Life On Two Wheels

Along the river and toward the mountains a morning shadow shimmers across the road. The rays of the first light jet through the trees and across a figure gliding upon the road. His breath trails in short spurts, petrified as it hits the icy air. All is quiet except the slight sound of the athlete as he summons himself for yet another days work. Soon the rest of the world will bustle with life as well and the brief simplicity of cyclist and nature will disappear into the everyday struggle of life in full motion; the errands and intervals, the appointments and intersections, and the deadlines and finish lines OutPaceTheRace

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Training Camp

In response to those who doubt
Monday, January 29, 2007

Due to popular demand, I must tale the truth of that oh so perilous day. Unfortunately, the reality of the incident may upset the likes of those who beg for dirt.
My mates and I contested a hill of unusual proportions. It first escalates at 16-20% then flattens out as it rolls to the finish, which crosses a cattle guard before intersecting a highway: the finish. Initially I will clarify that my preference is not to be beat, however, if a beating is due, I fancy one owed to strength not error.
In this case we ascended the hill where I received a lead of ~20 seconds. On the flat section I slackened my pace feeling that indeed the race was over and I had won. With 30 meters to go the Pate triumphed as he came in hot on the outside. Certainly you may declare that such a state of mind is due to an arrogant, selfish approach, and I concede that. However, in such a predicament of events I find it difficult to compromise my finish with an “oh, I screwed up.” I admit that, but may I offer that by chance that is not good enough.
& in response to the doping allegation: I've been clean from the start and I'll be clean 'till the end, that goes for everyone on this team. Sometime in the near future Slipstream will unveil its new anti-doping mechanism which will effectively turn the page on the sport’s dark history of those who choose to churn the dirty water...

Julian, CA- Team Slipstream training camp day 17
Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Today the rain came. Not all at once, but slowly… until it rivaled that found only in the Pacific Northwest. To elude the rain, I made a break for the desert under the rational that the rain does not fall in the desert. Following my arrival (a rather lengthy descent is required) the weather was so nice that I decided it must be passing. So I went up and over the Montezuma Pass. The weather held out until I arrived at the top, where everything went downhill. For the next 2.5 hours (all the way home) the sea seemed to rear up and walk across the mountains, for a moment did not pass when I was not entirely soaked to the bone. Another day of rain is in the forecast for tomorrow, fortunately an easy day is in store for me. It is possible to endure 1.5 hours in the rain; 5 hours however, may be adequate persuasion for a jaunt on the trainer.

Julian, CA- Team Slipstream training camp day 16
Monday, January 29, 2007

As the camp approaches its closing stages an air of relief floats about. Deducing the cause for such an air is difficult to reason, for the raison d'être is abundant; could it be the isolation? The lack of clear water? No internet? No communication with the rest of the world? Indeed, I’d infer that a feeling of nostalgia for the world we used to know is aided by one of each.
Today we did something of a double day, though it was not of that which I’ve come to know. At the outset we rode our road bikes for 1.5 hours. Then we came back to the residence and swapped out onto the time trial bikes and did 3.5 hours with several solid 20 minute team time trial efforts. I was with Danny &… whew! I could tell he was the tt world champ… If you didn’t pick up the subtle difference between today and a traditional double day… the difference was the time in between, normally you do an AM ride, take a nap and do a PM ride. Today we did a hot swap- no time in between.

Julian, CA- Team Slipstream training camp day 15
Sunday, January 28, 2007

I’ve recently speculated on the performance of the one under pressure verse the one free of such concern. In an environment full of tension and anxiety the body naturally becomes edgy and nervous, but wouldn’t this increase one’s performance? Fight or flight syndrome… Does that aid only those smitten by fiends as they rest within their caves, or does it hold the secret to “surprise performances?” Perhaps the answer lies in the individual’s ability to control the influence that the syndrome has prior to the start of the event & throughout its duration. I’d suggest that in such a circumstance, command of nature in this way would yield an individual a significant favor in any sporting event…
Nevertheless, today was not one of outstanding concern. In fact, it was a rather idle day, with little in the way of action. I rode the time trial bike for a languid hour and a half amongst the various woodland ranches. Upon my return I scoped out the various incongruities between the bikes position and I before finally setting the day aside for a quick nap and a drug test or two. Then I had to spear the swine for the feast tonight in respect to the Neanderthal and the diffusion of their genes.