Temporary SetBACK

Cold, really COLD temperatures dominate and a setBACK occurs.

Single digits were to be heading our way and the wood supply on the back porch was getting to be minimal. No worries, while Donna was away Sunday I would cut up a stack of firewood we had for the old outdoor wood furnace. I have to take each split log and cut it in half, then haul them by wheel barrel to the back porch and dump them to be taken up and stacked later. Each wheel barrel load represents a full day of heat for the house on a really cold day.

I started off well, but soon my right lower lumbar and tight IT band where barking. Ignoring the pain and pushing through is often my downfall when it comes to my body. I wanted to complete at least the one stack, which turned out to be 12 wheel barrels, or 12 really cold days, worth. I pressed on as the pain got worse. Having had this before and recovered I was not too worried.

As it turns out I did not recover well. A trip to Donato was needed along with a forced period of inactivity that is why I am writing in the blog instead of riding the snowboard this Sunday. As a side benefit the inactivity allowed me to buy and play with my new iPad mini which is a great way to post now, so I may be more apt to keep posting now.

Hopefully I will soon be BACK to riding snow or bikes soon as this morning the back is feeling much better. Enough that i am very tempted to ride or hike something today since the sun is shinning and it has warmed up to 11 degrees!

Snow Comes and Goes and Comes Again.

January can offer a very varied menu for ridn.  January road rides during "thaws", ice biking when frozen, basement Cyclops sessions, and snowboarding.  Recently added another entree: snowshoeing.

Basement riding on the Cyclops was / is a challenge of the mind more than the body.  I tried to create some excitement enticement to get more done in winter training.  I bought some videos from SufferFest which are very good at making you work hard and have fun following real race footage.  The intervals that result are excellent for getting the most out of the stationary trainer.  I used to just do an hour playlist and did hills and time trials according to the song.  This is better.  I tried to make the basement more comfortable, but not having the outdoor wood furnace heating it down there, it became colder - 50's and lower on really cold days.  

I have not even put the studded tires on the mountain bike yet.  Instead I tried Donna's snowshoes and really liked it!  One walk was on about 14 inches of fresh snow and the sun was out and the air in the teens.  It was great!  I walked to the top of Murdock Mtn in our backyard - about 3 or 4 miles of breaking trail was a great workout and I loved the fact that you can float over all the rough terrain.  A week later I did the same track and it was just as much fun.  As a result, I bought a pair of my own, so now Donna and I can go together.  Since then the snow has melted off.  Before it was all gone, but with enough to still enjoy we hiked on regular shoes with the dogs across the street.  Another great walk in the woods, which by the way, would have been totally impossivble without my NEW KNEES.

A road ride at lunch on Monday with the temperature in the low 50's and sun out was great fun and I got to see if the intervals were helping.  They are because I hit a MAX heart rate of 172 going up and over Coregy Hill, which is an elevation of my max HR from 160's.  I need to keep going down stairs and doing the intervals.  

Snowboarding is so much fun!  I did a couple of Killington days early in the year when the terrain was limited.  Also, did a night ride with Alix, Scott, Donna at West Mountain on New Years Eve.  These were fun, but not full out blasts of snowboarding bliss.  Last Wednesday I had a business meeting in Rutland, VT.  It snowed all day and it drove me nuts knowing how good it was just a few miles away.  So, the next day I did some work early, did a conference call and quickly packed the gear and took off for Killington.  I got there at 11 and had a blast covering west to east, Ramshead to Bear.  Cruise Control was a flat out twisty bomb for 1.4 miles that I did four times in a row towards the end.  Conditions were great for carving and playing on the edges in the 6 inches of powder that accumulated there.  I tracked the day with both my Garmin bike computer in my pocket and a new App for the iPhone, so I have the stats, and can "relive" the runs on Google Earth, which is pretty cool.  

Today Donna and I will do something outside, but at this time in the morning, I don't know which entree will be chosen!

January Lunch Ride

Sun came out and a long absence from road riding was broken.

Felt great to be out on the road. Took the Cannondale due to sloppy roads and enjoyed the ride. Any time you have ice fisherman as spectators and you are not freezing, it's a great ride.

iPhone app for blogging

May resurrect RuppRidn !

We shall see.

Took this great sunrise photo on rt 11 at Broomley on way over to Mile Barrets.