Sea Otter Course Recon

A group of us went down to Monterey to do some course recon for this year's Sea Otter Classic. We did one lap, got turned around a few times and ran into a herd of sheep towards the end. I did it last year as my big comeback race where I placed 8th out of a very stacked field where I crashed early on and recovered.

The dirt was nice and tacky but heavily rutted in a quite a few sections. On the western side of the valley the temperature was nice and cool, but as soon as we got up and over the back side we started to cook under the sun.

I forgot how challenging some of the climbs were. Some were so incredibly steep I had to get off and hike, while the rest were either sandy or just steep and long enough to break your spirit. The series of steep ups and downs make for a challenging course, especially if you do two laps. I definitely learned my lesson and aim to pace myself more this time around.

It was our friend Josh's birthday weekend, and it was his idea to come down and ride. We had raced Sea Otter together in the same category last year not knowing each other at the time. He had also bought my beloved Epic from me right as I was putting my Open bike together.

We ran into a large herd of sheep crossing the final section of fire road. They didn't seem that alarmed as well rolled through their lunch time.

The final climb leading into the second lap is long and gradual. To me it's the toughest part of the course because it feels like it keeps going and going. We're also hoping it won't be as hot as it was last year. We all suffered 90º heat for 40 miles. I made the mistake of running a single bottle, struggling to stay remotely hydrated. If it gets that hot again I'm definitely going with a CamelBak.

This is where the Open brand was announced, on the beautiful hills of Laguna Seca park. I'm looking forward to meeting the folks of Open this year as well as racing their bike to a podium finish, hopefully.

TGIF

So tired today. Thankfully it's Friday and the weekend is ahead. Today I rode in on my good old IF. I haven't ridden it in months, but a co-worker of mine just got a new Independent Fabrication and wanted to see my 13-year-old steed. It still holds up, but I definitely feel the weight having ridden my full-carbon Tarmac for most of the year so far.

Tomorrow I'm driving down to Monterey with some buddies to pre-ride the Sea Otter course. I only have time for one lap, but it's such beautiful riding down there that it'll be worth the drive down. What's everyone's riding plans this weekend?

Last Light Descent

It was really chilly this morning. For some reason I went without a vest, but once I got warmed up it was fine. This is the last Dawn Patrol ride where we'll be able to descend the first section of dirt in the daylight. With daylight savings coming on Sunday it's back to bringing lights, but on the bright side it'll be lighter later in the afternoon/evening.

We didn't push the pace quite as hard as we did on Tuesday, but I still made sure everyone got a good workout. I was also happy to see that I'm getting faster going downhill, or at least I'm comfortable with a particular section dropping down to the horse stables. I broke the top 10 out of a 1000 riders going down a section of Old Springs. Signs of improvement.

Bogged Down

I think my effort from Tuesday morning is affecting my mood today. It could also be the change in weather, but I just didn't find it in me to get on the bike. I was scheduled to do a tempo ride, but instead I opted for the couch. I really need to be cautious about putting in too many unnecessary hours in the saddle. I probably need to hydrate and stretch more, but hopefully I'll be back in the swing of things tomorrow morning.

Another Great Dawn

Our friend Peter made his triumphant return to our weekly Dawn Patrol ride through the Headlands. Brian and I made sure we made him suffer for being MIA for so long. It's good training for him as well as it is for us.

Our rides lately have become more and more intense. I think it's because it's just been Brian and myself pushing the pace. He's been getting faster and faster, which only inspires me to push harder and harder. We're definitely out of any base-mile phase of our respective training, with the race season in full-swing it's important for me to simulate race pace as often as possible.

Recovery Day

Still feeling pretty good about my win the other day. Today I gave my body some proper rest, as well as a bit of active recovery. I've got a new foam roller recently to help massage out all the built up lactic acid, especially in my thighs. It hurts a lot, but I'm slowly getting used to it and seeing the benefits quickly. I'm less sore after rides and races now.

Make That Two

I won my race today! That makes two wins in a row. My goal was to keep up with the pros and see how long I could hang at their pace, but they were flying way too fast for me to hold on. However, my finish time wasn't too far off. I even bested my time from the last race by three minutes. I finished the day 9th overall, some 10 minutes off the best time, which was set by a high school kid. I felt solid, and my bike performed flawlessly.

The day started out grey and chilly. We left the city with more than enough time for me to pick up my race packet and warm up. My friend David also showed up to race. It's always nice to see a familiar face line up next to you.

