Reality Check

I guess Ill start off this week on a little bit of a downer. Some of you may have heard but a fellow Collegiate Cyclist who was in her senior year at Lees Mcrae here in NC got hit by a truck and killed during a training ride this week. Her name was Carla Swart and she was one of the most decorated cyclist in collegiate cycling history and had just signed a contract to race professionally. Im not sure if it was because she was a collegiate cyclist my age, or because she went to a college an hour from my house, or just because she was a cyclist in general but this one kinda hit me hard. When I told Marshall he seemed to kinda have the same reaction. After a few minutes of discussion and “Wow, I cant believe that”, Marshall said what I had been thinking, “You know, that could just have easily been me or you.” I guess this is why it struck a little closer to home. A college kid like myself training like I do daily, killed. We all know as cyclist the inherent dangers of riding especially on the road but you try to put it out of your mind, however something like this brings it to the forefront and it’s a tough pill to swallow. Never the less, our prayers are with Lees Mcrae and her family this week.

Lees Mcrae is naming a scholarship in her honor for femal cyclist.

On a happier note, I did get out for two rides this week on my road bike for the first time since before Christmas. I still put in some time on the trainer this week starting to do some interval training, but its nice to actually get out on the road some days especially with the guys from the club. I could really tell that the base miles I had been putting in had paid off. I felt much more in control and able to hold a solid pace throughout the ride. Im hoping that with some interval training I can really strengthen my legs on top of the base iv got.

I did mount up the new wheels this week and they completely change the look of the bike. So far from the day I picked up the bike till now iv knocked almost a pound and a half off and in full race day mode with tires and tubes and all I think Ill be down right at 18 pounds. Now you may be wondering why I havnt been posting up pics of the bike as I install all these new parts. Well the reason is Im waiting till it gets fully where Im going with it and then and only then will I unveil the newly redesigned and redone silver bullet. All I really have left at this point is some bar tape and a cassette and she’ll be ready for her official unveiling.

I did find a pretty cool web site this week called map my ride. Now Im sure most all cyclist already know about this site but Im kinda late to these type things. Its pretty neat to see that I have a Cat 2, Cat 3 and several cat 5 climbs along my usual route at the house with over 1500 feet of elevation gain. One route Iv been eyeing right outside my front door even has a cat 1 climb with over 3000 feet of elevation gain. Heck those Tour de France routes dont even seem that daunting any more. Im still not sure how all of it works but add me as a freind if your on there and check out some of my routes.

Lastly, the pro cycling season began this week with the Tour Down Under. It seems like every year I get more and more sucked in to pro cycling and all the drama that goes on with it. I will have to give a tip of my hat and a wag of my finger to Versus. They are covering the race, so thanks for that, however its only a 30 minute highlight show. I mean I know you dont want to show it in its entirety but come on we cant even get an hour for cycling and instead you choose to air a NBA D League game.

Really not a lot going on this week though…still riding hard…3 weeks till the start of ACCC Road Season