Sound Alike

I may be stretching the BikeAlike metaphor here, but this one has been in my head for a while now.

Today we feature an audio BikeAlike of sorts: two announcers who, while not exact matches, have similar vocal styles.  I give you-

Michael Kay: New York Yankees play by play TV announcer

 

Dave Towle: Distinctive domestic cycling race announcer (and Mild Stallion celebrity commenter)

This edition accomplishes two things.  One, I finally give life to the idea that these two guys voices make them sound like they could be brothers and Two, I get another excuse to mention Dave Towle.

To get the full effect, you have to catch Michael Kay toward the end of an exciting game.  That way he has the gravely tone that evokes the sound of Dave Towle.

Chapeau, Cadel

Whaddaya know?  People can change.

The biggest knock against cycling’s perennial #2, Cadel Evans, is that he’s the ultimate wheelsucker.  He could hang with the heads of state on the steep slopes, but he lacked the panache of an attacker.  The only time he looked dominant was during Time Trials.

Well, as the final two stages of this years Dauphine showed, he is apparently a changed rider.  He attacked the race leader, Alejandro Valverde relentlessly – supposedly at least 15 times on one stage.  It’s good to see that an already top rider looked to change his tactics, not his biochemistry.  The old statement, “great isn’t good enough” fits well here.  However this time, the setting is strategy, not dope.

Good on ya, Cadel.  Those tactics should serve you well come July 4th.  That and a better team than last year.

Why The Hell Am I Doing Hill Repeats?

So I did a hill repeat ride this week.  It consisted of 5 trips up a grade on Schauber Road.  Each climb only took a few minutes, but the recovery between each was about the same time.  After the third repeat, I had that “why am I doing this?” feeling.  The fourth one really hurt. 

By the time I started the last one I knew that was it, so I eased up mentally – once I separated my mind from the sting in my legs I was really gliding up the hill.  That probably impressed me more than anything else.  I finished up with about 10 miles of flat to rolling terrain.  I sure felt it the next day, but it wasn’t that bad – a good hurt.

It was about 150 feet gained each time and I definitely went into the red zone in the final 200 feet or so.  According to Map My Ride there was a section at 13%!  But it begs the question – why do it at all?

There’s something to be said about the purity of the effort but I think it goes a little past that.  I’m not training for a race or anything that has a lot of climbing – I just want to impress myself.  Prior to my time as a “serious” cyclist (about 5 years now) I was never an athletic person.  In high school, I got a JV letter for bowling – an activity that can be aided by beer.

In some small way, suffering up a climb gives me a sense of worth.  I know that I could never have dreamed of being able to do what I did on this ride back in my 20s.  I guess the old saying “because it is there” applies here.

I hope I can wax so philosophical when I assault Lake Desolation Road later this year.

Brush With Greatness

I recently gave an email shout out to Kim West of the Kim West Radio Cycling Show to let him know that he has a listener out this way.  It turns out that he really is a genuine guy and answered my email and is looking to get me a mention on his show.

Aside from recumbent riders, I think there is a real unspoken kinship amongst us cyclists.  When a guy like Kim West gets a nod from some Fred a thousand miles away, he doesn’t have to answer it, let alone give it credence on air.

It speaks to the kind of guy Kim must be.  I sure hope he is, and I look forward to my 15 seconds (if I’m lucky) of fame.  Good on ya, Kim.

A Two Horse Race

BikeAlike™ returns with an entry as timely as today’s headlines.  I give you: Thoroughbred horse trainer Todd Pletcher and 3-Time Tour champ Greg Lemond.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Apparently, these photos were taken after both men had just watched a sad movie.  It is plausible that both of them would have struck a similar profile today anyway.  Pletcher’s horse didn’t win the Belmont today, and Greg Lemond has just come across as downright ornery these days.

Too Bad, Bernie

So Bernard Kohl “retires” and takes a parting shot saying that you can’t compete as a pro cyclist without doping.

Dumb words from a dumb guy.   I guess it never occured to you that you just weren’t good enough?

Like a Sack of Anvils

On one of the climbing workouts in the Do The Tour…Stay at Home series from 2006, Bob Roll tries to motivate you by saying that if you don’t keep up, he’ll “drop your sorry ass like a sack full of anvils”.

I was at a work conference most of last week, and riding wasn’t a viable option.  My time was spent presenting and sitting in on training sessions and eating a lot.  I rode the Saturday before (the 9th) for a paltry 1¼ hours (26 miles).  Suffice it to say that when I got back, I needed to get some miles in.

I was psyched that on Friday afternoon the weather was perfect.  As I like to say, it was “room temperature” outside – 72°F and wind under 5 mph.  I left work at 2:00 eager to ride, but aware that it would be wiser to keep the length of the ride low so I don’t shock my body too much (Achilles and knees, I’m looking at you).

For some reason the granola bar (and water that accompanied it) I had as a snack 2 hours before sloshed around in my stomach to no end.  I felt awful.  I made it 20 minutes in before I caved and figured this was a lost cause.  By the time I got home it was a pitiful 48 minute affair not even hitting 15 miles.  Feh.  I felt like a sack of anvils.

