Ride, Work, Bee's, and a Lesson For and From My Moms

What a week! I did just as I had planned and rode to and from work Monday and Tuesday! 106 miles in 2 days! I started Monday morning with the idea of it being a "recovery" week. I rode pretty easy that morning and felt pretty good the whole ride. I headed home at about 6 PM and decided to try to hit it. As the weeks of this high gas price year roll on it seems that there are more and more commuters everyday! That meant one thing for me on the way home... rabbits to chase! I dropped about 5 minutes off of my fastest time! The best part was that I felt pretty consistent and in control. Tuesday I awoke and was pretty thrashed. I was having second thoughts about riding but dragged my lazy butt out of bed and took off! Once I got warmed up my legs seemed rather snappy and I decided to push it at about 95%. Once over the hill and into the valley I had one of my customers from the bike shop ride up on me. He was on his Gary Fisher Superfly outfitted for a daily road commute. He was running some narrow street tires and keeping a pretty good pace. We talked and rode at about 80% and I ended up about 30 seconds off my fastest time! I had a long day at work and ended up not leaving until about 6:40 PM and that sure did not leave me much time to get home! So I gave it my all and hammered at about 105% the whole way home! I didn't feel as strong as the day before but I felt pretty freaking good. I definitely feel as though I am riding at a quicker, stronger pace! I had to wake up at 3:45 AM Wed. morning for work and I will say that I was feeling pretty thrashed. I took the day off from riding and hit the sheets early! Another early day at work on Thursday and I was hurting from the 345 AM wake up call! I was excited about the Thursday night Fixie ride. We had talked about doing Hidden Valley so I was a little freaked with the lack of energy that I was feeling! We ended up not doing Hidden Valley but we rode about 20 miles through some pretty hilly parts of town. We ended the ride with a test run of the first half of the "Tour de T.O. Blvd" race course. After all the climbing I managed to get the lead but when we hit a yellow at Westlake Blvd...Sammy blew through it and that was it! I hung in for second and figured I could make a pretty good run at the actual race if I am feeling good!
Friday morning I hit the dirt and wanted to push pretty hard. I picked a climb heavy trail route and hit the gas! I felt pretty snappy and then I came across this sign:
ACTIVE BEES IN AREA!
Let's just say that I slowly pedaled through Sulfer Springs. This sign wasn't there last week! I pushed at about 90% for 1 hour and 15 minutes. THe heat took it's toll and I blew before hitting the top. I found a pace and then recovered a bit on the way home.
Saturday brought a ride with the parentals. We loaded up the new ride with the bikes and headed to the harbor. A little ride halfway to Santa Barbara was on tap!

Check our Pop's HUGE Hoops!

The fog was pretty socked in and it was cool. Mom took off like a Jack Rabbit and said that she needed to warm up a bit. It wasn't long until you could tell that my mom was feeling a bit of pain. She was having some cramping trouble and was trying to push through it. We made it to the turn-around point and she stopped to take a rest as I jumped on my Dad's new Gary Fisher Cobia to try it out! I am very envious of the big hoops and really, really, really starting to fein for a Siren Song!
We made it about 5 miles back before Mom had to make the very tough decision to call it a day! We decided that I would ride back to the car and bring it back so Mom could drive it home. I thought that this would be a great opportunity to do an 8 mile time trial! Legs were feeling good so I pushed it all the way back to the car at 105%. Once we got Moms bike on the car she high-tailed it back to the house and my dad and I pushed on.
The Ventura County Fair was going on and getting through Downtown was a little freaky even for me! We made it over to the Boardwalk and headed back towards Oxnard. When all was said and done we had done about 40 miles and got to spend some great time together! My Ma was pretty bummed and I tried to explain that sometimes your body just doesn't want to cooperate. I know that that doesn't really help to hear...it just pretty much sucks! Oh yeah...what I learned from my mom is that Eggplant is full of nutritional value! I had read in a book a couple of years ago that it has none and told her that. She quickly printed some stuff off to prove me way wrong! Thanks Ma.
Sunday morning brought another mountain bike ride with my buddy Mike. We had decided to hit up some trails that we don't really ride all that often. I rode from the house to the trailhead about 5 miles away and when Mike showed, we decided to do a trail that I had never ridden. It was straight up from the beginning and it was awesome! Killer trail I had never ridden in my own home trail system! Great ride..Great week..time to recover!
Peace,
Lucas

BIONICON Demo

Mike, Rory, and Jenn after climbing to the top of Rocky Peak via Stagecoach Trail and Johnsons.

