Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Coulda Shoulda Woulda

Yesterday's commute home was supposed to be a kick ass good time. Turns out it was just a kick in the ass. I had scouted a couple of the sections via car on Sunday and they looked to be in good shape with lots of snowshoe traffic. Certainly that had to be better than the two tiny ribbons from xc skis that I was riding on last week. Right! RIGHT!!! Fa-reakin-wrong!  What I was expecting to be a sweet snow bike ride turned into a pitiful excuse for a hike.  I ended up bailing as soon as I could but that didn't stop me from walking easily 55 minutes of a 1:30 ride.  The well traveled snowmobile trails were in pretty good shape and were the only things that salvaged an otherwise miserable ride.  Lesson learned.  Hitting snowshoeing trails before a freeze thaw cycle (or at least tons of traffic) just isn't a smart move.  Before long I'll know the Mukluk's abilities and weakness'. 

death march.  at least I wasn't cold.
An hour and a half later, I slinked into the house sweating like a madman only to look at the thermometer to see this:
10.4 degrees f and I was sweating my ballz off.  Time to cut back on my (already pretty light)  winter riding gear I guess.  Apparently I'm finally acclimated to this shit.

This morning's snowshoe with the pooch was a balmy 5 degrees f but the air was nice and crisp and there was no wind to speak of so it was quite nice not to mention these constant snowshoe hikes are helping me reach my racing weight for this season.  Today was my first solid day below 190lbs.  Prime time racing weight, when I'm super lean, is in the 185lb range so I'm not far off and I'm already around 7lbs lighter than last season's racing weight.  Now, if I could just lay off the beer it would be pretty easy.  I'm noticed that weeks that I only partake on Friday's and Saturday's I can pretty easily shave off 1-2 lbs.  Throw in some beers mid week and all bets are off.  Oh beer, why do you need to be so tasty?

Oh, and perusing the EFTA website yesterday I came across a forum thread where myself and Alby King are being called out to represent at the season ending banquet's trike race.  Alby, maybe you can fill me in here.  What should I be expecting?  I'm a master of all trades, jack of none (I once rode a midget bike down a ski-ish slope and barely avoided breaking something) so I'm not too worried but it's always nice to come prepared.  Should I bring a cup? 

1-18-11
Run time: :25 minutes
Ride time: 2:00 mtb
Ride distance: 14 miles

Total run time: 3:15
Total ride time: 5:05
Total distance: 46 miles

5 comments:

Alby King said...

You got a little ways to go before they start testing your pee.

I didn't go last year... Something about being the fastest of the slowest group. As for the event - not entirely sure what to expect. I suggest winning everything you attempt. That's always the best plan.

rick is! said...

Hey now, don't you be scoffing at my weight loss. I weighed 185 in high school and was skinny as a rail.

I always play to win. There's no other way to go. Growing up in a family with three boys and one competitive dad makes you that way.

Unknown said...

Watch out, Alby. Rick fully plans on winning everything he enters. EVERYTHING. There's an article out there that says as much.

rick is! said...

that's right sucker.

Alby King said...

Sa-wheet!! Anything else is a complete bore.

Makes me want to yell the word verification:

YERKELLO!!