Shorts Weather

Finally the weather has broken, and all of a sudden it's not winter any more! Of course, after the one-two punch we just endured in this area, the trails are strewn with sticks and water-laden (and pretty much unridable until they dry), and the roads are riddled with potholes. On the plus side, it's been almost 70 degrees the last few days, and supposed to stay like that through the weekend. The transition from winter's deep freeze, and riding across frozen lakes, to riding in shorts happened so quickly it feels very surreal. Speaking of winter, it was actually a pretty not-bad one, as Massachusetts winters go. I stayed in shape, and did a solid amount of base miles.

I now am the proud owner of a SL+ PowerTap; I have ridden ~500 miles since January 3rd on my road bike; probably about 300 between my three mountain bikes -- that’s a solid base, and definitely the most winter riding I’ve done to date; and, as a corollary as having the PowerTap, I am now keeping a training journal, and able to see exactly how much – or how little – progress I'm making.


I love having a power meter – so far my feeling is that it’s been worth every penny. For instance, now I know that my average heart rate on the Boxford loop is 15 bpm lower than it was in January, while making about 10 watts more. That is progress! I also find having the it makes trainer riding a lot more bearable; breaking it down into intervals and blocks help the time to go by faster than just hopping on and spinning with no data for an hour or an hour and a half at a time.

Very solid 8 hour week last week, including two night road rides, a 3 hour endurance ride up to Ipswich on Saturday, and awesome ride – the first of the season -- through Breakheart. The recent storm had definitely left its mark on the trails; tons of down branches and even some massive trees blocking the way. Matt and I cleared what we could but there are two huge trees that are going to have to be left up to the DRC to take care of…I’m not holding my breath!

Some random blurbs:

-To do, as in, this week: apply for USAC license for ’10, and Cat 1 upgrade.
-I Still want to find a new road bike for this season. Keep searching for the right one to come along…right now the main contender is still a Cervelo R3-SL, but I’d also consider a Madone if the right deal came along.

I’ve also decided I’m going to go with a Raxter trailer hitch rack for the SI. As much as I cringe at the thought of adding ~50 lbs to my car, it’s far better than the alternative of a roof rack, and after considerable research, I definitely think Raxter has the best design as far as hitch racks go.


More to come as the season gets under way. First race on Mar 28th! Although, I guess technically the first race of the season was the tricycle race at the EFTA banquet last month, which I lost by a hair!