Shirts, Qualifying and Complaining

Last week I picked up this year's Pro-35 shirt order, and once again Cris did an incredible job.  He was able to take my vision from a photograph I'd taken last summer and turned it into exactly what I wanted. 

So what's with the car?  It's been a recurring image throughout the last year, and has become a sort of  allegory for my effort to turn pro.  After all of last year's events I felt like I still had the same potential but had some work to do to get back to being race ready.  The same engine is still under the hood.  

I've been tweaking my position over the last few days and think I've gotten it pretty dialed.  The only problem is that it's not the same position I've been using for the last few months of training.  By all accounts changes as major as the ones I made should be made in the off season when there is time to adapt slowly, but really I didn't have a choice.  My back injury from a late May has been flaring up and I couldn't steer around a sapling to save my life.  Fortunately the tweaks I made address both, but the bad news is that my body isn't used to handling torque with the more upright posture.

The Wilmington 100 is this weekend and although I'm excited about it I'm trying to set realistic expectations.  My heart isn't set on qualifying, it's really just about experiencing the race so that I can prepare for next year.  My back is either going to hold out or it isn't- and there's no amount of worry that can change that.  

Fortunately I have one of these on order and I really hope it arrives soon.

Detail oriented readers will note that I had a 2012 Mooto X YBB in-hand and may be wondering what happened to it.  After waiting for the 2012 version updates (from the warranty replacement from my 26" YBB) I realized that if I was going to run suspension that I wanted some real travel.  My original YBB was a great one bike option for every ride and race I threw at it, but now with the RSL there wasn't enough difference between the smooth 29er hardtail and the slightly smoother short travel YBB.  My recent back issues have only reinforced that going for a longer travel option was the right decision.  Delivery is still a few weeks away but I've been dutifully readying the components so that I can be ready to build once it does arrive.

For now it's taking it easy and getting ready for the weekend.  

Bolton, New Shoes and Miscellany

This week I've been back to training even though the weather's been uncooperative.

Monday looked to be the warmest and driest day judging by the forecast, so I took the initiative to go for a short recovery ride.  Tuesday was cold and pouring so I rode for a little over an hour on the rollers before yoga class, then Wednesday was Bolton.

Ah, Bolton.  I posted on Facebook that I'd be climbing it, partially because I thought if I started talking about it to I'd actually do it.  My strategy worked, and I made my first trip to the top of the season. It started to rain about halfway up, and I ended up getting pretty soaked as I crept my way back down.  Amazingly enough it was still dry at the bottom and hadn't rained a drop.  

I felt pretty good and was able to stay smooth the whole way, but my time wasn't awesome.  Part of that was being tired from Tuesday's class and part of it is a result of some changes to my training this spring. 

In years past I've done a lot more road volume, but this year I'm really trying to spend more time offroad so that I can hone my skills.  It seems to be working, and I find myself riding faster, smoother, and braking less.  As a result I have a little less strength for very long, sustained climbs like Bolton, but when I consider the demands of my main events there really aren't many long climbs- they're short and punchy.

Thursday my new Pearl Izumi Octane MTB II's showed up, and I spent a few minutes at lunch getting the cleats setup.  I'll post some more thorough details on these after I have some more time on them, but so far I've been impressed.  They're light, stiff, and have a very good fit all while taking a unique approach to being a high end XC race shoe.

The less-than-stellar ascent of Bolton and new shoes were fuel enough for me to decide that I needed to do another hill climb so I made plans to do Cottonbrook and committed to doing it all in the big ring.

When I got to the trailhead I spent a couple minutes balancing like a one-legged scarecrow while adjusting my cleats on the new shoes, but overall my quick cleat setup method served as a great starting point (I'll post more on that later).  After that initial fiddling the shoes felt great and I made my way up the climb with relative ease.  I'd expected to be far more beat up from the previous day's ride, and although I wasn't setting the world on fire I did make it all the way to the top in the big ring.

My time was a little slower than my previous best this spring, and some of that was taking a deliberate pace but also I think struggling with such a tall gear on the steep sections is slower than turning a lower gear over.  I kinda knew that already, but it was interesting to see it first hand- the big ring is not always faster.

Also this week I made some strides on the next order of t-shirts.  Here's a draft version of the artwork.

The shirts are going to be dark gray heather- quite a bit darker than the background here, and the print will be a little lighter so there will be more contrast.  Cris at Factotum Design is printing them again and we should have them completed within the next couple weeks.  There will also be hoodies with the same art on a pre-order only basis.  If you are interested in either one let me know.

Also this week I've been wrestling with the intermittent performance of my aging heart rate monitor.  That may not seem like a big deal, but it means sometimes I'm flying blind without it and other times I'm just getting really frustrated that it's not working.  As soon as I can get the right battery I'm going to attempt this on an old chest strap.  It's not working now, so I really don't have anything to lose.

 

For now it's counting down to the end of the work day and getting ready for some more training this weekend.  There's still a slim chance that I might do Flower Power, but most likely I'll skip it and focus on getting some high quality riding done.

J Bailey Cycling Cap

People have strong opinions about what a cycling cap should or shouldn't be, and how it should or shouldn't be worn.  For me it's an on-bike piece of clothing, so if I'm wearing one I'm either riding or about to be.

As a cyclist I definitely have a fair number of cycling caps in my collection. My new favorite is indisputably the handmade J Bailey that arrived yesterday.  The design is simple black with a Tricolor visor stripe that appeals to my Francophilic tendencies.  

The cut is a pretty basic three panel that fits smoothly under a helmet.  The material is cotton, but has a nicer feel than any other cycling cap I've ever worn- and with my shaved head there's a lot of hat-on-scalp contact.  I would describe it as the difference between this and a normal cycling cap to be like the difference between a high quality ringspun cotton t-shirt like an American Apparel and a Hanes Beefy-T.

What I really like about this cap is the visor.  Most visors end up being too long when they get pushed down by a helmet, but this one is the right length to sit just at the top of my line of sight across the upper edge of my glasses.  It's out of the way but still provides some protection from the elements.

Another benefit of the handmade, small production approach is that there are sizing options beyond the usual one size fits all that's usually on offer (has one size ever really fit all?).

If you ride a high end, handmade bike why not wear a high end, handmade cap?  For more information or to buy one visit his Etsy shop.