While growing old does indeed suck, my cranky right knee has been assuaged by the Synvisc injections I got in early February. No problems since then, my joint responded about as good as my doctor said it might. I'm now in the best cycling shape in ten years and racing every weekend. Getting ready for the High Point hill climb TT in 8 days. I will crush that stupid friggin hill. Or hope to. Riding up there tomorrow for one more training ride. Approx 25 mins of fun, 175bpm HR, and lactic acid.

I am also down to 171 lbs, which is outstanding for late April. The lightest I've been as an amateur cyclist is 165-168lbs, so I'm close. The only hope I have of racing with the fast guys in the 35+ age group is to be a lean, mean cycling machine. I plan on getting down to 165lbs or less and staying there, hopefully getting no heavier each winter than 175 or so (winter weight gain is a given with me). That's the only game I have in bike racing: some aerobic mojo, a better than average climber (not great). I have no sprint at all (never have) compared to the fast guys unless it's going uphill.

I was hoping the racing would make me faster, leaner, fitter. It did all that, but also taught me something I had forgotten about: how to suffer. In my opinion one of the biggest lessons in competitive cycling is that you are more limited by your mind's ability to tolerate pain than your body's capacity to endure the physical stress of racing. Racing does teach you to expand those limits in your head, so you get physically but just as crucial mentally tougher. After a while 'I don't know if I can do this' becomes 'I've been pushed to this level 20x this season already, I'm not backing off this time either'. 7 road races (circuit races in NY City) and 1 TT already. Feeling better each week too.

Really hoping to do better at the aforementioned hill climb, my training ride time this year is over 4 minutes faster than last year's only 30 seconds slower than last year's actual race time. That is I came within 30 seconds of last year's TT result after riding all the way over there (33 miles of hilly terrain with a 20% crushing climb to get over to the race course), tired legs, heavier bike and wheels, no race adrenaline. Last year my race time was nearly five minutes faster than my training ride up that hill.

It's working. Lots of hard training, crappy race weather, pre-4AM wake up bells on weekends, but it's coming together. I am so friggin psyched. It's fun to be 50 and riding this good. And I will get faster. Oh yes. No results this year? Boys, those are results for me. Big time.