Snow & Woes.

The view outside my window. 20 degrees out: wet, slushy, icy, sloppy, snowy, and a little breezy. I'm not too worried though. New team race bibs, arm, and leg warmers came in today. I'll be riding yet!... eventually.

I have come to terms with the likely possibility that the first time I may be able to have a good ride outside this "Spring" will be at a race. I'm not complaining or anything. What better way to kick off the season and the fresh air of this cycling world I live in that in a criterium race?

Whether it is IUP's Crimson Crit Training Series or the two New York ECCC races March 13th and 14th, I will be riding outside in less than a month with purpose. I have registered for the New York Criterium and Circuit races and we are all waiting for final words from Indiana borough's brilliant power-heads to be rid of their fears and allow us to host a race.

At this point, I can say that there is still a possibility for us at IUP to still be able to host this race series, but there seems to be a lot up against our efforts. Other than money, the amount of bureaucratic hurdles this proposal has had to pass and still pass is terribly annoying. These things could have been taken care of months ago had we known they would have been there. I guess these problems are more like ditches that we didn't expect to have to work our way through. They are unavoidable and once we find ourselves out of one we seem to catch our wheels in another rut waiting for people to "find time" to look over the issues, approve it with other parties, and get back to us with another fee and list of people we need to take this to for more approval. Let's not even talk about the amount of money we have to come up with for this.

• Best case scenario: IUP gets all approval and all the funding necessary and are able to put on a great, smooth criterium training series for Western PA.

• Consolation scenario: IUP is not able to put on a race series because of timing, lack of funds or a combination of both, but is however able to acquire the approval and sufficient funding to put on one criterium race the last weekend in March for Western PA.

• Worst case scenario: IUP is not able to put together this opportunity because of missing deadlines and funding due to the slow processing of the Indiana borough.

We are an admittedly small nonprofit organization. I don't imagine we would ever want to be considered a charity with larger than life expectations, but a drive to play with the big kids... (like a little brother) in this cycling area. I would be very pleased if IUP can come out of this with the ability to host one race and at least be able to break through the red tape the Indiana Borough has placed without any knowledge of this opportunity. I do not intend to say these men and women have a lack of knowledge, but it is hard for me to know what they know, and equally, for them to know what we know about this bike race.

Communication is, and usually is, the key. We now know what we will have to deal with next year and will be able to put on these races the way they were intended to be.

What's Current..?

Things are finally beginning to spin for Indiana University of Pennsylvania cycling. The boys at IUP are ticking away at their pedals and training hours and the club leadership is finally starting to see results to their long proposed efforts for the first annual (Is it an oxymoron, at this point, to say, "first annual"? To imply it will happen again in a year -fortune telling I certainly do not possess,- to imply that it is in fact an annual event -having never had one of this status before to make this posthumous claim,- and to imply I know anything about grammar may well be just too much for these two words and an inquisition therein.) criterium training series.

Regardless of the meaning of this first time race series hosting, it will be a monumental achievement. Emails, calls, frustrations, and bureaucratic endeavors have all taken place in order for this event to bloom into early season fruition. While waiting for near imminent approval from the powers that be of Indiana, Pa, the weight of the details are finally settling in. Acquiring volunteers, safety personnel, race officials, sponsorship opportunities, more that I can't think of now, and most importantly racers will be a challenge.

Here's the flyer! spread the word.

Climbing With Frozen Legs.

Don't get me wrong, I loved the climbing today. For a ride that took 3 hours and nearly 45 minutes, 5,148ft of climbing in 58.6 miles was a solid amount for me. I'm not gonna lie and tell you it didn't hurt.

The effort today was quite a bit above my training level at this point. I rode with a Cat 4, collegiate B, racer from William & Mary... and my high school. He was a runner of sorts in high school and a definite climber today. Weighing in at probably 135-140 lbs. with a height of 5'10 this kid had a good day. Not to mention, last week he was riding an average of 70 focussed miles a day at a William & Mary team camp. He was/ is a a bit of a different level than I at this point. I've been working hard on my trainer these past few months. Working hard on the trainer, though effective for base mileage and focussed workouts, does not put me at the climbing aperture my friend, Greg, was in today.

I was also underdressed and underprepared. Without leg warmers or leggings nor booties to give my feet adequate coverage from the brutal wind that also plagued my face and ears, I grew numb all over (except for my core). My fingers became numb even with wind/water resistant gloves, my legs and feet certainly grew numb, and my eyes even with the protection of glasses became so wind shot that I could not read road any road signs to see where Greg and I were. And allow me not to forget, my water bottles both froze discouraging any rehydration on this long, dry, windy, tiring day. However, I do not consider any of this pain I experienced beyond hard riding my fault. Unless, you can fault me for not having money to buy the equipment or accessories necessary to prevent such ill fates on the winter rides I plan on doing.

This is exactly what I was talking about in my previous post. Not that I need to justify anything that I do, I will say that this is also why I will readily choose to continue riding on my trainer at IUP. I'm not trying to suffer and focus on more than I have to when building base in my training due to harsher weather conditions. Although I was not anticipating such a cold and ill fated ride, I did know that given enough poor conditions, the numbness and pain I experienced today was a possibility.

