Just a small update.

Yeah, I'm alive.

Between work and putting in a decent base this winter I've not much time or motivation for blogging. Here's a little look into my daily toils:


Always tapping that power... Get it, get it? Powertap? Oh, never mind.

Why I don't do cross.

I'm a clean rider.

Breaking news...

This election coverage brought to you by City Creek Bike Sprint 2008 (pictures pending). I was surprised to see quite a few souls show up. This was truly a "tour of the leaves" as we plowed up through the yellow fragrant mass on the moist road.

Though he came short of the record, Chase Pinkham nevertheless schooled everybody. After the first little hill it was clear that him and Stormin' (our record holder on his first serious ride in weeks) were in a class of their own. I was basically riding for third. And I would've been 3rd were it not for somehow spending my entire anaerobic capacity in its pursuit. I tried to accelerate but could not match my rival whoosh for whoosh. Anyways, I was a bit below my PB, but better than last year so that's good.

This was also my wife's first race ever! I was really impressed by her 37'38". That's some 2-3 min better than she's done recently in training. If she'd ride more than once or twice a week who knows how good she could get. Good job hun!

Blackouts-a-comin'.

I was so wrong. I thought we the people would instigate a spike in energy costs through our misguided efforts at conserving energy (which we're not running out of) and saving the planet, but I was wrong. We won't have to make an effort after all. Take a listen:



"It is important for us to send some price signals to change behavior."

Boy, I just can't wait till I change my behavior. I'm trembling with anticipation... I think.

Winds of change?

I think the last couple of months have been just a preview of "change". God help us!

There is but one solution to our economic woes.

End of message.

Emigration canyon comparison.

I decided the make the best of our weather last weekend and headed out to Emigration canyon again. Since I don't like to warm-up for 20 miles for no reason, I decided to punch it to the top of Little Mountain. As opposed to my PB ride from August, this time the wind was not all too helpful. Under these circumstances I didn't expect to surpass my previous best, but to my surprise I came only 15 seconds short. To my even bigger surprise I was 10 Watts up from last time. So at 271 W average it is a PB for that ride strictly speaking. To counteract the unfriendly winds I spent a considerable time, perhaps as much as 50%, in an aero position (you know, the forearms on handlebars kind).

I thought it would be interesting to show the two rides as recorded by my Powertap next to each other for pacing comparison.

Here's the PB ride from a few weeks ago:

And the more recent attempt:


The speed curve doesn't line up due to different top speeds reached during each ride. I feel like my second ride was a bit better paced. I find it curious that both rides have a dip in power towards the end followed by a triple spike. I wonder what that's all about.

Season summary.

Well, I like to finish my season with the City Creek hillclimb, but this year the inclement weather forced a postponement, so it comes to a close without any kind of a bang.

Despite all, it was a good season - a lot of hard work early on, nice build up, some early successes, and then a crash. Though I was on the stationary after some four weeks, it wasn't until 3 months later that I was able to ride outside again. That was probably the worst best time of the year ever. But you already knew that since you're obviously one of my two readers. Here's how the PMC recorded it:

The black connected dots are my best 60 minute power results. They can say what they want about tough races, but it's hard to attain your true FTP without riding an actual 1 hr TT. I finally got enough courage to do it indoors in September. And I was pleased.

For another interesting graph, here's my 2008 power distribution chart. It clearly illustrates my insistance on spending most riding time on the Tempo (L3) and sub-threshold zones (the so called Sweet Spot). I don't intend to change that approach for the next season as it has served me well.


Anyways, so here are some stats:

Miles ridden: 6953
kiloJoules burned: 240,000
TSS accumulated: 24,500

Best Power - (vs. last year)
5 sec: 1008 W (989 W)
1 min: 522 W (506 W)
5 min: 345 W (315 W)
60 min: 267 W (not tested, but assumed 250 W)

Race highlights:
1st (unofficial) - RMR B's
1st (M35+) - Sundance HC
5th - M35+ RR Championships
2nd (M35+) - Climber's Cup (33'04")
1st (31-40) - Bikes For Kids TT (18'02")

Training highlights:
Emigration canyon - 25'17"
City Creek canyon - 22'48"
Snowbird - unfortunately at 41'16" this was the only PB I wasn't able to surpass vs. last year (40'52"). I made only 3 attempts this year, but despite being generally stronger I couldn't produce power nor were the elements on my side.

Edit: Ah yes, how could I forget, Clark's TT - 10'43", my only MTB ride this year (so far).

You know what they say.

Que Sera CERA. I'm so not a fan of professional cycling that I check Velonudes maybe only once a week anymore. Rare as my visits to cycling pubs may be, I can always count on some good dirt. Last week it was Schumacher, now Kohl, next week Andy Shleck, then who knows, Cavendish? Come next July I hope they have a whole new season of Ice Road Truckers to keep me entertained (though I'll go for the reruns).