velomech - 11:08 pm, just got home from work....

11:08 pm - 11:08 pm, just got home from work....

Im beat. Got tons of repairs done. Once the shop door closed, I got biddy. Little TCB, takin care O bidness!

The last few days have been stressful. Everyone has somebody in their lives that just makes their life miserable. Dealing with these people is very stressful. The person in my life, lets call this person, "The one who will remain nameless" doesnt live in reality. Serious issues, comes from a family with serious issues, and now Im caught up in it. I wont go into further detail, Im not immature enough to drag it out in public. The type of stress Im trying to describe is strange, Ive never had to deal with MAJOR troubles in my life.

I dont make enemies, I like people, and everyone has a good side. You can find something cool in everyone, well, except "The one who shall remain nameless".

Anyhoo, I have been dealing with a huge wieght, sometimes cant sleep, constantly popping into my head, just plain mood ruining. EVERYONE has to deal with bigtime stress, most of you have real jobs, that demands balancing family and work very carefully. Most of you have major bills, and without the big paycheck it would be tough. I know, because my friends are always confiding in me how they get through it. I learn a lot.

Back to the stress....Sometimes I get over run with feelings of helplessness. The best way that I can describe it is think of it as being a soldier. Your in a group of soldiers, and your seriously under fire. Your resources arent even a tenth of what the enemy has, but your fighting for whats right. You can feel it in your heart that your doing the right thing, and wrong is being done against you. At some point, you realize the chances of you surviving this are slim, because You dont have the resources to fight, so you kind of accept it and go out guns blazing hoping to gety lucky. You basically except your gonna die for a good reason, and you go down swinging.

This stress, or sadness your dealing with up until the point you accept your situation is overwhelming, BUT, then, once you accept it, the stress goes away. You switch the safety off, and you smile, real big.

Im smiling real big right now. It's like situations in life go by in segments, I just entered another segment. I feel liberated. Like I could take on the world.

Seriously. bring it on.

Unfortunately, I was supposed to ride today at yargo. COde red had to pic his better half up, so I volunteered to open the shop so he wouldnt be rushed. I figured I would fix the chain on my bike, and then bolt out for a ride then come back and get to work.

No dice. Both Code red and I got slammed from the get go. Which is ok, anything that brings in some income. Bills are due. So are repairs. So, today, I built two wheelsets, one rear hub over haul, 7 tire changes, 3 brake cables, two cassettes, One tube change, Fixed a broken remote shifter, three tune ups, one rear wheel retention, and answered god knows how many phone calls...it was a busy day. I left work at 10:55 pm. Im happy with I got done today.

Just that I didnt ride. So, here I sit, venting, staring at the Sherwood Forrests IPA to my left.

So sir rich came in for a bit today, and we discussed how if he were to actually race his age category, he would podium every race. Hes 52, and hes faster than any other guy out there his age. Seriously, he races Single speed, and doesnt care who he beats, it's all in fun.

I agree to a point. Once you have established that you can rip the other guys legs off, and leaving him bleeding and questioning why he rides a bike, then it's all in fun.

First, you have to establish the pecking order, then you can goof off.

I know this because the guys I want to race with have established the packing order, and Im at the bottom of it. Thats why they tolerate my smack talk and goofing around.
If I was kicking their asses, it would be a different story, I promise you. Smack talk would be considered bragging or threats. It would take the fun out it.

I feel really good about what the pecking order will be this season. I started to see some promise today when I was fixing my bike.
I have been running a 32x17 on my 29 inch wheels. it turns ot to be a pretty tall gear for around here. Sir rich asked me if I was going to put an 18 on the rear.

I thought about it. When I was at yargo yesterday, I turned a 53 minute lap, and I did all of the new section. I was only going 75-80%. My heart rate was around 170, my max is 199....I wasnt breathing real hard and my legs felt like springs waiting to expand.

I went up the power line climb in the saddle 3/4 of the way up, I got out of the saddle to increase my speed, but I was already at a cadence that was too high. Im not a spinner by ANY means. Like I said, im pushing a 32x17.

So, I looked at SIr rich and told him Im gonna put a 16t on the rear...

"Two to One!?" He said, kind of in disbeleif. But thats ok. I guess Since I have never ever pushed that big of a gear in the years Ive known him I can see where he is coming from.