I picked Mike up at his house and we headed over to Corriganville Regional Park for the Bionicon bike demo. My friends Rory and Jenn met us there and we all picked out the bikes that we wanted to ride. I chose one of the only ones that they had left in my size, the Edison LTD. I knew that we had a tuff ride with over 2000 ft of climbing planned so I was a bit worried about taking out a bike with 6 inches of travel, adjustable or not! Not many other choices so we were off! We headed up Stagecoach trail which was Tuff (with a capital T!) Its about 800 feet of climbing in two miles! I would like to bring up the fact that Rory picked the Iron Wood which is a downhill bike with 8 inches of travel! He kept pace with us the whole way up Stagecoach! The way the adjustable travel works on these bikes is they have a handlebar mounted button that you push to move the travel more or less. If you want less front travel you push the button as you lean forward on the front end. Then before heading downhill you lean bag and push the button and the travel extends. It only took about 1 quick descent to figure out how to be ready for the changing terrain. I had absolutely no trouble with quick adjustments after the this!
We were soon climbing Johnsons and I was feeling some muscles that were not usually utilized. I was in a different position than on my bike and I was feeling it! Mike was climbing like a freaking Billy Goat and I was having a hard time keeping up...as usual. There was a couple times that he just rode away from us! About a quarter of the way up I was able to pass Rory and separate myself from him. I should have been ahead of him considering he was on a 35 pound bike with 8 inches of travel. I still can't believe that he climbed as quick as he did!
As we hit about 2 miles to go we just seemed to be baking in the 100 degree sun! I was really enjoying the bike but was so ready to be at the top! We started to descend and I could not believe how FREAKING AWESOME it was to descend with 6 inches of travel! You just float over everything! We were very quickly at the Hummingbird trailhead. Hummingbird is one of the more technical descents around here and I could not wait to drop in! Usually on my bike there are a few spots that I have to dismount and walk down...on the Edison...not so much! The only time that I (purposefully) dismounted was to edge through two rocks that were not wide enough to ride through! I was so stoked! I was FLYING down this hill! And then it happened....almost! We were literally 300 ft. from the end of the trail and I ALMOST bought the farm! I somehow started to nose wheelie down the trail and off the side...it's all a little fuzzy from the shock but I somehow was able to get the back end down but when I did my foot and leg drilled into the ground as the pedal pounded into the back of my leg just above my ankle. It felt as if it had broken in half! I think I was still in shock that I was not 50 feet down the side of the trail but once at the bottom of the run I jumped off my bike to inspect the damage. Other than a pedal mark in the back of my leg and some immense pain all seemed to be intact! We pedaled back to the parking lot a cuple miles away!
I REALLY enjoyed my ride on the Bionicon Edison LTD and really enjoyed spending time with my friends! When we got back to Mikes he was showing me how to slide on his new Drop Board! It was super cool! It was also really hot so we didn't last long. Mike called me later in the day to make sure that I was OK because I looked like a zombie when I left! It was a sweet day!
This week I hope to commute Monday and Tuesday then I have two days of having to be at work at 5 and 6am! I will definitly get in some afternon rides and I think that we are doing Hidden Valley on the fixies Thursday night! Yikes!

