I love the smell of worms in the morning.

The rain stopped and the clothes went on. Departed at 10 am for 3 hrs. The worms were out in force. They stuck to the bike, my back and shoes. The wind let up and the sun even peaked out for a moment. The ride was fun.

Let's see how the weather goes this week. Looks better than they were thinking a couple days ago. I'm going easy through the week and hoping I can get to the trails over the weekend.

Congratulations to Simonster at Barry-Roubiax. 3:11:00 over 62 gravel road miles is haulin.

That's all for today. Nascar has 40 to go. F1 Australia 41 to go and Cyclism Sunday is being DVRed. The black and tan is poured and the wife has just finished making dinner. Life is good!

Base training has started.

Had a slow start to the week. Only 3 hrs of riding through Thursday. I wasn't feeling healthy and thought the cold was still with me. Friday I went out to see how things felt and the body felt great. Put in 7.5 hrs over the last 3 days and woke up today still healthy. Increasing the weekly hours again so things are back on schedule.

I enjoy getting out on the dirt roads in N. Oakland. Still rough in spots, but it's nice not worrying about cars and traffic lights. I've enjoyed trying some new routes and seeing how I can change ride times for a given day.

The trails still look like another couple weeks before they dry out? We have rain forecast this week and more cold temps for next week.

This week I my have more road riding so I can give the upper body some rest and start prep. for FRCC and Kensignton. My MTBing events don't get going till the end of May.

First 3 hr ride of the season

Did the mapped ride below almost exact. I went through stony creek to 28 mile instead of snell to snead. I had to stop for water at the trail head parking lot. Saw Robert H. just past Tienken headed home. The dirt roads are still real bad in some spots. Kern south of Clarkston / Draihner between Lake George and Rochester. Most of the others were dry. Still some big holes and others were like gravel pits. It's only mid March so things are good.

Quick stats on the ride 46.1 miles, avg mph 14.8, time 3:10:00, z1 58, z2 110, z3 15, z4 5.

Ride felt great. Post ride "Best Brown Ale" last one in the fridge and shower.
Oberons start in the next couple weeks so spring is here!

Post shower- Time to rest and eat. Refueling in Rochester.

Taking the road bike out tommorrow for a light 1.5 hr. a.m. spin. The next week starts Base! How low can you go?

Notes

Most of my quick daily updates will be on twitter. Weekly (or longer) updates will be here. Along with results, routes and rides.

Todays planned ride.



I'll let you know how it goes on twitter.

Twitter

Just set up my twitter account https://twitter.com/jmakowski. Now I have something else to keep me busy.

Had to bump my training back a week. Got sick and really tired. Not sure if it was the time change or the beginning of spring work? Oh well - final week of prep. and onto base. The weather looks great for the next 7-10 days so I plan on getting in 5-6 hours this weekend.

Time to get dressed for the days ride. Currently 27 with snow flurries. Better than yesterdays 31 with 20 mph winds gusting 30+.

Last week of prep.?

The last week of prep? Looks that way. After this week I should be around 450 miles and 50 hours of bike/cross/weight training. Training is going well. Went out to the dirt roads this past week because I need a break from the concrete and asphalt. The roads were a mess and bit slower, but it was nice to get on some of the climbs. The ride lasted longer then I planed, coming in at just under 3 hours at 39.2 miles.

It's time to get ready to change things up. Base training starts next week and that means increasing hours from 7.5 to 10. I will be introducing some speed and force workouts along with a 3 hour +/- weekend ride. This will last for several weeks with some weekend FRCC training races in the beginning of April.

For now it's one more week of prep. and mapping routes for next phase. The season still seems so far away, but I know it will be here very soon.

Oh yah......I think I'm in for Ice Man this year? With the way the registration has been going no one knows for sure.