Alaskan Pack Fodder

My family gave me REI gift certificates this year, which was cool. I was happy to trade them in for cycling socks, a bottom bracket, a chain, chain oil, and some other cycling-related odds and ends. I think having such focused interests gives them a general idea of what I want, but leaves them completely clueless about what specifically I want. This year I forgot to send out a list of items and specific stores of sites where they could be purchased for the lowest price (thoughtful me), so they were left floundering a bit. Sorry about that.   My purchases were a bit mundane, but I was happy to get some things I will need when the snow and ice recede from the roads. A very merry Christmas for me.   My coach, Janice , gave me something I needed but wasn't so excited about receiving- 5x1 minute VO2max intervals. While the kids were waiting to open their presents, I was hacking up a lung in the garage.   After all of the food and cookies that I have shoved...

It's my recovery week, and I couldn't be happier.   Ever since Janice bumped up my training levels based on my last field test, I've been feeling the effects of each week of training like never before as she slowly ramps up the intensity. That'll teach me to put in an honest effort.   However, every 4th week she takes it down a notch and gradually I don't hurt so much anymore. My calves don't feel like someone's been punching them for a month straight. I start to look forward to pushing it again. That's when she starts beating me up again.   "Man, you really look pretty worn down. Here, let me help you up..." Whack !   I'm like Charlie Brown trying to kick a football. I can see it coming every time, and know without a shadow of a doubt that she'll pull the ball away at the last minute, but for some reason I still get a running start hoping this time will be different. It never is.   That said, efforts that I found somewhat d...

It's currently 3 degrees Fahrenheit at my house. In my garage, it's hovering right around 50F.   That might explain why I'm sitting at my computer instead of getting on the bike trainer. When it gets cold, it takes a little more effort to get spun up. I'll get there, but I'm not in any hurry.     A whole lot of my peers love riding fat tire bikes all winter long, and a lot of them took a perverse pleasure in pushing them through new snow during a race the other night. I see pictures of icicle-encrusted cyclists and can't help but admire their enthusiasm for riding.   I was out in the exact same weather, spending hours coaching a kids alpine ski racing team, so it's not that I'm afraid of the cold. It's just when the snow falls, my interests wander towards more traditional winter pastimes, and I trade one euro-centric activity for another. I still wear spandex either way.   I know once I get on that trainer, I will get into a rhythm and it ...