Borat at the Tour!

La La Ohhhhhhmmmmmmm

Just landed LA last night to some pretty roasty weather. I'm here for 4 days of yoga and meditation. Kinda cool, as I like to just quite the mind a tad...every now and again. Oh yeah, we do lots of breath work here too. Catch ya when I'm all chilled out. BTW, hats off to Rabobank for dumping Chicken with his evasive tactics; its time we clean up the sport. I'm rooting for Cadel, a quiet guy that has no team because Lotto is completely built for Wanker Robbie. Cadel is a fighter and deserves to win....cause Conty is far from being clean. Okay...enough on that silly topic. Ohm.

T Tree?

I'm in BIG TIME training mode. My focus right now is the Crystal Mountain Hill climb TT. I decided two days ago that I'm carrying about 4-5 lbs of inefficient weight mass (okay fat), so I'm on a mission to lean down before my race in mid August. My plan? Well...what worked for me before is just eating minimally and when hungry so the body doesn't go into starvation mode (which slows metabolism and begins to eat muscle - BAD!). So I begin my day with a piece of bread and two poached eggs drizzled with raw olive oil (yummy). I'll eat a piece of fruit when blood sugar drops (usually around 10 or 11am and again at 4pm). Lunch has been coconut oil on sprouted bread with a half an avocado (wow those calories last me until 3-4pm). I've been downing coconut water at 4pm which takes me to 6 or 7pm...THEN...dinner is one of my funky yummy salads with sprouted legumes and grains (nuts and twigs too). On Day two we don't expect lb loss, but my body fat was down 0.5% and by my calculation to reach the goal it should be a total loss of about 2.5%. Oh...by the way did you know that the name 'Avocado' comes from the Aztec name meaning 'testicle tree'? I wonder where they got that impression...

New Drug

Ahhhhhhstana BMC. This is a goregeemous piece of swiss engineering. With Full SRAM Force (love it) and the plush (yet no force lost) Topolino kevlar spokes...it rides itself. Yes, its a drug and I'm an addict. hmmmmmmmm.

Cat Crack House

So I returned from a nice ride with Beth this Saturday and feeling pretty good (and trashed)..I noticed Chirper (the name I gave the neighbors cat because it meows like a bird) hanging around the front porch. He was askin' if Jett (Mel and Mikey's cat on an extended vacation at my house in Seattle) could come out in play. So as I wandered in looking for Jett, I saw the cat nip. Ah....yeah, you guys need to feel some endorphines (I thought). So I grabbed a few pinches and rubbed it under Chirpers nose. OMG...he went crazy (no big surprise). Next thing you know....(I kid you not)...three other cats came from the hood came cruising by....sayin' (hey...here's the Crack House...let's get a hit). Here are some pictures of the kitty highs.
Here is Jett in his FULL EAGLE pose after a big hit (notice those spread legs).

Here is chirper with the rollies. You can't get near him because he has no bite etiquette for approximately 5 minutes post a big sniff.

Mission Probable

So, I'm on a mission to climb all the significant climbs within a couple hours drive of Seattle. So far I've conquered:

Washington Pass
Rainy Pass
Hurricane Ridge
Snoqualmie Pass

What's next:
Mount Baker
Mount Rainer: Sunrise/Chinook Pass
Blewett Pass

Hmmmm what to do this weekend? Baker anyone?

Today was an amazing day. I picked up PJ around 6am, darted to the Edmunds ferry dock and ran into Suze & Dave, Cindi and Cori in line. Bleary eyed we chatted a bit on the ferry then made the Trek to Port Angeles under sunny skies and a beginning temperature of 60 or so. The wind was brisk but as soon as we started the climb we ALL warmed up. Hurricane Ridge is a magical climb. Once you summit the 19 mile climb (from town) nearly 5500 feet of gain...you come upon a setting that looks like the French Alps. WOW. It was amazing. The ride down was fast for me as my Il Falco flight always seems to out pace the heaviest of daredevils to catch me. PJ nearly had me at the end, but couldn't keep his neck in the contorted position for more than a minute to maintain the super aero position. I held the position for more than 20 minutes. Love the race down...its scary, hairy, and fun.

Greenlake to the Falls!

It was a perfect 4th of July. I rode from Greenlake to Snoqualmie Falls (and back) starting at 7am. I arrived back home around 2pm (after a little stop at Starbucks for some carbos). Kris and I had an amazing time and we missed biking together (she just finished Ironman). It was over a 100 mile day as we chose to come back over Issaquah (oh and 6K feet of climbing). Once home, I fueled up (desiring a nap) showered, got on my bike (my Country Road Bob, single speed silly bike) as Colin and I headed down to Lake Union to hang out on a Seattle house boat with Rick Miner and his two floating homes located just across from Gasworks park. The fireworks were spectacular...the people amazing...and the grilled white salmon to die for! I think this is the way the patriots would have wanted us to celebrate our independence from tyranny.

Hurricane Ridge Ride!

This weekend (Saturday) the climbing ride of choice is one of my favorites. Hurricane Ridge. The ride to Hurricane Ridge takes you 5200 feet above sea level in 16 miles from the park headquarters. It is one of Washington's toughest climb with switchbacks reminiscent of the French Alps. If we do the warm up ride from Sequim the round trip ride is about 65-70 miles rounnd trip. Here is the route:

Come along!
:)

Sequim to Hurricane Ridge

Share your bike routes @ Bikely.com

Island Touring

The Seattle area is pretty amazing for riding. The best part is that our summer has started so early (as opposed to it commencing after the 4th of July). So for the second day of my awesome weekend, under upper 70's weather, sunny, etc...I went for a ride. Shocker, I know. So I grabbed a couple of friends for a late afternoon ride on Vashon Island. This island is a 20 minute ferry ride from Seattle and another world away. There is a gnarly little climb from the ferry dock, and a spin through town...then you bike about 30 (or so) miles around this little island that is filled with amazing little coastal shots and views to Seattle and Tacoma, then inland riding full of little farms and forests. It is absolutely gorgeous.

Farm stands everywhere...
View of Maury Island
The day's ride was about 38 miles, 2700 feet of climbing and lots of little picture moments including a blooming lavender field that we could smell for days. I want to thank Beth for dropping the tool inside Cindi's frame adding the extra weight so I could finally hang with her on the big climb coming up from the east side of Vashon.

American Switz

If you've never been on highway 20, GO! The north cascades highway is a pure taste of Switzerland in America. Yesterday's bike ride was an epic + ride. The craggy rocks and glaciers of the north cascades ascend into the rich blue sky as the road winds through deep crevasses filled with evergreens, granite and ice with water falling everywhere. Now if you can take all that in for 6 hours from the seat of a bicycle, for me....you have pure heaven. Now that those 100 miles and 9500 feet of gain weren't enough in a weekend...I think its time for a little spin around Vashon Island.
A friend of mine on the ride had his heart rate monitor on for the climb. We stuck together much of the ride. Here are the visuals of the climb and effort recorded. Pretty cool, eh? The first is east bound (toward Mazama)
This is the west bound data image (back to Diablo lake):