Thru Endurance We Conquer!

I went for a long road ride with two of the women from the Silverman Party on Sunday. We rode from my house, down to Fountain, then did the Hanover loop out east and returned home. It wasn't the best of days - the wind was blustery and cold. The roads were perfectly clear, despite the drifts on the side of the road. There still was sand on the major roads, but not enough to make the ride miserable except in Fountain proper. I lead the group from the house to Fountain so people wouldn't get lost. The wind made yelling directions difficult. After we turned out of the wind, we started sharing the workload, often just taking the whole lane. That's the nice thing about Hanover - so little traffic. But it was still a great ride, even with the wind. I didn't get my brick run in - I was too tired after the ride and Versus had bike racing on TV. I have my priorites and relaxing with my husband and my cat watching other people ride their bikes seemed like the best option at the t...

Talk about the best laid plans going all amok. Nick and I both took the day off yesterday so we could ride and run down at Lake Pueblo State Park, then head to Canon City to go to Spring Fling at The Winery at Holy Cross Abbey. It was the release party for the Sauvignon Blanc Reserve and the wine was paired with a local Japanese restaurant. I like the winery and wine and we both like Japanese food. It was going to be a fun day with some good training. Then the weatherman started freaking out about an impending blizzard. The dire news started Monday. “Don’t travel unless you have too” was the word of the day. Nick and I didn’t worry – the weatherman is usually wrong about the weather in Colorado So we slept in, packed up all our warm clothes, running shoes and bikes and headed south. There was snow on the grass in Colorado Springs and clouds hiding the sun. The snow was gone by the time we reached Fountain and the sun was out. The wind was blowing, but it was warming up. We reached Pueb...

I hosted the Silverman DVD party for the tri club this weekend. I think it went well and everyone had a good time. We didn’t go down to Lake Pueblo State Park like I had originally planned since the weather here has been so nice. After I canceled the Lake Pueblo trip, another member of the club offered to host a mountain bike ride out of Stratton. Nick and I tagged along with her group. It was pretty good ride, with the long climbs up Buckhorn and Palmer trail and the fast decents down Capt’n Jacks and Section 16. I’d actually never ridden Palmer or Section 16 before. I’ve run the trail in the opposite direction, so I knew what was coming up, but it looks different on a bike. The ride took longer then Nick and I’d planned, so we didn’t have time to really relax when we got home. The turnout for the party was decent – there were about 10 people here. Everyone brought food and something to drink, so there was plenty of food. My chicken tortilla soup was a hit. I think we spent nearly an ...

Nick will be taking his bike into the shop next monday. It was earliest he could get in for the post crash inspection. He thinks that the rear triangle is bent - the rear wheel is bent for sure. His hip is looking better too, the bruise is fading now. It was a lovely shade of purple and green and yellow the last two weeks. He's also starting to feel like riding again, which is good. He gets cranky if he doesn't ride. I just wish that the drivers would pay more attention to other road users. We shouldn't have to fear for our lives while out training.

Nick was hit by a car on Friday night. He wasn't hurt bad, just a lot of road rash and huge bruise on his hip. His bike also appears to be okay. This older lady was turning left, stopped and then gunned it. The evasive manuvers didn't work and Nick took her mirror off with his hip. The frustrating part is that Nick had all the lights he needed on. She just didn't pay attention and thought she could beat him. Then she got mad at him for riding at night. The cops did give her a ticket - which she wasn't happy about. She kept arguing why Nick wasn't getting a ticket as well. This time around, the cops were on our side. And she never once asked Nick if he was okay - perseverating on the fact that his bike did not have reflectors. You don't need reflectors with a 400 lumen light on your head. Thinking you would get home faster by cutting off the cyclist didn't help.

The weather has been so nice this last week. I feel sorry for the East Coast, but I know our turn is coming. I took advantage of the nice weather to go over to Palmer Park yesterday to practice some technical riding. There's one trail that has a good mix of rock gardens, tight turns and steep drops and climbs. There are no major consquences if you miss a technical piece either. The first time I rode that trail with Nick, I walked a lot and was a little freaked even by the easier parts. This time, I spent twenty minutes on the small section, just practicing. I never managed to clean the whole trail, but I did manage to get each individual technical section - on the third or fourth try. I'm still nervous about the racing season. I know that I did well at Old Pueblo, but my times were 10 - 15 minutes slower then some of the pro women. Nick says I'm being to hard on myself - those other girls have been riding for years and I just started racing. I'm worried that I won't...