Category Archives: Comments about Cycling

Training Over Racing

This entry was posted in Comments about Cycling on by .

I don’t really understand the schedule that Bradley Wiggins is doing this season. Last year he won virtually every time he clipped in and this year he has decided to change his training and hole up in Tenerife and “practice” climbing. He says – “We’re working more on the explosivity in the climbs. I don’t like it. It’s the worst part of training. We do a lot of that at altitude; we’ve been two weeks at altitude doing that,” he said. “Sometimes the stuff you don’t enjoy doing, it’s the stuff that works. If you only do what you like doing, you have the Bradley Wiggins of 2010.” But, later on he goes and states – “This year, I am training more than racing. I almost prefer the training camps to the racing,” Wiggins said. “You learn from the previous year. This year has been harder because the stuff we did last year, it’s a continual thing. The training we do now, I never imagined we’d do three years ago.” As normal, Bradley contradicts himself and he can’t decide if he likes training or not.

Forget the Bradley Wiggins of 2010, he should want to be the Bradley Wiggins of 2011. It seems like many other guys are having their issues this year and he would be fine if he could just beat his team mates, Richie Porte and Chris Froome.

It seems like doubling up the Giro and the Tour is in style this season. Cadel announced that he is doing it also. But, Cadel has been racing this year, not just training. Cadel is a little more old school than Bradley, it seems, and likes to race his bike.

I really don’t get the not racing deal. It seems to me, that bike racers race bikes. And they train to get fit enough to race and then they race. It would be like being a basketball player and you prefer to go to the park and shoot free throws than play an actual game. It doesn’t make any sense to me.

My friend, Rod Lake, had an extra power meter sitting around and he sent it to me and I installed it on my bike yesterday and rode. First time in my life I’ve ridden with a power meter. I hove no idea how this is going to change anything I do riding. Hopefully it will give me some important information that I can use to race faster, but I don’t know what that information will be as of yet. But, I guarantee that I’ll never be a Wiggins type that prefers training to racing. I can and never will be a fan of guys like that.

Beggars can't be choosers.

Beggars can’t be choosers.

We all needed a little more of this yesterday after watching KU melt the last 3 minutes of the game yesterday.

We all needed a little more of this yesterday after watching KU melt the last 3 minutes of the game yesterday.

A bunch of people came over for the game last night and I made pizza.

A bunch of people came over for the game last night and I made pizza.

I think I made 7 or 8 pizzas.  It was the first time that I've ever had left overs.

I think I made 7 or 8 pizzas. It was the first time that I’ve ever had left overs.

Here is Dennis cooling down his dog Hawkeye on the picnic table.  It's been pretty nice the last couple days, in the 60's and Hawk is used to cold Wisconsin temperatures.

Here is Dennis cooling down his dog Hawkeye on the picnic table. It’s been pretty nice the last couple days, in the 60’s and Hawk is used to cold Wisconsin temperatures.

Ditched the Burning for Abit

This entry was posted in Comments about Cycling on by .

I decided to fly out to California and get out of the smoke of eastern Kansas for just a little while. It seems like maybe we could be past the time this should be allowed. I hope the EPA is looking at the situation, because when the paper starts running articles about how bad the smoke is to normal people, it seems like people’s health should be protected before fat cattle.

That is just one reason anyway. I have some other stuff to do out here. And riding up and down the coast is nearly perfect for my condition right now. Climbing is sort of a chore, especially short climbs that I’d normally do out of my seat. I did feel pretty good riding nearly 400 miles last week, but think that I might have be a little rambunctious and am a little beat. It might of just been the smoke on Thursday, I don’t know, but I wasn’t that peppy.

I have been pretty stuffed up and feeling kind of weird, but hopefully that will pass. I am beginning to realize that this shoulder healing process is much longer than I anticipated. PT is going super slowly. I have a bunch of exercises I’m supposed to out here since I’m missing a couple sessions. It is going to be hard to push myself through that couple degrees of pain during each movement, but don’t worry Burt, I’m going to be diligent.

Okay, daylight is burning here. I’m anxious to get out on my bike. No Strava segment attempt down Via Capri for me this trip. That is a recipe for disaster, maybe even when I’m not hurt.

This was how it looked in about every direction you would look on Thursday.

This was how it looked in about every direction you would look on Thursday.

Article in the Topeka paper about the hazards of burning.  Click twice to enlarge.

Article in the Topeka paper about the hazards of burning. Click twice to enlarge.

The new deck at Don and Sue's is just about done.

The new deck at Don and Sue’s is just about done.

This was on my phone when I got here.  Great, trading smoke for bad pollen.

This was on my phone when I got here. Great, trading smoke for bad pollen.

I'm going to do a whole post on this, but this is just a teaser.  This bill was for one day at the Vail hospital.

I’m going to do a whole post on this, but this is just a teaser. This bill was for one day at the Vail hospital.