A work in progress

I'm almost done building up the new frame. I still need to cut the steerer tube, run new brake cables, and adjust the derailleurs.

Here's what I've done:
New frame - obviously
New chain rings
New pedals
New chain
New shifting cables
New hoods

I have a new white Ritchey stem, but I'm not sure I like the aggressive angel. Plus it didn't look as good as the black. I might get the wet black stem. It would probably look better.

More pics to come.

Motivation & Discipline

Discipline and motivation are what is needed to be sucessful in most aspects of our lives. Wether it's amature cycling or moving up the corporate ladder, we need to practice discipline while trying to stay motivated. However, this is where things become difficult.

We need to show discipline in many different ways. It could be anything from waking up at 5am to do our strength session, to foregoing that piece of chocolate cake or extra glass of wine. We make small sacrifices everyday trying to bring us closer to our goals. But what happens when our discipline starts eating into our motivation?

There has to be somewhat of a balance between motivation and discipline. I've seen, and experienced, being too disciplined. What I mean by "too disciplined" is focusing too much on achieving our goal. Tunnel vision sets in, and fun seems to leave the tunnel. We focus on doing the workouts at all costs to achieve our goal. Some of those costs include fatigue, skipping time with family/friends, and missing out on just enjoying the day.

So how do we find a balance? The reason I ask is because I'm still trying to find out for myself. I'm guessing the best way to do this is to keep it fun. We can be disciplined, but we have to ease up every once in awhile and enjoy ourselves. Our training world won't come crashing down if we take a mini-vacation every once in a while.

This is something I'm going to try to learn to do. I don't think it will be easy, but training never is.

I think I have a problem

I swear, I can quit whenever I want.

Don't ask me why, but I love these drinks. I go for the sugar free drinks because, well, they're sugar free. I wouldn't want my teeth to fall out. I don't even really drink them for the supposed energy they provide. I just like the taste.

These energy drinks are way over priced. They range anywhere from $2.19 +crv to $2.59+crv. That's frackin expensive! I guess we all need our vices. It's what makes us human - right?

While I'm on the topic of energy drinks I'll rate them.

• Redbull - the originator of the energy drink. These taste great! The regular (with sugar) is the one of the best, if not the best, tasting energy drink on the market. There sugar-free drink takes a while to get used, as do most sugar-free drinks, but once you do it's really good. Where Redbull falls down is in value. You get half as much drink for the same price as most other energy drinks on the market. I would prefer to drink Redbull sugar-free, but I'm American; I want MORE for my money- dang nabbit!
  
• Monster - I surprised to find out Monster has the second biggest market share for energy drinks. I'm not a fan of their regular drink. There sugar-free, or low-carb drink as they market it, is just okay. It takes longer to adjust to the taste than others. It tastes a lot sweeter than others, and at times has almost a vitamin-like taste.
  
• Rockstar - Third largest energy drink (in the US) and the most conservative. Did you know that Rockstar was founded, and is ran, by the son of conservative talk show host Michael Savage? I guess you do learn something new every day. Anyways, this is my drug...I mean drink of choice. I really enjoy the taste of the sugar-free drink. However, I still like Redbull sugar-free better. I haven't had the courage, yet, to try the 24oz. drink. That's a whole lot of drink.
• Full Throttle - This is Coca-Cola Co.'s venture into the energy drink market. The regular drink is my second favorite, regular Redbull being the first. The sugar-free drink is pretty crappy. It's too watered down. The only good thing is you can usually find really good deals on Full-Throttle because it's a Coca-Cola product. So they price pretty aggressively to gain market share - I assume.
  

I know in a few years they're going to come out with a study stating that drinking energy drinks will cause you to grow a third nipple, or something like that, but for now they are my guilty pleasure. Hey, at least I'm drinking sugar-free. I guess that's like saying I only smoke lights ;)

A little Q&A

Below are some questions I was asked for our clubs sponsorship newsletter. I'm not sure why they chose me, but I was a little fatter....I mean flattered. So I actually put some thought into my answers.

- What is your athletic background, what got you interested in the sport, and how do you think that helped in your success here?

In high school I played rugby. Straight out of high school I went into the Marine Corps. Physically the Marines was easy, but mentally it was super tough. In bootcamp they pushed us to our limits, and then kept pushing some more. They didn’t care if we could no longer do the exercise, all they wanted to see was that we were still trying even though our body couldn’t do the effort. This type of training has helped tremendously with cycling. It has helped me with pushing myself to, and beyond, my limits.

I came into road racing by way of triathlon. I was doing ½ Ironman distance races, and one full Ironman, when I realized I like the bike leg a lot more than the swim and the run. So I joined Alto Velo to give racing a try.

- How long have you been with AV and what made you want to join the club?

I am going on my fourth year as a member. I joined the club because everyone seemed really friendly.

- You moved from a 5 to a 3 in the matter of year, then took 1st in your second race as a 3. What would you say was the biggest factor in realizing that success?

The biggest factor was putting in the training hours, and having an awesome team to race with.

- Recently you upgraded to race with the P 1/2's, could you describe that transition from 3's?