I had a great start, lining up at the front line. I was next to a pro, whom I raced with at Old Caz a while back. The countdown was quick and we were off. I held my position for most of the flat section before we hit single track. Then the group immediately started to stretch out. I knew I would be chasing a lead group of pros, but wanted to make sure I was positioned well within my respective age group. Into the first lap it was just me and a younger expert racer. We were quickly joined by that high school racer who just dropped us and never looked back.

I had my nutrition and hydration dialed in, feeling great through all four laps. By lap three I needed to toss my riding glasses to my wife. In one swift motion I said to her "Glasses.", tossed them into the air, and she caught them. Everyone around her was thoroughly impressed apparently. We make a great team.

I traded positions with one other racer for most of the race. I'd bridge up to him on the flats and uphill only to be caught on the downhill coming back into our successive laps. I managed to drop him on the last lap. So I thought. With less than a mile left I look back and see him charging hard. It was quite the effort, but I dug deep and managed to hold him off. We weren't in the same age category, but it didn't stop me from pushing. It's a race, right?

I finished in two hours, four minutes and 54 seconds. My Open once again proved itself more than race worthy. I felt so fast every lap, and found it effortless to just stand up and mash. It carved every corner with precision and rocked all the rock gardens and technical sections.

We stuck around for the awards ceremony and made sure that my race standing was legit. Last time we left soon after the race was done, only to find out I had won via the website. It's the first time I got to stand on the top step of a podium as a Cat. 1 racer. I felt so accomplished and proud of all the hard work I've put in over the past couple of years. I'm looking forward to seeing how I do later in the season, hoping I can maintain my high fitness level.

A special thanks to my wife for being the best crew possible as well as a great event photographer, not to mention keeping our dog, Marlow, happy and safe as everyone passed by.

Race Prep

I'm racing tomorrow up in Granite Bay for the TBF Racing MTB Madness XC race. I'm hoping to do as well as the last time I was up there. My bike is all set, just had to tweak a squeal in my rear brake as well as adjust my font derailleur, but that's all. My body on the other hand is feeling shaky as usual. I strained my neck the other day, but I think it worked itself out. This afternoon I took a quick ride around the city, covering 18 miles or so, taking it fairly easy with a few sprint efforts to open up my legs. Generally I feel really good, and look forward to giving it my best tomorrow.

The Weekend

I'm so thankful that it's finally the weekend. The week was such a blur. I got in a few good rides, yesterday especially. It's another race weekend for me, doing the TBF Racing MTB Madness on Sunday. It's the same course as the last race I did up in Granite Bay. I'm hoping I have the same fitness and luck going into race day. Tomorrow I'll be doing a bit of race prep. My bike hasn't seen much maintenance since the last once. I'm feeling a lot more confident and less stressed than last time, knowing what to expect in terms of terrain, effort and competition. It should be good.

Birthday Party

I celebrated my non-birthday today with a nice ride through the Headlands. I was born on a leap year, which makes me 8 and 1/4. Some funny things happened after posting my ride to Strava; I rode in a figure 8 for 33 miles, climbed 2 category 3 climbs. Strange coincidences.

I took the day off of work to celebrate in solitude. It felt great to get out at a reasonable hour, instead of the crack of dawn. I took it easy as much as I could. I'm trying to conserve my legs for Sunday, another race up in Sacramento. It's a delicate balance to get in enough training without burning myself out. I'll taper off starting tomorrow and keep my rides short and sweet.

Coastal Cruise

Nothing special today. Just a nice loop around Lake Merced, up the Great Highway, around Sea Cliff and back. Sunny and beautiful in San Francisco.

Moonrise Kingdom

Had another great early morning ride through the Marin Headlands. It's getting lighter and lighter. On this particular morning the moon was full and setting over the ocean. So beautiful.

The Miwok climb.

Brian crushing it up to the top.

Yes, I take way too many pictures of my bike.

Jawbone UP

I got a new gadget today. It's the Up fitness band from Jawbone. It tracks your steps, activity and sleep through a very sleek and minimal band. It syncs to a beautiful app that can extrapolate a lot of useful data and presents them in user-friendly way. I'm pretty excited to have this as another training tool, allowing me to track my sleep and calorie intake. I still have to log in my training rides manually, but hopefully in the future there'll be some sort of Strava or Garmin integration to streamline everything.

The band itself seems well constructed and unobtrusive. It doesn't look too bad either, but I'm such a stickler for accessories, which is why I went with black. They packed in a lot of technology in this thin and lightweight band, without too much in the way of visual feedback. There's a tiny flat button on one end that triggers a number of features, but most of the settings lie within the app itself.

While I don't like the idea of having to log in everything I eat, the UP system streamline a lot of popular meals and foods by having a list of photos to choose from. You just pick and choose and the app will add it up. You can also scan bar codes as well as type in entries manually. Last year I used a fitness app that had similar features, and it was interesting to see how many calories I needed to consume to keep up with my active training schedule.

