Base Miles

It is once again the time of year when I need to start building a base for the coming seasons of racing. The other day I rode for about 5 hours NE of here and then headed west into Lyons before coming back to Boulder. The ride was great and the scenery was fantastic. I was on dirt roads for about 40% of the ride and was very infrequently passed by cars. In Lyons I stopped at Barking Dog Cafe for an americano and a bit to eat. The coffee was decent but the cinnamon raisin bread-pudding was outstanding! The chocolate croissants also looked great. I would definitely recommend heading there if you're ever passing through and looking for something small to eat.

On the topic of base miles: I've been really finding it difficult to convince myself to get on my bike recently. The long rides I've been doing have been a blast. I pick destinations and just go for it and have been having a lot of fun spending time on my bike. It is sadly the short rides that I've been having trouble convincing myself to do. Waking up at 6 to get in around 2 hours before heading to work has not been easy as it is usually dark, cold, and almost always windy. Doing my base work in January has also been quite strange. Usually I start my base around mid-October in order to get a good peak for the Little 500. This year though I did a lot of cyclocross racing through December and am no longer racing in the Little 5 and can plan my peak(s) to occur during the road season. I'm pretty anxious to see what type of results I will be able to produce having a peak during the road season instead of the usual case where I've already had my main peak and am just trying to extend it without burning out through the rest of the season. In any case, I've been getting in my time but am definitely looking forward to some warmer, sunnier days. I just need to keep reminding myself of the difference that the time I put in now will make to the rest of my season and maybe keep looking for cafes to stop in to keep myself motivated in the meantime.
 

A word on tire selection...a few words I guess

This post is about winter tire selection. I recently purchased my winter training tires and wanted to share some thoughts about what I selected to run. After the end of cyclocross season I decided that I wanted to take of the 700X32 Challenge Grifos I had been using and switch back to a durable all-season road tire for my upcoming base miles. In the past I have trained on tires that were a little more race oriented but decided that it just didn't make sense to do that. I had notoriously bad luck when it came to flats this fall season and probably had about 15-20 flats in all. Because of all of these things I was looking for a tire that would be extremely durable, with a little bit of tread to get me through the winter grit and be good to ride on dirt roads, and with a good amount of flat protection. I ended up going for some Specialized Armadillo Roubaix folding tires (as seen here). They are decently weighted for being a pretty strong tire (although I'm not too concerned about weight on my training tire) and have a really nice tread pattern. The center of the tire is smooth like a summer tire which helps keep rolling resistance down while the sides of the tires have a crossing tread pattern to provide traction while cornering. So far I've found them to feel really great while riding and to be surprisingly supple.

My next challenge will be to find a tubular for racing on this summer. I'm thinking that I'd like to go with something with a tan sidewall and a friend of mine suggested that I run a pair of Challenges. I'm pretty hesitant to do this as I had a lot of problems with tread of my CX Challenge tires separating from the carcass of the tire. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. My boss has Schwalbe Milano tubulars on his TT bike and they look great. Has anyone ridden them and can tell me about them?

The beginnings of a blog

So this being the first entry in this blog I feel that it is only right to explain a few things. Namely why I decided to call the blog "Bananas and Waffles". About me: I recently graduated from Indiana University where I got into cycling and moved to Boulder, Colorado in order to be around some excellent terrain for riding bicycles. I am not sure what I'd like to do as a career yet and have decided just to do what I love until I figure that out. Since moving to Boulder and being around all of the excellent cyclists that live here I have decided to see how far I can take my own cycling ability. Because of this, my day revolves around a few select things: training and eating (not to mention my girlfriend Kate, my family, friends, sleeping, and working full time as a rental technician at a ski shop).

This is why I have named this blog "Bananas and Waffles". These foods are by far my favorite cycling snacks and really describe my life as a cyclist. Why bananas: They are the perfect training food for eating on the bike. They seemed to have been designed by God so that they fit perfectly and securely in a jersey pocket. They are a good source of energy and aid in recovery. The best part is that they come in biodegradable packaging. Why Waffles: I really got into these this cyclocross season and have found that they can't be beat. Firstly, they reign straight from the center of cyclocross itself (Belgium). On a cold day of racing in the wet and mud (although we didn't get much of either here in Colorado) a Belgian waffle is the perfect snack as it is crisp on the outside, hot and almost custardy on the inside, and how I take it, almost entirely covered in chocolate syrup. They are hot, filling, and have a great mix of simple and complex sugars to help you fuel and recover.

So this is what this blog is all about. I plan to detail what types of things I am up to as far as training rides, what foods I'm making and eating, and what life is like for me in Colorado in general. I'm not sure if anyone will read this blog but if you do I hope you enjoy it. This blog is in part a way of sharing what it is like to be an amateur cyclist attempting to become a professional and in part a way for me to chronicle the things I'm doing so I can look back on them.

Happy reading!