Cook it up, Stovetop!

Star Stuff

2010-11-03T09:10:00.000-07:00

I happened to catch a clip from a wonderful talk given by Dr. Niel deGrasse Tyson the other day (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAD25s53wmE if you're interested). This man has a wonderful way with words, and his enthusiasm for disseminating science is something that I deeply admire. Few people carry themselves or their message with such a sense of purpose, even in the realm of science education. It could almost be described as fervent or fanatical; yet this would completely discount the the innocent and playful manner with which he presents himself. His character might be best described as Carl Sagan after too many cups of coffee, crossed with Ralphie from A Christmas Story at the moment he unwraps his red ryder BB gun. He is entertaining, insightful, and astonishingly adept at delivering a lay version of daunting scientific topics without diminishing by one iota their potential to inspire and awe.

One of many memorable quotes that caught my attention was Dr. Tyson's use of the phrase "celebration of science," when discussing his involvement in advising science fiction writers. He states that he is happy to engage in discussions with writers because it promotes a "buoyant force" which keeps science alive in the public mind. While he is merely justifying his interest in giving out pro-bono advice, his choice of words reflects an attitude that I feel is often missing from the droves of individuals in scientific fields. He is not just contributing to science, butactively cultivating an appreciation for it. Throughout the talk he addresses the concept multiple times - including a pointed criticism of the steady mitigation of NASA, which he considers the birthplace of science "dreams" that inspire scientific progress

I share his attitude and concerns; perhaps we are losing heart in our quest for understanding. We have had the tools of science since the Enlightenment, and it seems that the interest in basic science may indeed be waning in favor of pragmatic and economic applications of scientific discoveries that we already have. I think that at times we need a true reality check - and not just to "snap out" of our somewhat bastardized modern view of science, but to "plug in" to the world around us, and reconnect with our most fundamental experiences as humans. Only then do we ever ask the truly inspired questions of the world around us, and only then are we motivated to use the tools of modern science purely for knowledge. And this is not to say that practical science is somehow wrong; only that our focus on the practical may be diluting the potential for asking (and perhaps answering) big questions.

Consider for a second something that Dr. Tyson mentions later in his talk; a simple way of understanding our place in the universe (borrowed heavily from Carl Sagan, I suspect). When studying the universe and it's constituent parts, we find that it is composed primarily of hydrogen, helium, oxygen, carbon and nitrogen. All are constantly being recycled - ejected from stars in supernovae, and condensed into new star systems. Some star systems bear planets, and some planets harbor old stars' hydrogen, helium, oxygen, carbon and nitrogen. On at least one such planet, these elements interact chemically to define lifeforms capable of learning and understanding the world around them. These atoms, born of stars, are collectively self-aware,sentient. Sentience is a trait we ascribe to multiple animals on Earth, including humans. If we accept this, then we are, as Carl Sagan so poetically put it, "a way for the universe to know itself."

With this in mind, science can be thought of as applied sentience; a rational approach knowing the universe, and by corollary, ourselves. Celebrating science is not merely creating new technologies, publishing papers or relishing scientific history; but rather recognizing, practicing and deeply appreciating our ability to know.

Earth Day +1

2010-04-23T07:29:00.000-07:00

Today I'd like to share an essay I wrote on a chapter from the posthumously published The Varieties of Scientific Experience, a collection of lectures from the great Carl Sagan. I originally intended to put this up on Earth Day, as it is of great value to understand just where life originated in order to more fully appreciate why our "pale blue dot" is so precious and deserving of our species' protection. It is interesting that such appreciation can be found (for me at least) by coming to grips with the notion that we are likely not alone in this vast universe. We share this unyielding expanse with countless other planets, some which likely harbor biospheres capable of supporting life. How might such life look or behave? Is it intelligent?

We may never know for sure, but we will never begin to understand if we choose the path of self-destruction. Our place in the cosmos is not unique in its chemistry or probability, but in our ability to choose whether we forsake the opportunity to maximize the potential of this chemistry. Our biology has brought us to the point of cognition, and with it brought the demons of arrogance and esotericism. Now we find ourselves at once both privileged and cursed by our own mental faculties, in a microcosmic tug-of-war between polarized ideologues who fail to see our world as nothing more than it truly is - a fragile, interconnected collection of star dust.

There is a great need for people such as Carl Sagan today. I like to think that perhaps we can each carry on his most prominent contributions to public knowledge in our daily conversations and interactions. Is it too much to ask to keep a little bit of "Saganism" in our lives, and make the most of these solitary notes we play in the cosmic fugue?

Now for the science - An essay on the molecules of life:

(In response "Our Organic Universe," a chapter from The Varieties of Scientific Experience)

Organic molecules, Carl Sagan’s “fundamental biological building blocks” of life on Earth are a cornerstone of the discourse contained in this chapter. Sagan himself defines them simply as carbon-based compounds, excluding carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. Any student of organic chemistry would recognize this simple definition, and likely dread any further discussion of the topic. Biologists on the other hand, may be much more interested in further exploring the defining characteristics of organic molecules. They may be curious about why our planet’s life revolves around these modified carbon chains... Do organic molecules possess an intrinsic life-harboring property lacked their inorganic counterparts? A common distinction drawn between organic and inorganic compounds can be found in this very question – That is, organic compounds are distinguished as being derived from, or contained within living systems. Thus, compounds such as diamond are classified as inorganic despite being comprised solely of carbon.

Sagan likely saw a flaw in this understanding, and obviously spent some time pondering the nature of organics in the universe and their involvement in the origins of life. He saw that organic chemistry was the chemistry of life on our planet, but also recognized that understanding how organic chemistry had lead to life on Earth would necessitate a probe into organic chemistry prior to life. Since so much of our current understanding is based on observations of organic chemistry operating in biological systems, it would seem prudent to understand the chemistry of carbon compounds as they behave outside of these systems. Sagan reasons that this understanding can be found by looking beyond our planet – Beyond the realm of life as we know it.

His rationale is founded on early spectroscopic measurements which indicate the ubiquitous nature of organic compounds in our solar system (and the universe in general). Logic might suggest then, that given the apparent importance of organics to the origins of life, we might observe life where organics exist. This begs the question: What is the likelihood of such a discovery? Well, as Sagan points out – that depends. It depends on the state of water, the vapor pressure of atmospheric gasses, the exposure to energy sources such as ultraviolet radiation from starlight, etc. The organics are there, so what is the right combination of everything else? Well, it turns out that Earth is just about right. Not to be cheeky – This is glaringly obvious as I am clearly alive and writing this essay. But think about the example of Saturn’s moon Titan. Here is a satellite world harboring the same organics that likely gave rise to life on Earth. What would happen on Titan if conditions more closely resembled those on Earth? Would we see life evolve over eons as it has on Earth?

This begs the question: Is it really the chemical/molecular composition of our cosmos which enables life to spring forth, or are the limiting factors actually the conditions required to do so? If the Miller-Urey experiments are any indication, the precursor molecules for amino acids and nucleic acids can be formed in early Earth conditions from nearly ubiquitous organic material. And if, as Sagan argues, this wealth of organic molecules can come to exist on a planet through on-site formation, or by collecting from cosmic debris, then the probability that life forms from it would be dependent on the circumstances present on a planet more than the existence of the organic material itself. So, again we return to the likelihood of the existence of Earth or other Earth-like planets where liquid water may exist to catalyze the generation of higher-order organic molecules. A quick search online turned up an estimate that 20-60% of stars in our galaxy may contain earth-like planets within a “warm dust” zone around their star, where temperatures range from -280 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit, and support planetary formation. This would seem to indicate that our planetary conditions are not all that rare, and given the interstellar organic ubiquity discussed by Carl Sagan, perhaps the life we see on Earth isn’t all that rare either.

1. Loyd, Robin. “Study: Earth Like Planets Common,” Space.com, February 17, 2008. Accessed 2/10/2010. http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/080217-rocky-planets.html>

Cat 3 Debut Part Deux

2010-04-11T16:57:00.000-07:00

Okay, so the race was a pretty fun event.

It didn't go quite according to plan, but I'm really pleased with our team's performance. Plus, I met a great new teammate- Doug Bailey. Doug seems like a fun guy to have on the squad, plus he's got some serious power in his legs. Should make for a good wheel in addition to our already strong squad.

