Thursday Night Fights (Video)

Each Thursday night I like to attack Dadu Shan, the hill overlooking Taichung City, and work a little on climbing and bike handling.

Some riders don't like riding in Taichung during the day, let alone at night.

I really enjoy it. With lights, you can see cars and drivers can better see you.

This particular route goes from Wu Chuan West Rd. to the Taichung Industrial Park, and then through the back door of the Tung-hai Market. I then cut across Taichung Harbor Rd. and hit Art/International Street, before coming down Xitun Rd. and back onto Wen Xin.

I normally complete the loop in just over 45min. but I was taking it easy and thus I thought I could get some video.

Back In Business: Night Riding and Training Notes.

The past two months have been pretty rough as far as training goes. I took almost a month off on vacation with only a couple meaningful rides during that time, and then the weather in Taiwan became too unstable upon my return to really build back into my regular training routine. It seemed every evening I could potentially get out on one of my routes, the rains would start immediately after work. Talk about depressing... I would see clear, blue skies all day--until 5:00pm when the rain would start up.

In the mean time I made some minor adjustments to my diet and lost 6lbs. in 4 weeks. I replaced my morning Cheerios and yogurt with broccoli based smoothies. Now going down in the drops feels so much better.

Lemme see.... We then had the typhoon eliminate another weekend. I was sick last week. It can all seem like it just starts piling on-- and it sucks.

Finally, FINALLY!!! Last night I went out for a real training ride. I did my 30 mile loop from Taichung to Caotun and back through Fen Yuan and Dapu on the Changhua side of the river.

Distance: 32mi./51km.

Max Speed: 32mph./51kph

Average Speed: 18.89mph./30kph

I felt loose and performed much better than I had presumed, but I can tell my ability to keep the heat on has taken a bit of a hit. I was also feeling some of chest congestion from the cold.

Regardless... getting out on the road like that couldn't feel any more right.

---------------------------------------------------------

Other Cycling News:

• Lance Armstrong is a drug cheat... and there is an audio recording to prove it.
• The kids are all right! America's future in cycling looks bright with Ben King and Taylor Phinney.
• Italy's rising star Nibali takes Vuelta. This guy looked great during the Giro and now takes the Vuelta.
• Cycling is set for another bid at the Hollywood treatment. Trailer. Other biking movies: here
• Floyd Landis is angry at somebody else... again.
• More on the benefits of cycling.
• Insights on long distance utility cycling.
• Part III of Joe Friel's valuable study on the effects of aging on cycling performance.

Evening Ride: 5/24/2010 (72kph)

I had a pretty good night ride tonight. I saw an opportunity between rain storms to get a good ride in and took it. Hopefully Wednesday will pan out as well and I can get a few more hills in my legs for the month.

I put in a faster time today than last time and the new cleat position is beginning to pay dividends in conserving energy. I still need to build up a little more strength in my hips for the new position, but it feels great.

My climb was averaging 14mph (22kph). I felt pretty good about that. Maybe a little less energy than I wanted, but the climb also comes before I really have a chance to warm the leg up.

The big improvement came in my descent. I know the hill and where the manhole covers are, so I can hit it with more confidence. When I can be sure no cars will cross my path I can really open it up. That is just about 72kph and I still had a little more in the legs for that.

My fight down Hsitun Rd. stayed in the mid 20's (40's) and the sprint down Wenxin edged the 30's (50's). I think I held back a little at the end. Shame on me. Now I feel much better and can face the rest of the week.

Night Loop: 5/24/2010

Night Loop: 5/13/2010

Another Night Loop

I finally had a chance to do my evening ride again after over a month of century rides, recovery and other events that life likes to put in the way of solid, regular training.

I was a little reticent of doing this ride after not doing it for so long. Aside from last weekend, I have hardly climbed any hills over the past six weeks. Most of my training has been paced for distance and endurance over long hours in the saddle as opposed to sprints and high-speed pack riding. I was down with nasal allergies all week and tonight my stomach was queasy. I have a bunch of work that has been stacking up and a million other excuses that I could have used to give it another few days.

I am glad I went. The speed and time was not bad considering the bad traffic hoodoo I was feeling on the road. The traffic was heavy for after 8:30pm and I had a few more close calls than I am used to. You know the kind like when you are cruising down a hill with a car on your left as a "shield car" to protect you from cars that might want to make a left in front of you and then some asshole pulls out in front of you but doesn't accelerate and when you try to avoid them a scooter driving the wrong way down the street comes right at you... you know those days... just bad traffic hoodoo. You can just feel the vibe on the roads and proceed with a bit more caution. There were also slow cars preventing me from opening up on Hsi Tun Rd. near Feng Chia University. Still, when I hit Wen Hsin Rd. I was able to push up the speed between lights. The best part was that I felt like I still had plenty left in the tank and my calves didn't threaten to cramp up. The new cleat position shifted some of the work to my glutes, hips and quads-- away from my calves. I had plenty at the end with traffic the only thing holding me back from maxing out.

Feeling... not bad! I hate this ride as much as I love it.

Distance: 21.4 km.

Average Speed: 28.3kph

Maximum Speed: 62.9kph

Time: 45.16 min.

Conditions: Meadium-Heavy Traffic

Night Stats

I just got back from my night loop. Not a personal best, but I'll take it. Traffic was a little heavy tonight, but I love the feeling of fighting through the scooters. My bike, as a cyclocross race bike, excels in these situations. It is almost like criterium racing. I think I was a little tired for the intervals at the end. This is also the third time I have opted to just hold my gearing to the 50 tooth chainring and limit my cogs between 12 and 26.

Time for some chocolate milk!