Enough complaining. I enjoyed the ride today. I was able to ride with an old friend from high school, I found a great area to ride if I need my hill/ climbing fix while stuck here in VA within an hours drive, and I put myself through and survived a real challenging day. There was one climb that took about 30-45 minutes to climb! I don't know the exact time it did take, but I intend to go back and find out and challenge myself again in the future on it. I'm not sure how I will really feel tomorrow, but it is good to know I can still push myself beyond what I anticipate possible.

Grow Up.

I hope to get to riding more outside a bit more this winter. I'll just say that this photo was taken while I was on the road on a nice clear, cycling friendly day.

With a full kit coverage options available this next semester, I can finally say I will have my the opportunity to cover my legs completely! I also just purchased this Giordana Thermosquare Winter Cap for my noggin (but on eBay- for less). I may or may not wear neck coverage with this bad boy. The ears are what I am really aiming to protect.

Armed with these much needed articles of cycling clothing and the random pieces that I have acquired over the years for necessity, I think I'll be able to have many more quality hours on the road this winter season (cold-wise... maybe not so much snow-wise)

Let me be clear, I will still be wanting to ride at my own pace, for my own benefit, and without much care for anyone else's needs these next few months. I'm gonna be selfish in my training so I can be a better teammate during my racing.

My birthday is coming up. I am 20 going on 21 and have yet to ever have an alcoholic drink. Don't ask. Just never wanted to. That, and I'll be someone you can say you know who will have their first drink when they actually turn 21. I suppose it'll be a novelty for me. I will be eventually getting a new nerdy hi-tech Droid Eris for my birthday, so I'll be hoping to take more pics like the one up there ^ on my rides.

Cheers!

Getting to Business.

The spring semester is approaching and my base training is enduring. IUP Cycling is gearing up for a fun, difficult, and rewarding season. At least, I think so. Yet, more importantly, I know I am preparing and have been working on myself to be able to race any event and not only perform when I have to, but also help out any teammate of mine to achieve their best in any given race. I want to be the self-less teammate- an ally in the peloton and a smart, powerful racer- ready to chase down any attack and drive through the finishes.

Last night it snowed 1-2 inches. I was hoping the weather teams were faking it and I would be able to get a good outside ride in today, but I will have to wait. Something is still urging me to go outside, but I think I can suppress it. I know the weather will probably not me my friend in the next month or two or three... or four. Yet, I know I will still get my riding in and the preparation I need for my races.

There are a lot of races to choose from. I like having my March filled up with things to do on weekends. With IUP's Criterium Series up and into serious development and the eventual scheduling of the Tuesday night ACA Washington Blvd Crit Series, I have plenty of criteriums to look forward to racing. I also know there are few road races I am preparing for. Early April will be my first real test on the road.

There will be a team time trial, a road race, and a crit all in one collegiate racing weekend. I have been through one of these before and really suffered with inexperience, overconfidence, and not enough preparation. I believe this time I will be more adequately equipped. Not only that, I hope to have some team orientation there with me.

A teammate in a race is something I have only once been able to realize the benefits of- sort of. So as not to go into a recap of that blessed race, I will just say this: Teammates make a positive difference. Everyone knows that. I just want to have that in every race that I am in. I want to be a part of a smart, talented, goal oriented team that works together in races and really comes out with some wins- as a team.

New racing kits will have arrived when I get back to Indiana. I hope the team can begin to mesh and work as one taking the competition out of riding together and put that into real races. I know I will do my part.

iCols

An iPhone /iTouch app called iCols shown one the Italian Cycling Journal. Pretty cool except it does cost $3.99. Livin' on the college cheap doesn't allow me to get this just yet.

I would like to get a better idea of what Euopean mountains are like.

Maybe one day riding some of them for myself will give me a good idea...

Emerging Style

There seems to be a trend, a fad, a bandwagon if you will of style and chic demand for the everyday cyclists of our world. Taken from "Cycle Chic From Copenhagen - The Original. Streetstyle and Bike Advocacy in High Heels," these pictures show a bit of what I am referring to.

These ladies know how to dress, how to ride, and how to look good doing it.

Briefly browsing the blog let me see into a culture, society, world that see bicycles in a pure and balanced form. At least they would have me think of it that way.

Then it kind of hit me. In Copenhagen, these women and men ride as a way of life and their bikes are uniquely theirs. They have their own style, and are not the investments many in America view their bikes to be... like me.

Sure some clothes and styles of cycling have come out of necessity, but there are now designer clothing lines coming from this growing culture. Seen here at VeloCulture, Beauty and the Bike, and here at Interbike 2009; bike fashion is becoming a hit all over the globe. Sure it will be a while before America catches the fever in an epidemic form, but it is on the way.

I hope to get a few pics of my school's chic cyclists to share!

What a lovely world it would be to see more of these beautiful bike rides about! No?