The race unfolded with a series of "test" attacks from myself, and Frye before Mark took off on a multiple lap breakaway. The guys in his group weren't putting their fair share of work though, and despite our team's attempt to block, they were all eventually pulled in. Then I believe Doug took a dig and got off the front for a bit. I managed to throw a good couple of attacks midway through the race, but neither time was I accompanied by anybody, and the legs just weren't fresh enough to do the job on my own.

Things were looking good as we came into 3-laps to go, and I took a good dig up the inside of a gradual uphill bend to force a separation from the pack. The team did a great job of blocking, allowing myself Brian Krueger, and another rider to get up the road for a while. Knowing Brian and his strength, I was convinced we'd be able to keep the gap and take 1st-3rd. But unfortunately, the workload was split between Brian and I, while the third member of our break decided to do no work at all. We made a bad decision to call it quits once our third member failed to pull through, and were reabsorbed on the final lap. Brian and I were both pretty upset about the other guy, but I think we know that we did our best to make something happen. Sometimes, it just doesn't work out.

The race got a bit sketchy at times (as we all expected), and Mark was almost taken out on the last lap due to some unfriendly riding from another team. That's racing though. With some impressive composure, Mark avoided becoming pavement paste and wiggled his way through the ensuing mess to finish 10th overall. Way to go, Mark!

Doug finished 18th, while I meandered in for 24th and Frye cooked himself in an attempt to start a failed lead out train. Talk about sacrifice...

A shout out to fellow UW riders John Heile and Julio Jacabo on great racing today. John was in a bunch of the early breaks today, while Julio managed to sneak himself onto the podium with a sly move on the final corner and a quick kick into 3rd place. Nice job guys!

Good job to everybody on Team Wisconsin/MC2 today. Our team was represented in every break, and looks to be the most serious team threat in the 3's peloton this season. Things should shake out well for us this year.

Regards and thanks for reading.

Cat 3 Debut

2010-04-11T10:50:00.000-07:00

Yo everybody!

I'm about to depart for my first cat 3 race - an early spring crit hosted by the Great Dane Velo Club. It's around a well-known, and safe course at Research Park Drive in Madison.

I'll be heading out with my Wisconsin/MC2 teammates Mark, Mike, and Nick - Plus local feline aficionado Bryan Fosler. I'll also get to see Brian K, a fast rider from Merrill WI who dumped some serious watts on the climbs with the UW team at our North Carolina training camp this past spring break. Can't wait to see how the 3's field looks for this season!

Should be a fun day of racing - I'll update briefly tonight on how the race goes.

My legs feel like crap after a long ride yesterday, and a total of 5 consecutive days on the bike/trainer - We'll see how it goes. I think my excitement will more than make up for any poor legs. I'm going to call it right now - Team Wisconsin/MC2 takes the victory, 4th place, 5th place, and um... 7th place? Why not?

Catch ya later - thanks for reading.

Lindsey Wilson Race Weekend

2010-03-10T11:00:00.000-08:00

Finally! Getting back into the swing of things - The spring road season has arrived for me.

This past weekend was the Lindsey Wilson collegiate race weekend, hosted by (as the name implies) Lindsey Wilson College (LWC). They did a great job, and I can't recall the general organization at a collegiate event ever being so professional and well-run. My props go to Lindsey Wilson for putting together a great weekend for the MWCCC.

Anyway, the drive out to LWC was about 10 hours, and it took a toll on us all. We passed out in our beds around 1:00 EST. We had to wake up and race at 8:00 CST, which seemed to confuse us all when we tried to get our heads around the odd division of time zones in Kentucky. Well, somehow we got an alarm set for the right time zone, and woke up on time to head out and support our riders who were doing the morning's individual time trial. Our women did great, but no men chose to partake. What's all that jargon about women being the fairer sex? Obviously, Wisco women don't buy it, and were eager to show just how strong they are in a race against the clock. Lindsey Durst, Kelly Egan, and Yvonne Schumacher took 7th, 8th, and 10th respectively in the Women's A time trial. Summer Ohlendorf, Holly Matthews, and Jenny Barr took 2nd, 3rd, and 6th in the B's. Way to rack up the points, Wisco!

We took a quick detour after the TT to pick up some basic groceries. I was taken aback by the lack-luster offerings at the store we chose, but I managed to scrape together a few nourishing items and high-tailed it back to the road race course with the rest of the group. Almost all of the races took off at the same time - Right around noon. Men's A's led the way, having the longest race (3 laps of a 25 mile course), and the other groups followed in order of race length/category.

The course was 25 miles of varied terrain, including some longer 1km+ gentle climbs (which favor my abilities), and one shorter 18% leg-searing ascent before the finish (NOT my strength). I knew it would be tough to hold on to the field on the final climb once I saw it, so I mentally prepared to sag and suffer on it. It turned out not to be the deciding climb though, with most of the attacks going on the longer ascents and exposed windy sections.

This was my first race with the men's A field, and it was a tough but valuable learning experience. My teammates James Pradun and Dallas Fowler helped keep my confidence up before the race with good tips about what to expect. Nothing can prepare you for what the field is actually like though, as I soon found out. Here's what I learned:

The pack dynamics are astounding, terrifying, and reassuring all at once. Each person is remarkably adept at maneuvering the pack, and not at all shy to pop into the slightest gap - But it's all done responsibly, and after a while I felt pretty comfortable doing so myself. At least the other riders let you know when they're getting close - I don't think I've ever had so many other guys' hands on my butt in a 3 hour span of time though. As Dallas clarified, this is the "greatest" form of touching. Haha, okay Dallas.
The attacks in the A's field are blistering. There's just no other term for it. These guys bury themselves to get a slight gap on the field. The race winner, Kip Spaude, is probably the epitome of this phenomena. I was barely able to hold his wheel when he attacked on one of the long climbs, and he got away from the field when he slipped past a group of other guys up the road (where I got hung up). Impressive - I see why this guy has a Facebook page devoted to his sadomasochistic riding style.
The attacks don't stop. I can't remember a period of more than 30s where the field was at rest before another person shot off the front. It's a constant battle to recover from the previous attack in time for the next one. It's incredibly exhilarating, but quite tiring. Once a group gets away, there's still no respite - You're either fighting in the wind to catch them yourself, or shutting down attempts to bridge up to your teammates.
The races are long. Never before has nutrition and energy conservation been so vital to finishing, let alone contesting a race. I figured this out after completing the first lap, and realizing that I hadn't eaten anything and barely sipped from my water bottles. It started to hit me into the second lap, and I managed to stuff in a Clif Bar and guzzle some water before I got too bonky. The Clif Bars saved the day - I love those things. Steady energy when you need it - Predictable, easy to get down, and a good variety of flavors. Thank you, Clif.

That's what stuck out in my mind the most. First impressions are everything, so I'm sure these will stick with me for a while.

The race itself unfolded like this:
0:00:00 - Race Starts

0:00:10 - James announces that he's going to do something "stupid."
0:00:11 - James breaks away with a couple of others in a VERY early attack.

0:00:15 - Dallas discourages the group from giving chase, giving James a good chance to build a gap.

0:01:30 - I hit a major pothole which was supposed to be marked, nearly taking myself and 2 others out. Got it back under control no problem, though.

0:02:00 - The attacks start. (from here on out just assume an attack every 30 seconds)

0:20:00 - I chase down a break, then Kip Spaude attacks on a long uphill. I snag his wheel.

0:21:00 - I lose Kip's wheel when he maneuvers through a group of riders that I don't negotiate so well.

0:30:00 - I join an attempted break on the second long climb. We get away for maybe a minute or two before the group pops and we slowly reincorporate into the peloton.

0:55:00 - The first steep climb forces a big separation in the field. I find myself tagging on to the tail end, and TTing with Adam Leibovitz, Dallas, and a couple of other riders I didn't recognize to rejoin the pack.

2:00:00 In a chase group after popping from the TT effort. (Leibovitz is one hell of a strong guy- Kudos to Dallas for sticking on his wheel).

2:05:00 We catch back on to the main pack at the steep hill. I get a feed from Holly (Thanks!)

2:06:00 I find Dallas filling his own water bottle (?) He joins our chase group.

