Monday, March 8, 2010
Still Life Infamy
On what turned out to be the nicest day of the year in Mongo's part of the world, and after what has been the worst Winter in a decade...I didn't ride and took a nap.
My intention was to ride. I've had a great weekend of training. On Saturday morning I did the Enemy Bike Shop ride with "Two-Time Defending Hammerfest Champion" Clay, and "Rising Collegiate Star" Jimmy. Then on Sunday, I took LPE to the Silver Comet Trail for a thirty mile recovery ride that included smacking down a Litespeed and a Cervelo. All in all, a strong couple of days.
The fact is that my old ass sometimes just needs the rest. Over the years Mongo has learned to read his body like most people view porn on their computer at work...very carefully! I can tell when it's time to shut it down...and with the start of the 2010 Smyrna Bicycles 23/2300 Hammerfest Season only seven days away, I don't want to jeopardize my final week of "Cat 5 Domination" training by getting sick.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Choosing Stones
"The high prize of life, the crowning fortune of man, is to be born with a bias to some pursuit which finds him in employment and happiness."
(Ralph Waldo Emerson)
Look Who Finished Third: Paris-Nice Underway
Scrappy American and Olympic Bronze medalist, "Shetland Jens Voigt", finishes the opening Prologue behind Lars Boom and "O.G." Jens Voigt...and just ahead of the "Bandito".
There are some serious thoroughbreds in this race, so it should be a good barometer of who are going to be the major players this year. This is usually the time of year that Levi dominates the Tour of California, so maybe that form will translate into victory here...U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!
(Photo:CyclingNews)
AK47 Update: The TT That Wasn't
Kloden finishes fourth in Murcia behind Rabon, Menchov, and Wiggins. It just also happens that this was the exact finish of the decisive Stage 4 TT. Mongo is happy with AK's early season form. Let's hope he's not forced to be Mellow Johnny's babysitter again this year.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Vague Rant
"...which is why me and "The Kaiser" back there won the Tour de France... You get used to the needles."
I Ain't Gonna Play Sun City
Robbie Hunter, of the Mongo endorsed Team Garmin-Transitions, wins his second stage in a row at the Vuelta Ciclista a la Region de Murcia.
The truth is that the field of sprinters in this race is about as weak as Mongo's bladder after one too many Arnold Palmers. I'm not hating on Robbie Hunter, but he hasn't beaten anyone good since he had a lucky stage win at the 2007 TDF.
AK47 is towing Mellow Johnny along in the mid 30's somewhere on GC, but on time they're only five seconds back. There's still a mountain stage and a TT, so look for them both in the top fifteen by the end.
(Photo:CyclingNews)
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Monday, March 1, 2010
The Weekend Wrap Up
Mongo is tired...and old! "Cat 5 Domination" training is finally catching up with me. One of the unfortunate downsides to being an older, "high-performance" athlete, is that no matter how much you might wish otherwise, your body doesn't recover as quickly as it did back in the "old days"....And by "old days", I mean some romanticized time in the past when Mongo was a young, finely tuned athlete with amazing recovery skills...in both partyin' and athletin'!
That being said, Mongo put in a strong weekend of riding. Starting last Thursday through this afternoon, Mongo is looking at about 200 miles of serious training...all on the Sub-19. And it's been really windy the entire time. There's something masochistically enjoyable about battling a headwind...It is an invisible rival that pushes you and questions your dedication all at once.
Mongo is a little disappointed about not doing the Enemy Bike Shop Group Ride on Saturday morning. It was just too cold! I had flashbacks of my last time on this ride when I was under dressed and almost froze to my bike, and since none of my teammates were going, I decided to pass and let it warm up a little. Later that day Mongo did 50 miles on the SCT at an 18+ average. It was a good fat burning, high pace, cadence ride.
Yesterday, Mongo, dressed in full 2010 SBCT kit, went out looking for a smackdown...it didn't really happen. An old guy in good shape on a Litespeed passed me after I had passed him, but after a few hundred yards of quarter-panel drafting, I did my best Mellow Johnny/Pistolero "lookback", and attacked on the hills. Other than that, it was an uneventful, but windy, 40 miles.
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