Correction

The Julian Casablancas' quote is actually "If you stay with me, I will always be AT HOME."  This is much less interesting.

"If you stay with me, I will always be alone."  -Julian Casablancas

Democracy

"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch."  -- Benjamin Franklin

The cat

I will always be nicer to the cat than I will be to you.  --Xiu Xiu

Cause vs. Effect

I often confuse what makes me stronger with what my body can tolerate when I am strong.

You never got me down, Ray.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wwItkoapuA

Legs

Tough to be objective when you are emotionally involved.

Last month was a dream month of training. 8% higher TSS than the month before. Solid, could-race-with-expectations-on-flat-courses-type raw wattages. Diet is spot on. Lowest body weight since high school. Best power-to-weight ever. More aero position on road bike.

Adding 8% in a month is a tad high, but some of that extra work was low intensity stuff, so I thought I could handle it. Unfortunately, I made up that entire extra load for the month in the final 10 days. In hindsight, that is obviously WAY too much, too fast. This month, the reaper came to deliver the message.

But I did not understand the message, so I continued to plug along and endure "just a bad day" after another "just a bad day". Finally, last night I poured over my training data and saw the problem.

This knucklehead move cost me the chance to show off my form at this weekend's GamJams TT Throwdown. It will leave me unprepared for Tym Tyler's early season series in OH. It could make me a no-show at the Dismal Dash TT next month that I always do and had so looked forward to this year. On the other hand, I still have time to be competitive in May at Wintergreen and in the local race series. And surely I learned a lesson, right?

Optimizing power-to-weight ratio

Power       Ride hard and ride a lot, but not too much     
-------  =  ----------------------------------------
Weight      Eat only good food, but not too much

I am going to copyright my magic optimizer.  It is foolproof.

You are only as good as your last showing.

I am not talking about the Cowboys going from “hottest team in the NFL” to “WTF was that?”

Woke up yesterday and the cyclism in me felt horrible. Totally beat. Felt like a zombie. I had already raised TSS/day by nearly 10% this month, so maybe I was a bit overworked. I decided an easy 50 minute spin was the order of the day.

Got up early this morning ready for the intervals. Was looking forward to them and felt ready. I was not ready. I was horrible and shut it down 20 minutes into the first interval.

Anxious to ride tomorrow, put out good power, and feel good about this stuff again.

NFL Rant

• Braylon Edwards’ hands rival those of Darius Heyward-Bey, Roy Williams, and Santonio Holmes.

• I just watched Jamarcus Russell quarterback the Bengals to a loss and ruin a beautiful rushing game by Cedric Benson and his offensive line.

• Whether it is the rule itself or how the refs call it (I suspect the latter), this “a receiver must maintain possession when he goes to the ground” rule has gotten out of hand. I just watched Laverneous Coles catch the ball, take three steps with it indisputably in his possession, and then fall to the ground where the ball popped loose. It was called an incomplete pass. Dumb.

• A median yard per rush might be a useful statistic. A guy can struggle all day, break a single long one, and have a very misleading yard/carry.

• Hate the late hits after a player scores in the end zone. A receiver can catch the ball, take four steps in the end zone, get crushed, and this is OK. If a player takes a single step out of bounds and gets hit, the personal foul is quickly called. Why the inconsistency?

“I race for the fun of it,” says Dropped Racer.

Please.  Dropped Racer, are the faster guys not having fun? Is there an inverse relationship between speed and fun? Would it not be fun to cross the line with your arms raised? How lucky you are, Dropped Racer, to have figured out the perfect balance between fitness and fun that fits everyone! Those slower than you don’t train hard enough and those faster obviously don’t know how to have fun like you do.

Another one I hate… “Cycling really is not that important.” Cycling is no less/no more important than lots of more typical human endeavors (money, house, career, fast cars, kids, sex…) If in the scheme of things, cycling does not matter (and it may not), really, does anything?

Dedicated or obsessed?

“Willpower and dedication are good words. There’s a bad one, though, that means the same thing. That one is obsession.” -- Stephen King in “Wizard and Glass”

Certainly applicable to amateur cycling.

A taste of a writer's life

During my day-to-day activities, I find myself thinking about things I would like to write about.