Keep Climbing,
Lucas

Ride Ride Ride

The new ride with my baby on the back! Mad thanks goes out to Mike Mahoney for the blessing of the bike rack! No bikes in the car!!
It's been a great week so far! My plan was to ride to work monday. I usually wake at 515 am in order to give myself time bit all of a sudden it was already 6! So I rode to work at 95% of my maximum heart rate! I actually felt really good for the ride and was stoked on my average speed of 18.6 mph over the 26 miles! I also beat my best time by 3 minutes! I was worried about the ride home since I had expended so much and then kristen reminded me that I had promised to take her to the movies when I got home! So I figured what the heck let's smash it! I was stoked to find a only a small headwind as I headed through the valley floor. I was maintaining 22 mph and pushing a 172 average heart rate! As I approached the North end of the valley and the start of the climbing I found the missing headwind. I was starting to go into debt and wondered where I was going to find money to pay the banker! I settled into a smarter pace and pushed myself up the hill into Calabassas. The pain cave was starting to swallow me whole as I continued to climb. Finally at the top of the grade I started my descent and almost to the bottom I saw a bumble bee coming towards me! I sees that in slow motion he stopped in mid-air, turned around, and dive bombed me stinger first! Oh it hurt! He got me on the hand between the thumb and first finger! Freaking rascal! After about 5 minutes of trimg to scratch and squeeze the poison out I took off. I made it home in just 10 minutes more than what it took me to make it to work which I think was another personal best! I was definately thrashed!
Tuesday was a rest day as I woke up and just couldn't get my legs moving! Wednesday I hooked up with my buddy Mike and we hit up La Haas climb and flew down Chumash! I realized as I almost flew off the cliffside a couple times that I need to spend some more time on my mountain bike! My bike handling skills seemed a little off!
For our Thursday night fixie ride tonight we are supposed to do Potrero! This is a 26 mile loop with about 1800 feet of climbing! I'm a little scared as this is a tuff ride on a geared bike! Tomorrow, if I'm alive I will me riding to work again! Then Saturday I will be hitting a mountain bike demo with Mike. Bionicon is in town and I am looking forward to giving their bikes a try! I hope to get 4 plus hours in the saddle that day one way or another!
See if you can pick out the climb...it goes up, up, and up!
Ride on,
Lucas

Hammer On

The last week in the saddle has been pretty freaking good! After a few frustrating post antibiotic rides, I felt my legs start to come back! I also got my mountain bike back last Saturday! I've been having a great time in the dirt since then! I'll leave to with this thought, Ricardo Ricco, how freaking lame!

Health....Sometimes Doesn't Cooperate

Sorry that I have yet to post a pic of the SWEET new ride as promised...I'll try to get it up this week.
I am typing this as I sit in the doctors office yet again. I finished up 15 days of antibiotics on Monday and my body has definately paid the price. I have been riding a bit since Thursday of last week but with no real power or endurance. Just trying to spin lightly to work my fitness back up and deal with the sore joints and muscles.
Bummer is, after 15 days of medicine, the cold is gone but I still have some sort of blockage in my sinus. Hopefully I will find out what that is here today and how to fix it? Hopefully no more meds!
My awesome parents had given me a ten day supply of vitamans to combat what the meds were doing and boost some energy levels. They really seemed to be making a difference but I ran out and need to now order them! My mom went through the trouble of sending the links to me so that I could order them from iherb.com. I just need to wait until payday...:(
I hope to continue to spin lightly for the rest of the week and maybe be ready to start commuting to work via bike by this weekend. I just don't want to put my body into a debt that it can't repay! I have already been sidelined too long this season. I think that my focus will now be on three races for the rest of the season. 1 day state championship XC race, 12 hours of Temecula solo, and 24 hours of Hurkey Creek 2 man team with Rory. We will see!
Pray for Health,
Lucas

PS...check out www.fatcyclist.com his new jersy's will be pre-ordable next week! Hint..hint..sure would make a great christmas present for me...or anyone! (XL!). They will go quick again! They sold out in one day last month!

