Tour of Cali 2009

Training in Florida ended quite nicely with a solo 5 hour ride and 8 mile build run. Ironically, it was the best ride "watt-wise" that I had put out all week! I think it was due to the "forced concentration" from being alone as well as the knowledge that it was my last long training day before heading out and onto a more "mentally relaxing" (but not necessarily physically relaxing) trip to see the Tour of California! I was really anxious, after training so hard, to have a week that was spent riding however long I wanted to and at whatever pace I felt like riding, all while following the Tour of Cali to beautiful spots that I probably would never have visited or known about on my own. PIC: Tour of Cali Stage #1...View of the Sierra Nevada's...

It was the third year going to see the Tour of California and it did not disappoint. George and I headed to the finish of stage 5, a town near the Sierra Nevada's called Clovis. Luckily, the first sunny day of the Tour was the first day we were out riding! We rode part of the stage, then headed back into town just in time to see one of the most exciting finishes where Tom Boonen and Mark Cavendish battled it out for the win (Boonen was first loser by a fraction of a second, which was the closest he would come to Super sprinter Mark Cavendish). The next day we headed to my favorite town of the Tour, Paso Robles. Again we rode in sunny 70 degree weather on a course through the foothills near the coast. There were countless riders doing the stage this day, so it was a great time having other people out on the course before the race came through.
PICS: Above: Bob Roll interviewing Tom Boonen, BELOW: The crowds in Paso Robles (Glimpse of George in the tree upper left hand corner...trying to get a better view!)

The last day we watched the Tour was the TT in Solvang, one of the most beautiful areas I have had the pleasure to ride in. The crowds this year were epic, due to the thousands of "Lance Fans" that wanted to catch a glimpse of the celeb. While I do not necessarily label myself as a "Lance Fan", I must say that it is a thrill to see him out on the course. The great thing about the Tour is that you can go right up to the team buses and watch the riders warm up on their trainers (we thought that the riders seemed like animals in the zoo on display for everyone to watch in awe). The TT again, did not disappoint as George, myself and a friend of mine that we ran into, Dave Decker, stood on the wicked climb out of town watching the guys suffer past us on the first mile of a 15 mile TT... Great stuff!

...PICS: Dave Zabriske in the TT, Levi in the TT, High Road boys warming up in Solvang (the crowds of spectators lining up to catch a glimpse).

So now I am back in Long Island, trying to recover a bit from the past weeks of training and travel. I have a few solid days of "recovery" ahead of me this week. I cannot say that I am enjoying the cold NY weather, but it forces me to really recover which I need right now. The season starts soon enough and once it does it will start flying by!

Chick Ride...

Yesterdays ride ended up being fantastic! We all met down by Lake Minneola and did Nic's "Dog Loop". I named it that due to a point in the ride where you have to be ready to SPRINT away from two big dogs that escape under a hole in the fence out on a country road. At first I thought she was kidding, "Just yell at them while you are sprinting away...and don't make any noise as we approach the house...they will hear us" Nic told me calmly. "WHAT"?! If I ever encountered these dogs on my own, I would CERTAINLY never revisit that loop again, BUT I was with company, and Nic and I had done the loop earlier in the week (without running into the dogs, thankfully). However, my heart still raced as we approached the house...I'm a huge wimp! Luckily, no dogs again, though we DID have a "kamikaze" little dog run out at us and almost wedge itself under my tire at one point during the ride!

The four of us headed out from the lake (see pic from left to right: me, Nic Guembel, Cynthia Wilson, Jacqui Gordon). Jacqui was the only one with a real "agenda" for the day. I had to ride 3+ hours, but easy with no efforts for that particular day. A sort of "recovery" type ride. Nic just wanted to ride easy, and Cynthia was only going out for a bit since she just arrived here from Canada (a long drive down)! Jacqui had to ride "steady" with 4x10 min "Zone 4" intervals mixed in. We let her lead the way. She was strong from the start! We gladly drafted her, though it is not very easy to draft such a tiny person on the bike! While Jacqui did her 10 min HARD intervals, Nic and I would ride steady (around Ironman pace) and she would meet up again on her rest periods. For the remainder of the ride we followed along, pushing a great pace!

I was really happy to be able to coordinate a ride with Jacqui while we were down here and it was great doing a ride like that with 3 other Pro women! It isn't something that I get to experience often, so it is nice when I get the opportunity! For tomorrow, a LONG steady ride for me. I should be ready for a great ride tomorrow after the steady ride the other day with the girls and a "rest day" today! Luckily, I will again have company to mix up the ride a bit. Then one more epic ride before home! The last epic ride, however, may be mostly or ALL solo as many people down here will be racing "Florida's Great Escape Triathlon" on Sunday. I've ridden SO many long rides ALONE in my career of racing Ironman, but I find as I get "older" (I cringe at the thought!) I really look for company out there. Ironman IS a "lonely sport" out on the bike, however, so the solo rides are great for concentration and learning how to push yourself mentally and physically. I've found that it's great to mix it up (some solo, some with friends)! I look forward to tomorrow and hope to have some great stories (minus angry dogs)!

Clermont, FL

So, I've been in Clermont, FL since last Wednesday and I am getting in great training with my friends Nic and Wolf Guembel (www.nicandwolf.com) who will be here till April. I am here for a week and a half total, so I am concentrating on a big block of bike training while I am in the warm weather! As of now, I am getting ready to meet my friend Jacquie Gordon who is down here training from New Jersey (http://jacquigordon.blogspot.com), as well as Nicole and her friend, fellow Pro Cynthia Wilson. An awesome "girls ride" for today, which can be rare! In addition to great biking, I have been attending Masters swim practices at the NTC coached by Olympic distance star Sara McClarty and running on the great paths around Clermont! All is well and I will keep the updates coming!