valygrl

Powermax class tonight. I'm almost sorry I signed up for it, now that there's Zwift. My Zwift workouts are way harder. But, I get to see my teammates, so there's that going for it.

Heathpack 

My new gilet arrived today. Like it. Test ride with it tomorrow morning.

sarals 

Climbing workout on the TT this morning. I'm about to head out.

I'm 1/2 POUND (!!!!) from my weight goal as of the doctors scale yesterday (I had a yearly exam - I'll live another year, she said)! Yay!!

Heathpack 

Sweet! On both counts.

I am pleasantly stunned. I can't ride with my old beginner group any more for the most part (even though there's some really strong non-beginner types in that group) because all the rides are no-drop and there's tons of long regroups. I've talked to the ride leader about it, she was reluctant to change anything but understood my point. Today I get a message from her that they're going to start doing some rides with fewer and shorter regroups.

And then on the FB page the route for the first Suck it Up Buttercup ride. Sweet. Field trip to Malibu for some climbing in the Santa Monica Mountains, 4000ish ft over 35 miles. Short and limited regroups. I'm in!

Hermes

Upper body workout last night that continues to feature shoulder / neck rehab. Although, the should pain is in the rearview mirror, the cause is troublesome. Keeping in mind that no one really knows why shoulders, necks and backs start to hurt, cycling does not do us any favors. I am focusing on moving my shoulders back and into their sockets while strengthening the rotator cuff and the muscle that squeezes the shoulder blades together while moving my chin in and neck more vertical. A lot of the work is stretching and isolation exercises.

For example, I have done lateral raises for tens of years using dumbbells. However the move the way I do it uses a lot of trap muscle. So I have to isolate the trap and rotator cuff and only work the rotator cuff. That means stupid light weights and a lot of concentration. This is hard to believe but lifting one pound with total rotator cuff isolation was hard. Now I am up to 5 pounds - wow. However, my PT told me that 6 pounds is excellent for a rotator cuff. They are not a large muscle but for me amazingly important for shoulder health.

I think de-emphasizing the trap and getting the rotator cuff back in the game while stretching my neck has really helped my shoulder and neck pain.

Hermes

It will be interesting to see how many buttercups, that can actually suck it up, shows.

Heathpack 

Everybody that is in is so far is abundantly capable of this ride, its just up Latigo Canyon from the PCH, then a little more up on the Mulholland Highway and then down Encinal Canyon and back to the car. Its essentially one 10-mile climb and then a couple of little bumps after that. Piece of cake.

The people who are in are Death Riding, Breathless Agonizing, Double Century types. Not a Buttercup in the bunch. <So far.>

Hermes

That's great since, IMHO, you are not going to beat nemesis riding with buttercups.

Racer Ex 

Been trying new saddles the last two days. So far the best is a Fizik MTB rig. Much flatter than what I've been riding. Most of my back issues have gone away. Hurrah! Have two more I want to try, one a "cutout" version of the MTB saddle, and a Shimano rig.

Got a note from Amazon today that the latter was out of stock. Took them two days, which was supposed to be the delivery time. Oh well. Reordered.

chasm54

There's still time to fulfil that hankering to try a Brooks. I mean, now that you're getting older, and everything...

Seriously, I know they're heavy and retro but the fact that they deform over time to the shape of the rider can help with some postural issues. I'm not quite symmetrical, one can clearly see on my Brooks Swift (which as well as having Ti rails - nothing like putting lipstick on a pig, weight-wise - has well over 20,000 miles on it) that the depressions formed by my sitbones are uneven. I like Fizik too, I have an Aliante that works well, but the longer the ride, the more superior the Brooks is because it has come to accommodate my imperfections.

Lots of people hate them, of course.

valygrl

I went fat-biking in the snow today. Insanely fun!!!!

chasm54

You know, I really want one of them. I have no use for one, I live 100 miles from the beach and we don't often get that much snow, but they look like a lot of laughs.

valygrl

I rented. i live 45 minutes from where the good snow trails are - unless we have a big storm, and then it's right out my door. I want one now.

sarals 

Day off the bike today, but it is a work day. I used the time before work to do some maintenance on the Look rather than ride it. Poor thing is pretty dirty, but not so as to cause undue wear. Tomorrow morning back to it, intervals. I'd rather ride outside, even if it's wet, but not raining. For some reason I've developed an aversion to the trainer. Not sure what that's about.