I also thought he, like everybody else, probably thought I was phukin around when I said i was coming out this season to make a statement. Thats ok, because i can be a smart ass sometimes, and noone should ever take me seriously, unless Im advising them on bike stuff, I never joke about that.

So, back to the 16T. In 94, I built my first real SS. Since, I have never turned a 2:1 ratio, not even on a 26 wheel. I just never had the strength to push that gear up a lot of climbs and still have fun, it turned out too much like work.

So, before I left work, I put on the 16T. Im gonna see if I have a problem with it. But, to be honest, the only thing that was slowing me down at yargo yesterday was my gearing. It was too short. Im not baosting, cmon, I smack talk, I dont brag. Although, I havent been this fit this early in 10 years. There were a few times I was ok fast, won a couple races, but Im so much faster right now than I was then, and it's only december. Im so happy with how my training is going. It's gonna be awesome to go by my buddies in some races, my FAST buddies.

I know it's gonna mess with their head, and not in a good way. That actually makes me a little bit sorry. Seriously, I mean it. I love to see my friends succeed, or do well, and i think that if I actually go out stronger and faster, and I actually beat one or two, they're gonna think about it as an insult, or that they are doing something wrong, or whatever.

This thought crossed my mind when I started training back in september. Yeah, waaaay back in september when everybody else was winding down or starting cross. One of the reasons I started putting my wieght, training, diet, supplements and regimen on my journal was so my friends and competitors would have an idea of what I was doing. I have been hitting the supplements hard, and the bike even harder. I had 7.5 weeks of base. I have lost 16 pounds.
I have increased my power to wieght ratio, my lactic threshold and my Vo2 Max, significantly since my last tests. Im really happy. And I'll pee in any cup they put before me!

Namrita is a awesome nutritionist, I gave her a list of stuff that she could look at that I was doing. there were only a few things that she said I could do without that were closer to snake oil than supplements so I think Ill put a list up here. Im pretty confident that the stuff Im taking is helping, Im not gonna be one of those local experts that thinks they have some secret juice that works and NOT share it.

Im not hiding anything. I think supplements help, but since I got a coach, I think having someone that holds you accountable to your goals makes more of a difference.
I sleep more, eat more and ride more. Granted, I wear my body down more, but i give it more time to repair itself.

Here is my list of so called "Drugs"...keep in mind, I get them all from vitamin houses locally.

Im pretty sure none are on the "Banned" list...not that there is a banned list in any races im gonna do, that would be freakin hilarious

Rez-V
Activit daily vitamins
Goldenseal
IntraXcell
Vitamin C
Calcium +D
Body fortress Amino 3000( Thats the gayest name in the world)
Body fortress Super NOS pump (thats the second!)

I will be giving all of these up as soon as my dedicated athlete vitaimns come in. Im waiting, patiently. I think once I start those, Ill be better off.

I was on Creatine for four days, but when Nate found out he nixed it immediatley. It's no good, so if YOUR thinking about it, let me save you $30. Dont Bother.

I was also using a cream, that turns out, doesnt do shit. It was some kind of homeopathic Gel.
It had Mucana Puriens, terrestris something or other and some other unpronouncable shit...I couldnt tell any difference, so I bailed on spending another $35.

I can tell you this, I have been drinking shitloads of redwine, and eating TONS of red grapes.

They contain Resveritrol, not spelled correctly, I work in a bike shop, cut me some slack.
This is a naturally occuring something or other that inhibits estrogen in men. I have learned that recuperation is fueled/dependant on/by testosterone and cortisone, which dont get made until your 7th or 8th hour of sleep, thats why I have been sleeping alot lately. better recovery. Anyhoo, your body makes tons of testosterone, but it make almost as much estrogen, which your body produces to negate too much testosterone, so resveritrol actually bitch slaps the estrogen and pushes it out of the way for that stud, testosterone, to walk down the hall to your dmaged tissues, or something like that.

Used to be I didnt care, "whatever, just give me a bike, Ill ride it"

Now, since I set a goal, I have been Traing, reading, sleeeping, eating, training, learning, listening, training, improving, learning and training. And it's working.

Whats even more AWESOME, is all of my freinds that read this are phukin SICK AND TIRED of hearing about it.

It's not too late to start prepping.

So thats it in a nut shell. Dont slip up, Im gonna be right behind you, but not breathing as hard.

Gonna be a good season.

Later
Hodge