2:40:00 I do too much work on a long climb, trying to chase back a Northwestern rider.

3:00:00 I pop on the final climb and mosey in for 24th place.

My knee started hurting after the race, and I ended up taking the next day easy. No crit for me.

I've got to comment on the Women's B/C criterium:

Holly and Summer went 1-3 in the race. Jenny Barr laid down a wicked sprint at the finish, besting all of the women in her chase group, and finishing 5th. The race went totally by the book from a spectator's point of view. Holly and a UIC rider duked it out while Summer and a LWC rider chased. Following them was Jenny, playing it smart in the main field and waiting to crush them in the field sprint. Each Wisco rider took the top spot in their finishing group. Way to go!

Great weekend for everybody else too:

- John H managed to grab some points in the B's crit

- Lindsey Durst, Kelly Egan, and Yvonne Schumacher represented with 5th, 7th and 16th place finishes in the Women's A's field.

- Randal Loaizo looked really strong in the Men's C crit. He finished 9th of 24, and nailed points in 2 of the 3 prime laps. Wicked.

Next weekend is a fast circuit race, TTT, and 6-corner criterium at Depauw. I'm looking forward to another great showing by Wisconsin!

Regards, thanks for reading.

Sunday is Funday

2010-02-22T19:35:00.000-08:00

This past Sunday ROCKED.

I was excited to wake up to the gentle hum of cars driving by my apartment window on dry streets, instead of the dreaded "shwooosssssssh" of said cars in sloppy winter road conditions. I had gotten a great 9 hours of sleep that previous night, and woke up with both a fresh mind, and fresh legs.

On top of it all, I had cleaned my coffee maker the previous night and knew I could look forward to a delicious (and fast) pot of my favorite sanity-inducing elixir.

What did all of these circumstances mean? What was the celestial prophecy that I was being handed on this fair February morning?

I was going to ride my bike - Ride it fast, and ride it hard.

After breakfast, and my prodigiously prepared cup of java, I met up with some bad actors at the Arboretum for an 11:00 group ride. The roads were a little bit damp near the arb (and throughout), but our spirits were all high. It was good to see some familiar faces - Julio Jacabo and Kevin Berger were there. Steve "Sparky" Knurr decided to make an appearance too, which was cool since I've heard so many references to the guy, but never gotten to ride with him. David Ziehr, Yvonne, Jordan, Rachel, and Kenny completed the core of the group who I knew. A couple of other strong guys showed up for the ride too - Seth and Dan, whom I hadn't met but enjoyed riding with.

Our route took us out of Madison to Belleville, and on towards New Glarus before looping home. We hoped to get in a steady 4 hours of riding - Not bad for February. I was pleased that after a jaunt through the Arb, my legs warmed up and were kicking pretty well. I spent some time hanging out in the middle of the group, chatting with people and getting used to riding in a sizable mass of cyclists once again.

Once we got to the outskirts of Belleville, Kevin and I took the reigns. Well... Actually, Kevin plowed up a hill and I tagged on thinking I might have an opportunity to shoot the breeze with him. I was wrong. We basically pulled at tempo until Belleville, whereupon Kevin shot off with 1K to go. Thank goodness he throws a good draft, because it was all I could do to hold on and save enough juice to make a go coming around him when we came into town.

Once out of Belleville, the pace started out innocuously enough. But then somebody had to make a joke about Steve... And he responded by upping the tempo up a steep little power climb. My lungs were getting a nice warm up amidst the chilly air, but the legs felt great. We made a turn on to Hwy W, and again motored up a westward incline. Kevin and I set the pace up the next brief hill, and we wrapped around into New Glarus for some coffee and food. Ziehr pulled a wonderful acrobatic maneuver and somehow caught his fender in his spokes as we took off from the Fat Cat Cafe after refueling. Classic - But I'd probably do the same thing, so I have to cut the guy some slack.

The way out of New Glarus is where the real rubber met the road. It wasn't too long before we faced a stiff head wind, and the big guys up front (Kevin and Dan) chose to keep warm by igniting their diesel engines and pulling us all along in echelon formation. The smaller guys seemed to jostle a bit for slipstreams, and I was reminded of the impending race season. Felt great! Each hill on the way back offered an opportunity to duke it out. First, I targeted Kevin as a challenge. I'd let him rocket up the climb, and then try to close the gap before settling into a solid pace beside him. Julio decided to play ninja games with us, and sneak-attacked us near the top of a steep road. If it hadn't have been for Steve's cheer from behind, I wouldn't have known what hit me. The move caught me by surprise, but I managed to accelerate just in time. I went to shift and put in a counter attack, but my heavy winter glove missed the lever, and I only managed to hold with Julio to the top. Next time, I'll be ready.

The next series of hills offered a chance for Ziehr to strut his stuff, as he came breezing past on the lower exposure of a medium-length power-climb. Realizing that he went a bit early, I steadily upped my pace before making a move. I chose to test my limits here, and go much earlier than ideal. My acceleration felt incredible (I love my bike), and I popped through three successive gears on the way up. Unfortunately, Julio must have known my limits more than I did, and played my move to his advantage. He waited until my cadence started to drop, and then lunged from behind me, just squeezing by to take the hilltop.

This ignited a bit of competitive nature that I hadn't felt in a while, and I dug deep into my reserves to mount a counter attack. I figured that if I jumped past him over the crest of the hill, that the downhill would buy me a bit of recovery before the next slightly uphill section. My legs on fire, I made four or five hard pumps past Julio, and tucked into the quick descent. As soon as the road pointed upward again, I took to the drops and attacked a-la-Pananti up a quick rise. Once my move was done, I looked back to ascertain the damage. I saw Julio coming down the previous hill, and thought that my move had worked.

I missed Kevin in the periphery.

In Ullrich-fashion, he barreled past me and never looked back. Not far behind him, Dan provided my only hope of catching on to Kevin's wheel. Once Dan was within a bike length of me, I jumped forward to catch his wheel as he passed. A quick moment of recovery on Dan's wheel allowed me to take stock of the situation. About 30 meters ahead of us was Kevin, plugging up a ~4% incline. I figured I'd let Dan pull me up to within 5-10 meters and then make another move to attack Kevin.

I slipped by Dan's right side, in the saddle, and then lunged forward and popped up a cog to pass by Kevin. Bad move. After getting a solid gap, I totally popped. I sat up, and Kevin cruised by, closely followed by Dan. I ended up giving chase over the next few rollers, and managed to catch back on to their wheels once, before Kevin shot away from the group at the base of a descent.

A few breaths, and kind words from Kevin later, and the whole group was back together.

We got one more opportunity to duke it out, and Kevin took the prize on a quick hill into Verona.

Sparky won the Tree sprint on Seminole as we came into Madison. I think he also referred to me as "Thomas the Tank Engine," at some point. Eh... Maybe he was talking about Kevin or Dan, I'm not sure. Whatever, it was a cool reminder of my childhood.

So... What did I learn on this ride?
1) Don't attack too early... And now I know what "early" means for my maximum intensity attacks.

2) Julio is going to be a great guy to race with, and a silent torpedo to launch for points.
3) Kevin makes my legs hurt.

4) I've got a lot more confidence about my own fitness heading into next week's first collegiate race.

Time to bring it to Murray, KY.

Regards,

Thanks for reading.

Slap in the face

2010-02-20T11:37:00.000-08:00

Oh man. Last night I went to bed thinking that today would be completely different.

I was planning on having a leisurely morning (which I did), reading a little evolutionary theory, getting some P. Chem done, and then going on a nice long outdoor ride with some strong guys from town.

What did I wake up to? Snow! Surprise - It's Wisconsin, you schmuck!

Oh well, I suppose I can still get some quality training in, but I was really stoked to get out on a quality group ride. So now I'm left with a bit more of an afternoon than I had originally planned.

On the schedule (not in order of priority):

Arguing with creationists on YouTube comment boards when I get bored. Dirty pleasure.
Yoga baby! I love this stuff, my flexibility is already improving, and it sure does make you strong fast.
Emailing a professor I'm interested in talking with about organic chemistry/natural products/biochemistry research, and my future as a student.
Hopefully hanging out with some people.
Laundry - Can't escape it.
Homework - Probability distributions! Boltzmann Constants! Lagrange multipliers! Oh my! I feel more like a physicist/engineer than a biochemist these days, but it's pretty interesting stuff.
Finding true love? Hahaha - NAH! Bachelorhood has it's perks.

