2010 Cycling Season: The Start

Today is Day 1 of the 2010 cycling season - well sort of. I rode outside on the weekends until the second week of December and for the last couple weeks on the rollers, but with little thought to the GVCC Spring Giros, Thursday night GVCC B races, or local weekend races. Today I strode down the basement steps with thought of the upcoming season.

My first workout was the Real Rides Race Day DVD workout (http://www.realrides.tv/raceday.html). This DVD is put out by former pro Robbie Ventura uses a bike mounted camera that captures a 30+ Masters criterium. The DVD came with the purchase of my new Cyclops trainer - needed a stationary trainer in addition to my Kreitler rollers to work on climbing and intervals. I was supposed to get a free climbing video with the purchase, but this is what came in the box so I thought I would give it a try. After an hour of the rapidly changing efforts that a crit requires I walked with trembling legs back up the stairs. This DVD will definitely stay in my winter rotation.

So as I look ahead towards warmer days I have set the following goals for the the 2010 season:

1. Tally >10 points in GVCC B races

2. Increase climbing strength

3. Work hard for teammates

4. Attack intelligently and often

5. Have fun even when suffering

More X-Country and NFL Play 60

This past Sunday after shoveling the driveway I headed to Mendon to x-country ski on the Lehigh Valley Trail. It was my first time on this trail. It is only 10 minutes from the house and I had only about an hour and half of play time. I passed up on Mendon Ponds as I wanted to avoid the crowd. The trail is straight as an arrow and flatter than flat. It was a bright sunny 25 degree day. A perfect day to get a light workout and enjoy the outdoors.



Upon my return from skiing I turned on the Giants/Eagles game as we began to prepare dinner. As I watched for the upteenth time Eli Manning do his PSA for NFL Play 60 I stopped and asked Jen since when do we need to have programs to get kids to play for 60 minutes a day. I know many of us recall our childhood as the good ol' days, but I can distinctly remember playing daily outside or in a friend's house or the community rec center when it was too cold. During the summer we would play one sport another all day long and only stop on the hour to listen to the church bells to determine how much longer we had before our games would be halted by dinner. In the evening we would either meet at the church down the street for a game of tag or hop on our bikes for a 2 hour tour around our 1 stop light town.

Although I cannot fault the NFL for Play 60 I do wonder whether kids now expect someone to determine what they are going to play and when. If we left children to decide on their own may they play 60 or more minutes a day? Of course we would have to limit 'screen time', but I would think that most children would turn to some type of play given the opportunity. Not having children I will not know the answer, but one can only hope that children still know how to play for at least 60 minutes a day.

X-country Skiing Close To Home

Broke out the x-country skis for the first time this season. Jen and I headed down the road a bit from our new home and hit one of the local trails in Pittsford. It is a short out-and-back trail with the total route measuring in at about 2-3 kilometers. The trail head begins at one of the last local farms in town.

It was one of those rare winter days in Rochester were the temp is just below freezing and the skies are a crisp blue punctuated by a few floating clouds. The trail itself is mainly used for walking although we could see where a set of skis had broke trail earlier in the day. 

Jen and I decided to ski side by side breaking our own trail so we could chat along the way. We had the trail entirely to ourselves except for a person about 100 yards ahead of us with their pup. When we passed the man we noticed he had a tennis racket which seemed odd for an afternoon stroll with your dog. When we pass him again later we noticed he was using it to hit a tennis ball that his dog would then retrieve. Witness to this act negated our earlier thought that he was trying to use a tennis racket as a show shoe.

On our way back we stopped at the local farm to pet the large draft horses. Actually they demanded our attention as when we began to pass they ran up to the fence looking for free handouts. We left the house empty handed so promised them that we would make it up to them the next time we passed. Not sure if they looked fondly upon our agreement as the turned from the fence to rummage through their stacked hay bales.

Although the trail itself is not very demanding in terrain it is convenient enough that I can get a quick workout in after work. It also provides a nice route for a day like today where after a hard session of spinning in the morning it was just nice to get out and enjoy the day.

Two Flat Tires & First Snow

Rode on my rollers this morning for about 10 seconds before I realized I had a flat front tire. It was a slow leak at the stem so I just pumped it up for one last ride. Twenty-five minutes later I flatted the rear. It seems that my rim tape had a slight ridge that punctured the tube. Both tubes have multiple patches so I am headed down to the LBS tomorrow to purchase some new rim tape and 2 tubes.

More of an issue is that it is 20 degrees below normal temperatures here and we received our first accumulation of snowfall. This is the time of year that I dread. Not enough snow to get out the x-country skis and too much snow and ice to ride on the road. It does not look like it is going to warm up over the next week so I think I am now relegated to the rollers for awhile. It is too bad as now that I am living near the city there are a few good rides on the weekend. I really need to build up a single-speed for winter riding. Hope to do that in the next couple months.

