Bike season over...wedding season almost over

I cleaned my bike yesterday and put it in the attic for what is likely to be the entire winter. Looking back on my bike season, it was a good one, even though I didn't have too many results to write home about. As really my first season racing with a team and attempting to focus a little more on biking over the summer, it certainly wasn't without frustration, however, it was a very good learning experience. I feel like I focussed enough on biking this year to realize that I'm not focussed enough in general on anything. In the past year, my training hours have been split almost exactly equal between running, biking and skiing (counting roller skiing hours). While the overall volume has left me relatively fit, the lack of focus might be holding me back, especially when it comes to bike racing. Another takeaway from my bike season is that I need to improve my explosiveness. While I may never be a great sprinter, I shouldn't be as much of a train-wreck sprinting either, and given that many of the races around here are going to come down to a sprint at some level, I need to improve this aspect of racing in order to really ever come up with good results. I think that improving my fast-twitch explosiveness would be beneficial to my skiing as well, so I'm putting a little more emphasis on strength training, especially between now and ski season.

Left to Right - Rick, my, Jason, Chad, Dylan, Phil and Michel (who came up with the sprint win on this particular night).

Being on a team was great, and it was awesome to see my teammates do so well over the course of the season. We managed to win the GVCC team prize for total wins throughout the season. We also had a few very notable performances in some big weekend races. It certainly adds an entirely new dimension to the sport compared to previous years.

So, while I am looking forward to ski season and the snow flying, I am also planning on ways to train a little differently to build on the bike season we just completed and look forward to a lot more racing next year with my Solo Break Racing teammates.

This weekend coming up is Natalie's (Nancy's maid of honor) wedding in Fairfield, CT. This will be the last wedding of 2010 for Nancy and I, and while it has been a fun summer, I'm looking forward to a little less chaotic October and November. I guess only time will tell if it will truly be less chaotic.