Maybe tomorrow I'll get back on two wheels, and show some people how this whole sport is done. Oh yea... Only 1 week to my first RR of the season. Should be fun!

Because Matt Waite Said So

2010-02-16T19:01:00.001-08:00

You know those people you meet, who always have to have the latest and greatest gadget? When their phone doesn't have the newest app, they're the first ones firing up the 3G (oops - 4G) connection to download it. A new ad in Bicycling magazine touts a high-tech TT frame which saves 0.0002 femto seconds on a 40K and they're the first on the waiting list. You know - Those people who signed up to be the first commercial space tourists. Them...

Well... My friend Matt Waite isn't one of those types - But the guy just can't bring himself to appreciate a blog page unless it varies from time to time. As such, he has been harping me to update this one for a couple of weeks now.

I feel it's necessary to oblige Matt, because if I don't, he'll grind me to dust on the next group ride just to drive his point home. I don't feel like begging for mercy just yet this season, so I'm going to cook up a new post instead.

Well, since the time in Telluride, I've had some major ups and downs. For the sake of brevity, I'll summarize in an orderly fashion...

On the positive side:

I Got to ride outside with James and B. Fosler... In January! For 4+ hours too. The ride was great, and I definitely felt the base that I had been working diligently towards since November.
I've summed up my training volume and calculated that, on average, I've been getting about 10 hours per week indoors (until recently... See below). Considering that most of this has been endurance and tempo work, I'm feeling pretty confident in my base for the race season.
I'm sticking with my lifting schedule (until recently), and finally achieved a long-awaited goal of putting up "plates" (135lb) on the bench. For me, this is good progress... and I don't really want to put on any extra upper body muscle now. My squat has increased by 50lbs for the same number of reps, and I've finally honed my dead lift technique.
I'm feeling pretty comfy on the rollers, though I still need to work on that no-handed one-legged stunt.
I've increased one gear at my LT since the early fall. Not sure where this lands on the wattage scales... I hope to get a power test done soon.
I am officially racing collegiate category A! HEYA! This has been a goal since my freshman year, and with my category 3 upgrade this summer I qualified to race with the big boys in the MWCCC. I'm really excited.

On the negative:

Got sick in CO. Started to fight it off, but the ride back in a cold van with little sleep definitely didn't help. Felt better during the first week of school. Got sick again, and stayed sick for about 12 days. Finally got over it yesterday, as far as I can tell.
Due to sickness, I haven't been consistent in my training for 9 days. I don't think this will kill me in the end, though, and I'll choose to see it as an extended rest period. Considering that it all fell about 2 weeks before our first collegiate races, it may have been for the better anyway.

You know what? That isn't so bad, really. It seemed so much worse while I was in the midst of whatever strain of the plague I had. Looks like things are shaping up well, actually.

I plan on posting much more regularly now that the spring racing scene is starting up.

Here's some of what to expect in future updates:

Shenanigan alerts/updates from upcoming UW-Cycling events and race weekends.
Race reports and training/ride stories.
Details on the upcoming season with Team Wisconsin/MC2 (Our kits are sweet - Think '09 Lotto Team)
Pictures!
My top 10 list of reasons why the Trek Stores of Madison should be your LBS.
USA Cycling Collegiate Nationals
School - (Hint... I've decided "Brian Stoveken, Ph.D" has a nice ring to it...)
A thorough review of my favorite coffee shops.
Some essays regarding critical thinking (or lack thereof) and the perception of science in our society.

There - Even the likes of Matt Waite should be pleased with all of that to look forward to.

Until then - Best regards, and thanks for reading.

Telluride Day 1

2010-01-10T18:57:00.000-08:00

This is what we were treated to at the top of the mountain today. Revelation lift, around 12,200 feet. Bluebird day, 30+ degrees. The skiing was a bit sketchy due to frozen snow melt from the day before, but no problem if you stuck to the off-piste terrain. And there is plenty of gnarly, bumped, rocky, steep terrain to stick to.

Most of our day was spent learning the layout of the mountain. Greg, Andrew, our two roommates Jeremy and Evan, and myself all took off to explore at about 9:00. We opened the lifts, and were blessed with a warm enough day to enjoy the high mountain. When we weren't skiing, we gathered lots of quality pictures.

The word about Telluride is that it has some of the most breath-taking scenery in ski-country. I think Andrew agrees:

We skied every type of run today - Which is saying something, because Telluride ranks it's runs in the following manner:
Green Circle - Beginner

Double Green Circle - Advanced Beginner

Blue Square - Intermediate

Double Blue Square - Advanced Intermediate

Black Diamond - Advanced

Double Black Diamond - Expert Only

We hit 'em all! Green through double-diamond.

Jeremy and I took a narrow, zipper-line, double-diamond run as our final challenge of the day. It was beneath the #10 lift, and we had people cheering for us as we hop-turned our way to the bottom. High-fives went all around when we got to the bottom - Thanks in no small part to Jeremy's spotting of a rocky outcropping.

Greg found a similar run off of the Apex chair, and was all smiles when he returned to the condo. Hopefully he'll show me the way to it over the next few days.

Beyond the skiing, we had a couple experiences with the local wildlife. During lunch, we were discovered by some hungry local birds who had no problem with pecking food straight from our hands. Andrew caught a couple of images of the action, and the ensuing joy that it apparently brought me.

While meandering down a run off of the Prospect lift, we came across a local Telluride legend - Stickers the Porcupine. He was pretty friendly, and as we found out later, he's been here since 2004. I guess he likes the attention.

Shortly thereafter, we discovered an interesting sign:

I guess we know how to get home when the time comes - But we don't plan on leaving this mountain paradise anytime soon.

Copper Mountain FTW!

2010-01-10T17:51:00.000-08:00

We took our time on Friday, having a leisurely morning with coffee and mountain views. Then, we booted up and hitched it over to the Frisco Station to catch our bus to Copper Mountain. It was a short, crowded bus ride, but we were all pretty stoked to hit the slopes on such a sunny day - Even our bus driver agreed that it was an abnormally beautiful morning in Summit County.

Copper was great. The skiing was much, much larger than I had thought it would be. Luckily, Taylor had a general idea of the layout, and provided us with some good advice on terrain choices. We stuck to the groomed blues in the center of the mountain for our warm up, and made our way to the Super Bee lift, doing laps on the lengthy cruisers and gladed sections between them. The lift system is pretty cool at Copper, with high speed lifts everywhere. This, combined with very little skier traffic made for a pretty epic day - And some genuine smiles:

Even though it was below freezing, the sun made it feel like a day at the beach at times. We took a moment to lounge at the base of the Super Bee while we waited for some of our group to finish carving up the mountain.

When all was said and done, we got 4 or 5 hours of solid skiing in, and made our way back to the bus (which we miraculously caught just in the nick of time). I think the altitude, energy expenditure, and fresh air was taking its toll on Taylor - I mean, we were all hungry, but...

Yea. It was a good day.

We packed up the next morning, and started our journey towards Telluride around 10:30. I wish I had pictures from the drive, especially the section of I-70 through Glenwood Canyon. Honestly, this was probably the most gorgeous, um, gorge, that I've ever seen in my life. Dramatic monoliths of striated rock revealed themselves around every corner in the road - I don't think I've ever seen anything that can compare.

We pulled in to Telluride around 3:30 (about the same time as the Hoofer's buses), and proceeded to unload all of our stuff before going grocery shopping, and scraping our jaws off the floor after seeing the prices at the market.

Megan and I had a little adventure after we dropped off the van at the free parking lot. We were told that there would be a free shuttle from the parking lot back to our condos... But when we arrived, there was a sign posted saying: "Service will resume 4/05/2010." Thankfully, a local happened to come by, and gave us directions to the Chondola (a combination chairlift/gondola), and we managed to find our way back to the condo. This makes us mountain survival experts in my book.

More to come on the first days at Telluride soon!

To Hell We Ride!

2010-01-07T20:00:00.001-08:00

Greg - Glad to be out of Nebraska.

