So Close...........

Saturday I finished 7th at the Coyote Circuit race. There was a break away of 4 riders at the beginning of the race, and none of the others wanted to chase. So it was a good ride getting to the line 3rd out of all the other riders in the race. The legs felt really good going up the hill in that race.

Then on Sunday I posted my best finish so far in the Master 35+ 1/2/3 fields. I almost won the Lafayette Criterium! I finished 3rd overall, and was a few feet away from the win. I felt strong during the race and especially strong in the final laps.

I know this experience will lead me to being better, stronger, and faster!

Road Race Weekend

I will do the Circuit race in San Jose on Saturday and then the Criterium race in Lafayette on Sunday.

I know the fields will be as good as it gets for racing on the road here in Nor-Cal.

I have prepared well and trained hard, and I want to race aggressive.

I would rather try some moves off the front, then sit in and go for a high placing at the finish.

I want to race aggressive!

Cycling Along

It was 4 hours in the saddle today. This was a recovery ride and I just wanted to get some easy time in the saddle and cycle along to get the legs refreshed. I did a few repeats up some steep hills and then some steady riding along the coast line.

I will be going for it in two races coming up this weekend. So tomorrow I need a day off the bike. My legs are pretty sore and I have been doing a lot of road riding lately, so tomorrow it is a forced rest day.

Easy Day

Did 2 hours of easy riding today. I was pretty sore from the hard efforts over the weekend, so it was nice to just spin the legs and focus on recovery.

Vacaville Crit.

Finished in the money at the Vacaville Crit. I will improve and I will get better. I will gain a edge on my fitness and power after more road racing events. I will gain sharpness and snap. I have the desire to mix it up with the best riders in these races.

I was OK today, but I truly believe I will improve substantially after the more road events I will do in the near future.

Desire

Desire is a strong wish or craving.

I have a strong desire to improve on the bicycle and ride extremely well on the bicycle.

I have a strong desire to train and work on my skills, fitness and form on the bicycle.

Road Riding

It was 3 hours in the saddle Tuesday night. I did some steady and hard efforts at the Ft Ord workout. Then a 3 hour recovery ride on Wednesday. I did relaxed hill repeats up the Ft Ord road race climb. I just wanted to ride easy, as I was pretty sore after the weekends XC race and the Tuesday night workout. Thursday was a forced rest day.

Next I will do some riding Friday including a few hills. Then the Saturday morning ride, where I will do some hard efforts. Followed up by a criterium race in Vacaville on Sunday. After the crit. I will ride Mt Diablo to work on some climbing skills.

MTB Wrap

It is time to hang up the MTB for a while. I will now take part in some Road Racing events for the next few months. July and August will be dedicated to training and racing on the road. I am very eager to compete on the road bike and spend many hours training and riding the road.

CCCX XC SERIES

I was lucky to win the final race of the CCCX XC Series this past weekend. It was a fun course and a hard race. I was also lucky enough to win the overall CCCX Series title for my Expert 35+ division. I was also lucky to win 5 of the races during the season. This CCCX XC series win, combined with winning the TBF XC Series in Sacramento earlier in the year, means I accomplished both of my goals for MTB XC racing for 2008. I have trained hard, raced hard, and want to keep improving.

CCCX DH FINAL 2008 Spring/Summer

I really liked the course for the CCCX DH Final Race 2008 Spring/Summer. I felt really good on the race route and not only won my 4 race divisions on the day. I posted the fastest race run of all the divisions for the 2nd CCCX DH race in a row. I felt very lucky to also win 4 overall division titles of the 2008 series, Expert 35+-Hardtail- Single Speed- and No Chain.

CCCX DH FINAL

I set the CCCX DH final course today. The course is really good and it will be very fun to race on. I tried to get some active recovery today, as my legs are pretty spent. My knee is getting better and so is my hip, so today's rest combined with some work was good.

Tomorrow I will do an afternoon ride along the coast. Then I will participate in the Saturday morning road ride, where I always push myself very hard on the road bike.

Sunday will be the CCCX DH Series final race.

Hard Work

I have to do serious hard work to get better, stronger, and faster on the bike. I need proper rest and recovery for sure. But first I need to suffer like a mad man on the bike to get to the level I want to attain when riding. This extra hard work and super suffering combined with rest and proper nutrition is my key to succeed.

CCCX XC #8

I crashed hard at 6 pm the night before the CCCX XC #8 race. Not what I wanted to do for my preparation and build up for this race. I was doing my last check of the course, and next thing I know I was rider down!

My knee and hip were hurt pretty bad.

So for the race I was lacking power and it just got worse during the ride.

Yet I still managed to pedal to a 2nd place finish.

It is mind of matter, no pain no gain, but I know I could have rode better on this day...........

Relax

It is so important for me to remain relaxed. I am naturally a hyper person. So I must remain calm during the build up to a race, during the crucial racing situations, and after the event. It is very important for me to relax and save my energy and drive for when it matters most.

Spinning The Pedals

It was some very aggressive riding from the Tuesday night group this week. I wanted to just roll along as my legs were pretty sore from the weekends racing. But it was a attack filled workout, which was just what I needed. It makes me dig extra deep, and I am so thankful to have other riders trying to attack me. These attacks on me will only improve me as a racer!

It will be CCCX XC #8 this Sunday, and the course is really a challenge at Ft Ord. I picked a good route and I am eager to race.

I will spin the legs the next few days, combined with some hard surges, and then rest up for the race on Sunday.

Fuel For The Fire

Keeping focused on myself is very important. I can not change others, but I can remain focused on my task at hand and my performance. All the negativity and conflicts I face, only provide fuel for my fire.

CCCX SUPER D WINS

I was fortunate to win all 4 of my divisions today at CCCX DH #7. It was a Super D course, 3 miles long with 1500 feet vertical drop. The best of all was I posted the top 2 fastest times overall. I really hit all my lines and pushed it as hard as I could in the pedaling sections.

Hills

I like to ride the hills. I like to test myself going uphill. When I am able, I search for hills to ride on my training days. Riding the hills is my favorite place to ride, any hills, any where.

Rest

It is time to focus on rest and recovery. Then time to race. My schedule will be DH course set up Thursday, MTB ride Friday, Saturday Morning ride & a little bit of DH practice, and then the CCCX DH race on Sunday.