Ellings Park XC Race Report

Hot, hot, hot! Did I mention that it was hot? I guess this will always be the case when you are racing in SoCal in the middle of summer! They changed up the course for the better this year! They had us start on the beach side of the mountain instead of on the opposite side. They had also cut some new single-track that kept us from having to climb the horriblw fire road each lap. There was actually more climbing with the new course but it was better!
I really did not know what to expect on race day considering that the two days prior I had been experiencing horrific allergies. I actually felt OK when I woke up but was still worried! It was a little foggy when I got up to santa barbara and that excited me! With each passing minute it seemed to get warmer and warmer. I ran into some friends and had some nice conversation that kept my mind off of the impending pain!
When we lined up there was a pretty good bunch of guys that were towing the line! The gun sounded and we were off! I quickly went into oxygen debt and found myself near the back of the pack halfway up that first climb. I kept my eye on the ONE guy that I wanted to beat and when we neared the top of the hill he attacked hard! This is his home course and I instantly new that he had a statagy. I rode a little harder than I wanted to that first lap because I was at the back of the pack and that put me into some serious hurt as we finished lap one.
I backed off the pace(so I wouldn't die!) As we started the opening climb. I figured that I could try to recover and hope everyone else would blow at some point. By the end of lap two, it started to pay off as I passed a good number of ridersd that were suffering in the heat. I had also passed 2nd place at this point and tried to create a gap between us. There was no sign of first and that hurt a bit! I took it easy for the first half of the last lap and then tried to turn on the burners. I settled into a decent pace and just rode my race. As I got near the finish I tried to stand up to sprint but quickly realized that my muscles were screaming HECK NO DUDE!!! So I sat right back down and cruised across the line!
I finished in 2nd about 6 minutes back! That second lap had really killed me! I was pretty stoked with my performance all things considered!
Well I started this post three weeks ago and never got around to finishing it! In the mean time I have been off the bike for two weeks(finally back on for the last two days)because of a bad sinus infection. We moved last weekend! We only moved about 150 yards but it still took four days! My mountain bike has been in the shop with fork problems for the last two weeks! I hope to get it back from Fox on Monday! The most terrific news to report though is that I spent most of the day yesterday(4th of July) getting rid of the Death Mobile!!!(Ford Focus)
That car had almost killed me in numerous ways and I thank the amazing Lord for removing that pile of evil from my life! I was able to take full advantage of people trading in their larger cars, and picked up a fully loaded 2007 Chevy Trailblazer with 35000 miles on it for under $13500!!! Definately not the best gas mileage, BUT the car is in amazing condition and will be the perfect "race mobile!". I will post a pic here by the end of the weekend!
My friend Mary Collier (wife of Siren Bicycles madman Brenden) is getting close to finishing the Great Divide Trail Mountain bike race from Canada to Mexico! It has been such an experience just watching her do this, I cannot imagine what it's been like for her! I will post a link to the site later tonight when I get home. Hang in there Mary! You are almost home!
I am trying to ease myself back into training since I just finished 15 days of antibiotics. I need to go see the doc again this week as I still have something wrong with my right sinus. Hopefully getting it taken caree of will not require more medicine?! I hate what that crap does to my body!
Peace,
Lucas

$4.28 a Gallon!! How About $3.00 Every 50 Miles!

It seems as if the prices are not stopping! $4.18 one day, $4.28 the next! I have now committed myself to commuting by bike everyday that it is possible. From my door to my store it is just over 25 miles. The plus of the ride to work is that the majority of the climbing is all in the first 10 miles. That being said , coming home, all the climbing is in the LAST 10 miles! No complaints because it is definitely helping with my fitness level and weight loss! I eat an energy bar before leaving home and then one more before heading home! Thats three bucks instead of the millions it costs to fill up my tank!
Saturday morning I took a slightly different route once I got into the San Fernando Valley. With the light traffic I thought that I would ride Ventura Blvd. the whole way down. Do you know how many restaurants I passed that were cooking some sort of breakfast food? Let's just say that it was enough! I will NEVER take that route again unless I have some time to stop and partake! On my way home Saturday I saw this crazy fire burning next to the road!

Saturday I overdid it a bit. I did not bring any lights since I usually get out before 5PM. Well...it was nuts all day on Saturday and I didn't roll out until about 6:15! I pushed at about 95% into a headwind the WHOLE WAY HOME! I pulled up to home just a the sun set. I was thrashed! I can't wait to see how I improve on my riding time? With that jaunt home I set the bar pretty high. Another benefit is that I am carrying about 15+ pounds on my back so when I go out on a regular ride, I'm feeling pretty light!
It seems like I see more and more people commuting by bike everyday! Maybe if enough of us ACTUALLY drove less, prices would go down! Thursday night rides are getting bigger and bigger and so much fun! Here's a picture from last week! (notice the police escort on the right!)

Ride on,
Lucas