Okay, I'll preface this by admitting the obvious - tackling an 18 hour cross-country drive isn't easy. It isn't something to be taken lightly. It is inherently dangerous to travel via car, and that danger increases exponentially when you include a significant winter storm in the course of your travels.

We departed from Madison a little bit behind schedule yesterday afternoon. I was well aware of the impending winter storm warning for most of Iowa and southern Wisconsin - but was under the impression that we would have left early enough to have made De Moines before any serious weather hit. That way we would have had a good spot to hold up while he storm passed.

I was wrong.

What followed were some of the wildest hours of winter driving I've experienced in the past couple of seasons.

I blame Andrew - He totally jinxed the weather when he exclaimed, "Wow, we haven't seen ANY snow yet!"

Within 30 seconds the first flakes were falling.
Within 2 minutes, visibility decreased to 1/4 mile.
Within 5 minutes, it was difficult to discern the road from the ditch.

This first wave passed fairly quickly - much to our relief. Unfortunately we continued to hit band after band of snow for most of the next 10 hours. Oddly, the roads never accumulated any of the stuff, leaving for pretty decent traction. The real problem was just the drifting snow, which at
times reduced visibility (and our speed) to nearly nothing.

On top of this all, our problems were made worse by incredibly cold temperatures and an incredibly weak heating system in our vehicle. My toes were cold once we were mid-way through Iowa, and by the time my driving shift was over (just past the Iowa-Nebraska border), I could hardly feel them. And it made me angry... Like Godzilla, apparently:

Andrew took over, bravely guiding us through the worst of the snow-blown I-80 corridor. Greg was his faithful copilot... And Megan and I served as free-lance photographers for a bit. We all just tried to stay warm for the rest of the night.

Finally, the morning came.

With the sun came the sunglasses - Lookin' good, Andrew:

Around 11:00 that morning, we finally made it to Boulder CO, and picked up our friend, Taylor from her home in town. Her family was incredibly welcoming, and prepared us all breakfast - A welcome warm meal for such a group of weary travelers. Major thanks to the Ellisons for their hospitality!

We high-tailed it out to I-70, and made our way up into the mountains. After the Eisenhower tunnel, I spotted one of my favorite road signs - "Runaway Truck Ramp." These things always make me chuckle:

We made it Frisco later that night, and all turned in early after a delicious dinner at the Backcountry Brewpub and Pizzaria in town.

Switching Gears

2010-01-05T13:21:00.000-08:00

Winter break!

Having managed to survive the final weeks of the past semester, and pump out some promising results in the lab, I now find myself with time on my hands to relax and spend with family/friends.

I had a great time over the holidays with my family. Sharing conversation over a series over delectable meals, watching a great movie (The World's Fastest Indian - Netflix it sometime), and spending some quality hours on the slopes of Cascade Mountain. My first few turns of the year were a little bit wobbly, but it wasn't long before I had my edges back under me, and was cranking out some turns like in previous seasons. While I'm happy to just rediscover my ski-legs, it seems like my parents have both made considerable strides in their ski technique since I last had the chance to ski with them. It makes sense though, considering my Mom is a PSIA instructor (read: mad skillz), and both parents are highly active members of the National Ski Patrol (NSP). I wish I had the time this year to continue patrolling myself, but other things have taken priority this season, and I've made the decision to rejoin the patrol once my undergraduate education is over. Anyway, it's always fun to ski with the family.

When I think back on my childhood, it feels like I was pretty much brought up on skis. The winter meant several trips to local ski hills, and once my mom and I got my dad back into skiing, multiple trips to mountain resorts out west. Steamboat, Breckenridge, Keystone, and Big Sky have been past destinations. On my own (well, in the company of others than my parents), I've managed to conquer the steeps of Park City too.

And now I find myself on the verge of yet another winter mountain adventure. I'll be heading out to Telluride, Colorado tomorrow along with a few friends, a van, plenty of music, and about 24 hours of driving ahead of us. Hopefully we can add a bit of good luck to that list too - After all, the common adage about our destination probably isn't "To-Hell-You-Ride" for nothing, right?

Right now I find myself amidst the final stages of packing, hoping to not forget anything too vital. I've been through this before, but I've always managed to find myself missing something by the time I get settled in my hotel room or condo. I think it's inevitable, but I'm doing my best to assure that I don't leave something like my skis, boots, backpack, cellphone or my underwear behind... Yea that wouldn't be good. I think I've got it all under control though - Optimism can fill the void left by any of these modern amenities anyway. Well... Maybe not underwear - That would just be cold and awkward considering the destination.

Well - this should be fun. A good change of pace from school, indoor training, and the frigid recent temperatures of south central Wisconsin. All I can do is hope for good weather during the drive, and copious amounts of powder snow once we get there.

I'll try to keep up semi-daily posts during the trip. Hopefully there will be some pictures too, so stay tuned for more!

Best regards, thanks for reading.

Making the most of trainer time - Hah!

2009-12-06T08:13:00.000-08:00

I am a bike nerd. I have a webcam. This was inevitable:

It's all part of my motivational campaign. If I'm going to get 12-14 hrs per week of training volume, I'm going to need sufficient impetus to ride the rollers enough, and the skills necessary to do so. This video kills two birds with one stone, so to speak. By making it semi-public, I'm revealing my own weaknesses, hopefully generating some drive for improvement. By only having a few intro "tricks" on there, I'm forcing myself to learn new skills and post a follow up video (I'm thinking in 2 months - stay tuned).

So, 2-3 weeks of steady roller riding has taught me how to:

1) Not fall off.
2) Ride with a high cadence.
3) Ride one-handed.
4) Take a drink.
5) Ride no-handed.
6) Ride out of the saddle (in the drops or on the hoods).

I'm pleased - but I'm also determined to add a few more tricks to my repitoire:

7) Spin one-legged.
8) Spin one-legged and no-handed.
9) Sprint.
10) Mount without a wall/handle.

So far I've managed to get enough miles on my trusty (read: ancient) Mclain rollers to break the belt that drives the resistance unit. That was an abrupt change of pace when it happened... Glad I've been practicing cadence drills. I found a place in Michigan that will replace it for a pretty fair price, and the new belt should arrive sometime next week. 'Till then I'm running slightly less tire pressure and practicing tricks to improve my balance.

I had a big day today - Gym time, sample prep at the NMR lab, 90 minutes of easy riding, and 3-4 hours worth of homework that I needed to get done earlier than later.

I'll keep posting more often once this semester wraps up - including some likely posts from a January trip to Telluride - More on that soon.

Best regards, thanks for reading.

Late thoughts

2009-12-03T21:45:00.000-08:00

How's it going everybody?

So I'm up late tonight, probably becasue I decided to take a nice long nap this afternoon. Who can blame me - I managed to jam in a 2Hr tempo ride at an avg. of 220W on the trainer, a full day of classes, two lab reports, and some work on an end of the semester write-up for my independant research experience. Phew - see what I mean? That all equals "nap" in my book.

I've been loving the Madone - The guys at the Trek Store of Madison really hooked me up with a great ride. Thanks to Pete, Andrew, Matt, Bryan, Mike, Geo and Arthur for being such grade-A guys and helping me land the bike of my dreams. I can't wait to race it next spring/summer, and I'm planning on going back in to get my 'Pro' fit this next Monday just to be sure I'm all dialed in for those upcoming efforts.

I've had racing on the brain for the past couple of weeks, despite the fact that it's been getting colder every day, and finally snowed today. My dreams have been filled with recurring scenes of different ways that I might win some collegiate events, and have provided adequate training motivation for the continued base-building phase that I'm working on right now. As far as that goes, I'm basically trying to get in 14 hours of quality base (endurance/tempo) riding per week. I'm still throwing in some SST and a tiny bit of threshold work every now and again to keep things interesting though. I'm looking forward to the more intense workouts this spring though - they make the time on the trainer/rollers pass a lot faster.

Beyond the bike, I've been pretty busy with class work. Between surviving my chemistry course and trying to keep awake while reading American Indian law texts, I've been burning the academic candle at both ends. Luckily, I have an escape in the form of the NMR lab that I'm working at - which reminds me that there is more to academia than exam prep and monotonous literary works.

