That’s what I’m having a hard time getting. I have a pretty bad taste left over from last week in Europe. The race in particular. I’ve been back for two days and can’t get much of a grasp on what I need to be doing to ride bikes fast this year. I don’t want to wait around 12 more months to ride Nationals and Worlds again. I have much less patience than that.

I know I need to address some physical issues I have. I don’t really know exactly what I need to do to address that, but I should make an effort. I’m also trying to decide what my race schedule is going to be this season.

I think I would like to do a lot more events that I haven’t ridden before. I really enjoyed the Battenkill weekends last year. The course was challenging and it was a new experience. I met a lot of new people that were interesting and got to train somewhere I hadn’t spent anytime at before. Can’t ask for much more than that.

But there is something to be said about going back to events that I’ve been at before. It is much easier doing well at an event that you’ve competed at before. You know the lay of the land and have some prior experiences to use to your advantage. Plus, it is always nice to go back and see friends that you haven’t seen for a year, or more.

Then there is the choices of what type racing. Exclusively on the road, or mixing it up more between road and off-road. I’d like to mix it up way more this year. I don’t think I’ve been riding my MTB bike enough the past few seasons. I’m becoming sort of one dimensional in that respect. Plus, I think I’ve forgotten too much and have been too far removed from the MTB scene and would like to get back up to speed in that regard.

I think I’m going to spend more time at altitude this season. I don’t see a way to do well at altitude races without acclimating. I don’t have any specific races in mind that are at altitude, but it is hard to make those decisions without knowing I’m going to have to spend a bunch of time up there. It’s not so bad really.

So, I think I just need a little time to try to forget yesterday and concentrate on tomorrow. I probably just need a vacation.

I’m not getting enough of it. I know that because I never quite got on to European time and it didn’t seem to bother me too much. Now, back in the states, I’m getting up at 5 am, after going to be after 11 and I seem to be doing okay. That is approaching just 5 + hours a night for the last 3 nights. Something has got to give.

As I get older, I’ve noticed I can get by with less sleep. And I don’t mind getting woken up near as much as I used to. I think I need to start trying to get more sleep and mind getting woken up.

As an athlete, sleep is super important. Maybe more important than training hard after you’re already fit. I don’t put too much emphasis on the amount of sleep before a one day event. I think the sleep two nights before the race is much more important than the sleep the night before. But, getting in a good block of sleep while you’re riding hard is imperative. And during stage races, sleep is crucial.

I sleep with a noise machine. It’s really an HEPA air purifier, but it’s real benefit is white noise. Bromont can’t really sleep past 5 am in hotels unless the air purifier is going. Too much extraneous noise going on for him not to be up. And if he’s up, then I’m usually up.

I’m not sure how I’m going to implement this “new” sleep regiment long term. I’ve having enough trouble with jet lag from this one trip.

Bromont is the best sleeper in the world. His underside get all pink when he's sleepy.

Our new cat, Lilly, could give Bromont a run for his money, but it isn't fair, because Lilly is a cat and domestic house cats sleep more than just about any other mammal.