Wasted and Ready?

This title is fitting for several reasons, but it is stolen.

We just finished Build 2 and that warrants the WASTED. READY refers to the process of sharpening the weapon in preparation for battle, I copied Allison and had Mike fit me on Sworks Lite.

Now that the title is explained, I would like to expound on it. Wasted is a relative term that seems to be redefined often in our household. Previously when I felt like I was "wasted" from an effort I felt tired or beat down. What happened last week was a different animal all together!

Allison and I both pushed ourselves a little too hard and wound up flailing... We were not hitting the mark on our workouts and worse we were at each other's throats! Thankfully we were both able to sit down and figure out what was going on and we have learned a whole bunch. We have a few very knowledgable people around us and I am very appreciative of their input and assistance!

How did it all go down? Thursday night things came to a head. We were out on our typical Thursday night ride and Luke had just broken off to head home. Allison and I had already had some friction about training details and some other stuff. We started climbing up a gradual double track and I decided to cruise with Allison and chat about things. By the top of the climb we were both yelling at each other and I decided to call it a night. You see we were both not acting rationally. The stress level had risen too high. At the time I blamed it all on Allison, but that was unwarranted and I too was over stressed. When we got home instead of sitting down and relaxing I made matters worse for myself by taking off on my Niner and doing a solo ride.

I realized I was over-cooked on Friday's regen ride. We had already determined that Allison was over-cooked so we were looking at the "Last Chance Workout" for Build 2 and wondering what to do. We decided to try to stick to our plan for the weekend.

Saturday, after not getting enough rest or sleep and driving too much, I had my bike fit done. Allison covered the details of the process in her blog post, suffice it to say that Mike is very thorough and he makes sure the fit is good.

After being fitted I picked up Allison and we headed out to get some time in on the race bikes. We climbed up from Cathedral City to Dunn Rd. when Allison noticed a "clunking" when she pedaled. At first I was frustrated, she had just dropped the chain off the inside of her cassette and we were stopping and the workout wasn't going well, and then I realized that her cranks were loose! I was really stoked that she noticed before the splines were damaged any more!!

We went back to the truck to fix the issue and then decided to go for a "redo".



The second time around things went better. It was getting hot and I put both my efforts and my temper in check.



The fire road climb is uneventful, but there are some decent views along the way.



Looking back at these photos I realize that we are really pretty damn lucky to have these conditions to train in! We climbed up to "The Art Smith Trail" trail head and took some photos.



And with my razor sharp weapon front and center...



Then we hit up the Hahn Buena Vista Trail for some single track goodness!



I am still getting used to the new whip...



Climbing is different due to wheel diameter and geometry, something else I am getting used to...



Somewhere the ride changed from a failed attempt at training to a fun outing on the race bikes. The single track took our minds off training goals and we started enjoying the day!








By the end of the ride we were tapped out and it was time to get indoors out of the sun and prepare for the next day's ride!



Sunday we did a 50+ mile ride from Palm Dessert to Palm Springs, up to the Tramway, then back to Palm Dessert. I felt horrible at the start but once I warmed up everything fell into place.



The climb was tough but I got up it pretty quickly. Allison was surprisingly close behind.



Once up top we took a few photos...





and then flew back down the hill.



The descent was a little hairy with the crosswind and speeds (we were doing over 40mph with over 20mph crosswinds) but we made it down safely and then rode back. As soon as we got back I hit the shower and the foam roller!

Basically what this all boils down to is that we are now on a much deserved (and thankfully, appropriately scheduled) regen week.

Also something to note is that I got a chance to weigh the new bike.



Pretty light huh? It will soon be under 19lbs! So excited!

Happy Monday!