I've been putting a lot of thought into my future plans, and while I haven't really narrowed down a final decision, I've come to a few general conclusions:
1) I keep coming back to the health sciences. I'm not sure in what capacity, but I want to work with people, and be able to use my biochemical knowledge to improve health. Perhaps this means medical school, perhaps it means pharmaceuticals, perhaps it means food science.
2) I've been getting more and more interested in the role of advocates and activists in the world. I'm willing to bet that I could do well in the energy sector if I devote some more time to observing and understanding this whole green revolution as it unfolds. Knowing the potential impact that biology could have on our future energy consumption points to this as a good area for career growth.
3) I want to do something that I love. I don't mean to be cliche when I say this. I just want to be involved in something that I identify with, and recognize as being distinctly mine - Something that I do uniquely. I can't see myself being happy doing something that 1000s of other people do every day. While my main capacity/job title may be common, I want the underlying objective of the career to be something novel, an occupation that I can really sink my metaphorical teeth into.

Regards, thanks for reading

Madone Love

2009-10-17T21:00:00.000-07:00

I recieved word this past Thursday (10/15)that my Project 1 Trek Madone had arrived at the Madison West Trek Store. I was hardly able to sleep on Thursday night - Far too excited about this new development in my history as a bicycle owner. Now I can't sleep because of the seemingly perpetual adrenaline rush I've been experiencing from the first moment of my first ride with it.

Okay, that's probably a bit extreme - But just try to look at this beauty and tell me it doesn't invoke some special feelings in the deepest recesses of your inner cyclist.

Just a bit? Come on... Be honest.

Yea - That's what I thought.

But enough with my soon-to-be illegal literary lusting; here's the build on the dream machine:

2010 Trek Madone 6-Series
Shimano Dura Ace 7900 Crankset, Rear Deailleur, 11-28 cassette
Shimano Ultegra 6700 Front Derailleur, Shifters, Brakes

Bontrager Race XL wheels with Bontrager RXL AC tires

Bontrager RXL Inform Saddle
Speedplay X-2 Pedals
- 15.76 lbs -
(Not that the weight matters... But that's pretty fantastic, no?)

Now... Where does one begin on reviewing this bombshell... How about the gorgeous aesthetics? I've really got to hand it to the guys over in Waterloo - They know how to paint a bike. The design on my frame perfectly weaves a matte-black and platinum base with sharp red accents and a liberal schmearing of Trek logos. I decided to complement this with white bar tape, a white saddle, and white cable housing. It's a cool and classy visual contrast - Kind of like a tuxedo. Pass the champagne.

Disregarding the visual sex appeal, though, consider for a moment what the real purpose of this animal is: going fast when you go hard. So how does it stack up?

The bike rides like a bat out of hell. The first thing I noticed when I first clipped in is what I can only describe as a sense of "rigid power." This bike literally wanted to leap out from under me when my cleat engaged. For such a light bike, this thing is remarkably solid. Nothing is squishy.

Given - I'm not a big or heavy rider (5'11", 147lb), but there's no sign of flex in the bottom bracket - which is likely due to the implementation of the BB90 integrated bearing system.

BB90 is amazing from what I can tell. It seamlessly interfaces with the crankset, and allows for a seriously beefy bottom bracket shell. Combined with the DA 7900 series cranks, this is a stiff and brutally efficient system for transfering power to the road. Be it on a relentless climb, a long pull at the front of a group ride, or (hopefully) the winning jump for the line - it won't hold you back. In lower gears, this is apparent in the "lunge" sensation that you get when ascending a steep incline. On the flats, you merely push a little harder and the bike meets your demand, accelerating to a new speed without hesitation.

Cruising is simply faster, and climbing is snappier. While I haven't had to throw down in a sprint yet, I'm sure it will feel amazing.

One of the many things that has really astounded me on the new setup is the feel of the freshly redesigned Shimano components. The hoods on the 6700 series shifters are remarkably ergonomic, and a great improvement over the previous 7800 grips. Perhaps the most notable feature is the flattened, widened, and elongated hood area between the bars and the lever module of the shifter.

It reminds me of the stuff Campy introduced a few years back, which won the Italian manufacturer quite a few accolades from the peanut gallery. This is a great feature for me, because I'm a fan of resting my forearms on this elongated amalgamation of bar/hood while riding hard tempo. It's a nice change of pace from riding in the drops, and makes for a somewhat aero position when cruising solo or at the head of a group. The lever shape, in conjunction with this new ergonomic design, still allows for the firm pistol-grip that Shimano is known for.

The shifting action itself is also a change of pace for Shimano. I've been trying to think of a clever analogy to describe the change from 7800 to the 6700/7900 mix, and this is the best I can come up with: If 7800 were like playing a piano, with smooth, fluid transitions from key to key, 7900 would be more like a PC keyboard. The shifts are more individual on the way up the cassette, and distinctly more mechanical on the way down - again, similar to Campy. This holds for the front as well, though as a side note, I do feel that the 6700 front derailleur is faster and more accurate than the 6600 on my previous ride.

Interestingly, the shifts don't feel like they are "jamming" the chain into gear like I've experienced with Campy - Shimano has still retained some of it's finesse, which is great considering the wide gear range (11-28) that can be accomodated by the new generation of 7900 series rear derailleurs.

The handling of the bike is pretty confidence inspiring. I usually have to adjust to a new ride over the course of a few days before I begin to understand it's finer qualities, but I found the learning curve on this build to be pleasanty facile. It's the kind of bike that does what you want it to do, before you realize you want to do it. Very responsive, but not unpredictable or twitchy.

Cornering is rock solid - point and shoot. I don't want to find the limit on my tires' grip, but I've already pushed this bike further in terms of cornering angles than any other bike I've ridden. I feel like a fighter pilot when I ride this rig. The ride quality is in large part due to the geometry of the bike and it's proprietary OCLV carbon fiber, but also relies mightily on the stellar set of Bontrager RXL wheels.

I'm obsessed with the look of the wheels. Just plain sexy. The lettering/decals remind me of those on Rolf Prima Vigor wheelsets.

In a change of style, Bontrager dumped the old paired spoke design in favor of standard lacing on the front and rear. I think it looks less distinctive, but I can't complain with the ride quality. The front wheel is radially laced, which I'd bet contributes to the feel and stability when cornering at speed.

I'd love to ooze a bit more Madone love, but I'll save a few more details for next week, after I have a few more rides in on it, and can report back on how much better the bike is than I can even tell right now.

Best regards, thanks for reading.

ありがと。

Weather

2009-10-11T11:16:00.000-07:00

It's a fact. Wisconsin is cold.

I had originally planned a ride out to New Glarus for today - as per the usual Sunday tradition that I've been following since last spring. The route we take is low-traffic, somewhat challenging, and about 65 miles in length. Plus, there's this great little cafe in town which we love to stop at mid-ride for coffee and conversation - Fat Cat Coffee Works, in New Glarus.

These guys are super friendly to us cycling-folk, and I for one think they make a mean iced-mocha.

Despite the promise of a great weekend rid, I unfortunately woke up to a beautiful, blue-sky, 26 degree morning. That's farenheit. That's below freezing. That's a wind-chill below zero when you're traveling at 20+mph on a bike.

Now, I've been in the postion where my fingers have gotten too cold to pull the brake levers. It's scary. I don't want to repeat it.

So, instead of getting out for a real ride, I did some easy riding on the trainer, with cadence drills and one-legged spinning. I plan on hitting the weights later today after getting some studying done.

It's good that the "off" off-season (as coined by a friend of mine) - That is, the part of the off-season where you concern yourself more with how hard you avoid the bike, and any serious training - is coming to an end. I'm starting to get really motivated to resume training, because I've got this feeling that I could get wicked fast this year. Maybe everybody feels this, but it's nice for me to finally have a great season behind me, and be able to look forward, knowing that I'll be more competitive and stronger next year. This hasn't always been the case, and I'm going to savor the feeling.

The Week Ahead

2009-10-05T22:02:00.000-07:00

Just got back to my apartment after a great time out with some friends. On a great ride with one of my teammates from Team Wisconsin this morning, I was made aware that a mutual friend of ours was celebrating his girlfriend's birthday, and I got the invitation to join up. Super glad I did. Turns out that the bar we went to was awesome, and I have every intention of returning there to actually try out the drink menu sometime. Unfortunately, with a huge week in front of me, I wasn't able to indulge much tonight, but had a couple of great conversations regarding bike racing, the Packers (who lost due to horrible offensive line play), and how pelvic X-rays tend to reveal much more than pelvic bones....