This morning I was 1/2 pound BELOW my target weight. I'm sure that's an anomaly. But, I'm about there on the diet. Happy!

Heathpack 

Rode with the Buttercups today. Great to see everybody but mostly it was a solo ride for me. I had the route backwards, it was up Encinal Canyon and down Latigo Canyon- the main difference being Encinal is longer but not as steep. I would have preferred to go the other direction. Also it was only 3500 ft over 35 miles, not 4000 ft, as advertised.

But it was awesome. I haven't done an actual climbing ride for months now, just really great to be out there. I rode the first 20 min up Encinal as a TT, I had a power target in mind for that effort but I missed it by 7 watts. Still, it was very solid and I was just really happy with the entire ride. One of those days...

TT bike tomorrow, with a little more climbing.

Heathpack 

BTW, when I say we went down Latigo, this is what I mean, Latigo Cyn Rd:

sarals 

That's a climb!!

Heathpack 

In this case, a descent! I wished it was the climb, its a great one.

YogaKat

Beautiful!!!
That looks a bit brutal (for me) but fun at the same time.

valygrl

Damn. I did a training camp out of Agoura Hills a couple years ago, we rode in that area - can't remember if we did that exact climb. I need to get back there.

I rode in my basement - Zwift - hard, and this afternoon I am riding dirt roads, easy, with my best friend, who is 10 months post bariatric surgery. I am so happy for her, she has lost 90 pounds and looks and feels great.

Heathpack 

Well I didn't sleep well and I woke up and actually did not want to ride my bike today. That's extremely rare for me. I've had huge piles of work lately and have been rushing from one thing to another trying to fit it all in. This morning, the bike just seemed like one more thing to schedule, then rush home and shower and knock out the last few intern phone interviews. I wanted to lie around in bed until late and go out to breakfast instead.

Which I would have done if I didn't have plans to meet a friend to ride. However I didn't want to flake on him, so off I went. It was not such a great ride for me, I didn't feel like climbing on the TT bike today. I did manage to PR a 10 minute climb that I've done dozens of times but that was the highlight from a performance perspective.

But, I still actually had a pretty great time. We saw all kinds of friends out there and stopped and chatted. We got coffee, which I love, and of course both checked our phones and from FB realized a cycling friend was at a nearby restaurant having breakfast with his daughter. So we texted him and he came over to the coffee shop and we got to chat about his new bike. Somehow all of that social stuff put my work stress in perspective, so I'm glad I rode.

Then I got home, punched out my last few interviews and now my big push of extra work stuff is done. Whew.

Hermes

Seeing Latino reminded me of Mallorca Spain Coll du Sólle that is one of the classic climbs of Mallorca, crossing the Tramuntana, connecting the capital Palma with the port of Sóller featuring 33 switchbacks. I have done this climb on my road bike and tandem in 2008 tandem and 2014 road bike. It may look hard but in reality it is not that steep around 5% grade and the switchbacks are fun to ride. The climb is 20 minutes plus/minus. After cresting the top, there are another round of switchbacks and then another climb to the coast.

Cleave

After getting in all those base miles through the New Year's weekend, I had a deliberate rest week. Then I got sick and managed two very short rides this weekend as I am still noticeably short of being 100%. Will be in Everett, WA starting tomorrow through Thursday. Based on this unplanned down time I am going to skip racing next Sunday and do some training in the hills instead to help get ready for VOS. Not sure if I'm going to have any mass start race miles before I go VOS but I still plan to go.

I am feeling much better today. Last time I was this sick was two years ago and I think I started training too hard, too soon and I ended up getting sick a couple more times before the spring was over. In fact, I raced VOS with a cold that year.

All one can do is adjust and do your best. <sigh>

IBOHUNT

Been sick the past couple of weeks. I've managed perhaps 7 hours of saddle time; 4 1/2 of it the past 2 days.
Where has the power gone is the biggest question I have right now.

chasm54

It hasn't gone, it's just hiding. Two weeks isn't long, you'll bounce back fast. Don't rush it, haste is slow.