Race reconsiderations...

I've been riding a lot lately. And I'm loving it. I'm following a few guidelines laid out by TrainerDan™, and I'm seeing improvements. I still don't like the one-legged pedaling exercises. But, I hear they're supposed to be good for me, so I do them anyways (kind of like vegetables).

I'm feeling better than I ever have before on a bike, and strangely, I'm wanting to race less than the "six race minimum" I committed myself to. I'm even questioning whether or not I really want to do Ore to Shore this year.

Now, Ore to Shore was a great first race for me. But I'm kind of dreading the long drive, crazy mass start, and boatload of sand that is O2S. And entry fees aside, it's a very expensive race when you factor in the hotel stays and gas costs. (Which are now over $4.00/gallon again! Crazy. Makes me glad that my work commute is short, and my car is very fuel efficient.)

I'm starting to see my priorities shift a bit (what with school starting again soon, and various other life changes—though I won't go into detail here), and saving money where I can is pretty high up there. So, I'm going to shift my attention to closer races. (I am, of course, still counting on doing Iceman. I will have my revenge this year.)

Snippet from my last ride.

This was on Bullock Road, where a low-lying segment got flooded over. The road commission "solved" this problem by placing a ton of rocks in the low lying area, for about 30 meters of road. The rocks were all about fist-sized and jagged, making it very difficult to traverse on a cross bike's skinny tires. After just a few feet I dismounted and walked it, not wanting to bloody myself up if I fell over.

Still no real trail riding this season, but I plan on getting out to Addison as soon as it's dry, and joining one of those Wednesday night Stony rides as soon as my work schedule allows.

A few observations...

Davison Lake: yep, still icy.

1. I officially hate this "spring" weather. Yesterday's ride started at 48ºF, bottomed out at 37ºF (complete with snow flurries!), and ended at 54ºF. And today? Rain. Cold, icy rain.
2. Do not ride Baldwin Road, at least until it gets graded again. It's like riding a washboard, and not in that fun rumble strip way.
3. The altitude readings on my Edge 500 are wrong. It uses a barometer, which is next to useless if something funky happens with the weather while you're riding (see #1). From now on I will be utilizing Garmin's "elevation correction" feature, which is supposedly more accurate because it cross references your horizontal position with known, accurate data from surveys.

Mmmmm...mud.