Anyway, like I said, this week is going to be hellacious. I've got three exams next week, Monday-Wednesday. I also just got an email message from my grad-student/independant research mentor informing me that we will be switching projects once again - Though, we'll be going back to one in which we have already invested a significant amount of background research time. On top of this, my off-season training plan is going to kick in this week.

Phew - tired already! I sense that coffee, sleep, and childhood memories of The Little Engine That Could will be my most valuable assets in the days to come.

Since this is mostly a blog intended to entertain/self-motivate, and inform about cycling pursuits and the two-wheeled life I live, I'll post my early stage for this year's off season training. This stage will last for the next three weeks. I'll probably start cycling-specific training again in November. For now, it's time for a break from training on ride, and a focus on relaxing fall spins.

I'm cutting back the time in the pool, but increasing intensity a bit. The swim workouts I do will need to fit into time I have before classes - usually between 7 and 8 in the morning. I'm planning on doing pyramid sets like this:

Warmup
300 yds free/breast (easy)

Pyramid
2x50
2x100
2x150
2x200
2x150
2x100
2x50

Kick/Pull Drills
200 yds

Warm Down
150 yds easy free

I should be able to squeeze that in. I hope.

To this I'll be adding 3x weekly lifting sessions on Mon, Tues, and Thurs. Back, Chest, Legs, respectively.

I'll squeeze in rides when I have the time, hopefully about 150-200 miles a week.

Rainy Day

2009-09-22T16:33:00.000-07:00

Rain today. All day. Not that we didn't need it here in Madison.

This meant no chance to get out on the sweet Madone 5.2 that I'm borrowing from the LBS. Well, I was originally figuring on a tempo ride today, maybe 1.5-2 hrs, but instead I hit the weight room and played around with a new (to me) form of intervals on the trusty 'ole indoor trainer.

I took a soaking walk over to the UW Natatorium today between classes, and was relieved to put on some dry clothes - albeit smelly, workout clothes. Anyway, I proceeded to do an upper body workout with free weights and some simple compound body weight exercises. What???? Upper body for a cyclist? Yeah, I know - it doesn't make sense at first. I'm a firm believer that developing total body strength is a key to being athletic in any endeavor. So, in my eyes, this had it's place. Now, it doesn't mean I'm bodybuilding. In fact, I hope to add as little mass as possible, but retrain some forgotten muscle groups for additional on-bike strength and injury prevention.

So, thoroughly worked out - I went back downtown and handed in an assignment, and finished the rest of my school "work day" by completing some chemistry work and readings for various classes. I came home, and watched an episode of The Big Bang Theory (awesome) while stuffing in a little food (toast with honey, and some of TJ's omega mixed nuts), and getting dressed for my indoor workout.

Over the past season I'd heard a lot from a friend and teammate of mine about SST, or Sweet Spot Training. The idea being that you can build an aerobic base without aiming your intervals directly at high percentages of your FTP/FP or MHR for 10-20 minutes at a time - Instead, the SST approach involves prolonged efforts in L3/L4 zones, closer to 85-90% FP. I read that a good starting point was to incorporate 2-3 15 minute SST intervals with 5-10 minutes of recovery between efforts. In what I've read, this is too short to elicit a major response, but serves as a way of introducing the workout style and familiarizing yourself with the level of effort. So I did 3 15min efforts at ~100rpm, in my 52x21 and 52x19 on my Kinetic trainer. According to the trainer's power curve, this put my wattage near 245-250 for the intervals (about 85-90% of my last tested FTP) . I'm sure this isn't perfectly accurate, but it felt like a good workout - here's how it broke down (time in hours:min):

0-15: Warm up with 20sec spin ups to 165rpm and ILS
15-30: SST at 52x21
30-40: Rest, spin at 39x23
40-55: SST at 52x21
55-1:05: Rest, spin at 39x23
1:05:-1:20: SST (2 min 52x23, 2 min 52x21, 1 min 52x19) X3
1:20-1:30: Cool down, spin

Ok. So, the first interval wasn't all that hard. It wasn't "easy," but felt like a less-stressful LT.
The second one was harder because I got bored.

Seriously, if this SST stuff were to go on for 1 hour straight, I'd fall asleep at a 170 HR. BORING.

The third interval I split into three 5min over-unders, with the progression shown above. I called this SST, because I was at or below SST pace for 2 min, at SST pace for 2 min, and then well above it for 1 minute. It felt more like a tough LT interval. I liked this better than the first two though. To be honest, I think I was closer to LT pace based on my HR, which averaged 165 during the SST intervals.

I have a meeting to get to now, and lots of homework to work on for this week!

Regards, thanks for reading.

Goal Setting

2009-09-17T19:43:00.000-07:00

Okay, so the road racing season is over. Sad. Boo-hoo.

As much as it pains me to know that I won't have to suffer up any more power climbs, or dodge any more sketchy riders... It's also a great time of the year to do other things, and take advantage of not having to endure any of the aforementioned, uh, "finer" points of racing.

So, since I've been sick for the past week, and have been without a bike until a few days ago (due to an an unfortunate crash), I have been busying myself with school, chores, friends, and good books. Actually, right now I'm reading a great book - well, really it's more of a pamphlet when you look at it's physical size - called Plunder and Blunder. It came recommended to my by my dad, and covers the rise and fall of the American Bubble Economy from a number of interesting perspectives. The winners, the losers, and the political talking heads all have their say, though the overall tone of the book does tend to bash the regulatory systems that have (in the author's opinion) lead to the collapse of the housing market, and the economic recession that we've been in. Good book, and it gives me some information that I hadn't gleaned off of my great applied econ course from last year.

Anyway, all of this can only keep my mind busy for so long. There comes a point in every athlete's off-season (usually not too far into it), when they realize they'll need to start setting goals and prioritizing for their next cycle of competition. I've come to that point in the past few days, and have started thinking about exactly what I want out of my next year. So far I've come to a few concrete conclusions, and a few things I can do in the coming months to help myself get there.

First my general goals (in no particular order):

I need to maintain my aerobic fitness.
- I'll swim 3-4 times per week from September through November.
- I'll fit in at least one long base ride per week. 4-5 hours at a moderate sub-tempo pace. Only as school allows.
I need to build power.
- Weight lifting, starting the end of September 2x per week, progressing to 3x per week at higher weights and more cycling specific lifts starting November 1st. January will be maintenance lifting 2x per week, allowing a transition to cycling specific training.
- Intervals - TBD after a consult with a coach.
I need to manage my body composition and overall health.
- Simple. Eat a healthy diet. I think I've got this one covered, but I'm going to make a much more concerted effort at watching my vitamin/mineral intake and keep my immune system strong.

Now my more specific cycling goals (in no particular order):

I will go under 54 minutes at the state championship TT next year. I feel this is a reasonable goal considering my performance this year of 55:22 in rain/thunder/wind.
My true goal is to see 52:xx, but 54 seems reasonable for now.
I will race category A in collegiate. I'll do this by placing well in early B's races, and moving up.
I will win a Category 3 road race or criterium. I will train my sprint, and learn to time my attacks better. I will get to the line first.
I will help a teammate win a race. I'll take the wind, I'll block, I'll lead out, and I'll chase down counter attacks. I want to be a part of a team that backs each other up. I'll need to learn some tactics in order to make this happen.

I guess that's it for now. I'm going to get up and go swimming tomorrow, eat some more fruits and veggies, drink some extra water, and get plenty of sleep. Sounds like a good start.

Best regards, thanks for reading.

The Bacon Lung and New Team

2009-09-17T08:05:00.000-07:00

So, I'm not sure if I've got a horrible cold, or have joined the ranks of the thousands infected with H1N1. I came down with a nasty sore throat last Saturday night, and felt like complete trash on Sunday and Monday. Then, Tuesday I felt great. 100% great. Now I feel like crud again.

I think I cut my rest short on Tuesday by going out for a bike ride - the Madone 5.2 that I have on loan is just too hard to resist! Ugh, so now I've had to stay home from an A-Chem lecture to catch up on my sleep since I woke up feeling so nasty.