Physically the transition wasn’t as bad as I thought. The racing is a lot faster, especially in crits. It took a little while to adjust to the higher intensity and the longer races. The goal of my first P1/2 race was to just finish with the pack. I guess that’s a common goal with new upgrades. Now I see the P1/2 races as just another race.

The biggest change in the P1/2 field is the team aspect. Most of the people who win races have a strong team supporting them. I’m really lucky to be on a cool team with such great riders. They’re teaching me a lot about tactics and race strategy.

- What are your goals for the remainder of the season?

I plan on winning the Cascade Stage Race (the cat 2 field). Winning a stage race has been a goal of mine all season. I also want to win a P1/2 race, as well as a cyclocross race in the “A’s”.

- What (if any) advice would you give to up and coming riders?

Race smart. You don’t necessarily have to be the strongest or fastest racer to win. It helps to be a strong rider, but your chances of winning are dramatically reduced if you waste your energy and race foolishly. Pay attention to what going on. The best way to do this is to be near the front. I always like to tell people be near the front, but not at the front.

- The season here in California is exceptionally long, what do you do to keep motivated to keep racing?

That’s a great question. I’m still trying to figure that one out. One thing I’ve found that helps is to indulge yourself once in a while. Take a day off the bike and go out. Eat or drink whatever you want. I’m not saying to drink a whole bottle of Chianti or eat a whole cheesecake, but enjoy yourself.

- Last question, what do you do for fun off the bike?

Fun off the bike? I like hanging out with my dogs (not my homies, but my pets) and my fiancé. We’re pretty dorky. We’re currently hooked on the videogame Rock Band. I play the drums and she sings. We both really horrible. I guess that’s what makes it so fun. I also like taking pictures of bike racing. My favorite races to shoot are cyclocross races. Blood, sweat, dirt, pain; what more could you ask for?

Room for Cream?

Why isn't there a happy medium in the space between room for cream and
no room for cream. It seems no matter where I go for coffee, usually
Peet's or Starbucks, they ask "Room for cream?". If I say yes they
only fill the cup 3/4 full; if no they fill it so full any slight tilt
of the cup will cause it to spill.

So the dilema is, do I want coffee to spill in my car, or do I want a
medium coffee in a large cup? Decisions, decisions.

Notes on Sattley

Here are some of my notes on Sattley;

• It takes around 2.5hrs to get to Auburn from the Bay Area
• The Bootlegger is a decent restaurant in downtown Auburn
• Don't stay at the Motel 6. The Comfort Inn looks like a better hotel
• It takes 1.45hrs to get to Sattley from Auburn
• There's a Starbucks in Truckee to get your morning brew (Donner Pass Rd & 89 S)
• Sattley is cold in the morning. Be sure to have enough clothes for your warm-up
• There's a slight incline at 8km and another around 13km
• Make sure you re-torque all your bolts because the expansion seams can jar your bars
• The expansion seams are worse on the way back
• There's a good Mexican food restaurant in Truckee for the return trip. It's called El Toro Bravo. It's at 10186 Donner Pass Rd. just after the Grey Hound station (heading away from Sattley)
• The drive home is long
  

Dunlap TT

This was my first my first time doing a TT of this distance (31km). With six turns, two left and four right, the course could be considered technical by some. We got to the race site with plenty of time to get ready. We were almost too early because I was filled with all this nervous energy with nothing to do.
The first thing I did was to make sure I set my watch to the race clock. I've missed my start time before at a local low-key time trial, and it's not fun. I made sure to pin my number in the most aero way possible, not really, but I'm sure there's people out there who have figured the most aero way to pin their race number.
I hopped on to my trainer for my warm-up 1:15 before my start time. I wanted to make sure I got in a solid warm-up. It seems it takes a lot longer for me to get warmed-up these days. I guess it's old age.
I jumped off the trainer 15 minutes before my start. I threw on my disc wheel, helmet, and headed for the start. I did a couple of laps up and down the cross street before lining up at the start.
At the start I made sure not to go out too hard. I kept my power a slightly lower than my FTP for about 3mins. Then I slowly started to pick it up. I made sure not to go too high. I tried to keep it around my FTP (for my TT's). Just as I started to pull up on my 30sec man I was passed by the guy 30secs behind me. This is when it became a cluster. My 30sec man started drafting off of the guy who just pass me. Then I passed both of them. This is when the constant passing started. Me and the guy who started behind me would pass each other every once in while, all the way to the finish.
Mentally I was feeling good. I was pushing myself, but not too hard because I didn't want to blow myself up. I think I played it a little too safe. Halfway through the race I noticed my power start to drop, but then I would pick it back up.
Not knowing the course made it a little difficult to know when to start pushing harder.
I started to push harder after the final turn. I was still battling with my -30sec man. I finally passed him for good at the 1km mark. This is where my calf muscle started to twinge like it was going to cramp. At the 500m mark is where I started to run out of gas. However, I continued to push on. I wanted to stand up to sprint but I didn't want to cramp, plus I'm not sure I had any gas left.
I finished with a time of 42:09. I placed 14th of 31. The winner, Roman Kilun posted a time of 39:XX - that's fast! I feel I pushed myself hard. I also feel I might have been a little too conservative during the middle of the race.
I'm excited for Sattley. I wonder how much more painful the extra 9km will be. Plus we'll be at a higher altitude so that means less oxygen and less power.