few days. i found this bloggery and its how i feel now

i havent ridden in over a week!

today i think im finally unsick enough to go on a bike ride... so i did. i rode my mtb maybe 14 miles in the woods and my legs are feeling it. i totally forgot how much i hated leaves too. not even wet leaves, just leaves. they cover all the obstacles on the train and make sharp uphill switchback style turns not happen. some trails obviously hadnt been ridden since the leaves fell because there were no paths worn out on the lesser used singletrack trails. i dont think its my responsibility to clear the trails, other mtb riders in pittsburgh need to get their act together and ride more to clear trails for me.

anyway, my chain-l has worn off my chain, i was running a dry chain today i guess. i think it lasted maybe 14-20 rides, and probably no more than 300 harsh miles. its still going strong on my road bike- i think the wet/dirty conditions of mountain biking wore off the chain-l a bit early. i think im going to try 10w40 or some other high viscosity oil for a short while. lube is like 7 bucks. chain l is like 12 bucks. 10w40 is like 4 bucks for like 8 times the liquid in a 4 oz lube bottle. everything has been breaking on my bikes, mostly my road bikes, but my GT could use some work too. ugh. i gotta see if i cant cheap it out on the lube and see what happens.
-motor oil chain lube review soon.

there was something else but i totally forget.

perfect weather

just as the standard pittsburgh winter is setting in, we got a 3 day break of crappy weather via sunny skies and near 70 degree temps. i however, could not enjoy this weather because im stricken with the flu/whooping cough/unknown coughing illness. no bike rides=shitty. no bike rides+flu= i might kill myself. the one redeeming quality is that all my coughing will surely help me get some babes via big ab muscles acquired while hacking up a lung or two.

guud stuuf

amidst a flurry of flat tires and losing the world series i found out that i have been sponsored by nuun hydration tabs for 2010. im real excited to not cramp up and be tired during the home stretch of races. more to come shortly...