I honestly feel that this is just some nasty cold or sinus infection, since I haven't noticed any real fever associated with it. So that's a plus, though I am of the opinion that if I get H1N1, I'd rather have it done early.

On to something much more interesting and uplifting (yea, I like those feel-good moments).

I recently received a notice that I was officially invited to become a member of the Cat 3 development team on Team Wheaton. I've heard through the grapevine that a number of current team members (who I know through UW Cycling) gave me positive recommendations.
I wanted to extend my thanks to all of them, and let them know how much I appreciate it.

The team had an awesome '09 race season, and I saw a number of the guys on the 09 Cat 3 development team score some great results. Most of all, I was able to witness an outstanding level of teamwork displayed by the team. This was probably the most distinguishing feature in my mind, and put them a cut above the rest of the Cat 3 field. From what I've heard, these guys are good friends outside of racing too, and their coach, Dave, is as good as they come. Needless to say, I'm thrilled to be a part of the team, and I can't wait to race with them next season.

Anyway, I'm off to finish some chemistry and read up on traditional Japanese puppet theatre, bunraku.

Regards, thanks for reading.

Long time, no post!

2009-09-13T14:13:00.000-07:00

I feel like I should have a lot to say today, since it's been so long between this post and my last one. Where to begin....

Okay, so school is back in session. This is my fourth year of college (senior year!) and I'm pretty excited about the classes I'm taking. I've been having some issues with the UW-Madison system however, and am trying to resolve a credit transfer problem regarding an Intro Biology class. This University feels that despite my having taken coursework in physiology, ecology, genetics, animal diversity, biochemistry, molecular biology, and three semesters of biochemistry lab work (phew!), that I still need to take an intro level course which covers all of this material again.

It all stems from the 10 credit Intro Bio requirement that Madison has for College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) students. They give credit for AP, but it only covers their first semester (5 credits) of material. Now, AP broadly covers the same material as both semesters of the 10 credit Intro Bio requirement. Not as in depth, I will admit, but when you consider the previous coursework I have from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities (where I was exempt from intro biology), it becomes pretty obvious that I have had this stuff presented to me in the college format before. So, I'm in the process of going point by point through my previous syllabi (?) and highlighting each of the topics covered in previous courses which overlap with those to be taught in the second 5 credit intro biology class here at Madison.

Okay, so beyond that - it's shaping up to be a great year. I'm taking a fascinating Indians of North America course, and have a professor who appears to be pretty engaging. I've also met some good people in the discussion portion of the course.

One of the more intriguing classes I'm taking is the Introduction to Japanese Culture and ahem civilization. Why the pause before civilization? Well, our professor had us discussing the interesting connotations that each word (culture, and civilization) brings to the table, and made a valid point about just how loaded of a word "civilization" is. I won't go into the details here, but suffice to say that I won't throw the word around quite as casually in daily conversation any longer.

On to bikes.

So, I finished up the year with a pretty stellar (for me) performance at the Wisconsin State Championship Time Trial in Brighton, WI. The event was put on in the midst of a pretty spectacular thunderstorm, but despite the weather, some great athletes turned out to strut their stuff (and by stuff, I mean their P4's and TTX's).

The course was FAST despite being dangerously wet, and swept by gusty winds for the majority of my ride. It's just a bit shy of 40K, with some rollers and very gradual ascents. Overall, a pretty flat course. This was my first 40K TT, and I wasn't expecting too much, but I didn't want to let the skin suit (thanks to the family), TT bike (thanks to the boss), and fast wheels (thanks to my coworker Terry) go to waste. So I lined up and gave it the gas. I took it out pretty fast from the gun, but remembering some mistakes I made in a shorter TT earlier in the year, I settled into a pace that was uncomfortable, but maintainable. Coming around the first lap, I managed to pass 4 guys, and felt good. My pace was pretty consistent, and I was questioning if I took it a bit too easy around the first time. So, I thought "what the heck?" and gave it a bit more juice. On the back stretch I got caught up with some other guy who kept trying to pass me on the short uphills, only to get dusted on the flats. Once I saw the final turn in the distance though, it was 110% to the line. The afterburners kicked on, and I tried to gradually build into my VO2 max pace over about a minute, and hold on to the line. Once the finish was in sight, I dug into any/all reserves - I wouldn't call it a sprint, but I managed to cross the line doing a good 33mph+. I know I was nearing my Max HR, because I started to get tunnel vision after I crossed the line. Glad it's over. Time: 55:22

I'm going under 54 next year.

After that I managed to score a few tips from Ryan Baumann, and put in some longer miles before school started up. Then, on a ride with the aforementioned local pro - I got hit by a car. Long story, but now I'm looking into a new ride. I'm pretty much settled on a 2010 Madone through the Trek Store. They're a great shop, probably one of the best sponsors I've ever had, and are staffed by some of the most knowledgeable, and genuinely helpful people in the bike community. Give 'em some business. I'll post something more when I get the bike and have a chance to ride it more!

Peace - I'm off to listen to some Cat Stevens and finish some reading for next week.

Nihongo benkyou o shiteimasu!

2009-08-17T09:26:00.000-07:00

So, as I mentioned in yesterday's post - I'm learning Japanese. I decided that my goal of eventually visiting and living in Japan for a short period of time would be pretty difficult if I didn't have at least a basic understanding of the language.

So, I did a search online for free courses on the Japanese languge, and stumbled upon a great resource. It's called YesJapan, and so far has impressed me with all that it has to offer. Given - I'm only on the third lesson (of 9?) in the first course (of 9), so I probably haven't run into anything difficult enough to give me an adequate measurement of it's true quality. That said, I'm confident in the structure they have, which slowly incorporates the written languages of Japan (Kiragana, Katakana, and Kanji) into your lessons - so that you gradually pick up reading and writing along with your conversational skills.

Okay, so this is turning into a shameless promotion now - I might as well provide the URL.
http://www.yesjapan.com/

Why Japanese? Well, as I mentioned above, I'm interested in living there at some point. This probably stems from an experience I had in High School - In a biotechnology course, of all places. My classes' teacher had taught ESL courses in a rural community of Japan prior to returning to the US to resume her post as the biotech teacher a my school. Along with some delicious treats, she provided us with some great information about Japanese culture. Something she said must have sparked my curiosity, because from that point on I have been determined to find a way to Japan.

Maybe it's just the media's portrayal of Japanese life, but it seems like a stimulating mix of tradition and western culture that I want to experience first hand. Though - to be honest, I'm okay with passing on the whole Hello Kitty craze.

On the other hand, I'm blown away by the keirin racing they do over there. Seriously - this stuff is nuts. Check out this clip. Look at those guys - they're animals!

Anyway, I currently find myself at one of my favorite State St. coffee shops, taking a break from studying Japanese by blogging about it - which in turn has gotten me all excited to study it again. So I'm going to hit the books again. Sayounara!

The Number 3

2009-08-16T20:37:00.000-07:00

I'm going to start this all off with my thoughts on finally achieving something that I've been looking to do for a while - getting my USAC upgrade to category 3. Seriously - I'm pretty stoked about it, simply because I took a year off and wondered whether or not I'd be able to get back in shape in time, and score enough points to earn the 3's status.

So, I got the email from USA cycling a few days ago informing me that my upgrade went through, and that I'd finally be able to leave the sketchtastic world of category 4/5 racing. Sweet - I'm glad to get out of that risky group of riders.

Really. It's like swimming in shark infested waters in that 4/5's field...

Actually, to make the simile complete - make that "swimming in shark infested waters along with 30 other dudes - 4 of which are bleeding profusely, 10 who are sporting shiny jewelry, and at least 5 others who don't know how to swim, yet insist upon splashing and weaving around like fat, injured seals. "

Somebody is going to get bitten. Case in point...

The sad reality is that this happened in at least three-quarters of the races I took part in this year. I somehow came out unscathed, and with enough points to move up a bit in the cycling world. I'm looking forward to a great collegiate season, hopefully with some wins in the B's field, and potentially representing my team in the category A races as the season progresses.

For now, I'm enjoying the remainder of the summer, looking out for opportunities to ride with some people that I haven't seen in a while, and getting ready for another semester of Biochemistry education. Oh yeah, and I'm starting to learn Japanese - who knew?

Stovetop