Only 5 more months until race season so despite the flat tires and snow there is no excuses even in November...

Why I Ride a Bike

I still get funny looks sometimes when I say that I am a cyclist. Not as often since Lance Armstrong won 7 straight tours. Still, as often as not, when I meet someone I know they are thinking isn't riding a bike for kids or do you really enjoy wearing spandex. The answer to both these questions are yes and just a few of the reasons why I enjoy riding a bike although I can safely saying wearing spandex was not the reason why I began riding.

I started riding as a child as it provided another level of freedom. When I was five years old I was given carte blanche to ride anywhere I wanted as long as I did not cross Main St in our small town. This liberated me from the pedestrian confinement that I was limited to in my first 4 years of life. As I grew older my bike served as transportation to football and baseball practice, riding past and eventually to a girls house, and roaming the village streets with my friends as we raced to street signs or meandered through the evening and into the night hours without any purpose other than to avoid boredom.

A driver's license, part-time jobs, and girlfriends that lived outside of town parted me from my daily riding for a number of years. As college came to a close and relegated to sharing a car with my kid sister I again turned to the bike. Since that time (15+ years) I have learned to love the bike as a child. Of course it is different now as riding involves wearing cycling kit, a helmet, and training for races. Yet, that personal joy you experience when riding by yourself or with a group of friends as you navigate through the countryside is not much different than what you experience as a child. Although now I can cross Main St without worry.

Expectations

As the satisfaction of this past Tuesday's election continues in both my mind and heart I now begin to question whether any one person can meet the expectations we have set for Barack Obama. I believe that due to Obama's heritage and his ability as an orator that people will be measuring him with a tall stick for very different reasons. Those who oppose him for his race are going to ask of him to be better than their own selves as we have in the past with the likes of Jackie Robinson, Thurgood Marshall, Sidney Poitier, and Colin Powell. Those who oppose him for his politics are going to judge him against their own beliefs without regard to the potential that these words and actions may have near and long term. Those who just want to see any man fail will never be able to enjoy the fact that for the first time in many years we have a leader that can inspire our people to be greater than we are today.

So back to my original question whether any one man can meet these expectations. The answer is no. It will take a dynamic leader like Obama with a lot of cooperation, keen observation, and effort from his own cabinet, the legislature, the American people, and the leaders of the world to enable him to begin to meet these expectations. I only hope that we provide him with our best so he can in return do the what is best for us. We also need to recognize that some things can be done in days, other in months, while many will take years or decades to complete. We need to turn away from our what have you done for me lately and immediate gratification stances to what is realistic today and more significantly what can you do for the next generation and those that follow.

We have to realize that we are at a point where our nation and the world is at a crossroad on whether our Earth and its people can survive the treatment we have given it. We also have to realize that things can change starting today even if we cannot measure the affects of our actions until years later. Hopefully we will give the same regard to our newly elected President.

Record Profits in an Ailing Economy

This week Exxon Mobil reported record profits for a US company. After posting 11.68 billion in the second quarter which would be a record for a mere 90 days when they posted 14.83 billion in the third quarter on 137.7 billion in revenue. This is before any one-time adjustments, but even including those their earnings were still 13.7 billion. And do not mistakenly think Exxon is managing their business so shrewdly to accrue such a hefty payoff. Chevron, the second largest 'energy' company in the US, posted earnings of 7.9 billion in the same quarter despite weathering the effects of the hurricane season. In fact, the so called Big Five (Exxon, BP, Shell, Chevron and ConocoPhillip) posted total earnings of roughly 50 billion in the past quarter. And these earnings are being posted as the US, if not the world, is experiencing a recessionary period.

50 billion. That is the exact number the US has pledged to help defeat world poverty. Not fully understanding McCainsian theory of trickle down I wonder how many of these dollars will help feed the hungry. I know that in Q2 of '06 when the Big Five earned 34 billion or 16 million per hour in that quarter that we only saw the price at the pump continue to go up and I did not witness any major contributions to help those most in need. And although I have been one of the lucky few (at least so far) and did see my own income stay stable during this period I am actually worse off now as my paycheck has much less purchasing power.

I do not begrudge a company creating value for their shareholders and I realize that no one company is going to forgo an opportunity to increase their share of the pie. It is not in the spirit of true capitalism to do so. What we can ask is that these companies across the globe are asked to participate in funding other initiatives like alternative energy programs, clean water, etc. that will help the world's people. I realize that this may only further their profits, but if regulated to some degree it will truly trickle down to those in the most need and everyone in between. I also realize that this may be wishful thinking, but their is so much opportunity for these monies to do good that you have to ask the question.