tiistai 27. joulukuuta 2011

Christmas and New Year Training Camp

Just one day of work between December 23rd and January 16th, so I better take advantage of this and do a training camp.

So far it has been three days of MTB at Grand Beach with two pretty hard rides plowing through the snow in the bush and Boxing Day spin. Today I'm summoned to run errands in the morning so I'll hop on the trainer this afternoon for some oh so pleasant 4 x 20' at 90% FTP (or what I think may be my FTP right now...it's probably bit less). I haven't actually had this kind of training opportunity since the little lady came along. Maybe I can shed some weight too.

There may be a trip to Amsterdam or Stockholm during our holiday and that would be 2-3 days of rest, but we'll see.

lauantai 17. joulukuuta 2011

Made in China

Just reading all the typical bike geek stuff online, I happened to notice the latest post on Rapha website. As a solid hater, I found this extremely entertaining. I think I puked a little bit in my mouth and felt like gouging my eyes out, but otherwise I rather enjoyed the post. I'm certain that Rapha loving Jens Voigt army will sleep better after this post as there is nothing to assure the ethical work environment like black and white photos. I am sure that Rapha has gone out of their way to make sure there is a quaint coffee shop within a short wool jersey, knicker trouser clad bike ride away from the factory. All this aside....when they ask $110-170 for their short sleeve jersey, you could expect the jersey to be made somewhere in western world.

And Sven's bike exploded again. Some might call it bad luck, but when it keeps happening "all the time", there's probably more to it than luck. Same as crashing 10 times in one season and calling it bad luck. Luck plays a part, but you may have gotten yourself in situations where you need luck to not get hurt.

And while I'm on my ranting gear, I better keep going.

What the hell is it with this winter? Where is the snow? It's almost Christmas and there's basically no snow on the ground. I want to ski! Now it's the time for snow not in April dammit!

I am evolving into a bigger Fred than I ever imagined. I purchased a dentist bicycle last summer and the most recent purchase was the SRM to replace my powertaps. Speed on the bike reduces and the amount of gear increases...typical signs of becoming a huge moron Fred. Next one will probably be a fatbike or something and at that point I've officially lost the battle and I will start riding longer and longer because "If you can't win go longer".

But five more real working days until our holiday. We'll be heading to the old country so should get some skiing in. December 23-January 16 will be just one working day for me so maybe I'll get my training going.