Ride the Rockies 2017 Training Update: March Madness

What do you do when your team loses in the Elite 8? Shred your bracket and focus on your next big goal! For me, that is Ride the Rockies 2017, starting 11 weeks from today. My March Madness ended last night with the Jayhawks' loss so its nice to have something to look forward to. Having a goal to keep me motivated is one of the reasons I sign up for these challenging multiple day cycling events.

The other part of March Madness in Colorado is the spring weather. March is Colorado's snowiest month along the Front Range. This past week we went from 75F during the day to a blizzard that night. I was able to get outside this past weekend but the rest of my 300 miles so far this month have been on the indoor trainer. 

I've been continuing to throw in sets of Flying 40s and Ten Speeds during my workouts, as well as gradually increasing mileage. To date, I have logged more miles in 2017 -- 865 -- than in any of the previous three years through March (and I still have several days to ride). I'm averaging right around 75 miles per week/300 miles per month.

Jonny Rocker texted me this past week. Apparently he's having trouble getting motivated to ride while sitting on the beach in Hawaii (everybody say, "awwww") and has only recorded 560 miles to date. I'm not worried about him. He will catch up quick once he gets back to retired life in California :)

I'm ready to move on from March Madness to April showers and May flowers. Come on, Mother Nature, let's do this!

Ride on...

Daren

2017 RTR Lottery Accepted!

It began with a text from Rocker on Friday morning. The charges had hit his card. So I checked my credit card and sure enough, there it was, a charge from RaceIt-Ride the Rockies. Seeing the charge go through is a sure sign that you're in -- RTR doesn't charge your card unless you are selected in the lottery -- but it was still good to receive the e-mail confirmation later that day: 

Getting selected in the RTR lottery isn't exactly like winning the lottery. I wish it was because I have been selected 10 out of 10 times I have applied! My luck with playing the lottery is not nearly as good (RTR is capped at 2,000 riders -- it makes me wonder how many people actually apply for the 2,000 spots).

I have ridden three of my nine Ride the Rockies as a member of Team Bar2Bar. Several of us got together to do some skiing this past weekend and all we could talk about was RTR! Pictured (from left): Woody and Paul the Pilot.

Anyway, as I suggested to Rocker, it's time to get motivated. There's nothing like knowing you have to be ready to ride 447 miles while ascending more than 32,000 vertical feet over the span of seven days to wake you up in the morning (and a lot more than that if we decide to meet up with Team Bar2Bar in Salida and ride to the start in Alamosa).

On that note, it's time to hit the trainer (my CycleOps Fluid2 trainer, not my personal trainer). 

Ride on...

Daren

Are You Ready to Rock? Jonny Rocker and I Just Registered for Ride the Rockies!

UPDATE 3/4/17: WE'RE IN!

Are you Ready to Rock? My brother Jonny Rocker and I just registered for Ride the Rockies 2017! Now the waiting begins. We will find out March 3rd whether we are chosen in the lottery. RTR is capped at 2,000 riders but I have gotten in every time I have registered (knock on wood). 

I've been following several of the Quick Cycling Workouts for Power and Endurance from Bicycling.com: 

"This is gonna hurt. But it'll be worth it. These innovative interval workouts will make you faster and stronger--by next month."

Well, I've been integrating the Flying 40s and Ten Speeds into my workouts on my CycleOps Fluid2 indoor trainer for about five weeks now. Am I faster and stronger? Well, I rode 15 miles on my trainer in under 40 minutes (average 22.5 mph) for the first time ever about a week after introducing these workouts into my training! So yeah, it seems to be working.

Here is the workout I did today:

5 mins warm up
10 x Flying 40s (40 seconds at 80-90 RPM, 20 second recovery) 
5 mins recovery
10 x Flying 40s (40 seconds at 80-90 RPM, 20 second recovery)
5 mins recovery
10 x Flying 40s (40 seconds at 80-90 RPM, 20 second recovery)
5 mins recovery
10 x Ten Speeds (10 seconds at 100+ RPM, 20 second recovery)
5 mins cool down

60 mins total, averaging 20.5 mph

And they're right. It hurts, but it'll be so worth it when Ride the Rockies rolls around in June.

Ride On!

Daren