The secret sauce of the UP system is the level of insights it gives you once you've logged in a healthy number of entries. It can show you things you otherwise wouldn't have guessed about your sleep behavior, eating habits and general activity level. I consider myself a highly active person who watches what they eat most of the time and is religious about getting enough rest. I'm looking forward to see how UP can make a difference. Stay tuned for a follow-up review.

Sunday Recovery

The sun is shining, but my legs are still sore from yesterday. It doesn't stop me from getting out on the bike for a quick recovery spin in the morning. I make my way down to the coast and ride along the Great Highway, which was closed to traffic. Perfect. I love riding on that stretch of road, especially when it's wide open. On my way back I passed a ton of riders, all going the other way, heading out for what will be a great day on the bike for them.

Saturday Epic

I woke up this morning feeling rather run down, looking forward to the weekend, hoping the weather would hold, but couldn't shake off the feeling of just staying in bed all day. I might be over-training, but I think it has more to do with the cold weather. I somehow shook it off, got up, had a bit of breakfast, looked out the window and threw on my gear. It's a funny thing, once I was out the door and breathing fresh air I change my tune completely. I was invigorated and ready for a solid day on the bike. I rode 55 miles, and climbed over 7,000' to Mt. Tam and back.

I had the intention of taking it easy, spinning my way to the top, but my steady pace showed that I was in good form, setting a few personal records going up the mountain as well as down. I'm still getting used to my new fitness base. My efforts up the hills aren't as great, yet I'm consistent with improving my times. It's nice to see my winter training and disciplined schedule paying off.

Still glowing from my first win of the season last weekend I worry that I'm peaking too early. Thankfully my ride today affirmed that I am improving, that I can sustain and hold my fitness hopefully all season long. I just need to make sure I get in enough recovery.

Today I wasn't the only one to crank out some solid miles. I had a few friends do centuries today, but one of them put in a massive 100 mile ride with 14,000' of climbing, going up and over Tam, up north and back, making my ride look puny. It was such a good day for riding, but it was hard to gauge what clothing to wear. I made the mistake of wearing heavier winter gear rather than layering. I overheated quickly and often, but was glad while descending Tam.

I'm feeling good having locked up another solid week of training. The ride today was a good indicator that my endurance levels have increased a lot in the past year. It's getting to a point of becoming a regular ride rather than an epic by my standards.

Waiting for the Weekend

Looking forward to the weekend. I don't have any hard workouts planned or races to crush, so it'll just be me, my Open and the mountains out yonder. It might be a good time to check out Tamarancho or China Camp. I'd like to to increase my downhill and single track skills. For now I'm content that it's Friday and I've got the whole weekend to look forward to. Where are you riding this weekend?

Getting Over

This morning I rode with my friend Brian through the Headlands. We were both feeling really weak and tired, but pressed onwards and over the mountain. It was really chilly out, but it was nice to see the sun rising even before we hit the trailhead. A significant sign of spring! Despite getting nine hours of sleep last night all I wanted to do was crawl back into bed, but it's this kind of dedication and rigor that gave me the fitness I have today. I also lost perspective on where I live, and how fortunate I am to have such a great and beautiful playground just minutes away by bike. I live a charmed life, and remind myself not to take it for granted.

Feeling It

I think all of the hours I've been putting in the saddle is catching up to me. Been feeling rather tired and unmotivated to get out on my bike. I think it's mostly due to my stress at work, but I need another 3-day weekend. We'll pick things up tomorrow morning for my weekly Dawn Patrol ride.

Soggy

The weather in San Francisco can be really strange at times. This morning I went out for a recovery spin around Lake Merced, along the Great Highway and back home. An hour-long affair, which started out dry, but towards the end of my ride the wind picked up and the sky just completely opened up. I didn't get too wet, but on my ride to work the rain force increased, soaking me from head to toe. In the afternoon it cleared, but the ride home wasn't fun, having to put on soggy cold clothes. I can't really complain considering it's only February, and it's been relatively nice this month. Gotta love winter in California.

Upwards and Over the Mountain

I had the day off from work today, and did a recovery ride of sorts through the Headlands. I still climbed over 3,000' but tried to dial my effort way back. Oddly enough I finished my loop around the same time as normal. The clouds are coming in, and it was a nice run of sunny days while it lasted. Tomorrow's forecast calls for rain, but it won't stop me from getting out early in the morning. No rest for the weary, I guess.

Also, I'd like to thank everyone for congratulating me on my win. It feels good to have the love and support from my friends and family.