Time to run

I did my first run of the year last night. It was barely 15 minutes and it hurt.
Since my road season is done I'm starting the running earlier than usual.
My goal is to get a good base of easy runs so that I can do some good hill/stair sprint workouts as we get closer to 'cross season.

'Cross is all about saving little bits of time every lap. You can do that by making improvements in various areas: cycling fitness, bike handling, 'cross technique, and running fitness. To do well at 'cross you really have to train each of these. Weaknesses get exposed pretty quickly in a 'cross race.

Roots

I had a sweet 2 hour mountain bike ride at Avalon this afternoon. The weather and trails were perfect.

Here's a shot of a nasty ribbon of roots coming down toward the cascade falls and the swinging bridge.
It can be intimidating, but you just pick a line and let it roll.

Curtis Leschyshyn in Velonews

Curtis Leschyshyn, Chris, and Radek Bonk
Originally uploaded by cbnystrom.

This is a photo of Curtis Leschyshyn, Me, & Radek Bonk hanging out at the cafe/resto near the summit of the col du Glandon during the 2004 Tour de France.

Curtis and Radek are NHL stars who had some time on their hands due to the impending NHL lockout. They're both great guys. We had a lot of fun talking bikes and hearing their war stories from the NHL. They're also cycling freaks and really strong riders.

I played a lot of hockey and followed the NHL growing up. Now my athletic focus is on cycling. Thus, it was a real treat for me to spend some time with a couple of NHL cyclists.

Check out the latest (June 20, 2005) issue of Velonews for a Q&A with Curtis Leschyshyn on page 14. With a season off from playing hockey it seems that he spent a lot of time riding and racing his bike.

While riding with him in France I could tell that he was very strong so it's cool to hear that he has done well racing, including winning 2 stages of the Excel Sports Boulder Stage Race in the cat. 4's. He used to play for the Colorado Avalanche and that's where he and his family have settled down.

Blog the Tour

Subaru is holding a contest to pick someone to blog the last two weeks of the Tour de France. Check it out at www.racetothetour.com

The winner will receive a laptop, a camera, and a cellphone to blog updates from the Tour. They will follow the race with Trek Travel, which means plenty of riding, incredible food, luxury hotels, and access to Discovery team riders.

Go to the website to enter. No blogging experience necessary, but you'd better be prepared to ride a lot of kilometers over some big mountain passes.

I've done this a couple of times, but it would sure be nice to have Subaru pick up the tab!

Post-ride mexican...mmmmm

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Originally uploaded by cbnystrom.

post ride mexican...mmmm


Mel and I got out for a nice 2.5 hour mountain bike ride at Avalon today. With Grandma looking after the baby we had most of the day to ourselves. We did a big loop in the park, working up a big appetite riding in the heat. Of course, we then went to El Salto for the best post-ride meal...mexican and margaritas! Livin'!

Future Mountain Biker

We're starting him early!

Satisfied

While listening to the legendary 4/3/96 Widespread Panic show from Huntsville, AL I found myself contemplating a few verses from that evening's version of "Arleen". Specifically, I focused on a few lines of Van Morrison's "Satisfied" channeled through JB in the midst of the "Arleen" jam.

"Go to the mountain
Come back to the city
Where a whole lot of things
Don't look very pretty
Spiritual hunger and spiritual thirst
But you got to change it
On the inside first
To be satisfied
To be satisfied"

Initially this struck me as rather bleak and dark. However, after studying more lyrics (that JB doesn't rap) from the original song I see it as more hopeful.

"Talkin' to my baby now
I'm satisfied
With my world
Cause I made it
The way it is.
Satisfied (Satisfied.)
Inside."

I like the idea that you can shape your world the way that you want it. In fact, you must take responsibility for your actions and your world.

"You know, baby, cause and effect
I got my karma from here right to New York"

Cause and Effect. Everything you do has an impact on you and your world.
Pretty heavy stuff & uplifting when you look at it with a positive frame of mind.

Good tunes, good times.

Thor!

From Eurosport's live coverage of today's stage of the Dauphiné Liberé between Aix-les-Bains and Givors

2 km THE PELOTON IS BACK TOGETHER!!! ALL THE SIX MEN HAVE BEEN ENGULFED!!

1 km The sprinters get ready for the final assault...

0 km And it's a victory for Credit Agricole's Norwegian giant Thor Hushovd! A great name, a great rider, a great victory!

16:11 Sean Donohoo, from Italy, sent in his coolest name nomination just before the finish: "I've got to go with Thor Hushovd. Anyone named "Thor" has got to be a bad-ass." A bad-ass he is, and also one hell of a powerful sprinter! The Credit Agricole man has taken this 224 km first stage from Aix-les-Bains to Givors, and taken it with some performance. His team timed their assault on the six leaders with perfection, catching the men with two clicks to go before leading in their Norwegian trophy hunter to the kill.

Thor!

National Champion

06-05-05_1533.jpg
Originally uploaded by cbnystrom.

I took this photo yesterday in Philly just minutes after the end of the Wachovia USPro Cycling Championship race. I snapped the shot with my camera phone through the chainlink fence behind the podium.

Chris Wherry had just won the race and was on stage receiving the National Champion's jersey.

He rode an inspired race and deserved the win after a bold late race attack that he held to the finish.

We split time between the start/finish area and The Wall in Manyunk. The Wall was nuts...parties and chaos everywhere.
I'm sure the riders fed off the energy each time up the climb.

We had a fantastic time and really enjoyed Philly. It was nice to see a big-time bike race with a huge crowd in the US.

Thor was a trooper and thoroughly enjoyed the race.

Top of the Manyunk Wall

06-05-05_1354.jpg
Originally uploaded by cbnystrom.

This is the turn at the top of the Manyunk Wall. The climb levels out to a false flat and then makes this turn before plunging back down. This photo was taken with my camera phone late in the Wachovia USPro Cycling Championships in Philly, June 5, 2005.