Tomorrow is a new day.  The weather is cool, but not windy.  I need to get a good, solid endurance ride in soon.  I can’t see myself riding over 2 hours tomorrow, but I want to feel good by the end.  I need to shake the voice of Bob Roll out of my head and replace it with Phil Liggett telling me that I’m dancing on the pedals.

The Training Effect

The axiom among physiologists is that fitness is not gained during the activity, but as a result of the activity.  During the trainer season, I put a conscious effort into avoiding workouts on consecutive days.  During the outdoor season, I try to stick to this as much as the weather and yard work obligations allow.  Good recovery is just as important as a hard effort.

And I’m feeling it.

After some fits and starts getting acclimated to the changing spring weather – windy and 58° to sunny and 90° – I’m harvesting the results of all that work.  I got in a two hour ride covering 39 miles and 18.5 mph average, and I felt great at the end.  I was flying up hills and motoring on the flats.  It was a perfect-feeling ride.

Today, a day off the bike, I have an energetic feeling in my legs that is all too rare after a good effort the day before.  These are the days I sit back and realize just how much I get from riding – the leaner frame, the better sleep, the attention paid to my diet, and (quoting Fred Matheny) the post-ride calm of a Zen Master.

Perhaps greatest of all is the mental lift.  Kim West said on his show last week that he starts feeling better as he rolls down his driveway.  Everything else just doesn’t matter any more.  All the crap at work, annoying drivers, aches and pains, stupid doping stories, A-Rod, all of it.  Just give me some decent pavement and it all goes away.  It’s astounding what this simple machine lets me do.

Yeah, it’s like that.

Man vs Machine

Round 1:  So Friday was forecast for 72° and sunny; great day for a ride on my recently-serviced bike.  I get out of work early and hit the road. 

I was in great form for April.  The uphills were nothing remarkable and I had good legs for the entire ride.  I covered 39 miles in a little over 2 hours.  I felt great – I really needed a ride of some decent length for a change.

The only buzz kill was that my rear derailleur was out of adjustment.  The shifts were vague and sometimes skipped.  I’m no wrench so I took it to the LBS and they fixed it gratis, because they’re good like that.  Turns out the shifter cable was stretched.  No biggie.

Man 1, Machine 0

 

Round 2:  Today was forecast to be sunny and unseasonably warm – we actually set a record at 89°.  Considering that the average high for this time of year is in the low 60s, it took some getting used to.  I was psyched to get out and get a nice long ride in.  The bike was running smoothly during my warm-up and I had my sights set on a route to Vischer Ferry.

Depending on what options I take on the route, the Vischer Ferry ride can take over 3 hours and top out around 60-65 miles.  I didn’t plan on doing the entire route, but I wanted to do at least 2½ hours worth.  I felt pretty well recovered from the previous day’s ride and had earlier done a nice hour long walk with Mrs. Stallion.

I felt so-so during my warm up – small ring, 1.6 miles, 7 minutes.  The heat was immediately apparent, but I had ridden in worse conditions in mid-summer.  At least it wasn’t humid at all.

I didn’t feel right from the get go.  I had noticeably low power, and every effort I put out left me gasping and leaning heavy on the handlebars.  In my head I thought, “You’re not recovered from Friday, take it easy”.  By the time I was half an hour out, I’d had enough.  Go home.  That was a long ride back.  The hot weather was the kryptonite to my power plant.

Man 1, Machine 1

I guess I have to acclimate to the hot weather naturally.  A sudden spike in Spring temps isn’t necessarily a blessing.  Lesson learned.

Bummer-Free Zone

I could take the low road.  I could go on about Tyler, the weather, my weight, work and countless other things bringing me down.  But I don’t.

I choose to believe that this will be a good week.  I should get my bike back from the shop, running in top condition (such as it is).  The weather for the end of the week looks to be awesome, and I plan on getting in some quality time on my new tires – Conti GP 4000 700×25s.

I think I have had one of my better trainer seasons (thanks Sufferfest); my first forays on to the pavement have been better than in years past.  Now that the true outdoor weather is upon me, it’s time to build up the endurance.  So far, it’s only been two hours for the longest ride.  That needs to go up to three hours soon.

This is a weird time for me bike-wise.  I can’t ride at all; I only have the one bike, and while I do enjoy long walks with my wife (around an hour long), they don’t have the same calorie expenditure.

I choose to think about training for my goals for this year.  I want to do the Mohawk-Hudson Century in September.  For various reasons, I haven’t ridden it since my first time in 2006.  I have no doubt I will do better this time.  I’m in better condition and my endurance by that time of the season will easily be better than it was in 2006.  Last year my longest rides were about 65 miles, or as I liked to call them, unsupported metric centuries.

Of course, I intend to climb Lake Desolation Road without unclipping like I did last time.  I will need to do more hill repeats to train for it, but I feel better prepared for it mentally.  I did not defeat me last year, it just made me more determined.

These are the positive thoughts I will dwell upon in the upcoming days.  There is much to be looking forward to.  I get my bike back, Fleche-Wallone, Liege Bastogne Liege.  I’m not gonna let life get me down.  It’s gonna be a good week.