I Tried

With the unseasonably warm temperature we've had the past few days, my front yard was nearly void of snow. So I pulled the bike off the trainer, loaded it in the car, put n the winter riding gear, put the puppies away for nap and headed out for Rose Lake. Got out to the rail and there was a little more snow than home, still, it looked rideable. So I got the bike ready, put on my gear and headed out. I slid along for about 20 yards, turned around and walked back to the car. Andrea gave it a noble try as I watched, hoping it was my slick tires ha may have been my problem. She suffered similar results. The trip was a bust. We stopped at Revolution Cycles on the way home to pick-up a Christmas present, so I guess it wasn't a total bust.

When we got home I prepped the crosser for the trainer as the mountain bike is just a bit loud for my tastes and I'm still waiting on the wheel for the roadie. When I got her locked in we loaded Coach Troy's On The Road 2.0 - Lake Placid training ride. It's nearly a three hour ride that follows the Ironman Lake Placid course. I wasn't sure how much time I could handle on the trainer but I had scheduled 80 minutes of training for today and needed to make up 45 minutes from yesterday. I made it the 2 hours and 5 minutes I needed and called it quits. I'm sure I could have made the entire ride but my legs were gassed, I didn't need a 3 hour session and over-training at this time of the year seems like a bad idea. We've scheduled a team ride in Jackson tommorow. We plan on riding the trails at Ella Sharp park, with the rail-trail as a back-up.

After the ride I took a much needed shower, 20 minutes of warm water never felt so good. We then went out for some dinner, yumm filet and lobster. Then I went to the mall to finish my Christmas shopping while Andrea finished hers at Target and ******. It was incredible how short the lines were everyplace I shopped. I've never done the last minute rush so quickly. The relative ease of the process surely lead to me over-spending. But with the economy the way it is around here, the retailers probably need it more than I. Oh well, all I have to do is put some paper on 'em and I'm done.

Indoor Training

With the big snow storm this weekend, we're stuck indoors. I spent about 15 minutes shoveling snow yesterday and can hardly move today. What I can't understand is the machine at the gym that mimics Ahrnold's Good Mornings I can almost lift the entire stack. I realize the movements aren't exactly the same but come on. 15 minutes lifting light snow and I'm reduced to walking like Fred Sanford.

Tonight I loaded the mountain bike on the trainer and dove right in. I didn't pick any of the easy 45 minute Spinervals Fitness series DVD's. Nope I chose the 80 minute Aero Base Building DVD. It's not a difficult DVD workout wise. But it's a dull hour and twenty minutes. At least Coach Troy included the option to turn the music off. It's much better listening to my non-Ipod than the elevator muzak included on the disc.

Speaking of Coach Troy, he as a DVD of the month club on his web site. It's a very economical way to build a collection. For someone like me, who can't ride the trainer without a structured workout video, an extensive collection is a good thing.

Tomorrow we have a creative people holiday get together so I get an early rest day. Being a non-creative type, I'm just tagging along with Andrea. It's at a nice bar, so it's all good.

Rose Lake

Andrea and I got a nice ride in at Rose Lake Saturday before the storm hit. It was nice to get out on the Mt Bike again but after the dumping of snow we got Sunday it might be awhile before we can get out again. The trail was in excellent condition. There was very little snow and no ice. =The winter is probably the best time of year to ride Rose Lake, sand is easier to ride when it's frozen. It's nice to see that, although I hadn't rode in the winter the past couple years, I still remember how to dress appropriately. We plan to head down to Southeastern Missouri during the holidays. Hopefully we can find a trail or two.

The guys at the bike shop Quality Bicycle Products are scratching their heads trying to come-up with replacement parts for my wheel. It looks like I'll be stuck riding the mountain bike and cyclocross bike on the trainer. I'm starting my program tonight, but I'm not looking forward to it.

New Team

Andrea and I have joined a new local team. Team Revolution Cycles/MMBA Mid-State Chapter will be sponsored by Revolution Cycles of East Lansing and Michigan State University Sports and Nutrition with support from Rocky Mountain Bicycles through their ambassador program. The incentive from accountability should do wonders for our training program.